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Full text of "The Holy Bible : containing the Old and New Testaments, according to the present authorized English version, with notes, critical, explanatory, and practical ; the marginal readings of the most approved printed copies of the scriptures, with such others as appear to be countenanced by the Hebrew and Greek originals : a copious collection of parallel texts ; summaries of each book and chapter ; and the date of every transaction and event recorded in the sacred oracles, agreeable to the calculation of the most correct chronologers"

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THE 


NEW  TESTAMENT 


OP  OUR 


LOED  AND  SAVIOUR  JESUS  CHRIST. 

(ACCORDINO  TO  THE  PRESENT  ATTTHORIZED  YERSION.) 


CRITICAL,  EXPLANATORY,  AND  PRACTICAL 

NOTES: 

THE  MARGINAL  READINGS  OF  THE  MOST  APPROVED  PRINTED  COPIES  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 

WITH  SUCH  OTHERS  AS  APPEAR  TO  BE  COUNTENANCED  BT  THE 

ORIGINAL  GREEK: 

A  COPIOUS  COLLECTION  OF  PARALI^EL  TEXTS; 
SUMMARIES  OF  EACH  BOOK  AND  CHAPTER; 

AND  THE  DATE  OP  EVERY  TRANSACTION  AND  EVENT  RECORDED  IN  THIS  PART  OF  THE 

SACRED  ORACLES,  AGREEABLY  TO  THE  CALCULATIONS  OF  THE 

MOST  CORRECT  CHRONOLOGERS. 

BY  REV.  JOSEPH  BENSON. 


VOLUME  II. ROMANS  TO  THE  REVELATION. 


PUBLISHED  BY  LANE  &  TIPPETT, 
FOR  THE  MOTHODDT  BPISOOPAL  CHURCH,  AT  THE  CONFERENCE  OFFICE,  MO  BCULBERRT-STREET. 


JOSEPH   LONOXmO,    PRINTXR. 
1847. 


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PREFACE   TO   THE   EPISTLES. 


nPHE  Lord  Jesius  before  bis  death  infonned  his  aposdes,  (Johnxvi.  12,)  that  he  had  "  many  diings 
to  Bay  to**  them  which  they  cotdd  not  then  bear ;  but  that  **  when  the  Spirit  of  tmth  was  come, 
he  would  guide  them  into  all  truth,"  or  rather,  **  into  all  ike  truth,"  as  etc  waaw  n/p  akffiws»  piopeAy 
signifies,  namely,  the  whole  truth  comprehended  in  the  gospel  dispensation.  From  this  it  is 
evident,  ihaft  Jesus,  while  he  was  on  earth,  did  not  declare,  at  least  clearly  and  fully,  all  the  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel,  all  that  was  necessary  to  be  bdieyed  and  practised  by  mankind ;  but  left 
many  things  to  be  reyealed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  the  persons  who,  after  his  departure,  were  to 
make  them  known  to  the  world.  In  this  method  of  rerealing  the  gospel,  as  Dr.  Macknight  has  justly 
observed,  "  there  was  both  dignity  and  propriety.  For  the  Son  of  God  came  from  hearen,  ncM 
[chiefly]  to  make  the  gospel  revelation^  but  to  be  the  subject  of  it,  by  doing  and  suffering  all  that  was 
necessary  to  procure  the  salvation  of  mankind.  But  although  it  was  not  our  Lord's  intention  to  make 
a  complete  reveladon  of  the  gospel  in  person,  he  occasionally  delivered  many  [indeed,  iftost]  of  4ta 
doctrines  and  precepts  in  the  hearing  of  his  followers,  that  when  the  persons  commissioned  by  him 
to  preach  the  gospel  in  its  full  extent,  executed  their  commissioui  the  world,  by  observing  the  perfect 
confonnity  of  their  doctrine  with  his,  might^nt^rtain  no  doubt  of  their  authority  and  inspiration,  in  those 
further  discoveries  which  they  made  concerning  the  matters  ofwUch  Christ  himself  had  spoken  nothing." 
One  of  the  apostles,  namely,  Judas,  having  fallen  from  his  office  by  transgression,  the  eleven 
judged  it  necessary  to  supply  his  place ;  and  for  that  purpose  chose  Matthias,  by  lot.  In  this,  how- 
ever, some  think  they  acted,  not  by  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  he  was  not  yet  given  Uimn, 
but  merely  by  the  dictates  of  human  prudence,  which,  on  that  occasion,  they  suppose,  carried  them 
too  far ;  no  man,  nor  body  of  men  whatever,  having  power  by  their  designation  to  confer  an  office 
whose  authority  was  to  bind  the  consciences  of  all  men,  and  whose  duties  could  not  be  performed 
without  the  gif^  of  extraordinary  inspiration  and  miracles.  To  ordain  an  apostle,  they  say,  belonged 
to  Christ  alone,  who,  with  the  appointment,  could  also  confer  the  supernatural  powers  necessaiy  to 
the  function.  Some  time,  therefore,  after  the  election  of  Mat^as,  Jesus  himself,  they  think,  super- 
seded it,  by  appointing  another  to  be  his  apostle  and  witness  in  the  place  of  Judas.  "  In  the  choice 
of  this  new  apostle,  Jesus  had  a  view  to  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles ;  which,  of  all  the  services 
allotted  to  the  apostles,  was  the  most  dangerous  and  difficult.  For  the  person  engaged  in  that  woik 
had  to  contend  with  the  heathen  jniests,  whose  office  and  gains  being  aimihilated  by  the  spreading 
of  the  gospel,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  they  would  oppose  its  preachers  with  an  extreme  rage.  He 
had  to  contend,  likewise,  with  the  unbelieving  Jews  living  in  heathen  countries,  who  would  not  fail 
to  inflame  the  idolatrous  multitude  against  any  one  who  should  preach  salvation  to  the  Gentiles  with- 
out requiring  them  to  obey  the  law  of  Moses.  The  philosophers  too  were  to  be  encountered,  who, 
no  doidit,  laboured  to  destroy  it  by  persecuting  its  preachers  and  abetters.  The  difficulty  and  danger 
of  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  being  so  great,  the  person  who  enaged  in  it  certainly  needed  wa.  uncom- 
mon strength  of  mind,  a  great  degree  of  religious  zeal,  a  courage  superior  to  every  danger,  and 
a  patience  of  labour  and  suffering  not  to  be  exhausted,  together  with  much  prudence,  to  enable 
him  to  avoid  giving  just  offence  to  unbelievers.  Besides  these,  natural  talents,  education,  and  litera- 
ture were  necessaiy,  in  the  person  who  endeavoured  to  convert  the  Gentiles,  that  he  might  acquit 
himself  with  propriefy  when  called  before  kings,  and  magistrates,  and  men  of  learning.  All  these 
talents  and  advantages  Saul  of  Tarsus  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree ;  and,  having  been  a  violent 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLES. 

penecukor  of  ihe  Chiistiaiis,  hb  testiinony  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  wonld  have  ihe  greater  weight, 
when  he  became  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  Himi  therefore,  the  Lord  Jesus  determined  to  make  his 
aposde  in  the  room  of  Judas ;  and  for  that  purpose  he  i^qpeared  to  him  from  heayen,  as  he  journeyed 
to  Damascus  to  persecute  his  disciples.  And  haying  conyinced  him  of  the  truth  of  his  resurrection, 
by  thus  appearing  to  him  in  person,  he  commissioned  him  to  preach  it  to  the  Gentiles,  together  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  which  were  to  be  made  known  to  him  afterward  by  reyeladon.  S#e 
Acts  xxvi  16-18.  Such  was  the  commissio*  which  Jesus,  in  person,  gare  to  Saul  of  Tarsus^  after- 
ward called  Paul;  so  that,  although  he  had  not  attended  Jesus  during  his  ministry,  he  was,  in  respect 
both  of  his  election  to  the  office  and  his  fitness  for  it,  rightly  aombered  with  the  apostles." — Maekmghi. 

The  apostles,  haying  receiyed  their  commission  to  pveach  the  gospel  to  all  nations,  and  being  en* 
daed  with  divine  inspiration  and  miraculous  powers  for  that  purpose,  went  forth  and  pid>lished  the 
things  which  concerned  the  Lord  Jesus,  first  in  Judea,  and  afterward  among  the  Greatiles ;  and,  by 
the  reasonableness  of  their  doctrine,  the  hcdiness  of  their  liyes,  the  greatness  of  their  sufferings,  and 
the  miracles  which  they  performed,  persuaded  great  multitudes,  both  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  to 
belieye  and  obey  the  gospel,  and  openly  to  profess  themselyes  Christ's  disciples,  notwithstanding,  by 
so  doing,  they  exposed  themselves  to  sufferings  and  death.  In  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  world 
is  indebted  to  the  apostles,  under  God,  for  the  com{dete  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  Under  God,  ii 
mnst  be  observed ;  (or  the  {Hraise  of  enlightening  m^tilrini^  ig  ^ue  <nily  to  them  as  instruments,  the 
Divine  Spirit  communicating  unto  them  that  knowledge  d  the  truths  of  the  gospel  wherewith  they 
were  to  enlighten  others,  andjconfinmng  diose  truths  by  signs  and  wonders,  and  miracles  innumeraUe« 

Because  the  Author  of  the  Christian  religion  left  nothing  in  writii^  for  the  instruction  of  the  world, 
the  apostles  and  others,  who  were  witnesses  of  his  holy  and  benevolent  actions,  his  mirades,  his 
sufferings,  his  resurrection  and  ascension,  and  who  heard  his  divine  discourses,  besides  preaching 
these  things  to  all  nations,  have  taken  care  that  the  knowledge  of  them  should  not  be  left  to  the  un^ 
certainty  <^  a  vague  tradition,  handed  down  fkm  age  to  age.  Four  of  these  vritnesses  wrote,  under 
the  direction  of  the  H<dy  Spirit,  histories  of  Christ's  ministry,  to  which  the  name  of  gospels  hadi 
been  given ;  being  the  same  which  are  in  our  possession  at  this  day.  In  these  excellent  writings, 
every  thing  relating  to  the  Lord  Jesus  is  set  forth  in  a  plain,  unadorned  narration,  which  bears  the 
clearest  marks  of  authenticity.  In  like  manner,  thai  the  revelation  of  the  gospel  doctrines,  which 
was  made  to  the  apostles  by  the  Spirit,  and  which  they  deliv^ed  to  the  world,  in  their  discourses 
and  conversation,  might  not  be  left  to  the  uncertainty  of  tradition,  but  be  preserved  nncom^yted  to 
the  end  of  time,  the  Holy  Ghost  moved  certain  of  these  divinely-inspired  teachers  to  conunit  their 
doctrine  to  writing,  in  epistles ;  some  of  which  they  addressed  to  particular  chivches,  others  to  par- 
ticular persons,  and  others  to  believers  in  general ;  all  which  are  still  in  our  possession. 

Inasmuch,  then,  as  in  the  four  gospels  and  in  the  Acts,  we  have  the  history  of  our  Lord's  ministry 

and  of  the  spreading  of  the  gospel  in  the  first  age,  written  by  inspiration;  and,  seeing  that,  in  the 

apostolical  epistles,  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  our  religion  are  set  forth  by  the  like  inspiration, 

these  writings  ought  to  be  highly  esteemed  by  all  Christians,  as  the  rule  of  their  faith  and  practice; 

and  no  doctrine  ought  to  be  received  as  an  article  of  faith,  nor  any  {nrecept  acknowledged  as  oblig»» 

tory,  but  what  is  contained  in  them.    With  respect,  however,  to  the  gospels,  and  the  Acts  of  the 

Apostles,  let  it  be  remarked  that,  while  the  greatest  regard  is  due  to  them,  especially  to  the  gospels, 

because  they  contain  the  words  of  Christ  himself,  we  are  not  in  them  to  look  for  a  fidl  accoostof  the 

gospel  scheme.    Their  professed  design  is  to  give,  not  a  complete  delineation  of  our  religi<m,  but  the 

history  of  its  Founder,  and  of  that  illustrious  display  which  he  made  of  his  glory,  as  the  Son  of  God 

and  Saviour  of  the  world,  together  with  an  account  of  the  iqpreading  of  the  gospel  after  our  Lord's 

ascension.    The  gospel  doctrine  is  to  be  found  complete  otilj  in  the  epistles,  where  it  is  ezfaiUMd 
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PRBFAOE  TO  THQB  BPUnnUBe. 

with  giMi  nctnncj  by  the  ftpotdes,  to  whom  the  Holy  Oho0t  reretled  it,  m  Chritt  htd  pM- 
niseJL 

With  regurd  to  tho  autbentici^  of  these  epistles,  we  may  obserre,  widi  Dr.  Whitby,  that  if  we  cob- 
•ider  all  the  writings  which  pass  for  authentic  records  in  the  wodd,  we  shall  find  there  is  not  any 
reason  to  o<mceiTe  them  snch,  which  is  not,  with  adtantage,  aj^oable  to  these  bodu.  All  the 
aorgunents  which  can  be  offered  to  prove  a  boc^  or  writing  gennine,  are  only  of  two  kinds ;  external, 
fiom  the  testimony  of  persons  who  lived  near  to  the  times  of  ike  author ;  and  internal,  fiom  the  things 
contained  in,  and  asserted  by,  those  writings,  and  the  firm  belief  they  obtained  among  them  to  whom 
they  were  directed  and  ccnnmitted*  The  eztemal  testimonies  have  their  fdnrce  partly  from  the  num- 
ber and  eminence  of  the  testators,  their  nearness  to  the  times  when  snch  writings  are  said  to  have 
been  composed,  or  published  fimn  the  original  copies  preserved  by  those  to  whom  they  were  at  first 
conunitted ;  and  partly  from  the  general  reception  and  citation  of  them  as  the  writings  and  records 
of  such  authors.  Now,  withrespect  to  these  external  evidences,  no  writings  can  compare  with  these 
epistles,  they  having  all  the  circmnstances  by  which  any  writing  can  be  proved  genuine,  and  many 
others  of  great  weight,  which  are  peculiar  to  them,  and  which  no  other  writings  can  pretend  to. 

First  They  have  all  the  circumstances  by  wbicli  any  writing  can  be  |»oved  genuine.  1.  Their 
originals  were  preserved  in  their  respective  churches  till  Tertullian's  time,  who  speaks  thus  to  the 
heretics  of  his  age,  namely,  of  the  third  centmy :  "  Go  to  the  apostolical  churches,  where  their  au- 
thentic epistles  are  still  recited,  representing  the  voice  and  face  of  each  of  them.''  2.  They  were 
not  doubted  of,  but,  as  Clement  and  Origen  say,  (excepting  only  the  epistle  to  the  Helnrews,)  were 
generally  received  by  all  orthodox  Christians  throughout  die  world.  3.  The  writers  by  whom  they 
were  cited  lived  either  in  those  times  when  they  were  written,  as  Clemens  Romanus,  or  in  the  very 
next  age,  as  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Justin  Mart3nr,  and  Irenasus ;  who  were,  therefore,  styled  apostoHcsl 
men.  4.  Those  who  cite  these  writings  were  eminent^  both  for  their  learning,  and  for  their  suffer- 
ings  for  the  faith  contained  in  them;  or  for  their  opposition  to  it,  as  Celsus  was.  Now,  surely,  we 
have  unquestionable  certainty  of  books  which  have  been  handed  down  to  us  by  the  tradition  of  all 
ages  of  the  church,  inserted  in  all  her  catalogues,  cited  by  all  her  writers,  as  books  of  divine  autho- 
rity, and  by  her  very  adversaries ;  preserved  so  long  in  their  originals,  and  of  the  authenticity  of 
which  no  doubt  was  ever  entertained  by  any  genuine  member  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  But,  besides 
this,  it  must  be  observed. 

Secondly.  There  are  many  circumstances  of  great  weight,  which  are  peculiar  to  these  writings ; 
as,  1.  A  g^aeral  dispersion  of  them  throughout  all  those  places  where  any  were  converted  to  that 
fiuth  which  the  apostles  preached ;  for  the  apostles,  says  Irenseus,  "  first  preached  the  gospel,  and 
afterward,  by  the  will  of  God,  m  Scripturis  nobis  tradidenmt^  delivered  it  to  us  in  writing,  to  be  here- 
after the  pillar  and  foundation  of  our  faith,"  lib.  iii.  cap.  1.  Eusebius  bears  the  same  testimony.  Hist. 
Eccles.  lib.  iiL  ci^.  37.  2.  The  translation  of  them  into  other  languages ;  as  into  the  Sjrriac,  a  trans- 
lation so  ancient,  that  it  leaves  out  the  second  epistle  of  Peter,  the  second  and  third  epistles  of  John, 
and  the  Revelation,  as  being  books  which,  for  a  time,  were  controverted  in  some  of  the  eastern 
churches ;  and  into  Latin,  s^ed,  in  Jerome's  time,  ''the  old  translation ;"  and  very  probably  made 
when  the  Latin  Church  was  first  jdanted,  it  being  the  custom  of  all  churches  to  read  the  Scriptures 
on  the  Lord's  day,  which  certainly  they  would  not  do  in  a  language  not  understood  by  those  that  heard 
it  3«  The  constant  reading  of  them,  in  public  and  in  private,  in  their  assemblies,  and  in  their  fami- 
lies and  closets.  *'  On  Sundays,"  saith  Justin  Martyr,  "  all  the  Christians  in  the  city  or  coimtry 
meet  together,  and  then  we  have  read  mito  us  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  ra  avo/nniftoveviiaTa  top 
9W9^Xu¥^  the  monuments  of  the  apostlesj"  and  having  read  them,  they  publicly  expounded  them  to 
the  pe^e.  Tbey  were  also  read  by  the  most  eminent  and  pious  Christians  every  day,  u$  diseat 
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PREFAOB  TO  THE  EPIOTLES. 

unusquisque  ex  Seripturis  Sanctis  qfiekm  suum,  ''  that  eyery  one  may  leam  liis  duty  from  die  Holy 
Scriptures." — Consti.  of  Clement^  lib.  vi.  cap.  27.  4.  The  dreadfbl  torments  which  the  Christians  chose 
to  suffer,  rather  than  they  would  desert  the  faith  contained  in  these  books,  or  deliyer  them  up  to  their 
tormentors,  and  the  infamy  of  those  that  did  so,  they  being  branded  with  Uie  odious  name  of  traditarw^ 
of  "  deliverers  up,"  namely,  of  the  sacred  writings.  Now,  what  writings  in  the  world  have  been  so 
generally  dispersed,  so  much  perused  by  all  sorts  of  persons,  friends,  ibes,  asserters  of  and  enemies  to 
the  faith  of  Christians  ?  What  laws  or  writings  have  been  so  early  translated  into  other  languages  T  Who 
were  so  much  concerned  to  peruse  aay  laws  or  writings,  as  all  Christians  were  to  peruse  the  laws  of 
Christ  ?  Who  suffered  so  much  for  any  books,  as  the  Christians  did  for  theirs  t  Since,  then,  this 
early  reading  of  ^ese  records,  in  public  and  in  private,  by  the  Christians,  this  general  dispersion  of 
^them  through  all  Christian  churches,  this  quick  translation  of  them  into  other  languages,  this  constant 
suffering  for  them,  are  all  corroborating  circumstances  of  the  unquestionable  eyidence  all  Christians 
had  obtained  that  they  were  genuine  and  authentic  writings,  and  indeed  what  they  pretended  to  be ; 
it  is  also  clear  that  these  records  are  more  worthy  to  be  received  as  genuine,  and  books  of  unques- 
tionable truth,  than  any  profane  writings  in  the  world. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  internal  arguments  which  are  usually  offered  to  prove  other  writings 
genuine.  These  are  taken  from  the  things  contained  in  them ;  such  as  that  they  were  proper  to  the 
times  in  which  the  authors  were  supposed  to  write,  and  free  from  every  thing  not  well  consistent 
with  those  times,  which  are  mean  and  trilSing  circumstances,  compared  to  those  internal  arguments 
which  these  epistles  affbrd ;  that  they  are  the  authentic  records  of  those  apostles  whose  names  they 
bear ;  and  that  ^ose  things  which  they  assert,  especially  respecting  the  gifrs  and  powerfrd  opera- 
tions of  the  Holy  Ghost,  both  exercised  by  them,  and  conferred  on  others,  with  all  the  other  facts 
which  they  attest,  were  unquestionably  true.    For, 

1.  It  is  not  once  or  twice,  it  is  not  by  the  by ;  but  it  is  frequently,  professedly,  and  upon  all  occa- 
sions, that  they  refer  to  those  miraculous  powers  and  spiritual  gifts,  as  yielding  a  full  proof  and  con- 
firmation of  the  testimony  they  bore  to  Christ ;  and  that  <'  Christ  was  among  them ;"  and  ae  a 
demonstration  of  the  truth  of  their  apostleship  against  all  opposers,  and  of  the  preference  of  that  faith 
which  was  attended  with  such  gifrs  and  powers,  above  the  Mosaic  law,  which  some  desired  to  ob- 
serve ;  spending  whole  chapters  in  discoursing  of  these  spiritual  endowments,  distinguishing  them 
somewhat  nicely  into  gifts,  administrations,  and  operations,  ranking  them  under  nine  several  heads, 
(1  Cor.  xii.  8-10,)  and  specifying  the  very  names  of  ^ose  who  did  by  office  exercise  them;  and 
showing  the  necessity  there  was  of  this  variety  of  gifU  and  operations  in  the  body ;  appealing  to  the 
senses,  the  consciences,  and  the  experimice  of  those  to  whom  they  wrote,  touching  the  truth  and 
certainty  of  what  they  asserted  respecting  these  spirttnal  gifis.  See  especially  Rom.  xv.  18,  19; 
1  Cor.  ix.  1,  2 ;  xii.  4,  &c. ;  2  Cor.  xii.  12 ;  Gal.  iii.  3-5 ;  1  Thess.  i.  5. 

2.  These  men,  in  these  very  writings,  speak  confidently  of  the  ''  testimony  of  their  conscience, 
that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  they  had  their  conversation  in  the  world ;" — that  they  wrote 
no  other  thing  than  what  then:  converts  did  acknowledge,  and  they  trusted  would  acknowledge,  to  the 
end ; — that  they  were  ^  made  manifest"  to  God,  and  they  '*  trusted  were  also  made  manifest"  in  the 
consciences  of  those  to  whom  they  wrote ;  representing  it  as  a  great  absurdity  that  they  should  be 
found  false  witnesses  to  God,  and  distinguishing  themselves  from  others,  whom  they  call  false  apos- 
tles and  deceitful  workers,  by  this  very  character  of  ^eir  sincerity.  See  2  Cor.  i.  13 ;  v.  11 ;  1  Cor. 
XV.  15 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  17;  iv.  2 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  3-10.  Now,  with  what  face  could  they  have  asserted 
these  things,  if  they  liad  known  that  in  these  very  epistles  they  had  declared  (for  instance,  respecting 
their  miracles)  what  even  the  senses  and  experience  of  thoi^  to  whom  ihey  wrote  must  assure  them 
t:^70  the  greatest  falsehoods  ?    Or  how  could  they  to  whom  diey  wrote  give  credit  to  such  impudent 

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FREFAOS  TO  TH8  JEHHTIiEB. 

untnidis  as  diese  must  be,  if  die  relatums  which  tbey  made  of  these  nuraculoiiii  <fieradoiis  hid  been 
mere  fictumsl    This,  dierefore,  is  a  ftrdier  evidence  of  dieir  sincerity  and  tnidi  in  d^se  relations. 

3.  Let  US  observe  how  the  i^osde  treats  those  churches  of  Gorindi  and  QaLada,  respecting  which 
he  speaks  most  coiooiisly  of  diese  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  how  they  stood  affected  to  him. 
The  Corinthians  are  represented  by  himas  schismadcal ;  (1  Cor.  i. ;)  as  carnal ;  (chap.  iii. ;)  as  glorying 
in  an  incestuous  person ;  (chap.  y. ;)  as  contentious,  to  their  own  shame,  and  the  scandal  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  (ch^.  yL  ;)  as  nrammrers,  tonpters  of  Christ,  fcnmicators,  idolaters,  partakers  of  the  table  of 
devils ;  (chi^  x. ;)  as  coming  to  the  L(wd*s  stqyper,  not  for  the  better,  but  for  the  worse,  offending  in 
it  bodi  against  the  rules  of  charity  and  tenq>erance,  and  also  against  faith,  in  not  discerning  the  Lmd's 
bod^ ;  (chap.  zi. ;)  as  guilty  of  emulations,  schisms,  and  contentions,  touching  spiritual  persons,  and 
of  vain  f^xy  in  die  exercise  of  their  spiritual  gifts ;  (chi^.  zii.,  ziv. ;)  and  as  deniers  of  that  resiff- 
rection  which  was  die  great  foundation  of  all  the  future  hopes  of  Christians,  chap.  zv.  In  his  second 
episde  he  declares  his  fears  diat  he  might  find  among  them  debates,  envyings,  wraths,  strifes,  back- 
bitings,  whispmngs ;  and  diat  he  ahould  find  among  ikem  many  who  had  not  yet  repented  of  the 
fi>mication  and  lasciviousness  which  diey  had  committed,  (2  Cor.  zii.  20.)  And  for  diese  diings,  if  not 
refoimedyhe  threatens  he  will  use  sharpness, and  come  to  diem  widi  a  rod,  chap.  z.  6 ;  ziii.  2.  He 
charges  die  Galadans  with  aposta^ ;  (chap.  i.  6 ;)  and  represents  them  as  foolish  and  bewitched  in 
falling  fiom  that  gospel  by  which  diey  had  received  spiritual  gifts,  to  the  beggarly  elements  of  die 
law,  (chap.  uL  1-16.)  Now,  how  could  die  Corinthians  be  guilty  of  such  emulations  about  spiritual 
^persons,  or  such  discnrders  in  the  ezercise  of  dieir  spiritual  gifb,  provided  there  were  among  them 
no  such  persons,  and  they  had  no  such  gifts  ?  How  could  they  fear  die  lashes  of  his  rod,  on  die  ac- 
count of  crimes  of  which  they  neidier  were  nor  could  be  guilty  ?  Why  should  diey  not  be  radier  for 
CejAias,  or  ApoDos,  than  for  Paul,  if  Paul  imposed  upon  them  with  fabe  stories  and  sensible  untruths  ^ 
Or  why  should  not  die  Galatians  even  quit  diat  go^>el,  in  which  he  endeavoured  to  confirm  diem  only 
by  an  iqypeal  to  that  which  they  must  know  to  be  a  lie  ?  Moreover,  the  affections  of  the  members  of 
these  churches  were  not  so  firm  to  him,  and  dieir  esteem  of  him  was  not  so  great,  as  diat  he  might 
securely  lessen  it  by  venturing  on  such  arts  of  falsehood ;  for  he  found  some  of  diese  Corinthians 
puffed  up  against  him,  and  preferring  others  much  befbre  him;  (1  Cor.  iv.  18 ;)  charging  him  with 
lightness  and  inconstancy;  (2  Cor.  i.  17 ;)  and  with  walking  according  to  die  flesh,  (chap.  z.  2.)  He 
conqplains  that  th^  were  straitened  in  their  bowels  of  affection  toward  him,  and  diat  die  more  he 
kfved  diem,  die  less  he  was  beloved  by  them ;  (chap.  zii.  15 ;)  diat  diey  questioned  his  aposdeship, 
apd  even  soti|^  a  proof  of  Christ's  speaking  in  him,  (chap.  ziii.  9.)  He  represents  the  Gralatians  as 
questioning  his  aposdeship  and  doctrine,  or  thinking  him  much  inferior  in  both  to  odiers ;  (chap.  i. ;) 
and  as  supposing  he  dissembled  with  them,  and  elsewhere  preached  himself  diat  circumcision  he 
condemned  in  them,(ch^.  ii.;  v.  11.)  Now,  under  these  circumstances,  could  he  hope  to  repair 
his  credit  with  them,  and  to  establish  the  aposdeship  diey  questioned,  by  an  appeal  to,  and  relation  of, 
such  things  as  bodi  dieir  senses  and  experience  showed  to  be  manifest  untrudis  T    But, 

4.  If  it  could  be  supposed  that  these  churches  were  so  stupid  and  insensible  that  they  did  not,  or 
so  partially  affected  to  the  aposde  that  diey  would  not,  take  notice  of  these  dungs ;  these  episdes 
inform  us  of  other  subde  and  industrious  adversaries,  men  zealous  to  oppose  and  adulterate  die  gos- 
pel which  he  preached,  and  desirous  to  find  occasion  to  lessen  the  promoters  of  it,  and  to  advance 
dMmselves  above  diem ;  false  aposdes,  and  deceitful  workers,  who  transformed  diemselves  into  die 
apostles  of  Christ,  when  in  truth  diey  were  ministers  of  Satan ;  men  who  corrupted  the  word  of  God, 
and  sought  to  corrupt  odiers  from  die  simfOicity  duit  is  in  Christ,  (2  Cor.  ii.  17;  x.  12,  Ac. ;  xi. 
12, 13, 15.)  Among  the  Gralatians  also  diere  were  evil  agents,  who  troubled  them,  and  would  pervert 
the  gospel  ot  Christ,  fUse  brethren,  who  came  in  privily  to  spy  out  their  liberty,  and  desired  to  ex 


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PBBT AGK  TO  TOE  EPMTLBB. 

«bido  the  ^MMdet,  dial  they  ougli^  be  affected  (or  loved)  by  fhiemf  diap.  i.  7;  iL  4;  ir.  17.  Now, 
if  li A  hiifi»ftlf  had  bean  a  ▼ain  talker  and  deceitfid  -worker,  one  who  endeaTOored  to  impoae  npoa  Aem 
with  false  tales,  with  what  &ee  cofdd  he  d>ject  dioee  thmga  to  others  of  which  he  faimself  was  so 
guilty?  (^  how  could  they,  whom  he  confideiitlyacciised  as  gmli^  of  tiiese  things,  B^ 
reidy  to  such  an  accusation,  that  he  himself,  in  his  appeal  to  the  miracoloas  operations  of  die  Holy 
Ghost  for  confirmationof  his  doctrine  and  apostleshq^,  had  done  die  verydnnghe  laid  to  their  charge  t 
We  have  no  reason  to  suspect  that  all,  or  any,  of  diese  adversaries  neglected  any  pains  to  search 
into  the  tradi  of  what  Paul  thus  offered  to  confirm  his  doctrine  and  magnify  his  office,  and  to  vindicate 
himself  from  the  aspersions  which  diey  cast  upon  him.  Since,  then,  we  never  find  die  tmdi  of  these 
relations  questioned  by  any  of  diose  Jews  who  thirsted  for  his  blood,  or  by  diose  Judaizing  Christians 
who  so  vehemendy  inveighed  against  his  doctrine,  his  person,  and  his  office ;  and  since  vre  are  as- 
sured by  the  event,  diat  if  diey  ever  made  any  such  attempts  they  all  pro ved  ineflectual  to  impair  die 
credit  of  those  writings  in  the  Christian  world ;  it  may  be  certainly  concluded  that  diese  episdes 
could  not  be  convicted  of  falsehood,  but  contained  matter  of  unquestionable  truth  in  these  assertion^ 
touching  the  powerful  operations  of  the  Hcij  Ghost. 

Lasdy.  Let  us  consider  what  the  iqposdes  suffered  for  diis  testimony,  and  what  it  cost  them  to 
propagate  this  faith  throughout  the  Christian  world,  and  in  what  tragical  eiqpressions  diey  are  sel 
fordi  in  Scripture.  "  God,"  saidi  Paul,  <<hadi  set  forth  us,  the  aposdes,  last,  as  it  were  appointed 
to  deadi ;  for  we  are  made  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to  men,"  &c.,  1  Cor.  iv.  9-13. 
See  also  1  Cor.  xv.  31 ;  2  Cor.  vi  4,  5 ;  i.  8.  And  in  the  elevendi  chapter  he  gives  such  a 
dreadful  account  of  his  own  afflictions  as  can  scarcely  be  read  widiout  tremUing.  Now,  by  what 
motive  could  they  be  actuated  in  the  publication  of  diat  faith,  for  which  diey  suffered  all  that  wit  and 
malice  could  inflict  upon  diem,  but  the  conviction  of  die  truth  of  -vdiat  they  published ;  seeing  they 
actually  lost  all  in  this,  and  could  expect  no  blessings  in  another  worid  for  calling  God  to  witness  to 
a  lie  ?  .  The  moralists  assure  us,  that  it  is  impossible  for  men  to  act  without  die  appearance  of  some 
good  to  be  pursued  by  that  action ;  that  love  of  life,  and  a  desire  of  self-inreservatioii,  is  ocmmon  Is 
us  widi  brutes ;  and  it  is  natural  bodi  for  diem  and  us  to  endeavour  to  avoid  misery  and  torm^ts.  If» 
dien,  die  aposdes  did  actually  abandon  all  die  enjoyments  and  expectations  both  oi  tUs  and  oi  a 
better  life,  and  wilfully  subject  diemselves  unto  die  worst  of  misery  and  torments,  in  propagation  of  a 
testimony  from  which  they  could  expect  no  profit  or  advantage,  diey  must  be  even  bereft  of  common 
sense,  renounce  the  natural  instincts  of  mankind,  and  be  in  love  with  misery  and  ruin.  It  is  indeed 
possible  for  men  to  lay  down  dieir  lives  for  false  opinions,  provided  diey  believe  them  true ;  but  if 
the  i^posdes  were  guilty  of  practising  any  cheat  at  all  in  this  matter,  it  must  have  been  of  a  known 
imposture,  and  they  must  have  sacrificed  dieir  lives  for  what  they  knew  to  be  a  frdsehood,  dial  is, 
for  a  tiling  from  which  diey  could  expect  no  good  at  all ;  a  conduct  which  seems  so  inconsiitent  with 
die  common  principles  of  reason  and  self-love  that  it  is  quite  incrediUe  that  any  should  be  guilty  of 
it  And  this,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  sufficient  to  convince  any  reasonaUe  person  diat  diese  epistles 
were  die  genuine  writings  of  the  aposdes,  and  that  the  truth  of  what  diey  so  copiously  assert  concern- 
ing die  miraculous  gifU  and  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  vouchsafed  to  the  believers  of  these  times, 
cannot  be  reasonably  contested. 

Archdeacon  Paley,  in  die  conclusion  of  his  "  Horas  PanUntt,"  having  given  a  short,  but  compre* 
hensive  view  of  die  evidences  by  which  the  authenticity  <^  St.  Paul's  episdes  is  estaUished  beyond 
all  possibility  of  doubt,  thus  proceeds :  "  If  it  be  true  diat  we  are  in  possession  of  die  very  letters 
which  St.  Paul  wrote,  let  us  consider  what  confirmation  diey  afford  to  die  Christian  history.  In  my 
opinion,  diey  substantiate  die  whole  transaction.  The  great  object  of  modem  research  is,  to  cmne  at 
die  epistolary  correspimdence  of  die  times.  Amidst  the  obscurities,  die  silence,  or  the  contradictirns 
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ntlVACX  TO  TBB  WPOnUSM. 

of  Ustoiy,  if  a  ktter  can  be  found,  ire  regaid  it  ad  die  disooveiyof  a  laad«ttaik;  as  tkat  hy  Whiok 
we  can  conect,  adjust,  ov  Biq;>p2y  the  impeifaQtions  and  imcertaintiee  ci  edier  acoounta.  One  caoae 
of  t]waiq>enor  credit  which  28  attributed  to  letters  i8thia;t^  flu^  which  they  disclose  generalljr 
come  out  incidentally,  and  therefore  without  design  to  mislead  the  pcd^  by  false  or  exaggerated 
accounts.  This  reason  may  be  a^^lied  to  St  Panl%  epistles  with  as  much  jnstice  as  to  any  letters 
whateyer.  Nothing  could  be  farther  fiom  the  intention  of  die  writer  than  to  record  any  paxt  of  his 
history.  That  his  history  was,  in  fut,  made  pfoMb  by  these  letters ;  and  has,  by  the  same  means, 
been  trannnitted  to  fatare  ages,  is  a  secondary  and  mithoagbt-of  effect.  The  sincerity,  therefore, 
•f  the  apostle's  declarati<«is,  cannot  reasonably  be  disputed.  But  these  letters  form  a  part  of  the 
monuments  of  Christianity,  as  svqch  to  be  Talued  for  dieir  c<mtents,  as  for  ^ir  originality.  A  more 
inestimable  treasure  the  care  of  antiquity  could  not  ha^e  sent  down  to  us.  Besides  the  proof  they 
afford  of  the  general  reality  of  Paul's  history,  of  die  knowledge  which  die  audunr  of  the  Acts  of  die 
Apostles  had  obtained  of  that  history,  and  die  consequent  probability  that  he  was  what  he  professes 
himsdf  to  have  been,  a  companion  of  the  aposdes ;  besides  the  support  diey  lend  to  diese  important 
inferences,  they  meet  specifically  some  of  the  principal  objections  upon  which  die  adyersaiiee  of 
Christianity  have  thoui^  proper  to  rely.    In  paxticalar,  diey  show, 

1.  "  That  Christiaaity  was  not  a  story  set  on  foot  amidst  the  confusion  which  attended,  and  imme- 
diately preceded,  die  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  when  many  eztraragant  reports  were  circulated,  when 
men's  minds  were  broken  by  terror  and  distress,  when,  amidst  die  tumults  tnat  surrounded  them,  in- 
quiry was  impracticable.  These  letters  show  incontestably  that  die  religion  had  fixed  and  established 
itself  before  this  state  of  things  took  place. 

2.  ''  Whereas  it  hadi  been  insinuated,  diat  our  gospels  may  have  been  made  up  of  reports  and 
stories  which  were  current  at.the  time,  we  may  obserre  that,  with  respect  to  die  episdes,  diis  is  im- 
pos89>le.  A  man  cannot  write  die  history  of  his  own  life  from  reports ;  nor,  what  is  die  same  diing, 
be  led  by  reports  to  refer  to  passages  and  tiansactioBs  in  which  he  states  himself  to  have  been  imme- 
diately present  and  active.  I  do  not  allow  that  this  insinuidon  is  applied  to  die  historical  part  of  die 
New  Testament  with  any  colomr  of  justice  or  probalnlity ;  but  I  say,  diat  to  die  episdes  it  is  not  ap- 
plicable at  all. 

3.  ''These  letters  psove  diat  die  concerts  to  Christianity  were  not  drawn  firom  the  barbarous,  the 
mean,  or  die  ignorant  set  of  men,  which  the  representations  of  infidelity  would  sometimes  make  them. 
We  learn  from  letters  the  character  not  only  of  die  writers,  but,  in  some  measure,  of  the  persons  to 
whom  diey  are  written.  To  suppose  diat  these  letten  were  addressed  to  a  rude  tribe,  inci^able  of 
thought  or  refiectioni  is  just  as  reasonable  as  to  tsappoBe  Locke's  Essay  on  die  Human  Understanding 
to  have  been  written  for  the  instruction  of  savages.  Whatever  may  be  thougSit  of  diese  letters,  in 
odier  req>ects,  either  of  diction  or  argument,  they  are  certainly  removed  as  far  as  possible  from^the 
habits  and  comprehension  of  a  barbarous  people. 

4.  ''  St  Paul's  history,  I  mean  so  nrach  of  it  as  may  be  collected  from  his  letters,  is  90  implicated 
with  that  of  the  odier  i^x>sdes,  and  vnth  die  substance,  indeed,  of  the  Christian  history  itself,  diat  I 
iqnpreheiid  it  wiil  be  found  impossible  to  admit  St  Paul's  story  (I  do  not  speak  of  the  miraculous  part 
of  it)  to  be  true,  and  yet  to  reject  the  rest  as  fabulous.  For  instance :  Can  any  one  believe  that  there 
was  snch  a  man  as  Paul,  a  preacher  of  Christianity,  in  die  age  which  we  assign  to  him,  and  not 
brieve  that  there  were  also  at  the  same  time  such  men  aa  Peter,  and  James,  and  odier  wposdes,  who 
had  been  conipanions  of  Christ  during  his  life,  and  who,  after  his  death,  puUished  and  avowed  the 
same  things  concerning  hhn which  Paul  tanghtt 

5.  ^  St  Paul's  letters  furnish  evidence  (and  what  better  evidencedian  a  man's  own  letters  can  be 
desired  ?)  of  the  souncbess  and  sobriety  of  his  judgment    His  caution  in  distinguishing  between  the 

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FKEFACB  TO  THE  BRISTLES. 

oceasionil  miggestioBs  ot  iupiratiaii,  and  the  ordinary  exercise  of  his  natural  nnderstandinf ,  is  with- 
out example  in  the  history  of  human  enthnaiasm.  His  morality  ia  eyerywhere  cahn,  pure,  and 
rational ;  adapted  to  the  condition,  the  actiTity^  and  the  bnsiness  of  social  life,  and  oC  its  yariois  re- 
lations ;  free  from  the  over-scmpulousness  and  austerities  <^  siqierstition,  and  from  (what  was  more 
perhaps  to  be  api^rebended)  the  abstractions  of  quietism,  and  the  soaringa  or  extravagances  of 
fuiaticism.  His  judgment  ccmceming  a  heaitating  consdenoe ;  his  opinion  of  the  mcnral  indifference 
of  many  actions,  yet  of  the  prudence  and  eyen  duty  of  compliance,  where  non-compliance  would  jno- 
duce  eyil  effects  upon  the  minds  of  the  persons  who  obseryed  it,  is  as  ccnrect  and  just  as  the  meet 
liberal  and  enlightened  moralist  could  form  at  this  day.  One  thing  I  allow,  that  his  letters  eyerywhere 
discover  great  zeal  and  earnestness  in  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged ;  that  is  to  say,  he  warn 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  he  taught ;  he  was  deeply  impressed,  but  not  more  so  than  the  occasion 
merited,  with  a  sense  of  its  importance.  This  j^oduced  a  corresp<Hiding  animation  and  solicitude  in 
the  exercise  of  his  ministry.  But  would  not  these  considerations,  supposing  them  to  be  well  founded, 
have  holden  the  same  place,  and  produced  the  same  effect,  in  a  mind  the  strongest  and  the  most 
sedate? 

6.  '* These  letters  are  decisive  as  to  the  sufferings  ot  the  author;  also,  as  to  the  distressed  state 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  danger  which  attended  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  See  Col.  i.  24 ; 
1  Cor.  xv.  19,  30-32 ;  Rom.  wi.  17,  18,  35,  36 ;  1  Cor.  viL  25, 26 ;  PhiL  L  29,  30 ;  Gal,  vi.  14,  17 ; 
1  Thess.  L  6 ;  2  Thess.  i.  4.  We  may  seem  to  have  accumulated  texts  unnecessarily ;  but,  besides 
that  the  point  which  they  are  brought  to  prove  is  of  great  importance,  there  is  this  also  to  be  re- 
mariced  in  every  one  of  the  passages  cited,  that  the  allusion  is  drawn  from  the  writer  by  the  argu- 
ment on  the  occasion ;  that  the  notice  which  is  taken  of  his  sufferings,  and  of  the  suffering  condition 
oi  Christianity,  is  perfectly  incidental,  and  is  dictated  by  no  design  of  stating  the  facts  themselves ; 
a  circumstance  which  adds  greatly  to  the  value  and  credit  of  the  testimony.  In  the  foUowing  quotas 
tions,  the  reference  to  the  author's  sufferings  is  acconqpanied  with  a  specification  of  time  and  place, 
and  with  an  appeal  for  the  truth  of  what  he  declares,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  persons  whom  he  ad- 
dresses, 1  Thess  ii.  2 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  10,  11.  I  apprehend,  that  to  this  point,  as  far  as  the  testimony 
of  St.  Paul  is  credited,  the  evidence  from  his  letters  is  con^lete  and  full.  It  appears  under  every 
form  in  which  it  could  appear,  by  occanonial  allusions  and  by  direct  assertions,  by  general  declara- 
tions and  by  specific  examples. 

7.  *<  St.  Paul,  in  these  letters,  asserts,  in  positive  and  unequivocal  terms,  his  performance  of  mirar 
cles,  strictly  and  properly  so  called,  Oal.  iii.  5 ;  1  Cor.  iL  4,  5 ;  1  Thess.  i.  5 ;  Heb.  ii.  4 ;  Rom. 
xv.  15, 18,  19 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  12.  *  Truly  the  signs  of  an  apostle  were  wrought  among  yon,  in  all  pa- 
tience, by  signs,  and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds.'  These  words,  *  signs,  wonders,  and  nng^ity  deeds  ' 
(aiffuia  noL  repara^  koi  ^vafuic^)  are  the  specific,  appropriate  terms  throughout  the  New  Testament^ 
employed  when  public,  sensible  miracles  are  intended  to  be  expressed.  And  it  cannot  be  shown 
^t  they  are  ever  employed  to  express  any  thing  else.  Further :  these  words  not  only  denote  mira- 
cles as  imposed  to  natural  effects,  but  they  demyte  visible,  and  what  maybe  called  external  miracles ; 
as  distinguished,  first,  from  inspiration.  If  St.  Paul  had  meant  to  refer  only  to  secret  illuminations 
g(  his  understanding,  or  secret  influences  upon  his  will  or  afbctkms,  he  could  not  with  truth  have 
reiNresented  them  as  '  signs  and  wonders,'  wrought  by  him,  <»  '  signs,  and  wcmders,  and  mighty  deeds,' 
wrought  among  them.  Secondly,  from  visions.  These  would  not  by  any  means  satisfy  the  force 
of  the  terms, '  signs,  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds ;'  still  less  could  they  be  said  to  be  wrought  by  him, 

.or  wrought  among  them;  nor  are  these  terms  and  expressions  anywhere  apjdied  to  visions.    Upon 
the  whole,  the  matter  admits  of  no  softening  qualification  or  ambiguity  whatever.    If  St.  Paul  did  not 
wfNrk  actual,  sensible,  public  miracles,  he  has,  knowin^y,  in  these  letters,  borne  his  testimony  to  a 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLES. 

falsehood ;  and,  in  some  instaaces,  has  adranced  his  assertion  in  the  face  of  those  persons  ankmg 
whom  he  declares  the  miracles  to  have  been  wrought. 

"  Here  then  ^e  have  a  man  of  liberal  attainments,  and,  in  other  points,  of  soimd  jndgment,  who 
had  addicted  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  gospel.  We  see  him,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  purpose, 
travelling  from  country  to  country,  enduring  every  specie^  of  hardship,  encountering  every  extremity 
of  danger,  assaulted  by  the  populace,  punished  by  the  magistrates,  scourged,  beaten,  stoned,  left  for 
dead ;  expecting,  wherever  he  came,  a  renewal  of  the  same  treatment  and  the  same  dangers ;  yet, 
when  driven  from  one  city,  preaching  in  the  next ;  spending  his  whde  time  in  the  en^loyment,  sacri- 
ficing to  it  his  pleasures,  his  ease,  his  safety ;  persisting  in  his  course  to  old  age,  unaltered  by  the 
experience  of  perverseness,  ingratitude,  prejudice,  desertion ;  unsubdued  by  anxiety,  want,  labour, 
persecutions ;  unwearied  by  long  confinement,  undismayed  by  the  prospect  of  death.  Such  was  St. 
Paul.  We  have  his  letters  in  our  hands ;  we  have  also  a  history  purporting  to  be  written  by  one  of 
his  fellow-travellers,  and  appearing,  by  a  ccHuparison  with  these  letters,  certainly  to  have  been  written 
by  some  person  well  acquainted  with  the  transactions  of  his  life.  From  the  letters,  as  well  as  firami 
the  history,  we  gather,  not  only  the  account  which  ^e  have  stated  of  him,  but  that  he  was  one,  out 
of  many,  who  acted  and  suffered  in  the  same  manner ;  and  that  of  those  who  did  so,  several  had  been 
ihe  companions  of  Christ's  ministry,  the  ocular  witnesses  of  his  miracles,  and  of  his  resurrection. 
We  moreover  find  this  same  peraon  referring  in  his  letters  to  his  supernatural  conversion,  the  par- 
ticulars and  accompanying  circumstances  of  which  are  related  in  the  history,  and  which  accompany- 
ing circumstances,  if  all  or  any  of  them  be  true,  render  it  impossible  to  have  been  a  delusion.  We 
also  find  him  positively,  and  in  appropriate  terms,  asserting  that  he  himself  worked  miracles,  strictly 
and  properiy  so  called,  in  support  of  the  mission  which  he  executed ;  the  history  meanwhile  record- 
ing various  passages  of  his  ministry  which  came  tqp  to  the  extent  of  this  assertion.  The  question  is, 
whether  falsehood  was  ever  attested  by  evidence  like  this  ?  Falsehoods,  we  know,  have  found  their 
way  into  reports,  into  tradition,  into  books ;  but  is  an  example  to  be  met  with  of  a  man  voluntarily 
undertaking  a  life  of  want  and  pain,  of  incessant  fatigue,  of  continual  peril ;  submitting  to  the  loss  of 
his  home  and  country,  to  stripes  and  stoning,  to  tedious  imprisonment,  and  the  constant  expectation 
of  a  violent  death,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  about  a  story  of  what  was  false,  and  of  what,  if  false,  he 
must  have  known  to  be  so  ?" — Harm  PauUnm^  chap.  xvi.  pp.  405-426. 

Such  are  some  of  the  incontrovertible  arguments  which  have  been  urged  in  (Hroof  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity ;  arguments  which  all  unprejudiced  persons  must  acknowledge  to  be  perfectly  conda- 
sive ;  and  which,  at  the  same  time  that  they  evince  its  truth,  demonstrate  its  infinite  importance,  and 
the  indispensable  obligation  which  lies  upon  all  to  whom  it  is  proposed  to  receive  it  in  faith,  love,  and 
sincere  obedience ;  persuaded  that  those  who  do  not  will  assuredly  meet  with  the  punishment  they 
have  deserved,  "when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven,  with  his  mighty  angels,. in 
flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  2  Thess. 
i.  7-9.  For  if  the  Gentiles  were  given  tqp  to  "  vile  affections  and  a  reprobate  mind"  only  for  sins  com- 
mitted against  the  dim  and  uncertain  light  of  nature ;  if  the  Jews  received  just  punishment  for  "  every 
transgression  of  Ihe  law,"  delivered  by  Moses  to  them,  "  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  this  great 
salvation  which  at  the  first  was  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  by  them  that  heard  him,  God 
bearing  them  witness  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  divers  miracles  and  distributions  of  the  Holy  Ghost?" 
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preface; 

TO     THE 

EPISTLE  TO  THE  ROMANS, 


IXnTH  respect  to  the  order  in  wUch  die  epistles  of  St  Paul  were  written,  it  is  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, that  although  this  epistle  to  the  Romans  is  placed  first,  yet,  as  is  observed  by  most  of  the 
ancient  commentators,  it  was  not  the  first  which  St.  Paul  wrote ;  the  two  epktLes  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians,  and  those  to  the  Corinthians,  the  epbtle  to  the  Gralatians,  the  first  to  Timothy,  and  that  to 
Titos,  being  written  before  it.  It  is  jMrobable,  therefore,  that  it  was  placed  first,  either  because  it 
was  written  to  the  in^rial  city,  which  then  ruled  almost  the  whole  known  world ;  or,  as  seems  more 
likdy,  on  account  of  iu  peculkr  excellence,  the  great  importance  of  the  subjects  discussed  in  it,  and 
the  comprehensiveness  of  its  plan.  It  appears  to  have  been  written  when  Paul  was  travelling 
through  Greece^  probably  from  Corinth,  after  he  had  finished  his  tour  in  Macedonia,  about  A.  D.  60. 
The  chief  arguments  in  iHKK>f  of  this  have  been  intimated  in  the  note  on  Acts  xx.  3.  And,  to  what 
is  there  observed,  it  may  be  here  added,  that  the  salutations  from  Grains,  the  apostle's  host,  and  from 
Erastus,  chamberlain  of  the  city,  (Romans  xvi.  23,)  are  further  proofis  that  this  epistle  was  written 
from  Corinth.  For  that  Gkdus  Hved  there  seems  plain  from  1  Cor.  i.  14 ;  as  did  Erastus  likewise, 
2  Tim.  iL  14.  Besides,  Phoebe,  a  deaconess  of  the  church  at  Cenchrea,  the  eastern  port  of  Corinth, 
having  been  the  bearer  of  this  letter,  Corinth,  by  that  circumstance  also,  is  so  plainly  pointed  out  as 
the  place  where  it  was  composed,  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  the  apostle  to  be  more  particular. 
It  was  written  to  the  Christians  at  Rome,  before  he  had  se^n  them,  (chap.  L  11,)  and  before  he  went 
up  to  Jerusalem ;  for  he  was  then  but  going  thither ;  (chap.  xv.  25 ;)  and  puiposed  from  thence  to 
go  by  Rome  to  Spain,  verse  28. 

Although  the  Scriptures  do  not  inform  us  at  what  tune,  or  by  whom,  the  gospel  was  first  preached 
at  Rome,  yet,  from  the  following  circumstances,  it  is  probable  that  the  church  there  was  one  of  the 
first-planted  Grentile  churches,  and  that  it  soon  became  very  numerous.  '*  When  St.  Paul  wrote  this 
^nstle  to  the  Romans,  their  faith  was  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  worid ;  (Rom.  i.  8 ;)  and  many 
of  them  possessed  spiritual  gifts ;  (Rom.  xii.  6 ;)  and  their  obedience  was  known  to  all  men,  Rom. 
xvi.  19.  Further :  the  fame  of  the  church  at  Rome  had  reached  the  i^ostle  long  before  he  wrote 
this  letter ;  for  he  told  them,  he  had  a  desire  for  many  years  to  come  to  them,  Rom.  xv.  23.  The 
gospel,  therefore,  was  introduced  into  Rome  very  early,  perhaps  by  some  oi  the  disciples  who  were 
scattered  abroad  after  Stephen's  death,  in  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  Or  the  founding  of  the 
Roman  church  may  have  happened  even  before  that  period ;  for  among  the  persons  who  heard  Peter 
preach  on  the  day  of  pentecost,  and  who  were  converted  by  him, '  strangers  of  Rome*  are  mentioned. 
Acts  ii.  10, 41.  These  Roman  Jews,  on  their  return  home,  no  doubt  preached  Christ  to  their  coun- 
trymen in  the  city,  and  probably  converted  some  of  them ;  so  that  the  church  o(  Rome,  like  most  of 
the  Gentile  churches,  began  in  the  Jews.  But  it  was  soon  enlarged  by  converts  from  among  the  re« 
ligious  proselytes ;  and,  in  process  of  time,  was  increased  by  the  flovring  in  of  the  idolatrous  Gentiles, 
who  gave  themselves  to  Christ  in  such  numbers  that,  at  the  time  St.  Paul  vnrote  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  their  conversion  was  much  spoken  of.  These  facts  merit  attention,  because  tiie  opposers 
of  our  religion  represent  the  first  Christians  as  below  the  notice  of  the  heathen  magistrates,  on  ac- 
count of  the  paucity  of  their  numbers,  and  the  obscurity  with  which  they  practised  their  religious 
rites.  But  if  the  faith  of  the  Roman  brethren  was  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  empire,  at  the  time 
this  letter  was  written,  the  discij^ee  of  Christ  in  Rome  must  have  been  numerous,  and  must  have 
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PBBFACaE  TO  TBB  BmrTUB  TKT  TBB  BOMAML 

professed  their  Religion  op^vly ;  ftr  A*  miuiig4)f  a  feW  obi<te^  ladiTkhiib  in  tfM  oi^  tmm  ibM 
worship  of  idols,  and  their  iNmilupfmg  the  trae  God  elandestiiielj,  eouUl  not  bo  tlio  evb^  of  Hm^ 
course  in  the  prorineee*"— itfodbt^f^. 

St.  Pad's  chief  design  in  this  epistle  was  to  Aow,  1.  Thai  iieithdy  the  Gtntfles  by  the4aw  of  IUM> 
tore,  nor  the  Jews  bj  ihe  law  <rf  Moses^  oould  obtain  jnstifcatloB  b4foro  Ood ;  and  that  ther^ibte  it 
was  neeessary  fo  both  to  aeek  it  from  ihe  free  nsvey  of  Qod  by  faith.  2.  That  God  has  an  absdnto 
right  to  show  mercy  on  what  terms  he  pleases;  and  to  wiAhold  it  from  those  who  wiH  itot  ae^epl  ll 
on  his  own  terms.  The  epistle  consists  of  fiye  pans  i^^h  The  inttoduotion,  chap.  i.  1*^1 5«  II*  ThO 
proposition  briefly  proyed:  1.  Ck)nceming  faith  and  salvation;  2.  Ck)ncendng  the  equality  of  be- 
lievers, Jews  or  Gentiles,  verses  16,  17.  III.  The  treatise:  1.  Concerning  justification,  which  is, 
(1.)  Not  by  works;  (verse  18;)  for  the  Gentiles;  (chap.  ii.  1-10;)  the  Jews;  (verses  11-29;)  and 
both  together,  are  under  sin,  chap.  iii.  1-20 :  (2.)  But  by  faith ;  (verses  21-31 ;)  as  i^pears  by  the 
example  of  Abraham  and  the  testimony  of  David,  chap.  iv.  1-25.  2.  Concerning  salvation,  chap, 
v.-viii.  3.  Concerning  the  equal  privileges  of  Jewish  and  Gentile  believers,  chi^.  ix.-xi.  IV.  The 
exhortation,  chap.  xii.  1,2:  1.  Ccmceming  faith  and  its  fruits,  love  and  practical  holiness,  verses 
3-21 ;  chap.  xiii.  1-10.  2.  Concerning  salvation,  verses  11-14.  3.  Of  the  conjunction  of  the  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  chap.  xiv.  1 ;  xv.  13.     Y.  The  conclusion,  verse  14 ;  xvi.  27. 

To  express  the  design  and  contents  of  this  epistle  a  little  more  at  large :  the  apostle  labours 
throughout  to  fix  in  those  to  whom  he  writes  a  deep  sense  of  the  excellence  of  the  gospel,  and  to 
engage  them  to  act  suitably  to  it.  For  this  purpose,  afrer  a  general  salutation,  (chap.  i.  1-7,)  and  pro« 
fession  of  his  affection  for  them,  (verses  8-15,)  he  declares  he  shall  not  be  ashamed  openly  to  main- 
tain the  gospel  at  Rome,  seeing  it  is  the  powerful  instrument  of  salvation,  both  to  Jews  and  GrentileSi 
by  means  of  faith,  verses  16,  17.     And,  in  order  to  demonstrate  this,  he  shows, 

1.  That  the  world  greatly  needed  such  a  dispensation,  the  Grentiles  being  in  a  most  abandoned 
state,  (verses  18-32,)  and  the  Jews,  though  condemning  others,  being  themselves  no  better;  (chap, 
ii.  1-29 ;)  as,  notwithstanding  some  cavils,  which  he  obviates,  (chap.  iiL  1-8,)  their  own  Scriptures 
testify;  (verses  9-19;)  so  that  all  were  under  a  necessity  of  seeking  justification  by  this  method, 
verses  20-31.  2.  That  Abraham  and  David  themselves  sought  justification  by  faith,  and  not  by 
works,  chap.  iv.  1-25.  3.  That  all  who  believe  are  brought  into  so  happy  a  state  as  turns  the  great- 
est afflictions  into  matter  of  joy,  chap.  v.  1-11.  4.  That  the  evils  brought  on  mankind  by  Adam 
are  abundantly  recompensed  to  all  that  believe  in  Christ,  verses  12-21.  5.  That,  far  from  dissolv- 
ing the  obligations  to  practical  holiness,  the  gospel  increases  them  by  peculiar  obligations,  chapter 
vi.  1-23. 

In  order  to  convince  them  of  these  things  the  more  deeply,  and  to  remove  their  fondness  for  the 
Mosaic  law,  now  they  were  married  to  Christ  by  faith  in  him,  (chap.  vii.  1-6,)  he  shows  how  unable 
ihe  motives  of  the  law  were  to  produce  that  holiness  which  believers  obtain  by  a  hving  faith  in  the 
gospel ;  (chap.  vii.  7-25 ;  viii.  1,2;)  and  then  gives  a  more  particular  view  of  those  things  which 
rendered  the  gospel  eflectual  to  this  great  end,  verses  3-39.  That  even  the  Gentiles,  if  thoy  be- 
lieved, should  have  a  share  in  these  blessings ;  and  that  the  Jews,  if  they  believed  not,  should  be 
excluded  from  them ;  being  a  point  of  great  importance,  the  apostle  bestows  the  ninth,  tenth,  and 
eleventh  chapters  in  settling  it  He  begins  the  ninth  chapter  by  expressing  his  tender  love  and 
high  esteem  for  the  Jewish  nation;  (verses  1-5  ;)  and  then  shows,  1.  That  God's  rejecting  a  great 
part  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  yea,  and  of  Isaac  too,  was  an  undeniable  fact,  verses  6-13.  2.  That 
God  had  not  chosen  them  to  such  peculiar  privileges  for  any  kind  of  goodness,  either  in  them  or 
their  fathers,  verses  14-24.  3.  That  his  accepting  the  Grentiles,  and  rejecting  many  of  the  Jews, 
had  been  foretold  both  by  Hosea  and  Isaiah,  verses  25-33.  4.  That  God  had  offered  salvation  to 
Jews  and  Gentiles  on  the  same  terms,  though  the  Jews  rejected  it,  chap.  x.  1-21.  5.  That,  thou^ 
the  rejection  of  Israel  for  their  obstinacy  was  general,  yet  it  was  not  total ;  there  being  still  a  rem- 
nant among  them  who  did  embrace  the  gospel,  chap.  xi.  1-10.  6.  That  the  rejection  of  the  rest 
was  not  final,  but  in  the  end  all  Israel  should  be  saved,  verses  11-31.  That,  meantime,  even  their 
obstinacy  and  rejection  served  to  display  the  unsearchable  wisdom  and  love  of  God,  verses  32-36. 

The  rest  of  the  epistle  contains  practical  instructions  and  exhortations.     He  particularly  urges, 
1.  An  entire  consecration  of  themselves  to  God,  and  a  care  to  glorify  him  by  a  faithful  improvement 
b  18 


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FB8FACE  TO  THE  SPD9TLB  TO  THE  BOMAMa 

of  iheir  sereral  talents,  chap.  ziL  1-11.  2.  DevoCum,  paMeiiee,  hospitaU^,  mutual  aynqpadiy,  hu- 
mility, peace,  and  meekness,  rerses  13-21.  8.  Obedience  to  magiitrales,  justice  in  all  its  branches, 
love,  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  and  miiYersal  holiness,  ch^.  ziiL  1-14.  4.  Mutual  candour  between 
those  who  differed  in  judgment,  touching  die  obsenranceirf  the  Ifosaic  law;  (chap.  ziv.  1-23; 
ZF.  1-17 ;)  in  enforcing  which,  he  is  led  to  mention  die  extent  of  his  own  labours,  and  his  purpose 
of  Tisiting  the  Romans,  in  die  mean  time  recommending  himsetf  to  dieir  pntyen,  Terses  18-33.  And, 
after  many  salutatiims,  (chap.  ziy.  1-16,)  and  a  camion  against  those  who  caused  divisions,  he  cmi- 
efaides  wtfh  a  suitable  Messing  and  dozxriogy,  Terses  17-27 

14  b 


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THE 


EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE 


TO 


THE   ROMANS. 


CHAPTER   L 

Bgrty  (1,)  P«a  OMaerU  Ms  afOttsHc  commtnan,  end  represenU  Christ  as  the  great  euhject  of  hie  mmUtry^  1-6.  (S,)  he 
eebaee  the  Martt  at  Rome;  ihemke  God  far  their  faith;  and  aeewree  them  that  he  comMtamtiy  jraytd  for  lh»mt  repieeting 
Aat  hie  wai^  might  he  made  fUdn  to  visit  ihem,  in  order  to  their  further  estdhUehmeiU  and  hie  own  comfort,  7-lS.  (8,)  He 
mfarma  ikim  that,  ihaa^  hie  had  hiiherto  been  prevented,  he  had  often  purposed  to  come  to  them,  being  desiroue  of  having 
fnk  of  Ids  labours  among  ihem  as  well  as  other  OentUee,  to  ail  whom  he  considered  himeelf  a  debtor,  13-15.  (4^)  He 
iedarts,  \ow  nwck  soeoer  men  wight  despise  the  gospel,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  preach  it  even  at  Some,  for  this  general 
reason,  that  it  is  the  great  and  powerful  means  cf  salvation,  both  td  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  through  faith,  16, 17.  (6,)  Thai 
aU  mamkind  stood  in  need  oftiu  sahation  announced  by  it,  being  involved  in  guHt,  and  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God  for 
aeimg' emtrttry  to  ike  light  efbrded  tft«m,  ld-21.  (6,)  He  gives  a  just,  but  awful  description  of  the  abandoned  state  into 
which  the  GentHes  were  fallen,  S8-d3. 

•which  was  'made  rf  the  seed  of  a. M. 4064. 
David,  according  to  the  flesh ;  '-^^^ 

4  Aod  Meclared'  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power,  according  ^  to  the  Spirit  of  holineai,  by 
the  resurrection  from  the  d^ : 

6  By  whom  *we  have  received  grace  and 


A.  M.  4064.  JpAUL,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 
! — L  ^called  to  be  an  apostle,  ^sepa- 
rated unto  the  gosspd  of  God, 

2  (•  Whidi  he  had  {nomised  afore  ^  by  his 
pTOfiAiets  in  the  hdy  scriptures,) 

3  Concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 


>Aet8zziL21 


;  1  Ckir.  L  1 ;  OaL  L  1 ;   1  Tim.  i.  11 ;  iL  7; 
►Act*  ix.  15. •  Acts  xxTL  6 ;  Tit.  i.  2. 


IfOTTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  1^  2.  Paul,  a  aervant  of  Je$U8  Uvrist — 
Ttongli  o«iee  a  Utter  perseentor ;  called  to  bean 
apoaUit — AsdmBAe  an  apostle  by  that  calling.  The 
Oreek,  Mhtrroc  an^Xoc,  is  literally,  a  called  apoatle^ 
or  an  aposiie  cai/ed^  namely,  expressly,  as  the  other 
q>0Btles  were.  When  God  calls  he  makes  what  he 
calls.  Hie  name  apostle  was  sometimes  given  to 
difleient  orders  of  men,  chap.  xvL  7,  but  in  its  high- 
sat  sense  it  was  appropriated  to  the  twelve,  whom 
CMat  appointed  to  be  with  him,  Mark  iii.  14,  and 
wbom,  alter  his  Tesarreetion,he  sent  forth  to  preach 
llie  gospel  As  the  Jndaizing  teachers  disputed  his 
daim  to  the  apostolical  office,  it  is  with  great  pro- 
priety Out  he  asserts  it  in  the  very  entrance  of  an 
•pistje  whcran  theilr  principles  are  entirely  over- 
thruwji.  And  various  other  proper  and  important 
HKNiglits  are  snggested  in  this  short  introduction: 
partieiilariythe  prophecies  concerning  the  gospel; 
the  descent  of  Jesus  from  David;  the  gifeat  doctrines 
of  his  Godhead  and  resurrection;  the  sending  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles;  the  privileges  of  Christians; 
and  the  obedience  and  holiness  to  which  they  were 
•Miged,  in  virtue  of  their  profession.     Separated 


«  ChK>.  iiL  21. •  Matt  L  6, 16. '  John  i  14. >  Or.  de- 

termintd, »  Acts  xiii.  33. ^  Heb.  ix.  14. » Chap,  xii  S. 


unto  the  goepel  of  6^ad— Namely,  to  preach  and  pro- 
pagate it.  Separated  by  God,  not  only  from  the 
generality  of  other  men,  from  other  Jews,  from 
other  disciples,  but  even  from  other  Christian  teach- 
ers, to  be  a  peculiar  instrument  of  God  in  spreading 
the  gospeL  It  is  said,  Acts  xiii.  2,  Sepatmte  me 
Barnabas  and  Saul^forthe  work  whereunto  I  have 
called  them.  But,  this  being  nothing  but  a  separa- 
tion of  Paul  from  the  teachers  at  Antioch,  to  go  and 
preach  to  the  GentUes,  the  higher  separation,  men- 
tioned Gal.  i.  15,  is  here  intended.  The  gospel  is 
here  said  to  be  G'ocPt,  because  it  is  good  news  from 
God,  than  which  a  greater  commendation  of  it  can- 
not be  conceived.  Which  he  had  prom  iaed  afcre^ 
Of  old  time,  frequently  and  solemnly :  and  the  pro- 
mise and  accomplishment  confirm  each  other.  The 
promise  in  the  Scriptures,  that  the  gospel  should  be 
preached  to  the  Gentiles,  is  taken  notice  of  by  the 
apostle,  to  convince  the  unbelieving  Jews  that  in 
preaching  to  the  Gentiles  he  did  not  contradict,  but 
frdfil  the  ancient  revelations. 

Verses  8-6.   Concerning  hie  Son  Jesus  Christ-^ 
Tlie  gospel  is  good  news  from  God,  concerning  the 
coming  of  his  Son  to  save  the  world.    The  Son  of 
16       . 


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The  apoHle^B  BoktUUion  to  the 


BOMANa 


church  of  Ckritt  atRome. 


M.4064.  apoetleship^^for  ^obedience  to  the  &ith 


A.D.60. 


among  all  nations,  ^  for  his  name : 


6  Among  whom  are  ye  also  the  called  of 
Jesus  Christ : 


■Or,  totJuobedimet  offnth, ^ AeUvL  7. ^  Acts  ix.  15. 


God,  therefore,  is  the  subject  of  the  gospel,  as  well 
as  its  author:  idJio  was  made — Or.  r«  yepoftev8,  who 
was,  or,  wJio  was  hom^  as  the  word  also  properly 
signifies ;  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh 
— That  is,  with  regard  to  his  human  nature.  Both 
the  natures  of  our  Lord  are  here  menti<med;  but  the 
human  is  mentioned  first,  because  the  divine  was 
not  manifested  in  its  full  evidence  till  after  his  re- 
surrection. And  declared — Gr.  r»  opur^evtocy  deter- 
mfncUely  marked  out;  the  word  sipdfies,  to  fix  the 
boundaries  of  a  thing,  and  consequently  to  make  it 
appear  what  it  is ;  to  be  t?ie  Son  of  Godwin  a  pecu- 
liar sense,  in  a  sense  in  which  no  creature,  man  or 
angel,  is  or  can  be  his  Son;  seeHeb.L2-12;  ciccord- 
ing  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness — His  holy,  spiritual, 
divine  nature.  "  The  phrase,  aara  nvev/ia  ayioawtfCj 
according  to  the  Spirit  ofholiness^^^  says  Mr.  Locke, 
^'  is  here  manifestly  opposed  to  nara  aapKo,  according 
to  the  fleshy  in  the  foregoing  verse,"  and  so  must 
mean  his  divine  nature  \  "  unless  this  be  so  under- 
stood, the  antithesis  is  lost"  With  potoer— Power- 
ful evidence,  or  in  the  most  convincing  manner;  by 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead — That  Is,  by  his  own 
resurrection,  not  by  his  raising  others.  Jesus  being 
put  to  death  as  a  blasphemer,  for  calling  himself  (he 
Christy  the  Son  of  the  blessed^  God  would  not  have 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  if  he  had  been  an  im- 
postor ;  especially  as  he  had  often  foretold  his  own 
resurrection,  and  appealed  to  it  as  a  proof  of  his 
being  the  Son  of  God,  John  ii.  10.  His  resurrection, 
therefore,  was  a  public  testimony,  borne  by  God 
himself^  to  the  truth  of  our  Lord's  pretensions,  which 
put  the  matter  beyond  all  doubt  By  whom  we — I 
and  the  other  apostles ;  have  received  grace — En- 
lightening, pardoning,  and  sanctifying  grace;  a'nd 
aposUe^hip — The  apostolical  commission  to  preach 
grace,  vid  salvaticm  by  grace,  to  Jews  and  Gendles. 
Some,  by  grace  and  apostleship,  understand  the 
grace^  or  favour  of  apostleship.  But  that  rendering 
is  not  literal^  and  it  is  certain  that  Paul  did  receive 
grace  to  enlighten  his  mind,  pardon  his  sins,  and 
subdue  his  heart  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,  and 
fit  him  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  before  he 
received  the  apostolical  commission,  whenever  we 
suppose  that  commission  to  have  been  dated.  Firr 
obedience  to  the  faith  among  ail  nations-^Thht  is, 
that  all  nations  may  embrace  the  faith  of  Christ ;  for 
his  name—For  his  sake,  out  of  regard  to  him,  or  on 
account  of  his  being  the  Son  of  God.  For  name  may 
here  signify  the  character  of  Christ,  as  the  Son  of 
Oodj  and  Saviour  of  the  world.  Tliis  name  Paul 
was  appointed  to  bear,  or  publbh,  before  the  Oenr 
tiles  and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel,  Acts  ix. 
15 ;  and  it  is  on  account  of  this  name  or  character, 
that  all  men  are  bound  to  obey  him.  Among  whom 
—The  nations  brought  to  the  obedience  of  faith ; 


7  To  all  that  be  in  Rome,  beloved  A.  M.4064. 

of  God,  ''called  to  be  saints:  "Grace  ^ — '- 

to  you,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


■Ch^  ix.  24. ■  1  Cor.  L  3 ;  2  Cor.  i  2 ;  GaL  i.  2. 


are  ye — Romans ;  also — But  the  apostle  gives  them 
no  pre-eminence  above  others ;  the  caUed  of  Jesus 
Christ — Invited  by  him  into  the  fellowship  of  his 
gospel,  and  a  participation  of  all  its  invaluable 
blessings. 

Verse  7.  To  all  that  he  in  Rome—To  all  the 
Christians  residing  at  Rome.  Most  of  these  were 
heathen  by  burth,  verse  13,  though  the  Jews  mixed 
among  them.  They  were  scattered  up  and  down 
in  that  large  city,  and  not  yet  reduced  into  the  form 
of  a  church.  Beloved  ofGod^And  from  his  free 
love,  not  from  any  merit  of  yours;  called  to  be 
saints — Or  saints  caUed,  as  Ky^roi^  avioic  may  be 
rendered;  that  is,  called  by  his  word  and  Spirit  to 
believe  in  him,  and  now,  through  faith,  made  saints, 
or  holy  persons.  By  this  honourable  appellation 
the  Christians  are  distinguished  from  the  idolatrous 
inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  from  the  unbelieving 
Jews.  Grace  be  to  you — The  peculiar  favour  of 
God,  and  the  influences  and  fruits^f  his  Spirit;  and 
jpeace-*Namely,  with  him,  in  your  own  consciences^ 
and  tranquillity  of  mind,  arising  from  the  regulation 
of  your  affections,  from  trusting  in  him,  and  casting 
your  care  upon  him ;  from  resignation  to  his  will, 
and  possessing  your  souls  in  patience  under  all  the 
trials  and  troubles  which  you  may  be  c^led  to  pass 
through.  See  chap.  v.  1 ;  Isa.  xxvL  3;  Phil.  iv.  6. 
in  this  sense,  it  seems,  the  word  peace  is  used  in  the 
apostolic  benedictions.  It  may,  however,  also  in- 
clude all  manner  of  blessings,  temporal,  i^iritual, 
and  eternal.  From  God  our  Fathers—The  original 
source  of  all  our  blessings^  who  is  now  become  our 
reconciled  Father,  having  adopted  us  into  his  family, 
and  regenerated  us  by  his  grace ;  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ— The  one  Mediator  between  God, and  man, 
through  whose  sacrifice  and  intercession  we  receive 
all  the  blessings  of  providence  and  graee.  It  is  one 
and  the  same  peace,  and  one  and  the  same  grace, 
which  we  receive  from  the  Father  and  from  the  Son: 
and  our  trust  must  be  placed,  for  grace  and  peace, 
on  God,  as  he  is  the  Father  of  Christ ;  and  on  Christ, 
as  he  reconciles  us  and  psesents  us  to  the  Father. 
^'  Because  most  of  the  Roman  brethr^i  were  unac- 
quainted with  Paul,  he  judged  it  necessary,  in  the 
inscription  of  his  letter,  to  assure  them  that  he  was 
an  apostle,  called  by  Jesus  Christ  himself^  and  that 
he  was  separated  to  preach  the  gospel  to  tfaeGentiles, 
in  frilfilm^it  of  the  promises  which  God  had  made 
by  the  prophets  in  the  Scriptures,  that  the  gosp^ 
should  be  preached  to  them.  These  circumstances 
he  mentions,  to  remove  the  prejudices  of  the  be- 
lieving as  well  as  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  who,  he 
knew,  were  displeased  with  him  for  preaching  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  Withal,  because  the  church 
of  Rome  had  not  been  planned  by  any  ap<Mtls,  he 
instructed  them  in  some  particulars  concerning  the 

b 


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CHAPTEE  I. 


^fechonjar  4kem 


A.M.4064.  8  Piret,  "I  thank  my  God  through 

'. — L  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,  that  'your 

£Biith    is   spoken    of   throughout    the    whole 
world. 

9  For  *(jSod  is  my  witness,  'whom  I  serve 
'with  my  sjnrit  in  the  gospd  of  his  Son,  that 
*  without  ceasing  I  make  menticm  of  you  al- 
ways in  my  prayers; 

10  *  Maldng  request  (if  by  any  means  now 


•ICor.  Li;    Phil,  i.3;    CoL  i.  3,  4. PChap.  xvi.  10; 

1  Theas.    I  8. flChap.  ix.  1;     2  Cor.  i.  23;     Phil.  i.  8; 

1  TbeM.  ii  5. 'Acta  xxril  23;    2  Tim.  i  3. 


nature  and  character  of  Christ,  which  it  was  of 
great  importance  for  them  to  know." — Macknight. 

Verse  8.  I  thank-^ln  the  very  entrance  of  this 
one  epistle  are  the  traces  of  all  spiritnal  affections, 
but  of  thankfulness  above  all,  with  the  expression  of 
which  almost  all  Paul's  epistles  begin ; .  my  Godr-^ 
This  word  expresses  faith,  hope,  love,  and  conse- 
quently all  true  religion ;  through  Je$u8  Christ-^ 
The  gifts  of  God  all  pass  through  Christ  to  us;  and 
all  our  petitions  and  thanksgivings  pass  through 
Christ  to  God :  for  yon  all,  that  your  faith  is  spoken 
of— By  this  term  faith,  the  apostle  expresses  either 
the  whole  of  Christianity,  as  Col.  i.  8,  Scc^  or  some 
branch  of  it,  as  Gal.  v.  22.  And  in  the  beginning  of 
his  epistles  he  generally  subjoins  to  the  apostolic 
benediction  a  a<^emn  thanksgivmg  fortheyhtfA,  or 
for  the^tt^  love,  patience,  and  other  graces  of  the 
brethren  to  whpm  he  wrote,  to  make  them  sensible 
of  their  happy  state,  and  to  lead  them  to  a  right 
improvement  of  the  advantages  which  they  enjoyed 
as  Christians.  Tlvroughout  the  whole  irorW— -The 
faith  of  these  Romans,  being  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah  expected  by  the 
Jews,  and  m  the  living  and  true  God  through  him, 
included,  of  course,  their  turning  ArOm. every  species 
of  idolatry;  an  event  which  could  not  fa|l  to  be 
spoken  of  with  wonder  through  the  whole  empire, 
as  there  were  multitudes  of  strangers  continually 
coming  to  Rome  from  the  provinces,  who,  on  their 
return  home^  would  report  what  they  had  seen. 
This  event  would  be  especially  made  the  subject  of 
conversation  in  the  churches  everywhere,  through 
all  parts  of  the  empire,  it  being  matter  of  joy  to  them 
all  that  the  religion  of  Christ  was  professed  in  the 
imperial  city,  more  especially  as  it  was  a  most  happy 
presage  of  the  general  spread  of  their  holy  religion ; 
Aie  conversion  of  the  Romans  encouraging  the  in- 
habitants of  other  cities  to  forsake  the  established 
idolatry,  and  turn  to  God.  And,  indeed,  the  wis- 
dom and  goodness  of  God  established  faith  in  the 
ehief  cities,  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Rome  particularly, 
that  from  thence  it  might  be  diffused  to  all  nations. 
Add  to  this,  that  Rome  being  the  metropcrfis  of  the 
world,  the  conversion  of  so  many  of  its  inhabitants 
brought  no  small  credit  to  the  evidences  of  the 
gospel. 

Verses  9-12.  For  Chd  is  my  loi/nef f — In  saying 
I  am  thankful  for  your  conversion,  I  might  be  well  I 

VoL/IL  (  2  ) 


at  length  I  might  have  a  prosperous  A  M.4O04. 
journey  '^by  the  will  of  God)  to  come    ^  ^'^ 
tmto  you. 

11  For  I  long  to  see  you,  that 'I  may  impart 
unto  you  sonae  spirteual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may 
be  estaUished ; 

12  That  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted  together 
*  with  you,  by  ^  the  mutual  fSsiith  both  rf  you 
and  me. 


•  Or,  in  mv  spirit 
*  James  iv.  15. 


2  Pet.  i.  1. 


ITheat.  iii.  10. *  Chap.  xr.  23,  32. 

Chap.  ICT.  29. •  Or,  m  ytm. f  Tit  i.  4  ; 


supposed  to  speak  the  truth,  such  an  event  being 
perfectly  agreeable  to  the  cmitinual  tenor  of  my 
petitions  to  God;  whom  I  #erve— Not  only  as  a 
Christian,  but  as  an  apostle ;  witk  my  spirit — ^With 
my  understanding  and  conscience,  will  and  affec- 
tions, yea,  with  all  the  foculties  of  my  soul,  as  well 
as  with  all  the  members  of  my  body.  Or,  as  the 
expression  may  be  rendered,  in  my  spiril,  exercising 
faith  in  him,  love  to  him,  hranllity  before  him,  re- 
signation to  his  will,  and  zeal  for  his  glory;  tfi  the 
gospel  of  his  Sen — To  promote  the  success  of  which 
is  the  whole  business  of  my  life ;  thai  without  eea^ 
ing  I  make  mention  of  you  in  my  prayers — ^In  my 
solemn  addresses  to  God ;  making  request — Amj^mvot, 
entreating;  if  by  any  means,  now  at  length — ^This 
accumulation  of  particles  ^eelares  the  strengtii  of 
his  desire ;  that  I  may  impart  to  you — Face  to  face, 
by  laying  on  of  my  hands,  preaching  the  gospel, 
prayer,  private  conversation ;  some  spiritual  gift — 
With  such  gifts  the  Corinthians,  who  had  enjoyed 
the  presence  of  St.  Paul,  abounded,  1  Cor.iT;  xii. 
1,  &c. ;  xiv.  1.  So  did  the  Galatians  likewise.  Gal. 
iii.  5.  And  indeed  all  those  churches  which  had  the 
presence  of  any  of  the  apostles,  had  peculiar  advan- 
tages in  this  kind  from  the  laying  on  of  their  hands, 
Acts  xix.  6;  viii.  17,  &c.;  2  Tim.  i.  6.  But,  as  yet, 
the  Christians  at  Rome  were  greatly  inferior  to 
them  in  this  respect ;  for  which  reason  the  apostle, 
in  the  12th  chapter,  where  he  has  occasion  to  men- 
tion gifts,  says  little,  if  any  thing,  of  any  extraordi- 
nary spintual  gifts  possessed  by  any  of  them.  He 
therefore  desires  to  impart  some  to  them,  that  they 
might  be  established  in  their  Christian  faith,  and 
fortified  against  all  temptations,  either  to  renounce 
or  dishonour  it.  For  by  these  gifts  the  testimony 
of  Christ  was  confirmed  to  the  members  of  the 
churches.  That  Peter  had  no  more  been  at  Rome 
than  Paul,  at  the  time  when  this  epistle  was  written, 
appears  from  the  general  tenor  thereof,  and  from 
this  place  in  particular.  For  otherwise,  the  gifts 
which  Paul  wishes  to  impart  to  the  believers  at 
Rome,  would  have  been  imparted  already  by  Peter. 
That  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted  together  with  you 
— As  I  have  great  reason  to  believe  we  shall  be ;  by 
the  mutual  faith  both  of  yow— Whose  faith  wili  be 
strengthened  and  confirmed  by  these  gifts ;  and  me 
—Whose  faith  will  be  encouraged  and  increased 
when  I  see  believers  established,  and  unbelieTert 
IT  b 


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Paul  dedarei  that  he  wcu  not 


ROMANa 


ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  ChruL 


A.  M.4064.  13  Now  I  would  not  have  you  igno- 
'  — L  rant  J  brethren^  that  'oftenlimee  I  pur- 
posed to  come  unto  you  (but  ^  was  let  hitherto) 
that  I  might  have  some  ^ fruit  'among  you 
diaOf  even  as  among  other  Gentiles. 

14  ^  I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks,  and  to  the 
barbarians;  both  to  the  wise,  and  to  the  unwise. 


« Chap.  XT.  23 }   1  These,  ii.  18. »  Act«  xvi.  7:    1  Thess. 

.  la kPhU.  iv.  17. •Or,  in  you. «!  Cor.  ix.  1«. 


oonverted  by  these  gifts.  As  often  as  the  apostles 
communicated  spiritual  gifts  to  their  disciples,  it 
was  a  new  proof  to  themselves  of  God's  presence 
with  them,  and  an  additional  confirmation  of  their 
mission  from  Ood  in  the  eyes  of  others,  both  of 
which,  no  doubt,  gave  them  great  joy.  In  this 
passage,  we  see  the  apostle  not  only  associates  the 
Romans  with,  but  even  prefers  them  before,  himself. 
How  different  is  this  style  of  the  apostle  from  that 
of  the  modem  court  of  Rome ! 

Verses  13-15.  NoWy  brethren — Lest  ye  should  he 
surprised  that  I,  who  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  who  have  expressed  such  a  desire  to  see 
you,  have  never  yet  preached  in  Rome ;  /  would 
not  have  you  ignorant — I  wish  to  inform  you ;  that 
oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come  unto  you — See  the 
margin.  But  was  let  (prevented)  hitherto — Either 
by  the  greater  necessities  of  others,  as  chapter  xv. 
22,  or  by  the  Spirit,  Acts  xvi.  7,  or  by  Satan  raising 
opposition  and  persecution,  or  otherwise  hindering, 
1  Thess.  ii.  2,  18.  Hiatlndght  hate  some  fruit-- 
Of  my  ministerial  labours ;  by  the  conversion  of 
some,  and  the  confirmation  and  edification  of  oth- 
ers; even  as — I  have  already  had  from  tlie  many 
churches  I  have  planted  and  watered,  among  other 
OeniUes,  chap.  xv.  18, 19.  /  am  debtor  both  to  the 
Greeks,  &c. — Being  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I 
am  bound  to  preach  both  to  the  Greeks,  however 
intelligent,  and  to  the  barbarians,  however  ignorant. 
Under  the  name  Greeks,  the  Romans  are  compre- 
hended, because  they  were  now  become  a  learned 
and  poUshed  people.  For  the  meaning  of  the  nune 
barbarian,  see  the  note  on  Acts  xxviii.  2,  and 
I  Cor.  xiv.  11 ;  both  to  the  wise  and  the  unwise — For 
there  were  unwise  even  among  the  Greeks,  and 
wise  even  among  the  barbarians;  and  Paul  eon- 
aidered  himself  as  a  debtor  to  them  all ;  that  is,  un- 
der an  indispensable  obligation,  by  his  divine  mis- 
sion, to  preach  the  gospel  to  them  ;  bound  in  duty 
and  gratitude  to  do  his  utmost  to  promote  the  con- 
version and  salvation  of  men  of  every  nation  and 
rank,  of  every  genius  and  character.  So,  as  much 
as  in  me  is — According  to  the  ability  which  God 
gives  me,  and  the  opportunities  with  which  he  is 
fdeased  to  favour  me  j  /  am  ready,  and  desirous,  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  you  that  are  at  Rome  also — 
Though  it  be  the  capital  of  the  world,  a  place  of  so 
mudi  politeness  and  grandeur,  and  a  place  likewise 
where  it  might  seem  peculiarly  dangerous  to  op- 
pose those  popular  superstitions  to  which  the  em- 
pire is  supposed  to  owe  its  greatness  and  felicity: 
18 


15  So,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  a.m.4064. 
ready  to  preach  the  goqpel  to  you  — '— — 1- 
that  are  at  Rome  alao. 

16  For  ^  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  goepe}  of 
Christ :  for  *  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salya- 
tion  to  every  one  that  beUeveth ;  'to  the  Jew 
first,  and  alao  to  the  Greek. 


*  Pi.  xl  9, 10 ;  Maik  riii.  38;  2  Tim.  i.  8. •  1  Cor.  i.  18 ;  xii.2. 

'  Luke  ii.  30, 32 ;  zxIt.  47 ;  Acts  iii.  26 ;  xiii.  26, 46  ;  Ch.  ii.  0. 


yet  still,  at  all  events,  I  am  willing  to  come  and 
publish  this  divine  message  among  you ;  though  it 
should  be  at  the  expense  of  my  reputation,  my  lib- 
erty, or  life. 

Verse  16.  For — In  whatever  contempt  that  sacred 
dispensation,  and  they  who  publish  it,  may  be  held 
on  account  of  the  circumstances  and  death  of  its 
Author,  the  character  of  its  mmisters,  and  tlie  nature 
and  tendency  of  its  doctrines;  /  am  not  ashamed 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ— -V^mX  rather  glory  in  it.    To 
the  world,  indeed,  it  appeared  folly  and  weakness, 
1  Cor.  i.  18,  23.    Thereibre,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
world,  he  ought  to  have  been  ashamed  of  it ;  espe- 
cially at  Rome,  the  head  and  theatre  of  the  world. 
But  Paul  was  not  ashamed  of  it,  knowing  it  to  be  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  i\ai  be- 
Ueveth— The  great  and  gloriously  powerAil  means 
of  saving  all  who  accept  salvation  in  God's  own 
way,  namely,  the  way  of  faith  in  Jesus,  as  the  Son 
of  God  and  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  in  the  decla- 
rations and  promises  of  God  made  through  himt 
faith  preceded  by  repentance  toward  God,  accom 
panicd  by  love  to  God  and  all  mankind,  and  produc- 
tive of  all  inward  and  outward  holiness.     To  the 
Jew  first — Who  is  far  from  being  above  the  need 
of  it,  and  to  whom,  by  the  special  command  of  the 
Lord,  it  is  to  be  first  proposed  and  preached,  wher- 
ever its  ambassadors  come ;  yet  it  is  not  to  be  limited 
to  the  Jew,  but  proclaimed  aUo  to  the  Greek — And 
the  Roman,  and  Gentiles  of  every  nation  under 
heaven,  who  are  all,  with  equal  freedom,  invited  to 
partake  of  its  important  benefits.    There  is  a  noble 
frankness,  as  well  as  a  comprehensive  sense,  in 
these  words  of  the  i4)ostle ;  by  which,  on  the  one 
hand,  he  shows  the  Jews  their  absolute  need  of  the 
gospel,  and,  on  the  other,  tells  the  politest  and  great- 
est nation  of  the  world,  both  that  their  salvation  de- 
pended on  receiving  it,  and  that  the  first  offers  of  it 
were  in  every  place  to  be  made  to  the  despised  Jews. 
As  the  apostle  comprises  the  sum  of  the  gospel  in 
this  epistle ;  so  he  does  the  sum  of  the  epistle  m  this 
and  the  following  verses.   With  regard  to  the  names, 
Jews  and  Greeks,  it  maybe  proper  to  observe  here, 
that  "after  Alexander's  generals  had  established 
their  empire  in  Egypt  and  Asia,  the  inhabitants  of 
these  countries  were  considered  as  Greeks,  because 
they  generally  spake  the  Greek  language ;  and,  as 
the  Jews  were  little  acquainted  with  the  other  idola- 
trous nations,  they  naturall}'  called  all  the  heathens 
Greeks.    Hence  in  their  language,  Jews  and  Greeks 
comprehended  all  mankind."— Macknight. 
(  2*  )  h 


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f%e  rigJUeou$ne$$  of  Ood  revealed 


CHAPTER  L 


fry  ike  goepei;jram/aHk  tofaHh. 


A. M. 4064.     17  For  'therein  is. the  righleous- 

1_  ness  of  Qod  revealed  from  &ith  to 

&ith:  as  it  IS  written,  ^The  just  shall  live  by 
fidth. 


f  Chap.  ill.  21.— -A  Hab  it  4:  Joim  iii  36:  OaL  iii  11 : 


Verse  17.  Far  therein  UiherighteouBnese  of  God 
revealedr^-ThiB  expression  sometimes  means  God's 
essentia],  eternal  righteonemess,  induding  both  his 
holfaness  and  justice,  especially  the  latter,  of  which, 
together  witii  his  mercy,  the  word  is  explained, 
chap.  iiL  26$  where  we  read,  Th  declare  hie  right- 
eausneee :  thathe  might  be  just  and  ihejuetifier  of 
him  thai  believeth  in  Jetue  ;  this  his  essential  right- 
eousness being  eminently  shown  in  condenming  sin, 
and  in  justifying  the  penitent,  believing  sinner.   But 
frequently  the  expression  means  that  righteousness 
by  which  a  man,  through  the  grace  of  God,  is  ac- 
counted and  constituted  righteous,  or  is  pardoned 
'  and  renewed,  namely,  the  righteotunees  offaUh^  of 
which  the  apostle  speaks,  PhiL  iii.  9,  terming  it  the 
righteoueneee  "which  ie  through  faith  in  Christy  the 
righteoueneee  of  Qod  (Gr.  ex  Bet,  from  Qod)  by 
faith  :  namely,  acquittance  from  guilt,  remission  of 
sins,  or  justification  through  faith  in  Christ;  or,  as 
he  expresses  himself,  Rom.  iv.  6-8,  faiih  imputed 
for  righteoueneee,  namely,  through  Christ's  obedi- 
ence unto  death,  who  was  delivered  for  our  off^icee, 
and  raised  for  our  justification.    See  this  scatter 
more  fuUy  exi^ned  in  the  notes  on  chap.  ilL  20- 
25;  ix.  ao,  31 ;  and  X.  3-0.    The  meaning  of  the 
apostle,  in  the  verse  now  under  consideration,  would 
be  more  manifest  if  his  words  were  more  literaUy 
translated,  which  they  are  by  Doddridge  and  Mac- 
knight,  thus :  For  in  it  (namely,  the  gospd)  the 
righteousness  of  Qod  by  faith  is  revealed  to  our 
faith,  or,  in  order  to  faith.    "  This  translation," 
says  the  latter  of  these  divines,  '^  which  results  from 
construing  the  words  properly,  affords  a  clear  sense 
of  a  passage  which,  in  the  coomion  translation,  is 
absolutMy  unintelligible.    Besides,  it  is  shown  to  be 
the  right  translation  by  other  passages  of  Scripture, 
in  which  the  expression,  ducaioawjf  rx  9rcre»r,  right- 
eousness by  faith,  is  found,  chap.  iii.  22;  ix.  80;  x. 
6 ;  Phil.  iii.  9.    Righteousness  by  faith  is  called  the 
righteousness  of  Ck>d,  1st,  Because  God  hath  enjoined 
faith  as  the  righteousness  which  he  will  count  to  sin- 
ners, [through  the  mediation  of  his  Son,]  and  hath 
declared  that  he  will  accept  and  reward  it  as  right- 
eousness.   ^  Because  it  stands  in  opposition  to  the 
righteousness  of  men :  which  consists  in  sinless 
obedience  to  the  law  of  God.    For  if  men  gave  that 
obedience,  it  would  be  their  own  righteousness,  and 
they  might  claim  reward  as  a  debt."    We  may  ob- 
serve, further,  the  righteoui^ess  of  faith  is  termed 
the  righteousness  of  Qod,  because  God  appointed 
and  prepared  it,  reveals  and  gives,  approves  and 
crowns  it    It  is  said  to  be  revealed;,  because,  where- 
as it  was  but  obscurely  intimated  to  the  Jews,  in  Ae 
covenant  with  Abraham,  and  in  the  types  of  the 
Mosaic  Uiw ;  it  is  now  clearly  manifested  in  the  gos- 
pel to  all  mankind.    TheexpressioD^inourtranslar 
b 


18  '  For  the  wrath  of  God  is  re-  a.  m.4064. 
vealed  fr<nn  heaven  Against  all  un-    ^  ^'^' 
godliness,  and  unrighteousness  of  men,  who 
hdd  the  truth  in  unrighteousness; 


Phil,  ill  9:  Hcb. %. 38. *  AeU  xm,  30;  Eph.T.  « :CoL  ill  S. 


tion, /rom  faith  to  faiih^  is  interpreted  by  some  of 
a  gradual  series  of  still  clearer  and  clearer  discove- 
ries; but  the  translation  of  the  clause  given  above, 
namely,  the  righteousness  of  God  by  faith  is  re 
vealed  in  order  to  faith,  seems  evidently  to  express 
better  the  apostle's  meaning.    AsU  is  written— Su 
Paul  had  just  laid  down  three  propositions:  1st, 
Righteousness  is  by  faith,  verse  17;  2d,  Salvation  is 
by  righteousness,  verse  16 ;  3d,  Both  to  the  Jews 
and  to  the  Gentiles,  verse  16.    Now  all  these  are 
confirmed  by  that  skigle  sentence.  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith :  which  was  primarily  spoken  of  those 
who  preserved  their  Uves,  when  Uie  Chaldeans  be- 
sieged Jerusalem,  by  believing  the  declarations  of 
God,  and  acting  according  to  them.    Here  it  means, 
he  shall  obtain  the  favom*  of  God,  and  continue 
therein,  by  believing.    The  words,  however,  may 
with  propriety  be  rendered,  llie  just  by  faith,  that 
is,  they  who  by  faith  are  just,  or  righteous,  (as 
6iKaioi  signifies,)  shall  live,     ^Thia  translation  is 
agreeaUe  both  to  the  order  of  the  words  in  the  ori- 
ginal, and  the  apostle's  design ;  which  is  to  show 
that  Uie  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  concerning  a  right- 
eousness by  faith,  is  attested  even  by  the  prophets. 
Besides,  it  represents  Habakkuk's  meaning  more 
truly  than  the  common  Iranslatioii.    For  in  the  pas- 
sage from  which  ihe  quotation  is  made,  Habakkuk 
describes  the  different  dispositions  of  the  Jews  about 
the  time  they  were  threatened  by  the  Chaldeans. 
Some  of  their  souls  were  lifted  up;  they  presump- 
tuously trusted  in  their  own  wisdom  and  power,  and, 
contrary  to  God's  command,  refused  to  submit  to  the 
Chaldeans,  and  were  destroyed.    But  the  just,  or 
righteous,  by  faith,  "who  believed  God  and  obeyed 
his  command,  lived.    However,  as  the  reward  of 
faith  is  not  confined  to  the  present  life,  persons  who 
are  just  or  good,  by  believing  and  obeying  God,  shall 
certainly  live  elemally."--Macknight. 

Verse  18.  For,  Stc, — There  is  no  other  way  of 
obtaining  righteousness,  life,  and  salvation.  Having 
laid  down  this  proposition,  the  apostle  now  enters 
upon  the  proof  it.  His  first  argument  is,  the  law, 
whether  of  nature  or  of  supernatural  revelation,  con- 
demns all  men  as  having  violated  it,  and  a?  being 
under  sin.  No  one,  therefore,  is  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law.  This  is  treated  of  to  chap.  iii.  20. 
And  hence  he  infers,  therefore,  justification  is  by 
faith.  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed — Here  and  in 
the  preceding  verse  mention  is  made  of  a  two-fold 
revelation,  of  wrath  and  of  righteousness :  the  former, 
little  known  to  nature,  is  revealed  by  the  law ;  the 
latter,  wholly  unknown  to  nature,  by  the  gospel. 
The  wrath  of  God,  due  to  the  sins  of  men,  is  also 
revealed  by  frequent  and  signal  interpositions  of 
divine  providence;  in  all  parts  of  the  Sacred  Ora- 
cles; by  God's  inspired  messengers,  whether  under 
19 


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€hd  is  manifested  by  his  woiHm  ; 


ROMANS. 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.  D.  eo. 


19  Because  ^that  which  may  be 
kiK)wn  of  God,  is  iflaoifeBt  *in  them; 
for  ^  God  hath  showed  ii  unto  them. 
20  For  ""the  invistUe  things  of  hkn  fimn  the 

k  Act*  xiT.  17. *  Or,  f  them, >  iofan  i. ». ■  ?••. 


the  Jewish  or  Christian  dispensations 3  and  by  the 
consciences  of  sinners,  clearly  teaching  that  God 
will  severely  punish  all  sin,  whether  conunitted 
against  God  or  man ;  from  Acoven— This  speaks  the 
majesty  of  Him  whose  wrath  is  revealed,  his  ail- 
seeing  eye,  his  strict  and  impartial  justice,  and  the 
extent  of  his  wrath :  whatever  is  under  heaven,  is 
under  the  effects  of  his  wrath,  believers  in  Christ 
excepted;  against  all  ungodliness  and  unright- 
eousness o/fnen— He  speaks  chiefly  of  the  heathen ; 
and  the  term  ungodliness  seems  especially  to  refer 
to  their  atheism,  polytheism,  and  idolatry,  compre- 
hending, however,  every  kind  and  degree  of  impiety 
and  profaneness ;  and  unrighteousness  includes  their 
other  miscarriages  and  vices,  their  offences  against 
truth,  justice,  mercy,  charity  toward  one  another, 
with  their  various  acts  of  intemperance  and  lewd*- 
ness.  According  to  which  sense  of  the  words,  they 
are  distinctly  treated  of  by  the  apostle  in  the  foUow- 
ing  verses.  Who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness 
— Which  word  here  includes  ungodliness  also^  that 
is,  who,  in  some  measure  at  least,  know  the  truth, 
but  do  not  obey  it,  acting  in  opposition  to  their 
knowledge,  and  the  conviction  of  their  own  con- 
sciences. Or,  as  the  word  naTtxovruv  properly  sig- 
nifies, Moho  detain^  or  imprison,  as  it  were,  the  truth 
in  unrighteousness.  He  thus  expresses  himself, 
because  the  truth  made  known,  in  some  degree, 
struggles  against  men's  wickedness,  reproves  them 
for  it,  dissuades  them  from  it,  and  warns  themof  pun- 
ishment impending  over  it.  All  mankind,  even  the 
heathen,  have  been  and  are  acquainted  with  many 
truths  concerning  moral  duties,  due  to  God,  their 
fellow-creatures,  and  themselves.  But,  not  heark- 
ening to  the  voice  of  these  truths,  but  resisting  their 
influence,  and  disregarding  their  warnings,  they 
have  bsen  and  still  aremore  or  less  involved  in  guilt, 
and  exposed  to  condemnation  and  wrath.  Dr.  Mac- 
knight,  who  translates  this  clause,  %Dho  confine  the 
truth  by  unrighteousness,  thinks  the  apostle  speaks 
chiefly  with  a  reference  to  the  philosophers,  legis- 
lators, and  magistrates  among  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, who  concealed  the  truth  concerning  God  from 
the  vulgar,  by  their  unrighteous  institutions.  "  The 
meaning,"  says  he,  "  is,  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
one  true  Grod,  the  Maker  and  Governor  of  the  uni- 
verse, which  the  persons  here  spoken  of  had  attained 
by  contemplating  the  works  of  creation,  they  did 
not  discover  to  the  rest  of  mankind ;  but  confined  it 
in  their  own  breasts  as  in  a  prison,  by  the  most 
flagrant  unrighteousness.  For  they  presented,  as 
objects  of  worship,  beings  which  are  not  by  their 
nature  God ;  nay,  beings  of  the  most  immoral  cha- 
racters ;  and  by  so  doing,  as  well  ashy  the  infamous 
rites  with  which  they  appointed  these  false  gods  to  | 
be  worshipped,  they  led  mankind  into  the  grossest ' 
30 


creation  of  the  world  are  eleaily  a.m.4o«4. 
seen,  being  underatood  by  the  4hingB  • — 1^ 
thai  are  made,  tven  Ui  eternal  pomrer  and 
Godhead ;  ^  so  that  they  are  without  excuse : 


ux.  1,  fto ;  Acts  xir.  17;xTiL  27w^««-v  Or,  tftof  Aiy  tntf  Ae. 


errors,  concerning  the  mtore  and  attributes  of  the 
proper  object  of  their  wershipw  This  eGnvpt  losm 
of  religion,  thovgh  extrenidy  aeeeptaUe  to  the  eem- 
mon  people,  was  not  contrived  and  estaMic^ed  by 
them.  In  all  countries  they  were  grossly  ignorant 
of  God,  and  of  the  worship  which  he  lequired.— > 
They  therefore  coidd  not  be  charged  with  the  ernne 
of  concealing  the  truth  concerning  Ood.  The  per- 
sons guilty  of  that  crime  were  the  legislators,  who 
first  formed  mankind  into  cities  and  states,  and  who, 
as  the  apostle  observes,  verse  21,  thougJ^  they  knew 
God,  did  not  glorify  him  as  God,  by  making  him 
the  object  of  the  peopled  wor^p,  but  unrighteously 
established  pol3rtheism  and  idolatry  as  the  puUic 
religion.  Of  the  same  crime  the  magistrates  and 
philosophers  were  likewise  guilty,  who,  in  aitor 
times,  by  their  precepts  and  examples,  upheld  the 
estaUished  religion.  Of  this  number  were  Pytha- 
goras, Socrates,  and  Plato,  whom,  tharefore,  we 
may  suppose  the  apostle  had  here  in  his  eye.  For 
although  these  men  had  attained  [in  some  degree] 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  none  of  them  wor- 
shipped him  publicly,  neither  did  they  declare  him 
to  the  peoiJle,  that  they  might  worship  him.  Plato 
himself  held  that  the  knowledge  of  the  one  God 
was  not  to  be  divulged.  S^  Euseb*,  Pr^epar. 
Evang,,  lib.  x.  cap.  0.  And  in  his  THnueus,  he 
says  expressly, '  It  is  neither  easy  to  find  the  Parent 
of  the  universe,  nor  safe  to  discover  him  to  the  vul- 
gar, when  found.'  The  same  conduct  was  observed 
by  Seneca,  as  Augustine  hath  proved  from  his  wri- 
tings, De  Civit.  Dei.,  lib.  vi.  cap.  10.  The  same  Au- 
gustine, in  his  book,  De  Vera  Relig.^  cap.  5,  blames 
the  philosophers  in  general,  because  they  practised 
the  most  abominable  idolatries  wi^  the  vulgar, 
although,  in  their  schools,  they  deliyered  doctrines 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  gods,  inconsistent  with 
the  established  worship." 

Verses  19, 20.  Because  thai  which  may  be  known 
of  God— Those  great  prmciples  which  are  indis- 
pensably necessary  to  be  known,  such  as  his  exist- 
ence, his  unity,  his  power,  his  wisdom,  his  goodness, 
and  his  righteous  government  of  the  world ;  is  ma- 
nifest in,  or  rather  among,  them — ABevavrotc  should 
be  here  rendered :  for  God  hath  showed  it  to  them — ^By 
the  light  which  lightens  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world,  John  i.  9.  The  apostle's  assertion  is  con* 
firmed  by  the  writings  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  phi- 
losophers still  renudning.  See  note  on  verse  21. 
For  the  invisible  things  0/ Am-— His  spiritual  nature 
and  infinite  perfections,  called  his  invisible  things, 
partly  in  opposition  to  the  heathen  deities,  who 
being  all  corporeal,  their  being  and  properties  were 
things  invisible ;  and  partly  because  they  cannot  be 
seen,  except  in  their  ef&cts,  by  men's  bodily  eyes ; 
from  the  creation  of  the  world— From  the  visible 

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CHAPTER  L 


awful  9taU  of  the  Gentile  world. 


A.  H.  4064.  21  Because  that  when  they  knewGod, 
— '-^ — '-  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither 
were  thankfiil,  but  ^  became  vain  ii^  their  ima- 
ginations, and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened. 


■  8  Kings  XTJL  15;  Jermouah  ii.  5;  £pb.  hr.  17,  la 
•Jeramiakx.  14. 


creation,  from  the  heayens  and  the  eMh,  from  the 
sea  and  dry  land,  from  plants  and  animals,  from 
men's  own  bodies,  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made, 
and  especially  from  their  intelligent,  free,  and  im- 
mortal minds.  Or  the  meaning  may  be,  Sincey  or, 
from  the  time  of  the  creation  of  Ike  world  ;  for  the 
apostle  does  not  use  the  preposition  e«,  by,  Imt  aira, 
from,  or,  ever  since,  the  creation.  Thus  Dr.  Whitby 
understands  the  expression,  observing,  '^  It  seems 
not  to  signify  die  means  by  which  they  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  God,  for  these  are  afterward  expressed, 
but  rather  to  hnport,  that  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  the  heathen  had  the  means  of  knowing  the 
true  (Sod  from  the  works  of  creation ;  so  air  apxiff 
Koa/t8  is,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Matt 
xxiv.  21 ;  and  oiro  Kara6o%nc  Koofui  from  the  fbtmda- 
tion  of  the  world.  Matt.  xiii.  35."  Are  clearly  seen 
— By  the  eye  of  the  mind,  being  understoodr^They 
are  seen  by  them,  and  them  only,  who  use  their  un- 
derstanding. Tlie  iuresent  tense,  Ko&oparai,  are 
clearly  seen,  denotes  the  continued  manifestaticm 
of  the  being  and  perfections  of  God,  by  the  works 
of  creation  from  the  beginning;  agreeably  to  Psa. 
3UX.  1,  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  By 
the  things  that  are  made — ''  In  this  mundane  sys- 
tem, every  thing  is  so  fori^ed,  that  to  the  pious 
among  the  vulgar,  God  himself  appears  to  be  the 
author  of  all  the  operations  of  nature.  But  they 
who  have  obtained  a  partial  knowledge  of  what  is 
called  natural  phUosophy^have,  from  the  discovery 
of  some  second  causes,  been  led  to  fancy,  that  the 
^hole  system  may  be  accounted  for  without  the  In- 
tervention of  a  Deity.  This  is  what  the  apostle  calls, 
verse  21,  becoming  vain  in  their  imagincUions,  or 
rather,  foolish  in  their  reasonings.  Those,  how- 
ever, who  have  made  the  greatest  advanees  in  true 
phUosophy  know,  that  second  causes,  properly 
speaking,  are  no  causes,  because  they  have  no 
efficiency  in  themselves,  but  are  set  in  motion  by 
God.  And  thus  the  most  perfect  philosophy  al- 
ways ends  where  the  natural  sense  of  mankind 
begins."  Even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead — 
"The  true  God,  being  eternal,  is  thereby  distin- 
guished from  the  fictitious  gods  of  the  heathens,  who 
all  had  a  beginning ;  the  most  ancient  of  them  being 
represented  as  coming  put  of  chaos,  and  their  birth 
being  sung  hy  the  heathen  poets.  Of  the  particu- 
lar attributes  of  God,  the  apostle  mentions  only  his 
power,  because  the  effects  of  the  divine  power  are 
what  first  strike  the  senses  of  men,  and  lead  them 
most  directly  to  the  acknowledgment  of  a  Deity. 
The  word  Oetorw,  Gfodhead,  denotes  every  thing 
comprehended  in  the  idea  of  God,  namely,  his  unity, 
incorporeity,  immutability,  knowledge,  wisdom  just- 
ieCj^fcc;  all  which,  together  with  God^s eternal  power, 


28  ^Professmg  themselves  to  be  a.  M.4064. 
wise,  they  becan^e  fods ;  .i—-.! — L 

23  And  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorrupti- 
ble 'God  into  an  image  made  like  unto  corrupti- 


PDeuCiT.  lS,du:;  FmuctI.  20;  lta.xLlS,28;  Jer.iLll; 
Es.  TiiL  10 ;  Acta  zriL  20. 


the  apostle  affirms  every  intelligent  person  may  un- 
derstand, by  the  things  which  are  made."  Macknight 
So  that  they  are  without  ejccuse—hnd  would  be  des- 
titute of  every  Just  or  plausible  vjpology  for  them- 
selves, if  he  should  enter  into  judgment  with  ihem. 
Verses  21>28.  ^^ Because  that  when  they  knew  God 
—The  writings  of  Plato,  Xenophon,  Plutarch,  Cicero, 
and  other  philosophers^  which  still  remain,  together 
with  the  quotations  made  by  Just  Martyr  and  Clem. 
Alexandrinus  from  those  which  are  lost,  prove  that 
the  learned  heathen,  though  ignorant  of  the  way 
of  salvaUon,  were  not  entirely  unacquainted  with 
the  unity  and  spirituality  of  God,  and  had  pretty 
just  notions  of  his  perfections,  of  the  creation  and 
government  of  the  world,  and  of  the  duties  which 
men  owe  to  God  and  to  one  another.  Their  sin, 
therefore,  in  worshipping  idols,  and  in  concealing 
the  true  God  from  the  vulgar,  did  not  proceed  so 
much  from  ignorance  as  from  corruption  of  heart'' 
TVjf  glorified  him  not  as  God — Did  not  esteem  him, 
pay  homage  to  him,  or  worship  and  serve  him  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  him,  and  consistent  with  those 
apprehensions  they  had,  or  might  have  had,  of  him ; 
neither  were  thankful — Grateful  for  his  benefits. 
As  the  true  God  was  not  the  object  of  the  popular 
religion,  no  public  thanksgivings  were  offered  to 
him  in  any  heathen  country;  and  with  respect  to 
the  private  conduct  of  individuals,  though  there  are 
still  extant  hymns  in  honour  of  the  heathen  gods, 
written  by  Orpheus,  Homer,  Pindar,  and  Horace, 
who  were  themselves  philosophers  as  well  as  poets, 
we  have  never  heard  of  any  psalm  or  hymn  com- 
posed by  any  heathen  poet  or  philosopher  in  honour 
of  the  true  God.  It  is  observable,  that  thankfulness 
to  God  for  his  mercies,  is  here  represented  as  a  prin- 
cipal brench  of  religion,  and  undoubtedly  no  prin- 
ciple can  be  nobler,  nor^  can  any  have  a  greater  or 
more  extensive  influence.  But  became  vain  in  their 
imaginations^Abeniid,  stupid,  and  ridiculous  in 
their  reasonings,  concerning  God's  nature  and 
worship;  entangling  themselves  with  a  thousand  un- 
profitable subtleties,  which  only  tended  to  alienate 
their  minds  more  and  more  from  every  truly  reli- 
gious sentiment  and  disposition.  And  their  foolish, 
aaweroc,  their  undisceming,  unintelligent,  imprudent 
heart  was  darkenedr—luBiead  of  being  enlightened 
by  these  sophistries,  it  was  m6re  and  more  involved 
in  ignorance  and  error,  and  rendered  impenetrable 
to  the  simplicity  of  the  most  important  truths. 
What  a  terrible  instance  have  we  of  this  m  Uie  wri- 
tings of  Lucretius !  What  vain  reasonings,  yet 
how  dark  a  heart,  amid  pompous  professions  of 
wisdom.'  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise^iireek, 
^Kovrec  ttvat  tro^t^  saying  that  they  were  wise; 
<<  com  se  dicerent,  aut  se  dici  sinerent  si^ientes  :'* 
21 


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Description  of  the  wicked  state 


ROMANS. 


of  the  heitihen  nations* 


A.M.4164.  Ue  man,  and  to  birds,  and  four- 
^'  ^  ^'    footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things. 

24  « Wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to 
UDcleanness,  through  the  lusts  of  their  own 
hearts,  ^to  dishonour  their  own  bodies  "be- 
tween themselves : 

25  Who  changed  *  the  truth  of  God  "into  a 
he,  and  worshipped  and  served  the  creature 


«i  Psa.  taxi.  12 ;  Acta  vii.  48 ;  Eph.  ir.  18, 19 :  2  Thest.  n.  11, 

18. r  1  Cor.  Ti.  18 ;  1  TheM.  ir.  4 ;    1  Pet.  t-  3. » Lev, 

xriii.  22. 


when  they  ccUled,  or  suffered  th^^msdves  to  be  called, 
wise  men, — Grotius.  It  evidently  refers  to  their  as- 
suming the  philosophic  character,  and  to  the  pride 
they  took  in  the  title  of  wise  men,  or  lovers  of 
wisdom.  They  became  ^i«— Degrading,  in  the 
lowest  and  most  infamous  manner,  the  reason  which 
they  so  arrogantly  pretended  to  improve,  and  almost 
to  engross.  Thus  the  apostle  finely  ridicules  that 
ostentation  of  wisdom  which  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers made,  by  taking  to  themselves  the  name  of 
wise  men.  And  bis  irony  was  the  more  pungent,  in 
that  it  was  put  into  a  vrriting  addressed  to  the  Ro- 
mans, who  were  great  admirers  of  the  Greeks.  And 
changed,  &c.~As  if  heliad  said,  As  their  folly  and 
wickedness  were  evident  in  a  variety  of  other  vices, 
in  which  these  heathen  philosophers  joined  with  the 
vulgar,  so  particularly  in  the  early  and  almost  uni- 
versal prevalence  of  idolatry  among  them  5  for  they 
changed  the  glory^-The  unutterable  glory,  of  the 
tnco7T2ip/i6/e  and  immortal  God — (the  word  a^Oaproc 
means  both)  all  the  majestic  splendours,  in  which 
he  shines  forth  through  earth  and  heaven,  into  an 
imagtf  m^xde  by  their  own  hands,  like  to  corrv/ptible 
and  mortal  man—Which,  how  elegantly  soever  it 
might  be  formed,  was  an  abominable  and  insuffera^ 
ble  degradation  of  the  infinitely  perfect  and  eternal 
Godhead,  had  their  folly  proceeded  no  further.  But, 
not  content  with  this,  they  set  up  as  emblems  of 
Deity  and  objects  of  worship,  brute  creatures  and 
their  itaKgeSybirds^four-footeil  beasts,  and  creeping 
things — Even  such  vile  reptiles  as  beetles,  ai)d  va- 
rious kinds  of  serpents,  which  creep  on  the  dust. 
The  learned  Egyptians  in  particular,  as  is  well 
known,  worshipped  dogs,  snakes,  nay,  and  even 
vegetables.  We, may  observe  here,  Ist,  That  the 
word  corruptible,  applied  to  man,  signifies  not  only 
liis  being  liable  to  dissolution,  but  to  moral  pollu- 
tion; and  the  term  incoirruptible,  applied  to  God, 
signifies  that  he  is  not  liable  to  eithen  2d,  "  The 
great  evil  of  the  heathen  idolatry  consisted  in  their 
setting  up  the  images  of  men  and  beasts  in  their  tem- 
ples as  representations  of  the  Deity,  by  which  the 
vulgar  were  led  to  believe  that  God  was  of  the  same 
form,  nature,  and  qualities  with  the  animals  repre- 
sented by  these  images.  And  the  persons  who  thus 
changed  the  glory  of  God  were  not  the  common 
people  among  the  Greeks,  but  the  legislators,  magis- 
trates, priests,  and  philosophers ;  for  they  were  the 
persons  who  frtfmed  the  public  religion  in  all  the 
23 


^more   than  the   Creator,   who  is  A.M.406i. 
blessed  forever.    Amen.  1— 

26  For  this  cause  God  gave  them  up  unto 
*vile  affections.  For  even  their  women  did 
change  the  natural  use  into  that  which  is 
against  nature : 

27  And  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the 
natural  useftf  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust 


*  1  Thess.  L  9 ;  1  Jokn  r.  20. ^  Im.  xlii.  20 ;  Jer.  x.  14  , 

xiii.  25 ;    Amos  ii.  4. •  Or,  nOur. »  L©t.  xTiii.  22,  23 , 

Eph.  ▼.  12;  Jade  10. 


heathen  coimtries ;  who  established  it  by  their  laws, 
and  recommended  it  by  their  example."— Macknight 

Verses  24,  25.  Wherefore  God  gave  them  up — 
As  a  punishment  of  this  most  unreasonable  and 
scandalous  idolatry,  God  withdrew  his  restraining 
grace  from  them  as  he  did  from  the  antediluvians, 
Gen.  vi.  8 ;  the  consequence  of  which  was,  that  their 
lusts  excited  them  to  commit  every  sort  of  unclean- 
ness.  The  truth  is,  a  contempt  of  religion  b  the 
source  of  all  wickedness.  And  ungodliness  and  un- 
cleanness  particularly  are  frequently  united,  1  Thess. 
iv.  5,  as  ^re  the  knowledge  of  God  and  purity.  Ob- 
serve, reader,  one  punishment  of  sin  is  from  the 
very  nature  of  it,  as  verse  27;  another,  as  here,  is 
from  vindictive  justice.  Who  changed  the  truth  of 
Groci— Those  true  conceptions  which  they  had  of 
him  by  nature;  into  a  lie— False  opinions  of  him, 
and  the  worship  of  idols.  And  they  represented  his 
true  essence,  his  incorruptible  and  immortal  nature, 
by  images  of  men  and  brute  creatures,  which  are 
fitly  called  a  lie,  as  being  most  false  representations 
of  the  Deity,  who  does  not  resemble  them  in  any 
respect  whatever.  Hence  idols  are  balled  lying  va- 
nities, Psa.  xxxi.  6.  And  every  image  of  an  idol  is 
termed  a  teacher  of  lies,  Hab.  ii.  18.  And  worship- 
ped and  served  the  creo/wre— And  not  only  God's 
creatures,  but  their  own  creatures,  the  images  which 
their  own  hands  had  made.  The  former  expression, 
loeBatr&fiaav,  signifies  inward  veneration,  reverence, 
esteem,  and  such  like  qualities  felt  in  the  mind. 
The  latter  word,  eyarpevaav,  denotes  the  paying  out- 
ward worship  and  service  to  beings  thought  to  be 
gods.  The  heathen  gave  both  to  their  idols,  rever- 
encing and  respecting  them  inwardly,  and  perform- 
ing various  acts  of  outward  worship  to  them,  in 
token  thereof.  More  than  the  Creator,  who  is 
blessed  for  erer— Who  is  etem^y  glorious,  and 
to  whom  alone  all  honour  and  praise  everlastingly 
belong.  Amen—li  is  an  undoubted  truth,  and  to 
him  let  it  be  ascribed  accordingly. 

Verses  26, 27.  For  this  cause—To  punish  them 
for  their  inexcusable  neglect,  or  contempt  rather,  of 
th^  ever-blessed  God;  and  for  all  their  idolatries 
and  impieties ;  God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  affec- 
^uMi*— Abandoned  them  to  the  most  infamous  pas- 
sions, to  which  the  heathen  Romans  were  enslaved 
to  the  last  degree,  and  none  more  than  the  emperors 
themselves.  For  even  their  women— From  whom 
the  strictest  modesty  might  reasonably  be  expected; 

h 


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CHAPTER  I. 


ufmaMiral  eim  of  the  OerUile  world. 


A.  M.  4064.  one. toward  another ;  men  with  men 

'- working  that  which  is  unseemly,  and 

receiving  in  themselves  that  recompense  of 
their  error  whidi  was  meet 
28  And  even  as  they  did  not  like  ^to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over 


*  Or,  to  mdmowUdgt. 


did  duxnge  the  fuUurcU  %^e  of  their  bodies  itUa  that 
which  is  againat  na<tire— Prostituting  and  abusing 
them  in  the  most  abominable  manner.  Likemse 
edso  the  men  burned  in  their  hut  one  toward 
another-^^^How  just  the  apostle's  reflections  are, 
and  how  pertinentl3rhe  has  placed  this  most  abomi- 
nable abuse  of  human  nature  at  the  head  of  the  vices 
into  which  the  heathen  world  were  fallen,  will  be 
seen,  if  we  observe  that  Cicero,  the  greatest  philo- 
sopher in  Rome,  a  littlb  before  the  gospel  was 
preached,  in  his  book  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
gods,  (where  may  be  found  a  thousand  idle  senti- 
ments upon  that  subject,)  introduces,  without  any 
mark  of  disapprobation,  Gotta,  a  man  of  the  first 
rank  and  genius,  freely  and  familiarly  owning,  to 
other  Romans  of  the  same  quality,  this  worse  than 
beastly  vieey  as  practised  by  himself;  and  quoting 
the  authority  of  ancient  philosophers  in  vindication 
of  it  See  lib.  i.  sec.  28.  Nay,  and  do  we  not  even 
find  the  most  elegant  and  correet,  both  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  poets,  avowing  this  vice,  and  even  cele- 
brating the  objects  of  their  abominable  affection  7 
Indeed,  it  is  well  known^  that  this  most  detestable 
vice  was  long  and  generally  practised,  by  all  sorts 
of  men,  philosophers  and  others.  Whence  we  may 
conclude  that  the  apostle  has  done  justice  to  the 
Gentile  world  in  the  other  instances  of  their  corrup- 
tion."— ^Dodd.  Receiving  in  themselves  that  recom- 
pense of  their  error— Their  idolatry;  which  was 
meet — Being  punished  with  that  unnatural  luSt, 
which  was  as  horrible  a  dishonour  to  their  bodies 
as  their  idolatry  was  to  God,  and  with  various  bodily 
infirmities,  disorders,  and  sufferings  consequent  on 
such  abominable  practices,  rendering  their  lives 
most  miserable  on  earth,  and  bringing  them  to  an 
untimely  grave,  and  an  eternal  hell.  The  reader 
will  observe,  "  the  apostle  is  not  speaking  simply  of 
the  Greeks  committing  the  uncleanness  which  he 
mentions,  but  of  their  lawgivers  authorizing  these 
vices  by  their  public  institutions  of  religion,  by  their 
avowed  doctrine,  and  by  their  own  practice.  With 
respect  to  fornication,  the  heathen  actually  made  it 
a  part  of  the  worship  of  their  deities.  At  Corinth, 
for  example,  as  Strabo  informs  us,  lib.  viii.  p.  581, 
there  was  a  temple  of  Venus,  where  more  than  a 
thousand  courtesans  (the  gift  of  pious  persons  of 
both  sexes)  prostituted  themselves  in  honour  of  the 
goddess;  and  that  thus  the  city  was  crowded,  and 
became  wealthy.  In  the  court  of  the  temple  of 
Venus,  at  Cnidus,  there  were  tents  placed  under  the 
trees  for  the  same  lewd  purposes.  Lucian.,  Dial 
Anwres,  With  respect  ^o  sodomy,  it  is  not  so  com- 
monly known  that  it  was  practised  by  the  heathen 
as  apart  of  their  religious  worship;  yet,  in  the  his- 


to  ^^a  reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  a.  M.4064. 
things  *  which  are  not  convenient :  — -^— ^ — 
29  Being  filled  with  all  mirigbteousness,  for- 
nication, wickedness,  covetousness,  malicious- 
ness ;  full  of  envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  ma- 
lignity; whisperers. 


*•  Or,  a  mind  void  of  judgment.- 


•Eph.  T.4. 


tory  which  is  given  of  Josiah's  endeavours  to  destroy 
idolatry,  there  is  direct  evidence  of  it,  8  Kings 
xxiiL  7.  That  the  Chreek  philosophers  of  the  greatest 
reputation  were  guilty  not  only  ef  fornication^  but 
even  of  sodomy,  is  affirmed  by  anci^it  authors  of 
good  reputation.  With  the  latter  crime,  Tertullian 
and  Nazianzen  have  charged  Socrates  himself^  in 
passages  of  their  writings  quoted  by  Estius.  The 
same  charge  Athenseus,  a  heathen  writer,  hath 
brought  against  him,  Deipnosophist,  lib.  xiii. ;  not 
to-speak  of  Lncian,  who,  in  many  passages  of  his 
writings,  hath  directly  accused  him  of  that  vice. 
When,  therefore,  the  statesmen,  the  philosophers, 
and  the  priests,  notwithstanding  they  enjoyed  the 
light  of  nature,  improved  by  science,  thus  avowedly 
addicted  themselves  to  the  most  abominable  un- 
cleannesses ;  nay,  when  the  gods  whom  they  wor- 
shipped were  supposed  by  them  to  be  guilty  of  the 
same  enormities ;  when  their  temples  were  brothels, 
their  pictures  invitations  to  sin,  their  sacred  groves 
places  of  prostitution,  and  their  sacrifices  a  horrid 
mixture  of  superstition  and  cruelty;  there  was  cer- 
tainly the  greatest  need  of  the  gospel  revelation,  to 
make  mankind  sensible  of  their  brutality,  and  to 
bring  them  to  a  more  holy  practice.  Tbat  some, 
professing  Christianity,  are  guilty  of  the  crimes  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking,  is  true.  But  it  is 
equally  true,  that  their  religion  does  not,  like  the 
rdigion  of  the  heathen,  encourage  them  in  their 
crimes ;  but  deters  them,  by  denouncing,  in  the  most 
direct  terms,  theheaviest  wrath  of  God  against  all 
who  are  guilty  of  them.  Besides,  the  gospel,  by  its 
divine  light,  hath  led  the  nations  to  correct  their  civil 
laws  5  so  that  in  every  Christian  country  these  enor- 
mities are  prohibited,  and  when  discovered  are  pun- 
ished with  ihe  greatest  severity.  The  gospel,  there- 
fore, hath  made  us  far  more  knowing,  and,  I  may 
add,  more  virtuous,  than  the  most  enlightened  and 
most  polished  of  the  heathen  nations  were  formerly." 
— Macknight. 

Verses  28-31.  And  as  they  did  not  like-^  «*c  rAwr/- 
liaaav,  they  did  not  approve,  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge~^r  rather,  as  ex^tv  tv  evriyvosei  more 
property  signifies,  to^  retain  hvm  with  acknowledg- 
ment. For  it  is  proved  above  that  they  were  not 
wholly  without  the  knowledge  of  God  in  the  world: 
but  they  did  not  acknowledge  him  as  they  ought; 
did  not  use  or  improve  the  knowledge  they  had  of 
him  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  had  been  vouch- 
safed. Or,  as  Dr.  Macknight  interprets  it.  They 
"  did  not  approve  of  holding  God  as  the  object  of  the 
people's  acknowledgment  and  wordiip,  but  approved 
of  the  worship  of  false  gods  and  of  images,  as  more 
proper  for  the  vulgar;  and  on  that  account  substi- 


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unnaiwraX  sins  6/ the  GentiU  world. 


A.  H.  4064.  30  Bai^bkeiB,  haters  of  Ood,  de- 
^^'^'  spiteful,  proud,  boasters,  inyentiHB  of 
evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents, 
31  Without  understanding,  covenant-break- 
ers, ^^  without  natural  affection,  implacable, 
unmerciful : 


"  Or»  wMocMiUc. »Chap.  ii.  2. ^Chap.  rl  21. 


toted  idolatry  in  place  of  the  pure,  spiritual  worship 
of  the  one  true  God,  and  estabUshed  it  by  law." 
Therefore  God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind 
— aSoKifiov  vtfV)  an  undisceming,  or  injudiciotts  mind; 
a  mind  not  perceiving  or  approving  what  is  good, 
either  in  principle  or  practice ;  a  mind  void  of  all 
proper  knowledge  and  relish  of  what  is  excellent, 
treated  of  verse  32.  Men  of  this  stamp  are  said, 
Ephenans  iv.  19,  to  be  amiXytiKOTtf,  itithotU  feeling. 
To  do  things  not  eonv^ienl — Even  the  vilest  abom- 
inattoDs,  treated  of  verses  29-31.  Being  filled  with 
all  unrighteousness — Or  injustice.  This  stands  in 
the  first  i^ace,  unmercifulness  in  the  last  Fomir 
cation  includes  here  every  species  of  uneleanncss; 
wickedness — vovffpia^  a  word  which  implies  a  dispo- 
sition to  injure  others  by  craft  Hence  the  devil  is 
called  0  iratnfpof,  the  wicked  one^  by  way  of  eminence ; 
covetousness — XUeove^o,  an  in<»dinate  desire  to  have 
more  than  God  sees  proper  for  us,  which^  the  apostle 
says,  is  idokUry^  Col.  iii.  5 ;  maliciousness — iMuta,  a 
disposition  to  injure  others  from  ill-will  to  them,  or 
which  delights  in  hurting  another,  even  without  any 
advantage  to  one's  self;  full  of  envy — Grieving  at 
another's  welfare,  or  rejoicing  at  his  hurt;  debate— 
'EfiidoCi  strife^  contention,  quarrelling;  deceit — Or 
guile,  fraud;  malignity — Koxov^euic,  a  bad  disposi- 
tion, or  evil  habit;  a  disposition,  according  to  Aiis- 
tode,  to  take  every  thing  in  the  worst  sense ;  but, 
according  to  Estius,  the  word  denotes  asperity  of 
manners,  rudeness;  whisperers — Such  as  secretly 
defame  others;  backbiters— KaraXaXbCirevilers,  such 
as  openly  speak  against  others  in  their  absence; 
haters  of  6^Ki— Especially  considered  as  holy  and 
just,  as  a  lawgiver  and  judge;  persons  under  the 
power  of  that  carnal  mind  which  is  enmity  against 
him  ;  enemies  in  their  minds^  says  the  apostle,  by 
wicked  works;  deniers  of  his  providence,  or  ac- 
cusers of  his  justice  in  their  adversities;  despite- 
ful — X6pi;-ac,  violent,  or  overbearing  in  their  beha- 
viour to  each  other ;  or  persons  who  commit  inju- 
ries with  violence,  or  who  oppress  others  by  force ; 
|>ro(ic2— Persons  who  value  themselves  above  their 
just  worth;  or  who  are  elated  on  account  of  their 
fortune,  or  station,  or  office,  or  endowments,  natu- 
ral or  acquired;  boasters— AXaCovac,  persons  who 
assume  to  themselves  the  reputation  of  qualities 
which  they  do  not  possess ;  inventors  ofeail  things 
<--0f  new  pleasures,  new  vrays  of  gain,  new  arts  of 
hurting,  particularly  in  war;  disobedient  to  parents 
— Either  natural  or  political,  not  willingly  subject  to 
lawful  authority ;  a  sin  here  ranked  with  the  greatest 
crimes.  Without  understanding— Who  act  like  men 
void  of  reason ;  covenant-breakers— ToIbq  to  their 


32  Who,  ^knowing  the  judgment  a. M. 4064. 

of  God,  that  they  which  ocmimit  such — — 1 

things  ^are  w(Mrthy  of  death;  not  cmly  do 
the  same,  but  ^^have^  pleasure  in  them  that 
dothenoL 


^*OTtConttm'unihtkem, ^«  Ho*.  TiL  3;  Fmu  L  la 


promises,  oaths,  and  engagements.  It  is  well  known, 
the  Romans,  as  a  nation,  from  the  very  beginning 
of  thefar  commonwealth,  never  made  any  scruple  of 
vacating  altogether  the  most  solemn  engagement, 
if  they  did  not  like  it,  though  made  by  their  supreme 
magistrate,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  people.  They 
only  gave  up  the  general  who  had  made  it,  and  then 
supposed  themselves  to  bo  at  ilQl  liberty !  Without 
natural  affection— The  custom  of  exposing  their 
own  new-bom  children  to  perish  by  cold,  hunger, 
or  wild  beasts,  wluch  so  generally  prevailed  in  the 
heathen  world,  particularly  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  was  an  amazing  instance  of  this ;  as  is  also 
that  of  killing  their  aged  and  helpless  parents,  now 
ccmunon  among  the  American  heaihen.  hnplacabU 
— Persons  who,  being  once  ofifended,  will  never  be 
reconciled.  The  original  word  acnovSecy  from  sirovdif^ 
a  libation,  "  is  used  to  signify  irrecondtatle,  be- 
cause, when  the  heathen  made  their  solemn  cove- 
nants, by  whicb  they  bound  themselves  to  lay  aside 
their  enmities,  they  ratified  them  by  a  sacrifice,  on 
which  they  poured  a  libation,  after  drinking  a  part 
of  it  themselves."  l/hwerct/W— Unfeeling,  unfor- 
giving, or  pursuing  their  sdiemes  of  cruelty  and 
revenge,  whenever  they  got  any  new  opportunity 
of  doing  it 

Verse  32.  Who,  knowing  thejudgment — LiKaty/ta, 
the  righteousness,  or  Hghteous  judgment,  or  ap- 
pointment;  of  Goci— And  because  God's  law  is  found- 
ed in  righteousness,  and  is  the  rule  thereof  to  us, 
the  word  is  often  used  in  Scripture  to  denote  an  or- 
dinance, statute,  or  particular  law,  Numb,  xxvii,  11 ; 
xxxL  21 ;  and  in  the  plural,  the  appointments,  or 
institutions  of  God  moral,  or  ceremonial,  Luke  i.  6; 
Rom.  ii.  26 ;  Heb.  ix.  1 ;  even  those  which  were 
purely  ceremonial,  Heb.  ix.  10.  Here  the  word  sig- 
nifies the  law  of  God  written  on  men's  hearts,  caUed 
by  philosophers  the  law  of  nature,  and  by  civilians, 
the  law  of  nations.  For  the  Greeks  could  know  no 
other  law  of  God,  being  destitute  of  revelation ;  ihai 
they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  dsath 
—God  hath  written  on  the  hearts  of  men  not  only 
liis  law,  but  the  sanction  of  his  law.  For  ihe  fear 
of  punishment  is  inseparable  from  the  consciousness 
of  guilt.  Further,  that  the  heathen  knew  that  the 
persons  guilty  of  the  crimes  mentioned  here  by  the 
apostle  merited  death^  is  evident  from  the  laws 
which  they  enacted  for  punishing  such  persons  with 
death.  Not  only  do  the  same — Allow  themselves  in 
the  practice  of  these  sins ;  but  have  pleasure  in  them 
thai  do  them — Approve,  encourage,  and  patronise 
them  in  others,  and  even  take  pleasure  in  their  com 
mitting  them.    This  is  the  highest  degree  of  wick 

ft 


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CHAPTER  II. 


Mtrs^  cmrnU  excuse  thewueltes. 


ednesB.  A  man  nnay  be  harried  by  hb  paasions  to 
do  the  thing  he  generally  hates.  But  he  that  has 
pleasure  in  those  that  do  evil,  loves  wickedness  for 
wickedness'  sake;  and  thereby  he  encourages  them 
in  sin,  and  heaps  the  guilt  of  others  upon  his  own 
head.    In  this  stricture,  Dr.  Macknight  thinks  "the 


apostle  glances  at  the  Greek  legislators,  priests,  and 
philosophers,  who,  by  their  institutions,  exunple, 
and  presence,  encouraged  the  people  in  the  practice 
of  many  of  the  debaucheries  here  mentioned,  es- 
pecially in  the  celebration  of  the  festivals  of  their 
gods." 


CHAPTER  n. 

fh/m  what  thi  aposiU  had  tdoanced  in  the  preceding  chapter ^  to  prove  the  ignoretU  ofuL  abandoned  heathen  to  be  inexeueabU 
in  their  toickednees,  he  in  this  chapter^  (1,)  Justiy,  infere  that  the  crimes  of  tiiose  toho  had  sitch  knovoiedge  of  the  truth  at 
to  condemn  the  vices  of  others,  foere  yet  more  inexcusable,  and  therefore  that  the  Jews  could  no  more  be  justified  by  the  law 
of  Moses,  than  the  Gentiles  by  the  law  of  nature,  1-16.  (2,)  By  detecting  the  sins  of  the  Jews,  he  manifests  that  their 
external  privileges,  as  Go^s  peadiar  people,  could  not  procure  for  them  the  divine  favour,  or  render  them  acceptable  in  his 
sight,  17-^, 

A.  M.  4064.  npHEREFORE   thou   art   •inex- 

! cusable,  O  man,  whosoever  thou 

art,   that   judgest :  ^  for  wherein  thou  judg- 


•Chap.  i. 20. *» 2  Sam.  xii  6-7 ; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTEE  XL 
Verse  I.  Therefore^  &c. — The  apostle,  having 
shown  that  the  Gentiles  could  not  entertain  the  least 
hope  of  salvation,  according  to  the  tenor  of  th^  law 
of  nature,  which  they  violated,  proceeds  next  to  con- 
sider whether  the  law  of  Moses  gave  the  Jews  any 
better  hope;  an  inquiry  which  he  manages  with 
great  address.  For,  well  knowing  that  on  reading 
his  description  of  the  manners  of  the  Greeks,  the 
Jews  would  pronounce  them  worthy  of  damnation, 
he  suddenly  turns  his  discourse  to  the  Jews,  by  tell- 
ing them  that  they  who  passed  such  a  judgment  on 
the  Gentiles  were  equally,  yea,  more  guilty  them- 
selvesy  in  that,  with  the  advantage  of  the  greater 
light  of  divine  revelation,  they  were  guilty  of  crimes 
as  great  as  those  he  had  chsirged  on  the  Gentiles ; 
and  that  therefore,  by  condemning  the  Gentiles,  they 
virtually  condemned  themselves.  TJum  art  inex- 
cusable^ O  fTtat^— Seemg  that  knowledge  wi^out 
practice  only  increases  guilt;  whosoever  thou  art, 
that  judgest — That  censurest  and  condemnest ;  for 
wherein  thau  judgest  another — Greek,  tov  erepov^ 
the  other—Namely,  the  heathen,  and  pronoimcest 
them  worthy  of  condemnation  and  wrath ;  titou  con- 
demnest thyself-^AB  deserving  the  same :  for  thou 
that  judgest  doest  the  same  things.  According  to 
Josephus,  quoted  here  by  Dr.  Whitby,  the  Jews  of 
that  age  were  notoriously  guilty  of  most  of  the 
crimes  imputed  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  "  There  was  not,"  observes  he, 
^a  nation  under  heaven  more  wicked  than  they 
were.  What  have  yon  done,"  says  he,  addressing 
them,  ^  of  all  the  good  things  required  by  our  law- 
giver? What  have  you  not  done  of  all  those  things 
which  he  pronounced  accursed?  So  that,"  adds 
he,  '^  had  the  Romans  delayed  to  come  against  these 
D 


est  another,  thou  condemnest  thyself ;  A.  M.  4064. 

for  thou  that  judgest,  doest  the  same  ! — L 

things. 


Matt.  Tu.  ly  2 ;  John  riii  9. 


execrable  persons,  I  believe  either  the  earth  would 
have  swallowed  them  up,  or  a  deluge  would  have 
swept  away  their  city^  pr  fire  from  heaven  would 
have  consumed  it,  as  it  did  Sodom,  for  it  brought 
forth  a  generation  of  men  far  more  wicked  than 
they  who  suffered  such  things.  It  was  spori  to  them 
to  force  women :  and  they  exercised  and  required 
unnatural  lusts,  and  filled  the  whole  city  with  im- 
purities. They  committed  all  kinds  of  wickedness, 
omitting  none  which  ever  came  into  the  mind  of 
man;  esteeming  the  worst  of  evils  to  be  good,  and 
meeting  with  that  reward  of  their  iniquity  which 
was  proper,  and  a  judgment  worthy  of  God."  The 
apostle,  Mr.  Locke  thinks,  represents  the  Jews  as 
inexcusable  in  judging  the  Gentiles,  especially  be* 
cause  the  latter,  with  all  the  darkness  that  was  on 
their  minds,  were  not  guilty  of  such  a  folly  as  to 
judge  those  who  were  not  more  faulty  than  them- 
selves, but  lived  on  friendly  terms  with  them,  with- 
out censure  or  separation,  thinking  as  well  of  their 
condition  as  of  their  own.  For  he  considers  the 
judging,  which  Paul  here  speaks  of,  as  reforring 
to  that  aversion  which  the  Jews  generally  had  to 
the  Gentiles,  in  consequence  of  which  "the  un- 
converted Jews  could  not  bear  with  the  thoughts 
of  a  Messiah  that  admitted  the  heathen  equally  with 
themselves  into  his  kingdom ;  nor  could  the  con- 
verted Jews  be  brought  to  admit  them  into  their 
communion,  as  the  people  of  Ck)d,  now  equally 
with  themselves ;  so  that  they  generally,  both  one 
and  the  other,  judged  them  unworthy  the  favour 
of  God,  and  incapable  of  becoming  his  people 
any  other  way  thim  by  circumcision,  and  an.  ob- 
servance of  the  ritual  law;  the  inexcusableness 
and  absurdity  qf  which  the  aposUe  shows  in  this 
chapter.'' 

95 


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ROMANS. 


oiker^  eatmot  excuee  them$dife0. 


A.  M.4064.    2  Biit  we  are  sure  that  the  judg- 

. I —  ment  of  God  is  according  to  tnith^ 

against  them  which  commit  such  things. 

3  And  thinkest  thou  this^  O  man,  that  judg- 
est  them  which  do  such  things),  and  doest  the 
same,  that  thou  shalt  escape  the  judgment  of 
God? 

4  Or  despisest   thou  ^  the    riches    of  his 


«  Chap.  iz.  23 ;  Eph.  L  7 ;  ii.  4,  7.- 
•  Ex.  zzzir.  6. 


iChap.  iiL25. 


Verses  2-4.  BtU  we  are  sure — Greek,  oidofteVf  we 
know;  though  men  may  judge  partially  and  per- 
versely, yet  God  will  judge  uprightly ;  that  the  judg- 
ment of  God — The  sentence  that  he  will  pronounce 
upon  persons,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  w  accord- 
ing to  truth — According  to  the  true  state  of  every 
man's  case ;  or  according  to  the  true  character  of 
persons,  and  the  true  quality  of  the  actions  and  dis- 
positions ;  (verses  6-11 ;)  against  them  who  commit 
mch  things — However  they  may  behave  toward 
their  fellow-creatures.  Dr.  Macknight,  who  under- 
stands the  expression,  oQcording  to  tr^Oh,  as  signi- 
fying, ^  according  to  the  true  meaning  of  God's  co- 
venant with  the  fathers  of  the  Jewish  nation,"  ob- 
serves, "  By  this  declaration,  the  apostle  reprobates 
the  erroneous  opinion  confidently  maintained  by  the 
Jews^  who,  fancying  that  by  their  natural  descent 
from  Abraham,  they  were  entitled  to  the  promises 
made  to  his  seed,  firmly  believed  that  no  Jew  would 
be  damned."  And  thinkest  thou  this,  &c. — Canst 
thou  then,  by  the  sentence  which  thou  passest  upon 
others,  think  to  evade  that  which  goeth  forth  against 
thyself?  Or  despisest  thou — Dost  thou  go  Airther 
still,  and,  from  hoping  to  escape  his  wrath,  dost  thou 
proceed  to  abuse  his  love  ?  The  riches—Ox  the  abun- 
dance ;  of  his  goodness,  forbearance,  and  long-suf 
^<?rinff— Exercised  for  such  a  length  of  time  toward 
thee,  who  not  only  hast  sinned,  but  dost  sin,  and 
wilt  sin.  The  word,  Kara^vea,  here  rendered  de- 
spise, also  signifies  to  think  against,  to  think  wrong, 
or  misconstrue  ;  and  the  clause  may  be  fitly  trans- 
lated, Dost  thou  misconstrue,  or  form  a  wrong  opi- 
nion of,  the  goodness  of  God?  God's  goodness,  of 
which  the  Jews  formed  a  wrong  opinicm,  or  which 
they  despised,  consisted  chiefly  in  his  having  made 
them  his  church  and  people,  in  his  having  frequently, 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  protected  them  against 
or  delivered  them  from  their  enemies,  conferred 
upon  them  innumerable  blessings,  temporal  and  spi- 
ritual, especially  the  latter,  having  from  time  to  time 
raised  up  among  them  divinely-inspired  prophets, 
to  reveal  his  will  to  them,  to  instruct,  warn,  caution, 
and  exhort  them,  and  having  intrusted  with  them 
his  holy  oracles.  From  these  marks  of  the  divine 
favour  they  vainly  inferred  that  God  would  punish 
no  descendant  of  Abraham  for  his  sins  in  a  future 
state.  But  in  this  they  grievously  erred,  for  the 
goodness  of  God,  together  with  hif  other  attributes 
here  mentioned,  was  not  intended  to  make  sinning 
safe  to  the  Jews,  bat  to  lead  them  to  repentance  for 
90 


goodness,    and    ^forbearance,    and   a. M.4064. 
•long-suffering;  'not  knowing  that    ^ ^' ^' 
the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repent- 
ance? 

6  But  after  thy  hardness  and  unpenitent 
heart  ^  treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath  against, 
the  day  of  wrath,  and  revelation  of  the  right- 
eous judgment  of  God ; 


'Isa.ziz.  18;  2  Pet  iii  9,  15. — 
James  t.  3. 


rDeat  xzxii.  34; 


their  sins.  Forbearance  (Greek,  avoxvi)  is  that  dis- 
position in  God  by  which  he  forbears  to  punish  sin 
immediately  upon  its  being  committed ;  long-suffer- 
ing— Or  slowness  to  anger,  signifies  his  deferring 
for  a  long  time  to  punish ;  and  here  it  seems  chiefly 
to  intend  his  patiently  bearing  longtiie  ill  use  which 
the  Jews  made  of  the  privileges  they  enjoyed  as  his 
church  and  people,  and  of  the  various  blessings  he 
had  conferred  upon  them. 

Verses  6-7.  But  after  thy  hardness— Gree}^  Kara 
Ttfv  ankfipoTrrra,  according  to  thy  obduracy,  or  insensi- 
bility of  mind ;  and  impenitent — AfuravoriTov,  incon- 
siderate, unreflecting,  and  unrelenting  heart,  by 
reason  of  that  stubbornness  and  obstinacy  in  sin 
which  thou  hast  contracted ;  treasurest  up  wrath — 
Although  thou  thinkest  thou  art  treasuring  up  all 
good  things ;  unto  thyself-rfiol  to  him  whom  thou 
judgest :  that  is,  Thou  provokest  God  more  and  more 
to  aggravate  thy  punishment.  In  our  language,  a 
treasure  signifies  a  collection  of  things  useful  or 
precious.  But  the  Hebrews  gave  that  appellation  to 
a  heap,  or  an  abundance  of  any  thing,  whether  good 
or  bad.  Hence,  Prov.  x.  2,  we  read  of  treasures  of 
wickedness.  Reader !  think  what  a  treasure  of  good 
or  evil,  of  felicity  or  misery,  a  man  may  lay  up  for 
himself  in  this  short  day  of  life !  Against  the  day 
of  wrath — The  day  of  retribution,  when  God  will 
fully  execute  wrath  on  impenitent  sinners.  tVrath 
is  here,  as  often  elsewhere,  put  for  punishment,  the 
effect  of  wrath.  The  apostle  calls  the  day  of  retri- 
bution the  day  of  wrath,  to  make  the  wicked  sensi- 
ble that  as  men  greatly  enraged  do  not  suffer  their 
enemies  to  escape,  so  God,  highly  displeased  with  the 
wicked,  will  assuredly  punish  them  in  the  severest 
manner  at  length.  Probably  the  apostle  had  in  view, 
Ist,  The  awful  vengeance  which  the  divine  wrath 
was  about  to  bring  on  the  Jews  in  the  destruction  of 
their  city  and  temple,  the  depopulation  of  their 
country,  and  the  dissolution  of  their  commonwealth, 
which,  1  Thess.  ii.  16,  he  calls,  wrath  coming  upon 
them  to  the  uttermost.  2d,  It  appears,  however,  by 
what  follows,  that  he  spoke  principally  of  the  day 
of  final  judgment ;  and  revelation  of  the  righteous 
judgment  o/  (?od— When  God  will  make  manifest 
to  all  the  world  the  justice  of  his  proceedings,  both 
toward  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  Bengelius 
reads,  wrath,  and  revel^ion,  and  riglUeous  judg- 
ment:  just  opposite  to  the  three  gracious  attributes 
above  mentioned ;  wrath  opposed  to  goodness  ;  reve* 
lotion,  when  God  will  bring  to  light  the  hidden 

D 


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€hd  wiU  render  to  all  men 


CHAPTER  II. 


according  to  their  deeds* 


A.  M.  406i.    6  ^  Who  will  render  to  every  man 
— J-J — L  according  to  his  deeds : 

7  To  them  who  by  patient  continuance  m 
well-doing,  seek  for  glory,  and  honour,  and  im- 
mortalityi  eternal  life : 

8  But  unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and 


fcJob  xxxir.  11;  Psa.  Uii.  12;  Pror.  xxir.  12;  Jer. 
zni.  10  ;  zuu.  19 ;  Matt  xw'u  27 ;  Chap.  xir.  12;  1  Cor.  iiiS ; 
2  Cor.  T.  10 ;  Rev.  iL  23  ;  xz.  12 ;  xxii.  12. 


things  of  darkness,  opposed  to  his  present  forbear- 
ance;  and  righteoue  judgment^  when  he  will  no 
longer  defer  to  punish,  opposed  to  his  present  long- 
suffering.  Who  will  render  to  every  man — Both 
good  and  bad,  both  Jew  and  Gentile;  according  tb 
hie  deeds — Not  according  to  his  external  privileges, 
or  his  pretences  and  presumptuous  expectations,  but 
according  to  the  real  nature  and  quality  of  his  works. 
To  them  toho  by  paiient  continuance  in  well-doing 
— ^By  persevering  in  a  constant  course  of  holiness 
and  righteousness,  notwithstanding  all  the  opposi- 
tions and  difficulties  they  meet  with;  (see  Matt, 
xxiv.  13;  Rev.  iL  10 ;)  seek  far  glory—Thht  state  of 
splendour  and  brightness  in  which  the  righteous 
shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their 
Father,  Matt.  xiii.  43.  J7cmoiir— Approbation,  com- 
mendation, and  praise  from  God  and  Christ,  and  all 
the  heavenly  host,  mentioned  1  Pet  i.  7.  And  im- 
mortality— A^SapciaVf  incorruptibility,  everlasting 
life,  health,  and  vigour  of  both  body  and  mind.  The 
words  include  the  consummation  and  perfection  of 
all  those  glorious  qualifications  and  enjoyments 
which  are  bestowed  on  the  saints  in  heaven.  This 
the  saints  seek  for;  that  is,  desire  and  labour  after ; 
for,  though  love  to  God  and  Christ  is  the  principal 
spring  of  their  obedience,  yet  that  love  does  not  ex- 
clude the  faith  which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not 
seen,  or  that  hope  of  heavenly  glory  and  felicity 
which  is  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and  stead- 
fast; and  which,  partly  at  least,  influenced  Christ 
himself  amidst  all  his  labours  and  sufferings,  who, 
for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the 
cross,  and  despised  the  shame.  EtcrncU  life-^ 
Which  God  will  render  to  S7tch. 

Verses  8-11.  But  unto  them  that  are  contentious 
— Like  thee,  O  Jew,  who  thus  Tightest  against  God. 
The  character  of  the  unbelieving  Jews  Was  disobe- 
dience, stubbornness,  and  impatience.  Mr.  Locke 
thinks  the  original  expression,  oi  6e  ef  epi'dcm^,  the 
contentious,  here  spoken  of,  are  Jews  who  refused 
to  obey  the  gospel.  "  But  as  the  apostle  is  speaking 
of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  Crentiles,  as  well  as 
of  the  wicked  Jews,  tpt&eia,  contention,  must  be  a 
vice  common  to  both.  Accordingly,  tpc&tiat,  con- 
tentions, are  mentioned  among  the  works  of  the 
flesh,  to  which  wicked  men  in  general  are  addicted. 
Gal.  V.  20.  And  Suidas  tells  ua,  that  fpi^eta,  conten- 
tion, is  V  ^a  Xoys  ^XoieiKia,  contention  by  words, 
by  keen  disputing.  Wherefore  the  contentious  are 
persons  who  spread  evil  principles,  and  maintain 
them  by  keen  disputing^.  This  was  the  vice  of 
many  of  the-heathen,  who  disputed  themselves  into 
b 


*  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  un-  A.  M.  4064. 
righteousness,  indignation  and  wrath,  — ^— ^ — ^ 

9  Tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul 
of  man  that  doeth  evil;  of  the  Jew  ^  fir^  and 
also  of  the  ^  Gentile ; 

10  ^  But  glory,  hoiumr,  and  peace,  to  every 


*Job  zziv.  13;  Chap.  i.  18; 
iu.  2;  Luke  zii.  47,  4S;  1 
U.Peti.7. 


2  These,  i.  8.— 
Pet  i?.  17. »0r.  Grttk. 


a  disbelief  of  the  plainest  principles  of  morality,  and 
argued  even  in  support  of  atheism.  Agreeably  to 
this  account  of  the  contentious,  the  apostle  represents 
them  hexe  as  enemies  of  the  truth,  and  as  friends  of 
unrighteousness." — Macknight.  Who  obey  not  the 
truth—Boih  those  who  did  not  walk  according  to 
the  light  of  nature,  chap.  i.  18,  and  those  who  diso- 
beyed the  gospel,  are  here  intended.  The  former, 
because,  as  truth  is  here  opposed  to  unrighteousness, 
it  must  signify  not  only  the  truths  disoovered  by 
revelation,  but  those  likewise  respecting  religion 
and  morality,  which  are  discoverable  by  the  light  of 
nature,  and  which,  among  the  heathen,  were  the 
only  foundations  of  a  virtuous  conduct  The  truth, 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  or  the  gospel,  however,  seems  to  be 
especially  intended,  this  being  styled,  the  trvih  of 
God,  chap.  iii.  7;  xv.  8 ;  <A6  word  cf  truth,  Epfa.  i.  13, 
and  elsewhere^  the  knowledge  of  it  being  the  Atyioip- 
ledge  of  the  truth,  1  Tim.  ii.4 ;  iv.  3;  the  belief  of  it, 
the  belief  of  the  truth,  2  Thess.  ii.  13;  obedience  to 
it,  obedience  to  the  truth.  Gal.  iiL  1 ;  v.  7 ;  walking 
according  to  it,  walking  in  the  truth,  1  John  ii.  4; 
the  gospel  itself  being  emphatically  styled  the  truth, 
Eph.  iv.  21 ;  and  to  know  it  being  to  know  the  truth, 
1  Jolm  ii.  21.  This  being  so,  they  that  are  here  said 
not  to  obey  the  trtUh  seem  to  be  especially,  first,  the 
unbelieving  Jews,  and,  secondly,  the  Gentiles,  who 
spake  against  the  truth,  and  rejected  it.  And  both 
these  obeyed,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  error  and 
falsehood ;  the  Gentiles  by  changing  the  truth  of 
God  into  a  lie,  chap.  i.  25,  and  the  Jews  by  adhering 
to  their  vain  traditions,  which  made  void  the  com- 
mands of  God,  supposing  them  to  be  derived  from 
Moses,  when  they  were  indeed  only  the  doctrines 
of  men.  But  obey  unrigMeousness — Live  in  know  n 
sin ;  acting  contrary  to  the  clear  dictates  of  reason 
and  conscience.  Indignation  and  wrath,  tribulor 
tion  and  anguish — He  seems  to  allude  to  Psa.  Ixxviii. 
49,  He  cast  upon  them,  the  Egyptians,  the  fierceness 
of  his  anger,  wrath,  indignation,  atid  trouble,  and 
finely  intimating  that  the  Jews  would,  in  the  day  of 
vengeance,  be  more  severely  punished  than  even 
the  Egyptians  were,  when  God  made  their  plagues 
so  wonderful.  Upon  every  soul  of  man  thai  doeth 
ertZ— That  contradicts  the  light  Of  jiis  dispensation, 
or  holds  in  unrighteousness  the  portion  of  truth  made 
known  to  him.  Of  the  Jew  first — Here  we  have  the 
first  express  mention  of  the  Jews  in  this  chapter. 
And  it  is  introduced  with  great  propriety.  Their 
having  been  trajped  up  in  the  true  religion,  and  their 
having  had  Christ  and  his  apostles  first  sent  to  them, 
were  circumstances  which  placed  them  in  the  for<H 


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ROMANS. 


WUful  ignorance  is  inexauahle 


A.  M.  406i.  man  that  worketh  good ;  to  the  Jew 


A.  D.60. 


first,  and  also  to  the  '  Gentile ; 


11  For  "there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with 
God. 


•Gr.  Gntk. »Deui.  z.  17 ;  2  Cbnm.  zix. 7 ;  Job  xzxir.  19 ; 


most  rank  of  the  criminals  that  obeyed  not  the 
troth. 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  ^in  this  and 
the  foQowhig  verse,  the  apostle,  by  using  the  most 
general  expression  possible,  every  soul  ofman^  and 
by  twice  intfoducing  the  distribution  of  Jew  and 
Greek,  which,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  Jews, 
comprehended  all  mankind,  (see  note  on  chap.  i.  16,) 
has  left  his  reader  no  room  to  doubt  that  he  is  dis- 
coursing of  the  judgment  of  all  nations,  of  heathen 
as  well  as  of  Jews  and  Christians.  Therefore,  not 
only  what  he  says  of  the  punishments^  but  what  he 
observes  of  the  rewards  to  be  distributed,  at  that 
day,  must  be  understood  of  the  heathen,  as  well  as 
of  those  who  have  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  revelation." 
We  see  ^so,  by  these  two  verses,  (verses  9,  10,)  and 
chap.  L  16,  ^at  the  apostle  carefuUy  lays  it  down 
as  a  ftmdamental  positioa  that  there  was  now,  under 
the  gospel,  no  other  national  distinction  between  the 
Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  save  only  a  priority  of  right 
in  the  Jews  to  the  offer  of  the  gospel,  and  the  allot- 
ment of  rewards  or  punishments,  according  as  they 
obeyed  or  not  BtU  glory ^  (just  opposite  to  lorath^) 
— Prom  the  divine  approbation ;  honour,  (opposite 
to  indignation,) — By  the  divine  appointment ;  and 
peoc^— Implying  a  secure  and  quiet  possession  of  all 
good,  now  and  for  ever,  opposed  to  trilmlation  and 
anguish.  To  every  one  that  vxyrkeih  good — Sin- 
cerely performs  his  duty  to  God  and  man ;  to  the 
Jew  first,  &c.— To  one  as  well  as  another.  For 
there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God — That  is,  in 
passing  their  final  sentence,  and  in  distributing  re- 
wards and  punishments,  he  is  determined  by  their 
real  characters,  and  will  reward  every  one  accord- 
ing to  his  works,  not  according  to  their  outward 
condition ;  such  as  their  country,  kindred,  sex,  dig- 
nity, office,  wedth,  and  profession  of  religion.  This 
declaration  concerning  God,  as  Judge,  the  apostle 
made  to  show  the  Jews  their  folly  in  expecting 
favour  at  the  final  judgment,  because  they  had  Abra- 
ham for  their  father,  and  were  themselves  members 
of  God's  church.  And  it  must  appear  the  more  im- 
portant and  seasonable,  considering  that  the  Jews 
thought  no  Israelite  should  be  deprived  of  future 
happiness,  whatever  his  faults  had  been ;  unless  he 
were  guilty  of  apostacy,  idolatry,  and  a  few  other 
very  enormous  crimes.  But  th  is  impartial  and  equi- 
table proceeding  at  the  final  judgment  is  very  con- 
sistent with  God's  distributing  to  persons  here  ad- 
vantages and  opportunities  of  improvement,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  good  pleasure. 

Verse  12.  Fhr  as  many  as  have  tmneci— And 
have  not  repented  and  brought  forth  fruit  worthy 
of  repentance ;  as  many  as  have  lived  and  died  in 
the  commission  of  known  sin :  he  speaks  as  of  the 
time  past,  for  all  time  will  be  past  at  the  day  of 
98 


12  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  a  m. 
without  law,  shall  also  perish  without 


40C4. 
60. 


law :  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law, 
shall  be  judged  by  the  Iaw> 


Acta  z. 34;  OaLiLS;  Eph.Ti  0;  CoL  tii.  25;  1  Pet  L  17. 


judgment ;  without  law — ^Without  having  had  any 
written  law,  any  e3q>res8  and  outward  revelatkm 
from  God ;  shaU  also  perishr^Be  condemned  and 
punished ;  without  law — ^Without  regard  had  to  any 
written  law,  or  supernatural  revelation,  being  proved 
guilty  by  the  law  written  in  their  hearts.  The  ex- 
pression, sJiall  perish,  shows  the  agreement  of  the 
manner  of  suffering  with  the  manner  of  sinning* 
He  could  not  so  properly  say,  shall  he  judged  with- 
out law.  Some  understand  it  of  the  annihilation  of 
the  heathen ;  but  both  reason  and  Scripture  assure 
us  they  shall  be  punished  for  their  sins,  though  in  a 
less  degree  than  those  who  disobey  the  greater  light 
of  revelation.  Since  none  of  mankind  ever  lived 
without  the  law  of  nature,  it  is  evident  the  expres- 
sions, ovo/xuc,  without  law,  in  this  clause,  and  ev  vofiQ^ 
in,  or  under  law,  in  the  following  clause,  cannot  be 
understood  of  that  law.  Neither  can  they  be  under- 
stood of  the  law  of  Moses,  seeing  it  is  affirmed  in 
the  latter  clause,  that  as  many  cu  have  sinned  in  or 
under  the  law,  shall  he  judged  by  the  law.  For  the 
Jews  are  not  to  be  judged  by  the  law  of  Moses.  See 
note  on  verse  13.  In  this  context,  therefore,  vofioc^ 
law,  signifies  divine  revelation  in  general.  Thus, 
the  oracles  of  God,  with  which  the  Jews  were  in- 
trusted, Rom.  iii.  2,  have  the  name  of  o  voyiof ,  the 
law  J  often  given  to  them  in  Scripture ;  as  Psa.  xix.  7 ; 
John  X.  84 ;  xii.  34 ;  xv.  25 ;  Rom.  iii.  19 ;  in  all  which 
passages,  and  many  others,  the  law  signifies  the 
whole  of  the  divine  revelations,  taken  complexly,  as 
they  stand  recorded  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  But 
when  these  Scriptures  are  distinguished  into  parts, 
as  Luke  xxiv.  44,  where  the  law  of  Moses,  and  the 
prophets,  and  the  Psalms  are  mentioned  j  the  law, 
in  that  division,  denotes  the  five  books  qf  Moses  only, 
as  it  does  likewise,  Rom.  iii.  21,  being  witnessed  by 
the  law  and  the  prophets.  In  this  restricted  sense, 
the  word  voftoi,  generally,  though  not  always,  has 
the  article  prefixed,  the  law.  And  as  many  as  have 
sinned  in,  or  under,  the  law-  That  is,  revelation, 
whether  the  patriarchal,  the  Jewish,  or  the  Chris- 
tian, shall  be  judged  by  the  law — By  the  revelation 
wherewith  they  were  favoured.  Though  the  word 
Kpi^fiaovTcu  sometimes  signifies,  shall  be  condemned, 
in  this  passage  it  is  rightly  translated,  shall  be  judged^ 
because  the  apostle's  intention  is  to  show,  that  all 
who  have  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  an  external  revela- 
tion shall  be  more  severely  punished,  if  wicked,  than 
the  Gentiles,  who  have  not  had  that  advantage :  an 
idea  which  is  better  conveyed  by  the  expression, 
shall  be  judged,  than  it  would  have  been  by  shall 
be  condemned.  For  judgment  implies  an  accurate 
consideration  of  all  circumstances,  whether  of  aggra- 
vation or  of  alleviation,  and  the  passing  such  a  sen- 
tence as  appears  to  the  judge  equitable,  upon  due 
consideration  of  the  whole  case.    And  the  meaning 

b 


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CHAPTER  II. 


(he  law  of  nature. 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.eo. 


13  (For  '^  not  the  hearers  Jttf  the  law 
are  just  before  God,  but  the  doers 
of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 
14  For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not 


■  Matt.  TiL  21 ;  James  i.  22, 


here  is,  that  their  guilt  being  aggrayated  by  the  ad- 
vantages which  they  enjoyed,  they  ^lall  be  pun- 
bhed  in  proportion  to  it.    See  Macknight 

Verse  13.  For  not  the  hearers  of  the  Zai0— Those 
who  are  only  hearers;  ar6— Even  now,  just — diKoioi, 
righteous,  that  is^  accounted  and  dealt  with  as  right- 
eous persons;  before  God— Here  the  apostle  con- 
demns the  folly  of  the  Jews,  who  thought  themselves 
sure  of  eternal  life,  because  God  had  favoured  them 
with  a  revelation  of  his  will:  as  Dr.  Whitby  has 
shown  by  many  important  quotations,  in  a  note  on 
this  verse.  But  thedoers  of  (he  /aa?— Whether  natu- 
ral or  revealed,  that  is,  they  who  walk  according  to 
the  light  of  the  dispensation  they  arc  under,  ^^  who 
steadily  and  universally,  in  the  tenor  of  their  lives, 
act  agreeably  to  its  precepts;  they,  and  they  only, 
shaU  be  justified  [acquitted  and  rewarded]— In  the 
day  of  final  audit  and  account;  vrheXher  their  know- 
ledge of  it  were  more  or  less  express."  So  Dod-. 
dridge.  A  most  sure  and  important  truth  this, 
which  respects  the  Gentiles  also,  though  principally 
the  Jews.  The  apostle  speaks  of  the  former,  verse  14, 
Ac. ;  of  the  latter,  verse  17,  &c.  It  must  be  observed, 
however,  that  the  apostle  does  not  speak  of  a  per- 
fect, unsinning  obedience,  either  to  the  law  of  na- 
ture, or  to  any  revealed  law,  whether  patriarchal, 
Jewish,  or  Christian ;  but  of  that  obedience  offaith^ 
productive  of  holiness^  or  that  sincere  obedience  to 
the  dispensation  men  arc  under,  which,  on  the 
ground  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  established  for  all 
mankind  immediately  aAor  the  fall,  God  is  pleased 
graciously  to  accept  instead  of  that  unsinning  obe- 
dience, which  to  man,  in  his  fallen  state,  is  impossi- 
ble. This  obedienC3  of  faith,  with  regard  to  the 
heathen,  implies  their  believing  that  Qod  i>,  and 
that  he  is  the  rewarder  of  them  that  dUigently  seek 
him ;  and  on  the  ground  of  this  faith,  coming  to  him 
in  prayer  for  his  favour  and  blessing,  and  with  praise 
for  his  benefits,  and  diligently  seeking  an  acquaint- 
ance with  him,  and  with  his  will  concerning  them. 
And  with  respect  to  Jews  and  Christians,  it  implies 
a  true  and  lively  faith  in,  and  sincere  obedience  to, 
the  truths,  precepts,  and  promises  of  the  dispensa- 
tion they  are  under.  The  reader  must  observe, 
therefore,  that  merited  justification^  whether  of 
Jews  or  heathen,  spr)ken  of  chap.  iii.  20 ;  Gal.  ii.  16 ; 
or,  justification  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  law, 
by  performing  all  the  deeds  or  works  enjoined 
thereby,  without  the  least  failure,  is  not  hero  in- 
tended; but  a  gra^Mt-'o'w  justification,  founded,  not 
On  the  accused  person's  innocence,  or  righteous- 
ness, but  proceeding  merely  from  the  mercy  of  his 
Judge,  who  is  pleased,  out  of  pure  favour,  to  accept 
of  his  faith,  producing  sincere  love  and  obedience, 
111  the  place  of  perfect  righteousness,  and  to  reward 
b 


the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  A.  M.  4064. 

contained  in  the  law,  these,  having '- — 1 

not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves. 
15  Which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written 


23,  25;  iJobn  iii.  7. 


it  as  if  it  were  that  righteousness,  and  all  for  the 
sake  of  Christ. 

Verses  14j  15.  For  vhen  the  Gentiles— Th^i  is, 
any  of  them  who  hate  not  the  /air— Not  a  written 
revelation  of  the  divine  will ;  do  by  nature — That  is, 
by  the  light  of  nature,  without  an  outward  rule,  or 
by  the  untaught  dictates  of  ^eir  own  minds,  infiu- 
enced,  however,  by  the  preventing  grace  of  God, 
which  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  Tit.  ii.  11 5  or,  the 
true  light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world:  the  things  contained  in  the  law — 
The  moral  duties  required  by  the  precepts  of  the 
law,  the  ten  commandments  being  only  the  sub- 
stance of  the  law  of  nature.  Tliese,  not  having  the 
written  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves — That  is, 
what  the  law  was  to  the  Jews,  they  are  by  the  light 
and  grace  of  God  to  themselves,  namely,  a  rule  of 
life.  All  the  ancient  Greek  conunentators,  as 
Whitby  has  shown,  Interpreted  this  passage  not  of 
the  Gentiles  who  had  been  converted  to  Christian- 
ity, but  of  those  Gentiles  who  had  not  been  favoured 
with  a  revealed  law,  and  therefore  were  neither  pro- 
selytes to  Judaism  nor  Christianity.  Who  show — 
To  tiiemselves  and  others,  and,  in  a  sense,  to  Gcd 
himself,  the  work  of  the  law — In  its  most  important 
moral  precepts,  in  the  substance,  though  not  in  the 
letter  of  them ;  written  in  their  hearts — By  the  same 
divine  hand  which  wrote  the  commandments  on  the 
tables  of  stone ;  their  conscience  also  bearing  wit- 
ness— For  or  against  them,  or  testifying  how  far 
they  have  complied  with  their  light  or  law.  There 
is  not  one  of  all  its  faculties  which  the  soul  has  less 
in  its  power  than  this.  And  their  thoughts — Or 
their  reasonings  or  reflections  upon  their  own  con- 
duct ;  the  meawithile — Or,  as  the  expression,  fura^v 
aXkijXov,  is  translated  in  the  margin,  between  them- 
selves, or  by  turns,  according  as  they  do  well  or 
ill;  accusing — Checking  and  condemning  them 
when  they  have  acted  contrary  to  their  light;  or 
else  excusing — Approving  and  justifying  them 
when  they  have  conformed  to  it.  Hence  the  apostle 
meant  it  to  be  inferred,  that  it  was  not  the  having, 
or  knowing  the  law,  (verse  13,)  nor  tbe  condemning 
others  for  the  transgression  of  it,  could  avail  a  man, 
but  the  doing  of  it,  or  walking  according  to  it.  We 
may  observe  further  on  this  verse,  that,  as  the  law 
in  this  c6ntext  signifies  divine  revelation,  the  work 
of  the  law  must  be  men's  duty,  which  revelation  dis- 
covers by  its  precepts,  w  hich  is  also  in  part  disco- 
vered by  mien's  natural  reason  and  conscience,  influ- 
enced by  the  light  and  grace  of  God;  on  which  ac- 
count it  is  said  to  be  written  on  their  hearts.  Thus, 
in  the  compass  of  two  verses,  the  apostle  hath  ex- 
plained what  thelight  of  nature  is,  and  demonstrated 
that  there  U  such  a  light  existing.  It  is  a  revelation 
29 


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ihe  law  of  God. 


A.  M.  4064.  in  their  hearts,  ^  their  conscience  also 

'■ — '-  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts 

^  the  mean  while  accusing,  or  else  excusing  one 
another ;) 

16  <"  In  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the 
secrete  of  men,  ^  by  Jesus  Christ,  *  according  to 
mygospl. 


*  Or,  the  congcUnee  witnegsint  -with  them. *  Or»  beiwem  thgrn- 

B^veB. o  Ecdes.  zii.  14 ;  Mmtt.  xxv.  31 ;  John  xiL  48 ;  Chap. 

iii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  ir.  5 ;  Rev.  xx.  12. P  John  t.  22 ;  Acts  x.  42 ; 

xrii.  31 ;  2Tin».  ix.  1, 8 ;  1  Pel.  iv.  5. «» Chip.  xri.  25 ;  1  Tini. 

L  11;  2Tioi.iL  a 


from  God  written  originally  on  the  heart  or  mind  of 
man ;  consequently  is  a  revelation  common  to  all  na- 
tions ;  and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  agrees  with  the  things 
written  In  the  external  revelation  which  God  hath 
made  to  some  nations.  We  are  compelled,  how- 
ever, when  we  come  to  consider  matters  of  fact,  to 
acknowledge  that  this  light  of  nature  has  been  dread- 
fully obscured  and  corrupted,  even  in  the  most 
learned  and  civilized  heathen  nations  upon  earth,  as 
the  apostle  has  proved  at  large  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  preceding  chapter.  And  long  before  the  ages  re- 
ferred to  by  him,  AU  flesh  had  corrupted  its  way, 
Qen.  vi.  5, 11 ;  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  grass 
darkness  the  people,  Isa.  Ix.  2;  there  was  none  that 
understood,  (chap.  iii.  11 ;)  and  aU  were  alienated 
from  the  life  of  Qod,  through  the  ignorance  that 
was  in  them,  Eph.  iv.  IB,  &c. 

Verse  16.  In  the  day,  &c.— This  relates  to  verse  12, 
the  intermediate  verses,  from  the  13th,  being  a  pa- 
renthesis; when  God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men — 
Not  only  their  outward  actions,  good  and  evil,  which 
are  manifest  to  all  men,  but  their  most  secret  and 
hidden  ones,  with  their  internal  desires  and  designs, 
their  intentions,  purposes,  schemes,  contrivances, 
with  the  various  workings  of  their  passions,  imagi- 
nations, and  thoughts ;  for  he  will  bring  every  work 
into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  he 
good,  or  whether  it  be  evil,  Bcclcs.  xii.  14 ;  will  brinp^ 
to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  will 
make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the  heart,  1  Cor.  iv.  5. 
On  secret  circumstances  depends  the  real  quality  of 
actions,  frequently  unknown  to  the  actors  them- 
selves, verse  29.  Men  generally  form  their  judg- 
ments, even  of  themselves,  merely  from  what  is 
apparent.  By  Jesus  C/trist — To  whom  the  Father 
hath  committed  all  judgment ;  according  to  my  gos- 
pel— According  to  the  tenor  of  that  gospel  which 
is  committed  to  my  trust,  and  is  preached  by  me : 
or  as  I  testify  in  my  preaching  the  gospel.  Acts 
xvii.  81 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  8.  For  it  is  not  the  apostle's 
intention  to  signify  that  all  men  shall  be  judged  by 
the  gospel,  but  only  that  the  gospel  teaches  such  a 
judgment. 

Verses  17-2(X  Behold— Here  he  applies  the  mat- 
ter he  had  discussed  in  the  preceding  verses  more 
closely  to  the  Jews,  and  proves,  that,  notwithstand- 
ing all  their  pretences  and  privileges,  they  were 
transgressors  of  the  law,  and  so  could  not  be  justi- 
fied by  woiks,  any  more  than  the  Gentiles.  And 
33 


17  Behold,  'thou  art  called  a  Jew,  A.M.4064. 

AD  fiO 

and  '  restest  in  the  Iaw>  ^  and  rnakest '. — L 

thy  boast  of  God^ 

18  And  ^knowest  his  will,  and  ^aj^rovest* 
the  things  that  are  more  excellent,  being  in- 
structed out  of  the  law, 

19  And  ^art  confident  that  thou  thyself  art 


'Mattiii.  9;  Johnrlii.  33;    Chip.  ix.6»7;    3  Cor.  zi.  22. 

•Mic.  iii.  11 ;    Chap.  ix.  4. ^In.  xlr.  25;    zlviii.  2;    John 

Tfii.  41.- — ■  Deut.  IT.  8;  Psa.  cxlvii.  19, 2D. »0r,  tnesttht 

things  that  difer. «  PhiL  L  10. T  Matt.  xv.  14 ;  xxiii.  16, 

17, 19,  24 ;  Jdm  ix.  34,  40,  41. 


here  therefore  he  refutes  the  highest  point  of  Jewish 
glorying,  after  a  further  description  of  it,  interposed 
verses  17-30,  and  refuted  verses  21-24.  The  de- 
scription consists  of  twice  five  articles;  of  which 
the  former  five,  verses  17, 18,  show  what  he  boasts 
of  in  himself;  the  other  five^  (verses  10,  20,)  what 
he  glories  in  with  respect  to  others.  The  first  par- 
ticular of  the  former  five  answers  to  the  first  of  the 
latter ;  the  second  to  the  second,  and  so  on.  Thou 
art  called  a  Jew— A  professor  of  the  true  religion, 
and  a  worshipper  of  the  true  God.  Dr.  Macknight 
is  of  opinion  that  in  this  and  the  following  verses, 
the  apostle  intended  to  address  chiefly  the  men  of 
rank  and  learning  among  the  Jews ;  a  supposition 
to  which  he  thinks  it  is  no  objection  that  probably 
there  were  no  doctors  of  the  law,  nor  Jewish  scribes 
and  priests  at  Rome,  when  this  letter  was  written ; 
because,  "as  the  apostle  was  reasoning  against  the 
whole  body  of  the  nation,  his  argument  required 
that  he  should  address  the  teachers  of  every  deno- 
mination, to  whom  the  things  wrKten  in  this  and  the 
following  verses  best  agree.  Besides,  as  he  had 
addressed  the  heathen  legislators,  philosophers,  and 
priests,  in  the  first  chapter,  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing them  the  bad  use  they  had  made  of  the  know- 
ledge they  derived  from  the  works  of  creation,  it 
was  natural  for  him  in  this  to  address  the  Jewish 
scribes,  priests,  and  doctors,  to  show  them  how  little 
they  had  profited  by  the  knowledge  which  they  had 
derived  from  revelation.  Of  the  Jewish  common 
people  the  apostle  speaks,  chap.  iii.  20,  &c.,  where 
he  proves  that  they  also  were  extremely  vicious." 
Am  restest  in  the  law — Dependest  on  it  alone,  and 
on  the  having  of  it,  for  justification  and  salvation, 
though  it  can  only  condemn  thee.  And  makest  thy 
boast  of  God— ha  thy  God ;  as  belonging  only  to 
you  Jews,  and  being  yours  in  a  peculiar  manner ; 
the  founder  of  your  commonwealth ;  your  lawgiver, 
protector,  and  Saviour.  And  knowest  his  will— By 
special  revelation,  and  more  fully  than  tlie  Gentiles. 
And  approvest  the  things  that  are  more  eaxellcnt-* 
Hast  attained  to  a  considerable  degree  of  under- 
standing in  the  law,  so  as  to  place  a  proper  value 
upon  things  according  to  their  worth,  ond  to  distin- 
gubh  between  things  lawful  and  unlawful.  The 
original  words,  doKifia^cic  ra  iiadepovra,  may  be  ren- 
I  dered,  and  triest,  or,  approvest  on  trial,  the  things 
that  differ.  Being iiistructed,  &c.^ — Or,  as  Beza  in- 
terprets K(iTiix*ifuvoi  tK  Tov  vofuwj  Bcing  educated^  or 
b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


praaise  the  truth  are  ineaxmeMe. 


A.  M.406^.  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light  of  them 


A.D.  60. 


which  are  m  darkness, 


20  An  instracter  of  the  fodish,  a  teacher  of 
babes,  '  which  hast  the  form  of  knowledge,  and 
of  the  truth  in  the  law : 
'  21  ^  Thou  therefore  which  teachest  another, 
teachest  thou  not  thyself?  thou  that  preachest 
a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal? 

22  Thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  com- 
mit adultery,  dost  thou  commit  adultery  ?  thou 


■Chap.  vL  17;    2  Tim.  L  13;   iii.  5.- 
Mttt.  zjciij.  3,  6cc, 


»Pia.  1.  16,  &c.; 


instructed  from  thy  childhood^  oiU  of  the  law,  2  Tim. 
iii.  15.  And  art  confident  that  thou  thyself  art  a 
guide  of  the  blind — ^Vainly  presumest  that  thou  hast 
knowledge  enough  to  teach  others.  The  Jewish 
doctors,  in  contempt  of  the  Gentiles,  were  wont  to 
speak  of  them  as  blind — in  darkness — ignorant — 
babes — and  boasted  of  themselves  as  guides,  to 
whose  direction  the  Gentiles,  in  matters  of  religion, 
ought  implicitly  to  submit.  This  boasting  of  the 
Jews  the  apostle  introduced  here,  to  show  that  their 
sins  were  greatly  aggravated  by  the  revelation  of 
which  they  boasted.  Who  hast  the  form  of  know- 
ledge— A  system,  body,  or  model  of  that  knowledge, 
which  is  scattered  up  and  down  in  the  law,  and  of 
the  truths  which  are  there  delivered.  For  the  ori- 
ginal word,/Mp^d(c,  seems  to  bear  this  meaning: 
and  the  apostle  may  be  considered  as  comparing  the 
law  to  a  looking-glass,  which  exhibits  exact  images 
of  things,  as  the  Apostle  /ameS' likewise  does,  chap, 
i.  25.  This  implies  that  they  not  only  considered 
themselves  as  having  a  sketch,  or  the  outlines,  of  the 
truth  contained  in  the  law,  but  the  most  accurate 
knowledge  of  it.  And  this  they  coimted  sufficient 
to  save  them,  though  they  lived  in  a  loose  and  un- 
godly manner. 

Verses  21-24.  Thou  therefore  which  teachest 
another — And  vainest  thyself  upon  thy  ability  to  do 
it,  trusting  therein  for  acceptance  with  Qod;  teach- 
est thou  not  thyself?— He  does  not  leach  himself, 
who  does  not  practise  what  he  teaches.  This,  and 
what  follows,  is  mentioned,  to  show  that  the  know- 
ledge, which  the  scribes  and  doctors  pretended  to 
derive  from  the  law,  had  had  no  manner  of  influence 
on  their  spirit  and  conduct ;  so  that  their  boasting 
in  the  law,  and  their  claim  to  be  the  teachers  of  the 
Gentiles,  were  very  little  to  be  regarded  by  the 
Gentiles.  Dost  thou  steal — commit  adultery — comr- 
mit  sacrilege—Sin  grievously  against  thy  neighbour, 
thyself,  God.  St.  Paul  had  shown  the  Gentiles,  first, 
their  sins  against  God,  then  against  themselves,  then 
.against  their  neighbours.  He  now  inverts  the  order, 
for  sins  against  God  are  the  most  glaring  in  a  hea- 
then ;  but  not  in  a  Jew.  Thou  that  abhorrest  idols 
—Which  all  the  Jews  did,  from  the  time  of  the 
Babylonish  ci^tivity :  thou  committest  sacrilege— 
Dost  what  is  still  worse,  robbing  him,  who  is  God 
over  all^  of  the  glory  which  is  due  to  him.  None 
of  these  charges  were  rashly  advanced  against  the 
b 


that  abhorrest  idds,  Most  thou  commit  a.  M.  4064. 
sacrilege?  ABl^ 

23  Thou  that  "^  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law, 
through  breaking  the  law  dishonourest  thou 
God? 

24  For  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed 
among  the  Gentiles,  through  you,  as  it  is 
^  written. 

25  •  For  circumcision  verily  profiteth,  if  thou 
keep  the  law ;  but  if  thou  be  a  breaker  of  the 


bMal.  iii.  6. 'Yene  17. <2Sftm.  xiL  14;  Isa.lii.  5; 

Esek.  zxxri.  20,  23. 'GftLr.  3. 


Jews  of  that  age.  For  (as  their  own  historian  r^ 
lates)  some  even  of  the  priests  lived  by  rapine,  and 
others  in  gross  uncleanncss.  And  as  for  sacrile- 
giously robbing  God  and  his  altar,  it  had  been  com- 
plained of  ever  since  MalachL  So  that  the  instances 
are  given  with  great  propriety  and  judgment  Thou 
that  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law— As  so  excellent, 
and  thinkest  it  such  an  honour  to  be  acquainted  with 
it,  through  breaking  the  law  dishonourest  thou  God  7 
— Dost  thou  act  as  if  thou  wert  studying  the  decla- 
ration of  his  will,  only  to  show  bun  in  a  more  pre- 
sumptuous c^dcontumaciotis  manner,  that  thou  dost 
not  regard  it  7  For  the  ncane  of  God  is  blasphemed 
SpolLen  evil  of^  as  if  it  countenanced  and  encou- 
raged such  wickedness  as  that  in  which  you  live, 
and  his  holy  religion  is  bfought  into  contempt 
thereby ;  as  it  is  writtenj  in  your  own  Scriptures, 
concerning  your  fathers,  whose  evil  deeds  you  so 
generally  imitate.  See  the  margin.  We  find  Jose- 
phus  frequently  accusing  the  Jews  of  what  is  here 
laid  to  their  charge  by  the  apostle,  saying,  "  What 
wickedness  do  you  conceal,  or  hide,  which  is  not 
known  to  your  enemies?  You  triumph  in  your 
wickedness,  strive  daily  who  shall  be  most  vile, 
making  a  show  of  your  wickedness  as  if  it  were 
virtue."  ^'  And  thinkest  thou  this,  O  man,  that  thou 
shalt  escape  the  judgment  of  God,  who  punishes  the 
Gentiles,  when  thou  art  as  guilty  as  they  of  acting 
against  thy  conscience,  and  doing  that  for  which 
thine  own  mouth  condemns  thee,  or,  which  is  as  bad 
as  that  which  thou  condemnest  in  them,  and  which 
also  causes  them  to  blaspheme  that  holy  name  by 
which  thou  art  called !  Surely  after  these  things,  so 
scandalously  done,  it  will  be  of  no  advantage  to  thee 
that  thou  art  called  a  Jew,  or  hast  received  the  sign 
of  circumcision."— Whitby. 

Verses  25-27.  For  circumcision  verily  profiteth— 
He  does  not  say  jusiijieth.  How  far  it  profited  is 
shown  in  the  third  and  fourth  chapters :  if  thou  keep 
the  /ato— Here,  as  in  many  other  passages,  the  apos- 
tle speaks  to  the  thoughts  of  the  Jewish  readers. 
They  fancied  that  circumcision,  by  showing  that 
they  were  descended  from  Abraham,  and  were 
members  of  God's  covenant,  would  ensure  their 
salvation,  though  they  were  ever  so  \yicked.  But 
the  apostle  tells  them  their  circumcision  would  avail 
them  only  if  they  practised  the  law;  that  is,  per- 
formed the  things  required  in  the  covenant  with 
31 


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ROMANS. 


^niheui  a  right  spirii  before  47ei 


A.M. 4064.  law,  thy  circumcision  la  made  un- 
A.  D.  eo.     .  :  . 

. .  circumcision. 

26  Therefore,  ^if  the  uncircumcision  keep 
the  righteousness  of  the  law,  shall  not 
his  uncircumcision  be  counted  for  circum- 
cision ? 

27  And  shall  not  uncircumcision  which  is  by 


'  Acts  z.  34,  35.-— «  Matt.  xii.  41,  42. ^  Matt.  iii.  9 ;  John 


Abrahaoi ;  (see  verse  12;)  in  which  case,  as  the  seal 
of  that  covenant,  it  would  give  them  assurance  of 
salvation.  But,  if  they  did  not  peribrm  the  precepts 
of  that  covenant,  their  circumcision  would  be  of  no 
use  to  them.  If  Ihou  be  a  breaker  of  the  lav> — 
Living  in  known  sin,  thy  circumcinofi  i$  made  un- 
circuTrtcision—U  so  already  in  eflfect.  Thou  wilt 
have  no  more  benefit  by  it  than  if  thou  hadst  never 
received  it-  The  very  same  observation  holds  with 
regard  to  baptism.  Therefore^  &c. — As  if  he  had 
said.  Since  the  stress  of  all  lies  upon  keeping  the 
law,  therefore,  if  the  uncircumcision — That  is,  a 
person  uncircumcised ;  keep  the  righteousness  of 
the  law — Walk  agreeably  to  it;  shall  not  his  uncir- 
cumcision be  counted  for  circumcision — In  the  sight 
of  God  ?  He  shall  be  accounted  a  Jew  spiritually, 
(verse  29,)  and  accepted  of  God,  rather  than  you 
carnal  Jews,  who  continue  to  live  in  sin,  and  boast 
of  your  circumcision.  The  expression,  ra  diKauifiara 
TH  vofjtSj  rendered,  t?ie  righteousness  of  the  law,  is  in 
the  plural  number,  and  rendered  by  Locke,  the  rec- 
titude of  the  law  J  considering  Paul  as  using  it  '^for 
all  those  precepts  of  the  law  which  contain  in  them 
any  part  of  the  natural  and  eternal  rule  of  recti- 
tude, which  is  made  known  to  men  by  the  light  of 
reason  t  a  rule  of  their  actions,  which  all  mankind, 
uncircumcised  as  well  as  circumcised,  had,  and  is 
that  which  (chap.  i.  32)  Paul  calls  Sucatufia  t«  i^c», 
[rendered  there,  the  judgment  of  Oodj}  because  it 
came  from  God,  and  was  made  by  him  the  moral 
rule  to  all  mankind,  being  laid  within  the  discovery 
of  their  reason.  And  t)iis  rule  of  morality  Paul  says 
the  Grentile  world  did  acknowledge."  Doddridge 
renders  the  expression,  the  righteous  determinations 
of  the  law  j  and  Macknight,  the  precepts  of  the  laws 
referring  to  the  above-quoted  expression,  chap.  i.  32, 
which  he  considers  as  signifying  the  law  of  God 
written  on  men's  hearts ;  or,  as  he  here  terms  it,  the 
law  of  faith, "  the  precepts  of  which,''  he  says,  "the 
Gentiles  may  both  know  and  keep.  For  the  light 
of  natural  reason  dictates  its  two  great  precepts, 
namely,  that  men  should  believe  in  God,  and  obey 
him  from  love.  Further,  the  prcicepts  of  this  law 
are  very  properly  expressed  by  words  which  literally 
signify  righteousness  of  the  law^  because  they  who 
keep  them  are  accounted  righteous  in  the  sight  of 
God;  that  is,  are  treated  by  God  as  righteous  per- 
sons for  the  sake  of  Christ."  And  shall  not  uncir- 
cumcision which  is  by  nature — Those  who  are,  lite- 
rally speaking,  uncircumcised.  "The  words,  by 
nature,  are  added  by  the  apostle  to  show  that  he  is 
speaking  of  persons  without  revelation,  and  not  of 
32 


nature,  if  it  fulfil  the  law,  irjudge'A.  M.4064. 
thee,  who  by  the  lett^  and  drcum-  — 1-i — ^ 
cidon  doet  transgress  the  law  1 

28  For  ^he  is  not  a  Jew,  which  is  one  out- 
wardly ;  neither  is  that  circumcision,  which  is 
outward  in  the  AeAk : 

29  But  he  i^  a  Jew  '  which  is  one  inwardly^; 


Till.  39 ;  Chap.  iz.  6,  7 ;  Gal  tL  16 ;  Rer.  li.  9. >  1  Fet.  iii.  4. 


the  converted  Gentiles,  nor  of  those  who  should 
hereafter  be  converted :"  if  it  fulfil  the  law.  That  is, 
as  to  the  substance  of  it,  namefy,  the  law  of  faith 
above  mentioned.  "  For  though  the  Gentiles  were 
ignorant  of  the  covenant  that  was  made  at  the  fall, 
and  of  its  promises,  they  might  both  know  and  per- 
form its  requisitions,  verses  6, 7.  Accordingly,  many 
of  the  Gentiles  believed  in  the  true  God,  arid  obeyed 
him  from  a  principle  of  faith  and  love."  Judge  thee 
— Condenm  thee  by  his  example,  and  make  thy 
condemnation  appear  to  be  just,  in  that  thou  hiist 
more  helps  and  advantages,  and  yet  performest  less 
duty :  who  by  the  letter  and  circrnidsion—By  trust- 
mg  so  much  to  thy  having  the  law  in  writing,  and 
to  thy  being  circumcised,  as  if  these  things  were 
sufficient  to  save  thee :  or  by  trusting  to  the  outward 
privilege  of  circumcision,  which  thou  partakest  of 
according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  but  wautest  the 
intcmal  and  spiritual  part  thereof.  Dost  transgress 
the  /air— Takest  liberty  thereupon  to  indulge  thyself 
securely  in  sin,  as  if  these  things  would  preserve 
thee  from  punishment.  The  judgment  which  the 
Gentiles,  who  ftilfil  the  law,  are  here  said  to  pass  on 
the  wicked  Jews,  is  the  same  with  that  which  the 
Jews  are  said,  verse  1,  to  pass  on  the  wicked  Gen- 
tiles ;  namely,  that  they  are  worthy  of  death.  But 
they  passed  this  judgment  on  the  Jews  with  much 
more  reason  than  the  Jews  passed  it  on  them ;  be- 
cause, while  they  condemned  the  Gentiles,  they 
expected  to  be  saved  themselves,  though  guilty  of 
the  very  same  crimes,  abusing  far  greater  privileges, 
and  breaking  through  much  stronger  obligations. 

Verses  28,  29.  For  he  is  not  a  Jew— In  the  most 
important  sense,  that  is,  one  of  God's  beloved  peo- 
ple; or  a  true  child  of  Abraham,  to  whom  the 
promise  belongs,  and  one  that  God  will  own  for  a 
true  member  of  his  church ;  who  is  one  outwardly — 
Only;  or  one  of  Abraham's  posterity,  according  to 
the  flesh,  and  enjoys  the  outward  privileges  belong- 
ing to  that  relation.  Neither  is  that  circumcision — 
The  chief  and  true  circumcision,  acceptable  to  God ; 
which  is  outward  in  the  Jlesh^-ConsiBi^  only  in  the 
outward  ordinance,  and  the  mark  imprinted  on  the 
flesh.  But  he  is  a  Jew— One  of  Abraham's  spiritual 
seed;  ir^  is  one  inwardly — ^Who  inwardly  pos- 
sesses the  disposition  of  Abraham,  and  imitates  him 
in  his  faith  and  obedience.  In  this  sense,  the  pious 
Gentiles,  though  uncircumcised,  and  members  of  no 
visible  church,  were  really  Jews,  or  children  of 
Abraham,  entitled  to  the  blessings  of  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  him.  It  is  of  such  as  these 
that  Christ  speaks,  in  his  epistle  to  the  church  at 

b 


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fhme  drcumcmon  u  of  the  heart. 


CHAPTER  lU. 


PritUeges  of  the  JmM  €Ao/9t  oihen. 


LM.406i.  and  ^circumcision  is  that  of   the! 'letter;  "^ whose  praise  »  not  of  men^  A.M.40M. 

' ItMirf    M«   tJiA  Rnirit.   nnrl  nn#  in  fhp     Init  Af  firmL  L 


heart,  ^in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the 


k CoL  ii.  11 ;  PhiL ulZ, > Chap. yii.  6 ;  2  Cor.  iii. 0. 


Smjrma,  Rev.  IL  9;  /  know  the  bla9phemy  of  them 
loho  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  are  the 
tynagogru  of  Satan,  And  circwncmon  is  that  of 
the  heart-^Tht  circumdsion  which  renders  men  the 
sons  of  Abraham,  and  the  people  of  God,  is  of  the 
heart,  made  by  cutt'mg  off  or  mortifying  its  lusts. 
That  this  is  the  true  circumcision,  or  the  thing  meant 
by  that  rite,  is  evident  from  the  command  of  Moses 
to  the  Jews,  Deut.  z.  16,  Circumcise  the  foreskin  of 
your  hearts,  and  be  no  more  stiff-necked;  and  from 
the  promise  made  to  the  same  people,  Deut.  xxx.  6, 
The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thy  heart,  to  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart.  In  the  spirit 
— Seated  in  the  inmost  soul,  renewed  by  the  Spirit 
of  Cfod.  Or  the  expression  may  mean,  according  to 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  law ;  and  not  in  the  letter — 


«  1  C«r.  iv.5;  2  Cor.  z.  18;  1  Tbw.  ii.  4. 


Not  in  an  external  ceremony,  performed  only  ac- 
cording to  the  letter  of  it.  Whose  praise  isnoiof 
men — ^Who  look  only  on  the  outward  appearance, 
and  will  probably  be  so  far  from  esteeming,  that 
they  will  despise  and  hate  such;  but  cf  God 
— Who  sees  in  secret,  and  approves  of  what  is 
internally  holy  and  spiritual.  It  is  justly  observed 
by  Macknight  here,  that  the  apostle,  by  distinguish- 
ing between  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  intimates  that  ^e  rites  enjoined  in  that  law 
were  t3rpical,  and  had  a  spiritual  or  moral  meaning, 
as  Moses  also  expressly  declared  to  the  Jews,  Lev. 
xxvL  41,  and  in  thepass^es  of  Deuteronomy  above 
quoted.  Jeremiah,  likewise,  chap.  iv.  4,  represents 
circumcision  as  emblematicsLl  ^  consequently  aU  the 
1  other  rites  of  the  law  were  so  likewLne 


CHAPTER  in. 

In  this  chapter,  after  removing  some  objections,  {!,)  The  sad  case  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  is  further  iUustrated;  and  ihs 
representation  shown  to  be  agreeable  to  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  1-19.  (2,)  Prom  this  statement  cf  the  guilt 
and  misery  of  Tnankind,  the  apostle  deduces  the  necessity  of  seeking  justification  by  ihe  gospel ;  and  consequently  the  or* 
edUnce  of  the  gospel  dispensation  as  exhibiting  the  method  of  it,  20-31. 


A.  M.  4054.  TITHAT  advantage  then  hath  the 
— — '. — L  Jew?  or  what  profit  is  there  of 

circamcision  ? 


«  Deat  it.  7^  8 ;  Pia.  ozIriL  19,  20 ; 


NOTES  ON  CUAPTER  III. 

Verses  1, 2.  WhcU  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ?— 
The  foregoing  reasonings  being  contrary  to  the  pre- 
judices of  the  Jews,  one  of  that  nation  is  here  intro- 
duced objecting,  If  our  being  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham, members  of  the  church  of  (zod,  and  heirs  of 
the  promises,  will  procure  us  no  favour  at  the  judg- 
ment,— and  if  the  want  of  these  privileges  will  not 
preclude  the  heathen  from  salvation ; — or.  If  it  be 
so  that  God  looks  only  at  the  heart,  and  does  not 
regard  persons  for  their  external  privileges,  what  is 
the  pre-eminence  of  a  Jew  above  a  Gentile,  and,  (for 
there  are  two  questions  here  asked,)  what  profit  is 
there  of  circumcision — ^And  of  the  other  ritual  ser- 
vices which  are  enjoined  in  the  law?  To  the  first 
of  these  questions  the  apostle  answers  in  this  chap- 
ter, and  to  the  second  in  chap,  iv.,  beginning  at  verse 
11.  Much  every  way-^Or  in  every  respect.  The 
respects  in  which  the  Jews  were  superior  to  the 
Gentiles  are  enumerated  chap.  ix.  4^  5,  where  see 
the  notes.  CMefly,  because  unto  them  were  com- 
mitted  the  oracles  of  God— The  Scriptures,  in  which 
are  contained  great  and  important  truths,  precepts, 
and  promises.    This  prerogative  Paul  here  singles 

Vol.  IL  (  8  ) 


2  Much  every  way :  chiefly,  be- 
cause that  *unto  them  were  commit- 
ted the  oracles  of  God. 


AM.40M 

A.D.  ta 


Cluq>.  ii  18 ;  iz.  4. 


out,  by  which,  after  removing  the  objec^on,  he  eoo- 
victs  them  so  much  the  more.  "  The  Greeks  used 
the  word  Xoyia,  oracles,  to  denote  the  responses 
which  their  deities,  or  rather  their  prfests,  made  to 
those  who  consulted  them,  especially  if  they  were 
delivered  in  prose:  for,  as  Beza  observes,  they  gave 
a  different  name,  xpn^f^h  ^^  ^^^  responses  as  were 
uttered  in  verse.  Here  oracles  denote  the  wh^e  of 
the  divine  revelations;  and,  among  the  rest,  the  law 
of  Moses,  which  Stephen  calls  Xoyia  ^ra^  lining 
oracles.  Acts  vii.  18,  because  Go<l  spake  that  law  in 
persoiL  All  the  revelations  of  God  to  maakind, 
from  the  beginning  of  thei  world  to  his  own  tlmea^ 
Moses,  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  eommitled  to 
writing;  and  what  further  revelations  God  was 
pleased  to  make  to  mankind  during  the  subeistr* 
ence  of  the  Jewish  Church,  he  made  by  prophet% 
who  recorded  them  in  books ;  and  the  whole  wa» 
intrusted  to  the  Jews,  to  be  kept  for  their  own  henefil 
aind  for  the  benefit  of  the  world.  Now,  this  heia^g 
the  chief  of  all  their  advantages,  as  Jews,  it  alone  is 
mentioned  here  by  the  apostle.  In  like  manner,  the 
psalmist  has  mentioned  the  word  of  God  as  the  da»* 
tinguishing  privilege  of  the  Israelites,  Psa.  cxlyil  19; 
»  b 


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7%e  apoBtle  tinatoctUB 


B0MAN8. 


ChtPt/aUli^em. 


A.  It  4061. 
A- 0.60. 


3  For  what  if  ^some  did  not  be- 
lieve?   ''shall  their  unbdief  make 
the  foith  of  God  without  effect  ? 
4  *  God  forbid :   yea,  let  •  God  be  true,  but 
'every  man  a  tar;  as  it  18  written,  'That 
thou  mightest  be  justified  in  thy  sayings,  and 


^Chsp.  z.  16;  Heb.  It.  2.-'— •Nun.  zziiL  19;  Chapb iz.  6; 
ai.29j  2Tiin.  U.  13. *  Job  xl  B, 


Hehaih  showed  his  word  urUo  Jacob,  &c.  ffe  hath 
not  dealt  so  wWi  any  nation.  The  benefits  which 
the  Jcw8  derived^from  the  oracles  of  God,  the  apos- 
tle had  no  occasion  to  explain  heVe,  because  they 
were  aU  introduced  in  the  boasting  of  the  Jew, 
described  chap.  ii.  17-23."— Macknight. 

Verses  3, 4.  For  what  if  some— And  they  a  con- 
siderable number,  of  those  who  once  possessed  these 
invaluable  treasures ;  did  not  believe—Them,  or  did 
not  duly  consider  what  they  speculatively  believed, 
and  so  rejected  the  gospel  to  which  they  were  in- 
tended to  lead ;  shall  their  unbelief  make  without 
«?/ftfC/— Shall  it  disannul;  the  faith  of  Ood—KiB 
faithful  promises  made  to  Abraham  and  his  seed, 
especially  of  sending  the  Messiah,  and  of  effecting 
our  redemption  by  him  ?  Shall  it  destroy  his  fidelity 
to  his  promises,  and  prevent  his  fulfilling  them  to 
them  that  do  believe  ?  God,  having  promised  to  give 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an 
everlasting  possession,  and  to  be  their  God,  the  Jews 
afllrmed  that  if  they  were  cast  off  from  being  his 
people,  and  driven  out  of  Canaan  for  not  believing 
on  Jesus,  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  performing 
hb  promises  would  be  destroyed.  Probably  the 
apostles,  in  their  discourses  to  the  Jews,  bad,  if  not 
expressly  affirmed,  yet  obscurely  intimated,  that  for 
crucifying  Jesus  they  would  be  punished  in  that 
manner.  God  forbid-'Thni  we  should  insinuate 
any  thing  that  can  be  justly  considered  as  deroga- 
tory (o  God's  faithfulness:  yea,  let  God  be  tru&^ 
Lst  the  blessed  God  be  acknowledged  true  to  his 
eovenant  and  his  promises,  though  every  man 
fllioald  be  esteemed  a  liar,  and  unfit  to  have  any 
eonfldenee  reposed  in  him ;  or,  though  every  Jew 
riiOQld  disbelieve,  and  be  cast  off  on  that  account 
To  understand  this  more  fully,  We  must  recollect, 
that  tiie  performance  of  the  promises  to  the  natural 
seed  of  Abraham,  is,  in  the  original  covenant,  tacitly 
made  to  depend  on  their  faith  and  obedience,  Gen. 
xviy.  19,  and  that  it  is  explicitly  made  to  depend  on 
that  oDttdition  in  the  renewal  of  the  covenant,  Deut. 
xxviiL  1-14.  Besides,  on  that  occamon,  tiod  expressly 
threatened  to  expel  the  natural  seed  fVom  Canaan, 
and  scatter  them  among  the  heathen,  if  they  became 
inMlieving  and  disobedient,  Lev.  xxvi.  83 ;  Deut 
xxvilL  64.  The  rejection,  therefore,  and  expulsion 
of  the  Jews  from  Canaan,  for  their  unbelief,  being  a 
Mfllliogof  the  threatenings  of  the  covenant,  estab- 
Htbad  the  faithftilness  of  God,  instead  of  destroying 
H  Ab  it  is  wriUen,Vs^  114,  That  thou  mightest  be 
psttifiei  in  thy  sayings^Ev  roic  Xoyoit  m  in  thy 
wtrds;  and  mightest  overcome^Be  pronounced 
^oly  «Bd  Just,  and  clear  of  all  imputation  of  un- 


mightest  overcome,  when  thou  art  ^^^2*" 

judged.  

6  But  if  our  unrighteousnen  commend  the 
righteousness  of  God,  what  shall  we  say?  b 
God  unrighteous  who  taketh  vengeance?  (*"  I 
speak  ae^  a  man,) 


•John  iiL  33. 'Pm.  boL  9;   ex?L  11.- 

bCliH».  vL  19;  Gal.  iii.  15. 


rPsa.  Ii.  i. 


righteousness;  when  thou  art  Judgedr^VHien  any 
presume  insolently  to  arrsdgn  the  equity  of  thy  con- 
duct, or,  when  thy  proceedings  are  narrowly  ex- 
amined by  right  reason.  The  original  expression, 
however,  ev  tu  Kpivea^ai  ae,  it  seems,  should  rather 
be  rendered,  when  thoujudgest,  a  translation  agree- 
able to  the  place  whence  the  quotation  is  made. 
God's  words  referred  to,  in  which  David  justified 
God,  or  acknowledged  him  to  be  jost,  are  those 
threatenings  which  Nathan,  by  God's  order,  de- 
nounced against  htm,  on  account  of  his  crimes  of 
adultery  and  murder,  2  Sam.  xii.  d-12.  And  God 
judged,  or  punished  David,  when  he  executed  these 
threatenings  on  him  and  his  posterity;  and  David 
acknowledged  God  to  be  just,  or  clear,  in  doing  this, 
by  receiving  the  deserved  punishment  in  humility, 
resignation,  and  meekness.  And  the  apostle  seems 
to  have  quoted  David's  confession,  that  God's  pun- 
ishing him  in  the  manner  threatened  by  Nathan, 
was  no  breach  of  the  promises  he  had  made  to  him 
and  liis  posterity,  because  it  showed  the  Jews  that 
God's  promises,  like  his  threatenings,  were  all  con- 
ditiond,  and  that,  cotisistently  with  his  promises  to 
Abraham  and  to  his  seed,  God  might  reject  the  Israel- 
ites, and  drive  them  out  of  Canaan,  they  having  for- 
feited their  right  to  be  accounted  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  the  faithful,  by  their  infidelity; 
and  the  Gentiles,  by  imitating  his  faith,  being  now 
received  for  God's  children. 

Verses  5, 6.  But — It  may  be  f\irther  objected ;  if 
our  unrighteousness  commend  the  righteousness  of 
6rod— Be  subservient  to  God's  glory;  or,  if  our 
infidelity  be  so  far  from  making  void  the  faithful- 
ness of  God,  that  it  renders  it  more  illustrious,  then 
we  ought  not  to  be  condemned  for  it  But  Dr. 
Whitby  ilnderstands,  by  the  righteousness  of  Godj 
the  righteousness  of  faith,  which  indeed  is  generally 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  this  epistle ;  and,  as 
in  the  first  chapter  the  necessity  of  this  faith  is 
shown  with  respect  to  the  Gentiles,  because  other- 
wise they,  being  unrighteous,  could  not  be  justified 
before  God,  or  escape  his  wrath  revealed  against 
all  unrighteousness  ;  and  in  the  second  chapter  the 
same  is  proved  respecting  the  Jews  by  reason  of 
their  unrighteousness,  which  arguments  plainly 
serve  to  commend  and  establish  this  way  of  right- 
eousness by  faith  in  Christ,  from  the  necessity  of  it 
to  the  justification  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  he 
therefore  ^sonsiders  thejmport  of  the  objection  to 
be,  "If  the  unrighteousness  both  of  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles tend  so  visibly  to  illustrate  and  recommend  the 
wisdom  and  grace  of  God,  in  appointing  this  way 
of  justification  by  faith  in  Christ,  is  it  righteous  in 
(8*)  b 


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«tate  i^boik  Jews  amd  QmUlm. 


A.  11.4064.    6  God  ibitiid:  for  then  'how  BhiOl 
±^J!L  God  judge  the  world? 

7  For  if  the  truth  of  God  haA  more  abounded 
through  my  lie  unto  his  glory ;  wkj  yet  am  I 
also  judged  as  a  simMr? 

8  Aud  not  rather^  (as  we  be  slanderoudy 
reported,  and  as  some  affirm  that  we  say,) 
^ Let  us  do  evil,  that  good  may  come?  ^Hiose 
damnation  is  jusL 

9  What  then?  are  we  beOer  ^Aan  iAey  ?  No, 


<  Oen.  ZTiii  25;  Job  Tiii.3;  zxzir.  17.- 


k  Chap.  T.  20 ;  vi. 


God  to  punish  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  as  you  say 
he  has  done  and  will  do,  for  that  unrighteousness 
that  tends  so  highly  to  advance  the  glory  of  divine 
grace  displayed  in  the  gospel  T'  Whal  thcdl  'we 
say — ^What  inference  shall  we  draw  %  It  Ood  tinr 
righteaw  who  takeih  vetigeance-^MosX  we  grant 
that  God  acts  unjnsUy  in  punishing  those  pracUoes 
which  so  illustrate  his  mercy,  fai^ulness,  luid  other 
perfections?  /speoArot  amoft— Asamerenatoral 
man,  not  acquainted  with  the  revealed  will  of  God, 
or  not  influenced  by  his  Spirit;  or  as  hnman  weak- 
ness would  be  ^  to  speak.  Ood  foHnd^ThtiX  I 
dumld  harbour  such  a  thought,  or  allow  such  a 
consequence ;  for  then-^lf  it  were  unjust'  in  him  to 
punish  that  unrighteousness  which  is  subservient  to 
his  own  glory,  Aow  should  Cfod  jttdge  the  world — 
SKnce  all  the  unrighteousness  in  the  world  will  then 
commend  the  righteousness  of  Crod.  Add  to  this, 
the  very  idea  of  God's  judging  the  world,  implies 
that  it  liMl  be  done  in  rigktesttsntss.  For  if  any 
person  were  to  have  .injustice  done  him  on  that 
occasion,  it  wovdd  not  be  judgment,  but  a  capricious 
exercise  of  power,  whereby  the  Judge  would  be 
dishonoured.  On  this  idea  is  founded  the  answer 
which  Abraham  made  to  God,  respecting  the  de- 
struction of  Sodom,  which  answer  perhaps  the 
apostle  had  now  in  his  eye,  Gen.  xviii.  35;  Shall 
not  the  Judge  of  oUlhe  earth  do  right? 

Verses  7, 8.  #\>r— Or  6ti<  (the  objector  may  reply) 
if  the  truth  of  Oed  h€Uh  more  abounded^Hsm  been 
more  abundantly  shown;  through  my  Ue — If  my 
lie,  that  is,  practice  contrary  to  truth,  conduces  to 
the  glory  of  God,  by  making  his  truth  shine  with 
superior  advantage;  whof  am  I  yet  judged  as  a 
sinner^And  arraigned  for  that  whidi  is  attended 
with  such  happy  consequences  ?  Can  my  conduct 
be  said  to  besinfol  at  all?  Ought  I  not  to  do  what 
would  otherwise  be  evil,  that  sa  much  good  may 
come?  To  this  the  apostle  does  not  deign  to  give 
a  direct  answer,  adding,  whose  damnation^  of  con- 
demnation, is  just.  The  condemnation  of  all,  who 
either  speak  or  act  in  this  manner.  Here  the  apostle 
teaches  expressly  the  unlawfulness  of  doing  evil, 
any  evil,  on  the  pretence  of  promoting  what  is  good. 
Such  a  pretence,  if  allowed,  would  justify  the  great- 
est crimes.  This,  however,  the  aposOe  here  signifies 
they  were  slanderously  reported  as  teaching;  pro- 
bably on  a  misinterpretation  of  their  doetrtee,  that 


in    no   wise:    fDr   we  have  before  AM.4064. 
'proved  both  Jews  and  Oeotiles,  that    ^^'^ 
^  they  are  alL  under  sin ; 

10  As  it  K  written,  ^  There  is  none  righteouSi 
no,  not  one: 

11  There  is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is 
none  that  seeketh  after  God. 

.  12  They  are  all  gcme  out  of  the  way,  they 
are  together  become  unproitaUe:  there  is 
none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  cme. 


*  Or.  ehargtdf  ch^hp.  i.  28,  &c. :  ii.  l,&c.- 
iiL  22. *P8a.  xiv.  1-3;  liii.  1. 


>Vene23;  Od. 


the  greatness  of  the  sins  of  which  the  Gentiles  were 
guilty,  rendered  Ood's.  goodness  in  sending  Christ 
to  die  for  them  the  more  illustrious. 

Verses  9-18.  ITkcrftfUft— WeUthen,(mayaJew 
further  urge,)  since  you  grant  that  the  Jews  have 
the  advantage  of  the  Gentiles  in  point  of  privileges, 
having  the  oracles  of  God,  the  promises  which  he 
will  never  foil  to  observe,  and  the  principles  of 
righteousness  which  he  will  never  himself  violate 
in  his  conduct,  are  we  not  in  a  hetter  condition  for 
obtaining  Justification  by  our  own  obedience  to  his 
law  1  Nojinnq  vit e—The  apostle  answers,  that  aU 
are  equal  in  that  point,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
For  we  have  before  proved — Namely,  in  the  two 
former  chapters ;  both  Jews — By  the  breach  of  the 
written  law;  and  Gentiles — By  transgressing  the 
law  of  nature ;  that  they  are  a^Z— Every  one  of  them, 
without  exception ;  under  «tn— Under  the  guilt  and 
power  of  it :  and  so  are  equally  excluded  from  the 
possibility  of  being  justified  by  works.  And  there- 
fore gospel  righteousness,  or  justification  by  faith,  is 
no  less  necessary  for  the  one  than  for  the  other. 
As  it  is  written-'Uere  he  proves  further,  concerning 
the  Jews,  that  they  were  unrighteous  before  God, 
by  testimonies  taken  from  their  own  prophets  con- 
cerning their  universal  corruption,  and  he  rightly 
cites  David  and  Isaiah,  (see  the  margin,)  though 
they  spoke  primarily  of  their  outv  age,  and  ex- 
pressed what  manner  of  men  Ood  sees  when  he 
^oo^j  down  from  heaveny  not  what  they  become 
when  renewed  by  his  grace.  Tl^ere  is  none  right- 
eous^That  lives  exactly  according  to  the  rule  of 
God's  law.  This  is  the  general  proposition,  the 
particulars  follow ;  their  dispositions  and  designs, 
verses  11, 12;  their  discourse,  verses  13, 14;  their 
actions,  verses  16-18.  There  is  none  iJuU  under- 
standethr—The  things  of  God,  till  God,  by  giving 
them  the  spirit  ofwisdo^n  and  revelatioi^  open  the 
eyes  of  their  understanding ;  there  is  none  that  seek" 
eth  after  Ood— To  know,  worship,  and  serve  him 
aright;  to  obtain  his  favour,  recover  bis  image,  aoi 
enjoy  communion  with  him ;  that  is,  till  God,  by  his 
grace,  incline  them  to  seek  after  him.  Tliey  are  all 
gone  out  of  (lie  way— Namely,  of  truth  into  error, 
of  righteousness  into  sin,  of  happiness  into  misery. 
T\ey  are  together-^nd  and  all;  become  unprofiir 
oMe— Unfit  and  unable  to  bring  forth  any  good  fmit, 
and  to  profit  either  themselves  or  others.    TTiere  is 


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ofJtwi  <md  OetMei  6y  nahirt^ 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.  eo. 


13  '^Tfadr  throat  f^  an  open  B&p- 
ukhre :  with  their  tongues  they  have 
used  decdt:  ^the  poison  of  asps  is  under 
thar  lips : 

14  ^  Whose  mouth  t^  full  <tf  cursing  and  bit- 
temess: 

15  "^  Their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood : 

16  Destruction  and  misery  are  in  thdr  wajrs: 

17  And  the  way  ot  peace  have  they  not 
known : 

18  '^  There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 


■  Psalm  T.  9 ;  Jer.  t.  16.—*  Praloi  cad.  3.-^ — p  PMlm  x.  7. 

<  Prov.  L  16:  In.  lix.  7,  8. '  P«a.  xxxvL  1.— '  John  x.  34; 

XT.  25. « Job  T.  16 ;  Psa.  crii.  42 ;  Exk.  xri.  63 ;  CHitp.  i.  20  ; 

a.  1. ^«  Yene*  9,  23 ;  Chap.  ii.  2. 


none  that  doeth  good — From  a  right  principle,  to  a 
right  end,  by  a  right  rule,  and  in  a  right  spirit ;  or 
perfectly,  according  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  lav 
which  they  are  under.  Their  throat  ib  an  open 
sepulchre— ^olaome  and  dangerons  as  such ;  or,  their 
speech  is  offensive,  corrupt,  and  loathsome.  Ob- 
serve the  progress  of  evil  discourse ;  proceeding  out 
of  the  heart,  through  the  throat,  tongue,  lips,  till 
the  whole  mouth  is  fiUed  therewith.  The  poison 
o/(wp«— Infectious,  deadly,  tale -bearing,  evil-speak- 
ing, backbiting,  slandering,  is  wider  (for  honey  4s 
on)  their  lips.  An  asp  is  a  venomous  kind  of  ser- 
pent. Whose  mouth  is  JuU  of  ciirtmg'— Agamst 
God;  and  bitterness— Proroking  language  against 
their  neighbour:  the  most  shocking  profaneness 
mingles  itself  with  that  malignity  of  heart  toward 
their  fellow-creatures  which  breathes  in  every  word. 
Their  feet  are  swift— To  ^^^  toward  the  places 
where  they  have  appointed ;  to  s?^  the  blood — Of 
the  innocent.  Desh^nction — To  others;  and  misery 
— As  to  themselves ;  are  in  their  ways — In  their 
desires  and  designs^  their  dispositions,  words,  and 
actions.  And  the  way  of  peace — VRiich  can  only 
spring  from  righteousness ;  ihey  have  not  known — 
By  experience,  nor  regarded.  And,  to  sum  up  all  in 
one  word,  the  great  cause  of  all  this  depravity  is, 
that  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyc^^Moch 
less  is  the  love  of  God  in  their  hearts :  they  have  no 
sense  of  religion,  to  restrain  them  from  the  com- 
mission of  these  enormities. 

Verses  19,  39.  Now  what  things  soever  the  law 
saith — That  is,  the  Old  Testament,  for  these  quota- 
tions are  not  made  from  any  part  of  the  five  books 
of  Moses,  but  from  the  Psalms  and  Prophets;  it  saith 
to  them  that  are  under  the  Zaio— That  is,  to  those 
who  own  its  authority,  to  the  Jews,  and  not  to  the 
Gentiles.  The  apostle  quoted  no  scripture  against 
tiiem,  knowing  it  would  have  answered  no  end  to  do 
so,  as  they  did  not  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
fikniptures;  but  he  pleaded  with  them  only  from  the 
light  of  nature ;  that  every  mouth — Full  of  cursing 
and  bitterness,  verse  14,  and  yet  of  boasting,  verse  27, 
may  be  stopped— And  have  nothing  to  plead ;  and 
^  whole  world— Not  only  the  Gentiles,  but  the 
Jews  also}  itk^  become  gmUy—Msiy  be  fully  con- 


.  19  Now  we  know  that  what  things  a.  m.4064. 
soever  'the  law  saith,  it  saith  to  them  — —I 


who  are  und^  the  law:  that  *  every  mouth 
may  be  stc^^ped,  and  *all  the  wodd  may  be^ 
ccMne  *guilty  before  God. 

20  Therefore  '  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight :  for  ^by 
the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin. 

21  But  now  *  the  righteousness  of  Ood  with- 
out the  law  is  manifested/  ^being  witnessed 
by  the  law  ^and  the  prq>het8 ; 


*0r,  tMtei  to  the 


of  Ood,' 


'  Psa.  cxliii.  3 ; 


Acts  xiii.  39 ;  CaL  ii.  16 ;  lii.  11 :  £pli.  ii.  8,  9. 7  Ch.  rii.  7. 

■Acts  XT.  11 ;  Chap.  i.  17 :  Phil.  iii.  9;  Hmb.  xi.  4,  *e. >  John 

T.  46 ;  Acts  MTi.  22. «•  Chap.  i.  2 ;  1  Pet.  i.  la 


victed  as  guilty,  and  evidently  liable  to  most  just 
condemnation.  These  things  were  written  of  old, 
and  were  quoted  by  Paul,  not  to  make  men  ^ilty, 
but  to  prove  them  so.  Therefore  by  the  deeds  of 
the  law— By  works  of  complete  obedience  to  the 
law  of  God,  whether  natural  or  revealed;  there 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified— Or  pronounced  right- 
eous. That  the  word  law  must  here  be  taken  in 
this  extent,  appears  evidently  from  the  conclusion 
which  the  apostle  here  draws,  and  from  the  yrhoie 
tenor  of  his  subsequent  argmnent;  which  would 
have  had  very  little  weight,  if  Utere  had  been  room 
for  any  to  object :  Though  we  cannot  be  justified  by 
our  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses,  we  may  be 
justified  by  our  obedience  to  God's  natural  law. 
And  nothing  can  be  more  evident,  than  that  the 
premises  from  which  this  conclusion  is  drawn  refer 
to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews;  and  conse- 
quently that  law  has  here,  and  in  many  subsequent 
passages,  that  general  sense.  ^*  Every  one  failing,'' 
says  Locke,  "of  an  exact  conformity  of  his  actions 
to  the  immutable  rectitude  of  that  eternal  rule  of 
right,  mentioned  chap.  \,  d2,  will  be  found  un- 
righteous, and  so  incur  the  penalty  of  the  law. 
That  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  expression  here 
used,  epya  vofut,  works  oflaw,  is  evident,  because  the 
apostle's  declaration  is  concerning  naaa  cap$,  all 
flesh.  But  we  know  the  heathen  world  were  not 
under  the  law  of  Moses."  For  by  the  law— By  that 
written  on  man's  heart,  as  well  as  by  that  revealed, 
is  the  knowledge  ofsin—OC  our  sinfulness  and  guiU, 
of  pur  weakness  and  wretchedness.  This  strongly 
implies  the  broken  and  disordered  state  of  human 
nature ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the  precepts  which 
God  gives  us,  even  the  moral  precepts,  serve  only, 
or  at  least  chiefly,  to  convict  us  of  guilt,  and  not  to 
produce  an  obedience  by  which  we  can  finally  be 
acquitted  and  accepted.  Whereas,  were  we  not 
feUen  and  depraved  creatures,  by  his  holy  law  we 
should  have  the  knowledge  of  our  being  righteous; 
for  when  weighed  in  the  balance  of  it,  we  should 
not  be  found  wanting. 

Verses  21-24.  Bui  now  the  righteousness  of  God 
—Tliat  is,  the  manner  of  becoming  righteous  which 
God  hath  appointed ;  wUhout  the  (av— Without  that 

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CHAPTER  HL 


COR  be  eaned^  but  by  faith  ahne 


K,  M.  4064.    28  Even  the  righteotKOiess  o€  God, 

'. — 1-  whick  is  ''by  feith  of  Jesus  Christ 

unto  an  and  upcm  all  them  that  bdieYe ;  for 
^there  is  no  dij^rence : 
23  For  *  all  have  sinned,  and  come  sh<Nrt  of 
the  glory  of  God ; 


«  Gl)apter  nr.  tfaroo^ioat. '  Chaytor  z.  13 ;   0«L  iii.  28. 

«  Yene  9;  dup.  zi.  32^  Gd.  iii  22. 'Cbi^).  iv.  16;  Eph. 

ii.  8 ;  Tit,  iii.  5,  7. 


perfect  and  previous  obedience  which  the  law  re- 
qnires  i  without  reference  to,  or  dependance  on,  the 
law,  oeremonial  or  moral,  revealed  or  natural;  ie 
manifested — In  the  gospel,  being  attested  by  the 
law  and  the  prophets.  The  example  of  Abraham's 
justification  by  faith,  recorded  Gen.  xv.  6,  and  the 
passage  which  the  apostle  quotes,  Rom.  iv.  7,  from 
Psa.  xxxii.l,  2,  as  well  as  that  from  Habakkuk,  quoted 
Rom.  i.  17,  are  clear  testimonies,  from  the  law  and 
the  prophets,  that  there  is  a  righteousness  without 
the  law,  which  OM  accepts ;  and  that  the  method 
of  justification  revealed  in  the  gospel  was  the 
method  in  which  men  were  justified  under  the  law, 
and  before  the  law:  in  short,  it  is  the  method  of 
justifying  sinners,  established  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  world.  Even  the  righteousness  of  God 
— ^^at  which  God  hath  appointed  to  be,  by  faith 
of  Jesus  Oirist—By  such  a  firm,  hearty,  lively  be- 
lief of  Christ's  being  what  the  gospel  declares  him 
to  be,  a  divinely-commissioned  and  infallibleTeacher, 
a  prevalent  Mediator  between  God  and  man ;  an  all- 
suisicient  Saviour,  and  a  righteous  Governor ;  such 
a  belief  as  produces  a  sincere  confidence  in  him,  a 
true  subjection  to  him,  a  conscientious  obedience  to 
his  laws,  and  imitation  of  his  example.  Unto  all — 
Which  way  of  justification  is  provided  for,  and 
sincerely  and  freely  offered  unto  all,  and  is  bestowed 
upon  all  them  that  believe— Whether  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles ;  for  there  is  no  difference— lAiher  as  to  men's 
need  of  justification  and  salvation,  or  the  manner 
of  attaining  it.  For  ail  have  sinned— In  Adam  and  in 
their  own  perscms ;  by  a  sinful  nature,  sinful  tempers, 
and  sinful  actions ;  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
Chd — The  supreme  end  of  man ;  short  of  his  image 
and  nature,  and  communion  with  him,  and  the  en- 
joyment of  him  in  heaven.  Or,  they  have  failed 
of  rendering  him  that  glory  that  was  so  justly  his 
due,  and  thereby  have  not  only  made  themselves 
unworthy  the  participation  of  glory  and  happiness 
with  him,  but  stand  exposed  to  his  severe  and 
dreadful  displeasure.  The  word  vatpmnat^  here  ren- 
dered come  shorty  is  properly  applied  to  those,  whose 
strength  failing  them  in  the  race,  are  left  behind. 
The  word,  therefore,  is  very  suitable  to  mankind, 
who,  being  weakened  by  sin;  have  lost  eternal  life, 
the  reward  which  they  pursued  by  their  obedience. 
Being  justified — Pardoned  and  accepted,  or  ac- 
counted righteous;  yt*s«{y,  dopeoy,  of  free  gift^  and 
not  through  any  merit  of  Uieir  own;  62^  his  grace- 
His  unmerited  fhvour,  his  undeserved  goodness,  and 
not  through  fheir  own  righteousness  or  works,  in 
whole  or  in  part  Freely  by  his  ggace^Oae  of 
b 


34  Being  justified  freely   ^  by  his  A.M.40Sk 
grace,  ' through  the  redemption  that    ^   '^ 
IS  in  Christ  Jesos : 

!35  Whom  God  hath  ^set  forth  ^to  6e  a  pro- 
pitiation, through  faith  >in  his  Uood,  to  de- 
clare his  righteousness  ^for  the  ^remission  of 


fM>tt.xx.2S;  £ph.i.  7;  Col  i.  14;  1  Tim.  iL  a »0r, 

/(BTwrdmntd,-^^^  L«t.  xri.  15;    1  John  ii.  2 ;  iv.  10. *  CoL 

1.  ». k  Act!  xiii.  38, 39 ;  1  Tim.  i.  15. *  Or,  passing  •ver. 


these  expressions  might  have  served  to  convey  the 
apostle's  meaning:  but  he  doubles  his  assertion  in 
order  to  give  us  the  fullest  conviction  of  the  truth, 
and  to  impress  us  with  a  s^hse  of  its  peculiar  im- 
portance. It  is  not  possible  to  find  words  that 
should  more  absolutely  exclude  all  consideration  of 
our  own  woTks  and  obedience,  or  more  emphatically 
ascribe  the  whole  of  our  justification  to  free,  un- 
merited goodness.  Through  the  redemption  which 
is  in,  or  by,  Christ  Jesus — Procured  tor  them  by 
his  death,  the  price  paid  for  their  redemption.  The 
word  afro^vrpooic,  here  and  elsewhere  rendered  re- 
demption, denotes  that  kind  of  redemption  of  a 
captive  from  death,  which  is  procured  by  paying  a 
price  for  his  life.  See  note  on  1  Tim.  it  6.  The 
redemption  purchased  for  us  by  Christ  is  deliverance 
from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  and  the  wrath  of  God 
consequent  thereon,  and  from  the  power  of  our 
spiriti:»l  enemies,  the  devil,  the  worid,  and  the 
flesh.  See  Eph.  i.7;  Col.  L 14;  Tit  ii.  14;  Gal.  i.4; 
1  Pet.  i.  18, 19. 

Verses  25,!^.  WT^om  God  hath  set  forth— Before 
angels  and  men :  hath  in  his  infinite  mercy  exhibited 
to  us  in  the  gospel,  to  be  a  propt<ta<ton— Greek, 
iXa^ptov",  a  propitiatory,  or  mercy-seat,  where 
mercy  may  be  found  by  the  penitent,  in  a  way  con- 
sistent with  divine  Justice.  The  reader  will  observe, 
the  cover  of  the  ark,  in  the  tabemade  and  temple 
of  the  Israelites,  was  called  the  mercy-seat,  or  pro- 
pitiatory, and  is  termed  by  the  LXX.,  Exod.  xxv.  17, 
ila^piov  ewi'defia,  a  propitiatory  cover,  "because  it 
was  the  throne  on  which  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was 
wont  to  be  displayed,  and  received  the  atonements 
made  by  the  high-priest  on  the  day  of  expiation, 
and  from  which  God  dispensed  pardon  to  the  people. 
In  allusion  to  this  ancient  worship,  the  apostle 
represents  Christ  as  a  propitiatory,  or  mercy-seat, 
set  forth  by  God  for  receiving  the  worship  of  men, 
and  dispensing  pardon  to  them.  Or,  if  a  propitiatory 
is,  by  a  common  metonymy,  put  for  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice,  the  apostle's  meaning  will  be,  that,  by  the 
appointment  of  God,  Christ  died  as  a  sacrifice  for 
sin,  and  that  God  pardons  sin  through  the  merit  of  ^ 
that  sacrifice.  Hence  Christ  is  called  i^aotw^,  a  pro-* 
pitiaiion,  1  John  ii.  2;  iv.  10.  By  teacliing  this  doc- 
trine, the  apostle  removed  the  great  objection  of  Jews 
and  heathen  against  the  gospel,  that  it  had  neither 
a  priest  nor  a  sacrifice.''^Macknight  Thi^oug  h  faith 
in  his  blood^Throngh  believing  that  Christ's  blood 
was  shed  to  expiate  our  sins,  and  trusting  therein 
for  pardon  and  acceptance  wi&  God,  and  all  other 
bMiefits  whieh  he  has  thereby  procured  for  us:  to 


97 


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ROMANb. 


through  faUh  in  the  Lord  Jetuf^ 


A.  M.4064.  ^sins  that  are  past,  through  the  for- 


A.  D.  60. 


bearance  of  Grod ; 


26  To  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  right- 


lActs  zni.  aO; 


declare^  eic  evdeiiip,forademon8trafionofhts^  God's, 
own  righteousness^  both  his  justice  and  mercy^  es- 
pecially the  former,  that  thereby  it  might  appear  he 
could  pardon  sin,  without  any  impeachment  of  his 
righteousness,  in  that  he  did  not  pardon  it  without 
full  satisfaction  made  to  the  law  by  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  who  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions, 
and  on  whom  was  laid  that  chastisement  of  sin 
which  was  necessary  to  procure  our  peace,  and 
render  our  acceptance  with  God  consistent  with  the 
divine  perfections,  and  the  equity  of  his  govern- 
ment. For  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past^hll 
the  sins  antecedent  to  their  believing.  Or  the  ex- 
pression, dia  TTjv  TTopeoiv  rctv  npoyeyoviyn^  OftaprnfutruVf 
may  be  properly  rendered,  on  account  of  the  passing 
by,  or  not  instantly  and  adequately  punishing,  sins 
which  were  before  committed,  that  is,  before  the 
coming  of  Chiist :  the  sins  of  which  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles  had  been  guilty  before  the  gospel  was  pro- 
mulgated, and  on  account  of  which  both  deserved 
destruction,  and  were  unworthy  of  the  blessings  of 
God's  covenant.  Now  God's  righteousness  or  jus- 
tice might  have  appeared  doubtful,  on  account  of 
his  having  so  long,  in  his  great  forbearance,  thus 
passed  by  the  sins  of  men,  unless  in  the  mean  time 
he  had  made  a  sufficient  display  of  his  hatred  to  sin. 
But  such  a  display  being  made  in  the  death  of 
Christ,  his  justice  is  thereby  Ailly  proved.  Dod- 
dridge thus  paraphrases  the  passage :  ^  The  remission 
extends  not  only  to.  the  present  but  former  age,  and 
to  all  the  offences  which  are  long  since  past,  cuxord- 
ing  to  the  fbrbearance  of  God,  who  has  forborne  to 
execute  judgment  upon  sinners  for  their  repeated 
provocations,  in  reference  to  that  atonetnent  which 
he  knew  should  in  due  time  be  made."  Th  declare, 
irpoc  evSei^iv,  for  a  demonstration  of  his  righteous- 
ness (see  the  former  verse)  at  this  time — ev  ra  vw 
KoifHj,  at  this  period  of  his  showing  mercy  to  sinners. 
As  if  he  had  said.  When  he  most  highly  n^agnified  his 
mercy  in  finding  out  this  way  of  reconciliation,  he 
did  also  most  eminently  declare  his  justice,  in'  re- 
quiring such  satisfaction  for  the  transgression  of  his 
law :  that  he  might  he  just — Might  evidence  hinMclf 
to  be  strictly  and  inviolably  righteous  in  the  admin- 
istration of  his  government,  even  while  he  is  the 
merciful  justifer  of  the  sinner  that  helievesth  in 
Jesus — Who  so  believes  in  Jesus,  as  to  embrace  this 
way  of  justifieation,  renouncing  all  merit  in  himself, 
and  relying  entirely  on  the  sacrifice  and  intercession 
of  Christ,  for  reconciliation  with  God,  and  all  the 
blessings  of  the  new  covenmt.  The  attribute  of 
Histice  must  be  preserved  inviolate ;  and  inviolate  it 
is  preserved,  if  there  was  a  real  infliction  of  pun- 
ishment on  Christ.  On  this  plan  all  the  attributes 
harmonize ;  every  attribute  is  glorified,  and  not  one 
superseded,  nor  so  much  as  clouded. 
By  just,  indeed,  in  this  verse,  Taylor  would  un- 


eousness :    thai  be  might  be  jost,  A.  M.  4064. 
and  the  justifier  (rf  him  whach  be-  -^^'^ 
lieveth  in  Jesus. 


Heb.  iz.  ]& 


derstand  merciful,  and  Locke,  faithful  to  Ms  pro- 
mises  ;  but  *'  either  of  these,"  as  Doddridge  observes, 
''  makes  but  a  very  cold  sense,  when  compared  with 
that  h^re  given.  It  is  no  way  wonderM  that  God 
should  be  merciful,  or  faithful  to  his  promises, 
though  the  justifier  of  bdievingHnners ;  but  that 
he  should  he  just  in  such  an  act,  might  have  seemed 
incredible,  had  we  not  received  such  an  account  of 
the  atonement.".  This  subject  is  set  in  a  clew  and 
striking  light  by  a  late  writer :  "  The  two  great  ends 
of  public  justice  are  the  glory  of  God,  and  in  con- 
nection with  it,  the  general  good  of  his  creatures. 
It  is  essentially  necessary  to  the  attainment  of  these 
ends,  that  the  authority  of  the  government  of  God 
should  be  supported,  in  all  its  extent,  as  inviolably 
sacred ;— thatone  jot  or  tittle  should  in  no  wise  pass 
from  the  law ; — that  no  sin,  of  any  kind,  or  in  any 
degree,  should  appear  as  venial ; — tbat  if  any  sinner 
is  pardoned,  it  should  be  in  such  a  way,  as,  while  it 
displays  the  divine  mercy,  shall  at  the  same  time 
testify  the  divine  abhorrence  of  his  sins.  All 
this  is  gloriously  effected  in  the  gospel,  by  means 
of  atonement; — by  the  substitution  of  a  voluntary 
surety,  even  of  him  whose  name  is  Immanuel,  to 
bear  the  curse  of  the  law,  in  the  room  of  the  guilty. 
In  his  substitution  we  see  displayed,  in  a  manner 
unutterably  affecting  and  awful,  the  holy  purity  of 
the  divine  nature ;  for  no  testimony  can  be  conceived 
more  impressive,  of  infinite  abhorrence  of  sin,  than 
the  sufferings  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  Here 
too  we  i>ehold  the  immutable  justice  of  the  divine 
government,  inflicting  the  righteous  penalty  of  a 
violated  law.  It  is  to  be  considered  as  a  fixed  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  government,  that  sin  must  he 
punished;  that  if  the  sinner  is  pardoned,  it  must  be 
in  a  way  that  marks  and  publishes  the  evil  of  his 
offence.  This  is  effected  by  substittition ;  and,  as 
far  as  we  can  judge,  could  not  be  effected  in  any 
other  way.  In  inflicting  the  sentence  against  trans- 
gression on  the  voluntary  and  all-sufficient  Surety, 
Jehovah,  while  he  clears  the  sinner,  does  not  clear 
his  sins^ — although  clothed  with  the  thunders  of 
vindictive  justice  against  transgression,  he  wears,  to 
the  transgressor,  the  smile  of  reconciliation  and 
peace ; — he  dispenses  the  blessings  of  mercy  from 
the  throne  of  his  holiness;  and,  while  exercising 
grace  to  the  guilty,  he  appears  in  the  character — 
equally  lovely  and  venerable — of 


•  tbo  shmerV  friend. 


And  8in*8  eternal  foe ! 

^  In  this  way,  then,  all  the  ends  of  public  justice 
are  fully  answered.  TTie  law  retains  its  comfdete 
unmitigated  perfection ;  is 'magnified  and  made 
honourable:'  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  divine 
government  are  maintained,  and  even  elevated :  all 
the  perfection  of  Deity  are  gloriously  illustrated 


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Boasting  u  ejpcluded 


CHAPTER  UL 


hff  the  law  o/faUk. 


A.  M.  4061.        27 

— 1— ^ — 1-  It   is    exchided.      By  what   law  ? 
of    works? 
&ith. 
28  Tberefore  we  condude,  '  thai  a  man  is 


'  Where   is   boasdng   th^i  ? 
exchided.      By  what   law  ? 
Nay;     but    by   the    law   of 


»Chftp.u.  17,93;  It.  8;  EpK.  ii  9.- — BAots 


and  exhibited  in  sablhne  harmony.  While  the  riches 
of  mercy  are  displayed,  for  ihe  encouragement  of 
sinners  to  return  to  God,  the  solemn  lesson  is  at  the 
same  time  taught,  by  a  most  convincing  example, 
that  rebellion  cannot  be  persisted  in  with  impunity ; 
and  motives  are  thus  addressed  to  the  fear  of  evil, 
as  well  as  to  the  desire  of  good.  Such  a  view  of 
the  Divine  Being  is  presented  in  the  cro^  as  is  pre- 
cisely calculated  to  inspire  and  to  maintain  (to 
maintain,  too,  with  a  power  which  will  increase  in 
influence  the  more  dod^ly  and  seriously  the  view  is 
contemplated)  the  two  great  principles  of  a  holy 
life — the  love,  and^  the  fear  of  God  ; — filial  attach- 
ment, freedom,  and*oonfidence,  combined  with  hum- 
ble reverence  and  holy  dread."  See  Mr.  Ralph 
Wardlaw's  Discourses  on  the  Principal  Points  of 
the  Socinian  Controversy;  pp.  211-213. 

Verse  27.  Where  is  boasting  then  ?— The  boasting 
of  the  Gentiles  in  their  philosophy,  or  of  the  Jews 
in  the  rites  of  the  law  of  Moses,  as  sufficient  for 
ihetr  salvation.  Or  die  boasting  of  the  Jews  against 
the  Gentiles,  or  that  of  any  one  in  his  own  right- 
eousness, or  on  account  of  any  peculiar  privileges 
he  may  enjoy.  It  is  excluded — This  way  of  justi- 
fication by  free  grace,  through  faith,  leaves  no  room 
to  any  one  for  boasting  of  what  he  is,  or  has,  or  does, 
or  can  do.  By  v>hal  law?  Of  ioorks?— By  ihhi 
of  Moses,  or  any  other  law,  promising  life  only  to 
perfect  obedience,  and  threatening  all  disobedience 
with  inevitable  death?  Nay;  this,  if  the  fulfilling 
of  it  had  been  practicable,  and  a  man  could  have 
been  justified  thereby,  woiUd  have  leA  him  room  for 
boasting,  even  that  he  had  procured  his  justification 
by  his  own  virtue  and  goodness.  But  by  the  Icew  of 
faUh — "  The  lav  of  faith  here,  as  opposed  to  the 
law  of  works,  is  that  gracious  covenant  which  God 
made  with  mankind  immediately  after  the  fall.  It 
is  fitly  termed  a  law,  because  it  is  the  /aw,  or  role, 
by  which  sinners  are  to  be  justified  in  every  age; 
and  the  law  of  faith,  because  the  requisition  of  faith, 
as  the  means  of  our  justification,  is  as  much  a  law  to 
men  under  the  new  covenant,^  the  requisition  of 
works  for  the  same  purpose  was  a  law  under  the  first 
covenant"  This  law  of  faith  is  properly  said  to 
exclude  boasting,  since  it  requires  all  persons,  with- 
out distinction,  to  acknowledge  themselves  sinners, 
deserving  condemnation  and  wrath;  and,  as  guilty, 
depraved,  weak,  and  indigent,  to  make  an  humble 
application  to  the  free  mercy  and  grace  of  God  in 
Christ  for  pardon,  holiness,  and  every  other  blessing 
which  IB  necessary  to  their  final  happiness. 

Verse  28.  Therefore  we  conclude — As  if  he  hiad 

said.  Since  it  appears,  by  what  has  been  said,  that  all 

are  8inner8,%ivolved  in  guilt  and  condemnation,  and 

so  <  annot  be  justified  by  the  law,  whfther  natural  or 

h 


justified  by  fidth  without  the  deeds  A.  M.  406t 
of  the  law.  ^^^ 

29  Z?  Ae  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  1  is  he 
not  also  of  the  Gentiles?  Tes,  of  the  Gen- 
tiles also  : 


xiii3S,3S;  Chap.  riiLS;  OaLiilS. 


revealed,  and  that  God  has  appointed  another  way 
of  justification,  we  draw  this  c<mclusion ;  thai  a  mem, 
is  justified— l^  accounted  righteous,  accepted  and 
dealt  with  as  suph ;  by  fai^^r^Bj  believhig  m  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  mercy  and  grace  of 
God,  and  the  truths  and  promises  of  the  gospel 
through  him.  See  Acts  xvL  31 ;  Gal.  iL  16;  Rom. 
iv.  24.  Without  the  deeds  of  the  /av— Without 
perfect  obedience  to  any  law,  as  the  meritorious 
cause  of  his  justification.  Every  one,  however,  who 
is  justified  in  this  way,  must  show  his  faith  by  his 
works,  James  ii.  14-26,  and  make  the  moral  law  the 
constant  rule  of  his  temper  and  conduct.  It  may  be 
properto  (4>serve  here,  Ist,  That  the  faith  by  whidi 
men,  under  the  new  covenant,  are  justified,  ^hatli 
for  its  object  persons,  rather  than  prqpositions.  So 
Christ  himself  hath  told  us;  Ye  believe  in  Ood,  bt- 
lieve  als&in  me.  iSo.Moses  also ;  Abraham  beUeved 
in  the  Lord,  and  it  was  counted  to  him  for  rightsous- 
ness:  and  Paul;  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christy 
and  thou  shall  be  saved.  In  the  mean  time,  this  laith 
in  God  and  in  Christ  necessarily  leads  those  who 
possess  it,  to  believe  every  thing  made  known  to 
them  by  God  and  by  Christ,  and  to  do  every  thing 
which  they  have  enjoined :  so  that  it  terminates  in 
the  sincere  belief  of  the  doctrines  of  religion,  and 
in  the  constant  practice  of  its  duties,  as  iar  as  they 
arc  made  known  to  the  believer."  2d,  "When  the 
apostle  tcUs  us,  that  by  faith  tfian  is  justified  wOhaut 
the  works  of  the  law,  or  rather,  works  of  law,  his 
plain  meaning  is,  that  men  are  justified  gratuitously 
by  Outh,  and  not  meritoriously  by  perfect  obedience 
to  any  law  whatever."  See  note  on  chap.  iL  13. 
For  at  the  same  time  he  teaches  us  that  men  are 
justified  freely  through  God's  grace;  consequently 
he  excludes  faith  equally  with  works,  from  any 
meritorious  efficiency  in  the  matter. 

Verses  29-31.  la  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  7^ 
He  argues  from  the  absurdity  of  such  a  supposition. 
Can  it  be  imagined  that  a  God  of  infinite  love  and 
mercy  should  limit  and  confine  his  favours  to  the 
little  perverse  people  of  the  Jews,  leaving  all  the 
rest  of  mankind  in  an  eternally  desperate  condition? 
That  would  by  no  means  agree  with  the  idea  we 
have  of  the  divine  goodness,  for  his  tender  mercies 
are  over  all  his  works.  He  is  the  God  of  the  Gen- 
tiles also — And  therefore  hath  established  a  way  of 
justification,  equally  open  to  the  Gentiles  as  to  the 
Jews.  Seeing  it  is  one  Godr-^The  same  eternal  and 
unchangeable  Jehovah,  that  ^iviil  justify  the  drcunir 
cwwrn— The  Jews,  by  faith;  and  the  uncircumcision 
—The  Gentiles,  through  the  same  faith—As  if  he 
had  said.  The  way  of  justification  is  the  same  to 
both,  whatever  difference  men  may  make  in  their 
expressions  about  it    He  shows  mercy  to  both,  md 


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7%e  apostle  shows  thai  Abraham 


ROMANS. 


wasjustifisd  hyfdUh  wUhomi  wnrks. 


AM. 4064.  30  Seeing  ""it  is  one  God  which 
_1— ! — 1  shall  justify  the  circumcision  by  foith, 
and  uncircumcision  through  fiuth. 


o  Chap.  z.  12, 13; 


by  the  yery  same  means.  Macknight  thinks  the 
expression,  6ia  trK-ec^r,  through  fcUthj  in  tke  latter 
chmse,  is  an  ellipsis,  for  through  the  law  offaUhy 
mentioned  verae  27,  (where  see  the  note,)  and  signi- 
fies the  method  of  salvation  by  faith,  established  in 
the  new  corenant,  called  a  law  for  the  reasons  there 
given.  ^'  By  this  law  of  faith  the  Gentiles  are  to  be 
Justified.  For  though  they  have  not  the  doctrines 
of  revelation,  as  the  objects  of  their  faith,  they  may 
believe  the  doctrines  of  natural  religion,  (Heb.  xi.  5,) 
and  live  agreeably  to  them :  in  which  case  their  faitib 
will  be  counted  to  them  for  righteousness,  equally  as 
the  foith  of  those  who  enjoy  revelation."  The  same 
leam&d  writer  supposes,  that  in  the  expression,  «ee- 
ing  there  is  one  Ood;  the  apostle  alludes  to  Zech. 
xiv.  8^  where  the  prophet  foretels  the  progress  of 
the  gospel,  under  the  image  of  living  waters  going 
sulfrom  Jerusalem  J  and  fiien  adds,  verse  9,  And  the 
Jjord  shall  he  king  over  all  the  earthy  and  in  that 
d€ty  there  shall  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one;  to 
show,  that  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  all  nations 
shaU  be  regarded  by  God  as  his  people,  that  he  will 
be  acknowledged  and  worshipped  by  all  nations,  and 
that  in  the  aiSiir  of  their  justification  and  salvation, 
he  will  observe  one  rule.  Do  we  then — ^While  we 
maintain  this  method  of  justification  and  salvation, 
make  void  the  law — Set  it  aside,  or  render  it  useless, 
as  Korapyuftev  prop^y  signifies.;  through  faith — By 
teaching  that  Justification  is  by  faith,  and  that  it  is 
free  for  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  the  Jews,  in  that 
way  ?    Ood  forbid^Thhi  we  should  ever  insinuate 


31  Do  we  then  make  void  the  law 
through  faith?  God  forbid:  yea,  we 
establish  the  law.. 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.  D.  eo. 


9aLui.S,20,2S. 


such  a  design,  or  entertain  such  a  thought ;  yea,  we 
establish  the  law — On  a  firmer  foundation  than  ever, 
and  place  it  in  9  Juster  and  more  beautiful  point  of 
light:  for  we  show  that  its  honour  is  displayed  in 
the  atonement,  as  i^ell  as  in  the  obedience  of  Christ ; 
and  we  make  it  of  everlasting  use,  for  attesting  the 
truth,  and  illustratmg  the  necessity  of  the ,  gospel, 
as  well  as  for  directing  the  lives  of  men,  when  they 
profess  to  have  received  it    In  other  words,  we 
establish  the  authority,  the  purity,  and  the  end  of  it; 
by  defending  that  which  the  law  attests,  by  pointing 
out  Christ  die  end  of  it,  and  by  Rowing  how^  the 
moral  part  of  it  may  be  fulfilled  in  its  purity.     For 
through  the  influence  oi^failh  thai  worketh  by  love^ 
being  enabled  to  love  God,  his  children,  and   all 
mankind  in  sincerity  and  truth,  Ve  are  brought  to 
serve  him  without  slavish  fear,  in  holiness  and 
righteousness  b^ore  him,  and  to  walk  in  his  ordi- 
nances and  moral  commandments  blameless.     80 
that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  ms, 
while  we  walk,  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spi- 
rit ;  love  to  God  and  man,  productive  of  such  fruits, 
being  accounted  by  God  the  fulfilling  of  the  law, 
chap.  xiii.  8-10;  GaL  v.  14;  James  ii.  8.    Thus  also 
that  more  ancient  and  universal  law,  which  God  has 
written  on  men's  hearts,  and  which  we  have  termed 
the  law  of  nature,  is  established  in  the  strongest 
manner  in  and  by  the  gospel.    For  every  one  that 
makes  the  moral  law  of  Moses  the  rule  of  his  con- 
duct, will  also  observe  the  precepts  of  this,  as  in- 
cluded therein. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

hi  this  chapter f  to  confirm  the  doctrine  of  puHfication  by  faith,  the  apoaOe  thews,  (1,)  That  Ahraham  was  justtjUd  m  tkts 
way,  whose  faith  in  God's  protmse  was  counted  to  him  for  rtghteousnees,  not  ofdeht^  through  the  merit  of  his  works,  bmi 
tf  grace,  1-5.    (2,)  That  David  also  bears  witness  to  the  same  way  of  justijieatiom,  S-S.    (8,)  That  Abraham  wasjusti- 

'  fied  by  faith  even  before  he  was  circumcised,  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  aU  bdievers,  whether  circumcised  or  not,  9-18. 
(4>)  TTuit  the  promise,  that  all  nations  should  be  blessed  in  him,  was  not  made  to  him  through  the  loto,  but  through  graca^ 
by  faith;  that  the  blessing  might  be  sure  to  all  his  spiritual  seed  of  every  nation  and  of  every  age,  13-17.  (5,)  He  de- 
scribes the  nature  of  that  faith  whereby  Abraham  was  justified,  and  shows  'that  it  wa^ilhtstrious,  and  intended  for  an  ex- 
ample  to  us,  18-35. 

A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.60. 


TWHAT  shall  we  then  say  that 
^Abraham,  our  fether  as  per- 


taining to  the  flesh,  hath  found  ? 


*In.li.3;  Mattiii.9;  Jobs riiL  33,2 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1, 2. .  What  shall  we  say  then — The  apos- 
tle, hi  the  preceding^  chapter,  having^  shown  the  im- 
possibility of  man's  being  Justified  by  the  merit  of 
40 


2  For  if  Abraham  were  ^justified  a.  Bi 
by  works,  he  hath  tchereof  to  glory,      ' 
but  not  before  God. 


2  Cor.  xi.  22. «»Chap.iii.20,27,28. 


his  obedience  to  any  law,  moral  or  ceremonial,  or 
any  otherwise  than  by  grace  throvgk  faith,  Judged 
it  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  the  Jews^to  consider 
the  case  of  Abraham,  on  being  whose  progeny,  and 


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CHAPTER  rV. 


uiUo  him  fir  righteoutnem. 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.60. 


3  For  what  sailh  the  Scripture? 
^Abraham    bdieved   God,   a&d   it 


•^Omlzt.  •;  0«L 


<m  whose  merits,  the  Jews  placed  great  dependuiee; 
as  they  did  also  on  the  ceremony  of  circumcision, 
received  from  him.  It  was  therefore  of  great  im- 
portance to  know  how  he  was  Justified;  for,  in 
whatever  way  he,  the  most  renowned  progenitor  ^f 
their  nation^  obtained  that  privilege,  it  was  natural 
to  conclude  that  his  descendants  must  obtain  it,  if  at 
all»  in  the  same  way.  Was  he  justified  by  works, 
moral  or  ceremonial?'  That  is,  by  the  merit  of  his 
own  obedience  to  any  law  or  command  given  him 
by  God  ?  And  in  particular,  was  he  justified  by  the 
ceremony  of  circumcision,  so  solemnly  enjoined  to 
be  observed  by  him  and  his  posterity  ?  That  Abra- 
ham was  justified  by  one  or  other  of  these  means, 
or  by  both  of  them  united^  the  lews  had  no  doubt. 
To  correct  their  err<^  therefore,  the  apostle  appeals 
to  Moseses  account  of  Abraham's  justification,  and 
shows  therefrom,  Ist,  That  he  was  not  justified  by 
works,  but  simply  by  fiiith  in  the  gracious  promise 
of  God,  independent  of  all  works;  and,  9d,  That 
his  circumcision,  not  performed  till  he  was  ninety- 
nine  years  of  age,  had  not  the  least  influence  on  his 
justification,  he  having  obtained  that  blessing  by 
means  of  his  fiftiih,  long  before  that  time.  To  this 
example  the  apostle  appeals  with  great  propriety, 
both  because  circumcision  was  the  most  difficult  of 
all  the  rites  enjoined  in  the  law,  and  because  Abra- 
ham being  the  ilither  of  believers,  his  justification 
is  the  pattern  of  theirs.  Therefore,  if  circumcision 
contributed  nothing  toward  Abraham's  justification, 
the  Jews  could  not  hope  to  be  justified  thereby,  nor 
by  the  other  rites  of  the  law;  and  were  much  to 
blame  in  pressing  these  rites  on  the  Gentiles^  as  ne- 
cessary to  their  sdvation,  and  in  consigning  all  to 
damnation  who  were  out  of  the  pale  of  their  church. 
He  begins  his  reasonings  on  this  subject  thus: 
WkaJt  tikaU  ve  fay  tkat  Abraham,  awr  father — Our 
great  and  revered  progenitor,  at  pertaining  to  the 
Jtethy  hath  found^Th9it  is,  obtained  ?  Hath  he  ob- 
tained justification  ?  The  verse  is  differently  under- 
stood by  expositors;  Chrysostom  and  Theophylact 
join  the  words  Kara  aapKHj  according  to  ihejlesh,  with 
Abraham  our  father,  thus :  What  do  we  say  Abror 
ham,  our  foxier  according  to  the  fleeh,  obtained, 
namely,  by  works?  See  verse  3.  But  as  in  no  other 
passage  Abraham  is  called  the  father  of  the  Jews 
according  to  thejleah,  it  seems  the  ordinary  transla- 
tion is  to  be  preferred ;  and  that^e^^  in  this  passage 
being  opposed  to  tptrtl,  signifies  services  pertaining 
to  the  fle«^  or  body,  on  account  of  which  the  law 
of  Moses  itself  is  called  fieth,  Gal.  iii.  8.  Accord- 
ing to  this  sense  of  the  expression,  the  verse 
may  be  paraphrased  thus:  "Ye  Jews  think  ritual 
services  meritorious,  because  they  are  performed 
purely  from  piety.  But  what  do  we  say  Abraham 
our  father  obtahied  by  itorks  pertaining  to  the  flesh  ? 
That  he  obtilned  justification  meritoriously?  No. 
For  if  Abraham  had  beenfustijied  meritoriou^  by 
b 


was  counted 
eousness. 


unto  him  hr 


ricrht-  A.M.  40M. 
^  A.  D.  6Q. 


iii.  6 ;  James  ii  28. 


works  of  any  kind,  he  would  have  had  whereof  to 
glory^He  might  have  boasted  that  his  justification 
was  no  iavour,  but  a  debt  due  to  him ;  but  such  a 
ground  of  boasting  he  had  not  before  God."  Or 
mere  concisely  thus :  If  Abraham  had  been  justified 
by  works,  he  would  have  had  room  to  glory :  but  he 
had  not  room  to  glory:  therefore  he  was  not  justi- 
fied by  works.  By  flesh  here  Bishop  Bull  under- 
stood those  works  which  Abraham  performed  in 
his  natural  state,  and  by  his  own  strength,  before  he 
obtained  justification ;  but  the  above-mentioned  in- 
torpretation  seems  more  agreeable  to  the  apostle's 
design  here.  Nevertheless,  in  some  other  passages, 
where  he  speaks  of  justiflcaHon  by  works,  he  hath 
in  view,  not  ceremonial  works  only,  but  moral  works 
also,  as  is  plain  from  Rom.  iii.  20,  where  he  tells  us, 
that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  or  by  works  of  law, 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight 

Verse  3.  For  what S4tith  the  Scripture?— What  is 
Moses's  account  of  this  mattor  ?  Abraham  believed 
Ood—Ntane\y,  that  promise  of  God,  recorded  Gen« 
XV.  5,  that  he  should  have  a  seed  numerous  as 
the  stars.  As  also  the  promise  concerning  Christ, 
mentioned  Gen.  xii.  3,  through  whom  all  nations 
should  be  blessed.  "  The  apostle  mentions  only  this 
one  instance  of  Abraham's  faith,  because  Moses  had 
sdd  of  it  in  particidar,  that  it  was  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness.  But  we  must  not,  on  that  ac- 
count, think  it  the  only  act  of  faith  that  was  so 
counted  to  him.  He  had  an  habitual  disposition  to 
brieve  and  obey  God,  founded  on  just  conceptions 
of  his  being  and  attributes.  And  he  began  to  exer- 
cise it  when  God  first  called  him  to  leave  his  native 
country.  For  by  faith  he  went  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went,  Heb.  xi.  8.  The  same  faith  be  ex- 
ercised through  the  whole  course  of  his  life ;  acting 
on  every  occasion  as  one  will  do  whose  mind  is 
filled  with  a  present  sense  of  Deity.  Of  this  the  in- 
stance mentioned  by  the  apostle  is  a  great  example. 
For,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age,  when  Sarah 
was  seventy  years  old,  he  believed  what  €Sod  told 
him  concerning  the  numerousnese  of  his  seed,  though 
it  was  at  that  time  contrary  to  the  ordinary  course 
of  nature :  nay,  he  continued  to  believe  it  from  that 
time  forth,  for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  during 
which  no  child  was  given  him :  see  on  verse  17.  At 
length,  in  the  hundredth  year  of  hb  age,  the  son  so 
long  promised  was  bom.  But  mark  what  happened ! 
When  this  son,  to  whom  all  tiie  promises  were  limit- 
ed, became  fourteen  years  old,  God  commanded 
Abraham  to  offer  him  up  as  a  burnt-offering;  and 
he,  without  hesitation,  obeyed ;  firmly  believing  that, 
after  he  was  burnt  to  ashes  on  the  altar,  God  would 
raise  him  from  the  dead,  Heb.  xi.  19.  By  this  and 
other  instances,  Abn^am  became  so  remarkable  for 
his  faith,  that  God,  by  a  covenant,  constituted  him 
the  father  of  aH  believers."  And  it  was  counted  to 
him  for  righteousness^-So  our  translators  have  very 


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David  hearr  tetttmonjf 


RMIANa 


tojuHykaHonby/aiih. 


A.]C.406i.  4  Now'^tohimthatworketbjisthere- 
! — 1.  ward  not  reckoned  of  grace,  but  of. debt 

6  But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but  beUeyeth 
on  him  that  justifieth  *the  ungodly,  his  iiedth 
k  counted  for  righteousness. 

6  Even  as  David  abo  describech  the  bless- 


'  Chap.  zL  6.       *  Josh.  xxit.  2.*' — '  PBa..xxziL  I,  2. 


properly  rendered  the  Greek  i^irase  here,  and  GaL 
iiL  6,  for  the  origin^  word,  cAo/Mn^,  signifies  to  state, 
and  9umupan  accourU;  also,  to  put  a  vahie  vpon  a 
things  Bom.  viiL  18.  The  word  count  includes  both 
meanings.  The  sense  is,  God  accepted  Abraham 
as  if  he  had  been  altogether  righteous:  or,  this  his 
laith  was  accounted  by  God  his  gospel  righteousness, 
as  being  the  performance  of  the  condition  the  gos- 
pel requires,  in  order  to  justification.  See  on  chap. 
iiL  28.  ''But  neidier  here,  nor  GaL  iii.  6,  is  it  said 
that  Christ^s  righteousness  was  counted  to  Abra- 
ham. In  both  passages,  the  expression  is,  Abraham 
believed  Ood,  and  it,  namely,  his  belieying  God, 
lootf  counted  to  him  for  righteousness;  and  verse  9, 
of  this  chapter,  we  say  that  faith  was  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness :  so  also  Gen.  xt.  6.  Further,  as 
it  is  nowhere  said  in  Scripture  that  Christ's  right- 
eousness was  imputed  to  Abraham,  so  neither  is  it 
said  anywhere  that  Christ's  righteousness  is  imr 
puted  to  believers.  In  short,  the  uniform  doctrine 
of  the  Scripture  is,  that  the  believer's /aitA  is  count- 
ed to  him  for  righteousness,  by  the  mere  grace  or 
favour  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ;  that  is,  on  ac- 
count of  what  Christ  hath  done  to  procure  that 
favour  for  them.  This  is  very  different  from  the 
doctrine  of  those  who  hold  that  by  having  faith  im- 
puted, or  accounted  for  righteousness,  the  believer 
becomes  perfectly  righteous;  whether  they  mtan 
thereby  that  faith  is  itself  a  perfect  righteousness,  or 
that  it  is  the  instrument  of  conveying  to  the  believer 
the  perfect  righteousness  of  another.  With  ro^pect 
to  the  first,  it  is  not  true  that  Cuth  is  a  perfect  right- 
eousness; for  if  it  were,  justification  would  not  be  a 
free  gift,  but  a  debt.  And  with  respect  to  the  se- 
ocmd  supposition,  although  the  perfect  righteousness 
of  another  were  conveyed  to  a  sinner  by  faith,  it 
would  not  make  him  perfectly  righteous;  because  it 
Is  beyond  the  power  of  Omnipotence  itself,^  by  any 
means  whatever,  to  make  a  person  not  to  have  sinned, 
who  actually  hath  sinned.  And  yet,  unless  this  is 
done,  no  believer  can  be  perfectly  righteous.  On 
account  of  the  perfect  righteousness  of  another,  God 
indeed  may  treat  one  as  if  he  were  perfectly  right- 
eous. But  that  is  all.  Nor  does  the  Scripture  carry 
the  matter  further.''—Macknight 

Verses  4,  5.  A^  to  him  that  ^toorkethr—^AH  that 
the  law  requires;  t«  the  reward  not  reckoned  of 
grace— Or  mere  favour ;  but  of  debt — It  is  due  to  his 
merit  Not  that  God  can  properly  and  strictly  be  a 
debtor  to  any  creature,  in  respect  of  communicative 
justice;  but  if  man  had  continued  in  that  state  of  ho- 
liness wherein  he  was  made,  that  he  should  have 
been  esteemed  righteous,  and  have  continued  in 


edness  of  the  man  unto  whom  God  a.  Bf.  406i. 
imputetb  righteousness  without  wiNrks,  1 — 1. 

7  Sayings  ^  Blessed  are  they  whose  inic^ities 
are  forgiven^  and  whose  sins  are  covered. 

8  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  wiH 
not  impute  sfai.* 


*  dratmcition  of  Christ,  epistle,  rene  8  to  rerae  15. 


God's  fovour  and  lived,  would  have  been  aecordiii|r 
to  the  rules  of  distributive  justice.  .  Buiio  him  thai 
worketh  not — In  the  sense  above  explained,  who  can 
by  no  means  pretend  to  have  virrought  all  righteous- 
ness; but — Ck>nscious  of  his  sinftilness  and  guilt,  and 
of  his  utter  inability  to  justify  himself  before  God ; 
believeth  on  him — Who,  in  his  groat  grace, /w^/t/Set^ 
the  ungodly  person,  when  he  truly  repents  and  re- 
turns to  God;  Jus  faith  is  counted — Or  placed  to  his 
account;  for  righteousness^He  is  gracioosly  ac- 
cepted, and  treated  by  God  as  if  he  wero  perfect!  j 
righteous.    Therofore,  God's  affirming  of  Abraham 
that  faith  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness, 
plainly  shows  that  he  worked  not;  (ht,  in  other  words^ 
that  he  was  not  justified  by  woriLs,  but  by  faith  only. 
Hence  we  see  plainly,  how  groundless  that  opinion 
is,  that  holiness  or  sanctification  is  j^vious  to  justi- 
fication.   For  the  sinner,  being  first  convineed  of 
his  sin  and  danger  by  l^e  Spirit  of  €k>d,  stands 
trembling  before  the  awful  tribunal  of  divine  justice, 
and  has  nothing  to  plead  but  his  own  guilt,  and  the 
merits  of  a  Mediator.  Christ  hero  interposes:  justice 
b  satisfied :  the  sin  is  remitted,  and  pardon  is  applied 
to  the  soul  by  a  divine  faith,  wrought  by  the  Hc^y 
Ghost,  who  then  begins  the  groat  work  of  inward 
satisfaction.    Thus  God  justifies  the  ungodly^  and 
yet  romains  just  and  true  to  all  his  attributes.    But 
let  none  hence  presume  to  continue  in  ^in,  for  to  the 
impenitent  God  is  a  consuming  fire. 

Verses  6-8.  Even  as  David  a2«o— David  is  fitly 
introduced  after  Abraham,  because  he  also  received 
and  deliverod  down, the  promise j  describeth  the 
blessedness  or  happiness  i>^<Ae  man — Or  affirms  that 
the  man  is  blessed,  or  happy ;  unto  whom  God  tfn- 
puteth  righteousness — Or  whom  he  accounts  right- 
eous, accepts  as  such;  without  irarA»— That  is,  with- 
out regard  to, any  former  good  works  supposed  to 
have  been  done  by  him.  Saying,  Blessed^Oteek^ 
fioKopioif  happy  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  for^ 
given^Are  no  longer  laid  to  their  charge^  and 
therefore  whose  obligation  to  punishment  is  can- 
celled. Whose  sins  are  coveredn-Wlik  the  veil  of 
divine  mercy,  being  expiated  by  the  atoning  sacri- 
fice of  the  Messiah.  Blessed,  or  happy,  is  the  man 
to  wJiom — Though  he  hath  sinned  formerly,  perhaps 
very  often,  and  very  heinously,  yet  the  Lord  will 
not  impute  sin — Here  four  expressions,  the  forgive- 
ness of  flin,  the  non-imputation  of  sin,  the  imputa- 
tion of  righteousness,  and  justification,  are  used  as 
synonymous.  Well  might  the  psalmist  say,  that 
those  who  roceivc  this  inestimable  blessing  aro  hap- 
py ;  for  surely,  if  there  be  such  a  thing  «s  happiness 
on  earth,  it  is  the  portion  of  that  man  whose  iniqui^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  TV. 


idK^  he  W0M  m  umiircumcmfm. 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  6J 


9  Cometh  this  Uessedaeas  then 
upon  the  circumcision  on/y,  or  upon 
the  uncircumcision  also?  For  we  say  that 
feidi  was  reckoned  lo  Abraham  for  righteous- 
AesB* 

10  How  was  it  then  reckoned?  when  he 
was  in  circmmcision,  or  in  imcircumcision  ? 
Not  in  circumcision^  but  in  uncircumcision. 

11  And  ^he  receired  the  sign  of  circumcision, 
a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  fiiith  which 


f  0^.  xrii.  10;' ^  Luke  ziz.  9 ; 


ties  are  forgiven^  and  who  enjoys  the  manifestation 
of  that  pardon,  with  all  the  blessed  effects  of  it! 
Well  may  ho  eAdnre  all  the  afflictions  of  life  with 
cheerfulness,  uid  look  upon  death  with  comfort !  O 
let  ns  not  contend  against  it,  bnt  earnestly  pray  that 
this  happiness  may  be  ours  I  We  may  observe  fur- 
ther here,  that  these  two  examples  of  Abraham  and 
David  are  selected  and  applied  with  the  utmost  judg- 
ment and  propriety.  Abraham  was  the  most  illus- 
trious^  pattern  of  piety  among  the  Jewish  patriarchs^, 
David  was  the  most  eminent  of  their  kings.  If  then 
neither  of  these  was  justified  by  his  own  obedience, 
if  they  both  obtained  acceptance  with  God  not  as 
holy  beingS)  who  might  claim  it,  but  as  sinful  crea- 
tures who  must  implore  it,  the  consequence  is  glaring. 
It  is  such  as  must  strike  every  attentive  understand- 
ing, and  must  affect  every  individual  person. 

Verses  9, 10.  Cometh  this  hles8ednes8--}ll.tn\xQitieA 
by  Abraham  andDavid  '^ontht  circumcision — Those 
that  are  circumcised  only?  or  upon  the  uncircitm' 
cieion  ai»o?— The  circumcision  are  the  Jews,  the 
members  of  €k>d's  visible  church,  and  the  wwircum- 
cisionwe  the  Gentiles,  who  are  out  of  the  visiUe 
church.  In  this  question,  therefore,  the  justification 
of  those  who  are  out  of  the  visible  church,  but  who  be- 
lieve and  obey  God,  is  implied:  for  the  apostle  proves 
that  such  are  justified,  by  appealing  to  Abraham's 
justification  while  in  uncircumcision.  Abraham  was 
notch'cumcised  till  he  was  ninety-nine  yearsold,Gen. 
xvii.  24.  At  that  time  Ishmael  was  thirteen  years  old, 
verse25.  But  before  Ishmael  was  born,  Abraham  had 
his  faith  cotmted  to  him  fbr  righteousness,  Qen.  xv.0, 
compared  with  Gen.  xvi  16.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
thit  Abraham  was  justified  in  uncircumcision  more 
than  thirteen  years  before  he  and  his  family  were 
made  the  visible  church  and  people  of  God  by  cir- 
cumcision. Heathen,  therefore,  who  believe  and 
obey  the  true  God,  as  Abraham  did,  will,  like  him, 
have  their  faith  counted  to  them  for  righteousness, 
though  no  members  of  any  visible  church. 

Verses  11,  12.  Anci— After  he  was  justified;  he 
received  the  sign  of  circumcision — Circumcision 
which  was  intended  to  bo  a  sign,  or  token,  of  his 
being  in  covenant  with  God,  and  an  emblem  of  that 
circumcision  of  the  heart,  which,  even  under  that 
dispensation  of  divine  grace,  vras,  and  still  is,  neces- 
sary to  salvation.  A  seal  of  the  righteousness  of 
faithr^An  assurance  on  God's  part  that  he  accounted 
b 


he  had  yet  being  undrcumcised :  a.  M.406i 
that  ^he  might  be  the  father  of  aU    ^'^'^' 
them  that  ijehere,  though  they  be  not  circum- 
cised, that  rjghteousnefls  might  be  imputed 
unto  them  also ; 

12  And  the  fothtt  (tf  circumcision  to  them 
who  are  not  of  the  circumcision  only,  but  who 
also  walk  in  the  steps  of  that  fiiith  of  our 
fother  Abraham,  which  he  had  being  yet  un- 
circumcised. 


Venetl2,16;  OaLiii?. 


him  righteous,  upon  his  believing,  beforc  he  was 
circumcised.  Circumcision  seems  to  be  called  a 
seal,  in  allusion  to  the  custom  of  affixing  seals  to 
written  covenants,  to  render  them  firm.  TTiat  he 
might  be  (he  father  of  all  them  that  believe — "With  a 
true  and  lively  faith;  the  father  of  all  the  faithful; 
though  they  be  not  circumcised— Though  they  have 
not  that  sign  of  their  being  in  covenant  with  God, 
nor  that  seal  of  the  truth  of  their  faith,  and  of  their 
being  accounted  righteous.  ''Hence,  GaL  iii.  14, 
faith  counted  for  righteousness  is  called  the  blessing 
of  Abraham,  and  is  said  to  come  on  the  Gentiles 
through  Christ  For  the  same  purpose  God  ordered 
all  Abraham's  male  descendants  to  be  circumcised, 
on  the  eighth  day  after  their  birth.  The  Israelitish 
children  being  thus  early  initiated  into  God's  cove- 
nant, their  parents  werc  thereby  assured,  that  if, 
when  grcwn  up,  they  followed  Abraham  in  his  faith 
and  obedience,  they  were,  like  him,  to  have  their 
faith  counted  to  them  for  righteousness,  and  be  en- 
titled to  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant :  or,  if  they 
died  in  infancy,  that  God  would  raise  them  from  the 
dead,  to  eiyoy  the  heavenly  country,  of  which  the 
earthly  was  the  type.  But  the  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham being  in  rcality.the  gospel  covenant,  set  forth 
in  types  and  figures,  according  to  the  manner  of  an- 
cient times,  may  we  not  from  the  use  and  efficacy 
of  circumcision  believe,  that  baptism,  the  rite  of 
initiation  into  the  Christian  Church,  is,  like  it,  a  seal 
of  the  gospel  covenant,  and  a  declaration  on  the  part 
of  God,  that  he  will  count  the  faith  of  the  baptized 
person  for  righteousness?  And  that,  like  circum- 
cbion,  it  may  be  administered  to  mfants,  to  aseurc 
the  parents  that  their  fiiture  faith  shall  be  counted 
and  rewarded  as  righteousness ;  or,  if  they  die  in  in- 
fancy, that  they  shall  be  raised  to  eternal  life  ?  In 
this  view  the  baptism  of  infauts  is  a  reasonable  rite, 
and  must  afibrd  the  greatest  consolation  to  all  pious 
parents."  And  the  father  of  circtiincwt  on— Abra- 
ham received  this  rite  by  divine  appointment,  tbat 
he  might  also  be  the  father  of  those  who  are  circum- 
cised, and  believe  as  he  did :  for,  ih  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  him,  he  constituted  him  the 
faUier  of  all  believers;  and  whatever  promises  were 
made  to  him  and  his  seed,  werc  in  reality  made  to 
believers  of  all  nations ;  to  all  who  walk  in  the  steps 
of  that  faOh  v^hich  he  had  being  undrcumcised— 
That  is^  who,  like  Abraham,  exercise  a  continued 


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7^  promise  vms  not  trough 


ROMANS. 


the  law,  hU  ihrough  grace* 


A.  M.4064.     13  F(X  the  promise,  that,  he  Aould 
^'  ^  ^'    be  the  '  heir  of  the  world^  was  not 

to  Abraham,  or  to  his  seed,  through  the  law, 

but  through  the  righteousness  of  fidth. 
14  For  "'if  they  which  are  of  the  law  be 

heirs,  feith  is  made  v«d,  and  the  promise  made 

of  none  effect : 
16  Because  ^the  law  work^h  wrath:   for 


*  Gen.  xviL  4»  &c. ;  G«L  iii.  29. ^  QaL  iii.  18. >  Chup. 

ill  20;  ▼.  13,  20;  ril  8, 10, 11 ;  1  Cor.  xr.  56;  2Cor.  iii. 7,9; 


faitH,  and  who  from  faith  lire  a  life  of  obedience  to 
God  to  the  end  of  their  days.  To  those  who  do  not 
thus  believe  and  obey,  Abraham  is  not  a  father 
neither  are  they  his  seed. 

Verses  ld-15.  JFV— As  if  he  had  said,  And  it  fur- 
ther appears  that  Abraham  was  rig^hteons,  or  justi- 
fied by  fiedtlronly,  and  not  by  the  workst)f  the  law, 
because  thepromise  that  he  should  he  the  heir  of  the 
world — Should  have  a  numerous  natural  offspring, 
(and  among  them  Christ,  by  whom  blessedness  was 
to  be  obtained,)  who  should  inherit  that  rich  and 
pleasant  part  of  the  world,  Canaan,  a  t3rpe  of  heaven ; 
and  also  that  he  should  have  a  spiritual  seed  among 
all  nations,  all  over  the  world ;  was  not  to  Abraham 
or  to  his  seed— To  true  believers ;  through  the  law 
—Of  Moses,  or  any  law  except  that  of  faith;  was 
not  made  to  him  upon  consideration  of  works  done 
by  him,  and  meriting  that  blessing ;  hut  through  the 
righteousness  of  faith — ^Upon  account  of  his  faith, 
which  rendered  him  a  righteous  person  in  a  gospel 
sense,  and  was  manifested  especially  by  his  offering 
Isaac,  which  was  a  distinguished  act  of  faith,  Hcb. 
xi.  17 ;  and  on  occasion  of  which  God  made  those 
promises  to  him,  Gen.  xxii.  17, 18.  Christ  is  the  heir 
of  the  worid,  and  of  all  things,  and  so  are  aH  that 
believe  in  him  with  the  faith  of  Abraham.  All 
things  were  promised  to  him  aijd  them  conjointly. 
For  if  they  only  who  are  of  the  law — Either  of  the 
law  of  Moses,  or  of  the  law  of  nature,  who  are 
righteous  by  their  obedience  to  it;  be  ?ieirs--The 
only  persons  that  have  a  title  to  the  promised  in- 
heritance and  blessedness :  see  Eph.  iii.  6 :  faith  is 
made  void — There  is  no  nse  of  believing  in  Christ, 
and  depending  upon  him  alone  for  blessedness ;  and 
the  promisey  mentioned  verse  13,  is  made  of  none 
«/fcc/— Can  do  us  no  good,  is  to  no  purpose.  The 
argument  stands  thus :  ^'  If  Abraham  and  his  seed 
were  made  heirs  of  the  world,  through  a  righteous- 
ness arising  from  a  perfect,  unsinning  obedience  to 
the  law,  their  faith  is  rendered  useless  in  this  trans- 
action; and  the  promise  by  which  they  became 
heirs  through  favour,  had  no  influence  in  procuring 
that  blessing,  they  having  merited  the  inheritance 
by  their  works."  Because  the  law — Of  works,  con- 
hidered  apart  from  that  grace  which,  though  it  was 
in  fact  mingled  with  it,  yet  is,  properly  speak- 
ing, no  part  of  it,  is  so  difficult,  and  we  so  weak 
and  sinful,  that,  instead  of  bringing  us  a  blessing, 
it  only  worketh,  wraihr-li  becomes  to  ns  an  occa- 
i&on  of  wrath,  and  exposes  ns  to  punishment  as  trans- 
44 


where  no  law  w,  there  ts  no  trans-  a.  m.  4054. 

gression.  i- — 

16  Therejfore  it  is  of  feith,  that  it  might  be 
^  by  grace ;  *  to  the  end  the  promise  might  be 
sure  to  all  the  seed :  not  to  that  only  whicl^  ia 
of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the 
faith  of  Abraham^  ^who  is  the  fether  of  ua 

an, 


Gal.  iiL  10,  19 ;    1  John  iii.  4. » Chap.  iii.  24. »  GaL 

iiL  22. o  Ita.  li^  2 ;  Chap.  ix.  8. 


gressors.  In  other  words,  it  reveals  God's  wrath 
against  transgressors,  and  binds  them  over  to  punish- 
ment for  the  transgression  of  it,  and  so  begets  fear  of 
wrath,  instead  of  conferring  happiness.  JTor  where 
there  is  no  ^tr^-£ither  revealed  or  intimated,  or  no 
law  in  force ;  there  is  no  fron^gremon— Of  it;  but  the 
multiplieation  of  precepts  increases  the  danger  of  of- 
fending;  and  the  clearer  declaration  of  those  precepts 
aggravates  the  guUt  attending  the  violation  of  them. 
Verse  16.  TTiere^ci*— The  blessing;  isoffaith, 
that  it  might  he  by  grace — ^That  it  might  appear  to 
flow  from  the  ft-ee  love  of  God^  that  God  might 
magnify  the  riches  of  his  grace,  in  proposing  justi- 
fication and  eternal  life  to  us,  in  a  way  that  might, 
in  multitudes  of  instances,  be  effectual.  A  right- 
eousness by  the  merit  of  works,  or  by  perfect  obe- 
dience tt>  the  law  of  nature,  or  of  Moses,  ''being 
unattainable  by  men,  the  inheritance  is  by  a  rights 
eousness  of  faith,  that,  being  a  free  gift,  it  might  be 
bestowed  in  the  manner,  and  on  the  persons,  God 
saw  fit ;  namely,  on  believers  of  all  nations,  whether 
the  objects  of  their  faith  were  more  or  less  exten- 
sive, and  whether  their  good  works  were  more  or 
fewer ;  for  in  the  faith  and  works  of  believers  there 
must  be  great  differences,  according  to  ihe  mental 
endowments  and  outward  advantages  bestowed  on 
each.  In  this  passage,  by  the  most  just  reasoning, 
the  apostle  hath  overthrown  the  narrow  notion  of 
bigots,  who  confine  the  mercy  of  God  within  the 
pale  of  this  or  that  church ;  and  by  a  noble  liberality 
of  sentiment,  he  haA  declared  that  all  who  imitate 
that  faith  and  piety  which  Abraham  exercised  un- 
circumcised,  shall,  like  him,  obtain  the  inheritance, 
through  the  free  favour  of  God  by  Jesus  Christ" 
That  ihe  promise  might  be  ««re— Might  be  firm  and 
secure ;  to  all  the  believing  seed  of  Abraham ;  not 
to  that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  &c. — "  Here  the 
apostle  teaches,  th^  Abraham  had  two  kinds  of 
seed ;  one  by  natural  descent,  called  his  seed  by  the. 
law,  and  another  by  faith :  see  Gal.  iii.  2d.  To  the 
natural  seed  the  promise  of  the  earthly  Canaan  was 
made ;  but  to  the  seed  by  faith,  the  spiritual  seed,  the 
promise  of  a  heavenly  country,  typified  by  the  earthly 
one,  was  given.  And  to  each  the  promise  that  was 
made  to  them  was  sure."  As  it  is  vrritien,  Gen. 
xii.  5,  /  have  made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations — 
That  is,  as  I  have  received  thee  into  favour  upon  thy 
believing,  so  many  Of  several  nations,  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  shall  receive  favour  from  me  by  believing, 
and  so  be  justified  in  the  way  thou  art :   before  him 

b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


faUhfia^fiM^  trueU  in  God. 


A.  M.  4064.  17  (As  it  18  written,  ^I  have  made 
'. —  thee  a  fiither  of  many  nations,)  ^  be- 
fore hha  whcm  he  beUeved;  even  (3od,  ^  who 
quickeneth  the  dead,  and  caUeth  those  'things 
which  be  not  as  Chough  they  were. 

18  Who  agaimtt  hope  belfeved  in  liope,  that 
he  might  become  the  fiuher  of  many  naticms ; 
according  to  that  which  was  spoken,  *So  shall 
thy  seed  be. 

19  And  being  not  weak  in  £suth,  ^  he  consi- 
d^Fed  not  his  own  body  now  dead^  when  he 


pQen.  anriL  5. 'Or,  Uke  wUo  kim, iClwip.  viii.  11; 

Epii.  ii.  1,  5. '  Chap.  ix.  26 ;  1  Cor.  i.  28  j  1  Pet.  iL  10. 


wJiom  he  believed^  even  God — Though  before  men 
nothing  of  this  appeared,  those  nations  being  yet 
unborn.  To  illustrate  the  greatness  of  Abraham's 
faith,  and  to  show  with  what  propriety  he  was  made 
the  father  of  all  believers,  the  apostle  in  these  words 
observes,  that  the  principles  on  which,  he  believed 
the  Lord,  were  proper  views  of  his  tdmighty  power, 
and  other  perfections.  Who  quickeneth  the  dead— 
The  dead  are  not  dead  to  him.  And  even  the  things 
that  have  no  existence,  exist  before  him.  Aiid  calleth 
those  things  which  be  not  as  though  they  were — 
Summoning  them  to  rise  into  being,  and  appear 
before  him.  The  seed  of  Abraham  did  not  then 
exist,  yet  Crod  said,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.  A  man 
can  easily  say  to  his  servant,  actually  existing,  Do 
this^  and  he  doth  it ;  but  God  saith  to  light,  while 
it  does  not  exist,  Goforthy  and  it  goeth. 

Verses  18-22.  IFAo,  Ac—In  this  paragraph  the 
apostle  first  takes  notice  of  the  difficulties  which 
stood  in  the  way  of  Abraham's  faith,  and  then  of 
the  power  and  excellence  of  it,  manifested  in  its  tri- 
umphing over  them.  Against  /u)pe— Against  all 
probability ;  believed  in  hope— With  an  assured  con- 
fidence, grounded  on  the  divine  promise  5  according 
to  all  that  which  was  spoken^^^en  God  called  him 
forth  abroad  to  view  the  stars  of  heaven.  jSo  shall 
thy  seed  be^So  numerous  and  glorious.  And  being 
not  weak  in  faith—Th;d\s^  being  strong  in  faith; 
for  the  Hebrews,  when  they  meant  to  assert  a  thing 
strongly,  did  it  by  the  denial  of  its  contrary.  He 
considered  not  his  own  body  now  dead— With  regard 
to  the  probahility  of  begetting  children.  He  did  not 
regard  it  so  as  to  be  discouraged  thereby,  or  induced 
to  disbelieve  the  promise.  The  children  which 
Abraham  had  by  Keturah,  after  Sarah's  death,  do 
not  invalidate  the  apostle's  assertion  here ;  for  Abra- 
ham's body,  having  been  renewed  by  a  miracle  in 
order  to  the  begetting  of  Isaac,  might  preserve  its 
vigour  for  a  considerable  time  afterward.  Nor  did 
he  consider  or  regard  the  old  age  of  Sarah.  He 
staggered  not — Greek,  et^  upf  enayye?.tav  T8  ^€ti  8 
SttKpi&Ti  177  airi-ia,  against  the  promise  of  God  he  did 
not  reason;  through  unbelief^Did  not  call  in  ques- 
tion the  truth  of  Cfod's  promise,  or  the  certainty  of 
Its  fulfilment;  bttt  was  strong  in  faith^  giving  glory 
to  (jM— Kntertaining  high  and  honourable  thoughts 
b 


was  about  a  hundred  years  dd,  nei-  a.  m.  40m. 
ther  yet  the  deadnesff  of  Sarah's  womb.    ^^'^ 


20  He  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God 
through  unbehef ;  but  was  strong  in  &ith,  giv- 
faig  glory  to  God ; 

21  And  being  fully  persuaded,  that  what  he 
had  promised,  ^  he  was  able  also  to  perform. 

22  And  therefore  it  was  imputed  to  him  far 
righteousness. 

23  Now,  ^it  was  not  written  far  his  sake 
alone,  that  it  was  imputed  to  him ; 


•  Gen.  XV.  5. *  Gen.  xvii.  17 ;  xviii.  11 ;  Heb.  xi.ll,I2. ■  Pa. 

cxT.  3 ;  Luke  i.  37, 45 ;  Heb.  ri.  19. «  Ch.  xr.  4 ;  1  Cor.  x.  6*1 1. 


of  God^s  power  and  faithfulness,  and  manifesting  the 
same  by  his  actions.  "  We  are  told,  indeed,  that 
when  God.  declared  that  Sarah  was  to  be  the  mother 
of  nations,  Gen.  xvii.  17,  Abraham  fell  upon  his  face 
and  laughed,  and  said  in  his  heart,  Shall  a  child 
be  bom  to  him  that  is  a  hundred  years  old?  Stc, 
Dut  these  questions  did  not  proceed  from  unbelief, 
but  from  admiration  and  gratitude,  as  may  be  ga- 
thered from  the  posture  into  which  he  piit  himself. 
And  with  respect  to  his  laughing,  it  did  not  imply 
any  doubt  of  God's  promise,  otherwise  he  would 
have  been  rebuked,  as  Sarah  was  for  her  laughing : 
but  it  means  simply,  that  he  rejoiced  at  God's 
promise ;  for  in  thp  Hebrew  language,  to  laugh  sig- 
nifies to  rejoice,  Gen.  xxi.  6,  God  halh  made  me  to 
laugh,  so  that  all  that  hear  will  laugh  with  me; 
consequently  the  passage  may  be  translated,  Abra 
hgm  rejoiced  and  said,  &c."  And  being  fully  per 
^Mocferf— Through  the  knowledge  which  he  had  of 
the  divine  perfections ;  thai  what  he  had  promised 
— Greek,  0  e;r^yyc?.r(M,  that  what  was  promised;  he 
was  able,  and  willing  also,  to  perform — He  believed 
God  to  be  most  faithful,  and  sure  never  to  fail  in  the 
performance  of  his  promises;  collecting  nothing 
else  from  the  difficulty  and  improbability  of  the 
matter,  but  that  it  was  the  fitter  for  an  Almighty 
power  to  effect ;  aitd  therefore  it — His  faith ;  was 
imputed  to  him  for  righteousness — He  was  justified 
by  it. 

Verses  2S-25.  Now  it  was  not  written — In  the 
sacred  records,  which  are  to  reach  the  remotest 
ages;  for  his  sake  alone— -Merely  or  chiefly  to  do  a 
personal  honour  to  that  illustrious  patriarch  |  but  for 
us  also— Tot  our  sakes  likewise ;  namely,  to  dhrect, 
encourage,  and  establish  us  in  seeking  justification 
by  faith,  and  not  by  works:  and  to  afford  a  full  an- 
swer to  those  who  say,  that  "  to  be  justified  by 
works  means  only,  by  Judaism:  to  be  judged  by 
failh,  means  by  embracing  Christianity,  that  is,  the 
system  of  doctrmes  so  called."  Sure  it  is  that  Abra- 
ham could  not,  in  this  sense,  be  justified  citner  by 
faith  or  works :  and  equally  sure,  that  David  (taking 
th5  word  thus)  was  justified  by  works,  and  not  by 
faith.  To  whom  it— The  like  faith;  sImII  be  tm- 
puied—Nnme\y,  for  righteousness,  if  we  steadily 
believe  on  him—ln  the  power,  and  love,  and  faithftd- 


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ftMrtB peace  mUk  GotL 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.  D.  aa. 


24  But  tof  us  abo,  to  wham  it  shall 
be  imputed,  if  we  believe  'on  him 
that  raisod  up  Jesus  our  Lord  ftam  the  dead, 


yActs  ii.  2i'f 
a.  25 ;  T.  6 ;   vii 


xiii.    90. *  Isaiah  liii  &  6 ;     ChtpCer 

viu.  32 ;  2  Corinthians  t.  21 ;   O^lians  i.  4 ; 


nessof  him,  who  not  only  brought  Isaac  from  the 
dead  womb  of  Sarah,  but,  in  the  most  literal  sense, 
raised  up  Jetus  our  Lord  from  the  dead — When  he 
lay  among  them,  slain  and  mangled  by  his  cruel  ene- 
mies. Here  God  the  Father  is  represented  as  the 
proper  object  of  Justifying  £uth,  in  whose  power, 
and  love,  and  faithfulness  to  his  promises,  the  peni- 
tent sinner,  that  would  be  justified,  must  confide 
for  the  pardon  of  his  sins,  acceptance  with  God,  and 
the  whole  salvation  of  the  gospel.  For  as  Abra- 
ham's faith,  which  was  counted  to  him  for  right- 
eousness, consisted  in  his  being  fully  persuaded 
that  what  God  had  promised  concerning  the  num- 
ber of  his  seed,  &e.,  he  was  able  and  willing  to 
perform;  so  the  faith  which  is  counted  for  right- 
eousness to  believers  in  all  ages  must  be  so  far  of 
the  same  nature,  as  to  imply  a  full  persuasion  that 
what  God  hath  declared  and  promised,  namely,  in 
the  revelation  which  he  hath  made  us  of  his  will, 
he  is  able  and  willing  to  perform,  and  actually  will 
perform.  This  persuasion,  however,  must  be  in  and 
through  the  mediation,  that  is,  the  sacrifice  and 
intercession,  of  Christ  Who  was  delivered — To 
ignominy,  torture,  and  death ;  for  our  offences — 
Namely,  to  make  an  atonement  for  them.  See  note 
on  chap.  iii.  25,  26.  And  raised  for  our  jtistifica- 
tion — That  is,  for  the  perfecting  of  our  justification ; 
and  that  in  three  respects:  1st,  To  show  us  that  the 
sacrifice  which  he  offered  for  the  expiation  of  our 


25  » Who  was  deCrerad  for  ourt)f- 
fences,  and  ^  was  "raised  again  for  our 
justification* 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  00. 


1  Peter  ii.  24 ;  iii.  18 ;  Heb.  VL  28.- 
1  Peter  i.  21. 


*■  1  Corinthians  xr.  17 ; 


sins  was  accepted  by  the  Father.    Having,  as  our 

surety,  engaged  to  pay  our  debt,  he  was  arrested 
for  it  by  divine  justice,  and  thrown  mto  the  jprison 
of  death  and  the  grave.    If  he  had  beeh  detained  in 
that  prison,  it  would  haye  been  a  proof  that  he  had 
not  paid  it:  but  his  release  (rom  that  prison  i^asthe 
greatest  assurance  possible  that  God's  justice  was 
satisfied,  and  our  debt  discharged.     2d,  He   was 
rabdd  that  he  might  ascend  and  appear  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God,  as  our  advocate  and  intercessor,  and 
obtain  from  the  Father  our  acquittance.    And,  3d, 
That  he  might  receive  for  us  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  in- 
spn-eus  with  the  faith  whereby  alone  we  can  be  justi- 
fied, to  seal  a  pardon  on  the  consciences  of  believers, 
and  sanctify  their  nature ;  and  thus  to  entitle  them  to, 
and  prepare  them  for,  a  resurrection,  like  his,  to  im- 
mortal life  and  felicity.    Accordingly,  the  apostle 
puts  an  especial  emphasis  on  Christ's  resurrection, 
ascension,  and  intercession,  with  regard  to  our  jus- 
tification, Rom.  viii.  34,  saying,  Who  is  he  that  con- 
demneth  7    It  is  Christ  that  diedy  yea  rather^  (hat 
is  risen  a^ain^  who  is  even  at  the  'right  hand  of 
Oody  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  xis.    We 
may  add  here,  with  Bishop  Sherlock,  that  Christ 
may  also  be  said  to  be  raised  for  our  justification^ 
because  his  resurrection  demonstrated  him  to  be  the 
true  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world ;  and  so  laid  a  firm  foundation  for  that  faith 
in  him,  by  which  we  are  justified. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  apiutU,  kamng  /ulfy  proved  that  justification  is  hy  faiths  proceeds  in  this  chapter  to  expUtin,  iUusfraUy  and  apply  tJm 
doctrine ;  showing,  (1,)  The  fruits  of  justification,  1-5.  (2,)  The  ca:^es  thereof,  6-11.  (3,)  The  universal  necessity  of 
suck  a  free  justification  through  Ghrist*s  dhedience  unto  death,  on  account  of  the  universal  dominion  of  sin  and  death 
through  Adam's  faU,  12-14.  (4,)  That  the  grace  of  God,  through  Christ's  obedience,  ie  more  powerful  to  justify  and 
eave  believers,  than  the  guHt  of  Adam's  transgression  is  to  condemn  and  ruin  his  natural  progeny,  15-21. 

with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  a.m. 4064. 

r^i    -^  ^  A.D.60. 

Clirist :  


A^M.40M.    rpHEREFORE    •being    justifi 

'   '  ■ '  ed  by  faith,  we  have  ^peac< 


*■  Isa.  xxxii.  17 ;  John  xri.  33 ;  Chap.  iiL  28,  30. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verse  1.  Therefore  being  justified^-ln  the 
way  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter,  we  receive 
many  blessed  privileges  and  advantages  in  con- 
•equenee  thereof.^  Here,  to  comfort  the  believers 
at  Rome,  and  elsewhere,  under  the  sufibrings 
which  the  profession  of  the  gospel  brought  upon 
them,  the  apostle  proceeds  to  enumerate  the  privi- 
48 


t'Eph.  iLU:  Cd.  i.2a 


leges  which  belong  to  true  believers  in  general. 
And  from  his  account  it  appears,  that  the  privileges 
of  Abraham^s  seed  by  faith,  are  far  greater  than 
those  which  belong  to  such  as  were  his  seed  by 
natural  descent,  and  which  are  described,  chap.  iL 
17-20.  The  first  privilege  of  this  spiritual  seed  is, 
that,  being  justified  by  faithy  we  have  peace  with 
Croc^Boing  alienated  from  €k)d,  and  exposed  to 

b 


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BmgjugHfied^  the  hdiever 


CHAPnSE  V. 


earn  glory  in  irtbulaiioH 


A.M 


r40M.    2  ^  By  whom  alao  we  have  access  by 
~ — '-  £uth  into  this  grace  ^wherein  we 


stand,  and  *  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  gliMry  of  God. 


•Jolmx.9;  zir.  6;   Eph.  ii.  18;  iii.  12;  Heb.  z  19. 
*  1  Cor.  XT.  1. •  Hcb.  iii.  6. 


condemnation  and  wrath  no  longer,  but  brought 
into  a  state  of  reconciliation  and  peace  with  him. 
"  Our  guilty  fears  are  sUenced,  and  we  are  tanght 
to  look  np  to  him  wiih  sweet  serenity  of  soul,  while 
we  n6  longer  conceive  of  Mm  as  an  enemy,  bnt 
nnder  the  endearing  character  of  a  Friend  and  a 
Father."  Through  our,  Lord  Jesu^  Christ— 
Throu^  his  mediation  and  grace.  They  have 
also  divers  other  prfvileges  and  Messings  here  enu- 
merated, which  are  all  the  fruits  of  justifjring  faith; 
so  that  where  they  are  not,  that  faith  is  not.  ''  It 
seems  very  unreasooatde,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge,  ^^  that 
When  the  apostle  wrote  such  passages  as  this,  and 
Eph.  i.  1-^,  he  should  meaato  exclude  himself,  who 
was  no  Gentile ;  they  are  not  therefchre  to  be  ex- 
pounded as  spoken  particularly  of  the  Gentiles 
nor  could  he  surely  intend  by  these  grand  descrip- 
tions, and  pathetic  representations,  to  speak  only 
of  such  external  privileges  as  might  have  been  com- 
mon to  Simon  Magus,  or  any  other  hypocritical  and 
wicked  professor  of  ChrMtianity.  And  if  |ie  did 
not  intend  this,  he  must  speak  of  aH  true  Christians 
as  such,  and  as  taking  it  for  granted  that  those  to 
whom  he  addressed  this  and  his  other  epistles  were, 
in  the  general,  such,  though  there  might  be  some 
few  excepted  cases,  which  he  did  not  think  it  neces- 
sary often  to  toudi  upon.  And  this  is  the  true  key 
to  such  passages  in  his  epistles  as  I  have  more  par- 
ticularly stated  and  vindicated  in  the  posts<^pt 
which  I  have  added  to  the  prefece  of  my  Sermons 
on  Regeneration,  to  which  I  must  beg  leave  to  refer 
my.reader,  and,  hope  I  shall  be  excused  from  a 
more  particular  examination  of  that  veiy  different 
scheme  of  interpretation  ¥rhich  Dr.  Taylor  has  so 
laboriously  attemptedr  to  revive.  The  main  princi- 
ples of  it  arc,  |  think,  well  confuted  by  my  pious  and 
worthy  friend,  Dr.  Gujrse,  in  the  preface  to  his  Pa- 
raphrase on  this  epistle. 

Veise  2:  By  whom  oho  ve  have  access — Greek, 
TJip  wpodayuytpf^  admittance^  entratice,  or  trUroduc- 
tiotu  The  word,  as  Raphelius  has  shown  from  the 
heathen  historian,  Herodotus,  is  often  used  as  a 
sacerdotal  phrase,  and  signifies,  ^^  being  with  great 
solemnity  introduced  as  into  the  more  immediate 
presence  of  a  deity  in  his  temple,  so  as  (by  a  sup- 
posed interpreter,  from^  thence  called  irpoaayuytv^, 
the  introducer)  to  have  a  kind  of  conference  with 
such  a  deity."  By  faith  into  this  grace— Into  this 
state  of  favour,  and  a  state  in  which  we  receive,  or 
may  receive,  grace  to  help  in  every  time  of  need. 
The  word  also  shows  that  the  blessing^  here  spoken 
of  is  different  from  and  superior  to  the  peace  vith 
Oody  mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse«  Wherein 
we  stoned— Remain,  abide;  or  rather,  stand  firm,  as 
the  word  eaticaftip  signifies.  "As  the  i4>ostIe  often 
compares  the  confiicts  which  the  first  Christiaiis 
h 


3  And  not  only  jo,  bnt  'we  glory  A. M.  409i. 
in  tribulations  also;  > knowing  that  — '— — ^ 
tribulation  worketh  patience ; 


'Mattv.  11,  W;  AeUT.4l;  2  Cor.  xu.  10 ;  Phil.  iL  17 ; 
James  i.  2, 13 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  14.— f  Junes  i.  3. 


maintained,  against  persecutors  and  false  teachers, 
to  the  Grecian  combats,  perhaps,  by  standing  firm^ 
he  meant  that,  as  stout  wrestlers,  they  successfully 
maintained  their  faith  in  the  gospel,  hi  opposition 
both  to  the  Jews  and  heathen,  notwithi^anding 
the  sufferings  which  the  profession  of  their  faith  had 
brought  on  them,"  And  rejoice  in  hope  ofihp  glory 
of  ^od— Here  two  other  blessings  are  mentioned, 
rising  in  degree  above  both  the  preceding;  a  h4>pe 
of  the  glory  of  God,  and  joy  arising  therefrom.-  By 
the  glory,  of  God  is  meant  the  vision  and  enjoyment 
of  the  God  of  glory  in  a  future  state,  particularly 
after  the  resurrection  and  the  general  judgment; 
including  a  fuU  conformity  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord 
of  glory  y  in  soul  and  body;  (to  whom  we  shall  be 
made  like,  because  vfe  sludl  see  him  as  he  is,  1  John 
iii.  2 ;)  also  the  glorious  society  of  saints  and  a^ge^ 
and  a  glprious  world,  the  place  of  our  eternal  abode. 
Of  this^  those  that  are  justified  by  faith  have  a  lively 
and  well-grounded  hope,  being  heirs  of  it  in  conse- 
quence of  their  justification.  Tit.  iii«  7 ;  and  of  their 
adoption,  Rom.  viii.  14-17;  Gal.  iv.6,7;  and  through 
this  hope,  to.  which  they  are  begotten  again  by  faith 
in  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  who  rose  the  first* 
fruits  of  them  thatcdeep,  and  by  pardoning  and  re- 
newmg  grace,  communicated  in  and  through  him, 
they  rejoice  freqnenUy  with  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory,  1  Pet  i.  8-8;  being  sealed  to  the  day 
of  redemption,  and  having  an  earnest  of  their  future 
iuheritance  by  God's  Spirit  ih  their  hearts. 

VersQS  3,  4.  And  not  only  ^o— Not  only  do  we 
possess  the  ibikr  fore-mentioned  inestimable  bless- 
ings; but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also — Which  we 
are  so  far  from  esteeming  a  mark  of  God's  displea- 
sure, that  we  receive  them  as  tokens  of  his  fatherly 
love,  whereby  we  may  be  enabled  to  do  him  more 
singular  honour,  and  be  prepared  for  a  more  exalted 
happiness.  The  Jews  often  objected  the  persecuted 
state  x>f  the  Christians  as  inconsistent  with  what 
they  concluded  would  be  the  condition  of  the  peo> 
pie  of  the  Messiah.  It  is  therefore  with  great  pro- 
priety that  the  apostle  so  often  discourses  on  the 
benefit  arising  from  this  very  thing.  The  apostles 
and  first  Christians  gloried  in  tribulations:  1st,  Be- 
cause hereby  their  state  was  made  to  res^nble  that 
of  Christ,  with  whom  they  died,  that  they  might 
live;  suffered,  that  they  might  reign,  chap.  viii.  17 ; 
2  Tim.  ii.  11,  12.  2d,  Because  their  graces  were 
hereby  exercised,  and  therefore  increased.  And,  3d, 
They  were  hereby  purified  and  refined,  as  gold  and 
silver  in  the  furnace.  See  Isa.  i.  4, 5 ;  Zeeh.  xiii.  9. 
Knowing  thai  ^ri&rUo/ton— Under  the  influence  of 
divine  grace,  without  which  it  could  produce  no 
such  effect;  worketh  patience— CbWs  into  exercise, 
and  sp  gradually  increases  our  patience;  even  an 
humble,  resigned,  quiet,  contented  state  of  mind : 


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■€M?9  love  to  man  mantfetUd 


ROBfANS. 


in  the  death  ofJetus  Chrigt. 


iLM.4064.    4  ^And  patience,  experience;  and 


▲.D.oa 


experience,  hope : 


5  'And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed:    ^be 

cause  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our 

hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto 


us. 


k  James  i.  19.- 
Eph.  L  13, 14. 


jPhiLi.  20. k2Cor.J.22;  GiLiv.  6; 


suggesting  those  consideratioBs  which  at  once  show 
the  rea^nsbleness  of  that  duty,  and  lay  a  solid  foun 
dation  for  it.  And  patience,  experience — The  patient 
enduring  of  tribulation  gives  us  more  experience 
of  the  truth  and  degree  of  our  grace,  of  God's  care 
of  us,  and  of  his  power,  and  love,  and  faithfulness, 
engaged  in  supporting  us  under  our  sufferings,  and 
causing  them  to  work  for  our  good.  The  original 
expression,  domfiri,  rendered  ea:perience,  stgni^s 
being  approved  on  trial,  fiefore  we  are  brought 
into  tribulation,  knowing  God's  power,  we  may  be- 
lieve he  can  deliver;  and  knowing  his  love  and 
faithAilness  to  his  word,  we  may  believe  he  vfill  de- 
liver: but  after  we  have  been  actually  brought  into 
tribulation,  and  have  been  supported  under  it  and 
delivered  out  of  it,  we  can  say,  from  experience,  he 
hath  delivered;  and  are  thus  encouraged  to  trust  in 
him  in  time  to  come.  Thus  Shadrach  and  his  com- 
panions, before  they  were  cast  into  the  l^irnaee, 
could  say  (Dan.  iii.  17)  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  Our 
Oody  whom  we  serve,  is  able  to  deliver  tis  from  the 
burning  fiery  furnace ;  and.  they  could  also  add, 
He  will  deliver  us.  But  after  they  had  been  cast 
into  the  furnace,  and  their  faith  in,  and  obedience 
to,  their  God  had  been  put  to  that  fiery  trial,  their 
patience  wrought  experience ;  and  they  could  say, 
from  experience.  He  heUh  delivered  us,  as  was  ac^ 
knowledged  by  the  haughty  monarch  htmscflf,  say- 
ing. Blessed  be  the  God  of  Shadrach,  fc,,  ^loJio  hath 
delivered  his  servants  that  trusted  in  him.  And 
experience,  Aope— That  is,  an  increased  and  more 
confirmed  hope  than  is  possessed  before  experience 
is  attained ;  namely,  1st,  Of  continued  help,  support, 
and  deliverance.  2d^  Of  a  comfortable  issue  of  our 
trials  in  due  time.  3d,  Of  eternal  salvation  at  last; 
Matt.  V.  12,  John  xvi.  20-22.  Observe,  reader,  as  soon 
as  we  are  justified,  and  made  the  children  and  heirs 
of  God,  chap.  viiL  17,  we  hope,  on  good  grounds,  for 
the  glory  of  Ood;  but  our  faith  and  other  graces 
not  having  then  been  tried,  our  hope  of  eternal  life 
must  be  mixed  with  doubts  and  fears  respecting  our 
steadfastness  when  exposed  to  trials,  (whfch  we  are 
taught  in  the  word  of  God  to  expect,)  and  our  en- 
during to  the  end.  But  vrhen  we  have  been  brought 
into  and  have  passed  through  various  and  long-con- 
tinued trials,  and  in  the  midst  of  them  have  been  so 
supported  by  divine  grace  as  to  be  enabled  to  con- 
tinue in  the  faith,  grounded  and  settled,  and  not  to 
be  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel,  our  ex- 
pectation of  persevering  in  the  good  way,  and  being 
finally  saved,  attains  a  confirmation  and  establish- 
ment: and  our  gratitude  and  joy,  1  Pet.  i.  3,  our 
patience,  purity,  and  diligence  in  all  the  works  of 


6  For  when  we  were  yet  without  a.m.4064. 
strength,  ^  in  due  time  '  Christ  died  .. — '. — 1 
for  the  ungodly. 

7  For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  maa  will  one 
die:  yet  peradventure  for  a  good  man  some 
would  even*  dare  to  die. 


*  Or,  ocecrdmg  to  the  tim* ;    O^.  W.  4.- 
ir.  25. 


'Vene  8;   Chap. 


piety  and  virtue,  1  Thess.  i.  3 , 1  John  tii.3  *,  1  Cor.  xv* 
58,  are  increased  and  confirmed  in  proportion  thereto- 

Verse  5.  And  Aope— Such  hope  as  is  the  iVnit  of 
faith)  patience,  and  experience,  namely,  the  ftill  as- 
surance of  hope ;  maketh  not  cuhamed^-Does  not 
shame  and  confound  us  with  disappointment,  but  we 
shall  certainly  obtain  the  good  things  hoped  for; 
yea,  we  know  it  cannot  shame  or  disappoint  us,  be- 
cause we  have  already  within  ourselves  the  very 
beginning  of  that  heaven  at  which  it  aspires.  F\fr 
the  love  of  G^od— That  is,  love  to  God,  arising  from 
a  manifestation  of  his  love  to  us,  even  that  love 
which  constitutes  us  at  once  both  holy  and  happy, 
and  is  therefore  an  earnest  of  our  fliture  inheritance 
in  our  hearts;  that  love,  in  the  perfection  of  which 
the  blessedness  of  that  celestid  world  consists;  is 
shed  abroad — Greek,  cKKex^rai^  is  poured  out;  into 
our  hearts,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto 
us — The  efficient  cause  of  all  these  present  bless- 
ings, Und  the  earnest  of  those  to  come.  As  a  Spirit 
of  wisdom  and  revelation,  the  Holy  Ghost  enables 
us  to  discern  God's  love  to  us;  and  as  a  Spirit  of 
holiness  and  consolation,  he  enaUes  us  to  delight 
ourselves  daily  in  him,  though  for  the  present  he 
appoint  us  trials  which  may  seem  rigorous  and 
severe. 

Verses  5-8.  For^-How  can  we  now  doubt  of 
God's  love,  since  when  we  were  without  strength — 
Either  to  think,  will,  or  do  any  thing  good ;  were 
utterly  incapable  of  making  any  atonement  for  our 
transgressions,  or  of  delivering  ourselves  from  the 
depth  of  guilt  and  misery  into  which  we  were 
plunged  ;  in  due  /me— Neither  too  soon  nor  too  late, 
but  in  that  very  point  of  time  which  the  wisdom  of 
God  knew  to  be  more  proper  than  any  other ;  Christ 
died  for  the  ungodly — For  the  sakcj  and  instead  of, 
such  as  were  enemies  to  God,  (verse  10,)  and  could 
not  merit  any  favour  from  him :  that  is,  for  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  when  they  were,  as  has  been  proved 
in  the  first  three  chapters,  all  under  sin.  Observe, 
reader,  Christ  not  only  died  to  set  us  an  example, 
or  to  procure  us  power  to  follow  it,  but  to  atone  for 
our  sins;  for  it  does  not  appear  that  this  expression, 
of  dying  for  any  one,  has  any  other  signification 
than  that  of  rescuing  his  life  by  laying  down  our 
own.  ^'  By  the  ungodly  here^  Mr.  Locke  understands 
Gentiles,  as  also  by  weak,  sinners,  enemies,  &c. 
They  are  undoubtedly  included ;  but  it  seems  very 
inconsistent  with  the  whole  strain  of  the  apostle's 
argument  in  the  preceding  chapters,  to  confine  it  to 
them.  Compare  chap.  iii.  ^20, 22, 28 ;  iv.  5 ;  v.  90. 
I  therefore,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge,  ^all  along  explain 
such  passages  in  the  most  extent  ve  sense ;  and  think 

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CHAPTER  V. 


hy  the  blood  of  ChritL 


A.M.40M. 
A.  D:  60. 


8  Bat  *  God  commendeth  his  love 
toward  os,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet 
rimierB,  Christ  died  for  us. 

9  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  '^  by 
his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  <*  from  "wrath 
through  hini. 

10  For  >if  when  we  were  enemies,  *we 


»Jobn  XT.  23;    1  Pet  iu.  18;    1  John  ^i.  16;    iv.  9,  la 

»Chap.m.25;  Epb.ii.l3;  Heb.iz.  U;  1  John  i.  7. oCh. 

i.  18;  IThoM.!.  10. P Ch^K  viii.  32. 


nothing  in  the  whole  New  Testament  plainer,  ^lan 
that  the-  gospel  supposes  every  human  creature,  to 
whom  it  is  addressed,  to  be  in  a  state  of  guilt  and 
condemnation,  and  incapable  of  being  accepted  with 
God,  any  otherwise  than  through  the  grace  and 
mercy  which  it  proclidms.  Compare  John  iiL  16, 36 ; 
V.  24  -,  1  John  lii.  14 ;  Mark  xvi.  15, 16 ;  Luke  xxiv.  47 ; 
and  especially  1  John  i.  10,  than  which  no  assertion 
can  be  more  poutive  and  express."  For  scarcely 
for  a  righteous,  or  rather,  honest,  just,  and  unblame- 
aUe  man — One  who  gives  to  all  what  is  strictly  their 
due  5  toould  one  be  Willing  to  die — Though  appre- 
hended to  be  in  the  most  immediate  danger:  yet  for 
a  good  man—K  kind,  merciful,  compassionate, 
bountiful  man ;  peradventure  some  would  even  dare 
to  e^t^^Every  word  increases  the  strangeness  of  the 
thing,  and  declares  even  this  to  be  something  great 
and  unusual.  BtU  God  commendeth — Greek,  cwi- 
rj7<w,  recommendeth.  A  most  elegant  and  proper  ex- 
pression ;  for  those  are  wont  to  bo  recommended  to 
us  who  were  before  either  unknown  to,  or  alienated 
from  us.  hi  that  v>hilewe  wert  yst  sinners — So  far 
from  being  good,  that  we  were  not  even  just ;  and 
were  not  only  undeserving  of  his  favour,  but  obnox- 
ious to  wrath  and  punishment ;  Christ  died  for  us — 
Died  in  our4itead,  that  our  guilt  might  be  cancelled, 
and  we  brought  into  a  state  of  acceptance  with  God. 

Verses  ^11.  Much  more  then — Since,  therefore,  it 
hath  pleased  the  blessed  God  to  give  us  such  an  un- 
exampled display  of  his  love  as  this,  how  high  may 
our  expectations  rise,  and  how  confidently  may  we 
conclude,  that  much  more,  being  now  justified  by  his 
&£(kn2— Shed  for  us:  that  is,  by  his  death,  which  is 
the  meritorious  cause  of  our  justification,  while  faith 
in  that  blood  is  the  histnimental  catise ;  we  shall  be 
saved  from  tcro/A— From  future  punishment,  from 
the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire  j  through  him — If  he 
80  loved  us  as  to  give  his  Son  to  die  for  us,  when 
We  were  mere  guilty  sinners,  we  may  assure  our- 
selves ^at^  having  now  constituted  us  righteous,  and 
accepted  us  as  such,  pardoning  all  our  sins  for  the 
sake  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ's  blood,  he  will  cer- 
tainly save  us  from  eternal  damnation;  us  who  con- 
tinue in  the  faith,  grounded  and  settled,  and  are 
not  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  For 
if,  when  we  were  enemies — Through  the  pcrverse- 
ness  of  our  minds,  and  the  rc^bellion  of  our  lives, 
(see  Col.  i.  21 ;)  we  were  reconciled  to  Chd  by  the 
death  of  his  fibn-^Which  expiated  our  inns,  and 
rendered  God  reeoneileable,  and  whieh  procured  for 

VoL.IL^  (  4  )' 


were  reconciled    to    God   by    the 

death  of    his   Son;    much   more, 

beit^  rec<mciled,  we  shall  be  saved 
life. 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.«0. 

'by  his 


11  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  ■joy  in  God, 
throngh  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we 
have  now  received  the  '  attmement 


42  Cor.  T.  18,19;    Eph.ii.ie:    CoL  i  21. 'JohmT.M; 

xir.  19 ;  2  Cor.  it.  10,  11. ■  Chap,  ii  17 ;   iii.  29,  90 ;    Orf. 

It.  9. *  Or,  reoonciliafim,  rerse  10 ;  2  Cor.  t.  18;  19. 


US  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  remove  the  enmity  from  our 
minds,  giving  hs,  at  the  same  time,  such  a  dis^y  of 
the  love  of  God  to  us,  as  won  our  affections  over  to 
hiin ;  much  more,  being  thus  reconciled,  we  ^€M  be 
saved — Sanctified  and  glorified ;  by  his  life — Restored 
in  order  tb  our  being  thus  saved  t  that  is,  by  his  ever 
living  to  make  intercession,  and  his  thereby  receiv- 
ing for  us,  and  communicating  to  us,  continual  sup- 
plies of  grace.  He  thstt  has  done  the  greater  thing, 
which  is,  of  enemies  to  make  us  friends,  win  cer- 
tainly do  the  lesser,  which  is,  when  we  are  friendu 
to  treat  us  as  such,  and  be  kind  and  gracious  to  us. 
But  the  opposition  is  hot  only  between  reconeillDg 
enemies,  and  preserving  friends,  the  latter  being  less 
difficult  than  the  former,  but  also  between  Christ's 
death  and  Kfe;  his  life  here  spoken  of,  being  not 
his  Hfe  in  the  fiesh,  but  his  life  in  beaten,  that  life 
which  ensued  after  his  death.  See  Rom.  xix.  9. 
Now  if  hid  death,  when  he  was  crucified  in  weak- 
ness, performed  the  harder  work,  that  is,  reconciled 
his  enemies,  shall  not  his  life,  which  is  stronger,  (for 
he  liveth  by  his  divine  power  as  the  Prince  of  Kfe, 
that  could  not  be  held  in  death,)  effect  the  earner 
work,  and  preserve  and  save  to  the  uttermost,  those 
that  are  already  made  his  friends?  Tor,  we  are 
reconciled  by  Christ  humbled,  and  finally  saved  by 
Christ  exalted,  it  being  in  consequence  of  his  exalta- 
tion to  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  his  being  invested 
with  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  made 
head  over  all  things  to  his  church,  that  he  complelei^ 
and  consummates  our  salvation.  And  not  only  so— 
Namely,  that  we  should  be  reconciled  and  saved ; 
but  we  also  joy,  QTeeY,Kavxufjtevot,  glory,  in  God— In 
the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to  us  asonrGod, 
and  in  all  his  glorious  and  boundless  perfections, 
which  we  see  are  engaged  for  us ;  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ— By  whom  we  are  introduced  Uito  this 
happy  state,  who  is  our  peace,  and  hath  made  God 
and  us  one;  by  whom  wehavenow — That  we  are  be- 
lievers ;  received  the  aloneinent — Greek,  rrfv  K^^rttXXa- 
yrtv,  the  reconciliation.  So  the  word  signifi^  and 
m  all  other  passages  where  it  occurs  is  so  translated, 
being  derived  from  the  verb  kartiXXaaaw,  which  Is 
twice  rendered  recqncile  in  the  preceding  verse,  and 
to  which  it  has  so  apparent  a  reference,  that  It  far 
surprising  it  should  have  been  here  risndered  hy  so 
different'  a  word  as  atonement,  especially  as  it  l# 
quite  improper  to  speak  of  our  receiving  an  atone- 
ment which  God  receives  as  made  for  our  sla& 
But.  when  we  are  made  true  believen  4ti  Christ,  we 
4»  b 


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Shi  u'not  imputed 


BMIAN& 


wKm  there  is  na 


4.  M.4064.    12  Wberefoce,  a^  ^by  one  man  on 

1 — .  entered  into  the  wprld,  and  ^death 

by  nn;   and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men, 
^  fi)r  that  aU  have  sinned : 

13  (For  until  the  kvi  sin  was  in  the  world : 
but  '  sin  is  not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law. 


« Gen.  iu.  6 ;  1  Cot  xr.  21. ■  Gen.  iL  17 ;    Chap.  ri.  23 ; 

1  Cor.  XT.  21. 


receive  the  reconciliation,  and  that  not  only  averts 
the  terrors  of  God's  wrath^  but  opens  upon  ns  all  the 
blessingB  of  his  perpetual  friendship  and  love;  so 
that  the  Father  and  the  Son  come  unto  us,  and  make 
their  abode  with  utf,  John  xiv.  23 ;  and  we  know  and 
helieve  the  love  that  he  hath  to  us,  and  in  conse- 
quence thereof  dwell  in  love,  and  therefore  dwell  in 
Ood,  and  God  in  us.  The  whole  paragraph  frotn 
verse  3- to  11  may  be  taken  together  thus:  We  not 
only  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  but  al^ 
in  the  midst  of  tribulations,  we  glory  in  God  himself 
tiu'QUgh  our  Lord  Jesua  Christy  6^  whom  we  have 
received  the  reconciltcUion. 

Verses  1!^  13.  Wherefore— This  refers  to  all  the 
preceding  discourse,  from  which  the  apostle  infers 
what  follows:  he  does  not  therefore  make  a  digres- 
sion, but  returns  to  speak  again  of  sin  and  nght- 
eousaess ;  as  if  he  had  said,  ^'  We  may  from  these 
premises  infer,  that  the  benefit  which  we  behevers 
receive  from  Christ  is  equal  to  the  detriment  we 
derive  fcom  Adam ;  yea,  is  on  the  whole  greater  than 
tiiat^'  For,  as  by  one  man—That  is,  Adam,  the 
conuBon  faUier  of  the  human  species;  (he  is  men- 
tioned, and  not  Eve,  as  being  the  representative  of 
maakiad;)  sin  entered  into  tJie  vor^d^- Actual  sin, 
namely,  the  transgression  of  Adam  and  its  conse- 
quence, a  sinful  nature,  which  took  place  in  him, 
throiigh  his  first  sin,  and  which  he  conveyed  to  all 
his  posterity ;  and  death — ^With  all  its  attendants^ 
It  entered  into  the  world  when  it  entered  into  being ; 
tor  till  then  it  did  not  exist;  by  ^in— Therefore  it 
could  not  enter  in  before  sin ;  and  «o~Namely,  by 
one  man;  death  pcused—Vr^nn  one  generation  to 
aaother;  upon  all  tnen,  for  that  all  have  sinned— 
Namely,  in  Adam,  theic  representative,  and  as  being 
in  his  kins.  That  is,  they  are  so  far  involved  in  his 
first  transgression  and  its  consequences,  and  so  cer- 
tainly derive  a  sinful  nature  from  him,  that  they 
beeome  obnoxious  to  death.  Instead  of^  for  that^ 
Dr.  Doddridge  renders  ef  u,  unto  which,  (namely, 
Qmo  death,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  clause,)  ali 
have  sinn&i.  In  which  ever  way  the  expression  is 
feadeced,  the  words  are  evidently  intended  to  assign 
the  reason  why  death  came  l^>on  all  men,  infants 
themselves  not  excepted.  For  until  the  lav>—Fov^ 
kom  the  fall  of  Adam,  unto  the  time  when  God  gave 
the  law  by  Moses,  as  well  as  after  it ;  sin  was  in  the 
nwrjd— As  appeared  by  the  continual  execution  of 
m  punishment;  that  is,  death:  but — It  is  a  self^vi- 
danl  principle  that  sin  is  not^  and  cannot  be,  imputed 
where  tf^ereis  no  iav— Since  the  very  essence  of  sin 
liatheviolatioaofalaw.  Aodoonsequently, 


14  JievartheleaB,  death  reigned  from  A.  u.etm. 

Adam  to  Moees,  even  over  them  thai  

had  not  sinned  after  the  similitode  of  AdamV 
transgresaion,  ^y/ho  is  the  figure  of  hka  tkat 
waatocome. 

16  But  not  as  the  <^ence,  so  also  is  the  fioae 


*0r,  m  wh»m, "Chap.  iv.  15;  1  Johm  iii  4.- 

XT.  21,  22,  45. 


iCor. 


since  we  see,  hi  iact,  that  sin  was  imputed,  ^we  mtuil 
conclude  that  the  persons,  to  whose  account  it  was 
charged,  were  under  some  law.  Nqw  this^  with  re- 
spect to  infants,  could  not  be  the  law  of  nature,  (any 
more  than  the  law  of  Moses,)  for  infants  could  not 
transgress  that ;  it  must  therefore  have  been  the  law 
given  to  Adam,  the  transgression  whereof  is,  in  some 
sense,  imputed  to  all,  even  to  infants,  he  being  the 
representative  of  all  his  posterity,  and  they  all  being 
in  his  loins.,  In  other  words,  they  do  not  die  for  any 
actual  sins,  of  their  own,  being  incapable,  while  m 
infancy,  of  committmg  any,^t  through  Adam's  sin 
alone. 

Verse  14.  Nevertheless— Thoxigh  the  law  was  not 
yet  given  by  Moses,  yet  sin  was  in  the  world,  and 
was  imputed,  as  appears  by  this,  that  death,  which 
is  the  punishment  of  sin,  was  in  the  world  at  that 
time,  and  reigned— Bron^t  all  under  its  power; 
from  Adam  to  Moses— A&  verse  21,  and  chap.  vL  12 ; 
eten  over  them,  &c.— Not  only  over  them  that  had 
sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam^s  transgression, 
but  also  over  infants  that  had  not  committed  actual 
sin,  as  Adam  had  done^and  over  others  who  had  not, 
like  him,  sinned  against  an  express  law.     Who  is 
the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come — ^A  lively  type 
of  Christ  in  his  public  capacity,  each  of  them  being 
a  public  person,  and  a  federal  head  of  mankind :  the 
one  the  fountain  of  sin  and  death  to  mankind  by  his 
offence,  the  other  of  righteousness  and  life  by  his 
free  gift.   Thus  far  the  apostle  shows  the  agreement 
between  the  first  and  second  Adam :  afterward  he 
shows  the  difference  between  them.  The  agreement 
may  t>e  summed  up  thus :  As  by  one  man  sin  entered 
into  the  world,  and  det^th  by  sin;  so  by  onp  man 
righteousness  entered  into  the  world,  and  life  by 
righteousness.    As  death  passed  upon  all  men,  in 
tlMit  all  had  sinned;  so  life  passed  upon  all  men, 
(who  are  in  the  second  Adam  by  faith,)  in  that  all 
are  justified.    And  as  death,  through  the  sin  of  the 
6rst  Adam,  reigned  even  over  them  who  had  not 
sinned  after  the  likeness  of  Adam^s  transgression: 
so  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  even  those 
who  have  not  obeyed  after  the  likeness  of  his  obe- 
dience, shall  reign  in  life.    We  may  add,  as  the  sin 
of  Adam,  without  the  sins  which  we  afterward  com- 
mitted, brought  us  death:  so  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  without  the  gqod  works  which  we  afterward 
perform,  brings  us  life,  although  still  every  good  as 
well  as  evil  work  will  receive  its  due  reward. 

Verses  Vi,  16.  But  not  as  the  offence,  Ac— The 
apostle  now  descrities  the  difference  between  Adam 
and  Chrisli  and  that  mnch  more  directly  and  ex* 
(4M  6 


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;*«< 


CHAPmtY. 


grace  mMi^abtmmkbf  Christ 


A.M.4Q64.  gift.    For  if  throu^  the  offence  (tf  one 

1 —  many  be  dead,  much  more  die  grace 

of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  %phieh  is  by  one 
BHin,  JesoB  Cairist,  hath  abounded,  'unto  many. 

16  And  not  as  i^  v>ms  hy  one  that  sinned,  so 
is  the  gift.  For  the  judgment  vws  by  one  to 
condemnation,  but  the  free  gift  t«  of  many 
(fences  unto  justification. 

17  For  if  ^by  one  man's  oflfence  death  reign- 


*IniahliiLll;  Matthew sc 88 ;  zzn.88.- 


i 


*  Or,  6y  OM  p^Pmce*- 
|'XiL32;  Heb.  iLa 


pressly  than  the  aipeement  between  them.  Now, 
the  fidl  and  the  free  gift  differ,  Ist,  In  amplitude, 
▼erse  15;  2d,  He,  from  whom  sin  came,  and  He 
from  whom  the  free  gift  came,  (termed  also  the 
gift  of  righteousness^)  differ  in  power,  verse  16; 
3d,  The  reason  of  boUi  is  subjoined,  Verse  17 ;  4th, 
This  premised,  the  offence  and  the  free  gift  are  com- 
pared with  regard  to  their  effect,  verse  18.  And 
with  regard  to  their  cause,  verse  19,  Not  as  the 
offence-^The  sin  of  Adam,  and  the  misery  that  fol^ 
lows  upon  it;  so  also  is  the  free  gift— The  benefit 
that  arises  to  us  fron^  the  ob^ence  of  Christ ;  that 
jsi,  there  is  not  a  perfect  equality  and  proportion 
between  the  evil  that  comes  through  Adam,  and  the 
benefit  that  comes  by  Christ:  they  are  not  equal  in 
their  influence  and  efficacy.  For  tf  thrqugh  the  of- 
fence of  one  many  be  decuU—li  the  transgression  of 
<me  mere  man  was  effectusd  to  bring  down  death, 
condemnation,  and  wrath  upon  all  his  posterity,  or 
natural  seed;  much  more  the  grace  of  ^po^^His 
love  and  favour ;  and  the  gift—'YhQ  saiv^on;  hy 
gruoey  which  is  &y  one  man— Who,  however,  is  God 
as  well  as  man;  even  Jesus  Christ-^The  divinely* 
•ommissioned  and  anointed  Baviour;  hath  abound- 
ed unto  many — Is  moro  abundtndy  efficacious  to 
procure  reconciliation,  pardon,  righteousness,  and 
life,  for  all  that  will  accept  them,  and  become  his 
spiritual  seed.  The  apostle's  design  here  is  to  com- 
pare Adam's  sin  and  Christ's  obedience,  in  respect 
of  their  virtue  and  efficacy,  and  to  ^ow  that  the 
efficacy  of  Christ's  obedience  must  needs  be  much 
more  abundant  than  that  of  Adam's  sin.  And  not, 
Ac.— As  there  is  a  difference  in  respect  of  the  per- 
sons from  whom  these  effects  are  derived,  and  the 
advantage  is  on  the  side  of  Christ;  so  there  is  a  dif- 
ference also  in  respect  of  the  extent  of  the  efficacy 
of  their  acts:  thus,  one  sin  brought  condemnation ; 
the  mischief  arose  from  one  offence:  here  not  only 
that  one  sin,  but  also  many  sins,— yea,  all  the  sins 
of  believers,— are  pardoned,  and  their  nature  is  re- 
newed :  so  that  the  benefit  exceeds  the  mischief 
Fbr  the  judgmenin^The  guilt  which  exposed  to 
Judgment ;  was  6y  one— Namely,  by  one  offence ;  to 
Adam's  condemnation — Occasioning  the  sentence  of 
death  to  be  passed  upon  him,  which,  by  consequence, 
overwhehned  his  posterity:  btil  the  free  gift— To 
xefMf^  the  gift  cf  grace,  is  of  many  qffences— 
Bxtends  to  the  pardon  not  only  of  that  original  sin, 
b«t  of  aU  other  penonal  and  aetoal  sins;  unt^sjusH- 
b 


ed  by  one;  much  more  they  which  am. 4064. 
receive  abundance  of  grace,  and  of   ^^'^' 
^the  gift  of  r^hteousnees,  shku  reign  in  life  by 
one,  Jesus  Christ) 

18  Therefere,  aa  'by  the  (^fence  of  one 
yu^$"men^  come  upon  all  nien  to  condemnation, 
even  so  •  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free 
gift  came  *upon  all  men  unto  justification 
of  life. 


*Or^bjf9m  rigktmutmmM,' 


'Jolm 


fcation — Unto  the  purchasing  of  it  for  all  mep, 
notwithstanding  their  many  offences,  and  the  con- 
ferring of  it  upon  all  the  truly  penitent  that  believe 
in  Christ 

-  Verse  17.  For,  &c. — Here  he  shows  the  difference 
in  respect  of  the  consequence  of  those  acts,  or  the 
different  nature  of  the  effects,  that  death  came  from 
one,  life  irom  the  other;  as  if  hie  had  said,  More- 
over, there  is  another  important  article,  in  which 
the  grace  of  the  gospel  exceeds  the  seeming  severi^ 
which  attended  the  imputation  of  guilt  from  our 
first  father,  Adam,  namely,  that,  if  by  one  man^s 
qffence  death  reigned  by  one — Over  all  his  posterity, 
as  we  observed  above ;  they  who  receive — By  fiedth, 
John  i.  12;  abundetnce  of  grace — An  abundant  mea- 
sure of  God's  love,  of  the  infiuences  of  his  Spirit, 
and  the  giA  of  righteousness,  exhibited  in  the  gos- 
pel; namely,  those  benefits  which  Christ,  by  his 
obedience  unto  deaths  has  purchased  for  us ;  shall 
much  more  reign  in  it/c,  by  one — The  great  restorer 
and  recoverer  of  his  seed ;  Jesus  dhrist — That  is, 
believers  shaU  by  hint  be  brought  to  a  much  nobler 
and  more  excellent  life  than  that  from  which  Adam 
fell,  and  which  they  lost  in  him. 

Verses  18, 19.  Therefore,  &c.— Here  the  apostle 
compares  Christ  and  Adam  together  again,  as  he 
began  to  do  verse  12,  with  which  this  verse  seems 
to  be  connected,  (all  the  intermediate  verses  coming 
in  as  a  parenthesis,)  and  he  makes  the  comparison 
full  in  both  members;  which  there,  by  reason  of 
intervening  matter,  was  left  off  imperfect.  As  if  he 
had  said,  On  the  whole  you  see,  as  I  began  to  ob- 
serve to  you  before,  that  as  by  the  offence  of  one, 
judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation — Or, 
the  condenmatory  sentence  M-as  passed  upon  all 
men;  even  so,  by  the  righteousness  of  one — The 
obedience  of  Christ,  the  free  gift— Or  gift  of  grace ; 
came  upon  all  inen—I&  provided  for,  and  offered  to, 
the  whole  human  race,  and  is  actually  conferred  on 
all  the  spiritual  seed  of  the  second  Adam,  on  all  true 
believers;  unto  justification  of  life — Unto  that  justi- 
fication by  grace  through  faith,  whereby  we  have 
a  right  and  title  to  eternal  life.  Of,  leaving  out  the 
words  in  Italics,  which  are  not  in  the  original,  the 
verse  may  be  paraphrased  thus:  "il*  the  conse- 
quence of  one  offence  on  the  one  hand  extended  to 
all  men,  to  bring  condemnaiicn  upon  them ;  so  also, 
on  the  other  side,  the  consequence  of  one  grand  act 
if  righteousness  extended  to  all  men,  who  receive 
91 


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BOBIANS. 


im)rep99t€rfidikain$inh9^falL 


A.  H.  4064.    19  For  as  by  <me  man's  disobe- 
A.D.0O.     ,.  J,      . 
dience  many  were  made  smners,  so 

by  the  obedience  of  cme  shall  many  be  made 

righteous. 

20  Moreover^  the  law  entered,  that  the  offence 


^  John  XT^82 ;  Oia^.  iiL  90 ;  ir.  15;  7ii.  8 ; 


and  embrace  it ;  securing  to  them  that/twft/Eco/ton 
which  will  be  crowned  with  die  enjoyment  q/*  eter- 
nal /i/c."  For,  as  by  one  man^s  disobedience  many 
-^That  is,  all  men ;  were  made,  or  constituted  sin- 
ners— Being  then  in  the  loins  of  their  first  parent, 
die  common  head  and  representative  of  them  all, 
and  became  obnoxious  to  death  \  so  by  the  o6edience 
of  one — By  his  obedience  unto  death,  by  his  dying 
for  us ;  many— Namely,  idl  that  believe  with  a  Aiith 
working  by  love ;  shall  be,  or  are,  constituted  right- 
eous— That  is,  pardoned,  justified,  and  sanctified,  and 
shall  be  treateid  as  such  in  the  day  of  God's  final 
account ;  though  they  have  no  perfect  righteous- 
ness  of  their  own  to  plead,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  riiould  stand  before  God  and  claim  the  reward. 
With  respect  to  Dr.  Taylor's  scheme  of  interpreta- 
tion, it  is  justly  observed  here  by  Dr.  Doddridge, 
that  although  '*  to  become  liable  to  death  for  the 
ofibnce  of  another  is  indeed  being  thereby  consti- 
tuted, or  rather  treated,  as  a  sinner,  since  death  b 
m  its  primary  view  to  be  considered  as  the  wages 
of  sin,  or  the  animadversion  of  a  righteous  God  upon 
it ;"  yet,  "  simply  to  be  raised  from  the  dead  is  not 
being  made  righteous,  or  treated  as  a  righteous  per- 
son ;  since  it  is  a  very  supposable  case,  and  will  in 
feet  be  the  case  of  nuUions,  that  a  sinner  may  be 
raised  in  order  to  more  condi^  and  dreadful 
punishment  The  whole  interpretation,  therefore, 
which  Dr.  Taylor  has  given  of  this  text,  in  this 
view,  appears  to  me  destitute  of  a  sufficient  foun- 
dation." 
Verses  20,  21.  Moreover  the^  law  entered— Made 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.  601 


might  abound.  But  where  sin  abovmd 
ed,  grace  did  much  ^ more  abbond: 
21  That  as  sin  hath  rdgned  unio  death, 
eTen  so  might  grace  reign  thiough  righteous- 
ness unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


OaL  ilL  19, 23. •  Luke  m  47 ;  1  Tim.  i.  14. 


a  little  entrance,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  translates  n'af>e- 
mk^iv  \  the  sense  also  given  it  by  the  Vulgate,  sub- 
intravit.  Thus  the  partial  and  limited  entrance  of 
the  law  is  distinguished  from  that  universal  entrance 
of  sin  which  passed  on  ail.  Others,  however,  as 
L'Enfant  and  Wesley,  render  it.  The  law  inter- 
vened, or  came  between  Adam  and  Christ,  the 
oflfence  and  the  free  gijft;  thai  the  offence  might 
abound— Thhi  is.  the  consequence  (not  the  design) 
of  the  law's  coniing  in,  was  not  the  taking  away  of  ' 
sin,  but  the  increase  of  it ;  yet  where  sin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  mere  abound— ^oi  only  in  the  re- 
mission of  that  sin  which  Adam  brought  On  us,  but 
of  all  our  own  sins ;'  hot  only  in  remission  of  sins, 
but  infusion  of  holiness;  not  only  in  deliverance 
from  death,  but  admission  to  everlasting  life;  a  far 
more  noble  and  excellent  life  than  that  which  we 
lost  by  Adam's  fall.  That  as  sin  hdih  reigned  unto 
death— In  the  wide  and  universal  destruction  made 
of  those  whom  it  had  brought  under  that  fatal  sen- 
tence; so  grace  might  r«^— Which  could  not 
reign  before  the  fall,  before  man  had  sinned ;  through 
righteousness— Ita^xAt^,  implanted,  and  practised ; 
through  the  justification  of  men's  persons,  the  reno^ 
vation  of  their  nature,  and  their  practical  obedience 
to  God's  holy  law ;  unto,  eternal  life  by  Jesus  ChriH 
our  Lord—Hete  is  pointed  out,  1st,  The  source  of 
all  our  blessmgs,  the  rich  and  free  grace  of  God. 
2d,  The  meritorious  cause ;  not  any  works  or  right- 
eousness of  man,  but  the  alone  "merits  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  8d,  The  effect  or  end  of  all ;  not  only 
pardon,  but  life,  divine  life,  leading  to  glory. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Here,  (1,)  7^  aposiU  show*  that  the  gospel,  fwr  from,  dissolving  our  obligatums  to  practical  hcUness^  greatly  mcreases  them; 
a  consideration  tending  Ughly  to  recommend  it  to  the  esteem  and  acceptance  of  all,  l-ll.  (2,)  He  urges  on  the  believers 
at  Rome,  to  whom  he  wrote,  that  holiness,  to  which  they  were  so  strongly  obliged  by  the  gospel,  12-28. 


— — '- — '-  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace 

may  abound  ? 


*  Chap.  iii.  8 ;  Yene  15. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 

Verses  1, 2.  What  shall  we  say  /Aen— What  shall 

we  think  of  this  doctrine?  namely,  taught  in  the 

latter  part  of  the  preceding  ch^ter,  that  where  sin 

62 


2   God    forbid:    how    shall    we, 
that  are  ^  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer 
1  therein? 


A.  M.  4004. 

A.  D.  SO. 


^  Verse  11;  Clwip.  tH.^. 


abounded  grace  did  much  more  abound  ?  Does  it 
not  follow  from  thence  that  we  may  continue  in  nh, 
that  grace,  m^y  abound  still  more,  and  may  appeal 
more  glorious  in  pardoning  and  saving  us?    The 

b 


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CHAPTER  VI. 


increaee  ihe  obligcUioni  tohoUnem. 


4.11.4064.  3  Know  ye  not  that /^  00  many  of  us 
■ . '  '  '  as  *werc  bapdzed  into  Jesus  Christ, 
^  were  baptized  into  his  deat^?* 
4  TherefiMre  %e  are  •  buried  with  him  by 
baptism  into  death :  that  'like  as  Christ  was 
laised  up  from  the  dead  by  'the  gk^ry  of  the 
Father,^  even  bo  we  also  shoiild  walk  in  new- 
>  of  life. 


«OftLu.  19;  ▼!.  14;  CoLiiL3;  lPet.iL24.^ »0r,  •»». 


*  1  Cor.XT.  89. *  iSwiiiay  after  Trinity,  epistle,  vejte  3  to  verse 

•  CoL  ii  12. 'Ohsp.  riii.  11  j    1  Gor.  vi.  14 ;  2  Cor. 


12.- 


apostle  here  sets  himself  more  fully  to  vindicate  his 
doctrine  from  this  consequence,  suggested  chap, 
iii.  7,  8.  He  had  then  only,  in  strong  terms,  denied 
and  renounced  it.  Here  he  removes  the  very  founda- 
tion thereof;  proceeding  to  speak  of  some  further 
benefits  (besides  those  mentioned  chap.  v.  1,  ^te.) 
of  justification  by  faith,  in  Christ,  namely,  the  pro- 
^Aoting  of  holiness,  and  not  of  sin,  as  some  might 
imagine:  to  which  subject  his. transition  is  at  once 
easy  and  elegant.  Qod  forbid—Thai  such  an  un- 
worthy thought  as  that  of  continuing  in  sin  should 
ever  arise  in  our  hearts !  We  have  disclaimed  such 
a  consequence  above,  and  we  most  solenmly  dis- 
claim it  again,  and  caution  all  that  hear  us,  against 
imagining  that  our  doctrine  allows  any  such  cursed 
inferences.  For  though  it  is  true,  that  where  sin 
abounds  grace  does  frequently  still  more  abound, 
yet  this  is  not  owing  to  sin  in  any  degree ;  which 
of  itself  brmgs  death,  verse  23 ;  James  i.  15 ;  and 
the  more  sin,  the  more  punishment ;  but  wholly  to 
tiie  superabounding  mercy  and  love  of  God  in  Christ 
For  ^010  ^uM  we  that  are  dead  to  ein — By  profes- 
non,  obligation,  and  communion  with  Christ  our 
head  in  his  death;  or  who  are  freed  both  from  the 
guilt  and  the  power  of  it;  live  any  longer  therein — 
In  the  love  and  practice  of  it?  Surely  it  would  be 
the  grossest  oontradiction  to  our  profession,  and  the 
obligations  we  are  under  to  do  so:  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  apparent  that  nothing  has  so  great  a  tendency 
to  animate  us  to  avoid  sin,  as  tiiis  doctrine  of  gospel 
gnce. 

Verses  3,  4.  Know  ye  not — Can  any  of  you  be  ig- 
norant of  this  great  and  obvious  tmih,  tlhot  so  many 
ofus€»  were  baptized  into  C%mt— That  u^  into 
tiie  profession  of  the  Christian  faith;  or  implanted 
into  and  made  a  part  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ 
by  bapUsm,  (as  e«f  Xpi^ov  seems  to  imply,)  were 
baptized  into  his  death — Engaged  by  baptism  to  be 
conformed  to  his  death,  by  dying  to  sin,  as  he  died 
for  it,  and  crucifying  our  flesh  with  its  affections  and 
lusts,  as  his  body  was  crucified  on  the  cross;  and 
also  wen  made  partakers  of  the  benefits  thereof, 
one  of  which  is  the  mortifying  of  mn,  and  all  sinful 
passions.  Being  baptized  into  Christ,  or  ingrafted 
into  him  through  faith,  we  draw  new  spiritual  life 
from  this  new  root,  through  his  Spirit,  who  fashions 
va  like  unto  him,  and  particularly  with  regard  to  his 
death  an^  resurrection.  TTierefore  we  are  buried 
with  Aim— Alluding  to  the  andent  manner  of  bap- 


6  *  For  if  we  have  been  planted  to-  a.  m.  4064. 
gether  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we    ^  ^'^' 
shaH  be  also  m  the  likeness  of  his  resurrec* 
ikm: 

6  Knowing  this,  that  ^our  old  man  is  cruci- 
fied with  hifn^  that  ^the  body  of  sin  mi^t  be 
destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve 
sin. 


ziii.  4. — ^— cJohnii.  U;  xi.40. 

CoL  iu.  10,11.- — « Phil.  iii.  10, 11.- 
Epli.  iy.  22. 1  Col  ii.  11. 


Gsl.  TL 15 ;  Eph.  iT.  22-^94; 
— *GaLiL20;T.24;Ti.l4; 


tizing  by  immersion ;  by  baptism  into  death — That 
is,  to  engage  us  to  die  unto  sin,  and  to  carry  on  the 
mortification  and  death  of  it  more  and  more :  tJutt 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the . 
glory — That  is,  the  glorious  power ;  of  the  Father^ 
even  so  we  also — In  conformity  thereto,  should  rise 
again  by  the  same  power ;  and  shaufd  walk  in  new- 
ness  of  life— Ab  Christ  being,  raised  from  the  dead 
lives  a  new  life  in  heaven.  From  all  this  it  appears, 
that  b^tism,  the  rite  of  initiation  into  (he  Christian 
Church,  is  an  emblematical  representation  of  our 
dying  to  sin,  and  living  to  righteousness,  in  conse- 
quence of  our  union  with  Christ  as  members  of  his 
body ;  as  also  of  the  malignity  of  sin,  in  bringing 
death  upon  Christ,  (verse  10,)  and  upon  all:  man- 
kind, and  of  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  death,  in  pro- 
curing for  all  pardoning  mercy,  renewing  grace,  and 
future  glory^  a  resurrection  both  from  spiritual  and 
temporal  death,  to  spiritual  i^id  eternal  life. 

Verses  5-7.  For — Surely  these  two  must  go  toge- 
ther; 80  that  if  we  have  been  united  to  Christ  by 
faith,  (to  which  baptism  engages  us,)  and  have  been 
made  conformable  to  his  death,  by  being  dead  to 
sin,  we  ediall  also  know  th^  powey  of  his  resurrec- 
tion, by  rising  to  newness  of  life.  Knowing  this — 
Not  in  theory  merely,  but  by  experience;  that  our 
old  man— Coeval  wi^  our  being ;  our  evil  nature 
derived  from  Adam ;  the  whole  system  of  our  for- 
mer inclinations  and  dispositions.  It  is  a  strong  and 
beautiful  exjpressio^i  for  that  entire  depravity  and 
corruption  which,  by  nature,  spreads  itself. over  the 
whole  man,  leaving  no  part  uninfected.  This  in  a 
believer  is  crucified  with  Chritft,  mortified,  gradually 
killed  by  virtue  of  union  with  him;  the  remembrance 
and  consideration  of  his  cross  co-operating  in  the  most 
powerful  manner,  with  all  the  other  motives  which 
the  gospel  suggests,  to  destroy  our  corrupt  passions, 
and  former  sinful  habits,  and  inspire  us  with  an  utter 
aversion  to  and  detestation  of  them :  that  the  body 
of  ein^The  hody  belonging  to  sjn,  including  sinful 
tempers,  words,  and  works.  The  apostle  personifies 
sin,  after  the  custom  of  animated  writers,  who,  to 
make  their  discourses  lively  and  affecting,  speak  of 
the  virtues  and  vices  of  which  they  treat,  as  so  many 
persons.  Corrupt  passions  and  evil  actions  are  the 
members  of  the  old  roan.  Col.  ^ii.  6.  Might  be  de- 
stroyed^Vtiexly  and  for  ever ;  that  henceforth  we 
should  not  serve  ttn— Should  be  no  longer  under  iU 
power,  as  we  were  before  we  became  savingly  ac- 


03 


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ROMANS. 


from  ike  dominion  o/Hm 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  00. 


7  For  '"he  ihal  b  dead  is  'freed 
from  sin. 

8  Now,  ''if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  be- 
lieve that  we  shall  also  Uve  with  him : 

9  Knowing  that  "^  Christ,  being  raised  from 
the  dead,  dieth  no  more,*  death  hath  no  more 
dominion  over  him. 

10  For  in  that  he  died,  I'he  died  unto  sin 
once:  but  in  that  he  Kveth,  '■he  liveth  unto 
God. 

11  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be 


» I  Pet.  iv.  1. »Gr.  nutified. »2  Tim.  ii.  11. r»  Rev. 

i.  18. p  Heb.  ix.  27,  fe. 1  Luke  xx.  38^- — '  Veree  2. 

•  0«I.  ii.  19.— t  Psa.  xix.  13 ;  czix.  133. 


quainted  with  Christ  and  his  gospeL  For  he  thai  is 
dead^With  Christ ;  is  freed  fnym  «n— Prom  the 
gnilt  of  past,  and  the  power  of  present  sin,  as  dead 
men  from  the  commands  of  their  former  masters. 
The  original  expr^ion,  here'  rendered  is  freed^  is 
dediMMTai^  which  properly  signifies,  is'  justified; 
that  is,  he  is  acquitted  and  discharged  from  any  fur- 
ther claim  which  sin  might  make  upon  his  service. 
The  word  as  here  used  implies,  that  a  sense  of  jus- 
tiflcationi)y  the  cross  of  Christ  is  the  great  means  of 
our  delivery  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  as  it  animates 
and  exercises  usto.shake  off  its  yoke,  and  is  accom- 
panied with  the  Spirit  of  adoption  and  regeneration, 
the  fruit  of  which  is  always  liberty,  2  Cor.  iii.  17. 

Verses  S-11.  Now  if  v>e  he  dead  with  Ovrist-*- 
Conformed  to  his  death  by  dying  to  sin ;  toe  believe 
thai  we  shall  also  live  toith  hiit^^We  have  reason 
sufficient  to  assure  ourselves  that  we  shall  be  con- 
formed to  him  in  life  too,  by  living  an  uninterrupted 
life  of  grace  here,  and  glor^  hereafter ;  and  shall  die 
no  more,  even  ais  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead 
dieth  no  more,  verse  9.  IBedied  unto  sin — To  atone 
for  and  to  abolish  \i\huthe  liveth  unto  God — A  glo- 
rious etema!  life,  such  as  we  riiall  live  also.  IAk&- 
wise — Oorw,  80,  in  correspondence  to  Christ's  death 
and  life,  verses  8, 9,  reckon  ye  yourselves  to  be  dead 
indeed  unto  sin — To  be  under  an  indispensable  ob- 
ligation, from  duty  and  gratitude,  to  die  to  it,  and 
never  more  return  under  its  powei^,  or  live  in  the 
commission  oi'\i',but  alive  unto  G^od^Bndned  with 
spiritual  life,  and  thereby  enabled  to  live  tq  the  glory 
of  God,  in  a  steady,  uniform,  and  cheerful  obedience 
to  hb  wise,  just^  and  holy  commands ;  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord — By  virtue  of  his  death  and  resur- 
rection, your  union  with  him  by  faith,  and  grace 
received  from  him. 

Verses  12-14.  Let  not  «n— Any  sinful  disposition 
or  inclination ;  therefore — Since  you  are  regenerate 
and  spiritually  alive  ^  reign  in  your  mortal  body — 
That  is,  reign  in  your  soul  while  it  dwells  in  your 
body.  Many  of  our  sinful  inclinations  have  their 
seat  in  the  body,  and  such  evil  inclinations  as  are  of 
a  more  spiritual  nature,  are  always  some  way  more 
or  less  turned  toward  the  body.  That  ye  should 
obey  tV— Should  yield  to  and  be  overcome  by  it;  in 
the  lusts  thereof— In  the  irregular  or  inordinate  de- 1 
94 


^dead  indeed  unto  Bm^  but  'alive  un-  aic40S4 
to  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.   ^^'^' 

12  ^  Let  not  sin  thwefore  rdgn  in  your  mor- 
tal body,  that  ye  shoidd  obey  it  in  the  lusle 
thereoC 

13  Neither  yield  ye  your  ^xnemb^s  as  'in- 
struments of  ui^hteousness  unto  mn:  but 
»  yield  yourselves  unto  God,  as  those  that  are 
alive  from  the  dead,  and  your  members  a# 
instruments  of  rigfateousnees  unto  God : 

14  For  ^  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over 


*  Cliap.  vii.  5 ;  CoL  iii.  5 ;  James  ir.  1.— -»  Gr.  armSf  or^  tsM- 

poiu. — ^-»  Chap.  xii.  1 J 1  Pet  ii.  24 ;  ir,  2. J  Chap.  rii.  4,  S ; 

viiL2;  GaLT.  13. 


sires  which  it  excites  within  you.  Neither  yield  ye 
your  members — The  members  of  your  bodies,  or  the 
faculties  of  your  minds ;  the  word  /kA^,  here  used, 
as  also  ch^^r  vii.  6,  signifying  both,  and  indeed 
every  thing  in  us  and  belonging  to  us,  which  is-em- 
ployed  as  an  instrument  in  performing  the  works  of 
the  flesh,  enumerated  Gal.  v.  19-21.  For  some  of 
these  do  not  require  the  members  of  the  body  to 
their  being  perfohned,  but  are  wh<^y  oonflned  in 
their  operation  to  ibe  mind.  Hence,  Col.  iii.  5,  evil 
desire  and  coveiousness  are  mentioned  among  our 
members  upon  the  earth  which  we  ure  to  mortify. 
As  instruments  of  unrighteousness — Employed  in 
its  service  3  tin/onn— For  the  committing  of  it.  The 
original  word  <mXa,  rendered  iftstrUments,  properly 
denotes  military  wei^ns;  and  may  be  here  used  to 
signify,  that  those  who  employ  their  powers,  whe- 
ther of  body  or  mind,  or  any  abihty  they  possess,  in 
the  service  of  eta,  do  in  fact  fight  for  it,  and  for  its 
master  and  father,  Satan ;  and  the  principalities  and 
jpowers  under  his  command,  against  (Sfod  and  Christ, 
and  all  the  company  of  heaven.  But  ^eld  your- 
selves unto  God— Yonr  lawM  king,  governor,  and 
Captain :  dedicate  yourselves,  both  body  and  soid, 
to  his  service;  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the 
dead— -Who,  after  having  been  sphrttually  dead,  are 
quickened  nod  put  in  possession  of  spiritual  life ; 
that  is,  are  no  longer  alienated  from  the  life  of  God, 
but  have  vital  union  with  God;  not  as  formerly^ 
carnally  minded,  which  is  death,  hut  spiritually 
minded,  which  is  life  and  peace,  chap.  viiL6;  no 
longer  under  condemnation  to  the  second  death,  but 
justified  and  entitled  to  eternal  life ;  and  your  mentr 
bers — AD  your  powers  and  abilhies ;  as  instruments 
oftighteousness—IntftrumenUi  employed  in  the  pro- 
motion of  piety  and  virtue ;  unto  God—^For  his  ser- 
vice and  to  his  glory ;  or  as  weapons,  to  fight  his 
battles,  and  oppose  the  designs  of  your  spiritual 
enemies.  For  sin  shall  not  hofce  dominion  ofser 
you— It  has  no  right,  and  shaH  not  have  power  to 
reign  over  you.  The  word  Mvpuveet,  denotes  the 
government  of  a  master  over  his  slave^  and  might 
be  irendered,  shall  not  lord  it  over  you.  As  if  he  had 
said,  Though  it  is  true  sin  is  strong,  and  you  are  weak 
in  yourselves,  yet  if  you  foithfoUy  strive  %gainst  it, 
looking  to  God  for  power  from  on  high,  you  shall  b* 

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f1^wkoytetaobediemeio9in 


CHAPTER  VI. 


are  tiU  »ervant9  of  $in. 


A.M.4D64.  yoa:  fo  ve  are  not  under  the  law, 
A.D.60.     ^_       ,    "^  ' 
bat  Hnder  grace. 

15  What  then?  shaH  we  on,  *b3cause  we 
are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace?  God 
Artii 

16  Know  ye  not,  that  *to  whom  ye  yield 
yoursi^ves  senrants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye 
aie  to  whom  ye  obey;   whether  of  sm  unto 


»Matt.  tL  24;  John TiiL  34 :  2  Pet.  iL  19. 


enabled  Co  conquer.  For  ye  are  not  under  the  law 
— Under  a  dispensation  of  terror  and  bondage,  which 
only  shows  yon  your  duty,  but  gives  you  np  powei[ 
10  perform  it;  and  wfaidi  condemns  you  for  your 
past  n<rtatioBs  of  it,  but  oflfers  no  pardon  to  any  on 
tiieir  repentance.  The  Mosaic  law  seems  to  be  jMor- 
ticolarly  intended,  and  the  propriety  of  what  is  here 
dbserved  is  well  illustrated,  in  that  Tiew,  by  the 
apostle  in  the  next  chaptor.  But  his  words  may  well 
Imply  al0o,thal  we  are  not  so  under  any  law  as  to  be 
utterly  condemned  for  want  of  a  perfect  conformity, 
or  mwinning  obedience  to  it  Not  under  a  dispen- 
mtion  that  TeqjttT&  such  an  obedience,  under  the 
penalty  of  cteath ;  which  offers  no  assistance  for  en- 
aUing  those  who  are  under  it  to  perform  its  requisi- 
tions, and  grants  no  pardon  to  any  sinner  on  his 
repCTlanee.  For  the  apprehension  of  being  under 
sadi  a. dispensation  would  Jend  utterly  to  discou- 
rage us  in  ali  our  attempts  to  conquer  sin,  and  free 
oorselTes  from  its  power.  But  under  graee^Vn- 
4er  the  merciful  di^>ens8tion  of  the  gospel,  which 
ofiers  to  ail  that  will  accept  it,  in  the  way  of  repent- 
ance toward  €K>d  and  faith  in  Christ,  afree  and  full 
pisdon  for  all  that  is  past,  an  entire  change  of  na- 
ture, and  those  contiimal  supplies  of  grace,  which 
strengthen  human  weakness,  and  confer  both  the 
will  and  the  power  to  conquer  every  besetting  sin, 
and  lire  in  the  practice  of  universal  holiness  and 
rif^HeousiiesB.  For  the  nature  of  the  grace,  Uiat  lis, 
of  the  new  gracious  covenant,  under  which  we  are 
placed,  is  such,  that  it  does  not  require  an  impossi- 
ble perfect  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses,  or  any 
Imw,  bat  the  obedience  of  faith ;  promising,  at  the 
same  time,  die  aids  of  the  Holy  l^int,  to  enable  men 
to  do  CSod's  will  sincerely  as  far  as  tliey  know  it,  and 
offimng  the  pardon  of  sin  to  all  on  condition  of  re- 
pentance and  faith  in  Christy  and  in  the  declarations 
and  promises  of  the  gospel  through  him.  Now 
under  this  gracious  covenant  mankind  have  been 
placed  ever  since  the  fall ;  ever  since  God  said,  T?ie 
seed  of  the  woman  ehall  bruise  the  serpetd'^s,  head  ; 
ever  since  that  time  the  apostle's  doctrine  here,  Ye 
are  not  umder  the  laio,  but  under  grace^  has  been 
trae  o(  all  the  posterity  of  Adam  j  a  doctrine  which, 
imitead  o(  weakening  the  oblig^on  of  the  law  of 
God,  written  on  men's  hearts,  or  the  moral  law  in 
any  of  its  requirements,  establishes  it  in  the  most 
eUnctnal  numner.    See  n<^  on  chap.iii.  31. 

Verses  15-18.    What  then  are  we  to  infer  ?  Shall 
we  sisr-Go  on  in  our  transgressions;  because  we 
b 


death,  or  of  obedience  unto  right-  a.  M.  4064. 
eousness?  . 

17  But  God  be  thanked,  that  ye  were  the 
servants  of  sin ;  but  ye  have  obeyed  from  iht 
heart  ^that  form  of  doctrine  ^  which  was  deli- 
vered you. 

18  Being  then  *  made  free  fix>m  sin,  ye  be- 
cimie  the  servants  of  righteousness. 


22;  Gd.-  •     ^^-    •  '- 


T.  1;  Tl 


PetiLia 


are  not  under  the  lair— Under  the  law  of  Moses^  or 
any  mere  ]eg«d  dic^nsation  which  forbids  sin,  but 
gives  no  strength  against  it;  but  under  graee-^A 
diipensati<m  perfectly  the  reverse^  offering  pardon 
to  the  most  guilty,  holiness  to  the  most  depraved, 
and  strength  to  the  most  weak  and  helpless !  €M 
forbid — That  we  should  draw  any  inference  so 
odious  and  destructive.  Know  ye  not — Is  it  neces- 
sary to  inform  you ;  that  to  whom  ye  yield-^Qreek^ 
vapt^optn^  present  yourseHes  servants  to  obey  his 
commands,  his  servants  ye  ar^  whom  ye  obey^tiot 
his  whose  name  you  may  bear,  without  practically 
acknowledging  his  authority ;  but  his  to  whom  ye 
are  in  fact  obedient,  to  whom  you  are  subject,  and 
whose  will  you  do.  ^  By  the^  expression,  ye  present 
yourselves  servgnts^  the  apostle  taught  the  Romans^ 
that  grace  does  not  destroy  human  liberty.  It  was 
stiU  in  their  own  power  to  choose  whether  they 
would  preseiit  themselves  slaves  to  sin,  or  servants 
to  righteousness."  Whether  of  sin  unto  deaths 
Which  will  bring  you  to  eternal  4cath ;  or  of  obe- 
dience— To  Ck>d  and  his  gospel ;  unto  righteousness 
—True  and  evangelical,  and  which  will  certainly  be 
rewarded  with  eternal  life.  But  God  be  thanked  that 
ye  were — That  is,  although,  or  whereas,  you  were 
once  the  servants  ofsih—A.  bondage  this  now  passed 
and  gone;  ye  ha/ve  now  obeyed— ^oX  in  profession 
alone,  \mXfivm  the  hearty  that  form  of  doctrine  which 
was  delivered  to  you — Chreek,  ei(  ov  ir^pedo^ifre  rvnov 
<fi<^;t9f»  literally,  the  model  of  doctrine  into  which^m 
into  a  mould,  you  were  delivered;  for  the  word  nwof, 
rendered  form,  among  other  things,  signifies  a  motdd^ 
into  which  melted  metals  are  poured  to  receive  the 
form  of  the  mould :  and  the  apostle  here  represents 
the  gospel  doctrine  as  a  mould,  into  which  the 
Roman  believers  were  delivered,  in  order  to  their 
being  formed  anew,  and  conformed  to  the  gospel  in 
all  its  doctrines,  precepts,  and  promises:  and  he 
thanks  God,  that  from  the  heart,  that  is,  most 
willingly  and  sincerely,  they  had  yielded  to  the 
forming  efficacy  of  that  doctrine,  and  were  madef 
new  creatures  both  in  principle  and  practice.  The 
allusion  is  not  only  beautiful,  but  conveys  a  very 
instructive  ^monition :  intimating,  that  our  minds 
made  all  pliant  and  ductile,  should  be  conformed  to 
the  nature  and  design  of  the  gospel,  as  liquid  metals 
take  the  figure  of  the  mould  into  which  they  are 
cast  Being  then  made  free  from  wn— Set  at  liberty 
from  its  power  and  dominion ;  ye  became  servants 
of  righteousness^At  once  enabled  and  obliged  to 
5S 


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Tkewaget  o/tinUdeath;  but 


ROMANS. 


ihegifiofGodUeUmall^ 


K.JL4ML    19  *I  speak  after  the  manner  of 
^   ■  ^    men,    because   of  the  infirmity  of 


your  fle^ :  for  as  ye  have  yielded  your  mem- 
bers servants  U>  uncleanness,  a^d  to  iniqui- 
ty unto  iniquity;  even  so  now  yield  your 
members  servants  to  righteousness,  unto  holi- 
ness. 

20  For  when  ye  were  ^  the  servants  of  sin, 
ye  w^re  free  ^from  righteousness. 


*  SeTenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  rene  19  to  the  end. 
'  John  Tiii.  84. *  Gr.  to   rigkU<Mnu$a. *  Chap.  Tii.  h. 


lead  a  life  of  true  piety  and  exemplary  goodness. 
The  word  ektv^tpcu^evre^^  here  rendered  being  made 
free^  is  the  word  by  which  thevct  of  giving  a  slave 
his  liberty  was  signified,  called  by  the  Romans 
emancipation. 

Verses  19-22.  /  $peak  after  the  manner  of  men 
— He  seems  to  mean  that  his  reasoning  was  tidcen 
from  the  customs  of  men,  and  was  accommodated 
to  their  apprehension ;  and  that  he  used  metaphors 
and  allegories  which  were  well  known;  b^catue  of 
the  infirmity  of  your  /e«A— Dulness  of  apprehen- 
sion, and  w^ness  of  understanding,  flow  from  the 
infirmity  of  the  flesh;  that  is,  of  human  nature. 
Or,  as  some  understand  the  expression  to  mean,  I 
recommend  a  duty  to  you,  suited  to  human  nature ; 
yea,  even  to  the  infirmities  thereof ;  that  you  should 
do  as  much  for  God  93  you  have  done  for  sin,  and 
be  as  diligent  in  the  service  of  Christ  as  you  have 
beep  in  the  pursuit  of  your  lusts.  For  as—In  time 
past,  while  yon  were  ignorant  of  the  gospel,  and 
mai^y  of  you  the  slaves  of  heathen  vice  and  idol- 
atry ;  ye  yielded  your  members  servants  to  unclean- 
ness — To  various  fleshly  lusts  which  defiled  you; 
€md  to  iniquity — Or  unrighteousness  toward  others; 
unto  iniquity— Adding  one  iniquity  to  another ;  even 
so  now — Being. enlightened  by  the  gospel  to  see  the 
evil  of  such  things,  and  the  miserable  consequences 
awaiting  them;  and  being  renewed  by  the  influ- 
ences of  divine  grace,  it  is  but  reasonable  that  you 
should  be  as  ready  to  pursue  a  pious  and  virtuous 
line  of  conduct,  and  to  do  good  now,  as  fontierly 
you  were  to  do  evil;  and  become  servants  of  right- 
eousness unto  holiness— Obserrey  reader,  they  who 
are  true  servants  of  righteousness,  which  may  here 
mean  a  conformity  to  the  divine  will,  go  on  to 
holiness,  which  implies  a  conformity  to  the  divine 
nature.  For  vsfhen  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin — 
Were  under  its  guilt  and  power ;  ye  were  free  from 
righteousness— You  not  only  had  not  righteousness 
enough,  but,  strictly  speaking,  had  no  true  right- 
eousness at  all;  never  doing  any  single  action  that 
was  truly  good,  and,  on  the  whole,  acceptable  to 
God,  because  none  was  performed  from  such  prin- 
ciples as  could  entitle  it  to  his  complete  approbation. 
In  all  reason,  therefore,  ye  Ought  now  to  be  free 
from  unrighteousness ;  to  be  as  uniform  and  zealous 
In  serving  God  as  you  were  in  serving  the  devil 
What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  (Aitt^A-Consider, 
what  advantage  did  you  derive  from  the  practices  to 
56 


21  *  What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  A.M.4a64. 
things  whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed?  — ^— ^ — : 
for  ^the  end  of  those  things  is  death. 

22  But  now  '  being  made  free  from  si%  and 
become  servants  to  God,  ye  have  your  firuit 
unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life. 

23  For  ^  the  wages  of  sin  is  death :  but  ^  the 
g}A  of  God  is  eternal  hfe,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lordc 


f  Chap.  L  32.- 
Jamea  l  16. 


— «  John  viiL  32. ^  Gen.  ii.  17 ;  chap.  t.  IS; 

Chap.  iL  7;  T.  17,21;  lPetL4. 


which  you  were  then  habituated,  and  iohereof  ye 
are  now  ashamed?— The  very  remembrance  of 
which  now  gives  you  pain,  and  creates  in  you  much 
remorse  and  trouble  ?  For  the  end  of  those  things  is 
death^-The  word  reXoc^  here  rendered  end^  signifies 
both  the  end  for  which  a  thing  is  done,  and  the-last 
issue  of  it  It  is  used  in  the  former  sense,  1  Pet.  L 
9 ;  receiving^  to  reXoc,  the  end  of  your  faithy  the  setl^ 
vation  of  your  souls ;  the  end  or  purpose  for  which 
ye  believed.  But  its  meaning  here  is,  that  the  pun- 
ishment of  death,  to  be  inflicted  on  mnners,  is  the 
natural  consequence,  or  issue,  and  reward  of  their  sin. 
Verse  23*  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death— ^^  The 
word  o^wvio,  rendered  wages^  properly  signifies  the 
food  and  pay  which  generals  give  to  their  soldiers 
for  their  service.  By  using  this  term,  the  apostle 
shows  what  sort  of  pay  the  usurper,  sin,  gives  to 
those  who  serve  under  his  banners.  Further,  as  the 
sin  here  spoken  of  is  that  which  men  commit  per- 
sonally, and  which  they  continue  in,  the  death 
which  is  the  virages  of  this  kind  of  sin  must  be  death 
eternal.  It  is  observable,  that  although  in  Scripture 
the  expression,  eternaJL  life^  is  often  to  be  met  with, 
we  nowhere  find  eternal  joined  with  death.  Yet 
the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  said  toi>e  eiemaL 
Matt  XXV.  46  f  (Macknight;)  as  also  in  many  other 
passages.  But  the  gift  of  God—Qre^k,  x<H>*<f^  the 
free  gift,  or  gift  of  grace ;  is  eternal  lif&--^r,  eternal 
life  is  the  free  gift  of  God.  "  The  apostle  does  not 
call  everlasting  life  oifovia,  the  wages  which  God 
gives  to  his  servants,  because  they  do  not  merit  it 
by  their  services,  as  the  slaves  of  sin  merit  death  by 
theirs:  but  he  calls  it  a^ee^;^,  or  gift  of  grace;  or, 
as  Estius would  render  the  expression,  a  donative; 
beeausej  being  freely  bestowed,  it  may  be  compared 
to  the  donatives  which  the  Roman  generals,  of  their 
own  good-wiU,  bestowed  on  their  soldiers  as  a  mark 
of  their  favour."  We  may  now  see  the  apostle^i 
method  thus  far:— 1st,  Bondage  to  sin,  chap.  iii.  9. 
2d,  The  knowledge  of  sin  by  the  law,  a  sense  of 
God's  wrath,  inward  death,  chap.  iii.  20.  8d,  The. 
revelation  of  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ, 
through  the  gospel,  chap.  iii.  21.  4th,  The  centre 
of  all  faith,  embracing  that  righteousness,  ci^ap.  Iii. 
22.*  5th,  Justification,  whereby  God  forgives  all  past 
sin,  and  freely  accepts  the  sinner,  chap.  iii.  2i. 
6th,  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  s^nse  of  God^s 
love,  new  inward  life,  chap.  v.  5 ;  vi.  4.  7th,  The 
free  seirice  of  righteousness,  chap.  vi.  28. 

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f%e  law  hath  dominum  over 


CHAPTER  VII. 


a  man  as  kmg  om  he  liveOk 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

£»  tku  ckufUr,  with  a  view  to  wean  tJU  helimng  Jtwtfrmn  Ikeir  fonintu  fw  the  Mosmc  Uwt  Ike  apmik  ekowe,  (1,)  T%ti 
ike  ieaik  of  Ckriet  kttmng  jut  on  end  to  the  obUgaHons  of  that  law,  Ikey  were  as  nmck  tit  liberty  to  gvte  up  their  ttttmek- 
jment  toitymdto  embrace  the  new  Hepensation  of  the  goepely  as  a  woman  whose  husband  was  dead  was  freed  from  all 
oUigrations  of  4uty  to  Mm,  and  at  Uberty  to  marry  another  man,  l--^.  {%)  Thai  m  eonsequoiwe  of  thciepramty  of  hMmen 
nature,  the  taw,  though  "  holy,  just,  and  good,"  can  only  produce  the  knowledge  of  our  guilt  and  weakness,  and  condemna- 
tion to  death,  7-13.  {%)  A  representation  at  large  of  the  painful  confiict  which  an  acguaintanee  with,  and  delight  in,  the 
holy,  spiritual  law  of  God  occasions  in  those  unrenewed  persons  who  are  comrineod^  by  experience,  of  their  tnaiility  to  keep 
it,  14^-84.    (4,)  The  deliverance  desired  may  be  obtained  by  faith  in  Christ,  26i 


A.  M.  4064.  1^0^  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I 

1-  speak  to  them  that  know  the 

law,)  ho\^  that  the  law  hath  dominion  over 
a  man  as  long  as  he  liveth? 
2  For  *  the  woman  which  hath  a  iiusband,  is 
bound  by  the  law  to  her  husband  so  long  as 
he  liveth ;  but  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is 
loosed  from  the  law  of  her  husband. 


*  1  Cor.  TiLSD. *  Matt.  v.  32. «  Chap,  yiii.  2 , 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VII. 
Verses  1-8.  Know  ye  not,  brethren— The  apostle, 
having  shown  that  justified  and  regenerated  persons 
are  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin^  shows  herp  that 
they  are  also  free  from  the  yoke  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
it  being  dead  to  them,  verse  6 ;  and  they  to  it,  verse 
4:  for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the  taw — To  the 
Jews  or  proselytes  chiefly  here ;  that  the  law — The 
Jklosaic  di^ensation  in  general,  to  which  you  were 
espoused  by  Moses  ^  hath  dominion  over  a  man — 
Over  a  iew  married  to  it,  and  engaged  to  observe  it ; 
as  long  as  A«— Rather,  as  long  as  it  liveih;  that  is, 
abideth  in  force,  and  no  longer.  For  it.  would  be 
contrary  to  the  apostle's  design,  to  suppose  the  sense 
of  this  to  be  as  our  translation  renders  it,  as  long  as 
hSj^  that  is,  the  man  in  question,  Uveth;  for  he  pro- 
fessedly endeavours  to  prove  that  they  hadputliyed 
t&eir  obligations  to  the  law.  But  the  rendering  here 
proposed  is  natural,  and  suits  the  connection  with 
the  following  verses,  in  which  the  law  is  represent^ 
ed  as  their  first  huE^Nuid,  whose  decease  left  them 
free  to  be  married  to  Christ.  The  law  is  here 
spoken  of,  by  a  common  figure,  as  a  person  to  which, 
as  to  a  husband,  life  and  death  are  ascribed.  It  is 
as  if  he  had  said.  The  dominion  of  the  law  over  par- 
ticular persons  can,  at  the  utmost,  last  |io  longer 
than  till  it  is  itself  iJ>rogated ;  for  that  is,  as  it  were, 
its  death;  since  the  divine  authority  going  along 
with  it  was  the  very  life  and  soul  of  it.  Suppose 
that  to  cease,  and  the  letter  of  the  precept  becomes 
but  a  dead  thing,  and  with  respect  to  its  oUigations, 
as  if  jt  had  never  been.  But  he  speaks  indifferently 
of  the  law  being  dead  to  us».or  us  to  it,  the  sense 
being  the  same.  For  the  woman,  &c. — Just  as  it  is, 
according  to  the  law  itself,  with  respect  to  the  power 
of  a  husband  over  his  wife,  who  is  bound  by  the  law 
to  be  subject  to  her  husband  so  long  as  he  liveth — 
The  law  here  referred  to  ii^  not  merely  that  particular 
branch  of  the  law  of  Moses  which  respected  mar- 
riage, but  also  and  especially  the  law  of  marriage 


3  So  then,  ^if  while  her  husband  a.m.4064. 

liveth,  she  be  married  to  anotherman,  '. — 1 

she  shall  be  called  an  adulteress :  but  if  her 
husband  be  dead,  i^e  is  free  from  that  law; 
so  that  she  is  no  adulteress^  though  she  be 
married  to  another  man, 

4  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are  be- 
come ®dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ; 


GaL  ii.  }9;  v.  18 ;  Eph.  ii.  15 ;  Col.  u.  li. 


promulgated  in  paradise,  Gen.  ii.  24;  whereby  our 
Lord  declared  marriages  were  appointed  to  continue 
for  life,  except  in  the  case  of  adultery,  Matt  xixl  6L 
This  argument  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  Jews, 
whose  connection  with  God,  as  their  king,  was  re- 
presented by  God  himself  under  the  idea  of  a  mar- 
riage, solemnized  with  them  at  SiiiaL  But  if  the 
husband — To  whom  she  was  bound,  be  dead,  she  is 
loosed — From  that  law,  which  gave  him  a  peculiar 
property  in  her.  8o  then,  if  while  her  husband 
liveth^  yevrirai,  avipt  ersfM,  she  become  the  property  of 
another  man,  &c.— The  apostle,  says  Theodorct, 
"  does  not  consider  here  the  permission  given  by  the 
law  of  Moses  to  the  woman  diVorced  to  be  married 
to  another,  as  being  taught  by  Christ  not  to  approve 
Of  such  divorces;  but  he  seems  otily  to  intimate  that 
she  had  no  power  to  dissolve  this  bond  by  putting 
away  her  husband,  or  that  this  divorce  rendered  her 
husband  dead,  in  law  to  her,  she  being  not  to  return 
to  him  again.  Deut  xxiv.  4."  Perhaps  we  ought 
rather  to  say,  he  speaks  in  the  general,  not  entering 
exactly  into  every  excepted  case  that  might  be  ima- 
gined. To  infer,  therefore,  hence,  as  some  have 
done,  that  adultery  is  not  a  sufficient  foundation  for 
divorce,  is  very  unreasonable.  But  if  her  husband 
be  dfiad^  she  is  free  from  thai  law — Which  bound 
her  to  be  in  subjection,  and  yield  conjugal  affection 
to  her  husband  only ;  so  thai  she  is  no  more  an  adul- 
^6re««— Subject  to  the  shame  and  punishment  of 
one;  though  she  be  married,  yevofuvrpf  avdpt  erepo, 
becoming  the  property  of  another  man;  for  death, 
having  interposed  between  them,  hath  dissolved  the 
former  relation.  He  is  dead  to  her,  and  she  to  him. 
Verse  4.  Wherefore,  my  brethren^Uence  it  fol- 
lows, or  by  this  comparison  it  appears;  ye  also-^ 
Believing  Jews,  and  much  more  believing  Gentiles; 
are  become  dead  to  the  iai^j— Tajten  off"  from  all 
hopes  of  justification  by  it,  and  confidence  in  your 
obedience  to  it:  and  so  likewise  it  has  become  dead 
to  you,  and  has  no  life  or  efficacy  iu  these  respecti^i 


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crt  dead  to  fKt  fa»v. 


A.  M.  4064.  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another, 
^^•^'    even  to  him  who  \b  raiwd  from  the 


dead,  that  we  should  ^  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
Ood. 
6  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  ihe  ^  mo- 
tions of  sines  which  were  by  the  law,  *did 


a  G«L  T.  2^. *  Gr.  wuakm. •  Chap.  ri.  13.- 

tL  21 ;  OaL T.  19;  James  i.  15. 


'Chap. 


6y  the  body  o/CAmf-^6y  the  offering  op  of  Christ's 
body  on  the  cross;  that  n,  by  the  merit  of  his  death, 
by  whicl^  it  evidently  appears,  that  there  Is  no  other 
way  of  making  reconciliation  for  sin,  or  of  obtain- 
ing deliverance  from  wrath  but  by  that ;  his  death 
and  sufferings  having,  now  accomplished  tiie  design 
of  the  law,  and  abrogated  its  authority ;  and  it, 
therefore^  expiring  with  him.  That  y^  should  be 
married  to  another— (%  Cor.  xi,  2;>80  that  you 
must  now  give  up  yourselves  to  Christ,  as  your 
secbnd  husband,  that  you  may  be  justified  by  faith 
in  him.  The  apostle  speaks  of  Christ  as  the  hus- 
band of  the  believing  Jews,  because  he  was  now 
become  their  Lord  and  head;  and  he  calls  him 
another  husband,  because  they  had  been  formerly, 
as  it  were,  married  to  the  Mosaic  law,  and  relied 
on  that  alone  for  salvation.  And  the  crucifixion  of 
their  old  ihan,  or  corrupt  nature,  and  their  obtaining 
a  new  nature,  through  the  death  of  Christ,  was  a  fit 
preparation  of  them  for  being  espoused  to  Christ. 
Who  is  raised  from  the  dead— Who  is  alive  him- 
self, and  will  bestow  spiritual  life  on  those  that 
believe  on  him,  and  giv6  up  themselves  to  him ; 
thta  we  sliould  bring  forth  fruit-^Nsmely,  of  holi- 
ness and  good  works.  Gal.  v.  22 ;  wito  Godr—To  his 
glory.  Matt.  v.  16;  John  xv.  8 ;  Phil.  i.  11.  In  this 
passage  the  union  of  Christ  with  his  people  is  re- 
presented as  a  marriage,  as  it  is  also  Eph.  v.  81, 22 ; 
Rev.  xxi.  9;  xxii.  17.  The  apostles  probably  took 
that  idea  from  the  ancient  phraseology  eonceming 
the  Jews.  See  on  verse  2.  But  from  whatever 
source  it  was  derived,  it  is  a  strong  representation 
of  the  friendship  and  endearment  which  subsists, 
and  to  all  eternity  will  snbsbt,  between  Christ  and 
believers,  and  of  the  happiness  which  they  will  de- 
rive from  his  love  to  them,  and  from  their  entire 
subjection  to  hite. 

Verses  5,  6.  /^\w^-We  ought  now  to  be  fruitfrd  In 
good  works,  because  we  were  formerly  fruitllil  in 
evil :  when  we  were  in  4he  fltsh^VnAet  the  com- 
paratively carnal  dispensation  of  Moses,  and  in  our 
natural  corrupt  state,  before  we  believed  on  Christ 
and  were  regenerated.  Thus,  o<  ovr«f  tv  aapxtf  they 
that  are  in  the  fleshy  and  ot  icara  oaptca  ovref,  they 
thai  are  after  the  fiesh,  (chap.  viii.  5,  8,)  signify 
those  that  are  influenced  and  governed  by  the 
fleshly  principle,  in  opposition  to  the  guidance  ahd 
Influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  tivai  ev  tmpKi,  to 
he  in  (he  flesh,  (verse  9,)  Cv''  repiirorwv  nara  eapKa^ 
to  live,  to  walk  according  to  the  flesh,  (verses  12, 13,) 
bear  the  same  sense.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  as  Dr. 
WhHby  Justiy  di)serves,  that  this  expression,  when 

m 


vmk  in  our  members  ^to  brii^  forth  a.  m.4064, 
frukuntoideath:  , ! — L 


6  But  now  we  ate  delivered  frotti  the  law, 
'that  beings  dead  wherein  we  were  held;  that 
we  should  serve  'in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not 
«?» the  oldness  of  the  letter. 


*C)r,fetiif  dcotf  to  tibal,  chap.  ti.  2;  Terse  4.-' 
8  Cor.  iiL  6. 


iChap.iLSS; 


we  were  in  the  flesh,  not  only  signifies  to  be  under, 
the  carnal  ordinances  of  the  law,  for>so  were  all  ^e 
pious  Jews,  who  lived  ftom  Moses  to  gospel  times; 
but  that  it  more  especially  relates  to  them  who,  liv- 
ing under  these  ordinances,  were  tiiemselves  carnal, 
and  so  had  the  law  of  the  flesh  still  warring  against 
the  law  of  their  m/inds,  imd  bringing  them  into  eetp- 
tivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  which  could  not  be  the  state 
of  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth,  or  any  other  of  those 
persons  who  were  righteous  before  God,  and 
walked  in  all  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  blame- 
less. And  if  of  such  [unregenerate  persons]  only, 
we  understand  the  apostie's  following  discourse  in 
this  chapter,  the  sense  will  be  clear.  The  motions 
of  sins—Ta  iraditfutra  ruv  apuifyriov,  sinful  passions ; 
which  were  by  the  law — Accidentally  occasioned  or 
irritated  thereby ;  did  work  in  our  members—Spread 
themselves  all  over  the  whole  man ;  to  bring  forth 
fruit — V6ry  difierent  from  that  which  has  just  been 
mentioned,  even  such  as  would  have  been  wnio 
death,  chap.  vi.  21,  28^  that  is,  would  have  exposed 
us  to,  and  have  issued  in,  eternal  death,  if  God  in  his 
mercy  had  not  interposed,  and  brought  us  acquainted 
with  the  gospel.  But  noto— Being  brought  out  of 
that  camel  state ;  we  are  delivered  from  the  law — 
Set  at  liberty  from  our  subjection  to  it  as  a  law,  and 
our  obligation  to  observe  it,  and  from  the  condemn- 
ing, irritating  power  thereof,  and  thctrefore  from  the 
sinful  passions  occasioned  by  it;  that  being  dead 
wherein^  we  were  held — In  subjection,  as  the  wife  to 
her  living  husband ;  that  law  being  now  made  void, 
and  having  no  further  power  to  condemn  us.  It  may 
be  proper  to  observe  here,'  that  the  Syriac  and  Arabic 
versions,  Origen,  Theodoret,  (Ecumenius,  an4  The- 
ophylact,  (with  whom  agree  Bengelius,  Mill,  Mac- 
knight,  and  others,)  read  airo^^opovre^,  we  being  dead  to 
that  by  which  we  were  held :  which,  says  Origen^  is 
undoubtedly  the  best  readmg,  agreeing  with  verse  4, 
ye  are  become  dead  to  the  law.  That  we  should  serve 
—God  and  our  generation ;  in  newness  of  spirit- 
In  a  new  an4  spiritual  manner;  and  not  in  the  old- 
ness  of  the  letter—Soi  in  a  bare,  literal,  external 
way,  as  we  did  befbre.  The  new  service  here  en- 
joined implies,  1st,  A  freedom  from  the  dominion 
of  the  flesh,  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  enabling  us 
to  mortify  the  deeds  and  lusts  of  fhe  flesh,  chap.  viii. 
18.  2d,  The  serving  God,  not  chiefly  with  bodily 
services  and  carnal  ordinances,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
our  minds,  chap.  xii.  2;  PhiLiii.  8;  having  our 
minds  renewed  and  transformed  after  the  image 
of  God,  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  which 
are  the  fruits  of  the  Spfait    8d,  The  serving  him  by 

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▲.M.405i.  rWhatahallwesaythen?  i^thelaw 
^^^  an?  Godforhid.  Nay,  ^Ihadnot 
known  sill,  but  by  the  law:  for  I  had  not  known 


*  Chmp,  iiL  20.        *  Or,  cwciipitimcfc        '  Exodus  zz.  17 ; 


thecontiniial  aid  of  his  Spirit,  stfengthening  us  wUh 
migki  in  the  inner  man,  Eph.  ii}.  16,  so  as  to  live 
ind  walk  in  the  Spirit^  or  to  live  fts  those  who  are 
renewed  by  the  Spirit,  and  possessed  of  his  Tariotis 
gftces.  With  regard  to  the  believing  Jews  in  par- 
ficakr,  k  imfdies,  that  being  loosed  from  the  Mosaic 
law,  chey  were  no  hmger  to  worship  and  serve  God 
with  rites  and  ceremonies  pertaining  to  their  ^/I^A, 
bat  with  services  of  their  Jpmt,  consisting  in  foith, 
love,  and  new  obedience. ,  From  this,  however,  we 
mast  not  infer  that  the  pions  Jews  under  the  law  did 
not  serve  Ood  wiUi  spiritnal  services :  all  the  ser- 
vices ift  i^iich  true  piety  and  morality  consist,  were 
enjotned  In  the  covenant  vrith  Abraham,  and  were 
practised  by  the  plons  Israelites.  But  to  these  the 
law  of  Moeee  added  namberless  services  pertaining 
to  the  body,  from  which  the  converted  Jews  were 
freed  stnce  their  embracing  the  gospel. 

Verses  7,  a  fFAai  ekaU  we  eay  then?--!!^  to 
the  heginniagof  the  next  chapter,  is  a  kind  of  digres- 
sioii,  wherein  the  apostle,  in  order  to  show,,  in  the 
most  lively  manAer,'the  weakness  and  inefficacy  of 
the  law,  changes  the  person,  and  speiAs  as  of  him- 
sell  This  he  frequently  does  when  he  is  not  speak- 
ing of  his  own  person,  but  only  assuming  another 
character.  See  Rom.  iiL  7;  1  Car.  x.  80;  iv.  6. 
Tbe  character  here  assumed  is  that  of  an  unrenewed, 
unregenerated  man;  first,  ignorant  of  the  spiritual- 
ity and  holiness  of  the  law,  then  acquainted  there- 
with, and  convinced  of  his  depravity  and  weakness 
thereby,  and  sincerely  but  ineflbctnally  striving  to 
serve  God.  To  have  spoken  this  of  himself^  or  of 
any  true  believer,  would  have  been  foreign  to  the 
whole  scope  of  his  discourse ;  nay,  utterly  contrary 
ther^o,  as  well  as  to  what  is  expressly  asserted 
chap.  viiV.2.  h  the  law  sin? — ^Macknlght  connects 
this  with  the  preceding  words  thus :  What  then,  do 
we  eay  that  the  law  is  ein?  is  a  bad  institution, 
that  causes  or  encourages  nn?  that  there  is  any 
moral  evil  in  it,  or  that  it  is  intended  by  Ood,  or 
adapted  in  its  own  nature,  to  lead  men  into  sin? 
That  this  is  the  apostle's  meaning  is  plain  from  verse 
IS,  where  he  mentions,  by  way  of  inference,  the  pro- 
po«Uoa  which  his  reasoning  was  designed  to  prove, 
namely,  the  law  is  holy,  ^.  God  farbid-^We 
revere  the  hig^  authority  by  which  it  was  given  too 
mnch  to  msinnate  any  thing  of  that  kind.  iVby,  / 
Aad  not  known  sin — ^Either  not  at  all,  or  not  clearly 
and  fully:  1  had  not  known  its  evil  nature  and 
destmctive  consequences;  nor,  in  many  instances, 
what  really  was  sin ;  6k/  ^  1^  law^Aa  the  apostle 
is  speaking  of  the  law  of  Mdses,  and,  as  appears  from 
the  la«t  clause  of  the  verse,  of  the  tooral  law,  the 
qnolalion  there  being  from  the  tenth  coramand- 
raent  Ins  words  must  not  be  understood  universally. 
"  For  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  th6  reason  and 
eooscienee  of  the  heathen  gave  them  no  knowledge 


Mint,  except  the  law  had  said,  <  Thou  A.M.m4. 
ahalt  not  covet.  h.D.ea. 

8  But  'fidn,  taking  occasion  by  the  eom- 


Deuu  r. 21 ;  Acts  jx.  33 ;  Chap. xiii. 9. k  Cluip.  iv.  16;  r.  90. 


at  ail  of  their  sms;  the  contrary  is  affirmed  by  the 
apostle,  chap.  ii.  14.  Neverthelm,  the  most  enlight- 
ened among  them  had  but  an  imperfect  knowledge 
otthe  nature  and  demerit  of  sin  in  general,  and  of 
the  number  and  aggravations  of  their  own  sins  in 
particular^,  compared  with  the  knowledge  of  these 
things  which  they  would  have  derived  from  revela- 
tion. The  truth  is,  they  fiemcied  many  things  to  be 
innocent  which  were  real  enormities;  and  many 
things  trivial  sins  which  were  very  heinous,  as  is 
evident  from  their  writings.  The  inference  ~to  be 
drawn,  therefore,  is,  that  since  the  law  discovers,  or 
forbids  and  condemns  sin,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
avoided,  it  does  not  directly  promote  it,  but  only  by 
accident,  by  reason  of  the  corruption  of  our  nature. 
For  I  had  not  known  lust-^To  be  sin;  eiritHyitoy, 
rfc«rc— That  is,  the  desire  of  an  unlawful  thing,  or 
the  inordinate  desire  jof  what  is  lawllil.  The  word 
signifies  desire^  or,  as  Dr.  Macknight  renders  it, 
strong  desire,  whether  good  or^bad.  Here  it  is  used 
in  the  bad  sense,  as  it  is  likeivise  1  John  ii.  16 ;  cirt^v. 
fiia  fff  ffopKoc,  the  but  of  the  flesh.  "  But  it  signi- 
fies strong  desire  of  a  good  kind  also,  Luke  xxii.  15 : 
eirti^fua  tne^ofiifira^  I  have  strongly  desired  to  eat  this 
passover.  1  Thess.  ii.  17,  Endeavoured  the  more 
abundantly,  iroAA^  iwi^fuOiWith  great  desire,  to  see 
your  face.  Except  the  law  had  said,  Tliou  shaU 
not  covH-^lik  this  commandment*  the  desire  that  is 
forbidden  is  of  what  belongs  to  others.  Now,  as  the 
operation  of  such  a  desire  is  to  prompt  men  to  acts 
of  injustice,  the  exigence  of  it  in  the  mind  is  obvi- 
ously sin,  because  it  could  not  hold  its  place  there 
for  any  length  of  time,  unless  it  were  indulged. 
However,  the  knowledge  that  strong  desire,  not  ex- 
erted in  outward  actions,  is  sin,  is  not  very  obvrous; 
and  therefore  the  apostle  ascribes  it  to  the  informa- 
tion given  us  by  the  revealed  law  of  God."  Bt't 
sin—But  what  I  say  is,  not  that  the  law  is  sin,  but 
that  sin,  namely,  the  corrupt  inclination  of  faUen 
nature ;  taking  occasion-  by  the  commandment — 
Forbidding  but  not  subduing  it,  and  being  ex- 
cited, quickened,  and  drawn  forth  into  action  by 
it ;  wrought  in  me — While  unrenewed ;  all  manner 
of  concupiscence — Every  kind  of  evil  desire;  incli- 
nations to  sins  of  all  ^orts.  This  evil  principle  in 
human  nature  is  acknowledged  even  by  heathen, 
whose  words  are  frequently  quoted  in  illustration 
of  it: 
Gens  humane  ruit  per  vetitum  neias : 
Nitimur  in  vetitum  semper,  cupimusque  negate. 
^'  Mankind  rush  into  wickedness,  and  always  desire 
what  is  forbidden."  The  reader  will  observe,  that 
this,  which  appears  to  be  the  true  sense  of  the 
wolds,  namely,  that  the  prohibitions  of  the  law 
awaken  and  irritate  men's  evil  desires,  supposes 
such  desires  to  exist  in  the  mind  previous  to  these 
prohibitions,  and  that  these  deaites,  with  other  evil 


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ROMANS. 


ofimrgtnH  and  candemnatiatL 


A.  M.  4061  mandmeEnt,  wrought  in  me  aU  man- 
^^'^    ner  of  concupiscence.    For  '  without 

the  law  sin  was  dead. 
9  For  I  was  alive  without  the  law  once :  but 

when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived, 

and  I  died. 


U  Cor.  XT.  50.- 


■lier.  zTiiLi; 


dispositions,  prompt  men  to^  make  trial  of  things 
fbrfoidden,  the  hiclination  of  hmnan  nature. being 
too  generally  like  that  of  a  fro  ward  child,  who  will 
do  a  thing  because  it  was  forbidden ;  and  perhaps 
is,  as  it  Were,  reminded  of  an  evil,  on  hearing  it 
mentioned  in  a  prohibition.  It  must  not,  however, 
be  supposed,  that  idl  evil  desire  arises  from  herice ; 
for  fleshly  appetites,  and  other  strong  desires,  which 
prevail  in  men's  minds,  do  not  owe  either  their  ex- 
istence or  their  operation  to  the  prohibitions  and 
penalties  of  the  law,  or  to  the  knowledge  thereof; 
but  only  their  power  to  kill,  of  which,  therefore, 
Macknight  interprets  the  words.  Far  without  the 
law  nn  wa$  deo^^— Neither  so  apparent  nor  ^o  ac- 
tive; nor  was  I  under  the  least  apprehension  of 
any  danger  from  it.  Sin,  which  he  still  represents 
as  a  person,  would  have  had  no  being,  or  at  least  no 
strength  to  kill  men,  had  not  the  law,  revealed  or 
natural,  existed ;  for  the  essence  of  sin  consists  in 
its  being  a  viplation  of  law.  Though  the  apostle 
speaks  this  primarily  and  directly  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  it  is  equally  true  of  the  law  of  nature,  and 
may  be  applied  to  the  state  of  mankind  before  the 
law  of  Moses  was  given.  Por  unless  there  had  been 
a  law  written  in  men's  hearts,  sin  would  have  been 
dead,  or  have  had  neither  existence  nor  power  to  kill. 
Verses9-1 1.  For  I  was  alive— In  my  own  conceit ; 
without  the  Zaio— Without  the  proper  knowledge 
of  its  spirituality,  extent,  and  obligation.  I  appre- 
hended myself  to  be  righteous,  and  in  the  way  to  life 
eternal ;  but  when  the  commandment  came — That 
is,  the  law ;  (a  part  being  put  for  the  whole ;)  but  this 
expression  particularly  intimates  its  compulsive 
force,  which  restrains,  enjoins,  urges^  forbids,  threat- 
ens ;— when,  in  its  spiritual  meaning,  it  came  to  my 
heart :  or,  when  the  spiritual  meaning  and  full  extent 
of  the  law,  condemnibg  desires  of  evil,  was  brought 
home,  and  closely  applied  to  my  conscience  by  the 
Spirit  of  God;  sin  revived— My  conscience  was 
awakened  and  convinced,  and  I  found  myself  guilty 
of  many  sins,  which  before  I  perceived  not,  and  a 
lively  sense  of  the  guilt  of  them  was  imprinted  on 
my  soul;  and  I  died— My  virtue  and  strength  died 
away,  and  my  former  pefrsuasions  vanished :  for  I 
saw  myself  to  be  dead  in  sin,  in  a  state  of  condem- 
nation, and  liable  to  death  eternal.  And  the  com- 
mandment— The  law;  which  was  ordained  to  life — 
Which  promised  life  to  them  that  kept  it,  saying, 
The  man  that  doeth  these  things  shall  live  in,  or  by 
them;  and  which,  if  rightly  used,  would  have  been 
a  means  of  increasing  spiritual  life,  and  leading  to 
life  everlasting.  *^The  law  of  nature,  and  its  tran- 
seript  in  the  moral  preeepts  of  the  law  of  Moses,  were 


10  And  the  c<mimandment,'^  which  A-M.  40^ 

teas  ordained  to  life,  I  £nmd  to  be  1 

unto  death. 

11  For  sin,  taking 
mandment,  deceived 
me. 


occasion   by  the 
me,    and    by    it 


corn- 
dew 


Elk.  XX.  11, 13, 21;  2  Cor.  m.  7. 


intended  for  life ;  because  the  threatening  of  death 
for  every  t>ffence,  is  virtually  a  promise  of  life  to 
those  who  obey  perifectly.    This  appears  from  the 
law  given  to  Adam  in  paradise."    I  found  to^be  unto 
death — To  be  attended  with  deadly  consequences, 
both  as  it  consigned  me  over  to  destruction  for  past 
sin,  and   occasionally,  though  not   intentionally, 
proved  productive  of  new  guilt  and  misery.  Perfect 
obedience  being  impossible,  according  to  the  present 
state  of  human  nature,  the  law, ''which  threatens 
death  for  every  oflfence,  necessarily  ends  in  death 
to  the  sinner,  although  it  was  originally  intended  to 
give  life  to  the  obedient.     For  sin,  as  I  said  before, 
(see  on  verse  8,)  taking  occasion  by  the  commandr 
m^n/— Prohibiting  it  under  the  severest  penalties, 
but  affording  me  no  h^p  against  it;  deceived  tne — 
Came  upon  me  unawares,  while  I  was  expecting 
life  by  the  law ;  and  by  it  slew  me — Slew  all  my 
hopes,  by  bringing  me  under  guilt,  condemnation, 
and  wrath.    In  other  words,  Satan,  the  grand  enemy 
of  mankind,  and  author  of  sin,  finding  a  law  which 
threatened  death  to  theiransgression  of  it,  takes  occa- 
sion thence  more  earnestly  to  tempt  and  allure  us  to 
the  violation  of  it,  that  so  he  may  more  effectually 
subject  us  to  condemnation  and  death  upon  that  ac- 
count.   Thus,  when  God  had  forbidden,  under  the 
pain  of  death,  the  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  Satan 
thence  took  occasion  to  tempt  our  first  parents  to 
the  breach  of  it,  and  so  slew  them,  or  made,  them 
subject  to  death.    Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases  the 
verse  rather  differently,  thus :  "  Sin,  taking  occasion 
by  the  terror  and  curse  of  the  violated  commai^d- 
ment,  and  representing  the  great  Lawgiver  as  how 
become  my  irreconcHeable  enemy,  deceived  me  into 
a  persuasion  that  I  could  be  no  worse  than  I  was, 
and  thereby  it  slew  me;  it  multiplied  my  mortal 
wounds,  and  rendered  my  case  still  more  desperate.'' 
Instead  of  sin  taking  occasion,  Dr.  Macknight  ren- 
ders dfopfiifv-  >M6tt(Ta,  taking  the  opportunity,  an  ex- 
pression which  he  thinks  less  likely  to  cotmtenance 
the  idea,  that  men's  evil  desires  are  owing  to  the 
prohibitions  of  the  law ;  to  suppose  which,  would  be 
to  make  God  the  author  of  sin  by  his  law.    ''The 
apostle's  meaning,"  says  he,  "is,  that  sin  took  the 
opportunity  of  men  being  under  the  command- 
ment, first  to  deceive,  and  then  to  kill  them."    Ac- 
cording to  Bengelius,  the  most  approved  copies  read, 
not,  sin  taking  occasion  or  opportunity  by  the  comr 
mandment,  but^  by  the  comnumdment  deceived  and 
slew  me;  connecting  the  commandment,  not  with 
the  former,  but  yith  the  latter  clause  of  the  verse. 
In  the  words,  deceived  me,  there  seems  to  be  an  allu- 
sion to  the  excuse  which  Eve  made  for  eating  the 

b 


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Imi  man  by  nature  i^camoL 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.  eo. 


12  Wherefore    *the  law  is  holy, 
and  the  commandment  holy,  and 
just,  and  good. 

13  Was  then  that  which  is  good  made  death 
unto  me?  God  forbid.    But  sin,  that  it  might 


•PMLzix.8;exiz.a6, 137;!  TulLS. — r-»Jiidg.  iii.  8; 

foibidden  fruit  l%c  serpent  deceived  me^  by  as- 
suring me  that  I  should  not  die.  "The  apostle 
q>eaks  of  a  two-fold  opportunity  taken  by  sin,  wliile 
men  are  under  the  ebmraandment  The  first  is,  sin- 
fol  dispositions,  deceiving  men  into  the  belief  that 
the  prohibitions  of  the  law  are  unreasonable,  that  the 
thing  forbidden  is  pleasant  or  profitable,  and  that  it 
will  not  be  followed  with  punishment,  persuade  them 
to  do  it  This  was  the  serpent^s  discourse  to  iBve ; 
and  it  is  what  men's  sinful  inclinations  always  sug- 
gest to  them.  The  second  opportunity  which  sin 
takes  under  the  commandment,  is  that  of  killing  the 
sinner  by  the  curse  annexed  to  the  commandment 
which  he  hath  broken.'' 

Verses  12, 13.  IFAere^rc— Since  then,  by  what 
has  been  said,  it  appears  that  the  law  is  not  the  cause 
of  sin  or  death,  except  indirectly  and  by  accident,  it 
most  be  acquitted  from  this  charge,and  acknowledged 
tobe  AoZ^;  and  the  cominandmerU— The  preceptive 
part  of  the  moral  law,  and  every  particular  precept 
of  it ;  is  holy,  just,  and  good — It  springs  from  and 
partakes  of  the  holy  nature  of  Ood ;  tends  only  to 
promote  holiness  and  a  conformity  to  God,  and  pre- 
scribes our  duty  to  God  in  his  worship  and  service. 
It  is  every  way  jmt  and  right  in  itself,  and  com- 
mands nothing  but  what  is  agreeable  to  those  com- 
mon apprehensions  of  right  and  equity  which  are 
imprinted  in  our  natures :  it  is  designed  wholly  for 
the  good  of  man,  1  Tim.  i.  8,  and  is  reaUy  profitable 
and  conducive  to  our  good,  both  temporal  and  eter- 
nal, and  subservient  to  the  common  interest  of  man- 
kind. Was  then  that  which  is  good  made  the  cause 
of  evil  to  me  7— Yea,  of  death,- which  is  the  greatest 
of  evils?  Was  it  made  the  proper  and  direct  cause 
of  death?  Not  so:  Suf  it  was  #tn,  which  was  made 
death  to  me,  inasmuch  as  it  wrought  death  in  me, 
even  by  that  which  is  good.  Here  the  apostle  clearly 
distinguishes  between  a  proper  cause  and  an  occa^ 
sum,  or  cause  by  accident.  The  law  is  the  occasion 
of  death  to  sinners ;  but  sm  is  the  proper  or  efficient 
cause  of  that  evil.  That  it  might  appear  sin— 
Might  appear  superlatively  vile ;  working  death  in 
me  by  that  which  is  good—By  the  good  law :  that 
sin  by  tJie  commandment — Manifesting  and  forbid- 
ding it,  and  thereby  awakening  and  irritating  it ; 
might  become  eafceeding  sinJul—Theit,  being  quick- 
ened and  excited  by  so  innocent  and  holy  a  thing  as 
the  commandment,  it  might  thereby  show  its  horrid 
tod  vile  nature ;  the  guilt  of  it  being  hereby  greatly 
aggravated.  ''  Our  translators  suppose  that  afiapTu?.o^ 
[rendered  sinjul]  is  put  here  for  the  adjective.  But, 
as  Beza  observes,  it  is  used  as  a  substantive,  and  sig- 
nifies a  sinner.  For  the  apostle  carries  on  the  per- 
ionification  of  sin,  began  chap.  vi.  0,  by  showing  its 
n 


apjpear  dn,  working  death  in  me  by  A.  M.  40m. 
that  which  is  good;  that  sin  by  the  .^^•^' 
commandment  might  become  excee^ting  sinfiiL 
14  F(Nr  we  know  that  the  law  is  s^nritual : 
but  I  am  carnal,  ®  sold  under  sin. 


1  Kings  zxL 20,  S6;  2 Kii^i  xrii  17 ;  ka.Ll;  1  lUo.  L  15. 


exceeding  sinfulness  in  this  respect,  that  it  makes 
the  law,  which  was  intended  for  life,  the  occasion  of 
men's  death."— Macknight. 

Verse  14.  For  we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual 
— Extending  to  the  spirit  of  man;  forbidding  even 
the  sins  of  the  spirit ;  sins  internal,  committed  merely 
in  men's  minds,  such  as  vain  thoughts,  foolish  ima- 
ginations, carnal  inclinations,  pride,  self-will,  dis- 
content, impatience,  anger,  malice,  envy,  revenge, 
and  all  other  spiritual  evils,  in  the  commission  of 
which  the  body  has  no  concern :  enjoining,  at  the 
same  limte,  all  spiritual  graces  and  virtues,  such  as 
humility,  resignation,  patience,  contentment,  meek- 
ness, gentleness,  long-suffering,  benevolence ;  with 
all  holy  intentions,  affections,  and  disposi^ons,  in- 
cluded in  loving  God  with  aU  our  heart,  and  our 
neighbour  as  ourselves,  which  the  law  especially 
enjoins :  being  intended,  at  the  same  time,  to  purify 
and  exalt  the  spirit,  and  assert  its  superiority  over 
the  meaner  part  of  our  nature.  But  I  am  carnal — 
That  is,  man,  considered  in  himself,  as  in  a  state  of 
nature,  and  destitute  of  the  regenerating  grace  of 
God,  is  carnal.  See  note  on  verse  5,  where  to  be 
in  the  flesh  is  evidently  of  the  same  import  with  the 
word  carnal  here,  as  are  also  similar  expressions, 
chap.  viii.  6,  8,  9,  &c.,  expressions  which,  all  are 
agreed,  solely  respect  the  unregenerate;  and  in 
which  the  person  that  is  in  the  flesh,  or  carnally 
minded,  is  represented  as  being  in  a  state  of  death, 
and  enmity  against  God.  Very  different,  surely, 
from  the  spiritual  man,  whom  this  same  apostle  re- 
presents as  living  in  a  state  of  favour  and  friendship 
with  God ;  minding  chiefly  the  things  of  the  Spirit; 
yea,  having  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  him,  and 
giving  him  dominion  over  all  fleshly  lusts,  which, 
through  that  Spirit,  he  is  enabled  to  mortify;  whose 
passions  submit  to  the  government  of  reason,  and 
whose  reason  is  itself  under  the  influence  of  grftce ; 
whose  enjoyments  are  chiefly  of  a  spiritual  iiature, 
and  his  great  employment  to  work  out  his  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling.  The  Scriptures,  there- 
fore, place  these  two  characters  in  direct  opposition 
the  one  to  the  other ;  and  the  apostle  begins  this 
paragraph  by  informing  us  that  it  is  his  carnal  state 
which  he  is  about  to  describe,  in  opposition  to  the 
spirituality  of  God's  holy  law,  saying.  But  I  am 
carnal;  and  adding,  as  a  still  more  decisive  proof 
that  his  meaning  is  as  is  here  stated,  sold  under  sin 
—That  is,  sold  as  a  slave,  to  remain  under  the  do- 
minion Of  sin,  and  to  be  compelled  to  do  those  evil 
actions  to  which  sinful  inclinations  prompt  men. 
"  In  peccafi  potestatem  libidinis  et  concupiscentict 
predio  redactus,^^  says  Origen;  brought  under  the 
power  of  sin  by  the  enticement  of  lust  and  concu- 
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A.  M.i064. 
A.D.  6a 


15  For  that  which  I  do,  I  *al- 
low  not:  for  i^what  I  would,  that 


«Gr.Anov,  PM.i.a 


piscence.  ^  So  enslaved  to  it,"  says  Theopfaylact, 
wee  foi  avaSkeifKU  dvvuff&ai^  of  not  io  be  able  to  look  uji: 
^  a  willing  slave,  who  had  sdld  himself  to  it,"  says 
Theodoret.  The  meaning  is,  totally  enslave4 :  slaves 
bought  with  money  being  absolutely  at  their  master's 
disposd.  In  this  sense,  the  phrase  is  continually 
us^  in  the  Old  Testament,  as  the  reader  may  see 
by  consulting  the  texts  referred  to  in  the  margin. 
By  the  addition  of  this  clause,  therefore,  the  apostle 
evidently  shows  that  he  does  not  here  use  the  word 
carnal  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  taken  1  Cor.  lit  1, 
namely,  to  denote  only  such  a  state  of  imperfection 
In  knowledge  and  holiness,  as  persons  may  be  in 
who  are  newly  converted ;  but  that  he  uses  it  in  the 
worst  sense,  namely,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the 
expression,  to  be  in  thefie8\  and  carnally  minded^ 
is  used ;  that  is,  to  signify  a  state  of  death  and  en- 
mity against  God.  Those  conmientators,  therefore, 
who  suppose  that  in  this  and  what  follows,  to  the 
end  of  the  Chapter,  the  apostle  describes  his  own 
state,  at  the  time  he  wrote  this  epistle,  and  con- 
sequently the  state  of  every  regenerated  person, 
rnUsi  be  under  a  great  mistake.  Universally,  indeed, 
in  the  Scriptures,  man  is  said  to  be  in  this  state  of 
bondage  to  sin  until  the  Son  of  Ood  make  him  free; 
but  in  no  part  of  the  sacred  writings  is  it  ever  said  of 
the  children  of  God,  that  they  are  sold  under  sin^  or 
enslaved  to  it.  The  very  reverse  is  the  Hojy  Spirit's 
description  of  Christian^,  for  Ihe  Son  of  God  maJces 
them  free,  and  therefore  they  are  free  indeed  ;  free 
especially  from  thejpower  of  sin,  which  has  no 
longer  dominion  over  them.  See  notes  on  chap.  vi. 
ia-22,  andvUL  2.  The  truth  is,  through  this  whole 
paragraph  the  apostle,  to  wean  the  Jews  from  their 
attachment  to  the  Mosaic  law,  is  showing  how  little 
that  dispensation,  even  the  moral  part  of  it,  consi- 
dered as  a  covenant  of  justice,  independent  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  could  do  for  them,  or  for  any  of 
the  fallen  ofl&pring  of  Adam.  It  could  convince 
them  of  sin,  but  not  constitute  them  righteous.  It 
could  show  them  their  guilt,  depravity,  and  weak- 
ness, but  could  neither  justify  their  persons,  nor  re- 
new their  nature,  nor  furnish  them  with  power  to 
do  the  will  of  God.  As  he  expresses  himself,  chap, 
viii.  3,  It  10418  weak  through  the  fle$h,  or  through 
the  corruption  and  infirmity  of  human  nature.  In 
pursuance  of  his  design,  having  compared  together 
the  past  and  present  state  of  believers,  that  in  the 
fle9hy  verse  5,  and  that  in  the  spirit,  verse  6,  in 
answering  two  objections,  {Is  then  the  laxo  sin? 
verse  7,  and.  Is  ihe  law  death?  verse  13,)  he  inter- 
weaves the  whole  process  of  a  man  reasoning, 
groaning,  striving,  and  escaping  from  the  legal  to 
t][ie  evangelical  state.  This  he  does,  from  verse  7 
to  the  end.  of  the  chapter. 

Verse  15.    For  that  which  I  do—Greek,  narep- 
ya^fiai,  iphat  I  thoroughly  work^  the  word  signifying 
aamestaess  and  peneverance  in  working  till  the 
9* 


do  I 
do  I. 


oot; 


but  what  I  bate,  that  a.m.40C4. 

'  A.  D.  60. 


fOtiY.n. 


work  in  which  the  agent  is  employed  is  finished. 
It  is  therefore  used  by  the  apostle  to  denote  the  con- 
tinued employment  of  God's  people  in  his  service 
unto  the  end.of  their  hves;  Phil.  ii.  l2,Work  out  your 
own  salvation.  That  is,  as  you  hav^  in  time  past, 
laboured  to  serve  God  in  dl  things,  so  persevere  in 
that  [Service  to  the  end.  The  word  here  denotes  a 
continued  emplojrment  of  a  very  different  nature. 
Therefore  he  says,  What  I  work,  /  allow  not,  or, 
approve  not;  for  the  word,  yivucKii,  which  literally 
signifies  I  know,  is  used  in  the  sense  of  approving^ 
Matt,  vii,  21.  For  whai  I  looulci— That  is,  inclins 
to,  or  desire,  as  Macknight  renders  ^BtiXu,  which,  he 
observes,  cannot  here  signiiy  the  last  determination 
of  the  wUl,  ^^  actions  always  following  that  deteri- 
mlnation;  but  such  a  faint  ineffectual  desire  as  rea- 
son and  conscience,  opposed  by  strong  passions,  and 
not  strengthened  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  often  pro- 
duce." These  corrupt  passions  frequently  darken 
the  understanding,  mislead  the  judgment,  and  stupify 
the  conscience;  in  consequence  whereof  the  wiU, 
strongly  impelled  by  criminal  desires,  in  the  place  of 
being  governed  by  Uiese  higher  powers  of  the  mind, 
governs  them  herself  But,  '^  when  order  is  restored 
to  the  soul  by  regeneration,  then  the  enlightened 
understanding  determines  the  judgment,  and  the 
decisions  thereof^  enforced  by  the  voice  of  con* 
science,  determine  the  will,  whose  volitions,  thus 
excited,  become  the  spring  of  action;  so  that  the 
good  the  regenerated  man  would,  be  doth,— and  the 
evil  he  hates,  he  doth  not.  But,  in  the  unregenc- 
rate,  those  volitions  neither  obey  the  directions  of 
reason  nor  conscience ;  hence  there  is  a  continual 
conflict  in  his  breast,  J^et  ween  appetites  and  passions 
on  the  one  side,  and  reason  and  conscience  on  the 
other.  The  latter,  however,  are  generally  over- 
come ;  and  in  this  state  the  person,  with  propriety, 
may  say,  WhaJt  I  would,  that  do  I  not;  but  what  I 
hate,  that  I  do:  or,  as  it  is  expressed,  verse  19,  7^ 
good^  that  I  wotM  I  do  not;  but  the  evil  which  I 
would  not,  that  I  do,  Ovid,  a  heathen,  describes  the 
conduct  of  depraved  men  in  words  very  similar  to 
these : 

Sed  trahit  invitam  nova  vis,  aliudque  cupido. 
Mens  aliud  suadet   Video  meUora,  proboqne ; 
Deteriora  sequor. 

Ovm,  Metam.,  lib.  vii.  ver.  19. 

*  My  reason  this,  my  passion  that  persuades ; 

I  see  the  righty  and  I  approve  it  too; 

Condemn  the  wrong,  and  yet  the  loron^  pursue.' 

The  apostle  does  not  say  that  this  took  place  in 
his  conduct  on  some  particular  occasions  merely, 
but  he  gives  us  this  account  of  himself  as  his  gene- 
ral conduct,  while  he  was  carnal  and  sold  wider  sisi^ 
as  appears  from  verse  2U  where  see  the  note." 
—Smith,  On  the  Comal  Man^s  Character, 

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CHAPTER  Vn. 


f^crd9  no  iohxUionJrom  JtH; 


16  If  then  I  do  that  which  I  would 
not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is 


A.  M.  jtO&tw 

AO.ea 

good. 

17  Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but 
sin  that  dwelleth  in  me. 


4  Oen.  tL  6 ; 


YersealG,!?.  IfthenldoVuUvthiehlvxiuldnot, 
^gc. — In  willing  Qot  to  do  it,  I  do  so  far,  though  to 
my  own  condemnatioD,  cofueiU  to  p^e  lawy  and  bear 
my  testimony  ta  it  ihat  U  is  good^An^  do^  indeed 
desire  to  fulfil  it;  though  when  temptations  assault 
me^  contrary^  to  my  resolution,  I  fail  in  my  practice. 
This  is  an  Inference  from  the  lormer  verse,  the  obvi* 
ous  sense  of  which  is,  that  men,  eVen  In  an  uncon- 
verted state,  ^prove  of  the  law  of  God :  They  see  its 
{Nropriety  and  equity,  consequently  thebr  judgment 
approves  of  it  as  good,  though  their  passions  and  in- 
clinations oppose  it  It  b  not  supposed  here  that 
the  person  spoken  of  consents  at  all  times  to  the 
whole  of  Gk)d*s  law  as  ^ood :  this  inference  is  limited 
by  what  he  said  in  the  former  verse.  Nor  is  it  every 
evil  which  he  hates,  that  he  does;  nor  does  he,  al- 
ways feel  that  hatred  which  he  mentions  against  the 
sins  which  he  commits.  He  only  mentions  it  as  a 
thing  which  frequently  happened,  that  the  evils 
which  he  hat^  and^was  inclined  to  avoid,  were  ac^ 
tually  committed  by  him ;  and  the  good  deeds  which 
his  conscience  inclined  him  to  do,  were  not  per*- 
formed.  From  this  he  infers,  that  this  inclination 
implied  ^e  consent  of  his  judgment  unto  the  good- 
ness of  those  laws,  which  under  these  circumstances 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  breaking.  And,  that  the  minds 
even  of  wicked  men  consent  to  the  )aw  of  God  as 
good,  is  obvious^  from  their  approbation  of  good  ac- 
tions in  others.  Now  then  it  ia  no  more  I  that  can 
properly  be  said  to  do  it,  but  rather  Hn  that  dwelleth 
mme — Which  makes,  as  it  were,  another  person,  and 
tyrannises  over  me.  "  Here  the  apostle  considers 
man  as  composed  of  two  parts,  ^e«A  and  apirU,  each 
of  which  has  distinct  volUionSy  affections,  and  pas- 
sions.  And,  because  the  influence  of  these  on  men's 
actions  is  very  powerful,  he  calls  the  one  the 
law  of  the  members,  and  the  other,  the  law  of  the 
mind;  (yene  23 ;)  and,  like  the  ancient  philosophers, 
he  considers  these  two  principles  as  distinct  persons. 
And  as  in  this  discourse  he  personates  mankind,  he 
q»eakB  of  the  former,  which  (verse  22)  he  terms, 
0  eow  ov^pcrirof,  the  inward  man,  or  spiritual  part  of 
human  nature,  as  his  real  self^  and  calls  it,  eyu,  /, 
(verses  17, 19i,)  and  owof  eyw^  I  myself  (verse  26,) 
because  it  ia  the  part  in  which  man  was  tnade  after 
the  image  of  God.  The  other  person  he  calls  his 
flesh,  or  carnal  part ;  and,  o  e^a  av^pono^^  the  out- 
ward  man  ;  (2  Cor.  iv.  16 ;)  and  sin  dwelling  in  him, 
in  this  verse;  and  (^  body  of  sin;  (chap.  vL6;) 
and  the  body  of  death;  (chap.  vii.  24;)  9nd  the  old 
man;  (chap.  vL  6;  Eph.  iv.  21 ;  CoL  iil.  9;)  and  de- 
nies that  this  part  is  his  Self;  (Kom.  viL  17;)  and  to 
prevent  our  confounding  diis  with  hb  veal  self, 
having  said,  (chap.  vti.  18,)  /  know  that  in  me  dwell- 
sth  no  good  things  he  iitiiBedtately  corrects  himself 
b 


18  For  I  know  that  "lin  me  (that  a.  M.  4064. 
is,  in  my  flesh)  dwelleth  no  good    ^'  ^'  ^' 
thing:   for  to  will  is  present  with  me;   but 


how  to  perfonn  that  which  is  good,  I 
not 


find 


Tm.21. 


by  adding,  that  is,  in  my  flesh.  But  notwithstand- 
ing .  the  apostle  colisidered  the  fle^  and  spirit  as 
distinct  persons,  who  have  difierent  aflec^ns  and 
members,  and  though  he  ascribes  to  those  persons 
different  volitions  and  actions,  and  denies^  that  the 
actions  of  the  outward  man,  or  flesh,  are  his  actions^ 
it  does  not  follow  that  he  thought  himself  no  way 
concerned  in,  or  accountable  for,  the  actions  of  his 
flesh.  For  he  told  the  very  persons  to  whom  he 
sadd  those  things,  (chap.  viii.  13,)  If  ye  live  after  the 
flesh  ye  shaU  die.  But  he  thus  spake  to  give  a  more 
lively  idea  of  the  struggle  between  reason  and  pas- 
sion, [or  rather,  between  grace  and  nature,]  which 
subsists  in  the  minds  of  those  whose  conscience  is 
awakened  by  the  operation  of  the  law,  but  who  are 
not  completely  converted.^'  Perhaps,  as  Doddridge 
conjectures,  he  might  have  read  the  passage  in 
Xenophon's  Cyropedta,\\h.  vi.,  where  Araspes  com- 
plains of  two  souls  contending  within  him. 

But  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me—"  As  the  aposUe  had 
personified  sin,  he  very  properly  represents  it  as 
dweUing  in  him;  because  this  suggests  to  us^he  ab* 
solute  and  continued  Influence  which  sin  hath  in 
controlling  the  reason  and  conscience  of  the  nn- 
regenerated,  and  in  directing  all  their  actions.  By 
distinguishing  his  real  self,  that  is,  his  spiritual  part, 
from  the  self  or  flesh,  in  which  sin  dwelt,  and  by 
observing  that  the  evil  actions  which  he  committed 
were  done,  not  by  him,  but  by  sin  dwelling  in  him, 
the  apostle  did  not  mean  to  teach  that  wicked  men 
are  not  accountable  for  their  sins,  but  to  make  them 
sensible  of  the  evil  of  their  sins,  by  showing  them 
that  they  are  aU  commitled  in  direct  opposition  to 
reason  and  conscience,  the  superior  part  of  their  na- 
ture, at  the  instigation  of  passion  and  lust,  the  lower 
part  Further,  by  appealing  to  the  oppositioB 
which  reason  and  conscience  make  to  evil  actions, 
he  hath  overturned  the  grand  argument,  by  whidi 
the  wicked  justify  themselves  in  indulging  their 
lusts.  Say  they,  since  God^hath  given  us  passions 
and  appetites,  he  certainly  meant  that  we  should 
gratify  them.  True,  says  the  apostle;  butGodhalh 
also  given  yon  reason  and  conscience,  which  oppose 
the  excesses  of  lust,  and  condemn  its  ^gratificatios: 
and  as  reason  and  conscience  are  the  superior  part 
of  man's  nature,  a  more  certiiin  indication  of  the 
will  of  Ood  may  be  gathered  from  their  operation, 
than  from  the  impulses  of  the  other."— Macknight 

Verses  16-20.  For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in 
myfleshr^The  corrupt  imd  degenerate  self,  my  ani- 
mal pppeiites  and  passions,  debased  and  enslaved  as 
they  are  by  sin  through  the  fall ;  or  in  me,  while  I 
was  in  the  flesh,  ehap.  viH.  %,  and  not  in  the  spirit^ 
verse  9^  dwelleth  no  goodthing—Ovic  ouni  aya&o^^ 
g6oddweUcthfioi.    Hence  he  asserts,  in  the  plaei 


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ROMANS. 


in  ike  h>hf  law  of  God. 


A.  M.  4064.     19  For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do 
— r-^ — 1-  not ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not, 
that  I  do. 
20  Now  if  I  do  that  I  woukl  not,  it  i&  no 
more  I  that  do  it,  but  on  that  dwelleth  in  me. 


'  Pia.  i.  2. •  2  Cor.  ir.  16 ; 


just  referred  to,  that  (hey  who  are  in  the  fleshy  whose 
retoon  and  conscience  are  under  the  goyemment  of 
passion  and  appetite,  or  who  are  in  their  natural 
unrenewed  state,  cannot  please  God,  For  to  vsiU — 
To  incline  desire,  and  even  purpose ;  is  present  with 
me^UapoKtiTai  ftoif  lies  near  me,  or,  is  easy  for  me; 
but  how  to  perform — Karepya^ea^at^  statedly  to  praC' 
tisp,  or,  habUuaMy  worky  (see  on  verse  16;)  that 
which  is  good — ^KoAov,  excellent,  I  find  not — Have  not 
sufficient  ability.  For  the  good  that  I  ^oould,  &c. 
—See  on  verses  15  and  17,  for  an  explanation  of 
this  and  the  next  verse. 

,  Verse  21. 1  find  then  a  law—An  inward  constrain- 
ing power,  flowing  from  my  depraved  nature ;  that 
when  I  tPOttW— When  I  incline  and  purpose  to  do 
good,  evU  is  present  with  me— To  prevent  the  execu- 
tion of  such  a  purpose.  The  expression,- irA en  / 
would  do  good,  intimates  that  this  inclination  to  do 
good  was  not  permanent ;  it  only  arose  on  particular 
occasions.  This  is  another  feature  of  an  unregene- 
rate  man;  his  inclinations  and  purposes  to  do  good, 
and  live  to  the  glory  of  God,  are  only  temporary. 
"  They,"  says  Macknight, "  who  think  the  apostle  is 
here  describing  his  own  case,  and  the  case  of  other 
regenerated  persons,  should^onsider  that  he  does 
not  speak  of  single  instances  of  omission  of  duty, 
and  commission  of  siii ;  for  the  words  which  he  uses 
all  denote  a  continuation  or  hcdni  of  axiting.  Now 
how  such  a  habit  of  doing  evil  and  neglecting  good 
can  be  attributed  to  any  regenerated  person,  and 
especially  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  who,  before  this 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  written,  told  the  Thessa- 
lonians.  Ye  are  witnesses,  and  God  also,  how  holily, 
and  righteously,  and  vnblameably  we  behaved 
among  you,  I  confess  I  do  not  comprehend.  See 
also  2  Cor.  i.  12;  vii.  1,  2;  x.  2,  3.  To  elude  the 
force  of  this  argument,-  Augustine  affirms  that  the 
apostle  does  not  speak  of  his  outward  actions,  but  of 
the  inward  motions  of  his  concupiscence,  by  which 
he  means,  etil  desire  in  general  r&nd  that  fer  the 
reason  mentioned  in  the  note  on  verse  17,  he  ex- 
presses these  motions  by  the  pronoun  /.  Be  it  so. 
On  this  supposition,  verse  15  will  mean,  *  What  I, 
my  concupiscence,  thoroughly  worketh,  in  my  mind, 
t  do  not  approve.  For  I,  my  concupiscence,  prac- 
tiseth  not,  in  my  mind,  that  to  which  I  incline ;  but 
i^at  /  hate,  that  I,  my  concupiscence,  doth,^  Now, 
not  to  Insist  on  the  impropriety  of  applying  words 
which  denote  outward  actions,  to  motions  of  evil 
desire  in  the  mind,  I  ask,  what  sense  is  there  in  t)ie 
apostle's  telling  us,  that  his  concupiscence  did  not 
practise  in  his  mind  what  he  inclined  to?  For  if 
what  he  inclined  to  was  good,  it  could  not  possibly 
be  practised  by  concupisoenoey  if  eencupiscence  be 


21  I  find  then  a  law,  tha%  when  A.M.406t. 

I  wotdd  do  good,  evil  is  present  with 1??! 

me. 

22  For  I  'delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
'  the  inward  man :  - 


Epfa.  til.  16;  CoL  iii.  9, 10. 


epil  desire;  consequently,  it  was  foolishness  in  him 
either  to  expect  it  from  concupiscepuce,  or  to  com- 
plain of  the  want  of  it,  as  he  does  verse  10.  He 
might  complain  of  the  existence  of  concupiscenoe  in 
his  mind ;  but  if  it  were  suffered  to  remain  there  un- 
controlled, and  if  it  hindered  the  aetings  of  his 
sanctifled  will  so  effectually  that  he  never  did  that 
to  which  he  inclined,  but  elwiays  did  the  evil  to 
which  his  sanctified  will  did  not  incline,  is  not  this 
the  clearest  proof  that  concupiscence,  or  evil  desire^ 
was  the  prevailing  principle  in  his  mind,  and  that 
his  sanctified  will  had  no  power  to  restrain  its  work- 
ings ?  Now  could  the  apostle  give  any  plainer  de- 
scription of  an  unregenerate  person  than  thisi" 

Verse  22.  For  J  delight  in  the  law  of  God— On 
this  verse,  chiefly,  rests  the  opinion  that  the  apostle, 
in  the  latter  part  of  this  chapter,  is  describing  the 
character  of  a  regenerate  man.  Its  votaries  think 
they  find  in  this  verse  all  the  marks  of  a  Christian. 
In  general  they  assert,  "  to  have  our  ipward  man. 
our  mind  and  heart,  delighted  in  the  law  of  God,  is  to 
have  our  souls  delighted  in  a  conformity  to  him ;  it  is 
to  love  God  himself,  to  love  to  be  like  him  in  the 
inward  raan^  having  his  law  written  on  our  hearts, 
which  they  say  is  the  sum  of  all  relrgioii.^'  This  is 
not  reasoning,  it  is  mere  assertion ;  it  is  not  to  be 
inferred  from  this  passage,  and  is  plainly  contra- 
dicted by  the  context  All  judicious  commentators 
will  allow,  that  if  any  passage  of  the  Scriptures 
appears  obscure  or  susceptible  of  two  senses^  it  must 
be  explained  in  a  consistency  with  what  precedes 
and  follows,  and  that  interpretation  must  be  chosen 
which  agrees  best  therewith.  Therefore,  though  it  be 
true,  in  the  Aillest  sense,  that  regenerated  persons 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  num  ; 
yet,  since  the  general  scope  of  the  paragraph,  and 
the  connection  of  this  sentence  with  the  context, 
show  that  Paul  is  here  jipeaking  of  his  unconverted 
state,  our  interprct^ion  of  it  must  be  regulated  by 
its  connection  with  the  whole  passage.  Those  who 
maintain  th^t  Paul  is  here  speaking  of  his  state  after 
his  conversion,  assert,  that  by  the  inward  man  is 
meant,  the  new  man,  or  man  of  grace,  spoken  of 
Eph-  iv.  24;  Col.  ill  10.  Did  the  ctmtpxt  lead  to 
that  sense,  it  might  be  admitted.  But  the  general 
sense  of  the  whole  passage  leads  us  to  understand 
the  expression  of  the  rational  part  of  man,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  animal,  which  is  its  usual  signification, 
as  has  been  shown  by  several  authors.  The  phrase 
occurs  in  two  other  passages  of  the  New  Testament^ 
namely,  2  Cor.  iv.  16;  Bph.  iii»  16 ;  in  the  former, 
the  apostle's  words  are,  We  faint  not,  thmtgh  our 
outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed 
day  by  day;  where  the  iawatd  nuin  must  signify 

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CHAPTER  Vn. 


bf.Jemu.CkHMU 


k.  M.4064.  23  But  *  I  »ee  another  law  in  *my 
— ^— ^ — 1-  members,  warring  against  the  law 
of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivi- 
ty to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  mem- 
benu 
S4  O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  sfaali 


t  GtL  r.  IT. "Chup.  rt  13, 19. 


the  mind  or  soul,  which  is  renewed,  orcceated  anew 
in  its  facidties^  in  proportion  as  it  grows  in  grace. 
In  the  other  passage  the  apostle  prays  for  the 
Epbesians  that  they  mights  strengthened  with 
might,  not  in  the  outward  man,  the  body,  which 
was  not  a  matter  of  much  importance,  but  in  the 
inward  man,  the^ul;  that  it  might  become  strong 
in  faith,  fervent  in  love,  and  conformed  to  the  divine 
Image ;  and  that  Christ,  by  his  Spirit,  might  dwell 
in  it.  '^  The  inward  man,  therefore,  always  signifies 
the  mind,  which  either  may  or  may  not  be  the 
subject  of  grace.  That  which  is  asserted  pf  either 
the  inward  or  ontward  man^  is  often  perfoimed  by 
one  member  or  power,  and  not  with  the  whole  man. 
If  any  member  of  the  body  perform  an  action,  we 
are  spid  to  do  it  with  the  body,  althoogh  the  oCher 
inembej:s  be  not  employed.  In  like  manner,  if  any 
power  or  faculty  of  the  mind  be  employed  about  any 
action^  the  soul  is  said  to  act :  [and  with  still  greater 
propriety,  as]  our  souls  are  not,  like  our  bodies, 
made  of  n^any  members;  they  are  pure  spirits,  and 
indivisible.  If  the  mind  wills,  it  is  the  spirit  willing ; 
if  it  hates,  it  is  the  soul  hating ;  if  it  loves,  it  is  the 
soul  loving ;  if  conscience  reprove  or  excuse,  it  is 
the  inward  man  accusing  or  excusing.  This  ex- 
pression, therefore,  /  ddight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man^  can  mean  no  more  than  this,  that 
there  are  some  inward  faculties  in  the  soul  which 
delight  in  the  law  of  God.  The  expression  is  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  the  principles  of  the  Pharisees, 
of  whom  Paul  was  one  before  his  conversion.  They 
received  the  law  as  the  oracles  of  God,  and  con- 
fessed that  it  deserved  the  most  serious  regard. 
Their  veneration  was  inspired  by  a  sense  of  its 
original,  and  a  full  conviction  that  it  was  right.  To 
some  parts  of  it  they  paid  the  most  superstitious 
regard.  They  had  it  written  upon  their  phylacteries, 
and  carried  these  about  with  them  at  all  times.  It 
was  often  read  and  expounded  in  their  synagogues, 
and  they  took  some  degree  of  pleasure  in  studying 
its  precepts.  On  that  account,  the  prophets  and  our 
Saviour  agree  in  saying,  that  they  delighted  in  the 
law  of  God,  though  they  regarded  not  its  chief  and 
most  essential  precepts."— Smith,  On  the  Carnal 
Man^s  Character. 

Verses  23,  24.  But  I  $ce  another  law — Another 
commanding,  constraming  power  of  evil  inclina- 
tions and  fleshly  appetites,  whose  influence  is  so 
strong  and  constant,  that  it  may  iye  fitly  called 
another  law ;  in  my  meinbera^ln  my  animal  part ; 
(of  the  members,  see  note  on  chap.  vi.  13 ;)  warring 
again»t  the  law  of  my  mind-^Agednsi  the  dictates 
of  my  judgment  and  conscience,  which  conflict  is 

Vol.  II.  (  5  ) 


deliver  me  fiom  ^the  body  of  this  A.H.4004. 
death?  ,       -    ^°'°- 

25  '  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Ctirist  our 
Lord.  So  then,  with  the  mind  I  myself  serve 
the  law  of  God ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law 
of  ah. 


*  Or,  this  My  ^dtaOu « 1  Cor.  xr.  57. 


spoken  of  GaL  v.  17;  Thejlesh  lusteih  against  the 
spirit^  ^c;  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law 
ofsin:  As  if  he  had  said.  The  issue  of  which  con- 
flict b  not  dubious,  for  passion  continually  prevaUs 
over  reason,  the  flesh  over  the  spirit,  and  I  am  led 
captive  in  spite  of  all  my  efibrts  to  resist  O 
wretched  man— Namely,  in  this  respect,  as  to  this 
particular;  who  sJiall  deliver  me — ^Miserable  captive 
as  I  am ;  from  the  body  of  this  death  7 — Some  prefer 
translating  the  clause, /row  this  body  of  death; 
joining  tuthj  this^  with  aca/Miroc,  body,  as  is  done  in 
the  Vulgate  version.  But  it  seems  more  proper  to 
consider  it  as  an  eraphatical  Hebraism,  signifying 
the  body,  that  is,  the  passions  and  appetites,  or  the 
lusts  of  the  body,  which  cause  this  death,  the  death 
threatened  in  the  curse  of  the  law.  Or,  as  Mr. 
Smith,  in  the  discourse  above  mentioned,  observes, 
The  body  of  death  may  signify  death  in  all  its 
vigour,  even  that  death  which  is  the  penalty  of  a 
broken  law,  just  as  the  body  of  sin  signifies  the 
strength  of  sin.  The  greatness  and  insupportable 
weight  of  death  is  its  body;  and  the  man  here 
desciribed  is  represented  as  exposed  to  that  death, 
which  is  the  wages  of  sin.  This  is  the  object  which 
chiefly  alarms  the  guilty.  Though  the  remon- 
strances of  conscience  are  not  heard,  perhaps, 
against  sin  at  first/l^ret  after  it  is  committed,  con- 
science raises  her  voice  in  mor^  awful  accents,  and 
proclaims  God's  wrath  through  the  whole  soul, 
which  produces  a  fearful  looking  fbr  of  judgment 
and  fiery  indignation  from  God,  which  is  precisely 
the  state  of  mind  expressed  in  this  passage,  namely, 
the  state  of  a  man  labouring  under  the  spirit  of 
bondage  to  fear,  w  the  state  described  verse  6 ;  when 
being  in  the  flesh,  that  is,  unregenerate  and  under 
the  law,  sinful  passiops,  manifested  and  condemned, 
but  not  removed  by  that  dispensation,  wrought  in 
his  members  to  bring  forth  frnit  unto  death. 

Verse  85.  I  thank  God,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said, 
I  bemoan  myself  as  above,  when  I  think  only  of 
the  Mosaic  law,  the  discoveries  it  makes,  the  motives 
it  suggests,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  it  leaves 
the  oflender:  but  in  the  midst  of  this  gloom  of  dia- 
tr^ess  and  anguish,  a  sight  of  the  gospel  revives  my 
heart,  and  I  cry  out,  as  in  a  kind  of  rapture,  as  soon  as 
I  turn  ray  eyes,  and  behold  the  display  of  mercy  and 
grace  made  in  it,  /  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lard—The  Clermont  and  some  other  copies, 
with  the  Vulgate,  read  here,  A:ap«f  «»  ^«»i  ^  grace 
of  God,  namely,  will  deliver  me.  But  the  common 
reading,  being  supported  by  almost  all  the  ancient 
manuscripts,  and  the  Syriac  version,  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred  5  especially  as  it  contains  an  ellipsis,  which, 
65  b 


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ROMANS. 


to  beHeter§  in  C^rtit^ 


if  sapplied,  aceording  to  the  apostle's  mantier,  from 
the  foxegomg  sentence,  will  give  even  a  better  sense 
than  the  Clennont  reading,  thus :  Who  will  deliver 
me?  I  thank  Qod^  who  will  deliver  me,  through 
Jetue  Christ.  See  on  chap.  viiL  2.  Thus  the  apostle 
beantiftilly  interweaves  hb  eomplafaits  with  thanks- 
giving; the  hymn  of  praise  answering  to  the  voiee 
of  mmoif^Wretchtimcaithatlaml  8o1hen-^VL^ 
here  suns  up  the  whole,  and  concludes  what  he  had 
began,  verse  7.  I  my  self -—Or  rather,  that  /,  (the 
man  whom  I  am  personating,)  serve  the  law  of  God 
—The  moral  law ;  with  my  mind — ^With  my  reason 
an4  conscience,  which  declare  for  God ;  btU  with  my 
Jlesh  the  law  o/*<tn<— But  my  corrupt  passions  and 
appetites,  still  rebel,  and,  prevailing,  employ  the 
outward  man  in  gratifying  theqi,  in  opposition  to 
the  remonstrances  of  my  higher  powers. 

On  the  whole  of  this  passage  we  may  observe,  in 
the  words  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  "  To  take  a  scripture  out 
of  the  context,  is  often  like  taking  the  stone  which 
Wnds  an  arch  out  of  its  place:  you  know  not  what 
to  make  of  it  Nay,,  you  may^t  it  to  a  use  quite 
contrary  to  that  for  which  it  was  intended.  This 
those  do  who  so  take  Rom.  viL  out  of  its  connection 
with  Rom.  vi.  and  viii.,  as  to  make  it  mean  the  very 
reverse  of  what  the  apostle  designed.  In  Rom.  v. 
and  vi.,  and  m  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  chapter, 
he  describes  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God  under  the  Christian  dispensation.  And  as  a 
skilfiil  painter  puts  shades  in  his  pictures,  to  heighten 
the  effect  of  the  lights ;  so  the  judicious  apostle  in- 
troduces, hi  the  latter  part  of  chap.  vii.,a  lively  de- 
scription of  the  domineering  power  of  sin,  and  of  the 


Intoleiable  burden  of  gnHt;  a  burden  this  whidi  he 
had  so  eeverely  UAt^  when  the  eonvincmg  Spirit 
charged  sin  Jiome  iq>on1iis  conscience,  after  he  had 
broken  his  good  resolutions;  but  especially  during 
the  three  days  of  his  blindness  and  (listing  at 
Damascus.  Then  he  groaned,  O  wretched  man  that 
I  am,  ^ce^  hanging  night  and  day  between  despair 
and  hope,  between  unbelief  and  faith,  between  bond- 
age and  freedom,  till  God  brought  him  into  Cliri»- 
tian  liberty  by  the  ministry  of  Ananias ; — of  this 
liberty  the  apostle  gives  us  a  further  and  fuller 
account  in  chapter  eight  Therefore  the  description 
of  the  man  who  [unacquainted  with  the  gospel] 
groaAs  under  the  galling  yoke  of  sin,  is  brought  in 
merely  by  contrast,  to*set  off  the  amazing  difference 
there  is  between  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  the  liberty 
of  gospel  holiness :  just  as  the  generals  who  entered 
Rome  in  triumph,  iised  to  make  a  show  of  the  prince 
whom  they  had  conquered.  On  such  occasions, 
the  conqueror  rode  in  a  triumphal  chariot  crowned 
with  laurel ;  while  the  captive  king  followed  him  on 
foot,  loaded  with  chains,  and  making,  next  to  the 
conqueror,  the  most  striking  part  of  the  show.  Now, 
if^  in  a  Roman  triumph,  some  of  the  spectators  had 
taken  the  chained  king  on  footy  for  the  victorious 
genercd  in  the  cAono^,  because  the  one  immediately 
followed  the  other,  they  would  have  been  guilty  of  a 
mistake  not  unlike  that  of  those  who  take  the  carnal 
Jew,  sold  under  sin,  and  groaning  as  he  goes  along, 
for  the  Christian  believer,  who  walks  in  the  Spirit^ 
exults  in  the  liberty  of  God's  children,  and  always 
triumphs  in  C1t,rist.  See  Fletcher's  Works,  vol.  iv., 
Amer.  edit,  pp.  336,  837. 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

tptrihuU  ikmgi,  l-«.  («,)  Their  fotsesnan  of  ike  Holy  Spmt,  as  ikeir  iandifier  end  gutdtf  Ou  wiiiuMs  of  their  being 
Ooi^t  children^  and  heirt  of  glory,  9-17 ;  and  their  assittant  m  prayer,  86,  «7.  (8,)  Their  comfort  under  present  trUm- 
lotions  hy  hopes  of  future  happiness,  18-85.  (4,)  Their  interest  in  thelooeof  Ood,  as  Me  original  spring  of  manifold 
Kessings  m  time  and  m  eternity,  88-80.  (6,)  Their  triumph  through  Christ  over  all  the  enemies  of  their  salvation,  and 
their  confidence,  while  they  hold  fast  faith  and  a  good  conscience,  that  nothing' shall  separate  them  from  thefove  of  Christ, 
81-89. 


A.M.4oei.   ^jEtEJRJSrt^  therefore  now  no con- 
1 —         demnation  to  them  which  are  m 


•Vei»e4; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VHI. 
.  Yene  1.  There  is^  Ac. — As  a  further  answer  to 
the  objection  mentioned  chap.  iii.  31,  Ihat  the  doc- 
trine of  justification  by  faith  made  void  the  law^  the 
•ppatle  here  proceeds,  with  great  feeling  and  ener- 
gy, to  display  the  many  powerful  motives  which 
that  doctrine,  as  explained  in  the  preceding  chap- 
tan,  suggests,  for  engaging  both  the  understanding 
and  the  affections  of  believers  to  a  oontbiued  pur- 
08 


Christ  Jesus,  who  *walk   not  after  A.M.4d04. 
the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  h,l>.eo. 


(H\.  V.  16,  25. 


suit  of  holiness.  The  first  motive  which  he  men- 
iions  is  that  contained  in  this  versCj  that  now,  under 
the  new  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace, 
namely,  that  of  the  Messiah,  there  is  no  condemna- 
tion to  true  believers,  who  walk  as  he  here  describea^ 
although  they  may  not  observe  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Mosaic  law.  ^<  This  greatest  of  all  considen^ 
tions  the  apostle  begins  with,  after  having  patheti- 
cally described  the  terror  of  the  awakened  sinner, 
(r)  b 


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A.M.40M.  2  For^theIaw(tf  ""theSfHrkc^Bfe 
:^^^  in  Chriet  Jeem,  ha&  made  me  free 
from  ^the  hw  of  ein  and  death. 


»Joluifii.36;  Chn.  Tf.  18,  » ;  CtaLu.19:  r.h "ICbr 

XV.  45;   2  Cor.  m.  8. <  Chtp.  vii.  24, 25. 


arising  from  hit  coDBeiouaiiefli  ot  guilt,  because  if 
mercy  were  not  with  God,  he  could  neither  be  loved 
nor  obeyed  by  men.'*  There  U^therefore  fl01l^— In 
respect  of  an  ttiat  hat  been  adranced,  since  things  are 
as  has  been  shown;  no  eofidaiMalum—F^rom  God,  ei- 
ther for  things  presentorpast  He  now  comes  to  speak 
of  deliTeranee  and  liber^,  in  opposition  to  the  state 
of  guilt  and  bondage  described  in  the  latter  p»rt  of 
the  preceding  chapter ;  resoming  the  thread  of  his 
discourse,  which  was  interrupted,  chap.  viL  7.  To 
them  whkh  are  in  ChrittJeeue — Who  are  united  to 
Christ  by  a  lirely  faith  in  him,  and  in  ihe  truths  and 
promise  of  his  gospel,  and  so  Hre  made  members 
of  lus  mystical  body.  "  The  phrase,  to  be  in  Christ, 
saith  Le  Clerc,  is  often  used  by  I^ul  for  being  a 
Christian ;  which  obsenratton  he  borrowed  from  Ca»- 
talio,  who  renders  it,  OuHetianifacii;  [being  made 
Christians ;]  but  if  either  of  them  mean  only  Chris- 
tians by  profesBion,  or  by  being  only  members  of 
the  Christian  Church,  this  will  by  no  means  agree 
witih  this  place,  or  any  other  of  like  nature ;  since 
freedom  from  condemnation,  and  other  benefits  con- 
ferred upon  us  through  Christ,  will  not  follow  our 
being  Christians  in  this  sense,  but  only  upon  a  Hrely 
ftdth  in  Christ,  our  union  to  him  by  the  Spirit,  and 
our  being  so  in  him,  as  to  become  new  creatures, 
according  tO  Terse  9:  If  any  man  haive  not  (A«  Spirit 
ofChriet  he  it  rumeofhie;  to  2  Cor.  v.  17,  If  any 
man  he  in  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature;  and  to  Gal. 
V.  24,  They  that  are  Oirisfs  hate  crucified  thefiesh 
wUh  tiie  affections  and  lusts.^—Wbkhy.  f0io  walk 
not  after  the  fiesh-^Who  are  not  goyemed,  as  to 
their  dispositions  and  actions,  by  those  appetites 
which  have  their  seat  in  the  flesh,  or  by  worldly 
views  and  interests,  or  by  the  dictates  and  motions 
of  the  natural  corruption,  which  in  some  decree 
may  yet  remain  in  them :  hut  after  the  t^rit — 
Namely,  the  Spirit  of  God;  ^uit  is,  who  are  not  only 
habitttflJly  governed  by  reason  and  conscience,  en- 
lightened and  renewed  by  God's  Spirit,  but  who  fol- 
low the  drawings,  exercise  the  graces,  and  bring 
forth  the  fruits  of  that  Spirit,  Eph.  v.  9;  GaL  v.  22, 
23 :  where  see  the  notes. 

Verse  2.  JFV  the  law  of  the  Spirit  o//t/e— That 
IS,  the  doctrine  of  divine  grace  in  the  gospel,  accom- 
panied with  the  quickening,  commanding  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  haih  made  me  free  from  the  law 
of  sin  and  deaihr-Thsx  is,  not  only  from  the  Mo- 
saic dispensation,  which,  if  relied  on  for  justification, 
left  men  under  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  and  con- 
demned them  to  the  second  death;  but  also  and 
espedally  from  the  law,  or  constraining  power  of 
sin  itaelf^  which  is  attended  with  iqnritnal  death,  and, 
if  not  removed,  brings  men  to  death  eternal  In 
otherwords,  *^The  Spbrit  of  Christ,  giving  meanew 
life,  is  now  another  law,^  oriole  of  my  a^ns,  free- 
b 


3  For  *wfaat  the  law  coidd  not  a.ic.4064 
do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  ^^'^ 
fleshy  'God  sending  hie  own  Son  in  the  like- 


•Aettzm.39;  Chtpteriu.20;  Heb. rii  18, 19 ;  x.  1,9, 10,14 
'Gia.iii.  Id;  2Cor.T.Sl. 


ing  me  from  the  motions  and  power  of  sin,  to  which 
I  was  subject  while  under  the  [Mosaic]  law,  and 
from  the  death  to  which  that  law  subjected  me;  <xt^ 
the  gospel,  attended  with  the  Spirit,  hath  wrought 
this  freedom  in  me.''  So  'Whitby.  The  gospel,  or 
covenant  of  grace,  may  be  fitly  termed  the  law  of 
the  Spbrit,  or  a  sqpiritual  law ;  and  that  not  only  as 
it  reaches  to  the  spirit  of  man,  but  is  such  a  law  as 
gives  spiritual  life,  or  b  the  minbtration  of  the 
Spirit,  and  of  life,  2  Cor.  iiL  6,  8 ;  being  accompa- 
nied with  a  dWine  po\«er,  which  communicates 
spiritual  life  to  the  soul  here,  and  prepares  it  for 
eternal  li  fe  hereafter.  It  is  observable,  that  the  per- 
son who  speaks  in  the  foregoing  chapter  b  intro- 
duced here  as  continuing  the  discourse,  and  show 
ing  the  method  in  which  hb  deliverance  from  the 
body  of  sin  and  death,  mentioned  chap.  vii.  25,  was 
accomplbhed.  And  what  is  affirmed  concerning 
him,  is  intended  of  other  believers  also.  Here, 
therefore,  we  have  a  second  mQtive  to  holiness, 
namely,  that  under  th^  new  covenant  sufficient  as- 
sistance being  given  to  all  who  in  faith  and  prayer 
apply  for  it,  to  free  them  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death,  they  cannot  excuse  their  sins  by  pleading  the 
strength  of  thdr  smfid  passions,  or  the.depravity  of 
their  nature. 

Verses  8j  4.  For  what  ih^  law  could  not  ^o — T© 
yap  adwaTw  ts  vofui,  what  was  impossible  to  the  Mo- 
saic Iai0,  whether  moral  or  ceremonial ;  that  is,  that 
freedom  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  and  from 
spiritual  and  eteanal  death,  which  it  could  not  minr 
bter;,  in  that  it  W€u  weak  through  the  flesh--' 
Through  the  depravity  and  infirmity  of  our  fallen 
nature,  which  it  was  incapable  of  remedying  or  con- 
quering. "  The  law  was  not  weak  or  defective  in 
itselC  Its  moral  precepts  were  a  perfect  rule  of 
duty,  and  its  sanctfons  were  sufficiently  powerftil  to 
enforce  obedience  in  those  who  were  able  to  obey. 
But  it  was  weak  through  the  depravity  of  men's  na- 
ture, which  it  had  neither  power  to  remedy  nor  to 
pardon ;  and  so  could  not  destroy  din  in  men's  flesh. 
These  defects  of  law  are  all  remedied  in  the  gospel ; 
wherein  pardon  b  promised  to  encourage  the  sinner 
to  repent,  and  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit  of  God  b 
offered,  to  enM>le  hhn  to  believe  and  obey."— Mac- 
knight.  Accordingly  it  follows,  (7od,-!-(Supply 
iwfarw  eKoi^ae^  halh  made  feasible^  or  hath  done^ 
namely,  what  the  law  could  not  do ;)  sending  his 
own  Son — Utov  vtov,  his  proper  Son,  his  Son  in  a 
sense  in  which  no*  creature  is  or  can  be  hb  son ;  tti 
ihe  likeness  of  srn/ttZ  ^e»*— Christ's  flesh  was  aa 
real  as  ours,  but  it  was  like  sinful  fiesh,'m  being  ex- 
posed to  pain,  misery,  and  death :  and  for  #tnr--The 
expression,  ir«pt  oftapna^,  here  rendered,  ybr  swi,  ap- 
pears, from  Heb.  x.  18,  to  be  an  cUiptical  phrase  for 
irpoa^9<Hi  fctpi  sftapnacf  tm  A^ering  for  sin.  The 
«7 


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fiOMANS. 


candemmafi^  tuid  the  canuU  mML 


A. M. 4064.  nesB  of  mxM  fieeb,  and  ^Ibr  sin, 

—  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh : 

4  That  the  righteoufflMss  of  the  law  might  be 
fiilfilled  in  us,  'who  walk  not  after  the  flec^ 
but  after  the  Spirit 


^  Or,  fry  a  mertik*  fw  «m. f  Vene  1. — r^  John  iii.  «; 

rCofciL14. iOtLr.  22,86. 


Son  of  God  was  sent  in  the  likeness,  both  of  sinful 
flesh,  and  of  a  sin-ofieriBg.  He  was  fike  the  old  sia- 
offerings  in  this,  that  whereas  they  •anctifitd  to  the 
purifying  of  the  Jlesh,  he,  by  making  a  real  atone- 
ment for  sin,  sanctifieth  to  the  purifyiag  of  the 
spirit  Condemned  nn  in  the  fleshy-Thai  i  is,  1st, 
Manifested  its  infinite  evil,  by  enduring  extreme 
sufferings,  to  render  the  pardon  of  it  consistent  with 
the  justibe  and  holiness  df  God,  and  the  authority 
of  his  law.  ^  2d,  Gave  sentence  that  its  guilt  should 
be  cancelled,  its  power  destroyed,  and  believers 
wholly  delivered  from  it.  And,  3d,  Procured  for 
them  that  deliverance.  The  inns  of  men,  being  im- 
puted to,  or  laid  on  Christ,  Isa.  liiL  6,  by  his  free 
consent,  (he  being  our  surety,)  were  condemned 
and  puni^ed  in  his  flesh ;  and  no  sueh  remarkable 
condemnation  of  sin  was  ever  effected  before,  or 
will  be  again,  unless  in  the  condemnation  of  the 
finally  impenitent  to  everlasting  misery.  But  the 
apostle  here  seems  rather  to  speak  of  the  condemna- 
tion of  sin,  not  in  the  fleslh  which  Christ  assumed 
for  us,  but  in  our  persons,  or  in  us  while  we  are  in 
the  flesh.  Now  in  this  sense,  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged, it  was  condemned  in  some  measure  under  the 
law,  as  well  as  under  the  gospel ;  ^*  for  under  the  law 
there  were  many  pious  and  holy  men ;  but  sin  was 
condemned  in  their  flesh,  not  by  any  power  inherent 
in,  or  derived  from,  the  law:  their  sanctification 
came  from  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  preached  to  them 
in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  Gal.  iii.  8,  darkly 
set  forth  in  the  types  Of  the  law."  TVuU  the  right- 
eouanese  of  the  law^The  holiness  it  requires,  de- 
scribed verse  5-11,  might  hefvlfiUed  in  ua^  who  valk 
not  after  the  flesh,  hut  after  the  fijpinV— Who  are 
guided  in  our  intentions  and  affections,  words  and 
actions,  not  by  our  animal  appetites  and  passions, 
or  by  corrupt  nature,  but  by  the  Word  and  Spirit 
of  God.  Love  to  God  and  man  is  the  principal 
thing  enjoined  in  the  moral  law,  and  Is  accounted 
by  God  the  fulfilling  of  that  law,  chap.  xiil.  10 ;  Gal. 
V.  14 ;  James  ii.  8.  It  must  be  observed,  however, 
that  "  the  rigfhteousness  of  the  law  to  be  fulfilled  in 
us,  through  the  condemnation  of  sin  in  the  flesh,  and 
through  our  not  walking  according  to  the  flesh,  is 
not  perfect  obedience  to  [the  moral  law,  or]  any 
law  whatever;  [except  that  of  faith  and  love;]  for 
that  is  not  attainable  inthepregent  life:  but  it  is 
such  a  degree  of  faith  and  hoUness,  as  believers  may 
attain  through  the  influence  of  the*  Spirit  And 
being  the  righteousness  required  in  the  gracious 
new  covenant,  made  with  mankind  after  the  fall, 
and  fVilly  published  in  the  gospel,  that  covenant, 
and  the  gospel  in  which  it  is  published,  are  fitly 
caUed  the  lav  <^ faith,  Rom.  ilL  27;  and  the  law 
68 


5  For  ^they  that  areafter  the  flesh,  h-  M.4064. 

do  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh :  but '. 

they  that  are  after  the  Sinrit,  ^  the  things  oi  the 
Spirit 

6  For  ^to'  be  carnally  minded  »  death ;  but 


k  Chap.  ri.  81 ;  Verse  13 :  G«L  tL  a- 
tk$JU$h;  toTttm 


7. 


'Gr.  th*  minding  tf 


of  the  l^irit  of  Hfe  in  Christ  Je^ue,  chap.  viiL  9; 
and  th^  law  of  Christ,  .0al.  vL  % ;  and  the  law  qf 
liberty,  James  L  25 ;  and  the  law  foretold  to  go  forth 
out  of  Zion,  Isa.  ii.  8;  and  the  law  for  which  the 
isles,  or  Gentiles,  were*  to  wait,  Isa.  xliL  4." — ^Mac- 
knight  From  tbis  place  Paul  describes  primarily 
the  state  of  believers,  and  that  of  unbelievers,  only 
to  illustrate  this. 

Verses  5-7.  For—Or  nJiher,  now ;  they  that  are 
after  the  flesh--The  apostle  having,  verse  1,  de- 
scribed those  to  whom  there  is  no  condemnation, 
as  persons  who  waJk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after 
the  Spirit,  to  prevent  all  mistakes  in,  such  an  im- 
portant point,  here  informs  us  what  he  means  by 
walking  after  the  flesh,  and  after  the  Spirit.  The 
former,  he  says,  is  to  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh; 
that  is,  as  the  word  fpovn^  signifies,  to  esteem,  de- 
sire, and  delight  in  them ;  namely,  the  things  that 
please  and  gratify  our  senses  and  animal  appetites 
and  passions,  or  our  corrupt  nature,  namely,  things 
visible  and  temporal;  the  things  of  the  earth,  such 
as  pleasure,  (of  sense  or  imagination,)  the  praise 
of  men,  or  the  riches  of  this  world, — ^to  set  our 
thoughts  and  affections  upon  them.  But  they  who 
are  after  the  i^ptri/— The  persons  intended  by  that 
expression ;  mind—Thivk  on,  relish,  love ;  theikings 
of  the  Spirit — Things  invisible  and  eternal;  the 
things  which  the  Spirit  hath  revealed,  or  which  he 
works  in  us,  moves  us  to,  and  promises  to  give  us. 
For— Or  rather,  now,  as  the  particle  yap  should  be 
rendered;  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death.  The 
original  expression,  to  fpcvijfia  eapKoc,  is  literally,  the 
minding  of  the  flesh,  the  preferring  and  pursuing 
its  interests;  is  deaths- A  sure  mark  of  spiritual 
death,  and  the  way  to  death  everlasting.  ^^  My 
whole  emplo3rment,"  said  even  a  heathen,  (Socrates,) 
who  3ret  was  not  fully  assured  of  a  future  and  ever- 
lasting life,  "is  to  persuade  the  young  and  old 
against  too  much  love  for  the  body,  for  riches,  and 
all  other  precarious  things,  of  whatsoever  nature 
they  be ;  and  against  too  little  regard  for  the  soul, 
which  ought  to  be  the  object  of  their  afiections." 
But  to  be  spiritually  minded — ^povnfia  irvevfiaroc,  the 
minding  the  Spirit,  that  is,  the  setting  our  thoughts 
and  affections  on  spiritual  things;,  t^  life  and  peace 
—A  sure  mark  of  spiritual  life,  and  the  way  to  life 
everlasting;  and  attended  with  peac^  namely,  peace 
with  God;  opposite  to  the  enmity  mentioned  in  the 
next  verse ;  and  the  peace  of  God,  which  is  the  fore- 
taste of  life  everlasting.  In  this  verse,  therefore,  the 
apostle  sets  before  us  life  and  decUh,  blessing  and 
cursing;  and  thereby  furnishes  us  with  a  third  mo- 
tive to  holiness:  all  who  live  after  the  flesh  shall 
die  eternally,  but  all  that  live  in  a  holy,  spiritual  man- 

b 


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guides  the  chUdrtn  of  God* 


A.  M.  40M.  ^to  be  Bmntually  mmded  %s  life  and 
A.D.40.  ^  -^ 
.peace: 

7  Because  ^the^  carnal  nmid  t^  enmky 
afainst  God :  for  k  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
Gody  ■  neither  indeed  can  be. 

8  So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot 
please  God. 

9  But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the 
Spirit,  if  00  be  that  ''theSpirit  of  God  dwell 
in  you.      Now  if  any  man  have  not  ®tbe 


•Or.  Oummimg  t^iht  SpSnt.'—^Or.  the  mmding  ^  the 

fktk. 1  James  iy.  4. ■  1  CoriiiUu*ii»  u.  14. ■  1  Co- 

nnthUns  iii  16 ;  tL  19l 


ner  aball  obtain  eternal  life.  Reader,  to  which  of 
these  art  thou  in  the  way?  JJccotwc,  Ac.— Here  the 
apbsde  assigns  the  reason  of  the  doctrine  contained 
in  the  foregoing  verse ;  ^(he  carnal  mind'—hs  above 
described ;  U  enmity  against  God — Agmnst  his  holi- 
ness, his  justice,  lus  truth,  his  power  and  providence, 
hisonmiscience,his  omnipresence,  and  indeedagainst 
idl  his  attributes,  and  even  agidnst  his  existence. 
For  the  carnal  mind  would  wish  that  Qod  had  not 
^e  perfections  which  he  possesses;  that  he  were 
not  present  in  all  jdaces,  acquainted  with  all  things; 
00  holy  as  to  hate  sin,  ^o  just  as  to  be  determined  to 
punish  it;  so  mighty  as  to  be  able  to  do  it,  and  so 
true  as  certainly  to  llilfil  his  tfireatenings,  as  w^  as 
his  promises;  and,  in  iact^  that  there  were  no  such 
Being.  For  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  (7od— To 
the  moral  law  in  general ;  not  even  to  the  first  and 
great  commandment  of  it,  which  indeed  compre- 
hends all  the  commands  of  the  first  table,  namely, 
Thou  Shalt  iove  the  Lord  thy  God  vnth  all  thy 
heart,  Ac. ;  that  is,  Thou«halt  be  spiritually  mind- 
ed ;  shah  set  thy  affections  on  Ood,  and  things  divhie 
and  heavenly ;  a  law  this,  to  which  those  who  are 
carnally  mi^ed,  and  continue  so,  in  the  nature  of 
things  neither  are  nor  ean  be  subject 

Verse  8.  5b  then,  Ac.— The  inference  to  be  drawn 
fh>m  the  principles  just  laid  down,  is,  they  that  are 
in  the  flesh — In  the  sense  explained  in  the  ppeced- 
ing  verses,  and  especially  chap.  vii.  5,  where  see  the 
notes;  they  who  are  under  the  government  of  the 
flesh,  of  their  aninud  appetites  and  passions,  or  of 
their  corrapt  nature ;  they  who  are  carnally  minded ; 
taimot  please  Groc^--Namely,  while  they  continue 
so,  or,  ttU  they  be  justified  and  regenerated.  He 
means,  they  are  not  in  a  state  of  acceptance  with 
God;  nor  do  their  ways,  their  tempers,  words,  and 
works,  please  him,  whatever  ceremonial  precepts 
they  may  observe.  An  important  and  alanning  de- 
elaration  this,  which  it  concerns  all  the  professors 
of  Christianity  maturely  to  consider  and  lay  to  heart ; 
and  particularly  those  who  content  themselves  with 
a  form  of  godliness,  without  the  power;  with  an  at- 
tendance on  outward  ordinances,  and  the  use  of  the 
external  means  of  grace,  and  give  themselves  no 
coBcem  either  about  the  remission  of  their  past  sins, 
or  the  renovation  of  their  sinful  nature;  but  remain 


Spirit   of   Christ,    he    is   none   of  A.M.  4064. 

10  And  if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead 
because  <tf  sin;  but  the ISpirit  i«  life  because  of 
righteousness. 

11  But  if  the  Spirit  of  >'him  that  raised  up 
Jesus  from  the  dead  dwdl  in  you,  ^  he  that 
raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also  quick- 
en your  UKMrtal  bodies  'by  his  Spkit  thcUdwdl- 
eth  in  you. 


«JohiiiiL34;  OaLir.S;  PhiLilS;  1  Pet.  L  11. fAcU 

ii.  24. ^ Chi^).  TL  4,  6,   i  Cor.  ri  14 ;    2  Cor.  ir.  14 ;  Eph. 

iL  5. *  Or,  UcauM  of  kit  Sjmii. 


earthly  and  sensual  In  their  desires,  cares,  and  pur- 
suits, or  carnally  minded,  which  is  death.     « 

Verse  9.  BtU  ye— Who  are  vitally  united  to  Christ, 
who  are  in  him,  hy  living  faith,  and  new  creatures; 
are  not  in  theflesh^Voi  in  your  unpardoned,  unre- 
newed state,  not  camdlly  minded  i  but  in  the  Spirit 
— Under  his  government,  and  spiritually  minded, 
and  therefore  are  accepted  of  God,  and  approved  of 
by  him ;  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in 
you — For  wherever  he  dwells,  he  reigns,  regene- 
rates the  soul,  and  makes  it  truly  holy.  Now  if  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  <hrist — Thus  residing  in 
him,  and  governing  hun,  whatever  he  may  pretend ; 
he  is  none  of  his — ^Not  a  disciple  or  member  of 
Christ ;  not  a  Christian ;  not  in  a  state  of  salvation. 
A  plaii^  express  declaration,  which  admits  of  no  ex- 
ception. He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 

Verses  10,  IL  And  if  Christ  be  in  you — Namely, 
by  his  Spirit  dw^ng  in  you :  where  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  is,  there  is  Christ :  the  body  is  dead — To  fiep 
a<afia  vtKpov,  the  body  indeed  is  dead,  devoted  to 
dejBith ;  for  our  belonging  to  Christ,  or  having  Christ 
in  us,  does  not  exempt  the  body  from  undergoing 
the  sentence  of  death  passed  on  all  mankind ;  be- 
cause of  *tn— Heretofore  committed ;  especially  the 
sin  of  Adam,  by  which  death  entered  into  the  world, 
and  the  sinful  nature  derived  from  him ;  but  the  Spi- 
rit is  life — The  soul  is  quickened  and  made  alive  to 
God;  and  shall,  after  the  death  of  the  body,  conti- 
nue living,  active,  and  happy ;  because  ofHghteous- 
ness^Now  attained  through  the  second  Adam,  the 
Lord  our  righteousness.  But — Rather,  a^d,  for  the 
apostle  proceeds  to  speak  of  a  further  blessing ;  as 
if  he  had  said.  If  you  have  Christ  in  you,  not  only 
shall  yohr  souls  live  af^r  the  death  of  the  body  in 
felicity  and  glory,  but  your  bodies  also  shall  rise  to 
share  therein ;  for  we  have  this  further  joyful  hope, 
that  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus — Our 
great  covenant  head ;  from  the  dead,  dwell  in  you; 
he — God  the  FatHer ;  that  raised  up  Christ  from 
the  deadr—TY\^  first-fruits  of  them  that  sleep ;  shall 
also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies—Though  corrupt- 
ed and  consumed  in  the  grave ;  by  his  Spirit — Or 
on  account  of  his  Spirit ;  which  dwelleth  in  you — 
And  now  communjjcates  divine  life  to  your  souls, 
and  creates  them  anew. 


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the  l^rit  qfadaptiqm 


A.M.4(MW.  12*  'Therefore,  brethren,  we  are 
J^l_\!!?:_  debtors,  not  to  the  flesh,  to  Uve  after 
the  flesh. 

13  For  'if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die: 
but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  ^  mortify  the 
deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  Eve. 


*  Ei^th  Simday  after  Trini^,  epistle,  rotse  12  to  Tone  18. 

'  Cbaj^  tL  T,  14. ■  Verse  6 ;    OaJ.  vi.  8. *  Bph.  It.  22  j 

Col.  ui.  5. 


Verses  12, 13.  Therefore^  brethreur-As  if  he  had 
said,  Siace  we  have  reeeived  such  benefits,  and  ex- 
pect still  more  and  greater,  we  are  debtore — We  are 
under  obligations ;  not  to  the  Jlesh—^oi  to  our  ani- 
mal appetites  and  passions ;  we  have  formerly  given 
them  more  than  their  due,  and  we  owe  our  natural 
corruption  no  service ;  to  live  after  the  fleeh — The 
desire^  and  inclinations  of  which  we  ought  not  to 
follow ;  but  we  are  under  an  indbpensable  obliga- 
tion to  be  more  and  more  holy.  Or,  as  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge paraphrases4he  verse,  ^'  Since  it  is  certain  the 
gratifications  of  the  flesh  can  do  nothing  for  us  like 
that  which  will  be  done  at  the  resurrection ;  and 
since  all  present  enjoyments  are  mean  and  wortfiless 
when  compared  with  that  i  here  is  a  most  substan- 
tial argument  for  that  mortification  and  sanctity 
which  the  gospel  requires.  And  it  necessarily  fol- 
lows that  we  are  debtors  to  the  Spirit,  which  gives 
us  such  exalted  hopes,  and  not  unto  the  flesh,  that 
we  should  live  after  the  dictates,  desires,  and  appe- 
tites thereof."  "  To  be  a  debtor,"  says  Dr.  Mac- 
knight,  5<  is  to  be  under  a  constraining  obligation,  ch. 
i.  14.  The  apostle's  meaning  is.  Since  men  are  under 
the  gracious  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  which  fur- 
nishes them  with  the  most  powerful  a^tststances  for 
correcting  the  depravity  of  their  nature,  and  for  per- 
forming good  actions,  they  are  under  no  necessity, 
either  moral  or  physical,  to  gratify  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh,  as  they  would  be,  if^  in  their  present  weakened 
state,  they  had  no  advantages  but  what  they  derived 
from  mere  law,"  the  law  of  Moses,  or  law  of  nature. 
"  Further,  we  are  under  no  obligation  to  live  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  as  it  offers  no  pleasures  of  any  con- 
sequence to  counterbalanoe  the  misery  which  God 
will  inflict  on  all  who  live  according  to  It."  For  if 
ye — Though  professing  Christians,  and  even  emi- 
nent for  a  high  and  distinguishing  profession ;  lite 
after  the  fleah — Be  governed  by  your  animal  appe- 
tites, and  c(M*rupt  nature;  (see  on  verses  4-9;)  ye 
shall  die-^SheW  perish  by  the  sentence  of  a  holy  and 
just  God,  no  less  than  if  you  were  Jews  or  heathen. 
But  if  ye  through  the  iS|pirt«--Through  his  enlighi^ 
ening,  quickening,  and  sanctifying  mfluences,  and 
the  exercise  of  those  graces  which  by  regeneration 
he  has  implanted  in  your  souls ;  do  mor^t/y—Resist, 
dubdue,  and  destroy ;  Gr.  ^avartir^f  make  dead;  the 
de^  of  the  body^Orof  the  flesh,  tenped.  Gal.  v.  19, 
the  works  of  the  flesh:  and  including,  not  only  evil 
actions,  but  those  carnal  affections  and  inclinations, 
whence  all  the  corrupt  deeds  arise,  wherein  the  body 
or  flesh  is  concerned ;  ye  ehall  live^The  life  of 
faith,  love,  and  obedience,  more  abundantly  here, 
10 


14  For  ^as  nttny  as  are  led  by  the  a.  m. 4064. 
Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God.    ^  ^  ^' 


16  For  'ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of 
bondage  again  7  to  fear;  but  ye  have  received 
the  » Spirit  of  adoption,  wherd>y  we  cry,  *  Abba, 
Father. 


■GaL  ▼.  18. «1  Cor,  ii.  18;   Heb.  ii.  15.- — 7  2  Tim. 

i.  7 ;    1  John  iv.  IS.— « Ita.  In.  6 ;  G«L  vr,  5,  < 
xi?.3S. 


and  the  life  of  glory  hereafter.  Here  we  have  the 
fourth  motive  to  holiness :  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell- 
ing in  believers,  to  enable  them  to  mortify  their  cor- 
rupt passions  and  tempers. 

Verses  14-16.  For  as  many  €ts  are  led^  guided 
and  governed,  by  the  Spirit  of  God^Aa  a  Spirit  of 
truth iind  grace,  of  wisdom  and  holiness;  they  are 
the  sons  of  Qod^TktX  is,  they  stand  related  to  God, 
not  merely  as  subjects  to  their  king,  or  servants  to 
their  master,  but  as  children'  to  their  father;  they 
are  unspeaKahly  near  and  dear  to  Ood,  being  spirit- 
ually begotten  of  him,  and  partaking  of  his  nature* 
Sec  ott  John  i.  18.  For  ye— Who  are  real  Chris- 
tians; Juive  not — Skice  you  believed  on  Christ  with 
a  living  fhith;  received  the  spMi  of  bondage— K 
servile  disposition,  produced  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
convincing  you  that  yoo  are  in  a  state  of  guilt  and 
wrath^  again — Such  as  you  had  formerly,  before 
your  conversion  5  to  fear — Condemnation  and  wrath 
from  God,  which  you  knew  you  had  merited,  and 
therefore  to  fear  him  with  a  servile  fear,  and  death 
with  a  fear  producing^  torment  But  ye  have  re- 
ceived the  Spirit  of  adoption — An  assurance  of  your 
reconciliation  with  and  filial  relation  to  God,  through 
the  influence  of  die  Spirit  of  Christ,  Gal.  iv.  6 ;  produ- 
cing in  you  such  confidence  toward  God  in  approach- 
ing him,  as  dutiful  children  feel  toward  a  loving 
father.  Whereby—Bj  which  Spirit  5  ire— Att  and 
every  believer ;  cry — The  word,  xpaCofiev^  denotes  a 
vehement  speaking,  with  desire,  confidence,  con- 
stancy; Abba,  Father— The  latter  word  explains 
the  former.  By  using  both  the  Syro-Chaldaic  and 
Greek  words,  the  apostle  seems  to  point  out  the  joint 
cry  both  of  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  believers;  who, 
in  consequence  of  that  assurance  of  €k>d's  favour, 
and  adoption  into  his  family,  with  which  their  minds 
were  filled,  since  they  had  received  the  gospel,  felt 
that  disposition  of  reverence  for,  confidence  in,  and 
gratef^il  love  to  God,  wh|ch  is  here  properly  termed 
the  Spirit  of  adoption :  that  is,  the  spirit  of  children. 
We  may  observe  here,  that  both  the  spirit  of  bond- 
age to  fear,  or  servile  spirit,  and  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion, or  filial  spirit,  as  above  explained,  are  produced 
by  one  and  the  same  Spirit  of  God,  manifesting  it^ 
self  in  various  operations,  according  to  the  various 
circumstances  of  the  persons ;  first  causing  them  to 
see  and  feel  themselves  to  be  in  bondage  to  Ihe  guilt 
and  power  of  sin,  to  the  worM^  to  Satan,  and  obnox- 
ious to  the  wrath  of  God ;  and  then  assuring  them 
of  their  deliverance  tlierefrom,  and  of  their  reception 
into  the  fkvour  and  family  of  God,  as  his  sons  and 
datighters.     The  Spirit  itse^-^kvto  to  Pv^/io,  tk$ 


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7%m€  who  i^ftr  with  Christ 


CHAPTER  Vm. 


noiU  dUo  he  glorified  wiJtk  him. 


A.1L4064.    1$  ^Tb^ Spirit  itself  beoiethwitneBs 
^  ^^    with  our  flpirity  that  we  aie  the  diil- 

dienof  Qod : 
17  And  if  children,  th^i  heirs:  ^heirsof  God, 

and  joint-heirB  with  Christ;   <^if  so.be  Umt  we 

suffer  with  him^  that  we  may  be  also  glorified 

together. 


kSCot.  L 


il  11, 12. 


La;  ▼.*;  Eph.  i  13 ;  ir.  aa "AotojonrilS; 

Lf.7.*— AAcUziT.38;rhilqipiaiial29;  2Timothjr 


telf-eame  Spirit,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Fatbei"; 
beateth  witness — Greek,  avftftaprvpH  rv  irvevftaTi  ijfujv ; 
witnesseth  together  with  our  spirit — Or  our  enUghi- 
ened  and  renewed  conscience,  by  his  internal  and 
gnicionB  operation,  giving  us  to  know  and  feel  with 
aseurance,  gratitude,  and  joy,  that  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God-'By  special  adoption  and  regeneration. 
For  it  is  by  his  influence,  and  his  alone,  that  we  can 
know  the  things  that  are  Iteely  given  to  us  of  God, 
namely,  what  they  are,  their  nature  and  excellence, 
and  that  they  are  ours,  1  Ck)r«  il.  12.  And  hence  this 
Spirit  is  said  to  be  the  seal  of  our  sonship,  and  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance  in  our  hearts^  2  Cor  L  22 ; 
Eph.  i.  13,  14;  iv.  30.  ttappy  they  who  enjoy  this 
testimony  clear  and  constant!  Some,  by  the  testi- 
mony spoken  of  in  this  veise,  understand  the  extra- 
ordinary or  miraculpus  gifts  of  the  Spirit  These 
undoubtedly  were  a  divine  testimony  to  the  mission 
of  Christ,  and  the  truth  of  the  jgospel ;  but  certainly 
(according  to  our  Lord's  own  declaration,  that  many, 
whom  he  never  acknowledged  to  be  his,  would  say 
to  him  in  the  day  of  judgment,  that  they  had  pro- 
phesied and  cast  out  devils  in  his  name,  &c.)  Uiey 
are  not  a  satisfactory  proof  of  the  truth  of  any  one's 
grace,  the  reality  of  his  conversion,  or  of  his  being  a 
child  of  God.  Accordiogly  this  apostle  testifies, 
1  Cor.  xiii.  2,  If  a  man  have  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
and  understand  aU  mysteries,  and  have  such  mira- 
ele-working/ail^  as  to  be  able  to  remove  mountains, 
that,  with  respect  to  real  religion,  he  is  nothing,  if  he . 
have  not  love,  namely,  to  God  and  man. 

Yeraes  17, 18.  And  if  children,  then  Anrs— Those 
that  are  really  the  children  of  God  by  adoption^and 
grace,  are  not  only  under  his  peculiar  direction,  pro- 
tection, and  care,  and  shall  be  supplied  with  all 
things  which  God  sees  will  be  good  for  them  -,  not 
only  have  they  free  liberty  of  access  to  God,  and  in- 
tercourse with  God,  as  dutiful  children  have  access 
to,  and  intercourse  with,  their  fisher ;  but  they  are 
heirs  of  Croci—Heirs  of  the  heavenly  inheritance, 
and  by  the  redemption  of  their  bodies,  being  mnde 
immortal  like  God,  they  shall  enjoy  that  inheritance. 
See  note  on  1  Pet.  L  3.  And  joint-heirs  with  Christ 
—Entering  into  hisjoy,M^i.  xxv.  21 ;  sittmgdown 
on  his  throne,  Rev.  iiL  21 ;  partaking  of  his  gl&ry, 
John  xvU.  22 ;  Phil.  iii.  21  \  Col.  UL  4 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  40  j 
and  inheriting  all  things.  Rev.  xxL  7,  jointly  with 
him  who  b  heir  of  all  things,  Heb.  i.  2.  Only  it 
Must  be  observed,  he  is  heir  by  nature,  we  by  grace. 
(f  sobe  that  we  suffer  with  ii^tm— Willingly  and 


18  *For  I  reckon,  that  •the  suflTer-  A. M. 4064. 

/.    1  .  .  A.  D.  60l 

ings  of  this  pre^nt  time  are  not  wor-  ■ 

thy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall 

be  revealed  in  us. 

19  For  'the  earnest  expectation  of  the  crea 
tore  waiteth  for  the  *  manifestation  of  the  soos 
of  God. 


'Fooith  SuttdtM  »ft«r  Trini^,  epistle,  Tene  18  to Texsed4. 
•2  Cor.  ir.  17;  1  Pet  i.  6,  7;  it.  13. — »-'2  Pet.  iu.  18. 
f  1  Jbim  iii.  3. 


cheerfully  for  righteousness'  sake:  that  is,  we  shall 
enjoy  these  glorious  an^  heavenly  blessings,  pro- 
vided we  be  willing,  not  only  to  deny  ourselves  all 
prohibited  carnal  gratifications,  and  to  govern  our 
lives  by  his  precepts,  but  also  to  suffer  with  him  what- 
ever reproach,  infamy,  persecution,  and  other  injuries 
we  may  be  called  to  undergo,  in  conformity  to  him,  for 
the  honour  of  Cod,  and  the  testimony  of  a  good  con- 
science ;  UuU  we  may  he  also  glorified  toge^er—VTiiXi 
him,  which  we  cannot  be  in  any  other  way  than  by 
suffering  with  him :  he  was  glorified  in  this  way,  and 
so  must  we  be.  Here  the  apostle  passes  to  a  new 
proposition,  on  which  he  enlarges  in  the  following 
verses ;  opening  a  source  of  consolation  to  the  children 
of  God  in  every  age,  by  drinking  at  whidi  they  may 
not  only  refresh  themselves  under  the  severest  suf- 
ferings, but  derive  new  strength  to  bear  them  with 
fortitude.  For  /reckon,  Ac. — Here  the  apostle  gives 
ther  reason  why  he  now  mentions  sufferings  and 
glory.  When  that  glory  shall  be  revealed  in  us,  then 
the  sons  of  God  will  be  revealed  also.  Thai  the 
sufferings  of  this  present  time — How  long  continued 
and  great  soever  they  may  be ;  are  not  worthy  to  he 
cowiparcfZ— Or  tobe  set  in  opposition  to,  or  contrastr 
ed  with,  (as  the  original  expression,  a^ia  ra  na^ara 
vpog  TTjv  fuXhicav  do^av,  evidently  implies,)  the  glory 
which  shall  he  revealed  in  us— Wh\6h  we  shall  then 
partake  of,  and  the  nature  and  greatness  of  which  we 
shall  then,  and  not  before,  fully  understand.  For 
it  fax  exceeds  our  present  most  elevated  concep- 
tions, and  can  never  be  fully  known  till  we  see  each 
other  wear  it.  These  privileges  are  a  fifth  motive  to 
holiness. 

Verse  19.  For  the  earnest  expectation,  &c. — 
"  This  and  the  following  verses,"  says  ^r.  Dod- 
dridge, "have  been  generally,  and  not  without  rea- 
son, accounted  as  difficult  as  any  part  of  this  epbtle. 
This  difficulty  has  perhaps  been  something  increased, 
by  rendering  Kriaig  creation  in  one  clause,  and  crea- 
ture, in  another.  To  explain  it  as  chiefly  referring 
to  the  brutal  or  inanimate  creation,  is  insufferable ; 
since  the  day  of  the  redemption  of  our  bodies  will 
be  attended  with  the.  conflagration  which  will  put 
an  end  to  them.  The  interpretation,  therefore,  by 
which  Dr.  Whitby  and  others  refer  it  to  the  Gentile 
world,  is  much  preferable  to  this.  But,  on  the  whole, 
I  think  it  gives  a  much  sublimer  and  nobler  sense, 
to  suppose  it  a  bold  prosopopoeia,  by  which,  on  ac- 
count of  the  calamity  sin  brought  and  continued  on 
the  whole  unevangelized  world,  it  b  represented  as 
71 


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7\e  delicerance  of  the 


ROMANS. 


ereaiure  predicted^ 


A.  M.  4064. 

A.  D.  eo. 


20  ^'For  the.  creature  was  made 
subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but 
by  reason  of  him  who  hath  subjected  yA^  same 
in  hope; 


^Venett; 


looking  out  with  eager  expectation,  for  such  a  re- 
medy and  relief  as  the  gospel  brings ;  by  the  preva- 
lence of  which  human  nature  would  be  rescued 
from  vanity  and  corruption,  and  inferior  creatures 
from  tyranny  and  abuse.  If  this  be  allowed  to  be  the 
meaning  of  these  three  verses,  the  gradation  in  the 
twenty-third  will  be  much  more  intelligible  than  on 
any  other  scheme  that  I  know/'  The  paragraph  is 
understood  in  nearly,  if  not  altogether,  the  same 
sense  by  Locke  and  Maeknight,  who  advance  divers 
convincing  reasons  to  show  that  it  \sihe  true  mode 
of4nterpretation ;  which  accordingly  is  here  adopted. 
T%e  earnest  expectation — The  word  anoKopadoKia^ 
thus  rendered,  as  Mr.  Blackwall  observes,  signifies 
the  lifting  of  the  head  and  the  stretching  of  the  body, 
as  far  as  possible^  to  hear  and  see  something  very 
agreeable,  or  of  great  importance.  It  is  therefore 
fiUy  used  here  to  denote  very  great  jeamestness  of 
desire  and  expectation;  of  the  creature^ThaX  is,  of 
mankind  in  general,  which  the  word  Kuatc^  in  the 
language  of  Paul  and  of  the  New  Testament,  fre- 
quently signifies,  and  especially,  says  Locke,  the  Gen- 
tile world.  See  Col.  i.  23 :  Mark  xvi.  15 ;  compared 
with  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  wdtteth — AweKde^crou,  looketh 
for,  as  the  same  word  is  translated,  Phil.  iii.  20;  the 
manifestation — A?roico^v^tv,  revelation  ;  of  the  sons 
of  Ood— Thai  happy  time  when  God  shall  appear 
more  openly  to  avow  them,  and  that  reproach  and 
distress  shall  be  rolled  away,  under  which  they  are 
now  disguised  and  concealed.  "Though  the  Gen- 
tiles in  particular  knew  nothing  of  the  revelation  of 
the  sons  of  God,  the  apostle  calls  their  looking  for  a 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  a  looking  for  that  reve- 
lation; because  the  sons  of  God  are  to  be  revealed, 
by  their  being  raised  with  incorruptible  and  immor- 
tal bodies.  Fiurther,  it  is  here  insinuated  that  the 
pious  Gentiles  comforted  themselves  under  the 
miseries  of  life,  by  that  hope  of  immortality,  and  of 
the  resurrection,  which  they  entertained.  At  the 
fall,  God  declared  hfs  purpose  of  rendering  the  ma- 
lice of  the  devil,  in  bringing  death  on  the  human 
species,  ineffectual,  and  therefore  gave  mankind  not 
only  the  hope  of  a  future  life,  but  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  as  the  apostle  intimates,  verse  21.  And 
that  hope,  preserved  in  the  world  by  tradition,  may 
have  been  the  foundation  of  the  earnest  desire  of  the 
iOentiles  here  taken  notice  of."— Maeknight.  Or 
rather  the  passage,  as  Doddridge  observes,  is  to  be 
considered  as  a  prosopopoeia,  as  is  observed  on 
verse  19. 

Verses  20,  2i.  For  the  creature  teas  made  subject 
to  vani7y— Mankind  in  general,  and  the  whole  visi- 
ble creation,  lost  their  original  beauty,  glory,  and 
felicity ;  a  sad  change  passed  on  man,  and  his  place 
of  abode ;  the  whole  face  of  nature  was  obscured, 
and  all  creatures  were  subjected  to  vanity  and 

n 


21  Because  ihe  creature  itself  alto  a.  m.  4064. 

shall  be  d^vered  fibm  the  bondage 1 — • 

of  corruption,  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God. 


OeB.iiL  IS. 


wretchedness  in  a  variety  of  forms.    '^  Every  thing 
seems  perverted  from  its  intended  use :  the  inanimate 
creatures  are  pressed  into  man's  rebellion ;  the  lumi- 
naries of  the  heaven  give  him  light  by  which  to 
work  wickedness ;  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  sacri- 
ficed to  his  luxury,  intemperance,  and  ostentation; 
its  bowels  are  ransacked  for  metals,  from  which 
arms  are  forged,  for  publ|e  and  private  murder  and 
revenge ;  or  to  gratify  his  avarice,  and  excite  him  to 
fraud,  oppres^on,  and  war.    The  animal  tribes  are 
subject  to  pain  and  death  through  man's  sin,  and 
their  sufferings  are  exceedmgly  increaaed  by  his 
cruelty,  who,  instead  of  « 'kind  master,  is  become 
theur  inhuman  butcher  and  t3rrant.    So  that  every 
thing  is  in  an  unnatural  state:  the  good  creatures  of 
God  appear^  evil,  through  man's  abtfse  of  them ;  and 
even  the  enjoyment  originally  to  be  found  in  them 
is  turned  into  vexation,  bitterness,  and  disappdnt- 
ment,  by  his  idolatrous  love  of  them,  and  expecta- 
tion from  them." — Scott  "  Vanity,"  says  Macknigh^ 
"denotes  mortality  or  corruption,  verse  21,  and  all 
the  miseries  of  the  present  life.    These  the  apostle 
expresses  by  vanity,  in  allusion  to  Psa.  Ixxxix.  47, 
where  the  psalmist,  speaking  of  the  same  subject, 
says.  Why  hast  thou  m^eaU  men  in  vain?    TTie 
t  ruth  is,  if  we  consider  the  noble  faculties  with  which 
man  is  endowed,  and  compare  them  with  the  occu- 
pations of  the  present  life,  many  of  which  are  frivo- 
lous in  themselves,  and  in  their  effects  of  short  dura- 
tion, we  shall  be  sensible  that  the  character  which 
Solomon  has  given  of  them  is  just :  Vanity  ofvant- 
ties  !  all  is  vanity.    And  if  so  excellent  a  creature 
as  man  was  designed  for  nothing  but  to  employ  the 
few  years  of  this  life  in  these  low  occupations,  and 
after  that  to  lose  his  existence,  he  would  reaUy  be 
made  in  vain."    Not  mUingly—Msn\m^  are  not 
made  mortal  and  miserable  on  account  of  their  own 
offence,  or  the  personal  misconduct  of  those  who  are 
most  deeply  affected  with  it ;  hut  by  him  who  sub-- 
jected  <Ae7»-*-Namely,  God ;  who,  for  the  offonce  of 
the  first  man,  adjudged  them  to  this  state  of  suffering 
and  vanity.  Gen,  iii.  17-10 ;  verse  30.    In  ftope,  Ac 
-^-Nevertheless,  they  were  not  by  that  sentence 
doomed  always  to  remain  subject  to  that  vuiity  and 
misery ;  but  a  ground  of  hope  is  afforded ;  because, 
ort,  that,  the  creatitre  itself— Namely,  mankind  espe^ 
ciaJly ;  shall  be  delivereef—EXev&epu^rfctrai,  shall  be 
set  free;  from  the  bondage  ofcorruptum—Vtom  the 
state  of  vanity  and  misery  by  which  they  now  abuse 
themselves,  and  the  inferior  ereatures,  and  from  the 
mortality,  the  dread  of  which  made  them  subject  to 
bondage  all  their  lives.    hUo  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  G^orf— The  glorious  freedom  which 
the  children  of  God  partly  enjoy,  and  shall  enjoy 
more  fully,  when  all  the  former  things  are  passed 
awav.    It  is  certain  the  whole  creation  would  bf 

b 


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The  whole  creation  groane  to  he 


CHAPTER  Vin. 


delivered  from  sin  and  misery^ 


A,  M.  4061.  22  For  we  know  that  •th^  whole 
— — '. — 1-  creation  *  groaneth,  and  travaifcth  in 
pain  together  until  now : 

23  And  not  oalj  they,  but  oursdves  also, 
which  have  ^the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit,  ^even 
we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  ■  waiting 


•  Or,  every  creature,^ 


Uer.xiLll.- 
▼.8.4. 


k2Cot.  T.  6.- 


'8  Cor. 


made  inconceivably  more  happy  than  it  is,  if  that 
blessed  dispensation  by  wliich  we  are  introduced 
into  God's  family,  and  taught  to  do  our  utmost  to 
diiiise  good  to  all  around  us,  were  universally  to 
prevail.  But  the  bondage  of  corruption,  being  here 
opposed  to  the  freedom  of  the  glory  (as  the  words 
e}^d(piav  njc  do^vc  literally  signify)  of  the  children 
of  God,  must  especially  signify  the  destruction  of 
the  body  by  death,  and  the  continuation  of  it  in  the 
grave,  and  of  course  the  freedom  of  the  glory  must 
signify  its  resurrection  and  immortality.  When 
tMs  is  effected,  ^^  Satafi,  sin,  death,  misery,  and  all 
wicked  creatures,  will  be  consigned  to  hell ;  and  the 
rest  of  God's  creation  will  appear  glorious,  pure, 
beautiful,  orderly,  and  happy  5  in  every  Tespect  an- 
swering the  end  for  which  it  was  formed,  and  intio- 
thing  abused  to  contrary  purposes.  See  Rev.  xx. 
11-15;  xxi.  1-4.  The  sufferings  of  animals,  though 
very  many  and  grievous,  yet  being  unfeared  and 
transient,  are  doubtless  overbalanced  by  their  en- 
joyments; and  to  infer  an  individual  resurrection  of 
all  or  any  of  them  from  this  passage,  is  surely  one 
of  the  wildest  reveries  which  ever  entered  into  the 
mind  of  a  thinking  man.  The  happy  effects  pro- 
duced by  the  gospel,  when  extensively  successful, 
even  in  this  present  world,  may  be  considered  as 
earnests  of  the  glorious  scene  of  which  the  apostle 
speaks :  but  the  general  resurrection,  and  the  state 
which  follows,  were  espedally,  and  indeed  exclu- 
sively meant,  for  then  only  will  the  children  of  God 
be  manifested  as  such,  and  be  separated  from  all 
others."— Scott 

Verse  22.  For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation-^ 
Ever  since  the  first  apostacy  of  our  nature  from  God ; 
groaneth— Suffers  e^  variety  of  miseries;  and  tror 
vaileth — IvvuSivet,  literally,  is  in  the  pains  of  child- 
birth, to  be  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  curse ; 
until  now — To  this  very  hour,  and  so  on  to  the  time 
of  deliverance.   "  According  to  some  commentators,, 
the  words  vaaa  tj  ktutic  denote  the  whole  creatures 
of  God,  animate  and  inanimate,  which,  as  they  were 
cursed  for  the  sin  of  the  first  man,  may,  by  a  beauti- 
ful rhetorical  figure,  be  represented  as  groaning  to- 
gether under  that  curse,  and  earnestly  wishing  to 
be  delivered  from  it.  Such  figures  indeed  are  not  un- ' 
nsual  in  Scripture.  SeePsa.  xcvi.  12 ;  xcviii.  8.  Ne-  j 
vertheless,  verse  21,  where  it  is  said  that  f^creo^r^ 
itself  shall  be  delivered,  fc,  into  the  glorious  liberty  1 
of  the  childrhi  of  God;  and  the  antithesis,  verse  23, . 
not  only  they,  butoursehes  also,  show  that  the  apos- ' 
tie  is  speaking,  not  of  the  brute  and  inanimate  crea- 1 
tion,  but  of  mankind,  and  of  their  earnest  desire  6f  ! 


for  the  adoption,  to  trft,  the  '  redemp-  a.  m.  4064. 
lion  of  our  body.  — l-I — 1 

24  For  we  are  saved  by  hope.    But  •  hope 
that  is  seen,  is  not  hope :   fx  what  a  man 
seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  1 
.  25  But  if  we  hope  tor  that   we  see  not, 


■  Lok^  la,  96.- 


»Lake  zzi.  28  \    Eph.  tv.  SO.- 
T.  7;  Hab.^  i. 


•2  Cor. 


immortality.  For  these  reasons,  and  especially  be* 
cause  (Mark  xvL  16)  preach  the  gospel,  lea^  r^ 
KT(oei,  means,  to  every  hunian  creature,  I  think  the 
same  expression  in  this  verse,  and  9  «Ti<Tif  in  the 
preceding  verses,  signify  mankind  in  general,  Jews 
as  well  kR  Geittiles.  The  same  expression,  also, 
CoL  i.  2S,  signifies  every  human  creature."— Mac- 
knight. 

Yersie  23.  And  not  only  ihey—The  unenlightened 
fand  umrenewed  part  of  mankind;  but  weourseltes 
also,  who  have  thefirstfruits  of  the  fl|pfrtt— Because 
first-fruits  signify  the  best  things  of  their  kind,  some 
think  that  the  apostles,  and  such  as  possessed  the 
most  excellent  spiritual  gifts,  are  spoken  of  in  this 
passage.  But  as  tiie  privileges  described  verses 
24-26  equally  belong  to  all,  it  seems  more  probaUe 
that  the  apostle  speaks  of  believers  in  general,  who 
had  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  bestowed  on  them  as  first- 
fruits,  or  as  the  earnest  of  those  greater  virtues  and 
spiritual  endowments,  which  they  shall  enjoy  in 
heaven.  Even  we  groan  within  ourselves — Under 
many  remaining  imperfections,  and  a  variety  of  mi- 
series ;  waiting  for  the  adoption — For  the  public 
and  open  display  of  our  adoption ;  to  wit,  Vie  re^ 
demption  of  our  body— From  dust  and  death  to  glory 
and  immortality,  when  our  heavenly  lather  shall 
bring  us  forth  before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world, 
habited  and  adorned  as  becomes  his  children.  Per- 
sons who  hai  been  privately  adopted  among  the 
Romans,  were  often  brought  forth  into  the  forum, 
and  there  publicly  owned  as  the  sons  of  those  who 
had  adopted  them.  So  at  the  general  resurrection, 
when  the  body  itself  is  redeemed  from  death,  the 
sons  of  God  shall  be  publicly  owned  by  him  in  the 
great  assem'bly  of  men  and  angels.  Thus  our  Lord, 
Luke  XX.  28,  terms  Aose  who  shall  be  accounted 
worthy  to  obtain  the  heavenly  world,  the  children 
q/"  6M,  because  titey  are  the  children  of  the  resur- 
rection ;  they  being  hereby  manifestly  shown  to  be 
his  children.  The  apostle  therefore  had  good  rea- 
son to  call  the  redemption  of  our  body  from  death^ 
the  adoption.  Besides,  it  is  that  by  which  the  saints 
are  enabled,  as  the  children  of  God,  to  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father. 

Verses  24, 25.  For  we  are  saved  6y  Aope— That  is^ 
our  salvation  is  now  only  in  hope ;  we  do  not  yet 
possess  the  full  salvation ;  but  hope  ihcU  is  seen  i^ 
nothf^e—Uope  here,  by  a  usual  metonyrtiy,  is  put 
for  the  object  of  hope ;  and  in  Scripture,  (o  see,  often 
signifies  to  enjoy,  and  sometimes  to  suffer.  The 
meaning  here  is,  the  thing  hoped  for,  when  actually 
enjoyed  is  no  longer  the  <*ject  of  hope.    Buttf^ 


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T%e  Spirit  of  God  is  gvcen  to 


ROlCANa 


attUt  his  people  in  praytr^ 


A.1C.4064.   then    do  we   with    patience   wait 

—  fort/. 

26  Likewise  the  Spirit  also  hdpeth  our  in- 
firmitieis:  fi)r  ''we  know  Diot  what  we  shotdd 
pray  for  as  we  ought:  but  <» the  Spirit  itself 
maketh  intercessioa  for  us  with  groanings 
which  cannot  be  uttered. 


r  ICttt  zz.  22  \  Junes  iv.  9.-— —4  Zedi.  xii.  10 ;  Eph.  ri.  18. 
r  1  Chion.  xzviii.  9 ;  Psa.  viL  9 ;  Pror.  zriL  3 ;  Jer.  zL  20 ; 


or  since,  we  hope  for  that  we  eee  no<— That  is,  which 
we  do  npt  enjoy;  then  do  i06~Naturally  and  usuafly ; 
with  patience  wait,  for  it — Especially  if  the  object 
of  our  hope  be  very  excellent  and  necessary  for  us, 
attainable  by  us,  and  assured  to  us  in  this  way. 
Thitt,  if  our  hope  of  the  heavenly  inheritance, 
valuable  beyond  all  we  can  express  or  conceive,  be 
strong  and  lively;  it  wiU  produce  in  us  a  patient 
waiting  till  God's  time  be  come  to  put  us  in  pos- 
session of  it,  and  in  the  mean  while  will  render  us 
willing  to  bear  the  intervening  troubles  contentedly. 
Xerses  26, 27.  Likewise  the  Spirit^  &c. — Besides 
the  hope  of  future  felicity  and  glory,  which  our  holy 
profession  administers  to  us  for  our  support  and 
comfort  amid  all  the  difficulties  of  our  Christian 
course,  we  have  moreover  this  important  privilege, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  hetpeth  our  mfirmities 
—The  word  avTiXoftSavtT^^  here  rendered  helpeth^ 
literally  expresses  the^  action  of  one  who  assists 
another  to  bear  a  burden,  by  taking  hold  of  it  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  bearing  it  wi^i  him,  as  per- 
sons do  who  assist  one  another  in  carrying  heavy 
loads. '  Dr.  Doddridge  here  interprets  the  clause, 
the  Holy  Spirit  lendeth  us  his  helping  hand  under 
all  our  burdens  or  infirmities.  The  word  aa^ev^tat^^ 
translated  inftrndties,  signifies  weaknesses  and  dis- 
eases, primarily  of  the  body,  but  it  is  often  trans- 
ferred to  the  mind.  Our  understandings  are  weak, 
particularly  in  the  things  of  God  j  our  faith  is  weak, 
our  desires  and  prayers  are  weak;  of  which  last 
partici^ar  Ambrose  interprets,  this  expression  here; 
an  interpretation  which  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
what  follows  in  the  text  For  we  know  not  wJiat  we 
should  pray  for—Of  this  Paul  himself  was  an 
example,  when  he  prayed  thrice,  it  seems  impro- 
perly, to  be  delivered  from  the  thorn  in  the  fiesh, 
2  Cor.  xii.  8,  9.  Much  less  are  we  able  to  pray  for 
any  thing  which  we  see  needfhl  for  us,  as  we  ought 
-*-That  is,  with  such  sincerity,  huniility,  desire,  faith, 
fervency,  importunity,  perseverance,  as  ought  to 
attend  all  our  prayers,  at  least  for  spiritual  and 
eternal  blessings.  But  the  Spirit  itself  maketh  in- 
tercession far  M*— In  our  hearts,  even  as  Christ  does 
in  heaven,  guiding  our  mhids  to  suitable  petitions, 
and  exciting  in  them  correspondent  affections,  and 
even  inspiring  us  with  that  intense  ardour  of  holy 
desire,  which  no  words  can  express,  but  which  vent 
themselves  in  unutterable  groanings,  the  matter  of 
which  is  from  ourselves ;  but  as  they  are  excited  in 
OS  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  are  therefore  here 
a^^ribed  to  its  influence.  The  expression,  ^evayftotc 
U 


27  And  'he    that   searcheth   the    a. M. 4064. 

hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  — ^— ^ . 

of  the  Spirit,  ^becaiue  he  maketh  interces- 
sion for  the  saintSi  'according  to  the  wiU  of 
God. 

^  And  we  know  that  all  things  work  to- 
ler  for  good  to  them  that  love   Grod,  to 


xtii.  10 ;  xz.  12 ;  Acta  i.  24 ;  1  Thest.  ii.  4 ;  Revelation  iL  23. 
'  Or,  t*a/. "1  John  T.  14. 


aXaXtiToic,  however,  is  literally,  not  unutterable^  but 
uTttUtered  groanings.  The  aj^stle  having  observed, 
verse  22,  that  every  creature  groaneth  to  be  deliver^ 
from  vanity  and  corruption  -,  also  having  told  us, 
verse  23,  that  they  who  have  the  first-fruits  of  the 
Spirit  groan  within  themselves,  waiting  for  the 
redemption  of  the  body;  he  now  assures  us^  that 
these  secret  groanings  and  vehement  desires,  espe- 
cially under  the  pressure  of  a£3iction,  proceed  from 
the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  therefore  are 
not  firuitless.  And  he  that  seari^eih  the  hearts-^ 
Wherein  the  Spirit  dwells  and  intercedes ;  knoweth 
— Though  man  cannot  utter  it ;  whxU  is  (he  mind — T< 
To6povtffta,  what  is  the  desire^  or  intention^  of  the 
i^iWr— Namely,  of  his  Spirit,  hi  thus  influencing 
our  minds,  all  the  secret  emotions  and  workings 
of  wbich  he  reads,  and  perfectly  understands;  for 
he  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according  to 
the  will  of  God—Jn  a  manner  worthy  of  hina,  and 
acceptable  to  hi;ai. 

Verse  28.  Arid  we  know — Though  we  do  not  al- 
ways know  particularly  what  to  pray  for  as  we 
ought,  yet  this  we  know,  that  cUl  <itn^— Namely, 
that  occur  in  the  course  of  divine  providence,  such 
as  worldly  losses  or  gains,  poverty  or  riches,  reproach 
or  commendation,  contempt  or  honour,  pain  or  ease, 
sickness  or  health,  and  the  ten  thousand  changes  of 
life ;  work  together — Strongly  and  sweetly,  in  a  va- 
riety of  unthought-of  and  unexpected  ways ;  for 
spiritual  and  eternal  good  to  themr-WiiOy  being  jus- 
tified by  faith,  and  having  peace  with  God,  and  access 
into  a  state  of  favour  and  acceptance  with  him,  sin 
ccrely  love  him,  having  beheld  what  manner  of  love 
he  hath  bestowed  upon  them,  1  John  iii.  1 ;  or  who 
have  known  and  beUeved  the  love  that  he  hath  to 
them,  and  therefore  love  him  who  hath  first  loved 
them.  ^^  It  is  so  plain,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge,  "  from 
the  whole  context,  that  the  apostle  only  speaks  of 
providential  events,  and  it  is  so  evident  that  the  uni- 
versal c^xpression  all  is  sometimes  to  be  taken  in  a 
limited  sense,  that  it  must  argue,  I  fear,  something 
worse  than  weakness  tp  pretend  that  sin  is  compre* 
bended  in  the  apostle's  assertion."  This  observation 
is  as  important  as  it  is  just:  for  sin,  which  is  a  real 
and  positive  evil,  an  evil  of  the  worst  kind,  a  mor^ 
evil,  and  an  evil  which  is  the  source  of  all  other  evils, 
can,  in  itself  considered,  in  no  case  whatever  work 
for  good.  What  may  and  does  work  for  good  with 
respect  to  it,  is  the  punishment  or  chastisement  of 
it,  repentance  for  it,  and  the  forgiveness  of  it.  But 
providential  dispensations,  such  as  those  just  referre4 

b 


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CHAPTOEI  VIIL 


eonformed  to  the  mage  of  Ckru$. 


A. H. 46114*  th^n  ^whaare  the  called  accordiaff 
A.  D.  60.  ^  , .  ,  ^^ 
to  h%s  pivpoee. 

29  For  whom  "^  he  did  fortimow,  'he  also  did 


tCh|p.ix.ll,23»94;  2Tim.L9. " Ex. zzxiiL  12,17;  Bsa. 

L6;  Jar.i5i  llatt.TiL83;  Chap.  zi2;  8 Tim. it  19 ;  1  Pbt 


to,  and  especially  these  that  are  (^  an  afflictive  aa- 
tare,  may,  and  if  receired  in  a  spirit  of  faith,  haaii- 
lity,  resignation,  ahd  patience,  and  used  aright,  as- 
suredly will,  work  for  our  spiritual  and  etemaA  good. 
For  whether  they  be  considered,  1st,  As  the  chaa- 
tisements  of  our  hearenly  Father,  by  being  chastised 
for  our  Aiults  we  are  amended:  or,  2d,  As  trials  of 
our  grace ;  being  thus  exercised,  it  is  prored  to  be 
genuine,  and  increased.  See  on  chap.  V,  4.  Or,  8d, 
As  purifying  fires,  they  tend  to  purge  us  from  our 
corrupt  passions  and  lusts,  as  gold  ^and  silver  are 
purified  from  their  dross  in  the  fire ;  and  to  cause  us, 
who  are  naturailly  earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish,  to 
die  to  the  world  and  sin,  and  beeome  heavenly,  holy, 
aad  divine.  They  tend,  therefore,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  Without  which  they  can  do  nothing,  to  in- 
crease our  holiness  and  conformity  to  oinr  living 
Head ;  and  whatever  Increases  these,  must  increase 
our  happiness  here  and  hereailer,  especially  here^ 
after.  To  which  may  be  added,  that  God  will  as 
assuredly  reward  us.hi  a  future  state  for  our  suffer- 
ings in  this  life,  if  patiently  endured,  as  for  our  la- 
bours faithfully  and  perseveringly  performed.  Hence 
even  Plato,  a  heathen,  could  say, "  Whether  a  right- 
eous man  be  in  poverty,  sickness,  or  any  other  cala- 
mky,  we  must  conclude  that  it  will  turn  to  his  ad- 
vantage, either  in  life  or  death." 

Observe,  reader:  these  things  we,  true  believers 
in  Christ  and  his  gospel,  know^ — ^but  on  what  ground  ? 
1st,  On  the  ground  of  the  ^i^ine  perfections,  partieo- 
lariy  God's  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  love,  which 
are  all  engaged  for  the  good  of  his  people.  For  as 
these  dispcnsatibns  do  not  happen  to  us  by  chance, 
but  by  the  permission  or  appointment  of  Him  who 
nuihbere  the  hairs  of  our  head,  and.without  whom 
a  sparrow  faUeth  not  to  the  ground,  his  wisdom 
cannot  but  know  what  is  best  for  us,  his  love  must 
have  our  good  in  view;  and  what  liis  wis^m  sees 
will  be  /br  our  good,  and  his  love  designs,  his  power 
permits  or  appoints  to  happen  to  us.  2d,  On  the 
ground  of  the  relations  in  which  he  stands  to  us; 
not  only  as  our  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Redeemer, 
but  as  our  Friend,  Father,  and  Busband,  ia  Christ 
Jesus ;  all  which  relations  lay  a  solid  foundation  for 
our  expecting  good,  and  only  good  at  his  hand, 
though  sometimes  afflictive  good.  3d,  On  the  ground 
of  his  faithful  declarations  and  promises,  particularly 
this  by  his  inspired  apostle.  4th,  On  that  of  the 
nature  of  things;  the  providential  dispensations 
which  are  painful  and  distressing  to  us,  being  evi- 
dently calculated  to  mortify  our  inordinate  attach- 
ment to  things  visible  and  temporal,  to  crucify  our 
corrupt  inclinations,  and  raise  our  thoughts  and  af- 
fectionj*  to  another  and  a  better  state  of  existence. 
6lh,  On  the  gronnd  of  observation  and  experience: 
we  have  seen  trials,  troubles,  and  afflictions  of  vari- 
b 


(N^estinate  ^(^  be  ocmfenued  to  the  a.  m.  4064. 

image, of  bis  Son,  'that  he  nught  be  '- — ^ 

the  &stb(ffn  amcMig  many  brethren. 


i.  2. «  Eph.  i.  5,  11. J  1  John  xvii.  82 :    2  Cor.  iii.  18 ; 

PhiLiii.21 ;  1  John  iii 2. 'Col.  i.  19;  IS;  Heb.  1 6;  ReT.i.6. 


0U8  kinds,  to  have  a  good  efieet  upon  others,  and  if 
we  be  the  true  diseii^es  of  Jesns,  we  have  proved 
their  salutary  influence  upon  our  own  souls» 

7b  them  who  are,  oi  kX^toi,  the  called  according 
to  hi^  purpose — Or  d^teraun^tion,  of  bestowing  the 
title  and  pt ivilegea  of  sons  on  lUl,  whether  Jews  or 
Gentiles,  who  turn  rto  him  in  true  repentance  and 
faith,  and  obey  him  sincerely ;  or,  as  it  is  expressed 
verse  29^  are  really  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son;  who  indeed  imitiite  the  faith  end  obedience 
which  the  Sonof  God  showed  while  he  lived  on  the 
earth,  as  a  man.  This  purpose,  or  determination, 
God  made  known  to  man  in  his  covenant  with 
Abraham.  8ee  on  verse  90.  The  words  called  and 
elect,  or  Reeled,  freqnentfy  occur  in  tjbe  New  Testa* 
ment,  and  in  some  places  one  of  them,  as  here  and 
1  Pet  i.  2,  is  put  for  them  both.  But  in  some  pas- 
sages they  are  distinguished  the  one  from  the  other, 
as  heving  different  meanings;  as  where  our  Lord 
say%  Manif  are  called,  but  few  chosen,  or  elected;. 
and  2  Pet  L  10,  wher^  that  apostle  exhorts  us  to 
nuike  our  calling  and  election  sure.  The  meaning 
of  both  expressions  is  explained  2  The^  iL  13, 14, 
where  the  Apostle  Paul  tells  the  believers  at  Thes- 
salonica,  4hat  God,  from  the  beginning,  namely,  of 
his  preaching  the  gospel  to  them,  had  chosen  them 
to  salvation  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and 
belief  of  the  truth^  whereunlo,  adds  he,  he  called 
you  by  our  gospel  By  which  words  we  team,  1st, 
That  they  had  been  caUed  by  the  gospel,  namely, 
accompanied  by  divine  grace,  to  believe  the  truth, 
and  receive  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit.  2d, 
That  in  consequence  of  their  obeying  this  call,  and 
thereby  making  their  calling  sure,  6e6aia»^  f'^'^j  a 
glorious  and  Messed  reality^  they  were  chosen,  or 
elected,  namely,  to  be  God's  people,  or  children ;  a 
chosen  generation,  and  a  peculiar  people,  I  Pet  iu  9 : 
and  now  they  had  only  to  make  their  election  sure, 
by  being  faithful  unto  death,  in  order  to  their  ob- 
taining the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  These, 
and  only  these,  are  the  persons  who  truly  love  Ood, 
and  therefore  to  whom  all  things  work  together  for 
good.    This  is  the  sixth  motive  to  holiness. 

Verse  20.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow— Aa  truly 
repenting,  believing,  and  obeying  the  gospel ;  he  also 
did  predestinate^  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  jSScm— That  is,  it  was  his  foreappointment,  or 
predetermination,  will,  and  pleasure,  that  as  Christ 
was,  they  should  be  in  this  world,  I  John  iv.  17, 
namely,  holy,  harmtess,  undefiled,  and  separate  from 
sinners^  Heb.  vii  26 ;  that  they  should  have  In  them 
the  mind  that  was  in  him,  and  should  walk  as  he 
walked.  But  the  word  wpoopiCu,  is  literally,  prius 
definia,  to  define,  or  deecribe  b^or^and;  and  may 
be  understood  of  God's  foretelling,  by  the  Old  Te». 
tament  prophets,  that  the  disciples  of  the  Messi«^ 


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fredy  gite  tu  aU  ikinga. 


A.  M.  4064.    30  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predesti- 

— — i nate,  them  he  also  'called :  and  whom 

he  called,  them  he  also  ^justified:  and  whom 
he  justified,  them  he  also  ®  glorified. 
31  What  shall  we  th^n  say  to  these  things? 
^If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us? 


*C9kap.  i  0:  ix.  84;  Eph.  ir.  4;   Heb.  iz.  15;  1  Pet  iL  9. 
*  1  Cor.  ri.  11.— «  John xrn.  2i;  £ph.  iL  «. 

when  he  came,  should  resemble  kim,  and  ttf  their 
describing  them  as  persons  conformed  to  him.  Thus 
interpreted,  the  meaning  of  the  verse  will  be.  Whom 
he  foreknew  he  oho  described  beforehandy  as  being 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that  he  migJU  be 
the  Jirstbom  among  many  brethren — That  is,  the 
head  and  captain  of  all  the  adopted  children  of  God,  '■ 
among  whom  he-will  for  ever  shine,  distinguished 
from  them  all  in  rays  of  peculiar  glory.  Observe, 
reader,  a  conformity  to  Christ's  image  in  spirit  and 
conduct,  is  the  mark  of  all  those  who  are  foreknown, 
and  will  be  glorified. 

Verse  30.  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate-- 
6t  describe  beforehand  by  his  holy  prophets,  as 
persons  who  should  resemble  the  Messiah ;  them,  in 
due  time,  he  also  called— By  his  word  and  Spirit; 
and  whom  he  coWcd—When  obedient  to  the  heavenly 
calling,  Acts  xxvi.  19;  he  also  jwtified— Accounted 
righteous,  pardoned,  and  accepted ;  and  wJwm  he 
justified,  provided  they  continued  in  his  goodnesSy 
chap.  xi.  ^',  he,  in  the  end,  glorified — The  apostle 
does  not  affirm,  either  here  or  in  any  other  part  of 
his  writings,  that  precisely  the  same  number  of 
persons  are  called,  justified,  and  glorified.  He  does 
not  deny  that  a  believer  may  fall  away  and  be  cut 
of!^  between  his  special  calling  and  his  glorification, 
chap.  xi.  22.  Neither  does  he  deny  that  many  are 
called  who  are  never  justified.  He  only  affirms  that 
this  is  the  method  whereby  God  leads  us,  step  by 
step,  toward  heaven.  He  glorifies  none  whom 
he  does  not  first  justify,  and  indeed  also  sanctify :  and 
he  justifies  none  who  are  not  first  called,  and  obedient 
to  the  call.  He  glorified— The'  apostle  speaks  as  one 
looking  back  from  the  goal,  upon  the  race  of  faith, 
love,  and  obedience.  Indeed  grace,  as  it  is  glory  be- 
gun, b  both  an  earnest  and  a  foretaste  of  eternalglory. 

Verses  31,  32.  WhcU  shall  we  then  say  to  these 
things — Related  in  the  third,  fifth,  and  eighth  chap- 
ters, or  conclude  upon  this  review  ?  Surely  we  may 
courageously  defy  all  our  enemies,  and  say.  If  God 
— Who  hath  all  power  in  himself,  and  a}l  the  events 
of  time  and  eternity  under  his  direction ;  be  finr  us 
— Our  sure,  never-failing,  everlasting  fnend,  engaged 
for  our  salvation  and  happiness  in  time  and  in  eter- 
nity :  or  rather,  since  Qod  is  for  us;  for  "  «  here,  is 
not  a  conditional  particle;  for  that  would  unply 
doubting.  But  it  stands  for  eiret,  since,  and  is  an  af- 
firmation." As  if  he  had  said.  Since  God  has  mani- 
fested so  much  love  to  us  as  to  call  us  by  the  gospel 
to  repentance,  faith  in  his  Son,  and  new  obedience ; 
to  incline  and  enable  us  to  obey  the  call,  and  to  jus- 
tify, adopt,  regenerate,  and  constitute  us  his  children ; 
76 


32  *  He  that  spared  not  his  own  a.  it  40m» 
Son,  but  'delivered  him  up  for  us  all,    ^  ^'^* 
how  shall  lie  not  ^ith  him  also  fireely  give 
us  all  thmgis? 

33  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect?  «£  is  God  that  justifieth : 


'Nuai.  idw.  0;  Phu  cxviiL  &— AChap.  t.  6,  1&- 
iT.25.- fflM.  1 8,  9;  R«T/xn.  10, 11. 


'Cb^. 


who  can  be  against  tit— What  real  hurt  can  the 
world,  the  devil,  or  all  his  instruments,  do  us  by  all 
our  sufferings  from  them  ?  We  who  were  called 
when  we  were  averse;  justified  when  we  were 
guilty;  sanctified  when  unholy;  riiall,  we  have 
reason  to  hope,  be  in  due  time  glorified,  though  now 
despised,'  oppressed,  and  persecuted.  Can  any  or 
all  our  enemies,  whether  visiUe  or  invisible,  with 
any  success,  oppose  our  enjoying  the  inheritance  of 
the  children  of  God,  with  the  other  blessings  pro- 
mised to  the  seed  of  Abraham?  He  that  spared 
not  Ihis  own  Son — Greek,  t^m  vm,  his  proper  Son;  so 
the  expression  property  signifies,  being  much  more 
emphatical  than  auTHy  his,  or  his  own:  as  it  is  like- 
wise John  V.  18,  he  said  also  that  Qod  was,  narepa 
iSi&v,  his  proper  Father.  Christ  is  called  God's 
proper  Son,  to  distinguish  him  from  others  who  are 
sons  of  God  by  creation,  or  by  adoption,  or  by  office, 
(in  which  sense  magistrates  are  termed  God's  sons,) 
that  is,  by  some  temporal  dignity:  BtU  delivered 
him  up— To  ignominy,  torture,  and  death  ',for  us  aU 
—For  every  human  creature,  ^  Cor.  v.  14;  1 11m. 
ii.  6;  Heb.  ii.  9.  H&w  shall  he  not  with  him  also 
freely  give  •  us  all  things — Which  he  sees  would 
promote  our  salvation,  or  be  subservient  to  our  true 
happiness,  in  time  or  in  eternity?  Alter  having 
given'us  a  gift  of  infinite  value,  because  it  was  ne- 
cessary for  us,  and  we  could  not  otherwise  be  re- 
deemed and  saved,  will  he  deny  us  smaller  blessings, 
which,  though  inferior,  are  nevertheless  closely 
connected  with  our  redemption  and  salvation  ?  Af- 
ter having  delivered  up  to  extreme  sufferings  one 
infinitely  near  and  dear  to  him,  to  preserve  us  from 
everlasting  and  unspeakable  torment,  shall  he,  is  it 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  will,  withhold  from  us 
any  thing  needful  for  life  or  godliness ;  especially 
any  thing,  the  withholding  of  which  would  obstruct 
the  attainment  of  the  end  for  which  God's  Son  was 
so  delivered  up  ? 

"To  man  the  bleeding  cross  has  promised  all : 
The  bleeding  cross  has  sworn  eternal  grace ; 
Who  gave  l:^  Son,  what  gift  shall  he  d^y  ?" 

"  No  argument  wa§  ever  addressed  to  creatures  ca- 
pable of  being  persuaded  and  obliged,  equal  to  this. 
For  while  it  convinces  the  understanding,  it  raises 
every  tender  and  devout  feeling  in  ^e  heart,  and  is 
a  oontbiual  source  both  of  hope  and  gratitude." 

Verses  38,  84.  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the 
charge-^Any  matter  of  guilt,  which  should  bring 
them  into  condemnation,  or  shall  bring  an  accusa- 
tion against  Ood^s  elect— Thai  is,  against  true  be-^. 

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CHAPTER  Vm. 


atikerightKando/CML 


A.M.  4064. 
A.D.OO. 


34^Who  is  hB  that  condemneth ? 
S  i«  Cbrist  that  died,  yea  rather,  that 
ia  risen  again,  *  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand 


*  Job  xtxir.  29.—^  Maik  zri  19;  CoL  iii.  1 ;  Heb.  L  3 ;  viii.  1 ; 


lievers,  who  have  so  received  Christ  (John  L  12)  as 
to  have  obtained  the  privilege  of  becoming  God's 
children,  and  who  only  have  the  title  of  God's  elect 
in  the  New  Testament,  God  having  chosen  sudi,  and 
only  BQCh,  for  his  people,  instead  of  the  disobedient 
Jews,  whom  he  rejected  for  their  unbelief.  See  jaote 
on  verses  ^28-30.  To  explain  this  a  little  further,  in 
the  words  of  a  writer,  quoted  here  by  Mr,  Wesley : 
— ^  Long  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  the  heathen 
world  revolted  /rom  the  true  God,  and  were  there- 
fore  reprobated,  or  rejected.  But  the  nation  of  the 
Jews  were  chosen  to  be  the  people  of  God,  and 
were  therefore  styled,  the  children^  or  «<ww,  of  God, 
a  holy  people^  a  chosen  seed,  the  elect,  the  caUed  of 
Ood.  And  these  titles  were  given  to  all  the  nation 
of  Israel,  including  both  good  and  bad.  Now  the 
gospel,  having  the  most  strict  connection  with  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  where  these  phrases  fre- 
^  quently  occur ;  and  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  heing 
native  Jews,  and  beginning  to  preach  lit  the  land  of 
Israel,  the  language  in  which  they  preached  would, 
of  course,  abound  with  the  phrases  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  And  hence  it  is  easy  to  see,  why  suchof 
them  as  would  not  receive  him  were  styled  repro- 
bated.  For  tiiey  no  longer  continued  to  be  the 
people  cf  Ood:  whereas  this,  and  those  other 
honourable  titles,  were  continued  to  all  such  Jews 
as  embraced  Christianity.  And  the  same  appella- 
tions which  once  belonged  to  the  Jewish  nation, 
were  now  given  to  the  Gentile  Christiana  also,  toge- 
ther with  which  they  wereinvested  with  all  the  pri- 
vileges of  the  chosen  people  of  God;  and  nothing 
could  cut  them  ofif  from  these,  but  their  own  wilful 
apostaoy.  It  does  not  appear  that  even  good  men 
were  ever  termed  CU>d's  elect,  till  above  two  thou- 
sand years  from  the  creation.  God's  electing,  or 
choosing,  the  nation  of  Israel,  and  separating  them 
from  the  other  nations,  who  were  sunk  in  idolatry 
and  all  wickedness,  gave  the  first  occasion  to  this 
sort  of  janguage.  An4  as  the  separating  the  Chrts^ 
tians  from  the  Jews  was  a  like  event,  no  wonder  it 
was  expressed  in  like  words  and  phrases :  only  with 
this  difference,  the  term  elect  was  of  old  applied  to 
all  the  members  of  the  visible  church,  whereas,  in 
the  New  Testament,  it  is  applied  only  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  invisible^^  to  truly  spiritual  Christians, 
possessed  of  the  faith  workmg  by  love.  It  is  God 
that  ^<t/ief^— Acquits  them  from  condemnation, 
and  accounts  them  righteous;  and  his  power  and 
authority  are  supreme  over  all  creatures :  he  can  and 
will  answer  all  objections  against  them,^  and  pro- 
nouRce  them  absolved  now,  and  at  the  day  of  fined 
judgment  To/i«/t^,  here,  being  opposed  to  laying 
a  charge,  or  briilging  an  accusation,  against  God's 
people,  must  be  understood  in  the  forensic  sense ; 
for  a  judicial  acquittal  from  that  of  which  the  justi- 
fied persons  were  accused,  and  from  all  the  conse- 
quences which  would  have  followed  if  they  had  not 
b 


of  God,  ^  who  also  malulh  .mterces-  a.  m.40S4. 
sion  for  us.  


35  Who  shaH  separate  us  fiom  the  love  <^ 


xii.  1 ;   1  Peter  iii.  22. ^  Heb;  rii.  25 ;  ix.  24 ;  1  John  ii.  1. 


been  acquitted.  Who  is-  hfi  that  condemneih?^^ 
What  is  hb  authority  or  power ;  he  can  but  be  a  crea- 
ture; and  surely  no  creature,  man  or  angel,  can 
frustrate  the  Creator's  sentence.  On  what  ground 
can  any  oae  accuse  or  condemn  them  ?  Is  it  on  that 
of  their  past  guilt,  or  Uieir  present  remaining  depra- 
vity 1  It  is  Christ  tfiat  dt>J— Namely,  to  expiate 
the  former,  and  to  procure  for  them  grace  to  mor- 
tify and  destroy  the  latter.  Yea  rather^  that  ia 
risen  again — For  their  justification,  now  and  at  the 
day  of  judgment ;  'who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of 
G^orf— Exalted  to  the  highest. degree  of  honour  and 
power,  even  to  the  government  of  the  universe ;  and 
that  for  this  very  end,  to  protect  them  against  their 
enemies,  deliver  them  from  the  guilt  and  power  of 
their  sins,  and  confer  upon  them  his  regeneratipg, 
sanctifying  Spirit.  The  apostle  seems  here  to  al- 
lude to  Psa.  ex.  1,  where  the  empire  of  the  Messiah, 
after  his  resurrection,  is  foretold.  Christ,  who  died 
to  save  God's  people,  and  who,  since  bis  resurrec- 
tion, governs  the  world  for  their  benefit,  will  neither 
condemn,  them  himself^  when  he  sitteth  in  judg- 
ment upon  thpm,  nor  suffer  any  other  to  condemi 
them.  Who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us — By 
presenting  to  his  Father  his  obedience  and  suf&rings, 
whereby,  as  our  surety,  he  hath  made  satisfaction 
for  our  sins,,  and vby  manifesting  his  desire  and  will, 
in  his  prayers  offered  for  us,  &at  we  should  be  made 
partakers  of  idl  the  blessings  procured  by  his  sacri- 
fice, and  by  presenting  our  prayers  sanctified,  and 
rendered  acceptable  through  him.  Dr.  Doddridge, 
following  Augustine,  reads  and  interprets  these 
clau^s  interrogatively,  thus:  Who  shall  lodge  any 
accusation,  &c.  Is  it  God?  What!  he  who  himself 
justijieth?  Whoishethatcondemneth?  IbH  Christ, 
wliom  we  know  to  be  appointed  as  the  final  Judge  ? 
What!  doth  he  condemn,  who  died  tp  expiate  our 
guilt,  and  rescue  us  from  condemnation?  Yea  ra- 
ther, who  is  risen  again?.  Shall  he  undo  the  pur- 
poses of  his  death  and  resurrection  7  He  who  is  now 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  he  appears  midcr  a 
quite  contrary  .character,  and  is  also  making  inter- 
cession for  us;  and  therefore,  far  from  accusmg  us, 
appears  ready  to  answer  all  accusations  brought 
against  us,  and  to  frustrate  all  the  designs  of  our 
enemies?  But,  as  Macknight  observes,  the  com- 
mon translation,  at  least  of  the  first  clause,  is  better, 
a^  it  avoids  .the  impropriety  of  representing  God  as 
an  accuser  at  the  tribunal  of  his  Son.  Besides,  it  is 
fully  as  emphatical  as  the  other.  God  having  de- 
clared his  purpose  of  justifying  his  believing  and 
obedient  .people  through  faith,  will  any  one,  after 
that,  presume  to  bring  any  accusation  against  them? 
Verses  35-37.  Who  shall  separate  ««— By  say- 
ing TIC,  who,  the  apostle  personifies  the  things  he  is 
going  to  mention,  namely,  affliction,  &c. ;  from  the 
love  of  Christ— Toward  us?  By  this,  some  under- 
stand the  love  which  we  bear  to  Christ  But  to 
77 


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RQHAMI. 


$epamu  m  fnm  the  hve  of  God, 


A.M. 4064.  Christ?  shM  tribuIatioQ,  or  distress, 
— 1-^ — 1  or  persecution,  or  femine,  or  naked- 
ness, or  peril,  or  sword? 

36  As  it  is  written,  ^For  thy  sake  we  are 
killed  all  the  day  long ;  we  are  accounted  as 
sheep  for  the  slaughter. 

37  "'Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors,  through  him  that  loved  us. 


1  Psalm  xlir.  82 ;    1  Oorinthiant  xr.  30,  31 ;   2  Coriothiaxit 
iv.  U. 1  Corinthianfl  xv.  57 ;  2  Corintfaians  u.  14 ;  1  John 


separate  us  from  our  own  love,  seems  an  unusual 
expression.  Even  this,  however,  may  be  included 
thus  ;~What  creature  or  Occasion  shall  cause  us  to 
withdraw  our  love  from  him,  and  consequently  cause 
him,  in  any  degree,  to  withdraw  his  love  from  us? 
Shall  tribulation  7  or  affliction^  as  ^?-qK  is  generally 
rendered ;  or  di8tre88?-^^teut)x<^ia^perplea:^ity,  when 
we  know  net  which  way  to  turn  ourselves.  The  for- 
mer word,  according  to  Esthius,  signifies  sickness  and 
other  bodily  ^vils ;  whereas  the  latter  rather  means 
trouble  of  mind,  arising  from  doubtful  and  perplexing 
straits  and  difficulties.  He  proceeds  in  order  from 
less  troubles  to  greater.  Can  any  of  these  separate 
us  from  his  protection  in  the  trial,  and  (if  he  sees 
good)  deliverance  from  it  ?  The  ^i^rd  is  here  put 
for  a  viblent  death.  As  none  can  imagine  that  Christ 
would  love  his  faithful  servants  less  for  enduring 
such  extremities  fbr  his  sake^  the  text  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  intended  to  express  the  apostle's  confi- 
dence, that  his  love  to  his  people,  illustrated  already 
in  so  glorious  a  manneiy  would  engage  him  to  support 
them  under  all  their  trials,  by  vital  communicatipus 
of  divine  strength.  As  it  is  written^  For  thy  sake 
we  are  kiUhd  all  the  dlay— That  is,  every  day,  con- 
tinually: we  are  accountedSy  our  enemies,  by 
ourselves ;  as  sheep  for  the  slaugJUer— The  Psalm 
from  whidi  this  quotation  is  taken,  is  thought  by 
some  to  have  been  written  during  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  when  the  Jews  suffered  great  persecution 
for  their  religion :  but  at  other  times  also  the  Jews 
were  exposed  to  a  vmety  of  evils  from  their  con- 
querors, on  account  of  their  adherence  to  the  wor- 
ship and  ^rviceof  the  true  Crod.  See  note  on  Psalm 
xliv.  22.  Ndy^  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors — We  are  not  only  no  losers,  but  abun- 
dant gainers  by  all  these  trials.  The  original 
expreiMion,  virepvixufuv^  signifies  to  obtain  a  great 
victory.  "  The  victory  which  the  people  of  God 
obtain  over  their  persecutors  is  of  a  very  singular 
nature.  It  consists  in  their  patient  bearing  of  all 
the  evils  which  their  persecutors  inflict  upon  them, 
and  that  through  the  assistance  of  Christ,  and  in  im- 
itation of  his  example.  For  by  suffering  in  this 
manner,  they  maintain  his  cause^in  spite  of  dll  op- 
position, and  confound  their  persecutors." 

Verses  88, 39.  For  J  am  persuaded,  &c.— This 
period  describes  the  full  assurance  of  hope,  and  the 
inference  is  made  in  admirable  order ;  neither  death 
— Terrible  as  it  b  to  natural  men,  a  violent  death  in 
particular;  nor  the  fear  of  it,  verse  86;  nor  life^ 
With  all  the  al|liction  and  distress  it  can  bring,  verse 
78 


38  For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  a.  m.  4004. 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angds,  nor  "^prin-     '   '"^' 
cipalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
thhigsto  ccxne^ 

39  Nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord. 


iv.  4 ;  ▼.  4, 5 ;  Revelation  zii.  11. ■  Ephesians  L  21 ;   vi  18 ; 

Colossiana  i.  16 ;  ii.  15 ;   1  Peter  iii.  28. 


85 ;  or  a  long,  easy  life,  and  the  love  of  it;  or  all 
living  men;  nor  angels — Whether  good  (if  it  were 
possible  they  should  attempt  it)  or  bad,  with  all  their 
subtlety  and  strength :  nor  principcUUies,  nor  pow- 
ers^Voi  even  those  of  the  highest  rank,  or  of  the 
most  eminent  power.  *'  Because  angels  are  distin- 
guished from  principalities  €md  powers,  Beza  and 
some  others  are  of  opinion  that  powers  in  this  pas- 
sage, as  Luke  xii.  11,  signify  the  persecuting  rulers 
and  potentates  of  the  earth,  who  aideavoured  to 
make  the  first  Christians  renounce^their  faith.  But 
as  evil  angels,  in  other  passages  of  Scripture,  are 
called  principalities  and  powers^  and  as  the  jostle 
rises  in  his  description,  it  is  probable  that  he  speaks 
of  these  malicious  spirits,  the  inveterate  enemies  of 
mankind ;  and  that  he  calls  them  principalities  and 
powers,  by  a  meton3rniy  of  the  ofllee,  or  power  pos- 
sessed, for  the  persons  possessing  it"— Mackni^t 
Nor  things  p'e^cn/— Difficult  as  they  are,  or  such 
as  may  befall  us  during  our  pilgrimage,  or  till  the 
world  passeth  away ;  nor  things  to  come — Extreme 
as  they  vahj  prove;  that  is,  future  suferlngs,  or 
things  which  may  occur,  either  when  our  time  on 
earth  is  past,  or  when  time  itself  is  at  an  end,  as  the 
final  judgment,  the  general  conflagration,  the  ever- 
lasting fire.  The  apostle  does  not  mention  things 
past,  because  they  have^o  influence  on  the  mind, 
unless  so  far  as  the  like  things  are  either  hoped  or 
feared.  Nor  height^  nor  depth—The  former  sen- 
tence respected  the  differences  of  times;  this  re- 
spects the  differences  of  pkces.  How  many,  great, 
and  various  things  are  contained  in  these  wdrds,  we 
do  not,  need  not,  cannot  know  yet  The  height,  in 
St.  Paul's  sublime  style,  is  put  for  heaven ;  the  depth 
for  the  great  abyss :  that  is,  neither  the  heights,  I 
will  not  say  of  walls,  mountains,  waves  of  the  sea, 
but  of  heaven  itself;  can  move  us;  nor  the  ab3r8s 
itself,  the  very  thought  of  which  might  astonish  the 
boldest  creature.  Or  his  meaning  may  be,  Neither 
the  height  of  prosperity,  nor  the  depth  of  adversity 
can  move  us.  Nor  a/ny  other  creature — Above  or 
beneath,  in  heaven,  earth,  or  hell :  nothing  beneath 
the  Almighty.  In  this  general  clause  the  iqsostle 
includes  whatever  else  could  be  named,  as  having 
any  influence  to  separate  believers  from  the  lo\'c  of 
€tod,  exercised-toward  them  through  Christ :  shall  be 
aW«— Either  by  force,  verse  35,  or  by  any  legalclaim, 
verse  38,  &c.,  to  separate  us  from  the  hve  of  Oodin 
0^m<— Which  will  surely  save,  protect,  aod  deliver 
us,  who  believe,  and  persevere  so  to  do,  in  and 
through,  and  from  them  aH. 

b 


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CHAPTER  IX. 


to  his  hr^kren,  Ike  Jews* 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  QfOttUj  fading  it  neceatary  to  speak  more  expresMly  qf  the  rejection  of  ike  JexoM,  and  the  calling  of  the  Gcnlilcs,  here 
introdMiCes  the  stAject ;  and^  (1,)  In  very  tender  expressions  avows  his  regard  to  his  Jewish  brethren,  several  of  whose 
great  privileges  and  peeuUar  odMntagei  he  here  cnwmeratesy  1-5.  And  then,  (3,)  Shows  that  tlie  rejection  of  a  consider- 
abU  part  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  even  of  the  posterity  of  Isaac,  from  the  peculiar  privileges  of  Go^s  chosen  people, 
was  an  incontestalde  fact,  which  the  Jews  could  not  but  grant  to  have  happened ;  that  is,  with  regard  tq  the  descenianls  of 
Ishmad  and  Esau,  6-13.  (3,)  That  the  sovereign  choice  of  some  individuals  to  peculiar  privileges,  to  which  none  had  any 
tlaim,  and  the  s&vereigrt  oppointmeHt,  from  among  maaey  crimsmeds,  of  seme  to  peeuHar  and  exesspUtry  pintishinent,  was 
perfectly  consistent  both  with  reason  and  Seriptnre,  14-S4.  (4,)  That  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  privikges  of 
Ood^s  peenUar  people,  v>hen  Israel  shmdd  he  rejected,  was^  so  far  from  being  inconsistent  mlh  Scripturci  thai  it  had  been 
aetuaUy  foretold,  both  hyffosea  and  Isaiah,  9^-9^, 


A.M.4064.  T  »SAY  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  he 
not,  my  conscience  also  bearing 
me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 


» Chap.  L  9 ;  2  Cor.  i  23 ;  OaLi.  20;  Phil.iS;  1X101.11.7, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IX. 
Verses  1, 2.  The  apostle  having  insiiraated,  chap. 
Ui.  S,  that  God  would  cast  off  the  Jews  for  their  un- 
belief, a  Jew  is  there  supposed  to  object,  thift  their 
r^ection  would  destroy  the  faithfulness  of  God. 
To  this  the  apostle  answered*  that  the  faithftdness 
of  God  would  be  establi^ed  rather  than  destroyed, 
by  the  rejection  of  the  Je#s  for  their  unbelief;  be- 
cause God  had  expressly  declared,  Gen.  xviii.  19, 
that  Abraham's  children  were^^  keep  the  way  of 
Ike  Lord,  in  oider  to  their  Obtaining  the  promised 
blessings ;  and  had  thereby  insinuated,  that  if  they 
did  not  l(eep  that  way  they  would  lose  blessings,  of 
which  tiietr  being  made  the  visible  Church  of  God 
v^as  one.  This  was  all  the  answer  the  apostle 
thought  proper  to  make  in  that  part  of  his  epistle. 
But  the  objection  being  specious,  and,  it  seems, 
much  insisted  on  by  the  m^heviUg  Jews,  he  intro- 
duces it  a  second  time  in  this  phtce,  that  he  might 
reply  to  it  more  fully :  this  Chen  is  the  subject  of 
this  chapter.  The  apostle  shows  therehi,  in  answer 
to  the  objection  of  his  oountrjrmen,  that  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  unbdieving  Jews  from  being  the  Church 
of  God,  and  the  reception  of  the  believi|ig  CrentUes 
to  be  his  people  in  their  stead,  was  not  contrary  to 
the  word  of  God.  lliat  the  apostle  had  not  here 
the  least  thought  of  personal  election  or  reproba- 
tion, is  manifest,  1st,  Because  it  lay  quite  wide  of 
his  design,  which,  as  has  been  just  d)served,  was 
merely  to  show  that  God's  rejecting  the  Jews,  and 
receiving  the  Gentiles,  was  consistent  with  his 
word :  2d,  Because  such  a  doctrine  would  not  only 
have  had  no  tendency  to  convince,  but  would  have 
evidently  tended  to  harden  the  Jews:  3d,  Because 
when  he  sums  up  his  argument,  in  the  close  of  the 
chapter,  he  says  not  one  word,  nor  gives  the  least 
intitnation  about  it 

/  Boy  the  truth  in  CS^mt— This  being  a  solemn 
appeal  to  Ohnst  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  knowing 
the  apostle's  heart,  for  the  truth  of  what  he  affirm- 
ed, it  is  of  the  nature  of  an  oath.  <  /  h'e  no^— That 
which  he  had  in  the  former  ciause  expressed  in  the 
affirmative,  he  in  ^lis  emphatic^y  confirms  m  the 
negative,  according  to  the^  maimer  of  the  Hebrews, 
b 


2  ^That  I  have 


lieaviness  a.  M.40M. 
A.  D.ea 


great 
and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart. 
3  For  **  I  could  wish  that  myself  were  ^  ac- 


^  Chjip.  X.  1. *  Ex.  xxxik  32. »  Or,  tupsroted. 


who  were  wont  to  deliver,  as  well  negatively  as  af- 
firmatively, what  they  judged  to  be  worthy  of  spe- 
cial observation.  My  conscience  also  bearing  ine 
witness— A»  to  the  truth  of  what  I  say ;  in  the 
Holy  Ghost— VRio  searches  all  hearts,  and  perfectly 
knows  whether  the  soul  on  which  he  operates  be 
sincere.  That  Ihavogreat  heaviness,  &c. — Greek, 
on  Xonjj  fjtoi  s^i  fityaXif^  xai  aSiaXsiirro^  odwri  n^  KOft^ 
6ia  fui,  that  I  hdve  great  grief,  and  unceasing  an- 
guish in  my  ?ieart^Th]8  is  the  fact,  the  belief  of 
which  the  apostle  desired  to  procure  by  that  solem- 
nity of  attestation  expressed  in  the  preceding  verse : 
he  does  not  here  mention  the  cause  of  his  grief  and 
angubh,  but  it  is  evident  from  the  first  verse  that 
the  cause  was  their  obduracy,  uid  rejection  as  a  na- 
tion, and  the  many  Qiiseries  which  he  foresaw  to  be 
coming  upon  them.  By  thus  declarmg  his  sorrow 
for  the  unbelieving  Jews,  who  excluded  themselves 
from  an  the  blessings  he  had  enumerated  in  the  for- 
mer part  of  his  epistle,  he  shows  that  what  he  was 
now  about  to  say,  he  did  not  speak  from  any  preju- 
dice to  them. 

Verse  8.  For  I  could  wish  that  myself  were  ac- 
cursed from  Christ — The  word  ava&efia,  here  ren- 
dered accursed,  answers  to  the  Hebrew  word  C3X!, 
cher^m,  which  signifies  what  is  devoted  to  destruc- 
tion. And,  as  the  Jewish  nation  was  now  an  anathe- 
ma, destined  to  destruction,  Mr.  Locke  supposes 
that  Paul,  to  express  his  affection  for  them,  here 
says  that  he  could  wish,  provided  he  could  thereby 
save  them  from  it,  to  become  an  anathema,  or  to  be 
devoted  to  destruction  himself,  in  their  stead.  In 
other  words,  that  he  could  be  content  **  that  Christ 
should  give  him  up  to  such  calamities  as  these,  to 
which  the  Jewish  people  were  doomed  for  reject- 
ing him ',  so  that  if  they  could  all  be  centred  in  one 
person,  he  would  be  willing  they  should  unite  in 
him,  could  he  thereby  be  a  means  of  saving  his 
countrymen.  This  is  the  interpretation  of  Dr.  Sa- 
muel Clarke,  (see  his  Seventeen  Sermons,  p.  840.) 
To  the  same  purpose  nearly  is  Goodwin'sexposi- 
tion  of  the  passage :  "  It  seems,"  says  he,  ^  to  mean, 
that  he  was  willing  to  be  looked  upon,  and  in  every 
respect  dealt  with  in  the  world,  as  if  he  were  ac- 
TO 


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o/ihepriviieges  of  (he  Jew9. 


A.  m!  4061.  cursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren, 

'. — 1  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh : 

4  *  Who  are  Israelites ;  •  to  whom  per^aineth 


*  Deut  rii  «. •  Ex.  ir.  72;  Dent.  xIt.  1 ;  Jer.  xxxi  0. 

fl  Sam.  iv.  21;  1  Kingt  tuL  11;   Pm.  bdii.  2;  IzxriiL  61. 


cursed,  by  Christ,  and  so  worthy  of  all  ignominy, 
punishment,  tortures,  and  death,  that  coi2d  be  In- 
flicted on  him :  such  as  were  wont  to  be  inflicted  on 
persons,  who,  for  some  hateful  crime,  were  devoted 
to  utter  destruction.  The  Greek  word  is  indiffer- 
ently  applied  either  to  persons  or  things,  and  in 
Scripture  commonly  signifies  such,  in  either  kind, 
as  were  consigned,  either  by  Ctod  himself,  or  men, 
or  both,  to  destruction,  in  the  nature  of  piacular 
sacrifices."  Such  a  sacrifice  Paul  was  willing  to 
become  for  his  brethren's  sake,  supposing  that  he 
could  thereby  ''  procure  deliverance  for  them  from 
that  most  heavy  curse  of  an  eternal  separation  from 
God,  which  he  certainly  knew  hung  over  their 
heads,  for  their  obstinate  refusal  of  the  gospel." 
According  to  these  interpretations,  ava^cfia  oko 
Xpi^tt^  must  be  rendered,  made  an  anathema  6y,  or 
from  Christ.  But  Dr.  Waterland  observing,  as 
QKo  itpoyovufv,  2  Tim.  iiL  3,  signifies,  after  the  exam- 
ple of  my  forefathers,  avo  th  Xpig-a,  in  this  passage, 
may  signify,  after  the  example  of  Christ,  This 
exposition  is  adopted  by  Pr.  Doddridge  as  the  most 
probable,  who  thi|s  paraphrases  the  verse:  ^^Icotild 
even  wish,  thai  as  Christ  subjected  himself  to  the 
curse,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  it,  so  I  myself 
likewise,  \Dere  made  an  anathema  after  his  exam- 
ple;  like  him  exposed  to  all  the  execrations  of  an 
enraged  people,  and  even  to  the  infamous  and  ac- 
cursed death  of  crucifixion  itself,  ybr  the  sake  of  my 
brethren,  &c.,  that  they  might  thereby  be  delivered 
from  the  guilt  they  have  brought  upon  their  own 
heads,  and  become  entitled  to  the  forfeited  and  re- 
jected blessings  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom."  Many 
commentators  have  shown  how  very  absurd  it 
would  be  to  suppose  the  apostle  meant,  that  he 
could  be  content  to  be  delivered  over  to  everlasting 
misery  for  the  good  of  others.  The  apostle  here 
mentions  his  near  relation  to  the  Jews,  in  order  that 
what  he  had  expressed  concerning  the  greatness  of 
his  affection  for  them,  might  be  the  more  easily  be- 
lieved by  them. 

Verse  4.  Who  are  Israelites — The  seed  of  Ja- 
cob, that  eminent  patriarch,  who,  as  a  prince,  had 
power  with  God  and  prevailed.  The  apostle,  with 
great  address,  enumerates  these  privileges  of  the 
Jews,  both  that  l^e  might  show  how  honourably  he 
thought  of  them,  and  that  he  anight  awaken  their 
solicitude,  not  to  sacrifice  that  divine  favour,  by 
which  they  had  been  so  eminently  and  so  long  dis- 
tingui^ed.  To  whom  pertaineth  the  adoptionr- 
That  is  whom  God  hath  taken  into  a  special  cove- 
nant witn  himself,  whereby  he  stands  engaged  ever 
to  act  the  part  of  a  God  and  Father  to  them,  and  to 
own  them  for  his  children.  It  b  true,  this  adoption 
of  the  Jews  was  but  a  shadow  of  the  heavenly  adop- 
tion of  believers  in  Christ;  yet  was  it,  simply  con- 


the  adoption,  and '  the  glory,  and  ^  the  A.  M.  4064. 

*  covenants,  and  ^the  giving  of  the 

law,  and  *  the  service  of  God,  and  ^  the  promises ; 


fAcU  iiL  26;    Heb.  viiL  8-10. — ^  Or,  tmlmiunU. 'Psm. 

cxlrii.  19. iHeb.ix.  1. kAcUxiii.32;  CL IiL 2;  fiph.iL  12. 


sidered,  a  prerogative  of  a  very  sacred  import.  And 
iheglery^The  visible  symbol  of  the  divine  pre- 
sence which  rested  above  the  ark,  was  called  the 
glory,  1  Sam.  iv.  21^  and  the  glcnry  of  Ike  Lord. 
Hence  the  introduction  of  the  ark  into  the  temple, 
is  called  the  entrance  of  the  King  of  glory,  Ps.  xxiv. 
7;.  and  upon  the  carrying  away  of  the  ark  by  the 
Philistines,  the  wife  of  Phineas,  now  at  the  point  of 
death,,  said.  The  glory  is  departed  from  JsraeL 
But  God  himself  was  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel, 
and  by  many  visible  testimonies  of  his  presence 
with  them,  shed  a  glory  upon  them,  and  caused 
their  brightness  to  shine  throughout  the  world.  So 
Isaiah,  7^  Lord  shall  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting 
light,  and  thy  Qod  thy  glory.  These  two  last-men- 
tioned particulars  are  relative  to  each  other:  Israel 
is  the  firstborn  son  of  God,  imd  the  God  of  glory  is 
his  God.  And  the  covenants— J}i9i  with  Abiaham, 
Gen.  XV.  8 ;  xviL  2,  7;  and  that  with  the  Jewish  na- 
tion by  the  ministry  of  Moses,  Exod.  xxiv.  7,  8; 
xxxiv.  27;  including  the  seals  of  these  covenants, 
namely,  circumcision,  the  seal  of  the  former.  Gen. 
xvil  10  J  and  the  sprinkling  of  blood  the  seal  of  the 
latter,  Exod.  xxiv,  8.  He  says  covenants^  in  the 
plural,  also,  because  God's  covenant  with  his  people 
was  often  and  variously  repeated.  And  the  giving 
of  the  law — The  glorious  proniulgation  of  the  moral 
law  by  God  himself,  by  the  mediation  of  his  angels 
upon  mount  Horeb;  not  excluding  the  more  pri- 
vate, delivery  of  the  various  judicial  and  political 
laws  apppinted  for  the  government  of  that  com- 
monwealtlu  The  covenant,  in  the  first  dispensa- 
tion of  it,  was  given  long  before  the  law.  And  the 
worship  of  Ood — The  way  of  worshipping  God  ac- 
cording to  his  will,  prescribed  in  the  ceremonial 
law  for  the  people,  till  Christ  should  come  in  the 
flesh:  and  the  promises — Of  the  Messiah,  and  of 
spiritual  and  eternal  blessings  by  him. 
V  By  enumerating  these  privileges  of  the  Jews,  the 
apostle,  as  above  observed,  not  only  meant  to  show 
them  that  he  respected  them  on  account  of  these 
advantages,  but  to  make  them  sensible  of  the  loss 
they,  were  about  to  sustain  by  God's  casting  them 
ofl".  "  They  were  to  be  excluded  from  ihe  better 
privileges  of  the  gospel  church,  of  which  their  an- 
cient  privileges  were  but  the  types.  For  their  rela- 
tion to  God  as  his  people,  signified  by  the  name  Is- 
raelites, prefigured  the  more  honourable  relation 
which  believers,  the  true  Israel,  stand  in  to  God, 
Their  adoption  as  the  sons  of  God,  and  the  privi- 
leges they  were  entitled  to  thereby,  were  types  of 
believers  being  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature 
by  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  their 
title  to  the  inheritance  of  heaven.  The  residence 
of  the  fflory,  first  in  the  tabernacle  and  then  in  the 
temple,  was  a  figure  of  the  residence  of  God,  by 

b 


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The  advaniages  of  the  Jews 


C0APTEB  IX. 


cAove  ail  ether  naticme 


▲.Bf,4064. 

A.D.ao. 


5  ^  Whose  ijure  the  fothera,  and  "■  of 
whom,  as  concerning  the  fl^h,  Christ 
^came^  '^who  is  over  all,  God  Messed  for  ever. 
Amen.  ' 


>  Deut  X.  15. •  Luke  iii.  23 :  Chap.  i.  3.- 

Jboni.  1;  AoUzz.38;  Heb.  i  S. 


■Jer.  zziu.6; 


Mb  Spirit,  in  th«  Christian  Cthnrch,  his  temple  on 
earth,  and  of  his  eternal  residence  in  that  church, 
broui^t  to  its  perfect  form  in  heaven.  The  eove^ 
nant  with  Abraham  was  the  new,  or  gospel  cove- 
nant, the  Uesslngs  of  which  were  typified  by  the 
temporal  blessings  promised  to  him  and  to  his  natn- 
ral  seed:  and  the  jxwenani  qfSinai^  whereby  the 
Israelites,  as  the  worshippers  of  the  true  God,  were 
separated  from  the  idolatrous  nations,  was  an  em- 
Uem  of  the  final  separation  of  the  righteous  from 
the  wicked  for  ever*  In  the  giving  of  the  law,  and 
the  formation  of  the  Israelites  into  a  nation,  or  com- 
munity, the  formation  of  the  city  of  the  living  God, 
and  of  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
firstborn,  was  represented.  Lastly,  ihe  heavenly 
country,  the  habitation  of  the  righteous,  was  typi- 
fied by  Canaan,  a  country  given  to  the  Israelites 
by  God's  promise."— Macknight. 

Verse  6.  Whaee,  &c. — To  the  preceding  the 
apostle  now  adds  two  mor^ prerogatives:  theirs  are 
the  father^ — They  are  the  descendants  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  ancient  patriarchs,  and  other 
holy  men,  who  were  great  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
to  whom  he  made  many  great  and  precioua  promises, 
in  which  their  children  also  and  children's  children- 
were  interested.  And  of  whom — Of  which  Israel- 
ites; as  cwiceming  ihefle8K—''TYiBX  is,  in  respect  of 
his  human  nature ;  Qwiet — The  expected  Messiah ; 
— came,  l^is  plainly  supposes  another  nature  in 
Christ,  according  to  which  he  4Bame  not  from  the 
Israelites.  And  this  can  be  none  other  but  the  di- 
vine nature ;  which,  in  the  sequel  of  the  verse,  is 
expressly  attributed  to  him.  The  apostle  reserves 
the  mention  of  Christ's  descent  from  the  Jews  for 
the  last  of  their  prerogatives,  as  being  the  greatest 
of  them  aD :  who  is  over  all,  Ood,  &c.— The  apostle 
gives  this,  so  highly  honourable  a  testimony  to  Christ, 
because  he  was  so  vilified  by  the  Jews ;  thus  making 
np  that  great  breach,  so  to  speak,  whi<di  they  had 
made  on  his  name  and  honour  by  their  unbehef,  and 
wicked  rejection  of  htm.  He  is  said  to  be  over  all, 
1st,  Because,  as  he  was  God-Man  and  Mediator,  all 
power  was  given  unto  him  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
Matt  xxviiL  18 ;  aU  fhinge  delivered  into  his  hands, 
andfmtvnder  his  feet,  John  iiL  35;  1  Cor.  xv.  27; 
the  Father  giving  him  a  name  above  every  name, 
Phil.  iL  9;  and  constituting  him  his  great  plenipo- 
tentiary,  to  transact  all  things  relating  to  the  whole 
creation,  eq>ecia]ly  angels  and  men;  to  settle  the 
affiurs  of  heaven  and  earth  for  etemi^.  And  more 
especially,  3d,  Because  as  €hd,  possessed  of  true, 
einatial  deity,  he  was  in  union  with  his  Father  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  mtpreme  aver  aU,  and  consequently 
bUseedfor  ever— Which  words  he  adds  to  diow, 
that  a  for  different  measura  from  that  which  the 

Vok  IL  (  e ) 


6  ""Not    as   though  the  word 
God 

I*  they    ore    not   all    Israel,   which    are   of 
Israel: 


of  A.BL40S4. 

hath  taken  none  effect     For   ^^'^' 


oNiiuiL  xzi|i.  19;  Chap.  iii.  3.- 
iL  SB,  29 ;  iv.  12,  IS;  Gal. yi.  la 


pJohn  TuL  39;    Cbftp 


Jews  had  hitherto  measured  out  unto  Christ,  was 
due  to  him  from  them,  as  from  all  other  men.  No 
words  can  more  clearly  express  his  divme,  supreme 
majesty,  and  his  gracious  sovereignty  over  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  apostle  closes  all  with  the 
word,  am^n— An  expression  commonly  used  for  a 
serious  confirmation  of  what  is  said  immediately 
before,  together  with  an  approbation  of  it^  sometimes 
also  importing  a  desire  for  the  performance  thereof. 
Some  would  persuade  us  that  the  true  reading  of 
this  clause  ia,iiv  o  tm  irovrwv  i^eof ,  whoee  is  the  God 
oner  all ;  because  by  this  reading,  they  say,  the  cli- 
max is  completed ;  and  the  privilege  in  which  the 
Jews  gloried  above  all  others,  (namely,  that  of  hav- 
ing the  true  God  for  their  ^od,)  is  not  omitted. 
^'  But  as  ^his  reading,"  says  Macknigh^  '^  is  found  in 
no  copy  whatever,  it  ought  not  to  be  admitted  on 
eoiyecture,"  Thus  also  Doddridge:  **  How  ingeni- 
ous soever  that  conjecture  may  be  thought,  by  which 
some  would  read  this,  whose  ie  the  God  over  aU,  to 
answer  to,  whose  are  the  fathers,  I  think  it  would  be 
extremely  dangerous  to  follow  this  reeding,  unsup- 
ported as  it  is  by  any  critical  authority  of  manu- 
scripts or  ancient  quotations.  Nor  can  I  find  any 
authority  for  rendering  ^e<K  ev^oyirroc  «f  tov^  atuva^, 
Crod  be  blessed  for  ever.  I  must,  therefore,  consider 
this  memorable  text  as  a  proof  of  Christ's  proper 
deity,  which,  I  think,  the  opposers  of  that  doctrine 
have  never  been  able,  nor.  will  ever  be  able  to  an- 
swer. Though  common  sense  must  teach,  what 
Christians  have  always  believed,  that  it  is  not  with 
respect  to  the  Father,  but  to  the  created  world  that 
this  august  title  is  given  to  him:"  that  is,  that  he  is 
said  to  be  God  over  alL 

Verses  6-8.  Not  as  ihough^The  original  expres- 
sion, 8x  oiov  6e  on,  is  ra&er  obscure ;  but  Erasmiis 
supplying,  after  the  Greek  scholiast,  the  words  ntro 
s  Xe/6»,  seems  to  have  given  the  eense  of  it  thus;  / 
do  not  say  this,  that  the  word  of  God  hath  fallen, 
namely,.to  the  ground,  without  effect  The  apostle's 
meaning  is,  that  nothing  he  had  now  said  coneemiBg 
the  rejection  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Jews,  drew 
any  such  consequence  after  it,  as  that  the  word  of 
God  (that  is,  his  promises  made  to  Abraham  and  his 
seed)  should  miscarry,  or  fall  to  the  ground;  the 
Jews  imagining  that  the  word  of  God  must  fail  if 
all  their  nation  were  not  saved.  This  sentiment  Paul 
now  refutes,  showing,  Ist,  Th9i  die  word  itself  had 
foretold  their  rejection:  and,  2d,  That  though  the 
body  of  the  nation  was  rejected,  God's  pr(9nises 
were  already  fulfilled  to  the  true  Israelitec^  snd 
hereafter  all  Israel  shotdd  be  saved:  which  is  the 
sum  of  the  ninth,  teath,  and  eleventh  chapters.  For 
—Here  he  enters  upon  the  proof  of  it ;  they  are  not 
all  Israeh-'Tme  spiritual  Israelites,  to  whom  the 
81  b 


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AU  the  §eed<>f  Abrakam  iters 


ROMANB. 


fmt  ihe  cMldren  (^promiae* 


A.  11.4064. 

i.aao. 


7  « Neither,  because  they  are  the 

seed   of    Abraham^    are    they   all 

but)  Iq  'Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be 


children 
called. 

8  That  is,  They  which  are  the  children  of 
the  flesh,  these  are  not  the  children  of  God ; 
bat  '  the  children  of  the  prcmiise  are  counted 
for  the  seed. 
'9  For  this  i^  the  .word  of  promise,  *  At  this 


tOd. ir. 28.— 'Gen.  xxi.  12;  Heb.  xL  18. •Gal.  ir.  88. 


pronuses belong;  whu^areof  Isriul'-ThefiB.tvnl 
posterity  of  Jacob,  and  Israelites  by  birth,  and  so 
visible  members  of  the  church.  The  Jews  vehe- 
mently maintained  the  contrary ;  namely,  that  all 
^  who  were  bom  Israelites,  and  they  only,  were  the 
people  of  God.  The  former  part  of  this  assertion 
is  reftited  here,  the  latter,  verse  24,  Ac.  The  sum 
is,  God  accepts  all  believers,  and  them  only ;  and 
this  is  ho  way  contrary  to  his  word.  Nay,  he  hath 
declared  in  his  word,  hoth  by  types  and  by  express 
testimonies,  that  believers  are  accepted  as  the  chil- 
drtii  9/  the  promiee,  while  unbelievers  are  rejected, 
though  they  are  children  after  thefleeh.  It  is  true 
the  great  promise,  that  Jehovah  would  be  their  God, 
was  delivered  to  all  the  posterity  of  Israel  without 
exception;  but  it  was  intended  to  be  understood  in 
a  conditional  sense,  as  what  would  not  be  folfilled  to 
them,  unless  they  imitated  the  faith  of  Abraham. 
And  in  this  sense  it  was  made  to  the  Gentiles,  and 
to  the  whole  world,  as  well  as  to  the  Jews.  Neither 
because  they  are  the  seed  of^  Abraham — ^According 
to  the  flesh ;  will  it  follow,  that  ^ley  are  all  ddldren 
of  €h)d.  This  did  not  hold  even  in  Abraham's  own 
family,  and  much  less  in  his  temote  descendants. 
Buty  God  then  said,  in  Iscboc  shall  thy  seed  be  called 
— Isaac's  posterity,  hot  Ishmael's,  shall  be  spoken  of 
as  thy  seed,  by  way  of  eminence ;  that  seed  to  which 
the  promises  are  made.  That  b,  they  'who  are  ihe 
children  of  thefiesh — The  carnal  seed  of  Abraham; 
are  not — Purely  upon  that  account ;  the  children  of 
God— In  the  true  sense ;  naniely,  spiritual  children. 
But  the  children  of  the  promite— Those  whom  God 
hath  promised  to  acknowledge  for  his  children; 
namely,  such  as  are  bom  again  by  the  supernatural 
power  of  God's  Spirit,  (as  Isaac  was  conceived  and 
bom  by  a  power  above  the  course  of  nature,)  and 
who  by  faith  lay  hold  on  the  promise  of  salvation 
made  in  Christ;  these  are  they  who  are  intended  in 
the  eovenant  with  Abraham,  the  persons  whose  €k>d 
Jehovah  promised  to  be,  and  to  whom  the  spiritual 
blessings  and  the  inheritance  belong.  In  quoting 
these  words,  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called^  and 
inferrihg  therefrom  ^at  the  children  of  the  promise 
shaH  be  counted  for  the  seed,  the  apostle  does  not 
intend  to  give  the  literal  sense  of  the  words,  but  the 
typical  only;  and  by  his  interpretation  signifies  that 
they  were  spoken  by  God  in  a  typical  and  allegori- 
cal, as  well  as  in  a  literal  sense,  and  Uiat  God  there 
dedared  his  counsel  concerning  those  persons  whom 


A.M.40S4. 

A.  O.  so. 


time  will  I  come,  and  Sarah  ^all 
haveascm. 

10  And  not  only  this;  but  when  *Rebecoa 
also  had  conceived  by  one,  even  by  our  fether 
baac, 

11  (For  the  children  being  not  yet  bom,  nei- 
ther having  done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the 
purpose  of  God  according  to  the^eetion  might 
stand,  not  of  works,  but  o(  '  him  that  calleth ;) 


» Gen.  xriii.  10,  U.— ■  Gen.  ixv.  21. «  Chap.  ir.  17 ;  viiL  J8. 


he  purposed  to  own  as  his  children,  and  make  par^ 
takers  of  the  blessings  of  dghteousness  and  salvation. 
As  if  he  had  said.  This  is  a  clear  type  of  things  to 
come ;  showing  us,  that  in'  all  succeeding  genera- 
tions, not  the  lineal  descendants  of  Abraham,  but 
they  to  whom  the  promise  is  made,  that  is,  believen^ 
are  the  true  children  of  Ood. 

Verses  ft-18.  For  this  is  the  v>ord  of  promise — 
To  show  that  Isaac  was  a  son  of  promise,  (and  so 
a  meet  t3npe  of  those  that  should  be  begotten  of  God 
by  the  promise  of  the  gospel  through  faith,)  he  cites 
the  words  of  the  promise  in  substanee,  by  whidi 
Isaac  was  begotten  and  bora.  See  Gen.  xvii.  20; 
xviii.  K);  in  which  places  two  circumstances  are 
mentioned,  the  one  of  God's  coming  to  fulfil  his 
promise,  in  causing  Sarah  to  have  a  son ;  the  other 
of  the  set  time  when  he  would  thus  come ;  wh^i 
plainly  evince  Isaac  to  have  been  a  son  of  promise, 
conceived  and  bora  by  virtue  of  that  peculiar  pro- 
mise, which  Abraham  and  San^  believed,  in  order 
to  his  conception.  At  this  time — As  if  be  had  said, 
Even  now,  though  thy  body  and  Sarah's  are  dead, 
or  at  the  time  which  I  now  appoint;  J  will  come— 
Win  manifest  my  power,  and  she  shall  coneeive,  and 
have  a  «ofi— And  he  only  shall  inherit  the  blessing, 
and  not  whosoever  is  bora  of  thee.  Observe,  reader, 
Isaac  is  not  brought  forward  m  this  chapter  as  a  type, 
or  exan^le,  of  persons  personally  elected  by  God 
from  eteraity,  but  as  a  type  of  those,  how  few  or 
how  many  soever  they  may  be,  that  shall  be  counted 
God's  children^  and  judged  meet  to  inherit  his  king- 
dom. And  not  only  this,  &c.-^And  that  God's  bless- 
ing does  not  belong  to  all  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham, appears  not  only  by  this  instance,  but  by  Aat 
of  Esau  and  Jacob,  the  latter  of  whom  wis  chosen 
to  inherit  die  blessing  of  being  the  progenitor  of  the 
Messiah,  and  other  blessings  connected  therewith, 
before  either  of  them  had  done  good  or  eml— The 
apostle  mentions  this  to  show,  that  neither  did  thdr 
ancestors  receive  their  advantages  through  any  merit 
of  their  own ;  that  ffu  purpose  of  God  according  to 
election  might  stand^Whoae  purpose  was  to  elect 
to  superior  blessings,  particularly  to  churdi  privi- 
leges ;  not  of  works— Not  for  any  preceding  merit 
in  him  he  chose ;  but  of  him  that  cMethr^i  his 
own  good  pleasure,  who  calls  to  the  enjoyment  of 
particular  privileges  whom  he  sees  good.  '^  Nothing 
can  be  more  evident,"  says  Mr.  Sellon,  ^to  any  oae 
that  considers  the  beginning  and  end  of  this  chapter, 

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CHAPTER  IX. 


dUpeiuaU^ni  to  thehuman  race. 


A.M.406i.    12  It  was  said  uato   her,  ^rn^ie 
^  ^  ^'  -  'elder  sbaU  serve  the  ^younger. 

13  As  it  is  writteii,  *  Jacob  have  I  loved,  bat 
Esau  have  I  hated. 

14  What  shall  we  say  tfaen?  *Jb  there  un- 
righteciusiiaes^ with  God  ?  ^  Qod  forbid. 

16  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  ^  I  will  have  mmr- 


f  Qaikizr,23^ ?  QifgrmUr, *  Ot,  kf9ir, ^  UaL  i.  2, 3 ; 

Deot.  xzL  15;  Piot.  xiu.  34;  Matt  z.37;  Luke  xir.ae;  John 


Hian  that  the  apostle  is  not  speaking  of  the  election 
o£  partieular  persons  to  eternal  life,  but  of  particular 
nations  to  outward  church  privileges,  which  duly 
used,  through  Christ,  should  be  the  means  of  bring- 
ing men  to  eternal  lite,  and  to  higher  degrees  of 
glory  therein  than  others  should  enjoy,  who  were 
not  favoured  with  these  privileges.  Nor  is  God,  the 
great  Governor  of  the  world,  on  this  account,  any 
more  to  be  deemed  a  respecter  of  persons,  thflui  an 
earthly  king,  who  takes  some  of  his  subjects  for 
lords  of  his  bed-chamber,  and  others  for  lower  em- 
ployments ;  since  he  will  make  thejm  all,  that  behave 
weU  in  their  st^on,  completely  happy."  ^ee  his 
Works,  voL  u,  p.  134.  //  was  said  unto  her^  The 
elder  ^uUl  serve  the  yaunger^-'Spi  in  person,  for 
Esau  never  served'  Jacob ;  but  in  his  posterity.  Ac- 
cordingly the  Bdomltes  were  often  brought  into 
subjection  by  the  Israelites.  But  though  l^u  had 
served  Jacob  personally,  and  had  been  inferior  to 
him  in  worldly  greatness,  it  would  have  bee^  no 
proof  at  all  of  Jacob's  election  to  eternal  life,  nor 
of  Esau's  reprobation:  as  little  was  the  subjection 
of  the  Edomites  to  the  Israelites,  in  David's  days,  a 
proof  of  the  election  and  reprobation  of  their  proge- 
nitors. Add  to  this,  that  the  circumstance  of  Esau's 
being  elder  than  Jacob  was  very  properly  taken 
notice  of  to  show  that  Jacob?s  election  was  contrary 
to  the  right  of  primogeniture,  because  this  circum- 
stance proved  it  to  be  from  pure  fovour :  but  if  his 
election  had  been  to  eternal  life,  the  circumstance 
of  his  age  ought  not  to  have  been  mentioned,  because 
it  had  no  relation  to  that  matter  whatever.  As  it  is 
writterk—With  which  word  in  Genesis,  spoken  so 
long  before,  that  of  Malachi  agrees;  J  have  loved 
JacfJb — With  a  peculiar  love ;  that  is,  the  Israelites, 
the  posterity  of  Jacob ;  and  I  have  comparatively 
hated  Esau — That  is,  the  Edomites,  the  posterity  of 
Bsau.  But  observe,  1st,  This  does  not  relate  to  the 
person  of  Jacob  or  Esau:  2d,  Nor  does  it  relate  to 
the  eternal  state  either  of  them  or  their  posterity. 
Hius  fax  the  apostle  has  been  proving  his  proposi- 
tion, namely,  that  the  exclusion  of  a  great  part  of  the 
seed  of  Almdiam,  yea,  and  of  Isaac,  from  the  special 
promises  of  God,  was  so  for  from  being  impossible, 
that,  according  to  the  Scriptures  themselves,  it  had 
actually  happened.  And  his  intent  herein,  as  appears 
from  verses  30^  (which  passage  is  a  key  to  the 
whole  chapter,)  is  evidently  to  shoW,  that  as  Q(A 
before  chose  Jacob,  who  represented  the  Jews,  and 
admitted  him  and  his  posterity  to  peculiar  privileges, 
above  the  Gentile^  without  any  merit  in  him  or  them 
b 


cy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  am.4064. 
I  will  have  conqpassiepi  on  whom  I    ^ 
will  have  conqpassioiu 

16  So  then,  t/  i^  not  of  him  that  wiUeth,  nor 
cX  him  that  nmneth,  bat  of  Ood  that  showeth 
m«rcy. 

17  For  «the  Scripture  saith  unto  I%aia<^ 


xii  25. •Dent  ixxtL  4:    ^QuNm.  zit.  7;    Job  YiiL  3; 

xmT.  10;  Pml  xoii.  15.^— »Ex.  yrriii.  19. «  Gml.  iiL  8»  2S. 


to  deserve  it;  so  now,  (^e  Jews  through  their  un- 
belief having  rejected  the  Messiah,  and  being  justly 
therefore  themselves  rejected  of  Grod,)  he  had  chosen 
the  Gentiles,  represented  by  Esau,  to  be  his  peculiar 
people ;  aeeording  to  the  prediction  of  Hosea,  IwUt 
call  them  my  people^  &c,  cited  verse  25,  where  see 
the  note ;  and  that  without  any  thing  on  l^eir  part  to 
deserve  this  favour.  It  was  entirely  free  with  re- 
spect both  to  them  and  Jacob,  ^rod's  mercy  and 
goodness  preventing,  not  the  endeavour  only,  but 
even  the  will  of  both.  As,  before  Jacob  either  willed 
or  strove  for  it,4he  blessing  was  deigned  of  God 
for  him;  so,  before  ever  the  Gentiles  sought  after 
God,  the  blessings  of  Christ's  kingdom  were  designed 
for  ^euL  Yet  it  does  not  follow  that  all  who  are 
called  Christians,  and  enjoy  outward  church  privi- 
leges^ Shan  be  finally  saved,  any  more  than  it  is  to  be 
concluded  that  all  the  Jews  were  saved  before  Christ 
came  in  the  flesh,  on  account  of  their  privileges. 

Verses  14-16.  What  shall  liTc  say  iheth?-— To  this. 
The  apostle  now  introduces  and  refutes  an  objection. 
/*  there  unrighteousness,  or  injustice,  with  God? — 
In  the  distribution  of  his  providential  blessings,  in 
this  or  any  other  instance  that  can  be  produced  ? 
Was  it  unjust  in  God  to  choose  Jacob  and  his  poste- 
rity to  be  the  members  of  his  visible  church  on  earth, 
and  to  inherit  the  promises  in  their  literal  meaning, 
rather  than  Esau  and  his  pos^rity  ?  Or  to  accept 
believers  who  imitate  the  faith  of  Jacob,  and  them 
only?  God  forbid — In  nowise:  this  is  well  con- 
sistent with  justice.  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  &c. — 
For  he  has  a  right  to  fix  the  terms  on  which  he  will 
show  mercy ;  according  to  his  declaration  to  Moses, 
petitioning  for  all  the  people,  after  they  had  been 
guilty  of  idolatry  in  worshipping  the  golden  caK;  / 
will  have  mercy  on  who^n  I  wUl  have  niercy^Ac^ 
cording  to  the  terms  I  myself  have  fixed;  and  J 
will  ?Mve  compassion  on  whom  I  wiU  have  compos- 
^«m— Namely,  on  those  only  who  submit  to  my 
terms ;  who  accept  of  it  in  the  way  that  I  have  ap- 
pointed. So  then— The  inference  to  be  drawn  is  j 
/<— The  blessing ;  therefore  is  not  of  him  that  wUleth^ 
nor  of  him  that  ruwneth^lX  is  not  the  effect  either 
of  the  will  or  the  works  of  roan,  but  of  the  grace 
and  power  of  God.  The  will  of  man  is  here  op- 
posed to  the  grace  of  God,  and  man's  running,  to 
the  4ivine  operation.  And  this  general  declaration 
respects  not  only  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  the  Israelites 
in  the  time  of  Moses,  but  likewise  all  the  spiritual 
children  of  Abraham,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Verses  17,  la  For— Or,  moreover,  rather,  as  it 


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ROMANS. 


consistent  wUk  reas&n  ani  ScHptuf^ 


A.  M.  4064.  <>Even  for  this  same  purpoee  have  I 
A '^•^•.  raised  thee  Up,  that  I  might  show 
my  power  in  th<ee,  and  that  my  name  might 
h^  declared  throughout  all  the  earth.' 

18  Therefore  hath  he  mercy  oil  whom  he 
will  have  mercy,  and  whom  he  will  he  hard- 
eneth. 


*  Eiodna  ix.  16.- 


•  2  Ghnmicles  XX. 6 ;  Jobix.  12;  xxHi.  13; 
D&D.  It.  35. 


seems  Ao^  ought  to  be  translated,  (the  passage  here 
quoted  being  no  proof  of  what  immediately  goes 
before,)  God  has  an  indisputable  right  to  reject  those 
who  will  not  accept  his  blessings  on  his  own  terms. 
And  this  he  exercised  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh;  to 
whom,  after  many  instances  of  stubbornness  and 
rebellion,  he  said,  as  it  is  recorded  in  Scripture ;  For 
this  very  Iking  have  I  raised  ihee  wp— That  is,  tfti- 
Icss  thou  repent,  this  will  surely  be  the  consequence 
of  my  raisihg  thee  up,  making  thee  a  great  and 
glorious  king;  that  my  potr^r  will  be  shown  upon 
thee—Jia,  indeed,  it  was,  by  the  terrible  judgments 
brought  on  Bgypt,  and  overwhelming  him  and  his 
army  ii\  the  sea ;  and  my  name  declared  through  all 
the  eartJ^^As  it  is  at  this  day.  Perhaps  this  may 
have  a  still  flirther  meaning.  It  seems  that  God  was 
resolved  to  show  his  power  over  the  rivfer,  the  in- 
sects, other  animals,  (with  the  natural  causes  of  their 
health;  diseases,  life,  and  death,)  over  nieteorS,  the 
air,  the  sun,  (all  of  which  were  worshipped  by  the 
Eg^tians,  from  whom  other  nations  learned  their 
idolatry,)  and,  at  once,  over  all  their  gods,  by  that 
terrible  stroke,  of  slaying  all  their  priests  and  their 
choicest  victims,  the  firstborn  of  man  (md  beast: 
and  all  this  with  a  design,  not  only  to  deliver  his 
people  Israel,  (for  which  a  single  act  of  omnipotence 
would  have  sufficed,)  but  to  convince  the  Bg3rptians, 
that  the  objects  of  their  worship  were  but  the  crea- 
tures of  Jehovah,  and  entirely  in  his  power;  and  to 
draw  them  and  the  neighbouring  nations  who  should 
hear  of  all  these  Wonders,  from  their  idolatry,  to 
worship  the  one  God.  For  the  execution  of  this 
dbsign,  (in  order  to  the  display  o^  the  divine  power 
over  the  various  objects  oif  their  worship,  in  a  va- 
riety of  wonderful  acts,  which  were,  at  the  same 
time,  just  punishments  for  their  cruel  oppression  of 
the  Israelites,)  God  was  pleased  to  raiee  to  the  throne 
of  an  absolute  monarchy,  a  man,  not  whom  he  had 
made  wicked  on  purposes,  but  whom  he  found  so,  the 
proudest,  the  most  daring,  and  obstinate,  of  all  the 
Egyptian  princes:  and  who,  being  incorrigible,  well 
deserved  to  be  set  up  in  that  situation,  where  the 
di  vine  Judgments  fell  the  heaviest.  Therefore — Or, 
99  ihen^  upon  the  whole,  we  may  conclude ;  he  hath 
mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy— Namely,  on 
those  that  comply  with  his  terms,  on  them  that  re- 
pent and  believe  in  Christ;  and  whom  he  will — 
Namely,  them  that  remain  in  impenitence  and  un- 
belief, and  who  reject  his  counsel  against  themselves; 
he  /bard«n<«^— Leaves  to  the  hardness  of  their  hearts. 
Verse  19.  Thm  wiU  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth 


19  Thou  wih  say  then  unto  me,  A.M.406«. 
Why  doth  he  yet  find  feult?    for  ^^'^, 
*  who  hath  remted  his  wffl? 

20  Nay  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  're- 
pliest  against  God?  ^Shall  the  thing  fermed 
say  to  him  that  formed  U^  Why  hast  thou  made 
me  thus? 


*0r, 


•gmbh  Off  ^f»uat  vrith  ChdT  Jo^xxzuLlS. 


.  zxix.  16 ;  zIt.  0 ;  bdr.  & 


he  yet  find  fauUr^Aa  if  he  had  said,  Because  1  af- 
firm concerning  God,  that  whom  Jie  will  he  lutrdeneth, 
thou  wilt  say.  Why  then  doth  he  yet  find  fault  with, 
or  .complain  of,  such  persons,  that  they  eonthhie 
disobedient !  For  who  hath  resisted  his  trt 2/— Who 
hath  been,  is,  or  ever  will  be,  able  to  hinder  that  from 
coming  to  pass  which  God  willeth  shall  come  to  pass? 
Here  it  must  be  observed,  that  when  the  apostle  saith, 
Whom  hewiH  he  Itardeneth,  he  doth  not  suppose  any 
purpose  or  decree  to  be  formed  by  God  to  harden 
any  man,  without  his  having  previously  committed 
those  sins^hich  he  might  not  have  committed :  and 
having  resisted  the  strivings  of  God's  l^irit,  and 
abused  the  light  and  grace  whereby  he  might  both 
have  known  and  complied  with  the  divine  will ;  but, 
at  the  most,  only  a  purpose  to  harden  those  who  first 
voluntarily  harden  themselves.  Nor  do  his  words 
suppose  that  they,  who  are  actually  hardened  by 
God,  have  no  capacity  or  possibility  left  them,  by 
means  of  that  grace  which  is  yet  vouchsafed  to  them, 
of  recovering  themselves  from  the  state  of  hardness 
in  which  they  are,  and  yet  of  turning  to  God  ill  true 
repentance  and  reformation  of  life.  Aldiough  then 
the  will  of  God  be,  in  a  sense,  irresistible,  yet  if  this 
mil  be,  1st,  To  harden  none  but  those  who  first  vo- 
luntarily harden  themselves,  by  known  and  wilAil 
sin ;  and,  2d,  To  leave  those  whom  he  doth  harden 
in  a  capacity  of  relenting  and  returning  to  him,  being 
furnished  with  sufiicient  helps  for  that  purik>se,  so 
that  if  they  do  it  not,  it  becomes  a  high  aggravation 
of  their  former  sins ;  certainly  he  hath  reason  to 
reprove  and  complain  of  those  who  are,  at  any  time, 
thus  hardened  by  it. 

Verses  20, 21.  Nay  but,  O  man— Little,  impotent, 
ignorant  man ;  Who  art  thou— In  all  thy  boasted 
wisdom  and  penetration;  ihatrepliest  against  God? 
—That  accusest  God  of  injustice,  for  himself  fixing* 
the  terms  on  which  he  will  show  mercy?  or  for 
leaving  those  to  the  hardness  of  their  hearts  who 
obstinately  and  perseveringly  refuse  or  neglect  to 
comply  with  those  terras  ?  Or,  (which  may  be  ra- 
ther intended,)  who  impiously  formest  arguments 
agarast  God,  on  account  of  his  distributing  to  some 
nations,  or  some  individuals,  favours  which  he  denies 
to  others ;  not  considering  that  privileges  which  God 
is  obliged  to  give  to  none,  he  may,  without  injustice, 
withhold  from  whoita  he  will?  Shall  the  thing- 
formed  aay  to  him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou 
made  me  <*««?— Why  hast  thow  made  me  capable  of 
honour  and  immortality,  only  on  the  terms  of  re- 
pentance told  faith  ?    Or,  Why  was  I  not  entitled  by 

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CHAPTER  IX. 


privUegee  tf  CfocPs  peculiar  people^^ 


A.1C4064.    21  fibihuoi  the*  poUer  power  over 

'. — 1.  the  clay,  of  the  same  hiiiq>  to  make 

^one  vesad  imto  honour,  and  another  unto 
dkhonour? 
22  What  if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath, 
and  to  make  his  power  known,  endured  with 


'  Ptov.  xri  4  }  Jer.  xviiL  6.- 
*  Or,  mad*  «ip. — 


-^2  Tim.  iL  90. » 1  Theis.  r.  9. 

K 1  Pet  iL  8 ;  Jude  4. 


birth,  to  advantaffea  which  others  were  bom  to? 
The  a^pOBlle  alludes  here  to  Isa.  xlv.  9,  where,  in 
answer  to  the  objectioiis  and  cavils  of  the  unbeliev- 
lag  Jews,  disposed  to  murmur  against  God,  and  ar- 
raign the  wisdom  and  justice  of  his  dispensations, 
in  regard  to  them,  the  prophet  asks  similar  questioxis ; 
implying  tiiat  "nations,  who  derive  their  existence 
and  continuance  merely  from  the  power  and  good- 
ness of  God,  have  no  right  to  find  fault  with  him^ 
because  he  hath  denied  them  tiiis  or  that  advantage, 
or  because  he  bears  with  the  wickedness  of  some 
nations  for  a  long  time,  while  he  instantly  punishes 
others."  Haih  not  the  potter  power  over  the  cla^ 
And,  much  more,  hath  not  God  power  over  his  crea- 
tures; to  appoint  oue  vessel—J^wcnely,  the  believer; 
ta  honour,  and  another — Namely,  the  unbeliever;  to 
dishonour! — The  power  of  the  potter  over  the  clay 
is  the  similitude  which  God  himself  used  by  Jere- 
miah for  illustrating  that  power  and  .sovereignty 
whereby  he  is  entitled  to  make  some  nations  great 
and  happy,  and  to  punish  and  destroy  others.  See 
Jer.  xviiL  0, 7 ;  where  "  every  reader  must  be  sensi- 
ble that  nothing  is  said  concemmg  individuals,  some 
to  be  saved,  and  some  to  be  damned,  by  an  exercise 
of  absolute  sovereignty.  It  is  his  power  and  sove- 
reignty in  the  disposal  of  nations  only,  ^at  is  de- 
8crtt)ed  by  the  figure  of  the  potter.".  To  make  of 
the  $ame  lump  one  veeeel  to  honour,  and  another,  to 
diehonour — ^^^The  same  lump  signifies  the  mass  of 
mankind,  out  df  whicltpartieular  nations  are  formed ; 
consequently  die  one  veeeel  means,  not  any  particu- 
W  person,  but  a  nation  or  community.  And  a  ves- 
sel to  honour,  or  an  hmiourable  use,  means  a  nation 
made  great  imd  happy  by  the  favonr  and  protection 
of  God,  and  by  the  advaatages  which  he  confers  on 
them.  Ob  the  other  hand,  a  vessel  to  dishonour, 
signifies  a  nation  which  C^od  depresses,  by  denying 
it  the  advantages  bestowed  on  others,  or  by  depriv- 
ing it  of  the  advantages  which  it  formerly  enjoyed, 
Acts  xiiL  17.  The  meaning  of  this  question  is.  May 
not  Crod,  without  injustice,  exalt  one  nation,  by  be- 
stoinng  privileges  upon  it,  and  depress  another,  by 
taking  away  the  privileges  which  it  has  long  en- 
Joyed."— Macknight.  If  we  survey,  says  an  emi- 
nent writer,  the  right  which  God  has  over  us  in  a 
more  general  way,  with  regard  to  his  intelligent 
creatures,  God  may  be  considered  in  two  diflferent 
views ;  as  Creator,  Proprietor,  and  Lord  of  all,  or  as 
their  moral  Governor  and  Judge.  God,  as  sovereign 
Lord  and  Propnetor  of  all,  dispenses  his  gifts  or  fa- 
vours to  his  creatures  wjth  perfect  wisdom,  but  by 
00  rules  or  methods  of  proceeding  that  we  are  ao- 


much  long-suflferhog  'the  vesBelfi  of  a. M. 4064. 
wrath  •fitted*  to  destruction:  J^Deo. 

23  And  that  he  might  make  known  'the 
riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of  mercy, 
which  he  had  ^afcire  prepared  unto  glory, 

24  Even  us,  wh<Mn  he  hath  called, ""  not  of 


iChapteru.4;  £pk.L7;  OoI.L27.^ 
"  Chap.  ill.  29. 


>CkaptorTiii  88-80. 


quainted  widu  The  time  when  we  shall  exist,  the 
country  where  we  shaU  live,  our  parents,  our  con- 
stitution of  body  and  turn  of  mind:  these,  and 
numberless  o^er  circumstances,  are,  doubtless,  or- 
dered with  perfect  wisdom,  but  by  rules  that  lie 
quite  out  of  our  sight  But  God's  methods  of  deal- 
ing with  us,  as  our  Governor  and  Judge,  are  clearly 
revealed,  and  perfecUy  known ;  namely,  that  he  will 
finally  reward  every  nan  according  .to  his  works; 
he  that  beUeveth  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned.  Therefore,  though  he  hath 
mercy  on  whom  he  will,  and  whom  he  will  he 
hardeneth,  (that  is,  suffers  to  be  hardened,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  obstinate  wickedness^)  yet  his  is  not 
the  will  of  ah  arbitrary,  capricious,  or  tyrannical 
being.  He  wills  nothing  but  what  is  infinitely  wise 
&nd  good;  and  therefore  his  will  is  a  most  proper 
rule  of  judgment.  He  will  show  mercy,  as  he  hath 
assured  us,  to  none  but  true  believers,  nor  harden 
any  but  such  as  obstinately  refuse  his  mercy. 

Verses  22,  23.  What  if  God,  wUling,  Ac— Re- 
ferring  to  verses  18, 19.  That  is,  Although  it  were 
now  his  will,  because  of  their  obstinate  unbelief; 
to  show  his  wrath— VfldcYk  necessarily  presupposes 
sin;  ojnd  to  make  his  power  known — This  is  repeal- 
ed from  verse  17;  yet  endured— k&  he  did  Pharaoh 
—  With  mMch  long-suffering— Which  should  have 
led  them  io  repentance ;  the  vessels  of  wrath — Those 
who  had  moved  his  wrath,  by  still  rejecting  his 
mercy;  fUted  for  destruction— By  their  own  wilful 
and  final  impenitence ;  is  there  any  mjustice  in  this? 
And  UuU  he  might  make  known — ^What  if,  by  show- 
ing such  long-suffering  even  to  the  vessels  of  his 
wrath,  he  did  the  more  abundantly  show  the  great- 
ness of  his  glorious  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power ; 
on  the  vessels  of  mercy — On  those  whom  he  had 
himself,  by  his  graces  prepared  for  glory— Is  this 
injustice?  By  vessels  of  mercy  he  means  such 
persons  as  were  formerly  miserable  by  being  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,  but  had  afterward,  through 
believing  the  gospel,  obtained  mercy,  even  the  great 
mercy  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  with  the  fruits  and 
consequences  of  it ;  and  by  the  term  iq>otiToifiactv,  he 
means,, God's  fitting  them  for  glory,  by  working  in 
them  true  repentance  and  living  faith,  by  justifying 
and  sanctifying  them,  and  giving  them  all  those 
qualifications  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  it. 

Verses  24-26.  Even  us,  whom  he  hath  called— By 
his  gospel  and  his  ^^ce,  to  repentance,  faith,,  and 
holiness,  and  hath  enabled  us  to  obey  the  call ;  we 
are  these  vessels  of  mercy,  of  what  nation  soever 
we  may  he-,  not  of  the  Jews  only— Who  have  hith- 


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privUegm  af  (jMPa-pecuUar  peopie^ 


A.  M.  40(M.  the  Jewff  only,  but  ako  of  the  Gen- 

^^•^    tiles? 

26  As  hesaithalso  in Osee,  ""I  wiM  caU  them 
my  people,  which  were  not  my  peojJe ;  and  her 
beloved,  which  was  not  beloved. 

26  'And  it  shaQ  come  to  pass,  that  in  the 
place  where  it  was  sakl  mito  ihem,  Te  are  not 
my  people ;  there  shall  they  be  caUed,  The 
children  of  the  living  God. 


•H08.U.23;  1P«.  li.  10.- 
'Chap.  xi.  6.- 


-pHos.  i.  10.- 


I  Isa.  X.  22,  i^ 


erto  been  the  peculiar  people  of  God;  but  also  qf 
(he  Oentiles—y^o  are  now  taken  for  Ood^s  people, 
as  well  as  the  Jews.  As  he  saith  aUo  in  Chee,  I 
will  call  them  my  people,  Ac.— These  words  are 
quoted  from  two  places  of  the  prophecy  of  Hosea; 
(namely,  chap.  L  lOj  ii.  23;)  and  according  to  the 
connection  in  which  they  there  stand,  they  seem  very 
evidently  to  refer  primarily  totJod's  purpose  of  re- 
storing the  Jews  to  the  privileges  of  his  people,  after 
they  had  been  a  while  rejected  of  him ;  but  neverthe- 
less they  are  here  applied  by  the  apostle  to  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles,  which  they'^onbtless  were 
also  intended  to  include.  (See  the  notes  on  those 
passages  of  Hosea.)  Indeed,  as  Dr.  t>oddrldge  justly 
observes,  that  great  event  might,  with  some  proba- 
bility, be  inferred,  partly  from  the  temporary  rejec- 
tion of  the  Jews,  of  which  this  text  also  speaks ;  (for 
it  was  not  to  be  imagined  that  God  would  have  no 
people  in  the  world ;)  and  partly  as  it  was  in  the 
nature  of  things  more  probable  that  he  should  call 
the  heathen,  than  that  he  should  restore  the  Jews, 
when  he  had  cast  them  off  for  such  ingratitude,  as 
rendered  them  le^s  worthy  of  his  favour  than  the 
most  idolatrous  nations.  And  her  beloved— Aa  a 
spouse ;  who  once  woe  not  beloved — Consequently 
not  unconditionally  elected.  In  these  words  the 
^K)3tle,  nearly  following  the  Septuagint  version, 
rather  interprets  than  quotes  Hosea's  words,  which 
are,  /  will  have  mercy  on  her  that  had  not  obtained 
mercy.  The  Expressions  of  the  apostle  a^e  different 
from  those  of  the  prophet,  but  their  meaning  is  the 
same.  "In  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  Hosea, 
havmg  described  the  idolatry  of  the  Jews  under  the 
figure  of  whoredom,  and  their  chastisement  by 
hedging  up  their  way  with  thorns,  foretels  their  re- 
turn to  their  first  htisband,  who  would  speak  com- 
fortably to  them,  aiid  betroth  them  a  second  time. 
He  then  adds  the  words  above  quoted,  which  the 
apostle  very  properly  expresses  by,  /  will  call  her 
beloved  who  was  not  beloved — ^That  is,  I  will  pardon 
her,  and  restore  her  to  her  former  place  in  lAy  (affec- 
tion, and  to  her  ancient  relation  to  me,  by  introducing 
her  into  the  gospel  church.  In  quoting  this  passage 
from  Hosea,  the  apostle  begins  with  the  conversion 
of  the  Gentiles,  because  it  was  to  happen  first ;  but 
the  prophet  speaks  first  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews.'  — Macknight.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  &c. 
—Here  the  apostle  quotes  Hosea's  words  exactly, 
(see  chap.  i.  10,)  and  that  with  a  view  still  more  fully 


86 


27  Esaia^   abo  crieth  concerning  A.M.40e«. 

brad,  ^  Thoii^h  the  manber  of-  the '. — 1. 

children  ^S  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the^sea,  '  a 
remnant  shall  be  saved : 

28  For  he  will  finish  ^the  wcx-k,  and  cot  it 
short  in  tighteousnass :  'because  a  dioit  work 
will  the  Lord  make  upon  the  earth. 

29  And  as  Esaias  said  before,  ^JBxc^  th# 
Lord  of  Sabaoth  had  left  us  a  seed,  ^we  had 


•Iml  zjcTui.  32.- 


tfta. 


i.  9;   Lam.  iiL  83.- 
Jer.  1.  40. 


•>*l8m.  ziiL  IS; 


to  show  that  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  had  been 
foretold,  to  which  this  passage  more  plainly  refers 
than  those  sited  above :  that  in  the  place — In  the 
countries;  where  it  was  said— To  the  idolatrous 
Gentiles;  Ye  are  not  my  people— Wh»Te  there  was 
no  church  formerly,  namely,  in  the  times  of  the  Old 
TestMnent;  there  they  shall  be  calUd^NoX  only 
the  people,  but  the  children— The  sons  and  daugfa- 
tefs;  of  the  living  Ood—Yoty  as  the  living  God,  he 
can  easily  bring  it  to  pass,  however  incredible  it 
may  appear. 

Verses  27-29.  Esaias  olMK-And,  as  the  calling 
fit  the  Gentiles,  so  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  also  is 
foretold  by'  the  prophets,  particularly  by  Isidah — 
whocrietlC^Kpa^ti^  calleth  cUoud—^petkB  with  great 
earnestness,  as  to  a  people  unwilling  tO  hear;  am- 
ceming  Israel— Th^i  is,  both  the  ten  tribes  about 
to  be  carried  captive  into  Assyria,  which  was  almost 
a  total  rejection,  and  Judah  and  Benjamin,  which 
were  to  be  wasted  by  the  Assyrian  invasion  under 
Sennacherib,  and  afterward  to  be  partly  destroyed 
and  partly  carried  into  captivity  by  the  kiAg  of  Baby- 
lon :  though  the  children  of  Israel  be  as  the  sand,  a 
remnanir— (My,  out  of  the  nfeny  myriads  of  them; 
shall  be  saved-— Sh^li  escape  destruction.  But  few 
escaped  the  ravages  of  Sennacherib's  army,  and  only 
a  squall  number  returned  from  Babylon  after  the 
Babylonish  captivity.  These,  however,  that  were 
preserved,  were  a  tjrpe  or  figure  of  that  small  num- 
ber of  converts  under  the  gospel,  who  escaped  the 
vengeance  which  fell  upon  the  main  body  of  the 
Jewish  nation  from  the  Romans,  and  that  still  great- 
er vengeance  which  awaits  all  that  obey  not  the 
gospel,  in  the  eternal  world  See  the  note  on  Isa. 
X.  21-28.  For,  as  the  same  prophet  adds,  (the  apos- 
tle quotes  the  Septuagint  translation,)  he  willfinisk, 
Ac. — Greek,  awrtXuv  kol  awrefivctv,  he  is  finishing 
and  cutting  short  the  work,  Xoyw,  the  account,  or 
mailer,  in  righteousness— In  justice,  and  wiU  leave 
but  a  small  remnant  There  will  be  so  general  a 
destruction,  that  but  a  small  number  will  escape. 
Because  a  short  work— A  quick  despatch  in  exe- 
cuting judgment ;  will  the  Lord  make  tq)on  the  earth 
—Or,  upon  the  land  of  Judea.  For  though  in  the 
LXX.  it  is  oiK&fievrf  o2,n$  the  whole  world,  the  scope 
of  the  passage  seems  to  restrict  the  sense  to  the  land 
of  Judea,  in  which  restricted  seflse  the  same  word  is 
used  Luke  ii.  1 .  And  as  Esaias  said  before— Ktanely, 
chap.  i.  9,  concerning  those  who  were  besieged  is 

h 


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CHAPTER  X. 


righteouituss  which  is  byfaith* 


A.  M.4064.  been,  as  Sodoma,  and  been  made  like 


A.D.QO. 


unto  G€iXKNTba» 


30  Whatshall  we  say  then7  «  That  the  Got- 
tiles  which  followed  not  after  righteousness, 
have  attained  to  righteousness,  ^even  the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  fidth : 

31  But  Israel, '  which  foUowed  after  the  law 
of  righteousness,  *faath  not  attained  to  the  law 
<rf  righteousness. 


«  Chap.  ir.  11 ;  x.  20. f  Chap.  i.  17.— 

i^GalT.  4. kLakexL34;  ICor.iSa 


>Chap.z.2;xi.7. 


Jerusalem  by  Bezin  and  Pekah;  Except  the  Lord 
of  Sahaoth-So  it  is  in  the  Hebrew,  in  which  lan- 
guage the  word  Sabaoth  signifies  Ao«te,,and  is  some- 
times used  to  denote  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  as 
also  the  angels.  The  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  or  of  hosts, 
therefore,  as  one  of  the  titles  of  JehovsQi,  marks  his 
supreme  dominion  over  the  universe,  and  particu- 
larly over  the  different  orders  of  angehi,  who,  on 
account  oC  their  multitude,  and  of  their  serving  un- 
der the  command  of  God,  are  named  hosts,  1  Kings 
zxii.  19.  The  LXX.,  in  the  passages  where  this  He- 
brew word  occurs,  commonly  express  it  in  Greek 
letters,  in  which  St.  Paul  has  followed  them.  So 
also  James,  chap.  v.  4,  supposing  that  it  would  be 
agreeable  to  the  ears  of  the  Jews.  The  sense  here 
is,  Except  the  Lord,  who  is  the  powerful  and  sove- 
reign Ruler  of  allihe  Creatures  in  heaven  and  earth, 
which  are  his  hosts,  ready  to  do^him  service;  had 
left  us  aseed — Reserved  from  the  common  calamity, 
a  small  company,  out  of  which,  as  a  seed,  God  would 
cause  his  church  to  spring  up  again ;  we  had  been 
as  Sodoma—Viierly  destroyed.  So  that,  (as  if  he 
had  saad,)  it  is  no  unexampled  thing  for  the  main 
body  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  revolt  froip  God,  and 
perish  in  their  sins. 

Verses  30-33.  What  shall  we  say  tAenr— What  is 
to  be  concluded  from  all  that  has  been  said,  but  this, 
th€U  the  GerUileSj  who  followed  not  after  righteous- 
ness— Who  a  while  ago  had  no  knowledge  o^  no  care 
or  thought  about  it;  have  attained  to  righteousness 
— Or  justification]  even  the  righteousness  which  is 
qf faith — Which  is  by  faith  in  Christ  and  in  his  gos- 
p^  Phil.  ill.  9.  This  is  the  first  conclusion  we  may 
draw  from  the  preceding  observations.  The  second 
is,  that  Israel^  (the  Jews,)  which  followed /after  the 
law  of  righteousness — The  law  which,  duly  used, 
would  have  led  them  to  faith,  and  thereby  to  rights 
eousness;  hath  not  attained  to  the  law  of  righteous- 
ness—To  that  righteousness,  or  justification,  which 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.  60. 


32  Wherefore?  Because  they 
sought  a  not  by  &ith,  bat  acr 
it  were  by  the  works  of  Ae  law.  For 
^  they  stumUed  at  that  stumbliiig- 
stone ; 

33  As  it  is  written,  «  Behold,  I  lay  in  Sioo  a 
stumbling-stone,  and  rock  of  offence:  and 
"*  whosoever  bdieveth  on  him  shall  not  be 
®  ashamed. 


•  Pta.  oxviii.  22 ;  Isaiah  viii.  14 ;   xzriiL  16 ;  Matt  zzL  48 ; 
1  Pet  iL  6-8. 'Chap.  z.  IL •Or,  oo^fmmtUd. 


is  one  great  end  of  the  law.  Or,  as  Estius  and  Beoa 
think,  thef  law  of  righteousness  is  put  for  the  right* 
eousness  of  the  law ;  as  Heb.  vii.  16,  the  law  of  a 
carnal  commandment^  signifies  the  carnal  command- 
ment  of  the  law.  According  to  this  interpretation, 
the  apostle's  meaning  is,  Israel,  who  pursued  the 
righteousness  of  the  law,  have  not  attained  it. 
Wherefore'?  Is  it  because  God  eternally  decreed 
they  should  not?  No:  there  is  nothing  like  this  to 
be  met  with  in  the  apostle's  reasoning;  but,  agreea- 
bly to  his  ^gument,  he  gives  us  this  grand  reason 
for  it:  because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith,  whereby 
alone  it  could  be  attained ;  hut^  as  it  were — In  efie<^t, 
if  not  professedly;  by  the  works  of  the  law — The 
works  required  by  it,  which  they  were  not  able  per- 
fectly to  perform.  For  they  stumbled  at  that  stum- 
6/in^-«/(me— Which  lay  in  their  way.  This  is  an 
allusion  to  one  who,  running  in  a  race,  stumbles  on 
a  stone  in  his  way,  and,  falling,  loses  the  race.  As 
it  is  written — Foretold  by  their  own  prophet;  Be- 
Tioldj  J  lay  in  SUm—l  exhibit  in  my  church  what, 
though  in  truth  the  only  sure  foundation  of  religion 
and  happiness,  yet  will  be,  in  fact,  a  stumbling-stone^ 
a$id  a  rock  of  offence^hjOi  occasion  of  ruin  to  many 
through  their  obstinate  unbelief.  And  whosoever 
believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed— Ox^  as  the 
original  expressipn  may  be  more  literally  translated, 
No  one  who  beUeveth  on  him  shall  be  cuhamed. 
The  reader  will  observe  two  passages  of  Isaiah 
are  here  joined  in  one  quotation,  because  they 
relate  to  the  same  subject;  namely,  Isaiah  xxviii. 
16,  and  viii.  14  See  note  on  1  Peter  ii.  8.  Ac- 
cordingly, those  in  Israel  who  expected  the  Mes- 
siah to  be  a  great  temporal  prince,  tumbled  at 
Jesus  on  account  of  the  poverty,  meanness,  and 
state  of.  sufiering  in  which  he  appeared  among 
them.  Hence  they  fell  short  of  righteousness  and 
salvation,  and  lost  all  their  privileges  as  the  people 
of  God. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ill  iku  chapter,  the  apdttUt  (1,)  Exprases  his  great  cnetrnfar  the  error  of  the  Jews  in  seeking  righteousness  and  sahatwn 
by  ike  Mosaic  law,  and  rejecting  the  method  appointed  by  God  for  attaining  these  blessings,  1-4.    (2,)  He  shows  the  dif- 
ferenu  between  ihe  righteousness  of  the  law,  by  which  they  expected  to  be  justi^  and  the  righUousncss  (^  faith  repealed 
l^  tf7 


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7^  apostU  expre»9eM  his  c<mcem 


ttOMANS. 


for  ihe  i^iorance  of  the  /ett# 


in  ihe  gospd,  5-10.  (9,)  He  skowe  thtU,  with  respect  to  sedvation,  and  tfo  iM^f  cfehtediemg  it,  ^en  ie  no  dijferenee  he* 
tween  the  Jew  tmd  the  OeniUgs,  htU  thai  the  pUesing  is  as  free  for  the  latter  as  for  the  former,  ami  on  the  9ery  same  tenna 
as  the  Jewish  fropheU,  Jod,  Isaiah,  ami  Moses  hadforetoii,  U-41. 


Vd^   gRETHREN,   my  heart's  desire 

'- — 1         and  jwayer  to  God  for  Israel  is, 

l^at  they  might  b6  saved. 

2  Por  I  beAr  them  record  •  that  they  have  a 
zeal  of  God,  but  dot  according  to  knowledge. 

3  For  they,  bemg  ignorant  of  ^  God's  right- 


«  Acts  xzL  20;  xzii.  3 ;  GtL  1. 14  ;  iv.  17 ;  Chxp.  U.  31. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  X. 

Verses  1-3.  Brethren,  my  hearths  desire,  Ac- 
Here  the  apostle  proceeds  to  show  the  cause  of  that 
rej^tion  of  the  Jews  which  he  had  spoken  of  in  tiie 
preceding  chapter,  namely,  their  rejecting  that  way 
of  obtdning  righteousness  and  salvation  appointed 
by  Crod.  And  lest  they  should  suppose  he  spoke 
but  of  prejudice  and  ill-will  to  them,  he  professes 
his  earnest  desire  for  theu:  salvation.  Ajid  my  prayer 
t6  God  for  brael  is,  thai  they  may  be  saved— He 
Woifld  not  have  prayed  for  this  had  they  been  abso- 
lutely reprobated.  For  I  bear  them  record — ^I  am 
ready  to  testify,  from  what  I  well  know  of  them 
Arom  my  own  observation  and  experience ;  that  they 
— That  is,  many  of  them ;  haxfe  a  teal  of  God — A 
zeal  for  that  worship  and  service  of  him  instituted  by 
Moses,  by  which  they  think  to  promote  his  glory ; 
but  not  according  to  knowledge — Not  directed  by  a 
proper  acquaintance  with  the  true  way  of  becoming 
righteous,  nor  of  the  design  of  the  law.  Their  zeal 
was  like  that  of  those  mentioned  John  xvi.  2,  who, 
as  Christ  predicted,  would  put  his  disciples  oti^q/'rA^ 
synagogues,  and  think  they  did  God  service  by  kill- 
ing them ;  or  like  that  of  Paul,  mentioned  Phil.  iii.  6. 
For  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness — Of  the 
purity  of  his  nature,  and  the  spirituality  and  extent 
o(  his  holy  law,  and  of  the  method  of  becoming 
righteous  appointed  by  him :  and  going  about— 
That  is,  striving ;  to  establish  their  own  righteous- 
ness—The merit  of  their  own  works  as  tlie  ground 
of  their  justification,  and  hope  of  salvation ;  have  not 
submitted  themselves— lAXiYe  noi  complied  with,  but 
rejected;  the  righteousness  of  God— The  way  of 
becoming  righteous  which  he  hath  established. 

Versed  For— That  theyliave  not  submitted  them- 
selves to  God's  way  of  becoming  righteous  is  evident 
in  thi%  that  they  reject  Christ,  by  whom  alone  right- 
eousness can  be  obta'med;  Christ  is  the  end  of  the 
law — ^The  scope  and  aim  of  it ;  for  righteousness — 
Observe,  1st,  The  righteousness  here  spoken  of  is 
evidently  that  which  is  necessary  in  order  to  eternal 
life,  and  leads  to  it,  (see  chap.  v.  21,)  termed  the 
righteousness  of  God  by  faith,  Phil.  iii.  0 ;  implying 
not  only  justification,  chap.  iii.  24,  Tit.  iii.  7,  without 
which  we,  guilty,  condemned  sinners,  can  have  no 
title  to  eternal  life,  it  being  the  only  means  of  can- 
celling our  guUt,  and  freeing  us  from  condemnation ; 
but  also  sanctification,  spoken  of  Eph.  iv.  17-24, 
Tit  ii.  6,  fl,  withotit  which  we  are  not  in  Christy 
88 


eousness, 


,  and  going  about  to  estab^  a.  it  4664, 
lish  their  own  ®  rif  hteousness,  have  — •  '    . 


not  submitted  themselves  imto  the  rigbteocia-' 
ness  of  God. 
4  For  ^Christi^  the  end  of  the  law  for  rights 
eousness  to  every  one  that  believeth. 


»»Cai.L17;  ix.30. «PlULiii.». «  Mitt  t.  17 ;  GaL  liL  M. 


2  Cor.  V.  17,  and  have  no  ^tness  for  heaven ;  and 
practical  obedience  consequent  thereon,  Eph.  ii.  10, 
the  grand  evidence  that  we  are  righteous,  Luke  i.  6, 
1  John  iii.  7.  2d,  This  righteousness,  in  these  three 
branches  of  it,  is  not  attainable  by  the  law,  moral  or 
ceremonial ;  not  by  the  former,  because  it  finds  us 
guilty  of  violating  its  spiritual  and  holy  precepts,  and 
has  no  pardon  to  give  us ;  it  finds  us  depraved,  weak, 
and  helpless,  and  has  neitber  a  new  nature  nor  super- 
natural aid  to  impart.  But  may  we  not  have  the  help 
we  want  from  the  ceremonial  law  ?  Cannot  the  sac- 
rifices of  it  remove  our  guiK?  No.  It  is  impossible 
for  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats,  ^c,  to  take  away  stn^ 
Heb.  X.  4,  Ac,  Cannot  the  various  washings  or 
purifications  of  it  renew  and  cleanse  our  souls? 
No:  they  can  only  remove  thefiUh  of  the  flesh,  Heb. 
ix.  13 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  21 .  Cannot  the  various  institutions 
respecting  meats  and  drinks,  and  the  observance  of 
days,  &c.,  assist  us  to  attain  practical  righteousness 
or  obedience  ?  No :  as  they  do  not  make  the  tree 
good,  of  course  ttie  ihiit  cannot  be  good ;  as  they  do 
not  purify  the  fountain,  the  streams  issuing  thence 
cannot  be  pure.  Matt.  vii.  16-19.  But,  8d,  This 
righteousness  may  be  found  by  us  in  Christ ;  the 
end,  or  the  final  cause,  for  which  the  law  was  instil 
tuted;  the  moral  law  being  chiefiy  intended  to  con- 
vince men  of  sin,  namely,  of  their  guilt,  depravity, 
and  weakness,'  and  thus  to  be  a  school-master  U> 
bring  tbem  to  Christ ;  Gal.  iii,  49-24 ;  and  the  cere- 
monial, to  shadow  forth  and  exhibit  his  sacrifice  and 
grace.  Accordingly  the  law  points  to  Christ,  and 
directs  the  sinner  to  have  recourse  to  him  for  all 
the  different  branches  of  righteousness  above  men- 
tioned, which  cannot  be  obtained  by  it,  but  may  be 
had  in  and  by  Christ ;  namely,  justification,  through 
his  obedience  unto  death,  whereby  he  hath  removed 
the  curse  of  the  moral  law,  being  made  a  curse  for 
us;  and  regeneration,  or  a  new  creation,  with 
the  practical  righteousness  proceeding  therefrom, 
through  his  grace  and  Spirit ;  the  information  and 
direction,  in  the  way  of  duty,  afforded  by  his  doc- 
trine and  example,  and  the  motives  to  obedience 
furnished  by  his  precepts,  promises,  and  threaten- 
ings,  co-operating  as  means  to  produce  the  same 
blessed  effects.  But,  4th,  To  whom  is  Christ  thus 
the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness!  To  every 
one— Whether  Jew  or  Gentile ;  (see  verse  11-16;) 
that  believethrSnmely,  with  the  faith  described 
verse  5,  &c.    So  thtit  the  very  end  and  design  of  the 

ir 


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Difference  betioeen  the  righteousness 


CHAPTER  X. 


of  ike  law,  and  thai  offutOu 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  GO. 


5  For  Moses  describeth  the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  the  law,  *  That 
the  man  whieh  doeth  those  things  shaH  live  by 
them. 

6  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  fidth 

st>eaketh  dn  this  wise,  'Say  not  in  thy  heart, 

Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven?  (that  is,  to 

bring  Christ  down  from  above :) 

■7  Or,  Who  shall  descend  into  the  deep? 


•Lev*  XTiii.  5:  Neh.  iz.  29 ;  Eum  xx.  11,  13,  21 ;  Gal.  iii.  12. 
'JDeut  zxx.  12, 13. 8  Dent.  zzx.  14. 


law  was  to  bring  men  to  believe  in  Christ,  whom  it 
exhibited  and  pointed  out,  for  justification,  renova- 
tion, and  universal  holiness. 

Verse  5.  For  Moses  describeth  the  righteousness 
of  the  law — The  only  way  of  becoming  righteous 
by  the  law,  when  he  saith,  The  man  that  doeth 
these  things  shall  live  by  them — ^Not  only  a  happy 
life  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  but  in  heaTen,  of  which 
Canaan  was  a  type  and  figure :  (see  on  Lev.  x\'iii.  5.) 
That  is,  he  who  perfectly  keeps^  all  these  precepts 
in  every  point,  he  alone  s  may  claim  life  and  salva- 
tion by  them.  For  though  the  law  directs  to  a  bet- 
ter and  more  efiectual  righteousness  in  Christ,  yet 
in  itself,  considered  as  a  law,  abstracted  firom  its 
respect  to  Christ  and  the  gospel,  (for  so  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews  embraced  and  adhered  to  it,)  it  acknow- 
ledges nothing  as  a  righteousness,  sufficient  to  jus- 
tify a  man,  but  that  of  perfect  obedience ;  a  way  of 
justification  impossible  to  any  who  have  ever  trans- 
gressed any  one  law  in  any  point.  As  if  the  apostle 
had  said,  Moses,  by  showing  that  the  law  requires 
exact  and  perfect  obedience  for  righteousness,  (an 
obedience  impossible  to  be  performed  by  us  in  our 
fallen  state,)  may  thereby  convince  us  that  right- 
eousness is  not  to  be  attained  by  our  own  works,  but 
only  by  faith  in  Christ.  It  may  be  proper  to  observe 
here,  Uiat  although  the  law,  which  was  given  from 
Sinai,  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  covenant  of 
works,  or  of  mere  justices,  (for  who  then  could  have 
been  saved  under  that  dispensation  ?)  yet,  that  it 
might  more  effectually  bring  men  to  Christ,  and 
reiser  the  covenant  of  grace  more  acceptable,  it  had 
a  great  mixture  of  the  strictness  and  terror  of  such 
a  covenant.  Accordingly  it  condemned  notorious 
offenders  to  temporal  death  in  many  cases,  and  made 
no  provision  lor  the  pardon  of  any  sin,  deliberately 
and  wilMly  committed  against  it.  See  Heb.  x.  28. 
It,  however,  contained  some  farther  discoveries  of 
that  covenant  of  grace,  which  was  made  with  man- 
kind after  the  fall,  by  which  many  had  been  saved 
during  the  patriarchal  ages,  and  which  had  been  so- 
lemnly and  repeatedly  renewed  to  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob. 

Verses  6-9.  BiUthe  righteousness  which  is  of 
faUh^The  method  of  becoming  righteous  by  be- 
lieving ;  speaketh — A  very  different  language  from 
that  of  the  law,  and  may  be  considered  as  express^ 
ing  itself  thus ;  (to  accommodate  to  our  present  sub- 
ject the  words  which  Moses  spake  touching  the 


(that  is,  to  bring 
firom  the  dead.) 


up  Christ  again 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  00. 


8  But  what  saith  k?  'The  word  is  nigh  the^ 
even  in  Uiy  mouth,  Rni  in  thy  heart :  that  is, 
the  wordof  &ith,  which  we  preach: 

9  That  ^  if  thou  riialt  confess  with  thy  month 
the  L(Nrd  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart 
that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shak  be  saved/ 


i>HaU.  z.  32;    Luke  xii.S;  Acts  Tiii.  37. «  St.  Andm^t 

Dttyi  epistle,  TSTfle  9  to  Uw  end. 


plainness  of  his  law :)  Say  not  in  thy  heart,  Who 
shaU  ascend  intd  heaven?  as  if  it  were  to  bring 
Christ  downr— To  teach  and  instruct  us,  or  to  atone 
for  our  offences.  ^  The  Jews,  tt  would  seem,  thought 
it  not  reasonable  to  believe  on  Jesus  as  the  Christ, 
unless  he  was  brought  from  heaVen  in  a  visible  man- 
ner, to  take  possession  of  his  kingdom :"  which  some 
think  was  the  sign  from  heaven  which  they  expect- 
ed, Matt  xvi.  1.  Or,  Who  shaU  descend  into  Ike 
deep?'-'Inio  the  grave,  as  if  it  were  to  bring  up 
Christ  again  from  the  dead^-Do  not  imagine  that 
these  things  are  now  to  be  done  in  order  to  prove 
Jesus  tobe  the  trueMessiahjOrto  confirm  hisdoctrine. 
<<  The  Jews  expected  that  the  Messiah  would  abide 
with  them  for  ever,  John  xii.  34.  Wherefore,  when 
the  disciples  saw  JesUs  expire  on  the  cross,  they 
gave  up  all  hope  of  his  being  the  Christ :  Luke 
xxiv.  21,  We  trusted  that  it  had  been  he  who  should 
have  redeemed  Israel  It  is  true,  the  objection  taken 
from  Christ's  death  was  AiUy  removed  by  his  resur- 
rection. But  the  Jews,  pretending  not  to  have  suf- 
ficient proof  of  that  miracle,  insisted  that  Jesus 
should  appear  in  person  among  them,  to  convince 
them  that  he  was  really  risen.  This  they  expressed 
by  one's  descending  into  the  abyss  to  bring  Christ 
up  from  the  dead."— Macknight.  But  what  saith 
i<— Namely,  the  goq>el,  or  righteousness  of  foith  i 
what  is  its  language  ?  Even  these  words,  so  re^ 
markably  applicable  to  the  subject  before  us.  All 
is  done  ready  to  thy  hand.  The  word  is  nigh  thee 
— Within  thy  reach ;  easy  to  be  understood,  remem- 
bered, practised ;  in  thy  mou'th  and  in  thy  hearU^ 
Let  thy  mouth  and  heart  perform  the  ofllces  assigned 
them  and  thou  shalt  be  saved ;  that  is,  the  word  of 
/at<^— The  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  which  teaches 
men  to  believe  in  Christ  for  salvation,  chap.  i.  16, 17; 
which  we  preach— Vfh'ich  we,  the  apostles  and  mi- 
nisters of  Christ,  declare  to  you,  and  exhort  you  to 
embrace.  Th€U  if  thou  shdU  confess  with  thy  mouth 
the  Lord  Jesu9—8hidX  make  a  free  confession  of  thy 
faith  in  Christ  and  his  truths,  both  by  words  and 
deeds,  even  in  the  time  of  persecution,  when  such  a 
<^nfession  would  expose  thee  to  imprisonment,  tor* 
ture,  and  martyrdom:  and  shalt  believe  in  thy 
A«ar<— Bincerely,  and  with  a  faith  that  infiuencet 
thy  heart,  and  worketh  by  love ;  that  God  hath  raised 
Mm  from  the  dead^And  thereby  demonstrated  him 
to  be  ttie  Messiah ;  manifested  the  certain  truth  and 
infinite  importance  of  his  doctrine }  the  acceptable-^ 


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The  hkeiing  Bf$alvation  it  offered 


ROMANS. 


to  the  OefUiles  €u  well  aa  to  the  Jevje^ 


A*  M.  4064.    10  For  with   the  heart,  man  be- 

„ .     * L  lieveth  unto  righteousness ;  and  with 

ihd  mcmth,  confession  is  made  unto  salvatioa. 

11  For  the  Scripture  saith,  ^Whosoever  be- 
lieveth  on  him  shall  not  be^ashamed* 

12  For  ^  there  is  no  difference  between  the 


i|Mu  xxviii  16 ;  xlix.  2$ ;  Jer.  zvii.  7 :  Gh»p.  ix.  36.- 
iiL  22  ;  Acts  xr.  0;  Gal. iii.  28. 


^Oliap. 


ness  and  efficacy  of  the  atonement  which  he  made 
for  sin ;  hath  Inrokea  the  power  of  death,  and  ensured 
to  his  followers  an  immortal  life  -,  as  also  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  prepare  them,  for  it,  by  raising  them  from 
the  death  of  ein  to  the  life  of  righteousness :  thou 
dudt  be  saved — From  sin  here,  and  its  consequences 
hereafter.  "  The  apostle  mentions  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  from  the  dead,  as  the  principal  article  to  be 
believed  in  order  to  salvation,  because  by  that  mira- 
cle God  demonstrated  Jesus  to  be  his  Son,  esta- 
blished his  authority  as  a  lawgiver,  and  rendered  all 
the  things  which  he  taught  and.  promised  indubita- 
ble."—Macknight 

Verse  10.  For  with  the  A«ar<— Not  with  the  under- 
standing only ;  man  believeth  unto  righteousness — 
So  as  to  obtain  justification,  regeneration,  and  holi- 
ness, in  all  its  branches ;  arid  with  the  motUh  confes- 
sion is  made  uvUo  salvation— So  as  to  obtain  eternal 
salvation.  For  if  we  so  believe  in  Christ  as  to  be- 
come truly  righteous,  and  manifest  that  we  are  so 
by  confessing  him  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  when  such  a  confess 
sion  might  deprive  us  of  our  property,  our  liberty, 
and  our  lives,  we  must,  of  course,  love  him  better  than 
any  or  all  of  these  thihgs ;  and  therefore  we  will- 
ingly part  with  them  for  his  sake.  And  being  thus 
crucified  to  the  world,  and  all  visible  and  temporal 
things,  our  aflfections  will  be  set  on  things  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God :  and 
consequently,  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  appear 
with  him  in  glory.  "  In  the  first  ages,  the  spreading 
of  the  gospel  depended,  in  a  great  measure^  on 
Christ's  disciples  confessing  him  openly  before  the 
worl<L  and  on  their  sealing  their  confession  with 
their  olood.  .  Hence  Christ  required  it,  in  the  most 
express  terms,  and  threatened  to  deny  those  who 
denied  him,  Matt  x.  32, 3d;  1  John  iv.  15.  The  con- 
fessing Christ  being  so  necessary,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  difficult  a  duty,  the  apostle  very  properly 
connected  the  assurance  of  final  salvation  therewith ; 
because  it  was  the  best  evidence  which  the  disciple 
eif  Christ  could  have  of  his  own  sincerity,  and  of  his 
beifig  willing  to  perform  every  other  act  of  obe- 
dience required  of  him.  There  is  a  difference  be- 
tween the  profession  and  the  confession  of  our  faith. 
To  profess  m  to  declare  a  thing  of  our  own  accord ; 
but  to  confess  is  to  declare  a  thing  when  asked  con- 
cerning it.  This  distinction  Cicero  mentions  in  his 
oration  Pro  Cecinnay — Maeknight. 

Verses  U-13.  For  the  Scripture  saith^  &c. — 
He  proceeds  to  prove,  by  the  Scriptures,  the  saving 
eifeots  of  faith  and  confession,  spoken  of  in  the  two 

m 


Jew  and  the  Greek:  for  *the  same  a.  ^.4064. 
Lord  over  all,  ■  is  rich  unto  all  that  ■  — L 
call  upon  hinu    . 

13  '^  For  whosoever  shall  call  <^  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved. 

14  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom 


1  Acts z.  36;  Ch»D.iu.29;  lTim.u.5. ■Eph.i.7:  U.4,7. 

"  Joel  u.  32 ;  Acts  u.  21. »  Acta  &.  14. 


last  verses.  He  refers  to  Isa.  xxviiL  16,  and  per* 
haps  also  to  Psa.  xxv.  3.  Or,  he  means,  that  this  is 
the  general  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures:  WJiosoever 
beUeveih  on  him — Whether  Jew  or  Gentile;  shall 
not  be  ashamed — Disappointed  of  his  expectation 
of  salvation,  or  put  to  confusion  in  any  imaginable 
circumstance.  For  there  is  no  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Greek-- As  to  the  way  of  obtain- 
ing justification  and  salvation ;  for  t?ie  same  Lord 
of  allr— The  Creator,  Preserver^  Governor,  and  Ben- 
e/Mor  of  the  whole  human  race ;  is  rich — Full  of 
mercy  and  grace;  so  that  his  blessings  are  never  to 
be  exhausted,  nor  is  he  ever  unable  or  unwilling  to 
bestow  them  on  such  as  are  prepared  to  receive 
themj  or,  that  call  upon  him^For  them,  sincerely, 
importunately,  and  in  faith.  For  whosoever  shall 
call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord— Not  only  of  the 
Jews,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles,  as  appears  from  Acts 
ii.  21,  where  also  these  words  of  Joel  are  quoted ; 
shall, be  saved — In  the  sense  explained  in  the  note 
there,  and  on  Joel  ii.  32,  which  see.  "The  word 
in  the  prophet,  in  the  original,  is  Jehovah,  whence 
it  is  certain  that  the  prophet  speaks  these  words  of 
the  true  and  only  God ;  and  yet  it  is  as  certain  that 
he  ascribes  them  to  Christ,  both  from  the  following 
words,  How  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed?  (for  the  apostle,  in  this  whole  chapter, 
discourses  of  faith  in  Chr^t,)  and  from  the  words 
foregoing,  evidently  spoken  of  (ibrist,  of  which 
these  are  a  proof,  and  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected by  the  particle  for.  Here,  then,  we  have 
two  arguments  for  the  divinity  of  Christ ;  1st,  That 
what  is  spoken  of  Jehovah  is  ascribed  to  him.  2d,. 
That  he  is  made  the  object  of  our  religious  invoca- 
tion," as  he  is  also  1  Cor.  L  2,  and  in  many  other 
passages  of  the  epistles.— Whitby.  Bishop  Pear- 
son, also,  (on  the  Creed,  p.  149,)  argues  at  large 
from  hence,  that  if  Christ  be  not  here  called  Jeho- 
vahy  the  apostle's  argument  is  quite  inconclusive. 
It  may  be  observed  here  likewise,  that  the  great 
truth  proposed,  verse  11,  is  so  repeated  in  these 
two  following  verses,  and  further  confirmed,  verses 
14,  15,  as  not  only  to  imply  that  whosoever  call* 
eth  upon  him  shall  be  saved,  but  also  that  the 
will  of  God  is,  that  all  should  savingly  call  upon 
him. 

Verses  14-17,  How  then— As  if  the  apostle  had 
said.  From  the  promise  of  salvation  made  to  them 
that  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  I  have 
inferred,  that  there  is  no  difference  between  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  as  to  the  possibility  of  obtaining 


salvation  from  God:  and  from  hence 


we 
b 


may 


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CHAPTSRX. 


to  the  Genme$  at  to  the  Jew9. 


A.  M.  40W.  they  have,  not  believed  ?  and  how 

^ — 1-  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  .whom 

they  have  not  heard?   and  how  shaQ  they 
hear  ''without  a  preacher? 

15  And  how  shaJl  they  preach,  exc^theybe 
sent  ?  as  it  is  written,  ^  How  beautiAil  are  the 
feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace, 
and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things ! 


PTit.  i.  3. 1 1»».  lii.  7 ;  Nah.  i.  15. '  Chan.  iii.  3 ;  Heb. 

ir.  2.— ^Ibi.  liiL  1 ;  John  xii.  38.        '  Gr.  tk«  hearing  of  «t. 


further  infer,  that  the  gospel  must  be  preached  to 
the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  the  Jews,  and  the  sundry 
means  of  grace  be  dispensed  to  them,  and  therefore 
that  we,  the  apostles,  in  so  doing,  do  nothing  but 
what  is  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God,  though  on  that 
accomit  we  are  much  reproached  and  persecuted. 
For  how  shall  they  call  upon  him — With  sincerity ; 
in  whom  they  have  not  believed — In  whose  exist- 
ence, power,  and  goodness  they  have  not  believed ; 
or  in  whom,  ad  capable  of  hearing,  and  able  and 
willing  to  grant  their  requests,  they  have  no  confi- 
dence; (see  on  Heb  xi.  6;)  or  whom  they  do  nt 
believe  to  be  a  proper  object  of  worship,  or  worthy 
to  be  invoked  with  divine  honours  and  adoration. 
And  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom,  they  heme 
not  heard? — "Even  the  works  of  nature  and  provi- 
dence must  be  made  known  to  mankind  by  instruct- 
ers,  to  make  them  able  to  understand  them :  much 
more  the  gospel  of  Christ." — Baxter.  Or  the  apostle 
speaks  here  chiefly,  if  not  only,  of  believing  in 
Christ,  and  therefore  his  words  are  not  inconsistent 
with  what  he  advances,  chap.  i.  19,  20,  concerning 
the  existence  and  perfections  of  G6d  being  made 
known  to  all  mankind  by  the  works  of  creation. 
Some  way  or  other  the  divine  revelation  concerning 
Christ  must  be  made  known  to  us,  before  we  can 
understand  and  believe  it.  In  hearing  is  included 
reading^  which  is  tantamount  to  hearing,  and  by 
Which  many  arc  brought  to  believe,  John  xx.  31 ; 
These  things  are  written  thai  you  may  believe.  But 
hearing  only  is  mentioned  as  the  more  ordinary  and 
natural  way  of  receiving  information.  Ho^o  shall 
they  hear  withotU  a  preacher — To  carry  these  im- 
portant tidings,  which  the  light  of  nature  could  never 
be  able  to  discover :  or,  except  God  reveal  the  gospel 
to  them  some  way  or  other.  And  how  shall  they — 
The  ministers  of  the  gospel  i  preach  except  they  be 
sent — Expressly  for  that  purpose?  that  is,  except 
they  be  both  commissioned,  and,  at  least  in  some 
measure,  qualified  for  that  difficult  though  important 
work  ?  How  shall  a  man  act  as  an  ambassador,  unless 
he  have  both  his  instruction  and  his  credentials 
from  the  prince  that  sends  him?  St.  Paul  probably 
intended  to  intimate,  that  as  the  apostles,  and  other 
first  ministers  of  the  gospel,  were  originally  Jews, 
their  own  prejudices  on  this  head  were  so  strong, 
that  they  never  would  have  thought  of  carrying  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles  if  God  had  not  partkularly 
charged  them  to  do  it;  especially  as  its  avowed 
opposition  to  the  idolatry  and  the  other  vices  which 
h 


16  .But  'they  have  not  all  cbeyed  a.m.4064. 
the  gospel.     For  Esaias  saith,  "Lord,    ^'  ^  ^' 
who  hath  bdieved  *  our  *  report? 

17  So  then,  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  word  of  God. 

18  But  I  say,  Have  they,  not  heaid?  Yes 
verily,  ^  their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth,  ^and 
their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world. 


MuiLxVi.  15; 


— 'Pftt.  six.  4 ;  Matt.  zzit.  14;  zxrui.  10; 
i.  6, 23. •  1  Kings  triii,  10;  Matt.  It.  8, 


reigned  in  the  €kBtQe  comitries,  could  not  but  ex- 
pose them,  more  or  less,  to  persecution  in  various 
forms,  wherever  they  came  and  attempted  to  preach 
it.  TTius,  by  a  chain  of  reasoning  from  God's  will, 
that  the  Gentiles  also  should  call  upon  him,  Paul 
infers  that  the  apostles  were  sent  by  God  to  preach 
to  them  also.  As  it  is  written — And  described  in 
that  striking  prophecy,  Isa.  lii.  7,  8,  Ek>w  beautiful 
are  the  /ect— The  very  footsteps^  or  the  coming ; 
efthemthat  preach  the  gospel  of  peace — The  gospel, 
which  shows  the  way  how  peace  is  made  between 
God  and  man.  The  figure  here  applied  by  Isaiah 
"  is  extremely  proper.  The  fe^  of  those  who  travel 
through  dirty  or  dusty  roads  are  a  sight  naturally 
disagreeable :  but  when  they  are  thus  disfigured  by 
travelling  a  long  journey,  to  bring  good  tidings  of 
peace  and  deliverance  to  those  who  have  been 
oppressed  by  their  enemies,  they  appear  beautiful." 
— Macknight  Most  commentators  think  "  that  the 
62d  chapter  of  Isaiah  is  to  be  explained  as  a  prophecy 
of  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  and  that  the 
text  here  quoted  refers  to  the  joyftil  welcome  that 
should  be  givea  to  the  messengers  who  brought  the 
first  tidings  of  Cyrus's  decree  for  their  dismission. 
And  if  it  were  so,  the  apostle  might  very  justly 
infer  from  thence  the  superior  joy  with  which  the 
messengers  of  the  gospel  should  be  received.  But 
I  think  a  great  deal  may  be  said  to  show  it  probable, 
that  the  context  m  question  has,  in  its  original  sense, 
a  further  reference."— Doddridge.  See  note  on 
Isaiah  Hi.  ?♦  But  they  have  not  all  obeyed,  &c.-* 
As  if  he  had  said.  But  you  may  say,  Why  then  doth 
not  this  preaching  convert  more  of  the  Jews?  This 
excellence  of  the  gospel,  and  the  preaching  of  it,, 
doth  not  suppose  that  all  that  hear  it  will  be  con- 
verted by  it:  for  though  faith  comes  by  hearing,  yet 
there  may  be  hearing  without  faith.  So  Esaias  saith 
—In  that  very  context  which  contains  so  many  illus- 
trious testimonies  to  the  gospel,  namely,  chap.  Kii.  1, 
Lord^  who  hath  believed  our  report  ?— That  is,  very 
few  have  been  persuaded  and  converted  by  our 
preaching.  So  then  faith  cometh  by  hearing-^ 
Hearing  is  the  ordinary  means,  even  hearing  the 
word  i^God^  of  begetting  faith  in  people:  and  It 
was  necessary  for  the  Gentiles,  in  particular,  who 
had  not  access  to  the  Scriptures,  to  have  the  truths 
of  the  gospel  declared  to  them  by  preaching,  that 
they  might  hear  and  believe  them. 

Verses  18-21.  But  J  say,  Have  they  not  heard-^ 
As  if  he  had  said.  Their  unbelief  was  not  owing  to  the 
91 


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SOMANS. 


^umgk  general,  U  not  tatoL 


A.M.406i.     19  But  I   say,    Did    not    brad 
^^'^'     know?    First,  Moses  saith,  «I  wiU 

jHtovoke  you  to  jealousy  by  them  thai  are  no 

people,  and  by  a  ^  foolish  nation  I  will  anger 

you. 
20  But  Esaias  is  very  bold,  and  saith,  *  I 


*  Dent.  jeniL  21 ;  CSiapitMr  zl  11.- 


rTitiiLS, 


want  of  hearing.  For  they  have  heard ;  yes,  verily, 
te. — So  many  nations  have  ahready  heard  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  that  I  may,  in  some  sense, 
say  of  them  as  David  did  of  the  lights  of  heaven, 
Their  0ound  went  into  all  the  earth,  &c.— 7X0  the 
utmost  parts  of  the  known  world.  But  I  $ay,  Did 
not  lerael  iknoir— Namely,  that  the  gospel  should  be 
preached  to  the  Gentiles,  and  many  of  them  thereby 
made  members  of  the  church?  They  might  have 
known  it  even  from  Moses  and  Isaiah,  that  many  of 
the  Gentiles  would  be  received,  and  many  of  the 
Jews  rejected^  For  first,  Moeee  tqith,  (Deut.  xxxii. 
21,)  I  will  provoke  you  tojealouey — ^To  the  highest 
degree  of  displeasure  and  exasperation;  by  them 
that  are  no  people — By  bestowing  your  privileges 
on  the  Gentiles,  who  at  present  are  not  my  people, 
and  of  no  account  with  me.  As  the  Jews  followed 
gods  that  were  not  gods,  so  he  accepted,  in  their 
stead,  a  nation  that  was  not  a  nation ;  that  is,  a  nation 
that  was  not  in  covenant  with  him.  This  the  Jews 
could  not  endure  to  hear  of,  and  were  exceedmgly 
enraged  when  the  apostles  preached  the  gospel  to 
the  Gentiles.  And  by  a  foolish  nation — A  people 
who  were  destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  and  showed  themselves  to  bo  fools  by  their 
idolatries.  See  Jer.  x.  8.  But  indeed  all  who  know 
not  God,  may  well  be  called  foolish.  But  Esaiae  is 
very  botd—And  speaks  plainly  what  Moses  only 
intimated,  and  by  so  doing  showed  he  was  not  afraid 
of  the  resentment  of  the  Jews,  who  he  knew  would 


was  found  of  them  that  sought  me  a.m.  4064. 

T  ,  .-  ,  A.  D.  oa 

not ;  I  was  made  manifest  unto  thism  

that  asked  not  after  me. 

21  But  to  Israel  he  saith,  *A11  day  }ong  I 

have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  a  diBobe- 

dient  and  gwisaying  peofde. 


s  Itaiah  kr.  1 ;  Chapter  1z.  30. *  Iiaiah  Ixr.  2. 


be  exceedingly  provoked  at  the  prophecy  which  he 
was  about  to  utter.  I  was  found  of  them  that  9ought 
me  nol— That  is,  I  will  call  the  Gentiles,  and  by  the 
preaching  of  my  gospel  will  bring  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  myself;  who  formerly  neither  knew 
nor  regarded  me.    The  Gentiles  were  too   much 
occupied  with  the  worship  of  their  idols  ever  to' 
think  of  worshipping,  or  even  inquiring  after,  the 
true  God.    Nevertheless,  even  to  thern^  while  in  this 
state,  God,  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  made 
himself  known,  and  offered  himself  to  be  the  object 
of  their  worship,  and  their  God  in  covenant.    BtU  to 
Israel  he  9aitA---Inyidiou8  as  he  knew  his  words 
would  be  to  a  nation  so  impatient  of  rebuke,  il^/  the 
day  long  have  I  stretched  forth  my  hands-An  the 
most  importunate  and  affectionate  addresses ;  unto 
a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people-^Who  are 
continually  objecting  and  cavilling ;  whom  no  per- 
suasion can  induce  to  regard  their  own  happiness, 
so  as  to  be  willing  to  admit  the  evidence  of  truth, 
and  the  counsels  of  wisdom ;  and  whose  character 
is  just  opposite  to  that  of  those  whp  believe  with 
their  hearts,  and  make  confession  with  their  mouths. 
The  prophet's  words  are  an  allusion  to  the  action 
of  an  orator,  who^  in  speaking  to  the  multitude, 
stretches  out  his  arms  to  express  his  earnestness  and 
affection.    By  observing  that  these  words  were  spo- 
ken of  Israel,  the  apostle  insinuates  that  the  others 
were  spoken  of  the  Gentiles.    Sec  the  notes  on 
Isaiah  Ixv.  1,  it. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ifer»  the  spoitU  shows,  (1,)  That,  though  <Ae  rejection  of  Israsl  u>asy  for  the  present,  general,  according  to  the  predictions  of 
their  own  prophets,  and  attended  with  astonishing  blindness  and  obstinacy,  yet  that  it  was  not  total,  there  being  still  « 
nundfcr  of  happy  beUevers  among  them,  1-10.  (2,)  Thai  the  rejection'-of  Israel  was  not  final ;  but  that  the  time  would 
come  wheti,  to  the  unspeakable  joy  of  the  Christian  world,  the  Jewish  nation  should  be  brought  into  the  church  of  Christ, 
1 1-24.  (d,)  He  further  illustrates  the  subject  of  the  future  conversion  of  the  Jews ;  and  oondudes  the  argument  with  ob- 
serving, that  in  the  mean  time  their  obstinacy  was  overruled  to  such  happy  purposes  as  mads  the  whole  scene  a  most  glori- 
ous display  of  the  unsearchable  wisdom  of  God,  S&-36. 

also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  a.  M.  4064. 
Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.     — — — 1. 


A.  M.  4064.  J  SAY  then,  »Hath  God  cast  away 
L-1-       his  people?    God  forbid.*   For  ^I 


*■  1  Sam.  xii.  22 ;  Jer.  zxxi.  37. 


NOTES  ON  OHA*PTER  XI. 
Verses  1-8.  /  say  then,  Ac. — As  if  he  had  said. 
We  have  jnst  seen  how  the  perverseness  of  the  Jews 
and  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles  have  been  foretold  j 


•»2Cor.  xi.  22;  Phil.  iii.  5. 


but  do  I  say  then  that  God  hath  entirely  c«^t  off  his 
whole  people,  so  as  to  have  mercy  on  none  of  themi 
God  forbid— In  no  wise  ;  for  I  should  then  pro- 
nounce a  sentence  of  reprobation  upon  myself  j  for 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


Qod  gave  ^  §ptrit  o/sbunbtr. 


A.K.4oe4.  2  Qod  halh  not  cast  away  his 
^^'^  pecpfe  which  «h©  foreknew.  Wot 
ye^whattheScc^itaresaith  ^of  Ehas?  how 
he  maketh  intercession  to  God  against  Israel, 
saying, 

3  ^  Lord,  they  have  kiDed  thy  (KOfdiets,  and 
digged  ilown  thine  altars ;  aikl  I  am  left  alone, 
and  they  seek  my  life. 

4  But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God  unto 
him?  *  I  have  reserved  to  myself  seven  Uiou- 
sand  men,  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to 
the  image  of  BaaL 


•Chap.  Till.  29. >  Or,  in.  BHas ? '  1  Kings  xix.  10, 14. 

•lKtiigtzix.18. 'Chap.uc.27.— « Chap.  ir. 4, 5;  Gal.T.4; 

Dent.  ]z.  4,  5. ^Chap.  iz.  31 ;  x.  3. 


IdUo  am  an  Israelite— As  it  b  well  known ;  of  the 
eeed  of  Abraham^  &c.— To  whom,  through  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  I  can  trace  my  genealogy ;  yet  I 
am  not  cast  off;  I  am  still  one  of  God's  people,  by 
believing  in  Christ  God  hath  not  cast  of  that  part 
of  his  people  whom  he  foreknew,  as  repenting  and 
believing.  The  apostle  speaks  after  the  manner  of 
men.  For  in  fact,  knowing  and  foreknowing  are 
the  same  thing  with  God,  who  knows  or  sees  all 
things  at  once,  from  everlasting  to  everlasting. 
Wot  ye  «or— Know  ye  not,  that  |n  a  parallel  case, 
amid  a  general  apostacy,  when  Elijah  thought  the 
whole  nation  was  fallen  into  idolatry,  God  knew 
there  was  a  remnant  of  true  worshippers.  How  he 
maketh  intercession — Or  eomplainethy  as  the  verb 
errvyxavei,  here  used,  evidently  signiiles.  Acts  xxv. 
t4,  where  Festus  says.  The  Jews,  evtrvxop  ftoi,  xom- 
plained  to  me  concerning  Paul;  against  Israel — 
The  ten  tribes,  who  had  generally  revolted  to  idola- 
try ;  saying.  Lord,  they  have  killed  thy  prophets — 
See  note  on  1  Rings  xix.  IQ,  14 }  and  digged  down 
thine  altars— Bmh  upon  extraordinary  occasions 
by  special  dispensation,  and  with  the  authority  of 
the  Lord's  prophets ;  altars  which  pious  people  at- 
tended who  could  not  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
would  not  worship  the  calves,  nor  Baal;  these  sepa- 
rate altars,  though  breaking  in  upon  the  unity  of  the 
church,  yet  being  erected  «id  attended  by  those 
that  sincerely  aimed  at  the  glory  of  God,  and  served 
him  faithfuHy,  Gk>d  was  pleased  to  own  for  his  al- 
tars, as  well  as  that  at  Jerusalem ;  and  the  pulling 
of  them  down  is  mentioned  and  charged  upon  Israel 
by  Elijah  as  a  heinous  sin.  And  I  am  left  alone— 
Of  an  thy  prophets  who  boldly  and  pyblicly  plead 
thy  cause ;  and  they  seek  my  life—Send  murderers 
in  pursuit  of  me  from  place  to  place. 

Verses  4-6.  But  what  saith  the  answer^Recol- 
lect  the  answer  which  God  gave  to  this  doleful  com- 
plaint; I  have  reserved  to  myself— To  maintain  my 
honour  and  true  worship,  I  have  preserved  by  my 
providence  and  grace  not  fewer  than  seven  thou- 
sand; 10^  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal — Nor  to 
the  golden  calves,  nor  complied  with  any  of  those 
idolatrous  rites  which  have  been  establbhed  by  ior 
b 


6  ^Even  so  then  at  this  present  a.m.4064. 
tune  also  there  is  a  remnant  accord-         ' 
ing  to  the  election  of  grace. 

6  And  'if  by  grace,  th^  is  t/  no  more  o! 
worics :  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace.  But 
i(  U  be  a[  works,  then  is  it  no  nuxe  grace : 
otherwise  work  is  no  mcwe  work, 

7  What  then?  > Israel  hath  not  obtained  that 
which  he  seeketh  for ;  but  the  election  hath 
obtained  it,  and  the  rest  were  'Minded, 

8  (According  as  it  is  written,  '  God  hath  given 
them  the  i^irit  of  ^slumber,  *eyes  that  they 


•  Or,  hardened ;  S  Cor.  iii.  14. ^  I»a.  xxix.  10. ■  Or,  re- 

morae. ^  Deut.  X3ux.  4;  Is«.  ri.  9 ;  Jer.  t.  21 ;    Ezra  ziL  2 ; 

Matt.  ziii.  14 ;  John  zii.  40;  Acts  zxviii.  20, 27. 


iquitous  laws.  Even  so  at  this  present  time — As  it 
was  then,  so  it  is  now;  bad  as  this  generation  of 
Israetites  is,  there  is  a  remnant  who  continue  faith- 
ftil  to  God ;  according  to  the  election  of  grace — Ac- 
cording to  that  gracious  purpose  of  God,  whereby 
he  hath  chosen  those,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  for 
his  people,  that  break  off  their  sins  by  rq)entance, 
and  believe  on  Jesus^  as  the  true  Messiah  and  Sa- 
viour of  the  world,  with  their  hearts  unto  righteous- 
ness. Among  those  who  thus  repented  and  believed, 
in  the  first  age  of  Christianity,  were  many  thou- 
f  sands  of  Jews.  Of  the  election  here  spoken  of,  see 
notes  on  chap.  viii.  28-30.  And  if  by  grace,  then  it 
is  no  more  of  works — That  is,  of  fiie  merit  of  works, 
whether  ceremonial  or  moral ;  whether  of  the  Mo- 
saic or  any  other  law,  except  that  of  faith.  In  other 
words,  it  is  no  more  an  election  according  to  any 
covenant  of  justice,  like  that  made  with  our  fir^ 
parents  before  the  fall,  which  required  unsinning 
obedience,  but  according  to  the  covenant  of  grace, 
made  with  man  since  the  fall^  which  makes  provi- 
sion for  pardoning  hid  past  sins,  and  renewing  his 
fallen  nature,  and  by  which  alone  a  sinful  creature 
can  be  saved :  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace — 
The  very  nature  of  grace  is  lost.  But  if  it  be  of 
the  merit  of  works,  then  it  is  no  more  grace,  other- 
wise work  is  no  more  work — No  longer  deserving 
the  name,  or  is  no  longer  meritorious,  but  the  very 
nature  of  it  is  destroyed.  There  is  something  so 
absolutely  inconsistent  between  the  being  justified 
by  grace,  and  the  being  justified  by  the  merit  of 
works,  that  if  you  suppose  either,  you  of  necessity 
exclude  the  other.  For  what  is  given  to  works  is 
the  payment  of  a  debt ;  whereas  grace  implies  an 
unmerited  favour.  8o  that  the  same  benefit  cannot, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  be  derived  from  both. 
Verses  7-10.  What  then — ^What  is  the  conclusion 
from  the  whole?  It  is  this,  that  Israel,  in  general, 
hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh — Namely, 
justidcation,  acceptance  with  God,  and  the  blessings 
consequent  thereon?  But  the  election— Thos^  of 
them  only  who  repent  and  believe,  and  therefore  are 
chosen  of  God  to  be  his  people  \  have  obtained  it, 
and  the  rest  were  blinded— By  their  own  wilful  pre- 


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ROMAN& 


$alviUim  U  come  to  the  GetUiles. 


A.  M.406i.  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they 
^'  ^'  ^    should  not  hear ;)  unto  this  day. 

9  And  David  sMth,  ^  Let  their  table  be  made 
a  snare,  and  a  trap,  and  a  stumbling-block,  and 
a  recompense  unto  tibem :      ' 

10  ^  Let  their  eyes  be  darkened,  that  they 


2Pia.lzii.2l-' 


>Pn.lzix.: 


*  Acts  ziti.  46 ; 


judice,  arising  from  theur  worldly  spirit,  which 
caused  tbem  to.  reject  Jesus  on  account  of  his  pov- 
erty, mean  appearance,  and  state  of  siifTedng.  The 
jvord  errupu^ij<faVf  here  rendered,  loere  blinded,  sig- 
nifies properly,  toere  hardened,  being  a  metaphori- 
cal expression  taken  from  the  skin  of  the  hand, 
made  hard  by  labour.  In  general  it  denotes,  in 
Scripture,  both  hardness  of  hearty  and  blindness  of 
understanding.  '^The  apostle's  meaning  is,  that 
the  unbelieving  Jews,  through  the  influence  of 
their  own  evil  dispositions,  were  so  blinded,  that 
they  did  not  discern  the  force  of  the  evidence  by 
which  God  confirmed  the  mission  of  his  Son,  anc^ 
so  were  excluded  from  his  covenant  and  church.'^ — 
Mackitight.  According  cu  tf  is  'idriCten — Here  the 
apostle  refers  to  two  passages  of  Isaiah,  chap.  xxix. 
10;  vi.  9,  &c.  God  hath  given  them  the  spirit  of 
slumber — Or  deep  sleep,  as  the  word  KaTawfe*^  sig- 
nifies, being  used  with  an  allusion  to  the  stupifying 
potions  which  were  sometimes  given  to  -persons 
who  were  to  suffer ^rture  or  death,  to  render  them 
insensible.  The  meaning  here  is,  God  hath  at 
length  withdrawn  his  Spirit,  and  for  their  wilful  im- 
penitence, unbelief,  and  obstinacy,  hath  given  them 
up  to  a  state  of  blindness  and  insensibility,  whereby 
they  slumber,  as  it  were,  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  and 
are  careless  about  their  salvation ;  while  the  wrath 
of  God  hangs  over  their  heads,  and  the  divine  judg- 
ments are  ready  to  break  forth  upon  them,  in  a 
most  awfiil  manner.  Eyes  that  they  should  not  see — 
Here  the  apostle  alludes  to  Deut  xxix.  4,  where  see 
the  note.  As  if  the  apostle  had  said,  Being  for- 
saken of  God,  they  are  like  to  a  man  bereft  of  his 
senses:  or  he  has  given  them  up  to  such  stupidity 
of  mind,  that  though  they  have  eyes  yet  they  see 
not  Unto  this  day^So  it  was  then,  and  so  it  is 
still.  Andr^To  show  the  causes  and  consequfsnces 
of  that  spiritual  blindness ;  David  «at<^— Speaking 
prophetically  of  the  Messiah's  enemies ;  Let  their 
t€Ale  be  made  a  snare — Or,  as  the  words  may  be 
rendered,  Their  table  shaU  be  for  a  snare  to  them, 
&C.  That  is,  the  plentiful  provision  God  has  made 
for  the  supply  of  their  wants,  ghostly  or  bodily, 
being  abused,  shall  become  an  occasion  of  sin  and 
mischief  to  them ;  and  their  blessings  shall  be  turn- 
ed into  curses,  by  reason  of  their  depravity.  The 
metaphors  of  a  snare  and  a  trap  are  taken  from 
birds  and  beasts,  which  are  allurod^  into  snares  and 
traps  to  their  destruction,  by  meat  laid  in  their  way. 
Stumbling-blocks  occasion  falls,  which  sometimes 
wound  to  death.  -And  a  recompense — A  punish- 
ment as  a  recompense  of  their  preceding  wicked- 
ness. Thus  nd  is  punished  by  sin^  and  thus  the 
94 


may  not  see,  and  bow  down  their  A.M.4oe4. 
back  alway.  A^L??1 

11  I  say  then,  Have  diey  stumbled  that  they 
should  M?  Ood  forbid:  but  ro^A^  >" throu^ 
their  fedl  salvation  is  come  unto  the  Gentiles,  ibr 
to  provoke  them  to  jealouey. 


zriii.  6 ;  ^odL  18,  21 ;  zzriiL  24,98 ;  Ch^>ter  x.  19. 


gospel,  which  should  have  fed  and  strengthened 
their  souls,  becomes  a  means  of  destroying  them. 
Let  their  eyes,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said.  And  in  them 
the  following  words  are  also  fulfilled :  Their  eyes 
shall  be  darkened— Jioi  the  eyes  of  their  bodies, 
((br  in  that  sense  the  prediction  was  neither  fulfilled 
in  David's  nor  in  Christ's  enemies,)  but  of  their 
minds,  so  that  they  will  not  discern  God's  truth  nor 
their  own  duty,  nor  the  way  of  peace  and  salvation. 
And  bow  down  their  back  alway — Under  a  perpe- 
tual weight  of  sorrows,  which  they  will  not  be  side 
to  support,  and  which  wiU  be  a  just  punishment 
upon  them  for  their  having  rejected  so  easy  a  yoke, 
llie  darkening  of  the  eyes^  and  the  bowing  down 
of  the  back,  denote  the  greatest  affliction.  For 
grief  is  said  to  make  the  eyes  dim,  Lam.>.  17;  and 
a  most  miserable  slavery  is  represented  by  walking 
with  the  beck  bowed  down,  as  under  a  yoke^or 
heavy  burden,  Psahn  cxlvL  8.  They  loved  dark- 
ness rather  thab  light,  and  therefore  were  permitted 
by  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  to  go  on  in  dar)L- 
ness,  while  the  blind  led  the  blind.  And  such  still 
continues  to  be  the  state  of  the  Jews,  notwithstand- 
ing the  intolerable  load  of  wo  which  in  idl  ages, 
since  their  rejection  of  the  Messiah,  has  bowed 
down  their  backs  to  the  earth.  By  quoting  these 
prophecies,  the  apostle  ^owed  the  Jews  that  their 
rejection  and  punishment  for  crucifymg  the  Mes- 
siah, was  long  agaforetold  in  their  own  Scriptures. 
tt  is  justly  observed  by  Macknight  here,  that 
'^  God's  ancient  Israel,  given  up  to  deep  sleep,  to 
blind  eyes,  and  deaf  ears,  and  with  the  back  bowed 
down  continually,  b  an  examine  which  ought  to 
terrify  all  who  enjoy  the  gospel,  lest  by  abusing  it 
they  bring  themselves  into  the  like  miserable  con- 
dition." 

Verses  11, 18.  Have  they  s^mbled  that,  as  a  na- 
tion, they  should  /att— TotaHy  and  finally?  No: 
though  they  have  taken  such  offence  at  Christ  and 
the  gospel  tbat  they  are  rejected  by  God  at  present, 
yet  they  are  not  fallen  into  irrecoverable  ruin,  so  as 
never  more,  to  be  owned  by  God  as  his  people :  but 
rather,  through  their  fail,  salvation,  that  is,  the  gos- 
pel, which  is  the  means  of  salvation,  is  come  unto 
the  OemilesSoi  but  that  salvation  might  have 
come  to  the  Gentiles  if  they  had  stood,  but  it  was 
the  divine  appointment  that  the  gospel  should  be 
preached  to  the  Gentiles,  upon  its  being  rejected  by 
the  Jews.  Thus  in  the  parable.  Matt  xxii,  8,  9, 
they  that  were  bidden  were  not  worthy;  Go  ye 
therefore  into  the  highways,  Ac.  See  also  Luke  xiv. 
21 ;  and  so  the  aposUes  acted.  It  was  necessary. 
said  St.  PauL  Acts  ziiL  46^  that  the  word  of  God 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


prMUgee  of  the  children  of  God. 


A.M.  4064. 
A.  D.  60. 


12  Now,  if  the  &1I  of  them  be  the 

ridies  of  the  world,  and  the  ^^ymin- 

khing  (rf'  them  ^e  riches  of  the  Gentiles ;  how 

much  m(N:e  their  fidttess  ? 

13  For  I  speak  to  you  Gentiles,  inasmuch  as 


•Or,  dteay^  or.  Ion. "AcU  ix.  15;    xiii.  2;    xxiL  21; 

OiapterxT.  16 ;  OaL  L  16 ;  iL  2,  7-0 ;  Eph.  iu.  6  ;  1  Timothy 


should  firethe  opoken  to  you,  Jews:  but  seeing  thcU 
you  put  it  from  you,  to!  u>e  turn  to  the  Gentiles. 
8ee  also  Acts  xviii.  6.  Add  to  this,  that  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Christians  in  Judea  drove  them  into 
other  countries,  into  which,  whether  private  Chris- 
tians or  public  teachers^  they  carried  the  gospel 
wkh  them,  and  by  conversation  or  preaching,  com- 
municated the  knowledge  of  it  to  such  as  they 
found  willing  to  receive  it.  See  Acts  viiL  4.  To 
provoke  them  to  jealousy — ^That  is,  to  excite  them 
to  a  holy  emulation  of  sharing  the  blessings  to  be 
expected  from  their  own  Messiah,  when  they  shall 
see  so  many  heathen  nations  enjoying  them.  For 
t&e  word  napal^m^oa  is  evidently  to  be  taken  here  in 
a  good  sense,  and  signifies,  to  excite  others  to  emu- 
lOite  those  who  ei\joy  advantages  which  they  them- 
selves do  not  possess.  "  The  admission  of  the  Gen- 
tiles into  the  church  erected  by  Christ,  was  a  very 
proper  means  of  exciting  the  Jews  to  emulation ; 
because,  when  they  saw  the  Gentiles  endued  with 
the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  miraculous  pdwers, 
and  observed  the  holiness  of  their  lives,  and  the  fa- 
vour which  iJod  showed  them ;  in  short,  when  they 
foupd  all  the  blesangd  and  privileges  of  the  people 
of  God  bestowedon  the  Grentiles,  they  would  natu- 
rally conclude  that  the  Christian  was  now  the  only 
church  of  God,  and  be  excited  to  imitate  the  Gen- 
tiles by  entering  into  it,  that  they  might  share  with 
them  in  these  privileges,  verse  14 ;  as  it  is  probable 
a  number  of  them  actually  did,  especially  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem." — ^Macknight.  Thus,  as 
the  rejection  of  the  Jews  became  an  occasion  of 
the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  so  this  calling  of  the 
Gentiles  will  prove  an  occamn  of  the  restoration 
of  the  Jews.  For,  if  the  fall  of  /^aw—That  is, 
their  renting  the  gospel^  and  so  falling  from  the 
honour  and  happiness  of  being  G^'s  people,  be  the 
riches  of  the  vorZci^The  occasion  of  God's  spread- 
ing the  light  of  his  truth  and  the  riches  of  his 
grace  over  all  the  world.  And  the  diminishing  of 
tfcan— Greek  to  ^nTVt  the  diminution  or  (he  les- 
sening of  them,  by  stripping  them  of  their  privi- 
leges ',  the  riches  of  the  GerUiles — The  occasion  of 
his  manifesting  his  abundant  mercy  in  pardoning 
and  saving  the  heathen ;  how^  much  more  their  fuU 
iteM— That  is,  Ist,  The  general  conversion  of  them, 
which  the  word  irXtipufAo^  here  rendered  yu^ne^^,  un- 
doubtedly implies;  since  the  general  conversion  of 
the  Gentiles  is  expressed  by  the  same  word,  verse 
25.  2d,  The  restoring  them  to  their  forfeited  pri- 
vilege8,and  thereby  raising  them  even  to  more  thaU 
their  former  greatness,  which  is  fitly  called  their 
fiibiessy  because  it  will  render  both  themselves  and 
b 


<"  I  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  A  M.  40^. 
magnify  mine  oflSoe :  '^' 

14  If  by  any  means  I  may  provide  to  emula- 
tion them  which  are  my  fl^,  and  i^might  save 
some  of  them. 


ii.7;  2Tiin.i.  11.- 
Jamea  v.  20. 


P 1  Cor.  Tii.  16;   iz.  22 ;   1  Tltt.  ir.  16 ; 


the  Christian  chtirch  complete.  For  the  word  irA^- 
pt^tio,  fulness,  is  properly  that  which,  being  added 
to  another  thing,  makes  it  complete.  Thus  Matt, 
ix.  16,  the  patch  with  which  a  torn  garment  is 
mended,  or  mfide  complete,  has  this  name  given  it : 
and  in  this  sense  the  church  is  called,  Eph.  i.  28, 
TO  nT^fMfia,  the  fulness  of  him  vho  JUleth  all  in.  all; 
because  without  the  church,  which  is  his  body, 
Christ  would  not  be  complete.  *'  The  apostle's 
meaning  is,  that  a  general  conversion  of  the  Jews 
will  take  place  before  the  end  of  the  world,  and  will 
afford  to  the  Gentiles  the  completest  evidence  oi 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  by  showing  them  that  it  is 
the  finishing  of  a  grand  scheme,  which  Ck>d  has 
been  9arr3ring  on  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  by 
means  of  his  dispensation  toward  the  Jews."  In- 
deed so  many  prophecies  refer  to  this  grand  event, 
that  it  is  surprising  any  Christian  should  doubtrof  it. 
And  these  are  greatly  confirmed  by  the  wonderftd 
preservation  of  the  Jews,  as  a  distinct  people,  to 
this  day.  When  it  is  accomplished,  it  will  be  so 
strong  a  demonstration  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  revelatiou,  as  will  doubtless  convince 
many  thousands  of  Deists,  in  countries  professedly 
Christian ;  of  whom,  under  such  corrupt  establish- 
ments as  generally  prevail,  there  will,  of  course,  be 
increasing  multitudes  among  merely  nominaKDhris- 
tians.  And  this  will  be  a  means  of  swifUy  propa- 
gating the  gospel  among  Mohammedans  and  Pi^gans ; 
who  would  probably  have  received  it  long  ago,  had 
they  conversed  only  with  real  Christians. 

Verses  13, 14.  For^ornow,  i  speak  to  you  Geniihs 
—You  believing  Romans,  and  thus  make  known  to 
you  the  present  rejection  of  the  Jews,  and  the  hap- 
piness of  (he  Gentiles  in  their  future  restoration,  for 
your  caution  as  well  as  comfort ;.  inasmuch  as  I  am 
the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles — By  a  special  designation 
of  divine  providence  and  grace,  and  tun  accordin^y 
under  an  indispensable  obligation  to  communicate  to 
them  whatever  wUI  be  for  their  profit ;  /  magnify 
my  o^ce— Far  from  being  ashamed  of  ministering 
to  them,  I  glory  therein,  and  esteem  it  the  most  sig- 
nal honour  of  my  life  to  be  so  employed.  And  the 
rather,  if  by  any  ffi«afw— Especially  by  converting 
the  Gentiles;  /  may  provoke  to  emulation^To  a 
striving  to  partake  of  the  privileges  of  the  gospel, 
as  well  as  the  Gentiles;  th&n  which  are  my  flesh 
—My  kinsmen ;  and  might  save  some  of  them — 
Might  bring  them  to  believe  in  Jesus,  and  so  to 
be  saved.  Here,  by  a  most  popular  and  afiectioii- 
ate  turn,  the  apostle  represents  himself  as  zealous 
in  converUng  the  Gentiles,  from  his  great  love  to 
Uie  Jews. 

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A.  M.  4064.    15  For  if  the  casting  away  of  them  be 
^    ■  '^^    the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall 


the  receiving  o/* /A6m  (6,  but  life  from  the  dead  ? 
16  For  if  « the  first-fruit  be  holy,  the  lump  is 
also  holy :  and  if  the  root  be  hdy,  so  are  the 
branches. 


«  Lot.  xxiiL  10 ;  Num.  xr.  18, 19-21.- 


'  Jer.  xi.  16.- 


'Acto 


Verse  15.  For— As  if  he  had  said,  Their  general 
eonversion  ought  to  be  desired,  because  of  the  ad- 
mirable benefit  which  will  come  to  mankind  thereby : 
for  if  the  casting  away  of  them — Their  rejection, 
as  signified  above ;  be  the  reconciling  of  the  worlds 
An  occasion  of  sending  the  gospel  to  tl^e  Gentiles  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  so  bringing  them  to  faith 
in  Christ,  whereby  they  obtain  the  pardon  of  their 
sins,  and  reconciliation  with  God;  what  shall  the 
receiving  of  them  into  €k)d's  favour  and  into  his 
church  be,  bitt  life  from  the  deadr—K  miraculous 
work,  and  productive  of  the  greatest  joy  to  the  con- 
verted Gentiles;  a  joy  like  that  which  one  would 
feel  on  receiving  a  beloved  friend  back  from  the 
.  dead.  As,  in  the  following  verse,  the  apostle  speaks 
of  God's  church  under  the  emblem  of  a  tree,  I>r. 
Macknight  thinks,  in  using  the  words  9  ano6o7L7i,  the 
easting  away,  ''he  may  perhaps  allude  to  the  prac- 
tice of  gardeners,  who  cut  off  from  vines  and  olive- 
trees  such  branches  as  are  barren  or  withered,  and 
cast  them  away.  According  to  this  notion  of  cast- 
ing away,  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  or  Gentiles, 
is  the  same  thing  with  the  ingraiUng  of  them,  men- 
tioned verse  17.  In  this  passage  the  unbelief  and 
rejectipn  of  the  Jews  is  justly  represented  as  the 
means  of  the  reception  of  the  Gentiles.  For,  al- 
though the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  may  seem  to  have 
been  an  obstacle  to  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles, 
it  hath  greatly  contributed  to  that  event.  Besides 
the  reason  mentioned  in  a  preceding  note,  it  is  to  be 
considered,  that  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  was  the 
punishment  of  their  unbelief,  and  that  both  events 
were  foretold  by  Moses  and  by  Christ.  Wherefore 
these  events,  as  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  have 
strengthened  the  evidences  of  the  gospel,  and  there- 
by contributed  to  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles*" 
Add  to  this,  there  are  many  other  predictions  in  the 
Old  Testament,  which  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  but  which  derive  their  strength  from  their 
being  in  the  possession  of  the  Jews,  in  whose  hands 
they  have  continued  from  the  beginning,  and  who 
have  preserved  them  With  the  greatest  care,  carrying 
them  with  them  in  all  their  dispersions,  wherever 
they  go.  In  all  countries,  therefore,  the  Jews  are 
living  witnesses  to  the  antiquity  and  genuineness  of 
the  whole  of  the  prophecies  by  which  the  gospel  is 
confirmed.  And  their  testimony,  which  is  always 
at  hand,  cannot  be  called  in  question ;  because,  hav- 
ing shown  themselves  from  the  beginning  bitter 
enemies  of  Chrbt  and  of  his  gospel,  no  suspicion 
ean  be  entertained  that  they  have  either  forged  these 
Ikrophecies,  or  altered  them  to  favour  us.  As  little 
ean  it  be  suspected  that  we  have  forged  or  altered 


17  And  if 'scane  of  the  branches  be  A^.  40«4. 

broken  off,  ^  and  thou,  being  a  wild  '. — 

oliye-tree,  wert  grafied  in  '^among  them,  aod 
with  them  partakest  of  the  root  and  ^Uneaa  of 
the  olive-tree ; 

18  ^  Boast  not  against  the  branches.     But  if 


u.  39;  Eph.  ii.  12,  13. *  Or, /or  rifcam. «  1  Cor.  x.  12L 


these  prophecies.  For  if  any  of  us  had  been  dis- 
posed so  to  do,  it  would  have  served  no  purpoes 
while  our  enemies,  the  Jews,  maintained  the  inte- 
grity of  their  copies. 

Verses  16, 17.  And  their  conversion  will  surely  3)e 
effected,  For  if  the  first-fruit  of  them,  the  patriarchs, 
he  Ao/y— He.  alludes  to  the  waved  sheaf,  which  was 
said  to  be  holy,  because  it  was  accepted  of  God,  in 
token  of  his  giving  the  appointed  weeks  of  the  har- 
vest: and  by  the^rrt;/rtt{<,he  either  means  the  pa- 
triarchs, who  were  called  and  separated  to  the  service 
of  God  from  all  the  people  of  the  earth ;  or,  as  many 
commentators  understand  him,  Uie  first  converts  to 
Christianity  from  among  the  Jews,  teaching  that 
they  were  most  acceptable  to  God,  as  bding  the^rst 
members  of  the  newly-erected  Christian  church. 
The  lump  is  also  holy — The  lump,  ^pofia,  (which 
was  the  meal  tempered  with  water,  and  kneaded  for 
baking,)  here  denotes  the  mass  Qf  which  the  two 
wave-loaves  were  made,  mentioned  Lev.  xxiii.  17. 
And  as  these  were  offered  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
harvest,  seven  weeks  after  the  offering  of  the  first- 
fruits,  they  represented  the  whole  fruits  of  the  earth 
newly  gathered  in,  as  sanctified  through  that  offering 
for  the  people's  use,  during  the  following  year.    By 
this  latter  similitude,  therefore,  the  i^stle  intends 
the  whole  mass,  or  body  of  the  nation,  to  be  here- 
after converted,  and  rendered  acceptable  to  God,  as 
members  of  his  true  church.    And  if  the  root  of 
them,  namely,  Abraham,  iros  holy  and  beloved  of 
God,  so  are  (he  branches  still  beloved  for  the  father's 
sake,  and  so  will  be  once  more,  in  bis  good  time,  ad- 
mitted to  his  favour.    There  seems  here  to  be  an 
allusion  to  Jer.  11. 16,  where  the  Jewish  nation,  made 
the  visible  church  of  God  by  virtue  of  the  coveniant 
at  Sinai,  are  represented  under  the  figure  of  a  green 
olive-tree,  of  which  Abraham  was  the  root,  and  his 
descendants  by  Isaac   the  branches.    Hence  the 
thrustmg  the  Jews  out  of  the  covenant  of  CJod,  'n 
hero  represented  by  the  breaking  off  of  the  branches; 
and  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles  into  that  covenant, 
so  as  to  make  them  members'of  Go4's  church,  is  set 
forth  under  the  idea  of  their  being  ingrafted  into 
the  stock  of  the  green  olive^reej  and  the  advantages 
which  they  enjoyed  thereby,  are  expressed  by  their 
partaking  of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive4ree. 
The  expression,  a  wild  olive^ee,  means  here,  a 
branch  of  a  wild  olive^ree,  for  branches  only  are 
ingrafted.    The  Gentiles  are  called  a  wild  olive, 
bectiuse  God  had  not  cultivated  them  as  he  did  the 
Jews,  Who  on  that  account  were  called,  verse  24,  the 
good  or  garden  olii^e. 

Verse  IS.  Boast  not  against  the  branches^AU^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  XL 


mverUfofChd: 


A.  M^  4064.  thoa  boast,  thoa  bearest  not  the  root 
— but  the  root  thee. 

19  Thoa  wjh  say  t£ai,  Tlie  branches  were 
broken  ofl^  that  I  might  be  graffed  m. 

90  Well;  because  ofunbdief  they  were  broken 


■OkaikiiLlS. >  Pttr.  xxriiL  14 ; 


bute  not  thy  being  Ingrafted  into  tfae  food  oUre  to 
thy  own  merits,  as  if  thou  wert  worthy  of  the  bless- 
ing. But  if  thou  boa$t^To  hnmble  thy  pride,  con- 
sider, thou  bedrest  not  the  root,  but  the  root  thee — 
The  Jewish  church  is  not  ingraAed  into  the  Gentile, 
iHit  the  Gentile  into  the  Jewish ;  the  members  thereof 
being  by  iiaith  made  children  of  Abraham,  who  was 
constituted  by  €K)d?s  corenant  the  ihther  of  all  be- 
lievers, receiving  oa  their  behalf  the  promises.  The 
apostle's  meaning  is,  that  Abntom  uid  his  posterity 
derived  no  advantage  from  any  covenant  which  God 
made  with  any  of  the  Gentile  nations:  but  the 
Gentiles  have  derived  many  benefits  from  the  cove- 
nants which  God  made  vrith  Abraham  and  the  Je^^rs. 
*'  Because  the  converted  Cfentiles  began  very  eariy 
to  despise  and  hate  the  nnbelieviifg  Jews,  on  account 
of  their  opposition  to  the  gospel,  and  because  the 
apostle  foresaw  that  in  after-times  the  Jews  would 
be  treated  with  great  cruelty  and  contempt  by  Chris- 
tians of  all  denominations,  he  wrote  this  passage; 
in  which,  by  menticming  the  great  obligations  which 
the  Gentiles  are  under  to  the  Jews,  he  shows  it  to 
be  injustice,  ingratitude,  and  impiety,  to  despise  and 
hate  this  people ;  and  much  more  to  plimder,' perse- 
cute, and  kill  them.  They  were  the  original  church 
and  people  of  God.  They  preserved  the  knowledge 
of  God  when  all  the  world  was  sunk  in  idolatry. 
Tb  them  we  owe  the  Scripture  of  the  New  Tester 
ment,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Old ;  for  the  holy  and 
honourable  fellowship  of  the  prophets  and  apostles 
were  Jews.  Of  them,  as  concerning  the  flesh, 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  came.  AU  the 
knowledge  of  religion,  therefore,  which  we  enjoy, 
is  derived  from  them.  And  surely  something  of 
kindness  and  gratitude  is  due  for  such  obligations." 
— Macknight 

Verses  19-21.  Thou  voiU  *ay— Thou  wilt  object ; 
The  branches  were  broken  o^— For  their  infidelity 
and  rejection  of  Jesus  and  his  gospel ;  that  I  might 
*«  fiT«Jf«rf  tn— And  therefore  we  may  glory  over 
them  as  they  once  did  over  us.  Well;  take  this 
thought  at  least  along  with  thee,  Because  of  unbe- 
lief they  were  broken  off-^h,  was  not  undeservedly, 
by  an  act  of  absolute  sovereignty  and  prerogative, 
bot  because  of  unbelief:  by  which  it  appears,  it  is 
possible  for  whole  churches,  as  well  as  individuals, 
that  have  long  stood  by  faith,  to  fell  into  such  a  state 
of  infidelity  as  may  prove  their  ruin.  Now  thou  art 
]iMt  to  the  same  infirmity  and  corruption  that  they 
fen  by.  For  thou  standest—Unai  a  place  m  God's 
favour  and  family ;  by  faith — A  grace  which,  in  the 
very  natnre  of  it,  impUes  dependence  on  God,  and  is 
itself  the  firee,  undeserved  gift  of  God.  Thou  dost 
not  stand  in  orby  any  strength  of  thy  own,  of  whieh 

Voutt  {ty 


'Be 


A.M.4SSi. 

A.p.sa 


off,  and  thou  standeet  1^  feith. 
not  hig^-mmded,  but  ' fear: 

21  For  if  God  spared  not  the  Bitoral  branches, 
tcUce  heed  lest  he  also  epare  not  thee. 

92  Behdd  therefore  the  goodnees  and  severity 


Isa.  Ixri.  2 ;  Phil  iL  IS. 


thou  mightest  be  eontfident :  thon  art  oafy  what  the 
free  gi^  of  God  makes  thee ;  and  his  grace  is  his 
0 wn^  which  he  gives  or  withholds  at  i^easare,  Tkeia- 
fore  be  not  highrminded,  but  fear — ^Be  not  too  con- 
fident of  thy  own  strength.  A  holy  fear  is  an  excel- 
lent preservative  against  hlgh-mindedness  $  happf 
is  the  man  that  ihnsfeareth  always.  We  need  not 
fear  lest  God  should  not  be  true  to  his  word ;  aU  the 
danger  is,  lest  we  should  be  false  to  our  own :  let 
us  therefor^  fr<^,  '««<  ^  promise  being  left,  to  per- 
severing believers,  of  entering  into  his  rest,  we  shinM 
come  short  of  it,  through  not  continning  in  the  faith, 
grounded  and  settled ;  but  being  moved  therefrom* 
andfrom  the  Jiope  of  the  gospel,  Col.  129.  (fCM 
spared  not  the  natural  branches — Of  the  good  olive- 
tree,  namely,  the  Jews,  so  called  because  they  sprang 
from  Abraham,  the  root  of  that  tree,  and  consequent- 
ly by  their  descent  from  him  were  naturally  mem- 
bers of  the  Jewish  Church;  if  God  proceeded  with 
so  much  severity  against  them,  take  heed  lest  he 
spare  not  thee — Or,  as  the  Syriac  translates  the 
clause,  perhaps  neither  wiU  he  spare  Ihee.  They, 
observe,  were  natural  branches,  and  as  such  had  a 
peculiar  interest  in  Abraham's  covenant,  and  hn  the 
promises,  being  descended  fVom  his  loins;  and  yet, 
when  they  sunk  into  unbelief,  neither  prescriptioa, 
nor  long  usage,  nor  the  faithfolness  of  their  ances- 
tors, could  secure  them,  but  €tod  cast  them  off.  TsUko 
heed,  therefore,  lest  thy  unbelief  and  barreimessea:- 
pose  thee,  who  art  not  a  natural  branch,  but  a  scion 
from  a  foreign  stock,  to  the  punishment  of  ezcision, 
after  all  the  great  obligations  whi^h  he  hath  laii 
thee  under  by  his  unparalleled  goodness. 

Verses  22,  23.  Behold,  iherefi^e—ln  this  dispen- 
sation; the  goodness  and" severity  of  Qod — CoBsider 
them  maturely,  and  lay  them  deeply  to  heart:  en 
them  which  felU-The  unbelieving  Jews,  who  ioA 
offence  at  the  mean  appearance  of  Jesus,  and  so  fM 
into  unbelief,  and  were  cut  off  for  it  j  ^ercrtly— Or- 
the  exercise  of  strict  Justice ;  for  God  laidrig^eom^ 
ness  to  the  line,  and  judgment  to  the  ptummet,  and 
dealt  with  them  according  to  their  sins,  after  many 
ages  of  astonishing  patience  and  long-sufifering  ex- 
ercised toward  them.  Observe,  reader,  God  is  most 
severe  toward  those  who  have  been  most  ^stin- 
guished  by  advantages  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
abuse  of  them  on  ihe  other.  Divine  patience,  and 
privileges  abused,  turn  to  the  greatest  wrath.  Th» 
word  avorofua,  here  rendered  seserity,  HIeraUy 
means,  a  cutting  off;  the  effect  being  put  ^©^  "^ 
rity, the  cause.  But  toward  l^c— "Who  artwiled 
to  faith  in  Christ,  without  any  merit  inqiyiMTi' 
iroec2n«t»— -Benignity  and  gentteness,  as  Afpvrw^' 
signifies-^  if  thou  continue  inrkh  gooiifiess— Thall% 
9T  b 


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TV  Jewsyifihey  abide  not  in 


ROMAN& 


unbeliefs  shall  be  grafted  in  agaiuk 


A.M.406i.  of  God:  on  them  which  fell,  severi- 
,^^-^-  ty;  but  toward  thee,  goodness,  ^if 
thou  continue  in  hi^  goodness :  otheirwiae  *  thou 
also  shalt  be  cut  off. 

23  And  they  also,  *  if  they  abide  not  sdll  in 
unbelief,  shall  be  graffed  in :  for  God  is  aUe  to 
graff  them  in  again. 

24  For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  <Jive-tree 
vibkh  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafied  coa- 


Fl  C3oi.  XT.  8;   Hob.  in.  6, 14.- 
iu.  16^ *0h^.  xii  16, 


« John  XV.  2.- 


»2Cor. 


walk  worthy  of  this  privilege,  into  which  thou  art 
brought  by  Gbd'«  goodness:  or.  if  thou  be  careitil 
to  qialntain  thine  intereertr  in  God's  iayoor  by  conti- 
nuing to  depend  upon,  and  comply  with  the  design 
of  his  free  grace,  and  endeavouring  to  please  him 
continually:  otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cutoff— 
Fr9m  communion  with  God  and  his  people.  An4 
thef  a<«o— The  Jewish  nation ;  if  they  abide  mtt  in 
imbdtef—hXL^  thereby  continue  to  reject  Christ; 
shaU  be  graffed  tTi— Restored  to  union  with  Christ 
and  his  church ;  Jbr  God  is  able  to  graff  them  in 
o^^tfir^And  willing  also,  es  the  word  ivvaroc  is  fre- 
qu^itly  taken:  (dee  chap.  it.  21;  xiv.  4;  Heb.  ii. 
18:)  for  it  was  to  no  purpose  to-mention  God's  abi- 
lity to  grafi  in  the  Jews,  unless  it  had  been  accom- 
paoied  with  willingness.  Locke  saya, "  This  grafting 
in  again  seems  to  import,  that  the  Jews  shall  be  a 
flourislung  nation  again,  professing  Christianity  in 
the  land  of  promise ;  for  that  is  to  be  reinstated  again 
in  the  ]^mise  made  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 
This  Paul  might,  for  good  reasons,  be  withheld 
from  speaking  out  here.  But  in  the  prophets  there 
are  very  plain  intimations  of  it" 

Verse  24.  For,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said,  And  it  ap- 
pears that  he  will  do  it,  because  he  has  done  that 
which  was  more  unlikely,  as  being  contrary  to  na- 
ture: if  thou  werl  cut  out  of  the  tree  wild  by  ncUvrey 
^^•^If  thou  wert  admitted  into  the  family  of  God, 
though  descended  from  parents  that  were  strangers 
and  enemies,  how  much  more  shall  they  who  were 
cbOdren  of  'the  covenant,  to  whom  the  promises 
origiilally  belonged,  be  taken  into  covenant  with 
hiBi.  In  other  words,  God  will  not  seem  to  do  so 
wonderful  a  thing,  in  restoring  them  to  what  might 
appear  the  privilege  of  their  birthright,  and  in  saving 
the  seed  of  Abraham  hisfnend,  as  he  hath  done 
in  calling  you  sinners  of  the  Gentiles,  to  participate 
the  lilessings  of  which  you  h^d  not  the  least  notion, 
and  lo  which  you  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  had 
any  imaginable  claiuL  This  reasoning  is  certainly 
very  just;  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  though  it  hath 
notyet  happened,  appearing  much  more  probable 
thaaidid  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  before  that 
event  took  place.  Some  understand  the  expression, 
grafted  contrary  to  nature^  as  signifying  contrary 
to'dU  msual  way  of  ingrafting;  which  is,  not  to  in- 
sert a  wild  scion  into  a  good  stock,  but  a  good  scion 
into  a  wild  stocky  to  which  it  communicates  its 
chiDf  ing  effioacy,  causing  it  to  bear  good  fruit 
» 


trary  to  nature  into  a  good  dive-tree ;  -*;  ^*5J*' 

how  much  more  shall.these,  which  be  '- — '- 

the  natural  branches,  be  graffed  into  their  own 
olive-tree? 

26  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  y^  idiouU 
be  ignorant  of  this  mystery,  (lest  ye  should  be 
**  wise  in  your  own  conceits,)  that  ^  blindness  • 
hi  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  ^  until  the  iiihiess 
of  the  GentEes  be  come  in. 


•  Yene  7 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  14.- 
Rer.  Tii.O. 


*  Or,  hMrini$4.' 


'LukezzLSi; 


But  that  circum^ance  appears  not  to  have  been  at 
all  regarded  byjhe  apostle ;  nor  was  it  nSece^aary,  as 
Doddridge  justly  observes,  that  the  simile  taken 
from  ingrafting  should  h<Hd  in  aH  its  particulan: 
and  certainly  the  engagement  to  humility  arises,  in 
a  considerable  degree,  firom  the  circumstances  of  the 
ingrafting  here  ;supp<^ed  being  the  reverse  of  that 
commonly  used.  Indeed,  had  the  scion  been  nobler 
than  the  stock  into  which  it  was  inserted,  its  depend- 
ence on  it  for  life  and  nourishment  would  have  rei^ 
dered  it  unreasonable  that  it  should  boast  against  it ; 
how  much  more  when  the  case  was  the  reverse  of  that 
in  use,  and  the  wild  olive  was  ingrafted  on  the  good. 
Verses  25-27.  For,  &c.— And  ihigt  I  noi^  declare, 
because  /  would^wt  have  you  ignorant  qfV^i^  fnys- 
tery^Oi  the  mysterious  dispensation  under  consi- 
deration, which,  on  the  first  view  of  it,  naay  appear 
very  unaccountable ;  lest  you  should  be  wt^e  in  your 
own  coftcetft— Should  have  too  high  an  opinion  of 
yourselves,  on  account  of  yottr  being  made  the 
people  of  God  in  place  of  the  Jews.     The' Apostle 
calls  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  for  a  time,  and  their 
restoration  after  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  is 
completed,  a  mystery;  because  it  was  a  matter  of 
the  greatest  importaace  to  mankind,  and  because  it 
had  hitherto  been  kept  a  secret,  like  the  doctrine  of 
the  mysteries  among  the  Greeks,  which  was  disco- 
vered to  none  bilt  the  initiated.    See  on  Eph.  i.  9. 
That  blindness  in  par<— That  is,  as  to  the  greatest 
part  of  them,  a  remnant  oiily  being  now  brought  to 
the  fkith ;  is  happened  to  Israel— For  a  certain  time, 
for  Israel  is  neither  totally  nor  finally  rejected ;  until 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in — Here  the 
Christian  Church  is  represented  as  a  great  temple, 
erected  for  all  nations  to  worship  in.    And  the  com- 
ing of  tUe  Gentiles  into  this  temple,  or  church,  to 
worship,  signifies  their  conversion  tQ  Christianity  i 
a  conversion  which  has  hitherto  only  taken  place  in 
a  small  degree.    For,  aa  Whitby  observes,  (Appen. 
to  Rom.  XL,)  "  If  the  known  regions  of  the  world  be 
divided  into  thirty  parts,  the  Christian  part  is  only 
as  five,  the  Mohammedan  as  six,  and  the  idolatrous 
as  nineteen."  And,  alast  of  the  part  said  to  be  Chris- 
tian, how  few  are  Scriptural  Christians,  possessed  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  without  which  we  are  none  of 
his!    And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  «avec/— Shall  be 
brought  to  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  true  Messiah,  and 
90  shall  be  put  into  the  vray  if  olHaining  salvation, 
being  convinced  of  the  truth  by  the  eoming  in  of  tht 
(7»)  b 


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OBAPTER  XL 


canverHm  of  Vie  Jewe. 


A.M.4064.    26  And  BO  an  Israel  shall  be  saved : 

1 — 1  as  it  18  written,  *  There  shall  come 

cut  of  Sion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away 
uDgodlinedB  ^m  Jacob : 

27  'For  this  is  my  covenant  unto  th^n,  when 
I  shall  take  away  their  sins. 

28  As  concerning  the  gospel, /A«y  ar^  enemies 
for  your  sakes :  but  as  touching  the  election, 
they  are  ^bdoved  for  the  fittheis'  sakes. 


*  Im.  lix.  20;  Psa.  xiv.  7. '  Isa.  xxvii.  9 ;  Jer.  xxzi.  31,  ^c. ; 

Heh.  riil.  8 ;  x.  18. ^  Deut  rii.  8 ;  ix.  5 ;   x.  15. *  Num. 

juiii.  IflL 


GentQes.  Ae  it  is  written^  Isa.  lix.  20,  There  shall 
come  out  of  Sion  the  Deliverer^Being  the  son  of 
David,  he  is  said,  by  the  apostle,  to  c(Ane  out  of  Sion, 
the  city  of  David,  and  the  seat  of  his  kingdom,  ra- 
ther ^an  rvexev  itov^for  the  sake  ofSioii,\he  words 
used  by  the  LXX. ;  whose  translation  of  this  passage, 
in  other  respects,  the  apostle  adopts.  It  differs,  how- 
ever, in  some  degree,  from  the  Hebrew  original,  both 
in  this  and  the  next  clause ;  for  that  is,  the  Redeemer 
sheUl  come  to  Siot^  and  unto  them  that  turn  from 
tranagreeeion  in  Jaccb^  which,  no  doubt,  was  the  ex- 
act sense  of  the  prophet's  words.  But  since  the 
coming  ofChrist  as  a  deliverer  to  the  Jews  was  all 
that  the  apostle's  arigument  required,  he  quotes  the 
passage  merely  to  prove  that  point,  and  does  not 
notice  the  variation  of  the  Greek  translation  front 
the  original  Hebrew.  It  being  certain,  however, 
that  the  general  tenor  of  God's  covenant  with  Israel 
gave  no  hope  of  their  deliverance  and  restoration, 
after  rejection  and  chastisement,  but  in  a  way  of 
repentance  and  reformation,  the  apostle  properly 
observes,  that  when  the  deliverer  came,  he  should 
turn  away  ungodliness  fr^om  /aco6^Which,  as  it 
was  not  done  by  Christ  at  his  first  coming,  will 
doubtless  be  accomplished  in  some  future  period  by 
an  extraordinary  display  of  his  mercy  and  grace. 
For  this  is  my  covenant  unto — Or  rather  with 
them,  when  I  shaU  take  away  their  sins — That  is, 
when  their  sins,  as  a  nation,  are  remitted,  it  shall  be 
to  bring  them  again  into  covenant  with  myself. 

Verses  28^  29.  As  concerning  the  gospel — That  is, 
in  reference  to  the  gospel;  they  care  enemies  for 
your  sakes— Thej  reject  it  with  the  greater  hatred, 
because  you  embrace  it,  or  rather,  (for  they  generally 
rejected  the  gospel  before  the  Gentiles  were  called,) 
they  reject  the  gospel,  and  thereby  show  that  they 
are  enemies  to  it,  to  God,  and  to  themselves,  which 
€k>d  permits  for  your  sakes,  and  which  turns  to 
your  advantage :  (see  on  verses  11,  19,  30 :)  hut  as 
touching  the  election,  that  part  of  them  who  believe, 
and  therefore  are  chosen  of  God  to  be  his  people 
ak>ng  with  the  believing  Gentiles;  they  are  beloted 
for  the  fathers*  sakes-^Qod^s  gracious  regard  to  the 
BMmory  of  their  pious  ancestors,  engages  him  pe- 
euUariy  to  love  and  favour  them.  Or,  the  election 
here  spoken  of  may  be  that  national  election,  where- 
by the  Jews  were  made  the  church  and  people  of 
God.  See  on  chap.  is.  11.  In  req»ect  of  that  election, 
b 


29  For  the  gifts  and  caning  of  God  a.  u,  4D6l 
are  ^wfthout  repentance.  _ 

30  For  as  ye  ^ in  times  past  have  not  ^believed 
God,  yet  have  now  obtained  mercy,  through 
their  unbelief; 

31  Even  so  have  these  also  now  not  ^be|ieved| 
that  through  your  inercy  they  also  may  obtain 
mercy. 

32  For  ^God  hath  'concluded  them  all  in 


JEph.  ii.  2;    CoL  iii. 
^Chap.  iii  9;     Gal.  iii 


i.  7. »Or,  o6W: — -•()?,  obtytd, 

ii.  22. *Or,  whmi  tham  ali  ^   $0- 


the  Jews,  though  unbelieving,  and  enemies  in  re> 
spect  of  the  gospel,  as  is  said  in  the  former  clause, 
are  still  beloved  with  a  love  of  compassion  and  good- 
will, for  the  special  love  God  bore  to  Abraham  and 
the  rest  of  the  patriarchs,  from  whom  they  are  de- 
scended :  and,  in  consequence  of  the  promises  made 
to  their  fathen^  they  shall,  as  a  people,  in  some  fu- 
ture period,  become  the  people  of  God,  by  believing 
the  gospel  It  is  justly  observed  by  'Uliitby,  that 
there  is  a  two-fold  election  of  the  Jews  spoken  of  in 
this  chapter;  one  whereby  they  were  made  the 
people  of  God,  through  their  natural  descent  from 
the  fathers^  and  which  Moses  has  described,  Deut. 
vii.  ^-8.  The  other,  whereby  such  of  them  as  be- 
lieved on  Christ,  were  made  the  people  of  God  under 
the  gospel  dispensation.  This  election  is  mentioned 
Rom.  xi.  7.  For  the  gifts  and  catling  of  God,  Ac. 
— "  The  blessings  which  God  freely  bestowed  on 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  and  his  calling,  or  making 
them  his  people,  God  will  never  repent  of;  but  will 
restore  to  his  natural  seed  the  honour  of  being  his 
people,  after  the  Redeemer  hath  turned  away  their 
ungodliness  of  unbelief,  Ezek.  xvi.  60-62."— Mac- 
knight. 

Verses  30-32.  For  a* yc— Believing  Gentiles;  in 
times  pa*<— Before  Christ  was  preached  to  you; 
have  not  believed  God—Did  not  believe  in  the  living 
and  true  God:  or  rather,  as  the  words  irore  ^«- 
^fjoare  to  ^eu  signify,  were  once  disobedient  to  God^ 
and  were  buried  in  ignorance  and  superstition ;  but 
now  have  obtained  mercy — Namely,  to.be  converted 
and  pardoned;  throughlheir  unbelief— nf  Ttrruv  ami-^ 
^eia,  through,  or  on  occasion  of,  their  disobedience. 
The  apostle  does  not  mean  that  the  Gentiles  would 
not  have  been  admitted  into  the  covenant  and  church 
of  (Jod,  by  having  the  gospel  preached  to  them,  if 
the  whole  Jewish  nation  had  embraced  the  gospel, 
the  title  of  the  Gentiles  td  all  the  blessings  of  the 
covenant  with  Abraham  "being  established  by  the 
covenant  itself.  But  his  meaning  is,  as  is  explained 
in  the  note  on  verse  11.  Even  so  have  these — As  if 
he  had  said,  As  you  obtained  mercy  after  a  long 
time  of  disobedience,  so  shall  the  Jews,  who  no*, 
since  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  have  not  believed^ 
nwei^naav,  have  disobeyed  ;  thai  through  your  mercy 
—The  mercy  shown  to  you  in  the  conversion  of  so 
many  of  you,  being  provoked  to  emulation,  verse 
11 ;  thty  also  may  obtain  mercy— May  be  brought 


99 


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o/GocPsjudgfmenUm 


A.  M.  4064.  iinbeliel  that  he  miglit  have  merey 
.  uponalL 

33  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wis- 
dom and  knowledge  of  God !  '  how  unsearch- 
able are  his  judgments,  and  "hia  way3  past 
finding  oat! 

34  '^  For  who  hath  known  the  nund  of  the 


»PlM.  Mxrn.  f. "JobxiTj  Pi 

iM.zL  13;  Jec  sxliL  18;  1  Cor. 
rJobzzzr.7;  zU.  11. 


xdi.  5. ■  Job  XT.  S; 

u.  16.— r-*  Job  zsonri.  38. 


to  believe  in  Christ,  and  so  partake  of  mercy.  ^  The 
disobedience  of  the  Jews  consisted  in  their  rejecting 
the  gospel,  notwithstanding  it  was  preached  to  them, 
as  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  contained  in  their 
own  sacred  records.  And  by  obtaining  mercy,  is 
meant  the  being  admitted  into  the  covenant  and 
church  of  God,  which  is  called  mercy ,  because  it 
proceeded  entirely  from  the  mercy  of  God,  chi^).  ix. 
1 9u"  For  God  hath  concluded  (hem  all  in  unbelief— 
Suffered  the  main  body  both  of  the  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles, successively,  for  some  time,  to  continue  un- 
der the  power  of  their  unbelief,  or  disobedience  ra- 
ther, that,  in  his  own  time,  he  might  fulfil  the  great 
counsel  of  his  goodness,  in  showing  undeserved 
mercy  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  See  John  xiL 
d^  First,  God  suffered  the  Gentiles,  in  the.  early 
ages  of  the  world,  to  revolt  from  him,  and  took  the 
family  of  Abraham,  as  a  peculiar  seed,  to  himself: 
afterward  he  pormitted  them  to  (all  through  unbelief, 
disobedience,  idolatry,  and,  at  last,  the  rejection  of 
their  own  Messiah,  and  took  the  believing  Gentiles 
for  his  people.  And  he  .did  even  this  to  provoke 
the  Jews  to  emulation,  and  so  bring  them  also,  in 
the  end,  to  faith  in,  and  obedience  to,  the  gospel. 
Tliis  was  truly  &  mystery  in  the  divine  conduct, 
which  the  apostle  adores  with  such  holy  astonish- 
ment 

Verses  33-36.  O  the  depth— The  unsearchable, 
inconceivable  abundance ;  of  the  riches,  &c.— In 
the  ninth  chapter,  Paul  had  sailed  but  in  a  narrow 
sea,  now  he  is  in  the  immense  ocean :  of  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  Ood— The  depth  of  his  knowledge 
is  described  in  the  latter  part  of  this  verse ;  the  depth 
of  wisdom  in  verse  34.  Wisdom  directs  all  things 
to  the  best  end ;  knowledge  sees  that  end,  and  the 
way  that  leads  to  it.  Or,  the  divine  wisdom  was  ex- 
ercised in  contriving  and  ordering  these  dispensa- 
tions, and  knowledge  in  foreseeing  the  effects  which 
they  would  produce.  By  applying  the  word  depth 
to  the  riches  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God, 
the  apostle  represents  those  perfections  as  forming 
a  vast  ocean.  How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments 
•  -^With  regard  to  unbelievers;  and  his  ways — 
With  regard  to  believers ;  are  past  finding  out — Or 
bemg  traced.  The  word  ave^ixvia^ot  comes  from 
txifiov,  which  signifies  the  mark  of  afoot.  The  meta- 
100 


Lord?  or  •  who  hath  been  his  cowt  a.  h.  4054. 

1,    o     '  ...      A.  D.  ea 

sellor?  — : 

35  Or  ''who  hath  first  given  to  h^,  aiid  it. 
shall  be  recompensed  unto  him,agaiii.? 

36  For  *i  of  him,  and  through  him^  and, to  him 
are  all  things  i  'to  ^•whom  be  glory  .for  cvflr. 
Amen. 


^lCor:yiii.«:  Ooli.ie. 'GiliS;  lTiiiLi.l7:  STim. 

iv.lS;  Heb.xiiL21;  iP0t.  T.U;  SF^ii^lSi  Ju^.2S; 
Rer.LS. ^»«Gr.Am. 


phor  is  taken  from  animals  which  pursue  and  find 
out  their  prey  by  tracing  their  footsteps.    By  fudg^ 
menis  here,  Bfacknight  understands  God's  detenai- 
nations^  or  "^  methods  of  directing  and  gxwemii;^  alt 
things,  both  generally  and  particularly.    Agreeably 
to  which  interpretation  of  Kptftara^  judgments^  the 
apostle  adds,  and  his  ways  are  past  fmding^  oui. 
Men  are  not  capable  of  penetrating  into  the  depths 
of  the  divine  wisdom,  because  revelation  hath  made 
known  only  w^at  God  hath  willed,  and  said,  and 
done,  without  disclosing,  the  reasons  either  of  hia 
general  or  his  particular  conduct    The  kuQwledge 
of  whatever  is  above  out  present  childish  concep-  , 
tions  is  to  be  sought  for,  not  here,  but  in  the  future 
state.''    The  apostle,  in  this  part  of  the  conclusion 
of  his  discourse,  lis  Locke  observes,  ^'  had  an  especial 
regard  to  the  Jews,  whom,  in  an  elegant  but  inof- 
fensive manner,  he  rebuked  for  their  presumption  in 
finding  fault  with  the  divine  dispensations  ;  as  if 
God  had  done  them  an  injury  in  admitting  tbbc  Gen- 
tiles into  his  covenant  and  church."    For  who  hath 
known  the  mind  of  the  Lord— Before,  or  any  further 
than  he  has  revealed  it;  or  who  hath  known  what 
he  intends  to  do,  or  hath  comprehended,  all  the 
reasons  of  his  determinations  or  proceedings,,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  judge  of  them  1    Or  who  hath  been  his 
c(mnseUor  7— Who  hath  given  him  advice  respect- 
ing either  the  planning  or  managing  of  the  afi^drs 
of  the  universe?  Or,  who  hath  first  given  to  him 
either  wisdom  or  power,  or  any  thing,  or  conferred 
any  obligation  upon  him?    Let  him  show  the  obli- 
gation, and  make  out  the  claim,  and  we  may  answer 
for  it  that  it  shall  be  exactly  repaid  him  again.  "The 
apostle  here  very  properly  asks  the  Jews,  if  Gqd 
was  in  their  debt  for  any  obligation  they  had  confer- 
red on  him?    Or,  if  he  was,  let  them  say  for  what,, 
and  they  should  have  an  ample  remuneration  made 
to  them."    For  of  himr—hs  the  Creator ;  through 
hiiiy^ As  the  Preserver ;  to  him— As  the  ultimate 
end,  are  all  things :  to  whom  be — H  <5ofa,  the  glory^ 
of  his  power,  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  of  the  effects 
thereof^  the  creation,  preservation,  and  government 
of  the  universe,  and  the  redemption  and  salvation  of 
mankind,  for  ever.    Amen — A  concluding  word^  in 
which  the  affection  of  the  apostle,  when.it  is  come 
to  the  height,  shuts  up  all. 

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CHAPTER  XU. 


ounehes  to  Ood* 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

^nt  tLpofdif  htmng  ncwfinUhed  the  doctfinal  part  of  kU  eptttU,  here  enters  on  a  series  of  most  udmirabU  praetieeU  exkortsh 
~H9HS  mU  HreetioHSj  some  of  iokUk  mre  efumoefsid  and  perpetual  obUgatSonj  and  others  of  them  utere  suUed  to  the  eerdsm- 
sUmeet  of  Ae  hsAren  d  lA«  <tM<  they  were  wrktem,  Jk  Uum  aU^  he  labours  to  persuade  his  Christian  readers  toaeiim 
«  wumner  ufortky  of  thai  gospely  the  excellence  of  tskieh  he  had  been  illustrating,  Jn  this  chapter,  (1,)  fie  urges  on  them 
an  entire  consecration  of  themselves  to  God,  and  a  care  to  glorify  him  in  their  respective  stations,  by  a  faithfvl  vnprovemettd 
of  their  various  talents,  1-8.  {%)  He  exhorts  them  to  the  exercise  of  sundry  Christian  graces  and  virtues, — as  tf  love^ 
aeal,  hope,  paOeuee,  prayer,  Uberatiiy,  hospitality,  meekness,  oympaiky,  and  condescension,  9-16.  (8,)  Presses  them  to 
wsassifest «  pmcewUt,  forgioing  spirit^  ami  beeoimng tonduet  toward  all  men,  together  witkforbekranee  and  kindness  tommi 
injurious  eiumies,  17-81. 


A^M^4Wi.  J  *•  BESEECH  you  thwefore,  bre- 
— ^— ^ — 1  tbiexkf  by  the  mercies  of  God,  *'*^«* 
ye  ^preseiit  your  bodies 


that 
a  living  sacrifice, 


♦Flftt 


',  qusde,  Tene  I  to  Tesve  6.- 
X.1, *►!  Pet  its. 


»8Cor. 


fWTEQ  ON  CHAPTER  XII. 
Verse  L  I  beseech  yon  therefore^  brethren — Paul 
( to  suit  his  exhortatkms  to  the  doctrines  he  has 
been  deliTering.    So  here  the  general  exhortation 
to  nniTersal  holiness,  grounded  on,  and  inferred 
fiOfTL^  the  whole  of  the  preceding  part  of  the  epistle, 
!»  contained  in  the  first  and  second  yerses.   Particu- 
lar advices  and  precepts  follow  from  the  third  verse 
to  the  end  of  the  epistle.    By  the  mercies^^td  mv 
0UcTtpfutp,  the  bowels  of  mercies,  or-  tender  mercies 
of  ^W— The  whole  sentiment  is  derived  from  chap. 
f  .-V. ;  the  expression  itself  is  particularly  opposed 
to  the  wrath  of  God,  chap.  i.  18.    It  has  a  reference 
liere  to  the  entire  gospel,  to  the  whole  economy  of 
ghice  or  mercy,  delivering  us  from  the  wrath  of 
Oed,  and  excitinjg  us  to  all  duty.   "  The  love,"  says 
Madmight,  "  which  God  hath  expressed  in  our  re- 
demption by  Christ,  and  in  making  us  [true]  mem- 
bers of  his  church,  is  the  most  winning  of  All  consi- 
derations to  engage  us  to  obeyCrod ;  especially  as 
bis  commands  are  calculated  to  make  us  Capable  of 
the  blessings  he  proposes  to  bestow  on  us  in  the 
next  life.    We  should  therefore  habitually  recollect 
tliis- powerful  motive,  and  particularly  ^hen  any 
^ttBcuIt  duty  is  10  be  performed."     7*Aa(— Instead 
of  the  animal  victims,  whose  slaughtered  bodies  you 
imve  been  accostomed  to  ofl^,  either  to  the  true 
Ctod,  or  to  idols,  you  would  now  present — As  it 
were,  at  his  [Spiritual  altar;  your  own  bodies — That 
%  yourselves^  as  he  expresses  himself,  chap.  vi.  13, 
a  part  behig  put  for  the  whole ;  and  the  rather,  as  in 
the  ancient  sacrifices  of  beasts,  to  which^e  alludes, 
the  body  was  the  whole.    These  also  are  particu- 
larly named,  in  opposition  to  the  abominable  abuse 
of  their  bodies,  Of  which  the  heathen  were  gbilty, 
mentioned  chiqi.  L  24.    And  several  other  expres- 
ikms  fbQow,  which  have  likewise  a  direct  reference 
to  other  expressions  in  the  same  chapter.    To  this 
we  may  add,  that  having  taught,  chap.  vii.  ft,  18,  «3, 
tlNtt  the  body,  with  itsHusts,  is  the  source  and  seat 
of  sin,  he  exhorted  the  Romans,  very  properly,  to 
l^resent  thehr  bodies  to  God  a  sacrifice,  by  putting 
the  lusts  and  appetites  thereof  to  death,    tt  may  be 
froper  to  observe,  also,  that  the  word  roparvvox,  here 
tendered  to  ffresent^  is  the  word  by  which  the  bring- 
ing of  an  animal  to  the  altar  to  be  sacrificed  wae  ex- 
h 


hdy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  A.  M.  4064. 

your  re^BonaUe  service.  — — — 

2  And  ®  be  not  coaf<nrmed  to  this  world :   but 


«P8a.Ll3,14j  Cluip.TL13,l«,ld;  I  Cor. tL  13, 20. «Hcb. 

X.20. -IPet.  L14i  iJobniilS. 


A  «acr{/Sc6— Dedicated  to  God  entirely 
and  irrevocably ;  (for  in  the  ancient  sacrifices,  the 
animals  were  wholly  given,  and  were  not  taken  back 
again ;)  made  dead  to  the  world  and  sin,  being  slain 
by  the  commandment,  (chap.  vii.  9,)  or  by  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,  which  is.  ttie  word  of  God,  and  is  quick 
and  poweriU  to  efiect  Ais  death,  (Heb.  iv.  12,)  and 
living  by  that  life  which  is  mentioned  chap.  i.  17^ 
vi.  4,  ^c. ;  that  is,  by  faith  in  the  gospel,  the  law  of 
the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus;  and  thus  made  a 
living  sacrifice  indeed;  holy^K  sacrifice  such  as 
the  holy  law  requires,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  produces, 
This  is  spoken  in  allusion  to  the  sacrifices  under 
the  law  being  required  to  be  without  blemish.  Ac- 
ceptable—A  sacrifice  of  a  sweet-smelling  savour. 
The  sum  is.  Let  your  whole  souls,  with  aU  their  fa- 
culties, and  your  bodies,  with  all  their  members,  be- 
ing sanctified  and  animated  by  divine  grace,  be  de- 
dicated to,  and  employed  hi  the  service  of  him  to 
whom  you  are  under  such  immense  obligations. 
Which  is  your  recuonable  service— Bw^  a  sacri- 
fice is  reasonable,  not  merely  because,  as  Beza  ob- 
serves, it  is  the  sacrifice  of  a  rational  creature ; 
whereas  the  sacrifices  of  birds  and  beasts,  &c,,  were 
sacrifices,  aXoyuv  C««v,  of  irrational  ^mimals;  but 
because  the  whole  worship  and  service  is  highly, 
nay,  infinitely  reasonable,  being  th.e  worship  and 
service  of  faith,  love,  and  obedience,  the  objects  of 
which  are  divine  truth  and  love,  and  wise,  just,  holy, 
and  kind  commands  i  or,  in  other  words,  afiections 
and  dispositions,  words  and  actions,  suited  to  the  di- 
vine perfections,  and  the  relations  subsisting  be- 
tween us  and  God,  as  our  Creator,  Preserver,  Re- 
deemer, Savjour,  friend,  and  father  in  Christ  Jesus. 
And  as  the  sacrifice  is  thus  reasonable,  it  is  equally 
reasonable  that  we  should  offer  it,  being  under  in- 
dispensable, yea,  infinite  obligations  so  to  dg.  So 
that  in  offering  this  sacrifice,  and  in  aU  things,  a 
Christian  acts  by  the  highest  reason,  from  the  mercy 
of  God  inferring  his  own  duty. 

Verse  2.  And  be  not  con/brwwd— Neither  in  judg- 
ment, spirit,  nor  behaviour;  to  this  vain  and  einftil 
toorW— Which,  neglecting  the  will  of  God,  entirely 
follows  its  own ',  btU  beye  <ran*/br»iwd— Regene- 
rated and  created  anew ;  by  the  renewing  of  your 
minds'-Oi  your  understandings,  wills,  and  affeo* 
101 


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ROMANS. 


ImmUUyofmind, 


K.  M.  4064.  f  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing 
^•^•°  •  of  your  mindy  that  ye  may  'prove 
what  is  that  good,  and  a<^ptable,  and  perfect 
will  of  God. 
3  For  I  say,  ^  through  the  grace  given  unto 
me,  to  every  man  that  is  among  you,  *not  to 
think  of  himself  XDore  highly  than  he  ought  to 
think;  but  to  think  ^soberly,  according  a«  God 
hath  dealt  ^  to  ev^  man  the  measure  of  fitith. 


rEph.i.18;  iT.23;  Coki.21,a2;  iii.lO. f  Eph. r.  10, 17 ; 

1  Thess.  ir.  3. ^  Chap.  15;  xr.  15 ;  I  Cor.  ill  10  j   xr.  10 ; 

Q^  ii.  9. 1  Pror.  xxr.  27 ;  Eccles.  rii.  10 ;  Chap.  xi.  30. 

*  Gr.  to  •obritty. ^  i  Cor.  xii.  7, 11 ;  Eph.  iv.  7. *  1  Cor. 


tions,  through  the  influeuc^  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
Tit  iii.  5.  Thus,  Eph.  iv.  2^25,  the  new  man  ia 
described  as  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind  ;  that 
is,  ia  all  his  faculties;  in  his  affections  and  will,  as 
well  as  in  his  understanding ;  in  consequence  where- 
of his  whole  conduct  becomes  hply  and  virtuous. 
That  ye  may  prove — May  be  enabled  to  discern, 
approve,  and  know,  not  merely  speculatively,  but 
experimentally  and  practically,  and  by  sure  trial ; 
what  is  the  good,  and  acceptable,  arid  perfect  will 
of  Ood—The  will  of  God  is  here  to  be  understood 
of  all  the  preceptive  part  of  Christianity,  which  is 
in  itself  so  excellently  good,  so  acceptable  to  God, 
and  so  perfective  of  our  nature :  and  it  is  here  ^'  set 
in  opposition,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  idoljitrous 
rites  of  worship  practised  by  the  heathen,  which  in 
their  own  nature  were  extremely  bad  {  and^  on  the 
other,  to  the  unprofitable  ceremonies  and  sacriiices 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  concerning  which  God  himself 
declared  that  he  had  no  pleasure  in  them,  Heb.  x. 
5-9.  The  rites  of  Moses,  therefore,  in  which  the 
Jews  gloried,  were  no  longer  acceptable  to  God. 
Whereas  the  duties  recommended  by  the  apostle  are 
of  eternal  obligation,  and  separate  the  people  of  God 
from  the'  wicked  in  a  more  excellent  manner  than 
the  Jews  had  been  separated  from  idolaters  by  the, 
rites  of  Moses."— Macknight, 

Verse  3.  For  I  say— As  if  he  had  said,  You  must 
be  renewed,  in  prder  that  you  may  walk  as  it  is  your 
indbpensable  duty  and  great  privilege  to  do.  He 
proceeds  to  show  what  that  will  of  God  is^  which  he 
had  just  spoken  of:  through  the  grace  which  is  given 
to  me— He  chiefly  means,  given  him  as  an  inspired 
apostle,  whereby  he  was  qualified  and  anthorizedto 
direct  the  believers  at  Rome,  in  their  duty  in  gene- 
ral, and  in  the  exercise  of  their  gifts,  and  the  exe- 
cution of  their  offices  in  particular.  And  he  modestly 
mentions  the  grace  of  God  as  the  source  of  his  au- 
thority and  qualifications  for  this  office,  lest  he  should 
seem  to  forget  his  own  direction ;  to  every  one  that 
is  among  you— To  all  and  eacb  of  you,  Who  profess 
Christianity  at  Rome :  well  would  it  have  been  if  the 
Christians  there  had  always  remembered  his  advice  I 
Not  to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  \ 
think--On  account  of  any  special  giA  conferred  on  | 
him,  or  any  public  office  assigned  him  in  the  churc!i ;  | 
not  to  be  lifted  up  with  pride  on  account  of  it,  or  of ! 
1« 


4  For  *a8  we  have  many  mem-  h.u,4/^ 

bers  in  one  body,  and  all  members — ~ 

have  not  the  same  office : 

6  So*wc,6emg^many)areoiicbodymChiiBt, 
and  every  one  members  one  of  another. 

6  *■  Having  then  gifts,  differing  «>  according  to 
the  grace  that  is  given  to  us,  whether  ^  pro- 
phecy, lei  tis  prophesy  according  to  the  propor- 
tion ot  feith : 


xii  12;  Eph.iT.16.-r — ■  1  Cor.  x.  17 ;  xSL  30, 27 ;    ]&ph.tS3; 

ir.  25. ♦  Second  Sundatf  Epiphany,  epistle,  verse  o  to  rent 

1«,  Be  not,  &c. » 1  Cor.  xii.  4 ;  1  Per.  ir.  10,  11. •  Vefte 

3. P  Acts  xi.  27 ;  1  Cor.  xii  10^  28 ;  xuL2  ;  xiv.  1,  6,  2ft,  W. 


his  own  wisdom  or  understanding,  aoms  to  arrogate 
to  himself,  or  take  upon  him,  more  authority  than 
he  ought.    But  to  think  soberly—To  think  of  him- 
self, of  his  gifts  or  office,  with  modesty  and  hu- 
mihty  >  according  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every  mam 
the  measure  offaiih — From  which  all  other  gifU 
and  graces  flow.    And  surely,  as  if  he  had  said, 
When  you  consider  it  is  God  whoiiath  given  aU, 
there  will  appear  little  reason  to  magnify  yourselves 
on  any  distinguishing  share  of  his  bounty,  which 
any  one  may  have  received ;  especially  when  you 
remember  that  this  distribution  is  made  not  only,  or 
chiefly,  for  your  own  aakea,  but  out  of  regard  to  the 
good  of  the  whole.    From  the  apostolic  caution  and 
advice  here  given,  we  may  infier  that  *'  irxegularitief 
in  the  exercise  of  spiritual  gifts  had  taken  place,  or 
were  likely  to  take  place,  at  Rome  as  at  Corinth, 
1  Cor.  xii.  14,  at  Philippi,  PhiL  iL  3,  and  Theasalo- 
nica,  1  Thess.  v.  19,  20.    These  the  apostle  endea^ 
voured  to  correct,  or  prevent,  by  the  excellent  rules 
prescribed  in  this  passage." 

Verses  4-8.  For  as  we  have  many  members  •   The 
aposUe  proceeds  to  illustrate  his  advice  by  a  com- 
parison taken  f^rom  the  members  of  the  human  body. 
AU  members  have  not  the  same  office — But  different 
members  are  appointed  to  difierent  purposes    So 
we — Several  believers,  having  different  gifts  and 
offices ;  are  one  body— KM  make  up  one  body  under 
Christ  the  head;  and  members  one  of  ^nother^ 
Closely  connected  together,  and  nearly  related  to 
one  another,  and  so  bound  to  be  helpful  to  one  an<^- 
ther.    Having  then  gifts  differing—In  their  nature, 
design,  and  use,  although  the  ultimate  tendency  of 
all  is  the  same ;  according  to  the  grace  that  is  given 
to  us^Gids  are  various,  Uit  grace  is  one ;  and  graces 
free  grace,  is  the  opring  and  origin  of  all  the  gifts 
which  are  given  to  men.    It  is  grace  that  appoints 
the  ofllces,  calls  and  qualifies  persons  to  fill  them, 
and  works  in  them  both  to  will  and  to  do.    But  1^ 
grace  here  the  apostle  seems  chiefly  to  intend  the 
favour  which  God  manifest%d,  in  difierent  respects 
and  degrees,  in  bestowing  gifts  upon  men.    In  the 
primitive  church  there  were  divers  extraordinary 
gifls,  as  that  of  tongues,  that  of  discerning  of  spirits, 
that  of  healing,  with  some  others  mentioned  1  Cor. 
xii.  4-10.    But  the  apostle  speaks  here  chiefly,  if  not 
only^  of  those  that  are  ordinary.     Whether  propheey 

h 


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CHAPTER  XII. 


CkrUtian^M  amdmcM. 


A.  H.4064.    7  OrminiBtry,  let  %as  wait  on  our 

: — L  ministering :  or  *  he  that  teacheth,  on 

teachmg: 

*  8  Or 'ha  that  exborteth,  on  exhortation:  *he 
that  'gireth,  let  him  do  it  'with  simplicity: 
*he    that   ruleth,    with    diligence;    he   that 


4Aettziiil;    Rph.iT.  11;    1  Tjin.  t.  17. ■'AotoxT.38; 

1  C5or.  xir.  3. •Matt.  tI.  1,  2. ^•Or,  imparteih, »  Or, 

UUraii^;  9  Cor.  viii.  2. 


— This,  considered  as  an  extraordinary  gift,  is  that 
whereby  things  to  come  are  foretold^  or  heavenly 
mysteries  are  declared  to  men.  But  It  seems  here 
to  signify  the  ordinary  gift  of  interpreting  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  preaching  the  word  of  God,  which  is  also 
the  meaning  of  the  expression,  1  Cor.  xiv.  1,  3.  Let 
us  prophesy  according  to  (he  proportion,  or  analogy 
rather,  of  faith.  Or,  as  Peter  expresses  it,  Ist  Bpist. 
Iv.  11, 08  the  oracles  of  God  ;  according  to  the  gene- 
nd  tenor  of  them ;  according  to  that  grand  scheme 
of  doctrine  which  is  delivered  therein,  touching  the 
original  and  fallen  state  of  man,  the  person  and 
offices,  the  deity  and  atonement  of  Christ,  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  sanctification  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  inward 
and  outward  holiness,  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  a  general  judgment,  and 
an  eternal  state  of  happiness  or  misery.  There  is  a 
wonderful  analogy  between  all  these  doctrines,  and 
a  close  and  intimate  connection  between  the  chief 
heads  of  ih^Xfaith^which  'was  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  Every  article,  therefore,  ^jonceming  which 
Uiere  is  any  question,  should  be  determined  by  this 
rule :  every  doubtful  scripture  interpreted  according 
to  the  grand  truths  which  run  through  the  whole. 
Hacknight,  however,  thinks  that  "  the  extent  and 
energy  of  inspiration  which  was  bestowed  on  some 
of  the  believers,  is  rather  intended  here,  called  the 
measure  of  faith,  verse  3;  and  that  the  meaning  of 
the  apostle^s  direction  is,  that  such  as  enjoyed  the 
prophetic  inspiration  were  not  to  imagine,  that  be- 
cause some  things  were  revealed  to  them,  they  mi^t 
gpeek  of  every  thing;  but  that  in  prophesying,  they 
were  to  confine  themselves  to  what  was  revealed  to 
them."  Or  mni^fry— Altiiough  every  office  per- 
formed fbr  the  edification  of  the  church  was  called 
doMrovxa,  ministry,  (see  Eph.  iv.  12,)  and  hence  the 
word  is  applied  to  the  apostleship  itself^  Acts  i.  17, 
35 ;  vL  4 ;  and  to  the  evangelist's  office,  2  Thn.  iv.  0 ; 
yet,  as  the  ministry  here  i^ken  of  is  joined  with 
teaching,  exhorting,  distrilmting^  and  sJu>wing  mer- 
cy, which  were  all  stated  offices  in  the  church,  it  is 
probable  that  h  was  also  a  stated  office,  and  most  pro- 
bably that  of  deacons,  appointed  to  superintend  the 
temporal  aflhirs  of  the  Christian  societies :  concerning 
whom  see  note  on  Acts  vL  2, 8.  Let  us  wait  on  our 
ministering-^Let  a  man  employ  hhnself  actively  and 
ihlthfully  in  his  ministration  -,  or  he  that  tedchethr- 
The  ignorant,  who  is  appointed  to  instruct  thejoate- 
ehumenS)  and  to  fit  them  for  the  communion  of  the 
church*,  let  him  attend  to  his  office  of  teaching  with 
hamility,  tenderness,  patience,  and  diligence ;  or  he 
that  exhorteth-^yfYiOse  peculiar  bosinew  it  was  to 


showeth    mercy,    "*  with    cheerful-  a.  m.  MSi. 
A.D.  ea 


neas. 


9  '  Let  love  be  without  diashnulation.  "  Ab- 
hor that  which  is  evil ;  cleave  to  that  which  is 
good. 

10  ■  Be  kindly  aflbctioned  one  to  anollMr 


*Act«xx.28;  1  Pet  r.  2. ^"SCor.ix.?. «lTiiii.i.S; 

lPet.L23. JPm.x]3dT.14;zzxTi4;  zevu.  10 ;  Amot v.  15. 

>H6b.xuil;  2  Pet  i.  7. 


urge  Christians  to  perform  their  duty,  or  to  comfort 
them  in  their  trials,  let  him  continue  in  his  exhorta- 
tioiL  He  that  giveth — Any  thing  to  a  diaritable  use ; 
let  him  do  it  with  simplicity — Namely,  of  intention^ 
and  unfeigned  liberality :  neither  seeking  the  applause 
of  men,  nor  having  any  other  sinister  end  in  view, 
which  he  could  desire  to  conceal.  Let  him  act  with 
disinterestedness  and  impartiality.  Be  that  rtdeth 
or  presidetJi,  (Greek,  irpoi^ofuvoc,)  that  hath  the  care 
of  a  flock,  (see  1  Tim.  v.  17,)  or  presideth  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  charities,  which  sense  the  preceding  and 
following  clauses  appear  rather  to  favour :  or,  diat  Is 
appointed  to  see  that  they  do  their  duty  in  any  de- 
partment, (chap.  xvi.  2,)  with  diligence—Lei  him 
perform  his  office  faithfully.  Be  that  showeth  mercy 
—In  any  instance,  particularly  in  relieving  the  poor 
and  afflicted ;  with  cheerfulness — Rejoicing  that  he 
has  such  an  opportunity  of  being  useful  to  his  fellow- 
creatures. 

Verses  9-11.  Having  s]^ken  of  faith  and  its  fruits, 
verse  3,  he  comes  now  to  speak,  of  love.  Let  love  be 
without  dissimukUion — ^Not  in  pretence,  but  in  real- 
ity ;  not  in  word  and  tongue  only,  but  in  deed  and 
in  truth,  1  John  iii.  18.  In  consequence  of  loving 
God  because  he  hath  first  loved  you,  sincerely  love 
and  desire  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  all 
mankind;  and  let  all  your  expressions  of  mutual 
friendship  be  as  free  as  possible  from  base  flattery 
and  vain  compliment.  AbJurr  that  which  is  evil — 
In  every  instance ;  BSi^d  cleave  to  that  which  is  good 
— Both  inwardly  and  outwardly,  whatever  ill-will  or 
danger  may  follow :  practise  benevolence  and  every 
other  virtue  with  the  greatest  determination  and  per- 
severance of  mind.  B^  kindly  affectioned  one  to 
anothef^^Or,  as  the  very  expressive  words  of  the 
original,  rtf  ^lAadeA^io,  etc  aXXffhic  ^iXo^vpyoi,  may 
be  rendered,  Jh  love  to  one  another,  as  bre^ren  in 
Christ,  show  that  kindness  of  affection  which  near 
relations  bear  to  one  amOher.  So  Macknight,  who 
justly  observes, "  the  force  of  the  word  ^o^opyi,  can 
hardly  be  reached  in  any  tranriation."  It  is  com- 
pounded of  a  word  signifying  that  affection  whidi 
animals,  by  ihstinct,  bear  to  their  young;  and  so 
teaches  us,  that  Christian  charity  must  be  warm  and 
strong,  like  that,  and  joined  with  delight,  which  the 
word  also  implies.  In  honour  preferring  one  osm- 
iher^TotBi  is,  let  each,  in  his  turn,  be  ready  to  thirit 
better  of  his  brethren  than  of  himself;  which  he  wiH 
do,  if  he  h^itually  consider  what  is  good  and  excel- 
lent in  others,  and  what  is  evil  or  weak  in  himself. 
It  may  imply  also  the  preventing  others  in  every 
office  of  respect  and  kindness  >  and,  out  of  regard.to 
108 


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JBako$4aii0m  to  the  exercise  of 


ROMANS. 


several  imporUmt  4f Ifcg. 


A.lf.4064.  ^with  brothitfly  love;    *m    hoDcaur 
. prefemog  one  aaoiher ; 

11  NoC  dothftil  in  busLoeas ;  fervent  in  sinrit ; 
ierving  the  Lord ; 

12  ^Rejoicing  in  hq)e;  ''patient  in  tribula- 
iifoai  ^continuing  instant  in  prayer; 

13  *  Distributing  to  the  necessity  oi  saints ; 
'given  to  hospitality. 

14  *  ffless  them  which  persecute  you ;  Uess, 
and  curse  not 


*Ottm  Uu  l0P9  of  the  brtthrm, »PhiL  ii.  3:1  Pet,  t.  5. 

»Lnke  ac.  20;  Ch»p.  r.  2 ;  xr.  13;  PhiL  ir.  4;  1  Tfaess.  t.  W  ; 

Htbu  iil  6;  1  Pet.  ir.  13. 'Luke  xxi.  19  ;    1  Tim.  vi.  II. 

*Luk/oxwm.'li  Acts  iL  42. BiOor.rri.!. 'lTim.iu.2. 

ffMatt.T.44;  hukerl2S, 


thaur  advantage,  giving  up,  with  as  good  a  grace  as 
poMiUe,  any  thUig  in  whidi  our  own  honour  or  per- 
sonal interest  may  be  concerned.  The  original 
words,  however,  uj  rifoi  oAA^f  lepotiyHfuvoi^  are  inter- 
preted by  some.  In  every  honourable  action  going 
htfore,  amd  leading  on  one  another.  Not  elotJ^ul  in 
bminese — That  is,  being  diligent  and  industrious  in 
your  parti)cular  callings;  or  in  your  endeavours  to 
advance  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good,  especially 
the  spiritual  good,  of  one  another,  as  the  singular 
phraseology  of  the  original,  177  airndtj  fui  oKvtipoi^  is 
thought  by  many  to  imply:  "not  slothful  in  the  con- 
cerns of  God  and  one  another,"  says  Dr.  Whitby ; 
«-"  in  care  for  each  other  be  not  slothful,"  Mac- 
knight ;—"  perform  not  your  duty  alothfully,  unwill- 
ingly, and  heavily,  but  diligently,"  Baxter ;—"  what- 
soever you  do,  do  it  with  your  might,"  Wesley.  Al- 
though it  is  proper  that  Christians  should  attend  to, 
and  be  diligent  in  prosecuting  their  temporal  busi- 
ness,  yet  it  does  not  appear  tlutt  was  Uie  chief  thing 
the  i4X>8tle  had  in  view  in  this  passage.  Fement  in 
j|itr^— Zealous  and  earnest,  especially  in  all  the 
duties  of  religion,  and  in  every  business  diligently 
and  fervently  serving  the  Lord ;  doing  all  lo  God, 
and  not  to  man;  making  God's  will  your  rule,  and 
bis  glory  your  end,  in  all  your  actions. 

Yer.l^lS.  ^^icinginAoptf— Of  perfect  holiness 
and  everlasting  happiness ;  or  of  ilie  glory  of  God; 
(Horn.  V.  2 ;)  and  of  eternal  life^  Tit  L  2 ;  patie^  in 
tribuUUiqn — To  which  you  may  be  exposed  for  the 
cause  of  Christ,  or  in  whatever  you  may  be  called 
to  suffer,  according  to  the  wise  di£^>osals  of  God's 
gracious  providence ;  continuing  instant  inprayer 
Hint  you  may  stand  firm  in  the  £aith,  ai^  have  a 
seasonable  deliverance  from  your  trouble.  Distri- 
mttifig  to  the  necesmties  of  the  sainU^Ka  for  as  is 
hi  yoor  power ;  accounting  nothing  your  own  which 
their  relief  requures  you  to  commumcate.  It  is  re- 
narkable  that  the  apostle,  treating  expressly  of  the 
duties  .flowing  from  the  communion  of  saints,  yet 
Mver  says  one  word  about  the  dead.  Given  to, 
iumntnc,  pursuing  hospitality — Not  only  embracing 
those  that  offer,  but  seeking  opportunities  to  exercise 
H:  a  precept  this,  whidi  the  present  circumstances 
of  Christians  rendered  peculiarly  proper,  and  indeed 
KM 


15  ^BejcHee  with  tbem  that  dbjre-  ^^^ 
J<»oe,  and  weep  with  them  that  wo^.  '- — 1 

16  ^*  Be  of  the  same  mind  one  towsurd  ana- 
^n  ^  Mind  JBOt  high  things,  but  ^condeaceod 
to  men  of  low  eati^  ^Be  not  wiae  in  your 
own  conceits. 

17  "*  Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evfl. 

*  IVovide  things  honcist  in  the  sight  of  aH  mea 

18  If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieih  in  yoOi 

*  Uve  peaceably  with  all  men. 


k  1  Cor.  xii.  26.— J  Chap-  xv.  5. ♦  Third  Sunday  EpipW 

ny,^piiUei  rone  16  to  the  end.-^ — ^  Psa.  cxxxi.  1,2;  Jer.  w.  6. 
*  Or,  6e  etmStnied  with  mean  tJUitf».-— ^  Prov.  iiL  7  ;  3um.  IS. 
■Pror.  joL  22. — -"Cluip.  jut.  la- 
xvr.  19;  Heb.  xii.  U. 


»tfarkix.  50;    Qhvp. 


necessary ;  especially  toward  those  strangers  that 
were  exiles  from  their  own  country,  or  were  Unvei- 
ling in  the  cause  oi  Christianity.    To  which  we  maf 
add,  that  the  want  <^  public  inns^  (which  were  mucb 
less  common  than  amoiig  us,)  rendered  it  difficult 
ior  strangers  to  get  accommodations.    Bless — That 
is,  wish  veil  to,  and  pray  Ant,  them  which  persecute 
you— That  pursue  you  with  evil  intentions,  and  faA 
means  to  bring  up<Mi  you  the  greatest  «ufferinga 
Bless,  and  curse  not — No,  not  in  your  hearts^  what- 
ever provocations  you  may  have  to  do  so.    Befoice 
with  them  that  do  refoice,  ^.—Maintain  a.  constant 
sympathy  with  your  Christian  brethren,  as  the  re- 
lation m  which  you  stand  to  them,  as  oocmbers  of 
the  same  body,  requires.    Be  ofthe.sam^  mind  one 
towcard  aiu)ther^l>eske  for  others  the  etame  good 
whi<^  you  wish  for  yourselves.    Or,  "  let  each  con- 
descend to  the  rest,  and  agree  with  them  as  lar  as 
he  (aiily  and  honouraUy  can:  and  where  you  must 
differ,  do  not  by  any  means  quarrel  about  it,  but  al- 
low the  same  liberty  of  sentiments  you  would  claim." 
So  Doddridge.    Mind  not  high  things^-^Deaire  not 
riches,  honour,  or  the  company  of  the  great ;  but 
condescend  to  men  of  low  estate — To  the  meanest 
concerns  of  the  meanest  Christians,  and  stoop  to  all 
offices  of  Christiui  kindness  toward  them.    Be  not 
wise  in  your  own  conceits — So  as  to  think  you  do 
not  need  the  guidance  of  the  divine  wisdom,  or  the 
advice   and  counsel  of  your  Christian   brethren, 
Prov.  iii.  6,  7.  Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evi^ 
Nor  imagine  that  any  man's  injurious  treatment  of 
you  win  warrant  your  returning  the  injury.    PrO' 
vide  things  honest  in  (he  sight  of  all  ffie7»— Think 
beforehand:  ccntrive  to  give  as  little  offence  as  may 
be  to  any.    Take  care  that  you  do  only  such  things 
as  are  justifiable  and  unexceptionable ;  such  as  may 
be  above  the  need  of  excuse,  and  may  appear,  at  the 
first  view,  fair  and  reputable.    The  word  irpovott^upoij 
rendered  provide,  signifies,  to  think  of  the  proper 
method  of  doing  a  thing,  before  we  proceed  to  ac- 
ticm.    If  it  be  possible^Thsi  is,  so  far  as  it  may  be 
done,  1st  Without  dishonouring  God;  2d,  With  a 
good  conscienoe ;  2d,  If  men's  abuses  be.not  insuf*- 
ferable^  thai  is,  as  ftur  as  is  consistent  with  duty, 
honour,  and  oonsdeace;  live  peaceably  with  a^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  Xm. 


JSktkfmii^tomagittraUsef^ohmi, 


A.M.4064.    19  Dearly   beloved,    I'aveDge  not 

! — 1  yourselves,    but   rather  give  place 

xaoio  wraCh :  for  it  is  written,  **  Vengeance  is 

mine ;   I  w91  repay,  saith  the  Lord. 

20  '  TbarefytOy  if  thine  oiemy  hunger,  feed 


tLev.  lix.  18 ;  P«or.  zzir.  29 ;  Vecw  n.-^-^X>«iit.'xzziL'S^; 


-Even  with  heathen  and  vnbelieverB,  with 
wtomyoa  have  any  dealmgB. 

Verses  19, 20.  Dearhf  bdotedSo  he  saftens  the 
ragged  spirit;  avenge  not  yomreelvee — On  those  that 
luve  injured  you,  whatever  wrongs  yon  nugr  re- 
ceive i  but  raither  give  place  tmto  wrath-r-YiM  to 
Ihe  wraA  of  ^e  enemy;  Jer  it  is  wintten,  Fen- 
^eance  ie  mine — It  inroperly  belongs  to  me ;  and  1 
viU  rapay— 'Hie  deserved  pnnisiunent;  saith  the 
Lord  Or  perhaps  the  <Mriginal  expression,  Sort  row&y 
nr  «y>r7,  might  be  more  properly  rendered,  leave 
roomfw  vfTcUh  ;  that  is,  the  wrsth  of  Ood,  to  whom 
vengeance  properly  belongs.  ^^  'Hiis  precept,"  says 
Madcnight,  "  is  founded,  as  in  religion,  so  in  right 
reoiBon,  and  in  the  good  of  society.  For  he  who 
avenges  himseli^  making  himself  accuser,  and  judge, 
and  executioner,  all  in  one  person,  runs  a  great 
hazard  of  Injuring  both  himself  and  others,  by  acting 
improperly,  through  the  influence  of  passicm." 
7*A^e/bre-— Instead  of  bearing  any  thoughts  of 
hurting  them  that  abuse  you,  however  unkindly  and 
unjustly ;  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  Aim— ^en 
vith  your  own  hand:  yea,  if  it  be  needful,  put 
luread  into  his  mouth:  tf  he  thirsty  &C. — That  is,  on 
the  whole,^  do  himall  the  good  m  Uiy  power:  for  in 
m  doing— Ka  Solomon  urges,  (Prov.  xxv.  21,)  thou 
ekdU  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head— Thou  wilt 
tmieh  him  so  sensibly,  that  he  will  no  npre  be  aide 
to  stand  against  such  a  conduct,  than  to  bear  on  his 
head  boming  coals;  but  will  ra^er  submit  to  seek 
tfiy  friendship,  and  endeavour,  by  future  kindness, 
to  ofirerfotlanee  the  injury.    ^The  metaphor  is  sup^ 


him;  if  be  thhst,  give  him  drink:  A.M.4tS4. 
for  in  80  doing  thoa  shah  heap  coals  — '— — 1. 
of  fire  on  his  head. 

21  Be  not  overcome  of  ev3,  but  overc<Hne  evil 
with  good. 


H,th.x.90. '£iDd.3aiiLil,A;  Fvor. zzr. 21, 22 ;  MattT.41 


posed  to  be  taken  from  the  melting  of  metals,  by 
covering  the  ore(  with  burning  coals.  Thus  under> 
stood,  the  meaning  'wHl  be,  hi  so  doing,  tiiou  wilt 
moUily  thine  enemy,  and  bring  him  to  a  gbod  tempec 
niis,  no  doubt,  is^the  best  method  of  treating  ene- 
mies: for  it  belongs  to  God  to  punish  the  injurieoi, 
but  to  the  injured  to  overeome  them,  by  returning 
good  for  evil. 

"So  artists  mcH  the  sullen  ore  of  lead, 
By  heaping  coals  of  fire  upon  its  head : 
In  the  kind  warmth  the  metal  learns  to  glow, 
And,  pure  from  dross,  the  silver  runs  below." 

That  the  expression  is  used  here  in  this  sense,  seems 
evident  from  the  following  verse,  where  we  are  coot- 
manded  to  overcome  evil  with  good. 

Verse  21.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil— Ab  idl  are  who 
avenge  themsdves;  but — Even  if  you  see  no  pra- 
sent  fruit,  yet  persevere ;  and  overcome  evil  wtk 
good-^Conqvter  your  enemies  with  kindness  and 
patience,  which  is  the  most  glorious  victory,  and  a 
victory  which  may  certainly  be  obtained,  if  you 
have  the  courage  to  adhere  to  that  which,  being 
good,  is  always  in  its  own  nature,  on  the  ^n^iole,  in- 
vincible, to  whatever  present  disadvantage  it  m^ 
seem  obnoxious.  BlaokwaU,  after  havmg  praised 
the  language  in  which  this  precept  is  delivered, 
adds,  "  This  is  a  noble  strain  of  Christian  courage, 
prudence,  and  goodness,  that  nothing  in  Epictetas, 
Plutarch,  or  Antonine,  can  vie  with.  The  moralists 
and  heroes  of  paganism  c(ndd  not  write  and  act  ta 
the  height  of  1^.'^ 


CHAPTER    Xra. 

The  apoMtie  continues  kit  praciksl  exhortation,  end  inculcates^  (i,)  A  tonscUntious  subjection  to  the  late/id  commands  ^ 
chU  magistrates,  ss  deyutiet  of  God,  appointed  for  good  to  men,  1-7.  (3,)  An  attention  to  exact  equity,  and  affectionats 
toot  toward  all  men,  as  thsfidfiUing  of  the  second  table  of  the  moral  law,  8-10.  (3,)  TemperoMC,  sobriety,,  and  a  con- 
forrnty  to  Christ,  in  consequence  of  an  interest  in  him,  and  union  with  him,  11-14. 


Vd^*  T^ET  *  every  soul  'be  subject  unto 
'- —         the  higher  powers.     For  *  there 


♦  Fourth  Sunday  Epiphany,  epittk,  tcim  1  to  Terse  8,  as  also 
5  Novtmber. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XHT. 
Verse  1.  From  exhorting  the  believers  at  Rome 
to  a  life  of  entire  devotedness  to  God,  and  the  various 
duties  of  brotherly  kindness,  the  apostle  now  pro- 
ceeds to  inculcate  upon  them  that  subjection  and 
b 


is  no  power  but  of  Ood :  the  powers  A- M.  40«. 
that  be  are  ^ordained  of  God.  '- — 


»Tit.  iii.  1 ;  1  Pet  ii.  13. *  Pror.  viii.  15, 16 ;  Dan.  ii.  21 ; 

It.  % ;  John  xix.  11. '  Or  ordered. 


obedience  which  they  owed  to  their  civil  rulers,  and 
those  duties  of  justice  and  benevolence  which  were 
due  from  them  to  all  men.  And  as  Rome  was  the 
seat  of  the  empire,  it  was  highly  proper  for  the 
credit  of  Christianity,  for  which  indeed  it  waa^  in 
105 


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RCmANS. 


at  ihue  ordained  of  Gad. 


eflbct,  a  public  ap<^gy  for  him  to  do  this  when 
writing  to  inhabitants  of  that  eity^  whether  they 
were  originally  Jews  or  Gentiles.  Let  etery  awdr— 
Erery  person,  of  whatever  state,  calling,  or  degree 
he  may  be,  however  endowed  with  miraculons  gifts 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whatever  office  he  may  sustain, 
or  in  what  esteem  soever  he  may  be  held  in  the 
ehnrch  of  Christ ;  (for  that  these  things  were  i^  to 
make  some  Christians  overvalue  themselves,  is  ob- 
vious from  what  St.  Paul  says  to  the  Corinthians, 
first  epistle,  chi^p.  xii. ;  and  to  the  Romans,  in  the 
preceding  chapter  of  this  epistle ;)  be  eubfect  to  the 
higher  pawere — E^tguuc  vmpexnoai^^  the  euperwr  or 
ruling  powers  ;  meaning  the  governing  civil  authori- 
ties which  the  Divine  Providence  had  established  in 
the  places  where  they  lived:  an  admonition  this  pe- 
culiarly needful  for  the  Jews.  For  as  God  hi^ 
chosen  them  for  his  peculiar  people,  '^and,  being 
their  king,  had  dictated  to  them  a  system  of  laws, 
and  had  governed. them  anciently  in  person,  and 
afterward  by  princes  of  his  own  nomination,  many 
of  them  reckoned  it  impiety  to  submit  to  heathen 
laws  and  rulers.  In  the  same  light  they  viewed  the 
paying  of  taxes  ibr  the  support  of  heathen  govern- 
ments, Matt.  xxii.  17.  In  short,  the  zealots  of  that 
nation  laid  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  they  vtwuld 
obey  God  alone  as  their  king  and  governor,  in  op- 
position to  Cesar  and  aU  kings  whatever,  who  were 
not  of  their  religion,  and  who  did.  not  govern  th^n 
by  the  laws  of  Moses."  And  it  b  probable,  as 
Locke  and  Macknight  further  observe,  that  some  of 
ilUB  Jews  who  embraced  the  gospel,  did  not  imme- 
diately lay  aside  this  turbulent  disposition,  and  that 
even  of  the  believing  Gentiles  there  were  a  few,  who, 
on  pretence  that  they  had  a  sufficient  rule  of  conduct 
in  the  spiritual  gifts  with  which  they  were  endowed, 
thought  that  they  were  under  np  obligation  to  obey 
ordinances  imposed  by  idolaters,  nor  to  pay  taxes  for 
the  support  of  idolatrous  governments.  That  some 
Christians  were  involved  iik  this  error,  or  at  least 
were  in  danger  of  being  involved  in  it,  appears  also 
from  the  caution  which  Peter  gives  the  believers  to 
whom  he  wrote,  (first  epistle,  chap,  ii.,)  not  to  use 
their  liberty  for  a  cloak  of  maliciousness  or  misbe- 
haviour. Now,  as  these  principles  and  practices,  if 
they  should  prevail,  must,  of  necessity,  caus^  the 
gospel  to  be  evil  spoken  of,  the  apostle  judged  it  ne- 
cessary, in  this  letter  to  the  Romans,  to  show  that 
they  had  no  countenance  from  the  Christian  doc- 
trine, by  inculcating  the  duties  which  subjects  owe 
to  magistrates,  and  by  testifying  that  the  disciples  of 
Christ  were  not  exempt  from  obedience  to  the 
wholesome  laws,  even  of  the  heathen  countries 
where  they  lived,  nor  from  contributing  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  government  by  which  they  were  protected, 
although  it  was  administered  by  idolaters.  For 
there  is  iw power  but  of  God — "There  is  no  legal 
authority  but  may,  in  one  sense  or  another,  be  said 
to  be  from  God,  the  origin  of  all  power.  It  is  his 
Mrill  that  there  should  be  magistrates  to  guard  the 
peace  of  societies ;  and  the  hand  of  his  providence, 
In  directing  to  the  persons  of  particular  governors, 
ought  to  be  seriously  considered  and  revered." 
The  powers  thcU  6e— The  authorities  that  exist, 
100 


under  one  form  or  another ;  are  ordained  of  God^ 
"Are,  in  theur  different  places,  ranged,  disposed, 
and  established  by  God,  the  <nriginal  and  universal 
governor.'*     So   Dr.  Bkxidridge  renders  the  word 
rtrayiuvat^  here  used,  thinking  the  English  word 
orc/atned  rather  too  strong..  Compare  Acts  xilL  48. 
"  Divine  Providence,"  says  he,  "  ranges,  and  in  iact 
estaUishes  the  various  governments  of  the  w<»Id ; 
they  are,  therefore,  under  the  character  of  govern- 
ments, in  the  general,  to  be  revered :  but  this  cannot 
make  what  is  wrong  and  pernicious,  in  any  partioii- 
lar  forms,  sacred,  divine,  and  immi»table,  any  more 
than  the  hand  <rf  God  in  a  famine  or  pestilence  is  aa 
ftrgum^nt  against  seeking  proper  means  to  remove 
it"  But  the  expression,  wo  ^es  Tsrayfievai  ei^tv,  might 
be  rendered,  are  subordinate  to^  or  orderly  disposed 
under  God;  implying  that  diey  are  God^s  deputies, 
or  vicegerents,  and  consequently  their  authority, 
being  in  ^fect  his,  demands  our  conscientious  obe- 
dience.    "Jn   other  passages,"   says    Macknigbt, 
"  e^wuuj  powers,  by  a  common  figure,  signifies  pe^ 
sons  possessed  of  power  or  authority.     But  here, 
ai(§H(ridivKepexov9(u^  the  higher  powers,  being  distin- 
guished from  01  apxovre^,  the  riiler«,  verse  3,  must 
signify,  not  the  persons  who  possess  the  supreme 
authority,  but  the  supreme  authority  itself,  wherel^ 
the  state  is  governed,  whether  that  authority  be 
vested  in  the  people  or  in  the  nobles,  or  in  a  single 
person,  or  be  shared  among  these  three  orders :  in 
short,  the  higher  powers  denote  that  form  of  gov- 
ernment which  is  established  in  any  country,  what- 
ever it  may  be.    This,  remark  deserves  attention, 
because  the  apostle's  reasoning,  while  it  holds  good 
concerning  the  form  of  government  established  in  a 
country,  is  not  true  concerning  the  persons  who 
possess  the  supreme  power,  that  there  is  no  power 
but  from  God  ;  and  that  he  who  resisteth  the  power, 
resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God.    For,  if  the  person 
who  possesses  the  supreme  power  in  any  state,  ex- 
ercises it  in  destroying  the  fundamental  laws,  and  to 
the  ruin  of  the  people,  such  a  ruler  is  not  from  God, 
is  not  authorized  by  him,  and  ought  to  be  resisted." 
The  declaration,  there  is  no  power  bid  of  God,  he 
thinks,  "  was  written  to  correct  the  pride  of  the 
Jews,  who  valued  themselves  exceedingly  because 
they  had  received  a  form  of  government  from  God. 
The  government  of  every  state,  whether  it  be  mo- 
narchical, aristocratical,  democratical,  or  mixed,  is  as 
really  of  divine  appointment  ais  the .  government  of 
the  Jews  was,  though  none  but  the  Jewish  form  was 
of  divine  legislation.     For  God  having  designed 
mankind  to  live  in  society,  he  has,  by  the  frame  of 
their  nature,  and  by  the  reason  of  things,  authorized 
government  to  be  exercised  in  every  country.    At 
the  same  time,  having  appointed  no  particular  form 
to  any  nation  but  to  the  Jews,  nor  named  any  parti- 
cular person  or  family  to  exercise  the  power  of  gov- 
ernment, he  has  left  it  to  the  people  to  choose  what 
form  is  most  agreeable  to  themselves,  and  to  commit 
the  exercise  of  the  supreme  power  to  what  persons 
they  think  fit    And  therefore,  whatever  form  of 
government  hath  been  chosen,  or  is  established  in  any 
country,  hath  the  divine  sanction;  ftnd  the  persons 
who  by  choice,  or  even  by  the  peaceable  submissioii 

b 


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CHAPTBB  XUL 


minUUre  djf  God. 


A.  H.  4064.  2  Whoek)eyer  therefore  resisteth  ^  the 
.  — 1-  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God : 
and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves 
damnation. 

.  3  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works, 
but  to  the  eviL  Wilt  thou  then  not  be  afiuid 
of  the  power  ?  ^  do  that  which  is  good,  and  thou 
shalt  have  praise  of  the  same : 


e  Tit  iii.  1. '  1  Pet.  ii.  14;  iii.  13. 


of  the  governed,  have  the  reins  of  government  in 
their  hands,  are  the  lawful  sovereigns  of  that  coun^ 
try,  and  have  all  the  rightsand  prerogatives  belong- 
ing to  the  sovereignty  vested  in  their  persons."  The 
sum  appears  to  be,  the  office  of  civil  government  is 
instituted  by  him,  and  the  .persons  who  exercise  it 
are  invested  therewith  by  the  appointment  or  per- 
mission of  his  providence. 

yerae  2.  Whosoever  therefore  resisieOt  the  power 
—Or  the  authority,,  of  which4he  magistrate  is  pos- 
sessed ;  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God — God's  ap- 
pointment for  the  preservation  of  order  and  of  the 
public  peace.  And  they  that  resist — ^Who  withstand 
so  wise  aiid  beneficial  an  institution ;  shaU  receive  to 
theinselves  damnation — Or  condemnation  and  pun- 
ishment, not  only  from  the  civil  powers  they  inju|^, 
but  from  the  supreme  sovQreign,  whose  laws  they 
break,  and  whose  order  they  endeavour  to  reverse. 
**  As  the  precept  in  the  foregoing  verse,  and  the  de- 
clarations in  this,  are  general,  they  must  be  inter- 
preted according  to  the  nature  of  the  subjects  to 
which  they  are  applied..  Whereftwe,  since  the 
power  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  in  both  verses  is 
the  form  of  government,  and  not  the  rulers  of  the 
country,  the  subjection  enjoined  in  the  first  verse  is 
not  an  unlimited  passive  obedience  to  rulers  in  things 
sinful,  but  aa  obedience  to  the  wholesome  laws,  en- 
acted for  the  good  of  the  community  by  common 
consent,  or  by  those  who,,  according  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  state,  have  the  power  o£  enacting  laws. 
To  these  good  laws  the  people  are  to  give  obedience, 
without  examining  by  what  title  the  magistrates, 
who  execute  these  laws,  hold  their  power  j  and  even 
without  considering  whether  the  religion  professed 
by  the  magistrates  be  true  or  false.  For  the  same 
reason  the  opposition  to,  and  resistance  of  the  power, 
forbidden  in  verse  2,  is  an  opposiMon  to,  and  resist- 
ance of  the  established  government,  by  disobeying 
the  wholesome  laws  of  the  state ;  or  by  attempting 
to  overturn  the  government  from  a  factious  disposi- 
tion, or  from  ill-will  to  the  persons  in  power,  or  from 
an  ambitious  desire  to  possess  the  government  our- 
selves. These  precepts,  therefore,  do  not  enjoin 
obedience  to  the  magistrates  in  things  sinful,  but  in 
things  not  sinful;  and  more  especially  in  things 
morally  good,  and  which  tend  to  the  welfare  of  the 
state ;  besides,  as  in  the  following  verses,  the  apos- 
tle hath  shown,  from  the  nature  and  end  of  their 
office,  that  the  duty  of  rulers  is  to  promote  the  hap- 
piness of  the  people,  it  is  plain  from  the  apostle 
uimself,  that  they  who  refuse  to  do  things  sinful,  or 
b 


4  For  he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  iL  M.  40^ 

thee  for  good.     But  if  thou  do  that '- — 

which  is  evil,  be  afraid ;  for  he  beareth  not  the 
sword  in  vain :  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God, 
a.  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  hun  that 
doetheviL  .     ^ 

5  Wherefore  •  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not 
only  for  wrath,  'but  also  for  conscience'  sake^ 


•  Eccles.  riit.  2.- 


aPetii.  19. 


even  things  inconsistent  with  the  fondamental  laws 
of  the  state,  do  not  resist  the  ordinance  of  Ood,  al- 
though these  things  should  be  commanded  by  a 
lawful  magistrate,  because  in  commanding  them  he 
exceeds  hb  power.  And  opposition  to  a  ruler  who 
endeavours  utterly  to  subvert  the  constitution,  or  to 
enslave  a  fr^e  people,  is  warranted  not  only  by  right 
reason,  but  by  the  gospel,  which  teaches  that  rulers 
are  the  servants  of  God  for  good  to  the  people,  and 
are  supported  by  God  only  in  the  just  execution  of 
their  office." 

^  Verses  3-5.  For  rulers — In  genera),  notwithstand- 
ing some  particular  exceptions;  are  not  a  terror  to 
good  works — Were  not  ordained,  and  do  not  use  to 
punish  those  that  do  well,  and  conform  to  good  laws ; 
but  to  the  evil — From  which  they  deter  people  by 
punishing  tl^ose  who  do  them.  Wilt  thou — Wouldest 
thou  then;  not  be  afraid  tf  the  power — Of  the  high 
authority  with  which  they  are  invested?  Do  that 
which  is  good — Carefully  perform  the  good  actions 
which  they  enjoin,  and,  according  to  the  general 
course  of  administration,  thou  shall  have — Not  only 
protection^  but  praise  and  respect  fi:om  it.  There 
is  one  fear  that  precedes  evil  actions^and  deters  from 
them :  this  should  always  remain.  There  is  another 
which  follows  evil  actions :  they  who  do  well  are 
free  from  this.  For  he  is — Ajccording  to  the  origi- 
nal appomtment,  to  be  considered  as  elevated  above 
his  fellow-men,  not  for  his  own  indulgence,  domin- 
ion, and  advantage,  but  that  he  might  be  to  thee,  and 
to  all  the  rest  of  his  subjects,  as  the  minister  of  God 
for  good — By  maintaining  all  in  their  just  posses- 
sions, and  protecting  them  from  all  injury  and  vio- 
lence. But  if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil — And  so 
makest  thyself  the  enemy  of  that  society  of  which 
he  is  the  guardian;  be  q/rawi— Thou  hast  reason  to 
be  po.  For  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain — 
Namely,  the  sword  of  justice,  the  instrument  of 
capital  punishment,  which  God  hath  put  into  his 
hands,  and  hath  authorized  him  to  use  against  male- 
factors. A  revenger  to  execute  wrath— Voi  his  own 
personal  resentment,  but  the  wrath  of  a  righteous 
Providence ;  upon  him  that  doeth  «?t7— In  instances 
wherein  it  would  be  highly  improper  to  leave  that 
avenging  power  in  the  hands  of  private  injured  per- 
sons. Therefore  a  sense  of  duty  to  God,  as  well  as 
prudence  and  human  virtue,  will  (each  you,  that  you 
must  needs  be  subject^  riot  only  /or  fear  of  wrath — 
That  is,  punishment  from  man ;  but  for  conscience 
sake-^ui  of  obedience  to  God.  It  must  be  well 
observed,  that  "  the  apostle  did  not  mean  that  they 
107 


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BOHANa 


brotherly  love; 


A.  M.  4004.    6  For,  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute 

'. — 1-  alflo:   for  they  are  GrocTs  ministers, 

attending  continually  upon  this  very  thing. 

7  « Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues:  tri- 
bute to  whom  tribute  t^  due  ;  custom  to  whom 
eaeiom ;  fear  to  whom  fear ;  honour  to  whom 
honour* 

8  *Owe  no  man  tmy  thing,  but  to  love  one 
another :  for  ^he  that  loveth  another  hath  ftil- 
filedthelaw. 


fflfatt.  xaiL21 ;  Mark  xii.  17;  Luke  xz.  25. *  Finn  Sw- 

iav  in  Advent,  epistle,  rcrse  8  to  the  end. ^  Vene  10  j 

Oal  T.  14 ;  Col.  iii.  14 ;  1  Tim.  1.  9 ;  James  ii.  8. 


were  to  be  subject  to  the  sinjul  laws  of  the  countries 
where  they  lived,  otherwise  he  made  it  necessary 
for  the  Roman  brethren  to  join  in  the  worship  of 
idols,  contrary  to  the  superior  obligation  they  wer^ 
mider  of  obeying  Ood  rather  than  man.  Besides, 
by  telling  them  they  were  to  be  subject  on  account 
of  conscience,  he  intimated  that  the  subjection  which 
he  enjoined  did  not  extend  to  things  sinful." 

Verse  6.  For  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also — Not 
only  in  token  of  the  dmy  and  subjection  you  owe 
them,  but  because  tJiey  are  the  ministers  (officers) 
ofOod — For  the  public  good ;  attending  continually 
on  this  very  thing — Giving  the  whole  of  their  time, 
care,  and  labour  to  it.  "  The  phrase,  'K^ittspyoL  ee«, 
rendered  ministers  of  God,  signifies  ministers  ap- 
pointed by  God  in  behalf  of  the  people.  The  thing 
to  which  the  magistrates  attend,  or  ought  to  attend 
continually,  is  the  good  of  the  people ;  which  they 
should  promote  by  restrainingevil-doers,  distributing 
justice,  and  repelling  the  attacks  of  foreign  enemies. 
Now  these  things  they  cannot  do,  unless  taxes  are 
paid  to  them." 

Verse  7.  Render,  therefore,  to  aU — Magistrates, 
whether  supreme  or  subordinate ;  their  rf wc^-^What 
by  law,  or  by  the  appointment  of  God,  belongs  to 
them,  even  though  you  may  have  opportunities  of 
defrauding  them  of  it,  to  your  own  immediate  and 
temporal  advantage.  In  this  precept  the  apostle 
follows  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  ordered  the  Jews  to 
render  to  Cesar  the  things  which  were  Cesar^s, 
though  Cesar  was  neither  of  the  Jewish  nation,  nor 
of  their  reOgion.  Tribute — Taxes  on  your  persons 
or  estates ;  custom — ^For  goods  exported  or  imported. 
**  By  using  the  general  expression,  to  whom  tribute 
is  due,  the  apostle  leaves  it  to  the  laws  and  constitu- 
tion of  every  state,  and  to  the  people  In  these  states, 
to  determine  who  are  their  lawful  magistrates,  and 
what  the  tributes  and  customs  are  which  are  due  to 
their  governors;  but  by  no  means  allows  individuals 
to  determine  these  points,  because  that  would  open 
the  door  to  rebellion."— Macknighf.  Fear— Obedi- 
ence ;  honour — Reverence :  all  these  are  due  to  the 
Jiigher  powers. 

Versfes  8-10.  Here,  from  our  duty  to  magistrates, 

be  passes  on  to  general  duties.     Owe  no  man  any 

tfttn^*— Endeavour  to  manage  your  aflkirs  with  that 

economy  and  prudent  attention  that  you  may,  as 

108 


9  For  this,  *  Thou  sbalt  not  commit  a.  m.  40w. 
adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  ■  ^'  ^'  ^' 
sholft  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  felse  wit- 
ness, Thou  ^ak  not  covet ;  and  if  there  be 
any  other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  com[n^ 
Iiended  in  this  saying,  namely,  ^  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

10  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour: 
therefore  ^  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 

11  And  that,  knowing  the  time,  that  now  ii  is 


i  Ezod.  xz.  13,  Sic ;  DeuU  t.  17,  Ao. ;  finU,  six.  1& 
^  Lot.  xix.  IS  ;  M^tt  xxii.  39 ;  Maik  xii.  31 ;  Gal.  r.  14  ;  Jam. 
ii.  8. »Matt.  xiii.  40;  Verse  8. 


soon  as  possible,  balance  accounts  witfi  aQ  who  have 
any  demands  upon  you,  except  it  he  with  respect  to 
that  debt,  which,  while  you  pay,  you  will  neverthe- 
less still  owe,  namely,  to  hve  one  another  j  an  et«^ 
nal  debtj  which  can  never  be  sufficiently  discharged 
But  yet,  if  this  be  rightly  performed,  it,  in  a  sense, 
discharges  aH  the  rest    Far  he  that  loveth  another 
— As  he  ought ;  hath  fulfilled  the  law — Of  the  se- 
cond table.    The  word  erspov,  another,  here  used,  if 
a  more  general  word  than  vT^riaiov,  neighbour,  in  the 
next  verse,  and  comprehends  our  very  enemies*, 
a#cording  to  the  sublime  morality  enjoined  by  Christ 
For  this.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Ac. — All 
these  precepts,  prohibiting  sins  frequently  commit- 
ted, comprehend  also  the  contrary  duties,  due  to  our 
fellow-creatures ;  and  if  therS  be  any  otJier  more 
particular  comm/indment — Respecting  them,  as  there 
are  many  in  the  law ;  it  is  briefly  comprehended^ 
Ava/ce^aAat«rat,  it  is  summed  up  in  this  saying — In 
this  one  general  and  most  excellent  precept,  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself—Thou  shalt  learn 
to  put  thyself^  as  it  were,  in  his  place,  and  to  act 
toward  him  as,  in  a  supposed  change  of  circum- 
stances, thou  wouldest  reasonably  desire  him  to  act 
toward  thee.    Love  worketh  no  ill  to. his  neighbour 
—Nay,  wherever  that  noble  principle  governs  the 
heart,  it  will  put  men  upon  doing  all  they  can  for 
the  good  of  oUiers.     Therefore  love  is  thefulfiUing 
of  the  /aw— For  the  same  love  which  restrains  a 
man  from  doing  evil  to  any,  will  incite  him,  as  he 
has  ability  and  opportunity,  to  do  good  to  all. 

Verses  1 1,  12.  And  /^af— That  is,  do  this  to  which 
I  exhort  you ;  fulfil  the  law  of  love  in  all  the  in- 
stances above  mentioned;  knowing  the  time — Greek, 
rov  Kaipov,  the  season,  that  it  is  the  morning  of  the 
day  of  the  gospel,  a  season  of  increasing  light  and 
grace,  but  hasting  away :  that  now  it  is  high  time  to 
awake  out  of  sleep — Out  of  that  sleep  into  which 
you  had  fallen  during  the  darkness  of  heathenism, 
or  before  your  illumination  by  divine  truth  aind 
grace ;  that  state  of  insensibility  of,  and  unconcern 
about,  things  spiritual  and  eternal  in  general,  and 
your  own  salvation  in  particular;  to  awake  to  a  sense 
of  the  infinite  importance  of  the  truths  and  duties 
revealed  to  you  in  the  gospel,  and  of  the  near  ap- 
proach of  death  and  judgment,  which  will  put  a 
period  to  your  state  of  trial,  and  fix  you  in  a  state  at 


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E^^orUUianioeattqfih^workBof         CHAPTBB  XIII.        darkneBSyondfrntontkeLordJenUi 


ij.lL  4064.  high  Uno  "^IQ  aw9ke  out  of  sle^: 
•- — '■ — '—  for  now  i9  our  salvation  irearar  than 
when  we  believed. 

12  The  night  k  far  spent^  the  day  is  at 
hand :  "  let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of 
ifaurkneas,  and  ^  let  us  put  on  the  onnour  of 
light 


■1  Cor.  XT.  34;  Efik.  t.  14;  1  Thest.  r.  5,  «.- 

T.  11 ;   Col.  iii.  8. •  Bph.  ri.  13 ;  1  Theu.  r.  a- 

IT.'S;  1  Thest.  iT.12;  1  Pet.ii  IS. 


BEph. 
^PhiL 


fiaftl  ittid  eternal  retribvtkm.  It  is  therefore  high 
ttme  that  you  should  labour,  to  the  utmost  of  your 
power,  to  improve  every  opportunity  of  receiving 
and  doing  good,  and  of  prosecuting  the  great  busi- 
ness of  Ufe,  which  is  to  secure  the  favour  of  God,  a 
oenformity  io  his  image,  and  your  own  everlasting 
happiness.  For  now  is- cur,  final  salvation — Our 
eternal  glory ;  nearer  than  when  we  at  first  believed 
— It  is  continually  advancing,  flying  forward  upon 
the  swiftest  wings  of  time,  and  that  which  remains 
between  the  present  hour  and  eternity  is,  compara- 
tively speaking,  but  a  moment  The  night  is  far 
spent — The  night  of  heathenish  ignorance  and  error ; 
the  day — Of  gospel  light  and  graces  is  at  hand — 
Greek,  nyyuitv^  hath  approached^  hath  dawned :  ihe 
daf-springjrom  on  high  hathvisited  us,  to  give  light 
to.us  who  sat  in  darkness  and  in  (he  region  of  the 
^iodow  ofdeath^  and  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way 
of  peace.  The  night,  also,  of  the  present  life  is  far 
spent,  during  which  we  often  confoulid  truth  and 
error,  duty  and  sin,  and  the  day  of  eternity  is  at 
h^nd,  is  drawing  near,  even  that  day  which  will 
show  every  thing  in  its  proper  colours  and  forms. 
Let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works^  only  suitable  to, 
or  excusable  in,  a  state  of  darkness — That  is,  let  us 
abandon  all  manner  of  wickedness  which  is  wont  to 
be  practised  in  the  night,  or  in  a  state  of  ignorance, 
error,  and  folly;  and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of 
'tight — For,  beuig  soldiers,  it  is  our  duty  to  arm  and 
prepare  for  fight,  inasmuch  as  we  are  encompassed 
about  with  so  many  enemies.  In  other  words,  let  us 
be  clothed  with  all  Christian  graces,  which,  like 
burnished  and  beautiful  ai^nour,  will  be  at  once  an 
ornament  and  a  defence  to  us,  and  which  will  re- 
flect the  bright  beams  Jthat  are  so  gloriously  rising 
upon  us. 

Verse  13.  Let  us  walk  h<meslly—Greek^  ev^xfifio- 
¥f^j  decently^  or  in  a  manner  becoming  those  to 
whom  the  glorious  light  of  the  gospel  has  appeared: 
as  in  the  <iay— Namely,  of  gospel  light,  already 
shining  about  us,  which  recpiires  that  we  conduct 
ourselves  with  great  wisdom,  and  exemplary  holi- 
ness; not  in  rioting—Qreek,  «o/io*f,  a  word  derived 
from  Qymos,  the  god  of  feastuig  and  revelling;  that 
is,  feasting  with  lascivious  songs,  accompanied  witl\ 
music.  "  These  reveUings  among  the  heathen  were 
performed  in  honour  of  Bacchus,  the  god  of  wine, 
who,  on  that  account,  was  nanxed  KufianjCj  Comastes, 
and  were  acted  in  the  nightrtlme,  for  the  most  part 
without  arms.  However^  the  acU>rs  in  these  revel- 
b 


13  »Ijet  us  vralk  ^honestly,  as  in  a. m. 4064. 

the  day:  «not  in  rioting  and  druiikr L_ 

enneas,  '  not  in  chambeiiqg  and  wantonness, 
'  not  in  strife  and  envying. 

14  But  *  |Mit  ye  on  the  Lcsrd  Jesus  Christ,  and 
">  make  not  provisi(Hi.  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the 
lusts  thereof. 


*  Or,  decenUy, 4  Pror.  zxiiL  20 ;  Luke  zxi.  34 ;  1  Pet.  ir.  3. 

'1  Cor.  vi.  9;  Eph.  v.  6. 'James  iii.  14. ^  Gal.  iii  27; 

Eph.  ir.  24 ;  Col.  iu.  10. »  Gal.  t,  16 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  11. 


lings  were  sometimes  armed,  and  insnlted  those 
whom  they  happened  to  meet.  The  youth  among 
the  heathen,  especially  in  cities,  when  they  were 
enamoured,  nsed,  after  ^-they  had  got  themselves 
drunk,  to  run  about  the  streets  by  night,  having 
crowns  made  of  the  branches  and  leaves  of  trees 
upon  their  heads,  and  torches  in  their  hands,  with 
musical  instnmients  of  various  kinds,  upon  whidi 
sOme  of  them  played  soft  airs,  while  others  accom- 
panied them  with  their  voice,  dnd  danced  in  the 
most  lascivious  manner.  These  indecencies  they 
acted  commonly  before  the  house  in  which  their 
inistress  lived,  then  knocked  at  the  door,  and  some- 
times brake  in.  Henee,  in  the  book  of  Wisdom, 
they  are  called,  chap.  xiv.  23,  efifiavetc  Kufiisg^  mad 
reveUings,^  From  all  this  it  appears,  with  what 
propriety  the  apostle  joins  fiedat.  drunkenness,  and 
the  other  vices  here  menticmed,  together,  and  op- 
poses ra  oirXa  t8  ^oroc,  the  instruments,  or  weapons 
of  light,  to  these  nocturnal  dresses  and  reveUings. 
See  Macknight.  Not  in  chambering — In  fornica- 
tion, adultery,  and  fleshly  lusts.  The  original  ex- 
pression, KoiTouf,  b  interpreted  by  Leigh,  of  lying 
long  iu  bed.  ^^  I  will  not  defend  that  sense  of  tfauft 
word,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge;  "but  I  will  here  record 
the  observation  which  I  have  found  of  great  use  to 
myself,  and  to  which,  I  may  say,  that  the  production 
of  this  work,  and  most  of  my  other  writings,  is  ow- 
ing \  namely,  that  the  difference  between  rising  at  five 
and  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  for  the  space 
of  forty  years,  supposing  a  man  to  go  to  bed  at  the 
same  hour  of  the  night,  is  nearly  equivalent  to  the 
addition  often  yeitrs  to  a  man's  life ;  of  which,  (sup- 
posing the  two  hours  in  question  to  be  so  spent,) 
eight  hours  every  day  should  be  employed  in  study 
and  devotion."  And  wantonness — KaeXyeiati,  Icts^ 
civiousness,  any  kind  of  uncleanness,  or  lewd 
practices.  In  vices,  alas !  such  as  those  here  cen- 
sured by  the  apostle,  many,  even  professmg  Chris- 
tians, are  wasting  and  polluting  the  hours  which 
nature  has  destined  to  necessary  repose.  Not  in 
strife  and  envying-— In  contention  about  riches,  or 
honours,  or  opinions;  or  envying  the  prosperity  of 
others. 

Verse  14.  Bid  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ-^ 
A  strong  and  beautiful  expression  for  the  most  inti- 
mate union  with  him,  and  the  being  clothed  with  all 
the  graces  which  were  in  him ;  including  the  receiv- 
ing, in  faith  and  love,  every  part  of  his  doctrine; 
obeying  his  precepts,  imitating  his  example,  and 


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ROMANS. 


'  another  for  things  indiffererO. 


adorning  ourselves  therewith  as  with  a  splendid 
robe,  not  to  be  put  off;  because  it  is  the  garblntenxi- 
ed  for  that  eternal  day,  which  is  never  to  be  followed 
by  night.  The  apostle  does  not  say,  "  Put  on  purity 
and  sobriety,  peacefulaessand  benevolence^  but  he 


says  all  this,  and  a  thousand  times  more,  at  once,  in 
saying,  Put  on  Christ  Asud  makit  not  provision  for 
thejlesh — To  raise  foolish  and  sinful  desires  in  your 
hearts,  or,  when  they  are  raised  already,  to  devise 
means  to  gratify  them. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Stmu  of  the'Jeunsh  ecnverU  at  Rami,  supposing  that  the  meaU  forbidden  by  Moses  ttere  ttndetm  in  themselves^  and  stiU 
prohibited^  and  that  ihe  days  which  he  ordered  to  be  kept  holy,  ought  stUl  to  be  sanct^ed,  looked  on.  their  Gentile  krstirwm 
as  profane  persons,  because  they  ate  all  kinds  of  meats  toilhout  distinction,  and  regarded  every  day  aiike.  On  the  othsr 
hand,  the  GentiUs  despised  the  Jews,  as  ignorant  bigots,  for  making  any  distinciim  of  meats  and  daysf  and  refused  to 
admit  them  into  church  fdlowship.  To  remedy  these  disorders,  the  apostle,  in  this  ehspter,  (1,)  tLseommends  mutual  can>^ 
dour;  especially  betweenihose  Christians  who  did,  and  those  who  did  not  think  themselves  obligod  in  conscience  to  sbservs 
the  ceremonies  enjoined  by  Moses,'  1-9.  (2,)  He  endeavours  to  turn  their  teal  for  or  against  duse  ciservanees,  inis  s 
concern  to  prepare  for  their  final  appearance  before  Chrises  tnbunti,  10-W.  (3,)  He  further  urges  the  mutual  tender- 
ness and  candour  he  had  recommended  above,  by  representing  the  ^<n>^  of  Christ  to  all  Christions^  the  nature  and  design 
ofhisreligion,andthedangerof  a  contrary  temper,  12^2S. 

TJIM  that  •is  ^eak  in  the  faith 


k.  M.  4064. 

AD.ea 


receive  ye,  bttt  *  not  to  doubtful 


diqratatidns. 

2  For    one    believeth    that    he 
all  things ;    another,    who   is 
herbs. 


may   eat 
eateth 


•Chap.  XT.  1,  7;  1  Cor.  riii.  9,  11 ;  ix.   22. ^  Or,  not  to 

judge  his  doubeftd  thoughts. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XIV. 

Verse  1.  ffim  thcU  is  weak  in  the  /di/Ar— Whose 
couAsience  is  scrupulous,  or  whose  mind  is  doubtful, 
unsatisfied  in,  or  not  well  acquainted  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity ;  particularly  that  concerning 
Christian  liberty  and  freedom  from  the  ceremonial 
law.  "The  apostle  means  the  Jewish  Christian, 
who,  through  weakness  of  understanding,  or  through 
prejudice,  was  ignorant  of  the  doctrine  of  the  gos- 
pel concerning  meats  and  days ;  or  whose  persuasion 
of  that  doctrine  was  so  weak,  that  it  did  not  influ- 
ence his  conduct  To  such  persons,  though  in  error, 
the  apostle  showed  great  tenderness,  when  he  repre- 
sented them  as  only  weak  in  faith."  Receive  ye — 
With  all  love  and  courtesy,  into  Christian  fellow- 
ship :  biU  not  to  doubtful  disputcUions — ^About  ques- 
tionable points.  "  The  force  of  the  apostle's  admirable 
reasoning,  in  favour  of  candour  and  mutual  conde- 
scension, <!annot  be  enervated  by  saying,  as  some 
have  done,  that  here  was  no  separation  between 
Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians.  For  had  the  things 
judged  indifferent  by  the  latter,  and  apprehended 
sinful  by  the  former,  been  imposed,  a  separation  of 
communion  must  have  ensued,  and  the  schism,  on 
the  apostie's  principles,  would  have  been  chargeable 
on  the  imposers.'' — Doddiidge. 

Verses  2-4.  F\)r  one  believeth  thai  he  maff  eat  all 
things — A  converted  Gentile,  who  rightly  under- 
stands his  Christian  liberty,  is  firmly  persuaded  that 
110 


3  Let  not  him  that  eateth,  4espi^  h.  M.  4064. 
him  that  eateth  not ;  and  ^  let  not  .  — 1. 
him  which  eateth  not,  judge  him  that  eateth : 
for  God  hath  received  him. 

4  ^  Who  art  thou  that  judges!  another  man's 
servant?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or 


*  Verse  14 ;  1  Cor.  ic.  25 ;  1  Tim.  ir.  4 ;  Tit  i.  15.— «  Col. 
iL  16. — ^  James  iv.  1$. 


he  may  eat  any  kind  of  food  indifierently,  though 
forbidden  by  the  ceremonial  law,  (blood  excepted, 
of  which  see  on  Acts  xv.  20,)  without  sin.  Another y 
who  i>  weak-^A  believing  Jew,  not  thoroughly  in- 
formed of  his  Christian  liberty ;  eateih  herbs—Sam^ 
ly,  for  fear  lest  he  should  offend  by  eating  any  meat 
forbidden  by  the  law,  or  Which  was  not  killed  in  a 
legal  mannen  See  Ley.  xyii.  10-14 )  Dan.  i.  8.  Let 
not  him  that  eateth— TYi^i  makes  use  of  his  liberty  tp 
eat  any  thing  that  is  wholesome  indifferently;  de~ 
spise  him — As  over-scrupulous  or  superstitious ;  that 
eateth  no/— That  forbears  the  use  of  such  kind  of 
food  as  is  forbidden  by  the  law.  And  let  not  hin% 
which  eateth  no<— Who,  from  a  scrupulous  con- 
science, abstains  from  many  kinds  of  food ;  judge 
him  that  eateth —Censure  him  as  profane,  or  as  taking 
undue  liberties.  For  Ood  Jidth  received  him — Ac- 
knowledges both  the  one  and  the  other  for  his 
servant,  on  account  of  their  common  faith  in  Christ, 
and  in  the  truths  ^nd  promises  of  his  gospel.  This 
is  a  powerful  argument  for  our  conversing  in  a 
friendly  manner,  and  holding  communion  with  those 
who  differ  from  us  in  opinion,  on  some  points  of 
lesser  importance  in  religion.  Who  art  tJiou-^ 
Whether  weaker  or  stronger  j  that  judgest  another 
mar^s  servant— One  over  whom  thou  hast  no  power. 
T\)  his  own  master  he  standeXh  orfalleth—Ue  m\M 
abide  by  Christ's  judgment  only,  to  whom  it  belongs 
either  to  acquit  or  <^ndemn  him.     Feo,  he  shM  be 

b 


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ml  to  Judge  ene  anotkers 


▲.11.4064.  feUeth:  yea,  he  shall  be  hoUen  up: 
-■^•^'    for  Ood  is  aUe  to  make  hbrt  stand. 


5  *  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  ano< 
Aer :  another  esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let 
eveiy  man  lae  'fuHy  persuaded  in  his  own 


6  He  that  'regardeth'  the  day,  regardeth  it 
unto  the  Lord:  and'iie  that  r^;axdeth  not  the 
day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  i/.  He  that 
eateth,  eatedi  to  the  Lord,^ for  'he  giveth  God 
thanks;  and  he  that  eat^  not,  to  the  Lord  he 
eateth  not,  and  giveth  God  thanks. 


•Gai  It.  10;  Col.  ii.  16. «Or,  fidb/  assured. 'Gal. 

ir.   la »0r,  observeth. H  Cor.  x.  31;    1  Tim.  ir.  3. 

» 1  Cor. vi.  10,20;  Gal.  ii.  20;  1  Tikcss,  r.  10 ;  1  Pet  ir.  2. 


Tiolden  up — If  he  offends  in  no  greater  points  than 
these  in  dehale  among  you,  he  shall  be  upheld  in 
Uis^Ohristiau  profession,  and  established  to  eternal 
salvation.  For  Qod  is  able  to  make  him  stand— 
And  Certainly  will  do  it,  if  he  continue  to  act  con- 
scientiously and  uprightly. 

Verses  5,  6.  And  with  respect  to  days,  one  man 
esteemeth  one  ctay  above  another — Thiiis  that  the 
new  moons  and  Jewish  festivals  arj^  holier  than  other 
days,  and  oug^t  still  to  be  observed.  Another  esteem- 
eth every  day  alike— Uolds  that  the  difference  of 
days  appointed  by  Moses  has  now  ceiased.  The 
Jewish  holydays  only  being  the  subject  of  contro- 
versy, what  the  apostle  hath  here^written  concerning 
them  cannot  be  extended  to  the  sabbath,  instituted 
at  the  creation,  nor  to  the  Christian  sabbath,  the 
Lord's  day.  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in 
his  own  mtTid— That  a  thing  is  lawful  before  he  does 
it,  or  well  satisfied  as  ta  the  grounds  of  his  practice, 
that  so  he  may  not  knowingly  offend  God.  Be  that 
regardeth  the  day — That  observes  these  new  moons 
and  festivals;  regardeth  it  unto  the  Lord— -Thut  is, 
out  of  a  principle  of  conscience  toward  God,  and 
with  a  view  to  his  glory.  And^  he  (hat  regardeth 
not  the  day— That  does  not  make  conscience  of  ob- 
serving it;  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it— Ue 
also  acts  from  a  principle  of  conscience,  and  aims  at 
God's  glory.  He  that  eaeeC^i— Indifferently  of  all 
meats;'  eateth  to  the  Lord — Endeavours  to  glorify 
him,  as  it  becomes  a  good  Christian  to  do.  Far  he 
giveth  Qod  thanks — For  the  free  use  of  the  crea- 
tures, and  for  his  Christian  liberty  respecting  them. 
And  he  that  eateth  not— The  food  which  the  law 
forbids:  to  the  Lord—OxA  of  respect  to  God^  com- 
mands, he  eateth  not,  and  giveth  God  thanks— 7or 
bis  herbs,  or  that  other  food  is  provided,  on  which 
he  may  conveniently  subsist,  and  that  he  is  not 
forced  to  eat  what  he  thinks  unclean,  out  of  absolute 
necessity. 

Verses  7-9.  For  none  of  us — ^Trne  Christians,  in 
the  things  we  do,  liveth  to  himself— In  at  his  own 
dis{k)sal,  doth  his  own  will;  cmdnQman  dieth  to 
himself— Oniy  for  his' own  advantage,  and  accord- 
ing to  his  own  pleasure,  whan  he  wilL  Forwhether 
b 


7  For  ^  none  of  us  Iiv^h  to  himself,  a  m.  406i. 
and  no  man  dieth  to  hhnself.  h,D.iio, 

8  For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord; 
and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord:  whe- 
ther we  Hve  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's* 

9  For  '  to  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose, 
and  revived,  that  he  m^fat  be  ^Lcsrd  both  of. 
the  dead  and- Irving. 

10  But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother?  orwhy 
dost  thou  set  at  nai:^ht  thy  broths?  for  >  we^ 
shall  ad  stand  before  the  judgment-eeatof  Christ 

11  For  It  is  written,  "^  As  1  live,  saith  the 


»2  Cor.  T.  15. k  Acta  x.  36. » Matt.  xxv.  31,  32 ;  Acts 

X.  42;    xWi.  31;    2  CJor.  t.  10;    Jude   14,  15. 

x1t.23;  PhU.  ii.  10. 


we  lite,  ive  live  unto  the  Lorc^»-Spend  our  lives  in 
his  service,  and  ac<k)rding  to  his  will ;  amd  whether 
we  die,  we  die  unto  the  X^orrf^Either  by  saerificing 
tmr  lives  to  his  glory,  if  he  Remand  it  of  us ;  or,  if . 
we  expire  in  a  natui^  way,  by  behaving  to  the  last 
as  those  who  have  his  love  ruling  in  our  hearts,  and 
his  sacred  cause  still  in  our  eye.  Whether  we  Uve^ 
therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord^s — In  consequence 
of  being  thus  truly  devoted  to  Christ,  both  hi  life 
and  death,  we  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that 
living  or' dying  we  are  his  servants;  yea,  and  the 
objects  of  his  favour  and  care.  For  to  this  end — 
Or  purpose;  Christ  both  died— Faying  thereby  the 
price  of  our  ransom  j  aihd  ro««— Receiving  in  con- 
sequence thereof  his  purchase  and  dominion ;  and 
revived— Or  liveth,  as  f C»7<^«'  niay  be  rendered,  name- 
ly, ever  liveth,  not  only  to  appear  in  the  presence 
of  God  as  our  advocate  and  intercessor,  but  that, 
having  subdued  our  enemies,  he  might  exercise  his 
dominion  over  us,  and  be  Lord-^Oi  all  his  redeem- 
ed people,  both  such  as  are  yet  alive,  and  those  that 
are  dead.  "  From  this  passage,  and  from  Phil.  ii.  10, 
where  those  under  the  earth  are  said  to  bow  the 
knee  to  Jesus,  it  may  be  inferred,  that  the  souls  of 
men  at  death  neither  sleep  nor  fall  into  a  state  of 
insensibility.  For  if  that  were  the  case,  Christ  could 
not,  with  propriety,  be  said  to  rule  over  them,  nor 
they  be  said  to  bow  the  knee  to  him."— Macknight 
Verses  10-12.  But  why  dost  thou  judge— Ox  con- 
demn; thy  Gentile  ^rolAtfT^— Because  he  neglects 
the  distinction  of  meats  and  days  ?  Or  why  dost  thou 
— O  Gentile  believer;  set  at  naught — And  deride, 
as  weak  or  superstitious,  thy  Jewish  brother,  who 
conscientiously  observes  that  burdensome  ritual, 
from  which  thou  art  so  happy  as  to  apprehend  thy- 
self free?  This  censoriousncss,  or  contempt,  is 
greatly  to  be  blamed;  and,  as  well  as  the  judging 
and  condemning  just  mentioned,  must  very  ill  be- 
come the  state  in  which  we  are,  and  must  quickly 
be:  for  no  principle  of  our  <;ommon  faith  is  more 
certain  than  this,  that  we  shall  all  stand  and  take 
our  trial  bef(rre  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ— And 
it  is  surely  a  dangerous  presumption  to  anticipate 
that  judgment  Fer  it  is  written^ln  the  Jewish 
111 


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A.1L4II64.  L(»d,  every  koiee  shall  bow  to. me, 
'        and  every  lon^e  ahall  conf^  to 
God. 

13  So  then  '^everyone  of na  shall  give  ac- 
count of  himself  to  God. 

13  Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any 
laore:  but  judge  ^his  rather,  that  "^  no  man  put 
a  ^umlJitig-block  en*  an  oci^ieion  to  fell  in  Af« 
brother's  way. 

14  I  know,  and  am  p^[feniaded  by  the  Lord 


•  Mfttt  xii.  36 ;  Gal.  Ti.  5 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  6. "  1  Cor.  viii.  0, 13 ; 

x.3a. p Acta  X.  15;  Verses  2,30;  1  Cor.  x. 25 ;  1  Tim. iv. 4 ; 

Tit.  i.  15. ^  Gr.  common. 


Seriptures,  (Isa.  xlv.  23,)  il«  Ilive^  sgith  tfU  Lord 
^-An  oath  proper  to  him,  because  be  only  possess- 
eth  life  infinite  and  independent ;  every  knee  shall 
6ot»  £o  fTte— Shall  stoop  to  mydoroinicm;  and  every 
tongue  shall  confess  to  Groe^Shall  acknowledge  my 
sovereignty,  which  shall  be  done  most  AiUy  and 
perfectly  at  the  day  of  judgnient  The  Lord  grant 
we  may  find  mercy  in  that  day  i  And  may  it  also  be 
imparted  to  those  who  have  differed  from  us !  Yea^ 
to  those  who  have  censured  and  condemned  us  for 
things  which  we  have  done  from  a  desire  to  please 
himi  or  have  refused  to  do  from  a  fear  of  offending 
him.  So  then  every  one  of  iit^The  high,  as  well 
at  the  low,  the  rich,  as  well  as  the  poor;  shall  give 
acc09int  of  hims^f  to  God — Of  his  own  conduct, 
and  not  of  the  weaknesses  of  others;  and  therefore 
we  should  not  trouble  ourselves  about  them,  but 
lo(^  to  ourselves. 

Verse  13.  Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another 
any  uto?^— Seeing  that  judgment  belongs  to  Christ. 
"The  apostle's  meaning  is,. Since  we  are  all  the 
servants  of  Christ,  and  are  to  be  judged  by  him  at 
the  last  day,  we  ought  not  to  usurp  his  prerogative, 
by-pronouncing  one  another  profane,  or  bigoted,  or 
wi^ed,  merely  because  we  differ  in  opinion  about 
matters,  coaceraing  which  Christ  hath  commanded 
us  to  judge  for  ourselves.  Nevertheless,  notorious 
wick^ness,  whether  in  principle  or  practice,  where- 
by society  is  injured,"  and  God  dishonoured,  "being 
a  matter  subject  to  no  doubt,  we  ought  not  only  to 
judge  and  condemn  in  our  own  minds  every  in- 
stance thereof,  but  should  rebuke  those  shari^ly  who 
aee  guilty  of  it."  But  judge  this  rather — Instead 
of  judging  others,  let  us  observe  this  as  an  important 
rule  for  our  conduct ;  that  no  man  fut  a  stumbling' 
Mocfc— Any  cause  of  stumbling;  or  an  occasion  to 
faU — Into  sin;  in  his  brotker*s  way — Hindering 
him  in  his  way  to  heaven :  let  us  do  nothing,  how 
indifferent  soever  it  may  be  ia  itself,  which  oiay 
tend  to  prejudice,  discourage,  or  mislead  any  other 
Christian ;  especially  let  us  not,  by  am  unseasonable 
use,  of  our  Christian  liberty,  induce  him  to  act 
against  his  conscience,  or  with  a  doubting  con- 
seience,  or  unnecessarily  mo^e  him  to  hate  or 
Judge  us. 

Verses  14-16.  /  /moio— By  the  light  of  reason ; 
<atd  am  persttaded^Or  assured;  hjf  the  Lord  Jesus 
tit 


Jesus,  I"  that  ifA^et^  nothing  ^unclean  i»M.406^ 
of  itself:  but  *to  hfan  that  esteemeth  1- — 


anything  to  be  ^undean,  to  him  t^  i^undean. 

15  But  if  thy  brother  be  grieved  with  tkf. 
meat,  fiow  walkest  thott  ndt  ^diaritably.  'Do* 
Btroy  not  him  with  thy  meat;  for  whom  Chnst 
died. 

16  'Let  not  then  your  good  be  evil  spc^eo 
of: 

17  ^  FcHT  the  kingdcMn  of  God  is  not  nfieat  and 


«i  I  Cor.  riii.  7,  la ^  Gr.  commmi. •  Gr. 

charity, »"  1  Cor.  iriii.  11. *Ghap.  xii. 

viii.  a 


Sr.  aoecrdmg  to 
17.-»— U  Cor. 


— Probably  by  a  particular  revelation  from  him ; 
that  there  is  nothing — No  kind  of  meat;  unclean  of 
itself—Or  unlawAil  under  the  gospel.  But  to  him 
that  estee^neih  any  thing  undean — ^That  in  his  con- 
science accounts  it  to  be  so;  it  is  unclta^ — ^How 
indifferent  soever  it  is  in  itself :  and  he  will  contract 
guilt  before  <3od,  by  allowing  himself  in  it,  wheth^ 
it  be  to  indulge  his  own  taste,  or  to  engage  the  £&•« 
vour  of  others,  while  he  hadi  this  inward  appre- 
hension of  its  being  unlawAiL  The  teader  must 
observe  here,  that  things  clean  in  themselves,  thai 
is,  things  naturally  fit  for  food,  might  be  made  un- 
clean by  the  positive  command  of  God,  as  many 
sorts  of  food  were  to  the  Jews.  To  such  of  them  as 
believed  that  command  to  be  still  in  force,  .these 
kinds  of  food  were  really  unclean,  and  could  not  be 
eateii  without  sin.  But  if  thy  brother— Thy  weak 
fellow-CJhristian ;  be  grievedr^And  thereby  cast 
down,  or  prejudiced  against  the  Christian  soci^, 
of  which  thou  art  a  member;  with  thy  meat — By 
thine  eating  that  kind  of  meat,  which  he  judges  un- 
lawful to  be  eaten;  or  if  he  be  prevailed  on  by  thy 
example  to  do  that,  the  lawfulness  of.  which  he 
questions,  and  thereby  his  conscience  be  "founded ; 
now  walkest  thou  not  charitably — Tenderly  and 
condescendingly  to  his  infirmity,  as  charity  requires. 
Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat — Be  not  thou  an  oc- 
casion of  sin,  condenuiation,  and  wrath  to  him 
through  thy  meat,  thy  rash  and  unkind  use  of  such 
meat  as  he  thinks  prohibited ;  for  whom  Christ  died 
— Not  only  submitted  to  smaller  instances  of  self- 
denial,  but  endured  all  the  agonies  of  crucifixion: 
do  not  value  thy  meat  more  than  Christ  valued  his 
life.  Here  we  sec  that  a  person,  for  whom  Christ 
died,  may  be  destroyed ;  a  sure  proof  that  Christ 
died  for  all,  even  for  those  that  perish  everlastingly. 
Let  not  then  your  goods — ^Your  Christian  liberty,  a 
good  which  belongs  to  you;  be  evil  spoken  of— Be 
blamed  for  being  Uie  <M;casion  of  so  much  miscl^ief 
to  your  fellony-creatures  and  fellow-Christians. 

Verses  17,  la  For  the  kingdom  of  God— Into 
which  we  enter  by  believing  in  Christ,  and  becom* 
ing  his  subjects,  or  which  thereby  enters  into  us, 
and  is  set  up  in  our  hearts,  namely,  true  religion ; 
is  not — Does  not  consist  in;  meat  and  drink — Or 
in  anyeeremonial  observanoes  whatever ;  but  righU 
eou»n«99-^Tike  righteousnetaof  faitb,  love,  and  obe- 

b 


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CHAPTBtXIV. 


mftMalJhrb€mrame9. 


A.  M.  4064.  drink,  but  r^tecMianess,  and  peace, 
'. and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost 

18  Far  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ, 

*  f#  acceptable  to  God,  and  approYed  of  men. 

19  'Let  US  thecefore  foOpw  after  the  things 
\diich  make  for  peace,  and  things  wherewith 
^one  may  edify  another. 

20  "  For  meat  destroy  not  the  work  of  God. 

*  AH  things  indeed  are  pure ;  ^  but  it  is  evil  for 
that  man  who  eateth  with  offence. 


■2  Cor.  riii.  21. »Pf8.  xdut.  14;  Ch.  xn,  18. rCh. 

XT.  2 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  12 ;  1  Thess.  r.  11. «  Verse  15. •  Mott. 

XT.  11 ;  Acts  z.  15 ;   Vene  14 ;  Tit  L  15w 


dienee;  or  justification,  sanctification,  and  a  holy 
oonduct;  see  notes  on  diap.  y.  21,  and  x.  4;  peace 
— With  God,  peace  of  conscience,  and  tranquillity 
of  mind,  the  consequence  of  these  three  branches 
of  righteousness ;  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost— Joj 
arismg  from  a  sense  of  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins; 
(Psa.  xxxiL  1;)  and  of  the  favour  of  God;  (Psa. 
iv.  9j  "3^0  from  a  lively  hope  of  the  glory  of  God; 
(chap.  v.. 2;)  from  the  testimony  of  a  good  con- 
science; (2  Cor.  I.  12;)  and  from  communion  with 
Ck>d,  and  an  earnest  of  our  future  inheritance  in  our 
hearts;  (Eph.  i.  14;  Phil.  ii.  1.)  He  that  in  these 
things— In  this  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost;  serveth  Christ — Lives  in  obedience  to 
his  commands,  and  dedicates  his  soul  and  body, 
faculties  and  members,  to  serve  his  cause  and  in- 
terest in  that  line  of  life  to  which  he  believes  God 
hath  called  him;  is  acceptable  to  God — Whether 
he  abstains  from  the  liberties  in  question,  or  allows 
himself  in  them;  and  approved  o/* meTi— Namely, 
of  truly  wise  and  good  men ;  how  much  soever  the 
ignorant  and  wicked  may  cepsure  such  a  ipan  as 
an  enthusiast,  fanatic,  or  hypocrite,  he  will  not 
want  the  approbation  of  those  who  are  truly  en- 
lightened by  the  truth,  and  regenerated  by  the 
grace  of  God. 

Verses  19-21.  Let  us  therefore— In  consistency 
with  these  certain  and  momentous  truths ;  foUow 
after  the  things  which  make  for  p€acc— -Which  tend 
to  procure,  preserve,  and  promote  peace  among  the 
fidthful;  and  Mnga  wherewith  one  may  edify 
another,  may  build  him  up  in  faith  and  holiness. 
Observe,  reader,  peape  and  edification  are  closely 
conncoted:  practical  divinity  tends  equally  to  peace 
and  edification.  Controversial  divinity  less  directly 
tends  to  edification,  although  sometimes  we,  as  they 
of  oU,  Neh.  iv.  17,  cannot  build  without  it.  For 
meat — ^For  so  smiUl  a  matter  as  the  eating  a  little 
meat;  or,  for  the  use  of  any  indifferent  thing,  de- 
stroy not  the  work  of  God— ThsX  work  which  he 
builds  in  the  soul  by  faith,  and  in  the  church  by 
concord:  do  nothing  toward  destroying  it  All 
things  indeed  are  pure — All  meats  are,  in  them- 
selves, iawAil ;  but  it^  the«  eating  what  a  person 
thinks  to  be  prohibited,  is  enil^  sinful,  and  hurtful, 
to  that  man  who  eateth  with  of  ence— So  as  to  offend 
another  thereby,  or  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  his 

Vol.  U.  (  8  ) 


21  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  <>  fledi,  A:M.4e64» 
nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  any  thing    ^^'^ 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended, 
or  18  made  weak. 

22  Hast  thou  frith?  have  it  to  thyself  be&m 
Qod.  *  Haiqpy  t*  he  that  condemneth  not  him- 
sdf  in  that  thing  which  healloweth. 

23  And  he  that  ^doubteth  is  damned  if  he 
eat,  because  he  eateth  not  of  fiuth :  fijr  *  what- 
soever is  not  of  fiiith  is  sin. 


*^l  Cor.  viii.  9-12. « 1  Cor.  riii.  13. <  1  John  iii.  SI. 

'Or,  di$eemeth  andputietk^  d^trtna  bttwten imtaU.—» 'Hk 
I  1& 


own  conscience,'  and  insnaring  to  the  consciences 
of  others .  And  in  this  view  I  may  affirm,  It  is  good, 
pleasing  to  God,  and  profitable  for  edification,  amd 
therefore  every  Christian's  duty,  neither  to  eat  fleshy 
&c.^Not  only  to  abstain  from  what  is  forbid&n  in 
th^  law  of  Moses,  but  from  every  other  thing  which 
gives  offence ;  whereby  thy  brother  stumblethr-Bj 
imitating  thee  against  his  conscience,  contrary  to 
righteousness;  or  is  offended  at  what  thou  dost  to 
the  loss  of  hxs peace;  or  is  made  weak^  hesiiathig 
between  imitation  and  abhorrence,  to  the  loss  of  that 
joy  in  the  Lord,  which  was  his  strength.  Macknight 
interprets  the  clause  rather  difierenUy,  thus:  ^The 
first  of  these  words,  npooKonTei^  stumbleth^  (whidi 
signifies  to  dash  one's  foot  against  soihething  with- 
out falling,  or  being  much  hurt,)  expresses  the  ease 
of  a  person  who,  being  tempted  to  commit  sin,  yields 
a  little  to  the  temptation,  but  recovers  himself:  the 
second,  oKovdaXi^aty  from  fficaC<w,  to  Juxlt,  (mean- 
ing to  fall  and  be  lamed  by  stumbling,)  expresses 
the  case  of  one  who,  through  temptation,  actually 
commits  sip  contrary  to  his  knowledge  and  convio- 
tion:  the  third,  ao^evti,  (which  signifies  to  be  weak- 
ened in  consequence  of  such  a  fall,)  expresses  the 
condition  of  a  per^n  who,  by  sinning,  hath  Jiis 
piety  so  weakened,  that  he  is  in  danger  of  aposta- 
tizing." 

Verses  22, 23.  Hast  thoufaith-^Th^i  these  thm^i 
are  lawful?  Have  it  to  thyself,  before  God— In m- 
cumstances  like  these  keep  it  to  thyself,  and  do  not 
offend  others  by  it.  Happy  is  he  that  condeameth 
not  himself— For  using  his  liberty  in  an  undue  man- 
ner, respecting  those  things  which  h^  practise  or 
judges  lawful  in  themselves.  Or.  as  oUiers  under^ 
stand  the  apostle,  that  condemneth  not  himself  by 
an  improper  use  of  even  innocent  things.  And 
happy  b  he  who  is  free  from  a  doubting  consciencei 
which  he. that  hath  may  allow  the  action  which  hs 
does,  and  yet  condemn  himself  for  it,  and  thereby 
make  himself  miserable.  And  he  that  doubteth^ 
Namely,  whether  it  be  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  (or  do 
any  other  thing,)  or  not,  is  damned^^Or  condemned, 
contracts  guilt  and  wounds  his  conscience ;  if  he  eai 
—That  which  he  doubts  of,  or  does  that  the  lav« 
fulness  of  which  he  questions;  because  he  eaisth 
not  of  faith— With  a  persuasion  of  its  lawfuhiesfk 
For  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  «t«— Whatevw  a 
li»  b 


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tttftrmiiiee  of  the  veak 


man  does  wHhout  a  fiill  persaanon  thai  it  is  lawful. 
It  is  sin  to  him.  The  i^eader  will  observe  tbat  here, 
m  in  verse  22,  faith  does  not  signify  the  believing  in 
Christ,  and  in  the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel, 
but  a  persuasion  that  what  one  doth  is  lawAil.  And 
thuJB  understood,  the  apostle's  declaration  is  perfectly 
just  in  every  case ;  because  if  a  man  acts  without  that 


persuiasion,  he  acts  without  any  principle  of  virtue, 
being  guided  merely  by  his  own  inclinations.  And 
therefore,  although  what  he  doth  may,  in  some  in- 
stances, be  materially  right,  it  is  sin  in  the  sight  of 
God,  as  being  done  without  a  sense  of  duty.  From 
this  it  follows,  that  if  a  person  acts  contrary  to  his 
conscience  in  any  thing,  he  is  exceedingly  blameable 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  apottle  haioing  decUared,  in  the  preceding  chapter^  that  the  toeak  Jewish  Christians^  in  the  affair  of  meats  and  days,  were 
bowtd  to  act  according  to  their  oum  conscience,  notwithstanding  it  might  be  erroneous,  here  urges  mutual  condescension  by 
new  motif)es,^nd  (1,)  Directs  how  stronger  believers  should  condescend  to  and  bear,  toith  the  weak,  1-6.  (2,)  Exhprts 
Jews  and  Gentiles  to  receive  ojie  another  as  brethren,  united  in  one  church  under  -Christ,  agreeably  to  ancient  prodietions 
and  promises,  7-13.  (3,)  Assigns  his  reasons  for  dealing  so  freely  with  them,  I^-'IS.  (4,)  Takes  occasion,  from  what 
he  had  been  saying,  to  mention  the  extent  of  his  own  labours,  and  his  purposes  of  further  journeys,  in  which  he  hoped  to 

'  irisit  Rome,  and  even  Spain,  after  he  had  delivered  to  the  poor  saints' at  Jerusalem,  a  contribution  which  he  had  raised  for 
them,  17-29.  In  the  mean  time,  (5,)  He  earnestly  recommends  himself  to  their  prayers,  particularly  as  he  foresaw  tJte 
persecution  that  would  be  raised  against  him  by  the  unbelieving  Jews  in  Judea,  30-33. 


A.M. 4064.  TXTE  *then  that  are  strong  ought 
— '-—-L  to  bear  the  **  infirmities  of  the 
weak,  and  not  to  pleeise  ourselves. 

2  ®  Let  every  one  of  us  please  his  neighbour 
for  his  good  ^  to  edification. 

3  'I^r  even  Christ  pleased  not  himself;  but, 


»  OnL  vL  a. 1»  Chap.  xir.  1. «  I  €or.  ix.  19, 22 ;  x.  24. 33 ; 

xiii.  5 ;  Phil.  ii.  4,  5. 4  Chap.  xiv.  19.— -•  Matt.  xxvi.  39 ; 

John  V.  30 ;  vi.  38. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XV. 
Verses  1-3.  We  then  that  are  etrang — Whp  have 
attained  a  greater  degree  of  knowledge  in  spiritual 
things,  have  a  clearer  judgment,  and  are  free  from 
these' scruples;  ought  to  hear  the  infirmities  of  the 
weak — To  accommodate  ourselves  to  their  weak- 
ness, so  far  as  not  to  use  our  liberty  to  their  offence 
and  hinderance  in  religion ;  and  also  to  bear  with 
them  in  their  failings,  consequent  on  their  ignorance 
or  weakness,  and  not  to  condemn  or  despise  them ; 
and  tiot  to  please  owr^c^re*— Without  any  regard  to 
others.  On  the  contrary;  let  every  one  of  us^ 
Without  exception ;  please  his  neighbour  for  his 
gwd— Comply  with  his  opinion  in  indifferent  mat- 
ters, 80  for  as  may  tend  to  his  advancement  in  holi- 
ness. For  even  Christ  pleased  not  himself-r-H^ 
regard  to  our  advantage  more  than  his  own.  "  Christ 
might  in  his  own  life-time  have  declared  the  law  of 
Moses  abrogated,  and  have  eaten  of  all  kinds  of  meat 
indifferently,  and  have  freed  himself  from  the  bur- 
densome services  enjoined  by  the  law.  But  because 
his  doing  so  would  have  been  premature,  and,  by 
brmging  reproach  on  the  gospel,  might  have  marred 
its  success  among  the  Jews,  he  abstained  from  the 
tneats  forbidden  by  the  law,  and  performed  the  ser- 
vices which  it  enjoined ;"  and  thereby,  as  well  as  by 
many  other  and  much  gfeater  things,  showed  that 
hedki  not  make  it  an  object  to  please  himself,  "but 
hi  all  his  actions  studied  to  promote  the  honour  of 
H4 


as  it  is  written,  ^  The  reproaches  of  A.  M.  4064, 
them  that  reproached  thee  fell^n  me.  — '—^ — ^- 
4  For  «^  whatsoever  things  were  written  afore- 
time, w;ere^  written  for  our  learning,  that  we 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures 
might  have  hope.* 


f  Psa.  Ixix.  9. f  Chap.  iv.  23,  24 ;   I  Cot.  Ik.  9, 10 ;  x.  H  ; 

2  Tim.  iii.  16, 17. *  Second  Sunday  in  Advent,  epistle,  verse 

4  to  verse  14. 


God,  and  the  happiness  of  nien."  But  as  it  is  writ- 
ten— In  words  which  may  well  be  applied  to  him ; 
7%e  reproaches  of  them  that  repvached  thee  fell 
upon  mc— The  punishment  due  to  the  wicked,  who, 
by  their  speeches  and  actions,  had  dishonoured  God, 
was  laid  on  me.  See  note  on  Psa.  Ixix.  9,  the  verse 
here  quoted.  That  this  Psalm  is  a  prophecy  con- 
cerning Christ,  we  learn  from  John  xix.  28,  where 
their  giving  Jesus  vinegar  to  drink  on  the  cross  is 
represented  as  a  fulfilment  of  the  2l8t  verse  of  it. 
In  like  manner,  verse  9,  The  zeal  of  thy  Jumse 
hath  eaten  me  up,  was  applied  to  Jesus  by  the  disci- 
ples, John  ii.  17.  Paul,  therefore,  hath  rightly  inter-  . 
preted  verses  22, 23,  of  the  same  Psalm,, of  the  Jews 
who  omcifled  Christ.    See  note  on  Rom.  xL  9, 10. 

Verse  4.  For  whatsoever  things  were  written 
aforetime — In  the  Old  Testament ;  were  itrrittenfor 
our  learning — As  if  he  had  said,  Though  this  may 
seem  to  concern  David  or  Christ  only,  yet  it,  and  all 
other  parts  of  Scripture,  whether  containing  pro- 
mises or  threatenings,  whether  speaking  of  rewards 
or  punishments,  were  intended  to  be  useful  to  God's 
people  in  alter  ages;  and  by  this  passage  in  particu- 
lar, we  may  learn  to  bear  With  the  infirmities  of 
others,  a  matter  of  great  importance  in  religion; 
nay,  of  absolute  necessity,  considering  that  we  onp- 
selves,  and  all  arotind  us,  not  excepting  the  wisest 
and  holiest  Christbns,  arc  compassed  about  with  in* 
firmity;  th€tt  through  patience  and  comfort  ^yf  ti^ 


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CHAPTER  XV. 


tenderness  and  forbearance. 


A.  M.  4664.  6  ^  Now  the  God  of  patience  and 
'. ccmsolation  grant  you  to  be  like-mind- 
ed one  toward  another  'according  to  Christ 
Jesus: 

6  That  ye  may  ^wkh  cme  mind  and  one 
mouth  glorify  God,  even  the  Fatherof  our  Lord 
JesusChrist 

7  Wherefore  "^receive  ye  wie  another,  'as 


^Chapter  ziL  16;  1  Corinthians  L  10;  Fhilirouns  HL  16w 
'Aotsir.  24>32. ^  Chapter  xir. 


^  Or,  o^  th$  eaMM^  </.• 
1,  3. >  Cha|)u  T.  2. 


Scriptures — By  learning  and  exercising  such  pa- 
tience as  the  Scriptures  prescribe,  especially  in 
bearing  with  the  infirmities  of  others,  and  by  obtain- 
ing those  comforts  the  Scriptures  hold  forth  to  us ; 
we  might  have  hope — Might  be  confirmed  in  our 
expectation  of  eternal  life,  or  that  through  the  con- 
solation which  God  gives  us  by  the  Scriptures,  we 
nught  have  patience  and  a  joyful  hope. 

Verses  5-7.  Nov>  the  God  of  patience  and  conso- 
lation— From  whom  all  these  gracious  and  sca^n- 
able  provisions  proceed ;  grant  youtohe like-minded 
one  toward  another — That  is,  to  be  united  in  peace 
and  love;  according  to  Christ  Jesus — His  doctrine, 
command,  and  example,  and  for  his  honour  and 
glory.  Or,  as  ro  avro  t^poveiv  ev  aX^iioic  may  be  pro- 
perly rendered,  to  hate  the  same  disposition  toward 
one  another  ;  the  verb  ^povctv,  signifying  to  care  ybr, 
as  well  as  to  think^  Phil.  ii.  2 :  a  disposition,  there- 
fore, to  live  in  peace  with  one  another,  and  to  bear 
one  another's  weaknesses,  according  to  Christ's  pre- 
cept and  example,  is  here  prayed  for  on  behalf  of 
the  Bomans.  Having  in  the  preceding  verse  men- 
tioned the  patience  and  consolation  of  the  Scripture, 
the  apostle  here  calls  Grod  the  God  of  patience  and 
consolation,  to  show  that  the  patience  and  consola- 
tion of  the  samts  proceeded  from  him.  In  like  man- 
ner, having,  in  verse  12  said,  In  him  the  Gentiles 
shall  hopey  he  calls  God,  verse  13,  the  God  of  hope, 
to  show  that  the  hope  which  the  Gentiles  entertained 
of  salvation,  proceeded  from  him.  So  also  verse  33, 
the  God  of  peace,  and  elsewhere,  the  God  of  glory, 
the  God  of  order,  &c.  That  ye— Both  Jews  and 
€rentiles]i  believing  twt^  one  minc^ And  confessing 
with  one  mouth,  or  with  united  hearts  and  voices,, 
may  glorifif  God,  even  the  Fatherof  our  Lord  Jesus 
Chrtst—Who  hath  sent  his  beloved  Son  Into  the 
world,  to  unite  our  hearts  in  love  to  each  other,  and 
in  gratitude  to  him  for  his  unspeakable  love  to  us. 
Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another — Weak  and 
strong,  into  communion  with  mutual  love,  vrithout 
despising  or  Judging  one  another ;  as  Christ  also 
received !«— Whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  to  be  mem- 
bers of  his  body  the  church,  and  joint  heirs  with  him 
of  eternal  felicity ;  to  the  glory  qf  (rod— Namely,  of 
his  truth  to  the  Jews  and  mercy  to  the  Gent'des. 

Verses  8-12.  Now — To  show  more  folly  what  I 

mean  in  saying  Christ  received  us,  I  observe,  tliat 

Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision — 

Or  vouchsafed  to  be  a  servant  of  the  Jews,  in  preach- 

b 


Christ  also  received  us,  to  the  dory  a.m.40M. 
of  God.  '    ^P-^' 

8  Now  I  say  that  ■Jesus  Christ  was  a 
minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the  truth  of 
God,  *  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the 
fiithers : 

9  And  ""  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God 
for  his  mercy ;  as  it  is  written,  p  For  this  cause 


"MatthAW  XT.  34;   John  i.  11 ;  Aets  iii.  2S,  26;   xixi  46i 

•Chapter  iii.  3 ;  2  Cor.  I  20. »  John  x.  16 ;  Cltapter  ix.  23. 

P  Psalm  xviii.  49l 


ing  the  gospel  among  them ;  for  the  truth  of  God — 
To  demonstrate  his  faithfulness  in  fulfilling  the  pro- 
mises  made  unto  the  fathers — Of  sending  them  the 
Messiah ;  and  therefore,  1st,  The  believing  Jews, 
though  weak,  ought  not  to  be  despised  by  the  believ- 
ing Gentiles,  though  stronger.  And,  2d,  It  is  no 
objectron  toTJhrist's  receiving  the  Gentiles,  that  he 
never  preached  to  them,  for  he  became  a  minister 
of  the  circumcision,  not  only  in  order  to  the  salva* 
tion  of  the  Jews,  but  also  that,  by  converting  them, 
andsending  them  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles,  he  might 
accomplish  the  promises  made  to  the  fathers  con* 
ceming  the  blessing  of  ^1  nations.  And  that  the 
Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  his  mercy,  as  it  is 
written,  Psa.  xviii.  49;  where  the  Gentiles  and  Jews 
are  spoken  of  as  joining  in  the  worship  of  the  true 
God,  the  God  of  Israel.  To  explain  this  more  fully, 
"Jesus  Christ  was  born  a  Jew,  "and.exerxiised  his 
ministry  among  the  Jews,  in  order  that  the  truth  of 
God's  promises  to  the  fathers,  concerning  the  bless- 
ing of  the  nations  in  Abraham's  seed,  might  be  con- 
firmed by  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
For  as  the  Jews  were  the  only  people  on  earth  who 
worshipped  the  true  God,  and  had  his  revelations  in 
their  hands,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
gospel,  in  which  all  the  farmer  revelations  termi- 
nated, should  be  first  preached  to  them ;  that  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  them  receiving  it,  might  preach  it 
to  thetSentiles,  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  former  reve- 
lations, of  which  their  nation  were  the  keepers. 
The  gospel  being  thus  ofifered  to  the  Gentiles,  as  the 
word-of  the  same  God  who  anciently  spoke  to  the 
fathers  of  the  Jewish  nation  by  the  prophets ;  that 
circumstance,  with  the  miracles  which  accompanied 
the  first  preaching  of  it,  so  powerfully  demonstrated 
it  to  be  from  God,  that  multitudes  of  the  Gentiks, 
receiving  it,  turned  from  idols  to  worship  the  living 
and  true  God ; '  whereby  the  truth  of  God's  promise 
to  the  fathers,  concerning  the  blessing  of  the  nations 
in  Christ,  was  illustriously  confirmed,  and  the  Gen- 
tiles had  an  opportunity  of  glorifying  God  for  his 
mercy  in  their  conversion.'*  It  may  be  proper  to 
observe  further  here,  that  "  conversion  to  the  true 
God  being  the  mercy,  or  blessing,  which  God  pro- 
mised to  bestow  on  the  Gentiles,  it  is  particularly 
mentioned  here,  not  only  to  make  the  Gentiles  sen- 
sible that  they  ought  riot  to  despise  the  Jews,  through 
whom  they  had  received  so  great  a  blessing,  but  also 
to  persuade  the  Jews  to  acknowledge  the  Gentiles  as 
115 


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BOMANS. 


m^  hejned  mtkjoyi 


A.M.406i.  I  willcoofeasto  theeamoiDgtbeGeD- 
tiles,  and  sing  unto  thy  name. 

10  And  again  he  saith,  <>  Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles, 
with  his  people. 

11  And  again, 'Praise  the  Lotd, an  ye  Gen- 
tiles ;  and  laud  him,  all  ye  peofriie. 

12  And  again  Esaias  saiOi,  ■  There  shall  be 
a  root  of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall  rise  to  reign 
over  the  Gentiles;  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust 


<  Deateronomy  zzxii.  43. »"  Psalm  czriL  1. — 

n.  1,  10;  R«TeUtioD  t.  5;   izii.  16. '  Chapter  ziL  12; 


the  people  of  Ood,  equally  .with  themselves."— Mac- 
knigfat  And  again  Mostt  sait\  (Deut  xxxii.  43,) 
Rejoice^  ye  OentUes,  with  his  |)eopie— Implying  that 
the  time  would  come  when  the  Oeutiies  should  be- 
come the  people  of  God  as  well  as  the  Jew%  and 
should  join  with  them  in  the  worship  of  God,  and 
rejoice  in  a  sense  of  his  goodness  to  them.  And 
again,  (Psa.  cxrii.  1,)  Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye 
QentUes,  for  the  mercy  vouchsafed  to  you ;  there- 
fore they  shall  know  God,  and  obtain  mercy;  and 
Esqias  saith,  There  shall  he  a  root  of  Jess^—See 
note  on  Isa.  xi.  10.  The  apostle  here  follows  the 
translation  of  the  LXX.,  because,  though  it  differs  in 
expression  from  the  Hebrew,  it^represents  the  pro- 
phet's meaning  with  sufficient  exactness  to  prove 
the  point  for  which  he  quotes  it,  which  was  to  show 
that  the  Gentiles  should  become  the  people  of  God 
by  believing,  and  confiding  in  the  Messiah,  and 
therefore  should  be  united  in  the  same  church  with 
the  believing  Jews.  And  the  apostle's  design  in  this 
part  of  his  epistle  being  to  persuade  the  Jewish  and 
Gentile  converts  to  a  cordial  union  in  the  public 
worship  of  God,  it  was  of  great  importance  to  show 
the  Jews  that  this  coalition  was  foretold  in  their  own 
Scriptures;  for  which  purpose  the  apostle,  with 
great  propriety,  quotes  the  various  passages  here 
adduced. 

Verse  13.  Now  the  Ood  of  hope— A  glorious  title 
of  God,  but  till  now  unknown  to  the  heathen;  for 
their  goddess  Hope,  like  their  other  idols,  was  nothing, 
whose  temple  at  Borne  was  burned  by  lightning.  It 
was  indeed  built  again  not  long  after,  but  was  again 
burned  to  the  ground.  It  is  with  great  propriety  that 
Jehovah  is  termed  the  God  of  hope,  for  there  is,  1st, 
In  his  nature  and  attributes ;  2d,  In  the  relations  in 
which  he  stands  to  mankind  in  general,  as  their 
Creator,  Preserver,  Benefactor,  Governor,  and  Judge; 
and  to  his  own  people  in  particular,  as  their  Bedeem- 
or.  Saviour,  Friend,  and  Father;  3d,  In  what  he  hath 
already  done  for  them  in  giving  his  Son  for  their  re- 
demption, and  in  sending  them  the  gospel  Hght,  and 
his  Spirit's  aid;  and,  4th,  In  what  he  hath  promised 
still  further  to  do  for  sudiasdo  not  reject  his  counsel  | 
against  themselves ;— there  is,  in  these  particulars,  a 
most  sure  and  glorious  foundation  laid  for  the  most ! 
firm,  lively,  enlarged,  and  blessed  hope,  for  all  who  j 
will  be  persuaded  to  come  to  it  and  build  thereon,  by  i 
true  repentance^  living  faith,  and  new  obedience. 
110 


13  Now  the  God  of  hope  £Sl  yon  ^^^ 

with  all  ^  joy  and  peace  in  beUeving, — 

that  ye  may  abound  m  hope,  through  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghoet 

14  And  ^I  myself  ako am pessuaded  of  jcm^ 
my  brethrm,  that  ye  also  are  fdH  of  geodnaMy 
'filled  with  all  knowledge,  able  ali^  to  ad* 
monish  one  another.  „ 

15  Nevertheless,  brethren,  I  have  written  the 


xir.  17. •  2  Peter  L  12; 

riiL  1,  7, 10. 


1  John  u.  21. <  1 


And  we  may  as8ure>OQrselve8  beyond  a  do«d>ty  that 

^No  man  too  largely  from  his  love  can  hope, 
If  what  he  hopes  he  labours  to  seeure." 

He  b  also  called  the  God  of  hope,  because,  by  raiaing 
ihis  Son  from  the  dead,  and  bnivging  life  and  immor- 
tality to  light  by  the  gospel,  he  hath  presented  to  our 
view  the  most  gl(H90Us  object  of  hope  possible  to  be 
presented  to  us ;  and  because,  t>y  adopting  believers 
into  his  family,  regenerating  them  by  his  grace,  con- 
stituting them  his  heirs,  and  giving  them  an  earnest 
of  their  future  inheritance  in  their  hearts,  he  hath 
begotten  them  again  to  a  lively  hope  of  an  incor- 
ruptible inheritance,.an  exceeding  great  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory.  FiU  you  with  all  joy — True 
spiritual  joy,  at  all  times,  Phil.  iv.  4;  and  in  all 
things,  1  Thess.  v.  16,  18;  joy  arising  from  the 
source^  mentioned  in  the  note  on  chi^.  xiv.  17:  and 
peace,  of  all  sorts,  in  believing — In  or  by  the  exer^ 
cise  of  your  faith  in  God  and  Christ,  and  the  truths 
and  promises  of  the  gospel.  That  ye  may  abound 
in  Aopfi— In  a  lively  expectation  of  eternal  life,  feli- 
city, and  glory,  and  of  continued,  increasing  grace^ 
to  help  you  in  every  time  of  need-- And  of  all  Uiings 
necessary  for  life  and  godliness.  Through  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost — Enlightening  and  quickemng, 
renewing,  strengthening,  and  comforting  you. 

Verses  14-17.  And  Imyselfampersuiidedofyou 
— The  apology  which  the  apostle  here  offers  for 
writing  to  a  church  with  which  he  was  not  person- 
aPy  acquainted  was  the  more  necessary,  because,  in 
his  letter,  he  had  opposed  some  of  their  strongest 
prejudices,  and  had  rebuked  them  for  certain  irre- 
gularities in  their  conduct.  But  he  was  entitled  to 
instruct  and  reprove  them,  by  virtue  of  his  apostolic 
oflce,  (verse  15;)  the  truth  of  which  he  proved  by 
his  success  in  converting  the  Gentiles ;  (verses 
16, 17;)  and  by  the  miracles  he  had  wrou^t  amoog 
them,  and  by  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  he  had  commu- 
nicated to  his  converts,  in  all  the  Gentile  Countries 
which  he  had  visited.  That  ye~^Some  among  you, 
by  being  created  anew ;  are  full  of  goodness—Of 
kindness,  so  as  to  forbear  giving  unnecessary  offence 
to,  or  censuring  one  another ;  filled  with  all  hnow- 
ledge— X  large  measure  of  knowledge  in  all  needful 
points,  through  your  long  experience  in  the  ways  of 
God ;  able  also  to  admonish — To  instruct,  and  con- 
firm;  one  anotJier-^ln  all  things  of  importance. 

b 


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mu  (qH}8tU  exuUs  in  the  great 


CHAPTBR  XV. 


ioork  Qodkai  wrought  by  him. 


A.  H.  4064.  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some  sort, 

'. — 1  as  putting  you  in  mind,  ^bec^use  of 

the  grace  that  is  given  to  me  of  Grod, 

16  That  *I  Aould  be  the  minist^  of  Jesus 
CSuist  to  the  Gentiles,  ministering  the  gospel 
of  God,  that  the  ^offering  *  up  of  the  Grentiles 
might  be  acceptable,  being  sanctified  by  the 
Holy  Ghost 

17  I  have  therefore  whereof  I  may  glory 
through  Jesus  Christ,  ^In  those  things  which 
pertain  to  Grod. 


f  G«I.  i.  15-,  Eph.  iii.  7.  8*- «  Gal:  u.  7-«;  1  Tim-  H.  7 : 

PbiL  ii  17. «Or,  Mcnftemg. •  Isa.  IxrL  20;  PhiL  iL  It. 


There  are  several  conclusionB  of  this  epistle:  the 
ifarst  begins  at  this  verse  \  the  second,  chap.  xvi.  1 ; 
the  third,  verse  17;  the  fourth,  verse  21;  and  the 
fifth,  verse  25.  Neterthelesa,'  6rc<^cn— Notwith- 
standing your  gnce  and  knowledge  ^  /  have  wrUten 
t4e  more  boldly  wUo  you — Have  used  the  greater 
freedom  and  plainness  la  writing;  in  some  sort — 
Xiro  fupttc,  in  part,  or  partly;  as  putting  you  in  mind 
— That  is,  setting  before  yoG,  and  inciting  you  to  the 
practice  of  what  you  know  already ;  b^ause  of  the 
grace  that  is  given  to  me — That  is,  because  I  am 
constituted  an  apostle  of  the  Gentileis.  Whitby 
thinks,  that  by  the  expression,  in  part,  in  the  former 
clause  of  the  verse,  the  apostle  meant  to  signify  the 
Gentile  part  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  whom  he 
wrote,  to  put  them  in  mind  of  God's  great  goodness 
to  them.  But  it  seems  more  probable  he  intended 
thereby  to  insinuate,  that  his  design  in  writing  was, 
besides  cdling  things  to  their  remembrance  which 
they  knew;  to  instract  them  in  some  things  which 
they  did  not  Icnow.  That  I  should  be  the  minister 
—The  servant;  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  mi- 
nistering, preaching,  the  gospel  of  God—In  order 
to  their  conversion  and  edification ;  tJh€U  the  offering 
up  of  the  Gentiles^To  him,  as  living  sacrifices ; 
might  be  acceptable — In  his  sight ;  being  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  G^Am^— Plentifully  communicated  to 
them,  not  only  in  a  rich  variety  of  gifts,  but  in  his 
regenerating,  purifying,  and  comforting  influences ; 
making  them  wise  and  good,  holy  toward  God,  and 
useful  to  their  fellow-creatures-  Ihavejherefore — 
Having,  by  the  blessing  of  Ck>d  upon  my  labours, 
been  instrumental  in  converting  many  of  them, 
ichereoflmay  glory  through  Jesus  Oirist—ln  and 
through  whom  all  my  glorying  is;  in  those  things 
which  pertain  to  ^oc^— In  the  success  of  my  minis- 
try, wherem  the  gtory  of  God  is  so  much  concerned. 
Verses  18,  19.  For  I  wiU  not  dare  to  speak,  dfcc. 
I  will  not  glory  of  more  than  is  true  and  has  been 
really  done  by  my  ministry;  to  make  the  Gentiles 
obedient—To^  bring  them  to  the  Auth,  and  to  the 
worship  and  service  of  the  true  God ;  by  word  and 
<lee<i— By  preaching  and  miracles.  The  apostle 
would  not  speak  of  what  Christ  had  not  wrought  by 
him,  but  by  his  disciples,  for  making  die  Gentiles 
obedient ;  though  he  mi^t  have  claimed  some  praise 


18  For  I  will  not  dare  to  epeak  of  a.  m.  4064. 
any  of  those  things  « which  C^uist    ^'  ^'  ^' 
hath  not  wrought  by  me,  ^  to  make  the  Gen- 
tiles obedient;  by  word  and  deed, 

19  •Throu^  mighty  signs  and  wonders^ 
by  the  power  of  the  Siririt  of  God;  so  that 
from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto  Illyri- 

[cum,   I  have  fully  preached  the  gospel   of 
Christ 

20  Yea,  so  have  I  strived  to  preach  the  g09* 
pel,  iiot  where  Christ  was  named,  'lest  I  shovdd 


*Heb.T.  1. «AeUxzi.  19;  Gd.  ii.a 'Chap.  16;  zt£9S. 

•Act!  lix.  11 ;  2  Coc.  zii.  12. ' 2  Cor.  z.  13,  Ibi  16. 


also  from  their  success.  But  he  would  speak  only 
of  what  Christ  had  wrought  by  him  personally} 
namely,  that  he  had  preached  the  gospel  with  the 
greatest  success,  in  many  of  the  Gentile  countries. 
Through  mighty  signs  and  wonders^lx  does  not 
appear  that  the  apostle  intended  by  these  different 
names  to  express  different  things,  as  some  have  sup- 
posed, namely,  that  the  cfifuia,  #t^«,  were  the  mira- 
des  intended  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  doctrine 
(isserted,  or  message  brought  by  the  miracle-worker ; 
and  that  rtpara,  wonders,  were  such  miracles  as 
were  intended  to  astonish,  and  terrify,  and  draw  the 
attention  of  beholders^  of  which  sort  was  the  punish- 
ment of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  with  death,  and  of 
Elymas  with  blindness :  he  douhtless  meant  miracles 
in  general,  by  both  expressions.  In  the  gospels,  the 
miracles  of  Christ  are  commonly  called  dwofuti, 
powers,  or  mighty  works,  to  express  the  great  power 
Exerted  in  the  performance  of  them.  By  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  G'oci— Enlightening  men's  minds, 
and  changing  their  hearts,  and  therieby  rendering 
the  miracles  wrought,  and  the  word  preached,  effec- 
tual to  their  conviction  and  conversioni.  So  that  I 
have  fully  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ—Hwe 
made  a  full  declaration  thereof,  not  shunning  to  de- 
clare the  whole  counsel  of  God;  not  keeping  back 
any  thing  that  I  had  reason  to  believe  would  be  pro- 
fitable to  itay  hearers:  from  Jerusalem  roundabout 
unto  tllyricum—Th'\8  phraseology  implies,  that  he 
had  propagated  the  gospel,  not  in  a  direct  line  from 
Jerusalem  to  Illyricura,  but  far  and  wide,  on  every 
hand,  through  the  interjacent  countries.  "  Illy  ricum 
was  a  country  in  Europe,  lying  between  Pannonia 
and  the  Adriatic  sea.  It  is  now  called  Sclavonia. 
In  the  history  of  the  Acts,  there  is  no  mention  made 
of  Paul's  preaching  the  gospel  in  lUyricum.  Never- 
theless, as  that  country,  on  the  south,  bordered  on 
Macedonia,  where  Paul  often  preached,  he  may,  on 
some  occasion,  have  gone  from  Macedonia  into  lUy- 
ricum. Yet  this  supposition  is  not  necessary,  as  the 
apostle  does  not  say  he  preached  the  gospel  in,  but 
only  as  far  as  lUyrvcum :  which  country,  it  appears, 
at  the  time  he  wrote  this  epistle,  was  the  boundary 
of  his  preaching  westward."— Maeknlght 

Verses  »-«8.  Yea,  so  have  I  strived  to  preach^ 
Greek,  «r«  St  dOartfai/uvov  cva>7«Xi^<n»a«,  literally, 
117 


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Paul  intimates  kit  irUeniion 


ROMANS. 


to  go  to  Jerusalem* 


A.  M.  4064  build  upon  another  man's  founda- 
A,  aeo.     .         ^ 
Uon: 

21  Bu'.  as  it  is  written,  '  To  whom  he  was 
not  spoken  of,  they  shall  see ;  and  they  that 
have  not  heard  shall  understand. 

22  For  which  cause  also  ^I  have  been  ^much 
hindered  from  coming  to  you. 

23  But  now  having  no  more  {dace  in  these 
parts,  and  '  having  a  great  desire  these  many 
years  to  come  unto  you ; 

24  Whensoever  I  take  my  journey  into  Spain, 


f  Isa.  lii.  15. »»Chi^.  i.  18;    1  Thew.  ii.  17, 18. •Or, 

many  wayt^  or,  ofUnHmtM.^—^  Act«  xix.  21 ;   Verse  32 ;  Ch^. 
i  11. ^Actsxr.  3. 


being  ambitious;  or,  it  being  the  object  of  my  am- 
bition; namely,  sd  far  as  Providence  woiid  permit 
me  to  indulge  it;  to  preach  the  go$pely  not  where 
Christ  was  nam^L^Usd  been  preached  before  by 
Others:  that  is,  This  way  I  took,  as  to  my  choice  of 
places  where  to  preach,  lest  I  should  build  on  an- 
other rnan^s  foundation^  and  SO  decline  the  difficulties 
which  attend  the  settlement  of  new  churches,  or 
should  assutne  to  myself  the  credit  due  to  others. 
He  generally,  though  not  altogether,  declined  preach- 
ing where  others  had  preadied,  having  a  holy  ambi- 
tion to  make  the  first  proclamation  of  the  gospel  in 
places  where  it  was  quite  unheard  x>f,  in  spite  of  all 
the  difficulty  and  danger  that  attended  the  doing  of 
it  And  the  providence  of  God  seemed,  in  a  special 
manner,  to  prevent  his  preaching  where  others  had 
preached,  (though  not  entirely,)  lest  his  enemies, 
who  sought  every  occasion  to  sefr  light  by  him, 
should  have  had  room  to  say  that  he  was  behind 
other  apostles,  not  being  sufficient  for  planting 
churches  hiniseli^  but  only  for  preaching  where 
others  had  prepared  his  way ;  or  that  he  declined 
the  more  difficult  part  of  the  ministry.  But  as  it. is 
written — ^According  io  that  prophecy  which  is  now 
Ailfilling  in  my  ministry ;  to  whom  he  was  not  spoken 
q/--Namely,  the  Gentiles ;  they  shall  see-rSee  on 
Isa.  lii.  15.  And  they  that  have  Thot  heard— In 
former  times;  shaU  understand — And  obey  the  gos- 
pel. For  which  cau«6— That  I  mi^^  not  build  on 
another  man's  foimdation;  /  have  been  much  hin- 
dered from  coming  to  you — Among  wiiom  Christ 
had  been  named.  Or  he  means,  that  he  had  been 
hindered  by  the  important  work  of  planting  the 
gospel  elsewhere. 

Verses  23,  24.  But  now^  having  no  more  place 
in  these  parts — ^Wherc  Christ  has  now  been  preach- 
ed in  every  city ;  amd  having  a  great  desire— On 
various  accounts  f  to  come  to  you— I  will  attempt  to 
put  it  in  execution.  Whensoever-- Ai  whatever 
time ;  /  tcUee  my  journey  into  Spain — Greek,  eav 
iropevofiai  etc  rriv  lifaviav^  if  I  go  into  Spain  ;  I  will 
come  to  you — Namely,  if  God  ^hall  so  permit.  But 
this  zealous  design,  it  seems,  was  hindered  by  his 
imprisonment.  It  appears  probable,  from  hence, 
considering  the  principle  that  Paul  chose  to  govern 
2M 


I  will  come  to  you:  for  I  trust  to  see  a-B€.4064 
you  in  my  journey,  ^  and  to  be  brought  — 1— ^ — 1- 
on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first  I  be 
somewhat  filled  *  with  your  company. 

25  But  now  '  I  go  unto  Jerus^m  to  minister 
unto  the  saints. 

26  For  ""it  hath  pleased  them  of  Macedonia 
and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for 
the  poor  saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem.     • 

27  It  hath  pleased  them  verily;  and  their 
debtors  they  are.     For  "if  the  Gentiles  have 


*  Or.wth  you ,  Verte  32. *  Acta  xix.  21 ;  zx.  22 ;  xadv.  17. 

"*1  Corinthians  xn.  I,  2;   2  Corinthians  viii  1 ;    ix.   2,  12. 
»  Chapter  xi.  17. 


himself  by,  of  not  building  on  another  man's  found* 
ation,  that  no  apostle  had  yet  planted  any  church 
in  Spain.  For  1  trtist—l  hope ;  to  see  you  in  my 
journey  thither — But  he  was  not  assured  hereof  by 
any  divine  revelation.  Indeed  this,  among  other 
instances,  is  a  proof  that,  in  speak'mg  of  what  he 
meant  to  dp  afterward,  the  apostle  did  not  make 
Icnown  any  determinations  of  God  revealed  to  him 
by  the  Spirit,  but  his  own  resolutions  and  opinions 
only.  For  there  is  no  evidence  that  be  ever  went 
to  Spain.  And  be  brought  on  my  way  thitherward 
by  you— By  some  of  your  church;  if  Jirst  I  be 
somewheU  filled — Satisfied  and  refreshed;  with 
your  company — ^Your  society  and  fellowship.  Ths 
Greek  is  only,  with  you.  How  remarkable  is  the 
modesty  with  which  he  speaks!  They  might  ra- 
ther desire  to  be  satisfied  with  his  company.  He 
says,  somewhat  satisfied^  intimating  the  shortness 
of  his  stay,  or  perhaps  that  the  presence  of  Christ 
alone  can  thoroughly  satisfy  the  soul. 

Verses  25-27.  But  now  1  go  unto  Jerusalem— 
Of  this  journey  the  apostle  gave  an  account  to 
Felix,  Acts  xxlv.  17;  to  minister  unto  the  saints-^ 
To  perform  the  office  of  carrying  some  contribu- 
tions to  them  for  their  relief.  For  it  hath  pleased 
them — That  is,  the  Christians;  of  Macedofiia  and 
Achaia^  particularly  the  brethren  at  Philippi,  Thes' 
salonica,  Bedea,  Corinth,  and  in  every  other  city  of 
these  provinces,  where  churches  were  planted  by 
the  apostle  ;•  to  make  a  certain  contribution — Kw- 
vuviav  Tiifa,  literally,  some  communicationy  namely, 
of  money ;  for  the  poor  saints— Yor  their  believing 
brethren;  which  are  at  Jerusalem — Exposed  to  pe- 
culiar persecution  and  affliction.  It  hath  pleased 
them,  I  say,  and  their  debtors  they  are — That  is^ 
they  are  bound  in  justice,  as  well  as  mercy.  "  This 
repetition  is  very  eraphatical,  especially  as  the  apos- 
tle immediately  explains  the  obligation  under  which 
the  Christians  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia  lay  to  make 
these  collections  for  the  poor  of  the  brethren  at 
Jerusalem.  And  his^  intention  in  this,  no  doubt,  was 
to  show  the  brethren  in  Rome  that  they  ought  to 
follow  the  example  of  tlie  Macedonians  and  Achai- 
ans  in  that  matter."  For  if  the  Gentiles  have 
been  made  partakers  of  their  spiritual  things^ 


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,  Th^  apoHle  entreats  the 


CHAPTBBXV. 


hretkre»  to  pray  for  Jdm. 


of 


A.  M.  4064.  been  made  partakers 
A.  D.  ao.  It.  1  .  « 
ntual  things,  "their  duty  is 


their  qu- 
also  to 


minister  unto  them  in  carnal  things. 

28  When  therefore  I  have  performed  this, 
and  have  sealed  to  them  i^t]]ds^xiit,Iwiilc<»n& 
by  you  into  Spain. 

29  ^And  I  am  sure  that  when,  I  come  unto 
you,  I  shall  con^  In  the  fidness  of  the  bless- 
ing of  the  gospel  of  Christ 


«!   CoriAthians   ix.   11;    Omlatfane  vi.  & P  Philippians 

ir.   17. 4  Chap.  i.  11. '  Philippiazia  ii  1. "2  Ooiin- 

thians  i.  11 ;   ColoMians  ir.  12. 12  Thessi^oniaiis  ilL  2. 


That  is,  the  gospel,  and  the  blessings  of  it,  which 
were  first  declared  to  the  Jews,  and  were-  spread 
abroad  from  Jerusalem  to  the  Gentiles,  throughout 
the  world.  Acts  i.  4-8.  Their  duty  is  also — "Ricy  are 
under  an  obligation  by  the  great  benefit  received 
from  them  to  rtoompense  them  in  some  sort,  and 
(which  is  the  only  wayihey  can  recompense  them) 
to  minister  unto  them  carnal  things — ^Things  need- 
ful for  the  body*  ^  By  calling  the  knowledge  of  the 
gospel,  which  was  imparted  to  the  Gentiles  by  the 
Jewish  preachers,  spiritual  things,  and  the  money, 
which  the  Gentiles  were  sending  to  the  Jews,  carnal 
things,  the  apostle  hath  declared  the  true  nature  of 
both,  and  showed  the  great  excellence  of  the  one 
above  the  other;  money  procures  conveniences 
only  for  the  flesh ;  but  the  gospel  improves  the  spi- 
rit, and  fits  it  for  a  blessed  immortality .^' — ^Mac- 
knight 

Verses  28, 29.  When^  therefore^  I  have  performed 
this^  journey  and  service,  and  have  sealed  to  them— 
Safely  delivered  to  them,  without  diminution,  as  a 
treasure  under  a  seal;  Ms  fruit — ^This  contribu- 
tion, which  is  a  fruit  of  their  brethren's  faith  and 
love ;  /  will  come  by  you  into  Spain — Such  was  his 
design,  though  it  seems  it  was  never  accomplished. 
There  are  often  holy  purposes  in  the  minds  of  good 
men,  which  are  overrhled  by  the  providence  of 
God,  so  as  never  to  take  efiect;  and  yet  they  are 
precious  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  I  am  sure— 
OtSoj  I  know;  that  when  I  come  to  you,  I  shall  come 
to  you  in  the  fulness,  &c. — ^I  shall  be  a  means  of 
communicating  to  you  abtindance  of  gospel  bless- 
ings. It  is  evident  from  this,  and  from  the  28th 
verse,  as  well  as  from  chap.  i.  10,  11,  that  Paul 
wrote  this  epistle  while  he  was  at  liberty,  and  before 
Christ  had  told  him,  as  is  mentioned  Acts  xxiii.  11, 
that  he  must  testify  of  him  at  Rome ;  and  before  he 
was  constrained  to  appeal  to  Cesar,  as  is  related 
AcU  XXV.  11;  for  m  this  epistle  he  speak^  still  of 
his  journey  to  Rome  as  of  a  voluntary  undertaking, 
not  supposing  that  he  should  be  sent  thither  as  a 
prisoner. 

Verses  30-33.  Now  I  beseech  you  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Chris fs  sake— ThdX  is,  by  all  which  he  has 
done  for  you ;  and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit — That 
b,  by  the  love  to  God,  and  Christ,  and  his  saints  and 
servants,,  which  is  the  fruit  of  ^e  Spirit,  thai  ye 
strive — ZwayuvicatT&ai^  that  you  agonize  together 
b 


30  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  for  a.  m.  4064. 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  'for  .  '    *  ,' 
the  bve  of  the  Spirit,  ■  that  ye  strive  ^together 
OTth  me  in  yattr  prayers  to  God  for  me ; 

31  ^  That  I  may  be  delivered  firom  them  that 
/do  not  believe  ui  Judea;  and  that  ""my  ser- 
vice which  /  have  for  Jerusalem,  may  be  ac- 
cepted of  the  saints  j 

32  '^That  1  may  come  unto  you  with  joy  ^by 


•Or,  am  diMUdimi. «2  CorinthiaiM  Tiij.  4. »  Chap- 
ter L  10. J  Act*  xriii.  21 ;    1  Corinthians  iv    19 ;   Jamea 

iv.  15. 


with  me;  or,  as  Doddridge  renders  it,  that  you  join 
your  utmost  strength  with  mine — In  your  prayers 
to  God  for  me;  the  original  expression  being  de- 
rived from  a  word  which  signifies  exerting  the  great- 
est strength  and  agility,  such  as  the  combatants 
exerted  in  the  Grecian  games.  They  must  pray 
for  themselves,  who  would  have  others  strive  toge- 
ther with  them  In  prayer.  Of  all  the  apostles,  Paul 
alone  is  recorded  as  desiring  the  prayers  of  the 
faithful  for  himself;  and  this  he  generally  does  m 
the  conclusions  of  his  epistles;  yet  not  without 
making  a  difference.  For,  he  speaks  in  one  manner 
to  them  whom  he  treats  as  his  children,  with  the 
gravity,  or  even  severity  of  a  father,  such  as  Ti- 
mothy, Titus,  the  Corinthians,  and  Galatians;  in 
another,  to  them  whom  he  treats  rather  like  equals, 
such  as  the  Romans,  Ephesians,  Thcssalonians,  Co- 
lossians,  Hebrews.  That  I  may  be  delivered  from 
them  that  do  not  believe  in  Judea — "The  unbe- 
lieving Jews  at  Jerusalem  had  got  notice  of  Paul's 
success  in  converting'  the  Gentiles,  to  whom  he 
preached  salvation,  without  requiring  them  to  obey 
the  law  of  Moses.  And  being  falsely  informed 
that  he  taught  all  Vie  Jews  which  were  among  the 
Gentiles  to  forsake  Moses,  &c.,  (Acts  xxi.  21,)  they 
were  exceedingly  enraged  against  him."  Of  this 
the  apostle  being  well  apprized,  and  kno>ving  of 
what  importance  the  preservation  of  his  life  was  to 
the  church,  is  thus  urgent  in  his  requests  for  the 
continued,  fervent  prayers  of  the  brethren  at  Rome, 
that  he  might  be  preserved  from  ihe  power  of  these 
enemies  of  Christ  and  his  servants ;  and  that  his 
service  in  making  the  collections  might  be  well  re- 
ceived by  the  saints  there.  These  were  evidently 
the  grand  reasons  why  he  was  so  earnest  in  desiring 
the  prayers  pf  the  faithful  for  him ;  for,  had  his 
own.  personal  safety  alone  been  the  object  of  his 
solicitude,  independent  of  the  prosperity  of  God's 
work,  and  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  the  Gentiles, 
he  doubtless  woujd  have  desired  to  depart,  and  be 
with  Christ,  which  he  knew  would  be  far  better 
than  remaining  longer  in  the  body,  in  this  world  of 
sin  and  sorrow.  That  I  may  come  unto  you  with 
Joy—"Aa  the  apostle  proposed  to  visit  the  Romans 
after  delivering  the  collections  at  Jerusalem,  he 
earnestly  wished  that  that  service  might  be  accepta- 
ble to  the  brethren  there;  because,  if  it  was  well 
received,  it  would  have  great  influence  In  producing 
119 


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lUe  apostle  rec&f/metuk  Phebe 


ROMANa 


to  ike  goqd  (ffice$  ofhi$  brdktem. 


A.  M.  4064.  the  wiQ  of  Ood,  and  may  with  you 


A.D.dO. 


'  be  refreshed. 


fChap.]Ti20;  1  Cor. 


tlMt  happy  miion  of  the  Jews  with  the  Getttfles^ 
which  he  had  to  much  at  heart  to  accomi^ish,  and 
make  him  come  to  Rome  in  great  joy.  But  how 
much  he  was  disappointed  in  his  generous  design, 
and  in  what  disadvantageous  cireumstances  he  came 
to  Rome,  Ae history  of  the  Actsinforros  us."    See 


33  Now  •the  God  of  peace  be  with  ^;^^ 
you  aH,    Am^i;  '         — — — 1- 


sir.  33;  Heb.ziiL2a 


chap.  xxL-xxTi.  Now  the  God  of  feace^Vfho  is 
at  peace  with  us,  being  reconciled  to  us  in  Christ, 
and  causes  us  to  linow,  by  experience,  that  the  fmh 
of  the  Spirit  is  peace,— ^ven  ai>eace  passing  under- 
standing,—6e  v)ith  you  ol^- Whether  I  am  piuMOt 
or  idwent    Aifien. 


CHAPTER  XYL 

H  Atf  d^Pter,  (1,)  PAe^  «  dt§amu9  of  the  ekmreh  of  Cenekreoy  hamt^g  oectaion  to  j^  to  Bom  on  mmu  mporU^i  hm- 
n$$t,  the  opottU  earruoayreeommonit  kertotki  good  ofieet  of  the  boUeoen  at  Btmu^  h  3-  (3>)  H0  suhjoino  to  ^k^ 
rocommoniaium  sahUatiofu  to  a  mtmber  of  persoHM  by  fume,  mombero  of  ike  church  ot  Rome,  vnth  whom  ^  oeemo  to  hme 
leen  ocfwuntedf  8-16.  (3,)  After  fmuhing  hu  ealutationSy  hogioes  the  Roman  Chrietians  a  few  mart  froetieal  oMeao, 
ouited  to  their  eireumetaneee ;  especiaUy  coMtiomng  them  agoinet  thoee  who  wished  to  dhide  the  churehj  17-40.  (4„)  Jh 
oende  thim  eahOaiionsfrom  his  assistanls,  adding  thereto  his  own  apostolical  benedicHtm,  S1-S4.  (6,)  He  concludes  this 
tetter,  in  which  he  had  considered  (he  dispensations  of  God  to  mankind  from  the  beginning  of  the  wprld'Uy  the  end  of  time, 
with  a  stMime  doxology  to  God  the  Father,  ft^rr. 

cometh  saints,  and  that  ye  assist  her  ^-  ^^  ^^^^ 

in  whatsoever  business  she  hath  need  — 1— ^ 

of  you :  for  she  hath  been  a  succourer  of  many, 
and  of  myself  also. 


.  II.  4064.  J  COMMEND  unto  you^  Phebe  our 
JL-J. — 1.      sister,  which  is  a  serrant  of  the 


church  which  is  at  ^  Cenchrea : 
2  ^  That  ye  receive  her  in  the  Lord,  as  be- 

>  Acts  xriii.  16.  ^ 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XVL 
Verses  1,2.  /com9i»«nd— Rather,  recommend;  unto 
you — ^That  is,  To  your  love  and  assistance;  Phebe 
our  *i»<er— The  bearer  of  this  letter ;  a  servant — 
Or  deaconess^  as  the  Greek  word  signifies ;  of  the 
church  at  Cenchrea— Which  seems  to  have  been  a 
church  distant  from  that  at  Corinth.  Indeed,  this 
place,  being  situated  on  the  Saronic  gulf,  was  about 
seventy  fVirlongs,  near  nine  miles,  distant  from  that 
city;  therefore  those  Christians  that  lived  there 
could  not  with  convenience,  at  least  generally,  as- 
semble with  such  as  resided  at  Corinth.  In  the 
apostolic  age,  some  grave  apd  pious  women  were 
appointed  deaconesses  in  every  church ;  and  it  was 
their  office,  not  to  teach  publicly,  but  to  visit  the  sick, 
the  women  m  particular,  and  to  minister  to  them 
both  in  their  temporal  and  spiritual  necessities.  The 
^M>stle  calls  Phebe  his  sister,  because  she  was  a  true 
Chnstiui,  a  genuine  believer  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
consequently  a  child  and  heir  of  God,  and  joint  heir 
with  Christ.  For  the  appellations  of  brother  aud  sis- 
ter^  which  the  disciples  gave  to  one  another  in  the 
first  age,  were  founded  on  their  being  all  the  chil- 
dren of  God  by  iatth,  consequently  the  brethren  and 
sisters  of  Christ,  who  acknowledged  the  relation  by 
publidy  declaring.  Matt  xii.  00,  Whosoever  shall  do 
120 


kPhiLii.29;  3Johki5,6. 


the  wiU  of  my  Father,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and 
sister,  and  mother.  TVuit  ye  receive  Aer— Entertain 
her,  and  treat  her  with  affection;  in  the  Lord—Vor 
the  Lord  Christ's  sake,  and  in  regard  to  her  relation 
to  him,  our  common  Saviour ;  as  becometh  saints — 
According  to  the  duty  which  Christiana  owe  one  to- 
ward another,  and  as  it  is  proper  they  should  act 
who  profess  to  be  saints,  separated  from  the  world 
to  the  honour  of  Christ^s  name ;  and  that  ye  assist 
her — With  counsel,  and  every  necessary  aid;  in 
ibhatsoever  business  she  hath  need  of  you — This  im- 
plies, that  she  had  come  to  Rome  on  business  of  im- 
portance ;  perhaps  to  seek  the  payment  of  a  debt 
owing  to  her  by  some  of  th^  inhabitants  of  Rome, 
or  t^  complain  of  undue  exactions  by  some  of  the 
emperor's  officers  in  the  province.  For  she  ha^ 
been  a  succourer  of  many — Probably  supplying 
theur  wants,  if  not  also  entertaining  them  at  her 
house.  *  The  word  npo^artc  properly  signifies  a  par 
Iron,  a  name  which  the  Romans  gave  to  persons 
who  assisted  with  their  advice  and  interest  those 
who  were  connected  with  them  as  clients.  There- 
fore, as  Phebe  had  this  name  given  her,  it  is  reason- 
able to  believe  that  she  was  a  person  of  considera- 
ble wealth'  and  influence.  Or,  we  may  suppose 
the  name  was  given  her  on  account  of  the  offices 

b 


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CHAPTER  XVI. 


hdievet$  at  Rome  by  name. 


A.  H.  4064. 
A.D.(K>. 


3  Greet  ^  PrisciQa  and  Aquila,  iny 

helpers  in  Christ  Jesus : 

4  YiTbo  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own 

necks:  unto  whom  not  only  I  give  thanks,^ 

bi|t  aba  all  the  churches  of  the  Gentiles. 

6  Likewise  greet  ^  the  church  that  is  in  their 


•Acts  rriii.  2, 18, 26 ;  2  Tun.  ir.  lA. 


ibe  performed  to  many  as  a  deaeoneso.  The  apos- 
tle's direction  implies,  that  all  the  faithful  ought  to 
be  particularly  attentive  in  giving  assistance  and  re- 
lief to  those  who  have  been  remarkable  for  assist- 
ing and  relieving  others. 

Verses  d-5.  Cfreet — Or,  sahUe,  as  aairaaaa^e  is  ge- 
nerally rendered ;  PriscUla  and  Aquila — That  is, 
declare  to  them  my  Christian  love,  and  desires  of 
their  welfare.  The  apostle  first  became  acquainted 
with  this  excellent  couple  at  Corinth,  to  which  city 
they  had  cpme  from  Rome  in  consequence  of  a  de- 
cree of  the  Emperor  Claudius  commanding  all  Jews 
to  depart  thence.  When  Paul  left  Corinth- the  first 
time,  they  accompanied  him  tb  Ephesus,  Acts  xviii. 
2y  18,  19 :  and  when  he  departed  firom  that  city  to 
go  to  Jerusalem,  they  did  not  go  with  him,  but  re- 
mained at  Ephesus  till  he  returned,  as  appears  from 
their  sending  their  salutations  to  ^e  Corinthians  in 
the  apostle's  first  epistle  to  them,  chap.  ivi.  19,  writ- 
ten from  Ephesus  while  he  abode  there,  after  his 
return  from  Jerusalem,  mentioned  Acts  xix.  1.  But 
on  the  death  of  Claudius  they  appear,  from  this 
verse,  to  have  gone  back  to  Rome  to  follow  their 
occupation,  being  there  when  this  salutation  was 
sent  to  them.  My  fellow-helpers — Namely,  in  pro- 
pagating the  gospel,  being  always  ready  to  exert 
themselves  to  the  utmost  to  aid  its  progress,  as  far 
as  they  had  opportunity.  They  had  been  very  ac- 
tive in  spreading  the  gospel  both  at  Corinth  and 
Ephesus;  and  doubtless  they  were  so  now  at  Rome 
also.  IVho  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own 
nedb— Hazarded  their  own  lives  to^  save  mine ;  per- 
haps in  the  violent  opposition  which  the  Jews  made 
to  him,  as  mentioned  Acts  xviii.  6,  7 ;  or  in  the  up- 
roar at  Corinth,  recorded  Acts  xviil.  12;  or  in  that  at 
Ephesus,  Acts  xix.  23.  The  expression,  which  is 
proverbial,  and  denotes  their  undergoing  the  greatest 
pedis,  is  used  in  allusion  to  the  custom  of  placing 
on  blocks  the  necks  of  criminals,  whose  heads  are 
to  be  cut  off.  Unto  whom  not  only  /,  but  all  the 
churches  of  the  Geniiles^-Even  that  at  Rome ;  give 
thanks— Because  the  preservation  of  his  life  redound- 
ed to  the  benefit  of  them  all.  Likewise  greet— Bar 
lute ;  the  church  that  is  in  their  house-^The  Chris- 
tian congregation,  that  was  wont  to  assemble  there 
for  divine  worship.  Aquila,  it  seems,  performed 
the  same  part  at  Rome  which  Gains  did  at  Corinth, 
verse  23 ;  he  opened  his  house  to  receive  the  gos- 
pel, and  those  that  were  desirous  to  attend  the  mi- 
nistry of  it,  and  to  join  in  the  worship  of  the  true 
Ctod.  As  yetj  however,  it  seems  the  Christians 
at  Rome  had  neither  bishops  nor  deacons.  So  far 
were  they  from  any  shadow  of  papal  power.  Nay, 
b 


house.    Salute  my  weD-beloved  Epe-  a.  m.  4oei 

netus,  who  is  *  the  first-fruits  of  Acha-  —'- 

ia  unto  Christ 

6  Greet  Mary,  who  bestowed  much  labour 
onus. 

7  Sdute  Andrcoiicus  and  Junia,  my  kins- 


*1  C3or.  Xfi.  19;   CW.  ir,  15^;  PM.  it •!  Cor.  xrl  15. 


there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  then  in  the  whole 
city  any  more  than  one  of  these  domestic  diurches, 
otherwise  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  Paul  would 
have  saluted  them  also.  Salute  mf  well-beloved 
Epenetus—Allhaagh  ^  apostle  had  never  been  at 
Rome,  yet  he  had  many  acquaintances  there.  It  is 
justly  observed  by  Theophylact,  that  it  wris  a  very 
great  praise  to  any  6ne  to  have  been  the  beloved  of 
Paul,  because  his  love  was  not  the  effect  of  a  blind 
pm^iality ,  but  of  a  well-founded  judgment  eoncem- 
ing  the  persor^s  true  character.  Who  is  the  first- 
fruits  of  Achaia — The  Alexandrine  and  Clermont 
MSS.,  with  the  Arabic,  Ethiopic,  and  Vulgate  ver- 
sions, and  many  Greek  and  Latin  commentators, 
have  Tffc  AtrtaCf  of  AsiOy  in  this  place ;  which  soine 
suppose  to  be  the  true  reading,  because,  1  Cor.  xvi. 
15,  ihe  apo^le  calls  the  house  of  Stephanas,  the  first- 
fruits  ofAchaia,  But  if  Epenetus  was  one  of  that 
house,  or  was  converted  at  the  same  time  with  Ste- 
phanas, he  also  was  a  part  of  the  first-fruits  of  Achaia, 
for  there  is  no  manner  of  necessity  to  understand 
by  that  expression  the  very  first  Christian  convert. 

Verse  6.  Chreet  Mary^  who  bestowed  much  labour 
on  us — Performed  many  good  offices  for  the  faith- 
ful, especially  for  the  preachers  of  the  gospel.  T^ie 
apcMrtle  is  very  aflfectionate  in  these  salutations, 
giving  almost  every  one  some  signal  epithet,  that  he 
might  both  recommend  them  for  their  piety  and  vir- 
tue, and  propose  them  as  examples  for  the  imitation 
of  others ;  as  also  that  he  might  show  his  gratitude 
to  them,  and  the  esteem  he  had  for  them.  And  con- 
cerning these  salutations;  and  others  In  the  apostolic 
epistles,  it  is  proper  to  remark  in  general,  "  that  they 
were  of  great  benefit  to  the  persons  saluted.  For, 
being  sent  to  individuals  in  letters  addressed  to  the 
churches  of  which  they  were  members,  such  public 
testimonies  of  the  apostle's  esteem  not  only  gave 
the  saluted  much  pleasure,  but  confirmed  them  m 
the  faith,  and  encouraged  them  to  bear  with  patience 
the  sufferings  attending  the  profession  of  the  gospel. 
And  to  us,  these  salutations  are  an  example  of  that 
love  which  we  owe  to  the  sincere  disciples  of  Christ 
on  account  of  their  character.  Further,  the  apostle, 
by  naming  so  many  persons  in  his  epistleft,  hath  not 
only  transmitted  to  posterity  an  honourable  charac- 
ter of  them,  but  hath  Aimished  an  additional  proof 
of  the  truth  and  authenticity  of  his  own  epistles.  For 
all  the  persons  named  in  them  were  appealed  to  as 
witnesses  of  the  things  which  he  had  written." 

Verses  7,  8.  Salute  Andronicus  and  /wnt  a— Or, 
Junias  rather,  it  being  evidently  the  name  of  a  man, 
as  appears  from  the  apostle^s  terming  them  both  his 
kinsmen— And  saying,  that  they  were  of  note  among 


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ROMANS. 


to  the  saints  at  Roms^ 


A.  M.  4064.  men,  and  my  fellow-prisoners,  who 
'  are  of  note  among  ihe  apostles,  who 

also  ^were  in  Christ  before  me. 

8  Greet  Amplias  my  beloved  in  the  Lord. 

9  Salute  Urbane,  our  helper  in  Christy. and 
Stachys  my  beloved. 

10  Salute  Apelles  approved  in  Christ  Sa- 
lute them  which  are  c^  Aristobulus's  *  house- 
hold. 

11  Salute  Herodian  my  kinsman.  Greet  them 
that  be  of  the  ^household  of  Narcissus,  which 
are  in  the  Lord. 

12  Salute  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  who  la- 


f  Gal.  i.  22. »  Or,  friends.- 'Or,/riendt.- 


2  John  I. 


the  apostles.  My  feUoiD-prisoners^Thsii  is,  impri- 
soned for  the  gospel  as  I  was.  At  the  time  whea 
this  epistle  was  written,  Paul  ha^  been  in  prison 
often,  2  Gor.  xi.  23.  On  some  of  these  occasions, 
the  persons  here  named  had  been  imprisoned  with 
him ;  but  where  or  'When .  that  happened,  is  not 
known.  Who  also  vjere  in  Christ  before  mc— Con- 
verted to  the  faith  of  Christ  before  I  w^  From 
these  two  persons  being  Christians  before  Paul,  join- 
ed with  their  being  of  note  among  the  apostles,  Ori- 
gen  infers  that  they  were  of  the  number  of  the 
seventy  disciple^:  but  that  is.quite  uncertain.  Their 
being  called  the  apostle's  kinsmen,  does  not  necessa- 
rily imply  that  they  were  his  relations :  he  might  term 
them  so,  as  well  as  several  others,  mentioned  in  this 
chapter,  merely  because  they  were  of  the  same  na- 
tion with  himself.  The  names,  however,  of  jnany 
here  saluted,  show  them  to  have  been  Greeks,  or  of. 
Greek  extractioQ.  We  may  therefore  conjecture, 
that  they  had  formerly  settled  themselves  at  Rome, 
for  the  sake  of  commerce,  or  of  exercising  their  par- 
ticular trades ;  but,  being  afterward  banished,  by  the 
Emperor  Claudius,  under  the  denomination  of  Jews, 
they  had  retired,  some  of  them  into  Greece,  others 
into  the  Lesser  Asia,  and  others  into  Judea,  where, 
it  is  supposed,  they  became  known  to  the  apostle  in 
the  course  of  his  travels  through  these  countries. 
These,  with  many  others,  returned  to  Rome  in  con- 
sequence of  the  death  of  Claudius,  and  re-established 
the  church  in  its  former  lustre.  See  on  chap.  i.  7,. 8. 
Verses  9-11.  Salute  Urbane,  or  Urbanus  rather, 
our  helper — Xwepyov,  ourfoUovylabourer — Mine  and 
Timothy's,  verse  21.  Salute  Apelles,  tov  doKifiov, 
the  approved  in  Christ — One  who  hath  showed  him- 
self a  sincere  Christian  and  faithful  servant  of  Christ, 
when  tried  by  affliction  and  persecution  for  the  gos- 
pel; a  noble  character  this,  and  greatly  to  be  re- 
spected. Salute  those  of  the  family- o/*  Aristohulus 
— Aristohulus  himself  is  not  saluted,  either  because 
he  was  not  in  Rome  at  that  time,  or  because  he  was 
not  yet  converted,  or  perhaps  because  he  was  dead. 
He  and  Narcissus,  mentioned  in  the  next  verse,  seem 
each  of  them  to  have  had  a  numerous  family ;  some 
of  whom  only  were  converted,  and  are  here  saluted 
122 


hour  in  the  Lord.    Salute  the  be-  a.  M.4064. 
loved  Persis,  which  laboured  much  in      '    '^' 
the  Lord.    . 

13  3alnte  Rufus  'chosen  in  the  Lord^  and 
his  mother  and  mine. 

14  Salute  Asyncritus,  Phlegon,  Hermas,  Pa- 
trobas,  Hermes,  and  the  brethren  which  are 
with  them. 

16  Salute  Phil(dogus,  and  Julia,  Nereus,  and 
his  sister,  and  Olympas,  and  all  the  saints 
which  are  with  them. 

16  ^Salute  one  another  with  a  hdy  kiss. 
The  churches  of  Christ  salute  you. 


^  1  Cor.  xvi.  20;  2  Cor. xiiL  12;  1  Thess.  t.  26  ;  1  Pet  r.  li. 


by  the  apostle,  whom  the  fame  of  their  virtues  had 
reached:  for  probably  some  of  them,  at  least,  were 
not  known  to  him  by  face,  but  only  by  character. 

Verses  12-15.  Salute  Thyphena  and  TVyphosa^-^ 
Probably  two  sisters ;  who  labour  in  the  Lord— In 
the  service  of  the  Lord,  according  to  their  stations : 
as  did  also  Persis,  who  seems  to  be  here  termed  be- 
loved, because  she  waa  distinguished  among  many 
for  her  fidelity  and  diligence.  Salute  Rujus— Per- 
haps  the  same  that  is  mentioned  JVIark  xv.  21.  And 
his  mother  and  mine — This  expression  may  only 
denote  the  tender  care  which  Rufus's  mother  had 
taken  of  him.  Salute  Asyncrilus,  Phlegon,  &c. — 
He  seems  to  join  those  together  who  were  joined 
by  kindred,  nearness  of  habitation,  or  some  other 
circumstance. .  It  could  not  but  encourage  the  poor 
especially  to  be  saluted  by  name,  who,  perhaps,  did 
not  know  that  the  apostle  had  ever  heard  of  them. 
It  is  observable,  that  while  the  apostle  forgets  none 
who  are  worthy,  yet  he  adjusts  the  nature  of  his 
salutation  to  the  degrees  of  worth  in  those  whom 
he  salutes.  Salute  all  the  saints — Here  all  the  be- 
lievers at  Rome,  male  and  female,  have  the  appella- 
tion of  saints,  or  holy  persons,  given  them ;  as  be- 
ing new  creatures  io  Christ  Jesus,  having  in  them 
the  mind  that  was  in  him,  and  walking  as  he  walk- 
ed. The  Papists  affirm,  that  at  the  time  the  apostle 
wrote  this  epistle,  Peter  was  at  Rome,  exercising  the 
office  of  bishop  in  the  Christian  Church  there:  but 
if  so,  Paul  doubtless  would  have  known  it  j  and,  in 
that  case,  he  surely  would  not  have  omitted  saluting 
him,  and  have  mentioned  so  many  others  of  inferior 
note;  and  yet  if  Peter  were  not  there  at  this  time, 
the  whole  Roman  tradition,  with  regard  to  the  suc- 
cession of  their  bishops,  fails  in  the  most  fundamen- 
tal article. 

Verse  16.  Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss — 
"  The  JcTfs  considered  the  kiss  as  an  expression  of 
friendship.  Thus  Joab,  pretending  great  friendship 
to  Amasa,  took  him  by  the  beqrd  to  kiss  him,  when 
he  slew  him,  2  Sam.  xx.  9.  Our  Lord  says  to  Simori, 
Luke  vii.  45,  Tliou  gavest  me  no  Iciss;  meaning, 
that  he  had  not  expressed  such  affection  to  him  as 
i  the  woman  had  done  who  kissed  his  feet.    Judas 


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CHAPTER  XVI. 


such  as  cause  divisions. 


A.  M.  4064.    17  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
— '— — 1  mark  them  *  which  cause  divisions 
and  offences,  conuuiy  to  the  doctrine  which  ye 
have  learned ;  and  ^  avoid  them. 
18  For  they  that  are  such  serve  not  our  Lord 

*  Acta  XV.  1,5, 24;  lTim.¥i.  3. kiCor.  t.9,  11 ;  2The8s. 

iii.  6».14;  a.Tim«  uL5;  Tit.  iu.  10;  2  John  la 


also  kissed  our  Lord,  pretending  friendship  to  him, 
at  the  time  he  betrayed  him.  This  manner  of  ex- 
pressing friendship  fo  each  other  the  disciples  of 
Christ  adopted,  and  practised  in  their  religious  as- 
semblies. So  Justin  Martyr  informs  us,  in  his  ac- 
count of  the  religious  assemblies  of  the  Christians, 
Apolvg,  Prayers  being  ended,  we  salute  one 
another  ti^ith  a  kiss,  and  then  the  bread  and  cup 
is  brought  to  the  president,  &c.  This  was  called  the 
holy  kiss,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  lustful  kiss  j  and 
the  kiss  of  charity^  1  Pet.  v.  14,  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  treacherous  kiss  of  Joab  and  Judas;  being 
given  as  an  expression  of  that  sincere,  chaste,  Mid 
spiritual  love,  which  Christians  owed  ^o  one  another. 
On  the  occasions  mentioned  by  Justin,  the  men  and 
women  did  npt  kiss  each  other  promiscuously :  the 
men  saluted  the  men  only,  and  the  women  kissed 
none  but  their  own  sex  5  as  may  be  known  from 
their  manner  of  sittiog  in  the  public  assemblies,  de- 
scribed Apost,  ConstiU,  lib.  ii.  c.  57.  On  the  other 
side  let  the  laics  sit,  with  all  silence'  and  good  or- 
der;  and  the  women,  let  them  sit  also  separately, 
keeping  silence^  Then,  after  a  long  description  of 
the  worship,  the  author  adds,  Then  let  the  men 
salute  one  another,  and  the  women  one  another, 
giving  the  kiss  in  the  Lord,  Through  length  of 
time,  and  diflference  of  manner,  this  method  of  sit- 
ting in  public  assemblies  hath  been  changed.  But 
that  it  was  the  ancient  ijiethod  cannot  be  doubted, 
being  derived  from  the  synagogue."— Macknight. 

Verses  17,  18.  Now  I  beseech—TlapaKaXtj,  I  ex- 
hort ymt,  brethren,  mark  them — Observe  and  point 
them  out  for  the  caution  of  others.  The  word 
ffwiTBLv,  rendered. ^0  mark,  signifies,  to  observe  atten- 
tively and  diUgently,  as  those  do  who  are  placed  on 
a  watch^ower  to  observe  the  motions  of  their  ene- 
mies. JVho  cause  divisions — Or,  separations,  as 
^iX'^^afiac  signifies,  namely,  by  their  false  doctrine ; 
ami  offences — Ta  aKavdaXa,  stumbling-blocks,  or  oc- 
casions of  falling,  by  their  factions  spirit  and  scan- 
dalous conduct.  Dr.  Hammond  thinks  the  apostle 
refars  to  the  Gnostics,  to  whom  indeed  the  chamc- 
ters,  given  in  the  next  verse,  of  those  here  meant, 
do  well  agree.  It  is  more  probable, however,  as Theo- 
doret  says,  that  he  intends,  m^  kokhc  t8  vofxa  awrryops^, 
the  wicked  advocates  of  the  law,  namely,  those  who 
preached  up  circumcision,  and  the  observation  of  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Jaw,  as  necessary  to  the  salvation 
of  the  Gentiles  :  and  Chrysostom,  (Ecumenius,  and  ! 
Theophylact,  agree  \vith  Theodoret  in  this  opinion.  | 
And  it  is  certain  that  these  men  caused  divisions  and 
separations  irora  others,  as  unclean  and  not  fit  to  be 
convorsad  with,  Acts  xi.  3;  xv.  24;  Gal.  ii.  12,  13, 
21 :  and  set  up  separate  assemblies  for  the  wo  ship 


Jesus  Qirist,  but^  their  own  belly;  a.m. 4064. 

and  "  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches      '    L 

deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple. 

19  For  "  your  obedience  is  come  abroad  unto 
all  men.    I  am  glad  therefore  on  your  behalf: 

»Phil.  iii.  19;  1  T^im.  vi.  5. »Col.  ii.  4;  2  Tim.  iii.  6; 

Tiui.  10;  2PeLii3. ■Clap.  i.  8. 


of  God,  (see  Jude,  verse  19,)  on  pretence  of  greater 
orthodoxy  and  sanctity  than  others,  and  who  would 
admit  none  into  their  communion  but  such  as  joined 
them  in  their  peculiarities,  and  who  represented  all 
others  as  erroneous  and  impious.  Contrary  to  the 
doctrine  which  ye  have  learned — Of  us,  the  apostles 
of  Jesus  Christ,  or  from  me  in  this  epistle.  Many 
of  the  Roman  l)rethren,  probably,  had  heard  the 
apostles  and  other  inspired  men  in  Judca  and  else- 
where, from  whom  they  had  learned  the  genuine 
doctrines  of  the  gospel.  Estius  justly  observes  here, 
that  the  apostle  intimates  thai  even  the  common 
people,  by  the  help  of  general  principles,  might  dis- 
cern the  true  doctrine,  even  that  which  was  dehver- 
ed  by  the  apestles,  from  that  which  was  false  and 
not  so  delivered.  Put  this  could  only  then  be  done 
by  comparing  that  which  was  declared  by  the  apos- 
tles, and  confirmed  by  their  miracles,  with  that 
which  was  delivered  as  different  from,  or  in  oppo- 
sition to  it,  and  was  not  so  confirmed.  And  this  can 
only  now  be  done  by  private  Christians  in  general, 
by  comparing  all  pretenders  to  the  apostle's  doc- 
trine, with  those  Scriptures  which  they  wrote,  under 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  avoid  them — 
Avoid  all  unnecessary  intercourse  with  them.  "  It 
is  worthy  of  notice,"  says  Macknight  here,  "  that 
the  apostle  desires  the  faithful  to  mark  them  who 
caused  divisions,  not  for  the  purpose  of  disputing 
with  them,  and  far  less  for  the  purpose  of  appre- 
hending and  punishing  them  with  fines,  imprison- 
ment, torture,  and  death ;  but  that  they  might  avoid 
their  company,  lest,  by  conversing  familiarly  with 
such,  they  should  be  infected  with  their  errors  and 
vices.  For,  as  the  apostle  told  Timothy,  2d  Epist. 
ii.  17,  their  word  eats  as  doth  a  canker,  or  gan- 
grene.?' For  they  that  are  snch  serve  not  our  Lord 
Jesus;  they  have  not  his  glory  in  view,  whatever 
they  may  pretend':  but  their  own  belly — Their 
chief  aim- and  design  is  to  advance  their  secular  in* 
terests,  and  gratify  their  carnal  desires.  And  by 
good  words — Xi)7^g-o2.oytac,  by  speaking  kindly,  or  by 
plausible  discourse,  and  fair  speeches — EvAoy/af,  by 
blessings  s  by  praying  for,  or  pronouncing  blessings 
upon  their  disciples,  or  by  praising  and  flattering 
them;  deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple— TavuKOKov^ 
of  the  harmless,  who,  doing  no  ill  themselves,  are 
not  upon  their  guard  against  them  that  do.  The 
word  denotes  persons  free  from  guile,  upright  and 
unsuspicious ;  but  who  have  not  discernment  or 
prudence  suflficient  to  enable  them  to  see  and  avoid 
the  snares  which  the  wicked  lay  in  thehr  way. 

Verses  19, 20.  For,  &c.~- As  if  he  had  said.  This  e3f- 
hortation  I  give  you,  to  preserve  you  in  the  way  in 
which  hitherto  you  have  walked,  to  the  credit  of  th« 
123 


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ROMANS. 


otherw  to  the  church  at  Home, 


A. M. 4064.  but  yet  I  x^ovli  have  you  "wise 

1 —  unto  that  which  is  good,  and  ^dmple 

concerning  evil 

20  And  i^the  God  of  peace  ^shall  ^bruise 
Satan  under  your  feet  shortly.  '  The  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.    Amen. 

21  ■  Timotheus  my  work-fellow,  and  ^Lucius, 


•  Matt,  X.  16 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  30. »  Or,  harmU$9. P  Ch.  zr.  33. 

f  OeiLiLi.16. ^«Or,frMui. ryene24;2Cor.zTl23;  ICor. 

xiu.  14;  PhU.  ir.  23;  1  The8s^v.28;  2  Thess.  iii.  18;  Rev. 


gospel  I  for  your  ready  obedience  and  conformity  to  it, 
i$  come  abroad  unto  all  men — Is  generally  taken 
notice  of  by  all  who  observe  such  things :  see 
1  Thess.  L  8.  The  Greek  is,  literally,  your  obedience 
hath  come  to  all-^ThsX  is,  the  fame  of  your  obedi- 
ence. For  that  such  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  metropolis  of  the  Roman  empire  had  for^ken 
the  gods  whom  they  and  their  forefathers  had 
worshipped,  and  had  believed  in  and  now  worship- 
ped the  €rod  of  the  Jews,  and  relied  for  salvation, 
present  and  eternal,  on  a  person  who  had  been  cru- 
cified as  a  malefactor  in  Judea,  must  have  been  much 
spoken  of  through  all  the  provinces,  even  among  the 
heathen,  and  must  have  been  observed  by  the 
dhristians  With  great  joy  and  gratitude  to  God.  / 
am  gladj  therefor e^  an  your  behalf— Thai  you  mani- 
fested such  readiness  in  embracing  the  gospel,  and 
that  you  have  hitherto  had  your  conversation  ac- 
cording to  it.  But  yet  Ivfould  have  you — Not  oi^y 
obedient,  but  discreet  also  *,  wise,  with  regard  to 
that  which  is  good — As  well-informed  and  knowing 
in  this  as  possible ;  and  simple  with  regard  to  that 
which  is  cti/— As  little  as  possible  acquainted  with 
it,  or  perfectly  free  from  all  improper  views  and 
designs  of  every  kind.  "  The  apostle's  argument 
is  this:  Since  ye  have  shown  such  prudence  and 
discernment  in  receiving  the  gospel,  ye  should 
show  like  prudence  and  discernment  in  your  beha- 
viour under  it,  by  doing  every  thing  that  is  good, 
and  by  preserving  yourselves  unpolluted  with  evil." 
And  the  God  of  peace— Who  hath  made  peace  for 
us  through  the  blood  of  the  cross;  He,  from  whom 
we  derive  all  our  peace  and  happiness,  who  delights 
in  seeing  this  peaceful  temper  prevail  among  his 
servants,  and  who  is  an  enemy  to  those  divisions, 
mentioned  verse  17,  shall  bruise  Satan — Who,  by 
his  instruments,  seeks  to  seduce  and  disturb  you  ; 
under, your  feet  «Aor%— Shall  give  you  victory 
over  him,  and  defeat  all  the  arti/ices  of  that  sower 
of  tares.  It  is  with  great  propriety  that  this  epi- 
thet, the  God  of  peace,  is  here  used,  because,  unless 
peace  had  been  made  between  God  and  us,  Satan 
would  have  kept  us  in  everlasting  bondage  and 
misery.  7%c  grax^e  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ —  1 
The  unmerited  favour  of  God,  as  the  fountc^O  of 
all  good,  and  the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  as  streams 
flowing  from  thence,  together  with  the  increase 
thereof^  as  blessings  purchased  for  us,  and  commu- 
nicated to  us  by  Christ,  be  with  you,  still  more  con- 
stantly and  abundantly !    Amen, 

Verse  21.  Timotheus  my  work-fellow — Or  fellow- 
194 


and  ">  Jason,  and  'Sosipater,  my  kins-  a.  ic.4064 
1     '  T      '     -^  A.  D.  aa 

men,  salute  you.. 

22  I  Tertius,  who  wrote  this  epistle,  salute 
you  in  the  Lord. 

23  ^  Gains  mme  host,  and  of  the  whole  church, 
saluteth  you.  'Erastus  the  chamberlain  of 
the  city  saluteth  you,  and  Quartus  a  brother. 

xai.2li 'ActizTLl;  CoLil;  Phil.ti.l9;  lTlMM.iu.8; 

1  Tim.  1.  2 ;  Heb.  juii.  S3. <  Acts  xiiL  1. "  AcU  xvii.  a 

<  Actszz.  4.— ^-y  1  Cor.  L  14.—' — «  Acta  xix.  22 ;  2Tim.  iv.2a 

labourer,  and  Latcius,  f  c,  salute  you — Desire  that 
their  sincere  love  and  Christian  friendship  ^lay  be 
testified  to  you.  As  Timothy  had  never  been  at 
Rome,  he  is  not  named  in  the  beginning  of  the  epis- 
tle. Of  PauPs  first  acquaintance  with  Timothy,  see 
on  Acts  xvi.  1-3.  We  find  a  person  of  ihe  name  of 
Lucius,  spoken  of  Acts  xiii^  1,  as  one  of  the  pro- 
phets of  the  church  at  Antiooh ;  but  that  Lucius, 
being  nowhere  mentioned  as  Paul's  companion  in 
travel,  Origen  was  of  opinion  that  the  Lucius  here 
mentioned  was  Luke  the  evangelbt,  whom  the 
apostle  called  Lucius  after  the  Roman  manner,  as 
he  called  SiUis,  Silvanus.  But  we  have  no  proof 
that  Luke  was  with  the  aposUe  at  Corinth  when  he 
wrote  this  epistle.  Jason  is  probably  the  person  so 
cdled^  with  whom  Paul  lodged  at  Thessalonica,  * 
Acts  xvii^  7 ;  and  who,  on  that  account,  was  accused 
to  the  magistrates  of  harbouring  seditious  persons. 
Sosipater  is  the  person  called  Sopater  of  Berea, 
Acts  XX.  4.:  he  and  Jason  are  probably  called 
the  apostle's  kinsmen,  merely  because  they  were 
Jews. 

Verses  22-24.  /  Tertius,  who  wrote  this  epistle — 
While  the  apostle  dictated  it  to  me ;  or  he  might  mean 
that  he  transcribed  it  from  the  apostle's  autograph : 
salute  you  in  the  Lord— The  Lord  Christ,  our  com- 
mon Master.  This  sentence  Tertius  inserted  by  the 
apostle's  advice,  or  at  least,  permission.  Gaius, 
mine  host,  by  whom  I  am  entertained  here  at  Co- 
rinth; see  1  Cor.  i.  14:  and  of  the  whole  church — 
To  all  the  members  of  which  he  shows  great  hos- 
pitality. Or  the  meaning  may  be,  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church  at  Corinth  met  for  some  time  in 
his  house.  Erastus  the  chamberlain  of  the  city — 
Namely,  of  Corinth,  saluteth  you— The  original  ex- 
pression, oiKovofiog  r)7f  iroXewf,  is,  literally,  the  stew- 
ard of  the  city;  but  in  the  Vulgate  version  it  is 
translated,  arcarius  civitatis,  treasurer  of  the  city. 
And  Quarlus  a  brother— Thtii  is,  a  Christian  bro- 
ther ;  or,  as  some  think  the  expression  Implies,  a 
Christian  minister :  doubtless  he  was  a  person  of 
some  note  among  the  first  Christians,  otherwise  his 
name  would  not  have  been  inserted  here,  TA* 
grace  of  our  Lord,  ^c,  be  with  you  att— This  apos- 
tolical benediction,  (which  the  apostle  h^re  repeats 
to  testify  still  further  his  great  affection  for  them, 
and  his  earnest  desire  of  their  welfare,)  he  always 
wrote  with  his  own  hand,  to  distinguish  his  genuine 
epistles  from  those  that  were  forged  in  his  name, 
2  Thess.  iii.  17 ;  and  he  commonly  ended  his  let^ 
ters  with  it    But  on  this  occasion  he  added  also, 


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7%e  apoiiU  ecnchdts  wUk 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


fraUe  and  glorjf  io  CfocU 


A.M.406i.    24  •The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

! — L  Christ  be  with  you  alL    Amen. 

25  Now  ^to  him  that  is  of  power  to  establish 
you  ®  accordiilgto  my  gospel,  and  the  preaching 
of  Jesus  Christ,  '  according  to  the  revelation  of 
the  mystery,  *  which  was  kept  secret  since  the 
world  b^an, 


•Vene90>;  lTbeM.T.aB. — 
aThMi.  iL  17 ;  iii.  3 ;  iiidA  24.- 
ui.  3-5 ;  Col.  i.  87. 


^  Eph.  iH.  20  -r  1  TbeM.  iii.  13 ; 
•^  Chap.  ii.  16. 'Eph.  i.O ; 


(it  seems  in  his  own  hand-writing,)  that  grand  dox- 
ology  contained  in  the  three  following  verses ;  in 
which  he  offers  a  solemn  thanksgiving  to'  God  for 
the  callhig  of  the  Gentiles  by  the  apostle's  preach- 
ing Christsto  t)iem,aocofding^to  the  revelation  of  that 
mystery  made  to  him,  and  according  to  God's  express 
commandment  in  ^e  prophetic  writings  of  the  Jews. 
And  as  he  had  explained  these  subjects  in  the  fore- 
going epistle,  this  doxology  was  placed  at  the  con- 
dosion  of  it  with  great  propriety,  and  could  not  but 
be  very  acceptable  to  all  the  Gentiles. 

Verses  25-27.  Novijo  him  that  ia .of  powers  Tw 
dwofuvu,  that  b  able,  to  establish  you  according"  to  my 
gospH — That  is,  in  your  belief  of  the  great  and  impor- 
tant doctrines  contained  in  it,  particularly  those  that 
respect  the  gratuitons^justification  of  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles by  faith.  "  These  doctrines  he  calls  his  go$pely 
or  good  new8^  not  in  contradistinction  to  the  good 
news  of  the  other  apostles^  as  Locke  fancies,  to  the 
great  discredit  of  the  rest,  whose  doctrine  was  the 
same  with  Paul's,  so  fares  it  went :  but  in  opposition 
to  the  doctrines  taught  by  the  Jndaizers,  and  other 
ialse  teachers,  who  added^he  law  to  the  gospel,  on 
pretence  that  the  gospel  was  defective  in  rites  of 
atonement"  This  is  not  all :  he  doubtless  desired 
also  thai  they  should  be  established  in  the  possession 
of  all  Christian  graces,  particularly  in  the  faith 
idiereby  the  jii9(  live  and  walk ;  in  that  hope  of  life 
eternal  which  is  as  an  amhar  of  the  soul,  sure  and 
steac^ast;  and  in  that  k>Ve  to  God,  ills  people,  and 
all  mankind,  in  which  whosoe?er  abideth,  dwelleth 
in  Ood,  and  God  in  him;  and  in  all  other  graces 
comprehended  in,  or  flowing  from  these.  He 
wished  them  to  be  established  also  in  the  steady, 
persevering  performance  of  every  Christian  duty, 
whether  toward  God  or  man :  or,  in  seeking  glory, 
honour,  and  iminortalitys  \>y  n  patient  continuance 
in  'well-doing — By  being  steadfast,  unmoveabte, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord:  etccordr 
ing  to  iht  revelation  of  themy^ery—W  the  admis- 
afton  of  the  Oenttles  into  the  church  of  God,  without 
subjecting  them  to  the  law  of  Moses;  which,  as 
plainly  as  it  was  foretold  in  the  prophets,  was  stiU 
hid  from  many  even  of  the  believing  Jews,  and  is 
therefore  call^  a  mystery,  (in  allusion  to  the  msrs- 
leries  of  the  heathen,  which  used  to  be  concealed 
from  all  but  the  initiated,)  kept  secret  since  the  world 
hsgau — Or,  as  7ff>o¥0tf  auMfioic  ataiynfuvv,  may  be  ren- 
dered, kept  in  silence  from  eternal  ages;  or  in  all 
b 


26  But  ^now  is  made  manifest,  and  A.  M.  40m. 
by  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets,  ac-    ^^'^' 
cording  to  the  commandment  of  the  everlasting* 
Grod)  made  known  to  all  nations  finr  'the  obe- 
dience of  faith : 

27  To  ^  God  only  wise,  ie  glory  through  Jesus 
Christ  for  ever.    Amen. 


•  1  Cor.  if.  7 ;  Eph.  iii.  5,  9 ;  Gol.  i  26. '  Eph.  i.  9 ;  »Ti«. 

I  10;  Titi.  «,  3;  1  Pet.  LBO.- — f  Acts  ri  7;  Ch»p.  i  S:  «r. 
18. k  1  Tim.  i.  17 ;  vi.  16 ;  Jude  25. 


former  ages  from  the  beginning  of  the  world.  But 
now  is  made  mamfesi — By  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel ;  a»id  by,  or  according  1o,  the  scriptures  of  the 
prophets,  ihe  meaning  whereof  is  now  set  forth  and 
elucidated  by  the  revelation  of  the  Spirit ;  not  by 
chance,  but  according  to  the  commandment  (which 
is  the  chief  foundation  of  the  apostolical  office)  of 
the  everlasting  God — A  more  proper  epithet  could 
not  be  used.  A  new  dispenimtiou  infers  no  change 
in  God.  Known  unto  him^re  all  his  works,  and 
every  v watton  of  Ihem,  from  eternity.  Made  known 
to  all  neUions-^To  the  Gentile  nations  as  well  as  the 
people  of  Israel  ;for  the  obedience  of  the  faith'-That, 
they  might  not  only  know  the  blessings  of  the  gos- 
pel/ but  enjoy  them  also,  by  believing  in  Ghrist,  and 
in  the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel,  as  they  are 
commanded  to  do.  To  God  only  wise — Whose  man- 
ifidd  wisdom  is  known  in  the  church  through  the 
gospel,  and  who  has  so  prudently  contrived,  and  so 
effectually  executed,  this  grand  scheme.  Dr.  Mac 
knight  renders  the  clause.  To  the  wise  God  alone, 
thinking  that  is  the  true  translation,  both  here  and  in 
1  TinL  i.  17 ;  Jude  25 ;  because,  "  if  the  translation 
were  to  be.  To  the  only  wise  God,  it  would  imply 
that  there  are  some  gods  who  are  not  wise.  Or  if 
we  render  the  clause,  To  God  only  wise,  the  reader 
might  be  apt  to  thihk  that  God  hath  no  perfection 
but  wisdom."  Whereas  '*  the  apostle's  meaning  is, 
that  glory  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  God  alone  in  the 
higheat  degree :  or  that  God  alone  is  entitled  thereto^ 
in  and  of  himself;"  all  other  beings,  to  whom  any 
glory  is  due,  deriving  their  title  to  it  from  the  per- 
fection which  God  has  communicated  to  them,  or 
the  authority  which  he  has  bestowed  on  them :  ^ 
glory  in  all  the  churches  on  earth,  and  in  the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  firstborn  in  heaven; 
trough  Jesus  Christ  for  crcr— Through  his  media- 
tion and  grace,  through  which  alone  guilty  and  sin- 
ful creatures  can  give  glory  to  God  in  an  acceptable 
manner ;  and  let  every  believer  say,  Amen! 

''Thus  endeth  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans;  a 
writing  which,  for  sublimity  and  truth  of  sentiment, 
for  brevity  and  strength  of  expression,  for  regularity 
in  its  structure,  but  above  all,  for  the  unspeakable 
importance  of  the  discoveries  which  it  contains, 
stands  imrivalle^  by  any  human  composition;  and  as 
far  exceeds  the  most  celebrated  productions  of  the 
learned  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  the  shining  of  the 
sun  exceedeth  the  twinkling  of  the  stars.^ 
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PREFACK 


TO     THE 


FIRST    EPISTLE  TO   THE  CORINTHIANS, 


r^  ORINTH,  as  has  been  observed  in  the  note  on  Acts  xviii.  1,  was  a  celebrated  city  of  Greece;  ftnr 
some  time,  indeed,  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the  Greek  cities,  and  the  capital  of  Achaia.  It  is  said 
to  have  been  founded  1514  years  before  the  Christian  era,  by  Sisyphus,  the  son  of  Bolus,  and  grand- 
father of  Ulysses.  Various  reasons  are  given  for  its  name,  but  most  authors  derive  it  from  Corinlhus, 
the  son  of  Pelops.  It  was  situated  in  the  south  part  of  the  isthmus  which  joins  the  Peloponessus 
(now  the  Morea)  to  the  continent.  It  consisted  of  a  citadel,  built  upon  an  eminence,  and  thence 
called  Acro-corinthus ;  besides  which,  it  had  two  maritime  towns  subject  to  it,  named  Lecheum  and 
Cenohrea.  And  so  advantageously  were  these  ports  situated,  that  they  might  hsve  gained  the 
Corinthians  a  superiority,  if  not  a  command,  over  all  Greece,  had  not  their  advantageous  situation  for 
commerce  inclined  them  to  attend  to  it,  rather  than  war :  for  their  citadel  was  almost  impregnable ; 
and,  commanding  both  the  Ionian  and  ^gean  seas,  ^ey  could  easily  have  cut  off  all  communication 
from  one  half  of  Greece  with  the  other ;  for  which  reason  this  city  was  called  one  of  the  fetteis  of 
Greece.  But  as  the  genius  of  the  Corinthians  led  them  to  prefer  commerce  to  martial  exploits,  their 
city  became  the  finest  in  all  Greece.  It  was  adorned  with  the  most  sumptuous  buildings,  as  temples, 
palaces,  theatres,  porticoes,  and  other  edifices,  all  enriched  with  a  beautiful  kind  of  columns,  which, 
with  their  capitals  and  bases,,  gave  rise  to  the  Corinthian  order  ir\  architecture. 
.  This  city  continued  to  preserve  its  liberty  till  the  year  before  Christ  146,  when  it  was  [nllaged  and 
burned  by  the  Romans.  It  was,  at  that  time,  the  strongest  place  in  the  world ;  but  the  inhabitants 
were  so  disheartened  by  a  preceding  defeat,  and  the  death  o(  their  general,  that  they  had  not  presence 
of  mind  enough  even  to  shut  their  gates.  The  Roman  consul,  Mummius,  was  so  much  surprised  at  this^ 
that,  at  first,  he  could  scarce  believe  it ;  but  afterward,  fearing  an  ambuscade,  he  advanced  with  all 
possible  caution.  As  he  met  with  no  resistance,  his  soldiers  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  destroy  the  few 
inhabitants  who  had  not  fied,  and  plunder  the  city.  The  men  were  all  put  to  the  sword,  and  the 
women  sold  for  slaves.  After  this,  the  city  ^as  ransacked  by  the  groeiy  soldiers,  and  the  spoils  of 
it  are  said  to  have  been  immense.  There  were  more  vessels,  of  all  sorts  of  metal,  more  fine  pictures 
and  3tatue8,  done  by  the  greatest  masters,  in  Corinth  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world.  All  the 
princes  of  Europe  and  Asia,  who  had  any  taste  in  painting  and  sculpture,  fiumished  themselves  her^ 
with  their  finest  moveables:  here  were  cast  the  finest  statues  for  temples  and  palaces,  and  all  the 
liberal  arts  brought  to  the  greatest  perfection.  Many  inestimable  pieces  of  the  most  famous  painters 
and  statuaries  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  soldiers,  who  either  destroyed  th^m,  or  parted  with 
them  for  a  trifle.  When  the  city  was  thoroughly  pillaged,  fire  was  set  to  all  the  comers  of  it  at  the 
same  time.  The  flames  grew  more  violent  as  they  drew  near  the  centre ;  and  at  last,  uniting  there, 
made  one  prodigious  conflagration ;  at  which  time  the  famous  metalline  mixture  Is  said  to  have  been 
made,  which  could  never  afterward  be  imitated  by  art.  The  gold,  silver,  and  brass,  vrhich.  the 
Corinthians  had  concealed,  were  melted,  and  ran  down  the  streets  in  streams ;  and  when  this  flames 
were  extinguished,  a  new  metal  was  found,  composed  of  several  diflerent  ones,  and  greatly  esteemed 
in  after  ages.  • 

The  town  lay  desolate  till  Julius  Cesar  settled  there  a  Roman  colony;  when,  in  removing  the  mb* 

bish,  and  digging,  many  vases  were  found  of  brass,  or  earth,  finely  embossed.     The  price  given  for 

these  curiosities  excited  industry  in  the  new  inhabitants.     They  left  no  hurying-place  unexamined  ; 

and  Rome,  it  is  said,  Mras  filled  with  the  furniture  of  the  sepulchres  at  Corinth.     After  this,  Achaia 

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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPfSTLE  TO  "raE  CORINTmANS. 

b^n^  made  a  Roman  pft>Tince,  and  Ck>rbidi  becoming  the  residence  of  the  pro-consul,  who  governed 
it)  this  city  soon  regained  its  ancient  splendour ;  for,  its  inhabitants  increasing  exceedingly,  they  began 
to  carry  on,  by  means  oT  its  two  sea-ports,  an  extensive  commerce,  which  brought  great  wealth  into 
it.  From  that  time  forth,  the  arts  which  minister  to  the  conveniences  and  luxuries  of  life  were 
carried  on  at  Corinth  in  as  great  perfection  as  formerly;  schools  were  Opened  in  which  philosophy 
and  rhetoric  were  publicly  taught  by  able  masters ;  and  strangers  from  all  quarters  crowded  to  Corinth 
to  be  instructed  in  the  sciences  and  arts :  so  that  Corinth,  during  this  latter  period,  was  filled  with 
philosophers,  rhetoricians,- and  artists  of  all  kinds,  and  abounded  in  wealth.  These  advantages, 
however,  were  counterbalanced,  as  before,  by  the  effects  which  wealth  and  luxury  never  fail  to  prcJ- 
duce :  in  a  word,  a  universal  corruption  of  manners  soon  prevailed ;  so  that  Corinth,  in  its  second 
itote,  became  as  corrupt  as  in  any  former  period  whatever;  even  as  when,  according  to  Strabo, 
^*  there  were  more  than  a  thousand  harlots  in  the  temple  of  Venus,  who,  in  honour  of  the  goddess, 
prostituted  themselves  to  all  comers  for  hire,  and  Uirough  these  the  city  was  crowded,  and  became 
wealthy.**  And  as  it  fbrnlshed  to  the  debauched  opportunities  of  gratifying  their  lusts,  under  the  pre- 
text of  religion,  it  is  easy  to  see  what  corruption  of  manners  must  have  been  caused  thereby.  Indeed, 
lasciviousness  was  carried  to  such  a  pitch  in  Corinth,  that,  in  the  language  of  these  times,  the  appella- 
tion of  "  a  Corinthian,"  given  to  a  woman,,  imported  that  she  was  a  prostitute ;  and,  Kopiv^ic^eiv,  "  to 
behave  as  a  Corinthian,"  spoken  of  a  man,  was  the  same  as  eraipeveiVj  "  to  commit  whoredom."  The 
apostle,  therefore,  had  goiod  reason,  in  this  epistle,  to  exhort  the  Corinthian  brethren  to  "  flee  fornica- 
tion 4"  and,  af\er  giving  them  a  catalogue  of  the  "  unrighteous,  who  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  (1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10,)  he  was  well  entitled  to  add,  "  and  such  were  some  of  you."  In  short,  the 
Corinthians  had  carried  vice  of  every  kind  to  such  a  pitch,  that  their  city  was  more  debauched  than 
any  of  the  other  cities  of  Greece.  Yet,  even  in  this  city,  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was 
preached  with  great  success ;  a  great  reformation  was  effected  in  the  manners  of  many  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, and  a  flourishing  Christian  church  was  founded,  in  which  were  some  Jews  of  note,  (verse  8,)  and  a 
great  number  of  Gentiles ;  (1  Cor.  xii.  2 ;)  a  church  which  hath  continued,  though  not  without  many 
changes,  to  the  present  times. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  Christianity  was  first  introduced  into  Corinth,  see  the  notes  on  Acts 
xriii.  2-11.  This  wais  about  A.  D.  54,  at  which  period  the  apostle  continued  in  this  city  eighteen 
months,  preaching  with  considerable  success,  first  in  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews,  every  sabbath  day, 
and  afterward  in  the  house  of  one  Justus,  a  religious  proselyte,  .whom  he  had  been  instrumental  in 
converting  to  the  faith.  Here  the  idolatrous  inhabitants  of  the  city,  prompted  by  curiosity,  came  to 
him,  from  time  to  time,  in  great  numbers,  to  hear  his  discourses.  And  having  themselves  seen,  or 
having  been  credibly  informed  by  others,  of  the  miracles  which  he  wrought,  and  of  the  spiritual  gifls 
which  he  conferred  on  them  who  believed,  they  were  so  impressed  by  his  discourses  and  miracles^ 
that  many  of  them  renounced  their  ancient  superstition.  So  we  learn  frovpL  Acts  xviii.  8,  where  Luke 
tells  us  that  "  many  of  the  Corinthians  hearing,  believed,  and  were  baptized."  Such  was  the  state 
of  the  church  at  Corinth  during  the  time  of  the  apostle^s  continuing  wi^  them.  And  soon  after  his 
departure,  he  appears,  from  1  Cor.  v.  9,  to  have  written  a  friendly  letter  of  admonition  and  advice  to 
them,  which  is  now  lost.  His  cautions  and  counsels  not  producing  the  desired  eflect,  but  various  dis- 
orders and  schisms  quickly  taking  place,  partly,  it  seems,  through  false  teachers  creeping  in  among 
them,  he  judged  it  needful  to  write  to  them  more  at  large  than  he  had  done  before,  to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, the  fruit  of  his  labours  from  being  entirely  blasted ;  and  this  letter,  which  seems  to  have  fully 
answered  the  end  intended,  has  been  preserved,  by  the  care  of  Providence,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
church  in  all  ages. 

With  regard  to  the  place  where  this  epistle,  which  is  now  to  come  under  our  consideration,  was 
written,  there  never  has  been  any  doubt  among  commentators.  The  mention  that  is  made  (chap, 
xvi.  8)  of  the  apostle's  purpose  of  remaining  at  Ephesus  till  the  pentecost,  and  the  salutation  of  the 
churches  of  Asia,  show  that  this  letter  was  not  written  at  Philippi,  as  the  spurious  postscript  indicates  ; 
but  at  Ephesus,  during  his  second  abode  in  that  city,  of  whiqh  we  have  an  account  Acts  xix.  1-41. 
It  is  not,  however,  so  generally  agreed  at  what  particular  time  of  the  apostle's  abode  in  Ephesus  this 
letter  was  written.  Mill  (Prolog.  No.  9)  says  it  was  written  after  the  riot  of  Demetrius,  because  the 
apostle's  fighting  with  wild  beasts  at  Ephesus  is  mentioned  in  it,  (chap.  xv.  32,)  which  he  thinks  hap- 
pened during  the  riot.  But  Paul  did  not  then  go  into  the  theatre,  being  restrained  by  the  disciples. 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CCWINTHIANS. 

•ad  by  some  of  the  Asiarchs,  who  were  his  Mends,  Acts  six.  3Q»  31.  His  %htiag  with  wild  \ 
therefore,  at  Ephesus,  must  have  happened  in  some  previous  tumult,  (^  which  there  is  no  mffaHkm  ia 
the  history  of  the  Acts.  That  this  epistle  was,  written  a  little,  while  before  the  riot  of  Demcrtnns^ 
appears  probable  from  two  circumstances.  The  first  is,  the  apostle  told  Jhe  Corinthians,  (chi^ 
xrii.  8,  9,)  that  he  resolved  to  abide  in  Ephesus  till  pentecost,  on  accpunt  of  the  great  success  with 
which  he  was  then  preaching  the  gospel.  The  second  circumstance  is,  that  Demetrius,  in  his 
speech  to  the  craftsmen,  mentioned  Paul's  turning  much  people  from  the  worship  of  id<^  (and 
thereby  putting  an  end  to  their  occupation  and  wealdi)  as  a  recent  event.  These  two  circumstances 
joined,  lead  us  to  conclude  that  this  epistle  was  written  a  little  while  before  the  tiot ;  for  if  it  had 
been  written  after  it,  the  apostle  could  not  have  said,  "  I  will  abide  at  Ephesus  till  pentecost.**  And 
on  this  supposition,  that  it  was  written  a  little  while  before  that  riot,  its  date  may  be  fixed  to  abo«t 
A.  D.  57.  As  to  the  design  of  this  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  it  was  intended,  partly,  to  correct 
some  corruptions  and  abuses  among  the  believers  at  Corinth,  and  partly  to  answer  certain  queries 
which  they  had  proposed  to  him.  After  expressing  his  satisfaction  at  all  the  good  he  knew  of  them, 
particularly  at  their  having  received  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  for  ihe  confirmation  of  the 
gospel,  (chap.  i.  1-9,)  sotting  himself  to  correct  the  disorders  and  evils  which  had  taken  place 
among  them,  he,  1.  Rebukes  the  factious  men  among  them,  and  defends  himself  against  one  or  more 
false  teachers,  who  had  alienated  the  affections  of  most  of  the  Corinthians  from  him,  chap.  i.  10-v. 
2.  He  considers  the  case  of  a  notorious  offender,  who  had  married  his  father's  wife,  that  is,  his  own 
step-mother ;  and  orders  them  to  excommunicate  this  person,  and  to  acknowledge  no  fornicator  as 
a  brother,  chap.  v.  3.  He  reproves  them  for  their  covetous  and  litigious  temper,  which  caused  them 
to  prosecute  their  Christian  brethren  in  heathen  courts  of  judicature,  chap.  vi.  1-9.  4.  Cautions  them 
against  fornication,  a  vice  to  whic)i  they  had  been  extremely  addicted  before  their  conversion,  (chap, 
vi.  10-20,)  and  which  some  of  them  still  reckoned  among  the  things  indifferent.  In  the  next  place,  he 
answers  certain  queries  which  they  had  proposed:  and,  1.  He  determines  some  questions  relating 
to  the  marriage  state,  chap.  vii.  2.  He  instructs  them  how  to  act  with  respect  to  things  that  had 
been  offered  to  idols,  chap,  viii.-xi.  1.  3.  He  answers  a  query  concerning  the  manner  in  which 
women  should  deliver  any  thing  in  public,^  when  they  thought  themselves  called  to  it  by  a  divine 
impulse,  chap.  xi.  2-17 ;  and  he  censures  the  unusual  dress  of  both  sexes,  in  prophesying,''  which 
exposed  them  to  the  contempt  of  the  Greeks,  among  whom  the  men  usually  went  uncovered,  and  the 
women  veiled.  He  also  takes  occasion  here  to  censure  the  irregularities  committed  at  their  celebra> 
tions  of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  extraordinary  ^fts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  chap, 
xi.  18-xv.  4.  He  asserts  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  which  some  among  the  Corinthians  doubted, 
and  others  denied,  chap.  zv.  He  then  concludes  with  some  directions  to  the  Corinthian  church  c<m- 
ceming  the  manner  of  cpflecting  alms,  promises  them  a  visit,  and  salutes  tome  of  the 
bers,  chap.  xvi. 

iss  b 


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THE 


FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO     THB 


CORINTHIANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AfitT  aan  as9ertion  of  fus  apostolic  authority ,  tohick  tome  had  called  in  quettiorii  thp  upostle,  (1,)  Affcctionaidy  tahUCM  th* 
akurch  of  God  at  C^rirUh^  and  gives  t?um  th^  usual  benediction,  1-3.  (S,)  He  congratulates  them  on  their  conversion  to 
Christ,  and  on  the  rich  variety  of  gifts  and  graces  which  God  had  bestowed  on  them,  and  encourages  them  to  expect  a  con- 
tinuance of  his  favour  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  the  day  of  his  final  appearance,  4-9.  (3,)  He  exhorts  them  to  brotherly  love 
and  unity ;  and  reproves  them  for  their  divisions,  and  ranking  themselves  under  different  ministers  as  heads  of  parties, 
tehen  they  were  under  such  strong  engagements  to  be  united  to  Christy  as  their  comnum  Saviour  and  Master,  10-16. 
(4y>  He  asserts  and  vin£caies  the  doctrine  of  Christ  erutified,  (with  his  own  simple  and  plain  way  of  preaching  it,)  as  a 
fundamental  article  of  the  Cliristian  faith,  and  admirably  calculated  to  advanct  the  glory  of  God,  and  humble  men  before 
Ann,  17-31. 


A. M. 4063.  pAUL,   'called  to  be  an  apostle 

'. — 1         of  Jesus  Christ  *  through  the  will 

of  God,  and  ®  Sosthenes  our  brother, 


Ll.- 


>  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Eph.  i.  1 ;  CoL  i.  L- 
xviii.  17. 


'AcU 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 

Verse  1.  Paul,  called  to  he  an  apostle — There  is 
great  proprietor  in  every  clause  of  the  salutation, 
particularlj  in  this,  as  there  was  a  faction  at  this 
time  in  the  church  at  Corinth,  which  pretended  to 
entertain  douhts  of  his  apostleship,  chap.  ix.  1; 
probably  in  consequence  of  insinuations  thrown 'out 
against  it  by  the  Judaizing  teacher,  or  teachers,  who 
had  come  thither  after  his  departure.  The  apostle, 
therefore,  begins  his  letter  by  informing  them,  "  that 
he  was  not,  like  Matthias,  an  apostle  made  by  men, 
neither  did  he  assume  the  office  by  his  own  authori- 
ty, but  he  was  called  to  it  by  Christ  himself,  who 
for  that  purpose  appeared  to  him  from  heaven." 
The  original  expression,  kXjjtoc  a:ro^oXoc  It^o^  Xp<r«,  is 
literally,  a  called  apostle^  Jesits  Christ,  or  Jesus 
ChrisVs  called  apostle.  Through  the  will  of  Chd— 
Termed  the  commandment  of  God,  1  Tim.  i.  1 .  This 
was,  to  the  churches,  the  ground  of  his  authority ; 
to  Paul  himself^  of  an  humble  and  ready  mind.  By 
the  mention  of  Ood,  the  authority  of  man  is  exchided, 
Gal  L  1 ;  by  the  mention  of  the  will  of  God,  the 
merit  of  Paul,  chap,  xv,  8,  &c.    And  Scsthenes—lf, 

Vol.  IL    .  (  0  ) 


2  Unto  the  church  of  God  which  is  A.  M.  4063. 
at  Corinth,  ^  to  them  that  •  are  sancii-  — !— 1 — 1 
fied  in  Christ  Jesus,  'called  /o  be  saints,  with 


«iJude  1.- 


•John  xvii.  19;  Act*  xr.  9. fRoman8.L7; 

2  Tim.  i.  9. 


as  most  commentators  think,  this  person  be  that 
chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue  at  Corinth,  mentioned 
Acts  xviii.  17,  as  active  in  persecuting  Paul,  we 
must  suppose  that  he  was  afterward  converted,  and 
became  an  eminent  preacher  of  the  gospel.  And  as  it 
seems  he  had  considerable  influence  among  the  Co- 
rinthians, it  was  prudence,  as  well  as  humility,  in 
the  apostle,  thus  to  join  his  name  with  his  own,  in 
an  epistle  where  he  Was  to  reprove  so  many  irregu- 
larities. Sosthencs  our  brother— Probobly  this  word 
Is  emphatical ;  as  if  he  had  said,  Wlio,  from  a  Jewish 
opposer  of  the  gospel,  became  a  faithful  brother. 

Verse  2.  Unto  the  cMerch  of  God  which  is  at  Co- 
rinth— The  apostle,  writing  in  a  familiar  manner  to 
the  Corinthians,  as  also  to  the  Thessalonians  and  Ga- 
latians,  uses  this  plain  appellation;  to  the  other 
churches  he  uses  a  morp  solemn  address:  to  them 
that  are  eanrtifed  in,  or  through,  Christ  Jesus — 
That  is,  called  out  of  the  world,  set  apart  for  God, 
and  raiidc  holy,  through  faith  in  Christ,  and  by 
grace  derived  from  him,  the  head  of  his  mystical 
body.  Thus  sanctified,  undoubtedly  tliey  were  in 
general,  notwithstanding  some  exceplions,  called — 

m  b 


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Paul  congratulates  the  Corinthiafu         I.  CORINTHIANS. 


on  their  conversion  to  Christ^ 


A.M.  4063.  all  that  in  every  place  '  call  upon  the 
^: ^' ^^'    name  of  Jesus   Christ^ our  Lord, 
*  both  theirs  and  ours : 

3  ^  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace,  fr(Hn  God 
our  Father,  and  from  tho  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4  ^  I  thank  my  God  always  on  your  behalf, 
for  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  you  by 
Jesus  Christ  ;* 

6  That  in  every  thing  ye  are  enriched  by 
him,  " in  all  utterance,, and  in  all  knowledge ; 


f  Acts  ix.  14,21 ;  xxii.  16 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  42. >•  Chap.  viu.  6. 

'Rom.  iiL  22;  x.   12. kRom.i.7j  2Cor.i.2;  Eph.i.2; 

I  Pet  L  2. >  Rom.  i.  8. -•  Eighteenth  Sunday  after  Trini- 
ty, epiaUe,  rerse  4  to  verae  9. "Chap.  xii.  8 ;  2  Cor.  viii,  7. 

»  Chap.  iL  1 ;  2  Tim.  L  8 ;  Rct.  i.  2. 


Of  Jesus  Christ,  Rom.  i.  6 ;  fo  he  saints—Th^i  is,  holy 
persons,  by  virtue  of  that  calling,  or,  as  iCXiToi^  ayioic 
is  literally,  saints,  or  holy  persons,  called:  v>ith  all 
that  in  every  place — All  the  world  over ;  and  particu- 
larly in  every  part  of  Achaia;  nothing  could  better  ^ult 
that  catholic  love  which  Paul  labours  to  promote  in 
this  epistle,  than  such  a  declaration  pC  his  good  wishes 
for  every  true  Christian  upon  earth.  Call  upon  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord — This  plainly  im- 
plies thAt  all  true  Christians  pray  to  Christ,  as  well 
as  to  the  Father  through  htm.  /We  have  the  s^me 
expression  with  that  here  used.  Acts  vii.  59:  They 
stoned  Stephen,  etriKaXH/ievov,  calling  upon,  or  in- 
voking, namely,  Christ,  and  saying,  Lord  Jesus, 
receive  my  spirit.  See  also  Acts  ix.  14;  xxii.  16; 
Rom.  X.  12-14.  Praying  to  Christ  was  so  much 
practised  by  the  first  Christians,  that  Pliny  mentions 
it  in  the  letter  to  Trajan:  Carmen  Christo  quasi 
Deo  dicere.  They  sing  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  God, 
Both  theirs  and  ours — That  is,  who  is  Lord  of  all 
true  believers  everywhere.  This  the  apostle  men- 
tioned in  the  beginning  of  his  letter,  to  show  the 
Corinthians  how  absurd  it  was  ibr  the  disciples  of 
one  master  to  be  divided  into  factions  under  particu- 
lar leaders.  Christ  is  the  only  Lord  or  Master  of 
an  his  disciples,  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles ; 
and  therefore  they  ought  not  to  disagree  among 
themselves.  "Though  this  epistle  was  written  pri- 
marily to  correct  the  disorderly  practices  of  the 
Corinthians,  it  contains  many  general  instructions, 
which  could  not  fail  to  be  of  use  to  all  the  brethren 
in  the  province  of  Achaia  likewise,  and  even  to  j 
Christians  in  every  place :  for  which  reason  the  in- 
scription consists  of  three  members,  and  includes  I 
them  all."  1 

Verses  3-9.  Grace  be  unto  you,  &c.— See  on  Rom. ! 
i.  7.   /  thank  my  God  always — ^Whenever  I  mention  ' 
you  to  God  in  prayer,  or  on  every  occasion ;  on  your  \ 
behalf— On  your  account ;  for  the  grace  of  God 
which  is  given  you,  Ac.— For  all  those  spiritual 
blessings  which  are  freely  conferred  upon  you  by 
God,  for  Christ's  sake.     7W  in  every  ^^itio'— With 
all  kinds  of  spiritual  gifts,  pertaining  to  the  know- : 
ledge  and  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  ye  are  enriched 
by  Am— TTiat  is,  mahy  among  you  are ;  in  all  utter- 
130 


6  Even  as  "  the  testimony  of  CSirist  A.  m.  4063. 
was  confirmed  m  you :  

7  So  that  ye  come  behind  in  no  gift ;  ®  wait- 
ing for  the  ^  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 

8  ^  Who  shall  also  confirm  you  unto  the  end, 
"i  that  ye  may  be  Uameleas  in  the  day  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  ChriKt~ 

9  '  God  is  fistithfiil,  by  whom  ye  were  called 
unto  'the  fellowship  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 


o  Pliil.  iii.  20 ;  Tit.  ii.  13 ;   2  Pet.  iii.  12. ^>  Gr.  rtvdiUnm ; 

Col.  iii.  4. P  1  Thess.  iii.  13. fl  Cd.  i.  22;    1  Tliess. 

V.23. 'l8a.xlix.7;  Chap.  x.  13;  1  Theis.  t.  24;    2T)ieas. 

iii.  3;    Heb.  z.  23. •John  xv.  4;    xrii.  21;    1  John  L3; 

iv.  13. 


ance — With  great  freedom  of  speech;  cmd  in  all 
^cnowledgeSam&ly,  of  the  n^ystery  of  the  gospel. 
These  gifts  the  Corinthians  particularly  admired. 
Therefore  this  congratulation  naturally  tended  to 
soften  their  spirits,  and  make  way  for  the  reproofs 
which  follow.  Even  as  the  testimony  of  Christ— 
The  gospel,  which  testifies  of  Christ,  and  declares 
the  will  of  God  concerning  the  way  of  saving  sin- 
ners, Matt.  xxiv.  14;  was  confirmed  in — Or  among, 
you — That  is,  was  plainly  proved  to  he  from  God, 
Rev.  xix..  10,  hy  these  gifts  hestowed  upon  you. 
They  knew  they  had  received  these  gifts  hy  the 
hand  of  Paul,  and  that  long  before  the  false  teach- 
ers came  among  them,  and  that  they  had  received 
none  fVom  them.  And  this  consideration  was  highly 
proper  to  revive  in  them  their  former  reverence  and 
affection  for  their  spiritual  father,  and  to  show  them 
how  much  they  were  to  blame  for  attaching  them- 
selves to  teachers  who  had  given  them  no  proof  at 
all  either  of  their  divme  mission  or  of  the  truth  of 
their  doctrine.  So  thai  ye  come  behind — Other 
churches^  and  are  defective  in  no  g^— Namely, 
tending  to  edification  and  confirmation  in  the  faith 
and  hope  of  the  gospel ;  waiting  for  the  coming — Tt/v 
artoKoXwlftv,  the  revelation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
—A  sure  mark  of  a  true  or  false  Christian,  to  long 
for,  or  dread,  the  second  glorious  revelation  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  The  apostle  speaks  here,  not  of  all  in- 
dividual believers  at  Corinth,  but  of  tfie  church  there 
in  general ;  as  having  in  it  many  spiritual  persons, 
who  possessed  all  the  different  spiritual  gif^  which 
common  believers  could  enjoy.  Accordingly  he 
asked  them,  2  Cor.  xii.  13,  What  is  it  wherein  ye 
were  inferior  to  other  churches  7  WJio  shail  also — 
If  you  faithftilly  apply  to  him;  coitjirm  you — ^In 
these  gifts  and  graces ;  unto  the  end — Of  your  lives, 
and  of  the  time  of  your  trial ;  that  ye  may  be  blame- 
less— Clear  from  the  guilt  of  any  known  sin ;  in  the 
day  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — The  time  of  his 
coming  to  judgment.  Now  it  is  our  day,  wherein 
we  arc  to  work  out  our  salvation:  then  it  will 
be  eminently  the  day  of  Christ,  and  of  his  glory  in 
the  saints.  God  is  faithful  to  all  his  promises,  and 
therefore  to  him  that  haih  shall  be  given :  by  whom 
ye  were  caUed—Jiy  his  word  and  Spirit  •  unto  the 
f  9»)  b 


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T%e  C&rifUhian$  are  exhorted  to 


CHAPTER  L 


brotkerty  lote  and  unity. 


A.  M.  4063. 
A.D.  59. 


10  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
*  that  ye  all  speak  the  same  diing*,  and  that 
there  be  no 'divisions  among  you;  hiiithatyt 
be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind, 
and  in  the  same  judgment  ^ 
11  For.  it  bath  been  declared  unto  me  of 


^Romans  zii  16;  xt.  5;  2Cor.  ziii.  II;   Phil.  ii.  2;  lii.  16; 
1  PeU  iiL  dr *Of,9ckitm9;  Ckap.  xL  18. 


fellowship  of  his  Son^To  partake,  through  him,  of 
all  the  blessiugs  of  the  gospel.  And  this  calling,  as 
if  be  had  said,  yon  should  consider  as  a  pledge  of 
his  willingDess  to  save  you  unto  the  uttermost. 

Verse  10.  Sow  I  beseech^  irapaxa^,  f  exhort  you, 
hrethren—YoM  have  fahh  and  hope,  secure  love  also; 
by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — That  en- 
dearing name,  infinitely  preferable  to  all  the  human 
names  in  which  you  glory.  The  apostle  intending, 
says  Locke,  to  abolish  the  names  of  the.  leadei^ 
whereby^  the  parties  distinguished  themselves,  be- 
sought them  by  the  name  of  Christ.  Indeed,  as  the 
same  writer  observes,  the  apOstle  scarcely  ever 
makes  use  of  a  word  or  expression  which  hath  not 
some  relation  to  his  main  purpose.  That  ye  all 
speak  tlie  same  thing— Thhi  ye  agree  botli  in  your 
judgments  and  expressions  concerning  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel :  or,  that  you  do  not  unnecessarily  and 
unkindly  contradict  each  other,  but  rather  maintain 
a  peaceful  and  loving  disposition  toward  each  other. 
And  thai  there  bs  no  diwtwwi*— Greek,  ox^oftara, 
schisms,  amon^  you — No  alienation  of  affection  from 
each  other,  and  no  factions  or  parties  formed  in  con- 
sequence thereof:  but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined  to- 
gether—KantpTurftevoi,  perfectly  untied,  or  knit  toge- 
ther, in  the  same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment — 
Touching  aH  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel ;  waiving 
unnecessary  controversies,  debating  those  which  are 
necessary  with  temper,  add  candour,  and  delighting 
to  speak  most  concerning  those  great  and  excellent 
things,  in  which,  as  Christiahs,  you  cannot  but  be 
agreed,  and  which,  if  duly  considered,  will  cement 
your  hearts  to  each  other  in  the  strictest  and  mos^ 
tender  bonds.  "  It  was  morally  impossible,  consid- 
ering the  diversities  of  their  educations  and  capaci- 
ties, that  they  should  all  agree  in  opinion ;  nor  could 
he  intend  that,  because  he  does  not  urge  any  argu- 
ment to  reduce  them  to  such  an  agreement,  nor  so 
much  as  declare  what  that  one  opinion  was  in  which 
he  would  have  them  agree.  The  words  must  there- 
fore express  that  peaceful  and  unanimous  temper, 
which  Christians  of  different  opinions  may  and 
ought  to  maintain  toward  each  other  ^  which  will  do 
a  mudi  greater  honour  to  the  gospel,  and  to  human 
nature,  than  the  most  perfect  uniformity  that  can  be 
imagined''~Doddridge.  In  short,  ^  the  meaning  is, 
that  in  our  delibemtions  we  should  yield  to  each 
other  from  mutual  affection,  and  from  a  love  of  peace. 
Accordingly  the  heathen  moralists  describe  true 
friendship  as  cemented  by  ^e  same  inclinations  and 
aversions :  idem  veUe,  et  iSm  nolle,*^  &c. 
h 


you,  my  brethren,  by  them  which  are  A.  M.  4063. 
of  the  house  of  Chloe,  that  there  are    ^'  ^'  ^' 
canieniicmB  among  you. 

12  Now  this  I  say,  *  that  every  one  of  you 
saitfa,  I  am  of  Vavl;  and  I  of  'Apolloe;  and 
I  of  ^Ceplias ;  and  I  of  Christ 

13  ""  Is  Christ  divided?  was  Paul  crucified  for 


*C(hapter  iii.  4. 'Aets  zrtii  24;    six.  1;  Ch^  zri  12. 

7  John  L  42. >2Conzi.4;  £^  it.  5. 


Verses  11,  12.  For  it  hath  been  dsclared-^^oi 
out  of  ill-win,  but  to  procure  a  remedy  of  the  evil ; 
unto  wic— Whom  it  concerns,  to  know  such  things, 
that  I  may  redress  them ;  of  you,  my  brethren — 
Brethren,  says  Locke,  is  a  name  of  union  and  friend- 
ship, and  is  twice  used  by  the  apostlein  this  exhorta- 
tion to  these  virtues.  By  them  of  the  house  of  Chloe 
— According  to  Orotius,  ^ese  were  Stephanas,  For- 
tunatus,  Achaicus,  mentioned  chap.  xviAl7;  who, 
he  tiiinks,  were  Chloe's  sons^  and  the  bearers  of  the 
letter  which  the  Corinthians  sent  to  the  apostle, 
chap.  vii.  1.  T^t  there  are  contentions  among  you 
— A  word  equivalent  with  schisms,  in  the  preceding 
verse :  now  this  I  «ay— That  is,  what  I  mean  is  this ; 
that  every  one  of  you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul,  &c. — 
There  are  various  parties  among  you,  who  set  them- 
selves one  against  another,  in  behalf  of  the  several 
teachers  they  admire.  And  I  of  Cephas-^This 
seems  to  have  be^i  the  boast  of  the  Judaizing  teadl- 
ers :  for  as  they  came  recommended  by  letters  from 
Judea,  they  might  be  particularly  attached  to  I^eter, 
perhaps  having  been  converted  under  his  ministry : 
and  I  of  Christ-Such  spoke  well,  if  they  did  not. 
on  this  pretence,  despise  their  teachers.  It  seems 
there  were  now  in  the  church  at  Corinth  some  Jew- 
ish Christians,  who,  having  heard  Christ  preach,  had 
been  converted  by  him,^aid  who  claimed  greater 
respect  on  that  account.  Chrysostom  thought  this 
was  said  by  Paul  himself,  to  show  the  Corinthians 
that  all  ought  to  consider  themselves  as  the  disciples 
of  Christ,  and  of  no  other  master ;  otherwise  they 
derogated  frbm  the  honour  due  to  Christ.  The 
Greeks,  it  must  be  observed,  *' valued  themselves 
greatly  on  account  of  the  fame  of  their  masters  in 
philosophy  and  the  arts.  This  humour  the  Corinth- 
ians brought  with  them  into  die  church.  For 
some,  especially  the  heads  of  the  faction,  claimed  an 
authority  over  others  on  account  of  the  dignity  of 
the  persons  who  had  converted  them,  and  to  whom 
they  had  attached  themselves,  as  their  masters  in  the 
gospel.  But  odiers,  who  reckoned  themselves  equal- 
ly honourable  on  account  of  the  reputation  of  Uieir 
teachers,  opposed  their  pretensions.  Hence  arose 
those  envyings,  strifes,  and  divisions,  which  prevailed 
in  the  Corinthian  church,  and  which  the  apostle 
termed,  a  walking  after  the  manner  of  men,  chap, 
iii.  8."— Macknight. 

Verses  18-16.  Why  do  you  not  all  say  the  same 
thing,  namely,  I  am  of  Christ,  chap.  iii.  23.  Js 
Christ  ditided?'-'J)\d  one  Christ  send  Paul,  and  an- 
other Apollos,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  you  ?    Is  not 

m 


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7%e  apoBtle  repratei  Uu  churchy  on  I.  CORINTHIANS.      accowU  of  the  divUions  among  ik^m. 


A.M. 4:^.  you?    or  were  ye  baptized  in  the 


A.D. 


name  of  Paul? 


14  I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  none  of  you, 
but  ^  Crispua  and  ^  Gains ; 

15  Lest  any  should  say  that  I  had  baptized 
in  mine  own  name. 


•  AfitixniL  a — -^EonLxri.  23.— «  Chmp.  xtL  15, 17. 


one  and  the  same  Chridt  preaehed  to  you  by  us  all? 
or  is  his  body  divided?  See  2  Cor. xi. 4.  Was  Paul 
—^r  any  other  but  Christ  Jesus;  crucified  for  you — 
That  you  should  be  baptized  into  his  death,  as  Chris- 
tians are  into  the  death  of  Christ  ?  that  is,  engaged 
by  baptism  to  be  conformed  to  his  death,  by  dying 
to  sin  and  to  the  world.  >  As  if  he  had  said.  Are  your 
obligations  to  me,  or  to  any  other  apostle  or  Chris- 
tian minister,  equal  or  comparable  to  those  which 
yoq  are  under  to  our  common  Master?  to  him  who 
died  for  us  upon  the  cross?  He  mentions  himself, 
as  it  was  least  invidious  to  do  so ;  though  the  appli- 
cation was  equally  just  as  to  every  other  instance. 
The  apostle's  question  here  implies^  that  the  suffer' 
ings  of  Christ  have  an  influence  in  saving  the  world, 
which  the  sufferings  of  no  other  man  have,  or  can 
have.  Or  were  ye  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul — 
By  his  authority,  and  dedicated  to  his  service  ?  To 
be  baptized  in  or  into  the  name  of  any  person  is,  as 
Locke  observes,  ^to  enter  himself  a  disciple  of 
him  into  whose  name  he  is  baptized,  with  profession 
to  receive  his  doctrine  and  rules,  and  submit  to  his 
authority:  a  very  good  argument  here,  why  they 
should  be  called  by  no  one's  name  but  Christ's."  In 
this  sense  the  Israelites  are  said,  chap.  x.  2,  to  have 
been  baptized  into  Moses,  in  the  eloud,  and  in  the. 
sea.  I  thank  Ood—yfho  so  ordered  it  in  the  course 
of  his  providence:  it  is  a  pious  phrase  for  the  com- 
mon one,  I  rejoice:  thai  I  baptized  none  ofyou^  but 
Crispus  and  Gains — Crispus  was  the  ruler  of  the 
synagogue  at  Corinth,  and  among  the  first  of  the 
Corinthians  who  were  converted  by  Paul,  Acts  xviii. 
8:  Gains,  or  Caius^  was  the  person  with  whom  the 
apostle  lodged  when  he  wrote  his  epistle  tp  the 
Romans,  chap.  xv.  23.  Both  of  them  were  persons 
of  eminence.  The  other  Corinthians  may  have  been 
baptized  by  the  apostle's  assistants,  Silas,  Titus,  and 
Timothy.  Lest  any  should  say  I  had  baptized  in 
my  oton  name— In  order  to  attach  the  persons  bap- 
tized to  myself,  and  cause  them  to  acknowledge  me 
for  their  head.  Also  the  household  of  Stephanas — 
Who,  according  to  Theophylact,  was  a  person  of 
note  among  the  Corinthians ;  and  his  family 
seem  all  to  have  been  adults  when  they  were  bap- 
tized, being  said,  chap.  xvi.  15,  to  have  addicted 
themselves  to  the  ministry  of  the  saints^  I  know 
not — That  is,  it  does  not  at  present  occur  to  my 
memory ;  whether  I  baptized  afiy  other—"  Here  the 
apostle  intimates  that  he  is  not  speaking  by  inspi- 
ration, but  from  memory.  He  did  not  remember 
whether  he  bi^tized  any  more  of  the  Corinthians. 
The  Spirit  was  given  to  the  apostles  indeed  to  lead 
them  into  ail  truth;  but  it  was  truth  relative  to  the 
132 


16  And  I  baptized  also  the  house-  a.  m.40«3. 

holdof  ^Stei^iSLnas;  besides,  I  know      '    L 

not  whether  I  baptized  any  other. 

17  ForChr]8t8entmenottobaptize,but  topreach 
thegospek  ^  not  with  wisdom  of  ^  words,  lest  the 
cross  of  Christ  should  be  made  of  n<me  eflfeet. 


<Ch«p.iLl,4,l:3;3Pet.ll6. — -*Or,»pmck, 


plan  of  man's  salvation^  which  was  thus  made  known 
to  them,  and  not  truth,  like  the  fact  here  mentioned, 
the  certain  knowledge  of  which  was  of  no  use  what- 
ever to  the  world." 

Verse  17.  Far  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize— 'Sot 
chiefly :  this  was  not  the  principal  end  of  my  mission. 
He  did  not  call  me  in  so  wonderful  a  way,  and  en- 
due me  whh  extraordinary  powers,  chiefly  in  order 
to  my  doing  that  which  might  be  done  as  well  by  an 
ordinary  minister:  (all  the  apo6tle8,-however,  were 
also  sent  to  baptize,  Matt  »cviiL  19:)  but  to  preach 
the  gospel — Or  to  plant  churches  by  preaching  the 
gospel  to  those  that  never  heard  it  before.  Acts 
xxvi.  17,  18.  "The  apostles,  being  endued  with 
the  highest  degrees  of  inspiration  and  miraculous 
powers,  had  the  office  of  preaching  committed  to 
them,  rather  than  that  od  baptizing,  because  they 
were  best  qualified  for  converting  the  world,  and  had 
not  time  to  give  the  converted,  either  before  or  after 
their  baptism,  such  particular  instruction  as  their 
former  ignorance  rendered  necessary.  These  offices, 
therefore,  were  committed  to  the  inferior  ministers 
of  the  Word."  The  apostle  here  slides  mto  his  gene- 
ral proposition,  respecting  preaching  the  gospel, 
namely^  the  doctrine  which  he  preached,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  preached  it.  Not  ^oiih  wisdom 
of  words — Aoy«,  of  speech.  With  the  artificial  orna- 
ments of  discourse,  invented  by  human  wisdom.  This 
observation  was  intended  to  show  the  Corinthians 
how  ill-founded  the  boasting  of  the  faction  was,  who 
valued  themselves  on  the  learning  and  eloquence  of 
their  teachers.  Lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be 
made  of  none  effect — Lest  the  bare  preaching^  of 
Chrbt  crucified,  verse  23,  as  a  fundamental  article 
of  Christianity,  and  the  foundation  of  all  our  hopes, 
should  be  thought  unavailing  to  procure  salvation  for 
guilty  sinners.  The  whole  effect  of  Paul's  preach- 
ing was  owing  to  the  power  of  God  accompanying 
the  plain  declaration  of  this  great  truth,  Christ  bore 
our  sins  upon  the  cross.  But  this  effect  might  have 
been  imputed  to  another  cause,  had  he  come  with 
that  wisdom  of  speech  which  the  Greeks  admired. 
"  To  have  adorned  the  gospel  with  the  pamt  of  the 
Grecian  rhetoric  would  have  obscured  its  wisdom 
and  simplicity,  just  as  the  gilding  of  a  diamond 
would  destroy  its  brilliancy.  Besides,  it  would 
have  marred  its  operation  as  a. revelation  from  God. 
For  the  evidence  and  efficacy  of  the  gospel  arise 
not  from  its  being  proved  by  philosophical  argu- 
ments, and  recommended  by  the  charms  of  hu- 
man eloquence,  but  from  its  being  proved  by  mira- 
cles, and  founded  on  the  testimony  of  God."— Mae- 
knight. 

b 


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€hd  destroys  the  vnsdom  of  the  wise  CHAPTER  I. 


by  the  foolishness  of  preaching^ 


4.  M.  4063*    18  For  the  preaching  of  the  cross 
^    *    '    is  to  •them  that  perish,  ^ foolishness ; 


but  unto  us  'which  are  saved,  it  is  the  ^  power 
of  God. 

19  For  it  is  written,  *  I  will  destroy  the  uris- 
dom  of  the  wise,  and  will  bring  to  nothing  the 
understanding  of  the  prudent 

20  ^  Where  is  the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe? 
where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ?,  ^  hath  not 
God  made  focdish  the  wisdom  of  this  wcn-ld  ? 

21  *For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the 


•  2  CJbr.  ii  15. 'Acts  xrii.  18 ;  Chap.  iL  14. »  Ch.  xr.  2. 

kItom.L16:  Vewea4. — -» Job r.  1»,  13 ;  Imlzjox.  14^  J«r. 

nii  9. ^U^  zzziiL  la 1  Job  zii,  17, 20, 34 ;  Isa.  xliv.  25 ; 

Rom.  L  22. >  Rom.  i.  20,  21,  28 ;  Matt.  zi.  25 ;  Luke  z.  21. 


world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  }t  A.  M.  4063. 
pleased  God  by  the   fooHshness  of   ^^'^- 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe. 

22  For  the  ■Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the 
Greeks  seek  after  wisdom : 

23  But  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  ^  unto  the 
Jews  a  stumbling-Uock,  and  unto  the  Greeks 
i^fodishness; 

24  But  unto  them  which  are  called,  both  Jews 
and  Greeks,  Christ  ^  the  power  of  God,  and '  the 
wisdom  of  God. 


■  Matt.  zii. 38;  zri.  1 ;  Mark  viiL  11;  Luke xi.  16 ;  John ir. 46L 
o  Isa.  Tiii.  14;  Matt.  li.  6 ;  ziii.  57 ;  Luke  ii.  34;  John tL  60, 66 ; 

Rom.iz.32;  Gal.  t.  11;  lPet.ii.8 PVene2a;  Chap.ii.14. 

4  Rom.  i.  4, 16;  Ver«e  18. ""CoLii.  3. 


Verses  1&-21.  The  preaching  of  the  cro«*— The 
doctrine  of  ihecicucifixion  of  the  Son  of  Gfbd,  to  ex- 
piate the  ftins  of  mankind,  and  procure  salvation  for 
such  as  should  believe  in  him ;  is  to  them  that  per- 
ish — By  obstinately  rejecting  the  only  name  where 
by  they  can  be  saved  ;^o/wAncw-^Accounted  an 
absurd,  ridiculous,  and  impossible  thing,  and  what 
no  men  of  sense  will  believe ;  biU  unto  ^s  who  are 
saved — That  is,  belieVe  in  order  to  salvation ;  it  is 
the  power  of  Qod—The  great  instrument  whereby 
his  power  regenerates,  sanctifies,  and  finally  saves 
us.    Fory  &c. — As  if  he  had  said,  It  appears  that  this 
is  the  only  means  of  salvation,  because  all  other 
ways  of  man's  own  invention  are  inefl!ectual;  it  is 
written — And  the  words  are  remarkjaWy  applicable 
to  this  great  event,  (see  the. note  on  Jsa.  xxix.  14,) 
/  wUl  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  &c. — That 
carnal  and  worldly  wisdom,  which  they  so  much 
eOnfide  *m  and  boast  of,  as  to  despise  the  doctrine  of 
the  gospel,  shall  be  of  no  advantage  to  them  for  their 
salvation.    Where  is  the  wise,  &c. — The  deliverance 
of  Judea  from  Sennacherib  is  what  Isaiah  refers  to 
in  these  words,  (see  note  on  Isa.  xxxiiL  18 ;)  in  a 
bold  and  beautiful  allusion  to  which,  the  apostle,  in 
the  clause  that  follows,  triumphs  over  all  the  oppo- 
sition of  human  wisdom,  to  the  victorious  gospel  of 
Christ    What  could  the  wise  men  of  the  Gentiles 
do  against  this?    Or  the  Jewish  scribes?    Or  the 
disput ere  of  tilts  trorW?--Those  among  both^  who, 
proud  of  their  acuteness,  were  fond  of  controversy, 
and  thought  they  could  conftitc  all  opponents.  Hath 
not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  tjhis  world — 
That  is,  shown  it  to  be  very  foolishness  ?    For  after 
that—Since  it  came  to  pass,  that  in  the  wisdom  of 
Ood — According  to  his  wise  disposals,  leaving  them 
to  make  the  trial ;  the  worW— Whether  Jewish  or 
Gentile,  by  all  its  boasted  wisdom  knew  not  Ood— 
Though  the  whole  creation  declared  its  Creator,  and 
though  he  declared  himself  by  his  servants  the  pro- 
phets, the  heathen  were  not  brought  to  the  true  saving 
knowledge  of  God,  and  the  generality  of  the  Jews 
t  did  not  attain  that  spiritual,  experimental,  and  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  him,  which  entitles  to,  and  pre- 
pares for  eternal  life.    It  pleased  God  by  the  fool- 
ishness of  preaching— By  a  way  which  those  who 
b 


peiish  count  mere  foolishness ;  to  save  them  that  be- 
Ziere— From  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin  here,  and 
from  its  consequences  hereafter. 

Verses  2^25.  For  the  Jews  require  d  sign — De- 
mand of  the  apostles,  as  they  did  of  their  Lord,  more 
signs  still,  after  all  they  have  seen  already.  And  the 
Greeks— Ot  Qentilesj  seek  after  wisdomr—The 
depths  of  philosophy,  and  the^^harms  of  eloquence. 
But  we  preach  ChrUt  cruqified — We  proceed  to 
bear  our  testimony  in  a  plain  and  historical,  not 
rhetorical  or  philosophical  manner,  to  the  suflferipgs 
and  death  of  Christ,  endured  to  expiate  the  guilt  of 
mankind^  and  procure  for  them  pardon,  holiness, 
and  eternal  life :  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block — An 
occasion  of  offence,  by  reason  of  his  mean  appear- 
ance, his  sufferings,  and  death ;  they  having  looked 
for  a  glorious  and  Victorious  Messiah,  who  should 
rescue  them  from  all  their  enemies,  and  exalt  them 
to  wealth,  dignity,  and  power ;  and  because  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianity  was  attended  with  reproach, 
and  various  other  sufferings.  This  doctrine  there- 
fore was  ip  direct  opposition  to  the  signs  which  they 
demanded,  and  to  all  their  secular  ex\'ectations; 
and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness— K  silly  tale,  just 
gpposite  to  the  wisdom  they  seek.  But  unto  them 
which  are  called— And  who  obey  the  call ;  both  Jews 
and  Greeks — For  the  effect  is  the  same  on  both; 
Christ — With  his  doctrine,  his  miracles,  his  life, 
his  death,  his  resurrection,  &c. ;  the  power  ofGodr- 
Creating  men  anew  by  his  word  and  Spirit,  enabling 
them  to  withstand  and  conquer  all  their  spiritual 
enemies,  and  to  do  with  cheerfulness,  and  suffer  with 
patience,  the  whole  will  of  God :  and  the  wisdom  of 
God— The  person  by  whom  God  also  manifests  his 
infinite  wisdom  in  the  cotitrivance  and  execution  of 
his  plan  of  redemption  and  salvation,  and  the  preach- 
ing of  whom  in  the  gospel,  is  not  such  folly  as  the 
Greeks  count  it  j  but  the  declaration  of  that  great 
mystery  of  godliness,  in  which  are  hid  all  the  trea- 
sures of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Because  the  fool- 
ishness of  God — That  preaching  of  Christ  crucified 
which  men  account  foolishness ;  is  wiser  than  men 
—Contains  more  tnie  wisdom  than  any  or  all  of  the 
apparently  wise  contrivances  of  ihen :  or,  the  low- 
est expressions  of  God's  wisdom  in  those  actions  and 


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Qod  has  choe^  the  weak 


I.  CORIMTHIAN& 


to  confound  the  mighif^ 


A.  M.  4063.    25  Because  the  foolisdiness  of  God 

'. — 1  ia  wiser  than  men;  and  the  weakness 

of  God  is  stronger  than  men. 
26  For  ye  see  your  palling,  brethreni  how  that 
"not  many  wise  men  aft^  the  fle^  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble  are  galled : 


•Johnvii.  48. 


dispensations,  wMch  are  most  contirary  to  the  judg- 
ment, wisdom,  and  experience  of  carnal  persons,  are 
incomparably  wiser  than  all  the  projects  which  the 
wit  of  men  can  devise;  and  the  weaknese  of  Qod— 
Those  weak  means  by  which  God  is  wont  to  accom- 
plish his  purposes,  or  the  smallest  effects  of  his 
power;  are  stronger  than  men — More  available 
than  any  human  power  to  bring  about  their  desi^s. 
In  other  words,  the  weakness  of  Christian  teachers 
which  God  makes  use  of  will  be  found  to  be  stronger 
than  all  the  efforts  which  men  can  make,  either  to 
reform  the  world  any  other  way,  or  to  obstruct  the 
prevalence  and  success  of  this. 

Verse  26.  And  hereby  it  appears  that  the  fool- 
ishnesa  of  God  is  wiser  dian  men^  &c. — Be- 
cause he  makes  use  of  such  weak  and  mean  instru- 
ments to  bring  men  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
For  ye  see — Blenere,  behold^  consider;  your  calling 
— ^And  you  will  discern  how  agreeably  to  these 
things  the  divine  wisdom  hath  ordered  it;  observe 
especially  the  state  of  your  fellow-Christians  in 
general,  And  what  method  he  uses,  and  what  man- 
ner of  persons  he  employs,  to  bring  men  to  the 
knowledge  of^  and  to  obedience  t6  the  gospel ;  that 
not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh— In  secular  mat- 
ters, and  according  to  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  or 
in  the  account  of  carnal,  worldly  men.  Not  many 
mighty^  fc,,  are  called — Are  brought  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth:  or,  as  the  apostle  rather  means, 
and  as  ought  to  have  here  been  supplied  to  com- 
plete the  sense,  are  employed  to  call  yOu,  .Our 
translators,  in  supplying  the  words,  are  called, 
^'convey  a  sentiment,"  says  Macknight,  ^'neither 
true  nor  suitable  to  the  apostle's  design.  It  is  not 
true:  for  even  in  Judea,  among  the  chief  rulers, 
many  believed  on  him,  John  xii.  42;  particularly 
Nicodemus,  and  Joseph  of  Artmathea.  Other  Jews, 
likewise,  of  rank  and  learning  were  called ;  such  as 
the  nobleman  whose  sick  son  Jesus  cured,  John  iv. 
53 ;  and  Manaen,  Herod's  foster-brother,  and  Cor- 
nelius, and  Gamaliel ;  and  that  great  company  of 
priests  mentioned  Acts  vi.  7,  ir^  were  obedient  to 
the  faith.  At  Ephesus  many  who  used  the  arts  of 
magic  and  divination  were  called,  and  who  were 
men  of  learning,  as  appears  from  the  number  and 
value  of  their  books,  which  they  burned  after  em- 
bracing the  gospel,  Acts  xix.  19.  And  in  such  nu- 
merous churches  as  those  of  Antioch,  Thessalonica, 
Corinth,  and  Rome,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
there  were  disciples  in  the  higher  ranks  of  life. 
There  were  brethren  even  in  the  emperor's  family, 
Phil.  iv.  22.  In  short,  the  precepts  in  the  epistles  to 
masters,  to  treat  their  slaves  with  humanity,  and  to 
134  \ 


27  But  *6od  hath  chosen  the  fool-  A.  M.  4063l 
ish  things  ot  the  wor]d  to  confound  ^  '  ^\ 
the  wise]  apd  God  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things 
which  are  mighty : 

28  And  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things 


tM&tUn.25;  Junes  ii  5;  Psa.  rilL  2. 


women,  concerning  their  not  adorning  themselveis 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  costly  xaiment,  show  thai 
many  wealthy  persons  had  embraced  the  gospel. 
On  the  other  hand,  though  it  were  true,  that  not 
many  wise  men,  f  c.,  were  called,  it  did  not  suit  the 
apostle's  argument  to  mention  it  here.  For  surely 
God's  not  calling  many  of  the  wise,  Ac,  joined  with 
his  calling  the  foolish  ones  of  the  world  to  believe, 
did  not  put  to  shame  thQ  wise  and  strong,  &c. 
Whereas,  if  the  discourse  be  understood  of  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  who  were  employed  to 
convert  the  world,  all  b  clear  and  pertinent.  God 
chose,  not  the  learned  and  mighty,  and  the  noble 
ones  of  this  world,  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  illite- 
rate and  weak  men,  and  men  of  low  birth :  and  by 
making  them  successful  in  reforming, mankind,  he 
put  to  shame  the  legislators,  statesmen,  and  philoso- 
phers among  the  heathen,  and  the  learned  scribes 
and  doctors  among  the  Jews,  who  never  had  done 
any  thing  to  the  purpose  in  that  matter." 

Verses  27-29.  Bui  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish 
things— Or,  supplying  the  word  izpocoira,  the  foolish 
persons  of  the  world  Such  persons  as  are  of  little 
esteem  in  the  world,  for  want  of  learning,  parts, 
eloquence,  and  such  other  endowments  as  some  have 
attained,  and  who  are  judged  altogether  unfit  to  teach 
others,  especially  the  Qreeks  and  Romans.  To  con- 
found the  wise — To  shame  those  who  account  them- 
selves, and  are  accounted  wise ;  and  of  whom  the 
world  is  most  ready  to  boast.  In  this  passage  the 
apostle  imitates  the  contemptuous  language  in  which 
the  Greek  philosophers,  and  men  of  learning,  af- 
fected to  speak  of  the  Christian  preachers :  yet,  as 
he  does  it  in  irony,  he  aggrandizes  them.  The  first 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  as  Bbhop  Newton  observes, 
"  were  chiefly  a  few  poor  fishermen,  of  low  parent- 
age, of  no  learning  or  eloquence,  of  no  reputation 
or  authority,  despised  as  Jews  by  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, and  by  the  Jews  as  the  meanest  and  worst  of 
themselves.  What  improper  instruments  were  these 
to  contend  with  the  prejudices  of  the  world,  the  su- 
perstition of  the  people,  the  interests  of  the  priests, 
the  vanity  of  the  philosophers,  the  pride  of  the  rulers, 
the  malice  of  the  Jews,  the  learning  of  the  Greeks, 
and  the  power  of  Rome !"  But  the  weaker  the 
instruments  who  converted  the  world,  the  greater 
was  the  display  of  the  power  of  God  by  which  they 
acted.  See  on  2  Cor.  iv.  7.  And  the  weak  things 
of  the  KwrZf^Persons  who  pretend  to  no  extraor- 
dinary abiUties  or  endowments;  to  confoundr— Or 
shame ;  the  things  which  are  mighty — Which,  with 
all  their  boasted  powers  and  qualifications,  have 
never  been  able  to  work  such  a  reformation  amon^ 

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CHAPTER  II. 


noi  by  inan'#  wisdom. 


A.ir4oe3.  whidi  are desfMsed,  hath  Cfod  choeen, 

'. yeoj  and  ^things  which  are  not,  *to 

bring  to  naught  things  that  are : 

29  ^  That  no  flesh  should  glory  in  hie  preeoic^ 

30  But  of  him  ate  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of 


.  IT.  17. *  Chap.  ii.  6. f  Rom.  iii.  27 ;  Eph.  ii.  9. 

«  7e«e  24. »  Jer.  xxiu.  5,  « ;    Rom.  iv.  25;   2  Cor.  t.  21 ; 


men,  as.these  desfaaed  disciples  of  Jesus  have  been 
the  means  of  effecting.  And  hose  things  of  the  world 
— Things  acccmnted  vHe  and  despised,  e^ndevfjfuva^ 
set  at  naught;  and  things  which  care  not — Which 
are  as  little  regarded,  or  as  much  overlooked,  as  if 
they  had  no  being,  and  were  belew  contempt  itself; 
hath  Qod  chosen— To  be  his  instruments  in  renew- 
ing and  saving  mankind;  to  bring  to  naught — To 
annihilate ;  things  that  are — In  the  highest  esteem, 
and  that  make  the  most  iUostrious  figures  among 
mankind.  That  no  flesh — A  fit  appellation;  fiesh 
is  ftdr,  but  withering  as  grass;  should  glory  in  his 
yresence — That  no  human  being  might  boast  of  any 
advantages  or  distinctions,  ojr  of  any  excellence  in 
himself,  as  the  cause  of  his  being  appointed  an  apos- 
tle, evangelist,  or  minister  of  Christ,  and  employed 
in  preaching  the  gospel:  and  that  none  who  are 
converted  by  the  preaching  of  such,  should  consider 
their  conversion  as  the  effect  of  any  htiman  abili- 
ties, natural  or  acquired,  but  should  be  compelled  to 
ascribe  the  glory  of  all  to  God. 

Verses  30,  31.    But  of  him — Of  his  free  mercy 
and  grace;  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus — Ingrafted  into 


God  is  made  imto  us  *  wisdom,  and  a.  u.  ^ess. 
*  righteousness,  and   ^sanctification,  ' 

cmd  ®  redempCiiHi : 

31  That,  according  as  it  is  written, '  He  that 
glorieth^  let  him  gkary  in  the  Lord 


Phil.  iii.  9. *  John  XTii.  19. •  Eph.  L  7.- 

23,24;  «Cor.x.  17. 


'  Jer.  iz. 


him,  and  therefore  possessed  of  an  interest  m  him, 
and  union  with  him;  who  of  €hd — The  original 
source  of  our  salvation  in  all  its  parts,  and  of  all  the 
gifks  and  graces  we  possess;  is  made  unto  us  who 
now  believe— But  were  formerly  ignorant  and  fool- 
ish ;  wisdom — Teaching  us  by  his  word  and  Spirit, 
and  making  us  wise  unto  safvation ;  righteousness 
— ^The  procuring  cause  of  justification  through  his 
obedience  unto  death,  to  us  who  were1>efore  under 
guilt,  condemnation,  and  wrath;  sanctifieaiion'^ 
The  principle  and  example,  source  and  author  of 
universal  holiness  to  us,  whereas  before  we  were  alto- 
gether polluted  and  dead  in  sin ;  and  redemption-^ 
Complete  deliverance  from  all  the  consequences  of 
sin,  and  especially  from  death,  the  punishment  of 
it,  by  a  glorious  resurrection,  (termed  the  redemjh 
tion  of  our  body^  Rom.  viii,  23,)  and  eternal  bliss 
both  of  soul  and  body.  .  That^  as  it  is  written^ 
(see  on  Jer.  ix,  28,  24,)  He  that  gkriUh,  let 
him  glory  m  ihe  Lord—Not  in  himself,  not  in 
the  flesh,  not  in  the  world,  not  in  any  creature, 
nor  in  any  endowment  or  qualification,  mental 
or  bodily. 


CHAPTER  if. 

The  apotde  proceedt^  (1,)  To  illustrate  further  the  reasons  for  which  he  had  declined  all  ostentation  of  eloquence  when  he 
came  among  the  CorinihaMSj  and  had  preached  Christ  crucified  in  a  plain  manner,  and  with  humility,  diffidence,  amdfear ; 
viz.,  that  their  faith  might  not  be  grounded  on  **  the  wisdom  of  nuut,**  but**  in  the  power  of  God,**  1-5.  (%,)  He  represents 
the  deep  and  excellent  wisdom  contained  in  this  doctrine,  6-9.  (3,)  Shows  that  it  cannot  be  duly  known  and  receited  but 
by  the  light  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,A(^l6, 


A.  M.  4063.    A  ND  I,  brethren,  when  I  came  to 
- — 1— L         you,  *came  not  with  excdlency 


of  speech,  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  a.m. 4063. 
1  unto,  you  ^  the  testimony  of  Gted.         — l-J — 1 


•Chap.  L17;  Verse*  4,  13;  2Cor.  x.  10;  xi.  6. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  U. 
Verse  1.  And  /,  brethren^  Ac.— As  if  he  had  said, 
I  have  been  showing  that  God  is  wont  to  call  and 
convert  persons  to  himself  by  unlikely  and  con- 
temptible means ;  and  that  his  design  in  the  gospel 
is  of  a  very  humbling  nilure,  and  admirably  calcu- 
lated to  stain  human  pride,  and  bring  men  to  glory 
in  him  alone ;  therefore,  in  perfect  harmony  with 
this  wise  and  excellent  scheme,  when  I  came  to  you 
— To  preach  the  gospel ;  Frame  not  with  excellency 
of  speech,  &c. — I  did  not  affect  cither  deep  wisdom, 
or  commanding  eloquence  j  declaring  the  testimony  \ 
b 


*  Chap.  i.  6. 


of  6^od— What  God  gave  me  to  testify  concerning 
his  Son,  namely,  concerning  his  incarnation,  his 
doctrine,  his  miracles,  his  life,  his  death,  his  re- 
surrection and  exaltation  to  be  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour.  This  is  called  the  testimony  of  God, 
1  John  V.  9,  because  God  bore  witness  to  the  truth 
of  these  things  by  signs,  and  wonders,  and  divers 
miracles,  and  distributions  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Heb. 
ii.  4.  The  expression  implies  that  the  evidence  of 
the  great  facts  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  truth  and 
importance  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  is  not 
founded  on  proofs  drawn  from  human  reason,  but 
18S 


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I.  CORINTHIANa 


ofCfod  in  amifsterf.^ 


A.M.  4063.    2  For  I  determined  not  to  know  any 
^^'  ^'    thing  among  you^  'save  Jesus  Christ, 
and  him  crucified. 

3  And  'I  was  wijth  you  *in  weakness,  and 
m  fear,  and  in  much  trembling. 

4  And  my  speech  and~  my  preaching  ^was 
not  with  ^entidng  words  of  man's  .wisdom, 
'but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  of 
power: 


«  Gd.  Ti.  14 ;  PhiL  iii.  S. *  AcU  xriii.  1,  6, 12. »2  Cor. 

IT.  7;  X.  1,  10;  ad.  30;  xiL  5,  9;  Gal.  it.  13. 'Verte  1 ; 

C3hM>.  i.  17 ;  2  Pet  L 16. "  Or,  pemuuibU, i  Rom.  xt.  19 ; 

1  Tbett.  i.  5. «  Or.  be. 


on  the  authbrity  of  God,  who  hath  revealed  them  by 
his  Spirit,  and  confirmed  them  by  miracles,  and  by 
the  extraordinary  influence  which  ihey  had  on  the 
hearts  and  lires  of  multitudes. 

Verses  2-6.  For  I  determined  not  to  know  any 
thing,  &c. — ^To  act  as  one  who  knew  nothing,  or  to 
waive  all  my  other  knowledge,  and  not  to  preach 
any  thing  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified — 
That  is,  what  he  taught,  did,  and  suffered.  Or,  not 
only  to  preach  the  gospel  sincerely,  without  any 
mixture  of  human  wisdom,  but  chiefly  to  insist  upon 
that  part  of  it  which  seems  most  contemptible,  and 
which  human  wisdom  does  most  abhor,  namely,  con- 
cerning the  sufierings  and  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
And  I  was  with  you — At  my  first  entrance ;  in  weak- 
^e«*— Of  body,  2  Cor.  xii.  7;  and  in  /aor— Lest  I 
should  offend  any ;  and  in  nmch  trembling — The 
emotion  of  my  mind  affected  my  very  body.  For  I 
knew  that  I  had  enemies  about  me  on  every  side, 
Acts  xviiL  6, 9,  and  laboured  under  natural  disad- 
vantages, 2  Cor.  X.  10 ;  and  the  force  of  the  preju- 
dice which  I  had  to  encounter  was  strong.  And  my 
speech — In  private ;  and  my  preaching— In  public ; 
was  not  with  enticing  words — Or  persuasive  dis- 
courses ;  of  mah*s  wisdom — With  eloquence  or  phi- 
losophy, or  with  that  perap  and  sophistry  of  argu- 
ment, which  the  learned  men  of  the  world  are  so 
ready  to  affect;  htU  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  power—With  that  powerful  kind  of  demon- 
stration which  flows  from  the  Holy  Spirit ;  which 
works  on  the  conscience  with  the  most  convincing 
light,  and  the  most  persuasive  evidence.  TVuU  your 
faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  ofmen^  &c, — 
That  your  belief  of  the  gospel,  and  the  various  im- 
portant truths  of  it,  might  not  be  grounded  on,  or 
appear  to  be  gained  by,  human  wisdom  or  eloquence ; 
but  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  Ood — Teaching 
men's  ignorance,  guiding  their  foolishness,  and  giv- 
ing efficacy  to  such  weak  means  as  he  has  seen  fit 
tc.  use. 

Verses  6-8.  Howbeit,  we  speak  wisdom— Yea^  the 
truest  and  most  excellent  wisdom :  for  the  subject 
matter  of  our  preaching  is  the  most  wise  contri- 
vance and  counsel  of  God  concerning  the  salvation 
of  mankind  by  Christ  crucified,  which  will  be  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  highest  wisdom,  ihough  not 
by  learned  philosophers,  yet  by  humble,  sincere, 
196 


6  That yowfiddidiould not 'stand  A.M.4oe8. 

AD  fiO 

in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  ^in  the  — '— — 1 
power  of  God. 

6  Howbeit,  we  qpeak  wisdbm  among  them 
^that  are  perfect :  yet  not  ^  Uie  wisdom  of  this 
world,  nor  of  the  princes  erf  this  w<»rld,  ^  that 
come  to  naught : 

7  But  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mys- 
tery, even  the  hidden  tinsdom  "*  which  God 


*2  Cor.  iT.  7 ;  ti.  T*— ^-*  Chap.  xir.  20;  Eph.  it.  13 ;  Phil. 

iii.  15;  Heb.  r.  14. ^Chap.  i.  80;   iii.  19;  Venet  1,  13; 

2  Cor.  i.  12;  James  iii  15. 1  Chap.  i.  28.-' — ■  Rom.  xn.  85, 

26;  EfOLiiLS^O;  Cd.i.  26;  2Tmi.Ld. 


and  well-instructed  Christians.  Such  are  here  meant 
by  them  that  are  perfect— Thai  is,  perfectly  enlight- 
ened by  the  Woni  and  Spirit  of  CM,  and  renewed 
by  his  grace,  so  as  to  have  attained  to  a  maturity  of 
Christian  knowledge  and  experience:  being  no 
longer  cldldren,  but  men  in  widerstanding^  (chap, 
xiy.  20,)  having  arrived  at  spiritual  manhood,  called, 
Eph.  iv.  13,  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ.  See  also  Heb.  ▼.  14,  and  vL  1,  where 
re^oi^  perfect,  is  taken  in  the  same  sense,  and  is  ren- 
dered, of  full  age.  and  signifies  those  who  no  longer 
need  to  be  fed  with  milk,  being  able  to  digest  strong 
meat,  having,  by  reason  ofuse^or  h^hii,  their  senses 
exercised  to  discern  both  good  and  evil.  What  the 
apostle  here  calls  wisdom,  includes,  as  Macknight 
justly  observes,  "  the  doctrine  concerning  the  person 
and  offices  of  Christ,  treated  of  in  his  epistles  to  the 
Ephesians  and  Colossians ;  the  Justification  of  sin- 
ners by  faith  counted  to  them  for  righteousness,  ex- 
plained in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans ;  the  refection 
and  resumption  of  the  Jews,  foretold  in  the  same 
epistle ;  ^e  coming  and  destruction  of  the  man  of 
sin,  foretold  2  Thess.  ii.;  the  priesthood,  sacrifice^ 
and  intercession  of  Christ,  explained  in  his  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews ;  and  the  resurrection  of  the  xUad, 
foretold  in  this  epistle :  in  short,  the  whole  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  taken  complexly."  Yet  not  the  wis* 
dom  of  this  World— The  wisdom  admired  and  taught 
by  the  men  of  this  world,  such  as  that  which  teaches 
men  how  to  manage  their  temporal  afiairs  properly, 
in  order  to  (heir  living  comfortable  lives  upon  earth, 
and  the  various  branches  of  human  leammg.  Nor 
of  the  princes— Or  rulers;  of  (^tPorW^The  wis- 
dom admired  and  sought  by  the  great  politicians  of 
the  age,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles;  that  come  to 
naught— Both  they,  and  their  wisdom,  and  the  world 
itself.  ^u4— Being  taught  of  God  to  despise  the 
transient  vanities  which  delude  the  generality  of 
mankind  j  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  G^orf— Infinitely 
more  worthy,  surely,  of  the  attentive  consideration 
and  regard  of  aU  rational  and  immortal  beings,  than 
the  short-lived  wisdom  of  this  world :  in  a  mystery 
— Such  as  no  creature  could  discover  without  super- 
natural revelation,  Eph.  iii.  9,  10,  and  which  was 
especially  kept  secret  from  the  wise  and  learned  of 
the  world,  verse  8 :  even  the  hidden  wisdom— Hid" 
den  formerly  under  holy  mysteries  and  Jewish  types, 

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CHAPTER  U. 


made  known  hff  the  Sjnrit  of  God. 


A.  M.  4063.  ocdamed  before  tlie  world  unto  our 
0ory; 

8  ^  Which  none  of  the  prikices  of  this  worid 
knew:  for  *bad  they  kiKrim  i^^  they  would  not 
bare  cnidfled  the  Lord  of  glory. 

9  Butas  it  is  written,  ^  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
eir  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the  thingB  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  loVe  him. 

10  But  ^  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by 


■Matt  a.  25;  John  tu.  48;  AcU  xiiL  27;  2  Cor.  iii.  14. 

•  Lok*  xxiu.   34 ;    Acts  uL    17 ;    John  xri  3. P  IsaUh 

Inr.  4. 


and  but  darkly  itevealed  to  and  by  the  prophets ;  and 
ahogether  unknown  to  the  heathen :  irAtc^  God  or- 
dained before  the  toor^c^Purposed  from  everlasting 
to  reveal  in  the  gospel ;  unto  our  glotyr-To  bring 
ns  to  ^ory  by  the  saving  knowledge  of  it:  glory 
anaing  from  the  glory  of  our  Lord,  and  then  to  be 
reveakd  when  all  worldly  glory  vanishes.  So  far 
is  this  wisdom  from  eoming  to  naught,  lik^  worldly 
wisdom !  Which  none  of  the  princee  of  this  world 
knew — ^Whether  Jewi^  or  heathen ;  for  had  they 
known  it^Had  they  understood  this  wisdom,  and 
known  that  the  only  way  to  attain  hs^ppinesd  was  to 
receive  in  faith,  love,  and  new  obedience,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  as  the  true  Messiah  and  only  Saviour,  and 
the  great  truths  of  his  everlasting  gospel;  eurely 
they  would  not  have  crucified — Punished  as  a  slave ; 
the  Lord  ofgiory — ^The  glorious  Head  of  his  church 
and  of  the  world,  the  final  Judge  of  men  and  angels, 
and  the  author  of  eternal  ealvalvon  to  all  that  obey 
Urn,  Heb.  v.  0.  The  giving  Christ  this  august  title, 
peculiar  to  Deity,  plainly  shows  him  to  be,  in  union 
with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  true  God. 
Thus  the  Father  is  styled,  the  Father  of  glory,  Eph. 
L  17,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  glory, 
1  Pet.  iv.  14.  The  application  of  this  title  to  all  the 
three,  shows  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost 
are  the  God  ofgiory,  as  the  only  true  God  is  called, 
Pta.  xxix.  3,  Acts  vii.  2. 

Verses  9-11.  Sirf— This  ignorance  fulfils  what 
IS  written  concerning  the.blessings  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom;  eye  hath  not  seen,  ^.^-No  merely  natu- 
ral or  unenlightened  man  hath  either  seen,  heard, 
or  known;  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared, 
satth  the  prophet,  ^r  them  that  love  him — ^  These 
words  do  not  immediately  respect  the  blessing^  of 
another  world,  but  are  spoken  by  the  prophet  of  the 
gospel  state,  and  the  blessings  then  to  be  enjoyed 
by  them  that  ^ould  love  God,  Rom.  viii.  28.  For  all 
tite  prophets,  say  the  Jews,  prophesied  only  of  the 
dtiys  of  the  Messiah,^ — Whitby.  Indeed,  as  he  adds, 
bodi  the  context  and  the  opposition  of  these  words 
to  ttie  revelation  of  these  things  by  the  Spirit,  show 
ttie  pfinary  intent  of  the  apostle  to  be,  that  no  hu- 
man wisdom,  by  any  thing  that  may  be  seen,  heard 
of,  or  eooeetved  by  us,  can  acquaint  us  with  the 
things  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  a  super- 
Bstoral  illammation*  But  God  hath  revealed^Yed^ 
h 


his  Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  A.  M.  4063. 
things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God.      ^^'^' 

11  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a 
man,  'save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him? 
*  even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man, 
but  the  Spirit  of  God. 

12  Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of 
the  world,  but  ^  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God ;  that 
we  mi^t  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given 
tons  of  God* 


flliattxiii.  Il;xri.l7;  JohnxiT.26;  xri.  13;  lJohnii.27. 
rProT.  XX.  27;  xxrii  19;  i^.  xriL  9.— i-*  Bool  xL  33,  34. 
*  RoBL  riii.  IS. 


and  freely  given,  verse  12,  them  to  us  by  his  l^irit 
—Who  intimately  and  fully  knows  them;  for  the 
l^fwnt  searcheth—KxiovrB  and  enables  us  to  search 
and  find  out ;  all  things — Which  it  concerns  us,  and 
would  be  for  our  profit,  to  be  acquainted  with ;  even 
the  deep  things  of  God— Be  they  ever  so  hidden  and 
mysterious;  the  depths  both  of  his  nature  and  attri- 
butes, and  of  his  kingdom  of  providence  and  grace. 
Or,  these  deep  things  of  Crod  ''are  the  various  parts 
of  that  grand  plan  which  the  wisdom  of  Crod  hath 
formed  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  their  relation 
to  and  dependance  on  each  other,  and  operation  and 
effect  upon  the  system  of  the  universe,  the  dignity 
of  the  person  by  whom  that  plan  had  been  executed, 
and  the  final  issue  thereof  in  the  solvation  of  believ- 
ers; with  many  other  particulars,  which  we  shall 
not  know  till  the  light  of  the  other  world  break  in 
upon  us." — Macknight.  For  what  man  knoweth  the 
things  of  a  man— What  individual  of  the  human 
race  could  know  the  things  belonging  to  human 
nature ;  save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  hin^^ 
Unless  he  were  possessed  of  a  human  spirit  ?  Surely 
the  spirit  of  a  creature  inferior  to  man,  can  neither 
discern  nor  comprehend  the  things  peculiar  to  the 
human  nature.  Even  so  the  things  of  6^oc2— Things 
that  belong  to  the  divine  nature;  knoweth  no  man — 
No  mere  man ;  no  man  devoid  of  divine  teaching ; 
the  teachmg  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  In  other  words, 
as  soon  might  brute  creatures,  by  the  help  of  the 
faculties  peculiar  to  tiiera,  understand  human  things, 
as  a  man,  only  possessed  of  human  faculties,  could, 
merely  by  the  aid  of  them,  understand  divine  things ; 
and  indeed  much  sooner ;  for  God  is  infinitely  more 
elevated  above  man,  than  man  is  above  the  brutes. 
Verses  12,  13.  Now  we  have  received,  not  the 
spirit  of  the  world— Wkieh  suggeste  worldly  wis- 
dom; the  spirit  that  is  in  worldly,  carnal  people, 
and  which  guides  and  governs  them ;  a  spirit  which 
is  earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish.  This  spirit  is  not, 
properly  speaking,  received,  for  the  carnal  and  un- 
regenerate  always  had  it ;  but  true  believers  properly 
receive  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  before  they  had  not 
ThcU  we  might  /cnoic— Might  discern,  understand, 
form  just  ideas  of,  and  be  experimentally  acquainted 
with ;  the  things  freely  given  to  us  of  C?od— Which, 
without  that  Spirit,  it  is  as  impossible  we  should  know, 
as  it  is  that  the  inferior  creatures  should  know  the 
187 


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I.  COKINTHIANS. 


camtfit  know  U^  ihingg  ofOoJi 


A.M.  4063.        13 
A.  D.  50. 


tfc 


'  Which  things  also  we 
not  in  thd  worcb  which 
man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth;  c(Mnparing  spiritmd  things 
with  spintual. 


«3Pet.L16;  Ch«p. L  17;  V«8 


>Mttt.zn.S3. 


things  belonging  to  man.  Which  things  alto  ite 
gpeak'-Mdke  it  our  business  to  communicate  to 
others ;  not  in  the  words  which  man^s  wisdom  teach- 
eth— To  excite  men's  curiosity,  amuse  ^eir  imagi- 
nations, or  gain  their  applause ;  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth'-And  consequently  must  be  best 
adapted  to  convey  such  ideas  as  he  would  impart ; 
and  to  impress  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men 
with  a  reverent  and  deep  sense  of  those  holy  myste- 
ries: comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritiial — 
Or  rather,  as  the  apostle  seems  to  mean,  explaming 
spiritual  things  by  spiritucd  words;  or,  adapting 
spiritual  words  to  spiritual  things;  being  taught  by 
the  Sphir  to  express  the  thmgs  of  the  Spirit.  The 
original  word,  avyKpivovrec,  is  rightly  translated  tV 
terpreting,  or  explaining^  being  used  by  the  LXX. 
to  denote  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  Gen.  xl.  16, 
32;  xli.  12,  13,  15;  Dan.  ii.  4;  v.  7,  12.  Pearce 
translates  the  clause,  explaining  spiritual  things  to 
spiritual  men  /  a  sense  which  the  ori^^nal  will  doubt- 
less bear ;  but  it  does  not  agree  so  well  with  .the  first 
part  of  the  verse.  Where  words  taught  by  the  Holy 
Spurit  are  mentioned.  This  language  of  the  apostle, 
as  Doddridge  justly  observes,  "  may  certainly  con- 
vince us  of  the  great  regard  which  we  ought  Always 
to  maintain  to  the  words  of  Scripture;  and  may 
especially  teach  ministers  how  attentively  they 
should  study  its  beauties,  and  how  careful  they 
should  be  to  make  it  the  support  of  their  discourses.'' 
Indeed, "  this  language,  in  which  the  ^doctrines  of  the 
gospel  were  revealed  to  the  apostles,  and  in  which 
they  delivered  these  doctrines  to  the  world^  is  wha^ 
Paul  calls  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  Timothy 
had  heard  from  him,  and  was  to  holdfast,  2  Tim.  i. 
13.  Every  one,  therefore,  ought  to  beware  of  alter- 
ing or  wresting  the  inspired  language  of  Scripture, 
in  their  expositions  of  the  articles  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Taylor,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  his  Key,  ex- 
plains the  verse  under  consideration  thus:  Which 
things  we  speak,  not  in  philosophical  terms  of  hu- 
man invcTUion,  but  which  the  Spirit  teacheth  in  the 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  contends  that 
the  apostle's  meaning  is,  that  he  expressed  the 
Christian  privileges  in  the  very  same  words  and 
phrases  by  which  the  Spirit  expressed  the  privileges 
of  the  Jewish  Church,  in  the  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament.  But  if  the  Spirit  suggested  these  words 
and  phrases  to  the  Jewish  prophets,  why  might  not 
he  suggest  to  the  apostles  the  words  and  phrases  in 
which  they  communicated  the  gospel  revelation  to 
the  world?  especially  as  there  are  many  discoveries 
in  the  gospel,  which  could  not  be  expressed  clearly, 
if  at  all,  in  the  words  by  which  the  prophets  ex- 
pressed the  privileges  of  the  Jewish  Church.  Be- 
138 


14  ^  But  the  natural  man  receiveth  A.  M.  4083l 

not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  (Sod :  ! — 1 

^for  they  are  fixilidineflB  unto  hhn:  *  neither 
can  he  know  them^  because  they  are  spiritually 
discemed.         ^    ^ 


7  Gluvp.  i.  IS,  83. «Bi>iii.  Tiii.  $,  0, 7 ;  Jade  1ft. 


sides,  it  is  evident,  that  when  the  apostles  introduce 
into  their  writings  the  words  and  phrases  of  the 
Jewish  prophets,  they  explain  them  in  other  words 
and  phrases,  which  no  doubt  were  suggested  to  them 
by  the  Spirit''— See  Macknight,  and  2  Tim.  iii.  16. 
Verse  14.  But  the  natural  man — The  man  who 
has  only  the  powers  of  nature,  the  faculties  derived 
from  Adam,  but  not  a  supernatural  principle  of 
saving  grace ;  who  has  a  soul  in  his  body,  (as  the 
word  ifvxiKoc,  derived  from  in/xvr  o,  sotd,  implies^) 
but  no  divine  inspiration  in  that  soul ;  or  Who  is  not 
truly  enlightened  and  renewed  by  the  Word  and 
Spirit  of  God,  and  therefore  has  no  other  way  of  ob- 
taining knowledge  but  by  his  senses  and  natural 
understanding;  receiveth  not — Does  not  understand 
or  apprehend;  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God-- 
Whether  relating  to  his  nature  or  kingdom.  For 
they  are  foolishness  to  Atm— He  is  so  &r  from  un- 
derstanding, that  he  utteriy  despises  them.  Neither 
can  he  know  them^As  he  has  not  the  will^  so  neither 
has  he  the  power }  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned—They  can  only  be  discerned,  by  the  aid  of 
that  Spirit,  and  by  those  spiritual  senses  which  he 
has  not  Some  commentators  consider  these  deda- 
rations  of  the  apostle  as  being  only  applicable  to 
mere  animal  or  sensual  persons,  wlK^are  under  the 
guidance  and  government  of  their  natural  senses, 
appetites,  and  passions ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  the  word  above  mentioned,  rendered  natural  in 
the  beginning  of  this  verse,  is  trandated  sensual 
James  iii.  15^  Jude  19.  And  yet  it  is  certain  that 
the  word  i/vxri,  from  which  it  is  derived,  frequently 
signifies  the  rational  and  immortal  soul;  even  that 
soul  which  they  that  kill  the  body,  cannot  kill,  Matt 
X.  28,  39 ;  and  therefore  the  epithet  formed  from  it 
may  justly  be  considered  as  referring  to  the  powers 
of  the  mind,  as  well  as  to  the  inferior  ftMSulties.  Be- 
sides, though  the  word  is  rendered  sensual,  in  the 
before-mentioned  passages,  yet  in  the  latter  of  them 
(Jude  19)  it  is  explJeiined  as  signifying  those  who 
have  not  the  Spirit  And  it  b  evident  that  in  this 
verse  St  Paul  is  not  opposing  a  man  that  is  govern- 
ed  by  his  appetites  and  passions,  or  by  his  mere 
animal  nature,  and  his  prejudices  arising  therefrom, 
to  one  that  is  governed  by  h»  reason ;  or  one  desti- 
tute of  consideration  and  judgment,  and  of  amiable, 
moral  qualities,  to  one  possessed  of  them ;  but  a  car- 
nal to  a  spiritual  man ;  or  a  mere  natural  and  unre- 
newed, to  a  truly  enlightened  and  regenerated  man. 
Indeed,  "the  apostle^s  argument,^  as  Mr.  Scott  justly 
observes,  "absolutely  requires  that  by  the  natural 
man,  we  should  understand  the  un regenerate  man, 
however  sagacious,  learned,  or  abstracted  from  sensu- 
al indulgences,  for  he  opposes  him  to  the  spvrituiA 


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7%g  tpiniual  man 


CHAPTER  m. 


judgeth  aU  tUng$. 


.H.4063. 
LD.  69. 


15  ^But  he  that  is  spiritual  'judgeth 
all  things,  yet  he  himself  is  ^judged 


of  no  man. 


•Pror.  xrriiL  5 ;  1  Thess.  ▼.  21 ;  1  John  ir.  1.- 


*  Or,  dig- 


man :  and  the  pride  of  carnal  reasoning  is  at  least  as 
opposite  to  spirituality,  as  the  most  grotelling  sensu- 
ality can  be.  No  man,  as  naturally  bom  into  the 
world,  and  not  supematurally  born  again  of  the 
Spirit,  can  see  tJie  kingdom  of  God^  or  receive,  in 
faith  and  lore,  the  spiritual  mysteries  of  redemption 
by  the  cross  of  Chi^  To  all  unregenerate  men, 
these  UuBigB  win,  in  one  way  or  other,  appear  fool- 
tMknesSj  uninteresting,  unnecessary,  inconsistent, 
absurd:  and  doubtless  pioud  reasoners  have  scoffed 
al  them,  more  than  ever  mere  sensualists  die).  No 
ingenuity,  address,  or  reasoning  of  the  preacl^er  can 
prevent  this  effect :  no  application  of  a  man's  own 
mind,  except  in  humble  dependance  on  the  teaching 
of  the  Holy  SfHril,  can  enable  him  to  perceive.the 
real  nature  and  glory  of  them'.  For  they  are  spirit- 
utUlf  ducemed— That  is,  by  the  illuminating  and 
sanctifjring  wcMrk  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  the  mind, 
by  which  a  splritoal  capacity  is  produced,  which 
discerns,  Jov^  admires,  uid  delights  in^  the  divine 
eKceUeoee  of  heavenly  things.  When  this  change 
has  taken  place,  and  a  man's  spiritual  senses  have 
been  matured  by  growth  and  exercise,  he  may  be 
called  a  spiritual  man :  and  he  perceives  the  spirit- 
ual glory  and  excellence  of  every  truth  and  precept 
in  the  Word  of  €tod;  he  distinguishes  one  object 
from  another  by  a  spiritual  taste,  or  a  kind  of  eay 
tempore  judgment,  and  so  he  becomes  a  competent 
judge  in  these  matters." 

Verses  15,  16.  But  he  that  is  spiriluai^Whoee 
mind  b  enlightened,  and  his  heart  renewed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God;  judgeth— Or  rather  discemeth;  aU 
<ibiii^#— Namely,  all  the  things  of  €k>d  whereof  we 
have  been  speaking ;  yet  he  himself  is  judgeS— Is' 
discerned;  by  no  man,  by  no  natural  men;  they 
neither  understand  what  he  is,  nor  what  he  says, 
while,  perhaps,  they  are  very  forward  and  confident 
in  their  eensnrea  of  him:  he  remains,  says  l>od- 
dridge,  like  a  man  endowed  with  sight  among  those 
bom  blind,  who  are  incapable  of  apprehending  what 


16  ^  For  who  hath  known  the  mind 
of  the  Lcnrd,  that  he  ^may  instruct 
him?  ®  But  we  have  the  mind  of  Christ. 


A. M.40S3 
A.D.50. 


^  Job  XT.  8 ;  Isaiah  x1.  13 ;  Jer.  xziii.  IS ;    Rom.  xL  34 
•Gr.  9httL •John  xv.  1«.         


is  clear  to  him,  and  amidst  theu*  own  darkness  can- 
not participate  of;  nor  understand,  those  beautiHil 
ideas  and  pleasing  sensations,  which  light  pours 
upon  him.  And  surely  if  matters  be  considered 
aright,  this  cannot  be  any  cause  of  wonder.  For 
irAo — That  is  not  supematurally  enlightened,  but  is 
a  mere  natural  man;  hath  known  the  mind  of  the 
Lord— Those  counsels  of  his  respecting  the  salva- 
tion of  mankind,  which  exist  in  his  eternal  mind,  or 
his  deep  designs  concerning  us;  thtU  he  may  in- 
struct him? — So  as  to  take  upon  him  to  judge  of  his 
schemes,  and  arraign  his  conduct  "There  must 
undoubtedly  be  in  the  divine  counsels  many  secret 
and  hidden  things,  and  a  man  must  have  a  mind  ca- 
pacious as  that  of  the  blessed  God  himself,  to  take 
upon  him  to  judge  of  his  schemes.  See  note  on  Isa. 
xl.  18, 14,  the  passage  here  referred  to.  But  many 
approved  commentators  suppose,  although  the  words 
of  the  prophet  evidently  refer  to  God,  yet  that,  as 
they  jBJte.  here  varied,  they  were  intended  by  the 
apostle  of  the  spiritual  man,  intending  thereby  chiefly 
a  divinely4nspired  teacher,  and  that  the  question 
means.  What  unenlightened,  carnal  man,  hath  knovm 
the  mind  of  the  Lord^  his  deep  counsels,  (verse  10,) 
so  that  he  caii  instruct  the  spiritual  man  ?  that  is,  as 
the  expression,  ovft6i6aati  mnw^  seems  to  imply, 
prove  to  him  that  the  principles  on  whidi  he  judges 
of  spiritual  things  are  ftilse,  inform  him  o^  things  he 
is  ignorant  of,  and  show  hiin,  that  in  believing  the 
gospel  he  hath  fallen  into  error.  "Hie  truth  im- 
plieid  in  this  question,"  says  Mackn*ght, "  must  afford 
great  satisfBiction  to  all  the  faithful.  No  man,  no 
infidel,  hath  been,  or  ever  will  be,  able  to  confute 
the  gospel;  or  to  show  a  better  method  of  in- 
structing, reforming,  and  saving  mankind,  than 
that  which  God  hath  chosen,  and  made  known 
by  revelation."  But  we — Spiritual  men,  apostles 
in  particular;  Jiave — Know,  understand ;  the  mind 
of  CTbriff^— Concerning  the  whole  plan  of  gospel 
salvation. 


CHAPTER  ni. 

Jt  this  dkapUr,  (1 ,)  The  apostle  reproves  the  Corinthians  for  their  eamality  and  contentions  about  minister Sy  1-4.  (2,)  Shows 
the  absurdity  of  such  contentions^  since  ministers  loere  but  mere  instruments  in  God's  hands^  who  could  do  nothing  effectual 
toward  the  salvation  of  mankind  ufithout  his  aid^  and  who  all  unanimously  preached  Christ  as  the  great  foundation  cf  all 
true  reHgitm,  and  its  blessed  consequences^  5-1 1 .  (3,)  He  mentions  the  different  ways  men  take  of  building  on  this  founda- 
^on,  amd  warns  them  of  the  great  trial  which  every  man*s  work  was  to  undergo^  and  of  the  great  guilt  of  destroying,  or 
de/Uing,  God^s  church  or  temple,  12-17.  (4,)  Shows  the  vanity  of  human  wisdom  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  cautions  them 
•gainst  glorying  in  men,  as  through  Christ,  ministers,  and  all  things  necessary  for  their  welfare,  were  ^  God's  grant 
mmdt  the  property  of  true  believers,  \H-'Z4. 

b  189 


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The  ContUhiaiu  are  reproted/or  L  CORINTHIANS.        Uieir  carnality  rejecting  minUiert^ 


A.  M.  4063.    ANt)  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak 

J^I ! L         unto  you  as  imto  •spiritual,  but 

as   imto    ''carnal,  even  as  unto  '^ babes  in 
Christ. 

2  I  have  fed  you  with  ^  milk,  and  not  with 
meat :  •  for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it j 
neither  yet  now  are  ye  able. 

3  For  ye  are  yet  carnal :  for  ^  whereas  there 
is  among  you  envying,  and  strife,  and  ^divi- 
sions, are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  ^as  men? 

4  For  while  one  saith,  « I  am  of  Paul ;  and 
another,  I  am  of  ApoUos ;  are  ye  not  carnal? 


•Cbftp.  ii.  15. ^C^.  ii.  14. •^eb.  r.  13. 'Heb. 

V.  12,  13 ;    1  Pet.  ii.  2. •John  xri.  12. '  Chap,  ill;  xi. 

18;  Gal.  r.  20,  21 ;  James  iii.  16. *  Or,  faethtu. »  Gr.  ae- 

cording  toman. rChap.  i.  12. i>Chap.  ir.  1 ;  2  Cor.  iii. 

3. 2  Rom.  xii.  3,  6;  1  Pet.  iT.  U. 


NOTES,  ON  CHAPTER  III. 

Verses  1-3.  And  /,  6rc//iren— The  apostle  having, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  precedmg  chapter,  observed 
that  mere  natural  men,  still  unenlightened  and  un- 
renewed, receive  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit,  begins 
this  chapter  with  informing  the  Cormthians,  that 
though  he  was  an  apostle,  fully  instructed  in  the 
mind  of  Christ,  he  could  not,  during  his  abode  with 
them,  speak  to  them  as  to  truly  spiritual  persons: 
inasmuch  as  they  really  were  not  such,  but  still  in  a 
great  measure  como^  even  mere  babes  in  Christ; 
as  little  acquainted  with,  and  experienced  in^  the 
things  of  God,  as  babes  are  with  respect  to  the  things 
of  the  world.  He  had  spoken  before  (chap.  ii.  1) 
of  his  entrance,  now  he  speaks  of  his  progress  among 
them.  /  have  fed  you  vnth  milk— With  the  first  and 
plainest  truths  of  the  gospel,  alluding  to  milk  being 
the  proper  food  of  babes :  not  with  meat—The  high- 
er truths  of  Christianity ;  such  as  are  more  difficult 
to  be  understood,  received,  and  practised,  and  there- 
fore belong  to  those  believers  who  have  made  some 
considerable  progress  in  Christian  knowledge  and 
holiness.  For  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it — Your 
state  of  grace  has  been,  and  still  is,  so  low,  that  it 
would  not  properly  admit  of  such  a  way  of  teaching. 
So  should  every  preacher  suit  his  doctrine  to  the 
state  and  character  of  his  hearers.  For  ye  are  yet 
mrna^— That  is,  the  greater  part  of  you  are  so  in 
some  degree ;  for  whereas  there  is  among  you  eur 
vying— One  another^s  gifts  in  your  hearts,  or  unea- 
siness of  mind  that  others  have  greater  gifts  than 
yourselves:  or  the  word  ^n^oc  may  be  rendered,  emu- 
lotion^  a  kind  of  rivalry,  or  a  desire  of  superiority 
over  others;  and  strife — Outward  contentions  in 
words  and  deeds ;  and  actual  divisions — Of  one  party 
from  another;  are  ye  not  carnal — Is  not  th^  a  clear 
proof  that  you  are  so;  and  walk  as  men? — Kara  ov- 
0poKov,  according  to  man ;  as  worldly  men  walk, 
who  have  no  higher  principle  from  which  to  act 
than  that  of  mere  nature,  and  not  according  to  God, 
as  thorough  Christians  walk. 

Verses  4-7.  For  while  one  saiihy  I  am  of  Paul— 
I  am  one  of  Paul's  disciples,  admiring  his  sublime 
140 


5  Who  theii  k  Paul,  and  who  is  A-lL^oes- 

Apollos,  tmt  *  ministers  by  whom  ye '- — ^ 

believed,  *  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every 
man? 

6^1  have  planted,  ^Apdlos  watered:  "'but 
God  gave  the  increase. 

7  So  then^  ^  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any 
thing,  neither  he  that  watereih:  but  God  that 
giveth  the  increase. 

8  Now  he  that  planteth  and  he  that  watereth 
fiire  one:  ^and  every  man  shall  receive  his 
own  reward,  according  to  his  own  labour. 


k  Acts  xriii  4r  8, 11  r  Chap.  vr.l5;  iz.  1 ;  zv.  1 ;  2  Cor.  z. 

14, 15.^ »  Aists  xnii.  24,  27;  «x.  1. »Cfaap.  i.  30 ;  xf.  10; 

2  Cor.  iii  6. "2  Cor.  xii*  11;   Gal.  ri.  3. «»P«a.  bdi. 

12 ;  Rom.  ii.  6 ;  Chap.  rr.  5  ;  Gal.  ri.  4,  5 ;  Rev.  ii.  23 ; 
xxii.  12. 


sentiments,  and  being  greatly  edified  by  his  instruct- 
ive discourses:  and  another^  I  am  of  Apollos — I 
give  the  preference  to  ApoUos,  being  delighted  with 
his  fine  language,  and  the  pleasing  manner  of  his 
address.  St  Paid  names  himself  and  ApoUos,  to 
show  that  he  would  condemn  any  division  among 
them,  even  though  it  were  in  favour  of  4iiraself,  or 
the  dearest  friend  he  had  in  the  world.  Are  ye  not 
carnal  7— For  the  Spirit  of  God  aUows  no  party  zeal. 
Who  then  is  Paul — That  some  of  you  are  so  attached 
to  htm ;  and  who  is  Apollos— T\mX  others  of  you  are 
so  charmed  with  him?  Are  they  the  authors  of 
your  faith  and  salvation  ?  Surely  not :  they  are  bui 
ministers— Or  servants ;  by  whom — As  instruments ; 
ye  believedr— The  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel ; 
as  the  Lord — Of  those  servants  g€a)e  to  each  of  them 
gifts  and  grace  for  the  work.  /  have  plantedr^A 
Christian  Church  at  Corinth,  being  instrumental  in 
converting  many  of  you  to  the  faith  of  Christ:  Apol- 
los caine  afterward,  and,  by  his  affecting  and  useful 
addresses,  watered  what  I  had  planted;  but  €hd 
gave  the  increase— Caxmed  the  plantation  thus  wa- 
tered to  grow,  quickened  and^  rendered  effectual  the 
means  used  to  produce  the  fruit  of  the  conversion 
of  souls  to  God,  and  their  confirmation  in  the^  faith 
and  hope  of  the  gospel.  So  then,  the  inference  to 
be  drawn  is,  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing — 
Comparatively  speaking;  neither  he  that  water eth 
—When  you  compare  our  part  with  that  of  God,  it 
appears  even  as  nothing:  but  God  thai  giveth  the 
increase — Who  by  his  efficacious  operation  causes 
fruit  to  be  produced,  is  all  in  all :  for  without  him 
neither  planting  nor  watering  avaUs. 

Verses  8, 9.  He  that  planteth  and  he  that  watereth 
arcone — United  in  affection,  and  engaged  in  one  gene- 
ral design,  the  design  of  glorifying  God  in  the  salva- 
tion of  souls,  though  their  labours  may  be  in  some  re- 
spect different :  and  hence,  instead  of  beinff  pleased, 
we  are  rather  displeased  and  grieved  with  those  invi- 
dious comparisons  in  favour  of  one  against  another. 
Our  great  concern  is  to  please  our  common  Lord,  to 
whom  we  are  shortly  to  give  up  our  account ;  and 
from  whom  exery  man— He  primanly  means  every 

b 


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CHAPTEBin. 


do  no  good  without  CM. 


.A.M.4063.    9  For  ^we  are  labourers^  togeth^ 
'    — L  with  God :  ye  arc  God's  ^husbandry, 
ye  are  "^  God^s  building. 

10  'According  to  the  grace  of  God  which  is 
given  unto  me,  as  a  wise  master-builder,  I 
have  laid  'the  foundation,  and  another 
buildeth  thereon.     But  ^let  ev^  man  take 


P  Acta  XT.  4 ;  2  Cor.  tL  1. »0r,  taiage. 1  Eph.  iL  90 ; 

•  CoL  i\,  7 ;  Hebrews  iiL  3, 4 ;  1  Peter  ii.  5. '  Rooums  i.  5 ; 

xiL  3. 


minister  pf  Christ;  shall  receive  his  own  reward — 
The  reward  in  some  respects  peculiar  to  himself; 
according  to  his  own  peculiar  labour^Tor  as  some 
labour  with  greater  zeal  and  diligence,  and  others 
with  less,  so  they  shall  be  rewarded  with  different 
degrees  of  felicity  and  glory.  He  ddes  not  say,  ac- 
cording to  his  success,  because  he  who  labours 
mucb,  supposing  he  labours  with  a  single  eye  to  the 
glory  of  God,  from  a  principle  of  love  to  him,  and  a 
conscientious  regard  to  his  will,  shall  have  a  great 
reward,  though  it  may  please  God  to  give  him 
little  success.  Has  not  all  this  reasoning  the  same 
force  still  ?  Ministers  are  still  barely  instruments  in 
God's  luind,  ^md  depend  as  entirely  as  ever  on  his 
blessing,  to  give  the  increase  to  their  labours.  With- 
out this  they  are  nothing;  with  it  their  part  is  so 
small,  that  they  hardly  deserve  to  be  mentioned. 
May  their  hearts  and  hands  be  more  united ;  and, 
retaining  a  due  sense  of  the  honour  God  doth  them 
in  employing  them,  may  they  faithfully  labour,  not 
as  for  themselves,  but  for  the  great  Proprietor  of  all,, 
till  the  day  come  when  he  will  reward  them  in  full 
proportion  to  their  fidelity  and  diligence !  For  we 
are  labourers  togeth^,  &c. — Greek,  G^»  y^  '<¥^^ 
(fwepyoiy  we  arefeUoW'labourers  of  God;  or,  we  are 
God^s  labourers,  and  fellow-labourers  with  each 
other.  Ye  are  OchPs  ^w«6andry— Or  God's  tillage, 
God's  cultivated  ground:  a  comprehensive  word, 
taking  in  a  field,  a  garden,  and  a  vineyard.  This  is 
the  sum  of  what  went  before.  Ye  are  God's  build- 
ing'-This  refers  to  what  follows. 

Verses  10, 11.  According  to  the  grace  qf  God^ 
This  he  premises,  lest  he  should  seem  to  ascribe  any 
thing  to  himself;  as  a  wise  master-builder^A 
skilful  architect^  directed  by  divine  wisdom;  I  have 
laid  (he  foundation — ^Jesus  Chrbt  and  him  crucified, 
a  foundation  sufficient  to  support  the  whole  fabric 
of  Christianity,  with  all  its  blessed  effects:  and  an- 
other buildeth  thereon — Succeeding  teachers  bestow 
ftirther  labour  for  your  iQstruction  and  edification. 
But  let  every  man— Every  minister;  take  heed  how 
he  buildeth  /Acr«m— That  all  the  doctrines  which  he 
teaches  may  be  consistent  with  the  foundation.  For 
other  ^foundation^On  which  the  whole  church, 
with  all  its  doctrines,  privileges,  and  duties,  may  be 
built ;  can  no  man  lay — How  much  soever  he  may 
endeavour  to  do  it;  than  that  which  is  laid— In  the 
counsels  of  divine  wisdom,  in  the  prophecies  and 
promises  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  preaching 
of  Christ  himself  and  his  apostles,  9L  Paul  in  par- 
b 


heed    how    he    buildeth    ihereup-    A.  M.  4063. 


11  For  other  foundation  can  no  maa  ky 
thaa  "^  that  is  laid, ""  which  is  Jesus  Chrfet* 

12  Now  if  any.man  build  upon  this  founda- 
tion, gold,  silv^,  [Nrecious  stones,  wood,  hay, 
stubble; 


ZT.20;Tene6;Chap.iT.I5;  R6T.xxi.14. »1P*1 

IT.  11. "  Isa.  xxTiii.  10 ;    Httt.  xtL  18 ;  2  Cor.  xL  4 ;   Oil. 

L7. »Eph.ii.2a 


ticular;  which  is  Jesus  Christ — ^Who  in  his  person 
and  offices,  in  his  love  and  sufferings,  his  htimilia- 
tion  and  exaltation,  his  atoning  death,  his  vict^ous 
resurrection,  his  glorious  ascension,  and  hb  preva- 
lent intercession,  is  the  firm^  immoveable  rock  of 
ages ;  a  foundation  every  way  sufficient  to  bear  all 
th6  weight  that  God  himself,  or  the  sinner,  when  he 
believes^  can  lay  upon  him,  even  to  support  his  im- 
mortal hopes.  Christ,  in  his  prophetic  office,  as  a 
teacher  come  from  God,  is  the  foundation  of  all  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  as  made  of  God  unto 
us  wisdom,  the  source  of  our  knowledge  of,  and  faith 
in  thos^  doctrines:  in  his  priestly  office^  atoning  and 
interceding  for  us,  he  is  the  foundation  of  all  the 
privileges  of  Christianity ;  and,  when  made  of  God 
unto  us  righteousness,  puts  us  in  possession  of  those 
privileges ;  in  his  kingly  office  he  is  the  foundation 
of  all  the  duties  of  Christianity,  and  when  made  of 
God  unto  us  sanctification,  of  our  power  to  perform 
those  duties ;  for  when  the  tree  is  good,  the  fruit  is 
good;  when  we  are  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus, 
good  works  are  the  never-failing  consequence,  Eph. 
ii.  10.  Add  to  this,  thai  Mthefrstbom  of  them  that 
sleep,  and  our  forerunner  into  glory,  he  is  the  found- 
ation of  all  our  hopes;  and  when  made  of  God  unto 
us  complete  and  eternal  redemption,  he  brings  us  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  hoped  for. 

Verse  12.  If  any  man  build  upon  this  foundaiiwi 
— Tlius  firmly  laid ;  gold,  silver,  precious  stones — 
The  most  vaJuable  materials  in  nature,  the  most 
solid,  durable,  and  precious,  and  which  can  hear  the 
firev  And  here  they  stand  for  true,  firm,  and  im- 
portant doctrines ;  doctrines  necessary  to  be  known, 
believed,  and  laid  to  heart,  and  which,  when  sO  re- 
ceived, fail  not  to  build  up  the  people  of  God  in  faith, 
love,  and  obedience ;  rendering  them  wise  unto  sal- 
vation, holy  and  useful  here,  and  preparing  them  for 
eternal  life  hereafter.  Tlie  apostle  mentions  next, 
as  materials  wherewith  some  might  possibly  build, 
and  with  which  indeed  many  have  built  in  all 
ages,  wood,  hay,  and  stubble;  materials  flimsy,  un- 
substantial, worthless,  if  compared  with  the  former, 
qnd  which  cannot  bear  the  fire.  And  these  are  here 
put,  not  merely  for  false  doctrines,  condemned  6r 
unsupported  by  the  word  of  God,  or  doctrines  of 
human  invention,  but  all  ceremonies,  forms,  and  in- 
stitutions, which  have  not  God  for  their  author,  and 
are  neither  connected  with,  nor  calculated  to  pro- 
!  mote,  the  edification  and  salvation  of  mankind:  all 
i  doctrines  that  are  unimportant,  and  not  suited  to  the 
141 


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Ei^ery  maud  work  tthaU 


I.  CdUNTinANS. 


56  tried  a*  hy  fir^ 


A.  M.  4063.    13  "I  Every  man's  work  shall  be 
^^'^'    made  manifest:   for  the  day  « shall 

declare  it,  because  » it*  shall  be  revealed  by  fire; 

and  the^  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work,  of 

what  sort  it  is. 
14  If  any  man's  work  abide  which  he  hath 


7  Chap.  It.  2 


»lP«t.L7;iT.12. — ^LukiiiL35^ •Or. 


state  and  character  of  ihe  hearers ;  all  but  the  vital, 
substantial  truths  of  Christianity.  To  build  with 
such  materials  as  these,  if  it  do  not  abscdutely  de- 
stroy the  foundation,  yet  disgraces  it;  as  a  mean 
edifice,  suppose  a  boveU  consisting  of  nothing  better 
than  planks  of  wood,  roughly  put  together,  and 
thatched  with  hay  and  stubble,  would  disgrace  a 
grand  and  expensive  foundation,  laid  with  great 
pomp  and  solemnity. 

Verse  13.  Every  manU  work  shall  be  made  ma- 
nifut^God  will  bring  every  work  into  judgment, 
with  every  secr^  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or 
whether  it  be  evU,  EScd.  xii.  14.  There  is  nothing 
covered  that  eihaU  not  be  revealed,  neither  hid,  that 
shaU  not  be  known.  But  the  apostle's  primary 
meaning  here  is,  that  it  shall  be  made  manifest  what 
kind  of  materials  every  spiritual  builder  uses,  that 
Is,  what  kind  of  doctrines  every  minister  of  Christ 
preaches,  whether  they  are  true  or  false,  important 
or  trivial,  calculated  to  produce  genuine  repentance, 
faith,  and  holiness  in  the  hearers,  or  not;  to  pro- 
mote the  real  conversion  of  sinners,  and  edification 
of  believers,  or  otherwise :  and  of  consequence,  what 
kind  of  converts  every  minister  makes,  whether 
they  be  such  as  can  stand  the  fiery  trial  or  uot  For 
the  day  ahaU  declare  it — Perhaps,  Ist,  n  vf^fx^  <5»7^««<, 
might  be  rendered,  time  will  declare  it;  for  time, 
generally  a  little  time,  manifests  whether  a  minis* 
ter's  doctrine  be  Scriptural  and  sound,  and  his  con- 
verts genuine  or  not  If  his  preaching  produce  no 
saving  effect  upon  his  hearers,  if  none  of  them  arc 
reformed  in  their  manners,  and  renewed  in  their 
hearts ;  if  none  of  them  arc  turned  from  sin  to  right- 
eousness, and  made  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus, 
there  is  reason  to  suspect  the  doctrine  delivered  to 
ihem  is  not  of  the  right  kind,  and  therefore  is  not 
«wned  of  Qod.  2d,  The  expression  means,  The 
^ay  of  trial  sTmU  declare  it;  (see  I  Peter  iv.  12;) 
for  a  day  of  trial  is  wont  to  follow  a  day  of  merci- 
ful visitation ;  a  time  of  suffering  to  succeed  a  sea- 
son of  grace.  Where  the  gospel. is  preached,  and  a 
^church  is  erected  for  Christ,  the  religion  o(  such  as 
IMTofess  to  receive  the  truth  b  generally,  in  the 
course  of  divine  providence,  put  to  the  test;  and  if 
:it  be  a  fabric  of  wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  and  not  of 
gtild,$ilver,  and  precious  stones,  it  will  not  be  able 
to  bear  the  fiery  trial,  but  will  certainly  be  consumed 
thereby.  The  religion  (if  it  can  be  called  religion) 
of  those  who  are  not  grounded  on,  and  built  up  in 
Christ,  (CoL  ii.  7,)  will  evaporate  like  smoke  from 
wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  in  the  day  of  trial  But,  dd, 
and  especially  the  day  of  final  judgment,  the  great 
142 


built  thereupon,  ^he  shall  receive  a  A.M. 
rewaitl. 


15  If  any  man's  work  shall  be  burned,  be 
shall  suffer  loss :  but  he  himsdf  shaU  be  saved ; 
^^  yet  90  as  by  fire. 

16  ^  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  <^ 


^Chap.iT.  5. eJodo23. ^ChiH?-^' W»  2Cor.TLli, 

Eph.  ii.21,22;  Heb.  ill  6;  1  Pet.  ii.  5. 


day  of  the  Lord,  is  here  intended,  and  this  day  skaU 
declare  it;  shall  declare  every  man^s  work  to  all 
the  universe :  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by  fire — 
Which  shall  consume  the  earth  with  its  increase, 
and  shall  melt  down  the  foundations  of  the  mount- 
ains; the  heavens  and  the  earth,  which  are  nov, 
being  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire,  against  the 
day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of  ungo^y  men^ 
2  Pet  iii.  7.  And  the  fire  shall  try  every  fiuin'# 
work^hB  fire  tries  metals,  and  finds  out  and  sepa- 
rates whatever  dross  is  mixed  with  them ;  or,  as  the 
fire  of  that  great  and  awful  day  will  penetrate  the 
earth  to  its  centre,  and  consume  wliatever  is  com- 
bustible, so  shaU  the  strict  process  of  the  final  judg- 
ment try,  not  only  the  religion  of  every  private 
Christian,  but  the  doctrine  of  every  public  teacher, 
and  manifest  whether  it  came  up  to  the  Scripture 
standard  or  not.  Although  there  is  here  a  plain 
allusion  to  the  general  confiagratlon,  yet  the  expres- 
sion, when  apphed  to  the  trjing  of  doctrines,  and 
consuming  those  that  are  wrong,  and  the  trying  of 
the  characters  of  professors,  is  evidently  figurative; 
because  no  material  fire  can  have  such  an  efilect  on 
what  is  of  a  moral  nature: 

Verses  14,  15.  If  any  m€ui^s  work  abide  which  he 
hath  built,  &c. — If  the  superstructure  which  any 
minister  of  Christ  raises  on  the  true  foundation,  if 
the  doctrines  which  he  preaches  can  bear  the  test 
by  which  they  shall  be  tried  at  that  day,  as  being 
true,  important,  and  adapted -to  the  state  of  his 
hearers;  and  the  converts  which  he  makes  by 
preaching  these  doctrines,  be  of  the  right  kind, 
truly  regenerated  and  holy  persons,  he  shaU  receive 
a  reward — In  proportion  to  his  labours.  If  any 
man^s  \oork  shall  be  bumed—li  the  doctrines  which 
any  minister  preaches  cannot  bear  the  test  of  the 
great  day,  as  being  false  or  triv^  or  not  calculated 
to  convert  and  edify  his  hearers ;  or  if  the  eonverts 
which  he  makes  by  preaching  such  doctrines  be  only 
converts  to  some  particular  opinion,  or  mode  of 
worship,  or  form  of  church  government,  or  to  a  cer- 
tain sect  or  party,  and  not  converts  to  Christ  and 
true  Christianity,  to  the  power  as  well  as  the 
form  of  godlhiess,  to  the  experience  and  practice, 
as  well  as  to  the  theory  of  true  religion,  and  there- 
fore cannot  stand  in  that  awAil  judgment,  he  shall 
suffer  loss^ShM  lose  his  labour  and  expectation, 
and  the  future  reward  he  might  have  received,  if  he 
had  built  with  proper  materials ;  as  a  man  sufiers 
loss  who  bestows  his  time  and  labour  on  the  erec- 
tion of  a  fabric  of  toood,  hay,  and  stubble,  which  is 
afterward  consumed.  BtUhehimM^f'—Th^iprtachtt 

b 


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iktnger  of  defiling  OocPs  tempU. 


CHAPTKRIlt 


VtmUf  ofioorkUp  wim^m. 


A.  M.  40i3.  God,  and  tfuU  the  Spirit  of  God 

— '. dweOetfamyou? 

17  If  any  maa  'defile  the  temple  c{  God, 
himahaUGod  deetioy:  ftr  the  t6QipIeof  God 
i&holy,  which  temple  ye  are. 


•Or^dmiros.' 


"ProT.  T.  7;lMkT.2L 


himaelfs  skaU  be  taveci— Sappoting  he  hinuelf 
be  a  true  disciple  of  Clirift,  built  up  in  faith  and  ho^ 
Imeea  <m  the  true  foundmtioa  \  yet  woe  byfire^kn 
narrowly  as  a  man  escapes  through  the  fire^  wheq 
hia  house  is  all  in  flames  about  him :  or  rather,  if  so 
be  that  his  own  religion,  his  personal  faith  and  holi- 
ness, can  bear  both  the  fiery  trial  which  he  may  be 
called  to  pass  through  on  earth,  whether  of  reproach 
and  persecution,  or  of  pain  and  aMiction,  or  any 
other  trouble,  and  also  the  dedsive  trial  of  the  last 
day.  Let  it  not  be  supposed  by  any  that  the  apostle 
is  here  putting  a  case  that  never  occurs,  or  can  oc- 
cur: such  cases,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  have 
often  occurred,  and  still  do  and  will  occur ;  ij\  which 
ministers,  who  are  themselves  real  partakers  of  the 
grace  of  Christ,  and  truly  pious,  yet,  throu^  error 
of  judgment,  attachment  to  certain  opinions,  or  a 
particular  party,  or  under  the  iu^uence  of  peculiar 
prejudices,  waste  their  time,  and  that  of  their  hear- 
ers, in  building  wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  when  they 
should  be  labouring  to  raise  an  edifice  of  goldy  bU- 
very  and  precioua  stones;  employ  themselves  in 
inculcating  unessential  or  unimportant,  if  uot  even 
false  doctrines,  when  they  ought  to  be  testifying 
with  sincerity,  zeal,  and  diligence,  the  genuine  gos- 
pel of  the  grace  of  Qod.  Dr.  Macknight,  who  con- 
siders the  apostle  as  speaking  in  these  verses,  not  of 
the  foundation  and  superstructure  of  a  system  of 
doctrines,  ^'but  of  the  building  or  temple  of  God, 
consisting  of  aU  who  profess  to  believe  the  gospel," 
gives  us  the  following  commentary  on  the  passage : 
^^  Other  foundation  of  God's  t^nple,  no  teacher^  if 
he  teaches  faithfully,  can  lay,  except  what  is  laid  by 
me,  vhich  is  Jesus,  the  Christ,  promised  in  the 
Scriptures.  Now  if  any  teacherouild  on  the  found- 
ation,  Christ,  sincere  disciples,  represented  in  this 
similitude  by  goldj  silver,  valucMe  stones;  or  if  he 
buildeth  hjrpocrites,  represented  hymood,  hay  ^stub- 
ble, every  teacher's  disciples  shall  be  made  mam- 
fest  in  their  true  characters ;  for  the  day  of  perse- 
cution, which  is  coming  on  them,  will  make  every 
one's  character  plain,  because  it  is  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  be  revealed  by  the  fire  of  persecution:  and  so 
thatjtrey  falling  on  the  temple  of  God,  will  try  every 
teadker*s  disciples,  of  what  sort  they  are.  If  the 
disciples,  which  any  teacher  has  introduced  into  the 
church,  endure  persecution  for  the  gospel  .without 
apostatizing,  such  a  teacher  shaU  receive  the  reward 
promised  to  them  who  turn  others  to  righteousness, 
Dan.  xiL  3.  If  the  disciples  of  any  teacher  shall,  in 
time  of  persecution,  .^lu  aicay,  through  the  want  of 
proper  instruction,  he  will  lose  his  reward;  he  him- 
sdf,  however,  having  in  general  acted  eincerely, 
shall  be  saved;  yety  with  such  difficulty,  as  one  is 
b 


18  *Let  no  man  deceive  himself,  a.  H.  4003. 
If  any  man  amoi^  yon  seemeth  to    ^^'^ 
be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool, 
that  he  may  be  wise. 

19  For  'the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolish* 


'Ch^.  L  90;  ij.  6. 


saved  who  runs  through  a  fire."  But,  as  by  the 
foundation,  which  he  says  he  had  laid,  the  apostle 
undoubtedly  meant  the  doctrine  concerning  Christ, 
and  salvation  through  him,  it  seems  more  consistent 
with  his  design  to  interpret  what  refers  to  the  super- 
structure attempted  to  be  raised  by  different  build- 
ers, of  doctrines  also,  and  not  of  persons  introduced 
by  them  into  the  Christian  Church:  and  to  under- 
stand him  as  cautioning  the  Corinthians  against  dis- 
figuring and  destroying  the  beautiAil  edifice,  by  in- 
culcatingtenets  which  were  heretical,  and  pernicious 
to  the  souls  of  men,  and  would  not  stand  the  test  of 
the  approaching  fiery  triaL    Thus  what  foUows. 

Verses  16, 17.  Know  ye  not,  &c. — As  if  he  had 
said,  You  should  also  take  heed  what  doctrine  you  de- 
liver, lest  by  teaching  what  is  false,  unimportant,  or 
improper  to  be  taught,  you  should  defile  or  destroy 
the  tenq;>le  of  God  \  that  ye— True  believers,  genu- 
ine Christians;  are  the  teinple  of  God— Whether 
considered  collectrvely  as  a  church,  (Eph.  ii.  21; 
1  Tim.  iii.  16,)  or  as  individuals  and  members  of 
one,  (chap.  vL  19 ;  2  Cdr.  vi.  16 ;  Eph.  ii.  22;  Heb. 
iii.  6'y  1  Pet  ii.  5,)  being  set  apart  from  profane  uses, 
and  dedicated  to  his  service,  among  whom,  and  in 
whom,  he  manifests  hi?  gracious  presence  by  his 
Spirit.  See  on  Rom.  viii.  9.  If  any  man  defile, 
corrupt — Or  destroy  rather,  (as  it  seems  the  word 
^etpei  should  be  rendered,)  that  is,  should  divide 
and  scatter  a  Christian  church  or  society,  by  schisms 
or  nnscriptural  doctrines,  or  leaven  with  error,  and 
lead  into  &xi,  a  real  Christian;  him  shall  Qod 
destroy — Punish  with  eternal  condemnation  and 
wrath;  so  that  he  shall  not  be  saved  at  all,  not  even 
as  through  fire :  for  the  temple  of  God  is  Aoiy— Con- 
secrated to  him,  separated  from  all  pollution,  and  to 
be  considered  as  peculiarly  sacred ;  and  therefore  it 
is  an  awful  thing  to  do  any  thing  which  tends  to  de- 
stroy it  Which  temple  ye  are— Called  and  intend- 
ed to  be  such. 

Verses  lS-20.  Let  no  man  deceive  himself— ffei- 
ther  teacher,  by  propagating  errors  through  pride  of 
his  own  understanding;  nor  heaters,  by  a  factious 
preferrmg  of  one  above  another  for  his  gifts.  If 
any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  vise  in  this 
world — Be  wise  with  respect  to  the  things  of  this 
world  only,  and  on  that  account  be  puffed  up  with 
pride ;  let  him  become  a  fool — Such  as  the  world 
accounts  so ;  let  him  renounce  his  carnal  wisdom, 
and  submit  to  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  which  the 
world  considers  as  folly;  thai  he  may  be— Prove 
himself  to  be,  wwc— Namely,  spiritually,  and  in 
God'a  account;  wise  in  matters  that  concern  his 
everhffiting  salvation.  For  the  wisdom  of  this  world 
— However  men  may  boast  of  it,  and  think  highly 
143 


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The  apo§ae  shows  fn  what  acc^mnt  I.  CORINTHIANS. 


minisim^  ought  to  be  hM. 


A.  11 4063.  nesB  with  God.    For  it  is  written, 
f  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own 


A.D.6(K 


craftiness. 
20     And 


again, 


The 


the  thoughts   of    the   wise, 


Lord    knoweth 
that   they   are 


vain. 


rJobT.13.- 


^Tml  xetr.  IL— — *  Chap.  i.  12 ;  ir.  6 ; 
yenM4,5,e. 


of  themselves  becau^  they  suppose  tiiey  possess  it ; 
is  foolishness  with  God— Is  accounted  so  by  him. 
For  it  is  written,  (Job  v.  13,  where  see  the  note,) 
He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness--^ot  only 
while  they  thiidc  they  are  acthig  wisely,  but  by  their 
T^ry  wisdom,  which  itself  is  their  snare,  and  (he  oc- 
casion of  their  destruction.  In  other  words,  they 
are  entangled  and  brought  to  ruin  by  those  subtle 
contrivuices,  whereby  they  thought  to  secure  them- 
selves. The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  the  wise 
—The  worldly  wise,  or  of  those  that  think  themselves 
wise;  that  they  are  voif^— Empty,  foolish,  unprofit- 
able, hieffectual  to  secure  themselves  against  God. 

Verses  21-23.  Therefore— Upon  the  whole,  con- 
sidering all  that  has  been  advanced,  and  especially 
considering  in  what  view  the  great  God  regards  these 
things  whidi  we  are  so  ready  to  value  ourselves 
upon ;  let  no  man  glory  in  men — So  as  to  divide  into 
parties  on  their  account ;  for  all  things  are  yours—- 
And  we  in  particular.    We  are  not  your  iords,  but 


21  Therefore  4et  no  maq  glory  in  a.  H.  40t3. 
men :  for  ^  all  things  are  yours ;  ', '. L 

22  Whettter  F^ul,  or  ApoOoe,  or  Cephas,  or 
the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or 
things  to  come ;  afl  are  yours ; 

23  And  lye  are  Christ's:  and  Christ  i»  God's. 


kSCor.  ir.  5,15. iR«n.xiT.8;  Ch^zLS;  3  Cor.  z.  7; 

GaL  iii.  39. 


rather  your  servants:  whether  Pend,  or  Apollos,or 
Cephas— yfe  are  aU  equally  yours,  fo  serve  you  for 
Christ's  sake:  or  the  worldr^This  leap,  from  Peter 
to  the  world,  greatly  enlarges  the  thought,  and  ar- 
gues a  kind  of  impatience  of  enumerating  the  rest. 
Peter,  and  every  one  in  the  whole  world,  however 
excellent  In  gifts,  or  grace,  or  office,  are  alsO  your 
servants  for  Chrisf s  sake ;  or  life  or  deo/^— These, 
with  ail  thehr  various  circumstances,  are  disposed  as 
will  be  most  for  your  advantage ;  or  things  present — 
On  earth,  or  things  to  come— In  heaven.  Contend 
therefore  no  more  about  these  littlethings,  but  be  ye 
united  in  love  as  ye  are  in  blessings.  And  ye  are 
Chrisfs—Uis  property,  his  subjects,  his  members ; 
and  Christ  is  Go^s—Ab  Mediator,  he  acted  as  his 
Father's  servant,  and  referred  all  his  services  to  his 
Father's  glory.  Others  understand  the  passage 
thus:  ^  All  things  are  ^pointed  for  your  good,  and 
ye  are  appointed  for  Christ's  honour,  and  Christ  for 
God's  glory." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

As  a  further  antidoUagaitut  the  fride  and  ihs  factious  spkil  working 
the  aposOe,  in  this  chapter,  (1,)  Leads  them  iido  several  useful  reflections  on  the  nature  of  the  mimsterial  qjfice,  and  the 
final  judgment  of  JHRtk  who  searches  all  hearts,  1-6.  (%)  Represents  the  obligations  they  tDcre  under  to  the  divine  good- 
ness for  every  advantage  by  which  they  were  distinguished  from  others,  and  cautions  them  against  thinking  highly  of 
themselves  on  account  of  what  they  had  received,  and  against  despising  him  and  his  fellow-servants,  on  account  of  the 
ignominious  treatment  they  met  with  from  the  world;  which  trcatmctU  he  contrasts  ufith  that  easy  staU  in  which  the  Co- 
rinthians were,  6-13.  (3,)  He  claims  th&ir  regard  to  him  as  their  spirittud  father  in  Christ,  14-16.  (4,)  He  shows  thai, 
m  great  concern  for  them,  he  had  sent  Timothy  to  them,  and  intended  himself  to  come  and  rectify  disorders  among  them^ 
warning  them  not  to  force  him  to  use  severity,  which  he  was  very  averse  to  do,  17-21. 

\'^^  T  ET*  a  man   so  account  of  us,    »»and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  a.  M.  4003. 
A^u^59^  -^  as  of  •  the  ministers  of  Christ,    God.  ^'^'^' 


^  Third  Sunday  in  Advent,  epistlo,  rent  \ 
to  rorse  6. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verse  1.  Let  a  man,  &c.--Having  warned  the  be- 
lievers at  Corinth  against  entertaining  an  undue  es- 
teem for  their  own  ministers,  he  now  proceeds  to 
show  them  in  what  light  they  ought  to  view  all  true 
ministers  of  Christ:  and  lest,  from  what  was  ad- 
vanced in  the  preceding  chapters  concerning  the 
inspiration  of  the  apostles  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  these 
Corinthians  should  imagine  that  Paul  claimed  to 
himself  and  his  brethren  an  authority  not  derived 
144 


»Malt.  xxir.  45;  Chap.  iii.  5;  ix.  17;  8  Cor.  ti.  4 ;  Col  1 
86. *Lukeiii.  48;  Tit  i.  7;  1  Pet  ir.  10. 


from  Christ,  he  here  tells  them  that  even  the  apos- 
tles were  only  Christ's  servants ;  obliged  in  all  things 
to  act  in  entire  subjection  to  him;  and  obedience  to 
his  will.  So  account  of  us  as  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ— The  original  word,  vmfperac,  properly  sig- 
nifies such  servants  as  laboured  at  the  oar  in  rowing 
vessels,  and  accordingly  intimates  the  pains  which 
every  fahhful  minister  of  Christ  takes  In  his  Lord's 
work.  O  God!  where  are  these  ministers  to  be 
found?   Lord,  thou  knowest !  and  sttirarda  of  the 

b 


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GHAPTiat  IV. 


ike  CorifUhioM  were  umier  to  Ood* 


JL  M.  4063.    2  Moreover,  it  is  required  in  eHew- 
>---.-^ ank  that  a  mim  be  fi»iiid  feithfuL 

3  But  with  me  it  is  a  very  snudl  thing  that  I 
should  be  judged  of  you,  or  of  man's  ^judg- 
ment :  yea,  I  judge  not  mine  owli  self. 

4  For  I  know  nothing  by  myself;  *»yetam 
I  not  hereby  justified:  but  be  Uiat  judgeth 
me  is  die  Lord. 

5  *  Therefore  judge  nothing  befiJre  the  time, 
until  the  Lord  come,  *  who  both  will  bring  to 
light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  Will 
make   manifest  the  counsels  oi  the  hearts: 


^  Or. dtty ;  Chap.  iiL  13. ^  Job iz. 2;  Pn. oxxx. 3 ;  cxliii.  2 ; 

PrOT.  xxi.  2 ;  Rom.  iii.  20 ;  ir.  2. *Malt.  vii.  1 ;  Rom.  ii.  1 ,  16 ; 

xiv.  4, 10, 13 ;  Rev.  xx.  12. •Chap.  iii.  13. 


myeieriee  of  Gr<x^— Dispensem  of  the  mysterioas 
truths^  of  the  gospel.  '^The  apostle  grres  to  those 
doctrines,  whi^  in  former  ages  had  been  kept  se- 
cret, but  which  were  now  discovered  to  all  through 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the  appellsttbn  of  the 
mysteries  of  Cfod^  to  recommend  them  to  the  Co- 
rinthians. And  he  calls  himself  the  steward  of  these 
mysteries,  to  mtimate,  that  the  deepest  doctrines,  as 
well  as  the  first  principles  of  the  gospel,  were  in- 
trusted to  him  to  be  dispensed  or  made  known."^ 
Maeknight. 

Verses  2-5.  Mbreoner^^ks  for  what  remains  to 
be  done  in  the  discharge  of  this  office;  it  is  required 
of  stewards— Since  they  also,  as  well  as  lower 
servants  in  the  family,  are  subject  to  account ;  that 
a  man  be  found  faithful — Thlat  he  act  according  to 
his  commission,  and  neither  withhold  any  privilege, 
or  any  part  of  God's  wiU  from  the  people ;  nor  de- 
liver his  own  notions  as  the  will  of  Ciod,  nor  take 
more  authority  upon  him  than  Qod  has  given  him; 
as  also  that  he  discover  and  comnranicate  divine 
truths  and  blessings  as  the  hea^rs  are  able  to  re- 
ceive them.  With  me  it  is  a  very  smalt  tJUng—K 
thhig  that  concerns  me  very  little ;  thcU  I  should  he 
judged  of  you — Iva  fafOKpt^a^  that  I  should  he  ex- 
amined^ as  the  word  properly  signifies,  namely,'in 
order  to  the  being  judged,  or  to  a  judicial  sentence 
being  passed,  which  is  evidently  the  meaning  of  the 
same  word  in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse;  or  of 
man^s  judgment-^h  judgment  passed  by  any  man 
whatsoever,  though  in  the  most  solemn  manner. 
The  original  expression,  av^p^newiK  n/^^pacj  is  literally, 
human  day  ;  namely,  ofjudgment,  in  allusion  to  the 
great  day  ofjudgment  Yea^  I  judge  not  myself-^ 
Namely,  finally,  infellibly,  definitively:  my  final 
state  is  not  to  be  determined  by  my  own  judgment. 
For  I  know  nothing  hy  myself— I  am  not  conscious 
to  myself  of  doing  any  thing  evil,  or  Of  any  uAfaith- 
fVilness  or  negligence  in  the  discharge  of  my  minis- 
try ;  yet  am  I  not  hereby  jusHjied—KeqxiiiXQA  from  all 
fault  in  God's  sight,  who  observes  those  failings  in 
us  which  we  cannot  discehi  in  ourselves ;  for  who 
can  understand  his  errors?  Psa.  xix.  12:  or,  I  do 
not  dcpendjon  my  own  eonseienee  not  condemning 
me,  as  a  sufifeient  Justification  of  myself  in  God's 

Vol.  n.  (  10  ) 


aad   ^then  shall  every  man  have  a.  m. 4963. 
praise  of  God.  

6  And  these  things,  brethren,  '  I  have  in  a' 
figure  traiisfened  to  myself,  and  to  ApoUoi,  tor 
your  tokes :  ^  that  ye  might  learn  in  us  not  1o 
think  of  men  above  that  which  is  writt«n, 
that  no  one  of  you  'be  pufibd  up  for  one 
against  another. 

7  Fw  who  *  moketh  thee  to  differ  from  anth 
ther  I  and  ^  what  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not 
receive  ?  now  if  thou  didst  receive  t/,  why  dost 
thjou  glory,  as  if  thou  hadst  not  received  U  7 


f  Rom.  ii.  29 ;  2  Cor.  t.  10. c  Chap.  i.  12 ;  iii.  4. —     

xii.  3. '  Chap,  iii,  21 ;  v.  2,  6. ^»  Gr.  disiinguuheth  thee. 

*  John  iii.  27 ;  Jftmes  i.  17 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  10. 


sight:  hitt  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord — ^By  his 
sentence  I  must  stand  or  fall.  Therefore  jtidge 
nothing  hefore  the  titne — Appointed  for  judghig  all 
men;  until  the  Lord  cofnc-*To  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness;  who — ^In  order  to  pass  a  ri^teous 
judgment,  which  otherwise  would  be  impossible; 
will  hoth  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  dark- 
ness— The  things  covered  with  the  veil  of  impene- 
trable obscurity,  and  wiU  make  manifest  the  coun- 
sels of  the  heart — ^The  most  secret  springs  of  action, 
the  principles  and  intentions  of  every  heart:  and 
then  shall  etery  man— Who  is  sincere,  faithful,  and 
praiser^orth/;  havepraiee  ofOod—BiXth  commend- 
ation and  reward. 

Verses  6,  7.  And  these  f^Cwg^*— Mentioned  chap. 
i.  10,  &c.,  iii.  4,  &c. ;  /  have  in  a  figure  very  obvi- 
ously transferred  to  myself  and  ApoUos — And  Ce- 
phas, mste«^  of  naming  those  particular  preaehers 
at  Corinth,  to  whom  you  are  so  fondly  attached ; 
thai  ye  might  learn  in  us — From  what  has  been  said 
concerning  us ;  not  to  think  of  any  man  above  what 
is  written — Here  or  elsewhere,  in  God's  word ;  that 
is,  above  what  Scripture  warrants ;  not  to  set  a  high- 
er value  upon  any  of  your  teachers,  or  their  gifts 
and  abilities,  than  what  I  have  expressed,  chap.  iii. 
6-8,  agreeable  to  Scripture ;  namely,  that  they  are 
only  instruments  in  Ood's  hand,  and  that  all  the  suc- 
cess of  their  labours  depends  on  his  blessing.  Thus 
this  great  apostle,  by  stripping  himself  of  all  honour, 
and  by  taking  to  himself  the  simple  character  of  a 
servant  of  Christ,  taught  the  heads  of  the  faction  to. 
lay  aside  their  boasting,  and  behave  with  modesty, 
especially  as  all  the  teachers  at  Corimh  did  nothing 
but  build  Upon  the  foundation  which  he  had  laid, 
and  exercised  no  spiritual  gift  but  what  they  had  re- 
ceived, either  through  him  or  through  some  other 
apostle^  That  none  of  you  he  puffed  up  for  one 
against  another— Thtii  you  should  not  value  your- 
selves by  reason  of  your  relation  to,  or  dependance 
upon,  oiie  teacher  more  than  another,  thereby  mag- 
nifying one,  and  vilifying  another.  F^  who  mo- 
keth thee  to  <ltjfer^Either  in  gifts  or  graces ;  or  who 
has  so  far  advanced  thee  in  point  of  wisdom  and 
judgment  above  all  other  believers,  as  that  thou 
canst  by  thy  own  authorityj  set  up  any  one  teacher 
145  b 


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>r€%rirt'*«dte.^ 


A.  H.  4063. 
A.D.59. 


8  Now  yeaiefiill,  *  now  ye  are  rich, 
ye  have  reigned  as  kings  jwithout  us : 
and  I  would  to  God  ye  did  reign,  that  wc  also 
might  re^n  with  you. 

9  For  I  think  that  God  hath  set  forth^us  the 
apostles  last,  "^  as  it  were  appdnted  to  death.: 
for  *  we  are  made  a  ^spectacle  unto  the  world, 
and  to  angels,  and  to  men.    ' 

10  ^  We  are  '  fodB  for  Christ's  sake,  but  ye 


*  Rer.  iiL  17. »  Or,uath9  laH  amotdu,  «.r »  Pam.  xUy. 

38:  Rom.  riU.  36 ;  Ch^.  xr.  30,  31 ;   2  Cor.  iv.  11 ;  vi.  9. 

»  Heb.  X.  33. *  Or.  ih»ain. «>  Chap,  it  3. ^P  Acta  xvii.  18 ; 

xzri  24;  Chap.  i.  18,  6cc. ;  ii.  14;  lii.  18;  2  Kings  ix.   11. 
42Cor.  xiii.  9. 


above  another  ?  What  host  thou  that  thou  didst  not 
receive— ¥iom  God,  who  has  given  as  mueh  to 
others  also  ?  Why  dost  thou  glory — Or  boast  in  the 
unmerited  gift  of  his  liberal  goodness;  ds  if  thou 
hadst  not  received  it  ? — As  if  thou  hadst  it  originally 
from,  thyself? 

Verse  8.  Now  ye  are  fuU—Uhe  Corinthians 
abounded  with  spiritual  gifts;  and  so  did  the  apos- 
tles. But  the  apostles,  by  continual  want  and  suf- 
ferings, were  preserved  from  self-complacency.  The 
Corinthians  suffered  nothing ;  *and  having  plenty  of 
all  things^  were  pleased  with  and  applauded  them- 
selves. And  they  were  like  children  who,  being 
raised  in.  the  world,  disregard' their  poor  parents. 
NotD  ye  arejtdlf  says  the  apostle,  in  a  beautiful  gra- 
dation; ye  are  rich;  ye  have  reigned  as  kings — A 
proverbial  expression,  denoting  the  most  splendid 
and  plentiful  circumstances;  without  us — That  is, 
without  any  thought  of  us;  or,  by  the  ministry  of 
your  own  teachers,  without  our  help.  And  I  tootM 
to  God  ye  did  reign — In  the  best  sense :  I  would  ye 
had  attained  to  an  eminence  of  grace  and  hoUness 
as  weU  as  of  gifts ;  that  we  also  tfiight  reign  with 
yaw— rMight  have  up  more  sorrow  on  your  account. 

Verse  9.  For  God  hath  set  forth  us  the  apostles^ 
And  all  faithful  ministers;  lasty  as  it  were  appoint- 
ed to  death— ^^  alludes  to  the  Roman  theatrical 
spectacles,  in  which  those  persons  were  brought 
forth  last  on  the  stage,  either  to  fight  with  each 
other,  or  with  wild  beasts,  who  were  devoted  to 
death;  so  that  if  they  escaped  one  day,  they  were 
brought  out  again  and  again,  till  they  were  killed. 
For,  from  a  passage  of  Seneca'a  Epistles,  quoted  by 
Whitby,  it  appears  that  in  the  morning  those  crimi- 
nals, to  whom  they  ^ve  a  chance  of  escaping  with 
their  lives,  fought  with  the  wild  beasts  armed.  But 
in  ihe  afternoon  the  gladiators  fought  naked,  and 
he  who  escaped  was  only  reserved  for  slaughter  to 
another  day;  so  that  they  might  well  be  called 
eiTit^ovaruif,  persons  appointed  to  death,  "  By  com- 
paring the  apostles  to  these  devoted  persons,  Paul 
hath  given  us  a  strong  and  affecting  picture  of  the 
dangers  which  the  apostles  encountered  in  the>course 
of  their  minbtry;  da^ers  which  at  length  proved 
fatal  to  most  of  them.  Their  labours  and  sufferings 
were  greater  Jlhan  those  of  the  ancient  prophets."  A 
spectadetothe  world,  to  angels,  and  to  inen—'* By  j 
146 


ar^wise  in  Christ;  ^we  ar« weak,  a.il40«3. 
but  ye  are  8tr(»g ;  ye  ore  faoDOUiaUe,.-. — ^-^-^ 
but  we  are  despised. 

11  'Even  unto  this  present  hour  we  both 
hunger,  dnd  thirst,  and  'axe  naked,  and  ^are 
buffeted,  and  have  no  certain  dwelling^lace ; 

13  "  And  labour,  working  with  our  own 
bands.  '  Being  reviled,  we  bless ; .  bemg  peise- 
cuted,  we  suflbr  it ; 


'2  Cor.  ir.  8;    xi.  83-27;    Phil.  it.  12:- •Job  lodi.  6; 

Bom.  viii.  35.— ^ Acts  xxiii.  2. -"Acts  xviii.  3;   xx.  34; 

lTheM.u.9;  2  The«s.  iii.  8 ;  1  Tim.  ir- lOw *Matt.r.44; 

Luke  vi.  28 ;  xxiii.  34;  Act«  Tii.  60;  Rom-  xii.l4,  20;  1  Peter 
ii.  23;  iiu  9. 


the  angels,  to  whom  the  apostles  were  made  a  spec- 
tacle, some  understand  the  evil  angels,  who  may  be 
supposed  to  delight  in  the  blood  of  the  martyrs. 
Others  understand  the  good  angels,  to  whom  the 
faith  and  constancy  of  the  apostles  gave  great  joy. 
PrpbaUy  both  were  intended.  For  it  must  have 
animated  the  apostleci  in  combating  with  their  per- 
secutors, to  think  that  they  were  disappointing  the 
malice  of  evil  spirits,  while  they  were  making  the 
angels  in  heaven  and  good  .men  on  earth  happy,  by 
the  faith,  and  patience,  and  fortitude^  whidi  they 
were  exerting  in  so  nobl^a  cause."— ^acknight 

Verses  10-13.  We  are  fools— In  the  account  of 
the  world,  for  Chrisfs  «alee^Because  we  expose 
ourselves  to  so  many  dangers  and  sufferings  for  his 
cause :  or  because  we  preach  the  plain  truths  of  the 
gospel,  and  affirm  such  high  flings  of  one  who  was 
crucified  as  a  malefactor.  But  ye  are  wise  in  Christ 
—Though  ye  are  Christians,  ye  think  yourselves 
wise ;  and  ye  have  found  means  to  make  the  world 
think  so  too :  or,  you  thipk  you  have  found  out  a  way 
at  once  of  securing  the  blessings  of,  the  gosp^  and 
escaping  its  inconveniences  and  persecuUoBs.  We 
are  weak— In  {Hresence,  in  infirmities,  and  in  suffer* 
ings:  but  ye  are  strong— Jxisi  in  opposite  circum* 
stances.  Ye  are  honourabte— Adorned  with  extra- 
ordinary gifts,  in  which  you  are  ready  to  glory,  and 
some  of  you  appeajr  in  circumstances  of  external 
distinction  j  but  we  are  despised— Tre&ied  with  con- 
tempt wherever  we  come.  Or  the  apostle  may  be 
considered  in  this  verse  as  repeating  ironically  the 
things  which  his  enemies  in  Corinth  said  of  him, 
and  a^  attributing  to  them,  in  the  same  spirit  of 
irony,  the  contrary  qualities.  Even  unto.  this,  pre- 
sent Aour— Not  only  at  our  first  entrance  upon  our 
ofi[ice,  when  all  the  world  was  set  against  Christian- 
ity, but  still,  though  many  thousands  are  converted; 
we  both  hunger  and  thirsty  &e.r-Are  destitute  of 
necessary  food  and  apparel,  and  exposed  to  wants  of 
all  sorts.  Who  can  imagine  a  more  glorious  triumph 
of  the  truth  than  that  which  is  gained  in.  these  cir* 
cumstances?  When  Paul,  with  an  impediment  in 
his  speech,  and  a  person  rather  contemptible  than 
graceful,  appeared  in  a  mean,  perhaps  tattered  dress, 
before  persons  of  the  highest  distiiiction,  and  yet 
commanded  such  aitention,  and  made  such  deep  im- 
pressions upon  them!  Beimg  reviled^  we  bless^ 
(  10*  )  b 


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■  Varioui  perili  to  i»hich  ihe 


CHAPTER  IV. 


aposUes  were  often  exposed. 


A.  H.  4063.  13  Being  de&med,  we  entreat :  ^  we 
_*J — L  are  made  as  the  filth  of  the  world,  and 
are  the  off-scouring  of  all  things  unto  this  day. 

14  I  write  not  these  things  to  shame  yon, 
but  'as  my  bdbved  sons  I  warn  yot^ 

15  For  though  ye  have  ten  thousand  in- 
structers  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  &- 
there :  for  *  in  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten 
you  through  &e  goqpeL 

16  Wherefore,  I  beseech  you,  *be  ye  follow- 
ers of  me. 

17  For  this  cause  have  I  sent  unto  you  ""  Ti- 


y Lam.  Ui.  45. '  1  Thess. ii.l]«— ^^ Acts  XTiii.  U ;  Rom. zt. 

aO;  Chap,  iil  6 ;  GaL  hr.  19 ;  Philem.  10 ;  Jam.  i.  18. »» CHiap. 

xi  1 :  PhiL  iii.  17 ;  IThess.  i.  6  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  9. «  Acts  xix. 

22 ;  Ob^  xn.  10 ;  PhiL  iL  19. 


suffer  it^  entreat— Vfe  do  not  return  revilings,  perse- 
cution, defamation ;  nothing  but  blessing.  We  are 
foade  as  the  filth  of  the  v>orld,  and  the  ^-scouring 
of  all  things — Such  were  those  poor  wretches  among 
the  heathen,  who  were  taken  from  the  dregs  of  the 
people  to  be  offered  as  expiatory  sacrifices  to  the 
infernal  gods.  They  were  loaded  with  curses,  af- 
fronts, and  injuries,  all  the  way  they  went  to  the 
altars.  And  When  the  ashes  of  those  unhappy  men 
were  thrown  into  the  sea,  those  very  names  were 
giTcn  them  in  the  ceremony. 

Verses  14-16.  I  write  not  these  things  to  sharne 
you — Publicly  to  disgrace  you,  and  staift  your  credit 
with  other  churches;  htU  as  my  beloved  sons  J  warn 
you — Show  you  in,  a  mild  4nd  tender  wa^jr  what  is 
wrong  in  your  conduct,  and  put  you  in  mind  of 
your  duty.  It  is  with  admirable  prudence  and 
sweetness  the  apostle  adds  this,  to  prevent  any  un- 
kind construction  of  his  words.  For  though  you 
have  ten  thousand  instrueters — To  advance  you  in 
the  knowledge'  of  Christ;  yet  have  ye  not  many 
fathers;  to  convert  you  to  Chrbt ;  for  in  .Christ 
Jesus — ^By  his  blessing  upon  my  labours ;  /  have 
begotten  you  trough  U^  gospel — ^Be^n  the  first 
instrument  of  your  conversion.  This  excludes,  not 
only  Apollos,  his  successor,  but  also  Silas  and 
Timothy,  his  companions.  And  the  relation  between 
a  spiritual  father  and  hiSvChildren  brrogs  with  it  an 
inexpressible  nearness  and  affection.  Be  ye  foUow- 
ers  of  me— la  that  spirit  and  behaviour  which  I  have 
0O  Uurgely  declared. 

Verse  17.  For  this  cause — That  you  may  be 
better  able  to  trace  my  steps,  and  may  be  animated 
to  do  it  with  the  greater  care ;  /  have  sent  unto  you 
Thmotheus,  m/y  beUxved  ton— One  whom  I  love  with 
an  entire  fatherly  affection,  as  if  he  were  my  son, 
2  Tim.  L  2.  Elsewhere  he  styles  him  brother^  but 
here  paternal  affection  takes  place.  And  faithful 
in  the  Lord— In  the  Lord's  work,  (Phil  ii.  20^)  and 
by  his  iLiSiManoef  who  shall  bring  you  into  remem- 
brance of  my  way^—My  Christian  course  of  life  for 
yodr  imitation,  verse  10.  As  I  teach  everywhere 
Aeeording  to  tiie  constant  tenor  of  ray  preaching. 
With  regard  to  Pinl's  sending  Timothy  to  Corinth, 
the  case  seems  to  have  been  this:  the  great  success 
b 


motheus,  '  who  is  my  beloved  son,  A  M.  4063. 
and  feitWul  in  the  Lord,  who  shall    ^'^'^ 
bring   you  *into  remembrance  of  my  ways 
whkh  be  in  Christ,  as  I  ^teach  everywhere 
'  in  every  church. 

18  ^  Now  some  are  puffed  up,  as  though  I 
would  not  come  to  you. 

19  '  But  I  will  come  to  you  shortly,  ^  if  the 
Lord  wiQ,  and  will  know,  not  the  speech  eft 
them  which  are  puffed  up,  but  the  power. 

?0  For  ^4he  kingdom  of  God  t«  not  in  word, 
butinpowen 


'1  Tim.  i.  2:  9 Tim.  I  2, •Chapter  zL  2.. 'Chapter 

▼it  17. «  Chapter  xi?.  33. »» Chapter  t.  2. *Acte 

xix.  21 ;    Chapter  xvi  5 ;    2  Corinthians  i.  15,  23. ^  Acts 

xriii.  21.        *  Chapter  ii.  4. 


with  which  the  apostle  preached  at  Ephesus  having 
induced  him  to  remain  a  while  longer  there,  after  he 
heard  of  the  dissensions  in  Corinth,  he  judged  it 
proper  to  send  Timothy  and  Erastus  into  Macedo- 
nia, (of  which  mentiou  is  made  Acts  xix.  22,)  to 
learn  how  matters  stood  at  Corinth.  And  if,  on  the 
information  they  received,  they  should  judge  their 
presence  would  be  of  use  in  composing  the  disagree- 
ments among  the  Corinthians,  they  were  to  go  for- 
ward and  attempt  it,  by  putting  them  in  remem- 
brance of  the  apostle's  doctrine  and  practice.  Yet 
it  appears  from  chap.  xvi.  10,  where  he  says,  if 
Timothy  come^  that  he  was  uncertain -whether  he 
went  to  Corinth  or  not 

Verses  18-21.  Now  some  are  pvffed  vp — Are 
grown  insolent ;  as  though  I  would  not  come — To 
censure  them  for  their  misconduct,  and  to  reform 
abuses  J  fancying  that,  because  I  have  sent  Timothy, 
I  am  not  coming  myself,  being  afraid  to  appear  in  a 
place  where  I  have  so  many  opposers.  The  j^ostlc 
saw,  by  a  divine  li^^t,  the  thoughts  which  would 
arise  in  their  hearts.  But  I  will  come  to  you  shortly 
— So  he  purposed  in  spirit,  (Acts  xix.  21,)  intending 
to  take  Macedonia,  in  his  way ;  if  the  Lord  will — 
Who  guides  us  in  all  our  journeys.  Acts  xvi.  7-10; 
Gral.  ii,  2;  and  will  know — Consider,  examine,  and 
find  out ;  not  the  speech  of  them  that  are  puffed  vp 
—Their  specious  profession  of  religion,  and  vain 
ostentation  of  knowledge  and  eloquence ;  bid  the 
poir«r-r-How  much  of  the  power  of  God  attends  the 
ministrations  of  such  of  them  as  take  upon  them  to 
teach,  and  how  much  true  and  vital  godliness  is  found 
in  their  disciples.  For  the  kingdom,  of  Crod— Real, 
genuine  religion,  Bom.  xiv.  17;  is  not  in  word— 
Does  not  consist  in  empty  professions,  and  vain 
boastings,  nor  in  delivering  elegant  and  eloquent  dis- 
courses; 6uf  in  poipcr— Namely,  the  power  of  God, 
creating  men  anew,  and  governing  their  hearts  and 
lives  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  and  obedience  to 
his  holy  will.  What  wiU  yc— What,  on  the  whole, 
do  ye  desire?  Shall  I  come  unto  you  with  a  rod— 
To  chastise  by  the  exercise  of  my  apostolic  power? 
j  Will  you,  by  persisting  in  your  dissensions  and  dis- 
orders, compel  me  to  come  in  this  spirit,  and  for  this 
I  purpose?  Or  in  love^  and  a  spirit  of  meekness— 
147 
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The  (^sile  reproves  the 


t  C0I^PCTHI4NS. 


Chiifiijkig9^f4frJorni^^ 


A.  M.  4063.      21     What     win    ye  ?     »  shall 

A.D.  59.       T  \  •.!_  J 

I    come   unto    you    with   a    rod, 


•«0(wr.x.2i: 


Commending  and  oomfortiug,  instend  of  ch^ti^ipg  ? 
Win  you  amend  your  ways,  and  reform  what  is 
amiss,  that  I  may  be  kind  and  gentle  toward  you? 
The  apostle,  in  speaking  of  coming  with  a  fvdy 
afindes  to  the  power  whieh  he  and  the  other  apos- 
tlee  possessed  of  punishing  obetinate  offenders  by 
miracle.  For  that  they  had  often  jsuch  a  miraculous 
power,  extending  even  in  some  cases  of  aggravated 
oflbnce  to  the  inflicthig  of  temporal  death,  appears 
from  several  other  passages  of  Scripture;  (see  Acts 
y.  6,  &c ;  xiiL  10,  11 ;  1  Tim.  i.  20;)  and  is  referred 
to  more  than  once  or  twice  in  th^  epistles  to  the 


or   iu   love,  and   in  the.  filfril  o{  A.]iL4Qp.. 
ineeknegs?  K^.^-. 


.10. 


Corinthians;  <as  1  Cer^v^O^  2Gor.i.  28;  x^Dj  ft| 
xiiL2,3,ia)  And  here  we  see  the  wisdom  ofProfir 
dence  in  permitting  such  opposition  to  arise  against 
St.  Paul,  particulaify  at  Corinth;  as  it  gave  him  an 
opportunity  of  making  the  strongest  appeals  to  ^itet 
theyknew  of  his  miraculous  p6wer;  a|^;>^ls  whioi^ 
had  they  not  been  indeed  founded  on  ^e  nioat  cer* 
tain  and  evident  truth,  must,  instead  of  restoring  him 
to  their  regards,  (as  we  find  in  fact  they  did,)  have 
been  suflcient  of  themselves  utterly  to  have  ruined 
all  his  reputation  and  interest  among  theCorinthians, 
had  it  before  been  ever  so  great 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  apottUnou  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  trrepOaritks  whkh  prevailed  in  ^  church  at  Corinth ;.  and  here,  ih)  Censures 
the  Corinthtans  for  their  eonnioanee  at  the  sin  of  an  incestuous  person,  and  orders  thttH  to  separaUhimfrom  their  comm^ 
nion,  1-6.  («,)  Eixhorts  them  to  purge  out  every  thing  off ensive,  from  a  regard  to  Christ's  death  and  their  own  danger^ 
6-8.  (3,)  Directs  them  to  avoid  aUfamUiari^  with  such  professors  of  Christianity  as  disgraced  their  pnffessian  fy  their 
conduct,  even  to  afar  greater  degree  than  with  mere  heathens,  9-13. 


A.M.  4063. 

A.D.fie. 


and 


TT  is  reported  commonly  that 
—  there  is  fornication  amcHig  you, 
such   fornication   as    is    not  so  much 


»Eph.  r.  3.— -^Ler.  xriii.  8; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V, 
Verses  1, 2.  It  ia,  &c. — As  if  he  had  said,  I  have 
spoken  of  coming  to  you  with  a  rod  of  correction, 
and  it  is  too  probable  I  may  be  laid  under  a  necessity 
of  using  it,  though  it  be  an  unwilling  necessity:  for 
it  ia  commonly  reported  that  there  is  fornication 
practised  among  you — The  original  word,  nopvtia, 
implies  criminal  conversation  of  any  kind  whatever ; 
and  is  used  by  the  LXX.,  and  by  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  latitude  which  its  corres- 
pondent word  hath  in  the  Hebrew  language,  namely, 
to  denote  all  the  different  kinds  of  uncleanness  com^ 
mitted,  whether  between  men  and  women,  or  be- 
tween men,  or  with  beasts.  Accordingly  it  is  used 
in  the  plural  number,  chap.  vii.  2.  Here  the  word 
signifies  incest  joined  with  adiUtery,  the  woman's 
husband  being  still  living,  as  appears  from  2  Cor.  vii. 
12.  In  the  Old  Testament  whoredom  sometimes 
signifies  idolatry,  because  the  union  of  the  Israelites 
with  God  as  their  king  being  represented  by  God 
himself  as  a  marriage,  their  giving  themselves  up  to 
idolatry  was  considered  as  adultery..  /SfMCJiybmica- 
tion  as  is  not  named  among  the  Gentiles — Degene- 
rate as  they  arc,  and  abandoned  to  very  vile  prac- 
tices *f  but  is  generally  much  condenmed  and  detested. 
148 


as    *  named    among  the   Gentiles,  am.  4063. 

*that  one  should  have  his  ^father'B  -r r- 

wife. 


Dem.  x^i.  30 ;  xxtil  20.— -«  2  Cor.  Tii.  12r 


Accordingly  many  quotations  brought  by  Whitby  and 
others  on  this  text,  show  that  incest  wfts  held  in  high 
abomination  among  the  heathen.  And  an  enormity  , 
of  this  kind,  as  is  well  known,  is  caUed  by -Cicero^ 
scelus  incr^ibile  et  inauditum^  asiri$icrsdible  and 
unheardrof  wickedness,  Tliot  one  should  haiotr^ 
Should  cohabit  with,  or  should  marry,  hisjather's 
trt/«— His  step-mother,  and  that  dming  his  father's 
lifo.  ilndty^notwithstaBdhig;ArefMi^€d[tip-rGlQry 
in  3rour  present  condition,  (chap.  iv.  8, 10,)  and.  make 
an  ostentation  of  your  sphritual  gifts  to  the  negtaotv 
of  your  duty.  And  heme  not  r€Uhermaumedr^C^YerL 
evident  proofe  of  sorrow,  such  as  one  would  h^ve 
supposed  a  crime  like  this  should  have  occasioned  to 
the  whole  society,  throwing  every  meiaber  of  it  into 
a  state  of  humiliation  and  selMbasement}  thai  hs 
who  haiA  done  this  deed  might  be  taken  from  ammig 
yot«— Might,  at  tint  time  of  solemn  mouming,  have 
been  expelled .  from  your  commimim.  From  the 
Corinthians  tolerating  this  crime,  Maduiight  infers 
"that  the  guilty  person  waa  of  some  note  among 
them;  perhaps  one  of  the  teacbeni  of  the  faction, 
who,  being  greatly  admired  for  his  personal  qualifi- 
cations, had  escaped  censure  by  argvkig  that  such, 
marriages  weve  not  forbidden  by  the  gOQiBl."  "It  is. 


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Paul  ammalnds  that  the  guOtypenan        CHAPTER  V. 


ikauid  be  ddivered  unto  Sattm, 


A. M. 4063.  2 'And  ye  are  pufibd  Up^  and 
,^^'^  have  not  rather  ^mourned,  mat  he 
that  hath  done  this  deed  might  be  taken  away 
from  among"  you« 

3  'For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body,  but  pre- 
sent in  spirit^  have  ^judged  already  as  though 
I  were  present,  concerning  him  that  hath  so 
done  this  deed. 

4  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
when  ye  are  gathered  together,  and  my  spirit, 
'  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

5  ^  To  deliver  such  a  one  unto  '  Satan  for 


*  Chap.  ir.  la •  2  Cor.  vii.  7,  la '  CoL  ii.  5. » Or, 

dcffmufiMC^— cBfa^.  m.  19;  xrm.  18;  Jo)m*tz.  28;  2  C^r:  iL 

10;  xiu.  3,  10. kJob  U.  6;   Psa.  ciz.  6;    1  TW  i.  20. 

'  Ads  xzvi  ia*TT-k  Verse  2 ;  Chap.  uL  21 ;  ir.  Id ;  Jam.  ir.  16. 


remarkable,  that  ndlber  here,  nor  m  any  of  the 
pasnges  where  this  sflhir  is  spoken  o{^  is  tli^  woman 
mentioned,  who  was  the  ether  party  in  the  crime. 
iProbably  she  was  a  heathen,  consequently  not  sub- 
ject to  the  discipline  of  the  church.'' 

Verses  3-6.  /  verilyy  at  abeent — Or  though  ab- 
sent;  in  body,  but  preBtnt  in  spirit — Having  a  full 
(ft  seems  a  muraculous)  view  of  the  whole  £&ct; 
have  judged  already-^pBaaed  sentence  upon  himby 
my  apostolical  authority,  since  you  haye  neglected 
doing  it ;  as  though  Tioere  present — ^As  deliberate- 
ly, jtistly,  tuid  authoritatively;  that  hath  so  done-^ 
Hatb  acted  in  such  a  scandalous  manner.    In  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus — By  his  authority  and 
command;  when  ye  are  gathered  tog^er— In  an 
assembly  for  judgment,  and  calling  upon  his  name, 
Matt  xviii.  90 ;  and  my  spirit-r^emg  present  with 
you ;  twtfc  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus — To  con- 
firm what  yoo  do ;  to  deliver  sucha  one  to  Satan — 
To  expel  him  from  your  commuolon.    This  was 
the  highest  degree  of  puniijhment  in  the  Christian 
Church;  and  we  may  o^bserve,  the  passing  this  sen- 
tence was  the  pet  of  the  apostle,  not  of  the  Corinth- 
ians: wherenpon  usoally  followed  terrors  of  con- 
science, and  bodily  puns  or  diseases  inflicted  by 
Satan,  theternble  executioner  of  the  divine  justice 
and  displeasure.  For  the  destruction — Though  slow- 
ly and  gradually;  o/fA«jle*^— Unless  prevented  by 
iqpeedy  repentance  ;  that  the  spiril-^Beirkg  brought 
to  true  contrition  and  hnmillation ;  may  be  saved^ 
From  those  infinitely  more  insupportable  and  ever- 
lasting agonies  to  which  itmightotherwise  be  doom- 
ed.   It  was  observed,  in  the  note  on  chap.  iv.  21, 
ihat  the  apostles  were  empowered  to  punish  noto- 
rious oflenders  miraculously  with  diseases  and  death. 
And  doidrtless  the  eommand  here  given  by  the  sh[>os- 
lle  to  deliver  the  incestuous  person  to  Satan,  was  an 
exertion  of  that  power,  especially  as  it  was  to  be 
done  at  the  command  of  the  insphred  apostle,  and 
by  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus.    ^'  Accordingly 
Chryaostom,   Tliec^hylact,  and  (Ecumenius  con- 
jectured, tiiatin  consequence  of  his  being  delivered 
to  Satan,  the  offender's  body  was  weakened  and 
wasted  by  some  pain  All  disease.    The  Latin  fathers 
b 


the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  ibsLi  the  a.  h.4061 
spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the    ^^'^ 
Lord  Jesus. 

6  ^  Your  glorying  is  not  good.  Know  ye 
not,  &at  ^8L  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whde 
lump? 

7  Purge  out  therefore  the  (M  leaven,  that 
ye  may  be  a  new  lump,  as  ye  are' unleavened. 
For  even  ■  Christ  our  "^passover  'is  sacrificed 
foi  us : 

8  Hierefore  "*  let  us  keep  '  the  feast,  >  not 
with  (M  leaven,  ndther  ^  with  the  leaven  of  ma^ 


^  Chapter  xr.  33 ;  G*L  t.  9 ;  2  Tim-  ii  17. ■Isi.  t.  3,  7: 

iokn  129;  Oiap.  zr.  3;  1  Pet.  L  19;  Rev.  y.  S,  12. > Jolui 

xix.  14.—*  Or,  w  tlam.    ,    "  Ezod.  xik  15 ;  xiii.  6. •  Or, 

hoUdt^, pDeut.  xn.  3. 4  Matt.  zvi.  6, 12 ;  Luke  zii.  1. 


and  Beza^  however^  thought  no  such  effect  followed 
that  sentence;  because  when  the  Corinthians  were 
ordered  (2  Cor.  ii.  7)  to  forgive  him,  no  mention  is 
made  of  fMiy  bodily  disease  that  was  to  be  removed 
from  him.  Wherefore,  by  the  destruction  of  the 
fleshy  they  understood  the  destruction  of  the  of- 
fender^ pride,  lu^t^  and  other  fleshly  passions; 
which  they  thought  would  be  mortified,  when  he 
found  himself  despised  and  shunned  by  alL  This 
interpretation,  however,  does  not,  in  my  opinion," 
says  Macknight,  ^  agree  with  the  threatenings 
written  1  Cor.  iv.  21 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  1, 2, 10 ;  nor  with 
the  apostle^s  design  in  inflicting  that  punishment 
For  when  the  faction  found  the  offender's  flesh 
wasted  by  some  grievous  disease,  in  consequence  of 
the  ^pestle's  sentence,  it  cpuld  not  l^il  to  terrify 
such  of  them  as  were  capable  of  serious  thought" 
Verses  6t8^  Your  glorying — Of  the  flourishing 
state  of  your  church,  or  of  your  gifts,  at  such  a  time 
as  this ;  is  not  good—hi  very  unseasonable,  your 
church  being  deflled  by  tolerating  such  vicesj  and 
thereby  exposed  to  God's  judgments,  and  also  in 
danger  of  infection  from  such  an  example.  Know 
ye  no<— Who  boast  so  much  of  your  knowledge; 
(hat  a  little  leavetir—One  sin  or  one  sinner ;  leavefk- 
eth  the  whole  ^i^fTip— Difluses  guilt  and  infection 
perhaps  through  a  whole,  religious  society  or  con- 
gregation;  that  is,  this  single  example,  if  tolerated, 
will  infect  others,  and  draw  them  to  the  like  evil 
practices.  Purge  outy  therefore!,  the  old  -leaven — 
Both  of  sinners  and  of  sin ;  that  ye  may  be  a  new 
hmp-^ThsX  your  whole  church  may  be  a  holy  so- 
ciety^ as  ye  are  unleavened— Aa,  by  profession, 
you  are  obliged  to  be  saints,  and  s^[>arated  from  sin, 
or  that,  being  unleavened,  ye  may  t>e  a  new  lump, 
holy  unto  the  Lord.  For  even  Christ  our  passh 
over— Who  was  represented  by  the  paschallamb, 
John  u29',  is  sacrificed  for  us — Has  been  slain  to 
make  satisfaction  for  our  sins,  chap.  xv.  3.  As  if  he 
had  said,  It  concerns  you  to  let  nothing  of  leaven, 
nothing  of  sin,  be  found  about  you,  because  as 
Christians  we  are  now  keeping  a  perpetual  passover, 
of  which  the  Jewish  passover  (about  the  time  of 
which  this  epistle  was  written)  was  only  a  type. 
149 


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The  Corinthians  are  commanded 


I.  CORINTHIANS. 


to  ptU  away  wicked  persons. 


▲.M.4oe3.  lice  and  wickedness;  bvit  with  the  un- 
^   •^'    leavened&reocfof  sincerity  and  ^th, 

9  I  wrote  unto  you  in  an  epistle,  *  not  to 
company  with  fornicators : 

10  "Yet  not  altogethet  with  the  fomicatoi^ 
•  of  this  world,  or  with  the  covetous,  or  extor 
doners,  or  mth  idolaters:  for  then  must  ye 
Qeeds  go  "  out  of  the  world* 

11  But  now  I  have  written  unto  you  not  to 
keep  company,  '  if  any  man  that  is  called  a 


r  Veraes  2,  7 ;   2  Cor.  vi.  14 ;  Eph.  r»  11 ;  ?  Thtas.  m.  14. 

•  Chap.  X.  27. *  Chfcp.  i.  20. «•  John  xrii.  15 ;  1  John  v.  19. 

<  Matt.  xnii.  17 ;  Rom.  xvi.  17 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  6, 14 ;  2  John  10. 


What  exquisite  skill,  both  here  and  everywhere, 
conducts  the  zeal  of  the  inspired  writer !  How 
surprising  a  transition  is  here !  And  yet  how  per- 
fectly natural !  The  apostle,  speaking  of  the  incest- 
uous criminal,  slides  into  his  darling  topic,  a  cru- 
cified  Saviour !  Who  would  have  expected  it  on 
such  an  occasion  ?  Yet  when  it  is  thus  brought  in, 
who  does  not  see  and  admire  both  the  proprie^  of 
the  subject,  and' the  delicaeyof  its  introduction? 
Therefore  let  us  keep  the  feast— Lei  us  feed  on  him 
by  faith ;  or  let  the  whole  of  our  lives  be  like  the 
Jewish  feast  of  passiover  and  unleavened  bread. 
Here  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  Lord's  supper,  which 
was  instituted  in  the  room  of  the  passover ;  not  with 
the  old  leaven—Ot  heathenism  Or  Judaism ;  or  with 
such  errors  and  vices  as  we  were  formerly  addicted 
to,  and  influenced  by:  neither  with  the  leaven  of 
malice  and  wickedness^^'SoT  blowing  ourselves  in 
any  unkind  and  corrupt  affections,  or  sinful  practi- 
ces, or  tolerating  among  us  any  scandalous  conduct. 
Malice  is  ill-will  in  the  nund ;  but  wickedness  is  ill- 
will  expressed  by  actions,  especially  such  as  are  ac- 
companied with  treachery.  Hence  the  devil  is 
styled  0  ffovi7pof,  the  wicked  one.  But  with  the  un- 
leavened bread  of  sincerity  and  tmth — With  the 
most  simple  and  sincere  desire  of  knowing  and 
practising  every  branch  of  our  duty ;  which  if  we 
really  have,  it  will  keep  us  from  all  these  evils,  and 
will  ensure  such  a  uniformity  of  behaviour,  as  will 
be  honoiiraWe  to  our  profession,  and  agreeable  to 
the  design  of  its  glorious  author.  The  apostle  gives 
the  epithet  of  unleavened  to  the  graces  of  sincerity 
and  truth,  in  allusion  to  the  emblematical  meaning 
of  the  unleavened  bread,  which  the  Israelites  were 
to  eat  during  the  feast  of  the  passover;  f(Mr  thereby 
they  were  tau^t  to  celebrate  that  feast  with  pious 
and  holy  dispositions. 

Verses  9-11.  I  wrote  to  you  in  a  former  epistle — 
Doubtless  both  Paul  and  the  other  apostles  wrote 
many  things  which  are  not  extant  now ;  not  to 
company — M^  avvavd^yvvo^ai,  not  to  he  intermixed, 
not  to  associate  wi|h  fornicators,  and  such  scanda- 
lous sinners  ;  not  to  contract  any  intimacy  or  ac- 
quaintance with  them,  more  than  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary. YH  not  altogether— I  did  not  mean  there- 
by that  ye  should  alto'gether  refrain  from  conversing 
with  heathen,  who  are  guilty  of  that  sin,  or  others 
190 


brother  be  a  fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  a.  h .  ^loss 

an  idolater,  or  a  railer,  or  a  drunkard,  -1— ! 

or  an  extortioner:  with  such  a  (me  ^no  not 
to  eat 

12  Fpr  what  have  I  to  do  to  judge  *  them 
also  that  are  without?  do  not  ye  judge  *  them 
that  are  within  1  ' 

13  But  them  that  are  without  God  judgeth. 
Therefore  '^put  away  from  among  yourselves 
that  wicked  peraon. 


f  GaL  ii.  12. «  Mark  i  .11;  Col.  !▼•  5 ;  1  Thess.  it.   13 ; 

1  Tim.  iiL7.- — »Ohap.  n.  I,  8,  3,  4. »  Dcut.  xiii.  5;  xrii. 

7;  xxi.21;  xxii.  ^,22,24. 


equally  heinous ;  or  with  the  covetauSy  or  extortion- 
erSj  or  idolaters — Sinners  against  themselves,  their 
neighbour,  and  God.  Fot  then  must  ye  needs  go 
out  qf  the  world— Then  all  civil  commerce  must 
cease,  the  citizens  of  Gorinth  being  generally  such. 
So  that  going  ouiofthe  world,  which  some  account 
a  perfection,  Paul  accounts  an  utter  absurdity.  But 
now  I  have  ^written  ttnto  you — Now  I  explain  my 
mind  more  fully,  that  I  meant  it  of  persons  profess- 
ing Christianity:  not  to  keep  company — To  abstain 
from  ordinary,  familiar;  unnecessary  converte  with 
them.  If  any  man  that  is  caUed  a  brother^-A 
Christian,  and  n  member  of  your  church;  be  a  for- 
nicator, ^c,  with  such  a  one,  no  not  to  eo^— Which 
is  the  lowest  degree  of  fan^iarity.  The  sense  of 
this  is,  that  a  conscientious  Christiaa  should  choose^ 
as  far  as  he  ean,  the  company,  intercourse,  and  Hi- 
miliarity  of  good  men,  uid  such  as  fear  God ;  and 
avoid,  as  far  as  his  necessary  af^rs  will  permit,  the 
conversation  and  fellowship  of  such  as  Paul  here 
describes,  "niis  is  a  thing  (what  decay,  soever  of 
public  discipline  there  may  be)  in  each  particular 
Christian's  power. 

Verses  12, 13.  For,  &c.— I  speak  of  Christians 
only :  for  what  have  I  to  do  tojttdge  them  that  are 
without — Namely,  heathen :  do  not  ye  judge  them 
that  are  within  ? — Ye,  as  well  as  I,  judge  those  of 
your  own  community:  them  that  arevithout,  God 
judgeth — The  passing  sentence  on  these  God  hath 
reserved  to  himself ,  and  they  shall  not  go  unpunish- 
ed, though  they  fall  not  under  your  censure.  TTiere- 
fore — In  consideration  of  this,  both  in  one  view 
and  the  other,  let  it  be  your  immediate  care,  as  you 
regard  the  peace  of  the  church,  and  the  safety  oC 
your  oWn  souls^;  to  put  away  from  among  yofur-^ 
selves — Speedily,  and  with  all  due  solemnity;  that 
wicked  person— Whom  I  have  mentioned,  and  any 
others,  whose  characters  may,  like  his,  be  scanda* 
lous  and  infectious.  The  apostle  is  thought,  by 
some,  to  have  written  this,  and  the  precedmg  verse, 
to  show  the  Corinthians  the  reason  why,  after  com- 
manding them  to  pass  so  severe  a  sentence  on'  the 
man,  he  said  nothing  to  them  concerning  the  woman, 
who  was  guilty  with  him.  The  discipline  of  the 
church  was  not  to  be  e^^ercised  on  persons  out  of 
it.  Hcnc«  it  appears  that  this  woman  was  a  heac- 
then. 

h 


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7%e  Oortnihians  artt  reproved 


CHAPTER  VI. 


far  gm$ig  io  law  with  each  other. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Here^  (1,)  The  apoMiU  reproves  the  CerinthianM  for  fro$eeutmg  their  brethren  in  heathen  eoterts,  IS.  (2,)  He  soUnmfy 
wmruM  them  of  the  eed  eenoequeneee  which  would  attend  the  indulgence  of  thaoe  criminal  diepo&ititme  and  practieee  to 
which  they  had  beenformerfy  addicted,  Imtjrom  which  they  were  now  reformed  and  cUanted,  through  the  merits  of  Chriet 
and  the  Spirit  of  Chd,  9-11.  (3|)  After  cautioning  them  against  the  abttse  of  their  Christian  liberty,  in  meats  and  other 
tkimgs  indifferent,  12,  13,  he  vehemently  exhorts  them  to  shun  aU  undeanness,  as  a  defilement  and  dmse  of  their  bodies, 
which  were  the  members' of  Christ,  inhabited  by  his  Spirit,  and  purchased  by  his  blood,  to  be  instruments  of  gUmfme 
€hd,lZ^.  ^ 


A.  M.  4063.  T\ARE  any  of  yoii,  having  a  mat- 
—  ter  against  another,  go  to  law  be- 
fore the  unjust,  and  not  before  the  saints  ? 

2  Do  ye  not  know  that  *the  saints  shall 
judg^e  the  i^orld  ?  and  if  the  world  shall  be 
judged  by  you,  are  ye  unworthy  to  judge  the 
smallest  matters? 

3  Know  ye  not  that  we  shall  ^ judge  angels? 
how  much  more,  things  that  pertain  to  this 
life? 

4  ^  If  then  ye  have  judgments  of  things  per- 
taining to  this  life,  set  them  to  judge  who  are 
least  esteemed  in  the  church. 


•Pto.  zlix.  14;  D*n.  viL  22;  BTatt.  six. 28;  Luke',  xsdi.  30; 
IJev.  it  26;  iiL  81 ;  xx,  4. ^2  Pet  ii.  4 ;    Jude  8. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 
Verses  1-6.  The  ^postle,  having  mentioned  one 
▼ery   great  irregularity  among  the.  professors  of 
Christianity  at  Corinth,  proceeds  nowto  anlmadTert 
upon  another,  namely,  their  entering  into  suits  of 
law  "with  each  other  in  heathen  courts  i  Dare  any 
of  yot^— Have  you  so  little  regard  for  the  g^ory  of 
€k>d,  and  the  credit  of  Christianity,  that,  hftving  a 
matter  against  ano^ter— Any  controversy  about 
civil  afflurs;  you  go  io  law  before  the  un^t — 
Heathen  judges,  who  generaUy  were  very  corrupt, 
and  from  whom  a  Christian  could  expect  no  justice : 
and  not  before  the  ^otnto-^Who  might  easily  decide 
these  smaller  differences  in  a  private  and  friendly 
manner.    Do  ye  not  know — This  expression  occurs 
six  times  in  this  single  chapter,  and  that  with  a  pe- 
culiar force :  for  the  Corinthians  knew,  and  gloried 
in  their  knowledge,  but  their  conduct  was  not  con- 
sistent therewith.     That  Xhe  saints-— After  having 
been  judged  theoHselves;  shait  judge  the  world— 
Shall  be  assessors  with  Christ  in',  the  judgment 
wherein  he  shall  condemn  all  the  wicked,  as  well 
angels  as  men,  Matt  xix.28;  Rev.  xx.  4.    AndHf 
the  world  shaXt  be  judged  by  you,  are  ye  unworthy 
—Unfit,  unable  for  such  a  work ;  to  judge  the  small- 
est iiiattcr#— Differences  about  woridly  afiairs,  which 
are  of  small  moment,  in  comparison  of  spiritual  and 
heavenly  matters.   Know  yenot  that  we  shaU  judge 
afi^e^7—-Namdy,  evil  angels:  as  Christ  is  their 
judge,  we  shall  be  honoured  to  join  with  him  in 
that  judgment  also,  when  all  his  enemies  shall  be 
put  under  his  feet  and  ours.    How  much  more  are 
ye  fit  to  decide  in  these  low  and  transitory  secular 
affi^rs  ?    If  then  ye  hope  judgments — ^Differences  to 
b 


6  I  speak  to  your  shame.    Is  it  a.  M.  40S3. 
90,  that  there    is  not  a  wise  man    ^  ^'  ^' 
among  you?  no,  pot  one  that  shall  be  able 
to  judge  between  his  brethren? 

6  But  brother  goeth  to  law  with  brother,  and 
that  before  tHe  unbelievers. 

7  Now  therefore  there  is  utterly  a  feult 
among  you,  because  ye  go  to  l^w  one  with 
another*  *  Why  dp  ye  not  rather  take  wrong  ? 
why  do  ye  not  rather  stiffer  yourselves  to  be 
defrauded? 

8  Nay,  ye  do  wrong,  and  defraud,  •  and  that 
your  brethren. 


«  Chap.  T.  12. «i  ProT.  xx.  22 ;  Malt.  t.  39, 40 :  Luke  ri.  20 ; 

Rom.  111.  J7, 19 ;  1  Thass.  v.  15.-rr— •  1  Theiw.  It.  6. 


be  decided ;  of  things  pertaining  to  this  life,  set  them 
to  judge  who  are  least  esteemed  in  the  church — 
Even  the  weak^t  among  you  might  be  adequate  to 
that- work,  and  certainly  fitter  for  it  than  unjust 
heathen.  Ispeak  to  your  shame — To  make  you 
ashamed  of  your  proceedings.  The  apostle  certain- 
ly did  not  seriotsly  design  that  they  should  set  per- 
sons to  judge  in  tfa^se  matters,  (though  of  little 
importance,  in  comparison  of  sfMritual  things,)  who 
were  the  weakest  and  of  least  esteem  among  them, 
as  appearsfrom  the  next  clause ;  but  he  spoke  iron- 
ically. Is  it  soythat  there  is  not  a  wise  man  among 
you — Among  you  who  are  such  admirers  of  wisdom, 
who  is  wise  enough  to  decide  in  such  causes?  Not 
one  able  to  judge  between  his-  brethren — In  those 
disputes  which  they  have  about  earthly  things? 
But  brother  goeth  to  law  with  brother — One  Chris- 
tian with  another  \  and  that  before  the  unbelievers 
— To  the  great  discredit  of  the  Christian  name ;  yea, 
to  the  scandal  of  the  whole  Christian  institution ;  for 
they  cannot  but  take  occasion,  from  your  mutual 
quarrels  and  accusations,  to  brand  the  whole  body 
of  you  as  injurious  and  avaricious;  who,  while  you 
pretend  to  be  so  far  superior  to  secular  Views,  are 
yet  so  strongly  attached  to  them,  that,  with  all  your 
professions  of  universal  benevolence  and  brotherly 
love,  you  cannot  forbear  wronging  one  another. 

Verses  7,  8.  Now  therefore — But,  indeed,  there  is 
plainly  a  fault  in  you,  whoever  may  have  the  right 
on  his  side ;  that  ye  go  to  law  with  one  another^— Or 
that  ye  quarrel  with  one  another  at  all,  whether  ye 
go  to  law  or  not.  Why  do  ye  not  rather  take,  or 
suffer,  wrong — ^Endure  it  patiently,  and  sit  down 
with  the  loss  ?  Why  do  ye  not  suffer  ymtrsehes  tr» 
151 


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AU  mdiffertni  l/Ufigv  ars  laufid^  I.  CORINTHIANS. 


hU  all  arenoi  eaDpeHmt. 


A.M. 4063.    9  Know  ye  not  that  the  unrighte- 
^'^'^'    ous  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 


God?  Be  not  deceived;  ^neither  fornkatord, 
nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor 
abusers  of  themselves  with  mankind, 

10  J^or  thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards, 
nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

11  And  such  were  'some  of  you:  '^but  ye 
are  washed,  but  ye  are  san<^ed,  but  ye  are 


'Chim.  XT.  50 ;  GaL  t.  21 ;  Eph.  v.  5 ;  1  Tim.  i.  9 ;  Hcb.  xii. 
14;  3ciS-4;  Rer.  xxii.  16.— <  Chap.  xii.  3;  Eph.  ii  2;  iv. 
28;  T.8;  CJol.  iii.  7;   Tit.  iii.  3. ^  Chap.  i.  30;  Heb.  x. 


66  defrauded— Ttaiher  than  seek  a  remedy  in  such  a 
way  as  this?  All  men  cannot,  or  will  not,  receive 
this  saying.  Many  aim  only  at  this,  '^  I  will  neither 
do  wrong  nor  sufibr  it"  These  are  honest  heathen, 
but  no  Christians.  Nay^AXXa,  6ut,  ye  are  so  far 
from  bearing  injuries  and  frauds,  that  ye  do  wrong 
to,  or  injure  openly,  and  dc/rat^ci— Privately,  and 
thai  even  your  Christian  brethren* 

Verses  9-11.  Know  ye  no^-With  all  yotir  boasted 
knowledge ;  that  the  tmrighteow^Th&i  is,  not  only 
the  unjust,  but  those  destitute  of  true  righteousness 
and  holiness,  comprehending  the  various  classes  of 
sinners  afterward  mentioned,  the  term  umrighteous 
here  including  them  all :  shall  not  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  Gfod— Namely,  the  kingdom  of  eternal  glory. 
And  can  you  contentedly  sacrifice  ibis  great  and 
glorious  hope  which  the  gospel  gives  you,  for  the 
sake  of  those  pleasures  of  sin  which  are  but  for  a 
short  season ?  Be  not  deceived — By  a  vain  iinagi-< 
nation  that  the  Chrbtian  name  and  privileges  will 
«ave  you,  while  you  continue  in  the  practice  of  your 
vices.  Neither  fomicatorsy  nor  idolaters,  &c. — 
Idolatry  is  here  placed  between  ibrnication  and 
adultery,  because  these  things  generally  accompa- 
nied it.  Indeed,  among  the  heathen  idolatry  was 
not  only  a  great  crime  in  itself,  but  was  the  parent 
of  many  other  crimes.  For  the  heathen  were  en- 
couraged in  the  commission  of  fornication,  adultery, 
sodomy,  drunkenness,  theft,  &e.,  by  the  example  of 
their  gods.  Nor  effeminate — Who  live  in  an  easy, 
indolent  ^ay,  taking  up  no  cross,  enduring  no  hard- 
ship. But  how  is  this,  that  these  good-natured, 
harmless  people ,  are  ranked  with  idolaters  and 
sodomites,  those  infamous  degraders  of  human  na- 
ture? We  may  learn  hence,  that  we  are  never  se- 
cure from  the  greatest  sins,  till  we  guard  against 
those  which  are  thought  to  be  the  leasts  nor  indeed 
till  we  think  no  sin  is  little,  since  every  one  is  a  step 
toward  hell.  And  such  were  some  of  you — Namely, 
in  seme  kind  or  other;  but  ye  are  wai^ied—De- 
livered  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  those  gross 
abominations.  Ye  are  sanct^ed^Renevred  in  the 
iq>irit  of  your  minds,  dedicated  to,  and  employed  in 
the  service  of  God ;  conformed,  at  least  in  a  measure, 
to  his  image,  and  possessed  of  his  divine  nature,  and 
this  not  before,  but  in  consequence  of  your  being 
(nstified.  Or,  Yc  are  regenerated  and  purified,  as 
152 


justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Je-  a.  ^^<^<^ 

sus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God.        — 

J2  *  AU  things  are  lawftd  unto  fne,  but  aU 
things  are  not '  expedi^ :  all  things  are  law- 
ful for  me,  but  I  will  not  be  brought  under  the 
power  of  any. 

13  ^  Meats  for  the  belly,  and  ihe  belly  for 
meats:  but  God  shajl  destroy  both.it  and 
them.  Now  the  body  t^  not  for  ficnrnication).  bai 
^  for  the  Lord  j  ^  and  the  Lord  for  the  body. 


22. J  Chap.  X.  23. »0r,  finfitahU^—^  UaiX.    xr.    IT; 

Rom.  sir.  17 ;  C«l.  iL  22,  23. 1  VeHes  1V19»  90 ;  1  Tkem. 

iv.  3, 7. »  Eph.  T.  23. 


well  as  discharged,  from  the  condemnation  to  which 
ye  were  justly  olmoxious.  See  the  nature  orjusti- 
fication  explmned  m  the  noteaon  Rom.  ill  21,  28; 
and  its  fruits,  on  Rom.  v.  1-5.  In  the  name  of  iht 
Lord  /^«i*— Through  his  merits,  or  his  sacrifice 
and  intercession;  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God— 
Creating  you  anew,  and  inspiring  you  with  all  thoee 
blessed  graces  which  are  the  genuine  fruits  of  h» 
divine  influences,  GaL  v.  22, 29.  You^mght  there- 
fore, as  if  he  had  said,  to  maintam  the  most  grateful 
sense  of  these  important  blessings  which  €rod  bath 
conferred  upon  you,  to  stand  at  the  utmost  distance 
from  sin,  and  to  be  tender  of  the  peace  and  honour 
of  a  society  which  €rod  hath  founded  by  his  extra- 
ordinary interpofiitioi^  and  into  whieh  he  hath  been 
pleased  in  so  wonderfiil  a  mann^  to  bring  even 
you,  who  were  in  a  most  infamous  and  deplorable 
state.    ^ 

Verses  12-14.  All  things— ThnX  are  indiftrent  in 
their  own  nature,  and  neither  commanded  nor  for- 
bidden; are  lawful  unto  m«-^r,  as  some  pu^ 
phrase  the  -clause,  AU  things  which  are  lawful  for 
you  are  lawful  for  me*  Since  the  apostle  could  not 
say,  in  any  sense,  that  .absolutely  all  things  were 
lawAil  for  him,  the  sentence  must  be  considered  as 
elliptical,  and  what  is  wanting  to  complete  it  must 
be  supplied,  according  to  the  apostle's  man^,  from 
the  subsequent  verse.  But  aU  things  are  not  ex- 
pedient— Proper  to  be  used,  in  regard  of  circum- 
stances; as  when  they  would  ofiend  our  weak 
brethren,  or  when  Uiey  would  enslave  our  own 
souls.  Although  aU  thingsi--0{  the  above  descrip- 
tion ;  are  lawful  for  me,  yet  fwiU  wt  be  brought 
under  the  power  of  any — So  enslaved  to  any  thlnf^ 
as  to  be  uneasy  when  I  abstain  from  it,  for  .in  that 
case  I  should  be  under  the  power  of  it.  Meats  far 
the  belly,  <Sm:.— As  if  he  had  said,  I  speak  this  chiefly 
with  regard  to  meats ;  particularly  with  regard  to 
those  offered  to  idols,  and  those  forbidden  in  the 
Mosaic  law.  These,  I  grant,  are  all  indifierent,  and 
have  their  use,  but  it  is  only  for  a  time,  for  soon, 
meats,  and  the  organs  whidi  reeeive  them,  will  to- 
gether moulder  into  dust  For  €fod  will  destroy 
both  it  and  them — ^Namely,  when  the  earth,  and  the 
things  which  it  contains,  are  burned.  From  this  it 
is  evident,  that  at  the  resurrection,  the  parts  of  the 
body  which  minister  to  its  nutrition  are  not  to  be 

b 


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An  exhortatumto 


CHAPTER  VI. 


aviiid  uncleanne$$. 


A.  M.  4003. 
A.  1X59. 


14  And  *  God  hath  both  raised  up 
the  Lordy  and  will  also  raise  up  us 
tby  his  own  power. 

15  Know  ye  not,  that  ^  ]K>ur  bodies  are  the 
members  o(  Christ?  shall  I  then  take  the 
m^nb^TB  of  Christ,  aod  make  (hem  the  mem- 
bers of  a  harlot?    God  forbid. 

16  What!  know  ye  not  that  he  which  is 
joined  to  a  harlot  is  one  body?  for  ^  two,  saith 
he,  shall  be  one  flesh. 

»  Rom.  ri.  5,  8 ;  riii.  11:2  Cor.  ir.  14. »  Eph.  L  19,  20. 

#Roin.  xii.  5;  Cliapter  xil   27;   Eph.  ir.  12,  15, 16;  v.  39. 
^  Gen.  iL  24 ;  Matt.  xiz.  5;  Eph.  t.  31. ^Jdx^  zvii.  21,  22^ 


restored;  or,  if  they  are  to  be  restored,  that  their 
use  will  be  abolisbed.  Noit — Or  rather  6u<;  the 
body  %9  not  for  famication—hs  if  he  had  said,  The 
case  Is  quite  otherwise  with  fomication ;  this  is  not 
aJthing  indifferent,  but  at  all  times  evil ;  for  the  body 
lafor  the  Lon^— Deigned  only  for  his  service :  and 
the  Lord-^In  an  important  sense ;  is^  the  body-- 
Being  the  Saviour  of  this  as  well  as  of  the  smil,  and 
consequently  must  rule  %ind  employ  it.  And  as  a 
fturther  proof  that  the  body  was  made  for  glorifying 
the  Lord,  God  hath  both  raised  up  t^  body  of  the 
Lordf  and  will  also  raise  up  our  bodies,  and  render 
them  Immortal  like  his. 

Verses  15-18.  Know  ye  not  that  your  bodies  are 
ike  members  of  Oirt^i^-^ystically  united  to  him, 
as  well  as  your  souls,  if  you  are  his  tfue  disciples, 
as  you  profess  to  be.  Shall  I  (hen  take  the  members  of 
Christ — My  body,  which  is  united  to  him,  with  its 
members ;  and  make  them  the  members  of  a  harlot- 
United  to  her,  and  used  to  gratify  her  sinAil  inclina- 
tions '?  Know  ye  not — ^Need  I  inform  you ;  that  he  who 
is  joined  to  a  harlot  is  one  body  with  her?  But  he  that 
is  pined  unto  the  Lord— By  faith  and  love ;  is  one 
spirit  with  him.  And  shall  he  make  himself  one 
flesh  with  a  harlot?  Flee  fornication^  All  unlawful 
commerce  with  women,  with  speed,  with  abhor- 
rence, with  all  your  might  Every  sin  that  a  man 
doeth—Every  other  sin,  except  gluttony  and  drunk- 
enness, or  every  other  sin  that  a  man  commits 
against  his  neighbour;  is  without  the  body—TeT- 
minates  in  an  object  out  of  himself  and  does  not  so 
immediately  pollute  his  body,  though  it  does  his 
souL  But  he  that  committeth  fomication — Or  any 
kind  of  lewdness;  sinneth  against  his  own  body — 
Pollutes,  dishonours,  and  degrades  it  to  a  level  with 
brute  beasts;  and  perhaps  infects  and  enfeebles, 
wastes  and  consumes  it,  which  these  vices  have  a 
manifest  tendency  to  do.  Inasmuch  as  the  person 
who  is  addicted  to  gluttony  and  drunkenness  sihs 
against  his  own  body,  as  well  as  a  fornicator,  and 
debilitates  it  by  introducing  into  it  many  painful  and 
deadly  diseases :  in  this  prohibition  of  fomication, 
those  vices  likewise  are  comprehended,  being  in- 
deed ^le  ordinary  concomitants  of  it.  And  the  way 
to  flfee  whoredom,  is  to  banish  out  of  the  mind  all 
lascivious  Imaginations,  and  to  avoid  carefully  the 
objects  and  occasions  of  committing  that  vice,  and 


17  ''But  he  that  is  jomed  unto  the  A  M.  4003. 
Lord  is  one  sfinL  '  ^' 

18  '  Flee  fomication.  Every  sin  that  a  man 
doeth,  is  without  the. body;  but  he  that  com- 
mitteth femication,  sinneth  ^  agamst  his  own 
body. 

19  What!  ^know  ye  not  that  your  body  it 
the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you, 
which  ye  have  of  God,  *and  ye  are  not 
your  own? 


23;  Eph.  iv.  4;  y.  30. 'RonLTi.  12, 13 ;  Hebrews  xiii  4. 

*■  Rota.  i.  24  J  1  ThcM.  iv.  4. •  Chap.  iii.  16 ;  2  CJor.  tL  1«. 

*  Rom.  xir.  7,  8. 


to  maintain  habitual  temperance  in  the  use  of  meat 
and  drink. 

Verses  19,  30.  Know  ye  not,  Ac—As  if  he  had 
said.  There  is  another  view  in  which  the  baseness  of 
this  crime  must  appear  to  you.  Christians,  in  conse* 
quenee  of  your  relation  to  that  blessed  agent,  the 
Gipint  of  God.  For  your  body  is  the  temple  of  God 
' — Dedicated  to  him,  and  inhabited  by  him ;  even  by 
that  Spirit  which  is  in  yott— As  true  believers  in  Je- 
sus, John  vii.  37,  38 ;  Eph.  i.  13.  Which  ye  have — 
Which  you  receive ;  of  God^ As  a  most  important, 
most  necessary  gift,  without  which  you  could  not  be 
Christ^s,  Rom.  viii.  9.  What  the  apostle  calls  else- 
where, the  temple  of  God,  (chap.  iii.  16, 17,)  and  the 
temple  of  the  living  God,  (2  Cor.  vi.  16,)  he  here 
styles  the  temple  of  the  Ihly  Ghost;  plainly  show- 
ing that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  living  God.  The  two 
things,  as  Whitby  observes,  necessary  to  constitute 
a  temple  of  God,  belong  to  Uie  bodies  of  believers : 
they  are  consecrated  to  God,  and  he  resides  in  them. 
"  Excellent,  therefore,"  says  he,  "  is  the  inference  of 
Tertullian ;  that  since  all  Christians  are  become  the 
temple  of  God,  by  virtue  of  his  Holy  Spirit  sent  into 
their  hearts,  and  consecrating  their  bodies  to  his  ser- 
vice, we  should  make  chastity  the  keeper  of  this  sa 
cred  house,  and  suffer  nothing  unclean  or  profane  to 
enter  into  it,  lest  the  God  who  dwells  in  it,  being  dis- 
pleased, should  desert  his  habitation  thus  defiled." 
And  ye  are  not  your  awn—Even  as  to  your  bodies, 
any  more  than  your  souls.  Both  are  God's,  not  only 
by  creation  and  preservation,  but  by  redemption, 
being  bought  with  a  price;  and  that  infinitely  be- 
yond what  you  can  pretend  to  be  worth,  even  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ,  by  which  you  have  been 
redeemed  out  of  the  hands  of  divine  justice,  and 
through  which,  being  put  in  possession  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  you  ^e  rescued  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and 
Satan,  and  have  become  subjects  and  servants  of 
Christ,  who  has  thus  obtained  an  eternal  dominion 
over  you :  whose  you  are  too  by  a  voluntary  dona- 
tion of  yourselves  to  him,  and  a  mystical  union  with 
him  as  his  temples.  Therefore  glorify  Qod  in  your 
body-'-By  temperance,  chastity,  purity ;  and  in  your 
spirit—By  faith,  hope,  and  love ;  humility,  resigna- 
tion, patience ;  by  meekness, gentleness,  long-suffer- 
ing, and  universal  benevolence.  Or,  as  the  words 
may  with  equal  propriety  be  rendered,  Glorify  him 
103 


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'  DirecHona  to  persons  in 


h  COBINTHUNS. 


ike  married  euae. 


A.  M.  4063.    20   For   5^  ye  are  bought  with  a 
^  ^    price :    therefore    glorify    Grod    in 


A.  D.  50. 


7  Acts  xz.  38 ;  Chap.  tU.  23 ;  Gal.  ill  13 ; 

with  your  body  and  your  spirit;  that  is,  yield 
your  bodies  and  all  your  members,  as  well  as  your 
souls  and  all  their  fticulties,  as  instruments  of  right- 


your  -body,  and  in  your  spirit,  which  \^^^' 
are  God's.  -^— ^ — '- 


Heb.  IX.  12 ;  1  Pet.  L  18, 19 ;  2Pet.  ii.  1 ;  Rct.  ▼.  9, 


eousneas  to  God :  or  devote  and  ^oiploy  aU  you  hare, 
and  all  you  are,  entirely,  unresenredly,  and  for  ever, 
to  his  glory. 


CHAPTER   VIL 

Thi  apostle  now  proceed*  to  anstoer  certmn  questions  which  the  Corinihimis  had  put  to  him :  amd  first  ikose  wlhit^  related 
to  the  marriage  state ;  with  respect  to  which  he  determines,  (1,)  That,  insomecircumsUatceSf  tt  should  be  entered  into  and 
continued  in,  but  in  others  forborne,  1-9.  (2,)  That  for  the  honour  of  Christ,  ofnd  for  preserving  the  federal  hoUnets  of 
their  children,  married  Christians  should  not  separaUfrom  their  headien  consorU,  10-16.  (3,)  Thai  ordinarUy,  persons 
should  be  content  to  abide^in  that  civil  station  in  which  they  were  first  called  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  17^-24.  (4,)  T^  mar- 
riage was  not  generally  expedient  in  the  distressed  circumstances  of  the  churdi  at  that  time ;  and  the  rather,  as  all  such 
things  were  very  transitory,  and  marriage  cares  often  hindered  the  service  of  God^  26-35.  (5.)  That  great  prudenu,  as 
weU  as  piety,  ought  to  be  exercised  in  the  marriage  both  of  virgins  and  widows,  86-40. 


A.  M.  4063.  IVrOW  concerning  the  things  where- 
of ye  wrote  unto  me :  ^It  is  good 


for  a  man  not  to  touch  a  woman. 

2  Nevertheless,  to  avoid  fornication,  let  every 
man  have  his  own  wife,  and  let  every  woman 
have  her  own  husband. 

3  ^  Let  the  husband  render  unto  the  wife  due 


»  Verses  8,  26. »» Exod.  xxi.  10 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  7. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VII. 
Verses  1, 2.  Now  concerning  the  things  whereof 
ye  wrote  unto  me — The  letter  of  the  Corinthian  be- 
lievers to  which  the  apostle  alludes  here,  and  in 
which  it  appears  they  put  divers  questions  to  him, 
hath  long  been  lost ;  a  circumstance  to  be  much  re- 
gretted ;  forbad  it  been  preserved,  it  would  doubtless 
have  Illustrated  many  passages  of  the  two  epistles  to 
the  Corinthians,  which  are  now  obscure  because  we 
are  ignorant  of  the  matters  to  which  the  aposfle  al- 
ludes in  these  passages.  It  is  good  for  a  man— 
Who  is  master  of  himself,  and  has  his  passions  and 
appetites  under  due  control ;  not  to  touch  a  Woman 
—That  is,  not  to  marry ;  so  great  and  many  are  the 
advantages  of  a  single  life,  especially  in  the  present 
calamitous  state  of  the  church.  Nevertheless—Since 
the  God  of  nature  has,  for  certain  wise  reasons,  im- 
planted in  the  sexes  a  mutual  inclination  to  each 
other ;  to  avoid— Th9,i  is,  in  order  to  prevent;  for- 
nication— And  every  other  species  of  tmclcanncss 
and  pollution ;  let  every  man — Who  finds  it  expe- 
dient in  order  to  his  living  chastely ;  have  his  own 
wife-^His  own,  for  Christianity  allows  no  polygamy ; 
and  every  woman  her  own  husband — "  Here  the 
apostle  speaks  in  the  imperative  mood,  using  the 
s^le  in  which  superiors  give  their  commands;  but 
15i 


benevolence:  and  likewise  abo  the  ^M.40Sl. 
wife  unto  the  husbcuid.  '. 

4  The  wife  hath  not  power  of  her  own  body, 
but  the  husband :  and  likewise  also  the  hus- 
band hath  not  power  oi  hie  own  body,  but  the 
wife. 

5  ®  Defraud  ye  not  one  the  other,  except  it 


«  Joel  ii.  16 ;  Zech.  vii.  3 ;  Exqd.  xix.  15 ;  1  Sam.^xi.  4,  5. 


although  he  recommends  a  single  life  in  certain  cir- 
cumstances, this  and  the  injunction  (verse  5)  given  to 
all  who  cannot  live  chastely  unmarried,  is  a  direct 
prohibition  of  celibacy  to  the  bulk  of  mankind.  Fur- 
ther, as  no  person  in  early  life  can  foresee  what  his 
future  state  of  mind  will  be,  or  what. temptations  he 
may  meet  with,  he  cannot  certainly  know^  whether 
it  will  be  in  his  power  to  live  chastely  unmarried. 
Wherefore,  as  that  is  the  only  case  io  which  the 
apostle  allows  persons  to  live  unmarried,  vows  of 
celibacy  and  virginity,  taken  in  early  life,  must  in 
both  sexes  be  sinful." — Macknight. 

y  erses  3, 4.  Let  the  husband— Vf^o^exe  this  relation 
is  commenced ;  render  unto  the  wife^  Tijv  o^iXoftev^ 
evvoiav,  the  due  benevolence — That  is,  the  conjugal 
duty,  the  duty  resulting  from  the  nature  of  tl^e  mar- 
riage-covenant. Or,  let  not  married  persons  fancy 
that  there  is  any  perfection  in  living  with  each  other 
as  if  they  were  unmarried.  Th^  wife  hath  not 
power  over  her  own  body — Namely,  in  this  respect, 
but  by  the  marriage-covenant  hath  transferred  it  ^ 
her  husband.  And  likewise  the  husband  hoik  not 
power  over  his  own  body ;  but  it  is,  as  it  were,  the 
property  of  the  wife,  their  engagements  bemg  mu- 
tual ;  so  that,  on  every  occasion,  conscience  obliges 
them  to  remdn  appropriated  to  each  other.    '^  The 

b 


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CHAPTER  VII. 


of  the  married  and  single  siaie. 


A.  M.  40C3.  be  with  consent  for  a  tune,  that  ye 
A.  D.  59.  ,         ^      -   '  ^^  J 

. may  give  yourselves  to  tasting  and 

prayer  '^  and  come  together  again,  that  ^  Satan 

tempt  you  not  for  your  incontinency. 

6  But  I  speak  this  by  permission,  '  and  not 
of  commandment 

7  For  '  I  would  that  all  men  w  ere  '  even  as 


*  1  These.  iiL  6. •  Verses  12,  25 ;    2  Cor.  viU.  8;   xi.  .17. 

'Actsxxri.  29. 


right  of  the  wife  to  her  husband's  body,  being  here 
represented  as  precisely  the  same  with  the  husband's 
right  to  her  body,  it  excludes  the  husband  from  si- 
multaneoos  polygamy;  otherwise  the  right  of  the 
husband  to  his  wife's  body  would  not  exclude  her 
from  being  married  to  another,  during  her  husband's 
lifetime.  Besides,  the  direction,  (verse  2,)  let  every 
woman  hate  her  own  husband,  plainly  leads  to  the 
same  concltision.  The  right  of  the  wife  to. her  hus- 
band's body  is  a  perfect  right,  being  founded  on  the. 
ends  of  marriage,  namely,  the  procreation  of  chil- 
dren, their  proper  education,  and  the  prevention  of 
fornication.  But  these  ends  would,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, be  frustrated,  if  the  wife  had  not  an  exclusive 
right  to  her  husband's  person." — Macknight* 

Verses  5-7.  Defraud  not—Or  deprive  notj  one 
.  the  other — Of  this  benevolence ;  or  withdraw  not* 
from  the  company  of  each  other;  except  U  be  with 
consent  for  a  time,  that — On  tnose  special  and  so- 
lemn occasions,  you  may  entirely  give  yourselves 
up  to  the  exercises  of  devotion.    From  this  passage 
it  appears,  that,  in  the  first  age,  when  married  per- 
sons parted  for  a  time  to  employ  themselves  in  the 
duties  of  devotion,  they  lived  in  separate  habitations, 
or  rather  in  different  parts  of  their  own  house.   For 
in  the  eastern  countries  the  houses  were  so  built, 
that  the  women  had  apartments  allotted  to  them- 
selves.   And  come  together  again — As  usual,  and 
do  not  continue  tlie  separation  too  long ;  tliat  Satan 
tempt  you  not — To  unclean  thoughts,  if  not  ac- 
tions too,  which  he  probably  might  do,  if  you  should 
long  remain  separate  Aom  each  other ;  for  your  in- 
contihency — The  word  oKpaaia,  thus  translated,  pro- 
perly signifies,  the  want  of  the  government  of  one's 
passions  and  appetites.  It  is  properly  observed  here 
by  Dr.  Macknight, "  that  marriage  being  an  aflfair  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  society,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  its  obligation  and  duties,  as  well  as 
the  obligation  and  duties  of  the  other  relations  of  life, 
should  be  declared  by  inspiration  in  the  Scriptures. 
This  passage,  therefore,  of  the  word  of  God  ought 
to  be  read  with  due  reverence,  both  because  it  was 
dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  because  throughout 
the  whole  of  hb  discourse  the  apostle  has  used  the 
greatest  chastity  and  delicacy  of  expression."    BtU 
I  speak  Hkis — That  which  I  have  said,  for  the  pre- 
venting of  incontinency,  both  In  the   unmarried, 
(verse  2,)  and  married,  (verse  5,)  by  permission — 
From  Christ,  to  leave  you  to  your  liberty  therein,  if 
yon  have  the  gift  of  continency.    Or,  as  an  advice, 
as  some  render  Kara  avyyvu{iTiv.    Bengelius  says  the 
word  denotes  an  opinion,  rightly  suited  to  the  state 
b 


hath   A.M. 4063. 
A.  0.  59. 


I  myself.     But    '^  every  man 
his  proper  gifl  of  God,  one  after  this 
manner,  and  another  afler  that. 
8  I  say   therefore    t6   the    unmarried 


and 


widows,   '  It  is  good  for  them  if  they  abide 
even  as  I. 
9  But  ^  if  they  cannot  contain,  let  them  mar- 


ff  Chap.  'uL  5.- 


^Mattj  xix.  12;  Chap.  xiL  11.- 
8S, klTtiii.T.  14. 


'  Venes  1, 


or  disposition  of  another.  Andnot  of  commandment 
— Not  as  an  injunction.  Or,  as  some  coiqmentators 
suppose,  he  may  refer  to  whjat  follows.  For  I  would 
thai  all  men — ^Allthe  disciples  of  Christ  who  are  un- 
married, and  can  live  chast^y,  were  even  as  Imf- 
self-^Thdi  is,  would  remain  eunuchs  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven^  s  sokes  or,  that  they  could  as  easily  bear 
the  restraints  of  a  single  life  in  present  circumstan- 
ces, and  exercise  as  jesolute  a  c<mimand  oyer  their 
natural  desires.  Paul,  having  tasted  the  sweetness 
of  this  liberty,  wished  others  to  enjoy  it  as  well  as 
himself.  But  every  man  haih  his  proper  gift  cf 
God— According  to  our  Lord's  declaration,  All  men 
cannot  receive  this  sayingysave  they  to  whom  it  is 
given,  Matt.  xix.  11. 

Verses  8,  9.  /  say,  therefore — I  give  this  advice ; 
to  the  unmarried  and  widows.  It  is  good  for  them — 
It  is  a  condition  of  life  which  will  tend  to  promote 
their  eternal  welfieire,  that,  t/lhey  conveniently  can, 
they  abide  even  as  /—Namely,  unmarried ;  for  that 
Paul  was  then  single  is  certain:  ^nd  from  Acts 
vii.  58,  compared  with  the  following  parts  of  the 
history,  it  seems  probable  that  he  alwdys  was  so. 
It  may  not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  many  of  the 
things  which  the  apostle  delivers  here,  as  also  chap, 
xiv.,  and  in  some  other  parts  of  this  epistle,  are  ra- 
ther to  be  considered  as  advices  about  what  was  best 
to  be  done  in  many  particular  cases,  to  which  the 
general  precepts,  or  doctrine  of  the  gospel  revealed 
to  this  apostle,  did  not  descend,  than  as  commands, 
enjoining  these  things  to  the  belieyers,  imder  the^ 
penalty  of  their  contracting  guilt,  and  exposing 
themselves  to  the  divine  displeasure,  if  they  did  not 
comply  with  them.  Yet  these  also  were  directions, 
or  counsels  of  the  Lord,  coaceming  what  was  expe- 
dient to  be  done,  and  were  delivered  to  the  apostle 
by  the  infallible  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spmt,  (as 
appears  by  comparing  1  Cor.  xiv.  37;  2  Cor.  i.  17; 
1  Thess.  iv.  1,  2,  8;  with  1  Cor.  xiv.  40,)  and  were 
faithfully  delivered  by  him;  and  therefore  the  assent 
of  the  Corinthians  is  requhred  to  them  as  such.  See 
the  like  advice  concerning  some  particular  charities 
of  the  Corinthians,  2  Cor.  viii.  8,  10;  the  apostle 
distinguishing  between  the  commands  of  God,  which 
none  might  disobey  without  sin,  and  these  advices, 
concerning  what  was  fitting  and  proper,  though  not 
absolutely  necessary.  And  therefore,  as  he  directs, 
that  it  was  better  to  observe  them,  so  he  acknow- 
ledges that  there  was  no  command  that  made  It  un- 
lawful to  omit  them.  But  if  they  cannot— Live 
continently,  or  preserve  themselves  in  purity  of  body 
and  spirit  in  a  single  state ;  let  them  iworry— Espo- 
165 


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I.  CORINTHIANS.       weparaiefrom  (heir  heathen  eonsorU. 


A.  M.  4083.  ry :  for  it  is  better  to  marry  than  to 

A.D.59.     J 

bam. 

10  And  unto  the  married  I  eommand,  ^yet 
not  I,  but  the  Lord,  "Let  not  the  wife  depart 
firom  her  husband : 

11  But  and  if  she  dqpart,  let  her  remam  un* 
married,  or  be  reco&cfled  to  her  husband :  and 


iyenMl8,25,40.- 


BlUl.u.  14, 16;  lUtt.T.32; 


dally  the  younger  widows,  (1  Tim.  v.  14,)  or  wid- 
owers; fir  it  is  better  to  marry — And  suffer  the 
ineonvenienees  attending  marriage,  than  to  be  tor- 
mented with  unchaste  desires. 

Verses  10, 11.  The  married  J  command — Greek, 
Toic  6e  yeyofiJiKohi  vapayyeXXu^  Now  those  that  have 
married  I  charge:  so  these  words  should  be  ren- 
dered, the  phrase  being  the  same  with  that  in  1  Tim. 
i.  3,  rendered  by  our  translators,  that  thou  migJUest 
charge  somi.  Yet  not  /—Only,  or  not  I  by  any  new 
revelation,  nor  by  mere  coimsel,  or  prudential  advice, 
as  verses  25,  40.  But  the  Lord— Namely,  in  the 
first  institutiim  of  marriage,  Gen,  ii.  24;  and  the 
Lord  Christ  also  commanded  the  same,  Matt.  v.  32; 
xix.  6,  9.  The  Lord  Jesus,  during  his  ministry  on 
earth,  delivered  many  precepts  of  his  law  in  the 
hearing  of  his  disciples.  And  those  which  he  did 
not  deliver  in  person,  he  promised  to  reveal  to  them 
by  the  Spirit,  after  his  departure.  Therefore  there 
i.i  a  just  foundation  for  distinguishing  the  command- 
ments which  the  Lord  delivered  in  person,  from 
those  which  he  revealed  to  the  apostles  by  the  Spi- 
rit, and  wliich  they  made  known  to  the  world  in 
their  sermons  and  writings.  This  distinction  is  not 
only  made  by  Paul;  it  is  insinuated  likewise  by 
Peter  and  Jude,  2  Pet.  UL  3,  Jude  17,  where  the 
commandments  of  the  apostles  of  the  Lord  and 
Saviour  are  mentioned,  not  as  inferior  in  authority 
to  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  (for  they  were 
all  as  really  hb  commandments  as  those  which  he 
delivered  in  person,)  but  as  different  in  the  manner 
of  their  communication.  And  the  apostle's  intention 
here  was  not,  as  many  have  imagined,  to  tell  us  in 
what  things  he  was  inspired,  and  in  what  not ;  but 
to  show  us  what  commandments  the  Lord  delivered 
personally  in  his  own  lifetime,  and  what  the  Spirit 
inspired  the  apostles  to  deliver  after  his  departure. 
This  Paul  could  do  with  certainty ;  because,  although 
he  was  not  of  the  number  of  those  who  accompanied 
our  Lord  during  his  ministry,  all  the  particulars  of 
his  life  and  doctrine  were  made  known  to  him  by  re- 
velation, as  may  be  collected  from  1  Cor.  xi.  23;  XV.  3; 
I  Tim.  V.  18 ;  and  from  many  allusions  to  the  words 
and  actions  of  Christ,  found  in  the  epistles  which 
Paul  wrote  before  any  of  the  gospels  were  pub- 
lished; and  from  his  mentionmg  one  of  Christ's 
sayings,  not  recorded  by  any  of  the  evangelists, 
Acts  XX.  35.  Further,  that  the  apostle's  intention, 
in  distingubhing  the  Lord's  commandments  from 
those  he  calls  his  own,  was  not  to  show  what  things 
he  spake  by  inspiration,  and  what  not,  is  evident, 
firom  his  adding  certain  circumstances,  which  prove 
thai,  m  delivering  his  own  commandments,  or  judg- 
IM 


let  not  the  husband  put  uway  his  a.m.40«3. 
wHe.  

12  But  to  the  rest  speak  I,  >  not  the  Lrard ;  If 
any  brother  bath  a  wife  that  believeth  not,  and 
she  be  pleased  to  dwell  with  him,  let  him  not 
put  her  away. 

13  And  the  woman  which  hath  a  husband 


ziz.  S,  9 ;  Mtik  x.  11,  12 ;  Luke  rri.  19. "  Vene  B. 


ment,  he  was  really  inspired.  Thus,  when  he  as- 
serted that  a  widow  was  at  liberty  to  marry  a  second 
time,  by  adding,  (verse  40,)  she  is  happier  if  she  so 
abide,  after  (that  is,  according  to)  my  judgment; 
and  I  (kinky  or,  (as^<^u  rather  means,)  /am  certain 
that  I  also  have  the  Spirit  of  God,  he  plainly  as- 
serted that  he  was  inspired  in  giving  that  judgment 
or  determination.  See  more  on  this  subject  in 
Macknight.  Let  not  the  wife  depart  from  her  huM- 
6awd— Wilftilly  leave  him,  on  account  of  any  disa- 
greement between  them.  But  if  she  depart — Con- 
trary to  this  express  prohibition,  assigning,  perhaps, 
reasons  apparently  necessary  for  it,  as  that  her  life 
is  inf  danger,  or  the  like ;  let  Iter  remain  unmarried^ 
or— Rather,  if  it  may  be  accomplished  by  any  sub- 
ipission  on  her  part,  let  her  he  reconciled  to  her 
husband— Th^Xy  if  possible,  they  may  live  in  such  a 
union  and  harmony  as  the  relation  requires.  And 
let  not  the  husband  put  away  his  wife — Except  for 
the  cause  of  adultery ;  because  the  obligations  lying 
on  husbands  and  wives  are  mutual  and  equal.  The 
apostle,  after  saying  concerning  the  wife,  that  if 
she  departed  f^om  her  husband,  she  must  remain 
unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to  him,  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  add  a  similar  clause  respecting  the 
husban^  namely,  that  if  he  put  away  his  wife,  he 
must  remain  unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to  her. 
This,  however,  is  implied  in  what  he  says  concerning 
him. 

Verses  12, 13.  To  the  rest— Who  are  married  to 
unbelievers ;  speak  /—By  revelation  from  God ;  not 
the  Lord — Who,  during  his  ministry,  gave  no  com- 
mandment concerning  the  matter.  If  any  brother 
hath  a  wife  that  believeth  not — Is  a  heathen,  not  yet 
converted ;  let  him  not  put  her  away — If  she  consent 
to  dwell  with  him.  The  Jews  indeed  were  obliged, 
of  old,  to  put  away  their  idolatrous  wives,  Ezra  x.  3; 
but  their  case  was  quite  difTerenL  They  were  ab- 
solutely forbid  to  marry  idolatrous  women ;  but  the 
persons  here  spoken  of  were  married  while  they 
were  both  in  a  state  of  heathenism.  It  is  probable 
that  some  of  the  more  zealous  Jewish  converts,  on 
the  authority  of  that  example  of  Ezra,  contended 
that  the  Corinthians,  who  before  their  conversion 
had  been  married  to  idolaters,  were  bound  to  put 
away  their  spouses,  if  they  continued  in  idolatry. 
Therefore  the  sincere  part  of  the  church  having 
consulted  the  apostle  on  that  question,  he  ordered 
such  marriages  to  be  continued,  if  the  parties  were 
willing  to  abide  together.  But  as  a  difference  of 
religion  often  proves  an  occasion  of  family  quarrels, 
and  there  was  danger,  if  the  believers  should  be 
connected  in  marriage  with  iddatej^  and  open  sin- 

b 


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CHAPTER  Vn. 


is  sanctified  6y  ihe  wife*' 


A.M. 4003.  that    belieyeth    not,  and  if  he   be 
^'  ^'  ^'    pleased  to  dwell  with  her,  let  her  not 
leave  Jiim. 

14  For  the  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified 
by  the  wife,  and  the^  unbelieving  wife  is  sancti- 
fied by  the  husband :  else  ®  were  youc  children 
unclean ;  but  now  are, they  bdy. 


*  Mai.  iL  15. 9  Rom.  xiL  18 ;  »▼.  19 ;  Chap.  xit.  33  j  Heb. 


n^ra,  lest  they  should  be  drawn  by  their  partners 
into  similar  vices  and  abominations,  the  apostle  ad- 
vised them,  in  his  second  epistle,  in  contracting 
marriages  after  their  conversion,  by  no  means  to 
marry  idolaters,  2  Cor.  vL  14.  ilnd-r-On  the  other 
hand,  if  any  Christian  woman  h^ve  an  unbelieving 
husband,  whether  he  be  a  Jew  or  a  Gentile,  and  he 
consent  tp  dweU  with  her^  let  her  not  have  himr-^or 
put  him  away,  as  the  expression  a<^ieT'^  avrov  (the 
same  that  is  used  In  the  precedhig  verse)  Implies. 
And  it  is  certain,  though  the  Jewish  law  did  not  put 
it  into  a  woman's  power  to  divorce  her  husband,  yet 
that  in  those  countries,  in  the  apostle's  days,  the 
wives  among  the  heathen  had  a  power  of  divorce 
as  well  as  the  husbands;  and  thai  the  Roman  women 
practised  it  in  a  most  scandalous  manner,  as  did  se- 
veral Jewish . ladies  of  distinguished  rank;  and 
among  them,  even  Josephns's  own  wife.  See  Lard- 
ner's  Credibility,  part  1,  vol.  ii.  p.  890,  Jur>,  Sat,, 
vl.  222-230. 

Verse  14.  fhr  the  unbelieving  hueband  is  eancti- 
fied  by  the  vnfe^ThaX  hi,  sp  far  that  their  matrimo- 
nial couTerse  is  as  lawful,  holy,  and  honourable,  as 
if  they  were  both  of  the  same  faith:  and  in  many 
instances  the  unbeliever,  whether  husband  or  wife, 
hath  been  converted  to  God  by  the  instrumentality 
of  the  believing  partner.  The  former  sense,  how- 
ever, and  net  this  latter,  seems  to  be  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  apostle.  Else  were  your  children 
ttndtfon— And  must  be  looked  upon  as  unfit  to  be 
admitted  to  those  peculiar  ordinances  by  which  the 
seed  of  God's  people  are  distinguished ;  but  now  are 
they  holy — Confessedly ;  and  are  as  readily  admitted 
to  baptbm  as  if  both  the  parents  were  Christians : 
so  that  the  case,  you  see,  is  in  effect  decided  by  this 
prevailing  practice.  So  Dr.  Doddridge,  who  adds, 
^On  the  maturest  and  most  impartial  consideration 
of  this  text,  I  must  judge  it  to  refer  to  infont  bap- 
tism. Nothing  can  be  more  apparent  than  that  the 
word  holy  signifies  persons  who  might  be  permitted 
to  partake  of  the  distinguishing  rites  of  God's  peo- 
ple. See  Bxod.  xix.  6 ;  Deut.  vii.  6 ;  xiv.  2 ;  xxvi.  19 ; 
Ezra  ix.  2 ;  Acts  x.  28,  &c.  And  as  for  the  interpre- 
tation, which  so  many  of  our  brethren,  the  Baptists, 
have  contended  for,  that  holy  signifies  legitimate, 
and  unclean,  iUegitimate,  (not  to  urge  that  this  seems 
an  unscriptural  sense  of  the  word,)  nothing  can  be 
more  evident,  than  that  the  argument  will  by  no 
means  bear  it ;  for  it  would  be  proving  a  thing  by 
itself^  (idem  per  idem,)  to  argue  that  the  converse 
of  the  parents  was  lawful,  because  the  children  were 
not  bastards;  whereas  all  who  thought  the  converse 
b 


15  But  if  the  unbelieving  depart,  a.  m.  40S3. 

let  him  depart.    A  brother  or  a  sis-  .       \ 

ter  is  not  under  bondage  in  such  cases;  but 
God  hath  called  us  >*  to  ^peace. 

16  Pot  wh^t  knowest  thou,  O  wife,  whether 
thou  shalt  "tsave  thy  husband?  or  *how  knowest 
thou,  O  man,  whether  thou  shah  save  thy  wife? 


xii.  14. *  6r.  m  peace. fl  1  Peter  iii.  1.- 


»Gr.  what. 


of  the  parents  unlawful,  must  of  oourse  think  Hoi 
the  children  were  illegitimate."  ,  ThiM  also  Dr. 
Whitby:  "  He  doth  not  say,  *  else  were  your  children 
bastards,  but  now  they  are  legitimate,'  but '  else  were 
they  unclean ;'  that  is,  heathen  children,  not  to  be 
owned  as  a  holy  seed,  and  therefore  notlo  be  ad- 
mitted into  covenant  with  God,  as  belonging  to  his 
holy  people.  That  this  is  ihe  true  import  of  the 
words  oKa^apra  and  ayia,  wiU  be  apparent  from  the 
Scriptures,  in  which  the  heathen  are  styled  the  tm- 
clean,  in  opposition  to  the  Jews,  who  were  in  cove- 
nant with  God,  and  therefore  styled  a  holy  people. 
Whence  it  is  evident  that  the  Jews  looked  upon 
themselves  as  dti?x>i  Bett  Ko&apoi,  the  clean  servants  of 
God,  Neh.  ii.  20;  and  upon  all  the  heathen  and  their 
oifepring,  as  unclean,  by  reason  of  their  want  of 
circumcision,  and  the  sign  of  the  covenant.  Hence, 
whereas  it  is  said  that  Joshua  circumcised  the  people^ 
chap.  V.  4,  the  LXX.  say,  irepiexa^apev,  he  cleansed 
them.  Moreover,  of  heathen  children,  and  such  as 
are  not  circumcised,  they  say,  they  are  not  bom  in 
holiness  ;  but  they,  on  the  contrary,  are  styled  cirep- 
fia  ayiov^  a  holy  seed,l»^  vi.  13;  Ezra  i^.  2;  and  the 
offspring  from  them,  and  from  those  pioselytes 
which  had  embraced  their  religion,  are  said  to  be 
bom  in  holiness,  and  so  thoughi  fit  to  be  admitted  to 
circumcision,  or  baptism,  or  whatsoever  might  initi- 
ate them  into  the  Jewish  Church ;  and  therefore  to 
this  sense  of  the  Words  holy  and  unclean,  the  apostle 
may  be  here  most  rationally  supposed  to  sJlude. 
And  though  one  of  the  parents  be  still  a  heathen, 
yet  is  the  denomination  to  be  taken  from  the  better, 
and  so  their  of&pring  are  to  be  esteemed,  not  as 
heathen,  that  is,  unclean,  but  hdy ;  as  all  Christians 
by  denomination  are.  Hence,  then,  the  argument 
for  infant  baptism  runs  thus :  '  If  the  holy  seed  among 
the  Jews  was  therefore  to  be  circumcised,  and  be 
made  federally  holy,  by  receiving  the  sign  of  the 
covenant,  and  being  admitted  into  the  number  of 
God's  holy  people,  because  they  were  bom  in  sanc- 
tity ;  then,  by  like  reason,  the  holy  seed  of  Chris- 
tians ought  to  be  admitted  to  baptism,  and  receive 
the  sign  of  the  Christian  covenant,  the  laver  of  re- 
generation, and  so  be  entered  into  the  society  of  the 
Christian  Church.'  So  ^so  Clemens  Alexandrinus 
and  Tertullinn."    '* 

Verses  15-17.  But  if  the  unbelieving  party  depart, 
let  him  or  her  cZcpcr/— And  take  the  course  they 
think  best.  A  brother  or  sister— \  Christian  man  or 
wonran ;  is  not  under  bondager-ls  at  full  liberty ; 
in  such  cases:  but — Let  it  be  always  remembered; 
God  hath  called  us  to  peace— To  live  peaceably  with 
157 


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his  own  elation  and  calling. 


A.  If.  4003.     17  But  as  God  hath  distributed  to 
^   •^'    every  man,  as  the  Lord  hath  cafied 
every  one,  so  let  him  walk.    And  '  so  ordain  I 
in  all  churches. 

18  Is  any  man  called  being  circumcised? 
let  him  not  become  imcircumcised.  Is  any 
called  in  uncircumcision?  Uet  him  not  be  cir- 
cumcised. 

19  ^Circumcision  is  nothing,  and  uncircum- 
cision is  nothing,  but  'the  keeping  of  the 
commandments  of  Grod. 


'Chapter  iv.  17;  2  CorinthiaiiB  xi.  83. »Acte  xv.  1,5,  19, 

24, 28 ;  ,0«Uti«it  f.  4. »  GaUdans  ▼•  6  ;  ,  tL  15. «  Joha 

XT.  14 ;  1  John  ii.  3 ;  iu.24. f  Joha  viii.  36 ;  Rom.  ri.  18,  22 ; 


them,  if  it  be  possible :  and  therefore  it  ought  to  be 
our  care  to  behave  in  as  inoffensive  a  manner  as  may 
be,  in  all  the  relations  of  life ;  that  so,  if  there  must 
be  a  breach,  the  blame  may  not  be  chargeable  upon 
the  Christian.  For  whal  krmoeei  ihou,  &c. — As  if 
he  had  said,  It  is  of  great  importance  that  you  should 
conduct  yourselves  properly  toward  those  who  thus 
make,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  yourselves,  and  that  you 
should  adorn  the  gospel  by  the  most  amiahle  and 
engaging  behaviour  possible,  that  thereby  the  unbe- 
liever may  be  gained  over  to  Christianity.  And 
surely  the  everlasting  happiness  of  the  person,  now 
the  companion  of  your  life,  will  be  more  than  an 
equivalent  for  all  the  self-denial  to  which  you  may 
be  required  at  present  to  submit  See  on  1  Pet.  iii. 
1,  2.  BtU — However  it  be,  whether  the  unbeliever 
be  converted  or  not;  as  God  hath  distributed  to 
every  man — The  various  stations  of  life,  and  various 
relations,  let  him  take  care  to  discharge  h|s  duty 
therein ;  for  the  gospel  disannuls  none  of  them :  And 
as  the  Lord  hath  called  every  one,  so  let  him  waUc— 
"  By  declaring  here,  and  verses  20, 24,  that  men  were 
bound,  after  their  conversion,  to  continue  under  all 
the  moraLand  just  political  obligations,  which  lay 
on  them  before  their  conversion,  the  apostle  con- 
demned the  error  of  Judaizers,  who  taught,  that,  by 
embracing  the  true  religion,  all  the  former  obliga- 
tions, under  which  the  convert  lay,  were  dissolved. 
The  gospel,  instead  of  weakening  any  moral  or  just 
political  obligation,  strengthens  them  all."  This  I 
ordain  in  all  churches — This  I  lay  down  as  a  gene- 
ral rule  for  all  Christians  to  observe,  and  insist  on  it, 
as  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance. 

Verses  18, 19.  Is  any  man  called — Brought  to  the 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  to  a  participation 
of  his  grace ;  being  ctrcwtncwec^— Having  been  born 
of  Jewish  parents,  and  therefore  circumcised  in  his 
childhood,  or  being  a,  proselyte  ofrighteousnessy  arid 
therefore  circumcised;  let  him  not  become  uncir- 
cumcised — Not  act  as  if  he  were  desirous,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  undo  what  was  done  for  him  by  his 
Jewish  parents,  or  others.  Is  any  called  in  uncir- 
cumcision— Having  been  a  Gentile  by  birth ;  let  him 
not  be  circumcised — The  Judaizing  teachers  urged 
the  Gentile  converts  to  receive  circumcision  as  ne- 
cessary to  salvation.  This  the  apostle  declared  to 
158 


20  Let  every  man  abide  in  the  same  a.  m.  4063. 
'calling  wherein  he  was  called.  — '- — '- 1  * 

21  Art  thou  called  being  a  servant?  care  not 
for  it;  but  if  thou  mayest  be  made  free,  use 
it  rather. 

22  Tor  he  that  is  called  in  the  Lord,  being  a 
servant,  is  ^the  Lord's  ^freeman:  likewise  also 
he  thai  is  called,  being  free,  is  *  Christ's  ser- 
vant. 

23  'Yeare  bought  with  a  price;  be  not  yc 
the  servants  of  men. 


Philem.  16. *  Gr.made  free.^^-^^  Chap.  ix.  21 ;  QtL  r.  13; 

Eph.  Ti.  6 :  1  Pet   ii.  16. ^Chap.  vi.  90 ;  1  Pet.  i.  18,  19; 

Lev.  XXV.  42.         - 


be  a  renouncing  of  the  gospel,  Gal.  v.  2, 3.  Circunir 
cision  is  nothing,  and  uncircumcision  is  nothing — 
Will  neither  promote  nor  obstruct  our  salvation. 
The  one  point  is,  keeping  the  comrt^ndments  of  God 
— Namely,  from  a  principle  of  faith  and  love,  and 
with  a  Qingle  eye  to  the  glory  of  God :  for  this,  ac- 
cording to  the  same  apostle,  implies  faith  tcoiking 
by  lovcy  and  a  new  creature,  or  a  new  creation,  the 
necessity  of  which  the  apostle  declares,  in  similar 
terms.  Gal.  v.  6;  vi.  15.  . 

Verses  20-24.  Let  every  man  abide  wherein  he 
was  called— Affect  not  tP  change  without  the  clear 
and  evident  leadings  of  Providence,  as  there  is  gene- 
rally greater  reason  to  expect  a  man  will  enjoy 
comfort,  and  be  holy  and  useful,  in  a  situation  to 
which  he  is  accustomed,  than  in  another  to  which 
he  is  a  stranger.  The  apostle  repeats  the  injunction 
because  of  its  great  importance ;  for  they  who  arc 
so  unsettled  in  their  minds  as  to  be  continually 
changing  from  one  condition  or  line  of  life  to  another, 
seldom  make  progress,  or  are  of  much  use  to  them- 
selves or  others,  in  any  one.  Art  thou  called  being 
a  servant — Or  bondman,  os  ShXo^  properly  signifies; 
care  not  for  it— -Bo  not  much  regard  it,  nor  anxiously 
seek  liberty:  do  not  suppose  that  such  a  condition 
renders  thee  less  acceptable  to  God,  or  is  unworthy 
of  a  Christian.  But  if  thou  mayest  be  made  free-- 
By  any  lawful  method ;  use  it  ro^Aer— Embrace  the 
opportunity,  ffe  that  is  called  in,  or  by,  the  Lord--- 
To  the  Christian  faith ;  being  a  servant— Or  a  bond- 
man ;  is  Hie  Lord^s  freeman — Being  delivered  by 
him  from  the  slavery  of  sin  and  Satan,  and  therefore 
possesses  the  greatest  of  all  dignities.  Likewise — 
In  like  manner ;  he  that  is  called,  being  free— From 
the  authority  of  any  human  master;  is  Oiris(*s 
servant-— Or  boiidman;  not  free  in  this  respect ;  not 
at  his  own  disposal ;  not  at  liberty  to  do  his  own  will, 
but  bound  to  be  subject  and  obedlen)  to  Christ 
Surely,  as  Goodwin  observes, "  the  apostle  could  not 
have  expressed  in  stronger  terms  his  deep  convic- 
tion of  the  small  importance  of  human  distinctions 
than  he  here  does ;  when,  speaking  of  what  seems,  to 
great  and  generous  minds,  the  most  miserable  lot, 
even  that  of  a  slave,  he  says,  Care  not  for  it.^^  To 
this  Doddridge  adds,  ^^  If  liberty  itself;  the  first  of  all 
temporal  blessings,  be  not  of  so  great  importance  as 


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CHAPTER  Vn. 


concerning  unmarried  persons. 


A.  M.  4063.  24  Brethren,  *  let  every  man,  wherein 
— 1— ^ — '—  he  is  called,  therein  abide  with  God. 

26  Now  concerning  virgins,  ®I  have  no  com- 
mandment of  the  Lcnrd:  yet  I  give  my  judg- 
ment as  one  ^that  hath  obtained  mercy  of  the 
Lord  •tobefeithfiiL 

26  I  suppose  therefore  that  this  is  good  for 


»»Ver«e  20.- 


•Venes  6,  10,40;    8Cor.  viii.  8,  10. 

*lTi     •  " 


rim.i.  10. 


that  a  man,  blessed  with  the  higbhopes  and  glorious 
consolations  of  Christianity^  should  make  himself 
very  solicitous  about  it,  how  much  less  in  those  com- 
paratively trifling  distinctions  on  Which  man3rlay  so 
disproportionate,  so  extravagant  a  stress."  Ye  are 
bought  toith  a  jwice— Christ  hath  redeemed  you  at 
the  expense  of  his  own  blood^a  price  of  infinite  value ; 
be  not  ye  the  servants — ^The  slaves;  of  men — If  it 
can  by  any  lawful  means  be  avoided,  since  so  many 
evils,  dangers,  and  snares  are  insepatable  from  such 
a  condition.  Brethreny  let  every  man,  &c. — Here 
the  apostle  repeats  the  same  advice  a  third  time  in 
the  compass  of  a  few  verses,  intending,  L'Enfant 
thinks^  "  to  correct  some  disorders  among  the  Chris- 
tian slaves  in  Corinth,  who,  agreeably  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  false  teachers,  claimed  their  liberty,  on  pre- 
tence that,  as  brethren  in  Christ,  they  were  on  an 
equality  with  their  Christian  iliasters."  Therein 
abide  ^urith  Cfod^Doing  all  things  as  unto^CrOd,  and 
as  in  his  immediate  presence.  They  who  thus  abide 
with  Gk>d,  preserve  a  holy  indifference  with  regard 
to  outward  things. 

Verstes  26,  2ff.  Now  concerning  virgins — The 
word  ir<ip^evav^  trandated  virgins,  denotes  persons 
of  either  sex,  who  never  were  married .  For  Eisner, 
after  Suidas,  tells  us,  that  men  were  called  irapdevoi, 
virgins^  as  well  as  women ;  of  which  Rev.  xiv.  4  is 
an  undoubted  example ;  these  are  they  which  were 
not  deJUed  with  women,  for  they  are  virgins.  The 
apostle  seems  here  to  speak  of  such  single  persons 
as  were  in  their  fathers'  families.  /  have  n^  com- 
mandment of  the  I*ord— Namely,  delivered  during 
his  ministry,  or  communicated  by  any  particular 
revelation.  Nor  was  it  necessary  he  should ;  for  the 
apostles  wrote  nothing  which  was  not  divinely  in- 
spired, but  with  this  difference,  sometimes  they 
delivered  what  Christ  had  expressly  declared  or  en- 
joined during  his  personal  ministry,  or  what  was 
made  known  to  them  by  a  particular  revelation,  and 
a  special  commandment ;  at  other  times  they  wrote 
from  the  divine  light,  which  abode  with  them,  the 
standing  treasure  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  this 
also  was  not  their  own  private  opinion,  but  a  divine 
role  of  foith  and  practice  to  the  Christians,  or  a  di- 
rectory to  them  in  cases  of  difficulty.  See  note  on 
verse  6.  Yet  I  give  my  jttdgment'-Guldhd  by  the 
Holy  Spirit^  not  only  to  deliver  sound  doctrine,  but 
faithful  and  wholesome  advice,  verse  40;  I  Thess. 
iv.  8.  As  one  that  hath  obtained  mercy  to  be  faith- 
ful-—A9  one  whom  God  hath  in  mercy  made  ftdthAil 
in  my  apostolic  office,  who  therefore  faithfully  de- 
ilver  what  I  receive  from  him.  The  apostte,  in  other 
b 


the  present  *  distress;  I  say,  'that  it  A.  M.  4063. 
is  good  for  a  man  so  to  be.  ! — L 

27  Art  thou  bound  unto  a  wife?  seek  not  to 
be  loosed.  Art  thou  loosed  from  a  wife?  seek 
not  a  wife. 

28  But  and  if  thou  mari^,  thou  hast  not  sin- 
ned: and  if  a  virgin  marry,  she  hath  not  sin- 


•  Chap.  It.  2 ;  1  Tim.  i.  13.— «  Or,  necesnt^,- 

i,a 


f  Verses 


passages,  ascribes  his  inspiration  and  supernatural 
gifts  to  divine  mercy,  (2^ Cor.  iv.  1,)  and  grace  j  (Gal. 
ir.  9 :)  wherefore,  as  by  this  mercy  and  grace  he  was 
enabled  to  be  a  foithM  apostle  and  steward  of  the 
mysteries  of  God,  his  judgment,  in  all  cases,  must 
be  considered  as  being  dictated  by  inspiration.  / 
suppose  therefore — The  word  rof«tC",.thus  rendered, 
might,  With  propriety,  have  been  translated  I  deter- 
mine, or  /  establish  by  law;  (see  Park.  Diet;)  for 
the  apostle  does  not  give  a  simple  opinion,  such  as 
any  wise  man  might  give,  but  aJi  inspired  decision : 
that  this  is  good'—lB  right  and  proper,  and  ought  to 
be  observed  i  for  the  present  distress — Or  exigency ; 
that  is,  while  any  church  is  under  persecution.  The 
same  word,  ovayKrj,  is  used  for  affliction  arising  from 
outward  circmnstances,  Luke  xxi.  23.  By  mention- 
ing the  present  dbtress  as  the  chief,  or  only  thing 
which  rendered  a  single  state  proper,  the  apostle  hath 
prevented  us  from  fancying  that  celibacy  is  a  more 
holy  or  perfect  state  than  matrimony.  The  one  or 
the  other,  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  is  proper, 
according  to  the  circumstances  in  which  persons  are 
placed.  /  say  that  it  is  good  for  a  m^n  so  to  6c— 
"Though  the  English  word  man, like  its  correspond- 
ing word  in  Greek  and  Latin,  denotes  both  sexes,  the 
Greek  word  here  might  have  been  translated  a  per- 
son, better  to  agr^e  with  the  signification  of  the 
word  virgin,  which,  as  we  have  just  observed,  de- 
notes an  unmarried  person  of  either  sex." 

Verses  27, 28.  Art  thou  bound  to  a  ivife?^^  Because 
the  directions  which  the  apostle  was  about  to  give 
(verse  36)  to  fathers,  concerning  the  disposal  of  * 
their  children  in  marriage,  were  partly  to  be  founded 
on  the  inclination  and  drcumstances  of  the  children, 
before  he  gave  these  directions,  he  very  properly 
addressed  the  children  themselves,  and  set  before 
them  the  considerations  by  which  their  inclinations 
were  to  be  regulated  in  that  ihatter,  namely,  the  in- 
conveniences attending  a  married  state,  and  the 
brevity  and  uncertainty  of  all  human  enjoyments ; 
considerations  which,  he  told  them,  ought  to  deter- 
mine them  to  wish  to  remain  unmarried  under  the 
present  distress."  Seek  not  to  be  loosed— From  her 
by  an  unjust  divorce,  or  by  deserting  her.  Art  thou 
loosed?— Ueith  Providence  never  led  thee  into  those 
engagements ;  or  has  it  broken  the  bond  by  the  death 
of  thy  former  companion?  Seek  not  a  wife-—l( 
thou  canst  conveniently  and  virtuously  continue  as 
thou  art;  at  least  at  present,  till  the  storm,  which 
now  hovers  over  the  church,  be  a  little  blown  over, 
and  more  peaceftil  times  return.  But  yet  if  thou 
marry,  thou  hast  not  thereby  sinned:  and  if  a  vir- 

i6e 


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care  4b9Ht  temporal  things*- 


A.  M.  4083.  ned.     Nevertheless,  such  shall  have 
^  ^'^'    trouble  in  the  flesh;  but  I  spare  you. 

29  But  '  this  I  say,  brethren,  The  time  is 
short  It  remaineth,  that  both  they  that  have 
wives,  be  as  though  they  had  none; 

30  And  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept 
not;  and  they  that  rejoice,  ad  though  they  re- 
joiced not;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they 
possessed  not; 

31  And  they  that  use  this  world,  as  not 
^abusing  it.  For  *  the  fashion  of  this  world 
passeth  away« 

32  But  I  would  have  you  without  carefuU 


18. 


f  Rom.  xiii.  11 ;  1  Pet.  ir.  7  j  S  Pet  iii.  8,  9.— *  Ch«p.  ix. 
Pga.3axuL6;  Jaine«i.ia;  it.  14;  1  Pet  i.  24;  iv.  7; 


^n  marry t  she  hath  not  sinned— -The  marriage  state 
is,  no  doubt,  both  lawful  and  honourable.  Nevertker 
less^  such  shall  have  trouble  in  the  flesh — ^Mauy 
outward  troubles;  but  I  spare  yoM— I  speak  as  little 
and  as  tenderly  as  possible. 

Verses  29-31.  But  this  I  say,  &c.— But  though  I 
leave  every  one  to  his  own  liberty  in  the  case  now 
mentioned,  yet  here  b  what  is  necessary  for  all  to 
observe.  The  time^Oi  our  abode  here,  and  of  these 
worldly  enjoyments ;.  u  short:  it  remaineth^li 
plainly  follows;  that  those  who  hwoe  wives  be  as 
though  they  had  n<me— Namely,  as  serious,  zeisdous, 
and  active,  dead  to  the  world,  as  devoted  to  God,  as 
holy  in  all  manner  pf  conversation,  preserving  them- 
selves from  all  inordinate  affection  toward  them,  and 
to  be  prepared  to  leave  them,  or  to  part  with  them, 
whenever  a  wise,  unerring,  and  gracious  Providence 
shall  call  them  so  to  do.  By  so  easy  a  transition  does 
the  apostle  slide  from  every  thing  else  to  the  one 
thing  needful,  and,  forgetting  whatever  is  temporal, 
is  swallowed  up  in  eternity.  And  they  that  weep — 
That  sorrow  on  account  of  any  trouble ;  as  though 
they  wept  tio/— Knowing  that  the  ei\d  of  temporal 
troubles,  as  of  temporal  joys,  is  fast  approaching,  and 
therefore  not  being  too  much  concerned,  cast  down, 
and  distressed  on  account  of  them.  And  they  that 
rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not — ELnowing  the 
transitory  nature  of  all  earthly  joys,  and  therefore 
tempering  their  joy  with  godly  fear.  And  they  that 
buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not — Considering  that 
they  hold  nothing  here  by  a  certain  tenure,  but  must 
shortly  resign  all,  and  therefore  not  placing  much 
dependance  on  any  thing  secular  for  happiness ;  and 
knowing  themselves  to  be  only  stewards,  and  not 
proprietors  of  what  they  possess,  and  that  they  must 
shortly  be  called  to  give  an  account  of  the  use  they 
have  made  of  it.  And  they  that  use  this  world— 
That  is,  the  comforts  and  accommodations  thereof; 
as  not  abusing  it — By  employing  them  to  other  ends 
than  those  to  which  they  were  intended ;  or  in  an- 
other manner  than  that  prescribed  by  the  great  Pro- 
prietor of  all,  and  not  seeking  happiness  therein^  but 
in  €k)d:  using  every  Uiing  only  in  such  a  manner 
and  degree  as  most  tends  to  the  knowledge  and  love 
160 


ness.  ^  He  that  is  unmarried,  careth  A.  ic.  4003. 
for  the  things  ^that  belcmg  to  the  — 1— I — 1 
LcNrd,  how  he  may  please  the-Lord : 

33  But  he  that  is  mahied,  careCb  fi)r  the 
things  that  are  of  the  world,  how  he.  may 
please  his  wife. 

34  There  is  difference  also  between  a  wife 
and  a  virgin.  The  unmarried  wcnnan  ^careth 
for  the  things  of  the  Lord,  that  she  may  be 
holy,  both  in  body  and  in  spirit:  but  she  that 
is  married,  careth  for  the  things  of  the  world, 
how  she  may  please  her  husband. 

3^  And  this  I  speak  for  your  own  {nrofit ;  not 


I  John  ii.  17. ^  i  Tiro.  v.  5. >  Gr.  0/  f/ke  L&rd^  as 

34,-L-j  Luke  X.  40,  &c. 


of  him.  For  the  fashion  of  this  icorW— The  whole 
scheme  of  it,  and  the  manner  and  way  of  living  or 
conversing  here,  with  the  several  conditions,  rela- 
tions, and  ccmnections  of  life;  this  marrying,  weep- 
ing, rejoicing,  and  aH  the  rest,  not  only  will  pass,  but 
now  passeth  away,  is  this  moment  flying  off  like  a 
shadow.  ^ 

Verses  32-35.  J?v/— Or  now  ;  I  would  have  you — 
During  this  dying  moment ;  withotd  carejulne^ — Or 
anxiety,  amidst  all  these  uncertainties:  without  any 
encumbnmoe  or  distraction  of  your  thoughts,  about 
the  afi&urs  of  this  short  uncertain  Hfe,  in  order  that 
you  may  freely  and  cheerfully  wait  on  God  in  a  due 
attendance  on  all  his  ordinances,  and  may  serve 
him  according^  to  his  will ;  and  therefore,  for  the  pre- 
sent, I  advise  you  to  remain  single  as  you  are.  For 
he  thai  is  unmarrteci— If  he  understand  and  use  the 
advantage  he  enjoys;  careth  ehieAy  for  the  things 
that  belong  to  the  Lord — ^Namely,  the  Lord  Christ; 
how  he  may  please  the  Lord — And  is  in  a  great  de- 
gree at  liberty  to  employ  his  thoughts,  cares,  and  la- 
bours, for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom among  men;  and  surely  there  is  no  other  em- 
ployment so  honourable,  so  delightful,  and,  when  re- 
mote CQUsequences  are  taken  into  the  account,  so 
profitable.  But  he  that  is  married  careth  for  the 
things  of  the  irorZd— And  it  is  his  duty  so  to  do,  so 
far  as  becomes  a  Christian ;  how  he  may  please  his 
wife — May  accommodate  himself  to  her  temper  in 
all  lawful  things,  so  as  to  make  her  easy  and  happy, 
and  provide  all  things  needful  for  her  and  his  family. 
There  is  a  difference  also  between  a  wife  and  a 
v^lrgin — Whether  the  church  be  imder  persecution 
or  not  7%e  unmarried  woman — Not  burdened 
with  a  family,  if  she  know  and  nse  her  privil^e ; 
careth  chiefly  for  the  tilings  cf  the  Ijord—Al\  her 
time,  care,  and  thoughts,  centre  in  this,  how  she  majf 
be  holy  both  in  body  and  spirit. — This  is  the  stand- 
ing advantage  of  a  single  life  in  all  ages  and  nations: 
but  who  makes  a  suitable  use  of  it?  But  she  that  is 
married,  careth  how  she  may  please  her  husband — 
And  the  divermty  of  humours  both  in  men  and  wo- 
men, and  the  imperfection  of  even  the  best  tempers, 
make  this  spmetimes,  on  both  ddes,  a  difSicult  task; 

b 


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CHAPTER  VIL 


^dktressedttateofthechurA. 


A^^.  that  I  may  <cQst  a  snare  upon  you, 

' but  fat  that  whieh  is  comely,  and  that 

ye  may  attend  ujjon  the  Lord  without  distrac- 


36  But  if  aoy  man  think  that  he  bdiaveA 
himddf  uncomely  toward  his  virgin,  if  she 
pass  the  flower  of  her  age,  and  need  so^re- 
quire,  let  him  do  what  he  will,  he  sinneth  not : 
let  them  marry. 

37  Neverthdeas,  he  that,  standeth  steadfast 
in  his  heart,  having  no  Necessity,  but  hath 
power  over  his  own  will,  and  hath  so  decreed 


•Heb.  xiii  4.- 


>  Ronu  Tii.  2.- 


•2  Cor.  vL  14< 


on  which  account  single  persons  have  always  some 
considerable  advantages,  and  especially  in  times  of 
public  danger.  And  r^^— Coacemmg  the  advan- 
tages of  a  single  life ;  /  speak  for  your  profit—To 
show  you  what  is  most  advantageous  for  your  souls; 
not  that  I  may  ccui  a  snare  upon  you — Who  are  not 
able  to  receive  this  saying;  but  for  thai  v>hich  is 
comely — Ilpof  to  ewrxn/^v^  for  that  which  is  decent, 
agreeable  to  yonr  holy  calling  and  profession :  and 
that  you  may  attend  upon  the  Lortl—May  resolutely 
and  perseveringly  wait  upon  him^  in  the  use  of  all 
the  means  of  grace,  and  in  a  conUnual  attention  to 
the  voice  of  his  proyidence,  word,  and  Spirit  The 
word  evnpoeedpov^  rendered  attend  upon,  signifies  sit- 
ting close  by  a  person,  in  a  good  posture  to  hear :  so 
Mary  sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  Luke  x.  30 :  without 
dttf^rotctiofi— Without  having  the  mind  drawn  from 
its  centre,  from  its  close  attention  to  God,  by  any 
perscvn  or  thing,  care  or  encumbrance  whatsoever. 

Verses  36-38.  BiU  if  any  man— Who  is  a  parent 
or  guardian ;  think  thai  he  behaveth  himself  un-- 
comely—Thai  he  should  act  indecently,  or  in  a  man- 
ner unbecoming  his  character,  or  unsuitably  to  her 
credit  and  reputation;  toward  his  virgin — By  hin- 
dering her  from  marriage ;  if  she  pass,  ^.— Greek, 
«ap  n  vitepoKfioc,  if  she  be  abime  age,  or  of  full  age ; 
and  need  so  requir&^Kai  stoc  ofetXei  yivec^ai^  and  it 
be  necessary  to  be  so  done,  whether  the  necessity 
ariseth  from  her  conscience  and  inclination,  or  her 
being  sought  in  marriage ;  let  him  do  what  he  wiU 
-^Ab  he  sees  occasion,  according  to  circumstances, 
either  to  marry  her,  or  keep  her  single.  Or,  as  the 
words  maybe  rendered,  Let  him  do  ichat  sheincU 
neth  to;  he  sinneth  not — ^In  compljring  with  her  in- 
clination in  such  a  case:  let  them^hei  such  virgin 
daughters,  marry— See  on  verse  9.  ''As  both  the 
Jews  and  Gentiles  reckoned  celibacy  dishonour- 
able^ some  iathers  might  think  it  shifrd  to  restrain 
theirdaughters  from  marriage ;  while  others,  follow- 
ing the  opinion  of  the  Essenes  and  rigid  philoso- 
phera,  fancied  they  aeted  properly  in  restrainmg 
them.  The  Corinthians,  therefore,  had  judged  it 
necessary  to  oonsidt  the  apostle  on  that  head.''  Nev- 
jerthele»s^-Or  but;  he  thai  standi  steadfaet,Ac.'^ 
Who  eontinBeth  firmly  persuaded  in  his  mind,  that 
it  is  BO  ni  in  his  dan^^iter  to  remain  UBBnrried: 
YoL.IL  (  11  ) 


in  his  heait  that  he  wiQ  keep  his  vir*  a.  m.  40fl8. 
gin,  doeth  weL  h.D.M. 

38  *"  So  then  Jie  that  giveth  her  in  marriage 
doeCh  well;  but  he  that  giveth  her  not  in  mar- 
riage doeth  better. 

39  ^  The  wife  is  bound  by  the  law  as  long 
as  her  husband  liveth;  but  if  her  husband  be 
dead,  she  is  at  liberty  to  be  married  to  whom 
she  will ;  "  only  in  the  Lord. 

40  But  she  is  happer  if  she  so  abide,  ^  after 
my  judgment  ]  and  1 1  think  also  that  I  have 
the  Spirit  of  God. 


pVene  25.- 


1 1  Thoss.  It.  8. 


Tutting  no  necessity — From  her  opinion,  or  inclina- 
tion, or  circumstances,  to  give  her  in  marriage;  and 
hath  power  over  his  own  will — ^Which  would  incline 
him  to  desire  the  increase  of  his  family,  and  the 
strengthening  of  it  by  new  relations;  or,  who  hath 
the  direction  of  his  own  will — In  that  affair,  being  a 
freeman^  and  not  a  slave;  and  hath  so  decreed,  &e. 
— Hiath  det^niined  this  in  his  mind ;  to  keep  his  vir- 
^'n—Unmarried,  agreeably  to  her  oWn  inclination ; 
doeth  well — Doeth  what  is  preferable.  So  then  Ike 
thai  giveth  her  in  marriage— -WiiQH  need  so  requires, 
doeth  1^0/^-^Doth  what  is  lawful,  and  in  his  daugh- 
ter's case  is,  <m  the  whole,  proper,  even  in  the  pre- 
sent distress;  hut  he  thai  giveth  her  not  doeth  bet' 
ter—Vf\iQX  i*  better  for  her,  more  for  her  spiritual 
improvement ;  because  if  she  agrees  to  it,  by  keep- 
ing her  in  his  own  family  unmarried,  she  will  be  ex- 
posed to  fewer  temptations  than  if  she  were  mai- 
ried,  and  in  a  better  condition  for  acquiring  that 
knowledge  o^  and  faith  in,  the  gospel,  with  holiness 
in  heart  and  life,  which  will  enable  her  to  adhere 
to  and  adorn  the  cause  of  Christ  in  a  time  of  perse- 
cution. 

Verses  89,  40.  The  wife  is  bound  by  the  law^ 
See  on  Rom.  vii.  2.  Or  the  apostle  may  mean  the 
law  of  the  gospel,  called  the  law  of  faith,  and  the 
law  of  liberty  ;  or  he  may  intend  the  law  of  mar- 
riage given  to  Adam  and  Eve  in  paradise :  i>  bound 
to  her  husband  so  long  as  he  liveth — ^This  is  the  ge- 
neral rule,  from  which  is  excepted  the  case  of  forni- 
cation, (Matt.  V.  32,)  and  desertion,  verse  15.  The 
apostle  repeats  what  he  had  enjoined  in  the  preced- 
ing pert  of  the  chapter,  (verses  10-13,)  namely,  that 
married  Christian  women  were  not  to  leave  their 
husbands  on  account  of  the  troubles  which  in  that 
time  of  persecution  attended  the  married  state.  But 
ifherhusband^be  dead-^r  if  he  be  justly  divorced 
from  her,  or  maliciously  deserts  her ;  she  is  at  liber- 
ty to  be  married,  but  only  in  the  Lort^-That  is,  let 
Christians  only  marry  Christians;  or  let  the  truly 
pious  only  marry  the  truly  pious :  a  standing  direc- 
tion, and  one  of  the  utmost  importance.  But  she  is 
A^^'er— Approaches  nearer  to  the  happiness  of 
heavcrt,  which  consists  m  freely  enjoying  God,  and 
uninteiTuptedly  serving  him ;  if  she  so  a6W«>— Be- 
mahiawidow;  after  mf  J^Ogment-^-See  on  verses 


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tend$  to.pride  and  vofUif. 


.  6^  25 :  he  speaks  only  modestly,  not  doubtUigly .  And 
I  think  that  I  aUo—Aa  well  as  any  of  you,  and  no 
less  than  the  other  apostles ;  have  the  Spirit  of  God 
^Teaching  me  m  all  thingrthat  eoncem  the  religion 
of  Jeflis;  or,  that  I  am  infallibly  guided  by  God's 
S^urit,  and  endned  with  knowledge  and  wisdom  to 
determine  matters  of  controversy  in  the  church. 
The  word  doKo,  rendered  lihink,  in  thisj  as  in  many 
other  passages,  does  not  express  doubting,  but  cer- 
tainly, 1  Cor.  iv.  9;  Mark  x.  42;  Luke  viii.  18; 
1  Cor.  XL  16 ;  xiv.  32.  From  these,  and  many  other 
examples  which  might  be  adduced,  it  is  evident  that 


the  word  in  this  verse  does  n6t  imply  that  the  apoi- 
tie  was  in  any  doubt  whether  he  was  inspired  in 
giving  this'  judgment.  It  is  only  a  soft  way  of  ex- 
pressing his  certain  la&owledge  of  his  own  inspfarft- 
tion,  and  may  have  been  used  ironically  in  referenoe 
to^  and  reproof  of,  the  false  teachers  and  others- idio 
c«^ed  his  inspiration  in  question.  Whoever  there- 
fore would  conclude  from  hence  that  St«  Paul  was  not 
eertldn  he  hfid  the  Spiritof Chrnt,  neither  understands 
the  true  import  of  the  words,  nor  considers  how  ex- 
pressly he  lays  claim  to  the  Spirit,  both  in  this  epis- 
tle, chap.  ii.  16 ;  xiv.  87 ;  and  in  the  other,  chap,  xiii.d. 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

ThB  apdtiU  now  proceedi  to  answer  4snother  question  proposed  to  him  hy  the  Corinthians^  viz,t  respecting  the  Uwfidness  of 
eating  things  that  had  been  saaifieed  to  idols :  with  respect  to  which,  (I,)  He  cautions  them  against  self-conceit  ftith  re- 
spect to  their  knowledge^  1-3.  (2,)  Asserts  the  vanity  of  idols,  and  the  unity  of  the  true  God,  4-7.  (3,)  Shows  the  sin 
and  danger  of  giving  offence  to  others  by  eating  what  had  been  offered  to  idotSf  though  it  were  ever  so  i$utocent  in  itself, 

a-18. 


A.M.4oa3.  "M'OW,  'ae  touching  things  oflbred 

'. — L         unto  idols,  we  know  that  we  all 

liave  **  knowledge.     **  Knowledge  puffeth  up, 
but  charity  edifieth. 
2  And  *if  any  man  think  that  he  knoweth 


*  Acts  XT.  20,  29 ;  Chapter  x.  19. *  RoiAans  xiv.  14,  28. 

«  Rom.  xiT.  3, 10.- *  Chap.  xiii.  8,  9, 12 ;  Gal.  vi  3;  1  Tim. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VIII. 
Verses  1-3.  Note — As  to  the  next  question  you 
proposed,  namely,  touching  things  offered— Me^ie 
Mcriiiced,  and  so  consecrated;  unto  idols — When 
the  heathen  offered  sacrifices  of  such  animals  as 
were  fit  for  food,  a  part  of  the  carcass  was  burned 
on  the  altar,  a  part  was  given  to  the  priest  or  priests, 
and  on  the  remainder  the  offerers  feasted  with  their 
friends,  either  in  the  idol's  temple  or  at  home.  Some- 
times also  a  part  was  sent  as  a  present  to  such  as 
they  wished  to  oblige,  and  if  the  sacrifice  was  large, 
a  part  of  it  was  sold  in  the  public  market  To  these 
idolatrous  feasts  the  heathen  often  invited  the  Chris- 
tians of  their  acquaintance  in  Corinth,  and  somp  of 
the  brctliren  there,  desirous  of  preserving  the  friend- 
ship of  their  neighbours,  accepted  these  invitations. 
They  knew  aft  idol  was  nothing  in  the  world:  and 
therefore  they  judged  that  their  partaking  of  the 
Acrifice,  given  in  the  idol's  temple,  could  mi  be 
reckoned  a  worshipping  of  the  idol.  Besides,  such 
a  feast  was  considered,  by  enlightened  Christians, 
tm  a  common  meal,  which  under  the  gospel  they 
were  at  liberty  to  eat ;  Especially  if  they  did  it  to 
show  their  belief  that  idds  had  no  existence  as  gods. 
These  arguments,  indeed,  are  not  explicitly  stated 
by  the  apostle ;  but  the  Uiings  he  hath  written  in 
this  and  in  chap.  x.  being  direct  confutations  of 
them,  we  may  believe  they  were  mentioned  by  the 
Corinthian  brethren,  in  their  letter  referred  to  chap. 


any  thin^,  he  knoweth  nothing  yet  A.  M.  4063. 
as  he  ought  to  know.  ^'  ^'  ^' 

3  But  if  any  man  love  God,  *the  same  is 
known  of  him. 

4  Aa    concerning   therefore   the   eating    of 


Ti.  4. «Exod.  xxxiii.  12, 17;  Nah.  i.  7;  MatUTii.  23:  Gal. 

IT.  9;  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 


viL  1.  The  apostte  here,  and  in  chap.  x.  20,  21, 
treats  of  the  meats  which,  havmg  been  sacrificed  to 
idols,  were  afterward  eaten  in  the  idol's  temple,  and 
in  honour  of  the  idol :  of  that  which  was  sold  in 
the  shambles,  or  eaten  in  private  houses,  he  speaks 
chap.  X.  25-33.  We  ail  have  knovledge-^TheA  is, 
the  generality,  for  some  had  not,  verse  7:  we  are 
well  instructed  in  the  nature  of  Christian  liberty, 
concerning  meats,  and  the  nature  of  idols.  Know- 
ledge—Thsii  is,  mere  knowledge,  knowledge  with- 
out grace ;  pvffeth  up— Often  has  that  tendency,  and 
is  the  occasion  of  self-conceit  and  arrogance ;  a  gen- 
tle reproof  this  of  the  self-conceit  of  the  Corinthi- 
ans. BiU  charity — Love  to  €k>d  and  our  brethren ; 
eefi/ieMr— Builds  people  up  in  holiness.  If  any  man 
think  he  knoweth  any  thing  aright — Unless  bo  far 
as  he  is  taught  by  God,  and  has  love  in  proportion 
to  his  knowledge ;  he  knoweth  nothing^To  any  good 
purpose ;  yet,  as  he  ought  to  ^otr— Namely,  tei  an- 
swer the  proper  ends  of  knowledge,  or  to  mukc  him 
humble  in  himself,  and  useful  to  others.  If  amy 
man  love  God — In  deed  and  in  truth,  in  consequence 
of  a  persuasion  of  God's  love  to  him,  1  John  iv.  19 ; 
if  any  man,  bemg  justified  by  faith,  and  having 
peace  with  God,  hath  also  the  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  his  heart,  Rom.  v.  1,  5 ;  the  odme  is  known 
of  Aiw— That  is,  approved  by  him,  Psa.  i.  6.  Or,  if 
«roc,  he,  refers  to  God,  the  immediate  antecedent, 
aa  some  think  the  sense  is,  ht,  €tod«  t«  known  of 

( .n* )  b 


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CHAPTER  Vra. 


been  offered  in  sacrifice  to  uWf . 


A.  BL  4063.  those  \hmsB  that  are  offered  in  sacri- 

■ fice  unto  idols,  we  know  that '  an  idol 

is  nothing  in  the  world,  'and  that  there  is 
none  other  God  but  one* 

5  For  though  there  be  that  are  ^called  gods, 
whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth;  (as  there  be 
gods  many,  and  lords  many ;) 

6  But  ^  to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Fa- 
ther,  ^of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  Mn 


'  laa.  xli.  24 ;  Chmp.  x.  19.— «Deut.  ir.  39 ;  ri.  4 ;  Isiu  xlir. 

8;  MariL  xiL  29 ;  Verw  6 ;  Eph.  ir.  6;  1  Tim.  ii.  5. ">  John 

X.  34* i  MaL  iu  10 ;  Bph.  ir.  6. ^  Ada  xvii.  28 ;  Rom. 

zi.  36. 


him ;  namely,  in  a  proper  manner.    See  an  exam- 
ple of  the  same  phraseology^  Acts  x.  36. 

Vecse  4-6.  '  Af,  &c. — To,  proceed,  therefore,  to 
the  question  in  debate ;  concerning  the  e.ating  of 
those  things  that  are  offered  unto  idols — Meats  of 
whatever  kind  sacrificed  to  them.  We  know  that 
an  idol — Or  the  supposed  deity  residing  therein; 
is  nothing^A  mere  nominal  god,  having  no  real 
divinity,  virtue,  or  power;  and  that  there  is  none 
other  God  but  owe— Jehovah,  the  self-existent,  inde- 
pendent, infinite,  and  eternal  Being,  to  whom  the 
Scripture  in  general,  and  the  gospel  in  particular, 
hath,  taught  us  to  appropriate  our  worship.  "  The 
Greek  word  wtJaAov,  translated  idol^  signifies  an  im- 
age formed  in  the  mind,  and  which  exists  nowhere 
else.  Wherefore,  to  show  that  the  gods  of  the 
heathen  were  mere  creatures  of  the  human  imagi- 
nation, the  Jews,  who  used  the  Greek  language, 
termed  them  tt6u?M,  idols.  By  this  word,  likewise, 
they  signified  the  pictures  and  statues  which  the 
heathen  set  up  in  their  temples,  as  representations 
of  their  gods ;  and  by  giving  them  the  appellation 
of  idols,  they  declared  their  persuasion  that  the 
things  of  which  they  were  the  representations  had 
no  existence.  Nevertheless,  as  the  apostle  knew 
that  some  of  the  heathen  worshipped  their  dead 
ancestors,  legislators,  kings,  &c.,  others  of  them  the 
heavenly  bodies,  others  certain  kinds  of  brute  ani- 
mals, he  cannot  be  understood  to  say  that  an  idol  is 
'  nothing,  in  the  sense  of  its  having  no  existence  as  a 
being,  but  of  its  having  no  existence  as  a  god,  and 
no  share  in  the  government  of  the  world."  For 
though  there  be  that  are  called  gods,  vhelher  in 
heaven  or  in  earth—Or  even  under  the  earth;  for 
the  heathen  had  not  only  their  celestial  and  terres- 
trial, but  likewise  their  infernal  deities:  as  there  be 
gods  many,  and  lords  many — Who  are  in  their  va- 
rious subordinations  adored  by  the  Gentiles,  and 
have  great,  though  very  absurd  worship  paid  to 
them.  But  to  us — Christians ;  there  is— In  the  whole 
oniverse ;  but  one  Ood— One  supreme  essence;  the 
,  Father— 0(  angels  and  men.  This  is  exclusire  not 
.  of  the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
and  was  God,  termed  the  one  Lord,  in  the  next 
.  clause,  any  more  than  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  only 
of  the  idols,  to  which  the  one  God  is  opposed. 
Of— Or  from ;  loAom  are  all  things— By  creation, 
providence,  and  grace;  and  we  in  him—lAving, 
b 


him,'  and   ^one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  a. M. 4063. 
*  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by         '^' 
him. 

7  Howbeit,  there  i^  not  in  every  man  dial 
knowledge :  lor  some  ^  with  conscience  of  ,llie 
idd  unto  this  hour  eat  t/  as  a  thing  odSeatei 
unto  an  idol:  and  their  conscience,  being 
weaki  IB  ®  defiled* 

8  But  ''meat  commendoth  us  not  to  God: 


'  Or,  for  him. 1  John  xiii.  13 ;  Acts  ii.  36 ;  Chap.  ziL  3 ; 

Eph.  It.  3;  PhiL  ii.  II. «  John  i.  3;  CoL  I  6;  Htbi  i. 

2. •Chapter  x.  28,  29. »Roin.  xiv.  14^23. —     "^ 

xir.  17. 


moving,  and  having  our  heing ;  or  trc  are,  tic  ovrvr, 
fir  him,  for  his  glory,  the  end  of  all  we  arc,  have, 
and  do.  And  one  L&rd — The  Word  and  Son  of  the 
eternal  Father,  equally  the  object  of  divine  worship  j 
by  whom  are  all  ihings-^CtosAed,  sustained,  and 
governed ;  and  we  by  him — Thankfully  acknowledg- 
ing ourselves  obliged  to  his  agency  and  care  for  all 
we  are,  have,  or  hope  for,  and  by  whom,  as  the  only 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  we  have  access  to 
the  Father  and  all  spiritual  blessings. 

Verses  7,  8.  Howbeit,  there  is  not  in  every  man"^ 
In  every  professing  Christian  5  that  knowledgCr- 
Namely,  that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  one  I/Ord, 
and  that  an  idol  b  nothing,  and  has  no  power  to  de- 
file the  meat:  some  Christian  converts  may  not 
sufficiently  apprehend  this,  but  may  imagine  there 
is  really  some  invisible  spirit  present  in  the  ido],  and 
acting  by  and  upon  it :  for  some  with  conscience  of 
the  idol — Out  of  some  respect  to  it,  as  if  it  were  a 
kind  of  deity ;  unto  this  ^ur— Even  since  their 
embracing  of  Christianity ;  eat  i7— The  meat ;  {u  a 
thing  offered  Unto  an  idol—Wiih  some  retigiovs 
regard  to  the  idol,  intending  thereby  to  pay  9ome 
kind  of  homage  to  it;  and  their  conscience  being 
weak,  is  defiled — "  The  weakness  of  their  \, con- 
science," says  Macknight,  "  consisted  in  their  be- 
lieving that  idols  had  a  real  existence  as  gods,  and 
were  employed  by  God  in  the  government  of  par- 
ticular countries  and  cities.  And  the  defiling  of 
their  conscience  consisted  in  their  hoping  to  receive 
benefit  from  the  idol,  or  at  least  to  avoid  the  effects 
of  his  wrath,  by  joining  in  the  sacrifice  that  was 
offered  to  him."  Others  interpret  the  verse  more 
consistently  with  the  context,  thus :  Some  eat  with 
consciousness  of  the  idol,  that .  is,  fancying  it  is 
somethmg,  and  that  it  makes  the  meat  unlawful  to 
be  eaten ;  and  their  conscience  being  weak— Thni 
is,  not  rightly  informed;  is  defil^d^-Conincts  guilt 
by  so  doing.  But — Why  should  we  occasion  thb 
inconvenience?  for  we  know  thatmea^  commendeth 
us  not  in  any  degree  to  the  acceptance  and  fovour 
of  Cro(l— Abstracted  from  circumstances;  neither 
by  our  eating,  nor  by  our  refraining  from  it:  eaiing 
and  not  eating  are  in  themselves  things  merely  in- 
different. For  neither  if  we  co/— What  has  b^en 
offered  to  an  idol,  are  we  the  better,  more  holy  in 
God's  sight ;  neither  if  we  eat  w)<— But  cpns^en^ 
tiously  abstain  from  such  meat  \  are  we  the  loonw— 
163 


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Dangei'ofgifring  offence  by  eating         I.  CORINTfflANS. 


v>hat  had  been  offered  to  iddU, 


JL  M.  4063.  fot  neither  if  we  eat  *  are  we  the  bet- 
^'^  ^    ter ;  neither  if  we  eat  not,  ^  are  we 
the  worse. 

9  But  ^t^e  heed  lest  by  any  means  this 
♦liberty  of  yours  become  'a  stumblmg-Uock 
fo  them  that  are  weak. 

10  For  if  any  man  see  thee,  which  hast  know- 
Ie(!^e,8it  at  meat  in  the  idol's  temple,  shall  not  Hhe 
conscience  of  him  which  is  weak  be  ^  imbolden- 
ed  to  eat  those  diings  which  are  offered  to  idols ; 


•Or,  ktm  tw  the  mare. — ^  Or,  hent  wt  ik»  lett. «  Oal.  r. 

13. *Or,  power. 'Rom.  xir.  13,  30. tChap.  x.  28,  32. 


Disapproved  of  by  him,  aad  exposed  to  his  displea 
sure.  "The  great  God  does  not  so  much  esteem  a 
man  for  being,  or  disapprove  of  him  for  not  being, 
superior  to  such  little  scruples :  but  the  tenderness 
of  hb  conscience,  together  with  the  zeal  and  chanty 
of  his  heart,  are  the  grand  qualities  he  regards." — 
Doddridge. 

Verses  9-13.  But  take  heed  lest  this  liberty  of 
yours — To  eat  indifferently  of  such  meats ;  become 
a  stumbling-block — An  occasion  of  doing  what  they 
judge  unlawful  3  to  them  that  are  treofc— Uninform- 
ed in  the  truth,  or  unsettled  as  to  their  knowledge 
of  it  For  if  any  man  see  thee— VHiom  he  be- 
lieyes  to  have  more  knowledge  than  himself,  and 
who  really  hast  this  knowledge^  that  an  idol  is  no- 
thing; sit  at  meat  in  the  idoPs  temple^-To  an  enter- 
tainment there ;  shall  not  the  conscience  of  him  that 
is  iPtfoAr— -Scrupulous]  be  ifw6oWwe<i— Encouraged 
by  thy  ei^ample;  to  eat  those  things  which  are 
offered  to  ido/5— Though  with  a  doubting,  ^r  per- 
haps condemning  conscience.  And  through  thy 
ktmpledge — Thy  abuse  and  unseasonable  discovery 
of  thy  knowledge ;  shall  the  weak  brother  perish — 
Be  drawn  into  sin,  which  is  the  way  to  destruction ; 
for  whom  Christ  diedr-^AxiA  foir  whom  thou  wilt 
!iK>t  lose  a  meal's  meat :  so  far  art  thou  from  laying 
down  thy  life  for  him !  We  see  Christ  died  even  for 
them  that  perish.  Observe  this,  reader.  But  when 
ye  tin  *o— Act  so  uncharitably  and  contrary  to  your 
duty;  against  the  brethren — Who,  as  well  as  you, 
:are  the  children  and  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs 


11  And  'through  thy  knowledge  A.Bi.40e3. 
shall  the  weak  brother  perish,  for  — — '- — 1- 
whom  Christ  died? 

12  But  'when  ye  sin  so  against  the  1irethreii| 
and  wound  their  weak  conscience,  ye  sin 
against  Christ. 

13  Wherefore,  ^  if  meat  make  my  brother  lo 
offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world 
standeth,  lest  I  make  my  iHOther  to  of- 
fend. 


«Gr.  tMjUd. ■Rom.  xiv.  15,20. >Matt.xxT.  40,  45u 

y  Rom.  xiv.  21 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  29. 


with  Christ;  and  wound  their  weak  conscience-^ 
Their  ill-informed  and  scrupulous  consciences,  lead- 
ing them  into  guilt,  and  hazarding  their  salvation ;  pe 
sin  against  Christ — Whose  members  they  are,  and 
who  had  such  regard  for  their  souls,  that  he  died  m 
ignominy  and  torture  to  redeem  them,  and  hath 
done  all  that  example  or  precept  could  do,  to  make 
his  followers  enter  into  such  humane  and  compas- 
sionate views.  Wherefore — For  a  conclusion,  I  lay 
down  this  genei:al  rule,  that  all  things  indifferent  in 
their  own  nature  are  to  be  forborne,  when  the  use 
of  them  would  be  a  cause  of  scandal,  or  an  occa- 
sion of  falling  to  others,  of  turning  them  out  of  the 
right  way,  or  hindering  them  tlierein ;  yea,  though 
such  things  may  have  a  great  deal  of  apparent  ex- 
pediency in  them.  So  that  if  meat-^Of  what  sort 
soever  it  be ;  nuxke  my  brother  to  offend — Lead  him 
into  sin,  and  cause  him  to  contract  guilt,  and  wound 
his  conscience — Twill  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world 
standeth — But  live  entirely  on  vegetables;  lest  I 
make  my  brother  to  offend — That  I  may  not  scanda- 
lize and  insnafe  him  in  evil,  if  there  be  no  other 
way  of  avoiding  it  Of  such  importance  do  I  es- 
teem the  preservation  of  one  endangered  soul :  and 
in  this,  and  other  things  of  a  similar  nature,  I  pray 
that  God  may  incline  you  to  use  the  like  self-denial 
for  your  own  sakes,  and  for  the  peace  and  honour 
of  the  Christian  Church*  But  who  will  follow  this 
example?  What  preacher  or  private  Christian  will 
abstain  fh>m  any  thing  and  every  thing,  lawful  in 
itself,  when  it  offends  a  weak  brother  t 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A9iewioiamstrwUhiMe9iUueenswmtoAeweskhyhUdediHiHgto 
^SfrnttSj  (1,)  Vt/fikstsi  his  apotieUe  autkoriiy  agmnist  his  oppostrs,  from  his  success  at  Corif^th,  1,  S.  (%)  Asserts  his 
^f%ftl  to  he  mssntained  hy  his  hsarsrs  from  the  reason  of  tlings,  the  law  of  Mooes,  ami  the  appointment  of  Christ,  8-14. 
^)  That  he  hod  honoitrably  forborne  to  iemani  his  doe  right,  with  a  mew  thereby  topromoU  their  eiifeaiian,  16-18 ;  as 
ks  had  wUHngiy  akridgei  himself  ef  his  rights  and  privileges  m  other  places.  Hi  order  to  gain  mem  to  Christy  19-98. 
<4,)  He  shows  Aathehad  hereim  acted  with  stt  can  and  diligence,  tn  expectation  of  an  etsnud  gradaas  remrd,  and  torn 
Am  an  esoMule,  84-87. 


104 


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CHAPTER  IX. 


authority  against  his  oppostrs. 


A.M.4063.  AM  'I  not  an  apostle?  am  I  not 
— -1 — L  free?  ''have  I  not  seen  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord?  "  are  not  ye  my  work  in  the 
Lord? 

2  If  I  be  not  an  apostle  unto  others,  yet 
doubtless  I  am  to  you :  for  ^  the  seal  of  mine 
apoetleship  are  ye  in  the  Lord. 

3  Mine  answer  to  them  that  do  examine  me 
18  this; 

4  *  Have  we  not  poww  to  eat  and  to  drink  ? 


•Acts  w.  16 ;  xiii.  2;  xxri.  17;  2  Cor.  xu.  12;  Gal.  u.  7,  8. 
^Acts  iz.  3,  17;    zrtiL  9;    xzii.  14.  18;    xziii.  11;  Chap. 

XT.  a »Cliap.m.6;  ir.  15.— —'2  Corinthians  iii.  2;  xii.  12. 

•Yerse  14;  1  Thess.  ii.  6;  2  Thess.  iii.  9. ^Or, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IX. 
Verees  1,  2.  Am  Inot,  &c.— It  appears  from  this, 
and  several  other  passages  of  the  epistles  to  the 
Corinthians,  that  some  of  them,  influenced  probably 
by  false  teachers,  who  had  crept  in  among  them, 
objected  to  St.  Paul's  being  an  apostle,  because  he 
had  not  asserted  his  privilege  in  demanding  and  re- 
ceiving such  maintenance  from  the  churches  as  was 
due  to  that  office,  inferring  from  this  circumstance 
that  he  did  not  judge  himself  entitled  to  any  such 
privilege,  and  therefore  had  wrought  at  a  trade,  to 
support  himself  thereby.     Hence,  after  deciding 
some  very  difficult  questions,  which  the  Ck)rinthians 
had  proposed  to^  him,  and  particularly  after  affirm- 
ing, in  the  end  of  chap,  vii.,  that  he  had  decided 
these  questions  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit ;  and 
after  showing  himself  a  faithful  apostle  of  Christ,  by 
declaring,  in  the  end  of  the  last  chapter,  his  resolu- 
tiou  on  dl  occasions  to  abstain  from  things  indif- 
ferent, rather  than,  by  using  his  liberty  respecting 
them,  to  lead  his  fellow-Christians  into  sin ;  he  with 
great  propriety  introduces  the  proof  of  his  apostle- 
ship,  and  answers  all  the  objections  and  calumnies 
whereby  his  enemies  endeavoured  to  discredit  him 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Corinthians.    Am  I  not--- As  truly 
as  any  man  living;  an  apostle?— Diyineiy  appoint- 
ed and  commissioned  by  the  Lord  Jesus?    Ami 
not  free—To  act  as  I  think  best,  with  regard  to 
receiving  a  maintenance  from  those  to  whom  I 
mimster  or  not  ?    Have  I  not  the  liberty  of  a  com- 
mon Christian,  yea,  and  that  of  an  apostle,  so  as  to 
have  a  right  to  preach  the  gospel  without  reward, 
if  I  think  fit  so  to  do  ?  Bape  I  not  seen  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord— After  hb  resurrection,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  bear  witness  to  that  important  fact  on  my  own 
knowledge,  as  confidently  as  those  who  saw  him 
before  I  did  1    Unless  he  had  seen  Christ,  he  could 
not  have  been  one  of  his  first  grand  witnesses,  could 
not  have  borne  testimony  to  his  resurrection  on  his 
own  knowledge  thereof.    Are  not  you— In  respect 
of  your  conversion,  gifts,  graces,  privileges;  my 
work  in  the  Lord— The  fruit  of  my  minbtry  as  an 
apostle  among  you,  by  means  of  God^s  grace  and 
power  working  with  me  1    If  I  be  not  an  apostle  to 
o/^er«— So  visibly  and  demonstratively;  yet  doubt- 
less I  am  to  yoM— Who,  of  all  people  in  the  world, 
can  show  the  least  excuse  for  questioning  my  mis- 
b 


5  Have  we  not  power  to  lead  about  A..M.  4063. 
a  sister,  a '  wilfe,  as  well  as  other  apos-  — — '. — L 
ties,  and  as  '  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  and 

Cephas? 

6  Or  I  cttily  and  Barnabas,  '^have  not  we 
power  to  forbear  working? 

7  Who  *goeth  a  warfare  any  time  at  hb  own 
charges?  who  ^planteth  a  vineyard,  and  eat- 
eth  not  (^ the  fruit  thereof?  or  who  ^  feedeth  a 
flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  ? 


'Matt.  xiii.  55;  Markvi.  3;  Lnk0  Ti.  15;  Galatiam  L  19. 
«  Matt.  riii.  14. »» 2  Thess.  iii.  8, 9. «2  Cor.  x.  4 ;  1  Tim. 

18;  ri.  \2;  2  Tim.  ii.  3;  ir.  7. ^  Deul.  xx.  6;    ProT. 

xxTii.  18 ;  Chap.  iii.  6,  7, 8. » John  xxi.  15 ;  1  Pet.  r.  2. 


sion ;  for  the  seal  of  my  apostleship — The  certain 
evidence  of  my  divine  call ;  are  ye  in  the  Lord — 
Who  have  not  only  received  feith  by  my  moutli, 
but  all  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  by  my  hands. 

Verses  8-6.  Mine  answer— My  apology ;  to  them 
that  examine  and  censure  me — As  to  this  part  of 
my  conduct,  is  this  which  follows.  Have  we  not 
power— 1  and  my  fellow-labourere  j  to  eat  and  to 
drink— At  the  expense  of  those  among  whom  we. 
labour?  Does  our  declining  the  use  of  a  privilege 
prove  that  we  have  it  not  ?  Have  we  not  power  to 
lead  about  with  us— In  our  apostolical  travels;  a 
sister,  a  wife — That  is,  a  wife  who  is  a  sister  in 
Christ,  a  believer  in  him,  and  truly  pious ;  and  to 
demand  sustenance  for  her  also  ?  as  well  as  other 
apostles— Who  therefore,  it  is  plain,  did  this:  and 
Peter?  Hence  we  learn,  1st,  That  Peter  continued 
to  live  with  his  wife  after  he  became  an  apostle; 
M,  That  he  had  no  rights,  as  an  apostle,  which  were 
not  common  to  Paul.  "  In  the  eastern  countries, 
when  people  of  condition  travelled,  they  either 
lodged  with  their  acquaintance,  or  carried  servants 
with  them,  who  provided,  such  things  as  were  neces- 
sary for  their  accommodation  in  the  public  lodging- 
houses.  In  the  Gentile  countries,  where  the  apostles 
preached,  they  had  no  acquauitance  or  friends  with 
whom  they  could  lodge,  and  therefore  some  of  them, 
particularly  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  and  Peter, 
found  it  necessary  to  carry  about  with  them  wives 
to  make  provision  for  them,  at  the  expense  of  those 
to  whom  they  preached.  This  right,  Paul  told  the 
Corinthians,  belonged  as  much  to  him  and  to  Barna- 
bas as  to  the  other  apostles.  But  to  render  the 
gospel  free  of  charge,  he  neither  had  used  this  right, 
verse  12,  nor  ever  would  use  it,  verse  15.  Wherever 
he  came  he  maintained  hhnself  by  his  own  labour." 
— Macknight. 

Verses  6, 7.  Or  I  only  and  Barnabas — Of  all  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel ;  have  not  we  power  to  for- 
bear  working— With  our  hands?  "From  this  it 
appears  that  Barnabas,  as  well  as  Paul,  preached 
the  gospel  without  demanding  a  maintenance  from 
his  disciples;  and  that,  like  Paul,  he  was  hated  for 
his  doctrine  by  the  Judaizers.  Tlie  honourable 
mention  which  Paul  makes  of  Barnabas  in  this 
passage  deserves  notice,  as  it  shows  that  these  good 
men,  notwithstanding  their  sharp  contention  about 
105 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


to  be  maintained  by  Iheir  heareM^ 


A.M.4063.    8  Say  I  these  things  as  a  man? 
^'   '  ^'    or  saith  not  the  law  the  same  al- 
so? 

9  For  it  is  wriucn  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
"»  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox 
that  treadeth  out  the  com.  Doth  God  take 
care  for  oxen? 

10  Or  saith  he  it  altogether  for  our  sakes  ? 
For  our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written:  that 
*  he  that  plougheth  should  plough  in  hope; 

»  Deut.  xxT.  4 ;  1  Tim.  t.  18. ■  2  Tim.  ii.  6. »  Rom.  xv. 

87 ;  OmL  tL  fi. p  Acto  xx-  33 ;  Verses  15, 18 ;  2  Cor.  xL  7, 9 ; 


John  Mark,  Acts  xv.  13,  entertained  no  resentment 
against  each  other  on  that  account,  but  mutually 
esteemed  each  other :  and  perhaps,  on  some  occa- 
sions alter  that,  preached  the  gospel  together,  as  be- 
Ibre.**  Who  goeth  a  war/ore— Serveth  in  the  war ; 
at  any  time^  at  his  own  charges — Does  not  the  com- 
munity furnish  provisions  for  those  who  guard  it, 
and  fight  its  battles  ?  And  if  the  services  of  a  soldier, 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  his  country,  deserve  a 
maintenance,  how  much  more  may  it  be  expected 
by  us,  who  daily  hazard  our  lives,  as  well  as  wear 
them  out,  for  men's  everlasting  happiness?  Who 
plcnteth  a  vineyard^  and  doth  not  think  himself  en- 
titled to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  it  ?  or  whofeedelh  aflock^ 
and  doth  not  think  he  hath  a  right  Xo  eat  of  the  milk 
of  the  flock?— And  if  it  be  judged  reasonable  that 
men  ^ould  have  an  equivalent  for  their  labours 
about  natural  things,  and  the  accommodations  of  the 
body,  is  it  not  more  evidently  so  when  the  felicity 
of  immortal  souls  is  concerned? 

Verses  8-10.  Say  I  these  things  as  a  man— Have 
I  only  human  authority  and  reasons  for  what  I  say? 
or  saith  not  the  law — The  revealed  will  of  God ;  the 
same?  Forit  is  written— -Deutxnv,  4,  TTiou  shalt 
not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox,  &c. — But  shalt  al- 
low the  poor  animal  to  feed  while  it  is  labouring 
for  thee,  in  the  midst  of  food  ^  a  circumstance  in 
which  its  hunger  would  be  peculiarly  painful  It  is 
well  known,  that  the  people  of  the  East  did  not 
thresh  their  com  as  we  do ;  but  they  pressed  out  the 
grain,  by  causing  oxen  to  tread  on  the  ears,  a  cus- 
tom which  is  still  retained  in  several  of  the  eastern 
nations.  "  And,  at  this  day,"  as  Bengcliua observes, 
*^  horses  tread  out  the  'com  in  some  parts  of  Ger- 
many." Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen— Was  this 
precept  given  merely  for  their  sakes?  had  he  not  a 
Aurther  meaning  in  it  ?  did  he  not  intend  to  show 
hereby  what  equity  should  be  used  in  rewarding 
those  that  labour  for  us?  For  our  sakes  no  doubt 
this  is  ipri/fen— Not  to  oblige  us  to  obey  those  laws, 
but  to  teach  us  to  exercise  humanity  and  equity  to- 
ward those  we  employ  or  deal  with.  This  precept, 
conceming  oxen,  being  introduced  in  the  law,  im- 
mediately after  precepts  enjoining  justice  and  mercy 
In  punisbments,  it  was  certainly  intended  to  im- 
press the  Israelites  with  a  sense  of  the  obligations 
of  justice  and  humanity  toward  rational  creatures, 
•0  the  apostle  here  affirms.  TViat  he  that  phntgheth 
106 


and  that  he  that  thresheth  in  hope  A.M.4063. 
should  be  partaker  of  his  hope. 

11  *If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual 
things^  is  it  B,  great  thing  if  we  shall  reap^ 
your  carnal  things  ? 

12  If  others  be  partakers  of  this  power  over 
you,  are  not  we  radier  ?  '  Nevertheless  we  have 
not  used  this  power :  but  suffer  all  things,  ^  lest 
we  should  hinder  tlie  gospel  of  Christ 

13  '  Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  minister 


xii.  13 ;  I  Thefs.  ii.  6. n  2  Cot.  ».  12. '  her.  ri.  IS,  25 ; 

tIL  6,  &o. ;  Num.  t.  9, 10^  zviii.  8-20;  Deut.  x.  9 ;  zriii.  1. 


should  plough  in  hope — Of  reaping;  and  he  that 
thresh^  in  hope — Should  not  be  ^sappointed  of 
the  fruit  of  his  labour;  that  is,  any  one  that  is  em- 
ployed to  work  for  us,  should  do  it  in  hope  of  re- 
ceiving a  meet  reward  for  his  pains,  whereby  he 
may  be  encouraged  in  his  work,  and  sJumld  be  par^ 
taker  of  his  hope — Should  afterward  receive  the 
reward  hoped  for.  And  so  ought  they  who  labour 
faithfully  in  God's  husbandry. 

Verses  11, 12.  If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual 
things — By  our  incessant  diligence  in  preaching  to 
you  the  gospel  of  the  blessed  God ;  if  it  a  great 
thing— More  than  we  have  a  right  to  expect ;  if  we 
shall  reap  your  carnal  f/^m^«— Namely,  as  much 
as  is  needful  for  our  sustenance?  Do  you  give  us 
things  of  greater  value  than  those  you  receive  from 
us  ?  If  others — Whether  true  or  false  apostles  or 
ministers ;  be  partakers  of  this  power  oter  you — 
Have  a  right  to  be  maintained  by  you ;  are  not  we 
rather — Entitled  to  it,  having  first  preached  the  gos- 
pel among  you,  and  brought  you  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth,  and  having  laboured  much  more  among 
you  ?  Nevertheless  we  have  not  used  this  power — 
Though  founded  in  such  evident  and  various  prin- 
ciples of  equity ;  but  suffer  all  tilings — Every  kind 
of  hardship,  particularly  the  fatigues  of  labour,  and 
the  want  of  needful  or  convenient  support,  chap, 
iv.  11, 12 ;  lest  we  should  hinder  the  gospel  of  Christ 
— By  giving  an  occasion  of  cavil  or  reproach  to 
those  who  are  watchful  for  opportunities  to  misre- 
present and  censure  our  conduct  "By  preaching 
the  gospel  free  of  expense,  the  apostle  rendered  It 
the  more  acceptable  to  the  Gentiles,  and  drew  them 
the  more  readily  to  hear  him.  There  was  another 
reason  also  for  his  demanding  no  reward  for  preach- 
ing, namely,  that  in  future  ages  mankind  might  be 
sensible  that  in  preaching  the  gospel,  he  was  not 
animated  by  any  worldly  motive,  but  merely  by  a 
full  persuasion  of  its  truth.  Foreseeing,  therefore, 
that  his  disinterestedness  would,  in  all  ages,  be  a 
strong  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  the  apostle 
gloried  in  preaching  it  to  all  men,  without  fee  or  re- 
ward."— ^Macknight 

Verses  13,  14.  Do  ye  not  know,  Ac. — In  ftirther 

support  of  the  justice  of  the  claim  in  question,  I 

mi^t  remind  you  of  the  provision  which  God  made 

for  the  priests  and  Levites  under  the  Mosaic  law ; 

I  that  they  which  minister  about  holy  things — As,  Ist, 

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^atd  ^hrie^  in  having  preached 


CHAPTER  IX.       vntbma  being  chargeable  to  the  people. 


^^D^a?"  about  holy  things  "live  of  the  things 

— — '- of  the  temple,  and  they  which  wait 

at    the    altar    are    partakers    with    the    al- 
tar? 

14  Even  so "  hath  the  Lord  ordained  ^  that 
they  which  preach  the  gcmpd  should  Uve  of 
the  goepeL 

15  Bat  *  I  have  used  none  of  these  things : 
neither  have  I  written  these  things,  that  it 
should  be  so  done  unto  me:  for  '  it  were  bet- 
ter iar  me  to  die,  than  that  any  man  should 
make  my  glorying  void. 


•Or,/e«i. "Matt  x.  10 ;    Luke  x.  7. »  GaL  Ti.  6; 

1  Tim.  T.  17.. •  Verae  12;  Acts  XTiii.  3;  xx.  34;  Chap.  iv. 

12 ;  1  Thess.  iL  9;  2 Thets.  iii.  8. « 2  Cor.  xLlO. f  Rom. 


the  Levites,  who  perform  the  various  servile  offices 
relating  to  the  temple  service;  live — ^Are  supported 
by ;  the  things  cf  the  temple — Have  their  mainten- 
ance, in  a  great  measure,  from  the  offerings,  tithe^ 
4tc.,  brought  thither;  And^  2A^  (hey  ichich  wait  ai 
the  aUar — ^The  priests,  who  are  chiefly  employed  in 
offering  the  sacrifices  at  the  altar;  are  partakers 
with  the  o/^or— Have  a  portion  allotted  them  of 
the  sacrifices  pffered  upon  it.  Even  eo — According 
to  the  equity  of  that  law ;  hath  the  Lord  Christ  or- 
dained— Namely,  Luke  x.  7,  8;  Matt  x.  1!  ;  thcU 
they  which  preach  th^e  gospel  shotUd  live  by  the 
gospel — Should  be  supported  by  those  to  whom 
they  preach  it. 

Verses  15-18.  -fftiT—Though  my  right  to  a  main- 
tenanee,  as  an  apostle,  be  established  by  the  precepts 
both  of  the  law  and  of  the  gospel ;  /  have  used  none 
of  thMie  f/U*n^«— During  my  abode  among  you,  as 
you  well  know;  neither  have  Ivfrittenthese  things 
that — If^  according  to  my  purpose,  I  should  ever  visit 
you  again;  it  shoxM  be  so  done  unto  me — But  only 
to  teach  you  how  to  use  your  Christian  liberty. 
Fhr  it  were  better  Jbr  me  to  die— To  suffer  the 
greatest  want,  even  to  starving ;  than  that  any  man 
should  make  my  glorying-^Thni  I  have  preached 
the  gospel  freely;  void—By  drawing  me  to  require 
a  maintenance.  In  other  words,  to  give  occasion 
to  thera  that  seek  occasion  against  me.  For,  though 
I  preach  the  gospel-^Aad  that  ever  so  clearly  and 
fully,  faithfully  and  diligently;  I  have  nothing  to 
glory  o/— Being,  after  all,  but  an  unprofitable  serv- 
€ml,  and  having  done  no  more  than  was  my  duty  to 
do,  Luke  xvii.  10 ;  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me — 
By  Christ's  appearing  to  me,  and  commandhig  me 
to  preach,  and  I  must  either  preach  it  or  perish:  and 
to  preach  it  merely  to  escape  damnation,  is  surely 
not  matter  of  glorying.  Yea,  Wo  is  unto  me  if  I 
preach  not  (he  gospel— For  me  to  decline  a  work  as- 
signed me  by  so  condescending  an  appearance  of 
Christ,  wl^en,  with  the  most  malicious  rage,  I  was 
persecuting  uid  endeavouring  to  destroy  hb  church, 
would  be  an  instance  of  ingratitude  and  obstinacy  de- 
serving the  most  dreadftil  and  insupportable  punish- 
ment Forif— Or nther^ifhtdeed^Ido  this  thing— 
Namely,  preach  the  gospel  5  tPiWtn^Zjf— Without  i«- 
b 


16  For  though  I  preach  the  gospel,  a.  m.  4xm 
I  have  nothuig  to  gbry  of:  fw  ^  ne-  ^^'  ^ 
ceaeity  is  laid  upon  me;  yea,  wo  is  unto  me,  if 
I  preach  not  the  gospel ! 

17  For  if  I  do  this  thing  willingly,  *  I  have 
a  reward:  but  if  against  my  will,  *a  diqpentti- 
tion  qf  the  gospel  k  committed  unto  me. 

18  What  is  my  reward  then?  Verily  that, 
^  when  I  preach  the  gospel,  I  may  mak^  the 
gospel  of  Christ  without  charge,  that  I  ^  abuse 
not  my  power  in  the  gospel. 

19  For  though  I  be  *  free  from  all  men,  yet 


i.  14, *  CJhap,  iii.  8. 11 »  Chap.  ir.  1 ;  G«L  ii.  7 ;  PkiL  i. 

17 ;  Col.  i.  25. »» Chap.  x.  33 ,  2  Cor.  iv.  5 ;  xi.  7. -«  Chap. 

▼it  31. *  Verae  1. 


luctance,  and  from  an  obedient  mind.  In  preaching 
the  gospel  willingly,  the  apostle  evidently  Included 
his  preaching  it  from  such  a  conviction  of  its  truth 
and  importance,  and  from  such  a  principle  of  love 
to  God  and  regard  for  his  glory,  and  love  to  man- 
kind and  concern  for  their  salvation,  as  enabled  him 
to  do  it  with  cheerAilness,  alacrity,  and  joy.  /  have 
a  reward— Prepared  forme  according  to  my  lidnmr; 
that  is,  I  shall  obtain  that  distinguished  reward, 
which,  in  the  life  to  come,  will  be  bestowed  on  * 
them  who  turn  many  to  righteousness,  and  who  in 
that  work  undergo  great  hardships.  This  was  Paul's 
case,  who,  in  his  voyages  and  journeys  among  tho^ 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  exposed  himself  to  innumerable 
dangers  and  sufferings,  with  much  bodily  fotigue. 
But  if  against  my  toill — As  I  said  before ;  a  dis- 
pensation is  committed  unto  me — And  I  must  of 
necessity  fulfil  it  WhiU  then  is  my  reward— What 
\a  that  circumstance  in  ray  conduct  for  which  I  ex* 
pect  a  peculiar  reward  from  my  great  Master  7— 
F«rt7y— Surely  this ;  that  when  I  preach  I  may 
make  the  gospet  without  charge— May  communi- 
cate it  to  my  hearers  free  of  expense ;  that  I  abuse 
not— To  any  low  and  secul«r  purpose ;  my  power 
in  the  gospel'-^Or  carry  it  beyond  its  due  bounds. 

Verse  10.  For  though  I  be  free  from  all  men— 
Not  bound  to  do  that  which  seems  unlawAil,  incon- 
venient, or  disadvantageous  to  fnyself,  to  please  any 
man ;  yet  have  I  made  myself  a  servant  unto  all- 
Addicting  myself  to  the  most  fiatiguiug  duties,  that 
I  might  advance  their  happiness ;  or  complying 
with  the  persuasions  and  inclinations  of  others  in 
things  indifferent  The  original  expression,  e/iavrov 
eSsJUMm,  is  literally,  (have  enslaved  myself  to  cdl ; 
an  expression  peculiarly  beautiful  and  proper  as 
used  here  by  the  apostle,  '^^ves  wrought  for 
their  masters  whhout  hire,  and  were  careful  to  com- 
ply with  their  humours.  And  the  apostle,  while 
preaching  the  gospel,  reduced  himself  to  the  condi- 
tion of  a  slave,  both  by  serving  all  men  without  hire, 
nay,  Without  requiring  a  maintenance  from  them, 
and  by  complying  with  their  prejudices  in  all  cases 
wherein  he  could  do  it  without  sin."  In  other 
words,  he  acted  with  as  self-denying  a  regard  to 
thdr  iBler«0tS|  and  as  much  caution  not  to  offend 
107 


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Paul  eiideavowred  to  please  aU  mat,       1.  CORINTHIANS. 


^uU  he  might  gain 


A.  M.  4063.  have  *  I  made  myself  serrant  unto 


A.  D.  99. 


all| '  that  I  might  gain  the  more. 


20  And  '  unto  the  Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew, 
that  I  might  gain  the  Jews ;  to  tb^n  that  are 
under  the  law,  as  under  the  law,  that  I  might 
gain  them  that  are  under  the  law ; 

21  ^To  '  them  that  are  without  law,  as  wi^ 
out  law,  (^  being  not  without  law  to  God,  but 
under  die  law  to  Christ,)  that  I  might  gam 
them  that  are  without  law. 


•  Gal.  V.  13. '  HaU.  xviii.  15 ;  1  Pet  iii.  1. f  Act*  xn. 

3;  xviii.  18  ;   xxi.  23,  &c. ^Gm\.  iii.  2. *  Rom.  ii.  12,  14. 

k  Chap.  Tii.  22. >  Rom.  zr.  1 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  29. ■  Chap.  x.  33. 


them,  as  if  he  had  been  absolutely  in  their  power, 
as  a  dave  is  in  that  of  his  master.  Where  is  the 
preacher  of  the  gospel  who  treads  in  the  same  steps  ? 
Tfiat  I  might  gain  the  more — To  true  religion  and 
salyation ;  in  which,  as  he  might  have  added,  I  have 
found  a  noble  equivtdent  for  all  I  could  do  or  bear. 
By  the  word  icepSifco,  tran^ted  /  might  gay%  the 
apostle  intimates,  that  his  converting  men  to  Christ 
was  a  part  of  the  gain  or  hire,  which  he  proposed 
to  obtain  by  preaching  the  goq>e). 

Verses  20-23.  To  the  Jews  I  became  a»  a  Jew — 
Conforming  myself  in  all  things  to  their  manner  of 
living,  so  far  as  I  could  with  innocence.  And,  inas- 
much as  in  the  preceding  chapter  the  apostle  di- 
rected the  Corinthians  to  comply  with  the  prejudices 
of  their  weak  brethren,  in  the  afihir  of  meats  sacri- 
Ticed  to  idols,  and  declared  his  own  resolution,  that 
if  his  eating  meat  occasioned  others  to  sin,  he 
would  not  eat  flesh  while  he  lived ;  it  is  therefore 
probable  that  his  becoming  to  the  Jews  as  a  Jew, 
implied  especially  that  he  observed  the  distinction 
of  meats  enjoined  by  Moses,  while  he  lived  with  the 
Jews  in  the  heathen  countries.  It  may  refer  also  to 
hb  circumcising  Timothy,  to  render  his  preaching 
acceptable  to  the  Jews.  This  compliance  with  the 
prejudices  of  the  weak  he  showed  only  to  gain  their 
good-will,  and  thereby  remove  their  prejudices 
against  himself,  and  the  cause  in  which  he  was 
engaged.  For  when  the  Judaizing  teachers  insisted 
on  the  observance  of  any  of  the  rites  of  the  law,  as 
necessary  to  salvation,  he  always  resolutely  with- 
stood them,  as  in  the  case  of  Titus,  Gal.  ii.  8,  5, 14. 
7\}  them  that  are  under  the  law — Who  apprehend 
themselves  to  be  still  bound  by  the  Mosaic  law ;  as 
under  the  /aio— Observing  it  myself  while  I  am 
among  them.  ASj  however,  he  did  not  believe  the 
observance  of  it  to  be  necessary  under  the  gospel, 
so  he  did  not  reftise  to  converse  with  those  who 
omitted  to  observe  it;  the  very  thing  which  he  con- 
demned in  Peter,  Gal.  ii.  14.  7b  them  that  are  with* 
out  /air— The  (Gentiles,  who  did  not  hold  themselves 
bound  to  observe  Moses's  law;  as  without  law — 
Neglecting  its  ceremonies ;  being  not  without  law 
to  GW— But  as  much  as  ever  obliged  to  obey  its 
moral  precepts;  and  under  the  law  to  Christ— 
Under  an  indispensable  obligation  in  duty  and  grati- 
tude to  obey  his  will  hi  all  things,  imitate  his  example, 


22  ^  To  the  weak  became  I  as  weak,  a.m.408x 

that  I  might  gain  the  weak:  ■  I  am '. — I- 

made  all  things  to  all  men^  ^  that  I  mighl  by 
all  means  save  some. 

23  And  this  Idofor  the  gospel's  ^ake,  that  I 
may  be  partaker  thereof  with  ymi. 

24  Know  ye  not,  that  they  which  nm  in  a 
race,  ran  idl,  but  <»e  receiveth  the  prize? 
"  So  run,  that  ye  nuiy  obtain.* 

25  And  every  man  that  I'striveth  tor  the 


■«>Gal.iL2;T.7;  PhiLiLierj 

iii.  14;  2  Tim,  ir.  7;  Heb.  xii.  1. ♦  Snhumimm  SaadKy\ 

Eph.  ri.  IS;  1  Tim.  ri.  12. 


■  Rom.  xi.  14 ;  Chap.  Tii.  16.- 
.  14;  2Tim,iT.  7;  Heb.    * 
epbtle,  rene  24  to  the  end.- 


and  live  to  hb  glory :  and  in  this  sense  all  Christians 
will  be  under  the  law  for  ever.  TluU  I  might  gain 
them  that  are  without  the  Zair— Might  make  mj 
ministry  more  agreeable  and  useful  to  such  as  w^*e 
Gentiles  by  birth  and  education.  7b  the  weak— In 
knowledge,  grSce,  or  abilities,  or  to  those  whose 
consciences  were  uninformed,  and  therefore  scrupu- 
lous; /  became  as  weak— I  condescended  to  their 
weakness  by  teaching  |hem  according  to  their  ca- 
pacity, chap.  iiL  1, 2 ;  bearing  with  their  mfirmities, 
and  complying  with  them  in  foibearing  the  use  o( 
those  things  which  they,  through  weakness,  scru- 
pled to  use.  /  am  made—l  became ;  all  things  to  ail 
men— I  accommodated  myself  to  all  persons  in  all 
indifferent  things,  as  far  as  I  could  consistently  with 
truth  and  sincerity ;  that  I  might  by  all  means— Or^ 
if  possible ;  save  some— How  few  soever  the  number 
might  be.  And  this  I  do  for  the  gospfiPs  sake—^o 
promote  its  success  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability; 
that  I  might  be  partaker  thereof  with  you— That  in 
consequence  of  the  faithful  discharge  of  my  office, 
I  might  retaip  the  divine  favour  and  appiobatien, 
and  be  a  sharer  with  you  in  all  its  privileges  and 
blessmgs,  in  time  and  in  eternity. 

Verses  34, 25.  Know  ye  not  that— In  those  famous 
games,  which  are  kept  ia  the  isthmus,  near  your 
city ;  they  who  run  in  a  race — Ev  g-aSiUj  in  the  sta- 
dium, (so  the  place  was  called  where  the  athletes 
contended,)  run  indeed  o/^ And  contend  one  with 
another ;  hut  one— Only  of  them  all ;  receiveth  lAe 
prize — Whereas  in  the  Christian  race,  the  success 
of  one  is  no  hinderance  to  that  of  others.  How 
much  greater  encouragement  then  have  you  to  run, 
since  you  may  all  receive  the  prize  of  your  high 
callmg.  And  every  man  that  striveth  for  the  mas- 
tery—Thai there  contendeth  ;  is  temperate  in  aU 
things— To  an  almost  incredible  degree ;  uang  the 
most  rigorous  self-denial  in  food,  sleep,  and  every 
other  sensual  indulgence.  It  may  not  be  improper 
to  observe  here,  that  "  those  who  taught  the  gym- 
nastic art,  prescribed  to  their  disciples  the  kind  of 
meat  that  was  proper,  the  quantity  they  were  to  eat, 
and  the  hours  at  which  they  were  to  eat :  they  pre- 
scribed to  them  likewise  the  hours  of  their  exercise 
and  rest :  they  forbade  them  the  use  of  wine  and 
women.  So  Horace  tells  us,  Article  Poetry,  Um 
418:— 

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Temperance  is  required  in 


CHAPTBR  tX. 


running  the  Ckrietian  rac€. 


A.  M,  4063.  mastery  is  temperate  in  all  things. 

'. — 1  Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corrupti- 

ble  crown ;  but  we  ^  an  incorruptible. 
26  I  therefore  so  run, '  not  as  uncertainly;  so 
fight  I,  not  ^  one  that  beateth  the  air : 


«  2  Timothy  tr.  8 ;  James  L  12 :  I  Pe^r  i.  4 ;  ▼.  4 ;  Rerelation 
ii.  1©.-^-'  8  Timothy  ii.  5. 


Qui  studet  optatam  cursu  contingere  metam^ 

Multa  tulit  fecitque  poor,  sudavit  et  alsit, 

Abstinult  Venero  et  Baccho. 
A  youth  who  hopes  the  Olympic  prize  to  gain, 
All  arts  must  try,  and  every  toil  sustain ; 
The  extremes  crif  heat  and  cold  must  often  prove, 
And  shun  the  weakening  joys  of  wine  and  love. 

Francis. 
This  whole  course,  which  lasted  for  many  year^,  was 
called  a<7«cff/f,  exercise.  Hence  the  ancient  monks, 
who  imitated!,  and  even  outstripped,  the  athletics  in 
their  rules  of  temperance,  and  in  the  laboriousness 
of  their  exercises,  were  called  aoKTjratj  ascetics." 
N(yw  they  dottto  obtain  a  corruptible  crown — "  The 
crowns  for  which  the  Greeks  contended  in  their 
games,  were,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  leaves  of  trees, 
which,  though  evergreens,  soon  withered.  In  the 
Olympic  games,  sacred  to  Jupiter,  the  crowns  were 
of.  the  wild  olive;  in  the  Pythian^  sacred  to  Apollo, 
they  were  of  laurel ;  in  the  Isthmian^  of  pines ;  and 
in  the  Nemcean^  of  smallage,  or  parsley.  The  hon- 
ours, likewise,  of  which  these  crowns  were  the 
pledges,  by  length  of  time  lost  their  agreeableness, 
and  at  last  perished,  being  all  confined  to  the  present 
life."  But  we  are  animated  by  the  view  of  an  inr 
corruptible  crown ;  termed  a  croim  of  righteousness^ 
2  Tim.  iv.  8 ;  and  a  crown  of  life^  James  i.  12;  and 
Rev.  ii.  10.  A  crown  this  which  never  fades,  as  the 
word  at^dapTo^^  here  used,  implies :  that  is,  there 
never  shall  be  any  period  put  to  the  honours  and 
advantages  of  it.  As  a  reason  for  what  the  apostle 
here  says,  Dr.  Macknight  thinks  that  his  enemies, 
(who,  from  his  not  taking  a  maintenance,  inferred 
that  he  was  no  apostle,)  "  affirmed,  that  whatever 
disinterestedness  he  might  pretend,  it  was  not  credi- 
ble that  he  would  undergo  such  continued  labour  in 
preaching,  and  in  complying  with  the  humours  of 
mankind,  unless  he  had  reaped  some  present  ad- 
vantage from  his  labours.  But  to  show  them  the 
futility  of  their  reasoning,  he  desired  them  to  con- 
sider the  long  course  of  laborious  discipline  and 
exercise  which  the  contenders  in  the  Grecian  games 
submitted  to,  for  so  small  a  prize  as  a  crown  of 
leaves;  which,  after  their  utmost  pains,  they  were 
not  sure  of  obtaining,  and  which,  when  obtained, 
would  soon  fede,  with  all  its  honours  and  advantages. 
Whereas,  by  the  labours  and  sufferings  which  he 
underwent  as  an  apostle,  he  was  sure  of  obtaining 
an  infinhely  better  crown,  which  would  never  fade." 

Verses  36,  27.  Ithetefore — The  reward  being  so 
great;  so  run,  not  as  uncertainly — For  I  see  the 
goal  I  am  to  run  to,  1  keep  it  continually  in  view, 
and  run  straight  to  it,  casting  off  every  weight,  and 


27  'But  I  keep  under  my  body,  A. M. 4063. 
and  *  bring  it  into  subjection :  lest    ^  ^'  ^^' 
that  by  atiy   means  when  I  have  preach- 
ed to  others,  I  myself  should  be  *a  cast- 
away. 


•  Romans  riii.  13 ;    Colossians  iii.  5. >  Romans  ri.  18,  19. 

"  Jeremiah  vi.  30 ;   2  Corinthians  xiii.  5,  6. 


not  regarding  any  that  stand  by,  so  as  to  be  pre- 
vented from,  or  hindered  in  running,  by  looking  at 
them.  Or,  I  run  not  as  one  that  is  to  pass  unnoticed, 
or  undistinguished,  as  aSn^g  seems  here  to  imply ; 
and  not  without  attending  to  the  marks  and  lines 
which  determine  the  path  in  which  I  am  to  run.  In 
other  words,  I  run  according  to  all  the  rules  pre- 
scribed, and  with  the  greatest  activity ;  knowing  that 
in  no  part  of  the  course  I  am  out  of  the  view  of  my 
Judge,  and  of  a  great  concourse  of  spectators.  Con- 
sider, reader,  Christ,  the  Judge  of  the  worid,  observes 
how  every  man  behaves  in  the  station  assigned  to 
him,  and  that  with  infinitely  greater  attention  than 
the  judge  and  spectators  observed  the  manner  in 
which  the  athletes  contended.  So  fight  /,  not  as  one 
that  beateth  the  air — This  is  a  proverbial  expression 
for  a  man's  missing  his  blow,  and  spending  his 
strength,  not  on  the  enemy,  but  on  the  empty  air. 
But  I  keep  under  my  body — By  all  kinds  of  self- 
denial  and  mortification.  The  word  vnoirtaCo,  here 
used,  properly  signifies  to  beat  and,  bruise  the  face 
with  the  fist,  or  the  cestus,  as  the  boxers  did  in  those 
games ;  and  particularly  on  the  viroyriov,  the  part  un- 
der the  eyes,  at  which  they  especially  aimed.  By 
the  body  here  the  apostle  means  his  old  man,  or  cor- 
rupt appetites  and  passions.  And  bring  it  into  sub- 
jection— To  my  spirit,  and  to  God.  The  words  are 
strongly  figurative,  and  signify  the  mortification  of 
the  whole  body  of  sin,  by  an  allusion  to  the  natural 
bodies  of  those  who  were  bruised  or  subdued  in 
combat.  Lest^  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached 
— Greek,  Ktjpv^acy  having  discharged  the  office  of  a 
herald  to  others;  (still  carrying  on  the  allusion  to 
the  Grecian  games,  in  which  a  herald  was  employed, 
whose  office  it  was  to  proclaim  the  conditions,  and  to 
display  the  prizes;)  /  myself  should  become  a  cast- 
away— Greek,  adoKifto^,  disapproved  by  the  judge, 
and  so  fall  short  of  the  prize.  Here  also,  as  well  as 
in  the  term  last  mentioned,  the  apostle  alludes  to  the 
same  games ;  and  the  import  of  his  expressions  will 
more  fully  appear  if  we  observe,  that  "  at  the  open- 
ing of  those  exercises,  a  herald,  or  crier,  publicly 
proclaimed  the  names  of  the  combatants,  and  the 
combat  in  which  they  were  to  engage,  agreeably  to 
a  register  kept  for  the  purpose  by  the  judges.  When 
their  names  were  published,  the  combatants  ap- 
peared, and  were  examined  whether  they  were  free 
men,  and  Grecians,  and  of  an  unspotted  character. 
Then  the  crier,  commanding  silence,  laid  his  hand 
on  the  head  of  the  combatant,  and  led  him  in  that 
manner  along  the  stadium,  demanding  with  a  loud 
voice  of  all  the-assembly,  *  Is  there  any  one  who  can 
accuse  this  man  of  any  crime  1  Is  he  a  robber,  or  a 
160 


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h  CORINTHIANS. 


k^  in  miijecHatL^ 


slave,  or  wicked  and  depraved  in  his  life  and  man- 
ners?' Having  passed  through  this  public  inquiry 
into  their  life  tmd  character  with  honour,  the  com- 
batants were  led  to  the  altar  of  Jupiter,  and  there, 
with  their  relations,  sware  they  would  not  be  guilty 
of  any  fraud  or  action  tending  to  the  breach  of  the 
laws  of  the  sacred  games.  And  to  excite  the  ardo^r 
of  the  combatants,  the  crovms,  the  rewards  of  victory, 
lay,  during  the  contest,  full  in  their  view,  on  a  tripod 
or  table,  placed  in  the  stadium.  There  were  also 
branches  of  palms  exposed,  which  the  victors  were 
to  receive  along  with  the  crowns,  and  which  they 
carried  in  their  hands  as  emblems  (says  Plutarch) 
of  the  insuppressible  vigour  of  their  body  and  mind." 

After  the  contentions  were  finished,  the  conquer- 
ors, being  summoned  by  proclamation,  marched  to 
the  tribunal  of  the  judges,  who  examined  their  con- 
duct  during  the  combat.  "  Then  a  herald,  taking 
the  chaplets  from  the  tripod,  placed  them  on  the 
heads  of  such  of  the  conquerors  as  were  approved  by 
the  judges;  and  putting  into  their  hands  the  palms, 
they  led  them,  thus  equipped,  through  the  stadium, 
preceded  by  a  trumpeter,  who,  during  the  proces- 
sion, proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice  their  names,  the 
names  of  their  fathers,  and  of  their  countries,  and 
specified  the  particular  combat  in  which  they  were 
conquerors.  And  as  they  passed  along,  they  were 
saluted  with  the  acclamations  of  the  spectators,  ac- 
companied with  showers  of  herbs  and  flowers, 
thro\vn  upon  them  from  every  side.  Such  was  the 
office  of  the  hercdd,  or  crier ^  in  these  games.  In 
allusion  to  that  office,  the  apostle  calls  himself  Ktniv^, 
ike  herald^  in  the  combat  for  immortality ;  because 
he  was  one  of  the  chief  of  those  who  were  employed 
by  Christ  to  introduce  into  the  stadium  such  as  con- 
tended for  the  incorruptible  crown.  He  called  them 
(o  the  combat ;  he  declared  the  kind  of  combat  in 
which  they  were  to  engage;  he  proclaimed  the 
qualifications  necessary  in  the  combatants,  and  the 
laws  of  the  battle.  Withal,  he  encouraged  the  com- 
batants, by  placmg  the  crowns  and  palms  full  in 
their  view." 

The  expression,  avro^  adoKifiog  yevofioi^  rendered,  / 


myself  should  be  a  cast-away^  or  disapproved^  signi- 
fies one,  who,  when  tried  in  iii^  manner  described 
above,  was  found  not  to  be  of  the  character  and  sta- 
tion required  by  the  established  regulations.  ''Be- 
sides the  previous  trial,  the  judges,  after  the  combat 
was  over,  madeti  most  accurate  and  impartial  scru- 
tiny into  the  mamier  in  which  the  victors  had  con- 
tended, in  order  to  find  whether  they  had  contended 
vofiifiuc^  (2  Tim.  ii.  5,)  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
combat.  And  if^  on  trial,  it  appeared  that  they  had 
failed  in  the  least  particular,  they  were  cast  In 
consequence  of  this  sentence,  they  were  denied  the 
crown,  and  sometimes  beat  out  of  the  stadium  with 
disgrace.  Such  contenders,  whether  they  were  cast 
before  or  after  the  combat,  were  aSoKi/iotf  persons  not 
approved.  Wherefore,  to  avoid  that  disgrace,  the 
apostle,  who  was  a  combatant  in  the  Christian  race, 
as  wdl  as  a  herald,  was  careful  to  qualify  himself 
for  the  combat;  and  in  combating,^to  observe  all  the 
laws  of  the  combat,  lest,  having  proclaimed  these 
laws,  he  should  be  found  not  approved  himself.  This 
the  apostle  said  to  stir  up  all,  but  especially  the  min- 
isters of  the  gospel,  to  Uie  greatest  diligence  in  ac- 
quiring habits  of  self-government  and  ptirity,  not 
only  that  they  might  secure  to  themselves  fAe  crown 
of  righteousness^  but  that  they  might  be  patterns  to 
their  people." — See  Macknight,  and  West's  Pindar. 
It  is  justly  observed  here  by  a  late  writer,  that  this 
single  passage  may  give  us  a  just  notion  of  the 
Scriptural  doctrine  of  election  and  reprobation; 
and  clearly  shows  us,  that  particular  persons  are 
pot  in  Holy  Writ  represented  as  elected^  abso- 
lutely and  unconditionally,  to  eternal  life;  or  predes- 
tinated, absolutely  and  unconditionally,  to  eternal 
death:  but  that  believers  in  general  are  elected  to 
enjoy  the  Christian  privileges  on  earth,  which,  if 
they  abuse,  those  very  elect  persons  will  become 
reprobate.  St.  Paul  was  certainly  an  elect  person, 
if  ever  there  was  one :  and  yet  he  declares  it  was 
possible  he  himself  might  become  a  reprobate.  Nay, 
he  would  actually  have  become  such,  if  he  had  not 
thus  kept  his  body  under,  even  though  he  had  been 
so  long  an  elect  person,  a  Christian,  and  an  apostle. 


CHAPTER  X. 

To  awaken  st%a  fwrtker  that  kobf  e4Mlum,  which  the  apostle  had  suggested  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  he  here,  (I,)  Repre- 
senU  to  the  Corinthians  the  privileges  which  Israel  of  old  enjoyed,  and  the  divine  displeasure  which  they  brought  upon 
themselves  by  their  abuse  of  them,  1-6.  (2,)  From  the  examples  of  God^s  severe  punishment  of  their  idolatry,  formcation, 
tempting  of  Christ,  and  nnumuuring,  he  cautions  the  Corinthians  particularly  against  all  these  sins,  6-12.  (3,)  After 
comforting  them  against  temptation,  he  shows  that  their  partaking,  in  a  religious  way,  of  things  offered  to  idoU,  was  m- 
csnsistent  with  their  fellowship  wUh  ChrUt  at  his  tahU,  and  exposed  them  to  God's  wrath,  13-22.  (4,)  He  allows  tksir 
eating  those  things  as  common  food,  provided  they  did  it  with  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  without  offending  the 
consciences  of  others,  23-33. 

170  b 


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The  Igraelites  hereunder  the  cloudy  CHAPTER  X. 


a  token  of  the  preeence  of  God. ' 


Vd^"  TWrOREOVBR,* brethren,  I  would 

'. — L  not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant 

how  thai  all  our  fathers  were  under  *the  cloud, 
and  all  passed  through  ^  the  sea ; 

2  And  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the 
doud  and  in  the  sea; 

3  And    did   all    eat   the   same    ^  spiritual 
meat; 


I   4  And  did  aD  drink  the  same  ^8[»rit-  a.m.40«8. 

.  ual  drink :  (For  they  drank  of  that '. — 1 

\  spiritual  Rock  that  ^  followed  them :  and  that 
Rock  was  Christ.) 

6  But  with  many  of  them  (Sod  was  not  well 
pleased :   for  they  •  were  overthrown  in  the 
wilderness. 
6  Now  these  things  were  'our  examples,  to 


*  Ninth  Sunday  after  Tnnitv,  epistle,  rerse  1  to  Terse  14. 
•Ezod.   ziu.  21;    zl.  34;    Num.  ix.  18;   zir.  14:  Deut.  i. 

33;   Neb.  «.  12,  Id;  Psa.  Ixiriu.  14;  cv.  39. -»»Exod.  xiv. 

22 ;  Num.  xxxni.  8 ;  Josh.  ir.  23 ;  Pss.  tzzriii.  13. «  Ezod. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  X. 
Verses  1-3.  Moreover— Ot  now ;  brethren— Th^i 
you  may  be  induced  to  attend  to  the  exhortation 
which  I  hare  been  giving  you,  and  may  run  your 
Christian  race  with  resolution,  zeal,  and  diligence, 
and  not  become  reprobates,  consider  how  highly  fa- 
voured your  fathers  were,  who  were  God's  elect  and 
peculiar  people,  and  nevertheless  were  rejected  by 
hun.     They  were  all  under  the  cloudy  that  eminent 
token  of  God's  gracious  presence  with  them,  which 
defended  them  from  the  Egyptians ;  (Exod.  xiv.  20;) 
being  to  the  latter  a  cloud  of  darkness,  but  giving 
light  by  night  to  the  Israelites ;  the  cloud  which  ac- 
companied them  in  their  jouraeyings,  and  was  spread 
over  them  like  a  covering,  to  screen  them  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  intense  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia, 
Num.  xiy.  14.    And  all  passed  through  the  sea — 
God  opening  a  way  through  the  midst  of  the  waters ; 
and  were  all  baptized^  as  it  were,  unto  Moses — Ini- 
tiated into  the  religion  which  he  taught  them ;  in 
the  (doud  and  in  the  sea — Perhaps  sprinkled  here 
and  there  with  drops  of  water  from  the  sea,  and  from 
the  cloud,  by  which  baptism  might  be  more  evident- 
ly signified.    But  whether  or  not,  as  the  Israelites, 
by  being  hid  from  the  Egyptians  under  the  cloud, 
and  by  passing  through  the  sea,  were  made  to  de- 
clare their  belief  in  the  Lord  dnd  in  his  servant 
Moses^  (Exod.  xiv.  81,)  the  apostle  very  properly 
represents  them  as  being  thereby  baptised  unto 
Moses.    And  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat— 
That  is,  the  manna,  which  was  an  emblem  of  the 
bread  of  life ;  that  came  downfrom  heaven— Sdtmcly, 
1st,  Of  Christ's  flesh  and  blood,  or  hb  obedience  un- 
to death,  which  is  meat  indeed,  John  vi.  {^.    2d,  Of 
his  heavenly  doctrine,  whereby  the  souls  of  the  falth- 
iul  are'supported  and  nourished,  John  vi.  63.    And 
8d,  Of  the  sacramental  bread  which  we  eat  at  his 
table.    The  word  spiritual  is  here  used  for  typical, 
as  it  is  also  Rev.  xL  8,  where  we  read,  Which  great 
dty  spirituaUy,  (that  is,  typicaUy,)  is  called  Sodom 
and  Egypt.    That  the  feeding  of  the  Israelites  with 
manna  had  a  typical  meaning,  appears  from  Deut 
viiL  8;  and  that  it  signified  true  doctrine  in  particu- 
lar, appears  from  its  being  called  angels*  food,  Psa. 
Izzviii.  25.    And  it  is  termed  spiritual  meat  because 
the  spiritual  blessings  which  it  typified  were  the  same 
with  those  typified  by  the  bread  in  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, which  the  Corinthians  ate. 
Vene  4.  And  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual— 


XfL  15,  35 ;  Neh.  ix.  15,  SO ;  Psa.  Izxriii.  24. '  Exod.  xrii. 

6 ;  Num.  xx.  11 ;  Pn.  Ixxriii.  15. ^  Or,  wnt  wrth  tkem^  Dent. 

ix.  21;  Psa.  cr.  41. •  Num.  xir.  29, 32, 33 ;  xxri.  64, 66 ;  Pia. 

ctL  26 ;  Heb.  ilL  17;  Jade  5. •  Gr.  mrfigung. 


That  is,  typical ;  c/rinAc—Namely,  typical  of  Christ 
and  of  the  living  water,  the  divine  influence  derived 
from  him,  John  viii.  37.  For  they  drank  of  thai 
spiritual^OT  mysterious;  rocfc^-The  wonderful 
streams  of  which  followed  them  in  their  several 
joumeyings  for  many  years  through  the  wilderness. 
It  must  be  obser\'ed,  water  was  twice  brought  from 
a  rock  by  a  miracle,  for  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  once  in  Rephidim,  which  was  their  eleventh 
station,  and  in  the  first  year  after  they  came  out  of 
Egypt ;  of  which  miracle  we  have  an  account,  Exod. 
xvU. ;  the  second  time  was  at  Kadesh,  which  was 
their  thirty-third  station,  and  in  the  fortieth  year 
^ter  their  leaving  Egypt,  Num.  xx.  1.  To  both 
places  the  name  of  Meribah  wad  given ;  but  the  lat- 
ter was  called  Meribah-Kadesh,  to  distinguish  it  from 
Meribah  of  Rephidim,  It  is  the  miracje  performed 
in  Rephidim  of  which  the  apostle  here  speaks.  The 
water,  it  appears,  that  issued  from  this  rock  formed 
a  brook,  which  (Deut  ix.  21)  is  said  to  have  de- 
scended out  of  the  mount,  that  is,  out  of  Horeb ;  (Exod. 
xvii.  5,  6 ;)  for  before  that  miracle  there  was  no  brook 
in  these  parts.  And  it  issued  in  such  abundance  as 
to  be  termed  a  river,  Psa,  Ixxviil  16 ;  cv.  41.  Indeed, 
six  hundred  thousand  men,  with  their  women  and 
children,  and  cattle,  required  a  river  to  supply  them 
with  drink.  And  Horeb  being  a  high  mountain, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  descent  from  it  to  the 
sea;  and  the  Israelites,  during  the  thirty-seven  years 
of  their  journeying,  appear  to  have  gone  by  those 
tracts  of  country  in  which  the  waters  from  Horeb 
could  follow  them,  till  in  the  thirty-ninth* year  they 
came  to  Ezion-Gaber,  (Num.  xxxiii.  96,)  a  port  of 
the  Red  sea,  far  down  the  Arabian  side,  where  it  is 
supposed  the  water  from  Horeb  went  into  that  sea. 
The  country  through  which  the  Israelites  journeyed 
so  long  a  time,  being  watered  by  this  river,  produced, 
no  doubt,  herbage  for  the  cattle  of  the  Israelites, 
which,  in  this  desert,  must  otherwise  have  perished. 
And  that  Rock  was  Christ—A  manifest  type  of  him, 
the  Rock  of  ages,  who,  being  smitten  in. his  death 
and  sufferings,  poured  forth  streams  of  redemption, 
grace,  and  heavenly  blessings,  which  follow  his  peo- 
ple through  all  this  wilderness,  and  will  end  hi  rivers 
of  pleasure  at  the  right  hand  of  God  for  ever. 

Verses  5, 6.  But  with  many  of  Mem— Although 

they  had  so  many  tokens  of  the  divine  presence  with 

them,  and  enjoyed  such  singular  favours;  Oodwas 

not  well  pleased—So  far  from  it,  that  be  swore  bn  hla 

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I.  CORINTHIANa 


to  tempt  €h(L 


A  1I.406X  the  intent  we  sboidd  not  lust  after  ^vil 


▲.0.5OL 


things,  as  '  they  also  histed. 


7  «  Neither  be  ye  idolaters,  as  were  some  of 
them :  as  it  is  written,  ^  The  people  sat  down 
to  eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play. 

8  '  Neither  lei  us  commit  fornication,  as  some 
of  them  committed,  and  ^  fell  in  one  day  three 
and  tw&Oiij  thousand. 


t  Num. «.  4, 33,  34 ;    Psa.  en.  14.-^-*  Verse  14. ^  Exod. 

xzm.6. >ChM).  Ti.  18;  Rer.  ii.  14. ''Num.  xxr.  1,  9^ 

Pn^cvl  29. »ExDd.  xriL  2,  7;    Nam.  xxi  5;    Dent.  ▼!. 

16 ;  Psa.  IxxTui  18,  66;  wjt.  9;  cri.  14.  


wrath  they  should  not  enter  into  the  rest  he  had  pro- 
yided  for  them ;  and  therefore  they  were  overthrown 
in  the  wilderness— WiiYi  the  most  terrible  marks  of 
his  wrath.  Even  the  whole  generation  that  came 
adult  out  of  Egypt  died  there,  and  sometimes  in 
such  multitudes,  that  the  ground  was  overspread 
with  carcasses,  as  a  field  is  in  which  a  battle  has  been 
fought.  Now  these  things—These  punishments; 
were  our  examples— Showing  what  we  are  to  expect, 
notwithstanding  our  profession  of  Christianity,  if  we 
act  like  them ;  if,  enjoying  the  like  benefits,  we  com- 
mit the  like  sins.  The  benefits  are  here  set  down  in 
the  same  order  as  by  Moses  in  Exodus ;  the  sins  and 
punishments  in  a  different  order:  evil  desire  first,  as 
being  the  foundation  of  all;  next  idolatry,  verses  7, 
14  J  then  fornication,  which  usually  accompanied  it, 
verse  8 ;  tempting  and  murmuring  against  God  in 
the  following  verses.  To  the  intent  we  should  not 
lust  after  evU  thingsShoM.  not  indulge  irregular 
and  luxurious  desires;  as  they  also  lusted— After 
flesh,  in  contempt  of  the  manna,  and  thereby  brought 
the  wrath  of  God  upon  themselves,  and  were  con- 
sumed with  pestilential  distempers,  while  the  meat 
was  yet  between  their  teeth,  Psa.  Ixxviii.  30,  31. 
Learn,  therefore,  as  if  he  had  said,  by  what  they 
suffered,  to  cultivate  that  temperance  and  self-denial 
which  I  have  just  been  recommending  to  you. 

Verses  7,  8.  Neither  be  ye  idolaters— By  parta- 
king of  their  idolatrous  feasts:  by  no  means  join  the 
heathen  in  these,  because  if  the  persons  whose  friend- 
ship you  wish  to  cultivate,  tempt  you  to  commit 
idolatry,  neither  your  superior  knowledge,  nor  the 
spiritual  gifts  which  ye  possess,  will  secure  you 
against  their  allurements:  of  these  things  you  have 
a  striking  proof  in  the  ancient  Israelites.  As  it  is 
im^^en— Exodus  xxxti.  6,  19,  with  relation  to  the 
feast  of  the  golden  ealf ;  The  people  sat  down  to  eat 
and  drink— Of  the  sacrifices  and  libations  which 
were  offered  to  the  calf.  He  says,  sat  down  to  eat, 
for  in  ancient  times  the  Hebrews  always  sat  at  meat: 
see  Gen.  xliii.  33.  It  was  in  later  times  only  that,  in 
compliance  with  the  manners  of  eastern  nations, 
they  lay  on  couches  at  their  meals.  And  rose  up  to 
play — Or  to  dance,  as  the  word  naiCeiv^ere  signifies, 
in  honour  of  their  idoL  Dancing  was  one  of  the 
rites  practised  by  the  heathen  in  the  worship  of  their 
gods.  And  that  thelsraelUes  worshipped  the  golden 
calf  by  dancing,  is  evident  from  Exod.  xxxii.  19, 
where  it  is  said  of  Moses,  that  he  saw  the  calf  and 
11% 


9  Neither  let  us  tempt  Christ,  as  A.  M.  40G3 

^some  of  them  also  tempted,  and  i — 1 

"^  were  destroyed  of  serpents. 

10  Neither  murmur  ye,  aa  "some  of  than 
also  murmured,  and  ®were  destroyed  of  ■'the 
destroyer. 

11  Now  all  these  things  hajqpened  unto  them 
for   ^ensamples:    and  ^they  are  written  for 


-Nam. 

xxi.  6. — 

-■Exod.  xTi.2: 

xrii.  2;  Num 

xir 

'ii%^[ 

xvi.41.— 

-•  Num.  xir.  37 ;  xvi  49.— 

— pExod.xii. 

23; 

xiir.  16; 

iCfafoa. 

xxi.  15. »Or 

ttyp€9. 4  Rom. 

XT,  4; 

Chap.  ix. 

10. 

the  dancing,  and  his  anger  waxed  hot  Neither  let 
us  commit  fornication— A  sin  commonly  committed 
'at  the  idolatrous  feasts  among  the  heathen.  And  it 
was  the  more  proper  for  the  apostle  to  caution  the 
Corinthians  against  it,  because  in  their  heathen  state 
they  had  practised  it  even  as  an  act  of  worship,  ac- 
ceptable to  their  deities ;  nay,  and  after  their  con- 
version, some  of  them,  it  appears,  had  not  altered 
their  manners  in  that  particular,  2  Cor.  xii.  21.  As 
some  of  them  committed— Wiih  the  Midianitish  wo- 
men, when  they  partook  of  the  sacrifices  offered  to 
Baal-peor:  the  sad  consequence  of  which  was,  that 
there  fell  in  one  day  three  and  twenty  thousand — 
By  the  plague,  besides  the  pHnces  who  were  after- 
ward hanged,  and  those  whom  the  judges  slew ;  so 
that  there  died  in  all  twenty-four  thousand.  Num. 
XXV.  1-9. 

Verses  9,  10.  Neither  let  us  tempt  Oirist—BjoXu 
unbelief  and  distrusting  his  providence,  aAer  the 
tokens  he  hath  given  us  to  encourage  our  fbith^ 
and  engage  our  dependence;  as  some  of  them— Of 
the  next  geneiration ;  tempted  him — While  he  resi- 
ded among  them  as  the  angel  of  God's  presence^ 
who  led  them  through  the  wilderness,  Exod.  xxiii. 
20,  21 ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  9;  and  were  destroyed  of  serpents 
— From  the  venom  of  which  others  were  recovered 
by  looking  at  the  brazen  serpent,  which  was  so  illus- 
trious a  type  of  the  Messiah.  "  In  the  history,  these 
are  called  Jf cry  serpents^  Deut.  viii.  15;  and  Gesner 
is  of  opinion  that  tbesjs  serpents  were  of  the  dipsas 
kind,  (a  name  taken  from  the  thirst  they  causae  in 
those  they  sting,)  which  Lucian  hath  described  in 
his  treatise,  entitled  Dipsades,  where,  speaking  of 
the  deserts  of  Lybia,  he  says,  '  Of  all  the  serpents 
which  inhabit  these  solitudes,  the  most  cruel  is  the 
dipsas,  no  bigger  than  a  viper,  but  whose  sting 
causes  most  dismal  pains,  even  tUl  death.  For  it  is 
a  gross  venom,  which  burns,  breeds  thirst,  and  pu- 
trifies;  and  those  who  are  afflicted  with  it,  cry  as  if 
they  were  in  the  fire.*  For  an  account  of  this  ser- 
pent, see  Kolben's  State  of  the  Cape  of  Good  ffope^ 
vol.  ii.  p,  166."— Macknight  Neither  murmur  ye — 
Under  those  dispensations  of  providence,  which  may 
seem  at  present  very  afflictive,  particularly  on  ac- 
count of  the  malice  and  power  of  your  enemies;  a» 
some  of  them  murmured — ^When  they  heard  the  re- 
port of  the  spies,  Num.  xiv.  2;  and  were  destroy e<i 
of  the  destroyer— The  destroying  angel,  who  was 
commission^  by  one  judgment  after  another  to  take 

b 


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CHAPTER  X. 


not  to  countenance  idolatry. 


A. M. 4063.  our  admonition,   'upon  whom  tiTe 
▲.0.59.  J      -,  -  ij        '^ 

, ends  of  the  world  are  come. 

13  Wherefore,  'let  hhn  that  thinkeA  he 
standetb,  take  heed  lest  he  fidL 

13  There  haA  no  temptation  taken  you  but 
^  such  as  b  common  to  man :  but  ^  God  is 
fidthftd,  *  who  wiU  pot  suffer  you  to  be  tempted 
above  that  ye  are  aUe;    but  will  with  the 


'Chap.  TiL  29;  PhiL  ir.  5 ;  Heb.  z.  25,37. *  Rom.  xi.  20. 

Or,  moderaU. »  Chap.  L  9. ■  Pml  cxxt.  3.- — «  Jer. 


them  off.  The  Jews  generally  interpret  this  of  him 
whom  they  fancy  to  be  the  angel  of  decUh,  and  whom 
they  called  Sammael    See  on  Hcb.  ii.  14. 

Verses  11-13.  Now  cUl  these  things — These  vari- 
ous calamitous  events;  happened  unto  them  for  en- 
samples — That  we  might  leara  wisdom  at  their  ex- 
pense, and  not  trust  to  external  privileges,  while  we 
go  on  in  a  coarse  of  disobedience  to  the  divine  au- 
thority. Xhe  apostle's  meaning  is,  that  punishment 
inflicted  on  sinners  in  a  public  and  extraordinary 
manner,  makes  them  examples  of  the  divine  ven- 
geance to  their  own  generation,  and  to  all  succeed- 
ing ones  which  have  any  knowledge  of  their  history. 
And  they  care  written  for  our  admonition — To  warn 
us  Christians;  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world — 
Or,  of  the  ages;  ruv  aiuvuv,  are  come — That  is,  at 
the  end  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  whose  duration 
was  measured  by  ages  or  jubilees.  Or  it  may  sig- 
nify the  last  dispensation  of  religion,  namely,  that 
of  the  gospel,  which  succeeded  the  patriarchal  and 
the  Jewish.  The  expression  has  great  force.  All 
things  meet  together  and  come  to  a  crisis  under  the 
last)  the  gospel  dispensation ;  both  benefits  and  dan- 
gers, punishments  and  rewards.  And  under  it  Christ 
will  come  as  an  avenger  and  a  judge.  Wherefore 
— As  if  he  had  said,  Seeing  that  so  many  who  en- 
joyed great  spiritual  privileges,  yet  were  punbhed 
for  their  sms,  therefore  let  him  that  ihinketh  he 
standelh—Or  rather,  that  most  assuredly  standetb, 
(for  the  word  Soxety  rendered  thinketh,  most  certainly 
strengthens,  rather  than  weakens  the  sense,)  or  is 
eonfident  that  he  is  able  to  resist  temptation,  and  to 
continue  steadfast  in  the  practice  of  his  duty ;  and 
that,  thereupon,  he  shall  be  secure  from  punishment; 
take  heed  lest  he  fall—Into  s'm  and  perdition.  TVtere 
hath  no  temptation — Utipaofioct  trialy  of  any  kind, 
whether  by  way  of  suffering,  as  the  word  means, 
James  L  2;  1  Pet  L  6;  and  in  many  other  places; 
or  of  inducement  to  sin,  as  Ae  expression  signifies, 
James  L  13, 14;  but  such  as  is  common  to  man-* 
Usual  and  ordinary  among  men :  or,  as  the  Greek 
word  more  especially  imports,  proportioned  to  Jiu^ 
man  strength.  At  the  time  the  apostle  wrote  this, 
the  Christians  at  Corinth  had  not  been  much  perse- 
cuted; see  chap,  i  v.  8.  Bul-^^and;  Godis faith- 
fuIr^To  his  promise,  and  therefore  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tempted— Or  tried;  above  that  ye  are  able 
— ^Through  the  strength  which  he  imparts,  to  endure 
the  trial,  and  stand  in  the  evil  day;  but  will,  with 
the  <€mp<atfoii--By  whieh  he  goffers  yoa  to  be^as- 


ternptation  also  'make  a  way  to  A. M. 4063. 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.    ^^' ^' 

14  WhereftMre,  my  dearly  beloved,  ^flee  from 
idolatry. 

15  Ispeakastowise 'men;  judge  ye  whatlsay. 

16  *  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless, 
is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of 
Christ?    »»The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it 


Mix.  11. JVene  7. 'Ohajk.  win.  1. >liaU.  xxtL  86, 

27,  28. ^^  Acts  ii.  42,  46. 


saulted ;  make  a  way  to  escape — ^Greek,  njv  eK6aaiv, 
a  passage  out — That  is,  will  provide  for  yonr  deliver- 
ance; that—U  you  bo  not  wanting  to  yourselves; 
you  may  be  able  to  bear  U — ^Yea,  and  may  acquire 
new  strength  by^  and  comfort  from  the  combat. 
Verses  14, 15.  Wher^ore,  my  dearly  beloved,  te. 
To  understand  what  follows,  it  seems  necessary 
to  suppose  that  the  Corinthians,  in  their  letter,  put 
three  questions  to  the  apostle  concerning  meats 
sacrificed  to  idols.  1st,- Whether  they  might  inno- 
cently go  with  their  h^then  acquaintance  into  the 
idoPs  temple,  and  partake  of  the  feasts  on  the  sacri- 
fice which  were  eaten  there  in  honour  of  the  idol  1 
2d,  Whether  they  might  buy  and  eat  meat  sold  in 
the  markets  which  had  been  sacrificed  to  idols? 
dd,  Whether,  when  invited  to  the  houses  of  the  hea- 
then, they  might  eat  of  meats  sacrificed  to  idols, 
which  were  set  before  thein  as  a  common  meal? 
To  the  first  of  these  questions  the  apostle  answered, 
chap,  viii.,  that  their  joining  the  heathen  in  their 
feasts  on  the  sacrifices  in  the  idoTs  temple,  even  on 
the  supposition  that  it  was  a  thing  in  itself  innocent, 
might  be  a  Rumbling-block  to  their  weak  brethren, 
in  which  case  it  ought  to  be  avoided ;  but  whether 
such  a  practice  were  a  thing-  innocent  or  sinful  in 
itself,  he  did  not  on  that  occasion  consider.  Here, 
therefore,  he  resumes  the  subject,  that  he  might 
treat  of  it  fully^  and  answer  (he  other  questions  pro> 
posed  to  him  by  the  Corinthians  relative  to  that  mat- 
ter. Flee  from  idokUry—And  from  all  approaches 
to  it,  whatever  circumstances  of  allurement  or  dan- 
ger may  seem  to  plead  for  eame  degrees  of  compli- 
ance. I  speak  as  to  wise  men—1  use  a  rational  ar- 
gument, which  will  bear  the  strictest  examination, 
and  which  I  am  willing  should  be  canvassed  as  ac 
curately  as  you  please;  judge  you,  therefore,  what 
I  say—VHuaX  1  advance,  to  show  you  that  the  eating 
of  the  sacrifices  in  the  idoPs  temple  is,  or  leads  to,  a 
real  worshipping  of  the  idol :  and  that,  therefore,  you 
will  naturally  bring  guilt  upon  your  consciences,  by 
such  associations  and  participations  of  their  idola- 
trous feasts. 

Verses  16, 17.  The  cup  of  blessing— In  the  Lord's 
supper,  the  sacramental  cup;  which  we  bless — Set 
apart  to  a  sacred  use,  solemnly  invoking  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  it  Dr.  Mackni^t  renders  the  original 
expressioi^  o  evXoyttfuvy  for  which  we  bless  God,  a 
sense  which  he  thinks  is  sanctioned  by  chap.  xi.  24, 
"  where  this  blessing  is  interpreted  by  the  giving  of 
thanks.  And  he  considers  it  as  denoting  the  whole 
199 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


memberM  of  one  bo^g. 


A.  M.  4063.  not  the  communion  of  the  body  of 

-ei^  Christ? 

17  For  **  we  being  many  are  one  bread,  and 
one  body:  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that 
one  bread. 

18  Behold  ^  Israel  *  after  the  flesh :  ^are  not 
they  which  eat  of  the  sacrifices  partakers  of 
the  altar? 

19  What  say  I  then?  '  that  the  idol  is  any 
thing,  or  that  which  is  offered  in  sacrifice  to 
idols  is  any  thing? 


«  Rom.  vii.  5. *  Rom.  it.  12. •  Rom.  iv.  1. '  Lcr.  vii. 

15. f  Chap.  xiii.  4. *  Lcr.  xrii.  7 

communieant^  joining  together  in  blessing  God  over 
the  cup,  for  his  mercy  in  redeeming  the  world 
through  the  blood  of  Christ.  Thus  both  Luke  and 
Paul,  in  their  account  of  the  institution,  express  this 
part  of  the  action  by  tvxapignjaac^  having  given 
thanks.  And  hence  the  service  itself  hath  long 
borne  the  name  of  the  eucharist^  or  thanksgiving,  by 
way  of  eminence."  h  it  not  the  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  ?— The  means  of  our  partaking  of 
those  invaluable  benefits  which  are  the  purchase  of 
the  blood  of  Christ?  7%c  bread  which  ire  breaJ: — 
And  which  was  appointed  in  the  first  institution  of 
the  ordinance  for  this  purpose ;  is  it  not  the  com- 
munion of  the  body  of  Christ! — In  the  like  sense  ? 
That  is,  the  means  and  token  of  our  sharing  in  the 
privileges  which  he  procured  by  the  offering  up  of 
his  body  for  us,  to  be  torn,  broken,  and  put  to  death. 
For  tee,  being  many,  are  yet,  as  it  were,  one  bread 
—One  loaf  as  the  word  apro^  often  signifies,  and  is 
translated,  Matt.  xvi.  9;  where  Jesus  asks.  Do  ye  not 
remember  the  five  aprtic,  loaves^  of  the  five  thousand? 
and  Matt.  iv.  3,  Command  that  these  stones  be  made^ 
apTucy  loaves.  The  sense  is.  It  is  this  communion 
which  makes  us  all  one :  by  partaking  of  one  and 
the  same  bread,  we  are  united  and  Cbrmed  into  one 
mystical  body.  "This  account  of  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, the  apostle  gave  to  show  the  Corinthians,  that 
as  by  eating  thereof,  the  partakers  declare  they  have 
the  same  object  of  worship,  the  same  faith,  the  same 
hope,  and  the  same  dispositions  with  the  persons 
whom  they  join  in  that  act  of  religion,  and  that  they 
will  follow  the  same  course  of  life ;  so,  in  all  reason- 
able construction,  by  eating  the  sacrifices  of  idols, 
the  partakers  declare  they  are  of  the  same  faith  and 
practice  with  the  worshippers  of  Idols,  that  they 
have  the  same  objects  of  worship  with  them,  and 
that  they  expect  to  share  with  them  in  the  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  that  worship." 

Verse  18.  Jffe/io/i— Consider,  by  way  of  illustra- 
tion ;  Israel  after  the  flesh — ^How  it  is  with  the  pre- 
sent Jews,  the  natural  descendants  of  Jacob,  who 
worship  God  by  sacrifices,  according  to  the  Mosaic 
law.  He  says,  after  the  fleshy  to  distingubh  them 
from  the  spiritual  Israel,  consisting  of  believers  of 
all  nations,  called  the  Israel  of  God^  Gal.  vi.  18. 
Are  not  they  who  eat  of  the  Bacriflces^—Who  feast 
upon  the  remainders  of  the  sacrifices  offered  at  the 
174 


SO   But  I  say,   that   the  things  a.m. 

which  the  Grentiles  ^  sacrifice,  they  — I — '. 

eaorifice  to  devils,  and  not  to  God :  and  I 
would  not  that  ye  should  have  feUowsbip  with 
devils. 

21  ^  Ye'  cannot  drink  the  cup  of  the  Lotd, 
and  ^  the  cup  of  devils :  ye  cannot  be  par- 
takers of  the  Liord's  taUe,  and  of  the  taMe  of 
devils. 

22  Do  we  '  provoke  the  Lord  to  jealousy? 
"» are  we  stronger  than  he  ? 


» 2  Cor.  vi.  15.- 
«»  Eick,  xxii.  14. 


'  Deut.  xzxii.  3S.- 


iDeut. 


21. 


altar ;  sec  Lev.  vii.  15 ;  1  Sam.  i.  4, 5 ;  partakers  oj 
(he  altar^Do  they  not  join  in  the  worship  there  per- 
formed, and  own  the  God  there  worshipped  ?  And 
is  not  this  an  act  of  communion  with  that  God  to 
whom  such  sacrifices  are  offered?  And  is  not  the 
case  the  same  with  those  who  eat  of  the  sacrifices 
offered  to  idols  7  This  argument,  drawn  from  the 
sentiments  of  the  Jews,  was  used  with  peculiar  pro- 
priety, especially  in  reasoning  with  the  false  teach- 
ers at  Corinth,  who,  it  seems,  were  Jews,  and  who, 
to  ingratiate  themselves  with  the  Corinthians,  are 
supposed  to  have  encouraged  them  to  eat  of  the 
idol's  sacrifices. 

Verses  19-22.  iVhat  say  I  then — Do  I,  in  saying 
this,  allow  that  an  idol  is  any  thing  divine  ?  Or 
that  which  is  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols  is  any 
ihing^-ls  a  sacrifice  to  a  real  deity  ?  Or  is  made 
either  better  or  worse,  or  to  differ  from  ordinary 
meat,  by  being  thus  offered  to  idols?  You  WcD 
know  that  I  intend  to  maintain  nothing  of  this  kind : 
so  far  from  it,  that  I  aver  tfu  things  which  the  Gen- 
tiles sacrifice — ^To  supposed  deities;  they  sacrifice 
to  devils — For,  though  I  grant  the  idol  is  nothing, 
yet  those  spirits  that  sometimes  dwell  in  the  images 
of  these  idols,  and  give  answers  from  them,  are 
something:  they  are  demons^  most  wicked  and  un- 
clean spirits,  defiling  every  person  and  thing  that 
has  any  relation  to  them.  We  may  observe  here, 
^*  The  word  Saifiuvia,  demons,  Is  used  in  the  LXX. 
to  denote  the  ghosts  of  men  deceased ;  and  Josephus 
(BelL,  lib.  vii.  6)  says,  demons  are  the  spirits  of 
wicked  men.  It  is  therefore  probable,  that  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  use  the  word  d^tnon^ 
in  the  same  sense,  especially  as  it  is  well  known 
that  the  greatest  part  of  the  heathen  gods  were  dead 
men.  The  heathen  worshipped  two  kinds  of  de- 
mons: the  one  kind  were  ^e  souls  of  kings  and 
heroes,  deified  after  death,  but  who  eoulB  have  no 
agency  in  human  afiairs;  the  other  kind  of  demons 
were  those  evil  spirits  who,  under  the  names  of 
Jupiter,  Apollo,  Trophonius,  Ac,  moving  the  hea- 
then priests^  and  priestesses  to  deliver  oracles,  greatly 
promoted  idolatry." — Macknight  Such  in  reality, 
as  if  he  had  said,  are  the  gods  of  the  heathen,  and 
with  such  only  can  ye  hold  communion  in  those 
sacrifices.  And  not  to  God — The  heathen  in  general 
had  no  idea  of  God;  th^  Is,  of  an  nnoriginatad, 

b 


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CHAPTER  X. 


have  regiord  to  <mr  bretknn. 


A.M.4063.    23  *M  itnngB  are  lawftil  for  me, 
'    '    but  all  things  are  not  expedient:  all 
things  are  lawful  for  me,  but  all  things  edify 
not 

24  ""Let  no  man  seek  his  own,  but  every 
man  another's  wecdth. 

25  ^  Whatsoever  b  sdd  in  the  diamUes,  that 
eat,  asking  no  question  for  conscience'  sake : 

26  For  "(the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  ful- 
ness thereof. 


■Chap.  ri.  12.- 
PWL  ii.  4,  ?!.— 


-»Rom.  zr.  1, 2;  Verse  33;  Chap.  xiii.  5; 
P 1  Tim.  ir.  4.       <  Exod.  zix.  5 ;    Deut.  z. 


eternal,  immutable,  and  infinitely  perfect  being,  the 
Creator  and  Goveraor  of  all  things.  And  JtDould 
not  ye  should  have  feUowshiji  with  dmnlsvOr  with 
their  votaries,  either  In  their  worship,  their  princi- 
ples, their  practices,  or  their  hopes ;— ye  wh^  have 
at  your  baptism  solemnly  renounced  the  devil  and 
all  his  adherents.  For  certainly  it  Is  not  a  small  sin, 
nor  a  thing  to  be  made  light  of,  to  have  fellowship 
with  them.  Ye^^annot  of  right—Or  in  reason,'^ou 
ought  not,  it  is  contrary  to  3rour  Cairistian  profession 
so  to  do;  drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup  oj 
devils— Yq  cannot  hare  communion  with  both ;  can- 
not reasonably  make  profession  of  the  worship  of 
€k>d,  (which  you  do  in  the  Lord's  supper  in  the 
highest  instance,)  and  also  of  the  worship  of  devils, 
(as  you  do  in  the  idol  feasts,)  these  being  so  con- 
trary one  to  the  other.  Do  we  provoke  the  Lord  to 
JealoMt^ — Namely,  by  joining  devils  in  Competition 
with  him?  or  by  thus  caressing  hb  rivals?  Are 
we  stronger  than  He? — Able  to  resist  or  to  bear 
his  wrath?  Can  we  secure  ourselves  against  his 
judgments,  when  he  comes  forth  to  punish  for  such 
sins? 

Verses  23, 24.  All  things,  Ac— He  here  comes  to 
speak  of  another  case,  namely,  the  buying  and  eat- 
ing privately,  meats  which  had  been  offered  to  idols : 
are  lawful  for  me— All  kinds  of  meats  according  to 
the  gospel.  See  on  chap.  vi.  12.  ^u/— Granting 
this,  it  must  also  be  acknowledged  that  M  such 
things  are  not,  in  erery  circumstance,  expedient — 
For  the  reasons  mentioned  before ;  (see  on  chap.  viii. 
0-lB;)  and  all  things  edify  not  others — Do  not  help 
them  forward  in  holiness.  And  we  ought  certainly 
to  consider  what  may  most  effectually  conduce  to 
the  edification  of  our  brethren,  and  of  the  church  of 
God  in  general,  as  well  as  what  may  suit  oar  own 
particular  inclinations  or  conveniences ;  for  we  may 
find  good  reasons  for  declining  many  things  as  in- 
snaring  to  others,  which,  were  we  to  consider  our- 
selves alone,  might  be  perfectly  Indifferent  Let  no 
man,  therefore,  sedc  his  own—Advantage  or  plea- 
sure; but  every  man  another's  weaUh-rOr  weal, 
namely,  spiritual ;  the  edification  and  salvation  of 
his  soul,  verse  33.  Or,  let  no  man  prefer  his  own 
temporal  profit  or  satbfaction  before  another^s  spi- 
ritual and  eternal  welfare. 

Verses  25, 2^  The  apostle  now  applies  thb  prin- 
ciple to  the  point  in  question;  and  on  the  ground  ' 
.b 


27  If  any  of  them  that  believe  not  A  M.4063. 
bid  you  to  a  feast,  and  ye  be  dia-  ^  ^'  ^\ 
posed  to  go ;  'whatsoever  is  set  before  you,  eat, 
asking  no  question  for  amscience'  sake. 

28  But  if  any  man  say  unto  you,  This  is 
offered  in  sacrifice  unto  idols,  eat  not  '  for  his 
sake  that  showed  it,  and .  for  consci^ice'  sake : 
for  ^the  earth  is  the  Lc^s,  and  the  fulness 
thereof: 

29  Conscience,  I  say,  not  thine  own,  but  of 


14:  Pta-xxir.  I;  1.12;  Vc«e28. 'Lukex.7.. •Chap. 

nil.  10, 12. « Dcut.  x.  14 ;  Ps*.  xxir.  1 ;  Verw  26. 


of  it,  gives  the  following  rules  concerning  meats. 
Whatsoever  is  sold  in  the  shambles — Though  it 
were  offered  to  idols  before,  yet  being  now  set  open- 
ly to  sale,  the  idol  is  no  more  honoured  therewith, 
and  it  is  common  meat;  tJtai  you  may  buy,  and  eat 
it  in  private,  either  in  a  friend's  house  or  your  own, 
asking  no  question— VHieiher  it  has  been  offered  in 
sacrifice  to  an  idol  or  not ;  for  conscience  sake— 
With  a  view  to  satisfy  your  conscience  respecting 
the  lawfulness  of  eating  it.  Or  the  expression,  for 
conscience  sake,  may  mean,  lest  any  needless  scruple 
should  arise,  either  in  your  own  or  your  brother's 
conscience,  so  that  you  could  not  eat  of  it  freely, 
without  doubting  in  yourself,  or  giving  offence  to 
your  brother.  For  the  earth  is  the  Lor^s,  as  the 
psalmist  has  expressed  it,  Psa.  xxiv.  1,  and  the  ful- 
ness thereof— AH  creatures  therein,  which  were 
made  for  man's  use,  and  are  given  us  fi'eely  to  enjoy 
in  Christ,^  1  Tim.  iv.  4;  vr.  17.  And  no  demon  hath 
any  power  or  dominion  over  them.  "  By  this  argu- 
ment the  apostle  showed  the  Coriuthians  that  their 
knowledge  and  faith,  as  Christians,  ought  to  prevent 
them  from  asking  any  questions  concerning  theur 
food,  which  might  lead  the  heathen  to  think  that 
they  acknowledged  the  power  of  their  deities,  either 
to  give  or  to  withhold  any  part  of  the  fulness  of  tiie 
earth  from  the  worshippers  of  the  true  God." 

Verses  27-30.  If  any  of  tiiem  that  believe  not— 
Any  heathen  who  lives  in  your  neighbourhood ;  bid 
you  to  a  feast — Invite  you  to  his  house ;  and  ye  be 
disposed— To  accept  the  invitation ;  whatever  is  set 
before  you — At  the  entertainment;  eat,  asking  no 
question — About  its  having  been  sacrificed  to  idols; 
for  conscience  sake.  See  on  verse  25.  But  receiv- 
ing it,  whatever  it  may  be,  as  that  supiHy  which  Di- 
vine Providence  has  then  been  pleased  to  send  you. 
BtU  if  any  man  say,  This  food  is  part  of  what 
hath  been  offered  in  sacrifice  unto  idols,  eat  not,  for 
his  sake  that  showed  if— Whether  he  be  a  heathen, 
who  might  thereby  be  confirmed  in  his  idolatry,  or 
a  brother,  who  might  otherwise  be  insnared  by  thy 
example,  and  tempted  to  violate  the  dictates  of  his 
own  mind ;  and  for  conscience  sake — For  the  sake 
of  his  weak  conscience,  lest  it  should  be  wounded 
by  seeing  thee  do  what  he  judged  to  be  unlawftil. 
To  explain  this  further,  "  The  heathen  often,  in  their 
own  houses,  made  an  ordinary  feast  of  a  part  of  the 
sacrifice,  see  on  chap.  vili.  1;  to  these  entertain- 
175 


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I.  CORINTHIANa 


mmngM^oChtPogicry. 


A.  M.  4063.  the  other :   for  •  why  is  my  liberty 
^'  ^'  ^^'    judged    of    another     fnan's     con- 
sdence  ? 

30  For  if  I  by  'grace  be  a  partaker,  why  am 
I  evU  spoken  of  for  that  'for  which  I  give 
thanks? 

31  y  Whether  therefoire  ye  eat  or  drink,  or 


■  Rom.  xir.  1 6. *  Or,  ihanktgivmg,' 

iv.  3,  4. f  Col.  iu.  17 ;  1  Pet.  iy.  11.- 


->  Rom.  xir.  6 ;  1  Tim. 
>  Rom.  xir.  13 ;  Chap. 


menis,  the  apostle  told  the  Corinthian  brethren,  they 
ftiight  lawfidly  go  when  invited.  But  on  such  oc- 
casions, if  a  Christian  domestic  or  slave,  by  inform- 
ing them  that  this  or  that  dish  consisted  of  things 
which  had  been  sacrificed  to  an  idol,  signified  that 
they  considered  their  eating  these  things  as  sinful, 
they  were  to  abstain  from  them,  for  the  reasons 
mentioned  in  the  tezt.*^  Far  the  earth  i$  the  LorcPsy 
&G.~This  clause,  inserted  in  our  copies,  is  omitted 
in  the  Alex.  Clermont,  and  other  manuscripts,  and 
the  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  Vulgate  versions  -y  ^d  some 
other  critics  think  it  disturbs  the  sense.  "But," 
says  Macknight,  "it  renders  the  argument  more 
complete;  for  the  meaning  is.  The  Lord,  to  whom 
the  earth  and  all  its  fulness  belong,  having  allowed 
men  a  sufficiency  of  other  wholesome  food,  no  one 
is  under  any  necessity  of  offending  those  who  are 
either  ignorant  or  scrupulous,  by  eating  a  particular 
kind."  Conecience^  I  say^  not  thine  own— I  speak 
of  his  conscience,  not  thine,  lest  it  be  troubled,  and 
his  mind  be  disquieted  ;for  why  is  my  liberty  jttdged 
by  another^s  conscience — I  ought  not  to  use  my 
liberty  so  as  to  do  that  which  another  man  thinks  in 
his  conscience  to  be  evil,  and  so  judges  mc  a  trans- 
gressor for  it.  Or,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases 
the  verse,  "  I  mean  not  thine  own  conscience  imme- 
diately, but  ihat  of  another  person ;  for  how  indiffer- 
ent soever  thou  mayest  esteem  the  matter,  thou  art 
obliged  in  duty  to  be  very  cautious  that  thou  dost 
not  wound  and  grieve  that  of  thy  brother :  but  you 
will  observe,  that  I  here  speak  only  of  acts  obvious 
to  human  observation ;  for,  as  to  what  immediately 
lies  between  God  and  my  own  soul,  why  is  my 
liberty  to  be  judged,  arraigned,  and  condemned  at 
the  bar  of  another  man's  conscience?  I  am  not,  in 
inch  eases,  to  govern  myself  by  the  judgment  and 
apprehension  of  others ;  nor  have  they  any  authority 
to  judge  or  cenanre  me  for  not  concurring  with  them 


whatsoever  ye  do^  do  all  to  the  gkiry  A.  if  .4083. 
of  God:.  ^±^1^ 

32  >  Give  none  ofience,  nekher  to  the  Jews, 
nor  to  the  ®  Gentiles,  nor  ^  to  the  church  of  God. 

33  Even  as  ^I  please  aU  men  in  ItU  things^ 
°not  seeking  mine  own  profit,  but  the  projli 
of  many,  that  they  may  b^  saved. 


Till  13;  2Cor.  vi.  3. ^•Gr.  Gntk». »  AcU  xx.  88 ;  Chap.  xL 

2i ;  1  Tim.  iii.  5. ^  Rom.  xr.  2;  Chsp.  ix- 19,22. »  Vers*  24. 


in  their  own  narrow  notions  and  declarations." 
Others  think  it  is  an  objection  in  the  mouths  of  the 
Corinthians,  and  to  be  thus  uadersteod :  "  But  why 
should  I  suffer  mys^  to  be  thus  imposed  on,  and 
receive  law  from  any,  where  Christ  has  left  me 
free?"  But  the  above  interpretation  seems  more 
probable,  which  supposes  that  this  and  the  foUowing 
verse  come  in  as  a  kind  of  parenthesis,  to  prevent 
their  extending  the  former  caution  beyond  what  he 
designed  by  it.  For  if  I,  by  grace— The  divine 
favour ;  be  a  partaker— 0(  the  common  gifts  of  Pro- 
vidence ;  ichy  am  I  evil  spoken  of  for  my  free  and 
cheerful  use  of  that  for  which  /  give  thanks — As 
tracing  it  up  td  the  hand  of  the  great  Supreme 
Benefactor  ? 

Verses31-33.  WhetherytherrforeyAc—TodoBeUke 
present  point  with  a  general  rule,  i^^plicaUe  not  only 
in  this,  but  in  all  cases,  see  to  it  that  whether  ye  eof, 
or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do — ^In  all  things  whatso- 
ever, whether  of  a  reli^ous  or  civil  nature,  in  aU 
the  common  as  well  as  sacred  actions  of  life,  keep 
the  glory  of  God  in  view,  and  steadily  pursue,  in  all, 
thb  one  end  of  your  being,  the  planting  or  advancing 
the  vital  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  first  in  your 
own  souls,  then  in  the  souls  of  as  many  others  as 
you  can  have  access  to,  or  by  any  means  influence. 
Give  none  offence— Ity  and  as  far  as,  it  is  possible, 
neither  to  the  unbelieving^/ev #— By  lessening  their 
abhorrence  of  idols;  nor  to  the  unbelieving  Greeks 
— By  confirming  them  in  their  idolatry;  nor  to  the 
church  of  God— By  making  the  ignorant  think  you 
idolaters.  Even  as  /—As  much  as  lieth  in  me ;  please 
all  men  in  all  things — ^Innocent ;  not  seeking  mine 
own  profit — Mine  own  temporal  interest  or  gratifi- 
cation ;  but  the  profit — The  everlasting  advantage ; 
of  many,  that  they  may  be  saivsd—By  being  brought 
to  and  confirmed  ui  that  religion,  on  which  their 
etemd  happuiess  depends. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Jb  this  chaptsr^  sftm  an  siwiu  to^  sni  csmMnendaiian  oft  the  CorinthianSt  1,  2,  t^  apotde^  (!,)  Bosses  them  becsute  their 
women  prayed  smd  prophesUi  m  thetr^pubUe  attembUei  with  their  hesds  uneooered,  3*16.  (2,)  He  rebukes  them  for  their 
iimsums  smd  disorderly  conduct  t»  cdebrating  the  LortPs  supper,  17-22.  (8,)  To  reform  their  eceaidaloue  abuse  of  that 
ordinance^  he  represents  the  nature  and  design  of  it,  the  proper  manner  of  receiving  it,  and  the  groat  danger  tkey  were  in 
qf  profaning  it,  23-M. 


IW 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


any  indecency  in  varMp. 


A.  M.  4083.   T>E  » 
A.  D.  50.     Xj 


ye  fcdlowers  of  me,  even  as  I 
also  am  of  Christ. 

2  Now  I  praise  you,  brethren,  ^that  ye  re- 
member me  m  all  thmgd,  and  ®  keep  the  '  or- 
dinances,  as  I  delivered  them  to  you. 

3  But  I  would  have  you  know,  that  ^  the 
head  of  every  man  is  Christ;  and  *  the  head 
of  the  woman  t^  the  man ;  and  ^  the  head  of 
Christ  M  God. 

4  Every  man  praying  or  'j^ophesying,  hav- 
ing his  head  covered,  dishonoureth  his  head. 

5  But  ^  every  woman  that  prayeth  or  prophe- 
fieth  with  her  head  uncovered,  dishonoureth 


«Chap.  ir.  16;  Eph.  r.  1;  PhU.  iiu  17^    1  Thess.  i.  6;  2 

Thess.  iii.  9. *  Chap.  ir.  17. <^Ch^).  vii.  17. »  Or,  tra- 

ditioTis,  2  Thess.  ii.  15;  iii.  6. — — «»  Eph.  ▼.  22, •Gen.  iii. 

16{  1  Tim.ii.  11,  12;  1  Pet.  Hi.   1,  5,  «. 'John  xir,  28; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XI. 

Verse  1.  Be  yefoUawers  o/ me— Carefully,  there- 
fore, follow  my  directiona,  and  imitate  my  example, 
In  condescension  to  the  weaknesses  and  prejudices 
of  others,  for  their  ^ood ;  ev^  as  I  also — In  this, 
and  in  every  thing  else,  copy  after  the  perfect  pat- 
tern of  our  great  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ 
This  verse  evidently  belongs  to  the  preceding 
dhapter,  where  the  apostle  had  proposed  himself  as 
an  example,  and  ought  not  to  have  been  separated 
from  it 

Verses  2, 3.  Now  I  praise  you,  brethre7v—Th9.t  is, 
the  greater  part  of  you ;  that  yoit  remember  me — 
That  you  bear  in  mind  all  my  directions;  cmd  keep 
the  ordinance*— Observe  the  rules  of  public  wor- 
ship in  most  points ;  €is  I  delivered  them  to  you — 
Formerly.  But  I  would  have  you  know — As  if  he 
had  said^  Yet  I  must -further  inform  you  respecting 
some  things  wherein  you  are  defective  in  your  at- 
tention to  these  rules.  Consider,  in  particular,  the 
subordination  of  persons  appointed  by  Cknlto  be  ob- 
served ;  Th<U  the  hecni  of  every  man  is  Christ — 
Who  was  the  Creator,  and  is  the  immediate  Su- 
preme Governor  of  all  mankind,  especially  of  snch 
as  believe  in  him,  being,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  the 
head  of  his.  body  the  church,  Col.  i.  18.  So  that 
every  Christian  should  often  recollect  the  relation 
in  which  he  hath  the  honour  to  stand  to  Christ,  as 
an  engagement  to  observe  the  most  respectful  deco- 
rum in  his  whole  behaviour  toward  him.  And  com- 
paring the  different  sexes,  it  must  be  observed,  the 
head  of  the  woman  is  the  manr-^To  whom  therefore 
■he  ought  to  be  In  subjection,  uid  to  pay  a  reverent 
respect,  as  in  the  Lord.  And  the  head  of  Christ-- 
As 'Mediator  and  man ;  is  Ood— -The  Father,  from 
whom  he  derives  all  his  dignity  and  authority. 
Christ,  in  his  mediatorial  character,  even  consider- 
.ed  in  his  whole  person,  acts  in  subordination  to  his 
Father,  who  rales  by  him,  and  hath  constituted  him 
sovereign  of  all  worids,  visible  and  invisible.  And, 
as  the  Father's  glory  is  interested  in  the  administra- 
tion of  Christ,  so  Is  the  glory  of  Christ,  in  some 
measure,  interested  in  the  condnet  and  behaviour 
Vou  IL  (  IS  ) 


her  head :  for  that  is  even  all  one  a.  m.  4063 

•1.   1  :    1  A.  D.  50. 

as  if  she  were  *  shaven.  

6  For  if  the  woman  be  not  covered,  let  her 
also  be  shorn:  but  if  it  be  ^ a  shame  for  a 
woman  to  be  sh^n  or  shaven,  let  her  be 
covered. 

7  For  a  man  indeed  ought  not  to  cover  his 
head,^  forasmuch  as  ]  he  is  the  image  and  glory  of 
God :  but  the  woman  is  the  glory  of  the  man. 

8  For  "^the  man  is^ot  of  the  woman,  but  the 
woman  of  the  man. 

9  "  Neither  was  the  man  created  for  the  wo- 
man, but  the  woman  for  the  man. 


Chap.  iii.  23 ;    xv,  27,  28 ;   Phil.  ii.  7,  8,  9. 1  Chip.  rii.  10. 

28 ;  xiv.  1,  &c. »»  Acts  xxi.  9. » Deut.  xxi.  12. ^  Nam. 

T.  18  ;  Deut.  xxii.  6. » Gen.  i.  26, 27 ;  v.  1 ;  a.  6.        ■  Geo. 

ii.  21,  22. «  Gen.  ii.  18,  21, 22. 


of  those  men,  whose  more  immediate  head  he  is ; 
and  it  may  be  added,  of  those  women,  whose  heads 
such  men  are. 

Verses  4-6.  Every  matiy  Ac— Now  upon  this 
principle,  with  a  reference  to  the  usages  that  pre- 
vail at  this  time  with  you  at  Corinth,  I  may  pro- 
perly observe:  Every  man  praying  or  prophesying 
—By  an  immediate  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
in  a  public  assembly ;  having  his,  head  covered — 
With  a  veil,  which  is  a  sign  of  subjection  5  dishon- 
ffureth  his  Acoc^— Christ,  who,  having  made  him  the 
head  of  the  woman,  and  given  him  authority  over 
her,  is  dishonoured  when  the  man  renounces  that 
authority  by  appearing  veiled  in  the  presence,  of 
the  woman,  as  her  inferior.  But  every  woman 
praying  or  prophesying — Under  an  immedi&te  im- 
pulse of  the  Spirit,  for  then  only  was  a  woman  suf- 
fered to  speak  in  the  church  j  with  her  head  «»- 
corcr^i— Without  any  veil  over  her  head  and  fa|!e; 
dishonoureth  her  Aeoc^— Disclaims  subjection,  and 
reflects  dishonour  on  man,  her  head ;  for  thai  is 
even  all  one  as  if  she  were  shaven — It  is  the  same 
in  effect  as  if  she  cut  her  hair  short,  and  wore  it  in 
the  distinguishing  form  of  the  men.  In  those  ages 
men  wore  their  hair  exceeding  short,  as  appears 
from  the  ancient  statues  and  pictures.  Therefore, 
if  the  woman  he  not  covered— If  she  win  thro^v 
off  the  badge  of  subjection*,  let  her  also  be  shomr- 
Let  her  appear  with  her  hair  cut  off  like  a  man<  or 
like  a  woman  of  bad  character,, such  being  some- 
times punished  in  that  manner:  but  if  it  beashamp 
f<yr  a  woman — To  appear  in  public  shorn  or  shaves^ 
—Especially  in  a  religious  assembly;  let  her  be 
covered— Lei  her  for  the  same  reason  keep  on  her 
veil. 

Verses  7-^.  A  man  indeed  ought  not  to  cover^  Vit 
veil,  his  head— As  a  sign  of  subjection ;  forasmud^ 
as  he  is  the  image  and  glory  of  G^ocZ— Namely,  in 
respect  of  the  dominion  over  the  inferior  creatures, 
with  which  he  is  clothed,  representing  the  supreme 
dominion  of  God  5  for  in  respect  of  mental  qualities, 
the  woman  is  also  the  image  of  God:  hvi  the  wo- 
man is  the  gUxry  of  the  nwn-By  being  subject  to 
177  b 


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inpUtcei  afpubUe  vforM^ 


A.  U.  4083.  10  For  this  cause  ought  the  woman 
-J 1  "to  have  ^power  on  her  head,  "* be- 
cause of  the  angels. 

11  Nevertheless,  *  neither  is  the  man  without 
ihe  woman,  neither  the  woman  without  the 
man,  in  the  Lord. 

12  For  as  the  woman  {5  of  the  man,  even 
BO  15  the  man  also  by  the  woman;  'but  all 
things  of  God. 

13  Judge  in  yourselves:  Is  it  comely  Uiat 


•Gen.  izir.  64. *That  U,  o  ccvenng,  m aign  that  <A«  U  «m- 

cfcr  the  power  of  her  husband, P  Eccl.  ▼.  6. 


hhi%  and  of  all  creatures  coming  nearest  to  him  in 
all  die  excellences  of  his  nature.  For  the  man  is 
fUfiof  the  woman—In  hb  first  production;  hut  the 
woman  of  the  man — As  we  read  in  the  sacred  his- 
tory, Gren.  ii.  21-23.  Neither  was  the  man  created 
for  the  sake  of  the  %t>oman — To  accommodate  and 
assBt  her ;  hut  the  woman  for  the  man — That  he 
might  have  a  help  meet  for  him,  which  hefore  he 
found  not  in  the  whole  creation,  Gen.  ii.  20. 

Verse  10.  For  this  cause — As  well  as  for  the 
other  reasons  above  mentioned;  tJie  woman  ought 
to  have  power  on  her  headr-^ThoX  is,  a  veil,  as  a  token 
of  her  beitig  under  the  power  and  subjection  of  the 
mab:  and  so  much  the  rather  should  she  wear  it  in 
worshipping  assemblies ;  hecauae  of  the  angels — 
Who  are  present  there,  and  before  whom  all  should 
be  careful  not  to  do  anything  indecent  or  irregular. 
"  Though  there  is  no  example,  either  In  sacred  or 
profane  writers,  of  the  word  e^aaia^  here  rendered 
poweVy  being  used  to  denote  A  veil;  yet  all  agree 
that  it  can  have  no  other  meaning  in  this  passage." 
Whitby  understands  the  latter  clause  of  evil  angels, 
pdraphrasing  and  commenting  on  the  words  thus: 
"  She,  being  tempted  by  the  prince  of  evil  angels  to 
that  which  is  a  perpetual  cause  of  shame  to  her,  and 
which  increased  her  subjection  to  the  man,  (Gen. 
Oi.  16,)  ought  therefore  to  use  this  token  of  shame- 
fiacedness  and  subjection."  She  is  to  have  her  head 
jcovered,  say  the  Jews,  "  like  one  that  moumeth,  as 
a  token  of  shame.  Hence  Philo  calls  the  to  eirixpavovy 
cover  of  the  woman's  head,  th^  symbol  of  her  shame  ; 
and  this  shame,  say  they,  is  due  to  her,  hecause  she 
first  brought  sin  into  the  world.  It  is  with  her  as 
When  one  transgresseth  and  is  ashamed ;  and  there- 
tfore  she  comes  forth  with  her  head  covered.  She 
^ought,  sai^h  Tertullian,  by  her  habit  to  resemble 
Sve^  a  mourner  and  a  penitent;  ob  ignominiam 
primi  delicti,"  for  the  shame  of  the  first  sin.  See  on 
f  Thn.  ii.  11-14.  The  former  interpretation,  how- 
ever, which  supposes  that  good  angels  are  meant, 
who,  being  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salva- 
tfoii,  might  be  present  in  the  religious  assemblies  of 
the  Christians,  seems  much  more  probably  to  be  the 
true  one. 

Verses  11, 12.  Nevertheless,  neither  is  (he  man, 
since  the  first  creation,  produced  without  the  woman, 
neither  the  womcm  without  the  man — And  they  can- 
not subsist  without  the  mutual  help  of  eaeh  other  in 
ITS 


a  woman  pray  unto  God  uncover-  a.  M.  4063. 
ed?  ^'  ^°"- 

14  Doth  not  even  nature^itself  teach  you,  thai 
if  a  man  have  long. hair,  it  is  a  shame  unto  him? 

15  But  if  a  woman  have  long  hair,  it  is  a 
glory  to  her :  for  her  hair  is  given  her  for  a 
^covering. 

16  But  'if  any  man  seem  to  be  contentJoo^ 
we  have  no  such  custom,  ^  neither  the  churches 
ofGod. 


4  OaL  iii.  28.- 


f  Rom.  xL86. »  Or,  vt 

*Chap.vii.I7;  xiT.33. 


■ITi&Tii. 


many  case^  in  the  Lord — By  God's  appointnient, 
and  according  to  that  order  he  has  fixed  in  the  cre^ 
ati'on.  As  if  he  had  Said,  Yet  let  not  the  man  be 
proud  of  his  superiority,  nor  the  woman  troubled  at 
her  subjection,  for  there  is  a  kind  of  equality  in  some 
respects,  and  many  mutual  obligations  to  engage 
them  both  to  love  and  kindness.  For  a»  the  wo7n€m 
is,  or  was,  of  th^  man — At  first  taken  out  of  him; 
even  so  is  the  man  aZso  hy  the  woman — ^Now  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  nattkre:  and  therefore  let  hkn 
not  despise,  but  honour  and ^ove  her.  But  all  things 
are  ofGod-^The  man,  the  woman^  and  thehr  de- 
pendance  on  each  other :  or  both  the  domkiion  of 
the  one,  and  the  subjection  of  the  other,  are  by 
God's  appointment,  and  therefore  they  should  acqui- 
esce therein. 

Verses  18-16.  Judge  in  yourselves— Far  what 
need  of  more  arguments  in  so  plain  a  case?  Is  it 
comely — Decent,  suitable  to  ifemale  modesty ;  theU  a 
womcm  pray  unto  God — The  Most  High,  with  thai 
bold  and  undaunted  abr  which  she  must  have  if^  con- 
trary to  universal  custom,  she  appears  in  publie 
with  her  head  uncovered?  DoUi not  even  nature— 
The  light  of  nature,  or  natural  reason ;  teach  fou^ 
Previous  to  any  arguments  on  Che  subject ;  that  if  a 
man  have  long  hair — Carefully  adjusted,  it  is  a  mark 
of  such  effeminacy  as  is  a  disgrace  to  him  ?  But  if 
a  woman  have  long  iuiir,  it  is  a  glory — An  orna- 
ment; to  A«r— Which  does  not  incommode  her, 
being  suitable  to  her  domestic  state :  for  her  hair 
was  given  her — Originally,  and  before  the  arts  of 
dress  were  invented  or  needed ;  fbr-hvrt,  instead  of; 
a  covering— Ot  veiL  "  What  a  value  the  eastern 
ladies  put  on  their  4iair  may  be  known  ftom  this, 
that  when  Ptolemy  Euergetee,  king  of  Egypt,  was 
about  to  march  against  Seleucus  Callinicns,  his 
queen,  Berenice,  who  loved  him  tenderly,  vowed,  as 
the  most  precious  sacrifice  she  could  offer,  to  cut  oflf 
and  consecrate  her  hair,  if  he  returned  in  safety." 
But  if  any  man  seem  to  he  conttntiou9 — And  will 
dispute  this  matter,  on  his  own  diflbrent  views  of 
what  is  naturally  decent,  I  shall  not  controvert  H 
farther,  but  content  myself  with  sasrhig,  that  we 
have  hei^  no  such  custom — For  women  to  appear 
with  their  heads  uncovered ;  neither  the  ehurdies 
of  God — In  any  other  place,  whether  planted  by  me 
or  any  of  my  brethren.  The  several  churches  that 
were  in  the  apooti^'  time,  had  diflferent  customs  in 
(It*)  b 


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CHAPTER  XL 


^uir  abtaeofthe  LortPg  wpper. 


LU. 4013.    17  *Now in  thk  that  I  declare ufUo 
'^'.  yoa,  I  praise  you  not,  that  ye  come 
together  not  for  the  better,  but  for  the  worse. 

18  For  first  of  all,  when  ye  come  togeth^  in 
the  church,  "^I  hear  diat  there  be  ^divisions 
among  you ;  and  I  partly . believe  it. 

19  For  ""there  must  be  also  ^hmresiee  among 
you,  y<hat  they  which  a*e  ap|»roved  may  be 
ttDade  manifest  among  you. 


•  Thur$day  Wore  Easter,  epiitle,  rene  17  to  the  end. »  Ch. 

i.  10, 11,13;  iii.  3. *0r,  tchisms. 'Matt,  xriii.  7;  Luke 

xrii  1 ;  Acti  X3l  30;  1  Tim.  ir.  1 ;  2  Pet  iL  1, 2. 


things  that  were  not  essential;  and  that  under  one 
and  the  same  apostle,  as^ircnmstances  in  different 
places  made  it  convenient  And  iir  all  things  merely 
indifferent  the  custom  of  each  place  wks  of  sufficient 
weight  to  determine  prudent  and  peaceable  men. 
Yet  even  this  cannot,  overmle  a  scmpulous  con- 
science, which  really  doubts  whether  the  thing  be 
indiffbrent  or  not  But  those  who  are  referred  to 
here  by  the  apostle  were  contentious^  not  conseien- 
tiOtts  persons. 

Verses  IT'^IQ.  New  in  thie  that  /am  about  to  de- 
clare unto  youy  I  praise  you  Yiof— I  canhot  commend 
some,  as  I  have  done  others,  (verse  2,)  for  other 
things;  thai  ye  come  together— TreqatMy,  and  even 
on  the  most  solemn  occasions;  not  for  the  better— 
So  as  to  gain  any  spiritual  advantage  by  the  increase 
of  your  faith  and  other  graces ;  but  for  the  vfotse— 
To  the  prejudice  of  your  souls,  by  fomenting  strifes 
and  animosities,  which  produce  factions.  For  first 
of  ali— Before  I  mention  any  other  instance  of  your 
irregular  and  indecent  conduct,  I  must  observe,  that 
when  ye  come  together  in  the  church — ^E»  rri  tKKXijota^ 
in  the  public  assembly^  though  it  is  evident  that  no- 
thing but  reverence  to  God,  and  love  to  each  other, 
should  reign  on  such  occasions ;  I  hear  that  there  be 
divisions — Ix'^'f""'^^  schisms;  among  you,  and  I 
partly  believe  t^— That  is,  I  believe  it  of  some  of  you. 
It  is  plain  that  by  schisms  is  not-meant  any  separa- 
tion from  the  church,  but  uncharitable  dvoisions  in 
it  For  the  Corinthians  continued  to  be  one  church, 
and  notwithstanding  all  their  strife  and  contention, 
there  was  no  separation  of  any  one  party  from  the 
rest,  with  regard  to  external  communion.  And  it  is 
hi  the  same  sense  that  the  word  is  used,  chap.  i.  10, 
and  chap.  xii.  25,  which  are  the  only  places  in  the 
NewTestMnent,  besides  this,  where  chttn^sdiisms 
are  mentioned.  Therefore,  the  indulging  any  tem- 
per contrary  to  this  tender  care  of  each  other,  is  the 
true  Scriptural  scMsm.  This  is,  therefolre,  a  quite 
dMbrent  thing  firom  that  orderly  separation  from 
corrupt  churches  which  later  ages  have  stigmatized 
as  schism;  and  have  made  a  pretence  for  the  vilest 
cruelties,  oppressions,  and  murders,  that  have  trou- 
bled the  Christian  world.  Both  heresies  and  schisms 
are  here  mentioned  in  very  near  the  same  sense: 
imless  by  schiams  be  meant  rather  those  inward 
animosities  which  occasion  heresies;  that  is,  out- 
Ward  divisions  or  parties:  so  that  while  one  said,  I 
h 


20  When  ye  ccnne  together  there-  a.m.40S3. 
fore  into  one  place,  ^this  is  not  to  eat  ^  '  ^' 
the  Lord's  supper. 

21  For  hi  eatmg  evwy  one  taketh  befoife 
other  his  own  supper :  and  one  is  hungry,  and 
'another  is  drunken. 

22  What!  have  ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  to 
(brink  in?  cur  despise  ye  *the  church  of  God, 
and  ^shame  ^  them  that  have  not  ?    What  shall 


•Or,  wcto. rLuke  ii.  35;  iJohn  iL  19;  Deut.  xiiL  3. 

•  Or,  ye  cannot  tat, »2  Pet.  ii.  13 ;  Judc  12. 'Chapw  x. 

32. *  Junes  ii.  a '  Or,  thtm  tk^  art  ptor. 


am  of  Paul,  another,  I  am  of  Apollos,  this  implied 
both  schism  and  heresy,  8o  wonderfully  have  later 
ages  distorted  the  words  heresy  c^d  schism  from 
their  Scriptural  meaning.  Heresy  is  not,  in  all  the 
Bib)0,  taken  for  ''  an  error  in  fundamentals,"  or  in 
any  thing  else ;  nor  schism^  for  any  separation  made 
fipom  the  outward  communion  of  others.  Therefore, 
both  heresy  and  schism^  in  the  niodem  sense  of  the 
words,  are  sins  that  the  Scripture  knows  nothing  of; 
but  were  invented  merely  to  deprive  mankmd  of  the 
benefit  of  private  judgment,  and  liberty  of  conscience. 
/V  (here  must  also  be  heresies  among  you — Parties 
formed,  as  the  word  aipecetc  properly  signifies. 
These,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  must  take 
place,  in  consequence  of  your  contentions,  and  the 
declension  of  your  love  to  one  another :  and  God 
permits  these  divisions,  that  (hey  which  are  approved 
may  be  mamfest—ThBi  it  may  appear  who  among 
you  flfre,  and  who  are  not,  upright  of  heart. 

Verses  20-22.  When  ye  coine  together  therefore 
— In  such  a  manner  as  you  do ;  into  one  place — 
Under  pretence  of  celebrating  the  holy  ordinance 
of  the  eucharist,  and  have  such  strife  and  contention 
among  you,  and  act  in  the  disorderly  manner  which 
I  shall  now  mention;  this  is  not  to  eat  the  Lord?s 
supper — ^That  solemn  memorial  of  his  death ;  nor 
does  it  deserVe  to  be  called  by  that  name,  unless 
ye  eat  it  in  fellowship  together,  and  in  mutual  love, 
as  the  disciples  of  one  master.  Instead  of  regarding 
it  in  a  holy  and  religioiis  point  of  view,  you  seem 
to  confound  it  with  a  common  meal;  and  do  not 
indeed  behave  in  the  manner  that  decency  would 
require,  if  it  were  no  more  than  a  common  meal. 
For  in  eating  it— Or  when  you  eat  it ;  every  one 
taketh  before  other  his  own  supper— Or,  as  Mac- 
knight  renders  tKo^o^  to  idiov  ^einvov  irpoXaftSavei,  every 
one  taketh  first  his  own  supper ;  observing,  that 
"  what  follows  shows  the  apostle  did  not  mean,''  as 
in  our  translation,  "  that  every  one  took  before  an- 
other his  own  supper;  but  that  every  one  took  his 
own  supper  before  he  ate  the  Lord's  supper.  Christ 
having  instituted  his  supper  after  he  had  eaten  the 
passover,  the  disciples  very  early  made  it  a  rule  to 
feast  together  before  they  ate  the  Lord's  supper. 
These  feasts  were  called  ayaiiai,  charitates,  love- 
feasts.  They  are  mentioned,  Jude,  verse  12,  as 
also  by  some  of  the  ancient  Christian  writers.  From 
Xeiiophen,(see  Memorab..  lib.  Iii.  cap.  14,)  we  learn 


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I.  CORINTHIANa 


design  qfthe  Lord?s  mapper. 


A.  M.4063.  I  say  to  you?   shall  I  praise  you  in 
— '  this?  I  praise  you  aot 

23  For  "I  have  received  of  the  Lord,  that 
ndiich  also  I  delivered  unto  you,  ''That  the 


e  Chap.  XT.  3 ;  OaL  i.  1, 11, 12. 


that  the  Greeks,  when  they  supped  together,  brought 
each  his  own  provisions  ready  dressed,  which  they 
ate  in  company  together.  Probably  the  Corinthians 
followed  the  same  practice,  in  their  feasts  previous 
to  the  Lord's  supper.''  And  one  %$  hungry,  and 
anoffier  is  drunken — Or  rather,  is  filled,  or  plenti- 
fuUy  fed,  "  as  /u^veiv  signifies  here,  being  opposed 
to  one  is  hungry.  The  lyord  is  used  in  this  sense 
by  the  LXX.^  Psa.  xxxv.  9;  Jer.  xxxviii.  14;  John 
ii.  101  where  it  is  rendered  by  our  translators,  vken 
men  have  well  drunk^  drunk  plentifblly.  Accord- 
ing to  the  grammarians,  fuB^tiP  literally  signifies  to 
eat  and  drink,  fiera  to  &veiv,  after  sacrificing;  on 
which  occasions  Ae  heathen  often  drank  to  excess." 
WheU?  have  ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  drink  in— 
With  your  friends?  Or  despise  ye  the  church  of 
(t?od— Which  ye  thus  expose  to  contempt,  and 
which  you  must  greatly  offend  and  grieve  by  such 
a  conduct  as  this?  Thf^t  church  of  which  the  popr 
are  both  the  larger  and  the  better  part;  and  shame 
^Expose  to  shame ;  them  that  have  not— A  supper 
to  eat,  while  ye  feast  luxuriously?  Do  you  act 
thus  in  designed  contempt  of  them?  WhcU  shcUl  I 
say  to  you— On  this  occasion?  Shall  I  praise  you 
in  this  7 — I  wish  I  could  fairly  and  honourably  do 
it;  but  at  present  I  praise  you  not — I  must  rather 
blame  you,  and  exhort  you  to  amend  what  is  so 
grossly  amiss. 

Verse  ?3.  For  I  hate  received  of  the  Lord— 
Doubtless  by  special  revelation ;  thai  v^hich  also  I 
delivered  unto  you— In  my  former  preaching  on  this 
subject,  in  which,  as  in  all  things  else,  I  have  been 
careful  most  exactly  to  adhere  to  my  original  in- 
structions. This  epistle  appears  to  have  been  writ- 
ten before  any  of  the  gospels,  and  it  is  probable 
from  Gal.  i.  17,  &c.,  that  when  the  apostle  wrote  it, 
he  had  seen  none  of  the  apostles.  And  that  the  in- 
stitution of  this  ordinance  should  make  a  part  of 
that  immediate  revelation,  with  which  Christ  hon- 
oured this  apostle,  is  both  very  remarkable,  and  also 
affords  a  strong  argument  for  the  perpetuity  of  it  in 
the  church.  '^  l^or  had  others  of  the  apostles  (as 
Barclay  in  hb  Apology  for  the  Quakers  presumes 
to  insinuate)  mistaken  what  passed  at  the  last  pass- 
over,  and  founded  the  observation  of  the  eucharist 
on  that  mistake,  surely  Christ  would  rather  have 
corrected  this  error  in  his  new  revelation  to  Paul, 
than  have  administered  such  ah  occasion  of  con- 
firming Christians  in  it."— Doddridge.  That  the 
Lord  Jesus-^Iii  his  own  person ;  the  same  night  in 
tDhich  he  was  betrayed— Th^  is,  in  the  night  which 
preceded  his  crucifixion,  which  circumstance,  with 
the  others  tht^  follow  respecting  the  nature  and  de- 
sign of  the  sacred  ordinance  here  spoken  of^  with 
the  appointed  form  of  its  administration,  Macknight 
thinks  was  made  known  to  Paul  by  Christ  himself,  [ 
180 


Lord  Jesus,  the  ^ame  night  in  which  ^  H.  ,«)6S. 

he  was  betrayed,  Uxk  bread :  — -! — 1 

24-,Ajnd  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake 

it,  and  said,  Take,  eat:  this  is  my  body,  which 


'  Matt  zzri.  26 ;  Hark  xir.  22^  Luke  xxii  19. 


as  a  matter  which  merited  particnlar  attention,  be- 
cause it  was  a  strong  proof  of  his  innocence.  He  knew 
he  was  to  be  crucified  the  next  day  as  an  impostor, 
for  calling  himself  the  Son  of  God.  Having  so  near 
a  prospect  of  his  punishment,  would  he,  by  institn* 
ting  his  supper,  have  taken  care  that  jiis  punish- 
ment, as  an  impostor,  should  never  be  forgotten,  if 
he  had  really  been  an  impostor?  No :  such  a  sup- 
position exceeds  all  rational  belief.  But  knowing 
himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  being  absolutely 
certain  that  God  would  acknowledge  him  as  his 
Son,  by  raising  him  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day, 
he  instituted  his  supper,  to  be  preserved  by  his  dis- 
ciples till  he  should  return  to  judge  the  world;  be- 
cause he  foresaw  that  his  death  could  not  be  remem- 
bered by  his  disciples,  without  recollecting  his 
resurrection,  and  expecting  his  return.  Further,  if 
Christ  did  not  rise  from  the  dead  according  to  hb 
express  promise,  frequentiy  repeated,  can  it  be 
thought  that  his  diisciples,  who  thus  must  hav« 
known  him  to  be  a  deceiver,  would  have  perpetua- 
ted the  memory  of  his  punishment  as  an  hnpostor, 
and  of  their  own  shame,  by  beginning  a  service,  in 
which  his  death,  that  is,  his  punishment,  would  bo 
openly  published  to  the  world  ?  -  Wherefore,  since 
the  aposties,  and  the  other  first  disciples,  who  were 
eye-witnesses  of  their  Master's  death  and  resur- 
rection, by  beginning  this  service,  and  their  succes- 
sors by  continuing  it  from  age  to  age,  have  published 
to  the  world  the  death  and  resurrection  of  their 
Master,  as  matters  of  fact  known  and  believed  by 
all  Christians  from  the  beginning ;  this  certainly  is 
an  incontrovertible  proof  of  the  reality  of  Christ's 
death  and  re^rreetipn,  and  consequentiy  it  hath 
fully  established  his  claim  to  be  God's  Son,  the  true 
Messiah  and  Saviour  of  the  world.  Also,  this  ordi- 
nance hath  been  the  source  of  unspeakable  conso- 
lation to  his  disciples  in  every  age,  by  assuring  them 
that  all  his  doctrines  are  true,  and  that  all  his  pro- 
mises shall  be  performed  in  their  season ;  particu- 
larly his  promise  of  returning  to  raise  the  dead,  and 
carry  his  people  into  heaven.  In  this  view  the  in- 
stitution of  the  supper,  in  the  pight  wherein  he  was 
betrayed,  was  a  great  instance  of  Christ's  love  to 
men.  And  we  are  bound  by  continuing  that  ex- 
cellent service  in  the  world,  to  hand  down  to  them 
who  come  aAer  us  those  unspeakable  consolations 
which  we  ourselves  enjoy,  through  the  pious  care 
of  our  fathers,  who  believed  in  Christ  before  us. 

Verse  24.  And  when  he  had  given  thofiks— The 
word  evxapi^oac,  thus  rendered,  is  the  term  used  abo 
by  Luke,  whence  Macknight  infers,  that  the  word 
evXoyifijag,  used  by  Matthew  and  Mark,  ought  to  b« 
understood,  not  of  Christ's  blessing  the  bread,  but 
of  his  blessing  God  for  saving  sinners  through  his 
death.    See  on  Luke  xxiL  19.    IJk  brake  t/-;-Into 

b 


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'  The  apostle  shows  the  proper  manner        CHAPTBR  XI. 


of  receiving  the  LortPs  supper. 


A. If. 4063.  18  broken  for  you:  this  do  •in  re- 

A.  D.  59.  ,  ,^    . 

' membranee  of  me. 

25  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the 
cup,  when  he  had  supped,  saymg,  This  cup  is 
Che  new  testament  in  my  blood:  this  do  ye,  as 


•Or, /«ra 


^Ovi^vmye. 


several  pieces;  atui— Distrilmting  it  to  his  disciples 
who  were  present,  t aid— With  great  sweetness  and 
solemnity,  This  is  my  body  which  is  broken  for 
you — "  As  the  clause,  which  is  broken^  cannot  be 
taken  literally,  because  it  would  imply  that  Christ's 
body  was  broken,  or  put  to  death  on  the  cross,  at 
the  time  he  said  this,  contrary  to  truth ;  so  the  clause, 
this  is  my  body,  cannpt  be  taken  literally:  for  the 
two  clauses  making  but  one  proposition,  if  the 
clause,  this  is  my  body,  which  is  the  subject  of  the 
proposition,  be  interpreted  literally,  the  predicate, 
whi4^h  is  broken  for  you,  must  be  so  likewise.  Con- 
sequently the  proposition  will  import,  that  the 
bread  in  our  Lord^  hands  was  converted  into  a 
thing  which  at  that  time  had  no  existence.  Both 
the  doctrine  of  the  Papists,  and  that  of  the  Luther- 
ans, therefore,  [on  this  head,]  ought  to  be  rejected, 
as  implying  an  evident  fabehood;  namely,  that 
Christ's  body,  at  the  time  he  spake,  was  broken,  or 
put  to  <leath."  In  other  passages  of  Scripture,  we 
frequently' find  expressions  perfectly  similar  XOythis 
is  my  hody^ns  is  proved  in  the  note  on  Matt.  xxvL 
tM,  which  see.  The  evident  meaning  of  our  Lord 
is,  This  bread  is  the  representation  or  my  body, 
which  is  to  be  broken  for  you.  ^'  The  Papists  con-* 
tend,  that  in  every  age,  by  the  priests  pronouncing 
what  they  call  the  words  of  consecration,  the  same 
change  is  made  in  the  bread  and  wine,  which  they 
affirm  was  made  in  these  elements  by  Christ's  saying, 
Thds  is  my  body,  Ac,  But,  to  gain  credit  to  their 
doctrine,  they  ought  to  show  from  Scripture,  that 
the  power  of  working  that  miracle  was  promised  by 
Christ  to  all  his  faiti^ul  servants  in  the  ministry  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  But  this  they  cannot  do.  Be- 
sides, that  St.  Paul  did  not  possess  any  such  power 
is  evident  from  verses  25-28  of  this  chapter,  where 
he  calls  the  elements  bread  and  wine  after  their 
consecration,  as  he  had  named  them  before." — Mac- 
knight  TViis  do  in  remembrance  ofm&—ln  an  hum- 
ble, thankful,  obedient  remembrance  of  my  dying 
love,  of  the  extremity  of  my  sufferings  on  your 
behalf,  of  the  blessings  I  have  thereby  procured  for 
you,  and  of  the  obligations  to  love  and  duty  which 
I  have  by  all  this  laid  upon  you. 

Verses  25-27.  He  also  took  the  cup  when  he  had 
supped'-Or,  after  supper.  "Thb  circumstance  is 
mentioned  to  show  that  the  Lord's  supper  is  not  in- 
tended for  the  refre^raent  of  the  body,  but,  as  we 
are  told  verse  26,  for  perpetuating  the  memory  of 
Christ's  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension,  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  declaring  our  expeetation  of 
his  return  from  heaven  to  judge  all  mankind ;  4haf 
by  seriously  and  frequently  meditating  on  these 
things,  the  faith,  hope,  and  gratitude  of  his  disciples 
b 


oft  as  ye  drink  it,  ki  remembrance  of  a.  m.  4063. 

me.  

26  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and 
drink  this  cup,  *ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death 
*tiB  become. 


•JohnziT.Si  xzi.22;.AcUi.ll;Chiq>.iv.6;zT.23;lTiieM. 
iv.lS;  2Thess.  L  10;  Jade  14;  Rc¥.  L  7. 


may  be  nouridied.  Now,  that  these  ends  nuiy  be 
effoctually  answered,  this  service  must  be  performed 
by  the  whole  members  of  each  particular  church, 
not  in  separate  companies,  but  together,  as  making 
one  harmonious  society,  by  whose  joint  concurrence 
and  communion  in  the  service,  the  death  of  their 
Master  is  not  only  remembered,  but  declared  in 
the  most  public  manner  to  the  worid,  as  a  fact  known 
and  believed  by  all  Christians  from  the  beginning." 
Sayingy  T^is  cup  is  the  new  testament — Or,  new  co- 
vertant,  rather,  as  the  word  more  properly  signifies. 
That  is,  it  is  the  solemn  seal  and  memorial  of  the  cove- 
nant  which  is  established  in  my  bloody  by  which  all 
its  invaluable  blessings  are  procured  for  you.  Our 
XiOrd  did  not  mean  that  the  covenant  of  grace  was 
first  made  at  the  time  he  shed  his  blood.  It  was  made 
immediately  aAer  the  fall,  on  account  of.  the  merit 
of  his  obedience  unto  the  death,  which  God  then 
considered  as  accomplished,  because  it  was  certainly 
to  be  accomplished  at  the  time  determined.  Now 
this  likewise  do  ye,  as  of t  as  y&drink  it,  in  rememr 
brance  of  me — ^And  in  order  to  maintain  the  memory . 
of  my  bleeding,  djring  love,  in  the  church  and  in  the 
worid.  The  ancient  s^rifices  were  ofiered  in  re- 
membrance of  sin;  this  sacrifice,  once  ofiered,  is 
still  represented  in  remembrance  of  the  remission 
of  sin.  According  to  the  Papists,  the  expression,  as 
oft  as  ye  drink  it,  "  implies  that  the  cup,  in  the  Lord's 
supper,  may  sometunes  be  omitted;  and  on  that 
pretence  th^y  have  denied  the  cup  to  the  laity;" 
but  how  justly,  may  be  known  by  taking  notice  that 
the  words,  as  often  as,  are  applied  (verse  26}  to  the 
bread  as  well  as  to  the  cup.  Besides,  Matthew  hath 
told  us,  that  when  Christ  gave  the  cup,  he  said,  (ch. 
xxvi.  27,)  drink  ye  all  of  it;  \yhich  being  both  an 
invitation  and  a  command,  aU  Christians  are  as  much 
entitled  to  the  cup  as  to  the  bread."  For  as  often  as 
ye — The  church  of  God  in  any  age ;  eat  this  bread 
and  drink  this  ci«p— With  proper  solemnity  and 
seriousness,  faith,  love,  and  gratitude ;  ye  do  show 
forththe  Lord^s  death— Ye  proclaim,  as  it  were,  and 
openly  avow  it  to  God  and  all  the  worid ;  so  the 
word  KarayyeXXere,  here  used,  signifies :  till  he  come — 
To  close  the  present  scene  of  things,  and  to  receive 
all  his  faithful  servants  to  a  place  where,  for  ever 
dwelling  with  him,  they  will  no  more  need  these 
memorials  of  an  absent  Saviour.  Though  at  the 
institution  of  this  ordinance  our  Lord  spake  nothing 
of  his  own  second  coming,  yet  in  his  discourse  after 
the  celebration  of  it,  he  connected  his  second  com- 
ing with  hia  death,  John  xiv.  3.  The  apostle  there- 
fore truly  expressed  his  Master's  intention,  when  he 
told  the  Corinthians,  that  by  publishing  the  Lord's 
death,  they  published  also  his  coming  to  judgment, 
161 


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I.  CORiNTHIii«3. 


cmd  design  of  the  eacfomemim 


▲.  M.  4063.    27  ^  Wherefbrfs,  wboeoever  nhall  ^ 
^^'^\  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup  of  tha 

Lord,  imworthfly,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body- 

and  Mood  of  the  hord. 
23  But  '  let  a  man  examine  himee^  and  90 

let  him  eat  of  ihcU  bread,  and  drink  of /Ao/  cup. 

29  For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  un- 
worthily, eateth  and  drinketh  ^^di^rnnation  to 
himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body. 

30  For  this  cause  many  are  weak  and  sickly 
among  you,  and  many  sleep* 


'  Nam.  ix.  10, 13 ;  John  tL  51,  63,  64 ;  xiii.  27 ;  Chap.  x.  81. 

f  8  Cor.  xiii.  6;  Gal.  yi.  4. "Or,  judgment,  Rom. xiii.  2. 

k  Psa.  xxxii.  5 ;  1  John  i.  9. 


and  that  the  service  of  the  snpper  was  intended  as 
a  publication  of  both.  Wherefore^Qre,  to  ^uU; 
whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  ^c,  unv>orthihf — 
That  is,  in  an  unworthy,  irreverent  manner,  without 
properly  regarding  him  that  appointed  it,  or  the 
design  of  its  appointment ;  shaU  be  guiUy  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  the  Zx>rd— That  is,  of  profaning 
tliat  which  represents  his  body  and  blood. 

Verses  28-32.  J?tt<— That  noue  may  be  involved 
in  such  guilt;  let  each  one  examine  himeelf^ 
Whether  he  knows  the  nature  and  the  design  of  the 
institution,  and  whether  it  be  his  sincere  desire  and 
purpose  thoroughly  to  comply  therewith,  and  to  do 
lionour  to  Christ  by  living,  in  all  respects,  conform- 
ubly  to  his  word  and  example.  For  he  that  eateth 
and  drinketh  unworthily — In  an  irreverent,  profane, 
and  careless  manner  ;  eateth  and  drinketh  damnor 
iion — Kpifia,  judgment;  condemnation  and  puni^- 
ment  to  himself— Or  Kem^onX  judgments  of  various 
kinds.  Thus  the  Corinthians,  in  the  following  verse, 
are  said  to  be  punished  with  debility,  sickness,  and 
death,  for  eating  unworthily.  Not  discerning  the 
Lord's  body— -Hoi  considering  that  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  the  benefits  he  hath  thereby  procured 
for  us,  with  his  astonishing  love  to  us,  are  represent- 
ed in  that  solemn  ordinance ;  and  not  distinguishing 
it  from  his  common  food.  Fbr  if  we  would  judge 
ourselves-~^Tmg  all  our  dispositions,  words,  and 
actions,  especially  those  that  relate  to  the  worship 


31  For  ^  if  we  would  judge  our-  a.  M. 
selves,  we  diould  not  be  judged. '- 

32  But  when  we  are  judged,  ^  we  are  cha^ 
twed  of  the  Lord,  that  we  should  not  be.  coq« 
demned  with  t|ie  world. 

33  Whereliwre,  my  brethren,  when  ye  come 
together  to  eat,  tarry  one  for  another. 

34  And  if  any  man  ^  hunger,  let  him  eat  at 
^  home :  that  ye  come  not  together  unto  '^  con- 
demnation. And  the  rest  "*  wifl  I  set  in  ordcf 
when  "I come. 


« P»a.  xcir.  12, 13 ;  Heb.  xii.  5-11. *  Verw  21. » Yetm 

22. »>  Or,  judgment. ■  Chap.  rii.  17 ;  Tit.  L  5. ■  Chap. 

iT.  19. 


of  God,  to  the  nde  of  his  word,  and  condemn  our- 
selves for  what  is  amiss,  and  repent  of  it ;  and  par- 
ticularly if  we  would  Inquire  respecting  our  know- 
ledge of  the  nature  oi  this  holy  ordinance,  and  the 
design  with  which  we  approach  the  Lord's  table ;  we 
should  not  be  judged— Ot  diastised  so  severely  j  or 
we  should  avoid  those  sins  which  bring  down  the  di- 
vine judgments  upon  us.  But  when  we  are  judged 
— ^l^us  punished  with  temporal  calamities ;  we  ar^ 
chastened  of  the  /jorci— Corrected  for  our  instructioa 
and  »nendment ;  tiuU—Beiag  ^lereby  piirged  from 
sin;  we  should  not  be  condemned  withihe  world^^ 
Should  escape  future  condemnation  and  wrath. 

Verses  39, 34.  Wherefore,  my  brethren— To  coik- 
elude  what  1  have  to  say  to  you  on  this  subject; 
wJien  ye  come  together  to  eat — ^To  celebrate  the 
Lord's  supper ;  tan^y  one  for  another — With  decency 
and  respectfiil  love,  till  the  whole  assembly  be  con- 
vened, and  then  join  all  together  at  the  same  table 
and  time,  without  such  factions  and  divisions.  And 
if  any  man  hungers—Which  probably  was  the  pre- 
tence of  those  that  were  guilty  of  the  fore-mentioned 
disorders;  let  him  eat  athome^M  his  own  house; 
thai  ye  come  not  together  unto  condemnationr---Th»i 
you  may  not,  by  profaning  this/holy  ordinance, 
proVoke  God  to  punish  you.  And  the  rest — ^The 
other  circumstances  resting  to  the  Lord's  supper, 
which  require  to  be  corrected ;  /  will  set  in  order-^ 
Will  see  regulated ;  wh&ii  Jcome~-To  Corkuh. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

The  apostle,  now  proueding  to  trmi  on  spirUuat  gifts,  (1,)  Jntroi»C€s  what  he  hoi  to  siosncttmosnuMgAem^hy  t^strvmt 


that,  various  at  they  are,  they  aU  proceed  from  the  same  sacred  ageat,  and  are  intended  for  the  edijkatum  of  the  i 
mystical  body  of  Christ,  m  which  aU  true  Christians  are  umied,  1-13.  (2,)  He  illustrates  their  uniom  vn^  and  mattual 
dependdnce  upon,  each  other,  as  also  the  disersity  of  their  gifts  and  duties,  Ay  an  allusion  to  the  human  body,  in  which  mif 
memher  hath  its  particular  place  and  use  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  14-30.  (3,)  He  exhorU  them  to  detirs  sarmstiy  the 
best  gifts,  and  yet  to  seek  something  more  exeellcni  (han  any  of  the  extraordinttry  gifts  of  the  Spisit,  81. 


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CHAPTEfiXU. 


th%  extrication  ^fthe  ckfwrck. 


A-M.4oe3.  j^OW*  » concerning  spiritual g-i/te, 

'- — 1-  brethren,  I  would  not  have  you 

ignorant. 

2  Ye  know  *that  ye  were  Gentiles^  carried 
away  ,unlp  these  ®dumb  idols,  even  as  ye 
were  led. 

3  Wherefore  I  give  you  to  understand,  ^  that 
no  man  iqpeaking  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  call- 
eth  Jesus  ^accursed:  and  *th€U  no  man  can 


*  Tentk  SuiUw  after  TiiaitT,  epistle,  rtxwe  1  to  rene  12. 
•Chap-xiv.  1,37. — r*Chip.  tl  11 :  Eph.  ii.  11, 12;  1  These. 

L  9 ;  Tit  iii.  3;  1  Pet.  ir.  3. «  Pea.  cxv.  5. <Mait  ix. 

a»;    1  John  ir.  8,  3. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XU, 
Verses  1,  3.  N(ya  amceming  epiritual  gifts — 
Mineulous  gifts  ^of  the  Holy  Qh^st,  bestowed  on 
many  believers  in  those  times,  for  their  canfinnation 
ia  the  faith,  and  the  conviction  of  iaiidcls.    The 
abundance  of  these  gifts  in  the  churches  of  Greece, 
atronc^y  refuted  the  idle  learning  of  the  Greek  phi- 
Voaophers.    But  the  Corinthians  did  not  use  those 
gifts  wisely,  whidi  occasioned  the  apostle's  writing 
Qoneemhig  them.    In  doing  Oiis,  after  putting  the 
brsthren  at  €orinth  in  mind  that  before  their  con- 
version they  were  worshippers  of  idols,  which,  being 
themselves  dumb,  could  not  impart  to  their  votaries 
the  ability  of  spiking  foreign  languages,  as  Christ 
had  done  to  many  of. his  disciples;  and  after  giving 
the  Corinthians  a  rule  by  which  Uiey  might  judge 
oorreotly  of  every  one  who  pretended  to  possess 
those  gifts  by  divine  inspiration,  he,  1st,  Speaks  vOf 
the  diversity  of  the  gifts,  which  God  by  his  Spirit 
had  conferred  on  his  church,  of  the  various  adminis- 
trations and  offices  appointed  by  the  same  Lord,  and 
of  the  di£ferent  operations  of  Him  that  worked  all 
in  eUlj  verses  1-11.    2dly,  He  describes  the  unity 
of  the  body,  with  its  various  members,  and  their 
uses,  verses  12-30l    3dly,  Shows  the  way  of  exer- 
cising gifts  rightly,  namely,  by  love,  verse  31-xiii. 
throughout;  and  a^kis,  4thly,  A  comparison  of  seve- 
ral gifts  with  each  other  in  chap.  xiv.    /  vould  not 
have  you  ignorant — Of  the  Author,  nature,  ends, 
and  uses  of  these  gifts.     Ye  ktw»  that  ye  v>ere  Gen- 
<il«#— Idolatrous  heathen,  and  were  then  destitute 
of  all  spiritual  gifts.    Whatever  gifts,  therefore,  ye 
possess,  ye  have  received  them  from  the  free  grace 
of  God ;  carried  aioay— By  a  blind  credulity ;  unto, 
and  after,  theee  dumb  idote — The  blind  to  the  dumb: 
idols  of  wood  and  stone,  unable  to  speak  themselves, 
and  much  mcure  to  open  your  mcmUis,  as  God  has 
dona ;  eten  om  ye  vere  led-^By  the  subtlety  of  your 
priests,  or  by  some  diabolioal  imposture,  or  pretended 
miracles. 

Verse  8.  Wherefore— Ginee  it  was  so  with  you 
once,  and  it  is  otherwise  now,  this  is  a  ftill  de- 
monstration of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion, 
tiiToagh  your  faith  in,  and  reception  of^  which,  you 
reodved  these  gifts,  which  none  of  the  heathen  idols, 
Mind,  and  dumb,  and  lifeless  as  they  were,  could 
possHHy  confer  upon  you.  I  give  you  to  underetand, 
tkat  no  fnon,  epedkmg  hy  the  spirit  of  00d— Who 


say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  a.  m.  4e6x 
the  Holy  Ghost  ^^^' 

4  Now  'there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  'the 
sameSjHrit 

5  ^And  there  are  differences  of  'adminiqtra* 
tions,but  the  same  Lord. 

6  And  there  are  diversities  of  operations, 
but  it  is  the  same  God  ^  which  worketh  all  in 
alL 


»0r.  •MtfAfnuL— *-•  Matt  xw.  17;  John  xr.  26;  3  Cor.  m. 

5. ^  Rom.  xii.  4,  &c. ;  Heb.  ii.  4 ;  1  Pet  iv.  la f  £0^1, 

ir.  4. fc  Rom.  xii.  6,  7,  8 ;    Eph.  iv.  11. •  Or,  mtmUtneK 

^  Eph.  i.  23. 


is  endued  with  these  spiritual  gifts,  or  is  at  all 
inspired  by  Ae  Holy  Spirit;  caUt^h  Jeeue  accursed 
— ^Pronotmces  him  to  be  an  impostor,  and  therefore 
justly  punished  with  death.  It  seems  that  some, 
who  pretended  to  be  inspired,  did  this;  probably 
the  Jewish  exorcists,  together  With  the  heathen 
priests  and  priestesses,  who  in  their  cnthusiastie  fits 
reviled  Jesus.  Now  the  apostle  intended  here  to 
teach  the  Corinthians,  that  if  any  such  persons  were 
really  inspired,  that  is,  if  they  spake  by  any  super- 
natural impulse,  it  certainly  proceeded  from  evit 
spirits,  and  not  from  the  Sphrit  of  God,  who  never 
would  move  any  one  tp  speak  in  that  manner  of 
Jesus.  By  this  the  apostle  cuts  off  all  who  spoke 
blasphemously  and  irreverently  of  Christ,  whether 
Jews  or  heathen,  from  all  pretences  to  the  possession 
of  spiritual  gifts,  or  of  any  supernatural  influenee 
from  the  true  God.  These  gifts  and  inspirations 
could  only  be  found  among  true  Christians.  On  the 
other  hand,  no  man  can  say  thai  Jetue  is  the  Lord 
— Can  receive  him  as  such;  can  think  or  speak 
reverently  of  him ;  can  make  profession  of  his  name, 
when  that  profession  would  expose  him  to  imprison- 
ment and  martyrdom ;  can  worship  him  aright,  and 
heartily  acknowledge  his  divinity  and  lordship, 
(against  which  there  was  then  the  greatest  opposi- 
tion made,)  so  as  to  subject  himself  sincerely  and 
entirely  to  his  government :  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost — 
By  his  directing,  renewing,  and  ptirifying  influences. 
The  sum  is.  None  have  the  Holv  Spirit  but  true 
Christians;  true  believers  in,  ana  disciples  of^  the 
Xjord  Jesus;  and  all  such  have  the  Spirit,  at  least  In 
his  enlightening  and  sanctifying  graces. 

Verses  4-6.  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts^ 
XapiafMTQv,  gifts  of  grace,  both  as  to  kind  and  de- 
gree; but  the  same  Spirit— Divers  streams,  but  all 
from  one  fountain.  This  verse  speaks  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  next  of  Christ,  the  sixth  of  God  the  Fa- 
ther. And  there  are  differences  of  ddministrations^ 
—Of  offices  or  ftmctions  in  the  church,  wherein 
those  gifts  are  to  be  exercised,  which  are  indeed  but 
services,  and  therefore  not  fit  fuel  for  pride ;  but  the 
same  Loni— Appoints  them  all  Christ,  who,  as 
King  of  his  church,  instituted  all  these  offices,  pre- 
scribes the  manner  of  executing  them  all ;  and. calls 
one  person  to  one  kind  of  ministry,  and  another  to 
another.  And  there  are  diversities  of  operations^ 
EvepyilfiaTov,  of  energies,  or  effects  produced.  The 
18B 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


according  to  (ke  ipisdom  of  God, 


a:  U.  4063.    7  ^But  the  manifestation  of  the 

■       L  Spirit  is  given  to  evejy  man  to  profit 

withal. 
8  For  to  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit '  the  word 
of  wisdom ;  to  another,  "  the  word  of  knowledge 
by  the  same  Spirit ; 


*Rom.  xii.  «,  7,  8 ;  Chap.  xir.  26;  Eph.  ir.  7;  1  Pet  iv.  la, 
11.-— J  Chup.  iL  6,  7.  ■  Chap.  i.  5 ;  xiri.  2 ;  2  Cor.  riii.  7. 
■  ifatt  xriL  19,  20 ;    Chap,  xiiu  2 ;     2  Cor.  ir.  13. «  Mark 


word  is  of  a  larger  extent  than  either  gifts  or  ad- 
Mirdstratums,  the  two  former  words  used :  but  it  is 
(he  same  God  who  worketh  all  ihcae  effects  in  all — 
The  persons  concerned. 

Verses  7-9.  But  the  manifestafion  of  the  Spirit— 
Thatability  to  exercise  some  spiritual  giil,  whereby 
the  Spirit  manifests  his  presence  with  the  person 
possessed  of  the  gift;  is  given  to  every  man — That 
has  it  J  to  profit  withal — For  the  profit  of  the  whole 
body;  to  edify  the  different  members  of  the  church, 
and  to  be  only  thus  used,  and  not  for  the  purposes 
of  pride  and  division.  For  to  one  is  giveny  by  the 
immediate  influence  of  the  Spirit,  the  word  of 
ttiMiom— Ability  to  speak  what  is  instructive  and 
prudent,  by  way  of  informatien,  counsel,  caution, 
warning,  encouragement,  exhortation,  &c.,  in  any 
matters  of  duty  (nt  privilege :  to  another,  the  word 
qf  knowledge— An  acquaintance  with,  and  ability  to 
expound,  the  Holy  Scriptures  aright,  and  to  under- 
stand and  explain  the  mysteries  of  redemption  and 
salvation.  To  cmother,  faith— -Fuih  may  here  mean, 
1st,  An  extraordinary  trust  m  God,  under  the  most 
difficult  or  dangerous  circumstances ;  producing  that 
supernatural  courage  which  enabled  our  Lord's 
apostles,  and  other  disciples,  to  bear  testimony  to 
the  gospel,  not  only  in  the  presence  of  kings  and 
magistrates,  but  before  the  most  enraged  enemies. 
In  consequence  of  this  gift,  we  'find  Peter  and  John 
speaking  with  such  boldness  before  the  chief  priests 
and  council,  as  astonished  them,  Acts  iv.  13,  29. 
2dy  It  signifies  that  firm  jpersuaslon  of  the  power, 
love,  and  faithfiilness  of  God,  and  confidence  therein, 
which  led  the  apostles  to  attempt  and  succeed  in  the 
performing  of  miraculous  works,  when  they  felt  an 
inward  impulse  so  lo  do.  Of  this  faith  Christ  speaks 
Matt  xvii.  20;  and  Paul,  1  Cor.  xiii.  2.  To  another, 
the  gifts  of  healing*-¥ower  to  heal  various  bodily 
diseases  in  an  extraordinary  way.  In  the  original 
it  is  tofiaruv,  heaUngs ;  in  the  plural,  denoting  the 
variety  of  diseases  that  were  healed.  This  gift  was 
promised  by  Christ,  not  only  to  the  apostles  and 
public  teachers  in  the  first  <;hurch,  but  generally  to 
those  who  should  believe,  Mark  xvL  ll.  Accord- 
ingly, many  of  the  first  Christians  possessed  it ;  and 
by  exercising  it,  they  not  only  confirmed  the  gospel, 
hot  they  conciliated  the  good-will  of  the  more  con- 
siderate heathen,  who  could  not  but  esteem  the 
Christians  when,  in  t^e  miracles,  they  discerned 
the  beneficent  nature  of  their  religion.  The  apos- 
tles, however,  possessed  these  gifts  in  a  more  eminent 
degree,  and  exercbed  them  in  a  superior  manner. 
See  Acts  v.  15,  and  xix.  12.    It  must  be  observed, 


9  "'To  another,  feith  by  the  same  A.M.4oe3. 

A.  D"  SSu 

Spirit;  to  another,  *  die  gifts  of  heal- L-^ 

ing  by  the  same  Spirit ; 

10  ^To  another,  the  working  of  miracles; 
to  another,  **  prophecy ;  '  to  another,  discerning 
of  spirits ;  to  another, '  divers  kinds  of  tongues ; 

xTi.l8;  James  T.  14. v  V exses  28,  29 ;  Marii  KTi.l7;  Gid. 

iii.  5. 1  Rou.  xiL  6 ;  Chap.  xiiL  2 ;    ziv.  1,  6cc. >*  Chap. 

xIt.  29 ;  1  John  It.  I.— ^  AeU  iL  4 ;  x.  46 ;  Chap.  xiii.  1. 


however^  that,  in  the  exercise  of  this  gift,  none 
endued  with  it,  not  even  the  apostles,  were  permitted 
to  act  according  to  their  own  pleasure;  but  wers 
always  directed  to  the  exercise  of  it  by  an  impression 
on  their  minds  from'  God ;  otherwise  Paul  would  not 
h^ve  left  Trophimus  sick  at  Miletus;  nor  have  suf- 
fered his  beloved  Timothy  to  l^x)ur  uifder  his  infirm- 
ities ;  nor  Epaphroditus  to  be  sick  nigh  unto  deaths 
This  gift,  however,  need  not  be  wholly  confined  to 
the  healing  of  diseases  by  a  word  or  touch.  It  may 
exert  itself,  also,  though  in  a  lower  degree,  where 
natural  remedies  are  applied.  And  it  may  often  be 
this,  and  not  superior  skill,  which  makes  sotne  phy- 
sicians more  successful  than  others.  And  thus  it 
may  be  with  regard  to  other  gifts  likewise.  ''As^ 
after  the  golden  shields  were  lost^''  says  BengeUos,. 
''the  king  of  Judah  put  brazen  ones  in  their  plaee, 
so,  after  the  pure  gifts  of  the  Spirit  were  lost,  the 
power  of  God  exerted  (and  still  exerts)  itself  in  a 
more  covert  manner,  under  human  studies  and 
helps:  and  that  the  more  plentiftiliy,  according  at 
there  is  the  more  room  given  for  it." 

Verses  10, 11.  To  another,  the  working  of  mtra* 
c^^j?— That  is,  miracles  of  a  different  kind ;  such  as 
taking  up  serpents,  drinking  any  deadly  draught 
without  hurt,  apd  espedally  casting  out  devils.  But 
it  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  here,  that  the  ori- 
ginal expression,  evepyvfuiTa  dvvofieov,  here  rendered 
the  working  of  miracles,  is  translated  by  Dr.  Mac- 
knight,  the  inworkings  of  powerSj  ttie  former  word 
being  derived  from  evepyeo,  signifying  not  to  woik 
simply,  but  to  work  in  another.  And  he  thinks  it  is 
here  intended  to  express  the  power  which  the  apos- 
tles had  of  conferring  the  mb'aculous  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  those  on  whom  they  laid  their  hands: . 
a  power  which  was  peculiar  to  the  apostles^  by 
which  they  were  raised  above  all  the  other  spiritual 
men,  and  by  which  they  spread  the  gospel  every^ 
where  with  the  greatest  success.  7b  another,  pro- 
pjccy— The  foretelling  of  things  to  come.  To  an^^ 
other,  the  discerning  of  spirits— TheX  is,  ability  to 
discern  whether  professors  of  Christianity  were  of » 
an  upright  spirit,  or  not;  whether  Ihey  had  natural 
or  supernatural  gifts  for  ofilces  in  the  church;  and 
whether  they  who  professed  to  speak  by  insptndien 
spoke  from  a  divhie,  a  natural,  or  diabdical  spirit; 
and  consequently  to  disthiguish,  with  certainty,  true 
doctrine  from  false.  For,  as  there  appeared  very 
early  among  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  false 
teachers,  who,  to  gain  credit  to  their  errors^  pretend- 
ed to  deliver  them  by  inspiration,  a  gift  of  this  kind 
was  very  neeessary  Ibr  preventing  the  faithful  irouk 


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CHAPTER  Xn. 


baptized  into  one  hodf. 


A.  M.  4063.  to  another,  the  interpretation  of 
^^'^    tonguea: 

11  But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the 
ndf-eame  Spirit,  ^  dividing  to  every  man  seve- 
jaUy^BB  he  will. 

13  For  'aa  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one 


t S0B9.  ziL  6 ;  Chap.  vii.  7 ;  2 Con  z.  13;  Eph. ir.  7. "  John 

iii  8 ;  Heb.  iL  4. »  S^m.  zii  4*  5 ;  Eph.  iv.  4, 16. y  Vei96 

being  led  away  by  them,  especially  in  the  first  age, 
before  the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists 
were  generally  spread  abroad.  Hence  the  caution, 
1  J<rfin  ir.  1,  Believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the 
$pirit9f  vhether  they  are  from  God,  because  many 
JfaUe  prophets  cure  gone  forth  into  the  iDorld.  Again, 
the  gift  of  discerning  spirits  was  bestowed  on  some, 
to  enable  them,  on  certain  occ^ions,  to  discover 
what  passed  in  the  minds  of  their  enemies,  that 
they  might  make  it  known  for  the  benefit  of  tl\e 
ehuTch ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  25.  Thus  Peter  knew  the  fraud- 
ulent purpose  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  and  Paul 
the  malice  of  Elymas.  But  here  it  is  to  be  observ- 
ed, that  neither  the  knowledge  of  what  passed  in 
Ae  minds  of  enemies,  nor  the  knowledge  of  the 
efaaiacters  of  private  Christians,  or  of  the  (Qualifica- 
tions of  those  who  aspired  after  sacred  ofilces,  was 
bestowed  as  a  habit  On  most  occasions,  it  seems, 
the  rulers  were  left  in  these  matters  to  guide  them- 
selves by  their  own  sagacity,  or  by  that  ordinary 
illuaimation  which  they  received  from  the  Spirit  of 
wisdom. 

7b  another,  divers  kinds  of  /an^tfe*— Ability  to 
speak  languages  which  they  had  not  learned.  This 
gift  was  one  of  the  primary  causes  of  the  rapid 
growth  of  Christianity.  For  by  it  the  preachers  of 
the  gospel  were  able,  immediately  on  their  coming 
into  any  country,  to  declare  the  wonderful  things 
of  God,  without  waiting  till,  in  the  ordinary  course, 
fliey  learned  the  language  of  the  counti^.  The 
persons  who  were  endowed  with  this  faculty,  had 
not  the  knowledge  of  all  languages  communicated 
to  them,  but  of  such  only  as  they  had  occasion  for. 
This  appears  from  1  Cor.  xiv.  18,  where  the  apostle 
told  the  Corinthians  that  he  spake  more  foreign 
tongues  than  they  all  did.  And  even  the  languages 
which  were  given  them,  may  not  have  been  com- 
nmnicated  to  them  all  at  once,  but  only  as  they  had 
oceason  for  them.  To  another,  the  interpretation 
of  ton^tf««— Ability  to  interpret  into  a  language 
Jbiown,  suppose  into  the  common  language  of  the 
place,  that  which  others,  suppose  foreigners,  or 
^oee  to  whom  a  language  was  given  by  inspiration, 
delivered  in  a  tongue  with  which  the  hearers  were 
not  acquainted.  From  this  being  mentioned  as  a 
distinct  gift  from  that  of  speaking  foreign  languages, 
Maeknigfat  infers,  that  not  every  one  who  under- 
ilood  the  foreign  language,  in  which  an  inspired 
teaeher  spake,  was  allowed  to  interpret  what  he 
apake.  The  only  person,  he  thinks,  permitted  to 
do  this,  was  the  interpreter,  endowed  with  an  es- 
pecial impiration  for  that  end.  Because,  ^  the  doc- 
b 


body,  being  many,  are  one  body :  rso  A.  M.  40S3. 
also  is  Christ  ^^'^' 

13  For  *by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body,  *  whether  v)e  be  Jews  or 
^Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free;  and 
^have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one 
Spirit 


27 ;  Gal  iii.  16. «  Rom.  tL  5. •  GmL  in.  28 ;  Eph.  ii.  13, 14,. 

16 ;  Col.  ill  1 1. »  Gr.  Grttk$. »» John  vi.  63 ;  ?li.  37, 38, 39. 


trines  of  the  gospel,  being  entirely  different  from 
all  the  ideas  which  the  heathen  had  been  accustom- 
ed to  entertain  on  religions  subjects,  any  interpreta- 
tion of  what  was  delivered  by  the  Spirit  in  a  foreign 
language,  made  without  a  supernatural  direction, 
might  have  led  the  church  into  errror.  Further, 
the  faculty  of  interpreting  foreign  languages  by  in- 
spiration was,  in  another  respect,  a  gift  very  neces- 
sary in  the  first  age ;  for  the  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament being  written  in  Hebrew,  a  language  not 
then  understood  by  the  vulgar,  even  in  Judea,  and 
the  writings  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists  being 
all  in  the  Greek  tongue,  on  account  of  its  emphasis 
and  precision ;  and  that  tongue  being  nowhere  spo- 
ken by  the  common  people,  except  in  Greece  and 
some  cities  of  the  Lesser  Asia,  if  there  had  not  been 
in  every  church  inspired  interpreters,  who  could 
translate  these  divinely-inspired  writings  into  the 
common  language,  they  would  have  been,  in  a  great 
measure,  useless ;  especially  at  the  beginning,  when 
the  knowledge  of  them  was  most  wanted.  Where- 
as every  church  having  inspired  interpreters  of 
foreign  languages  commonly  present  m  their  reli- 
gious assemblies,  to  translate  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
Scriptures  into  tKe  language  of  the  country,  the 
common  people,  everywhere,  had  an  opportunity 
of  deriving  from  these  writings  all  the  knowledge 
and  comfort  they  are  fitted  to  yield.  Such  were  the 
supernatural  gifts  with  which  the  first  preachers 
and  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  endowed ;  and  by 
which  they  effectually  and  speedily  established  the 
gospel  in  the  most  populous  and  civilized  provinces 
of  the  Roman  empire."  And  all  these — Diversities 
of  gifts,  the  apostle  adds,  wprketh  that  one  and  the 
selfsame  Spirit— They  all  flow  fW)m  one  and  the 
same  fountain ;  dividing-  to  every  man  severally, 
Ka0oc  6iiXtTat,  as  he  lailleth — An  expression  which 
does  not  so  much  imply  arbitrary  pleasure,  as  a  de- 
termination founded  oq  wise  counsel. 

Verses  12,  18.  For  as  the  human  body  is  one, 
and  yet  Jiath  many  members—Tot  different  offices; 
and  aU  the  members,  though  many,  constitute  but 
one  6o(iy— United  in  one  well-regulated  system ;  so 
also  is  Christ — That  is,  mystically  considered, 
namely,  the  whole  church  or  society,  of  which 
Christ  is  the  head:  in  which,  though  there  are  se- 
veral members,  having  different  gifts,  yet  they  do 
not  constitute  several  churches,  but  only  one  church, 
and  therefore  they  should  all  use  their  gifts  for  the 
good  of  that  one.  For  by  one  Spirit — ^When  it  is 
indeed  received  by  us ;  ice  are  all  baptized  into  one 
body— Axe  constituted  true  members  thereof,  miited^ 
18ft 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


qre  members  of  one  bodf. 


A.  If.  406S.    14  For  the  body  is  not  one  meniber, 

A.  D.  59.     , 

'. —  but  many. 

16  If  the  foot  shall  say,  Because  I  am  not 
the  hand,  I  am  not  of  the  body;  is  it  there- 
fore not  of  the  body? 

16  And  if  the  ear  shall  say^  Because  I  am 
not  the  eye,  I  am  not  of  the  body;  is  it  there- 
fore not  of  Uie  body") 

17  If  the  whole  body  were  an  eye,  where  were 
the  hearing?  If  the  whole  were  hearing,  where 
were  the  smelling? 

18  But  now  hath  ^Grod  set  the  members 
every  one  of  them  in  the  body,  ^as  it  hath 
pleased  him. 


«  V«r»e  28. *  Rom.  xii.  3 ;  Chap. 


to  the  head  of  that  body  by  faith,  and  to  all  the 
other  members  therepf  by  love :  we  are  pardoned, 
regenerated,  and  created  anew,  and  so  made  mem- 
bers of  the  true,  invisible,  or  spiritual  church; 
whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles — Who  are  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  each  otiier  by  nature ;  wheth- 
er we  be  bond  or  free — Slaves  or  freemen,  who  are 
at  the  greatest  distance  from  each  other  by  law  and 
custom :  we  have  aU  been  made  to  drink  into  one 
Spirit — In  other  words.  The  religion  vre  before  pro- 
fessed, whethei*^  true  or  false ;  the  rank  which  we 
now  hold  in  life,  whether  hig^h  or  low ;  makes  no 
difference  as  to  the  grand  point :  our  union  with  the 
body,  and  its  various  members,  as  well  as  with  the 
head,  is  the  same,  and  the  same  happy  consequences 
follow  from  that  union ',  we  all  imbibe  the  influences 
of  the  same  Spirit,  by  which  the  divine  life  was  at 
first  produced,  and  is  continually  preserved  in  our 
souls. 

Verses  14-20.  For  the  body  is  not  one  member,  bitt 
many — All  of  which  are  necessary,  that  the  various 
sorts  of  offices  belonging  to  ^he  body  may  be  all 
performed :  thus  there  must  be  different  gifts  and 
offices  in  the  church  of  Christ,  which  all  conduce  to 
the  advantage  and  perfection  of  the  wh<^e.  If  the 
foot^One  of  mferior  gifts  and  place ;  shall  say. 
Because  I  am  not  the  h^nd^Do  not  appear  in  a 
more  honouraUe  place,  and  have  not  a  more  import- 
ant office ;  I  am  not  of  the  body — I  am  separated 
from,  or  despised  by  it,  in  my  low  situation;  is  it 
therefore  not  of  the  body—U  the  inference  good  ? 
Would  it  have  reason  on  this  account  Ho  represent 
or  think  itself  an  outcast?  The  ^bo^  here  is  ele- 
gantly introduced  as  speaking  of  the  hand,  the  ear 
of  the  eye;  each  of  a  part  that  has  some  resemblance 
to  it.  So  among  men,  each  is  apt  to  compare  him- 
self with  those  whose  gifts  some  way  resemble  his 
own,  rather  than  with  those  who  are  at  a  distance, 
either  above  or  beneath  him.  Perhaps  the  foot 
may  represent  private  Christians ;  the  hand,  active 
officers  in  the  church ;  the  eye,  discerning  teachers ; 
and  the  ear,  attentive  hearers.  If  the  whole  body 
were  an  eye—And,  a  man  could  look,  at  will, 
through  every  pore;  where  were  the  hearing-^ 

ia» 


19  And  if  they  were  ^  one  mem-  a.  m.4063. 
her,  where  were  the  body?  ^  ^'^^' 

20  But  now  are  thejf  many  membeis^  yet  but 
one  body. 

21  And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  handi  I 
have  no  need  of  thee :  nor  again  the  heiid  to 
the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you. 

22  Nay,  much  more  those  mefnbers  of  the 
body,  which  seem  to  be  more  feeUe,  are  neces- 
sary: 

23  And  those  members  of  the  body,  which 
we  think  to  be  less  honourable,  qpon  these  we 
^bestow  more  abundant  honour;  and  our  un- 
oomely  parts  have  more  abundant  comeliness. 


iii.  9 ;  YerM  11. ^*Or,  put  •». 


That  important  sense,  which  admits  so  much  pie 
ing  entertainment  and  improvement  ?  And  if  the 
whole  were  hearing,  where  were  the  smelling— A, 
sense  which,  though  less  important  than  the  former,  is 
not  destitute  of  its  proper  deHght  and  its  proper  use. 
The  sense  is,  If  all  the  members  of  the  church  had 
the  same  gifts,  though  the  most  excellent,  as  seeing 
or  hearing,  what  would  become  of  the  church  ? 
There  must  be  different  offices  and  gifls  for  differ- 
ent uses,  and  each  ought  to  employ  his  gift,  accord- 
ing to  the  nature  of  it,  for  the  service  of  the  whole. 
But  now  we  see  God— The  wise  and  great  Creator; 
hath  set  the  members  in  the  body  €u  it  hath  pleased 
him — With  the  most  exquisite  wisdom  and  goodness. 
If  they  were  all  one  member— Or  if  the  members 
were  all  of  one  form  and  use;  where  were  the 
body— How  could  it  possibly  subsist?  But  now 
they  are  many  members — Different  from  each  other, 
possessed  of  different  povirers,  and  intended  for  dif- 
ferent uses ;  yet  but  one  harmonious,  regular  body — 
Furnished  for  the  various  animal  functions,  and 
capable  of  a  Variety  of  sensations  and  actions.  And 
it  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  this  unity,  that  th^ 
several  members  need  one  "another. 

Verses  21-23.  And  the  eye — In  its  commanding 
station,  and  possessed  as  it  is  of  light  and  disceni* 
ment;  cannot  say  to  the  hand — Endoveed  with  nei- 
ther of  these  qualities,  and  the  mere  instrument  of 
action ;  I  have  no  need  of  thee — For  by  the  hand 
the  whole  body  is  mikintained  and  fed,  and  the  e^e 
itself  preserved  and  defended.  Nor  again  the 
head— Elevated  as  it  is,  and  so  admirably  furnished 
with  all  the  nerves  and  organs  planted  in  it,  cannot 
say  to  the  feet — ^Tbe  most  distant  and  extreme  parts, 
mean  as  their  form  and  office  seems ;  I  have  no  need 
of  |f<m— Since  by  them  the  head  and  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  body  are  supported,  and  are  removed 
from  place  to  place.  "  The  apostle  mentions  tho 
two  principal  members  of  the  body,  the  eye  and  the 
head,  and  affirms  that  they  need  the  service  of  the 
inferior  members,  to  teach  such  as  hold  the  most 
honourable  offices  in  the  church  not  to  despise  thos^ 
who  are  placed  in  the  lowest  stations :  for  as  in  the 
body,  the  hand  needs  the  direction  of  the  eye,  and 

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CHAPTER  Xn. 


for  the  edification  of  the  churcIL 


A.  M.  4063.     24  For  our  comely  pcurts  have  no 

'- — '—  need:  but  God  hath  tempered  the 

body   together,  having  given  more  abundant 
boQour  to  that  j^ar^  which  lacked: 

25  That  there  should  be  no  ^schism  in  the 
body;  but  that  the  members  should  have  the 
same  care  one  for  another. 


*  Or,  dhrisian. •  Rom.  zii.  5;  Eph.  i.  23 ;  ir.  18 ; 


the  eye  Uie  meijitaDee  of  the  hands,  so  in  the  chuveb 
they  who  follow  the  active  occupations  of  life,  need 
the  direction  of  the  teachers.    On  the  other  hand, 
the  teachers  need  to  be  supported  by  the  labour  of 
the  active  members."    A^y,  thoae  members  which 
seem  to  be  more  feeble — ^Because  unable  to  endure 
external   injury,  such  as  the  brain,  the  lungs,  the 
heart,  and  bowels ;  or  the  veins,  arteries,  and  Qther 
minute  channels  in  the  body ;  are  more  abundantly 
nscessa^ry-^Vor  without  them  the  animal  ftinctions 
can  by  no  me^ns  be  discharged,  nor  the  body  pre- 
served in  life  and  health.  And  likewise  tJioee  members 
which  we  think  to  be  less  honourable — Or  graceful, 
on  acicount  of  their  place  and  use ;  updn  these  we 
6e»foir— Greek,  irtpin^Mfuv^  these  we  surround  with 
more  abundant  honour — ^By  carefully  covering  them. 
And  ozir  wwomely  parts  have — By  virtue  of  the 
dress  ^ve  put  upon  them;  more  abundant  comeli- 
ness— ^Than  most  of  the  rest    It  is  as  if  he  had 
said,  The  face,  on  which  the  image  of  God  is  par- 
ticularly stamped,  we  Jeave  uncovered  j  but  as  for 
those  parts  which  decency  or  custom  teaches  us  to 
concesd,  we  contrive  not  only  to  cover,  but  also,  as 
far  as  we  conveniently  can,  to  adorn  by  covering. 
'^  This  observj&tion,  concerning  the  pains  which  we 
take  in  adorning  or  concealing  the  weak  and  un- 
comely members  of  our  body,  the  apostle  makes  to 
teaeh  the  higher  members  of  the  church  to  advance 
the  honour  of  the  \yhole  body,  by  concealing  the 
weakness  and  imperfections  of  the  lowest,  and  by 
setting  off  their  gifts  and  graces,  whatever  they  may 
be,  to  the  best  advantage,  for  the  reason  mentioned 
verse  25.    And  when  such  attention  is  paid  to  the 
inferior,  by  the  superior  members  of  the  church,  the 
inferior,  laying  aside  all  envy,  should  willingly  suffer 
the'superior  members  to  recommend  themselves  to 
tlie  esteem  of  the  whole  body,  by  the  lustre  and 
usefulness  of  their  more  excellent  gifts." 

Verses  24-36.  For  our  comely  and  grace  fulparto 
have  no  need — Of  being  so  adorned,  as  they  appear 
to  greater  advantage  uncovered ;  but  God  hath  temr 
pered  the  body  together^lweKepaae^  hath  attemper- 
ed and  united  in  just  proportions  the  several  parts 
thereof;  having  given— To  such  as  are -naturally 
weak  and  without  beauty  j  more  abundant  honour 
—Through  their  greater  efficacy  in  the  nourishment 
and  preservation  of  the  body,  and  by  causing  them 
to  be  cared  for  and  served  by  the  noblest  parts. 
That  there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body — No 
division  of  separate  interests ;  but  that  the  members 
should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another — As  be- 
ing each  an  important  part  i>f  the  whole.  Andwheth- 
h 


26  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  A.  M.  4063. 

all  the  members  suffer  with  it;  or  — LJ L 

one  member  be  honoured,  all  the  members  re* 
joice  with  it. 

27  Now  •ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
'members  in  partictilar. 

28  And  'God  hath  set  some  in  the  church. 


T.  23,  30 ;  Col.  i.  24. '  Eph.  t.  30.— r  Eph.  it.  H. 


erone  member  suffer,  aU  the  members^ln  conse- 
quence of  their  close  union  with,  and  dependanoe 
on  each  other,  should  suffer  with  it — As  losing  the 
assistance  of  the  disabled  member,  and  eoncerned 
to  remove  the  cause  of  ii»  suffering.  Or  one  msm* 
ber  be  *onotirec^-Clolhed  and  gratified ;,  a//  ths 
members  sl^ould  rejoice  with  it — Deriving  advan* 
tage  from'  its  welfare,  and  the  ornament  of  one  part 
being  looked  upon  as  that  of  the  whole.  "  By  com- 
paring schism  in  the  church  to  schism  in  the  body, 
we  are  taught  that  it  consists  in  a  natural  want  of 
afiection  in  some  of  the  members  toward  their  fel- 
low-members, whereby  contentions  and  animosities 
we  produced.  Further,  by  showing  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body  are  so  united  as  to  be  necessary  to 
each  other's  existence,  the  apostle  hath  taught  us 
that  there  should  be  no  envy  nor  strife  among  the 
disciples  of  Christ;  but  that  each, by  the  right  exer- 
cise of  his  proper  gift,  should  assist  his  neighbour, 
and  rejoice  when  his  welfare  is  promoted." 

Verse  27.  Now  ye— Believers  at  Corinth ;  are  the 
body  of  Christ— A  part  of  it,  not  the  whole  body; 
and  members  in  particular— Thni  is,  each  believer 
is  a  particular  member  thereof,  and  ought  to  behave 
himself  accordingly.  This  is  the  application  of  the 
foregoing  allegory,  which  *c  apostle  is  thought  by 
some  to  have  formed  on  our  Lord's  wOrds,  Matt. 
XXV.  35-45.  As  if  he  had  said.  Ye  believers  are 
formed  into  one -church  or  body,  of  which  Christ  is 
the  head,  soul,  and  ruler.  And  in  the  application 
he  signifies,  that  "what  he  had  said  concerning  the 
order,  the  situation,  and  the  offices  of  the  members 
of  the  human  body,  the  union  which  subsists  among 
them,  and  the  care  which  they  have  of  each  other, 
and  concerning  the  perniciousness  of  dissensions 
among  its  members,  was  all  applicable  to  the  menb 
bers  of  the  church  of  Christ.  They  were  therefore 
to  attend  to  the  things  he  had  written,  ihat  there 
might  be  no  envy  among  them,  nor  discontent,  nor 
arrogant  preferring  of  themselves  before  others,  but 
that  in  peace  and  love  they  might  all  promote  each 
other's  happiness."— 'Macknight. 

Verses  2&-51.  And  God  hath  set  in  the  church 
first  apostles— Who  planted  the  gospel  in  the  hea- 
then nations,  being  honoured  with  an  office  of  the 
highest  distinction,  and  furnished  with  endowments 
peculiar  to  themselves;  secondly,  prophets — Who 
either  foretold  things  to  come,  or  spake  by  extra- 
ordinary inspiration  for  the  edification  of  the  church ; 
thirdly,  teachers^Oi  an  inferior  class.  Under  pro- 
phets and  teachers,  are  comprised  evangelists  and 
pasUrrs.  After  that,  wrocZe*— Persons  endowed 
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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


txctUent  of  oil  cUlaunnenim^ 


A.  M.  4063.  first  ^apostles,  secondarily  ^prophets, 
^^'^'    thirdly  teachers,  after  that  *  miracles, 

then  'gifts  of  healings,  "helps,  ■govwnments, 

^diversities  of  tongues. 
89  Are  all  apostles?  are  alt  prophets?  are 

all  teachers?  are  all  ^workers  of  miracles? 

*  Eph.  u.  20 ;  iii  5, *  AcU  xUi.  1 ;  RonLxii.  6. k  Vene 

*  V^rte  9. ■Num.  xi  17. » Rom.  xiL  8;  1  Tioi. 


on  some  particular  occasions  with  miraculous  pow- 
ers; then  gifts  of  fiMing—Dlseaaes,  by  anointing 
the  sick  with  oil,  and  praying  for  their  recovery : 
the  expression  denotes  the  persons  who  possessed 
these  gifts.  Helps—Or  helpers,  who,  speaking  by 
inspin^on  to  the  ed ideation  of  the  church,  were 
£tted  to  assist  the  superior  officers,  and  to  help  the 
fidth  and  joy  of  others.  Governments — Or  govern- 
ors, the  thing  performed,  as  in  the  former  clause, 
being  put  for  the  persons  who  performed  it.  l^e 
word  Kv6epvif<jetCy  is  properly  the  steering  of  a  ship 
wHh  skill  by  a  pilot ;  and  seems  to  be  put  here  me- 
taphorioally  for  persons  directing  or  managing  af- 
fairs with  judgment  It  tloes  not  appear,  however, 
that  these  two  last  expressions  were  Intended  by 
the  apostle  to  signify  distinct  offices.    Rather  any 


.5a 


30  Have  all  the  gifts  of  healing?  a.  m.  « 
do  all  speak  with  tongues?  do  all  in-  — 
terpret? 

31  But    ""  covet    earnestly    the    best 
And  yet  show  I    unto  you    a    more  excel* 
lent  way. 


▼.  17;  H«b.  xiii.  17,  24. 

-o  Chap.  xiT.  1, 39. 


>0r,  kmdM,  Vene  la ^>0i; 


persmis  might  be  called  helps  or  helpers^  from  a 
particular  dexterity  in  helping  the  distressed ;  and 
governors  or  governments^  from  a  peculiar  talent 
for  governing  or  presiding  In  assemblies.  Are  all 
the  members  or  ministers  of  the^  church  apostles^ 
&c. — Seeing  God  has  hot  given  all  sorts  of  gifts  to 
one,  but  some  to  one,  and  others  to  another,  thac 
each  one  might  stand  in  need  of  the  others;  Uiere- 
fore  let  none  despise  another,  but  all  join  together 
In  employing  their  gifts  for  the  common  good  of 
the  church.  But  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts-^Vor 
they  are  well  worth  your  desire  and  pursuit,  though 
but  few  of,  you  can  attain  them;  and  yet  I  show 
you  a  more  fexcelleni  way — ^I  point  out  unto  you  a 
more  excellent  gift  than  any  or  all  of  them,  and  one 
which  all  may,  yea,  must  attain,  or  perish. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

T&  engage  the  Corinihisns  to  euUhate  Christian  tave,  as  more  exeelleni  and  importani  thnt  any  of  those  gifle^  ota  Ae  ]Mt- 
seseum  of  which  they  toere  eo  ready  to  value  themseheSf  and  about  y)hkh  they  contended  for  pre-eminence^  the  apostle,  (1,) 
Shows  its  indispensable  necessity ;  no  gifts,  no  acts  of  beneficence^  not  esen  martyrdom  itseif,imng  of  any  real  advantage 
without  it,  1-3.  '  (2,)  He  gives  a  lovefy  description  of  it,  displaying  its  transcendent  ecccellenee  and  useful  properties  and 
affects,  4-7.    (3,)  Points  out  its  perp^ual  duration,  in  which  it  exceeds  even  the  graces  offaitk  and  hope,  8-18. 

^M.  4M3.  rpHOUGH  I  speak  with  the  tongues 
of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have 


not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or 
a  tinkling  cymbal.* 
2  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  •prophecy, 


*  QiiMfii^fMtnia  Suofday,  epUtle,Tene  1  to  the  •nd. — 
xii.  8,  9,  10,  28 ;  xiv.  I,  &c. ;  MaU.  tU.  2^ 


'Chap. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  Xllf. 
Verses  1-3.  Though^  Ac.— The  apostle  having  ob- 
served in  the  last  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter, 
(with  which  this  chapter  Is  closely  connected,)  that 
he  would  show  them  a  more  excellent  way,  that  is, 
a  way  more  wise,  holy,  and  usefiil,  than  that  of 
striving  to  excel  each  other  In  miraculous  gifts,  now 
proceeds  to  do  this,  directing  them  to  pursue  the 
divine  grace  of  love  to  God  and  man,  as  of  the  high- 
est excellence,  and  of  absolute  necessity.  Though 
I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  angels — That 
^  all  the  languages  which  are  spoken  upon  earth, 
and  with  the  eloquence  of  an  angel ;  and  have  not 
188 


and  understand  all  mysteries,  and  all  a.  m.  40S3. 
knowledge;  and  though  I  have  all  — 1-^ — 1 
rai(h,  ^80  that  I  could  remove  mountains,  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  ^lotbing. 
3  And  ^though  I  bestow  all  my  goods. to 


^Matt.  ZTU.20;  Mark  xi  23;  Lake  xriL  &- 
1,  2. 


^Matt.  tL 


charity — Xyairtfv,  love;  namely,  the  love  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  my  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given 
to  me,  and  the  love  of  all  mankind  for  .bis  sake ;  / 
am  become — Ttyot*a,  I  am,  or  have  been,  before  God ; 
as  sounding  brass — No  better  than  the  sounding  in- 
struments of  brass  used  in  the  worship  of  some  of 
the  heathen  gods ;  or  a  tinkling  cymbal — This  was 
made  of  two  pieces  of  hollow  brass,  which  being 
struck  together  made  a  tinkling,  but  with  very  Ih- 
tle  variety  of  sound.  Some  have  thought  that  the 
apostle  mentions  the  tongues  of  angels,  because  in 
ihe  patriarchal  ages  angels  often  spake  with  men 
But  as  they  then  spake  in  the  language  of  men,thelx 

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CHAPTER  Xin. 


naittre  a$id  effect$  oflave* 


A^JT  4063.  feed  the  pooTy  and  though  I  give  my 
body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not 


charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing. 

4  ^Charity  suffereth  long,  anemia  kind;  cba 
rity  envieth  not ;  charity  ^  vaunteth  not  itself,  is 
not  puffed  up^ 


* Pror.  X.  12 ;  1  Pet  it.  a * Ot,ia  not  roA. •Chap.  x. 

24;  Phil  it  4. 


tongues,  thus  understood,  are  the  same  with  tfie 
tongues  of  men.  And  therefore  by  the  tongues  of 
angels^  the  apostle  doubtless  meant  the  methods, 
whatever  they  are,  by  which  angelscommunicate  their 
thoughts  to  each  other,  and  which  must  be  a  much 
more  excellent  language  than  any  that  is  spoken  by 
men.  Afid  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy — Of 
foretelling  future  events;  and  understand  all  mys- 
teries— ^Both  of  God's  word  and  providence;  and 
cM  knoxoledge — Of  things  human  and  divme,  that 
ever  any  mortal  attained  to ;  and  have  ail  faith — 
The  highest  degree  of  miracle-working  faith;  so 
that  I  could  remove  mountains — From  their  bases, 
and  transport  them  from  one  part  of  the  earth  to 
another,  and  thus  change  the  whole  face  of  nature 
with  a  word ;  and  have  not  charity — AyamTv  6t  firi 
exct^  but  have  not  love^  I  am  nothing — In  the  sight 
oTC^od  with  respect  to  piety:  I  not  only  have  not 
true  religion  enough,  but  in  reality  I  have  none  at 
aU.  And—To  go  further;  though  I  bestow — Eav 
ifcjfiiCi^j  though  I  distribute  deliberately,  piece  by 
piece,  with  the  greatest  prudence  and  care ;  all  my 
goods  to  feed  the  poor:  and  though  I  give  my  kody 
to  he  hurnedr—TLdihet  than  renounce  my  religion,  or 
any  truth  or  duty  of  the  gospel ;  and  have  not  the 
love^  hereafter  described,  it  profUeth  me  nothing — 
Witli  respect  to  life  etemaL  It  neither  proves  my 
title  to  it,  nor  prepares  me  for  the  enjoyment  of  it. 
Without  love,  whatever  I  speak,  whatever  I  have, 
whatever  I  know,  whatever  I  do,  whatever  I  suffer, 
is  nothing. 

Verses  4, 5.  Love  suffereth  fowg^— Here  the  apostle 
attributes  to  love  the  qualities  and  actions  of  a  person, 
in  order  to  render  his  account  of  that  divine  grace  the 
more  lively  and  affecting.  The  love^  of  God,  and  of 
our  neighbour  for  God'ssake,  is  patient  toward  allmen. 
It  suffers  all  the  weakness,  ignorance,  errors,  and 
infirmities  of  the  children  of  God ;  and  all  the  malice 
and  wickedness  of  the  children  of  the  world;  and 
all  this  not  only  for  a  time,  but  to  the  end ;  and  in 
every  step  toward  overcoming  evil  with  good,  it  is 
An'ud— Mild,  gentle,  benign ;  inspiring  the  sufferer  at 
once  with  the  most  amiable  sweetne&<i,  and  the  most 
fervent  and  tender  affection.  Love  envieth  nor^The 
advantages,  gifts,  or  graces,  which  others  possess, 
but  rather  takes  pleasure  in  them,  and  by  friendly 
participation  makes  them  its  own.  Love  vaunteth 
not  itself— QreelLf  ov  ictpKtpevenuy  acteih  not  rashly, 
as  the  expression  is  translated  by  many  critics,  fol- 
lowing Phavorinus.  Indeed,  to  render  it  as  our 
translators  do,  is  to  make  it  signify  the  same  thihg 
with  the  next  clause.  The  lover  of  God  and  man- 
kind does  not  hastily  condemn  any  one;  nev6r 
b 


6  Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  A.M.4013 

^seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  — 1_! 1 

provoke,  thinks  no  evil; 

6  ^Rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  'rejoiceth 
Hn  the  truth ;  i 

7  ^Beareth  oil  things,  believeth  all  thmgs, 


'Psa.  z.  3;    Rom.  i.  32. c2  John  4. *C)r,  with  tJu  tnlk. 

kRom.xv.1;  GaJ.Ti2;  2  Tim.  iL  24. 


passes  a  severe  sentence  on  a  slight  or  sudden  view 
of  things.  Nor  does  he  act  or  behave  in  a  violent, 
headstrong,  or  precipitate  manner.  Is  not  puffed  vp 
— With  pride  or  self-conceit  on  accountof  any  endow- 
ments or  qualifications,  mental  or  corporal,  natural  or 
acquired,  civil  or  religious.  On  the  contrary^  love  to 
God,  whereby  we  esteem  him  as  the  greatest  and 
best  of  beings,  desire  him  as  our  chief  good,  delight 
in  him  as  our  portion  and  treasure  in  time  and  in 
eternity,  cannot  but  humble  us  in  the  dust  before 
him,  while  we  contrast  our  various  weaknesses,  im- 
perfections, and  sins,  with  his  infinite  excellences 
and  matchless  glories,  and  compare  his  supeilative 
goodness  with  our  great  unworthiness.  And  the 
love  of  our  neighbour,  naturally  leading  us  to  dwell 
on  his  virtues,,  and  overlook  hb  defects,  must  also, 
though  in  a  lower  degree,  produce  the  same  effect, 
and  cause  us  to  prefer  others  to  ourselves  in  a  vari- 
ety of  respects.  Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly — 
Or  indecently,  as  sk  aexvftovei  properly  signifies; 
that  is,  it  is  not  rude  or  willingly  offensive  to  any 
one,  but  renders  to  all  their  dues,  suitable  to  time, 
place,  person,  and  all  other  circumstances.  Seek' 
eth  not  her  own— Ease,  pleasure,  honour,  or  tem- 
poral advantage.  Nay,  sometimes  the  lover  of 
God  and  of  mankind  seeketh  not^  m  some  sense, 
even  his  own  spiritual  advantage;  does  not  think 
of  himself,  so  long  as  a  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  souls  of  men  swallows  him  up.  But  though 
he  is  all  on  fire  for  these  ends,  yet  he  is  not  pro- 
vokedy  (the  word  easily  is  not  in  the  original,)  to 
sharpness  or  unkindness  toward  any  one.  Outward 
provocations  indeed  will  frequently  occur,  but  he 
triumphs  over  them.  Thinketh  no  evil — The  lov- 
ing man  indeed  cannot  but  see  and  hear  evil  things, 
and  know  that  they  are  so ;  but  he  does  not  willing- 
ly think  evil  of  any,  neither  infer  evil  where  none 
appears.  The  love  in  his  heart  prevents  his  ima- 
guiing  that  of  which  he  has  no  prooiE^  and  casts  out 
all  jealousies,  evil  surmises,  readiness  to  believe 
evil,  and  induces  him  to  put  the  kindest  construc- 
tions upon  the  actions  of  others,  and  on  the  princi- 
ples from  whence  they  proceed,  which  the  nature 
of  circumstances  will  by  any  means  allow. 

Verses  6, 7.  Love  refoiceth  not  in  iniquity— -TBkea 
no  pleasure  to  see  an  adversary  fall  into  an  error  or 
sin,  by  which  his  reputation  should  be  blasted,  and 
his  interest  ruined.  On  the  contrary,  the  man  Influ- 
enced by  this  love,  is  truly  sorry  for  either  the  sin  or 
folly  of  even  an  enemy ;  takes  no  pleasure  in  hearing 
or  in  repeating  it,  but  desires  it  may  be  forgotten  for 
ever.  But  rejoiceth  in  the  rru/A— Good  m  general 
is  its  glory  and  joy,  wherever  dififlised  through  the 
180 


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I.  GORmmiANs. 


adomdtsitB  of  charity  or  Io9A 


A.M. 4063.  hopeth    all     things,    endureth    all 

A.  D.  99.       .  . 

things. 

8  Charity  never  faileth:  but  whether  there 
be  prophecies,  they  shall  foil;  whether  there 
be  tongues,  they  shall  cease ;  whether  there  be 
knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away. 

9  '  For  we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in 
part. 


*  Chap.  viii.  2. *  Or,  reasoned. 


world ;  vhile  it  brings  forth  its  proper  fniit,  holiness 
of  heart  and  life,  with  constancy  and  perseverance. 
Beareth— Or  rather  covereth  all  things,  as  vavra 
s-eyei  ought  undoubtedly  to  be  here  rendered:  be- 
cause the  common  translation,  beareth  all  things^  is 
not  different  in  sense  from  endureth  all  things^  in 
the  last  clause  of  the  verse.  The  lover  of  mankind 
conceals,  as  far  as  may  be,  the  failings  and  faults  of 
others ;  whatever  evil  he  sees,  hears,  or  knows  of 
any  one,  he  mentions  it  to  none;  it  never  goes  out 
of  his  lips,  unless  where  absolute  duty  constrains  to 
speak.  Believeth  all  things— I^mXa  the  most  favour- 
able construction  on  every  thing,  and  is  ever  ready 
to  believe  whatever  may  tend  to  the  advantage  of 
any  one's  character.  And  when  it  can  no  longer 
believe  well,  it  hopes  whatever  may  excuse  or  ex- 
tenuate the  fault  which  cannot  be  denied.  Where 
it  cannot  even  excuse,  it  hopes  God  will  at  length 
give  repentance  un^  life.  Meantime  it  endureth 
all  (/ting^*— Whatever  the  injustice,  malice,  or  cru- 
elty of  men  c&n  inflict.  And  as  it  is  long-suffering 
with  regard  to  human  provocations,  so  it  bears  with 
patience  whatever  afflictions  come  immediately  from 
the  hand  of  God,  acquiescing  in  his  will,  trusting  in 
his  care,  and  rejoicing  if  its  own  sufferings  may  be  a 
means  of  consolation  and  edification  to  others.  By 
this  description  of  love,  it  evidently  appears  to  be 
that  divine  grace,  which  renders  men  most  like  to 
Crod,  and  which  is  the  best  preparation  of  them  for 
admission  into  heaven:  the  golden  key^  (says Mil- 
ton, in  his  ComuSy}v>hichopesthepalaceDf  eternity. 
Nor  does  it  cease  to  exist,  when  it  has  introduced  us 
into  the  eternal  kingdom  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
For, 

Verses  8-10.  Love  never  faUeih-^-It  accompanies 
lis  to,  prepares  us  for,  and  adorns  us  in  eternity ; 
nay,  it- is  the  very  felicity  of  heaven.  In  these  re- 
spects it  materially  differs  from,  and  has  an  appa- 
rent advantage  over,  many  of  those  gifts  which  some 
are  so  ready  to  emulate  and  pursue,  to  the  neglect 
and  injury  of  this  love.  For  whether  there  be  pro- 
phecies^ they  shall  /a?^— When  all  things  foretold 
are  accomplished,  and  God  is  all  in  all.  Whether 
tliere  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease — For  onelanguage 
shall  prevail  among  all  the  inhabitants  of  heaven, 
and  all  the  low  and  imperfect  languages  of  earth 
shall  be  forgotten.  Whethei*  there  be  knowledge — 
Such  as  we  now  pursue  with  the  greatest  eagerness, 
the  knowledge  of  the  fleeting,  transitory  things  of 
earth,  and  affairs  of  men,  conducive  as  it  is  to  our 
present  useAilneas ;  it  shall  vanish  away^Aa  star- 
190 


10  But  when  that  which  is  perf  ct  A.  M.  4i6X 

is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part '. 

shall  be  done  away. 

11  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  chiMi 
I  understood  as  a  child,  I  ^thought  as  a  child: 
but  when  I  becamea  man,  I  put  away  childkh 
things. 

12  For  ^now    we    see    through    a    glasBi 


*  ^  Cor.  ill.  13 ;  t.  7;  Phil.  iiL  12. 


light  is  lost  in  that  of  the  mid-day  sun^o  our  prescn* 
knowledge  in  the  light  of  eternity.  For  we  know  iu 
part,  we  prophesy  in  part — ^The  wisest  of  men  have 
here  but 'short,  narrow,  and  imperfect  conceptions^ 
even  of  the  things  round  about  them,  and  much 
more  of  the  deep  things  of  Ood.  And  even  the 
prophecies  which  men  deliver  from  God  are  far 
from  taking  in  the  whole  of  future  events,  or  of  that 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  which  is  treasured 
up  in  the  Scripture  revelation.  But  when  thai  wh  ich 
is  perfect  is  come — As  in  the  heavenly  state  it  shall; 
then  that  which  is  only  in  part  shaU  he  done  away 
— Both  that  poor,  low,  imperfect,  glimmering  light, 
which  is  all  the  knowledge  we  now  can  attain  toi, 
and  these  slow  and  unsatisfactory  methods  of  attain- 
ing it,  as  well  as  of  imparting  it  to  others. 

Verses  11,  VL  When  I  was  a  child,  &c.— The 
difference  between  our  present  and  future  concep- 
tions of  spiritual  things  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
knowledge  of  a  child  compared  to  that  of  a  man. 
For  in  our  present  state,  we  are  mere  uifants  in 
knowledge,  in  comparison  of  what  we  shall  be  here* 
after.  /  spake  as  a  c*iW*-Would  naturally  do, 
words  hardly  intelligible,  and  oflen  unmeaning ;  i 
understood — Or  was  affected,  as  efpovw  mnyht  ren- 
dered 'yasa  child— Thai  is,  thrown  Into  transports  of 
joy  or  grief  on  trifling  occasions,  which  manly  rea- 
son soon  taught  me  to  despise.  /  thought — EXo/i- 
Co/<J7P,  I  reasoned;  as  a  ehildr-In  a  weak,  mconclu- 
sive,  and  sometimes  ridiculous  manner.  Bitt  when 
J  became  a  man — My  faculties  being  ripened ;  I  put 
away  childish  things— Oi  my  own  accord,  winingly, 
without  trouble;  and  entertained  sentiments,  and 
engaged  in  pursuits,  correspondent  to  such  advance- 
ments  of  age  and  reason.  Sudl  shall  be  the  im- 
provements of  the  heavenly  state,  m  comparison 
with  those  which  the  most  eminent  Christians  can 
attain  on  earth.  For  now  we  *ec— Even  the  things 
that  surround  us ;  through  a  glass— The  expression, 
Si*  eaoirrpti,  thus  rendered.  Dr.  Pearce  thinks,  "  signi- 
fies any  of  those  transparent  substances  which  the 
ancients  used  in  their  windows,  such  as  thin  plates 
of  horn,  transparent  stone,  and  the  like,  through 
which  they  saw  the  objects  without  obscurely.  But 
others  are  of  opinion  that  the  word  denotes  a  brazen 
mirror,  like  those  of  which  Moses  made  the  laver, 
Exod.  xxxviii.  8;  and  that  the  apostle's  meaning  is, 
that  we  see  things  as  it  were  by  images  reflected 
from  a  mirror.  But  this  does  not  accord  with  seeing 
things  obscurely.  Darkty—Ev  aiviyfiari,  literally, 
in  an  enigma,  or  riddle.    A  Hddle  being  a  discourse 

b 


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t%arii^,  or  tove^  txetedt  M 


CHAPTER  Xni; 


the  other  Christum  gracm. 


A.M.4063.  *darkly;    but  then    'fece  to  fece: 

1^  now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then  shall 

I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known. 


*Gr.  in  a  riddle. 


in  which  one  thing  is  pat  for  another,  which  is  in 
some  respects  like  it,  we  are  said  to  see  things  at 
present  in  a  riddle,  because  in  the  revelations  of  God, 
inrisible  things  are  represented  by  vbible,  and  spi- 
ritual things  by  natural,  and  eternal  things  by  such 
•8  aiiB  temporal.'^  Bui  ^an— We  shall  see,  not  a 
fsdnt  reflection,  or  an  obscure  resemblance,  but  the 
objects  themselves,  in  a  clear  and  distinct  manner; 
face  to /ace-^A3  men  see  each  other,  when  they 
behold  each  the  others  face.  Now  I  know  in  part — 
Even  when  God. himself  reveals  things  to  me,  a 
great  part  of  them  is  still  kept  under  the  veil;  but 
then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known — In  a 
clear.  Ml,  comprehensive  manner;  in  some  mea- 
sure like  God,  who  penetrates  the  centre  of  every 
object,  and  sees  at  one  glance  through  my  soul  and 
all  things.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Macknight 
here,  '^  that  the  darkness  in  which  things  at  present 
are  involved,  is  in  some  respects  necessary ;  for  as 
in  childhood  our  knowledge  and  conception  of  things 
are  wisely  made  imperfect,  that  we  may  the  more 
easily  submit  to  the  exercises  and  discipline  which 
are  proper  to  our  childish  state ;  so  in  the  present 
life,  which  in  relation  to  the  whole  of  our  existence 
may  be  called  childhood,  our  knowledge  of  invisible 
things  Is  appointed  to  be  imperfect,  that  we  may 
employ  ourselves  with  pleasure  in  the  occupations 
of  the  present  life.  But  When  the  seaison  of  child- 
hood is  over,  and  the  grand  scenes  of  the  heavenly 
world  open  upon  us,  we  shall  no  more  see  spiritual 
things  darkly  as  in  a  riddle,  but  we  shall  see  them 
clearly,  and  shall  fully  know  even  as  we  ourselves 
are  fully  known  of  superior  beings,  or  of  our  most 
familiar  friends.  In  short,  we  shall  leave  off  all 
those  imperfect  methods  of  acquiring  knowledge 
which  we  made  use  of  on  earth.*^ 

Verse  13.  And  now — In  the  present  world ;  abi- 
delh — In  the  hearts  of  holy  persons,  and  influencing 
their  lives,  even  all  their  tempers,  words,  and  works ; 
failhy  hope^  love^  these  three^The  principal  and  radi- 
cal saving  graces,  of  most  frequent  use  in  the  Chris- 
tian life,  and  productive  of  all  the  others.  1st,  Fat/A, 
whereby  we  receive  as  infallibly  true,  aod  bifinitely 
important,  the  testimony  of  Qod,  contained  in  his 
word  concerning  things  past,  present,  and  to  come ; 
especially  all  the  truths  of  his  holy  gospel;  where- 
by being  penitent,  and  believing  on  Jesus  with  our 
heart  unto  righteousness,  we  are  persuaded  of  God's 
love  to  us  in  Christ,  rely  on  his  promises,  and  stand 
in  awe  of  his  threatenings ;  /ai/A,  eXeyxog  »  SXewo- 
fievup^  the  evidence,  conviction,  or  persuasion  of 
things  not  seen;  eXirt^ofsevuv  vKo^aaic,  the  conjidenccy 
namely,  of  receiving,  (so  the  latter  word  is  rendered 
Heb.  iii*  14,)  or  the  anticipation,  of  things  hoped 
for;  giving  them  a  present  suMslence^  as  the  word 
also  signifies,  in  the  heart.  '  2d,  Hope^  namely,  of 
eternal  life^  Tit.  i.  2 ;  of  an  incorruptible  inheritance, 
1  Pet  L  3;  an  exceeding  great  and  eternal  weight 
b 


X3  And  now  abideth  &ith,  hope,  A.  H.  4063. 
charity,  these  three  ^  but  the  greatest    ^^'^' 
of  these  t^  charity. 


iMattzriiLie;   lJolmui.2. 


of  glory,  2  Cor.  iv.  17  v  hope,  founded  on  our  being 
heirs  of  these  blessings,  in  consequence  of  our  being 
children  of  God  by  adoption  and  regeneration,  John 
i.  12, 13;  Rom.  viii,  17:  hope,  productive  of  grati- 
tude, joy,  patience,  purity,  and  all  good  works:  see 
1  Pet  i.  3;  Rom.  v.  2;  1  Thess.  i.  3;  1  John  iii.  S; 
1  Coi^  XV.  68.  3d,  Love,  namely,  to  God  and  roan, 
described  in  this  chapter.  It  is  justly  observed  by 
Dr.  Macknight  here,  that  "the  dause,  noto  abideth, 
&c.,  implies,  that  the  graces  spoken  of  are  not  al- 
ways to  abide ;  at  least  the  gracesof  faith  and  hope." 
For  faith,  by  which  tce^  walk,  that  is,  are  directed 
and  governed,  while  we  are  at  home  in  the  body  and 
absent  from  the  Lord,  is  (2  Ccht.  t.  7)  opposed  to 
sight,  by  which  we  shall  waUt,  when,  being  present 
with  him^  we  shall  see  hdm  as  he  is;  (Matt  v.  8; 
1  John  iii.  2;)  and  as  it  is  a  confdence,  or  persua- 
sion, o/" receiving  thingshopedfor,  when  those  things 
are  actually  seen  and  received,  it  paust  cease  of  course. 
Bhpe,  likewise,  that  is  seen,  as  the  apostle  observes, 
or  the  hope  of  blessings  already  possessed,  is  not 
hope:  therefore,  when  the  eternal  life,  the  heavenly 
inheritance,  &c.,  which  were  the  objects  of  our  hope, 
(the  true  and  only  Christian  hope,)  are  enjoyed  by 
us,  the  hopp  we  entertained  of  them  can.  have  place 
in  us  no  more,  its  object  being  attained.  It  is,  how- 
ever, far  otherwise  with  love.  The  objects  x)f  this 
grace  exist  in  the  greatest  perfection  in  heaven,  and 
will  exist  there  to  all  eternity,  in  a  degree  of  fervour 
and  purity  of  which  we  can  now  form  no  adequate 
idea. 

"Thus  constant ybitft  and  holy  hope  shall  die, 
One  lost  in  certainty, jukI  one  in  joy: 
While  thou,  more  happy  power,  fair  charily, 
Triumphant  sister,  greatest  of  ttra  three, 
Thy  office  and  thy  nature  still  the  same. 
Lasting  thy  lamp,  and  unconsumed  thy  flame, 
Shalt  still  survive ; 

Shalt  stand  before  the  host  of  heaven  confess'd, 
For  ever  blessing,  and  for  ever  blest."--PMOB. 

T%e  greatest  of  these,  Uierefore,  is  tore— The  grea^ 
est,  because  the  most  durable,  and  also  for  divers 
other  reasons:  as,  1st,  Faith  and  hope  are  graces 
chiefly  suited  to  our  fkllen  state,  and  intended  to 
raise  us  from  our  fall :  love  was  in  man  in  his  state 
of  innocence  and  perfection,  and  was  then  his  chief 
excellence,  as  it  now  is,  and  ever  has  been,  the  chief 
excellence  of  angels.  2d,  Paith  and  hope  are  only 
means  of  salvation:  love  is  the  end  to  which  these 
means  are  intended  to  bring  us.  3d,  Faith  and  hope 
may  be  termed  selfish  graces ;  particularly  the  latter 
is  such,  having  our  own  interest  in  view:  love  is 
generous,  disinterested,  noble,  and  carries  us  out  be- 
yond ourselves.  4th,  Faith  and  hope  are  human: 
love  is  divine ;  it  exists,  always  has  existed,  and  ever 
will  exist,  in  God  himself,  in  whom  the  former  graces 
can  have  no  place,  and  is  ^n  him  his  highest  glory. 
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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


and  the  gift  ofpn^mfk^. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Tk$  Ckrithans  at  Cortnik  havmg  erred  in  their  opinion  of  the  compttnHife  excdUnu  of  epirituai  gifts]  Mid  hamng  hem 
guilty  of  great  irregularitiee  in  the  exercise  of  these  giftSf  the  apostle  in  this  chapter  gives  them  a  variety  of  Oredioms 
and  canUions  on  these  subjects.  {!,)  He  recommends  their  seeking  after  such  spiritual  gifts  as  were  most  calculated  to 
edify  others,  particularly  that  of  prophecy^  1-^.  (3,)  He  illustrates  the  unprofitableness  of  bardy  speaking  tn  wUaunvn 
tongues  in  the  public  worship  of  Oodj  by  several  similitudes^  6-13.  (3,)  He  exhorts  them  to  adopt  and  pursue  such  an 
inteUigibte  and  irutructiwe  mode  of  public  worship  as  might  profit  strangers^  as  well  as  themselves,  13-30.  (4,)  He  shama 
the  proper  use  of  the  gift  of  tongues^  and  the  greater  usefulness  of  prophesying,  31-25.  (5,)  He  reproves  and  endeavours 
to  regulate  the  disorders  which  had  arisen  in  their  religious  assemblies  from  men's  vain  ostentation  of  their  gifts,  36-33  ; 
and  women  speaking  in  the  church,  34-40. 


A.M. 4063.  T70LL0W  after  chanty,  and  •de- 

9ire  spiritual  gtfts,  *but  rather 

that  ye  may  prophesy. 

2  For  he  that  ^  speaketh  m  an  unknown 
tongue,  speaketh  not  unto  men,  but  unto  God : 
for  no  man  ^  understandeth  him :  howbeit  in 
the  spirit  he  speaketh  mysteries. 

3  But  he  that  prophesieth,  speaketh  unto 
men  to  edification,  and  exhortation,  and  com- 
fort 


»CKap.  xii.  31. »» Num.  xi.  25,  S 


NOTES  ONtlHAPTER  iCIV. 
Verses  1-4.  Follow  after  love — Namely,  thai  love, 
the  nature,  necessity,  and  excellence  of  which  are 
shown  qX  large  in  the  preceding  chapter;  pursue 
this,  which  far  exceeds  all  extraordinary  gifts,  with 
zeal,  vigour,  courage,  patience,  otherwise  you  will 
neither  attain  nor  keep  it.  And— In  their  place,  as 
subservient  to  this;  desire  spiritual  gifts — With 
moderation,  and  in  submission  to  the  divine  will ; 
hut  rather,  or  especially j  that  ye  may  prophecy — 
The  word  here  does  ngt  appear  to  mean  foretelling 
things  to  come,  but  rather  opening  and  applying  the 
Scriptures,  and  discoursing  on  divine  things  in  an 
edifying  manner.  /^  he  that  speaketh  in  a  tongjie 
— Unknown  to  the  auditory,  to  which  he  addresses 
himself;  speaketh — In  effect;  not  unto  men,  but  unto 
G^o(i— Who  alone  understands  him.  Howbeit,  or 
although,  in  or  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit,  he 
sp6aketh  mysteries — Such  things  as  are  full  of  di- 
vine and  hidden  wisdom.  But  he  that  prophesieth 
— That  is,  who  discourses  of  divine  things,  in  a  lan- 
guage understood  by  the  hearers ;  speaketh  to  edift- 
cation — To  the  building  up  of  believers  in  faith  and 
holiness ;  and  exhortation— To  excite  them  to  zeal 
and  diligence ;  and  coinfort — Support  and  consola- 
tion under  their  trials  and  troubles.  He  fh  at  speaketh 
in  an  unknown  tongue  edifieth  himself  only— On 
the  most  favourable  supposition.  The  apostle  speaks 
thus,  becayse  a  person  who  spoke  in  an  unknown 
tongue  might  possibly,  while  he  spoke,  find  his  own 
good  affections  awakened  by  the  truths  he  delivered 
with  fervency,  and  he  might  find  his  faith  in  Chris- 
tianity established  by  the  consciousness  he  had  of  a 
miraculous  power  working  in  him.  From  this  it  is 
plain  that  the  inspired  person,  who  uttered,  in  an 
unknown  language,  a  revelation  made  to  himself,  j 
roust  have  understood  it,  otherwise  he  could  not  in- 1 
199 


4  He  that  speaketh  in  an  ufiknown  a.  v.  4068. 

tongue  edifieth  himself;  but  he  that '. — 1 

prophesieth  edifieth  the  church. 

5  I  would  that  ye  all  epake  with  tongues, 
but  rather  that  ye  pn^heoed:  for  greatw  i* 
he  that  prophesieth  than  he  that  speaketh 
with  tongues,  except  he  interpret,  that  the 
church  may  receive  edifying. 

6  Now,  brethren,  if  I  come  unto  you  speak- 
ing with  tongues,  what  shall  I  profit  you,  ex- 


e  Acts  ii.  4 ;  x.  46. ^  Or,  heareth.   Acts  xxii.  9. 


crease  his  own  knowledge  and  faith  by  speaking  it. 
But  he  that  prophesieth — While  he  edifies  himself, 
edifieth  the  church  also,  the  whole  congregation. 

Verse  6.  /  would  thai  ye  all  spake  with  tongues — 
In  as  great  a  variety  as  God  hath  imparted  that  gilt 
to  any  man  living ;  but  rather  that  ye  prophesied — 
For  when  we  consider  the  different  effects  and  tend- 
encies of  these  different  gifts,  we  must  acknowledge 
that,  with  respect  to  the  prospects  of  usefulness  by 
which  these  things  are  to  he  estimated,  greater  is 
he  that  prophesieth  than  he  that  speaketh  with 
tongues— Which  those  who  hear  him  cannot  under- 
stand ;  except  he  interpret — Or  rather,  except  some 
one  interpret;  for  it  appears  from  verse  28,  that 
what  was  spoken  in  an  unknown  tongue  was  usually 
interpreted  by  anotlier  person,  and  not  by  the  per- 
son who  spoke  it,  the  interpretation  of  tongues  being^ 
in  the  first  church,  a  distinct  gift  See  on  chap.  xU. 
10.  l^hat  the  church  may  receive  edift^ing— Which 
it  might,  it  seems,  equally  receive  if  the  things  spoken 
had  been  delivered  only  in  a  language  understood 
by  the  auditory,  aud  not  first  in  an  unknown  tongue. 
"  How  happily  does  the  apostle  here  teach  vm 
to  estimate  the  vdue  of  gifts  and  talents,  not  by  their 
brilliancy^  but  usefulness.  Speaking  with  tongues 
was  indeed  very  serviceable  for  spreading  the  gos- 
pel abroad ;  but  for  those  who  remained  at  home,  it 
was  much  more  desirable  to  be  able  to  discourse 
well  on  uscftil  subjects  in  their  own  language,  which 
might  serve  more  for  the  improvement  of  the  soci- 
ety they  belonged  to,  and  the  conviction  of  such  of 
their  unbelieving  neighbours  as  might,  out  of  curi- 
osity, happen  to  step  into  the  assemblies." — Dod- 
dridge. 

Verse  6.  Now,  breihren^-AM  if  he  had  said,  I  won- 
der whether  that  which  you  so  much  admire  in  others 
would  please  you  in  me:  if  I  come  urUo  you^speak^ 


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CHAPTEB  XIV«         unhmm  itmgu^  in  pubtie  wr^. 


A.  M.  4063.  cept  I  shall  speak  to  you  eitber  by 

! — L  *  revelation,  or  by  kaowledge,  or  by 

fKOfdiesyiiig,  or  by  doctrine  ? 

7  And  even  things  without  life  giving  sound, 
whether  pipe-  or  harp,  except  they  give  .a  dior 
tinction  in  the  ^sounds,  how  shall  it  be  known 
what  is  i»ped  or  harped? 

8  For  if  the  trumpet^  give  an  uncertain 
sound,  who  shall  prepare  himsdOT  to  the 
baitle? 

9  So  likewise  ye,  exc^  ye  utter  I^  the 
tongue  words  ^easy  to  be  understood,  how 
shall  it  be  known  what  is  spoken?  for  ye 
shall  speak  into  the  air. 


<  Fene  2a- 


»0r,  <« 


ing  with  tonfue9 — Supposing  &e  next  time  I  make 
you  a  visit  at. Corinth,  I  should  address  you  in  a  va 
riety  of  languages  wkich  you  do  not  understand ; 
tohat  shcdl  I  profit  you — Who  are  supposed  not  to 
understand  me;  except  I  speak  to  you— In  a  lan- 
guage with  which  you  are  acquainted;  either  by 
revelation — Of  some  gospel  mystery;  or  by  know- 
Zec^^6— Explaining  the  ancient  types  and  prophecies ; 
or  by  prophesying— Foreielhng  some  future  event; 
or  by  doctrine — For  the  regulation  of  your  tempers 
and  Hves.  Perhaps  this  may  be  the  sense  of  these 
obscure  expressions. 

Verses  T-9.  And  eren^— Greek,  cytwc,  in  like  man- 
ner^ (the  word,^  it  seems,  being  here  used  for  ofiotctc, 
as  it  sometimes  b  by  the  poets,  see  Beza  and  Mac- 
knight,)  things  xoiihout  life — Inanimate  things; 
vhether  pipe  or  harp — Or  any  other  instrument  of 
music;  except  they  give  a  distinction — Greek,  ^to- 
foA^v  ^oyyoic,  a  difference  to  the  notes.  "  Among 
musicians,  the  former  word  signifies  the  measured 
dist«)ce  between  sounds,  according  to  certain 
proportions,  from  which  the  melody  of  a  tune  re- 
sults.'^ And  Raphelius  has  shown  that  the  latter 
word,  as  distinguished  from  ^y^,  voice^  signifies  a 
musical  sound,  a  note  in  music  Haw  shall  it  be 
known  what  is  piped  or  harped— Wh^i  music  can 
be  made,  or  what  end  answered?  For—Oty  more- 
over; in  war,  ty^Instead  of  sounding  those  notes 
whose  meaning  is  understood  by  the  soldiers,  tJie 
trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound^  who  shaU  prepare 
himself  to  the  &at<Ze~HoW' could  soldiers  know  when 
to  advance  or  when  to  retreat,  unless  the  trumpet 
sounds  were  adjusted,  and  constantly  adhered  to? 
8o  likewise— In  your  religious  assemblies ;  except  ye 
utter  words  easy  to  be  t«n(2^«toM^Significant  words, 
to  which  the  ears  of  your  auditory  are  accustomed ; 
how  shall  it  be  known  what  is  spoken— WhBX  is  in- 
tended to  be  signified  by  your  expressions?  For  ye 
^all  speak  into  the  air— {A  proverbial  expression,) 
you  will  utterly  lose  your  labour. 

Verses  10-12.  There  are — No  doubt;  so  many 
kinds  of  voices — Or  languages;  in  ihe  world— As 
ye  speak ;  and  none  of  them  is  without  signification 
—To  those  that  are  acquainted  with  them.    There- 

VouH.  (  13  ) 


10  There  are,  it  may  be^  so  many  a.  m.  4063. 
kinds  of  voices  in  the  world,  andnone    ^^'^* 
of  them  15  without  s^poification. 

11  Therefore,  if  I  know  not  the  meaning  of 
the  voice,  I  shall  be  unto  him  that  qieaketh 
a  barbarian,'  and  he  that  qieaketh  ^iaU  he  a 
barbarian  unto  me. 

12  Even  so  ye,  ferasmudi.as  ye  are  aealous 
*  of  spiritual  gifts^  seek  that  ye  may  excel  to 
the  edifying  of  the  church.    • 

13  Wherefore,  let  him  that  q>ealceth  in  an 
unicnoum  tongue,  pray  that  he  may  interpret 

14  For  if  I  pmy  In  an  unknown  tongu6,  my  spi* 
rit  prayetb,  but  my  understanding  is  unfruitful. 


*  Or.  «g7M^c«nl.— *  Or.  of  tpiriu. 


fore — ^Nevertheless ;  if  I  know  not  the  meaning  of 
the  voice— The  import  of  the  particular  language 
whieh  is  used  in  my  bearing;  /  shall  be  unto  him 
that  speaketh  a  barbarian — ^What  I  say  will  appear 
unintelligible  jargon ;  and  he  a  barbarian  unto  me 
— We  shall  be  incapi^le  of  holding  any  conversation 
with  each>other.  "  The  Greeks,  after  the  custom  of 
the  Egyptians,  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  lib.  IL, 
called  all  those  barbarians  who  did  not  speak  their 
language.  In  process  of  time,  however,  the  Romans, 
havmg  subdued  the  Oreeks,  delivered  themselves 
by  force  of  arms  from  that  opprobrious  appellation, 
and  joined  the  Greeks  in  calling  all  barbanans  who 
did  not  speak  either  the  Greek  or  the  Latin  language. 
Afterward,  the  word  5ar&arum  signified  any  one 
who  spake  a  language  which  another  did  not  under- 
stand. Thus  the  Scythian  philosopher,  Anacharsis, 
said,  that  among  the  Athenians,  ^e  Scythians  were 
barbarians;  and  among  the  Scythians,  the  Atheni- 
ans were  barbarians.  This  is  the  sense  of  the  word 
barbarian  in  this  passage."  Even  po,  &c.— Where- 
fore ye  also,  that  ye  may  not  be  barbarians  to  each 
other ;  forasmuch  as  ye  are  zealous  of  spiritual 
gifis— And  are  ready  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the 
exercise  of  them,  seek  that  ye  may  excel  to  the  edi- 
fying oftJie  church — And  not  merely  for  your  own 
honour.  Strive  for  the  greatest  share  of  those  gifts 
whet-eby  you  may  be  usefid  to  your  feUow-Chris- 
tians. 

Verses  13, 14.  Wherefore  let  him^that  speaketh 
in  a  ton^e— Unknown  to  the  congregation  to  which 
he  would  address  himself;  pray  that  he  may  inter- 
pret-^T\i2X  God  would  give  him  the  ^ft  also  of  ex- 
pounding his  discourse,  in  the  common  language  of 
the  place,  a  gift  this  distinct  from  the  other.  For 
if  I  pray ^  &c. — The  apostle,  as  he  did  at  verse  6, 
transfers  it  to  himself;  in  an  unknown  tongue; 
without  making  use  of  any  explication ;  my  spirit 
indeed  prayeth— By  the  influence  of  the  Sphrit  of 
(Jod,  I  understand  the  words  myself;  but  my  under- 
standing is  ttn/^tf/uZ— Namely , to  others ;  the  know- 
ledge I  have  is  of  no  benefit  to  them ;  and  I  perform 
an  action  void  of  that  prudence  and  good  sense 
which  ought  always  to  govern  persons  in  their  ad* 
198  b 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


fnode  of  itorMp  recommefuUL 


A.M.  4063.    15  What  is  it  then?  I  will  pray  with 
^^*^'    the  spirit,  an4  I  will  pray  with  the 
understanding  also :  *  I  will  sing  with  thespirit, 
and  I  will  sing  ^  with  the  understanding  also. 

16  Else,  when  thou  shalt  bless  with  the  sfi- 
rit,  how  shall  he  that  occupieth  the  room  of 
the  unlearned  say  Amen  «at  thy  giving  of 
thanks,  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what 
thou  sayest? 

17  For  thou  veifly  givest  thanks  well,  but  the 
oth^  is  not  edified. 


•Eph.  V.  19;  Col.   iii.  16.^ fPsa.  advii.  7. tChap 

24. *»  Pia.  cxxxi.  2 ;  Matt  xl  25 ;  xriii.  3 ;  xix.  14 ;  R 

xrL  19;  Ch^  iii.  1 ;  Eph.  iv.  14,;  Heb.  v.  12, 13. 


dressea  to  God,  and  act  so  childish  and  foolish  a  part 
that  the  I'eason  of  a  man  may  seem  at  that  time  to 
have  deserted  me.  "This,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge, 
"I  think  a  more  natural  interpretation  than  that 
which  supposes  the  apostle  to  suggest  a  thought 
which  the  Papbts  urge  to  palliate  the  absurdity  of 
offering  prayers  in  an  unknown  tongue,  namely, 
*  there  may  be  some  general  good  affections  working 
where  the  person  praying  does  not  particularly  un 
derstand  what  he  says.'  But  this  would  make  it 
almost  impossible  to  conceive  how  the  gift  of  tongues 
could  be  abused,  if  the  per^n  exercising  it  was 
under  such  an  extraordinary  impulse  of  the  Spirit, 
as  to  utter  sensiUe  words  which  he  did  not  himself 
understand ;  in  which  case  a  man  must  be,  in  the 
most  extraordinary  sense-that  can  be  conceived,  the 
mere  organ  of  the  Holy  Ghost  himself." 

Verses  15-17.  What  is  it  i/icn?— What  is  my 
duty  in  these  circumstances?  What  must  i  do 
when  the  Spirit  moves  pie  to  pray  in  the  church 
in  an  unknown  tongue?  Why  this:  /  will  pray 
with  the  Spirit — Under  his  influence,  uttering  the 
words  which  he  suggests;  and  I  will  pray  wHh  the 
innderstanding  alao—So  that  my  meaning,  being 
interpreted  into  the  common  language,  may  be  un- 
derstood by  others,  verse  19.  /  wiU  sing  with  ike 
inspiration  of  the  ^rit^And  with  my  meaning  in- 
tei^reted  also.  I  will  use  my  understanding  as  well 
es  thepower  of  the  Spirit.  I  will  not  act  so  foolislily 
as  to  utter  In  a  congregation  what  can  edify  none 
but  myself,  and  leave  it  uninterpreted.  EUcy  when 
thou  shaU  hleas  God  with  the  inspiration  of  the 
Spirit  in  an  unknown  language,  ?iow  shall  he  that 
occupieth  the  room — That  filleth  the  place ;  of  the 
un/eomed— That  is,  any  private  hearer ;  say  amen 
at  thy  giving  of  thanks— Assent  to  and  confirm  thy 
words ;  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  say- 
e#/— Can  form  no  idea  of  thy  meaning.  The  word 
litoTiKy  here  rendered  unlearned,  is  used  by  Jose- 
pkus,  (Antiq^  iiL  c.  9,)  to  denote  a  private  person,  as 
distinguished  from,  the  priests.  In  like  manner  it 
here  denotes  those  of  the  assembly  who  had  not  the 
gift  of  languages,  and  who  were  not  teachers,  but 
hearers  only.  The  apostle's  question,  How  shall  he 
say  Amen?  implies  that  it  was  the  custom  in  the 
Christian  church  from  the  beginning,  for  all  the 
194 


18  I  thank  my  God,  I  speak  with  a.  m.  hosk 
tongues  more  than  ye  all:  li^ 

19  Yet  in  the  church  I  had  rather  «peak 
five  words  with  my  understanding,  that  bp  my 
voice  I  might  teach  <ythers  also,  than  ten  thou- 
sand words  in  an  unknoton  tongue. 

20  Brethren,  ^  be  not  cfaSdren  in  imdeistand* 
ing :  howbeit,  in  maUcfe  *  be  ye  children,  but  in 
understanding  be  ^  men. 

21  ^  In  the  law  it  is  *  written,  With  men  of 
other  tongues  and  other  lips  will  I  speak  unto 


12. 


»Matt  xviii.  3j    1  Pet,  iL  2.— -•Or.  perftetj  m,  of  a  rnts 
«,   Chapter  ii.  6. *  John  x.  34. 'Isaiah  xrviii.  11, 


people,  in  imitation  of  the  ancient  Worship,  to  signify 
their  assent  to  the  public  prayers  by  saying  amen^ 
at  the  conclusion  of  them.  Of  this  custom  in  the 
Jewish  Church  we  have  mauy  examples.  See  Dent. 
xxvii.  15,  &c. ;  Neh.  Tiii.  6;  Esd.  ix.  47.  For  thou 
vevily  givest  thanks  tctf//— We  will  grant  that  there 
is  nothing  improper  either  in  thy  sentiments  or  ex- 
pressions, if  they  were  understood.  But  the  other 
is  not  edified— la  order  to  which  it  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary that  he  should  xmderstand  what  is  spoken. 

Verses  18, 19.  /  thank  my  Ood,  Ac— As  if  he  had 
said,  I  do  not  speak  thus  of  foreign  languages  be- 
cause I  myself  am  deficient  in  them,  for  I  must  say, 
to  the  glory  of  that  Being  from  whom  all  my  gifts 
and  talents  are  derived,  I  speak  with  tongues  more 
than  you  o^/— More  than  the  whole  society'^ taken 
together.  "The  ^>ostle  had  this  great  variety  of 
languages  given  him  by  inspiration,  that  he  might 
be  able  immediately  to  preach  (he  gospel  to  all  na- 
tions, without  spending  time  in  learning  their  lan- 
guages. But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  know- 
ledge of  so  many  languages  miraculously  communi- 
cated, was  a  knowledge  for  common  use,  such  as 
enabled  the  apostle  to  deliver  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel  clearly  and  property ;  and  not  such  a  know- 
ledge of  these  languages  as  prevented  him  in  speak- 
ing and  writing  from  mixing  foreign  idioms  with 
them,  especially  the  idioms  of  his  mother  tongue. 
An  attention  to  such  trifles  was  below  the  grandeur 
and  importance  of  the  work  in  which  the  apostle 
was  engaged,  and  tended  to  no  solid  use;  these 
foreign  idioms  being  often  more  expressive  and  em- 
phatical  than  the  correspondent  classical  phrases.^^ 
— Macknigfat.  Yet  in  the  church,  &c.— Yet  so  far 
am  I  from  being  vain  of  this  gift,  that  in  the  church 
I  had  rather  speak  were  it  oniy  Jive  plain  words 
with  my  understanding— 'In  a  rational  manner,  so  as 
not  only  to  understand  myself,  but  to  be  understood 
by  others ;  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown 
tongue— Rowemr  sublime  and  elegant  that  discourse 
might  be:  yea,  I  had  l*ather  be  entirely  silent  in  an 
assembly,  than  take  up  their  time,  and  prostitute  the 
extraordinary  gifts  of  God  to  such  a  vain  and  fool- 
ish purpose. 

Verse  20.    Brethren,  be  not  children  in  under- 
standing^Bj  exercinng  the  gift  of  tongues  in  Ui« 
(  13*  )  b 


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CHAPTBBXIV. 


vpanunbeHevers. 


A.  If .  4068.  tlu8  people ;  and  yet  fdr  all  that  they 


A.D.  ». 


will  not  hear  me,  saidi  the  Lc^d. 


22  Wherefore  tongues  are  for  a  8ign,^^not  to 
them  that  believe,  but  to  them'  that  'believe 
not :  bat  propheqring  serveth  not  for  them  that 
believe  not,  but  for  them  which  believe. 


iMarkx7i.l7, 


manner  you  do,  preferring  the  things  which  make  a 
fine  show  and  gain  apphrase,  above  things  more 
useful  and  sc^d.  This  is  an  admirable  stroke  of 
true  oratory,  and  was  a  severe  reproof  to  the 
Corinthians,  who  piqued  themselves  on-  their  wis- 
dom, to  represent  Uieir  speaking  unknown  lan- 
guages, and  contending  about  precedency,  6s  a 
childishness  which  men  of  sense  would  be  ashamed 
of.  Bowbeii  in  maKce — Or  wickedness  rather,  as 
Kwcta  here  signifies ;  be  ye  children — As  much  as  pos- 
sible Fike  infants ;  have  all  the  gentleness,  sweetness, 
and  innocency  of  their  tender  age;  but  in  under- 
standing be  menr^eJ^ioi^  full-grown  men.  Conduct 
yourselves  with  the  good  sense  and  prudence  of 
such,  knowing  religion  was  not  designed  to  destroy 
any  of  our  natural  faculties,  but  to  exalt  and  im- 
prove them,  our  reason  in  particular.  Doddridge 
makes  the  following  remark  on  this  part  of  the 
apostle's  epistle  to  the  Corinthians :  "  Had  the  most 
zealous  Protestiant  divine  endeavoured  to  expose  the 
absurdity  of  praying  and  praising  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  as  practised  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  it  is 
difficult  to  imagine  what  he  could  have  written  more 
fun  to  the  purpose  than  the  apostle  hath  done  here." 
He  adds,  for  the  instruction  of  those  who  preach  the 
gospel,  "  that  a  height  of  composition,  an  abstruse- 
ness  of  thought,  and  an  obscurity  6f  phrase,  which 
common  Christians  cannot  understand,  is  really  a 
speaking  in  an  unknown  tongue,  though  the  lan- 
guage used  be  the  language  of  the  country." 

Verse  21.  In  the  law  it  is  i©ri«enr-The  law  here 
signifies  the  whole  Jewish  Scriptures.  The  passage 
quoted  is  taken  from  Isa.  xxviii.  11,  (where  see  the 
note.)  With  stammering  lips  and  another  tongue 
will  he  speak  to  this  people.  And  so  he  did:  he 
spake  terribly  to  them  by  the  Babylonians,  (whose 
language,  strange  and  unintelligible  to  the  Jews, 
is  here  referred  to,)  when  they  had  set  at  naught 
what  he  had  spoken  by  the  prophets,  who  used  their 
own  language.  Some  critics  have  observed,  tha^ 
the  Hebrew  words  in  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  ought 
to  be  translated,  in  labiis  irrisionis^  with  mocking 
lips;  in  which  sense  the  LXX.  understood  the 
phrase,  rendering  it,  dia  ^T^ofuiv  xtO^*^\  But  that 
translation  makes  no  alteration  in  the  meaning ;  for 
they  who  speak  to  others  in  an  unknown  language, 
seem  to  the  persons  to  whom  they  speak,  to  stammer 
and  to  mock  them.  The  same  thing  is  predicted, 
Deut.  xxviii.  40,  ahd  Jei^.  v.  16;  where  see  the  notes. 
According  to  Dlodati  the  meaning  is,  "  Because  they 
would  not  attend  to  plain  messages,  God  would 
speak  to  them  by  such  as  they  could  uot  under- 
gtand;"  and  which  they  would  hate  to  hear:  and 
then  the  apostle's  argument  will  be,  ^  Since  God 
b 


23  If  therefore  the  whole  church  a.  m.  4063. 
be  cdme  together  into  one  place,  and    ^'     ^' 
all  speak  with  tongues,  and  there  c(»ne  in  those 
that  are  unlearned,  or  unbelievers,  "wiQ  they 
not  sliy  that  ye  are  mad  ? 

24  But  if  all  prophesy,  and  there  come  in 


BAeUii.  13. 


threatens  this  as  a  curse,  do  not  voluntarily  bring  it 
upon  the  church,  merely  to  make  ostentation  of 
your  own  gifts."  Isaiah's  words,  however,  may  be 
considered  as  an  intimation  of  the  purpose  Ctod  had 
of  sending  one  last  message  to  them  by  his  servants, 
endued  with  the  gift  of  tongues.  This,  according  to 
Macknight,  Is  the  primary  meaning  of  the  prophet's 
words.  "Isaiah  evidently  forete^"  says  he,  "the 
methods  which  God,  in  future  times,  would  use  for 
converting  the  unbelieving  Jews ;  and  among  others, 
that  he  would  speak  to  them  in  foreign  languages, 
that  is,  in  the  languages  of  the  nations  among  whom 
they  were  dispersed.  The  passage,  therefore,  is  a 
prediction  of  the  gift  of  speaking  foreign  latiguages, 
to  be  bestowed  on  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel.'* 
The  prophecy  thus  understood  had  its  accomplish- 
ment at  the  day  of  pentecost.  Yet  for  all  that — 
Though  I  shall  do  this  extraordinary  thing  to 
awaken,  convince,  and  alarm  them;  they' will  not 
hear  wc— They  will  not  hearken  and  obey  me. 
This  the  Lord  foresaw,  and  foretold  repeatedly  by 
Moses  and  the  prophets. 

Verse  22.  Wherefore — Since  this  was  formerly 
threatened  by  God  as  a  punishment,  you  should  not 
so  admire  "^or  magnify  it,  especially  since  tongues 
are  for  a  sign^  not  to  them  that  believe — Not  to  con- 
vince, edify,  or  cqinfort  the  faithful;  biU  to  them 
that  believe  not-— To  unbelievers,  to  whom  ye  speak 
in  their  own  language,  Acts  ii.  8;  namely,  to  engage 
their  attention  to  the  gospel,  and  to  convince  them 
that  what  is  delivered  is  the  truth  of  God.  But 
prophesying—Preaching  the  word,  discoursing  on 
divine  things;  serveth  not  so  much^br  them  that 
believe  not — Who  cannot  know  that  you  are  inspired 
in  prophesying,  and  have  no  proof  that  your  doc- 
trine is  true ;  but  for  them  which  believe — For  their 
confirmation  in  the  faith,  and  their  edification  in 
holiness  and  righteousness. 

Verses  23-26.  Yet  sometimes  prophecy  is  of  more 
use  even  to  unbelievers  than  speaking  with  tongues. 
F<5r  instance:  if  the  whole  church  be  come  together 
—On  some  extraordin&ry  occasion;  (it  is  probable  in 
so  large  a  city  they  ordinarily  met  in  several  places;) 
and  aU — That  are  endowed  with  such  a  gift ;  speak 
with  tongues— One  in  one  language,  and  another  in 
another ;  and  there  come  in  those  that  are  unlearned 
— Persons  ignorant  of  those  languages;  men  of  learn- 
ing might  possibly  have  understood  the  tongues  in 
which  they  spake;  or  tuibelievers — Heathen,  who 
are  strangers  to  these  dealings  of  God  with  his 
church ;  will  they  not  say  ye  are  mad— When  they 
see  the  confusion  you  make  by  speaking  languages 
which  no  one  present  understands?  "This  is  not 
contrary  to  what  is  said  verse  22,  that  the  speaking 
199 


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being  imUgMiom  of  Oeirgi^ 


A.  M.  4068.  one  that  beHeveth  not,  or  0116  unlearn- 
^^^'  cd,  he  is  convinced  of  all,  be  is  judg- 
edofaU: 

25  And  thus  are  the  secr^  of  his  heart 
made  manifest;  and  so  felling  down  on  kis 
&ce,  he  wOl  worship  God,  and  report  *  that 
God  is  in  you  of  a  truth. 

26  How  is  it  then,  brethren?  when  ye  come 
together,  every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm, ""  hath 


■Isa.  zlT.  14:  Zaok.Tiu.39 oyene6;Ok«p.  liLS^Q,  la 


in  foreign  languages  was  a  sign  to  convinee  unbe- 
lierers.  For  the  unbelievers  to  be  ooavinced  by 
that  sign,  Were  such  strangers  as  understood  the 
language  in  which  they  were  addressed;  whereas 
the  unbelievers  and  unlearned  {persons,  who  con- 
sidered the  speaking  of  foreign  languages  as  an 
effect  of  madness,  were  those  strangers  who  did  not 
understand  them."— Macknight  B%U  if  all  prophesy 
—Expound  the  word  of  Ckid,  or  discourse  by  turns 
on  divine  things;  and  there  come  in  one  that  heliev- 
eth  not^-Oae  who  did  not  before  believe;  or  one 
un/eomed— Acquainted  with  no  language  but  that 
in  which  the  disoourseff  are  delivered ;  he  is  con- 
viTtcecf— Rather,  convicted^  by  all  who  thus  speak 
hi  succession,  and  speajc  to  the  hearts  of  the  hearers ; 
he  is  judged  ofaU-^Tsvery  one  says  something  to 
which  his  conscience  bears  witness.  And  thus  are 
the  secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest — Laid  open, 
clearly  described  in  a  manner  which  to  him  is  most 
astonishing  ^d  utterly  unaccountable;  insomuch, 
that  although  he  perhaps  came  into  your  assembly 
out  of  mere  curiosity,  or  wit]i  some  ill  design,  he 
is  not  able  to  command  himself  underlhe  impres- 
sion which  the  word  of  God  thus  q;>oken  makes 
upon  him;  and  so  falling  ctotim— Under  the  power 
of  it;  on  his  face — To  the  ground;  he  will  worship 
— ^That  one  living  and  true  G^xi— Whose  people  you 
are,  and  to  whose  truth  you  thus  bear  witness ;  and 
report— Declare  to  others ;  that  God  is  among  you 
of  a  trulh—Hovf  many  mstances  of  this  kind  are  seen 
at  this  day,  in  places  where  the  true  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  faithfully  preached !  So  does  God 
still  give  point  and  efficacy  to  the  word  of  his  grace! 
Verse  36.  How  ia  it  then,  (rather,  what  a  thing  is 
it,)  brethren7''Th\8  was  another  disorder  among 
them.  When  ye  come  together-rT^or  the  purposes 
of  social  worship,  in  which  all  hearts  should  unite, 
each  of  you  is  desirous  himself  to  officiate  publicly 
in  such  a  manner  as  best  suits  his  present  inclina- 
tion, without  any  regard  to  decency  and  order. 
Every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  &c. — That  is,  at 
the  same  time,  one  begins  to  read  or  sing  a  psalm, 
another  to  inculcate  a  doctrine,  another  to  speak  in 
an  unknown  tongue,  another  to  declare  what  had 
been  revealed  to  him  in  explanation  of  some  mys- 
terv,  another  to  interpret  what  the  former  had  but 
Just  begun  to  speak :  every  one,  probably,  gathering 
a  little  company  about  him,  just  as  they  did  in  the 
schools  of  the  philosophers.  Dr.  Macknight  under- 
stands the  pii^ge  in  a  somewhat  different  sense, 
196 


a.  doctrine,  hath  a  tongue,  h^th  a  ?»-  ^jj^-gj 

vdatioojhatbanioterprelAtioa.  ^X^  — — '- 

idl  things  be  4oi^  uoto  edi^iioig. 

27  If  any  noaa  speak  man  tmknofm  toogoe, 
letiibehf  two^  or  at  ^  mqst  by  three,  and 
^Aa/ by  course;  aod  let  one  ioteipiet. 

28  Bat  if  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  hioi 
keep  silence  in  the  church;  and  let  him  qieak 
to  himad^  and  to  God. 


yCbap.idi.7;  2Cor.ziL19;  E^iT.i:^ 


paraphrasing  it  thtis:  ^'fTAo^  is  to  be  dofifl^  brethren  V 
When  ye  are  assembled^  one  of  you,  by  inspiration. 
hath  a  psalm;  another  hath  a  discourse  j  another 
hath  something  made  known  to  him  in  a  foreign 
language ;  another,  a  revdalion  of  some  future 
event;  another  haih  an  interpretation  of  what  was 
uttered  m  a  foreign  language.  In  such  eases,  let  ^M 
these  ^ifts  be  exercised  to  edification:^  Grothis 
thinks  the  several  clauses  of  this  verse  should  be 
read  mterrogatively:  Haih  each  of  you  a  psalm? 
Jiath  he  a  discourse?  The  inspired  psalma  of  which 
the  apostle  speaks,  were  not  metrical  compoations, 
but  compositions  which  were  distinguished  from 
prose  by  the  sublimity  of  the  sentiments,  and  the 
strength,  beauty,  and  aptness  of  the  expressions. 
Such  was  the  inspired  psalm  which  li«ry,  our 
Lord's  mother,  uttered,  Luke  i.  46,  and  the  inq^ured 
thanksgiving  and  prayer  in  which  the  disciples 
joined  upon  the  deliverance  of  Peter  and  John  from 
the  council,  recorded  Acts  iv.  24-30.  The  word 
6tdaxf9y  rendered  doctrine  in  our  text,  signifies  not 
only  the4hing  taught,  but  the  discourse  in  which  it 
is  taught ;  and  here,  probably,  a  discourse  for  edifi- 
cation, e]diortation,  and  consolation. 

Verses  27,  28.  If  any  man  «p6aJS^— That  is,  be 
moved  to  speak;  in  an  unknown  tongue^  let  it  be 
by  two,  or,  at  the  most,  three— Lei  not  above  two  or 
three  fifpeak  at  one  meeting;  and  thai  by  course— 
That  is,  one  after  another ;  and  let  one  interpret^ 
What  is  said,  into  the  vulgar  tongue.  It  seems,  the 
gift  of  tongues  was  an  instantaneous  knowledge  <rf 
a  tongue,  till  then  unknown,  which  he  that  received 
it  could  afterward  speak  when  he  thought  fit,  with- 
out any  new  miracle.  But  if  there  be  no  interpreter 
present,  let  him—ThA  person  speaking  in  a  foreign 
language ;  be  silent  in  the  d^urdb— Where  he  can 
do  no  manner  of  service  by  uttering  what  none  but 
himself  can  understand ;  and  let  him  speak  in  that 
tongue  to  himself  and  to  God^-Mdke  use  of  his 
gift  in  his  own  private  devotions,  if  he  find  it  profit- 
able so  to  do.  From  its  being  here  ordered  that,  if 
no  interpreter  were  present,  the  person  who  spoke 
in  a  foreign  language  must  be  silent,  Macknight 
infers  that,  even  if  tlie  inspired  person  were  able  to 
interpret  the  foreign  language  m  which  a  revelation 
was  given  to  him,  he  was  not  permitted  to  do  it; 
"because,  to  have  delivered  the  revelation  first  in 
the  foreign  language,  and  then  in  a  known  tongue, 
would  have  been  an  ostentation  of  inspiration,  of 
which  the  church  would  not  approve ;  not  to  men- 

b 


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CHAPTER  XIV, 


to  keep  silence  in  the  church. 


A:  M.  4063.    29  Let  the  prophets  speak  twa  or 
. tliree,  and  "^  let  the  other  judge. 

30  If  oHjf  thing  be  reveialed  to  another  that 
sitteth  by,  'let  the  first  hold  his  peace. 

31  For  ye  may  all  prophesy  one  by  one, 
that  all  may  learn,  and  all  may  be  comforted. 

32  And  ■  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are  sub- 
ject to  the  prophets. 

33  For  Qod  is  not  M«  author  ot  ^confii 


<  Ch^^xii.  la '  1  The«.  t.  19, 20. ■  1  John  iv.  l,- 


•Gr. 


tioa  that  it  would  have  wasted  much  time  to  no 
purpose.  Whereas,  when  one  spake  a  revelation  in 
a  foreign  language,  and  another  interpreted  what  he 
spake,  the  church  was  edified^  not  only  by  the 
things  spoken,  thus  made  known  to  them,  but  also 
by  having  an  undoubted  proof  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  person  who  spake,  given  them  in  the  inspired 
interpretation  of  what  he  spake." 

Verses  29-33.  Let  the  prophets  speak— In  succes- 
sion 3  iioo  or  three — And  not  more,  at  one  meeting; 
and  let  the  others  Judge — ^And  coinpare  one  doctrine 
with  another  for  the  further  improvement^of  all. 
Or,  th^  sense  may  be.  Let  the  others,  who  have  the 
gift  of  discerning  spirits,  dioKptveroaav,  discern  whe- 
ther they  have  spoken  by  inspiration  or  by  private 
suggestion.  If  any  thing  be  revealed  to  another — 
If  to  another,  who  sitteth  by,  hearing  a  prophet 
speak,  any  thing  be  revealed,  let  the  first  finish  his 
discourse  and  be  silent,  before  the  other  attempts  to 
speak.  For  in  this  way  ye  may  all  prophesy— Who 
have  that  gift ;  one  by  one — That  is,  one  after  an- 
other ;  that  all  may  leam^-Boih  by  speaking  and 
by  hearing;  which  you  could  not  do  if  many  were 
speaking  at  once.  The  apostle  supposes  here,  that 
when  a  spiritual  man  was  speaking  in  the  church  by 
inspiration,  something  relating  to  the  same,  or  to 
a  different  subject,  might  be  revealed  to  another 
prophet  who  was  sitting  by,  hearing  him.  In  such 
a  case,  the  rule  to  be  observed  was,  the  first  was  to 
be  silent,  that  is,  was  to  finish  what  he  had  to  say 
before  the  other  began  to  speak,  as  is  plain  from  the 
reason  of  the  rule  given  in  the  next  verse.  For  the 
spirits  of  the  prophets — Or  the  spiritual  gifts  be- 
stowed on  them,  as  the  word  nvevftara  is  rendered, 
verse  12,  and  ought  certainly  to  have  been  rendered 
here;  are  subject  to  the  prophets — The  meaning  of 
the  apostle  is,  that  the  impulses  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
even  in  meii  really  inspired,  so  suited  themselves  to 
their  rational  faculties,  as  not  to  divest  them  of  the 
government  of  themselves,  as  was  the  case  with  the 
heathen  priests  and  priestesses  ufider  their  diabolical 
possessions ;  whom  evil  spirits  often  threw  into  such 
ungovernable  ecstasies,  as  forced  them  to  speak  and 
act  like  mad  persons.  "  Few  of  them,"  says  Bishop 
Potter,  (An/tg.,  iL  12,)  "that  pretended  to  inspira- 
tion, but  raged  after  this  manner,  foaming  and  yell 
ing,  and  making  a  strange,  terrible  noise,  sometimes 
gnashing  their  teeth,  shivering  and  trembling,  with 
a  thousand  antic  motions.  In  short  these  ropfi  and 
b 


jsion,  but  of  peace,  ^aa  in  all  churches  A.  it  4063. 
of  the  saints.  ^^'  ^' 

34  *Let  your  wom^i  keep  silence  in  the 
churches ;  fer  it  is  not  permitted  imto  them  to 
speak :  but  ^they  are  commanded  to  be  under 
<4)edience,  as  also  saith  the  ^  law. 

36  And  if  they  will  learn  any  thing,  let  them 
ask  their  husbands  at  home;  for  it  is  a  shame 
for  wom^i  to  speak  in  the  church. ' 


« Chap.  xi.  16. •  1  Tim.  H.  11,  12. «  Chap.  xL  8 ;  Eph. 

T.22;  CoLiiUlS;  Tit.ii.5;  1  PetiiLl. y Gen. iii.  16. 


Deo  plenty  (persons  enrapt  and  fqll  of  the  god,) 
were  beside  themselves,  and  absolutely  mad  during 
the  time  of  their  ins|>irations."  But  the  Spirit  of 
God  1^  his  prophets  the  clear  use  of  their  judg  • 
ment,  when  and  how  long  it  was  fit  for  them  to 
speak,  and  never  hurried  them  into  any  improprie- 
ties, either  as  to  the  matter,  manner,  or  time  of  their 
speaking.  Let  all  enthusiasts  consider  thbl  For 
Ood  is  not  the  author  of  confusion — Greek,  oicaro- 
raaiact  of  disorder  and  disturbance;  but  of  peace — 
And  regularity ;  as  in  all  the  churches  of  the  saints 
—As  is  practised  in  all  the  churches  elsewhere. 
"  How  often,"  says  Dr.  A.  Clarke,  "is  the  work  of 
God  marred  and  discredited  by  the  folly  of  men  1 
for  nature  will  always,  and  Saian  too,  mingle  them- 
selves, as  far  as  they  can,  in  the  genuine  work  of 
the  Spirit  in  order  to  discredit  and  destroy  it. 
Nevertheless,  in  great  revivals  of  religion,  it  '» 
almost  impossible  to  prevent  wild  fire  from  getting 
in  among  true  fire :  but  it  is  the  duty  of  the  minis- 
ters of  God  to  watch  against  and  prudently  check 
this ;  but  if  themselves  encourage  it,  then  there  wii^ 
be  confusion  and  every  evil  work." 

Verses  34,  85.  Let  your  women,  &c. — ^The  last 
clause  of  the  preceding  verse  is  by  some  critics,  and 
among  the  rest  Bishop  Pearce,  joined  with  this,  so 
as  to  make  this  sense ;  as  in  all  the  churches  of  the 
saints,  let  your  women  keep  silence  in  the  churches^ 
namely,  of  Achaia.  According  to  this  reading,  by 
the  churches  of  the  saints,  are  meant  the  churches 
of  Judea,  in  which  the  puhlic  worship  and  disci- 
plihe  was  most  perfect,  because  they  had  been 
planted  and  regulated  by  the  apostles.  The  sense 
of  this  clause,  let  your  women  keep  silence,  Ac, 
evidently  is,  that  they  were  to  be  silent  unless  they 
had  an  extraordinary  revelation  to  communicate, 
made  to  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  to  which  revela- 
tions, chiefly  predictmg  future  events,  what  is  said 
of  their  prophesying  with  their  beads  uncovered, 
(chap.  xi.  5,)  evidently  refers ;  and  therefore  implies 
no  contradiction  to  what  is  here  enjoined.  For — In 
other  cases,  when  no  particular  revelation  is  made  to 
them;  it  is  not  permitted  unto  them  to  speak— By 
way  of  teaching  in  public  assemblies;  hut  to  be  un- 
der obedience — Greek,  viroTacoea^ai,  to  be  under  sub- 
jection to  the  superior  authority  of  the  man,  whose 
proper  office  it  is  to  lead  and  to  instruct  the  congrega- 
tion. As  also  saith  the  tow— In  recordhijg  that  early 
sentence  on  Eve  and  her  daughters  for  the  first 
19^ 


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I.  CORINTHIANS. 


in  the  church  of  Gad, 


A,  M.  4003.  36  What !  came  the  word  of  God  out 
^  '^'  from  you  ?  or  came  it  unto  you  only  ? 
37  *K  any  mau  think  himself  to  be  a  pro- 
phet, or  spiritual,  let  him  acknowledge  that 
the  things  that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord. 


«  2  Cor.  X.  7 ;  1  John  vr.  6. 


transgression,  Gen.  iii.  16,  Th  Mm  shaU  he  thy  de- 
sire subjected,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.  And  if 
they  desire  to  learn  any  things — Still  they  are  not  to 
speak  in  public,  but  to  ask  their  husbands  at  home — 
That  is  the  place,  and  these  the  persons  to  inquire 
of.  See  note  on  1  Tim.  iL  11-14.  For  U  is  a 
shame— Aiaxpovj  indecent;  for  a  icoman  to  speaJc 
in  the  chttrch— In  an  assembly  of  people,  being 
inconsistent  with  that  modesty,  which  is  the  wo^ 
man's  greatest  ornament 

Verses  86-38.  What !  came  the  word  of  God  out 
from  you  ?— Are  ye  of  Corinth,  the  first  church  in 
the  world,  by  whose  example  all  others  should  be 
modelled  ?  Or  came  it  unto  you  only  7-^ Are  you  the 
only  Christian  ^iety  that  has  received  the  true 
gospel?  If  not,  conform  herein  to  the  custoDi  of 
all  the  churches.  These  questions  the  apostle  asks, 
to  cut  off  every  pretence  for  women's  teaching  in 
the  church.  If  any  man  think  himself  to  be  a 
propfiet,  or  spiritual— Endowed  with  any  extraor- 
dinary §fift  of  the  Spirit;  let  him  acknowledge^  &c. 
— Let  him  prove  that  he  is  indeed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Divine  Spirit,  by  his  submission  and 
obedience  to  these  determinations,  and  confess  that 
the  things  that  I  now  write  unto  you  are  the  comr 
mandmehts  of  the  Lord — Dictated  by  inspiration 
from  him.  But  if  any  man  be  ignorant— Or  affect 
to  appear  uncertain  about  the  truth  of  what  I  write; 


38  But  if  any  man  be  ignorant,  ki  A.  |f .  406s. 
him  be  ignorant  ^ 

39  Wherefore,  brethren,  'co^et  to  prophesy, 
and  forbid  n^t  to  speak  with  tongues. 

40  ^  ]Let  aU  things  be  done  decently,  and  in 
<N:der. 


»Chap.  xii.  31 ;  1  Theas.  t.  20.- 


^  Terse  33. 


let  him  be  ignarant^hei  him  remain  so,  and  abide 
the  ccmsequences  of  his  ignorance,  whether  real  or 
affected. 

Verses  39, 40.  Wherefore,  brethren— To  conclude 
this  long  discourse,  and  sum  up  the  whole  in  a  few 
words;  covet  to  prophesy — To  discourse  about  di- 
vine things  in  a  way  that  will  edify  others ;  and  yet 
forbid  not^^ThoBe  who  are  willing  to  do  it  under 
such  regulations  as  have  now  been  advanced;  to 
speak  with  tongiies— For  it  is  a  noble  endowment, 
which  I  would  encourage  cione  to  slight  or  neglect: 
only  take  care  that  all  things — In  your  reUgions  as- 
semblies ;  be  done  decently  and  in  order— hei  all 
be  conducted  in  a  iregular  manner,  to  prevent  such 
disturbances,  disputes,  and  scandals  for  the  future, 
as  in  time  piist  have  had  place  among  you,  and 
would  proceed  to  greater  evils  if  not  immediately 
reformed.  The  precept  given  by  the  apostle  in  this 
verse,  "  is  sometimes  applied  to  support  the  use  of 
rites  and  ceremonies  in  the  worship  of  CM,  not 
commanded  in  Scripture.  But  any  one  who  con- 
siders the  place  which  it  holds  in  this  discourse, 
will  be  sensible  that  it  hath  no  relation  to  rites  and 
ceremonies,  but  to  the  decent  and  orderly  exercise 
of  the  spiritual  gifts.  Yet  by  parity  of  reason,  It 
may  be  extended  even  to  the  rites  of  worship,  pro- 
vided they  are  left  free  to  be  used  by  every  one,  as 
he  sees  them  expedient."— Macknight. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

^1,)  As  an  introduction  to  a  discourte  conceminff  the  rewrrectum  of  the  dead,  the  apostle  proves,  from  his  manifold  appea 
anus,  that  Christ  was  risen,  1-11.  (2,)  Re  shows  the  necessary  connection  hetween  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  which 
he  had  established,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  urges  the  importance  of  retainmg  tJuU  great  fundamental  article  of 
Chfristianity  in  a  series  of  arguments,  12-34.  (8,)  He  answers  oHyjections  against  the  doctrine,  and  shows  the  great  change 
that  will  then  be  made  in  the  qualities  of  the  bodies  raised,  85-50.  (4,)  He  informs  us  that  a  similar  change  wUl  he  made 
on  the  bodies  of  those  who  shall  be  living  at  the  Hme  of  Chrisfs  second  coming,  51-54.  (6,)  He  represents  the  triumph 
of  the  saints  over  death  and  the  grace,  oni  improves  the  whole  as  an  encouragement  to  use  the  utmost  diligence  m  the 
service  of  Christ,  55^-58. 

preached  unto  yon,  which  also  ye  have  a.  Bi.  4m. 
received,  and  *  wherein  ye  stand ;        -^ — '- — 


A.  M.  4063. 
A.  D.  60. 


jy/rOREOVER,  ^brethren,  I  declare 
unto  you  the  gospel  'which  I 


•  Eleventh  Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  rene  1  to  rerse  12. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XV. 

Verses  1,2.  Moreover,  brethren — The  resurrection 

of  the  body  being  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  faith 

and  hope  of  Christians,  the  apostle  in  this  chapter 

19B 


»  G^.  i.  11.- 


"» Rom.  V.  2. 


sets  before  the  Corinthians,  and  all  mankind,  the 
proof  by  which  that  joyful  event  is  rendered  indu- 
bitable, namely,  that  it  is  a  necessary  consequence 
of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.    Wherefore,  to  lay  a 

b 


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CHAPTBBXV. 


TUurrMiaH  o/ChrttL 


A.M.  4063.  2  ®  By  which  also  ye  are  saved,  if 
• '—  ye  ^keep  in  memory  'what  I  preach- 
ed unto  yoU;  unless  ^ye  have  believed  m  vain. 

3  For  *  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all,  that 
^  which  I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died  fin: 
our  sins  '  according  to  the  Scriptures ; 

4  And  that  he  was  buried,  and  that  he  rose 
again  the  third  day  ^according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures: 


«  Ron.  i  16^  Chap,  l  2L >0r,  hotd  /«««. tOr.  by 

what  speeeA. <  GaL  iii  4. •  Chap.  xL  2, 23, '  GaL  i. 

12.  g  P«(a.  xxii.  15,  &c. ;  Isa.  liii.  5,  6,  &c. ;  Dan.  ix.  26 ; 
Zech.  xiii.  7 ;  Luke  zxir.  26,  46 ;  Acts  iii  18 ;  zxri.  23 ;  1  Pel. 
L  11 ;   ii.  24.  • 


firm  foundation  for  this  proof^  he  judged  it  prc|>er 
to  recall  to  the  remembrance  of  the  Corinthians  the 
arguments  by  which  he  had  proved  to  their  satis- 
faction the  truth  of  -Christ's  resurrection,  which  is 
the  subject  that  he  first  touches  upon.  I  declare — 
Vvupt^y  I  mctke  known  ;  the  goepel — The  principal 
doctrines  thereof;  which  I  preached  unto  y<m^kX 
the  very  beginning  of  my  ministry  amongyou ;  which 
aUo  you  received^ln  faith  and  love;  and  wherein 
you  aland— In  the  faith  of  which  many  of  you  per^ 
severe ;  by  whi^h  also  ye  are — Or  shall  be ;  saved 
finally,  if  ye  keep  in  memory— ^i  nartxtrt^  if  ye  hold 
fcL8t;  what  J  preached  unto  you — The  great  truths 
to  which  I  bore  testimony :  that  is,  your  salvation 
b  begun,  and  will  be  perfected  if  ye  continue  in  the 
fiiith ;  unlees  ye  have  believed  in  vain — Or  rather^ 
raehly,  as  eucn  seems  evidently  here  to  signify,  der 
noting  the  disposition  of  those  who  do  a  thing  by 
chance  and  lightly,  without  knowing  for  what 
reason  or  end  they  do  it. 

•Verses  3, 4.  For  /delivered  unio  you  first  of  all 
— Among  the  first  things,  and  as  the  chief  articles 
of  the  gospel,  that  which  I  also  received,  namely, 
firom  Christliimself ;  that  Christ  died  for  owr  sins^^ 
Made  atonement  for  them  by  dying ;  according  to 
the  Scriptures— 0(  the  Old  Testament,  particularly 
Isa.  liiL  5,  fi,  12;  J>an.  ix.  26.  He  proves,  first,  from 
the  Scriptures,  that  the  Messiah  was  to  die  for  the 
expiation  of  sin,  and  then  from  the  testimony  of  a 
doud  of  witnesses,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  by 
his  miracles  had  proved  himself  to  be  that  Messiah, 
had  died  for  men's  sins  accordingly.  And  that 
he  was  bianed—ln  consequence  of  his  being  cer- 
t^nly  dead ;  and  thctt  he  rose  again  the  third  day — 
His  enemies  keeping  guard  about  his  dead  body  in 
vain.  According  to  the  Scriptures— The  Scriptures 
which  foretold  the  resurrection  of  Christ  on  the 
third  day,  and  to  which  St.  Paul  refers,  areTsa.  xvi. 
Id,  (which  Peter,  Acts  ii.  31,  expressly  affirmed  to 
be  a  prediction  of  that  event^)  and  Jonah  i.  17,  which 
onr  Lord  himself  affirmed  to  be  a  typical  prophecy 
of  his  continuing  tJiree  days  in  the  heart  of  the  earth, 
and  of  his  subsequent  resurrection.  See  Matt  xii. 
89, 40.  Here  we  see  the  apostle  delivered  to  the 
Corinthians,  from  the  Lord  himself,  not  only  that  he 
died  for  our  sins,  and  rose  again  the  third  day  after 
his  death,  but  that  these  thEigs  had  happened  ac- 
b 


ft  'Andthat  he  was  seen  of  Cephas,  A.M.4oes. 
then  *of  the  twelve :  a.d.i». 

6  After  that,  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hun- 
dred, br^ren  at  once ;  of  whom  the  greater 
part  remain  unto  this  present,  but  some  are 
fidleii  asleq[>. 

7  After  that,  he  was  seen  of  James ;  then  ^of 
all  the  apostles. 

8  >*  And  last  of  all  he  was  seen  of  me  also, 


^Psa.ii.  7;  xvi  10;  iHLliii.  10;   Hoc.  tL  2;  Luke  xxir. 
26,46;  Acts  iL  25-31;  xliL 33,  34,  35 ;  xxri.  22,23;    1  P«t. 

L  11. — — 1  Luke  xxiv.  34. *  Matt,  xxriii.  17 ;  Mark  xri.  14 ; 

Luke  xxhr.  36 ;  Acte  x.  41. » Luke  xxiT.  60. ■  Acts  ix. 

4, 17;  xxu.  14, 18  ;  Chi^.  ix.  L 


cording  to  the  prophecies  of  the  Scriptures  concern- 
ing the  Christ,  because  by  that  circumstance,  as  well 
as  by  his  resurrection,  our  Lord  was  demonstrated 
to  be  the  Christ 

Verse  6.  And  that  he  was  seen  of  Cephas— Ab 
mentioned  Luke  xxiv.  34,  wha  saw  him  before  any 
of  the  other  apostles.  He  appeared,  indeied,  after 
his  resurrection,  first  of  all  to  Mary  Magdalene: 
but  as  no  woman  was  employed  to  testify  his  resur- 
rection to  the  world,  St  Paul  did  not  think  it  neces- 
sary, in  exhibiting  the  proofs  of  Christ's  resurrection, 
to  mention  any  of  his  appearances  to  the  women. 
Then  of  the  twelve— Thai  company  of  apostles  so 
called,  though  several  of  the  number  were  not 
present  when  he  appeared.  Macknight  thinks,  that 
in  this  expression  all  our  Lord's  appearances  to  his 
apostles,  from  the  time  he  arose,  to  the  time  he 
showed  himself  to  the  five  hundred  brethren  at 
once,  are  comprehended ;  namely,  his  appearance 
to  the  apostles  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which 
he  arose,  and  on  the  eighth  day  thereafter^  and  at 
the  sea  of  Tiberias,  as  also  every  other  appearance 
to  them  which  the  evangelists  may  have  omitted  to 
relate;  for  that  they  omitted  some  is  certsdn. 

Verses  6,  7.  After  that  he  was  seen  of  above  five 
hundred  brethren  at  once — None  of  the  evangelists 
have  expressly  mentioned  this  appearance,  but  Mat- 
thew seems  to  hint  at  it,  chap.  xxviiL  10 ;  for  proba- 
bly this  appearance  was  made  in  Galilee,  to  which 
Jesus  commanded  his  disciples  to  repair,  promising 
that  they  should  there  see  him ;  and  to  which,  in 
obedience  to  his  order,  the  eleven  went,  and  where, 
doubtless,  many  others  of  his  disciples  assembled 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  Christ  having  appoint- 
ed a  certain  mountain,  prci)ably  that  on  which  he 
was  transfigured,  where  he  would  be  seen  of  them. 
See  note  on  Matt,  xxviii.  16.  "  As  the  greatest  part 
of  our  Lord's  disciples  lived  in  Galilee,  it  was  highly 
proper,  for  their  consolation,  that  he  should  show 
himself  alive  there  in  that  public  manner.  For  thus, 
besides  the  apostles,  numbers,  who  had  often  attend- 
ed him  during  his  ministry  in  Galilee,  and  who  were 
well  acquainted  witfi  his  person,  having  an  opportu- 
nity to  converse  with  him,  could  satisfy  themselves 
by  the  testimony  of  their  own  senses  concerning  the 
troth  of  his  resurrection,  and  attest  it  to  others  on 
the  surest  evidence.  These,  therefore,  may  have 
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I.  CORINTHIA^S. 


grand  doctrine  of  Ckrxstiamif. 


A.  M.  4063,  as    of  ^  one    bom     out    of    due 

A.  D.  50.      . 

tune. 

9  For  I  am  "^  the  least  of  the  apostles,  that 
am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  ^I 
persecuted  the  church  of  God. 

10  But  p  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I 
am :  and  his  grace  which  was  bestatoed  upon 
me,  was  not  in  vain:  but  ^I  laboured  more 
abundantly  than  they  all :  '^yet  not  I,  but  the 


■  Or,  an  abortive. »  Eph.  iii.  8.- 

Gal.  i.  13 ;  Phil  iii.  6;  1  Tim.  i.  13. — 


-»Aot8  viii, 
>  Eph.  ii.  7, 8. 


3;   ix.  1; 


been  the  fire  hundred  brethren  of  whom  St.  Paid 
speaks.  And  their  testimoiiy  was  appealed  to  by 
the  apostle  with  the  greatest  propriety  when  proving 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  because  such  a  multitude 
cannot  be  supposed  to  have  agreed  for  so  long  a 
time  in  publishing  a  falsehood  to  the  world,  without 
any  one  of  them  ever  betraying  the  imposture,  or 
even  varymg  in  then*  account  of  the  fact"  Of 
whom  the  greater  part  remain  unto  this  present-^ 
About  twenty-eight  years  after  the  event,  constitu- 
ting a  cloud  of  witnesses  to  this  glorious  and  infi- 
nitely important  event ;  but  some  are  fallen  asleep — 
Doubtless  in  Jesus,  with  whom  they  were  gone  to 
dwell.  After  ihcU  he  was  seen  of  James-r-Of  this 
appearance  there  b  no  mention  in  the  gospels;  but 
the  fathers  speak  of  it,  and  tell  us  that  the  person 
thus  honoured  was  James  the  Less,  or  younger,  our 
Lord's  brother,  that  is,  his  cousin-german,  and  the 
author  of  the  epistle  which  bears  his  name.  Euse- 
bius  (Ckron.f  p.  43)  says,  this  appearance  happened 
in  the  first  year  after  our  Lord's  resurrection.  But, 
from  the  order  in  which  Paul  hath  placed  it  here, -it 
seems  more  probable  that  it  took  place  before  our 
Lord's  ascension,  at  which  all  tiie  apostles  were  pre- 
sent, as  mentioned  in  the  next  clause. 

Verse  8.  IaisI  of  oW— -This  evidently  implies  that 
our  Lord  appeared  to  none  of  the  disciples  after  his 
ascension,  except  to  Paul ;  he  was  seen  of  me  also — 
He  here  no  doubt  speaks  of  Christ's  appearing  to 
him  on  the  way  to  DaQoiascus,  but  he  does  not  ex- 
clude his  other  appearances  to  him.  8ee  1.  Cor^ 
ix.  1.  As  of  one  born  <mt  of  due  time^An  untimely 
birth.  It  was  impossible  to  abase  himself  more 
than  he  does  by  this  single  appeUation.  As  an 
abortion  is  not  worthy  the  name  of  a  man,  so  he 
affirms  himself  to  be  not  worthy  the  name  of  an 
apostlCw  It  must  be  observed,  however,  it  was  not 
on  account  of  his  being  sensible  of  any  imperfec- 
tion in  his  commission,  or  of  any  weakness  in  his 
qualifications  as  an  apostle,  that  he  gave  hhnself  this 
name ;  for  he  affirms  (2  Cor.  xi.  5)  that  Jhe  was  in 
nothing  behind  the  very  chief  of  the  apostles :  but 
he  caUed  himself  an  untimdy  birth,  for  the  reason 
mentioned  in  the  next  verse,  '*  and  because  he  was 
made  an  apostle  without  that  previous  course  of  in- 
struction and  preparation  which  the  other  apostles 
enjoyed,  who  had  attended  Jesus  during  his  minis- 
try on  earth ;  so  that,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
word,  he  was  cKvp^/ta,  one  bom  before  he  was 
960 


of    God    which    was 


with  A.  M.  4003. 
AD.  59. 


^race 
me. 

11  Therdbre  whether  it  were  I  or  they,  so  we 
preached,  and  so  ye  believed. 

12  Now  if  Christ  be  preached  that  be  rose 
from  the  dead,  how  say  90Xtie  among  you  that 
there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead? 

13  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the 
dead, '  then  is  Christ  not  risen  : 


«2 Cor.  xi. 23 ;  xii.  11. — j'MaU.  x.  20 ;  Rom. xr.  18, 19; 2 Cor. 
iii.  5 ;  Gal  u.  S ;  Eph.  iii.  7 ;  Phil.  u.  13. •  1  Thess.  it.  14. 


brought  to  maturity.  That  want,  however,  was 
abundantly  supplied  by  the  many  revelations  which 
his. Master  gave  him,  after  he, had  made  him  an 
apostle^"— Macknight 

Veraes^ll.  /  am  the  least  cf  the  apostles,  be- 
cause J  persecuted,  ^sc, — True  believers  are  humUed 
all  their  lives  for  the  sins  they  Committed  before  they 
repented  and  believed.  But  by  the  grace  of  God  1 
am  what  I am^A  Christianand  an  apostle ;  and  his 
grace  upon — Or  towwl  me,  in  raising  me  to  so  high 
a  dignity,  and  so  happy  a  state ;  was  not  in  vatn— 
But  produced,  In  i^  great  measure,  its  proper  fruit 
For  /  laboured  more  abundantly  than  they  aU^ 
That  is,  more  than  any  of  them,  from  the  peculiar 
love  God  had  showed  me ;  y^f—To*  speak  more  pro- 
perly ',notl,but  thegraceof  Qod  which  was  with  me 
— This  it  was  which  at  first  qualified  me  for  the 
work,  and  still  excites  me  to  zeal  and  diligence  in  it 
As  to  Paul's  labouring  more  than  any  of  the  other 
apostles,  it  must  be  observed  that  they  confined  theur 
preaching,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  Jews,  GlaL  ii.  9; 
but  Paul  preached  the  gospel  to  all  the  Gentile  na- 
tions, from  Jerusalem  round  about  to  lUyricnm^ 
Rovfi,  XV.-19,  and  also  to  the  Jews  who  lived  in  those 
countries;  and  by  his  labours  he  converted  great 
numbers  both  of  the  Jews  and  Greeks.  Moreover, 
as  hb  success  in  spreading  the  gospel  exceeded  the 
success  of  the  other  apostles.  So  his  labours,  if  we 
may  judge  of  them  fh)m  his  own  account,  2  Cor.  xL 
28-28,  greatly  exceeded  theirs  likewise.  Therefore 
whether  it  were  Tor  they — Whose  doctrine  you  own 
and  adhere  to  *^  so  we  preach,  and  so  ye  beUeted^^ 
We  agreed  in  our  doctrine  6onceming  the  particu- 
lars above  mentioned :  all  of  us  spake,  and  still  speak 
the  same  thmg. 

Verse  12, 13.  Now  if  Christ  be  preached,  By  all  of 
us,  and  that  upon  such  infallible  grounds  as  I  have 
mentioned;  tJiat  Tie  rose  from  the  dead,  how  say  some 
ofyou^Or  rather,  how  can  some  among  you  say; 
that  there  is  no  resurrection  of  t?ie  dead? — With 
what  face  can  any  who  allow  (^Christ's  resurrection, 
pretend  to  deny  the  resurrection  of  his  disciples^ 
whether  it  be  from  an  attachment  to  Saddncean  or 
philosophical  prejudices?  For,  if  there  be  no  resur* 
rection  of  the  dead—li  that  doctrine  be,  in.  the 
general, ^together  incredible;  then  is  Oirist  not 
rwcit— "  The  apostle  hath  -not  expressed  the  ideas, 
by  which  the  consequent  in  this  h3rpothetical  propo* 
sition  is  connected  with  its  anteoedent    But  when 

b 


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i/  Chrtit  be  not  ruerij 


CHAPTER  XV. 


then,  is  preaching  tafn. 


A.  M.  4063.    14  And  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then 
^  ^'^*    is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  feith 
is  also  vain. 

15  Yea,  and  we  are  found  tidse  witnesses 
of  God;  because  ^we  have  testified  of  (}od 
that  he  raised  up  Christ:  whom  he  mieed  not 
up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead  rise  not. 

16  For  if  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ 
raised: 


^Acu  ILM,  38;  ir.  10,  33;   xiii  30.- 
*  2  Tim.  nL  18. 


ir.  U. 


these  ideas  are  supplied,  [as  follows,]  every  reader 
will  be  sensible  of  the  connection.  Christ  promised, 
repeatedly,  in  the  most  express  terms,  that  he  would 
raise  all  mankind  from  the  dead,  Matt.  xvi.  27;  John 
v.  28,  29.  Wherefore,  if  there  is  to  be  no  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  Christ  is  a  deceiver,  whom  no  per- 
son in  his  right  senses  can  suppose  God  to  have 
raised,  and  to  have  declared  his  Son.  And  if  Chri^ 
hath  not  been  ndsed,  the  gospel  being  stripped  of 
the  evidence  which  it  derives  from  the  resurrection 
of  its  Author,  the  whole  of  the  preaching  of  the  apos- 
tles, as  is  observed  verse  14,  is  absolutely  false;  and 
the  iaith  of  the  Corinthians  in  the  divine  original  of 
the  gospel,  and  of  all  Christians,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  present  hour,  is  likewise  Mse.  Such  are  the  con- 
sequences of  denying  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.'' 

Verses  14-18.  Then  is  our  preaching— In  conse- 
quence of  a  commission  supposed  to  be  given  after 
his  resurrection;  rain— Without  any  real  founda- 
tion, and  destitute  of  truth ;  and  your  faith — In  our 
preaching ;  is  vain — Is  grounded  on  falsehood  and 
deception;  yea,  and  we  are  false  witnesses  ofQod 
— Having  testified  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  his  Son 
and  the  Messiah ;  that  he  hath  atoned  for  sin ;  hath 
risen  from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven ;  hath 
obtained  for  his  followers  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  gifts 
and  graces;  a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  eter- 
nal life;  and  is  constituted  the  final  Judge  of  men  and 
angels;— all  which  thmgs,  depending  on  his  resur- 
rection, are  absolutely  false,  if  he  be  not  risen;  and, 
of  consequence,  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins — Unpar- 
doned and  unrenewed,  without  either  a  title  to  hea- 
ven or  a  meetness  for  it.  So  that  there  needed  some- 
thing more  than  reformation,  (which  was  plainly 
wrought  in  them,)  in  order  to  their  being  delivered 
from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  renewed  after  the  divine 
image;  even  that  atonement,  the  sufficiency  of 
which  God  attested  by  raising  our  great  Surety 
from  the  grave,  and  ^e  influences  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  procured  for  us  by  that  atonement.  Then  they 
who  arefcdlen  asleep  in  OinV— Who  have  died 
for  him,  or  believing  in  him ;  are  perished-^Hsive 
lost  their  life  and  being  together.  This  sentence 
shows,  that  in  this  discourse  the  apostle  has  the 
resurrection  of  the  just  principally  in  view,  and  that 
what  he  hath  written  concerning  the  excellent  qua- 
lities of  the  bodies  to  be  raised,  is  to  be  understood 
of  the  bodies  of  the  saints  only. 

Verse  19.  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in 
Christ-^Yfef  who  are  exposed  to  such  a  variety  of 
b 


17  And  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  youi  A.H.4oes. 
fidth  is  vain;  'ye  are  yet  in  your    ^^'  ^' 
sins. 

18  l^hen  tliey  also  which  are  fiJkn  asleep  in 
Clirist  are  perished. 

19  'If  in  this  life  only,  we  have  hope  in 
Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable. 

20  But  now  ^is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  become  *  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept 


riPotiS.- 
Rev.  L  5. 


■Aettisn.23;  VeraeSS;  CifloniMii i. IS ; 


dangers  and  suflerings,  for  his  mke ;  we  are  of  all 
men  most  miserable — EAewporepot,  most  to  he  pitied f 
that  is,  if  we  look  for  nothing  beyond  the  grave. 
But  if  we  have  a  divine  evidence  of  things  not  seen; 
if  we  have  a  hope  fidl  of  immortality ;  if  we  now 
taste  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  and  see  the 
crown  thatfadeth  not  away;  then,  notwithstanding 
all  our  present  trials,  we  are  more  happy  than  aU 
men.    Some  have  argued  from  this  verse,  that  if 
there  were  no  future  state,  piety  and  virtue  would 
make  men  more  miserable  in  this  world  than  they 
otherwise  would  be.  But,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  observes, 
it  is  evident  the  apostle  is  not  speaking  here  of  the 
case  of  good  men  in  general,  if  their  hopes  of  future 
happiness  should  be  di^ppointed ;  but  of  the  case 
of  the  first  Christians,  and  especially  of  the  apostles 
and  other  preachers  of  Christianity,  amid  the  hard- 
ships and  persecutioils  to  which  they  were  con- 
tinually exposed.    If  they  had  not  known  that  there 
was  a  state  of  immortal  felicity  and  glory  before 
them,  and  if  they  had  not  been  supported  amid 
their  various  sufferings  with  a  .well-grounded  and 
lively  hope  of  it,  they  must  have  been  peculiariy 
miserable.    For  besides  all  the  external  calamities 
to  which  they  were  exposed,  Uiey  must  have  been 
perpetually  subjected  to  the  upbraidings  of  their 
own  minds,  for  sacrificing  every  view  of  happiness 
in  this  world  or  another,  to  advance  what  they  knew 
to  be  a  pernicious  falsehood.    It  must  be  observed, 
the  apostle  does  not  say,  that  if  there  should  be  no 
resurrection  of  the  body,  the  Christian  could  only 
hope  in  Christ  in  this  life ;  for  if  the  soul  be  immor- 
tal, and  may  be  happy  after  its  separation  from  the 
body,  that  would  not  follow.    But  he  argues  thus: 
If  Christ  is  not  risen  for  our  justification,  we  are  yet 
under  the  guilt  of  sin,  verse  17;  and  if  so,  both  soul 
and  body  must  perish  after  death,  verse  18;  and  then 
the  hope  of  Christians  must  terminate  with  this  life, 
which  being  more  especially  to  many  of  them  a  life 
of  misery,  by  reason  of  the  sufferings  to  which  their 
fkith  here  often  exposes  them,  they  would  of  all 
men  be  most  miserable.    Macknight  considers  the 
apostle  as  answering  an  objection,  which  he  sup- 
poses the  reader  to  have  made  in  his  o>vn  mind, 
namely,  this:  "The  aposties  know  tiiat  Christ  hath 
not  risen,  and  that  there  will  be  no  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  but  they  preach  these  things  for  the  sake 
ofsome  present  advantage."  "  To  this  Paul  replies, 
ffin  this  life  only  we  have  hope,  f  <?.,  we  are  ofaU 
\men  the  ntost  miserable— Becaxae^  by  preaching 
901 


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^As  hy  Adam  death  camej 


I.  CORINTHIANS. 


by  Chrul  U  ike  remarreeHom. 


A.  M.  4063.    21  For  '  since  by  man  came  death, 
^'  ^'  ^'    ^  by  man  came  aJso  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead. 

22  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive. 

23  But  ®  every  man  in  his  own  order :  Christ 


>Rqiii.t:  12, 17. kJolmxi25;  Rom.TL33. 


Christ's'  resurrection,  we  expose  ourselves  to  every 
possible  present  evU,  and  if  there  is  to  be  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  there  is  no  future  state  in  which 
wc  can  enjoy  any  thing.  This  argument  is  levelled 
against  the  Sadducees,  who,  believing  the  soul  to  be 
material,  affirmed  that  it  perishes  with  the  body ;  and 
will  have  no  existence  after  death,  the  body  bemg 
never  to  be  raised.  The  apostle's  argument  is 
equally  conclusive  on  supposition  that  the  soul  is 
immaterial,  and  that  it  will  exist  and  enjoy  [happi^ 
ness]  after  death,  although  the  body  is  not  raised. 
For  if  the  apostles  were  false  witnesses  and  impos- 
tors, they  could  look  for  no  happiness  from  God 
after  death." 

Verses  20-22.  But  now  is  Christ  ri«en— Here  the 
apostle  declares  that  Christians  have  hope  not  in  this 
life  only.  His  proof  of  the  resurrection  lies  in  a 
narrow  compass,  verse  12-19.  Almost  all  the  rest 
of  the  chapter  is  taken  up  in  illustrating,  vindicating, 
and  applying  it.  The  proof  is  short,  but  soUd  and 
convincing,  namely,  that  which  arose  from  Christ's 
resurrection.  Now  this  not  only  proved  a  resurrec- 
tion possible,  but,  as  it  proved  him  to  be  a  divine 
teacher,  it  proved  also  the  certainty  of  a  general 
resurrection,  which  he  so  expressly  taught.  The 
first-fruits  of  them  that  slept — The  pledge,  earnest, 
and  assurance  of  the  resurrection  of  those  who  sleep 
in  him,  even  of  all  the  righteous,  of  the  resurrection 
of  whom,  at  least  chiefly,  if  not  only,  the  apostle 
speaks  throughout  the  chapter.  As  to  the  term 
first-fruits^  in  explanation  thereof  it  may  be  proper 
to  observe,  that  "the  Israelites  were  commanded  to 
bring  on  the  morrow  after  the  sabbath,  with  which 
the  passoyer  week  began,  a  sheaf  of  the  first-fruits 
of  their  harvest  to  the  priest,  to  be  waved  before  the 
Lord,  who,  by  accepting  it,  made  it  an  example  and 
a  pledge  of  the  future  harvest.  In  allusion  to  that 
rite,  Christ,  who  arose  on  the  very  day  on  which  the 
*  first-fruits  were  oflfered,  is  called  the  first-fruits  of 
them  who  slept,  because  he  is  the  first  who  was 
raised  from  the  dead  to  die  no  more,  and  because  his 
resurrection  is  an  example  and  an  earnest  otthe 
resurrection  of  the  righteous."  For  since  hy  man 
came  death — Since  death  came  on  the  whole  human 
race  by  means  of  one  man,  who  brought  mortality  on 
all  his  posterity  in  consequence  of  one  great  and 
wilful  transgression;  hy  man  came  also,  &c.— That 
IS,  by  means  of  another  man  came  likewise  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead — And  our  happy  relation 
to  him  abundantly  repairs  the  damage  we  sustain  by 
our  fatal  relation  to  the  former.  For  as  in  Adam  all 
—Even  the  righteous;  die^so  tn— Or  through ;  Christ 
sihaU  all  these  he  made  a^tv^— He  does  not  say  shail 
202 


the  fii-st-firuits :  afterward  they  that  a.  m .  4063. 

A   D  50 

are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  — ^— ^ — 1- 

24  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have 
delivered  up  ^  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the 
Father;  when  he  shall  have  put  down  aU 
rule,  and  all  authority,  and  power. 


•  Verse  20 ;  1  Tliess.  ir.  15, 16,  17. •  Dan.  ru.  14,  37. 


revive,  (as  naturally  as  they  die,)  but  shall  be  made 
alive,  namely,  by  a  power  not  their  own.  See  on 
Rom.  v.  18,  a  passage  which  is  a  good  comment  on 
this  verse. 

Verse  23.  But  every  twan-— Shall  be  reanimated, 
raised,  and  glorified;  in  his  own  order^Or  in  his 
own  band,  as  r^  id^i  rayfian  more  properly  mgnifies, 
denoting  a  band  of  soldiers,  a  cohort,  or  legion ;  the 
word  for  oT^kr  being  rather  ra^ic*  According  to  this 
interpretation,  it  is  here  intimated  that  the  righteous 
will  be  raised  by  themselves,  and  the  wicked  by 
themselves ;  that  is,  according  to  the  next  verse,  the 
righteous  are  to  be  raised  at  Christ's  coming,  or  are 
to  be  first  raised,  even  before  the  living  are  changed, 
and  much  more  before  the  wicked  are  raised.  See 
1  Thess.  iv.'  15-17. 

Verse  24.  T'Acn— After  the  resurrection  and  Ihd 
general  judgment ;  cometh  the  end^Of  the  world, 
the  grand  period  of  all  those  wonderful  scenes  that 
have  appeared  for  so  many  succeeding  genera- 
tions ;  when  he  shall-^Fuhlicly  and  solemnly ;  have 
delivered  up — Greek,  orav  ?rapc<J^  when  he  shall 
deliver  up;  the  mediatorial  kingdom  to  God,  even 
the  Fat?icr—By  whose  commission  he  had  held  it, 
and  to  whose  glory  he  had  always  administered  it; 
when  he  shall  have  put  down — Orav  Karapytiay,  wh^n 
he  shall  have  destroyed  all  adverse  rule,  autho- 
rity, and  power — That  had  opposed  itself  to.  his 
government,  and  shall  have  triumphed  over  all  the 
efforts  which  either  men  or  devils  could  ever  make 
against  his  dominion.  This  mediatorial  kingdom 
which  Christ  will  deliver  up,  is  represented,  Matt 
xxviii.  18,  to  be  hb  possessing  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  earth;  "  that  is,  power  over  angels  as  well 
as  over  men.  This  kingdom  our  Lord  received  in 
the  human  nature,  as  the  reward  of  his  humiliation, 
and  was  solemnly  installed  in  it  after  his  resurrec- 
tion, when  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  was  invited 
by  God  to  sit  at  his  right  hand  till  he  should  make 
his  enemies  his  footstool.  Further,  because  it  b 
said,  CoL  i.  17,  He  is  before  aU  things,  and  hy  him 
all  things  consist;  and  because  wc  are  told,  Heb. 
i.  3,  that  ^the  Son,  while  he  spake  the  gospel,  upheld 
all  things  hy  the  word  of  his  power  ;  it  is  believed, 
that  besides  the  mediatorial  kingdom  which  the  Son 
administered  in  the  human  nature,  and  which  he 
will  deliver  up  to  the  Father  after  the  judgment,  he 
possessed  the  government  of  the  universe  from  the 
beginning,  in  his  character  as  Creator:  and  that, 
after  the  mediatorial  kingdom  is  delivered  up,  the 
kingdom  which  Be  holds  as  Creator,  will  remain 
with  him  as  from  the  beginning.  So  that  after  the 
judgment,  the  righteous  shall  enter  still  into  the 

b 


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Christ  mfMt  reign  until^ 


CHAPTER  XV. 


his  enemies  are  subject.to  him. 


▲.H.4063,    25  For  he  must  reig^*  iilliie  hath 
. ! — L  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet 

26  ^  The  last  enemy  th€U  shall  be  destroyed 
is  death. 

27  For  he  '  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet. 
But  when  he  saith  all  things  are  put  under  hint, 


•  Pat.  ex.  1 ;  Acts  ii.  34, 35 ;  Eph.  i.  22 ;  Heb.  i.  13 ;  x.  13. 
f2Tiiii.i.  10;  Rev.  xx.  14. 


everUuting  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  they  are 
represented  to  do,  2  Pet.  i.  H."— Macknight.  In- 
deed, the  divine  reign,  both  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting..  And  only 
80  far  as  the  Father  gave  the  kingdom  to  the  Son, 
shall  the  Son  deliver  it  up  to  the  Father,  John  xiii.8. 
Nor  does  the  Father  cease  to  reign  when  he  gives 
it  to  the  Son,  neither  the  Son  when  he  delivers  it  to 
the  Father;  but  the  glory  which  he  had  before  the 
world  began,  (John  xvii.  6  \  Heb.  i.  8,)  will  remain 
even  after  that  is  delivered  up.  Nor  will  he  cease 
to  be  a  king  even  in  his  human  nature,  Luke  i.  33. 
If  the  citizens  of  the  New  Jerusalem  shall  reign  for 
erer,  (Rev.  xxii.  5,)  how  much  more  shall  he  I 

Verses  25-27.  For  he  must  reign — Because  so  it 
is  written,  Psa.  ex.  I ;  till  ^e— God  the  Father ;  hcUk 
put  aU  enemies  under  his  feet — That  is,  till  he  hath 
utterly  subdued  them  to  Christ,  that  he  may  destroy 
them.  The  last  enemy  that  shaU  he  destroyed  is 
death^TYiaX  enemy  which  continues,  in  some  mea- 
sure, to  hold  the  subjects  of  Christ  under  his  do- 
minion, even  when  the  temptations  of  the  world,  and 
the  malice  of  Satan,  can  hold  them  no  longer,  and 
when  every  remainder  of  corrupt  nature  and  human 
infirmity  has  long  since  ceased  in  the  perfect  hoti- 
nesa  of  the  intermediate  state.  Macknight,  who 
renders  this  verse,  the  last  enemy^  death,  shall  he 
destroyed^  observes,  that  "  the  -common  version  of 
this  passage  implies  that  there  are  some  enemies 
who  shall  not  be  destroyed,  which  is  wrong:  for  all 
enemies  shall  be  destroyed,  verse  25."  Nor  is  it 
true  in  every  sense,  that "  because  death  is  called 
the  last  enemy,  it  is  to  be  last  destroyed:  for  if  the 
destruction  of  death  fs  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
resurrection,  the  devil  and  his  angels,  and  wicked 
men,  are  to  be  judged  and  punished  after  the  dead 
are  raised.  In  Chrysestom's  opinion,  death  is  called 
the  last  enemy,  because  he  entered  into  the  world 
after  the  devil  and  sin  entered.''  For  Satan  brought 
in  sin,  and  sin  brought  forth  death.  There  is  a  sense, 
however,  in  which  it  may  be  affirmed  that  death  is 
the  last  enemy  that  is  destroyed;  for  when  Christ 
engaged  these  enemies,  he  first  conquered  Satan, 
namely,  in  his  temptation,  then  sin  in  his  death,  and 
lastly,  death  in  his  resurrection.  In  the  same  order 
he  delivers  all  the  faithful  from  them,  yea,  and  de- 
stroys their  power.  Death  he  so  destroys,  that  it 
shall  exist  no  more ;  sin  and  Satan,  so  that  they  shall 
no  m-jie  hurt  his  people.  For  he  hath  put  qU  things 
under  /i?>/ec/— Agreeably  to  what  is  said,  Psa.  vlii.6. 
But — As  is  sufficiently  evident;  when  he  saith  aU 
things  are  put  under  him—In  the  last-mentioned 
passage,  and  as  is  implied  in  many  others ;  he^The 
b 


t^  is  manifest  that  he  is  excepted  a.  m.  406X 
which  did  put  all  things  under  hhn.  ^^'  ^' 
28  ^  And  when  all  things  shall  be  subdued 
unto  him,  then  ^  shall  the  Son  also  himself  he 
subject  unto  him  that  put  «11  things  under 
liim,  that  God  may  be  all  in  alL 


fPsa.  Yiii  6;  Matt.,  xxriii  18:  Heb.  ii.  8;  1  Pet  iii.  22. 
kPhiL  iii.  21. »Chip.  iii.  23;  xl.  3. 


Father;  is  excepted,  who  did  put  all  things  under 
^tti»-.-This  declaration  concerning  the  Father's  not 
being  subject  to  the  Son,  was  intended  to  prevent 
us  from  interpreting  what  is  said  of  the  extent  of  the 
Son's  dominion,  in  such  a  manner  bs  to  fancy  that 
he  is  in  any  respect  superior  to"the  Father. 

Verse  28.  When  all  things  shall  he  suhdued — Or, 
rather,  subjected,  (as  vnorayy  prpperly"  signifies,) 
unto  hwt,  and  there  is  no  longer  need  of  a  prophet 
to  teach,  nor  of  a  priest  to  make  atonement  and  in- 
tercede, nor  of  a  king  to  deliver,  protect,  and  govern 
under  God,  the  Father  will  resume  the  government; 
and  fA^  even  the  Son  himself  shall  be  subjected  to 
him  who  subjected  all  things  to  him,  that  God — Or 
the  Godhead ;  may  be  aU  in  all — May  be  over  all 
beings,  in  alt  places,  and  the  immediate  object  of 
their  worship  and  service.  Or  rather,  may  be  all 
things  in  and  to  his  intelligent  creatures,  saints^  and 
angels,  by  a  full  communication  of  himself  to  them, 
and  an  intimate  union  with  them.  "  He  saith  not," 
observes  Dr.  Whitby,  "  that  the  Father,  mentioned 
verse  24,  but  that  God  may  be  all  in  all ;  and  so  he 
seems  to  lead  us  to  that  interpretation  of  the  God- 
head which  comprehends  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost ;  and  then  the  import  of  the  phrase,  that  God 
may  be  all  in  all,  will  be  this:  That  the  Godhead 
may  govern  all  things  immediately  by  himself, 
without  the  intervention  of  a  mediator  between  him 
and  us,  to  exact  our  obedience  in  his  name,  and  con- 
vey to  us  his  favours  and  rewards,  we  being  then  to 
render  all  our  duty  immediately  to  him,  and  derive 
all  our  happiness  immediately  from  him.  So  that, 
as  now  Christ,  God-man,  is  all  in  aU,  Col.  iii.  11, 
because  the  Father  hath  put  all  things  into  his  hands ; 
does  all  things  and  governs  all  things  by  him ;  when 
this  economy  ceases,  the  (Godhead  alone  will  be  all 
in  aU,  as  governing  and  influencing  all  things  by 
himself  immediately.^'  *  "  On  supposition  that  this, 
is  a  proper  interpretation  of  the  passage,  and  that 
the  Son  or  Word,  John  L  1,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  to  govern,  two 
questions  will  occur:  1st,  How  the  apostle  came 
to  speak  of  the  Son's  subjection  to  the  Father, 
seeing^  he  is  to  reign  in  conjunction  with  the  Father. 
2d,  How  the  Son,  under  the  government  of  the  God- 
head, can  be  subject  to  himself  To  remove  these 
diffieidties,  it  is  generally  said  that  the  Son  is  to  be 
subject  to  the  Father  in  his  human  nature  only.  In 
the  present  state  of  mankind,  it  is  suitable  to  the 
majesty  and  purity  of  God,  that  all  his  intercourses 
with  them,  whether  in  the  way  of  conferring  bless- 
ings on  them,  or  of  receiving  their  worship,  be  car- 
ried on  by  the  intervention  of  a  mediator.  But  lifter 
90S 


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Iff  there  he  no  resurredionj 


I.  GORINT HIANR 


faith  in  ChrUt  U  tain. 


A.  M.  4063. 
A.  D.  50l 


29  Else  what  shall  they  do,  which 
are^  baptized  for  the  dead,  if  the  dead 
rise  not  at  all?  why  are  they  then  baptized  for 
the  dead? 

30  And  ^why  stand  we  in  jeopardy  every 
hour? 

31  I  protest  by  *  your  ^  i;ej6icing  which  I  have 
in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  "*  I  die  daily. 

32  If  ^  after  the  manner  of  men  '^I  have 


k  2  Cor.  xi.  36  j  OaL  v.  11. ^  Some  read,  our. » 1  Thcw. 

ii.  19l      ■  ■»  Rom.  viii.  36  >  Chap.  It.  9 ;  2  Oor.  iv.  10,  11 ;  sL 
83»-^— *  Or,  to  speak  i|/i(«r  IA«  manner  af  mnu 


sinners  are  jcompletely  reconciled  to  God,  and  made 
perfect  in  holiness,  and  are  introduced  into  heaven, 
God  will  bestow  his  favours  on  them,  and  receive 
their  worship,  immediately,  without  the  intervention 
of  a  mediator.  And  thus  the  offices  of  mediator  and 
king,  becoming  unnecessary,  shall  cease.  Yet  even 
in  this  state,  the  Son  in  [or  in  union  with]  the  hu- 
man nature,  though  no  longer  king,  [in  the  sense 
in  which  he  was  king  before,]  will  still  retain  the 
glory  of  having  created  all  things,  described  Col. 
L  15 ;  Heb.  i.  2,  3,  and  the  glory  of  having  saved 
mankind,  and  of  having  destroyed  the  kingdom  of 
Satan,  and  Satan  himself.  So  that,  in  respect  of  per- 
sonal perfection,  and  of  the  veneration  due  to  him 
for  the  great  things  he  hath  accomplished,  he  will 
continue  superior  to  the  highest  angels,  and  be  ac- 
knowledged by  them  as  their  superior  through  all 
eternity.  Now  this  superiority  being  considered  as 
a  kind  of  reigning,  it  is  perhaps  what  the  apostle 
meant  when,  2  Tim.  ii.  12,  he  said,  If  we  sriffer  toith 
him,  we  shall  also  reign  mth  him.  See  also  Rev. 
ill  21."— Macknight.  So  also  Doddridge:  "ITie 
union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  the  per- 
son of  the  great  Emmanuel,  the  incomparable  virtues 
of  his  character,  the  glory  of  his  actions,  and  the 
relation  he  bears  to  his  people,  with  all  the  texts 
which  assert  the  perpetuity  of  his  government,  pro- 
hibit our  imagining  that  he  shall  ever  cease  to  be 
illustriously  distinguished  from  all  others;  whether 
men  or  angels,  in  the  heavenly  world,  through  eter- 
nal ages." 

Verses  29,  30.  Else,  or  otherwise,  what  shall  they 
do — What  will  become  of  them  ?  what  shall  they 
do  to  repair  their  loss,  who  are  exposed  to  great 
sufferings  in  consequence  of  heiag  baptized  for  the 
(icod!— That  is,  say  some,  "In  token  of  their  em- 
bracing the  Christian  faith  in  the  room  of  the  dead, ' 
who  are  just  fallen  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  but  are 
yet  supported  by  a  succession  of  new  converts,  who 
immediately  offer  themselves  to  fill  up  their  places, 
as  ranks  of  soldiers  that  advance  to  combat  in  the 
room  of  their  companions,  who  have  just  been  slain 
in  their  sight."  Others  say,  "  In  hope  of  blessings 
to  be  received  after  they  are  numbered  with  the 
dead."  Many  other  interpretations  are  given  of  this 
obscure  and  ambiguous  phrase,  virep  r«v  ve«p«v,  far 
the  dead.  But  perhaps  that  of  Dr.  Macknight  b  the 
nost  probable,  who  supplies  the  words  r^  wa^aaeo^, 
204 


fought  with  beapts  at  Ejphesus,  what  A.  M.  4668. 

advantageth  it  me,  if  the  dead  rise  '. !. 

not }  ^  let  us  eat  and  drink ;  for  to-morrow  we 
die. 

33  Be  not  deceived:  'evil  communicaticMui 
corrupt  good  manners.    ' 

34  <i Awake  to  righteousnen,  and  sin  not; 
^  for  some  have  not  the  knowledge  of  God.  *  I 
speak  this  to  your  shame. 


' 2  Cor.  i.  8. 0 Isa.  zxii.  13 ;  Iri.  12 ;  Eocl.  ii.  24;  Luke 

3di.  19.* P  Chapter  v.  6.— ^— 4  Romaaa  ziiL  11;  £^]l  ▼.  14. 

f  1  TheM.  It.  6. •  Chap.  vL  6. 


and  reads  the  clause,  who  are  baptized  for  the  resur- 
rectum  of  the  dead,  or  are  immersed  in  sufferings, 
because  of  their  believing  in,  and  testifying  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead :  for  which 
interpretation  he  adduces  solid  reasons.  If  the  dead 
rise  not — If  the  doctrine  I  oppose  be  tnie,  and  the 
dead  are  not  raised  la  all ;  why  are  they  then  bap- 
tized for  the  resurrection  of  the  dead?  And  why 
stand  we — The  apostles ;  also  in  jeopardy — ^And  aire 
exposed  to  so  much  danger  and  sufi^ring;  every 
hour-^ln  the  service  of  a  Master  from  whom^  it  is 
evident,  we  have  no  secular  rewards  to  expect. 

Verses  31-34.  I  protest  by  your  refoidng—QTeek, 
VII  Tt/v  vfitrepav  Kavxnoiv  nv  ejjjQ,  by  the  boasting 
concerning  you  which  I  have,  namely,  on  account 
of  your  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  So  the 
clause  is  interpreted  by  some  critics.  /  die  daily r^ 
That  is,  I  am  daily  in  danger  of  death,  for  bearing 
testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  to  a 
general  resurrection  through  him.  If,  to  speak 
after  the  manner  of  wen— That  is,  To  use  a  pro- 
verbial phrase  expressive  of  the  most  imminent 
danger;  I  have  fought  with  beasts  ai  Ephesus — 
With  the  savage  fury  of  a  lawless  multitude,  Acts 
xix.  29,  &c.  What  advantagethit  me — What  have 
I  gained  by  such  sufferings;  if  the  dead  rise  not? 
And  I  have  nothing  to  expect  after  death.  Let  us 
eat  and  drink^  &c. — We  might,  on  that  supposition, 
as  well  say,  with  the  Epicureans,  Let  us  make  the 
best  of  this  short  hfe,  seeing  We  haye  no  other  por- 
tion to  expect.  Be  not  deceived — By  such  pernicious 
counsels  as  this.  Evil  comniunications  corrupt  good 
m/mners — He  opposes  to  the  Epicurean  saying  a 
well^nown  verse  of  the  poet  Menander.  By  evil 
communications,  is  meant  conversation  contrary 
to  fkich,  hope,  or  love ;  or  familiar  intercourse  with 
worldly  and  carnal  people,  which  tends  to  destroy 
all  holiness.  Awake — An  exclamation  full  of  apos- 
tolical majesty.  Shake  off  your  lethargy!  To 
righteousness — Evangelical  and  divine  righteous* 
ness,  flowing  from  the  true  knowledge  of  God,  and 
implying  that  the  whole  soul  be  broad  awake  and 
watchful  \  the  righteousness  through  which  grace 
reigns  unto  eternal  life,  Rom.  v.  21 ;  and  sin  not 
—That  is,  and  you  will  not  sin,  for  sin  supposes 
sleepiness  or  drowsiness  of  soul.  There  is  need  to 
press  this;  for  some—Among  you;  have  not  the 
knowledge  of  6W— With  all  your  boasted  know- 
to 


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CHAPTER  XV. 


the  reeurreetum  of  the  dead. 


A.  M.  4063.    35  Bat  some  man  will  say,  ^  How 
''    are  the  dead  raised  up?  and  with 


what  body  do  they  come  ? 

36  TAou  fool,  *  that  which  thou  sowest  is  not 
quickened  except  it  die : 

37  And  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest 


t  Eaek.  xzzriL  a 


ledge,  yoQ  are  ignorant  of  what  it  most  concerns 
yon  to  know ;  I  speak  this  to  your  shame~-'Vor  no- 
thing IB  more  shameful  than  sleepy  ignorance  of 
God,  and  of  the  word  and  works  of  God;  to  them, 
esp^»aliy,  it  was  diamefal,  considering  the  advan- 
tages they  had  ei^oyed. 

Verse  35.  But  some  man  possibly  will  say,  How 
are  the  dead  raised  ufh^ ARer  their  whole  frame  is 
dissolved  1  And  with  what  kind  of  bodies  do  they 
come  7 — From  the  dead,  after  these  are  mouldered 
into  dust.  By  the  apostle's  answer  to  these  inqui- 
ries, it  appears  that  he  considered  the  inquirer  as 
not  so  much  desiring  to  have  his  curiosity  satis- 
fied, respecting  the  nature  and  qualities  of  the 
bodies  raised,  as  suggesting  the  impossibility  of  the 
resurrection  in  quesiioa  taking  place.  He  therefore 
begins  with  proviog  the  possibility  of  the  resurrec- 
tioo,  by  appealing  to  the  power  of  God  displayed  in 
raking  grain  from  seed  which  is  rotted  in  the  ground, 
and  in  giving  to  each  of  the  kinds,  wheh  it  is  grown 
up,  the  body  proper  to  it :  also  in  making  bodies 
celestial  and  bodies  terrestrial,  each  having  its  own 
properties  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  all 
o^rs.  And  from  these  instances  of  the  power  of 
God,  he  infers  that  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is 
posnble,  verses  3&-42.  As  to  the  inquiry,  with 
what  kind  of  bodies  men  will  be  raised,  his  answer 
is  given  from  the  middle  of  verse  42-54,  But  what 
he  advances  respects  only  the  properties  of  the 
bodies  of  the  righteous,  which  he  contrasts  with  the 
properties  of  the  bodies  which  were  laid  in  the  grave. 
And  with  respect  to  the  righteous,  who  are  found 
alive  on  the  earth  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  he  de- 
clares that  their  bodies  will  be  chsmged  in  a  moment, 
and  rendered  incorruptible  and  immortal,  because 
fiesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Verses  36-38.  Thou  /oot— Greek,  wppov,  without 
mind,  or  understanding.  Or,  thou  inconsiderate 
and  thoughtless  creature,  who  thinkest  a  matter  im- 
possible, of  the  possibility  of  which  thou  hast  an 
example  m  the  very  seed  thou  sowest.  Macknight 
thinks  the  apostle  here  addresses  the  false  teacher 
at  Corinth,  "  giving  him  the  appellation  of  fool  in 
the  same  sense,  and  for  the  same  reason,  that  our 
Lord  himself  called  the  Fhwnaees  fools,  namely,  on 
aeoount  of  their  ignorance  and  wickedness.  Matt. 
xxiL  17."  WhcU  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened  ex- 
cept it  die— ^  To  illustrate  the  possibility  of  the 
resurrection,  the  apostle  appeals  to  a  thing  which 
men  every  day  behold,  and  which  is  little  less 
wonderful  than  the  resurrection  itself,  the  repvo- 
doctioa  of  grain  from  seed  sown,  which  does  not 
grow  mileas  it  be  rotted  in  the  ground.  But  after 
ita  body  is  destroyed,  something  springs  out  of  it, 
b 


not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare  A.  M.4063. 
grain;  it  may  chance  of  wheat, or  ctf  ^•'^•^•. 
some  other  grain; 

38  But  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased 
him,  and  to  every  seed  his  own  body. 

39  All  flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh^  but  there 


>  John  zii.  24. 


which,  by  a  wonderful  process,  the  effect  of  the 
power  of  God,  epds  in  the  reproduction  of  the  same 
kind  of  grain,  not  bare  as  it  was  sown,  but  richly 
adorned  with  blades,  stalk,  and  ear."  Thomas 
Pain^  in  his  "Age  of  Reason,"  and  some  other  mo* 
dern  infidels,  have  maintained,  against  the  apostle, 
"Aat  the  seed  does  not  die  in  vegetation,  because 
the  genne  lives  and  expands  itself^  and  only  the  ex- 
traneous  matter  corrupts.  But  in  lact  the  seed,  as 
such,  doth  die :  it  ceases  to  be  a  grain  of  com ; 
though  a  part  of  it  springs,  as  it  were,  into  new  life, 
by  a  process  which  we  can  no  more  comprehend 
than  we  can  the  manner  of  the  reaurrecticm.  Even 
Lucretius,  ihe  Epicurean  atheist,  says,  ^Whatever 
change  transfers  a  body  into  a  new  class  of  beings, 
may  be  justly  called  the  death  of  the  original  sub- 
stance :  for  what  is  changed  from  what  it  was,  that 
dies.' " — Scott  And  that  which  thou  sowest  is  not 
the  body  thai  shaU  6e— Produced  from  the  seed 
committed  to  the  ground ;  but  bare,  naked,  grain — 
Widely  different  from  that  which  will  afterward  rise 
out  of  the  earth.  BtU  Qod—'^oi  thou,  O  man,  nor 
the  grain  itself;  giveth  it  a  body^Jn  the  course  of 
his  natural  operations,  by  certain  laws  of  vegetation, 
with  which  thou  art  entirely  unacquamted;  as  it 
hath  pleased  him — With  such  a  variety  of  parts  as 
he  hath  thought  fit  to  determine  for  that  particular 
species;  and  to  each  of  the  seeds^'Soi  only  of  the 
fruits  and  plants,  but  animals  also,  to  which  the 
i4[>ostle  rises  in.  the  foUowhig  verse;  its  own  body 
—Not  only  a  body  of  the  same  sort,  but  that 
which,  by  virtue  of  some  connection  it  had  with 
this  or  that  individual  grain,  may  properly  be  called 
its  own,  though  in  its  form  much  different,  and  much 
more  beautifuL  It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Mac- 
knight here,  that,  ^'having  such  an  example  of  the 
divine  power  before  our  eyes,  we  cannot  think  the 
reproduction  of  the  body  impossible,  though  its 
parts  be  utterly  dissipated.  And  although  the  very 
numerical  body  be  not  raised,  which  the  apostle  uv 
timates  when  he  affirms  that  the  grain  produced 
from  the  seed  sown  is  not  the  very  body  which  is 
sown,  yet  the  body  is  truly  raised;  because  what  is 
raised  being  unit^  to  the  soul,  there  will  arbe  in 
the  man,  thus  completed,  a  consciousness  of  identity, 
by  which  he  will  be  sensible  of  the  justice  of  the 
retribution  which  is  made  to  him  for  his  deeds. 
Besides,  this  new  body  will  more  than  supply  the 
place  of  the  old,  by  serving  every  purpose  necessary 
to  the  perfection  and  happiness  of  the  man  in  his 
new  state.  According  to  this  view  of  the  subject, 
the  objection  taken  from  the  scattering  of  the  par- 
tides  of  the  body  that  die,  has  no  place,  because  it 
does  not  seem  necessary  that  the  body  to  be  raised 
200 


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I.  €ORINTHIANS. 


the  raised  bodies  of  the  sainU. 


.  A.M.40J3.  is  one  kind  o/*  flesh  of  med,  anolher 

^  ^'  ^^'    flest  of  beasts,  another  of  fishes,  and 

another  of  birds.  , 

40  Th&re  are  also  celestial  bodies,  and  bodies 

terrestrial :  ^but  the  glory  of  the  celestial  is  one, 

and  the  glory  of  the  teirestrial  is  another. 


*  Dan.  xiL  3 ; 


should  be  composed  of  them;  for  the  Scripture 
i^owhere  affirms  that  the  same  numerical  body  is  to 
be  raised.  In  the  opinion  of  some,  indeed,  the  ex- 
ample of  the  grain  which  first  dies,  and  then  revives, 
is  mentioned  to  intimate,  that  in  the  human  body 
there  is  a  seminal  principle,  which  is  not  destroyed 
by  death;  and  which,  at  the  appointed  season,  will 
reproduce  ,the  body  in  a  more  excellent  form  than 
before,  through  the  quickening  influence  of  his 
power.  But  is  a  seminal  principle  any  thing  differ- 
ent from  that  power?  What  occasion  then  have 
we  to  carry  our  thoughts  in  this  matter  beyond 
God's  power  ?  Besides,  as  there  is  no  inextinguish- 
able pirinciple  in  plants,  the  analogy  doth  not  hold. 
I  therefore  suppose  this  wonderful,  though  common 
instance,  is  mentioned,  to  show  that  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  is  not  beyond  the  power  of  God  to  ac- 
complish; and  that  it  may  certainly  be  expected 
according  to  Christ's  promise." 

Verses  89-41.  All  flesh,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said, 
There  is  an  immense  variety  m  the  works  of  God, 
even  in  those  which  fell  under  the  inspection  of  our 
senses,  feeble  and  limited  as  they  are,  white  we 
dwell  in  flesh  and  blood.  For  we  see  even  earthy 
bodies  differ  from  earthy,  and  heavenly  bodies  from 
heavenly.  What  wonder  then  4f  heavenly  bodies 
differ  from  earthy  7  or  the  bodies  which  rise  from 
those  that  lie  in  the  grave  \  "  As  in  the  preceding 
verse,"  says  the  author  last  quoted,  "the  apostle 
directs  us  to  consider  the  greatness  of  the  power  of 
Crod,  displayed  in  the  production  of  that  endless 
variety  of  vegetable  substances  for  food  to  man  and 
beast,  with  which  we  are  surrounded;  so  in  this 
verse  he  directs  our  attention  to  the  same  power  of 
God  displayed  in  that  wonderful  diversity  of  animal 
substances,  which  it  hath  formed  into  different  sorts 
of  organized  bodies,  each  with  members  properly 
adapted  to  the  instincts  of  its  inhabitant,  and  to  the 
manner  of  life  for  which  it  is  designed;"  men, 
beasts,  fishes,  fowls.  There  are  also  celestiaS  bodies, 
Ac. — As  if  he  had  said,  The  greatness  of  his  power 
God  hath  likewise  showed,  in  the  formation  of  other 
bodies  which  are  inanimate,  both  celestial,  as  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  terrestrial,  such  as  fossils 
and  minerals.  But  the  glory  of  the  celestial  is  one, 
&c.— Different  indeed  is  the  glory  of  the  one  from 
that  of  the  other,  and  the  brightest  lustre  which  the 
terrestrial  can  have,  falls  very  short  of  that  of  the 
celestial.  There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  &c. — Yea, 
and  the  heavenly  bodies  themselves  differ  from  each 
other.  From  the  whole  of  these  principles,  the 
apostie  draws  this  conclusion; — that,  since  God's 
power  has  been  so  "gloriously  manifested  in  the 
greatness  and  variety  of  the  material  substances 

ao6 


41  There  is  one^glory  of  the  sun,  a.  m.  4663. 
and  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and  — ' 
another  glory  of  the  stars ;  for  one  fltar  differ- 
eth  from  aiwther  star  in  glory. 

42  '  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It 
is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incomiption : 


Matt  xiiL  43. 


which  he  has  already  formed,  and  in  the  diversity  of 
their  Configuration,  that  person  must  be  a  fool  in- 
deed, (verse  36,)  who  takes  upon  him  to  affirm  that 
God  cannot  raise  up  bodies  fqr  his  saints  at  the  last 
day,  in  form  and  tise  similar  to  theu*  present  bodies, 
and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  faculties  of  their  minds, 
and  to  the  new  world  in  which  they  are  to  live." 
This  last  observation  is  peculiarly  worthy  the 
reader's  attention.  Our  new  bodies,  what  qualities 
soever  they  may  possess,  win  doubtless  be. perfectly 
adi^ted  to  the  faculties  of  our  minds,  and  to  the 
new  world  in  which  we  shall  Be  placed :  as  our  pre- 
sent bodies  are  adapted  to  the  faculties  we  now 
possess,  and  to  the  world  in  which  we  now  Hvc; 
and  as  we  see  the  bodies  of  all  creatures  are  suited 
to  the  instincts  God  hath  given  them,  and  td  the 
element  or  place  in  which  they  have  their  abode, 
whether  fish  in  the  water,  fowls  in  the  air,  or  cattle 
and  creeping  things  on  or  within  the  dry  land. 
Accordingly,  when  any  living  creature  is  destined 
to  change  the  place  of  its  'abode,  it  receives  a 
new  body,  adapted  to  its  new  situation:  as,  for 
example,  the  silk-worm,  when  it  is  no  longer  to  be 
confined  to  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry-tree,  but  to 
have  the  freedom  and  pleasure  of  roaming  at  large 
in  the  spacious  regions  of  the  air,  is  furnished  with 
a  new  and  winged  body,  adapted  to  its  new  state 
and  element.  And  here  arises  a  question:  Is  it  hot 
probable  that  at  least  one  important  reason  why  we 
arc  to  receive  new  bodies,  and  are  not  always  to 
remain  disimbodied  sphrits,  (as  we  shall  be  in  the 
intermediate  state  between  death  and  Judgment,} 
is,  because  we  are  destined  to  remove  into  a  new 
World,  far  more  perfect  and  glorious  than  this  faUen 
and  disordered  one  in  which  we  ndw  are? — a  worid. 
in  which  there  vjUI  be  no  more  curse,  but  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it,  and  his  ser^ 
vants  shall  serve, him,  and  shall  see- his  face.  In 
this  new  world,  God,  who  never  sinks,  but  always 
rises  to  higher  and  higher  perfection  in  his  works, 
will  certainly  make  a  far  more  glorious  display  of 
his  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  and  other  attri- 
butes, than  he  has  done  in  this  present  world ;  and 
it  is  therefore  necessary  that  we  should  have  bodies 
Airnlshed  with  senses  and  other  members  adapted 
to  that  world,  and  enabling  us  to  hold  connection 
and  intercourse  with  it,  and  to  apprehend,  enjoy, 
and  be  instructed  in  the  further  knowledge  of  our 
glorious  Creator,  by  the  excellences  of  it,  so  supe- 
rior to  any  we  had  witnessed  In  this  present  earth, 
the  abode  of  our  infancy  and  childhood.  But  suf- 
fice it  at  present  to  have  given  a  hint  of  this. 

Verses  42-44.  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the 
deadr^So  great  is  the  diflerence  between  the  body 

b 


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CHAPTER  XV. 


shall  be  raised  in  glary. 


A.  M.  4063. 
A.  D.  50. 


43  7  It  is  sown  in  dishonour,  it  is 
raised  in  glory :  it  is  sown  in  weak- 
ness, it  is  raised  in  power : 
44  It. is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a 
qnritiial  body.     There  is  a  natural  bodyj  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  body. 


y  PhiL  uL  21.- 


» Gen.  iL  7.- 


y.  14. 


which  fell  ^nd  that  which  rises.  It  is  to  be  observ- 
ed, that  in  this  and  the  following  verses,  the  apostle 
is  giving  an  account  of  the  righteous  only.  It  is 
sown — A  beautiful  word ;  committed  as  seed  to  the 
ground:  and v the  apostle  thus  expresses  the  burial 
of  the  body,  because  he  had  illustrated  the  possi- 
bility of  its  resutrection,  notwithstanding  it  rots  in 
the  grave,  or  is  otherwise  destroyed,  by  the  example 
of  grain  sown  in  t^e  earth,  which  after  it  rots  pro- 
duces grain  of  the  same  kind  with  itself;  a  com- 
parison intended  Jto  illustrate  only  the  possibility  of 
the  resurrection,  but  not  the  manner  of  its  being 
effected.  For  certainly  the  body  to  be  raised  will 
not  be  produced  by  any  virtue  in  the  body  bm-ied, 
as  plants  are  produced  by  a  virtue  latent  in  the  seeds 
that  are  sown.  For  we  are  carefully  taught  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  the  resurrection  of  our  bodies  will 
be  effected  merely  by  the  extraordinary  and  miracu- 
lous power  of  God,  and  not  at  all  as  either  plants  or 
animals  are.  produced,  in  a  natural  way,  from  their 
seeds.  In  corruption — Just  ready  to  putrefy,  and 
by  various  degrees  of  corruption  and  decay,  to  re- 
turn to  the  dust  from  whence  it  came.  It  is  raised 
in  incorruption — Utterly  incapable  of  either  disso- 
lution or  decay. .  It  w  sovm  in  dishonour-^Shocklng 
to  those  who  loved  it  best:  human  nature  in  dis- 
grace !  It  is  raised  in  glory — Clothed  with  robes 
of  Ught,  fit  for  those  whom  the  King  of  heaven 
delights  to  honour.  See  on  Matt  xmI.  23;  Phil.  iii. 
21.  It  is  sown  in  weakness — Deprived  even  Of  that 
feeble  strength  which  it  once  enjoyed:  it  is  raised 
in  potcer-r-Endued  with  vigour,  strength,  and  activi- 
ty, such  as  we  cannot  now  conceive.  It  is  sown  in 
this  world  a  natural  body — Or  rather,  an  animal 
bodi/y  as  aufui  ^vxttcov  more  properly  signifies,  sup- 
ported by  food,  sleep,  and  air,  as  the  bodies  of  all 
animals  are:  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body — Of  a 
more  refined  contexture,  needing  none  of  those 
animal  refreshments,  and  endued  with  qualities  of 
a  spiritual  nature  like  the  angels  of  God.  These 
alterations  to  be  produced  in  the  contexture  of  the 
bodies  of  the  righteous  are  indeed  great  and  won* 
derful,  but  far  from  being  impossible.  For,  as  Dr. 
Macknight  justly  observes,  "  to  illustrate  great  thmgs 
by  small,  we  have  an  example  of  a  similar,  though 
very  inferior  transformation,  in  the  bodies  of  cater- 
pillars, which  in  their  first  state  are  ugly,  weak,  and 
easily  crushed,  but  in  their  second  state  become 
beautifully  winged  animals,  full  of  life  and  activity. 
This  shows  what  God  can  do  in  greater  instances." 
It  may  not  be  improper  to  add  here,  what  is  Justly 
observed  by  the  same  author,  that,  notwithstanding 
this  great  difference  between  the  bodies  raised,  and 
the  bodies  committed  to  the  ground,  those  raised 
b 


45  And  so  it  is  written,  The  first  a.  m.  4063 
man  Adam  *  was  made  a  living  soul,      ' 

■  the  last  Adam  wets  made  ^  a  quickening  spirit. 

46  Howbeit,  that  wa^  not  first  which  is  spirit- 
ual, but  that  which  is  natural  j  and  afterward 
that  which  is  spiritual. 


fcJohn  T.  21 ;  vi.  33,39,  40,  54,  57;  PhiL  iii.  21;  CoL  ui.  4* 


will,  in  a  sound  sense,  be  the  same  with  the  bodies 
that  were  buried;  inasmuch  as  they  will  consist  of 
members  and  organs  of 'sensation  in  form  and  use 
similar  to  the  members  and  organs  of  the  present 
body:  that  is,  as  iiEor  as  their  new  state  will  admit ;  a 
limitation  this,  absolutely  necessary  to  be  made,'  be- 
cause the  Scripture  itself  mentions  two  particulars, 
and  reason  suggests  others,  in  which  the  bodies 
raised  will  essentially  differ  from  those  which  died. 
1st,  We  are  told  (1  Cor.  Vi.  13)  that  God  will  de- 
stroy both  the  belly^  (including  both  the  stomach 
and  bowels,)  or  the  use  of  that  member^  and  meats. 
2d,  Our  Lord  assures  usj  that  they  who  shall  be 
accounted  worthy  to  obtain  thai  world,  and  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage,  for  they  are  equal  to  the  angels.  From 
these  texts  it  follow^  that  none  of  the  members  ne- 
cessary to  eating,  and  drinking,  and  marriage,  will 
make  part  of  the  glorified  bodies  of  the  saints ;  and 
that  none  of  the  appetites  and  passions  which  are 
gratified  by  these  members,  will  have  any  existence 
in  their  minds :  consequently,  the  joys  of  the  hea- 
venly country,  though  in  part  they  are  to  arise  from 
bodily  senses,  will  have  no  affinity  with  the  plea- 
sures of  a  Mohammedan  paradise.  3d,  Reason  di« 
rects  us  to  believe,  that  to  the  similarity  or  same- 
ness of  the  body  which  is  raised,  with  the  body  that 
was  buried,  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  that  the  im- 
perfections in  the  members  of  the  buried  body, 
should  take  place  in  the  raised  body.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  restoration  of  all  the  members  to  their 
proper  form,  place,  and  office  in  the  body,  instead  of 
making  it  a  different  body,  will  render  it  more  per- 
fectly the  same.  4th,  Besides  the  differences  men- 
tioned, there  may  b^  other  differences  likewise  in 
the  glorified  bodies  of  the  saints,  suited  to  the  differ- 
ence of  their  state,  of  which  at  present  we.  can 
form  no  conception..  Tor  if  the  raised  body  is  to  be 
endowed  with  new  powers  of  action,  and  new 
senses,  these  may  require  additional  members ;  and 
notwithstand'mg  the  addition,  the  raised  body  may, 
on  account  of  its  general  sunUariiy  to  the  body  that 
was  buried,  be  still  considered  as  the  ^me.  To 
conclude,  the  Scripture  speaks  consistently  when, 
in  describing  the  state  of  the  righteous  after  the 
resurrection,  it  represents  them  as  having  their  mor- 
tal bodies  refashioned  like  to  the  glorious  body  of 
Christ,  and  informs  us,  that  after  their  whole  per- 
sons are  thus  completed,  they  shall  be  carried  to  a 
heavenly  country,  where  every  object  being  suited 
to  the  nature  of  their  gloi'ified  bodies,  they  shall  live 
unspeakably  happy  to  all  eternity. 

Verses  45,  46.    And  so  it  is  icriWcn— With  re- 
spect to  the  animal  body,  Gen.  ii,  7.    The  first  Adam 
207 


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I.  CORINTHIANa 


ieeond  ann^ing  AaU  he  dumg^ed. 


▲.M.4063^ 
A.D.  59. 


47  •  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth, 
^  earthy :  the  scvcond  man  is  the  Lord 
•  firom  heaven. 

48  As  stf  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that 
are  earthy:  /and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are 
they  also  that  are  heavenly. 
I  49  And  '  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
earthy,  ''we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the 
heavenly* 

50  Now  this  I  say,  brethren,^  that  *  flesh  and 


«  John  iit  31.-^—*  OeiL  ii  7 ;  iil  19.-^--*  John  iii.  13,  31. 

f  PhiL  iii  20,  21. f  Oen.  ¥.  3. *  Rom.  Tiii.  29 ;  2  C!or.  iiL 

18;  iy.  11 ;  PhiL  iiL  21 ;  1  Jolm  iiL  2. 


trot  made  a  living  soul — €h>d  gave  him  animal  life, 
in  many  respects  resembling  that  of  other  animals ; 
Ihe  last  Adam  was  wwirfe— Rather  loasy  or  i>,  for 
there  is  nothing  in  the  original  for  made;  a  quick- 
ening Spirit^UoYing  life  in  himself;  and  quicken- 
ing whom  he  will:  imparting  even  a  more  refined 
life  to  men's  bodies  at  the  resurrection,  than  that 
which  they  formerly  possessed.  Christ  is  called 
Adam,  because  believers  receive^  their  sanctified, 
spiritual  nature,  and  their  immortal  bodies,  from 
him,  (see  Eph.  v.  32,)  just  as  mankind  have  de- 
rived their  corrupted  nature  and  mortal  bodies 
from  the  first  Adam.  He  is  also  called  the  last 
Adam,  because  he  is  posterior  in  time  to  the  first 
Adam,  or  because  there  shall  be  no  restorer  and 
head  of  the  human  race  after  him.  Howbeit  that 
was  not  first  which  is  spiritual^  ^. — That  is, 
as  the  first  Adam  eiusted  before  Christ  was  sent  to 
assume  our  nature,  and  become  our  Saviour,  so 
must  we  first  wear  that  animal  body,  which  we  de- 
rive from,  the  one,  before  we  put  on  that  spiritual  body 
which  we  receive  from  the  other.  Here  we  are 
taught  that  the  plan  of , the  divine  government  is  to 
lead  his  creatures  from  alower  to  ahigher  state  of  per- 
fection. They,  therefore,  who  contend  that  things 
should  be  as  perfect  at  the  beginning  as  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  administration,  are  wiser  than  God. 

Verses  47-49.  The  first  man  is  [was]  of  the  earth, 
earthy— Btmg  from  earth,  and  having  forfeited  his 
immortality  by  sin,  he  became  subject  to  corruption 
and  dissolution,  like  the  earth  from  which  he  came. 
The  second  man  is  the  Lord  firom  heavenSi.  Paul 
could  not  well  say,  ''is  of,  or  from  heaven,  hea- 
venly :"  because  though  man  owes  it  to  the  earth 
that  he  is  earthy,  yet  the  Lord  does  not  owe  it  to 
heaven  that  he  is  glorious.  He  himself  made  the 
heavens,  and  by  descending  from  them,  showed 
himself  to  us  as  the  Lord.  Chr'ist  is  dedled  the 
second  Adam  in  this  respect,  that  as  Adam  was  a 
public  person  who  acted  in  the  stead  of  all  mankind, 
so  was  Christ ;  and  as  Adam  was  the  first  general 
representative  of  men,  Christ  was  the  second  and 
the  last :  and  what  they  severally  did,  terminated 
not  in  themselves,  but  affected  all  whom  they  repre- 
sented. As  is  the  earthy^-The  first  Adam  after  his 
fall }  sucfi  are  they  also  that  are  earthy — Who  con- 
tinue without  any  higher  principle ;  they  are  smful, 


blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdixn  a.  ic.  4063. 

of  God ;  nether  doth  corruption  in-  

herit  incorruption. 

51  Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery ;  ^  We 
shall  not  all  sleeps  ^but  we  shall  afl  bt 
changed, 

52  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye^ 
at  the  last  trump :  "■  for  the  trumpet  shall  soand, 
and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  inoorruptibley  and 
we  shall  be  changed. 


tlf^tt.  xri.  17;  John  iiL  3;  5.-"— ^  1  Then.  ir.  15, 16,  17. 

1  PhiL  iu.  21. ■  Zecfa.  iz.  14 ;  lUu.  zzit.  31 ;  John  r.  85  ; 

IThen.  ir.  16. 


niortal,  corruptible  creatures:  such  a  body  as  Adam 
had,  have  all  his  posterity  while  they  remain  oa 
earUi.  And  as  is  the  heavenly — Man,  Christ,  at 
present;  spuck  are — Or  rather,  shaltbe;  they  that 
are  heavenly — ^Who  are  united  to  Christ  by  the 
quickening  and  regenerating  influences  of  hb  Spi- 
rit. That  they  may  live  with  him  in  heaven,  they 
shall  at  last  have  gk>rious  bodies  like  his.  And  as 
ice  have  home  the  image  of  ihe  earthy — ^As  assured- 
ly as  we  are  now  sinful,  afflicted,  and  mortal  men, 
like  the  first  Adam ;  ve  shall  also  bear  the  image 
of  ihe  heavenly— So  surely  shall  we  be  brought  to 
resemble  Christ  in  holiness,  glory,  and  immortality. 
Verses  50-52.  Now  this  I  say,  brethren— T)m  I 
ofier  to  your  consideration  as  a  great  and  important 
truth,  that  we  must  first  undergo  an  entire  change; 
fbr  flesh  and  blood — Such  as  we  are  now  elothed 
with;  cannot  inJ^erit  the  kingdom  of  God — Cannot 
enter  that  happy  place  which  Christ  hath  gone  to 
prepare  for  the  reception  of  his  people,  (John  xiv. 
7,)  cannot  poscfess  tibat  kingdom  which  is  wholly 
spiritual,  because  it  afibrds  no  objects  suited  either 
to  the  senses  or  to  the  appetites  of  such  a  body. 
Neither  doth  corruption— This  corruptible  body; 
inherit  incorruption^ThaX  incorruptible  kingdom. 
Spirits,  clothed  with,  corruptible  bodies  like  our 
present  bodies,  cannot  enjoy  objects  that  are  in- 
corruptible. They  are  not  capable  of  enjoying  the 
divine  vision,  nor  of  performing  the  exalted  services, 
nor  of  relishing  the  pure  pleasures,  which  consti- 
tute the  glory  and  felicity  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Beholdy  I  show  you  a  mystery — A  truth  hitherto  un* 
known,  and  not  yet  fully  revealed  to  any  of  the  sons 
of  men.  IFe— Christians :  the  apostle  conaders  them 
all  as  one  in  their  succeeding  generations;  ehaU 
not  Jie— Suffer  a  separation  of  soul  and  body ;  but 
we  shall  all — Who  do  not  die ;  be  changed—So  that 
this  animal  body  shall  become  spiritual;  in  a  mo- 
ment — Amazing  work  of  omnipotence !  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump— Blown  by  the  di- 
vine command.  For  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  Ac 
—At  the  giving  of  the  law  from  Sinai,  there  was 
heard  a  great  noise,  like  the  sounding  of  a  trumpet, 
exceeding  loud,  which  sounded  long,  and  waxed 
louder  and  louder.  In  like  manner,  at  the  descent 
of  Christ  f^om  heaven,  a  great  noise  called  the 
trump  of  God,  (1  Thess.  iv.  16,)  will  be  made  by 

b 


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CHAPTER  XT. 


iknmgK  1h$^  Lord  Juu$  ChHit. 


A.  H.  4003.    63  For  this  comipCible  must  pat 

▲.  D.  59.  .         *  .  , 

on   incorruption,  and  ^this  mortal 

must  put  on  immortalitjr. 

64  So  when  this  ^x>rruptible  shall  have  put  on 
incomiption,  and  this  mortal  shall  hare  put  on 
immortality,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 
saying  thai  is  wriUen,  ^  Death  is  swallowed  up 
m  victory.  . 


■3  Cor.  T.  4.- 


-olsa.  xxr:  8;  Heb.  Si.  14,  15;   Aer.  xz.  H. 
pHos.xuLU. *Or,*«a. 


the  attending  angels,  as  the  signal  for  the  righteous 
to  come  forth  from  their  graves.  And  this  noise 
being  made  at  Christ's  command,.it  is  called  by  him- 
self, his  votce,  John  v.  26.  Alter  the  righteous  are 
raised,  the  trumpet  shall  sound  a  second  time ;  en 
which  account  it  is  called  here  tbe  last  trumpet. 
And  while  it  sounds,  the  righteous  who  are  alive  on 
the  earth  shall  be  changed.  And  the  dead  ehall  be 
raised  inqprrtiptible — Though  this  expression  be 
general,  yet,  as  appears  from  verse  51,  and  indeed 
from  the  whole  latter  part  of  the  chapter,  it  is  evi- 
dent it  must  be  restricted  to  the  dead  in  Christ,  of 
whom  alone  the  apostle  is  discoursing.  Besides,  as 
appears  from  I  Thess.  iv.  16,  the  wicked  are  not  to 
be  raised  at  the  silme  time  witfi*  the  righteous. 

Verses  53,  54.  For  thi»  corruptible— This  human 
nature,  whidi  is  corruptible ;  mukt — ^In  order  to  its 
partaking  of  the  above-mentioned  glory;  put  on 
incorruption'^Be  endued  with  such  qualities  as 
shall  continue  in  perpetual  vigour,  not  subject  to 
any  alteration;  and  this  mortal' must  put  on  im- 
mortality— So  as  to  be  no  longer  subject  to  dis- 
eases or  death.  The  wojd  evdvaaa^ai^  here  ren- 
dered to  put  on,  literally  signifies  to  go  into  a 
place,  or  metaphorically,  to  put  on,  or  go  into  clothes. 
But  the  metaphoricid  meaning  must  not  be  insisted 
on  here,  as  implying  that  our  corruptible  body  shall 
have  one  that  is  incorruptible  put  over  it  for  an  out- 
ward covering.  These  ideas  are  ineongruous,  and 
ih^eibre  the  meaning  is,  the  Corruptible  must  be 
changed  into  one  that  is  incorruptible,  as  mentioned 
verse  51 ;  the  righteous,  who  are  alive  at  the  coming 
Of  Christ,  instead  of  dying  and  rising  again  immob- 
tal,  shall,  by  the  power  of  Christ,  have  their  corrupt- 
ibk,  mortal  bodies,  changed  in  a  moment,  into  in- 
corruptible, immortal  bodies,  and  by  that  means  be 
fitted  for  inheriting  the  kingdom  of  God,  equally 
with  those  who  are  raised  frOm  the  dead  incorrupt- 
ible. So.  when  this  corruptible  ^atl  have  put  on 
(nc^rruption,  &c.— When  this  glorioUs  and  long- 
expected  event  shall  be  accomplished ;  then  shall  be 
brought  to  pass  what  is  imften,(Isa.xxv.  8,)  Death 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory — ^Is  totally  conquered  or 
abolished  for  ever,  as  the  original  phrase,  etc  vikoc, 
may  be  translated,  being  often  used  by  the  LXX.  in 
diat  sense.  This  circumstance  likewise  shows,  that 
hi  this  discourse  the  apostle  had  the  resurrection  of 
the  righteous  only  in  view.  For  it  cannot  be  said 
of  the  wicked,  who  are  to  sufibr  the  second  death, 
that  death  is  swailowed  op  in  any  ^ense  with  respeM 

Vol.  II.  (  14  > 


56  'O  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  a.  m.  4o69. 
O  •grave,  where  w  thy  victory?  ^  ^'  ^ 

66  The  .sting  of  d^Uh  is  mn]  and  «^e 
strength  of  sin  t^  the  law. 

67  ^But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth 
us  'the  victory^  through  our  Lmi  Jesus 
Christ 

68  *  Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye 


«i  Rom.  It.  15;  t,  13 ;  riL  5,  13. 'Rom.  tIL  2ft. — ^  1  John 

T.4^5. «2Pet.  iii.  14. 


io  tbem,  or  that  God  hath  given  them  the  victory 
over  it,  (verse  S7,)  by  the  resurrection. 

Verse  55.  O  deaih^  where  is  thy  «<ing?— Which 
once  was  fuU  of  hellish  poison.  O  grave — Aj^c,  O 
hades,  the  receptacle  of  separate  souls ;  where  is  thy 
vict&ry7—Tho\k  art  now  robbed  of  thy  spoils;  aU 
thy  captives  are  set  at  liberty.  "  The  word  Jiades 
literally  signifies  the  invi«ble  world,  or  the  world 
where  departed  spirits,  both  good  and  bad,  remain 
till  the  resurrection.  Job  xi.  8;  Rsa.  cxzxix.9;  Isa. 
xiv.9;  and  especially  Psa.  xvi.  10,  Thou  wUt  not 
leave  my  soul  ih  Jiades.  The  place  where  the 
spirits  of  the  righteous  abide,  the  Jews  called  para- 
dise; thei»lace  where  the  wicked  are  shut  up  they 
called  tartarus,  after  the  Oreeks.  There  many  of 
the  fallen  angels  are  said  to  be.  hnprisoned,  2  Pet  ii. 
4.  ^  In  this  noble  passage  the  apostle  personifies 
death  and  the  grave,  and  introduces  the  righteous 
after  the  resurrection,  singing  a  song  of  victory  over 
both.  In  this  sublime  song,  death  is  represented  as 
a  terrible  monster,  having  a  deadly  sting,  wherewith 
it  had  destroyed  ti^e  bodies  of  the  whole  human  race, 
and  the  invisible  world  as  an  enemy  who  had  hn- 
prisoned their  spirits.  But  the  sting  being  torn  from 
death,  and  the  gates  of  the  invisible  world  set  open 
by  Christ,  the  bodies  of  the  righteous  shall  rise  from 
the  grave,  no  more  liable  to  be  destroyed  by  death, 
andlheir  spirits,  being  brought  out  of  i^aradise,  the 
place  of  their  abode,  shall  reanimate  their  bodies; 
and  the  first  use  of  their  newly- recovered  tongue 
^ill  be  to  sing  this  song,  in  which  they  exult  over 
death  aaid  hades,  as  enenfles  utterly  destroyed,  and 
praise^  God,  who  hath  given  them  the  victory  over 
these  deadly  foes  thiough  Jesus  Christ  Milton 
hath  made  good  use  of  the  apostle's  personification 
of  death,  book  ii.  L  fififi."— Macknight 

Verses  56-58.  Thestingofdeathisstn'^Vn:iieh 
arms  it  with. its  greatest  terrors,  and  is  attended 
with  a  foreboding  of  ftiture  misery,  as  the  effect  of 
the  divine  displeastire.  And  the  strength  of  sin — 
Which  constitutes  its  malignity,  and  gives  it  those 
killing  weapons ;  is  the  law^An  is  largely  declared 
Rom.  vii.  7,  &c. ;  or,  that  it  is  a  transgression  of  the 
divine  law.  But  thanks  be  to  Qod,  who  giveth  ii#— 
Who  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  with  our  hearts  unto 
righteousness;  the  mctory— Over  sin,  death,  and 
hades;  through  our  Ij&rd  Jesus  Clfcrut— Through 
his  sacrifice  and  intercession,  and  the  supplies  of 
his  grace;  through  his  dying  to  atone  forsfai;  his 
risng  again  to  show  us  that  his'  atonement  was 
900  b 


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jnu  apo$iU  acMte$  coneernihg 


L  CORINTHIANa 


Ike  cetUeHonfar^  poor  waitiU. 


A.ir^.  8teadfiis^unmoveable,alwa]rBabound- 
ing  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  ibrasmuch 


A.D.  59. 


"X^hap. 


aceepted,  and  that  he  had  obtahted  justification  for 
believers,  the  Hdy  Spirit  to  raise  them  to  newnesB 
of  life,  and  a  state  of  immortal  glory.  Therefore, 
my  behved  hr ethr&t,  beyesteadfaat^In  faith,  hope, 
and  love,  and  in  an  uninterrupted  course  of  well- 
doing; Col.  L23;  Rom.ii.7;  6al.Ti.9;  unmoveor 
Me— By  any  temptations  from  ¥fithin  or  without  -, 
from  persons  or  things;  from  visible  or  invisible 
enemies;  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord—hi  evhrj  service  you  are  capable  of  perform- 
ing for  the  giory  of  God,  the  good  of  your  feUow- 
ereatures,  or  your  own  salvation;  the  work  of  faith, 
or  the  labour  of  love  to  God  and  man.  Fhrdsmuch 
ae  ye  know—On  the  surest  evidence ;  ihcU  your  2a- 


as  ye  know  *  (hat  ycmr  labour  is  not  A.  M.  400a. 


in  vain  in  the  Lord 


iiLS. 


hour  thaU  not  be  in  vain  in  ihe  Lord — But  that  yoa 
shiA  receive  a  fM  reward  in  ^t  day  of  final  re- 
cmapense  for  whatever  ye  do  for  his  sake.  Let  110 
endeavour,  therefore,  by  cultivating  holiness  in  aU 
its  branches,  to  maintam  a  lively  hope  of  this  feli- 
city in  all  its  spirit  and  energy,  longing  for  thai 
glorious  day  when,  in  the  utmost  extent  of  the  ez- 
pressioD,  de€Uh  ehall  be  swaUowed up  forever :  and 
millions  of  voices,  after  the  long  silence  of  the  grav^ 
shall  burst  out  at  once  into  that  triumphant  song,  O 
death,  where  is  thy  eting?  O  hade^,  where  ie  thy 
victory  7  And  when  we  shall  join  in  everlasting 
thanksgivings  to  God  for  giving  us  the  victory 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XTI. 

ik  tki9  chaptiTt  the  «po9tU,  (1,)  Crha  tonu.  advice*  reUimg  to  tiu  prufoeei  coUeciiem  f&r  the  poor  iekUe  m  Jmiee^  1-4. 
{%)  biimatee  hie  nUentioii  to  vieit  the  CorwUkuoM^  ft^.  (3,)  Recommeuie  Timothy  to  llem,  end  mcmangee  them  to 
expea  e  vieit  from  ApoUoe,  10-13.  (4,)  Exkorte  ^tem  to  wUckfulneee  end  etee^aetneee  m  faith  and  Umt,  and  to  ehoio 
a  reopect  to  Stepkanae  and  kit  family,  and  other  feUow4abairere,  18-18.  (6,)  After  Chrietian  eabMtione,  he  condaieo 
wiA  a  eolenm  adnumUion  and  henedietionf  10-94. 

A.  M.  4063.  "VrOW  concerning  ■  the  collectiori  for 
— i — '. — 1.         the  saintS)  as  I  have  given  order 


to  the  churchee  of  Galatia,  even  so  do  ye. 

2  *  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  every  I 
one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath 

»Act«  XL  29;  zzir.  17;  Rom.  tw.  26;  2Cor.TiiL  4;  ix.  1,12;  { 
Oal.  il  10. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XVI.  j 

Vw8esl,2.  Now  coricerning  the  collection — Dur- 
ing the  apostle's  eighteen  months'  abode  at  Corinth, ! 
he  had  exhorted  the  brediren  there  to  undertake  the 
making  a  collection  for  the  poor  saints  in  Judea. ' 
BM  tile  divisimis  in  their  diurch,  it  seems,  had  hitfa- ' 
erto  hindered  them  from  beginning  it.    The  aposde ' 
thereibre  here  requests  them  to  set  about  it  4mme- 1 
4iately,  and  directs  them  as  to  the  mode  of  proceed- ' 
ing.    The  saints  in  Judea  were,  it  appears,  at  this 
tune,  in  great  straits,  both  on  account  of  a  famine,  | 
.1^  the  perseeotion  to  which  they  were  exposed.  | 
A$  I  have  given  order,  or  a  charge,  Greek,  dura^a, 
'to  ihe  churchee  of  Qalaiia—li  is  probable  the  apos-  j 
tie  gave  these  orders  to  ^e  diurches  of  Galatia  when  \ 
he  went  throughout  Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Gala-  j 
tia,  establishing  the  churches,  as  mentioned  Acts  xvi. 
0.   Attd  he  may  have  received  the  collections  made 
by  these  churches  wfaen,in  his  way  to  Ephesus,where 
he  BOW  was,  he  went  through  idl  the  chm«hes  of 
t]H)8e  parts  in  order,  as  relatal  Acts  xviii.  3&  I 

Verses  S-4.  Upon  ihefiret  day  of  the  vaeiiMSo ' 
SIO 


prospered  him,  that  there  be  no  ga-  A.  if.  4063. 
therings  when  I  come.  -^ — '- — '-^ 

3  And  when  I  come^  ®  whomsoever  ye  sbafl 
approve  by  your  fetters,  them  will  I  send  to 
bring  your  ^  liberality  unto  Jerusalem. 


»»Act8  XX.  7;    Rer.  i.  10. «2  Cor.  riiL  19.- 

2  Cor.  Tiii.  4,  6»  19. 


'Gr.  gifi. 


Kara/uav  oadSaruv  h^re  signiSes,  the  Hdsrews  using 
the  numeral  for  the  ordinal  numbers,  as  Gen.  L  fl^ 
The  evening  and  the  morning  were  one  day;  that 
is,  the  first  day;  and  also  usuig  the  word  eabbath 
to  denote  the  week,  as  Luke  xviii.  12.  I  foot  twice^ 
ns  aoMoTH,  in  the  week.  So  Mark  xvi.  %,  ^p^h  n^/umt 
ooBSarov,  early  the  fret  day  of  the  week.  Lei 
every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  &c. — Not  the 
rich  only :  let  him  also  that  hath  little  gladly  give  of 
that  little,  as  God  haihpHmpered  Atm^Increasinf 
his  alms  as  God  increases  hissubstance.  According 
to  this  lowest  nile  of  Christian  prudence,  if  a  man» 
when  he  has  or  gains  one  pound,  give  a  tenth  to 
God,  when  he  h^  or  gains  ten  poun^  he  will  give 
a  tenth  to  God;  when  he  has  or  gains  a  hundred, li# 
will  give  the  tenth  of  this  also.  "  And  yet,"  says  Me. 
Wesley,  "J  show  unto  you  a  more  excellent  way.  H# 
that  hath  ears  to  hear  let  him  hear  r  Sthit  yonrself  to 
no  proportion  at  all;  but  lend  to  God  aU  you  ca$t^ 
Thfd  there  be  no  gatheringe^So  neeessity  of 
making  any  particular  ccHlectiotts;  when  I  ceme^ 
From  these  l«it  words  it  is  intered  that  ^uoaeipi/^^ 
(M»)  h 


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Tfte^ipOi^iMiim&imhUiiaeiition         (CHAPTER  XVI. 


to  visU  ^  Qnin^iaM. 


A^iL4M.    4 'And  tfitbemeeCthatlgaalao^ 
they  BhaU  go  with  me. 

5  Nowl  vflUcolMQiteyoc^  *wheii  I  shall 
pMBtfaioii^Maoedoiiia:  forldopasBthioiigh 
Macedcmia. 

6  Afiditmaybethat  Iwffl  aUde,  yea,  and 
wixtcar  with  yoo,  that  ye  may  'bring  me  on 
my  joimey  wfaMiersoever  I  go. 


<SCor.Tm.4,19w •Aetoxix.n;  SCor.iie.-^ — '^^^' 

d;xnL15;xzi.6;Boiii.zr.24;2Cor.x.l6. — -c  Acts  xriii.  21 ; 


here  rendered  lofdkgbyhimin  «eore,  signifies  to  pnt 
his  eharity  into  a  common  Jbox;  because,  if  they  had 
kept  it  at  home,  there  would  have  been  need  of 
gathering  it  when  thefq>ostle  came.  But  the  words 
exococ  frap^  eavrt^  rt^ero,  let  every  one  place  it  with 
himeelf,  admit  not  of  tl^  sense ;  ner,  when  each  of. 
the^ihad  done  this,  could  there  beany  necesatyof 
making  collections;  or,  as  that  expression  imports, 
soliciting  the  charities  of  other^  but  only  of  receiv- 
ing the  contributions  thus  laid  by  tor  the  use  of  the 
saints.  We  may  observe  here,  that  from  the  begin- 
ning, the  Christians  were  wont  to  assemble  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  called  by  them  the  ZorcT^ 
ciay,  to  perform  their  religious  worship.  ''This 
day  being  the  Lord's  day,"  saith  Dionysius,  bishop 
of  Corinth,  "we  keep  it  holy."  "On  Sunday," 
saiih  Justin,  "all  Christians  in  the  city  or  country 
meet  together,  because  that  is  the  day  of  our  Lord's 
resnrrectiim;  and  then  we  read  the  writings  of  the 
prophets  and  ^[lOBtles.  This  being  done,  the  presi- 
dent makes  an  oration  to  the  assembly,  to  cjLhort 
them  to  imitate  and  dp  the  things  they  heard :  then 
we  all  join  in  prayer,  and  a(tef  that  we  celebrate 
the  Lord's  supper." — See  Whitby.  And  wJ^en  1 
eow^T-When  I  am  arrived. at  Corinth ;  whomsoever 
yeshaU  approve  by  Z^ers— Signed  by  (he  members 
of  youroiurch,  or  their  representatives;  them  will 
I  ufnd  to  bring  your  liberality— ^reeia,  rtjv  x(V^v 
vfuiv  5  literally,  your  grace  ;  that  is,  the  fruit  of  your 
grace^  oar,  your  free  gift,  to  Jermalem,  to  be  there 
distributed  among  the  poor  Christians.  And  if  it 
be  meet— If  it  be  thought  proper ;  that  I  aleo  should 
go — Thither  on  this  occasion;  they  shall  go  iinthme 
—That  they  may  witness  for  me  that  no  part  of  the 
money  received  has  been  withheld,  but  that  the 
whole  of  it  has  been  delivered  with  the  greatest^ 
fidelity,  to  be  employed  solely  for  the  purposes  for 
Which  it  was  contributed. 

Verses  5-0.  Now  IwiUcome  unto  you—l(  Provi- 
dence permit ;  when  I  shall  pass— Or  rather,  when 
I  shall  have  passed  ;  through  Macedonia  ;  for  I  do 
pass  ihroug^h  Maeedonic^—I  purpose  going  that  way, 
that  I  may  visit  the  churches  there,  and  receive  their 
collections.  And  itmay  be  that  I  will  abide^  &c.~ 
That  I  shall  continue  some  time;  yea^  and  winter 
with  yott-rHaving  sp^nt  the  summer  and  autumn 
in  my  progress  tlm>ugh  Macedonia.  That  ye  may 
bring  me  on  my  Journey — ^That  some  of  you  may 
accompany  me  a  little  way,  and  help  me  forwaid 
toward  Jerusalem,  or  whithersoever  else '/  go— 
h 


7  For  I  wiB  not  see  you  now  by  A.  U.  40«j. 
the  way;  but  I  trust  to  tarry  a  while    ^^^ 
with  you,  « if  the  IxNrd  permit 

8  But  I  wiB  tan-y  at  Ephesus  until  Pen- 
tecost 

9  For  *a  great  door  and  effectual  is  opened 
unto  me,  and  ^  tJtere  are  many  adversaries. 

10  Now  ^if  'nmotheus  come,  see  that  he 


Ciiap.iT.  10;  JaaMiT.lfi.' l>AettxiT.27;2Cor.iJ.12f GoL 

ir.  3 ;  Ret.  iu.  8. » Acts  xix.  9. :*  Acts  xbt.  22 ;  Chap.  iT.17. 


Through  whatever  parts  I  m^y  pass  thither.  For, 
&c. — Aa,  if  he  had  said,  I  speak  of  coming  at  some 
future  time ;  for  I  will  not  see  you  now — In  my  way 
from  hence  to  Macedonia.  But  I  trttst—Thdii  the 
little  delay,  which  this  plan  may  occasion,  will  be 
made  up  to  your  satisfaction ;  for  I  purpose  to  tarry 
a  wMle  with  yoM-— WhenI  come,  which  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  chnrches  of  Macedonia  will  not  at  present 
give  me  leave  to  do.  BiU  Twill  tarry  ut  Ephesus 
untU  Pentecost— A  plain  intimation  this  that  he  was 
now  at  Ephestis,  and  consequently  that  the  inscrip- 
tion added  at  the  end  of  this  epistle,  which  tells  us  it 
was  written  ijrom  I^ilippi,  is  far  from  behig  authentic. 
Indeed,  this  may  be  gathered  also  from  the  saluta- 
tions in  the  close  of  this  epistle,  which  are  not  from 
the  churches  of  Macedonia,  but  from  Asia.  And, 
it^may  be  affirmed  in  general,  th^  as  Dr.  Doddridge 
justly  observes,  no  credit  is  to  be  given  to  these  ad- 
ditions, which  have  been  presumptuously  made  to 
the  epistles,  and  very  imprudently  retained.  For  a 
greaX  door  and  effectual  is  opened  to  me — "  Tlie  door 
of  a  house  being  a  passage  into  it,,  the  opening  ef  a 
doot,  in  the  eastern  phrase,  signified  the  afibrding  a 
person  an  opp<^unity  of  doing  a  thing.  See  Col. 
iv.  3 ;  Hos.  ii.  15.  The  apostle's  long  abode  at  Ephe- 
sus was  owing  to  his  great  success  in  converting  the 
Ephesians,  ahd  such  strangers  as  had  occasion  to 
resort  to  that  metropolis.  But  about  the  time  this 
letter  was  written,  his  success  was  greater  than  com- 
mon. For  many,  who  used  curious  arts,  the  arts  of 
magic  and  divination,  were  converted,  and  burned 
their  books,  containing  the  secrets  of  these  arts,  Acts 
xix.  17-20.  This  so  enraged  the  idolaters  at  Ephe- 
sus, but  especially  the  craftsmen,  that  they  raised 
the  great  tumult  described  Acts  xix.  2S-41.*'— Mac-  , 
knight.  Therefore  the  apostle  adds,  and  there  are 
many  adversaries— Many  opposers,  who,  (he  here- 
by insinuates,)  if  he  were  to  lej^vc  Ephesus  imme- 
diately, might  perhaps  take  advantage  of  his  absence, 
to  the  great  injury  of  the  new-planted  church  there. 

Verses  10-13.  Now  if— In  the  mean  time ;  THmo-  ' 
theus  come,  see  that  he  may  be  with  you  without  fear 
— Of  any  one's  despising  him  for  his  youth.  Encou- 
rage him  Xj^  his  labours ;  for  he  worketJi  the  work  of 
the  Jjfrd— The  true  ground  of  reverence  and  love  to 
pastors:  those  who  do  so,  none  ought  to  despise  or 
discourage;  but  conduct  him  forth— Bring  him  for- 
ward on  his  journey ;  in  peace — And  do  all  that  you 
can  to  make  it  commodious  and  agreeable  to  him ; 
that  he  may  come  unto  me— At  Ephesus,  as  soon  as 
211 


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I.  CORINTHIANB. 


v>aichfidneM9  and  9teatfa$iata 


A. K. 4063.  maybe  with  you  without  fear;~f(nr 
^^•^'  iheW(^kethtbeworkoftheLord,a8 
I  also  do. 

11  ^  Let  no  man  therefore  dieapse  him :  but 
conduct  him  forth  *in  peace,  that  he  may 
come  unto  me:  for  I  look  for  him  with  the 
brethren. 

12  As  touching  oiwr  Ixother  ^Apdk)§,  I 
greatly  desired  him  to  come  unto  you  with 
th^  brethren :  but  his  will  was  not  at  all  to 
come  at  this  time ;  but  he  will  c<Hne  when  he 
shall  have  convenient  time« 

13  '  Watch  ye,  "^  stand  fost  in  the  faith,  quit 
you  like  men,  ^be  strong. 

14  ■  Let  all  your  things  be  done  with  charity. 

15  I  beseech  you,  brethren,^  (ye  know  *  the 
house  of  Stqphs^ias,  that  it  is  ^the  first-fruits 
of  Achaia,  and  that  they  have  addicted  them- 


1  Rom.  xrL  21 ;  Phil  U.  20,  22 ;  1  Then.  iii.  2. 
It.*-— ■  AcU  XT.  33.-^—^  Ch»p.  i.  12 ;  hi.  6.- 


— » 1  Tim.  iT. 

-rMatt  xxir. 

Chap.  xir«  I ; 

Plul.  L  27 ;  ir.  1 ;  1  TheM.  iii.  8 :  2  Thets.  u.  16. ^  Eph. 

▼k  10 ;  CoL  i.  11. — ^  Chap.  ^ir.  1  j  1  Pet.  iv.  8. ^  Chap.  i. 


4S;  xxT.  13;    1  Thevs.  ▼.  6:  1  Pet.  t.^.- 


possible  ;ybr  /  look  for  Mm  with  the  brethren — 
Namely,  Bhistns,  wh6  had  been  sent  with  Timothy 
to  Corinth,  (Acts  xix.  22,)  and  Titus,  who  carried 
this  letter,  and  another  brother,  whose  name  is  not 
mentibned;  (see  2  Cor.  xii.  17,  18;)  perhaps^  also 
some  of  the  Corinthian  brethren,  whom  the  apostle 
hod  desired  Titus  to  bring  with  him  to  Ephesus, 
having  need  of  their  assistance.  A»  touching  Apol- 
lo8 — For  whom  many  of  you  have  so  high  a  regard ; 
I  greatly  desired  him  to' come  to  yott  with  Timothy 
and  the  other  brethren — Having  an  entire  confidence 
in  his  friendiship,  prudence,  and  fidelity,  and  hoping 
that  his  presence  among  you  might  have  been  par- 
ticularly useful  at  this  crisis ;  but  his  will  was  not  to 
C4yme  at  this  /ime— Perhaps  lest  his  coming  should 
increase  the  divisions  among  them ;  but  he  will  come 
when  he  shall  have  convenient  time — Jerome  says, 
ApoUos  actually  went  to  Corinth,  after  the  disturb- 
ances had  ceased.  But  whether  in  this,  Jerome 
delivered  hfs  own  opinion  only,  or  some  ancient  tra- 
dition, is  uncertain. 

Verses  13, 14.  To  conclude.  Watdh  yc— Against 
alt  your  seen  and  unseen  enemies ;  standfast  in  the 
faith — Seeing  and  trusting  in  Him  that  is  invisible: 
quit  you  like  men — ^With  courage  and  patience ;  be 
strong—To  do  and  suffer  his  will,  l^et  all  your 
things  be  done  with  cAonlfy— Namely,'  your  differ- 
ences about  worldly  ailairs,  mentioned  chap,  vi.,  your 
disputes  concerning  marriage  and  a  single  state; 
(chap,  viii.;)  your  eating  things  sacrificed  to  idols; 
(chapters  viii.,  xj)  your  eating  the  Lord's  supper; 
(chap,  xi.;)  and  your  method  of  exercising  your 
gifts,  chapters  xii.,  xiv.  In  all  these  ye  ought  to 
have  a  regard  to  the  good  of  your  neighbours,  that 
ye  may  not  occasion  each  other  to  sin. 

Verses  15, 16.  Ye  know  the  house^  or  family,  of[ 


selves    to    '^the    ministiy   of    tbe  Jlu,¥M 
saintB,)  .  ±±^ 

16  ^  That  ye  sutknk  yourselv^  i|Dlo  such, 
and  to  every  one  that-hdpeth  with  us^  and 
'laboureth. 

17  I  am  glad  of  the  coiPiPgof  Stqphama,  and 
FortuBatus,and  Achaicus :  ^  for  that  which  was 
lacking  on  your  part,  they  have  supplied. 

18  ^For  they  have  refieshed  my  qnrit  and 
yours:  therefiMre  ^acknowlec^  ye  them  that 
are  such. 

19  The'churches  ot  Asia  salute  you.  Aquila 
and'  Priscilla  salute  you  much  in  the  Lord, 
^  with  tbe  church  that  is  in  their  house. 

20  All  the  brethren  greet  you.  *  Greet  ye 
one  another  with  a  holy.kiss. 

21  ^The  s^ntatbn  of  me  Paul  with  mine 
own  hand. 


16. — 

-■  Rom.  xri.  6. «2  Cor.  riii.  i^  ix.  1 ; 

Heb. 

ri  10. 

rHeb. 

xiiL  17. «Heb.   ri.  10. •S  Cor. 

xi.   9; 

Fhfl. 

ii.  30; 

Philem.  13. »»CoL  ir.  8. •  1  Tkew. 

T.  IS 

;  PhU. 

U.29.- 

«Rom.  xvi.  5, 15;  PhileiiMm 2. •Romans 

xrLlfi. 

'Col. 

IT.  18 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  17. 

Stephanas,  th€U  it  is  ihefirst^frtdtsofAchaia^ThAt 
he  and  they  were  the  first  converts  in  that  province ; 
and  that  ffiey  have  addicted  themselves^Aceording 
to  the  rank  in  which  Providence  has  placed  them, 
and  the  abilities  which  God  hath  given  them ;  to  the 
ministry  of  the  saints—To  the  8uppl3riilg  of  their 
temporal  and  spiritual  wants,  hoth  in  promoting  the 
progress  of  the  gospel,  and  succouring  the  afflicted. 
That  ye  also — In  ydur  turn ;  submit  yourselves  to 
the  admonitions  of  such;  so  repaying  their  free 
service.  And  to  every  one  that  Mpeth  with  us,  and 
laboureth—Tha,i  labours  in  the  gospel,  either  wldt^ 
or  without  a  felloW-labourer. 

Verses  17, 18.  /  am  glad  of  the  coming  of  Steplho' 
nas,  &c. — This  Stephanas  is  supposed  by  many  to 
have  been  the  son  of  Stephanas  mentioned  verse 
15.  He,  with  Fortunatiis  and  Achaicus,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  messengers  sent,  by  the  sin^ 
cere  part  of  the  Corinthian  church,  with  the  letter 
mentioned  chap,  vil  1.  For  that  which  was  lacking 
on  your  part  they  h^ve  supplied-^Tliey  have  per- 
formed the  offices  of  love  which  you  could  not  sup- 
ply, by  reason  of  your  absence.  For  they  have  re- 
freshed my  spirit — By  their  obliging  behaviour  and 
edifying  conversation,  as  I  doubt  not  they  have  often 
refreshed  yours,  by  their  ministrations  among  you  j 
or  will  refresh  yours  by  informing  you  of  my  suc- 
cess in  preaching  the  gospel. 

Verses  lft-21.  TTie  churches  of  JWa— Especially 
those  of  Ephesus  and  its  neighbourhood ;  seUute  yoti 
—With  all  Christian  affection,  heartily  wislfmg  you 
peace  and  prosperity.  Aquila  and  Priscilla — 
Formerly  members  of  your  church,  (Acts  xvhi.  2, 
18,)  but  who  at  present  are  with  me ;  salute  you  much 
—With  singular  Christian  love ;  in  the  Lord— In  his 
grace^  and  Spirit    These  worthy  pel-sons  lived  in 


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The  €qM>9tle  cancbtdes  wUh 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


a  Christian  benediction. 


A.  1^4083.    22  If  any  man  'loye  not  the  Lord 

'• — '-  Jeeus  Chrkt,  ^  let  him  be  Anathema^ 

*Manm-atha. 

23  ^  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  jou. 


r]^Ti24. >>6aLL8,0. 


Codntli  an  the  time  the  apostle  was  there.  And 
when  he  departed^  they  accompanied  him  to  Ephe- 
808,  (Acts  x^iiL  18,)  where  they  remained  till  after  he 
left  Bphesus  to  go  to  Jerusalem.  For  when  he  re- 
turned to  Ephesns,  he  found  them  there,  as  is  plain 
from  their  sahitatiim  sent  to  the  Corinthians  in  this 
lett^,  which  was  written  from  Ephesns.  But  they 
seem  to  have  left  EphesUs  about  tke  time  the  apostle 
departed  to  go  into  Bfacedonia.  For  in  th6  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  the  Romanf  from  Corinth,  they 
are  saluted  as  then  residing  in  Rome.  With  the 
ckutck  which  it  in  their  houee— The  Christian  con- 
gregation wlueh  assembles  there.  AU  the  brethren 
— Who  labour  with  me  in  the  gospel,  or  are  mem- 
bers of  the  church  here;  greet  you — ^Wish  you  all 
felicity.  Cheet  ye  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss — 
See  on  Rom.  xvi.  16.  The  sahOation  of  me  Paul 
with  mme  own  Aomf-— What  precedes  having  been 
written  by  an  amanuensis.  See  2  Thess.  iii.  17; 
CoL  iv.  18. 

Verse  22.  If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus — 
In  sincerity,  but  is  secretly  alienated  from  him  in 
heart,  while  he  calls  himself  his  servant,  preferring 
soine  secalaor  interest  of  his  own  to  that  of  his  Divine 
Master;  if  any  one  be  an  enemy  to  Christ's  person, 
offices,  doctrines, or  commands;  lei  him  be  Anathe- 
ma Maran-atha — Anathema  i^ignifies  a  thing  devo- 
ted to  detraction,  and  it  seems  tohafve  been  custom- 
ary with  tke  Jews  of  that  age,  when  they  had  pro- 
noooced  any  man  anathema,  to  add  the  S3nriac  ex- 
pseasion,  Jfaran-a</Uz,  that  is,  the  Lord  cometh; 
namely,  to  execute  vengeance  upon  him.  See  note 
on  Rom.  ix.  3.  We  may  add  further  here,  "  Anor 
thema  Maran-atha,  were  the  words  with  which  the 
Jews  began  their  greatest  excommunications,  where- 
by they  not  only  excluded  anaers  from  their  so- 
ciety, but  delivered  them  to  the  divine  Chei^em^  or 
Anathema  ;  that  is,  to  eternal  perdition.  This  form 
they  used,  because  Enoch's  prophecy  concerning  the 
coming  of  God  to  judge  and  punish  the  wicked,  began 
with  these  words,  as  we  learn  from  Jude,  who  quotes 
the  firstsentenee  of  that  prophecy,  verse  14.  Where- 
fore, since  the  q[>ostle  denounced  this  curse  against 
the  man,  who,  whUe  he  professed  subjection  to 
Christ,  was  secretly  alienated  from  him  in  his  heart, 
b 


24  My  love  be  with  you  all  in  Christ .  A.  M.  4063. 
Jesus.    Amen.  ^^•^' 

If  The  first  epietie  to  the  Corinthians  was  written 
frcmi  Philipi^  by  Stephanas,  and  Fortunatus,  and 
Achaicufl^  and  Timotheus. 


>  Jude  14, 15.- 


^Rom.  rrL20. 


it  is  as  if  he  had  said,  Though  such  a  person's  wick- 
edness cannot  be  discovered  and  punished  by  the 
church,  yet  the  liOrd,  at  his  coming,  will  find  it  out^ 
ahd  punish  him  with  eternal  perdition.  This  terri- 
ble curse  the  i^K)stle  wrote  in  his  epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians^ because  many  of  the  lEaction,  but  especially 
their  leader,  had  shown  great  alienation  of  mind  from 
Christ  And  he  wrote  it  with  his  ovm  hand,  to  show 
tiow  serious  he  was  in  the  denunciation ;"  and  he 
inserted  it  between  his  salutation  «id  solemn  bene- 
diction, that  it  might  be  the  more  attentively  regard- 
ed. '^Estins  says,  fixHn  his  example,  and  from  the 
anathemas  pronounced  GaL  L  8, 9,  arose  the  prac-^ 
tice  of  the  ancient  general  councUs,  of  adding  to 
their  decision^,  or  definitions  of  doctrine,  anathem^ts 
against  them  who  denied  these  doctrines."  Be  thir 
as  it  may,  let  it  ever  be  remembered  that  professing 
Christians,  who  da  not  sincerely  love  their  Master,- 
lie  under  Uie  heaviest  curse  which  an  apostle  could 
pronounce,  or  God  inflict  Let  the  unhappy  crea- 
tures take  the  alarm,  and  labour  to  obtain  a  more 
ingenuous  temper,  ere  the  Lord,  whom  they  neglect, 
and  against  whom  they  entertain  a  secret  enmity, 
descend  from  heaven  with  unsupportable  terror, 
and  pronounce  the  anathema  with  bis  own  lips,  in 
circumstances  which  shall  for  ever  cut  off  all  hope, 
and  all  possibility  of  its  being  reversed !  See  Mac- 
knight  and  Doddridge. 

Verses  23,  24.  7%c  grace  of  ottr  Lord  Jesus 
Christ— AU  the  blessed  tokens  and  effects  of  his  fa- 
vour;  bewithyon-^Xnd  rest  upon  you  fojr  time  and 
eternity!  My  love — My  most  sincere,  tender,  and 
affectionate  regards;  be  with  you  all  in  Christ  Jesus 
— Who  is  our  peace,  and  the  bond  of  our  union  with 
Clod  and  one  another.  There  is  a  great  propriety 
and  beauty  in  this  manner  of  ending  an  epistle,  in 
which  the  apostle  had  so  sharply  reproved  the  Co- 
rinthians. By  assuring  them  of  his  love,  he  showed 
them  that  all  the  severe  things  he  had  written  pro- 
ceeded from  his  anxiety  for  their  eternal  welfare,, 
and  thereby  removed  the  prejudices  which  his  re- 
proofs might  otherwise  have  raised  m  their  minds. 
Amen— An  expression  which  I  add  in  testimony  of 
my  sincerity  and  seriousness  in  this  and  in  all  the 
things  I  have  written. 

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PREFACE 


TO     THE 


SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS. 


TT  was  observ^  in  the  pre^Gtee  to  the  former  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  that  it  was  written  from 
Ephesus,  and  probaUy  a  little  time  before  the  jriot  of  Demetrius,  about  A,  D.  57.  Near  the  con 
elusion  of  that  epistle,  the  apostle  mentioned  his  intention  of  tarrying  at  Ephesus  till  the  penteoost 
following.  This  he  doubtless  did ;  but  soon  after  left  that  city,  and  went  to  Troas,  in  expectation  of 
meeting  Titus  there  on  his  return  from  Corinth,  and  receiving  from  him  ah  accounf  of  the  state  of  the 
Cprintldan  church.  But  Titus  not  meeting  him  there  as  he  expected,  the  aposde  proceeded  to  Mace- 
donia, where  Titus  came  to  him,  and  gave  hhn  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
church  at  Corinth,  and  of  the  effect  which  his  efastle  had  produced  on  the  minds  of  the  Corinthian». 
From  some  place  of  this  country  he  wtote  this  secimd  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  probably  within 
a  year  after  his  writing  the  fonpder.  For  if  the  former^  as  has  been  observed,  was  written  only  a  little 
while  before  the  riot  at  Ephesus,  there  could  only  be  a  short  interval  between  the  dates  of  the  two 
epistles,  namely,  the  time  of  the  apostle's  abode  at  Ephesus  after  Writipg  the  first  letter,  and  at  Troas 
after  leaving  Ephesus,  and  the  weeks  which  he  spent  in  Macedonia  b^bre  the  arrival  of  Titns ;  ail 
which  united  could  not  make  above  a  year. 

It  was  also  mentioned  in  the  preface  to  die  first  epistle,  that  the  design  of  it  was  twofold ;.  first,  to 
correct  certain  qomiptions  and  abuses  which  had  crept  into  the  church  at  Corinth ;  and  secondly,  to 
answer  some  important  queries  which  they  had  proposed  to  him.  No^  the  intention  of  this  second 
letter  was  more  fully  to  illustrate  some  of  the  same  points  on  which  he  had  discouned  in  the  former, 
according  to  the  farther  information  which  Titus  had  given  him  of  the  circumstances  of  that  church,  and 
the  temper  of  its  menders.  But  at  the  same  time  he  intersperses  and  enforces  such  occasional  reflec- 
tions and  advices  upon  various  subjects  as  he  judged  would  be  most  conducive  to  their  instruction  and 
edification.  Two  reasons  seem  especially  to  have  urged  the  apostle  to  write  this  second  epistle  so  soon 
after  the  former:  1.  The  case  of  the  incestuous  person  that  lay  und^  censure,  whom^  aahe  was  truly 
penitent,  it  was  desirable  with  all  ^peed  to  restore  to  the  communion  of  the  church.  Concerning  ^s, 
therefore,  he  gives  directions,  (chap,  ii.;)  and  afterward  (chap.^vii.)  declares  the  satisfaction  which  he 
had  upon  the  information  he  had  received  of  their  conduct  in  that  affair.  2.  He  had  proposed,  at  the 
dose  of  the  former  epistle,  their  making  a  contribution  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  saints-  in  J|idea ;  and 
as,  it  seems,  they  delayed  this  business,  and  the  apostle  judged  it  expedient  that  it  should  be  proceeded 
with  and  accomplished  as  soon  as  possible,  he  thought  it  proper  to  write  immediately  to  them  to  that 
purpose,  urging  them  withal  to  be  liberal,  after  the  example  of  the  churches  in  Macedonia.  There 
are,  however,  divers  other  things  still  more  worthy  of  consideration  in  this  epistle ;  as,  1.  The  account 
which  the  apostle  gives  of  his  labours  slid  success  in  jMreaching  the  goq>el  in  several  places,  chap.  ii. 
2.  The  comparison  which  he  draws  between  the  Mosaic  and  Christian  dispensation,  and  his  iHostra- 
tion  of  the  superior  glory  of  &e  latter  to  that  of  the  former,  chap.  iii.  3.  The  manifold  sufferings  which 
he  and  his  fellow-labourers  met  with,  and  their  motives  and  encouragements  to  patience  and  diligence 
in  their  work,  chap,  iv.,  v.  4.  The  caution  he  gives  the  Corinthians  against  associating  with  Unbe- 
lievers, chap.  vi.  5.  The  way  and  manner  in  which  he  justifies  himself  and  his  apostleship  from  the 
injurious  insinuations  and  accusations  of  false  teachers,  who  endeavoured  to  ruin  his  reputation  at 
Corinth,  chap,  x.,  xi.,  xii.,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  epistle. 

It  must  be  observed,  the  thread  and  connection  of  this  whole  letter  are  historical ;  other  things  being 

interwoven  only  by  way  of  digression ;  and  in  every  part  of  it  the  apostle  beautifully  displays  the  most 

tender  affection  toward  the  Corinthians,  who  had  been  greatly  mov<^  by  the  seasonable  severity  of  his 

former  address ;  and  directs,  encourages,  and  comforts  them  with  various  admonitions  and  oonsiderationa. 

214  b 


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THE 


SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO    THB 


CORINTHIANS. 


CHAPTER L 

Bt  tUs  ekapUTf  after  an  assertum  of  Ms  tfogiolie  qfieey  and  a  Ckrisimn  •aficta/um,  the  epostU,  (1,)  Expresees  kis  graUfid 
sense  of  €Ms  goodness  in  presermng  him  from  the  dangers  to  which  he  had  been  exposed  in  Asia,  and  in  delivering  him 
from  kis  tr&ublesy  for  the  encouragement  of  others  under  trouble,  1-11.  (2,)  He  asserU  kis  own  and  his  fellow-labourers' 
tniegrity  of  conduct,  lS-14.  (8,)  Vindicates  hmsdf  from  the  charge  of  levity,  or  inconstancy,  in  his  purpose  to  have 
msked  tkem  sooner,  l(V-94. 


A.  H.  4064.  pAUL,*an,apostIeofJesu8  Christ  by 
±£l^  ^  the  wiU  of  God,  and  Timothy  our 
brother,  unto  the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Cot- 
5nth,  ^  with  aQ  the  saints  which  are  in  aU  AchaiiEt : 

2  ^  Grace  be  to  you  and  peace  from  God  our 
Father,  and  fram  the  Lenl  Jesus  Christ 

3  ^Bkfised  be  God,  eyen  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and 
the  God  of  all  comfortj. 

4  Who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribuiatbn, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are 


•1  Cor.  i.  1 ;  fiph.  i.  1 ;  CoL  i  1 ;  1  Tim.  L  1  j  2  Tim.  i.  1. 

kPhiLi.1;  Cd.  t^ «Rom.i.7;  1  Cor.  i.3;  CUL  L  3; 

FbiL  i.  2;  CoL  L  2 ;  1  Thest.  i.  1;  2  Thesa.  i^  2 ;  Phileoo.  3. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 
Yerses  1,  2.  Paul^  an  opojrfZe-— Appointed  and 
made  sach,  not  by  my  own  will  or  choice,  or  those 
of  any  man,  or  any  number  of  men ;  but  by  the  will 
€/  God^Who  csdled  me  by  his  grace  to  that  sacred 
and  important  office;  seQ  Gal.  L  1, 15 ;  and  Tifruh 
thy,  our — Or  rather  a,  brother— ^i.  Paul,  writing  to 
Timothy,  styles  him  his  eon;  writing  of  him,,  his 
brother,  '  From  this  it  is  evident  that  Timothy  was 
with  the  apostle  when  this  second  epistle  to  the 
Corintiiians  was  written ;  and  by  joining  his  name 
with  his  own  in  this  epistle,  he  did  him  the  greatest 
honour,  and  highly  advanced  his  credit  with  the 
Corinthians,  and  all  other  Christians  who  should 
read  it-  TV  the  church  of  Ood  which  U  at  Corinth 
— Whom  he  haih  mercifhlly  called  out  from  (he 
world  and  united  to  himselfl  With  all  the  saints 
which  are  in  all  Achaia — "  Corinth  bein([  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  province  of  Achaia,  the  brethren  in 
diose  parts,  no  doubt,  had  frequent  intercourse  with 
thos3  in  Corinth,  and  by  that  means  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  this  letter  read  in  the  Christian 
assemblies  at  Corinth.  But  as  they  had  equal  need, 
with  the  Corinthians,  of  the  admonitions  and  advi- 
ces contained  in  this  letter,  it  was  addressed  to  them 
likewise,  that  they  might  be  entitled  to  take  copies 
b 


in  any  trouble  by  the  comHut  where-  A- bl  4W4 
withweourselvesarecomfortedofGod.  i — 1 

5  For  as*  the  sufferings  of  Christ  abound  in  us, 
so  our  consolation  atso  aboundeth  by  Christ 

6  And  whether  we  be  afflicted,  ^Uisfcir  your 
consdation  and  salvation,  which  ^  is  effectual  in 
the  enduring  of  the  same  sufferings  which  we 
also,  sufier :  or  whether  we  be  comforted,  it  is 
for  your  consolation  and  salvation. 

7  And  our  hope  of  ]rou  i^Bteadfest,  knowing, 
that  V  as  ye  are  partakers  of  the  sufferings,  so 


«  Eph.  i.  3  ;  1  Pet.  i.  9. •  AcU  ix.  4 ;  Cliap.  ir.  10;  Col. 

i.  M. '  Cbap.  ir.  15. *  Or,  »  wrw^ht. f  Rom.  riii.  17 ; 

2  Tim.  iL  12. 


of  it,  in  order  to  read  it  in  their  public  meethigs  for 
their  own  edification." — Macknight.  Grace  be  to 
you,  &c.— See  on  Rom.  i.  7. 

Verses  ^-7.  Blessed  be  Ood,  &c.— A  solemn  and 
beautiful  introduction,  highly  suitable  to  the  apos- 
tolical spirit;  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Oim<— Who  is  his  only-begotten  Son,  both  as  to  his 
divine  and  human  nature ;  see  Heb.  i.  2 ;  Luke  i.  35 ; 
and  aiT  he  is  Mediator,  appointed,  authorized,  and 
qualified  by  the  Father  for  that  office.  The  Faiher 
of  mercies—FTom  whose  paternal  compassion  and 
readiness  to  fdrgive  the  penitent,  that  sincerely  be- 
lieve in  and  turn  to  him,  all  our  hopes  are  derived; 
and  the  God  lof  all  comjfort— Whose  nature  it  is 
ever  to  have  mercy ;  and  who  knows  how  to  pro- 
portion his  supports  to  the  exigence  of  every  trial. 
Who  comforteth  Us  in  all  our  tribulation— Bestows 
comfort  on  us,  his  apostles  and  ministers,  for  the 
sake  of  others ;  thai  we  may  be  abl^  to  comfort  thein 
which  are  in  any  trouble — He  that  has  experienced 
one  kind  of  affliction  Is  able  to  comfort  others  in  that 
aMiction:  he  that  has  experienced  all  kinds  of  af 
flictions,  is  able  to  comfort  others  in  all.  For  as 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  abound  in  us— The  suffer- 
ings endured  for  his  sake,  which  he  accounts  hLs 
own ;  $0  our  consolation  also  aboundeth  by  Christ — 
215 


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Paul  bU$$es  God  far  hit  goodness  U.  CO|tINTHIANa 


to  Mm  in  his  various  irouhUs, 


A.  M.  4064.  shall  ye    be    also  of  the  consola- 
A.  D.  eo.     .         ^ 

UODu 

8  For  we  would  not,  brethren,  have  you  igno- 
rant of  ^  our  trouble  which  came  to  us  in  Asia, 
that  we  were  pressed  out  pf  measure,  above 
strength,  insomuch  that  we  despaired  even  of  life : 


^  Acts  ziT.  23 ;  1  Cor.  xr.  32 ;  zri.  9.- 


•Or, 


*'  The  consolatiou  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  was 
derived  from  the  presence  of  Christ  with  him  in  his 
afliiction ;  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  en- 
courage 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 
€k>d ;  80  that  he  was  entirely  reeonciled  to  his  suffer- 
ings;" finding  by  experience,  that  his  consolation 
quite  overbalanced  them  all.  Whether  we  he  ajlict- 
edyUis  for  your  consolation — Namely,  when  you 
see  with  what  Christian  courage  and  patieQce  we 
are  enabled  to  bear  afflictioas;  and  saloaXion — By 
encouraging  you  to  undergo  the  like,  and  so  to 
obtain  salvation ;  or,  for  your  present  comfort,  and 
present  and  ftiture  salvation ;  which  is  effectrud  in 
the  enduring  of  the  same  su^erings—Thui  is,  the 
project  or  hope  of  which  salvation  is  of  sufficient 
.power  to  enable  you  to  endure  the  like  sufferings 
which  we  have  endured,  if  you  should  be  called 
thereto ;  see  chap,  iv,  17, 18 ;  Rom.  viii.  18.  Or  whe- 
ther we  be  comforted^  it  is  for  your  cowi/brf — That 
we  may  be  the  better  able  to  comfort  you.  And  our 
hope  of  yao— Grounded  on  your  patience  in  suffer- 
itig  for  Christ's  sake;  is  «tea4/a5t— Firm  and  un- 
shaken ;  knowing  thai  as  you  are  partakers  of  the 
sufferings — By  Christian  S3rmpathy,  and  enduring 
the  hke  yourselves ;  so  shall  ye  be  also  of  the  conso- 
/o/wm— Which  arises  from  principles  and  hopes 
which  are  not  peculiar  to  us,  who  are  apostles,  or 
to  other  ministers  of  the  gospel,  but  common  to  all 
sincere  believers,  such  as  I  trust  you  in  general 
are. 

Verses  8-11.  t^or  we  would  not,  brethren,  have 
you  ignorant— k!^  if  he  had  said,  We  speak  thus 
concerning  the  sufferings  wherewith  God  is  pleased 
to  exercise  his  people,  because  we  have  lately  expe- 
rienced them  in  a  large  measure :  of  our  trouble 
which  came  tons  in  Asia—li  is  probable  that  the 
apostle  here  refers  either  to  some  opposition  which 
he  met  with  in  hjs  journey  through  Galatia  and 
Phrygia,  (Acts  xviii.  23,)  of  which  no  particular  ac- 
count has  reached  us ;  or  to  the  tumult  excited  by 
Demetrius,  as  b  related  Acts  xix.  23-41.  ^'  It  may 
be  said,  perhaps,  that  it  does  not  appear  from  the 
history  that  any  danger  threatened  Paul's  life  in  the 
uproar  at  Bphesus,  so  imminent  as  that  from  which  he 
here  represents  himself  to  have.been  delivered.  This 
matter,  it  is  true,  is  not  stated  by  the  historian  in 
form ;  but  the  personal  danger  of  the  apostle  we 
cannot  doubt  must  have  been  extreme,  when  the 
216 


9  But  we  had  the  ^  sentence  of  death  A.  ^^o^ 

in  ourselves,  that  we  should  ^4iot  trust  . '. — 1 

in  ourselves,  but  in  Grod  which  raiseth  the  dead : 

1€  ^  Who  deUvered  us  from  so  great  a  death, 
and  doth  deUver :  in  whom  we  trust  that  he 
will  yet  deliver  us : 


*  Jer.  xvii.  6, 7.- 


k2  Petii.0. 


whole  city  was  filled  with  concision ;  when  the 
populace  had  seized  his  companions ;  when,  in  the 
distraction  of  his  mind,  he  insisted  on  coming  forth 
among  ^em ;  when  the  Christians,  who  were  about 
him,  would  not  suffer  him ;  when  his  friends,  certain 
of  the  chief  of  Asia,  sent  to  him,  desiring  that  he 
would  not  adventure  himself  into  the  tumult ;  when, 
lastly,  he  was  obliged  to  quit  immediately  the  place 
and  the  country ;  and,  when  the  tumult  was  ceased,  to 
depart  into  Macedonia.  Nothing  could  be  more  ex- 
pressive of  the  circumstances  in  which  the  history 
describes  him  to  have  been  at  the  time  when  the 
epistle  purports  to  have  been  written,"  than  the 
verses  under  consideration.  "  It  is  the  calm  recolleo- 
tion  of  a  mind  emerged  from  the  confusion  of  instant 
danger.  It  is  that  devotion  and  solemnity  of  thought 
which  follows  a  recent  deliverance.  There  is  just 
enough  of  particularity  in  the  passage  to  show  that 
it  is  to  be  referred  to  the  tumult  at  Ephesus."— Paley. 
Thai  we  were  pressed  out  of  measure^The  Co- 
rinthians knew  before  that  he  had  been  in  trouble. 
He  now  declares  the  greatness  and  the  fruit  of  it ; 
above  strength:— Above  the  ordinary  strength  of  a 
Christian,  even  of  an  apostle ;  insomuch  that  we  de- 
spaired even  of  /i/c— Ourselves,  an4  were  looked 
upon  by  others  as  dead  men.  We  had  the  sentence 
of  death  in  ourselves^ThaX  is,  not  only  did  others 
apprehend  this  concerning  ud,.but  we  ourselves  did 
indeed  think  that  the  appointed  end  of  our  life  and 
ministry  was  come.  That  we  should  not  trust  in 
ourselveS'-Th9^  for  the  friture,  we  should  put  no 
confidence  in  our  own  wisdom  or  power  to  elude  the 
designs  of  our  enemies,^  nor  merely  regard  human 
probabilities ;  but  in  the  greatest  and  most  extreme 
dangers  should  learn  to  repose  a  cheerful  confi- 
dence in  the  power  and  providence  of  that  God  who, 
,at  his  own  pleasure,  raiseth  the  dead  by  his  almighty 
word ;  wJu)  delivered  us  from  so  great  a  death — As 
then  threatened  us ;  and  doth  still  deliver — In  the 
various  dangers  with  which  we  are  contimially  sur- 
rounded, fn  wTiom  we  trust  that  he  will  yet  deliver 
us^Yrom  every  evil,  and  preserve  us  to  his  heaven- 
ly kingdom.  Ye  also— As  well  as  other  churches ; 
helping  by  prayer  for  w— From  this  we  learn,  that 
the  most  eminent  saints  may  be  assisted  and  bene- 
fited by  the  prayers  of  persons  much  inferior  to  them 
in  station  and  piety;  which  is  a  great  encourage- 
ment to  us  to  pray  for  one  ai^ther,  and  a  reason  for 
our  desiring  each  other's  prayers..  That  for  the  gift 
— Namely,  my  deliverance ;  bestowed  by  the  means 
of  many  persons  praying  for  it,  thanks  may  be  given 
by  many  on  our  behalfSince  nothing  can  be  more 
reasonable  than  that  mercies  obtained  by  prayer 
should  be  acknowledged  in  praise. 

b 


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Paul  viniicate9  hvnudf/ram 


CHAPTER  1. 


ihe  charge  of  inconstancy 


A. M. 4064  11  Ye  also  ^helping  together  by 
^'  '  ^.  prayer  for  us,  that  ^fiw  the  gift  be- 
siawed  opcm  us  by  the  means  of  many  persons, 
thanks  may  be  given  by  maiiy  on  our  ^half. 

12  For  our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimcHny  of 
our  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  '^  godly 
sincerity,  ^  not  with  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the 
grace  of  God,we  have  had  our  ^[mversation  in 
the  world,  and  more  abundantly  to  you-ward. 

13  For  we  write  none  other  things  unto  you, 
than  what  ye  read  or  acknowledge ;  and  I 
trust  ye  sh^  acknowledge  even  to  the  end ; 

14  As  also  ye  have  acknowledged  us  in  p^art, 
^th^t  we  are  your  rejoicing,  ev^i  as  *»ye  also 
cure  ours  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

15  And  in  this  confidence  ^  I  was  minded  to 
come  unto  you  before,  that  ye  might  have  'a 
second  ^  benefit ; 


>  Ram.  XT.  ao ;  Phil.  I  19 ;  Philem.  22. »  Ch^  !▼.  15. 

>Cha{>.  ii.  17;  ir.  2. 'ICof-  »«-  4»  W.- pChap.  t.   12. 


4  PhiL  iL  16  ;  ir.l;  1  T^esr.  ii.  19,  20.- 


f  1  Ccflr.  IV.  19. 


Verses  12-14.  For,  &c. — I  am  more  imbojdened 
to  look  for  this,  because  I  am  conscious  of  my  in- 
tegrity ;  seeing  our  rejoicing  is  this^— Even  in  the 
deepest  adversity,  a  rejoicing  which  no  external  ca- 
lamities can  impair,  or  injuries  destroy ;  the  testimony 
cfofwr  conscience — In  the  sight  of  God,  who  search- 
eth  the  secrets  of  all  hearts,  however  men  may  sus- 
pect or  censure  us;  that  in  simplicity — Aiming 
^gly  at  the  glory  of  God ;  and  godly  sincerity— 
Without  any  tincture  of  guile,  dissimulation,  olr  dis- 
guise ;  not  with  fleshly  (carnal)  wisdom — Which  is 
so  ungenerously  and  unrighteously  imputed  to  us ; 
biii  by  the  grace  of  G^od— Which  haUi  created  us 
anew,  and  continues^to  help  our  Infirmities ;  we  have 
hadr^n  time  past,  and  still  continue  to  have,  our 
conversation  in  the  world,  in  all  places  which  we 
have  visited,  and  in  which  we  have  had  our  abode, 
in  every  circumstance;  and  more  abundantly  to 
yoth^ard—ThBt  is,  which  has  more  evidently  dis- 
covered itself  in  our  eonverse  among  you.  For  we 
write  none  other  things-^^amely,  concerning  our 
conversation :  than  whai  you  read  or  acknowledge 
— Than  what  I  have  always  declared  respecting  my- 
self, in  the  epistles  I  have  sent  to  you  and  other 
churches  y  and  what  you  know  in.  yourselves,  and 
cannot  but  own  to  be  true ;  as  alio  you  have  ac- 
knowledged in  part — That  is,  in  some  measure,  or 
some  of  you ;  that  we  are  your  refoicing — That  ye 
rejoice  in  having  known  us ;  as  ye  also  are  ours — 
As  we  also  rejoice  in  the  success  of  our  labours 
among  you  ]  and  we  trust  shall  rejoice  therein  in 
Ike  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus — ^When  we  hope  to  present 
you  before  Christ  as  the  seals  of  our  ministry. 

Verses  15,  16.  And  in  this  confidence— That  is, 
being  confident  of  this,  namely,  of  our  mutual  affec- 
tion to,  and  est^m  for,  each  other ;  /  was  minded— 
"BBtiXofofp^  I  purposed;  to  come  unto  you  before— Or 
first^  as  irporepop  seems  here  to  signify.    "As  soon 


16  And  to  pass  by  you  into  Macedo-  a.  m.  4064; 

nia,  and  ^  to  come  again  out  of  Ma-  .       L 

cedonia  unto  you,  and  of  you  to  be  brought 
(H>>  my  way  toward  Judea. 

17  When  I  therefore  was  thus  minded,  did 
I  use  lightness?  or  the  things  that  I  purpoee, 
do  I  purpose  "*  according  to  the  flesh,  that  with 
me  there  riiould  be  yea,  yea,  and  nay,  nay?  . 

18  But  as  God  is  true,  our  ^  word  toward  you 
was  not  yea  and  nay. 

19  For  *  the  6on  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  who 
was  preached  among  you  by  tis,  even  by  me, 
and  Silvanus,  and  Timotheus,  was  not  yefi 
and  nay,  ^  but  in  him  was  yea. 

20 '  For  an  the  promises  of  God  in  him  are 
yea,  and  in  him  Amen,  unto  the  gk>ry  of  God 
by  us. 

21  Now  he  which  establisheth  us  with  you  in 


•  Rom.  i.  11. "  Or,  grace.^-^  I  Cor.  xri.  5,  6. ■  Cll»p. 

X.  2. *  Or,  prfochmg^    '    *  Maiki.  1 ;  Luke  ii.  36 ;  Acts  iz. 

20. y  Heb.  xiii.  8. »  Rom.  xr.  8,  9. 


as  the  apostle  was  informed,  hy  some  of  the  family 
of  Chloe,  that  dissensions  had  arisen  among  the  Co- 
rinthian hrethren,  he  determined  to  go  to  Corinth 
arst;  that  is,  before  he  went  into  Macedonia.  His 
intention  was  to  go  straightway  to  Corinth  hy  sea, 
because  he  wished  to  be  there  soon,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  his  presence  among  the  Corinthians  would 
put  an  end  to  their  divisions,  either  in  the  way  of 
persuasion  or  of  punishment.  Wherefore,  to  prepare 
the  Corinthians  for  his  coming,  he  notified  his  reso- 
lution to  them  by  Timothy  and  Erastus ;  but  after 
thehr  departure,  having  great  success  in  preaching, 
and  the  messengers  from  Corinth  arriving  with  a  let- 
ter 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.  5-7."  That 
you  might  have  a  second  benefltSo  our  translators 
have  rendered  Sevrepav  x<h>iv  ;  that  is,  a  further  con- 
firmation and  edification  in  gifts  and  graces,  where- 
with ye  were  enriched  by  my  first  coming  to  you. 
And  to  pass  by  you  into  Macedonia — To  make  you 
a  short  visit  in  my  way  thither ;  and  then,  having 
despatched  my  business  in  the  churches  there,  to 
come  again  to  you  from  Macedonia^  and  make  alonger 
stay ;  and  of  you  to  be  brought  (sent)  forward  toward 
/t*dca— When  I  shall  go  thither  to  deliver  the  money 
raised  by  the  contribution  of  the  Gentile  Christians, 
for  the  relief  of  their  distressed  Jewish  brethren. 

Verses  17-20.  When  I  therefore  was  thus  minded 
— Having,  therefore,  purposed  this  j  did  I  use  light- 
ness—Did,  I  lightly  change  my  purpose?  or,  the 
things  that  I  purpose  in  general ;  do  I  purpose  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh— Are  my  purposes  grounded  on 
carnal  or  worldly  considerations?  that  with  me  U^ert 
217 


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f  Btfliecert  Aof « the 


a  C<»INTHIANS. 


eamuiiif  Ike  Spirit 


A.  ¥.4064.  Christt  and  Miath  anointed  Wy  is 
•^°-*^    God? 

SK2  Who  ^hath  also  sealed  U8,  and  "^  given 
the  earnest  of  the  SjHrit  in  our  hearts. 

S3  Moreoyer,  ^  I  call  God  for  a  record  i^pon 


•  1  Jolm  ii.  20, 27. *  EBh.  i.  13;  It.  80;  2 Tim.  u.  19 ;  Rer. 

ii.  17. «  Cluip.r.5;  fiplLi.  14 <iKoiiLLd;  Chap.  m,31; 


$kauld  be  pea  and  itay*-SoaiediQes  one,  sometimes 
the  other;  that  is,  variahtoieBS  and  inconstancy  in 
my  coun^ls  and  actions,  that  none  should  know 
how  to  depend  upon  me  for  what  they  had  to  expect 
from  me  ?  But  as  Ood  ia  true— I  solemnly  protest, 
that,  as  the  God  whom  I  serve  is  laithfiil  r  our  w)rd 
to  yoti— On  this  and  other  occasions,  and  the  doctrine 
we  have  preached  to  you ;  was  not  yea  and  nay — 
Wavering  and  uncertain;  but  that  my  behaviour 
and  testimony  have  been  always  uniform,  invariable^ 
sad  consistent  with  my  professions.  Far  the  Son  of 
CM,  who  woe  preached  by  tM— That  is,  our  preach- 
ing concerning  him,  was  not  yea  and  nay^-Was  not 
variable  and  inconsistent  with  itself;  but  in  him  was 
yea— As  he  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,'  and  for 
ever,  the  declarations  of  his  Word,  and  the  engage- 
ments of  his  covenant,  are  inviolably  the  same.  For 
all  the  promises  of  God—Many  and  precious  as  they 
are ;  in  him  are  yea  and  amen — Are  made  with 
truth,  an4  fulfilled  with  fidelity ;  or  are  surely  esta- 
blished and  accomplished  in  and  through  him.  They 
are  yea  with  respect  to  Ood  promising ;  amen  with 
respect  to  men  believing ;  yea  with  respect  to  the 
apostles ;  amen  with  respect  to  their  hearers.  Unto 
the  glory  of  God  by  us—Ab  is  declared  by  us  in  our 
ministry. 

Verses  21,  22.  Now  he  which  stablisheth  us — 
Apostles  and  teachers ;  with  you— All  true  believers ; 
in  the  faith  of  Christ— Or  he  who  confirms  both  you 
and  us  in  the  truth ;  and  hath  anointed  t**— With  the 
oil  of  gladness,  with  joy  in  the  Holy  Ohost ;  thereby 
giving  us  strength  both  to  do  and  suffer  his  will :  or, 
he  who  ^ath  consecrated  us  to  this  apostolic  office, 
and  endued  us  with  the,  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  thereby  qualifying  us  for  it ;  is  God— From 
whom  alone  every  good  and  perfect  gift  cometh^ 
fVhohath  also  sealed  t««r— Stamped  his  image  on  our 
hearts;  thus  marking  and  sealing  us  as  his  own 
property.  Anciently,  seals  were  used  for  marking 
goods,  as  the  property  of  the  person  wholiad  put  his 
seal  on  them,  that  they  might  be  distinguished  from 
the  goods  of  others.  Thus  all  believers  are  said  to 
be  seated  with  the  Spirit  of  promise,  or  which  was 
promised,  (Eph.  i.  13^)  because  they  are  thereby 
marked  as  Christ's  property.  Thus,  likewise,  the 
servants  of  God  are  said  to  be  sealed  on  their  fore- 
heads for  the  same  purpose.  Rev.  viL  3 ;  ix.  4.  The 
apostles  therefore  are  said  to  have  been  sealed  of  God, 
because  by  the  sanctifying  graces  and  the  extraordi- 
nary gifts  conferred  upon  them,  they  were  declared 
to  be  both  his  servants  and  the  apostles  of  his  Son, 
and  could  not  be  suspected  either  of  fraud  or  false- 
hood. And  given  us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit — Those 
sacred  communications  of  his  grace,  which  are  the 
anticipation  of  our  foture  felicity.  There  is  a  differ- 
218 


my  fKiol^  *  that  to  spare  you  I  came  A  M.  «os4. 
not  as  yet  mito  Corinth.  ^'^•^' 

24  Not  for  ^that  we  have  dominion  over  your 
fiutb^  but  are  helpers  (^  jour  joy :  for  'by  fiiith 
ye  stand      - 


CW.  i. 20;  PhiL i.  8. •  1  Cor.  It.  21;  Chap,  il  3;  xii. 20;  xiil. 

2, 10. ' ICor.  ia.fi;  1  PeCv. 31— «aQiii.zL2e;  1  Oor.zr.  L 


ence  between  an  esEmest  and  a  pledge.  A  i^edge  is 
to  be  restored  when  the  d^t  is  paid;  but  an  ear- 
nest is  not  taken  away,  but  completed  Such  an 
earnest  is  the  Spirit ;  the  first-fruits  of  which  true 
believers  have,  (Rom.  vili.  23,)  and  wait  for  all  its  Ail- 
ness.  Thb  apostle  is  thought  by  some  to  allude  to 
the  custom  of  hiring  servants  by  giving  them  earnest- 
money  ;  as  if  he  had  said^  He  hath  hired  us  to  be  his 
servants,  and  the  apostles  of  his  Son,  by  giving  us 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  gifts  and  graces.  These  are 
called  the  earnests  with  which  the  apostles  were 
hired,  because  they  were  to  them  a  sure  proof  of 
those  far  greater  blessings  which  God  would  bestow 
on  them  in  the  life  to  come,  as  the  wages  of  their  faith- 
ful services.  For  the  same  jreason  all  believers  are 
represented  as  having  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  given 
them,  2  Cor.  v.  5 ;  Eph.  L 14.     . 

Verses  23,  24.  Moreovery  I  call  God  to  record--^ 
As  if  he  had  said.  That  you  may  believe  me  in  what 
I  am  going  to  affirm,  I  call  God  as  a  witness,  uponj 
or  against  my  soul-U  I  do  not  speak  the  truth. 
Was  not  Paul  now  speaking  by  the  Spirit'?  And 
can  a  mor^  solemn  oath  be  conceived  ?  Who  then 
can  imagine  that  Christ  ever  designed  to  forbid 
swearing  ?  That  to  spare  yow— That  out  of  tender- 
ness to  you,^and  to  avoid  punishing  you  >  I  came 
not  as  yet  to  Corinth — ^That  is,  I  deferred  coining, 
lest  I  should  be  obliged  to  ^se  severity  against  you. 
He  says  elegantly,  to  Corinth,  not  to  you,  when  he 
is  intimating  his  power  to  punish.  Not  that  we 
have  dominion  over  your  faith^Vowtx  to  impose 
upon  you  articles  of  faith  or  rules  of  practice, 
which  the  Lord  hath  not  enjoined,  or  have  any 
authority  to  dictate  what  you  should  believe  or  do; 
this  is  the  prerogative  of  God  alone:  nor  would  w& 
exert  the  poWer  with  which  Christ  hath  endowed 
us,  to  any  tyrannical  or  overbearing  purposes.  But 
are  helpers  of  yowr^'oy— Co-workers  with  Christ  to 
promote  your  comfort,  by  establishing  you  in  that 
faith  from  which  all  comfort  springs ;  for  by  faith 
ye  staTid—E^naTe,  ye  have  stood  hitherto,  and  this 
will  be  a  means  of  strengthenpg  your  faith,  by 
which  alone  you  can  continue  in  the  favour  of  God, 
and  in  union  with  him,  and  obtain  a  right  and  title 
to  eternal  life.  Here  we  see  the  light  in  which  mi- 
nisters should  always  consider  themselves,  and  in 
which  they  are  to  be  considered  by  others;  not  as 
having  dominion  over  the  faith  of  their  people,  or 
having  a  right  to  dictate  by  their  own  authority 
what  they  shall  believe,  or  what  they  shall  do,  but  as 
helpers  of  their  joy,  by  helping  them  forward  in  ftdth 
and  holiness.  In  this  view  how  amiable  does  their 
office  appear !  and  how  friendly  to  the  happiness  of 
mankind !  How  £3ar  then  arc  they  from  true  benevo- 
lence who  would  expose  it  to  ridicule  and  contempt.' 

b 


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CHAPTER  IL 


nH  viMkifig  CMntk.^ 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ben  A»  MpetHt,  (li>  SuggesU  thtU  he  htti  deUyed  kit  vitii  to  M«  CaiirUkiaiu  till  he  ehoM  eee  if,  to  hU  greet  tomfort, 
they  woM  reGtify  tkefr  Heoriere  brfere  he  eeme^  1-4.  (3,)  Ht  direete  them  to  reetore  the  deeply  pemtent  ineeetueue  per' 
«9N  to  their  chmrck  «i^  fiifowekip,  6-11.  (8,)  He  v^orme  them  tf  kie  own  kiiomre,  eueeeee,  md  jeye  tn  •puMmg  the 
goepel  €f  Ckriet  m  eeoeral  ptaceMf  12-17. 


A.D. 


4004.  TSUT  1  determined  this  with  my- 
self, *  that  I  wnold  not  oome  again 


to  you  in  heavinesB. 

2  For  if  I  make  you  sorry,  who  is  be  then 
that  maketh  me  glad,  but  the  same  which  is 
made  sorry  by  me  ? 

3  And  I  wrote  this  same  unto  you,  lest, 
when  I  came,  ^I  should  have  sorrow  from 
them  of  whom  I  ought  to  rejoice ;    ®  having 


B  Chap.  i.  23 ;  xii.  20, 21 ;  xiii.  10. >>  Chap.  xii.  21.- 

▼iLie;  TiU.22;Oal.T.lO. 


*C^ap. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  11. 
Versefll-d.  But  /,  &c.— The  apostle  proceeds 
with  his  apology,  begun  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
for  delajring  his  visit  to  the  Corinthians,  and  signi- 
fies that  he  had  deferred  it  because  he  had  deter- 
mined with  himself  not  to  come  among  them  with 
sorrow,  by  punidiing  the  guihy,  if  he  could  by  any 
means  avoid  it ;  and  therefore,  instead  of  coming  to 
punish  them,  be  had  written  to  them,  that  he  might 
have  joy  from  their  repentance :  and  in  excuse  for 
the  severity  of  his  first  letter,  he  told  them  that  he 
wrote  it  in  the  deepest  affliction ;  not  to  make  them 
sorry,  but  to  show  the  greatness  of  his  love  to  them. 
/  determined  this  vnih  myself— Aa  if  he  had  said,  I 
will  now  plainly  and  faithfully  tell  you  the  true 
reason  of  that  delay  of  my  journey,  which  has  so 
much  surprised  many  of  yod,  and  at  which  some 
appear  to  have  taken  offence ;  it  was  not  that  I  for- 
got you,  or  failed  in  my  friendly  regards  to  you; 
but  I  resolved,  on  hearing  how  things  were  ainong 
you,  that  if  it  could  by  any  means  be  prevented,  i 
^90uld  not  come  again  to  you  with  heaviness — Ev 
Xwry^  in  grief,  either  on  account  of  the  sin  of  the 
particular  offender,  or  oftiie  disorders  in  the  church 
in  general,  or  in  circumstances  which  must  have 
grieved  both  myself  and  you ;  but  that  I  would  wait 
for  those  fruits  which  I  hoped  would  be  the  effect 
of  my  endeavours,  in  my  former  epistle,  to  regulate 
What  had  been  amiss.  For  if  I  make  yon  sorry — 
If  I  should  be  obliged  to  grieve  you  still  more  by 
my  reproofs  and  censures,  and  particularly  by  pun- 
ishing the  disobedient  among  you ;  who  is  he  then 
that  nutketh  me  glad— Th&i  could  give  me  joy ;  hut 
the  same  who  is  made  sorry  by  me  7— That  is,  I  can- 
not be  comforted  myself  till  his  grief  is  removed. 
The  apostle,,  knowing  that  the  sincere  partr'of  the 
church  would  be  made  sorry  by  his  punishing  their 
disobedient  brethren,  wished,  if  possible,  to  avoid 
doing  it  And,  added  to  this,  the  recovery  of  of- 
fenders would  give  him  more  sensible  joy  than  any 
thing  else;  considerations  which,  taken  together, 
abundantly  justify  the  language  he  here  uses.  And 
b 


confidence  in  you  all,  that  my  joy  is  A  Bf.40S4. 
the  joy  isi  ypu  aH.  \ 

4  For  out  of  much  aflliction  and  ai^^h  of 
heart  I  wrote  unto  you  with  many  tears ;  ^  not 
that  ye  should  begrieved,  but  that  ye  might  know 
the  love  which  I  have»nKNre  abundantly  unto  yon. 

6  But  •if  any  have  caused  grief,  he  bath 
not  ^grieved  me,  but  in  part:  that  I  may  not 
overcharge  you  all. 


'  Chapter  riL  8»  9,  12.- 


-•  1  GoruUhians  t.  1.- 
ir.  12. 


'Qalatiana 


/  wrote  this  same,  rnro  avro,  this  very  thing,  to  you— 
About  reforming  what  is  amiss,  particularly  to  ex- 
communicate the  incestuous  person,  and  to  shun  all 
contentions,  sinful  practices,  and  confusion  in  your 
meetings ;  lest  when  I  caine  again  to  Corinth,  as  I 
proposed,  /  should  Juive  sorrow  from  themr^Lesi  I 
should  have  occasion  to  censure  and  punish  any,  (to 
do  which  would  be  grievbus  to  me,)  of  whom— In 
whose  repentance;  I  ought  to  rejoice,  having  confi- 
dence in  you  all  that  my  joy  is  the  joy  of  you  all-^ 
That  in  genercd  you  bear  the  same  affection  toward 
me,  as  I  feel  in  my  heart  toward  you,  and  are  de- 
sirous of  giving  me  cause  of  joy,  rather  than  of 
sorrow.  It  seems  either  the  apostle  is  speaking 
here  of  the  sincere  part  of  the  Christian  Church,  or 
the  word  all  must  be  taken  in  a  qualified  sense. 

Verses  4,  5.  For  out  of  much  qffliction  and  an- 
guish of  heart— ^The  word  cwoxvf^  here  rendered 
anguish,  "denotes  the  pain  which  a  person  feels, 
who  is  pressed  on  every  side,  without  any  possibility 
of  disengaging  himself,  Luke  xxi.  25.  I  wrote  unto 
you  with  many  tears— So  it  seemshe  frequently  did : 
see  Phil.  iii.  18.  Not  so  much  that  ye  should  be 
grieved— I  did  not  design,  in  writing,  to  cause  you 
to  grieve  more  than  was  necessary  in  order  to  your 
repentance  and  refomiation;  but  that  ye  might 
know — By  one  of  the  most  genuine  tokens  which  it 
was  possible  for  me  to  give,  namely,  by  my  ftiithful 
admonitions  and  reproofs,  my  abundant  love  toward 
you.  But  if  any— Or  If  a  certain  person,  have  aiused 
grief— To  me  and  others;  he  hath  not  grieved  me 
but  in  part— Who  still  rejoice  over  the  greater  j)art 
of  you,.  That  I  may  not  overcharge  you  oW— That  I 
may  not  lay  a  load  of  accusation  ott  you  all  indis- 
criminately, as  having  encouraged  him  in  his  crime, 
or  having  taken  part  with  such  an  offender  in  afflict- 
ing me:  In  this  arid  the  following  verses,  the  apos- 
tle gave  a  remarkable  proof  of  that  love  which,  in 
verse  4,  he  had  expressed  toward  the  Corinthians. 
Ist,  Making  a  distinction  between  the  guilty  and  the 
innocent;  2d,  Forgiving  the  incestuous  person,  who, 
it  appears,  had  repented  of  his  crimes ;  verse  6 ;  and, 
219 


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n.  eORIN^HIANS. 


perw^n  he  restored  to  the  church. 


A.  M.  4064.    6  Sufficient  to  such  a  man  is  this 
*         1  punishment,  which  was  inflicted 
'of  many. 

7  ^  So  that  contrariwise,  ye  oug*A/ rather  to  for- 
give ^'m,  and  comfort  Am,  lest  perhaps  sucha  one 
should  be  swallowed  up  with  overmuch  sorrow. 

8  Wherefore  I  beseech  you  that  ye  would 
confirm  your  love  toward  him. 

9  For  to  this  end  also  did  I  write,  that  I 
might  know  the  proof  of  you,  whether  ye  be 
'  obedient  in  all  things. 

10  To  whom  ye  forgive  any  thing,  I  forgive 


*Or,  cewwre.- 


r  1  Cor.  T.  4,  5 ;  1  Tim.  t.  2a- 
*  Chap.  Tii.  15 ;  z.  6. 


»Oftl.Ti.  1. 


8d,  Ordering  the  church  likewise  to  forgive  him, 
and  confirm  their  love  to  him,  that  he  might  not  be 
swallowed  up  by  excessive  griefl 

Verses  6-11.  Sufficient  to  such  a  man — With 
what  remarkable  tenderness  does  the  apostle  treat 
this  offender !  He  never  once  mentions  his  name, 
nor  does  he  here  so  niuch  as  mention  his  crime ; 
but  speaks  of  him  ia  the  most  indefinite  manner 
that  was  consistent  with  giving  such  directions  in 
his  case  as  love  required ;  is  Viis  punishment^  in- 
flicted by  many— Not  only  by  the  rulers  of  the 
church,  the  whole  congregation  acquiesced  in  the 
sentence.  So  thai  corU.rariwise—\x\sXQ9A  of  pro- 
ceeding further  against  him;  ye  ought  rather  to  for- 
give him — To  release  him  from  the  censure,  and 
receive  him  again  into  the  church;  and  comfort 
him — This  penitent  sinner;  lest  he  should  be  swal- 
lowed up  wiihovermuch  sorrow — Driven  to  despair 
by  the  excessive  grief  which' the  continuance  of 
your  sentence  might  occasion.  Wherefore  confirm 
your  love  toward  Aim— Assure  him  of  your  love  by 
receiving  him  into  your  favour,  and  by  all  ofilces  of 
kindness.  For  to  this  end  did  I  write — Both  m  my 
former  epistle  that  yoU  would  censure  him,  and  now 
that  you  would  release  him ;  that  I  might  know  the 
proof  of  you — That  I  might  have  experience  of  you ; 
whether  ye  would  be  obedient  in  all  things — To  my 
apostolical  instructions  and  decisions ;  to  whom  ye 
forgive— He  makes  no  questioi;i  of  their  complying 
with  his  direction ;  any  thing — So  mildly  does  he 
speak  of  that  heinous  sin  after  it  was  repented  of; 
/  forgive  also — I  also  shall  be  ready  to  forgive  it ; 
if  I  forgave— If  heretofore  I  alone  received  any  to 
mercy ;  for  your  sokes  t forgave  it — To  show  you 
an  example  of  lenity  as  well  as  severity ;  in  the  per- 
son of  Christ — In  his  name,  and  by  the  authority 
wherewith  he  has  invested  me.  "  St  Paul's  conduct 
in  this  affair  is  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  gospel  They  are  to  do  nothing  to 
grieve  their  people,  unless  love  require  it  for  their 
good.  And  when  they  are  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  the  wholesome  discipline  which  Christ  hath  in- 
stituted in  his  church,  they  ought  to  exercise  it,  not 
from  resentment,  but  from  a  tender  regard  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  offender.  And  when  he  is 
reclaimed  by  the  censures  of  the  church,  they 
230 


also :   for  if  I  forgave  any  thing,  to  a.  m.  4064. 
whom  I  forgave  </,  for  your  sakes      '   '^* 
forgave  /{/  ^in  the  person  of  Christ; 

11  Lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of 
us:  for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices. 

12  Furthennore,  ^when  I  came  to  Troas  ta 
preach  Christ's  goqpel,  and  ^  a  door  was  opened 
unto  me  of  the  Lord, 

13  "^I  had  no  rest  in  my  spirit,  because  I 
found  not  Titus  my  brother :  but  taking  my 
leave  of  them,  I  went  from  thence  into  Mace- 
donia. 


*Or,  m  (A«  tight,- 


^  Acts  xvi.  8 ;  zz.  6.- 
•  Chap.  vii.  6,  6. 


>  1  Cor.  xri.  SC 


ought,  with  joy,  to  restore  him  to  the  conmumion  of 
the  faithful,  remembering  that  Satan  is  ever  watch- 
ful to  torn  the  hopes  and  feiffs,  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  Christians,  into  an  occasion  of  their  ruui."— Mac- 
knight.  Lest  Satan— To  whom  he  had -been  deli- 
vered, and  who  sought  to  destroy,  not  only  his  flesh, 
but  his  soul  also ;  should  get  an  advantage  ofus^^U 
the  punishment  of  him  be  carried  to  any  excess ; 
and  should  turn  that  severity  into  an  occasion  of 
mischief  to  the  offender,  to  his  brethren,  and  to 
others,  either  by  drivhig  any  to  despair  by  too  much 
rigour,  or  drawing  any  to  profaneness  by  tck>  much 
lenity:  for  the  loss  of  one  soul  is  a  common  loss. 
And  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices — And  Of 
the  great  variety  of  stratagems  which  he  is  contin- 
ually making  use  of  to  injure  us,  and  turn  even  dis- 
cipline itself  to  the  reproach  of  Uie  church,  and  the 
destruction  of  souls. 

Verses  12, 13.  Furthermore— -Th^X  ye  may  know 
my  great  concern  for  you ;  when  I  came  to  7Voa# 
— After  the  riot  excited  by  Demetrius.  He  seems 
to  refer  to  that  passage  from  Asia  to  Macedonia,  of 
which  a  shOrt  account  is  given  Acts  xx.  1,  2.  To 
pretich  ChrisVs  gospel — And  found  things  there  so 
situated ;  that  a  door  was  opened  unto  me — That  is, 
there  was  free  liberty  to  speak,  and  many  were 
willing  to  hear:  yet  /  had  no  rest  in  my  spirit — 
From  an  earnest  desire  to  know  the  state  of  your 
affhirs,  and  how  my  letter  had  been  received:  be- 
cause I  found  not  Titus  my  brother—In  his  return  5 
whom  I  had  sent  to  you  to  bring  me  the  information 
concerning  you  which  I  wished  for.  Therefore, 
taking  my  leave  of  them — Of  the  church  at  Troas. 
The  expression  here  used,  anora^ofievo^  ovrot^,  is  lit- 
erally, having  given  them  commands.  But  because 
persons,  who  are  about  to  leave  their  friends  for 
some  time,  give  their  commands  to  them,  the  phrase 
is  used  for  taking  leave  of  or  bidding  farewell  tOj 
one's  friends.  Iwentfrchn  thence  into  Macedonia — 
Where  being  much  nearer  to  Corinth,  I  might  more 
easily  be  informed  concerning  you;  and  where  I 
had  the  happiness  soon  of  meeting  him,  and  of  re- 
ceiving such  an  account  of  you  as  hi^  given  me 
much  pleasure;  and  in  consequence  of  which  I 
write  to  you  in  this  comfortable  manner.  Here  the 
apostle  interrupts  the  thread  of  his  discourse,  inter- 

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CHAPTER  H. 


or  of  death  to  thoee  who  hear  k. 


A.  11.4064.  14  Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  which 

—  ahrayscausethoatotriuniphinCSuriBt, 

andmaketh  numifest  "thesayourof  hie  know- 
ledge by  us  in  every  place. 
15  For  we  are  unto  God  a, sweet  savour  of 


•Cuitielea  L   3.- 


*l  Corrathiaiui 
It.  3.       - 


18.- 


Chapter 


posing  an  admirable  d^g^ression  concerning  what  he 
had  done  and  suffered  elsewhere,  the  profit  of  which 
he^  by  this  means,  derired  to  the  Corinthians  also; 
and  this  is  a  prelude  to  his  apology  against  false  apos- 
tles.   He  resumes  (he  subject,  however,  chap.  yii.  2. 

Verse  14.  Nino  thankebeto  Cfod,  vho^ln  Mace- 
donia, as  elsewhere ;  caueeth  us  to  triumph — Makes 
our  ministry  successftil  against  all  opposition ;  in 
C%ri9<^Namely,  by  the  influence  of  his  truth  and 
grace.  To  triumph  implies  not  only  victory,  but  an 
open  manifestation  of  it  Andmaketh  manifest  the 
savour— Rather  odour;  of  hie  knowledge — Namely, 
the  knowledge  of  God  and  Ghrbt,  and  his  gospel  -, 
in  every  place— Where  he  calls  us  to  labour,  or  in 
the  course  of  his  providence  castsour  lot.  '<  As  in  tri- 
umphal processions,  especially  in  the  East,  fragrant 
odours  and  incense  were  burned  near  the  conquer- 
ors, 90  he  seems  beautifully  to  allude  to  that  circum- 
stance in  what  he  says  of  oe/iifj  the  odour  of  the 
gospel,  in  the  following  verses.  And  he  seems 
furtiier  to  allude  to  the  different  effects  of  strong 
perfumes  to  cheer  some,  and  to  throw  others  into 
violent  disorders,  according  to  the  different  dis- 
positions they  are  in  to  receive  them."  So  Dod- 
dridge. Macknight  gives  rather  a  different  inter- 
pretation of  the  passage,  thus:  ^In  triumphs,  the 
streets  through  which  the  victorious  generals  passed 
were  strewed  with  flowers,  Ovid,  Trist  iv,  eleg.  2, 
line  29.  The^  people,  also,  were  in  use  to  throw 
flowers  into  the  triumphal  car  as  it  passed  along. 
This,  as  all  the  other  customs  observed  in  triumphal 
processions,  was  derived  from  the  Greeks,  who  in 
that  manner  honoured  the  conquerors  in  the  games 
when  they  entered  into  their  respective  cities.  Plu- 
tarch, {EimiLj  p.  272,)  tdkus,  that  in  triumphal  pro- 
cessions, the  streets  !^ere  ^vfuofMnav  vX^ic,  full 
ofinceneeP 

Verses  16, 16.  For  we— The  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel, the  apostles  especially;  are  unto  Qod  a  sweet 
edour  of  Cferw^— He  is  wefl  pleased  with  this  per- 
fiime  dtflftised  by  us,  with  (his  incense  of  his  name 
and  gospel,  which  we  spread  abroad  both  in  them 
that  believe,  love,  and  obey,  and  are  therefore 
eaved,  and  in  tton  that  obstinately  disbelieve,  and 
disobey,  and  consequently  perish.  7b  the  oke^ 
Hiose  that  believe  not;  we  are  the  odour  of  death 
unto  deaih^Th^  fragrancy,  so  rich  in  itself,  instead 
ef  reviving,  destroys  thena,  and  is  efficacious  to 
bringon  death  in  its  most  dreadful  forms.  The  gos- 
pel, which  we  preach  to  them,  finds  them  dead  in  sin ; 
that  is,  Ist,  under  guilt,  and  a  sentence  of  condem- 
nation to  the  second  death;  and,  2d,  in  a  state  of 
alienation  from  the  Ufe  of  Ood,  and  carna%  mifiiie(i, 
Which  is  deathy  Eph»  tv.  18;  Rom.  viiL  6.    It  oflbrs 


Christ,  ^'in  them  that  are  saved,  and  a.  m.4064. 
Pin  them  that  perish:  ^'  ^  ^' 

16  "1  To  the  one  we  are  the  savour  of  death 
unto  death ;  and  to  the  other  the  savour  of  life 
unto  life.  And '  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things? 


4 Luke  il  34;  Jobn  ix.  39;  1  Pet.  ii.  7,  8, 'i  Cor.  xv. 

K)  (  Chap.  iti.  5.  S. 


them  acquittance  from  condemnation,  and  the  Hdy 
Spirit  to  unite  them  to  God,  and  render  them  spirii- 
wdly  minded^  which  is  life  and  peace.  But  it  being 
disbelieved  and  rejected  by  them,  they  become  more 
guilty,  and  condemned  to  greater  punishment,  and 
ftirther  removed  from  all  union  with,  and  conformity 
to,  God.  The  expression,  therefore,  of  death  unto 
death,  is  perfectly  just  in  this  point  of  view;  and  is 
still  more  so  if  interpreted  of  the  progress  of  such 
from  spiritual  death  on  earth  to  eternal  death  in 
hell.  And  to  the  other,  we  are  the  odour  of  life  unto 
lif e-^The  gospel  revives  them ;  acquits  them  from 
condemnation;  justifies  them ;  and  thereby  entitles 
them  to  eternal  life.  Tit  iil  7.  It  also  opens  an 
intercourse  between  God  and  their  souls,  communi- 
cates to  them  the  life  of  grace,  with  a  continual  in- 
crease thereof,  John  x.  10,  and  then  brings  them  to 
the  life  of  glory.  This  seems  an  easy  exposition 
of  the  passage.  But  Macknight  thinks  that  the  apos- 
tle alliides  here,  not  to  the  powerftil  effects  of  strong 
perfumes  on  different  persons,  but  to  another  cir- 
cumstance, namely,  that,  in  the  triumphs  of  the 
ancients^  "  the  captives  of  greatest  note  followed 
the  triumphal  chiuriot  in  chains,  and  that  some  of 
them  had  their  lives  granted  to  them;  but  others 
were  put  to  death  immediately  after  the  procession 
ended.  Wherefore  to  such,  the  smell  of  the  flowers 
and  of  the  incense,  with  which  the  procession  was 
accompanied,  was  00^17  ^avaT8  etc  ^avarovy  a  deadly 
smelling,  ending  in  their  death.  But  to  those  cap- 
tives who  had  their  lives  granted  to  them,  this  was 
oofijf  i^i»tKistiO>*ftv,  a  smell  of  life;  a  vivifying,  refresh- 
ing smell,  which  eiided  in  life  to  them.  In  allusion,*^ 
he  adds,  ^'  to  the  method  of  a  triumph,  the  apostle 
represents  Christ  as  a  victorious  general!  riding  in  a 
triumphal  procesaicm  through  the  world,  attended  by 
his  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  and  other  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel,  and  followed  by  all  the  idolatrous 
nations  as  his  captives.  Among  these,  the  preach- 
ers of  the  gospel  diff\ised  the  smell  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ,  which,  to  those  who  believed  on  him, 
was  a  vivifying  smell  ending  in  life  to  them.  But  to 
the  mibelievers  the  smell  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
was  a  smell  of  death,  ending  in  death  if  they  con- 
tinued in  unbelief."  And  who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things-So  great  and  weighty  as  they  are  ?  Who  is 
fit  to  bear  such  an  important  charge?  Who  should 
undertake  it  without  trembling?  Certainly,  as  the 
apostle's  question  implies,  the  eternal  destruction  of 
those  who  perish  may  be  sometimes  ascribed,  in 
some  measure,  to  the  ignorance,  unfaithfldness,  or 
negligence  of  the  minister  fjppointed  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  them,  and  watch  over  their  souls;  in  which 
case,  their  blood  wiU  be  required  at  hishaads^    As^ 


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11.  CORINlttAMS. 


for  the  efecU  pfhU  mmittjy. 


JL  M.  4064.     17  For  we  axe  not  as  many,  wMch 
^  ^  ^'    3  corrupt  "the  word  of  God:  but  as  *of 


*  Or,  deJ  deceUJvily  with. •  Chap.  ir.  2 ;  xi.  18 ;  2  Pet  ii.  3. 


for  instance,  1st,  If  he  does  not  know  the  truth,  as 
it  is  in  Jesus  himself.  2d,  Does  not  make  it  fully 
known  to  others.  3d,  Does  not  do  this  with  se- 
riousness and  deep  concern.  4th,  Is  not  diligent 
in  this  work,  in  season  and  out  of  season ;  constant 
and  persevering.  5th,  If  he  does  hot  lyater  the 
seed  sown  wi^  his  prayers,  and  watch  over  the 
souls  committed  to  his  care,  as  one  that  must  give 
an  account.  Who  is  sufficient?  1st,  Not  those  who 
do  not  know  God  and  his  gospel  themselves,  and 
therefore  cannot  make  them  known  toothers.  2d, 
Not  those  who  have  not  God^  honour  at  heart,  and 
know  not  the  worth  of  souls  and  the  ioiportance  of 
saving  them,  dd.  Not  those,  of  whatever  denomina- 
tion they  may  be,  who  are  pursuing  worldly  gain^ 
honour,  pleasure,  or  ease.  The  hireling  careth  not 
for  the  sheep.  4th,  Not  the  careless,  negligent, 
slothful,  self-indulgent  watchmen.  5th,  Not  they  to 
whom  God  has  not  given  Just  a^d  clear  views  of  the 
great  doctjrines  of  the  gospel,  and  of  God's  will  and 
man's  duty,  nor  has  open«i  to  them  a  door  of  utter- 
ance. 6th,  Not  those  who  think  themselvejs  suffi- 
cient, and  engage  in  this  great  work  depending  on 
their  natural  abilities,  or  on  the  mere  aids  of  human 


smcerity,  but  as  of  Godwin  the  sight  of  ^  ^^• 
Qod  BpdBit  we  ^ia  Cbrisl. 


A.D.  no. 


*  Chap.  1 12 ;  ir.  2. *  Or,  ^. 


learning.    For  none  are  sufficient  of  themselves,  or 
withotit  the  powerful  inf  uence  of  God^  Spirit 

Verse  17.  For  we  are  not  as  many  who  corrupt — 
Qreek^aTnjlevovT^CjOduUeraie^  the  wordofGod—IAke 
those  vintners  who  mix  their  wine&wlth  baser  li^^ora 
Thus  Isaiah  says^  chap.  L  22,  (as  his  words  are  ren- 
dered by  the  LXX.,)  KaTroAoi  oh  ^uaysai  tov  oivw 
v6an,  thy  vintners  mix  their  wine  with  water.  By 
this  metaphor  the  best  Greek  wnters  represented  the 
arts  of  sophists,  who,  to  make  gain  of  their  lectures, 
mixed  their  do^^trine  with  falsehoods)  to  render  it 
acceptdi>le  to  their  disciples.  The  ^>08tle  uses  this 
metaphor  to  show  that  he  and  his  fellow-labourers 
did  not,  like  the  false  teachers  referred  to  chap.  xL 
22)  23j  corrupt  the  pure  trutti  of  the  gospel  by  false- 
hoods, for  the  purpose  of  plea^ng  the  vitiated  taste 
of  their  hearers;  but  preached  it  inMficm/y,  with- 
out mixture  of  error,  as  the  expression  signifies:  as 
o/'G'od— Transmitting  his  pure  word,  and  hot  their 
own  word  *,  inthe  sight  of  God-^Aa  In  his  presence; 
remembering  ,that  his  eye  was  upouvthem,  and  that 
he  marked  every  word  of  their  tongue;  speaJang 
in  C^mf— Words  which  he  gave,  approved,  and 


CHAPTER  lit. 

Here  the  apoetli,  (i,)  Appeaie  to  the  good  effects  of  his  mmstry  on  the  Corinthians  as  his  credentials,  written  &y  the  Jtnger 
ofGodfl-^i,    {%,)  Proces  tlis  great  superiority  of  the  gosfd  to  (he  Mosaie  law,  in  seterei  {%)  Skews 

that  his  preaching  was  suited  to  the  excsUenee  and  emdenpe  of  it,  and  had  an  enlightening  and  transforming  ej/teacy, 
thtottgh  the  power  of  (he  Holy  Spirit,  It-19. 


.M.4064v  T\0  ^web^inagaintocommendour- 
— '. — 1         Behres?  (H'needwejassomeo^Atfr^, 


•  Ohai>.  V.  12  ;  X.  6»  12 ;  zii.  11. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  lU. 
Verses  1,  2.  Do  we  begin  og^oift-- While  we  thus 
speak  and  avow  our  integrity;  to  commend — Or 
recommend;  aurselves^As  some  insinuate  we  do? 
Is  it  needful  to  do  so  ?  have  we  nothing  but  our  own 
word  to  recommend  us?  St  Paul  chiefly  here  in- 
tends himself,  though  not  excluding  Timothy,  Titus, 
and  Bilyanus :  or  need  ipe,  as  some  others — ^Namely, 
the  factious  and  false  teachers,  referred  to  chap.  xi. 
22,23;  epistles  of  commendation^Eeeommendeioity 
letters;  to  you — From  other  churches;  or  reann- 
mendalory  letters  from  y<m— To  others?  As  if  he 
had  said,  Do  I  indeed  want  audi  recommeadation? 
Nay,  ye  <tr€our  epi^e^-Onr  recommendatory  letter, 


'  ^epistles  <tf  commendation  to  you,  or  a.m  40w 

*^  "^  A.  D.  60. 


letters  of  commendation  fiom  you  ? 


*Act»  xviii  27. 


more  oonvinchig  than  any  bare  words  could  be,  a« 
being  a  testimonkd  from  God  himaelf.  He  means, 
that  the  change  which  had  been  produced  in  tbeb 
hearts  and  lives,  in  their  dispositionfl,  words,  and 
actions,  by  his  ministry,  and  that  of  his  fc^w^ 
labourers,  a  change  which  could  not  have  been 
effected  except  by  the  power  of  God,  was  a  demon- 
stration that  God  had  sent  them,  and  was  present 
with  them,  givmg  efficacy  to  the  word  of  his  gnce: 
a  letter  written  in  our  hearts^Dee^ly  engraven 
there,  so  that  we  never  can  forget  h;  known  and 
read  of  aU  meti — ^Who  knew  what  immoral  persons 
yon  once  were,  and  observe  what  you  are  now.  By 
qmikingastheapOBdedoeiBhitUsand  theprecedinf 


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CHAPTER  m. 


epi0(le$  of  PauPs  preaching. 


A IL  «j4.    2  •  Ye  lur^our epfede  wrilt^ei  in  our 

. '. — L  hearts,  known  and  read  of  fdl  men : 

3  Fbrasmuch  as  ye  are  mantfesdy  declared 
Co  be  the  episde  of  Clurist  ^  minktered.  by  itis, 
written  not  with  ink,  bat  with  the  Spirit  of  the 
hying  Qci;  not  *in  tables  of  stone,  but /in 
fleshly  taUes  of  the  heart 


<  1  CoE.  ix.  2. ^1  Cor.  iiL  5. •  Exod.  zzit.  12 ;  xxxty.  1. 

'  Psa.  xL  8 ;  Jer.  xxzi.  33 ;  Esek.  xi.  19 ;  xxxri.  26 ;  Heb.  viii. 

10. *  Twelfth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  rewe  4  to  reree 

10.— f  Jc4a  XT.  6 ;  Chap.  u.  1«.-— ^1  Cor.  xr.  10;  PUl.  u. 


verse,  h^  intimates  that  hi^  apostleship  did  not  de- 
pend on  the  t^timony  of  men,  and  that  he  conld  go 
to  no  church  where  he  was  not  knovm  to  be  an  apos- 
tle of  Christ,  and  to  have  been  instnimental  in  con- 
rerting  many  to  the  fiE^th,  and  making  fhemnew 
creatures  in  Christ, 

Verses  3, 4.  Foraamuch  as  ye—Some  of  whom 
were  once  so  immoral,  but  who  are  now  so  pious 
and  virtuous;  are  mamfesUy  declared  io  he  the 
episde  of  Ckrist—Whieh  he  has  formed  said  pub- 
Ikhed  to  the  world ;  mimstered  by  ue — ^Whom  he 
has  used  herein  as  his  instrumeiits ;  therefore  ye  are 
onr  letter  also;  vHtten^  nfit  mth  tn/r— As  epistles 
generally  are;  but  with  the  iStpirtt  of  the  Kving  Ood 
— ^InfluenciBg  your  hearts,  and  producing  that  va- 
riety of  graces  and  virtues,  which  render  many  of 
you  so  conspicuous  for  holiness  and  usefhlness ;  not 
in  tables  of  stone — Like  the  ten  oommftndments, 
which  did  so  great  an  honour,  and  gave  Iroch  au- 
thority to  Moses ;  butin  fleshly  tables  of  the  hearts 
To  which  no  hand  but  that  by  which  the  heart  was 
made  could  find  access,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  in- 
scribe these  characters  Uiere.  llie  sen^  of  this 
verse,  as  Mr.  Locke  justly  observesj^  is  plainly  this ; 
^That  he  needed  no  letters  of  commendation  to 
them,  but  that  their  conversion,  and  the  gospel 
written,  not  with  ink^  but  with  the  Spirit  of  Qod  in 
the  tables  of  their  hearts,  by  his  ministry,  was  as 
clear  an  evidence  and  testimony  to  them*  of  his  mis- 
sion from  Christ,  as  the  law  wif itten  on  tables  df  stone 
was  an  evidence  of  Moses's  mission ;  so  that  he,  St 
Paul,  needed  no  other  recommendation."  Sudi 
trust  have  ^e  ihrough  Christ  to  CroJ-iwmi— That 
is,  we  trust  in  Godthat  this  is  so.  This  the  apostle 
adds,  and  also  what  follows,  to  obviate  all  imputation 
of  vamty  or  vain-glory,  on  account  of  what  he  had 
advanced  in  the  two  preceding  verises. 

Verses  5, 6.  Not  that  we  are  st^flcient  of  ourselves 
— For  this  great  work  of  converting  ^ners,  and 
orating  them  anew ;  or  So  much  as  to  think  any  thing 
as  of  ourselves — ^To  form  even  right  views  of  the 
gospel,  and  divine  things,  much  less  io  communicate 
such  views  to  others^  and  less  still  to  render  them 
dfectoal  to  men's  salvation.  BtU  our  stridency  is 
of  Ood— To  ^riiom  we  do  and  must  ascribe  what- 
ever qualtftcations  we  have  for  our  office,  and  what- 
ever sncceai  we  have  in  it;  v>ho  also  hath  made  us 
— His  aposdes  and  others  whom  he  hath  sent  into 
the  work;  abie  nUniHers-^Qreek,  oc  ixa^wmf  vfrnc 
SioMmmff  literally,  who  hath  made  usfiyOi  suffix 


4  *  And  such  trust  have  we  through  a.  m.  4064. 
Christ  to  God-waid:  -  ^'^'^' 

6  «Not  that  we  are  sufficient  of  ourselves  to 
think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves ;  but  ^our  suf- 
fici  wcy  is  of  God ; 

6  Who  also  hath  made  us  able  ^  ministers  of 
^  the  new  te^ament ;  not  ^  of  the  letter,  but  of 


13* JlCor.  liLfij  XV.  10;  ChM).T.18;  Eph.iii.7;  CoL  i. 

25, 20;  1  Tim.  i.  11, 12 ;  2  Tim.  i.  11. ^Jei.  xxxi.  31 ;  Mat- 
thew xxri.  28 ;  Hebrews  viii.  6,  8. » Bomant,  ii.  27,  28 ; 

▼ii.  & 


cient;  minister^  of  {he  new  testament — Or  cove- 
nant^ rather,  as  Sia&ffKtf  is  generally  rendered.  See 
the  tntroduction  to  the  New  Testament^  p.  3.  That 
i^  Ist,  Of  the  covenant  of  grace,  made  wiUi  man  lUter 
the  fall;  a  covenant  which  makes  provision  for  par- 
doning his  guilt,  renewing  his  depraved  nature,  and 
strengthening  his  weakness;  purposes  for  which  the 
former  covenant,  that  of  justice,  established  before 
the- fall,  made  no  provision;  man,  while  in  inno- 
cenee,  ^ot  needing  it:  2d,  And  more  especially,  the 
new  covenant  here  means  the  last  and  best  dispen- 
sation of  the  covehant  of  grace,  that  made  through 
the  Messiah  come  in  the  flesh,  in  opposition  to  the 
two  former  dispensations  of  the  covenant  of  grace, 
the  Patriarchal  and  Mosaic.  Not  of  the  letterSoi 
of  the  law,  fidy  called  the  letter,  from  God's  writing 
the  best  part  of  it  on  the  two  tables ;  but  of  the 
8pirit^--0(  the  gospel  dispensation,  written  on  the 
tables  of  our  hearts  by  th&  Spirit.  Or  rather,  the 
apostle  means  that  the  true  ministers  of  Christ  are 
not  merely  ministers  of  the  letter  even  of  the  gospel 
covenant ;  they  not  only  bear  testimony  to,  and  en- 
force the  literal  knowledge  of  it,  or  that  which  is 
in  mere  theory,  but  the  spiritud  or  experimental 
knowledge  of  it:  that  is,  Uieynot  only  endeavour 
to  communicate  to  their  hearers  just,  clear,  and  Ml 
views  of  the  .gospel  in  all  its  parts,  but  to  bring 
them  to  have  a  lively  and  operative  faith  in  its  doc- 
trines, producing  in  them  a  diange  of  nature ;  to 
possess  its  graces,  ei^oy  its  privileges,  and  practise 
its  duties.  For  the  letter  Arf tf ai^— The  law,  the  Mo- 
saic dispensation,  seals  in  death  those  who  still  cleave 
to  it;  but  the  spirit—The  gospel,  instrumental  in 
conveying  the  Spirit  of  God  to  those  who  receive  it 
with  a  true  and  lively  fjdth ;  giveth  /t/e— Both  spirit- 
ual and  eternal^  Tea,  if  we  adhere  to  the  literal 
sense  even  of  the  moral  law,  if  we  regard  only  the 
precept  and  the  sanction,  as  they  stand  in  them- 
selves, not  as  they  lead  us  to  Christ,  they  are  doubt- 
less a  killing  ordinance,  and  bhid  us  down  under  the 
sentence  of  death.  Nor  is  this  all  that  the  apostle 
means :  but  if  we  rest  in  the  literal  and  merely  no- 
tional knowledge  of  the  ntfw  covenant  itself,  it  not 
only  will  not  justify  and  save  us,  but  will  condemn 
us  to  a  greater  death  than  that  to  which  we  vrcra 
exposed  by  the  sin  of  Adam:  our  condemnation 
will  be  aggravated,  and  our  futrtre  misery  increased 
through  OUT  misuse,  or  abuse  rather,  of  so  gracious 
a  dispensation,  a  remedy  provided  in  great  mercy 
and  love  for  the  healing  of  our  spiritual  disorderly 


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7^  nUnistratwn  of  the  Spirit 


n.  OOfilNTHIANa      moret^hri4^  Outn  that  of  the  leUer. ' 


▲.M.4064.  the  spirit:  for  ""the lett^kdleth,'' but 

the  spint  ^giyeth  life. 

7  But  if  **  the  ministration  of  death  ^  written 
and  engraven  in  stones,  was  glorious,  ^  so  that 
the  chitdren  of  Israel  could  not  stead&sdy  be- 


■RoDL  iii.  20;  ir.  15;  rii.  9, 10, 11 ;  0«l  iiL  10.- 
tL  63  ;  Rom.  riii  2. '  Or,  ^ 


■John 


and  the  saving  of  our  sonlSa  In  other  words,  if  we 
content  ourselves  .with  having  right  views  of  the 
gospel,  of  its  truths  and  duties,  privileges  and  bless- 
ings, and  do  not  receive  them  in  true  repentance, 
living  faith,  sincere  love,  and  new  obedjence ;  if  we 
be  satisfied  with  understanding  the  nature  of  the 
graces  of  God's  Spirit,  and  of  justification,  regene- 
ration, and  sanctification,  and  remain  without  the 
real  possession  and  enjoyment  of  these  blessings, 
the  light  we  have,  and  our  correct  ideas  of  these 
things,  will  only  render  us  the  more  inexcusable  be- 
fore Qod,  and  expose  us  to  greater  wrath  than  could 
have  come  upon  us,  if  we  had  not  be^en  favoured 
with  that  knowledge  and  these  advantages.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  spiritual  and  experimental  know- 
ledge of  the  new  covenant^  in  all  its  Inranches,  the 
knowledge  communicated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  give^ 
Ufe,  It  quickens  the  soul,  before  dead  to  God  and 
divine  things,  dead  in  a  state  of  ^ilt,  depravity,  and 
weakness;  U  justifies  the  ungodly,  sanctifies  the  un- 
h(dy,  unites  to  Gk>d  those  who  had  been  aUenated 
from  his  life,  stamps  them  with  his  image,  commu- 
nicates to  them  his  nature,  and  renders  them  spiritu- 
ally minded,  which  is  life  and  peace.  And  while  it 
imparts  the  life  of  grace,  it  gives  a  title  to,  ameetness 
for,  and  a  foretaste  of,  the  life  of  glory.  To  spread 
this  spiritusd,  experimental,  and  practical  knowledge 
of  the  new  covenant,  therefore,  is  the  chief  concern, 
uid  endeavour  of  every  true  minister  of  Christ; 
and  for  this  work  every  such  a  one  is  qualified  by 
being  savingly  made  acquainted  with  its  nature,  ex- 
cellence, and  glory,  in  consequence  of  which  he 
can  and  will  not  only  speak  justly  and  clearly  con- 
cerning it,  but  with  zeal,  fervency,  and  deep  concern, 
that  his  message  may  be  properly  received  and 
obeyed  by  all  who  hear  him.  Understanding  the 
doctrines,  possessing  the  graces,  practising  the 
duties,  and  enjoying  the  privileges  of  this  new  dis- 
pensation himself^  he  speaks  with  sincerity  and 
pathos ;  speaks  what  he  knows,  and  testifies  what  he 
has  seen^  or  experienced;  and  his  words,  proceed- 
ing from  the  heart,  and  uttered  with  feeUng,  seldom 
fail  to  reach  the  heart :  while  in  the  mean  time,  his 
spirit  and  conduct,  his  holy  tempers,  words,  and  j 
actions,  strongly  recommend  his  doctrine,  and  pow- 
erfully enforce  all  his  exhortations,  the  Lord  Jesus,  | 
accordhig  to  his  promise,  being  with  him  in  all  his 
ministrations,  and  giving  efficacy  to  the  word  of  his 
graee.  { 

Verses  7, 8.  ^ti/— The  apostle  having  signified  that 
he  and  the  other  true  servants  of  Chrbt  were  in- 
trusted with  the  ministry  of  the  new  covenant,  in  | 
opposition  to  the  old,  proceeds  now  to  show  the 
great  superiority  of  thisir  dispensation  to  that  which 


hdd  the  fece  of  Moses  fx  the  glory  of  A.  M.  40m. 
his  countenance ;  which  glory  was  to    ^  ^'^' 
be  done  away : 
8  How  shall  not  'the  fninistration  of  the 
Spirit  be  rather  glorious? 


•Rom.  rii.  10. PEzod  zzxtr.  1,  S8;  Dent.  x.  1,  See. 

4Ezod.  xxxir.  89,  30,  35. — >  QtL  iii.  S. 


had  preceded  it.  This  he  does  in  three  important 
particulars.  If  the  ministration  of  death,  written 
and  engraven  in  stones— vThat  is,  the  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation, the  most  important  part  of  which  was 
engraven  on  two  tables  of  stone,  and  which  proved 
a  ministration  of  death  to  those  who  preferred  it  to 
the  gospel,  and  which  still  subjects  such  to  death, 
pronouncing  an  awful  curse  upon  all  that  in  any 
respect  violate  it ;  was  g-iorwm*— Was  attended  with 
a  signal  and  undeniable  glory,  a  glory  even  reflected 
on  the  face  of  its  minister,  in  such  a  degree  that  the 
Israelites  could  not  bear  stead£Mtly  to  behold  the 
splendour  of  his  countenance;  how  shaU  not  (he 
ministration  of  the  Spirit — The  Christian  dispen- 
sation, Under  which  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  his  gifts  and 
graces,  is  much  more  largely  communicated  than  it 
was  under  the  law^  be  rather  glorious — Since  the 
operations  and  graces  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the 
heart  of  a  rational  being  are  so  nmch  more  im- 
portant ^an  any  dead  characters  which  could  be 
engraven  on  insensible  stones.  To  be  a  little  more 
particular  :--The  law,  even  the  best  part  of  it,  that 
engraven  on  stones,  is  here  properly  termed  the 
ministration  of  death — Because,  1st,  It  condemned 
wilful  transgressors  in  certain  cases,  (as  sabbath- 
breakers,  adulteresses,  and  those  disobedient  to 
parents,)  to  temporal  dea^ ;  so  that  they  died  wi^ 
out  mercy  under  two  or  three  ioitnesses  attesting 
their  guilt,  Heb.  x.  ^. .  2d,  Finding  all  dead,  or 
doomed  to  die,  temporally,  it  had  no  resurrection 
to  announce  or  promise.  8d,  Spiritual,  as  well  as 
temporal  death,  having  entered  into  the  world  by 
the  first  great  transgression,  and  all  being  involved 
therein,  namely,  destitute  of  the  favour  of  God, 
(which  is  life,  Psa*  xxx.  5,)  of  union  with  him, 
and  a  spiritual  mind,  (Rom.  viii.  6,)  it  could  not 
quicken  them,  or  make  them  alive  to  God.  Its 
sacj^ifices  could  not  procure  men  God's  forfeited 
favour,  much  less  assure  them  of  it.  Its  precepts, 
through  men's  inability  to  keep  them,  could  not 
introduce  them  to  union  with  him,  and  its  carnal 
ordinances  and  worldly  promises  could  not  render 
them  spiritually  minded.  Thus  the  letter,  that 
external,  emblematic^il,  and  shadowy  dispensation, 
killed  such  as  adhered  to  it,  and  rejected  the  gospel ; 
but  the  Spirit  giveth  life.  As  the  3pirit  of  God  is 
the  grand  promise  of  the  new  covenant,  (seelsa. 
xliv.  3;  lix.  21 ;  Joel  ii.  28;  John  vii.  37,  38,)  so  by 
this  the  gospel  doctrines,  precepts,  and  promises,  are 
made  spirit  and  life  to  us ;  repentance  unto  life  and 
living  faith  are  begotten  in  us,  the  favour  of  God 
is  manifested,  and  umon  with  God  imparted,  pro- 
ductive of  a  spiritual  mind,  which  is  life  and 
peace. 

b 


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TJU  apostle  ^ows  Ike  wperioriiy 


CHAPTER  m. 


of  the  gospel  to  the  law. 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.60. 


9  For  if  the  ministratioQ  of  ccmdem- 
naUoQ  be  glory,  much  more  doth  the 
mimstratioa  'of  righteousness  exceed  in  ^ory. 
-  10  For  even  that  which  was  made  glorious 
had  no  gkxy  in  i\m  respedy  by  re^UKm  of  the 
glory  (hat  excelleth.     i  . 

11  For  if  that  wluchwafidone  away  tPMglcNri- 
oos^much  more  that  which  remainetht^glmousr 


•  RoQL  i.  17 :  iiL  21. -^Gbap.  tiL  4 :  Eph-  ri.  \9. *Or, 

-■Exod.  xxxir.  33,  35.— «  Rom.  x.  4 ;  Gal.  iiL  23. 


Verec  9.  If,  &e.— The  apostle  now  proceeds  to 
the  second  particular;  the  ministratioH  of  condem- 
nation be  glorious— XtXended.  with  such  great  fi(lory. 
The  law,  whether  moral  or  ceremonial,  however 
glorious,  was,  to  sinful  and  guilty,  weak  and  depraved 
man,  in  his  fallen  state,  no  more  than  a  ministration 
of  condemnation.  Even  the  moral  part  of  it,  though 
holy,  just,  and  good,  yet,  being  spiritual  and  exten- 
sive in  its  demands,  condenmed  all  for  having  vio- 
lilted  it  in  time  past^  for  falling  short  of  its  demands 
at  present,  and  as  being  unable  to  flilfil  it  in  future. 
Here  we  see  how  much  they  are  mistaken  who 
suppose  that  the  moral  law,  of  which  the  apostle 
ehielly  speaks,  (it  alone  being  engraven  on  stones,) 
requires  no  more  than  a  sincere  obedience,  such  as 
is  proportioned  to  our  infirm  state.  For  if  this  were 
sufficient  to  justify  us,  then  the  law  would  cease  to 
be  a  ministration  of  condemnation.  It  would  be- 
come (flatly  contnury  to  the  apostle's  doctrine)  the 
ministration  of  righteousness.  Thb,  however,  even 
a  ministration  of  righteousness,  is  the  gospel  or  new 
covenant:  for,  Ist,  It  reveals  the  essential  righteous- 
ness of  God,  (Rom.  i.  16,)  illustrating  his  perfections, 
and  showing  how  holy  and  just  he  is,  Rom.  ill.  '^1-26. 
3d,  It  exhibits  the  meritorious  righteousness  of 
Christ,  or  his  obedience  unto  death,  the  procuring 
cause  of  our  justification.  See  on  Rom,  x.  4.  3d, 
It  lays  a  foundation  for,  and  is  the  seed  of,  the  in- 
strumental righteousness  of  faith,  described  Bom. 
iv.  and  Phil  ill.  9.  4th,  It  imputes  righteousness  to 
us  in  our  justification,  Rom.  iv.  3;  implants  it  in  us 
in  otir  regeneration  and  sanctification,  Tit.  ill.  5 ; 
Eph.  iv.  23,  24 ;  and  provides  for  our  practising  it 
in  love  and  obedience,  shedding  abroad  the  love  of 
God  in  our  hearts,  the  great  source  of  all  piety 
and  virtue,  and  creating  us  anew  to  all  good 
works,  Eph.  it  10.  Thus  grace  reigns  through 
righteousness  unto  eternal  life,  Rom.  v.  21.  On 
this  account  also  the  gospel  far  exceeds  the  law 
In  glory:  for, 

Verses  10,  11.  Even  thai  which  was  made  glo- 
rious—The law,  especially  at  its  first  dispensation ; 
had  no  glory^  in  this  respect^  Ac. — That  is,  none  in 
comparison  of  the  gpspel,  which  has  such  a  transcend- 
ent glory  in  it  The  greater  light  swallows  up  the  less. 
For  if  ihal  which  is  done  away— The  law,  and  the 
whole  Mosaic  dispensation,  which,  being  only  typi- 
cal and  shadowy,  of  course  ceased  when  the  anti- 
t3rpe  and  substance  came.  Hence  its  priesthood 
is  changed,  Heb.  viL  11,12  $  its  ooTenant,  Heb.  viiL 

Vol.  fl.  (  16  ) 


12  Seeing  th^i  that  we  have  such  a.  m.  4064. 

hope^  *we  use  great  ^plainness  of '- — 1 

speech: 

13  And  not  as  Moses,  ^tohich  put  a  veil  over 
his  facej  that  the  children  ci  Israd  could  not 
steadfostly  look  to  '  the  end  of  that  which  is 
abolished : 

14  But  ^  their  minds  were  Uinded :  for  until 


7 lu.  tL  10;  Matt  xiiL  11,14 ;  John xii.40;  Aett  zzriii.  26; 
Bom.  zi.  7,  8,  25  9  Chap.  iv.  4. 


6;  its  sanctuary  and  whole  service,  Heb.  ix.  1-9; 
with  all  its  privileges  and  blessings,  they  being  ge- 
nerally of  a  worldly  and  carnal  nature  i  mtich  more 
that  which  remaineth— The  gospel,  which  is  to  con- 
tinue without  any  alteration  to  the  end  of  time ;  is 
glorious — ^Its  high-priest  is  consecrated  for  ever,  and 
has  an  unchangeable  priesthood,  Heh.  vi.  20 ;  vii. 
24,  28.  Its  law,  or  covenant,  remains  the  sanie 
through  all  ages :  its  sanctuary,  the  visible  church, 
is  built  on  a  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it :  its  spiritual  wor^ip  and  service  are 
of  perpetue^  obligation ;  and  its  privileges  and  bless- 
ings,, being  all  of  a  spiritual  and  heavenly  nature, 
though  possessed  in  their  first-fruits  in  time,  ehdH 
be  reaped  in  their  full  harvest  in  eternity.  Such  are 
the  three  particulars  in  which  the  glory  of  the  new 
covenant  far  exceeds  that  of  the  old. 

Verses  12-16.  Seeing  then— Upon  these  grounds 
spoken  of  from  verses  5-11 ;  that  we  have  such 
hope — Such  confidence  of  the  excellence  of  our  mi- 
nistry, or  such  an  assurance  that  the  gospel  excels 
the  law  in  its  nature  and  tendency,  in  its  glory  and 
duration;  we  use  great  plainness  of  speeds— In 
dis<;oursing  concerning  it.  Or,  as  roXkfi  wappntji^ 
may  be  rendered,  we  use  great  liberty  of  address. 
And  not  as  Moses-^V^e  do  not  act  as  he  did;  who 
put  a  veil  over  hia  fact — ^Which  is  to  be  under 
stood  with  regard  to  his  writings  also ;  so  that  Is- 
rael could  not  look  steadfastly  to  the  end  of  that 
dispensation ;  which  is  now  abolished — The  end  of 
this  was  Christ.  The  whole  Mosaic  dispensation 
tended  to,  and  terminated  in,  him.  But  the  Israel- 
ites had  only  a  dim  wavering  sight  of  him,  of  whom 
Moses  spake  in  an  obscure,  covert  manner.  Mac- 
knight  explains  this  more  at  large  thus:  "  Here  the 
apostie  intimites  that  Moses  put  a  veil  on  his  face 
while  he  delivered  the  law,  to  show  the  darkness  of 
the  types  and  figures  of  the  law,  of  which  he  was 
the  minister.  And  as  he  veiled  his  face,  that  the 
children  of  Israel  might  not  see  the  vanishmg  of 
the  glory  from  his  face,  it  signified  that  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  law,  typified  by  the  vanishing  of  the 
glory,  would  be  hidden  from  thenL  So  the  apostio 
halh  interpreted  these  emblems,  verse  14.  Farther, 
to  show  that  the  gospel  is  a  clear  dispensation,  and 
that  it  is  never  to  be  abolished,  and  that  the  minis- 
ters of  the  covenant  of  the  Spirit  were  able  at  all 
times  to  speak  plainly  concerning  it,  they  did  not, 
while  nunistering  that  covepant,  veil  their  faces  like 
Moses.*'  But  their  minds  were  blinded-— Beaidm 
229  b 


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IL  CORINTHUNS. 


ikevml/hmAe 


A.  X.  4064.  this  day  remaineth  the  same  veil  un- 

^•^^    taken  away  in  the  reading  of  the  old 

testament ;  which  veil  is  done  away  in  Christ. 

15  But  evm  unto  this  day^  when  Moses  is 
read,  the  veil  is  upon  their  heaJEt 

16  Nevertheless,  » when  it  shall  turn  to  the 
Lord,  *  the  veil  shall  be  taken  away. 


>Ezod.  xxxiT.  34;    Rom.  li.   23,    26. — 
»  Verse  6;  iCor.TT.  45. •!  Cor.xiii.  12; 


^Rom.  xxr,  7. 


the  obscurity  of  that  dispensation,  there  was  evident- 
ly bfindness  on  their  minds.  They  rested  in  the  out- 
ward letter,  and  did  not  understand  or  apprehend 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  law.  For  wntU  this  day — 
Notwithstanding  the  many  extraordinary  miracles 
that  have  been  wrought,  and  the  wonderful  events 
which  have  taken  place;  remaineth  the  same  veil  on 
their  understanding  untaken  away — M^  avoKaXvirro' 
fttvov^  literally,  not  folded  back,  namely,  so  as  to  ^d- 
mit  a  little  glimmering  light ;  in  or  during,  the  read- 
ing of  the  old  testament— 'Which,  contains  such  dis- 
tinct prophecies  of  Christ,  and  such  lively  descrip- 
tions of  him,  thai  one  would  think  it  to  be  impos- 
sible that  he  should  not  be  immediately  acknow- 
ledged and  adored  by  all  that  profess  to  believe  its 
authority.  That  is,  in  other  words,  "The  thing 
tjrpified  by  the  veU  on  Moses's  fiice,  hath  tak<^ 
place  from  that  time  to  this  day.  For  when  the 
Israelites  read  Moses's  account  of  the  old  covenant 
of  the  law,  a  veil  lieth  on  that  covenant ;  its  types, 
and  figures,  and  prophecies,  are  as  dark  to  them  as 
ever ;  it  not  being  discovered  to  them  that  they 
are  fulfilled  in  Christ,  and  consequently  that  the 
old  covenant  itself  is  abolished  by  him.  Further, 
as  the  apostle  observes  in  verse  15,  a  veil  lieth  also 
on  the  hearts  of  the  Jews  when  thc^  read  Moses. 
Besides  the  natural  obscurity  of  the  old  covenant, 
there  is  a  second  veil  formed  by  their  ovm  prejudi- 
ces and  lusts,  which  blind  them  to  such  a  degree, 
that  they  cannot  discern  the  intimations  Which  God 
in  the  law  itself  hath  given  of  his  intention  to  abro- 
gate it  by  Christ."  Which  veil—Of  obscurity  upon 
the  old  testament,  and  of  prejudice  and  blindness  on 
their  ovm  minds ;  is  done  away  in  Christ— By  the 
knowledge  of  him,  and  the  illumination  of  his  Spi- 
rit, with  respect  to  all  that  truly  believe  in  him. 
Nevertheless^  when  it — Their  heart ;  shaU  turn  to 
the  Lord— 'To  Christ  by  living  faith  ;  the  veil  shall 
be  taken  away — Or  rather,  is  taken  away,  and  that 
from  around  their  hearty  as  mpiaipeirm  signifies; 
or  is  taken  away  entirely,  and  the  genuine  sense  of 
the  sacred  oracles  breaks  in  upon  their  minds  with 
irresistible  light,  and  they  see  with  the  utmost 
clearness  how  all  the  types  and  prophecies  of  the 
law  are  fully  accomplished  in  hitn.  And  this,  we 
may  observe,  not  only  will  happen  at  the  general 
conversion  of  the  Jews,  but  actually  does  happen  as 
often  as  any  one  of  that  nation  is  converted.  In 
the  expression,  when  it  shall  turn  to  the  Lord,  &c., 
there  is  a  manifest  allusion  to  Moses's  taking  the 
veil  off  from  his  face,  when  he  turned  from  the  peo- 
ple to  go  into  flie  tabernacle  before  the  Lord,  where- 
»0 


17  Now  ^the  Lord  is  that  Spirit:  A.M.406i. 
and  where  the  Sjniit  of  the  Lord  t^,  -^  ^'^^ 
there  is  Vberiy. 

18  But  we  all,  with  open  fiice  bdiolding^  *  aa 
in  a  glass  '  the  gbryd"  the  Lord,  *  are  changed 
into  the  same  image  from  gtory  to  glory,  even 
as  '  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 


*  ChMD.  ir.  4,  6;  1  Tim.  1 11. •  Rom.  riii.  29 ;  1  Cor.  xr, 

49 ;  Col.  iii.  10.-^— »  Or,  9f  th§  Lord  the  Spirit, 


by  he  received  a  new  irradiation  from  the  glory  of 
the  Lord.    See  Exod.  jncxiv.  34. 

Verses  17, 18.  Now  the  Lord  Christ  is  that  SpirU 
— Of  the  law  of  which  I  spake  before,  to  whom  the 
letter  of  it  was  intended  to  lead ;  and  it  is  th6  office 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  the  great  agent  in  his  king- 
dom, to  direct  the  minds  of  men  to  it  And  where 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  t«--Enlightening  and  renew- 
ing men's  minds ;  there  is  liberty—Soi  the  veil,  the 
emblem  of  slavery.  There  is  liberty  from  servile 
fear,  liberty  from  the  guilt  arid  power  of  siti,  Uberty 
to  behold  with  opett  face  the  glory  of  (he  Lord. 
Accordingly  it  is  added,  we  a/f— That  believe  in  him 
With  a  faith  of  bis  operation ;  beholding  as  in  a 
glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  &c. — By  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  here,  we  are  to  understand  his  divine  attri- 
butes, his  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness ;  his  truth, 
justice,  mercy ;  his  hcdiness  and  grace,  and  espe- 
cially his  love ;  these,  and  his  other  moral  perfec- 
tions, are  his  greatest  glory.  But  these  cannot  be 
beheld  by  man  immediately  and  directly,  while  he 
is  in  the  body:  they  can  only  be  seen  as  in  a  glass, 
or  through  a  glass  darkly  ;  ( 1  Cor.  xiii.  12 ;)  namely, 
1st,  In  that  of  the  works  of  creation,  as  the  apostle 
stateS)  Rom.  i.  20,  where  see  the  note. 

Invisible  in  himself,  he  is  "  dimly  seen 

In  these  his  lowest  works,  which  all  declare 

His  goodness  beyond  thought,  and  power  diviae." 

2d,  In  the  dispensations  of  his  providence,  in  which 
glass  not  only  his  natural,  but  also  his  moral  attri- 
butes are  manifested ;  his  long-sufiering  in  bearing 
with  sinful  individuals,  families,  cities,  nations;  his 
justice  in  punishing  when  they  pensist  in  their  ini- 
quities; his  mercy  in  pardoning  them  when  they 
break  off  their  sins  by  repentance,  dd,  In  the  work 
of  redemption ;  a  work  in  which  divine  goodness  in 
designing,  wisdom  in  contriving,  and  powejr  in  exe- 
cuting, are  conspicuously  declared ;  in  which  jus- 
tice and  mercy  meet  together,  righteousness  and 
peace  kiss  each  other:  a  wonderful  plan!  in  which 
God  demonstrates  that  he  is  just,  while  he  is  the 
justifter  of  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus.  See  on 
Rom.  iii.  26,  20.  4th,  In  the  glass  in  which  all  these 
are  united,  and  set  in  a  clear  point  of  view,  name- 
ly, the  Word  of  God,  or  the  gospel  of  Christ,  in 
which  the  divine  character  Is  clearly  and  fully  deH- 
neated ;  as  it  is  also  still  more  manifestly,  and  in  a 
more  striking  light,  in  his  mcamate  Soli,  the  bright- 
ness of  his  glory,  the  express  image  of  his  person ; 
the  Word  made  flesh  /  iSfod  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
But  by  whom  is  ^e  divine  glory  beheld  in  these 
(  15*  )  b 


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I?  Only  by  those  from  whose  &ce8  (he  veil 
of  igporance,  prejudice,  and  unbelief  is  remoyed  y 
so  thai  ^witk  open,  avece/coAvfiytevu,  with  uni^etiedface, 
and  with  the  eyes  of  their  understanding  opened^ 
they  behold,  Tiew  aittentively,  and  contemplate  this 
gUny  of  thi  Lord. 

Now,  observe  the  effect  produced  on  those  who 
bdiold  this  glory;  they  are  changed  into  the  same 
image.  WWe  we  stea^festly  and  with  open  f^M^ 
behold  the  dime  likeness  exhibited  in  these  glasses, 
we  discern  its  amiableness  and  excellence,  and  the 
necesaty  of  a  conformity  thereto,  in  order  to  our 
happiness  here  and  hereafter.  And  hence  arises 
dhcere  and  earnest  desire  after  that  conformity,  and 
an  endeavour  to  imitate  such  perfections  as  are  imi- 
table  by  us.  Add  to  this,  the  very  beholding  and 
meditating  on  the  divine  glories,  has  a  transforming 
efficacy.  For  instance,  by  contemplating  his  wis- 
dom, as  manifested  in  his  works  md  word,  we  are 
enlightened  and  made  wise :  by  viewing  his  power, 
and  by  faith  arming  purselves  with  it,  we  become 
strong ;  able  to  withstand  our  enemies,  a&  also  to  do 
and  suffer  his  will.  The  contemplation  of  his  truth, 
Justice,  mercy,  and  holiness,  inspires  us  with  the 
same  amiable  and  happy  qualities,  and  knowing 
and  b^eving  the  love  that  he  hatii  to  us,  and  all 
his  people,  we  learn  to  love  him  who  hath  first  loved 
us;  wad  UfvingMm  that  begat,  we  fure ^deposed  Bnd 
enabled  also  to  love  all  that  are  begotten  of  him; 
and  even  all  mankind,  if  not  with  a  love  of  s^prjo- 
bation  and  oomplaoency,  yet  with  a  love  of  benevo- 
lence and  ben^oence,  knowing  that  he  is  the  Father 


of  the  spirits  of  att  fleshy  md  ihtA  thewh<de  raea 
of  Adam  are  his  offspring.  Thus  we  become  god- 
like, and  pta  on  the  new  many  which  is  renewed  in 
and  by  this  spiritual  knowledge^  after  the  image  of 
him  that  created  him.  Col.  iii.  10.  From  glory  to 
gtorjf— That  is,  1st,  As  the  light  and  glory  of  the 
moon  and  planets  are  by  reflection  from  the  sun ; 
so  from  the  unbounded,  absolutely  perfect,  and  un- 
derived  glory  of  the  Creator,  when  beheld  and  con- 
templated, results  this  limited,  increasing,  and  de- 
rived gflory  in  the  creature:  tncreantig,  observe; 
for,  dd,  this  expression,  from  glory  to  glory ,  (which 
is  a  Hebraism,  denoting  e  continued  succession 
and.  increase  of  glory,)  signifies  from  one  degree 
of  this  glorious  conformity  to  God  to  another:  this 
on  earth.  But  it  implies  also,  3d,  from  grace, 
(which  is  ^ory  in  the  bud,)  to  glory  in  heaVen, 
which  is  the  ripe  fruit  It  is  of  importance  to  no- 
tice Ukewlse  the  grand  agent  in  this  work,  namely, 
the  Spirit  of  ihe  Lord,  1st,  He  hath  prepared 
these  glasses,  particularly  the  two  last  mentioned, 
the  Holy  Scri^ures,  indited  by  his  inspiration,  and 
the  human  nature  of  Christ,  formed  by  his  agency 
in  the  womb  of  the  vfrgin.  And  he  causes  the  glo* 
ry  of  the  Lord  to  be  reflected  from  ^em*  ]2d,  He 
rends  the  veil  from  our  minds,  and  opeifs  the  eyes 
of  our  understanding,  that  we  may  be  enabled  to 
behold  the  divine  glory  in  these  i^lasses.  8d,  He 
causes  the  sight  to  be  transforming,  communi* 
eating  his  own  renewing  and  sanctifying  infln- 
ences,  and  thereby  imparting  his  likeness  and  na- 
ture. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Here  the  spostU  iedstrts,  (l,)  TkMt,  smmated  hy  tiietM  df  the  exeeUence  end  power  of  ike  goepd  rkimelry,  he  and  his 
hrethnn  ksd  dieehetrged  it  withjmwearied  dtUgenee,  eincerity,  and  faithftdneee,  though  not  with  equal  eueceee  to  aU,  1-7 
{%}  T%U  their  sufervnge  for  it  were  exceeding  greet,  hut  attended  with  rich  eupporU  and  spiritual  advantages,  8-1 1. 
(8,)  That  their  prospects  of  eternal  glory  chiefly  preserved  them  from  fainting  under  their  trihdations,  13-18; 

2  But  have  renounced  the  hidden  a.  M.406i. 
things  of  *  dishonesty ;  not  walking  ,  — 1 
in  craftiness,  ^  nor  handlbg  the  word  of  God 


A.iL406i,  qiHEREFORE,  •seeing  we  have 

A.  D.  SO,      JL    «,j.«         •    •  ^        K  V 

•this  nunisiry  "^as  we  have  re- 
ceived mercy,  we  &int  not ; 


*■  St  Mattheu^s  Day,  epistle,  vene  1  to  rene  7. •  Chap.  iii. 

t. ^  1  Cor.  Tii.  26 ;  1  Tim.  i.  13. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1,8.  Therefore^  seeing  we  hate  this  minis- 
hy— Spoken  of  from  verses  6-11  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  with  which  this  is  closely  connected ;  a 
mmistry  so  superior  to  that  wherewith  Moses  was 
intrusted;  as  we  Juive  received  merey^To  be  ac- 
counted faiihfril;  as  God  has  in  mercy  accepted  us 
as  his  servttits,  and  supported  us  fn  our  work ;  we 
faint  nol— Under  any  of  those  sufferings  which  we 
are  called  to  endure;  nor  desist,  in  any  degree^  from 
uur  glorious  enterprise.  But  have  renatmcect— Or 
set  at  open  defiance;  ^ke  hidden  things  sf  dishonr 
b 


Gr.  shame,  Rom.  i.  16 ; 


vi.  21. •  Chap. 

ii.  3,  5. 


ii.  17;  1  These. 


esty — Or- of  shame,  as  r^cf^t^x^^c  properly  signifies ; 
al)  things  which  men  need  to  hide  or  be  ashamed 
of;  not  walking  in  craftiness — Using  no  disguise, 
subtletv,  or  guile ;  nor  handling  tJu  word  of  God 
deceitfully— 'Hoi  privily  corrupting  the  pure  truth 
of  God  by  any  additions  ^f  our  own,  or  alterations, 
or  by  attemptbfig  to  accommodate  it  to  the  taste  of 
our  hearers.  But,  by  manifestation  of  ihe  genuine 
and  unsophisticated  friff A,  commeriding  ourselves 
to  every  man^s  cotwct«nce— Appealing  to  the  con- 
sciences of  sinners  for  ihe  truth  and  importance  of 
our  doctrine ;  or  acting  in  such  a  manner  as  all  men. 


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kid  to  them  thai  are 


A.1L  406i.  decekftillj;  but,  ^by  manifes^ioQ 

— LJ L  of  the  truth,  •  commending  ourselves 

to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

3  But  if  our  gospd  be  hid,  'it  isliid  to  them 
that  are  lost  : 

4  In  whom  '  the  god  of  this  world  ^  hath 
blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  bdieve  not, 


«Chap.Tl4,7;  rit  14. •Chap.  t.  11. '1  Cor.  L  18; 

Chap.  ii.  15i  2  Then.  iL  10.— «  John  xiL  31 ;  xir.  30;  xri. 
11 ;  £ph.  TL  12. k  Isa.  ri.  10 ;  John  ou  40 ;  Chap.  iii.  14. 


in  their  conseieaces,  if  rightly  informed,  must  ap- 
prove of;  in  thengkt  ofGod^WhoBe  eye  we  know 
18  opon  ^  observing  the  secrets  of  onr  hearts,  and 
therefore  we  desire,  by  the  most  perfect  integrity 
and  nprightness,  to  approve  ourselves  to  him.  The 
apoiftle  does  not  mean  that  they  actnally  recom- 
mended themselves  to  the  conscience  of  every  man, 
80  that  they  bad  the  approbation  of  every  man ;  but 
that  they  behaved  in  sneh  a  manner  as  ought  to 
have  convinced  every  man  of  their  honesty  and  fideli- 
ty in  their  preaching,  and  in  the  exercise  of  every 
other  branch  of  their  ministry. 

Verses  8, 4.  BtU  if  our  gospel  also,  (so  it  is  in  the 
original,)  be  hid—KeKaXvpftevw,  veiled,  as  well  as 
the  law  of  Moses;  Y^  t^m/ed  tothem  that  are  het— 
Ef  Totf  atroXXvfuvotc,  in  those  that  are  perishing, 
namely,  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  unbelief;  of 
guilt,  depravity,  weakness,  and  wretchedness.  "  In 
chap.  iii.  13, 14,  the  apostle  had  observed  that  there 
were  two  veils,  by  which  the  Israelites  were  blinded, 
or  prevented  from  understanding  the  meaning  of  the 
law,  and  from  perceiving  that  it  was  to  be  abolished 
by  the  gospel  The  first  was  a  veil  which  lay  on 
the  law  itself.  This  veil  was  formed  by  the  obscurity 
of  the  t3rpes  and  figures  of  the  law,  and  was  signi- 
fied by  Moses  putting  a  veil  upon  his  i^ee  when  he 
delivered  the  kw.  The  other  veil  lay  upon  their 
hearts,  and  was  woven  by  their  own  prejudices  and 
corrupt  affections,  which  hindered  them  from  dis- 
cerning the  true  design  of  the  law,  and  the  intima- 
tions given  in  it  concerning  its  abrogation  by  the 
gospel.  Now,  in  allusion  to  these  causes  of  the 
blindness  of  the  Israelites,  the  apostle  told  the 
Corinthians  that  the  gospel  had  been  so  plainly 
preached,  and  so  fully  proved,  that  if  its  divine 
original  and  true  meaning  was  veiled,  it  was  veiled 
only  to  them  who  destroyed  themselves.  It  was  not 
veiled  by  any  veil  lying  on  the  gospel  itself,  but  by 
a  veil  lying  on  the  hearts  of  men,  who  would  de- 
stroy themselves,  by  hearkening  to  their  own  pre- 
judices and  lusts."— Macknight.  In,  or  among 
whom  the  god  of  this  world— Grandis  et  horribilis 
descriptio  Satance,  a  grand  and  terrible  descrip- 
tion qf  Satan,  says  Bengelius.  Satan  b  repeatedly 
styled  by  our  Lord,  the  prince  of  this  world.  See 
John  xii.  31 ;  xiv.  90;  xvi.  11 ;  that  is,  the  prince  of 
those  who  are  men  of  the  world,  (Psa.  xvii.  14,)  and 
who  freely  subject  themselves  to  him.  Thus,  (Eph. 
vL  12,)  he  and  hb  associates  in  rebellion  against  God 
are  termed  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world 
Satan  is  termed  by  the  apostle  here,  the  god  of  this 


fHgbt  of  the  glorioiis  gospel  iLif.406C 
It,  *  who  is  the  unage  of  God,     »■    


leet  Uhe  1 
of  Christ, 
should  shine  unto  them. 

6  ^  For  we  preach  not  omaelves,  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord ;  and  "oursdves  your  seryants 
for  Jesus's  sake. 

6  For  God,  '^  who  commanded  the  light  to 


'John  i.  16 ;  xii  iS;  sir. 


<  Chap,  ill  8, 9, 11, 18 ;  Vcfae  a— ''^' John  i.  16 ;  xii 

);  PhU.  iL  6 ;  Col.  L  IS :  Heb.i.  3. >  1  Cor.  L  13, 

». ■!  Cor.  ix.  \9;  Chap.  i.  24. "Gen.  L  3. 


world,  because  he  makes  use  of  the  things  of  tiiit 
world,  especially  Of  its  ridies,.  honours,  pleasorei^ 
and  various  vanities,  to  obtain  and  establish  his  do- 
minion over  a  great  part  of  mankind,  even  over  aU 
that  continue  under  the  power  of  unbelief  and  sin. 
Haih  blinded—l^oi  only  veiled ;  the  minds  of  them 
thai  believe  notSo  that  they  have  no  true  appre- 
hension nor  discernment  of  spiritual  things :  which 
indeed  none  can  savingly  know,  nor  dnly  appreci- 
ate, but  by  the  te^hing  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  (1  Cor. 
iL  11,)  even  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelatkm,  by 
which  alone  the  eyes  of  our  understanding  can  be 
enlightened,  Eph.  L  17, 18:  lest  the  lighi-^Top  fo- 
TUTfiov,  the  iUuminaiion  ;  of  the  glorious  gospd  of 
Christ,  should  shine — Or  beam  forth,  as  the  apostles 
expression  signifies  j  upon  them — By  our  ministry. 
Ilktmination  is  properly  the  reflection,  or  propa- 
gation of  light,  from  those  who  are  already  enhght* 
ened,  to  others;  and  the  apostle  appears  to  allude  to 
the  splendour  of  God's  majesty  shining  from  Moses's 
face  on  the  people.  Who  is  the  image  of  God^ 
This  appellation  b  fVequently  given  to  Christ,  who 
is  so  called,  because,  in  his  complete  person,  he  was 
in  such  a  sense  God  manifest  in  the  fiesh,  and  so 
exactly  exhibited  the  Father  to  mankind,  that  they 
who  saw  him,  saw  the  Father,  as  &r  as  he  could 
be  seen  en  earth.  See  notes  on  John  xiv.  7-lL 
Hence  he  is  termed,  (Heb.  i.  3,)  the  brightness  of  his 
Father^s  glory ^  a/nd  the  eapress  iifiage  of  his  per- 
son. Though  &ie  devil  is  said  here  to  blind  the,  minds 
of  unbelievers,  no  person  understands  the  apostle 
to  nlean  that  he  hath  the  x>ower  of  blinding  men's 
minds  directly ;  for  less  that  he  hath  the  power  of 
blinding  them  forcibly;  for  in  that  case,  who  could 
remain  unblinded  ?  But  he  means,  that  Satan  blinds 
unbelievers,  by  suggesting  those  thoughts  and  ima- 
ginations, and  exciting  those  lusts  and  passions,  by 
which  such  as  believe  not  are  easily  persuaded  to 
shut  their  eyes  agahist  the  light  of  the  gospel,  be- 
cause it  condemns  their  vicious  practices.  .Thus  our 
Lord  testifies  that  menjope  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil  ,  The  ignorance, 
therefore,  of  unbelievers  does  not  proceed  from  the 
obscurity  of  the  gospel,  but  from  their  own  lusts  and 
passions,  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  not  withheld 
from  them,  (for  it  visits  all.  Thus  ii.  11, 12,)  they 
might  resist  and  mortify,  Rom.  viiL  13;  but  to  which 
they  voluntarily,  wickedly,  and  generally  in  oppo- 
sition to  their  better  judgment,  yield  themselves 
willing  servants. 
Verses  6,  6.  For,  Ac.— As  if  he  had  said,  The 

b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


hate  ike  treasure  of  the  goapeL 


A. H. 4064.  shine  out  of  darkness,  ^hath  'shined 
'^    in  our  hearts,  to  give  ^  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  ttie  &ce 
of  Jesus  Christ 


•  Or.  w  A«  «dW  AoO. •  3  Pet.  L  19. P  Yeise  4 ;  1  Pet  ii.  0. 


\  of  their  contiouing  in  unbelief,,  and  perishing, 
is  not  in  us,  nor  in  the  doctrine  they  hear  from  us; 
for  we  preath  not  ourtelvefi-^Aa  able  either  to  en- 
lighten, or  pardon,  or  sanctify  mankind;  hut  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord^Their  only  infallible  Teacher,  all- 
sufficient  Saviour,  and  righteous  Governor;  their 
only  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption; and  ourselves  your  servasUs — Ready  to 
do  the  meanest  offices,  and  advance  the  best  in- 
terests of  you,  and  all  the  other  disciples  of  Christ, 
to  whom  we  minister ;  for  Jesus* s  sake — Out  of  love 
to  him,  and  with  a  view  to  his  glory ;  and  not  for 
honour,  interest,  pleasure,  or  any  worldly  considera- 
tion. For— To  produce  in  tis  this  disposition,  and 
to  qualify  us  for  this  i^eat  and  important  work ; 
Ood^  who— In  the  first  creation  of  this  World ;  com- 
manded the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness — By  his 
infinitely  powerful  word;  hathshined  in  our  hearts 
— ^And  not  only  in  the  hearts  of  us  apostles,  and  his 
other  ministers,  but  in  the  hearts  of  all  those  whom 
the  god  of  this  world  no  longer  blinds,  and  thereby 
shuts  them  up  in  unbelief:  to  give  the  light  of  the 
knowledgey  &C,—Tlpof  ^ruTfiov  njc  yvwaewf,  &c.  In 
order  to  our  illumination  with^  or  to  impart  the 
lustre  of;  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God— Of 
his  glorious  perfections,  especially  of  his  glorious 
love,  and  his  glorious  image,  see  on  chap.  iii.  18;  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ— Which  reflects  this  glory 
in  another  manner  than  the  (ace  of  Moses  did.  Or, 
as  etf  KpoauKu  hftfH  'Kpi^H^  may  be  properly  rendered, 
in  the  person xf  Jesus  Christ;  for  undoubtedly  the 
glory  here  spoken  of  was  reflected  not  merely  from 
his  £eu;e,  but  from  his  whole  person,  through  the 
union  of  Deity  with  humanity  in  him,  and  all  the  i^on- 
derful  things  he  did  and  sufl^red  in  consequence  of  it. 
Verse  7.  BtU  we — ^The  apostles,  and  all  other 
ministers  of  Christ,  yea,  and  ail  true  believers;  have 
this  treasure — Of  the  gospel,  or  of  the  truth  and 
grace  of  God ;  in  eartl^n  vessels—In  frail,  feeble, 
perishing  bodies,  formed  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
and,  because  of  sin,  returning  to  it ;  mean,  vile,  com- 
passed about  with  infirmity,  and  liable  to  be  broken 
in  pieces  daily.  Even  the  whole  man,  the  soul  as 
well  as  body.  Is  but  a  vessel,  in  which  the  treasure 
is  lodged,  and  upon  which  it  confers  a  value  and 
dignity,  but  from  which  it  receive%  none,  but  b 
rather  disgraced  and  injured,  by  being  deposited  in 
such  a  mean  and  impure  vessel.  The  gospel  is 
properly  termed  a  treasure^  1st,  Because  of  its  great 
excellence,  manifested  in  the  truth  and  importance 
of  its  doctrine;  the  equity,  purity,  goodness,  and 
clearness  of  its  precepts;  the  suitableness,  value, 
and  certainty  of  its  promises,  the  awfulness  and  ter- 
ror of  its  threi^nings,  revealed  for  our  warning  and 
caution.  2d,  Because  it  is  the  means  of  enriching 
UBj  even  in  this  world,,  with  the  truest  and  most 
b 


this  treasure 


7    But  we  have 
^  earthen   vessels, 
lency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God,  and  not 
of  us. 


in   A.  M.  40S4. 

'thai   the  excel-  A£l^ 


«  Chap.  V.  1.- — '  1  Cor.  ii.  5 ;  Ch^).  xii.  9. 


valuable  treasure ;  a  treasure,  of  all  others,  the  most 
suited  to  our  rational  and  immortal  nature,  and 
which  as  far  exceeds  the  riches  of  this  world,  as 
the  soul  exceeds  &e  body,  as  heaven  exceeds 
earth,  or  eternity  time,  namely,  divme  knowledge, 
— rendering  us  wise  unto  eternal  salvation;  true 
holiness,  conforming  us  to  the  image  of  him  that 
created  us;  and  solid  happiness,  giving  us,  in  com- 
munion with  God,  an  earnest  of  our  future  inherit- 
ance. 8d,  Because  it  oflfers  to  us,  and  shows  us  how 
to  attain,  the  greatest  and  most  valuable  treasure  in 
the  Ufe  to  come,  even  all  the  joys  and  glories  of  the 
heavenly  state.  Thai  the  excellency  of  the  power 
may  he  of  G^od— This  power  b  three-fold :  Ist,  The 
fnherent  virtue  of  the  gospel  doctrine,  whereby, 
when  understood,  believed,  and  laid  to  heart,  it 
shows  itself  to  be  quick  and  powerful,  sphrit  and 
life;  becoming  a  seed  of  genuine  repentance,  of 
justifying  faith,  of  immortal  hope,  of  sincere  love, 
and  new  obedience.  2d,  Those  miraculous  opera- 
tions, whereby  God  bore  witness  to,  sealed,  and 
confirmed  the  truth  and  importance  of  the  doctrine 
of  hb  first  messengers,  dd.  Those  ordinary  influ- 
ences of  his  Spirit  as  a  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace ;  of 
light,  life,  purity,  and  comfort,  which  fails  not  to  ac- 
company ^e  fiBLithftd  preaching  of  it  m  every  age. 
By  this  three-fold  energy,  the  gospel  overcame  of 
old,  and  still  overcomes,  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
its  progress:  1st,  JFVom  within^  through  the  cor- 
ruption of  nature;  the  prejudice  of  education,  the 
love  of  false  religion,  unbelief,  the  love  of  sin,  and 
of  the  world.  2d,  JFVom  without^  as  the  contra- 
diction of  philosophers,  of  heathen,  Jewish,  or 
Christian  priests  and  magistrates ;  of  sinners  oif  all 
descriptions;  persecutions  from  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
and  the  carnal  part  of  mankind  in  every  age ;  re- 
proaches, spoiling  of  goods,  imprisonments,  racks, 
tortures,  and  martyrdoms.  3d,. From  the  gospel 
itself,  exhibiting,  as  an  object  of  confidence,  love, 
obedience,  and  worship,  one  who  was  crucified,  to 
the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  fooU 
ishness.  For,  as  Macknigftt  observe^  "  the  great- 
ness of  this  power  can  only  be  estimated  by  the 
greatness  of  the  obstacles  which  it  had  to  remove, 
and  by  the  greatness  of  the  effects  which  it  then 
produced.  No  sooner  was  the  gospel  preached  in 
any  country,  whether  barbarous  or  tiivilized,  than 
great  numbers  forso6k  idolatry,  and  devoted  then*- 
selves  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  Moreover, 
instead  of  wallowing,  as  formerly,  in  sensuality,  and 
practising  all  manner  of  Wickedness,  they  became 
remarkably  holy.  But  it  is  evident,  that  before 
such  an  entire  change  in  the  faith  [and  practice]  of 
any  heathen  could  take  place,  the  prejudices  of  edu- 
cation  were  to  be  overcome ;  the  example  of  parents, 
relations,  and  teachers,  was  to  be  set  aside ;  the  re- 


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A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  60. 


8  We  are  •  troubled  on  every  side, 
yet  not  distressed ;  we  are  perfdexed, 
but  ^  not  in  despair ; 

9  Persecuted,  but  not  forsaken ;  *  cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed ; 

10  "Always  bearing  about  in  the  body  the 
dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  '  that  the  life  also  of 


•  Chmp.  viL  6. — 
•  Psa.  xzxviL  24.- 
Phil.  ill.  la 


*Or»  not  aUogethur  wiihatU  hdp,  or,  msami. 
-■  1  CJor.  XT.  31  i  Chap.  i.  5, 9 ;  GaL  ri.  17  ; 


proaches,  calamoies,  and  hatred  of  persons  mpst 
dear  to  the  comrert,  were  to  be  disreffarded;  the 
resentment  of  magistrates,  priest^  and  all  whose 
interests  were  any  way  connected  with  the  esta- 
blished religion,  was  to  be  borne ;  in  short,  the  ties 
of  blood  and  friendship  were  to  be  broken,  considera- 
tions of  ease  and  interest  were  to  be  silenced;  nay, 
the^OTe  of  Ufe  itself  was  to  be  cast  out;  all  which 
were  obstacles  to  the  heathen  changing  their  faith 
and  practice,  next  to  insurmountable )"  and  such  as 
could  not  have  been  overcome  by  any  natural  power, 
which  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel  can  be  sup- 
posed to  have  possessed. 

The  beautiful  and  strong  expression  here  used  by 
the  apostle,  tva  9  vnep6o?Jt  r^c  ^vvofuu^  r/  nt  ec»,  evi- 
dently contains  an  ellipsis,  which  Grotius  supplies 
thus.  That  the  excellency,  ^c,  may  appear  to  be  of 
OocL  Men,  it  must  be  observed,  are  always  inclined 
to  ascribe  to  second  causes  effects  which  belong  only 
to  the  fir^t  cause.  Whenever  we  see  any  effects 
which  astonish  us,  instead  of  elevating  our  thoughts 
to  God,  and  giving  him  the  glory,  we  meanly  sink 
into  creature  admiration,  and  qreature  attachments, 
as  if  the  events  were  to  be  ascribed  to  instruments. 
Thus  the  heathen  beholding  the  sun,  and  the  aston- 
ishing effects  produced  by  it  in  the  world,  took  it  for 
a  god ;  not  considering  that  it  was  only  a  servant, 
and  an  image  of  God,  the  invisible  Sun.  The  liyca- 
onians,  seeing  Paul  and  Barnabas  work  a  miracle, 
would  have  sacrificed  to  them,  not  considering  that 
they  Were  only  instruments  of  the  divine  power. 
Nay,  and  the  Jews,  although  instructed  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God,  yet  when  they  saw  Peter  and 
John  restore  a  cripple,  crowded  about  them,  greatly 
wondering,  as  though  the  miracle  was  to  be  ascribed 
to  their  power  or  holiness.  And  even  the  Apostle 
John,  illuminated  as  he  was  by  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
suffered  himself  to  be  surprised  at  two  different  times 
by  this  imprudent  inclination,  (so  natural  is  it  to  all 
mankind  I)  for,  being  dazzled  with  the  glory  of  the 
angel  who  talked  with  him,  he  fell  prostrate  before 
him,  and  would  have  adored  him,  had  not  the  angel 
corrected  his  folly.  Now  to  prevent  every  thing  of 
this  kind,  which  would  have  entirely  frustrated  the 
design  of  the  gospel,  (which  is  to  draw  people  from 
the  creature  to  the  Creator,)  the  power  intended  to  j 
convert  the  nations  is  put  into  earthen  vessels,  that  a  I 
sight  of  the  meanness  of  the  instruments  naight  pre- ' 
vent  men  fVom  ascribing  any  thing  to  them.  And 
the  weidier  the  instruments  are,  the  more  is  the  di- 1 
vine  power  manifested  and  known  to  be  of  God,  be- 


Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  m  our  a.  m.  40S4. 
body.  --IC 

11  For  we  whkh  live  /are  always  deUvered 
unto  death  for  Jesus's  sake,  that  the  life  abo 
of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our  mor- 
tal flesh. 

12  So  then  *death  worketh  in  us, but  Ufe  in  yoo. 


'Romans  riiL  17;  t  Tioiotfay  ii-  11»  12;  1  PMer  iw,  13. 

f  Chap.  zliT.  22;  Rom.  Tiii.  36;  1  CJor.  xr.  31,  49. »  Cka^ 

xiii.O. 


cause  there  is  no  proportion  between  the  instruments 
and  the  work.  How  glorious  was  the  power  which 
triumphed  over  the  proud  and  mighty  Phara<A  by 
the  simple  rod  of  Moses ;  that  overthrew  the  walls 
of  Jericho  by  the  sounding  of  rams'  horns!  And 
how  illustrious  the  power  which  triumphed  over 
principalities  and  powers,  by  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross  preached  by  mortals— sinners— men,  mean  and 
despised — ^by  tax-gatherers,  fishermen,  and  tent-ma- 
kers ;  men  without  letters— arms — power— intrigue ; 
men,  poo#,  persecuted,  forsaken !  Yet  idols  fell : 
temples  were  demolished:  oracles  struck  dumb:  the 
reign  of  the  devil  abcdished:  the  strongest  inclina- 
tions of  nature  conquered :  ancient  habits  and  customs 
changed:  superstitions  annihilated:  people  flocking 
in  crowds  to  adore  the  Crucified !  The  great  and 
the  small,  the  learned  and  the  ignorant ;  kings  and 
their  subjects;  yea,  whole  provinces  and  kingdoms, 
presenting  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the  crossl  Sure- 
ly this  is  the  finger  of  God,  or  rather  it  is  the  out- 
stretched arm  of  Jehovah ! 

Verses  8-te.  We  are  troubled— the  four  articles 
in  this  verse  respect  inwitfd,  the  four  in  the  next  out- 
ward afflictions.  In  each  clause  the  former  part 
shows  the  earthen  vessels ;  the  latter,  the  excellence 
of  the  power.  Yet  not  distressed^-'LTevoxi^pii/uvoij 
pressed  into  a  strait  place,  so  as  to  find  no  way  of 
escape;  perplexed — The  word  anopHfuvot,  so  ren- 
dered, signifies  persons  involved  in  evils  from  which 
they  know  not  how  to  extricate  themselves:  btUnot 
— E^airopHfievot,  reduced  to  such  despair  as  to  give  np 
all  hope  of  deliverance  from  God.  Persecuted-^ 
Continually  by  men ;  but  not  forsaken — Of  God  ; 
cast  douon — By  our  enemies;  but  not  destroyed— 
Entirely  by  Uiem.  Always— Wherever  we  go; 
hearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Je- 
«ti«*^ontinuaIly  expecting  to  lay  down  our  lives  as 
he  laid  down  his ;  thai  the  life  also  of  /ems— "Who 
is  now  triumphant  above  all  hostile  power ;  might  be 
made  manifest  in  our  body— Thsi  is,  in  the  preser- 
vation of  it,  feeble  as  it  is,  and  exposed  continually  to 
destruction.  Or  the  expression  may  mean,  that  we, 
through  our  various  dangers  and  sufferings,  being 
conformed  to  his  life  here,  may  hereafter  rise  from 
the  dead,  and  be  glorified  like  him.  For  we  who 
live— Those  of  us,  the  apostles  and  ministers  of 
Christ,  who  ar^  not  yet  killed  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus ;  are  always  delivered  unto  death — Are  per- 
petually in  the  very  jaws  of  destruction,  which  we 
willingly  submit  to,  that  we  may  obtain  a  better  re- 
surrection.   So  then— Or  so  that,  upon  the  whole; 


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A  M.4D64. 
A.D.60. 


13  We  haniig  *  the  eame  spirit^ 
fidth,  according  as  it  is  writlea,  ^Ib^ 
fieved,  and  therefore  bare  I  spoken ;  we  abo 
bdieve,  and  therefore  speak ; 

14  fijiowihg,  that  *  he  which  raised  up  the 
Lord  Jesus,  shall  raise  up  us^also  by  Jesus,  and 
shall  present  us  with  you. 

16  For  ^  alt  things  are  &r  your  sakes,  that 
*  the  abundant  grace  might  through  the  thanks- 


»  Rom.  L  12 ;  2  Pet.  i.  1. *  Psa.  cxri  10. »  Rom.  viii. 

11:  1  Cor.  Ti.  14. *  1  Cor.  iii.  21  j  Chap.  i.  6 :  Col.  i.  24 ; 

3  Tfm.  ii  la •  Chap.  L  11 ;  rm.  10 ;  u.  11, 11- — '  Rom. 


death  vwrkelh  in  99— Is  very  busy,  active,  and  al- 
ways at  woric,  to  bring  us  under  its  power  by  these 
sufferings ;  hut  life  in  yotu — Spiritual  life  has  been 
conyey^  to  you  by  our  ministry :  or  the  sense  may 
be,  we  undergo  many  miseries,  and  are  in  continual 
danger  of  death ;  but  you  are  in  safety,  and  enjoy  all 
the  comforts  of  life ! 

Verses  13-15.  We  having  the  same  spirit— 
Which  you  have,  because  we  have  the  same  faith: 
or,  we  have  the  same  spirit  of  faith  which  animated 
the  saints  oi  old,  David  in  particular,  when  he  said, 
i  believed,  and  ther^bre  have  /#pofcen— That  is,  I 
trusted  in  God,  and  therefore  he  has  put  this  song  of 
praise  in  my  mouth.  We  aUo  6eiiev£— Have  the 
same  confidence  that  God  will  also  deliver  us  out  of 
our  troubles ;  and  there/ore  speak — ^Declare  this  our 
confidence  by  preaching  the  gospel  openly,  even  in 
the  midst  of  afliietion  and  death,  supported  by  an  in- 
ward consciousness  of  our  integrity,  and  animated 
by  a  powerful  sense  of  duty  to  God,  and  a  persua- 
sAon  that  he  who  raised  up  the  Lord  Jestts—The 
first-fruits  of  them  that  sleep ;  shall  raise  us  up  also, 
and  present  us,  ministers,  u>ith  yim — With  all  his 
membeTB,faiUUess  before  his  presence  with  exceed- 
ing joy.  For  all  things — ^Whether  adverse  or  pros- 
perous; are  for  your  sakes — ^For  the  profit  of  all 
Aat  believe  as  well  as  all  that  teach ;  that  the  dbun- 
dant,  vXeapaaa4ja,  overflowing  grace— Which  pre- 
serves you  and  us  alive,  both  in  soul  and  body  ^  might 
abound  yet  more  througJ^  the  thanksgiving  of  mctny 
— For  thanksgiving  invites  more  abundant  grace. 

Verses  16,  17.  For  which  cause— Because  of 
which  abounding  grace  that  supports  us;  we  faint 
not— Under  any  of  our  present  pressures  ybut  though 
our  outw€uxt  man — The  body ;  perish-^Be  worn  out 
and  brought  to  dust  prematurely,  by  our  continual 
labours  and  sufferings ;  our  intrard  man— The  soul ; 
is  renewed  day  by  day — After  the  divine  nature  and 
likeaess,  receiving  fresh  degrees  of  spiritual  strength, 
purity,  and  consolation,  in  proportion  as  the  body 
grows  weaker,  and  we  feel  ourdissolution  approach- 
ing. And  it  is  reasonable  that  this  should  be  the 
case;,^  our  light  qfflictionr-^To  irapa^rkKa  eXo^y 
r^c  ^XtifbcuCf  'momentary  lightness,  or  light  thing  (as 
BiJKkBight  renders  it)  of  our  ajliction;  worketh,  or 
rather  worketh  out,  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding 
weight  of  glory^ThaX  is,  a  weight  of  glory  far  ex- 
eeeding  the ai&ictioQ,  both  in  degree  and  duration: 


giving  of  many  redound  to  the  glory  a.  m.  4064 
ofGod.  ^'^'^ 

16  For  which  cause  we  £unt  not ;  but  though 
oiu:  outward  man  perish,  yet  '  the  inward  tntm 
is  renewed  day  by  day. 

17  For  'our  light  affliction,  which  is  tut  for 
a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  fiir  more  exceed- 
ing and  eternal  weight  of  glory ; 

18  ^  While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which 


viL  22;  Eph.  iii.  16;  CoL  iii.  10;  1  Pet.  iii.  4. tMalt  ▼. 

12;  Rom.  riii.  18:  I  Pet.  i.  6;  t.  10. kRom.  viii.  24; 

Gbap-r.  7;  Heb.  n.  1. 


or,  far  greater  than  we  could  have  received  if  we 
had  not  passed  through  the  affliction.  For  the  af- 
^iction,  by  correcting  oiur  faults,  exercising  and 
thereby  increasing  our  graces,  and  purging  us  as 
gold  and  silver  are  purified  in  the  furnace,  increases 
our  holiness  and  conformity  to  God,  and  thereby 
prepares  us  for  a  greater  degree  .of  future  felicity 
than  could  otherwise  have  been  assigned  us ;  God 
also  as  certainly  rewarding  his  people  hereafter  for 
their  sufferings  patiently  endured,  as  for  their  la- 
bours diligently  and  cheerfully  accomplished.  "  The 
Hebrew  word,*'  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  "  an- 
swering to  glory,  signifies  both  weight  and  glory. 
Aere  the  apostle  joins  the  two  significations  in  one 
phrase;  and  describing  the  happiness  of  the  right- 
eous, calls  it  not  glory  simply,  but  a  weight  of  glory, 
in  opposition  to  the  light  thing  cf our  affliction;  and 
an  eternal  weight  of  glory,  in  opposition  to  the  mo- 
mentary duration  of  our  afflicHon:  and  a  more  ex^ 
ceeding  eternal  weight  of  glory,  jfs  beyond  compar- 
ison greater  than  all  the  darling  glories  of  riches, 
fame,  power,  pleasure,  or  any  thing  which  can  be 
possessed  in  the  present  lifb.  And  after  all  it  is  a 
glory  not  yet  to  be  revealed;  it  is  not  yet  fully 
known."  But,  as  Blackwell  (Sacred  Classics,  vol. 
i.  p.  332)  well  expresses  it, "  This  is  oi^e  of  the  most 
emphatic  passages  in  all  St.  Paul's  writings,  in  which 
he  speaks  as  much  like  an  orator,  as  he  does  as  an 
apostie.  The  lightness  of  the  trial  is  expressed  by 
TO  eXa^pcv  ttk  i9Ai^wc,i/^e  tightness  of  our  afftiction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment;  as4f  he  had  said.  It  is 
even  levity  itself  in  such  a  comparison.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Ktc^  virep^oXiiv  e<f  mrspSoXtiv,  which  we 
render /or  Twore  exceeding,  \9  infinitely  emphaticai, 
and  cannot  be  fully  expressed  by  any  translation. 
It  signifies  thai  all  hyperboles  fall  short  of  describing 
that  weighty,  eternal  glory,  so  solid,  so  lasting,  that 
you  may  pass  from  hyperbole  to  hyperbole,  and  yet 
when  you  have  gained  tiie.  last,  you  are  mfinitely 
below  it."  Indeed,  as  another  eminent  writer  ob- 
serves, the  beauty  andsubUmity  of  St.  Paul's  expres- 
sions here,  as  descriptive  of  heavenly  glory,  opposed 
to  temporal  afflictions,  surpass  all  imagination,  and 
cannot  be  preserved  in  any  translation  or  paraphrase, 
which  after  all  must  sinLfer,  very  for  below  the  as- 
tonishing original. 

Verse  18.  fF^s  vc  iw»fc— That  is,  this  weight  of 
fl^ry  will  be  wrought  out  for  us  while  we  look,  or 
til 


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IL  OORINTHIANa 


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A.  M.  4064.  are  seen,  but  at  tlie  things  which  are 
not  seen:  for  the  things  which  are 


A.D.  eo. 


proyided  we  look,  namely,  by  faith  and  expecUtion  ^ 
not  at  the  Aings  which  are  «e«»>— Men,  money, 
honour,  pleasure,  the  things  of  earth ;  for  to  look  ^t 
these  will  only  render  us  more  earthly  and  carnal^ 
more  unfit  for  the  heavenly  state;  btUatthe  things 
whith  are  not  ^eai— God,  Christ,  grace,  glory  ^  the 
tldogs  of  heaven :  to  look  at  which  with  faith,  de- 
sire, and  expectation,  will  naturally  tend  to  render 
us  more  heavenly^  holy,  and  divine,  in  our  intentions 
and  affections.  The  Word  (rxon-eu  here  used,  and  ren- 
dered to  lookj  properly  signifies  to  look  or  aim  at  a 
mark  which  we  intend  to  hit,  or  an  object  which  we 
wish  to  lay  hold  on,  and  consequently  endeavour  to 
obtaiD;  our  English  word  scope,  or  mark  aimed  at, 
is  derived  from  the  same  Greek  theme.    For  the 


seen  are  teniposal;  but  the  things  a.m.400«^ 
which  are  not  seen  are  etemaL  '. 


things  which  are  seen^  &c. — As  if  he  had  said,  We 
have  great  reason  to  desire,  expect,  and  aim  at  the 
latter,  rather  than  the  former ;  for  the  former,  being 
visible,  are  "also  temporal,  or  temporary  and  tran- 
sient V  but  the  others,  whi(^  are  invisible,  are  eternal, 
and  therefore  suited  to  the  duration  of  that  immor- 
tal soul  which  God  hath  given  us,  and  in  the  felicity, 
of  which  our  true  happiness  must  consist  This 
quality  of  Aiture  happiness,  that  it  Is  eternal^  not 
only  implies  that  its  Joys  and  glories  will  have  no 
end,  not  even  alter  a  duration  luLth  passed  beyond 
all  computationof  numbers,  or  conception  in  thought, 
but  also  that  these  joys  will  suffer  no  interruption 
or  abatement  whatever,  in  the  pourse  of  a  duration 
absolutely  everlasting. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Jh  this  chapter,  (1,)  The  apoftie  proceedt  m  Mm  descriplion  of  the  gloriout  hopes  iekidk  he  and  Mm  feihw-mimetere  and  ChriM' 
dsns  had  beyond  the  grave^  ai  their  great  eupport  and  ground  of  triumph  under  ttU  those  trials  toMch  he  had  been  men^ 
turning  heforCf  1-8.  (S,)  He  shows  how  these  hopee,  and  their  views  of  Ae  future  judgment,  excitsd  them  to  diUgenes  in 
their  work,  9-11.  (3,)  Mentions  Ms  great  concern  for  the  CoriniMan  converts,  with  the  reasons  of  it,  11^16.  (4,)  Bears 
testimony  to  the  necessity  of  regeneration,  and  reconeilidtion  with  God  through  CkrisVs  atonement,  arid  by  the  mtmtfry  of 
the  gospel,  17-«1. 


.  H.40^. 
LD.GO. 


"POR  we  know  that  if  •  our  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dis- 
solved, we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
2  For  in  this  ^  we  groan,  earnestly  deshdng 


•Job  iv.  19  ;    Chap.  It.  7',  2  Pet.  i.  13, 14. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verses  l-4»  For  we  know — We  punTue,  not  seen, 
but  unseen  things,  and  do  not  faint  in  our  work, 
because  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house — ^Which 
is  only  a  tabernacle  or  tent,  a  mere  temporary  habi- 
taUon ;  were  dissolved—Were  mouldered  back  to 
the  dust  out  of  which  it  was  formed ;  or  if  our  zeal 
in  the  service  of  the  gospel  should  expose  us  to  mar- 
tyrdom, which  should  destroy  it  before  its  time ;  we 
have— And  should  hnmed^tely  enjoy ;  a  building 
of  Chd—K  building  of  which  he  is  the  great  archi- 
tect and  donor;  a  house  riot  made  with  mortid  luinde 
—Nor  to  be  compared  with  the  most  magnificent 
structure  which  hands  ever  raised,  exceeding  them 
all  in  its  lustre,  as  much  as  in  its  duration,  though 
that  duration  be  eternal  in  (he  heavens— ¥idceid.  far 
above  either  violence  or  decay.  ^  Whether  we  con- 
sider this  divine  building  as  particularly  signifying 
the  body  after  the  resurrection,  in  whidi  sense 
Whitby  takes  it;  or  any  vehicle  with  which  the  soul 
may  be  clothed  dming  the  intermediate  state,  con- 


to  be  clothed  upon  with  our  tiouse  a.  BL4064. 
which  is  from  heaven :  '. — 1 

3  If  so  be  that  "^  beitig  clothed  we  shall  not 
be  found  naked. 

4  For  we  thatare  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan, 


*  Rom.  Viii  33. «  Rer.  iii.  18 ;  xri.  15. 


siderable  difficulties  will  arise."  "  I  therefore,"  says 
Doddridge,  ^'  am  Inclinable  rather  to  take  it  in  a  more 
general  view,  as  referrmg  to  the  whole  provision 
God  has  made  for  the  future  happiness  of  his  peo- 
ple, and  which  Christ  represents  as  his  Father^s 
house,  in  which  there  are  many  mansions,"  For 
in  this— WhUe  we  are  in  this  state  of  sufifering,  ot 
while  our  soul  sojourns  in  this  mortal  body,  we 
groan  eomestZy— Eagerly  long  for  that  future  state, 
and  the  felicity  of  it,  and  grieve  that  we  do  not  yet 
enjoy  it;  desiring  to  be  clothedupon — That  is^  upon 
this  body,  which  is  now  covered  with  ile^  and  blood ; 
withoia*  house  which  is  from  ?ieaoen—To  enter  the 
heavenly  mansion  which  God  hath  provided  for  u& 
To  be  clothed  upon  with  a  house,  b  a  very  strcmg 
figure ;  which  yet  the  apostle  uses  here  and  in  verse 
4,  having  in  his  thoughts  the  glory  Which  eachshould 
wear,  instead  of  being  clothed,  as  now,  with  that  mor- 
tal fiesh  whidi  he  calls  a  tabernacle,  as  it  is  so  mean^ 
ipconvenient,  and  precarious  an  abode.  If  so  be  that 
being  clothed— Wiih  the  image  of  God,  while  we 


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CHAPTER  V. 


jvdgnxent-seat  of  ChrUt 


A. H. 4064.  being    burdened:    not   for  that  we 
^^'^-    would  be  unclothed,   but   *  clothed 

upon,  that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up 

oflife.  . 

6  Now,  *he  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the 

0dfH9ame  thing  is  God,  who  also  ^hath  given 

unto  us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit 

6  Therefore  we  ate  always  confident,  know- 
ing that,  while  we  are  at  home  in  the  body? 
we  are  absent  from  the  Lord: 

7  (For  »  we  walk  by  fiiith,  not  by  sight :) 


*  1  Cor.  XT.  53, 6i. •  Iwu  xxix.  23 ;  Eph.  iL  10. '  Ifom. 

Tiii.  23 ;  Chap.  L  22  ^  Eph.  i.  14 :  iv.  30. r  Rom.  tuL  24, 

86;  Chap.  iv.  18;  1  Corl  xiiL  12;  Heb.  xL  1.-^ k  phil.  i.  23. 


are  in  the  body;  v)e  ahaU  not  he  found  naked^^-Of 
the  wedding  garment  He  seems  to  allude  to  Gen. 
iiL  7;  Exod.  xxxii.25;  oilr  ilatutal  turpitude  of  sin 
bemg  a  nakedness  abominalde  to  God.  See  I  Pet. 
T.  6 ;  Col.  iii.  12,  where  the  same  metaphor  of  bemg 
clothed  with  divine  graces  is  made  use  of.  For  we 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle— Who  still  dwell  in  these 
frail  and  corruptible  tents;  dogroan^  being  htsrdened 
therewith,  llie  apostle  speaks  with  exact  pro*^ 
priety,  a  burden  naturally  exciting  groans:  and  we 
are  here  burdened  with  numberless  afflictions,  in- 
firmities, and  temptations.  Not  that  ve  would  be 
unclothed—Stripped  of  our  bodies,  for  that  is  what  we 
cannot  consider  as  in  itself  desirable ;  but  rather,  if  it 
might  be  left  to  our  choice,  we  would  desire  to  pass 
into  the  immortal  state  without  dying,  or  to  be  elothed 
up(yn  with  the  heavenly  glory,  such  as"  that  which 
will  invest  the  saints  after  the  resurrection;  that 
mortality^  to  ^vnrov^  that  which  is  mortal — Cor- 
ruptible, and  obnoxious  to  so  many  infirmities,  dis- 
orders^ burdens,  and  sorrows ;  might  be  swallowed  up 
of  life—Aa  if  it  were  annihilated  by  the  divine  power, 
which  at  the  resurrection  will  exert  itself  in  and 
upon  us ;  namely,  as  the  case  was  virith  Enoch  and 
Elijah  when  they  were  translated,  and  as  it  shall  be 
with  the  saints  that  are  found  alive  at  Christ's  second 
coming.  The  meaning  of  this  and  the  following 
verses  is  evidently  this ;  "  That  though  it  appeared 
most  desirable  of  all  to  pass  to  future  glory  without 
dying,  yet  a  state  in  which  mortidity  should  be  swal- 
lowed up  of  life,  was,  at  all  events,  desirable ;  and 
an  absence  from  the  body  to  be  not  only  submitted 
to,  but  wished  for,  in  a  view  of  being  so  present  with 
the  Lord,  as  even  in  the  intermediate  state  they  ex- 
pected to  be." — Doddridge. 

Verses  5-8.  Now  he  that  hath  wrought  us  for— 
Or  to,  this  longing  for  immortality;  is  Ood— For 
nJt^e  but  God,  none  less  than  the  iUmighty,  could 
have  wrought  this  in  us ;  who  also  Tiath  given  us  his 
Spirit— In  its  various  gifts  and  graces;  as  an  ear- 
nest— Of  our  obtaining  the  heavenly  habitation. 
We'  are  confident^  therefore — Or  courageous  in  all 
dangers  and  sufferings,  and  dare  venture  even  upon 
death  itself  >  knowing  that  white  we  are  at  home— Or 
rather  sojourn  (as  evdij/tttvrec  here  signifies)  in  the 
bodyy  we  are  absent^  eKdifftsfuv^  we  are  exiles;  from 
b 


8  We  are  confident,  I  say,  and  a.  M.  4064. 
^  willing  rather  to  be  abemt  from  the    ^'  ^'  ^' 
body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord. 

9  Wherefore  we  ^  labour,  that,  whether 
present  or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of 
him. 

10  *  For  we  most  aU  i^pear  before  the  jndg* 
ment-eeat  of  Christ;  ^that  every  one  may 
receive  the  things  dme  in  his  body,  according 
to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad. 


•Or,  endeatwur. *M*tt.    xxr.    31,  32;    Rom.    xiv.    KK 

k  Rom.  ii.  6 ;  Gal.  tL  7 ;  Eph.  vi. 8 ;  Col.  iii.  24, 25;  Rer.  xxli. 
12.  • 


the  Lorci— Christ,  in  the  enjoyment  of  whom  our  chief 
happiness  consists.  For— While  on  earth ;  we  waik 
by  faith — Are  infiuenced,  guided,  and  governed  in 
our  whole  course  of  life,  by  our  faith  in  objects  yet 
unseen ;  not  by  the  sight— Of  heavenly  glories.  In 
other  words,- we  cannot  now  see  heavenly  and  eter- 
nal things,  as  we  expect  to  do  after  death.  It  is  true 
our  faith  gives  us  an  evidence  of  them,  (Heb.  xi.  1,) 
which  implies  a  kind  of  seeing  him  who  is  invisible^ 
and  the  invisible  world ;  yet  this  is  as  far  beneath  what 
we  shall  have  in  eternity,  as  that  evidence  of  faith  is 
above  the  evidence  of  bare,  unassisted  reason.  We 
are  confident,  I  say—^nd  bold,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  these  views  which  God  hath  given  us ;  and 
willing — EvdoKSfuv^  take  complacency  and  delight, 
in  the  expectation  of  bemg  <Asentfrom  the  body — 
And  from  all  intercourse  with  the  persons  and  things 
of  this  woild,  however  dear  some  of  them  may  have 
been  formerly  to  us;  and  present  with  the  Lord — 
This  demonstrates  that  the  apostle  had  no  idea  of 
his  soul  sleeping  after  death,  but  expected  it  to  pass 
immediately  into  a  state  of  felicity  with  Christ  in 
paradise;  and  consequently  that  the  happiness  of 
the  saints  is  not  deferred  till  the  resurrection.  See 
chap.  xii.  4. 

Verses  9, 10.  Wherefore  we  labour — ^iXorifusfic^a, 
we  are  ambitious,  (the  only  ambition  which  has 
place  in  a  Christian,)  (fuit,  whether  present  in  the 
body,  or  absent  from  it,  we  may  be  accepted  of 
him — Euoperoi  avr^  eivat,  to  be  weU-pleasing  to  him, 
or  to  receive  the  tokens  of  his  favour  and  approba- 
tion. For  we  must  a/l~Apostles  as  well  as  other 
men,  whether  now  present  in  the  body,  or  absent 
from  it;  appear — Openly,  without  covering;  before 
the  Judgment-seat  of  Christ — Where  all  hidden 
things  will  be  revealed,  probi^ly  the  sins  even  of  the 
faithAil,  which  were  forgiven  long  before :  for  many 
of  their  good  works  (their  humiliation,  contrition, 
godly  sorrow,  striving  against  sin,  mortification  of  it) 
cannot  otherwise  appear;  but  this  will  be  done  at 
their  own  desire,  without  grief  and  isham^;  that 
every  one  may  receive  the  things — That  is,  the  due 
reward  of  the  things;  done  in  his  body,  whether 
good  or  Imdr— In  foil  proportion  to  his  actions,  and 
the  secret  springs  thereof,  which  will  then  be  all  laid 
open ;  and  according  to  the  principles  fVom  which 


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n.  GORINTHIAN& 


the  CorifOhian  cxmeertm. 


A.  M.  4964.    11  Knowing  therefixe  ^  the  terror  of 

\ — 1  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men;  but  "we 

are  made  manifest  unto  Grod;  and  I  trust  also 
are  made  manifest  in  your  consci^oes. 

12  For .  ^  we  commend  not  ourselves  again 
imto  you,  but  give  you  occasion  ^  to  glory  on 
our  behalf  that  ye  may  have  somewhat  to  an- 
swer them  which  glory  'in  appearance,  and 
not  in  heart 

13  For  1^  whether  we  be  beside  ourselves,  i/w  to 
Grod:  or  whether  we  be  sober,  t/i^  for  your  cause. 


1  JobxxxL  23 ;  Hebrews  x.  31 ;  Jade  23. ^  Chapter  ir.  2. 

■  Chap.  iii.  1.^-*-*  Chap.  L  14.—*  Gr.  m  Oufmu.—^^  Chap, 
xi.  1,  16, 17;  xii.  6,  11.-. — q  Rom.  r.  15. 


the  Searcher  of  hearts  knows  his  actions  to  have  pro- 
ceeded. Some  read  t^e  latter  clause,  ikal  every  one 
fnay  receive  in  the  body,  (namely,  in  his  body  raised,) 
according  to  what  he  hath  done.  That  is,  as  in  the 
body  he  did  either  good  or  evil,  so  the  body  being 
raided,  he  is  recompensed  therein  accordingly. 

Verses  11, 12i  Knoving  therefore  the  terror  of  the 
Lard^The  strict  Judgment  which  must  then  pass 
on  all  impenitent  sinners ;  we  the  more  earnestly 
persuade  men — To  repent  and  believe  the  gospel, 
that,  instead  of  being  objects  of  the  divine  wrath, 
they  may  live-and  die  happy  in  his  favour.  But^  as 
we  are  made  manifest  4o  God — And  he  knows  our 
integrity;  I  trust  also  it  is  evident  to  you.  For  we 
commend  not  ourselves — ^We  do  not  say  this  as  if  we 
thought  there  was  any  need  of  again  recommend- 
ing ourselves  to  you,  btU  give  you  occasion  to  glory 
— To  rejoice  and  praise  God,  and  furnish  you  with 
an  answer  to  those  false  apostles ;  who  glory  in  ap- 
pearance, but  notinheart^-^We  may  infer  from  this, 
and  from  the  beginning  of  chap,  ill.,  that  some  of  the 
Corinthians  were  disposed  to  represent  the  care 
which  Paul  took  to  vindicate  himself,  as  pride  and 
vainglory.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  they  would 
have  interpreted  his  silence  as  the  effect  pf  guilt  and 
concision.  He  therefore  plainly  and  very  properly 
tells  them,  that  he  said  this  only  in  his  own  neces- 
sary defence ;  and  to  furnbh  hb  friends  with  an  an- 
swer to  those  whose  consciences  condemned  them,, 
While  they  endeavoured  to  asperse  him. 

Verses  13-15.  For  whether  we  be  beside  ourselves 
^^As  they  affirm  we  are,  because  we  expose  ourselves 
to  so  many  sufferings,,  and  even  to  thedanger  of  Im- 
prisonment and  death,  by  persevering  in  our  work 
of  preaching  the  gospel  Or  whether  we  appear  to 
be  transported  beyond  ourselves-^y  our  speaking 
or  writing  with  uncommon  vehemence;  it  is  to  God^ 
— ^It  is  zeal  for  his  glory  that  animates  us;  and  he 
understands,  if  men  do  not,  the  emotion  which  him- 
self inspires.  Or  whether  we  be  so&ar— In  shnnn'mg 
persecution  as  much  as  may  be,  or  proceed  in  a 
more  calm  and  sedate  manner ;  it  is  for  your  ccutse 
— We  have  your  good  in  view,  and  proceed  in  our 
course  in  order  to  promote  your  best  interests.  In 
other  words,  love  to  God  and  benevolence  to  man, 
are  the  grand  principles  by  which  we  are  actuated ; 
9M 


14FortfaeloveofChristconstraineth  a.m.4064. 

us ;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  ^  if ! 

^ne  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead : 

15  And  that  he  died  ^r  all,  'that  they  which 
Uve  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  them 
selves,  but  unto  him  which  died  for  them,  and 
rose  again. 

16  '  VTherefore  henceforth  know  we  no  fnao 
aft^  the  flesh:  yea,  though  we  have  known 
Christ  after  the  flesh,  ^yet  now  henceforth 
know  we  him  no  more. 


rRooLTi.  ll,12;xiT.7,8;  lCor.Ti.l9;Gal.iL20;  IThew. 

▼.  10  ;  1  Pet  IT.  2. •  Matt  xii.  50 ;  John  rr.  14 ;  GaL  r.  S ; 

Phil.  iiL  7,  8 ;  CoL  iii  11. » John  vi,  63. 


and  we  cannot  be  cold  and  imafiected,  while  we  have 
sueh  grand  and  noble  subjects  under  our  considera- 
tion as  those  which  we  treat  of  among  you.  Mr* 
Locke,  from  comparing  chap.  xi.  1,  16-21,  and  ^. 
6,  11,  is  of  opinion  that  the  Corinthians  censured 
Paul  as  a  fool  or  madman,  for  what  he  said  in  com- 
mendation of  himself.  In  that  case  the  meaning  is^ 
"You  say  I  am  distracted  for  my. present  conduct 
but  this  is  between  God  and  myself^  I  am  sure  yov 
Corinthians  ought  not  to  say  it,  fpr  all  my  sobei 
thoughts  and  most  painful  labours  are  for  yoiu"  For 
the  love  of  ChristSo  illustriously  displayed  toward 
us  in  our  redemption,  and  our  love  to  him  in  return ; 
constraineth  its — Ewexti,  bears  us  on,  with  a  strong, 
steady,,  prevailing  influence,  such  as  winds  and  tides 
exert  when  they  waA  the  vessel  to  its  destined  har- 
bour; Kfuvovrof  TUTt,  judging  thus,  or  whUe  we  thus 
judge — Thus  consider  and.  reflect;  that  if  one  died 
for  a//— Which  Jesus  assi|redly  did,  even  gave  him- 
self a  ransom  for  all  mankind,  wiUiout  exception, 
(1  Tinu  ii.  6,)  yea,  tasted  death  for  every  man,  for 
every  human  being;  (Heb.ii.  9;)  then  were  cHldead 
— Even  the  best  of  men  were  in  a  state  of  spiritual 
death  entailed  upon  them  by  the  sin  of  the  first  man, 
(see  on  Oen.  ii.  17,)  and  liable  to  death  etemaL  For 
had  it  been  otherwise  with  any  man,  Christ  would 
not  have  had  need  to  die  for  him.  And  that  he  died 
for  oZI— That  ajl  might  jbe  saved ;  that  they  who  /tre— 
That  all  who  live  upon  the  earth,  or  all  who,  be- 
lieving in  him,  are  p>it  in  possession  of  spiritual  life 
through  his  death  and  grace  procured  thereby; 
slbould  not  henceforth—From  the  moment  they 
know  and  are  united  to  him ;  live  unto  themselves 
— Seek  their  own  honour,  profit,  or  pleasure,  or  do 
their  own  will ;  but  live  unto  him  who  died  for  them 
—.ted  thereby  procured  for  them  pardoning  mercy 
and  renewing  grace,  to  enable  them  so  to  live ;  and 
rose  ogainr-ThBi  he  might  receive  for  theua^  and 
confer  upon  them,  these  inestimable  blessings. 

Verse  Id.  Wherefore  henceforth—So  that  from 
this  time  that  we  knew  the  love  of  Christ;  know  we 
no  fikxn— Neither  ourselves  nor  you,  neither  the  rest 
of  the  apostles,  (Gal.  ii.  6,)  nor  any  other  person; 
after  the  flesh— According  to  his  former  state, 
country,  descent,  nobility,  riches,  power,  wisdom. 
We  fear  not  the  great.   We  regard  not  the  rich  or 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


(4e  v>orld  unto  himself. 


A.M.  4064.    17  Therefore,  if  any  man  ^be  in 

'. —  Christ,  ^he  w  ^a  new  creature:  ^oM 

things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are 
become  new. 

18  And  aU  things  are  of  God,  '  who  hath 
reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  ; 

19  To  wit,  that » God  was  in  Christ,  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing 


"Rom.  riii.  9;    xri  7;  CW.  ri.   15. »Or,  let  kim  be. 

'OaL  T.  6;  ri.  15. r  Isa.  xlui.  18, 19 ;  Ixt.  17 ;  Eph.  ii.  15 ; 

Rer.  xzL5. f  Rom.  r.  10;  Eph.  ii.  10;  Col  i.  20;  1  John 

ii.  2 ;  iv.  10. »Roin.  iii.  24,  30. 


wise*  We  account  not  the  least  less  than  ourselves. 
We  consider  all,  only  in  or^er  to  save  all.  Who 
is  he  that  thus  knows  no  one  after  the  flesh?  In 
what  land  do  these  Christians  live?  Yea^  if  we 
have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh—So  as  to  loye 
him  merely  with  f^  human  love ;  or,  so  as  to  regard 
our  external  relation  to  him,  as  being  of  the  same 
nation  with  him,  or  our  having  conversed  with  him 
on  earth,  or  so  as  to  expect  only  temporal  benefits 
from  him ;  or  have  governed  ourselves  by  any  car- 
nal expectations  from  the  Messiah  as  a  temporal 
prince  who  should  exalt  our  nation  to  dignity, 
wealth,  and  power.  Mr.  Locke  thinks  this  is  said 
with  a  reference  to  "their  Jewish  false  apostle,  who 
gloried  in  his  circumcision,  and  perhaps  in  his  hav- 
ing seen  Christ  in  the  flesh,  or  being  some  wsy  relat- 
ed to  him."  Yet  now,  henceforth — Smce  opr  illumi- 
nation and  conversion ;  huno  we  him  no  more — In 
that  way,  but  wholly  after  a  spiritual  and  divine 
manner,  suitable  to  his  state  of  glory,  and  our  ex- 
pectations of  spiritual  and  etenial  salvation  from  him. 
Verse  17.  Therefore— Since  all  Christ's  true  disci- 
ples do  thus  live  to  him,  and  not  to  themselves,  and 
only  know  him  in  a  spiritual  manner;  if  any  man 
be  in  Christ—By  Uving  faith  and  the  indwelling  of 
his  Spirit;  if  any  man  have  an  interest  in  and  union 
with  him  -,  heis  a  new  creature — Kaivfj  KTtaiCf  there 
is  a  new  creation,  in  the  soul  of  that  man.  His 
understanding  is  enlightened,  his  judgment  correct- 
ed, and  he  has  new  ideas  and  conceptions  of  things. 
His  conscience  is  informed,  awakened,  and  purged 
from  guilt  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  Heb.  ix.  14  His 
will  is  subjected  to  the  will  of  G(od,  his  aifect^ns 
drawn  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  his  dispositions, 
words,  and  actions,  his  cares,  labours,  and  pursuits, 
are  all  changed.  CHd  things  are  passed  away — 
All  old  principles  and  practices;  behold— The  pre- 
sent, visiMe,  undeniable  change !  all  things  are  be- 
come new—He  has  new  life,  namely,  a  spiritual  and 
divine  life ;  new  spiritual  senses^  new  faculties,  new 
desires  and  designs,  hopes  and  fears,  joys  and  sor- 
rows, passions  and  appetites.  His  whole  tenor  of 
action  and  conversation  is  new,  and  he  lives  as  it 
were  in  a  new  world.  God,  Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
angels,  men,  sinners,  saints,  and  the  whole  creation 
— ^heaven,  earth,  and  all  therein,  appear  in  a  new 
light,  and  stand  related  to  him^in  a  new  manner, 
iinca  he  was  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus, 
b 


their  trespasses  unto  them ;  and  hath  a.  m.  4064. 
^committed  unto  lis  the  word  of  recon-    ^'  ^'  ^' 
ciliation. 

20  Now  then  we  are  ^ambassadorsibr  Clirist^ 
as  ^though  God  did  beseech  yott  by  us:  we  pray 
you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 

21  For  ^  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  fcHr  us, 
who  knew  np  sin ;  that  we  might  be  made 
•  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him. 


^  6r.  put  in  iw, ^  Job  xxziii.  33 ;  MaL  ii.  7 ;  Cbap.  iii  6; 

Eph.Ti.  20. «Chap.  vi.  1. ^Usu  liii  CL  9,  12;  QtA.  iii. 

13;  1  Pet  it.  22»  24;  1  John  ill  5.^ •Kom.i.  17;  r.  10; 


Verses  18-20.  And  all  things,  &c. — These  new 
things  are  all  of  God,  the  anthor  of  them,  consider- 
ed in  this  view  as  reconciling  tis  to  himself— IRe- 
moving  our  carnal  mind,  which  wais  enmity  against 
him.  and  taking  us  into  his  favour;  by  Jesus  Christ 
— Through  whose  sacrifice  and  intercession,  merits 
and  Sph*it,  these  blessings  are  obtained.  And  hath 
given  to  us — His  ministers,  and  especially  to  his 
apostles;  pie  ministry  of  reconciliation-^The  gos- 
pel nalnistry,  ofiering  reconciliation  and  peace  with 
God  to  -all  mankind,  and  ensuriiig  these  privileges  to 
all  the  truly  penitent  that  believe  in  Jesus.  To  wit 
—The  sum  of  which  is ;  that  Qod  was  in  Christ — 
United  to  him  and  manifesting  himself  by  him  5  re- 
condling  the  world — Which  was  before  at  enmity 
with  God ;  to  himself— So  taking  away  that  enmity 
which  could  no  otherwise  be  removed,  than  by  the 
mediation  and  grace  of  the  Son  of  God:  not  impu- 
ting their  trespasses  unto  them — Freely  forgiving 
all  their  sins,  Eph.  i.  7;  and  hath  committed  unto 
us — As  a  trust  of  the  highest  iipportance;  the  word, 
the  message,  of  reconciliaiion.  We  then  are  am- 
bcusadors  for  Christ — Divinely  commissioned  and 
sent  to  treat  with  you  in  his  name  and  stead,  on  a 
matter  of  infinite  importance  to  you.  As  though 
God  did  beseech  you  by  us— By  whom  he  speaks  to 
you.  We  pray  you  in  ChrisVs  stead — tvtp  Xpi^s, 
or,  for  ChrisVs  sake;  be  ye  reconciled  to  God — ^Who 
is  now  ready  to  be  reconciled  to  you,  on  terms 
which,  if  you  apply  to  him,  he^  will  enable  you  to 
comt^y  with,  and  thankAilly  to  accept  that  friend* 
ship  and  protection  which  he  graciously  vouchsafes 
to  offer  you.  Herein  the  apostle  might  appear  to 
some  'transported  beyond  himself:  for  in  general  he 
uses  a  more  cidm,  sedate  kmd  of  eidiortation,  as  in 
the<l)eginning  of  the  ne^et  chapter.  What  unparal- 
leled>condescension  and  divinely  tender  mercies  are 
displayed  in  this  verse !  Did  the  judge  ever  beseech 
a  condemned  criminal  to  accept  of  pardon?  Does 
the  creditor  ever  beseech  a  ruined  debtor 4o  receive 
an  acquittance  in  full?  Yet  our  almighty  Lord, 
and  our  eternal  Judge,  not  only  vouchsafes  to  offer 
these  blessings,  but  invites  us,  entreats  us,  and  with 
the  most  tender  importunity  solicits  us  not  to  reject 
them! 

Verse  91.  For  he  made  him,  who  knew  no  sin— k 
commendation  peculiar  to  Christ ;  to  6e  ^o— Or  a 
mn-affering  rather,  (as  the  ezpreaoloa  often  signifiet 
2» 


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What  the  apostles  endured 


IL  CORINTHIANS. 


for  the  cause  of  Ckr%»t.^ 


both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New;)  for  us— 
Who  knew  no  righteousness,  who  were  Inwardly 
and  oatwardly  nothing  but  sin,  and  who  must  have 
been  consumed  by  the  divine  justice,  had  not  this 
atonement  been  made  for  our  sins;  that  loe  might 
be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him-^Mghi 


be  accounted  and  constituted  righteous  by  God,  or 
might  be  invested  inrith  that  righteoumeas;  1st,  im- 
puted to  us;  2d,  implanted  in  us;  and,  Sd,  prac- 
tised by  us ;  which  is,  in  every  sense,  the  righteauB- 
ness  of  God  by  faith.  See  note  on  Romans  z.  4; 
Philippians  iii.  9. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

In  this  chaptir,  ^  aipostk,  proceeding  in  hi*  patketie  address  to  the  Corintkians,  (1^)  EnUrges  with  great  freedom  m  the 
temper  tpith  wMehi  in  the  midst  of  all  ^eir  agticthms  and  persecutions,  he  and  his  brethren  prosecuted  that  important  etm* 
bassy,  of  which  he  had  been  speaking  in  the  preceding  verses,  1-10.  (2,)  He  expresses  earnest  affectianfor  Ute  Corinth^ 
ions,  for  which  he  desires  a  return  of  like  affection,  11-18.  (3,)  Urges  the  Corinthians  to  aooid  those  alliances  with 
idolaters,  which  might  tend  to  insnare  them,  and  pleads  the  gracious  promises  which  God  had  made  to  his  people,  as  an 
engagement  to  them  to  be  on  their  guard  in  that  respect,  14-18. 

3  *  Giying  no  offence  in  any  thii^,  a.  m.  40m. 
that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed : 


A.  H.  4064. 
A.D.  60. 


TTTE  *then,  cw  •workers  together 

.  with  Aim,  **  beseech  j/ou  also 

*  that  ye  receive  not  the  grace  of  Grod  in  vain. 
2  (For  he  saith,  ^  I  have  heard  thee  in  a  time 
accepted,  and  in  the  day  of  salvation  have  I 
succoured  thee:  behold,  now  is  the  accepted 
time ;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.) 


♦  First  Sunday  in  Lent,  epistle,  Terse  1  to  verse  IL— — » 1 

Cor.  iii.  9. ^  Chap.  t.  90. «  Hebrews  xii.  15. *  Isaiah 

zHx.  a 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 
Verses  1,  2.  We  then^  as  workers  together  wOh 
him — Being  employed  by  God  in  such  an  important 
embassy,  we  prosecute  it,  and  beseech  you  thai  ye 
receive  not  the  gospel  of  the  grax:e  of  God — Which 
announces  such  glad  tidmgs  of  salvation;  or  the 
free,  unmerited  favour,  and  Spirit  of  God,  offered 
and  pressed  upon  you  in  the  gospel ;  in  vain — Which 
they  do  in  whom  this  divine  grace  does  not  answer 
the  end  for  which  it  was  designed ;  does  not  render 
them  godly  and  righteous,  wise,  good,  and  holy,  in 
this  present  world,  Titus  ii.  11-13.  For  he  saith— 
(Isa.  xlix.  S,)  where  God  the  Father  speaks  to  the 
Messiah,  and  engages  to  give  him  the  Gentiles  as  an 
accession  to  his  chureh,  and  a  reward  of  his  media- 
torial undertaking ;  /  have  heard— Oty  I  v)iU  hear 
thee,  in  the  days  of  thy  flesh,  when  thou  shalt  offer 
up  prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying 
caid  tears,  (Heb.  v.  7,)  though  not  so  as  to  deliver 
thee  from  death,  yet  so  as  to  support  thee  under  thy 
sufferings,  and  give  a  blessed  success  to  thy  labours. 
And  in  the  day  of  salvation^-lxi  the  time  which  I 
have  appointed  for  effecting  man's  redemption  and 
salvation ;  ha/te  I  succoured — Or,  wUl  I  succour  and 
assist  thee  in  thy  work.  Thus  the  Messiah  says^ 
(tsa.  1.  7,)  The  Lord  God  wiU  help  m^  therefore 
shall  I  not  be  confounded.  Behold  now,  says  the 
apostle,  is  the  accepted  time — ^There  spoken  of, 
wherein  such  a  rich  treasure  of  saving  grace  is  dis- 
pensed to  the  church,  whether  consisting  of  Jews  or 
Gentiles,  and  offered  to  all:  therefore,  as  if  he  had 
laid,  Lose  not  this  gracious  season,  but  improve  it  by 


4  But  in  all  things  ^approving  ourselves  'as 
the  miniBt^rs  of  God,  in  much  ^ladence,  in 
afflictions,  in  necessities,  in  d&tresses, 

5  >In  stripes,  in  in)pTi&oninent9,  ^in  tmnulta^ 
in  labours,  in  watchings,  in  listings ; 


•  Rom.  ziv.  13 ;  1  Cor.  iz.  12 ;  x.  ^2. ^  Gr.  emmnm£ng, 

Qhap.  iv.  2. '1  Cor.  iv.  1.— «  Chap.  xL  23,  &c. »0r, 

in.  tatsing9  to  and  fro. 


accepting  the  offered  blessings,  and  using  them  to 
the  glory  of  the  great  and  glorious  Giver.  This 
verse  mustl>e  read  as  a  parenthesis,  the  next  being 
connected  with  the  first 

Verses  S-7.  Giving,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  no  offence 
in  any  thing,  that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed — On 
our  account  But  in  all  things— Or  in  every  respect ; 
approving  ourselves— To  our  Divine  Master  and  his 
church;  as  the  ministers  of  God,  in  much  patience 
— Shown,  ist.  In  afflictions,  necessities,  distresses — 
All  which  are  general  terms.  2d,  In  stripes,  impri- 
sonments, tumults — Which  are  particiilar  sorts  of 
affliction,  necessity,  xlistress.  3d,  In  labours,  watch- 
ings, fastings-^yoluni^jnly  endured.  All  these  arc 
expressed  in  the  plural  number,  to  denote  a  variety 
of  them.  The  first  word,  ♦AiVe'f ,  Dr.  Whitby  undei^ 
stands  to  mean  affliction  in  general:  the  second, 
avayKai,  necessities,  as  signifying  more  grievous  and 
unavoidable  troubles;  the  third,  g-evoxupiai,  dis- 
tresses, such  pressures  as  reduce  us  to  the  greatest 
iitraits.  In  the  first,  several  ways  to  escape  >may  ap- 
pear, though  none  without  difficulty:  in  the  second^ 
one  way  only,  and  that  a  difficult  one :  in  the  last, 
none  at  all  appears.  In  tumults— The  Greek  word, 
aKarag-aaiai,  implies  such  attacks  as  a  man  cannot 
stand  against ;  but  which  bear  him  hither  and  thither 
by  violence.  In  labours— Jncesssntly  pursued,  ei- 
ther in  our  ministerial  work,  or  in  those  secular  call- 
ings by  which  we  are  often  obliged  to  earn  our  daily 
bread.  In  watchings— When,  in  the  prosecution  of 
our  various  employments,  the  hours  of  the  night  are 
added  to  those  of  the  day :  in  fastings — To  which| 

b 


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CHAPTER  VI. 


^tctimforthe  (hrinthiawti. 


A.  11.4064.    6  By  puraiess,  by  knowledge,  by 
^^'^'    bng-wflering,  by  tdndness,  by  the 
Holy  Ohost,  by  love  unfeigned, 

7  ^  By  the  word  ot  truth,  by  *  the  power  of 
God,  by  ^  the  armour  of  righteousnei^  on  the 
rijght  hand  and  on  the  left, 

8  By  hoDoor  and  dishonour,  by  evil  report 
and  goodjeport :  as  deceivers,  and  yet  true ; 

9  As  unknown,  and  ^ffel  well  known;  ''as 
dying,  and  behold,  we  live;  *as  chastened, 
and  not  killed ; 


k  Chap.  ir.  2 ;  TiL  14. •  I  Cor.  ii.  4.— k  Chap.  x.  4 ;  Eph.  yi. 

11, 13;  2  Tim. ir.  7. "Chap.  iv.  3 ;  ▼.  11 ;  xi.  «. ■  1  Cor. 

IT.  9 ;  Ch^.  L  ^ ;  iv.  10, 11. •  Paa.  cxriii.  la 


bendes  those  whidi  devotion  chooses,  we  are  often 
oldiged  to  submit,  for  want  of  proper  supplies  of 
food.  By  purenesM — Of  conduct,  and  t>y  keeping 
ourselves  unspotted  from  the  world  i  or  by  puri^  of 
the  motives  which  animate  us.  By  knowledge-'Oi 
those  divme  truths,  which  it  is  our  great  business  to 
teach  others.  Or,  as  some  render  the  expression, 
by  prudence;  namely,  that  which  is  spiritual  and 
divine :  not  ibait  which  the  world  terms  so.  Worldly 
prudence  Is  the  practical  use  of  worldly  wisdom : 
divine  prudence,  of  spiritual  understanding.  By 
lang-euffering'-Vnder  affronts  and  injuries  from  the 
people  of  the  world,  and  amid  the  weaknesses,  fail- 
ings, and  faults  of  the  people  of  God.  By  kindness — 
X^roTi^S  gentleness,  or  goodness  of  disposition.  By 
ike  Holy  Ghost — ^Directing,  strengthening,  support- 
ing, as  well  as  sanctif3ring  us,  and  by  the  exercise 
of  his  miraculous  gifts.  By  love  unfeigned'-To 
God  and  man,  manifested  in  all  our  words  and 
actions.  By  t^e  word  of  truth-^ThsX  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  whereby  we  repel  the  tempter^  or  by 
preaching  the  gospel  faithfully  and  zealously.  By 
i&e  power  of  Croc^Attesting  that  word  by  divers 
miraculous  operations,  and  rendering  it  effectual 
to  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners ;  and 
which  we  know  will  render  it  finally  victorious  over 
all  opposition.  By  the  armour  of  righteousness-^ 
The  ^ield  of  fedth,  the  helmet  of  hope,  as  well  as 
the  breastplate  of  righteousness ;  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left — On  all  sides;  the  panoply,  or 
whole  armour  of  Qod,  even  aU  Christian  virtues. 
This  is  said  in  allusion  to  the  armour  of  the  ancients. 
Tor  soldiers  carried  bucklers  in  their  left  hands,  and 
swords  and  javelins  in  their  right  The  former  were 
their  defensive,  the  latter  their  offensive  arms. 
Wherefore  the  apostle's  expression  denotes  all  the 
branches  of  righteousness  whereby,  in  those  diffi 
cult  times,  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  as  effect- 
oaUy  enabled  to  defend  themselves,  and  overcome 
their  enemies,  as  soldiers  were  to  defend  their  bodies, 
«id  vanquish  their  foes,  by  the  offensive  and  defen- 
sive armour  which  they  wore. 

Verses  S-10.  By  honour  and  dishonour — ^When 
we  arc  present ;  by  evil  report  and  good  report- 
When  we  are  absent  Who  could  bear  honour  and 
good  report,  were  they  not  balanced  by  dishonour 
and  evil  report?  As  €<ece»verf— Artful,  designing 
b 


10  As  sorrowfid,  yet  always  rejoic-  a.  M.40f4. 

iog ;  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich ;  1 

as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things. 

11  O  ye  Corinthians,  our  mouth  is  open  unto 
you,  ^  our  heart  is  enlarged. 

12  Ye  are  not  straitened  in  us,  but  i^  ye  are 
straitened  in  your  own  bowels. 

13  Now  for  a  recompense  in  the  same,  (^I  speak 
as  unto  my  children,)  be  ye  also  enlarged. 

14  'Be  ye  not  unequally   yoked  together 
with  unbelievers:  for  •what  fellowship  hath 


•  Ch»p.  Tii  3. p  Chap.  xii.  15. 1 1  Cor.  iv.  14. '  Dent. 

riL  2,  3 ;  1  Cor. r.  9 ;  rii. 39. >  1  Sant  r.  2^3 ;  1  Kings  xriiL 

21 ;  £ccL  xiii.  17;  1  Cor.  z.  21 ;  Eph.  t.  7, 11. 


men.  So  the  world  represents  all  true  ministers  of 
Christ;  yet  true — Upright,  sincere,  in  the  sight  of 
God.  As  unknown — For  the  world  knoweth  us  not, 
as  it  knew  him  not :  yet  well  known — To  God,  and  to 
those  who  are  the  seals  of  our  ministry.  As  dying, 
yet  ftcAoW— Suddenly,  unexpectedly,  God  interpo- 
ses, and  w^e  live — Seeing  the  apostle,  in  this  de- 
scription of  the  hehaviour  proper  to  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  in  the  various  circumstances  in  which  they 
may  be  placed,  and  under  the  various  sufferings  to 
which  they  may  be  exposed,  doubtless  included 
himself,  we  may  suppose  that  he  here  alludes  partly 
to  his  being  stoned  to  death  at  Lystra,  and  his  after- 
ward reviving  and  walking  into  the  city.  Acts  xiv. 
20.  Ais  sorrowful— FoT  our  manifold  imperfections, 
and  for  the  sins  and  sufferings  of  mankind,  espe- 
cially of  our  brethren  in  Christ;  yet  always  re- 
joicing— In  present  peace,  love,  and  power  over  sin ; 
in  assurances  of  the  diviiie  favour,  and  a  lively 
hope  of  future  eternal  glory.  As  poor— In  this 
world,  having  neither  silver  nor  gold,  nor  houses, 
nor  lands ;  yet  making  many  ncA— With  treasures 
which  they  would  not  part  with  for  all  the  revenues 
of  princes  and  kings ;  as  having  nothing— Th^t  we 
can  call  our  own ;  and  yet  possessing  all  things — 
For  all  are  ours  if  we  are  Christ's. 

Verses  11-13.  From  the  praise  of  the  Christian 
ministry,  which  he  began  chapter  ii.  14,  he  now 
draws  his  affectionate  exhortation.  O  ye  Chrinth- 
ians—He  seldom  uses  this  appellation ;  but  it  has 
here  a  peculiar  force.  Our  mouth  is  opened  unto 
3^(m— With  uncommon  freedom^  because  ourheaaii 
is  enlurgedr—ln  tenderness,  which  neither  words 
nor  tears  can  sufficiently  express.  Ye  are  not  strait- 
ened in  «*-^Our  heart  is  wide  enough  to  receive 
you  all;  and  all  that  we  can  do  for  your  comfort 
and  happiness  ye  may  safely  promise  yourselves. 
But  ye  are  straitened  in  your  own  bowels — Your 
hearts  are  contracted  and  shut  up,  and  so  not  capa- 
ble of  receiving  the  blessings  ye  might  enjoy.  Now, 
for  a  recompense  of  the  same—0(  my  paternal  leri- 
demess;  {I  speak  as  to  my  children— J  ask  nothing 
hard  or  grievous ;)  be  ye  also  enlarged — Open  your 
hearts  first  to  God,  and  then  to  ua,  (see  chap.  viU. 
5,)  that  God  may  dwell  in  you,  (chap.  vl.  16;  viL  1,) 
and  that  ye  may  receive  us,  chap.  vii.  2. 

Verses  14-16.  Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbt- 
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A. M. 4064.  righteousness  with  unrighteousness? 

! L  and  what  communion  hath  light  with 

darkness? 

15  And  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Be- 
Uai  ?  or  what  part  hath  he  that  believeth  with 
an  infidel? 

16  And  what  agreemef^t  hath  the  temple  of 
Grod  with  idols?  fbr  *y6  are  the  temple  of  the 
living  God ;  as  God  hath  said,  *  I  will  dwell 


1 1  Cor.  iii.  16 ;  ri.  19 ;  £ph.  iL 21,^ ;  Heb.  lii.  6. "  Exod. 

xxir.  45 ;  Lev.  xxvi.  12 ;  Jer.  xxjci.  33 ;  zxxiL  38 ;  Ezek.  xL  20 ; 


Kct?er«— Christians  with  Jews  or  heathen,  godly 
persons  with  the  ungodly,  spiritual  with  such  as  are 
carnal.  The  apostle  particularly  speaks  of  mar- 
riage ;  but  the  reasons  he  urges  equally  hold  against 
any  needless  intimacy  or  society  with  them.  Of 
the  tve  questions  that  follow,  the  three  former  con- 
tain the  argument,  the  two  latter  the  conclusion. 
For  what  fellowship  haih  righteousness  with  wn- 
righteousTiess— The  righteous  can  have  no  profita- 
ble,, agreeable,  or  comfortable  society  or  converse 
with  the  unrighteous.  What  communion  hath  light 
— That  is,  the  state  of  light  and  knowledge,  into 
which  you  are  brought  by  divine  mercy ;  with  dark- 
ness— That  deplorable  state  of  ignorance  and  folly, 
vice  and  misery,  in  which  they  continue  to  be  lost? 
And  what  concord  hath  Oirist^'Whom  you  serve ; 
with  Belial^To  Whom  they  belong,  and  who 
reigns  in  all  the  children  of  disobedience?  Or 
what  part^ln  time  or  in  eternity;  hath  he  that  be- 
lieveth—In  Christ  ^d  his  gospel,  and  who  is  a  true, 
genuine  disciple  of  Christ;  with  an  tnfidel--OT  an 
infidel  with  a  believer?  The  union  is  surely,  at  the 
first  view  of  it,  too  unnatural  to  be  either  agreeable, 
safe,  or  lasting.  And  what  agreement  hath  the  tem- 
ple of  Qod  wUh  idols—Which  would  by  this  means 
l)e,  as  It  were,  erected  in  it  ?  If  God  would  not  en- 
dure idols  in  any  part  of  the  land  where  he  dwelt, 
how  much  less  under  his  own  roof?  He  does  not 
say,  with  the  temple  cf  idols  ;  for  idols  do  not  dwell 
in  their  worshippers.  This  is  a  proper  ques^on, 
and  a  just  view  in  which  to  place  the  matter;  for 
ye—ka  a  church,  and  as  individuals ;  are  (he  temple 
of  the  living  God,  See  on  Rom.  viii.  9.  As  God 
hath  said— To  his  ancient  Church,  and  in  them  to 
all  his  Israel,  hi  aU  ages ;  IwUl  dwelt  in  them— The 
force  of  the  original  expression  cannot  easily  be 
equalled  in  any  translation ;  evoiKijuu  ev  avroic.  The 
words,  /  will  inhabit  in  them,  or  /  will  take  up  my 
indwelling  in  them^  would  nearly,  though  melegant- 
ly,  express  the  sense :  and  walk  in  them— The  former 
expression  signifies  his  perpetual  presence;  this 
latter,  his  operation.  And  I  will  be  their  God— In 
^e  fullest  sense ;  manifesting  my  favour  to  them, 
conununicating  my  Spirit,  stamping  them  with 


in  them,  and  walk  in  them ;  and  I  a.  m.  4064. 
wiU  be  their  God,  and  they  shaJl  be  ±^1^ 
my  people. 

17  *  Wherefi)re  come  out  from  among  them, 
and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  hxd,  and  touch 
not  the  unclean  thing;  and  I  will  receive  you; 

18  ^  And  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  my  sons  and  dau^iten^  saith  the 
Lord  Almighty. 


xxxtL  28 ;  xxxvii.  26,  &c  ;  Zech.  viii.  8 ;  xiiL  0. '  Isa.  lii. 

11 ;  Chap,  vii  1 ;  Rer.  xviii.  4. — ^^  Jer.  xxxi.  1, 9 ;  Rev.  xxi.  7. 


mine  image,  and  vouchsafing  them  communion  with 
myself,  in  time  and  in  eternity.  And  they  shall  he 
my  people— Whom  I  will  direct  and  govern,  protect 
and  save,  here  and  hereafter.  The  sum  this  of  the 
whole  gospel  covenants 

Verses  1*?,  18.  Wherefore — Encouraged  by  this 
gracious  promise,  and  that  you  may  obtain  the  ful- 
filment of  it;  com^  out  from  among  them — Withdraw 
yourselves  from  all  intimate  society  with  them; 
and  be  ye  separate — As  6od's  promise  of  dwellmg 
in  a  peculiar  manner  among  the  Israelites,  obliged 
them  to  separate  themselves  from  the  converse  of 
their  heathen  neighbours,  that  they  might  not  be 
insnared  with  tiieir  superstitions;  much  more  are 
Christians  obliged,  by  that  peculiar  gracious  pre- 
sence of  God  which  they  enjoy,  or  may  enjoy,  to 
separate  themselves  from  the  society  of  the  un- 
godly,  and  from  all  their  sinful  practices,  customs, 
and  habits.  And  touch  not  the  unclean  thing-^ 
Keep  at  the  utmost  distance  Arom  every  person  and 
thing  whereby  you  might  be  drawn  into  evU,  and 
contract  guilt  And  I  will  receive  you — Into  my 
house  and  family.  And  will  be  a  father  unto  you— 
Tyill  stand  to  you  in  the  near  relation  of  a  father; 
loving  you,  caring  and  providing  for  you;  allowing 
you  near  access  to,  and  close  intimacy  with,  my- 
self. And  ye  shall  be  my  sons  afid  daughters — 
And  therefore  mine  heirs,  and  joint-heirs  with  my 
only-begotten  and  beloved  Son;  saith  the  Lord  Al- 
mighty—ThsX  infinitely  great  and  omnipotent  Be- 
ing, who  is  the  maker  and  upholder,  the  author  and 
end  of  all  things.  This  promise  made  to  Solomon, 
(1  Chron.  zxviii.  6^)  is  here  applied  to  all  believers; 
as  the  promise  maide  particularly  to  Joshua  is  ap- 
plied to  them,  Heb.  xiii.  5,  Who  can  express  the 
worth,  who  can  conceive  the  dignity  of  this  divine 
adoption?  Yet  it  belongs  to  aU  who  believe  the 
gospel  with  a  living,  operative  faith;  to  all  who  so 
receive  Christ  in  his  sundry  ofilces  as  to  be  bom  of 
God,  John  i.  12, 13.  They  have  access  to  the  Al- 
mighty ;  such  free  and  welcome  access  as  a  beloved 
child  to  an  indulgent  father.  To  him  they  may  flee 
for  aid  in  every  difilculty,  and  from  him  obtain  a 
supply  of  all  their  wants. 

b 


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CHAPTER  Vn. 


in  the/ear  qfihe  Lord: 


CHAPTER  vn. 

After  tthmimg  them  hf  ike  emmdersium  of  GotPe  ftecuma  prtfmieee,  which  he  had  nutUimed^  to  pursue  unkersal  holtneeSf 
1,  the  efoede^  (1,)  Entrtate  the  CorintMime  to  show  the  Hke  ajfectum  and  regard  to  Atm, ««  he  showed  to  them,  %J^ 
(2,)  h^orvu  them  of  the  great  joy  he  had  felt  on  account  of  the  good  effects  his  former  letter  had  had  upon  them,  in  the 
censure  of  the  incestuous  persony  and  their  own  and  his  repentance,  ^1%;  and,  (;i,)  That  Titus  had  met  with  such  a  kind 
amd  eomforiaJble  reception  among  them,  13-16v 


A^1L4064.  JJAVING  'therefore  these  promises, 
! — 1  clearly  beloved,  let  us  cleanse  our- 
selves from  all  filthiness  of  die  flesh  and  spirit, 
perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God. 

2  Receive  us ;  we  have  wronged  no  man,  we 
have  corrupted  no  man,  '^we  have  defrauded 
no  man. 

3  I  speak  not  this  to  condemn  you:  for  *I 
have  said  before,  that  ye  are  in  our  hearts  to 
die  and  live  with  you. 

4  *  Great  is  my  boldness,  of  speech  toward 
you,  •  great  is  my  glorying  of  you:   'I  am 


»  Chap.  ri.  17, 18 ;  1  John  iii.  3. *  Acts  xx.  33 ;  Chap.  xii. 

17. ^  Chap.  tI  11,  12. *  Ch^.  ui.  12. — ^  1  Cor.  i.  4 ; 

Chap.  L  14. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VII. 

Verse  1.  Having  ther^ore  these  promises — Of 
blessings  so  nnspeakably  great  and  precious,  en- 
couraged by  tbem,  and  in  order  to  our  obtaining 
their  complete  accomplishnient  3  let  tw— By  the  exer- 
cise of  a  lively  faith  in  them,  and  in  God's  word  in 
general,  by  fervent  prayer  for  the  purifymg  influ- 
ences of  the  Diving  Spirit,  and  by  obedience  to  the 
truth,  1  Pet  i.22;  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthi- 
ness of  the  flesh — All  irregular  appetites,  all  outward 
sin ;  axid  of  the  spirit^AW  unhallowed  affections, 
corrupt  passions  and  tempers,  and  all  unholy  designs 
and  desires;  all  inward  sin;  perfecting  holiness — 
Universal^  in  all  things;  constant,  at  all  times,  and 
persevering  to  Uie  end  of  our  days;  not  resting  in 
a  mere  negative  religion,  but  aspiring  after  all  the 
mind  that  was  in  Christ,  a  full  conformity  to  the 
image  of  God;  in  the  reverential,  loving /cor  of 
God — Setting  him  al^vays  before  us,  in  whose  pre- 
sence we  always  are,  by  whom  all  our  actions 
are  examined,  and  to  whom  our  hearts  lie  open; 
and  therefore,  guarding  against  every  disposition, 
word,  and  action,  whereby  we  might  grieve  his 
Spirit,  and  deprive  ourselves  of  the  light  of  his 
countenance. 

Verses  2-4.  Receive  ii*— < With  that  affection  which 
is  due  to  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ,  and  to  those 
who  have  been  instruments  in  your  conversion  and 
edification ;  for,  whatever  may  have  been  insinuated 
by  ill-designing  persons  to  the  contrary;  we  have 
isronged-T^  injured;  no  man-rin  his  person. 
We  have  corrupted  no  man — In  his  principles.  We 
have  defrauded  no  incm — Of  his  property.  In  this 
he  intimates,  likewise,  the  good  he  had  done  them, 
but  with  the  utmost  modesty,  as  it  were,  not  looking 
oa  it  /  speak  not  this  to  condenm  you— As  if  I 
^^^cused  you  of  charging  me  with  «iy  of  these 
b 


filled  with  comfort,  I  am  exceeding  a.  M.4064. 
joyful  iu  all  our  tribulation.  h,D.eo. 

5  For,  »  when  we  were  come  into  Macedonia, 
our  flesh  had  no  rest,  but  ^  we  were  troubled 
on  every  side ;  *  without  were  fightings,  within 
were  fears. 

6  Nevertheless  ^God,  that  comfcMteth  those 
thatt  are  cast  down^  comforted  us  by  ^the  com- 
ing of  Titus ; 

7  And  not  by  his  coming  only,  but  by  the 
consolation  wherewith  he  was  comforted  in 
you,  when  he  told  us  your  esunest  desire, 


'Chapter  i.  4;  Phil  ii.  17;  Col  L  24. ff  Chapter  ii.  13. 

>•  Chap.  ir.  8. » Dout  xxxii.  25. k  Ch^».  i.  4- » Chap. 

ii.  13. 


crimes,  but  to  vindicate  myself  from  the  imputations 
of  the  false  apostles ;  for  I  have  said  before,  &c. — 
I  am  so  far  from  thinking  so  unkindly  of  you ;  that 
jfe  art  in  our  hearts  to  die  and  live  with  you — That 
is,  I  could  rejoice  to  spend  aU  my  days  with  you. 
Oreat  is  my  boldness^  &c.— As  if  he  had  said,  As 
an  argument  of  my  love,  I  deal  very  freely  with 
you  upon  all  occasions;  Great  is  my  glorying  of 
you — Or  my  boastmg  concerning  you.  He  could, 
with  confidence^  boast  of  them,  after  the  account 
which  Titus  brought  him  of  theur  obedience  and 
good  dispositions.  /  am  filled  with  comfort — On 
your  account.  /  am  exceeding  joyful,  &c.— My 
joy  for  your  obedience  overbalances  the  pain  occa- 
sioned by  my  aflUction. 

Verses  5-7.  For  when  we  were  com^  into  Mace- 
donia-'Yiom  Ephesus,  not  finding  Titus;  our  flesh 
—That  is,  we  ourselves ;  had  no  rest — Fearing  he 
had  not  beenweD  received  by  you;  2n^  we  were 
troubled  on  every  side — Ev  iravri,  in  every  pUice,  or 
thing;  wiiJiout^Froia  the  unbelieving  Jews  and 
Gentiles ;  were  flghtings— Furious  and  cruel  oppo- 
sitions ;  within—From  our  brethren ;  were  fears-^ 
Lest  they  should  be  seduced:  or,  he  means,  that  in 
his  own  mind  there  were  fears  and  anxieties  on  ac- 
count of  the  Corinthians.  Nevertheless,  God,  that 
comfort eth  those  that  are  cast  down — T«f  raireiv«r, 
the  humble,  debased,  or  those  brought  low,  namely, 
by  affliction  or  distress;  comforted  us  by  the^coming 
of  THtus—Wiih  good  tidings  from  you.  And  by 
the  consolaiion  wherewi^  Tie  was  comforted  in — Or 
among;  you — which  he  discovered  to  us;  when  he 
told  us  your  earnest  desire — To  rectify  what  was 
amiss;  your  mouming'-Or  grief,  for  what  had 
offended  God,  and  troubled  me.  Your  fervent  misid 
toward  me-^Yowt  zeal  to  vindicate  my  character  as 
an  apostle,  and  to  support  my  authority ;  so  that  I 
389 


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n.  OORINTHUNS. 


and  ^ects  of  true  repenianee. 


A.  M.  4064.  your  moumiiig,  your  fervent  mind  to- 
— ^ — i — 1-  ward  me;  80  diat  I  rejoiced  thfc  more. 

8  For  though  I  made  you  awry  with  a  letter, 
I  do  not  repent,  "  though  I  did  repent :  for  I 
perceive  that  the  same  epistle  hath  made  you 
mnjj  though  it  were  but  for  a  season. 

9  Now  I  rejoice^  not  that  ye  were  made  sorry, 
but  that  ye  sorrowed  to  repentance :  for  ye  were 
made  sorry  *  after  a  godly  manner,  that  ye 
might  receive  damage  by  us  in  nothing. 

10  For  "godly  scmtow  worketh  repentance 
to  salvation  not  to  be  repented  of:  **but  the 
sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death. 

11  For  behold  this  self-same  thing,  that  ye 
sorrowed  after  a  godly  sort,  what  carefulness  it 
wrought  in  you,  yea,  what  clearing  of  your- 
selves, yea,  whcU  indignation,  yea,  what  fear. 


■  Ch»p.  ii.  4. "  Or,  aeeordmg  to  Ood.- 

Matt.  xzn.  75. 


■  2  Sam.  zii  13 ; 


refoiced  the  marc— For  his  consolation  than  for  his 
coming;  or,  more  than  in  other  circumstances  I 
could  have  done.  Some  critics  think  that  the  apos- 
tle's expression  in  the  former  clause,  njv  vfiov  ea-iTro- 
^ffiv,  rendered,  your  earnest  desire^  should  be 
translated,  your  vehement  longing;  namely,  to  see 
the  apostle,  their  spiritual  father. 

Verses  8-11.  For  though  I  made  you  sorry — 
Caused  you  much  distress  and  pain  of  mind  by  the 
letter  I  formerly  wrote )  I  do  not  now  repent— Oi 
writing  it;  although  I  did  repent — After  it  was  sent 
away,  fearing  it  might  irritate  some  of  you,  and 
produce  some  ill  effect.  Or  the  meaning  is,  I  felt  a 
tender  sorrow  for  having  grieved  you,  till  I  saw  the 
happy  fruit  of  It  Now  I  rc/oicc  no<  barely  thai  ye 
were  made  sorry — By  my  letter,  for  that  would 
rather  still  give  me  pain ;  but  that  ye  sorrowed  to 
repentance — To  true  and  genuine  repentance,  at- 
tended with  a  change  of  heart  and  life ;  for  ye  were 
made  sorry  after  a  godly  manner — ^With  a  peni- 
tential and  humble  regard  to  the  honour  of  God  : 
Greek,  Kara  Oeov^  according  to  Oodj  in  the  manner 
God  requires.  That  ye  might  receive — Or  so  that 
ye  received ;  damage  by  us  in  nothing — But  on  the 
contrary,  as  we  intended,  great  benefit,  by  the  seve- 
rity we  were  compelled  to  use.  For  godly  sorrow 
— A  sorrow  for  having  offended  God,  or  sorrowing 
according  to  the  will  of  God ;  worketh  repentance— 
Productive  of  fruit  worthy  of  repentance ;  so  the 
word  fieravota^  rendered  repentance,  implies,  denot- 
mg  3uch  a  change  in  a  person's  mind  or  judgment, 
concerning  some  action,  word,  or  disposition,  as 
produces  a  change  in  his  spirit  and  conduct  for  the 
better  in  time  to  come.  Unto  salvation — Issuing 
in  eternal  salvation ;  not — ^Never  afterward ;  to  be 
repented  of— Or  grieved  for,  as  ofurafuXrjTov  properly 
signifies.  But  the  sorrow  of  the  world— Sorrow 
that  arises  from  worldly  considerations;  worketh 
death — Temporal,  spiritaat,  and  eternal.  For  be- 
940 


yea,    what    vehement   desire^    yea,  a.  m.  4064. 
what  zeal,  yea,  wh€U  revenge  I  In  all   ^  ^*  **** 


things  ye  have  approved  yourselves  to  be  clear 
in  this  matter. 

12  Wherefore,  though  I  wrote  unto  you,  / 
did  it  not  for  his  cause  that  bad  done  the 
wrong,  nor  for  his  cause  ihs^i  sufiered  wrong, 
Pbut  that  our  care  for  you  in  the  sight  of  God 
might  appear  unto  you. 

13  Therefore  we  were  copiforted  in  your 
comfort :  yea,  and  exceedingly  the  more  joyed 
we  for  the  joy  of  Titus,  because  his  spirit 
*^  was  refreshed  by  you  all. 

14  FcHT  if  I  have  boasted  any  thing  to  him 
of  you,  I  am  not  ashamed ;  but  as  we  spake 
all  things  to  you  in  truth,  even  so  our  boasting, 
which  I  made  before  Titxis,  is  found  a  truth. 


»  Provciba  xrii.   22. POhaptor    it   4. 4  Romans  rr. 


fiold  this  self-same  thing — ^As  if  he  had  said,  And  it 
j^pears  that  your  sorrow  was  godly,  by  the  excel- 
lent fruits  and  efiects  thereof;  that  ye  sorrowed  after 
a  godly  sort— In  a  manner  pleasing  to  God ;  wJuU 
carefulness  it  wrought  in  you — Namely,  to  amend 
what  was  amiss;  or  what  diligence^  or  earnestness^ 
as  noatfv  anadnv  rather  signifies,  namely,  diligence 
manifested  in  the  following  particulars.  Some  had 
been  more,  some  less  faulty,  whence  arose  the  vari- 
ous affections  h^re  mentioned.  Hence  their  apolo- 
gizing and  indignation^  with  respect  to  themselves ; 
their  fear  and  desire  with  respect  to  the  apostle ; 
their  zeal  and  revenge  with  respect  to  the  offender: 
yea,  and  themseh'es  also.  What  clearing  your- 
selves—Yrom  either  sharing  In,  or  approving  of  his 
sin;  indignation — That  yc  had  not  immediately 
corrected  the  offender  j  fear — Of  God's  displeasure, 
or  lest  I  should  come  with  a  rod ;  vehement  desire — 
To  see  me  again ;  zeal—Yar  the  glory  of  God,  and 
the  soul  of  that  sinner;  yea^  revenge— Ye  took  a 
kind  of  holy  revenge  upon  yourselves,  being  scarce 
able  to  forgive  yourselves,  /h  all  things  ye — As  a 
church ;  have  approved  yourselves  to  be  pure — That 
is,  free  from  blame,  since  ye  received  my  letter. 
Dr.  Whitby  here  remarks,  "  That  true  repentance 
for  sin  clears  us  from  the  guilt  of  it,  not  only  in  the 
sight  of  God,  but  man ;  so  that  it  is  both  uncharita* 
ble  and  unchristian  to  stigmatize  or  reproach  any 
person  for  the  sin  we  know  or  believe  he  hath  truly 
repented  of." 

Verses  1^16.  Wherefore,  though  T  wrote  so  se- 
verely to  you—\i  was  not  only  or  chiefly  for  the 
sake  of  the  incestuous  person,  or  his  father ;  but  to 
show  my  care  over  you ;  in  the  sightofGod—Yflio 
hath  committed  you  to  me  to  be  instructed  and 
directed.  Therefore  we  were  comforted  in  your 
comfort— Jn  hearing  yon  were  made  happy  by  my 
care  of  you;  and  exceedingly  the  more  for  the  Joy 
ye  gave  to  THtut,  because  ki$  spirit  was  refresJud^ 

b 


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TJU  apoatle  recwMMndt.  Uberdlityy  CHAF^TER  VIIL      from  the  example  of  the  Macedommhs. 


jLM.4064. 
A.D.  60. 


15  And  his   ^inward  aflfocdon    is 
nuure  abundaat  lowajrd  you,  while  be 
Hremembereth '  the  obedience  of  you  all,  how  with 


•Or.  bowels,  CHiap.  ri.  12. rChap.  H.  9 ;  Phil.  ii.  12. 


*Whea  ye  receired  him  with  aflbctioh,  and  read  my 
letter  with  due  mbmiastcm.  If  I  have  boasted  any 
tfcing'— Concerning  you ;  to  him — That  I  was  ^n- 
fideat  the  oonrerts  at  Corinth  would  approve  them- 
seWes  worthy  of  the  esteem  in  which  I  held  them; 
/  am  not  aihamed — Of  that  boasting;  btU  €L8  v>e 
spake  all  things  to  you  in  triM — "When  addressing 
ourselves  to  you ;  so  otir  boasting^Of  you  to  Tftus, 
concerning  your  good  disposition  and  proper  be- 
haviour, has  been  verified  to  our  great  satisfaction, 
ilw^— Or  so  that ;  his  inuard  affection — Greek,  to 
^^Xayx^a  ovr*,  his  bowels^  or  tender  affection;  is 
more  abundant  toward  yow-r-Than  it  had  been  be- 
fore; while  he  remembers  the  obediefice — Of  the 
generality  of  you  to  those  apostolical  injunctions 
which  I  sent  you  by  him ;  how  ye  received  him-^Aa 


fes^  and  trembling  ye  received  him. 
16  I  rejoice  therefim  that  '  I  have 
confidence  in  you  in  all  things. 


A.M.40S4. 
A.  D.  SO. 


•2'rhe88.  iii.  4;  PhQ.  riii.  21, 


my  messenger ;  with  fear  and  trembling^With 
great  solicitude,  that  there  might  be  nothing  in  or 
among  you  which  it  might  grieve  him  to  observe,  or 
me  to  hear  reported.  I  rejoice  therefore  that  your 
behaviour  has  been  such  as  to  give  me  reason  to 
rely  on  your  ready  obedience  in  aH  things.  (Ecu- 
menius  bus  observed,  that  the  i^stle,  in  this  part  of 
his  epistle,  expressed  his  good  opinion  of  the  Co- 
rinthians, and  mentioned  his  having  praised  them  to 
Titus,'  to  prepare  them  for  his  exhortations  in  the 
two  foUowing  chapters  concerning  the  collection 
for  the  saints  in  Judea.  His  address,  -therefore^in 
this  part  of  his  letter  is  admirable,  especially  as,  in 
commending  the  Corinthians,  he  expressed  himself 
quite  agreeably  to  the  good  opinion  which  he  now 
entertained  of  them. 


,  CHAPTER  Vin. 

The  aposde,  tntertng  ok  the  subject  of  Ike  contribution  he  was  setting  forward  for  the  reUefofths  poor  Christians  in  JudeSf 
(1,)  Recommends  this  charity  to  the  Corinthians  from  the  example  of  the  Macedonians,  much  poorer  than  they,  1-8. 
(3,)  From,  the  love  and  grace  of  Christ,  becoming  poor,  and  sujfering  death,  to  enrich  poor  sinners,  9.  (3  J  By  the  wiU- 
ingness  they  had  shown  a  year  before,  and  the  advantage  they  would  reap  from  their  charity,  10-15.  (4,)  From  the  in- 
tegrity and  affection  of  Titus  and  the  two  other  brelkren,  whom  he  Had  sent  to  further  it,  16-24. 

2  How  that  in  a  great  trial    of  a.  M.  4064. 
affiction,  the  abundance  of  their  joy,  — '^ — 


A.  M.  4064.  TyrOREOVER,    brethren,    we   do 

'- — '-  you  to   wit  of  the   grace   of 

God  bestowed  on  the  chivches  of  Macedo- 
nia; 


«Mark3di.44. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTEH  VIII. 

Verses  1, 2.  Moreover,  brethren,  we  do  you  to  wit 
^-Vvapi^oftev,  we  make  known  to  you;  the  grace  of 
Chd-^TbA  great  degree  of  grace  conferred  by  God ; 
on  the  churches  o/Macedonta— Namely,  of  Philippi, 
Thessalonicai  Beraea,  and  other  places  in  this  pro- 
vince; which  grace  has  induced  them  to  exert 
themselves  in  a  most  liberal  and  generous  contribu- 
tion for  the  relief  of  the  poor  saints  in  Judea.  It 
appears  that  the  directions  which  the  apostle,  in 
his  former  letter,  gave  to  the  Corinthians  concern- 
ing the  collection  to  be  made  for  the  saints  in  Judea, 
had  not  been  fully  complied  with.  At  the  persua- 
sion of  Titus,  indeed,  they  had  begun  that  collection; 
but  they  had  not  finished  it  when  he  left  Corinth, 
owing  perhaps  to  the  opposition  made  by  the  fac- 
tion, or  to  the  disturbances  which  the  faction  had 
raised  in  that  church.  Wherefore,  to  stir  up  the 
sincere  among  the  Corinthians,  to  finbh  what  they 
had  80  Well  begun,  die  apostle  in  this  chapter  sets  be- 
fore them  the  example  of  the  Macedonian  churches; 

Vol.  II.  (  16  ) 


and  '^  their  deep  poverty,  abounded  unto  the 
riches  of  their.  *  liberality. 


*  Or.  nmplicUy,  Chop.  iz.  11. 


who,  notwithstandbig  their  great  poverty,  had  con- 
tributed beyond  their  ability,  being  inclined  to  thai 
good  work  by  an  extraordinary  measure  of  divine 
grace  conferred  upon  them.  How  that  in  a  greet 
trial  of  q^tctum— Amidst  great  sufferings,  whicfc 
they  met  with  from  their  persecuting  enemies^  i^ 
ways  ready  to  harass  and  plunder  &em.  8ee  Acts 
xvi.  16,  &c. ;  xvii.  6,  &c.|  1  Thess.  ii.  14.  The  tdnm- 
dance  of  their  ^o^— Arising  from  the  doctrines  and 
promises  of  the  gospel,  and  from  the  gifts  and  graces 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  their' deep  poverty— ^Thsi  Is, 
amidst  their  deep  poverty ;  abounded  unto — Or  bath 
overflowed  In ;  the  rubies  of  their  liberality-^-Bo 
that,  indigent  as  they  are,  they  have  done  far  beyond 
what  could  have  been  reasonaibly  expected  for  the 
relief  of  their  yet  poorer  brethren.  By  jnentioning 
the  poverty  of  the  Macedonian  Christians  as  the 
circumstance  which  enhanced  their  liberality,  the 
apostle,  in  a  very  delicate  manner,  intimated  to  the 
Corinthians,  who  were  an  opulent  people,  (I  Cot. 
iv.  8,)  that  it  was  their  duty  to  equaO,  if  not  exeead 
Ml  b 


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Pmd  recommends  mutual  love, 


II.  CORINTHIANS 


after  the  example  of  CkrxH* 


A.  M.  4064.    3  For  to  Meir  power  I  bear  record, 
^^'^    yea,  and  beyond  ti^r  yowet^they 
were  willing  of  tbemeel ves ; 

4  Praying  us  with  mach  entreaty,  that  we 
would  receive  the  gift,  and  take  upon  t«  **  the 
fellowsbip  of  the  ministering  to  the  saints. 

5  And  this  they  did,  not  as  we  hoped,  but 
Jirst  gave  their  own  selves  to  "the  Lord,  and 
unto  us  by  the  will  of  Gbd : 

6  Insomuph  that  ®  we  desired  Titiis,  that  as 
he  \aA  begun,  so  he  would  also  finish  in  you 
the  same  '  grace  also. 


k  Act3  xi.  29;  xxiv.  17;  Rom.  xr.  25,  26;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  3,  4 ; 
diap.  ix.  1. o  Verse  17 ;  Chap.  xii.  la »  Or,  gift,  vctms 


theMacedonia!is,inthegreatne88oftheirgift.  From 
I  Tbess.  ii.  14,  it  appears  that  the  Christians  in  Thes- 
aalomca  had  been  spoiled  of  their  goods.  So  also-it 
is  probable  the  Ber«ans  had  been,  Acts  xvii.  18.  In 
placeaof  lesser  note  the  disciples  may  have  been  few 
in  number,  and  not  opulent. 

Verses  3-6.  For  to  their  power,  &c.— According 
to  their  ability,  yea,  and  beyond  their  ability;  they 
were  wiUxng  of  themselves— Vf\i\iO\xi  our  soliciting 
them.  This,  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  is  no 
hyperbole,  but  an  animated  expression,  strongly 
descriptive  of  the  generosity  of  the  Macedonians. 
They  were  willing  to  give  more  than  they  were  well 
able,  considering  the  distresses  under  which  they 
themselves  laboured.  Praying  us  with  much  en- 
treo^y— Probably  St  Paul  had  lovingly  admonished 
them  not  to  do  beyond  their  power;  thai  we  would 
receive  the  g^yi— Which  their  bounty  had  prepared, 
and  take  a  part  in  ministering  it  to  the  saints.  And 
this  they  diet,  not  as  we  hoped—Thdii  is,  beyond  all 
we  could  have  hoped ;  B.nd  Jlrst  gave  their  oum  selves, 
and  all  they  had,  to  the  Lord — To  his  honour  and 
service ;  and  unto  u^—Resigned  themselves  to  us ; 
by  the  will  of  Ood— In  obedience  to  his  will,  to  be 
jrbsfQy  directed  by  us;  that  is,  to  do  what  we  should 
thfaik  most  advisable  in  present  circumstances. 

Verses  6-8.  Insomuch  that—Seemg  this  forward- 
ness In  them;  we  desired  Titus,  thai  as  he  had 
6«gtm— When  he  was  with  you  before ;  so  he  would 
also  now  finish  among  you  the  same  grace—ThBi  is, 
fruit  of  grace,  or  charity;  also.  Therefore,  as  ye 
abound  in  every  thing—In  all  other  gifts  and  at- 
tainments; in  faith — A  fiill  assurance  of  the  truth 
>0f  the  gospel;  and  utterance— In  eloquence,  or 
ability  to  speak  a  yariety  of  languages ;  and  know- 
Udge—0(  divine  things ;  emd  in  all  diligence — In 
perfoftning  every  Christian  duty ;  and  in  your  love 
to  tie — To  me  your  spiritual  father;  see  that  ye 
ii6ofmc2— Or  I  pray  that  you  would  abound ;  in  this 
grace  of  Christian  Hberality  also,  I  speak  not  by 
ammandment^-4)T  by  way  of  injunction,  because 
works  of  charity  ought  to  be  voluntary ;  but  by  oc- 
casion of  the  forw^rdtuss  of  others— \  recommend 
It  <m  account  of  tbe  diligence  (^«a  tik  tnrsdpc^  through 
Jke  meal)  of  the  Maeedomans^  Which  I  vriA  you  to 
9tt 


7  Therefore,  as  **  ye  abound  in  every  a.  m.  4064. 
thinffj  in  fipdth,  and  utleraoce,  and  --1-.I — 1 
knowledge,  and  in  idl  diligence,  and  in  your 
loye  to  us,  see  *  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace 
also. 

8  'I  speak  not  by  conunandment,  but  by 
occasion  of  the  forwaidnefla  of  others,  and  to 
prove  the  sincerity  of  your  love. 

9  For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  ^  that  though  he  wais  rich,  yet  for  your 
sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his 
poverty  might  be  rich. 


4, 19. A 1  Cor.  i.  5 ;  xii.  13. «  Chap.  ix.  8.- 

sMatt.  viii.  20 ;  Luke  iz.  58 ;  Phil.  ii.  G,  7. 


f  1  Cor.  rii.  S. 


imitate;  and  to  prove  the  sincerity — To  yvtfmov,  the 
sincere  thing,  or  the  genuine  sincerity ;  of  your  love 
— To  God,  to  your  brethren,  and  to  me. 

Verse  9,  F&r  yeknow—And  this  knowledge  is  the 
true  source  of  love ;  the  grace — The  most  sincere^ 
most  free,  and  most  abundant  love ;  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  thai  though  he  was  nc/i— (1st,)  In  the 
glories  of  the  divine  nature,  for,  (John  i.  1,)  the  Word 
was  God,  and  subsisted  in  the  form  of  God,  (Phil, 
ii.  6,)  in  the  most  perfect  and  indissoluble  union  with 
his  eternal  Father,  with  whom  he  had  glory  before 
the  world  was,  John  xViL  5 ;  and  by  whom  he  was 
beloved,  as  the  only-begotten  Son,  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,  verse  24.  (2d,)  In  the  possession 
of  the  whole  creation  of  €rod,  which,  as  it  was  made 
by  him,  (John  i.  8,)  so  was  made  for  him,  (CoLi.  16,) 
and  he  was  the  heir  and  owner  of  it  all,  Heb.  i.  2. 
(3d,)  In  dominion  over  all  creatures;  he  thai  cometh 
from  above,  (said  the  Baptist,  John  iii.  31,)  is  above 
all;  Lord  of  all,  Actsx.  36;  over  all,  God  blessed 
for  ever,  Rom.  ix.  5.  All  things  being  upheld  were 
also  governed  by  him.  Col.  i.  17;  Heb.  L  8.  (4th,) 
In  receiving  glory  from  them  all ;  all  creatures  being 
made,  upheld,  and  governed  by  him,  manifested  the 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  the  holiness,  Justice, 
and  grace  of  him,  their  great  and  glorious  Creator, 
Preserver,  and  Ruler.  (5lh,)  In  receiving  adora- 
tion and  praise  from  the  intelligent  pan  of  the 
creation,  Psa.  xcvii.  7;  Heb.  i.  6. 

For  your  sokes  he  became  |»or— Namely,  in  his 
incarnation:  not,  observe,  in  <;easii)g  to  be  what  he 
was,  the  Wisdom,  Word,  and  Son  of  God,  and  God, 
in  union  with  his  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but 
in  becoming  what  before  he  was  not,  namely,  man; 
in  assuming  the  human  nature  into  an  indissoluble 
and  eitemal  union  with  the  divine,  John  i.  14;  Heb. 
ii.  14,  16.  In  doing  this  he  became  poor,  1st,  In 
putting  off  the  form  of  God,  and  taking  the  form  oi 
a  servant,  appearing  no  longer  as  the  Creator,  but 
as  a  creature,  veiling  his  perfections  with  our  f  esh, 
and  concealing  his  glories  from  human  eyes.  2d,  In 
taking  the  form  of  a  mean  creature,  not  of  an  arch- 
angel or  angol,  (Heb.  ii.  16,)  but  of  a  man;  &  crea- 
ture formed  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  in 
consequence  of  shi  rettmiing  to  it ;  and  becomhig  a 
(  16*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  Vni. 


of^tU  recamiHetkU  Uberalitf, 


^K.\40M.    10  And  hcawia  ^  I  givo  my  advice: 

,^ — ^ be  'thk  |9  ezpedieot  for  you,  who 

liaye  b^gun  before,  not  only  to  do,  but  ako  to 
he  ^forward  ^  a  year  ago. 

11  Now  therefore  perform  the  doing  of  it; 
ibat  aei  there  was  a  readineas  to  will,  so  there 
nuny  he  a  performance  alao  out  of  tluit  which 
ye  haye. 


^1  Cor.Tn.35. AProT.ziz.i7:  Matt  z.  42;  1  Tia.  tL  18, 

19;  Heb.nu.16. 

servant  to  the  meanest  of  them.  /  am  among  you, 
(said  he;)  ftHM>ng  whom^— Among  princes?  No; 
hat  among  fisl^eniien ;  a#  Oftel&o/ terret^  3d,  In 
taking  the  form  even  of  a  sinful  creature,  being 
made  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  Rom.  viii.  3. 
For,  though  without  sin,  he  appeared  as  a  smner, 
and  was  treated  as  such.  And  this  liken^s  he  as- 
sumed, 4th,  Not  in  a  state  of  wealth,  and  honour,  and 
felicity,  but  in  a  state  of  extreme  poverty,  and  in- 
famy, and  suffering.  5th,  In  this  state  our  sins  and 
sorrows  were  imputed  to  him,  and  laid  upop  him, 
and  his  honour,  his  liberty,  and  his  life,  were  taken 
away,  in  ignominy  and  torture. 

That  ye  tknmgh  his  poverty  might  he  made  rich 
—It  i»  implied  here  that  we  were  poor,  and  could 
not  otherwise  be  made  rich,  but  may  in  this  way. 
When  man  was  first  £(Mrmed,  he  was  rich  in  the  pos- 
session of  God,  and  of  this  whole  visible  creation. 
Ist,  In  the  favour  and  friendship,  the  protection,  care, 
and  bounty  of  his  Creator;  in  the  knowledge,  love, 
and  enjoyment  of  him.  All  this  was  lost  by  the  faU. 
Man  became  ignorant,  sinful,  guilty,  and  a  child  of 
wradi,  Eph*  iL  3;  deprived  of  the  favour,  exposed 
to  the  displeasure  of  his  God,  and  subjected  to  the 
tyranny  of  his  lusts  and  passions,  and  of  the  powers 
of  darkness.  2d,  When  first  made,  man  was  Uie 
lord  of  this  lower  world ;  all  things  on  this  earth 
being  put  under  his  feet,  and  made  subservient  to  his 
happiness.  This  is  not  the  case  now.  The  creature 
was  made  subject  to  vanity,  and  does  not  satisfy  or 
make  him  happy  while  he  has  it,  and  is  constantly 
liable  to  be  torn  from  him,  and  in  the  end  he  is  cer- 
tainly stripped  of  alL  3d,  Man  has  even  lost  him- 
self) he  is^so  poor  as  not  to  retain  possession  of  his 
health,  or  strength,  or  body,  or  souL  He  has  con- 
tracted an  immense  debt,  and  is  liable  to  be  himself 
arrested  and  thrown  into  the  prison  of  eternal  de- 
stmction.  His  body  is  due  to  sickness,  pain,  and 
death;  and  his  soul  to  the  wrath  of  God,  and  is  ha- 
Ue  to  be  seized  by  Satan,  the  executioner  of  the 
divine  wrath.  Such  is  our  natural  poverty !  Hav- 
ing forfeited  all,  we  have  nothing  left,  neither  the 
Chreator  nor  his  cceatures,  nor  even  ourselves.  But 
the  Son  of  God  came,  that,  having  assumed  our  na- 
ture, taken  our  sins  and  suisferings,  and  paid  our  for- 
feit, we  might  yet  be  rich.  1st,  In  the  favour  of  God, 
mad  all  the  blessed  effects  thereof^  in  time  and  in 
eternity.  2d,  In  being  adopted  into  his  family,  bom 
df  his  Spirit,  and  constituted  his  children  and  his 
heirs,  id,  In  being  restored  to  his  image,  and  en- 
dned  with  the  gifia  and  graces  of  his  Spirit  4th^  In 
b 


12  For  >if  there  be  first  a  willing  A m. 4064. 
mind,  it  is  accepted  accoiding  to  that    ^^'^' 
a  man  hath,  and  not  according  to  that  be 
bathnot. 

13  F(»r  I  mean  not  that  other  men  be  eased, 
and  you  burdened  : 

14  But  by  an  equality,  that  now  at  thk  time 
your  abundance  may  be  a  supply  for  thehr 


*C^.  wiOmg,' 


kChap.  ix.  %,— 
zxi. 


^Mirk  xiL  43,  44;  Lokt 


being  admitted  to  an  inlimate  union  and  fellowsh^ 
with  him.  5th,  In  having  the  use  of  God's  creature* 
restored  to  us,  blessed  and  sanctified,  even  all  things 
needful  for  life  as  well  as  godliness.  6th,  In  being 
unspeakably  happy  with  Jesus  in  paradise,  in  the 
intermediate  state  between  death  and  judgment 
7th,  In  having  our  bodies  restored,  ^and  conformed 
to  Christ's  glorious  body,  at  his  second  coming.  8th, 
In  being  associated  with  all  the  company  of  heaven 
in  the  new  world  which  the  Lord  will  make,  ad- 
mitted to  the  vision  and  enjo3rment  of  God,  and  the 
possession  of  all  things,  Rev.  xxi.  7 ; — riches,  hon- 
our, and  felicity,  unsearchable  in  degree,  and  eternal 
in  duration!  And  aU  this  yre  have  through  his 
poverty,  through  his  incarnation,  life,  death,  his  re- 
surrecticm,  ascension,  and  intercession;  whereby,^ 
having  expiated  sin,  and  abolished  death,  he  hath 
obtained  all  these  unspeakable  blessings  for  such  as 
will  accept  of  them  in  the  way  which  he  hath  pre- 
scribed ;  which  is,  that  we  ackpowledge  our  poverty 
in  true  repentance  and  humiliation  of  soul  before 
God,  and  accept  of  these  unsearchable  riches  in 
faith,  gratitude,  love,  and  new  obedience. 

Verses  10-12.  And  hereinr—lnihis  matter j  I  give 
my  advice-^TlULi  to  finish  yoiur  collection  imme- 
diately is  for  your  reputation,  who  have  formerly 
begun,  not  only  to  make  the  collection,  but  also  to 
manifest  a  remarkable  willingness;  even  a  year 
ago — When  Titus  was  with  you.  NoWy  therefore^ 
perfai-my  &c. — Speedily  finish  thebusiness,  agreeably 
to  your  former  resolution;  Viat  as  there  was  a 
recuiiness  to  vnllr— And  undertake  this  charitably 
work ;  so  there  may  be  a  performance,  &c.— Or  a 
readiness  to  finish ;  out  o/— Or  according  to,  your 
ability,  be  it  never  so  little.  ^  For  if  there  be  fist  a 
willing  mindr^A  sincere  readiness  in  any  man  to 
act  according  to  his  ability;  t7— Or  he  rather;  t^ 
evTrpoffdiKTo^,  well  accepted-rOt  God ;  a  little,  in  pro- 
portion to  his  abilities,  is  pleasing  to  God.  If  a  per- 
son, being  a  true  believer  m  Christ,  and  a  lover  of 
God  and  his  people,  act  in  any  thing  according  to 
the  best  light  he  has,  and  with  a  single  eye  to  God's 
glory,  his  work,  or  his  gift,  be  it  ever  so  small,  is 
graciously  accepted  of  God.  This  rule  holds  uni- 
versally :  and  whoever  acknowledges  himself  to  be 
a  vile,  guilty  sinner,  and,  in  consequence  of  this  ac- 
knowledgment, flees  for  refuge  to  the  wounds  of  a 
crucified  Saviour,  and  relies  on  his  merits  alone  fot 
salvation,  may,  in  every  circumstance  of  life,  apply 
this  indulgent  declaration  to  himself. 

Verses  13-15.  I  mean  not  that  othisr  wen— Those 
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11.  CORINTHIANS. 


TiUiS  €tnd  ktsfeHovhlmb&urerf^ 


A.  M.  4064.  want,  that  their  abundance  aldo  may 
^    — L  be  a  supply  fca:  your  want:   that 

there  may  be  equality : 
16  As  it  is  wri^en,  ^"Bsi  thsX  had ga,thered 

much  had  nothing  over;   and  he  that  had 

gathered  little  had  no  lack. 

16  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  put  the 
«ame  earnest  care  into  the  heart  of  Titus  for 
you. 

17  F(H:  indeed  he  accepted  *  the  exhortatioii ; 
but  being  more  forward,  of  his  own  acc<M-d  he 
went  unto  you. 

18  And  we  have  sent  with  him  ®  the  brother, 
whose  praise  i9  in  the  gospel  throughout  all 
the  churches ; 

19  And  not  thcU  only,  but  who  was  also 


»E^od.  xri.  18.- — »Ver8c  6. •Chap.  x\\.  18.    '    Pi  Cor. 

xvi.  3,  4. ^  Or,  gifty  Yenes  4, 6,  7 ;  Chap.  u.  8. 


who  are  now  in  want;  ediould  he  eased — ^Plentifully 
supplied;  and  ye  be  frttrrfened—Straitened  to  relieve 
them ;  that  is,  that  ease  should  be  to  the  brethren  in 
Judea,  through  distress  to  you.  But  by  (ef,  on  ac- 
count of)  an  equality— Thai  a  distribution  should 
be  made  according  to  their  necessity  and  your  abil- 
ity ;  that  at  the  present  time  your  abundance  may 
be  a  supply  for  the  wants  of  the  brethren  in  Judea, 
and  that  at  another  time,  if  God,  in  the  course  of  his 
providence,  should  hereaAer  change  your  condi- 
tions, and  you  should  stand  in  need  of  it ;  their 
eAundance  may  be  a  supply  for  your  wants,  so  as 
that  there  may  be  an  equality— ^ThaX  there  may  be 
no  want  on  the  one  side,  nor  superfluity  on  the 
other.  The  words  may  likewise  have  a  further 
meaning:  that  as  the  temporal  bounty  of  the  Corin- 
thians supplied  the  temporal  wants  of  their  poor 
brethren  in  Judea,  so  the  prayers  of  these  might  be 
a  means  of  bringing  down  many  spiritual  blessings 
on  th^ir  benefactors.  So  that  all  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  one  might  be  amply  supplied ;  all  the  temporal 
of  the  other.  As  it  is  loritten — As  it  was  in  the  gather- 
ing of  the  manna;  He  that  gathered  much  had  no- 
thinff  over,  &c. — Had  only  his  proportion.  For  what 
any  person  gathered  more  than  a  homer,  was  put 
into  a  common  stock,  to  make  up  that  quantity  to 
the  aged  and  infirm,  whc^  gathered  little. 

Verses  16-22.  But  thanks  be  to  6ro<l— But  while  I 
speak  of  this  collection  which  I  am  desirous  of  pro- 
moting, I  would  express  my  gratitude  to  God,  ir^ 
piU  the  same,  earnest  care — Which  I  have ;  into  the 
heart  of  Titus  for  you — Namely,  to  promote  this 
work  among  you.  For  he  accepted  the  exhortation 
— Complied  with  my  desire  to  promote  and  perfect 
this  work ;  being  forward— To  undertake  it  j  of  his 
own  accord — ^Yea,  before  he  was  spoken  to.  And 
we — I  and  Timothy ;  have  sent  xoith  him  the  brother 
— ^The  ancients  generally  supposed  this  was  St 
Luke;  lo^^e  praise— FOr  faithfully  dispensing  the 
gospel;  is  throughout  cU  the  diurc/^eff— Macknight 


i^ chosen  of  the  diurches  to  travel  am. 
with  us  wMi  this  ♦grace,  which  fa  — U — 
administered  by  us  ^  to  the  glory  of  die 
same  Lord,  and  declaration  of  your  ready 
mmd: 

20  Avoiding  this,  that  no  man  should  blame 
us  in  this  abimdance  whidb  is  adminislerad 
by  us : 

21  'Providing  for  lumest  thingB,  not  only  ia 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  but  also  in  the  sight  of 
men. 

22  And  we  have  sent  with  them  our  brother, 
whom  we  have  oftentimes  proved /liligent  in 
many  things,  but  now  much  more  diligent, 
upon  the  great  confidence  which  ^  I  have  in 
you. 


1  Chap.  ir.  15.- 


'Rom.  xii.  17;   Plul.  ir.  S;  1  Pel.iL  12. 
*  Or,  he  hath. 


interprets  the  clause,  "  whose  praise,  on  account  of 
the  gospel  which  he  hath  written,  is  great,  through- 
out all  the  churches  of  Christ  in  these  paits.^  And 
not  thai  only—^oX  only  is  he  so  much  esteemed  on 
these  accounts,  but  he  wets  also  chosen — Ordained 
and  appointed ;  of  the  churches— Whom  we  consulted 
on  this  occasion,  particularly  of  Macedonia ;  to  travti 
with  us — To  accompany  me  to  Jerusalem ;  with  this 
grace-r-This  fruit  of  grace,  this  contribution ;  which 
is  administered,  Ac.— Which  I  have  been  the  instru- 
ment of  procuring;  to  the  glory  of  the  same  Lord 
Jesus,  and  the  declaration  of  your  ready  mind — 
Your  readiness  to  do  works  of  charity  to  the  saints. 
This  is  the  second  character  of  the  person  who  was 
sent  by  the  apostle  with  Titus  to  Corinth.  He  was 
chosen  by  the  churches  of  Macedonia  to  accompany 
Paul  to  Jerusalem,  to  witness  his  delivering  their 
gilt.  This  character,  likewise,  agrees  very  well  to 
Luke.  For  having  resided  long  at  Philippi,  he  was 
well  known  to  the  Macedonian  churches,  who,  by 
making  him  their  messenger  to  Judea,  showed  their 
great  respect  for  him.  Avoiding  this— Taking  CKte 
of  this ;  that  no  man  should  blame  ti^— Charge  me 
with  any  undue  partial  dealing,  or  as  being  unfaith- 
ful ;  in  this  abundance — This  large  collection,  tbe 
managementof  which  is  intrusted  with  us.  Providing 
for  honest,  or  honourable  things,  not  only  in  the  sigJu 
of  the  Lord— To  whom  it  is  and  ought  to  be  our 
first  and  chief  care  to  approve  ourselves ;  but  also 
in  the  sight  of  men — From  whose  minds  I  wbh  to 
remove  every  suspicion  which  might  hinder  my  use- 
fulness. And  we  have  sent  with  them — That  is,  with 
Titus  and  Luke ;  our  brother — Probably  Apollos ; 
wJiom  we  JMve  oftentimes  proved  diligent  in  many 
other  af^irs,  but  now  much  more — In  his  endeavofura 
to  promote  the  collection  among  you ;  upon  the  great 
confidence,  &c;— That  ii^  I  have  sent  him  with  them 
upon  the  great  confidence  which  I  have  as  to  your 
goodness  and  liberality.  Or,  connecting  the  clause 
with  the  words  immediately  preceding,  the  senseis, 

b 


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CHAPT^BRIX. 


7\tHi  and  hU  feUoxo-iahawrtn. 


1.M.4M4. 

A.D.  60. 


23  Whether  any  do  inquire  of 
Titus,  he  is  my  partus  and  feUow- 
be^ier  concemiog  you ;  or  our  brethren  he  in- 
fuired  ^  they  are  'the  messengers  of  the 

•  Pha.  u.  26* 


tint  tiie  brother  spoken  of  was  mnch  more  ready 
to  eome  to  Ck>rintli,  and  active  in  his  endeavours  to 
forward  the  collection,  upon  the  great  confidence 
which  he  had  in  the  good  disposition  of  the  Co- 
rhitluans  to  the  work. 

Verses  23^  24  Whether  any  inqtdrej  &c. — ^As  if 
he  had  said,  If  any  be  not  yet  satisfied,  but  desire  to 
know  more  of  those  persons,  and  inquire  concern- 
ing TYftw,  he  is  my  partner-An  my  cares  and  la- 
bours ;  and  feUow-Jielper  eonceming  you — Always 
ready  to  act  in  concert  with  me  in  any  attempt  to 
c<nrFect  what  is  amiss  among  you,  and  to  promote 
your  improvement  in  real  Christianity.  Or  the 
meaning  may  be,  He  is  my  fellow-labourer  with  re- 
spect to  you,  having  assisted  me  in  planting  the  gos- 
ple  among  you.  If  it  be  inquired  concerning  our 
other  brethreriy  whom  I  have  mentioned  above,  and 
who  accompany  Titns^  they  are  the  messengers  of 
the  churches— Venom  sent  by  the  churches  to  go 


churches,  asui  the  glory  of  Christ  a.  M.  4064 
24  Wherefiire  show  ye  to  them,  and      '    — L 
before  the  churches,  the  pro(rf  of  your  love, 
and  of  our  *  boastmg  on  your  behalf. 


»Cliap.viS.  14;  ix.  2. 


with  me  to  Jerusalem;  and  the  glory  of  Christ — 
Signal  instruments  of  advancing  his  glory.  '^  The 
apostle's  example  in  domg  justice  to  the  characters 
of  his  younger  fellow-labourers,  is  highly  worthy  of 
the  imitation  o(  the  more  aged  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel They  ought  to  mtroduce  theur  younger  breth^ 
ren  to  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people,  by 
giving  the  praise  which  is  due  to  them.  For, 
as  Doddridge  observes,  they  win  most  effectually 
strengthen  their  own  hands  and  edify  the  chur<^ 
by  being  instrumental  in  setting  forward  others, 
who,  on  account  of  (heir  faithfulness  and  diligence 
in  the  ministry,  will  in  time  merit  the  illustrious 
appellation  of  being  the  glory  of  Christ,^^ — Mac- 
knight  Wherefore  show  before  the  churches — 
Present  by  their  messengers ;  the  proof  of  your 
love  to  me  and  the  saints— That  is,  an  evidence  that 
it  is  sincere ;  and  of  our  boasting  on  your  behalf^ 
That  it  was  not  without  foundation 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TV  opotiUy  proeseding,  taitk  gitat  sddress,  further  to  urge  tkeir  contributing  Uierally  to  the  propaeed  colUetion,  (1,)  Sktfws 
the  CorimkumM  wkyhehsdeent  TUue  undkietvfo  brethren  to  promote  His  completing  of  it,  1-6.  (3,)  DirecU  und  <»- 
eomngee  ikem  to  giSe  bauut^uUy^  deHbersUiy,  ond  cheerfiUly,  6-14.  {9,)SolemnbftksMkeCMJorgioing  ue  Ckriet,  and 
stt  bUosings  in  kim,  15. 

«  for  which  I  boast  of  you  to  them  of  A.  M.  4064. 
Macedonia,  that  *  Achaia  was  ready  — — '- — 
a  year  ago;  and  your  zeal  hath  provoked  very 
many. 


A.  M.  4064.  "pOR  as  touching  *  the  ministering 

1—1        to  the  saintS)  it  is  superfluous  for 

me  to  write  to  you : 
2  For  I  know  ^the  forwardness  of  your  mind, 


*  Aeta  ri.  29 ;  Rom.  xr.  26 ;  I  Cor.  xvi.  1 ;  Chap.  viii.  4 ;  Gal. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IX. 
Verses  1,  S.  A«  touching  the  ministering  to  the 
«atn<«— Contributing  to  thehr  relief,  see  on  Rom. 
XV.  26;  ir  if  superjlmoiis  for  me  to  write — More 
largely  and  particularly.  For  I  know — Rather,  ^fe 
icnown,  in  former  instances,  and  have  now  again 
learned  from  Titus;  the  forwardness  of  your  mind 
—Your  readiness  to  nsist  in  this  good  work;  /or 
which  J  bo<Mst  of  you  to  them  of  Macedonia — To  the 
Christians  in  that  province,  with  whom  he  then  was ; 
thai  Aetata— Whereof  Corinth  was  the  chief  city; 
weu  ready— Was  prepared ;  a  year  ago-^r  since 
the  last  yeoTy  as  uv  icepvot  property  signifies.  ^  So 
the  apostle  thought  when  he  boasted  of  the  Corinth- 
tais  to  the  Maeedontanfl.  For  in  his  former  letter, 
h 


if.  10. b  Chap.  viii.  19. "Cbap.  viii.  24. *Chap.  viii.  ]0. 


which  was  written  in. the  end  of  the  preceding  year, 
he  had  exhorted  them  to  make  the  collection,  and 
had  given  it  in  charge  to  Titus,  who  carried  that  let- 
ter, to  encourage  them  in  the  work.  Besides,  the 
Corinthians  having  expressed  the  greatest  respect 
for  the  apostle  in  the  letter  which  they  sent  to  him, 
and  the  messengers,  who  brought  him  that  letter, 
having  assured  him  of  their  disposition  to  obey 
him  in  every  thing,  he  did  not  doubt  of  their 
having  complied  with  his  request.  And  there- 
fore, when  he  went  into  Macedonia  the  following 
spring,  after  pentecost,  he  told  the  Macedonian 
churches  that  Achaia  was  prepared  since  the  end 
of  the  last  year,  firmly  believing  that  it  was  so.'^— 
Blacknight. 

245 


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The  apostle  exhorU  the  CoHnihians       II.  COBINTHIANS.  to  give  bowUifiiUy  and  dkeerfiOif. 


A.  M.  4064.    3  *Yet  have  I  sent  the  brethren, 

^'  '  lest  ow  boastingof  yon  should  be  in 
vain  in  this  behalf;  that,  sia  I  said,  ye  may  be 
ready : 

4  Lest  haply  if  they  of  Msu^edonia  come  with 
me,  and  find  you  unprepared,  we  (that  we  say 
not,  ye)  should  be  ashamed  in  this  same  con- 
fident boasting. 

6  Therefore  I  thought  it  necessary  to  exhort 
the  brethren,  that  they  Would  go  before  unto 
you,  and  make  up  beforehand  your  ^  bounty, 
*  whereof  ye  had  notice  before,  that  the  same 
might  be  ready,  as  n  matter  of  bounty,  and 
not  as  of  covetousness. 

6  ^But  this  I  say,  He  which  soweth  sparing- 
ly, shall  reap  also  sparingly;  and  he  whidi 
soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  also  bounti- 
fiiUy. 


•Chapter  yiii.  6,  17,  18,  22.-^-^ Greek,  bUstingf  Genesis 

xxxiii.  II ;  1  Sam.  xxr.  27 ;  2  Kinn  r.  15. *  Or,  wMch  hath 

been  to  much  spoken  of  before. '  Prov.  xi.  94  ;  xix.  17 ;  xxii. 

0 ;  Gal.  vL  7,  9. r  Deut.  xv.  7. — ^>>Exod.  xxt.,2;  xxxv.  6 ; 


Verses  3-7.  Yet  have  I  sent  the  brethren— Above 
mentu  aed  before  me ;  lest  our  boasting  of  you 
sJiould  be  in  vain — Lest  you  should  be  found  unpre- 
pared. To  make  up  beforehand — To  complete  be- 
fore my  arrival;  your  bounty — Or  gift;  whereof 
ye  had  notice  before— -Qreek,  rnv  irpoKartfyyeXfi^vv, 
spoken  of  before,  namely,  by  me  to  the  Macedo- 
nians. Or,  as  some  understand  the  expression, 
formerly  announced  to  the  saints  in  Judea.  That 
the  same  might  be  ready — When  I  come;  as  a 
bowity'-OT  free  gift,  willingly  bestowed ;  and  not 
as  of  covetousness — A  thing  extorted,  or  wrung  by 
importunity  from  coretous  persons.  But  this  I  say 
— This  I  wish  you  to  keep  in  mind  as  an  important 
declaration ;  He  who  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap 
sparingly,  &c. — A  general  rule :  God  will  propor- 
tion the  reward  to  the  work,  and  the  temper  whence 
it  proceeds.  Every  man  as  he  purposeth,  &c.— As 
he  finds  himself  inclined  from  his  own  bountiful  dis- 
position, and  not  as  being  constrained  thereto  b^  me 
or  any  other  ;not  grudgingly — Ejc  ^wrjfcfrom  grief, 
as  if  he  were  sorry  to  part  with  his  money;  or  of 
necessity — ^Because  he  is  ashamed  to  reAise.  Por- 
ta matters  of  charity ;  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver 
— ^or  can  that  be  acceptable  to  him  which  is  given 
with  reluctance  and  by  constraint. 

Verses  8,  9.  And  God  is  able,  &fc.— The  contents 
of  thi^  verse  are  very  remarkable;  each  expression 
is  loaded  with  matter,  which  increases  as  the  sen- 
tence proceeds ;  God  is  able  to  make— And  will 
make,  see  on  Rom.  iv.  21;  a«  ^race—Every  kind 
of  blessing,  as  the  word  here  appears  to  signify ;  to 
abound  toward  you — And  to  supply  you  abundantly 
with  the  means  of  liberality ;  thai  ye,  ahvays  having 
aH  sufficimcy — Enougb  to  enable  you  to  relieve 
others  in  then*  necessities ;  in  all  things— *rhhi  he 
sees  good  for  you;  may  ahoundto  every  goodisork 
946 


7  Every  man  according  as  he  pur-  AM.4d64. 

poseth  in  his  hearty  so  let  him  give;  '^' 

'notgrudgingiy,  or  of  necessity:   for   ^  God 
loveth  a  cheerful  giver. 

8  '  And  God  i«  able  to  make  an  grace  abound 
toward  you ;  that  ye,  always  having  all  suffi- 
ciency in  all  /Aing'^,  may  abound  to  eyery  good 
work: 

9  (As  it  is  written,  ^  He  hath  dispersed  abroad ; 
he  hath  given  to  the  poof:  his  righteousness 
remaineth  for  ever. 

10  Now,  he  that  ^ministereth  seed  to  the 
sower,  both  minister  bread  for  your  food,  and 
multiply  your  seed  sown,  and  increase  the  fruits 
of  your  "  righteousness ;) 

11  Being  enriched  in  every  thing  to  all  ^boim- 
tifulness,  ^  which  °  causeth  through  us  thanks- 
giving to  God. 


PnoT.  xi.  26 :  Eccles.  xxxv.  9, 10  ;  Rom.  xii.  8 ;  Chap.  Tiii.  12. 

*  Proverbs  xi.  24, 25 ;  xxviii.  27 ;  PhiL  ir.  Id. ^  pg,.  cxii. 

9. 1  isa,  Ir.  10. »  Ho8.  x.  12 ;   Matt.  vL  1. »  Or,  Hber- 

aiity. ^*Or.  ew^icUy,  Chap.  riii.  2. 'Gbap,  i.  11 ;  ir.  15. 


— That  ye  may  go  on  with  new  enlargement  and 
vigour  in  doing  every  good  in  your  power,  without 
finding  your  circumstances  straitened.  God  con- 
fers his  gifts  upon  us  that  we  may  do  good  there- 
with, and  so  may  receive  still  greater  blessings.  All 
things  in  this  life,  even  rewards,  are  to  the  laithAil 
seeds,  in  order  to  a  future  har^'cst  As  it  is  written 
—Of  the  tnily  liberal  and  charitable  man ;  He  hath 
dispersed  abroad,  Ac— With  a  full  hand,  without 
any  anxious  thought  which  way  each  grain  falls. 
This  is  an  aUusion  to  a  person  who,  in  sowing  seed, 
scatters  it  plentifully.  And  the  image  beautifully 
represents  botlr  the  good-will  with  which  the  liberal 
distribute  their  alms,  and  the  many  needy  persons 
on  whom  they  are  bestowed.  His  righteousness— 
His  beneficence,  (as  the  expression  here  means,) 
with  the  blessed  efieets  of  it;  remaineth  for  ever— 
Unexhausted,  God  still  renewing  his  store.  In 
other  words.  He  shall  always  have  enough  where- 
with to  exercise  his  bounty  in  works  of  mercy, 
(verse  11,)  and  this  act  of  obedience  shall  have  an 
eternal  reward. 

Verses  10-14.  Now  he  thai  ministereth  seed  to  the 
^oto^r— By  making  the  earih  Amitftd;  tmd  bread  for 
your  food— (&(y  Bengelius  reads,)  namely,  all  things 
needful  for  yo«r  souls  and  bodies.  Af<(ty  he  supply 
and  multiply  (;tflpi?yv<Ta4  nai,  fcXifiw<u)  )four  se^ 
sown^Yom  ability  to  help  others;  aad  increase 
(he  fruits  of  your  righteousn^s— The  happy  effeets 
of  your4ove  to  God  and  man:  or  may  he  make  an 
ample  return  for  what  you  have  liberally  bestowed 
on  the  indigent,  Bnd  abundantly  increase  and  reward 
your  works  of  rawcy  and  charity.  Being  enriched 
in  everything  to  aiLbountifrlness—PienMfu^y  fur- 
nished with  all  things  that  may  enable  you  to  ex- 
ercise the  greyest  bounty,  1  1*im.  vi.  18.  Whidk 
eauseth  tktwgh  us  thanksgiving  to  God— Both  from 


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71U  apo9(U  exTwrU  io  thoiUcfidnest  CflAPTER  X. 


fir  Qo^8  unspeakablt  gi/t 


A.  M.  4064.     12  For  the  administratioii  of  this 
A.  D.  00.  ,  -1.    1     ♦ 
service  not  only  ®  supplieth  the  want 

of  the  saints,  but  is  abundant  also  by.  many 
thanksgivings  imto  God; 

13  While  by  the  experiment  of  this  minis- 
tration they  "*  glorify  God  for  your  professed 
subjection  unto  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  for 


•  Chap.  Tiii.  14. P  Matt.  r.  16. <  Heb.  ztii.  16^ 


US  who  distribute,  and  them  who  receive  yonr  boun- 
ty. For  the  administration  of  this  service — Which 
we  have  undertaken,  and  in  which  we  do  as  it  were 
ofRciate  for  yoo,  in  Uie  presentation  of  this  accepta- 
ble offering;  not  only  Supplieth  the  irofttv  of  the 
saints—In  their  present  exigency;  but  isaHnMdant 
by  many  tJianksffivingS'^yni'ich  it  occasions,  to  the 
glory  of  God.  ITie  word  XetTifpy<a,  rendered  service, 
in  the  first  clause  of  the  verse,  intimates  that  their 
contributing  to  the  reHef  of  the  poor  saints  in  Judea, 
was  to  be  comndered  not  merely  as  an  act  of  hu- 
manity, but  of  religion,  most  pleasing  to  God,  and 
suitable  to  the  nature  of  the  gospel.  See  Heb.  xili. 
16.  While  by  the  experiment— Or  proof  by  expe- 
rience ;  of  this  ministration — This  generous  contri- 
bution; they  glorify  GW— Giving  him  praise;  for 
your  professed  sidjection—Tbis  open  testimony  of 
your  sfaicere  obedience;  to  the  gospel  of  Christ-- 
Which  so  strictly  enjoins  works  of  charity ;  for  your 
I3>eral  distribution-^r  communication  of  your 
goods  to  them  in  their  present  distress;  ofid  to  all 
men — hi  the  like  circumstances.  And  by  their 
prayers  for  you — It  also  produces  many  prayers  to 
God  for  you  from  the  poor  saints ;  who  long  after 
jfou— Have  a  great  affSeiction  for  you,  and  are  very 
desirous  of  your  welfare ;  for  ihe  exceeding  grace 
of  God  in  ytm— Which  produces  fruits  so  much  for 
tfie  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  your  fellow-creatures, 
and  so  highly  ornamental  to  Christianity.  The 
readef  will  observe,  that  in  this  passage,  the  apostle 


t/our  liberal  *  distribution  unto  them,  a,  m.  4064. 
and  unto  all  men;  ^^'    ' 

14  And  by  their  prayer  for  you,  which  long 
after  you,  for  the  exceedmg  'grace  of  God  ha 
you. 

15  Thanks  be  unto  God  '  for  his  unspeakable 
gift. 


'Chap.  i.  1. — ^  Jamea  L  17. 


mentions  four  different  fruits  of  alms-giving:  the 
relief  of  the  poor,  thanksgiving  to  God  from  the 
poor  for  that  relief,  the  honour  done  to  God  by  good 
works,  and  lastly,  the  prayers  of  the  poor  for  their 
benefactors,  proceeding  from  gratitude  and  love. 

Verse  15.  Tlianks  be  to  Oodfor  his  unspeakable 
gift—By  this  gift,  for  which  the  apostle  so  fervently 
thanks  God,  Dr.  Whitby  understands  the  charita- 
ble disposition  that  was  in  the  Corinthians,  Mace- 
donians, and  other  sincere  Christians,  '^by  which 
God  was  glorified,  the  gospel  adorned,  the  poor 
saints  refreshed,  and  themselves  fitted  for  an  exceed- 
ing great  reward."  The  text,  understood  in  this 
sense,  is  a  clear  proof  that  every  good  affection  in 
the  human  heart  is  to  be  ascribed  to  a  divine  influ- 
ence. But,  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  'Mt  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  apostlje  would  call  that  gift 
unspeakable.  So  grand  an  epithet  may,  with  more 
propriety,  be  applied  to  Christ.  Besides  the  happy 
effects  of  a  cordial  friendship  established  between  the 
[believing]  Jews  and  Gentiles,  now  united  in  one 
faith,  worship,  and  church,  being  the  object  of  the 
apostle's  present  thoughts,  it  was  natural  for  him  to 
break  forth  in  a  thanksgiving  to  God  for  Christ,  the 
author  of  that  happy  union,  and  of  all  the  blessings 
which  mankind  enjoy.  And  jea  these  blessings 
are  so  many  and  so  great,  that  they  cannot  be 
fiilly  dedared  in  human  language,  Christ,  the  au- 
thor of  them  all,  may  well  be  called  God's  unspeak- 
ahle  gift." 


CHAPTER  X. 

T^Uetions  hasting  heen  tkrmm  am  the  spastU,  by  falsi  teachers,  for  the  mildness  of  his  conduct,  as  if  it  proceeded  from, 
/mt,  he  here  retmms  to  a  nsesssmry  vindication  of  himself  against  such  tmndioue  tuggesHons :  and  (1,)  AsserU  his  auths- 
riSy  with  great  meekness  amd  humility,  IS.  {'^)  Show  that  thesi  teachers  could  boast  of  moAing  superior  to  him ;  and 
ihat  he  akkorred  any  likeness  to  thsm  in  their  dsosU,  ostentatioK,  or  boasting  of  other  men'e  labours,  7-*18. 

you,  but  being  absent  am  bold  toward'  a.  m.  4064. 

^  ^^  A.  D.  60. 


A.Mj4064.  ^OW  •!  Paul  myself  beseech  you, 
— 1— ^ — ^  by  the  maekneaB  and  g^itleness 

of  Ghnstj  ^  vfho  ^  in  presence  am  base  alnong 


•Rom.  xiL  I. •  Vewe  10 ;  Cliap.  xiL  5,  7,  0. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  X. 
Verses  1-3.  Abw,  &c.— Hitherto  St.  Paul's  dis- 
course, in  this  epistle,  was  chiefly  directed  to  those 
at  Corinth  who  acknowledged  his  apostleship,  and 
who  had  obeyed  his  orders,  signified  to  them  in  his 
b 


you: 
2  But  I  beseech  you, 


that  I  may  not  be 


^  Or,  in  autumrd  appearance. •  1  Cor.  iv.  21 ;  Chftp.  xiiL  3,  la 


former  letter.  But  in  this  and  the  remaining  chap- 
ters he  addresses  the  false  teachers,  and  such  of  the 
faction  as  adhered  to  them,  speaking  to  them  with 
great  authority,  arid  threatening  to  punish  them  by 
his  m'uaculous  power,  if  they  did  not  immediately 
247 


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TIU  weapons  of  the  CfuHstian^» 


U.  CORINTHIANS. 


icarfare  are  not  carfiat 


A.M. 4064.  bold  when  I  am  present  with  that 
^'  '^'  confidence,  wherewith  I  think  to  be 
bdd  against  some,  which  ^  think  of  us  as  if 
we  walked  acc<N'ding  to  the  flesh. 
3  For  though  we  walk  in  the  flesh,  we  do 
not  war  after  the  flesh : 


*  Or,  ffcfcoN. - 
2  Tim.  ii.  3. — 


-*Bph.vil3;lThes8.T.  8. •iTim.i.  18; 

'Acts  vu.  22 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  5 ;  Chap.  vi.  7 ;/ xiii. 


repent    The  different  characters  therefore  of  the 
two  sorts  of  persons  who  composed  the  Corinthian 
Church,  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  otherwise  this 
part  of  the  epistle  will  appear  a  direct  contradiction 
to  what  goes  before.    /  Paul  myself— A  strongly 
emphatical  expression;  beseech  you  by  ike  meekness 
and  gentleness  of  Christ^-OuT  lowly  and  conde- 
scending Saviour;   that  meekness  and  gentleness 
which  I  have  learned  from  his  example,  and  desire 
to  exercise  toward  the  most  unreasonable  of  my 
enemies ;  who  in  presence  am  base  among  you — Ac- 
cordmg  to  the  representation  of  some,  and  despised 
for  the  meanness  of  my  appearance ;  but  being  absent 
am  bold  toward  you — Using  great  freedom  and  au- 
thority in  my  letters.    The  false  teachers,  it  seems, 
and  their  party,  ridiculing  the  apostle's  threa^nings 
in  his  former  letter,  had  said  that  he  was  all  meekness 
and  humility  when  present  among  them ;  but  very  as- 
suming and  bold  by  letters,  when  absent^  which  they 
represented  as  wise  carnal  policy.    To  this  the  apos- 
tle here  refers,  and  beseeches  them  that  diey  would 
not  compel  him  to  be  bold,  and  (o  exert  his  apostol- 
ical authority  against  some,  who,  on  account  of  his 
meekness  when  present  with  them,  had  calumniated 
him  as  a  person  who  walked  after  the  flesh,  or  acted 
In  a  cowardly  and  crafty  manner.    For  (he  says) 
though  he  walked  in  the  flesh — Inhabited  a  mortal 
body,  and  consequently  was  not  free  from  human 
weakness,  yet  he  assured  them  he  did  not  war 
against  idolaters  and  unbelievers,  against  the  world 
and  the  devil;  after  the  flesh — By  any  carnal  wea- 
pons or  worldly  methods ;  but  by  such  as  were  far 
more  powerful.    Though  the  apostle  here,  and  in 
several  other  parts  of  this  epistle,  speaks  in  the  plural 
number,  for  the  sake  of  modesty  and  decency,  and 
because  he  had  associated  Timothy  with  himself  in 
this  address  to  the  Corinthians,  yet  he  principally 
means  himself.    On  him  were  these  reflections  cast, 
and  it  is  his  own  authority  which  he  is  vindicating. 
Verse  4.  For  the  weapons  of  our  warfare — Those 
we  use  in  this  war ;  are  not  canton—But  spiritual;  As 
fliey  were  not  aided  in  their  endeavours  to  Chris- 
tianise the  world  by  human  power  and  authority, 
80  neither  did  they  rely  on  learning  or  eloquence, 
or  any  thing  which  could  recommend  them  to  hu- 
man regard:  but  our  weapons  are  mighty  through 
€?od— Namely,  the  word  of  God  and  prayer,  attended 
with  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  in  his  various 
gifts  and  graces,  giving  efilcacy  to  their  preaching 
hi  public,  their  converse  in  private,  and  their  holy, 
exemplary,  and  beneficent  lives.    The  means  they 
used  to  enlighten,  reform,  regenerate,  and  save  the 
world,  were  effectual,  because  the  Lord  wrought 
246 


4  (*  For  the  weapons  •  of  our  warfere  a.  m.  4061 

are  not  carnal,  but '  mighty  ^  through  — 1— ! 

God  » to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds ;) 

5  ^  Casting  down  *  imaginations,  and  every 
high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  th^ 
knowledge   of   God,  and  bringuig  into  cap- 


3,  4. *  Or,  to  God.- 

*  Or,  reaaoningt. 


r  Jer.  i.  la ^  1  Cor.  i.  19 ;  iii.  la 


with  them,  and  confrnned  their  word  with  signs 
following,  Mark  xvL  20.  Pulling  down  strong 
i^o2e2«~Ignorance,  prejudice,  unbelief^  fleshly  lusts,  . 
worldly  affections,  desires  of  wealth,  honour,  plea- 
sure, errors  and  vices  of  all  sorts,  and  whatever  was 
opposed  by  the  wit,  or  wisdom,  or  power,  or  malice, 
or  cruelty  of  men  or  devils,  against  the  progress  of 
the  gospel  in  the  world,  and  the  influence  of  divine 
grace  in  Uie  souls  of  men.  In  the  original  expres- 
sion, frpoc  jca&aipeaw  ox^pufiaToVy  the  apostle  appears 
to  allude  to  the  beating  down  of  fortresses  by  means 
of  military  engines,  to  which  engines  he  compares 
their  spiritual  weapons  above  mentioned.  And  as 
the  strong  holds  of  which  he  speaks  were  demo- 
lished chiefly  by  preaching  the  gospel,  by  plain  and 
simple  men,  without  wisdom  of  words,  or,  tis  he  ex- 
presses himself^  (1  Cor.  L  21,)  hy  the  Jbolishness  of 
preaching,  there  is,  perhaps,  also  an  allusion  to  the 
beating  down  of  (he  walls  of  Jericho  by  the  priests 
blowing  their  trumpets,  and  by  the  people  shouting, 
Josh,  vj,  20,  . 

Verses  &,^.  Casting  down  imaginations — Aoyia" 
fiec  Ko&atpsvrec,  literally,  demolishing  reasonings, 
namely,  such  as  were  fallacious  and  sophistical,  by 
which  vain  men  endeavoured  to  controvert,. disr 
prove,  or  even  expose  to  contempt  and  ridicule,  the 
doctrine  of  the  gospel,  and  t^e  wh(de  Christian  sys- 
tem.   For  the  reasonings  which  the  apostle  speaks 
of^  and  says  they  threw  down,  were  not  the  candid 
reasonings  of  those  who  attentively  considered  the 
evidences  of  the  gospel,  but  the  sophisms  of  the 
Greek  philosophers,  and  the  false  reasonings  of  the 
statesmen,  and  all  others  who,  from  bad  dispositions, 
opposed  the  gospel  by  argument  and  sophistry. 
And  these  the  apostles  overturned ;  not4jy  forbid- 
ding men  to  use  their  reason,  but  by  opposing  to 
them  the  most  convincing  arguments,  drawn  from 
the  evident  accomplishment  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophecies,  the  miraculous  powers  and  gills  with 
which  the  apostles  and  first  preachers  of  the  gospel 
were  endowed,  the  manifest  excellence  and  salutary 
tendency  and  influence  of  the  gospel,  the  blessed 
effect  produced  by  it  on  the  hearts  and  lives  of 
multitudes,  Jews  and  heathen,  who  had  before  been 
vicious  and  profane,  but  were  now  evicjetitly  re- 
formed in  principle  and  practice,  and  from  the  ex* 
emplary,  useful,  and  holy  lives  of  all  those  who  hi 
truth  embraced  the  gospel.    And  every  high  thing 
that  exalteth  if^c^/"— In  any  way  whatever;  against 
the  knowledge  of  God^ThBi  divine  and  spiritual 
acquaintance  with  him,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 
hath  sent,  wherein  consisteth  eternal  life.     The 
apostle,  Macknight  thinks,  aUudes  to  the  turrets 

b 


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CHAPTER  X. 


faUe  charges  hrmght  against  Mm, 


A.  M.  4064.  tivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience 
'. — L  of  Christ; 

6  '  And  having  in  a  readiness  to  revenge  all 
disobedience,  when  ^your  obedience  is  ful- 
filled. 

7  ^  Do  ye  look  on  things  after  the  outward- 
appearance?  *If  any  man  trust  to  himself 
that  he  is  Christ's,  let  him  of  himself  think  this 


>  Chap.  xiii.  2, 10.- 


— k  Chap.  ii.  9 ;  rii.  15.- 
Chap.  T.  12 ;  zi  18. 


1  John  TiL  34 ; 


raised  on  the  top  of  the  walls  of  a  besieged  city  or 
fortress,  from  which  the  besieged  annoyed  their  ene- 
mies. To  these  high  structures  the  apostle  compared 
the  proud  imaginations  of  the  enemies  of  Revelation, 
concerning  the  sufficiency  of  men's  natu^^  powers 
in  all  matters  of  religion  and  morality.  And,  we 
may  add,  all  other  vain  conceits  which  men  are  wont 
to  entertain  of  themselves,  with  regard  to  their  natu- 
ral or  moral  excellences,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  disbelieve  and  disobey,  or  neglect  the  gospel, 
and  live  without  God  in  the  world.  These,  and  such 
like  imaginations,  the  apostles  cast  down  by  the 
force  of  the  spiritual  weapons  which  they  made  use 
of:  and  similar  imaginations  h^ve,  in  all  ages,  been 
east  down  by  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  true  and 
genuine  gospel  pf  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  accom- 
panied by  the  iniluence  of  his  Divine  Spirit :  and 
bringing  into  captipity  every  thought — Every  proud 
and  haughty  notion  of.  the  mind  of  man ;  to  the  obe- 
dience <>/■  Christ — The  true  King  of  his  people,  and 
the  Captain  of  our  salvatioii.  Fo^the  evil  reason- 
ings above  mentioned  being  destroyed,  the  mind 
itself  is  overcome  and  taken  captive,  lays  down  all 
authority  of  its  own,  and  entirely  gives  itself  up  to 
perform,  for  the  time  to  come,  to  Christ  its  conqueror, 
the  obedience  which  he  requires:  and  the  various 
thoughts  which  arise  in  it,  from  that  time  forth,  are 
made  subservient  to  the  will  of  Christ,  as  slaves  are 
to  the  will  of  their  lords.  "  In  this  noble  passage^ 
the  apostle,  with  great  energy,  describes  the  method 
in  which  wiqked  men  fortify  themselves  against  the 
gospel,  raising,  as  It  were,  one  barrier  behind  an- 
other to  obstruct  its  entrance  into  their  minds.  But 
when  these  are  all  thrown  down,  the  gospel  is 
received,  and  Christ  is  obeyed  implicitly;  every 
thought  and  reasoning  taking  its  direction  from 
him."  And  having  in  readiness  to  revenge — Say, 
rather,  arcn^e,  or  punish;  all  disobedience — Not 
only  by  spiritual  censure,  but  by  miraculous  chas- 
tisements^ when  your  obedience  is  fulfilled— V^hen 
the  sound  part  of  you  have  given  proof  of  your  obe- 
dience, and  thereby  have  distinguished  yourselves 
from  the  others,  that  the  innocent  may  not  be  pu- 
nished with  the  guilty.  "His  love  to  the  Corinth- 
ians, whom  he  desired  to  spare,  and  the  infirm  state 
of  their  church  at  present,  made  him  choose  to  de- 
fer the  punishment  of  these  offenders  till  he  had 
drawn  off  the  affections  of  the  Corinthians  from  their 
false  apOstles,  and  made  them  more  unanimous  in 
their  regards  to  him.  And  this  is  the  best  excuse 
that  can  be  made  for  the  neglect  of  discipline  in  any 
b 


again,  that,  as  be  t^  Christ's,  even  so  a.  M.  4064. 
are  »  we  Christ's.  ^'^^ 

8  For  though  I  should  boast  somewhat  more 
•  of  our  authority,  which  the  LcMrd  hath  given 
us  for  edification,  and  not  for  your  destruction, 
^I  should  not  be  ashamed : 

9  That  I  may  not  seem  as  if  I  would  terrify 
you  by  letters. 


»1  Cor.  xiy.  37;  1  John  !▼.  6. •  1  Cor.  iii.  23 ;  ix.  1 ;  Chap. 

xL  23v •  Chap.  xiiL  la p  Chap.  tii.  H  ;  xii.  6. 


church;  namely,  'that  there  is  no  place  for  severe 
remedies,  when  a  disease  hath  infected  the  whole 
church.' " — Whitby.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  it  was 
before  this  time  that  the  apostle  had  smitten  El3rma6 
with  blindness ;  and  it  is  highly  probable,  from  this 
text,  and  others  of  a  like  nature,  that  some  other 
miracles  of  this  awful  kind  had  been  wrought  by 
him,  though  they  are  not  recorded  in  Scripture. 

Verse  7.  Do  ye  look  on  the  out'ward  appearance 
of  things — Judging  of  me  by  my  outward  person, 
and  the  infirmities  of  my  body,  (verses  1,  2,}  and 
not  from  the  power  of  Christ  resting  on  me,  and 
working  by  me?  chap.  xii.  0.  If  any  man  trust — 
Ucizoi^ev  savTo,  be  confident,  m  himself;  that  he  is 
ChrisVs  mitiister— And  claims  authority  on  that  ac- 
count ;  let  him  think  this  again — Let  him  consider 
seriously;  that  as  he  is  ChrisVs,  even  so  are  we 
ChrisVs — Nor  ,can  any  one  produce  more  convin- 
cing proofs  of  Christ's  calling  him  to  the  ministry, 
and  approving  his  discharge  of  it,  than  myself.  By 
speaking  thus,  the  apostle  did  not  intend  to  acknow- 
ledge the  false  teacher  referred  to  to  be  a  true  and 
faithful  minister  of  Christ.  That  teacher  had  taken 
on  himself  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  was  by 
profession  a  servant  of  Christ.  This  Paul  acknow- 
ledged, without  entering  into  the  consideration  of 
his  integrity  or  faithfulness.  ^'  At  the  same  time,  as 
he  pretended  to  great  powers  of  reasoning,  the  apos- 
tle desired  him  to  reason  this  from  himself:  That  if 
he  was  a  minister  of  Christ  merely  by  professing  to 
be  one,  the  apostle,  who,  besides  laying  claim  to  that 
character,  had  exercbed  miraculous  powers  among 
the  Corinthians,  was  thereby  shown  to  be  more 
truly  a  minister  of  Christ  than  he  was,  who  did  not 
possess  that  proof.''— Macknight.  See  chap.  xi.  23. 

Verses  8-10.  For  Uumgh  I  should  boast  somewhat 
more— Than  I  do,  or  they  can  do ;  of  our  apostolical 
authority,  which  the  Lord  hath  given  us  for  edifi- 
catUm—To  bring  sinners  to  repentance  and  faith  in 
Christ,  and  so  to  promote  holiness ;  and  not  for  your 
destru£tionr—Toi^nyQ  any  one  to  despair  by  excessive 
severity,  or  to  the  injury  of  any  particular  person; 
J  should  not  be  ashamed— By  my  power  fail'ng  me 
when  I  should  try  it  on  the  disobedient  among  you. 
In  saying  that  his  power  had  been  given  him  not 
for  then:  destruction,  the  apostle  intimated  to  them, 
that  when  he  had  ordered  them  to  cut  off  the  in- 
cestuous person  from  their  communion,  he  had  not 
done  it  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  him,  but  to 
preserve  them  from  the  contagion  of  his  evil  exam- 
ple.   That  I  may  not^  Ac.— That  is,  I  say  this  that 


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A, M. 4064.  10  For  his  letters  ('say  they)  are 
■^^^  weighty  and  powerful;  but  *  Aw  bodily 
pieeence  is  weak,  and  his  'speeqh  contempt- 
ible. 

11  Let  such  a  one  think  this,  thai  such  as  we 
are  in  word  by  letters  when  we  are  absent, 
such  toill  we  be  also,  in  deed  when  we  are 
present 

12  '  For  we  dare  nol  make  oursdves  of  the 
numbar,  or  compare  ourselves  with  some  that 
commenc}  themselves:    but  they,   measuring 


•Gr.  aaxth  he. 1 1  Cor.  ii.  3,  4;  Verse  1 ;  Chap.  xii.  6,  7,  9 ; 

GaL  iv.  13. — -^  I  Cor.  L  17  ;  ii.  I,  4 ;  Chap.  xi.  6. 

Inuiy  not  seem  aa  if  J  would,  by  any  meaiis^  terrify 
you  by  letters — Threatening  more  than  I  can  per- 
form. For  his  letters,  say  they,  are  weighty  and 
powerfkd — In  respect  of  boasting  and  threatening: 
or  are  convincing  and  affecting,  manifesting  great 
strength  of  reason,  and  power  of  persuasion.  It  can- 
not be  hence  concluded  that  St  Paul  had  written 
more  than  one  epistle  to  them  before  this ;  for  no- 
thing is  more  common  than  this  enallage  or  change 
of  numbers.  Indeed,  the  Greeks  and  Romans  gave 
the  name  of  letters  to  one  letter:  and  that  here  re- 
ferred to,  and  said  tp  be  weighty,  was  his  first  to  the 
Corinthians,  a  letter  in  which  he  had  shai-ply  re- 
proved the  oflfenders,  and  threatened  them  in  a  very 
firm  tone,  particularly  chap.  iv.  18-21,  and  through 
the  whole  of  chap.  v.  But  his  bodily  presence  is 
ioeak — From  this  it  would  appear  that  St.  Paul  was 
either  a  man  of  small  stature,  or  that  there  was 
something  in  his  countenance  or  address  which 
was  ungracefuL  Indeed,  Chrysostom,  Nicephorus, 
and  Lucian,  (or  rather  the  author  of  the  Philopatris,) 
relate  of  him,  not  only  that  his  stature  was  low,  but 
that  his  body  was  crooked,  and  his  head  bald,  which 
probably  are  the  infirmities  here  referred  to..  Some 
have  thought  that  he  had  also  an  impediment  in  his 
speech,  but  of  that  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
proof  from  the  testimony  of  any  ancient  author. 
And  his  speech  contemptible— E^H&evtjfi€voc,  literally, 
contemn&JL  Here,  however,  the  word  seems  in- 
tended to  signify  worthy  of  being  contemned,  which 
may  refer  to  his  manner  of  speaking. 

Verses  11,  12;  Letsuc^  a  one,  whoever  he  be, 
think  this— Reckon  upon  this  as  a  certain  fact ;  that 
suck  as  we  are  inword  by  letters — However  weighty 
and  powerful  they  may  be ;  when  we  are  absent, 
such-~T\iQ  same  also ;  wiU  we  be  in  deed,  or  action, 
when  we  are  present — Our  deeds  will  fully  corres- 
pond to  our  words,  and  we  shall  do  something  to 
vindicate  these  pretences,  if  their  speedy  repentance 
do  not  prevent  it.  For  we  dare  not,  &c.— As  if  he 
had  said,  I,  whose  appearance  and  speech  are  so 
contemptible,  cannot  presume  to  mo^e  myself  of  the 
number,  or  to  equal  myself,  as  a  partner  of  the  same 
office,  or  to  compare  myself  with  some  that  commend 
themselves — As  a  partaker  of  the  same  labour !  A 
strong  irony.  Bxd  they,^  measuring  themselves  by 
themselves—ThdX  is,  by  their  own  opinion  of  them- 
260 


themselves  by  themselves,  and  com-  a.  m.  4064. 
paring  themselves  among  themselves,  — 1-J — L 
•  are  not  wise. 

13  ^  But  we  will  not  boast  of  things  without 
our  measure,  but  according  to  the  measui;e  of 
the  ^  rule  which  God  hath  distributed  to  us,  a 
measure  to  reach  even  unto  yoiju 

14  For  we  stretch  not  ourselves  beyond  our 
measure,  as  though  we  reached  not  wf^io  you ; 
"for  we  are  come  as  fiur  as  to  you  also  in 
preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ : 


•Chap. 


iii.  1 ;  ▼.  12. •Or,  widentand  it  >••<.—«  Vexao  16. 

^Otriint. "1  Cor.  iii  5, 10;  iv.  1$;  ix.  1. 


selves,  and  making  it  the  only  standard  whereby  to 
judge  of  themselves ;  are  not  wise — Do  not  under- 
stand themselves,  nor  see  their  own  inferiority  to 
the  apostles,  evangelists,  and  many  other  extraordi- 
nary or  even  ordinary  ministers  of  Christ.  The 
meaning  is,  that  the  false  teachers,  in  their  conver- 
sations among  themselves,  measured  or  estimated 
themselves  not  according  to  their  real  worth,  bat 
according  to  the  opinion  which  they  had  formed  of 
themselves!  They  looked  continually  on  them- 
selves, surveying  their  own  great  imaginary  qualifi- 
cations, but  not  considering  the  vastly  superior  abili- 
ties of  many  others ;  and  so  formed  a  dl^roportion- 
ate  opinion  pf  themselves.  And  this  is  everywhere 
one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  pride. 

Verse  13.  But  we  will  not,  like  them,  boast  of 
things  without  measure — Assume  the  credit  of  other 
men's  labours,  (verse  15,)  nor  meddle  with  those 
converted  by  them ;  but  according  to  the  measure 
of  the  rule,  or  province,  ichich  God  hath  distributed, 
or  allotted,  to  us — To  me,  in  particular,  as  the  apos- 
tle of  the  Gentiles ;  a  measure  which  reaches  even 
to  you — Here  "  God  is  represented  as  measuring  out, 
or  dividing  to,  the  first  preachers  of  ihe  gospel^  their 
several  offices,  tind  their  several  scenes  of  action, 
that  they  might  labour  each  in  the  parts  assigned  to 
them.  To  the  apostles  he  allotted  the  charge  of 
converting  the  world,  and  endowed  them  with  gifts 
suited  to  the  greatness  of  that  work.  To  them, 
therefore,  it  belonged  to  form  thehr  converts  into 
churches,  and  to  appoint  rules  for  their  government. 
They  had  authority  to  dictate  the  religious  faith  and 
practice  of  mankind.  In  short,  they  had  the  su- 
preme direction,  under  Christ,  of  all  religious  mat- 
ters whatever.  Yet  none  of  them  interfered  in  the 
labours  of  the  others,  except  by  common  consent 
The  province  assigned  by  God  to  the  evangelists, 
and  other  inferior  ministers,  was  to  assist  the  apos- 
tles ;  to  build  upon  the  foundation  laid  by  them ;  to 
labour  in  the  gospel  under  their  direction,  and  in  all 
things  to  consider  themselves  as  subordinate  to  the 
apostles.'' 

Verses  14-16.  We  stretch  not,  Ac— In  preaching 
at  Corinth,  we  do  not,  like  the  false  teacher,  go  out 
of  our  line,  as  not  reaching  to  you;  but  we  are  come 
even  as  far  as  you — By  u  gradual,  regular  process, 
having  taken  the  intermediate  places  in  our  way. 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


tn  Ihe  Lord^  and  nof  m  num. 


A.  M.  4061. 
A.  D.  60. 


15  Not  boefitiog  of  things  without 
our  measui-e,  that  is^  '  of  other  men's 
labours ;  but  having  hope^  i^en  your  hope  is 
increased,  that  we  shall  be  ^enlarged  by  you, 
according  to  our  rule  abundantly, 

16  To  preach  the  gospel  in  the  regions  be- 
yond you,  and  not  to  boast  in  another  man's 


''Rom.  XT.  20.— -•  Or,  magnifitd  in  you.- 

\xv.  16;  Jer.  ix.24;  1  Oor.  i.  31. 


•  Or,  rufc. rlsa. 


T*he  apostles  themselves,  (unle^  they  received  psi^ 
ticular  direction  to  that  purpose,  see  Acts  xvi.  6,  7,) 
"  were  not  at  liberty  to  preach  in  some  countries, 
and  pass  by  others.  St.  Paul,  therefore,  following 
this  rule,  preached  in  all  the  countries  of  the  Lesser 
Asia,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  From  Asia  he  pass- 
ed into  Blacedonia,  where  he  preached  in  many  of 
the  chief  cities.  Then  he  preached  in  Greece,  and 
particularly  at  Athens ;  and  at  last  came  to  Corinth, 
in  a  regular  course  of  preaching  the  gospel,  where 
it  had  not  been  preached  before."  Abi— Like  those 
whom  1  have  had  so  much  reason  to  complain  of; 
boasting  of  things  loithoul^  or  beyond,  our  proper 
fneasure—'SQi  intruding  into  churches  planted  by 
other  men's  labovrs — ^Where  we  have  no  natural  and 
proper  call  ''The  apostle  justly  considered  the 
false  teache,r's  coming,  and  establishing  himself  in 
the  Corinthian  church,  as  one  of  its  ordinary  pas- 
tors, and  his  assuming  the  direction  of  that  church, 
in  opposition  to  him,  as  an  unlawful  intrusion;  be- 
cause that  church  having  been  planted  by  St.  Paul, 
the  edification  and  direction  of  it  belonged  only  to 
him,  and  the  bishops  and  deacons  ordained  by  him. 
Beddes,  this  intruder,  by  pretendipg  to  more  know- 
ledge than  the  apostle,  and  by  assuming  an  autho- 
rity superior  to  his,  endeavoured  to  draw  the  Co- 
nnthians  from  following  his  doctrines  and  precepts." 
— Macknigh  t  But  having  hope^  when  your  faith  is 
increased — And  I  can  leave  you  to  the  care  of  your 
ordinary  teachers ;  to  he  by  you  enlarged  according 
to  our  rule — That  is,  with  respect  to  our  line  of 
preaching ;  abundantly,  To  preach  the  gospel  in 
the  regions  beyond  you — The  apostle  hoped  that  the 
believers  at  Corinth  would  soon  be  so  well  instruct- 
ed in  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  so  confirmed 
in  the  fiEUth,  as  to  render  it  proper  for  him  to  leave 
them  to  the  care  of  others;  axid  to  go  and  preach 
the  gospel  in  the  countries  beyond  them,  where  the 


®line  of  things  made  ready  to  our  a.m. 4064. 
hand.  ^'^'^ 

17  ^  But  he  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the 
Loid. 

18  For  'not  he  that  commendeth  himself 
is  approved,  but  *  whom  the  Lord  commend- 
eth. 


*  Proverbs  zxrii.  2.^ — >  Romani  ii.  29 ;  1  Corinthiukt 
iv.  6. 


gospel  had  not  been  preached,  namely,  in  the  re- 
gions of  Italy  and  Spain,  whither  we  know  he  in- 
tended to  go.  For  in  Laconia,  Arcadia,  and  the 
other  countries  of  Peloponnesus,  which  composed 
the  Roman  province  of  Achaia,  he  had  already 
preached  the  gospel,  as  is  plain  from  the  inscription 
of  both  his  letters  to  the  Corinthians.  And  not  to 
boast  in  another  man^s  line — Or  province,  marked 
out,  as  it  were,  by  a  line ;  of  things  made  ready  to 
our  hand^Aa  some,  who  are  very  solicitous  about 
their  own  ease,  affect  to  do,  and  then  pride  them- 
selves in  sowing  the  groujid  which  others  had 
cleared.  As  the  apostle  here  contrasts  his  own  be- 
haviour with  that  of  the  false  teacher,  we  may  infer, 
from  what  he  says,  th^t  that  teacher  took  to  him- 
self great  praise  for  having  instructed  the  Corinth- 
ians more  perfectly  than,  he  said,  Paul  had  done,  and 
for  having  regulated  the  affairs  of  the  church,  which 
he  pretended  had  been  left  in  disorder  by  the  apostle. 
Verses  17, 18.  But  he  tJiat.  gtorieth^Whether  it 
be  of  planting  or  watering  the  churches;  let  him 
glory  in  the  Lord — Not  in  himself,  but  in  the  pow- 
er, love,  and  faithfulness  of  the  Lord,  who  only  can 
render  any  man's  labours  successful.  Let  every 
minister  remember  it  is  to  Christ  that  he  owes  all 
his  ability  for  his  work,  and  all  his  success  in  it. 
For  not  he  that  commendeth  himself— yV^hli  the 
greatest  confidence,  or  boasts  of  any  thing  done  by 
his  power,  or  has  a  good  opinion  of  himself,  on  ac- 
count of  any  service  he  has  performed  -,  is  approved 
—As  faithful  and  sincere ;  but  whom  the  Lord  com- 
mendeth—By  conferring  on  him  the  giAs  and  graces 
of  his  Spirit,  and  by  blessing  his  labours.  Let  those, 
therefore,  who  are  so  ready  to  applaud  themselves 
and  each  other,  maturely  consider  this,  and  learn  to 
be  more  solicitous  than  they  are  about  approving 
themselves  to  their  great  Master,  whether  they  be 
more  or  less  regarded  by  their  feUow-servants. 


CHAPTER  XL 

h  this  chapter,  the  apoetle  further  tmdieates  himself  from  the  perverse  insimuUions  of  them  that  opposed  him  at  CoriiUh^ 
viawuuing,  (1,)  That  his  boasting  of  his  labours  %§as  neeessaryj  to  eoufUerhalanee  thai  of  the  false  aposOes,  1-4,  16-31. 
(«,)  Skoufing  that  in  preaching  the  gospel,  he  had  laboured  as  freely  as  any  cf  them,  and  assigning  reasons  for  declining 
to  recene  a  contribution  from  this  church  for  his  mainienaneej  6-16.  (8,)  Further  to  assert  his  right  and  anUhorthf  as  ^m 
apostle,  after  mentioning  his  external  privileges  and  ptaHficationSt  he  gises  an  account  of  his  lahonrSf  sufferings,  dangers, 
and  ddiveranees ;  yet  in  such  a  maimer  as  plainiy  to  show  ho%o  disagreeable  it  was  to  him  so  much  as  to  seem  to  apphud 
kimselj  on  the  most  necessary  occasion,  %^-33. 


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IL  CORINTHIANS. 


Corinikiana  whmM  be  corrupted. 


A.M. 


f.4064.  TTTOULD  to  God  ye  codd  bear 
^  ^'  with  me  a  little  in  ^my  folly: 


and  indeed  ^  bear  with  me. 

2  For  I  am  ^jealous  over  you  with  godly 
jealousy:  (or  ^l  have  eqpoiued  you  to  oae 
husband,  ^  that  I  may  present  you  ^ass,  chaste 
virgin  to  Christ. 

3  But  I  fear,  lest  by  any  means,  as  ^the 
serpent  beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtlety,  so 


*  Verse  16;  Chapter  t.  13. — —^  Ott  ye  do  bear  vnth  me, 
fc  <H1.  IT.  17,  18.— «  Hoe.  ii.  19.  30 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  15. *  Col.  i. 


*  Lev.  xxL  13. '  Geo.  iii.  4 ;  John  riiL  44.- 


lEph. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XI. 
Verse  1.  Would  to  G'od— Rather,  /  wish;  (for  the 
word  God  is  not  in  the  original  text j)  you  could 
bear  a  Utile  with  me — So  does  he  pave  the  way  for 
what  might  otherwise  have  given  offence ;  in  my  folly 
— Of  commending  myself,  which  to  many  may  appear 
folly ;  and  really  would  be  so  if  it  were  not,  on  this 
occasion,  absolutely  necessary  for  the  maintaining 
of  my  authority  among  you.  For^  &c. — I  therefore 
do  it  because  /  am  jealous  over  you  with  a  godly 
jealousy — Jealousy  is  a  passion  which  renders  a 
person  impatient  of  a  rival  or  partner,  with  respect 
to  a  thing  or  person  beloved.  By  telling  them  he 
was  jealous  over  them,  the  apostle  gives  them  to 
know  he  so  exceedingly  loved  them,  that  he  could 
not  bear  that  any  should  pretend  to  have  more  re- 
gard for  them  than  he  had ;  and  withal  that  he  fear- 
ed lest  their  affections  should  be  alienated  hot  only 
from  him,  but  also  from  Christ,  through  the  insinua- 
tions of  false  teachers  among  them,  and  they  should 
be  rendered  unfaithful  to  him  here,  and  unfit  to  be 
presented  to  him  as  his  spouse  hereafter.  For — By 
successfully  preaching  the  gospel  to  you,  and  bring- 
ing you  into  the  engagements  of  the  Christian  cove- 
nant ;  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband — Even  to 
him  whose  servant  and  ambassador  I  am.  and  have 
led  you  into  a  holy  contract  with  him,  which  hath 
been  mutually  sealed ;  that  J  may  present  you  as  a 
chaste  virgin  to  C%mi— Pure  in  affection,  and  spot- 
less in  your  conduct  "Here,"  says  Whitby,  "is 
thought  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  apfioavvoi  of  the  La- 
cedemonians,^ a  sort  of  magistrates,  whose  office  it 
was  to  educate  and  form  young  women,  especially 
those  of  rank  and  figure,  designed  for  marriage,  and 
then  to  present  them  to  those  who  were  to  be  their 
husbands ;  and  if  this  officer  permitted  them,  through 
negligence,  to  be  corrupted,  between  the  espousals 
and  consummation  of  the  marriage,  great  blame 
would  naturally  fall  upon  him.  "  The  Greek  com- 
mentators, however,  agree  with  our  translation,  ren- 
dering vpf^oaofLjp^^  here  used,  by  f//»^re»aa,  /  have 
espoused  you.  As  therefore  the  Jews  say  that  Mo- 
ses espoused  Israel  to  God  in  mount  Sinai,  when  he 
made  them  enter  into  covenant  with  htm ;  so,  saith 
the  apostle  here,  by  converting  yon  to  the  Christian 
foith,  1  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband,  even 
Christ"  The  betrothing  of  persons  to  Christ  is  ac- 
eomplisbed  in  the  present  life,  but  their  marriage  is 
to  take  place  in  the  life  to  comej  when  they  shall 


your  minds  'should  be  corrupted  a.  ir.406i. 
from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ    ! — 

4  For  if  he  that  cometh  preaeheth  another 
Jesus,  whom  we  have  not  preacl^,  or  if  y% 
receive  another  spirit,  which  ye  have  not  re^ 
cdved,  or  ^  another  goqiel,  which  ye  have  not 
accepted,  ye  might  wdl  bear  ^  with  him. 

6  Tor  I  suppose  '  I  wais  not  a  whit  behind  the 
very  chiefest  apostles. 


yi.24;    Col  ii.  4.  8,  18;  lTim.i.3;  it.  1;  Heb.nii.S;  9 

Pet  iii.  17. »•  Gal.  i  7,  S, »  Oi^  with  me. « 1  Cor.  xr. 

10;  Chap.  xii.  11 ;  0ml  ii.  6. 


be  brought  home  to  their  husband's  house,  to  live 
with  him  for  ever.  And  the  apostle,  havmg  betroth- 
ed the  Corinthian  believers  to  Christ,  was  anxious 
to  preserA'e  them  chaste  or  true  to  their  fntore 
spouse,  that  when  the  time  of  their  marriage  cam^ 
they  might  not  be  rejected  by  him. 

Verse  3.  But  I  fear— Love  is  ftill  of  these  feairs; 
lest  by  any  means — By  some  means  or  other;  as  the 
serpent-'K  most  apposite  comparison ;  deceived  Eve 
— Simple,  ignorant  of  ill ;  by  his  subtlety-^W^ivcYk 
is  in  the  highest  degree  dangerous  to  such  a  disposi- 
tion; so  your  minds — (We  might  therefore  be 
tempted,  even  if  there  were  no  sin  in  us ;)  should  be 
corrupted— Losiog  their  virginal  purity ;  from  ike 
simplicity  thai  is  in  C%m£— Namely,  that  simplicity 
which  is  lovingly  intent  on  him  alone.  "That  it 
was  the  devil  who  beguiled  Eve,  our  Lord  hath  inti- 
mated, by  caUtng  him  a  murderer  fivm  the  begin- 
ning^ ami  a  liar,  John  viiL  44.  The  same  also  St 
John  hath  intimated,  by  giving  the  name  of  the  old 
serpent  to  him  who  is  called  the  devil  and  Salan^  . 
who  deceiveth  the  whole  world,  Rev.  jtiL9;  xx.  2. 
Besides,  in  the  history  of  the  fall,  the  serpent  is  said 
to  have  been  punished,  as  a  rational  and  accountable 
agent  Wherefore,  what  Moses  hath  written  of  the 
fall,  is  not  an  apologue,  or  fable,  with  a  moral  mean- 
ing, as  Middleton  and  others  contend,  but  a  true 
history  of  things  really  done,  in  which  the  devil  was 
the  chief  actor." — Macknight  See  note  on  Gen. 
iii.  1-15. 

Verses  4-6.  For  if  he  thai  cometh — After  me,  with 
such  extraordinary  pretences ;  preach  another  Jesus 
— Can  point  out  to  you  another  Saviour;  whom  we 
have  not  preached — ^Who  shall  better  or  equally 
deserve  your  attention  and  regard ;  or  if  ye  receive 
another  spirit — By  his  preaching,  which  ye  have  not 
received — By  ours,  and  which  can  bestow  upon  you 
gifts  superior  to  those  which  you  received  through  our 
ministry ;  or  another  gospel — Bringing  you  tidings 
equally  happy,  evident,  and  important,  with  those 
which  we  brought  you ;  ye  might  well  bear  with  him 
—In  his  pretensions  to  exceed  us,  and  there  would 
be  some  excuse  for  your  conduct ;  but  how  far  this 
is  from  being,  or  so  much  as  seeming  to  be,  the  case, 
I  need  not  say.  For  I  suppose— Aoyt(oftai^  I  reckon^ 
or,  I  conclude,  upon  most  certain  knowledge;  that  / 
was  not  a  whit  behind— I  was  in  nothing  inferior  to; 
the  very  chiefest  apostles— EWher  in  spiritual  gifts, 
or  the  greatness  of  my  labours  and  sufferings,  or  in 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


charge  to  the  CorintMons. 


A.H.40M.  6  But  though  ^/6«  rude  in  speech, 
-^-.^ — 1  yetnot  'in  knowledge;  but  "^  we  have 
been  thoroi^hly  made  manifest  among  you  in 
aUthings. 

7  Have  I  committed  an  oflence  *in  abasing 
myself  that  ye  mi^t  be  exalted,  because  I  have 
preached  to  you  the  gospel  of  God  fieely  ? 

8  I  robbed  other  churches,  taking  wages  of 
ihem^  to  do  you  service. 


k  1  Cor.  i.  17 ;  iL  1, 13 ;  Chap.  x.  10. » Eph.  iii  4. »  Chap. 

IT.  3 ;  T.  11 ;  xii.  12. •  Aota  rriii.  3 ;  iCor.  is.  6, 12 ;  Chap. 

z.  1. »  Acts  XX.  33 ;  Chap.  xii.  13;  1  Thess.  ii.  9;  2  Thess. 


the  success  of  my  miniirtry.  By  the  chief  est  cepoe- 
Ue$y  St  Pbul  meant  Peter,  James,  and  John,  whom 
he  called  pillars,  Gal.  iL  0.  Let  the  Papists  reconcile 
this  accoimt  which  Paul  gives  of  himself  as  an 
apostle,  with  their  pretended  supremacy  of  Peter 
over  all  the  apostles.  But^  or  ybr,  though  I  be  rude, 
or  unskilful,  in  speech — Speaking  in  a  plain,  una- 
dorned way,  like  an  unlearned  person,  as  the  word 
ii5u.»r^,  here  used,  properly  signifies.  "The  apostle," 
says  Macknight, "  called  himself  unZeamed  in  specif 
because,  in  preaching,  he  did  not  foUow  the  rules  of 
the  Grecian  rhetoric.  His  discourses  were  not 
composed  with  that  art  which  the  Greeks  showed  m 
the  choice  and  arrangement  of  their  words,  and  in 
the  disposition  of  their  periods.  Neither  were  they 
delivered  with  those  modulations  of  voice,  and  with 
those  studied  gestures,  wherewith  the  Greeks  set  off 
their  orations.  Thb  sprt  of  eloquence  the  apostle 
utterly  disclaimed,  for  a  reason  mentioned  1  Cor. 
L  17.  It  seems  the  (action  in  Coriath  had  objected 
to  him  his  want  of  these  accomplishments."  Or,  as 
some  think,  the  irony  of  the  faction  was  levelled, 
not  against  the  apostle's  style,  but  against  his  pro- 
nunciation and  action  in  speaking,  which,  through 
some  bodily  infirmity,  was  ungraceful  and  unac- 
ceptable. See  on  chap.  x.  10.  Probably  ihe  faction 
objected  both  imperfections  to  him.  Yet  not  in 
knowledge— li  I  be  unskilful  in  speech,  I  am  not  so 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  of  the 
dispensations  which  were  introductory  to  it.  But 
foe  have  been  thoroughly  made  manifest,  ^tc, — You 
have  had  sufficient  proof  of  xx^y  acquaintance  with 
the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  what  my 
gifts  are,  and  therefore  you  ought  not  to  call  in 
question  my  authority  as  an  apostle,  or  my  ability  to 
teach,  direct,  and  govern  your  church,  nor  to  prefer 
another  in  opposition  to  me. 

Verses  7-0.  Have  /  committed  an  q^cnce— Will 
any  turn  thb  into  aa  objection ;  in  abasing  myself-^ 
Stooping  to  work  at  my  trade ;  that  ye  might  be  ex- 
ailed— To  the  dignity  of  being  the  children  of  God  j 
because  I  have  preached  the  gospel  to  you  free  of 
expense.  '*  This  Ae  apostle's  enemies  said  was  a 
presumption,  that  he  knew  himself  to  be  no  apostle ; 
or,  if  he  was  an  apostle,  it  showed  that  he  did  not 
love  the  Corinthians.  The  first  of  these  objections 
he  had  answered  in  his  former  epistle,  (chap.  ix.  3-49,) 
by  proving  his  right  to  a  maintenance,  and  by  de- 
claring that  he  decUoed  using  that  right,  merely  to 
b 


9  And  when  I  was  {present  with  you,  A.  M.  4064. 
and  wanted,  •  I  was  chargeaUe  to  no  ^'  ^'  ^' 
man:  for  that  wluch  was  lacking  to  me  i^  the  bre- 
thren which  came  bom  Macedcmia  supplied :  and 
in  all  thingsl  have  kept  myself «  frwn  bdng  bur- 
densome unto  you,  and  so  will  I  keep  myself. 

10  'As  the  truth  of  Christ  is  in  me,  'no* 
man  shall  stop  me  of  this  boasting  in  the  re- 
gions of  Achaia. 


iii/  8,  9. P  Pbilippians  iv.  JO,  15,  16. <i  Chap.  xii.  14, 16. 

■*  Rom.  iz.  1. *  Greek,  ^d»  hoasting  9haU  noi  be  etopped  m  me. 

•VCor.  ix.  15.  . 


make  his  preaching  the  more  acceptable  and  sue- 
cessfhl.  The  second  objection  he  answers  in  this 
chapter,  verses  11-15."  /  robbed — Greek,  eav^ffea, 
I  spoiled,  as  it  were,  other  churches-^li  is  a  military 
term ;)  taking  wages — Chlwviov,  pay,  (another  mili- 
tary word,)  €f  them,  when  I  first  came  to  you ;  to  do 
you  service — To  serve  your  best  interests  by  con- 
verting you  to,  and  instructing  you  in,  the  faith  of 
the  gospel.  It  appears  from  Phil.  iv.  15, 16,  that  it 
was  from  the  church  at  Philippi  that  he  received  the 
support  here  spoken  of.  For  the  brethren  there, 
"  being  strongly  impressed  widi  a  sense  of  the  ad- 
vantages which  mankind  derived  from  the  gospel, 
were  so  anxious  to  render  the  apostle's  preaching  in 
Corinth  su(fces8ful,  that,  during  his  residence  there, 
they  sent  him  money,  to  prevent  his  bemg  burden- 
some to  the  Corinthians.  His  acceptance  of  these 
presents  he  called  a  spoiling  of  the  Pbilippians, 
because,  as  he  was  not  labouring  among  them,  he 
took  their  money  without  giving  them  any  thing  m 
return  for  it;  and  a  taking  of  wages:  but  it  was  for 
a  service  performed,  not  to  the  Pbilippians,  but  to 
the  Corinthians."  And  when  I  was  present  with 
you  and  wanted— ThQ  gains  of  my  labour  not  quite 
supplying  my  necessities ;  /  was  chargeable  to  no 
man— Of  your  church,  or  of  Corinth.  The  word 
here  used,  Kartvapicrjaa,  appears  to  be  derived  from 
vapKv,  which,  Elian  says,  is  the  name  of  a  fish,  called 
by  the  Latins  torpedo,  because  it  deprives  those 
who  touch  it  of  the  sense  of  feeling.  According  to 
this  derivation  of  the  word,  the  apostle^s  meaning 
is,  /  benumbed,  or  oppressed,  or  hurt,  no  one.  See 
the  notes  of  Joach.  Camerar.  For  what  was  lack- 
ing-^VoT  my  support ;  the  brethren  from  Macedonia 
supplied— Though  it  seems  the  apostle  generally 
maintained  himself  by  his  own  labour,  he  was 
sometimes  so  occupied  in  preaching,  and  in  the  other 
functions  of  his  ministry,  that  he  had  little  time  for 
woricing.  This  was  the  case  when  he  was  first  at 
Corinth;  at  which  time  the  Pbilippians  relieved  him. 
For  he  chose  to  receive  help  from  the  poor  of  that 
place,  ratherlhan  from  the  rich  Corinthians.  In  all 
things  I  have  kept  myself  from  being  burdensome 
to  ycm— In  any  way  whatever ;  and  will  keep  myself 
—So  long  as  God  shall  enable  me. 

Verses  10-12.  As  the  truth  of  Christ  is  in  me— 

As  sure  as  I  am  a  true  Christian,  and  an  apostle. 

The  expression  has  the  nature  of  an  oath.    See  on 

Rom.  ix.  1.    No  man  shall  stop  me  of  this  boastings 

3QS 


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II.  CCttlNTHIANS. 


offtiUe  apotOef/ 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.dO. 


11  Wherefore?  *  because  Ileve  you 
not?    God  knoweth. 

12  But  what  I  do,  that  I  will  do,  "^that  I  may 
cut  off  occasion  from  them  which  desire  oeca- 
fiion;  that  wherein  they  g^ory,  they  may  be 
found  even  as  we. 

13  For  mch  ""are  false  apostles,  ^deceitful 
workers,  transforming  themselves  into  the  Sfoa- 
ties  of  Christ 

14  And  no  marvd;  for  Satan  himself  is 
transformed  into  '  an  angd  of  light. 

15  Therefore  it    is  no  great  thing  if  his 


» Chapter  tL  11 ;  rii.  3 ;  xiL  16. ■  1  Cor.  ix.  12. »  Acta 

XV.  24;  Rom.  xvi.  18;  Gal.  i.  7;  ri.  12;  Phil.  i.  15  : 2  Pet.  ii.  1 ; 
1  John  It.  1 ;  Rev.  ii.  2. r  Chap.  ii.  17;  Phil.  iii.  2 ;  Tit.  i. 


Fot  I  will  receive  nothing  from  you.  Wherefore — 
For  what  reason  have  I  resolved  on  this?  Is  it,  as 
my  enemies  tell  you,  because  I  do  not  love  you,  and 
will  not  be  obliged  to  you?  Ood  knoweth  that  is 
not  the  case.  But  what  I  do,  &c.— As  if  he  had 
said,  ^e  true  reason  why  I  do  so,  and  resolve  to 
continue  the  same  course,  is  this ;  that  I  may  cut  off 
occasion,  namely,  of  reproaching  me,  or  boasting  of 
themselves,  from  them  which  desire  occasion  for  so 
doing;  that  wherein  they  giory— Namely,  of  their 
preaching  freely,  at  least  sometimes,  o^r  some  of 
them,  or  pretending  to  do  so ;  they  may  be  found  even 
as  we — To  have  no  advantage  over  me  In  this  re- 
spect. It  would  seem  that  the  false  teachers  at  Co- 
rinth^ in  imitation  of  the  apostle,  pretended  to  take 
nothing  for  their  preaching,  and  boasted  of  their 
disinterestedness.  Nevertheless,  on  other  pretences 
they  received  presents  from  their  disciples  in  private, 
nay,  extorted  them.  See  verse  20.  Wherefore,  to 
put  these  impostors  to  shame,  and  to  oblige  them 
really  to  imitate  him,  the  apostle  declared  that  he 
never  had  taken  any  thing,  nor  ever  would  take 
any  thing  from  the  Corinthians,  whether  in  public 
or  hfi  private,  on  any  account  whatever. 

Verses  15«15.  For  such  are  false  apw^to— What- 
ever they  may  pretend  to  the  contrary,  being  desti- 
tute of  that  divine  mission  which  all  the  true  apos- 
tles have;  deceitjul  tiHwfccrf— Pretending  to  great 
disinterestedness  in  their  work,  while  their  only  de- 
sign is  to  promote  their  own  interest ;  transforming 
themselves  into  the  appearance  of  apostles  of  Christ 
— By  pretending  to  preach  the  gospel  without  re- 
ward. And  no  marvel  they  assume  that  appear- 
ance ;  for  Satan  himself—In  subordination  to  Whom 
they  act,  can  put  on  such  deceitAil  appearances,  and 
be  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light — Wearing,  on 
certain  occasions,  a  mask  of  sanctity  and  religion,  in 
his  attempts  to  deceive  and  insnare  the  souls  of  men, 
so  that  one  would  imagine  his  suggestions  to  be  of 
a  celestial  and  divine  original.  "In  this  manner,  it 
may  be  supposed,  Satan  transformed  himself,  when 
he  tempted  oar  Lord  in  the  wilderness;  and  in  like 
manner  also  when  he  tempted  our  first  mother  Eve. 
Bvil  spirits  are  called  angeis  of  darkness,  because 
254 


ministerB   also    be   traoafermed  .as  ▲.m.«mi. 

the    *  ministers    of    nghteouMiesB ;  • 

^  whose    ^id    shall    be    accordii^    to    their 
w(»rks. 

16  "^  I  say  again,  Let  ok)  inan  think  me  a  fool  ] 
if  otherwise,  yet  as  a  fool  ^receive  me,  that  I 
may  boast  myself  a  Uttle. 

17  That  which  I  speak,  ^lepeakU  not  after 
the  Lord,  but  as  it  were  fodishly,  *  in  this  con- 
fidence of  boasting. 

18  ^Seeing  that  many  glory  after  the  flesh,  I 
w31  glory  also. 


10,  11. •  GaL  i..a »CliMi«eriiL  S. *  Plul.  iii  la 

e  Verae  1 ;  Chap.  xii.  6,  11. •  Or,  suier. '  1  Cor.  viL  •» 

12. •  Chap.  w.  4. '  Phil,  iii  3, 4. 


they  employ  themselves  in  promoting  error  and 
wickedness,  which  is  spiritual  darkness.  Whereas, 
good  angels  are  called  angels  of  lights  because  they 
employ  themselves  in  promoting  truth  and  virtue, 
which  is  spiritual  light."  Therefore^  it  is  no  great 
f/iin^— Nothmg  extraordinary;  if  his  ministers  cUso, 
under  his  influence,  be  transformed — ^That  is,  make 
themselves  to  appear;  as  ministers  of  righteousness 
— False  teachers  are  justly  called  ministers  of  Sa- 
tan, l>ecau8e  they  are  employed  in  disseminating 
error,  whereby  Satan's  kingdom  is  supported  in  the 
world.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  with  equal  propriety 
are  the  teachers  of  true  doctrine  called  ministers  of 
righteousness,  because  of  the  efficacy  of  true  doc- 
trine to  promote  righteousness  in  them  who  receive 
it:  whose  eiK^Notwithstanding  all  their  disguises; 
shall  be  according  to  their  works — Here  the  end,  as 
in  Rom.  vi.  21,  signifies  the  final  issue  of  a  course  of 
action;  consequently  the  retribution  which  shall  be 
made  to  the  actor. 

Verses  16, 17.  I  say  again — He  premises  a  new 
apology  to  this  new  commendation  of  himself;  let 
no  man  think  me  afool^-^ln  hoasting  thus  of  my- 
self; let  no  one  think  I  take  any  pleasure  in  doing 
it,  or  that  I  do  it  without  a  very  strong  reason.  Let 
the  provocation  I  have  received  be  considered :  let 
the  necessity  of  the  chrcutnstance,  and  the  import- 
ance of  my  character,  be  duly  weighed,  and  I  shall 
surely  be  excused.  But  if  otherwise^U  any  one 
do  think  me  foolish  herein,  yet  bear  with  my  folly, 
and  hear  ine  patiently  without  ofifence ;  thcU  I  may 
boast  myself  a  little^An  well  as  others.  That 
which  J  speak — On  this  head ;  /  speak  it  not  afUr 
the  I^ord— Not  by  any  immediate  direction  or  in- 
spiration from  Christ ;  nor  after  his  example,  and  In 
such  a  way  as  seems  worthy  of  lum;  butasitwere 
foolishly,  &c.— In  such  a  maimer  as  many  may 
think  foolish,  and  indeed  would  be  foolish,  w^re  I 
not  compelled  to  it  in  order  that  I  may  vindicate  my 
apostleship,  and  confirm  3rtiu  in  the  truth. 

Verses  lS-21.  Seeing  that  many  glory  after  the 
flesh—In  circumoisioii,  Jewish  extraction,  and  other 
outward  prtvilsges  and  qualiikattons ;  /  ^oiU  glory 
olfo— In  the  same  mtmisff ;  sor  can  my  seeming 

h 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


and  sufferings  for  the  g&spd. 


A.M.40W.  19  *  For  ye  suffer  fools  gladly,  »  see- 
'. — 1.  kig  ye  ytmrselves  are  wise. 

20  For  ye  auffer,  **  if  a  man  bring  you  into 
bondage,  if  a  man  devour  y<m,  if  a  man  take 
of  youj  if  a  man  exalt  hin^self,  if  a  man  smite 
you  on  the  &ce. 

HI  I  speak  as  concerning  reproach, '  as  though 
we  had  been  weak.  Howbeit,  ^  whereinsoever 
any  is  bdd,  (I  speak  foolishly,)  I  am  bold  also. 


*  Sephtagtnma  Sunday,  epistle,  Ter.  19  to  rer.  32. — r-~t 

jr.  10. ^  Gal.  u.  4.;  ir.  9. «  Chap.  x.  10. *  PhiL 

I  Ada  xxii.  3 ;  Rom.  xi.  1 ;  PhiL  iii.  5. 


ICor. 
iu.  4. 


folly  offend  you ;  far  yc— The  disciples  of  the  false 
apostles;  suffer  fools  glcuUy^  seeing  ye  yourselves 
are  wonderfully  vnse— And,  in  your  extraordinary 
wisdom  can  cherish  that  arrogant  temper  in  others. 
As  if  he  had  said,  Being  such  very  wise  men,  I  hope 
you  will  bear  with  this  piece  of  folly  in  me  as  you 
boar  with  it  in  others.  This  is  written  in  the  highest 
strain  of  ridicule,  as  is  plain  from  the  next  verse, 
where,  in  mockery,  he  mentions  their  abjectly  bear- 
ing the  contumelious  and  injurious  behaviour  of  the 
felse  teachers,  as  an  example  of  their  wisdom  \n 
bearing.  JBut  it  was  a  bearing,  not  with  fools,  but 
wiA  knaves,  to  their  own  cost.  By  taking  notice 
irf  that  circtrmstance,^  therefore,  the  apostle  placed 
their  pretended  wisdom  in  a  truly  ridiculous  light 
For,  &c. — Your  patience  in  bearing  is  indeed  very 
great ;  for  ye  suffer—Sot  only  the  folly,  but  the 
gross  abuses  of  those  false  teachers;  ye  take  it  pa- 
tiently if  a  man — Any  of  the  false  teachers ;  bring 
you  into  bondage— Lord  it  over  you  in  the  most 
arbitrary  manner.  If  a  man  devour-  you — By  his 
exorbitant  demands,  notwithstanding  his  boast  of 
not  being  burdensome ;  if  he  take  of  you— Gi^  and 
presents,  pretending  to  exact  nothing  as  due;  if  he 
exalt  himself— By  the  most  unbounded  self-com- 
mendation ;  if  he  smile  you  on  the  face — ^Treat  you 
as  disgracefully  as  if  he  di,d  so.  I  speak— Whui  I 
have  now  said ;  concerning  r«proacA— Namely,  the 
reproach  which  they  cast  upon  you  Gentiles  as  un- 
circurocised  and  profane,  while  they  are  all  of  a  holy 
nation :  or,  I  mean  it  of  those  reproaches  with  which 
they  load  me  and  my  fellow-labourers ;  as  though 
we  had  been  weak — Or  contemptible,  in  comparison 
of  them,  and  could  have  used  no  such  authority 
over  you.  Bowbeit,  whereinsoever  any  is  bold — 
Thinks  he  may  value  and  extol  himself;  (J speak 
foolishly— ThBi  18,  in  appearance ;)  lam  bold  also 
— ^I  have  as  much  to  say  for  myself,  as  he  has  for 
himself. 

Verse  221  Are  (hey  Hebrews?— Descended  from 
Heber,  (see  Gen.  xi.  14,)  and  speaking  the  Hebrew 
language,  though  with  some  variation ;  so  am  I— 
Paul  indeed  was  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  but  his 
father  and  mother  were  Hebrews,  Phil.  iii.  5.  And 
having  been  sent  to  Jerusalem  when  young,  he  was 
instructed  by  Gamaliel,  a  noted  Jewbh  doctor.  Acts 
xxu.  3.  Ho  that  in  Jerusalem  he  perfected  himself 
both  in  the  language  and  religion  of  his  nation,  on 
aD  which  accounts  he  was  truly  a  Hebrew  descend- 
b 


22  Are  they  Hebrews?  ^  so  am  I.  A.  M. 4064. 

AD  60 

Are  they  Israelites?    so  am  I.    Are  — !— ^ — 1. 


they  the  seed  of  Abraham?  so  am  I. 

23  Are  they  ministers  of  Christ?  (I  speak 
as  a  fool)  I  am  rhore;  ■*iti  labours  more 
abundant,  *  in  stripes  above  measure,  in 
prisons  more  Anient,  •in  deaths  oft. 

24  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  ^  forty 
stripes  save  <me. 


«  1  Cor.  XV.  10. ■  Act8  ix.  16 ;  xx.  23 ;  txI  11 ;  CJhap. 

▼i.  4,  5. olCor.  XV.  30,  31,  32;  Chap.  i.  9,  lO;  iv.  11; 

vi.  9. p  De«t.  XXV.  3. 


ed  of  Hebrews.  Are  they  Israelites?— Descended 
from  Jacob,  who,  in  preference  to  his  brother  Esau, 
was  chosen  to  be  the  root  of  the  visible  diurch  of 
God  in  that  early  age,  and  was  called  Israel  for  the 
reason  mentioned  Gen.  xxxii.  28.  This  appellation, 
therefore,  signified  that  the  persons  to  whom  it  was 
given  were  members  of  God's  visible  church  by 
their  descent  from  Jacob,  and  consequently  were 
distinguished  fropa  proselytes  who  were  members 
by  circumcision,  and  not  by  descent.  Are  they  the 
seed  of  Abraham  ? — Inasmuch  as  Abraham,  being 
constituted  a  father  of  many  nations,  had  two  kinds 
of  seed ;  the  one  by  natural  descent,  called  his  seed 
by  the  law;  the  other  by  faith,  called  tliat  which  is 
of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  see  Rom.  iv.  1?,  16. 
Macknight  thinks,  that  by  tJie  seed  of  Abraham^  the 
apostle  intended  here  his  seed  by  faith,  or  his  spirit 
ual  seed ;  because  if  he  had  meant  his  natural  seed, 
this  question  would  have  been  the  same  with  the 
preceding:  a  tautology,  he  thinks,  not  to  be  imputed 
to  the  apostle. 

Verses  28-26.  Are  they  ministers  of  Christ? — 
"St.  Paul  does  not  compare  himself  with  the  false 
teachers  aS  an  apostle,  but  as  a  mmister  of  Christ 
simply.  And  to  show  how  much  he  exceeded  them 
in  that  inferior  character,  he  mentions  his  labours 
in  the  ministry,  and  his  sufferii^s  undergone  in  his 
many  journeys  and  voyages,  for  the  sake  of  spread- 
ing the  gospel.  And  from  his  account  it  appears, 
that  none  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity,  however  vehe- 
mently actuated  by  the  love  of  fame,  or  of  military 
glory  or  power,  either  did  or  suffered  as  much  in  the 
pursuit  of  their  objects,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  did  and 
suffered  for  Christ  and  his  gospel."  /  am  more  so 
than  they ;  in  labours  more  abundant^Snsi&ined 
for  a  long  series  of  years ;  in  stripes  above  measure 
—All  endured  for  Christ  and  his  cause.  In  prisons 
more  frequent — In  the  narrative  of  Paul's  travels 
and  sufferings,  contained  in  the  Acts,  we  only  read 
of  his  being  imprisoned  once,  before  this  epistle  was 
written,  namely,  at  Philippi.  But  doubtless  many 
particulars  of  his  life,  besides  the  imprisonments 
here  referred  to,  were  omitted  in  that  history,  for 
the  sake  of  brevity.  In  deaths  q^— Surrounding 
me  in  the  most  dreadful  forms.  Of  the  Jews  Jive 
times  received  /—In  their  synagogues,  and  before 
their  courts  of  judgment;  forty  stripes,  save  one — 
According  to  the  law,  punishment  by  stripes  was 
restricted  to  forty,  at  one  beating,  Deut.  xxv.  3j  but 
1M 


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The  apostle  recaufdt  hia  9uffeHng9,         IL  CORINTIIIANS. 


ani  glories  in  hi&  iMfrmMa, 


A.  M.  4064.    25  Thrice  was  I  «  beaten  with  rods, 

. ! — L  'once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  'suffered 

shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in 
the  deep ; 

26  In  joumeyings  <^n,  in  perils  of  waters, 
in  perils  of  robbers,  ^  in  perils  by  mine  own 
countrymen,  °tn  perils  by  the  heathen,  in 
perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wiktemess, 
in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  bre- 
thren ; 

87  In  weariness  and  painfulness,  '  in  watch- 


^  Acts  xvi.  22. '  AcU  xit.  19. •  AcU  xxrii.  41. »  Acta 

ix.  23  \  xiiL  50;  zit.  5 ;  zrii.  5 ;  zz.  3 ;  xzi.  31 ;  zxriii.  10, 11 ; 
xxr.  3.^— •  AeU  ziv.  5  \  zix.  23. »  Acts  zx,  31 ;  Chap.  vi.  5. 


the  whip  with  which  these  stripes  were  given,  con- 
sisting of  three  separate  cords,  and  each  stroke 
being  counted  as  three  stripes,  thirteen  strokes  made 
thirty-nine  stripes,  beyond  which  they  never  went 
Bee  Whitby.  As  the  apostle,  before  his  conversion, 
had  been  very  active  in  inflicting  this  punishment 
on  the  disciples  of  Christ,  he  could  not  complain 
when  he  hinaself  was  treated  in  the  same  manner 
by  the  zealots  for  the  law.  Thrice  was  J  beaten 
^tith  rocfe— By  the  Roman  lictors  or  beadles,  at  the 
command  of  their  superior  magistrates.  In  his  his- 
tory, contained  in  the  Acts,  we  find  no  mention 
made  of  his  being  punished  with  stripes,  and  only 
one  instance  occurs  there  of  his  being  beaten  with 
rods.  See  the  margin.  Once  was  /*tona^-Name- 
ly,  at  Lystra,  at  which  time  he  was  left  for  dead. 
Thrice  I  steered  shipvfreck— Before  his  voyage  to 
Rome,  in  which  he  was  shipwrecked  at  Malta ;  of 
these  we  have  no  account  in  the  Acts.  A  night  and 
a  day  I  haoe  been  in  the  deep — Probably  floating 
on  some  part  of  a  shipwrecked  vessel,  by  which, 
possibly,  he  escaped  to  shore.  This,  it  is  likely, 
happened  in  one  of  the  three  shipwrecks  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  clause. 

Verses  28,  27.  fn  joumeyings — For  the  sake  of 
preaching  the  gospel;  o/(cn— In  which  I  have  been 
exposed  to  a  variety  of  dangers,  from  waters,  rob- 
bers, my  oton  countrymeny  and  the  heathen.  In 
perils  in  the  city— From  tumults.  Of  these  dan- 
gers, frequent  mention  is  made  in  the  Acts :  as  in 
Damascus ;  after  that,  in  Jerusalem ;  then  in  Antioch, 
in  Pisidia,  Iconhim,  Thessalonica,  Berea,  Corinth, 
and  Kphesus ;  all  before  the  writing  of  this  epistle. 
In  dangers  in  the  wilderness — Of  perishing  by  want, 
or  by  wild  beasts;  in  the  sea — From  storms  and 
pirates;  among  false  brethren — ^Who,  amidst  spe- 
cious pretensions  of  love  and  affection,  secretly 
watched,  if  not  to  destroy  me,  at  least  to  injure  my 
character,  and  ruin  my  useAilness.  In  weariness — 
Through  my  incessant  labours ;  and  painfulness — 
Or  fatiguing  toQ.  The  latter  of  the  words  here 
used,  fMx^oc,  implies  more  than  icoiroc,  the  former, 
namely,  such  hard  labour  as  caused  great  fatigue. 
fn  watchings  q^cn—Conllnuing  many  nights  with- 
out sleep,  which  might  happen  from  various  causes, 
besides  that  mentioned  Acts  xx.  II,  when  he  con- 


mgs 


^in  hunger  and  thirst,  a.m.4064. 


in  &sting8  often,  in  cold  and  naked- 


A.  D.  so. 


28  Besides  thoee  things  that  are  without,  that 
which  Cometh  upon  roe  dmly,  '  the  care  of  a& 
the  churches. 

29  •  Who-is  weak,  and  lamnotweak?  who 
is  offended,  and  I  bum  not? 

30  If  I  must  needs  glory,  ^I  will  glory  of  tbe 
things  which  concern  mine  infirmities. 

31  ^  The  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


J 1  Cor.  ir.  11. >  AcU  xx.  18,  &c ;  Rom.  i.  14. 

Tui  13 ;  ix.  22. ^  Chapter  xii.  5,  9,  10. —     ~ 

iz.  1 ;  Chap.  i.  23;  Gal.  i.  2 ;  1  Thesa.  ii.  5. 


ICor. 

i.  •; 


tinned  his  discourse  till  bretik  of  day.  In  hunger 
and  thirst— ^oi  having  the  necessaries  of  life  at 
hand.  In  cold  and  nakedness — ^Having  no  place 
where  to  lay  my  head,  and  no  conyenient  raiment 
to  cover  me ;  and  y^t  appearing  before  noblemen, 
governors,  and  kings,  and  not  being  ashamed. 

Verses  28-31.  Besides  diose  things  that  are  wiih- 
out — ^These  external  troubles  which  I  have  mention- 
ed) thai  which  Cometh  upon  me  daily — Greek,  n  «ri- 
ovcaaicfjut  n  Ko^fifupav,  that  which  rusheth  tipon  wu 
daily,  or  that  wl^di  is  my  daily  pressure.  The  ex- 
pression denotes  a  crowd  of  people  surrounding  and 
pressing  upon  a  person,  in  order  to  bear  him  down, 
and  trample  upon  him ;  an  idea  which  is  elegantly 
applied  to  his  cares  respecting  Hie  churches;  crowd- 
ing in  upon  his  mind,  and  ready  to  overwhelm  it. 
And  thb  is  very  properly  mentioned  here  among 
his  sufferings,  being  certainly  not  one  of  the  least  of 
them,  as  may  be  easily  inferred  from  the  account 
which  he  has  given  in  this  and  in  his  former  epistle, 
of  the  exceeding  grief  which  the  errors  and  irregu- 
larities of  the  single  church  of  Ck)rinth  caused  him. 
In  saying  the  care  of  all  the  churches,  he  signified 
he  was  deeply  concerned  for  the  prosperity,  even  of 
those  which  he  had  not  seen  in  the  flesh.  St  Peter 
himself  could  not  have  said  this  in  so  strong  a  sense. 
Who  is  icca/c— Namely,  in  grace,  and  therefore  op- 
pressed with  a  variety  of  doubts  and  fears,  and  cast 
down ;  and  I  am  not  weak—By  sympathy,  as  well 
as  by  condescension,  manifested  in  complying  with 
their  weakness.  Who  is  offended— Hindered  in  or 
turned  out  of  the  good  way ;  and  I  bum  not — With 
zeal  and  desire  to  restore  him :  or  am  not  panned, 
as  though  I  had  fire  in  my  bosom  ?  So  that  he  had 
not  only  the  care  of  the  churches,  but  every  person 
therein.  If  I  must  needs  glory — And  I  am  heartily 
sorry  that  any  such  necessity  is  laid  upon  me ;  /  will 
glpry  of  the  things  that  concern  my  infrmities^^lti 
my  sufferings  for  Christ,  of  various  kinds,  such  as  I 
have  specified,  (see  chap.  xiL  10,)  sufferings  whidi 
show  my  weakness,  and  his  strength,  and  therefore 
humble  me,  and  exalt  him.  And  in  what  I  have 
said,  I  have  only  spoken  the  exact  truth,  without 
feigning  or  aggravating  any  one  circumstance)  for 
God  knoweth  that  I  He  no*— Even  that  eternal  Bft- 
jesty  of  heaven  and  eurtb;  who  is  blessed  fb^-  ever- 

b 


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CHAPTER  Xn. 


of  his  visions  and  reveUUions, 


A.]L406i  Christ, ''which  bbieased  for  evermore, 
_1-! — 1  knoweth  that  I  lie  not 
32  *  In  Damascus  the  governor  under  Arelas 
the  king  kept  the  city  of  the  D^imascenes  with 


*  Rom.  iz.  5. 


more.  This  cUtuseis  added  to  increase  the  solemnity 
of  his  appeal  to  God  for  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
said,  and  was  going  further  to  say ;  and  that  not  only 
concerning  his  deliverance  at  Damascus,  but  con- 
cermng  the  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord,  to 
be  mentioned  in  the  next  chapter. 

Verses  3%  83.  In  Damascus^  &c.— As  if  he  had 
said,  I  must  be  permitted  to  add  one  circumstance 
more  to  illustrate  the  dangers  to.  which  I  was  ex- 
posed, as  soon  as  I  engaged  ii^  the  Christian  cause, 
and  the  remarkable  interposition  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence Jfor  my  preservation :  the  governor  under 
Aret€u — King  of  Arabia  and  Syria^  of  which  Da- 
mascus was  a  chief  city,  willing  to  oblige  the  Jews, 
kept  the  citi^  of  the  Damascenes  with  a  garrison — 
•That  is,  setting  guards  at  all  the  gates,  day  and 
night;  desirouSy  or,  determining,  to  apprehend  me — 
And  to  deliver  me  to  them.  And  in  such  a  danger, 
where  even  the  form  of  a  trial  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, what  could  I  do  but  dee  ?  7*hrough  a  win- 
dow— Therefore,  of  a  house  which  stood  on  the  city 
wall ;  I  was  let  down  in  a  6a*Afc/— With  ropes ;  and 


a  ^arriscM),  desirous  to  apprehend  me :  A.  K.4064. 
as  And  through  a  window  in  a    ^^'^' 
basket  was  I  kt  down  by  the  wall,  and  escaped 
his  hands. 


•AeU  is.  24,25. 


escaped  his  hands^The  assistance  of  good  men 
co<»perating  with  the  care  of  God.  Now,  who  that 
considers  and  credits  the  above  brief  account,  though 
of  but  a  part  of  the  labours  and  sufferings  which  the 
apostle  voluntarily  sustahied,  that  he  might  testify 
to  mankind  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  can  for 
a  moment  question  his  certain  knowledge  of  the 
truth  and  importance  of  that  gospel;  especiaUy  is 
he  neither  reaped,  nor  could  expect  to  reap,  tvny 
worldly  bene^ whatever  from  preachmg  it?  Did 
h  3  do  and  suffer  all  these  things  to  spread  a  doctrine 
which,  for  any  thing  l^e  knew  to  tiie  contrary,  might 
be  false ;  or  if  true,  was  not  important  to  the  salva- 
tion of  the  human  race?  Surely  no  man  can  sup- 
pose it,  without  first  supposing  that  the  apostle  was 
destitute  of  common  sense.  Ck>nsider  this,  reader, 
and  remember,  at  the  same  time,  how  the  Lord 
sanctioned  and  confiirmed  his  testimony,  by  signs 
and  wonders  J  and  divers  miracles^  and  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Qhosty  according  to  his  own  will,  and  then  think 
how  thou  shalt  escape  if  thou  reject  or  neglect  such  a 
gospel,  or  the  great  salvation  revealed  in  and  by  it. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

In  tku  chapter y  (1,)  The  apostle,  toith  great  plainness  and  freedom,  yet  at  the  ^ame  Hme  unth  great  modesty,  gives  an  account 
of  some  extraordinary  revelations  which  he  had  received  from  God,  and  of  those  experiences  tohich  taughi  him  toglcry  §oen 
in  his  infirmities,  1-10.  (2,)  He  intimates  that  the  signs  of  apostleship,  which  the  Corinthians  might  have  perceioed  in 
him,  ought  to  haive  induced  them  to  speak  well  ofhirn,  (hat  he  might  not  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  commending  kim» 
self,  11-13.  (3,)  He  declares  his  intention  to  make  them  a  friendly,  edifying,  and,  as  formerly,  an  unexpensioe  visit, 
14-19.     (4,)  i/e  intimates  his  fears  lest  he  should  be  forced  to  use  severity  in  dealing  toith  some  of  them,  20,  21. 


A.M. 4064.  JT  is  not  expedient  for  me  doubt- 
±.El^  •*■  less    to   glory.      ^   wiU    come 


'  Greek,  For 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XII. 

Verse  1.  Alter  enumerating,  in  the  former  chapter, 
his  almost  incredible  labours  and  sufferings  for  the 
gospel,  tbe  apostle,  in  this,  proceeds  to  speak  of 
some  vbions  and  revelations  that  had  been  made  to 
him,  as  a  fUrther  proof  of  his  a;po8tle8hip,  and  of  the 
regard  which  ought  to  be  paid  to  his  doctrines,  his 
advices,  exhortations,  or  reproofs.  It  is  not  expe- 
dient for  me  doubtless  to  glory— Ot  boast  of  any 
thing  I  have  done  or  suffered,  as  a  minister  of  Christ, 
unless  on  so  pressing  an  occasion.  Yet,  or  never- 
theless, as  /op  must  be  here  understood  to  signify,  / 
will  come  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord — 
That  he  might  not  offend  any  one's  delicacy,  he  for- 
bears to  say  that  these  visions  and  revelations  were 

Vol.  II.  (  17  ) 


to  visions 
Lord. 


and    revelations   of 


the  A.  M.4oei. 

A.  D.  60. 


IwiU  come. 


given  to  himself;  although,  doubtless,  some  of  the 
Corinthians  would  infer,  from  his  manner  of  speak- 
ing, that  he  himself  had  been  favoured  with  ihem. 
Visions  were  things  presented  to  a  person  in  a 
supernatural  manner,  so  as  to  be  the  objects  of  his 
sight  while  awake.  Thus  Zacharias,  (Luke  i.  11 J 
and  Mary,  (verse  26,)  and  Cornelius,  (Acts  x.  3,)  had 
vbions  of  angels.  Probably  here  the  apostle  means 
his  seeing  the  Lord  Jesus  on  diiibrent  occasions, 
after  his  ascension  5  and  especially  those  visions  of 
Christ  which  he  saw  when  he  was  caught  up  into 
the  third  heaven.  And  revelations  of  the  Lord— 
These  were  discoveries  of  matters  unknown,  which 
Christ  made  to  Paul  by  an  internal  impression  on 
bis  mind;  or  by  speech,  such  as  the  revelations 
257  b 


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U.  CORINTHIANa 


of  hi*  visions  and  revtlfitiomti 


A.  H.  4064.  2  I  knew  a  man  *  in  Christ  above 
— — '- — -  fourteen  years  ago,  (whether  in  the 
body,  I  cannot  tell;  of  whether  out  of  the  body, 
I  cannot  tell:  God  knoweth^)  such  a  one 
^  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven. 
3  AndIknewsuQhaman,(whetherinthebody, 
or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  teU:  Godknoweth;) 


•  Rom.  xvL  7 ;  Chap.  v.  17 ;  Gal.  L  22. ^  Acts  xxii.  17. 


mentioned  Acts  xiii.  2;  1  Tim.  iv.  1.  Perhaps  also 
those  which,  he  says,  (verse  4,)  he  heard  in  paradise. 
Of  the  former  kind  were  all  the  inspirations  of  the 
Spirit  bestowed  on  the  apostles,  and  on  those  who, 
in  the  first  age,  preached  the  gospel  by  revelation. 

Verses  2,  9.  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ — That  is,  a 
Christian.  He  mnst  undoubtedly  have  meant  bin?- 
self,  or  the  whole  article  liad  been  quite  foreign  to 
his  purpose.  Indeed,  that  he  meant  himself  is  plain 
from  verses  6,  7.  Fourteen  years  agoSo  long,  it 
seems,  the  apostle  had  concealed  this  extraordinary 
event;  a  circumstance  which  shows  how  little  dis- 
posed he  was  to  speak  vauntingly  of  himself.  fVhe- 
ther  in  the  body — And  by  the  intervention  of  its 
senses;  or  out  of  the  body — And  without  any  wich 
intervention,  the  things  which  I  saw  and  heard  were 
communicated  to  me;  I  know  not — It  is  equally 
possible  with  God  to  present  distant  thmgs  to  the 
imagination  in  the  body,  as  if  the  soul  were  absent 
from  it,  and  present  with  them,  as  seems  to  have 
been  the  case  with  Ezekiel  in  :the  visions  mentioned 
chap.  xi.  24,  and  xxxvii.  1 ;  and  with  John  in  those 
recorded  Rev.  xviL  3,  and  xxi.  10;  or,  as  the  Spirit 
caught  away  Philip,  (Acts  viii.  39,)  to  transport  both 
soul  and  body  for  what  time  he  pleases  to  heaven ; 
or  to  transport  the  soul  only  thither  for  a  season, 
and  in  the  mean  time  to  preserve  the  body  fit  for  its 
re-entrance.  But  since  the  apostle  himself  did  not 
know  whether  his  soul  was  in  his  body  when  he  had 
these  visions,  &c. ;  or  whether  one  or  both  were 
actually  in  heaven ;  for  us  to  inquire  into  that  matter 
would  be  vain' curiosity,  and  extreme  folly.  "It  is 
of  more  importance  to  observe,  that  he  supposed  his 
spirit  might  be  carried  into  the  third  heaven,  and 
into  paradise,  without  his  body.  For,  from  his 
making  such  a  supposition,  it  is  plain  he  believed 
his  spirit  could  exist  out  of  his  body ;  and  that,  by 
the  operation  of  God,  it  could  be  made  to  hear  and 
see,  without  the  intervention  of  his  bodily  organs." 
Buch  a  one  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven — The 
habitation  of  the  divine  glory,  far  above  the  aerial 
and  tlie  starry  heavens.  For,  '*  in  the  language  of 
the  Jews,  the  first  heaven  is  the  region  of  the  air, 
where  the  birds  fly,  which  therefore  are  called  the 
fowls  of  heaven.  The  second  heaven  is  that  part  of 
space  m  which  the  stars  are.  This  was  called,  by 
the  Jews,  the  heaven  of  heavens.  See  I  Kings 
viii.  27.  The  third  heaven  is  the  seat  of  God,  and 
of  the  holy  angels,  into  which  Christ  ascended  after 
his  resurrection,  but  which  is  not  the  object  of  men's 
senses,  as  the  other  heavens  are." 

Verse  4.  How  that  he  was  caught  up  into  para- 
dise—The seat  of  happy  spirits,  in  their  separate 
b  266 


4  How  that  he  was  cau^  up  into  a.  m.  4064. 

®  paradise,   and  heard   unspeakaUe  U— 

words,  which  it  is  iK)t  'lawful  for  a  man  to 
uUtf. 

6  Of  such  a  one  will  I  glory :  *  yet  rf 
myself  I  will  not  glory,  but  in  mine  infirm- 
ities. 


«  Lake  xiiiL  43. ■  Or,  posnble* *  Chap.  tL  30. 


state  between  death  and  the  resurrection.  See  note 
on  Luke  xxiiL  48.  Most  of  the  ancients,  (except 
Origen,)  as  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Justin  Martyr, 
Ireneus,  Tertullian,  and,  among  the  modems,  Bull, 
Whitby,  Bengefius,  were  of  opinion  that  the  apostle 
had  two  different  raptures;  because,  as  Methodius 
very  well  argues,  If  one  rapture  only  were  spoken 
of,  the  repetition  of  whether  in  the  body,  4^.,  would 
have  been  needless,  when  speaking  of  his  being 
caught  up  into  paradise.  And  heard  imspeakable 
wo^ — Or  thmgs,  words  being  frequently  used  by 
the  Hebrews  to  denote  matters:  which  it  is  not  law- 
fulr—Or  possible,  as  the  word  «fov  properly  signi- 
fies, and  as  the  apostle  doubtless  means;  for  a  man 
to  utter—Men  having  no  terms  of  speech  fit  to 
express  such  sublime  ideas  as  the  aposUe  was  there 
taught  to  understand:  nor,  probably,  would  it  be 
consistent  with  the  schemes  of  Providence,  which 
require  that  we  should  be  conducted  by  faith  rather 
than  by  sight,  to  suffer  such  circumstances  as  these 
to  be  revealed  to  the  inhabitants  of  mortal  flesh.  It 
is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Macknight  here,  that  since 
the  things  which  he  saw  and  heard  in  paradise  could 
not,  or  might  not,  be  expressed  in  human  language, 
"it  is  plain  that  the  purpose  for  which  he  was 
caught  up  was  not  to  receive  any  revelation  of  the 
gospel  doctrine,  because  that  could  have  served  no 
purpose,  if  the  apostle  could  not  communicate  what 
he  heard.  But  it  was  to  encourage  him  in  the  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous  work  in  which  he  was  engaged. 
Accordingly,  by  taking  him  up  into  paradise,  and 
showing  him  the  glories  of  the  invisible  world,  and 
making  him  a  witness  of  the  happiness  which  the 
righteous  enjoy  with  Christ,  even  before  their  resur- 
rection, his  faith  in  the  promises  of  the  gospel  must 
have  been  so  exceedingly  strengthened,  and  his 
hope  so  raised,  as  to  enable  him  to  bear  with  alacrity 
that  heavy  load  of  complicated  evils  to  which  he 
was  exposed  in  the  course  of  his  miaisiry.  Not  to 
mention  that  this  confirmation  of  the  aposUe^s  faith 
is  no  small  confirmation  of  ours  also."  Some  sup- 
pose that  it  was  here  the  apostle  was  made  aCt^uaintcd 
with  the  mystery  of  the  future  state  of  the  church, 
and  received  his  orders  to  turn  from  the  Jews,  and 
go  to  the  Gentiles. 

Verses  5,  6.  Of  such  a  one  will  /,  or,  I  might, 
glory— Aa  a  person  highly  favoured  of  Christ;  yet 
of  myself— Considered  as  in  myself;  Twill  not  glory 
— Willingly ;  but  in  my  infirmities — See  on  chap, 
xi.  dO.  Instead  of  boasting  of  liis  raptures  into  the 
third  heaven  and  into  parftdise,  he  will  boast  of  those 
very  weaknesses  for  which  his  enemies  ridiculed 
him,  because,  the  more  weak  and  contemptible  he 
(  17*) 


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CHAPTER  Xn. 


vnth  a  thorn  in  theJML 


A.  M.  4toi.  6  For  *  though  I  would  desire  to 
^^'^  glory,  I  diaU  not  be  a  fool;  forlwiU 
8ay  the  truth :  but  new  I  forbear,  lest  any  man 
should  thmk  of  me  abo?e  that  which  he  seeth 
me  to  bej  or  that  he  heareth  of  tte. 
7  And  leal  I  riioald  be  exalted  above  tnea- 


•Ohap.  z.  8 ;  xi.  16. '  £sek.  zzyiii  24 ;  GaL  It.  13, 14. 


appeared  in  the  eyes  of.  the  world,  the  more  clearly 
was  his  success  in  preaching  shown  toi>e  the  effect 
of  the  divine  power,  for  if  /should  denr»— eeZ9<ro», 
will,  or,  resolve;  to  glory — Referring  to,  f  might 
glory,  (verse  5,)  of  such  a  glorious  revelation ;  / 
should  not  be  a  foolr^ThaX  is,  it  could  not  justly  be 
accounted  folly  to  relate  the  naked  truth.  But  now 
Iforbear-A  speak  sparingly  of  these  things;  lest 
any  one  should  think  of  me — ^Whose  presence  is  so 
mean,  and  whose  speech  is  so  contemptible ;  above 
that  which  he  seeth  me  to  be,  &c. — Above  what  my 
spirit  and  conduct  and  the  constant  exercise  of  my 
ministry  would  warrant.  Macknight  tliinks  he  ad- 
dresses the  faction  here  by  way  of  irony,  and  that 
the  sense  is,  "  I  might  with  truth  boast  of  the  visions 
and  revelations  of  the  Lord  with  which  I  have  been 
honotpred,  but  I  will  not,  for  fear  any  of  you  should 
think  me  a  greater  person  than  my  mean  bodily 
^pearance  which  he  seeth,  and  my  contemptible 
speech,  which  he  heareth,.  warrant  him  to  think  me." 
Verse  7.  Lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure 
—Made  to  think  highly  of  myself,  and  to  put  confi- 
dence in  myself^  and  thereby  should  be  exposed  to 
the  displeasure  of  him  who  resisteth  the  proud, 
1  Peter  v.  5;  through  the  abundance~-lCirep6oXy,  the 
transcendency,  of  the  revekUions^Th&i  is,t!ie  num- 
ber and  the  extraordinary  nature  of  them  5  there  was 
given  tome—By  the  wbe  and  gracious  providence  of 
God ;  a  thorn  inthe  flesh — ^A  visitation  more  painful 
than  any  thorn  sticking  in  the  flesh.  Let  it  be  ob- 
served, says  Whitby,  1st,. That  this  thorn  in  the  flesh 
was  surely  some  infirmity  m  the  flesh  or  body  of 
St  Paul.  So  he  himself  informs  us  Gal.  iv.  14, 
saying.  My  temptcUion  which  was  in  my  flesh  ye 
despised  not,  nor  rejected;  (the  orig'mal  expressions, 
Mc  eiH&evnffare,  sSe  e^emvaare,  properly  signify,  you  did 
not  account  me  cu  nothing,  nor  spit  upon  or  ridicule 
me;)  but  received  me,  notwithstanding,  as  an  angel, 
or  messenger,  of  God,  Whence  we  may  observe, 
both  that  this  thorn,  or.  temptation,  was  in  his  flesh, 
or  in  his  body,  and  that  it  was  such  as  rendered  him, 
in  his  preaching,  obnoxious  to  great  contempt,  and 
made  him  despicable  in  the  eyes  of  others.  2d,  It  is 
highly  probalde  that  this  infirmity  in  the  flesh  h^- 
pened  to  him  after  these  visions  and  revelations  of 
which  he  here  speaks,  for  he  says  it  befell  him  that 
he  might  not  be  exalted  through  the  multitude  of 
his  revelations ;  and  therefore  must  have  been  given 
him  after  he  had  that  temptation  to  self  exaltation. 
3d,  It  is  certain  it  was  some  infirmity  of  the  flesh, 
which  naturally  tended  to  obstruct  the  efficacy  of  his 
preaching,  by  rendering  it  less  acceptable  to  his 
hearers,  and  made  him  subject  to  reproach  and  con- 
tempt in  the  discharge  of  his  ministiy.  This  is  ex- 
U 


sure  through  the  abundance  of  the  re-  A.  M.  4064. 
velatims,  there  waa  given  to  me  a.  ^^'^ 
'thorn  in  the  flesh,  'the  messenger  of  Satan  to 
buflbt  me,  lest  I  ^ould  be  exalted  above  measure. 
8  ^For  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice, 
that  it  might  depart  fioom  me. 


r  Job  il  7 ;  Luke  xiii.  16. »» Deut  iii.  23-27 ;  Matt.  xxtL  44* 

tremely  evident  from  Gal.  iv.  14,  above  cited,  whidi 
Theodoret  thus  paraphrases;  ^'Though  I  brought 
with  me  great  ignominy  in  my  body,  you  did  not 
reject  me;"  and  also  from  Christ's  answer  to  him, 
that  his  power  was  perfected  in  Paul's  weakness: 
that  is,  the  greater  is  thy  infirmity  in  preaching  the 
gospel,  the  greater  is  my  power  in  rendering  it  efiS- 
cacious.  In  the  same  sense  Macknight  understands 
the  apostle,  observing, "  I  have  followed  Whitby  and 
others  in  thinking  that  the  thorn  in  the  apostle's 
flesh  was  some  bodily  weakness  occasioned  by  his 
rapture,  and  which,  affecting  his  looks,  and  gesture, 
and  speech,  rendered  his  manner  of  preaching  less 
acceptable,  and  perhaps  exposed  the  apostle  himself 
to  ridicule.  Thus  we  And  the  -revelaUons  made  to 
Daniel  occasioned  in  him  a  change  of  countenance^ 
(chap.  viL  28,)  and  sickness,  chap.  viii.  27." 

The  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffht  me — These 
words,  being  here  put  by  way  of  apposition,  must 
signify  Uie  same  thing  with  the  thorn  in  the  flesh, 
and  he  must  mean  that  he  was  buffeted  by  Satan, 
when,  by  the  £alse  apostles  and  joaintsters  of  Satan, 
(chap.  xi.  13, 15,)  he  was  contemned  and  made  the 
subject  of  their  scorn,  for  this  infirmity  in  his  flesh. 
But  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  original  words  here 
may  be  properly  rendered,  There  was  given  me  a 
thorn  in  the  flesJi,  that  the  angel,  or  messenger,  of 
S€Unn  miglit  buffet  me.  "  Since,  then,  he  calls  the 
false  apostles  ministers  of  Satan,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  that  he  here  styles  them,  or  the  chief  of 
them,  who  thus  reviled  and  contemned  him  for  this 
infirmity,  and  laboured  to  take  off  the  affections  or 
the  Corinthians  from  him,  an  cmgel  of  Satan  buf 
feting  Aim."— AVhiiby.  Lest  I  should  be  exalted, 
&c. — This  clause  is  wanting  in  some  MSS.,  and  in 
the  Vulgate  version,  being  omitted,  doubtless,  be- 
cause it  occurs  in  the  beginning  of  the  verse.  But 
the  repetition  of  it  here  is  not  improper,  as  it  is  in- 
tended to  draw  the  reader's  attention.  The  follow- 
uig  observations  pf  Baxter  are  worthy  of  every 
reader's  particular  attention:  ^'  1st,  Even  the  holiest 
Christians,  after  their  most  heavenly  acquaintance, 
[their  most  intimate  communion  with  God,  and 
largqst  communications  of  light  and  grace  from  him,] 
are  not  out  of  danger  of  pride,  orof  being  too  much 
exalted.,  2d,  This  spiritual  pride  is  so  dangerous  a 
sin^  that  it  is  a  mercy  to  be  saved  from  it,  eyen  by 
bodily  pain.  3d,  God  will  hurt  the  bodies  to  save 
the  souls,  even  of  his  dearest  children.  4th,  Satan, 
that  mtendeth  hurt,  is  oft  God's  instrument  to  do  us 
good.  6th,  Bodily  pains  are  oft  the  messengers  of 
Satan,  and  yet  of  God." 

Verses  S-ll.  For  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord 
thrice— All  kmds  of  affliction  had  befoUen  the  apos- 
209 


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Paul  i«  oBSured  thai  the  grace 


n.  CORINTHIANS.  ofGod^HnOdben^tienifothim. 


A.  H.4064.  9  And  be  said  unto  mC;  My  prace  is 
^'^^'  suffident  for  thee:  for  my  strength 
b  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly 
therefore  <  will  I  rather  ^ory  in  my  mfirmities, 
>"  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me. 

10  Therefore  ^  I  take  jdeasure  in  infirmities^ 
in  reproaches,  in  necesdties,  in  persecutions,  in 
distresses  for  Christ^s  sake :  "  for  when  I  am 
weak,  then  am  I  strong. 


»  Chap.  xi.  aO. ^  1  Pet.  iv.  14. »  Roomm  t.  3 ;  Chapter 

tU.  4.— ■  Chap.  xiii.  4. ■  Chap.  xi.  1, 10, 17. •  Chap.  xi. 


5;0&Lii.  6-8.  

tie,  yet  none  of  these  did  he  deprecate.  Bnt  here 
be  speaks  of  his  thorn  in  the  flesh,  as  above  all  the 
rest  one  that  macerated  him  with  weakness,  and  by 
the  pain  and  ignominy  of  it,  prevented  his  behig 
lifted  up  more,  or  at  least  not  less,  than  the  most 
vehement  headache  could  have  done,  which  many 
^of  the  ancients  say  he  laboured  under.  That  the 
Lord  to  whom  the  apostle  prayed  was^  Christ,  is 
evident  from  verse  9.  It  is  supposed  by  some,  that 
in  praying  thrice  he  imitated  his  Master's  example 
in  the  garden.  But  perhaps  his  meaning  is  only  that 
he  prayed  often  and  eanieetly.  Thai  «t  might  de- 
part from  me — Hence  we  see  that  it  is  lawful  to 
pray  for  the  removal  of  bodily  pain,  weakness,  or 
any  peculiar  trial ;  yea,  to  be  frequent,  and  fervent  in 
prayer  for  it.  But  he  said  to  me — In  answer  to  my 
third,  or  often-repeated  request;  Afy  grace  it  tuffi- 
dent  for  thee — ^Naipely,  to  support  thee  under  these 
trials,  though  I  permit  them  to  continue.  How  ten- 
der a  repulse!  Probably  Chrbt  appeared  to  his 
apostle  and  spake  to  him.  At  any  rate,  it  was  an- 
other revelation  of  the  Lord,  which  his  subject  led 
him  to  mention,  though  his  modesty  did  not  allow 
him  to  insist  on  it  directly.  "  This  example  of  prayer 
rejected  ought  to  be  well  attended  to  by  all  good 
men,  because  it  shows  that  they  neither  should  be 
discouraged  when  their  most  earnest  prayers  seem 
to  be  disregarded,  nor  discontented  when  they  are 
rejected;  because  hi  both  cases  their  good  is  de- 
signed and  effectually  promoted."  My  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weaJenese-^Thtii  is,  is  more  illustri- 
ously displayed  in  the  weakness  of  the  instrument 
by  which  I  work.  Therefore  will  I  glory  in  my 
tn/?rmi7ie«^— Rather  than  my  revelations;  that  the 
power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me — Greek,  entmcif' 
viXTff^  may  pitch  its  tent  over  me,  or  cover  me  all  over 
like  a  tent,  and  abide  on  roe  continually.  We  ought 
most  willingly  to  accept  whatever  tends  to  this  end, 
however  contrary  to  flesh  and  blood.  Therefore  I 
take  pleasure — EvSoku,  I  am  well  pleased  with,  or 
tfike  complacency  in,  infirmities^Of  the  flesh,  bo- 
dily weaknesses  of  whatever  kind.  In  reproaches — 
Suffered  on  that  account ;  in  necessities — The  various 
wants  which  I  suffer  in  the  execution  of  ray  oflice ; 
in  persecutions,  in  distresses^To  which  I  am  ex- 
posed; ^  ChrisVs  sake:  for  when  I  am  weak— 
Deeply  sensible  of  my  weakness;  then  am  I  strong 
— Through  the  power  of  Christ  resting  on  me ;  and 
my  ministry  is  then  most  successful,  the  Lord  work- 
900 


11  I  am  become  "a  fool  in  glory-  Aj^it ««^ 

ing;  ye  hnYe  compelled  me:  for  I  — '— 

ought  to  have  been  commended  of  yon  :  for 
«iii  nothing  an^  I  bdhdnd  the  Yery  chiefesl 
apoBtles,  though  »I  be  nolhmg. 

13  ">  Truly  the  signa  (rf  an  i^xwde  weie 
wrought  among  you,  in  aV  patience,  in  signs, 
and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds. 

13  '  For  what  is  it  wherein  ye  were  faiferior  to 


f  1  Coriothiaas  iii.  7?  zr.  8,  0 ;  EpkegtuM  iii.  a < 

XT.  18,  19{    1  CorinUuMis  iz.  2 ;  Chapter  iy.  3 ;  vL  4 ; 
'  1  Corinthians  i.  7. 


zi.a 


ing  with  me  in  a  peculiar  manner.  /  am  become  a 
fbol  in  glorying — Kb  I  have  done  above,  but  consider 
where  the  blame  lies ;  ye  have  compelled  me — To 
do  it,  even  against  my  wilL  For  I  ought  to  have 
been  commended  by  yo«— Or  vindicated,  when  my 
character,  as  an  apostle,  was  attacked  by  the  falae 
teachers.  For  in  nothing  am  I  behind  the  very 
chief  est  apostles— As  ye  well  know :  he  means  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  whom  he  calls  pHlarSy  Oal.  ii.  9. 
Though  I  be  nothing-^ln  the  account  of  some,  oi 
of  myself,  without  the  tdds  of  divme  grace;  not 
would  I  assume  to  myself  any  glory  from  what 
grace  hath  made  me. 

Verses  12, 13.  TVuly  the  signs  of  an  apostle— The 
signs  whereby  a  person  was  known  to  be  an  apostle, 
were  his  performing  great  and  evident  miracles 
openly  in  the  view  of  the  wOrld,  especially  his 
healing  diseases,  his  casting  out  devils,  and  his 
speaking  foreign  languages.  But  the  greatest  of  all 
the  signs  was  his  conveying  spiritual  gifts  to  them 
,who  believed ;  a  power  which  none  possessed  but 
the  apostles.  All  these  signs  St.  Paul  h^rving  exhi- 
bited at  Corinth,  and  in  particular  having  conmiuni- 
cated  the  spiritual  gifts  to  many  Of  the  Corinthians, 
he,  on  account  thereof,  called  them,  in  his  former 
letter,  the  seal  of  his  apostleship,  1  Cor.  ix.  2.  In 
all  patience— Under  my  various  sufferings,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  unreasonable  opposition  I  have  met 
with.  By  mentioning  his  patience,  the  apostle 
brought  to  the  remembrance  of  the  Corinthians  the 
hardships  which  he  had  endured  while  he  executed 
his  office  among  them,  and  supported  himself  by  his 
own  labour;  as  also  the  persecutions  which  he  had 
suffered  before  he  first  visited  them,  namely,  in  the 
Lesser  Asia  and  in  Macedonia,  of  which  they  had 
undoubtedly  received  information  from  himself  or 
others.  Perhaps  likewise,  as  Locke  supposes,  there 
is  here  an  oblique  reproof  to  the  false  teachers,  for 
the  luxury  and  ease  with  which  they  were  living 
among  the  Corinthians.  In  signs,  and  wonders, 
and  mighty  deeds— The  effects  of  divine  and  super- 
natural power.  See  on  Rom.  xv.  19.  "The  appeal 
which  the  apostle  here,  and  1  Cor.  iv.  7,  made  to  the 
whole  church  of  the  Corinthians,  (in  which  there 
was  a  great  faction  which  called  his  apostleship  in 
question,)  concerning  the  miracles  which  he  had 
wrought  in  their  presence,  and  the  spiritual  gifts 
which  he  had  conferred  on  many  of  them,  is  a  strong 
proof  of  the  reality  of  these  miracles  and  gifts*'' — 

b 


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CHAPTER  XIL 


Paul  and  Ais  breikten. 


A.M.4084*  olher'churches,  exc^  ii  be  that  *I 
— — —  myself  was  not  burdensome  to  you? 
foigive  me  *  this  wrongs 

14  "^Behold,  (he  third  time  I  am  ready  to 
come  to  you ;  and  I  will  not  be  burd^asome  to 
you :  ftMT  *  I  seek  not  yours,  but  you.  ^  For  the 
childreD  ought  not  to  lay  up  for  the  parents,  but 
the  parents  for  the  children. 

15  And  'I  will  very  gladly  epend  and  be 
spent  *for  'you;  though  ''the  more  abun- 
dantly I  love  you,  the  less  I  be  loved. 

16  But  be  it  ^  ®I  did  not  burden  you :  ne- 
verthelesB,  being  crafty,  I  caught  you  with  guile. 

17  *  Did  I  inake  a  gain  of  you  by  any  of 
t&em  whom  I  sent  unto  you  ? 


•  1  Cor.  ix.  12 ;  Chap.  xi.  9. *  Chap.  xi.  7. ^  Chap.  xiii.  1. 

»  Acts  XX.  33 :  1  Cor.  x.  33. — -^  1  Cor.  it.  14, 15. »  1  Theas. 

ii.  8;  PhiL  ii.  17. »John  x.  11;  Chapter  I  6;   CoL  i.  24; 


2  Tim.  ii.  10. »  Gr.  ymw  »<niU. 


Macknight  For  what  is  it — What  is  the  spiritual 
gift  or  privilege ;  wherein  ye  were  inferior  to  other 
cAi*rc*e*— Planted  by  the  other  apostles?  Except 
that  I  was  not  burdensome  to  you — In  respeet  oi 
maintenance,  as  the  other  apostles  have  been  to  the 
churches  Which  they  planted.  Forgive  me  this 
wrong— Kb  if  he  had  cnid,  If  it  be  a  wrong,  I  know 
you  will  easily  pardon  it. 

Verses  14, 15.  Behold^  the  third  time  lam  ready 
— ^That  is,  resolved ;  to  come  to  you — Having  pur- 
posed it  twice  before,  and  been  disappointed,  1  Cor. 
xvi.  5  5  2  Cor.  i.  15, 16.  And  I  will  not  be  burden^ 
9mne  to  you — ^Bfore  than  formerly;.^  /  seek  not 
yoursj  but  you— Not  your  money  or  goods,  but  the 
salvation  of  your  souls.  For  children  ought  not — 
That  is,  it  is  not  according  to  the  course  of  nature 
for  children  <o  lay  up  temporal  things  for  the  parents, 
who  commonly  die  before  them ;  btU  the  parents 
for  the  children — I  therefore,  your  spiritual  father, 
do  not  desire  to  partake  of  your  temporal  things, 
but  to  bestow  iny  spiritual  treasures  upon  you.  And 
J  will  very  gladly  spend—My  time,  strength,  and  aH 
I  have ;  and  be  spent  for  you — Hazard,  nJiy,  and  lose 
my  life  for  your  salvation,  John  x.  11 ;  Phil,  it  17; 
I  Thess.  ii.  8.  T?umgh  the  more  abundantly  I  love 
yoUj  &c. — How  unkind  soever  your  returns  may  be, 
and  though  my  love  should  be  requited  with  neglect, 
or  even  with  contempt 

Verses  16-18.  Be  it  so,  &c. — ^But  some  may  ob- 
ject ;  though  /  did  not.burden  you — ^Though  I  did 
not  take  any  tlung  of  you  myself;  yet  being  crafty, 
J  caught  you  with  guile— I  did  secretly  by  my  mes- 
sengers what  I  would  not  do  openly  or  in  person.  I 
answer  this  lying  accusation  by  appealing  to  plain 
hcL  Did  J  make  a  gain  of  you  by  any  of  my 
messengers  1— You  know  the  contrary.  It  should 
be  carefoUy  observed  that  St.  Paul  does  not  allow, 
but  absolutely  denies,  that  Tie  had  caught  them  with 
guile.  Bo  that  the  common  plea  for  gmle.  Which 
has  been  drawn  from  this  text,  is  utterly  without 
^Mmdation.  /  desirtd  Titus^To  go  to  you;  and 
b 


18  •  I  desired  Titus,  and  with  him  A.  M.  4oei. 
Isenta^brotfier.  Did  Titus  make  a  ^^'^\ 
gain  of  you?  walked  we  not  in  the  same 
qptrit?  waUced  te?e  not  in  the  same  steps? 

19  »  Again,  think  ye  that  we  excuse  ourselves 
unto  you?  ^we  speak  before  God  in  Christ: 
^  but  we  dodSi  things,  dearly  beloved,  for  your 
edifying. 

20  For  I  fear,  lestj  when  I  come,  I  shall  not 
find  you  such  as  I  would,  and  that  ^  I  shall  be 
found  unto  you  such,  as  ye  would  not :  lest 
there  be  debates,  envyings,  wraths,  strifes, 
backbitings,  whisperings,  swellings,  tumults : 

21  And  lest,  when  I  come  again,  my  God 
^  will  humble  me  among  you,  and  that  I  shall 


*  Chapter  vi.  12,  13. 

•  Chap.  Tiii.  S :  xvi.  82. — 
>^Rofli.  ix.  1 :  Chap,  xi  31. 
Chap.  X.  2 ;  tiii.^,  10. 


5  Chapter  xi.  9. — 
-^Chap.  viii.  18.- 

^«lCor.x.  33.- 

Chap.ii.  1,4. 


•  Chapter  viL  2. 
-*CSap.  T.  12. 
-k  1  Cor.  iv.  21 ; 


with  him  I  sent  a  brother-^Wjao  that  brother  was,  is 
not  known.  He  may  have  been  one  of  the  apostle's 
companions  in  travel,  who  was  with  him  in  Ephe- 
sus  when  he  wrote  1^  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans* Or  he  may  have  been  one  of  the  Ephesian 
brethren,  whose  zeal  for  the  gospel  moved  him  to 
accompany  Titus  to  Corinth,  when  he  carried  the 
former  letter.  Did  Titus  make  a  gain  of  you? — 
Did  he  draw  any  money  from  you,  either  on  account 
of  his  own  maintenance,  or  on  pretence  that  he 
would  persuade  me  to  receive  it  for  mine  ?  Waiked 
we  not  in  the  same  spirit,  Ac, — Did  we  not  all  agree 
in  ihind  and  practice? 

Verses  10-21.  Again,  think  ye  thcU  we  excuse  our' 
selves— TYi^X  I  say  all  this  to  insinuate  myself  into 
your  esteem  for  any  secular  ends?  We  speak  be- 
fore God  in  Christ— As  if  he  had  said,  I  have  a 
higher  end  in  view,  namely,  the  glory  of  God,  in 
whose  presence  I  speak  it;  for  we  do  all  things  for 
your  edifying — Your  edification  is  the  end  I  have  in 
view,  in  this  and  all  other  things  that  1  do  concerning 
you.  For  If  ear— And  have  I  toot  reason  so  to  do  T 
lest  when  /come— With  a  heart  full  of  Christian  ten- 
derness, and  with  all  imaginable  readiness  to  do  every 
thing  in  my  power  to  comfort  and  refresli  your 
spirits ;  /shall  not  find  you  such  aslwouldr^fivune- 
ly,  truly  reformed  persons ;  and  that  I  should  be 
found  unto  you— By  inflicting  necessary  censures 
and  punishments  upon  you ;  such  a>s  ye  would  not — 
I  should  be.  I  fear  I  shall  have  some  work  before 
me  of  a  very  unpleasant  kind,  and  which  I  would 
desire,  if  possible,  by  this  admonition  to  prevent 
Lest  there  should  be  debates— Epeic,  contentions; 
envyings — Or  emulations,  as  Xv^oi  also  signifies; 
'loraths-FoT  injuries  received;  ««rt/(?*— Arising 
from  a  clashing  cither  of  opinions  or  secular  In- 
terests; backbitings— Spe&king  evil  of  the  absent; 
toAwptfnng-*— Insinuations  uttered  secretly  against 
others;  swellings— Vdm  boastings,  by  which  proud 
and  ambitious  men  endeavour  to  makd  themsdves 
look  big  in  the  eyes  of  theur  fellows ;  tumults— V$c- 


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7%e  apo9tle  threatena  to 


ir.  CORINTHIANS. 


centure  ob$tviate  6jfenier$.^ 


A.  IT  4064.  bewail  many  ™  which  have  sinned  al- 
ready, and  have  not  rq)ented  of  the  un- 


A.D.  60. 


>  Chap.  xiiL  2. 


tiona,  disorderly  parties  raised  against  me,  and  your 
proper  authorized  mloistersj  left  when  I  come  my 
God  will  humble  me — By  showing  me  your  church^ 
which  I  planted,  corrupted  with  many  vices;  and  I 
shall  bewail—ShBH  mourn  over;  many  wbo  ha/ve 
sinned^  and  have  not  r^penfed-^Notwlthstandiog 
my  many  admonitions.  The  incestuous  person  was 
not  of  this  number ;  for  he  had  repented,  chap.  ii. 
7,  8.  Those  of  whom  the  apostle  speaks,  were  pro- 
bacy such  as  had  not  refrained  from  partaking  in 
the  idolatrous  sacrifices  of  the  heathen,  and  from  the 
lewd  pi-actices  connected  with  idolatry,  to  which,  by 
their  former  custojns  and  habits,  they  were  still  ad- 
dicted. Of  the  unclearniesSy  ^c,^  which  they  hate 
committed— By  uncleanneaa^  Estius  thinks  the  apos- 
tle meant  those  sins  of  the  flesh,  which  are  against 
nature;  by  fornication — Tlie  coi^unction  of  male 


cleanness,  and '^fornication,  and laed-  A-tr^esi. 
viousness,  which  they  have  ccHumitied. 


A^D.  60. 


■iCor.T.l. 


and  lemale  out  of  marriage;  ioscmoMMteM — ^He 
says,  consists  in  lustful  looks,  touches,  motions,  and 
other  things  of  that  kind.  But  by  lasciviouaneaa^ 
Bengelius  understands  eodomy,  bestiality,  and  other 
vices  contrary  to  nature.  But,  says  Macknigfht,  "  tf- 
thbugh  some  of  the  faction  at  Corinth  may  have  been 
guilty  of  uncleanness,  fomieationy  and  lasdvums-' 
ness,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  these  words,  fancying, 
through  the  prejudices  of  th^ir  education,  that  (hese 
things  were  no  sins,  I  sctosely  tlrink  that  any  of 
them,  after  their  conversion,  would  ccmtinue  in  the 
commission  of  the  unnat9ral  crimes  mentioned  by 
Estius  and  Bengelius."  One  thing  is  evident:  in  the 
absence  of  the  apostle,  the  exercise  of  a  proper 
Christian  discipline  must  have  been  awftdly  ne- 
glected in  this  church,  otherwise  such  scand^us 
sinneiB  would  have  been  excluded  from  it. 


CHAPTER  X^l. 

Here  Potii  (I,)  Tkreatem  to  csMure  ebstmsU  ofendtrsj  mid  gives  his  reasons  for  ii^  l-4i.  {%)  Prsysfor  (heir  refarmaHom 
to  prevent  U,a»  a  thing  ihajt  would  give  him  great  pUaswre,  7-10.  (8,)  Concludes  the  epistle  with  a  solsmn  eabUaiisn  ami 
benedictuntj  11-14. 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.  60. 


'pHIS  is  *  the  third  time  I  am  com- 

ing  to  you :  ^  In  the  mouth  of  two 

or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  estab- 
lished. 
2*1  told  you  before,  and  foretel  you,  as  if  I 


»Chap.  xii.  14. i^Num.  xxzr.  30$  Dent.  xra.  6;  xix.  15; 

Matt  xviii.  16 ;  John  Tiii.  17 ;  Heb.  x.  26. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XIIL 
Verse  1.  This  is  the  third  time  I  am  coming  to 
you — Or,  as  some  understand  it,  am  preparing  to 
come :  see  on  chap;  xiL  14.  For  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  no  mention  is  made  of  his  being  at  Corinth 
more  than  once  before  this  second  epistle  was  writ- 
ten. It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  that  history 
by  no  means  contains  all  the  apostle's  transactions: 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that,  as  Macknight  supposes, 
during  the  eighteen  months  which  passed  from  St. 
Paul's  first  coming  to  Corinth,  to  the  insurrection  in 
the  proconsulship  of  Gallic,  the  i^ostle  left  Corinth 
for  a  while,  and  travelled  through  Laconia,  Arcadia, 
and  the  other  countries  of  the  province  of  Achaia, 
where  he  converted  many,  (chap.  i.  1,)  having 
preached  the  gospel  to  them  gratis,  as  at  Corinth, 
(chap.  xi.  10,)  and  founded  several  churches,  referred 
to  chap,  ix.  2,  and  called  ilcAato,  that  is,  churches  of 
Achaia,  If  therefore  the  apostle  made  the  excur- 
sion here  supposed,  and  spent  some  months  in  it, 
his  return  to  Corinth  would  be  his  second  visit;  con- 
sequently, the  coming  spoken  of  in  this  verse  was 


were  present,  the  second  time ;  and  a.  M.  4064. 
being  absent  now  I  write,  to  them  _J — L 
^  which  heretofore  have  sinned,  and  to  all  other, 
that,  if  I  c<»iie  again,  *  I  will  not  spare : 
3  Since  ye  seek  a  proof  of  Christ  ^speaking 


«  Chap.  X.  2. *  Chapter  xii.  81. •  Chu>ter  i.  23.- 

X.SO;  ICor.  V.4;  Chap.ij.  10. 


'Mstt 


his  coming  the  third  time  to  them.  In  the  mouth  of 
two  or  three  witnesses — Agreeing  in  the  attestation 
of  any  thing;  shall  every  word  be  establiahed-^l 
will  hold  that  to  be  true  which  shall  be  so  proved. 
Verses  2-4.  lioldyou  before— As  yotf  will  remem- 
ber; and  foretel  you  now,  as  if  I  were  present — 
That  b,  I  declare  what  you  ought  to  regard  as  much 
as  if  I  spake  it  personally  to  you;  and  being  absent 
—In  body,  not  in  spirit ;  now  I  write  to  them  who 
heretofore  have  sinned^-ln  any  scandalous  and 
aggravated  manner,  namely,  before  ye  received  my 
letter;  and  to  all  others — V^ho  have  sinned  since, 
and  have  not  repented ;  that  if  I  come  again  I  will 
not  spare — As  I  have  hitherto  done,  but  am  deter- 
mined, by  the  divine  permission,  to  animadvert  with 
severity  upon  notorious  offenders,  by  the  exertion 
of  that  miraculous  power  with  which  God  hath  en- 
dowed me.  Since  ye  seek,  &c.— This  verse  appears 
to  be  connected  with  the  preceding,  and  in  that  case 
the  sense  is,  /  will  not  spare,  since  ye  seek  a  proof 
of  Christ  speaking  in,  or  by  me.  As  if  he  had  said, 
This  course  I  am  obliged  to  take,  because  yon  will 

b 


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7^  Chrinikiant  are  exhorted 


eUAVTEB  xin. 


to  examine  themsdvet. 


A.M.40G4.  in  me,  which   ta  yau-ward  is  not 
>, — J. weak,  but  is  mighty  '  in  you. 

4  ^  For  though  be  was  crucified  tiirough 
weakness,  yet  *  he  liveth  by  the  power  ci  God. 
For  ^  we  also  are  weak  ^  in  him,  but  we  shall 
live  with  him  by  the  pow^  of  Ood  toward 
you. 

5  ^Examine  yourselves,  whether  ye  be  in 
the  fedth;  prove  your  own  selves.  Know 
ye  not   your  own  selves,  "how  that  Jesus 


9 1  Cor.  iz.  2.- 


""PhiL  u.  7,  8;  1  Pet.  iiL  la- 
k  Chap.  z.  3,  4. 


'RonLTUi. 


not  believe  that  Christ  gives  me  authority  for  what 
I  say  and  do,  without  some  manifest  proof  of  it; 
vhtch  to  you-ward  is  not  weak,  &c. — But  Has  mani- 
fested his  mighty  power  in  and  among  you  by  my 
ministry,  in  your  conversion,  gifts,  &c^  and  will  do 
it  further  by  enabling  me  to  punish  you.  For  thot^gk 
he  loot  crucified  through  weakness-^AB  a  weak,  frail 
man,  left  to  the  impotence  of  human  nature  $  yet  he 
liveth — ^He  rose  from  the  dead,^  and  is  alive  for  ever- 
more ;  by  the  power  of  G^od— Which  hath  exalted 
him  to  uncontrolled  and  imiversal  authcmty;  and 
this  power  you  ought  to  stand  in  awe  of  in  me  his 
minister.  For  though  we  alao  are  weak  in  him — 
And  to  them  who  regard  only  external  appearances 
may  seem  contemptible,  nevertheless  we  shall  live 
with  him  5  by  the  power  of  God  toward  you — Shall 
appear  to  be  alive  and  powerful  in  and  through 
c5hrist,  being  endowed  with  power  from  him  to 
punish  obstinate  offendenu 

Verses  5, 6.  Examine  yourselves,  Ac. — You  ex- 
amine and  try  me,  but  let  me  admonish  you  to  turn 
the  search  into  your  own  hearts,  that  ye  may  know, 
with  certainty,  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith — ^Whether 
ye  possess  true  and  saving  faith  in  Christ  and  his 
gospel,  and  are  therefore  true  Ciristians*  For  if,  on 
a  strict  inquiry,  you  find  that  you  are,  you  will  there- 
in find  a  proof  of  my  being  a  true  apostle,  as  it  is  by 
means  of  my  ministry  that  you  are  become  such. 
Prove  your  own  selves — Whether  ye  be  such  as  can, 
or  such  as  cannot,  bear  the  test,  as  the  word  doKific^Tt 
implies.  Know  ye  not  your  own  selves — By  your 
own  sense  and  feeling ;  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you — 
By  the  enlightening,  quickening,  and  sanctifying  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace;  is  in  you 
the  hope  of  glory,  Col.  i.  27 ;  dwelleth  in  your 
hearts  by  faith,  Eph.  iii.  17;  so  that  you  are  vitally 
united  to  him,  have  in  you  the  mind  that  was  in 
him,  and  walk  as  he  walked.  All  true  Christian  be- 
lievers know  this  by  the  witness  and  fruits  of  Christ's 
Spirit,  see  John  xiv.  20;  Rom.  viiL  ^16.  Some 
translate  the  words,  Jesus  Christ  is  among  you; 
that  is,  in  the  church  of  Corinth;  and  understand 
them  of  the  miraculous  gifts,  and  the  power  of  Christ 
which  attended  the  censures  of  the  apostle.  Ex- 
cept ye  be  reprobates — ASoki/mi,  persons  disap- 
proved, or  mere  nominal  Christians ;  and  such  as, 
whatever  your  gifts  may  be,  will  be  finally  rejected, 
as  reprobate  silver,  that  will  not  stand  the  touch- 
slone;  The  reader  will  easily  observe  that  this 
b 


Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  ■  repro-  A.  M.  4094. 
bates?  ^'>«^- 

6  But  I  trust  that  ye  shall  know  that  we  ar« 
not  reprobates. 

7  Now  I  pray  to  God  that  ye  do  no  evil ;  not 
that  we  should  appear  appit)ved,  but  that  ye 
should  do  that  wUch  is  honest,  though  *"  we  be 
as  reprobates. 

8  For  we  can  do  nothing  against  the^  truth, 
but  for  the^ruth. 


» Or,  with  him. » 1  Cor.  Xi.  28. »  Rom.  viii.  10  ;  GaL  ir.  19. 

■  1  Cor.  ix.  27. <>  Chap.  vi.  p. 


word,  here  rendered  reprobates,  and  which,  as  has 
been  observed,  properly  means  persons  disapproved, 
has  no  relation  here,  or  anywhere  else  in  Scripture, 
to  any  decree  of  God  absolutely  and  unconditionally 
excluding  a  part  of  mankind  from  a  capacity  of  sal- 
vation; but  only  denotes  those  yfixo,  through  the 
rejection  or  abuse  of  divine  grace,  continue  to  ren- 
der themselves  unfit  to  be  approved  of  God  as  his 
people,  either  now  or  at  the  day  of  judgment.  "  Thus 
they  who,  when  they  knew  God,  did  not  glorify  him 
as  God,  but  changed  his  truth  into  a  lie,  and  wor- 
shipped the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  are  said 
(Rom.  L  21-28)  to  be  given  up  by  God,  etc  vnv  adom- 
fiov,  to  a  reprobate  mind,  which  prompted  them  to 
do  those  tMngs  which  God  could  not  approve  of^  but 
abhor;  and  they  who  resisted  the  truth,  through  the 
corruption  of  their  minds,  are  styled  a<WiM/ioi  nepiTi/v 
trtr«v,  thatb, reprobates  concerning  thefaiih,2  Tim. 
iii.  8;  that  is,  men  whose  faith  cannot  j>e  owned  or 
approved  of  by  God.  They  also  arc  in  Scripture,  as 
to  their  manners,  styled  reprobates,  whose  minds 
and  consciences  are  defiled ;  so  that  though  in  words 
they  profess  to  know  God,  yet  in  works  they  deny 
him,  being  abominable,  disobedient,  and  to ,  every 
good  work  aSoKifioi,  reprobates,  that  is,  void,  not  of 
judgment  only  to  discern,  but  pf  affection  to  approve 
of  it.  Tit  i.  16.  Thus  that  earth  is  styled  adoKtftoc, 
reprobate,  or  rejected,  which,  after  all  the  showers 
which  fall  ifpon  it,  brings  jforih  duly  (horns  and 
briers,  Heb,  vi.  8;  and  that  silver,  ^yvpiov  adoKtfiw, 
reprobate  silver,  which,  being  falsely  stamped  or 
coined,  will  not  be  received,  but  rejected.  Pro  v.  xxv. 
4;  Isa.  i.  22.  And  in  this  sense  St.  Paul  saith,  he 
kept  under  his  body,  lest  while  he  preached  to  others, 
hehimself  should  beadoKiftoc,  disowned  andrejected 
by  God,  1  Cor.  ix.  27."— Whitby.  But  I  trust,  &c. 
— But  whatever  be  the  case  of  any  of  you,  /hope  ye 
shall  soon  know  that  we  are  not  reprobates — Are 
not  disapproved  of  God,  have  not  lost  our  evidence 
of  the  divine  presence  and  favour. 

Verses  7-10.  Now  I  pray  God  that  ye  do  no 
evil—To  give  me  occasion  of  showing  my  apostoli- 
cal power ;  not  that  we  should  appear  approvedr—l 
desire  not  to  appear  approved  by  miraculously  pun- 
ishing you;  but  that  ye  may  do  that  which  is 
honest'-To  xaXov,  that  which  is  beautiful,  amiable, 
and  good;  though  we  should  be  as  if  we  were  dis- 
approved-— Having  no  occasion  to  give  that  proof  of 
I  our  apostleship.    For  we  can  do  nothing  against 


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Paul  exkorU  the  CorMhians 


n.  CORINTHIANS. 


to  be  of  one  mittiL 


A.  M.  4064.    9  For  we  are  glad,  ^  when  we  are 

— 1  weak,  and  ye  are  strong:  and  this 

aLao  we  wish,  ^  even  your  perfection. 

10  ^Therefore  I  write  these  things  being 
absent,  lest  being  present '  I  should  use  sharp- 
ness, ^  according  to  the  po^r  which  the  Lord 
hath  given  me  to  edification,  and  not  to  de- 
struction. 

11  Finally,  brethren,  fitrewelL  Be  perfect, 
be  of  good  comfort,  ^be  of  one  mind,  live  in 


P 1  Cor.  ir.  10;  Chapter  xi.  30;  xii.  6,  9, 10. 1 1  These 

iii.  10.*-^-^  1  Corinthians  ir.  21 ;  Chap.  ii.  3 ;  z.  2 ;  xii.  20, 2L 
•  Titus  i.  13. » Chap. «.  8. «  Romans  xii.  16,  18 ;  xv.  6  j 


the  frut^i— Neither  against  that  which  is  just  and 
right,  nor  against  those  who  walk>  according  to  the 
truths  of  (he  gospel  As  if  he  had  said,  Walk  as 
becomes  the  gospel,  and  you  shall  have  no  need  to 
fear  my  power;  for  I  have  no  power  against  those 
that  so  walk:  but  for  the  trutJi— In  support  of  the 
gospel,  and  for  spreading  the  knowledge  of  it ;  or, 
to  encourage  persons  in  the  ways  of  piety  and  virtue, 
and  to  bring  those  into  them  that  go  astray  there- 
froTOL  For  we  are  glad  when  we  are  weak^When 
we  appear  so,  having  no  occasion  to  use  oiir  aposto- 
lic power ;  and  ye  are  strong — In  gifts  and  graces; 
and  this  we  ^unsh,  even  your  perfection—In  faith, 
loTo^  and  obedience,  that  you  may  fully  reform 
whatever  is  amiss,  either  in  principle  or  practice; 
and  that  God  would  make  you  perfect  in  every  good 
work  to  do  his  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is 
well  pleasing  in  his  sight,  Heb.  xiii.  21.  There- 
fore I  write  these  ^ing*— Thus  largely,  by  way  of 
counsel,  caution,  threatening,  &c. ;  being  absent— 
That  you  may  reform ;  leet — If  you  do  not,  that, 
being  preserk,  Is7u)tUd  use  sharpness — Or  severity  5 
according  to  live  divine  and  extraordinary  power 
which  the  Lord  Christ  hath  given  m^  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  his  people,  and  not  to  the  destruction  of 
men's  lives  and  comforts. 

Verses  11-14.  Finally,  brethren,farewell — Xatpere, 
rejoice;  be  happy;  be  perfect — Aspire  to  the  high- 
est degrees  of  Christian  wisdom  and  grace,  of  know- 
ledge, holiness,  and  usefhlness.  Be  of  good  com- 
fort— Filled  with  joy  and  peace  through  believ- 
ing, and  abounding  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God, 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Bom.  xv.  13. 
264 


'and 


A.M.40M. 
A.  D.  SO. 


peace;  and  the  Qoi  of  love 
peace  shall  be  with  you. 

12  y  Greet  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss. 

13  All  the  saints  salute  you. 

14  '  The  grace  ot  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  love  at  God,  and  *  the  ccmununion  of  the 
Hdy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all.    Amen. 


IT  The   Second   Epistle   to  the   Corintiiians 
written  from  Philippi,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  by 
Titus  and  Lucas. 


1  Cor.  i.  10 ;  Phil.  ii.  2 ;  iii.  IS ;  1  Pet  iii.  8. «  Rom.  xr.  33. 

yRom.  xvi.  16;  1  Cor.  xri.  20;  1  Thess.  ▼.  26;  1  Pet.  ▼.  14. 
'Rom.  xvi.  84.-^ — »PhjL  ii.  1. 


Be  of  one  minii— Desire,  labour,  pray  for  it,  to  the 
utmost  degree  that  is  possible.  Or,  as  to  ovto  ^po- 
vein  may  be  rendered,  mind,  or  pursue  the  same 
thing;  or  set  your  affections  on  the  same  great  ob- 
jects, namely,  the  glory^  of  God,  the  success  of  his 
gospel,  your  own  salvation,  and  the  salvation  of 
your  fellow-creatures,  hive  in  peace — One  with  an- 
other, and,  as  far  as  possible,  with  all  men ;  and  the 
Ood  of  love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you — ^Will  gra- 
ciously own  you  for  his  children,  and  fix  his  resi- 
dence among  you.  And  in  token  of  this  concord, 
harmony,  and  mutual  affection,  greet  one  another 
with  a  holy  kiss — See  on  Rom.  xvL  16.  All  the 
saintSj  salute  you — That  is,  the  Christians  in  the 
place  from  whence  \  now  write,  or  those  who  are 
now  with  me.  The  grace—Or  favour ;  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ— By  which  alone  we  can  come  to  the 
Father;  and  the  love  of  G^o(^Manifested  to  you, 
and  abiding  in  you;  and  the  communion— Or  f el- 
lowship;  of  the  Holy  Ghost— In  all  his  gifts  and 
graces;  be  with  you  oZ^— Ck>htinually,  henceforth, 
and  fbr  ever.  Amen — So  may  it  be.  It  is  with  great 
reason  that  thb  comprehensive  and  instructive  bless* 
ing  is  pronounced  at  the  close  of  our  solemn  assem- 
blies. And  it  is  a  very  indecent  thing  to  see  so 
many  quitting  them,  and  getting  into  postures  of 
remove,  before  thb  short  sentence  can  be  ended. 
How  often  have  we  heard  this  awful  benediction 
pronounced!  Let  us  study  it  more  and  more,  that 
we  may  value  it  proportionably ;  that  we  may  either 
deliver  or  receive  it  with  becoming  reverence,  with 
e3res  and  hearts  lifted  up  to  God,  who  giveth  the 
blessing  out  of  Sion,  and  Ufe  for  evermore. 

b 


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PREFACE 


TO     TBI 


EPISTLE   TO   THE   GALATIANS. 


npmS  episde  was  written,  not  as  most  of  St.  Paul's  epistles  are,  to  the  Christians  of  a  particular 
city,  but  to  those  of  a  whole  country,  called  Galatians,  as  being  the  descendants  of  those  Gauls 
who,  finding  their  own  country  too  strait  for  them,  led  it,  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  in 
quest  of  new  settlements.  A  body  of  these,  proceeding  eastward  along  the  Danube,  entered  Thrace, 
and  passed  over  the  Bosphorus  into  the  Lesser  Asia ;  in  the  middle  of  which  they  settled,  namely,  in 
a  country  given  them  by  Nicomedes,  king  of  Bithynia,  in  reward  of  their  assisting  him  to  subdue  his 
brother  Zipetes,  with  whom  he  was  at  war.  This  country,  afterward  called  from  them,  "  Gallo- 
GrJBcia,"  or  "  Galatia,"  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  Phrygia,  on  the  north  by  Paphls^nia,  on  the 
east  by  the  river  Halys,  and  on  the  south  by  Lycaonia.  It  anciently  contained  twenty-two  noted 
cities,  the  principal  of  which  was  Ancyra.  About  A.M.  3824  the  Romans  ravaged  Galatia,  and  about 
A.  D.  25  it  was  reduced,  with  some  places  adjacent,  into  a  Roman  province.  The  inland  situation 
of  this  country  preventing  its  inhabitants  from  having  much  intercourse  with  more  civilized  nations, 
the  Gauls,  who  settled  in  it,  continued  long  a  rude  and  illiterate  people,  speaking  the  language  of  the 
couuliy  from  whence  they  came.  So  Jerome,  who  lived  six  hundred  years  after  that  people  settled 
themselves  in  Asia,  informs  us ;  observing,  that  in  his  time  the  language  of  the  Galatians  was  the 
same  with  that  which  he  had  heard  spoken  when  he  was  at  Treves,  or  Triers. 

It  is  probable  the  gospel  was  first  introduced  into  Galatia  by  Paul,  and  that  about  A.D.  53 ;  (see 
Acts  xvi.  6 ;)  when  passing  through  that  country,  he  was  received  with  great  affection  by  the  inha- 
bitants thereof,  and  made  the  instrument  of  converting  many  of  them  from  heathenism  to  Christianity, 
and  of  planting  several  churches  among  them,  called,  in  the  inscription  of  this  letter,  the  "  churches 
of  Galatia."  These  churches,  when  he  visited  those  parts  again  in  his  next  progress,  about  A.  D.  56, 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  confirming  in  the  doctrine  he  had  before  taught  them.  Acts  xviii.  23  ;  Gal. 
iv.  13-15.  But,  from  the  contents  of  this  epistle,  it  appears  that  not  long  after  he  had  preached  the 
gospel  with  such  success  to  them,  and  had  left  them,  certain  Judaizing  zealots  came  among  them, 
and,  like  those  mentioned  Acts  xv.,  taught  that  it  was  necessary  they  should  be  circumcised,  and 
should  observe  the  whole  ritual  law  of  Moses,  in  order  to  their  salvation.  What  these  false  teachers 
seem  to  have  chiefly  aimed  at  was  to  draw  the  Galatian  beUevers  from  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  with 
respect  to  the  great  doctrine  of  justification,  which  they  grossly  perverted.  And  the  better  to  accom- 
plish  their  design,  they  did  aU  they  could  to  lessen  the  character  and  reputation  of  St.  Paul  as  an 
aposUe,  and  to  raise  theirs  on  the  ruins  of  his;  representing  him  as  one  who,  if  he  was  to  be 
acknowledged  as  an  aposUe,  yet  was  much  inferior  to  the  others,  and  particularly  to  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  whose  foUowers,  it  is  likely,  they  pretended  to  be ;  and  who,  they  affirmed,  inculcated  the 
necessity  of  circumcision,  and  the  observance  of  the  Mosaic  ceremonies  as  they  did ;  nay,  and  that 
St.  Paul  himself  sometimes  both  practised  lind  recommended  these  rites,  though  at  other  times  he 
opposed  them. 

The  first  part,  therefore,  of  this  epistle  b  employed  by  the  aposde  in  vmdicating  himself  and  his 
doctrine ;  proving,  1.  That  he  had  it  unmediately  from  Christ  hhnself,  and  that  he  was  not  inferior 
to  the  other  aportles;  2.  That  it  was  the  very  same  which  the  other  apostles  preached;  and, 
3.  That  his  practice  was  consistent  with  his  doctrine.  In  the  second  part  he  produces  proofs  from 
the  Old  Testament,  that  the  law  and  all  its  ceremonies  were  abolished  by  Christ.  The  third  part 
contains  practical  inferences,  closed  with  his  usual  benediction.  To  be  a  Uttle  more  particular :  the 
b  «» 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

epistle  contains,  I.  The  inscription,  chap,  u  1-5.  II.  The  calling  of  the  Galatians  back  to  the  true 
gospel ;  wherein  he,  1.  Reproves  them  for  leaving  it,  verses  6-10.  2.  Asserts  the  authority  of  &e 
gospel  he  had  preached,  who  of  a  persecutor  was  made  an  apostle  by  an  immediate  call  from 
Heaven ;  (verses  11-17 ;)  and  was  no  way  inferior  to  Peter  himself,  verse  18 — chap.  ii.  21.  3.  He 
defends  justification  by  faith,  and  again  reproves  the  Galatians,  chap.  iii.  1 — iv.  11.  4.  Explains  the 
same  thmgs  by  an  allegory,  taken  out  of  Uie  law  itself,  verses  12-31.  5.  Exhorts  them  to  maintain 
their  liberty;  (chap.  V.  1-12 ;)  warns  them  not  to  abuse  it,  and  admonishes  them  to  walk  not  after 
the  flesh,  but  afler  the  Spirit,  verses  13— chap.  vi.  10.    III.  The  conclusion,  verses  11-18. 

As  to  the  time  when  this  episde  was  written,  we  may  infer  from  chap.  i.  6,  where  the  apostle 
expresses  to  the  Cralatians  his  concern  and  wonder  that  they  were  so  soon  perverted  from  the  doctrine 
he  had  preached,  that  it  must  have  been  written  not  long  after  he  had  been  among  them ;  and  as  no 
hint  is  given,  through  the  whole  of  it,  that  when  he  wrote  irhe  had  been  with  them  more  than  once, 
it  is  most  reasonable  to  conclude  that  it  was  written  before  his  second  journey  to  Galatia,  mentioned 
Acts  xviii.  23,  and  consequently  not  later  than  A.D.  56. 

206  b 


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THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO   run 


GALATIANS. 


CHAPTER  L 

In  OitM  chapter,  (1,)  AJter  a  general  and  proper  saluUUion,  the  apoetle  expreuet  hit  surprise  and  concern  that  tJu  Gaiatian 
believers  should  so  soon  have  suffered  themselves  to  be  led  aside  from  the  simpUeiiy  of  thai  gospel  which  he  had  first  planted 
among  them,  1-10.  (2,)  He  shows  them  that  the  doctrine  tohifh  he  had  preached  among  them  was  not  received  from  men, 
but  by  the  revelation  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  and,  as  a  proof  of  the  divine  authority  of  his  mission,  gives  some  account  of  his 
behaviour  before  and  after  his  conversion,  and  mentions  some  facU  that  had  succeeded  thereupon,  11-S4. 


^a.'d.m^  pAUL,  an  apostle,  (•not  of  men, 

L         neither  by  man,  but  ^by  Jesus 

Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  °  who  raised  him 
from  the  dead ;) 

2  And  an  the  brethren  ^  which  are  with  me, 
®  unto  the  churches  of  Galatia : 


•Vcrseg  11,  12. >>AcUix.  6;  xxii.  10,  15,  21;  xxvi.  16; 

Tit.  i.  3. «  Actt  ii.  24. *  PhiL  U.  22 ;  ir.  21. •  1  Cor. 

xti.  1. " 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  1-3.  Paulj  an  apostle — Here  it  was  neces- 
sary for  Paul  to  assert  his  authority,  otherwise  he  is 
very  modest  ia  the  use  of  this  title.  He  seldom 
mentions  it  when  he  joins  others  with  himself  in 
the  salutations,  as  in  the  epistles  to  the  Philippians 
and  Thessalonlans ;  or  when  he  writes  about  secu- 
lar affairs,  as  in  that  to  Philemon:  nor  yet  in  writ- 
ing to  the  Hebrews.  Not  of  men — Not  commission- 
ed from  them.  It  seems  the  false  teachers  had  in^ 
simiated,  if  not  openly  asserted,  that  he  was  merely 
an  apostle  of  men;  made  an  apostle  by  the  church 
at  Antioch,  or  at  best  by  the  apostles  in  Jerusalem. 
This  false  insianation,  which  struck  at  the  root  of 
his  authority  and  usefulness,  in  the  exercise  of  his 
office,  St.  Paul  saw  it  necessary  to  contradict, 
in  the  very  beginning  of  his  epistle.  Perhaps 
he  also  glances  at  Matthias,  who  was  an  apostle 
sent  from  a  general  meeting  at  Jerusalem,  as  men- 
tioned Acts  L  22.  Neither  by  man—Aa  an  instru- 
ment He  here  seems  to  have  had  Peter  and  James 
in  his  eye,  whom  alone  he  saw  at  his  first  coming  to 
Jerusalem,  after  his  conversion,  and  denies  that 
he  was  appointed  an  apostle  by  them.  But  by  Je- 
sus Christ — ^'Paul  was  first  made  an  apostle  by 
Christ,  when  Christ  appeared  to  him  in  the  way  to 
Damascus,  Actsi  ix.  15.  And  three  years  after  that 
his  apostolic  commission  was  renewed.  Acts  xxii.  21. 
8o  that  he  was  sent  forth  neither  by  the  church  at 
b 


3  'Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace  from.  A.  If.  4oe2. 
God  the  Father,  and  /ram  our  Lord  ^'^'^\ 
Jesus  Christ, 

4  'Who  gave  himself  ii[»r  our  mns,  that  he 
might  deliver  us  ^  from  this  present  evil  world, 
according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our  Father : 


f  Rom.  i.  7 ;  1  Cor.  i.  3 ;  2  Cor.  i.  2 ;  Eph.  L  2 :  Phil.  i.  2. 

f  Matt.  XX.  28 ;  Rom.  ir.  26 ;  Chap.  ir.  20;  Tit.  ii.  14. *  Isa. 

Ur.  17 ;  John  xr.  19 ;  xrii.  14. 


Jerusalem,  nor  by  that  at  Antioch.  The  Holy  Ghost 
indeed  ordered  the  prophets  at  Antioch  (Acts  xiiL 
2)  to  separate  Paul  and  Barnabas;  but  it  was  to 
the  work  whereunio  he  had  called  them  formerly. 
This  separation  was  simply  a  reeonmiending  them 
to  the  grace  of  God  by  prayer;  and  in  fact  it  is  so 
termed.  Acts  xiv.  26."~Macknight  And  God  the 
Father^  who  raised  him  from  the  dead — And  after 
his  resurrection  sent  him  Arom  heaven  to  make  me 
an  apostle.  And  all  the  brethren  wJio  are  with  me 
— ^And  agree  with  me  in  what  I  now  write,  and  by 
joining  with  me  in  this  letter,  attest  the  truth  of  the 
facts  which  I  relate;  unto  the  churches  of  Galatia^ 
Or  the  several  societies  or  congregations  of  profess- 
ing Christians  which  have  been  collected  in  that 
province.  Grace  be  to  you,  Ac — See  on  Rom.  L  7. 
Verses  4, 5.  Who  gave  himself  for  our  sins — See 
on  1  Cor.  XV.  3;  ^at  he  might  deliver  us  from  this 
present  evil  world— From  the  ignorance  and  folly, 
sinfulness  and  guilt,  corruption  and  misery,  wherein 
it  is  involved,  and  from  its  vain  and  foolish  customs 
and  pleasures,  tiiat  friendship  and  society  with 
worldly  men,  and  that  inordinate  desire  after,  and 
attachment  to  wprldly  things,  which  is  enmity 
against  God,  Rom.  viii.  7 ;  James  iv.  4 ;  according  to 
the  will  of  God— WiiYiOUi  any  merit  of  ours.  St. 
Paul  begins  most  of  his  epistles  with  thanksgiving, 
but  writing  to  the  Galatians,  who  had  generally  de- 
parted froni  the  truth,  he  alters  his  style,  and  first 
^  867 


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Paul  marveli  at  their  removal 


GALATIANa 


from  thejaith  of  OurUU 


A.  M.  4062.    5  To  whom  he  glory  Sx  ever  aod 
ever.    Amen. 

6  I  marvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  removed  'from 
him  that  called  you  into  the  grace  of  Christ, 
unto  another  gospd : 

7  ^  ^VVIiich  is  not  another ;  but  there  be  s(»ne 
^  that  trouble  you,  and  would  pervert  the  gospel 
of  Christ 

8  But  though  "^  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven, 
preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that 
which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be 
accursed. 


« Chi^T.  8. ^  *  Cor.  xL  4. >  AcU  xr.  L  24 ;  2  Cor.  ii. 

17  J  xi.  13 ;  Chap.  ▼.  10, 12. ■  1  Cor.  xri.  22. ■  Deot  ir. 

2 ;  xiL  32 ;  Pror.  xxz.  6 ;  Rev.  xzU.  18. 


sets  down  his  main  proposition,  that  we  are  saved  by 
the  merits  of  Christ  alone :  neither  does  he  term  them, 
as  he  does  others,  either  saints,  electa  or  churches  of 
God,  Th  wJiom  be  glory — For  this  liis  gracious  will. 
Verses  6-9.  /  marvel  that  ye  are  so  #oon— After 
my  leaving  you ;  removed  from  him  that  called  you 
into  the  grrace^-Or  rather,  by,  or  through  the  grace ; 
of  Christ — His  gracious  gospel,  and  his  gracious 
power.  God  is  generally  said  to  cM  men  into  the 
grace  of  Christ,  but  the  phraseology  seems  here  to 
point  out  Paulj  and  not  Ood,  as  the  person  spoken 
of.  For  as  he  wrote  this  chapter  to  prove  himself 
an  apostle,  his  success  in ''calling  the  Cralatians  to 
the  Christian  faith  was  fitly  mentioned  as  one  of 
the  proofs  of  his  apostleship,  as  it  implied  that  he 
was  assisted  in  that  work  by  God.  Unto  another 
gospel — Or  pretended  revelation  from  God,  concern- 
ing the  way  of  attaining  justification  and  salvation, 
a  way  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  very  funda- 
mental principles  of  that  doctrine  which  you  were 
first  taught.  As  these  Galatians  were  descendants 
of  the  Gauls,  as  has  been  observed  In  the  preface,  it 
is  the  less  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  were  so  un- 
stable ;  the  inhabitants  of  France,  as  M .  Saurin  ob- 
serves, having  been  always  reproached  with  taking 
impressions  easily,  and  as  easily  suffering  them  to 
be  effaced.  Which  is  not  indeed  properly  another 
gospel — For  what  ye  have  now  received  is  no  gospel 
at  all.  It  is  not  glad,  but  heavy  tidings,  as  setting 
your  acceptance  with  Qod  upon  terms  impossible  to 
be  performed.  But  (here  are  some — Who,  on  pre- 
tence that  their  doctrine  of  justification  by  the  law 
of  Moses  is  authorized  by  God ;  trouble  you — With 
doubts  concerning  my  doctrine,  and  dteturb  the 
peace  of  the  church ;  dnd  twwW— If  they  were  able ; 
pervert  and  overthrow  (he  gospel  of  Christ— -Thia 
the  Judaizing  teachers  effectually  did  by  teaefaing 
that  justification  could  not  be  obtained  purely  by 
faith  in  Christ,  but  that  circumcision  and  the  obser- 
vation of  the  Jewish  ceremonies  were  necessary 
thereto ;  and  the  better  to  effect  thehr  purpose,  they 
suggested  that  the  other  apostles,  yea,  and  Paul 
himself,  insisted  on  the  observance  of  the  law.  But 
though  toe— I  and  all  the  apostles ;  or  an  angel  from 
keaven—Uli  were  possible ;  should  preqfh  any  other 
906 


9  As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  a.  m.  4002. 

again,  If  any  man  preach  any  other '. — 1 

gospel  unto  you  ^  than  that  ye  have  received, 
let  him  be  accursed. 

10  For  ^do  I  now  ^^persuade  men,  or  Gtod? 
or  4 do  I  seek  to  please  men?  for  if  I  yet 
pleased  men,  I  should  not  be  the  servant  of 
Christ 

11  'But  I  certify  you,  brethren,  that  the  gos- 
pel which  was  preached  of  me  is  not  after 
man: 

12  For  •  I  neither  received  it  of  man,  neither 


.  o  1  Thett.  ii.  4. p  1  Samuel  ziIt.  7 ;  Matt.  zsriiL  14 ; 

1  John  iii.  9. «i  I  Theas.  ii.  4 ;  James  ir.  4.- '  1  Cor.'  xr.  1. 

•  1  Cor.  XT.  1,  3 ;  Verae  1.        / 


gospel  unto  you — Any  other  method  of  obtaining 
justification  and  salvation ;  than  thai  vhich  we  have 
formerly  preached  urUo  you — And  confirmed  by 
such  evident  and  uncontrolled  miracles;  let  him  be 
accursed— Greek,  anathema:  let  him  be  cut  off 
from  God,  and  Christ,  and  his  people,  and  devoted 
to  a  perpetual  and  most  dreadful  curse.  The  apos- 
tle speaks  thus^  because  he  was  absolutely  certain 
of  his  own  inspiration,  and  that  the  gospel  which  he 
had  preached  was  the  only  true  and  genuine  gospel 
of  Christ  Of  the  word  anathemaj  see  on  Rom.  i^. 
3;  1  Cor.  xvL  22.  As  tee— I  and  the  brethren  who 
are  with  me;  said  6e/brc— Many  times  in  effect,  if 
not  in  the  same  terms ;  or  be  refers  to  the  declara- 
tion made  in  the  preceding  verse,  and  speaks  upon 
mature  deliberation,  after  pausing,  it  seems,  between 
the  two  verses;  so  say  I  now  again — I  solemnly  re- 
peat it,  as  my  deliberate  judgment;  if  any  man — 
Or,  any  one  (for  the  word  man  is  not  in  the  origi- 
nal) whatever,  whether  man  or  angel ;  preach  any 
other  gospel  than  that  ye  have  received — ^Already 
from  our  lips,  and  which  ye  have  been  taught  by 
us  from  Christ  himself;  let  him  be  accursed-^Set 
apart  for  destruction,  which,  if  he  repent  not,  and  do 
not  receri'e  and  maintain  the  truth  as  it  is^  in  Jesus, 
will  undoubtedly  be  his  portion. 

Verse  10.  For— He  here  adds  the  reason  why  he 
speaks  so  confidently ;  do  I  now  persuade,  or  satisfy, 
men— Is  this  what  I  aini  at  in  preaching  or  writing  7 
or  Ood?—Do  I  endeavour,  in  iny  ministry,  to  ingra- 
tiate myself  with  men,  or  to  approve  myself  to  God  ? 
Or  do  I  seek  to  please  men-^^By  a  compliance  with 
their  prej  udices  or  designs  7  For  if  I  ye*— Or  still, 
as  before  my  conversion ;  pleased  men — Studied  to 
please  them ;  if  this  were  my  motive  of  acUen,  nay, 
if  I  did  hi  fact  please  the  men  who  know  not  Ck)d, 
I  should  n0t  be  the  servant  of  Christ — I  ^ould  not 
deserve  the  name  of  a  Christian,  and  much  less  that 
of  a  minister  and  an  apostle.  Hear  this,  all  ye  who 
vainly  hope  to  keep  in  favour  both  with  God  and 
with  the  world !  And  let  all  those  ministers  espe- 
cially observe  jt,  who  either  alter  cwr  conceal  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  for  fear  of  displeasing  their 
hearers,  or  to  gain  popularity. 

Verses  11, 13.  But  I  certify  you,  bretkren^Ue 

b 


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OHAPTER  I. 


htfort  and  after  his  conversion* 


JLU.4ML  was  I  taught  t/,  but  ^  by  the  reyda- 
±.?l!?L  tkm  of  Jesus  Christ. 

13  For  ye  have  heard  of  my  conversatkoi  in 
time  past  in  the  Jews'  religion,  how  that  *be- 
yond  measure  I  persecuted  the  church  of  Gtod, 
and  'wasted  it; 

14  And  profited  in  the  Jews'  religion  above 
many  my  ^  equals  in  mine  own  nation,  ^  being 
more  exceedingly  zealous  'of  the  traditions 
of  my  Ceohers. 


t  Eph.  iii.  3. "  AcU  iz.  1 ;  xxii.  4;  zzvi.  11 ;  1  Tim.  i.  13. 

«  Acts  Tiii.  3. *  Greek,  e^uaU  m  ypart, f  Acts  xxii.  3 ; 

zxtL  9;  Phillppiani  iii.  6.^— ->  Jer.  ix.  U;  Bfattbew  xr.  2; 
Hark  Tii.& 


does  not^  till  now,  give  them  even  this  appellation ; 
that  ike  gospel  which  was  preached  by  me— Among 
you ;  is  not  after  man — Of  mere  human  authority 
and  invention ;  is  not  from  man,  not  by  man,  nor 
smted  to  the  taste  of  man;  ybr  I  neither  received  it 
of  man— From  the  authority  or  interposition  of 
any  man ;  neiiher  was  I  taught  it—By  any  writing 
or  any  human  method  of  instruction ;  but  by  revela- 
tion ofJestis  Christ— VHiO  communicated  to  me  by 
inspiration  his  gospel  in  all  its  parts,  and  sent  me 
forth  to  publish  it  to  the  world.  If  Paul  did  not  re- 
ceire  the  gospel  from  man^  as  he  here  asserts,  and 
as  we  are  therefore  sure  he  did  not,  the  perfect 
conformity  of  his  doctrine  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
other  apostles,  is  a  proof  that  he  was  taught  it  by 
revelation  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  revealed  to  him  at 
first  his  resurrection,  ascension,  and  the  calling  of 
the  Gentiles,  and  his  own  apostleshtp ;  and  told  hiin 
then  there  were  other  things  for  which  he  would 
appear  t&  him.    See  on  Acts  txvi.  16-18. 

Verses  13, 14.  For  ye  have  heard  of  my  conversa- 
tion in  time  past — ^As  if  he  said,  To  convince  you 
that  I  received  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  by  im- 
mediate revelation  from  Christ,  I  appeal  to  my  be- 
haviour, both  before  and  after  I  was  made  an  apos- 
tle ;  in  the  Jewish  religion — Ei/  r^  I«<Jato/<9,  in  Juda- 
ism, The  expression  is  well  chosen ;  and,  as  L'En- 
fant  justly  observes,  is  not  intended  by  the  apostle 
of  the  religion  originally  taught  by  Moses,  and  con- 
tained in  his  writings  and  those  of  the  prophets, 
but,  as  is  evident  from  the  latter  part  of  the  next 
verse,  of  that  which  was  practised  among  the  Jews 
at  tbis  time,  and  consisted  in  a  great  degree  in  ob- 
senring  the  traditions  of  the  fathers,  and  the  com- 
mandments of  men.  How  that  beyond  measure — 
Ka^  vjrepftoXjfv^  exceedingly^  and  with  the  most  insa- 
tiable rage ;  1  persecuted  the  church  of  God — Wheth- 
er considered  as  individual  believers,  or  as  persons 
united  in  religious  societies  and  congregations ;  and 
wasted  it — Ravaged  it  with  all  the  fury  of  a  beast 
of  prey.  So  the  word  ejropOdv,  here  used,  signifies. 
And  profited — Made  proficiency  in  the  knowledge 
and  practice  of  Judabm ;  above  many  of  my  equals 
— Many  of  the  same  age  with  myself;  in  mine  own 
nation— Or  who  were  of  the  same  standing  in  the 
study  of  the  law ;  being  more  exceedingly  zealous 
of  the  unwritten  traditions  of  my  fathers— Oytx  and 
b 


16  But  when  it  pleaeed  God,  «  who  a  m.  4039. 

separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb,      '    L 

and  called  mehy  his  grace, 

16  ^  To  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  "*  I  might 
preach  him  among  the  heathen ;  immediately 
I  omferred  not  with  '  flesh  and  blood : 

17  Neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them 
which  were  apostles  before  me:  but  I  went 
into  Arabia,  and  returned  again  unto  Da- 
mascus. 


*■  Isa.  zUz.  1, 5 ;  Jer.  i.  5 ;  Acts  ix.  15 ;  xiii.  2 ;  xxii.  I4»  15 ; 

R4Mnan*  j.  1. ^  2  Corinthiaat  it.  8. «  AcU  ix.  15;  xxii.  21 ; 

xxvL  17,  IS;  Rom.  xi.  13;   Epb.  iii.  S.-^^— ^  MaU.  xvi.  17; 
IGor.  xr.  50;  Eph.  ri.  12. 


above  the  doctrines  and  precepts  written  in  the 
law.  These  were  what  die  evangelists  and  our 
Lord  called  the  traditions  of  men,  and  their  own 
traditions,  (Mark  viL  8, 9,)  to  show  that  they  were 
mere  human  inventions.  ^^  It  was  the  characteristic 
of  a  Pharisee  to  hold  these  traditions  as  of  equal  au- 
thority with  the  precepts  of  the  law.  Nay,  in  many 
cases,  they  gave  them  the  preference.  Hence  our 
Lord  told  them,  Mark  vii.  9,  Pull  well  ye  reject  the 
commandments  of  God,  that  ye  may  keep  your  own 
traditions.  The  apostle  tnentions  his  knowledge 
of  the  traditions  of  the  fathers,  and  his  zeal  for  them, 
as  things  absolutely  necessary  to  salvation,  to  con- 
vince the  Galatians  that  his  preaching  justification 
without  the  works  of  the  law,  could  be  attributed  to 
nothing  but  the  force  of  truth  communicated  to  him 
by  revelation.''— Macknight 

Verses  15-17.  When  it  pleased  God — He  ascribes 
nothing  to  his  own  merits,  endeavours,  or  sincerity; 
who  separated  me  from  my  moiher^s  womb — Set  me 
apart  for  an  apostle,  as  he  did  Jeremiah  for  a  pro- 
phet, (Jer.  L  5,)  and  ordered  my  education  with  a 
view  to  that  office.  Such  an  unconditional  predes- 
tination as  this  may  consist  both  with  God's  justice 
and  mercy.  And  called  me  by  his  grace — By  his 
free  and  almighty  love,  to  be  both  a  Christian  and 
an  apostle ;  to  reveal  his  Son  in  mer—By  the  pow- 
erful operation  of  his  Spirit,  (2  Cor.  iv.  6,)  as  well 
as  to  me  by  the  heavenly  vision ;  tJuU  I miglit  preach 
him  among  the  heathen — 'Which  I  should  have  been 
ill  qualified  to  do,  or  even  to  preach  him  to  mine  own 
countrymen,  had  I  not  first  known  him  myself; 
immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood — 
Being  Ailly  satisfied  concerning  the  divine  will,  and 
determined  to  obey  it,  I  took  no  counsel  with  any 
man,  neither  with  my  own  reason  or  inclination, 
which  might  have  raised  numberless  objections ;  but 
laid  aside  the  consideration  of  all  carnal  respects 
and  interests  whatsoever.  Neither  went  I  up  to 
Jerusalem — The  residence  of  the  apostles,  to  be 
instructed  by,  and  receive  commbsion  from  them. 
But  J  went  into  .4ra6£a— Where  there  were  few 
Christians,  and  none  of  them  of  any  note.  This 
course,  we  may  believe,  the  apostle  took  by  the  di- 
rection of  Christ,  who  sent  him  into  that  country, 
to  instruct  him  in  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  by  immediate  revelation. 


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the  truth  4tfhig  rdation. 


A.  M.  4049. 
A.  D.38. 


18  Then  after  three  years  •  I  *  went 
up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  and 
abode  with  him  fifteen  days. 
19  But  ^  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save 
'  James  the  Lord's  brother. 


•Acts  is.  26.*^ 


•Or, 

xiiL 


wftinwi— ^  1  Cor.  ix.  6.- 
.  55 ;  Mark  ▼!.  3. 


rMatt. 


The  truth  is,  now  that  the  Lor5  Jesus* was  gone  to 
heaven,  this  was  the  only  proper  method  of  training 
an  apostle.  For  if  the  ministry  of  men  had  been 
used  in  instructing  Saul,  he  would  have  been  con- 
sidered as  an  apostle  of  men,  and  on  .that  account 
might  have  been  reckoned  inferior  to  the  other  apos- 
tles, who  were  all  instructed  by  Christ  himself.  In 
Arabia,  therefore,  Saul  continued  more  than  two 
years;  and  durii^  all  that  time,  it  is  probable,  em- 
ployed himself  in  studying,  the  Jewish  Scriptures 
more  carefully  than  ever,  by  the  help  of  the  new 
light  which  had  been  bestowed  on  him ;  in  search- 
ing into  the  true  nature  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
in  attending  to  such  revelations  as  Christ  was 
pleased  to  make  to  him.  And,  by  these  revelations, 
he  acquired  a  complete  knowledge  of  all  Christ^s 
doctrines,  sayings,  miracles,  sufferings,  resurrection, 
and  ascension,  and  of  the  design  both  of  the  law  and 
of  the  gospel,  and  of  the  confirmation  which  the 
gospel  derives  from  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the 
prophets.  Luke,  in  his  history  of  the  Acts,  takes 
no  notice  of  this  journey  of  the  apostle  into  Arabia; 
but,  from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  mentioned  here, 
it  seems  probable  that  the  apostle,  went  into  Arabia 
almost  immediately  after  he  recovered  his  sight  and 
strength,  which  had  been  impaired  by  the  bright 
light  with  which  Christ  was  surrounded  when  he 
appeared  to  him,  and  by  the  terror  into  which  he 
was  cast  by  that  miraculous  appearance;  staying, 
however,  at  Damascus,  as  we  may  infer  from  Acts 
ix.  19,  certain  days,  after  he  had  recovered  his  sight, 
during  which  he  preached  Christ  in  the  s3niagogues. 
From  Arabia  he  returned  again  unto  Damascus — 
Where  he  boldly  declared  the  necessity  of  believing 
in  Christ,  in  order  to  salvation,  even  in  the  presence 
of  those  Jews  whom  he  knew  to  be  strongly  preju- 
diced against  that  important  doctrine,  increasing,  in 
the  mean  time,  in  strength,  as  is  mentioned  Acts  ix. 
22,  confounding  the  Jews,  arid  proving  Jesus  to  he 
the  very  Christ 

Verses  18,  19.  Then^  after  three  y ear s-^'Witttiw 
I  had  given  full  proof  of  my  apostleship ;  I  went  up 
to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter — And  converse  with  hun ; 
and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days — During  which 
they  doubtless  discoursed  at  large  together  on  the 
mutual  success  of  their  ministry.  "This  being 
Paul's  first  visit  to  Jerusalem  since  his  conversion, 
the  brethren  there  shuijincd  him,  suspecting  that  he 
feigned  himself  a  disciple  with  a  view  to  betray 
them.  But  Barnabas,  who  probably  had  learned 
the  particulars  of  his  conversion  from  Ananias,  took 
and  brought  him  to  the  apostles,  (Peter  j^nd  James,) 
and  declared  to  them  how  he  had  seen  the  Lord  in 
270 


20  Now  the  things  whichi  write  un*  a.  m.  4043. 
to  you,  ^  behold,  beforo  God,  I  lie  not    ^'  ^'  ^A 

21  ^Afterward  I  came  into  the  r^k>ns  of 
Sjrriaand  CiUda; 

22  And  was  unknown  by  fece  ^unto  the 


^  Ronuois  ix.  1.- 


I  Acts  iz.  ad.- 
ii.  14. 


:  I  TbeankmiaM 


the  way,  Acts  ix.  27.  It  does  not  appear  that  on  this 
occasion  any  thing  was  said,  either  by  Barnabas  01 
by  Saul,  concerning  Christ's  making  Saul  an  apos- 
tle at  the  time  he  converted  him.  Or  concerning  his 
sending  him  to  preach  to  the  idolatrous  Gentiles,  as 
is  related  by  the  apostle  himself.  Acts  xxvi.  16-18. 
These  things  were  not  mentioned  in  Jerusalem  till 
Paul  went  up  to  the  council,  foiurteen  years  after  his 
conversion.  Gal.  ii.  2, 7-9."  But  other  of  the  apos- 
tles saw  I  none,  save  James  the  Lord's  brother 
— Or  kinsman,  as  the  word  here  signifies;  for  he 
was  tlie  son  of  Alpheus,  by  Mary  the  sister  of  our 
Lord'«  mother.  That  Paul  made  so  short  a  stay  at 
Jerusalem,  at  this  time,  was  probably  owing  to 
Christ's  appearing  to  him  in  a  trance,  while  in  the 
temple,  and  commanding  him  to  depart  quickly 
from  Jerusalem,  Acts  xxii.  18.  The  brethren  also, 
it  seems,  advised  him  to  depart,  because  the  Hellen- 
ist Jews  were  determined  to  kill  hint 

Verses  20-24.  Now  the  things  which  I  write  unto 
you — With  respect  to  all  these  circumstances  of 
them;  /  lie  nof— As  I  affirm  before  God,  who 
searcheth  the  heart,  and  from  whom  nothing  is  hid. 
Afterward^-DepBTiing  from  Jerusalem;  /  weTil  in- 
to the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia — To  exercise 
my  ministry  there,  and,  if  possible,  to  bring  those 
among  whom  I  was  bom  and  brought  up,  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  and  his  gospel.  It  appears 
from  Acts  ix.  30,  that  some  of  the  brethren  in  Jeru- 
salem, who  advised  him  to  depart,  kindly  accompa- 
nied him  to  Cesarea,  a  well  known  sea-port  town  on 
the  Mediterranean,  from  whence  it  seems  he  intend- 
ed to  go  by  sea  to  Tarsus.  But,  as  he  here  says 
that  he  went  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia,it 
is  probable,  that  after  embarking  at  Cesarea,  con- 
trary winds  forced  him  into  some  of  the  ports  of 
Syria ;  so  that,  altering  his  plan,  he  went  through 
that  country  preaching  the  gospel,  and  from  thence 
proceeded  to  Cilicia  by  land.  And  was  personally 
unknown  to  the  churches  in  Judea — Except  to  that 
of  Jerusalem.  In  travelling  irom  Damascus  to  Jeru- 
salem, after  his  return  from  Arabia,  it  seems  by  this, 
that  lie  did  not  preach  or  make  himself  known  to 
any  of  ihe  Christians  in  the  cities  of  Judea  through 
which  he  passed.  But  they  had  heard  on/y— This 
wonderful  account  in  general,  which  would  doubt- 
less spread  rapidly  through  all  the  land ;  that  he 
which  persecuted  us  in  times  past— To  imprison- 
ment and  death,  was  become  a  convert  to  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus;  so  that  he  now  preacheth  the  faith 
which  once  he  destroyed — That  is,  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel,  which  he  once  laboured  with  all  his 
might  to  extirpate  from  the  minds  of  men,  and  from 

b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


his  journey  to  JeruBoiem. 


A.M.«H3.  diurdies  of  Judaa  which  ^were  in 

Christ: 

23  But  th^  had  heard  only.  That  be  which 


I  Romans 


the  face  of  the  earth;  cmd  they  glorified  Oodinme 
— ^That  is,  on  my  account^  as  they  wdl  might,  be- 
holding in  me  so  wonderiiil  an  instance  of  the  pow- 
er and  grace  of  God.    This  the  apostle  mentions. 


persecuted usin times past,nowpreach-  a.  M.404S. 
eth  the  £sdth  which  once  he  destroyed.    ^'  ^'  ^' 
24  And  they  glorified  God  in  me. 


xvi.  7. 


because  it  implied  that  the  Christians  in  Judea  be*- 
lieved  him  to  be  a  sincere  convert,  and  were  per^ 
suaded  that  his  conversion  would  be  an  additional 
proof  of  the  divine  original  of  the  gospel. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Here,  in  prosecution  of  the  design  on  tohieh  he  had  entered  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  apostle  (1,)  Informs  the  Galatians 
of  his  journey  from  Antioch  to  Jerusdem^  and  of  his  interview  with  the  apostles  there,  who  acknowledged  the  divine  autho- 
rity of  his  doctrine  and  mission,  owned  him  as  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  received  Titus,  as  an  uncircumcised  Greek^ 
into  their  Christian  communion,  1-10.  (2,)  He  shows  how  he  hadpvMicly  rebuked  Peter  himself  at  Antioch,  for  Judaiz- 
ing,  and  how  he  had  stood  up  in  defence  of  the  liberty  of  the  church  from  Jewish  impositions,  1 1-14.  He  thence,  (3,)  Takes 
occasion  to  enter  on  his  proof  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  without  the  works  of  the  Mosaic  law^  15-21. 

A.  M.  4056.  rpHBN  fourteen  years  after  •  I  went 
up  again  to  Jerusalem  with  Bar- 


nabas, and  took  Titus  with  me  also. 
2  And  I  went  up  by  revelation,  ^  and  cominu* 


•AoUXT.  2. *AoU  X9,  12.— «0r,  severally. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verse  1.  Then  fourteen  years  after  my  conver- 
sion, I  went  up  again  to  Jerusalem — This  seems  to 
be  the  journey  mentioned  Acts  xv.,  several  passages 
here  referring  to  that  great  council,  wherein  all  the 
apostles  showed  that  they  were  of  the  same  judg- 
ment with  him.  From  the  history  which  the  apostle 
gives  of  himself  to  the  Galatians  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  it  appears  that  fipm  the  time  of  his  conver- 
sion, to  his  coming  with  Barnabas  from  Tarsus  to 
Antioch,  he  had  no  opportunity  of  conversing  with 
the  q>06tles  in  a  body,  consequently  in  that  period 
he  was  not  made  an  apostle  by  them.  And  by  re- 
lating in  a  similar  way,  in  this  chapter,  what  hap- 
pened when  he  went  up  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem, 
fourteen  years  after  his  conversion,  in  company 
with  Barnabas,  he  proves  to  them  that  he  was  an 
apostle  before  he  had  that  meeting  with  the  apostles 
in  a  body ;  for  at  that  time,  instead  of  receiving  the 
gospel  from  the  apostles,  he  commmiicated  to  them 
the  gospel,  or  doctrine,  which  he  preached  among 
the  idolatrous  Gentiles:  not  because  he  acknow- 
ledged them  his  superiors,  or  was  in  any  doubt 
about  the  truth  of  his  doctrine,  but  lest  it  might  have 
been  suspected  that  bis  doctrine  was  disclaimed  by 
the  apostles,  which  would  have  marred  his  success 
among  the  Gentiles.  And  took  Titus  with  me  also — 
Though  he  was  uncircumcised,  that  I  mi^t  therein 
show  my  Christian  liberty,  and  assert  that  of  my 
Gentile  brethren,  against  those  who  are  so  zealous 
in  their  attempts  to  invade  it.  "  This  is  the  earliest 
inention  that  we  meet  with  of  Titus,  for  he  is  no- 
P 


nicated  unto  them  that  gospel  which  a.  m.  406«. 

A  D  53. 

I  preach  among  the  Gentiles,  but  — '— 

^privately  to  them  which  were  of  reputation,  lest 
by  any  means  ^  I  should  run,  or  had  run,  in  vain. 


«  PhiL  u.  16 ;  1  Then.  iif.  5. 


where  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  in  the  Acts;  and 
what  we  read  of  him  in  the  second  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  (2  Cor.  ii.  13  5  vii.  6,  14;  viii.  6,)  as 
well  as  in  that  to  Timothy,  (2  Tim.  iv.  10,)  was 
later  by  some  years.  He  is  here  said  to  have  been 
a  Greek,  (verse  3,)  and  being  bom  of  Gentile  pa- 
rents, was  not  circumcised ;  but  where  or  when  he 
Was  converted  is  uncertain ;  only  we  may  conclude 
he  was  converted  by  Paul,  from  the  title  he  gives 
him  of  his  own  son  after  the  common  faith^  Tit 
i.  4 ;  and  as  he  now  took  Titus  with  him  from  An- 
tioch to  Jerusalem,  so  he  employed  him  afterward 
on  several  occasions,  and  appears  to  have  regarded 
him  with  great  affection  and  endearment." — Dod- 
dridge. 

Verse  2.  And  I  went  w;?— Not  by  any  command 
from  the  apostles,  nor  to  receive  instructions  in  my 
work  from  them;  but  6y  revelation— From  God, 
directing  me  to  go.  The  apostle  does  not  say  to 
whom  the  revelation  was  made :  it  might  be  made 
to  Paul  himself,  or  to  some  of  the  prophets  then 
residing  at  Antioch.  But  this  circumstance,  that  he 
went  in  consequence  of  a  revelation,  shows  evidently 
that  the  occasion  of  the  journey  was  of  great  im- 
portance. It  was,  therefore,  as  has  been  observed 
above,  very  probably  the  journey  which,  at  the  de* 
sire  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  Paul  and  Barnabas 
undertook  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  the  apostles 
and  elders  in  Jerusalem  concerning  the  circum- 
cision of  the  converted  proselytes,  of  which  we  have 
an  account  Acts  xv.,  &c.,  where  see  the  notes.  Some 
indeed  have  been  of  opinion,  that  the  journey  to 
371 


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vi4h  9ome  of  the  aipoMm. 


A.  M.  4056.  3  But  neither  Titos,  who  was  with 
•  me,  being  a  Greeks  was  compelled  to 
be  cireumcised : 

4  And  that  because  of  'fidse  brethren  una- 
wares brought  in,  who  came  in  privily  to 
spy  out  our  *  liberty  winch  we  have  in 
X/hrist  Jesus,  ^that  they  might  bring  us  into 
bondage: 

6  To  whom  we  gave  place  by  subjection,  no> 


<i  Acts  XT.  1, 24  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  26. •  Chap.  iiL  25 ;  Chap.  v. 

1,  13. '  2  Cor.  xi.  20 ;  Chap.  jr.  3, 9. 1  V©»e  14 ;  Chap. 

iii.  Ij  It.  19- 


Jerusalem  here  spoken  of,  was  posterior  to  that 
council.  But  as  there  is  no  evidence  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  travelled  together  any  more  after  they 
returned  to  Anttoch  from  the  council,  but  rather 
evidence  to  the  contrary,  (Acts  xv.  39,)  that  opinion 
cannot  be  admitted.  And  communicated  unto  them 
— To  the  chief  of  the  church  in  Jerusalem ;  that 
gospel  vfkich  I  preach  among  the  Oentil€S—(Sec 
Acts  XV.  4,)  namely,  touching  justification  by  faith 
alone;  not  that  they  might  confirm  me  therein,  but 
that  I  might  preclude  or  remove  prejudice  from 
them.  Bui  privately  to  them  which  were  of  reputa- 
tion— Or  to  those  of  emifience,  as  the  origincd  ex- 
pression here  evidently  signifies.  Fie  did  not  declare 
the  doctrine  which  he  preached  publicly  at  first,  but 
spoke  severally  to  the  apostles  one  by  one ;  lest  I 
sJtould  run,  or  should  have  run  in  vain — That  is, 
Lest,  being  suspected  to  preach  differently  from 
them,  I  should  lose  the  fruit  either  of  my  present  or 
past  labours.  For  the  other  apostles  might  have 
greatly  hindered  the  success  of  his  labours,  had  they 
not  been  fully  satisfied  both  of  his  mission  and  doc- 
t  rine.  In  using  the  word  run,  the  apostle  beautifully 
expresses  the  swift  progress  of  the  gospel  i  and  in 
speaking  of  running  in  voin,  he  alludes  to  a  race, 
in  which  the  person  who  loses  the  prize  is  said  to 
run  in  vain. 

Verse  3.  BtU  neither  TUus,  &c.— As  if  he  had 
said.  That  the  apostles,  to  whom  I  commimicated 
the  doctrine  which  I  preach,  acknowledged  it  to  be 
the  true  gospel  of  Christ,  b  evident  from  this,  that 
not  even  THtus,  who  was  with  me,  though  a  Greek, 
or  converted  Gentile,  was  compelled  to  be  circum- 
cised— In  order  to  his  being  received  as  a  true  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Church ;  a  clear  proof  that  none 
of  the  apostles  insisted  on  circumcising  the  Gentile 
believers.  The  sense  seems  to  be,  It  is  true,  some 
of  those  false  brethren  would  gladly  have  compelled 
Titus  to  be  circumcised,  but  I  utterly  refused  it. 
And  that  because  of  false  brethren-^ThvX  is,  I  was 
averse  to,  and  opposed  the  circumcision  of  Titus, 
because  the  Jews,  who  professed  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, yet  urged  the  observation  of  the  ceremonial 
law  as  necessary  to  salvation,  (Acts  xv.  I,)  and  so 
were  real  enemies  to  the  gospel.  Or,  the  sense  may 
be,  that  Titus  was  not  compelled,  by  the  apostles 
and  elders  of  Jerusalem,  to  be  circumcised,  on  ac- 
count even  of  the  false  brethren,  who,  when  they 
found  that  Titus  was  not  circumcised,  complained 
272 


not  for  an  hour ;  that  » the  truth  of  a.  m.  4068. 
the  gospel  might  ccmtinue  with  you.     — '— 

G  But  of  those  ^  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat, 
whatsoever  they  were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to 
me:  ^  God accepteth  no  man's  person :  for  they 
who  seemed  to  be  ^amewhatj  ^in  conferenoe 
added  nothing  to  me : 

7  But  contrariwise,  ^when  they  saw  that  the 
gospel  of  the  uncircumcision  '"was  commit 


h  Chapter  rl  3. '  Acts  x.  34;  Rom.  ii.  U. ^2  Cot.  xii. 

11.— ^^Act«  xiu.  46;  Rom.  L  5 ;  xi.  13 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  7 ;  2  Tim. 


i.  11.- 


>  1  Thesft.  ii.  4. 


of  Paul  to  his  brethren  apostles  on  that  account. 
Unawares  brought  in— Made  members  of  the  churdi 
at  Jerusalem  upon  their  great  pretences  to  piety, 
without  due  consideration  and  trial ;  who  came  in 
privily — To  our  meetings  at  Jerusalem ;  to  spy,  Ac. 
— To  find  out  and  condemn  our  freedom  from  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  we  Gentiles  have  obtained  by 
Christ  Jesus's  gospel.  Or,  as  some  expla'm  the 
clause,  tliese  false  brethren  had  got  themselves  mtro- 
duced  secretly,  that  is,  by  persons  that  did  not  know 
their  real  character,  into  the  meetings  which  Paul 
had  with  the  apostles,  to  observe  whether  he  would 
stand  to  the  defence  of  that  liberty  from  the  cere- 
monial law  before  the  apostles,  which  he  prescbed 
among  the  Gentiles.  ThcU  they  might  bring  us  into 
bondage — That  in  case  I  bad  not  maintained  our 
liberty,  they  might  thence  take  occasion  to  bring 
back  the  Christian  Gentiles,  and  whole  church, 
under  the  yoke  of  the  ceremonial  law.  7\f  whom  we 
gave  place,  no,  not  for  an  hour — Yielded  to  them  in 
allowing  the  ceremonies,  in  no  degree.  With  such 
wonderful  prudence  did  the  apostle  use  his  Chris- 
tian liberty;  circumcising  Timothy,  (Acts  xvL  3,) 
because  of  weak  brethren,  but  not  Titus,  because  of 
false  brethren ;  that  the  truth  of  the  gospel'-The 
true  genuine  gospel,  or  the  purity  of  gospel  doc- 
trine ;  might  continue  with  you — And  other  churches 
of  the  Gentiles.  So  that,  as  if  hchad  said,  we  de- 
fend for  your  sakes  the  privileges  which  you  would 
give  up. 

Verses  6-8.  But  of  those  who  seemed  to  be  some- 
what—"Whowcre  most  esteemed  among  the  apostles; 
whatsoever  they  were — How  eminent  soever;  tt 
maketh  no  matter— ^o  difference ;  to  me— So  that  I 
should  alter  either  my  doctrine  er  my  practice.  God 
accept eih  no  man^s  person— TorBXiy  eminence  In  gifts 
or  outward  prerogatives:  he  does  not  show  favour 
to  any  man  on  account  of  his  birth,  office,  riches, 
or  any  external  circumstance,  Job  xxxiv.  19.  The 
apostle's  meaning  is,  that  God  did  not  prefer  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  to  him,  because  they  were  apostles 
before  him,  far  less  did  he  employ  them  to  make 
him  an  apostle ;  they,  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat 
—Or  rather.  Who  undoubtedly  were  In  high  repute, 
as  the  expression  oi  doxwrec  signifies;  added  no- 
</itng-— Communicated  neither  knowledge,  nor  spi- 
ritual gifts,  nor  authority;  tofwc— Far  less  did  they 
pretend  to  make  me  an  apostle.  But  wJten  they  saw 
—Namely,  by  the  effects  which  I  laid  before  them, 

b 


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pMMjf  repriced  Peier. 


4. M. 4056.  ted  onto  me,  as  the  gospel ot them- 


' comciakm  was  unto  Peter; 

8  (For  be  tbst  wrought  efiectually  in  Peter 
to  tbe  apoetleship  of  the  ckcumcisioQ,  *the 
«une  was  ^  mighty  in  me  toward  the  Gen- 
tfles:) 

9  And  when  James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who 
seemed  to  be  ("pillars,  perceived  ^the  grace 
that  was  given  unto  me,  they  gave  to  me  and 


•  Acts  ix.  15 :  xiii.  3 ;  zxii.  21 ;  xxti.  17,  16 ;  1  Oor.  xr.  10 ; 
Chap.  L  16;  Col  i.  8».— i» Chap,  iii.  5.— i>Matt  xri,  18; 
fiph.iL  SO;  Rer.  zxl  14. 


verse  8;  Acts  xv.  13;  that  the  gospel  of  the  uneir- 
cumcisUm — That  is,  the  charge  of  preaching  the 
gospel  to  the  uncircnmckied'heathen;  was  intrusted 
to  me,  as  that  of  the  circwncisUfn — The  charge  of 
preaching  the  gospel  to  the  Jews;  ira«  committed 
to  Peter— "By  saying  that  he  was  intfosted  with 
the  gospel  of  the  uncircurndsion,  even  as  Peter  was 
with  dMtt  of  the  circumcision,  Paul  put  himself  on  a 
level  with  Peter.  In  like  manner,  his  withstanding 
Peter  pubhdy  for  withdrawing  himself  from  the 
eonverted  Gentiles,  is  a  fact  utterly  inconsistent 
with  the  pretended  superiority  of  Peter  above  the 
other  apostles,  vamly  imagined  by  the  JRoman  pon- 
tift,  for  the  purpose  of  aggrandizing  themselves  as 
his  soccesBors,  above  all  other  Christian  bishops." 
For  he  that  lerought  efectuaUy  in^  or  by,  Peter-^To 
qualify  lum  for  the  apostleship  of  the  circumcision,  to 
support  him  in  the  discharge  of  that  office,  and  to  ren- 
der his  exercise  of  it  successiVil ;  the  same  was  mighty 
mme-^Wrought  also  eflfectually  in  and  by  me,  fbr  and 
in  the  discharge  of  my  office*  toward  the  Gentiles, 

Verses  9, 10.  And  when  James — Probably  named 
first  because  he  was  bishop  of  the  church  in  Jeru- 
salem; and  CgoAcu— Speaking  of  him  at  Jerusalem, 
he  calls  him  by  his  Hebrew  name;  and  John— 
Hence  it  appears  that  he  also  was  at  the  council, 
though  he  be  not  particularly  named  in  the  Acts. 
Who  seemed  to  he — Or,  as  in  verse  6,  who  undoubt- 
edly were;  pillctrs— The  principal  supporters  and 
defenders  of  the  gospel ;  perceipci— After  they  had 
heard  the  account  I  gave  them ;  the  grace  of  apos- 
tleship which  was  given  to  me,  they  in  the  name 
ef  all,  g'oi'e  me  and  BamabaS'^My  fellow-labourer ; 
the  right  hands  of  felUnDshvp—They  gave  us  their 
hands,  in  token  of  receiving  us  as  their  fellow- 
labourers,  mutually  agreeing  that  I  and  those  in 
union  with  me  should  go  to  the  heathen  chiefly — 
^  Barnabas^  equally  with  Paul,  had  preached  salva- 
tion to  the  idolatrous  Oentiles,  without  requiring 
them  to  obey  the  law  of  Moses :  wherefore,  by  giving 
them  the  right  hands  of  felloioship,  the  three 
apostles  acknowledged  them  to  be  true  ministers  of 
^e  gospel,  each  according  to  the  nature  of  his  par- 
ticular oommismon.  Paul  they  acknowledged  to  be 
an  apostle  of  equal  authority  with  themselves ;  and 
Barnabas  they  acknowledged  to  be  a  minister,  sent 
Ibrtfa  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
Gentiks.  This  distinction  it  is  necessary  to  make, 
beraose  it  doth  not  appear  that  Barnabas  was  an 

Vol.  U.  f  la  ) 


Barnabas  the  ri^t  hands  of  fellow-  a.  m.  40dS. 
*ip;  that  we  should  go  unto  the    ^    '" 
heathtti,  and  they  unto  the  circumcision. 

10  Only  they  would  that  we  should  remem- 
ber the  poor ;  'the  same  which  I  also  was  for- 
ward to  da 

11  "But  when  Peter  was  come  to  Antioch,  I 
withstood  him  to  the  £su«,  because  he  was  to 
be  Mamed. 


4  Rom.  i.  5 ;  zii.  3,  6 ;  zv.  15 ;  1  Cor.  zt.  10 ;  Eph.  iiL  S. 
'AeU  jL  30;  zut.  17;  Boiii.xv.85;  1  Cor.  xtL  i;  tCor. 
riii.  9. •  AcU  xv.  35. 


apostle,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word.  The  can- 
dour which  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  showed  on  this 
occasion,  in  acknowledging  Paul  as  a  brother  apostle, 
is  remarkable,  and  deserves  the  imitation  of  all  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel  in  their  behaviour  toward 
one  another."  And  they — With  those  that  were  in 
union  with  them;  chiefly  fo^t^e  cfrcumcmon — The 
Jews.  "  In  pursuance  of  this  agreement,  the  three 
apostles  abode,  for  the  most  part,  in  Judea^  till  Jeru- 
salem was  destroyed.  After  which,  Peter,  as  tra- 
dition informs  us,  went  to  Babylon,  and  other  parts 
in  the  East,  and  John  into  the  Lesser  Asia,  where 
he  was  confined  some  years  in  Patmos,  for  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus,  Rev.  i.  0.  But  James  was  put  to 
death  at  Jerusalem,  m  a  popular  tumult,  before  that 
city  was  destroyed.''— Macknight.  Only  desiring 
that  we  would  remember  the  poor  Christians  in  Ju- 
dea— So  as  to  make  collections  for  them  as  we  pn>- 
ceeded  in  our  progress  through  the  churches  of 
the  Gentiles;  the  same  which  I  also  wcu  forward  to 
do — Greek,  o  «at  eairuSaaa  avro  tbto  Trot'^aat^  which 
very  thing  I  was  eager,  or  in  haste  to  do.  It  is 
probable,  that  in  so  readily  acceding  to  the  proposal 
made  by  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  to  collect  money 
for  the  destitute  saints  in  Judea,  St.  Paul  was  influ- 
enced by  a  more  generous  principle  than  that  of 
merely  relieving  the  necessities  of  ttie  poor.  For  as 
the  Jewish  believers  were  extremely  unwilling  to 
associate  with  the  cotiverted  Gentiles,  Paul  might 
fiope  that  the  kindness,  which  he  doubted  not  the 
Gentiles  would  show  in  relieving  their  Jewish 
brethren,  would  have  a  happy  influence  in  uniting 
the  two  into  one  harmonious  body  or  church. 

Verse  11.  But,  &c.— The  argument  here  comes 
to  the  height:  Paul  reproves  Peter  himself;  so  far 
was  he  from  receiving  his  doctrine  from  man,  or 
from  being  inferior  to  the  chief  of  the  apostles; 
when  Peter  was  come  to  Antioch — After  Barnabas 
and  I  were  returned  thither;  I  withstood  him  to  the 
fach—Ot  opposed  him  personally  in  the  presence  of 
the  church  there,  then  the  chief  of  all  the  Gentile 
churches ;  because  he  was  to  he  blamed— For  the 
fear  of  roan,  verse  12 ;  for  dissimulation,  verse  IS ; 
and  for  not  walking  uprightly,  verse  14.  To  show 
what  kind  of  interpreters  of  Scripture  some  of  the 
most  learned  fathers  were,  Dr.Macknight  quotes  Je- 
rome here  as  translating  the  phrase,  Kara  irpooirrov^ 
which  we  render  to  the  face^  secundum  faciemy  in 
appearances  supposing  Paul's  meanfaig  to  be,**Uiat 
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A.M. 4056.  12  F(nr,  before  that  certaia  came 
^^^'  from  James,  *he  did  eat  with  the 
Qentiles:  but  when  they  were  come,  he 
withdrew,  and  sq)arated  himself  fearing 
them  which  were  of  ibe  circumcision. 
13  And  the  other  Jews  dissembled  likewise 
with  him ;  insomuch  that  Barnabas  also  was 
carried  away  with  their  dissimulation. 


« Aeto  X.  28 ;  id.  3. ■  Verse  6. « 1  Tiro.  v.  20. y  Acts 


14  But  when  I  saw  that  they  walked  a.m.405c 

not  uprightly  according  to  ^  the  truth  of  — . 

the  gospel,  I  said  unto  Peter  ^before  ihtm  aU,  ^If 
thou,  being  a  Jew,  livest  after  the  manner  of 
Gentiles,  and  not  as  do  the  Jews,  why  compei- 
lest  thou  the  Gentiles  to  live  as  do  the  Jews? 

15  *  We  who  are  Jews  by  native,  and  not 
*  sinners  of  the  Gentiles, 


X.128 ;  xi.  3.— «  Acts  xr.  10, 11. »  Matt.  ix.  11 ;  Eph.  ii.  3, 12. 


he  and  Peter  were  not  serioiiA  in  this  dispute ;  but, 
by  a  holy  kind  of  dissimulation,  endeavoured  on  the 
one  hand,  to  give  satbfaction  to  the  Gentiles,  and  on 
the  other  not  to  ofiend  the  Jews.  Dy  such  interpre- 
tations as  these,  the  fathers  pretended  to  justify  the 
deceits  which  they  used  for  persuading  the  heathen 
to  embrace  the  gospel !"  From  the  instance  of  Pe- 
ter's imprudence  and  sin,  here  recorded,  the  most 
advanced,  whether  in  knowledge  or  holiness,  may 
learn  to  take  heed  lest  they  falL  For  before  certain 
persons— Who  were  zealous  for  the  observation  of 
the  ceremonies  of  the  law ;  came  from  James — ^Who 
was  then  at  Jerusalem ;  he  did  eat  with  the  con- 
verted GentHee— III  Antioch,  on  all  occasions,  and 
conversed  freely  with  them ;  hut  when  they  y>ere 
come  he  withdrew — From  that  freedom  of  converse ; 
and  separated  himself— Yiom  them,  as  if  he  had 
thought  them  unclean :  and  this  he  did,  not  from 
any  change  in  his  sentiments,  but  purely  aa  fearing 
them  of  the  circumcision — Namely,  the  converted 
Jews,  whom  he  was  unwilling  to  displease,  because 
he  thought  their  censures  of  much  greater  import- 
ance than  they  really  were.  The  Jews,  it  must 
be  observed,  reckoned  it  unlawful  to  eat  with  the 
proselytes  of  tlie  gate ;  that  is,  such  proselytes  to 
their  religion  as  had  not  submitted  to  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision, nor  engaged  to  observe  the  whole  cere- 
monial law,  (see  Acts  x.  28;  xi.  3,)  some  meats  per- 
mitted to  them  being  miclean  to  the  Jews;  and  the 
other  believing  /etc*— Who  were  at  Antioch,  and 
had  before  used  the  like  freedom ;  dissembled  with 
him — ^In  thus  scrupulously  avoiding  all  free  converse 
with  their  Gentile  brethren;  insomuch  thai  Bamor 
has  also — Who  with  me  had  preached  salvation  to 
the  Gentiles  without  the  works  of  the  law.  Acts  xiii. 
39;  was  carried  atcay— Namely,  by  the  force  of 
authority  and  example  in  opposition  to  judgment 
and  conviction,  and  even  against  hb  will,  as  the 
word  avva^ziix^fty  here  used,  appears  to  imply;  with 
their  dissimulation — Or  hypocrisy. 

Verse  14  When  1  saw  that,  in  this  matter,  they 
walked  7u>t  uprightly — Ov«  op^oiro68at,  did  not  walk 
with  a  straight  step,  or  in  a  plain  and  straight  path ; 
according  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel— Th^i  is,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  knowledge  of  the  simplicity 
of  the  true  gospel  doctrine ;  /  said  to  Peter,  before 
them  oZ/r-That  is,  in  the  hearing  of  Barnabas  and 
all  the  Judaizers :  see  P^ul  single  against  Peter  and 
aU  the  Jews !  If  thou,  being  a  Jew — And  having 
been  brought  by  circumcision  under  the  strongest 
engagements  to  fulfil  the  whole  law ;  livest  after  the ! 
h  374 


manner  of  the  Gentiles^Conversmg  and  eating 
freely  with  them,  as  since  the  vision  which  thou 
sawest  thou  hast  done;  and  not  as  do  the  Jeics — 
Not  observing  the  ceremonial  la^T,  which  thou 
knowest  to  be  now  abolbhed ;  why  oompeUest  thou 
the  G^efi<i/e5— By  revising  to  eat  and  converse  freely 
with  them,  as  if  the  distinction  of  meats  was  neces- 
sary to  be^  observed  in  order  to  salvation,  and  by 
withdrawing  thyself,  and  all  the  ministers,  from 
them;  to  live  as  do  Vie  Jews-^Mai^eiv,  to  Judaize; 
to  keep  the  ceremonial  law,  or  be  excluded  from 
church  communion.  What  is  here  recorded,  pro- 
bably took  place  at  the  conclusion  of  some  of  their 
meetings  for.  public  worship ;  for  on  these  occasions 
it  was  usual,  after  the  reading  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  to  give  the  assembly  exhortations.  Had 
this  c^nce  of  Peter  been  of  a  private  nature,  un- 
doubtedly, as  duty  required,  Paul  would  have  expos- 
tulated with  him  privately  upon  it,  and  not  have 
brought  it,  at  least  in  the  first  instance,  before  such  a 
number  of  persons:  but  as  it  was  a  pubUc  affiur,  in 
which  many  persons  were  deeply  concerned,  the 
method  Paul  took  was  certainly  most  proper.  And  in 
thus  openly  reproving  Peter,  he  not  only  acted  honest- 
ly, but  generously ;  for  it  would  have  been  mean  to 
have  found  fault  whh  him  behind  his  back,  without 
giving  him  an  opportunity  to  vindicate  himself^  if  he 
could  have  done  it.  "Perhaps,"  says  Macknighi, 
"  Peter  in  this,  and  in  a  former  instance,  may  have 
been  suffered  to  fall,  the  more  effectually  to  discount 
tenance  the  arrogant  claims  of  his  pretended  succes- 
sors to  supremacy  and  infallibUtty." 

Verses  15, 16.  We—Bi.  Paul,  to  spare  St  Peter, 
drops  the  first  person  singular,  and  speaks  in  the 
plural  number ;  verse  18,  he  speaks  hi  the  first  per- 
son singular  again  by  a  figure,  and  without  a  figure, 
verse  19,  &c.  Who  are  Jews  by  nature— By  birUi, 
and  not  proselytes.  As  in  the  first  part  of  his  dis- 
course, where  the  apostle  speaks  only  of  himself  and 
Peter,  he  meant  to  speak  of  all  the  teachers  of  the 
gospel;  80  in  this  second  part,  where  be  describeff 
his  own  state,  he  in  effect  describes  the  state  of  bc-v 
lievers  in  general.  And  not  sinners  of  the  OentiUs 
—That  is,  not  sinful  Gentiles ;  notsueh  gross,  enor- 
mous, abandoned  sinners  as  the  heathen  generally 
are.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Whitby  hero,  that 
the  word  sinners  in  Scripture  signifies  great  and  ha- 
bitual sinners;  and  that  the  Jews  gave  the  Gentiles 
that  appellation,  on  account  of  their  idolatry  and 
other  vices.  Accordingly,  Matt.  xxvi.  46,  the  clause, 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayedinlo  the  hands  of  sinners, 
(IB*) 


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^^mtijlcaiim  of  faith,  wiAoia 


CflAPTSR  n. 


the  d^eda  cfthe  la^. 


A.M.406e.  16  ^Knowing  that  a  man  is  not 
.*  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  ^  by  the  &ith  of  Jesus  Christ,  even,  we 
have  bdieved  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might 
be  justified  by  the  fiddi  of  CSuist,  and  not  by 
the  works  of  the  law:  for  *by  the  works  of 
the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified. 

17  But  if,  while  we  seek  to  be  justified  by 
Christ,  we  ourselves  also  are  found  *  sinners, 
is  therefore  C^urist  the  minister  of  sin?  God 
forbid.  _ 

18  For  if  I  build  again  the  things  which  I 


»» Acta  xiiL  38,  30. «  Rom.  i.  17;  iu.  23,  28;  riii.  3; 

Chap.  iii.  24 ;  Heb.  rii.  18, 19. *  Psa.  cxliiL  2 ;  Rom.  iii.  20 ; 

Chap.  iii.  11. •  1  John  iii.  8,  9. — ^^  Rom.  viii.  2. i  Rom. 

vi:  14;  vii.  4^  6.—^  Rom.  ▼!.  11 ;  Z  Cor.  r.  15;   I  Thets.  ▼. 


meanS)  is  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  Gentiles, 
as  IS  evident  from  Matt.  xx.  18,  19.  Knowing  that 
a  man  u  not  jitstified  by  the  loorks  of  the  law — Not 
even  of  the  moral  law,  much  leas  of  the  ceremonial ; 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesue  Christ— -The  faith  which 
Jesus  Christ  hath  ei^joined  and  requires  as  the  means 
of  men's  justification,  namely,  faith  in  the  gospel,  in 
Its  important  truths  and  precious  promises:  or, 
rather,  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  true  Messiah, 
the  Son  of  God^  in  whom  alone  there  is  salvation  for 
guilty,  depraved,  weak,  and  wretched  sinners ;  the 
faith  whereby  we  make  application  to  him,  and  rely 
OR  him  for  salvstion,  present  and  eternal :  learn  of 
him  as  a  Teacher,  depend  on  him  as  a  M^ator,  be- 
come subject  to  him  as  a  Governor,  and  prepare  to 
meet  him  as  a  Judge.  See  on  Rom.  iii.  28  5  iv.  1-25. 
Even  we — And  how  much  more  must  the  Gentiles, 
who  have  still  less  pretence  to  depend  on  thcfr  own 
works?  J^ope  believed  in  Jesus  Christ—To  this 
great  purpose ;  that  we  might  be  justified— As  has 
been  said  before ;  by  faith  in  Christ — ^This  is  the 
method  that  we,  who  were  brought  up  Jews,  have 
taken,  as  being  thoroughly  sensible  we  could  be  jus- 
tified and  saved  no  other  way :  for  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  whether  ceremonial  or  moral,  shall  no 
flesh  living,  whether  Jew  or  Gentile,  be-justified— 
Since  no  human  creature  is  capable  of  fully  answer- 
ing its  demands,  or  can  pretend  to  have  paid  a  uni- 
versal and  unsinning  obedience  to  it.  Hitherto  the 
apostle  had  been  considering  that  single  question, 
"  Are  Christians  obliged  to  observe  the  ceremonial 
law?"  But  he  here  insensibly  goes  further,  and  by 
citing  this  passage,  shows  that  what  he  spoke  directly 
of  the  ceremonial,  included  also  the  moral  law. 
For  David  undoubtedly  did  so,  when  he  said,  (Psa. 
ezliii.  2,  the  place  here  referred  to,)  Jn  thy  sight 
tihaU  no  man  living  be  justified;  which  the  apostle 
likewise  explams,  (Rom.  iii.  19, 20,)  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  can  agree  only  with  the  mond  law. 

Verses  17-19.  But  if  while  we  seek  to  be  justified 
by  Christ — ^Through  the  merit  of  his  obedience 
onto  death,  by  simply  believing  in  him,  and  hi  the 
truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel ;  we  ourselves  are 
still  y&tittd  nfin€r«-^ontinue  in  sin ;  if  we  are  still 


destroyed,  I  make  myself  a  trans-  Aic.iosd. 

A.  D.  as. 
gressor.  .___ 

19  For  I  f  through  the  law  'am  dead  to  the 
law,  that  I  might  ^live  unto  (3h)d. 

20  I  am  *  crucified  with  CJhrist :  nevertheless, 
I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me :  and 
the  life  which- 1  now  live  in  the  flesh,  ^  I  live 
by  the  fiiith  of  the  Son  of  God,  ^who  loved 
me;  and  gave  him^If  for  me. 

21  I  do  not  fiustrate  the  grace  of  God :  for 
°  if  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then  Christ 
is  dead  in  vain. 


10;  Heb.  ix.  14;  1  Pet.  iv^. « Rom.  ri.  6;  Chap.  r.  24 ;  tL 

14. k  2  Cor.  T.  15 ;  1  Thets.  v.  10 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  2. ^  Chap, 

i.  4;  Eph.  v. 2;  Tit.  ii.  14. -Chap.  iii.  21;  Heb.  vii.  11 ; 

Rom.  XL  6 ;  Chap.  ▼.  4. 


under  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  in  an  unpardoned, 
unrenewed  state ;  is  therefore  Christ  the  minister 
of  sin — ^Does  he  countenance  sin,  hy  giving  persons 
reason  to  suppose  that  they  are  justified  through  be* 
lieving  in  him  as:  the  true  Messiah,  while  they  con- 
tinue to  live  in  the  commission  of  sin  ?  GodforMd^^ 
That  any  thing  should  ever  be  insinuated  so  much  to 
the  dishonour  of  God,  and  of  our  glorious  Redeemer. 
For  if  I  build  again — By  my  sinful  practice;  the 
(hingswhich  I  destroyed — Or  professed  that  I  wished 
to  destroy,  by  my  preaching,  or  by  my  believing  | 
/  make  myself  a  transgressor — ^I  show  that  I  act 
very  inconsistently,  building  up  again  what  I  pre- 
tended I  was  puliing  do>vn.  In  other  words,  I 
show  myself  not  Clirist^  to  be  a  transgressor;  the 
whole  blame  lies  on  me,  not  on  him  or  his  gospeL 
As  if  he  had  said,  The  objection  were  just,  if  the 
gospel  promised  justification  to  men  continuing  in 
sin.  But  it  does  not.  Therefore  if  any,  who  pro* 
fess  the  gospel,  do  not  live  according  to  it,  they  are 
sinners^  it  is  certain,  but  not  justified ;  and  so  the 
gospel  is  clear.  For  I  through  the  law — ^Understood 
in  its  spirituality,  extent,  and  obligation ;  applied 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  my  conscience,  and  convincing 
me  of  my  utter  sinfulness,  guilt,  and  helplessness; 
am  dead  to  the  law — ^To  all  hope  of  jtistification  by 
it,  and  therefore  to  all  dependence  upon  it ;  see 
notes  on  Rom.  vii.  7-14 ;  That  I  may  live  to  God 
— ^Not  that  I  may  continue  in  sin.  For  this  very 
end,  I  am  delivered  from  the  condemnation  in 
which  I  was  involved,  am  justified,  and  brought  into 
a  state  of  favour  and  acceptance  with  6od,  that  I 
might  be  animated  by  nobler  views  and  hopes  than 
the  law  could  give,  and  engaged,  through  love  to 
God,  his  people,  and  all  mankind,  to  a  more  gener- 
ous, sublime,  and  extensive  obedience  than  the  law 
was  capable  of  producing. 

Verses  20,  21.  The  apostle  proceeds  in  describing 
how  he  was  freed  from  the  dominion  as  well  as  guilt 
of  sin,  and  how  far  he  was  from  continuing  in  the 
commission  of  it.  /  am  crucified  with  Christ— To 
sin,  to  the  world,  and  all  selfish  and  corrupt  de- 
sires and  designs ;  my  old  man,  my  sinflil  nature, 
with  its  afTections  and  lusts,  t>  crucified  \tith  him; 
275 


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Paul  reproves  the  QdlaHam» 


«AUmA1«!k 


fKri^mimg,fi<Qmm  t^mpA 


that  is,  through  his  death  on  the  eross^  and  the 
grace  procured  for  me,  and  hestowed  on  me  there- 
by, ikcA  the  body  of  ein  may  be  destroy ed,  Rom. 
iH.  0.  In  Dther  woid^  I  have  sncb  &  sense  t>f  his 
dying  love  in  my  hewrt,  and  of  ^e  excellence  of 
that  method  of  justification  and  salvation  which  he 
hath  accomplished  on  the  cross,  that  in  consequence 
of  itj  I  am  dead  to  all  the  allurements  of  the  world 
and  sin,  as  well  as  to  all  views  of  obtaining  righteous- 
ness and  life  by  the  law.  Nevertheless  I  live~^A 
new  and  spiritual  life,  in  union  with  God  through 
Christ,  and  in  a  conformity  to  his  will;  yet  not  /— 
The  holy,  happy  life  which  I  now  Kve,  is  neither 
procured  by  my  own  merit,  nor  caused  by  my  own 
power.  Or,  as  C»  de  w  erteya  is  more  properly  ren- 
dered. Hive  no  longer^  namely,  as  to  my  former 
sinAil  self;  state,  and  nature,  being  made  dead  to  tfa6 
world  and  sin ;  biU  Christ  liveih  in  meSy  his 
word  and  Spirit,  his  truth  and  grace ;  and  is  a  foun- 
tain of  life  in  my  inmost  soul,  from  which-  all  my 
tempers,  fiords,  and  actions  jflow.  And  the  }{fe  diat 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh^EYen  in  this  mortal  body, 
and  while  I  am  surrounded  with  the  snares,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  trials  and  troubles  of  this  sinful  world ; 


Ilivebyihefmthqf*'4>rtdihmc^m  Hie  apaitelia* 
doybtedly  means,  by  faith  in,  and  reliance  t)n,  ^e 
Son  of  God— The  spiritual  life  which  I  liveTl  de- 
rive fh>m  him  by  the  tontintlal  'exerdse  of  faith  ih 
his sacriice and  iiife0reessiaii,iaid  thvoB^ l§ie  Mf^ 
plies  at  grace  cJottmuBicated  by  faimi  «^  loved 
me — ^With  a  compassionate,  benevolent,  forgiviof^ 
and  bountiful  love ;  to  such  a  degree  that  he  gave 
himself-^DelWered  hifltoelf  np  to  ignoffltny,  torture, 
and  death ;  for  md— ThflEt  he  m%ht  procure  my  Re- 
demption and  salvation,  fn  the  mean  time  I  do  not 
frustrate^-Or  make  void,  in  seeking  to  be  justified 
by  my  own  works ;  the  grace  of  God—USB  free, 
unmerited  love  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  they  do  who 
seek  justification  by  the  law ;  for  if  righteousness 
tome  by  the  iato— If  ttien  may  be  justified  by  their 
obedience  to  the  I^w,  ceremonial  or  moral;  then 
Christ  is  dead  in  vain — ^There  was  no  necesnty  for 
his  dying  in  order  to  their  salvatoi,  since  ih^y 
might  have  been  saved  without  his  death;  might, 
by  the  merit  of  their  own  obedience,  have  been  div* 
charged  fh>m  condemnation,  and  by  their  own  .ef- 
forts rande  holy,  and  consequently  have  been  beth 
^ntkled  to,  and  fitted  ibr,  etemid  hie. 


CHAPTER  ra. 

Here  the  apostle  {!,)  Sharply  reproves  the  GalaHans  for  their  departure  from  the  gospel  doctrine^  of  put^/iaUidn  byfattk  m 
Christ,  1-1  fS.  (2,)  Proves  that  doctrine  from  the  example  of  Abraham's  justification,  6-8 ;  from  ^  tenor  and  severity 
of  the  laWf  and  tJis  redemption  from  it  by  Christ,  10-14 ;  from  the  stability  of  the  covenant  ofprotKue  made  ^ntk  Abraham, 
and  the  impossibility  of  being  justified  by  both  the  promise  and  the  law,  15-18.  (3,)  Represents  the  law  as  very  useful  to 
convinu  men  of  sin,  and  to  prepare  them  for,  and  drive  them  to  Christ  for  righteimsrness,  19-26.  (4,)  Shows  that  under 
the  gospel  all  true  believers,  witJunU  regard  to  any  external  circumstances,  are  one  in  Christ,  and  heirs  ofAbnUumCs  bless- 


A.  M.  4062. 
A.D.58. 


Q    FOOLISH    GalatianB,    *  who 
hath    bewitched    you,    that    ye 
should  not  obey    ^the   tmth,   before   whose 


^  Chap.  V.  7. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verse  1.  St  Paul  having,  by  many  argumeilts, 
proved  himself  to  be  a  real  apostle,  and  showed 
that  his  knowledge  of  the  gospel  was  given  him  by 
immediate  revelation  from  the  Lord  Jesus,  proceeds 
in  this  and  the  following  chapter  to  treat  of  the  doc- 
trines in  dispute  between  him  and  the  false  teachers, 
and  especially  of  that  of  justification,  which  these 
Jewish  teachers  affirmed  could  not  be  obtained  by 
the  Gentiles  unless  they  were  circumcised,  and  ob- 
served the  ceremonies  of  the  law  of  Moses ;  but 
which  Paul  insisted,  was  simply  and  only  by  faith 
m  Christ.  And  to  impress  the  Galatians  the  more 
strongly  with  a  sense  of  the  danger  of  the  doctrine 
which  his  opposers  taught,  he  here  charges  them 
with  want  of  understanding  or  consideration,  for 
listening  to  it,  saying :  O  foolish  Galatians — Or 
thoughtless^  AS  the  word  avotiroi,  may  be  properly 
rendered  \  for  it  not  only  signifies  persons  void  of 
2^79 


eyes  Jesus 
dently  set 
you? 


Christ   hath   been  evi- 
forth,    crucified  among 


A.  M.  4062. 
A.D.  68. 


fcChap.  ii.  14;  t.7. 


understan^ding,  but  also  persons  who^  though  they 
have  understanding,  do  not  form  right  judgments  of 
things,  through  want  of  consideration.  "  The  apos* 
tie,  by  calling  the  Galatians^/t^A,  doth  not  contra- 
dict our  Saviour's  doctrine,  (Matt  v.  22,)  because 
he  doth  it  not,  eiKii,  rashly,  without  cause,  saith 
Theophylact,  nor  out  of  anger  and  ill-will  to  them, 
but  from  an  ardent  desire  to  make  them  senubk  of 
their  folly."— Whitby.  Who  hath  bewitched^  or 
deceived,  you-^For  the  word  BaoKwetv  is  often  used 
for  deceiving  another  with  false  appearances,  after 
the  manner  of  jugglers ;  that  ye  shotdd  not  obey — 
Should  not  continue  to  obey,  that  is,  to  be  persuaded 
of,  and  influenced  by  ;  the  truth — ^That  has  been  sp 
fully  declared  and  proved  to  you  j  before  whose  eyes 
Jesus  Christ  hath  been  evidently  set  forth— By  our 
preachmg ;  as  if  he  had  been  crucified  among  jfou— 
As  if  he  had  said.  Who  hath  so  deluded  you^  as  to 
prevail  with  you  thus  to  contradict  both  your  own 

b 


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CHAPTER  m. 


thetr  departure  from  the  iruUu 


jLiLmn.    %  This  only  would  I  learn  of  you, 

! Rec^ved  ye  ^  the  Spirit  by  the  works 

of  the  law,  'or  by  the  heariAg  of  &ith ? 

3  Are  ye  so  fooGsh  ?  *  having  begun  in 
the  Spirit,  are  ye  now  made  perfect  by  the 
^fleah? 

4  'Have ye  suffered  ^ao  many  things  in  vain? 
if  f/  fte  yet  in  vain. 

6  He  therefore  ^  that  ministereth  to  you  the 
Spirit,  and  worketh  miracles  among  you,  doeth 


«  Acts  it  as ;  riii.  15 ;  jt.  47;  xv.  8  j.  Vene  14 ;  Eph.  i«  13 ; 

Htb.  vL  4.-^^  Rom.  x.  16,  17. •  Ob«p.  iv.  0. '  Heb.  Tii. 

16;  ix.  10.— f  Heb.  x.  35^  36 ;  2  John  a *  Or,  to  great. 


reason  and  experience  ?  For  ye  have  been  as  AiUy 
and  clearly  inibrmed  of  the  nature  and  design  of 
Christ's  sufferings,  as  if  they  had  been  endured  by 
him  in  your  very  sight ;  and  you  have  witnessed 
their  efficacy  in  procuring  for  yon  reconciliation 
with  God,  peace  of  conscience,  and  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit 

Verses  2-4.  TkUaniyvHnMIleamofyou^Thoi 
IS,  this  one  argument  might  conirince  you ;  received 
ye  the  SpMl — In  his  gifts  and  graces,  in  his  wit- 
ness and  fruits.  See  chap.  iv.  6 ;  y.  2SI.  By  the 
'works  of  the  law — By  your  observmg  the  ceremo- 
nies of  Moses's  law,  or  by  your  embracing  the  doc- 
trine which  inenlcates  the  necessity  of  eompljring 
with  these  rites?  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith — By 
reeeiving  and  obeying  that  doctrine,  which  teaches 
that  Justification  is  attained  by  faith  in  Christ,  and 
in  the  truths  and  promises  of  ^  gospel?  Are  ye 
MO  fooUeh — So  thoughtless,  as  not  to  consider  what 
you  yours^ves  have  experienced?  having  begun  in 
the  fifpiril— Having  entered  upon  your  Christian 
course  under  the  lig^t  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
received  by  faith  in  Christ  and  his  gospel ;  do  you 
now,  When  you  ought  to  be  more  enlightened  and 
renewed,  more  acquainted  with  the  power  of  faith, 
and  therefore  more  spiritual ;  expect  to  be  made 
perfect  by  the  flesh?^Do  you  think  to  retain  and 
complete  either  your  justification  or  sanctification, 
by  giving  up  that  faith  whereby  you  received  both, 
and  depending  on  the  law,  which  is  a  gross  and  car- 
nal thing  when  opposed  to  the  gospel  ?  "  The  law 
of  Moses  is  called  the  flesh,^  says  Macknight,  "be- 
cause of  the  carnal  form  of  worship,  by  sacrifices 
and  purifications  of  the  body,  which  it  prescribed; 
because  that  form  of  worship  did  not  cleanse  the 
conscience  of  the  worshipper,  but  only  liis  body, 
and  because  the  Israelites  were  put  under  the  law  by 
theirfleshly  descent  from  Abraham."  Haveyest^er- 
ecI^Both  from  the  zealous  Jews  and  from  the  hea- 
then ;  eo  many  thinge^Fof  adhering  to  the  gospel ; 
invainSo  as  to  lose  all  the  blessings  which  ye 
might  have  obtained  by  enduring  to  the  end  ?  Will 
you  give  up  the  benefit  of  all  those  sufferings,  and 
lose,  in  a  great  measure  at  least,  the  reward  of  them, 
by  relinquishing  what  is  so  material  in  that  system 
of  doctrine  you  have  been  suffisriug  for?  If  it  be 
yet  in  vam— Which  I  am  willing  to  hope  it  is  not 
b 


he  it  hj  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  a.  m.  4062. 
the  hearing  of  feith?  ^^'^- 

6  Even  as  <  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it 
was  ^accounted  to  him  for  righteousness. 

7  Enow  ye  therefore,  that '  they  which  are  of 
fiuth,  the  same  are  the  children  of  Abraham. 

8  And  *the  Scripture,  foreseeing  that  God 
would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith,  preach* 
ed  before  the  goepel  unto  Abraham,  sayingy 
""  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed. 


*  Gen.  XV.  6 :  Rom.  ir.  3, 9, 21, 22 ;  James  ii.  23. «  Or,  tm- 

vmud. k  Jobn  vui.  39 ;  Rom.  ir.  11, 12, 16.— ^—i  Rom.  ix.  17 ; 

Verse  22.- — "Gen.  xiL3;  xviii.  18;  xxii.  1ft;  Eccles.  xlir. 
21 ;  Acts  iii.  35. 


entirely,  and.  that,  however  your  principles  may 
have  been^  shaken,  yet  God  will  preserve  you  from 
being  quite  overthrown. 

Verses  5-0.  He  therefore— "SemeXy,  God;  that 
minietereth  to  you  the  <S^rit— ^Who  is  continually 
giving  you  additional  supplies  of  grace  by  the  Spi- 
rit ;  and  iDcrketh  miracles^  ^te.— B^tows  the  extra- 
ordinary gifts  of  theBpirit  upon  you ;  doeth  he  it  by 
the  v>ork9  of  the  law — ^Through  your  hearing  and 
embracing  the  doctrine  of  those  who  inculcate  the 
necessity  of  observing  the  ceremonies  of  the  law ; 
or  by  the  hearing  of  faith — By  your  hearing,  re- 
ceiving, and  acquiescing  in  the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion and  salvation  byfaith  in  ChHst  and  his  gospel  i 
Or  doeth  he  it  in  confirmation  of  men's  preaching 
justification  by  observing  legal  rites,  or  of  their 
preaching  justification  by  faith  ?  Even  as  Abra- 
ham^ &c. — Doubtless  he  does  it  in  confirmation 
of  that  grand  doctrine,  that  we  are  justified  by 
faith  even  as  Abraham  was.  The  apostle,  both  in 
this  and  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romania  makes  great 
use  of  the  instance  of  Abraham ;  the  rather,  because 
from  Abraham  the  Jews  drew  their  great  argument 
(as  they  do  at  this  day)  both  for  their  own  contin- 
uance in  Judaism,  and  for  denying  the  Gentiles  to 
be  the  church  of  God.  As  Abraham  believed  God 
— ^When  God  said,  Thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  stars; 
and  it  vfos  accounted  to  him  for  righteousness — 
Because  his  belief  of  this  promise  implied  that  he 
entertained  just  conceptions  of  the  divine  power, 
goodness,  and  veracity.  See  notes  on  Bora.  iv.  3- 
22.  Know  then  that  they  which  are  of  faith-^VHio 
receive  God's  truths  and  promises  in  feith,  relying 
on  the  power,  goodness,  and  faithAilness  of  God  to 
fulfil  them }  tAe  same  are  the  children  of  Abraham — 
Show  themselves  to  be  his  spiritual  children,  of  the 
same  dispositioti  with  him,  and  entitled  to  the  same 
blessings  of  which  he  was  the  heir.  And  th  e  Scrip-- 
<Mre— That  is,  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whose  inspiration 
the  Holy  Scriptures  were  written ;  foreseeing  that 
God  woidd  Justify  the  ^o/ilenr— When  he  should 
call  them  by  his  gtBce,  in  the  same  manner  as  he 
justified  Abraham;  only  through  faith^  preached 
before  the  gospel  unto  il6rfl*ain— Declared  to  him 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation;  saying,  Jn,  or 
through  ihee—hA  the  father  of  the  Messiah ;  shall  all 
no^umt—GentUes  as  well  as  Jews;  be  blessed^ 
977 


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GALATIANS. 


the  curse  of  the  khtr^. 


A.  M.4062.    9  So  then  they  which  he  of  feith 
-~1— i — 1  are  blessed  with  feithiul  Abraham. 

10  For  as  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the 
lawj  are  under  the  curse:  for  it  is  written, 
^  Cursed  t^  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law 
to  do  them. 

11  But  ^that  no  man  is  justified  by  the  law 


•  Dent,  xxrii.  86:  Jer.  xL  3.- 
Rom.  i.  17 ;  Heb.  x.  38.— 


-*  Cha|).  ii.  16. PHab.  ii.  4 ; 

1  Rom.  iv.  4, 5 ;  z.  5, 6 ;  zi.  6. 


That  is  to  say,  by  their  faith  in  that  glorious  person 
who  is  to  descend  from  thee,  all  persons,  of  what- 
ever nation  they  be,  who  imitate  thy  ready  and 
obedient  faith,  shall  obtain  justification,  and  all 
other  blessings,  as  Abraham  did  by  his  faith.  So 
then— The  inference  to  be  drawn  is ;  all  they-— And 
they  only;  who  are  of  faith — ^Who  believe  God  as 
Abraham  did,  and  show  their  faith  by  their  works ; 
are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham-^ShsUl  inherit 
the  promises  made  to  him,  and  the  blessings  promis- 
ed, though  they  are  as  he  was  when  he  ^rst  receiv- 
ed these  pron^ises,  in  a  state  of  uncircuincision,  and 
always  remain  in  that  state,  and  never  comply  with 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law. 

Verse  10.  As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law — 
or  the  number  of  those  who  seek  justification  there- 
by ;  are  under — Or  liable  to ;  the  curse :  for  it  is  writ- 
ten^ (Deut.  xxvii.  2%)  Cursed  is  everyone  that  con- 
tinneth  not  in  all  things,  &c. — Or,  as  it  is  there  ex- 
pressed, that  confhrmeth  not  all  the  words  of  ihis 
law  to  do  them.  So  that  it  required  what  no  man 
on  earth  can  perform^  namely,  universal,  perfect, 
uninterrupted,  and  perpetual  obedience.  The  apos- 
tle, it  must  be  observed,  in  quoting  this  passage  from 
the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  follows  the  translation  of 
the  LXX.,  the  Hebrew  word,  which  our  translators 
have  rendered  con/frw^e/^  signifying  also  c<m/t7iwtf<A, 
and  having  been  so  translated,  1  Sam.  xiii.  14,  Thy 
kingdom  shall  not  continue rX\i%  apostle,  following 
the  LXX.,  has  added  the  words,  every  one  and  ail, 
and  loritten  in  this  book.  ''  But,"  as  Macknigfat  ob- 
serves, "they  make  no  alteration  in  the  sense  of  the 
passage;  for  the  indefinite  proposition, cta*0ed if  he, 
hath  the  same  meaning  with  cursed  is  every  one; 
and  all  things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  is  per- 
fectly the  same  with  the  words  of  this  law;  which, 
as  is  plain  from  the  context,  means  not  any  particu- 
lar law,  but  the  law  of  Moses  in  general." 

Verses  11,  12.  That  no  mam  is  justified  by  his 
obedience  to  the  law  in  the  sight  of  G^0(2— Whatever 
he  may  be  in  the  sight  of  man ;  is  further  evident-- 
From  the  words  of  Habakkuk,  who  hath  said  nothing 
of  men's  being  justified  by  works,  but  hath  declared, 
The  just  shall  live  by  faith-^Thni  is,  the  man  who 
?s  accounted  just  or  righteous  before  God,  shall  be 
made  and  continue  such,  and  consequently  i^all  lire 
a  spiritual  life  here,  and  receive  eternal  life  hereafter, 
by  faith.  This  is  the  way  God  hath  chosen :  see  on 
Rom.  i.  17j  And  the  tow— Strictly  considered ;  is 
not  of  faith — Doth  not  allow,  or  countenance,  the 
•eeking  of  salvation  In  such  a  way.  In  other  words^ 
278 


in  the  sight  of  God,  it  is  evident :  a.  m.  4oe2« 
for  P  The  just  shah  liv€  by  feith.  ^^"^ 

12  And  *» the  law  is  not  of  feith :  but,  'The 
man  that  doeth  them  shall  five  in  them. 

13  '  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us :  for  it 
is  written,  ^Cursed  is  every  one  that  hang^ 
on  a  tree : 


'  Lev.  xviii.  5 ;  Neh.  ix.  29 ;  Ezek,zx.  11 ;  Rom.  x.  5. ■  Rom. 

viii.  3 ;  2  Cor.  t.  21 ;  Chap.  iv.  5. *  Dent.  xxi.  2d. 


the  seeking  justification,  bykeeping  the  law,  whe&er 
moral  or  ceremonial^  is  quite  a  different  thing  from 
seeking  it  by  faith.  For  the  law  saith  not.  Believe, 
but,  Z>o, and  live;  its  language  is.  The  man  that  do- 
etl^  them — Namely,  the  things  commanded;  shall 
live  in,  or  l^y  them — That  ia,  he  who  perfectly  and 
constantly  conforms  himself  to  these  precepts,  shall 
have  aright  to  life  and  everlasting  happiness,  in 
consequence  thereof;  but  he  that  breaks  them  must 
bear  the  penalty,  without  any  further  assistance  from 
a  law,  which,  being  in  one  instance  violated,  must 
for  ever  condemn  the  transgressor.  See  on  Lev. 
xviii.  6. 

Verses  13, 14.  Christ — Christ  alone ;  the  abrupt* 
ness  of  the  sentence  shows  a  holy  indignation  at 
those  who  reject  so  great  a  blessing ;  hath  redeemed 
us — Or,  liath  bought  us  off,  whether  Jews  or  Gen- 
iiles ;  from  the  curse  of  the  law — TTie  curse  which 
the  law  denounces  against  all  transgressqrs  of  it,  or 
the  punishment  threatened  to  them.  Dr.  Whitby 
proves,  in  his  note  on  this  verse^  that  the  violation 
of  the  law  given  to  Adam  was  attended  with  a  curse, 
as  well  as  that  given  to  the  Israelites  by  Moses,  and 
that  it  is  the  more  general  curse.  Nearly  to  the 
same  purpose  speaks  Dr.  Macknight,  thus: — **That 
the  persons  here  said  to  be  bought  off  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  are  the  Grentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews,  is 
evident  from  verse  10,  where  the  apostle  tells  us, 
As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are 
under  the  curse;  for  the  proposition  being  geiterdT, 
it  implies  that  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews  are 
under  the  curse,  and  need  to  be  bought  off.  This 
appears  likewise  from  the  purpose  fpr  which  Christ 
is  said  (verse  14)  to  liave  bought  us  off;  namely, 
that  the  blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  on  the 
nations,  that  is,  on  both  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Next, 
the  curse  of  the  law,  from  which  all  are  bought  off 
by  Christ,  is  not  a  curse  peculiar  to  the  law  of  Mo- 
ses. For  as  the  Gentiles  never  were  under  that  law, 
they  could  have  no  concern  with  its  omrse.  But  it 
is  the  citfseof  that  more  ancient  law  of  works,  under 
which  Adam  and  Eve  fell,  and  which,  through  their 
fall,  came  on  all  their  posterity.  Also  it  is  the  curse 
of  the  law  of  nature,  under  which  all  mankind,  as 
the  subjects  of  God's  universal  moral  government,  are 
lying  for  having  broken  that  law.  These  curses  are 
called  by  the  general  name  of  the  curse  of  the  law; 
not  as  being  peculiar  to  the  law  of  Moses,  but  be- 
cause they  were  publislied  in  the  law  of  Moses 
From  this  curse  of  the  law  of  works,  Christ  hath 
bought  us  off,  by  becoming  a  curse  for  us.    For  l» 

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The  pr&mUe$^  made  to  Abraham 


CHAPTSRIIL 


rrferred  t6  Jum  ChrUL 


'  That  the  UesBiDg  of  Abraham 


A.  M.  4068.      14 

• — ! might  coai»  on  the.  Gentiles  through 

Jesus  Christ ;   thai  We  might  receive  *  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit  through  fidth. 

15  Bretbr^,  I  speak  afier  the  manner  of  men ; 
y  Though  U  be  but  a  man's  ^  covenant,  yet  if 


^ ^  ir.  9, 16. *  Isa.  zxxiL  15;  xlir.  3 ;  Jer.  xxxi.  33 ; 

xzxii.  40 ;  Ezek.  zi.  Id ;  zzxtL  27 ;  Joel  ii.  28»  29 ;  ZecL  xiL 
10 ;  John  rii.  39 ;  Acts  ii.  33. 


the  Yiew  of  his  death,  to  be  accomplished  in  due 
time,  God  allowed  Adam  and  his  posterity  a  short 
life  OB  earth,  aad  resolTed  to  raise  them  all  from  the 
dead,  that  every  one  may  receive  reward,  or  punish- 
ment according  to  the  deeds  done  by  him  in  the 
body.  Further,  being  bought  off  by  Christ  from  the 
curse  of  the  law  of  works,  mankind,  at  the  fall,  were 
bought  off  from  law  itself;  not  indeed  as  a  rule  of 
life,  but  as  a  rule  of  justification ;  and  had  a  trial  ap- 
pointed to  them  upder  a  more  gracious  dispensation, 
in  which  not  a  perfect  obedience  to  law,  but  the  obe- 
dience of  faith  is  required  in  order  to  their  obtaining 
eternal  Ufe.  Of  this  gracious  dispensation,  or  cove- 
nant,^St  Paul  hath  given  a  clear  account,"  Rom.  v.  la 
The  same  writer  observes  Airther  here,  '^  Christ's 
dying  on  the  cross  is  called  his  becoming  a  ctiree; 
that  is,  an  accursed  persoriy  a  person  ignominiously 
punished  as  a  malefactor :  not  because  he  was  really 
a  malefoctor,  and  the  object  of  God's  displeasure,  but 
because  he  was  punished  in  the  manner  in  which 
accursed  persons,  or  malefactors,  are  punished.  He 
was  not  a  transgressor,  but  he  was  numbered  with 
the  transgressors^  Isa.  lUL  12."  That  the  blessing 
of  AbrahaTn^-lUhQ  blessing  promised  to  him;  might 
come  on  the  Gentiles  also ;  that  we — Who  believe, 
whether  Jews  or  CrentUes ;  might  receive  the  pro- 
mise of  (he  Spirit  through  faith— Aa  the  evidence 
of  our  being  justified  by  faith,  and  of  our  being  the 
sons  of  God,  chap.  iv.  5^7.  This  promise  of  the 
Spirit,  which  includes  all  the  other  promises,  is  not 
explicitly  mentioned  ui  the  covenant  with  Abraham, 
but  it  is  implied  in  the  promise,  (Gen.  xxii.  17,)  In 
blessing  I  will  bless  thee;  and  is  expressly  men- 
tioned by  the  prophets,  I^  xliv.  3;  Ezek.  xxxix. 
30;  Joel  ii.  2a 

Verse  15.  /  speaM  after  the  manner  of  men — 
I  illustrate  this  by  a  fam'diar  instance,  taken  from 
the  practice  of  men:  or,  I  argue  on  the  principles  of 
common  equity,  according  to  what  is  the  allowed 
rule  of  all  human  compacts:  Though  it  be  but  a 
man^s  covenant — ^That  is,  the  covenant  of  a  man 
with  his  fellow-creature :  yet  if  it  be  confrmed—Le- 
gaily,  by  mutual  promise,  engagement,  and  seal ;  no 
man—So^  not  the  covenanter  himself^  unless  some- 
thing unforeseen  occur,  which  cannot  be  the  case 
with  God ;  dft>aftnu2/et^— What  was  agreed  to  by 
H;  or  addeth  thereto — Any  new  condition,  Qt  alter- 
eth  the  terms  of  it,  without  the  consent  of  the  other 
stipulating  party. 

Verse  16.  Now  to  Abraham^  &c.— To  apply  this 
to  the  case  before  us.  The  promises  relating  to  the 
justification  of  believers,  and  the  blesdngs  conse- 
quent thereon,  were  made  first  by  God  to  Abraham 
h 


it  be  catiArmedf  no  man  dfeannulleth  a.  m.  4oes. 

or  addeth  thereto.  '. — 

16  *  Now  '  to  Abraham  and  his  seed  were  the 
promises  made.  He  saith  not,  And  to  seeds, 
as  of  many ;  but  as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed, 
which  is  ■  Christ. 


7  Heb.  ix.  17.- — »  Or,  teMUmtni. *  Thirteenth  Smttdo^  after 

Trinity,  epistle,  verse  16  to  verse  23. *  Gen.  xii.  3,  7;  xrii. 

7;  Verse  S. •  1  Cor.  xii.  12. 


and  his  seed^  who  are  e^ressly  mentioned  as  mak- 
ing a  party  with  him  in  the  covenant,  ffe  saith 
not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many— A3  if  the  proraise«i 
belonged  to  all  his  seed,  both  natural  and  spiritual, 
or  to  several  kinds  of  seed ;  but  as  of  one — "  The 
apostle  having  afilrmed,  (verse  15,)  that,  according 
to  the  customs  of  men,  none  but  the  parties  them- 
selves can  set  aside  or  alter  a  covenant  that  is  rati- 
fied, he  observes,  in  this  verse,  that  the  promises  in 
the  covenant  wiUi  Abraham  were  made  to  him  and 
his  seed;"  to  him.  Gen.  xii.  3 ;  In  thee  shall  all  the 
families,  or  tribes,  of  the  earth  be  blessed :  to  his 
seed.  Gen.  xxiL  18 ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  tdl  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed,  "  Now,  since  by 
the  oath,  which  God  sware  to  Abraham,  after  he  had 
laid  Isaac  on  the  altar,  both  promises  were  ratified, 
the  apostle  reasons  justly,  when  he  afiOirms  that  both 
promises  must  be  AilfiHed.  And  having  shown, 
(verse  9,)  that  the  promise  to  Abraham,  to  bless  all 
Uie  families  of  the  earth  in  him,  means  their  being 
blessed  as  Abraham  had  been,  not  with  justification 
through  the  law  of  Moses,  as  the  Jews  afiSrmed,  but 
with  justification  by  faith,  he  proceeds,  in  this  pas- 
sage, to  consider  the  promise  made  to  Abraham's 
seed,  that  in  it  likewise  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shoidd  be  blessed,  iind  from  the  words  of  the  pro- 
mise, which  are  not.  And  in  thy  seeds,  but.  And  in  thy 
seed,  he  argues  that  the  seed  in  which  the  nations  of 
the  earth  should  be  blessed,  is  not  Abraham's  seed  in 
general,  but  one  of  his  seed  in  particular,  namely, 
Christ ;  who,  by  dying  for  all  nations,  hath  deliver- 
ed them  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  that  the  blessing 
of  justification  by  faith  might  come  on  believers 
of  all  nations,  through  Christ,  as  was  promised  to 
Abraham  and  to  Christ  To  this  argument  it  hath 
been  objected,  that  the  word  *«cd  was  never  used  by 
the  Hebrews  in  the  plural  number,  except  to  denote 
the  seeds  of  vegetables,  Dan.  i.  12."  To  this  it  may 
be  answered,  '*  That,  notwithstanding  the  Hebrews 
commonly  used  (he  word  tfe^  collectively,  to  denote 
a  multitude  of  children,  they  used  it  likewise  for  a 
single  person,  and  especially  a  son.  Gen.  iii.  15;  / 
will  put  enmity  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed :  it 
shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shall  bruise  hisheel. 
And  Eve,  speaking  of  Seth,  says,  (Gen.  iv.  25,)  God 
hath  appointed  me  another  seed  instead  of  Abel, 
whom  Ckiin  slew.  The  word  seed  being  thus  ap- 
phed  to  denote  a  single  person,  as  well  as  a  multi- 
tude, is  ambiguous,  and  therefore  the  Jews  could  not 
certainly  know  that  they  were  to  be  instruments  ot 
blessing  the  nations,  unless  it  had  been  said.  And  in 
thy  seeds,  or  sons.  And  from  the  apostle's  argu- 
ment, we  may  presume  the  word  was  used  in  the 
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A.M.4oe2.    17  And  thU  I  say,  That  the  cove- 

A.  D  58. 

! —  nant  that  was  confiimed  before  of 

God  in  Christ,  the  law,  ^  which  was  four  htin- 
dred  and  thirty  years  a^,  cannot  disannul, 
^tbat  it  should  make  the  promise  of  none 
effect. 


*  Exodus  ziL  40,  41. -«  Romans  iv.  13,  14 ;  Verse  2l. 

'  Romans  TiiL  17. 


plural,  to  denote  either  a  muUitude  or  a  diyerntyof 
children.  In  this  sense,  Eve  had  two  seeds  in  her 
two  sons,  as  is  evident  from  her  calling  Seth  another 
seed.  So  likewise  Abraham  had  two  seeds,  in  Isaac 
and  Ishma^l.  See  Gen.  xxL  13, 13.  Now,  because 
God  termed  Ishmael  Abraham's  seed,^rnap8  Ish- 
mael's  descendants  affirmed  that  they  also  were 
the  seed  of  Abraham  in  which  the  nations  were  to 
be  Messed.  And  if  the  Jewishdoctors  confuted  their 
claim,  by  observing,  that  in  the  promise  it  is  not  said, 
in  86^^  that  is,  in  $on$y  as  God  would  have  said,  if 
he  had  meant  both  Ishmael  and  Isaac,  but  in  (ky 
seedy  the  apostle  might,  with  propriety,  turn  their 
own  argument  against  themselves,  especially  as  the 
Jews  were  one  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  were 
to  b€^  blessed  in  Abrdiam's  seed.  Lastly,  to  use  the 
word  seed  for  a  single  person  was  highly  proper  in 
the  covenant  with  Abraham,  wherein  Qod  declared 
his  gracious  purpose  of  saving  mankind ;  because 
that  term  leads  us  back  to  the  original  promise,  that 
the  seedy  or  son  of  the  wonutUy  should  bruise  4he  ser- 
pent^s  Aeod"— Macknight.  Which  is  Christ— In 
Christ,  and  in  no  other  of  Abraham's  seed,  have  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  been  blessed.  They  have 
not  been  blessed  in  Isaae,  although  it  was  said  of 
him,  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  he  caUed.  Neither 
have  they  all  been  blessed  in  Abraham's  posterity 
collectively  as  a  nation ;  nor  in  aliy  individual  of  bis 
posterity,  except  in  Christ  alone.  He  therefore  is 
the  only  seed  of  Abraham  spoken  of  in  the  promise, 
as  the  apostle  expressly  assures  us.  Besides,  Peter, 
long  before  Paul  became  a  Christian,  gave  the  same 
interpretation  of  this  promise,  as  we  see  Acts  iii.  25. 
Verses  17, 18.  And  this  I  ^ay^What  I  mean  by 
the  foregoing  example  of  human  covenants  is  this ; 
The  covenant  that  loas  confirmed  b^ore  of  Ood^- 
By  the  promise  itself,  by  the  repetition  of  it,  and  by 
n  solemn  oath,  concerning  the  blessing  all  nations 
through  Christ;  the  law,  which weu  four  hundred 
and  thirty  years  after  the  date  of  it,  cannot  disan- 
nul— Abolish,  or  make  it  void,  by  introducing  a  new 
way  of  justification,  or  of  blessing  the  nations,  name- 
ly, by  the  works  of  the  Mosaic  law;  so  as  to  make 
the  promise  of  no  effect:  1st,  With  regard  to  other 
nations,  which  would  be  the  case  if  only  the  Jews 
could  obtain  the  accomplishment  of  it:  yea,  2d, 
With  regard  to  them  also,  if  it  were  to  be  by  works 
superseding  it,  and  introducing  another  way  of  ob- 
taining the  blessing.  "  The  apostle's  argument  pro- 
ceeds on  thb  undeniable  principle  of  justice,  that  a 
covenant  made  by  two  parties  cannot,  after  it  is  rati- 
fied, be  altered  or  cancelled,  except  with  the  consent 
of  both  pttrties:  who  in  the  present  case  were,  on 
380 


18  For  if  *  the  inheritance  be  of  h.  M.  400i. 

the  law,  •*/  w  no  more  of  prgnuse :  

bat  God  gaye  &  to  Abraham  by  promise. 

19  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law?  ^It  was 
added  because  o{  transgressions,  till  *  the  seed 
should  conse  to  whom  the  promise  was  made ; 


•  Rom.  IT.  14.- 


'  John  XT.  22;  Rom.  iv.  15  ^  r.  20 ;  tu.  B,  13» 
iTira.  L9. fVer.  16. 


the  one  hand,  God ;  and  on  the  othw,  Abraham  and 
his  seed,  Christ  A^herefore,  as  neither  Abraham 
nor  his  seed,  Christ,  was  present  at  the  makng  of 
the  Sinai  coyenaat,  nottog  in  it  can  alter  or  eel 
aside  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  concerning  the 
blessing  of  the  nations  in  Chrisf 

It  must  be  observed,  that  the  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  here  spoken  of  are  not  to  be  computed 
frcHU  the  time  when  the  covenant  was  confirmed,  hut 
from  the  time  when  it  was  first  made,  as  mentioned 
Gem  xiL  8,  when  Abraham  was  yet  in  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  and  was  seventy-^ve  years  <dd,  verse  4. 
From  that  time  to  the-bhih  of  Isaac,  which  hap- 
pened when  Abrahani  was  one  hundred  years  old, 
are  twenty-five  years,  Gen.  xxi;  5.  To  the  birth  of 
Jacob  were  sixty  years,  Isaac  being  sixty  years  old 
when  Jacob  was  bom.  Gen.  xxv.  96^  From  Jacob's 
birth  to  his  going  into  Egypt  were  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  as  he  says  to  Pharaoh,  Gen.  xlvtL  0; 
and  according  to  the  LXX.  the  Israelites  sojourned 
in  Eg3rpt  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years;  for  thus 
they  translate  Exod.  xii.  40 :  Now  the  sojourning  of 
the  children  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  viasfofur  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  &e  number  mentioned  by  the  apostle.  JFVr 
-^Or,  besides,  this  being  a  new  argument,  drawn  not 
from  the  time,  as  the  former  was,  but  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  transaction  j  if  the  inheritance — Of  the . 
blessing  promised  to  Abraham;  be  of  the  law — Be 
suspended  on  such  a  condition  that  it  cannot  be  ob- 
tained but  by  the  observation  of  the  Mosaic  law,  it 
must  then  follow  that  i^  isno  more  ofpromse^By 
virtue  of  a  free  gratuitous  promise ;  but  that  cannot 
be  said,  for  God  gave  it  to  Abraham  by  promise — ^It 
must  therefore  be  by  it,  and  not  by  the  law,  which 
must  have  been  given  for  some  other  and  subordi- 
nate end,  as  the  next  verse  shows.. 

Verse  19.  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  tec— If  the 
inheritance  was  not  by  the  law,  but  by  the  promise, 
as  a  free  gift,  for  what  purpose  was  the  law  given, or 
what  significaney  had  it  ?  It  was  added  because  oj 
transgressions— Thhi  is,  to  restrain  the  Israelites 
iVom  transgressions,  particularly  idolatry,  and  the 
vices  connected  with  idolatry,  the  evil  of  which  the 
Iqw  discovered  to  them  by  its  prohibitions  and  curse. 
Agreeably  to  this  account  of  the  law,  idolatry,  and 
all  the  abominations  practised  by  theCanaanites,  and 
the  other  heathen  nations  who  surrounded  the  Is^ 
raelites,  were  forbidden  in  the  law  under  the  severest 
penalties.  Maimonides,  a  learned  Jew,  acknow- 
ledges, in  his  More-Nevochim,  that  the  ceremonial 
law  was  given  for  the  extirpation  of  idolatry ;  for, 
saith  he,  '<  When  God  seat  Mosee  to  redeem  hit 

b 


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A.M.4oei.  and  it  was  ^ordained  by  angels  in 


A.a  58. 


the  hand  '  of  a  mediator. 


k  AcU  TU.  53 ;  Heb.  u.  2. *  Eiod.  zx.  19,  21,  22; 


people  out  of  Egypt,  it  was  the  usual  custom  of  the 
world,  and  the  worship,  in  whidi  all  nations  were 
bred  up,  to  build  temples  in  honour  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  and  to  offer  divers  kinds  of  animals 
to  them,  and  to  have  priests  appointed  for  that  end. 
Therefore  God,  knowing  it  is  beyond  the  strength 
of  human  nature  instantly  to  quit  that  whieh  it  hath 
been  long  aceustomed  to,  and  so  is  powerfully  in- 
clined to,  would  not  command  that  all  that  kind  of 
worship  should  be  abolished,  and  diat  he  should  be 
worshipped  only  m  spirit;  but  required  that  he 
only  should  be  the  object  of  this  outward  wor- 
ship ;  that  temples  and  dtars  should  be  built  to  him 
alone;  sacrifices  offered  to  him  only,  and  priests 
consecrated  to  his  service.''  So  Cedrenus,  of  their 
festivals,  separations,  purgations,  oblations,  &c.,  ob- 
serving, God  enjoined  them,  ihcU^  being  employedin 
doing  these  ihings  to  the  true  Ood^  they  might  ab- 
stain from  idolatry.  And  thus,  saith  Dr.  Spencer, 
were  they  kept  under  the  discipline  of  the  law,  and 
shut  up  from  the  idolatrous  rites  and  customs  of  the 
heathen  world,  by  the  strictness  of  these  legal  ob- 
servances, and  the  penalties  denounced  against  the 
violators  of  them.  "And  it  is  well-known,"  says 
Whitby,  "that  all  the  ancient  fathers  were  of  this 
opinion,  that  God  gave  the  Jews  only  the  deciEdogue, 
till  they  had  made  the  golden  calf;  and  that  after- 
ward he  laid  this  yoke  of  ceremonies  upon  them  to 
restrain  them  from  idolatry^  (see  Ezek.  xx.  7, 11,  ^, 
25,)  called  by  the  apostle  the  law  of  carnal  com- 
mandmentTj  which  he  says,  was  abolished  for  the 
weakness  and  unprofitableness  of  it,  Heb.  vii.  16. 
Hence  these  ceremonies  were  called  by  St  Paul, 
coixeta  T8  KoafiHy  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  Gal.  iv. 
8;  Col.  ii.  8;  namely,  because  for  matter  they  were 
the  same  which  the  heathen  used  before  to  their 
false  gods.  But  this  ancient  exposition,  though  part- 
ly true,  does  not  contain  the  whole  truth ;  for  the 
apostle,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  informs  us, 
that  the  law  entered  that  sin  might  abound;  that  is, 
might  appear  to  abound,  unto  death,  that  sin  might 
appear  sin,  working  death  in  us,  Rom.  v.  20;  vii.  13. 
And  that  the  law  workelh  wrath,  namely,  by  giving 
us  the  knowledge  of  that  sin  whieh  deserves  it, 
Rom.  iii.  20 ;  iv.  15.  And  this  answers  to  what  the 
apostle  here  saith,  that  the  law  was  added  because 
of  transgressions,  namely,  to  discover  them,  and  the 
punishment  due  to  them.  See  on  verses  22,  24.  So 
also  Macknight :  "The  law  was  added  after  the  pro- 
mise, to  show  the  Israelites  what  things  were  ofiT^n- 
aive  to  God,  Rom.  iii.  20.  Also,  that  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  given,  becoming  sensible  of  their  trans- 
gressions, and  of  God's  displeasure  with  them  for 
their  transgressions,  and  of  the  punishment  to  which 
they  were  liable,  they  might  be  constrained  to  have 
recourse  to  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  in  which 
justification  was  promised  through  faith,  as  it  is  now 
promised  in  the  gospel.  See  CoL  iL  14."  TKU  the 
seed  should  come— That  illustrious  seed,  the  Mes- 
b 


20  NoW|  a  mediator  is  not  a  m^»a-  Air^ose. 
tor  of  one;  -^  but  Grod  is  one. 


A  IX  56. 


Deut.  V.  5,  22,  23,27,  31. ^Rom.  iii  29,  30. 


siah ;  to  whom  the  promise  was  made—^  It  was  not 
fit  that  ttie  law  of  Moses,  whieh  condenmed  every 
sinner  to  death,  should  continue  any  longer  thantiU 
the  seed  should  come  to  whom  it  was  promised  that 
in  him  aU  nations  should  be  blessed,  by  having  their 
faith  pounted  for  righteousness.  For  Christ  having 
come,  and  publi^ied  in  his  gospel  God^s  gracious 
intention  of  justifying  believers  of  all  nations  by 
faith,  if  the  law  of  Moses,  which  condemned  every 
sinner  to  deatii  without  mercy,  had  been  allowed  to 
remain,  it  would  have  contradicted  the  gospel,  and 
have  made  the  promise  of  no  effect.  It  was,  there- 
fore, abrogated  with  great  propriety  at  the  death  of 
Christ ;  especi^ly  as  the  gospel  was  a  dispensation 
of  religion  more  effectual  dan  the  law  for  destroying 
idolatry,  and  restraining  transgression."  And  was 
ordatned— Greek,  diaroywc,  appointed,  promulgated^ 
or  spoken,  as  it  is  expressed  Heb.  y.  2.  This  is  af- 
firmed likewise  by  Stephen,  Acts  vii.  88, 53.  hi  the 
hand  of  a  mediator — Namely,  Moses,  then  appoint- 
ed by  God  to  act  the  part  of  a  mediator  between  him 
and  the  people  of  Israel.  Hie  law  was  not  given  to 
Israel,  as  the  promise  was  to  Abraham,  immediately 
from  God  himself,  but  was  Conveyed  by  the  minis- 
try of  angels  to  Moses,  and  delivered  into  his  hand 
as  a  mediator  between  God  and  them,  and  as  a  type 
of  the  great  Mediator. 

Verse  20.  Now  a  mediator  is  not  a  mediator  of 
one — There  must  be  two  parties,  or  there  can  be  no 
place  or  use  for  a  mediator:  but  God,  who  made  the 
free  promise  to  Abraham,  is  only  one  of  the  parties; 
the  other,  Abraham,  was  not  present  at  the  time  of 
Moses.  Therefore,  in  the  affair  of  the  promise,  Mo- 
ses had  nothing  to  do:  the  law,  wherein  he  was  con- 
cerned, was  a  transaction  of  quite  another  nature. 
Or,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases  this  difficult 
passage  more  at  largo,  following,  ias  he  says,  Mr. 
Locke's  interpretation,  not  *  without  attentively 
comparing  a  variety  of  others,  "A  mediator  is  not 
merely  the  mediator  of  one  party,  but  at  least  of 
two,  between  which  he  must  pass,  and,  by  the  nature 
of  his  office,  transact  for  both;  but  God  is  only  one 
party  in  that  covenant  made  with  Abraham,  and 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  including  all  that  believe, 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  are  the  other.  As  Moses, 
therefore,  when  the  law  was  given,  stood  at  that  time 
between  the  Lord  and  Israel,  (Deut  v.  6,)  and  did 
not  pass  between  the  whole  collective  body  of  Abra- 
ham's seed  and  the  blessed  €rod;  so  nothing  was 
transacted  by  him  with  relation  to  those  for  whom 
he  did  not  appear,  and  consequently  nothing  in  that 
covenant  wherein  he  did  mediate  could  disannul  the 
promise,  or  affect  the  right  accruing  to  any  from  a 
prior  engagement,  in  which  the  Gentiles  were  con- 
cerned as  well  as  the  Israelites ;  for  no  covenant  can 
be  altered  but  by  the  mutual  consent  of  both 
parties;  and  In  what  was  done  at  mount  Sinai  by 
the  mediation  of  Moses,  there  was  none  to  appear 
for  the  Gentiles;  so  that  this  transaction  between 
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A.  M.  4062.    21  Is  the   law   then  against  the 

: —  promises  of  God  ?    God  forbid :  *  fir 

if  there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could 
h^ve  given  life,  verily  righteousness  should 
have  been  by  the  law. 

22  But  ""the  Scripture  hath  concluded  ""all 
tinder  sin,  ^that  the  promise  by  fkith  of 
Jesus  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that 
bdieve. 

23  But  before  faith  came,  we  were  kept  under 


*  Cliap.  ii.  21.        ■  Veree  8. ■  Rom.  iii.  d,  19,  23 ;  zi.  32. 

oRom.  IV.  11,  12,  la pMatt.  v.  17;  Rom.  jl  4;  Col.  ii.  17; 


God  and,  the  Israelites  could  have  no  force  to  abro- 
gate the  prombe,  which  extended  likewise  to  the 
Gentiles,  or  to  vacate  a  covei^ant  that  was  made  be- 
tween parties  of  which  one  only  was  there." 

Verses  21, 22.  Is  the  lavy  then— Which  requires  per- 
fect obedience,  and  subjects  all  that  in  any  respect 
violate  it,  to  the  curse,  agcUnst,  or  qontrary  to, 
the  promises  of  (rod— Wherein  he  declares  that  he 
will  justify  men  by  fa^ith?  Godforbid—Thdii  we 
should  intimate  any  thing  of  that  kind !  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  intended  to  be  subservient  to  the 
promise,  by  leading  those  who  were  under  it  to  a 
higher  and  better  dispensation,  by  subjecting  them 
to  the  curse,  without  giving  them  the  least  hope  of 
mercy,  to  oblige  them  to  flee  to  the  promises  for 
justification.  For  if  there  had  been  a  law  given 
which  could  Jiave  given  life— Either  spiritual  or  eter- 
nal ;  if  any  law,  considered  in  itself  alone,  could 
have  been  a  sufficient  mean  of  justification  and  eter- 
nal happiness,  then  verily  righteousness — Justifica- 
tion, and  the  blessings  consequent  thereon  j  would 
hcne  been  by  the  Mosaic  law — ^Which  is  so  holy,  just, 
and  good  in  all  its  moral  precepts.  By  this, the 
apostle  shows  that  the  law  of  Moses  was  utterly  in- 
capable of  giving  the  Jews  life  and  salvation ;  be 
cause,  considered  in  itself,  independent  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,  it  neither  promised  them  the  pardon 
of  sin  on  their  repentance,  nor  the  influences  of  the 
divine  Spirit  to  enable  them  to  overcome  and  mortify 
the  corrupticm  of  their  nature ;  and  of  consequence, 
neither  gave  them  a  title  to,  nor  a  meetness  for, 
eternal  life.  Justification,  therefore,  was  not  to  be 
obtained  by  that  law.  On  the  contrary,  the  Scrip- 
ture—Wherein that  law  is  written;  Juith  concluded 
all  under  sin — Hath  shut  them  up  together,  (so  the 
word  avveicXEiaev  properly  signifies,)  as  in  a  prison, 
under  sentence  of  death ;  that  is,  hath  declared  them 
all  to  be  so  shut  upj  thcU  the  promise— Th^i  is,  the 
blessing  of  life  and  salvation,  promised  through  ^t77i 
in  Jeeus  Christ,  might  be  freely  given  to  them  that 
truly  believe  in  him,  and  in  the  truths  and  pro- 
mises of  his  gospeL 

Verse  23.  But  before  faith— Th&i  is,  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation, camey  ice— The  nation  of  the  Jews ;  were 
kept  under  the  law — Under  that  dispensation,  as 
condemned  malefa^ors  are  guarded  in  close  custody ; 
shut  up — ^As  prisoners  under  sentence ;  unto  the 
faith  which  should  afterward  be  revealed — Re- 


the   law,   shut   up   unto   the   fiiith  a.  11.400s. 
which  should  afterward  be  revealed.     ^  ^'"' 

24  Wherefore  ^  the  law  was  our  schoolmas- 
ter to  bring  us  unto  Christ,  <i.that  we  might 
be  justified  by  fiuth. 

25  But  after  that  fitith  is  come,  we  arie  no 
longer  under  a  scbooknaster. 

26  For  ye  'are  all  the  children  of  God  by  fisuth 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

27  For  'as  many  of  you  as  have  been  bap- 


Heb.  ix.  9, 10. \  A6t8  xiii  39 ;  Chap.  ii.  IC. ^  John  i.  13 ; 

Rom.  yiii.  14, 15, 16 ;  Chap.  iv.  5 ;  I  John  iii.l, 2. •  Rom.  ri.  3. 


served  and  prepared  for  the  gospel.  Observe  here, 
reader,  1st,  "  The  gospel  is  called  faith^  (verses  2, 
23, 25,)  and  the  law  of  faith,  (Rom.  iii.  27,)  because  it 
requires  laith,  instead  of  perfect  obedience,  as  the 
means  of  men's  justification.  This  law  of  faith,  or 
method  of  justification,  came  at  the  fall:  it  was 
then  established ;  and  till  it  came,  Adam  was  kept  in 
ward  without  hope,  under  the  law  he  had  broken. 
In  like  manner  the  Gentiles,  under  the  law  of  na- 
ture, and  the  Jews,  under  the  law  of  Moses,  were 
kept  in  ward,  as  criminals,  and  had  no  hope  of  par- 
don, but  what  the  law  of  faith  gave  them,  as  made 
known  obscurely  in  the  first  promise,  (Gen.  ilL  15,) 
and  afterward  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham.  2d, 
The  law  of  Moses,  instead  of  being  contrary  to  the 
promises  of  Gk>d,  or  covenant  with  Abraham,  efiEectu- 
ally  co-operates  therewith. .  By  the  perfection  and 
spirituality  of  its  moral  precepts,  it  makes  us  sensi- 
ble of  our  inability  to  obey  it  perfectly;  and  by  its 
curse,  denounced  against  every  one  who  does  not 
obey  perfectly,  it  makes  us  flee,  trembling  and  af- 
frighted, to  the  method  of  salvation  revealed  to  us 
in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  and  published  to  all 
mankind  in  the  gospel.''— Macknight. 

Verses  24-26.  Wherefore  the  law  was  our  school- 
master— That  is,  the  instructer  of  the  childhood  of 
us  Jews,  or  of  the  church  of  God,  in  its  state  of  mi- 
nority ;  see  on  chap.  iv.  3 ;  to  bring  us  unto  Christ 
— To  train  us  up  for  him.  And  this  it  did,  both  by 
its  precepts,  which  showed  us  the  need  we  had  of 
his  atonement,  and  by  its  sacrifices,  oblations,  puri- 
fications, and  other  ceremonies,  which  all  pointed 
us  to  him  5  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith — In 
him,  and  so  might  obtain  the  benefit  of  the  promise. 
But  after  that  faith  is  come— The  gospel  dispensa- 
tion being  fully  revealed,  and  the  law  of  faith  pro- 
mulgated ;  we  are  no  longer  under  that  schoolmas- 
ter—The  Mosaic  law,  but  pass  over  into  a  more  lib- 
eral and  happy  state.  For  ye— Who  have  believed 
on  Christ,  with  a  faith  working  by  love ;  are  all— 
Not  merely  the  subjects  and  servants  of  God,  your 
Lord  and  Master,  but  his  children,  by  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus — TT^ic  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Al- 
mighty; yea,  hb  heirs,  and  joint  heirs  with  his  be- 
loved Son :  and  to  you  his  commandments  are  not 
grievous. 

Verses  27-20.  For  as  many  of younsfiave  been  bap- 
tized into  Christ— In  consequence  of  ycwr  believing 

b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


diferM  noifrom  a  servaid. 


A.  M.  4062.  tized    into    ChriBt,    ^have    put   on 
JLEiiL  Christ 

28  ^  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there 
18  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male 


«  Rom.  xiii.  14. »  Rom.  x.  12 ;  1  Cor.  xii.  13 :  Chip.  v.  6 ; 

Col  ui.  11. «  John  x.  Ifl;  xrii.  20, 21 ;  Eph.  li.  14,  15,  \&; 


in  him  with  your  heart  unto  righteousness,  and  have 
thereby  testified  and  professed  your  faith  in  him ; 
have  put  on  Chrtet^Hnye  receiTed  him  as  your 
righteousness  and  sanctification ;  have  obtained 
union  with  him,  and  in  consequence  thereof  a  con- 
formity to  him ;  hslve  in  you  the  mind  which  was 
in  him,  and  walk  as  he  walked.  '^  In  the  expression, 
hare  put  on  Christ,  there  is  an  allusion  to,  the  sy  m- 
./Olical  rite  which  in  the  first  age  usually  accompa- 
nied baptism.  The  person  to  be  baptized  put  off  his 
old  clothes  before  he  went  into  the  water,  and  put 
on  new  or  clean  raiment  when  he  came  out  of  it ; 
to  signify  that  be  had  put  off  his  old  corrupted  na- 
ture, with  all  his  former  bad  principles  and  corrupt 
practices,  and  was  become  a  new  man.  Hence  the 
expressions,  puUiiig  off  the  old  man,  and  putting 
on  the  new,  Eph.  iv.  22,  24." — Macknight  There  is 
neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  &c.— That  is,  the  distinc- 
tions, which  were  before  so  much  regarded,  are  in  a 
manner  done  away,  with  respect  to  such :  for  under 
the  gospel  dispensation,  God  pays  no  regard  to  per- 
sons on  account  of  their  descent,  their  station,  or 
their  sex ;  but  all  who  truly  believe  in  Christ,  have 
an  equal  right  to  the  privileges  of  the  gospel,  are 
equally  in  favour  with  God,  and  are  equal  in  respect 
and  dignity.  The  Greek  has  the  same  privileges 
with  the  Jew,  and  the  Jew  may,  without  offending 
God,  use  the  same  freedom  in  approaching  him  with 
the  Greek.  To  the  Judaizing  teachers,  who  ima- 
gined that  the  being  Abraham^s  children,  according 


nor  female:   fi^r  ye  are  all  'one  in  a. m.4om 
Christ  Jesus.  a,  p.m. 

29  And  ^if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abra- 
ham's seed,  and  ■  heirs  according  to  the  promise. 


ir.  4, 15. TGcn.  xxi.  10, 12 ;  Romans  ix.  7;  Hebrews  xL  la 

»  Rom.  riii.  17  ;■  Chap.  ir.  7,  28 ;  Eph.  iiL  6. 


to  the  flesh,  would  of  itself  secure  their  acceptance 
with  God,  this  must  have  appeared  a  most  humilia- 
ting doctrine.  But  to  the  Galatians  it  was  of  singu- 
lar use,  to  prevent  their  being  seduced  by  those 
teachers,  who  strongly  affirmed  that  the  Gentile3 
could  not  share  in  the  privileges  of  the  people  of 
God,  without  being  circumcised.  There  is  neither 
bond  nor  free — But  slaves  are  now  the  Lord's  free- 
men, and  freemen  Uie  Lord's  servants ;  and  this  con- 
sideration makes  the  freeman  humble,  and  the  slave 
cheerful ;  swallowing  up,  in  a  great  measure,  the 
sense  of  his  servitude.  TViere  is  neither  male  nor 
female— Under  the  law,  males  had  greater  privi- 
leges than  females.  For  nudes  alone  bare  in  their 
bodies  the  sign  of  God's  covenant ;  they  alone  were 
capable  of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  kingdom ;  and 
heritages  belonged  to  them,  preferably  to  females, 
in  the  same  degree.  For  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ 
Jesus — Are  equally  accepted  in  him;  and  being 
made  one  body  in  him,  believers,  of  whatever  na- 
tion, or  sex,  or  condition  they  be,  are  all  cemented 
in  the  bonds  of  holy  love,  and  anonated  with  the 
views  of  the  same  happiness.  And  if  ye  be  ChrisVs 
—By  foith  united  to  him,  who  is  the  promised  seed, 
in  whom  all  the  nations  shall  be  blessed ;  then  are 
ye  the  true  seed  of  Abrahaiii^hxiA  are  equally  so 
whether  ye  be  circumcised  or  not ;  and  therefore 
are  heirs  according  to  the  promise — Have  a  right  to 
the  heavenly  inheritance  by  virtue  of  the  promise 
made  to  Abraham. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

U  tkU  cUpter,  (1,)  The  apostle  ilhistraU*  the  tupeiHor  excellence  and  freedom  of  the  sUOe  into  wkieh  believers,  as  the  sons 
•f  Ood,  are  brought  by  the  gospel,  above  the  staU  which  they  were  in  before  under  the  law,  when  they  were  only  as  minors 
under  a  rigorous  tutor,  1-7.  (2,)  He  reproves  the  Galaiians  that  they  were  not  mare  resolvU  in  adhering  to  that  better 
dispensation,  the  first  tidings  of  which  they  had  received  from  him  with  so  much  affectum,  S-JO.  (8,)  He  illustrates  the 
subject  of  kis  foregoing  discourse  by  an  allegory,  borrowed  from  what  is  written  of  Sarah  and  Hagwr,  and  their  respective 
seeds,  Sl-31. 


A.  M.  4002.  "J^OW  I  say,  That  the  heir,  as  long 
:.^__L  as  he  is  a  child,  differeth  nothing 

from  a  servant,  though  he  be  lord  of  all  ;* 


*  Smtdsy  after  Cbristmas-day, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1-^.  The  apostle,  having  established  the 
consolatory  doctrine  that  believers,  in  every  age 
and  country  of  the  world,  are  heirs  of  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed,  goes  on  in  this 
chapter  to  answer  an  inquiry  which  he  knew  would 
b 


2  But  is  under  tutors  and  governors  A.  BL40^. 

imtil  the  time  appointed  of  the  fa ^— ^ — 

ther. 


epistle,  ren^  1  to  rerse  8. 


naturaUy  occur  to  his  readers,  but  which,  according 
to  his  manner,  he  does  not  formally  slate ;  namely, 
Since  all  believers,  from  the  beginning,  were  heirs  of 
the  promises,  as  well  as  of  the  things  promised,  why 
were  they  not  put  in  possession  of  the  promises 
from  the  beginning,  by  sending  Christ  into  the 
388 


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GALATIANS. 


from  tke  curse  of  Ike  taw. 


A.  M.  4032.    3  Even  so  we,  when  we  were  chil- 

— ^— ^ dren,  •were  in  bondage  under  the 

*  elements  of  the  world : 
4  But  !*  when  the  fiihiess  of  the  tune  was 


•Yem  9;  Chap.  u.  23;  r.  1;  CoL  ii.  8,  20;  Heb.  ix.  10. 

^  Or,  tudimerut. ^  Oen.  xUx.  10 ;  Dan.  iz.  24 ;  Mark  i.  f  5 ; 

£ph.i  10. e  John  L  14;  Rom.L  3 ;  Phil  iL  7;  Heb.  u.  14. 


world,  and  introducing  the  gospel  dispensation  in 
the  fi»t  age ;  that  the  promises,  especially  the  pro- 
mise of  pavdon  and  eternal  life  through  fnith,  might 
have  been  published  univecsally,  and  preserved  for 
the  benefit  of  the  heirs  in  every  age ;  and  ^nrhy  were 
mankind  left  for  so  many  ages  to  the  direction  of 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  Moses,  neither  of  which 
gave  them  any  hope  of  pardon  and  eternal  life?  To 
this  inquiry  the  apostle  answers,  that  in  not  giving 
the  heirs  the  knowledge  of  the  promises,  by  intro- 
ducing the  gospel  dispensation  immediately  after 
the  fall,  God  treated  them  as  a  prudent  father  treats 
his  son  while  under  age.  During  his  nonage,  he 
does  not  allow  him  to  possess  the  estate,  of  which 
he  is  the  heir,  because  he  has  liot  discretion  to  use 
it  aright ;  but  keeps  him  in  the  condition  of  a  bond- 
man. In  the  same  manner,  though  believers  from 
the  beginning  were  heirs  of  the  promises,  Qod  did 
not,  in  the  early  ages,  put  them  in  possession  of 
them,  by  immediately  setting  up  the  .gospel  dispen- 
sation ;  becanse,  in  the  first  ages,  the  state  of  the 
world  did  not  admit  of  either  the  universal  publica- 
tion of  the  gospel,  or  of  its  preservation.  And  that, 
as  the  heir  of  a  great  estate  must  be  prepared  by  a 
proper  education  for  managing  and  enjoying  it,  and 
is  therefore  in  his  childhood  placed  under  persons 
who  instruct  him,  manage  his  estate,  and  supply  him 
with  necessaries,  till  the  time  appointed  in  his 
father's  will  for  taking  possession  of  his  inheritance ; 
so,  to  prepare  believers  for  the  actual  inheritance  of 
the  gospel  dispensation,  God  judged  it  proper  to  con- 
tinue them  for  a  long  time  under  the  bondage  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  of  the  patriarchal  and  Mosaic 
dispensations,  that  by  experiencing  the  hardships  of 
that  bondage,  they  might  be  the  more  sensible  of  the 
happiness  which  they  were  to  derive  from  the  lib- 
erty of  the  gospel.  This  is  the  sense  of  the  throe  first 
verses,  as  appears  by  the  following  short  paraphrase. 
Now — To  illustrate,  by  a  plain  similitude,  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  Christian  over  the  legal  dispensa- 
tion ;  /  say  thai  the  heir — Of  any  estate,  however 
large ;  as  long  as  he  is  a  child— Ot  is  under  age ; 
differeth  nothing  from  a  servant — With  respect  to 
the  froe  use  and  enjoyment  of  his  estate ;  though  he 
be  lord  o/oZf— Proprietor  of  it  all,  by  right  of  in- 
heritance; but  is  placed  under  tutors — As  to  his 
person ;  and  governors — Oucovofinc^  stewards^  as  to 
his  substance ;  until  the  time  appointed  of  the  filmier 
—When  he  shall  be  deemed  of  age,  and  be  at  liberty 
to  manage  his  afl^rs  himself.  8o  we — ^The  church 
of  God,  heirs  of  the  promises;  when  we  were  chil- 
dren— ^In  our  minority,  wero  not  put  in  possession 
of  the  promises,  by  the  introduction  of  Uie  gospel 
dispensation,  but,  to  fit  us  for  it,  were  placed  in  bond- 
age-^in  a  kind  of  servile  state;  under  the  elements 
984 


come,  God  sent  forth  hi&iSon,^  made  a.  m.  4oe8 
^  of  a  woman,  •  made  under  the  few,  — 1— ^ — 
6  ^To  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  few, 
'  that  we  might  receive  the  adcpdoa  of  sons. 


*  G^n.  iiu  15 ;  Isa.  riL  14. »  Matthew  r.  17 ;  Luke  ii  2T. 

•  Matt.  zz.  28 :  Ghap.  iiL  13 ;  Tit  ii.  14. f  John  1 12 ;  Chap- 
ter iii.  26;  EpLi.  5. 


ofihe  WOT  W— Under  the  typical  observances  of  the 
patrmrohal  and  Mosaic  dispensations,  which  were 
like  the  first  elements  of  grammar,  the  a  b  c  of 
children ;  and  wero  of  so  grog's  a  nature  as  hardly 
to  carry  men's  tiioughts  beyond  this  worid.  Seeing 
the  apostle,  in  the  close  of  the  preceding  chq>ter,  de- 
clared that  all  who  have  put  on  Christ,  (see  on  verses 
27-29,)  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  are 
Christ's  brethren,  and  h^in  according  to  €k>d's  pro- 
mise, ^  it  is  evident  that  in  this  chapter,  when  he 
speaks  concerning  the  heir,  and  describes  the  treat- 
ment which,  by  his  father's  appointment,  he  receives 
during  his  minority,  his  discourse  cannot  be  restriet- 
ed  to  the  Jews,  as  if  diey  were  the  only  heirs,  but  must 
comprehend  the  Gentiles  also,  describing  their  condi- 
tion under  the  discipline  of  the  law  of  nature,  verseS. 
In  like  manner  the  persons  in  bondage  to  the  elements 
of  the  world,  (verse  3,)  and  under  the  law,  (verse  6,) 
who  are  said  to  be  bought  off  by  Christ,  (verse  5,) 
must  be  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews ;  because  Jews 
and  Gentiles  equally  were  under  the  discipline  [and 
curse]  of  law.  Ahd  having  been  bou gh t  oflf  by  Christ, 
(chap,  iil  13,)  they  were  both  of  them,  after  his  death, 
placed  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  which  is  the 
discipline  of  sons.    See  verse  5." — Mackni^t 

Verses  4-7.  But  when  the  fulness  of  time — Ap- 
pointed by  the  Father,  (verse  2,)  and  marked  out  by 
the  predictions  of  the  prophets  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  great  event;  was  come — And  we  were 
arrived  at  the  age  proper  for  our  entering  on  our 
adult  state,  and  being  put  in  possession  of  the  pro- 
mises, by  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion ;  God  sent  forth — From  heaven  into  our  world ; 
his  Son — Miraculously  made,  or  rather,  bom^  as  the 
word  yevofievov  may,  with  equal  propriety,  be  trans- 
lated ;  because,  although  Christ,  as  to  his  body,  or 
his  human  nature  in  general,  might  be  said  to  have 
been  made  of  a  woman,  and  of  the  seed  of  David, 
(Rom.  1. 3,)  yet  as  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  sent  forth 
from  the  Father,  he  was  not  made  at  all,  much  less 
of  a  woman.  See  on  Heb.  i.  8-35;  vii.  3.  Or  the 
clause  may  be  read,  made  flesh  of  a  woman,  namely, 
of  a  virgin,  without  the  concurrence  of  a  man. 
Made  under  the  law — Under  its  discipline.  In  all  its 
rigour;  subject  not  only  to  the  precepts,  but  to  the 
curse  of  the  law,  even  the  Mosaic  law ;  to  redeem 
them  that  were  under  the  law — From  the  curse  of 
it,  which  he  bore  in  their  stead,  and  from  that  low, 
servile  state  in  which  they  were  before ;  and  that 
he  might  bring  them  Into  a  happy  liberty  from  any 
future  obligation  to  observe  its  ceremonial  institu- 
tions. It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  the  apos- 
tle had  not  only  the  Jews  in  his  view  here,  but  the 
Gent'des  also,  as  is  evident  from  verse  8,  where  they 
are  addressed  in  particular.    The  law  from  which 

b 


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CHAPTEat  I¥. 


•b§mifmg  the  J^wiA  cer&manim. 


JL  M.4oeBL    6  And  beoaoM  ye  ate  sons,  God 
^^'^    hath  sent  fertk^  Che  S{Hrk  of  bk  Son 
iato  your  hearts  crying,  Abba,  Father. 

7  Wherefera  thou  art  no  more  a  0ervant,'but 
a  aon;  'and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God 
threu^  Christ 

8  Howbeit  then,  ^  when  ye  knew  not  Ood,^  ye  j 
did  service  unto  them  which  by  nature  are  no 


^  Rom.  T.  5  i  TuL  15. ^  Romans  Tiii.  10,  17 ;  Chapter  iii. 

39. k  Eph.  ij.  12;  1  Tlieas.  ir.  6. ^ Rom.  i  35 ;   1  Cor. 

joi.  2;  ^>h.ii.  11,12;  J  The8S.L9. » 1  Cor.  riii.  3 ;  xiii.  12 ; 


all  are  redeemed,  or  bought  ofl^  w^  not  the  law  of 
Ifoses  akme,  but  the  law  of  nature,  as  a  rule  of  ju»- 
ttfieatkm:  see  note  on  ohap.  iii.  13/  From  both 
these  laws,  with  the  religious  institutions  attached 
to  them,  Christ  hath  redeemed  mankind  by  his 
death,  that  he  might  place  them  under  the  gracious 
dispensation  of  his  gospel  Tltat  ire— Whether  Jews 
or  Gentiles,  who  believe ;  migfU  receive  the  (xdop- 
Hon  o/Mm»~Mi^t  stand  related  to  God,  not  only 
as  his  people,  his  true  and  spiritual  worshippers,  his 
subjects  and  his  senrants,  but  also  as  hb  sons  and 
daughters;  might  be  peculiarly  near  and  dear  to 
hfm;  made  partakers  of  his  nature,  favoured  with 
his  special  guidance,  protection,  and  care;  might 
have  continual  liberty  of  access  to  him  and  inter- 
course with  him ;  might  have  all  our  wants,  ghostly 
and  bodily,  supplied  by  him  here,  and  might  be  con- 
stituted joint  heirs  with  his  beloved  Son  of.  the 
heavenly  inheritance  hereafter.  See  on  John  i.  12; 
Rom.  viii.  14-17.  Observe,  reader,  it  is  the  privilege 
of  true  believers  in  the  present  life  to  have  the  as- 
surance of  God's  love,  peace  of  conscience,  protec- 
tion from  their  spiritual  enemies,  assistonce  in  times 
of  trial  and  temptation,  and  the  certain  hope  of  eter- 
nal life.  And  because  ye  are  thus  madohis  eons—By 
adoption  and  regeneration ;  God  hath  sent  forth — 
From  heaven,  as  he  sent  forth  his  Son  from  thence ; 
the  Spirit  of  his  Son-^The  very  same  Spirit  of  truth, 
holiness,  and  consolation,  which  dwelt  in  his  Son; 
iato  your  heai'ts-^To  take  up  his  abode  there; 
crying^  Abt>a,  Fa^cr— Enabling  you  to  call  God 
your  reconciled  Father  in  truth  and  with  assurance, 
and  to  call  upon  him  both  with  the  confidence  and 
temper  of  dutifhl  children.  The  Hebrew  and  Greek 
word  signifying  father  are  here  joined  together,  to 
express  the  joint  cry  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Where- 
fore Mow— Who  believest  in  Christ,  and  art  a  true 
member  of  the  gospel  church,  whether  bom  a  Jew 
or  a  Crentile;  art  no  more — ^No  longer ;  a  servant — 
As  formerly,  in  a  state  of  bondage,  whether  to  the 
legal  dispensation  of  Moses,  or  to  the  law  of  nature, 
and  the  ceremonial  institutions  attached  to  it,  by 
custom  or  divine  appointment;  but  a  son — Of  ma- 
ture age ;  and  if  a  son,  an  heir  of  (^oJ— Entitled  to 
the  everlasting  inheritance,  and  even  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  all-sufficient  God  himself;  through 
CS'^ntff— Through  his  sacrifice  and  intercession,  and 
mj  mterest  therein  by  faith. 
Verses 8-11.  HowbeH—kXXa^but^oihowever^^^X 
b 


9  But  now,  ■  after  that  ye  have  a. 
known  God,  or  rather  are  Imown  of 


M.40S2. 
.  D.  56. 


God,  '^how  turn  ye  ^again  to  "^the  weak  and 
beggarly  ^dements,  whereunto  ye  desire  again 
to  be  in  bondage? 

10  ^  Ye  observe  days,  and  months,  and  timesi 
and  years. 

11  I  am  afraid  of  you^  ^lest  I -have  be- 
stowed up(m  you   labour  in  vain. 


2  Tim.  ii.  19. ■  Chnpter  iii.  3 ;  Col.  n.  20. — 

oRom.  TiiL  S{  Heb.  tu.  18. «  Or,  mtfmunte. 


5 ;  CoL  ii.  IS.- 


•Or,&«c*. 

— p  Rom.  xit. 
Cbi^.  ii.2;  r.  2,4;  1  Thess.  iii.  5. 


ye  Gentiles  may  not  foolishly  reject,  neglect,  or  for^ 
feit  yonr  piivileges,  as  the  sons  of  God,  you  ought 
to  remember  what  your  condition  was  while  under 
the  elements  of  the  world,  and  compare  it  with  your 
present  happy  state :  that  then,  when  ye  knew  not 
the  one  living  and  true  God,  ye  did  service — Pei^ 
formed  many  degrading,  burdensome,  irrational,  apa 
abominable  acts  of  worship  and  service,  unto  thdm/ 
which  by  nature  are  no  gods — ^"This  is  a  true  .^e^' 
scription  of  the  idols  worshipped  by  the  heathen^  for 
either  they  had  no  existence,  being  mere  creatures 
of  the  imagination ;  or,  if  any  of  them  existed,  they 
were  dead' men,  or  evil  spirits,  or  the  lummaries  of 
the  heavens,  [or  other  creatures  of  God,  as  most  of 
the  idols  of  'Egrpi  were,]  deified  by  human  folly : 
and  being  destitute  of  divine  perfections,  they  were 
utterly  incapable  of  bestowing  any  blessing  whatever 
on  their  worshippdrs."  But  now,  after  ye  have 
known  the  only  true  God— And.  his  mind  and  will; 
or  rather  are  known  of  God— Are  acknowledged, 
approved,  and  accepted^  as  his  children ;  ho^v  turn 
ye  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements —  Weak, 
utterly  unable  to  purge  your  conscience  from  guilt, 
and  to  inspire  you  with  filial  confidence  in  God,  or 
to  change  your  nature,  transform  you  into  his  lie- 
ness,  and  to  enable  you  to  do  aM  suffer  his  will: 
beggarly,  or  poor  5  that  is,  incapable  of  enriching  your 
souls  with  such  wisdom,  holiness,  and  happiness,  as 
ye  are  heirs  to,  or  to  give  you  a  hope  of  a  blessed 
inimortality  after  deatti ;  whereunto  ye  desire  again 
to  be  in  bondage— Though  of  another  kind :  now  to 
these  elements,  as  before  to  those  idols;  changing 
indeed  the  form  and  object  of  your  ceremonies,  but 
retaining  many  of  1he  same  low,  perplexing,  and 
unprofitable  observances.  Ye  observe  days — Jewish 
sabbaths;  andfmonf^— New  moons;  and  times— As 
that  of  the  passover,  pentecost,  and  the  feast  of  ta- 
bernacles; and  years — Annual  solemnities.  The 
word  does  not  here  mean  sabbatic  years :  these  were 
not  to  be  observed  out  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  This 
was  addressed  to  such  of  the  Galatians  as  had  em- 
braced Judaism.  Some  think  this  verse  sliould  be 
read  interrogatively,  Do  ye  observe?  &c.,  because  it 
seems  to  intimate  a  hope  that  it  might  be  otherwise. 
As  a  question,  it  likewise  expresses  the  apostle's 
surprise  that  the  Galatians  observed  these  days.  / 
am  afraid  of  you— See  on  2Cor.  xi.  2, 3 ;  lest  I  have 
bestowed  upon  you  labour  in  vain— As  will  be  the 
case  if  you  continue  the  use  of  these  cer^nonies 
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OALATIANa 


of  the  OaiaUansforhtm. 


A.iL4oes.    12  Brethren,  I  beseech  you,  be  as 
^^•^    I  am;  for  I  am  as  ye  are:  'ye  have 
not  injured  me  at  alL 

13  Ye  know  how  '  throngh  infirmity  of  the 
flesh  I  preached  the  gospel  unto  you  *  at  the 
first 

14  And  my  temptation  which  was  in  my  flesh 
ye  despised  not,  nor  rejected ;  but  received  me 
^  as  an  angel  of  God,  '  even  as  Christ  Jesus. 

15  *  Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye  spake 
of?  for  I  bear  you  record,  that  if  it  haul  been 


'2  Cor.  ii.  5. •  1  Cor.  ii.  3. » Chap.  i.  8. "  2  Sam.  xix. 

27;  MaLiLT;  Zech.  xii.  8. 'Matt.  x.  40;  Luke  x.  16; 


and  think  to  be  justified  by  them  together  with 
Christ,  chap.  v.  2. 

Verses  12-14.  I  beseech  you^  he  as  I  ao*— Follow 
my  example  in  laying  aside  your  opinion  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  law ;  for  I  am — Or  rather,  I  was;  as 
ye  are — That  is,  I  was  once  as  zealous  of  the  law  as 
you  are ;  but  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  now  of  an- 
other mind :  be  you  so  too.  See  Phil.  iii.  7,  8.  Or, 
as  some  understand  theyerse,  I  beseech  you  to  main- 
tain the  same  affectionate  regard  for  me  as  I  bear 
toward  you,  and  candidly  to  receive  those  sentiments 
which  I,  to  whose  authority  in  the  church  ye  can 
be  n<y  strangers,  have  been  inculcating  upon  you.  Ye 
have  not  injured  me  at  all — As  if  he  had  said.  What 
I  have  spoken  proceeds  purely  out  of  love,  and  not 
from  any  anger  or  ill-will,  for  which  indeed  you  have 
given  me  no  occasion,  as  I  have  received  no  person- 
al injury  from  you.  "  The  apostle  having  sharply 
rebuked  the  Galatians  for  their  attachment  to  Juda- 
ism, checks  himself,  and  turns  his  discourse  into  the 
most  affectionate  entreaties  and  expostulations,  in 
which  he  shows  himself  to  have  had  a  great  know- 
ledge of  human  nature.  For  he  mentions  such  things 
as  must  have  deeply  affected  the  Galatians,  especial- 
ly as  he  expressed  them  in  a  simplicity  and  energy 
of  language  which  is  inimitable."— Macknight.  Ye 
know  how  through,  or  in,  infirmity  of  the  flesh — 
That  is,  in  great  bodily  weakness,  and  under  great 
disadvantage  from  the  despicablenesS^of  my  outward 
appearance ;  I  preached  the  gospel  to  you  at  the  first. 
And  my  temptation,  which  was  in  my  flesh — The 
peculiar  trial  wherewith  I  was  exercised,  namely, 
my  thorn  in  the  flesh,  see  on  2  Cor.  xii.  7;  yecte- 
spised  not—Ye  did  not  slight,  or  disdain  me ;  nor 
rejected  my  person  or  ministry  on  account  of  it ; 
but  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God — As  though  I 
had  been  a  superior  being  come  down  from  heaven ; 
even  as  Christ  Jesus— y/Vith  as  much  affection  and 
submission  as  it  can  be  supposed  you  would  have 
shown  to  Christ  himself;  if,  instead  of  sending  me  as 
his  messenger,  he  had  visited  you  in  person.  The 
veneration  with  which  the  Galatians  regarded  the 
apostle  at  his  first  coming  among  them,  cannot  be 
more  strongly  painted  than  by  these  expressions. 

Verses  15,  16.  Where  is  then  the  blessedness  ye 
spake  of—On  which  yeso  congratulated  one  another  ? 
Since  ye  once  thought  yourselves  so  happy  in  my 
b 


possiUe,  ye  would  have  {ducked  out  a.  m.  406S. 
your  own  eyes,  and  haVe  giyeu  them    ^'  ^'  ^' 
tome. 

16  Am  I  therefore  become  your  enmny  y  be- 
cause I  tell  yon  the  truth? 

17  They  *  zealously  aflfect  you,  hut  not  wdl  j 
yea,  they  would  exclude  ^you,  that  ye  might 
affect  them. 

18  But  it  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected  al- 
ways ii^  a  good  thing,  and  not  only  when  I 
am  present  with  you. 


John   xiiL  20;  1  Theis.  ii.   13. *  Or,    What  was  thmT 

1  Chap.  ii.  6, 14. «  Rom.  x.  2 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  2. •  Or,  U9. 


presence  with,  and  my  preaching  among  you,  how 
happens  it  that  you  are.  now  so  alienated  from  me? 
For  if  it  had  been  possible — V  it  had  been  a  thing 
allowable,  aiyl  I  could  have  received  any  benefit  by 
it;  ye  woidd  have  plucked  out  your  eyes,  and  have 
given  them  to  me — As  a  convincing  proof  of  your 
affection  for  me.  Am  I  become  your  enemy — Or 
have  you  any  reason  to  account  me  such ;  because 
I  tell  you  the  truth?— And  bear  a  faithful  testimony 
to  the  uncomipted  gospel,  which  I  desire  to  main* 
tain  among  you  in  all  the  purity  m  which  I  planted 
it  ?  ^  The  apostle's  address,  in  thus  putting  the  Ga- 
latians in  mmd  of  their  former  afiection  and  grati- 
tude to  him,  as  their  spiritual  father,  and  his  con- 
trasting it  in  this  verse  with  their  present  temper  of 
mind,  is  admirable.'^ 

Verses  17, 18.  Tluy  zealously  affect  you^The 
Judaizingjteachers  who  are  come  among  you  ex- 
press an  extraordinary  regard  for  you;  but  rtot 
icell — Their  zeal  is  jiot  according  to  knowledge, 
neither  have  they  a  single  eye  to  God's  glory,  and 
your  spiritual  advantage.  Yea,  they  would  eaxlude 
you— From  me  and  from  the  blessings  of  the  gos- 
pel 5  that  ye  might  effect — Might  love  and  esteem 
them.  Or,  as  some  read  this  clause,  they  wotdd 
exclude  its,  that  is,  me,  your  spiritual  father,  and 
my  fellow-labourers  in  the  gospel,  from  your  aflfec- 
tion,  that  ye  may  love  them  ardently,  as  the  only 
faithful  teachers  of  the  gospeL  But  it  is  goodr-^ 
KoAov,  comely,  honourable,  and  commendable;  to  be 
zealously  effected  always  in  a  good  thing — In  what 
is  really  worthy  of  our  zeal :  for  as  the  beauty  and 
excellence  of  zeal  is  to  be  estimated  not  by  the  de- 
gree of  it,  considered  in  itselli  but  by  the  object  to 
which  it  is  directed ;  so  too  the  warmth  of  your  af- 
fection toward  an  object  truly  worthy  of  it,  should  be, 
at  all  times,  equally  maintained ;  and  the  same  fervent 
zeal  which  you  have  ftmnerly  expressed,  ou^ht  to  be 
manifested  by  you,  not  only  when  I  am  present  with 
you,  but  in  my  absence  also,  if  you  really  think  me  to 
deserve  your  regards,  apd  have  indeed  received  the 
truth  in  the  love  of  it  It  may  be  proper  to  observe, 
that  the  original  expression  "  may  refer  either  to  a 
good  person  or  a  good  thing,  and  may  be  under- 
stood of  their  continuing  zealous  in  their  afiection, 
either  to  himself,  or  to  the  truth  which  he  preached ; 
but  as  he  had  been  speaking  of  himself  in  the  foregoing 
288 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


^piriSual  seed  ofAhraJum. 


A.M. 4062.     19  »My  litde  childien,  of  whom  I 

A.  D   SB 

. '. L  trayafl  in  birth  again  untU  Christ  be 

formed  in  you, 

20  I  desire  to  be  present  with  you  now,  and  to 
change  my  voice ;  for  ®  I  stand  in  doubt  of  you. 

21  Tell  me,  ye  that  desire  to  be  under  the 
law,  do  ye  not  hear  the  law  ?* 


•1  Cor.  ir.  15;  Phtlem.  10;  James  i.  18. *0r,  lam  wr- 

jitwtdfmr  y&tk *  Fourth  Sundmf  in  Lent,  epistle,  verse  21  to 

'  '  ■      ■ 


verses,  he  likewise  seems  to  have  still  in  view  the 
warmth  of  their  affeotioa  to  him  when  he  was  pre- 
sent with  them ;  though  he  expresses  it  in  a  graceful 
way,  with  such  a  latitude  as  may  include  their 
zeal  for  his  doctrine  as  well  as  for  his  person." — 
Doddridge. 

Verses  19, 20.  My  little  cAiWren— Converted  to 
the  faith  by  my  ministry.  He  speaks  as  a  parent, 
both  with  authority  and  the  most  tender  sympathy 
toward  weak  and  sickly  children :  of  whom  I  tra- 
vail  in  birth  again^-Aa  I  did  before,  (verse  13,)  in 
vehement  padn,  sorrow,  desire,  prayer;  till  Christ 
be  formed  in  you — Till  you  be  made  fully  acquaint- 
ed with,  and  established  in,  the  belief  of  every  part 
of  his  doctrine ;  and  till  you  be  so  endowed  with  the 
graces  o[  his  Spirit,  that  all  the  mind  is  in  you  ^lat 
was  in  liim.  The  image  here  used  by  (he  apostle  is 
beautiful  and  expressive.  He  alludes  to  a  mother, 
who,  having  undergone  the  labour  and  pains  of  child- 
bearing,  cannot  but  be  concerned  for  the  safety  and 
welfare  of  the  children  in  the  birth  of  which  she  had 
suffered  so  much :  and  if  the  life  or  health  of  any  of 
them  be  in  imminent  danger,  suffers  distress  and  an- 
guish of  mind,  nearly,  if  not  cihogether,  equal  or  even 
superior,  to  the  pain  and  torture  of  body  she  endured 
in  bearing  them.  So  the  apostle,  who  had  once  be- 
fore suffered  labour  and  pains  like  those  of  child- 
bearing,  when  ho  converted  the  Galatians  to  the 
truth,  now  suffered  those  pangs  a  second  time,  while 
he  endeavoured  to  bring  them  back  to  that  faith  of 
the  gospel  from  which  they  had  departed.  It  is  not 
possible  by  words  to  express  the  anxiety  of  desire 
and  affection  which  he  felt  on  this  occasion  more 
strongly  than  he  has  done  by  this  image ;  and  what 
a  lesson  does  this  teach  every  minister  of  the  gospel, 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  immortal  souls!  What 
distress  ought  they  to  feel,  how  deeply  ought  they 
to  be  concerned,  when  they  observe  any  of  the  souls 
that  they  had  gained,  backsliding  from  the  truth  and 
grace  of  God,  and  drawing  back  unto  perdition!  and 
what  anxiety  should  they  manifest,  and  what  pains 
should  they  take,  to  recover  and  restore  them.  / 
desire — Or  I  could  wish  5  to  he  present  vrith  you  now 
— Particularly  in  this  exigence ;  and  to  change  my 
voice — To  adapt  my  mannerof  speaking  to  the  state 
you  are  in;  for  Island  in  doxibt  of  you — So  that  I 
am  at  a  loss  how  to  speak  at  this  distance ;  for  though 
I  do  not  absolutely  despair  of  your  recovery  and  es- 
tablishment, yet  I  am  not  without  very  discouraging 
apprehensions,  lest,  after  all  the  pains  that  I  have 
taken  with  you,  the  good  effects  of  my  labours  among 
joxL  should  in  a  great  measure  be  lost 
b 


22  For  it  is  written^  that  Abraham  a.  m.  406e. 
had  two  sons;  ^the  one  by  a  bond-         '  "* 
maid,  ""  the  other  by  a  fiiee-woman. 

23  But  he  who  was  of  the  bond-woman  ^  was 
bom  after  the  flesh;  •  but  he  of  the  free-wo- 
man was  by  promise. 

24  Which  things  are  an  allegory :  for  these 


the  cnd.^ ^  Gen.  xvi.  16. «  Gen.  xxi.  2.- 

•  Geo.  xviii.  10,  U ;  xxi.  1, 2 ;  Heb.  xi.  11. 


>  Rom.  iz.  7,  S. 


Verses  21-23.  Tell  me,  ye  that  desire  to  be  under 
the  law — Of  Moses,  as  the  rule  of  your  justification; 
do  ye  not  hear  the  law  ?— Regard  what  it  says?  how 
it  teaches  that  Abraham's  children,  by  faith,  who  are 
heirs  of  the  promises,  are  free  from  the  bondage  of 
the  law  7  "  The  argument  the  apostle  is  going  to  use 
being  taken  from  the  law  of  Moses,  was  urged  with 
much  propriety,  not  only  against  the  Judaizers,who 
affirmed  that  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses  was 
necessary  to  men's  salvation,  but  against  those  Oenr 
tiles  also  whom  the  Judaizers  had  seduced  to  re- 
ceive the  law.  For  if  the  apostle  made  it  evident, 
from  the  law  of  Moses  itselif,  that  Abraham's  chil- 
dren, by  fiadth,  were  free  from  the  bondage  of  the 
law,  no  further  argument  was  necessary  to  prove 
that  obedience  to  the  law  is  not  necessary  to  j^istifi- 
cation."— Macknight.  It  is  written  that  Abraham 
had  two  sons— Here  he  illustrates  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  and  of  the  abolition  of  the  le- 
gal dispensation,  by  the  history  of  Abraham's  family, 
in  which  it  was  prefigured.  The  plain  import  of 
what  he  advances  is  this :  That  as  hi  Alu'aham's 
family  there  were  two  mothers,  and  two  sorts  of 
children,  which  were  differently  treated ;  so,  in  the 
visible  church,  there  are  two  sorts  of  professors; 
some  that  seek  justification  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
who  are  in  a  servile  and  miserable  condition,  and 
shall  at  last  be  cast  out  from  the  presence  of  God, 
and  the  society  of  the  saints ;  others  that  seek  justi- 
fication by  faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the  promises  of 
Qod  through  him :  and  these  are  the  free  sons  of 
God's  family,  and  in  a  happy  condition,  and  shall  at 
last  certainly  obtain  the  inheritance  of  eternal  life. 
The  one— Namely,  Ishmael,  by  Hagar,  a  bond-maidy 
the  o/Aei^— Namely,  Isaac,  by  Sarah,  a  free-woman. 
But  there  was  8^  great  difference  between  them  j 
for  he  who  was  of  the  bond-woman — That  is,  Ish- 
mael ;  was  bom  only  after  the  flesh — In  the  com- 
mon order  of  nature,  without  any  particular  promise 
of  God,  or  any  unusual  mterposition  of  his  power 
and  providence.  BtU  he  of  the  free-woman — That 
is,  Isaac ;  w(u  by  prcwni#e— Through  the  strength 
supematurally  communicated  to  his  parents  by  the 
promise,  Lo  Sarah,  thy  wife,  shall  have  a  son;  and, 
like  his  mother,  being  fr^e,  was  his  father'?  heir. 

Verse  24.  Which  things  are  an  allegory— Thsi  is, 
a  figurative  speech,  wherein  one  thing  is  expressed, 
and  another  intended.  6r,_as  Macknight  explains 
the  expression  more  at  large:  **  Properly,  an  all^ 
gory  is,  when  persons  and  events,  present  or  near  at 
hand,  with  their  qualities  and  circumstances,  are 
considered  as  types  or  representations  of  persons 
287 


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QAULTIAM9. 


ondihemoAero/uidB. 


A.  H.  4068.  are  the  two  "^  covenants ;  the  one 
J^l^l?!- from  the  mount  ^Sinai,'  which 
gendereth  to  bondage,  which  is  Agar. 

26  For  this  Agar  is  mount  Sinai  in  Arabia, 
anl  ^answereth  to  Jerusalem  whidb  now  is, 
an  J  is  in  bondage  with  h^  children. 


^  Ofi  tttUments,- 


*  Or.  Sina. '  Deut.  xxxiii.  t. •  Or,  U 

in  tke  tmme  rank  with. 


and  events  more  remote,  to  which  they  have  a  re- 
semblance. Of  this  kind  were  the  histories  of  some 
persons  and  events  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament, 
For  the  qualities  and  circumstances  of  these  per- 
sons were,  it  seems,  so  ordered  by  God,  as  to  be  apt 
representations  of  such  future  persons  and  events 
as  God  intended  should  atttact  the  attention  of  man- 
kind. This,  however,  is  to  be  laid  down  as  a  fixed 
rul^,  that  no  ancient  history  is  to  be  considered  as 
tilegorical  but  those  which  God  himself,  or  per- 
sons inspired  by  him,  have  interpreted  allegorically. 
Wherefore,  since  the  apostle  tells  us  that  what  Mo- 
ses hath  written  concerning  the  wives  of  Abraham 
b  an  allegorical  representation  of  the  two  covenants 
by  which  men  are  made  the  church  and  people  of 
€K>d,  and  that  his  sons,  by  these  wives,  represent  the 
persons  bom  under  the  two  covenants,  together 
withlhe  treatment  they  are  to  receive  from  Ctod,  he 
must  be  believed,  on  account  of  the  inspiration  by 
which  he  Mrrote ;  especially  as,  in  verse  27,  he  hath 
appealed  to  the  prophet  Isaiah,  as  giving  the  same 
account  of  these  matters,  chap.  liv.  1.  And  seeing 
the  prophet,  as  well  as  the  apostle,  (verse  26,)  con- 
siders Sarah  as  the  mother  of  all  true  believers,  may 
we  not  suppose  she  was  made  to  conceive  her  son 
supemafurally,  that  she  might  be  a  tjrpe  of  the  cove- 
nant under  which  believers  are  regenerated  by  the 
power  of  God ;  and  that  her  son  might  be  a  type  of 
all  who  by  regeneration  become  members  Of  the 
true  churchof  Grod,  called,  (verse  26,)  the  Jerusalem 
abone,  which  is  free,  both  from  the  bondage  and 
from  the  curse  of  the  law?  In  like  manner,  Abra- 
ham's son,  by  Hagar  the  bond-maid,  may  have  been 
begotten  by  the  natural  strength  of  his  parents,  and 
bom  in  bondage,  that  he  might  be  a  proper  repre- 
sentation of  such  of  Abraham's  children  as  are  God's 
visible  church  merely  by  being  his  children  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh ;  consequently  a  type,  or  allegorical 
representation  of  the  Jerusalem  which  existed  when 
the  apostle  wrote,  or  of  the  then  present  Jewish 
church,  which  was  in  bondage  to  the  law."  For 
these  two  persons—Hagar  and  Sarah;  arc— That 
f s,  may  well  be  considered  as  representing  the  two 
covenants—Or  the  two  dispensations  of  the  law  and 
gospel,  the  tenor  of  which  is  so  different :  the  one 
covenant  given  from  mount  Sinai,  which  beareth 
children  to  bondage— Thai  is,  by  this  covenant  the 
Israelites  were  made  the  visible  church  of  God,  and 
put  in  bondage  to  the  law,  and  were,  by  its  curse, 
excluded  from  the  heavenly  inheritance,  if  they  had 
no  other  relation  to  Abraham  than  that  of  natural 
descent ;  which  covenant  is  typified  by  Agar, — "  The 
Jews  are  very  properly  said  to  have  been  brought 
forth  mto  bondage  by  the  covenant  from  Sinai,  be- 


36  But  9  Jerusalem  wfakh  k  above  A  M .  4008. 

A.  D  SB 

is  fyee,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  alL '. — 1 

27  For  it  is  written,  ^Rejoice,  thou  berven 
that  bearest  not;  break  fcrth  and  cry,  thou 
that  travaikst  not :  fer  the  desolate  hath  many 
more  children  than  she  which  hath  a  hu^Mtod. 


(Isaiah  ii.  2 ;  Hetnrews  xii.  22 :   Revelation  iiL  12 ;  sxu  2,  10. 
klaaiahliT.  1. 


cause  the  worship  enjoined  In  that  covenant  was 
extremely  troublesome  and  expensive ;  particularly 
their  frequent  separations  on  accotmt  of  unclean- 
ness,  their  ptnrifications  and  washings,  their  numerous 
sacrifices,  and  especially  their  three  annual  journeys 
to  Jerusalem}''  all  which  things  were  the  more 
grievous,  in  that  they  did  not  obtain  for  them  justi- 
fication before  God,  or  peace  of  conscience;  but 
with  whatever  anxious  care  and  trouble  the  Jews 
that  were  piously  disposed  performed  these  things, 
their  sense  of  sin  and  dread  of  ptmishment  remained 
as  great  as  before,  Heb.  ix.  9, 10;  x.  1-8.  "  Besides, 
the  covenant  from  Sinai  rendered  all  that  were 
under  it  slaves,  by  the  rigour  of  its  precepts,  and  Ae 
terror  of  its  curse.  But  the  covenant  or  law,  which 
went  forth  from  moimt  Zion,  (Isa.  ii.  8,)  the  gospd 
covenant,  by  aboliriiing  these  ineffectual  rites  of 
worship,  and  by  erecting  the  Christian  Church  with 
its  spiritual  worship,  makes  all  its  members  freemen 
and  sons,  who  obey  God  from  love,  and  who  can  ad- 
dress him  with  confidence  by  the  endearing  appella- 
tion of  Father,^ 

Verses  25-27.  For  this  Agar  is  mount  Sinai — 
That  is,  is  a  type  of  that  mount  The  whole  of  that 
mountainous  ridge  in  Arabia  Petrea,  of  which  Sinai 
was  a  part,  was  o^ed  Horeb,  probably  on  account 
of  its  excessive  dryness.  It  was  called  by  Moses, 
the  mountain  of  God,  (Exod.  iii.  1,)  because  on  it  God 
gave  the  law  to  the  Israelites.  Grotins  says,  Sinai 
is  called  Hagar,  or  Agar,  synecdochically.  because 
in  that  mountain  there  was  a  city  which  bare  Ha- 
gar's  name.  It  is  by  Pliny  called  Agra^  and  by  Dio, 
Agaroy  and  its  inhabitants  were  named  Hagarenes, 
Psa.  Ixxxiii.  B.  Whitt»y  thinks  the  allusion  is  taken 
from  the  meaning  of  the  word  Hagar,  which,  in  the 
Hebrew,  signifies  a  rock.  And  answereth — Namely, 
in  the  allegory ;  or  resembles,  Jerusalem,  which  now 
is,  and  is  in  bondage— A3  being  in  subjection  to  so 
many  ritual  observances,  and  under  a  sentence  of 
wrath  on  the  commission  of  the  least  wllfol  offetice, 
and  as  being  also  in  bondage  to  the  Romans.  But 
Jerusalem,  which  is  above— The  church  of  Christ, 
so  called,  because  its  most  perfect  state  will  be 
in  heaven ;  is  free — EXev&epa  er*,  is  the  free  wo- 
man, that  is,  is  represented  by  Sarah ;  who  is  the 
mother  of  us  aM — ^Who  believe.  The  Jerusalem 
above,  the  spiritual  Jerusalem,  or  church  of  Christ, 
consisting  of  believers  of  all  nations,  with  the  cove- 
nant on  which  it  is  formed,  is  fitly  typified  by  Isaac, 
and  his  mother  Sarah,  the  free-woman,  because  she 
was  constituted  by  God  the  moflier  of  all  believers, 
on  accountof  her  bringing  forfli  Isaac  supematural- 
ly,  by  virtue  of  the  promise.  For  it  is  written,  Ac 
—As  if  he  had  said,  My  interpretation  of  the  things 

h 


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CHAPTER  V. 


ptr$eetUe  iko9t  vha  ar$  wphitucA, 


A.iL406t.    28  Now  we,  brethren,  as  Isaac  was, 
^^'^   are  ^  the  children  (rfpremJBe. 

29  But  as  then  ^  he  that  was  born  after  the 
flesh  persecuted  him  that  was  bcm  after  the 
l^rit,  ^even  Boiti^  now. 

30  Nevertheless,  what  saith  ""die  SciipCure? 


1  Aeu  iii  25 :  Romant  ix.  8 ;  Chapter  ill  89.- 
tChap.  T.  11;  ti.  12. 


K  Oen.  zzi.  9. 


respecting  Abraham's  wives  and  sons  is  not  new  3  it 
is  alluded  to  by  Isaiah,  chap.  liv.  1 ;  Rejoice,  thou 
barren^  thai  bearest  not—He  heathen  nations,  who, 
like  a  barren  woman,  were  destitute  for  many  ages 
of  a  seed  to  serve  the  Lord ;  break  fortJ^  ^.,  thou 
that,  in  former  ages,  iravailest  not,  for  such  is 
now  thy  happy  state,  that  the  desolate,  &c. — Ye, 
that  were  so  long  utterly  desolate,  shaU  at  length 
bear  more  children  than  the  Jewish  Church,  which 
was  of  old  espoused  to  God. 

Verses  28-30.  ATcwr— That  I  may  apply  what  has 
just  been  advanced  to  ourselves ;  we,  brethren — Who 
believe,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles ;  as  Isaac  was— 
Kara  laaait,  after  the  manner  of  Isaac ;  are  children 
of  promise— Are  children  of  God,  being  children  of 
Abraham  and  Sarah,  by  the  promise  which  made 
hjm  the  father,  and  her  the  mother,  of  nations.  In 
other  words,  we  are  children,  not  born  in  a  natural 
way,  but  by  the  supernatural  power  of  God ;  and  as 
such,  we  are  heirs  of  the  promise  made  to  believing 
Abraham.  And,  "if  believers,  after  the  manner  of 
Isaac,  are  children  begotten  to  Abraham  by  the 
divine  power  accompanying  the  promise,  can  it  be 
doubted  that  they  were  typified  by  Isaac,  and  that 
his  procreation  was  deferred  till  the  bodies  of  his 
parents  were  dead  as  to  these  things,  that  being 
supematurally  begotten,^  he  might  be  a  fit  type  of 
those  who  by  divine  power  become  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  through  faith.''  But — Indeed  the  paral- 
lel holds  further  still;  for  as  then,  he  that  was  bom 
after  tl^e  flesh— ThnX  is,  Ishmael,  in  whose  produc- 
tion there  was  nothing  beyond  the  common  course 
of  nature,  and  who  was  related  to  Abraham  by  natu- 
ral descent  only;  persecuted  him  who  was  bom  after 
the  Spirit — That  is,  Isaac,  who  was  produced  by  the 
special  energy  of  God's  miraculous  power;  even  so 
it  is  now — ^The  carnal  Jews,  who  are  the  seed  of 
Abraham  after  the  flesh,  abuse  and  persecute  us  who 
believe   in   Christ,  and  are  therefore  Abraham's 


*  Cast  out  the  bond-woman  and  her  A  M.  4oei. 
son:  for  *  the  son  of  the  Ixmd-  - — '- — 
woman  shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son  of  dM 
free-woman. 
31  So  then,  brethren,  we  are  not  chSdren  of 
the  bond-woman,  >^  but  of  the  fre« 


■Chap.  iii.  8,  22.— "Gen.  xxi.  W,  12. »  Jobs  riu.  9,  % 

P  John  Tiii.  36 ;  Chap.  t.  1, 13. 


seed  after  the  Spirit,  Ishmael's  persecutioQ  of 
Isaac  consisted  in  his  mocking  at  the  feast  of  his 
weaning,  Gen.  xxi.  9.  "  No  doubt  he  pretended  that 
by  right  of  primogeniture  he  was  his  father's  heir, 
and  therefore  he  ridiculed  the  feast  made  in  honour 
of  Isaac  as  the  heir,  together  with  Sarah's  laying 
claim  to  the  whole  of  the  inheritance  for  her  son. 
This  action  was  typical  of  the  contempt  with  which 
the  Jews,  Abraham's  natural  posterity,  wOuld  treat 
his  spiritual  seed^  and  their  hopes  of  salvation 
through  faith ;  typical  also  of  the  claim  which  the 
natural  seed  would  set  up,  of  being  the  only  heirs 
of  God,  because  they  were  first  his  pepple."  But 
whatsaiththe  Scripture — Showing  the  consequence 
of  this?  Cast  out  the  bond-woman  and  her  son — 
Who  mocked  Isaac.  Which  sentence,  however 
grievous  it  might  be  to  Abraham,  when  pronounced 
by  Sarah,  God  confirmed,  and  they  were  cast  out  of 
Abraham's  family.  And  so,  as  the  apostle's  dis- 
course implies,  shall  all  who  reject  Christ,  and  seek 
justification  and  salvation  by^  the  law  of  Moses^  not- 
withstanding their  boasted  descent  from  Abndiam, 
be  cast  out  of  the  church  and  family  of  God,  and 
rejected  from  being  his  people ;  especially  if  they 
persecute  them  who  are  his  children  by  feith;  and 
they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  be  heirs  of  his  pro- 
mise with  them.  So  that,  as  in  his  birth  and  condi* 
tion,  his  character  and  actions;  so  likewise  hi  his 
being  cast  out  of  his  father's  house,  Ishoiael  was  a 
fit  type  of  the  unbelieving  and  disobedient  Jews.  So 
then—*To  sum  up  all  i  ir«— Who  believe  \arenotiJu 
children  ofth€  bond-woman— Are  not  under  8ul>)eo- 
tion  to  the  servile  dispensation  of  the  law,  nor  havs 
any  thing  to  do  with  it ;  but  we  are  children  ef  tk0 
free-woman— Andhxve  the  privilege  of  being  called 
into  a  state  of  liberty  under  the  spiritual  cove- 
nant of  the  gospel,  being  free  from  the  cuise  and 
bond  of  the  law,  and  from  the  power  of  sin  and 
Satan. 


CHAPTER  V, 

h^  this  eioftsr  thi  apsstte  sfplics  ike  preeeihtg  diseomrse  in  an  earnest  exhortatuMjetrfareedh^  se9eraiargmuntetil,yTs 

,  stami  fast  in  OeUbertfefihe  gospel,  1-lS.    (2,)  To  heware  of  ahueing  that  liberty,  by  indnlging  smfiU  tempers,  eoih 

trasyto  ike  great  law  of  Um,  13-15.    (^)  To  walk  m  tke  Spirit,  and  not  fulfil  tke  bteta  of  tke  flesh ;  tke  natare  ami 

r  are  rnressnisi  as  altcgetker  taiOrary,  16-30. 
19)  880  b 


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Depending  on  Ai  loif, 


BAhkTUjni. 


ihiif  were  fallen  from  grmm. 


A.  M.  4008.  CTAND  &8t  therefore  in  ^iheUbep- 
ty  wherewith  ChriBt  hath  nuide 


ua  ftee,  and  be  not  entangled  again  ^with  the 
yoke  of  bondage. 

2  Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  yoq,  that  *if  ye  be 
circumcised,  Christ  shall  profit  you  nolhing. 


•  Joho  riii.  38 ;  Rom.  vi.  16 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  16.- 
Chtp,  ii.  4 ;  ir.  9. 


■>  Acts  XT.  10; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 

Verse  1.  Standfast  therefore  in  the  liberty,  &c.— 
Hie  apostle  (chap. ,  ill.)  having,  from  Ahraham's 
justification  by  faith,  proved,  1st,  That  all  who  be- 
lieve in  Chris^  and  in  the  promises  of  God  through 
him,  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  whom  God  in  the 
covenant  promised  to  justify  by  faith :  2d,  Hiat  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  was  given  long  after  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenant,  could  neither  annul  nof  alter  that 
covenant,  by  introducing  a  method  of  justification 
diflbrent  from  that  which  was  so  solemnly  established 
thereby :  3d,  That  men  are  heirs  of  the  heavenly 
country,  of  which  Canaan  was  the  type,  not  meri- 
toriously, by  obedience  to  the  law,  but  by  the  free 
gift  of  God:  4th,  That  the  law  was  given  to  the  Is- 
raelites, not  to  justify  them,  but  to  restrain  them 
from  transgressions,  and  by  making  them  sensible 
of  their  sins,  and  of  the  demerit  thereof,  to  lead  them 
to  Christ  for  justification:  further,  having  (chap,  iv.) 
observed  that  the  method  of  justification  by  fkith, 
established  at  the  fall,  was  not  universally  published 
in  the  first  ages,  by  immediately  introducing  the 
gospel,  because  the  state  of  the  world  did  not  admit 
thereof  3  and  because  it  was  proper  that  mankind 
should  remain  a  while  under  the  tuition  of  the  light 
of  nature,  and  of  the  law  of  Moses:  also,  having 
declared  that  the  supernatural  procreation  of  Isaac, 
and  his  birth  in  a  state  of  freedom,  was  intended  to 
typify  the  supernatural  generation  of  Abraham's 
teed  by  faith,  and  their  freedom  from  the  bondage 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  as  a  term  of  salvation:  the 
apoi«le,  in  this  6th  chapter,  as  th^  application  of  hb 
whole  doctrme,  exhorts  the  Galatian  believers  td 
stand  faet  in  that  freedom  from  the  Moinuc  law 
Which  had  been  obtained  for  them  by  Christ,  and 
was  announced  to  them  by  the  gospel;  and  not  to 
be  entangled  again  with,  or  held  fast  in,  (as  eptxetr^e 
may  be  rendered,)  the  yoke  of  Jewish  l>ondage,  as 
if  It  were  necessary  to  salvation.  ''The  apostle, 
though  writing  to  the  Gentiles,  might  say.  Be  not 
again  held  fast  in  the  yoke  of  bondage,  because  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  he  was  cautioning  them  to 
avoid,  was  a  yoke  of  the  same  kind  with  that  under 
which  they  had  groaned  while  heathen.  By  this 
precept,  the  apostle  likewise  conden^ns  the  supersti- 
tious bodily  services  enjoined  by  the  Church  of 
Rome,  which  are  really  of  the  same  nature  with 
those  prescribed  by  Moses,  with  this  difference,  that 
none  of  them  are  of  divine  appointment"— Mac- 
teight 

Verses  2-1  j9eAoZ(^  /  Pou^— A  divinely-commis- 
rioned  apostle  of  Christ;  say,  thai  if  ye  he  circum- 
cited— And  seek  to  be  justified  by  that  rite,  or  if  you 
880 


3  For  I  teedfy  again  to  ev^  man  a.  if.«Mi 

that  is  drcumciaed,  '  that  he  is  a  ^-LJ. — 


debUNT  to  do  the  whole  law. 
4  *  Christ  is  become  ofnoefiect  unto  you,  wlMh 
soever  of  you  are  justified  by  the  law ;  ^ye  an 
fitUen  from  grace. 


e  Act*  XV. 


1 ;  xvi.  3. *  Chap,  iii,  10. • 

Chap.  iL  21. ' lleb.  xii.  15. 


Rom.  iz.  31, 31 ; 


depend  on  any  part  of  the  ceremonial  law,  as  your 
ri^teousness,  and  necessary  to  salvation ;  Christ — 
The  Christian  institution ;  wiU  profit  you  nothing^^ 
For  you  thereby  disclaim  Christ,  and  all  the  bless- 
ings which  are  received  by  faith  in  him.  /  testify 
again — As  I  have  done  heretofore ;  to  every  man — 
Every  Gentile;  thai  suffers  himself  to  be  circxtmr 
cised  now,  being  ^  heathen  before,  that  he  is  a  d^tor 
— That  he  obliges  himself;  to  do  the  tthole  laic — 
Perfectly;  and  if  he  fail,  he  subjects  himself  to  the 
curse  of  it  It  is  necessary  that  Ihe  apostle^s  gene- 
ral  expression.  If  you  be,  circumcised,  Christ  will 
profit  you  nothing,  should  be  thus  limited ;  because 
we  cannot  suppose  that  the  circumcision  of  the 
Jewish  believers  incapacitated  them  for  being  pro- 
fited by  Christ.  Besides,  "  as  the  preservation  of 
Abraham's  posterity,  as  a  distinct  people  from  the 
rest  of  mankind,  answered  many  important  purposes 
in  the  divine  government,  their  olxservance  of  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  declared  by  God  himself  to  be 
the  seal  of  hb  covenant  with  Abraham,  was  necessary 
to  mark  them  as  his  descendants,  as  long  as  it  was 
determined  that  they  should  be  continued  a  distinct 
people.  This  shows  that  the  apostle's  declaration  is 
not  to  be  considered  as  a  prohibition  of  circumcision 
to  the  Jews  as  a  national  rite^  but  as  ante  necessary  to 
salvation.  And  therefore,  while  the  Jews  practised 
this  rite,  according  to  its  original  intention,  for  the 
purpose  of  distinguishing  themselves  as  Abraham's 
descendants,  and  not  for  obtaining  salvation,  they  did 
what  was  right.  But  the  Gentiles,  not  being  of  Abra- 
ham's race,  were  under  no  political  obligation  to  cir- 
cumcise themselves;  consequently,  if  they  received 
that  rite,  it  must  have  been  because  they  thought  it 
necessary  to  their  salvation ;  for  which  reason  the 
apostle  absolutelyMohibited  it  to  all  the  Gentiles." — 
Macknight  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you 
—See  on  chap.  ii.  21.  Or,  as  the  original  expression, 
KaTifpyij&jyre  «nro  r»  Xp«r»,  may  be  properly  rendered, 
Ye  are  loosed,  or  separated  from  Christ,  and  de- 
prived of  the  benefit  you  might  have  received  from 
him.  The  Vulgate  hath,  Vacui  estis  a  Christo^ 
Ye  are  devoid  of  Christ;  whosoever  of  you  are 
justified—TYkgLi  is,  v^o  seek  to  be  justified;  by  the 
lawy  ye  are  fallen  from  grace — Ye  renounce  the  co- 
venant of  grace  in  this  last  and  most  perfect  manifest^ 
ation  of  it:  you  disclaim  the  benefit  of  Christ's  gra- 
cious dispensation.  The  apostle's  meaning  is,  thai 
whosoever  sought  to  be  justified  meritoriously  by 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  for  that  purpose  received  eir- 
comcision,  dissolved  his  connection  with  Christ,  aad 
renounced  all  relation  to,  and  depoAdance  oa^lumas 
a  Saviour. 


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CHAPTER  T. 


faitk  working  by  love. 


A.K.4oel    5  For  we  through  the  Spirit  fwah 
'. — L  for  the  hope  of  righteousnesa  by  ftith. 

6  For  ^m  Jesus  Ohrist  neither  drcumcisioii 
availeth  any  thing,  nor  undrcumeiaicm ;  but 
^fiuch  whidi  worfceth  by  lore. 

7  Ye  ^did  run  wdl;  *who  *did  hindtf  you 
that  ye  shouki  not  obey  the  truth  ? 

8  This  persuask>n  cometh  notof  him  "that 
callethyou. 


f  Rom.  viii.  34, 25 ;  2  Tim.  ir.  8. — ^  1  Cor.  vii.  19 ;  Chap,  iii, 

38;  tLIS;  Cd.  iii.  U *  1  ThoM.  i.  3 ;  James  ii. i8^ 20, S3. 

*lCor.  ix.  34. *Cnap.  iii.  1. ^Or,  who  did  drive ytmhack? 


Verses  5,  6.  For  lOtf— Who  belieVe  In  Christ,  and 
are  his  true  disciples,  having  been  savingly  enlight- 
ened in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth ;  do,  through  the 
influences  of  the  jS^rit— Without  any  of  these  car- 
nal ordinances '/  wait  for — In  sure  confidence  of  ob- 
taining ;  Hie  hope  of  righteottmesS'-ThdLt  is,  the 
righteousness  we  hope  for,  and  the  full  reward  of  it ; 
by  faith — The  only  way  in  which  these  blessings 
can  be  attained;  for  it  is  through  faith  that  we  re- 
ceive this  righteousness  of  God,  Phil.  iii.  9;  and  by 
laith  we  shall  obtain  the  reward.  For  in  Christ 
Jesus — ^According  to  the  institutiim  which  he  hath 
established,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  Christian 
covenant,  or  with  reiq[>ect  to  our  having  an  interest 
in  and  union  with  him  5  neither  circumcision — With 
the  most  punctual  observance  of  the  law;  nor  un- 
ctrcumctmn— With  the  most  exact  heaven  moral- 
ity; arai/«tft  any  thing-^To  our  present  justifica- 
tion or  eternal  salvation;  but  faith  alone,  even  that 
laith  which  woirketh  by  lote — That  persuasion  of, 
and  confidence  in,  the  love  of  Ood  tons,  manifested 
in  his  giving  Christ  to  die  for  us,  and  in  pardoning 
and  accepting  us  through  Christ,  which  produces  in 
us  loVe  to  God  in  return ;  and  obedience,  the  fruit 
of  this  love,  and  which  worketh  in  us  all  inward 
holiness,  and  worketh  by  us  all  outward  holiness. 
''The  account  which  the  apostie  here  gives  us  of 
ihitb,"  says  Macknight,  ''deserves  attention.  He 
does  not  say  that  it  consists  in  the  mere  speculative 
belief  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  nor  in  a  confident 
persuasion,  taken  up  any  how,  that  we  are  actually 
Justified,  or  that  Christ  hath  died  for  us  in  particu- 
lar. These  things  are  nowhere  in  Scripture  repre- 
sented as  constituting  justifying  faith;  and  they  who 
trust  to  them  dehnde  themselves.  The  faith  which 
is  counted  for  righteousness,  according  to  St  Paul, 
is  such  a  belief  [In  Christ  and]  the  tmth,  as  worketh 
in  the  mind  of  the  believer  by  love,  and  maketh  him 
a  new  creature,  chap.  vi.  15.  The  apostle  called 
the  attention  of  the  Galatians  to  this  operation  of 
faith,  because  they  were  deficient  in  love  to  each 
other,  chap.  v.  15." 

Verses  7-10.  Ye  did  run  wetlr^ln  the  race  of 
faith,  love,  and  obedience ;  inr  true,  genuine  Chris- 
tianity ;  believing  its  truths,  experiencing  its  graces, 
enjojing  its  privileges,  performing  its  duties.  Hie 
exercises  of  fiddi  and  holiness,  enjoined  in  the  gos- 
pel, are  often  hi  Scripture  compared  to  the  aneieqt 
athletic  exercises  of  the  Gteeks^  espeeiaay  to  the 


9  *A  little  leaven  leav^ieth  the  A.M.4oe3. 
whole  lump.  ^  ^'^ 

,  10  "*  I  have  confidence  in  you  through  the 
Lord,  that  ye  Will  be  none  otherwise  minded : 
but  ^  he  that  trouUeth  you  <i  shall  hear  his  judg- 
mMit,  whoBoever  he  be. 

11  'And  I,  brethren,  if  I  yet  preach  circum* 
cisioD,  ■  why  do  I  yet  suffer  persecudon  ?  then 
is  ^  the  <^ence  of  the  cio^  ceased. 


■Chapter  i.  6. »1  Cor.  y.  S;  jnr.  33. "2  Cor.  ii.  3; 

Tiu.  S2.*— 4»0hap.  i.  7. 12  Cor.  x.  C. 'Chap.   vL   12L 

■  1  Cor.  XV.  30;  Chap.  It.  29 ;  vi.  17. *  1  Cor.  i.  23. 


race;  because  in  that  exercise  the  greatest  exertions 
of  activity  and  strength  were  necessary  to  obtain  the 
prize,  Heb.  xii.  1.  Who  did  hinder  you — Who  hath 
interrupted  you  in  that  good  course ;  that  ye  should 
not  continue  to  obey  the  truth  ? — In  this  question  the 
apostle  does  not  ask  who  the  person  was  that  had 
put  a  stop  to  them ;  but  he  expresses  his  surprise 
and  grief  at  their  being  stopped.  This  persuasion — 
Concerning  the  Mosaic  law,  and  the  necessity  of  ob- 
serving it  in  order  to  your  justification  and  salvation ; 
cometh  not  of  God,  who  calleth  you— To  his  kingdom 
and  glory.  A  little  leaven^-U  it  be  suffered  to  con* 
tinue;  leavenetli  tJie  whole  lump — Operates  unseen, 
till  it  difiuses  itself  on  every  side:  that  is,  a  Httle 
false  doctrine  may  soon  corrupt  the  judgment  in 
other  points,  and  a  small  number  of  seduced  persons 
may  soon  infect  the  whole  church.  It  is  a  proverb- 
ial expression,  in  which  the  pernicious  and  infec- 
tious nature  of  erroneous  doctrine  and  vicious  exam- 
ple is  set  forth.  Hence  our  Lord  gave  the  name  of 
leaven  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  And  Saddu- 
cees,  Matt.  xvK  11, 12.  The  same  niame  the  apostle 
gives  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Judaizing  teachers  in  this 
passage,  and  to  the  incestuous  person,  1  Cor.  v.  7.. 
Yet  I  have  confidence  in  yot^— That,  on  reading  this, 
and  being  thus  warned  of  your  danger ;  you  will  be  no 
otherwise  minded — Than  I  aiii,  and  ye  were,  concern- 
ing the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith ;  but  he  that 
troubleth  you — And  would  pervert  your  minds  from 
the  purity  of  the  faith ;  shall  bear  his  judgment— A 
heavy  burden,  already  hanging  over  his  head.  The 
apostle  seems  to  refer  to  one  person  chiefly,  as  en- 
deavouring to  seduce  them. 

Verses  1 1,  12.  And  I,  brethren— U,  as  my  enemies 
insinuate ;  I  yet  preach  ciraMicisior^— As  necessary 
to  salvation,  and  urge  it  upon  the  believing  Gentiles; 
why  do  I  yet  svffer  persecution — From  the  Jews, 
as  one  apostatized  from  their  religion?  Probably 
the  person  that  troubled  them  took,  occasion,  from 
Paul's  having  circumcised  Timothy,  to  aiffirm  that 
he  preached  the  necessity  of  submitthig  to  that  rite. 
T%en  is  the  offence  of  the  cross  ceased-^The  grand 
reason  why  the  Jews  were  so  offended  at  his  preach- 
ing Christ  crucified,  and  so  bitterly  persecuted  him 
for  it,  was,  that  it  implied  the  abolition  of  the  cere- 
monial law.  Yet  St  Paul  did  not  condemn  the  con- 
forming, out  of  condescension  to  the  weakness  of 
any  one,  to  that  law;  but  he  did  even  absolutely 
condemn  those  who  taught  that  this  was  necessary 
!»1 


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GALATIAN& 


7%e  wMa  ofiheflmk  eimmerai^' 


A.  M.  4003.    12  ^  I  would  thej  were  even  cut  off 
^'^'^'    «  which  trouble  you. 

13  For,  brethren,  ye  bare  been  called  unto 
liberty ;  only  ^use  not  liberty  ictt  an  occasion 
to  the  flesh,  but  *by  love  serve  one  another. 

14  For  *  all  the  law  is  fidfiUed  in  cme  word, 
even  in  this,  ^  Thou  dialt  love  thy  neighbour 
a9  thjrself. 

15  But  if  ye  bite  and  devour  one  another,  take 
heed  that  ye  be  not  consumed  one  of  another. 

16  *  7Ai9 1  say  then, «  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and 


•Josh.  TiL  25;  1  Cor.  t.13;  Chap.  i.  8,9. >  AcU  zr.  1, 2, 

9i.— ^y  1  Cor.  riii.  9;  1  Pet.  it  16;  2  Pet.  ii  19;  Jude  4. 
■  1  Corinthiant  ix.  19 ;  Chap.  ri.  2.— — »  Matthew  vii.  12 :  xxii 


40;  James  ii.  8.< 
Romana  zUL  8, 9. 


Lenfcicas  ziz.  18 ;  Matthew  xziL  39 ; 


to  justification.  /  would  they  were  even  ad  off— 
From  your  communion;  east  out  of  your  church; 
that  thus  trouble  you-^^^  It  by  no  means  agrees  with 
the  gentle  genius  of  Christianity,  to  suppose  that 
the  apostie  should  mean  by  this,  that  he  wished 
them  dead,  or  wished  that  any  bodily  evil  were  in- 
flicted upon  them  by  human  violence.  All  argu« 
menti^  therefore,  which  are  drawn  from  this  text,  in 
favour  of  persecuting  principles,  must  be  very  in- 
conclusive.'^-^Doddridge. 

Verses  13-15.  Ye  have  been  coWcdl— By  the  gos- 
pel ;  into  K6«r/y— Prom  the  bondage  of  the  Mosaic 
ceremonies,  as  well  as  of  sin  and  misery:  only  use 
not  liberty  for  an  occasion  of  the  ftesh-Bo  as  to 
nourish  or  gratify  any  corrupt  principle  in  your- 
selves or  others.  But  by  love  serve  one  another — 
Use  your  liberty  as  may  best  manifest  your  love  to 
your  neighbour,  seeking  his  edification,  or  at  least 
doing  nothing  contrary  thereto,  Rom.  xiv.  13,  15, 
And  hereby  show  that  Christ  has  made  you  free  in- 
deed. For  all  the  law — With  which  we  believers 
in  Christ  have  any  concern ;  is  fulfilled  in  one  word 
— Or  precept ;  even  in  this.  Thou  shaU  love  thy  neigh- 
bour  as  thyself-^lntmraach  as  none  can  do  this  with- 
out loving  God,  (1  John  iv.  12,)  and  the  lovp  of  God 
and  man  includes  all  perfection.  But  if— On  the 
contrary,  fjtom  your  zeal  for,  or  your  zeal  against, 
the  Mosaic  ceremonies,  and  in  consequence  of  the  di- 
visions which  those  troublers  have  occasioned  among 
you;  ye  bite  and  devour  one  another— By  evil 
speaking,  railing,  and  clamour ;  take  heed  that  ye  be 
not  consumed  one  of  another— Thai  your  divisions 
do  not  end  in  the  total  destruction  of  religion  among 
you,  and  the  entire  rum  of  your  church :  for  it  is 
certain,  by  these  mutual  contentions,  you  take  the 
readiest  way  to  produce  these  effects.  By  bitter- 
ness, strife,  and  contention,  men's  health  and 
strength,  both  of  body  and  soul,  are  consumed,  as 
well  as  their  substance  and  reputation. 

Verses  16-18.  isay  ^len — ^He  now  explains  what 
he  proposed  verse  13 ;  Walk  in,  or  by,  the  Spirit — 
Namely,  the  Spirit  of  God :  follow  his  guidance,  ex- 
ercise his  graces,  and  bring  forth  his  fruits :  at  all 
times  endeavour  to  conduct  yourselves  as  under  his 
980 


'ye  shaU  not  fulfil  the  lusl  of  the  A.M. 
flesh.  ^"^^ 


17  For  'the  flesh  histeth  against  the  Spirit, 
anil  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh :  and  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  the  other;  *  00  that  ye  caik- 
not  do  the  things  thai  ye  would. 

18  But  'if  ye  be  led  by  the  Spirit,  ye  are  not 
under  the  Iaw« 

19  Now  'the  works  of  the  flesh  are  manifisst, 
winch  are  these ;  Adultery,  fornication,  undean- 
ness,  hflciviousness. 


•FouiUentk 
25. 'Rom. 


^entk  9mday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  Tene  IS  to  Tene 
om.  vi.  12;  riii.  1,  4.  12;  ziii.  14 ;  Veise  25 ;  1  PeC 

ii.  11. *  Or,  Jidfil  not. *  Rom.  YiL  23 ;  viii.  6, 7. •  Roni. 

Tii.  15,  IS.-' — '  Rom.  ri.  14 ;  viii.  2. f  1  Cor.  iti.  3 ;  EpiL 

T.  3;  CoL  iii.  5 ;  James  iiL  14,  15. 


influence,  and  in  a  way  agreeable  to  the  new  nature 
he  hath  given  you.  We  widk  by  the  Spirit,  when 
we  are  led,  that  is,  directed  and  governed  by  him  us 
a  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace,  of  wisdom  and  hoUncss. 
And  we  walk  in  the  Spirit  when,  bemg  united  to 
him,  or,  rather,  inhabited  by  him,  we  walk  in  faith, 
hope,  and  love,  and  in  the  other  graces,  mentioned 
verse  22.  And  ye  shall  not  fvifil  the  lust  of  the 
flesh— Ye  will  not  gratify  any  sinful  appetite  or 
passion,  any  corrupt  principle  of  your  nature  or  dis- 
position, which  may  yet  have  place  inr  you ;  such  as 
envy,  malice,  anger,  or  revenge.  For  the  flesh  lust- 
etJ^—Eiri^fut,  desireth;  against  the  Spirit— Yomt 
corrupt  nature,  as  far  as  it  remains  corrupt,  and  is 
unrenewed,  has  inclinations  and  affections  which  are 
contrary  to,  and  oppose  the  operations  and  graces 
of  the  Spirit  of  God:  and  the  Spirit  against  the 
flesh— The  Holy  Spirit,  on  his  part,  opposes  your 
evil  nature,  and  all  3rour  corrupt  inclinations  and 
passions.  TViese—The  fledi  and  the  Spirit;  are 
contrary  to  each  otlier— There  can  he  no  agreement 
between  them:  so  that  ye  cannot  do,  &Cw — Ghreek, 
iva  fiti,  a  av  ^n^rfre,  ravra  irotrjn,  that  what  things  you 
would,  or  may  desire,  or  incline  to,  these  ycu  may 
not  do,  that  in,  connecting  it  with  the  clause  im- 
mediately preceding,  "though  the  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  spirit,  yet  (he  Spirit  desireth  against 
and  opposes  the  flesh;  that,  being  thus  strengthen- 
ed by  the  Spirit,  ye  may  not  do  the  things  ye  would 
do  if  the  Spirit  did  not  thus  assist  you.''  This  seems 
to  be  the  genuine  sense  of  the  passage.  But  if  ye 
be  led  by  the  Spirit-^W  liberty  and  love,  into  all 
holiness ;  ye  are  not  under  the  curse  or  bondage  of 
the  Zoir— Not  under  the  guilt  or  power  of  sin. 

Verses  Id-ai.  Now  the  works  of  the  flesh— By 
which  that  inward  corrupt  principle  is  discorfercd ; 
are  manifest— Axe  plain  and  undeniable.  He  sa3rs 
works,  in  the  plural,  because  those  of  the  flesh  are 
distinct  from,  and  often  inconsistent  with  each  other. 
But  the  fntit  of  the  Spirit  is  mentioned  in  the  singu- 
lar, (verse  22,)  the  graces  thereof  being  all  consist- 
ent, and  connected  together.  Which  are  these— fie 
enumerates  those  works  of  the  flesh  to  which  the 
Galatians  were  most  hiqUned,  and  those  parte  of  the 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


The  fruit  cfihe  SpiHL 


A.  M.  4063. 
A.D.  Sa 


80  Idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  va- 
riance, emulations,  wrath,  strife,  sedi- 


tions, 

21    Envyings,  murders,  drunkenness,  revd- 
lingjs,  and  such  like :  of  .the  which  I  tell  you 

^  1  Cor.  Ti.  9 ;  Eph.  ▼.  5 ;  Col.  iii.  6 ;  Rev.  xzii.  15.-*->  John 
Z¥.  2 ;  Eph.  T.  0. 


fnilt  of  tbe  Spirit  of  which  they  stood  in  the 
greatest  need ;  aduUery — A  crime  to  be  considered 
in  the  firet  rank  of  enormities,  as  being  the  most  pre- 
judicial to  society,  destroying  conjugal  happiness, 
introducing  confusion  an4  ruin  into  Hemiilies,  alien- 
ating the  affection  of  parents  from  their  children, 
causing  them  to  neglect  their  education ;  forHica' 
Uon — ^Which,  how  light  soever  heathen  may  make 
it,  is  in  the  sight  of  God  a  very  grievous  offence ; 
Vincleanne8B--^i  every  kind  and  degree;  laacivi- 
mune$8 — All  immodesty,  as  the  indulging  of  wan- 
ton thoughts,  and  reading  lascivious  books.  The 
Greek  word  means  any  thing,  inward  or  outward, 
that  is  contrary  to  chastity;  idolatry — The  wor- 
shipping of  iddLB'f  this  sin  is  justly  reckoned  among 
the  works  of  the  flesh,  because  the  worship  paid  to 
many  of  the  gods  consisted  in  the  most  impure 
fleshly  gratifications;  vdtchcraft'-Or  sorcery,  as 
Macknight  renders  ^apftaiceia,  obsenring,  that  the  ex- 
j^reesion  ^  being  placed  immediately  after  idolatry, 
means  those  arts  of  incantation  and  charming,  and 
all  the  pretended  communications  with  invisible  and 
m^ignant  powers,  whereby  the  heathen  pilests  pro- 
moted the  reverence  and  worship  of  their  idol  gods, 
and  enriched  themselves.  In  this  sense  the  word  is 
used  concerning  Babylon,  (Rev.  5cviii.  23,)  «v  nt  <^p- 
fuoceta  w,  By  thy  Borcery  were  aU n<U{on$ deceived; 
that  is,  by  a  variety  of  wicked  arts  and  cheats,  the 
nations  were  deluded  to  support  Babylon  in  her 
idolatries  and  corruptions.  Halred-^Or  enmities,  as 
iX^pai  signifies ;  variance — Epe<f ,  strifes ;  emulations 
— Transports  of  ill-placed  and  ill-proportioned  zeal; 
wrath — Ovftoij  resentments;  epi^eiai,  contentions^ 
as  the  word  appears  here  to  signify ;  seditions—Or 
divisions^  in  domestic  or  civil  matters;  heresies— 
Parties  formed  in  religious  communities ;  who,  in- 
stead of  maintaining  ti^e  candor  and  benevolence, 
renounce  atul  condemn  each  other.  Envyings— 
Frequently  manifesting  themselves  against  the  pros- 
perity and  success  of  others;  murders — Which  are 
often  the  effect  of  such  evil  dispositions  and  practices 
as  those  above  mentioned;  and,  to  complete  the 
catalogue,  all  kinds  of  irregular  self-indulgence,  and 
partkkilarly  drumkemesB—YnMYk  renders  a  man 
worse  than  a  beast;  and  those  disorderly  and  glut" 
tonous  reve^jtfi^s— Or  luxurious  entertainments,  by 
which  the  rational  powers  are,  in  a  great  measure, 
exUnguished,  or,  at  least,  rendered  incapd>le  of  per- 
ibnaing  their  ofiftces  in  a  proper  manner.  Some  of 
the  works  here  mentioned  are  wrought  principiEdly, 
if  not  entic^y,  in  the  mind,  and  yet  they  are  called 
works  of  tbeJlssK  Hence  it  is  clear  that  the  apos- 
tle does  not,  by  the  fleshy  mean  the  body,  or  sensual 
a^titas  and  inclihations  only,  but  the  comqption 


befinre,  as  I  havealso  told  you  in  time  A.  M.40«s. 
past,  that  ^  they  which  do  such  things    '^^'^ 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 
22  But '  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peacci 
long-suffering,  ^  gentleness, "  goodness, "  fiiith, 


k  OoL  iii  12 ;  James  iii.  17. 1  Romant  zr.  14.'- 

9uii7. 


•iCor. 


of  human  nature,  as  it  spreads  through  all  the  pow- 
ers of  the  soul,  as  well  as  the  members  of  the  body ; 
of  which  I  tell  you  6e/bre— Before  the  event ;  I.  fore- 
warn you;  as  I  have  told  you  also  in  titnepast — 
When  I  was  present  with  you ;  that  they  who  do 
such  things — Who  are  guilty  of  such  evU  practices; 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  &od— Whatever 
zeal  they  may  pretend  for  the  externals  of  religion, 
in  any  of  the  forms  of  it    Awful  declaration ! 

Verses  22,  23.  But  the  fruit  of  the  Sgnrit^ne 
says  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  to  signify  that  tne  graces 
here  mentioned  are  the  natural,  genuine  product  of 
the  influences  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  mind  of  man. 
It  is  not  possible  to  give  a  higher  praise  to  any  tem- 
per of  mind,  or  course  of  life,  than  to  say,  it  is  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  is  love— To  God,  his 
people,  and  all  mankind,  the  source  of  all  the  other 
fruits;  joy—Axiamg  from  a  sense  of  the  remission 
of  sins,  of  the  favour  of  God,  of  adoption  into  his 
family,  and  being  constituted  his  children  and  his 
heirs ;  from  a  lively  hope  of  the  heavenly  inherit- 
ance, the  testimony  of  a  conscience  void  of  offence 
toward  God  and  man,  (2  Cor.  i.  12^)  communion  with 
God,  and  an  earnest  of  heaven  in  our  hearts.  Peace 
—Namely,  with  God,  and^  in  our  own  consciences, 
and  a  disposition,  as  far  as  possible,  to  live  peaceably 
with  all  men;  long-buffering— Hhsi  is,  patience  in 
bearing  with  the  infirmities,  and  faults,  and  even  in- 
juries of  others;  gentleness— Towtad  all  men,  ig- 
norant and  wicked  men  in  particular,  implying 
sweetness  of  speech  and  manners;  goodness— A 
benevolent  and  beneficent  disposition,  with  all  that 
is  kind,  soft,  winning,  and  tender,. cither  in  temper 
or  behaviour,  as  the  Greek  word  ayai^ucw^  implies ; 
faith— Or  rv^her  fldelity,  as  the  woird  here  evidcptly 
signifies,  namely,  m  engagemenU,  promises,  and 
trusts,  or  what  we  call  good  faith  and  uprightness 
in  men's  dealings,  neither.  In  any  instance,  imposing 
upon  others,  nor  failing  in  any  of  those  engage- 
ments  which  it  is  in  our  power  to  fulfil ;  meekness — 
Or  cahnness  under  provocations,  holding  all  thcef- 
fections  and  passions  in  an  even  balance ;  temper- 
ance—Jn  the  use  of  meats  and  drinks,  and  all  ani- 
mal gratifications:  Against  such  holy  and  happy 
dispositions,  there  is  no  law— By  this  observation, 
the  apostle  intimates  that  the  graces  and  virtues 
here  mentioned  are  so  manifestly  excellent,  that 
they  not  only  never  were  forbidden  by  any  human 
law,  but  Aat  there  never  hath  been  any  natk>n 
whieh  did  not  acknowledge  their  excellence,  and 
give  proofs  that  they  did  so,  by  making  them  ob- 
jects either  of  their  public  or  their  private  institu- 
tions. And  those  who  in  the  general^xmrse  of  their 
lives  l»ing  forth  these  amiable  and  benign  fruits  of 


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A.  M.  4062. 
A.D.  68. 


23  Meekness,  temperaiice :  '^against 
such  there  is  no  law. 
24  And  they  that  are  Chrises  *^have  crocified 
the  flesh,  with  the  ^  affections  and  lusts. 


■  I  Tiro.  L  9. »  Rom.  Ti.  6 ;  adii.  14 ;  G^,  ii.  20 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  11. 


the  Spirit,  are^by  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  freed  from 
the  condemning  sentence  of  the  divine  law. 

Verse  24.  And  they  that  are  CfW^r*— Who  are 
true  believers  in  him,  and  therefore  possessed  of 
union  with  him,  and  shall  be  teaUy  owned  as  be- 
longing to  him ;  have  ^yntcified  the  flesh—Hwt 
doomed  it  to  a  certain  death,  like  the  body  of  one 
that  is  nailed  to  a  cross,  and  left  to  expire  upon  it; 
with  the  affections  and  lusts— AXL  its  evil  passions, 
appetites,  and  inclinations.  The  word  affections^ 
or  passions,  as  wa&tjftara  should  rather  be  rendered, 
as  distingnished  from  the  lusts  of  tJie  flesh,  are  pride, 
self-will,  discontent^  anger,  malice,  erwy,  revenge, 
"This  is  a  beantifiil  and  affecting  allusion  to  our 
Lord's  sufferings  on  the  cross,  ^e  restraining  of 
our  fleshly  lusts  may  be  v«ry  painful  to  us,  as  the 
word  crucify  implies.  But  the  same  word,  by  put- 
ting us  in  mind  of  Ofarisfs  suffering  much  greater 
pain  for  us,  touches  all  the  generous  feelings  of  the 
heart,  and  excites  us,  from  gratitude  to  him,  to  dis- 
regard the  pain  which  so  necessary  a  duty  may  oc- 
casion to  us." 

Verses  25,  25.  If  we  live  in,  or  by,  the  Spirit- 
If  we  are  indeed  raised  from  the  death  of  sin,  and 
made  alive  to  God  by  the  operation  of  hisSpirit,  and 
if  this  sphitoal  life  is  continued  to  us  by  his  indwell 


26  nf  we  five  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  ^^^^^ 
also  walk  in  the  Spirit  '. — 

26  4  Let  us  not  be  desirous  of  vain  glory, 
provoking  one  another,  envying  one  another.' 


•Or, 


pRom.  Tiii.  4,  5 ;  Vone  la «i  PhiL  ii.  3. 


ing  presence  in  our  liouls ;  let  us  walk  by  and  m  the 
Spirit-^Being  under  his  influence,  and  following  him 
guidance  in  all  our  thoaghts,  tempers,  words,  and 
actions.  See  on  verse  16.  Let  us  not  be  desinmB 
o/iHim^tory--Of thepraiseoresteemofmen.  They 
who  do  not  carefuUy  and  closely  ft^ow  the  draw- 
ings, and  attend  to  the  leadings,  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
easily  slide  tnio  this:  the  natural  effects  of  which 
are  provoking  to  envy  them  that  are  beneath  us, 
and  envying  them  that  are  above  Us.  Reader,  ait 
thou  indeed  a  true  believer  in  Christ?  and  dost  thou, 
therefore,  live  in  the  Spirit  of  God,  so  that  his  gra- 
cious influences  are  the  very  life  ck  thy  soul?  then 
make  it  thy  care  also  to  walk  in  the  Spirit,  to  regu- 
late every  action  of  thy  life,  and  every  sentiment  erf 
thy  heart,  by  a  becoming  regard  to  him;  guarding 
solicitously  against  any  thing  that  wonld  grieve  him, 
and  encouraging  those  friendly  offices  of  his,  by 
which  thou  mayest  be  trained  up  in  a  growing  meet- 
ness  for  the  society  of  the  blessed  spirits  above,  and 
for  that  world  where  ^the  polluted  flesh,  the  eor- 
ruptible  body,  having  been  laid  aude  fw  a  season, 
shall  be  raised  as  pure  as  it  shall  be  glorious,  in  the 
image  of  that  Saviour  whose  discipline  teaches  xm 
to  seek  the  victory  over  it,  and  whose  grace  enal^ea 
us  to  obtain  it. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Here  the  apo$tU  (1,)  Fwrtuet  hts  praeticdl  exhortations,  especiaUy  enforcing  mutual  love,  and  a  care  of  each  other,  wkk 
humilUy  and  a  seal  for  doing  good,  1-10.  (^%)  Represents  the  temper  and  victot  of  the  Judaixing  teachers,  and  contrasts 
therewith  his  own,  that  the  Galatians  might  see  hoyf  little  reason  they  had  to  esUem  them,  and  sUghthim;  declaring  withal 
the  indifference  of  drcumcision  or  uncircumcision,  and  pressing  them  to  adhere  strictly  to  that  gospel  for  which  he  had 
himself  suffered  so  much,  1 1-18. 

A.  M,  40Q2.  -DRETHREN,  » if  ^  a  man  be  over 

A.  D.  58,     X>   ^    ,  .  -     ,, 

taken    m   a  mult,  ye 


are  spiritual,  restore    such    a    one 


'^  which 
in    the 


*  Romans  ar.  1 ;  xr.  1 :  Hebrews  xii.  13;  Jsmes  r.  19. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 
Verse  1.  Brethren,  if  a  man  be  overtaken  in-- 
Qreek,  ^pohf4ff$jf,  surprised  into  ;  aybttZ^—- Through 
his  ignorance,  inattention,  or  the  stress  of  tempta- 
tion, not  considering  sufllciently  What  he  is  going  to 
do;  ye  who  cure  spiritual—Who  have  received  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  grace,  and  wisdom,  and  who  continue 
to  live  and  walk  by  and  in  the  Spirit ;  restore  such  a 
one — By  reproof,,  instruction,  or  exhortation.  Every 
one  who  can,  ought  to  help  therein;  only  in  the 
qnril  ofmsekness^Qenilen^B,  and  love:  qualities 
9M 


spirit     of     meekness,      considering  a.h 

thyself,  *  leet  thou    also  be  tempt- '- — - 

ed. 


»» 1  Cor.  ii.  16;  iii.  1. ^  1  Cor.  W.  21 ;  2  Timothy  ii. ! 

*lCor.vii.5;  x.  12. 


essential  to  a  spiritnal  man,  and  on  these  lies  Che 
whole  force  of  the  cure.  Considering  thyself— Tb» 
plural  is  beautifully  changed  into  the  singular.  As 
if  he  had  said.  Let  each  take  heed  to  himself;  lest 
thou  also  be  tempted-^ThvtX  is,  faU  by  temptation  / 
which,  being  stiU  in  the  body,  thou  art  liable  to  do, 
and  therefore  may  st^nd  in  need  of  the  same  kind 
office  from  thy  brother,  which  thou  art  now  called 
to  render  to  him.  Temptation  easily  and  swiftly 
passes  from  one  to  another^  especially  if  a  man  en- 
deavoors  to  cure  another  without  pnMerving  his  own 


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CHAPTER  YJ. 


that  9haU  he  aUo  reap. 


A.  M.  4063.  2  *  Bear  ye  one  axu)ther's  burdens, 
'. —  and  ao  fulfil  ^the  law  of  duiBt. 

3  For  ^if  a  man  thiiik  himself  to  be  some- 
thing, when  ^he  is  nodiing,  he  deceiveth  him- 
self. 

,4  But  '  let  every  man  prove  his  own  work, 
and  then  shall  he  have  rejoicing  in  himself 
abne,  and  ^  not  in  another. 

6  ^  For  every  man  shaU  bear  his  own  bur- 
den. 


•  Rom.  zv.  1 ;  Chap.  t.  13 ;  1  TheM,  v.  14. '  John  xiii.  14, 

15,  34 ;  XT.  12  :  James  ii.  8 ;  1  John  it.  21.       g  Rom.  xii.  3 ; 

1  Cor.  vUi.  2;  Chap,  il  «.— ^-^2  Cor.  iii*  5j  xii.  IL *  1  Cor. 

xi,  28 ;  2  Cor.  xiii  5.^ ^  lAike  xriiL  11. 


meekness;  and  a  consQiousaeas  of  pur  own  frailty 
should  diflq;>ose  us  to  be  merciful  toward  those  that 
foil. 

Ver8es2-6.  Bearyeoneanother^eburdens-^ym' 
pathise  with  and  assist  each  oth^,  in  all  your  weak- 
nesses, grievances,  trials.  The  apostle  alludes  to  the 
custom  of  travellers,  who,  when  too  heavily  laden 
with  their  baggage,  relieve  one  another  by  bearing 
the  burdens  of  the  weak  or  fatigued,  and  in  that 
manner  show  their  good  disposition  toward  each 
other;  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  CS^ritl— Eyen  that 
law  of  love,  which  he  particularly  and  especially 
enjoins,  terming  it  his  new  commandment,  and  ma- 
king it  the  distinguishing  mark  of  his  disciples ;  and 
surely  we  may  willingly  receive  that  law  from  one 
who  was  himsdf  such  an  unequalled  example  of  love, 
and  who  with  so  gracious  a  sympathy  bore  our  bur- 
dens of  sorrow,  and  carried  away  the  load  of  our 
guilt-  jF\)rt/aman«— If  any  one}  Mnk himself  tohe 
•omaf^tfig'— Abo  ve  his  brethren,  and  take  up  an  over- 
weening opinion  of  hsms^f ;  vhen  he  is  nothing — 
iiike  what  he  apprehends  himself  to  bej  and  in  par- 
ticular if  he  be  so  conceited  of  his  own  sufficiency, 
as  to  imagine  that  he  is  able  to  resist  temptation  by 
his  own  strength,  or  by  the  sC^ngth  of  inherent 
grace,  and  thereupon  insults  over  or  despises  his 
fallen  brother,  in  comparison  of  himsdi^  and  is  not 
compassionate  and  friendly  to  him;  he  deceiveth 
himself—Is  entirely  mistaken  in  the  judgment  he 
forms  of  his  own  state  and  character.  But  let  every 
iftofi— To  prevent  so  great  an  evil;  prove  his  own 
wo^X^— Narrowly  examine  all  he  is,  all  he  has,  and 
all  he  doth;  and  then — If  hvs  spirit  and  conduct  be 
found  agreeaMe  to  the  rule  Ood  has  g^ven  him,  and 
so  be  approved  by  God;  he  shaU  hane  refoicing  in 
himself^n  What  God  has  dene  for  him  and  in  him, 
by  paidoning  and  renewing  him,  and  enabling  him  to 
walk  before  him  in  all  well-pleasing;  he  will  find 
matter  of  comfort  in  knowing  that  his  heart  is  right 
with  God,  and  that  he  has  his  conversation  according 
to  the  gospel;  and  not  in  another— -ThsX  is,  not  in 
the  applause  he  receives  from  another,  nor  in  glory- 
ing over  others,  as  inferior  to  himself  in  gifts  or 
graces,  in  holiness  or  usefrdness.  For  every  tnan — 
In  the  dav  of  final  judgment ;  ^kxil  bear  his  own  bur- 
^fii— Shall  give  an  aecoualof  himsdf  to  God;  diidl 
b 


6  ""Lei  him  that  is  taught  in  the  A.M..40Q2. 
word,  communicate  unto  him  that   ^'  ^'^ 
teacheth  in  all  good  things. 

7  "Be  not  deceived;  <»Gpd  is  not  mocked: 
&r 'whatsoever  a  man  soweth,.that  shall  he 
aBsoreap. 

8  "^  For  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shaH  of 
the  flesh  reap  corruption :  but  he  that  soweth 
to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the  Spfarit  reap  life  ever- 
lasting. 


>  Rom.  ii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  8. ■  Rom.  xic  27 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  11, 

14. ■  1  Cor.  vi.  9 ;  XT.  33. » Job  xiii.  9.-9  Luke  xri.  25 ; 

Rom.  ii.  6 ;  2 Cor.  ix.  Q. 1  Job  iv.  8;  Pror.  xL  18;  xxiL  8 ; 

Ho«.  viii.  7 ;  x.  12 ;  Rom.  riii.  13 ;  James  iii  18. 


answer  for  his  own  actions  only,  and  not  for  those  of 
others. 

Verse  6.  Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  wordr— 
Who  is  instructed  in  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of 
the  gospel;  communicate  unto  him  that  teacheth— 
According  to  the  ability  that  God  hath  given  him ; 
in  all  good  things — All  such  temporal  things  as  he 
stands  in  need  of.  If,  says  Macknight,  -"  the  teach- 
ers, who  by  spiritual  gifts  were  supernaturally 
qualified  to  instruct  others,  deserved  to  be  liberally 
maintained,  how  much  more  is  a  liberal  maintenance 
due  to  those,  who,  not  possessing  the  [extitiordinary] 
spiritual  gifts,  are  obliged  to  spend  a  great  deal  of 
time  and  money  in  fitting  themselves  for  their  office, 
and  who  employ  themselves  assiduously  in  discharg- 
ing it!" 

Verses  7, 8.  Be  not  deceived^As  if  he  had  said,  It 
is  an  easy  thing  for  interested  men  to  find  excuses 
for  the  neglect  of  this  and  other  liberalities,  which 
are  required  for  the  support  and  propagation  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ;  but  do  ,not  delude  yourselves  in 
this  or  any  other  such  matter,  by  the  treachery  of 
your  own  hearts,  which  may  more  fatally  impose 
upon  yourselves  than  upon  any  othei-s.  For  God-- 
Who  searches  all  hearts,  and  observes  all  external 
circumstances;  is  not  mocked — Or,  to  be  mocked  by 
such  vain  pretences,  although  they  attempt  to  mock 
him,  who  think  to  reap  otherwise  than  Uiey  sow. 
For— As  in  the  natural,  so  in  the  moral  world; 
whatsoever  a  man  soweth — Whether  it  be  good  or 
bad,  whether  he  be  liberal  or  sparing  in  it;  that 
sltaU  he  also  reap — The  return  shall  be  answerable 
thereto,  both  with  respect  to  the  kind  and  degree  of 
it  For  he  that  soweth  to  his  Jlesh-^ThvA  yields  to 
his  unhallowed  passions  and  appetites,  and  follows 
the  desires  of  his  corrupt  nature ;  or  that  employs 
his  substance,  time,  and  thoughts,  merely  or  chiefly 
in  gratifying  and  indulging  the  flesh,  or  for  the  sat- 
isfaction of  his  own  bodily  necessities,  conveniences, 
or  pleasures;  shall  of  the  flesJ^^Oni  of  this  very 
seed;  reap  corruption— The  utter  destruction  of 
his.  soul  and  body.  Bid  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit 
—That  follows  the  Spirit's  guidance  in  his  disposi- 
tions, words,  and  actions,  and,  under  the  influences 
thereof,  employs  his  abilities  of  body  and  mind,  his 
time,  talents,  and  possession^  to  promote  true  reli- 


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A.M.40fl2.    9  Aad  'let  us  not  be  weary  in 

A.  D  58 

•  '  • '    well-doing:  for  in  due  season  we  shall 

reap,  'if  we  &int  not 

10  ^  As  weliave  therefore  q)portimity,  ^  let  us 
do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  Uiem  who 
are  '  of  the  household  of  fisiith. 

11  *  Ye  see  how  large  a  letter  I  have  written 
unto  you  with  mine  own  hand. 


'2  Thess.  iii.  13 ;  1  Cor.  xt.  58. >  MmU.  xxiv.  14 ;  Heb.  iiL 

0, 14 ;  X.  36;  xii.  3,  5. *  John  ix.  4 ;  xii.  35. ^«  1  Thcsi. 

T.  15 ;  1  Tim.  ▼!.  IS ;  Tit.  iii.  8. 


gion  in  himself  and  in  those  about  bim;  shall  of  the 
Spirit—By  his  continued  assistance  and  grace,  and 
as  the  fruit  of  what  is  thus  sown ;  reap  life  everlast- 
tng— When  he  shall  leave  the  world,  his  immortal 
spirit  shall  inherit  eternal  felicity ;  and  whatsoever 
his  portion  may  be  now,  he  shall  be  folly  recom- 
pensed at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  (Luke  xiv. 
14,)  when  all  the  hope  of  the  sinner  is  perished. 

Verses  9, 10.  Atui— Having  then  such  a  prospect 
of  felicity  before  us;  let  ua  not  be  wc/iry— Greek, 
fuf  emtoKofiev^  let  U8  not  be  discouraged^  or  flag;  in 
v>ell'doxng--OT  in  sowing  to  the  Spirit,  whatever  la- 
bour and  fatigue,  whatever  expense  and  difficulty,  it 
may  be  attended  with ;  for  in  due  season — When 
the  harvest  is  come,  or  in  that  proper  time  which 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  hath  appointed, 
and  for  which  it  is  our  duty  and  interest  patiently  to 
wait;  K7c«Aattrcap— Abundant  and  ample  fruit;  if 
wefcUnt  not — If  we  do  not  suffer  our  hands  to  hang 
down,  either  through  lukewarmness  and  sloth,  or 
through  timidity  and  fear.  As  we  have,  therefore, 
opportunity — That  is,  while  God  continues  life  to  us, 
and  the  season  of  sowing  lasts ;  let  ii^^ According  to 
our  afbility,  at  whatever  time  or  place,  and  In  what^ 
ever  manner  we  can;  do  good-^{  every  possible 
kind,  and  in  every  possible  degree ;  tinto  aU  men — 
Neighbours  or  strangers,  good  or  evil,  friends  or 
enemies;  but  especially  unto  them  toho  are  of  the 
household  of  faith — Who,  being  united  to  us  in  the 
bonds  of  Christian  faith  and  love,  are  on  that  account 
of  the  family  of  God,  and  our  brethren  and  sisters 
in  Christ ;  and  therefore  have  a  peculiar  claim  to 
our  regard.  Observe,  reader,  the  opportunity  here 
spoken  of  for  doing  good,  generally  speaking,  is  our 
life-time ;  but  there  are  also  many  particular  oppor- 
timities  frequently  occurring  from  time  to  time.  Let 
Us  remember  Satan  is  quickened  in  doing  hurt  by 
the  shortness  of  the  time ;  (Rev.  xii.  12 ;)  by  the  same 
cohmderation  let  us  be  quickened  in  doing  good. 

Verse  11.  Ye  see  ho^o  large  a  letterSi.  Paul  had 
not  yet  written  a  larger  to  any  church;  /  have  writ- 
ten with  my  own  handr^Jn  testunony  of  my  great 
affection  for  you,  and  concern  for  your  spiritual  wel> 
(are.  He  generally  wrote  by  an  amanuensis.  The 
original  expression  here  used,  miXiKotc  ypofifiaeiv, 
which  we  render  how  large  a  letter,  is,  by  Whitby, 
Doddridge,  and  some  others,  following  Jerome, 
Cbrysostom,  and  Theophylact,  translated,  wiih  whai 
kind  of,  or  with  what  large  letters  I  have  wriiten 
Mnto  fou,  supposing  it  to  be  an  apc^gy  for  the  in- 1 


12  As  many  as  desire  to  make  a  fiur  a.  M.  4002 

show  in  the  flesh,  7  they  constrain  you  1^ 

to  be  circumcised  f  'onfykst  they  ^ould^  suffer 
persecution  for  the  eross  of  Christ 

13  For  neither  they  themselves  who  are  cir- 
cumcised keep  the  law ;  but  desire  to  have  you 
CB-cumcised,  that  they  may  glory  in  your 
flesh. 


>  Eph.  li.  19 ;  Rer.  ii.  10 ;  Heb.  iii  6. *  Fifteenth  Smtdap 

after  TriDihr,  epiMle,  Terse  11  to  Uie  end. J  Chi^.  iL  S,  14. 

•Phil.  iii.  18. »Ch^v.  11. 


elegance  of  the  writing.  For  from  the  apostle's 
making  use  of  an  amanuensis  inhis  other  letters,  they 
infer  that  he  was  not  accustomed  to  write  Greek, 
"The  inference,  however,**  says  Macknight,  "does 
not  follow.  Eminent  men,  much  engaged  in  affiiirs, 
commonly  employ  others  to  write  for  them,  not^ 
withstanding  they  are  able  to  write  very  well  them- 
selves. I  therefore  prefer  the  translation  in  our  Bi- 
bles, which  represents  the  apostle  as  informing  the 
Oralatians  that  he  wrote  this  large  epistle  with  his 
own  hand,  to  show  how  ttudous  he  was  to  reclaim 
them  from  their  errors,  and  to  give  them  the  fullest 
assurance  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  contained  in 
it;  and  that  he  uniformly  preached  the  same  doc- 
trines everjrwhere." 

Verses  12, 13.  The  sum  of  all  b  this:  As  many 
as  desire  to  make  a  fair  tAoie— Or  appearance ;  that 
is,  to  preserve  a  fair  character;  in  the  flesh— In  ex- 
ternal things,  or  with  respect  to  their  observing  the 
Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies;  these  wovld  constrain 
you— GeniUe  converts,  both  by  their  example  and 
importunity ;  to  be  ctrcttmctsed—And  subject,  with 
them,  to  the  carnal  ordinances  of  the  law.  The 
apostle's  meaning  is,  that  the  fedse  teachers  wished 
to  appear  weU  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jews,  on  account 
of  their  attachment  to  the  law  of  Moses,  which  io 
other  passages  he  terms  tfte  flesh,  in  opposition  to 
the  spiritual  dispensation  of  the  gospel.  Only  lesty 
&C.^As  if  he  had  laid.  They  do  not  act  thus  with  a 
single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God,  or  from  a  principle 
of  conscience,  but  ordy  lest  they  should  sMffer  perse- 
ctUion — From  the  unbelieving  Jews ;  for  the  cross 
of  Christ — For  mamtaining  that  faith  ina  cnicified 
Saviour  is  alone  sufficient  for  justificatioii.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Jevnsh  chief  priests  and  elders  were 
great  persecutors  of  the  disciples  of  Christ,  wid  be- 
gan their  persecution  very  early.  Sec  John  ix.  2i; 
xii.  22;  xix.  88.  Now  it  seems  the  mandates  of  their 
council  were  received  with  implicit  submission,  even 
by  the  synagogues  in  the  Gentile  muntries,  Acts 
ix.  2.  The  false  teachers,  therefore,  of  whom  the 
apostle  speaks,  to  recommend  themselves  to  these 
rulers  at  Jerusalem,  who  stirred  up  the  unbelieving 
Jews  every  where  against  the  Christmns,  feU  upon 
the  scheme  of  blending  Judaism  with  the  gospel; 
and,  as  thtf  apostle  informs  us,  urged  the  Gentiles  .to 
receive  circumcision,  merely  that  they  themselves 
might  not  be  p^^ecuted  for  the  gospel  doctrine  of 
salvation  throuf^  a  crucified  Messiah.  For  neither 
they  themselves— Yfho  are  circumcised,  and  so  are 

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ih4  ero0$  of  Cknsi, 


A.M.40G8. 
A;  IK58. 


14  ^Dut  God  foAM  that  I  should 

glory,  save  ia  the  cxobb  of  our  Lord 

Jesus  Christ,  ^  by  whom  the  world  k  ^  crucified 

uoto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world. 

15  For  ^in  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumci- 


*PhiL  iiL  3.  7,  B. •  Or,  whereby. «Hoiil  yi.  5;  Chap. 

ii.  20. *1  Cor.  TU.  19 ;  Ckap.  v.  6 ;  Col  iii.  11. •  2  Cor. 


sokmnly  obliged  to  observe  the  whole  of  it ;  keep 
the  law — ^Namely,  in  other  points  of  greater  imports 
ance ;  so  far  are  they  from,  a  real  zeal  for  it,  or  from 
acting  nprightly  and  conscientiously  in  this  matter; 
but  desire  to  have  you  drcumcised^  thai  they  may 
glory  in  your  fleshr—Mvy  boast  of  you  as  their 
proselytes,  and  make  a  merit  of  this  with  the  other 
Jews. 

Verse  14.  But  Ood  forbid  that  I  should  be  actu- 
ated by  any  such  selfish  or  worldly  views,  or  should 
^(ory---Should  boast  of  any  thmg  I  have,  or  am,  or 
do,  or  rely  on  any  thing  for  iliy  acceptance  with 
God ;  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — 
In  what  Christ  hath  done  and  suffered  for  me  ;  by 
whomr^Ox^  as  the  words  may  be  understood,  by 
which  cross;  the  world  is  crucified  to  me — All  the 
things  and  persons  in  it  are  to  me  as  dead  things, 
and  therefore  as  nothing;  a/nd  I  unto  the  world— I 
am  dead  to  all  worldly  pursuits,  cares,  desires,  and 
enjoyments.  Or,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases  the 
danse.  By  the  reliance  which  I  have  for  justification 
oa  Christ's  sufferings  and  death,  and  by  the  be- 
lieving views  I  have  thereof,  I  am  made  indifferent 
to  all  things  here  below ;  "  so  that  I  view  the  world, 
as  little  impressed  by  all  its  charms,  as  a  spectator 
would  be  by  any  thing  which  had  been  graceful  in 
the  countenance  of  a  crucified  person,  when  he  be- 
holds it  blackened  in  the  agonies  of  death ;  and  am 
no  more  affected  by  the  objects  round  me,  than  one 
who  is  expiring  would  be  struck  with  any  of  tho^ 
prospects  which  his  dying  eyes  might  view  from 
the  cross  on  which  he  was  suspended."  Qr,  more 
concisely,  the  world  is  crucified  to  believers,  in  that, 
by  the  firm  expectation  of  eternal  life,  grounded  on 
Christ's  cross,  that  is,  on  his  death  and  resurrection, 
the  worlds  like  the  dead  carcass  of  a  crucified  maie- 
foctor,  is  stripped  to  them  of  all  its  vain  allurements. 
And  they  are  crucified  to  the  world  by  Christ's  cross, 
in  that  ^'  it  inspires  them  with  such  principles,  and 
leads  ihem  to  such  a  course  of  life,  as  renders  them, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  as  contemptible,  and  as  un- 
fit for  their  purposes,  as  if  they  were  dead  carcasses. 
All  believers,  therefore,  after  the  apostle's  example, 
justly  glory  in  the  crucifixion  of  their  Master,  not 
only  as  it  is  the  foundation  of  that  assured  hope  of 
pardon  which  they  entertain,  but  as  it  is  an  effectual 
principle  of  their  sanctification." — Macknight 

Verses  15,16.  For  in  C^m</e«ii«— (Seeonchap. 
V.  0,)  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor 
undrcumcision-'To  prove  that  we  are  accepted  of 
God,  and  possessed  of  genuine  religion ;  but  a  new 
creatuere-^r,  a  new  creation,  described  2^ Cor.  v,  17, 
where  see  the  note,  Ss  also  on  chap.  v.  6  ;  where 
the  same  true  and  vital  religion  is  termed,  faith 
b 


soon  availeth  any  thing,  nor  imcir-  a.  m.  4082. 
cunicisitm,  but  •  a  new  creature.  ^'   '  "* 


16  ^  And  as  many  as  walk  '  according  to  this 
rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and  mercy,  und  upon 
^  the  Israel  of  God. 


V.  17.- — '  Pta.  cxxv.  6. f  Phil.  iii.  la— *  Rom.  ii,  20 ;  it, 

12;  iz.6,  7,8;  Chapter  iii.  7,  9,  29 ;  PhiL  iii.  3. 


which  worketh  by  love^  implying  the  renovation 
of  the  whole  man^  by  the  power  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  and  producing  universal,  constant,  and  perse- 
vering obedience  to  God,  or  the  keeping  his  comr 
mandments;  which  (1  Cor.  vii.  19)  is  opposed  to 
circumcision  and  uncircumeision,  as  here  a  new  cre- 
ation, and  Gal.  v.  6,  faith  loorking  by  love,  is  op- 
posed to  these  things.  Compare  these  passages,  and 
the  notes  on  them,  with  each  other.  As  many  as 
walk  according  to  this  rule — Ist,  Glorying  only  in 
the  cross  of  Christ ;  2d,  Being  crucified  to  the  world ; 
3d,  Created  anew ;  peace  be  on  them — ^That  peace, 
which  is  the  fruit  of  justification  and  a  new  creation, 
Rom.  V.  1.'  And  mercy-— The  source  of  that  peace, 
and  of  every  blessing  enjoyed  by  fallen  and  sinfol 
man,  temporal  or  spiritual ;  and  upon  the  Israel  of 
Ood—Th^X  is,  the  church  of  God,  which  consists  of 
those,  and  only  those,  of  every  nation  and  kindred, 
tongue  and  people,  who  walk  by  this  rule. 

Verses  17, 18.  Henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me 
—By  calling  my  commission,  my  doctrine,  or  my 
faithfulness  in  question;  or  with  contentions  against 
my  office,  quarrels  and  disputes  on  account  of  my 
renouncing  circumcision,  and  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Mosaic  law ;  for  I  bear  (and  affliction  ought  not  to 
be  added  to  the  afflicted !)  in  my  body  the  marks  of 
the  Lord  Jesus — That  is,  of  my  being  his  persecuted 
servant ;  marks  of  far  more  importatice,  and  which  I 
think  much  more  honourable,  than  circumcision; 
even  the  scars  which  I  have  received  by  stripes, 
blows,  bruises,  and  chains,  endured  in  his  service, 
which  ought  to  endear  me  to  all  who  have  a  due  re- 
gard to  him.  Because  the  word  ^lyfiara  denotes 
marks  made  by  bumhig,  some  suppose  that  the  apos- 
tle had  in  his  eye  those  servants  in  the  heathen  tem- 
ples on  whose  foreheads  the  name  of  the  god  to 
whom  they  belonged  was  in  that  way  imprinted, 
and  under  the  immediate  protection  of  which  god 
such  servants  were  supposed  to  be.  Hence  the  wor- 
shippers of  the  beast  (Rev.  xiii.  16)  are  represented 
as  having  a  mark  on  their  right  hands,  or  on  their 
foreheads,  whereby  they  were  known  to  be  its  wor- 
shippers. In  like  manner  the  servants  of  God  are 
said  to  have  his  name  on  their  foreheads.  Rev.  xxii. 
4.  In  allusion  to  these  customs,  it  is  thought  that 
the  apostle  calls  the  scars  of  the  wounds  which  he 
received  in  Christ's  service,  the  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  For  besid^  his  having  been  stoned  and  left 
for  dead  in  the  streets  of  Lystra,  as  he  was  five  times 
scourged  by  the  Jews,  and  thrice  beaten  with  rods 
by  the  Romans,  (2  Cor.  xL  24,  25,)  it  is  probable  he 
had  suffered  some  of  these  punishments  before  this 
epistle  was  written,  and  that  they  had  left  scars  in 
his  body,  by  which  he  was  distinguished  as  the  sei^ 
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a  C^rUHan  benediction. 


A.  M.  4062. 
▲.ass. 


17  From  henceforth   let   no  man 
trouble  me :  for  ^  I  beax  in  my  body 


the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


12  Cor.  I  5;  ir,  10;  xi.  23;  Ohi^  r.  11 ;  CoL  i.  24. 


vant  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Breihrenj  the  grace^The 
unmerited  favour,  and  the  enlightening,  quickening, 
sanctifying,  and  comforting  influences  of  his  Spirit; 
be  iffith  your  epirit-^To  guide,  animate,  renew,  pu- 
rify, and  comfort  you  in  the  ways  of  truth  and  peace, 
Of  wisdom,  piety,  and  virtue.  Thus,  although  the 
apostle's  rebukes  in  the  former  part  of  this  epistle 
were  sharp  and  cutting,  and  although  he  seems  to 
have  treated  the  Cralatians  with  some  severity; 
298 


18  Brethren,^thegraceof  our  Lord  A.M^4oe2 
Jesus  Christ  fte  with  your  qpirit  Amen. 


A.D.  se. 


T  Unto  the  Galattans,  wiitten  frcmi  Rome. 


k2TiiM>Ui7ir.22;  Fbiletton  29w 


yet  having  expressed  his  persuasioii,  that  after  read- 
ing what  he  had  written  they  would  not  think  dif- 
ferently from  him  in  the  principal  articles  of  the 
Christian  doctrine,  (chap.  v.  10,)  he  here  shows  his 
love  to  them,  not  oidy  by  giving  them  his  apostoli- 
cal benediction,  birt  by  caUing  them  brethren;  and, 
as  Pr.  Macknight  observes,  by  making  that  aj^Ua- 
tion  (for  so  it  is  in  the  original)  the  last  word  of  his 
letter,  except  the  word  Amen, 

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PREFACE 


TO 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIAx^a 


^F  Ephesus,  a  city  famed  for  its  commerce  and  riches,  and  for  its  being  the  metn^iis  of  that  part 
^^  of  Asia  which  was  a  Roman  province,  the  reader  will  find  an  account  in  the  notes  on  Acts,  xix.  1. 
The  i4>08tle,  it  seems,  first  risited  this  city  when  on  his  way  from  Achaia  to  Jerusalem,  as  is  related 
Acts  xyiii.  19,  20 :  at  which  time  he  preached  in  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews ;  but  did  not  continue 
many  days,  though  his  preaching  was  not  without  iruit,  as  appears  from  his  being  desired  by  some 
of  his  hearers  to  tarry  a  longer  time  with  them,  that  they  might  be  more  fully  instructed  in  the  doc- 
Urines  which  he  taught.  The  reason  why  he  did  not  comply  with  their  request,  was  his  belieidng  it 
to  be  his  duty  to  attend  at  Jerusalem  at  ah  approaching  feast.  From  the  history  of  the  Acts  we  learn, 
that  the  Ephesians  were  then  a  very  dissolute  people,  and  extremely  addicted  to  the  arts  of  sorcery 
and  magic,  taught  and  practised  there ;  "  walking,"  as  the  apostle  expresses  it,  *^  according  to  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  Uie  air,  the  spirit  which  w<»rketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience,"  chap.  ii.  2, 
Their  city,  also,  was  the  very  throne  of  idolatry ;  the  worship  of  idols  being  performed  in  no  part  of 
the  heathen  world  with  greater  splendour  than  at  Ephesus,  on  account  of  the  famous  temple  of  Diana, 
which  was  built  between  the  city  and  the  harbour,  at  the  expense  of  all  Asia,  (see  note  on  Acts 
xix.  27,)  and  in  which  was  an  image  of  that  goddess,  said  to  have  fallen  down  from  Jupiter,  Acts 
xix.  35.  This  image,  as  we  may  well* suppose,  was  worshipped  with  the  most  pompous  rites,  by  a 
multitude  of  priests,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  votaries  frcnn.  every  quarter,  who,  to  gain  the  favour  of 
Diana,  came  to  Ephesus  to  ofier  sacrifice  at  her  shrine. 

Such  being^the  stafo  of  religion  and  morals  among  the  Ephesians,  St.  Paul,  who  was  expressly 
commissioned  by  Christ  to  turn  the  GrentUes  *'  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
to  God,"  resolved,  at  his  departure  from  their  city,  to  return  soon,  (Acts  xviii.  21,)  that  he  might 
have  an  opportunity  of  attacking  idolatry  in  this  its  chief  seat.  Accordingly,  havinff  celebrated  Uie 
feast  of  pentecost  at  Jerusalem,  and  ailerward  gone  over  the  country  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia,  strength 
ening  the  disciples,  he  came  to  Ephesus,  (Acts  xix.  1,)  and  preached  boldly,  first  in  the  synagogue 
of  the  Jews,  for  the  space  of  three  months,  discoursing  concerning  the  things  which  related  to  the 
kingdom  of  God,  verse  8.  But  the  Jews,  who  had  heurd  him  with  pleasure  at  his  former  visit,  now 
opposed  him  violently,  when  they  perceived  that  he  preached  sdvation  without  requiring  obedience 
to  the  law  of  Moses.  Thdy  spake  also  with  the  greatest  virulence  against  the  gospel  itself;  inso- 
much that  the  apostle  judged  it  improper  to  preach  any  longer  in  the  synagogue.  Separating  the 
disciples,  therefore,  from  the  xmbelieving  Jews,  he  discoursed  daily  in  the  School  of  one  Tyrannus, 
who  either  was  himself  a  disciple,  or  allowed  the  apostle  the  use  of  his  school  for  hire.  *'  And  this," 
as  we  learn  from  Acts  xix.  10,  "  continued  for  the  space  of  two  years ;  so  that  all  they  who  dwelt 
in  Asia  heard  the  word  of  the  Lord,  both  Jews  and  Greeks."  During  this  time,  so  extraordinary 
wore  his  miracles,  that  ^*  from  his  body  were  brought  unto  the  sick  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and  the 
diseases  departed  from  them ;"  which  miracles,  together  with  his  preaching,  were  so  blessed  of  Crod, 
that  multitudes  of  the  idolatrous  inhabitants  of  Asia  embraced  the  gospel ;  and,  among  the  rest,  many 
who  had  practised  the  arts  of  magic  and  divination.  These,  to  show  how  sincerely  they  repented  of 
their  former  evil  practices,  brought  out  the  books  which  contained  the  secrets  of  their  arts,  and  burned 
them  publicly,  notwithstanding  they  were  of  very  great  value.  "  So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  the 
Lord  tod  prevailed"  among  the  Ephesians. 

In  consequence  of  this  extraordinary  success,  the  apostle  had  determined  to  spend  a  longer  season 
in  Asia ;  but  a  dreadful  riot  raised  against  him  by  Demetrius,  a  silversmith,  who  employed  a  great 
number  of  workmen  in  making  silver  shrines  for  Diana,  (of  which  see  Acts  xix.  23-41,  with  the  notes 
there,)  caused  him  to  alter  hb  resolution,  and  to  proceed  immediately  toward  Macedonia,  into  which 
country  he  had  already  sent  Timothy  and  Erastus.  During  the  time,  however,  of  the  apostle's  stay 
at  Ephesus,  a  numerous  Christian  church  was  formed,  chiefly  made  up  of  Gentile  converts,  whose 
piety  and  zeal  appear,  from  this  episde,  to  have  been  remarkable.  To  watch  over  these,  and  ad- 
minister to  them  the  word  of  God,  the  apostle  appointed  several  elders,  or  overseers.  These,  about 
a  year  afler,  when  on  his  way  from  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  Jerusalem,  the  apostle  sent  for,  to  meet 
him  at  Miletus ;  to  whom,  when  they  came,  he  delivered  the  pathetic  exhortation  recorded  Acts 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  EPHESIANB. 

XX.  17-35,  forewarning  them  both  of  great  persecutions  from  without,  and  of  dirers  heresies  and  schisms, 
which  would  arise  among  themselves.  Aft^  this  it  i^iipetrs  that  he  never  visited  Ephesus  agaiD, 
nor  saw  any  of  the  elders  whom  he  now  addressed.  He  wrote,  however,  this  epistle  to  them  for  their 
further  instruction  uid  establishment  in  the  faith ;  and  that,  it  seems,  within  three  or  four  years  from 
this  period ;  or,  as  is  generally  sui^[>osed,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  time  of  his  imprisonment  at 
Rome.  For,  from  what  he  himself  says,  (chap.  iii.  1 ;  iv.  1 ;  vi.  20,)  he  was  a  prisoner  when  he  wroCe 
it,  as  he  was  likewise  when  he  wrote  to  the  Colossians,  Col.  iv.  10.  Indeed,  there  is  such  a  mani- 
fest correspondence  between  these  two  epistles,  both  in  their  subject  matter  and  in  the  very  form  of 
the  expression,  that  it  may  be  justly  concluded  they  were  written  at  the  same  time,  and  sent  together 
by  Tychicus,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  both,  but  was  attended  by  Onesimus,  when  he  de* 
livered  that  to  the  Colossians,  CoL  iv.  9. 

The  design  of  the  apostle  in  this  epistle  was  to  establish  the  Ephesian  believers  in  the  doctrine  he 
had  delivered ;  and  for  that  purpose  to  give  them  more  exalted  views  of  the  love  of  God,  and  of  the 
excellence  and  dignity  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  to  show  them  that  they  were  saved  by  grace ;  and  that 
the  Grentiles,  however  wretched  they  had  be^n  once,  were  now  invited  to  ei^oy  equal  privileges  with 
the  Jews ;  to  encourage  them,  by  declaring  with  what  steadiness  the  apostle  himself  suffered  for  the 
truth,  and  with  what  earnestness  he  prayed  for  their  establishment  wad  perseverance.  He  also  in- 
tended to  arm  them  against  false  teachers,  and  to  build  them  up  in  love  and  holiness,  both  of  heart 
and  conversation.  If  it  be  remembered  that  the  most  flourishing  sects  of  philosophers  had  been,  or 
were,  settled  at  Ephesus,  and  in  its  neighbourhood ;  it  will  not  be  doubted  that  the  apostle  would 
make  use  of  extraordinary  caution  in  writing;  and  it  is  evident  that  this  epistle  is  full  of  the 
sublimest  doctrines,  and  written  in  a  style  equal  to  the  nobleness  of  his  sentiments,  and  the  learning 
of  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  Though  this,  perhaps,  at  first  sight  may  render  his  meaning  a 
little  obscure,  yet,  by  the  assistance  of  the  foregientioned  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  written  while  he 
was  in  the  same  circumstances,  upon  the  same  occasion,  and  to  the  same  purpose,  the  sense  and 
doctrine  of  the  apostle  here  may  be  so  clearly  seen,  and  so  perfectly  comprehended,  that  there  can 
be  hardly  any  doubt  left  about  it,  to  any  one  who  will  examine  them  diligently,  and  carefully  compare 
them  together.  He  begins  this  epistle,  as  he  does  most  of  the  others,  with  thanksgiving  to  God^  for 
their  embracing  and  adhering  to  the  gospel.  He  shows  the*  inestimable  blessings  and  advantages 
they  received  thereby,  as  far  above  aU  the  Jewish  privileges  as  all  the  wisdom  and  philosophy  of 
the  heathen.  He  proves  that  our  Lord  is  the  head  of  the  whole  church ;  of  angels  and  spirits,  the 
church  triumphant ;  and  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  now  equally  members  of  the  church  militant.  In  the 
last  three  chapters  he  exhorts  them  to  various  duties,  civil  and  religions,  personal  and  relative,  suit- 
able to  their  Christian  character,  privileges,  assistances,  and  obligations.  To  be  a  little  more 
particular:  In  this  epistle  we  may  observe,  I.  The  iniscription,  chap.  i.  1,  2.  II.  The  doctrine  pa- 
thetically explained,  which  contains,  1.  Praise  to  God  for  the  whole  gospel  blessing,  verses  3-14, 
with  thanksgiving  and  prayer  for  the  saints,  verse  15  to  chap.  ii.  10.  2.  A  more  particular  admonition 
concerning  their  once  miserable,  btit  now  happy  condition,  verses  11-22 ;  a  prayer  for  their  estab- 
lishment, chap.  iii.  1-19 j  a  doxology,  verses  20,  21.  III.  The  exhortation.  First,  general:  To 
walk  worthy  of  their  calling,  agreeably  to,  1.  The  unity  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  diversity  of  his  gifts, 
chi^p.  iv.  1-16.  2.  The  difference  between  their  former  and  their  present  state,  verses  17-24.  Se- 
condly, particular:  To  avoid,  1.  Lying,  chap.  iv.  25.  2.  Anger,  verse  26.  3.  Thefi,  verse  28. 
4.  Corrupt  communication,  verses  29,  30.  5.  Bitterness,  verse  31  to  chap.  v.  2.  6.  Uncleanness, 
verses  3-14.  7.  Drunkenaess,  verses  15-21.  With  a  commendation  of  the  opposite  virtues:  To 
do  their  duty,  as,  1.  Wives  and  husbands,  verse9  22-33.  2.  Children  and  parents,  chap.  vi.  1-4. 
3.  Servants  and  masters,  verses  5-9.  Thirdly,  final:  To  war  the  spiritual  warfare,  verses  10-20. 
IV.  The  conclusion,  verses  21-24. 

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THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


Xa    THE 


EPHESIANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

After  ihe  tHscripHon  md  betudictumt  1,  3,  the  apotiU  enten  on  the  nhject  of  Us  episUe,  hy  soUnuify  Mnd  tUwrnUy  thmktng 
God  for  the  bUuinge  of  the  goopd  conferred  on  true  hdievere,  vkether  Jews  or  GentOeSy  in  eoneequaice  of  hie  etemel 
fwrpoee  to  glortfy  hie  grace  in  fordomng,  accepting  for  hie  ckOdreny  sanetifymg  md  eamng  euchj  through  the  blood  of  his 
Son,  and  the  conunumcation  of  his  Spirit^  3-14.  He  assures  the  Ejhesians  of  ihe  fervency  with  which  he  cffered  kis 
prayers  to  Qod  on  their  aeeownl,  that  they  might  have  still  higher  and  worthier  conceptions  of  the  gospel,  and  of  iu  glori- 
ous Author,  as  raised  from  the  dead,  tend  exalted  to  supreme  dominion  in  the  heavenly  world,  15-33. 

Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  a.  m.  4oeB. 
Christ.  ^•°"- 

3  •Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spirit- 
ual  blessings  in  heavenly  ^pltices  in  Christ : 


A.  ^'^'  pAUL,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ 
^  -^    -by  the  will  of  God,   »»to  the 

saints  which  are  at  Ephesus,  •  and  to  the  faith- 
ful in  Christ  Jesus : 
3  *  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our 


•2C6r.Ll.- 


^  Bom.  i.  7 ;  2  Oor.  i.  1. — 
Chap.  tL  21;  Col.  i.  2. 


-ciCor:  iv.  17^ 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 

Verses  1, 2.  Patdj  an  apostle  by  the  will  of  God 
— Not  by  any  merit  of  my  own ;  to  the  saints^Or 
holy  persons,  as  rotf  ay  tote  properly  signifies  5  who 
are  at  EpJ^esus—And  in  all  the  adjacent  places:  for 
thb  epistle  was  not  directed  to  the  Epheslans  only, 
but  likewise  to  all  the  other  churches  of  Asia;  and 
to  the  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus — Or  the  believers^  as 
the  word  ^t^o^  \&  rendered  Acts  x.  45;  2  Cor.  vi.  15; 
and  1  Tim.  iv.  3, 10, 12.  There  seems  to  be  no  rea- 
son to  suppose  that  the  lapostle  gave  the  Christians 
at  Ephesiis  this  titl^  on  account  of  their  being  re- 
markably faithful  to  Christ,  in  relying  on  him  alone 
for  salvation,  without  that  attachment  to  the  Mosaic 
law,  which  was  found  in  some  other  churches,  and 
particularly  among  the  Galatians.  For  we  find  he 
uses  the  same  title  when  addressing  the  Colossians, 
(chap.  i.  2,)  whom  yet  he  reproves  on  this  very  ac- 
count, chap.  ii.  16.  Grace  be  to  you,  &c.--See  on 
Rom.  L  7. 

Verses  3-6.  Blessed  be  Gody  who  hath  blessed  us 
— God's  blessing  us  is  his  bestowing  spiritual  and 
heavenly  blessings  upon  us.  Our  blessing  God  is 
the  paying  him  our  solemn  and  grateful  acknow- 
ledgments, both  on  account  of  his  own  essential 
blessedness,  and  of  the  blessings  which  he  bestows 
onus;  with  all  spirihud  blessings^The  spiritual 
blessings  here  spoken  of  are  such  as  are  necessary  to 
the  perfection  and  happineas  of  our  spirits ;  namely, 
b 


*  OaL  i.  3  ;  Titiw  i.  4. •  2  Cor.  i.  3 ;  1  Peter  i.  3.- 

things.  Chap.  vi.  12. 


»0r, 


the  light  of  the  gospel,  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  the  pardon  of  sin,  adoption  into  God's  fam- 
ily, the  sanctification  of  our  nature,  and  eternal  life. 
These  blessings  are  here  opposed  to  the  earthly  bless- 
ings which  were  promised  to  the  natural  descendants 
of  Abitiham,  the  ancient  church  of  God,  which  consist- 
ed in  the  possession  of  Canaan,  in  victory  over  their 
enemi^,  fruitful  seasons,  &c.,  as  described  Deut. 
xxviii.  To  these,  and  such  like  blessings,  Abraham's 
seed,  by  faith,  were  entitled  by  the  promise,  In  thy 
seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  In 
heavenly  places^Or  rather.  In  heavenly  things,  as 
ev  rate  ersspavtotc,  it  seems,  ought  to  be  here  translated. 
Certainly,  we  must  enjoy  spiritual  blessings  in  Jiea- 
verily  things,  before  we  can  enjoy  them  in  heavenly 
places;  namely,  blessings  which  are  heavenly  in 
their  nature,  original,  and  tendency,  and  shall  be 
completed  in  heaven ;  far  dlfierent  from  the  external 
privileges  of  the  Jews,  and  the  earthly  blessings  they 
expected  from  the  Messiah.  According  as  fie  hath 
chosen  us  in  /iim— Both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  whom 
he  foreknew  as  bclievuig  in  Christ,  1  Pet.  i.  2.  That 
he  speaks  of  such,  and  of  such  only,  b  evident  from 
verses  12-14,  where  see  the  notes.  Indeed,  none 
but  true  believers  in  Christ,  none  but  those  whose 
faith  in  him  works  by  love,  are  ever  termed,  in  the  New 
Testament,  God:^s  chosen,  or  elect  For  the  election 
spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament  is  not  the  election 
of  individuals,  out  of  the  mass  of  mankind,  to  repent, 
901 


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Redemption  and  talvcUion  are 


EPHESIANS. 


obtained  through  Jemu  ChritL 


A.  M.  4068.    4  According  as  ^he  hath  chosen  us 
A.  o.  w.    j^  j^.^^  ^  before  the  foundation  of  the 


world,  that  we  should  ^be  holy  and  without 
blame  before  him  in  love : 

5  *  Having  predestinated  us  unto  ^the  adop- 
tion of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself, 
^  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his.  will, 

6  To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace, 
"wherein  he  hath  made  us  accepted  in  "the 
Beloved. 

7  •In  whom  we  have  |-edemptbn  through 


'  Rom.  viii.  28 ;  2  Theas.  iu  13 ;  2  Tim.  i.  9 ;  Jamea  ii.  5 ;  1  Pet. 

i.  2 ;  ii.  9. 1 1  Pet.  i.  20. •»  Luke  i.  75 ;  Chap.  ii.  10 ;  v.  27 ; 

CoL  L  22;  1  Theai.  ir.  7 ;  Titmi  ii.  12. ^  Rom.  viil  29, 30  ; 

Verae  11. ^  Jobn  i.  12 ;  Rom.  Tiii.  15 ;  2  CJor.  vi,  18 ;  Gal. 

ir.  5 ;  1  John  iii.  1. » Malt.  xi.  26 ;  Luke  xii.  32 ;  1  Cor.  i.  21  r 

Veree  9. ■  Rom.  iii.  24 ;  t.  15. "Matt.  iii.  17;  xvii.  5. 


believe,  and  obey,  passing  by  the  rest;  bu^  it  is  the 
election  of  such  as  are  already  possessed  of  faith, 
love,  and  a  new  nature,  to  be  the  people  and  children 
of  God ;  which  election  it  behooves  them  to  make 
sure,  by  aspiring  after  a  larger  measure  of  these,  and 
of  all  other  graces  and  virtues,  and  by  enduring  to 
the  end,  2  Pet.  I.  10.  Before  the  foundation  of  the 
ii7orW--Or,  before  the  world  began.  This,  as  Mac- 
Icuight  observes,  "being  said  of  the  Ephesian  breth- 
ren in  general,  it  cannot  be  an  election  of  the  whole 
of  them  as  individuals" {unconditionally]  "to  eter- 
nal life;"  but  must  be  that  election,  which,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  God  made  of  true  be- 
lievers, of  all  nations,  to  be  his  children  and  people, 
and  to  enjoy  the  blessings  promised  to  such.  That 
we  should  be  holy — Dedicated  to  God,  employed  for 
him,  and  transformed  into  his  image;  and  without 
blame— As  to  our  whole  spirit  and  conduct;  before 
him—Or  in  his  sight,  who  searches  the  heart,  and 
observes  all  our  ways.  As  the  election  here  spoken 
of  is  an  election  of  believers  to  be  holy,  all  such  ought 
continually  to  keep  in  mind  this  end  of  their  election, 
that  they  may  press  on  toward  it  more  and  more. 
hi  love — To  God,  his  people,  and  all  mankind,  the 
source  of  all  true  holiness;  Having  predestinated^ 
or  fore-appointed,  tw— Who  do  now,  or  shall  here- 
after, believe  in  him  with  our  heart  unto  righteous- 
ness 5  unto  the  adoption  of  children— For  those  who 
receive  Christ,  namely,  in  all  his  offices  and  charac- 
ters, or  who  believe  aright  in  him,  enjoy  the  dignity 
of  being  his  children  and  heirs,  and  joint  heirs  with 
Christ.  See  on  John  i.  12;  Gal.  iii.  36.  According 
to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  tcitt— According  to  his 
free,  fixed,  and  unalterable  purpose  to  confer  these 
blessings  on  all  those  who  believe  in  Christ,  and  those 
only.  Of  the  word  vrpoopiCu^  here,  and  frequently 
elsewhere, rendered  to predestinate^see  the  notcson 
Rom.  viii.  29, 30.  To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace— Uls  glorious,  unmerited,  and  free  love,  with- 
out any  desert  on  our  part;  wherein  he  hath  made 
us  accepted— Gieeky  exaptroaev^  he  hath  taken  us 
iniojavoury  namely,  his  peculiar  favour;  in  the  Be- 
loved—in Christ,  his  beloved  Son,  through  whom, 
though  in  ourselves  we  are  so  unworthy  of  them,  we 
receive  these  inestimable  blessings. 
908 


his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  ac-  A.  M.  406a 
cording  to 'the  riches  of  his  grace;     — '— — 1 

8  Wherein  he  hath  abounded  toward  us  in 
all  wisdom  and  prudence ; 

9  ^  Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery 
of  his  will,  according  to  his  good  pleasure^ 
'which  he  hath  purposed  in  himself: 

10  That  in  the  dispensation  of  'the  fulness 
of  times  ^  be  mi^t  gather  together  in  one  *  all 
things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  ^heaven, 
and  which  are  on  earth ;  even  in  him : 


"Acts  XX.  28:  Rom.  iii.  24 ;  Heb.  ix.  12:  1  Pet  L  18,  19; 
Rev.  T.  9.— P Rom.  ii.  4 ;  iii  24;  ix.  23 ;  Chap.  ii.  7 ;  iii.  8, If. 

1  Rom.  xri.  25 ;  Chap.  iii.  4.  9 ;  Col.  L  26. '  CSwp.  iii.  11  * 

2 Tim.  i.  9. "Gal.  iv.  4;  Heb.  i.  2.  ix.  10;  1  Pet.  i.  2Q 

» 1  Cor.  iii.  22,  23 ;  xL  3 ;  Chap.  ii.  15 ;  iiL  15. ■  PhiL  ii.  9 

10 ;  Col.  i.  20. *Gr.  tkt  heavenM. 


•  Verses  7, 8.  /n,  or  by,  wAam  we  have  redemption 
— By  price  and  by  power,  «re  bought  and  delivered 
from  the  guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  Uie  tyranny  of 
Satan,  and  the  final  displeasure  and  wrath  of  God. 
Through  his  blood^-^hed  for  these  purposes;  or 
through  what  he  hath  done  and  suffered;  having 
undertaken  the  great  and  awful  work  of  making 
an  atonement  for  us  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  by 
which  we  obtain,  what  is  an  introduction  to  all  the 
other  blessings  here  mentioned,  t?ie  forgiveness  of 
sins^-For,  being  pardoned,  God's  wrath  is  remoVed 
from  us ;  we  are  taken  into  his  favour ;  adopted  into 
his  family;  bom  of  his  Spirit;  love  him  who  hath 
thus  first  loved  us;  and,  through  this  love,  become 
holy,  and  without  blame  before  him.  And  by  these 
blessings  in  heaoenly  things,  we  lure  qualified  to  re- 
ceive blessings  in  heavenly  places  ;  according  to  the 
riches  of  his  groccr— According  to  the  abundant 
overflowings  of  his  free,  undeserved  mercy  and  fa- 
vour, to  such  sinful  and  guilty  creatures ;  wherein 
he  hath  abounded  toward  us  in  all  tmcfom— Mani- 
fested by  God  in  the  whole  scheme  of  our  salvation ; 
and  prudence— "Which  he  hath  wrought  in  us,  that 
we  may  know  and  do  all  his  acceptable  and  perfect 
wilL 

Verses  9,  10.  Having  made  known  to  us— By  his 
Word  and  Spirit;  the  mysteiy  of  his  will— The  gra- 
cious scheme  of  salvation  by  faith,  the  appointment 
of  which  depended  on  his  sovereign  will  alone; 
termed  a  wiy^^ery,  because  it  wasbut  darkly  revealed 
under  the  law,  is  now  totally  hid  from  unbelievers, 
and  has  heights  and  depths  in  it  which  surpass  all 
the  knowledge  even  of  true  believers.  "  The  whole 
doctrine  of  the  gospel,  taken  complexly,  is  called  the 
wisdom  of  God  iti  a  mystery^  1  Cor.  ii.  7;  not  be- 
cause any  part  of  it  is  unintelligible,  but  for  the  rea- 
sons mentioned  in  the  note  on  that  verse."  "  The 
same  appellation  is  given  to  particular  discoveries 
made  in  the  gospel.  For  example,  the  salvation  of 
the  Gentiles  through  faith,  without  obedience  to  the 
law  of  Moses,  id  called  a  mystery^  Rom.  xL  ?5;  xvi. 
25.  So  likewise  is  the  great  discovery,  that  §uch  of 
the  saints  as  are  alive  on  the  earth  at  the  coming  of 
Christ,  shall  not  die,  but  be  changed,  1  Cor.  xv.  fil; 
and  2  Thess.  ii.  7,  we  have  the  mystery  of  iniquity  i 

b 


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l%e  bMeven  at  Ephe$Ui  a^ere  9ealed  CHAPTER  I. 


wUh  the  Spirit  ofpromUt. 


A.  M.  4068.    11  «In  whom  also  we  have  ob-. 

A    D  ft4. 

! tained  an  inheritance,  ^  being  pre- 
destinated according  to  *  the  purpose  of  him 
who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 
his  own  will: 

12  *  That  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of  his 
glory,  ^  who  first  ^  trusted  in  Christ 


<Acts  XX. 
1  Pet.  L  4.- 
14;  2Thes8.  ii.  13. 


;  xxri.  18  ;  Rom.  viii.  17 1  iii.  34;  Tit.  iu.  7 ; 
r  Verae  5. *  Is*,  xlvi.  10^  11. » ITerses  6, 


and  Rev.  i.  20,  the  mystery  of  the  seven  stars;  and 
Rev.  X.  7,  the  mystery  of  €hd;  and  Rev.  xviL  5,  7, 
mystery,  Babylon,  the  'woman,  the  beast,  and  the 
false  prophet.  To  this  latter  group,  the  appellation 
of  mystery  is  given  with  singular  propriety.  For  as 
the  initiated  [into  the  heathen  mysteries]  were  in- 
structed by  having  certain  mystic  shows  set  before 
them,  the  visions  in  the  Revelation  of  the  seven  stars, 
and  of  the  woman,  and  the  beast,  and  the  false  pro- 
phet, representing  the  future  state  of  the  church,  are 
all  very  aptly  termed  mysteries^  TTiat  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  fulness  of  times — When  that  time 
was  fully  Come,  which  he,  in  his  wise  appointment 
and  distribution  of  things,  had  judged  most  suitable 
and  eligible ;  or  in  this  last  administration  of  his  full- 
est grace,  in  which  all  the  former  dispensations  ter- 
minated, which  took  place  at  the  time  most  proper 
for  it.  "The  word  oiKovofita,  here  rendered  dispen- 
sation, signifies  the  plan  which  the  master  of  a 
family,  or  his  steward,  has  established  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  family.  Also  it  signifies  a  plan 
formed  for  the  management  of  any  sort  of  business. 
In  this  passage  it  signifies  the  plan  which  God  had 
formed  f5r  accomplishing  the  salvation  of  believers." 
— Macknight  He  might  gather  together  in  one-- 
Greek,  ■avaKs^aXaicKratf^at,  he  might  irecapitnlate,  or 
unite  again  under  one  head;  all  things  in  Chinst — 
All  persons,  whether  angels  or  men,  whether  living 
or  dead,  with  all  thmgs  that  arc  connected  with  or 
concern  them;  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth-^Thls 
is  considered  by  some  as  a  Jewish  phrase,  to  express 
the  whole  world ;  and  Locke  thinks  it  may  be  equi- 
valent to  Jetes  and  Gentiles,  which  is  the  meaning 
adopted  also  by  Macknight,  who  says,  "  According 
to  this  interpretation,  the  gathering  of  all  things 
under  Christ,  means  both  the  forming  of  believing 
Jews  and  Gentiles  into  one  catholic  church,  and 
the  bringing  of  them  both  into  the  heavenly  country 
through  the  mediation  of  Christ"  Beza,  by  things 
in  heaven,  understands  the  saints  in  heaven,  who 
died  before  Christ  came  into  the  world,  and  who  are 
not  to  be  made  perfect  till  the  resurrection.  But  the 
interpretation  adopted  by  Whitby,  Chandler,  Dod- 
dridge, Wesley,  and  many  others,  seems  more  pro- 
bable, namely,  that  by  things  in  heaven,  both  in  this 
passage  and  Col.  i.  20,  the  angelical  hosts  are  to  be 
understood ;  and  by  things  on  earth,  believers  of  all 
notions,  who,  with  the  angels,  shall  at  length  be 
Joined  in  one  great  society,  or  church,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  worshipping  God  through  all  eternity,  agree- 
ably to  Heb.  ziL  Zb.    "Both  angels  and  men  were 


13  In  whom  ye  also  trvMed,  after  A.  M.  406S. 

AD  64 

that  ye  heard  ^'the  word  of  truth,  — —^ — 1 
the  gospel  of  your  salvation :  in  whom  also, 
after  that  ye  believed,  ^'ye  were  sealed  wkh 
that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 

14  •Which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritr 
ance  ^  until  the  redemption  of  ^the  purchased 


^  James  i.  18. »  Or,  Aeped. •  John  i.  17 ;  2  Cot,  tL  7. 

^  2  Cor.  i.  22 :  Chap.  iv.  30.— •  2  Cor.  i.  22 ;  ▼.  6.- '  Luk* 

xxi.  28.^— »  Acts  XX.  28. 


at  first  in  sweet  and  harmonious  subjection  to  the 
Son  of  God,  the  great  Creator  of  both;  but  man 
having  broken  himself  off  from  this  society,  the  Son 
of  hian,  by  his  humiliation  and  sufferings,  recovers 
all  who  believe  in  him,  and  in  his  human  nature  pre- 
sides over  the  kingdom  to  which,  in  the  World  of 
glory,  they  and  his  angels  belong.  This  interpreta- 
tion presents  so  noble  a  view,  that  no  other  will  hear 
a  comparison.^— Doddridge. 

Verses  11, 12.  In  wJiom  also  we — Believing  Jews  5 
have  obtained  an  inheritance— Namely,  that  of  the 
promises  made  to  the  children  of  Abraham  and  of 
God,  even  the  blessings  of  grace  and  of  glory,  the 
privileges  belonging  to  the  true  members  of  the 
church  militant  and  triumphant.  Being  predesti- 
nated-^liO  it  when  we  became  true  believers,  and 
as  long  as  we  continue  such,  see  on  verse  5;  ac- 
cording to  the  purpose  of  him — Of  God ;  who  work- 
eth altthings — As  he  formed  and  governs  all  things ; 
afteir  tJie  counsel  of  his  own  will — The  Unalterable 
decree,  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved:  which  is 
not  an  arbitrary  will,  but  a  will  flowing  from  the 
rectitude  of  his  nature;  otherwise  what  security 
would  there  be  that  it  .wo?ild  be  his  will  to  keep  his 
word  even  with  the  elect?  The  apostle  seems  to 
have  added  this  clause  with  a  view  to  convince  the 
believing  Jews  that  God  woiild  bestow  on  them,  and 
on  the  believing  Gentiles,  the  inheritance  of  heaven 
through  faith,  whether  their  unbelieving  brethren 
were  pleased  or  displeased  therewith.  Tliat  we — 
Believing  Jews ;  shxmld  be  to  the  praise  of  his  glory 
— Should  give  men  occasion  to  praise  God  for  his 
goodness  and  truth ;  who  first  trusted— Or  hoped,  as 
itpofiXniKOTo^  signifies ;  in  Christ — That  is,  believed 
in  him,  and  hoped  for  eternal  salvation  from  him, 
before  the  Gentiles  did.  And  this  was  the  case, 
not  only  in  Judea,  but  in  most  places  where  the 
apostles  preached;  some  of  the  Jews  generally  be- 
lieving before  the  Gentiles.  Here  is  another  branch 
of  the  true  gospel  predestination :  he  that  believes  is 
not  only  elected  to  eternal  salvation  if  he  endure  to 
the  end,  but  is  fore-appointed  of  God  to  walk  in  ho- 
liness and  righteousness,  to  the  praise  of  his  glory. 

Verses  13, 14.  Jn  whom  ye.  Gentiles,  also  trusted 
— Believed  and  hoped  for  eternal  life ;  after  ye  heard 
the  word  of  truth— The  word  which  reveals  and 
attests  most  important  truth,  the  faithful  saying, 
(1  Tim.  i.  15,)  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  true  Mes- 
siah, the  Son  of  God,  who  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners;  the  gospel  of  your  salvation — Which 
brings  the  good  ti^ngs  of  salvation  to  you  as  weH  as 
808 


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Tk€  apdstle  prays  fir  the 


EPHESIAN8. 


fiU  9ahaH(m  of  ike  Epkenam, 


A.M. 4066.  posse^sioii,  ^unto  the  praise  of  his 

'—^  g^ory. 

.  1&  Wherefore  I  also,  '  aft^  I  heard  of  your 
fiJlh  in  the  Lord  Jeeus,  and  love  unto  all  the 
saints, 


hVenet  «,  12 ;  1  Pet  il  9.- » CoL  L  4. 


Others :  or^  which  God  has  made  the  means  of  your  sal- 
vation ;  in  whom  after  ye  believed — Or  rather,  as  mrev- 
ffavrec  fiigoifies,  having  believed;  ye  were  sealed — 
Probably  immediately  after  believing;  with  thai  Holy 
Spirit  of  promise— 'lloly  both  in  his  nature  and  in 
his  operations,  and  promised  to  all  true  believers,  to 
all  the  children  of  God.  Of  the  seal  and  earnest  of 
this  Spirit,  see  the  note  on  2  Cor.  i.  22,  where  the 
apostles  are  said  to  have  been  sealed  by  the  Spirit, 
and  to  have  the  earnest  thereof  in  their  hearts.  As 
applied  to  them,  the  expressions  undoubtedly  signi- 
fied their  having  received  the  extraordinary  gifts,  as 
well  as  the  sanctifying  graces  of  the  Spirit  But 
here  being  applied  to  all  the  Gentile  believers,  but 
few  of  whom  certainly  were  endowed  with  these 
extraordinary  gifts,  the  words  can  only  mean  those 
ordinary  influences  of  the  Spirit,  whereby  they  were 
assured  of  their  adoption  and  regeneration,  were 
stamped  with  the  image  of  God,  and  thereby  consti- 
tuted heirs  of  the  heavenly  inheritance,  and  pre- 
pared for  the  enjoyment  of  it.  This  sealing  of  the 
Spirit  produces,  in  every  man  that  possesses  it,  anew 
nature,  whereby  he  is  marked,  or  declared  to  be,  the 
9on  of  God;  a  mark  which,  as  Macknight  observes, 
is  to  him  a  stronger  evidence  of  his  title  to  eternal 
life,  than  if  he  possessed  the  miraculous  gifts.  Sec 
on  Matt.  vil.  22 ;  1  Cor.  xiiL  2.  How  earnest  then 
ought  we  to  be  in  our  endeavours  to  obtain  this  im- 
portant blessing !  See  also  Eph.  iv.  30,  where  be- 
lievers are  said  to  be  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
the  day  of  redemption.  When  this  sealing  of  the 
Spirit  is  enjoyed  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  it  seems 
to  imply,  1st,  A  full  impression  of  the  image  of  God 
on  a  man's  soul ;  2d,  A  fuU  assurance  of  his  receiv- 
ing all  the  promises,  whether  relating  to  time  or  eter- 
nity. Which  is  the  earnest — Both  a  pledge  and  a 
foretaste;  of  our  inheritance^  in  heaven,  until  the 
redemption  of  the  purchased  possession — Till  the 
church,  which  he  has  purchased  with  his  own  blood, 
■hall  be  f\illy  delivered  from  all  sin  and  sorrow,  and 
advanced  to  everlasting  glory.  As  the  redemptJQn 
here  spoken  of  includes  the  redemption  of  the  bodies 
of  Christ's  purchased  people  from  death,  by  the  re- 
surrection, (Rom.  viii.  23,)  the  earnest  of  the  SpiHtj 
which  is  to  remain  in  the  church,  that  is,  in  the 
hearts  of  its  true  members,  till  that  glorious  event  is 
accomplished,  must  be  principally  those  ordinary 
influences  of  the  Spirit,  which  produce  in  believers 
that  holiness  which  is  necessary  tQ  flt  them  for 
heaven,  and  that  happiness  which  is  an  anticipation 
thereof. 

Verses  15-17.  Wherefore,  after  I  heard  of  your 
faith  in  the  Lord  /(Ww*— That  is,  of  your  perse- 
verance and  increase  therein.  For  the  apostle's 
manner  of  speaking  does  not  imply  that  he  received 


16  ^Cease  not  to  give  thanks  i(x  k,u,¥m. 
you,  making  mention  oi  you  in  my  '  , 
prayers; 

17  That  >th6  God  (A  oar  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Father  of  glory,  <"  may  give  unto  you  ihe 


k  Bom.  L  ».- 


>  John  xz.  17.- 


•CoLL9. 


by  report  an  account  of  their  first  believing  in  th« 
Lord  Jesus,  and  therefbre  that  he  wrote  this  e^nstle 
to  them  before  tie  had  been  at  Ephesusm  person,  or 
was  personally  acquainted  with  them.  He  wrote  in 
the  same  terms  to  the  Thessalonians,  who  were  his 
converts,  (1  Thess.  iii.  i,  6,)  and  to  hb  convert  Phile- 
mon, verses  4, 5.  Therefore,  as  his  saying  that  he 
heard  of  the  faith  and  love  of  the  Thessalonians  and 
of  Philemon,  does  not  mean  that  he  was  ignorant  of 
these  things  till  they  were  reported  to  him,  but  only 
that  he  had  heard  of  their  persevering  in  the  true 
faith  of  the  gospel, and  in  their  love  to  the  saints;  so 
the  faith  of  the  Ephesians,  which  he  says  he  had 
heard  of,  was  not  their  first  faith,  or  their  conversion 
to  Christianity,  but  their  continued  and  increasing 
faith,  evidencing  itself  by  the  fruit  here  spoken  of. 
Love  unto  all  the  saints — Namely,  whether  circum- 
cised or  uncircumcised.  For,  by  praismg  the  Ephe- 
sians for  their  love  to  all  the  saints,  the  apostle 
seems  to  intimate  that  they  were  free  from  that  nar- 
row, bigoted  spirit,  which  prevailed  in  some  other 
churches,  where  difference  in  opinion  about  the 
necessity  of  circumcision  had  interrupted  love.  / 
cease  not— In  all  my  solemn  addresses  to  God;  to 
give  thanks  for  you-^On  account  of  your  perse- 
verance in  the  true  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  in  your 
love  to  all  Christ's  disciples ;  making  mention  of 
you  in  my  prayers — So  he  did  of  all  the  churches, 
Col.  i.  9.  That  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  ihe  Father  of  glory— Of  which  he  is 
eternally  and  immutably  possessed ;  from  whom  all 
glory  proceeds,  and  to  whcAn  it  returns;  and  whose 
glory  shines  in  the  face  of  Christ  his  beloved  Son ; 
or,  as  the  expression  might  have  been  rendered,  the 
glorious  Father;  may  give  you  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
and  revelation— This  Spirit,  termed  the  Spirit  of 
promise,  (verse  13,)  they  had  already  received,  in 
a  great  measure,  for  he  had  sealed  them,  as  is  there 
signified,  and  was  an  earnest  of  their  inheritance  iu 
their  hearts ;  but  the  apostle  here  prays  that  the  same 
Spirit  might  be  still  more  largely  communicated  to 
them,  revealing  more  fully  the  deep  things  of  God, 
and  rendering  them  still  more  wise  in  all  matters 
that  concerned  their  own  salvation,  and  the  salvation 
of  others.  Jfn  ihe  Jcnowledge  of  him — Of  Chrbt,  of 
his  person  and  offices,  of  his  wonderful  process  m 
accomplishing  the  work  of  man^s  redemption ;  of  his 
humiliation  and  exaltation,  his  grace  and  glory, 
which  he  termed,  (Phil.  iii.  8,)  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Chinsjt  Jesus  his  Lord,  for  whom  he 
had  willingly  suffered  the  loss  ofaU  things,  and  ac- 
counted them  despicable,  in  comparison  of  this 
knowledge  of  him.  Some  commentators  understand 
the  clause  as  signifying  the  acknowledgment  of 
him,  namely,  by  professing  faith  in  him  and  bit 

b 


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Thefxrasr^  dominion^  and  Godhead  CHAPTER  I. 


of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 


A.M. 4068.  spirit  of  wisdom  and  reYelation  ^ia 
^'^^^    the  knowledge  of  him : 

18  'The  eyes  of  your  understanding  being 
eB%htened;  that  ye  may  know  what  is  *  the 
hope  of  his  calling>  and  what  the  riches  ot 
the  glory  of  his  '  inheritance  in  the  saints, 

19  And  what  is  the  exceecfing  greatness  of 
his  power  to  us-ward  who  believe,  «  according 
to  Ihe  working  ^  of  his  mighty  power, 


«  Or,  fn  the  luhmtUdgmMt,  €oL  ii.  2.—^-"  Acts  zxri.  18. 

•  Chap.  iv.  124  i^^  4. pVewe  11.-^ 4Cbap.  iii.  7;  Col.  L 

29 ;  ii.  12. »  Or.  af  tht  might  of  his  power. 


gospel)  whaterer  persecution  such  a  profession 
might  expose  them  to. 

Verses  18-21.  The  eyes  of  your  understanding 
being  enlightenedr-^ThdX  is,  1  pray  that  God  would 
do  this  for  you  by  the  discoveries  of  his  gospel,  and 
the  operation  of  his  grace.  Observe,  reader,  it  is  by 
the  eyes  of  the  understanding  alone  that  we  dis- 
cern the  things  of  God ;  and  in  order  hereto  these 
eyes  must  first  be  opened,  and  then  enlightened,  by 
the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation,  spoken  of  in 
the  former  verse.^  ThcU  ye  may  krwic  wTuU  is  the 
hope  of  his  oaWtti^— That  ye  may  know,  experi- 
mentally and  delightAilly,  what  are  the  bilessings 
which  God,  by  his  word  and  SpinI,  has  called  you 
to  hope  for.  For  hope  seems  to  be  put  here  chiefly 
for  the  objects  of  hope,  as  it  is  likewise  Col  i.  5 ; 
Tit  ii.  13.  The  apostle,  however,  may  also  include 
the  grounds  of  this  hope ;  with  which,  in  order  to 
their  further  establishment,  the  apostle  wished  them 
to  be  more  fully  acquainted.  And  what  the  riches 
of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance  in  his  eaints — How 
great  the  blessings  of  his  grace  are,  conferred  on  his 
aunts  here,  and  what  an  immense  treasure  of  bless- 
edness and  glory  he  hath  provided  for  them  here- 
after. And  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his 
power  to  US' ward,  who  cordially  believe — Both  in 
raising  our  souls  from  the  death  of  sin,  and  pre- 
serving them  in  spiritual  life;  influencing  our  hearts 
in  such  a  manner  as  effectually  4o  conquer  an  our 
prejudices  against  Christianity,  and  against  true  re- 
ligion in  every  form,  and  so  as  to  make  us  new 
creatures  in  Christ  Jesus;  according  to  the  working 
of  his  mighty  power — Greek,  Kara  rnv  tvepytiav  th 
Kpartif  TTfc  KTxvoc  «wt«,  expressions,  the  strong  em- 
phasis and  admirable  force  of  which,  as  Bishop 
Pearson  has  observed,  are  scarcely  to  be  paralleled 
in  any  author,  and  are  superior  to  what  our  language 
can  reach.  Doddridge  renders  them,  according  to 
the  energy  of  the  power  of  his  might,  a  translation 
which,  however,  falls  very  short  of  the  original.  Sec 
also  Blackwall's  Sacred  Classics,  vol.  i.  p.  307. 
Which  he  wrought  in  Chrisl^By  the  same  almighty 
power  whereby  he  raised  Christ  from  the  dead,  for 
no  lets  would  suffice ;  and  set  him  at  his  own  right 
/kond— That  is,  he  hath  exalted  him  in  his  human 
nature,  as  a  Tecompense  for  his  suflferings,  to  the 
quiet,  everlasting  possession  of  all  possible  blessed- 
ne«^  majesty,  and  glory.  Par  above  all  principality 
and  power,  and  might  emd  ciomtttton— That  is,  God 

Vol.  ii.  (  20  ) 


20  Which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  a.  h.  406S. 

when  'he  raised  him  from  the  dead,  '• 

and  'set  kim  at  his  own  right. hand  in  tl)e 
heavenly  places^ 

21  *  Far  above  all  *  principality ,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that 
is  named,  not  only  in  t^is  world,  but  also  in 
that  which  is  to  come : 

22  And  '  hath  pot  all  things  under  his  ftet^ 


r  Acts  iL  24,  33. •Vut,  ex,  \  ;  Aets  tu.  55,  56:  Ool.  iiL  1. 

*Phil.  ii.  0,  10 ;  Heb.  i.  4. •  Rom.  Tiii.  38;  CoL  L  IS;  iu 

15.— »  P«a.  viii.  6 ;  Hatt.  xrriiL  la 


hath  invested  him  with  uncontrollable  authority  over 
all  demons  in  hell,  and  angels  in  heaven,  and  all  the 
princes  and  potentates  on  earth*,  and  every  name 
that  is  named—Name  is  here,  by  a  usual  figure,  put 
for  the  person  who  possesses  the  authority  signified 
by  that  name.  We  know  the  king  is  above  lill, 
though  we  cannot  name  all  the  ofllcers  of  his  court: 
so  we  know  that  Christ  is  above  all,  though  we  are 
not  able  to  name  all  his  subjects^,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  c<wfw— The  invisi- 
ble world,  in  which  the  potentates  mentioned  in  the 
former  part  of  the  verse  rule,  is  called  the  world  to 
came,  not  because  it  does  not  yet  exist,  but  because  it 
is  to  come  to  us,  not  being  yet  visible.  We  may  ob- 
serve here,  that  of  the  four  difierent  names  given  to 
good  angels  in  this  verse,  the  two  first  apx^u,  princi 
polities,  and  e^b<^iat,  powers,  are  given  to  evil  angels, 
(chap.  vi.  12,)  and  to  men,  Luke  xii.  11.  From  thb 
we  learn,  that  there  are  difierent  orders  and  degrees 
of  government  and  subordination  among  good  and 
bad  angels  in  the  invisible  world,  as  among  men 
in  the  visible  world.  It  is  observed  by  Chandler, 
that  ap;tMhe  first  word,  signifies  empire  of  the  largest 
extent,  being  used  by  Greek  writers  to  denote  the 
empire  of  Alexander,  after  he  had  conquered  the 
East^  and  the  empire  of  the  Romans ;  and  that  KVfMTpc^ 
the  last  word  in  the  verse,  signifies  the  lowest  degree 
of  power,  power  of  the  smallest  extent  So  that 
although  we  do  not  know  precisely  what  kind  or 
degree  of  power  is  marked  by  these  dlflferent  names, 
when  applied  to  good  and  bad  angela,  yet  we  per- 
ceive the  meaning  in  general  to  be,  that  to  our  Lord, 
in  his  human  nature,  are  subjected  the  highest,  the 
intermediate,  and  the  lowest  orders  of  beings  in  the 
universe;  having  power,  whether  among  angels  or 
men.  According  to  this  view  of  Christ's  dominion^ 
he  is  placed  above  every  created  nature,  however 
excellent  it  may  be.  See  Macknight,  and  Col.  i.  16. 
Verses  22;  23.  And  Ttaih put— Greek,  vtrcro^er,  hath 
subjected;  all  things  under  his  feet — ^This  is  said  in 
allusion  to  Psa.  ex.  1,  TVtt  I  make  thine  enemies  &iy 
footstool.  The  psalm  is  a  prophecy,  not  only  of 
Christ's  exaltation  to  universal  dominion  in  the 
human  nature,  (1  Cor.  xv.  27,)  but  also  of  the  entire 
subjection  of  all  his  enemies,  1  Cor.  xv.  25.  For  in 
ancient  times  conquerors  put  their  feet  on  the  necks 
of  their  enemies  in  token  of  their  subjection,  Josh. 
X  23, 24.  And  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church— A&  it  is  here  declared  that  Christ  is 
309  b 


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The  apostle  reminds  the  Ephesians 


EPHEOUkNS. 


of  (heir  firmer  sinfidstaie* 


A.  M.  4068.  and  gave  him  ^io  be  the  head  over 
'        all  things  to  the  churchy 


7  Chap.  U.  15, 16  ;*  Col.  L 18. »  Rom.  xii.  5 ;  1  Cor,  xii.  12, 27. 


raised  to  universal  dominion  for  the  sake  of  his 
church,  that  is,  for  the  nohle  purpose  of  erecting  and 
estahlbhing  it,  and  uniting  the  angels  who  are  in 
heaven,  and  aU  the  good  men,  who  have  lived  and 
are  to  live  on  earth,  in  one  han&onious  society,  that 
they  may  worship  and  serve  God  together,  and  he 
happy  in  one  another^s  society  to  all  eternity,  it  was 
necessary  for  accomplishing  this  grand  purpose, 
that  the  evil  angels  should  be  subjected  to  him;  and 
even  that  the  material  fabric  of  the  world,  with  every 
thing  it  contains,  diould  be  under  his  direction,  that 
he  might  order  all  the  events  befalling  his  people, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  promote  th^ir  holiness,  and 
prepare  them  for  heaven.  Add  to  this,  he  is  in  suish 
a  sense  made  head  overall  things  to  his  churcJiy  as 
to  cause  even  its  enemies,  however  undesignedly  by 
them  and  unwillingly,  to  serve  its  interests;  and  all 
events,  whether  apparently  proliferous  or  adverse, 
and  aU  persons  and  things,  to  'U>ork  together  fir  the 
good  of  its  members.  To  these  he  is  a  head,  not 
merely  of  government,  but  likewise  of  guidance, 
life,  and  influence,  as  is  impUed  in  the  next  clause. 
Which  is  ?M  body—The  church  is  called  the  body 
of  Christ,  to  signify  that  the  true  and  livmg  members 


23  'Which  IS  his  body,  *the  ful-  A.1L4068. 
ness  of  him  ^  that  fiUeth  all  in  all. 


A.  D.  64. 


*CoL  ii.  10. *  1  Cor.  xu.  6 ;  Chap.  ir.  10;  CoL  iii.  11. 


thereof  are  united  to,  and  ammated  by  him ;  that  they 
are  under  his  direcUon,.and  the  objects  of  his  care,  and 
that  they  are  united  to  one  another  in  love,  after  the 
manner  of  the  members  of  the  human  body,  which  are 
governed  by  the  head,  and  united  to  one  anothei;  by 
various  joints,  tigamehts,  nerves,  arteries,  veins,  and 
other  vessels  of  communication  ^nd  intercourae. 
7%€  ftUness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  aZ^-This  ex- 
pression may  mean  that  his  church,  that  is,,  the 
spiritual  part  of  it,  is  completed^  or  completely  filled 
by  him,  namely,  with  all  sorts  of  gifts  and  giaces. 
So  Locke  understands  it  Thus  believers  are  told 
to  receive  out  of  ChrisX's  fulness,  grace  for ^  or  ^ipon 
grace,  Macknight^  however,  takes  the  clause  in  a 
different  sense,  observing,  that  by  calling  the  church 
TO  nXnpafM,  the  fulness  of  Christ,  the  apostle  inti- 
mates, that  he  who  is  liniversal  Lord^would  want 
a  principal  part  of  his  subjects,  if  the  churph 
among  men  on  earth  were  not  united  and  sub- 
jected to  him  as  its  head.  Who  fiUeth  aU,  in  ail 
— That  is,  who  filleth  all  his  members  with  all 
their  spiritual  gifts  and  graces,  according  to  the 
place  and  office  in  his  body  whiclvhe  hath  assigned 
them. 


CHAPTER  n. 

in  this  chapter,  to  excite  the  gratitude  of  the  Bphegian  helieverSf  the  apostU,  (1,)  Leads  their  numds  hack  to  that  state  tfmsral 
and  sphitual  death  in  vfltich  the  gospel  found  them^  and  reminds  them  hovb  entirely  Asy  were  saoed  by  divine  grace,  1-10. 
(3,)  He  represents  the  happy  stale  into  which  they  were  now  Iroughl,  as  bein^  reeoneUed  to  Ood,  united  to  his  ekwch,  asid 
joade  partakers  of  all  his  priinleges,  equally  toith  the  bdieting  Jews,  1 1-22. 


A.  M.  406^. 
A.D.  64. 

and  sins; 


AND    "you   hath  he  quickened, 
^  who  were  dead  in  trespasses 


•John  V.  24 ;  Col.  il  13.— *»  Vetse  5 ;  Chap.  iv.  19. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  H. 
Verses  1,2.  And  you,  &c. — In  the  nineteenth  and 
twentieth  verses  of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  apos- 
tle had  spoken  of  God's  working  in  the  believers  at 
Ephesus,  in  order  to  their  conversion,  and  resurrec- 
tion from  spiritual  death  to  spiritual  life,  by  the  same 
almighty  power  whereby  he  raised  Christ  from  the 
dead.  On  the  mention  of  this  he  runs  on,  in  the 
fulness  of  his  heart,  into  a  flow  of  thought  concern- 
ing the  glory  of  Christ's  exaltation,  in  tlie  three  fol- 
Jowmg  verses.  He  here  resumes  the  thread  of  hb 
discourse.  You  hath  he  quickened— Or,  (as  these 
words  are  not  in  the  original,)  if  we  connect  this 
verse  with  the  last  clause  of  the  preceding  chapter, 
we  may  read,  you  hath  he  filed,  namely,  with  his 
gifts  and  graces,  and  thereby  hath  made  you  alive  to  | 
Jjmselfj  who  were  dead-^Noi  only  diseased,  but. 
903 


2  °  Wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked  A.  M.  406fi. 

according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  '. — '^ 

according  to  **  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air, 


•  1  Cor.  tL  11  J  Chpp.  It.  22  j  CoL  i.  21 ;  iii.  7.—*  Ch-ri.  18: 


dead ;  absolutely  devoid  of  all  spiritual  life,  and  as 
incapable  of  quickening  yourselves,  as  persons  lite- 
rally dead  are  of  jestoring  their  bodies  to  life.  In 
this  sense  Locke  paraphrases  the  words:  "  Ye  were 
so  entirely  imder  the  power  of  sin,  that  ye  had  no 
more  power,  nor  hope,  nor  ability,  to  get  out  of  it, 
than  men  dead  and  buried  have  to  get  out  of  tfaeiv 
graveat."  The  truth  is,  uuawakened,  impenlteat, 
and  unbelieving  sinners,  are  dead  in  three  respects; 
1st,  They  are  under  condemnation,  on  accovnt  of 
their  past  depravity  and  various  transgressionfl^  to 
the  second  death,  or  to  future  wrath  and  punishment, 
like  criminals  under  sentence  of  death  for  their 
erimes.  2d,  They  are  destitute  of  all  union  with 
God,  and  in  a  state  of  separation  from  him,  and 
alienation  from  his  life,  chap.  iv.  IS;  Col.  L  21. 
3d,  They  are  carnally  mindedj  tluit  is,  thei^ 
C-W  )  b 


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9rtU  ImififOoA  to  man 


CHAPTEB  n. 


in  his  fallen  state. 


▲.M.400B,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  «the 

'■ — -  chiUien  of  disobedience : 

3  'Among  whom  also  we  all liad  6ar  convet- 
sation  in  times  past  in  i^the  lusts  of  our  flesh, 
fulfilling  ^  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the 


•dnpter  T.  6 ;  Col.  iii.  8.- 


f  Titus  iiL  3 ;  1  Peter  iv.  3. 
^  Or.  tiu  wOb, 


thooghts  and  affections  are  set  upon  visible  and  tem- 
poral things,  vjhich  is  spiritual  death^  (Rom.  viii.  6,) 
implying  deadness  or  aversion  to  spiritual  and 
divine  things.  In  trespasses  and  sins — Sins  seem 
to  be  spoken  chiefly  of  the  Gentiles  who  knew  not 
God  ;  trespasses  of  the  Jaw^j  who  had  his  law,  and 
yet  regarded  it  not  Or  the  expresaJoiiE;  may  be  used 
indta^riiniiiately^  without  any  such  dl^iiiiction  being 
ifitended ;  for  all  trespasses  are  siinr^  and  all  sins  are 
tre^OJtses^  properly  speaking.  Wherein  in  time 
past  ye  walked — nepuTrarryfrctrFj  ye  walked  about,  or 
waifteil  continually.  For,  as  Grolius  observes,  the 
word  signijteai  crnisnetttdinetn^  implies  customy  or 
habit.  According  to  the  cours  e  of  th  Is  world7—K(iTa 
Tcv  aiuva^  according  to  the  age,  or  the  common 
usage  of  the  age  in  which  you  lived,  and  to  tliose 
corrupt  principles  and  practices  which  prevailed 
around  you.  The  word  above  mentioned,  translated 
course,  properly  means  along  series  of  times,  wherein 
one  corrupt  age  follows  another.  Tlie  prince  of  the 
power  of  the  atr— "That  wicked  spirit,  who  com- 
mands the  legions  of  fallen  angels,  that  by  divine 
permission  range  in  the  air,  and  fly  from  place  to 
place,  in  pursuit  of  their  pernicious  purpose  of  cor- 
rupting and  destroying  mankind."  So  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge, who  observes,  "  This  refers  to  a  Jewish  tra- 
dition, that  the  air  is  inhabited  by  evil  spirits,  a  notion 
which  the  apostle  seems  to  approve."  Macknight's 
interpretation  of  the  passage  is  nearly  the  same,  as 
foDows:  "  Power,  being  here  put  for  those  who  ex- 
ercise power,  (as  it  is  likewise  chap.  i.  21>  and  Col. 
ii.  10,)  signifies  those  powerful  evil  spirits,  whose 
confinement  [mentioned  by  Jude,  verse  6]  is  not  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  hinder  them  from  going  to  and 
fpo  on  the  earth.  And  therefore,  being  irrecon- 
cilable enemies  of  God  and  goodness,  they  usetl\^ 
liberty  granted  to  them  in  opposing  God,  and  in 
ni'mrog  men  by  their  temptations,  1  Pet.  v.  8.  And 
that  they  may  do  this  the  more  .effectually,  they 
have  ranged  themselves  under  the  direction  of  one 
ehiei^  here  caHed  their  prince ;  but  in  other  pas- 
sages Satan,  and  the  devil.  Perhaps  also  he  is 
called  their  prince,  because  he  instigated  them  to 
rebel  against  God,  and  was  their  leader  in  that  rebel- 
Uon.  See  1  John  v.  19."  To  these  quotations  we 
may  add,  with  Bengelius,  "  A  power  this  the  effect 
of  which  all  may  perceive,  though  all  do  not  under- 
stand the  cause  of  it ;  a  power  unspeakably  pene- 
trating and  widely  diffused,  but  yet,  as  to  its  baleful 
mfluences,  beneath  the  orb  of  believers."  The  spirit 
thai  fnow  worketh — Evepywrof,  worketh  inwardly 
with  energy.  So  he  did,  and  so  he  doth  work  in  all 
ages;  in  the  children  of  disobedience— la  all  that 
diflMieve  and  disobey  the  go(q>eL 


mind;  and  ^were  by  nature  the  A.H.406a 
children  of  wrath,  even  as  others.         ^^-^ 

4  But  God,  'who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his 
great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us, 

6  ^  Even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 


»»p8a.ii.  6 ;  Roih.  v.  12.  14. *  Romans  x.  12;  Chapter  L  7  * 

Verse  7. *  Rom.  t.  6,  8, 10 ;   Vewe  1. 


Verse3.  iimon^fDAo7ii/a28Oi0e--Jews,aswellasyoa 
Gentiles  \  had  owvconverscUion — That  is,  our  course 
of  life ;  in  times  past — At  least  in  some  degree, 
whatever  our  education  or  religious  profession  might 
have  been.  Here  the  apostle  speaks  in  the  name  of 
the  generality  of  the  converted  Jews,  as  his  changing 
the  expression  from  ye  Ephesiana  to  we,  plainly  de- 
clares ;  includiug  himself  and  all  other  Christians, 
whose  former  character  and  state  he  affirms  to  have 
been  the  same  with  respect  to  sin  and  misery,  with 
the  character  and  state  of  the  children  of  disobe- 
dience :  and  it  is  so  professedly  the  design  of  the 
beginning  of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  to  prove  that 
the  Jews  had  not,  in  point  of  justification,  any  ad- 
vantage above  the  Gentiles,  (Rohl  iii.  9,)  that  it  is 
surprising  any  men  of  learning  and  knowledge 
should  contend  for  the  contrary.  Jn  tJie  lusts  of  our 
flesh— To  the  base  appetites  of  which  we  were  en- 
slaved, so  as  to  forget  the  true  dignity  and  happiness 
of  rational  and  immortal  spirits :  fulfilling  the  desires 
©/■/Ac ^mA— Yielding  to,  and  suffering  ourselves  to 
be  governed  by  those  corrupt  appetites,  inclinations, 
and  passions,  which  had  their  seat  in  our  fallen  body, 
or  in  our  evil  nature ;  and  of  the  mind — The  earthly 
and  devilish  mind,  that  is,  the  desires,  lusts,  and  pas- 
sions, which  were  inherent  in  our  still  more  corrupt- 
ed souls.  Observe,  reader,  the  desires  or  lusts  of  the 
flesh  lead  men  to  gluttony,  drunkenness,  fornication, 
adultery,  and  other  gross,  brutal  sins :  and  the  incli- 
nations or  desires  of  the  mind,  or  imaginations,  (as 
diavoiuv  may  be  rendered,)  prompt  them  to  ambition, 
revenge,  covetousness,  and  whatever  other  earthly 
and  diabolical  wickedness  can  have  place  in  the  faU- 
en  spirit  of  man.  And  were  by  nature — That  is,  in 
our  natural  state,  or  by  reason  of  our  natural  incli- 
nation to  all  sorts  of  evil,  and  this  even  from  our 
birth ;  children  o/trra^i— Having  the  wrath  of  God 
abiding  on  us;  even  as  others — As  well  as  the  Gen- 
tiles. Tills  expression,  by  nature,  occurs  also  Gal. 
iv.  8 ;  Rem.  ii.  14 ;  and  thrice  in  chap.  xi.  But  in 
none  of  those  places  docs  it  signify  by  custom,  or 
practice,  or  customary  practice,  as  some  affirm. 
Nor  can  it  mean  so  here.  For  this  would  make  the 
apostle  guilty  of  gross  tautology,  their  customary 
sinning  having  been  expressed  already  in  the  for- 
mer part  of  the  verse.  But  all  these  passages  agree 
in  expressing  what  belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  per- 
sons spoken  of. 

Verses  4-6.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy— Th^i 
is,  in  compassion  for  us,  amidst  our  sins  and  mise- 
ries, and  in  hb  free,  gratuitous  goodness  and  readi- 
ness to  pardon  the  guilty,  and  save  the  lost:  for  his 
great  /ore— Of  benevolence  and  bounty;  wherewith 
he  laved  n^— When  there  was  nothing  m  us  but  sin 
307 


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The  Ephesians  were  saved  by  grace^  EPHESANS. 


through  faiih  in  Jtmu  CkrxaiL^ 


A.M.406^.  1  quickened  us  together  with  Christ; 
1-1.  (^by  grace  ye  are  saved ;) 

6  And  hath  raised  ub  up  together,  and  made 
%is  sit  together  ^  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus : 

7  That  in  the  ages  to  coine  he  might  show 


vi.4,5;  CoLii.12,  13;  iii  1,3. ?0r,  6y 

^«i«,  Acta  XV.  11 ;  Verse  8  j  Tit.  iii.  5. 


and  misery  to  move  him  to  do  it.  Love  in  €k)d  was 
the  cause  why  he  resolved  to  show  mercy  to  certain 
descriptions  of  persons,  namely^  to  such  as  should 
obey  the  gospel  call  to  repentance,  feith,  and  new 
obedience.  iKroe  is  a  deshre  Co  communicate  good 
to  us,  considered  as  creatures;  but  m^rcy  respects 
us  as  fallen  into  sin  and  misery ;  eiven  wTien  we 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  all  men;  were  dead  in  sins 
— See  on  verse  J.  Hath  he  quickened  v«— Brought 
us  into  spiritual  life,  by  begetting  in  us  repentance 
unto  life,  and  living  fiButh,  and  in  consequence  there 
of  by  justifying  us,  or  reversing  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation to  eternal  death  under  which  we  lay, 
taking  us  also  into  his  favour,  and  uniting  us  to  him- 
self, by  giving  us  his  quickening  and  renewing  Spirit, 
in  consequence  of  which  our  afToctions  are  set  on 
things  above,  and  we  become  spiritually  mmded, 
which  is  life  and  peace.  Thgcther  with  Christ — In 
conformity  to  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  by 
virtue  of  our  relation  to  him  and  union  with  him, 
By  grace  ye  are  savedr-^By  God's  mfere  mercy,  or 
undeserved  goodness,  which  is  the  original  source 
and  moving  cause  of  our  salvation ;  and  by  the  en- 
lightening, quickening,  and  renewing  influencesof  the 
Holy  g^hit,  the  efficient  causeof  it.  The  apostle  speaks 
indifferently  either  in  the  first  or  second  person,  the 
Jews  and  (Gentiles  being  In  the  same  circumstances 
both  by  nature  and  by  grace.  This  doctrine  lays  the 
axe  to  the  very  root  of  spiritual  pride,  and  glorying; 
in  ourselves.  Therefore  St.  Piul,  foreseeing  the 
backwardness  of  mankind  to  receive  it,  yet  knowing 
Uie  absolute  necessity  of  its  being  received,  again 
asserts  the  very  same  truth,  (verse  8,)  in  the  very 
same  words.  And  hath  raised  us  up  together — Both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  already  in  spirit,  having  not 
only  raised  our  souls  from  spiritual  death  to  spiritual 
life,  but  having  given  us  assurance  of  the  resurrection 
of  our  bodies,  and  begotten  us  again,  as  his  children 
and  his  heirs,  to  a  lively  hope  of  a  heavenly  inherit- 
ance, and  enabled  us  to  set  our  affections  on  the 
felicity  and  glory  implied  therein:  and  made  us  sit 
together  in  heavenly  places  in  and  through  Christ 
Jesus — Our  head  and  representative,  who  has  alrea- 
dy been  admitted  into  heaven  as  our  forerunner,  to 
lake  possession  of  these  glorious  mansions  for  us. 
For  by  means  of  that  relation  between  him  and  us, 
which  divine  grace  hath  established,  we  may  look 
upon  his  resurtection  and  exaltation  to  the  right 
hand  of  God,  as  the  certain  pledge  and  security  of 
ours ;  and  regarding  him  under  the  character  of  a 
public  person,  who  is  thus  raised  atid  exalted  in  our 
name,  we  may  be  said  to  share  in  those  felicities  and 
dijrnities  which  are  conferred  on  him. 
30B 


the  exceeding  riches  .of  his  grace  in  A- M. 
*  his  kindness  toward  us,  thiougfa  — — '. — 1 
Christ  Jesuq, 
8  "For  by  grace  are  ye  saved,  i^ through 
&ith ;  and  that  nqtof  yoursdves :  ^U  is  tho 
gifkofGod: 


>  Chapter  i.  90. ■Titot  iiL  4.       ^  Veise  6 ;  Bom.  uL  84 

(Rom.  IT.  16. 1  Bfatt.  xn.  17;  John  rL  44, 6& 


Yerses  7-^.  ThcU  in  the  ages  to  come— As  if 
4ie  had  said,  His  great  design  in  doing  all  this  for 
us  is,  that  in  all  succeeding  ages,  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  gospel,  he  might  show — Might  de- 
monstrate and  display,  (as  the  word  evdziinrai  implies,) 
for  the  instruction  and  encouragemenf  of  others; 
the  exceeding  riches  of  Ms  grace— Manifested  both 
to  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  in  his  kindness — His  benign 
nity  and  bounty ;  toward  us — In  pardoning,  adopt- 
ing, regenerating,  and  finally  saving  va\  through 
Christ  Jesus — l''or  We  have  received  the  whole  bless- 
ing by  him,  and  are  partakers  of  it  as  connected 
with  him,  whom  God  hath  apppinted  our  head  and 
Saviour,  and  taught  us  to  regard  as  our  great  repre- 
sentative. For  (to  repeat  the  important  truth  before 
asserted)  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faiik— 
Qrace^  as  signifying  the  free  mercy,  or  unmerited 
goodness  of  God,  without  any  respect  to  human 
worthiness,  confers  the  glorious  gift  of  salvation ; 
and  gracey  in  the  other  sense  of  the  expression, 
namely,  the  influence  of  the  Sprit,  prepares  us  for 
the  reception  of  the  blessed  gift,  and  conveys  it  to 
us;  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as  our  Redeemer 
and  Saviour,  our  Governor  and  Judge,  and  in  the 
truths  and  promises  of  his  holy  gospel,  with  an 
empty  hand,  and  without  any  pretence  to  personal 
desert;  faith,  productive  of  unfeigned  love  and  obe- 
dience, receives  the  heavenly  blessing.  And  that 
not  of  yourselves— TKxs  refers  to  the  whole  prece- 
ding clause,  and  means,  1st,  Your  salvation  is  not  of 
yourselves^  is  not  of  your  o^^  power,  nor  of  your 
own  merit;  strictly  speaking,  you  can  neither  save 
yourselves,  nor  deserve  that  God  should  save  you; 
your  salvation,  in  all  its  branches,  present  and  eter- 
nal, is  from  God,  to  whom'  alone  it  belongs  to  en- 
lighten, justify,  ^nctify,  and  glorify  you,  and  it  is 
from  him  as  a  free,  undeserved  gift.  Just  so,  2d, 
Your  faith,  wjiereby  you  receive  salvation,  is  not  of 
yourselves^  not  of  your  own  power,  nor  of  your  own. 
merit;  you  can  neither  believe  of  yourselves,  with- 
out supernatural  light  from  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
truth,  wisdom,  and  revelation ;  and  divine  grace  in- 
clining and  enabling  you  to  apply  to  and  rely  on 
Christ  for  salvation,  and  on  the  truths  and  promises 
of  God  through  him;  nor  can  you,  by  works  done 
while  you  are  yourselvesln  unbelief  and  unrenewed, 
deserve  that  God  should  give  you  faith.  But  your 
faith,  as  well  as  your  salvation,  is  the  gift  of  God;  is 
of  his  operation.  Col.  ii.  12 ;  from  his  light  shining 
into  your  hearts,  2  Cor.  iv.  6 ;  and  is  from  him  as  a 
free  gift,  asked  indeed  of  him,  and  obtained  from 
him,  in  and  by  prayer,  but  utterly  unmerited  on 
your  part.    **  God,  by  the  gracious  influence  of  his 

b 


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Oentileif  a$  wett  as  Jews, 


cHAi»TEii  n. 


are  saved  through  faith  in  Oiritt, 


A.  IL  4968.    9  '  Not  of  wcffkis,  Icst  any  man 
. : —  should  boast 

10  For  we  are  his  '  workmanship,  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  *  which  God 
hath  before  ^ordained,  that  we  should  walk  in 
ihem. 

11  Wherefore  'remember,  that  ye  6^tn^  in 
time  past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  who  are  called 


»  Rom.  iii.  20,  87,  28. ■  Dent,  xxxii.  8 ;  Pml  c  3 ;  Im. 

six.  25;  zxix.  2^;  zlir.  21 ;  John  iiL  3,5;  1  Cor.  iii.  9;  Ch«p. 
ir,  24. » Chap.  i.  4.       ■*  Or, prtpitrtd. 


Spirit,  Gxes  our  attention  to  the  great  objectsof  faith, 
subdues  our  prejudices  against  it,  awakens  holy  af- 
fections in  our  souls^  and,  on  the  whole,  enaUes  us 
to  believe,  and  to  persevere  in  believing,  till  we  re- 
ceive the  great  end  of  our  faith  in  the  complete  sal- 
vation of  our  souls." — Doddridge.  Not  of  works — 
Neither  this  faith,  nor  this  salvation,  is  merited  by, 
'^r  is  owmg  to,  any  works  you  ever  performed,  will 
^r  can  perform,  whether  in  obedience  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  ceremonial  or  moral,  or  any  other  law  what- 
ever ;  much  less  is  it  merited  by,  or  owing  to,  any 
works  done  previous  to  your  conversion.  Lest  any 
man  should  boast^Aa  if  he  had,  by  his  own  works 
of  righteousness,  procured  salvation,  and  so  should 
ascribe  the  glory  of  it  to  himself^  rather  than  to  God. 
Verse  10.  For  v>e  ari  his  workmanship^As  if  he 
had  said,  And  it  appears  that  it  is  not  by  any  works 
or  ability  of  our  own  tha^  we  are  saved,  or  possess 
the  faith  whereby  salvation  is  received,  because  all 
the  ability  we  have  in  spiritual  things  is  from  Ood, 
and  is  the  consequence  of  his  creating  us  anew ;  for 
as  aQ  acts  of  acceptable  obedience  must  proceed  from 
faith,  and  this  faith  is  wrought  in  our  hearts  by  the 
gracioos  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  it  is  most 
certain  that  we  must  acknowledge  ourselves  to  be 
(lis  workmanship,  so  far  as  there  is  any  thing  in  us 
agreeable  to  the  nature  and  will  of  God ;  being 
created  in  and  through  Oirisi  Jesus  unto  good 
works^ln  order  that  we  may  have  inclination  and 
power  both  to  perform  them,  and  to  delight  iii  so 
doing ;  and  may  give  Ourselves  up  to  this,  and  be  con- 
tinually engaged  therein,  as  far  a?  we  have  ability 
and  opportunity.  Thiscreationof  believers  through 
Christ  Jesus  itnto  good  works,  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his 
Key  to  the  Romans,  understands  of  the  formation 
of  believers  into  one  body  or  church,  under  the 
government  of  Christ,  because  in  the  Christian 
Churdh  believers  enjoy  the  greatest  advantages  for 
performing  good  works,  and  because  this  formation 
of  the  church  is  termed  (verse  15)  a  creation  of 
Jews  and  Gentiles  into  one  new  man  under  Christ 
Hie  same  account  he  gives  of  the  making  men  alive, 
mentioned  verse  5.  "Others,  however,  with  more 
reason,"  says  Dr.  Macknight,  "think  that  a  person's 
enjoying,  in  the  Christian  Church,  great  advantages 
for  becoming  alive  and  for  doing  good  works,  is  not 
the  whole"^  (and  is  it  any  part?)  "of  what  the 
apostle  means'*  by  these  expressions,  but  that  they 
**  denote  the  operation  of  "the  Holy  Spirit  in  making 
Ben  alive,  and  enabling  them  to  do  good  works  by 
b 


Uncircumcision  by  that  which    is  a.  m.  406a 
called  *  the  Circumcision  iu  the  flesh  '  ^ 

made  by  hands ; 

12  y  That  at  that  time  ye  were  witliout 
Christi  *  being  aliens  from  the  commonwealth 
of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  ^  the  covenants 
of  promise,  ^  having  no  hope,  ^  and  without 
God  in  the  world : 


■  1  Cor.  xii.  2 ;  Chap.  r.  a »  Rom.  iL  28,  29. 7  Chap. 

ir.  18;  Col.  L  21. 'Es«k.  xiii.  9;  Jofaa  x.  16. »Rom. 

ii.  4»  a »» 1  Thess.  iv.  13. «  GaL  it.  8 ;  1  Thcw.  iv.  5. 


means  of  the  advantages  that  they  eiyoy."  Whidh 
God  hath  before  ordained — Or  appointed  in  his  eter- 
nal counsels,  and  in  the  declarations  of  his  word;  it 
being  his  will  and  pleasure,  that  they  who  have  be- 
lieved on  him^  through  hb  ^n,  and  are  thereby 
made  new  creatures,  should  be  careful  to  maintain 
good  works,  Titus  iii.  8.  But  the  q)0stle's  expres- 
sion, oig  irpotiToifutaev  o  Oeoc,  rather  signifies,  which 
God  TuUh  before  prepared  ;  that  is,  hatii  prepared  the 
occasions  of  good  works,  and  the  means  and  oppor- 
tunities of  doing  them.  Or,  as  some  render  the 
clause,  ybr  which  Godhath  prepared  us,  namely,  by 
the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and^he  influences  of 
his  Spirit :  that  we  should  walk  in  them — Should  live 
in  the  constant  performance  of  them,  though  not  be 
justified  by  them.  In  other  words,  He  hath  purified 
the  fountain,  that  the  streams  4nay  be  pure;  haUi 
made  the  tree  good,  that  the  fruit  may  be  good ;  haUi 
made  us  new  creatures,  that  we  may  live  new  lives; 
one  grand  and  important  end  certainly  of  our  re- 
generation. So  that  we  must  still  ascribe  the  whole 
glory  of  aU  the  good  that  is  in  us,  or  is  done  by  us, 
to  God. 

Verses  11, 12.  Wherefore— To  increase  your  sense 
of  God's  goodness  in  saving  you,  and  of  the  obliga- 
tion he  hath  thereby  laid  on  you  to  do  good  works; 
remeinber  that  yeheing  in  time  past  Gentiles — Igno- 
rant, vicious,  and  idolatrous,  neither  curcumcised  in 
body  nor  in  spirit ;  who  were  accordingly  called  Un- 
circumcision-^By  way  of  reproach,  by  that  which  is 
called  the  Circumcision— By  those  who  call  them- 
selves the  circumcised,  and  think  this  a  proof  that 
they  are  the  people  of  God ;  and  who,  indeed,  have 
that  outward  circumcision  in  the  flesh  m^e  by 
hands—By  this  description  of  circumcision,  the 
apostie  puts  his  readers  in  mind  of  the  inward  cir- 
cumcision, the  circumcision  of  the  heart,  made  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  of  which  the  outward  circumcision 
was  only  an  emblem,  (Rom.  ii.  29,)  and  intimated 
that  the  Jews  had  no  reason  to  boast  of  the  outward 
circumcision,  unless  it  was  accompanied  with  the 
circumcision  of  the  heiq^t  ThcU  ye^were  without 
C^rwr— Having  no  fwth  in  him,  or  knowledge  of  him, 
and  so  were  destitute  of  all  those  blessings  which  he 
bestows  on  his  believing  and  obedient  people ;  being 
aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel— Boih  as  to 
their  temporal  privileges  and  spiritual  blessings ;  and 
strangers  from  the  covenants  of  promise— ^woaely^ 
that  made  with  Abraham,  and  that  made  witii  the 
Israelites  at  Shiai,  which  promised  and  prefigured 
909 


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The  Gentiles^  once  far  from  Ood, 


EPHESIANS.  are  saved  tkrougn  the  blood  of  Ckri$L 


A.M. 4068.    13  *But  now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye, 
•        who  some  time  were  •for  off,  are 
made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
14  For  ^he  is  our  peace,  *who  hath  made 


*  Gal.  iii.  28. •  Acts  ii.  39 ;  Verae  17.-*— 'Mic.  t.  5 ;  John 

ji,sl  33 ;  AcU  z.  36;  Rom.  t.  1 ;  CoL  i.  20. 


Christ's  coming  to  procure  and  bestow  tliose  bless- 
ings. As  the  promises  contained  in  these  covenants 
centred  in  the  great  promise  of  the  Messiah,  and  of 
salvation  through  hioi,  he  tlierefore  speaks  of  them 
in  the  singular  number,  as  only  one  promise.  Hav- 
ing no  hope — No  sure  hope,  either  of  present  pardon 
or  future  felicity,  l>ecau|e  they  had  no  promise 
whereon  to  build  their  hope.  "  Tliat  the  heathens 
had  among  them  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state,''  says 
Dr.  Doddridge,  "  and  that  it  was  \popularly  taught, 
and  generally  believed  by  the  common  people,  must, 
I  think,  appear  incontestable,  to  any  who  are  at  all 
acquainted  with  antiquity;  but  it  is  as  apparent  that 
they  reasoned  very  weakly  upbn  the  subject,  and 
that  they  had  no  well-grounded  hope  of  future  hap- 
piness, and  that  they  were  but  very  little  impressed 
with  it,  so  that  they  had  no  Deity  to  which  they 
prayed  for  eternal  life,  as  the  fathers  often  demon- 
strate. And  by  far  the  greater  part  of  their  most 
learned  philosophers  either  expressly  denied,  in  pri- 
vate lectures  to  their  pupils,  the  doctrine  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments,  or  taught  principles  quite> 
inconsistent  with  it."  And  /without  G^ocl— Being 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  true  God,  and  so  in  eflfect 
atheists.  Such  in  truth  are,  more  or  less,  all  men, 
in  all  ages,  till  they  know  God  by  the  teaching  of  his 
own  Spirit:  in  the  world— The  widcj  vain  world, 
wherein  ye  wander,  up  and  dow|i,  unholy  and  un- 
happy. "  Both  the  Christians  and  heathens^"  as  Dir. 
Whitby  observes,  "called  each  other  atheists,  though 
both  worshipped  some  deity,  real  or  imaginary ;  be- 
cause each  s|upposed  the  other  to  reject  that  which 
was  the  true  object  of  adoration.  But  it  is  not  to  be 
conceived  that  the  apostle  would  have  given  to  the 
heathens  the  character  of  aXhetsts^  -if  the  worship  of 
the  one  living  fcind  true  God  had  really  prevailed 
amdng  them  to  tliat  degree  which  'some  Christian 
divines  have  in  cautiously  maintained  that  it  did.  The 
truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  have  been,  that,  though 
several  of  them,  speak  of  their  Jupiter  in  terms  pro- 
per to  the  one  self-existent  and  eternal  Deity  only, 
yet  they  taught  and  believed  other  things  of  him 
quite  inconsistent  with  such  perfections.  And  those 
who  had  some  knowledge  of  the  one  Supreme  Eter- 
nal Cause,  yet  practically  disregarded  him:  and, 
however  they  might  reconcile  it  with  the  dictates 
of  their  consciences,  worshipped  inferior  deities ;  and 
many  of  them  such  as  were  represented  under  the 
most  scandalous  characters,  to  the  neglect  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  an^  the  destruction  of  all  true  religion.'' 
Verses  13, 14.  But  now  in  Christ  Jesus — In  con- 
sequence of  your  union  with  him,  and  your  interest 
in  him  by  faith,  ye,  who  formerly  were  far  q^— From 
CJod  and  his  people,  (as  in  verse  12,)  are  made  nigh 
to  both,  by  the  blood  of  Christ— Whereby  he  hath 
81p 


both  one,  and  hath  broicen  down  the  A.  M.406a 

middle  wall  of  partition  between  us;  i — . 

15  ^Having  abolished  *in  Iiis  flesh  the  en- 
mity, even  the  law  of  commandments  contained 


ff  John 


16;  Oalatians  iii.  28. 

rGol.L23. 


'  ColoMians  ii  14, 20. 


atoned  for  your  sins^  and  opened  a  ire^  and  honour- 
able way  for  your  approaching  God,  and  becoming 
entitled  to  all  the  pri  vileges  of  his  people.  Fur  he  is 
our  peace— tfoi  only  as  he  purchased  it,  and  confers 
it  on  such  as  truly  believe  in  hhn,  but  as  he  is  &e 
very  bond  and  centre  of  the  union  of  believers  with 
God  and  each  other;  who  hath  made  7>oth — Believ- 
ing Jews  and  Gentiles,  one  churchy  one  flock  of 
Christ. '  This  union  of  the  Jews  and  ^e  Gentiles,  so 
as  to  make  them  one  people,  was  foretold  by  our 
Lord,  when  he  said,  (John  x.  16,)  Other  sJ^eep  i 
have  which  are  not  of  this  fold:  are  not  Jews;  and 
ihey  shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there  shall  be  one 
fold:  Greek,  ptia  izoifivjj,  one  flock,  though  in  differ- 
ent folds,  and  one  shepherd^  the  t^^^o^We  here 
describes,  Isi,  The  conjunction  of  the  Gentiles  with 
Israel,  verses  14,  15;  and,  2d,  The  conjunction  of 
both  with  God,  verses  1(J-18. ,  And  hath  broken 
down  the  middle  wall  of  partition — The  ceremonial 
law,  which  the  apostle  here  compares  to  that  wall 
in  the  Jewish  temple,  v^hich  separated  the  court  of 
Israel  from  Ae  court  of  the  Gentiles..  For  many  of 
the  rites  of  that  law  could  be  performed  nowhere 
but  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  But  Christ,  having 
now  taken  away  that  law^  and  prescribed,  imder  the 
gospel,  a  spiritual  form  of  worship,  which  may  be 
performed  everywhere,  he  hath  thereby  provided 
for  joining  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  one  church,  and 
making  them  all  one  people  in  Crod :  a  union  which 
could  not  have  taken  place  if  the  Mosaic  law  had 
been  continued.  For  the  worship  of  God,  as  to 
various  branches  of  it,  being  confined  by  that  law  to 
the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
Gentiles  could  certainly  not  have  come  thither  to 
worship  with  the  Jews. 

Verses  16-18.  Having  abolished  in  his  flesh— By 
the  sufierings  and  death  ^ndured  therein ;  the  cause 
of  enmity  between  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  even  the 
law  of  ceremonial  commandTnerUs,  contained  in 
ordinances — Consisting  in  many  institutions  aqd 
appointments  concerning  the  outward  worship  of 
God;  such  as  those  of  circumcision,  sacrifices, <:leaii 
and  unclean  meats,  washings,  and  holy  days;  which, 
being  founded  in  the  mere  pleasure  of  God,  might^ 
be  abolished  when  he  saw  fit.  These  ordmanoes 
Jesus  abolished,  that  he  might  mo/re  in  himself— 
That  is,  by  unit'mg  them  to  himself  as  their  bead ;  of 
twain — Of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  who  were  at  such, a 
distance  before ;  one  new  man — One  mystical  body, 
one  church,  renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  uniting 
in  one  new  way  of  gospel  worship:  so  making  peace 
—Between  the  two  kinds  of  people,  and  even  laying 
a  foundation  for  the  most  sincere  mutual  love  and 
friendship:  And,  or  moreover,  to  complete  this  blesth 
ed  work  of  paaking  peace,  that  he  might  reconc^ 


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CBAPTERU. 


became  the  houB^Md  of  CM, 


A.M.4O08.  in  ordiDances:  for  to  make  in  him- 
^'  ^'  **•  self  of  twain  one  ^  new  man,  so 
making  peiace ;  ^ 

16  And  that  he  might  Vreconcile  both  unto 
God  in  (me  body- by  the  croes,  "having  dain 
the  enmity  ^thereby : 

17  And  came  ^and  preached  peace  to  you 
which  were  afiur  off,  and  to  ^them  that  were 
nigh. 


k2  Cor.  T.  XT ;  Gal.  ti.  1^;  Chap.  ir.  U. » CoL  i.  20,  21, 

22.— ^ Rom.  TL  6;  viii.  3;  Col.  iL  14 *0r,  m  hmaelf. 

■Isa.  Ivii.  19;  Z©ch.  ix- 10:  AcU  iL  39;  x.  36;  Romans  v  1 ; 
Verses  13, 14. •Psa.  cxlTiii.  14. 


boihy  as  thus  united  in  on^  hady^  and  animated  by 
one  spirit,  not  merely  tp  one  another,  but  unto  God, 
by  his  death  on  V^e  cross— l^y  which  he  expiated  the 
guilt  of  sin,  and  rendered  God  reconcileable,  and 
ready  to  pardon  the  penitent  that  should  believe  in 
Jesus  5  and  by  which  he  procured  for  mankind, 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  the  Holy  Spirit  to  work 
repentance  and  faith  in  them,  and  destroy  that  car- 
nal mindy  which  is  enmity  against  God,  (Rom.  viii. 
7,)  and  all  those  sinful  passions  which  are  connected 
therewith,  and  which  render  men  odious  in  his  sight, 
and  hostile  to  one  another.  And  came — After  his  re- 
surrection ;  and  preached  peace — By  his  authorized 
ambassadors,  (to  whom  he  had  committed  the  im- 
portant trust  of  treating  with  sinners  in  his  name  and 
stead,  2  Cor.  v.  19, 20,)  to  you  Gentiles,  which  were 
afar  off— At  the  utmost  distance  from  God ;  and  to 
them  that  were  nigh — To  the  Jews,  who  were 
comparatively  nigh,  being  his  visible  church.  For 
through  ^tm— Through  his  mediation,  his  sacrifice 
and  intercession;  we 5ofA— Believing  Jeivs  and  Gen- 
tiles ;  Juive  access — Have  liberty  of  approach ;  by  one 
Spirit — Inspiring  us  with  faith,  hope,  and  love,  and 
rendering  us  sincere,  spiritual,  fervent,  and  constant, 
in  our  prayers,  praises,  and  all  acts  of  worship  and 
service:  unto  the  Father-^Thni  is,  unto  God  as  a 
Father  reconciled  in  Christ,  and  beholding  us  with 
paternal  eyes  of  love,  complacency,  and  delight 

Verses  19-22.  Now,  therefore— Being  thus  recon- 
ciled; ye— Believing  Gentiles;  are  no  more  strangers 
andforeigner9—li  it  be  necessary  to  make^ny  dis- 
tinction as  to  the  signification  of  these  two  words,  in 
the  former,  (Cevoi,)  the  apostle  n^ay  refer  to  persons 
of  a  different  country;  and  in  the  latter,  (napoiKoi,) 
to  those  of  a  different  family.  The  following  clause 
evidently  leads  to  this  sense.  But  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints — The  Church  of  €rod  Is  here  spoken 
of  under  the  emblem  of  a  city,  as  it  is  also  Isa.  xxvi. 
1, 2 ;  Ix.  1,  &c. ;  Ixii.  12 ;  Phil.  iii.  20,  (where  the  origi- 
nal expression  signifies,  our  citizenship  in  heaven,) 
as  also  Heb.  xii.  22;  Rev.  xxi.  10-27,  and  in  many 
other  places  of  the  Old  and  Now  Testaments.  Of  this 
citv,  the  believers  at  Ephesns  are  here  represented 
as  genuine  citizens,  entitled  to  all  the  glorious  im- 
munities and  privileges  of  it;  and  of  the  household 
of  God — ^Members  of  his  family,  his  servants,  yea, 
his  Sims  and  daughters.  As  if  he  had  said,  God  not 
b 


18  For    >  through   hun  we   both  a.  m:  4068. 

hare  access  *»by  one  Spirit  unto  the '. — 

Father. 

19  "Now  therefore  ye  are  no  more  strangers 
and  foreigners,  but  'fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  "  the  househudd  of  God ; 

20  And  are  *  built  '"upon  the  foundation  of 
the  '  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  ^the  diief  comet'Stpne  ; 


P  Jolin  X.  9 ;  mt.  6;  Aom.  r.  2. <  1  Cor.  xii.  13 ;  Chap. 

!▼..  4. ^*'St.  J*hotiwa*»  Day,  epistle,  rme  19  to  Che  ena. 

'Phil.  iiL  20. 'Gal.  vi.  10. « 1  Cor.  ui.  9, 10. "MaU. 

xvi.  18. »  1  Coi^  xii.  28. /  Psa.  cxviiL  22. 


only  stands  related  to  you  as  a  king  to  his  people, 
or  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  city  to  the  citizens;  but 
as  a  father  to  his  children,  who  ar^  under  his  pecu- 
liar protection  and  care,  have  the  nearest  access  to 
him,  and  most  intimate  communion  with  him.  "  Per- 
haps," says  Doddridge,  "  this  latter  clause,  ouceioi  t* 
ec»,  domestics  of  God,  may  have  some  relation  to 
that  peculiar  nearness  to  God  in<  which  the  Jewish 
priests  were,  and  refer  to  that  great  intimacy  of  un- 
restrained converse  with  God,  to  which  we,  as 
Christians,  are  admitted ;  in  which  respect  our  pri- 
vileges seem  to  resemble,  not  only  those  of  the 
people  praying  in  the  common  court  of  Israel,  but 
those  of  the  priests,  worshipping  in  the  house  itself. 
Nay,  it  is  elsewhere  added,  by  a  figure,  which  seems 
beautifully  to  rise  even  on  this,  that  we  have  confi- 
dence to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus?* 
And  are  frmtt— Here  the  apostle  aUudes  to  a  build- 
ing, particularly  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  to  which 
he  compares  God's  visible  church,  as  is  evident  from 
the  subsequent  verse;  and  he  represents  the  be- 
lievers at  Ephesusas  constituent  parts  of  this  build- 
ing; upon  the  foundation  <f  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets—The  fundamental  doctrines  declared  by  them , 
on  which  the  faith  and  hope  of  all  true  believers  are 
built.  God  laid  the  foundation  of  his  church  by 
them.  Thus  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  which  is  the  church  of  God,  in  its  most 
perfect  state  int  the  world  to  come,  is  said  (Rev. 
xxi.  14)  to  be  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  twelve 
apostles  of  the  Lamb.  The  Jewish  prophetsare  also 
said,  not  improperly,  to  be  the  foundation  of  God's 
church,  because  they  bore  testimony,  though  some 
of  them  in  an  obscure  manner,  to  moist  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel.  Perhaps,  however,  as  the  pro- 
phets are  here  mentioned  after  the  apostles,  the 
Christian  prophets  may  be  meant ;  to  whom,  by  a 
peculiar  inspiration,  the  true  meaning  of  the  writings 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets  was  made  known.  Jesus 
Christ  himselfbeing  the  chief  corner-stone — Namely, 
of  the  foundation,  holding  the  several  parts  of  the 
building  together,  and  supporting  the  chief  weight 
of  the  edifice.  It  is  true,  this  stone  may  be  con- 
ffldered  as  placed  either  at  the  top  or  at  the  bottom 
of  the  building;  but  the  latter  seems  here  to  be 
meant;  because, in  the  following  verse,  the  building 
is  said  to  be  fitly  joined  together  by  this  stone,  and 
811 


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7%€  sai»aium  <rflke  Gentiks  wa$ 


EPHBSiANa 


made  known  to  Paul  hy  revdoHmi^ 


A.H.40i8.    21    *In  whom  afl   the   building 

A.  D  61» 

...^ ! fitly  framed  t^^gether,  groweth  unto 

^a  hdy  temple  in  the  Lord: 


'  Chap;  ir.  15, 16* •  1  Cor.  iiL  17. 


to  ^roio  into  a  holy  temple  for  the  Lord.  Elsewhere, 
Christ  is  termed  the  foundation  itself,  1  Cor.  ill  11, 
where  see  the  note.  The  Lord  Jesus,  however,  is 
also  the  head  of  the  bomer-^The  top  comer-stone ; 
for  so  he  terms  himself  Bfatt  xzi.  42.  In— Or  on  ; 
whom  eUl  the  buUding— The  "whoXe^  fabric  of  the 
untrersal  church,  with  all  its  members,  and  the 
doctrines  which  they  believe,  the  precepts  which 
they  obey,  and  the  promises  which  they  embrace, 
and  in  which  they  confide;  yea,  with  all  the  bless- 
ings enjoyed  in  time,  and  expected  in  eternity ;  Jitly 
framed  ^o^c^A^r— Harmoniously  joined  in  its  seve- 
ral parts,  and  compacted  so  as  to  add  beauty,  strength, 
and  unity  to  the  whole ;  groweth — Riseth  up  like  a 
large  pile  of  living  materials,  namely,  by  the  con- 
tinual aocessipn  of  new  converts,  and  the  advancing 
graces  of  those  already  converted;  unto ^a  holy 
temple  in  the  Lorc^— Fitly  dedicated  to  the  Lord 


22  ^Inwhom  yealsoaiebuildedto-  A.M.406iL 
getber,  for  a  habitalion<^Gk)d  throng    ^'^'^ 
the  Spirit 


fclPetii.  5. 


Christ,  as  being  raised  and  supported  by  faim ;  a 
temple  in  whidi  God  displays  his  presence,  yea, 
dwells,  and  is  worshipped  in  spirit  and  m  truth. 
What  is  the  temple  of  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,  whom 
ye  formerly  worshipped,  compared  to  this?  See 
note  on  1  Pet  it  4, 5.  In  whom  ye  also— AX  Ephesus, 
believing  in  Christ,  and  placing  your  confidence  in 
him  as  the  foundation  and  high-priest  of  (his  temple ; 
are  builded  together^With  other  believers,  whether 
Jews  or  GentUes;^  a  habitation  o/*  God— That 
Qod  may  dwell  atnong  you,^  as  a  holy  and  harmo- 
nious society,  and  in  you  as  individuals,  your  bodies 
and  souls  being  also  his  temples,  (ICor.  iii.  16  ^ 
vi.  19 ;  2  Cor.  vL  16,)  through  the  Spirit-^H 
truth  and  grace,  of  power,  purity,  and  consolation ; 
of  holiness  and  happiness,  which  Crod  halh  pro- 
mised  to  all  that  believe  in  his  Son,  John  viL  38, 89 ; 
Acts  it  39. 


CHAPTER  IIL 

In  tkk  ekapUr^  fitrtker  to  ruemuund  the  gospel  to  the  regard  of  these  GentiU  tomteris,  the  aposUe^  (1,)  Stnmgbf  expreMte 
the  sense  he  had  of  the  dimne  goodness^  in  committing  it  to  his,  trust,  though  he  vas  eaBed  to  saer^iee  his  Ubetty  m  its 
defenu,  1-lS.  (2,)  He  represents  the  earnestness  with  which  he  prayed  fcfr  their  esttAHshment  in  Christiamiy,  as  ike 
meet  important  blessing  which  he  eOuld  possiUy  desire  for  them,  18-Sl. 

3  •  How  that  'by  revelation  «^he  A.BL40Q8. 
made  known  unto  me  the  mystery,  — 1-1 — 
**  as  I  wrote  ^  afore  in  few  wcwrds ; 

4  Whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  may  understand 
my  knowledge  ^  in  the  mystery  of  Christ, 

6  ^  Which  in  other  ages  was  not  made  known 


A, 
A. 


M.  4068.  pOR*  this  cause,  I  Paul,  •  the  pri- 
soner of  Jesus  Christ  ^for  you 


Gentiles,  - 

3  K  ye  have  heard  of  ^  the  dispensation 
of  the  grace  of  God  ^  which  b  given  me  to 
you-ward : 


*  ^iphftny,  epistle,  rene  1  to  rerse  13. *  Acts  zxL  33 ; 

xxTiii.  17,20;  Chap.  ir.  1 ;  vi.20;  Phil.  i.  7,  13,  14,  16;  Col. 

IT.  3,16;  2  Tim.  i.  8;  ii.  9;  Phflom.  i.  9. '»GaL  v.  11; 

CoL  L  24;  2  Tim.  iL  10. ^  Rom.  i.  5  j  xi.  13 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  I ; 

Chap.  IT.  7 ;  CoL  i.  25. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1-7.  For  this  coi^e— That  you  may  be  so 
built  up  togethei',  and  made  the  temple  of  God,  and 
his  habitation  through  the  Spirit;  I  bow  my  knees, 
Scc^  see  verse  14,  with  which  the  words  are  evidently 
closely  connected,  (as  they  are  also  with  the  dose 
of  the  precediug  chapter,)  the  subsequent  paragraph 
to  the  end  of  verse  13  manifestly  coming  in  by  way 
of  parenthesis.  /  Paul,  the  prisoner  of^  Jesus  Christ 
for  you  Oeniiles^FoT  your  advantage,  for  asserting 
your  nght  to  these  blessings.  This  it  was  which  so 
much  enraged  the  Jews  against  him.  If  ye  have 
heard — Or,  seeing  ye  Jiave  heard,  as  eiye  ijKware  may 
be  properly  rendered }  and  being  so  rendered  will  be 
3U 


'Acts  is.  15;  ziii.  2;  Rom.  zii  3 ;  Qal.  L16;  Verse  S. 

•  Acts  xxil  17,  21 ;  xxvi.  17, 18. '  Gal.  L  12.^— f  Rom.  xri. 

25  ;  Col.  i.  26,  27. »» Chap.  i.  9,  10. » Or,  a  ItttU  Ufort. 

*  1  Cor.  iv,  1 ;  Chap.  vi.  1^. k  Aets  x.  28;  Rom.  xri.  25^; 

Verse  9, 


very  applicable  to  the  Ephesians,  who,  no  doubt^ 
were  well  acquainted  with  Paul's  apostolical  com- 
mission. Here,  by  way  of  digression,  the  apostle 
seta  forth  the  nature  and  dignity  of  his  apostolical 
office  toward  the  Gentiles,  as  in  Rom.  xL  13.  Of  the 
dispensation  of  the  grace  of  God— For  the  nieanmg 
of  the  word  oucotfofua^  here  rendered  dispensation^ 
see  note  on  chap.  L 10.  It  here  means  the  authority 
and  commission  given  him  to  declare  the  doctrine 
of  the  grace  of  God  to  the  Gentiles,  as  displa]^  in 
the  gospel  j  which  is  given  me  to  yott-tcarci— Which 
office  is  committed  to  me  cbiefly  with  relation  to 
you  Gentiles,  to  be  employed  for  your  edification; 
how  that  by  reoe/otum,  see  (Acts  xxvi.  IC,  17,)  and 

b 


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^  Pixul  detlareskis  commission 


CHAPtBR  in. 


iopreack  Christ fothe  GenitUs. 


A.  M. 4068.  unto  the  BODS  of  man.  ^ak  it  is  now 

A.  D  04* 

: —  revealed'unto  his  holy  apostles  and 

propheta  by  the  Spirit; 

6  That  the  Gentiles  "'should  be  fellow-heirs, 
and  'of  the  same  body,  and  "partakers  of  his 
piomise  in  Christ  by  the  gospel : 

7  >  Whereof  I  was  made  a  minister,  "^  accord- 
ing to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  Ood  given  unto 
me  by  '  the  efffectual  working  of  his  power, 

8  Unto  me,  "  who  am  less  th^n  the  least  of 
all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  *I  should 


« Cbap.  u.  20. ■  GaL  iii  28,  29  ;^  Chap.  ii.  14. ■  Chap. 

li.  15,  16. oGaL  iii.  14. pRom.  xr.  16;  CoL  i.  23,  25. 


4  Rom.  i.  5.- 
16;  il  9. 


■'Rom.  XT.  18. •!  Cor.  xr.  9.- 


'Gal.  i. 


not  by  the  instrumentality  of  any  human  testimony; 
he  made  known  to  me  the  mystery — Which  had  so 
long  been  concealed,  namely,  that  salvation  by  Christ 
alone  was  free  for  both  the  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  as  I 
wrote  o/bre— Namely,  chap.  L  9,  10;  in  few  words 
— The  very  words  of  which  passage  he  here  repots. 
The  apostle  does  not  appear  tp  mean  that  he  had  writ- 
ten of  the  my^ery  in  a  few  words,  for  the  greatest 
part  of  the  preceding  chapters  is  taken  up  in  explain- 
ing that  mystery;  but  his  meaning  seems  to  be,  that 
he  had  written  before  in  a  few  words  concerning  the 
discovery  of  the  mystery  to  him  by  revelation.  The 
mystery  which  in  other  ages  was  not  made  kfiown 
— 8o  dearly  and  fully;  unto  the  sons  of  men^^q, 
not  to  the  Jews  themselves;  (see  on  Matt  xiii.  17;) 
as  it  is  now  revealed^ln  consequence  of  the  death 
and  resurrectioi^  of  Christ;  ttnto  his  holy  apostles 
arid  prophets—Nsmely,  of  the  New  Testament :  sec 
on  1  Cor.  xiL  98.  That  the  Gentiles  should  he 
feUow-Jieirs^yf'ith  the  believing  Jews,  (GaL  Ui.  29,) 
and  Christ  himself^  (Rom.  viii.  17,)  of  the  heavenly 
inheritance;  and  of  the  same  body— Under  Christ 
the  head,  or  incorporated  in  the  true  church ;  and 
partakers  of  his  promise — Of  pardon,  adoption,  the 
renewing  of  die  Holy  Ghost  and  eternal  life ;  in 
Okmr— Purchased  by  him,  and  enjoyei  by  virtue  of 
your  union  with  him ;  in  the  gospel — ^Preached  to 
you.  Whereof  I  was  made  a  minister-^-'When  first 
called  by  Christ  himself  appearing  to  me  for  that 
purpose ;  a^scording  to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God 
—To  which  office  he  raised  me,  not  through  any 
worthiness  of  mine,  but  of  his  free  grace;  given 
unio  me — In  a  most  extraordinary  and  remarkable 
manner;  by  the  ^ectual  working  of  his  power — 
Which  conquered  my  prejudices,  enlightened  my 
QBderstanding,  changed  my  heart,  and  prepared  and 
qualified  me  for  that  high  and  holy  office,  averse  as 
I  once  was  to  all  the  purposes  of  it. 

Verses  8,  9,  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  thcleast 
of  all  saints,  &c. — Here  are  the  noblest  strains  of 
eloquence^  to  paint  the  exceeding  low  opinion  which 
the  apostle  had  of  himself,  and  the  fulness  of  un- 
fathomable blessings  which  are  treasured  up  in 
Christ  Th&word e^^xtcorepu is acomparative,  formed 
ftom  the  superlative  elaxirocy  the  force  of  which  it 
If  difilcult  to  express  in  the  JKnglish  (language. 


'the  un^ 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.  64. 


preach  amcmg  the  Oentiles 
searchable  riches  of  Christ ; 

9  And  to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fel- 
lowship of  "the  mystery,  ^ which  from  the 
begim[iuig  of  the  world  hath  been  hid  in  God, 
'  who  created  all  things  by  Jesus  C^hrist : 

10  *  To  the  intent  that  now  ^  unto  the  princi- 
paUties  and  powers  in  heavenly  pleu^es  •  might 
bo  known  by  the  church  the  manifdd  wisdom 
of  God, 

11  ^  Accc^ding  to  the  eternal  purpose  which 


■  ChaJ).  L  7. «  VerM  3. r  Rom.  xvi.   36.— —»  Pmi. 

xxxiii.  6;  John  i.  3. *1  Peter  i.  12.- — »>  ^tomans  riii.  38; 

Ctiapter  L  21;   ColoMians  L  16. «  1    Connthians  ii.  7. 

^  Chapter  i.  9. 


Doubtless  he  speaks  of  himself  in  this  humble  man- 
ner, on  account  of  his  having  been  formerly  a  blas- 
phemer of  Christ,  a  persecutor  of  hb  disciples,  and 
exceedingly  injurious  in  so  acting.  /*  this  grace 
given— Tkia  unmerited  favour  bestowed;  that  I 
should  preach  among  the  GentUes^-lgaoxsjoi  of  di- 
vine things  as  they  had  been  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  apparently  abandoned  of  God  to  vice 
and  wretchedness  j  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 
—Those  unsearchable  perfections,  (Col.  iL  9,)  where- 
by he  is  qualified  to  be  tho  Saviour  of  the  world,  and 
to  bestow  on  all  who  believe  the  greatest  spiritual 
blessings^  which  are  the  only  true  riches,  because 
they  render  the  possessors  perfectly  happy.  In 
other  words.  In  the  riches  of  Christ,  here  justly  said 
to  be  unsearchable,  are  included,  Ist,  ^va  redeeming 
acts;  such  as  his  incarnation,  his  enduring  tempta- 
tion, his  obedience  unto  death,  his  resurrection,  as- 
cension, intercession.  2d,  His  saving  benefits;  as 
illumination,  justification,  adoption,  the  spirit  of 
adoption  and  regeneration,  the  restoration  of  God's 
image  to  the  soul,  communion  with  God,  and  eter- 
nal life.  3d,  The  ways  and  means  of  the  applica- 
tion of  these  acts  and  benefits;  as  (1,)  The  proper- 
ties and  powers  Exerted  by  Christ,  such  as  his  wis- 
dom, power,  love,  patience:  (2,)  The  means  and  or- 
dinances, as  affliction,  the  word  of  God,  prayer,  the 
fellowship  of  saints:  (3,)  The  graces  wad  virtues  to 
be  exercised  by  us;  as  faith,  hope,  love,  obedience; 
in  all  which  particulars  unsearchable  riches  are  com- 
prehended, and  by  which  we  may  be  unspeakably 
and  eternally  enriched.  And  to  make  men  see — To 
enlighten  and  instruct,  as  well  the  Gentiles  as  Che 
Jews,  and  show  ihem.what  is  the  fellowship  of 
the  mystery— yn[idX  those  mysterious  blessings  are 
whereof  all  believers  wee  called  jointly  to  partake; 
which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world^^Qreek,  am 
Tuv  auiViWyfrom  ages,  and  from  generations,  (Col. 
i.  26,)  hcUh  been  hid  in  God— Concealed  in  his  se- 
cret counsels ;  who  created  aU  things  by  Jesus  Christ 
—His  eternal  Word  and  Son,  John  i.  3;  Ueb.  1.  2; 
where  see  the  notes.  This  is  the  foundation  of  all 
his  dispensations. 

Verses  l(>rl2.  To  the  intent  that  now— VtiAex^ 
gospel  dispensation,  the  last  and  best  dispensation 
of  divine  grace  and  mercy  to  fallen  man;  unto  ihs 
818 


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for  ikt  Epheaiims. 


■A.  M.  4068.  be    purposed  .  pi  Christ   Jesus  our 
^^'^.  Lord: 

12  In  whom  we  h^ve  boldiieflB  and  *  access 
'with  confidence  by  the  fiuth  of  him. 

13  ^^lYh^efore  I  desire  that  ye  faint  not  at 
my  tribulations  ^  for  you,  ^  which  is  your  ^ry . 

14  For  this  caude  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

16  Of  whom  ^  the  whole  fiunily  in  heaven 
and  earth  is  named, 


•Chap,  il  18. 'Hcb.  ir.  16. *  Sixteenth  Sundty  after 

Trimty,  epistle,  reise  13  to  the  end.—*  Acts  xir.  22 ;  Phil. 

i.  14 ;  1  These,  iii.  3. ^  Verse  1. *  2  Cor.  i.  6. ^Chap. 

1.10;  PhU.  ii.9-11. 


prindpdUtiea  and  powers  in  heavenly  places — To 
ail  the  various  orders  of  angelic  beings ',  might  be 
made  knovm  by  the  c^rc^^Nam^y,  t^  what  is 
done  in  and  for  it ;  tAe  manifold  wisdom  of  God— 
Discovering  itself  gradually  in  such  a  beautiful  and 
well-ordered  variety  of  dispensations.  By  this  the 
apostle  seems  to  intimate  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
is  the  grand  theatre  in  which  the  divine  wis4om  is 
most  signally  displayed,  including,  doubtless,  the 
manifestation  made  therein  of  the  whole^process  of 
Christ  for  the  accomplishment  of  man's  redemption 
and  salvation.  According  to  the  eternal  purpose — 
The  original  plan  adjnsted  in  the  Divine  Mind,  and 
to  be  executed  in  due  time  in  and  by  Jesuis  Christ 
our  Lord ;  iny  or  throttgh  whom  we  have  boldness 
and  access  with  confidence— Such  as  those  petition- 
ers have  who  are  introduced  to  the  royal  presence 
by  some  distinguished  favourite;  the  word  napprfoia, 
rendered  boldness,  implies  tmrestrained  liberty  of 
speech,  such  as  children  us6  in  addressing  an  indulgent 
father,  when,  without  fear  of  offending,  they  disclose 
alt  their  wants,  and  make  known  all  Uieir  requests. 
Verses  13-16.  WherqforeSinoe  by  my  ministry 
you  have  been  called  to  the  fellowship  of  the  gos- 
pel; I  desire  that  ye  faint  not — Be  not  discouraged 
or  disheartened ',  at  my  tribulations  for  preaching 
the  gospel  to  yoUj  which  is  your  glory — A  cause  of 
glorying  and  rejoicing  ;to  you,  inasmuch  as  hereby 
it  appears  how  much  God  regards  you,  in  thiH  he 
not  o^y  sends  his  apostles  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
you,  but  to  do  this  notwithstanding  the  great  variety 
of  extreme  suffbrings  to  which  they  are  hereby  ex- 
posed. Far  tfUs  cause— ThsX  ye  may  not  faint, 
eiCher  on  account  of  my  sufferings  or  your  own,  and 
that  the  great. work  in  which  I  am  engaged  may 
more  successfully  be  carried,  on,  and  the  purposes 
of  these  my  sufferings  maybe  answered  in  your  con- 
solation and  the  divine  glory  'f  I  bow  my  knees  unto 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ— I  present  my 
iineere  ahd  ardent  supplications  before  him.  Or 
rather,  the  apostle  here  returns  to  the  subject  which 
he  began  in  verse  1,  (where  see  the  note,)  the  inter- 
vening verses  coming  in  by  way  of  paretithesis.  Of 
whom— The  Father;  the  whole  family  of  angels  in 
heaven— Seants  in  paradise,  and  believers  on  earth, 
is  named— Atb  acknowledged  by  him  as  his  chil- 
dma^  a  more  honourable  title  than  children  of  Abror 
3U 


16  That  be  weidd  graot  you,  ^ao-  A.M.40i8 

coiding  to  the  i^ies  <tf  his  glory, 1^ 

"*  to  be  strengthened  with  might  Iqr  his  Spirit 
jn '^  the  inner  man ; 

17  ^  Thai  Christ  may  dwdl  in  your  hearts 
by  &ith ;  that  ye^  i»  being  rooted  and  gioondfid 
in  love, 

18  "^  May  be  aUe  to  comprehend  with  all 
saints  'what  to  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth,  and  height ; 


1  Romans  ix.  23 ;  Chap. 
■Chap.  Ti.  10;  Col.  i.  11.- 
<»  John  xir.  23 ;  Chap.  ii.  22.- 
18. r  Rom.  z.  3/11,  12. 


7;  Phil.  iv.  19;  Col.  L  27. 
-•  Kom.  rii.  22 ;  2  Cor.  it.  ISL 
-*  Col.  i.  23 ;  ii.  7.— ♦Chap.  L 


ham;  and  acknowledge  their  dependance upon,  and 
relation  to  him.  Or,  in  the  family  here  iq>oken  o<^ 
all  rational  beings  in  heaven  and  earth  may  be  con- 
sidered as  included,  because  they  derive  their  being 
from  him,  and  are  supported  by  hUn«  Thai  he 
would  grant  you  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glo* 
ry— The  immense  fiilness  of  his  glorious  wisdom, 
power,  mercy,  and  love ;  to  be  strengthened  with 
might — Or  mightily  strengthened,  that  is,  endowed 
with  courage,  fortitude,  and  power,  to  withstand  all 
your  spiritual  enesiies,  to  do  with  cheerfulness,  and 
suffer  with  patience, his  ^ole  will;  by  his  Spirit — 
the  great  source  of  all  power  and  might,  grace  and 
goodness ;  in  the  inner  man — ^The  souL 

Verses  17-19.  That  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
hearts — May  be  always  present  with  yqu,  and  may 
reside  continually  in  you,  by  hia  purifying  and  com- 
forting influences,  so  as  to  direct  your  judgmeat, 
engross  your  affections,  and  gt>vem  all  your  passicms 
and  tempers.  See  on  John  xvii.  38^;  Oal.  iL  31.  By 
faith— iy  means  of  a  continual  exercise  of  fiu^  in 
him,  and  in  the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospeL 
"The  apostle  had  called  the  church  the  tem]^  of 
God,  chap.  ii.  21 ;  here  he  represents  every  indivi- 
dual believer  as  the  habitation  of  Christ,  who  came 
from  heaven  that  he  mig^t  rule  in  the  hearts  of  men. 
And  surely  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  our  hearts 
by  faith  in  his  doctrines  and  promises,  is  a  much 
greater  honour  than  that  which  the  temple  of  Ephe- 
sus  was  said  to  possess,  through  the  residence  of  an 
image  of  Diana,  falsely  reported  to  have  £dlen  down 
from  Jupiter,  Acts  xix.  86:  also  abetter  preservative 
from  evil  than  the  votaries  of  that  idol  pretended  to 
possess,  by  carrying  about  her  shrine,  mentioned 
Acts  x'«.  24."  That  being  rooted  and  grounded— 
Deeply  fixed  and  firmly  established ;  in  love—Ba&k 
in  an  experimental  knowledge  of  God's  love  to  you, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  a  fervent  Idve  to  him  in  return, 
and  to  each  other,  which  will  be  a  never-failing 
source  of  piety  and  virtue  in  your  hearts  and  lives. 
The  word  re^efuXtG/tevoi,  here  rendered  grounded^ 
is  Used  in  allusion  to  a  building^  agreeably  to  the 
apostle's  representation  of  the  Christian  Church  as 
the  temple  of  God,  built  not  of  stones,  but  of  men 
who  believe  and  obey  the  gospel.  And,  (as  the  pious 
Professor  Frank  observes,)  in  the  following  claust, 
"  he  expresses  his  wish  that  the  foundation  might  bs 


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CHAFTSBni. 


Mohaiion  of  the  Ephesiam. 


A.  M.  4069. 
A.  D.  64. 


19  And  to  know  the  love  of  Christ, 

which  passeCh  knowledge^  that  ye 

might  be  filled  "  with  all  the  fulness  ot  God. 

20  Now  ^  uAto  him  that  is  aUe  to  do  exceed- 

Ukg  abundantly  "above  all  that  we  ask  or  think, 


•John L  16;  Cluip.  L  S3 ;  OoL iL 9, la- 
JudeM. 


'Rom.  zri.  25; 


80  extensively  and  deeply  laid,  apd  that  a  saperstruc- 
ture  might  be  raised,  extending  itself  to  such  a  mag- 
nificent length,  and  breadth,  and  height^  as  to  be 
fitted  to  receive  the  sacred  gnest,  that  he  might 
dwell,  as  it  were,  uncrowded  in  their  hearts."  May 
be  able  to  compreheTuUSo  far  as  a  human  mind  is 
capable;  tenth  all  saints — That  which  all,  who  are 
worthy  of  the  name  of  saints,  do  in  some  measure  at- 
tain unto  here,  and  shall  fully  understand  hercaAer ; 
tehatisthebreadth — Of  the  love  of  Chrbt,  embracing 
all  mankind ;  and  lengthr^TTQm  everiasting  to  ever- 
lasting; and  depth — Descending  into  the  abyss  of 
our  sin  and  misery  to  rescue  us  thence;  and  height. 
— Exalting  us  to  the  summit  of  heavenly  glory  and 
felicity,  to  the  dignity  of  God's  sons  and  daughters 
here,  and  to  the  vision  and  enjoyment  of  him  here- 
after. And  to  know  the  love  of  Christ — Continually 
aspiring  after  more  enlarged  and  affecting  views 
thereof,  even  of  the  love  which  he  hath  displayed  in 
purchasing  his  church  with  his  own  blood,  and  re- 
deeming it  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation,  Bev.  v.  9 ;  which,  however,  after 
all  we  can  say  or  think  of  it,  as  to  its  nature,  extent, 
and  excellence,  does  and  ever  will  infinitely  surpass 
our  knowledge  and  comprehension.  "This  prayer 
of  the  apostle  docs  not  imply  any  contradiction,  for 
though  the  love  of  Christ  be'  so  great  that  it  cannot 
be  comprehended  by  the  understanding  of  men,  the 
apostle  with  great  propriety  prayed  that  they  might 
know  as/ much  of  it  as  the  limited  nature  of  their 
faculties  permitted  them  to  know,  in  order  to  their 
being  sensible  of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  in 
gatheringthe  Christian  Church,  not  only  from  among 
the  Jews,  but  from  among  the  idolatrous  Gentiles 
also;^  and  in  bestowing  on  the  members  of  that 
church  such  unspeakable  blessings  of  grace  here, 
and  in  preparing  for  them  such  blessings  of  glory 
hereafter.  That  ye  might  be  filed  with  all  the  ful- 
ness of  God — M acknight,  who  applies  this  clause  to 
the  church  af  Ephesus,  collectively  considered,  ra- 
ther than  to  the  individuals  of  which  it  was  compos- 
ed, observes,  "  Having  told  the  Ephesians,  (chap.  ii. 
21, 22,)  that,th«.  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  formed  into 
a  holy  tempU,for  a  habitation  of  God  by  the  Spi- 
rit, he  prays  that  this  great  temple  might  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  the  presence  of  the  true  God, 
inhabiting  every  part  of  it  by  the  gifts  and  graces  of 
the  Spirit,  chap.  iv.'6.  Por  in  that  respect  the  Chris- 
tian Church  far  exceeded  the  temple  at  Ephesus, 
which  had  nothing  in  it  pretending  to  divinity,  but 
the  lifeless  image  of  an  idol  placed  in  a  comer  of  if 
The  apostle,  however,  rather  intended  this,  as  he 
evidently  did  all  the  preceding  clauses  of  his  prayer, 
to  be  applied,  not  so  much  to  that  or  any  other 
b 


*  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  a.  m.  406a 
inus,  ^'^^' 

21  7  Unto  him  be  glory  in  the  church  by 
Cauist  Jesus  throughont  all  ages,  world  without 
end.    Amen. 


■  1  Cor.  ii  ».- 


■  Verse  7 ;  Col.  i.  29. r  Romans  xL  96; 

zri  37 ;  Heb.  xiii.  21. 


church  in  general,  as  to  each  indiYidual  believer 
therein  in  particular.  He  therefore  prayed  that  the 
mind  and  heart  of  each  might  be  enlarged  more 
abundantly,  so  as  to  admit  larger  communications 
than  ever  of  divine  light,  love,  wisdom,  holiness, 
power,  and  glory,  till  at  length  they  should  arrive  in 
the  heavenly  state,  to  full  perfection  in  the  know- 
ledge, image,  and  enjoyment  of  God,  where  that 
which  is  perfect  being  come,  tbey  should  know  even 
as  they  also  were  known,  and  possess  love  in  pro- 
portion to  their  knowledge. 

Verses  20, 2}.  Now  unto  him,  &c— This  doxology 
is  admirably  adapted  to  strengthen  our&|th,  that  we 
may  not  stagger  at  the  great  things  the  apostle  has 
been  praying  for,  as  if  they  were  too  much  for  God 
to  give,  or  for  us  to  expect  to  receive  from  him. 
Unto  him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly^ 
&e.— Here  is  a  most  beautiful  gradation.  When 
God  has  given  us  abundant,  yea,  exceeding  abun- 
dant blessings,  still  we  may  ask  for  more,  and  he  is 
able  to  give,  or  do  for  us,  what  we  ask.  But  we  may 
think  of  more  even  than  we  have  asked,  and  he  is 
able  to  do  this  .also ;  yea,  and  above  all  this ;  above 
all  we  ash,  above  all  we  can  think,  nay,  exceed- 
ing abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  either  ask  or 
think:  according  to  the  power  thai  worketh  in  us — 
Which  is  alrei^y  so,  illustriously  displayed,  and 
worketh  so  efficaciously  in  us.  The  change  which 
the  Ephesians  had  already  experienced,  not  only  in 
their  views  of  things,  but  in  their  hearts  and  lives, 
their  dispositions,  words,  and  actions,  yea,  in  all  the 
powers  and  faculties  of  their  souls,  through  the 
mighty  working  of  the  power  of  God  in  them,  was 
a  sufficient  foundation  on  which  to  build  their  hope 
of  receiving  all  the  blessings  promised  to  them  ii^ 
the  gospel;  and  particularly  the  blessings  of  a  com- 
plete restoration  to  a  conformity  to  the  image  of 
God's  Son  (Rom.  viii.28;  1  John  iv.  17)  in  this  life, 
and  happiness  greater  than  can  be  now  conceived  in 
the  life  to  come.  7\>  him  be  glory  in  the  church-^ 
On  earth  and  in  heaven;  by  Christ  Jesus — Its  glori- 
ous Head,  through  whom  all  his  blessings  descend 
to  us,  and  our  praises  ascend  to  him ;  throughout  aU 
a^e«— Through  the  most  distant  ages  and  periods, 
as  long  as  the  earth  with  its  successive  generations 
shall  continue;  and  world  without  end — Or,  as  the 
original,  ctf  naaa^  ra^  yevea^  th  aiuvo^  tov  aiovov,  lite- 
rally signifies,  through  all  the  successive  generations 
of  the  age  of  ages,  **  The  variety,"  says  Blackwall, 
in  his  Sacred  Classics,  "  and  emphasis  of  the  elegant 
and  subhme  repetitions  in  these  two  last  verses  of  this 
chapter,  are  such  as  cannot  be  reached  in  any  transla- 
tion." And  with  this  sublime  doxology  the  apostle 
ends  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  epistle. 
310 


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mutual  lave  and  unUy. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Here  the  dpostU  hegine  to  make  a  practical  improvement  of  the  doctrinee  before  declared  in  an  exhortation  to  the  hetievers  ai 
Epheeut,  to  wdk  tborthy  of  their  Christian  calling,  (1,)  In  mutual  love  and  union,  in  eoneideration  of  the  many  power- 
ful motives  impelling  them  thereto,  as  members  </  one  body,  inhabited  by  one  Spirit,  servants  efone  Lord,  professing  one 
faith  in  him,  one  hope  of  eternal  life,  baptized  with  one  baptism,  and  worshipping  one  Ood  and  Father  of  them  all,  1-i. 
{2,)  In  a  due  use  of  their  gifts  and  graces  for  their  own  edification,  and  that  of  their  fellow-Christians,  7-16.  (8,)  In  the 
most  earnest  pursuit  of  holiuss  in  heart  and  life,  17-24.  (4,)  In  earefuUy  avoiding  lying,  sinful  anger,  dishonesty,  cor- 
rupt discourse,  malice,  revenge,  and  the  like  sins,  to  which,  as  heathens,  they  hadforrherly  been  much  addicted,  2&-d2. 


A.  M.  4068.  T^THEREFORE  •theprifloneriof 

A.D.  64.     1     .        T      J     u  L  .u   * 

the  Lord,  beseech  you  that  ye 

^walk  worthy  of  die  vocation  wherewith  ye 
are  called, 
2  °  With  all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with 
ktig-euflering,  forbearing  one  another  in  love ; 


*  Serenteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  reiM  1  to  reise 

7. »  Chapter  iil  1 ;  Philemon  L  », »  Or,  m  4hs  Lord. 

k  PhU.  i.  27 :  Col.  i.  10 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  12. «  Acts  xx.  19 ;  GaL 

T.  22,  23 ;  Col.  iii.  12, 13. *  Col  iii.  14. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verse  1.  /  therefore^  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord— 
Imprisoaed  for  his  sake  and  for  yours;  for  the  sake 
of  the  gospel  which  he  had  preached  to  them  aad 
other  Gentiles:  see  note  on  chap.  liL  1:  this  was 
therefore  a  powerful  motive  to  them  to  comfort  him 
under  his  sufferings  by  their  obedience ;  beseech  you 
that  ye  walk  worthy  of  pie  vocation,  &c. — That 
is,  in  a  manner  suitable  to  the  privilege  which  you 
enjoy,  and  to  the  state  of  grace  and  favour  with  God 
into  which  you  have  been  brought  by  hearing  and 
believing  the  gospel.  As  if  he  had  said,  Let  there 
be  nothing^  in  your  spirit  or  conduct  beneath  the 
dignity  to  which  you  are  raised,  and  the  illustrious 
hopes  which  are  set  before  you;  but  show  tbat  t*he 
crown  of  glory  is  ever  in  your  eye,  and  that  your 
hearts  are  duly  impressed  with  it  Thus  we  see  the 
great  discoveries  in  the  foregoing  part  of  this  epistle, 
to  which  the  apostle  has  given  the  appellation  of  the 
mystery  of  God  and  of  Christ,  were  set  forth  by  him, 
not  merely*for  the  purpose  of  enlightening  the  Bphe- 
sian  believers  in  the  knowledge  of  the^e  sublimfi 
truths,  and  fixing  them  in  the  belief  and  profession 
thereof;  but  also  to  give  him  an  elevation  of  senti- 
ment and  affection  becoming  those  to  whose  minds 
such  glorious  discoveries  were  made;  and  at  the 
same  time  to  lead  them  to  a  proper  behaviour  toward 
God,  one  another,  and  all  men,  and  that  In  every 
circumstance  and  relation  of  life  wherein  they  were 
placed;  the  various  particulars  of  which  are  speci- 
fied in  the  very  excellent  summary  of  practical  re- 
ligion contained  in  the  remaining  chapters  of  this 
epistle. 

Verses  2,  3.  With  all  lowliness— Or  humility  pf 
mind,  having' mean  thoughts  of  yourselves  because 
of  your  former  sinfulness  and  guilt,  depravity,  weak- 
ness, and  misery,  and  your  unworthiness  of  that  merr 
cy  which  God  hath  exercised  toward  you;  and 
meekness — Maintaining  calmness,  serenity,  and 
peace  of  mind,  amid  the  infirmities  and  indiscre- 
tions of  your  Christian  friends,  and  even  amid  the 
affironts  and  injuries  of  your  enemies;  with  long- 
816 


3  Endeavouring  to  keep  the  unity  a.  m.  406a 
of  the  Spirit  ^  in  the  bond  of  peace. '. — 1 

4  •  There  is  one  body,  and  'one  Spirit,  even 
as  ye  are  called  in  one  '  hope  of  your  calling ; 

5  ^  One  Lord,  ^  one  fiuth^  ^  one  baptism, 

6  ^  One  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  t^  above 


•  Rom.  xii.  5 :  ICor.  xii.  13 ;  Chap.  u.  16. '  1  Cor.  xii.-4, 

11.— « Chap.  1. 18. ^1  Cor.  i.  13;  Tiii.6;  xii-  5;  2  Cor. 

xi.  4. •  Jude  3 ;  Terse  13. ^  Gal.  iii.  27, 28 ;  Hebrews  ti. 

6. >  MaL  il  10 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  6. 

suffering— ToytbtA  all  men,  whether  saints  or  sin- 
ners, always  possessing  your  souls  in  patience,  and 
whatever  provocations  you  receive,  never  seeidng 
revenge,  or  yielding  to  resentment  or  ill-will  toward 
any.  Forbearing— Qreek,  avexo/uvot,  bearing  with ; 
one  another  in  fot?«— That  is,  out  of  a  principle  of 
love  to  God,  your  fellow-Christians,  and  all  men ; 
endeavouring,  so  far  as  in  you  lies,  to  keep  the  unity 
of  the  Spirit— Thdii  mutual  union,  concorid,  and  har- 
mony, which  is  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit;  in  the  bond 
of  peace — In  a  peaceable,  kind,  and  affectionate  dis* 
position  toward  one  another. 

Verses  4-6.  The  apostle  proceeds  to  remind  the 
believers  at  Kphesus  of  some  of  the  many  very  pow- 
erful considerations  which  had  force  enough,  k  at- 
tended to  and  laid  to  heart,  to  induce  them  to  culti- 
vate and  preserve  the  unity  to  which  he  exhorts 
them.  Tliere  is  one  body— One  mystical  body  of 
Christ,  of  which  he  is  the  living  head,  and  ye  all  are 
members ;  and  as  such  should  sympathize  with,  care 
for,  and  assist  one  another,  as  the  members  of  the 
human  body  do.  And  in  this  one  body  there  is  one 
Divine  iSjptrfl^ Which  enlivens,  actuates,  and  fills  it, 
and  under  his  influence  it  should  be  your  constant 
concern  to  act ;  even  as  ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of 
your  calling — To  the  expectation  of  one  and  the 
same  common  heaven,  one  and  the  same  glorious 
abode  in  the  eternal  world.  One  Lord— And  Mas- 
ter, of  whom  you  are  all  servants;  one  Redeemer 
and  Saviour,  who  hath  assumed  our  fraQ  nature, 
lived  and  died  for  us,  that  he  might  unite  us  in  bonds 
of  mutual,  fervent,  and  everlasting  love ;  one  faith— 
In  that  one  Lord,  and  in  the  truths  of  one  and  the 
same  divine  revelation,  all  which  are  designed  and 
calculated  to  bind  the  disciples  together  in  ^he  pleas- 
ing bonds  of  love  and  unity ;  one  outward  baptism 
— Or  seal  of  the.  covenant  of  grace,  and  emblem  oi 
the  washing  of  regeneration.  One  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  all— Whose  real  people,  whose  true  wor- 
shippers, whose  beloved  children,  whose  living  tem- 
ples you  are ;  who  is  aJjove  you  all — Ruling  you  as 
his  subjects,  and  presiding  over  you  as  his  children) 

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CHAPTER  IV. 


fir  the  edification  of  the  charck.'' 


A.  M.  4066.  all^  and  *  through  all,  and  in  you 

7  *But  'unto  every  one  of  us  id  given  grace 
aGCOidii^  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ 

8  Wherefore  he  saith,  "^  When  he  ascended 
up<mh]gh,  >^  he  led  ^captivity  captive,  and  gave 
gifts  unto  men.  ^ 

9  «  Now  that  he  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that 


•Bora.  zL  36.—*  8t  Market  Dvf,  epitUe,  vene  7  to  verse 

17. ■  Romina  ziL  3,  6 ;  1  Cor.  zii.  IL »  PmIbis  Unii.  18. 

Pjndg-T.  12. 


through  you  ott— By  his  enlightening  and  directing 
word ;  and  in  you  aU—By  his  quickening,  sancti- 
fying, and  comforting  Spirit.  Such  are  the  reasons 
and  motives  obliging  the  true  disciples  of  Christ  to 
love  and  unity  with  one  another;  reasons  and  mo- 
tives most  powerfid  surely  to  bind  them  together  in 
peace  and  harmony,  and  such  as  manifest  discord, 
contention,  strife,  and  division,  io  be  unspeakably 
unreasonable. 

Verses  7-10.  But—Thongli  there  be  so  many,  and 
those  infinitely  important  particulars,  in  which  the 
true  members  of  the  church  agree,  and  which  fur- 
nish such  powerful  motives  to  love  and  unity,  yet 
there  are  some  things  wherein  they  differ.  For  they 
occupy,  by  God's  appointment,  different  stations  in 
the  church,  and  for  these  they  are  fitted  by  differ- 
ent gifts.  These  distinctions,  however,  ought  to  be 
regarded  by  them,  not  as  matters  of  emulation,  and 
causes  of  contention,  but  rather  as  additional  obliga- 
tions to  love  and  union,  considering  the  great  source 
and  design  of  them  alL  For  unto  every  one  is  given 
grace — Or  some  particular  endowment  proceeding 
from  grace  y  according  to  the  metisure  of  the  gift  of 
Oiriat — In  such  a  measure  as  seeitis  best  to  him,  the 
great  Head  and  Governor  of  the  church,  to  bestow 
it ;  whose  distributions,  we  know,  are  always  guided 
by  consummate  wisdom  and  goodness ;  so  that  all 
his  disciples  have  the  highest  reason  to  acquiesce 
enthrely  in  what  he  does.  Wherefore  he  saith — 
That  is,  in  reference  to  which  God  saith  by  David, 
When  he  ascended  uponhighyhe  led  captivity  cap- 
tive—He took  Captive  those  who  had  hel4  mankind 
in  captivity ;  he  conquered  and  triumphed  over  all 
our  spiritual  enemies,  especially  Satan,  sin,  and 
death,  which  had  before  enslaved  all  the  world. 
This  is  spoken  in  allusion  to  the  custom  of  ancient 
conquerors^  who  led  those  they  had  conquered  in 
chains  after  them.  And  as  they  also  u^ed  to  give 
donatives  to  the  people  at  their  return  from  victory, 
10  Christ  gave  gifts  unto  men— Namely,  both  the 
ordinary  and  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Spirit:  of 
the  propriety  of  applying  these  words  of  the  psalm- 
ist to  the  ascension  of  Christ,  see  note  on  Psa. 
IxrilL  18.  Now  this  expression,  that  he  ascended^ 
what  is  If?— What  does  it  imply,  but  that  he  dc- 
scendedJirst?—CeTiBiivly  it  does, on  the  supposition 
of  his  pre-existence  as  the  Son  of  God,  who  had 
glory  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  and 
who  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  came  into  the 
b 


he  also  descended  first  into  the  lower  a.  m.  4008. 
parts  of  the  earth?,  a.d.  64. 


10  He  that  descended  is  the  same  also '  that 
asoended  up  &r  above  all  heavens,  "that  he 
might  ^  fill  all  things. 

11  *And  he  gave  some,  apostles;  and  some, 
prophets ;  and  some,  ^  evangelists ;  and  scmie, 
^  pastors  and  ^  teachers ; 


*  Or,  a  nrnUiiude  of  ettpinea. «  John  iii.  13. '  AoU  i.  9, 

Acteii.33. *Or,>jft—     "  ^       '    " 


11 

xzi.8/ 


'Acts  XX.  28.- 


UGor.xii.3Sw- 
— yHom.  xiL7. 


world:  otherwise  it  would  not  imply  tiiat  he  de- 
scended first,  since  all  the  saints  wiU  ascend  to  hea- 
ven, though  none  of  them  descend  thence.  Into  the 
lower  parts  of  the  eort^— That  is,  into  the  womb  of 
the  virgin  at  his  incarnation,  and  into  the  grave  at 
his  passion;  including,  however,  all  the  other  steps 
of  his  humiliation.  Bishop  Pearson  (on  ihe  Creed^ 
p.  229)  hath  shown  how  very  precariously  this  text 
is  urged  as  a  proof  of  Christ's  descent  into  hell,  this 
phrase,  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,  in  seme  other 
passages  of  Scripture  plainly  signifying  the  womb, 
as  Psa.  cxxxix.  15,  and  ths  grave,  Psa.  lxiiL9; 
Matt  xii.  40.  He  that  descended— T)[i9X  thus  aroaas- 
ingly  humbled  hiinself ;  is  the  same  that  ascended 
up— That  was  so  highly  exalted  j  far  above  ail  hear- 
vens — Above  the  aerial  and  starry  heavens,  intp  the 
heaven  of  heavens ;  or,  as  the  meaning  rather  is, 
above  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavens,  above  all 
the  angelical  hosts;  which  is  the  meaning  also  of 
Heb.  vii.26,  where  he  is  said  to  be  made  higher  than- 
the  heavens :  that  he  might  fill  all  things— The 
whole  church  with  his  Spirit,  presence,  and  opera- 
tions. 

Verse  11.  iin<2— Among  other  his  free  gifts;  he 
gave  some,  apostles— His  chief  ministers  and  special 
witnesses,-as  having  seen  him  after  his  resurrection, 
and  received  their  commission  immediately  from 
him.  The  office  of  an  epostle  was  to  declare,  in  an 
infallible  manner,  the  whole  gospel  doctrine:  to 
qualify  them  for  which  they  were  endowed  with  the 
plenary  and  most  abundant  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  imparting  to  them  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all 
those  truths  and  mysteries  which  they  wore  to  pub- 
lish to  the  world.  And  some  he  gave  to  be  propM# 
— Whose  office  it  was  to  explain  infallibly  the4nie 
meaning  of  the  ancient,  prophecies,  and  also  them- 
selves to  predict  future  events,  by  virtue  of  the  ex- 
traordinary revelations  made  to  them.  And  some, 
evangelists — Who  were  to  preach  the  gospel  in  dif- 
ferent Gentile  nations,  either  before  or  after  the 
apostles,  under  whose  direction  they  seem  generally 
to  have  acted.  To  fit  them  for  this  office  Christ 
gave  them  the  gift  of  tongues,  and  such  other  mi- 
raculous endowments  as  were  necessary  for  the 
exercise  of  their  ministry,  and  the  confirmation  of 
their  doctrine.  All  these  were  extraordinary  offi- 
cers :  the  ordinary  were  some,  pastors,  (called  «rt(r- 
Konacbishops,  Acts  xx.28^)  watching  over  and  feed- . 
ing  their  several  flocks.  To  fit  them  for  which 
817 


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ExkorlaHoH  to  unity  and  gtabUUy 


EPHESIANS. 


cffidih  in  Je$U9  ChfitiS 


A.  m:  4068.    12  »  For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints, 
^^•^'    for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  *  for  the 

edifying  of  *•  the  body  of  Christ : 
13  TiH  we  all  come  *in  the  unity  of  the 

faith,  ^  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God, 


» 1  Corinthians  lii.  7. »  1  Cor.  xiv.  26.- 

•  Or,  into  thfi  tmity. 


>>  Chapter  i.  23. 


work,  it  appears  from  1  Cor.  xii.  28-31)  xiv..  1-6, 
23-26,  that  Christ  bestowed,  at  least  on  some  of 
them,  the  gifts  of  miracles  and  tongues^  d\so  the  gift 
of  p'Tudence^  to  enable  them  to  govern  their  particu- 
lar churches  in  a  proper  manner.  And  teachers — 
"Whether  of  the  same  or  a  lower  order,  to  assist  them 
as  occasion  might  require.  'It'is  probable  the  pecu- 
liar office  of  those  here  termed  teachers,  as  distin- 
guished from  those  called  pastors,  was  to  instruct  the 
young  and  ignorant  In.  the  first  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion.  And  they  likewise  were  doubt- 
less fitted  for  their  work,  by  such  gifts  as  were  neces- 
sary to  the  right  discharging  thereof;  and  some  infer 
from  1  Cor.  xii.  28,  that  supernatural  gifts,  such  as 
thqse  of  miracles  and  tongues,  were  also  conferred 
on  some  of  them. 

Verses  12, 13.  For  the  perfecting — Tlpo^rov  KaTop- 
Tiofiov  Tuv  aytav,  in  order  to^  or,  for  the  sake  of; 
completing  of  the  saints — Both  in  number,  and  in 
the  various  branches  of  true  Christianity,  namely, 
in  the  knowledge  of  all  Christian  doctrines,  the  pos- 
session of  all  Christian  graces,  the  enjoyment  of  all 
Christian  privileges,  the  performance  of  all  Chris- 
tion  duties.  Now  in  order  to  the  attainment  of 
these  ends,  and  thereby  the  completing  the  Chris- 
tian character  of  each  individual  member  of  the 
church,  and  of  all  in  general,  he  appointed  the  sun- 
dry officers  above  named,  whether  ordinary  or  ex- 
traordinary, (several  of  the  latter  having  left  their 
writings  for  the  instruction  of  the  faithful  in  all 
ages,)  for  the  work  of  the  ministry — The  serving 
of  God  and  his  church,  in  their  various  minbtrations, 
especially  in  dispensing  the  word,  admmistering  the 
ordinances,  maintaining  Christian  discipline,  and 
performing  all  other  ministerial  duties.  For  the 
edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ— The  building  up 
Christ's  mystical  body,  in  faith,  love,  and  universal 
holiness:  or  by  ministering  to  the  increase  of  the 
graces  of  such  as  were  already  converted,  and  by  the 
addition  of  new  members  to  the  true  church.  7HII 
we  all  come — Which  gifts,  offices,  and  ministrations, 
are  to  continue  in  the  church,  till  every  member 
thereof  come  to  the  unity  of  the  faitJiy  and  knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God—To  both  an  exact  agreement  in 
the  Christian  doctrine,  and  an  experimental,  practi- 
cal knowledge,  or  acknowledgment,  of  Christ  as  the 
Son  of  God ;  to  a  perfect  man — To  a  state  of  spirit- 
ual manhood,  both  in  understanding  and  strength, 
to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ — Or,  to  the  fuU  measure  of  his  stature^ 
that  is,  to  that  maturity  of  age  and  spiritual  stat- 
ure, wherein  we  shall  be  possessed  of  his  whole 
mind,  and  fully  conformed  to  him.  But  the  words 
€/c  T^v  oonjiM  rrt^  wiceoc,  &c.,  which  wc  translate  in 
816 


unto  ^  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  mea-  a.  m.  4068. 
sure  of  the  *  stature  of  the  fulness  of  — 1-^ — L 
Christ: 

14  That  we  A^ncc/br/A  benomore  •children, 
'  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with  every 


«  Cd.  ii.  2.- 


» 1  Cor.  xiv.  26. ■  Or,  age.- 

'Heb.  xiii.  9. 


'  latu  izrin.  0. 


the  unity  of  the  faiihy^tc^  ought  rather  to  be  ren- 
dered, to  the  unity,  or  unidn,  of  the  faith,  or  that  unkm 
which  is  the  fruit  or  consequence  of  the  faith,  name- 
ly, of  perfect  faith,  even  the  faith  spoken  of  by  our 
Lord  in  his  intercessory  prayer,  recorded  John  xvii. 
20-23,  where  he  says,  /  pray  for  them  which  shall 
believe  on  me,  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou  Fa- 
ther art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  may  be  made 
perfect  in  one,  that  is, 'may  be  perfectly  united  in 
love  to  us  and  one  another.  The  following  verses 
lead  us  to  this  meaning  of  the  passage. 

Verse  14.  That  we  henceforth  be  no  mjore  chil- 
dren— Mere  babes  in  Christian  knowledge,  experi- 
ence, and  practice;  weak  and  unstable;  tossed-^ 
KTiVdovt^fupoi,  fluctuating  horn  within,  through 
various  restless  hists  aqd  passions  working  m  our 
hearts,  even  when  there  is  nothing  external  to  agi- 
tate or  excite  them;  and  carried  about  with  every 
wind  of  doctrine-^Aod  temptation  from  without, 
wJien  we  are  assaulted  by  others  who  are  themselves 
unstable  as  the  wind;  by  the  sleight,  or  subUety,  of 
inen^Greek,  ev  ny  KvSeui  tijv  av^punuv,  which  words 
Chandler  proposes  rendering,  by  the  dicing  of  mett; 
the  expression  referring  to  the  artifice  of  those 
infamous  gamesters,  who  know  how  to  cog  the  dice. 
So  that  the  deceitful  arts  of  false  teachers  and  others, 
who  endeavour  to  draw  men  from  the  belief  and 
practice  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  by  their  insinu- 
>ations  and  wiles,  are  here  compared  to  the  tricks  of 
gamesters,  who,  by  using  false  dice,  and  by  various 
arts,  cheat  those  with  whom  they  play.  And  cun- 
ning craftiness,  whereby  they  He  in  wait  to  deceive 
— Greek,  ev  navBpyia  irpoc  Trp^  fie^odeiav  nj^  fl-Xavjyf ,  a 
clause  which  Beza  rehd^rs,  "veteratoria  ad  insldiose 
fallendum  vcrsutia,"  5y  the  tricking  of  those  long 
exercised  in  craftily  deceiving  others; .  Doddridge^ 
translation  is,  by  their  subtlety  in  every  method  of 
deceit;  and  Macknight's,  by  craftiness  formed  into 
a  subtle  scheme  of  deceit.  The  former  noun,  navHp- 
yia,  signifies  the  doing  of  things  by  trick  and  sleight 
of  hand,  and  the  latter,  pe^oSeia,  (which,  Eph.  vi.  11, 
is  applied  to  the  wiles  and  subtle  contrivances  of  the 
devil,  in  order  to  deceive  and  ruin  men,)  properly 
signifies  a  regular  plan  of  proceeding  in  any  affair, 
and  is  here  used  for  a  regular  plan  of  deceit,  formed 
either  for  upholding  people  in  their  ignorance  o(,  and 
opposition  to  the  gospel,  or  for  drawing  them  from 
their  faith  in,  or  obedience  to,  some  article  of  it. , 
"  The  men,"  Macknight  thinks,  "whose  base  arts  the 
apostle  describes  in  this  passage,  were  the  unbelieving 
Jews  and  the  heathen  philosophers,  who  opposed  the 
gospel  by  sOphistTy  and  calumny;  also  such  false 
teachers  as  arose  in  the  chmrch  Itself^  and  corrupted 
the  doctrines  of  the  goi^l  for  worldly  purposes, 

b 


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CHAPTER  rr. 


•tote  of  the  GeniOewaHi,' 


A.H.4068.  rwiud  ot  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of 
men,  and  cuDning  craftiness,  ^  wh^e- 


by  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive : 

15  But  -^ speaking^  the  truth  in  love,  ^may 
grow  up  into  him  in  all  things,  ^  which  is  the 
head,  ev^ra  Christ : 

16  *  From,  whom  the  whde  body  fitly  joined 
together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every 
joint  sup[di^th,  according  to  the  effectual 
working  in  the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh 


.f  liatt.  xi7. kRoBB.  xri.  18.— »Zech.  Tiii.  16;  2  Cor. 

ir.  2 ;  Veree  25. •  Or»  kting  sincere, k  Chap.  i.  22 ;  ii. 

21. 1  Col.  i.  18. "Col.  ii.  10. ♦  NiHBteenth  Sunday 

ftfter  Trinity,  epistle,  rent  17  to  the  end. 


while  at  the  same  time  they  assumed  the  appearance 
of  great  diBinterestedness  and  piety." 

Verses  15,  16.  But  speaking  the  /rwiA— Or,  as 
aXi/^evovTec  may  be  rendered,  teaching^  or  maiTitain- 
ing  the  truth;  in  love— To  God  and  one  another,  or  in 
that  charitable  temper  which  the  gospel  enjoins,  and 
without  which  our  clearest  and  most  extensive  know- 
ledge will  be  but  of  little  use  to  us;  may  grow  up 
into  Aim— Into  his  image  and  Spirit,  and  into  a  full 
union  with  him;  irAo  is  the  head  of  guidance,  as 
well  as  of  government,  to  all  the  members  of  his 
mystical  body,  the  chief  teacher  and  director,  as 
well  as  ruler  of  his  churches ;  from  whom — That  is, 
by  wisdom  and  grace  derived  from  him;  the  whole 
body — Of  true  Christians;  fitly— Or  orderly;  pined 
togetJier— Every  one  being  put  in  his  proper  place 
and  station:  or  all  the  parts  of  his  mystical  body  be- 
ing fitted  for,  and  adapted  to  each  other,  ^md  most 
exactly  harmonizing  with  the  whole ;  and  compact- 
ed—Knitted  and  cemented  together  with  the  utmost 
firmness ;  that  is,  closely  and  firmly  united  to  Christ 
and  eaeh  other,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  faith  and 
love;  by  that  which  every  joint,  or  part,  supplieth — 
Through  proper  channels  of  communication;  oc- 
cording  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of 
every  part — According  as  every  part,  in  its  measure, 
effectually  works  for  the  support  and  growth  of  the 
whole;  maketh  increase  of  the  body — Of  the  Miiole 
church,  collectively  considered,  and  of  each  particu- 
lar member;  to  the  edifying— Or  building  up;  of  i^- 
self  in  love— So  that  all  the  members  may  attain 
unto  a  greater  measure  of  love  to  God,  one  another, 
and  all  men ;  or,  by  the  exercise  of  love.  For,  as  no 
animal  body  can  either  have  health  or  growth,  un- 
less the  members  thereof  continue  in  union  with 
each  other,  each  performing  its  office ;  so  neither 
can  Christ's  mystical  body  possess  spiritual  health 
or  growth,  unless  its  members  cleave  to  each  other 
in  love.  The  passage,  as  the  reader  sees,  is  a  beau- 
tiftil  allusion  to  our  natural  bodies,  composed  of  dif- 
ferent joints  and  members,  knit  together  by  various 
ligaments,  and  furnished  with  vessels  of  communi-l 
cation  from  the  head  and  heart  to  every  other  part. ! 
And  the  apostle's  meaning,  explained  more  at  large,  | 
is,  ^  That  as  the  human  body  is  formed  by  the  union  j 
of  all  the  members  to  each  other  under  the  head, 
b 


increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  A.  M.  4068. 
of  itself  in  love.  ' 

17  *This  I  say  therefore,  and  testify  in  the 
Lord,  that  'ye  henceforth  walk  not  as  other 
Q^itiles  walk,  ^  in  the  vanity  of  their  mind, 

18  ^  Having  the  understanding  darkened, 
^' being  alienated  from  the  life  of  God  through 
the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  .of  the 
'blindness^  ot  their  heart: 

19  ■Who,  being  past  feding,  *have  given 


■Ch. 

ii.  1, 2,  3 

,  Ver.22; 

CoL  iii.  7 

iPet. 

IT.  3. 

'Rom. 

i.  21.— 

— PActa 

ZXVl. 

18.- 

— «» Chap. 

ii.  12.- 

— 'Rom. 

i.  21. 

^Or,  hardneae. — 

-»1 

Tim. 

ir.  2. « 

Rom.  i 

24,26; 

1  Pet. 

ir.  3. 

•^ 

■^» 

and  by  the  fitness  of  each  member  for  its  own  office 
and  place  in  the  body,  so  the  church  is  formed  by 
the  union  of  its  members  under  Christ  the  head. 
Further,  as  the  human  body  increases^  till  it  arrives 
at  maturity,  by  the  energy  of  every  part  in -perform- 
ing its  proper  fune^on,  and  by  the  sympathy  of  every 
part  with  the  whole;  so  the  body,  or  Chureh  of 
Christ,  grows  to  maturity  Sy  the  proper  exereiae  of 
the  gifts  and  graces  of  indi^uals  for  the  benefit  of 
the  whole.  By  comparing  the  church  to  the  human 
body,  ihe  apostle  teaches,  that  there  ought  to  be  bo 
envy  nor  ill-will  among  Christians,  on  account  of  the 
gifts  which  individuals  possess,  verse  3.  lliat  every 
one  should  pay  to  others  that  respect  and  obedience 
which  they  owe  to  them  on  aceount  of  their  station 
and  office,  verse  11.  That  no  teacher  should  pervert 
the  doctrine  of  the-gospel,  verse  15.  And  that  eadi, 
by  employing  his  gifts  aiid  graces  properly,  should 
extend  the  knowledge  and  influence  of  the  Christian 
religion  to  the  utmost  of  his  power." — Macknight.  ' 
Verses  17-19.  This  I  say,  therefore — For  your 
further  instruction,  how  to  walk  worthy  of  y<mr 
calling ;  (he  returns  to  the  subject  which  he  began, 
verse  1 ;)  and  testify  in  the  Lordn-^In  the  name  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  ye,  being 
now  hi^pily  brought  into  the  Chri^an  Church,  and 
made  partakers  of  all  the  privileges  and  advantages 
belonging  to  its  members;  henceforth  waik  not  as 
other  Gentiles— ThBi  ye  live  no  longer  as  the  uncon- 
verted heathen ;  in  the  vanity  of  their  fwtfR/^-Amus- 
ed  with  the  empty  trifles  of  this  World,  and  enslaved 
to  low  and  mean  pursuits,  utterly  unworthy  of  their 
rational  and  immortal  nature;  having  ihe  under- 
standing  dorAceneci— With  respect  to  all  spiritual  and 
divine  things,  which  is  the  source  of  all  foolish  de- 
sires and  pursmts ;  see  Rom.  i.  21 ;  being  alienated 
from  the  life  of  Ood— Being  estranged  in  affection, 
as  well  as  in  practice,  from  the  divine  and  spiritual 
life,  from  all  union  with,  and  conformity  to,  the  liv* 
ing  and  true  God ;  or,  from  that  nobld  principle  of 
all  piety  and  virtue,  ^e  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of 
man,  forming  it  to  the  love,  imitation,  and  service  of 
him  by  whom  it  is  implanted ;  through  the  ignorance 
—Of  God  and  his  will,  and  of  their  duty  and  happi- 
ness ;  thdt  is  inherent  in  them— Or  natural  to  them, 
as  fallen  and  depraved  creatures;  because  of  the 
319 


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SahcTtation  to  purity  of  hearty 


EPHESIANS. 


amd  to  avoid  sinjui  anger. 


A.ir.  4D88.  themselves  6ver  unto  lasciviousness, 
^^*^    ^  ^ork  an  uncleanness  with  greedi- 
ness. 

20  But  ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ ; 

21  "If. so  be  that  ye  have  heard  him,  and 
have  beea  taught  by  him,  as  the  truth  is  in 
Jesus: 

22  That  ye  "put  off  concerning  ^ the  f<»rmer 
conversation  *  the  old  man,  whidi  is  corrupt 
according  to  the  deceitful  lusts ; 


■  Chap.  i.  13. »  Col.  ii.  1 1 ;  iii.  8, » ;  Heb.  jdi.  1. J  Chap. 

it  2,  3;  Veree  17;  Col  iii.  7;  1  Pet.  ir.  3.- »Rom.  vi.  6. 

*  Rom.  isiL  % ;  Col.  iii.  10. ^  Rom.  vi.  4 ;  2  C»r.  r.  17 ;  Gal. 


blindness — ^Ti^  ^opwnv^  the  caUotisnesa,  or  insensi- 
bility;  of  their  hearts— This  is  explained  by  Cliry- 
iostonti,  Whitby,  and  some  other  commentators,  as 
referring  to  theit  Genlile  state ;  but  though  there  is 
no  doubt  but  it  partly  refers  to  that,  yet  there  can 
be  no  sufficient  reason  to  liinit  such  a  description  to 
dark  and  ignorant  heathen ;  it  is  but  too  just  a  re- 
presentation of  all  unregenerate  men.  Who  being 
past  feeling — The  original  word,  aw^Ayiy^oref,  is  pe- 
culiarly significant,  property  meaning,  past  feeling 
pain^  or  void  ofdistress^-Fsiin  urges  the  sick  to  seek 
a  remedy,  and  distress,  the  distressed  to  endeavour,  if 
possible,  to  procure  rehef ;  which  remedy  or  relief  is 
little  thought  of  where  pain  and  distress  are  not  felt. 
Thus,  those  who  are  hardened  against  all  impres- 
sions of  grief  on  account  of  their  former  sins,  arc 
not  excited  to  seek  either  for  the  pardon  of  them  or 
deliverance  from  them.  Some  MSS.  read  rfmyXTriKoref, 
hoping  for  nothing.  These  wicked  men,  disbelieving 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  have  no  hope  of  any  happiness  after  thb 
life^  and  therefore  they  have  given  themselves 
over — Have  abandoned  themselves  freely,  of  their 
own  accord;  to  lasciviousness — To  wantonness,  to 
unchaste  imaginations ^  and  desires,  words  and  ac- 
tions ;  to  work  all  uncleoftness — Impurity  of  every 
kind;  with  greediness — The  word  ev  ^Xsove^ia,  thus 
rendered,  is  commonly  used  to  denote  covetotts- 
ness;  because  the  more  the  covetous  man  pos- 
sesses, the  more  he  desires.  Hence  the  word  is 
used  (2  Peter  ii.  14)  to  denote  inordinate  desire  in 
geneiiiL 

Verses  30-34.  BiU  ye — Believers  at  Ephesus; 
have  not  so  learned  Christ — Or  Christianity ;  that 
is,  ye  cannot  act  thus,  now  ye  are  acquainted  with 
Christ  and  his  gospel,  which,  you  know,  allows  of 
no  sin.  If  so  be — Or  rather,  seeing  that^  as  ti  ye,  it 
seems,  should  be  here  rendered ;  ye  have  heard  him 
— Teaching  you  inwardly  by  his  Spirit,  as  well  as 
outwardly  by  his  word ;  and  have  been  taught  by 
him — Have  been  instructed  in  his  religion ;  as  the 
truth  is  in  /c««— According  to  his  own  gospel,  and 
not  in  that  imperfect  and  adulterated  form,  in  which 
some  presume  to  deliver  what  they  call  his  doctrine : 
that  ye  put  o^^Entirely  lay  aside;  concerning — Or 
with  respect  to ;  the  former  conversaHon—Thsii  is, 
those  sinful  habits  ajid  practices  to  Which  yon  were 
320 


23  And  ^be  renewed  m  the  spirit  A.M.4068. 
of  your  mind ;  - . 

24  And  that  ye  ^put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  ^is  created  in  %  righteousness  and 
^  true  holiness. 

25  Wherefore  putting  away  lying,  ^  speak 
every  man  truth  with  his  neighbour :  for  *  we 
are  membere  one  of  another.  , 

26  ^Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not :  let  not  the 
sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath : 


▼i.  15;   Col.  iii.  10. -«Chapter  ii.  10. •Or,  hoUneta  tf 

truth, *  Zcch.  Till,  18 ;  Verse  15 ;  Col  iii.  9. •  Rom. 

xii.  5. — T-*  Paa.  ir.  4 ;  jxxril  8. 


accustomed  in  your  heathen  state;  theold  man^ 
Your  old  nature  and  character ;  or  the  "whole  body 
of  sin  I  which  old  nature  is  corrupt— Depraved  in 
every  part,  so  that  its  dispositions  and  actions  are 
directed,  not  by  the  rules  of  right  reason,  or  by  the 
word  and  Will  of  God,  but  according  to  the  deceitfvl 
/tw/«— Which  generally  prevail  in  the  unregenerate, 
and  once  prevailed  in  you.  Observe,  reader,  all  sin- 
ful desires  are  deceitful,  promising  the  happiness 
which  they  cannot  give,  and  deceiving  men.  And 
be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind — That  is,  in 
all  the  faculties  of  your  souls, by  seeking  and  obtain- 
ing an  enlightened  understanding,  a  rectified  will, 
and  holy,  well-regulated  affections.  And  thai  yeput  on 
the  new  man — That  ye  apply  to  God  for,  and  receive 
from  him,  a  new  nature ;  which  after  God — That 
is,'  after  a  conformity  to  his  image ;  is  created — For 
it  is  his  workmanship,  see  chap.  ii.  10;  in  righteous- 
ness— Toward  your  fdlow-creatures;  and  true  ho- 
liness— Toward  €rod.  He  says  true  holiness^  In 
opposition  to  that  which  is  only  ceremonial  or  ex.- 
temal,  and  in  appearance.  The  dispositions  of  the 
mind  arfe  in  Scriprture  compared  to  clothes,  for  two 
reasons:  1st,  Because  they  render  persons  beautiful 
or  deformed,  according  to  theu"  nature :  2d,  Because 
they  may  be  put  off  or  on,  while  we  remain  in  a 
state  of  trial,  according  as  we  yield  to  and  obey,  or 
resist  and  reject,  the  truth  and  grace  of  God. 

Verses  25-27.  Wherefore:— Since  you  have  been 
thus  taught  what  is  your  duty  and  interest,  let  it  ap- 
pear in  your  tempers,  words,  and  works,  that  there 
is  such  a  change  wrought  in  them ;  and  that,  having 
received  a  new  nature,  you  live^  in  a  new  manner. 
The  apostle  now  proceeds  to  caution  them  against 
particular  sins,  to  which  they  had  been  habituated, 
and  to  urge  them  to  the  pursuit  of  particular  graces, 
and  the  practice  of  particular  virtues,  which  they 
had  formerly  neglected.  Putting  away  lying — 
Which  many  of  your  philosophers  have  thought 
allowable,  in  certain  cases;  (so  Whitby  has  shown 
in  his  note  here ;)  speak  every  man  truth  with  his 
neighbour—Jn  your  converse  with  your  fellow- 
creatures  ;  for  we  are  members  one  of  another— By 
virtue  of  our  union  with  Christ  our  common  head 
to  which  intimate  union  all  deceit  is  quite  repugnant 
Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  «o^— -That  is,  if  at  any  time 
ye  are  angry,  take  heed  ye  do  not  sin.    We  may  be 

b 


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7%d  cqMttle  eafhorU  to 


CHAPTBR  lY. 


puriiy  of  c<m»tr$(Uum» 


jLM. 4068.  27  < Nehher  give  [dace  to  th«  devil 
^^'^'  28  Let  him  that  stole,  steal  no  m(»re; 
bat  rather  ^let  him  labour,  working  with  Ma 
hands  the  thing  which  is  good,  that  he  may 
have  *to  give  \U>  him  that  needeth. 
29  ^  Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed 


ff2Coi;  iulO^  11;  JuBM  ir.  7:  1  Pet.. r.  8.-^-^ Acts  zz. 

35 ;  I  ThcM.  ir.  11 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  8,  11,  12. »Or,  to  dia- 

tr^ute. ^Ifoke  Hi.  11. ^Uwit  zii30;  Chap. r.  4;  OoL 

liL  ^ 


angry,  as  Ohrist  was,  and  not  sin;  wj^n  he  looked 
round  about  upon  the  people  wih  anger,  being 
grieved  for  ^  hardneee  of  their  hearts ;  (Mark 
iiL  5;)  that  is,  we^  may  be  displeased  and  grieved  at 
the  sin  or  folly  of  others,  and  not  sin  by  being  so. 
Indeed,  if  we  should  observe  people  to  do  or  say 
what  we  know  to  be  siniid,  or  should  see  them  in- 
dulging evil  tempers  and  vile  affections,  and  should 
not  be  displeased  and  grieved,  we  would  commit  sin. 
For  to  be  insensible,  and  without  emotion,  when  we 
observe  God  to  be  dishonoured,  his  laws  violated,  his 
presence,  power,  and  holiness  disregarded,  and  his 
justice  and  wrath  contemned,  certainly  manifests  a 
state  of  soul  devoid  of  idl  proper  religious  feeling. 
But  in  what  sense  we  may  be  angry  and  not  mn,  see 
explained  more  at  large  in  the  note  on  the  above- 
cited  text.  Let  not  the  sun  go  down  on  your  wrttth 
— If  at  any  time  you  be  in  such  a  sense  angry  as  to 
sin— if  your  anger  imply  resentment  of  an  injury  or 
affront  received,  or  ill-will  and  bitterness  of  spirit, 
look  to  €rod  for  grace  to  enable  you  to  suppress  this 
kind  of  Miger  or  wrath  speedily:  reprove  your  bro- 
ther for  the  offence  he  has  given  you,  and  be  recon- 
ciled immediately:  lose  not  one  day.  A  clear,  ex*- 
press  command  this;  but,  alas !  how  few  observe  it. 
Neither  give  place  to  the  devU-^By  delaying  to  cast 
the  ff  re  out  of  your  bosom ;  remembering  how  much 
that  enemy  of  mankind  labours  to  inflame  the  spirits 
of  men  with  mutual  animoaty,  malevolence,  and 
hatred ;  and,  in  order  ^reto,  induces  them  to  give 
ear  to  slanderous  reports  and  accusations,  that  he 
may  make  their  stato  and  character  miserable  and 
detestable,  like  his  own. 

Verse 28.  Lethimthtastole^WhUehevrBsinhia 
heathen  conditiou  of  ignorance  and  vice ;  steal  no 
tnore— Under  a  conviction  that  God  is  the  avenger 
of  aU  such  injuries,  1  Thess.  iv.  6.  Stealing,  as 
Bfacknight  justly  observes, "  is  a  vice  most  pernicious 
to  the  thief  himself.  For  finding  it  more  easy  to 
supply  his  necessities  by  stealing  than  by  working, 
he  fans  into  a  habit  of  idleness,  which,  among  the 
lower  classes  of  mankind,  is  an  mlet  to  all  manner 
of  wickedness.  Next,  the  ease  with  which  the  thief 
gets,  disposes  him  to  squander  thoughtlessly  his 
unjust  gain  in  the  gratification  of  his  lusts.  Hence 
such  persons  are  commonly  addicted  to  lewdness 
and  drunkenness.^  But  rather  lei  him  labour— -In 
some  honest  calling;  working  with  his  hands — 
Which  he  fonUeriy  employed  in  stealing;  the  thing 
whichisgood—Andcreditable,  The  same  command 
the  apostle  gave  to  the  Thessalonians,  2  Epist.  iiL 

Vou  II.  (  21  ) 


out  c^  your  mouth,  but 
isgpod,  ^^  to  the  use  <^ edifying, 


^that  which  A.M.4oas. 

A.D.  64. 


'that 


it  may  minister  grace  unto  the  beajers. 
30  And  ""grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  <tf  God, 
•whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  «»re- 
dempdon. 


»CoL  IT.  6. »•  Or,  to  td^fnfiuMy. ■  Coi.  iii  la 

■Isaiah  rii.  13;  IxiiL  10;  Esekiel  xri.  43;  1  Thess.  r.  19. 
o  Chapter  i.  13.^^^  Luke  xzi.  28;  Rom.  VSii.  23  ;  Chapter 
L  14. 


11, 12;  thiUhemay  h€tve  to  give  to  him  that  needeih 
— ^May  be  able  even  to  spare  something  out  of  vhat 
he  gains  by  industry  in  his  calling,  for  the  r^ef  of 
such  as  stand  in  need  of  it;  and  so  may  be  no  longer 
a  burden  and  a  nuisance,  but  a  blessing  to  h  is  neigh- 
bours. Thus  every  one  who  has  sinned  in  any  kind, 
ought  tire  more  zealously  to  practise  the  opposite 
virtue. 

Verses  89, 80.  Let  no  corrupt  communication — 
Or  discourse,  dictated  by  corruption  in  the  heart  of 
the  speaker,  and  tending  to  corrupt  the  minds  or 
manners  of  hearers;  proceed  out  of  your  mouth — 
At  any  time,  or  on  any  occasion.  The  origmal  ex- 
pression, ^yoc  aairpocj  is  IKerally,  rotten  or  putrid 
speech;  that  is,  speech  offensive  to  the  hearers,  or 
<»leulated  to  infect  them  with  sin ;  and  is  in  direct 
opposition  to  that  which  is  seasoned  wiA  salt,  and  is 
recommended  (CoL  iv.  6)  as  tending  to  preserve 
persons  froin  corruption.  The  apostle  does  not 
merely  include  in  this  expression  obscene  discourse 
of  every  kind,  but  also  all  flattery,  calumny,  railing, 
boasting,  tale-bearing,  backbiting,  commendations  of 
vice  ai^  impiety,  profane  jestings  on  religion,  its 
ministers  and  professors,  trifling  conversation;  and, 
indeed,  all  discourse  that  is  not  either  about  neces- 
sary business,  or,  as  the  next  clause  expresses  it,  is 
not  good  to  the  ueeof  edt^thg^— Calculated  to  in- 
struct, direct,  reprove,  encourage,  excite  to  duty, 
comfort,  or  in  some  way  edify  and  minister  grace  to 
the  hearers.  And  grieve  not— By  any  act  of  diso- 
bedience, particularly  by  any  kind  of  corrupt  dis- 
course, or  by  any  of  the  following  sins ;  the  Boly 
Spirit  of  (?od^— The  original  expression  is  very 
emphatical,  to  Ilvn^a,  to  aywv,  th  e»«,  the  Spirit,  the 
Boly  Spirity  of  Ood,  Grief  is  ascribed  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  here  metaphorically ;  for,  strictly  speaking,  he 
is  incapable  of  pain  or  disquiet  of  any  kind.  But 
he  acts,  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  as  men  do  who 
are  grieved.  And  the  purport  of  the  caution  is,  Do 
not  cause  him,  by  any  sinful  temper,  word,  or  work, 
to  withdraw  from  you,  as  a  friend  does  whom  you 
grieve  by  unkind  or  improper  behaviour.  The  ex- 
pression conveys  a  strong  idea  of  the  love  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  bears  to  men  in  general,  and  to  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ  in  particular;  and  of  his  desire  to 
promote  their  salvation.  Whereby  ye  are  sealed 
unto  the  day  of  redemption— The  time  when  you 
shall  receive  the  redemption  of  your  bodies  from  the 
grave;  (Rom.  vlii.  23;)  shall  be  acquitted  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ,  ftilly  delivered  from  all  the 
consequences  of  sin,  and  made  perfect'y  and  un- 
821  b 


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to  tretherfy  hei. 


A.  M.  4066. 
A.D.  64. 


31  « Let  all  bittemeBB,  and  wrath, 
and  anger,  and  chmour,  and  'evil- 
speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  "with  all 
malioe: 


«i Col  iiL  18, 19. 'Tit  iiu  9; 


ir.  U.- 


^TiLiiiS. 


changeably  happy:  the  day  when  your  redemp- 
tion will  be  fdlly  completed.  See  note  on  diapter 
113. 

Verses  31,  33.  L^  all  bitterness — Of  disposition 
or  expression,  or,  as  some  render  the  word,  aU 
peevishness ;  and  wrath-'-'Or  indignation,  as  ^/m^ 
seems  here  to  signify;  that  is,  anger  mingled  with 
contempt  or  disgust;  Uie  next  expression  in  the  ori- 
gind,  opyn,  rather  signifying  wrath,  or  lastmg  dis- 
pleasare;  emddamour — ^Lond  threateniags,  brawl- 
ings,  or  <yther  intemperate  speeches,  whereby  inward 
anger  vents  itself.  And  evil  tpra^'tij"— Mentioning 
the  faults  of  absent  persons,  be  it  in  ever  so  mild  and 
soft  a  tone,  or  whh  ever  such  professions  of  kindness ; 
with  alt  ifialtc«-*Every  unkind  disposition,  every 
temper  contrary  to  love.  Here  appears  to  be  a 
beantiftil  retrogradatioii,  beginning  with  the  highest 
and  descending  to  the  lowest  degree  of  the  want  of 
love.  .  Or  perhi^  as  Dr.  Doddri^e  observes,  'Mt 
was  not  the  apostle's  intention  that  a  diflbrent  idea 
should  be  annexed  to  each  different  word  here  used: 
Possibly  it  might  only  be  his  intention,  in^massing 


32  And  ^be  ye  kind  <me  to  an-  a.m.«)6SI 

odier,  tender-hearted^  *  forgiving  one '. — 

another^  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sakedbadb  lor- 
given  youi 

»2Cor.aiO;  CoL  iiL  12,  IX "lUtt  n.14;  MokziM. 


SO  many  almost  synonymous  expressions  together, 
to  show  that  he  would  have  them  to  be  on  their 
guard  against  all  the  malevolent  passions,  and  ttiose 
outrages  of  speech  and  expression  which  they  tend 
to  produce.  And  the  like  remark  maybe  applied  to 
many  other  passages  of  Scripture,  and  partic^darly 
to  those  where  all  kinds  of  lewdness  are  forbidden 
in  such  a  variety  of  phrase  and  language."  And  be 
ye  kind  one  to  anoC^^r— Courteous  ai^  obliging  in 
your,  daily  deportment;  tender-hearted — Greek, 
twirXayxpot,  tenderly  compassionate;  especially  to^ 
ward  those  that  are  in  any  aflliction  or  digress ;  for* 
giving  oner  ainoAer  the  injuries  done,  or  supposed 
to  be  done  you;  even  as  Gcxi— -Showing  himself 
kind  and  tender-hearted  in  the  highest  degree ;  for 
Chrisfs  sake — Through  his  atonement  and  inter- 
cession, by  which  God  could  exercise  his  mercy  to 
you  in  a  way  consistent  with  his  holiness  and  jus- 
tloe;  luM  forgiven  you — Sudi  inexcusable  and  hei* 
nous  injuries  and  affironts,  ais  are  infinitely  greater 
than  any  which  it  is  possil^for  you  to  receive  from 
your  feQow-creatores« 


CHAPTER  V. 

IniMsdutfier^sfosaeih)  Cmdudis  kis exhort^tisn  ta brotherly  Ism,  h^gun in  tks  latter  psrOf  the  freceimg thspUr^ 
tmi  enfirees  it  from  the  amsiitrstim  ofUhekveof  God  end  Christ  to  m,  1,  S.  {%)  He  repests  Ms  teaming  sgsmst  «»- 
ctflSJOMf #,  cosetaiunssst  dnmkenMsss,  end  o&ur  vicM,  with  c  smriety  of  sfrgwmsnts  to  eisforce  tt,  sni  wges  nfsn  his 
resders  A  coiUrsry  hehamouir,  2^90.  (9,)  He  esh<srU  to  relaiive  diUiss  in  general,  21 -,  end  to  tkose  of  wises  siid  hmshends 
infsrtieulsr,  vthiehh*  Ulustrstes  and  enforces  from  the  spirihud  reUuion  that  subsists  between  Christ  and  his  ekmth. 


A.M.  4068.  jgE  ••ye  therefore  foHowera  of  God   toved  us,  and  hath  given   himself  A.1L4068. 


A.D.  64. 


as  dear  children^ 


2  And  ^  walk  in  love,  ""  as  Christ  also  hath 


•  Third  Aoutoy  inLenLepictk,Tene  1  tOTene  15.- 
T.  45,  48 ;  tiiike  yL  36;  Chap.  ir.  32. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verses  1, 2.  TAcre/brc— Because  you  are  forgiven 
by  God,  and  have  been  so  much  loved ;  (chap.  iv.  32 ;) 
beyefoUowers-^Utfurrai^imitators^ofOodr^lnloYmg 
and  forgiving ;  ds  dear^kyairtiTo^beloved^children^ 
Whom  he  hath  not  only  forgiven  after  many  and 
great  pffences,  but  hath  taken  into  his  peculiar  favour, 
adopted  into  his  fsunily,  constituted  his  heirs,  and 
joint  heirs  with  his  beloved  Son,  and  inspired  with 
blessed  and  lively  hopes  of  unspeakable  glory  and 
fdicity  for  ever.  O!  how  much  more  honourable 
and  more  happy  it  is  to  be  an  imitator  of  CknL  than 
322 


fofr  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifke  to 
God  ^  for  a  siireet-smeUing  savoor. 

*  John  xiiL  84 ;  xr.  12. «  Gal.  i.  4 ;  ii.  80. *  Gen.  tiii. 

21 ;  Ler.  i.  9. 


of  Homer,  Virgil,  Alexander  the  Great,  or  any  other 
human  heing,.  however  renowned  for  learning, 
prowess,  or  achievements !  And  walk  in  ^e— To- 
ward one  another  and  toward  all  men,  as  well  as 
toward  God.  Let  your  whole  conduct  toward  others 
proceed  from  love  as  its  principle,  be  governed  by 
love  as  its  rule,  and  be  directed  to,  and  terminate  in 
love,  as  its  end.  As  Christ  also  hath  loved  us — In 
such  an  astonishing  manner,  and  to  such  an  incon- 
ceivable degree,  and  hath  so  demonstrated  his  love, 
as  to  give  himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice 
to  God—To  atone  for  our  transgressions,  and  render 
(  »l*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  ▼. 


eoteUnuness^  andfoolM  idOring. 


A.  H.  4068. 

A.D.M. 


3  But   *  fomicadon,  and  all   un- 
cleannesB,  or  covetousnesB,  ^kt  it  not 
be  once  named  amoag  you,  aa  bec<»neth  saints ; 
4  '  Neither  filthiness,  not  fooBsh  talking,  nor 


▼113;  lCor.Til8:  80or.idLBl;<nM|».iT.19,S9. 
'  i  Cor.  y.  1. 


oar  salvation  consistent  with  the  divine  peifeetions. 
Some  divines  havothonght  that  in  these  expressions 
both  the  peace-offerings  and  the  8UW)ff9zmgs  en- 
j  oined  in  the  law  of  Mose^  are  alluded  to,  the  truths 
shadowed  forth  py  both  being  attained  by  true  be- 
lievers through  the  sacrifice  of- Christ,  which  both 
expiated  sin,  or  removed  condemnation  and  Wrath, 
and  obtained  for  them  the  divine  favour,  with  all  the 
Hessings  consequent  thereon.  But  it  does  not  seem 
that  any  great  stress  can  be  laid  on  this  distinction, 
as  the  word  irpoa^poij]  translated  to  offer^  with  the 
noun  derived  from  it,  rendered  offering^  is  used  in  a 
multitude  of  places  in  the  LXX.,  for  presenting  any 
victim  before  God ;  as  it  is  likewise  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, (Matt  V.  ^  24,)  for  bringing  a  gift  and  of- 
fering it  on  the  altar.  Of  a  sweet-Bmelling  savour 
— Or  fragrant  odours  an  epithet  given  to  the  nn- 
cfferingy  (Lev.  iv.  31,)  and  to  the  humt^ffering^ 
(Gen.  vUi.  21,)  to  denote  the  acceptableness  of  such 
oblations  to  God,  when  oflered  by  upright  worship- 
pers in  the  way  he  had  appointed.  For  in  the  warm 
eastern  climes  nothing  is  more  refreshing  womankind 
than  fragrant  odours.  The  sacrifice  of  Christ,  how- 
ever, as  is  here  implied,  was  far  pore  acceptable  and 
pleasing  to  €k)d  than  any  of  the  victims  or  perfumes 
which  had  been  offered  of  old,  whether  on  the  bra- 
2en  or  golden  altar  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle  or 
temple.  Indeed,  Uieir  sacrifices  and  perfumes  were 
only  acceptable  as  being  emblematical  of  the  offering 
of  his  body  once  for  aD,  and  of  his  contitiual  inter- 
cessions for  us  before  (Ae  thnme  of  the  fik^esty  on 
high.  And  it  is  a  pleasing  and  encouraging  consi- 
deration, that  through  these  all  our  sincere  prayers 
and  praises^  and  our  acts  of  pious  and  charitable  li- 
berality, beneficence,  and  goodness,  come  up  before 
God  as  a  gratefhl  memorial,  and  draw  down  upon  us 
a  most  valuable  blessing.  With  regard  to  the  ex- 
hortation to  mutual  love  here  given,  it  is  Justly  ob- 
served by  Macknight,  that  ^Christ's  love  in  dying 
for  vs,  i^  [as  on  many  other  accounts,  so  on  this] 
**  a  strong  reason  for  our  loving  one  another ;  because, 
if  we  do  not  love  one  another,  we  are  destijUite  of 
that  disposition  which  rendered  Christ  so  acceptable 
to  his  Father;  and  have  no  right  to  be  called  his 
disciples,  or  to  share  in  the  inheritance  of  his  children. 
Verses  3, 4.  But  fornication,  &c. — But  any  im- 
pure love,  and  any  vice  flowing  therefrom,  or  con- 
nected therewith ;  2e<  it  no<  &e  once  nomecf— Or  heard 
of;  among  jfotf— Except  with  detestation.  Keep  at 
toe  utmost  distance  from  it;  a$  becometh  9aviU$^ 
Who  are  conscious  of  the  sanctity  of  your  name  and 
profession,  and  dread  the  thoug^s  of  debasing  it; 
for  certainly  it  b  reasonable  and  proper  that  they 
who  are  separated  from  the  world,  and  dedicated  to 
God,  (rturald  shun  all  soch  mention  of  these  things, 
b 


A.M.  406a 
A.  D.  Si. 


jesting,  ^  which  are  not  convenient : 

but  rather  giving  of  thanks. 

&  For  this  y%  know,  that  *  no  whoremopgeri 

nor  unclean  pereon,  nor  covetous  man,  ^  who  is 


rlUttziiSS;  Chap.  ir.  20. 

9;  Galr.  19,21.- 


^RoiilL28. 

— *  Col.  iiL  A. 


1 1  Cor.  tL 


as  may  any  way  encourage  and  countenance  the 
practice  of  them.  Neither fiLthines9^^9Ja\ony  lewd, 
lascivious  speeches;  fuir  foolish  taZHti^^Tittle* 
tattle,  talking  of  the  weather,  fashions,  meat,  and 
drink,  and  such  vain  discourse  as  betrays  folly  and 
indiscretioil,  and  has  no  tendency  to  edify;  nor 
jesting—Evrpane^M,  wittiness,  faeetiousness,  or  such 
artfully  turned  discourse  as  is  only  calculated  to 
produce  mirth  and  laughter.  Such  turns  of  wit 
were  esteemed  by  the  heathen  a  sort  of  virtue :  but 
how  frequently  every  thing  of  this  kind  quenches 
the  Spirit,  those  who  are  of  a  tender  conscience 
know.  Which  things  are  not  convenient— Or  pro- 
per for  a  Christian,  as  neither  increasing  his  faith 
nor  holiness,  and  are  therefore  utterly  unsuitable  to 
his  profession.  But  rather  giving  of  thanks — 
Rather  abound  in  the  language  of  thanksgiving  and 
devotion,  to  which  you  are  under  so  many  and  such 
strong  obligations,  and  which  will  yield  a  pleasure 
much  more  sublime  and  satisfactory  than  any  ani- 
mal indulgences  or  delights.  Observe,  reader,  the 
deliverances  which  God  hath  wrouglit  out  for  us, 
and  the  benefits  which  he  hath  conferred  on  us  in 
the  course  "of  his  providence,  the  great  blessings  of 
redemption  and  salvation  from  sin  and  misery  pro- 
cured for  us,  and  the  gift  of  eternal  life  consequent 
thereon,  with  whatever  is  necessary  to  prepare  us 
for  these  blessings,  are  powerful  considerations  why 
we  should  be  frequent  and  fervent  in  praise  and 
thanksgiving. 

Verses  5-7.  For  this  ye  /cwotr— Of  this  ye  cannot 
be  ignorant,  favoured  as  you  have  been  with  the 
light  of  the  gospel,  that  no  whoremonger,  ^.,  hath 
any  inheritatice—Uere  or  hereafter ;  in  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  or  of  Ood^Thoi  is,  purchased  by  Christ, 
wad  bestowed  by  God.  The  reason  why  the  apostle, 
in  this  and  his  other  epistles,  condemned  fornication 
and  every  sort  of  undeanncss  in  such  an  express 
manner,  was  because  the  heathen  avowedly  prac-  , 
tised  these  vices  even  in  their  temples  as  acts  of 
worship,  which  they  thought  rendered  them  accept- 
able to  their  gods.  But  how  difierent  fh)m  such 
practices  is  the  conduct  enjoined  in  the  gospel, 
which  teaches  that  they  who  continue  in  such  abo- 
minations, shall  for  ever  be  excluded  from  the  pre- 
sence and  glory  of  God.  Nor  covetous  man— ThdX 
is,  the  man  whose  chief  desire  and  care  is  to  increase 
his  wealth,  either  that  he  may  spend  it  on  the  gra- 
tification 0^  his  hists,  or  may  hoard  it  up ;  who  is  an 
idolater—As  placing  that  love,  delight,  and  con- 
fidence in  riches,  which  ought  to  be  placed  in  God 
alone;  or  because  he  sets  up  something  else,  what- 
ever may  be  the  ol^ect  of  his  covetous  desires,  and 
something  comparatively  very  base  and  contempti- 
Ue,  in  the  place  of  God,  as  if  it  could  be  the  ground 
823 


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^PHBSUHa 


nofiJhiMh^  itUh  the  ungodfy. 


A.  M.  4008.  an  idolater,  ^  hath  any  inheritance  in 
^'^^    the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of  God. 

6  ^  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with  vain  wank: 
for  because  of  these  things  "cometh  the 
wrath  of  God  ^iqwn  the  children  of  'disobe- 
dience. 

7  Be  not  3re  therefore  partakers  with  them. 

8  ^  For  ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now 
^  ewe  ye  hghi  in  the  Lord :  walk  as  'children 
of  light; 


« GfcL  T.  21 J  Rer.  xxii.'  15. "  Jer.  ttli.  8 ;  Matt.  xxir.  4 ; 

CoLti4.8,l8;  2  TheM.  iL  8.— ^-*  Bom.  i.  18. •Ch.u:2. 

^  Or,  wJb^,  CoL  ui.  & pIs».  iz.  2;  Bfatt.  ir.  16;  AeU 

xxri.  18 ;  Rom.  i.  21 ;  Olup.  iL  11,  12 ;  ir.  18 ;  Tit.  iii.  3 ; 
1  Pen  ii.  9. 


of  hb  dependance,  and  the  source  of  his  happiness. 
Let  no  man  deceive  you  toith  vain  wnxU — Or  so- 
phistical arguments,  as  if  you  might  live  in  the  com- 
mission of  such  sins,  and  yet  find  mercy  with  God; 
or  escape  punishment  For  because  rf  these  and 
the  like  things^  cometh  the  wrath  of  God — And  the 
dreadful  eflbcts  thereof^  on  the  children  of  dieober 
diencc— Even  on  the  Gentiles,  though  not  favoured 
with  the  light  and  aids  which  you  have^  demon- 
strating to  you  the  infinite  evil  of  all  such  practices, 
and  affording  you  sufficient  power  to  avoid  them. 
Now,  if  even  heathens  are  punished  for  such  prac- 
tices, much  less  can  we  suppose  that  professing 
Christians,  who  have  so  much  greater  advantages 
for  practising  purity  and  virtue  in  all  their  branches, 
and  are  under  such  strong  and  peculiar  engagements 
so  to  do,  shall  escape  with  impunity  if  they  pursue 
a  similar  line  of  conduct.  Be  not  ye  therefore  par- 
takers with  tJiemr— In  these  abominations,  if  ye  would 
not  finally  partake  in  that  dreadful  punishment 
which  they  are  bringing  on  themselves  thereby. 

Verses  8-10.  For  ye  were  sometimes— Thsii  is,  once; 
darkness — In  a  state  of  total  blindness  and  ignorance, 
without  any  light  of  instruction  without,  or  divine 
grace  within,  and  therefore  had  some  excuse  for 
living  such  imrighteous  and  profane  lives:  but  now 
ye  are  light  in  the  Z#ord^Enlightened  by  the  di- 
vine word  and  Spirit,  and  brought  to  the  saving 
knowledge  of  God  ahd  Christ,  and  of  divine  things 
in  general  j  and  consequently  such  vicious  practices 
as  you  formerly  pursued  would  be  utterly  inex- 
cusable in  you  now.  You  are  now  under  an  indis- 
pensable obligation  to  walk  as  children  of  light — 
That  is,  in  a  manner  suitable  to  your  present  know- 
ledge. Fory  ^c— As  if  he  had  said,  Such  walking  is 
the  proper,  natural  result  of  your  illumination  and 
spiritual  condition ;  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  in — 
Consists  in ;  all  goodness,  righteousness,  and  truth — 
That  is,  the  Spirit  works  these  graces  In  those  per- 
sons in  whom  he  dwells,  graces  quite  opposite  to  the 
sms  spoken  of  chap.  iv.  25,  &c.  By  goodness  we 
are  to  understand  an  inclination  and  endeavour  to 
perform  all  good  ofilces  to  our  fellow-creatures, 
especially  to  the  children  of  God:  by  righteousness, 
justice,  and  fair  dealing  toward  all  men:  and  by 
924 


9  IT  (For*  the  firuit  of  the  Spirit  i^  in  A.if.406& 

all  goodvoBSBi  and  righteousness,  and '- — 

truth;) 

10  ^Proving  what  is  acceptable  unto  the 
Lord. 

11  Aod/haTe  no  fdlowsbip  with  'the un- 
fruitful works  of  darkness,  but  rather  ^reprove 
them. 

12  ■  For  it  is  a  diaine  even  to  speak  oi  those 
things  which  are  done  of  them  in  secret 


fl  John  Tiii.  W;  xfi.  46;  2  Cor.  iii.  18;  W.  S;  1  Then.  r. 
3 :  1  Jobi  ii.  9.-^ — rtAke  xvl  8 ;  John  xiL  SC-       "GaLT.  8S. 

tRom.  xa.2;  PhiL  L  lO ■ICor.  r.  ft,  11;  x.  20;  SCor. 

tL  14 ;  2  Thess.  ni.  6. »  Rom.  tL  21 ;  xiiL  12 :  GiL  tL  8. 

rher,  idx.  17;  1  Tim.  5.  ». «Rom.  i.  24, 26 ;  V«tw3. 


truihj  freedom  from  hypocrisy,  dissimulation,  guile, 
and  deceit.  Some  MSS.,  together  with  the  Syriac 
and  Vulgate,  versions,  read'  here,  But  the  fruit  of 
the  light,  &c.,  which  Estius,  Grotius,  Mill,  and  Ben- 
gelius,  think  the  true  reading,  because  there  is  no 
mention  made  of  the  Spirit,  either  in  what  goes  be- 
fore, or  m  what  follows.  The  common  reading  they 
suppose  hath  been  taken  from  Gal.  v.  22.  Proving, 
—^oKifitt^ovreQ,  making  trial  of,  proving  by  expe- 
rience, or  approving;  what  is  aocepto6Z«— Ewyerw, 
well-pleasing  ;  to  the  Lord— And  how  happy  they 
are  who  in  all  ihings  are  governed  by  his  wUL 

Verses  11,  12.  And  have  no  fellowship — No  so- 
ciety, no  participation  irt7A  wicked  men  in  the  un- 
fruitful  works  of  darkness— Works  which  bring  no 
advantage,  but  mischief,  (Rom.  vL  23,)  and  called 
works  of  darjcn^s,  because  they  usually  proceed 
from  ignorance,  Acts  iii.  17;  are  contrary  to  ttie_ light 
of  the  word,  John  iii.  20;  are  usually  committed  in 
the  dark,  1  Thess.  v.  7;  and  bring  those  who  live  and 
die  in  the  commission  of  them  to  utter  and  eternal 
darkness.  Matt.  xxv.  30;  but  rather  reprove  Jhem — 
Show  your  disapprobation  of  them  by  seasonable 
and  suitable  reproof^  (Lev.  xix.  17;  Matt.  xviU.  15,) 
and  especially  by  the  holiness  of  your  conversation. 
Observe,  reader,  to  avoid  such  things  is  not  sufficient 
For  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those  things — Ex- 
cept in  the  way  of  reproof;  which  are  done  of  them 
in  secret— ThBi  is,  says  Dr.  Whitby,  "in  their  mys- 
teries, which  therefore  were  styled  oKoppnrfl  itv^ripin^ 
^mysteries  not  to  be  spoken  of,)  none  being  per- 
mitted to  divulge  them  upon  pain  of  death.  Hence 
even  the  word  fw^piov  (mystery)  hath  its  name,  say 
grammariahs,  from  fmetv  to  toim,  to  slop  the  moutlu 
The  Elcusinian  mysteries  were  performed  in  the 
night,  agreeably  to  the  deeds  of  darkness  committed 
in  them ;  so  were  the  Bacchanalia ;  and  they  were 
both  Aill  of  detestable  iniquity;  and  upon  that  ac- 
count, says  Livy,  "were  banished  out  of  the  Roman 
senate  and  Italy."  These  quotations,  with  many 
others  which  might  be  add^  to  them,  plainly  prove, 
as  Dr.  Doddridge  observes,  that  if  the  lower  sort  of 
mysteries  among  the  heathens  were  first  intended, 
as  some  have  supposed,  to  impress  the  minds  of  the 
people  with  the  belief  of  ftittire  rewards  and  punish- 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


and  to  redeem  ike  time. 


A.  M.  4008.    13  But  *  all  things  that  are  ^re- 

A   D   64. 

-^ — proved  are  made  manifest  by  the  light: 

for  whatsoever  doth  make  manifest  is  light 

14  Wherefoi:e  '  he  saith,  ^  Awake,  thou  that 
deepest,  and  ^  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ 
shall  give  thee  light 

16  *  *  See  then  that  ye  walk  circumspectly,  not 
as  fools,  but  as  wise, 


«  John  iii.  20, 21 ;  Heb.  iv.  13. •Or,  diacovend, •  Or,  it. 

i> Ite.  Iz.  1 ;  Rom.  xiiL  11,  12;  1  Cor.  xt.  34 ;  1  Theas.  ▼.  fk 
c  John  ▼.  2$;  Romans  vi.  4,  5;  Chapter  IL  5;  Coloas.  iii.  1. 
*  Twentieth  Smniaif  after  Trinity,  epistle.  Terse  13  to  reise  22. 
^  CoL  iT.  5. 


menta,  and  the  higher  sort  of  them  to  instruct  per- 
sons of  more  reflection  and  penetration  than  the  rest, 
in  the  knowledge  oi  the  true  God,  and  the  other 
great  principles  of  natural  religion,  they  were,  long 
before  the  apostle^s  time,  greatly  corrupted,  and  de- 
graded to  the  moist  delegable  purposes.  Monsieur 
Saurin  thinkis  there  is  a  sarcasm  in  this  verse,  as  if 
the  ap<Mtle  said,  "The  heathens  call  these  things 
*icoppnra,  things  not  to  be  spoken  of;  true,  they  are 
properly  so ;  things  not  too  sacred,  but  too  infamous 
to  be  mentioned." 

Verses  iS,  14.  BtU  all  things  that  are  reproved— 
Or,  discovered^  or  confuted^  as  tKtyxo^izva  may  be 
properly  rendered  j  are  made  manifest — Have  their 
iniquity  laid  open  to  the  actors  themselves,  as  well 
as  to  others ;  by  the  light—Oi  divine  truth ;  or,  as 
Whitby  iiiterprets  the  clause,  "  being  discovered  by 
the  light,  they  wre  made  manifest."  For  whatso- 
ever doth  make  any  thing  of  a  moral  or  immoral 
nature  manifest,  is  Ught-^ThdX  is,  nothing  can  make 
any  thing  in  men's  spirit  or  conduct  manifest  but 
light,  yea,  light  from  heaven ;  "  and  therefore  the 
gospel  well  deserves  that  name,  as  teaching  those 
who  are  instructed  in  it  to  judge  rightly  concerning 
the  moral  nature  of  actions,  and  inculcating  such 
general  principles,  as  will  be  of  use  to  them  in  every 
particular  case  that  can  possibly  arise."  Wherefore 
he  saith — Namely,  God,/m  the  general  tenor  of  his 
word,  to  all  who  are  still  in  darkness ;  Awake  thou 
that  steepest— In  ignorance  of  God,  of  thyself  and 
of  his  will  concerning  thee,  and  in  a  state  of  stupid 
insensibility  respecting  invisible  and  eternal  things  ; 
and  arise  from  the  dead— Yvom  thy  state  of  spirit- 
ual death,  a  state  of  alienation  from  the  life  of  God 
here,  and  obnoxiousness  to  eternal  death  hereafter. 
Sec  on  chap.  ii.  5.  And  Christ  shall  give  thee  light 
-Spiritual  and  divine  light,  knowledge,  wisdom, 
holiness,  and  happiness,  the  light  of  grace  and  glory. 

Verses  15-17.  See  ^e?i— That  you  may  be  flt  to  re- 
prove sin  in  others ;  (hat  ye— Yourselves,  upon  whom 
the  light  of  Christ  already  shines  \  walk  circum- 
spectly— kKpi$ocj  accurately ,  with  the  utmost  exact- 
ness; making  his  will,  as  made  known  to  you  in  his 
word,  your  rule,  and  his  glory  your  end,  in  all  your 
actions,  cares,  labours,  and  pursuits ;  taking  the  most 
attentive  heed  to  every  step,  and  conducting  your- 
selves, not  as  fools,  who  have,  no  understanding  of 
Ihonr  duty  or  interest,  and  who  consider  not  what 
b 


16  *  Redeeming  the  time,  'because  A.M.406S. 
the  days  are  evil. .  ^'^ 

17  » Wherefore  be  ye  aot  unwise,  but  ^  un- 
derstanding '  what  the  will  of  the  Lord  is. 

18  And  ^  be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is 
excess ;  but  be  filled  with  the  Spirit ; 

19  Speaking  to  yourselves  ^in  psalms,  and 
hymns,    and    spiritual    songs,   singing,    and 


•  Col.  iv.  5 ;  Gal.  ti.  10. '  Eccles.  xi.  2 ;  zii  1 ;  John  xiL 

35 ;  Oh.  Ti.  15. f  CoL  ir.  5. ^  Rom.  xiL  2. •  1  The««. 

ir.  3;  v.  18. ^Ttow.xx.  1;  xjtiii.  29,  30;  Isa.  r.  11,  22 j 

Lake  xxL  34.-^^  Acta  zri  25;  1  Cor.  xir.  2S;  Col  iii  16  j 
James  ▼.  13. 


they  are  doing,  in  what  way  they  are  proceeding 
forward,  or  where  it  will  terminate ',  but  as  wise  men 
— Who  know  the  worth  of  their  immortal  souls,  the 
snares  that  are  or  win  be  laid  to  entangle  them,  by 
their  subtle  and  powerful'  enemies,  the  many  press- 
ing dangers  they  have  to  avoid,  and  the  important 
ends  they  have  to  secure.  Redeeming  the  time^ 
With  all  possible  care,  e^ayopa^ofuvot,  buying  it  up,  as 
it  were,  as  a  most  precious  commodity,  (though  held 
cheap  by  many,)  out  of  the  hands  of  sin  and  Satan, 
of  sloth,  ease,  pleasure,  and  worldly  business,  which 
may  be  done  at  the  expense  of  a  little  selfnlenial, 
watchfulness,  zeal,  and  dihgence,  which  will  be  am- 
ply recompensed  in  time  and  in  eternity ;  or  endea- 
vouring to  recover  and  buy  back,  (as  the  word  may 
signify,)  as  far  as  possible,  what  has  been  lost,  by 
diligenUy  making;  use  of  what  remains,  especially 
in  embracing  every  opportunity  of  receiving  and 
doing  good,  arid  studying  to  improve  every  one  to 
the  best  purposes:  and  this  the  rather,  because  tJie 
days  are  evil — Days  of  the  grossest  ignorance,  im- 
morality, and  profaneness ;  so  that  being  surrounded 
on  every  side  with  bad  examples,  we  are  in  danger  of 
being  corrupted,  and  are  at  the  same  time  exposed 
to  various  persecutions  and  perils,  and  know  not 
how  soon  we  may  be  deprived  of  our  liberty  or 
lives.  Wherefore — Since  the  times  are  so  evil,  and 
the  danger  so  great;  be  ye  not  unwise — Ignorant  of 
your  duty  and  true  interest,  negligent  of  the  con- 
cerns of  your  immortal  souls,  and  inconsiderate  as 
you  formerly  were ;  but  understanding  what  the  will 
of  the  Lord  w— In  every  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stance. 

Verses  18-21.  And  be  not  drunk  with  wine—^As  the 
heathen  are  when  they  celebrate  the  feasts  of  Bac- 
chus, their  god  of  wine;  wherein  is  excess — Which 
is  the  source  of  all  manner  of  extravagance,  and 
leads  to  debauchery  of  every  kind.  The  original 
word  aaoTia,  here  rendered  excess,  signifies  entire 
dissoluteness  of  mind  and  manners,  and  such  a  course 
of  life  as  is  void  of  counsel  and  prudent  intention, 
like  the  behaviour  of  persons  who  are  continually 
drunk.  While  the  above-mentioned  Bacchanalia 
continued,  men  and  women  made  it  a  point  of  reli- 
gion to  intoxicate  themselves,  and  ran  about  the 
streets,  fields,  and  vineyards,  singing  and  shouting 
in  a  wild  and  tumultuous  manner;  in  opposition  to 
which  extravagant  vociferations,  singing  praises  to 


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The  apostle  exhorts  husbands  and 


EPHESIANS. 


vdves  to  their  relative  duties. 


A.  M.  4068.  making  pielody  in  your  heart  to  the 
— 1— i Lord; 

20  ™  Giving  thanks  always  for  all  things 
unto  God  and  the  Father,  '^in  the  name  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 

21  ^  Submitting  yourselves  one  to  another  in 
the  fear  of  God. 

22  ^  Wives,  submit  yovirselves  unto  your  own 
husbands,  ^  as  unto  the  Lord. 


»  Psa.  xzxiv.  1 ;  Isa.  Iziii.  7 ;  GoL  iiL  17;  1  Thess.  r.  18. 

2  Thess.  i.  3. »  Heb.  xiiL  15 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5 ;  it.  11. »Phil. 

iL 3;  1  Pet.  t.  5.—* Gen.  iiL  Iff;  1  Gor^xiv. 34;  Col.  iii.  18 ; 


God  is  with  great  propriety  recommended.  Plato 
tells  us,  that  there  was  hardly  a  sober  person  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  Attican  territories  during  the 
continuance  of  these  detestable  feasts.  BiU  be  ye 
filled  with  the  Spirit — In  all  his  graces,  which  gives 
a  joy  unspeakably  more  delightful,  exhilarating,  and 
permanent,  than  that  which  is  produced  by  the  fumes 
of  Wine.  The  antithesis  is  beautiful.  The  lewd 
votaries  of  Bacchus  fill  themselves  with  wine;  but 
be  ye  filled  with  the  Spirit,  In  which  precept  there 
is  this  remarkable  propriety,  that  our  Lord  had  re- 
presented the  indnences  of  the  Spirit,  (which  he  in- 
vited all  who  thirsted  for  them,  to  come  to  him  and 
receive,)  under  the  emblem  of  rivers  of  living  wa- 
ter, which  he  commanded  believers  to  drink  plenti- 
fully, John  vii.  37-39.  Speaking  to  yourselves — 
That  is,  to  one  another,  by  the  Spirit,  for  your  mu- 
tual edification;  in  psalms — Of  David,  and  hymns — 
Of  praise;  and  spiritual  songs — On  any  divine  sub- 
ject ;  of  this  latter  kind  were  the  songs  of  Elisabeth,  of 
Mary,  and  of  Zecharias,  recorded  by  Luke,  chap.  i. 
42, 4i5,  67.  By  there  being  no  inspired  songs,  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  Christian  dispensation,  as  there 
were  to  the  Jewish,  it  is  evident  that  the  promise  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  believers  in  the  last  days,  was, 
by  his  larger  eflfusion,  to  supply  this  want.  Singing 
and  making  melody — Which  will  be  as  acceptable 
and  pleasing  to  God  as  music  is  to  us ;  in  your  heart 
— As  well  as  your  voice,  your  affections  going  along 
with  your  words,  without  which  no  external  melody, 
be  it  ever  so  exact  and  harmonious,  can  be  pleas- 
ing to  his  ear ;  to  the  JLord — Jesus,  who  sesgrcheth 
the  heart ;  giving  thanks  always — ^At  all  times  and 
places  jybr  all  things — Prosperous  or  adverse,  for  all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God ; 
in  the  name — Or  through  the  mediation;  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ—By  whom  we  receive  all  good  things. 
Submitting  yourselves — tnOTaaaofievoiy  being  subject^ 
one  to  at»or^er— Performing  those  mutual  duties  to 
each  other,  which  belong  to  you  according  to  your 
several  places  and  stations.  As  if  he  had  said,  While 
you  are  careful,  as  above  directed,  in  the  duties  of 
praise  and  piety  to  God,  be  not  negligent  in  those 
which  you  owe  to  your  fellow-creatures,  butper- 
form  them  punctually  in  all  the  various  relations  in 
which  you  stand  to  each  other ;  in  the  fear  of  God 
— Properly  influenced  thereby,  and  evidencing'  to 
all  around  you  that  you  truly  fear  and  obey  him. 


23  For  ^  the  husband  is  the  head  of  a.  m.  406a 

the  wife, even  as  ■  Christ  is  the  head  of '. — 1 

the  church :  and  he  is  the  Saviour  of  *^  the  body. 

24  Therefore  as  the  church  is  subject  unto 
Clirist,  so  let  the  wives  be  to  their  own  hus- 
bands, •  in  every  thing. 

25  'Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as 
Christ  also  loved  the  church,  and  ^  gave  him* 
self  f(H*  it ; 


Tit.  ii.  5. 1  Chap.  ti.  6.——'  1  Cor.  xi.  3. •-Chap.  L  22 ; 

iv.  15;  Col.  i.  18. »Chap.  i.  23. »CoL  iu.  30. «Col. 

iu.  19 ;  1  Pet  iiL  7. r  AxsU  zx.  28 ;  GiO.  i.  4 ;  ii.  20 ;  Yet.  2. 


Verses  22-24.  In  the  following  directions  concern- 
ing relative  duties,  the  inferiors  are  all  along  placed 
before  the  superiors,  because  the  general  proposition 
is  concerning  submission:  and  inferiors  ought  to  do 
their  duty,  whatever  their  superiors  do.  Wives^ 
submit  yourselves  to  your  o^cn  htisbands — Unless 
where  God  forbids.  Otherwise,  in  all  indifferent 
things,  the  will  Of  the  husband  is  a  law  to  the  wife : 
as  unto  the  Lord^As  owning  Christ's  authority  in 
your  husbands,  whose  image  they  bear,  1  Cor.  xL7. 
The  obedience  a  wife  pays  to  herliusband,  is  at  the 
same  time  paid  to  Christ  himself.  For  the  husband 
is  the  head  of  the  wi/e— Under  Christ ;  is  her  gov- 
ernor, guide,  and  guardian;  as  Christ  is  the  head 
of  the  churdh—Aa  if  he  had  said,  God  will  have  sonne 
resemblance  of  Christ's  authority  over  the  church 
exhibited  in  the  husband's  authority  over  his  wife. 
See  on  chap.  i.  22.  And  he  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
body^Of  the  church,  his  mystical  body,  from  all 
sin  and  misery.  As  if  he  had  said,  As  Christ's  autho- 
rity is  exercised  over  his  church  to  defend  it  from 
evil,  and  supply  it  with  all  good,  so  should  the  hus- 
band's power  over  hia  wife  be  employed  to  protect 
her  from  injuries,  and  provide  comfortably  for  her 
according  to  his  ability.  Therefore  as  the  church — 
That  is,  that  part  of  the  church  which  is  truly  rege- 
nerate; is  subject  unto  Christ — And  with  cheerful 
willingness  submits  to  his  authority ;  so  let  the  wives 
be  to  their  own  husbands— To  whom  they  have  pro- 
mised obedience ;  i>  every  thing— Which  is  lawftil, 
which  is  not  contrary  to  any  command  of  God. 

Verse  25.  TTie  apostle  now  proceeds  to  speak  of 
the  duty  of  husbands  to  their  wives,  the  principal  of 
which  consists  in  their  loving  them,  without  which 
they  would  abuse  their  power  to  tyranny  and  op- 
pression. But  how  are  they  to  love  them  ?  The 
apostle  says,  as  Christ  loved  the  ditirc^—Namely, 
with  a  love  that  is  sincere,  puits,  ardent,  constant,  and 
persevering,  and  notwithstanding  the  imperfections 
and  failures  that  they  are  chargeable  with.  The 
true  model  this  of  conjugal  aiSection !  with  this  kind 
of  love,  with  this  degree  of  it,  and  to  this  end,  should 
husbands  love  their  wives.  Christ  loved  the  church, 
and  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  it,  when  it  was  In  a 
state  of  slavery  and  misery;  and  husbands,  if  called 
to  it  by  God,  should  lay  down 'their  lives  for  their 
wives.  Observe,  reader,  as  the  church's  subjection 
to  Christ  is  proposed  as  an  example  to  wives,  so  the 

h 


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The  <i^p9€iie  mforces  kU  exhoHoHon  GlLkPTBB  V. 


}  the  example  of  CM&t. 


A.M.40QB.    26  That   he  mi^  sanctify  and 

1 — L  cleanse  ~  k  '  with   the  washing  of 

water  *  by  the  w<H*d, 

27  ^  That  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorioQs  church,  ®  not  haying  qpot  or  wrinlde, 
ot  any  such  tlung ;  ^  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish. 

28  So  oi^ht  men  to  love  their  v  wivas^  aa 
their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife 
loveth  himself. 


«  John  iiL  5 ;  TiL  iii  5.- 
M.2;  Coll2SL— 


-»  John  XT.  3 ;  xviL  17. *2  Cor. 

e  Cint  IT.  7. *  Chap.  L  4. 


lore  of  Christ  to  his  chnrch  is  proposed  as  a  pattern 
to  husbands,  and  while  such  examples  are  ofl^red 
to  the  imitation  of  both,  and  so  much  is  required  of 
each  o[  them,  neither  hha  reason  to  complain  of  the 
divine  injunction.  The  love  which  God  requires 
from  the  husband  toward  his  wife,  compensates  for 
that  subjection  which  he  demands  from  her'  to  her 
husband:  and  the  prescribed  subjection  of  the  wife 
is  an  abundant  return  for  that  love  of  the  husband 
which  God  hath  made  her  due.  In  what  follows  we 
are  told  that  the  end  for  which  Christ  loved  the 
church,  was  that  he  might  make  her  holy  and  save 
her;  therefore,  if  husbands  are  to  love  their  wives 
as  Christ  loved  the  church,  they  must  endeavour  to 
promote  their  faith  and  piety,  must  strive  to  make 
them  wise  and  holy. 

Verses  26, 27.  Tfuxt  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse 
t/— Might  remove  the  guilt,  power,  and  pollution  of 
sin ;  with  the  washing  of  water— -In  baptism,  as  the 
sign  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  can 
only  renew,  sanctify,  and  cleanse  the  soul.  See  2 
Thess.  ii.  13;  1  Pet.  i.  2;  Tit.  iii.  5.  By  the  word^ 
The  ordinary  channel  by  which  justifying,  regene- 
rating, and  sanctifying  grace  is  communicated;  (John 
XV.  3;  Jam.  i.  18;  1  Pet.  i,  23;  John  xvii.  17;)  and  by 
which  we  are  made  perfect,  and  thoroughly  Aimish- 
ed  unto  all  good  works,  2  Tim.  iii  17.  7%at  he 
might  present  it  to  hhnself—Thdi  being  piurified,  re- 
newed, and  adorned,,  as  a  bride  prepared  for  her 
husband,  he  might  place  it  in  his  own  immediate 
presence ;  a  glorious  church — Perfectly  holy,  happy, 
and  pleasing  in  his  sight ;  not  having  spot — Of  impu- 
rity from  any  remains  of  sin,  or  wrinkle — Of  defor- 
mity from  any  decay,  Or  any  such  things- Any  thing 
which  could  be  called  a  defect ;  the  perfection  of 
the  bodies  of  the  saints,  as  well  as  that  of  their  souls, 
being  included  in  this  description :  but  that  it  should 
be  holy  and  without  blemishr-Or  without  blame; 
and  he  might  survey  it  completely  pure,  beautiAil, 
and  resplendent,  in  that  great  day,  when  the  whole 
number  of  the  elect  shall  be  gathered  together,  and 
the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  celebrated  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  the  heavenly  legions,  to  whose 
blissful  world  his  bride  shall  be  conducted  in  triumph. 
**  How  bright  an  idea,"  says  Dr.  Doddridge,  "  does 
this  give  us  of  the  grand  plan  and  design  of  Chris- 
tianity: namely,  to  bring  all  the  millions  of  which 
the  church  consists,  to  such  a  state  of  perfect  virtue 
b 


29  For  no  ooan  ever  jret  hated  bis  a.  M.4068. 
own  flesh;  but  nourisheth  and  che-  ^'   '^' 


rish^  it,  oven  as  the  Lord  the  church : 

30  For  *  we  are  noembers  of  his  body,  of  his 
Hesh,  and  of  his  bones. 

31  ^For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his 
fisuher  and  niother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto 
his  wife,  and  they  '  two  shall  be  one  flesh. 

32  This  is  a  great  mystery:  but  I  speak 
concerning  Christ  and  the  church. 


•  Geh.  ii.  ^ ;  Rom.  rii.  5 ;  1  Cor.  Vi.  15 ;  xii.  27.- 
ii.  84 ;  Matt.  m.  5.- — f  1  Cor.  ri.  16. 


'Gen. 


and  glory,  that  when  the  penetrating  eye  of  Christ, 
its  great  and  holy  bridegroom,  shall  smrvey  it,  there 
shall  not  be  one  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  thin^  like 
it,  in  the  least  to  impair  its  beauty,  or  offend  his 
sight !  Where  is  such  a  scheme  of  thought  to  be 
found  in  the  world,  but  in.  the  New  Testament,  and 
those  who  have  been  taught  by  it  1" 

Verses  28-32.  But  to  return  to  the  subject  from  « 
which  this  pleasing  digression  has  led  us:  So  ought 
men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies— Th^t 
is,  as  themselves,  or  a  part  of  themselves ;  the  bond 
of  marriage  making  the  husband  and  his  wife  one, 
and  establishing  an  inseparable  community  of  inter- 
ests between  them ;  so  that  the  husband  is  to  love 
his  wife  with  the  same  sincerity  and  ardency  of  af- 
fection wherewith  he  loves  himself.  "The  hus- 
band," says  Macknight,  "whose  love  leads  him, 
after  Christ's  example,  not  only  to  protect  and  cher- 
ish his  wife,  by  giving  her  the  necessaries  and  con- 
veniences of  life^  but  also  to  cleanse  her;  that  is,  to 
form  her  mind,  and  assist  her  in  making  progress  m 
virtue,  really  loves  himself^  and  promotes  his  own 
happiness  in  the  best  manner.  For  his  wife,  being 
thus  loved  and  cared  for,  will  be  strengthened  for 
performing  her  duty ;  and  her  mind  being  improved, 
her  conversation  ^vill  give  him  the  greater  pleasure. 
Withal,  having  a  high  esteem  for  her  husband,  she 
will  submit  to  the  hardships  of  her  inferior  station 
with  cheerfulness."  iNfo man— In  his  senses;  ever 
yet  hated  his  ownfleshr^WheLiever  its  infirmities  or 
'imperfections  were;  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth 
ii— Feeds  and  clothes  it;  nay,  and  not  only  provides 
for  its  sustenance,  but  for  its  comfortable  accommo- 
dation ;  even  as  the  Lord  nourishes  and  cherishes 
the  church—Supplying  H  with  all  things  that  may 
conduce  to  its  welfare  and  happiness,  sympathizing 
with  it  in  its  infirmities,  looking  upon  it  as  one  with 
himself.  For— He  can  say  of  his  church  what  Adam 
said  of  EVe,  when  just  taken  out  of  his  side,  (Gen. 
ii.  23,)  This  is  bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of  my 
flesh.  In  other  words,  the  reason  why  Christ 
nourishes  and  cherishes  the  church,  is  that  close 
connection  which  subsists  between  him  and  her,  his 
people  being  as  intimately  united  to  him,  as  if  they 
were  literally  flesh  of  his  flesh,  and  bone  of  his  bone. 
For  this  catt*c— Because  the  woman  is  of  the  man's 
flesh,  and  of  hte  bones ;  shall  aman  leave  his  father 
and  moiher^To  whom  he  was  before  united  by  the 
827 


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EFHSSIAKS. 


kuBhandsandi»ivm. 


A.  M.  4008.    33  Nevertheless,  ^fet  every  one  of 
'        you  in  particolarsolove  his  wife  even 


k  Vent  25 ;  Col.  iii.  19. 


closest  ties ;  and  shall  be  joined  unto  kU  iDt/e— In- 
separably, till  death  shall  part  them;  and  thetf^ 
Though  originally  and  naturally  two  persons;  shall 
— ^For  the  future;  6c  one  flesh — Shall  be  considered 
as  one  person,  or  as  one  soul  in  two  bodies.  This 
is  a  great  mystery-- A  truth  long  unknown ;  and 
now,  when  in  some  measure  discovered,  is  a  matter 
wortfiy  of  much  admiration.  In  the  Vulgate  version, 
this  clause  is  translated,  Sacramentum  hoc  magnum 
esty  This  is  a  great  sacrament.  And  it  is  the  sole 
foundation  on  which  the  Papists  have  set  up  mar- 
riage as  a  sacrament.  But  I  speak  concerning 
Christ  and  the  church^ThaX  is.  In  saying  this,  you 
,  will  easily  perceive  I  speak  not  of  the  union  between 
a  man  and  his  wife,  but  of  that  between  Christ  and 
the  church:  for  that  the  eternal  Son, of  God  should 
unite  himself  to  a  society  of  degenerate  and  mortal 
men,  should  love  them  with  an  affection  exceeding, 
that  which  is  to  be  found  among  the  most  intimate 
human  relations,  and  should  even  regard  them  as 
making  a  part  of  himself,  because  of  the  intimacy 
with  which  they  are  joined  to  him  in  a  community 
of  spirit  and  of  interest,  ean  certainly  never  be  suf- 
ficiently admired.  This  seems  to  be  the  sense  of  the 
passage.  Dr.  Macknight,  however,  following  Dr. 
Alix,  Dr.  Whitby,  and  several  others,  thinks  that  the 
apostle  calls  the  formation  of  Eve  from  Adam's 
body,  his  marriage  with  her,  and  the  intimate  union 
established  between  tliem  by  that  marriage,  a  great 
mystiry^  because  it  coirtained  an  important  emblem- 
atical meaning  concerning  the  regeneration  of  be- 
lievers, and  their  union  with  Christ,  which  [meaning] 
hitherto  had  been  kept  secret,  but  which  he  had  dis- 
covered by  applying  Adam's  words  concerning  Eve, 
to  Christ  and  his  church ;  insinuating,  by  this  appli- 
cation, "  Ist,  That  the  formation  of  Eve,  of  a  rib 
taken  out  of  Adam's  body,  was  a  figure  of  the  regen- 
eration of  believers,  by  the  breaking  of  Christ's  body, 
mentioned  verse  25.  2d,  That  Adam's  love  to  Eve, 
on  account  of  her  being  formed  of  his  body,  was  a 
figure  of  Christ's  lOve  to  believers,  because  they  are 
become  his  body,  verse  90.  3d,  Tliat  Adam's  mar« 
riage  with  Eve  was  a  figure  of  the  eternal  union  of 
Christ  with  believers  in  heaven,  mentioned  verse  27. 
In  giving  this  emblematical  representation  of  these 
ancient  facts,  the  apostle  has  not  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  probability.  In  the  first  age,  neither  the 
art  of  writing,  nor  any  permanent  method  of  con- 
veying instruction  being  invented,  it  was  necessary 
to  make  such  striking  actions  and  events  as  could 
not  easily  be  forgotten,  emblems  of  the  instruction 
Intended  to  be  perpetuated.    On  this  supposition. 


as  himself:  and  the  wife  see  that  A.K.4oeBL 
she  ^reverence  her  husband.  1-.- 


UPet.m.6. 


Adam,  in  whom  the  human  race  began,  wasa  nato- 
ral  image  of  Christ,  in  whom  the  human  race  was  to 
be  restored ;  and  his  deep  sleep,  the  opening  of  his 
side,  and  the  formation  of  Eve  of  a  rib  taken  out  of 
his  side,  were  fit  emtdems  of  Christ's  death,  of  the 
opening  of  his  side  on  the  cross,  and  of  the  regene- 
ration of  believers  by  his  death.  The  love  which 
Adam  expressed  toward  Eve,  and  ^s  union  with  her 
by  marriage,  were  lively  images  of  Christ's  love  to 
believers,  and  of  his  eternal  union  with  them  in  one 
society  after  their  resurrection.  And  Eve  herselfi 
who  was  formed  of  a  rib  taken  from  Adam's  aide, 
was  a  natural  image  of  believers,  who  are  regene- 
rated, both  in  their  bodies  and  in  their  minds,  by  the 
breakiog  of  Christ's  side  on  the  cross.  Thus  the  cir- 
cumstances  wh^ch  accompanied  the  formation  of 
Eve,  being  fit  emblems  of  the  formation  of  the 
church,  we  may  suppose  they  were  brought  to  pass 
to  prefigure  that  great  event ;  and  by  prefiguring  it, 
to  show  that  it  was  decreed  of  God  from  the  very 
beginning !"  For  a  further  elucidation  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  reader  mast  be  referred  to  the  above-men- 
tioned commentator.  We  may  add  here,  however, 
that  Origen  seems  to  have  had  some  notion  of  the 
relation  this  passage  had  to  Adam  and  Eve,  when 
he  says,  *'  If  any  man  deride  us  for  using  the  exam- 
ple of  Adam  and  Eve,  when  we  treat  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ,  let  him  consider  these  words,  This 
is  a  great  mystery?^  Tertullian  also  frequently 
alludes  to  the  same  thing,  saying,  '^  This  is  a  great 
sacrament:  Camaliter  in  Adain,  spiritualiter  in 
Christo,  propter  spirituaJes  nuptias  Christl  et  eccle- 
sise:  carnally  in  Adam,  spiritually  in  Christ,  by  rea- 
son of  the  spiritual  marriage  between  him  and  his 
churchy" 

Verrfe  33.  Nevertheless — As  if  he  said,  But  though 
there  be  such  a  mystical  sense  in  the  marriage  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  or  in  the  union  subsisting  between 
a  man  and  his  wife ;  though  it  be  a  striking  emblem 
of  the  union  between  Christ  and  his  church,  yet  the 
plain,  literal  sense  especially  now  concerns  you. 
Let  every  one  of  you  in  particular  so  love  his  wife 
even  as  himself-^ThdX  is,  with  a  sincere,  peculiar, 
cordial,  and  prevailing  affection,  like  that  which  he 
bears  to  himself:  and  let  the  wife  see  tJuit  she  reve- 
rence her  ^t«6an(^That  she  entertain  a  high  es- 
teem for  him,  be  desirous  of  pleasing  him  in  all 
things  lawful,  reasonable,  and  proper,  and  fear  to 
give  him  unnecessarily  any  just  offence  in  any  thing; 
persuaded  that  it  is  the  will  of  God,  and  the  law  of 
the  relation  in  which  she  stands  to  him,  that  she 
should  thus  conduct  herself  towfutl  him. 

b 


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Duties  ofchitiren  andparetU$, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Servants  exhorted  to  faithfulness. 


CHAPTER  YL 

tterc^inpiirMUdneeofkis  mhjtet,  tk$  apottU  (1,)  Urga  tJu  mutual  duUet  of  ckUirmi  and parenU^  1-4;  and  of  Mervamtt  md 
matters,  6-9.  (2,)  DirecU  all  ChrisHanBy  in  every  etatum^  to  jmt  on  their  spiritual  armour,  in  the  exercise  of  those 
graces  and  use  of  Aose  means,  toAtcft  art  necessary  for  their  defenee  against  the  enemies  of  their  souls  in  this  state  of 
wafasa,  10-1^.    (%)  Bigs  Ae  prayers  of  the  Bphesiamsfor  himself,  and  shosts  why  he  sent  Tyd^cus  to  them,  lf-S4. 

^iLD^ef*  rj™^''^''^^'  *^^  your  parents 


in  the  Lord :  for  this  is  right 


2  ^Honour  thy  fioOher  and  mother,  (which  is 
the  first  commandment  with  promise,) 

3  That  it  ^lay  be  weQ  with  thee,  and  thou 
mayest  live  long  on  the  earth. 

4  And  ^'ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children 
to  wrath :  but  ^  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

6  *  Servants,  be  obedient  to  them  that  are 


«PioT.  zxiu.  22;  Ck>L  iii.  Sa ^Ezod.  xz.  12;  Deal.  t. 

16 ;  xxYu.  16 ;  Jer.  zzxr.  18 ;  Ezek.  xzii.  7 ;  Mai.  i.  6 ;  Eccl. 

in.  8;  Matti  xr.  4;  Mark  rii.  10. «Col.  iii.  21. *Oen. 

xviiL  19 ;  Dent.  iT.  9 ;  tL  7, 20 ;  xi  19  r  Psa.  Izzriii.  4 ;  Piot. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VL 
Verses  1-4.  The  apostle,  having  explained  the 
duties  of  wives  .and  faasbands,  proceeds  to  the  duties 
^f  cliildren  and  parents,  and  then  to  those  of  ser- 
vants, or  slaves  rather,  and  masters,  with  which  he 
finishes  his  account  of  relative  dalles.  Children, 
obey  yoitr  parents^Ev&i  your  unbelieving  {parents, 
in  every  thing  consistent  with  your  duty  to  the  Lord. 
i|i  all  thin^  lawful,  the  will  of  the  parent  is  a  law  to 
the  child:  for  this  is  rtg-A/^Manifestly  just  and 
reasonable.  J9bnour— That  is,  love,  reverence,  obey, 
assist  in  all  things;  thy  father  and  mof^ier— 'The 
mother  is  particulaiiy  mentioned^  as  being  more  Tia- 
ble  to  be  siif^ted  than  thefather.  WMehis  the  first 
commandment  itith  promise — For  the  promise  im- 
plied in  the  second  commandment  does  not  belong 
to  the  keeping  that  command  in  particular,  but  the 
whole  law.  l^^iereas  the  fifth  is  me  first  command- 
ment which  hath  a  promise  annexed  to  it  in  parti- 
cular. This  observation  concerning  the  promise  in 
the  law,  to  those  who  hotooured  their  parents,  was 
made  by  the  apostle,  to  show  that  the  honouring  of 
parents  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
well-being  of  society,  and  highly  acceptable  to  Ood. 
That  it  may  be  well  itdth  thee-^ln  temporal 
as  well  as  spiritual  things;  and  thou  mayest  live 
long  on  the  earth^A.  promise  that  is  usually 
ftilfilled  to  eminently  duttfol  children  ]  and  he  who 
lives  long  and  well,  has  a  long  seed-time  for  an  eter- 
nal harvest  But  this  promise  in  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation is  to  be  understood  chiefly  in  a  more 
exalted  and  spiritual  sense.  And  ye  fathers^-On 
the  other  hand,  (whom  he  names  rather  than  nk>- 
thers,  as  being  more  apt  to  be  stem  and  severe; 
mothers,  however,  are  also  induded;)  provoke  not 
your  children  to  iffrathr^lBj  any  hunii  usage,  or 
rigorous  treatment  of  them.  Do  not  needlessly  fret 
or  exasperate  them ;  btd  bring  them  tip— With  all 
tenderness  and  mUdness,  and  yet  With  steadiness ; 
tfi  the  nurture  and  admonition — Ey  mudeia  oat  vo- 


your  masters  acc<^rding  to  the  flesh,  a.  m.  406S. 

'  with  fear  and  trembling,  » in  single-  -^ 

ness  of  your  heart,  as  unto  Christ ; 

6  ^Not  wiA  eye-service,  as  men-pleasiers ; 
but  as  the  servants  of  Christ,  d(»ng  the  will  of 
Ood  fipom  the  heart ; 

7  With  good-will  dmng  service,  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  to  men : 

8  ^  Knowing  that  whatsoever  good  thing  any 
man  doeth,  the  same  shall  he  receive  of  the 


zix.  18;  xziL6 ;  xxiz.  17. •Cci.  iii. 8S;  1  Tim.  vi.  1  j  Tit. 

iL9;  1  Pet.ii.  18. ' 2 Cor. yii.  15 ; PhiL  ii.l2. f  IChrom 

xxix.  17. *Col.  iii  22,  23. *  Rom.  ii.  6  ;  2  Cor.  v.  10 ; 

Ck>l.  iii.  24. 


vSecia^  in  the  discipline  and  instruction;  of  the 
Lord-^As  these  expressions  stand  connected  with 
the  word  Lord,  it  seems  reasonable  to  explain  Uiem 
of  such  a  course  of  disciptine  and  instruction  as 
properly  belongs  to  a  religions  education,  which 
ought  to  be  employed  by  those  that  believe  In  the 
Lord,  in  forming  their  children  for  him,  by  laying  a 
restraint  on  the  first  appearance  of  every  vicious 
passion,  and  nourishing  them  up  in  ^e  words  of 
fJBdth  and  sound  doctrine«  ^ 

Verses  5-8.  Sercants — AvXoc,  bond-servants  ;  or 
he  may  include  also  those  that  were  in  the  station 
of  hired  servants ;  be  obedient  to  your  masters — For 
the  gospel  does  not  cancel  the  civil  rights  of  man- 
kind ;  according  to  the  fleshr-Th&i  is,  who  have 
the  command  of  your  bodies,  but  not  of  your  souls 
and  consciences.  Or,  the  expression  may  mean, 
who  are  your  masters  according  to  the  present  state 
of  things:  hereafter  the  servant  will  be  free  from  his 
master;  with  fear  and  trembling— A  proverbial 
expression,  implying  the  utmost  care  and  diligence; 
in  singleness  of  Aeor/— With  a  single  eye  to  the 
providence  and  wiH  of  God ;  as  unto  C5krw<— With 
that  sincerity  and  uniformityof  conduct,  which  a  re- 
gard to  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  his  all-seeing  eye, 
will  require  and  produce.  Not  with  eye^ervice-^ 
Serving  your  masters  better  when  under  their  eye 
than  at  other  times ;  as  mere  menrfleasers^Vet- 
sons  who  have  no  regard  to  the  pleasing  of  God; 
butasihe  servants  of  Christ^  Aa  those  that  desire 
to  approve  themselves  his  faithf^  servants ;  doing 
the  will  of  Ood  from  the  *earf— Performing  that 
duty  to  your  masters  which  God  requires  of  you ; 
or  doing  whatever  you  do  as  the  will  of  God,  and 
with  your  might  With  good-will  doing  service^ 
Not  with  reluctance,  but  cheerftilly,  and  from  a 
principle  of  lote  to  them  and  their  concerns;  as  to 
the  Lord,  and  not  to  iii«i— Begardfaig  him  more 
than  men,  and  nuiking  every  action  of  common  life 
a  sacrifice  to  God,  by  having  an  eye  to  him  in  al 


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JsA'AilrfifANR         The  Chriftian  armour  muit  be  put  on. 


A.M.406&  Lord,    ^whether    he    be   bond    or 

A.D.64.      -        ' 

I     free. 
9  And,  ye  ^  masters,  do  the  same  things  unto 
them,  ^  forbearing  "^threatening :  knowing  that 
'your'^  Ifoster  abo  is  in  heaven;  ^.neither  is 
there  respect  of  persons  with  him. 


kGaL  UL  38;  OoL  iU.  11. »  CoL  iw.  1. »0r, 

rating. ■  Ley.  xxr.  43. •  Spme  read,  bafh  your  and  thmr 

— »  John  imi.  13 ;  1  CJor.  rii.  82.— »  EccL  nanr.  1^; 


things,  even  as  if  you  had  no  other  master.  Know- 
ing that  v>hat^ever  good  f^tti^— Whether  for  kmd 
or  degree;  any  man  do^^^Though  never  so  poor 
and  mean,  in  one  station  of  life  or  a&other ;  the  vame 
ehaU  he  receive  of  the  tjordr—ThaX  is,  a  full  and  ad- 
equate recompense ;  whether  he  be  bond  or  free— K 
slave  or  a  free-man ;  whether  he  be  the  meanest 
servant  or  the  greatest  prince.  For  God  is  the  uim- 
versal  guardian  and  protector  of  his  people,  and  es- 
teems men,  not  accordmg  to  their  stations  in  the 
world,  but  according  to  their  behaviour  in  those  sta- 
tions, whether  high  or  low. 

Verse  0.  And  ye  maeters — On  the  other  hand ;  do 
ike  same  things  unto  /Aem—That  is,  ac^  ^ward 
them  from  the  same  principle,  and  aher  the  same 
just  and  equitable  manner,  having  an  eye  to  the  wiU 
and  glory  of  God,  and  endeavouring  to  approve  your- 
selves to  him  ^  forbearing  threatening — Conducting 
yourselves  toward  your  servants  with  gentleness 
and  humanity,  not  in  a  harsh  or  domineering.way ; 
knowing  that  your  Master  also — ^Namely,  Christ; 
is  in  keaven-^On  the  throne  of  God,  and  that  his 
authority  over  you  is  much  greater  and  more  abso- 
lute, than  yours  is  over  any  of  your  fellow-creatures; 
nei^r  is  there  respect  of  persons  with  him — What- 
soever difference  there  may  be  in  their  stations  on 
earth:  but  he  will  administer  to  all  the  most  strict 
and  impartial  justice,  rewarding  or  punishing  every 
one  according  to  his  re^  character,  and  especially 
showing  that  he  remembers  the  cry  of  the  oppress- 
ed, though  men  may  consider  them,  on  account  of 
tiie  inferiority  of  their  circumstances,  as  below  their 
regards. 

Verses  10, 11.  The  apostle  having  delivered  the 
preceding  precepts  respecting  relative  duties,  now 
adds  a  genend  exhortation  to  the  believing  £phe- 
sians,  to  be  hearty  and  zealous  in  the  performance  of 
all  their  duties,  Which  ke  enforces  by  the  discovery 
of  another  deep  article  of  the  mystery  of  God; 
namely,  that  evil  angels  are  leagued  together  against 
men,  uid  are  eontlnually  occupied  in  tempting  them 
to  sin.  FinaUy^r-To  Xoiirw^  as  to  what  remains;  my 
hrethren^Thvs  is  theonly  place  in  this  epistle  where 
he  uses  this  compellation.  Soldiers  frequently  use 
it  to  each  other  in  the  field.  Be  strong  in  the  Lord 
—Since  every  relation  in  life  brings  along  with  it 
corresponding  duties,  and  requires  vigour  and  reso- 
lution in  the  discharge  of  them,  whatever  therefore 
the  circumstance  or  situation  may  be  which  you  are 
in,  see  that  you  do  not  rely  on  your  own  strength, 
Imt  apply  to  the  Lord,  for  his  strength,  and  arm 
yourselves  with  the  power  of  his  mt^JU— Con- 
Ming  therein  by  faith,  pereoaded  that  nothing  else 


10  *  Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  a.  m.4008. 
in  the  Lord,  and  i"  in  the  power  of  hk         '  ^ 
might' 

11  "i  Put  0(1  the  whole  armour  at  God,  that 
ye  may  be  aUe  to  stand  against  the  ^ivileBof  the 
devil 

Rom.  ii  11 ;  OoL  iii  2& *  Twtmtj4in^^miday  after  Triiiit)r, 

epistle,  yer.  10  to  ver.  21. p<Jhap.  i.  19 :  iii.  16;  C^  i  11. 

4  Oorn.  xiii.  12 ;  2  Cor.  Ti.  7 ;  Verse  13 ;  1  These,  t.  8. 


will  suffice  to  enable  you  to  withstand  the  assaults 
of  your  spiritual  enemies,  and  to  do  and  suffer  the 
will  of  God  concerning  you.  Remember,  that  to  be 
weak  and  remain  so,  is  the  way  to  be  overcome  and 
perish.  Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God—Th^ 
Greek  word  here  used,  iravowXia^  mesjis  a  complete 
suit  of  armour,  offensive  as  well  as  defensiTe ;  con- 
silBtiog  in  the  exercise  of  all  those  Christian  graces 
with  which  we  are  imiiishedby  God,  to  be  used  in 
his  strength,  as  well  to  annoy  the  enemy,  as  to  de- 
fend ourselves:  and  it  appears,  by  the  particular 
description  which  the  apostle  here  gives  of  it,  that 
it  includes  every  sort  of  ^irmour,  and  is  adapted  to 
the  defence  of  every  part  liable  to  be  attacked.  He 
says,  not  armour,  but  whole  armour;  and  the  ex- 
pression is  repeated  verse  13^  because  of  the  strength 
and  subtlety  of  our  enemies,  and  beeause  of  an  evil 
day  of  sore  trial  being  at  hand.  Macknight  thinks 
the  appstle  contrasts  the  graces  and  virtues  which 
he  mentions,  with  the  complete  armour  taUed  by 
the  heathen  poets  to  have  been  fabricated  by  the 
gods,  and  bestowed  on  their  favourite  heroes. 
"  That  armour  was  vastly  inferior  to  the  complete 
armour  of  God.  For,  1st,  The  Christianas  complete 
armour  is  really  of  divine  workmaRdiip,~and  is  ac- 
tually bestowed  on  the  Christian  soldier;  whereas 
the  other  is  mere  fiction.  2d,  The  armour  said  to 
have  been  given  by  the  heathen  gods,  comnsting  of 
brass  and  steel,  could  only  defei^  the  body  of  the 
hero  who  was  covered  with  it;  but  the  complete  ar- 
mour given  by  the  true  God,  consisting  of  the  Chris- 
tian virtues,  is  useful  foV  defending  the  minds  of  the 
faithful  against  all  the  temptations  with  which  their 
enemies  attack  ^em.  Sd,  The  complete  armour  of 
God  gives  strengtii  to  the  Christian  soldier  in  the  battle; 
and  therefore  is  far  preferable  to  any  armour  made 
of  metals,  which  may  defend,  but  cannot  strengthen 
the  body  of  the  warrior."  Thai  ye  may  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  ciemi— Ags^nst  aH  his 
artifices  and  subtle  methods,  against  all  the  snares 
he  may  lay  ibr  you,  and  all  the  rage  and  iury  with 
which  he  may  attack  you.  The  original  ezinr^ssion, 
fie0o6eiagy  signifies  crafty  ways.  The  apostle  does 
not  simply  intend  the  temptations  which  arise  from 
the  motions  of  the  flesh,  the  love  of  pleasure,  the 
fear  of  persecution,  the  contagion  of  evil  example^ 
the  solicitations  of  the  wicked,  the  sophisms  of  the 
philosophers  and  the  unbelieving  Jews,  and  the  folae 
glosses  of  heretical  teachers  in  the  church  itself;  bat 
all  these  temptations  as  prepared  and  pointed  against 
men,  by  such  skilful,  experienced,  and  malieious 
enemies  as  the  devil  vnd  his  ang^.  See  the  next 
verse. 

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CHAPTER  YL 


of  the  Christian  armowr. 


A.  M.  4068.     12  For  we   wrestle   not   against 

'- — '-  ^flesh'  and  blood,  but  against  'prin- 

cipalkies,  against  powers,  against  ^  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  jthis  world,  against  ^spirit- 
ual wickedness  in  ^high  places* 
13  "Wherefiire  take  unto   you  the  whde 


•  Or.  kllood  md  flM. '  Matthew  zvi.  17 ;  1  Cor.  zr.  60. 

^Rom.  TuL  38 ;  Chap.  L 21 ;  OoL  ii.  15.— «^  LuIm  zziL  53;  John 
»ii.  31 ;  xir.  30 ;  Chap.  ii.  -2 ;  CoL  i.  13. *  Or,  wicked  tjwUs. 


Verse  12.  For  v>e  wrestle  not — Greek,  bk  ertv  vi^iv 
*i  7r<aj7,  our  struggle  is  not;  against Jlesh  and  blood 
— Not  merely  against  human  adversaries,  however 
powerful,  subtle,  and  cruel,  nor  against  fleshly  appe- 
tites ;  but  against  principalities,  against  powers — 
The  mighty  princes  of  all  the  infernal  legions :  and 
great  is  their  power,  and  that  likewise  of  the  legions 
which  they  command.  Against  the  riders  of  the 
darkness  of  this  world — Greek,  irpof  r»f  noafioKparopac 
T»  (T/cor»f,  r«  niuvo(  r»rt»,  against  the  riders  of  the 
world,  of  the  darhness  of  this  age.  Dr.  Whitby  ex- 
plailis  this  of  "  those  evil  spirits  that  ruled  in  the 
heathen  nations  which  wer^  yet  in  darkness,''  and 
of  ^  those  that  had  their  stations  in  the  region  of  the 
air."  "  Perhaps,"  sajrs  Mr.  Wesley,  "  these  princi- 
palities and  powers^^^spoken  of  In  the  former  clause) 
^^  remain  mostly  in  the  citadel  of  the  kingdom  of 
darkness ;  but  there  are  other  evil  spirits  who  range 
abroad,  to  whom  the  provinces  of  the  world  are 
committed."  By  the  darkness  of  this  age,  that  spirit- 
ual darkness  is  intended,  which  prevails  during  the 
present  state  of  things.  '^  Evil  spirits,"  Macknight 
thinks, "  are  called  rulers  of  this  world,  because  the 
dominion  which,  by  the  permission  of  God,  they  ex- 
ercise, is  limited  to  the  darkness  of  this  world;  that 
is,  tliis  world  darkened  by  ignorance,  wickedness, 
and  misery,  and  which  is  the  habitaiion  or  prison 
assigned  them,  until  the  judgment  of  the  great  day, 
Jude,  verse  6."  Against  spiritual  wickedness — Or 
rather,  wicked  spirits,  as  the  Syriac  translates  the 
expression.  The  word  jroy^p^i,  rendered  wickedness, 
properly  signifies  malice  joined  with  cunning,  and 
is  £tly  mentioned  as  the  characteristic  of  Uiose 
wicked  spirits  with  whom  we -are  at  war;  and  it  is 
a  quality  so  much  the  more  dangerous,  in  that  it 
exists  in  beings  whose  natural  faculties  are  very 
great.  And  it  must  be  observed,  that  they  continu- 
ally oppose  faith,  love,  holiness,  either  by  force  or 
fraud,  and  labour  to  infuse  unbelief,  pride,  idolatry, 
malice,  envy,  anger,  hatred.  Inhigh places — Greek, 
tv  roiq  eKovpavioic,  in,  or  about,  heavenly  places. 
Those  who  translate  it  in  the  former  way,  think  the 
expression  refers  to  those  places  where  they  rebel- 
led against  the  God  of  heaven,  and  drew  in  multi- 
tudes who  were  before  holy  and  happy  spirits,  to 
take  part  with  them  in  their  impious  revolt  But  it 
seems  more  probable  the  s^nse  is,  about  heavenly 
places}  namely,  the  places  which  were  once  the 
abodes  of  those  spirits,  and  which  they  still  aspire 
to,  as  far  jts  they  are  permitted ;  labouring  at  the 
same  time  to  prevent  our  obtaining  them.  Dr. 
Goodwin,  however,  thinks  that  not  heavenly  places^ 
b 


armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  A.M.40()a 
able  to  withstajid  *  in  the  evil  day,  — 1— ^ — 1 
and  ^having  done  all,  to  stand. 

14  Stand  therefore,  ^^  having  your  loins  girt 
about  with  truth,  and  'having  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousness ; 


•Or, hemmdy, as  eha^.  i. a— •SCor. x. 4 ;  V«r.  11. »Ch. 

V.  ISj •  Or,  hmmgwrncomM  ««.— 7 Isa.  xi.  5;  Loka  adL 3& 

»l8a.lix.  17;  2Cor.vi.7;  lTheat.T.S. 


but  heavenly  thmgs  are  intended;  namely,  spiritual 
and  eternal  blessings,  about  which  we  may  be  proper- 
ly said  to  wrestle  with  them,  while  we  endeavour  to 
secure  these  blessings  to  ourselves,  and  they  to  hin- 
der us  from  attaining  them. 

Verses  13,  14.  Wherefore — On  this  account,  be- 
cause the  prize  for  which  you  contend  is  of  such 
great  value,  and  the  enemies  that  oppose  you  are  so 
subtle,  powerful,  and  malicious,  and  will  assuredly 
exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  effect  your  de- 
struction, again  let  me  say.  Take  unto  you  the  whole 
armour  of  God,  that  ye  maybe  able  to  witJistand-^ 
These  dangerous  enemies;  in  the  evil  day — The 
day  of  temptation  and  trial.  The  war,  we  may  ob- 
serve, is  perpetual :'  but  the  fight  is  one  day  less,  and 
another  more  violent,  and  may  be  l(Higer  or  shorter, 
admitting  of  numberless  varieties ;  aful  heaving  done 
all—UBv\ng  exerted  yoiirselves  to  the  utmost,  and 
used  the  grace  conferred  upon  you,  and  the  means 
and  advantages  vouchsafed  you,  according  to  the 
will  of  God,  which  indeed  it  will  be  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  you  to  do ;  pr,  having  gone  through  all 
your  conflicts,  and  accomplished  your  warfare ;  to 
»<and— Victorious  and  witl\  joy,  before  the  Son  of 
man.  Stand  therefore,  having  your  loirxs  girt — 
And  being  in  readiness  for  the  encounter  as  good 
soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ ;  with  truth — Not  only  with 
the  truths  of  the  gospel,  but  with  truth  in  the  inward 
parts,  without  which  all  pur  knowledge  of  divine 
truth  will  prove  but  a  poor  ghrdle  m  the  evil  day. 
Indeed,  as  faith  is  mentioned  afterward  as  a  distinct 
part  of  the  spiritual  armour,  truth  in  this  place  can- 
not chiefly  mean  those  truths  which  are  the  objects 
of  the  Christian  Death,  but  rather  a  true  or  unfeigned 
profession  of  that  faith,  in  opposition  to  that  which 
is  hypocritical,  and  uprightness  of  heart  in  our  whole 
behaviour  toward  God  and  man,  and  a  sincere  desire 
to  know  and  do  the  will  of  God,  in  all  things.  ^'  It 
has  often  been  observed,"  says  Doddridge, "  that  Uie 
military  girdle  was  not  only  an  ornament  but  a  de- 
fence, as  it  hid  the  gaping  joints  of  the  armour,  and 
kept  them  close  and  steady,  as  well  as  fortified  the 
loins  of  those  that  wore  it,  and  rendered  them  more 
vigorous  and  fit  for  action.  The  chief  difficulty 
here  is  to  know  whether  truth  refers  to  the  true 
principles  of  religion,  or  to  integrity  in  our  conduct : 
and  how,  on  the  latter  interpretation,  to  keep  it  dis- 
tinct from  the  breast-plate  of  righteousness,  or,  on  the 
former,  fW)m  the  shield  of  faith.  But  it  s^^ms  pro- 
bable to  me,  that  it  may  rather  signify  some  virtue 
of  the  mind,  as  all  the  other  parts  of  the  armour  enu* 
merated  do )  and  then  it  must  refer  to  that  iqnight* 
881 


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EPHESIANS. 


Christian  armour^ 


A. M. 4068.     15  'And  your  feet  shod  with  the 
^•^•^•.  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peacp ; 
16  Above  all,   taking  ^the  shield  of  feith, 


>  l8a.iiL  7 ;  Rom.  z.  15.- 


>lJolinT.4. 


11680  and  sincerity  of  intention,  which  produces  right- 
eousness, or  a  holy  and  equitable  conduct,  as  its 
proper  fmif  Thus  our  Lord  is  described,  Isa.  xL  5; 
and  as  a  man  girded  is  always  ready  for  action,  and 
a  soldier,  who  is  girded  with  the  pilitary  belt,  is  fit- 
ted either  for  inarching  or  fighting ;  so  this  seems 
Intended  to  intimate  an  obedient  heart,  a  ready  wilL 
Our  Lord  adds  to  the  loins  girded^  the  lights  hum- 
ingy  Luke  xii.  35 ;  showing  that  watching  and  ready 
obedience  are  inseparable  companions.  And  having 
on  the  breast-plate  of  righteousness — Imputed  and 
implanted,  justification  and  sancttfication,  or  pardon 
and  holiness.  See  on  Rom.  iv.l>,  8;  vL  6-22,'  1  Cor. 
i.  30.  In  the  breast  is  the  seat  of  conscience,  which 
IS  guarded  by  righteousitess  imputed  to  us  in  our 
justification,  implanted  in  us  in  oiur  regeneration, 
and  practised  by  us  in  consequent  obedience  to  the 
divine  will.  In  the  parallel  place,  1  Thess.  v.  S,  this 
piece  of  spiritual  armour  is  called  the  breast-plate 
of  faith  and  love;  justification  being  received  by 
faith,  and  love  being  the  source  of  all  our  holiness. 
Perhaps  the  apostle,  in  this  passage,  alluded  to  Isa. 
iix.  17,  where  the  Messiah  is  said  to  have  put  on 
Hghteotisness  as  a  breast-plate;  that  is,  by  the  holi- 
ness of  his  conduct,  and  his  consciousness  thereof^  he 
defended  himself  from  being  moved  by  the  calumnies 
and  reproaches  of  the  wicked.  No  armour  for  the  back 
is  mentioned ;  we  are  always  to  face  our  enemies. 

Verse  15.  And  your  feet  shod  with  the  prepara- 
tion  of  the  gospel  cf  peace — Let  peace  with  God,  and, 
consequent  thereon,  peace  of  conscience  and  tran- 
quillity of  mind,  in  all  circumstances  and  situations, 
(for  Which  ample  provision  is  made  in  the  gospel,) 
arm  you  with  confidence  and  resolution  to  proceed 
forward  in  all  the  ways  of  duty,  however  rough  and 
difficult,  through  which  you  are  called  to  pass,  and 
enable  you  to  receive  with  resignation  and  patience 
all  the  dispensations  of  that  wise  and  gracious  Pro- 
vidence, which  is  always  watching  over  you  for 
good,  and  is  engaged  to  support  you  under  your 
trials,  to  sanctify  them  to  you,  and  in  due  time  to 
deliver  you  out  of  them.  In  this  way,  and  in  no 
other,  will  you  be  enabled  to  pass  through  all  difl^ 
culties  unhurt,  surmount  all  oppositions  which  ob- 
struct your  progress,  to  endure  to  the  end,  and  finish 
your  course  with  joy. 

Verse  16.  Above  aU — Em  vactv^  upon,  or  over  all, 
these  and  the  other  parts  of  your  armour,  as  a  sort  of 
universal  covering ;  taking  the  shield  offaithr^Con- 
tinually  exercise  a  strong  and  lively  faith  in  the 
truths  and  promises  of  the  gospel,  and  in  the  person 
and  offices,  the  merits  and  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
in  whom  all  these  truths  and  proihises  are,  yea  and 
amen,  2  Cor.  i.  20.  Wherewith—lt  you  keep  it  m 
lively  exercise ;  ye  shaU  be  able  to  quench—To  repel 
and  render  without  effect;  all  the  fiery  darts—The 
torious  temptations,  the  violent  and  midden  injec- 
883 


wherewith  ye  shall  be  aMe  to  quench  A.  ik.  4068. 

all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked.  — 1—1— 

17  And  *^take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and 


« laa.  lis,  17 ;  1  Tbeas.  t.  9. 


ticms;  of  the  vncked---Ts  noviffM,  the  wicked  one^ 
Satan,  called  so  by  way  of  eminence,  because  in 
hun  &e  most  consummate  s^  and  cunning  are 
join^.  Anciently  they  used  small  firebrands,  in 
the  form  of  darts,  and  arrows,  which  they  kindled 
and  shot  among  their  enemies.  These  were  called 
SeXfj  neirvpofieva,  tela  ignUa,  fiery  darts.  And  in 
battle  they  were  received  by  the  soldiers  on  their 
shields,  whrch  were  covered  with  brass  or  iron,  in 
order  to  extinguish  them,  or  prevent  their  effbct 
Or,  as  Dr.  Goodwin  and  many  others  suppose,  die 
apostle  may  refer  to  an  ancient  custom,  stiU  prevail- 
ing among  soijle  barbarous  nations,  to  dip  their  ar- 
rows in  the  blood  or  gall  of  asps  and  vipers,  or  otfier 
poisonous  preparations,  whiqh  fire  (he  blood  of  those 
who  are  wounded  with  them,  occasion  exquisite  pain, 
and  make  the  least  wound  mortal.  And  some  Greek 
writers  tell  us,  that  it  was  usual  for  soldiers  to  have 
shields  made  6f  raw  hides,  which  immediately 
quenched  them.  It  is  also  certain  that  some  ar- 
rows were  discharged  with  so  great  a  velocity,'  that 
they  fired  in  their  passage.    See  Doddridge. 

Verse  17.  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation— Th^t 
is,  the  hope  of  salvation,  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  pa- 
rallel passage,  1  Thess.  v.  8.  The  helmet  was  for  the 
defence  of  the  head,  a  part  which  it  concerned  them 
most  carefully  to  defend,  because  one  strokis  there 
might  easily  have  proved  fatal.  Thus  it  qoncems 
the  Christian  to  defend  his  mind,  courage,  and  forti- 
tude against  all  teniptations  to  dejection  and  de- 
spondency, by  a  lively  hope  of  eternal  life,  felicity, 
and  glofy,  built  on  the  promises  of  God,  which  en; 
sure  that  salvation  to  those  disciples  of  Christ,  whose 
faith  continues  to  the  end  to  work  by  love.  Armed 
with  this  helmet,  the  hope  ofihejoy^set  before  him, 
Christ  endured  die  cross  and  despised  the  shame. 
Hence  this  hope  is  termed  (Heb.  vi.  19)  an  anchor 
of  the  soul,  sure  and  steadfast,  entering  into  that 
within  the  veil  Hitherto  our  armour  has  been  only 
defensive:  but  we  are  to  attack  Satan,  as  well  as  to 
secure  ourselves.  The  apostle  therefore  adds,  and 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God — 
Here  the  apostle  calls  the  word  of  God  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  because  it  was  given  by  inspiration  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  because  the  doctrines,  promises,  and  pre- 
cepts of  Jt,  are  the  most  effectual  means  of  putting 
our  spiritual  enemies  to  ffight.  Of  this  efficacy  of 
the  word  of  God,  we  have  an  illustrious  example  in 
our  Loi*d's  temptations  in  the  wilderness, who  put  the 
devil  to  flight  by  quotations  from  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament.  And  If  we  would  repel  his  at- 
tacks with  success,  we  must  not  only  take  the  fore- 
mbntioned  shield  in  one  hand,  but  this  sword  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  other  j  for  whoever  fights  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  will  need  both.  He  that  is  cov- 
ered with  armour  from  head  to  foot,  and  neglects 
this,  will  be  foiled  after  all. 

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7%eSph4iiim$wree:i^ortedtopraif  OHAPTSR  TL 


for  themselves  and  the  apoette. 


A.  M.  4068.  <>  the  sword  (tf  the  Spirit,  which  18  the 

A.D.  64.,  ,    g  r±^ 

word  of  God:  » 

18  *  Praying  always  wkh  aU  prayer  and  mip- 
phcatiim  in  the  Spirit,  and  'walching  there- 
unto with  all  pcarseverance  and  ^^sopidicatim 
for  allsaints; 

19  ^And  for  me,   that  utterance  nuty  be 


*Heb.  iy.  12;  Rer^i.  16;  it  16;  xix.  15. •Luke  xriii. 

1 ;  Rom.  zii.  12;  CoL  It.  8 ;  1  Thess.  v.  17.-— '  Matt  zxri. 
41;  MarkxHi  33.-^^--K€luip.L  16;  PbU. L 4.-^-^  Aoti ir. 29 ; 


We  may  obserre  here,  with  Beza,  that  all  the^mrts 
of  Ihe  complete  armour  of  the  uieients  are  elegancy 
introduced  in  the  apostle's  account  jof  the  CShris- 
tian^  complete  armotur.  For  there  is,  first,  the  mil- 
iUJoy  belt,  called  by  the  Gre^u  C»c9p,  and  by  the 
Latins  boMeue,  l%is  covered  the  two  parts  of  ^e 
breast-plate  where  they  joined,  'thebreast-platewta 
the  second  article  of  ^e  complete  armour,  and  con- 
sisted of  two  pieces;  the  one  reaching  from  the 
neck  to  the  navel,  and  the  other  hanging  from  thence 
to  the  knees.  The  former  was  called  ^Qpa^j  the  lat- 
ter (ufut.  Accordingly,  in  the  parallel  passage,  1 
Thess.  T.  8,  the  breastplate  is  said  to  consist  of  two 
parts,  faith  and  love.  Next  to  the  breast-plate  were 
the  greaves,  which  made  the  third  article  of  the  com- 
jdete  armour.  They  were  called  by  the  Greeks 
Kinnude^y  and  by  the  Latins  ocrea,  and  were  made  of 
gold,  or  silver,  or  brass,  or  iron,  and  were  designed 
to  defend  the  legs  and  feet  against  the  strokes  of 
stones  or  arrows.  Thus  Goliah  had  greaves  of 
brass  upon  his  legs,  1  Sam.  xvii.  6.  The  fourth  ar- 
ticle of  the  complete  armour  was  the  hdmet,  which 
likewise  was  made  of  metals  of  different  sorts,  and 
was  used  to  defend  the  head  against  the  strokes  of 
swords,  and  missile  weapcms.  Add,  in  the^flh  place, 
the  shield,  and  the  whole  body  is  completely  cover^. 
But,  besides  the  defensive  armour,  just  now  described, 
offensive  weapons  were  likewise  necessary  to  render 
the  soldier's  armour  complete ;  particularly  the  sword, 
to  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the  apostle  alludes,  in 
speaking  of  the  Christian  armour.  They  had  darts, 
likewise,  or  javelins,  referred  to  verse  16.  Tliis  whole 
description,  given  by  St.  Paul,  shows  how  great  a 
thing  it  is  to  be  a  Christian :  the  want  of  any  one  of 
the  particulars  here  mentioned  makes  his  character 
incomplete.  Though  he  have  his  loins  girt  with 
truth,  righteousness  for  a  breast-plate,  hSsfeet  shod 
with  the  peace  of  the  gospel,  the  shield  of  faith,  the 
helmet  of  hope,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit;  yet  one 
thing  he  wants  after  all.  What  is  that?  It  follows 
in  the  next  verse. 

Verse  18.  Praying  always—ks  if  he  had  said. 
And  join  prayer  to  all  these  graces,  for  your  defence 
against  your  spiritual  enemies,  and  that  at  all  times, 
and  on  every  occasion,  in  the  midst  of  all  employ- 
ments, inwardly  praying  lott^kniteeottng',  1  Thess.  v. 
7;  ^Dith  all  prayer— Public  and  private,  mental  and 
vocal,  ordinary  and  extraordinary,  occasional  and 
solemn.  Some  are  careful  with  respect  to  one  kind 
of  prayer  only,  and  negligent  in  others:  some  use 
b 


givenr  unto  me,  that  I  may  open  a.m.4069. 
my  mouth  *  b(My,  to  make  known    ^'  ^  "' 
tl^  mysteiy  of  the  goe^ 

20  For  which  ^ I  am  an  amhassador  ^in^ 
bonds:  that  ^therein  *I  may  speak  boldly,  as 
I  ought  to  qieak. 

21  But  "^that  ye  also  may  know  my  affiurg, 


Col.  iy.  3 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  1. » 2  Cor.  iii.  12. k  2  Cor.  t.  20. 

*  Acts  xxri.  29  ;  xzriii.  20. ^  Or,  m  a  chain, »  Or,  ^mof. 

■Acts  xxriii.  31  i  PkiL  i.  20 ;  I  Thass.  ii«.f ^CoL  iv.  7. 


only  mental  prayer,  or  ejaeulations,  and  think  they 
are  in  a  high  state  of  grace,  and  use  a  way  of  worship 
far  superior  to  any  other ;  but  such  only  fancy  them- 
sdves  to  be  above  what  is  really  above  them ;  it  re- 
quiring far  more  grace  to  be  enabled  to  pour  out  a 
fervent  and  continued  prayer,  than  to  offer  up  men- 
tal aspirations. .  If  we  would  receive  the  petitions 
we  ask,  let  us  use  every  sort  And  supplication — 
Repeating  and  urging  our  prayer,  as  Christ  did  in 
the  garden ;  and  watching  hereunto-— Keeping  our 
minds  awake  to^  a  sense  of  our  want  of  the  blessings 
we  ask,  and  of  the  excellence  and  necessity  of  them ; 
and  maintaining  a  lively  expectation  of  receiving 
them,  and  also  inwardly  attending  on  God  to  know 
his  win,  and  gain  power  to  do  it.  With  all  perse- 
verance— With  unwearied  importunity  renewing 
our  petitions  till  they  be  granted,  Luke  xviii.  1-0; 
2  Cor.  xii.  8;  notwithstanding  apparent  repulses, 
Matt  XV.  22-28.  And  supplication  for  allsaints — 
Wrestling  in  fervent,  continued  intercessions  for 
others,  especially  for  the  fEuthful,  that  they  may  do 
all  the  will  of  God,  and  be  steadfast  to  the  end.  Per- 
haps we  receive  few  answers  to  prayer,  because  we 
do  not  intercede  enough  for  others. 

Verses  19,  20.  And  for  me  also — See  on  Col.  Iv. 
8;  that  utterance  may  be  given  unto  me — Free  lib- 
erty of  expression,  every  inward  and  every  outward 
hinderance  being  removed ;  that  I  may  open  my 
mouth  boldly— M»y  deliver  the  whole  tru^  without 
any  base  fear,  shame,  or  diffidence,  considering  how 
important  it  is  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salva- 
ti6n  of  mankind,  that  it  should  be  so  delivered ;  to 
make  known  the  mystery  of  the  gt)«pe/— In  the  clear- 
est and  most  effectual  manner.  For  which  I  am  an 
ambassador  in  bonds — The  ambassadors  of  men 
usually  appear  in  great  pomp :  in  what  a  difflsrent 
state  does  the  ambassador  of  Christ  appear !  The 
Greek,  frpeapeva  ev  aXvaei,  is  literally,  /  execute  the 
office  of  an  ambassador  in  a  chain.  See  on  Acts 
xxviii.  16.  As  the  persons  of  ambassadors  were  al- 
ways sacred,  the  apostle,  in  speaking  thus,  seems  to 
refer  to  the  outrage  that  was  done  to  his  Divine  Mas- 
ter in  this  violation  of  his  liberty. 

Verses  21,  22.  Thai  ye  also—hs  well  as  others; 
may  know  my  affairs—The  things  which  have  hap* 
pened  to  me,  and  what  I  am  doing  at  present:  or, 
the  things  which  relate  to  me,  as  the  expression, 
TO  /tar*  efu,  which  occurs  likewise  Phil.  i.  12,  signi- 
fies. The  apostle  means  that  he  wished  the  Ephe- 
sians,  as  well  as  the  niilippians  and  Colossians,  to 


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EPHBRANSl 


oMt^ffOstoUealhsnediciiofL 


A.  M.  4068. 
A,D.64. 


and  how   I  da,   •Tychkiw,  a  be- 
loved brother  and  fiithful  muiister 
Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you  all 


in  the 
things: 

22  'Whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  £or  the  same 
pur{x»e,  that  ye  might  know  our  affidrsi  and 
that  he  might  comfort  your  hearts, 


«» Acte  XX.  4 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  12. p  CoL  iv.  8. 


know  whatsuecess  hehadhad  in  preaching  at  Rome, 
what  opposition  he  had  met  with,  what  comfort  he 
had  enjoyed  under  his  sufferings,  what  ciHiverts  he 
had  made  to  Ch£i8^  and  ia  what  manner  the  evi* 
dences  of  the  gospel  afiected  the  minds  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Rome.  These,  and  such  like  things,  he  sent 
Tychijcos  to  make  known  to  them. 

Verses  23,  ZL  Peace  be  to  the  hre^hren^Ttai  is, 

all  prosperity  in  matters  tesiporal  and  spiritual; 

and  love — To  God,  one  another,  and  aU  the  saints, 

arising  from  God's  love  to  yon  $  v»iihfaUh~Aik  God, 

334 


23  ">  Peace  6«  to  the  brethren,  and  a.  m.  406a 
love  with  faith,  from  God  the  Father    ^^  ^' 
and  die  Lord  Jesus  OhrisL 

24  Grace  fre  with  all  them  diatlovB  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ 'in^  sincerity.    Amen. 

If  Written  ir<Hn  Rome  unto  the  Ephesians,  by 
Tyehicns. 


q  I  Pet  T.  14. — -'Tit.  ii  1^ 


*0r,in(4 


in  Christ,  and  his  gospel  accompanied  with  every 
other  grace ;  fromi  Ood  the  Pt^er-^The  original 
source  of  all  our  blessings;  and  the  Loard  Jesus 
C9irw^— ^Through  whose  mediation'  alone  they  are 
communicated  to  ns.  (irdce — ^The  unmerited  fovour 
of  God,  and  those  influenees  of  his  Sfurit,  which  are 
the  effect  thereof;  he  isUh  all^em  that  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  in  sincetity—Ev^  a^apcta,  literally,  in 
incorruplum:  that  is,  without  any  mixtore  of  corrupt 
affections,  or  without  decay;  whoeott^ue  to  lore 
him  till  grace  shall  end  in  glory. 

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PREFACE 


TO 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHILIPPIANS. 


T>HILIPPI  was  a  coasiderable  citjr  on  the  eastern  ISrontier  of  Macedonia,  now  part  of  European  Tur- 
key, It  was  anciently  named  Datos ;  but  Philip,  the  father  of  Alexander  the  Great,  having  repaired, 
enlarged,  and  beautified  it,  called  it  "  Philippi,"  aftier  his  own  name.  It  stood  to  the  north-west  of  Neapo 
lis,  about  seventy  miles  north-east  of  Thessalonica,  and  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  west  of  the  place 
where  Constsmtinople  now  stands.  Julius  Cesar  placed  a  colony  here,  which  Augustus  afterward  en- 
largcdj  and  hence  the  inhabitants  were  considered  as  freemen  of  Rome.  It  was  rendered  remarkable 
for  the  famous  battle  fought  near  it,  between  the  Roman  Emperor  Augustus  and  Antony  on  one  side,  and 
Brutus  and  Cassius,  the  republican  generals,  on  the  other.  But  it  is  more  remarkable  among  Christians 
for  the  Christian  church  which  was,  early  planted  there,  and  for  this  excellent  epistle,  written  to  the 
members  thereof  about  twelve  years  after,  namely,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  apostle's  imprisonment 
at  Rome,  about  the  year  64  or  65,  and  sei^  by  Epaphroditus. 

Of  the  first  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  Macedonia,  an  accoimt  has  been  given,  Acts  xvi.  9,  iLc. 
St  Paul,  with  his  assistants,  Silas  and  Timothy,  after  having  preached  the  gospel  in  most  of  the  conn- 
tries  of  the  Lesser  Asia,  were  directed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  pass  over  into  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of 
offering  salvation  to  the  Greeks,  at  that  time  the  most  celebrated  people  in  the  world  for  genius  and 
learning.  These  messengers  of  <jod,  therefore,  loosing  from  Troas,  landed  at  Neapolis ;  but  making 
no  stay  there,  they  went  directly  forward  to  Philippi,  where,  it  appears  from  Acts  xvi.  18,  they  abode  a 
considerable  time,  and  were  instrumental  in  converting  many  to  the  faith  of  Christ. 

It  appears  they  met  with  no  opposition  in  this  place,  till  the  apostle  cast  a  spirit  of  divination  out  of  a 
damsel.  Bat  that  circumstance  so  enraged  her  masters,  who  made  a  considerable  advantage  of  her 
"  soothsaying,"  that  they  stirred  up  the  inhabitants  against  Paul  and  Silas,  whom,  after  they  had  laid 
many  stripes  on  them,  they  threw  into  prison,  the  j&iler  making  '*  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks."  But 
the  Lord,  whose  servants  they  were,  soon  released  them  by  a  signal  miracle,  as  is  recorded  Acts  xvi.  25 ; 
and  the  magistrates,  finding  that  they  were  Romans,  came  and  took  them  out  of  prison,  and  treated 
them  civilly ;  desiring  them,  however,  for  the  quiet  of  the  city,  to  depart  out  of  it :  which  they  did, 
when  they  had  seen  and  conversed  with  the  jaew  converts,  and  had  comforted  them.  But  though  Paul 
and  Silas  for  the  present  left  Philippi,  Luke  and  Timothy  continued  there  some  time  longer,  to  carry 
on  the  work  which  had  been  so  successfully  begun.  And  this,  it  is  probable,  was  one  reason  that 
induced  the  apostle  to  &l  upon  the  latter  as  the  most  proper  person  to  visit  the  Philippians  in  his  ab* 
sence,  of  whose  affection  for  them,  and  concern  for  their  interests,  he  takes  particular  notice,  chap, 
ii.  19-22. 

That  the  apostle  himself  made  the  Philipjnans  a  second  visit,  appears  from  Acts  xx.  6 ;  though  we 
are  not  informed  of  any  particulars  relating  to  it.  And  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  visited  them  often, 
as  he  passed  to  and  from  Greece.  And,  indeed,  the  peculiar  affection  and  respect  which  they  mani- 
fested to  the  apostle,  entitled  them  to  some  distinguished  regard :  for  while  he  preached  in  Thessa- 
lonica, they  sent  him  money  twice.  And  this,  it  seems,  they  did,  both  from  the  gratitude  which  they 
felt  to  him  for  being  instrumental  in  bringing  them  out  of  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  and  from  the 
concern  they  had  that  the  success  of  the  gospel  should  not  be  hindered  among  their  countr3rmen,  by  its 
preachers  becoming  burdensome  to  them.  The  same  regard  they  showed  to  him,  and  for  the  same 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  PHIUPPIANS. 

reason,  while  he  preached  the  gospel  in  Corinth,  2  Cor.  zL  9.  He  Mso  acknowledges  (chap.  ir.  18) 
to  have  received  a  present  from  them  by  the  hands  of  Epaphroditns,  when  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome. 
These,  however,  were  not  the  only  proofs  which  the  Philippians  gave  of  their  love  to  the  apostle, 
and  the  religion  which  they  had  received.  Their  behaviour  in  other  respects  was  every  way  worthy 
of  their  profession.  Tliey  maintained  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  in  its  parity,  and  walked  in  the  holy 
manner  required  by  its  precepts.  Indeed,  the  excellent  character  of  these  Christians  may  be  inferred 
from  the  manner  in  which  this  epistle  is  written.  For,  while  most  of  his  other  letters  contain  reprehen* 
sions  of  some  for  their  errors,  and  of  others  for  their  bad  conduct,  throughout  the  whole  of  this  epistle 
to  the  Philippians  no  fault  is  found  with  any  of  them ;  unless  the  caution,  (chap.  ii.  3, 4,)  to  avoid  strife 
and  vain  glory  in  the  exercise  of  their  spiritual  gifts,  can  be  called  a  reprehension.  But  his  letter  is 
employed  almost  wholly  in  conamending  and  encouraging  them,  or  in  giving  them  exhortations  to  per- 
severe and  make  advances  in  the  good  ways  of  the  Lord.  But  though  the  apostle  did  not  see  it  needful 
to  censure  or  reprove  the  Philippian  believers  for  any  thing,  he  judged  it  necessary  to  pass  a  severe 
censure  on  some  Judaizing  teachers,  who  were  endeavouring  to  introduce  themselves  among  them,  as 
they  had  done  among  the  Christians  in  other  places,  making  it,  as  it  seems,  their  whcde  business  to 
destroy  the  purity  and  peace  of  the  churches.  Of  these  corrupters  of  the  gospel  the  apostle,  out  of  his 
zeal  for  the  truth,  and  his  grbat  love  to  his  Philippian  converts,  speaks  with  more  severity  than  in  any 
of  his  other  letters,  being  doubtless  directed  so  to  do  by  a  particular  impulse  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  who 
kne#  it  necessary  that  this  sharpness  should  be  used  for  opening  the  eyes  of  the  faithful,  and  making 
them  sensible  of  the  malignity  of  these  false  teachers,  and  of  the  pernicious  tendency  of  their  doctrine. 
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THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO     THB 


PHILIPPIANS. 


CHAPTER  1. 

4/3ter  the  imcription  and-  bcrudictiony  1,  2,  the  apostle  (1,)  Of  ere  thanksgivmg$  to  God  for  the  work  of  grace  begvn,  and  to 
be  perfected  in  them,  3-7.  {%,)  In  tcetinumy  of  his  love  to  them,  he  prays  for  their  estahlishment  and  growth  in  gract^ 
8-11.  |[3|)  He  encourages  them  against  dejection  on  account  of  hu  sufferings,  as  they  were  made  the  means  of  promoting 
the  ^ory  of  Ood,  and  the  salvation  of  men,  1^20 ;  and  as  he  was  ready  to  die  or  Hve,  as  God,  saw  would  he  most  for  the 
good  of  his  church,  21-20.  (4,)  He  exhorts  them  to  aU  holiness  of  conversation,  zeal,  and  constancy  in  the  profession  cf 
the  gospel,  notwithstanding  the  opposiHon  of  their  adversaries,  fi7'^. 


A.  M.  4068.  p  AUIi  and  Timotheus,  the  servants 

— U of  Jesus  Christ,  to  all  the  saints 

*  in  Christ  Jc^us  which  are  at  Philippi,  with  the 
Uahops  und  deacons : 
2  ^  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  God 
our  Father,  and/rom  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


•  1  Cor.  i.  2. ^  Romans  L  7 ;  2  Cor.  i.  2 ;  1  Peter  i.  2. 

*  Twenty-second   Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle,  verse   3  to 
-i  12. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 

Verses  1,  2.  Paul  arid  THmotheus,  servants  of 
Jesus  Christ^Si,  Paul,  writing  famiKarly  to  the 
Philippians,  does  not  style  himself  an  apostle.  And 
under  the  common  title  of  servants,  he  tenderly  and 
modestly  joins  with  himself  his  son  Timothy,  who 
had  attended  him  in  his  general  travels  in  those  parts, 
had  come  with  him  to  Philippi,  not  long  after  the 
apostle  had  received  him,  (Acts  xvi.  3,  12,)  and  had 
doubtless  assisted  him  in  preaching  the  gospel  there. 
To  aU  the  sairUs-^The  apostolic  epistles  were  sent 
more  directly  to  the  churches,  than  to  the  pastors 
of  them;  with  the  bisJiaps  (md deacons— The  former 
properly  took  care  of  the  internal,  or  spiritual  state 
of  the  church,  the  latter  of  the  externals,  1  Tim.  iii. 
2-8;  although  these  were  not  wholly  confined  to 
the  one,  nor  those  to  the  other.  The  word  einoKoirm, 
bishops^  or  overseers^  here  includes  all  the  presby- 
ters at  Philippi,  as  well  as  the  ruling  presbyters:  the 
names  bishop  and  presbyter,  or  elder,  being  promis- 
cuously used  in  the  first  ages.  See  on  Acts  zx.  28. 
Chrace  be  unto  you,  Ac. — See  on  Rom.  1. 7. 

Verses  ^-8.  /  thofdc  my  Ood  upon  every  remen^ 
brance—Or  mention,  as  ftpeia  equally  signifies;  of 
Ifou— Whether  before  the  throne  of  grace,  or  when 

Vou  n.  (  22  ) 


3  *«I  thank  iny  God  upon  every  a. M.  4068. 
*  remembrance  of  you,  — — ■ — - 

4  Always  in  every  prayer  of  mine  for  you  all 
makii^  request  with  joy, 

5  ^  For  your  fellowship  in  the  gospel  from  the 
first  day  until  now ; 


e  Rom.  i.  8, 9 ;  1  Cor  i.  4 ;  Eph.  L  15,  16 ;  Col.  i.  3 ;  1  Thew. 

i.  2 ;  2  These,  i.  3. '  Or,  iMntion.- '  Rom.  xii.  13 ;  xr.  26  ; 

2  Cor.  viii.  1 ;  Chap.  ir.  14, 13. 


conversing  with  my  fellow-Christians.  The  clause 
may  also  be  r^dered,  /  thank  my  God  for  all  your 
kind  remembrnnce  of  me,  namely,  (as  he  partly  at 
least  means,)  with  respect  to  the  supplies  they  bad 
sent  him.  Always  in  every  prayer  of  mine — He 
never  failed,  it  seems,  to  pray  for  the  churches  when 
he  prayed  for  himself;  making  request— ^Thni  God 
would  bestow  on  you  an  increase  of  every  spiritual 
blessing ;  wtthjoy-^oy  peculiarly  enlivens  prayer. 
As  l&ve  reigns  in  the  epistle  to  the  Eph'esians,  so 
do99py  reign  in  this;  the  sum  of  the  whole  epistle 
being,  I  rejoice;  rejoice  ye.  For  your  fellowship  in 
the  gospel— Thai  you  have  united  with  us  in  embra- 
cing the  gospel,  and  are  joint  partakers  with  us  of 
its  blessings ;  and  so  have  fellowship  also  with  all 
true  Christians;  from  the  first  day— Of  my  preach- 
ing it  among  you ;  though  soon  attended  whh  violent 
persecution,  even  with  the  scourging  and  imprison- 
ment of  myself  and  my  fellow-labourer;  and  that 
you  have  persevered  in  the  profession  thereof  from 
the  time  that  you  first  embraced  it.  Or,  the  mean- 
ing may  be,  I  thank  God  for  your  having  received 
the  gospel,  from  the  first  day  of  your  receiving  it 
until  now.  Being  confident  (and  the  grounds  of  his 
confidence  are  mentioned  In  the  following  verse) 
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Paul  prays  ihat  tJie  Philif)pian$ 


PHILIPPIANS. 


may  be  without  qfetwe.^ 


A.  M.  4008. 
A.  D.  M. 


6  Being  confident  of  this  very  thing, 
that  he  which  hath  begun  *  a  good 
work  in  you,  ^will  perform  it  'until  the  day 
of  Jesus  Christ : 
7  Even  aer  it  is^meet  for  me  to  think  this  of 
you  all,  because  ^  I  have  you  *  in  my  heart ;  in- 
asmuch as  both  in.  ^  my  bonds^  and  in  ^  the  de- 
fence and  confirmation  of  the  gospel,  ^  ye  all 
are  *  partakers  of  ray  grace. 


•  John  TL  20 ;  1  These.  1 3. ^  Or,  vfiUJinUh  it. '  Verse 

10. •  Or,  ye  hav  nu  in.  your  heart 12  Cor.  iii.  2 ;   vii.  3. 

>»  Eph.  ill  1 ;  vi.  20 ;  Col.  ir.  3, 18 ;  2  Tim.  i.  8. » Verse  17. 

^  Chap.  It.  14. ^  Ofi  partakers  with  me  of  grace, 

that  he  who  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  yott— Who 
hath  not  only  done  si  good  work  for  you,  in  justify- 
ing you,  and  giving  you  peace  with  himself  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (Rora.  v.  1,)  but  has  wrought 
a  good  work  in  you;  in  your  minds  and  hearts, 
by  enlightening  and  quickening,  regenerating  and 
renewing  you  after  his  image,  Titus  iii.  5:  or,  in 
beginning  to  sanctify  you ;  will  perform  it  until  the 
day  of  Jesus  Christ — Will  carry  it  on  till  it  come  to 
p^erfection,  and,  at,  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
issue  in  glory.  Even  as  it  is  meet — AiKaiovJttst^  rea- 
sonable; for  me  to  think  this  of  you  all — To  have 
tills  good  opinion  and  confidence.  Why  ?  He  does 
not  say,  because  of  an  eternal  decree,  or  because 
the  saints  must  of  necessity  persevere ;  but,  because 
I  have  you  in  my  heart — I  affectionately  remember 
you ;  inasmuch  as  both  in  my  bonds — la  this  my  im- 
prisonment ;  and  in  the  defence  and  confirmation  of 
the  gospel — In  what  I  do  and  suffer  for  its  defence 
and  confirmation ;  ye  all  arepartakers  of  my  grace 
— That  is,  you  have  manifested  that  you  possess  the 
same  grace  that  I  myself  have,  in  that  you  have  done 
and  suffered  the  same  things  which  I  have  done  and 
suffered.  Or,  as  the  clause  may  meaSi,  because  you 
are  sharers  in  the  afflictions  which  God  hath  vouch- 
safed me  as  a  grace  or  favour.  In  other  words,  R 
is  just  or  reasonable  for  me  to  think  this  concerning 
you  all,  (namely,  that  you  will  continue  in  the  grace 
of  God,)  because  you  have  been  and  are  joint  par- 
takers with  me,  both  of  grace  and  of  the  sufferings 
by  which  grace  is  tried  aiMi  manifested:  or,  The  suf- 
ferings you  have  endured,  and  the  things  you  have 
done,  have  manifested  both  the  reality  and  the  great- 
ness of  your  grace ;  and  therefore  I  Cannot  doubt  of 
your  perseverance.  For  God—To  whom  I  appeal 
for  the  truth  of  what  I  say )  is  my  record— Bears  me 
witness ;  how  greatly  I  long  after  you  all — How  ve- 
hemently I  love  you,  or  long  after  your  prosperity, 
in  spiritual  things;  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ— 
With  such  a  sincere,  fervent,  and  spiritual  love  as 
has  been  wrought  in  me  by  Christ,  and  resembles 
that  love  which  he  bears  to  his  members.  In  Paul, 
not  Paul  lives,  but  Jesus  Christ;  therefore  he  longs 
for  them  with  the  bowels,  the  tenderness,  not  of 
Paul,  but  of  Jesus  Christ 

Verses  9-11.    TViis  I  pray^  thai  your  love— To 
Xtod  and  one  another,  and  all  mankind  which  you 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  6i. 


8'  For  *God  is  my  record,  "how 
greatly  I  long  afler  you  all  in  tbe 
bowels  of  Jesus  Christ. 

9  And  this  I  pray,  » that  your  love  may  abound 
yet  more  and  more  in  knowledge  and  in  all 
^judgment ; 

10  That  ^ ye  may  ^approve  things  that  ^  are 
excellent ;  ''that  ye  niay  be  sincere  and  with- 
out offence  ^  till  the  day  of  Christ ; 

iRom.  1.  9;  ix.  l;  Oal.  L  20  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  5. »Chap.  ii. 

26;    iv.  1. »1  Then.  iii.  J2;    Pliilem.  6. ^•Or,  tenee. 

•  Rom,  ii.  18  \   xii.  2 ;    Eph.  r.  10. •  Or,  try. '  Or,  differ. 

pActsxxiT.  16;    1  Thess.  iii.  13;   r.  23. 1 1  Cor.  i.  6. 

have  already  shown;  may  abound  yet  more  and 
morer-The  fire  which  burned  in  the  apostle's  breast 
never  says,  It  is  enough;  in  knowledge — Arising 
from,  and  attended  with,  a  more  perfect  knowledge 
of  God,  of  Christ,  and  of  spiritual  things  hi  general ; 
and  in  all  judgment— Or  rather,  in  all  sense,  or  feelr 
ing,  as  ffcwj?  aiadriuti  signifies:  that  is,  That  you  may 
have  a  spiritual  sense  and  taste,  or  an  experimental 
knowledge  and  feeling  of  God's  love  in  Christ  to 
you.  Our  love  must  not  only  be  rational,  but  it 
must  be  also  experimental:  we  must  not  only  un- 
derstand and  approve  the  reasons  why  we  should 
love  God  and  one  another}' hot  we  must  know  and 
feel  that  we  do  so;  that  ye  may  iipprovc— Greek, 
e«f  TO  doKifta^eiv,  that  ye  may  try,  or  prove  by  expe- 
rience; things  thaX  are  excellent — Not  only  that 
are  good,  but  the  very  best;  the  superior  excellence 
of  which  is  hardly  discerned  but  by  the  adult  Chris- 
tian. The  original  expression,  Tadia^povra,  is,  liter- 
ally, the  things  that  differ:  that  you  may  discern  the 
real  difference  which  there  is  in  things,  namely,  in 
matters  of  doctrine,  experience,  and  practice;  how 
truth  differs  from,  and  how  much  it  excels  error; 
how  much  fervency  of  spirit,  a  life  of  entire  devoted- 
ness  to  God,  and  continual,  persevering  diligence  in 
the  work  of  faith,  patience  of  hope,  and  labour  of 
love,  differs  from  and  excels  lukewarmness  of  heart, 
negligence  of  life,  sloth,  indolence,  and  the  being 
weary  of  well-doing;  that  ye  may  be  sincere— Vp' 
right  before  Ciod,  truly  desiring  to  know  and  to  do  his 
will  in  all  things ;  and  having  always  a  pure  intention, 
or  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  in  the  choice  and  pursuit 
of  the  best  things ;  and  a  pure  affection,  giving  him  an 
und  ivided  heart  The  original  word,  etXiKpivti^^  from 
eiAjy,  the  shining,  or  splendour,  of  the  sun,  and  Kptvo, 
to  Judge,  properly  signifies  such  things  as,  being  ex- 
amined in  a  bright  light,  are  found  pure,  and  without 
fault.  Applied,  as  here,  to  believers,  it  refers  both 
to  their  spirit  and  conduct,  and  is  represented  as  the 
proper  and  natural  fruit  of  that  abounding  love  Which 
the  apostle  had  asked  for  them  in  the  preceding 
verse.  And  without  q/fence— -Chargeable  with  no 
disposition,  word,  or  actioii,  at  which  others  can 
justly  take  offence ;  but  holy  and  unblameable.  The 
expression. properly  signifies,  giving  no  occasion  of 
stumbling,  ndimeilyy  to  others;  and  may  imply  also 
not  stumbling  ourselves  8^  the  real  or  supposed  (ail- 
(  22*  )  b 


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CHAPTSSI. 


Und  to  thejvriherance^ofihe  go^eL 


A.1L4068L    11  Bdog  fflbd  vidi  the  ttmUM  of 

1 —  lighteounesB,  '  wbadi  are  by  Jesus 

C3uiBt, '  ulMo  the  ^<H7  <ai]d  praise  of  God. 

12  But  I  would  ye  should  understand^  toe- 
ihien,  that  (t^ibhigB  which  happefkedxmto  me 
have  fiatten  out  rather  unto  the  foith«»nce.of 
thegospd; 

13  So  that  my  bonds  *in  Christ  are  manifeet 


XT,  4»  5;   Epk.  u.  10;  GoLi.  6. "John  xr.  8:  iJpb. 

LW\4. » Or Jor  Chritt. 


ings  or  faults  of  others;  wito  the  day  of  ChrUi — 
The  day  of  death,  vkeii  the  time  of  yoor  trial  will 
be  ended.  Being  filled  wUh  the  fndU  ofrighteoue- 
nes9-^AXL  holy  dispositions,  words,  and  actions  to- 
ward God,  oar  fellow-creatUres,  and  ourselves; 
which  are  by  Jesus  dW^^— Through  nnioti  with 
him,  and  grace  deHved  from  him,  to  the  glory  cmd 
firaise  of  God-^-To  whom  they  are  rendered  accept- 
able through  Christ^s  sacrifice  and  intercession. 
Observe,  reader,  here  are  three  properties  of  that 
sincerity  whidi  is  acceptable  to  God.  1st,  It  must 
bear  fruits,  all  inward  and  outWard  holiness,  all  good- 
nessj  righteousness^  and  truths Eph.  v.  9;  (see  alto 
Gal.  y.  22;)  end  that  so  abundantly,  that  we  may  be 
filed  with  them,  or  all  our  powers  of  body  and  mind, 
our  time  and  talents,  occupied  therein.  2d,  The 
braneh  and  the  fruits  must  derive  both  their  virtue 
and  their  very  being  from  the  all-supporting,  all- 
supplying  root,  Jesus  Christ  8d,  As  all  these  f  ow 
from  the  grace  of  Christ,  so  they  must  issue  in  the 
glory  and  praise  of  God. 

Verses  12-14.  But  I  wouldye  shoutdunderstcmdy 
&c. — As  if  he  had  said.  Be  not  discouraged  at  my 
sufferings,  but  observe  and  consider  this  for  your 
encouragement;  that  the  things  which  happened 
unio  me — ChFeek,TVi  /cat*  «/te,  the  things  relating  unto 
me:  the  apostie  means  his  being  sent  a  prisoner  to 
Rome,  and  his  being  kept  in  bonds  there,  together 
with  all  the  sufferings  which  had  befallen  him  during 
his  confinement^  have  fallen  out  rather  unto  the 
yifrt&^rafice— Than,  as  you  feared,  the  hinderance; 
efthe  gospel ;  so  that  my  bonds  in  Okrwf— Endtfred 
for  his  ss^e  and  the  gospel's;  are  manifest — Are 
Brach  taken  notice  of,  in  aU  the  palace— 0{  the  Re- 
man emperor.  The  word  irpauTttpiov^  here  rendered 
palacey  was,  properly  speaking,  the  place  in  Rome 
where  the  pretor  determined  causes.  Or,  accord- 
ing to  the  more  common  signification  of  the  word, 
it  was  a  place  without  t(ie  city,  where  the  pretorian 
cohorts,  or  regiments  of  guards,  were  lodged.  But 
In  the  provinces,  the  governor's  palace  was  called 
the  pretorium,  (Mark  xv.  16,)  both  because  the  gov- 
ernors administered  justice  in  their  own  palaces, 
and  because  tiiey  had  their  guards  stationed  there. 
See  Acts  xziiL  85.  ^  Wherefore,  though  the  apostle 
was  himself  at  Rome  when  he  wrote  this,  and  though 
the  matters  of  which  he  wrote  were  done  at  Rome, 
He  uses  the  word  pretorium  in  the  provincial  sense, 
to  denote  the  emperor's  palace,  because  he  wrote  to 
persons  in  the  provisees.  The  knowledge  of  the 
h 


*in  aU  ^  the  palace,  and  ^^ in  aH  other  A.if.408a 
places;  /-^'^ 

14  And  many  of  the  brethren  in  the  Lord, 
wadng  confident  by  my  bonds,  are  much  more 
bold  to  speak  the  word  without  fear. 

16  Some  indeed  preaefa  Christ  even  of 
efiyy  and  ^strife;  and  some  also  of  good* 
will 


Chap.  It.  88.- 


*Qff,  C«Mr'«  cottrf.- 
"Chap.  iL  3,' 


-^*  Or,  to  mU  o^tn. 


true  cause  of  the  apostle's  confinement  mayhaye 
been  siuread  through  the  palace  by  some  Jewish 
^ves  in  the  emperor's  family,  who,  happening  to 
hear  Paul  in  his  own  hired  house,  were  converted 
by  him.  At  this  time,  Rome  was  full  of  Jewish 
slaves;  and  that  some  such  belonged  to  the  palace, 
<»>  had  access  to  it,  we  learn  from  Josephus,  De  vita 
sua,  who  tells  lis  he  was  introduced  to  the  Empress 
Poppsa  by  means  of  a  Jewish  comedian.  Such  of 
the  slaves  in  the  palace  as  had  embraced  the  gospel, 
whether  heathen  or  Jews,  would  not  fail  to  show  the 
oflteers  of  the  court  whom  they  served,  the  true  na- 
ture of  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  real  cause  of  the 
apostle's  imprisonment;  that  it  was  for  no  crime, 
but  only  for  preaching  a  new  scheme  of  doctrine. 
And,  as  it  was  now  fashi<mable  among  the  Romans 
to  indulge  a  passion  for  philosophy,  and  many  of  them 
had  a  strong  curiosity  to  be  informed  of  every  new 
doctrine  which  was  broached,  and  of  every  strange 
occurrence  which  had  happened  in  the  provinces,  it 
is  riot  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  breUiren  in 
the  palace  would  explain  the  Christian  religion  to 
the  emperor's  domestics,  and  relate  to  them  the  re- 
surrection of  itsauthor*from  the  dead;  and  that  some 
of  them  who  were  of  high  rank,  strongly  impressed 
with  their  relation,  embraced  the  gospel."  And  in 
M  oGier  places-^In  and  about  the  city.  "The 
Christians  at  Rome  were  numerous  before  the  apos- 
tle's arrival,  but  their  number  was  greatly  increased 
by  his  preaching,  and  by  the  preaching  of  his  as- 
sistants. It  is  no  wonder  then,  that  in  all  places  of 
the  city,"  and  its  environs,  "the  real  cause  of  the 
apostle's  imprisonment,  and  the  true  nature  of  the 
gospel,  were  so  well  known." — Macknight  And 
many  of  the  brethren,  who  were  before  afraid,  waay- 
ing  confident  by  my  bonds— Or,  irtisting  in  the  Lord 
through  my  borids,  as  ev  Kvpiu  TreiroiSora^  toic  Seoftoic 
lis  may  be  properly  rendered ;  are  much  more  bold 
to  speak  the  word — ^Than  they  were  l;»efore,  in  con- 
sequence of  having  observed  my  constancy  in  testi- 
fying the  gospel,  and  my  safety  notwithstanding; 
without  fear--Of  any  suffenngs  to  which  they  might 
before  have  thought  themselves  exposed  for  so  doing. 
Verses  15-17.  Some  indeed  preach  Clirist  even 
of  envy — Envying  my  success,  or  envying  me  that 
esteem  and  reputation  which  I  have  in  the  church, 
and  seeking  to  gain  it  to  themselves ;  and  strife— 
Striving  to  draw  people  off  from  approving  me  to 
applaud  themselves,  and  being  desirous  to  maintain 
hi  the  church  a  par^  that  shall  oppose  me,  and  will- 


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A.  M.  4068.    16  The  one  preach  Cbnai  <tf  con- 
^^'^'    tention,  not  sincerely,  supposing  to 
add  afflicUon  to  my  bonds : 

17  But  the  other  of  love,  knowing  that  t  am 
set  for  'the  defence  of  the  gospel. 

18  What  then?  notwithstanding,  every  way, 
whether  in  pretence  or  in  truth,  Christ  is  preach- 
ed ;  and  I  therein  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  will  re- 
joice. 


«  Verte  7.- 


r2Cor.  L  11.- 


>  Rom.  riii.  9. 


mg  to  add  as  many  abetters  to  it  as  they  poesiMy 
oan.  It  is  probable,  as  Whitby  and  many  others 
hsTe  observed,  that  ^  these  were  the  Jndatzing  Chris^ 
tians,  who,  with  the  gospel,  taught  the  necessity  of 
circumcision,  and  of  the  observation  of  the  ceremo- 
nial law;  for  from  these  arose  epidtc  ^ai  dixiKamat^ 
strife  and  di8$efunon$y  I  Cor.  i.  11 ;  iund  iii.  2;  zeal, 
ammosUiea,  and  conierUione,  2  Cor.  ziL  20;  and  that 
on  the  account  of  this  apostle,  whom  they  would 
scarce  own  as  an  apostle  of  Christy  2  Cor.  vii.  2,  but 
rather  iooked  upon  as  one  that  walked  according  to 
thefleahy  chap.  x.  2,  and  would  have  excluded  Mm 
Jrom  the  churches,  GaL  iv.  10, 17.  And  yet,  at  their 
preaching  Christ,  though  not  sincerely,  the  apostle 
may  be  supposed  to  have  rejoiced,  because  he  knew 
the  time  was  near  when  the  hay  and  stubUe  which 
they  built  on  the  foundation  should  be  rey ealed,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  temple  and  cityof  Jemsa^m, 
would  sufficiently  confute  their  vain  additions  to  the 
faith."  Some  also  out  of  good-will^FdiQiMiy  in- 
tending to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  the  success 
of  the  true  gospel,  and  the  salvation  of  mau)und,  and 
thereby  to  give  me  comfort.  7^  one  preach  Christ 
ofcontentionr-Or,  they  who  ttre  of  contention,  as  o< 
e^  epidetac  may  be  rendered,  preach  Christ  not  sin- 
cerely-^y^iih  a  holy  design  of  advancing  his  cause, 
and  of  glorifying  God;  but  supposing  (though  they 
were  disappointed)  thereby  to  add  affliction  to  my 
bonds-^To  increase  the  calamity  of  my  imprison- 
ment, by  grieving  my  mind  through  their  adultera- 
tions of,  or  additions  to,  the  gospel,  or  their  exciting 
my  persecutors  to  greater  yirulence  against  me.  BxU 
the  other  of  love — To  Christ,  his^  gospel,  and  me; 
knowing,  not  barely  supposing,  that  I  am  set^ 
Placed  here  at  Rome,  the  metropolis  of  the  empire, 
a  place  of  the  greatest  resort,  and  from  whence  in- 
telligence of  whatever  is  transacted  of  importance 
is  Hoon  communicated  to  the  most  distant  provinces : 
or,  Keifiat,  Hie,  namely  in  bonds,  ^r  the  defenpe  of] 
the  gospel— Tot  the  confirmation  of  it  by  my  suffer- 
ings. Tljcy  who  preached  Christ  with  a  pure  in- 
tention, knew  certainly  that  the  apostle  was  sent  to 
Home  to  defend  the  gospel  by  suffering  for  it.  For  by 
voluntarily  persbting  to  preach  the  gospel,  al^ough 
he  was,  and  knew  he  still  should  be,  expchied  to  va- 
rious and  great  sufferings  for  preaching  it,  he  gave 
full  proof  of  his  knowledge  of  its  truth  and  great  im- 
portance to  the  salvatmn  of  mankind. 

Verses  18-20.  If%a/ tA«i?— What  shall  we  think 
01  these  attempts,  protieeding  from  such  different 

Me 


19  For  1  know   that  this    shall  a.m.40S8l 

torn  to  my  salralioQ  ^r  through  your ; — 

(nuyer,  and  the  supply  of  'the  Spfail  of  Jems 
Christ,- 

20  According  to  my  ^eameetezpectaticMi,  and 
my  hope,  that  ^  in  nothing  I  shall  be  ashamed, 
but  that  *  with  all  bcddness,  as  always^  #o  no^ 
also,  Christ  shall  be  magnified  in  my  bo^^ 
wh^^  Uhehj  life,  or  by  death. 


•Rom.  riii.  19. ^  Rom.  t.  S.*^— -* Epb. tL  IS,  90. 


princi^es?  Shall  they  gdeye  us?  No^  in  no  wise. 
For,«»ery  iia|f,  whether  in  pretence — Under  cokmr 
of  propagating  the  gospel ;  or  in  <rtf<A— Witha  real 
dei^gnsotodo;  Christ ispreachedr^Ajadih^ great 
dod^e  of  salyati<m  by  him  has  a  wider  spread ;  and 
/  therein  do  refoice,  y m,  and  I  will  re^e— Hiat  is, 
I  shall  have  cause  so  to  do  in  regard  of  the  good  is- 
sue it  will  have.  Th^  lore  which  the  apostle  bore 
to  Christ,  had  extinguished  in  his  mind  resentment, 
pride,  self-lo^  and  all  other  evil  passions;  inso- 
much that  his  greatest  joy  resiilted  from  the  advance- 
ment of  the  gospel,  even  though  it  was  {nromoted  by 
his  enemies.  We  must  observe,  however,  that  though 
truth  is  here  opposed  to  pretence,  it  doth  not  follow 
that  preaching  Christ  in  pretence  nieaos^preaching 
false  doctrine  concerning  him.  For  the  apostle  could 
not  rejoice  that  Christ  was  preached  in  that  manner. 
Truth  and  pretence  here  relate  not  so  much  to  the 
matters  preached,  as  to  the  views  of  the  preachers. 
The  Judaizers  preadied  the  truth  concerning  Christ, 
at  least  in  part,  when  they  affirmed  him  to  be  the 
Jewish  Messiah.  But  they  did  this  not  purely  and 
sincerely  t6  bring  the  Jews  to  believe  on  him,  but 
also  and  especially  to  inculcate  at  the  same  time  the 
Jewish  ceremonies,  and  thereby  to  extend  the  au- 
thority of  their  ritual  law ;  and  by  these  means  nlti* 
mately  to  grieve  the  apostle,  and  render  his  perse- 
cutors more  bitter  against  him.  But  others  both 
pretiched  Christ  as  the  Jewish  Messiah,  and  also  in- 
culcated all  the  great  doctrines  of  his  gospel,  truly 
and  ancerely  intending  to  bring  both  Jews  and  Cten- 
tiles  to  believe  aright  in  him,  and  to  embrace  his  gotk 
pel  in  its  purity.  But  fh>m  whatever  motive  Christ 
was  preached,  according  to  his  true  char^icter,  it  was 
matter  of  joy  to  the  apostle.  Far  I  know  that  tkis — 
Preaching  of  Christ,  whether  from  a  pure  motive  or 
otherwise,  or  this  trouble  which  I  meet  with  from 
some  of  these  teachers ;  shM  turn  to  my  salvation 
—Namely,  to  the  promotion  of  it,  or  shall  procure 
me  a  higher  degree  of  glory ;  through  your  prayer 
—Continuing  to  be  addressed  to  God  for  me;  and 
the  supply  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ—^More  largely 
conmiunicated  to  me  in  answer  to  it,  and  enabiing 
me  to  make  a  good  use  of  these  trials.  According 
to  my  earnest  expectation — Accordingto  what  I  have 
all  along  earnestly  hoped  for ;  that  innothing  I  shall 
he  asAameei— Whatever  injurious  reflections  maybe 
cast  on  my  conduct ;  hut  thai  with  all  boldness-^ 
Bearing  testimony  to  every  truth  of  the  gospel;  as 
always-^Smce  my  call  to  the  iq>ostleship ;  so  now 

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CHAPTER  I. 


the  hje  and  death  of  Paul 


A.  M.  4066.    21  FV>r  to  me  to  hve  is  ChnsL  and 
to  die  t^  gain. 

22  But  if  I  lire  in  the  flesh,  this  i^  the  &uit  of 
ray  labour :  yet  what  I  shalit  chooob  I  wot  not 

23  For  '  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  having 


*2Cor.T.  8.- 


•  8  Tim.  ir.  «. 


Christ  $hall  be  magnified— Sh9]l  be  honoured,  and 
tke  interest  of  hia  kingdom  promoted ;  tit  my  body^ 
howeyer  it  be  disposed  of^  whether  by  presenring  its 
li/ey  or  allowing  it  to  be  put  to  death— For  tke  eon- 
firmation  of  the  gospel.  How  that  might  be,  he  did 
not  yet  know.  For  the  apostles  did  not  know  all 
that  should  befall  them,  but  were  left  in  uncertainty 
with  respect  to  many  things,  that  they  might  have 
cause  for  the  exercise  of  fakh  and  patience^ 

Verses  21*!^  For  to  me  to  live  i*  Cferitt— As  my 
Hfe,  both  natural  and  spiritual,  is  from  Christ,  so  to 
serve  and  enjoy  him  is  the  supreme  end  of  my  life, 
and  I  value  it  only  as  it  is  capable  of  being  employ- 
ed in  glorifying  him,  to  know,  love,  and  follow 
whom,  is  my  glory  and  my  joy.  BtU  if  I  Hve  in 
thefleeh,  &c.— Here  he  begins  to  treat  of  the  former 
clause  of  the  preceding  verse :  of  the  latter  he  treats 
chap.  ii.  17.  This  is  the  fruit  of  my  labour— Tina 
is  the  fruit  of  my  living  longer,  that  I  can  labour 
more*  Glorious  labour,  desirable  fruit  I  In. this 
view  long  life  is  indeed  a  blessing.  Yet  what  I  shaU 
choose  I  know  no<— That  is,  if  it  were  left  to  my 
own  dioice.  For  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two — 
The  two  things  mentioned  immediately.  The  ori- 
ginal expression,  <rwexofiai  mk  tov  ifoo,  is  translated  by 
Doddridge,  larfi  borne  two  different  ways,  it  being, 
he  thinks,  an  allusion  to  a  ship  stationed  at  a  particu- 
lar place,  and  riding  at  anchor,  and  at  the  same  time 
Mkely  to  be  forced  to  sea  by  the /violence  of  the 
winds  5  presenting  us  with  a  lively  representation 
of  the  apostie's  attachment  to  his  situation  in  the 
Christian  Church,  and  the  Vehemence  of  his  desire 
to  be  unbound^  as  apoXvaat  may  be  rendered,  that  is, 
to  weigh  anchor,  arid  set  sail  for  the  heavenly  coun- 
try. Having  a  desire— Em^fuav,  a  coveting,  or 
strong  desire,  as  Macknight  renders  the  word ;  see 
on  2  Cor.  v.  4,  8:  to  depart— To  have  my  soul  sepa- 
rated from  my  body,  and  to  escape  from  bonds,  the 
flesh,  and  the  world ;  and  to  be  with  Christ— In  pa- 
radise, Luke  xxiii.  43;  admitted  to  the  immediate, 
ftdl,  and  consttmt  enjoyment  of  him,  in  comparison 
whereof  the  nearest  access  to  him,  and  fullest  en- 
jo3rment  of  him  in  this  World,  are  but  absence. 
Which  is  far  better — Greek,  inXku  ftsXkm^  Kpetwov^ 
by  much  far  better.  Or,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  renders 
the  clause,  is  better  beyond  aU  expression.  Indeed, 
as  the  doctor  observes,  the  apostle  seems  to  labour 
for  expression,  using  the  highest  superlative  which 
it  is  perhaps  posnble  to  form  in  any  language.  It  is 
Justly  observed  by  the  last-mentioned  writer,  that 
this  text  plainly  proves  the  separate  spirits  of  good 
■len  are  with  Christ  immediately  after  the  death  of 
their  bodies,  in  sueh  a  manner  that  their  state  is  far 
better  than  while  they  continue  in  this  world ;  which 
eertainly  a  state  of  insensibUity,  or  the  deep  of  the 
b 


a  desire  to  •  depart,  and  to  be  with  a.  m.  40C8. 
Christ;  which  is  far  better :  ^^'^' 

24  Nevertheless,  to  abide  in  the  flesh  t^  UKx-e 
needful  for  you. 

25  And  'having  this  confidence,  I  know  that 

fCh«p.u.2i. 


soul,  which  some  maintain,  cannot  possibly  be. 
Some  indeed  think  tiie  apostie  might  speak  thus 
though  the  soul  sinks  into  insenbility  at  death; 
because,  say  they,  in  that  case,  the  time  between 
death  and  judgment  must  be  reckoned  as  nothing. 
But,  as  Dr.  Whitby  justly  observes,  "  could  St.  Paul 
think  a  state  of  insensibility  much  better  than  a  life 
tending  so  much  as  his  did  to  the  glory  of  God,  to 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  and  the  furtherance 
of  the  joy  of  Christians  ?  Could  he  call  such  an  in- 
sensate state  a  being  with  Christ ,  and  a  walking  by 
sight ,  in  opposition  to  the  life  of  faith  T  2  Cor.  v.  7, 8. 
Certainly  it  is  at  least  evident  ftt)m  what  the  apos- 
tle here  says,  if  there  be  any  such  middle  state  of 
insensibility  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  he 
had  no  knowledge  or  expectation  of  it ;  for  if  he  had 
known  of  any  such  state,  he  undoubtedly  would 
have  thought  it  a  thousand  times  better  to  live,  and 
promote  the  cause  of  Christ  and  religion  on  earth, 
than  by  dyin^  to  fall  into  it.  Besides,  how  could  he 
say  that  he  had  a  desire  to  be  with  Christ,  if  he  knew 
he  was  not  to  be  with  him  till  after  the  resurrection? 
This,  however,  will  not  at  all  disprove  the  doctrine 
which  maintains  that  pious  men  will  receive  a  large 
accessionof  happiness  after  the  resurrection :  a  truth 
declared  in  many  other  passages  of  Scripture.  "  The 
use  of  philosophy,  it  hath  been  said,  is  to  teach  men 
to  die.  But,  as  Fielding  has  observed,  one  page  of 
the  gospel  is  more  effectual  for  that  purpose  than 
vdumes  of  philosophy.  The  assurance  which  the 
gospel  gives  us  of  another  life  is,  to  a  good  mind,  a 
support  much  stronger  than  the  stoical  consolation 
drawn  from  the  necessity  of  nature,  the  order  of 
things,  the  emptiness  of  our  enjoyments,  the  satiety 
which  they  occasion,  and  many  other  such  topics, 
which,  though  they  may  arm  the  mind  with  stub- 
bom  patience  in  bearing  the  thought  of  death,  can 
never  raise  it  to  a  fixed  contempt  thereof,  much  less 
can  they  make  us  consider  it  as  a  real  good,  and 
inspire  us  with  the  deisire  of  dying,  such  as  the 
apostle  on  this  occasion  strongly  expressed.*'— Mac- 
knight 

Verses 24-36.^  Nevertheless^  to  abide  in  thefiesh — 
In  the  body;  i9  more  needful  for  y<w— And  the  rest 
who  have  embraced  the  gospel.  For,  as  he  said  tc 
the  elders  of  the  church  at  Ephesus,  he  foresaw  that 
after  his  departure  grievous  wolves  should  enter 
into  the  churches,  not  sparing  thefock,  Acts  xx.29. 
This  hi  the  other  particular  between  which,  and  de- 
parting to  be  with  Christ,  the  apostle's  mind  was 
divided,  as  mentioned  verse  22.  For  the  sake  of  the 
churches,  however,  he  here  represents  himself  as 
being  willing  to  forego,  for  a  time,  his  own  interest, 
and  to  continue  in  this  mortal  state.  For  he  adds, 
having  this  confidence— ThAi  my  abiding  in  tiie  flesh 
841 


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PHILIPPIAN8. 


a$  wtU  a$  to  beUeve  in  ChruL" 


A.Bf.4068.  I    shall  abide    and    continue    with 
'        you  all  for   your   furtherance    and 
joy  of  feith ; 

26  That  'your  rejoicing  may  be  more  abun- 
dant in  Jesus  Christ  for  me  by  my  coming  to 
you  again. 

27  Only  ^  let  your  conversation  be  as  it  becom- 
eth  the  gospel  of  Christ:  that  whether  I  come 
and  see  you,  or  else  be  absent,  I  may  hear  of 
your  aflairs, '  that  ye  stand  fest  in  one  spirit, 


ff2Cor.  L  14;   ▼.  12. ^Eph.  iv.  1;  CoL  i  10;  1  Thess. 

II.  12:   ir.  1. »  Chap.  ir.  1. ^  i  Cor.  i.  10. ^  Jude  3: 

■2TbeM.LA. 


18  for  your  advantage  ^  /  know  that  I  $haU  abide — 
Some  have  supposed  that  a  particular  revelation  was 
made  to  him,  while  he  was  writing  this,  that  he 
should  not  be  put  to  death  at  this  time,  but  should 
soon  be  released  from  his  bonds ;  and  that  it  was  on 
the  ground  of  that  revelation  that  he  expressed  him- 
self with  so  much  confidence  on  this  occaisioH.  Some 
indeed  have  thought  that  this  hope  of  ^deliverance 
arose  from  his  knowing  that  the  Christians  in  Ce* 
sar's  household  were  now  endeavouring  to  procure 
his  relc^e.  But,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  observes,  '^he 
must  have  known  little  of  princes  and  courtiers,  (and 
especially  in  Nero's  reign,)  to  build  so  confidently 
on  such  a  feuudation."  And  continue  with  you  all 
— Which  doubtless  he  did  for  some  considerable 
time,  visiting  many  other  places  as  well  as  Philippi. 
For  your  furtherance — Upogonfjy^  advancement^  in 
holiness  5  and  the  joy  qf  faUh--Wh]ch  will  be 
strengthened  by  my  deliverance  from  confinement, 
and  by  my  continuing  my  apostolical  labours  among 
you  as  opportunity  offers.  That  your  rejoicings 
Or  glorying,  as  navxniM  rather  signifies;  may  be 
more  abundant — May  be  greatly  increased  ;&y  my 
coming  to  you  again^As  I  fully  expect  to  do. 

Verses  27, 28.  0«iy— Whatever  becomes  of  me, 
be  you  sure  to  mind  this  j  that  yottr  conversation  he 
aa  it  becometh  the  goepel  of  CAmt— That  is,  suitar 
ble  to  the  light  and  grace  of  it ;  to  its  doctrines,  pre- 
cepts, promises,  ordinances,  and  all  its  privileges ; 
answerable  to  the  discoveries  which  it  makes  to  you 
of  your  original  and  fallen  state,  of  your  redemption 
and  salvation  in  and  through  Christ  Jesus,  and  of  the 
wonderful  lov^  of  God  manifested  thereby ;  of  the 
holy  and  happy  state  into  which  you  are  in  a  mea- 
sure ahready  brought,  and  of  the  unspeakably  greater 
felicity  and  glory  reserved  for  you  hereafter;  and 
withal,  of  the  danger  you  are  in  from  the  assaults 
of  the  many  subtle  and  powerful  enemies  that  are 
combined  against  you.  In  other  words.  See  that 
you  be  humble  and  thankful,  loving  and  obedient, 
watchful  and  circumspect ;  and  always  giving  dili- 
gence to  be  found  of  Christ  in  peace,  without  spot 
and  blameless^  That  whether  I  come  and  see  you 
—As  I  purpose  doing ;  or  else,  being  absent,  may 
hear  of  your  qffairs^'His.j  receive  a  consolatory 
account  of  you:  that  ye  stand  /a#t— In  the  faith 
and  hope  of  the  gospel;  <n  one  «piri<— Under  the 

a4s 


^  with  one  mind  ^striving  together  finr  a.il 
the  fisiith  of  the  goepel ; 


28  And  in  nothing  terrified  by  yoinr  adveisa- 
ries:  **  which  is  to  them  an  evident  t(A)ai(rf' per- 
dition, 'but  to  you  of  salvation,  and  that  of  Ood. 

29  For  unto  you  "^  it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of 
Christ,  i^not  only  to  believe  on  him,  but  also  to 
sufier  for  hia  sake ; 

30  "^  Having  the  same  oonffict  'which  ye  saw 
in  me,  omtnow  here  to  be  in  roe. 

■Rom.  TiU.  17 ;  2  Tim.  2, 11. •  Acta  r.  41 ;   Rom.  r.  S. 

pE^  iL  a— ^CoL  ii.  1- 'Acto  xtL  19,  &c.;  1  Thett. 

guidance  and  government  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in 
the  most  perfect  unanimity;  wUh  one  mind--Uia 
^pvxn^  with  one^soul,  being  all  equally  zealous ;  striv* 
ing  together — ^wadXwref,  jointly  ifvestling;  tbe 
term  being  borrowed  from  the  Athlets,  the  wrest- 
lers, and  other  contenders  in  the  Olympic  games ; 
f&r  the  faith  of  the  gospel—For  all  the  truths  re- 
vealed, the  duties  enjoined,  and  tbe  blessings  pro- 
mised therein,  against  the  Jews,  who  would  seduce 
you  to  the  Mosiac  law,  and  bring  you  into  bondage 
to  its  burdensome  ceremonies ;  against  the  heathen, 
who,  by  persecuti<Hi,  endeavour  to  make  you  relapse 
into  idolatry ;  against  all  the  temptationa  of  the 
devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh,  the  decelifulnesa  of 
sin,  and  the  snares  and  devicea  of  sinners.  In 
nothing  terrified—Ot  terrified,  in  no  shape  or  de- 
gree ;  by  your  adversaries — ^Whether  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles, however  i^umerous  and  powerful ;  ipWcA— 
Namely,  their  being  adversaries  to  the  gospel,  and 
you  who  believe  and  obey  it*,  is  to  them  an  evident 
tokenofperdiiion^-^rely  and  swiftly  coming  upon 
them,^ince  nothing  can  be  a  more  certain  sign  that 
they  are  exposed  to  it,  and  even  ripe  for  it,  than  the 
prevalency  of  such  a  persecuting  spirit  in  them ; 
hut  to  you — ^Who  are  persecuted ;  of  salvation — 
That  is,  the  persecutions  to  which  you  are  exposed 
for  righteousness'  sake,  and  which  you  patiently  en- 
dure, are  an  evident  token  of  complete  salvation, 
soon  to  be  revealed  and  bestowed  on  you ;  and  that 
of  Godr—HimaeU,  who  will  assuredly  reward  your 
pious  fortitude  with  blessing  prq)ortionabIy  great 
It  evidently  appears  from  hence,  and  from  several 
other  passages  in  this  epistle,  that  the  Philippiaa 
believers  were  now  in  a  suflering  state;  acireum- 
stance  which,  if  kept  in  mind,  as  we  proceed,  will 
greatly  illustrate  several  passages  in  the  epistle, 
which  would  otherwise  appear  t>bscure. 

Verses  20, 30.  For  unto  you  it  is  given — EAfopio^, 
it  is  granted  as  a  favour,  in  the  behalf  of  Christ, 
on  account  of  his  merits  and  intercession,  and  for 
the  promotion  of  his  cause  and  interest,  not  only  to 
believe  on  him,  (faith  itself;  as  well  as  Christ  and  his 
truth,  the  ofcrjects  of  it,  being  the  free  gift  of  God,) 
bta  also  to  suffer  for  his  taJte— This,  as  well  as  your 
faith,  and  the  blessings  which  you  receive  by  fluth, 
is  granted  you  as  a  special  token  of  God's  love  to 
3rou,  and  of  your  behag  in  the  way  of  salvation. 


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The  apoflUe  wislied  the  Philippiana  to  isonalder  their 
sidrerings  for  Christ  as  an  honour,  and  an  important 
means  of  good,  and  td  rejoice  In  them.  Thus  it  is 
flaid  of  Peter  and  John,  Acts  t.  41 ;  7%ey  departed 
/r&m  the  cotmcQ  t^aicing  thai  they  were  ccurUed 
fporthy  to  suffer  shame  for  hie  name.  Having  ^ 
same  kmd  of  conflict  with  your  adversaries.  The 
word  aywa,  here  rendered  conflict^  is  the  general 
name  by  which  the  Greeks  expressed  aU  the  differ- 
ent combats  in  their  games.  And  because  in  these 
contests  the  contenders  struggled  long  and  liard  for 
Tietory^  the  word  was  upplkd  to  express  any  sort 
of  trial  or  trouble,  to  whidi  men  exposed  them* 
■elves  in  the  coarse  of  their  pursuits :  lo^tc^  ye  saw 
in  me  when  I  was  with  yo%  Acts  xvi.  1!^19,  Ad 
For  the  apostle  seems  principally  to  allude  to  the 


conflict  which  he  sustained  at  Philippi,  on  account 
of  the  damsel  out  of  whom  he  had  cast  the  spirit  of 
divination,  and  whose  masters  got  him  scourged, 
and  put  in  the  stocks^  Besides  this,  however,  on 
his  second  coming  to  Philippi,  alter  his  long  resi- 
dence at  Ephesus,  he  suflfered  other  afflictions,  of 
which  the  Philippians  also  were  witnesses,  2  Cor. 
vii.  5.  And  now  hear  to  be  in  me — It  seems  the 
Philippians  had  received  an  account  from  some  of 
the  brethren,  who  had  come  from  Rome  to  Philippi, 
of  the  apostle^  present  conflict  with  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  the  Judai^g  teachers,  and  the  heathen  ma- 
gistrates. A  similar  conflict  tha  Philippians  them- 
selves snstained,  being  persecuted  for  the  gospel, 
and  their  bitterest  persecutors  being  their  own  coua- 
trymfB. 


CHAPTER  n. 

TSe  afOMtU  (1,)  exhorts  the  PkUippisHS  to  unanimity  amd  candoWf  and  s  tenaer  care  for  the  inUrut  of  each  others  hy  fon- 
oas  moving  argumonU,  and  particularly  ^  the  generous  and  condescending  Ume  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  of  wkoss-humiUation 
and  exaltation  he  ditcoursee  in  a  very  affectionate  manner,  l-ll.  {%,)  He  urges  them  to  be  diligent  in  the  business  of  their  saho' 
tion,  m  consideration  of  Ooi'ttoorking  in  thsm,  12, 18;  and  to  be  exem]^ary  and  iTutruetive  by  their  example  to  the  toorld,  and 
a  comfort  to  himself,  14-18.  (3,)  He  assures  them  tfhis  readiness  even  to  die  for  their  advantage,  but  expresses  his  hope 
of  being  set  at  liberty,  and  restored  to  them  in  person^  in  the  mean  time  promising  them  a  visit  very  soon  from  Timothy, 
17-S4.  (4,)  He  informs  them,  for  their  imtucdiats  sat^f action,  he  had  sent  Epaphroditus ;  of  whose  Iste  sickness  and 
ardent  love  for  them,  he  speaks  in  very  affectionate  terms,  35-80. 

2  •  Fulfil  ye  myjpy,^  thai  ye  be  like- 
minded,  having  the  same  love,  being 
of  one  accord,  of  one  mind. 


/L.M.406e.  Tp  there  be  therefore  any  consola- 

'. tion  in  Christ,  if  any  comfort  of 

love,  *  if  any  fellowshqp  of  the  Spirit,  if  any 
^  bowels  and  mercies, 


*2Cor.  xiiL  14. *  Col.  Ui.  12. «  John  iii.  29. *  Rom. 

xiu  16;   XV.  5;   1  Cor.  i  10;  2  Cor.  ziii.  11 ;    Ch«p.  i.  27; 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  H. 
Verse  1.  The  apostle,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  having  exhorted  the  Philippians  to 
walk  worthy  of  their  Christian  profession,  by  hay- 
ing their  conversation  according  to  the  gospel ;  and, 
as  nothing  is  more  required  by  it,  or  can  be  more 
suitable  to  it,  than  mutual  love  among  the  followers 
of  Christ,  he  here, beseeches  them,  by  every  thing 
most  afieeting  in  Christianity,  to  fulfll  his  joy,  by 
exOTcising  that  love.  If  there  be  therefore  any  con- 
eolation  in  Chriet-^Aad  his  grace,  in  his  person  and 
oflices,  in  his  humiliation  and  sufferings  for  you,  or 
in  his  exaltatioa  and  glory.  This  is  not  an  expres- 
sion of  doubt,  but  the  strongest  affirmation  that 
there  is  the  greatest  consolation  in  him,  2  Cor.  L  4 
If  any  comfort  of  hve—lvL  the  love  of  God  to  you, 
or  in  your  love  to  him  in  return ;  if  any  fellowship 
of  the  SpirU-^Kny  communion  with  the  Father  and 
Uie  Son,  through  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  you ; 
if  any  bowels  and  in«nn€#— Resulting  therefrom ; 
any  tender  affection  toward  eacli  other,  or  any  com- 
passion for  me,  now  a  prisoner  for  CYa'iaif  fulfil  ye 
^y  joy— To  all  the  other  causes  of  joy  which  I  have 
concerning  you,  add  this  also,  and  make  my  joy 
complete;  thcU  ye  be  like-minded— Thdii  ye  be  alike 
h 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.64. 


3  *  Let  nothing  be  done  through  strife  or 


iii.  16 ;   ir.  2 ;   1  Pet.  iiL  8.- 
James  iiL  14. 


>GalT.26;   Chtp.  i.  15,16; 


disposed;  that  ye  esteem,  desire,  and  pursue  the 
same  thing,  even  your  hi^^  and  holy  calling,  as  ro 
avTo  ^povfrre  seems  here  to  signify,  it  being  explained 
in  the  following  clauses  as  implying  having  the  same 
love^  being  of  one  accord;  ovft^yxoi^  united  in  souly 
or  animated  with  the  same  affections  and  intentions ; 
TO  9v  ^vsvTtc,  minding;  that  is,  delighting  in  and 
aiming  at  one  <hing^  namely,  the  glory  ,of  God,  or 
the  honour  of  Christ,  in  their  salvation.  It  is  justly 
observed  by  Macluiight  here,  that  the  word  ^poveip^ 
rendered  to  mind,  has  different  meanings  in  the  New 
Testament.  Sometimes  it  denotes  an  act  of  the  un- 
derstanding. Acts  xxviiL  22:  We  desire  to  hear  of 
thee,  a  fpbveic,  what  thou  thinkesi,  GaLv.  10;  That, 
tiSev  cOAo  ^vnoere,  ye  will  think  nothing  differently. 
Sometimes  it  denotes  an  act  of  the  will,  Phil.  ii.  5 ; 
Tsto  ^veia^u.  Lei  this  disposition  be  in  you  which 
was  even  in  Christ.  It  signifies  also  to  set  one's  af- 
fections on  an  object  so  as  to  use  every  means  in 
one's  power  to  obtain  it,  as  Col.  iii.  2;  ra  or«  fpove- 
ire,  Setyour.affections  on  things  above,  nnA  endea- 
vour to  obtain  them.  Phil.  \v.  10, 1  rejoiced  thai 
now  at  length,  avv9aXXeTe  to  vnep  efts  ^vtiv,  you 
have  made  your  care  of  me  to  flourish  again.^ 
Verses  8,  4.  Let  nothing  be  done  among  you 
9tt 


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A.M. 4068.  vain  glory;  but  'm  lowUnees  of 
^^'^  mind  let  each  esteem  other  better  than 
themselves. 

4  'Look  not  every  man  oa  his  own  things, 
but  every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others. 


f  Rommnsxii.  10:  EpL  t.  21;  1  Peter  r.  5.— r  1  Cor.  x,a4, 

33:  ziii.  5. ^MmU.  xi.  S9;  John  xui  15;  1  Peter  n.  21; 

1  JohA  ii  6. 


thnmgh  sirife^A  spirit  of  contradiction  or  conten- 
tkm,  which  is  inoonsistent  with  your  being  like- 
minded;  or  vain  ^iory— Desire  of  praise;  wishing 
to  draw  the  eyes  of  others  upon  you,  and  to  make 
yourselves  the  subjects  of  discourse  and  admiration 
which  is  direcUy  opposite  to  the  love  of  Ood :  but 
in  lovlinesa  of  fn%nd--ln  unaffected  simplicity  and 
humility;  let  each  esteem  other  better  than  them- 
«e<vet— Which,  on  one  account  or  another,  you  may 
know  almost  every  one  to  be ;  being  better  acquaint- 
ed with  your  own  sins,  weaknesses,  and  defects, 
than  you  are  with  those  of  any  others.  "  The  apos- 
tle does  not  mean  that  we  should  reckon  every  per- 
son, without  distinction,  superior  to  ourselves  in  na- 
tural talents,  acquired  gifts,  or  even  in  goodness; 
but  that  we  should,  by  an  humble  behaviour,  ac- 
knowledge the  superiority  of  those  who  are  above 
us  in  station  or  office ;  or  who,  we  are  sensible,  ex- 
cel us  in  gifts  and  graces.  For  general  expressions 
are  always  to  be  limited  by  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject to  which  they  are  applied.  Besides,  we  cannot 
suppose  that  the  apostle  requires  us  to  judge  falsely, 
cither  of  ourselves  or  others.'^ — Macknight.  Look 
not  every  man  on  his  own  things — Only,  so  as  to  re 
gard  merely  his  own  convenience  and  interest;  but 
every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others^Being 
concerned  for  their  welfare,  both  temporal  and 
.  spiritual. 

Verses  6,6.  LeffAiff  mind— The  same  humble,  con- 
descending, benevolent,  disinterested,  self-denying 
disposition ;  be  in  you  which  was  €dso  in  Christ  Je- 
sus— ^The  original  expression,  raro  fpoveieOo  ev  vfup  o 
xoi  tvXpicu  I^f<w,  is,  literally,  Be  ye  minded^  or  dis- 
posed, as  Jesus  was.  The  word  indudes  both  the 
mind  and  heart,  the  understanding,  will,  and  affec- 
tions. Let  your  judgment  and  estimation  of  things, 
your  choice,  desire,  intention,  determination,  and 
subsequent  practice,  be  like  those  in  him ;  who  being 
— TirapxuVySubsisting;  intheformofGod^^Ashvfing 
been  from  eternity  possessed  of  divine  perfections 
and  glories;  thought  it  not  robbery — Greek,  hk 
apirayftw  iryn<^<'tTo  i  literally,  iiu{  not  consider  it  an 
act  of  robbery,  uffoi  laa  Oew,  to  be  equal  things  with 
Ood — He  and  his  Father  being  one,  John  x.  30;  and 
all  things  belonging  to  the  Father  being  his,  John 
xvL  15 ;  the  Father  also  being  in  him,  and  he  in  the 
Father.  Accordingly,  the  highest  divine  names, 
titles,  attributes,  and  works,  are  inscribed  to  him  by 
the  inspired  writers:  and  the  same  honours  and  ado- 
rations are  represented  as  being  due  to  him,  and  are 
actually  paid  to  him,  which  are  given  to  the  Father, 
and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  ''As  the  apostle,"  says 
Biaduugfat,  "  is  here  speaking  of  what  Christ  was 

an 


6  ^Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which  a.  m.40S8l 
was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  :*  ' 

6  Who,  *  being  in  the  form  of  God,  ^  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God : 

7  '  But  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and 


*  Sixth  Sunday  m  Lent,  epistle,  vene  5  to  reiM  12. <  John 

i.  1, 2  J  xriL  5. ^  John  r.  18 :  x.  33. 'P«l  xxiL  6;  Ist.  hit. 

3;  DttB.  ix.26;  M«rkix.  12;  UoBUitZT.a 


before  he  took  tiie  form  of  a  servant,  the  form  of 
Ood,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  subsisted,  and  of 
which  he  is  said  (verse?)  to  have  divested  hhiH 
self  when  he  became  man,  cannot  be  any  thing 
which  he  possessed  during  his  mcamation,  or  in  his 
divested  state;  consequently,  neither  Erasmuses 
opinion,  that  the  form  of  Ood  consisted  'm  those 
sparks  of  divinity  by  which  Christ,  during  his  in- 
carnation, manifested  his  Godhead ;  nor  the  opinion 
of  the  Socinians,  that  it  consisted  in  the  power  of 
wortung  miracles,  is  weU  founded."  The  opinion 
of  Whitby,  Doddridge,  and  others,  "seems  better 
founded,  who,  by  the  form  of  God,  understand  that 
visible  glorious  light  in  which  the  Deity  is  said  to 
dwell,  1  Tim.  vi.  16 ;  and  by  which  he  manifested 
himself  to  the  patriarchs  of  old.  Dent.  v.  22,  24;  and 
which  was  commonly  accompanied  with  a  nume- 
rous retinue  of  angels,  Psa.  Ixviii.  17;  and  which  in 
Scripture  is  called  the  similitude,  Nam.  xii.  8;  the 
face,  Psa.  xxxi.  16 ;  the  presence,  Exod.  xxxUL  15 ; 
and  the  shape  (John  v.  37)  of  God.  This  interpret- 
ation is  supported  by  the  term  fiop^,  form,  here 
used,  which  signifies  a  person's  external  shape  or 
appearance.  Thus  we  are  told  (Mark  xvi.  12)  that 
Jesus  appeared  to  his  disciples  in  another  futp^, 
shape,  or  form:  and  Matt  xvii.  2,  Mero^iopfw^,  He 
was  transfigured  before  them  ;  his  out\^ard  appear- 
ance or  form  was  changed.  Further,  this  interpret- 
ation agrees  with  the  fact  The  form  of  God,  that 
is,  the  visible  glory,  and  the  attendance  of  angels 
above  described,  the  Son  of  God  enjoyed  with  his 
Father  before  the  worid  was,  John  xvii.  5 ;  and  on 
that,  as  on  other  accounts,  he  is  (he  brightness  of  the 
Father^s  glory,  Heb.  i.  8.  But  he  divested  himself 
thereof  when  he  became  flesh.  However,  havmg 
resumed  it  after  his  ascension,  he  will  come  with  it 
in  the  human  nature  to  judge  the  world.  So  he  told 
his  disbiples.  Matt:  xvi.  27.  Lastly,  this  sense  of 
ftop^n  ee8,  is  eonfirmed  by  the  meaning  of  pop^ 
daXv,  (verse  7,)  which  evidently  denotes  the  appear- 
ance and  behaviour  of  a  servant" 

Verse  7.  But — Or,  nevertheless,  as  aXXa  frequently 
signifies,  and  js  rendered  in  our  version,  particularly 
Mark  xiv.  36 ;  John  xL  15 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  12 ;  Gal.  hr.  30; 
2  Tim.  i.  12.  This  is  mentioned,  because  the  critics, 
who  would  render  the  last  clause,  he  did  not  covet^ 
or  catch  at,  a  likeness  to,  or  equality  with  God, 
build  much  of  thehr  argument  on  the  opposition  of 
the  two  clauses,  and  the  force  of  this  particle  aXXa ; 
as  if  the  sense  were.  He  did  not  affect  this  equality^ 
but  humbled  himself;  an  hiterpretation  which,  as 
Bishop  Burnet  well  observes,  ^is  extremely  cold 
and  iittipid,  as  if  it  were  a  mighty  argument  6f  hu* 

b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


obeHenee  of  CkrUf. 


A.  M.40«a.  took  upon  him  the  fofcm  "of  a  ser- 

'. vant,  and  '^ was  made  in  the  *like- 

ness  of  xasn : 

8  And  being  found  in  iiashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself  and  *  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 


•^Im.  xliL  1 ;  zlix.  3,6;  UL  13;  liii.  11 ;  Eaek.  zXihr.  23,84; 

Matt.  XX.  23 ;  Luke  zxii.  27. >  John  L  14 ;  Rom.  i.  33 ;  viii. 

3;  G*L  it.  4;  Heb.  ii.  14, 17. »0r,  habii, ©Matt.  xxvi. 


mility,  that  though  Christ  wrought  miracles,  which 
they  strangely  think  to  be  signified  by  the  phrase 
of  being  in  the  form  ofCfody  yet  he  did  not  set  up 
for  Supreme  Deity !"  Bat  the  truth  is,  the  power 
of  Working  miracles  is  never,  in  Scripture,  styled  the 
form  of  Ood;  and,  indeed,  were  this  all  that  was  In- 
tended by  that  phrase,  both  Moses  and  Elias,  and 
oar  Lord's  apostles,  might,  upon  that  account,  be 
said  to  have  been  in  the  form  of  God;  seeing  both 
Moses  and  Elias  wrought  many  miracles  on  earth ; 
and  Christ  declared  concerning  his  disciples,  that 
they  should,  work  greater  miracles  than  he  had 
wrought  Made  himself  of  no  r^pu/o^ton— Greek, 
eavTov  eKevaaCj  literally,  he  emptied  JUmself;  dive^ed 
himself  both  of  the  form  of  God,  and  of  the  worship 
due  to  him  as  God,  when  he  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  men.  In  other  words,  he  was  so  far  from 
tenaciously  insisting  upon,  that  he  willingly  relin- 
quished, his  claim :  he  was  content  to  forego  the 
glories  of  the  Creator,  and  to  appear  in  the  form  of 
a  creature :  nay,  to  be  made  in  the  likeness  of  the 
fallen  creatures;  and  not  only  to  share  in  the  dis- 
grace, but  to  suffer  the  punishment  due  to  the  mean- 
est and  vilest  of  them  all.  He  emptied  himself:  for 
though  in  a  sense  he  remained  full,  (John.  L  14,) 
yet  he  appeared  as  if  he  had  been  empty  j  for  he 
veiled  his  fulness,  at  least  from  the  sight  of  men ; 
yea,  he  not  only  veiled,  but  in  some  sense  renounced 
the  glory  which  he  had  before  the  world  was :  taking, 
and 'by  that  very  act  emptying  himself^  the  form  of 
a  servant^To  his  Father  and  to  his  Father's  crea- 
tures; yea,  to  men,  even  to  poor  and  mean  men, 
being  among  his  disciples  as  one  that  served.  And 
was  made — Or  boim,  as  yevofuvoc  may  be  property 
rendered ;  in  the  likeness  o/ men— Subject  to  all  otrr 
wants  and  infirmities,  and  resembling  us  in  all  things 
but  sin.  And  hereby  he  took  the  form  of  a  servant ; 
and  his  doing  this  would  have  been  astonishing  hu- 
m'diation,  even  if  he  had  appeared  possessed  of  the 
wealth,  power,  and  glory  of  the  greatest  monarch ; 
but  it  was  much  more  so,  as  he  assumed  human  na- 
ture in  a  state  of  poverty,  reproach,  and  suffering. 
Tliis  expression,  it  must  be  observed,  hoi^n  in  Ute 
likeness  ofmen^  does  not  imply  that  Christ  had  only 
the  appearance  of  a  man :  for  the  word  ofioiufui,  ren- 
dered likeness^  often  denotes  sameness  of  nature. 
Thus  Adam  is  said,  (Gen.  v.  3,)  to  beget  a  son  in 
his  own  likeness,  after  his  image  ;  and  Christ,  ofioiu- 
^vai,  to  be  made  like  his  brethren  in  all  things, 
by  partaking  of  fiesh  and  blood,  Heb.  ii.  14-17.  Or,  In 
the  likeness  of  men,  may  mean  in  the  likeness  of  sin- 
ful msHy  as  it  is  expre^ed  Rom.  viii.  8;  made  sub- 
b 


9  Wherefore  God  also  ^  hath  highly  a.  m.  4oeBL 
exalted  him,  and  ^given  him  a  name  ■' 
which  is  above  every  name : 

10  '  That  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ; 


39,  43;  John  X.  18;  H«b.T.  S:  ziL  3. Pjobnxrii.  1,2,  ft; 

Acta  u.  33 ;  Heb.  ii.  9. «i  Eph.  i.  20,  21 :  Heb.  i.  4. '  Isa. 

sir.  23 ;  Matt  xzviii.  18 ;  Rom.  zir.  11 ;  Rer.  y.  la 


jeet  to  all  those  pains,  diseases,  and  evils  which  sin- 
ful men  endure.  The  antithesis  in  this  passage  it 
elegant  Formeriy,  Christ  was  in  the  form  of  Ood; 
but,  when  bom  into  the  world,  he  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  in  the  likeness  of  men. 

Verse  8.  And  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man — 
A*  common  man,  without  any  peculiar  excellence  or 
comeliness.  The  word  oxni^iy  rendered  ^a^^ton,  in- 
cludes all  the  particulars  of  a  person's  outward  ap- 
pearance ;  such  as  his  figure,  air,  looks,  clothing,  and 
gait  The  word  is  also  applied  to  things  inanimate, 
as,(l  Cor.  vii.  31,)  ihe  fashion  of  this  world passeth 
away.  He  humbled  himself—To  a  still  greater 
depth :  for  his  condescension  to  the  rank  of  low  life 
among  sinAil  mortals,  wonderful  as  it  was,  did  not 
content  him ;  but  he  became  obedient— To  his  Father ; 
even  unto  deat7^--The  greatest  instance  both  of  hu- 
miliation and  obedience :  and  to  no  common  form 
of  dissolution,  but  to  the  ignominious,  as  well  as 
painful  death  of  the  cross,  inflicted  on  few  but 
slaves,  or  the  vilest  malefactors.  ^'  The  reasoning  in 
this  passage  is  beautiftil.  The  Son  of  God  did  not 
proudly  continue  in  his  high  station,  but  descend- 
ed from  it  for  a  while,  and  placed  himself  in  the 
lowest  condition  among  men,  serving  every  ouq 
with  the  bumility  and  assiduity  of  a  servant,  or 
bond-man,  as  SbXoc  signifies.  Then,  in  obedience  to 
his  Father,  (John  vi.  38,)  he  finished  his  services  by 
sufiering  the  painful  and  ignominious  death  of  the 
cross  as  a  malefactor,^  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
Having  this  great  example  of  humility  and  benevo- 
lence set  before  them  by  their  Master,  his  disciples, 
who  are  above  their  brethren  in  station,  should  not 
on  every  occasion  behave  as  their  superiors;. but, 
laying  aside  their  dignity,  they  should  cheerftilly 
perform  in  person  to  their  inferiors  those  offices  of 
kindness  and  humanity  which  their  distress  requires ; 
especially  when  the  assistance  wanted  by  their  in- 
feriors is  of  such  an  urgent  nature  that  it  admits  of 
no  delay."— Macknight 

Verses  9rll.  Wherefore—Because  of  his  volun- 
tary humiliation  and  obedience,  and  in  reward  there- 
of; Ood  hath  highly  exalted  Aim— In  that  manhood 
in  which  he  suffered  and  died.  Greek,  vTTfpv^war, 
super-exalted  him,  or  exalted  him  to  a  dignity  high- 
er than  that  which  he  possessed  before  his  humilia- 
tion. By  becoming  mffn,  therefore,  or  by  consenting 
to  be  united  to  the  human  nature  for  ever,  "  the  Son 
of  God  lost  nothing  in  the  issue.  Nor  is  this  all ; 
besides  restoring  him  to  the  visible  glory  and  digni* 
ty  which  he  formerly  possessed,  (verse  11,)  God 
conferred  on  him  a  dignity  entirely  new,  the  dignity 
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and  to  do  of  his  goodpUa§ur$^ 


A.  M.  406a    11  And  *th€U  every  tongue  should 

'        coafeas  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to 

the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

12  Wherefore,  my  beloved,  *aa  ye  have  al- 
ways obeyed,  not  as  in  my  presence  only,  but 


•John ziiL  13 ;  Acts  ii.  36 ;  Rom.  zir.  9;  1  Cor.  viiL  6f  xiL  3. 


of  being  tht  Saviour  of  the  humtui  raee;  and  hath 
obliged  all  the  different  orders  of  intelligent  beings 
^rottghout  the  universe,  both  good  and  bad,  to  ac- 
knowledge his  dignity  as  Saviour,  ha  well  as  Lord." 
For  it  follows,  and  given  him  a  name  above  every 
na7»e— Namely,  the  name  of  Jesits,  mentioned  in 
the  beginning  of  the  next  vers^.  "  "This  name  is 
above  all  the  names  of  dignity  possessed  by  angels 
and  men,  because  of  the  power  imd  authority  which 
are  annexed  to  iU  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  JesuSy 
because  he  shall  save  his  'people  from  their  sins. 
Even  the  name  of  Creator  is  inferior  to  this  name ; 
inasmuch  as  it  was  a  greater  exertion  of  goodness  in 
the  Son  of  Crod  to  save  men  by  his  humiliation  and 
death,  than  to  create  them."  Some  contend  that  the 
name  above  every  name,  which  was  bestowed  on 
Christ  at  his  exaltation,  was  the  name  of  God's  Son. 
'.^  But  seeing,  by  inheriting  that  name,  as  the  apostle 
tells  us,  he  was  originally  better  than  the  angels, 
(Heb.  i.,4,)  lie  must  have  always  possessed  it  by  vir- 
tue of  his  relation  to  the  Father.  Whereas  the  name 
Jestu,  being  the  name  of  an  office  executed  by  the 
Son,  after  he  became  man,  it  implies  a  dignity  not 
natural  to  him,  but  acquired.  And  therefore  having, 
in  the  execution  of  that  office,  done  on  earth  and  in 
heaven  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  salvation  of 
mankind,  the  name  of  Jesus  or  Saviour  which  his 
parents,  by  the  divine  direction,  gave  him  at  his 
birth,  was  confirmed  to  him  in  a  solemn  manner  by 
God,  who,  after  his  ascension,  ordered  angels  and 
men  to  honour  him  from  that  time  forth,  as  Saviour 
and  Lord,  Heb.  i.  6.  Thus  understood,  the  names 
prince,  emperor,  monarch,  government,  po^oer, 
throne,  dominion,  and  every  other  name  of  dignity 
possessed  by  angels  or  men,  is  inferior  to  the  name 
Jesits,  which  God  bestowed  on  his  Son,  on  account 
of  his  having  accomplished  the  salvation  of  the  world 
by  his  humiliation." — Macknight.  That  at  the  name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow — That  all  creatures, 
whether  men,  angels,  or  devils,  should,  either  with 
love  or  trembling,  be  subject  to  him ;  of  things  in 
heaven,  earth,  under  the  earth — That  is,  through 
the  whole  universe.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
first  of  the  expressions  here  used,  tTrspavuav,  rendered 
things  tn  heaven,  signifies  angelical  beings,  over 
whom  Christ  is  made  sovereign,  Eph.  L  10,  21 ;  but 
whether  the  latter  terms,  eKiyeiuv  Kai  Karax^oviQv, 
rendered  things  upon  earth,  and  under  the  earth, 
may  not,  as  Doddridge  observes,  relate  to  the  living 
and  the  dead,  rather  than  to  men  and  devils,  has 
been  queried.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  latter 
term  answers  to  Homer's  vjrcvep^e,  Iliad,  iii.  line  278, 
which  signifies  the  shades  below,  it  seems  probable 
that  by  it  the  s^[>08tle  both  denotes  the  souls  of  those 
who  are  in  the  state  of  the  dead,  over  whom  Christ 
346 


now  much  more  in  my  absence,  work  A.M.4069. 
out  your  own  salvation  with  ^  fear  and         ,'^, 
trembling. 
13  For  'it  is  Qod  which  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  fdeasiHe. 


tCliap.  i.  5. ■  Epk  Tj.  5. «2  Cor.  iii.  5;  Heb.  xiiL  21. 

reigns,  (Rom.  xiv.  9,)  and  also  the  evil  angels  in  Tar- 
tarus, (2  Pet.  iL  4,)  who  shall  be  constrained  to  ac- 
knowledge Jesusas  Lord,  Governor,  and  Judge  of  the 
universe.  And  every  tongue — ^Even  of  his  enemies; 
should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord—'Oi  all 
creatures,  as  well  as  a  Saviour  of  men ;  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father— Who  hath  constituted  him,  in 
the  human  nature,  Governor  and  Judge  of  all. 
Thus  all  the  powers  ^cercised  by  Christ,  and  all  the 
honom-s  paid  to  him,  are  ultimately  referred  to  the 
Father.  In  these  two  last  clauses  there  seems  evi- 
dently to  be  an  allusion  to  Isa.  xlv.  23,  Unto  me 
every  knee  shall  bow,  every  tongue  shaU  swear. 

Verses  12,  13,- ITAerc/bre— Having  spoken  of 
Christ's  astonishing  humiliation  and  exaltation,  by 
which  he  hath  procured  salvation  for  us,  the  apostle 
proceeds  to  exhort  them  to  diligence  in  the  use  of 
the  means  necessary  in  order  to  their  partaking  of 
thatsalvation^  My  beloved,  as  ye  have  always  hi- 
therto obeyed—Both  God,  and  me,  his  minister,  with 
respect  to  all  my  instructions  and  exhortations;  not 
in  my  presence  only — ^When  I  was  at  hand  to  put 
you  in  mind  of  what  God  requires ;  but  now  much 
more  in  my  absence— When  you  have  not  me  to  in- 
struct, assist^  and  direct  you;  which  absence^ as  it  is 
owing  to  my  bonds  in  your  cause,  ought  to  increase 
the  tenderness  of  your  concern  for  my  coipfort 
Workout  your  own  salvaiionr-Whloh,  though  begun, 
is  not  finished,  and  will  not  be  finished  unless  you  be 
workers  together  with  God.  Herein  let  every  man 
mindhis  own  things:  with  fear  and  trembling — ^That 
is>  with  the  utmost  care  and  diligence ;  and  in  the  reve- 
rential fear  of  God,  a  watchful  fear  of  your  enemies, 
and  a  jealous  fear  of  yourselves;  lest  di  promise  being 
left  you  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should 
come  short  of  it,  Heb.  iv.  1.  For— You  have  great 
encouragement  to  do  this ;  since  it  is  God— The  God 
of  power,  love,  and  faithftilness,  who  has  promised 
that  his  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  you ;  yea,  the 
merciful,  forgiving,  and  long-suffering  of  God,  icAo 
is  with  you,  though  I  am  not ;  and  worketh  in  you^ 
By  the  illuminating,  quickening,  drawing,  renewing, 
and  strengthening  influences  of  his  Spirit,  in  and  by 
the  truths,  precepts,  promises,  and  threatenings  of 
his  word,  enforced  often  by  the  pleasing  or  pamibl 
dispensations  of  his  providence;  both  to  will  and 
to  do  of  his  good  pleasure — Not  for  any  merit  ?f 
yours:  or,  of  his  benevolence,  as  virep  evSoKiac  may  be 
properly  rendered.  His  influences,  however,  we 
must  remember,  are  not  to  supersede,  but  to  en- 
courage our  own  efforts,  and  render  Uiem  perse- 
vering and  effectual.  Observe,  reader,  1st,  The 
command.  Work  out  your  own  salvaiion ;  here  is 
our  duty :  Hd,  The  motive  by  which  it  is  enforced ; 
for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you;  here  is  our  en- 

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and  harm2e$8  in  ike  worlds 


A.  114068.     L4  Do  aU  things  ^  without  mur- 

A.  D.  64.  .  ^    J  ,  ji_^ 

miinngB  lind  *  dispoangs : 

15  That  ye  may  be  Ua^less  and  ^haim- 
less,  ^the  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  ^in 
the  midst  of  **  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation, 
amotig  whom  'ye  ^shine  as  lights  in  the 
world; 


y  1  Cor.  X.  10 ;  1  Pet.  ir.  9. «  Rom.  x'lr.  1. •  Or,  »m- 

cirt. »  Matt.  iv.  46 ;  Eph.  t.  1. «» 1  Pet.  ii.  12. •  Dent. 

xxxii.  6. '  Or,  shhu  y«. *  Matt.  r.  14, 16 ;  Eph.  v.  8. 


couragement  Ai^d  O  what  a  glorioos  encourage- 
ment, to  have  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  stretched  out 
for  our  support  and  comfort!  '' According  to  the 
Armioians  and  moderate  Calvinist^  the  word  tvepyn^ 
inwardly  worketh^  does  not  in  thils  passage  signify 
any  irresistible  operation  of  the  Deity  on  the  minds 
of  men,  but  a  moral  influence  only.  For  of  Satan 
it  is  said,  (Eph.  ii.2,)  that  evepyei^he  invardly  vork- 
eth  in  the  children  of  disobedience;  and,  Rom.  vii. 
5,  we  have  the  effecttud  working  of  sinful  passions 
in  our  members;  and  3  Thess.  ii.  H,  evepyeiav^  the 
energy,  or  inward  working,  of  error.  These jMis- 
sages,  they  think,  no  one  understands  of  a  physical, 
but  of  a  moral  working,  which  leaves  men  account- 
able for  their  actions,  and  consequently  free  agents. 
They  likewise  observe,  that  if  God  inwardly  work- 
eth  in  men  by  any  influence  which  is  irresistible, 
and  to  which  no  co-operation  of  theirs  is  necessary, 
there  would  be-  no  occasion  for  exhorting  them  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation,  smce  the  whole  is 
done  by  God  himself."  They  observe  further,  "  that 
notwithstanding  the  operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
have  a  powerful  influence  in  restraining  men  from 
sin,  and  in  exciting  them  to  piety  and  virtue,  no  vio- 
lence is  thereby  done  to  human  liberty.  This  they 
infer  from  what  God  said  concerning  the  antedilu- 
vians, (Gen.^i.  3,)  My  Spirit  shall  not  ahoajs  strive 
with  men;  and  from  the  apostle's  command,  not  to 
quench  nor  grieve  the  Spirit;  for  these  things,  they 
say,  imply  that  the  operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
may  be  resisted,  consequently  that  in  the  aflair  of 
their  salvation  men  are  free  agents,  and  must  them- 
selves cooperate  with  the  Spirit  of  God ;  which, 
they  afllrm,  the  apostle's  exhortation  in  this  passage 
evidently  supposeth."— Macknight. 

Verses  14-16.  Do  all  <Ainy*— Especially  all  good 
oflices  to  each  other,  not  only  without  contention, 
(verse  3,)  but  even  without  murmurings — At  your 
duty,  or  at  one  another ;  and  dispuiings^yfith  each 
other,  or  altercations,  which  are  real,  though  smaller, 
hinderances  of  love.  It  seems  the  apostle  had  in  his 
eye  not  so  much  obedience  in  general,  as  those  par- 
ticular instances  thereof,  recommended  verses  8, 4, 5. 
TVtat  ye  may  be  blameless—^ln  yourselves;  and 
Aarwt/e*5— Toward  others:  the  sons  of  Ood— The 
God  of  love,  acting  up  to  your  high  character ;  witK- 
out  rebuke^kfutfarra,  maintaining  an  unexceptiona- 
ble character ;  in  the  midst  of  a  crooAre^Z— Guileful, 
serpentine;  and  pfrrerte— Froward  or  obstinate 
generation-^xxcYi  as  the  bulk  of  mankind  always 
have  been ;  crooked  by  a  corrupt  nature,  and  yet 


16  Holding  forth  the  word  of  life :  a.  m.  4S68. 

A.  D  64 

that  *I  may  rejoice  in  the  day  of      ,    L 

Christ,  iheX  ^I  have  not  run  in  vain,  neither 
laboHied  in  vain. 

17  Yea»  and  if  *  I  be  ^oflfered  upon  the  sacri- 
fice ^  and  service  of  your  fiuth,  '  I  joy,  and  re- 
joice with  you  alL 


•  2  Cor.  i.  14 ;  1  Thess.  it  19. '  Gal.  ii.  2 ;  1  Thess.  iii.  5. 

ff  2  Tim.  ir  S,-' — ^  Gr.  fvwni  forth.-~-~^  Romsais  xv.  M. 
t2Cor.Tii.4;  Col.  L  24. 


more  perverse  by  custom  and  practice :  among 
whom  ye— Who  know  the  truth  aiid  walk  according 
to  it;  ekine  as  Kghts  in  the  vorU^-Or,  as  lumina" 
riesy  as  the  word  ^^kvp^  signifies,  being  the  name 
given  to  the  sun  and  moon  by  the  LXX.,  Gen.  L  10. 
Doddridge  renders  the  clause,  ^'  Ye  shine  as  elevated 
lights  in  the  dark  world  about  you ;"  thinking,  with 
Mens.  Saurin,  that  &e  expression  is  used  in  allusion 
^'  to  the  buildings  which  we  call  light-houses,  the 
most  iUustrious  of  which  was  raised  in  the  island  of 
Pharos,  where  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  built  that  cele- 
brated tower,  on  which  a  bright  flame  was  always  kept 
bumhig  in  the  night,  that  marmers  might  perfectly 
see  their  way,  and  be  in  no  danger  of  sufiering  ship- 
wreck upon  the  rocks  which  they  were  to  pass  in 
their  entrance  into  the  haven  of  Alexandria.'^  Hold- 
ing forth'-To  all  men,  both  in  word  and  behaviour; 
the  word  of  life—The  doctrine  of  eternal  life  made 
known  to  you  in  the  gospel,  by  which  you  have 
been  directed  to  steer  safely  for  the  blessed  haven 
Of  glory  and  immortality,  and  whereby  they  may 
receive  the  same  benefit  Tliat  I  may  rejoice — As 
if  he  had  said.  This  I  desire  even  on  my  own  ac- 
count, for  it  will  greatly  increase  my  rejoicing  in 
the  day  of  Christ— The  day  of  final  judgment ;  that 
I  have  not  run—Or  travelled  from  place  to  place  in 
the  exercise  of  my  apostolic  office,  declaring  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God ;  in  vain,  neitlier  have 
laboured  in  vain— In  the  work  of  the  ministry,  but 
that  the  great  end  of  it  has  been  answered,  at  least 
in  part,  to  the  glory  of  God,  by  yOur  salvation  and 
usefulness  in  the  world. 

Verses  17,  la  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered  up— Or, 
poured  out^  as  ovevdnfuu  properly  signifies ;  upon  the 
sacrijice  and  service  qf  your  faith— Greeks  ^oia 
KOI  XuTvpyia;  the  former  word  properly  signiiies  a 
sacrifice,  and  the  latter  ihe  performanceof  any  pub- 
lic service,  especially  that  pertaining  to  the  worship 
of  God.  The  apostle  alludes  to  the  Jewish  sacri- 
fices, which  were  prepared  for  the  altar  on  which 
they  were  to  he  offered,  by  the  Levites  and  priests, 
and  on  which,  or  on  the  meat-o£ferings  that  accom^ 
paaied  them,  were  poured  oil  and  wine,  which  was 
the  oKwSn,  or  libation,  Exod.  xxix.  40, 41.  Thus  the 
apostle,  representing  himself  as  a  priest,  and  the 
Philippian  believers,  and  other  converted  heathen, 
as  sacrifices  prepared  and  offered  for  God's  accept- 
ance through  his  ministry,  speaks  of  his  blood  as  a 
libation,  which,  costly  as  it  was,  he  was  willing  to 
pour  out  on  these  sacrifices,  if  this  might  tend,  in  any 
degree,  to  confirm  the  lifeith  of  these  QenUleSi  ests(h 


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Timcihy  and  Epapkrodiiui. 


A.  M.  4063.    18  For  the  same  cause  also  do  ye 

'    —  joy,  and  rejoice  with  me. 

19  'But  I  trust  in  the  L(n^  Jesus  to  send 
^  Timotheus  shortly  unto  you,  that  I^^dso  may 
be  of  good  comfort,  when  I  know  your  state< 
*20  For  I  have  no  man  'like-minded,  ^whp 
will  naturally  care  for  your  state. 

21  For  all  "*  seek  their  own,  not  the  things 
which  are  Jesus  Christ's. 


»  Or,  moreover. ^Rom.  xvi.  21 ;  1  Thess.  iu.  2. » Psa. 

It.  13. *  Or,  so  dear  unto  me. ■  1  Cor.  x.  24,  33 ;  ziii  5 ; 


lish  them  in  the  truth,  and  thereby  render  the  obla- 
tion of  them  more  acceptable  to  God.  I  joy  cmd  to- 
joice  with  \fou  oZ/— Or,  /  rejoice  and  congratulale 
you  all;  that  is,  if  while  I  am  thus,  X€iT8pryi»v,  minis- 
tering as  a  priest,  or  employed  in  preparing  and 
offering  this  living  sacrifice,  my  blood  should  be  the 
libation  poured  out  upon  it,  I  should  rejoice  even  thua 
to  die  in  your  service,  and  for  the  confirmation  of 
your  faith.  The  apostle's  manner  of  speaking  well 
agrees  with  that  kind  of  martyrdom  by  which  he  was 
afterward  offered  up  to  Godc  For  the  same  causedo 
ye  joy  and  rejoice  with.me-^As  I  rejoice  at  the  pros- 
pect of  my  sufferings  for  your  good,  so  do  you  re- 
joice, or  congratulcUe  me  also,  on  account  of  them ; 
for,  while  suffering  the  last  extremities  in  a  cause 
like  this,  I  am  happy,  and  ought  to  be  regarded  as  an 
object  of  congratidation  rather  than  of  condolence. 
Instead,  however,  of  ^r  the  same  cause,  to  6e  avro 
may  be  rendered,  after  the  same  manner  ;  and  then 
the  sense  will  be,  Rejoice  you  as  I  do,  when  ye  suf- 
fer for  the  gospel,  and  partake  with  me  in  the  joy 
arising  from  fidelity  to  Chrbt 

Verses  19-21.  But  I  trust  in  the  Lord,  &c.— 
Though  I  should  not  be  suprised  if  my  work  and 
testimony  as  an  apostle  should  end  in  martyrdom, 
yet  I  do  not  immediately  expect  such  an  event,  but 
trust  that  the  Lord  will  effect  such  a  deliverance  for 
me,  as  that,  not  needing  Timotheus  so  much  here,  I 
may  be  able  to  send  him  shortly  to  you,  that,  what- 
ever my  condition  may  be  here,  /  also,  or  /  yet, 
may  be  of  good  comfort,  may  be  refreshed,  when 
I  know  from  him  yowr  state — That  is,  your  stead- 
fastness in  the  faith,  and  your  love  to  one  another. 
For  I  have  no  man — Namely,  none  now  with  me; 
like-minded — lao^vxov,  alike  disposed,  or  equally 
affectionate,  with  him  in  all  respects;  pairticularly 
in  love  to  you ;  who  will  naturaUy  care  for  your 
state^yf  ii\i  such  genuine  tenderness  and  concern, 
even  as  nature  teacheth  men  to  care  for  their  chil- 
dren as  themselves.  It  appears  from  Acts  xxvii.  1, 
as  Macknight  observes,  that  Aristarchus  and  Luke 
accompanied  the  apostle  to  Rome.  And,  during  his 
confinement  there,  other  faithful  assistants  came  to 
him,  who,  we  have  reason  to  think^  were  equally 
well  disposed  with  Timothy  to  take  care  of  the  Phi- 
lippians'  affiurt.  We  must,  therefore,  suppose  that 
at  the  time  the  apostle  wrote  this,  tiiese  faithful 
teachers  were  not  in  Rome,  having  probably  left 
that  city  for  a  time  on  some  business.    For  all  but 


22  But  ye  know  the  [nroof  of  him,  a  m.  «m8l 
>'thata8asonwkhthe&ther,hehatfa    ^^'^' 
served  with  me  in  the  gospel 

23  Him  therefore  I  hope  to  send  presently,  so 
soon  as  I  shall  see  how  it  will  go  with  me. 

24  But  ""I  trust  in  the  Lord  that  I  also  my* 
self  shall  come  shortly. 

26  Yet  I  Apposed  it  necessary  to  send  to 
you  I*  Epaphroditus,  my  brother,  and  compa- 


2  Tim,  ir.  10, 16. ■  1  Cor.  iv.  17 ;  1  Tim.  L  2 ;  2  Tim.  i.  2. 

oOhap.  L  25;  Philem.  22. PCfai^.  iv.  18. 


Timotheus  seek  their  owh  things;  namely,  their 
ease,  safety,  pleasure,  or  profit  Aaiazing !  m  that 
golden  age  of  the  church,  could  St  Paul  thoroughly 
approve  of  one  only  among  all  the  labourers  that 
were  with  him,  of  which  it  appears,  from  chap.  L  14, 
17,  there  were  many  ?  And  how  many  do  we  think 
can  now  approve  themselves  to  God?  And  not  ike 
things  which  are  Jesus  Chrisfs — Not  having  his  in- 
terest so  afibctionately  at  heart  as  not  to  neglect  it 
in  some  degree  at  least,  out  of  regard  to  their  own 
secular  welflire.  They  who  seek  the  things  of  Jesus 
Christ,  will  sadly  experience  what  the  apostle  here 
says:  they  wiU  find  few  helpers  like- minded  with 
themselves,  willing,  naked,  to  follow  a  naked  master 

Verses  2^-24.  But  ye  know  the  proof  of  him—YovL 
know  what  experience  you  and  I  have  had  of  him, 
who  was  with  me,,  as  well  as  Silas,  in  that  m^nora- 
ble  visit  which  I  first  made  you,  Acts  xvi.  1-12.  You 
then  saw  that  as  a  son  with  the  father — He  uses  an 
elegant  peculiarity  of  phrase,  speaking  partly  as  of 
a  son,  partly  as  of  a  feUow-labourer ;  he  served  with 
me  in  the  ^09pe/— Neglecting  no  occasion  of  doing, 
in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  whatever  might 
lighten  either  my  labours  or  my  sufferings.  Here, 
as  Doddridge  observes,  ^^  we  learn  the  kind  of  inter- 
course which  should  subsist  between  the  younger 
and  more  aged  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  young 
ought  to  listen  to  the  counsels  of  the  aged,  with  the 
respect  which  is  due  from  a  son  to  a  father;  and  the 
aged  ought  to  love  and  patronise  the  3^uhg,  and 
study,  by  their  instrucUon  and  example,  to  qualify 
them  for  supplying  their  places  in  the  church  when 
they  are  gone."  Him  therefore  Jhope  to  send — If, 
as  has  been  supposed  on  verse  20,  Aristarchus, 
Titus,  and  Luke  were  absent  at  this  time  from 
Rome,  Timothy's  presence  with  the  apostle  was  the 
more  necessary.  But  as  he  daily  looked  for  their 
return,  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  send  him  to  Philippi, 
as  soon  as  he  should  know  how  it  would  go  with 
him  with  respect  to  his  imprisonment,  or  what  issue 
his  appeal  to  Cesar  would  have.  But  /trust  in  the 
Lord— ThdX  in  mercy  he  will  deliver  me  j  and  /shall 
shortly  come  to  you  myself-^ThiB  he  seems  to  have 
added,  lest  the  Philippians  might  have  been  too  much 
afflicted  by  what  he  had  said  concerning  his  death, 
verse  17. 

Verses  25-27.  Yet  /  supposed  it  necessary  to  send 
Epaphroditus^BdLCk  Immediately,  who  is  near  and 
dear  to  me  as  a  brother  and  companion  xn  tabour^^ 

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A.  M.  4068.  nion  in  labour,  aud^feUow-soIdaer, 

1^—  'but  yoctr  measienger,  and  'he  tiliat 

ministered  to  my  wants. 

96  *  For  he  ki]^B[ed  after  you  sdl,  and  was  full 
of  heaviness,  because  that  ye  had  heard  that 
he  had  been  sick. 

27  For  indeed  he  was  sick  nigh  unto  death : 
but  God  had  mercy  on  him ;  and  not  on  him 
only,  but  on  me  also,  lest  I  should  have  sor- 
row upon  sorrow. 

*  Philem.  S. '  2  Cor.  ▼iii  23.-^-«2  Cor.  xi.  9 ;  Chap.  It.  18. 

'Chap.  L 3. "* Or,  honour  $ueh, 

A  fellow-labourer  in  the  work  of  the  Lord;  and 
feUouhBoldier—^^  So  he  seems  to  call  him,  to  show 
how  full  of  danger  the  work  of  the  gospel  was 
In  that  age,  to  those  who  executed  it  faithfully;  and 
that  the  sincere  preachers  of  it,  together  with  the 
martyrs  who  sealed  it  with  their  blood,  formed  a 
noble  army  commanded  by  Christ,  which  was  suc- 
cessfully warring  against  idolateis,  and  the  other 
powers  of  darkness  who  were  in  opposition  to  God.^' 
Btayourmessenger^The  Philippians  had  sent  him 
to  F^ul  with  their  liberal  contributions.  For  he 
longed  after  you  oW— Namely,  to  be  with  you  again, 
and  further  useful  to  your  souls ;  and  was  full  of 
keavinessy  because  he  supposed  you  would  be  af- 
flicted at  hearing  that  he  was  sick — As  he  could  not 
but  know  how  t^ectionately  you  love  him.  He  was 
nighunto death — In  all  human  appearance ;  but  God 
had  mercy  on  Mm — Restoring  him  to  health;  and 
on  me — To  whom  his  death  would  have  been  a  great 
affliction;  lest  /should  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow — 
Lest  the  sorrows  of  my  imprisonment  and  my  other 
troubles  should  be  increased  by  the  addition  of  my 
grief  for  bis  deathl  Doubtless  the  apostle  had  pray  ed 
for  his  recovery,  and  probably  it  was  in  answer  to 
his  prayers  that  Epaphroditus  had  been  restored. 
We  see,  however,  in  this  instance,  as  we  may  see  iti 
many  others  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  that 
those  who,  in  the  apostolic  age,  possessed  the  power 
of  working  miracles,  could  not  exercise  it  according 


28  I  sent  him  therefore  the  more  a.m.400S. 
carefiilly,  that,  when  ye  see  him  again,  Z*^'  ^. 
ye  may  rejoice,  and  that  I  may  be  the  less  sor- 
rowful. 

29  Receive  him  therefore  m  the  Lord  with 
all  gladness^  and  ^hold  ^such  in  reputa* 
tion. 

30  Because  for  the  work  of  Christ  he  was 
nigh  unto  death,  not  regarding  his  life,  'to 
supply  your  lack  of  service  toward  me. 


■ICor.  xrilS;  lTheM.T.12;  1  Tim.  r.  17. «  1  Cor. 

xri.  17 ;  Chap.  iv.  10. 

to  their  own  pleasure,  but  according  to  the  direction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost:  otherwise  St.  Paul  would  most 
certainly  have  healed  Epaphroditus,  who,  as  is  insin- 
uated verse  30,  had  fallen  into  this  dangerous  sick- 
ness through  the  fatigue  which  he  underwent  in  as- 
sisting the  apostle.  Miracles  of  healing  were  gener- 
ally wrought  for  convincing  unbelievers. 

Verses  28-30.  I  sent  him  therefore  the  more  care- 
fully— Or,  speedily y  as  annSaiorepoc  here  signifies; 
that  seeing  him  again—In  a  state  of  health,  ye  may 
rc;aicc— May  be  comforted  after  your  trouble ;  and 
that  I  may  be  the  less  sorrowful— Wiitu  I  know  you 
are  rejoicing.  Receive  him  therefore — ^With  affec- 
tion and  gratitude,  being  assured  that  his  long  ab- 
sence was  owing,  not  to  want  of  love  to  you,  but  to 
bad  health ;  and  hold  persons  of  such  a  character, 
whatever  their  station  of  life  may  be,  in  great  esti- 
mation. Because  far  the  work  of  Christ  he  was  nigh 
unto  deatJi—li  appears  from  the  last  clause  of  this 
verse,  that  by  the  work  of  Christ  here,  the  apostle 
partly  meant  his  personal  attendance  on  the  apostle 
in  his  bonds,  and  the  various  services  he  performed 
for  him,  with  his  sundry  journeys  by  land  and  sea 
on  his  account:  but  it  is  probable  that  he  included 
also  his  labours  in  preaching  the  gospel  in  Rome, 
and  in  the  neighbouring  cities  and  villages,  with  his 
carrying  the  apostle's  messages  and  instructions  to 
the  disciples,  his  watching  over  them,  visiting  such 
of  them  as  were  sick,  and  other  similar  offices. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Here  (1,)  The  ofOstU  csutwm  the  Pkilippiant  against  Judaxzing  teachers^  whom  lie  describee^  and  contrasts  toilh  faithful  mi- 
nisters and  Christians,  1-3.  (2,)  He  recites  his  own  former  Jewish prvoHegeSy  and  renounces  them  all  for  Christy  4-8.  (3,) 
Declares  his  earnest  desire  to  be  fownd  in  him  by  the  righteousness  of  faith,  and  to  go  on  toward  perfection^  9-14.  (4,)  Re- 
commends his  own  example  of  holiness  and  heavenly-mindedness  to  the  imitation  of  believers,  in  opposition  to  the  behamour 
of  carnal  prof essors,  15-Sl. 

b  3^ 


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€Lgainti  ike  Jwiaistrkig  teacher  $• 


A.  M,  4068.  "piNALLY,  my  brethren,  •rejdce 

— 1         in  the  Lord.    To  write  the  same 

things  to  you,  to  me  indeed  is  not  grievous,  but 
for  you  it  is  safe. 


«  2Cor.  xiii.  11 ;  Chap.  ir.  4 ;  1  Th^ss.  t.  16.— 
G«l.  T.  15. «  2  CSor.  xi.  13. 


^l8a.lTi.  M); 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 

Verse  1.  Finally — Or  rather,  as  to  hnKw  should 
be  here  rendered,  As  for  what  remains;  or,  what  I 
have  further  in  view  in  writing  this  epistle.  For  the 
expression  cannot  here  signify  ^naZ^y,  as  our  trans- 
lators have  rendered  the  word,  since  the  apostle  is 
only  entering  on  the  main  subject  of  his  letter/ 
Properly,  it  is  a  form  of  transition,  and  is  translated 
besides,  1  Cor.  i.  16.  It  is  as  if  he  had  said,  What- 
ever may  become  of  me,  or  of  yourselves,  so  far  as 
any  worldly  interest  or  prospect  is  concerned,  re- 
joice in  the  Lord  Christ — In  the  knowledge  you  have 
of  him,  and  of  the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel ; 
in  the  faith  you  have  in  him ;  the  union  you  have 
with  him  by  that  faith ;  the  relations  in  which  you 
stand  to  him  as  his  friends,  his  brethren,  his  spouse ; 
in  the  conformity  you  have  to  him  in  heart  and  life, 
and  in  the  expectations  you  hare  from  him  of  feli- 
city and  glory  eternal.  These  are  sufficient  causes 
for  rejoicing,  whatever  circumstances  you  may  be 
in,  and  whatever  your  trials  and  troubles  may  be  in 
this  present  short  and  uncertain  life.  Reader,  hast 
thou  these  reasons  for  rejoicing?  Then  thou  may- 
est  well  bear  without  impatience  or  discontent  the 
light  afflictions  which  are  but  for  a  moment,  2  Cor. 
iv.l7. 

To  write  the  same  ^Mng-*— Which  you  have  heard 
from  me  before,  or  which  I  have  written  to  other 
churches,  and  which  I  have  desired  Epaphroditus  to 
tell  you ;  to  me  indeed  is  not  grievotis — Nothing  was 
accounted  grievous  or  troublesome  by  him  which 
was  for  the  edification  of  the  church ;  but  for  you  it 
is  safe— 'li  will  tend  to  preserve  you  from  the  errors 
and  sins  in  which  you  might  otherwise  be  insnared. 
The  condemnation  of  the  errors  of  the  Judaizera, 
which  tlie  apostle  was  about  to  write  in  this  chapter, 
he  had  already  written  in  his  epistles  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  and  Colosslans.  But  as  they  were  matters  of 
great  Importance,  he  did  not  grudge  to  write  them 
in  this  letter;  because,  if  they  were  only  communi- 
cated to  them  verbally,  by  Epaphroditus,  or  others, 
all  the  PhiUppians  might  not  have  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  hearing  them,  or  they  might  have  misunder- 
stood them.  Whereas,  having  them  in  writing, 
they  could  examine  them  at  their  leisure,  and  have 
recourse  to  them  as  often  as  they  had  occasion.  St 
Paul,  we  may  observe  further,  wrote  most  of  his 
epistles,  partly  at  least,  with  a  view  to  confute  the  er- 
roneous doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Judaizing 
teachers,  who  in  the  first  age  greatly  disturbed  the 
churches  chiefly  by  their  affirming,  that  unless  the 
Gentiles  were  circumcised,  after  the  manner  of  Mo- 
ses, they  could  not  be  saved—^vX  as  these  teachers 
artfully  suited  their  arguments  to  the  circumstances 
and  prejudices  of  the  persons  whom  they  addressed, 
the  controversy  hath  a  new  aspect  in  almost  every 
850 


2  ^Bewareof  dogs,  beware  of  ""evit  a.h.4066 
workecB,  *  beware  of  the  cooriBioiL        ^'  ^'  ^' 

3  For  we   are   •the  oucumcisioii^    'whkA 
worship  Ood  in  the  JSjpirk,  and  ^rejoice  in 


^  Romans  ii  28,- 


>  Peuteronomy  x.  16.- 
f  OaL  Ti.  14. 


r  John  ir.  23,  24. 


epistle.  And  what  the  apostle  advances  in  confuta- 
tion of  their  doctrine,  and  for  expfadnhig  and  estab- 
lishing the  genuine  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  compre- 
hends, a  variety  of  particulars  highly  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  Christians  in  every  age. 

Verse  2.  Beware  of  dogs — Unclean,  unholy,  ra- 
pacious men,  who,  though  they  fawn  and  fatter, 
would  devour  you  as  dogs.  He  probably  gave  them 
this  appellation  also,  because  they  barked  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  against  its  faithful 
teachers,  and  were  ready  to  bite  and  tear  all  who 
opposed  their  errors.  Our  Lord  used  the  word  dogs 
in  the  same  sense,  when  he  commanded  his  apostles 
not  to  give  that  Which  is  holy  to  dogs.  Perhaps,  by 
calling  them  dogs,  the  apostle  might  intend  to  Mg- 
nify  likewise,  tha^  in  the  sight  of  God,  they  were 
now  become  as  abominable,  for  crucifying  Christ, 
and  persecuting  his  apostles,  as  the  idolatrous  hea- 
then were  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jews;  who,  to  express 
their  detestation  of  them,  gave  them  the  name  of 
dogs;  a  title  which  the  apostle  therefore  here  re- 
turns upon  themselves.  Bev.  xxii.  15,  the  wicked 
are  called  dogs :  without  are  dogs.  Beware  of  etnl 
tDorkers^^i  those  Judaizing  teachers,  who,  while 
they  cry  up  the  law,  and  pretend  to  be  strenuous 
advocates  for  good  works,  are,  in  fact,  evil  workers; 
sowing  the  seeds  of  discord,  strife,  contention,  and 
division,  among  the  simple,  humble,  and  formerly 
united  members  of  Chrbt,  and  aeting  in  direct  oppo- 
sition, not  only  to  the  gospel,  the  true  nature  of 
which  they  do  not  understand,  but  even  to  the  most 
important  precepts  and  grand  design  of  the  law 
itself,  for  the  honour  of  which  they  appear  to  be  so 
zealous.  Macknight  renders  the  expression,  evil  la- 
bourers,  in  opposition  to  the  appellation  of  fellow- 
labourers,  with  which  the  apostle  honoured  those 
who  faithfully  assisted  him  in  preaching  the  gospel. 
The  same  false  teachers  he  cslUs  false  apostles,  and 
deceitful  workers,  or  labourers,  2  Cor.  xi.  13 ;  be- 
cause, instead  of  building,  they  undermined  the 
Church  of  Christ,  by  removing  its  foundation;  be- 
ware  of  the  conct^'on— Circumcision  being  now  no 
longer  a  rite  of  entering  into  covenant  with  God,  the 
apostle  will  not  call  those  who  used  it  the  circumci- 
sion; but  coins  a  term  on  purpose,  taken  from  a 
Greek  word  used  by  the  LXX.,  Lev.  xxi.  6,  for  such 
a  cutting  of  the  flesh  as  God  had  forbidden.  Dr. 
Macknight  renders  the  word  the  excision:  an  ap- 
pellation, says  he,  "finely  contrived  to  express  the 
pernicious  influence  of  their  doctrine ;  and  perhaps 
also  to  signify  the  destruction  which  was  coming  on 
them  as  a  nation."  He  adds,  "The  account  given 
of  these  wicked  men,  Rom.  xvL  IS;  Gal.  vi.  12;  Tit 
i.  11,  shows  that  they  deserved  all  the  harsh  names 
given  them  in  this  place." 

Verse  8.  For  we  are  the  drcumcision^The  true 

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in  ^ejieA  than  any  oiher  mdM. 


A.M.«)68.  OhriBt  Jesus,  and  have  no   ccmfi- 


A.D.64. 


dmee  in  the  flesh. 


4  Though  ^  I  might  also  have  confidence  in 
the  flesh.  If  any  other  man  thinketh  that  he 
hath  wherecrf  he  might  trust  in  the  flesh,  I  more : 


^2  Cor.  xi  18,  2L- 


•I  Genesis  xvii.  12.- 
1  Rom.  zi.  1. 


^  2  Cor.  xL  22. 


spiritaal  seed  of  Abraham ;  who  have  the  things  sig- 
nified by  that  sign,  and  perforin  that  which  eir- 
cumci^Q  was  designed  to  engage  men  to.  We  are 
the  only  people  now  in  covenant  with ,  God,  toho 
varsMp  God  in  the  Spirit-^THot  barely  in4he  letter, 
or  by  a  mere  external  service,  in  attending  outward 
ordinances,  but  with  the  spiritual  worship  of  rever- 
ence and  fear,  humility  and  self-abasetnent,  adora- 
tion and  praise,  confidence  and  hope,  gratitude  and 
love,  subjection  and  obedience ;  of  true  repentance, 
living  faith,  and  genuine  hphness;  feeling  within 
ourselves,  and  manifesting  to  others,  those  disposi- 
tions and  actions  which  are  suited  to  the  divine  per- 
fections, and  to  the  relations  in  which  he  is  pleased 
to  stand  to  us;  and  all  this  through  the  influence  of 
his  Spirit,  which  can  only  implant  these  dispositions 
within  us,  and  enable  us  to  conduct  ourselves  accord- 
ingly. See  this  spiritual  worship  further  explained 
in  the  note  on  John  iv.  28,  24;  and  rejoice— Or, 
glory,  rather,  as  Kavx<-»li^oi  signifies ;  in  Christ  Je- 
mu—Aa  the  procuring  cause  of  all  our  blessings, 
and  the  source  of  all  our  consolations ;  and  have  no 
amfidence  in  the  Jlesh— In  any  outward  advantage 
or  prerogative,  or  in  any  performance  of  our  own, 
past,  present,  or  to  come,  for  acceptance  with  God, 
or  justification  before  him. 

Verses  4, 5.  STA^mg-A/— Above  many  others  ;m^fir^ 
have  confidence  in  the  flesh — That  is,.!  have  such  pre- 
tences for  that  confidence  as  many,  even  Jews,  have 
not  He  says  /,  in  the  singular  nu  mber,  because  the 
Philippian  believers,  being  of  Gentile  race,  could  not 
speak  in  that  manner.  If  any  other  man— Gentile 
or  Jew,  private  Christian  or  public  teacher ;  think- 
eth thcUhe  hath  Ashereofhe  might  tmst  in  the  flesh — 
That  he  has  cause  for  so  doing ;  /  mare— I  have 
more  reasop  to  think  so  than  he.  See  2  Cor.  xi.  IB- 
22.  Circumcised  the  eighth  daySot  at  ripe  age, 
as  a  proselyte,  but  born  among  God's  peculiar  peo- 
ple, and  dedicated  to  him  from  my  itdancy,  being 
solemnly  admitted  into  the  visible  church,  according 
to  his  ortoance,  in  the  most  regular  and  pure  way. 
It  is  certain  the  Jews  did  not  only  lay  a  great  deal 
of  stress  on  the  ceremony  of  circumcision,  but  on  the 
time  of  performing  it;  affirming,  that  circumcision 
before  the  eighth  day  was  no  circumcision ;  and  after 
that  time  of  less  value.  Hence  they  thought  it  ne- 
cessary to  circumcise  a  child  on  the  sabbath  day, 
when  that  day  was  the  eighth  from  its  birth,  (though 
sSi  manner  of  work  was  forbidden  on  that  day,) 
rather  than  defer  performing  the  rite  to  a  day  be- 
3rond  that  time,  John  viL  22 ;  and  made  it  a  rule  that 
the  rest  of  the  «abbath  must  give  place  to  circumci- 
sion. And  this  opinion,  as  it  agrees  with  the  text, 
Geo,  xfil  12,  80  it  seems  to  have  obtained  long  be- 
ll 


6  ^  Circumcised  the  eighth  day,  ^  of  a.  m .  4068. 
the  stock  of  Israel,  ^of  the  tribe  of  ^•^••*- 


Brajamin,  ^  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews ;  as 
touching  the  law,  '  a  Pharisee ; 
6  ®  Concerning  zeal,  i^  persecuting  the  church ; 


P2  Corinthians  zi.  22.*-^-i>Aota  zxiiL  &- 
PAcUTiu.3. 


■*  Acts  uiL  3. 


fore  our  Lord's  time;  for  the  Septuagint  and  the 
Samaritan  version  read  Gen.  xvii.  14  thus:  "The 
uncircumcised  mide,  who  is  not  circumcised  the 
eighth  day,  shall  be  cut  off:  he  hath  broken  my 
covenant"  Of  the  stock  of  IsraetSoX  the  son  of 
a  proselyte,  nor  of  the  race  of  the  Ishmaelites  or 
Edomites ;  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin — In  which  Je- 
rusalem and  the  temple  stood,  and  who  kept  close 
to  God  and  his  worship  when  the  ten  tribes  revolted, 
and  fell  off  to  idolatry ;  a  tribe  descended  from  the 
wife  of  the  patriarch  Jacob;  and  on  that  account,  as 
Theodoret  has  observed,  mere  honourable  than  the 
four  tribes  descended  from  Bilhah  and  Zilpah,  the 
handmaids;  a,  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews — Descended, 
by  both  folher  and  mother,  from  Abraham's  race, 
without  ahy  mixture  of  fpreign  blood.  "  The  Jews 
who  lived  among  the  Greeks,  and  who  spake  their 
language,  were  called  Hellenists,  Acts.  vi.  1 ;  ix.  29; 
xi.  20.  Many  of  these  were  descended  from  parents, 
one  of  whom  only  was  a  Jew.  Of  this  sort  was  Tim- 
othy, Acts.  xvi.  1.  But  those  who  were  bom  in 
Judea,  of  parenta  rightly  descended  from  Abraham, 
and  who,  receiving  (heir  education  in  Judea,  spake 
the  language  of  their  forefathers,  and  were  thorough- 
ly instructed  in  the  laws  and  learning  of  the  Jews, 
were  reckoned  more  honourable  than  the  Hellenists ; 
and  to  mark  the  excellence  of  theit  lineage,  educa- 
tion, and  language,  they  were  caUed  Hebrews;  a 
name  the  most  ancient,  and  therefore  the  most  hon- 
ourable, of  all  names  borne  by  Abraham's  descend- 
ants. A  Hebrew,  therefore,  possessing  the  character 
and  qualifications  above  described,  was  a  more  hon- 
ourable appellation  than  an  Israelite,  as  that  name 
marked  no  more  but  one's  being  a  member  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel;  which  a  Jew  might  be, 
though  bom  and  bred  in  a  foreign  country." — Mac- 
knight.  As  touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee— One  of 
that  sect  who  most  accurately  observe  it,  and  main- 
tain many  of  those  great  tmths  of  religion  which  the 
Sadducees  and  some  others  reject. 

Verse  6.  Concerning  zeal— Tot  the  law  and  the 
Jewish  religion,  and  for  all  those  ritual  observances 
which  they  so  eagerly  enforce,  I  myself  was  once 
so  eamest,  that  I  persecuted,  and  that  even  to  im- 
prisonment and  death,  those  who  did  not  observe 
them.  Touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in  the 
law — ^Which  is  described  and  enjoined  by  the  letter 
of  it;  that  is,  with  respect  to  external  observances; 
6iameZc^»—-Quhe  unexceptionable  in  my  conduct; 
so  that  those  who  knew  me  most  intimately,  could 
not  have  accused  me  of  any  wilftil  transgression,  or 
of  neglecting  any  of  those  expiatory  rites  and  sacri- 
fices, which  were  appointed  to.l>e  used  in  case  of  in- 
voluntary errors.  "The  greatest  part  of  the  Jews 
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PHILIPPIANS. 


>r  <4«  JbwZee^e  0/ CAH^. 


▲,M.406S.  4  touching  the  righteousness  which 
^^'^    is  in  the  law,  'hbunidess. 

7  But  '  what  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I 
counted  loss  for  Christ 

8  Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but 
loss  *for  the  exceU^icy  of  the  knowledge  of 


*  Rom.  X.  5. '  Luke  i  6. ■  Matt.  xiii.  44. *  Ita.  liii  11 ; 


firmly  believed  that  the  righteousness  required  in 
the  law  consisted  chiefly  in  oteenring  its  ritual  pre- 
cepts.^ And  therefore,  if  a  person  was  circumcised, 
offered  the  appointed  sacrifices,  observed  the  sab- 
baths, and  other  festivals  enjoined  by  Mose^,  made 
the  necessary  purifications,  in  cases  of  pollution,  paid 
tiUies  of  all  he  possessed,  and  abstained  from  crimes 
ii\jurious  to  society;  or  if  he  committed  any  such, 
was  punished  for  them  according  to  the  law,  he  was, 
as  the  apostle  expresseth  %uiih  respect  to  theright- 
eousness  which  is  by  laWy  unblameable.  Further,  as 
the  ritual  services  enjoined  in  the  law  were  not 
founded  in  the  nature  of  things,  but  in  the  command 
of  God;  and  as,  according  to  the  law,  atonement 
was  made  for  some  transgressions  by  tliese  services, 
they  were,  on  account  of  their  being  done  from  a 
regard  to  the  divine  will,  considered  as  acts  of  piety 
more  acceptable  to  God  than  even  the  performance 
of  moral  duties.  In  the  third  place,  as  these  ritual 
services  were  both  numerous  and  burdensome,  and 
recurred  so  frequently,  that  they  gave  almost  con- 
stant employment  to  the  pious  Israelites,  the  diligent 
and  exact  performance  of  them  was  thought  equiva- 
lent to  a  perfect  righteousness,  and  so  meritorious, 
that  it  entitled  the  performer  to  justification  and 
eternal  life.  All  these  erroneous  opinions  Paul  en- 
tertained while  he  continued  a  Pharisee.  But  he 
relinquished  them  when  he  became  a  Christian,  as 
he  informs  us,  immediately." — Macknight. 

Verse  7.  But  what  things — Of  this  nature ;  were 
once  reputed  gain  to  me — ^Which  I  valued  myself 
upon,  and  confided  in  for  acceptance  with  God,  sup- 
posing them  to  constitute  a  righteousness  sufficient 
to  justify  me  in  his  sight ;  those,  ever  since  I  was 
made  acquainted  with  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and 
embraced  the  gospel,  I  have  accounted  loss^Things 
of  no  value ;  things  which  ought  to  be  readily  fore- 
gone for  Christ,  in  order  that,  placing  all  my  de- 
pendance  on  him  for  justification,  I  migh\  through 
him  be  accepted  of  God,  and  be  saved.  The  word 
C7/tMx,  here  used  by  the  apostle,  and  rendered  loss^ 
properly  signifies  loss  incurred  in  trade :  and  espe- 
cially that  kind  of  loss  which  is  sustained  at  sea  in  a 
storm,  when  goods  are  thrown  overboard  for  the 
sake  of  saving  the  ship  and  the  people  on  board : 
in  which  sense  the  word  b  used  Acts  xxvii.  10, 21. 
To  understand  the  term  thus,  gives  great  force  and 
beauty  to  the  passage.  It  is  as  if  the  apostle  said, 
In  making  the  voyage  of  life,  for  the  purpose  of 
gaming  salvation,  I  proposed  to  purchase  it  with  my 
circumcision,  and  my  care  in  observing  the  ritual 
and  moral  precepts  of  the  law ;  and  I  put  a  great 
value  on  these  things,  on  accouiil  of  the  gain  or  ad- 


Christ  Jesus  my  Lord :  Hmt  whom  I  A.  M.  4oe6. 
haye  suffered  the  loas  of  all  thmgs,    ^^\^' 
and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win 
Christ, 

9  And  be  found  in  hhn,  not  having  "nune 
x)wn  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but 


Jer.ix.23,24;JolmxriL3;lGor.iL2;CaLii.2. "  Bom.  z.  3,9. 


vantage  I  was  to  make  by  them.  But  when  I  became 
a  Christian,  I  willmgly  threw  them  all  oveiboard,  as 
of  no  value  in  purchasinj^  salvation.  And  this  I  did 
for  the  sake  of  geining  salvation  through  faith  in 
Christ  as  my  only  Saviour. 

Verses  &-11.  Yea  doubtless— NqI  only  when  I 
was  first  converted,  but  I  still  account  both  these  and 
all  things  else,  how  valuable  soever,  to  be  but  loss. 
Having  said,  in  the  preceding  verse,  that  he  comited 
his  privileges  as  a  Jew,  and  his  righteousness  by 
the  law,  to  be  loss,  or  things  to  be  Uirown  away,  he 
here  adds,  that  he  viewed  in  the  same  light  all  the 
things  which  men  value  themselves  upon,  and  on 
which  they  build  their  hope  of  salvation :  such  as 
their  natural  and  acquired  talents,  their  knowledge, 
their  moral  virtue,  and  even  their  good  works;  yea, 
and  all  the  riches,  honours,  and  pleasures  of  the 
world;  aU  the  things  in  which  people  seek  their 
happiness.  For  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Oirist  Jesus  my  Lord^ln  ccmiparison  of,  and  in 
order  that  I  may  attain,  the  experimental  and  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  Christ,  as  my  Lord,  as  my  teach- 
ing Prophet,  my  atoning  and  mediating  Priest,  my 
delivering  and  ruling  King,  reigning  in  my  heart  by 
his  grace,  and  governing  my  life  by  his  laws.  For 
the  apostle  evidently  had  a  respect  here  to  all  the 
offices  and  characters  of  Christ,  and  intended  what 
he  says  to  be  understood  of  sanctification  and  prac- 
tical obedience,  as  much  as  of  illumination  and  justi- 
fication. And  he  accounted  all  the  things  he  speaks 
of  as  worthless,  not  only  because  they  were  ineffect- 
ual to  procure  for  him  acceptance  with  God)  but 
because  in  themselves  they  are  of  little  value  in 
comparison  with  the  true  knowledge  of  Chi^t,  and 
of  the  way  of  salvation  through  him;  blessings 
which  the  apostle  so  regarded,  that  he  deq>ised  all 
other  knowledge,  and  every  human  attainment,  as 
things  comparatively  unworthy  of  his  care,  while 
pursuing  his  way  to  eternal  life.  For  whom  J  have 
actually  suffered  the  loss  of  all  <At«^«— "Which  the 
world  esteems,  admires,  loves,  and  delights  in.  It 
seems  probable,  from  this,  that  he  had  been  excom- 
municated by  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  and  spcnled  of 
bis  goods:  a  treatment  which  some  others,  who 
were  not  so  obnoxious  to  the  Jews  as  he  was,  met 
with  after  they  became  Christians,  Hebrews  x.  8S, 
34.  And  I  comU  them  but  dungrSo  far  am  I  from 
repenting,  that  I  exposed  myself  to  the  loss  of  them. 
The  discourse  rises.  Loss  is  sustained  with  patience ; 
but  dung  is  cast  away  with  abhorrence.  The <3reek 
word,  so  rendered,  signifies  any  vile  refuse  of  things^ 
the  dross  of  metals,  the  dregs  of  liquors,  the  excre- 
ments of  animals^  the  most  worthless  scraps  of  laeat, 

b 


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cHAFm  m 


preues  ofimr  Idghmr  aituiammUM. 


A.  M.  400S.  *  thai  which  is  through  the  £uth  of 
^'^^    Christ,  the  righteouBDeas  which  is  of 

Oodbyfrith: 
10  lliat  I  may^  know  hm^  and  the  power  ct 

his  resurrection,  and  ^Uie  ftOowship  of  hie 

iuflforings,  being  made  conformable  unto  his 

death ; 


«Rom.i.l7;  iU.  21, 22 ;  w. 30 ;  x.3,6;  OiJ.ii.16.- — 3rKoni. 
ti.  3-5 ;  Tiii,  17 ;   2  Corinthiant  ir.  10,  11 ;   2  TimoUiy  u. 


the  basest  ofliils,  fit  only  for  dogs  r  in  such  a  light 
did  the  apostle  view  every  thing  that  would  engage 
his  dependence  for  Jostificatien,  or  stand  in  compe- 
tition with  Christ  for  his  aflbdticm.  Thai  I  tnoy  win 
C^rist—Mny  have  him  for  my  Saviour  and  Lord ; 
may  have  an  hiterest  in  all  the  offices  that  he  sns- 
tuns,  and  in  all  he  hath  done  and  snfiered  for  the 
salvation  of  men,  and  may  be  made  partaker  of  the 
benefits  which  he  hath  procured  /or  me.  And  be 
fowid  in  ^tm— Vitally  united  to  him  by  faith  and 
love ;  not  having  mine  ovm  righteousness,  which  is 
of  the  /aio— That  merely- outward  righteousness 
prescribed  by  the  law,  and  performed  in  my  own 
strength ;  but  that  which  is^  through  the  faith  of 
Christ-^Thai  justifying,  sanctifying,  and  practical 
righteousness  which  is  attained  through  believing  in 
Christ,  and  in  the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel 
Bee  on  Rom.  iv.  6-8 ;  Bph.  iv.  22-24 }  1  John  iii.  7. 
The  righteousnesls  which  is,  e«  Ben,  of  ot  from  God 
—Which  is  the  gift  of  his  grace  and  mercy,  and  not 
procured  by  my  merit ;  and  is  from  his  Spirit,  not 
effected  by  my  own  strength,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  faith  alone ;  a  fiEuth,  however,  productive 
of  love,  and  of  all  holiness  and  righteousness.  The 
phrase  In  the  original  here,  r^v  e«  e**  Suatoawiiv, 
the  righteousness  of  or  from  God,  is  used,  says 
Macknight, "  I  think  only  in  this  passage.  It  is  op- 
posed to  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  from  the 
law,  a  phrase  found  in  other  passages,  particularly 
Gal.  iii.  21.  Wherefore,  since  the  righteousness 
from  the  law  is  that  which  is  obtained  according  to 
the  tenor  of  the  law,  the  righteousness  from  God  by 
faith,  is  that  which  comes  from  God's  accounting 
the  believer's  faith  to  him  for  righteousness,  and 
from  his  working  that  faith  in  his  heart  by  the  influ- 
ences of  his  Spirit."  TViat  I  Tnay  know  Aiwi— In 
his  person  and  offices,  in  his  humiliation  and  exalta- 
tion, his  grace  and  glory,  as  my  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness, my  sanctification  and  redemption ;  or,  as 
my  complete  Saviour ;  and  the  power — Awapnv,  the 
efficacy ;  of  his  rewrr^cf ion— Demonstrating  the 
certain  truth  and  infinite  importance  of  every  part 
of  his  doctrine,  the  accopti^leness  6f  the  atonement 
made  by  him  for  sin,  (see  on  Rom.  iv.  25,)  opening 
an  intercourse  between  earth  and  heaven,  and  ob- 
taining for  me  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  raise  me  from  the 
death  of  sin  unto  all  the  life  of  righteousness,  (John 
xvi.  7,)  assuring  me  of  a  future  and  etemid  Judg- 
ment, (Acts  xvlL  31,)  begetting  me  again  to  a  lively 
hope  of  a  heavenly  inheritance,  (I  Peter  i.  8,)  and 
raising  my  aflbctions  from  thnigs  on  earth  to  things 
VoL.iL  (tt) 


11  If  by  any  means  I  might 'attain  a.m.4Qos. 
unto  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.         h,D.u. 

13  Not  as  though  I  had  abeady  *attataed| 
either  were  already  ^perfect :  hut  I  fottow  after, 
if  that  I  may  appr^end  that  for  which  also  I 
am  appreheiuled  of  Christ  Jesos. 

13  Brethren,  I  count  not  mysdf  to  have 


11,  IS;  1  Peter  IT.  13.- 
^Heb.zit.23. 


'ActazzTi.7. >lTimoUij  ri.  IS. 


above.  Col.  ill  1, 2 :  and  the  fellowship  of  his  suffer- 
•»;9--Sympathiang  with  him  in  his  sufferings,  and 
partaking  of  the  benefit^  purchased  for  me  therd>y } 
as  also  being  willing  to  tike  up  my  cross  and  suffer 
with  him,  as  far  as  I  am  called  to  it,  knowing  that  if 
I  suffer  with  him,  I  shall  also  be  glorified  with  him. 
See  the  margin.  Being  made  conformable  to  his 
deathr—Bein%  dead  to  the  world  and  sin,  or  being 
made  willing  to  confirm  the  gospel  by  enduring  the 
tortures  of  crucifixion  as  he  did,  should  it  be  his  will 
I  should  do  so.  tfby  any  means — Having  attained 
an  entire  conformity  to  my  great  Master,  and  done 
and  suffered  the  whole  will  of  God ;  I  might  attain 
unto  the  resurrection  of  the  deod^Unto  that  con- 
summate holiness  and  blessedness,  which  he  will 
bestow  upon  all  his  people  when  the  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first,  and  be  distinguished  with  honour  and 
glory  proportionable  to  the  zeal  and  diligence  which 
Uiey  have  manifested  in  his  service. 

Verse  12.  Not  as  though  J  had  already  attained 
— Ovx  oTi  ffSii  e^afiov,  literally,  not  that  I  have  already 
received,  namely,  the  blessings  which  I  am  in  pur- 
suit of^  even  ^at  complete  knowledge  oi  Christ,  of 
the  power  of  his  resurrection,  the  fellowship  of  his 
sufferings,  and  conformity  to  his  death  just  men- 
tioned; either  were  already  perfect^-Terektioiuti, 
perfected,  completed,  or  had  finished  my  course  of 
duty  and  sufferings.  It  appears  from  verse  19,  that 
there  is  a  difference  between  one  that  Is  rtXeio^,  per- 
fed,  and  one  that  is  perfected;  the  one  is  fitted  for 
the  race,  the  other  has  finished  the  race,  and  Is  ready  to 
receive  the  prize.  But  /follow  after-^AiuKo,  /pursue, 
what  is  still  before  me.  The  apostle  changes  his  al-^ 
lusion  from  a  voyage  to  a  race,  which  he  continues 
through  the  two  next  verses.  Hiat  /  may  appre- 
hend that  perfect  holiness,  Aat  entire  conformity 
to  the  will  of  God,^  which  also  /  am  opprAended 
of  Christ  /e^utf^Appearing  to  me  in  the  way  to 
Damascus,  (Acts  xxvi.  14,)  whose  ^^ndescending 
hand  graciously  laid  hold  on  me  when  I  was  pro- 
ceeding m  my  mad  career  of  persecuting  him  and 
his  followers,  and  in  the  extraordinary  manner  of 
which  you  have  often  heard,  brought  iile  to  engage 
in  running  that  very  different  race  which  I  am  now 
pursuing. 

Verses  13,  14.  Brethren,  /  count  not  myself  to 
have  apprehended — To  have  already  attained  those 
high  degrees  of  holiness,  internal  and  externa],  of 
usefulness  and  conformity  to  my  blessed  Master, 
which  I  have  in  view.  But  this  one  thing  /do—l 
make  this  my  chief  business.  Or  rather,  (which  the 
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fi^Mkiem, 


A.Jif.4068.  appfehended :  but  Ais  one  thing  / 
•  do^  *  forgetting  thoee  things  whidi 

are  behind,  and  'reaching  forth  unto  those 
things  which  are  before^ 

14  *  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
'the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

16  Let  us  therefore,  as.  many  as  be  'perfect, 
^be  thus  minded:  and  if  in  any  thing  ye  be 


«  Psa.  xbr.  10 ;  Luke  ix.  62 ;  2  Cor.  t.  16. ^  1  Cor.  ix.  24, 

9S;  Heb.  vi.  1. «  2  Tim.  17.7, 8. '  Heb.  in.  1. » 1  Cor. 

it  6 ;  xIt.  2a ^  Gal.  t.  la •  Rom.  xh.  16;  xv.  6. 

phraseology  of  the  original  seems  to  require,)  (kU 
one  thing  I  can  say,  though  I  cannot  say  that  I  have 
attaioed  what  I  am  aiming  sX;  forgetting  those  things 
which  are  behind— Even  that  part  of  the  race  of 
Christian  experience,  duty,  and  suffering,  which  is 
already  run ;  and  reacJnng  forth,  Ac. — Greek,  to*? 
de  eftirff0a6ev  tTrcKTeivofuvoc,  stretching  forward  toward 
those  things  which  are  6e/bre— Toward  still  higher 
attiunments  in  grace,  and  the  further  labours  and 
sufferings  which  remain  to  be  accomplished,  pursu- 
ing these  with  the  whole  vigour  of  my  soul ;  I  press 
toward  the  mar/c— Which  God  halh  placed  before 
me,  eyen  a  fiiU  conformity  to  the  image  of  his  Son 
in  my  heart  and  life,  Rom.  ViiL  29 ;  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jew«— The  feli- 
city,  honour,  and  glory,  which  I  am  called  of  God 
in  Qhrist  to  contend  for :  a  noble  prize  indeed !  The 
reader  will  easily  observe,  that  there  is  all  along  in 
this  passage  a  beautiful  allDsion  to  the  foot-races  in 
4he  Grecian  games  y  and  in  this  last  clause,  to  that 
purtieular  circumstance  respecting  the  prize,  that  it 
was  placed  in  a  very  conspicuous  situation,  in  order 
that  the  competitors  might  be  animated  by  having  it 
still  in  their  view.  Add  to  this,  that  the  judges  sat 
on  a  high  seat,  and  frotM  thenoe,  by  a  herald,  sum- 
moned the  eontenders  into  the  stadium,  or  place 
where  they  were  to  contend.  In  allusion  to  which 
elevated  situation  of  the  judges,  Macknight  thinks 
the  apostle  here  terms  God's  calling  him  by  Christ 
to  run  the  Christian  race,  ay»  KkrtaL^,  a  high  calling, 
or  a  eaUing  from  above.  The  phrase,  however, 
seems  rather  to  mean  a  calling  or  invitation  to  very 
high  things,  even  to  dignity  and  happiness,  great  be- 
yond all  that  we  can  now  conceive.  For  to  every 
ftuthful  servant  shall  it  be  granted,  partly  at  death, 
and  more  especially  at  the  day  of  final  judgment,  to 
enter  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord,  Matt.  xxv.  2^;  to  sit 
down  with  him  on  his  throne,  as  he  overcame  and 
is  set  down  with  his  Father  on  his  throne  ;  and  to 
inherit  all  things,  even  all  that  God  has  and  is,  Rev. 
lit  21,  and  xxi.  7.  "  From  the  description  which 
the  i^postle  gives  in  this  passage  of  his  stretching  all 
the  members  of  his  body  wh'de  running  the  Chris- 
tian race,  and  from  his  telling  us  that  he  followed  on 
with  unremitting  strength  and  agility,  till  he  arrived 
-«l  the  prize  which  was  placed  at  the  end  of  the 
course,  we  may  learn  what  eaniestness,  diligence, 
and  constancy,  in  Uie  ei»roises  of  faith  and  holiness, 
ore  necessary  to  our  faithBs  betng  counted  to  us  for 
righteousness  at  the  lut  day.^ 
864 


otherwise  minded,  God  diall  reveal  A.M.406e. 
even  this  unto  you.  ^'^'^ 

16  Neverthel^s,  whereto  we  have  already 
attained,  ^let  us  walk  ^by  the  same  rule,  ^fet 
us  mind  the  same  things 

17  ^Brethren,  ""be  fdlowers  together  of  me, 
and  mark  them  which  walk  so  as  ^  ye  have  us 
for  an  ensamfde. 

^  GaL  Ti.  16. J  Ciiap.  ii  2. — -•  Twenty-third  Sumday  after 

Trinity*  epistle,  verse  17  to  tke  end. ■  1  Cor.  ir.  16 ;  xL 

1 ;  Chap.  Iv.  9 ;  1  Thess-  i.  6. ■  1  Pet  v.  3. 

Verses  15, 16.  Let  us,  ae  many  as  are  perfect — 
As  many  as  are  genuine  believers  in  Ohrist,  thorough 
Christians,  justified  and  regenerated,  new  creatures 
in  Christ,  and  so  fit  for  the  Christian  race  of  duty 
and  suffering;  be  thus  mtncted— Minded  as  I  have 
said  that  I  am,  namely,  inclined  and  determined  to 
press  forward  with  zeal  and  diligence  to  still  higher 
attainments  in  holiness,  usefulness,  and  patient  suf- 
ferings, till  as  Christ  was,  they  are  made  in  this 
world.  Let  us  apply  wholly  to  this  one  thing ;  and 
if  in  any  thing— In  any  of  the  particulars  before 
mentioned ;  ye— Any  of  you  being  yet  weak  in  faith, 
wavering  in  hope,  and  imperfect  in  love,  see  Heb. 
vi.  11, 12;  1  John  iv.  17,  IS ;  be  otherwise  minded-^ 
Contented  witb,  and  resting  in,  past  attainments,  and 
sunk  into  a  remiss  and  indolent  frame  of  mind,  des- 
titute of  zeal  and  Christian  fervency;  (rod— If  you 
be  sincere,  and  truly  desire  it  of  him ;  shall  reveal 
even  this  unto  yoti—ShaU  show  you  your  error  and 
your  sin,  and  excite  you  to  fresh  zeal  and  diligence 
in  your  Christian  calling.  Nevertheless— ^Lei  us  re- 
member this  is  on  the  supposition  that,  whereufito  we 
have  already  attained— Or,  so  far  forth  as  we  have 
already  made  any  progress  toward  perfection,  we 
walk  by  the  same  nUe— By  which  we  have  hitherto 
walked,  and  take  care  not  to  lose  the  ground  we  have 
already  gained,  which,  by  giving  way  to  unbelief^ 
diffidence,  and  distrust  of  God's  love,  power,  and 
faithfulness  engaged  for  us,  or  by  sinking  into  luke- 
warmness  and  sloth,  we  diould  easily  do.  M;acknight 
takes  the  passage  in  rather  another  sense,  namely,  as 
signifying  "  that  such  of  the  Philippians  as  sincerely 
feared  the  Lord,  if  they  happened,  from  ignorance 
or  prejudice,  to  thuik  differently  from  the  apostle 
oonceming  any  important  article  of  iaith,  would 
have  their  error  discovered  to  them,  not  by  a  par- 
ticular revelation,  but  by  the  ordinary  influences  of 
the  Spirit,  agreeably  to  Psa.  xxv.  12,  What  man  is 
he  who  feareih  the  Lord,  him  shall  he  teach  in  the 
way  that  he  shall  chooeeJ" 

Verses  17-19.  Brethren,  be  followers  together— 
Zv/ifuftnTai,  joint  imitators,  of  me — Obedient  to  my 
directions,  and  following  the  pattern  which  God 
enables  me  to  set  before  you ;  and  mar*— Observe 
and  imitate  them ;  who  walk  so  as  ye  have  tw— My- 
self and  the  other  apostles  of  Christ, /or  an  ensamjde. 
For  tnany— Even  teachers,  as  they  profess  them- 
selves to  be,  100^  in  a  very  different  manner;  of 
whom  I  have  told  you  ojten  in  time  past,  and  now 
leil  you  even  weeping— VHiQe  I  write,  ftw  indeed 

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ihaU  hemade  ghrtauM. 


A.  It  4068.  18  (For  many  walk^  <rf  whom  I 
^^^^  have  loU  yoa  often,  and  now  tell 
you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  *  the  eM- 
miesof  theenwof  Chrift: 

19  '  Whose  end  is  destruction,  ^  whose  God 
i$  their  beUy,  and  ^v)hoa&  glory  is  in  their 
shaipe,  'who  mind^Kuthly  things.) 


•Od.i7;  U.21:  tlIS:  Chap.  i.  IS,  16. r20or.  xt.  15; 

S  Peler  iL L 4  Rom.  xrL  18;  1  Timothy  tL  6;  Titus  i  11. 

'Ho«.iT.7;  2Cor.xL13;G«LTi.  13. 


well  may  I  weep  on  so  lamentable  an  occasion ;  that 
they  are  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ — ^UnwU- 
ling  to  snflfbr  any  thing  for  him  and  his  canse^  and 
eoontencting  the  very  end  and  design  of  his  dieath. 
Observe,  reader,  such  arc  cdl  cowardly,  all  shame- 
foced,  all  delicate  Christians.  Whdse  end  is  destruc- 
tion— This  is  placed  in  the  front,  that  what  follows 
may  be  read  with  the  greater  horror ;  w?u>8e  Ood  is 
their  6e%— Whose  supreme  happiness  lies  in  grati- 
fying their  sensual  appetites.  The  apostle  gives  the 
same  character  of  the  Judaizing  teaeheiis,  (Rom. 
xvi.  18 ;  Tit  i.  11,)  and,  therefore,  it  is  probable  that 
he  is  speaking  here  chiefly  of  them  and  of  their  dis- 
ciples. Whose  glory  is  in  their  shame — In  those 
things  which  they  ought  to  be  ashamed  of:  and 
whoever  glories  in  the  commission  of  any  sin,  or  in 
the  omission  of  any  duty  which  lie  owes  to  God,  his 
neighbour,  or  himself;  or  in  the  gratification  of 
those  inclinations  and  dispositions  that  are  contrary 
to  the  love  of  God  and  his  neighbour;  or  in  that 
manner  of  employing  his  money,  his  knowledge,  his 
authority  over  others,  or  his  time,  which  is  contrary 
to  the  will  of  God,  and  manifests  that  he  is  not  a 
foithftil  steward  of  God's  manifold  gifts,  glories  in 
his  shame:  io^  muMi-*Relish,  desire,  seek,  pursue ; 
tarihly  things^TYdngsYiBftAe  and  temporal, in  pre- 
ference to  those  which  are  invisible  and  eternal;  for 
to  be  carnally  minded  is  death,  Rom^  viii.  6. 

Verses  20, 91.  For  our  conversation  is  in  heaven 
— ^We  that  are  true  Christians  are  of  a  very  different 
qpirit,and  act  in  a  quite  different  manner.  The 
original  expression,  ift>A<rcfyia,  rendered  conversation, 
is  a  word  of  a  very  extensive  meaning,  implying  our 
citizenship,  oor  thoughts,  our  affections,  are  already 
in  heaven/  or  wa  think,  speak,  and  act,  converse 


20  For  *  our  ccmversation  is  in  hea-  a.m.400S. 
ven;  ^fifom  whmce  also  we  'hck   ^^'^ 


hr  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 
21  y  Who  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it 
may  be  ftishioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body, 
'  according  to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able 
*  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  hiinsdfl 


•  Rom.  TiiL  6.— « Eph.  ii  6,  IS. ■  Acts  i.  11. ■  1  Cor. 

i.  7j  1  Th«».  i.  10. y  1  Cor.  xt.  43,  48,  49. »Eph.  i.  IS. 

»lCor.3[V.26,27. 


with  our  fellow-creatures,  and  conduct  ourselves  in 
all  our  intercourse  with  them,  ps  citizens  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  and  as  being  only  strangers  and  pilgrims 
upon  earth.  We  therefore  endeavour  to  promote 
the  interests  of  that  glorious  society  to  which  we 
belong,  to  learn  its  manners,  secure  a  title  to  its  pri- 
vileges, and  behave  in  a  way  suitable  to,  and  worthy 
of  our  relation  to  it ;  from  whence  also  we  look  for 
the  Saviour — To  come  and  carry  us  thither  accordr 
ing  to  his  promise,  (John  xiv.  8,)  namely,  our  spirits, 
at  the  dissolution  of  this  earthly  tabernacle ;  yea,  and 
afterward  to  transform  our  vile  body,  to  aufia  -nj^ 
rancivQtntic,  the  body  of  otcr  humiliation ;  which,  in 
conseqttence  of  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  sinks  us 
so  low,  is  subject  to,  and  encompassed  with,  so  many 
iafirmities,  is  such  a  clog  to  our  souls,  and  so  greatly 
hinders  our  progress  in  the  work  of  faith  and  labour 
of  love:  this  body  wc  expect  he  will  transform  into 
the  most  perfect  state  and  the  most  beauteous  form, 
when  it  will  be  purer  than  the  unspotted  firmament, 
brighter  than  the  lustre  of  the  stars,  arid,  which  ex- 
ceeds all  parallel,  which  comprehends  all  pcrfcctiDu, 
like  unto  his  glorious  body — Of  which  an  image  was 
given  in  his  transfiguration,  yea,  like  that  wonder- 
fully glorious  body  which  he  wears  in  his  heavenly 
kingdom,  and  on  his  triumphant  throne.  So  that 
here,  as  Rom.  viii.  23,  the  redemption  of  the  body 
from  corruption,  by  a  glorious  resurrection,  is  repre- 
sented as  the  especial  privilege  Of  the  righteous. 
According  to  that  mighty  workin g-^Thtii  energy  of 
power ;  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
kimself^To  show  himself  to  the  whole  intelligent 
creation  of  God  completely  victorious  over  all  his 
enemies,  even  over  death  and  the  grave,  the  last  of 
them. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Ben  (I,)  tkesfsstlSfWiAgresi  afecticm,  sAsrts  the  Pkilippisns  to stMi/oMtmss  innligMm;  to  unamnUty  aa%damcordi  to 
kofyjoyt  moiersiion  ;  to  freedom  from  aimouo  cart ;  eoamtst  ffotytr^  smd  tmioeroal  righteousnoMOf  1-S.  (S,)  He  deelmreo 
Ae  greotooiiofmctioiiketookiiitkesuppiytheykoi  nnt  him^  end  his  perfect  eontaUment  vM  his  lot,  vihaieoer  ii  w^, 
10-18.  (3,)  Hi  frmsss  Ood  for  the  Hisrd  MuppHm  of  oU  their  wemis,  emi  sabUes  and  proys  for  »  hUssing  on  tksm, 
19-4tt. 

K  9» 


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PfHtlPPfANS. 


Warf^y  ear%  U^be  a9<riML 


A.  M.  4068.  rpHEREFORE,  my  bretlHen  dear- 
^^'^'  ^  ly  beloved  and  "loJ^ed  for,  ^'my 
joy  and  crown,  so  ^  stand.  taA  in  Uie  Lord,  mff 
dearly  beWed. 

2  I  beseech  Euodias,  and  beseech  Syntyche; 
^  that  they  be  of  the  same  mind  in  the  Lord. 

3  And  I  entreat  thee  also,  true  yoke-Mlow, 
help  those  women  which  *  laboured  with  me 


«Chap.  i.  &.- »»j8  CJor.  i.  14 ;  Chap.  ii.  16 ;  1  ThcM.  ii.  19, 

ax— e  Chap.  i.  27. ^  Chm.  u.~  2 ;  lii.  16. •  Rom.  xvi.  3 ; 

Chtp.  L  27. 'Exoii  xxzii.  36  \  Psa.  Ixiz.  28 ;  Dan.  xiL  I ; 

Luke  X.  20 ;  Rev.  iii.  ^;  xiii.  8 ;  7ai,l2y  xxL  27. *  Foarth 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verses  1,  2.  Therefore^  my  brethren—'The  ex- 
hortation contained  in  this  verse  appears  to  be  closely 
connected  with  the  latter  part  of  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, from  which  certainly  it  ouglit  not  to  have  been 
separated.  It  is  as  if  the  apostle  had  said,  Since  such 
a  glorious  change  awaits  all  those  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the  truths  and 
promises  of  his  gospel,  are  citizens  of  heaveo,  and 
have  their  thoughts  and  affections  placed  there,  let 
rae  exhort  you  to  be  steadfast  in  your  adherence  to 
that  religion  which  is  the  foundation  of  all  your 
glorious  nopes.  Dearly  beloved  and  longed  for-- 
Whose  welfare  and  happiness  I  earnestly  desire  ;^ 
fny  joy  and  crown— Whose  faith  and  piety  give  me 
now  great  joy,  and  I  trust  will  be  to  the  honour  of  my 
ministry  in  the  expected  day  of  final  accounts,  mani- 
festing that  I  have  not  laboured  in  vain  ;  so  stand 
fast  inthe  Lord-^ln  your  faith  in  Christ,  and  in  your 
expectation  of  eternal  life  from  him,  as  you  have 
hitherto  done,  and  as  it  becomes  those  to  do  who  are 
so  nearly  related  and  so  dear  to  him.  /  beseech 
EuodiaSy  &c.— Macknlght,  following  the  order  of 
the  words  in  the  original,  reads,  Euodia  I  beseech^ 
and  Syntyche  /beseech;  he  repeats  the  word  be- 
seech twice,  as  if  speakmg  tOreach  face  to  face,  and 
that  with  the  utmost  tenderness;  that  they  be  of  the 
same  mind  in  the  Iiorii— That  whatever  cause  of 
difference  may  have  arisen  between  them,  they 
would  lay  aside  their  dilutes  for  the  credit  of 
the  gospel,  which  they  both  profess  to  believe.  The 
apostle's  expression,  to  ovto  ^poveiv,  may  be  rendered 
to  mifid,  or  care  for,  the  same  thing;  that  is,  as 
Whitby  understands  the  apostle,  to  promote  the 
success  of  the  gospel  as  with  one  soul.  For  he 
thinks  the  apostle  could  not  mean  to  exhort  them  to 
be  of  one  judgment,  because  "  no  man  can  become 
of  the  same  judgment  with  another  by  entreaty,  but 
only  by  conviction." 

Verse  3.  /  entreat  thee  also,  true  yokefellow — St. 
Paul  had  many  fellow-labourers,  not  many  yoke- 
fellows. In  thb  number  was  Barnabas  first,  and 
then  Silas,  whom  he  probably  addresses  here ;  for 
Silas  had  been  his  yoke-fellow  at  the  very  place, 
Acts  xvi.  19.  Help  those  women  who  laboured  to- 
gether with  me — Greek,  lywTj^kTjcm*  fiot,  literally,  wJio 
wrestled,  or  contended  together,  with  me— The 
word  does  not  imply  preaching,  or  any  thing  of  that 
kind,' but  opposition,  danger,  and  toil,  endured  for  the 


ia  the  gospel,  wilb  Clemeat  aboi  and  A.it4ML 
u^AotlmB^leqow-laboiflret9,whow  ^^'^, 
names  stre  m  ^the  faook  of  life. 

4  'i^Bejoicein  thelioidalwair^  amd agml 
day)  B/qoke*  ^ 

6  Let  your  modmnfen  be  knowH  ^nHo  al 
men.    ^  The  Lord  4s  at  bandL 

6  ^  Be  careful  for  nothing ;  but  in  every  thhtgf 


Stmdm  in  Advent,  epistle,  rerse  4  to  Terse  t, 1  Kon.  xii. 

12;  ChKp.  lii.  1;  I  Theas.  r.  16;  1  Pet.  it.  13. ^Heb.  x. 

25 ;  Jamee  ▼.  8,  9;  1  Pet.  ir;  7 ;  S  Pet.  iii.  S,9 ;  STheee.  u. 8. 
iP8a.lr.22;ProT.xTL3;IUtLTL25;L|ik«zii22;lPei.T.7. 

sake  of  the  gospel.  With  Clement  also^Y^ha  ea- 
dured  the  same  things  along  with  them;  and  wUh 
other  my  fellow-labourers — ^Here  the  word  is  owc/>- 
yi^v,felloiw-workers,  which  niay  imply  feUow-preachr 
era;  whose  names  areinthebookoflife — (Although 
not  set  down  here,)  as  are  those  of  tdl  true  believers. 
See  the  margin.  The  apostle  alludes  to  the  case  of 
the  wrestlers  in  the  Olympic  games,  whose  names 
were  all  enrolled  in  a  book.  Reader,  is  thy  aame  in 
the  book  of  life?  Hast  thou  pfissed  from  deaA  to 
life  in  consequence  of  being  piordoned  and  accepted 
through  faith  m  Christ?  Then  walk  chrcumspectly, 
lest  thou  go  b^  from  life  to  death,  and  die  Lord 
blot  thee  out  of  his  book.  It  may  not  be  improper  to 
observe  here,  that  according  to  son^  ancient  Chris- 
tian writers,  the  Clement  menticmed  in  this  verse  k 
the  person  of  the  same  name  who  aAerward  became 
bishop  of  the  church  at  Rome,  and  who^to  compose 
some  dissensions  which  had  arisen  in  the  chur^  at 
Corinth,  about  their  spiritu^  guides,  wrote  an  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  which  is  still  extant*^ 

Verses  4-7.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  «iiMi9*-For,<at 
believers  m  Christ,  as  children  and  heirs  of  Clod,  and 
joint  heirs  with  Christ  of  the  heavenly,  incomiptUile. 
inheritance,  and  as  persons  assured  that  all  things, 
even  those  that  are  the  most  distressing  in  appear- 
ance, shall  work  together  for  your  good,  you  hdve 
sufficient  reason  for  rejoicing  always.  <And  again 
I  say,  Rejoice— The  apostle  repeats  the  exhortation, 
because  the  honour  of  Christ,  and  the  oonfort  of 
his  followers,  greatly  depend  on  its  being  taken. 
Let  your  moderaium--Boxh  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
vtf  ious  enjoyments  of  lifej  and  in  the  sense  yon 
have  of  the  injuries  and  indignities  you  may  meet 
with :  or  your  gentleness  and  sweetness  of  temper, 
as  eiruiKcc  vfutv  may  here  be  rendered,  the  result  of 
your  joy  in  the  Lord.  Moderation,  says  Macknight, 
^'  means  meekness  imder  provocation,  readiness  to 
forgive  injuries,  equity  in  the  management  of  busi- 
ness, candour  in  judging  of  the  character  and  actions 
of  others,  sweetness  of  disposition,  and  the  entire 
government  of  the  passions.  Tit  iii.  2;  Jam.  iii.  17." 
Be  known  unto  aU  men— Good  and  bad,  gentle  find 
fro  ward ;  be  made  manifest  in  your  whole  behaviour. 
Tnose  of  the  roughest  tempers  are  good-natured  to 
some,  (from  natural  sympathy,  and  various  motives,) 
a  Christian  to  all.  The  Iiord— The  Judge,  the  Re- 
warder,  the  Revenger ;  is  at  hanA—Standethaiihs 
door^  James  v.  0 :  he  will  quickly  come  to  close  the 

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Chapter  iv. 


firveia  prayer  to  God. 


1-11.406^  by   {Nrayer    and    supjrfication   with 
thanksgiving  let   your  requests   be 


made  known  unto  God. 

7  And  ^the  peaceof  Ood,  whidi  passeth  all 
understanding,  shall  keqp  your  hearts  and 
minds  through  Ciirist  Jesus. 

8  UnaOy,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are 
true,  whatsoever  things  are  ^honest,  whatso- 
ever things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are 

^Jokn  zhr.  S7;  Rom.  t.  I ;  CoL  iii.  15. ^Or,  vmtratiM, 

>  1  TheM.  t.  22. ■  Chap.  iii.  17. ■  Rom.  xr. 33;  zri.  20; 

scene,  and  put  an  end  to  all  your  temporal  enjoy- 
ments, and  all  that  you  can  sufler  from  yotir  ene- 
mies. Be  careful  for  noihing—'Witk  a  distrusting, 
distracting  care:  if  men  are  not  gentle  toward  you, 
j6t  neither  oq  this,  nor  on  any  other  account,  be 
anxiously  careful,  but  apply  to  God  In  prayer,  com- 
mitting the  matter,  which  might  o^erwise  be  the 
tause  or  subject  of  your  anxiety,  to  his  disposal 
And  in  every  fAin^^— Great  and  small ;  let  your  re- 
quests be  made  kwnon  unto  God— Th^y  who,  by  a 
preposterous  shame^  or  distrustful  modesty,  cover, 
stifle,  or  keep  in  tfieir  desires,  as  if  they  were  either 
too  small  or  too  great  to  be  spread  before  God,  must 
be  racked  with  care,  from  which  Uiey  ase  entirely 
delivered  who  pour  them  out  with  a  free  and  filial 
confidence.  By  prayer  and  supplication — Some  by 
the  former  word,  irpoffevxny  understand  petition  for 
mercies,  and  by  the  latter,  ieifatCy  deprecation  of 
itidgment ;  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  by  the 
utter,  properly  enough  rendered  supplication,  the 
apostle  meant  nothing  more  than  enlarging  upon 
and  urging  our  petitions;  with  thanksgiving— For 
Ueasings  already  received,  and  for  the  general  or 
particular  goodness,  forbearance,  and  long-suffering 
of  God  toward  us.  Por  thanksgiving  there  is  al- 
ways room  and  always  occasion,  even  in  circum- 
stances of  the  greatest  affliction  and  distress,  our 
chastisements  being  always  less  severe  than  we  de- 
serve, and  being  salutary  in  their  nature  and  tenden- 
cy, and  in  all  our  trials  supporting  grace  being 
invariably  given,  and  God  being  engaged  by  promise 
to  make  them  aU  work  for  our  good.  \  The  apostle's 
exhortation  doubtless  "implies,  not  only  that  the 
afllicted  have  many  mercies  for  which  they  ought 
to  give  God  thanks,  but  that  they  ought  to  be  thank- 
M  for  their  very  afflictions,  because  they  are  the 
means  by  which  the  Father  of  Uieir  spirite  makes 
thens  partakers  of  his  holiness,  in  order  to  fit  them 
for  living  with  himself  in  heaven  for  ever."  Thanks- 
giving, joined  wifli  prayer,  is  a  sure  mark  of  a  soul 
firee  from  anxiety,  and  possessed  of  true  resignation. 
And  the  peace  of  (Foci— Not  only  peaee  with  God, 
and  peace  of  conscience,  arising  from  the  remission 
of  past  sin,  and  a  eon^ionsness  of  present  power 
over  sin;  hni  the pecu^e  of  God,  that  calm,  heaven- 
ly repose,  that  tranquillity  of  Spirit,  which  God  only 
can  give ;  vhich  passeth  aU  understanding— Whidi 
none  can  properly  comprehend  or  appreciate,  but 
those  that  recehre  it;  shaU  keejh-^pttf^ei,  shaU 
b 


pure,  whatsoever  things  ore  lovdy,  A.  ic.  406a 
1  whatsoever  things  ore  of  good  report;    ^^'^' 
if  (here  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise, 
think  on  these  things. 

9  •  Those  things  which  ye  have  both  learn- 
ed, and  received,  and  heaid,  and  seen  in  me, 
do:  and  ■the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with  you. 

10  But  I  rejoiced  in  the  Lord  gieady,  that 
now  at  the  last  •your  care  of  me  *hath  flou- 


l  Cor.  sir.  33;  S  Oor.  xiii.  11 ;  I  Thett.  t.  23;  Heh.  zia  9a 
»2  Cor.  xL  9. •  Ot,u  retfivetL 


guard,  as  in  a  citadel  or  place  of  defence;  your 
hearts— Yovx  will  and  affections ;  oitd  minds— Yo^t 
understandings,  imaginations,  Intentions,  determi- 
nations, and  all  the  various  workings  of  them  in  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God^;  through  Christ  Jesus 
—Through  his  truth  and  grace,  through  his  merits 
and  Spirit,  through  his  dwelling  in  your  hearts  by 
faith. 

Verses  8, 9.  JFVnaZ/y^— To  Xoivov,  as  for  vhat  re- 
mains for  me  to  say,  it  may  be  despatched  in  a  few 
words.  The  apostle,  says  Macknight,  "  being  anx- 
ious to  make  the  Philippians  virtuous,  mentions,  in 
this  exhortation,  all  the  different  foundations  on 
which  virtue  had  been  placed,  to  show  that  it  does 
not  rest  on  any  of  these  singly,  but  on  them  all 
jointly ;  and  that  its  amiahleness  and  obligation  re- 
sult from**  v>hatsoever  things  are  true — Conform- 
able to  truth ;  honest— ^tftva,  grave,  or  venerable  ; 
^/—Equitable  and  righteous ;  pure— Chaste  and 
holy;  lovely — Upwr^tXti^  amiable,  or,  as  the  word 
maybe  rendered,  friendly  and  kind ;  of  good  repo>i 
—Ev^fia,  of  good  fame,  or  reputable ;  if  there  be 
any  virtue — Any  real  worth,  or  beneficial  tendency, 
in  any  quality  or  action :  in  this  place  alone  does 
9t  Paul  use  the  word  aptnf,  rendered  virtue:  if 
there  be  any  praise— Justly  resulting  from  any 
thing.  Bengelius  gives  a  somewhat  difl'erent  view 
of  the  contents  of  this  verse,  thus:  '^  Here  are  eight 
particulars  placed  in  two  four-fold  rows;  the  former 
containing  their  duty,  the  latter  the  commendation 
of  it.  The  first  word  in  the  former  row  answers 
the  first  in  the  hitter ;  the  second  word  the  second ; 
and  so  on :  true — In  speech ;  honest— 4n  actions ; 
jttst— With  regard  too&ers;  ptirc^With  regard  to 
yourselves;  lovely— And  what  more  lovely  than 
truth?  ofgodd  repori—^As  is  honesty,  even  when  it 
is  not  practised.  If  there  be<iny  virtue— And  all 
virtues  are  contained  in  justice ;  if  there  be  any 
praise — In  those  things  which  relate  rather  to  our- 
selves than  to  our  neighbour ;  think  on  these  things 
— That  ye  may  both  practise  them  yourselves,  and 
recommend  them  to  others."  Those  things  iehieh 
ye  have  learned — As  catechumens ;  aiid  received — 
By  continuaHnstructions;  and  heard  and  men — In 
my  Fife  and  conversation ;  these  do,  and  Ute  God  of 
peace  shaU  be  viih  you— ^oi  only  the  peace  of  God, 
but  God  himsdf,  the  fountain  of  peace. 

Verse  10.  /  refoieed  in  the  Lord  greatly— yfho 
direets  aU  events.    8t  Paul  was  no  sUHe ;  he  had 
W7 


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Pauly  in  whatever  elate  he  v>asy 


PHIUPPIArak 


had  learned  (herein  to  be  content 


A.  M.  4068.  rished  again ;  wherein  ye  were  also 
^^'  ^'    careful,  but  ye  lacked  opportunity. 

11  Not  that  I  speak  in  respect  of  want :  for 
I  have  learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am, 
^  therewith  to  be  content. 

12  <»  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I 
know  how  to  abound :  everywhere  and  in  all 
things  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  fiill  and 
to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer 
need. 

13  I  can  do  alT  things  'tlirough  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me. 


P  1  Tim.  ri.  6,  8. 91  Cor.  iv.  11 ;  2  Cor.  n.  10;  xi.  27. 

'  John,  XV.  5 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  0. 


Strong  passions,  but  all  devoted  to  God  ;  that  noWj  at 
the  last—By  your  present,  which  I  have  received 
from  Epaphroditus;  your  care  of  me  Jioje  flourished 
igain — "  Here,  as  in  many  other  passages  of  his 
writings,  the  apostle  shows  the  deep  sense  which  he 
had  of  Christ's  governing  theaf&irs  of  the  wOrld  for 
the  good  of  his  servants :  for  this  new  instance  of 
the  Philippians'  care  of  his  welfare,  he  ascribes  ex- 
pressly to  the  providence  of  ChrisL  And-  in  the 
figurative  expression,  ^veOa^ert  to  vKsp  efut  ^povetv^ 
which  id,  literally,  ye  have  flourished  again  to  thinky 
or  care,  concerning  me,  he  likens  the  Philippians' 
care  of  him  to  a  plant,  which  withers  and  dies  in 
winter,  but  grows  again  in  the  following  yefur;  or  to 
trees,  which,  after  their  leaves  drop  in  autumn,  put 
them  forth  again  next  spring.  Lest,  however,  the 
Philippians  might  think  this  expression  insinuated  a 
complaint,  that  they  had  been  negligent  latterly,  the 
apostle  immediately  adds,  that  they  had  always  been 
careful  to  supply  his  wants,  ^but  had  not)iad  an  op- 
portunity till  now."  Either  they  were  in  straitened 
circumstances  themselves,  or  wanted  a  proper  mes- 
senger by  whom  io  send  their  bounty. 

Verses  11-14.  Not  that  f  speak  inrespect  of  want 
— As  if  he  ha^  said,  I  do  not  speak  thus  feelingly  of 
the  renewal  of  your  care  because  I  was  unhappy  in 
poverty ;  for  I  have  leamed-'Trom  God,  he  only 
can  teach  this;  in  whatever  state  lam — In  what- 
ever circumstances  God  is  pleased  to  place  me, 
whether  in  plenty  or  want,  in  honour  or  reproach, 
in  health  or  sickness,  ease  or  pain ;  (herewith  to  be 
conient—JojMly  and  thankfuUy  patient.  Nothmg 
less  is  Christian  contentment.  We  may  observe  a 
beautiful  gradation  in  the  expressions,  I  have  learn- 
ed; I  know  J  I  am  instructed ;  lean,  J  know  how 
to  be  a6a«e<2— When  it  pleases  God  to  humble  me, 
by  depriving  me  of  what  seems  needful  for  my 
b6dy ;  and  to  abound — Having  wherewith  to  relieve 
others  also.  Presently  after,  the  order  of  words  is 
inverted,  to  intimate  his  frequent  transition  from 
scarcity  to  plenty,  and  from  plenty  to  scarcity,  / 
am  instrtuUedr^MefiVff/iat^  litCHrally,  /  am  initiated. 
fifut  as  the  initiated  in  the  heathen  mysteries  were 
believed  to  be  instructed  in  the  most  excellent  and 
useful  knowledge,  the  word  signifies  to  be  complete- 


14   Notwithstanding,  ye  have  well  A.Bf.406S. 

^^  AD  64. 

done  that  'ye  did  communicate  with — - 

my  affliction. 

16  Now  ye  PhilipiHanS|  know  aleo^  that  ia 
the  beginning  of  the  ^goBpeH^  .when  I  departed 
from  Macedonia,  *no  church  communicated 
with  me  as  concerning  giving  and  receiving, 
but  ye  only. 

16  For  even  in  Thessalonica  ye  sent  once 
and  again  unto  my  necessity. 

17  Not  because  I  desire  a  gift:  but  I  desire 
*  fruit  that  Qiay  abound  to  your  account. 


•Chap. 


L  7. ^2  Corinthians  xi.  8,  9,- 

Tit  iii.  14. 


-■Romans  xr. 


ly  instructed  in  any  science  or  art.  The  apostle 
seems  to  have  used  it  on  this  occasion  to  intimate, 
that  his  bearing  both  adversity  and  prosperity  pro- 
perly was  a  sacred  mystery,  in  which  he  had  been 
initiated  by  Christ,  and  which  was  unknown  to  the 
men  of  this  world ;  both  to  befiill  and  to  be  hungry, 
&c.— To  avoid  the  temptations,  and  perfonn  the  du« 
ties,  both  of  a  plentiAil  and  scanty  condition,  and  to 
be  contented  in  either.  /  can  do  all  things— Wb\clB^ 
God  has  made  it  my  duty  to  do:  I  can  even  fulfil 
all  the  will  of  God ;  through  Christ  which  strengtJtr 
eneth  wi^— Who  confers  on  me  the  ability  of  mind 
and  body  which  I  have  not  by  nature.  "This  is  not 
arrogant  boasting.  For  the  apostle  glories  not  in 
his  own  strength,  but  in  the  strength  of  another. 
The  fathers,  as  Whitby  informs  us,  observed  three 
things  oh  this  passage:  lst,>That  the  virtue  of  con- 
tentment requires  much  exercise,  learning,  and  me- 
ditation. 2d,  That  ft  is  as  difficult  to  learh  how  to 
be  full  as  to  be  hungry ;  abundailce  having  de- 
stroyed more  men  than  penury,  and  exposed  them 
to  more  pernicious  lusts.  3d,. That  our  proficiency 
in  this)  or  in  any  other  virtue,  is  to  be  nsctibed,  not 
to  ourselves,  but  to  the  divine  assistance."— Mack- 
night.  Notwithstanding^  &c. — Though  I  was  not 
dejected  by  my  wants ;  yet  you  have  well  done  that 
you  did  communicate  with  my  affliction — Had  a  fel- 
low-feeling of  my  sufieringa,  and  helped  me  to  bear 
the  burden  of  them,  by  so  liberally  contributing  tp 
my  necessities.  Here  the  apostle  teaches  us,  that 
the  servants  of  Christ  are  not  to  be  neglected  in  their 
evictions,  because  they  have  learned  to  bear  them 
patiently* 

Verses  lfi-19.  Ye  know  that  in  the  beginning  of 
the  £*0Jpe^— When  it  was  first  preached  at  Philippi; 
no  dhurchSa  Christian  society,  as  such ;  communi- 
cated with  me— In  the  matter  pf  giving  me  money, 
and  of  my  receiving  mone,y  from  them ;  but  ye  only 
— I  received  money  from  no  church  but  yours.  A^ 
because  I  desire  a  gift,  Ac.— I  would  not  have  you 
^nk  that  I  commend  ypur  liberality  merely  out  of 
respect  to  myself;  but  /  desire  fruit,  &c— I  do  it 
chiefly  out  of  respect  to  you;  that  you  may  do  that 
which  may  turn  to  your  everlasting  advantage.  But 
{have  allrSo  also  the  Vulgate  reads  the  clause | 

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CHAPTER  IV. 


CkrisUan  sahOalum  to  the  brMren. 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.  64. 


18  But  'I  have  all,  and  aboand :  I 
am  full,  having  received  '  of  Epaph- 
roditus  the  things  which  were  sent  from  you, 
^an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell,  *  a  sacrifice  accepta- 
Me,  well-pleasiilg  to  God. 
19  But  my  God  ^shall  mpply  all  your  need 
^according  to  his  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus, 
ao  •  Now  unto  God  and  our  Father  &e  glory 
for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


*  Or,  I  hmft  rtuhtd  att,- 
«2  Cor.  12.13. — 


— '  Ohap.  ii.  25. f  Heb.  ziil  16. 

*  Pm.  xxiu.  1 ;  S  Cor.  ix.  & 


but  the  original  expression,  airexo  vavroy  according 
to  Estius,  may  be  translated,  /  have  from  you  aU 
Mngk;  that  is,  my  wants  are  amply  supplied  by 
you;  and  labound^l  have  more  than  sufficient  for 
my  present  state ;  having  received  of  Epaphroditus 
the  things  sent  from  you— Besides  money,  the  Fhir 
lippians  may  have  sent  to  the  apostle  clothes  and 
other  necessaries:  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell^A 
service  wherewith  God  is  well  pleased.  See  Heb.  xiii. 
16,  ^Thesameepithetswereancientlygiventoallthe 
kinds  of  sacrifices ;  not  only  in  the  peace  and  thank- 
offerings,  but  to  the  bumt-off^ngs  and  sin-offerings. 
See  note  on  Eph.  v.  2.  Here  they  are  given  to  the 
present  which  the  Philippians  sent  to  the  apostle ;  not. 
because  that  present  partook  of  the  nature  of  any  sa- 
crifice or  offering  whatever,  as  is  plain  from  this,  tiiat 
it  was  offered  immediately  to  the  apostle,  and  not  to 
God;  but  merely  to  show  how  acceptable  to  God 
that  work  of  charity  was,  which  the  Philippians  had 
performed  to  the  suffering  apostle  of  Christ.^ — Mao- 
knight  But  mf  (rod— Whose  ambassador  I  am ; 
shall  supply  all  your  need—ha  he  has  mine.  He 
shall  recompense  you  even  in  this  life,  as  far  as  he 
knows  will  be  for  your  good ;  according  to  his  riches 
in  ^tory— And  he  is  well  able  to  do  it,  being  glo-. 
Rously  rich  in  blessings  of  all  kinds. 

Yenes  90-23.  Now  unto  Ood  and,  rather,  even 

our  Father—ihy  7\>  our  Ood  cmd  FatheryBsroBeo 

KOi  iTttTpi  fiftuv  properly  signifies,  be  glory  for  ever— 

Which  is  justly  due,  and  shall  certainly  be  given  to 

b 


21  Salute  every  saint  in  Christ  Je-  a.  M.  4068l 
us.     The  brethren  *  which  are  with    ^^•"' 

me  greet  you. 

22  All  the  saints  salute  you,  *  chiefly  they 
that  are  of  Cesar's  househoU. 

23  'The  grace  of  our  L(»rd  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  alL    Amen. 

T  It  was  written  to  the  niilippians  from  Rome^  by 
Epaphroditus. 


*  Epb.  L  7 ;  iii  16. •  Rom.  xvi.  27 ;  Gal.  i.  6. '  GaL  L  S. 

•Chap,  i  IS. '*Rom.  xri  24. 


him  by  those  of  the  angelic  host  who  never  fell,  and 
by  those  of  mankind  who  have,  been  or  shall  be  re- 
covered from  their  fall.  The  brethren  who  are  with 
me— My  dealr  fellow-labourers,  with  whom  I  daily 
converse ;  greet  yot^-Sincerely  wish  you  peace  and 
prosperity.  These  are  supposed  to  be  those  whom 
he  mentions  at  the  close  of  his  epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  and  to  Philemon.  All  the  other  saints— Here 
at  Rome ;  salute  you,  chiefly  they  of  Cesar's  house^ 
Aolef— See  note  on  chap.  i.  Id.  It  is  uncertain 
whether  the  apostle  meant  some  of  the  members  of 
Cesar^  ikmily,  or  his  household  servai^  or  the  of- 
ficers of  his  court,  or  his  guards.  Here  Beza  re- 
marks, '^  What  was  this  but  that  God  reigned  in  the 
midst  of  hell?"  The  salutation  from  the  brethren, 
m  the  emperor's  family,  must  have  been  a  great 
consolation  to  the  Philippians.  For  when  they  heard 
that  the  gospel  had  got  footing  in  the  palace,  they 
would  naturally  presage  the  further  progress  of  it  in 
Rome.  And  the  respect  which  persons,  such  as  the 
Christians  in  Cesar's  house,  here  expressed  for  the 
Philippians,  in  sending  their  salutations  to  them, 
nnist  have  filled  them  with  joy.  And  it  seems 
very  probable,  as  Macknight  observes,  though  tiie 
apostle  has  not  mentioned  it  in  any  of  his  letters, 
that,  not  long  after  this  epistle  was  written,  he  ob- 
tained a  fair  hearing,  and  an  honouraUe  release, 
through  the  good  offices  of  the  Christians  in  Nero's 
family,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  justice  of  his 


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PREFACE 


TO 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS. 


COLOSSE  was  an  ancient  and  populous  city  of  the  Greater  Pbiygia,  an  inland  countiy  in  the 
Lesser  Asia.  It  was  situated  near  the  place  where  the  river  Lycus  begins  to  run  under  ground,  be<> 
(ore  it  falls  into  the  rirer  Meander,  now  called  Meinder.  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis,  mentioned  chap,  iv, 
13  of  this  epistle,  were  also  cities  in  the  same  country,  situated  not  far  from  Colosse,  and  in  them  alto 
there  were  Christian  churches  at  the  time  this  epistle  was  written.  Of  these  cities,  Laodicea  was  the 
greatest,  being  the  mebopdis  of  Phrygia ;  but  Ck>los8e,  though  inferior  in  rank  to  Laodicea,  was, 
Iwweyer,  a  large  and  wealthy  city,  in  which  the  Christian  church  was  probably  more  considerable 
th^yi  those  in  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis,  on  account  of  the  number  and  quality  of  its  members ;  and 
therefore  it  merited  the  peculiar  attention  which  the  apostle  paid  to  it  in  writing  this  excellent  epslle 
to  its  members.  It  is  remarkable  that,  according  to  Eusebius,  these  three  cities  were  buried  m  ruins 
by  an  earthquake,  about  A.  D.  BB^  a  year  or  two  after  the  writing  of  this  epistle. 

It  has  generally  been  supposed,  though  St.  Paul  resided  at  Ephesus  no  less  than  three  years,  and 
preached  in  divers  parts  of  the  Lesser  Asia,  and  even  in  many  parts  of  Phrygia,  yet  that  he  hid 
never  been  in  Colosse,  but  that  the  Colossians  received  the  gospel  by  the  preachmg  of  Epiqphras, 
who  was  with  St.  Paul  when  he  wrote  this  e{nstle.  This  opinion,  however,  has  been  much  contro- 
verted of  late,  and  Dr.  Lardner  and  Or.  Macknight  in  paMcular  have  endeavoured  to  prove  that  tho 
churches  of  Christ,  both  at  Cdosse  and  Laodicea,  were  founded  by  PauL  The  reader  will  not  expect 
the  arguments  which  they  urge  in  favour  of  that  opinion  to  be  stated,  or  a  controversy  of  so  little  im*> 
{Nnrtance  to  be  introduced  here.  Those  who  wish  for  information  on  the  subject,  must  be  referred 
to  the  works  of  those  divines ;  which,  when  they  have  consulted,  they  will  probably  he  of  Mr.  Scott's 
mjoAf  "  that  the  evidence  against  the  apostle's  having  been  at  dolosse  is  iar  sth)nger  than  any  which 
has  been  adduced  on  the  affirmative  side  of  the  question." 

It  has  been  observed  in  the  pteface  to  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  that  there  is  a  great  similarity 
between  that  epistle  and  this,  both  with  respect  to  their  subject  matter,  and  the  very  form  of  the 
expression ;  and  that  there  is  great  reason  to  siqppose  they  wera  bo^  written  at  the  same  time,  and 
sent  together  by  Tychicus,  who,  however,  was  attended  by  Onesimus  when  he  delivered  this  to  the 
Colossians,  Col.  iv.  9.  Upon  maturely  considering  the  contents  of  this  epistle,  we  shall  see  reason 
to  conclude  that,  at  the  time  when  the  apostle  wrote  it,  the  Colossian  believers  were  in  danger  of 
being  seduced  from  the  simple  and  genuine  doctrine  of  Christ,  by  persons  who  strove  to  blttid  Ju- 
daiam,  and  even  heathen  superstitions,  with  Christianity,  pretending  that  God,  because  of  his  great 
majesty,  was  not  to  be  approached  except  by  the  mediation  of  angels,  and  that  there  were  certain 
rites  and  ceremonies,  chiefly  borrowed  from  the  law,  whereby  these  angels  may  be  made  our  friends. 
The  apostle,  therefore,  in  this  epistle,  with  great  propriety,  warns  the  Colossians  against  vain 
philosophy  and  Jewish  ceremonies,  and  demonsteates  the  excellence  of  Christ,  the  knowledge  of 
whom  he  shows  to  be  more  important  than  all  other  knowledge,  and  so  entire  and  perfect,  that  no 
other  was  necessary  for  a  Christian.  He  proves  also  that  Christ  is  above  all  angels,  who  are  only 
his  servants ;  and  that,  being  reconciled  to  Qod  through  him,  we  have  free  access  to  him  in  all  our 
necessities.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Professor  Franck,  that  the  controversy  treated  of  in  this  epistle 
was  the  principal  one  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  therefore  engaged  the  special  attention  of  this  apostle 
of  the  Grentiles :  and  his  discussion  of  it  has  proved  a  considerable  blessing  to  posterity,  setting  in  a 
dear  light  the  mode  of  obtaining  salvation ;.  so  that  if  we  weigh  the  apostle's  scope  and  design,  and 
att^id  to  the  process  of  his  reasoning  as  he  advances  to  a  conclusion,  we  must  necessarily  set  a 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPIOTLE  TO  THE  COLOS6IAN8. 

high  value  upon  this  epistle,  as  being  one  that  embraces  the  order,  structure,  and  harmony  of  die 
Christiaa  STStem  with  such  peculiar  propriety,  that  not  only  the  young  convert  cannot  desire  a  more 
excellent  confirmation  of  the  doctrines  he  has  espoused,  but  even  the  more  established  believers  may 
revert  vrith  delight  to  the  first  principles  here  maintained,  and  find  that  sadsfactiott  and  repose  which, 
in  an  hour  of  temptation,  they  had  ^^inly  sought  elsewhere. 
Hie  contents  of  this  epistle  may  be  set  forth  in  order  mcnre  particularly  as  follows :  We  have, 

1.  The  inscription,  chap.  i.  1,2.  11.  The  doctrine,  wherein  the  apostle  pathetically  explains  the 
mystery  of  Christ,  by  thanksgiving  for  the  Colossians,  verses  3-8 ;  by  prayers  for  them,  verses  9-23 ; 
with  a  declaration  of  his  affection,  vei^es  24-29 ;  chap.  ii.  1-3.  III.  The  exhortation :  1.  General, 
wherein  he  excites  them  to  perseverance,  and  warns  them  not  to  he  deceived,  verses  4-8.  Describes 
again  the  mystery  of  Christ  in  order,  verses  9-1^ ;  and  in  the  same^  order  draws  his  admonitions 
from  Christ  the  Head,  verses  16-19 ;  from  his  death,  verses  20-23 ;  from  his  exaltation,  chap.  iii.  1-4 : 

2.  Particular,  to  avoid  several  vices,  verses  5-9 ;  to  practise  several  virtues,  verses  10,  11 ;  especi- 
ally to  love  one  another,  verses  12-15 ;  and  study  the  Scriptures,  verses  16, 17 ;  to  the  relative  duties 
of  wives  and  husbands,  verses  18, 19 ;  children  and  parents,  servants  and  masters,  verses  20, 21-25 ; 
chap.  iv.  1.  3.  Final,  to^  {ffayer,  verses  2-4 ;  to  spiritual  wisdom,  verses  5>  6.  lY.  The  coaelu- 
sion,  verses  7-16. 

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EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO  THE 


C  OLO  S  SI  AN  S. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Afler.  aahUiTig  the  CoUutim  beUeverM,  1,  %  the  apottU  (1,)  DeeUaree  he  thakkfidneee  to  God  for  their  faUh^love,  and  hop4, 
ofwhidk  EpepkroM  had  given  him  an  account^  8-8.  (3,)  He  praye  far  their  nureaee  m  iioine  hwwledge^and  grace,  m 
order  to  their  vtalking  worthy  of  ike  bUesings  they  had  received,  hy  being  fruitful  in  all  goodc  worhe^and  exemfUryim 
patience,  long-suffering,  joy,  and  gratitude,  9-14.  (3,)  To  engage  their  eteady  adherence  to  the  gospel,  he  represents  tha 
dignity  of  its  author,  and  the  methods  he  hath  taken  to  effect  the  reeonciliation  of  sinners  to  God,  16-23.  (4,)  He  deUne-* 
ates  his  own  character  as  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  shows  what  was  the  sum  and  substance  of  his  preaching,  and 
his  solicitude  tofuyU  his  ministry  among  them  in  the  most  successful  manner,  34-29. 


A.  M.  4068;  pAUL,  •  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ, 

'■ by  the  will  of  God,  and  Timo- 

theus  our  brother, 

2  To  the  saints  ^and  faithful  brethren  in 
Christ  which  are  at  Colosse :  ®  Grace  be  unto 
you,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ 

3  **  We  give  thanks  to  God,  and  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  pra}ring  always  for 
you> 

•  Eph.  i.  1. ^  1  Cor.  iv.  17;  Eph.  ti.  21. e  Gal.  L  3. 

*  1  Cor.  i.  1. *  Twenty-fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  epistle, 

Terse  3  to  Terse  13. •  Verse  9. '  neb.  Ti.  10. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  1, 2.  PatU,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ — 
To  convince  the  Colossians  that  all  the  things  con- 
tained in  this  epistle  were  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of 
€k>d,  and  therefore  were  at  once  infallibly  true,  and 
deeply  important,  the  apostle  begins  with  assuring 
them  both  that  he  was  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  that  he  was  made  such  by  the  will  of  God  the 
Father,  an  honour  which  none  of  the  false  teachers 
could  claim.  And  Timothy  our  brother^^T'inuh 
thy's  early  piety,  his  excellent  endowments,  his  ap- 
proved faithfulness,  and  his  affectionate  labours  in 
the  gospel  with  the  apostle,  well  known  to  most,  if 
not  to  8J1,  the  Gentile  churches,  rendering  him  high- 
ly worthy  of  their  regard,  Paul  allowed  him  to  join  in 
writing  several  of  the  letters  which  he  addressed  to 
thMe  churches:  not,  however,  to  add  any  thing  to 
his  own  authority,  but  rather  to  add  to  Timothy's 
influence ;  for  which  purpose  also  he  calls  him  here 
hii  brother,  rather  than  his  son." — MacknighL  To 
the  saints  and  faithful  brethren — The  word  saints 
expresses  their  union  with  God,  and  brethren,  theur 
union  with  their  fellow-Christians. 
989 


4  *  Since  we  heard  of  your  fidth  in  A.  M.  4008. 

AD  S4 

Christ  Jesus,  and  of  'the  love  which  -— 1— !^ — 1 
ye  have  to  all  the  saints, 

6  For  the  hope  ^  which  is  laid  up  for  you  in 
heaven,  whereof  ye  heard  before  in  the  word 
of  the  truth  of  the  gospel : 

6  Which  is  come  unto  you,  ^  as  it  isiudUl 
the  world ;  and  ^  bringeth  forth  fixdt,  as  it  doth 
also  in  you,  since  the  day  ye  heai'd  0/  it,  and 
knew  ^  the  grace  of  God  in  truth : 


r  2  Tim.  ir.  8 ;  1  Pet.  i.  4. ^  Matt  xxIt.  14 ;  Mark  xtL  15 ; 

Verse  23. 'Marii  iT.  8;    John  xt.  16;    Piiilippiaiia  i.  11. 

k  2  Cor.  Ti.  1 ;  Eph.  iii.  2 ;  Tit.  iL  11 ;  1  Pet.  t.  12. 


Verses  3-8.  We  give  thanks,  &c.— See  on  Rom. 
L  8;  to  God  and  the  Father— Or,  even  the  Father 
of  our  Lord,  &c, ;  or,  as  the  original  expression  is 
still  more  literally  rendered,  Totlie  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  praying  always  for  you 
— ^Making  express  mention  of  you  in  all  our  address- 
es to  the  throne  of  grace ;  since  we  heard— kKwav- 
Tec,  hamng  heard;  of  your  faith,  &c. — See  on  Eph. 
i.  15;  for  the  hope  which  is  laid  up  for  you— Name- 
ly, the  hope  of  eternal  life.  The  apostle's  meaning 
seems  to  be,  that  he  gave  thanks  for  this  their  hope, 
the  fourth  verse  coming  in  as  a  parenthesb ;  where- 
of—Oi  which  blessedness  |n  heaven ;  ye  heard  be- 
fore I  wrote  to  you,  in  the  word  of  the  truth  of  the 
go^el— The  true  gospel  preached  to  you ;  which — 
Through  the  singular  goodness  of  God  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, whom  he  seemed  so  long  to  have  neglected ;  is 
come  to  you — At  Colosse;  as  it  is  in  all  the  worlds 
In  all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.  So  the  phrase 
often  signifies;  and  bringeth  forth  fruit— Is  instru- 
mental in  turning  men  from  idolatry,  and  all  vicious 
practices,  and  of  producing  in  them  faith  and  holi- 
ness.   At  the  time  thb  epistle  was  written,  probably 

b 


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might  imcretue  in  dMne  graet* 


A.  M.  4068.    7  As  ye  also  kamad  of  ^  Epaphras 
-— IJ our  dear  fdk)w-servaiit,whoisforyou 


""  a  foithfol  minister  of  Christ ; 

8  Who  also  declared  unto  us  your  "love  in 
the  Spirit 

9  **  For  this  cause  we  also,  since  the  day  we  heard 
itj  do  not  cease  to  pray  for  you,and  to  desire  >"  that 
ye  might  be  Med  with  ^  the  knowledge  of  his 
will '  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  uiulerstanding ; 


^  Chap,  it,  IZi  Philem.  23. ■  2  Cor.  xi.  23 ;  1  Tim.  ir.  6. 

■  Rom.  XT.  30. «>  Eph.  i.  15, 16;  Vewea  3, 4. P 1  Cor,  L  5. 

\  Rom.  xii.  2 ;  Eph.  ▼.  10,  17. «"  Eph.  i.  8. 


A.  D.  6ijihe  gospel  had  been  preached  and  received 
ia  most  of  the  countries  within  the  Roman  empire, 
and  had  produced  a  great  change  in  the  manners  of 
those  who  received  it  The  apostle  made  this  ob- 
servation to  con&rm  the  dolossians  in  the  iaith  of 
the  gospel,  which,  *y  its  rapid  progress,  and  happy 
influence  in  reforming  mankind,  was  plainly  declared 
to  be  from  €k>d.  Ae  cUso  in  you— Among  whom  it 
hath  produced  a  great  reformation;  eince  the  day 
Ve  heard  it,  and  knew,  or  acknowledged,  the  grace 
of  God  in  trulh-^Truly  experienced  its. efficacy  in 
your  hearts.  As  ye  learned  of  Epaphrae — From 
the  epistle  to  Philemon^  (verse  2d,)  which  was 
sent  at  the  same  time  with  this  to  the  Colossians, 
it  appears  that  Epaphras  was  in  prison  at  Rome 
when  the  apostle  wrote;  But  it  is  probable  he  did 
not  choose  to  mention  that  circumstance  in  a  letter 
directed  to  the  whole  church  of  the  Ckdossians,  lest 
it  might  have  grieved  them  too  much.  Our  dear 
feUoxo-eeroant—Oi  Paul  and  Timotheus ;  who  is  for 
you  a  faithful  minister  oj  €%risf— Appointed  by 
him  to  labour  among  you  and  to  watch  over  you : 
the  apostle  bore  this  honourable  testimony  to  Epa- 
phras, thiait  the  Colossians  might  not  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  drawn  away  from  the  doctrine  which 
they  had  received  from  him;  whcf  declared  your  love 
in  the  iSf/nWif— That  is,  the  love  wrought  in  you  by 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

Verses  9-1 L  For  this  caii«e— The  report  of  your 
faith  and  love ;  we  do  not  cease  to  pray  for  you — 
We  fall  not  to  remember  you  in  all  our  prayers. 
This  was  mentioned  in  general,  verse  3,  but  now 
more  particularly;  that  ye  might  be  fiUtdvnih  the 
knowledge  of  his  ipt//— That  is,  his  revealed  will 
concerning  the  salvation  of  mankhid  by  faith,  (Eph. 
i.  5, 9, 1 1,)  or  the  gospel  of  Christy — the  truth^  declare 
ed,  the  blessings  offered,  and  the  duties  enjoined  in 
it ;  in  all  ioisdom — That  ye  may  have  just,  clear,  and 
full  views  of  every  part  of  it ;  and  spiritual  under- 
standing'-ThBi  understanding  which  proceeds  from 
the  SpiHt  of  wisdom  and.  revelation,  spoken  of 
Eph.  i.  17,  (where  see  the  notes,)  and  is  a  spiritual 
and  experimental,  and  therefore  a  practical  know- 
ledge of  divine  things,  very  different  from  that  mere 
iipeculattve  and  notional  knowledge  of  them  with 
which  many  rest  satisfied,  though  it  neither  changes 
their  hearts  nor  governs  their  lives.  That — Know- 
ing his  will,  and  complying  with  it;  you  may  walk 
worthy  of  the  Lord^Mxy  conduct  yoorsdves  in  a 
b 


XO  •  That  ye  might  walk  w<Hthy  of  a.  m.  ^ 
the  Lord  *  unto  all  pleasing,  ^  being 


4080* 
64. 


fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing*  in 
the  knowledge  of  QoA ; 

11  '  Strengthened  with  all  might,  according 
to  his  glorious  power,  ^  unto  all  patience  and 
long-sufibring  '  with  joyfulness ; 

12  *  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which 
hath    made    us    meet   to   be    partakers   of 


■  Eph.  vt.  I ;  Phil.  L  27.;  \  Theae.  ii.  12. » 1  Tbeaa.  ir.  1. 

"John  XT.  IS;  2  Cor.  ix.  8. «,Eph.  iii.  16. r Eph.  ir.  8. 

»  Acta  r.  41. »  Eph.  t.  20 ;  Chap.  iii.  15. 


manner  suitable  to  his  nature  and  attributes,  the  re- 
lation In  which  you  stand  to  him,  ^e  benefits  you 
have  received  from  him,  and  the  profession  yon 
make  of  believing  in,  loving,  and  serving  him ;  unto 
aU  pleasing — So  as  actually  to  please  him  in  aU 
things.  The  apostle  mentions  next  four  particulars 
included  in  this  walking  worthy  of  the  Lord.  1st, 
The  being  fruitful  in  every  good  work-^Ox  embrac- 
ing all  opportunities  of  doing  good  to  the  bodies  and 
souls  of  me^  according  to  our  ability,  and  thus 
showing  oiH'  faith  continually  by  our  works,  and  our 
love  by  our  obedience,  James  ii.  14>)8 ;  1  John  iii.  17. 
And,  2d,  Increasing  in  the  knowledge— The  ex- 
perimental practical  knowledge ;  of  God— Thai  is, 
whije  we  are  diligent  in  performing  good  works  out- 
wardly, taking  care  that  we  increase  in  vital  religion' 
inwardly,  even  in  a  participation  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  a  conibrmity  to  the  divine  image.  3d,  Receiving 
and  bearing  with  patience,  long-si^fering,  and  joy- 
fulness — All  thesufferings  \^ich  come  upon  usin  the 
course  Of  divine  providence :  in  other  words,  that  we 
sustain,  with  entire  resi^ation  to,  ^id  acquiescence 
in,  the  divine  will,  and  with  a  calm  and  tranquil 
mind,  all  the  chastisements  of  our  heavenly  Father, 
knowing  they  are  for  our  profit ;  and  all  the  trials  by 
which  it  is  his  will  our  faiUi  and  other  graces  should 
be  exercised,  and  all  the  purifying  fires  through 
which  he  is  pleased  to  lead  us;  that  we  patiently 
bear  with  the  infirmities,  failmgs^  and  faults  of  our 
fellow-creatures,  saints  or  sinners,  and  receive  even 
their  injuries  and  provocations  without  resentment; 
and  that  in  the  midst  of  all  these  apparent  evils,  we 
rejoice  on  account  of  the  present  blessings  we  po» 
sess,  and  especi^ly  in  the  knowledge  we  have  that 
all  these,  and  such  like  things^  however  afflictive  to 
flesh  and  blood,  shall  infallibly  work  together  for  our 
good,  while  we  love  God,  Well  might  the  i^pos- 
tie  signify,  that,  in  order  to  all  this,  we  need  to 
be  strengthened  with  all  migJit,  or  very  mightily 
strengthened,  according  to  Crod's  glorious  power, 
always  ready  to  be  exerted  in  behalf  of  his  sufiering 
people.  The  fourth  particular  mentioned  by  the 
apostle,  as  included  in  walking  worthy  of  the  Lord, 
is  continual  gratitude  for  the  blessings  enumerated 
in  the  three  next  verses ;  blessings  which  whosoever 
enjoys,  has  unspeakable  reason  for  thankfulness, 
whatever  his  state  or  cc^ndition  may  be  as  to  the 
present  world. 
Verses  l!l-14.  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father^ 
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COLOSSIAim. 


aver^kigkai  angdfu 


A.  M.  4068.  ^the  mbentance  of  the  saints  in 

A.  D.  64.    ,.  . 
light: 

13.  Who  iiath  ddivered  us  froin  ^  the  pawer 

of  darkness,  '  and  hath  danslated  ua  into  the 

kingdom  of  ^  his  dear  S<n: 

^  Acta  uvi.  18 ;  Eph.  i.  11. «  Eph.  vi.  12 ;  Heb.  iLM ;  1  Pet 

U.9. dlThess.  1^.12;  2Pet.tll. 


Of  all  mercy  and  grace,  who^hy  justifying  and  stoc- 
tify  ing  us  through  iaith  in  his  Son,  and  the  influence 
of  his  Spirit,  hath  not  only  entitled  us  to,  but  wrought 
in  us,  a  meetness,that  is,  an  increasing  meetness,  for 
the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  Ught — For,  being  in 
Christ,  we  are,  in  a  measure  «t  least,  new  creatures, 
oJd  things  being  passed  away,  and  all  things,  in  a 
great  jdegree,  become  new,  2  Cor.  v.  17;  where  see 
the  note.  Who — In  order  to  this  meetness  for  the 
heavenly  inheritance ;  hath  delivered  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness-^Thbi  is,  the  power  of  Uie  prince 
of  darkness,  and  all  his  infernal  legions,  called,  (Eph. 
tL  12,)  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world;  and 
we  are  delivered  from  their  power  when,  being  res- 
cued from  that  state  of  ignorance  and  error,  of  im- 
penitence andunbelief,  in  which  we  natmndly  lie  in- 
volved, we  are  brought  to  know  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  makes  us  free  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin, 
John  viii.  82;  Rom.  viii.  2.  Some  commentators 
have  supposed,  that  by  the  power  of  darkness  here, 
the  apostle  principally,  if  not  only,  intended  that 
power  which  Satan  had  over  the  heathen  worid,  to 
keep  them  in  their  various  idolatries  and  other  vi- 
cious practices,  and  that  the  apostle  speaks  of  him- 
self as  if  he  had  been  one  of  the  Gentile  converts. 
But  we  have  great  reason  to  believe  that  when  di- 
vine grace  opened  the  eyes  of  his  understanding,  and 
made  him  sensible  what  he  had  been  in  his  Pharisa- 
ical state,  he  saw  himself  to  have  been  under  the 
power  of  darkness,  as  Christ  represents  those  of  the 
Jews  to  have  been,  who,  influenced  by  the  spiritof 
darkness,  were  combined  against  htm,  Luke  xxii.  53 ; 
as  indeed  aU,  even  the  professors  of  Christianity  are, 
while  under  the  power  of  known  sin,  John  viii.  34, 
44 ;  1  John  iii.  8.  None  can  doubt,  however,  that,  as 
Dr.  Doddridge  observes,  "the  ignorance  and  sin, 
eonfusion  and  misery,  which  reigned  in  the  Gentile 
world,  were  also  in  the  apostle's  thoughts  when  he 
used  this  expression."  Andhaih  translated  us  into 
the  kingdom  of  his  dear  fibn— The  kingdom  of 
grace,  preparatory  to  that  of  glory.  Of  the  Father's 
dear  or  beloved  Son,  the  apostle  proceeds  to  speak 
in  the  16th  and  following  verses.  In  whom  we  have 
redemption  through  his  6too*-See  on  Bph.  i.  7, 
where  the  contents  of  this  verse  are  fully  explained. 
The  subject  is  treated  of  also  from  the  middle  of  the 
18th  verde  of  this  chapter.  The  reader  will  observe, 
thai  the  work  of  redemption  and  salvation  is  here 
spoken  of  in  an  inverted  order.  The  natural  order 
is  this:  1st,  We  have  redemption  through  the  blood 
of  Christ;  2d,  In  consequence  of  this,  and  by  repent- 
ance and  faith  therein,  we  liave  the  forgiveness  of 
sins;  3d,  Being  forgiven,  and  taken  into  favour  with 
God,  we  are  delivered,  by  the  influence  of  his  word 
I6i 


14  *  In  whom  we  have  redemption  a.  m.  4S6S. 

through  his  Uoodysven  the  fi)igive- — 

ness  of  sins : 

15  Who  is  ^the  image  of  the  invisible  God, 
» the  first-bom  of  every  creature : 


^  Or.  tkt  Sam  of  ki$  tove.- 


rReT.  i 


iL7.- 


'2  Cor.  if.  4. 


and  Spirit,  from  the  pow^  of  Satan  and  of  sin,  and 
made  the  loyal  subjects  of  Christ's  kingdom.  4th, 
Being  thus  justified  and  adopted  into  God's  family, 
we  are  also  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds,  and, 
in  a  measure  at  least,  sanctified,  and  made  meet  for 
the  heavenly  inheritance,  as  is  observed  in  veise  12. 
Verse  15.  fF%o— That  is,  the  Son  of  God,  in  whose 
blood  we  have  redemption ;  is  the  image  of  the  in- 
visible  Qodr^Bj  the  description  here  giv«a  of  the 
glory  of  Christ,  and  his  pre-eminence  over  the  high- 
est angels,  the  apostle  lays  a  foundation  for  the  re- 
proof of  fldl  worshippers  of  angels.  The  Socinians 
contend  tliat  Christ  is  here  styled  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,  merely  because  he  made  known 
to  men  the  will  of  Grbd ;  and  that  in  this  sense  only 
Christ  said  to  PhUip,  (John  xiv.  9,)  He  thai  haih 
seen  me  hath  seen  the  Fol^^.  But  it  should  be  con- 
sidered, thflft  in  other  passages  in  Scripture,  the  word 
image  denotes  likeness,  if  not  sameness  of  nature 
and  prc^rties,  as  1  Cor.  xv.  49 :  As  we  have  borne 
the  image  of  the  earthly,  ^e  shaU  also  hear  the  image 
of  the  heavenly.  Certainly,  as  Dr.  Whitby  observes^ 
the  more  natural  import  of  the  phrase  is,  that  Christ 
i^  therefore  called  the  image  of  God,  because  he 
made- him,  who  is  invisible  in  hb  essence,  conspicu- 
ous to  us  by  the  divine  works  he  wrought,  they  be- 
ing such  as  plainfy  riiowed  that  in  hhn  dwdt  the  fid- 
ness  of  the  Qodhead  bodily  ;  for  the  invisible  God  can 
only  be  seen  by  the  effects  of  his  power,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  and  of  his  odier  attributes.  He  who,  by 
the  works  both  of  the  old  and  new  creation,  hath 
given  such  dear  demonstrations  of  the  divine  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness,  is,  upon  this  account,  as  much 
the  image  of  God  as  it  is  possible  any  person  or 
thing  should  be;  and  to  this  sense  the  expression 
seems  here  necessarily  restrained  by  the  connective 
particle  ort,  for.  He  is  the  image  of  Qod,for  by  him 
edl  things  were  created.  Moreover,  this  passage  is 
exactly  parallel  to  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews,  9s  will  evidently  appear  on  a 
comparison  of  the^  two.  Here  he  is  said  to  be  the 
image  of  God;  there,  the  brigJUness  {attavyaofia,  ef- 
fulgence) of  his  Father's  glory,  arti  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  or  substance,  as  vno^^utt^  more 
properly  signifies :  here  he  is  called  thefirsibom,  or 
Lord,  of  every  creature;  there,  the  h^r  of  all 
things:  here  it  is  said  that  all  things  were  created 
by  him;  there,  that  he  made  the  worlds:  here,  that 
by  him  all  things  do  consist ;  and  4here,  that  he  up- 
holdeth  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power.  Now, 
that  he  is  there  styled  the  image  qf  God?s  glory,  and 
the  express  image  or  character  of  his  person,  or 
substance,  by  reason  <^  that  divine  power,  wisdom, 
and  nuyesty,  which  shone  £mh  in  his  actions,  smom 


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Creator  qfaU  tking$. 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  64. 


16  For  ^by  him  were  all  things 
cDeatedy  that  are  in  heayen^  and  that 
are  in  earth,  visible  and  inyisiUe,  whether  they 
be  thronesi  or  '  dcMninioiiB,  or  principalities,  or 


k  John  L  3 ;  1  Cor.  riii.  6 ;  Eph.  iii.  9^ '  Rom.  riii.  38. 


Sociniaos  are  forced  to  confess.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
to  be  doubted  that  he  Is  here  styled  the  image  of  God 
in  the  same  sense.  And  it  is  highly  probable  that  he 
is  called  the  image  of  the  invisible  Gody  as  appearing 
to  the  patriarchs,  and  representing  to  them  the  Fa- 
ther, who  dwellf  in  light  inacceeeiblej  ( 1  Tim.  vL  16  0 
according  to  what  is  frequently  observed  by  the 
ante-Nicene  fathers,  that  God  the  Father  being  tnvt- 
eiblej  and  one  whom  no  man  hath  seen  or  can  eee, 
appeared  to  the  patriarchs  by  his  Son.  Add  to  this, 
that  the  Son  is  likewise  called  the  image  of  God,  be- 
cause he  manifested  the  divine  perfections  in  ihe 
flesh  visibly,  by  that  fulness  of  grace  and  truth  which 
shone  in  him  during  his  abode  on  earth.  ,  This  St. 
John^s  words  evidently  imply :  No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time;  the  only-begotten  Son,  who  ia  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father,  Tie  hath  declared  him.  See 
the  notes  on  John  i.  14, 18.  In  which  sense  Christ's 
words  to  Philip  also  (John  xiv.  9)  are  to;  be  under- 
stood^ Hethathaih  seen  me  hcUh  seen  the  Father,  as 
our  Lord  manifestly  shows,  when  he  adds,  /  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me:  the  Father  that 
dwelleth  in  me,  he  doeth  the  works.  And  2  Cor.  iv.  4, 
he  is  plainly  styled  the  image  of  God,  for  the  like 
reason,  because  (verse  6)  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God  is  reflected  from  his  face,  or  per- 
son, as  frpoaovo  signifies.    See  the  notes  there. 

The  firsHbomh^Ot  first-begotten,  (trpctToTOKo^,)  of 
every  creatttre — Or  rather,  of  the  whole  creation,  as 
naaa  ktutic  b  translated  Rom.  viii.  ^,  existing  before 
it,  and  the  heir  and  Lord  of  it,  "  According  to  the 
Anans,  the  frstboni  of  the  whole  creation  is  the 
first-made  creature.  But  the  reason  advanced  to 
prove  the  Son  ihe  firstborn  of  the  whole  creation 
overturns  that  sense  of  this  passage;  for  surely  the 
Son's  creating  all  things  doth  not  prove  him  to  be  the 
first-made  creature ;  unless  hb  power  of  creating  all 
things  originated  from  hb  being  the  first-made  crea- 
ture ;  which  no  one  will  affirm.  As  little  does  the 
Son's  creating  aU  things  prove  that  he  created  him- 
self. Yet  these  absurdities  will  be  established  by  the 
apostle's  reasoning,  if  the  firstborn  of  the  whole 
creation  signifies  ihefirst^Tnade  creature.  But  it  b 
proper  to  observe,  Aat  npuroroKo^,  the  firstborn,  or 
first-begotten,  in  thb  passage,  may  signify  the  heir, 
or  Lord,  of  the  whole  creation.  For,  anciently,  the 
firstborn  was  entitted  to  possess  hb  father's  estate, 
2  Chron.  xxL  3.  The  firstborn  was  likewise  lord 
of  hb  brethren,  who  were  all  hb  servants.  This  ap- 
pears irom  what  Isaac  said  to  Esau,  after  he  had  be- 
stowed the  rights  of  primogeniture  on  Jacob,  Gen. 
xxvii.  37.  Hence,  among  the  Hebrews  and  other 
nations,  ^r«<6orn,  heir,  and  lord,  were  synonymous 
terms.  See  CraL  iv.  1.  According  to  thb  interpre- 
tation of  the  terms  firstborn  and  heir,  the  apostle's 
reasoning  b  perfectly  Just:  for  the  creation  of  all 
b 


powers :  all  things  were  created  ^  by  a.  h.  4068. 
him,  aiulfi>r  bim:  -  ^'  ^'  ^' 

17  ^  And  be  is  befi)re  all  things,  and  by  bim 
all  things  consist. 

k  Rom.  xi.  36 ;  Heb.  iilO. 1  John  i.  1, 3 ;  xvii.  5 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  6, 

things,  (verse  16,)  and  the  making  of  the  world, 
(Heb.  i.  8,)  through  the  Son,  is  a  direct  proof  that  he 
is  the  firstborn,  heir,  or  Lord  of  the  whole."  See 
Whitby  and  Macknight. 

Verses  16, 17.  For  by  him  were  all  things  created^ 
&c— The  casual  particle  oti,  for,  or  because,  with 
which  this  verse  begins,  refers  to  both  parts  of  the 
preceding  verse.  The  Son  is  the  image  of  the  invi- 
sible God,  as  well  as  ihe  firstborn  of  the  whole  crea- 
tion, because  by  him  were  all  things  created. '  See 
the  note  on  John  i.  3,  where  the  creation  of  all  things 
by  Christ,  God's  eternal  Word  and  Son,  b  explained 
at  large.  That  are  in  heavenr-And  heaven  itself; 
but  the  inhabitants  are  named,  because  more  noble 
than  the  house;  and  earth;  visible — The  material 
fabric  pf  .this  world,  with  aU  its  inhabitants,  called, 
(Heb.  xi.  3,)  ra  pXevo/ieva,  the  things  which  are  seen, 
including  the  visible  splendour  of  the  celestial  lumi- 
naries, the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  even  all  the  hosts 
of  these  lower  heavens;  and  invisible^The  differ- 
ent Orders  of  angels,  both  those  that  stood  and  those 
that  afterward  fell ;  called,  in  the  following  part  of 
the  verse,  thrones,  dominions,  Ac.  Because,  in  after 
times,  false  teachers  would  arise  and  affirm,  some, 
that  the  world  was  made  by  angels ;  others,  that  it 
was  made  by  an  evil  principle ;  the  apostle  may  have 
been  directed  by  the  Spirit  to  declare,  in  the  most 
express  manner,  that  all  things  were  created  by  God's 
beloved  Son,  that  the  sincere  might  be  preserved 
from  these  pernicious  errors.  All  things  were 
created  by  him  and  for  him — They  are  the  produc* 
tions  of  his  unsearchable  wisdom  and  almighty 
power,  aod  were  made  by  him,  that  he  might  pos- 
sess and  govern  them,  and  be  glorified  in  and  by 
them.  To  interpret  this,  as  the  Socinians  do,  of  the 
new  creation  in  a  spiritual  sense,  b  so  unnatural, 
that  one  could  hardly  believe,  if  the  evidence  were 
not  ^so  undeniably  strong,  that  any  set  of  learned 
commentators  could  have  imbibed  such  an  opinion. 
And  he  is  before  all  things— In  the  duration,  as  well 
as  in  the  dignity  of  hb  nature ;  or,  as  Micah  expresses 
it,  (chap.  V.  2,)  he  \sfrom  everlasting;  and  by  him 
all  things  consist-— Or  subsist  in  that  harmonious 
order  of  being  which  renders  thb  universal  system 
one  beautiful  whole.  For  the  original  expression, 
(Tweg-fiKe,  not  only  implies  that  he  sustains  all  things 
in  being,  or,  as  it  b  expressed  Heb.  i.  3,  vpholdeth 
all  things  by  the  word  of  his  pmcer^  but  that  all 
things  were,  and  are,  compacted  in  him  into  one 
system,  and  preserved  therein ;  and  that  he  is  the 
cement,  as  well  as  support,  of  the  universe.  Thb 
description  of  ihe  Son,  as  the  first  Maker  and  conti- 
nual Preserver  of  all  creatures  in  earth  and  heaven, 
even  of  the  various  orders  of  angelic  beings,  was 
most  pertinent  to  his  purpose  of  showing  the  Colos- 
sians  the  folly  of  the  fabe  teachers  who  were  endea- 
865 


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C^ist  is  the  head  of  the  church, 


COLOSSIANS. 


tft  whom  aU/tdneu  6wdU» 


k.  M  4C63.     18  And  "  be  is  the  head  of  the  body, 
^  ^'  ^'    the  church :  who  is  the  beginning, 

'  the  firstborn  from  the  dead ;  that  ^in  all  things 

he  might  have  the  pre-eminence. 
19  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  •in  him 

should  all  fiilness  dwell ; 


20  And,   ^  having  P    made   peace  A,M.4oea 
through  the  Hood  of  his'  cross,  ^  by  — ' 

him  to  reconcile  'aU  things  unto  himself;  by 
him,  /  say,  whether  they  be  things  m  earth,  or 
things  in  heaven. 

21  And  you,  'that  were  sometime  alienated 


•Eph.  i.  10,22;  ir.  15;  v.  23;  ICJor.  xi.  3.-r— ■  Acta  xxri. 
23;  1  Cor.  xr.  20.  23;  Rer.  L  5. «0r,  mMngaU, 


vouring  to  seduce  them  from  their  reliance  on  Christ 
for  salvation,  and  to  persuade  them  to  confide  in  and 
worship  angeki,  as  more  powerful  mediators  with 
God  than  his  own  beloved  Son,  by  whom  these  an- 
gels were  all  created. 

Verses  18,  19.  And  he  is  the  head  of  tlie  body,  the 
chvrdh — The  apostle  having  displayed  the  greatness 
of  the  Son,  as  Creator  of  all  things,  visible  and  invi- 
sible, in  tlie  heavens  and  upon  the  earth,  proceeds, 
in  this,  clause,  to  display  his  glory  as  head  of  the 
church,  which  is  called  the  body,  and  Jus  body,  to  in- 
timate, that  as  the  human  body  is  influenced,  dh-ect- 
cd,  an3  governed  by_the  head,  so  the  church  univer- 
sal, Incladmg  the  whole  body  of  believers,  is  influ- 
enced, directed,  and  governed  by  Christ  its  head. 
Who  w— The  repetition  of  the  expression  (see  vfcrse 
15)  points  out  the  entrance  on  a  new  paragraph ;  the 
beginning — kpxn,  the  principle,  or  cause  of  ^1  things ; 
absolutely  the  Eternal.  The  Greek  philosophers  ex- 
pressed the  first  cause,  or  efficient  principle  of  things, 
by  this  word  apxn,  beginning.  In  thb  sense  Christ 
called  himself  (Rev.  iii.  14)  apx^i  njf  KTiaeog  tb  Oea, 
the  first  cause  of  the  creation  of  God,  But  though 
it  be  a  high  honour  to  the  church  that  he  is  its  head 
who  is  the  first  cause  of  all  things,  yet,  as  the  apos- 
tle in  this  verse  is  speaking  of  Christ  as  the  head 
of  the  church,  it  is  probable  that  he  is  here  call- 
ed the  first  cause,  or  beginning,  in  respect  of  it, 
which  began  immediately  after  the  fall,  in  the  view 
of  Christ's  coming  into  the  world  to  perform  that  one 
great  act  of  obedience,  by  which  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  Adam's  one  act  of  disobedience  were  to 
be  remedied.  The  firstborn,  or  first-begotten  from 
the  dead — From  whose  resurrection  flows  all  the  life, 
spiritual  and  eternal,  of  all  his  brethren.  Christ  is 
called  the  firstborn,  from,  or  of,  (as  c/c  may  be  here 
rendered,)  the  dead,  both  because  he  was  the  first 
who  ever  rose  to  an  immortal  life,  and  because  he  is 
the  Lord  of  all  the  dead,  (as  well  as  the  living,  Rom. 
xi  v.  9,)  and  will  raise  them  at  the  last  day.  Hiat  in  all 
things — Whether  of  nature  or  grace ;  he  might  have 
the  pre-eminence — Suitable  to  the  infinitely  superior 
dignity  of  his  nature  above  all  created  beings.  For 
U  pleased  the  Father-^^^  The  words,  the  Father,  ^e 
not  in  the  original;  but  they  are  very  properly  sup- 
plied by  our  translators.  For,  as  the  expression  is 
elliptical,  it  must  be  completed,  either  as  our  trans- 
lators have  done,  or  as  others  propose,  by  adding  the 
word  him:  It  hath  pleased  him;  namely,  Christ. 
But,  not  to  mention  the  confusion  which  this  method 
of  supplying  the  ellipsis  occasions  in  the  apostle's 
discourse,  it  represents  the  Son  as  taking  the  fulness 
of  perfection  and  government  to  himself  independ- 1 

aart 


©John  i.  16. — 
1200^  V. 


-*  Or,  making  peaoe.- 
IS. f  Eph.  1.10.—- 


eutly  of  the  will  of  the  Father ;  contrary  to  the  whole 
tenor  of  Scripture,  in  which  the  Son  is  said,  ip  the 
affair  of  our  salvation,  to  act  in  subordination  to  the 
will  of  his  Father.''-*Macknight.  Thai  in  him  should 
all  fulness  dwell— AW  fulness  of  truth  And  grace,  of 
wisdom,  power,  and  love,  and  all  divine  perfections; 
or,  as  the  expression  may  chiefiy  mean,  all  fulness 
of  gifts  and  graces,  to  supply  the  wants  of  his  church. 
That  this  fulness  should  reside  in  him  constantly, 
and  be  always  ready  to  supply  the  wants  of  those 
that  in  faith  and  prayer  apply  to  him. 

Verse  20.  And  having  made  peace  through  the 
blood  of  the  cross — The  blood  shed  thereon,  by  which 
the  design  of  the  ceremonial  law  having  been  an- 
swered, the  obligations  of  it  were  abolished,  and  the 
wall  of  partition  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  broken 
down,  in  order  to  their  being  united  in  one  church ; 
by  Which  blood  of  the  cross  also,  the  Sins  of  men  be- 
ing expiated,  peace  b  made  between  God  and  man; 
by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself,  whether 
things  in  earth — Here  the  enmity  began,  therefore 
this  is  mentioned  first ;  or  things  in  heaven — Those 
who  are  now  in  paradise ;  the  saints  who  died  before 
Christ  came.  See  notes  on  C^h.  ii.  15, 16^  Some 
commentators,  under  the  expression  things  in  hea- 
ven, suppose  that  the  angels  sre  included ;  therefore, 
instead  of  to  reconcile  all  things  to  himself,  Dr.  Whit- 
by reads,  By  him  to  make  alt  things  friendly  in  Aim, 
making  peace  between  them  by  the  blood  of  the  cross  ; 
an  interpretation  which  Poddridge  thinks  expresses 
"  the  true  sense,  and  the  only  sense  in  which  angels 
could  be  said  to  be  reconciled  j  for  if  it  were  granted," 
according  to  what  some  have  maintained,  *'  that  the 
angels  received  confirming  grace  in  Christ,  they 
could  not  be  said,  upon  that  account,  to  be  reconciled : 
but  when  a  breach  commenced  between  man  and  the 
blessed  God,  the  angels,  as  faithful  subjects,  must 
join  with  him  against  the  rebellious  creature,  and  be 
ready  to  act  as  enemies  to  him,  while  he  continued 
the  enemy  of  God."  Macknight,  who  also  thinks 
that  the  expression,  things  in  heaven,  includes  an- 
gels, reads  and  paraphrases  the  clause,  ^By  him 
to  unite  all  things  to  him,  whether  they  be  men  upon 
earth,  or  angels  in  heaven;  that,  being  johied  toge- 
ther in  one  body  for  the  worship  of  God,  they  may 
he  happy  through  all  eternity  by  that  union." 

Verses  21-23.  And  yoi*— Colossians,  in  particular, 
with  all  other  Gentiles;  that  were  somerttnc— Greek. 
iroT€^  once,  formerly  ;  alienated — Estranged  from  the 
knowledge,  love,  and  life  of  the  one  living  and  true 
God,  (see  note  on  E^ph.  iv.  18,)  being  destitute  not 
only  of  all  conformity  to  him,  and  union  with  him, 
but  of  all  fear  of  him,  and  acquaintance  with  his  na- 


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CHAPTER  I. 


9uffering9for  the  Geniiiet. 


A.  M.  4068.  and  enemies  ^  in y<mr  mind  ^by  wick- 

' ed  works,  yet  now  hath  he  reconciled, 

22  *In  the  body  of  his  flesh  through  de^, 
'to  present  you  holy,  and  unblameaUe,  and 
unreproveable,  ill  his  sight : 
'  23  If  ye  continue  in  the  £uth  ^  grounded  and 
settled,  and  be  'not  moved  away  from  the 
hope  of  the  gospel^  which  ye  have  heard,  *  and 
which  was  preached  ^to  every  creature  which 


*OTyhy  joaTmmd  in  wkktd   vmJu.' — *  Titus  i.  15,    1€. 

•  Erfi.ii.  1^  16, »  Luke  i.  75. f  Eph.  iii.  17 ;  Cbap.  ii.  7. 

«  JohnxT. 6. 'Rom.  s.  IB, 


tare  and  attributes^  yea,  and  enemies — To  him  and  to 
his  worship  and  service ;  in  your  mind — Your  un- 
derstanding, judgment,  will,  and  alTections;  by  wick- 
ed iDorks — ^Which  at  once  manifested  your  inward 
enmity,  and  continually  fed  and  increased  it.  Ob- 
serve, reader,  every  violation  of  the  divine  law,  every 
instance  of  disobedience  to  his  commands,  is  an  un- 
deniable proof  of  enmity  to  himi  This,  however, 
is  not  the  only  evidence  thereof:  for,  as  he  manifests 
his  will  by  the  dispensations  of  his  providence,  as 
well  as  by  the  precepts  of  his  word,  so  far  as  we  do 
not  receive  these  dispehsations,  however  afllictive, 
with  resignation  and  patience,  we  manifest  our  en- 
mity to  him ;  as  we  do  likewise,  according  to  Kom. 
viii.  6,  7,  (where  see  the  note,)  so  far  as  we  are  car- 
nally minded;  that  is,  esteem,  desire,  and  delight  in 
visible  and  temporal,  in  preference  to  spiritual  and 
eternal  things ;  or  set  our  affection  on  things  beneath^ 
instead  of  setting  it  on  things  above^  and  seek  that 
happiness  in  the  creature  which  ought  to  be  sought, 
and  certamly  can  only  be  found,  in  the  Creator. 
Yet  now  hath  he  reconciled — ^To  himself  and  to  the 
society  of  his  people.  That  is,  he  is  both  reconciled 
to  yon,  having  forgiven  you  all  your  trespasses,  and 
also  hath  reconciled  you,  or  removed  your  enmity, 
by  shedding  his  love  abroad  in  your  hearts;  in  the 
body  of  his  Jlesh^fThus  distinguished  from  his  body 
the  church,)namely, his  entire  manhood, offered  up 
upon  the  cross  for  you ;  through  death — Endured  to 
expiate  your  guilt,  and  thereby  both  to  render  a  holy 
and  just  God  reconcileable,  on  the  terms  of  repent- 
ance toward  him.  and  faith  in  his  Son,  and  to  pro- 
care  for  you  the  Holy  Spirit  to  work  that  repentance 
and  faith  in  you,  and  give  you  such  a  display  of 
CSod's  love  to  you  as  should  win  and  engage  your 
affections  to  him.  See  on  Rom.  v.  10;  to  present 
you  Ao/y— Toward  God,  dedicated  to  him  in  heart 
and  life,  conformed  to  his  image,  and  employed  in 
his  service;  and  unblameable — A^/mtc,  spotless  in 
yourselves;  cleansed  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh 
and  spirit ;  and  unreproveable— "With  respect  to  your 
neighbour,  cultivating  truth  in  your  words,  and  jus- 
tice and  mercy  in  your  actions  toward  all  men.  Jf 
ye  continue— Thdki  i^  you  will  assuredly  be  so  pre- 
sented, if  you  continue  in  the  faith,  exercising  living 
Huth  in  Christ  and  his  gospel ;  grounded  and  settled 
•^TtOefitXuifttvbi  tcai  edpaiot^  placed  on  a  good  founda- 
Han^  and  firmly  fixed  i^Km  it;  and  be  not  moved 


is  under  heaven ;  °  whereof  I  Paul  am  A.  H.  4068. 
made  a  minister ;  ^'  ^' "' 

24  *  Who  now  cXejdce  in  my  sufierings  •  for 
you,  and  fill  up  'that  which  is  behind  of  the 
aflKctions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh  for  »  his  body's 
sake,  which  is  the  church : 

25  Whereof  I  am  made  a  nunister,  according 
to  "^  the  dispensation  of  God  which  is  given  to 
me  for  you,  *to  fulfil  the  word  of  God ; 


*>  Verte  6. «  Act*  i.  17. *  Rom.  ▼.  3. — -•  Eph.  iii.  1, 13. 

f  2  Cor.  i.  5,  a f  Eph.  i.  23. *  1  Cot.  ix.  17. *Or,/vi^ 

to  preach  the  word  of  Uod, 


away  from  the  hope  of  the  ^o«pe/— Namely,  that 
lively  hope  of  eternal  life,  felicity,  and  glory,  (Tit. 
i.  2 ;  1  Pet  i.  3,)  to  which  you  were  begotten  again 
when  made  children  of  God  by  adoption  and  grace, 
Rom.  viii.  17.  This  is  termed  the  hope  of  the  gospel^ 
because  the  goepel  reveals  that  future  and  immortal 
state  which  is  the  great  object  of  this  hope,  and 
shows  us  how  we  may  secure  a  title  to  that  state. 
Faith  and  hope  are  the  principal  means  of  our  sal- 
vation, from  first  to  last.  By  the  former,  we  are  not 
only  justified,  and  made  the  children  of  God,  (Rom. 
iii.  28;  GaL  iii.  26j)  but  sanctified  and  saved,  eter- 
nally;  (Act3.  xxvL  18;)  and  by  the  latter,  we  have 
patience,  gratitude,  joy,  purity,  with  a  disposition  to 
be  zealous  and  diligent  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
1  Thess.  i.  3;  1  Pet  i.  3;  Rom.  v.  2;  1  John  iii.  3; 
1  Cor.  XV.  58.  It  is  therefore  of  absolute  necessity, 
in  order  to  our  eternal  salvation,  that  wc  should  con- 
tinue in  the  lively  exercise  of  these  graces.  Whick 
ye  have  heard— i^^tm  ye  Gentiles;  and  which  was 
preached — Or  is  already  begun  to  be  preached,  by  a 
special  commission  from  God;  to  every  creature 
which  is  under  heaven— Being  no  longer  confined  to 
the  Jews,  but  extended  to  all  the  dififerent  nations 
and  languages  of  men ;  whereof— 0{  y^ich  gospel ; 
/,  Paul,  am  made  a  minister — By  the  singular  mer- 
cy and  grace  of  God. 

Verses  24-20.  Who  now  rejoice  in  my  sufferings 
for  you — Endured  for  your  benefit,  having  been  ex- 
posed to  them  in  consequence  of  my  preaching  the 
gospel  to  you  and  other  Gentiles ;  and  fill  up — That 
is,  whereby  I  fill  up ;  that  which  is  behind  of  the  af- 
flictions of  Clirist — That  which  remains  to  be  suf- 
fered by  hi?  members.  These  are  termed  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  1st,  Becatise  the  suffering  of  any 
member  is  the  suffering  of  the  whole,  and  of  the  he«d 
especially,  which  suppliea  strength,  spirits,  sense, 
and  motion  to  all.  2d,  Because  they  are  for  his  sake^ 
for  the  testimony  of  his  truth.  And  these  also  urm 
necessury  for  his  body*s  sake^  which  is  the  church — 
Not  to  reconcile  it  to  God,  which  has  been  done  by 
Christ's  sufferings,  but  for  an  example  of  patience  to 
it,  and  for  its  further  edification  and  establishment 
in  grace.  WhereoJ—Oi  which  church ;  /  am  made 
a  mim^ier— -Appointed  to  serve  its  best  interests, 
and  daily  employed  in  doing  so;  according  to  the 
dispensation  ofGod^-Or  the  stewardship  with  which 
I  am  intrusted.  See  the  sttie  expression  Ephesians 
867 


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4.  If.  4068.  26  Even  *  the  mystery  which  hath 
^^'  ^   been  hid  fronr  ages,  and  from  gen^a- 

tions,  ^but  now  is  made  manifesi  to  fab  saints : 
27  '  To  whom  God  would  make  known  what 

*?  "the  riches  of  the  glory  of  this  mystery 

among  the  Gentiles ;  whkh  b  Christ  *  in  you, 

■  the  hope  of  glory : 


i  Rom.  xri.  25. — -^ Mitt.  xiii.  ii ;  2  Tim.  i.  la. » 2  Cor.  iu 

14. ■  Rom.  ix.  23.— *-»  Or,  €m§ng  yon. ■  1  Tim.  i.  1. 

UL  2.  Hence  the  apostle  calls  himself  and  his  breth- 
ren apostles,  (1  Cor.  iv.  1,)  oiKOPoftscftviiipiuv  eeb^stew- 
cards  of  the  myateriet  of  God;  which  is  given  to  me 
for  you— On  your  account,  or  for  your  benefit ;  to 
fulfil— Or  J  fidly  to  preachy  as  irXffpuaai  seems  hefe  to 
signify.  Thus,  Rom.  XV.  1^,  irenXripoKevai  to  tvayye- 
Xiop  b  translated,  /  have  fully  preached  the  gospel; 
the  mystery  which  hath  been  hid  from  a^e«— Name- 
ly, ^hat  the  gospel  should  be  preached  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  that  they  should  be  called  into  the  church 
of  God  without  being  subjected  to  the  bondage  of 
the  Jewish  law,  Or  the  ceremony  of  circumcision. 
For  by  the  word  mystery  is  frequently  meant,  not  a 
matter  hard  to  be  understood,  but  a  matter  long  con- 
cealed, and,  when  revealed,  difficult  to  be  believed, 
through  the  prejudices  of  men.  Which  hath  been, 
comparatively,  hid  from  former  ages,  and  past  gen- 
erations of  men,  but  now  is  made  manifest  to  his 
saints— Th2Li  is,  to  true  believers  in  Christ,  even  to 
Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews.  Though  it  was  promised 
in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  and  predicted  that 
mankind  should  be  saved  by  faith,  this  was  not  un- 
derstood by  the  Jews,  and  therefore  it  is  here  called 
a  mystery y  or  a  thing  kept  secret,  in  allnsion  to  the 
heathen  m3rsteries.  To  whom  Ood  would  moke 
known— By  revelation,  confirmed  by  miracles,  and 
the  accomplishment  of  prophecies ;  what  is  the  riches 
of  the  glory  of  this  mystery— Thia  hitherto  concealed 
doctrine.  Here  tlie  apostle  proceeds  to  show  what 
was  the  chief  ma/^er  of  their  preaching,  as  also  what 
was  the  manner  and  the  end  of  it.  Which  is  Christ 
in  you — Not  only  among  you,  but  in  you.  Sec  on 
2  Cor.  xiii.  5 ;  living  in  you,  Gal.  ii.  20;  dwelling  and 
reigning  in  your  hearts  by  faith,  Bph.  iii.  17 ;  through 
the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  Rom.  viii.  9,  10;  John 
xiv.  20:  ihe  hope  of  glory — ^The  ground  and  source 
of  that  hope.  For  Christ  in  us  as  our  wisdom,  en- 
lightens our  minds  in  the  knowledge  of  that  glory; 
as  our  righteousness,  he  entitles  us  to  it;  as  our  sane- 
tificalion,  he  makes  us  meet  for  it;  and  as  onr  re- 
demption, brings  us  to  the  enjoyment  of  it  Whom 
we  preach— Who,  in  believers,  as  their  hope  of  glory, 
lithe  subject  of  our  preaching. 

The  apostle  mentions  next  the  manner  of  their 
preaching:  warning  every  man—Namely,  of  the 
necessity,  excellence,  and  attainableness  of  this  bless- 
ing j  and  teaching,  or  instructing,  every  man— Re- 
^>eeting  the  way  of  attaining  it;  or  warning  every 
868 


28  Whom  we  preach/ wamingevery  A.M.4068. 

man,  and  teaching  every  man  in  all ! !• 

wisdom;  'that  we  may  present  evecy  man  per- 
fect in  Christ  Jesus : 

29  4  Whereunto  I  also  labouE,  'striving  'ac- 
cording to  his  working,  which  worketh  in  me 
mightily. 


o Acts  XX. 20,27.  31. ^p2  Cor.  xi.  2 ;  Eph.  t.  27;  Ve»e  O. 

<i  1  Cor.  xr.  10. 'Chap.  ii.  1. •  Eph.  i.  19 ;  iu.  7.  M. 


man  of  his  dnty,  and  teaching  him  how  to  fVilfil  it ; 
and  of  his  danger,  and  teaching  him  how  to  avoid  it; 
in  all  wisdom — In  a  rational,  Scriptural,  and  consist- 
ent manner;  using  solid  and  convincing  argument^ 
and  placing  them  in  a  clear  and  lucid  order^  and 
adapting  the  matter,  manner,  language,  and  time  of 
our  preaching,  reproof,  or  exhortation,  to  the  state, 
character,  and  circumstances  of  our  hearers.  TThat 
we  may  present,  &c. — ^This  was  the  end  of  their 
preaching;  what  they  had  in  view  in  the  exercise  of 
their  ministry ;  namely,  that  at  the  bar  of  God,  in 
the  day  of  final  accounts,  they  might  present  every 
man  perfect — Namely,  having  been  made  so  while 
on  earth;  1st,  In  an  acquaintance  with  Christian 
doctrines,  1  Cor.  ii.  6;  Heb.  v.  12-14;  vi.  1,  2.  2d, 
In  the  possession  of  Christian  graces,  faith,  hope, 
love  to  God  and  man,  humility,  resignation,  patience, 
meekness,  ijentleness,  long-suffering,  &c.,  Heb.  vi. 
11 ;  X.  22;  1  John  iv.  17;  Col.  iii.  12-14.  3d,  In  the 
enjoyment  of  Christian  privileges,  peace  with  God, 
a  sense  of  his  favour,  adoption  into  his  family,  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  communion  with  God,  an  earnest 
of  their  future  inheritance  in  their  hearts.  4th,  Id 
the  performance  of  all  Christian  duties,  perfect  in 
every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  Heb.  xiii.  21 ;  omit- 
ting no  good  work  which  there  is  an  opportunity  and 
ability  to  perform,  and  doing  them  all  from  a  proper 
principle,  namely,  a  principle  of  love  to  God  and 
mankind;  to  a  proper  end,  tlie  glory  of  God;  and  in 
a  proper  spirit,  a  spirit  of  lowliness,  meekness,  and 
patience.  Observe,  reader,  the  sanie  ought  still  to 
be  the  mailer,  manner,  and  end  of  the  preaching  of 
all  God's  ministers.  JVhereunio-^ln  order  to  which 
important  purpose;  I. also  labour — In  the  sphere 
appointed  me,  striving— Wiih  zeal  and  diligence ; 
Greek,  ayuvt^ofievoc,  contending,  combating,  agoniz- 
ing with  an  earnestness  like  that  of  those  who  con- 
tend in  the  Grecian  games.  To  these  the  apostle 
fitly  compared  himself;  because  everywhere  he  met 
with  the  greatest  opposition  from  evil  spirits  and 
wicked  men ;  and  in  preaching  the  gospel  he  sus- 
tained toils  and  sufferings  much  greater  than  those 
which  the  athletes  endured  hi  their  combats.  Ac- 
cording to  his  working — Ttjv  evtpyetav  avnt,  his  ener- 
gy ;  which  worketh  in,  or  by,  me  mightily— Supports 
me  in  the  glorious  contest,  wherein  otherwise  I 
should  sink,  and  renders  my  efforts  effectual  to  ac- 
complish the  purposes  intended. 

b 


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CBAPTER  n. 


fir  ike  Coloesiane  and  Zjoodiceam. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Herif  (1,)  7^  apottU  eUelara  hU  Under  eaneem  for  the  Coiosnan  beikvert,  and  others  tn  iheirneighboitrhoodt  thmt  theg 
might  he  eetebUehed  in  their  adherence  to  the  goepel,  1-7.  {%)  He  largefy  eoMtitme  them  agamet  steering  their  minde  to 
he  eerrwfted  from^  the  etmpHeity  of  CkrietianHy,  either  ly  pdgan  phSosophy,  Jewish  traditions,  or  Mosaic  rites;  re- 
presenting  to  them  haw  campleU  they  were  in  Christ,  without  the  addition  of  any  of  these  things,  8-17 ;  against  wor- 
shipping  of  angels,  as  such  worship  was,  in  effect,  renoandng  Christ  their  head,  IB,  19  ;  against  such  eomtpt  additions  to 
Christianity  as  some  were  attempting  to  introduu  ly  rigours  and  superstitions  (/ their  own  devising,  20^23. 


A.  M.  40dB.  pOR  I  would  that  ye  knew  what 

—I— ! great  ^  conflict  •  I  have  for  you, 

and  for  them  at  Laodicea,  and  for  as  many 
as  have  not  seen  my  face  in  the  flesh ; 
2  ^  That  their  hearts  might  be  comforted, 
®  being  knit  together  in  love,  and  unto  all 
riches  of  the  Mi  assurance  of  understanding, 
*  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  mystery  of  Grod, 
and  of  the  Father,  an^  of  Christ ; 


»  Or,  fear,  or,  care.- 

^2Cot.l^— 

I  9. *0r, 


-»Chap.  i.  29;  Phil.  i.  30 ;  1  TImm. iL 

►ChM».  iii.  M. *Phil.  iii.  8;  Chap. 

— •  I  Cor.  i.  24;  it  6,  7;  Eph.  i  8; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 

Yersea  1-3.  /  woukL^  &c. — The  apostle  having  de- 
dared,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  preceding  chapter,  the 
eommission  which  Christ  had  given  to  his  apostles 
to  preach  stdvation  to  the  Ctotiles  through  his  death, 
and  having  described  his  own  labours  as  an  apostle 
in  preaching  that  great  blessing,  and  thereby  having 
shown  what  great  Obligations  mankind  were  under 
to  him  for  communicating  and  perpetuating  such 
interesting  discoveries;  he  hegins  this  second  chap- 
ter with  expressing  an  earnest  desire  that  the  Colos- 
sians  knew  what  a  great  concern,  he  was  under  for 
their  establishment  in  grace,  and  that  of  others,  to 
whom  he  had  not  personally  ministered.  TTuU  ye 
knew  what  great  conflict — Of  care,  desire,  prayer ;  / 
have — The  original  expression  is  taken  from  l^e 
athletic  exercises  of  the  Greeks,  and  expresses  the 
great  solicitude,  or  agony  of  mind,  the  apostle  was 
in  on  their  account.  For  you— Not  only  for  the 
members  of  such  churches  as  I  myself  have  been  the 
instrument  Of  planting,  and  among  whom  I  have  ex- 
ercised my  ministry  in  peraon,  but  for  those  among 
whom  I  have  not  so  ministered;  and  for  them  at 
Laodicea,  and  ae  many  a$  have  not  seen  my  face, 
Ac—Tor  my  concern  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel, 
and  the  salvation  of  the  heathen,  is  influenced,  not  by 
considerations  of  personal  friendship  for  those  whom 
I  particularly  know  and  love,  but  by  a  benevol^t 
regard  for  the  good  of  mankind  in  general,  known 
or  unknown,  that  they  may  receive  and  retain  this 
glorious  revelation,  and  have  it  delivered  to  them 
with  all  possible  advantage.  It  appears  to  have 
grieved  the  apostle  to  think  how  incapable  he  was 
rendered  of  serving  them  otherwise  than  by  his  let- 
ters and  prayers.  And  riiould  not  this  language  in- 
spire every  minister  who  reads  this,  with  an  earnest 
diesire  to  use  his  liberty  to  the  best  of  purposes,  and 
to  exert  himself  as  much  as,  under  such  eonfinement, 
he  would  wish  he  had  done?  That  their  kettrte 
may  be  eomfirtod^Wnh  the  oonsolations  of  the 

Yoi.IL  (tM) 


the  A.1C.40G8. 
i_  A.  D.  64. 

know — 


3  'In    *whom    are^  hid  all 
treasures  of    wisdom    and 
ledge. 

4  And  this  I  say,  ^lest  any  man  should  be- 
guile you  with  enticing  words. 

5  For  >^  though  I  beabseiit  in  the  flesh,  yet 
am  I  with  you  in  the  spirit,  joying  and  b^did- 
ing  ^  your  order,  and  the  *  steadfastness  of  your 
&ith  ip  Christ. 


Chap.  i.  9. '  RoBL  xvi.  18 ;  2  Cor.  ri.  13 ;  Eph.  iv.  14 ;  v. 

6 ;  Verses  8,  la— c  1  Cor.  t.  3 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  17. *  1  Cor. 

xiT.40. JlPct.T.  9. 


Holy  Ghost,  and  anhnated  to  every  holy  aflbction 
and  beneficent  action.  This  the  original  word  im- 
plies, signifying,  not  only  to  have  consolation  ad- 
ministered under  aflliction,  but  to  be  quickened  and 
excited  to  zeal  and  diligence ;  being  knit  together--' 
IvfiSUaai^evrov,  comp€Uited ;  in  mutual  Christian  jovf 
—To  the  whole  body,  and  to  Christ  the  hemd  of  it; 
unto  all  riehee  of  the  full  aseurance  ofunderetemd- 
tn^— That  is,  unto  the  Aillest  and  clearest  know- 
ledge of  the  gospel,  here  termed  the  mystery  of  Ood^ 
even  of  the  Father,  and  of  Christy  in  irAom-— Or  in 
which  mystery,  (as  may  be  intended,)  and  not  in 
any  or  all  of  the  heathen  mysteries;  are  hidedl  the 
treaewres  ofioiedom  and  knowledge-^laiti  being 
himself  the  wisdom  of  God  incarnate,  and  his  gospel 
the  most  perfect  and  glorious  revelation  whidi  Go4 
ever  made,  or  will  make  to  mankind. 

Verses  4, 5.  And  this  /«ay— Concerning  tiie  per- 
^tion  of  Christ  and  his  gospel,  and  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge  contain^  therein;  Uet  any 
man  should  beguile  you  (see  the  margin)  viTft  en- 
ticing words — Of  human  philosophy,  aikl  science 
falsely  so  called,  and  should  draw  you  off  from  a 
proper  attachment  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Fdt 
though  I  be  absent  from  you  in  body,  yet  I  am  with 
you  in  the  spirit — The  apostle  not  only  seons  to 
mean  that  his  heart  was  much  interested  in  all  their 
concerns,  but  that  God  now,  by  the  revelation  of  his 
Spirit,  gave  him  a  particular  view  of  their  circum- 
stances, as  he  gave  Elisha  to  see  Gehazi  TUiming 
after  Naaman,  and  receiving  a  present  from  him, 
2  Kings  V.  25, 26.  Not  that  there  is  any  reason  to 
suppose  that  either  the  apostle  or  Elisha  possessed 
any  permanent  gift,  whereby  they  had  the  know- 
ledge of  all  the  things  done  in  their  absence  by  those 
hi  whose  conduct  they  were  particularly  concerned. 
The  anxiety  which  St  Paul  felt  on  various  occa- 
sions, from  his  uncertainty  as  to  the  affiurs  of  di£fer- 
ent  churches,  is  inconsistent  with  such  asuppositioQ 
raipectlng  him ;  and  wejtore  no  reason  to  suppose 


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A.  H.  4068.  6  ^  As  ye  have  therefore  received 
— 1—! —  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in 
him: 

7  ^  Rooted  aikl  built  up  in  hinii  and  stabliehed 
in  the  fiaiith,  as  ye  have  been  taught,  abound- 
h)g  therein  with  thanksgiving. 

8  ■  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you  through 


kl  The8s.iT.  1. iEpluii.21,32;  iii.lT;  ChapUrL23. 

»  Jer.  xxix.  8 ;  Rom.  zri.  17 ;  Eph.  t.  6 ;  Verse  18 ;  Heb.'  ziii.  9, 
•Mttt.  XT.  2;  OaL  L  14 ;  Verse  22. »0r,  dmenU, 


that  Eliaha  possessed  a  gift  of  this  kind  superior  to 
what  was  conferred  on  the  apostle.  But  a  particu- 
lar revelation  on  some  certain  occasions  either  of 
them  might  have ;  and  such  a  one  the  latter  seems 
to  have  had  at  this  time  concerning  the  state  of  the 
church  at  Colosse ;  as  other  apostles  probably  had 
respecting  other  churches,  persons,  or  things^  See 
Acts  V.  3,  8.  Jopng  and  beholding— Or,  beholding 
with  joy  J  ymtr  order— Th^i  is,  your  orderly  walk- 
ing; and  the  steadfastnesa  of  your  faith — Which 
your  enemies  in  vain  endeavour  to  shake. 

Verses  6,  7.  it*,  or  ttnce,  ye  have  received  Ckrigt 
Jestu  the  JLord— Have  aoknowledged  Jesus  of  Na- 
zareth to  ^  the  true  Messiah  promised  to  the  Jews, 
asd  eoQsequently  a  divinely-commissioned  Teacher, 
Mediator,  Swriour,  and  litwgiver;  yea,  the  great 
Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  of  his  church,  and  there- 
fore yoor  sovereign  Lord,  and  the  final  Judge  of  ipen 
and  angels ;  so  v)alk  ye  in  him— hei  your  spirit  and 
conduct,  your  dispositions,  words,  and  actions,  be  in 
perfect  consistency  with  this  acknowledgment ;  walk 
in  the  same  faith,  love,  and  holiness,  in  which  you 
received  him,  steadily  believing  his  doctrines,  obey- 
ing his  precepts,  relying  on  his  promises,  revering 
his  (hreatenings,  and  imitating  his  example;  rooted 
— Ib  himj  as  trees  in  a  good  soil,  or  as  the  graft  is 
rooted  in  the  stpck;  a$id  built — Upon  him,  the  only 
'Sure  foundation  of  your  confidence  and  hope  for 
time  and  eternity ;  M$id  eatablished  in  the  faith— In 
your  persuasion  of  the  truth  and  importance  of  the 
goq;>el  in  all  its  parts;  a$  ye  have  been  taught— By 
those  that  have  preached  it  to  you;  ^Abounding 
lA^nn— Making  continual  progress  in  your  ac- 
quaintance with  it  and  conformity  to  it;  v>ith  thanks- 
ginng^To  God,  for  having  made  you  partakers  of 
so  great  a  blessjbig. 

Verse  8»  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you — M17  rif 
•syiac  ^tu  0  ovXayayoPy  lest  there  be  any  One  who  makes 
-a  prey  of  you;  through  philosophy — ^The  pretended 
wisdom  of  the  heathen  philosophers;  and  vain  de- 
ceit—Sophistical  and  delusive  reasonings,  and  un- 
profitable speculations.  ^'The  ^[>ostle,"  as  Mac- 
knight  justly  observes,  ^'does  not  condemn  sound 
philosophy,  but  that  kind  of  it  whicli  had  no  founda- 
tion in  truth ;  and,  being  formed  merely  from  ima- 
gination, aided  by  the  pride  of  human  reason,  was 
lupported  by  tradition;  that  is,  by  the  afiirmation 
of  the  inventors,  handed  down  from  one  to  another. 
Of  this  kind  was  the  philosophy  of  the  Platonists 
concerning  demons^  whom  they  represented  as  car- 
xymg  men's  prayers  to  God,  and  as  bringing  h^ck 


l^ilosephy  and  vain  deceit,  after  *  the  h.  M.  40SB. 

tradition  of  men^ after  the 'rudiments* '    '  / 

of  th^  worU,^  and  not  after  Christ 

9  For  I"  in  him  dwelleth  aU  the  fuloeas  of  die 
GocBiead  bodily. 

10  "i  And  ye  are  complete  in  him,  'which  10 
the  head  of  all '  principality  and  power : 


oOaL  IT.  3,  9;  Vene  20.^— p John  L  14. 1  John  L  16, 

r  Matt,  xzviii.  18  ;  i  Cot.  xr.  27;  Eph.  L  20, 81 ;  PhiL  iL  2. 
■Chap.  i.  IS. 


from  God  the  blessings  prayed  for.  They  tpeke  of 
them  likewise  as  govemmg  the  elements  and  all  hu- 
man afiairs,  by  a  sort  of  independent  power."  It 
seems  some  teachers  had  crept  in  among  the  Chris- 
tians at  Colosse,  either  of  Gentile  or  Jewish  extrac* 
tion,  who  endeavoured  to  blend  deceits  of  this  kind 
with  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  this  is  what  the 
apostle  here  condemns ;  1^  Because  it  was  empty  and 
deceitful,  promising  wisdom,  but  giving  none.  2d,  Be- 
cause it  was  grounded,  not  on  truth,  or  solid  reason, 
tmt  on  the  vain  and  false  traditions  of  men.  3d,  Be- 
cause, as  the  apostle  here  says,  it  was  after  the  rudi- 
ments, ro'A^eai,  the  elements,  of  the  iror/ci— Such  as  the 
Jewish  ceremonies,  or  the-  pagan  superstitious.  The 
ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law  have  this  appellation, 
(Gal.  iv.  8,)  being  but  a  carnal  worship  in  comparison 
of  the  more  spiritual  ordinances  of  the  gospel ;  and  but 
an  elementary  kmd  of  institution,  (like  the  alphabet 
to  children,  or  the  first  principles  of  science,)  fitted  to 
the  infapcy  of  the  church;  and  not  after  Christ^- 
According  to  his  institution  and  dpctrine,  but  tend* 
ing  to  withdraw  the  heart  from  him. 

Verses  9^  10.  For  in  him  dwdUth—bikabiteik^ 
Karouui,  continually  abideih ;  oZZ  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead-r-BeXie^yets  may  hejilled  with  all  thefiU- 
ness  qf  God,  Eph.  iii.  19;  but  in  Christ  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  Of  the  Godhsad,  the  most  full  Godhead, 
chap.L  19;  bodily — Really,  substantially.  The  very 
substance  of  God,  if  one  might  so  speak,  dwells  in 
Christ  in  the  most  full  sense.  "It  is  plain,"  says 
Dr.  Doddridge,  "  that  the  Godhead  is  an  anglicism 
equivalent  to  Deiiy,  Compare  Acts  xvii.  29.  And 
I  cannot  think  that  these  wonderful  words  are  in- 
tended merely  to  signify  that  God  hath  lodged  in  the 
hands  of  Christ  a  fulness  of  gifts,  to  be  conferred 
upon  men,  as  if  the  passage  were  merely  parallel  to 
Johni.  16, 17,  as  Mr.  Pierce  explains  it;  while  Soci- 
hus  sinks  it  yet  lower,  as  if  it  only  referred  to  his 
complete  knowledge  of  the  div'me  will.  I  assuredly 
beUeve,  that  as  it  contains  an  evident  allusion  to  the 
Shechinah,  in  which  tied  dwelt,  so  it  ultimately 
refers  to  the  adoral^e  mystery  of  the  union  of  the 
divine  and  human  natures  in  the  person  of  the  glori- 
ous Emmanuel,  which  makes  him  such  an  object  of 
our  hope  and  confidence,  as  the  most  exalted  crea- 
ture, with  the  most  glorious  endowments,  could 
never  of  himself  be.''  And  ye  are  complete  in  him 
—You  have  in  and  from  him  every  thing  necessary 
to  your  salvation,  all  (he  wisdom  and  knowledge^ 
the  righteousness  a(nd  strength,  the  holinees,  fiup 
port,  and  comfort  that,  you  stemd  in  need  of,  to  ona 

(•a4*  )  * 


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TJU  CeH^iBim  hdi^en  were  qukkmud      (WAPTBR  O*  omdaecqpMtJu'oughfmiffiinCkrki. 


A.lf.4068L 


11  In  ^nbam  also  ye  an  *  drctim- 
OMd  wilh  the  ckcumciaion  made 
withoiit  hands,  in  *  potliiig  off  the  body 
WIS  of  4he  Oeeh  by  the  dreumcision  ci  Christ: 
12  'Buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein 
also  3r ye  aie  risen  with  Am  through  *ihe£Edth 
of  the  operation  of  Qod,  *  who  hath  raised  him 
from  the  dead. 


<Deiit.x.  16. '•Rom.tld.— «RoiB.Ti4. 7Chi^.UL 

L •Eph.i.l9;iii7. •ActsiiM. *Eph.ii.  1,5,6,11. 

«Eph.iLlM6. 


me  you  to  glorify  God  on  eartii,  and  to  prepare  you 
for  being  glorified  with  him  in  heaven.  But  the 
original  expression,  tv  avro  ireir^pafupot,  is  literally, 
f€  are  fiUfd  by  Mm.  See  on  John  i.  16.  Christ  is 
filled  with  Ck>d,  ai^  ye  are  filled  with,  or  by,  Christ 
The  Ailness  of  Christ  overflows  his  church,  Psa. 
exnii*  3.  He  is  originally  full,  but  our  fulness  is 
derived  from  him.  Who  is  the  head  of  all  prmcir 
polity  and  power-^t  angels  as  well  as  men.  Not 
from  angels,  therefore,  but  from  their  Head,  are  we 
to  ask  whatever  we  stand  in  need  of.  The  supre- 
macy of  Christ  over  all  created  beings,  is  asserted  in 
many  other  passages  of  Scripture.  See  the  margin. 
A  doctrine  this  which  aflbrds  the  greatest  consola- 
tion to  the  people  of  Ck>d,  as  it  assures  them  that 
nothing  befalls  them  without  his  permission,  and 
that  all  things  shall  work  together  for  their  good» 

Verses  11, 12.  In  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised^- 
Ye  have  received  the  spiritual  blessings  signified  of 
old  by  circumcision;  with  the  circumcision  made 
wOhout  AotMlf^Namely,  an  internal,  spbitnal  cir- 
eumcisi<m ;  in  putting  q/T— Not  a  little  skin,  but  the 
whole  body  of  the  sins  ofthefiesh-^KH  the  sins  pro- 
ceeding from  your  corrupt  nature;  by  the  circum- 
cision of  Christ — The  circumcision  of  the  heart, 
which  Christ  requires  and  effects.  Buried  with 
Aim,  &c.-^That  is,  which  he  wrought  in  you  when 
you  were,  as  it  were,  buried  wi^  him  in  baptism — 
The  ancient  manner  of  baptizing  by  imnuersion  is  as 
manifestly  alluded  to  here,  as  the  other  manner  of 
baptizing  by  sprinkling,  or  pouring  of  water,  is,  Heb. 
jt.  2Si.  But  no  stress  is  laid  on  the  age  of  the  bap- 
tized, or  the  manner  of  performing  it,  in  one  or  the 
other  place;  but  only  on  our  being  quickened,  or 
renewed,  through  the  poyrerful  operation  of  his  Spirit 
in  the  soul,  which  we  cannot  but  know  assuredly,  if 
we  really  are  so:  and. if  we  do  not  experience  this, 
our  baptism  has  not  answered  the  end  of  its  institu- 
tion. W%erem— Or  rather,  by  whidi ;  ye  are  risen 
with  Atm->From  the  death  of  sin,  to  the  life  of  right- 
eousness ;  through  the  faith  of  Ae  operation  of  God 
—Faith  wrought  In  you  by  God:  see  on  Bph.  ii  8-, 
or,  through  faith  in  the  energy  of  God,  as  some  ren- 
der Aa  rvf  *riCK*f  nff  eptpyeiac  r«  Ofn ;  who  raised  him 
from  the  dead — ^They  who  put  this  latter  sense  upon 
the  passage  explain  It  thus:  ^^The  circumcision 
which  Christ  performs  being  accomplbhed  1^  the 
infioenee  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  upon  the 
mhids  of  believers,  and  their  belief  of  these  doctrines 
being  founded  on  their  belief  of  Hie  resDrrectioQ  of 
b 


13  ^  And  yoo,  being  dead  in  your  mis  A.H.4oes. 
and  theuncireomcisioQ  of  your  flesh,    ^^'^ 
hath  he  quickened  toge&er  with  hkn,  bamg 
ferg^ven  you  all  trespasses ; 

14  "^  Blpttii]^  out  the  hand  writing  of  ordinance* 
that  was  agamst  us,  whieh  was  contrary  to  us, 
and  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross ; 

16  And  *  having  spoiled  •  principalities  and 


'Gen.  iii.  15;  Psa.  brrili.  18;  !■«.  liiL  IS;  Matt.  xTi.  29; 
Luke  z.  18 j  xi.  22 ;  John  zii.3l :  zri.  11 ;  Eph.  W.  8 :  Hebw 
ii.li. •Epb.Ti.12,  ,     K-.         , 


Christ,  their  belief  of  that  great  mbrade  is  jnstly  rep- 
resented as  the  means  whereby  they  are  made  new 
creatures.''  The  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  however, 
will  produce  no  such  effect,  unless  they  bo  accom- 
panied by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Verses  18-15.  And  you — Believing  Gentiles;  being 
formerly  dead  in  your  sins— Under  the  guilt  and 
power  of  your  sins,  (see  on  Eph.  ii.  1,  5,)  and  the 
uncircumcision  of  your  flesh-^Yom  corrupt  and 
unrenewed  nature,  your  uncircuracised  heart  and 
affections;  hath  he—Qod  the  iPa^er;  ^ickened-^ 
Brought  you  out  of  that  state  by  initising  into  yon 
spiritual  life :  together  with  Atm^Through  the  merit 
of  Christ's  death,  and  in  conformity  to  his  resurrec- 
tion 5  having  forgiven  you  aU  trespasses—In  con- 
sequence of  his  havihg  atoned  for  them.  Blotting 
Ota  the  handwriting— Where  a  debt  is  contracted, 
It  is  usually  testified  by  iK>me  handwriting.  And 
when  the  debt  is  forgiven,  the  handwriting  is  de- 
stroyed, either  by  blotting  it  out,  taking  it  away,  or 
tearing  it  The  apostle  expresses  in  all  these  three 
ways  God's  destroying  the  handwriting  which  was 
contrary  to  us.  And  perhaps,  as  Macknight  thinks, 
in  the  expression,  ndiHng  it  to  the  cross,  he  alludes 
to  "  an  ancient  custom  of  abrogating  laws,  by  driving 
a  nail  through  the  tables  on  which  they  were  written, 
and  hung  up  to  public  view."  The  word  (foy/mro, 
here  rendered  ordinances,  is  used  by  the  LXX., 
Bzek/xiC.  26,  for  the  rites  of  the  ceremonial  law,  as 
it  is  also  Eph.  ii.  15,  and  that  law  is  evidently  here 
meant  j9t  Paul  says,  it  was  against  us;  meaning, 
Ist,  The  Jews,  who  had  been  under  an  obligation  to 
fulfil  it,  and  whose  guilt  and  liableness  to  punish- 
ment it  testified.  It  was  also,  2d,  Against  and 
contrary  to  the  Gentiles,  as  being  a  middle  wall  of 
partition,  hindering  them  from  coming  to  God,  and 
putting  an  enmity  between  them  and  the  Jews. 
This  Christ  took  away  by  abolbhing  the  obligation 
of  It,  and  admitting  the  believing  Gentiles  to  be  fel- 
low-heirs with  the  believing  Jews,  of  the  promises 
and  blessings  of  the  gospel,  without  their  becoming 
subject  to  it.  See  notes  on  Eph.  ii.  14-18.  And  hav- 
ing spoiled  principalities  and  po^oers— The  evil 
angels,  of  their  usurped  dominion,  in  consequence 
of  his  having  conquered  them.  For  in  the  origins] 
expression,  aireKdveofuvo^,  which  signifies  Jiaving 
stripped  off,  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  ancient  cus- 
tom of  victors,  who  were  wont  to  strip  the  vanquish- 
ed of  their  arms  and  clothes.  Hence  the  word  la 
taken  to  signify  spotting  in  general  That  the  evU 
871 


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COLOSSIAHa 


wwMppiMkgofangd^ 


A.  H.  4066.  powers,  he  made  a  shoW  of  them 
^^'^    openly,  triumphing  over  them  ^in  it 

16  Let  no  man  therefore  'judge  you  ^m' 
meat,  or  ki  drink,  or  ^in  respect  ^(tf  a  holyday^ 
or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath  days: 

17  '  Which  are  a  shadow  of  things  toecHne; 
but  the  body  t^  <^  (%rist. 


♦  Or,  m  Awiiw(^. '  Rom.  xir.  3, 10, 13. »  Or,  for 

and  drmkmg, f  Rona.  xIt.  2, 17 ;  ICor.  niL  8.— •  Or,  m 

p&rt, *  Rom,  xir.  5 ;  GaL*  ir.  10, 


angels  are  here  said  to  be  spoiled  by  Christ^  dyii^ 
on  the  cross,  seems  evident  from  what  we  read  else- 
where. Chrbt,  speaking  of  bis  death,  said  to  hisdis- 
ciples,  (Johnxii.31,)  Now  shall,  o  apxw,  <A«  prince, 
Or  ni/6r,  of  this  wortdbe  cast  out;  and,  chi^.  xvL  11, 
o  o^wv,  the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged.  See  also 
Eph.  iv.  8.  And  by  spoiling  them  we  may  under- 
stand, with  Hammond,  Whitby,  and  others,  the  de- 
struetion  of  idolatry,  the  silencing  the  heathen 
osacles,  and  the  banishing  of  those  grievous  super- 
stitions, with  which  mankind  had  been  so  long 
oppressed.  Some  others,  however,  by  these  princi- 
palities and  powers  understand  the  Jewish  rulers 
and  great  men,  who  in  the  first  age  grievously  per- 
secuted the  disciples  of  Christ  But  this  interpreta- 
tkNn  seems  unnatural,  and  certainly  was  not  verified 
by  fact  at  the  time  when  the  apostle  wrote  this  epis- 
tle, the  Jewish  sanhedrim  and  rulers  being  still  in 
power.  J7e— God  the  Father ;  made  a  show  of  them 
c^penZy— Before  all  the  hosts  of  hell  and  heaven] 
triumphing  over  them  in  or  by  i<— Even  that  cross 
whereby  they  hoped  to  have  triumphed  over  him, 
God  turning  theur  counsels  against  Uiemselves,  and 
mining  their  empire  by  that  death  of  his  Son  which 
they  had  been  so  eager  to  accomplish.  Or  the 
clause  may  be  rendered,  triumphing  over  them  in 
him;  in  Christ  By  turning  the  heathen  from  the 
power  of  Satan  to  God,  it  was  shown  that  the  evil 
spirits,  who  formerly  ruled  them,  were  vanquished 
and  stripped  of  their  power.  It  is  supposed,  that  in 
this  and  U)e  preceding,  clause  there  is  an  dlusion  to 
the  Roman  triumphs,  of  which  see  on  2  Cor.  iL  14; 
and  that  St.  Paiil  represents  Christ  himself^  or  his 
apostles,  as  riding  in  triumph  through  the  world,  with 
the  evil  spirits  following  the  triumphant  car  in  chains, 
and  exposed  to  public  view  as  vanquished  enemies. 
Verses  16, 17.  Let  no  man,  therefore,  Ac. — See- 
ing these  things  are  so,  and  the  ceremonial  law  is 
now  abolished,  let  no  one,  who  is  in  a  bigoted  man- 
ner attached  to  it,  judge  and  condemn  you  Gentile 
Christians;  that  is.  regard  none  who  judge  you,  in 
regard  to  the  use  oimeat  or  drinAr^Forbidden  by  it ; 
or  in  respect  of  a  holyday — H  ev  fupet  eopriK,  in  re- 
spect of  a  festival  The  festivals,  distinguished 
from  new  moons  and  sabbaihs,  meant  days  of  re- 
joicing annually  observed.  Of  these  some  were 
enjoined  in  the  law,  others  by  human  authority, 
such  as  those  instituted  in  commemoraticm  of  the 
deliverance  of  the  Jews  by  Esther,  and  of  the  puri- 
fieation  of  the  temple  by  Judas  Maccabeus.  Or  the 
new  moon^  or  the  sabbath  day*— The  weekly  Jew- 

9n 


18^Letnoiiian''begu3eyouofyour  A.M.4oe8L 
reward  "in  a  voluntary  humilRy  an4  — ^— ^ — 
woreAuppiDgof  angds,  intruding  imoiboee  thingi 
^  which  he  hath  not  seen,  vainly  puffed  iq)  by  hi» 
flesUy  mind, 

19  And  not  holding  "^the  Head,  finom  whicb 
all  the  body  t^  jobts  and  bands  having  noii^ 


^HebrewtTiii  6;  iz.9;  z.  1. ^Vefte  4. ^  Or,  judg9 

««aul  voM. *0r.  Uing  a  vobmimy  m  kumiUtw,  Vene  & 

lEiek.  riii.  S. Eph.  it.  15,  IS. 


ish  sabbaths ;  which  are  but  a  lifeless  shadow  em« 
blematical  of  good  things  to  come — Intended  to  lead 
men's  minds  to  spiritual  and  evang^ical  blessings. 
BtU  the  body^Oi  those  shadows;  is  of  Oirist'-Th^ 
substance  of  them  is  exhibited  in  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  in  whom  they  all  centre;  and  having  the 
latter,  we  need  not  be  solicitous  about  the  former. 
"  The  whole  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses  being 
abrogated  by  Christ,  (CoL  ii.  14,)  Christians  are 
under  no  obligation  to  observe  any  of  the  Jewish 
holydays,  not  even  the  seventh-day  sabbath.  Where- 
fore, if  any  teacher  made  the  observance  of  the 
seventh  day  a  necessary  duty,  the  Coloasians  were 
to  resist  him.  But  though  the  brethren  in  the  first 
age  paid  no  regard  to  the  Jewish  seventh-day  sab- 
bath, they  set  I4>art  the  first  day  of  the  we^  for 
public  worship,  and  for  commemorating  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  their  Master,  by  eating  his  sup- 
per on  that  day;  also  for  the  private  exercises  of 
devotion.  This  they  did,  either  by  the  precept  or 
by  the  example  of  the  apostles,  and  not  by  virtue  of 
any  ii^nnction  in  the  law  of  Moses.  Besides,  they 
did  not  sanctify  the  first  day  of  the  week  in  th^ 
Jewish  manner,  by  a  total  abstinence  from  bodily 
labour  of  every  kind.  That  practice  was  condemn- 
ed by  the  council  of  Laodicea,  as  Judaizingy^- 
Macluiight. 

Verses  18^  19.  Let  no  man  beguile  you  of  your 
reisoni— Of  future  glory,  however  eagerly  or  art- 
AiUy  he  may  attempt  it  According  to  Pierce,  who 
pleads  the  authority  of  Demosthenes,  the  word 
MTaBpaBevera^  here  rendered  beguile  you  of  your  re- 
ward, should  be  translated  condemn  you:  others, 
because  the  veib  BpaSevo,  without  the  preposition,  is 
translated  to  rule,  (Col.  ilL  15,)  are  of  opinion  that 
the  expression  may  be  translated  enslave  you.  But 
as  the  original  word  comes  from  SpaBnep,  a  reward, 
the  compounded  verb  certainly  more  properly  sig- 
nifies to  hinder  a  reward  from  being  bestowed,  an 
evil  which  the  wordiipping  of  angels,  here  guarded 
against,  as  more  powerful  mediators  than  Christ, 
would  have  occasioned.  For  if  on  any  pretence 
these  Colossian  believers  had  forsaken  Christ,  and 
attached  themselves  to  angels,  they  must  bave  lost 
the  whole  benefit  of  Christ's  mediation.  In  a  volun- 
tary  humility — OeXitv  ev  Totretvo^poevm!,  an  expression 
which  Whitby  renders,  pleasing  himself  inhishu- 
mility  ;  or  affecting  humility,  and  so  not  addressing 
God  immediately,  but  only  by  the  mediation  of  an- 
gels. In  proof  of  whidi  interpretation,  the  same 
author  refers  to  several  passages  of  the  I^X.,  in 

b ' 


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CHAPTER  n. 


to  the  doOrines  of 


A.  u.  4008.  nshment  ministered,  and  knit  toge- 

— U ther,  increaseth  widi  the  increase  of 

God. 

.20  Wherefore,  if  ye  be  '^  dead  with  Christ  from 
*  Che  *  rudim^its  oif  the  world,  '  why,  as  though 
living  in  the  world,  are  ye  subject  to  ordinances, 
21  (^  Touch  not ;  taste  not ;  handle  not ; 


.  Ti.  3,  6 ;  TiL  4,  6 ;  G«L  iL  19 ;  fiplL  iL  15.r •  Vi 

*  Or,  dnmmts, 9  OaL  ir.  3,  9, 4 1  Tim.  It.  3. 


Vane  81 


which  the  word  ^ehji  means  to  he  plecued  mth,  or 
t0  delight  in,  a  person  or  thing:  there  are  also 
passages  in  the  New  Testament  in  which  the  word 
seems  to  bear  the  same  meaning.    See  Matt  xz.  26, 
27  ;  Mark  xii.  38.    And  worshipping  of  angeU—lt. 
evidently  appears,  from  several  passages  in  Philo, 
to  have  been  the  opinion  o^  that  learned  Jew^  that 
angels  were  messengers  who  presented  onr  prayers 
to  Crod,  as  well  as  brought  down  his  favours  to  us. 
He  represents  this  view  of  the  matter  as  mo9t  hum- 
ble and  reverential,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  it  pre- 
vailed among  other  Jews.    See  Tob.  xi.  14;  xii.  12, 
15.    It  was  undoubtedly  because  the  Jews  enter- 
tained so  great  a  respect  for  angels,  on  account  of 
their  supposed  agency  in  human  affairs,  that  the 
apostle,  in  this  epistle,  and  in  that  to  the  Hebrews, 
took  so  much  pains  to  show  that  the  Son  of  God  is 
greater  than  all  angels.    It  is  justly  remarked  by 
Bishop  Burnet,  that  had  it  been  the  apostle's  inten- 
tion to  give  the  least  encouragement  to  any  religious 
addresses  to  saints  and  angels,  this  would  have  been 
a  ^ery  natural  occasion  of  introducing  the  subject, 
aad  adjusting  its  proper  boundaries.   Intruding  into 
th^inge  which  he  hath  not  seen — With  great  pre- 
samptiou,  and  pretending  to  discover  wonderful 
secrets,  relating  to  their  various  ranks,  subordina- 
tions, and  offices.    "  The  apostle's  meaning,"  says 
Macknight,  "  is,  that  the  false  teachers,  of  whom  he 
speaks,  presumptuously  penetrated  into  the  secrets 
of  the  invisible  world,  and  talked  of  them  with  an 
air  of  certainty,  without  having  any  knowledge  of 
the  things  which  they  affirmed;  particularly  that 
the  angels  intercede  with  God  for  men,  and  that  to 
worship  them  is  acceptable  to  God."    Vainly  puffed 
up  by  his  fleshly—His  corrupt  and  carnal;  mind— 
With  the  conceit  of  things  which  it  is  impossible  he 
should  understand,  and  a  desire  of  introducing  novel- 
ties into  religion.    And  not  holding  the  HeadSoi 
adhering  to,  and  relying  on  Christ,  the  Head  of  his 
church,  by  whom  all  the  true  members  of  it  are  not 
only  guided  and  governed,  but  from  whom,  having 
spiritual   noiiriehment  ministered  by  joints   and 
bands — By  various  means  of  instruction  and  grace, 
or  by  the  several  talents  and  gifts  of  its  members, 
employed  for  the  good  of  the  whole ;  and  knit  to- 
gether—By love  and  mutual  sympathy ;  increaseth 
—In  knowledge,  holiness,  strength,  stability,  and 
Qsefulness ;  with  the  increase  of  God— Thhi  increase 
which  comes  from  him,  is  approved  by  him,  and 
tends  to  his  glory.    What  the  apostle  here  says 
aganist  the  worshipping  of  angels,  conclndos  equally 
P 


22  Which  an  ai^  to  perish  with  the  a.  M.<f06a 
usmg;)    'after  the  commandments    ^'^'^- 
and  doctrines  of  men  ? 

23  "Which  things  have  indeed  a  show  of 
wisdom  in  *  will-worshq),  and  hnmOity,  and 
^®  n^lecting  of  the  body ;  not  in  any  honour  io 
the  satisfying  of  the  flesh. 


'Imu  xdx.  13;  MAtt.  irr.  9. •!  Tiaiothy  W.  a- 

^*  Or,  yimitkmg,  or,  ntt  spmring. 


t  Verse  a 


against  the  worshipping  of  saints.  Indeed,  it  is  ab- 
surd to  suppose  that  any  being  can  be  a  proper 
object  of  worship,  which  is  not  both  omniscient  and 
onmipresent,  which  certainly  neither  angels  nor 
saints  are.  It  is  a  just  remark  of  a  judicious  divine, 
that  the  apostle's  exhortation  in  this  verse  is  a  good 
caution  to  us  to  beware  of  all  refinements  in  Chris- 
tianity, which  have  any  tendency  to  derogate  from 
the  authority,  office,  and  honour  of  Christ,  as  Head 
of  the  church. 

Verses  20-23.  Wherefore — The  inference  begun 
verse  16  is  continued.  A  new  inference  follows 
chap.  iii.  1.  If  ye  be  dead  with  Christ— Ab  by  re- 
ceiving the  ordinance  of  baptism  ye  profess  to  be ; 
from  the  rudiments,  or  elements,  of  the  world — 
See  on  verse  8.  From  those  ceremonies,  which 
persons  among  the  Gentiles  or  the  Jews  are  apt  to 
place  so  much  dependance  on;  why,  as  though  liv- 
ing in  the  world — In  the  manner  you  formerly  did, 
and  being  still  influenced  by  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
and  associated  with  worldly  people ;  are  ye  subject 
io  ordirMncts—To  mere  human  institutions,  heathen 
or  Jewish?  Why  receive  ye  or  use  ordinances, 
which  Christ  hath  not  enjoined,  and  from  which  lie 
hath  made  his  followers  free?  Or  the  sense  may  be, 
Since  you  professed  yourselves  at  your  baptism  to 
be  spiritually  dead  with  Christ,  and  by  his  death  to 
be  freed  even  from  the  ceremonies  of  the  law, 
(though  of  God^s  own  institution,)  why  should  you 
submit  to  superstitious  rites  and  ordinances  of  the 
like  kind  invented  by  men  ?  Touch  not — Any  un- 
clean thing;  taste  not— Any  forbidden  meat;  handte 
not — ^Any  consecrated  vessel  Most  commentators 
suppose  that  the  Jewish  ceremonies  only  are  here 
referred  to,  and  that  this  was  directed  to  the  Jewish, 
converts  at  Colosse :  but "  as  I  have  no  doubt,"  says 
Macknight,  "  that  it  was  intended  for  the  Gentiles, 
I  think  the  ordinances  of  which  the  apostle  spealpi 
were  the  rules  of  the  Pythagoreans  respecting  absti- 
nence from  animal  food,  and  of  the  Platonists  con- 
cerning the  worshipping  of  angels,  condemned 
verse  18^  which  it  seems  some  of  the  church  at 
Colosse  had  actually  begun  to  follow;  p^haps  at 
the  persuasion  of  the  Judaizing  teachers,  who  wish- 
ed to  subject  them  to  all  the  rites  of  the  law."  Which 
ail  are  to  perish  in  the  using^All  which  thin^ 
cannot  be  used,  but  they  miwt  perish  in  and  by  the 
use  of  them,  being  made  merely  for  the  body,  and 
with  it  going  to  corruption,  and  having  thwefore  no 
(tirther  use,  no  influence  on  the  mind.  The  original 
expression,  however,  nc  ^^opav  r^  ajro;tp^et,  may  be 
978 


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The  apoalle  exhorU  believers  to 


COLOSSriANS. 


$et  their  qfeotion  on  fhingM  (dmm* 


rendered,  tend  to  corruption^  in,  or  6y,  ihe  abuse  of 
them  ;  and  the  word  ^Oopa  being  often  used  by  St.  Pe- 
ter, not  for  a  natural^  but  a  morcU  corruption,  (see 
2  Pet.  i.  4;  ii.  12, 19,)  tbe  meaning  of  tlie  verse  may 
be,  that  when  these  ceremonies  are  observed  in  com- 
pliance with  the  commands  and  doctrines  of  men 
as  things  necessary,  they  corrupt  men  who  thus 
abuse  them.  Thus  Doddridge:  "ilW  which  things 
tend  to  the  corruption  of  that  excellent  religion  into 
which  you  have  the  honour  to  be  initiated,  by  the 
abuse  of  them,  excording  to  the  commandments  and 
doctrines  of  mistaken  and  ill-designing  merij  who 
msist  so  eagerly  upon  them,  as  if  they  were  essen- 
tial to  salvation."  Which  things  indeed  have  a 
show,  a  pretence,  of  wisdom— Of  being  an  excellent 
doctrine,  or  wise  institution,  and  are,  in  thai  view, 
gravely  insisted  upon,  especially  by  the  more  rigor- 
ous sects  5  in  will-worship — ^A  worship,  or  service, 
which  they  themselves  have  devised.  "  The  word 
e^ehrSptfSKeia  nearly  resembles  the  phrase  found 
verse  18,  ^eXov  tv  ^prtaxtta,  delighting  in  the  ipoiv 


ship.  But  it  cesk  hardly  be  literally  trans|aled,  so 
as  to  express  the  same  idea.  9ut  the  meaning  is^ 
a  worship  of  human  invention,  consequently  per- 
formed from  one's  own  wiU."  And  in  an  affected 
humility  and  neglecting  of  the  body—Qrtt\  a^eidta 
<Tu/iaTOff  a  nott/paring  of  the  body;  namely,  by  sidn 
jecting  it  to  much  mortification,  in  denying  it  many 
gratifications,  and  putting  it  to  many  inconveniences. 
Not  in  any  ^iono»r— Namely,  of  flie  body ;  or  not 
ofimy  real  vaJtae^  as  npi  may  be  rendered,  namdy, 
before  God:  to  fhe  saiisfying  of  the  fleshSov  do 
they,  upon  the  whole,  mortify,  but  satiny  the  flesh. 
They  indulge  man's  corrupt  nature,  his  self-will, 
pnde,  and  desire  of  being  distingiiished  fromothem 
Doddridge  reads,  to  the  dishonourabie  satisfying  of 
the  flesh;  their  severity  to  the  body,  rigorous  atrit 
seemed,  being  no  true  mortification,  nor  tending  to 
dispose  the  mind  to  it  On  the  contrary,  while  it 
puffed  men  up  with  a  Vain  conceit  of  their  own 
sanctity,  it  might  be  said  rather  to  satisfy  the  flesh, 
even  while  it  seemed  most  to  aflUct  it. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

In  this  chapter  the  dpfisHe  exhorts  beUevers,  {!,)  To  be  heavetdy^mmded,  ss  persons  sptrituaUy  risen  with  Ckriett  and  ex- 
pecting literally  to  rise  with  Atm,  1-4.  (3,)  To  mortify  all  their  corrupt  affeOiom,  as  persons  renewed  after  the  image' 
of  God,  and  hating  Christ  as  their  all  in  alt,  ^11.  (3,)  To  cultivate  mutual  Une,  forbearance,  and  forgiveness ;  love  to 
God's  word,  solemn  praise  and  thanksgiving,  and  continual  regard  to  Christ,  12-17.  (4,)  To  practise  all  relative  duties 
as  Christians,  tohether  wives  or  husbands,  children,  parents,  or  servants,  18-25. 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.  64. 


TF  *  ye  then  '  be  risen  with  Christ, 

seek  those  things  which  are  above, 

where  ^  Christ  sitleth  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 


♦  Easter  day,  epiaUe,  wene  1  to  rene  8. »Eoid.  tI.  ^; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1,  8.  If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ— 
From  spiritual  death  to  spiritual  life,  as  spoken  of 
chap.  ii.  12, 13.  See  also  notes  on  Eph.  ii.  1,  6.  If 
ye  be  not  only  engaged  to  become  new  creatures, 
but  really  are  such:  or,  which  seems  to  be  also  im* 
plied.  If  Christ's  resurrection  draw  after  it,  and  en- 
sure, the  resurrection  of  all  men,  and  especiaDy  of 
all  his  true  disciples,  and  if,  therefore,  you  be  begot- 
ten again  to  a  lively  hope  of  rising  with  him,  even 
as  to  your  bodies,  to  ^ory  and  immortality ;  seek 
the  things  which  are  oftowe— Which  relate  to  heaven 
and  eternal  felicity ;  as  Christ,  being  raised,  went 
immediately  to  heaven ;  where  he  silteth  at  the  right 
hand  of  Chd—hs  your  forerunner,  having  taken 
possession  of  the  incorruptible  inheritance  for  you. 
iSfeeAr— That  is,  desire  and  pursue  them  in  the  way 
which  God  hath  appointed ;  namely,  1st,  By  the  ex- 
ercise of  that  faith  which  is  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen,  (Heb.  xi.  1,)  having  a  deep  conviction  and 
lively  sense  of  their  reality  and  importance.  For  a 
mere  Idea  or  opinion  of  them,  however  corr^  will 
974 


2   Set  your   ^  affection  on  things 
above,     not    on 
earthy 


things    OQ     Ihe 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.64. 


ii.  6.- 


^  Rom.  Till.  34 ;  Eph.  i.  20.— ->  Or,  mind. 


not  suffice.  Who  would  set  sail  in  search  of  neitr 
islands  or  Continents,  and  encounter  the  storms  and 
perils  of  the  ocean,  with  his  life,  and  property,  and 
all  embarked,  if  he  did  not  believe  the  real  existence 
of  the  objects  of  his  search?  It  is  necessary  to  be 
persuaded  also  of  the  excellence  and  attainablcAess 
of  these  things.  2d,  By  an  anticipating  and  joyful 
hope  of  them,  grounded  on  your  being  children  of 
God,  and  heirs  of  these  heavenly  joys  and  glories, 
dd,  By  shunning  whatever  you  know  would  grieve 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  so  prevent  your  attaining  the 
objects  of  your  pursuit,  and  by  conscientiously  using 
all  those  means  which  are  calculated  to  promote 
and  ensure  your  attainment  of  them.  And  espe- 
cially, 4th,  Set  your  affection  on  iNese  things;  for 
vrithout  this  you  will  seek  them  in  vain.  Greek, 
^pwecre,  discern,  mind,  regard,  esieefh,  covet,  de- 
light in,  things  above — Things  spiritual  and  eternal. 
And  not  on  things  on  the  ear/A— Things  visible  and 
tempond,  things  relating  to  th'is  present,  short,  and 
uncertain  life ;  things  unsatisfying  and  transitory, 
which  pass  from  you,  and  you  Arom  them.    For  n* 


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OHAPTBR  m. 


mmi\fy  wU  d^eOumt. 


A.K.4oe8.  3  •For  ye  aic  dead,  *  and  your  life 
±h^  18  hid  with  Chrk*  in  God. 

4  *  When  Christ,  who  w  'our  life,  shall  ap- 
peeo-,.  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  him  'in 
glocy. 

6  ^Mortify  therefore  ^your  monbers  which 
are  upon  the  earth ;  ^  fcxnioation,  undeanness, 


•  Rom.  ti  2  ;  GaL  ii. 30 ;  Chap. ii. 20. *2  Cor.  ▼.  7;  Cb«p. 

L  ft. •  I  John  in.  2. '  Jolm  xL  25 ;  xIt.  &        f  1  Cor.  xt. 

43;  PhiLm.2L 

member,  you  cannot  set  yoar  affection  on  things 
abore  and  on  things  beneath  also ;  cannot  go  two 
ways  at  once,  nor  be  at  the  same  time  spiritually 
and  carnally  minded:  (/*  any  man  love  the  worldy 
the  love,  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him^  1  John  iL 
16. 

Verses  3^4.  For  ye  are  dead^Aa  to  tdn,  so  to  the 
world  and  all  earthly  things,  and  that  botii  by  pro- 
fession as  Christians,  and  by  an  indispensable  obli- 
gation laid  upon  yod  by  Him  whose  laws  you  have 
engaged  to  obserye.  Yea,  and  you  have  solemnly 
promised  and  covenanted  with  him,  at  least  at  your 
baptism,  to  renounce  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this 
evil  world,  to  conduct  yourselves  as  strangers  and 
fifgrims  on  earth,  and  to  seek  a  better  qountry^  even, 
a  heavenly.  You  are  also  dead  in  another  sense ; 
your  body  is  dead  because  of  sin;  (Rom.  viii.  100 
is  sentenced  to  die,  and  till  that  event  take  place, 
your  life  here  on  earth  is  hardly  worthy  of  the  name 
of  life,  compared  with  the  life  you  expect.  It  is 
rather  death  than  life,  because  of  the  imperfection, 
shortness,  and  uncertainty  of  It  But  there  is  pro- 
vided for  you  a  life  worthy  of  your  whole  affection, 
of  your  highest  esteem,  most  fervent  desire,  most 
lively  expectation,  and  most  cordial  delight : — a  life 
solid,  satisfying,  constant,  eternal !  This  is  properly 
your  life,  procurfed  by  QhriSt  for  you,  in  his  gospel 
promised  to  yon,  and  in  consequence  of  his  resur- 
rection and  ascension,  received  and  taken  possession 
of  on  your  account  This  life  at  present  is  hid—ThtX 
Is,  1st,  Concealed  from  you  behind  the  veil  of  flesh 
and  the  visible  heavens.  Your  senses  can  give  you 
no  information  concerning  it;  just  as  the  senses  of 
the  unborn  child  cannot  discover  to  it  the  life  it  shall 
enter  upon  after  its  birth.  2d,  iSf  i«  laid  up;  re- 
served, kept  se<rured,  with  Christ — Where  he,  your 
living  Head,  is,  and  where  his  members  shall  be. 
3d,  It  b  laid  up  in  God,  in  the  heart  and  centre,  so 
to  speak  of  Deity,  and  the  infinite  perfections  of 
God,  especially  his  wisdom,  power,  love,  faithful- 
ness, mercy,  nay,  and  justice,  stand  engaged  to  confer 
It  upon  persevering  believers,  and  upon  you,  if  you 
are  and  continue  to  be  such.  When  Christ— The 
abruptness  of  this  sentence  surrounds  us  with  sud- 
den light ;  who  is  xmr  h/c— The  procurer  and  giver 
of  our  spiritual  and  eternal  life,  yea,  the  fountain  of 
our  holiness  and  happiness  in  time  and  in  eternity; 
shall  appear— In  the  clouds  of  heaven ;  (which  he 
soon  shall,  for  behold,  he  says,  /  come  quickly;) 
then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  Aim— He  will  not 
only  come  and  Xtke  you  hence  by  death,  when  your 


inordinate   affection,    ^evil  concum-  A.ic.40oe. 

•1  ,  .  «     .      A.  D.  64. 

scence,  and  covetpusness,  ^  which  is  

idolatry: 

6  ^  For  which  things'  sake  the  wrath  o!  Qod 
Cometh  on  "*  the  chiUren  of  disobedience.: 

7  'In  the  which  ye  also  V^Uced  some  time, 
when  ye  Uved  in  them. 


^Roiii.TiiL  13;  6«].  y.  34.— *--* Rom.  tL  13. kEph.T.8. 

I  l^TheM.  iT.  5. »  Eph.  r.  S. ■  Rom.  L 19. •  Eph.  IL  S. 

tL  10, 30 ;  Yii.  6 ;  Tit  iii.  3. 


spirits  shall  be  instantly  with  him,  John  xiv.  8; 
2  Cor.  V.  6, 7 ;  Phil.  i.  21 ;  but  he  will  appear  unto 
your  final  salvation^  Heb.  ix.  28;  Tit.  ii.  13;  Rev. 
i.  7 ;  and  then  especially  ye  shall  appear  with  him 
in  glory— Bearing  his  glorious  image  in  soul  and 
body,  1  Cor.  xv.  49;  yea,  you  shall  be  completely 
like  him,  for  you  sJiall  see  him asheis,  Rev.  zxii. 4 ; 
1  John  iii.  2.  < 

Verses  6-7.  Mortify  t^r«/brc— Put  to  "death,  slay 
with  a  continued  stroke;  your  members— The  mem- 
bers of  the  old  man,  which  together  make  up  Uie 
body  of  sin;  inclinations  and  dispositions  which 
spread  themselves  through  all  the  members  of  the 
body,  and  draw  even  them  into  a  compliance  widi 
themselves;  which  are  upon  the  earth — Where  they 
^nd  their  nourishment,  or  which  are  earthly,  in- 
clining to  earthly  things,  and  wholly  engaged  about 
them.  Uficleanness— In  act,  word,  or  thought; 
inordinate  affection — Every  passion  which  dOtes  not 
flow  from,  and  lead  to,  the  love  of  God ;  evil  con^ 
cupiscence — Or  desire,  namely,  the  desire  of  the 
fleshy  the  desire  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life. 
Covetousness — The  desire  of  having  more,  as  the 
word  signifies,  or  of  any  thing  independent  of  God ; 
which  is  idolatry— Properly  and  directly,  for  it  is 
giving  the  heart  to  a  creature,  putting  that  trust  in 
a  creature  which  ought  to  be  placed  in  the  Creator, 
and  seeking  that  happiness  in  a  creature  which  can 
only  be  found  in  God,  and  ought  therefore  only  to 
be  sought  in  him.  For  which  things^  «a/rc— Though 
the  carnsd  and  sensual  regard  them  lightly;  the 
wrath  ofOod  comethon  the  children  of  disobedi- 
ence— Even  on  the  heathen  themselves,  who  bid 
the  most  open  defiance  even  to  the  first  principles 
of  all  true  religion.  The  apostle  speaks  in  this 
severe  manner  against  the  vices  mentioned,  because 
they  were  commonly  practised  by  the  heathen,  and 
had  been  practised  by  the  Colossians.  In  the  which 
ye  also  walked— Had  your  conversation,  partaking 
with  your  neighbours  in  all  their  enormities;  wJien 
ye  lived  in,  or  among,  f^  cm— Kept  company  witli 
the  children  of  disobedience.  By  their  walking  in 
these  things,  the  apostle  seems  to  have  meant  their 
committing  the  vices,  mentioned  verse  6,  habitually, 
and  with  pleasure.  For  Qolosse  being  a  city  of 
Phrygia,  where  the  rites  of  Bacchus  ^d  those  of 
Cybele,  consisting  of  all  sorts  of  lewdness  in  speech 
arid  action,  were  practised  with  a  frantic  kind  of 
madness,  the  Colossians,  no  doubt,  had  been  much 
addicted  to  these  gross  impurities  in  their  heathen 
state. 

879 


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EvU  affection$  mti«l  he  mortified, 


COLOSSIANa 


wndhowUofmercimfna^iL 


A.H.4068.    8  <i  But  now  ye  also  put  off  all  these; 
^^'^    anger,  wrath,  malke, Uasphemy,  'fil- 
thy (xmununicatkm  out  of  your  mouth. 

9  "  Lie  not  one  to  another,  ^  secdng  ihat  ye 
^have  put  off  the  dd  man  with  his-deeds ; 

10  And  have  pfll  on  the  new  man,  which  *is 
renewed  in  knowledge  'after  the  image  of  him 
that  ^  created  him : 

11  Where  there  is  neither  *  Greek  nor  Jew,  cir- 
cumcision nor  unchrcumcision,  barbarian,  Scy- 
thian,bond  nor  free :  *but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all. 

12  *  *  Put  on,  therefore, « as  the  elect  of  God, 


\  Ei^  iT.  22. »"  Kph.  IT.  29 ;  r.  4. "  Lev.  xix.  11 ;  Eph. 

2T.  25w » Eph.  ii.  22, 24. ■  Rom.  xii.  2. »  Eph.  iT.  23, 24. 

y  E^h.  ii.  10. *  Rom.  z.  12 ;  1  Cor.  xii.13 ;  Gal.  iii.  28 ;  r.  ff ; 

Bpt  yj.  8. »  Eph.  L  23." *  Fifth  Sunda;^  after  Epiphwiy, 

•pii^,  Terse  12  to  Ter»e  18. ^  Eph.  iT.  24. « 1  These,  i.  4 ; 

Yerses  8-11.  But  now  ye  aho^Being  converted 
to  the  pure,  peaceable,  and  devout  religion  of  the 
Lord  Jesu3 ;  put  o^— Mortify ;  atl  these  corrupt  pa^- 
flioiis  and  lusts;  anger^  &c.---See  on  Epb.  iv.  81; 
btasphemy—Qx  evil  speaking^  as  tbe  word  may  be 
IHX)perly  rendered ;  for  it  includes  not  only  impious 
q[>eecbes  with  regard  to  God,  wbicb  is  tbe  bigbest 
degree  of  malignant  language,  but  all  rail'mg'and 
reproacbful  speeches  against  our  fellow-creatures, 
and  even  speaking  of  tbe  faults  of  absent  persons, 
when  not  necessary  for  tbe  caution  of  otbers,  or 
when  no  good  end  is  likely  to  be  answered  thereby. 
FiUhy  cojnmunicatum — The  word  aiaxpo^iciy  so 
rendered,  seems  to  signify  the  same  wftb  ^yoc 
cairpocy  rotten  discourse^  mentioned  Eph.  iv.  29, 
where  see  the  note.  And  was  there  need  to  warn 
even  believers  in  Christ  against  such  gross  and  pal- 
pable sins  as  are  here  named  7  O  what  is  man,  till 
fully  renewed  in  tbe  spirit  of  bis  mind !  Lie  not 
one  to  ono^Aer— Either  in  trade  and  business,  or 
common  conversation;  seeing  ye  have  put  of  the 
old  man— That  which  (chap.  ii.  11)  is  called  the 
body  of  the  sins  of  the  fleshy  and  b  there  said  to.  be 
put  off  by  the  circumcision  of  dhrist^  by  Christ's 
circumcising  men's  hearts,  or  making  them  new  crea- 
tures. The  apostle  means  that  when  they  professed 
to  believe  in  Christ,  and  to  offer  themselves  to  bap- 
tism, that  they  might  be  member^  of  the  Christian 
Church,  they  had  professed  to  put  off  the  old  man 
\oith  his  deeds  ;  that  is,  the  evil  practices  belonging 
thereto.  And  have  put  on  tJie-new  man — Have  pro- 
fessed to  receive  a  new  nature,  and  to  manifest  it  by 
new  dispositions  and  a  new  behaviour ;  ichich  is  re- 
newed in,  or  by  the  means  of^  knowledgeSwaiely, 
spiritual  and  divine  knowledge,  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  Christ,  and  of  the  divine  word  and  will; 
after  the  ipiage  of  him  that  created  him — Even  of 
God,  who  is  the  great  standard  of  all  moral  perfec- 
tion, and  who,  in  the  first  creation,  made  man  after 
his  ovn  image.  See  on  Eph.  iv.  22-24.  Where 
—In  which  case  it  matters  not  what  a  man  is  exter- 
nally, whether  Jew  or  Gentile — Circumcised  or  wn- 
circumcised;  barbarian — Void  of  all  the  adyaniages 
876 


holy  and  bdoved,  ^  bowds  of  mercies,  a.  m.  406a 
Idndness,  humblenesB  of  mind,  meek-    ^^-^ 
ness,  long-miffering ; 

13  *  Forbearing  one  another,  and  fofgiving 
one  another,  if  any  man  have  a  'quan]^ 
against  any:  even  as  Christ  forgave  yon,  so 
also  do  ye. 

14  ^  And,  above  all  tl^se  things,  'ptU  ^on 
charity,  which  is  the  ^  bond  of  perfectness. 

15  And  let  *  the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your 
hearts,  ^  to  the  which  also  ye  are  called  '  in  one 
body ;  ^  and  be  ye  thankfiiL 


lPet.i.2..^ *Gtl.T.22;PhiLu.l;Eph.iT.3,32. •Maik 

"    "         —  '1  Peter  iv.  a 

..2). — ^Etjtk. 

_., .Conn.  rii.  15. 

'  Eph.  ii.  16, 17 ;  iv.  i. wChap.  ii.  7 ;  Vene  17. 


xi.  25;  Eph.  ir.  2,  32. •Or,  eomplfUni. '1  P« 

r  John  xiii.  34 ;  Rom.  ziii.  8 ;  1  John  iii.  23 ;  iv.  21.- 
ir.  3. — ^Romans  xir.  17;  Phil.  ir.  7. — ^^1  Corii 


of  edncation,  yea, or  Scythian — Of  allbarbarians  most 
barbarous;  bond^A  slave,  subjected  to  the  will  of  his 
master,  or  freeman— -Who  has  his  actions  |n  his  own 
power:  but  Christ  is  in  ail — Who  are  thus  renewed, 
and  is  ail  things  to  them,  connected  with  their  salva- 
tion, the  source  of  all  their  wisdom  and  grace,  holiness 
and  happiness ;  be  is  instead  of  all  they  ^vant,  and 
better  than  all  -the  things  which  they  possess  besides 
him. 

Verses  12,  13.  Put  on  therefore— Jn  a  higher  de- 
gree than  before ;  as  the  elect,  or  chosen,  of  God^ 
The  appellation  given  in  the  New  Testament  to  all 
the  true  disciples  of  Christ,  io  all  that  so  believe  in 
him  as  to  be  pardoned  and  renewed ;  see  on  Eph.  i.  4 : 
Ao/^— Dedicated  and  conformed  to  him;  an^  be- 
loved—By  him,  or  set  apart  to  bis  service,  and 
blessed  with  the  tokens  of  his  peculiar  favour. 
Bowels  of  mercies— OiKTipfutv^  of  tender  mercies, 
namely,  toward  all  the  afflicted,  destitute,  and  dis- 
tressed, especially  those  of  the  household  of  faith ; 
kindness — Benevolence  toward  one  another  and  all 
men,  or  sweetness  of  disposition^  as  Tcpn^orn^  proper- 
ly signifies;  kuwMeness  of  mind— In  your  behaviour 
toward  others,  engaging  you  to  condescend  even 
to  those  that  are  in  the  lowest  stations  of  Jlfe ;  meek- 
ne»#— Under  whatever  injuries  or  provocations  you 
may  receive,  always  restraining  you  from  returning 
evil  for  evil,  railing  for  railing,  and  from  resenting 
any  injury  that  may  be  done  to  you ;  long-suffering 
—Amidst  the  fallings,  weaknesses,  and  faults  of  your 
fellow-Christians;  or  when  your  trials,  whether  im- 
mediately from  the  hand  of  God  or  man,  are  either 
continued  long,  or  are  violent  in  theh*  degree ;  for- 
bearing— Or  patiently  bearing  with  one  another,  if 
any  thing  is  now  wrong ;  and  forgiving  one  another 
— What  is  past ;  if  any  ma/i  have  a  quarrel — Uofiftfv, 
complaint;  against  any:  even  as  Christ  forgave 
youj  &c.~And  thereby  set  you  ah  example,  that 
you  might  be  always  disposed  to  forgive  tbe  foulta 
of  your  offending  fellow-Christians  or  fellow-crea- 
lures.    See  on  Eph.  iv.  82. 

Verses  14-17.  And  above  all  these  things — As  in- 
cluding them  all,  and  indeed  being  the  source  from 

b 


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CHAPTER  m. 


father9f  a$id  $erta9iU0 


A.  M.  4068.    16  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  ia 

1 — 1  you  richly  in  all  wisdom;  teaching 

and  adoKHiishing  one  another  ''in  psahne,  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  ®  with  grace 
in  your  hearts  to  th^  JjotA. 

17  And  ^whatsoever  ye  do  in  wordortlecd, 
lio  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus^  ^  giving 
thanks  to  Gtod  and  the  Father  by  him. 

18  ^TTives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own 
husbands, '  as  it  is  fit  in  the  Lord. 

19  ^  Husbands,  love  four  wives,  and  be  not 
*bitter  against  them. 

20  'Children,  obey  your  parents  ^in  all 
things :  for  this  is  well-pleasing  unto  the  Lord. 


•  1  Cor.  xir.  26 ;  Eph.  1. 19. »  Chap.  ir.  6. p  1  Cor.  x.  31. 

<  Rom. J.  8 ;  Eph.  r.  20 ;  1  Thess.  r.  18 ;  Heb.  xiii.  15; »  Bph. 

T.  23 ;  Tit  U.  5 ;  1  Pet  iii.  1. •Ej^r.  3. « Eph.  r.  2ft,  28, 

3) ;  1  Pet  iii.  7. ■  Eph.  ir.  31. »  iJph.  Ti.  1. 


whence  they  llowj  ptU  on  chcarUy—Tnu  ayamfv^ 
lave^  namely,  to  God,  his  people,  and  all  mankind ; 
which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness-^Which  both  con- 
tains the  whole  of  Christian  perfection,  and  connects 
all  the  parts  of  it  together.  And  let  the  peace  of 
God  nde  in  your  Aear/«^-Influence  and  govern 
all  your  intentions,  affections,  and  dispositions,  nay, 
and  even  your  thoughts.  Or,  it  then  shall  rule  in 
your  hearts,  and  that  as  the  reward  (so  the  Greek 
word  implies)  of  your  preceding  love  and  obedience. 
"  Let  it  fill  your  hearts,"  says  Pasor,  "  with  such  a 
joy  as  victors  have  when  they  receive  {ro  ppaCeiop) 
the  prize  in  the  Olympic  games."  Or  rather,  "  let 
it  preside  in  your  hearts,  as  the  master  of  the  games 
does  in  those  solemnities."  So  Beza  and  Doddridge. 
Th  which^To  the  enjoyment  of  which  inestimable 
blessing;  ye  are  called^By  the  gospel;  in  one  body 
— Not  otherwise;  that  is,  in  a  state  of  real,  vital 
union  with  Christ  your  living  Head,  and  one  another. 
And  be  ye  thankful^For  the  high  honour  and  great 
happiness  conferred  upon  you.  Let  the  word  of 
Christ — The  gospel  which  you  have  received,  and, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  general; 
dwell  in  you — In  your  minds  and  hearts,  in  your 
memories  and  affections,  being  made  the  matter  of 
your  daily  meditation :  nor  let  it  make  a  short  stay, 
or  an  occasional  visit,  but  take  up  its  stated  residence 
in  you ;  richly — In  the  largest  measure,  and  in  the 
greatest  efficacy,  so  as  to  enlighten,  quicken,  and 
renew;  to  strengthen  and  comfort  you,  yea,  so  as 
to  fill  and  govern  all  your  powers;  in  all  wisdomr— 
Use  yonr  best  endeavours  thoroughly  to  understand 
It,  and  wisely  to  improve  it  to  the  best  purposes. 
Teaching  one  another— -ItB  important  truths ;  and 
admonishing  one  a7io(^«r— Concerning  its  necessary 
ditties;  see  on  ch^p.  i.  28;  in  psalms  and  hymns^ 
Ac.-— A  very  engaging  and  pleasing  way  of  teach- 
ing and  admonishing  one  another,  and  a  way  the 
leMt,  perhaps,  liable  of  all  others  to  give  offence ; 
mmging  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord^ln 
as  humble,  pious,  and  devout  spurit,  vnih.  a  view  to 


21  *  Fathers,  provoke  not  your  chil-  a.  m.  4068. 
dren/oa7^er,le8t  they  be  discouraged.  — ^ 

22  ^Servants,  obey  ^ in  all  things  your  mas- 
ters, ®  according  to  the  fledij  not  with  eye- 
service,  as  men-fdeasers ;  but  in  singleiuMs 
of  heart,  fearing  God : 

23  '  And  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  U  heartily^  as 
to  the  L(xd,  and  not  unto  men ; 

24  *  Knowing  that  of  the  Lord  ye  slodl  re- 
ceive the  reward  of  the  inheritance:  'for  ye 
serve  the  Lcnrd  Christ 

25  But  he  that  doeth  wnmg^  shall  recdve 
for  the  wrong  which  he  hath  done:  and 
^  there  is  no  respect  of  persons. 


y  Eph.  T.  24;  Tit.  ii.  9. »  Eph.  ri.  4. •  Eph.  ti.  6,  &c. ; 

1  Tim.  Ti.  1 :  Tit.  iL  9 ;  1  Pet  ii.  l8. *  Verie  20. «  Philem. 

le. *  Eph.  Ti.  6, 7.^ — •  Ephesins  tL  8. '  1  Cor.  Tii.  29. 

ff  Rom.  iL  il ;  Ept^.  ri.  9 ;  I  Pet.  i.  17 ;  Deut.  z.  17. 

please  the  Lord,  and  expecting  to  receive  grace  from 
him.  And  whatsoeverye  do  in  word  or  dcod— With 
respect  to  all  yonr  discourses  and  actions;  do  all  in 
the  name  of  the  hard  Jesfus-An  obedience  to  his 
will,  and  in  imitation  of  his  example,  as  your  rule ; 
from  a  prmciple  of  love  to  him  as  your  motive ; 
with  an  eye  to  his  glory  as  your  end  \  relying  on 
the  influence  of  his  Spirit  as  your  strength ;  and  in 
dependance  on  his  merits  for  acceptance;  giving 
thanks— In  your  hearts,  with  your  lips,  and  by  your 
lives ;  to  God,  even  the  JYrfAcr— That  he  gives  yon 
inclination  and  power  thus  to  speak  and  act,  and  for 
all  the  great  blessings  of  grace  which  you  already 
enjoy,  and  for  the  greater  blessings  of  glory  which 
you  expect  hereafter  to  receive  and  possess  for  ever. 
Verses  18-2S.  Wives,  submit  yoursekes^-Ox  be 
subject ;  to  your  own  Ati#6aikfo— Whetber  they  be 
Christians  or  heathen.  See  on  Eph.  v.  22.  As  U 
isfit—Boih  in  regard  of  God's  command,  and  the 
evil  that  would  arise  from  the  neglect  of  this  duty ; 
in  the  Lord— In  obedience  to  the  Lord,  and  in  aU 
lawful  things.  Husbands,  love  your  wives — As  your- 
selves, and  as  Christ  loved  the  church:  see  Eph. 
V.  25,  28.  And  be  not  bitter— Uaish  and  rigorous^ 
either  in  spirit,  word,  or  deed;  against  them^ 
(Which  may  be  the  case  without  any  manifest  ap> 
pearanoe  of  anger,)  but  kind  and  obliging.  Chil- 
dren, obey  your  parents — See  on  Eph.  vi.  1 ;  in  oil 
things— Hvmely,  kwAil; /or  this  is  well-pleasing 
unto  the  Lord— The  Lord  Christ,  who,  when  he 
dwelt  in  flesh,  was  a  constant  example  of  filial 
piety,  not  only  to  his  real  mother,  but  to  him  who 
was  only  his  supposed  father,  Luke  iL  61.  Fathers, 
provoke  not  your  diildren—Besl  not  harshly  or  se- 
verely with  them,  so  as  to  alienate  their  afiectiona 
from  you;  lest  they  be  discouraged— From  attempt- 
ing to  please  you,  when  it  shall  seem  to  be  an  io^- 
possible  task.  See  on  Eph.  vi.  4.  Rigorous  treat- 
ment may  also  occasion  their  becoming  stupid. 
Servants,  obey  in  all  things— Th9i  are  lawful,  1  Pet. 
iL  18;  your  masters  according  to  the  fleshr^Qet  on 


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OOLOSfflANS. 


Prayer  a$id,i0atc^tilmeH  et^om^i^ 


MpltL  tL  5:  Obey  etea  their  ligoroiw  eoBunands; 
nai  i^ttA  eye^ervice— Being  more  attentiye  to  their 
orders,  and  diligent,  when  under  their  eye,  than  at 
other  times;  as  menrfUa$er8-^hs  persons  who  are 
■oUcitotis  only  to  please  men;  hut  in  singleneM  of 
Atfor^— With  a  simple  intention  of  pleasing  God  by 
doing  right,  without  looking  any  further;  yeortfi^^ 
Ood-^Thsi  is,  actiag  from  this  principle.  And 
ifihat$oever  ye  do — Whatever  ye  are  employed  in ; 
do  it  J^or^tZy— Cheerfully,  diligently;  ostotheLord 
—Whose  eye,  you  know^  is  upon  you.  Men-pleasers 
are  soon  dejected  and  made  angry;  the  single-heart- 
ed are  never  displeased  or  disappointed,  because 
they  have  another  aim,  which  the  good  or  evil  treat- 
ment of  those  they  serve  cannot  c&mppoint  Know- 
ing that  of  the  Lord  (see  on  Eph.  vi.  8)  ye  shall 
receive  the  reward^  &c.— Be  rewarded  with  the  in- 
heritance of  etemad  life.  For  ye  serve  the  Lord 
CSimf— Namely,  in  serving  your  masters  according 
to  his  command.  BxU  he  that  doeth  tonm^— Whether 
master  or  servant ;  shaU  receive  for  the  'wrongs 
&c.— Ajust  punishment  The  greatness  of  the  temp- 
tations to  which  rich  men  are  exposed,  by  their 
opulence  and  high  station,  will  be  no  excuse  for 
tiieir  tyranny  and  oppression;  and,  on  the  other 
lurnd,  the  temptations  whieh  ihe  insolence  and  se- 
verity of  a  tyrannieal  master  hatti  laid  in  i^e  way 


of  his  servant,  wfll  be  no  excuse  for  his  idleness  and 
unfaithfulness ;  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persont 
— ^With  him:  that  is,  in  passing  sentence,  and  dis- 
tributing rewards  and  punishments,  God  does  not 
consider  men  according  to  their  outward  condition^ 
nation,  descent,  wealtl^  temporal  dignity,  Ac,  but 
only  according  to  their  spirit  and  conduct  '^  Though 
the  word  Su^,  here  and  elsewhere  used  by  St  Paul, 
properly  ngnifies  a  slave,  our  Englkh  traoslaton^ 
in  all  places,  when  tbe  duties  of  slaves^sM  ineulcatedy 
have  justly  translated  it  servant;  because,  anciently, 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  scarce  any  servants 
but  slaves,  and  becatise  the  duties  of  ^e  hired 
servant,  durmg  the  time  of  his  service,  are  the  same 
with  those  of  the  slave.  So  that  what  the  apostle 
said  to  the  slave,  was  in  effect  said,  to  the  hired 
servant  Upon  these  principles,  in  translations  of 
the  Scriptures  designed  fot  countries  where  slavery 
is  abolished,  and  servants  are  free  men,  the  word 
<)«Aof  may  with  truth  be  translated  a  servant  In 
this,  and  the  parallel  passage,  (Eph.  vi.  5,)  the  apos- 
tle is  very  particular  in  his  precepts  to  slaves  and 
lords,  because  in  all  the  countries  whcire  slavery 
was  established,  many  of  the  slaves  were  exceed- 
ingly ad&cted  to  fraud,  lyiMg,  and  stealing;  and 
many  of  the  masters  were  tyrannicid  ssoA  erweik  to 
their  slaves.''-^Maeknight 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Tke  apostU  (I,)  ExhorU  mastttB  to  do  their  duty  to  tenants,  1.  (S,)  Urgee  all  to  peneveranee  in  frayer^  and  to  CkriHien 
frudenu  in  thtir  behaoiowt  and  speech,  JMI.  (3,)  RefereOu  Colotsians  to  Tychiau  and  Oneeimue^for  an  aecoant  of  dU 
state  of  his  affairs,  7-9.  (4,)  Transmits  several  parheular  salutations,  together  with  a  charge  to  Archippus,  and  a  satemm 
benediction,  10-18. 


A.  M.  4068.  jUTASTERSj 


A.  O.  64. 


,  •  give  untq  pour  ser- 
vants that  which  is  just  and  equal ; 
knowing  that  ye  also  have  a  Master  in  heaven. 
2  ^(yontinue  in  prayer,  and  watch  in  the 
same  ^  with  thanksgiving ; 


•Eph.  vi.  9. t>Lu]Le  xriii.  1;  Rom.  xii.  12;  Eph.  ri.  18; 

1  Thew.  T.  17,  18. eChap.  U.  7;  iii.  15. *Eph.  vi.  19; 

8Th6S«.iu.  1. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verse  1.  Masters^  give  tento  your  servants  theU 
which  is  jt«r— Namely,  competent  food.  Proverbs 
xaptL  15;  wages,  James  v.  4)  and  suitable  worlc, 
neither  too  much,  Prov.  xii,  10,  nor  too  little,  Prov. 
xxix.  21;  and  e^uaZ—^Or  equitable,  distinguishing 
the  most  faithful  among  them  by  particulw  rewards. 
8ee  on  Eph.  vi.  9^ 

Verses  2,  3.  Continue  in  prayer— As  a  means  to 
enable  you  to  perform  the  fore-mentioned  duties. 
This  direction  being  given  here,  and  Eph.  vi.  18, 
(where  see  the  note,)  immediately  aAer  the  aposde's 
•xhortatioQ  to  relative  dtities,  teaches  us  that  they 
who  live  in  one  family  should  often  Join  in  social 
prayer  for  €k>d's  assistance  to  enable  them  to  per- 
iMrm  their  dmies  to  each  other.    And  watch  in  the 


praying     also 


for  A.  11.4061. 

i,    .               ^     A.  D.ei. 
would    •  open   unto  . 


3     ^  Withal 
us,    that   GoA 

us  a  door  of  utterance,  to  speak  ^the  mys- 
tery of  Christ,  '  ff  for  which  I  am  also  in 
bonds : 

•  1  Corinthians  xvi.  9 ;  3  Cor.  ii.  12. ' MsUhew  xiii  II ; 

1  Cor.  ir.  1  ;  Eph.  vi.  19  ^  Chap.  i.  36;  ii.  2.— ff  Ephatians 
vL20;  Phil.  i.  7. 


same — Against  negligence  and  indolence.  See  on 
Eph.  vi.  18;  1  Pet  iv.  7;  with  thanksgiving^Tot 
those  mercies  which  you  have  already  received,  in 
answer  to  former  petitions,  or  in  which  Ood  hath 
prevented  you  with  the  blessings  of  his  goodnem 
Praying  also  for  us — Observe,  reader/  Christians 
in  the  highest  state  of  grace  need  the  prayers  of 
others.  ^  This  passage  afibrds  instruction  bc>th  to 
ministers  and  to  their  people :  to  ministers,  not  to 
despise  an  assistance  which  even  an  inspired  apostle 
thought  useM  to  him :  and  to  the  people,  to  be  care- 
ful to  assist  Hmr  ministers  with  a  help  whieh  iA 
the  end  will  greatly  redound  to  their  own  benefit" 
TViat  Ood  would  open  unto  us  a  door  of  utterance — 
That  is,  give  us  utterance,  that  we  may  open  our 
mouth  boldly,  (Bph.  vi.  19^)  and  give  us  an  oppofw 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


Various  Christian  sabOaHofis. 


A.  M.  406a    4  ^hat  I  may  make  it  manifest,  as 

A.  D.  64.     ,         ,  ^  ^  i 

I  ought  to  speak. 

6  ^Walk  in  wisdom  toward  them  that  are 
wittKHit,  ^  redeeming  the  time. 

6  Let  your  speech  be  alway  ^  with  grace, 
^  seasoned  with  salt,  "^  that  ye  may  know  how 
ye  ought  to  answer  every  man. 

7  "  All  iny  state  shall  Typhicus  declare  unto 
you,  wko  is  a  beloved  brother,  and  a  fidthful 
minister  and  fellow-servant  in  the  Lord : 

'  8  •  Whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  for  the  same 
purpose,  that  he  might  know  your  estate,  and 
comfort  your  hearts  j 


»Eph.  r.  1^  1  Theas.  ir.  12. »  Eph.  r.  la k  Eceles. 

X.  12;  Chapter  iii  la »Mark  ix.  60. ■  1  Peter  Mi.  15. 

■  Eph.  Ti.  21. 


tnnity  of  srpeakiag,  so  that  none  may  be  able  to  bin- 
der. For  wJUeh  I  am  also  in  ftofMtf-.-Then  most 
grievous  to  me  when  they  prove  an  obstruction  to 
that  great  business  of  my  life^  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel,  in  which  the  glory  of  God  and  the  happiness 
of  ilien  are  so  highly  concerned. 

Verses  5, 6.  Wd&cin  isisd^m  foward  them  thai 
are  withotU-^Yoar  heathen  neijg^boars;  domg  no^ 
thing  to  disgrace  religion  in  their  eyes,  or  unneces- 
sarily to  exasperate  them  against  you;  redeeming 
0u  /tme— Embracing  and  improving  every  opportu- 
nity of  dmng  good,  and  particularly  of  gaining  souls 
to  Christ.  Let  yotir  speech  be  alway  with  grace^ 
9nch  as  may  nianifest  that  the  grace  of  God  is  in 
ydn,  and  may  be  calculated  to  win  upon,  instruct, 
and  edify  others;  seasoned  isith  saU—^W\i^  wisdom 
and  grace,  as  flesh  is  with  salt,  so  that  it  may  be 
savoury  and  usefnl  to  the  hirers,  tending  to  pre- 
vent or  cure  their  corrupt  principles  or  practices; 
that  ye  may  know  how  ye  ought  to  answer  every 
man — May  be  able  to  speak, pertinently  and  wisely 
upon  all  occasions,  and  especially  when  questioned 
about  the  grounds  of  your  religion. 

Verses  7-9.  AU  my  state — The  things  ^wrhich  re- 
late to  myself;  shaU  TyMcus  declare  unto  you — 
See  on  Eph.  vi.  21.  With  OnesimuSy  who  is  one 
of  you — Or,  rather,  who  is  from  you,  as  e^  vftav 
seems  to  mean ;  or,  who  is  your  countryman;  for  it 
does  not  appear  that  he  could  be  a  membet  of  the 
church  at  Colosse  before  he  left  his  master  Phile- 
mon, since  it  is  certain  he  was  converted  aAer  that 
lieriod  by  the  apostle  at  Rome.    See  Philemon  10. 

Verses  10,  11.  AristarchuSy  my  fellow-prisoner — 
Such  was  Epaphras  tikewise  for  a  time,  Philem.  23; 
saluteth  you^*^  This  excellent  person  was  a  Jew, 
(verse  11,)  though  bom  in  Thessalonica,  Acts  xx.4. 
He,  with  his  countryman  Caius,  was  hurried  into 
the  theatre  at  Ephesus,  by  Demetrius  and  the  crafts- 
men, Acts  xix.  29.  Also  he  was  one  of  those  who 
accompanied  Paul  from  Greeee,  when  he  carried 
the  collections  for  the  saints  to  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xx. 
4,)  being  appointed  to  that  service  by  the  church  at 
Thessalonica,  agreeably  to  the  apostle's  direction, 
i  Cor.  xvi.  8.  Aristarchus,  therefore,  was  a  person 
b 


9  With  I'Onesimus,  a  Ihithful  and  a. m.^ool 
beloved  brotheir,  who  is  one  of  you.    ^'^'^ 
They  shall  make  hno^n  unto  you  all  thkigs 
which  are  done  here. 

10  ^  Aristarchus,  i^y  fellow-prisoner,  saluteth 
you;  and  'Marcw,  sister's  mm  to  Bamabac^ 
(touching  whom  ye  received  commandments : 
if  he  come  unto  yoo,  receive  him ;} 

11  And  Jesus,  which  is  called  Justus,  win 
are  of  the  circumcision.  These  only  are  my 
fellow-workers  unto  the  kingdom  ci  God^ 
which  have  been  a  comfort  unto  me. 

12  •^ Epaphras,  who  is  one  of  you,  a  servant 


»  Eph.  ri.  22. p  Philem.  10. 1  Acta  xix.  29 ;  xx.  4 ;  xxrii. 

2 ;  Philem.  24. »  Acta  xv.  37 ;  2  Tim.  ir.  11. •  Chap.  L  7; 

Philom.  23. 


<^  great  note,  and  highly  respected  hy  the  church 
of  the  Thessalonians,  of  which  he  was  a  memiber. 
And  his  whole  conduct  showed  &at  he  n^erited  the 
good  opinion  they  entertained  of  him.  For  when 
Paul  was  imprisoned  in  Judea,  that  good  man  abode 
with  him^  and  ministered  to  him  all  the  time  of  his 
imprisonment,  both  at  Jerusalem  and  Cesarea,  at- 
tended him  at  hb  trids,  and  comforted  him  with  his 
company  and  conversation.  And  when  it  was  de- 
termined to  send  Paul  into  Italy,  he  went  along  with 
him,  (Acts-xxvii.  2,)  and  remained  with  him  during 
his  confinement  there,  and  zealously  assisted  him  ia 
preaching  the  gospel,  as  the  apostle  informs  us  in 
verse  11  of  this  chapter,  till  at  length,  becoming  ob- 
noxious to  the  magistrates,  he  was  imprisoned,  verse 
10."— Macknight  And  Marcus,  touching  whom  ye 
receded  commandments — Or  directions,  by  Tychi- 
cus  bringing  this  letter.  It  is  not  improbable  they 
might  have  scrupled  to  receive  him  without  this 
fresh  direction,  dlerhe  had  left  Paul  and  depai^ted 
from  the  work.  And  Jesus,  who  is  called  Justus*:- 
Justus  being  a  Latin  surname,  we  may  suppose  it 
wfui  giv^n  to  this  person  by  the  Roman  brethren,  on 
account  of  his  known  integrity)^  and  that  it  was 
adopted  by  the  Greeks  when  they  had  occasion  to 
mention  him:  for  the  Greeks  had  now  adopted  many 
Latin  words.  These  three  (Aristarchus,  Marcus, 
and  Justus)  are  the  only  persons,  who,  being  of  the 
circumcisiony  are, or  have  beenymy  fellow-labourers 
unto  the  kingdom  of  Oodr—ThBi  is,  in  preaching  the 
gospel ;  and  who  have  been  a  comfbri  to  me — What 
then  can  we  expect?  That  uZ/  pur  fellow-workers 
should  be  a  comfort  to  us  ?  The  apostle,  therefore, 
having  in  this  passage  mentioned  the  names  of  all 
the  Jews  who  sincerely  preached  Christ  in  Rome  at 
that  time,  it  is  certam  Peter  was  not  there  then; 
otherwise  his  name  would  have  been  in  the  list  of 
those  labourers  who  had  been  a  consolation  to  St. 
Paul.  For  we  cannot  suppose  that  Peter  was  one 
of  those,  mentioned  Phil.  i.  14, 15,  who  preached  the 
gospel  from  strife,  to  add  affliction  to  PauPs  bonds. 
Yet  the  Papists  contend  that  Peter  presided  over  the 
church  at  Rome  twenty-five  years  successively. 
Verses  19-15.  Bpaphras,  always  UAouring^ 
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A.  ¥.4068.  of  Christ,  sahiteth  you,  always  ^la- 

. I bouring  *  fervendy  for  you  in  prayers, 

that  ye  may  stand  ^perfisct  an^d  'complete  in 
all  the  will  ef  God. 

13  For  I  bear  him  rec(nrd,  that  he  hath  a 
great  zeal  for  you,  acid  them  thai  are  in  Laodi- 
cea,  and  them  in  Hierapolis. 

14  '  Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  and  ^  De- 
mas,  greet  you^ 

16  Salute  the  brethren  which  are  in  Laodi- 
oea,  and  Nymphas,  and  *  the  church  whict^  is 
in  his  house. 


« Rom.  XT.  30. »  Or,  atriving. «  Matt.  v.  48 ;   1  Cor.  u. 

6;  xiv.  20;  Phn.  iiL  15;  Heb.  v.  14. *Or,filUd. "^Tim. 

IT.  11. T  2  Tim.  ir.  10 ;  Philem.  24. 


kyovt^o/uvocj  striving  J  or  agonizing  ;  far  you  in  pray- 
ers^The  word  properly  denotes  contending,  or 
combating  in  the  games;  here  it  signifies  the  great- 
est fervency  of  desire  and  affection  in  prayer:  thai 
ye  may  stand  perfect— Perfectly  instructed  in  all 
Christian  graces,  and  performing  all  Christian  du- 
ties. See  1  John  iy.  17;  Heb.  xiiL  21.  And  coin- 
plete—UenXTfponsvoiffiUed  with;  allihevnUofCfodr— 
As  being  no  longer  babes,  but  grown  up  to  iie  mea- 
sure  of  the  stature  of  Christy  being  filled  with  light 
and  wisdom,  grace  and  holiness^  See  on  chap.  ii. 
10.  He  hath  great  zeal  for  you — A  great  concern 
for  your  growth  in  grace  and  holiness,  and  your 
eternal  salvation.  And  them  that  are  in  Leutdicea 
and  A'erapo^ia— ^Neighbouring  cities  in  the  Greater 
Phrygia,  in  which  were  Christian  churches.  The 
latter  *' was  named  Hierapolis,  that  is,  the  holy  cUy, 
from  the  multitude  of  its  templps.  But  it  is  not 
known  what  particular  deity  was  its  tutelary  god. 
Its  coins  bear  the  images  of  ApoUo,  of  the  Ephesian 
Diana,  of  Esculapius,  and  of  Hygeia.  The  two  last- 
mentioned  idols  were  worshipped  in  Hierapc^is,  on 
account  of  the  medicinal  springs  with  which  it 
abounded.  There  was  likewise  a  MephitiSyOr  open- 
ing in  the  earth,  here,  from  which  a  pestUential  va- 
pour issued,  which  killed  any  animals  which  hap- 
pened to  breathe  in  it." — Macknight  Luke,  the 
beloved  physician—hMke  was  deservedly  beloved 
by  St  Paul.  He  was  not  only  an  intelligent  and 
sincere  disciple  of  Christ,  but  the  apostle's  affection- 
ate and  feithful  friend,  as  appears  from  his  attending 
him  in  several  of  his  journeys  through  the  Lesser 
Asia  and  Greece.  (See  the  preface  to  St.  Luke's 
gospel,  and  the  note  on  Acts  xxvii.  1.)  And  i^en 
the  apostle  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Italy,  Luke  accom- 
panied him  in  the  voyage,  itnd  remained  with  him 
till  he  was  released.  He  was  also  with  the  apostle 
during  his  second  imprisonment,  lathe  same  city; 
on  which  occasion,  when  his  other  assistants  desert- 
ed him,  through  fear,  Luke  abode  with  him,  and 
ministered  to  him,  2  Tim.  iv.  11.  Salute  the  brethren 
in  Laodicea  and  Nymphas— -li  seems  Nymphas  was 
an  eminent  Christian  at  Laodicea;  and  the  diurch 
iohich  is  in  his  Jumse— -The  society  or  congregation 
wlueh  aasemUed  there  for  social  or  public  worship. 
880 


16  And  when  'this  «pistle  is  read  A1L4068. 

among  you,  cause  that  it  be  read  also 

in  the  diurcb  of  the  Laodiceans;  and  that  ye 
Ukewise  read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea. 

17  And  say  to  ^Archippus^  Take  heed  to 
**  the  ministry  which  thou  hast  received  in  the 
Lord,  that  thou  fulfil  it 

18  "^  The  salutation  by  the  hand  of  me  Paul. 
*  Rem^nber  my  bonds,  f  Grace  be  with  you. 
Amen. 

IT  Written  from  Rome  to  the  Colossians  by  Tychi- 
cus  and  Onesinras. 


«  Rom.  xri.  5 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  19. » 1  Thees.  r.  27. *  Phflem. 

2. e  1  Tipjothy  ir.  6. *  1  Cor.  xti.  21 ;  2  Thess.  iU   17 

•  Heb.  xiij.  3.— '  Heb.  xiiL  25. 


Verse  16.  When  this  epiMle  is  read  among  you-^ 
It  appears"  by  this,  that  the  apostolic  epistles  were 
read  publicly  in  the  churches  to  which  they  were 
addressed;  and  probably  not  o(ice,  but  often:  copies 
of  them  were  likewise  taken,  and  translations  of 
them  made  very  early  into  different  languages,  and 
sent  to  different  countries,  where  Christian  churches 
were  formed,  that  they  might  be  read  in  them :  a 
great  proof  this  of  the  genuineness  of  these  epistles: 
for  they  could  not  have  been  corrupted  but  the  cor-' 
ruption  must  bave  been  detected,  by  comparing  dif- 
ferent copies  with  each  other.  Cause  that  it  be  read 
also  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans—^^  The  mem- 
bers of  the  church  at  Laodicea  having,  before  their 
conversion,'entertained  the  same  principles,  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  practices  with  the  Colossians,  and 
the  dangers  to  both  churchesj^  from  the  attempts  of 
false  teachers,  being  nearly  the  same,  it  was  proper 
that  the  same  spiritual  remedies  should  be  applied  to 
both.  And  therefore  the  apostle  ordered  this  letter,  - 
which  was  designed  for  the  instruction  of  the  Colos- 
sians, to  be  read  in  the  church  of  the  Laodlceana 
also:  and  no  doubt  it  was  read  there,  agreeably  to 
the  apostle's  injunction;  by  which  means,  in  that 
church,  as  well  as  in  the  church  at  Colosse,  the  false 
teachers  and  their  idolatrous  practices  were  for  a 
while  repressed"  And  that  ye  likewise  read  the 
epistle  from  Laodicea — Some  think  the  letter  here 
referred  to  was  one  which  Uie  apostle  wrote  to  the 
Laodiceans,  but  which  is  now  lost.  But  as  the  an- 
cients mention  no  such  letter,  nor  indeed  any  letter 
written  by  St.  Paul  which  Is  not  still  remaining, 
others  judge  it  more  probable  that  t)ie  letter  to  the 
Ephcflians  is  intended,  and  that  the  apostle  directed 
the  Ephesians,  by  Tychicus,  who  carried  their  letter 
to  them,  to  send  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Laodiceans,  with 
an  order  to  them  to  communicate  it  to  the  Colossians. 

Verses  17, 18.  Say  to  Archippus—li  is  generally 
supposed  that  the  person  here  mentioned  was  the 
Archippus  spoken  of  Philem.  2,  where  he  is  called 
Paul's  fellow-labOurer  a^d  fellow-soldier.  It  seems 
he  was  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  church  at  Colosse ; 
and  many  think  that  he  had  failed  in  the  duties  of 
his  office,  and  that  the  apostle,  in  what  he  here  says, 
ordered  the  Colossians  to  rebuke  him  pubhcly  for 

b 


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CHAPTBBIV. 


THie  apo$^e^8  benediction. 


hJB  negligence :  but  othera^  perhaps  with  more  truth, 
and  certdnly  with  more  charity,  as  Macknight  ob- 
serves, '^are  of  opinion  tliat  the  apostle,  in  this  di- 
rection, meant  that  the  Colossians  should  encourage 
Archippns  to  diligence,  because  the  false. teachers 
at  Colosse  were  very  active  in  spreading  their  errors. 
And  their  opinion  derives  probability  from  the  re- 
q>ectful  manner  in  which  Axchippus  is  addressed  in 
the  epistle  to  Philemon,  which  was  written  about 
this  time,  and  sent  with  the  epistle  t<^  the  Colos- 
sians.'' Take  heed^lt  is  ihel  duty  of  the  flock  to  try 
them  Hua  eay^ey  are  apostUe;  to  reject  the  false; 
and  to  warn,  as  wdl  as  to  receive,  the  true;  to  the 
minietry — ^Not  a  lordship,  but  SioKovia^  a  eervice,  a 
laborious  and  painful  work;  an  obligation  to  do  and 
fofferall  things;  to  be  the  least,  and  the  servant  of 
ail ;  wMch  thou  h€ut  received  in  the  Lorc2— Christ, 
by  his  appointment;  by  whom,  and  for  whose  sake, 
his  servants  receive  the  various  gifts  of  the  Holy 
fi^irit ;  that  thouJulJU  i^^Properly ;  that  thou  fedth- 
fUDy  discharge  aU  the  duties  of  it  wiUi  diligence  and 
b 


care;  for  the  consequence  of  neglecting  any  of  them, 
after  having  solemnly  undertaken  to  fldfil  them,  will 
be  infinitely  dangerous  and  fttal.  A  necessary  and 
important  caution  this  to  all  ministers  of  the  gospel ! 
T%e  ecUutation  by  the  hand  of  me  PauZ— Which  I 
add  as  a  token  of  the  genuineness  of  this  epistle. 
Remember  m/y  bonds — See  an  account  of  the  man- 
ner of  the  apostle's  confinement  at  Rome,  in  the 
notes  on  Acts  xxviii.  16;  Eph.  vi.  20.  The  apostle's 
having  suflered  now  almost  four  years'  imprison- 
ment for  the  gospel,  and  in  the  course  of  that  time 
many  hardships  and  dangers,  was  such  a  demonstra- 
tion of  his  certain  knowledge  of  the  truth  and  im- 
portance, yea,  and  necessity  of  the  gospel  to  the  sal- 
vation of  mankind,  as  could  not  fail  to  confirm  the 
fiaith  of  the  Colossians,  and  of  all  the  Gentiles  who 
were  informed  of  these  his  sufferings.  Thb  pro- 
bably is  the  reason  that,  notwithstanding  he  had 
mentioned  his  bonds  twice  before  in  this  letter, 
he  brings  the  subject  in  a  third  time  here  at  the  <^a 
elusion. 

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PREFACE 


TO     THR 


FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALONIANS. 


f\F  Thessalonica,  and  die  first  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  that  city,  see  iiotes  on  Acts  xviii. 
1-9.  In  St.  Paul's  time  it  was  the  metropolis  of  all  the  coun^es  comprehended  in  the  Romaa 
province  of  Macedonia.  It  was  the  residence  ci  the  proconsnl  who  gOTem^  the  jMovihce,  and  ibit 
qnestor  who  had^the  care  of  the  emperor's  revenues.  It  was  also  the  seat  of  the  courts  o[  justice, 
and  the  place  where  the  affairs  of  the  province  were  managed ;  and  as  it  carried  on  an  extensive  com- 
merce by  its  merchants,  it  was  full  of  inhabitants,  among  whom  were  many  philosophers  and  men 
of  genius.  To  this  city  there  was  likewise  a  constant  resort  of  strangers  from  various  quarters,  so 
that  it  was  remarkable  for  the  number,  the  wealth,  and  the  learning  of  its  inhabitants.  But,  like  all 
other  cities  of  the  Greeks,  it  was  in  a  state  of  deplorable  ignorance  as  to  matters  of  religion,  and  silnk 
in  idolatry  and  all  sorts  of  vice  and  wickedness.  It  therefore  stood  in  peculiar  need  of  that  gospel 
which  is  designed  to  enlighten  and  reform  the  world.  Hence,  after  the  persecution  at  Philippi,  the 
apostle,  accompanied  by  Silas  and  Timothy,  went  directly  to  this  city,  with  a  view  to  call  its  in- 
habitants to  repentance,  and  to  faith  in  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  And  as  there  was  a  Jewish  synagogue 
in  die  city,  he  entered  into  it  soon  aAer  his  arrival,  according  to  his  custom,  and  three  sabbath  days 
reasoned  with  the  Jews  out  of  the  Scriptures.  His  discourses,  however,  had  not  that  success  with 
the  Jews  which  might  have  been  expected,  a  few  of  them  only  believing ;  but  a  great  number  of 
religious  proselytes  embraced  the  truth,  and  were  made  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus,  among  whom 
were  many  women  of  the  first  distinction  in  the  city.  The  greatest  part,  however,  of  the  Thessalo- 
nian  converts  were  such  as  had  been  idolatrous  Gentiles,  as  appears  from  this  epistle,  in  which  he 
speaks  to  their  chiurch  in  general,  as  having  "  turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living  Grod." 

But  Si  Paul  had  not  preached  long  in  Thessalonica  before  the  unbelieving  Jews  raised  a  tumult 
against  him,  Silas,  and  Timotheus ;  his  success  among  the  proselytes  and  idolatrous  Gentiles  having 
excited  their  indignation  and  envy.  They  gathered  a  company,  and  even  brake  into  the  house  of 
Jason,  where  the  apostle  and  his  assistants  lodged,  intending  to  bring  them  forth  to  the  people,  that 
they  might  be  put  to  death  in  the  tumult.  Divine  Providence,  however,  preserved  them ;  and  the 
brethren,  by  night,  sent  them  away  to  Bercea,  a  neighbouring  city  of  note,  where  likewise  they  were 
instrumental  of  converting  niunbers  of  religious  prosel3rtes  and  idolatrous  Gentiles,  and  even  many  of 
the  Bercean  Jews.  But  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica,  hearing  of  the  success  of  the  gospel  in  Bercsa, 
hastened  thither,  and  stirred  up  the  idolatrous  multitude,  so  that  Paul  was  constrained  to  depart.  Silas* 
however,  and  Timothy,  not  being  so  obnoxious  to  these  Jews,  abode  there  still.  In  this  flight  from 
Thessalonica  the  apostie  was  accompanied  by  some  of  the  Bercean  brethren,  who  conducted  him  to 
Athens,  and  who,  when  they  departed,  carried  his  order  to  Timothy  to  come  to  him  forthwith ;  which 
he  did,  but  was  soon  sent  back  by  the  apostie  to  Thessalonica,  to  exhort  and  comfort  tiie  new  con- 
verts tiiere- 

St  Paul,  meeting  with  littie  success  at  Athens,  left,  that  place  before  Timothy  returned  from  Thes- 
salonica, and  went  forward  to  Corinth,  tiie  chief  city  of  tiie  province  of  Achaia,  where  he  was  soon 
made  the  happy  instrument  of  converting  many  to  tiie  faith  of  Christ,  and  of  establishing  a  large  and 
flourishing  Christian  church.  He  had  not  been  long  at  Corinth  when  Timothy  came  to  him  from 
Thessalonica,  (Acts  xviii.  5,}  and,  no  doubt,  gave  hun  such  an  account  of  aflfairs  tiiere,  as  made  him 
sensible  that  his  presence  was  greatiy  wanted  in  that  city.  But  the  success  which  attended  his 
preaching  rendering  it  improper  for  him  to  leave  Corinth  at  tiiat  time,  to  supply  the  want  of  his  pre- 
sence, he  immediately  wrote  to  the  Thessalonian  brethren  tiiis  epistie,  (the  first  of  all  the  episties 
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PREPAGB  TO  TBS  nBOT  RPHTLfi  TO  TffiB  THflSBlLONIAlfS. 

wiack  he  wrote,)  in  whieh  he  doubtless  treated  of  those  mstteiB  which  weoM  haye  made  the  suhjtl 
of  his  discoiurses  had  he  ^n  present  with  them.  From  these  fiicts  and  circimistaiices,  all  which  aie 
rekted  in  the  history  of  the  Acts,  it  appears  that  this  first  epistle  to  ^  Thessaionian^  was  writtes, 
not  from  Athens,  as  is  said  in  the  interpolated  postscript  at  the  end  of  the  epistle,  but  from  Coiinlli, 
not  long  after  the  publication  of  Claudius's  edict  against  the  Jews,  mentioned  Acts  xviii.  2,  about 
A.  D.  54.  . 

>s  to  the  Resign  of  this  epistle,  Dr.  Mackni^  supposes  that  the  apoede's  principal  object  in 
writing  it  was  to  ^ve  the  divine  authority  of  Christiani^,  bya  regular  chain  of  arguments,  in  answer 
to  some  objections  which  the  heathen  ph^osophers  had  advanced  against  die  go^>el ;  but  Uiis  nup- 
position,  as  Mr.  IScott  justly  observes,  seems  to  be  *«  grounded  on  a  mistaken  notion  tluU  the  philoso- 
l^rs  deigned,  at  so  early  a  period,  to  enter  into  a  regular  disputation  with  the  Christians,  when,  in 
fact,  they  derided  them  as  enthusiasts,  and  their  doctrine  as  foolishness."  BW  though  there  seema 
littb  probability  thaCthe  apostle  intended  this  epistle  to  be  irregular  defence  of  the  Christian  reHgion, 
yet  it  furnishes  us  with  four  convinging  arguments  of  its  divine  orighial.  For  it  proves,  **  1.  Th*t 
many  and  great  miracles  were  wrought  by  the  preachers  of  the  gospel,  professedly  for  the  purpose 
of  demonstrating  that  they  were  commissioned  by  God  to  preach  it  to  the  world.  2.  That  the  apos- 
tles and  their  assistants,  by  preaching  the  gospel,  brought  upon  themselves,  everywhere,  all  manner 
of  present  evils,  without  obtaining  the  least  worldly  advantage,  either  in  possession  or  in  prospect :  that 
in  preaching  this  new  doctrine  they  did  not,  in  any  respect,  accommodate  it  to  the  prevailing  inclina- 
tions of  their  hearers,  nor  encourage  them  in  their  vicious  practices:  that  they  used  none  of  the 
base  arts  peculiar  to*  impostors  for  gaining  belief,  but  that  their  manner  of  preaching  and  acting  was 
in  all  respects  suitable  to  the  character  of  missionaries  from  God ;  so  that|  on  account  of  their  personal 
character,  they  were  entitled  to  the  highest  credit  as  teachers.  3.  That  the  first  preachers  q(  te 
gospel  delivered  to  their  disciples,  from  the  very  beginning,  precepts  of  the  greatest  strictness  and  ho- 
liness ;  so  that  by  the  sanctity  of  its  precepts,  the  gospel  is  shown  to  be  a  scheme  of  religion  every  way 
worthy  of  the  true  God,  and  highly  beneficial  to  mankind.  4.  That  Jesus,  the  au^r  of  our  religioB, 
was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Judge  of  the  world,  by  l^s  resurrection  from  the  dead ; 
and  that  by  the  ^ame  miracle  his  own  promise,  and  the  predictions  of  Us  iqpostles  concerning  his  re- 
Ivn  from  heaven,  to  reward  the  righteoiis  and  punish  the  wicked,  especially  them  who  obey  not  his 
gospel,  are  rendered  absolutely  certain."  To  these  arguments  in  proof  of  the  gospel  revelation  little 
can  be  added,  as  the  same  writer  observes,  except  what  arises  from  the  fulfilment  of  the  Old  Testfr- 
Bwnt  predictions ;  and  therefore  the  very  same  arguments  hai^,  since  the  apostle's  da3rs,  been  oflm 
urged  by  those  whahave  undertaken  the  defence  of  the  Christian  religioA.  But  it  is  proper  to  re- 
mark, that,  '*  in  the  mouth  of  the  apostle  and  his  assistants,  these  arguments  have  double  weight ;  for 
the  miracles,  the  character,  and  the  precepts  to  which  they  have  appealed  were  not  those  of  other 
persons,  but  their  own.  And  as  in  this  epistle  they  have  affirmed,  in  the  most  direct  terms,  that  the 
Thessalonians  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  miracles  which  they  wrought  for  the  confirmation  of  the 
gospel^  and  that  they  knew  the  sanctity  both  of  their  manners  and  of  their  precepts,  no  doubt  can  be 
entertained  of  these  things.  For  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  three  men  of  common  understanding 
would  have  joined  in  writing  after  this  maQner  to  such  numerous  societies  as  the  Thessalonian  church, 
and  the  other  churches  in  which  they  ordered  this  epistle  to  be  read,  unless  the  things  which  they 
affirm  were  done  in  their  presence  had  really  been  true.  And  if  they  are  true,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Paul  and  his  assistants  were  conunissioned  of  God,  and  that  the  gospel  which  they  preached  is 
of  divine  original,  and  of  universal  obligation." 

There  is,  however,  no  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  apostle,  in  writing  this  epistle,  had  any  such 
thing  in  view  as  to  prove  the  truth  of  Christianity  by  a  regular  chain  of  argument  against  the  heathen 
philosophers.  His  chief  design  rather  was  to  confirm  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  Thessalonian  be- 
lievers, and  to  prevent  their  being  shaken  by  the  persecutions  they  met  with,  and  to  engage  them, 
from  what  they  had  already  suffered  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  the  extraordinary  character  they 
had  hitherto  maintained,  to  make  stiU  greater  advances  in  the  holy  religion  which  they  had  embraced 
Accordingly,  after  the  inscription  and  benediction,  (chap.  i.  1, 2,)  he,  I.  Celebrates  the  grace  of  God 
toward  them,  verses  3-10.  U.  He  reminds  them  of  ike  courage  and  fidelity  with  which  he  had 
preached  the  gospel  at  his  first  entrance  among  them,  in  spite  of  all  the  danger  to  which  his  zeal  had 
exposed  him,  and  appeals  to  them  for  the  unexceptionable  and  disinterested  manner  in  which  he  had 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSAL0NIAN8. 

conducted  himself,  and  ^  tendw  affbction  and  concern  he  had  always  muiifested  for  their  spiritual 
interests,  chap.  ii.  1-12.  III.  He  acknowledges  the  happy  success  which  had  attended  his  labours 
in  their  conrersion  to  die  Christian  faith,  which  they  had  openly  and  courageously  professed,  not- 
withstanding the  persecutions  to  which  they  Vere  thereby  exposed ;  observing  that  he  himself^  and 
his  fellow-Christians  in  Jndea^  had  met  with  the  same  ill  treatment  from  the  perverseness^of  their  awn 
countrymen ;  and  assuring  them,  that  though  he  had  been  unwillingly  detained  from  them  lon^r  than 
he  intended,  his  affection  for  them  was  not  decreased,  but  that  he  still  rejoiced  in  them  as  his  glory 
and  his  crown,  verses  13-^20.'  IV.  He  assigns  the  reason  of  his  sending  Timothy  to  them,  and 
speaks  of  the  great  comfort  he  had  received  from  the  pleasing  account  which  Timothy  had  given  of 
them,  adding  that  he  was  cOntinua&y  praying  for  their  further  increase  and  establishment  in  grace,  and 
f(Nr  an  opportunity  of  making  them  another  visit,  chap.  iii.  Y.  He  proceeds  to  renew  the  practical 
exhortations  he  had  given  them  while  be  continued  with  them ;  recommending  especially  chastity,  in 
opposition  to  all  kinda  of  uncleanness ;  justice,  in  opposition  to  all  manner  of  frand  and  dishonesty ; 
charity,  in  which  he  acknowledges  they  had  already  excelled ;  and  a  diligent  amplication  to  their 
proper  business,  joined  with  a  prudent  behaviour  toward  their  heathen  neighbours,  chdp.  iv.  1-12. 
VI.  To  comfort  them  under  the  loss  of  some  <of  their  Chrtstitm  friends,  he  assures  them  that  those 
who  were  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  should  be  raised  again  at  the  Last  day,  and,  together  with  those  that 
remained  alive,  should  be  caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord,  and  share  his  triumph.  And,  having  thuJ^  laid 
a  foundation  on  which  to  build  their  hope,  he  takes  occasion  to  urge  the  necessity  of  preparing  for  so 
awful  an  event,  that  it  might  not  take  them  unawares ;  representing  the  peculiar  obligations  they 
wisre  under  to  sobriety  and  watchfulness,  from  the  superior  Ught  and  knowledge  they  enjoyed,  ve^ 
13  to  chap.  V.  11.  Lastly,  he  recommends  to  them  a  respectful  behaviour  to  their  ministers,  and 
gives  some  directions  for  their  conduct  toward  persons  of  difierent  tempers  and  characters  in  the 
church,  adding  other  practical  precepts  of  a  more  general  nature ;  and  having  offered  up  a  solemn 
petition  for  their  perfect  sanctification  and  preservation  in  holiness,  he  concludes  with  his  usual  bene- 
diction, verses  12-28. 

It  appears  from  Acts  xx.  1,2,  that  St.  Paid  afterward  visited  Thessahmica,  but  we  find  nothing 
mote  in  the  Scriptures  Respecting  thi^  church  except  the  second  epistle  which  the  apostle  wrote  lo 
it.  Christianity,  however,  has  never  been  quite  extinct  in  that  city  since  it  was  first  planted  there 
by  St.  Paul.  There  are  in  it  at  present  thirty  Christian  churches  belonging  to  the  Ghreek  Chrisdaas, 
mboirt  forty  Jewish  synagogues,  and  fbrty^ight  Mohaaunedan  mosques.  The  city,  being  now  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Turice^  is  caBedbythem  ^Sakmichi,"  which  is  a  cbrruptioa  of  its  ancient  i 
88*  b 


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THE 


FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO  THE 


THE  S  S  ALONI  ANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  upa$tiit,  MfUr  the  nnuil  SMluUUum  ef  the  Tkesimloman  CkriHian»,  (1,)  BUsns  Cod  far  their  faith,  lave,  and  patient 
hope,  ae  evidences  of  their  beiikg  the  true  dieeipies  of  Christ,  1-4.  {9,)  He  describee  Uie  pau>erful  effect  wJiich  the  gotpel 
htdhadon  their  hearts  tmd  Uses,  converting  them  from  idols  to  the  servieeofthe  true  and  living  God,  and  rendering  them 
gemtine  foUowere  of  the  aposOes  and  of  Christ  himself,  and  ensamples  to  all  the  believers  in  those  parts,  5-10. 


A.  M.  4053.  p  AUL,  and  •  Silvanus,  and  Timo- 
— ^— ^ — '-  theus,  unto  the  chorch  of  the 

Theesalonians  which  is  m  God  the  Father,  and 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  ^  Grace  be  imtoyou, 
BXkd  peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  the  Lord 
Jemis  Christ. 

2  •  We  give  tlianks  to  God  always  for  you 
all,  malqng  mention  of  you  in  pur  prayers  ,* 


•2  CorimhitBt  ■•  19 :  2  Thessaloniaiis  i.  1 ;  1  Peter  t.  12. 
^  Epheeiaoa  i.  2.— *:  Romans  i.  8 ;  Eph.  L  16 ;  Philemon  4. 
'  Chapter  ii.  13. •Johavi.  29;  Gahtians  v.  6;  Chapter  iii. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 

Verse  1.  Paul^  &c.— In  this  epistle  St.  Paul 
neither  Uses  the  title  of  an  apoalle^  nor  any  other,  as 
writing  to  pious  and  simple-hearted  men  with  the 
ntmost  familiarity ;  and  Silvanus^  (also  called  Silas,) 
and  Timotheu8--Si  Paul  joins  tiiese  two  f^thfol 
fellow-labourers  with  himself  in  this  epistle,  because 
they  had  been  with  him  at  Thessalonica,  and  were 
well  known  to  and  much  lovfed  by  the  believers 
there;  to  the  church  of  the  Thessalonians  which  is 
in  God  the  Father— The  one  living  and  true  God, 
in  whom  they  have  believed,  whose  children  they 
are  become,  and  whom  they  acknowledge  and  wor- 
ship as  their  God  and  Father,  thereby  distinguishing 
themselves  from  the  idolatrous  heathen;  and  in 
the  Lord  Jesua  CArwr— Whom  they  also  believe  in, 
adore,  and  serve,  as  the  Son  of  the  Father,  and  their 
Redeemer  and  Saviour,  thereby  distinguishing  them- 
selves from  JeWs.  The  expression  also  implies  that 
they  had  union  and  communion  with  God  and  Christ. 

Verses  2-i.  We  give  thanks,  &c.— From  hence  to 
chap.  iii.  18,  we  have  the  chief  object  of  this  epistle, 
which  was  to  comfort,  strengthen,  and  establish  the 
Christians  at  Thessalonica,  and  induce  them  to  per- 
severe under  all  the  discouragements  which  he, 
their  apostle,  or  they  themselves,  might  meet  with. 
And  in  hb  entrance  upon  this  design  he  gives  vent 
to  what  lay  most  upon  his  heart,  thanking  God  for 
their  conversion  from  idolatry  to  Christianity  amidst 
80  many  discouraging  circumstances ;  and  praying 

Vol  n.  («5) 


^  Remembering  without  ceasing  a.  M.  4058 
Mir  woA  of  feith,  ^and  labour  of  ^^'^' 


in    our    Lord 
Crod  and  our 


3 

•your 

love,    and   patience   of  hope 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of 
Father; 

4  Knowmg,  brethren  ^beloved,  'your  dec- 
tion  of  God. 

$  For  ^our  goepel  came  not  unto  yoil  in 


6;    2  Theaaakmians  i.  3, 11 ;  Jamas  iL  17.— — 'Romilha  zri. 

6  ;  Heb.  vi.  10. >  Or,  beloved  of  Ood,  war  «/«e«wm.— f  CoL 

in.  12;  2  These,  ii.  13. «»MaAxvii  20 ;  1  Cor.  ii  4;  iv.  20. 


that  they  n^ght  continue  in  the  faith  they  had  em 
braced,  in  which  he  takes  all  occasions  of  speaking 
well  of  the  Thessalonians,  as  indeed  he  does  through 
all  the  epistle,  in  which  there  is  a  peculiar  sweetpess, 
unmixed  with  any  sharpness  or  reproof;  (hose  evils 
which  the  apostle  afterward  reproved,  having  not 
yet  crept  into  the  churches :  remembering  without 
ceasing— Or  constantly  in  all  our  prayers;  your 
work  of  faith— Your  active,  ever-working  faith; 
and  labour  of  fore— Your  love  to  God  and  man, 
which  induces  you  to  labour  continually  to  promote 
the  glory  of  God,  and  do  good  to  the  bodies  or  souls 
of  men ;  and  patience  qf  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — Your  patience  under  all  your  persecutions 
and  other  sufferings,  the  fruit  of  that  blessed  hope 
of  eternal  life,  which  is  grbunded  on  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  is  wrought  in  you  by  his 
saving  grace ;  in  the  sight  of  God,  even  our  Faiher — 
Whose  eye  is  continually  upon  you,  who  observes, 
and  win  not  fail  to  reward,  the  graces  wrought  in 
you  by* his  blessed  Spirit.  Observe  reader,  all  true 
faith  in  Christ,  and  the  truths  and  promises  of  the 
gospel,  works;  all  genuine  love  to  God  apd  man, 
labours  ;  and  the  hope  which  is  well  grounded  and 
lively,  patiently  bears  all  things.  Knowing,  brethren, 
beloved  of  God— And  of  us  his  servants;  yottr  elec- 
tion—Your being  choaen  to  be  God's  peculiar  people, 
by  these  plain  marks.  Of  predestination  and  elec- 
tion, see  on  Rom.  viii.  28;  Eph.  i.  4,  5. 
Verse  5.  For  our  gdspel— The  gospel  which  wc 
886  U 


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The  gospd  preached  vas 


I.  THESSALONIANS. 


attended  by  the  jxmer  of  €rod» 


A.  M.  4058.  word  only,  but  also  in  power,  and 

! 1  *  in  the  Holy  Ghofit,  ^  and  in  much 

assurance ;  &s  ^  ye  know  what  manner  of  men 
we  were  among  you  for  your  sake. 

6  And  "  ye  became  followers  of  us,  and  of  the 
Lord,  having  received  the  word  in  much  afflic- 
tion, ■  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 


*2  Cor.  Ti.  6.— *-k  CoL  iiL  2 :  Heb.  ii.  a » Chap.  ii.  1,  5, 

10, 11 ;  2  Thew.  iii.  7. » 1  Cor.  ir.  16 ;  xL  1 ;  Phil.  iii.  17 ; 


preach,  and  which  has  been  solemnly  committed  to 
our  cluirge  j  came  not  unto  you  in  word  only — You 
not  only  heard,  understood,  and  assented  to  it  as  a 
revelation  from  God,  and  received  thereby  informa- 
tion CQUcernlng  those  spiritilal  and  divine  things  of 
which  you  were  before  ignorant ;  but  it  came  also  in 
potrcr— Awakening  your  minds  to  a  deep  sense  of 
the  infinite  importance,  as  well  as  certainty,  of  the 
discoveries  it  makes  you,  espectalLy  concerning  the 
future  and  eternal  state  awaiting  you,  and  your  pre- 
sent fallen,  sinful,  and  depraved  condition;  convinc- 
ing your  consciences  of  the  number  and  greatness 
of  your  sins  and  follies,  and  your  want  of  a  Saviour 
from  that  state  of  ignorance  and  guilt,  depravity, 
weakness,  and  misery,  in  which  you  saw  yourselves 
to  be  involved ;  thus  humbling  you  before  a  holy  and 
just  Ckxl,  and  bringing  you  to  the  footstool  of  hb 
mercy  in  true  repentance  and  godly  sorrow,  produc- 
tive of  fruits  worthy  of  repentance.  And  in  the 
Holy  Ohoet — ^Bearing  ati  outward  testimony  by 
various  miraculous  operations  to  the  truth  and  im- 
portance of  the  gospel  which  we  preach ;  and  by  his 
enlightening,  quickening,  and  renewing  influences 
on  your  souls,  causing  it  to  produce  the  fore-men- 
tioned effects ;  and  above  all,  inspiring  you  with  liv- 
ing faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the  promises  of  God 
through  him,  and  thereby  revealing  him  to  and  in 
you  the  hope  of  glory ;  Gal.  i.  16 ;  Col.  i.  27 ;  and  at 
the  same  time  creating  you  anew  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  strengthening  you  with  might  in  the  inner 
^nan^  (EplL  iii.  16,)  that  you  might  be  able,  as  well  as 
willing,  to  withstand  all  the  subtlety,  power,  and 
malice  of  your  spiritual  enemies,  and  to  do  and  suffer 
the  whole  will  of  Grod.  And  in  much  assurance — 
Greek,  tv  nXjjpoi^pia  n-oXA^,  literally,  m  yUM  assur- 
ance and  mudi  of  it;  not  only  begetting  in  you  a 
full  persuasion  of  the  certain  truth  and  infinite  im- 
portance of  the  doctrines,  precepts,  promises,  threat- 
enings,  and  every  part  of  the  gospel  declared  to  you, 
but  of  your  personal  interest  in  the  privileges  and 
blessings  of  it,  and  therefore  of  your  present  justi- 
fication and  acceptance  with  God,  of  your  adoption 
into  his  family,  regeneration  by  his  grace,  and  title 
to  his  glory ;  and  causing  you  to  rejoice  in  expecta- 
tion thereof,  and  that  with  a  lively  and  jojrful  ex- 
pectation, even  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  So  that  both  the  fidl  assurance  offaith^  and 
the  fuU  assurance  of  hopey  accompanied  ^ith  per- 
fect love  casting  out  fear^  (all  which  graces  are 
expressly  mentioned  by  the  apostles  in  their  epistles, 
see  Heb.  vi.  11 ;  x.  22j  1  John  iv.  17,)  are  implied  in 
the  much  assurawe  here  spoken  of.  And  these 
386 


7  So  that  ye  were  ensample^  to  all  A.  M.  40sa 
that  believe  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia.    ^  ^'  ^'. 


8  For  from  you  *^  sounded  out  the  word  of 
the  Lord  not  only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaiai 
but  also  Pin  every  place  your  feith  to  God- 
ward  is  spread  abroad;  so  that  we  need  not 
to  speak  any  thing. 

Chap.  ii.  14;   2  Thess.  iii.  0. "AcU  t.  41;   Heb.  x.  34. 

oRom.  z.  18. P  Rom.  i.  6 ;  2  Thess.  i.  4. 


effects,  if  not  the  muracnlous  gilts  of  the  Spirit,  always 
more  or  less  attend  the  faithful  preaching  of  the 
true  and  genuine  gospel  of  Christ ;  neither  are  some 
extraordinary  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost  always 
wholly  withheld,  where  the  goepel  is  preached  with 
power,  and  preachers  and  hearers  are  alive  to  Gk>d. 
As  ye  know  what  maimer  of  m^n  we  were  among 
your— How  we  conducted  ourselves,  and  with  what 
zeal  and  diligence  we  exerted  ourselves  in  order  to 
your  salvation  ;for  your  sokes — Seeking  your  advan- 
tage, not  our  own. 

Verses  6-10.  Ye  became  followers  of  us — Obedi- 
ent to  our  directions,  and  imitators  of  our  example ; 
and  of  the  Lord  also^Both  in  the  hc^ness  of  your 
lives,  and  in  the  courage  and  patience  with  which 
you  endured  those  sufiferings  which  lay  in  the  way 
of  your  duty ;  having  received  (he  irorrf— When  first 
preached  to  you ;  in  much  affliction^  withjdy  ofth4, 
Holy  Ohast-^ThsX  is,  though  attended  with  pciee^o- 
tion,  yet  with  joy,  such  as  only  the  Holy  Ghost  could 
inspire  you  with.  So  ^uU  ye  were  ensamples—Pni' 
terns  to  be  imitated;  to  all  that  believe  in  Mace- 
donia— Chiefly  in  Philippi  and  Berea;  and  in  the 
more  distant  province  of  ilc^tV-Namely,  to  the 
Corinthian  converts,  who,  hearmg  of  their  pious  and 
virtuous  conduct,  were  excited  to  emulation.  The 
apostle  mentions  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  because 
he  had  just  been  travelling  through  t^ese  parts  be- 
fore he  came  to  Corinth,  from  whence,  as  has  been 
observed  in  the  preface,  he  wrote  this  epistle.  For 
from  you  sounded  forth  the  word  of  the  Lord — Was 
echoed,  as  it  were,  from  you ',  not  only  in  your  own 
borders  of  Macedonia  and  Jc^ata— With  which  you 
could  easily  have  correspondence ;  but  also  in  every 
pZocfr-That  is,  far  beyond  these  countries;  your 
faith  to  God-ward— The  report  of  your  embracmg 
the  gospel,  and  of  consequence  believing  in  the  living 
and  true  God;  is  spread  abroad — Is  become  notori- 
ous; so  that  we  need  not  to  speak  any  thing— -Con- 
ceming  it.  The  apostle  does  not  mean  that  the 
Thessalonian  brethren  sent  persons  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  the  countries  here  mentioned,  but  that 
their  relinquishing  idolatry  had  occasioned  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  at  Thcssalonica  to  be  much 
talked  of  in  these  provinces,  and  in  many  other 
places.  Grotius  observes,  that  many  of  the  Thessa- 
lonians  being  merchants,  who  travelled  into  foreign 
countries  for  the  sake  of  commerce,  the  news  of  their 
fellow-citizens  having  renounced  the  worship  of  the 
heathen  gods  must  have  been  spread  abroad  widely 
by  theur  means,  Ss  the  apostle  here  affirms.  And  as 
this  was  a  very  extraordinary  event,  it  would  nalu- 
f  25*  >  b 


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A.  M.  4066. 
A.D.54. 


9  For  thejr  thenuelveB  show  of  us 
^wliat  manner  of  entering  in  we  had 
luHcyoo,  'and  how  y^  turned  to  God  from 
idols,  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God; 


^Ch^>.  ii.  1. '  1  CJor.  xii.  2 ;    GaL  ir.  8. •  Rom.  ii  7 ; 

PhiLiii.20;   TitiLW;   2Petiu.l2;   ReT.L7. 


rsUy  ooeasion  mueh  discoorse  among  them  to  whom 
it  was  reported.  For  they  theimelves—lilie  faithful, 
wherever  we  come ;  sJiow  ofu$  what  manner  of  en- 
tering in^  &e. — Are  able  to  give  an  aeeount  of  the 
success  of  our  ministry  among  you,  and  what  enter- 
tainment it  found  with  you ;  and  how  ye  turned  to 
God  from  idols — In  the  worship  of  which  ye  had 
been  brought  np  5  to  serve  the  living  and  true  Chd-- 
The  epithet  living  is  given  to  God  to  distinguish  him 
from  the  heathen  idols,  which  were  destitute  of  life. 
And  he  is  called  the  true  Oody  in  opposition  to  the 
fictitious  deities  worshipped  by  the  heathens,  who, 
though  some  of  them  may  have  formerly  lived,  or 
are  now  living,  are  not  true  gods;  such  as  demons 
and  the  souls  of  men  departed.  And  to  wait  for  his 
Son  from  heaven^To  raise  the  dead  and  judge  the 
worM ;  whom  he  raised  from  the  dead— In  proof  of 
his  Aiture  coming  for  these  purposes.  "  Christ  h'mi- 
sel^  on  two  different  occasions,  promised  that  he 


10  And 'to  wait  lor  his  Son^frem  A.iiC.406a 

heaveni  ^wfaom  be  raised  from  the 1_^ 

dead,  even  Jesus,  which  deliv^ed  us  '  frcMn  the 
wrath  to  come. 


*  AoU  L  11 ;  Chap.  Jr.  IS :    2  Thess.  L  7. "  AeU  ii.  34^ 

«Matt.  iii. 7 ;  Rom.  r.  0 ;  Chap. r.  0. 


w<Hi]d  return  firomheaven,  Matt  xvl27;  Johnxiv.  9. 
The  angels,  likewise,  who  attended  at  his  ascension, 
foretold  the  same  things,  Acts  i.  11.  And  as  the 
great  design  of  his  return  1^  to  punish  his  enemies, 
and  reward  his  faithful  servants,  his  second  coming 
was  always  a  principal  topic  on  which  the  apostles 
insisted  in  their  discourses ;  consequently  it  was  a 
prineipal  article  of  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  first 
Christians,  a  frequent  subject  of  their  conversation, 
and  a  powerful  source  of  consolation  to  them  in  all 
the}r  sdflictions  and  troubles.  May  it  ever  be  the  ob* 
ject  of  our  faith  and  hope,  and  the  source  of  our  con- 
solation, especially  at  death !"— Macknight.  Even 
JesuSyWho  deHveredr—OfteelHy  pvofuvovy  rather,  deli- 
vereth;  us  from  the  wrath  to  o<w»c— He  hath  re- 
deemed us  once,  he  delivers  us  continually ;  and  wiU 
deliver  all  that  believe  in  him  from  the  wrath,  the 
eternal  vengeance,  which  will  then  come  upon  the 
ungodly. 


CHAPTEBr  U. 

To  enamrage  ike  heUevhig  Thes»al(mians  to  persetere  in  faith  and  holiness^  the  apostle,  (1,)  Leads  ihem  to  reflect  upon  the 
fMnner  m  wkiek  he  and  his  brethren  behaved  among  them  when  they  visited  them  at  first,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
church  in  their  aty,  1-lS.  (2,)  He  blesses  God  for  the  readiness  with  which  they  received  the  gospel,  notwithstanding  the 
persecution  raised  against  them  by  their  own  countrymen,  as  well  as  by  the  Jews,  13-16.  (3,)  He  assures  them  of  his 
continued  afeetion,  though  he  Juid  been  hindered  from  visiting  them  so  soon  as  he  intended,  and  of  his  joy  on  their 
aeeount,  17-SO. 

and  were  shamefully  entreated,  as  ye  a.  m.  405s. 

know,  at  ^  Philippi,  ^  we  were  bcdd  in  ^ — ^*- 

our  God  *  to  speak  unto  you  the  gospel  of  God 


A.BI.406S.  "pOR  •yourselves,  brethren,  know 

.—1-^ our  entrance  in  unto  you,  that  it 

was  not  in  vain: 
2  But  even  after  thai  we  had  suffered  before, 


'Chap.  L  5,  9. *  Acts  xri.  28. «  Ch*p.  i.  S. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verses  1,  %  Yourselves^  brethren^  know^  Ac.— 
What  was  proposed  chap.  i.  A,  6,  is  now  more  largely 
treated  of;  coneeming  Paul  and  his  fellow-labourers, 
verses  1-12:  concerning  the  Thessalonians,  verses 
1^16.  Our  entrance  in  unto  you^With  what  de- 
monstration of  a  dlvme  agency  it  was  attended ;  that 
it  was  not  in  vain — Or  without  success,  as  Dr.  Hey- 
lin  reads;  but  was  attended  with  most  important 
consequences  and  effects,  which  will  be  everlasting. 
The  original  eacpression,  however,  «  /m^  ysyovev^  is 
rendered  by  Dr.  Waterland,  was  not  vain;  and  by 
Dr.  Macknight,  was  not  faissy  or  destitute  of  truth, 
judging  the  apostte's  meaning  to  be,  "that  his  en- 
trance among  the  Thessalonians  was  not  the  entrance 
b 


"  with  much  contention. 


«  Act»  xvii.  2. •  Phil.  i.  30 ;  Col.  ii.  1. 

of  a  deceiver,  who,  with  a  view  to  draw  money  from 
his  hearers,  or  to  acquire  power,  or  to  live  in  plear 
sure  among  them,  told  them  stories  which  he  him- 
self knew  to  be  false.  To  this  interpretation,  the 
reason  assigned  in  the  following  verse  agrees :  his 
sufferings  for  the  gospel  being  the  strongest  proof 
that  he  himself  believed  it ;  whereas,  of  his  not  hav- 
ing preached  in  vain  to  the  Thessalonians  his  suffer- 
ings wera  no  proof.  Besides,  if  the  apostle  had 
meant  to  say  that  his  entrance  was  not  in  i^^*^  the 
expression  would  have  been  etc  Ktvov,  as  in  Phil.  ii.  16  j 
1  Thess.  iii.  5."  But  after  we  had  siffered^-ln  se- 
veral places ;  and  were  shamefully  entreated  at  Phi- 
^i^— Being  there  stripped  and  scourged  by  the 
conmion  beadle,  and  thrust  into  prison,  wh^re  our 
387 


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th€  vwiiAMoftlidilt  ^^Ka^l-M, 


A.M.4058.    3  ^For  our  e^lusrtalioti  mis  noil 
'        of  deceit,  ^emnt  of  iindimnflBs,  nor  w 

guile; 

4  But  as  'we  were  uHowed  of  Ood  ^to  be 
put  in  truflt  with  the  gospd,  even  so  we  qpeak ; 
*  not  as  {^easing  men,  but  Ood,  ^  which  trieth 
our  hearts. 

5  Foif  ^  ni^her  at  any  time  used  we  flattering 
words,  as  ye  know,  nor  a  cloak  of  covetous- 
ness :  ^  God  is  witness : 


feet  were  made  fast  in  Che  stckiks.  Sbourging  with 
rods  was  a  punishment  so  ignominious,  that  the  Por-^ 
tian  law,  among  the  Romans,  forbade  it  to  be  inflicted 
on  any  Roman  citizen.  We  trcre  6oW— Notwith- 
standing ;  inour  G^oci— Trusting  in  his  assistance ;  to 
speak  unto  you  the  gospel-^Tho^gh  we  are  forced 
to  do  it  with  inuch  contention — ^Meeting  with  much 
opposition,  or  in  the  midst  of  inward  and  outward 
conflicts  of  all  kinds. 

Verses  3-6.  For  our  ftrAortofion— That  is,  our 
preaching,  a  part  being  put  for  the  whole  $  was  not 
of  deceit— Wi^  a  design  to  seduce  or  corrupt  any 
one  by  false  doctrine ;  or,  we  preach  not  a  lie,  but  the 
truth  of  God ;  nor  of  ttnc^nn««--Tending  to  en- 
courage men  in  their  impure  course  of  life ;  nor  in 
guile — To  procure  esteem  or  any  worldly  advantage 
to  ourselves,  under  pretence  of  aiming  at  the  glory 
of  God.  In  this  verse,  and  in  those  that  follow  to 
verse  12,  "  the  apostle  delineates  hb  own  character, 
and  the  character  of  his  assistants  as  teachers,  on 
purpose  to  make  the  Thessalonians  sensible  that  they 
had  nothing  in  common  with  impostors,  who  are 
always  found  to  use  the  mean,  vicious  practices, 
which  the  Christian  teachers  in  this  passage  dis- 
claimed." But  <i8  we  were  allowed — LtdoKifiaaftM^a^ 
were  approved^  of  God;  to  be  intrusted  with  the  gos- 
pel—-Th^i  most  invaluable  treasure;  even  so  we 
speak — That  is,  preach ;  iwt  as  pleasing  m«n-^After 
the  manner  of  impostors,  accommodating  our  doc- 
trine to  their  tastes  and  prejudices;  but  God^  who 
trieth  our  hearts — It  is  our  constant  endeavour  to 
secure  his  approbation.  And  what  stronger  proof  can 
be  given  of  our  not  preaching  with  guile?  Neither 
nsed  we  flattering  words — To  insinuate  ourselves 
into  your  affections^:  this  ye  know  ;  nor  a  cloak  ofco- 
retousness—A  pretence  of  piety  to  promote  the 
schemes  of  covetousness ;  of  this  God  is  witness. 
Macknight  reads,  with  d  cloak  over  covetousness; 
justly  observing,  that  covetousness  is  never  used  as 
a  cloak  to  cover  any  thing,  but  needs  a  cover  to  con- 
ceal itself.  The  apostle  calls  men  to  witness  an  open 
iact;  God,  the  secret  intentions  of  the  heart:  in  a 
point  of  a  mixed  nature,  (verse  10,)  he  appeals  both  to 
God  and  man.  Flattery  and  covetoumiess  were  vices 
to  which  the  teachers  of  philosophy,  in  ancient  times, 
were  remarkably  addicted.  And  they  are  vices 
888 


6  ^Nor  ^  nea  MOght  we  {^oly,  JL^m.mOB, 
neither  of  7011,  nor  pet  ut-  tstbirs, '• — 1 


wiien  ^"We  might  -have  ^%eeB  H 
4  as  the  ^qpnties  of  GhrisL 

7  But  'we  were  gentle  amoi^  yoo,  even  8s 
a  nurse  cberisheth  her  chBdren : 

8  So  being  afiectionatdiy  desiroas  of  you, 
we  weitewffing  'to  have  In^^afted  nato  ym^ 
not  the  gospel  of  God  <Hily,  hot  also  ^onr  own 
soub,  because  ye  were  dear  unto  ua. 


•1  Cor.  ix.  4^  12,  I84    2  Cor.  x.  1,  2,  10,  11 ;    xui.  JO; 

2  Tbess.  iii.  9 ;  Philem.  8, 9. *  Or,  uted  authority.-^— -?  2  On. 

id.  9 ;  zii.  13, 14 ;  8  Then.  iii.  8. 1 1  Coriathiaiis  ix.  1,2,5. 

'1  Cocii.3;  ix.22;  2  Cor.-xiii.  4;  2 Tim.  ii 
111;   XV.  29. ^2  Cor.  xii.  15. 


which,  more  or  less,  enter  into  the  character  of  all 
impostors,  who,  as  the  apostle  observes,  (Rom.  xvL 
18,)  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches  deceive  the 
hearts  of  the  simple,  iVbr—Instead  of  seeking  to 
acquire  power  or  riches  by  preaching ;  of  men  sought 
we  glory— ThdX  is,  popularity,  honour,  and  applause; 
neither  6fyou^  nor  yet  of  others— Among  wlK>m  we 
laboured  and  conversed.  Nay,  we  did  not  seek  so 
much  as  the  respect  of  a  suitable  maintenance ;  when 
we  miglU  have  been  burdensome — Hiat  is,  mig^thave 
claimed  support;  as  the  apostles  of  Christ—Who 
had  authorized  us  to  take  from  our  hearers  what  w^ 
necessary  for  our  subsistence,  but  we  maintained 
ourselves  by  the  labour  of  our  own  hands.  He  re- 
fers to  the  right  they  had  of  being  maintained  at 
the  charge  of  those  to  whom  they  ministered.  See 
1  Corinthians  ix.  6-14 ;  1  Timothy  v.  18.  But  he 
was  acting  now  on  the  same  maxims  at  Corinth, 
(from  whence  he  wrote  this  epistle,)  by  which  he 
had  governed  himself  at  Thessalonica.  See  Acts 
xviii.  3. 

Verses  7,  8.  But  we  were  gentle — Mild,  tender ; 
among'^l&v  /ie<To  t/tuv^  in  the  midst  of,  you — Like  a 
hen  surrounded  with  her  young ;  even  as  a^nurse— 
A  mother  who  suckles  her  own  o&pring,  as  the 
word  Tpo(^  here  signifies;  cherisheth her  children 
—The  oflspring  of  her  own  womb,  warming  them 
in  her  bosom,  and  feeding  them  with  her  mSk.  'So 
being  affectionately  desirous  of  you — Ovrwf  //(eipo- 
ftevoi  vfiov,  being  tenderly  affectionate  toward  you  ; 
or  loving  you  tenderly;  a  beautiful  poetical  expres- 
sion, as  Blackwall  observes,  signifying  the  most 
pase^nate  deshe :  we  were  witiing  to  have  impatted 
not  the  gospel  only,  but  our  own  souls — Or  lives, 
rather.  Chandler  observes,  that  "the  apostle  here 
considers  the  Thessalonians  as  in  ^e  infancy  of 
their  conversion;  himself  za  the  lender  mother  who 
nursed  them ;  the  gospel  as  the  milk  WRh  whieh  he 
fed  them ;  and  his  very  soul,  or  life,  as  what  he  was 
willing  to  part  whh  for  their  preservation.  Could 
the  fondest  mother  carry  her  infection  for  her  help- 
less infant  further?^  He  adds,  ^^NoUihigcan  exceed 
the  elegance,  the  strength,  and  the  moving  faction 
of  this  description  \  A  man  must  have  no  bowels, 
who  does  not  find  them  moved  by  so  fine,  so  lively, 
and  Warm  a  scene." 

b 


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T%e  Hoard  of  God  prospered 


GHAPTER  a. 


in  times  of  great  perMecution. 


A.if.4008.    9  For  ye  remember,  brethren,  our 

-J labour  and  travail:   for  *  labouring 

night  and  day,  'because  we  would  not  be 
chargeable  unto  any  of  you,  we  preached  unto 
you  the  gospd  erf  (Sod. 

10  7  Ye  are  witnesses,  and  Qoi  alsoy  "  how 
hdify^  and  justly,  and  unblameably  we  be- 
haved oursdtves  among  you  that  believe : 

11  As  ye  know  how  we  exhorted,  and  com- 
forted, and  charged  every  one  of  you,  as  a 
fether  doth  Us  diiUren, 

12  •  That  ye  would  walk  worthy  of  God, 
^  who  hath  called  you  unto  hh  kingdom  and 
glory. 


•Acts  n.  34;    1  Con  hr.  12;    8  Theat.  iii  8. «3  Cor. 

xii.  13, 14.— y  Chap.  I  5. *2  Cor.  vii.  2;  2  Then.  iii.  7. 

»  Eph.  ir.  1 ;  PiiiL  L  V ;  Col.  I  10 ;  Chap.  ir.  1. »» 1  Cor.  i. 

9 ;  Chap.  r.  24;  2  Theat.  it  14 ;  2  Tim.  L  9. 


Verses  9-12.  Ye  remember^  brethren,  ottr  labour— 
In  the  ministerial  work ;  and  travail— -Uox^ov,  toil, 
in  our  seculur  employment;  for  labouring  night 
and  day,  &c, — It  seems  they  often  took  from  the 
rert  of  the  nigtil  the  hours  which  during  the  day 
they  had  spent  in  the  exercise  of  their  ministry: 
becauae  we  would  not  be  chargeable— Bui  might  be 
able  to  maintain  ourselves.  The  apostle  often  ap- 
pealed to  this  proof  Of  his  disinterestedness.  In- 
deed, in  preaching  the  gospel,  he  had  no  view  but  to 
promote  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  man- 
Idnd.  Ye  are  witnesses — For  our  conduct  was  well 
known  to  you ;  and  Ood  also — Who  observes  our 
most  secret  actions,  desires,  and  designs;  how  holily 
— Toward  God,  and  in  the  things  respecting  hb 
worship  and  service;  and  justly — ^With  regard  to 
men;  and  unblameably — ^In  respect  of  oarselves; 
we  behaved  ourselves  among  you  that  heKeve^—'Who 
were  the  constant  observers  of  our  behaviour.  As  ye 
know  how — With  what  earnestness,  and  diligence, 
and  importunity;  we  exhorted,  comforted,  and 
charged  every  one  of  yow—As  far  as  God  gave  us 
access  to  you.  By  exhorting,  we  are  moved  to  do 
a  thing  willingly ;  by  comforting,  to  do  it  joyfully ; 
by  charging,  to  do  it  carefully.  As  a  father  doth 
his  chUdren—The  apostle  (verse  7)  compared  the 
gentleness  with  which  he  behaved  toward  the 
Thessalonian  believers  to  the  tenderness  of  a  nursing 
mother  toward  her  sucking  children.  Here  he 
compares  the  affection  and  earnestness  with  which 
he  recommended  holiness  to  them,  to  the  affection 
and  earnestness  of  a  pious  father,  who  exhorts  his 
own  children.  That  ye  would  walk  worthy  of  God 
—Conduct  yourselves  in  such  a  manner  as  becomes 
those  who  know  God,  and  profess  to  believe  in,  love, 
and  serve  him,  and  in  a  manner  suitable  to  the  re- 
lation in  which  it  is  yotrr  happiness  to  stand  to  him ; 
who  haih  called  you — By  his  gospel  and  his  grace ; 
unto  his  kingdom  here,  and  ghry  hereafter. 

Verses  13-16.  For  this  cause— Or,  on  this  account 
also;  thank  we  God  without  ceasing—See  on  chap 


13  For  this  cause  also  thank  we  God  a.m.4058. 

*  without  ceasing,  because,  when  ye '. — 1 

recdved  the  word  of  God  which  ye  heard  of 
us,  ye  received  t^  ^  not  o^  the  word  of  men, 
but  (as  it  is  m  truth)  the  word  of  God, 
whidi  effectually  worketh  also  in  you  that 
believe. 

14  For  ye,  brethren,  became  followers  *of 
the  churches  of  God  which  in  Judea  are  in 
Christ  Jesus:  for  ^ ye  also  have  suffered  like 
things  of  your  own  countrymen,  '  even  as  they 
have  of  the  Jews : 

16  ^Who  both  killed  the  Ijfftd  Jesus,  and 
^  their  owh  prophets,  and  have  ^  persecuted  us ; 


«  Ch»p.  i.  3.: '  Mfttt  X.  40 ;   Oal.  iv.  14 ;    2  F^  iii.  2. 

«  Oalatians  i.  22. '  Acts  xrii.  5, 13.— -K  Ifebrem  x.  33,  34. 

»»  AcU  ii.  23;    iii  15;    v.  30;    rii.  52. — -*  Matthew  v.  12. 
*  Or,  cAo^  iM  mtf.       ^ 


L  2 ;  that  is,  we  not  only  thank  him  that  we  have 
been  enabled  to  conduct  ourselves,  and  to  discharge 
otnr  duty,  in  the  manner  above  described,  but  that, 
when  ye  received  the  word  of  God  which  ye  heard, 
^^._Greek,  ^oyov  tacotK  ra  Oes,  literally,  the  word 
of  hearing  of  God;  the  word  which  God  hath  ap- 
pointed to  be  heard  through  our  preaching.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  same  expression,  koyw  wcoifc,  (Heb. 
iv.  2,)  is  rendered  by  our  trandators,  the  word 
preached.  But  Dr.  Chandler  thinks  the  clause 
should  be  rendered,  the  word  of  report  concerning 
God;  supposing  it  to  bean  allusion  to  Isa.  liiL  1, 
I^Ao  hath  believed,  nj  nxoti  riiiutv,  our  report?  Ye 
received  it  notas  the  word  of  men — As  a  mere  hu- 
man invention,  or  a  doctrine  framed  by  the  wisdom 
of  men ;  bxft  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God  him- 
self—Of which  there  is  this  further  proof,  that  it 
worketh  effectually  in  you  that  5«ii«?e— Producing 
such  a  change  in  your  hearts  and  lives  as  abunidantly 
attests  its  divine  original.  Wherever  the  gospel 
is  thus  received — where  there  is  a  full  conviction 
that  it  is  nothing  less  than  a  message  from  Jehovah 
himself;  a  Bemg  of  infUUble  truth,  unspotted  holi- 
ness, unerring  wisdom,  and  overflowing  goodness- 
it  is  no  wonder  that  it  should  produce  the  effect  here 
ascribed  to  it  For  ye,  brethren,  became  followers 
of  the  diurches  in  Judea— imimofs  of  their  courage 
and  constancy  in  suffering  for  the  truth,  as  being  in- 
fluenced by  the  same  Spirit  which  animated  and 
supported  them,  though  you  had  not  been  eye-wit- 
nesses of  their  examine:  for  ye  suffered  Wee  things 
of  your  own  countrymen-^Ye  have  been  calumni- 
ated, imprisoned,  and  spoiled  of  your  goods ;  even  as 
(hey  suffered  from  the  Jews— Their  countrymen. 
The  same  fruit,  the  same  afllictions,  and  the  same 
experience,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  are  an  ex- 
cellent criterion  of  evangelical  truth.  Who  both 
kiUedthe  ^i^ord /cttw— Their  own  Messiah ;  and— 
Before  him  5  their  own  prophets— VHiO  foretold  his 
appearance;  and  whom  God,  in  many  distant  ag«» 
of  their  commonwealth,  raised  up  unto  them.  Tha 
868 


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A.M.  40d3.  and  they  (deas^  nol  God,  ^  and  are 


A.  D.  54 


contrary  to  all  men : 


16  ^  Forbidding  us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles 
that  they  might  be  saved,  "*  to  fill  up  their  sins 
always  ^  **  for  the  wrath  is  <x>me  upon  them  to 
the  uttermost 

17  But  we,  brethren,  being  takai  fi-om  you 


*^ Ecth.  iiL 8.^^-1  Luke  xi.  5S ;  Acts  ziiL  50 ;  sir. 5, 10;  z?u. 

6, 13 ;  xviu.  12 :  xix.  0 ;  xxii.  21,  22. «  Gen.  xr.  16  ;  Malt 

zxiii.  32. 


expression,  tTuir  own  prophets^  is  emphattcal;  and 
denotes  that  the  Jews  acknowledged  the  prophets 
whom  they  killed  to  be  prophets  really  sent  of  God. 
So  remarkable  were  the  Jews  for  persecuting  the 
prophets,  that  Stephen  challenged  the  council  to 
show  so  much  as  one  whom  their  fathers  had  not 
persecuted,  Acts  vii.  62.  And  have  persecuted  us — 
Apostles  and  preachers  of  the  gospel;  and  they 
please  not  (rod^-Though  they  pretend  to  be  so  well 
acquainted  with  him  and  his  will,  and  boast  so  much 
of  their  interest  in  him ;  nay,  they  are  not  concerned 
to  please  him,  notwithstanding  their  fair  profescuons ; 
and  are  contrary  to  aU  meu-^- Are  common  enemies 
of  all  mankind;  full  of  contempt  and  malignity 
against  all  other  nations,  and  behaving  toward  them 
in  the  most  perverse  and  unfriendly  manner.  The 
hatred  which  the  Jews  bore  to  all  the  heathen,  with- 
out exception,  was  taken  notice  of  by  Tacitus  and 
Juvenal,  and  even  by  Josephus..  It  was  directly 
contrary  to  the  law  of  Moses,  which,  in  the  strongest 
terms,  recommended  humanity  to  strangers;  but 
arose  probably  from  their  not  understanding  rightly 
the  intention  of  the  precepts  of  their  law,  which 
were  given  to  prevent  them  from  having  familiar 
intercourse  with  idolaters,  lest  they  should  be  in- 
duced to  imitate  them  in  their  practices.  Forbid- 
ding  ti9— The  apostles  and  messengers  of  God ;  to 
speak  to  the  GefUiles—ThsX  is,  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  them,  as  we  are  expressly  commanded  of  God  to 
do ;  that  they  might  be  saved— Iti  which  respect 
especially  they  show  themselves  to  be  the  enemies 
of  mankind,  opposing  their  present  and  everlasting 
salvation ;.  to  fill  up,  &c-— So  that,  instead  of  pleas- 
ing God,  they  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  sins  aU 
ways — As  they  have  ever  done:  but  the  wrath— T^q 
vengeance  of  God ;  is  come  upon  them — Is  about  tp 
overtake  them  unawares,  while  they  are  seeking  to 
destroy  others.  Or,  God  has  begun  to  punish  them, 
and  will  speedily  complete  their  destruction.  The 
word  ^^^offe,  here  rendered  is  come,  being  in  the 
past  time,  properly  signifies  hath  come.  But,  as 
Macknight  observes,  the  past  time  is  here  put  for 
the  present,  or  rather  for  Uie  future,  as  is  plain  from 
this,  that  the  wrath  of  God  had  not  yet  fallen  on  the 
Jewish  nation  in  the iiill  sense  here  expressed.  The 
apostle  only  speaks  of  their  punishment  as  at  hand, 
being  taught  either  by  Christ's  prediction,  or  by  a 
peculiar  revelation  made  to  himself.  The  original 
expression,  «c  reXoc,  rendered  here  to  the  uttermost^ 
was  understood,  by  the  ancient  commentators,  as 
803 


for  a  diort  time  "* in  presence,  not  in  ah.  4066 

heart,  endeav<Hired  the  more  aimn-  '• 

dantly  >"  to  see  your  fiice  with  great  desire. 

18  .Wberrfore  we  would  have  come  unto 
you,  even  I  Paul,  once  and  again ;  but  «  Sa- 
tan hindeml  us. 

19  For   '  what    is   our    hope,  or    joy, 


or 


a  Matt.  zxiv.  6, 14. < 

iii.  10. 4  Rom.  l  13; 

16;ir.  1. 


ICor. 


.3;    CoL  ii.  5.— ^ 
— ^2  Cor.  i.  14; 


-pChap. 
PhiLu. 


signifying  that  the  wrath  of  God  was  coming  upon 
the  Jews,  not  for  a  few  years,  but  for  a  long  duration, 
even  for  many  generations :  which  has  accordingly 
come  to  pass.  To  render  the  expression  as  our 
trandators  have  done,  to  (he  uttermost,  is  certainly 
not  quite  proper.  For,  though  the  calamities  brought 
on  the  Jews  by  the  Romans  were  very  great,  they 
did  not  utterly  destroy  them.  According  to  God's 
promise,  that  he  never  would  make  a  full  end  of  the 
Jews,  a  remnant  of  them  was  left ;  and  in  the  pos- 
terity oi  that  remnant,  now  multiplied  to  a  great 
number,  the  promises  concerning  the  conversion 
and  restoration  of  Israel  will  be  fulfilled.  It  may 
not  be  improper  to  observe  here,  that  in  the  dreadful 
calamities  brought  on  the  Jewi^  nation  for  killing 
their  Messiah,  and  opposing  his  gospel,  we  have  an 
example  and  proof  of  the  manner  in  which  all  ob- 
stinate opposition  to  the  gospel  will  end. 
,  Verses  17-20.  But  we,  brethren,  &c,— In  this  verse 
we  have  a  remarkable  instance,  not  so  much  of  the 
transient  affections  Of  holy  grief^  desire,  or  joy,  a» 
of  that  abiding  tenderness,  that  loving  temper,  which 
is  so  apparent  in  all  St.  Paul's  writings  toward  those 
he  styles  his  childreain  the  iaith.  This  is  the  more 
carefully  to  be  observed,  because  the  passions  oc- 
casionally exercising  themselves,  and  flowing  like  a 
torrent,  in  the  i^)Ostle,  are  observable  to  every  read- 
er; whereas  it  requires  a  nicer  attention  to  discern 
those  calm,  standing  tempers,  that  fixed  posture  of 
his  soul,  from  whence  the  others  only  flow  out^  and 
which  more  peculiarly  distinguish  his  character. 
Being  taJcenfirom  you — Greek,  airop^iadetrreg,  sepa- 
rated from  you.  The  expression  is  commonly  ap- 
plied to  children  who  are  deprived  of  their  parents : 
here,  as  the  apostle,  under  God,  was  the  spiritual 
father  of  the  believers  in  Thessalonica,-it  is  used  in 
allusion  to  parents  who  are  deprived  of  their  chil- 
dren :  for  a  short  time — ^Ilpof  tifupw  opag,  for  an 
hour^s  time;  that  is,  for  a  very  little  season.  Per- 
haps the  apostle  meant,  that  when  he  fled  from 
Thessalonica  to  Berea,  he  proposed  to  be  absent 
only  a  few  days,  till  the  rage  of  the  Jews  was  abated ; 
after  which  he  intended  to  return.  Accordingly  he 
tells  them,  he  the  more  earnestly,  on  that  account, 
endeavoured  to  return,  and  actually  made  two  at- 
tempts for  that  purpose.  But  the  coming  of  the 
Jews  from  Thessalonica,  to  stir  up  the  people  in 
Berea  against  him,  frustrated  his  design,  and  obliged 
him  to  leave  Macedonia.  We  wovld  have  come 
{even  /,  Paul,)  once  and  again^  &c. — This  paren- 

b 


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CHAPTBRin. 


h»e  of  the  Th0$9alanian$. 


.M.406a  'down   of,  'rejoicing?     Are    not 
: ^  even  ye   in    the  presence   of  our 


•  Prov.  x?i.  31 . *  Or,  ghrybig. 


thesis,  Macknight  thinks,  shows,  that  what  follows 
Ib  to  be  imdentood  of  Paul  alone,  though  he  con- 
tinues to  use  the  plural  foinnji  exj^ession ;  and  that 
therefore  in  other  passages,  where  he  uses  the  plural 
number,  he  may  be  speaking  of  himself  only.  But 
Satan  hindered  us—By  the  persecuting  Jews.  Be- 
cause the  dcTil  employs  himself  continually  in  ob- 
structing the  good  purposes,  endeayours,  and  actions 
of  mankind,  and  is  the  chief  enemy  of  God  and  man, 
he  hath  the  name  of  Satan,  or  adversary,  given 
him  by  way  of  eminence.  And  they  who  assist  him 
in  his  malicious  attempts  are  Cfdled  ministers  of 
Satan,  2  Cor.  xi.  l5.  The  persecution  raised  against 
the  apostle  and  his  fellow-labourers,  in  Berea,  is 
here  aiscribed  to  Satan,  to  teach  us  that  persecution 
for  conscience'  sake  is  the|renuine  work  of  the  devil. 
For  ^that  is  our  Aopc— The  soqrce  of  my  hope;  or 
^oy— That  wherein  I  take  comfort ;  or  crown  of  re- 
joicing7'-The  honour  of  my  ministry,  and  the  chief 
cause  of  my  rejoicing.  Are  not  even  ye — As  well  as 
our  other  children ;  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord — 
When  I  shall  behold  you,  at  the  last  day,  owned  of 
him,  and  made  happy  by  him.  "  In  this  passage,  the 
apostle  compares  the  return  of  Christ  to  heaven, 
after  the  judgment,  to  the  solemnity  of  a  Iriumph, 
in  which  the  apostle  himself  is  to  appear  crowned 
in  token  of  his  victory  over  the  false  religions  of  the 
world,  and  over  the  abetters  of  those  religions,**  as 
well  as  over  the  errors  and  vices  of  mankind,  and  all 
the  enemies  of  God  and  his  people,  visible  and  in- 
visible ;  "  and  attended  by  his  converts,  who  are,  in 
that  manner,  to  honour  him  as  their  spiritual  father." 
And  because  these  converts  were  the  fruits  of  his 


Lord  Jesus  Christ  ^at  his  coming?  a.m.4058. 
20  For  ye  are  our  glcMj  and  joy.       '. 1- 


tlCor.XT.23;  Chap.iSi.13;    ReT.i.,7;    xxii.  13. 


preaching,  and  the  evidences  of  the  success  of  his 
labours,  and  therefore  one  grand  ^  cause  of  his  being 
thus  crowned,  they  are,  by  a  beautiful  figure  of 
speech,  called  his  crown  of  glorying.^  That  some 
peculiar  honour  or  reward  will  be  conferred  on  them 
who  have  been  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of 
sinners,  is  evident  from  Dan.  liL  3.  JV  ye  are  our 
glory  and  /oy— The  manner  in  which  the  apostle 
here  speaks  of  the  Thessalonians,  "shows  that  he 
expected  to  know  his  converts  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. If  so,  we  may  hope  to  know  our  relations 
and  friends  then.  And  as  there  is  no  reason  to 
think  that  in  the  future  life  we  shall  lose  those 
natural  and  social  affections  which  constitute  so  great 
a  part  of  our  present  enjoyment,  may  we  not  expect 
that  these  affections,  pi^rified  from  every  thing  ani- 
mal and  terrestrial,  will  be  a  source  of  our  happiness 
in  that  life  likewise  ?  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  in  the  other  world  we  shall  love  one^ 
another  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  relation  and 
friendship  which  formerly  subsisted  between  us,  as 
on  account  of  the  knowledge  and  virtue  which  we 
.possess.  For  among  rational  beings,  whose  affec- 
tions will  all  be  suited  to  the  high  state  of  moral  and 
intellectual  perfection  to  which  they  shall  be  raised, 
the  most  endearing  relations  and  warmest  friend 
ships  will  be  those  which  are  formed  on  excellence 
of  character.  What  a  powerful  coniaideraiion  this 
to  excite  us  to  cultivate,  in  our  relations  and  friends, 
the  noble  and  lasting  qualities  of  knowledge  and 
virtue,  which  will  prove  such  a  source  of  happiness, 
to  them  and  to  us  through  the  endles§  ages  of  eter- 
nity !"— -Macknight. 


OHAPTER  m. 

in  tikis  eksfter,  as  afuriker  iihstrstion  cf  hs  love,  the  apostle,  (1,)  fUminds  the  Thesealomans  of  hie  eending  Timothy  Jrom 
Aikems  to  estabUeh  and  eonrfort  them,  1-6.  (t,)  He  mentions  the  great  pleasure  with  which  he  rueived  the  tidinge  which 
that  esangeHsi  had  brought  hkn  of  their  faith  and  Urn,  6-9.  (8,)  He  assures  tJum  that  he  was  continually  praying  for 
their  prosperity,  and  for  an  opportunity  of  making  them  another  visit,  in  order  to  promote  their  edification,  10-13. 


A^M^4058.  TmiEREFORE,  *when  we  could 
— U — 1-  no  longer  forbear^  ^  we  thought 


»Ver»e5, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IH. 
Verse  1.  When  we  could  no  longer  forbear — Or 
bear,  rather,  namely,  our  anxiety  on  your  account. 
The  word  ^eyovre^,  here  used,  literally  signifies 
bearing  or  carrying,  but  never  forbearing.  Some 
such  word  as  anxiety  is  necessary  to  be  supplied, 
because  it  appears  from  the  following  verse,  that  the 
^Kwtle  was  at  this  time  under  great  concern  lest  the 
b 


it    good 
alone; 


to    be    left    at 


Athens  A.  M.  4068. 

A.D.54. 


^  Acts  x?iL  15. 


Thessalonians  should  have  been  tooved  from  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  either  by  the  false  arguments  of 
the  unbelievers,  or  by  the  persecutions  which  they 
suffered.  We  thought  it  good  to  be  left  ai  Athens 
afonc— Although  there  we  had  peculiar  need  of  the 
support  and  copifort  of  having  with  us  an  approved 
companion  and  friend.  Some  infer,  from  this  man- 
ner of  speaking,  that  Silas  was  absent  from  Paul 
891 


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I.  THEMALOllUNa        establuk  the  believers  in  tk^finOi. 


A.  M.  4058.   2  And  sttif^TimoUieuSjOiUL  brother, 

-^-J and  minister  of  God,  and  our  fellow- 

labourer  in  the  go^l  of  Christ,  to  establish  you, 
and  to  comfort  you  concerning  your  faith: 

3  ^  That  no  man  should  be  moved  by  these 
afflictions:  for  yourselves  know  that ^ we  are 
appointed  thereunto. 

4  'For  verily,  when  we  were  with  you,  we 
told  you  before  that  we  should  suffer  tribula- 
tion ;  even  as  it  came  to  pass,  and  ye  know. 


•  Rom.  zri.  21 ;  IGor.  xrtlO;  2  Cor.  i.  19. «Eph.iiil3. 

•AcU  iz.  16;  ziv.  22;  xx:23;  xzi.  11;  ICor.  iT.9;   21^id. 
iii.  12 ;  1  Pet.  iL  21. 


whSe  He  was  at  Athens.  And  Macknight  supposes, 
that  though  Timothy  and  Silas  were  both  ordered 
to  follow  him  from  Berea  to  Athens,  (Acts  xviL  15,) 
only  Timothy  came  to  him  there.  See  Acts  xviii. 
1,  5.  If  this  ophiion  be  correct,  when  Timothy  left 
Athens,  the  apostle  remained  in  that  city  alone, 
which  was  a  very  trying  circumstance,  as  he  ex- 
pected great  opposition  from  the  Athenian  philoso- 
phers. Some,  however,  infer,  from  the  apostle's 
speal^ng  in  the  plural  number,  fVe  thought^  &c., 
that  Silas  must  have  been  widi  him.  And  sent 
Timotheus,  our  fellow-labourer  in  the  gospel^As 
Timothy  is  said  (Acts  xvii.,  14)  to  have  remained 
with  Silas  in  Berea,  after  Paul's  departure,  it  is  pro- 
bable iie  had  been  with  the  apostle  at  Thessalohica, 
and  had  assisted  him  in  his  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel  there ;  to  establish  y<m— In  the  new  faith  you 
have  embraced ;  atid  to  comfort  you — Under  your 
suffering.  That  no  man^That  none  of  you,  who 
have  believed ;  should  be  moved — Or  shaken^  as 
eawea^ai  means;  should  be  discouraged,  and  made 
to  fall  off  from  his  adherence  to  the  Christian  pro- 
fession and  hope,  by  these  afflictions — Which  either 
you  or  we  arc  exposed  to.  For  you  know  that  we 
are  appointed  thereto — Our  Lord  expressly  fore- 
warned his  apostles  that  they  were  to  be  persecuted, 
and  that  even  to  death;  and  that  whoever  killed 
them  would  think  he  did  Grod  service.  Moreover, 
when  he  called  Paul  to  the  apostleship,  he  showed 
him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for  his  name^s 
sake^  Acts  ix.  16.  All  the  apostles,  therefore,  and 
Paul  more  especially,  expected  to  be  persecuted. 
But  here  it  is  signified,  that  not  only  the  apostles, 
evangelists^  and  other  ministers  of  the  word,  were 
exposed  to  persecution,  but  that  all  who  embraced 
the  Christian  faith  were  to  expect  to  meet  with  the 
same  treatment  from  the  unbelievers,  whether  hear 
then  or  Jews;  yea,  that,  as  the  original  expression, 
ttc  T8T0  icetftf&a,  implies,  that  they  were  appointed  to 
it,  or  rather  laid,  in  every  respect,  in  a  fit  posture 
for  it,  and  that  by  the  very  design  and  contrivance 
01  God  himself,  for  the  trial  and  idcrease  of  their 
ikith  and  other  graces.  For,  one  principal  part  of 
the  scheme  of  God,  in  establishing  the  Christian 
Church,  was  to  raise  a  society  of  men  who  should 
glorify  his  name,  and  illustrate  the  force  of  trne  reli 
gionby  enduring  the  greatest  extreuiities  in  its  de- 


6  For  this  cause,  'when  I  could  a.m. 409ft 

no  longer  fcarbear,  I  seat  to  know '■ — - 

your,  fiiitfa,  ^lest  by'  so^ne  means  the  tempter 
have  tempted  you,  and  'our  labour  be  in 
vain. 

6  ^But  now,  when  Timothous  caaae^  from 
you  unto  us,  and  tmnigfat  us  good  (SdingB  of 
your  feith  and  charity,  and  that  ye  haYe  good 
remembrance  of  us  always,  desiring  greatly  to 
see  us,  ^as  we  also  to  see  you : 


'Acttrx.24. — 
^GftL  ii.  2;  ir. 
»PWl.i.8. 


•ffVaiMl.— 
11 ;     PbiL 


k  1  Gor.  Tii  5 ;  2  Cor.  ti.  3. 
.    16^- — ^Acts   zriii.  1,  5. 


fence  with  fortitude  and  cheerAilness.  He  gives 
great  riches  to  the  world,  but  stores  up  his  treasures 
of  wholesome  afflictions  for  his  children^  For  when 
we  were  with  you — We  did  not  flatter  you  with  any 
vain  hopes  of  an  easy  and  pleasurable  ^life,  but 
plainly  and  candidly  told  you,  before  you  embrace^ 
the  gospel  which  we  preach,  and  united  yourselves 
to  the  Christian  community,  by  submitting  to  the 
ordinance  of  baptism,  thcU  we  should  suffer  tribulor 
turn— And  indeed  what  else  could  be  expected  by 
any  that  consider  the  nature  of  the  religion  to  which 
we  are  endeavoiuing  to  make  converts,  compared 
with  the  tempers,  prejudices,  and  interests  of  man- 
kind. Because  the  apostle  knew  that  the  enemies 
of  the  gospel  would  infer,  from  his  not  delivering 
himself  from  persecution  by  miracles,  that  he  did 
not  possess  the  miraculous  powers  to  which  he  pre- 
tended, he  took  care  to  let  his  disciples  know,  in 
every  place,  that  he  was  ordered  by  his  Master  to 
suffer  for  the  gospel,  and  that  his  suffering  for  it  was 
as  necessary  a  part  of  the  proof  of  its  divine  original 
as  hb  working  miracles. 

Verses  5-8.  For  this  cause — The  apostle  proceeds 
to  explain  more  fally  what  he  began  to  speak  of 
v^rse  1 ;  ibhen  I  could  no  longer  forbear — Or  en- 
dure the  state  of  anxious  uncertainty  I  was  in  with 
regard  to  persons  so  dear  to  me,  in  such  circum- 
stances; I  sent  to  know  your  faith— Whether  you 
continued  steadfast  and  constant  in  your  adherence 
to  the  truth ;  lest  the  tempterSstm*,  should  hare 
tempted  yow— That  is,  should  by  his  temptations 
have  caused  you  to  faint  under  your  U-ii^  and  so 
to  depart  from  the  faith.  Temptations,  of  different 
kinds  usually  accompany  persecutions.  But  now, 
when  THmo^y  came  from  yoti— -Immediately  after 
whose  return,  it  seems,  St  Paul  wrote  this  epistle, 
wh'de  his  joy  was  fresh,  and  his  tenderness  at  the 
height;  and  brought  us  good  tidings  of  your  faith, 
^.,  and  that  ye  have  good  remembrance  of  us — 
Think  of  us  with  affection,  and  make  respeetftil 
mention  of  us  upon  all  occasions.  The  apostle  un- 
doubtedly means  their  remembering  him  and  liit 
fellow-labourers  with  respect,  as  teachers  sent  from^ 
God;  and  with  gratitude,  as  those  who  had  given 
them  the  knowl^ge  of  the  true  God  and  of  eternal 
life.  These  things  are  the  best  foundations  (tf  a 
respectful,  grateful  remembrance;  for,  as  Chandler 

b 


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iitightbeegiaNMedingrau, 


^^^    7  Therefore^   In^thren,  •we  were 

'- comfiirted  over  you  in  all  our  affic- 

lion  and  distrees  by  your  fiuth : 

8  For  now  we  live,  if  ye  ""stand  fiui  in  the 
Lord. 

9  "*  For  what  thanks  can  we  render  to  God 
again  for  you,  far  all  the  joy  wherewith  we  joy 
for  your  sakes  before  our  ciod ; 

10  p  Night  and  day  *>  praying  exceedingly 
'that  we  might  see  your  fitoe,  'and  might 
perfect  that  which  is  lacking  in  your  faith  ? 


■2  Cor.  L  4 ;    Tii.  6,  7, 13. "PhiL  iv.  1. f*  Chap.  i.  2. 

wAdtM  xxri.  7;    2  Tim.  L  ». #  Rom.   i.  W,  11;    xw,  ZZ. 

'Ch»p.  u.  17. "2  Cor.  xiii.  9, 11 ;   Col.  ir.  12. 


observes,  the  persons  who  are  converted  by  the 
labours  of  the  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  owe  to 
their  spiritual  fathers  their  own  souls ;  an  obligation 
that  ot^t  not  to  be  soon  or  easily  forgotten.  There- 
furej  Wethren^  we  were  comforted  over,  or  oonoem- 
ing,  you^The  faithfulness  and  constancy  of  the 
people  of  God  are  a  great  source  of  comfort  to  their 
teachers.  For  now  we  live  indeed— Our  life  is 
worth  having ;  or,  we  enjoy  life ;  t^  or  seeing  that, 
ye  itand  fast  in  the  i^orci— Continue  finn  in  the 
foith  of  Christ  and  of  his  grace.  So  great  is  our 
affection  for  you.  In  like  manner,  faithful  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  after  the  apostle's  example,  have  no 
higher  joy  than  when  they  find  their  wishes,  their 
prayers,  Bad  their  labours^  effectual  to  the  conversion 
of  their  people,  and  for  their  establishment  in  truth 
and  grace. 

Verses  9-13.  WhcU  thanks  can  we  render  to  God 
— ^That  is,  what  sufficient  thanks ;  for  you — On  ac^ 
eount  of  your  perseverance ;  for  all  the  Joy— That 
1  have  thereby  such  unfeigned  cause  of  rejoicing ; 
so  that  the  apostle's  joy  respecting  the  Thessalo- 
niaas,  arose  first  from  their  conversion,  and  next, 
from  their  steady  adherence  to  the  faith  and  pro- 
fession of  the  gospel  amidst  great  temptation  and 
persecution;  before^  or^  in  the  presence  of  our  God 
-^As  efiJTpoc^ep  T8  ee«  tff^t^  properly  signifies.  Joy 
in  the  presence  of  God  is  not  a  carnal  or  worldly, 
but  a  spiritual  joy,  such  as  God  approves.  Night 
and  day  praying  exceedingly — That  is,  wiUi  great 
eamestnees  and  importuni^,  that  God  would  per- 
mit us  to  see  your  face — Once  more  in  the  flesh ;  and 
might  perfect  thai  which  is  lacking  in  your  faith — 
Thus  it  appears  St  Paul  did  not  suppose  that  they 
who  are  once  upon  the  rock  no  longer  need  to  be 
taught  by  man!  Now  God  himse^ and  owr  Fa- 
ther, and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — Here  we  have  a 
plain  instance  of  prayer  being  addressed  to  Christ  as 
well  as  to  the  Father,  and  even  in  the  same  words, 
and  at  the  same  time.  A  similar  instance  occurs 
2  Thess.  ii.  16, 17.  And  doubtless  these  petitions 
are  addressed  to  him  because  he  is  God,  for  unless 
he  be  present  everywhere,  how  can  he  hear  the 
prayers  which  are  everywhere  put  up  to  him  by  his 
disciples?    Z>»*sc<— -Clear,  or  make  straight;  xn$r 


11  Now  God  banself  and  our  Pa-  a,  it 

ther,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  *di-    ^^^ 
reot  *  our  way  unto  you. . 

12  And  the  Loid  ">  make  you  to  inoi^Aaa 
and  atwund  in  love  »one  towsod  anotlM) 
and  toward  aD  men^  even  as  we  do  towaid 
you: 

13  To  the  end  he  may  y  establish  your  hearts 
unblameable  in  hdiness  before  God,  even  our 
Father,  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
'  with  all  his  saints. 


'  Or,  guide, « Mmik  i.  3. ■  Chmp.  iv.  10. «  Clap.  iv.  9. 

V.16;  aPet.i.7. ^7  1  €!or.  i.  8;  PWl.  i.  10;  C1m».  ▼.  23. 

2  TheM.  ii.  17;  X  John  iii.  20,  21. »Zech.  xv.  5;  Jude  14. 


way  unto  you — ^Namely,  by  removing  tliose  obatruc- 
tions  which  at  present  remain.     This  prayer  is 
founded  on  the  supposition  tiiat  the  common  events 
on  which  tiie  apostle's  proq[>eious  journey  to  the 
Thessalonians  depended,  were  under  the  direction 
of  God.    The  apostle,  it  appears,  was  heard  in  his 
prayer;  for,  as  we  are  told  (Acts  xx.  2)  that  he  gave 
the  brethren  in  Bfacedonia  much  exhortation,  we 
have  reason  to  believe  he  did  not  pass  by  the  Thes- 
salonians, whom  he  was  so  desirous  to  visit    And 
the  Lord  make  you  to  increase  and  abound — UXewa- 
aai  KOI  nepuTuevffa^  to  abound  and  overflow;  in  love — 
The  Lord  Jesus  seems  to  be  here  addressed,  because 
all  spiritual  blessings  which  are  originally  from  the 
Father  come  to  us  immediately  through  and  from 
Christ,  to  whom  belongs  the  office  of  bestowing 
every  blessing,  whether  of  nature,  of  providence,  or 
of  grace,  upon  his  followers.    The  apostle's  example 
in  praying  thus  fervently  and  importunately  for  his 
converts,  well  deserves  to  be  imitated  by  all  minis- 
ters of  the  gospeL    And  toward  all  men,  as  we 
toward  you — Chandler's  remark  on  this  passage  iiB 
worthy  of  particular  attention :  "  The  apostle  loved 
the  Thessalonians  as  a  father  loves  his  children,  and 
as  a  mother  the  infant  at  her  breast,  chap.  ii.  7. 
This  his  great  love  to  them  made  him  solicitous  for 
their  perseverance  and  salvation,  so  as  to  be  willing 
to  be  persecuted,  and  to  live  in  continual  straits, 
(chap,  iii  7,)  and  to  lose  his  life,  (chap.  ii.  8,)  if  it 
could-  have  contributed  to  their  perseverance  in  the 
faith,  and  to  their  eternal  happiness.    Generous 
apostle!   how  like  the  Master  jie  served!    Well 
therefore  might  he  propose  his  own  Ipve  to  them  as 
a  pattern  of  their  love  to  one  another  and  to  all. 
Wliat  an  excellent  religion  is  the  Christian,  which 
enjoins  such  a  universal  benevolence,  even  toward 
enemies  and  persecutors,  and  which  roots  out  of  the 
mind  every  tendency  to  anger,  envy,  malice,  and 
revenge.^     Th  the  cm?— That  by  means  of  your 
love,  which  is  the  root  of  all  piety  and  virtue ;  he 
may  establish  your  hearts  unblameable  in  holiness 
— May  make  you  steadfast  in  the  experience  of  all 
Christian  graces^  and  in  the  practice  of  all  godliness 
and  righteousness;  and  this  before  God,  even  our 
Father—'WhoeG  eyes  are  always  upon  you.    These 
808 


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•16  high  expreflBiooB  when  apidied  to  fallen  crea- 
tures, but  what  cannot  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
effect  1  Ye  shall  be  perfect^  says  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
his  disciples,  a#,  or  because^  your  Father  in  heaven 
i9  perfect.  And  St  Panl  informs  us,  that  apostles, 
prophets,  evangelists,'  pastors,  and  teachers,  are 
appointed  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  in  order  to 


the  perfecting^  of  the  eaintSy  tUl  they  all  come  i 
thefuU  measure  qf  Christie  etaiurey  Eph.  i?.  11-19: 
and  accordingly  that  they  made  it  the  great  end  of 
their  preaching  to  present  every  man  perfect  in 
Christ  Jesusy  Col.  L  2a  At  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  with  aU  his  saints-^Thhi  you  may  be  fiMmd 
such  at  the  day  of  final  judgment 


CHAPTER  IV. 

/»  this  ehapter,  (1,)  The  apoOU  ad4ru9es  several  jraUkti  exhortations  to  the  Thessalomans,  and  partieuloHy  recommends 
chastUyr  justice,  charity,  and  prudence,  1-12.  (2,)  He  eomforU  the  surviving  believers  with  relation  to  those  thai  were 
fallen  asleep  in  Jesus,  hy  an  animating  view  of  thai  glory  and  happiness  on  which,  at  the  general  reswrrection,  they  shoula 
enter  in  their  complete  persons,  18-18. 

3  For  thb  is  *the  will  of  God,  even  a.m.4058w 
•  your  sanctification,  'that  ye  should  — — - — 
abstain  from  fomicatioa : 


A.  M.  4058.  pURTHERMORE  *  then  we  ^  be- 
.^•^•^'  seech  you,  Wethren,  and  'exhort 
you  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  •  that  as  ye  have  re- 
ceived of  us  ^  how  ye  ought  to  vmlk  ®  and  to 
jdease  God,  so  ye  would  abound  more  and  more. 
2  For  ye  know  what  commandments  we  gave 
you  by  the  Lord  Jesus. 


♦  Second  Sunday  in  Lent,  epistle,  vei»e  1  to  verte  9. *  Or, 

rwMMl.— ^*  Or,  beseech, »  FhiU  i.  27 ;  CoL  ii  a ^  Ch.  ii. 

12. c  Col.  i.  10. «  Rom.  xii.  2 ;  Eph.  r.  17. •  Eph.  ▼.  27. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verses  1, 2.  Furthermore— To  Xoiirov^  as  for  what 
remains  to  be  said^  \n  subserviency  to  the  im- 
portant end  of  your  being  presented  before  God  in 
the  final  judgment,  perfected  in  holiness;  we  be- 
seech you,  by  the  Lord  Jesus— By  his  authority,  in 
his  name,  and  for  his  sake ;  that  as  ye  have  received 
of  us— While  we  were  among  you ;  Jiow  ye  ought 
to  walk—U  you  desire  to  adorn  your  Christian  pro- 
fession; so  ye  would  abound  more  and  more — 
Striving  continually  to  make  advances  in  every 
Christian  grace  and  virtue.  Here  the  apostle  re- 
minds the  Thessalonian  believers  that  from  his  first 
coming  among  them  he  had  exhorted  them  to  con- 
duct themselves  in  a  holy  manner,  if  they  wished  to 
please  and  continue  in  the  favour  of  the  living  and 
true  God,  in  whom  they  had  believed ;  and  that  he 
had  explained  to  them  the  nature  of  that  holiness 
which  is  acceptable  to  God.  And  the  same  method 
of  exhortation  and  instruction  he  undoubtedly  fol- 
lowed in  all  other  cities  and  countries.  For  you 
know — You  cannot  but  remember ;  wJtat  command- 
ments we  gave  yot*— Commandments  very  different 
from  those  enjoined  by  the  heathen  priests,  as  pleas- 
ing to  their  pretended  deities. 

Verses  3-6.  JFVr— As  we  polemnly  assured  you, 
and  charged  you  to  keep  continually  in  remem- 
brance ;  this  is  the  will  of  Ood,  yottr  sanctifccUidn 
—That,  as  God  hath  chosen  us  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  to  be  a  people  dedicated  to  his  honour  and 
service,  we  should  not  pollute  ourselves  with  those 
abominations  which  are  so  common  among  the  hea- 
9H 


4  '  That  every  one  of  you  should  know  how 
to  possess  his  vessel  in  sanctification  and  honour ; 

5  '^Not  in  the  lust  pf  concupiscence,  *evcn 
as  the  Gentiles  ^  which  know  not  God : 


nCor.Ti.  15, 18;    Eph.r.3;   Col.  iii.  6.^ sRmb.tL10. 

^  Col.  iii.  5 ;  Rom.  i.  24, 26. « Eph.  ir.  17, 18. k  i  Cor.  xr. 

34 ;  Oal.  ir.  8 ;  Eph.  ii.  12 ;  iv.  18 ;  2  Thess.  i.  8. 

then,  but  that  we  should  be  perfectly  holy  in  heart 
and  life ;  and  therefore,  to  mention  one  smgle  branch 
of  the  contrary;  that  ye  should  ahstain^fromfomi- 
cation— And  every  other  kind  of  lewdness,  so  com- 
monly practised  among  those  who  are  unacquiunted 
with  the  true  religion.  This  bej^utiful  transition  of 
the  apostle,  shows  that  nothing  is  so  seemingly  dis- 
tant, or  below  our  thoughts,  but  we  have  need  to 
guard  against  it.  That  every  one  of  you  should 
denote— Should  learn  and  accustom  himself  to  exer- 
cise that  holy  skill ;  Jiow  to  possess  his  vessel— Ws 
body ;  for  this  word  in  some  other  passages  signifies 
the  body,  (1  Pet.  iii.  7 :)  Giving  honour  to  the  wife  as 
the  weaker  vessel.  That  is,  as  weaker  In  body. 
(1  Sam.  xxi.  5,)  And  the  vessels,  bodies,  of  the 
young  men  are  holy.  The  body  was  called  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  a  vessel,  because  it  contains 
the  soul,  and  is  its  instrument  The  apostle's  mean- 
ing may  be.  Let  every  man  consider  his  body  as  a 
vessel  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God,  and  let  him 
dread  the  impiety  of  polluting  it  by  any  vile,  dis- 
honourable indulgence  whatever,  or  by  putting  it  to 
any  base  use.  Or,  as  some  tiiink,  by  his  vessel,  he 
may  mean  his  Wife.  In  sanctification  and  honour 
— In  a  chaste  and  holy  manner,  answerable  to  that 
dignity  which  God  has  put  upon  it  by  making  it  his 
temple.  Not  in  the  lust  of  concupiscence— ^v  Ko&ei 
em&vfiiac,  in  the  passion  of  lust;  not  indulging  pas- 
sionate desires ;  as  the  Gentiles — Theliealhen ;  who 
know  not  God — To  any  saving  purpose ;  and  are  ig- 
norant of  that  pure  and  sublime  happiness  which 
arises  from  contemplating,  adoring,  imitating,  and 

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CSAPTBt  IV. 


to  brvtheHy  hpe.' 


A,iL40M.    6  ^That  no  man  go  beyond  and 

^ ^defraud  his  brother  *  in  antf'maiiex : 

because  that  the  Lord  "49  the  avenger  of  all  snich^ 
as  we  also  have  .forewarned  you  and  testified. 

7  For  God  hath  not  cdled  us  unto  undean- 
ness,  *  but  unto  holiness. 

8  "*  He.  therefore  Umt  ^  de^iseth,  despiseth  not 
man,  but  God,  ''who  hath  also  given  unto  us 
his  Holy  Spirit 

9  But  as  touching  brotherly  love  •»  ye  need  not 
that  I  write  unto  you:  for  'ye  yourselves  are 
taught  of  God  '  to  love  one  another. 

19  *And  indeed  ye  do  it  toward  all  thebre- 


>LeT.  xix.  U»  13;  1  Cor.  ri.  8.— 'Or,  mre»a,  otj  owr- 

reack. *  Or,  in  tfu  maUer. — 7-«  2  Theas.  i.  8. »  Lev.  xi 

44 ;  xix.  2 ;  1  CoTinthians  L  2 ;  Heb.  xii.  14. o  Luke  x.  16. 

*Or,  rejecUth. Pi  C5or.  it  10;    viL  40;    1  John  UL  24. 

1  Chap.  T.  I. 


having  communion  vrith  him.  That  no  man  go  he- 
yond— The  bounds  of  chastity,  or  of  matrimony ;  or 
overreach,  as  sonto  render  wrepp(up$iv ;  and  defraud 
— Or,  exceed  toward,  his  brother,  in  any,  or  in  the, 
ma//er— Namely,  i>f  which,  tiie-  aposUe  had  been 
speaking.  Beza,  Le  Clerc,  and  some  others,  under- 
stand this  as  a  prohibition  of  injustice  in  general ; 
but  the  context  seems  to  determine,  its  meaning  to 
that  kind  of  injury  by  which  chastity  is  violated. 
Probably  the  i^postle^  intended  here  to.  prohibit  three 
things;  fornication,  (verse  8,)  passionate  desire,  or 
inordinate  affection  in  the  married  state,  and  the 
breach  of  the  marriage  contract.  Because  the  Lord 
is  the  avenger  of  all  such — Will  ^verely  punish  all 
such  gross  misdeeds ;  €u  we  also  have  forewarned 
you,  &c.~As  I  formerly  testifie4  to  you  when  I 
preached  to  you  in  Thessalonic^  For  Ood  hath 
not  called  us — In  so  extraordinary  a  manner,  and 
separated  us  from  the  rest  of  the  world;  to  unclean- 
ness-^To  leave  us  at  liberty  to  defile  ourselves  with 
any  kind  of  sin ;  but  unto  holiness — Of  heart  and 
life.  He  therefore  that  despiseth-^The  command- 
ments we  give  by  authority  from  God,  and  according 
to  his  will;  despiseth  not  «iafi--Only  or  chiefly; 
but  God^^petiklng  in  and  by  us;  itho  hath  also 
given  unto  us — Who  are  his  divinely-commissioned 
teachers ;  his  Holy  Spitit—To  guide  us  in' what  we 
deliver.  What  naked  majesty  of  words !  how  ora- 
torical, and  yet  with  how  great  simplicity  !  a  sim- 
plicity that  does  not  impair,  but  improve  the  under- 
standing to  the  utmost ;  that,  like  the  rays  of  heat 
through  a  glass,  collects  all  the  powers  of  reason  into 
one  orderly  point,  from  being  scattered  abroad  in 
utter  confusion ! 

Verses  9-12.  As  touching  brotherly  tore— That 
peculiar  affection  which  one  disciple  of  Christ  owes 
to  another ;  ye  need  not  so  much  that  I  should.im/6 
ttnto  you;  for  ye  yourselves — Independent  of  any 
teaching  of  mine;  are  taught  of  Godr—By  his 
Spirit ;  to  love  one  another — In  an  especial  manner, 
even  with  pure  hearts  fervently,  I  Pet  L  22.  And 
indeed  ye  do  it — And  not  only  with  respect  to  the 
b 


thren  wiikh  -ore  in  all  Macedonia :  a.  m.  406& 
but  WB  beseech  you,  brethren,  'that    ^^"' 
ye  increase  more  and  more ; 

11  And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiet,  and  '^  to  do 
your  own  buriness,  and  'to  work  with  your 
own  hands,  as  we  commanded  you ; 

12  «  That  ye  may  walk  honestly  toward  them 
that  are  without,  and  that  ye  may  have  lack 
^ofnothing. 

13  But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant, 
brethren,  concerning  them  which  are  asleep, 
that  ye  sorrow  not,  •even  as  others  ** which 
have  no  hope. 

'  Jer.  zxxi.  34 ;  John  rii.  45 ;  xiv.  26 ;  Heb.  viii.  11 ;  1  John 
ii.  90,  87.-T — ■  Matt,  xxil  39 ;  John  xiii.  34 ;  xv.  12;  Eph.  r.  2. 

« Chap.  i.  7. •  Chap.  iii.  12. «  2  Thesa.  lii.  11. r  AcU 

XX.  35;  Eph.  ir.  28. sRom.  xiiL  13. •Or,  of  no  man, 

*  her.  xix.  28. »•  Epk  ii.  12. 

brethren  in  your  own  city,  but  toward  all  who  are 
in  Macedoniar—Ah  the  believers  in  that  province, 
relieving  them  in  their  necessities  according  to  your 
ability.  But  we  beseech  you  (hat  ye  increase  more 
and  more— In  this  divine  and  necessary  endow- 
ment And  that  ye  study — Literally,  that  ye  be  am- 
bitious, to  be  quiet^-To  Uve' quietly  in  the  practice 
of  those  peaceful  and  humble  virtues  which  suit  the 
genius  of  Christianity;  an  ambition  worthy  of  a 
follower  of  Jesus:  and  to  do  your  own  business^ 
Wi&out  meddling,  uncalled,  with  the  concerns  of 
others;  and  to  work  with  your  own  hands — Not  a 
needless  caution ;  for  to  attend  to  temporal  matters 
is  often  a  crocis  to  them  whose  hearts  have  been 
lately  filled  with  the  love  of  God.  That  ye  walk 
honestly — Evaxv/^ytt^,  decently,  as  becomes  Chris- 
tians I  toward  them  that  are  without— The  enclo- 
sure of  the  church ;  that  they  may  have  no  pretence 
to  say,  (but  they  will  say  it  still,)  "This  religion 
makes  men  idle,  and  brings  them  to  beggary."  And 
that  ye  may  have^lack  of  nothing—^eedfui  for  life 
and  godliness :  move  than  which  no  Christian  should 
desire,  unless  that  he  may  have  wherewith  to  supply 
the  wants  of  others.  - 

Verse  13.  /  would  not  Tuwe  you  ignorant,  brethren 
—The  apostle  had  intimated,  (chap.  iii.  10,)  that  he 
desired  to  make  them  another  visit  at  The^onica, 
in  order  fo  perfect  that  which  was  lacking  in  their 
faith*  Perhaps  what  he  now  proceeds  to  say  was 
part  of  what  he  wanted  tq  teach  them,  as  not  having 
seen  it  proper  when  he  was  witii  them  to  enter  into 
such  discoveries  as  are  here  made.  Buthaving  been 
informed  that  they  lamented  over  theur  dead  with 
immoderate  sorrow,  and  perhaps  that  they  hired 
mourners  on  such  occasions,  and  were  even  apt  to 
repine  at  the  divine  providence  for  taking  their 
pious  friends  and  relatives  from  them,  he  here  pro- 
ceeds to  give  them  information  weU  calculated  to 
support  and  comfort  them  in  such  circumstances. 
Concerning  them  who  are  asleep— Tuv  KtKot/^ii/ievuv, 
fibho  have  slept;  who  have  departed  this  life.  The 
death  of  the  body  is  termed  its  sleep^  because  it  sus- 
806 


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L  TUBBSALONtAIIB. 


shall^ome  in  ghry  wW^hikiC 


jLlLixm     14  For  « if  we  beHeve  that  Jesus 
^^  ^   died  and  rose  again,  even  so  ^diem 
also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  Ood  bring  with 
him. 


•  1  Cor.  XT.  13^ 


II  Cor.  XT.  18,23. 


pends  the  exercise  of  all  the  animal  functions,  closes 
all  its  senses,  and  is  a  cessation  of  all  motion  and  feel- 
ing in  it;  and  because  it  shall  be  followed  bya  revi- 
vtseence  to  a  more  vigorous  and  active  life  than  it 
now  enjoys.  TJuU  ye  sorrow  not — Immoderately: 
herein  the  efficacy  of  Christianity  greatly  appears, 
that  it  neither  takes  away  nor  imbitters,  but  sweetly 
tempers,  that  most  refined  of  all  affections,  our  de- 
sire of^  or  love  to  the  dead.  Am  otherM^Who  are 
unacquainted  with  the  truths  of  the  gospel  It  was 
the  custom  of  the  heathen,  on  the  death  of  their  re- 
lations, to  make  a  show  of  excessive  griei;  by  shav- 
ing their  heads,  and  cutting  their  flesh,  (Lev.  xix.27, 
28j)  and  by  loud  bowlings  and  lamentations.  They 
even  hired  persons,  who  had  it  for  a  trade  to  make 
these  bowlings  and  cries.  But  this  show  of  exces- 
sive grief,  as  well  as  the  grief  itself^  being  inconsist- 
ent with  that  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  dead,  and 
with  that  hope  of  their  resorreotion,  which  the  gos- 
pel gives  to  mankind,  the  apostle  forbade  It,  and 
comforted  the  Thessalonians  by  foretelling  and 
proving  Christ's  return  to  the  earth,  to  raise  tiie 
dead,  and  carry  the  righteous  with  him  into  heaven. 
Who  have  Tiohope^M&ny  of  the  heathen  entertidn- 
ed  a  kind  of  belief  of  a  future  state,  but  that  belief 
being  derived  from  nothing  but  an  obscure  tradition, 
the  origin  of  which  they  could  not  trace,  or  from 
their  own  wishes,  ugsupported  by  any  demonstrative 
reasoning,  could  scarcely  be  called  belief  or  hope, 
and  had  very  little  influence  on  their  conduct  See 
note  on  Eph.  ii.  12.  Add  to  this,  none  of  them  had 
any  knowledge  or  expectation  that  the  righteous,  or 
virtuous,  would  be  raised  from  the  dead  with  glori- 
ous, immortal,  incorruptible  bodies,  and  taken  to 
heaven;  neither  had  they  any  conception  of  the  em- 
ployments and  enjoyments  of  that  immortal  state! 
St  Paul's  discourse,  therefore,  concerning  these 
grand  events,  must  have  given  much  consolation  to  the 
Thessalonians  under  the  death  of  their  relations,  as 
it  assured,  them  that  if  they  all  died  in  Christ,  they 
should  all  meet  again,  and  spend  an  endless  life  in 
complete  happiness,  never  more  to  .part  In  this 
light  death  is  only  a  temporary  separation  of  friends, 
which  is  neither  to  be  dreaded  nor  regretted.  Con- 
cerning our  knowing  one  another  after  the  resurrec- 
tion, see  on  chap.  ii.  20. 

Verse  14.  For  if  we  believe  that  Jema  died  and 
roee  ag^atn— Namely,  1st,  In  attestation  of  the 
truth  of  his  doctrine,  in  which  he  taught  expressly 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  Blatt  x.  28 ;  Luke  xxiii. 
43 ;  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  John  v.  28, 29. 
2d,  For  the  expiation  of  sin,  and  the  procuring  of 
justification  and  peace  with  God  for  the  penitent  that 
should  believe  in  him,  however  guilty  they  had  be- 
fore been,  Heb.  ix.  26;  Rom.  iv.  24,  25.  3d,  That 
he  might  procure  and  receive  for  us  the  Holy  Spirit, 
W6 


15  For  this  we  say  wHo  you*  by  the  A.M.4a6a 
wordof  the  Lord,  that 'we  Which  are  — — ! — 
alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
shall  not  prev^t  them  whi^  are  aeleep. 


•  1  Kings  «iL  17,  18 ;  xx.  35.-^ — '  1  Cor.  xr.  51. 


to  work  that  repentance  and  faith  in  us,  assure  us 
of  our  justification  and  of  our  title  to  that  future  Mi- 
city,  and  to  prepare  us  for  it  by  inward  holiness ;  and, 
4th,  That  he  might  ascend,  take,  possession  of  it  in 
our  name,  receive  our  departing  souls,  and  raise  from 
the  dust  our  fallen  and  corrupted  bodies,  and  so  ex- 
alt us  to  that  immortal,  glorioua,  and  blessed  state ; 
even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus —  Who  die  in 
the  Lord,  (Rev.  xiv.  13,)  in  union  with  him,  and  pos- 
sessed of  an  interest  in  him ;  wUl  God  bring  with 
him— They  will  be  found  m  the  train  of  bis  magnifi- 
cent retinue  at  his  final  appearance,  when  he  comes 
to  judge  the  world,  and  reward  his  faithful  servants. 
Verse  15.  For  ^is  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word 
of  die  Lord—By  a  particular  revelation  from  hkn. 
No  words,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  observes,  can  more 
plainly  assert  that,  in  what  follows,  the  apostle  de- 
clares precisely  what  God  revealed  to  him,  and  con- 
sequently that  there  can  bCi  no  room  for  any  such 
interpretatioii  of  this  passage,  as  supposed  him  to  be 
at  all  mistaken  in  any  circumstance  of  the  account 
he  giv^  Thai  we  who  are  aiive  and  remain— TIob 
manner  of  speaking  intnamtes  the  fewness  of  those 
who  will  be  then  alive,  compared  with  the  multitude 
of  the  dead.  Ii  is  well  observed,  says  Whitby,  by 
the  Greek  scholiasts,  that  the  apoHle  speaks  these 
words^  not  of  himself  but  of  the  Christians  that 
should  be  found  alive  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ: 
so  Chrysostom,  Theodoret,  CEcumenius,  and  Theo- 
phylact;  for  he  well  knew  that  he  was  not  to  live 
till  the  resurrection :  yea,  he  himself  expected  a  re- 
surrection, saying  to  the  Corinthians,  He  that  Raised 
up  the  Lord  Jesus^  shall  raise  up  us  also  by  Jesus^ 
and  present  us  with  yott^  2  Cor.  iv.  14.  He  laboured 
that  he  might  cOtaxn  to  die  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
Phil.  iii.  11.  Tet  some  divines  have  inferred,  from 
this  and  some  other  places  in  the  epistles,  that  the 
apostles  themselves  thought  and  taught,  that  they 
might  live  until  the  second  coming  of  €%rist ;  and 
that  St  Paul  afterward  changed  his  opinion  on  this 
subject,  and  admonished  the  Thessalonians  of  it, 
2  Thess.  ii.  2-6.  But  Ibis  certainly  is  a  dangerous 
mistake,  and  highly  prejudicial  to  tl^e  authority  of 
the  apostles,  and  therefore  to  the  Christian  faith. 
Indeed,  if  the  churches  of  Christ  had  once  received 
this  doctrine  from  them,  and  afterward  had  under- 
stood, even  from  their  own  confession,  that  it  was  a 
mistake,  this  would  naturally  have  led  them  to  con- 
ceive that  the  apostles  might  have  been  mistaken 
also  in  any  other  doctrine,  and  to  suspect  the  truth 
of  all  that  was  contained  in  their  epistles.  This  the 
apostle  seems  to  insinuate,  2  Thess.  ii.  1, 2.  But 
that  this  apostle  taught  no  such  doctrine  in  either 
of  his  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  will  be  exceed- 
ing evident,  Ist,  Prom  the  following  words  in  that 
chapter,  verse  3,  Lei  no  man  deceive  you  ftjr  c^ 

b 


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CHAPmiT. 


Jtom  neavm  to  judge  the  wetV. 


A.M.4O0&    16  For   'the  Lord  iunisdf  shall 

_L-! desbend  from  heaven  with  a  i^ont, 

with  the  voice  of  the  ardiangely  and  w&h  ^  the 
trump  of  God:  'and  the  dead  in  Chrkit  shall 
rise  first: 
17  ^Thcn  we  which  are  aHve  and  remain 


clUtt.  zzrr.  80,  81.- 


klCk»r.zr.51. 


1 1  Cor.  XT. »,  82. 


meoM^  declaring  them  deceivers  who  either  taught 
this  doctrine,  o^  imposed  it  on  them  as  taught  by  the 
apoetles;  and  also  having  said,  in  opposition  to  such 
an  opinion,  that  day  was  not  to  come  till  there  was 
a  failing  awayfint^  adding,  Remember  you  not  that 
'mhen  I  was^  yet  with  you  I  told  you  these  thinge? 
He  therefore  had  taught  them  the  contrary  before 
he  had  written  either  of  these  epistles,  and,  of  conse- 
quence, cannot  rationally  be  supposed  to  contradict 
himself.  2d,  From  the  very  woids  used  in  proof  of 
this  opinion,  which  are  introduced  with  this  solenm 
declaration,  Thie  we  tfoy  unto  you  by  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  VuU  we  who  are  alivey  ftc.,  in  which  words 
he  most  plainly  vouches  the  auAority  of  Christ  for 
the  truth  of  what  he  says;  and  therefore,  if  he  were 
mistaken,  either  our  Lord  himself  must  have  erred 
filth  him,  or  the  apostle  must  vouch  Christ^  word, 
and  his  authority,  when  Christ  had  spoken  ^o  such 
word,  and  given  him  no  authority  to  declare  such 
doctr'me  in  his  name ;  both  w)iich  assertions  over- 
throw the  certainty  and  truth  of  all  St.  Paul's  epis- 
tles. And  hence  it  follows  that  the  apostle  could  not 
deliver  this  assertion  in  any  other  of  his  epistles,  for 
an  the  learned  agree  in  this^  that  these  epistles  to 
the  Thessalonians  were  the  first  epistles  St  Paul 
wrote ;  whence  it  must  follow  that  he  could  not  de- 
liver, in  his  following  writings  to  that  diurch,  or 
any  other  churches,  that  doctrine  which  he  had  so 
industriously  before  confuted,  and  declared  very 
dangerous,  in  his  epistle  to  the  church  of  Thessa- 
lonica.  ^ 

The  truth  is^  such  expressions  as  these,  we  who 
are  alivCy  (verse  16,)  we  shall  not  all  eleep^  bat  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  &c.,  ( I  Cor.xv.  51,)  are  not  to  be 
understood  of  the  writers  themselves :  they  are  mere 
figures  of  speech  used  by  the  best  authors  to  draw 
their  readers'  attention,  or  to  soften  some  harsh  or 
disagreeable  sentiment ;  without  intending  to  repre- 
sent themselves  either  as  of  the  number,  or  of  the 
character,  of  the  persons  with  whom  they  class  them- 
selves. Thus  Hosea  says,  (Hos.  xii.  4,)  Ood  spake 
with  us  in  Bethel;  and  the  psalmist,  (Pda.lxvi.  6,) 
We  rejoiced,  namely,  at  the  Red  sea,  when  divided ; 
and,  (Psa.  Ixxxi.  6,)  I  heard  alanguage  I  understood 
not,  that  is,  in  Egypt,  though  neither  were  in  exist- 
ence at  the  times  when  the  facts  referred  to  happen- 
ed. This  figure  m  the  mouth  of  Christ's  disciples 
has  a  singular  propriety,  because  all  of  them  making 
but  one  collective  body,  of  which  Christ  is  the  Head, 
and  which  is  united  by  the  mutual  love  of  all  the 
members,  individuals  may  consider  everything  hap- 
pening to  the  members  of  this  body,  as  happening 
b 


shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  A.M. 
'  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in 


4068. 
54. 


the  air:  and  so  ^diall  we  ever  be  with  the 
Loid. 

18  ■Wherefore,  ^c(»nfort  One  another  with 
these  words. 


iActti.9L- 


B  John  ziL  26 ;  xir.  3 ;  xrii.  84.- 
*Or,MrAoft. 


>Ch^.  r.U. 


to  themselves.  We  shall  not  prevent^Or  anticipate ; 
them  wJu)  are  o^^eep^Shall  not  receive  our  glorified 
bodies  before  them. 

Verses  1(^18.  rAeLord^tfiweZ/"— The  Lord  Christ, 
arrayed  in  all  his  ovm  glory,  and  m  that  of  his  Fa- 
ther 5  shaU  descend  from  heavenr-^^  This  expression 
does  not  imply  that  the  Lord  Jesus  will  fix  his  tri- 
bunal on  the  earth;  but  that  he  will  descend  so  as 
to  fix  his  seat  m  the  air,  at  such  distance  from  the 
earth  that  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  every  ear 
i^aU  hear  his  voice,  when  he  passes  the  aw  Ail  sen- 
tence by  which  their  state  shall  be  unchangeably 
fixed.  Tliis  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  verse  17, 
where  we  are  told  that,  after  the  judgment,  the 
righteous  sJiall  be  caught  up  in  clouds  to  join  the 
Lord  in  the  atr.**— Macknight.  With  a  shout^ 
Raised  by  millions  of  happy  attendant  qnrita  The 
word  Kt^e/Mn,  so  rendered,  denotes  the  shout 
which  the  soldiers  of  an  army  used  to  make  at  their 
first  onset  to  encourage  one  another  in  the  attack ; 
it  is  therefore  used  with  great  propriety  to  express 
the  loud  acclamation  which  the  whole  angelical 
hosts  will  utter  to  express  their  Joy  at  the  coming 
of  Christ  to  raise  the  dead  and  judge  the  world. 
7*he  voice  ofthe,or  rather^  (as  the  article  is  wanting 
in  the  original,)  an  arcJiangel-'He,  probably,  who 
will  preside  over  that  innumerable  company  of  an- 
gels who  are  to  attend  Christ  when  he  comes  to 
judge  the  world.  And  the  trump  of  Ood — Sound- 
ing, doubtless,  with  more  loud  and  terrible  blasts 
than  those  uttered  on  mount  Sinai  when  the  law 
was  given.  iPerhaps  the  voice  of  God  himself  is 
meant,  or  a  great  and  terrible  sound  made  by  attend- 
ant angels,  analogous  to  that  of  a  trumpet  This  cir- 
cumstance is  mentioned  likewise  1  Cor.xv.  62,  where 
see  the  note.  And  as  Theodoret  remarks,  If  the 
loud  sound  of  the  trumpet,  when  the  law  was  given 
from  mount  Sinia,  especially  when  it  sounded  long, 
and  waxed  continually  louder  and  louder,  was  so 
dreadftil  to  the  Israelites,  that  they  said  to  Moses, 
Let  not  the  Lord  speak  to  us  lest  we  die  ;  how  terri- 
ble must  the  sound  of  this  trumpet  be,  which  calls  all 
inen  to  that  final  judgment  that  will  determine  their 
lot  for  ever!  And  the  dead  in  Otrist—Those  that 
had  departed  this  life  in  a  state  of  union  with,  and 
conformity  to  him  j  who  had  received  his  Spirit  hi 
its  various  graces,  and  imitated  his  example  5  shall 
risefrstShM  spring  forth  out  of  their  graves  in 
forms  of  glory,  to  the  infinite  astonishment  of  the 
surviving  world,  before  the  rest  of  the  dead  are 
raised,  or  the  living  saints  are  changed.  Then  we 
who  ctre  o/ive— Those  in  Christ  who  are  found  liv^ 
997 


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wiUbttttddm. 


ing  at  his  coming;  shail  be  caught  fip— -That  is,  after 
their  bodies  are  ehanged  and  rendered  glorious  and 
immortd;  together  with  f^ci»— Namefy,  with  the 
saints  now  raised,  while  the  wicked  remain  beneath. 
What  is  intended  by  the  expression  caught  tip,  Dr. 
Scott  {Oirist.  Life,  vol.  iiL  pp.  1,204)  thinks  shall  be 
effected  by  the  activity  of  the  glorified  bodies  of  the 
righteous.  But  this  opinion  does  not  seem  consist- 
ent with  the  original  word^  apirayffffo/ie^a,  here  used, 
which  implies  the  application  of  an  external  force. 
Doubtless  they  shall  be  caught  tip  by  a  mighty  and 
instantaneous  operation  of  the  divine  power ;  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  region  of  the  atr— Where  his  throne 
shall  then  be  erected ;  and  there,  having  been  open- 
ly acknowledged  and  acquitted  by  him,  they  shall  be 
aasesisors  with  him  in  that  Judgment  to  which  wicked 


men  and  angels  are  there  to  be  brought  forth ;  and 
yrhen  the  final  sentence  is  passed  upon  them,  shall 
accompany  their  reascending  Saviour.  And  so 
shall  we  ever  be  with  t^Z/ord— Where  we  shall 
spend  a  bfissful  eternity  hi  the  sight  and  portioipa- 
tion  of  his  glory.  Wherefore — Make  these  gr^^ 
events  the  subject  of  your  frequent  meditation ;  and 
when  your  heart,s  are  distressed  with  grief  for  the 
loss  of  your  pious  fHends,  or  on  any  other  occasion 
which  can  arise  in  this  mortal  life ;  comfort  one  ono- 
ther  with  these  iconic-— The  tenor  of  which  is  so  im- 
portant, and  the  truth  contained  in  them  so  certain, 
as  being  taught  by  the  infallible  dictates  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  reveided  to  us  by  him,  from  whose 
fidelity,  power,  and  ^grace,  we  expect  this  complete 
salvation. 


CHAPTER  V. 

(1,)  Thi  sfostk  earnest^  exhorts  the  ThsssiUouia^  to  fnaks  diKgent  prspar^tion  for  thst  important  dtaf  of  Christ's  appesr- 
snce,  of  which  he  htid  hsetLdisamrsiHg  sboffs,  1-11.    {%,)  Be  direas  them  to  snersl  partictdar  duties  in  their  rela^ 
personal  conditions,  I  KltS.     (3,)  Concludes, with  a  praijfer,  salutation,  and  henedietion,  28-M. 

day  of  the  Iiord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  a.  m.  4058. 
•    "li.       .  1  ,                                                A.  D.  54. 
in  the  night  

3  For  when  they  shall  say,  Peace  and  safety; 

then  *  sudden  dekruction  cometh  upon  them, 


A.  M.  4058.  "RUT  *  of  the  times  and  the  seasons, 
^  ^'  ^'         brethren,  **  ye  have  no  need  that 


I  write  unto  yaa. 
2  For  yoursdves  know  perfectly,  that 


the 


*  Matt.  zzIt.  3, 36 ;.  Acts  i.  7.- 


"» Ch.  !▼.  9. «  Matt.  xxiv.  43, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verse  1.  The  apostle  havuig  described  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  to  raise  the  dead,  judge  the  world,  and 
carry  the  righ^us  with  him  to  heaven,  does  not 
quit  the  awful  subject,  but  proceeds  in  thi^  chapter 
to  foretel  the  terror  which  his  appearance  will 
occasion  to  the  unrighteous,  and  the  punishment 
which  he  will  then  inflict  on  them :  a  circumstance 
this  which  merits  the  reader's  attention,  because  it 
proves  that,  in  describing  Christ's  second  coming, 
the  apostle  had  some  further  end  m  view  besides 
that  of  comforting  the  Thessalonians  under  the 
death  of  their  relations.  But  of  the  times— As  if  he 
had  si^id,  I  have  been  warning  you  that  the  solenm 
day  of  universal  judgment  will  certainly  come,  and 
hav«  been  endeavouring  to  lead  your  minds  to  those 
views  of  it  which  must  be  consolatory  to  every  true 
believer ;  but  concerning  the  precise  period  of  time 
when  this  grand  event,  which  will  close  the  economy 
of  providence,  shall  take  place  3  or  of  Uie  seasons-^ 
Which  God  hath  appointed  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  promises  and  predictions,  preparatory  thereto; 
you  have,  no  need  that  I  write  unto  ycm—No  occasion 
to  know  these  things  particularly,  since  the  general 
knowledge  thereof  is  sufllcient  to  render  you  walch- 
lul,  and  to  excite  you  to  make  preparation  for  them. 
It  is  probable  that,  when  he  was  with  them,  he  had 
repeated  to  them  Christ's  injunction  to  watch,  be- 
cause at  such  an  hour  as  men  think  not,  the  Son  of 
inan  cometh,  Matt  xxiv.  44.  By  making  this  obser- 
Qoa 


44 ;  XXV.  13 ;  Luke  xii.  39, 40 ;  2  Pet  iii.  10.- 


*  Isa.  xiii.  6-0. 


vation,  the  apostle  represses  that  vain  curiosity 
which  is  natural  to  mankind,  who,  not  content  with 
the  knowledge  of  things  useful,  indulge  an  immo- 
derate desire  of  searching  into  things  which,  because 
the  dbcovery  of  them  would  be  hurtful,  God  hath 
determined  to  conceal. 

Verses  2,  3.  For  yourselves  know  perfectly — It 
being  a  matter  plainly  revealed  both  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles ;  that  the  day  of  the  Lord — That  great 
decisive  day,  to  which  our  eyes  and  hearts  are  so 
much  directed;  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night^ 
Cometh  suddenly  and  unexpectedly;  and  will  occa- 
sion the  greatest  consternation  to  the  ungodly.  Tliis 
comparison  is  used  by  our  Lord  himself  to  illustrate 
the  unexpectedness  of  his  commg.  Matt  xxiv.  43. 
It  is  used  by  St.  Peter,  also,  2  Pet  iii.  10;  see  like- 
wise Rev.  iii.  3.  The  ancients,  from  thb  com- 
parison, and  from  the  parable  of  the  virgins,  fancy- 
ing that  Christ's  coming  to  judgment  would  be  in 
the  night,  instituted  their  vigils,  in  order  that  at  his 
coming  he  might  find  them  watching.  But  the  true 
meaning  of  the  comparison  is,  that,  like  the  coming 
of  a  thief  in  the  Right,  on  those  who  are  asleep  and 
unarmed,  the  coming  of  Christ  will  be  unexpected, 
and  full  of  terror  to  the  wicked^  without  determining 
whether  it  will  be  in  the  daytime  or  in  the  night. 
For  when  ^ey— The  men  of  the  world ;  shall  say-- 
Shall  promise  to  one  another;  peace  and  safety^ 
And  shall  fear  no  evil  of  any  kind;  then  sudden 
destruction  cometh  upon  f/^m— And  a  destruction  of 

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CHAPTER  V. 


coming  of  Chriet  ioJudgmefO. ' 


A.if.4068.  •aatravail  upon  a  woman  with  child; 

an4  th^  shall  not  escape. 

t  4  ^.But  ye,  br^hren,  are  not  in  darkness, 
that  that  day  should  overtake  you  as  a  thiefl 

5  Ye  are  all  'the  ch]ldl:en  of  lights  and  the 
children  at  the  day :  we  are  not  of  the  night, 
nor  of  darkness. 

6  ^Therefore  let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  others; 
but^  let  us  watch  and  be  sober. 


9  Jer.  xiii.  21 ;    Hoe.  xiii.  13. '  Rom.  xuL  12,  13 ;  1  John 

ii.  a sEph.  V.  8. »» Matt..  XXV.  5. ^Malt.  xxiv.  42; 

XXV.  13 ;  Rom.  xiii.  11,  12,  13  ;  1  Pet.  v.  8. 


the  most  terrible  kind;  aa  travail  upon  a  woman 
with  c^tW—"  Nothing  can  be  conceived  more  for- 
cible to  represent  the  anguish  and  torment  of  the 
wicked,  occasioned  by  the  stinging  of  their  own 
consciences,  and  by  the  horrid  fears  which  shall  be 
excited  in  them,  when  they  find  themselves  over- 
taken by  the  judgment,  than  to  compare  it  to  the 
pains  of  child-bearing."  And  they  shall  not  escape 
-^Condemitation  and  punishment  at  that  terrible 
day.    See  2  Thess.  i.  8,  9. 

Verses  4-6.  BtU  yc,  brethren,  are  not — As  for- 
merly; in  darkness-^In  a  state  of  gross  ignorance 
respecting  these  and  all  other  divine  things;  that  that 
awf al  day — Or  the  day  of  death,  introductory  thereto ; 
ehoiM  otertake  you  as  a  (^te/^Shonld  surprise 
you  in  an  unprepared  state.  Ye  axe  all  children  of 
the  light  and  of  the  day — Ye  are  blest  with  the 
bright  day  of  the  gospel,  which  gives  you  full  in- 
formation respecting  these  and  all  other  matters  that 
concern  your  salvation;  and  he  that  commanded 
'  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness  hath  shined  into  your 
hearts;  enduing  you  with  divine  knowledge,  and  the 
light  of  Uving,  saving  faith.  We  are  not  of  the  night 
--Of  heathenism  or  of  Judaism,  destitute  of  gospel 
light,  and  of  the  information  which  the  gospel  gives, 
particularly  respecting  a  future  and  eternal  state; 
and  neither  are  we,  though  surrounded  with  the 
light  of  a  gospel-day,  in  darkness — Through  un- 
belief and  blindness  of  mind,  God  having  inspired  us 
with  the  faith  of  his  operation,  and  opened  the*  eyes 
of  our  understandiiig.  Therefore  let  us  not  sleep, 
as  do  others — Who  are  not  favoured  with  our  advan- 
tages: let  us  not  continue  in  a  state  of  insensibility 
and  carnal  security  respecting  these  things,  as  if  we 
neiUier  looked  for  death,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
nor  a  ftiture  judgment:  having  all  our  spiritual 
senses  closed,  and  carelessly  resting  in  lukewarm- 
ness,  sloth,  and  indolence:  hut  let  us  watch  and  be 
sober — Or,  let  us  awake  and  be  watchfiU,  as  some 
render  ypnyopufiev  kqi  vif^fiev.  Let  us  awake  to  a 
deep  sense  of  the  absolute  certainty  and  infinite  im- 
portance of  these  awful  discoveries,  and  by  continual 
sobriety,  and  a  temperate  use  of  God's  creatures,  of 
all  earthly  things,  and  especially  by  walking  con- 
tinually in  the  light  of  truth  and  grace,  and  therefore 
in  universal  holiness  and  righteousness,  let  us  stand 
constantly  prepared  for  the  awfol  scenes  which 
await  us.  and  which  we  must  assuredly  pass  through. 

Verses 7-U.  For  theythatsleep,eleep  in  the  night, 
b 


7  For  ^tbey  that  sleep,  sleep  in  the  a.  m.  4068. 

night;  and  they  that  be  drunken,^  are '. — L 

drunken  in  the  night. 

8  But  let  us,  who  are  of  the  day,  be  sober, 
"^putting  on  the  breast-jdate  of  ftith  a:nd  love; 
and  for  a  hehuet,  the  hope  of  salvation. 

9  For  ^  God  hath  not  appointed  us  to  wrath, 
'but  to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, 


k  Luke  sod.  34, 36 ;  Ron.  xiii.  13 ;  I  Cor.  xv.  34 ;  Eph.  t.  14 

I  Acts  ii.  15. "Isa.  lix.  17;  Eph.  ti.  14,  16,  17. »Rom. 

ix.  22;  Ch.  i.  10;  1  Pet.  ii.S;  Jude  4.— o2Thes8.  u.  13, 14. 


&c.-T-Night  is  the  time  for  sleep,  and  they  that  are 
guilty  of  drunkenness,  gluttony,  and  other  vices  of 
intemperance,  generally  choose  to  hide  them  under 
the  cover  of  darkness ;  and  if  we  were  still  in  the 
night  of  heathenish  ignorance,  and  in  a  state  of 
spiritual  blindness  and  unbelief,  our  insensibility  of 
divine  things,  our  un watchfulness,  sloth,  and  indo- 
lence would  have  some  excuse:  but  being  of  the  day 
— And  brought  out  of  darkness  into  Christian  and 
marvellous  light^  we  have  none :  let  us,  therefore,  be 
sober^Thsi  is,  temperate,  chaste,  holy,  and  wakeful, 
as  vri^iiev  signifies ;  putting  on  the  breastplate  of 
faith  and  love — As  a  defence  of  the  heart,  the  seat 
of  the  passions ;  and  for  a  helmet — ^Which  will 
defend  the  head,  the  seat  of  reason ;  the  hope  of 
final,  eternal  salvation.  The  breast  and  head  being 
particularly  exposed  in  battle,  and  wounds  in  these 
parts  being  extremely  dangerous,  the  ancients  care- 
fully defended  them  by  armour,  to  which  the  apostle 
here  Compares  the  Christian  virtues  of  faith,  love, 
and  hope.  In  the  parallel  passage,  Eph.  vi.  14,  the 
expression,  instead  of  the  breast-plate  of  faith  and 
love,  is  tJie  breast-plate  of  righteousness ;.  to  show 
that  the  righteousness  of  a  Christian  consists  in  faith 
and  love :  a  breast-plate  which,  being  of  a  truly 
heavenly  fabric,  will,  if  put  on,  and  not  afterward  put 
ofl^  render  the  heart,  the  seat  of  the  aflections,  in- 
vulnerable. The  apostle's  meaning,  stripped  of  the 
metaphor,  is  this:  That,  to  defend  our  affections 
against  the  impressions  of  outward  and  sensible 
objects,  nothing  is  so  effectual  as  faith  in  Christ,  and 
in  the  declarations  Bjid  promises  of  his  gospel,  and 
love  to  God  and  man.  The  head  being  the  seat  of 
those  thoughts  and  imaginations,  on  which  the  affec- 
tions and  passions  in  a  great  measure  depend,  it 
must  be  of  great  importance  to  defend  it  against  the 
entrance  of  such  thoughts  and  imaginations  as  have 
any  tendency  to  excite  bad  affections  or  carnal  desires. 
But  for  that  purpose,  nothing  is  better  than  to  have 
the  head  so  filled  with  the  glorious  hope  of  the  sal- 
vation offered  to  us  in  the  gospel,  as  to  exclude  all  vain 
tlioughts,  imaginations,  and  expectations  whatever. 
This  hope  therefore  is  most  properly  and  elegantly 
termed  the  Christian's  helmet.  This  exhortation  to 
the  Thessalonian  believers  teaches  us  that  the  sons 
of  light  must  not  only  watch  but  fight.  See  note  on 
Eph.  vi.  11-18.  For  Qod  hath  not  appointed  us  to 
wrath— ks  he  hath  the  finally  impenitent,  unbeliev- 
mg,  and  disobedient:  for  the  design  of  God  in  send- 


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I.  TOBiBALONIANS. 


mUemedfor  their-wni^  •otw.* 


A.  M.  4088. 
A.D.  5i. 


10  ^  Who  died  for  oi,  that,  whether 
we  wake  or  sleep,  we  shoidd  live  to- 
gether with  him. 

11  «  Wherefore,  ^  oomHtHrt  yourselT^s  together, 
and  edify  one  another,  even  as  abo  ye  da 

12  Andwebeseechyou,brethren,'toknowthem 


fRom.   xir.  8,0;    2  Cor.  ▼.  15.*^ — ^Chap.   it.  la- 


^Or. 


lag  his  Son  wasnot  to  condemn  but  to  save  the  world; 
ai^  therefore  they  who  are  appointed  to.  wrath,  are 
only  snch  as  through  impenitence,  unbelief,  and 
disobedience,  reject  him  and  his  gospel ;  tnU  to  obtain 
tcdvalion—Preaeni  and  eternal ;  by  failh  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  CArtX— Who  hath  procured  it  for,  all  true 
persevering  believers,  whose  faith  worketh  by  love; 
and  will  assuredly  at  length  bestow  it  upon  them; 
of  which  he  hath  given  us  full  proof,  in  that  he  not 
only  became  incarnate,  and  subjected  himself  to  the 
infirmities  of  our  flesh,  and  to  the  many  burdens  and 
BuflTerings  of  this  mortal  life,  for  our  sakes,  but  even 
died  in  ignominy  and  torture  on  the  cross  for  us; 
thcU  whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  live  or  die,  ire  should 
live  together  with  Wm— In  other  words,  That  while 
we  live,  and  when  we  die,  the  life  and  happiness  of 
our  immortal  souls  should  be  secure  in  a  unionwith 
him,  which  death  itself  shall  not  be  able  to  dissolve. 
Some  interpret  the  expression,  whether  we  wake  or 
sleep,  as  signifying,  ^  whether  Christ  come  in  the 
night,  when  we  are  sleeping  on  our  beds,  or  in  the 
day,  when  we  are  awake  and  busy  in  the  pursuit  of 
our  common  afipairs."  But,  as  Doddridge  has  pro- 
perly observed,  since  sleeping  had  just  before  been 
put  for  death,  it  seems  more  natural  to  interpret  this 
clause  as  speaking  of  the  state  of  believers,  whether 
alive  or  dead:  and  then  it  must  be  considered  as 
containing  a  direct  proof  of  the  life  of  the  soul 
while  the  body  is  sleeping  in  the  grave.  **God 
forbid,"  adds  that  pious  divine,  'Uhat  any  should 
understand  these  words  as  intimating  that  Christ's 
death  is  intended  to  secure  our  salvation,  whether 
we  take  a  watchful  care  of  it  or  not  Yet,  alas !  the 
generality  of  Chrbtians  (so  called)  live  as  if  that 
were  the  genuine  and  only  interpretation."  Where- 
fore comfort  yourselves  together — UapaKaXetre  oAX^- 
X«f  comfort,  or  exhort  one  another,  under  the  various 
afflictions  of  life,  and  edify— Etc  tov  tva,  each  the 
other;  in  Christian  knowledge  and  holiness,  or 
endeavour  to  promote  the  work  of  grace  in  one 
another;  even  as  also  I  know  ye  do — How  well 
would  it  be,  if  professing  Christians  in  general  would 
emulate  the  character  which  the  apostle  gives  to 
these  believers  at  Thcssalonica,  if,  "entering  into 
each  other's  true  interests,  as  Chandler  observes, 
they  would  banish  from  their  conversation  that 
calumny,  slander,  folly,  and  flattery  which  engross 
so  much  of  this  short  transitory  life,  and  by  dis- 
coursing of  things  of  substantial  worth,  endeavour 
to  fortify  each  other  against  the  snares  of  life,  and 
those  innumerable  temptations  which  lie  in  wait  to 
ruin  us.  With  what  comfort  should  we  meet  each 
other  at  the  great  day,  were  we,  on  that  occasion, 
400 


which  laboor  among  you,  and  are  (^o*  A,u.¥m, 
yon  in  the  Lord,  asd  adtnoniah  yon ;  • — 

13  And  to  esteem  them  i^eary  highly  in  hwo 
for  their  work's  sake.  *And  be  at  peace  amoog 
yoiVBelvea. 

14  Now  we  *ezboit  yoo,  fareduen,  ^wam 


''ICiyr.  ztLIS;   Phil  ii  29;    lTiiii.T.  17;    Heb.  ziii 7,  J7. 
"lfmikiz.00. — -»Qr,6MwdL *2'nieM.  iii  11,]3. 


able  to  reooOect  that. in  general  we  had 
our  conv^rsatioa  to  oar  mvtnal  advantage  1  For 
we  should  then  be  sensible  that  in  some  measure 
we  owe  our  glory  to  our  concern  for,  and  fidelity  to, 
each  other.  Besides,  the  remembrance  of  this  would 
enlarge  the  love  of  the  saints  to  each  other  in  the 
future  state." 

Verses  13, 13.  We  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  know 
— See,  mark,  take  knowledge  of  them  that,  1st,  La- 
bour among  you — Namely,  in  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, by  preaching,  teaching,  catechising,  visiting 
the  sick,  administering  the  oidinances:  2d,  Are  over 
you — Greek,  irpoi^afuvnc,  who  preside  over  you  ;  pre- 
venting all  irregularities,  and  keepingx>rder  in  your 
assemblies,  and  taking  care  that  every  one  exercises 
his  office,  and  fulfils  his  duty  properly  in  the  sta- 
tion in  which  he  is  placed :  and,  dd,  Admonish  you — 
Who  observe  the  behaviour  of  individuals,  and  give 
to  such  as  are  found  faulty  the  admonitions  and  re- 
proofs necessary  in  order  to  their  amendment,  and 
that  by  particular  application  to  eadi.  Sometimes 
the  same  person  may  perform  all  these  offices  *,  may 
labour,  preside,  and  admonish  the  whole  flock,  as 
need  may  be.  Sometimes  two  or  more  difierent 
persons  may  be  employed  in  these  duties,  according 
as  God  variously  dispenses  hisgiAs.  ^  But,  O,  what 
a  misery  is  it,"  as  Wesley  observes,  "  when  a  man 
undertakes  this  whole  woric  without  either  gifts  or 
grace  for  any  part  of  it !  Why  then  will  he  under- 
take it?  For  pay?  What!  will  he  sell  boilk  his 
own  soul  and  all  the  souls  of  the  flock?  What 
words  can  describe  such  a  wretch  as  this  ?  And 
yet  even  this  may  be  an  honourable  man  /"  And 
esteem  them  very,  highly — Tirep  eKveptaon,  literally, 
more  than  abundantly;  in  love — The  inexpressible 
sympathy  there  is  between  true  pastors  and  their 
flock  is  intimated  not  only  here,  btit  also  in  divers 
other  places  of  this  epistle.  See  chap.  ii.  7,  8.  For 
their  worVs  sake — llieir  diligence  and  faithfulness 
in  preaching  the  word,  in  teaching,  catechising,  ad- 
monishing, exhorting,  and  watching  over  the  souls 
committed  to  their  care,  as  those  that  must  give  an 
account :  the  principal  ground  this  of  the  respect 
due  from  Christians4o  their  ministers,  and  especially 
of  that  great  regard  and  strong  afiection  which  true 
believers  bear  toward  those  who  have  begotten  them 
again  through  the  gospel.  But  how  are  Christiana  to 
esteem  those  pastors  who  do  none  of  those  things  1 
who  take  the  wages,  but  do  no  part  of  the  work  1 

Verses  14, 15.  We  exhort  you,  6rc<Arcn— Not  only 
you  who  are  pastors  and  rulers,  but  you  that  aie 
private  members  of  the  church;  tram  them  that 
are  wnrw^y— Greek,  araKru^,  disorderly;  them  that 

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duHei  andprMlege$  m^oinedL 


A^  11.4058.  them  that  an  '(mndtjri  ^cen^nt  th^ 
ilfl^  feeUMKunded,  *9upiXMt  the  weak, 
I' be  patient  towaid  att  111011. 

16  'See  that  none  render  evfl  for  evil  unto 
any  man;  bat  ever  ^IbDow  that  which  is  goody 
both  among  youiselves,  and  to  all  m«n. 


•Or,  diaorderh, »  Heb.  xii.  X2. "Rom.  »▼.  1:  xt.  1. 

7  GaL  T.  S2. »  Ler.  xix.  18. •  Gal.  ▼!.  10. »»2  Cor.  ri. 

10;   PhiL  It.  4. •  Luke  xnii.  1 ;  xzL  30;   Ron-  zii  13} 


Stand,  as  it  were,  out  of  their  ranks  in  fte  spirit- 
ual warfare:  for  it  is  a  military  term,  expressing 
the  character  of  soldiers  who  break  their  ranks,  de- 
sert their  posts,  or  will  not  know  their  colours,  and 
therefore  cannot  perform  their  duty  as  soldiers, 
especially  in  battle.  It  is  fitly  used  to  denote  those 
who  neglect  the  proper  duty  of  their  office  or  sta- 
tion. Comfort  the  fe^le-min^l^d—yniQse  courage 
and  resolution  are  ready  to  fail  them  under  the  dif- 
ficulties they  meet  with.  The  original  expres^on, 
oAtxo^BT)  propeily  means  those  of  little  aozU, 
or  such  as  are  peculiarly  wanting  in  fortitude  and 
vigour  of  mind;  support  the  v>eak^The  infirm, 
whether  in  soul  or  body ;  be  pcUient-'UaKpo^tffuiTef 
he  Umg'Sufffirin^;  toward  all  men — Bearing  with. 
the  weaknesses  of  the  children  of  God,  and  exercis- 
ing meekness  and  gentleness  even  toward  the  per- 
verse, obstinate,  and  ungrateful.  The  beauty  of 
this  whole  passage  is  thus  illustrated  by  Mr.  Black- 
wall  :  (Sac.  Class^  vol  i.  p.  257 :)  "  ft  is  as  admirable 
for  the  purity  of  its  moral,  and  the  difiusiveness  of 
its  charitable  meaning,  as  for  the  elegance  and  force 
of  its  words,  and  the  delicate  turn  of  its  structure. 
Hie  union  of  the  words  within  each  coQima  or  stop, 
and  their  mutual  relation  and  assistance,  is  exqui- 
sitely proper  and  naturaL  The  noble  period  runs 
on  with  strength  and  smoothness,  and  ^nds  close 
and  full.  Both  the  ear  and  judgment  are  satisfied.'^ 
See  that  none,  &c — Watch  over  both  yourselves 
and  each  other,  and  whatever  injury  any  of  yon 
may  have  received,  whether  from  professed  friends 
or  from  avowed  enemies,  let  no  one  render  evil  for 
evilj  btU  eoerfoUow  that  which  is  ^oo(2— Endeavour- 
ing to  the  utmost  to  promote  the  happiness  of  all 
about  you ;  and  that  resolutely  and  perseyeringly ; 
both  among  yourselves^TheX  is,  toward  all  your 
fellow-Christians ;  and  to  all  fnen— Not  exempting 
your  enemies  and  persecutors. 

Verses  15-18.  Rejoice  evermore— In  your  present 
privileges  and  future  hopes.  See  note  on  Rom.  Xiv. 
17  J  Phil.  iv.  4;  1  Pet.  L  6.  Pray  without  ceasing 
— ^In  order  to  maintain  and  improve  this  holy  joy, 
be  always  ui  a  spirit  of  prayer,  that  is,  retain  a  con- 
tinual sense  of  your  spiritual  wants,  and  of  your  de- 
pendance  on  God,  through  Christ,  for  the  supply  of 
those  wants,  and  let  your  desires  for  that  supply  be 
frequently  offered  up  to  God  in  faith:  let  your 
heart  aspire  after  him,  and  long  for  a  further  ac- 
quaintance with  him,  conformity  to  him,  and  enjoy- 
ment of  him ;  and  be  constant  in  the  use  of  private 
and  fervent  prayer  at  all  proper  seasons,  joining  also 
at  all  opportunities  with  your  family,  Chxistian 
friends,  and  the  congregations  of  God's  people,  in 

Vol.  IL  (  W  ) 


A.  M.  4066. 
A.D.64. 


16  ^  Rqoice  evemooie. 

17  •  Pray  without  ceasing. 

18  'In  every  thing  give  thanks:  £)r  this  is  the 
will  of  Grod  in  Christ  Jesus  concennng  you* 

19  *  Qrenrli  not  the  Spirit 

20  'Despi&eiiotprophesyingB. 


Eph.  ri.  18;  Col.  It.  8 ;  1  Pet  ir.  7.-—^ Eph.  r.  20 ;  CoL  iii. 

17. "Eph-  IT.  30;  1  Tim.  ir.  14;  2  Tim.  i.  6;  1  Cor.xir.  30. 

aCor.  riT.  1,39. 


social  and  public  addresses  to  the  throne  of  grace. 
In  every  thing  give  M^m^^I?e*nembering,  not  only 
your' dependasce  on  God,  but  year  obi  .g  ui  m  i  ^> 
him  for  all  things,  teinpor^  and  spiritual,  and  being 
persuaded  that  you  never  can  be  in  such  circum- 
stances of  affliction,  but  that  you  have  much  greater 
cause  for  thankfulness  than  complaint  This  is 
Christiaa  perfection:  further  than  this  we  cannot 
go,  and  we  need  not  stop  short  of  it  Our  Lord  has 
purchased  ^oy  as  weU  as  righteousness  for  us.  It  b 
the  very  design  of  the  gospel,  that,  being  saved  from 
guilt,  we  should  be  happy  in  the  Jove  of  Christ 
Prayer  may  be  said  to  be  the  breath  of  onr  spiritual 
life.  He  that  lives  cannot  possibly  cease  breathing. 
So  much  as  we  really  enjoy  of  the  presence  of  God, 
sa  much  prayer  and  praise  do  we  offer  up  without 
ceonn^;  else  our  rejoicingis but  delusion.  Thanks- 
giving is  inseparable  from  true  prayer.  It  is  almost 
essentially  connected  with  it.  He  that  always 
prays,  is  ever  giving  praise;  whether  in  ease  or 
pain,  both  for  prosperity  and  the  greatest  adversity. 
He  blesses  God  for  all  things^  looks  on  them  as 
coming  from  him,  and  receives  them  only  for  his 
sake;  not  choosing  nor  refusing,  liking  nor  dislik- 
ing any  thing,  but  only  as  it  is  agreeable  or  disagree- 
able to  his  perfect  wilL  For  jAi«— That  you  should 
thus  rejoice,  pray,  give  thanks;  is  the  will  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus^Always  holy,  just,  and  good,  and 
always  pointing  at  our  salvation. 

Verse  10.  Quench  not  the  Spirit—Whieh,  when- 
ever it  is,  bums  more  or  less,  yea,  flames  in  holy 
love,  in  joy,  prayer,  thanksgiving :  O  quench  it  not, 
damp  it  no^  in  yourself  or  others,  by  giving  way  to 
any  lust  or  passion,  any  afifection  or  disposition,  con- 
trary to  holiness,  either  by  neglecting  to  do  good, 
or  by  doing  evil.  See  note  on  Eph.  iy.  80.  It  is 
easy  to  observe  that  the  qualities  and  effects  of  the 
Spirit's  in^uences  are  here  compared  to  those  of 
fire.  See  note  on  Matt  iii.  11.  And  as  fire  may  be 
quenched,  not  only  by  pouring  water  upon  it,  or 
heaping  upon  it  earth  and  ashes,  but  by  withholding 
fuel  from  it,  or  even  by  neglecting  to  stir  it  up ;  so  the 
enlightening,  quickening,  renewing,  purifying,  and 
comforting  operations  of  the  Spirit  may  be  quench- 
ed, not  only  by  the  commission  of  Known  and  wil- 
ful sin,  and  by  immersing  our  minds  too  deeply  in 
worldly  business,  and  burdening  them  with  worldly 
cares,  but  by  omitting  to  use  the  private  or  public 
means  of  grace,  the  fuel  provided  to  nourish  this 
sacred  fire,  and  by  neglecting  to  stir  up  the  gifts  and 
graces  which  are  in  us. 

Verses  20-22.  Despise  not  prophesyings—ThBi 
is,  the  preaching  of  God's  word :  for  the  apostle  is 
401  b 


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7*he  apoath  pi  ays  for  the 


I.  THEgKSALONIANS.       sancUficattanoftheThessaiontans.^ 


A.M.<05a    21  'Prove  all  things;   ^hold  jGsist 
— 1—^ —  that  which  is  good. 

22  <  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil. 

23  And  ^  the  very  God  of  peace   ^  sanctify 


f  I  Cor.  il  11, 15 ;  1  John  iv.  1 . »» Phil.  ir.  8. » Chap.  iv.  18. 


not  here  speaking  of  extraordinary  gifts,  but  of  such 
as  are  ordinary.  It  seems  one  means  of  grace  is 
put  for  all ;  and  whoever  despises  or  makes  light  of 
any  of  these,  much  more  that  sets  them  at  naughty 
as  the  original  expression,  e^n^eveire,  properly  signi- 
fies, under  whatever  pretence,  will  purely,  though 
perhaps  gradually  and  insensibly,  quench  the  Spirit. 
Some  neglect  attending  the  ministry  of  God's  word, 
on  pretence  that  they  are  so  well  instructed  that 
they  can  receive  little  or  no  benefit  from  it  But  let 
such  consider  that  the  sphritual  life  is  maintained 
and  increased  in  the  soul,  not  so  much  by  receiving 
new  discoveries  in  divine  knowledge,  "as  by  the 
recollection  of  matters  formerly  known,  and  by  se- 
rious meditation  thereon."  Persuaded,  therefbre, 
that  a  regular  attendance  on  the  ministry  of  the 
word  will  greatly  tend  to  cherish  the  influences  of . 
the  Spirit,  and  a  neglect  thereof  will  proporttonably 
obstruct  them ;  listen  with  attention  and  reverence 
to  the  ministers  of  Christ,  while  they  interpret  and 
apply  to  men's  consciences  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or 
speak  to  them  by  way  of  instruction,  warning,  re- 
proof, exhortation,  or  comfort:  and  own  the  autho- 
rity of  God  as  speaking  in  and  by  his  appointed 
messengers.  Meantime  prove  all  things — ^Which 
any  preacher  teaches,  enjoins,  or  recommends ;  try 
evei^  doctrine,  precept,  advice,  or  exhortation,  by 
the  touchstone  of  Scripture;  and  hold  fast  that 
which  is  ^'ood— Zealously,  resolutely,  and  diligently 
practise  it,  in  spite  of  all  opposition.  "What  a  glo- 
rious freedom  of  thought,"  says  an  eminent  divine, 
"  do  the  apostles  recommend !  And  how  contempt- 
ible, in  their  account,  is  a  blind  and  implicit  faith ! 
May  all  Christians  use  this  liberty  of  judging  for 
themselves  in  matters  of  religion,  and  allow  it  to 
one  another;  and  to  all  mankind  1"  It  must  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  those  who  heap  up  for  them- 
selves teachers,  having  itching  ears^  under  pre- 
tence of  proving  all  things^  have  no  countenance 
or  excuse  from  this  text.  And  be  equally  zealous 
and  careful  to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil 
—From  every  disposition,  word,  and  action,  which 
you  judge  or  suspect  to  be  sinful;  or  which  you 
have  reason  to  fear  might  prove  to  you  an  occasion 
of  sin.  Nay,  in  some,  yea,  in  many  cases,  abstain 
from  those  things  which  appear  to  others  to  be  evil, 
or  the  lawfulness  of  which  they  question,  though 
you  do  not  For  it  is  better  to  avoid  such  things, 
than  by  an  uncharitable  use  of  your  Christian  liberty 
to  cause  your  weak  brother  to  stumble,  or  to  preju- 
dice others  against  the  truth. 

Verses  23-28.  And  the  very  Qod  of  peace— -kvroc 
6e  0  Qeoc  rtig  etpjjvrfc,  literally.  May  the  God  ofpedce 
himself;  that  is,  he  who  is  reddy  to  give  yoii  peace 
with  himself  after  all  you  have  done ;  who  is  in  Christ 
reconciling  you  to  himself,  not  iitiputing  your  tres-  j 
4ltt 


you  whdiy ;   and  I  pray  God  your  a.  m.  405a 
whole  sprit,  and  soul,  and  body  ■  be   ^'  ^'  ^' 
preserved  blanieless  imto  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ 


k  Phil.  \y.  9. » Chapter  iii.  13.^ « 1  Cor.  i.  8. 


passes  unto  you,  if  in  repentance  and  faith  you  turn 
to  him,  but  on  these  terms  preaching  peace  to  you 
by  Jesus  Chrbt :  sanctify  y(m  loAbWy— That  is,  may 
he  carry  on  and  complete  the  work  of  purification 
and  renovation  begun  in  your  regeneration,  redeem- 
ing you  from  all  iniquity^  Tit.  ii.  14 ;  cleansing  you 
from  allfiUhiness  of  flesh  and  spirit,  2  Cor.  viL  1 ; 
stamping  you  with  his  whole  image,  and  rendering 
you  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  ihing^^ut  made  holy  toward  God,  dedi- 
cated to  and  employed  in  his  service,  and  without 
blame  in  the  whole  of  your  conduct  toward  men. 
The  word  oXoreXeic,  here  rendered  wholly,  signifies 
every  part  of  you,  and  every  part  perfectly  j  imply- 
ing that  every  faculty  of  their  souls,  and  every  sense 
and  member  of  their  belies,  should  be  completely 
purified,  and  devoted  to  the  service  of  God.  ^  And  I 
pray  God— These  words  are  not  in  the  briginal, 
which  is  literally,  and  may  the  whole  of  you,  o^oirAiTpov 
vfiov,  your  whole  constitution,  the  whole  frame  of 
your  nature,  all  belonging  to  you,  aH  of  and  about 
you,  be  made  and  preserved  blameless.  And  what 
the  apostle  means  by  this  whole  constitution,  or 
frame,  of  their  nature,  he  immediately  specifies, 
mentioning  the  spirit,  the  soul,  and  the  body.  Here, 
says  Whitby,  "  the  apostle  justifies  the  ancient  and 
true  philosophy,  that  man  is,  as  Nemesius  styles 
him,  Tpifiepjjc  vnoaroaig,  a  compound  of  three  differ- 
ing parts.  This  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Pythago- 
reans, and  also  that  of  the  Platonists,  who  held  that 
there  is  in  man  a  soul  irrational,  which  includes  the 
afiections  of  the  body ;  and  a  mind,  which  uses  the 
body  as  its  instrument,  and  fights  against  it.  This 
also  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Stoics,  whence  Antoninus 
saith.  The  three  constituent  parts  of  man  are  o<jfM, 
\pvxn,  v«f,  the  body,  soul,  and  mind,  Irerueius,  and^ 
Clemens  of  Alexandria,  and  Origen,  say  the  same." 
He  adds, "  those  two  excellent  philosophers,  Gas- 
sendus  and  Dr.  Willis,  have  established  this  philoso- 
phy beyond  all  reasonable  contradiction."  It  appears 
also,  as  the  learned  Vitrmga  has  very  accurately 
shown,  a  notion  prevailed  among  the  rabbis,  as  well 
as  the  philosophers,  that  the  person  of  a  man  was 
constituted  of  three  distinct  substances;  1st,  the 
rational  spirit,  which  survives  the  death  of  the  body, 
and  is  imnnortal ;  2d,  the  animal  soul,  which  man 
has  in  common  with  the  beasts,  and  which  dies  with 
the  body ;  and,  3d,  the  visible  body.  Many  other 
learned  divines,  however,  are  of  opinion,  that  as  the 
apostle's  design  was  to  tdach  mankind  religion,  and 
not  philosophy,  he  might  use  the  popular  langnage 
to  which  the  Thessalonians  were  accustomed,  with- 
out adopting  the  philosophy  on  which  that  language 
was  founded :  consequently  that  it  is  not  necesay 
to  consider  him  as  intendmg  more  by  his  pra^ 
than  that  the  Thessalonian  believers  might  be  tho- 
(25*)  b 


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Paul  directs  ihe  epistle  to  be 


CHAPTBB  V. 


read  to  all  the  hr^hren. 


A.  M.  4058.    24  "*  Faithful  t*  he  that  calleth  you, 
— 1— ! —  who  al80  will  do  it. 

25  Brethren,  "*  pray  for  us. 

26  I"  Greet  all  the  brethren  with  a  hdy  kiss. 

27  I  ^charge you  by  the  Lord  that  ^  this  epia- 


•1  Cor,  id;  x.13;  2Thess.uL3. ^Col.  ir.3;  SThest. 

iii  1.       PBonLxn.  18. 


roughly  sanctified,  of  how  many  constituent  parts 
soever  their  nature  consisted.  *'  To  cimiprehend," 
says  Macknight,  "  the  distinction  between  soul  and 
spirit,"  which  the  sacred  writers  seem  to  have  in- 
timated in  some  passages,  "the  soul  must  be  con- 
sidered as  connected  both  with  the  body  and  with  the 
spirit  By  its  connection  with  the  body,  the  soul 
receives  impressions  from  the  senses ;  and  by  its 
connection  with  the  spirit,  it  conveys  these  impres- 
sions, by  means  of  the  imagination  and  memory, 
to  the  spirit,  as  materials  for  its  operations.  The 
powers  last  mentioned,  through  their  connection 
with  the  body,  are  liable  indeed  to  be  so  disturbed 
by  injuries  befalUng  it,  as  to  convey  false  percep- 
tions to  the  ^irit  But  the  powers  of  the  spirit  not 
being  aficcted  by  bodily  injuries,  it  judges  of  the 
impressions  conveyed  to  it  as  accurately  as  if  they 
were  true  representations,  so  that  the  conclusions 
which  it  forms  are  generally  righf  It  may  not  be 
improper  to  add  here,  that  the  spirit,  as  distinguished 
from  the  two  other  parts  included  in  the  human  con- 
stitution, seems  to  be  supposed  by  the  apostle  (Heb. 
iv.  12)  to  be  capable  of  being  separated  from  the 
soul,  his  expression  being,  The  'word  of  God  is  quick, 
^c,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  ofsoid 
and  spirit;  and  some  have  thought  that  he  inti- 
mates, (1  Cor.  xiv.  14, 16,)  that  the  one  may  know 
what  the  other  does  not.  Be  this,  however,  as  it 
may,  the  apostle's  words  were  certainly  not  intended 
to  teach  us  philosophy,  or  to  imply  more  than  a 
prayer  that  all  our  powers  of  mind  and  body,  the 
rational,  including  the  understanding,  the  judg- 
nient,  conscienee,  and  will;  the  animal,  compre- 
hending the  affections,  passions,  and  sensations ;  and 
corporal,  namely,  the  members  and  senses  of  our 
bodies,  should  be  wholly  sanctified;  that  is,  purified 
from  pollution,  dedicated  to  God,  and  employed  in 
glorifying  him.  Unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Ckrist^To  call  you  hence  by  death,  or  to  summon 
you  to  appear  at  his  bar.  Faithful  is  he^To  his 
word  and  promises ;  that  calleth  you— By  his  gospel; 
who  also  will  do  it — Will  preserve  you  blameless  to 
his  coming,  unless  you  quench  the  Spirit.  He  "  will 
not,"  says  Whitby,  "  be  wanting  in  what  is  requisite 
on  his  part  toward  it;  I  tssy  his  part,  for  if  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  required  that  he  should  sanctify  and 
preserve  us  blameless  to  the  end  without  our  care, 
or  should  work  in  us  absolutely  and  certainly  that 
care,  and  the  apostle  believed  this,  how  could  he  fear 
lest  the  Thessalonians  should  be  so  overcome  by 
Satan's  temptations,  as  that  his  labour  with  them 
might  be  in  vain,  chap.  iii.  5;  this  being,  in  effect,  to 
fear  that  God  might  be  unfaithful  to  his  promise." 
Verses  27, 28.  /  charge  you — Greek,  o/wc«f«  p^iof,  / 
b 


tie  be  read  unto  all  the  holy  brethren,  a.  m.  4058 
28  'The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus    ^-^-^ 
Christ  be  with  you.    Amen. 

If  The  first  epis^e  unto  the  Thessalonians  was  writ- 
ten  from  Athens. 

*  Or,  tdjwi, 9  Col  ir.  16 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  14- '  Rom.  rrL 

90,24;  3ThMt.  iu.ia 


adjure  you^  that  is,  I  lay  you  under  the  obligation  of 
an  oath ;  fftaf  this  eptst/e— The  first  he  wrote ;  be 
read  to  all  the  holy  ftrciAren-— Namely,  of  your 
church.  The  reader  must  observe,  that  in  judicial 
oaths,  the  custom  among  the  Jews  was  not  for  the 
person  who  came  under  the  obligation  of  an  oath 
to  pronounce  the  words  of  swearing  with  his  own 
mouth,  b'at  an  oath  was  exacted  from  him  by  the 
magistrate  or  superior,  and  so  he  became  bound  to 
answer  npon  oath,  by  hearing  tfte  voice  ofswearisig^ 
or  adjuration  rather,  as  the  LXX.  render  it.  Here, 
therefore,  a  solemn  act  of  divine  worship  is  paid  to 
Christ,  taking  an  oath  in  the  name  of  God  being  a 
branch  of  his  wordip.  This  epistle  was  doubtless 
sent  to  the  presidents  and  pastors  of  the  Thessalonian 
church,  and  the  command,  that  the  epistle  should  be 
read,  was  delivered  to  them.  "  The  same  course, 
we  may  suppose,  the  apostle  followed  with  respect 
to  all  his  other  inspired  epistles.  They  were  sent 
by  hun  to  the  eldets  of  the  churches,  for  whose  use 
they  were  principally  designed,  with  a  direction  that 
they  should  be  read  publicly  by  some  of  their  num- 
ber to  the  brethren  in  their  assemblies  for  worship ; 
and  that  not  once  or  twice,  but  frequently,  thai  all 
might  have  the  benefit  of  the  instructions  contained 
in  them.  If  this  method  had  not  been  followed,  such 
as  were  unlearned  would  have  derived  no  advan- 
tage Irom  the  apostolical  writings;  and  to  make- 
these  writings  of  use  to  the, rest,  they  must  have 
been  circulated  among  them  in  private,  which  would 
have  exposed  the  autographs  (or  the  ori|^nal  copies) 
to  the  danger  of  being  oomipted  or  lost"  But  what 
Paul  commands  under  a  strong  adjuration,  Rome 
forbids  under  pain  of  excommtmication,  prohibiting 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  common  people 
m  their  religious  assemblies,  or  enjoining  them  to 
be  read,  if  at  all.  In  an  unknoMm  tongue ;  a  sufficient 
proof  this,  that  whatever  that  church  may  be  besides, 
it  is  not  apostolical.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr. 
Paley,  that "  the  existence  of  this  clause  is  an  evi- 
dence of  the  authenticity  of  this  epistle :  because  to 
produce  a  letter  purporting  to  have  been  publicly 
read  in  the  church  at  Thessalonica,  when  no  such 
letter  had  been  read  or  heard  of  in  that  church, 
would  be  to  produce  an  imposture  destructive  of  it- 
self. Either  the  epistle  was  publicly  read  in  the 
church  at  Thessalonica  during  St  Paul's  lifetime,  or 
it  was  not  If  it  was,  no  publication  could  be  more 
authentic,  no  species  of  notoriety  more  unquestion- 
able, no  method  of  preserving  the  integrity  of  the 
copy  more  secure :  if  it  was  not,  the  clause  would 
remain  a  standing  condemnation  of  the  forgery,  and, 
one  would  suppose,  an  invincible  impediment  to  its 
success.^' 

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rilEFACE 


TO     THE 


SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALONIANS. 


^HIS  second  epistle  to  the  Theasaloiuans  is  thought,  by  the  best  critics  and  chrdnologers,  to  hsre 
been  written  from  Corinth,  soon  after  the  former,  chiefly  on  account  of  some  things  therein  which 
had  been  misnnderstood.  This  itppears  probable  for  this  reason,  among  others,  thai  Timothy  and . 
SilTanus,  who  joined  him  in  his  first  letter,  were  still  with  him,  and  joined  him  in  this  siecond.  And, 
seeing  in  thb  epistle  he  desired  the  brethren  to  pray  that  he  flight  be  delivered  from  unreasonable 
and  wicked  men,  (chap.  iii.  2,)  it  is  probaUe  he  wrote  it  soon  after  the  insurrection  of  the  Jews  al 
Corinth,  in  which  they  dragged  him  before  (rallio,  the  proconsul  of  Achaia,  and  accused  him  of  per- 
suading men  ''  to  worship  God  contrary  to  the  law,"  Acts  xviii.  13 ;  we  cannot  therefore  be  much 
mistaken,  in  supposing  that  it  was  dated  in  or  about  the  year  of  our  Lord  55. 

The  epistle  begins  with  a  devoiat  acknowledgment  to  God  for  the  eminent  attaiimients  which  the 
Thessalonians  had  made  in  faith  and  other  Christian  graces,  and  especially  for  the  seal  and  fidelity 
widi  which  they  adhered  to- the  gospel  in  the  midst  of  persecution,  chap.  i.  1-4.  XL  To  support  and 
animate  them  under  their  trials,  he  reminds  them  of  the  distinguished:  honour  that  would  be  conferred 
on  aH  the  saints  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  yengeance  that  would  at  the  same  time  overtake  al] 
the  enemies  of  the  gospel ;  assuring  them  of  his  constant  prayers  for  their  further  improvement  in 
true  religion,  verses  5-12.  III.  Lest, .  by  mistaking  the  meaning  of  what  he  had  said  or  wrote  to 
them  at  any  time  upon  that  subject,  or  by  any  other  means,  ^ey  should  be  deceived  into  an  opinion 
that  the  day  of  final  judgment  was  near  at  hand,  he  informs  them,  that  before  that  awful  time  there 
would  be  a  grand  apostacy  in  the  church,  and  an  antichristian  power,  which  he  calls  the  man  of  sin, 
would  arise,  and  greatly  obstruct  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  arrogantly  assuming  to  itself  the  divine 
authority,  and,  by  pretending  miracles,  leading  multitudes  into  the  most  fatal  delusions.  Some  begin- 
nings of  this  power,  he  signifies,  were  already  discoverable ;  and  as  soon  as  those  restraints  which 
then  lay  upon  it  were  removed,  it  would  break  out  in  all  its  force,  and  continue  to  spread,  till  it  should 
be  finally  destroyed  by  the  coming  of  Christ,  chap.  ii.  1-12.  IV.  By  these  views,  he  is  led  to  ex- 
press his  thankftdness  to  God  that  the  Thessalonians  had  escaped  this  corruption  which  had  begun 
so  early  to  prevail  in  the  church,  and  had  given  such  convincing  proofs  of  their  entering  into  the  true 
spirit  of  Christianity,  in  which  he  exhorts  them  to  persevere  with  steadfastness  and  constancy,  adding 
his  earnest  suj^lieations  for  their  increasing  comfort  and  establishment,  verses  13-17.  Y.  He  de- 
sires their  prayers  that  his  labours  mi^t  be  attended  with  the  same  success  among  others  as  they 
had  been  among  (hem;  and  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  the  opposition  of  unreasonable  men» 
expressing  withal  his  confidence  in  their  Continued  regards  to  the  instructions  he  had  given  them, 
chap.  iii.  1-5.  VL  He  gives  directions  for  their  coniduct  toward  some  disorderly  members  of  the 
church,  who,  neglecting  thpir  im>per  business,  meddled  in  the  concerns  of  others.  These  he  exhorts 
to  attend  to  their  own  affairs,  and  to  provide  carefiilly  for  their  own  subsistence,  that  they  might  not 
be  a  burden  to  others ;  reminding  them  of  the  example  he  had  set,  while  at  Thessalonica,  in  main- 
tammg  himself  by  the  labour  of  his  ovm  hands,  verses  6-12.  YIL  If  any  one,  notwithstanding, 
should  refVise  to  comply  with  this  exhortation,  he  directs  the  other  members  of  the  church  to  exclude 
him  from  their  company  and  friendship,  that  he  might  be  made  sensible  of  his  fault ;  concluding  with 
hia  usual  salutation,  verses  13-18.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Doddridge,  from  whose  Introducti<m 
404  b 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  TUESSALONIANa 

to  this  epistle  the  above  analysis  of  its  contents  is  extracted,  tliat  "  though  this  is  the  shortest  of  all 
St  Paul's  epistles,  it  is  not  inferior  to  any  of  them  in  the  sublimity  of  die  sentiments  which  it  eon* 
tains,  and  the  excellent  spirit  which  it  breathes*  And  besides  those  marks  of  its  genuineness  and 
divine  authority  which  it  bears  in  common  with  the  rest  of  these  epistles,  it  has  (me  peculiar  to  itself, 
from  the  exact  representation  it  contains  of  the  Papal  power,  under  the  characters  of  the  ^  man  of  sin* 
aii4  the  *  mystery  of  iniquity/  For,  oonsiderini;  how  directly  opposite  the  principles  here  described 
were  to  the  genius  of  Christianity,  it  must  have  appeared,  at  the  time  when  this  epistle  was  written, 
highly  improbable  to  all  human  apprehension  that  they  should  ever  have  prevailed  in  the  Christian 
Church ;  and,  consequently,  a  prediction  like  this,  which  answers  sq  exactly,  in  every  particular,  to 
the  event,  must  be  allowed  to  carry  its  own  evidence  along  with  it,  and  to  prove  that  the  author  of  it 
wrote  under  a  divine  influence?* 

b  4M 


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THE 


SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO  THE 


THESSALONIANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AiUr  ikt  introiuetory  galutSuion  and  benedicHoTit  the  apotiU^  (1,)  ExprtMte*  his  gratUuie  to  God  for  the  eoruUmey  vnih 
which  the  Thesealaniaiu  adhered  ta  the  cause  of  Christ,  3,  4.  (2,)  He  encourages  and  animates  them  under  the  persee^ 
turns  to  which  they  were  stiU  exposed,  hy  the  prospect  of  that  glory  thai  would  be  conferred  upon  them  at  the  coming  of 
Christ,  5-10.  (3,)  He  prays  that  God  would  finish  his  work  in  a$id  upon  them,  and  make  them  meet  for  the  felicity  of 
t  by  his  grace,  for  the  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the  Father  and  of  Christ,  11,  12. 

of  every  one  of  you  all  toward  each  A.  M.  4058. 
othw  aboundeth;  - — '- — 1. 

4  So  that  *  we  ourselves  glory  in  you  in  the 
churches  of  God,  ^for  your  patience  and  feith 
>^  in  all  your  persecutions  and  tribulations  that 
ye  endure : 

5  Which  is^dL  manifest  token  of  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  counted  worthy 
o^the  kingdom  of  God,  ^  for  which  ye  also  suffer : 


A.  M.  4068.  T)AUL,  *and  Silvanus,  and  Tuno- 

'. — 1.  theus,  unto  the  church  of  the 

TheBsakmians  ^in  Grod  our  Father  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ 

2  ®  Grace  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

3  *  We  are  bound  to  thank  God  always  for 
you,  brethren,  as  it  is  meet,  because  that  your 
fiuth  groweth   exceedingly,   and  the  charity 


•2  Cor.  i.  19. ^1  Thessaknuans  i.  \. «1  Cor.  i.  3. 

*  1  Thess. i. 2, 3 ;  iii.  6, 9 ; Chap.  ii.  13. •  2 Cor.  Til.  14 ;  iz.2 ; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  3-6.  We  are  bound  to  thank  God—li  is 
highly  observable  that  the  apostle  here  wraps  up  his 
praise  of  men  in  praise  to  God,  giving  him  the 
glory  of  the  increase  of  grace  which  was  manifest 
in  Uie  Thessalonian  believers.  That  your  faith 
groweth  exceedingly — Notwithstanding  all  that  is 
done  by  your  enemies  to  prevent  its  increase,  and 
even  to  destroy  it  Probably  he  had  heard  from  them 
since  he  sent  them  the  former  letter.  And  the  cha- 
rity— Or  love  rather,  of  every  one  of  you  aboundeth — 
Like  water  that  overflows  its  banks,  and  yet  in- 
creases still  more.  Their  faith,  it  appears,  derived 
new  confirmation  from  then-  sufferings,  and  their 
sense  of  them  engaged  them  tenderly  to  pity,  and 
do  their  utmost  for  the  relief  of,  those  who  shared 
in  those  sufferings,  and  at  the  same  time  endeared 
to  them  that  one  body,  that  church  of  Christ,  which 
the  carnal  world  so  cruelly  hated,  and  so  maliciously 
enaeavoured  to  destroy.  So  that  we  ourselves  glory 
in  you — Or  boast  of  you ;  in  the  (^lurches  of  God — 
"  "nils  passage  shows  us  what  is  a  principal  occasion 
406 


1  Theti.  ii.  19,  20. f  1  Thess. 

»»PhU.  i.  28. « 1  Thesi.  u.  14. 


i.  3.- 


r  1  Theas.  iL  14. 


of  joy  to  faithful  ministers ;  it  is  the  laith  and  love, 
patience  and  constancy,  of  the  people  to  whom  they 
minister.  The  apostle's  address  here  is  admirable. 
He  excited  the  emulation  of  other  churches  by 
boasting  of  the  Thessalonians  to  thqm.  And  )ie 
quickened  the  Thessalonians  by  telling  them  how 
much  he  had  praised  them  in  the  hearing  of  the 
churches."— Macknight  In  all  your  peraecutionB 
and  tribulations— J^smg  probably  hoih  from  the 
Jews  and  their  own  countrymen.  Concerning  the 
particulars  of  these  persecutions  we  have  no  infor- 
mation. fVhich  is — Or  shall  be;  a  manifest  token— 
Evdeiyua^  proof  or  demonstration,  of  the  righteous 
judgment  ofGod^Of  the  equity  of  the  divine  Judg- 
ment, which  shall  be  fiilly  manifested  in  due  time 
by  God's  amply  rewarding  you,  and  punishing  your 
enemies;  that  ye  maybe  counted  tror<^y— That  it 
may  appear  by  the  integrity,  faith,  and  patience,  the 
meekness  and  superiority  to  this  transitory  world, 
which  you  manifest  under  these  severe  trials,  that 
you  are  fit  to  be  admitted  into  that  glorious  king- 
dom of  God  for  which  you  suffer. 

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CHAPTER  I. 


Jesui  Ckrut  to  judge  the  worUL 


A.D.  54. 


6  ^Seeing  it  is  a,  rigbteouB  thing 
with  God  to  recompense,  tribulation 
to  them  that  trouble  you ; 
,  7  And  to  jrou  who  are  troubled,  ^  rest 
with  us,  when  "the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be 
revealed  from  heaven  with  ^  bis  mighty 
angels, 

8  *In  flaming  t 
them  'that  know 


•e   'taking  vengeance  on 
not  God,  and  'that  obey 


k  RaT.  Ti.  la 1  Rev.  jut.  la- 


14. *  Gr.  lA«  angeU  ofhi$  vnotr.-^ 

Pet.  iii.  7;  ReT.  xxi.  8.-. — ^"  Or,  yi 


yielding. 


lThe8t.i7. 16;  Jude 
fHebwX-27;  xh.28;  2 


Verses  6-8.  Seeing  il  is  a  righteous  ^in^— How- 
ever men  may  judge  of  it;  with  God— To  whom  be- 
longeth  vengeance,  (Rom.  xii.  10,)  and  who  iciU 
avenge  his  elect  that  cry  unto  him  day  and  night; 
to  recompense  tribulation  to  them  that  trouble  you 
—To  remove  the  pressure  from  you  to  thejn*  And 
it  is  remarkable  that  about  this  time,  at  the  passover, 
the  Jews  raising  a  tumult,  a  great  number,  some 
say  thirty  thousand  of  them,  were  slain.  St.  Paid 
seems  to  allude  to  this  beginning  of  sorrows  1 
Thess.  ii.  16,  which  did  not  end  but  with  their  de- 
struction. And  to  you  that  are  trouhled^-Th^X  suf- 
fer persecution  ;  rest  mih  i«— If  not  in  the  present 
worid,  where  we  do  not  ourselves  expect  it,  yet  at 
last,  v)hen  the  Lord  Jesus  sfudl  be  revealed  from 
heaven.  By  the  word  aye<y<f,  here  rendered  rc#<, 
or,  as  it  more  properly  means,  relaxation^  the  apos- 
tle does  not  mean  deliverance  from  persecution. 
The  believing  Jews,  with  whom  St.  Paul  here  ranks 
himself,  had  no  relaxation  in  that  sense  any  more 
than  the  believing  Gentiles.  But  he  meant  deliver- 
ance from  the  troubles  of  this  life  at  death,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  eternal  rest,  the  rest  of  God,  partly 
entered  into  then,  and  more  especially  after  the 
coming  of  Christ  here  spoken  of.  With  his  mighty 
angeHs—VfYio  shall  be  the  ministers  of  his  power  in 
the  execution  of  this  great  and  awful  judgment 
in  flaming  Jire— To  which  the  aerial  heavens  and 
the  earth  are  reserved,  (2  Pet.  iii.  7, 10,)  and  by  which 
they  shall  be  destroyed ;  taking  vengeance — Or  in- 
fiicting  punishment,  as  didovrog  EKdiKnciv  also  signi- 
fies;  see  I  Pet  ii.  14,  where  the  same  word  is  trans- 
lated punishment.  Does  God,  as  some  say,  barely 
permit  this  punishment  to  come  upon  his  enemies  ? 
or,  as  ihe  Lord  once  rained  brimstone  and  fire  from 
the^Lord  out  of  heaven,  (Gen.  xix.  24,)  does  a  fiery 
stream'go  forth  from  him?  Who  know  not  Qod— 
By  an  experimental  and  practical  knowledge;  who 
know  him  not  so  as,  Is^  To  be  humbled  before 
him,  Job  xL  4,  6 ;  xlii.  5,  6 ;  2d,  To  trust  in  him, 
(Psa.  ix.  10,)  namely,  for  pardon,  holiness,  and  eter- 
nal life,  being  first  truly  penitent ;  3d,  To  love  him 
with  a  love  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts,  John  iv.  7; 
4th,  To  keep  his  commandments,  1  John  il  3,4; 
and,  5th,  To  be  transformed  into  his  image,  2  Cor. 
ill.  18.  In  which  passages  the  fruits  of  the  saving 
knowledge  of  God  are  designedly  ^[>ecified,  and  twp 
of  them  at  least,  namely,  love  and  obedienee  to 
p 


A.  M.  4058. 
A.D.  54. 


not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  : 

9  t  Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting 
<kstruction  fixMn  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
^  from  the  glory  of  his  power ; 

10  'When  be  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in 
his  saints,  ^  and  to  be  admked  in  all  them  that 
believe  (because  our  testimony  among  you  was 
believed)  in  that  day. 


«» P«a.  Ixxix.  6 ;  1  Theti.  iv.  5. P  Rom.  ii.  8. ^  Phil,  tii 

19 ;  2  Pet  iii.  7. '  Deut.  vaaii.  3 ;  Isa.  iL  19 ;  Cliap.  ii.  8 

•  Psa.  Ixxiix.  7.^—*  Psa.  Ixviii.  36. 


God,  declared  to  be  absolutely  essential  to  the  true 
knowledge  of  him.  Reader,  examine  thyself!  Does 
thy  knowledge  of  the  one  living  and  true  Crod  pro 
duce  these  fruits  7  Surely  it  cannot,  unless  he  that 
commanded  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath 
shined  into  thy  heart,  to  give  thee  the  knowledge  of 
his  glory  in  and  by  Jesus  thhsi,  2  Cor.  iv.  6;  un 
less  the  Son  of  God  hath  given  thee  an  understand 
ing  to  know  him,  I  John  v.  20.  And  who  obey  not 
the  gospel — Who  do  not  receive  its  truths  and  pro 
mises  with  a  lively  faith,  productive  of  love  and 
obedience,  Christ  being  the  author  of  eternal  «alv9> 
tion  only  to  those  that  love  and  obey  him,  1  Cor 
xvi.  82;  Heb.  v.  9.  Believing  the  gospel  is  oileu 
termed  by  St  Paul  the  obedience  of  faith,  both  be- 
cause God  hath  commanded  men  to  believe  it,  and 
because  it  contains  not  only  doctrines  to  be  credited, 
threatenings  to  be  revered,  and  promises  to  be 
trusted,  but  also  a  variety  of  precepts  necessary  to 
be  obeyed.  Probably  in  the  former  clause,  wJio 
know  not  God,  the  apostle  had  chiefly  the  unbe- 
lieving Gentiles  in  view,  and  in  this  latter  the  unbe* 
lieving  Jews. 

Verses  9,  10.  Who  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting  destruction—^oi  the  annihilation,  but  the 
perversion  and  utter  ruin  of  all  their  powers  of 
body  and  mind,  so  that  those  powers  become  instru- 
ments of  torment  and  sources  of  misery  to  them  in 
all  possiMe  ways.  As  there  can  be  no  end  of  their 
sins,  (the  same  enmity  against  God  continuing,)  so 
neither  of  their  punishment:  sin  and  its  punishment 
running  parallel  through  eternity  itself.  They  must 
of  necessity  therefore  be  cut  off  from  all  good,  and 
all  possibility  of  it  From  the  presence  of  the  Jjjrd 
—Wherein  chiefly  consists  the  salvation  and  felicity 
of  the  righteous.  What  unspeakable  punishment  is 
implied  even  in  faUUig  short  of  this,  supposing  that 
nothing  more  were  implied  in  the  punishment  here 
spoken  of!  But  this  phrase,  destruction  from  the 
presence,  or  face,  of  the  Lord,  as  Bishop  Hopkins 
justly  observes,  expresses  not  only  that  they  shall 
be  expelled  from  that  joy  and  glory  which  reigns  in 
the  presence  of  God  and  of  Christ,  but  that  his  pre- 
sence shall  appear  active  in  the  infliction  of  their 
punishment,  so  that  they  shall  find  his  wrath  issuing 
forth  like  lightning  to  appal  and  torment  thehr 
spirits,  while  his  power  glorifies  itself  in  their  ruin 
andmisery.     Whenhe  shall  come  to  be  glorified  tn 


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PauV$  prayer  for 


II.  TRBSSALOMIANS. 


Ike  ThesMlontaMi 


A.  H.  4058. 
A.  D.  Si. 


11  Wherefore  alao  we  pray  always 
for  you,  that  our  God  would  ^count 
*  you  worthy  of  this  calling,  and  fulfil  all  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  'the  work 
of  frith  with  power: 


*  OT}  VONSM^^*" 


>yeiae5. 


his  #ainte— For  his  wonderful  glory  shall  shine  forth 
in  them,  and  he  will  manifest  the  greatness  of  his 
power  in  rendering  them  glorious;  ^t/ndtohead- 
whrhd  in  aU  them  thai  IttHeve—WiWi  respect  to  the 
effbrts  of  his  almighty  power  and  love  for  their 
complete  salvation..  Or,  they  shall  be  filled  with 
wonder  at  what  is  done  by  Christ  for  and  upon 
them,  so  far  exceeding  their  most  sanguine  expec- 
tation. Because  our  testimony^  &c.^As  if  he  had 
said,  I  reckon  you  of  this  number  because  of  the 
credit  which  you  gave  to  our  preaching. 

Verses  11,  12.  Wherefore—lxi  regsod  of  which, 
as  we  rejoice  in  what  is  already  done,  and  have  the 
most  earnest  concern  that  the  precious  seed  we  have 
sown  may  answer  the  hope  with  which  we  see  It 
springing  up,  and  may  at  length  advance  to  full 
maturity ;  we  pray  always  for  you — We  are  inces- 
sant ui  our  supplications  to  God ;  that  he  would  ac- 
count you  worthy  of  this  calling — That  is,  would 
make  you  meet  for  the  glory  to  which  you  are  call- 
ed; see  Eph.  iv.  4;  and  fidfl  all  the  good  plea- 
sure of  his  goodness— VHiich  is  no  less  than  perfect 
holiness :  that  he  would  produce  in  you  aU  those 
amiable  and  happy  affections  and  tempers,  which 
his  paternal  regard  for  our  happiness  engages  him 


12  ^That  the  name  of  our  Lord  a.  M.  405a 

Jesus  Christ   may   be   glorified   in  — !— ! L 

you,  and  ye  in  hiin,  acontling  to  the 
grace  of  our  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 


«1  Thess.  L  a f  I  Pet  i.  7;  it.  14. 


to  recommend  and  require.  "This,"  observes  Mr, 
Blackwall,  {Sac.  Class,,  voL  i.  p.  184,)  "is  the  short- 
est and  the  most  charming  eniphatical  representa- 
tion that  is  anywhere  to  be  found,  of  that  immense 
gractousness  and  admirable  benignity  of  God,  which 
no  words  can  fully  express,  but  was  never  so  h^ 
pily  and  so  fully  expressed  as  here."  And  the  work 
of  faith  with  power— That  feith  which  is  his  work, 
wrought  by  his  almighty  power,  Eph.  i.  19,  20;  that 
i8,ihat  he  would  perfect  your  faith  in  Christ  and  in 
his  gospel,  and  by  it  your  hcdiness  in  all  its  branches. 
That  thename—The  love  and  power;  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ — While  you  act  in  a  manner  so  suit- 
able to  the  relation  in  which  you  stand  to  him ;  may 
be  glorified— Qloriomiy  displayed;  in  you— That 
is,  in  these  works  of  his  grace  and  power  wrought 
in  and  by  you ;  and  ye  in  himr-Msiy  also  be  glori- 
fied, may  have  the  honour  of  approving  yourselves 
his  true,  faithful,  obedient  servants,  the  excellent  of 
the  earth,  and  may  for  ever  share  in  the  glory  he 
hath  prepared  for  such  rn  heaven;  according  to  the 
grace — The  free,  unmerited  favour  and  love;  of 
our  mercifbl  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  C^rut— By 
whom  that  grace  is  so  fully  manifested  to^  and  so 
plentiAilly  bestowed  upon  us. 


A.  B^  4058.  "MOW  we  beseech  you,  brethren, 
—--J *  by  the  coming  of  our  Lord 


•IThen.  !▼.  IS. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Her$  t1i4  MfOiUt  (1,)  Cautions  the  Thessdlonians  agmaut  expecting  the  day  of  judgment  immediately,  I,  S.  (S,)  Asturea 
them  there  wcM  U  first  a  general  apostacy,  atid  ike  appearance  of  Antichrist,  vhose  rise  and  reign,  with  the  ruin  of  his 
suijeets,  he  describes,  3-12.  (8,)  Be  thanks  Ood  for  his  mercy  to  the  bdieving  Thessalomans,  manifested  in  his  calUng, 
accepting,  andeamng  them,  IZ,  14.  {^)He  exhorts  them  to  be  steadfast,  and  prays  tikat  .Ood  would  comfort  and  establish 
Asm,  16-17, 

Jesus  Christ,  ^  and  by  our  gathering  a.  11. 4058. 
together  unto  him,  — 1-^ — '- 

k  Matt  xxiT.  Si ;  Htrk  zuL  97 ;  1  TheM.  !▼.  17. 

of  Christy  find  the  day  of  Christy  may  be  understood 
either  figuratively  of  his  coming  in  judgment  upon 
the  Jews,  or  Hterally  of  his  coming  in  glory  to  judge 
the  world;  the  latter  is  the  proper  signification  in 
this  place,  as  the  context  win  evince  beyond  contra^ 
diction.  St.  Paul  himself  had  planted  the  church  in 
Tbessalonica,  and  it  consisted  principally  of  con- 
verts from  among  the  Gentile  idolaters,  who  had 
turned  to  God  from  idols  to  serve  the  living  and 
true  God,  1  Thess.  i.  9.  What  occasion  was  there, 
therefore,  to  admonish  them  particulariy  of  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem?  or  why  should  they  iM 

b 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  H. 
Verses  1, 2.  We  beseech  you,  by  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ^ As  you  look  for  Christ's  second 
coming,  and  expect  comfort  from  it;  or  rather  con- 
ceming  his  coming,  as  the  preposition  vircp  is  im- 
derstood  to  signify  in  other  peaces  of  Scripture,  and 
in  other  authors.  For  he  does  not  beseech  by  the 
coming  oi  Christ,  but  his  coming  is  the  subject  of 
which  he  is  treating ;  and  it  is  in  relation  to  this 
subject  that  he  desires  them  not  to  be  distuibed. 
And  &jf— Concerning ;  our  gathering  together  to  him 
—Namely,  in  the  clonds.  The  phrases,  the  coming 
4Qt 


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appearance  of  Antithriei. 


A.  K.  40Sd.    2  *  Tliat  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in 
^^•^    mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by  spirit, 

nor  by  word,  lior  by  letter  ad  from  us,  as  that 

the  day  of  Christ  is  at  hand. 
3  '  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means : 

f^r  <fta^ clay aiUU  notfcMie,  *exeqpcthane come 


«lfatthewzzir.4;  Epk.T.6:  1  John  i?.  1. — ^MsttlMW 

ntT.4;   Epkeoiaii  r.  6. •  I  Timothy  ir.  L — ^  Daniel  rii 

25  ;    1  Jolm  ii.    18  ;    Rerelation   ziiL  ll,   &c. c  John 


under  any  agitations  or  terrors  of  mind  upon  that  ac- 
count ?  What  connection  had  Macedonia  with  Judea, 
or  Thessalonica  with  Jerusalem  ?  What  share  were 
the  Christian  converts  to  have  in  the  calamities  of 
the  rebeUious  and  unbelieving  Jews^  and  why  should 
they  not  rather  have  been  comforted  than  troubled 
at  the  punishment  of  their  inveterate  enemies  ?  Be- 
sides, how  could  the  apostle  deny  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Jews  was  at  hand,  when  it  really  was  at 
hand,  as  he  himself  says,  (1  Thess.  ii.  16,)  and  the 
wrath  of  God  was  already  beg'mning  to  come  upon 
iheml^  He  knew,  and  doubtless  they  knew,  (our 
Lord  having  declared  it,)  that  the  destraction  of  Je- 
rusalem would  come  to  pass  in  that  generation. 
The  phrase,  therefore,  must  necessarily  be  taken  in 
a  more  general  acceptation,  of  his  coming  to  judge 
the  world,  as  it  is  constantly  used  in  the  former 
epistle.  Tliai  ye  he  not  soon  shaken  in  mind — An-o 
m  voocjjrom  the  mind,  or  judgment,  you  have  form- 
erly held :  or  from  the  true  meaning  of  my  former 
letter,  as  Chandler  interprets  the  clause.  Or  be 
troubled— Perplexed,  or  put  into  confusion.  The 
original  word,  ^poeuteai,  signifies  to  be  agitated  with 
the  surprise  and  trouble  which  b  occasioned  by  any 
unexpected  rumour  or  bad  news,  Matt  xxiv.  6.  Net- 
iher  by  spirit — By  pretence  of  some  revelation  from 
the  Spirit  of  God ;  nor  by  words — Some  declaration 
pretended  to  have  been  uttered  by  me ;  nor  by  let- 
ter—Qome  counterfeit  writing,  or  some  passage  m 
the  former  epistle ;  as  from  i«— As  written  by  me, 
or  by  my  appointment ;  as  that  the  day  of  Christ— 
Hiat  is,  the  coming  of  Christ  to  judge  mankind ;  is 
at  hand— ti  was  a  point  of  great  importance  for  the 
Tfaessalonlans  not  to  be  mistaken  concerning  the 
time  of  Christ's  second  coming ;  for  if  they  had  in- 
ierred  from  the  apostle's  doctrine  that  it  was  at  hand, 
and  it  had  not  taken  place  according  to  their  expect- 
ation, they  would  probably  have  been  staggered  m 
their  faith,  and  finding  part  of  their  creed  to  be  false, 
they  might  have  been  brought  hastily  to  conclude 
that  the  whole  was  so. 

Verses  3, 4.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  dny  means 
— By  any  of  these  ways  fore-mentioned,  or  any 
other ;  for  that  day  shall  not  come,  ufUess  a  falling 
away,  9  ano^aaia,  the  apostacy,  come  first— The 
article  here  is  emphatic^ed,  denoting  both  that  this 
was  to  be  a  great  apostacy,  the  apostacy,  by  way  of 
eminence,  (the  general,  grand  departure  of  the  whole 
visible  church  into  idolatrous  worship,)  and  that  the 
Thessalonians  had  been  already  apprized  of  its 
coming.  Although  the  Greek  word  here  used  often 
figniiies  tlie  rebellion  of  subjects  against  the  supreme 

b 


a  fiiDing  away  first,  and  'that  man  of  A.  M.  4059. 
sin  be  revealed,  «the  son  of  perditicm ;  '  ^' 
4  Who  opposeih  and  ^  exalteth  himself  ^  above 
an  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped ; 
80  that  he,  as  Grod,  sitteth  in  the  temj^e  of  God, 
showing  hkttidf  that  he  is  God.  ' 


Daniel  viL  Z 
thians  rlu.  5. 


ztr.    18;    Eiekid^  xrniL   2;  6,   9; 
jL  96;    RevelaU'on   ziii.  6.— -U  Conii« 


power  of  the  country  where  they  live,  or  the  revolt 
of  soldiers  against  their  general,  or  the  hostile  sepa- 
ration of  oue  part  of  a  nation  from  another ;  yet  in 
Scripture  it  commonly  signifies  a  departure,  either 
in  whole  or  in  part,  from  a  religious  faith  or  obedi- 
ence formerly  professed,  Acts  xxL  21 ;  Heb.  ill  1?. 
Here  it  denotes  the  defection  of  tlie  disciples  of 
Christ  from  the  true  faith  and  worship  of  God,  en- 
joined in  the  gospel  Accordingly,  the  apostle, 
foretelling  this  very  defection,  (1  Tim.  iv.  IJ  says, 
airogjiaovTai  nvec,  some  shall  apostatize  from  the  faith. 
See  the  note  on  that  verse.  And  thai  man  ofsin^ 
The  head  of  this  apostacy,  given  up  to  all  sin  himself, 
(Rev.  xiii.  5,  6,)  and  a  ringleader  of  others  unto  sin^ 
verses  12, 14.  If  this  idea  be  derived  from  any  ancient 
prophet,  it  must  be  from  Daniel,  who  hath  described 
the  like  arrogant  and  tyrannical  power,  chap.  vii.  25 ; 
He  shall  speak  great  words  against  the  Most  fftgh, 
and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  cfthe  Most  High,  and 
think  to  change  times  and  laws.  Bee  also  chap, 
xi.  26.  Any  man  may  be  satisfied  that  St.  Paul  al- 
luded to  this  description  by  Daniel,  because  he  hath 
not  only  borrowed  the  ideas,  but  hath  even  adopted 
some  of  the  phrases  and  expressions.  The^man  of 
sin  may  signify  either  a  single  man,  or  a  succession 
of  men ;  tl^  latter  being  meant  in  Daniel,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  same  is  intended  here  also.  Indeed,  a 
single  man  appears  hardly  sufficient  for  the  work 
here  assigned ;  and  it  is  agreeable  to  the  phraseology 
of  Scripture  to  speak  of  a  body,  or  a  iiumber  of  men, 
under  the  character  of  one.  Thus  a  king  (Dan. 
vii.,  viii.  J  Rev.  xvii.)  is  often  used  for  a  succession 
of  kings,  and  the  high-priest,  (Heb.  ix.  7,  25,)  for 
the  series  and  order  of  high-pdests.  A  single  beast, 
(Dan  vii.,  viii. ;  Rev.  xiii.)  often  represents  a  whole 
empire  or  kingdom,  in  all  its  changes  and  revolu- 
tions. Thp  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  (Rev.  xii.  1,) 
is  designed  as  an  emblem  of  the  true  church,  as  the 
woman  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  (Rev.  xvii.  4,) 
is  the  portrait  of  a  corrupt  c-oikununion.  Thb  man 
ofHn  is  said  to  be  revealed  when  he  enters  on  the 
stage,  and  acts  as  he  is  described.  The  son  of  per- 
dition— One  who  brings  destruction  upon  others, 
both  spiritual  and  temporal,  (Rev.  xvii.  2, 6,)  and  is 
devoted  to  destruction  himself,  verse  9.  Thus  the 
Papacy  has  caused  the  death  of  numberless  multi- 
tudes both  of  opposers  and  followers,  has  destroyed 
innumerable  souls,  and  will  itself  go  to  destruction. 
The  sonofperdition  is  also  the  denomination  of  the 
traitor  Judas,  (John  xvii.  12,)  which  implies  that  the 
man  of  sin  should,  like  Judas,  be  a  false  prophet, 
1  should  betray  Christ,  and  be  devoted  to  destruction* 

4m 


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IL  THEWALONIANS. 


manfi/ain  vnU  be  revealeJL' 


A.  M.  4056.    5  Remember  ye  noL  that  when  I 

A.  D  54. 

'        was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  these 
thiogs? 


^  Or,  hcUelk. 


Who  oppoaethr-^Or  ^mU  oppoae^  (tlie  prophets  ^>eak- 
ing  of  things  fatare  as  present)  and  exalt  himaelf 
above  all — Greek,  ein  irovra,  above  every  one,  that  U 
caUed  G^od— This  is  manif^y  copied^h)ni  Daniel ; 
He  ahall  exalt  and  inagntfy  himaelf  above  every  god, 
and  apeak  marvelUma  thinga^  againat  the  Ood  of 
goda.  Or  that  ia  worahipped^Ee6a<Tfia,  alluding  to 
the  title  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  cre^of ,  auguat,  or 
venerable.  He  dhall  oppose  and  exalt  himself,  not 
only  above  inferior  magistrates,  who  are  sometimes 
called  goda  in  holy  writ,  but  even  above  the  greatest 
emperors,  and  shall  arrogate  to  himself  divine  ho- 
nours 'y  ao  that  lie,  aa  Ood — Assuming  the  authority 
of  Christ ;  aitteth  in  the  temple  of  G^o{^— Exercises 
supreme  and  sovereign  power  over  the  visible  church, 
as  head  thereof,  even  over^  that  profess  Christian- 
ity. By  the  temple  of  God,  the  apostle  could'  not 
well  mean  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  because  he  knew 
very  well  that  would  be  totally  destroyed  within  a 
few  years.  It  is  an  observation  of  the  learned  Bo- 
chart,  that  after  the  death  of  Christ  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  is  never  called  by  the  apostles  the  temple 
of  God;  and  that  when  they  mention  the  house  or 
temple  of  God,  they  mean  the  Chriatiati  Church  in 
general,  or  every  particular  believer ;  which  indeed 
is  very  evident  from  many  passages  in  their  epistles : 
see  1  Tim.  iii.  16 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  19;  2  Cor.  vi.  16 ;  Eph. 
ii.  19-24 ;  1  Pet.  it  5.  Besides,  in  the  Revelation  by 
St  John,  which  was  written  some  years  lifter  the 
destruction  of  Jeiiisalem,  there  is  mention  made  of 
men^s  becoming  pillars  in  the  temple  of  God,  (Rev. 
ili.  12,)  which  is  a  further  proof  that  the  sitting  of 
the  man  of  sin  in  the  temple  of  God,  by  no  means 
implies  that  he  was  to  appear  In  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem. In  short,  the  meaning  of  the  verse  is,  that 
the  wicked  teachers,  of  whom  the  apostle  speaks, 
would  first  oppose  Christ  by  corrupting  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel  concerning  him,  and  after  that  they 
would  make  void  the  government  of  God  and  of 
Christ  in  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  government 
of  the  civil  magistrate  in  the  state,^by  arrogating  to 
themselves  the  whole  spiritual  authority  which  be- 
longs to  Christ,  and  all  the  temporal  authority  be- 
longing to  princes  and  magistrates ;  ahowing  himaelf 
thai  he  ia  Ood — Exercising  all  the  prerogatives  of 
God,  accepting  such  titles,  and  doing  such  things,  as, 
if  they  indeed  belonged  to  him,  would  show  him  to 
be  God :  an  exa^t  description  certainly  of  the  Papal 
power. 

Verses  5, 6.  Remember  ye  not^  &c.— These  things 
were  not  asserted  now  merely  to  serve  the  present 
occasion :  the  apostle  had  spoken,  yea,  and  borne  a 
faithful  testimony  concerning  them  while  he  was  at 
Thessalonica.  Indeed,  the  rise  and  progress  of  this 
apostacy,  with  the  various  heresies  connected  with 
It,  and  the  evils  which  were  about  to  be  occasioned 
by  it,  were  matters  of  such  offence  and  scandal,  that 
410 


6  And  now  ye  know  what  ^withhold- A.  H.  406a 
eththat  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time. '- — 

7  For  ^  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  akeady 

klJdhnii.  18;  ir.  3. 

irnleBB  the  disetj^es  had  been  fore wariied  eoneeminf 
them,  their  happening  might  have  led  the  weak  to 
fSuicy  that  God  had  cast  away  all  care  of  his  ehurcfa. 
The  apostle,  knowing  this,  made  the  prediction  of 
these  events  the  subject  even  of  his  first  sermons  to 
the  Thessalonians,  after  they  had  embraced  the  gos- 
pel ;  and  doubtless  he  followed  the  same  course  in 
all  other  places  where  he  preached  with  any  degree 
of  success.  See  1  Tim.  iv.  6.  Beza  observes  that 
this  prophecy  was  often  repeated  and  earnestly  in- 
culcated in  the  first  age,  but  is  overlooked  and  neg- 
lected in  mlodem  times.  And  now  ye  kwyw — ^By 
what  I  told  you  when  I  was  with  you ;  what  with- 
;iol(2e^^— Restrainefh  the  man  of  sin  from  exercising 
his  impious  tyranny.  It  seems  the  apostle,  when  at 
Thessalonica,  l>esides  speaking  of  die  apostacy  and 
of  the  man  of  sin,  had  told  them  what  it  was  that 
hindered  his  appearance.  But  as  he  has  not  thought 
fit  to  commit  that  discovery  to  writing,  we  cannot 
determine  with  absolute  certainty  what  it  was ;  but 
if  we  may  rely  upon  the  concurrent  testimonies  of 
the  Christian  fathers,  it  was  the  Roman  ernph^.  In- 
deed, the  caution  which  the  apostle  observes  with 
respect  to  speaking  of  it,  renders  it  highly  probata 
that  it  was  somewhat  relating  to  the  higher  powers. 
He  mentioned  it  in  discourse,  but  would  not  commit 
it  to  writing.  As  he  afterward  exhorts  the  Thessa- 
lonians to  hold  the  traditions  which  had  been  taught 
them,  whether  by  word  or  his  epistle,  it  is  likely  this 
was  one  of  the  traditions  which  he  thought  it  proper 
to  teach  them.  The  apostle^s  manner  of  speaking 
here,  (that  he  might  be  revealed  in  hia  time,  or  in  hia 
own  aeaaon,  as  ev  rw  eavn  Ktupo  properly  signifies,) 
seems  to  imply  that  there  were  reasons  for  permit- 
ting the  corruptions  of  Christianity  to  proceed  to  a 
certain  length.  "Now  what  could  these  reasons  be, 
unless  to  show  mankind  the  danger  Of  admitting  any 
thing  i^  religion  but  what  is  of  divine  appointment? 
For  one  error  productive  of  superstition  admitted, 
naturally  leads  to  others,  till  at  length  religion  Is  ut- 
terly deformed.  Perhaps  also  these  evils  were  per- 
mitted, that  in  the  natural  course  of  human  afibirs, 
Christianity  being  first  corrupted  and  then  purged, 
the  truth  might  be  so  cleariy  established,  as  to  be  in 
no  danger  of  any  Corruption  in  time  to  come." — ^Mac- 
knight. 

Verse  7.  For  the  myatery  of  iniquity — There  is  a 
mystery  of  iniquity  as  well  as  of  godlirtess,  the  one 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  other.  The  expression, 
a  myatery,  in  the  Scripture  Sense  of  it,  is  something 
secret  or  undiscovered.  See  note  on  Eph.  i.  9.  The 
myatery  of  iniquity,  therefore,  is  a  scheme  of  error, 
not  openly  discovered,  whose  infiucnce  is  to  encour- 
age iniquity.  Doth  already  work^Evepyeirai,  irorfr- 
eth  inwardly,  in  men's  minds,  or  in  the  church,  and 
perhaps  also  secretly.  The  seeds  of  corruption 
were  sown,  but  they  were  not  yet  grown  up  to  any 

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OHAPTBR  n. 


be  dutroyed  at  his  coming. 


A. U.40SS.  work :  only  he  who  now  lettelh  t^t/f 

: — L  Uij  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way. 

8  And  then  shall  that  "Vncked  be  revealed, 


lDtt.¥u,  10^  U. "^Jobir.  9;  Inuxuf;  Hfm.ji,5; 


matority:  the  leaven  was  fermenting  in  some 
parta^  but  it  was  for  from  having  yet  infeeted  the 
whole  mass.  TV>  speak  without  a  fignve,  the  apostle 
means  that-the  feiae  doctriiMs  and  bed  practices, 
whidi  he  foresaw  in  alter  timee  would  be  carried  to 
a  great  height  by  the  power  which  he  d^iominates 
Uie  man  ofstn,  were  already  operating  jn  the  false 
tei^chers,  who  then-viniested  the  church.  Accord- 
ingly, in  his  speedi  to  the  elders  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus,  not  long  after  this  epistle  was  written,  he 
told  them,  (Acts  xx.  20,)  that  grievous  woh^s  would 
enter  in  among  ihem^  not  sparing  the  flock ;  and 
that  of  themselves  men  would  arise  speaking  per- 
verse ihingSy  Ac.  And  before  he  wrote  his  ^ii^e 
to  the  Colossians,  folse  teachers  had  actually  arisen 
in  Phrygia,  who  earnestly  recommended  the  wor- 
ship of  angels^  (GoL  ii.  18^)  abstinence  from  certain 
meats,  and  various  bodily  mortifiiaitiiHia,  (Col.  iL  21, 
22^)  according  to  the  trsditions  and  doctrines  of  men. 
For  the  apostle  wrote  that  epistle  expressly  for  the 
purpose  of  condemning  these  idolatries  and  super- 
stitious practices.  1*0  these  things  may  be  added 
an  excess  of  reverence  lor  pastors,  and  setting,  them 
up  as  heads  of  factions,  1  (>>r.  i.  12;  iii.  22;  &e  am- 
bition of  pastors  themselves,  and  contending  for  rule 
and  precedence,  3  John  9;  errors  in  point  of  doc- 
.trine  already  promulgated,  as  justification  by  the 
merit  of  works,  GaL  il  16;  external  perf(Mrmances 
put  in  the  room  of  faith  and  love;  the  having  re- 
course to  other  mediators  besides  Christ  Jesus,  and 
various  human  inventions  added  to  the  written 
word.  Only  he  who  now  leUeth^Thni  is,  restratn- 
eth,  will  restrain,  &c.  Chandler  thinks  this  verse 
should  be  translated  thus:  The  mystery  of  iniquity 
already  worketh^  only  untU  he  who  restrains  it.be 
taken  out  oftheway;  tliat  is,  it  works  in  a  conceal- 
ed manner  only  untU  then.  The  resti'aining  here 
spoken  of  refers  to  the-mystery  of  iniquity,  as  the 
restraining,  mentioned  verse  6,  refers  to  the  man  oi 
sin.  These  were  connected  together,  and  were  re- 
stnined  by  somethings  which  the  apostle  had  men- 
tioned to  the  ThesMdonians,  in  his  sermons  and 
conversations,  but  which  he  did  not  choose  to 
express  in  writing.  This,  as  was  observed  on  verse 
6,  was  generally  understood  by  the  fathers  to  be  the 
Roman  emperors  and  empire,  as  it  is  plain  from 
TertuUian,  who  says,  {ApoL,  p.  31,)  ''  We  Christians 
are  under  a  particular  necessity  of  praying  for  the 
emperors,  and  for  the  continued  state  of  the  empire ; 
because  we  know  that  dreadful  power  which  hangs 
over  the  whole  W(»rld,  is  retarded  by  the  conthiuance 
of  the  time  appointed  for  the  Roman  empire."  *'To 
this  conjecture,''  says  Macknight,  "  the  lathers  may 
have  been  led  by  tradition,  or  they  may  have  form- 
ed it  upon  Daniel's  prophecies.  But,  in  whatever 
way  they  obtained  the  notion,  it  seems  to  havebe^i 
tbe  truth.  For  the  power  of  the  emperors  and  of 
b 


^wh(nn the LcMrdshaU consume  ''with  a.  m.  4068. 
the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  de-    ^'^^ 
stroy  *  with  the  br^htness  of  his  coming : 


Rar.  ii  IS;  six.  IS,  SO,  8L •Ch^.  i.  8^0 ;  Heb.  x.  27. 


the  magistrates  under  them,  first  m  the  heathen  state 
of  the  empire,  and  afterward  when  the  empire  be- 
came Christian,  was  that  which  restrained  the  man 
of  sin,  or  ccnrrupt  clergy,  from  exiting  themselves 
above  all  that  is  caDed  God,  or  an  object  of  wor^ip 
civil  and  religious."  The  teader  must  observe,  the 
Roman  empire,  united  under  one  powerftd  head, 
was  extremely  jealous  of  every  other  autherity  and 
power,  and  therefore  was  watchful  to  prevent  the 
establishment  of  every  such  spiritual  tyranny  and 
usurpation  as  that  by  which  SiBttan  was  attempting 
to  make  his  grand  effort  against  Christianity.  It 
must  be  observed,  however,  that  though  the  Roman 
empire,  for  several  ages^  restrained  the  progress  of 
the  mystery  of  iniquity,  and  tbe  increase  of  the  pow- 
er of  Uie  corrupt  clergy,  by  keeping  the  church  un- 
der persecution,  and  curbing  all  authority  but  its 
own,  and  therd>y  retarded  the  establishment  of  the 
ecdesiastical  tyranny  here  spoken  of;  yet,  as  Mr. 
Scott  remarks,  ''  the  conversion  of  the  Roman  em- 
perors to  Christianity,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century,  tended  greatly  to  prepare  things  for  this 
epostacy,  by  giving  scope  to  the!  ambition  and  ava- 
rice of  the  ecclesiastics,  and  by  multiplying  exceed- 
ingly merely  nominal  Christians ;  but  it  was  nbt  till 
tbe  subversion  of  the  western  empire  by  the  northern 
nations,  and  the  division  of  it  into  ten  kingdoms,  that 
way  was  made  for  the  full  establishment  of  the  Papal 
usurpation  at  Rome,  the  capital  city  pf  the  empire." 
Verse  8.  And  <^i«n— When  every  prince  and  pow- 
er that  restrains  is  taken  away;  that  wicked—O 
Of  o^vpc,  thai  lawless  one,  who  boasts  himself  to  be 
above  aU  laws,  and  the  infallible  judge,  dispensing 
with,  and  interpreting  the  laws  of  Ood,  according  to 
his  pleasure.  Nothing  can  be  more  plain  than  that 
this  wicked  or  lawless  one,  and  ^e  man  of  sin,  must 
be  one  and  the  same  person :  shall  be  revealed — 
This  revelation  must  mean  that  he  would  then  no 
longer  work  secretly,  but  would  openly  show  him- 
s^,  possessing  the  character,  and  performing  the 
actions  ascribed  to  the  man  of  sin.  WJiom  the  Lord 
shaU  conswne^The  apostle  does  not  mean  that  he 
should  be  consumed  immediately  after  he  was  reveal- 
ed ;  but,  to  comfort  the  Thessalonians,  he  no  sooner 
mentions  his  revelation,  than  he  foretels  also  his 
destruction,  even  before  he  describes  his  ^  other 
qualifications ;  which  qualifications  should  have 
been  descrft>ed  first  in  order  of  time,  but  the  apostle 
hastens4o  what  was  first  and  warmest  in  his  thoughts 
and  wishes.  The  word  avaXucet,  here  rendered  to 
consume,  Chandler  observes,  is  used  to  denote  a  lin- 
gering, gradual  consumption ;  being  applied  to  the 
waste  of  time,  to  the  dismpation  of  an  estate,  and  the 
slow  death  of  being  eaten  up  of  worms.  He  suppo- 
ses it  has  the  same  meaning  here,  importing  that  the 
man  of  sin  is  to  be  gradually  destroyed  by  thespiW* 
--Or  breath  rather,  as  it  seems  w€vum  should  have 
411 


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U.  THBflBAIiONIAXa 


eomuining  AMckrUiL 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.  54. 


9  Even   him^   wtioee   coming  is 
''after  the  working  of  Satan,  with 
all  power,  and  ^  signs,  and  lying  wonderB, 
10  And   with    all    deceivabl^Mes    of  im- 


»JoimTiii*41;  Eph.  iL  2 ;  ^er.  zniL  2a.- — p  Dent  aii  1 ; 


righttfouanesB   in  "^  them    chat 
lish ;    b6cau0e   thejr  received 


been  here  translated;  of  ChrisVa  mouth— -Bj  whidi 
ejqpression  the  preaching  of  tme  doctrine,  and  its 
efficacy  in  destroying  the  man  of  sin,  lore  predicted. 
For  themouih  being  the  instrument  by  which  speech 
is  formed  of  breath,  or  air  from  the  laagB,ihe  breath 
of  his  mouth  is  a  proper  figurative  expression  to  de- 
note ib0  speaking  or  preaching  of  true  doctrine. 
Accordingly,  the  preaching  of  the  gosp^  is  termed, 
(Rev.  zix.  15,)  a  sharp  sitord  proeesdmg  out  of 
iliemouthof  Christ;  and  (Hos.  vL  5)  God  says, / 
have  hewed  them  bf  the  prophets,  I  have  slain  them 
hjf  the  word  ofmf  mouth.  See  also  Isa.  xi.  4.  Or, 
the  expression  may  include  both  the  preachhig  of 
the  gospel  and  tiie  power  of  the  Spirit  aecompany- 
ing  it ;  and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his 
coming—By  clear,  convincing  reasons  and  argu- 
ments contained  in  the  doctrine  of  those  that  lAudl 
speak  or  write  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  or  by  God's 
manifest  judgments  against  him  in  the  pouring  out 
of  the  several  vials,  Bev.  xvL  The  original  expres- 
sion, 9vt^eia  TtK  napuffiac  owm,  is,  literally,  the  bright 
shining  of  his  coming,  and  means  that,  as  darkness 
is  dispelled  by  the  rising  of  the  sun,  so  the  mystery 
of  iniquity  shall  be  destroyed  by  the  lustre  wiUi 
which  Christ  will  causa  the  true  dbctrine  of  the  gos- 
pel to  shine.  "  If,"  says  Dr.  Benson,  .'^St.  John  and 
St.  Paul  have  prophesied  of  the  same  corruptions,  it 
should  seem  that  the  head  of  the  apostacy  will  be 
destroyed  by  some  signal  judgment,  after  its  influ- 
ence or  dominion  hath,  in  a  gradual  manner,  been 
destroyed  by  the  force  of  truUi.''  According  to 
Daniel,  (chap.  Tii.  S7,)  after  the  little  horn  is  eofi- 
sumed  and  destroyed,  the  kingdom,  and  dominion, 
and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whol^ 
heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High;  a  prediction  whiim  undoid)Cediy 
signifies  the  general  conversion  of  both  Gentiles 
nod  Jews  to  the  Christian  fatth,  «nd  the  universal 
reign  of  righteousness  and  peace  through  all  the 
earth. 

Verses  9, 10.  Sim  whose  coming — The  apostle,  in 
his  eagerness  to  foretel  the  destruction  of  the  man 
of  sin,  having  broken  in  upon  his  subject,  now  re- 
turns to  it  ^in,  and  describes  the  other  qualifica- 
tions by  which  this  wicked  one  should  advance  and 
estabUah  himself  in  the  world.  He  should  rise,  the 
apostle  signifies,  to  credit  and  authority  by  the  most 
diabolical  methods ;  should  pretend  to  supernatural 
powers,  and  boast  of  revelatipns,  visions,  and  mira- 
cles, false  in  themselves,  and  applied  to  promote 
ialse  doctrines.  The  expression,  toXo^eeomtn^,  here 
signifies  the  first  appearance  of  this  lawless  one  in 
an  open  manner.  The  ifi^ery  p/ tnii7ut<y  wrought 
covertly  in  the  apostles'  dajrs ;  and  the  man  of  sin 
was  not  to  show  himself  openly,  till  that  which  re- 
stramed  was  ti^en  oat  of  the  way.  His  oomi^ 
4» 


pe-  AM. 400a 


fht  ^kfft  of  the  troth,  that  they  m^fat  be 
saved* 


Matt  zur.  SI ;  Her.  xiiL  13 ;  ziz.  21.- 


iSCor.iLlS;  \t,X 


therefore,  or  his  beginning  to  reveal  fainie^  was  lo 
h^[>pen  after  the  empae  l>eoame  CQiristian,  aed  lo 
take  plaee  in  the  manner  desciiiMd  in  the  fbUowini^ 
dause.  After  the  working  of  iSbtaar-'Wbose  first 
s^tmg  up,  and  further  hioreasing  of  his  power,  is  by 
Satan's  iaflueaee^  or  with  such  a  kind  of  working 
as  Satan  is  wont  to  use  wherewith  to  seduce  per* 
sons;  imth  ail  fx>i0tfr— Pretended  power  from  God; 
and  nftif^Fictitious  or  false  signs,  namdy,  not 
such  as  are  fit  to  prove  the  ^ruth  of  the  doctrines 
which  they  ai«  brought  to  eoatrm,  hut  are  mere  im- 
postures and  fi>rgeries;  and  kfing  wondcrs-SuA 
illmons  and  deeeptions  as  were  effected  by  Ae  pow- 
er of  Satan,  to  confirm  the  doctrines  and  dominion 
of  Antichrist,  and  were  calculated  to  cause  wonder 
m  the  beholders.  Macknight  reads  this  daase,  wd4 
aU  power,  and  signs,  4»nd  miracles  of  falsehood, 
judging  the  structure  of  the  sentence  requures  that 
ifeviec,  of  falsehood,  be  joined  nOt  only  with  wonders, 
€fr  mirades,  hat  vriXh  power  and  signs,  Andinex- 
plication  of  the  terms  he  observes,  that  they  are 
either  signs,  mirades,  and  exertions  of  power,  per- 
formed in  appearance  only;  m«re  hnpositions  upon 
Hm  senses  t>f  mankind;  or  they  are  real  signs  and 
mirades  performed  for  the  est^lidunent  of  error ; 
and  consequently  they  are  the  woiks  of  otII  iphits. 
Of  this  sort  the  miracles  performed  by  Fhara<^^ 
magicians  may  haye  been;  also  some  of  the  miracles 
related  by  heathen  hlstor^ns.  For  the  apostle  IntI* 
mates  that  by  some  ktiid  of  mirade,  or  strong  work* 
Ing,  which  had  the  appearance  of  mirades  in  the 
eyes  of  the  vulgar,  Satan  established  idola^  in  the 
heaven  world.  Nay,  our  Lord  himself  foretels  that 
ftdse  Christs  and  false  prophets  woutd^show  great 
signs  and  wonders,  insonUtch  that  if  it  ^ere possible 
they  would  deceive  the  very  elecL  Wherefore,  see* 
ing  the  coming  of  the  man  of  sin  was  to  be  after  ths 
working  of  Saltan,  with  aU  power,  ite^  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  some  of  the  miradei^  by  which  the 
corruptions  of  Christianity  were  faitroduced,  may 
have  be«i  real  miracles  perfomed  by  evil  spiiitsi, 
called  here  miracles  of  ^Isehood,  becanse  they  were 
done  for  the  establishm^t  of  error:  see  Her.  xiiL 
19, 14^  where  the  same  events  seem  to  be  foretold, 
iniisdescriptionof  the  wicked  or  lawless  one,  plainly 
evinces  that  Mohammed  cannot  be  the  man  of  sin, 
as  some  pretend.  For,  instead  of  working  miraclei^ 
he  utterly  disdahned  all  pretensions  of  that  inirt.  In 
like  manner,  and  for  the  same  reason,  Ae  man  of  sin 
cannot  be  the  ItM^ous  leaders  of  the  Jews  In  their  re- 
volt from  the  Romans,  as  Le  ClerC  and  Whitby  have 
efilrmed ;  nor  any  of  the  heathen  Roman  emperorsi 
as  others  have  Imagined.  Besides,  although  thesa 
emperors  exalted  themsdves  above  all  other  kings 
and  princes,  and  opposed  Christ  very  much,  they 
did  not  apoi^alise  from  the  Christian  fiu^  nor  sit  in 


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wUl  he  ghm  up  to  ttrong  dehuion$. 


A.M.4IM.    11  And  'for  Ihar  cause  Ood  shall 
^^'^    send  thepn  strong  delusioD,' that  they 
4ioQld  beKeve  a  lie : 


'Bom.  i.S4,^M.;  I Kiags zjtiL  23 ;  Emtk.^r.9,    ^ 

the  temple  of  God*  WUh  aU  deceivdbkneMM  rf  wur 
riffhteoutness^Or  qvery  unrighteous  deceit,  (the 
phrase  being  a  Hebraism.)  The  apostle  means 
those  feigned  visions  and  rerelations,  and  other 
pious  frauds,  by  which  the  corrupt  clergy  gained 
<»redit  to  their  impious  doctrines  and  practices.  In 
them  ^ai^periik^Who  are  in  the  highway  to  eter- 
nal destruction}  because  they  received  not  the  love 
of  the  tntth—The  cause  this  why  God  suffered  them 
to  fidl  into  such  destructive  errors. 

Verses  1 1, 12;  For  this  cause  Ood  shall  send  them 
^That  is,  shall  judicially  permit  to  come  upon 
them;  strong delusion'-The  strong  working  of  er- 
ror in  their  hearts.  From  this  we  learn  that,  as  a 
punishment  of  their  sins,  God  suffers  wicked  men  to 
hSi  into  greater  sins^-and  as  the  sin  of  the  persons 
described  in  this  passage  consisted  in  their  not  lov- 
mg  the  truth,  what  could  be  more  just  or  proper 
than  to  punisdi  them,  by  suffering  them  to  fall  into 
the  belief  of  the  greatest  errors  and  lies  ?  Thus  the 
heathen,  mentioned  Rom.  i.  24,  were  punished  by 
God's  giving  them  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the 
lusts^  of  their  own,  hearte  ;  that  they  should  believe  a 
lie — Or,  as  the  words  etf  to  m^eveai^orsc  m  ipevSet  may 
be  translated,  so  that  they  will  believe  a  He.  The 
lie  here  intended  by  the  Spirit  of  Ck>d,  Macknight 
thinks,  ^  is  the  monstrous  lie  of  transubstantiation, 
or  of  the  conversion  of  the  bread  and  wine  in  the 
Lord's  supper  into  the  real  identical  body  ahd  blood 
of  Christ,  Uirough  the  will  of  the  priest  accompany- 
ing his  pronouncing  the  words  of  institution ;  not- 
withstanding there  is  no  change  whatever  produced 
in  the  accidents  or  sensible  qualities  of  these  sub- 
stances. This  impudent  fiction  is  not  only  a  palpable 
contradiction  to  the  senses  and  reason  of  mankind, 
but  a  most  pernicious  falsehood,  being  the  chief 
foundation  of  that  fictitious  power  of  pardoning  sin, 
and  of  saving  or  damning  men  according  to  their 
own  pleasure,  which  the  Romish  ecclesiastics  have 
olasphemously  arrogated  to  themselves,  and  by 
which  they  make  men  utterly  negligent  of  holiness, 
and  of  all  the  ordinary  duties  of  life."  TViat  they 
aU  might  be  damned — Iva  npi^otn^  might  be  judged^ 
or  condemned;  that  is,  the  consequence  of  which 
will  be,  that,  having  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  in- 
iquity, they  will  at  length  fall  into  just  condemna- 
tion; who  believed  not  the  frt^fV— Received  not  the 
gospel  hi  faith,  love,  and  obedience ;  but  had  plea- 
ture  in  unrighteousness — In  corrupt  passions  and 
vicious  practices.  The  original  expression,  evdoKti- 
Toprec  signifies  both  to  take  pleasure  in  a  thing,  and 
%o  approve  of  it.  ^*  From  this  we  learn  that  it  is  not 
the  simple  ignorance  of  truth  which  exposes  men  to 
damnation.  In  many  cases  this  may  be  no  fault  in 
the  ignorant.  But  it  is  men's  refusing  to  believe, 
through  their  taking  pleasure  in  unrighteousness, 
which  will  prove  fatal  to  them;  for  a  disposition  of 
b 


19  That  tbey  all  might  be  damned  h.  M.  408S. 
who  bdieved  not  the  truth,  but  *  had  ^'  ^'  ^' 
pleasure  in  unrighteousness. 


•Hfttt  »xiv.  «>  11 ;   1  Ti0L  iv.  1. » Roar.  i. ». 


that  scNTt  renders  the  widked  altogether  incurable.'* 
Such  is  the  interpretation  which  Bishop  Newton, 
in  his  admirable  work  on  the  Prophecies,  Dr.  Mac- 
knight, and  many  other  approved  commentators, 
have  given  of  this  famous  prophecy ;  an  interprets- 
ttmi  which  applies  with  great  ease  to  all  the  faets  ai^d 
chcumstances  mentioned  in  it,  and  is  perfectly  con* 
sistent  in  all  its  parts,  which  no  other  interpretation 
invented  by  learned  men  can  be  shown  to  be.  The 
pasNsage  is  evidently  a  prediction,  as  the  above-men- 
tioned divines  have  ftifiy  proved,  of  the  corruptions 
of  Christianity,  "  which  began  to  be  introduced  into 
the  church  in  the  apostle's  days,  and  wrought  se- 
cretly aH  the  time  the  heathen  magistrates  perse- 
cuted the  Christians,  but  which  showed  themselves 
more  openly  after  the  empire  received  the  foith  of 
Christ,  A.  D.  812,  and  by  a  gradual  progress  ended 
in  the  monstrous  errors  and  usurpations  of  the  bish- 
ops of  Rome,  when  the  restraining  power  of  the  em- 
perors was  taken  out  of  the  way,  by  the  incursions 
of  the  barbarous  nations,  and  the  breaking  of  the  em- 
pire into  the  ten  kingdoms  prefigured  by  the  ten 
horns  of  Daniel's  fourth  beast."  To  be  convinced 
of  this,  the  reader  need  only  compare  the.  rise  and 
progress  of  the  Papal  tyranny  with  the  descriptions 
of  the  man  of  sin^  and  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity 
here  given,  and  with  the  prophecies  of  Daniel.  In 
the  bishops  of  Rome  all  the  characters  and  actions 
ascribed  by  Daniel  to  the  little  hom^  and  by  Paul  to 
the  lawless  one^  are  clearly  united.  "  For,  according 
to  the  strong  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power  and 
signs,  and  miracles  of  falsehood,  they  have  opposed 
Christ,  and  exalted  themselves  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  an  object  of  worship;  and  have  long  sat  in 
the  temple  of  6od  as  God,  showing  themselves  that 
they  are  God ;  that  is,  they  exercise  the  power  and 
prerogatives  of  God.  And  seeing,  in  the  acquisi- 
tion and  exercise  of  their  spiritual  tyranny,  they 
have  trampled  upon  all  laws,  human  and  divuie,and 
have  encouraged  their  votaries  in  the  most  enormous 
acts  of  wickedness,  the  Spurit  of  God  hath,  with  the 
greatest  propriety,  given  them  the  appellations  of 
the  man  of  sin,  the  son  of  perdition,  and  the  lawless 
one.  Further,  as  it  is  said  that  the  man  of  sin  was 
to  be  revealed  in  his  season,  there  can  belittle  doubt 
that  the  dark  ages,  in  which  all  learning  was  over- 
turned  by  the  irruption  of  the  northern  barbarians, 
were  the  season  allotted  to  the  man  of  sin  for  reveal- 
ing himself.  Accordingly  we  know  that  in  these 
ages  the  corruptions  of  Christianity,  and  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  clergy,  were  carried  to  tfie  greatest 
height  In  short,  the  annals  of  the  world  cannot 
produce  persons  and  events,  to  which  the  things 
written  in  this  passage  can  be  applied  with  so  much 
fitness,  as  to  the  bishops  of  Rome.  Why  then  should 
we  be  in  any  doubt  concerning  the  interpretation  and 
application  of  this  famous  prophecy  ?"— Macknight, 
413 


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Ejchortation  to  HeadfcutneBi^  arid       II.  THE8SAL0NIANS.       prccjftr  for  etiabliikmeiU  in  grace. 


A.H. 4058.    13  But  '■we   are   bound   to  giye 

'. thanks  always  to  God  for  you,  l»e- 

thren  beloved  of  the  Lord,  because  God  '  hath 
y  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation, 
'  through  sanctificadonof  the  Spirit,  and  belief 
c{  the  truth : 

14  Whereunto  he  cdled  you  by  our  gospel, 
to  *  the  obtaining  of  the  glory  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 


«Chap.  i.  3. «.l  Thets.  i.  4. rEph.  i.  4. *Luke 

L  75 ;  1  Pet  i.  2. »  John  xtu.  22 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  12 ;  1  Pet.  t. 

10. *  1  Cor.  xtL  13 ;  PWl.  ir.  1. 


Verses  13,  14.  But^  &c, — jHere  he  proceeds  to 
eoinfort  them  against  the  terrors  of  the  preceding 
prophecy  J  we  are  bound  to  give  thanks  always  for 
you — As  if  he  had  said,  I  do  not  mean  that  ye  be- 
lievers at  Thessalonica  will  be  concerned  either  in 
this  revolt  against  God,  or  in  the  punishment  there- 
of j  brethren^  beloved  of  the  Z#or<^Bretbren  in 
Christ  through  your  believing  in  him,  and  there- 
fore peculiarly  beloved  of  Qod',  because  God  halh 
fram  the  beginning — Of  your  hearing  and  obeying 
the  go^ei ;  cTiosen  you  to  salvaium — Hath  pardoned, 
accepted,  and  made  you  his  chosen  people  and  dear 
children,  as  he  hath  all  who,  hearkening  to  the  call 
of  his  word,  truly  turn  to  him  in  repentance,  faith, 
and  new  obedience;  through  sanctijkation  ef  the 
Spirit — Through  that  renovation  of  mind  and  heart, 
and  reformation  of  life,  which  is  the  fruit  jof  the 
Holy  Spirit's  influences ;  and  belief  of  the  truth — By 
the  instrumentality  of  which  the  Spirit  works  that 
important  change  in  mankind.  Whereu7ito — To 
which  belief  of  the  truth,  and  sat^ctification  of  the 
Spirit,  or  to  which  faith  and  hdWneas'fJi^  called  you 
by  our  gospel^And  inclined  and  enabled  you  to 
obey  the  call  5  to  the  obtaining  of  the  glory  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  CArw/-r-The  glory  which  he  hath,  1st, 
Purchased,  Eph.  i.  14;  2d,  Promised,  John  x.  28; 
3d,  Prayed  for,  John  xvii.  14;  4th,  Prepwred,  and 
will  bestow,  John  xiv.  2,  8 :  the  very  same  glory 
which  Christ  himself  now  possesses,  Rom.  viii.  17; 
Rev.  iii.  21. 

Verses  15-17.  Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast — 
In  your  adherence  to  the  truth  and  possession  of  the 
tgrace  of  the  gospel;  and  AoW— Without  adding  to 
or  diminishmg  from  them ;  the  traditions  which  ye 
Juzvebeentaught^-The  instructions  which  have  been 
delivered  to  you ;  whether  by  worrf— When  we  were 
present  with  you ;  or  our  former  epistle— He  preach- 
ed to  them  before  he  wrote,  and  he  had  written  con- 
•eeming  the  things  which  he  wished  them  to  hold 
414 


16  Therefore,  brethrea,  *^  stand  feat,  A.  J^<o» 

and  hold®  the  traditions  which  ye  have _ 

been  taught,  whether  by  word,  or  our  epistle. 

16  ^  Now  our  Lord  Jesi:»  Christ  himseli^  and 
God,  even  our  Father,  *  which  hath  loved  us, 
and  hath  given  us  everlasting  consolaUon  and 
'good  hope  through  grace^ 

17  Comfort  yoiur  hearts,  'and  stablish  you 
in  every  good  word  and  work.  ^ 


« 1  Cor.  xi.  2;  Chup.  iu,  6.— 
iv.  10;  ReT.  i.  6.— r-f  1  Pet.  i.  a.- 
13;  lPet.v.  10. 


*C1hw.  i.  1,  a.-^ — •  1  John 
-s  I  Cor.4.  Q ;  1  Thais,  iii. 


fast  in  his  former  epistle.  The  name  tradiiions  is 
here  given  by  the  apostle  *'to  the  doottines  and  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel,  <m  a  double  account ;  first,  be- 
cause they  were  delivered  by  Christ  and  by  the  Spirit 
to  the  apostles,  mterely  on  the  authority  of  revela- 
tiQu;  and,  secondly,  because  the  apostles  delivered 
them  to  the  world  on  the  same  authority,  without 
attempting  to  prove  tiiem  by  auy  other  argument 
And  this  precept,  hold  the  traditions^  applies  to  no 
instructions  or  directions  but  those  which  the  apos- 
tles and '  o^r  inspired  teachers  ddivered  to  the 
w(»rld  as  revelations  from  God.  And  though  the 
inspired  teachers,  to  whom  these  doctrines  were  re- 
vecded,  communicated  them  to  the  world  first  of  all 
by  word  of  mouth,  they  cannot  now  be  known  to  be 
theirs,  bytby  their  holding  a  place  in  those  writings 
which  are  dlowed  to  be  the  genuine  productions  of 
these  inspired  teachers.  The  traditions,  therefore, 
on  which  the  Church  of  Rome  lays  so  great  a  stress, 
are  of  no  manner  of  value.^'  Now  mut  Lord  Jesm 
Christ  and  God  our  JPo^Aer— Here  again,  as  in 
1  Epist  iii.  11,  prayer  is  addressed  by  the  apostle  to 
Christ  as  well  as  to  the  Father,  and  in  the  same 
words;  who  hath  laved  us—Ab9,  father  loves  his 
children ;  and  hath  given  us  enerlastiTig  €onsol€Uum 
— Hath  opened  to  us  the  sources  thereof  in  his  gos- 
pel, or  furnished  us  with  the  means  of  it;  and  of 
good  ^e— That  is,  a  well-grounded  hope,  namely, 
of  the  glorification  of  both  our  bodies  and  souls; 
through  grace— laiy  Justifying  us,  and  entitling  us 
to  that  felicity;  2d,  Sanctify  mg  us,  and  preparing  us 
for  it;  and,  3d,  Strengthening  us,  and  enabling  us  to 
withstand  our  spiritual  enemies,  and  do  and  suffer  the 
v/ai  of  God  to  the  end,  and  thereby  Imngipg  us  to  it. 
Comfort  your  Aearte— Under  aU  the  aflftictions  you 
endure  for  the  gospel;  and  establish  you  in  every 
good  iDorda9uiioor&— Thati8,iaeverygoo4doctrine 
and  practice,  in  opposition  to  all  the  efforts  of  your 
enemies  to  seduce  you,  whether  visible  or  invisible. 

b 


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Tht  apostle  requetU  theprayen 


CHAPTER  m. 


ofihe  Thessahnian  believers. 


ing  yoQ,  tbat  ye  both  do  and  will  do  a.  m.  405a 
the  things  which  we  command  you.    lill 

6  And  '  the  Lord  direct  your  hearts  into  the 
love  of  Ood,  and  ^into  the  patient  waiting^  for 
Christ 

6  Now  we  command  you,  brethren^  in  the 
name  of  our  liord  Jesus  Christ,  ^  that  ye^th- 
draw  yourselves  » from  every  brother  that  walk- 
eth  •* disorderly,  and  not  after  'the  tradition 
which  he  received  of  us. 


f  1  Chron.  xxix.  18. •  Or,  the  patience  of  Ckr'aU  1  Thess. 

i.  3. bRom.  xvi.  17;    Verse  14  ;    1  Tiro.  vi.  5;    2  John  10. 

» I  Cor.  T.  11,  IS. k  I  Thess.  it.  H  ;  t.  14 ;  Verses  11, 12, 

14. »Chap.  ii.  15. 


CHAPTER  in. 

Here  iU  tfOttU,  (t,)  lUque$ts  the  prayers  of  the  Thesealonuui  Miettrefor  hxmedf  mid  fettow-mifdeters^  amid  their  variaue 
lahemre  snd  dmger$y  and  prmfsfor  them^  1-6.  (S,)  Charges  them  to  withirmw  from,  and  duly  censwre,  disorderly  vfaUt- 
ers;  fortieuiarhf  smck  as^  cotUrary  to  his  ecmmasd  and  tx^mflt,  fsete  imiUsHt^  smd  basy  bodies,  6->15.  .  (3,)  Ckmebides 
with  aprayer^  sabUatum,  and  bensdieHomp  15-19.. 

Vnif  *  piN^^LLY,  brethren,  •pray  for  us, 

; L        that  the  wcHfd  of  Uie  Lwl  *  may 

have^66  oomse^  and  be  glorified,  evm  as  it  is 
with  you; 

2  And  ^  that  we  may  be^  delivered  firom  ^  un- 
reasonable and  wicked  men :  ®for  allffienhave 
notlGsuth. 

3  But  <>  the  Lord  is  faithful,  who  shall  staWish 
you,  and  *  keep  you  from  evil 

4  And  ^we  have  confidence  in  the  Lord  touch- 

*Eph.  tL  11^;  CoL  ir.  3 :  1  Thest.  r.  25. >  Or.  mwnm. 

^Rom.  XT.  31  < •Or.  abtwd. •Acta  zzriii.  24;    Rom. 

X.  Id. *1  Cor.  L  9:  1  Thess.  v.  24. "John  rrii.  15;  2 

Pet.  it  9. f  2  Cor.  TIL  16 ;  Gal.  t.  10. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1-4.  Finally ^  brethreUj  pray  for  us — See 
on  CoL  IV.  3;  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  have 
free  course — Greek,  rpexn^,  may  run^  go  on  swiftly 
without  auy  interruption;  a/fid  he  gloHfied—kc- 
knowledged  as  divine,  and  bring  forth  much  fruit; 
even  as  it  is  with  you — This  is  a  very  high  commen- 
dation of  the  Thessalonian  brethren,  and  was  de- 
signed to  encourage  them  in  their  attachment  to  the 
gospel.  And  that  we  may  be  delivered — Rescued 
and  preserved ;  from  unreasonable  and  wicked  men 
— ^TThe  word  aroiruv,  rendered  wnrccwonoftZc,  properly 
signifies  men  who  have,  or  ought  to  have,  no  place, 
namely,  in  society.  Bishop  Wilkins  thinks  that 
absurd,  contumacious  persons  are  intended;  such 
as  are  not  to  be  fixed  by  any  principles,  and  whom 
no  topics  can  work  upon.  Doubtless  the  apostle  had 
in  his  eye  chiefly,  if  not  only,  the  unbelieving  Jew- 
ish zealots,  who  were  so  exceedingly  enraged  against 
him  for  preaching  salvation  to  the  Gentiles,  without 
requiring  them  to  obey  the  law  of  Moses,  that  they 
followed  him  from  place  to  place,  and  raised  a  furi- 
ous storm  of  persecution  against  him  wherever  they 
found  him,  by  inflaming  both  the  rulers  and  the  peo- 
ple against  him ;  and  they  had  lately  made  an  insur- 
rection at  Corinth,  with  an  Uitention  to  have  him 
put  to  death.  For  all  men  have  notfaith^And  all 
who  have  not  are,  more  or  leas,  unreasonable  and 
wicked  men.  By  faith,  in  this  passage,  it  seems  we 
are  not  to  understand  the  actual  belief  of  the  gospel, 
(for  that  all  men  had  not  that  faith  was  a  fact  too 
obvious  to  be  thus  noticed  by  the  apostle,)  but  such 
a  desire  to  know  and  do  the  will  of  God  as  would 
dispose  a  person  to  believe  and  obey  the  gospel  when 
fairly  proposed  to  him.  And  it  seems,  in  making 
this  observation,  the  apostle  glances  not  only  at  the 
Jews,  who  boasted  of  their  faith  in  the  true  God, 
and  hi  the  revelation  of  his  will  which  he  had  made 
to  them,  but  at  the  Greek  philosophers  likewise,  who 
had  asBoroed  to  themselves  the  pompous  appellation 
b 


of  lovers  of  wisdom,  or  truth.  BtU  the  Lord  isfaithr 
ful^Axid  will  not  deceive  the  confidence,  or  disap- 
point the  hopes  of  any  that  trust  in  him,  and  expect 
the  accomplishment  of  his  promises ;  who  shall  stab- 
lish  you — Even  all  that  cleave  to  him  by  faith  and 
love ;  and  keep  you  from  eriZ— From  all  the  mis- 
chievous devices  of  Satan  and  his  instruments,  2  Tim. 
iv.  18.  Tlie  Greek,  oiro  r«  ffov^p*,  is  literally,  fron% 
the  evil  one;  the  name  given  in  other  passages  of 
Scripture  to  the  devil,  Matt.  vi.  13, 10;  Eph.  vi.  16. 
And  we  have  confidence  in  the  Lord — Or  we  trust  in 
the  Lord  concerning  you,  that  he  will  not  withhold 
from  you  the  aids  of  his  grace ;  that  ye  both  do  al- 
ready, and  will  do,  in  future,  tJie  tilings  wMch  we 
command—lxi  thus  speaking,  the  apostle  expresses 
his  good  opinion  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Thessa- 
lonian brethren,  but  not  of  every  one  of  them  with- 
out exception,  as  is  plain  from  verses  11-14. 

Verse  6.  And  the  Lord— By  his  Holy  Spirit, 
whose  proper  work  this  is;  direct — Powerfully  in- 
cline ;  your  hearts  unto  the  love  of  Ood — That  is, 
into  the  exercise  of  love  to  God,  in  return  for  his 
love  to  you ;  and  into  the  patient  waiting  for  Christ 
— Namely,  the  patient  waiting  for  his  second  coming, 
or  for  his  coming  to  call  you  hence  by  death, 
1  Thess.  i.  10.  Macknight,  however,  interprets  the 
verse  rather  differently,  thus :  "  May  the  Lord  direct 
your  heart  to  imitate  the  love  which  God  hath 
showed  to  mankind,  and  the  patience  which  Christ 
exercised  under  sufferings."  The  patience  of  Christ 
has  this  sense  Rev.  19:  A  partaker  in  the  kingdom 
and  patience  of  Jesus.  As  the  patience  of  Job 
means  the  patience  of  which  Job  was  so  great  an 
example,  so  the  patience  of  Christ  may  signify  the 
patience  which  he  exercised  in  his  sufferings. 

Verses  6-12.  We  command  you,  brethrenr^-We 
solemnly  charge  you;  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  (see 
on  1  Cor.  V.  4,)  the  credit  and  progress  of  whose 
religion  are  so  nearly  concerned  in  the  matter;  that 
ye  withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother — ^What- 
415 


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Disorderly  wOkers  ar€  censured^        IL  TjIMtfULONUNS. 


0mi4a^t(>heamid€4. 


A. IC.4068.    7  For  yourselves  know  ^haw  fs 
^^•^   ought  to  follow  us :  for  "we  behaved 
mi  ourselves  disorderly  amcmg  joa} 

8  Nebher  did  we  eai  any  mfta's  bread  for 
naught;  but  ^^wrought  with  labour  and  tra- 
vail night  and  day,  that  we  might  not  be 
chargeaUe  to  any  of  you : 

9  ''Not  because  we  have  not  power,  but  to 
make  ^oureelves  an  ensample  unto  you  to  fol- 
low  us. 

IQ  For  even  when  we  were  with  you,  thb 
we  commanded  you,  'diat  if  any  would  not 
vforky  neither  should  he  eat 


■  1  Cor.  ir.  16 ;  li.  1 ;  1  Thess.  i.  6,  7. ■  1  TbeM,  ii. 

10. o  AcU  xviii.  3 ;  xx.  34 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  9 ;   1  Thett.  ii.  9. 

P 1  Cor.  ix.  6 ;  1  Then.  ii.  6. *  Veree  7. 'Gen.  iii.  19 ; 

I  Thess.  iv.  11. 


ever  his  rank,  circumstances,  or  profession  may 
be;  that  walked  dttortier/y— Particularly ^as  the 
apostle  here  means)  in  not  working ;  that  you  have 
no  unnecessary  converse  or  society  with  such.  Dis- 
orderly persons,  aroKToif  are  they  who  profess  to  be 
subject  to  the  discipline  of  the  gospel,  yet  do  not 
walk  according  to  its  precepts.  See  1  Thess.  v.  14. 
What  the  apostle  here  condemned  under  this  de- 
scription, was  idleness,  verse  11 5  and  by  the  so- 
lemnity with  which  he  introduces  his  charge,  we  are 
taught,  that  it  is  most  oflfensive  to  God,  and  dangerous 
to  ourselves  and  others,  to  encourage,  by  our  com- 
pany and  conversation,  such  as  live  in  the  practice 
of  that  or  any  gross  s'm !  May  all  who  have  a  regard 
to  religion  attend  to  this!  The  same  important 
charge  is  repeated  verse  14.  And  not  after  the 
tradition  which  ye  received  of  ti«— The  admonition 
we  gave  both  by  word  of  mouth  and  In  our  former 
epbtle.  Yourselves  know  how  ye  ought  to  follow — 
MifituT^at,  to  imitate^  te*— As  if  he  had  said,  My  own 
conduct  entitles  me  to  rebuke  the  disorderly ;  for 
we  behaved  not  ourselves  disorderly  among  you— 
We  were  not  Irregular  ia  our  conduct,  but  endea- 
voured to  conduct  ourselves  so  as  to  recommend  and 
enforce  our  doctrine  by  our  example.  Neither  did 
we  eat  any  man^s  bread  for  naught — Greek,  Sopeav, 
gratis,  or  as  a  free  gift,  but  wrought  with  labour  and 
travail — Or  toil,  as  iiox^i^  signifies:  night  and  day 
—This  intimates  that  the  apostle  was  frequently 
obliged  to  work  at  his  business  of  tent-making  a  part 
of  the  night,  that  he  might  be  at  leisure  during  the 
day  to  preach  the  word,  and  teach  those  that  came 
to  him  for  religious  instruction.  See  on  1  Theas. 
ii.  9.  Not  because  we  have  not  power— E^saiap, 
authority,  or  rigJu,  to  receive  a  maintenance  from 
those  to  whom  wc  minister.  See  on  1  Cor.  ix.  4-7. 
When  our  Lord  first  sent  out  the  twelve  to  preach,  he 
said  to  them,  (Matt.  x.  10,)  T%e  workman  is  worthy 
of  his  meai;  and  by  so  saying  conferred  on  his 
apostles  a  right  to  demand  subfiistence  from  those 
to  whom  they  preached.  This  right  Paul  did  not 
insist  on  among  the  Thessalonians,  but  wrought  for 
kis  maintenance  while  he  preached  to  them.  Lest, 
410 


W  For  we  hear  that  there  aie  some  A.lf.40S9. 

'  which  walk  aiDong  yon  dkKNPcbriy> ^ — ^ 

« working  not  at  all»  bal  a»  hiMylimiiM 

Id  **  New  them  that  are  snoh  we  eoBifimnd 
and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  'that 
with  yiBtaess  thqr  work,  and  est  their  ewa 
bread. 

13  Bot.ye^biethieii,'be«  not  wmry  is  wel- 
doing. 

14  And  if  any  man  obey  nol  our  woid 
^by  this  epiede,  nsM  that  man,  and  *hafe 
no  company  with  him,  that  he  may  be 
ashamed. 

•  Vewe  «. '  1  Thew.  iv.  11 ;  1  Tim.  r.  13;  1  Pet.  ir.  15. 

•1  Theti.  ir.  II. »Eph.  ir.  28. SrG«L  tL  9. ^•Or, 

faint  noi.  *  Or,  ngnify  iluU  sum  bv  on  cpcvllc — •«-*  Matt,  zriii. 
17;  1  Cor.  t.  9,  ll7 

however,  his  enemies  might  think  this  an  acknow- 
ledgment that  he  was  not  an  apostle,  he  here  as- 
serted his  right,  and  told  them  that  he  had  demanded 
no  maintenance  from  them,  that  he  might  make 
himself  a  pattern  to  them  of  prudent  industry.  TlUs 
we  commanded,  that  if  any  among^ou,  capable  of 
working,  would  not  teo^/^— For  his  own  main- 
tenance ;  neither  should  he  eo/— Be  maintained  by 
the  charity  of  his  fellow-Christians ;  do  not  support 
him  in  idleness.  From  this  precept  of  the  gospel 
we  learn,  that  all  men,  without  distinction,  ought  to 
employ  themselves  in  some  business  Or  otlier  which 
is  useful ;  and  that  no  man  is  entitled  to  spend  his 
life  in  idleness.  We  hear  there  are  some,  &c. — 
After  writing  the  former  epistle,  the  i^bstle,  it  seems, 
had  received  a  particular  account  of  the  state  of  the 
Thessalonian  church ;  working  not  at  all,  b%U  are 
busy-bodies — Idleness  naturally  disposes  people  to 
busy  themselves  with  the  coi^cems  of  others.  Such 
we  command  and  exhort — nczpoxaXtf/iev,  beseech;  by 
our  Lord  Jesus — To  his  command  the  apostle  added 
earnest  entreaty ;  and  he  did  so  by  the  direction  of 
Christ  Or  the  meaning  may  be.  We  command  by 
the  authority,  and  beseech  by  the  love  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  that  with  quietness  they  woric,  forbearing  to 
meddle,  in  any  shape,  with  other  people's  affairs. 

Verses  13-15.  But  ye,  brethren— Who  are  not 
guilty  of  these,  and  such  like  miscarriages ;  be  not 
weary  in  well-doing— In  pursuing  that  line  of  con- 
duet  which  b  reputable  and  useful,  which  brings 
glory  to  God,  and  good  to  mankind.  The  original 
expression,  fuj  eKKOKyajjn,  properly  signifies,  do  not 
flag,  tlu-ough  sloth  or  cowardice.  The  Thessa- 
lonians, therefore,  are  here  cautioned  against  flag- 
ging in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  either  to  God 
or  their  fellow-creatures.  If  any  num  obey  not  our 
ipord— Whether  spoken  to  you  during  our  short 
abode  with  you,  or  signified  by  t?us,  or  our  former 
epistle;  note  that  man—ltu^itfo^e,  set  a  mark  upon, 
or  point  out,  that  man.  Probably  he  intended  that 
the  rulers  of  the  church  should  point  him  out  to  the 
rest,  that  they  might  avoid  all  familiarity  and  need- 
less correspondence  With  him,  which  is  meant  by 

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PrayeTj  salutation, 


CHAPTER  III. 


and  benediction. 


A.M.  4068.    15  ^  Yet  count  him  not  as  aa  ene- 
^'  ^'  ^'   my,  ^batadnumishAimasabrother. 

16  NoiF  ^  the  Lord  of  peace  himself  give  you 
peace  always  by  all  means.  The  Lord  be  with 
youaU. 

17  '  The  salutation  of  Paul  with  mine  own 


•Leritieag  six.  17;   1  Thesralonians  t.  14. ^  Titos  iii. 

10. 'Romans  zr.  33;    xri.  20;    1  CorinthUns  xir.  33;  S 


having  no  comp<my  tvith  Mm;  that  he  may  be 
(uhamed^—\TL  order  that,  being  shunned  by  all  as  an 
eril-doer,  he  may  be  aaham^  of  his  conduct  and 
amend.  Yet  count  him  not  as  an  enemy — ^An  ob- 
stinate, incurable  sinner,  no  more  to  be  regarded ; 
but  admonish  him  as  a  &ro/^er— Remind  him  of 
his  duty  and  danger  as  a  member  of  the  same  body 
with  yourselves;  or  tell  him  lovingly  of  the  reason 
why  you  shun  him. 

Verses  16, 17i  Now  the  Lord  of  peace  himself— 
See  on  Rom.  xv.  88 ;  or  Christ  may  be  here  intended, 
and  called  the  Lord  of  peace,  in  alliteion.to  Isa. 
ix.  6,  where  he  is  foretoM  under  the  character  of 
the  Prince  of  peace,  because  he  was  to  reconcile 
Jews  and  Gentiles  to  God  and  to  one  another.  Cnve 
you  peace  by  all  means^ln  every  way  and  manner. 

Vol.  II.  (  37  ) 


hand,  which  is  the  token  m  every  a.  m.4058. 

i_y  y        .,  -^      A.  D.  54. 

epistle :  so  I  write.  __. 


18  •  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Clirist  be 
with  you  an.    AmeiL 

TThe  second  epistle  to   the  Thessalonians  was 
written  from  Athens. 


Corinthians  xiiL  11;    1  Thessslonians  t.   23. '1  Corin* 

thians  xri.  21 ;  Colossians  ir.  16. •  Romans  xri.  24. 


This  prayer  the  apostle  subjoins  to  the  foregoing 
command,  to  mtimate  that  if  the  rulers  of  the  church 
are  faithfUl  in  their  exhortations  and  admonitions, 
it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  Lord  will  follow  their 
labours  with  his  blessing,  and  viake  them  effectual 
for  producing  peace  and  righteousness  among  the 
members  of  his  body.  Hie  Lord  be  with  you  aW— A 
wish  this  founded  on  Christ's  promise,  (MM,  xxviii. 
20,)  Lo,  lam  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  woiid^  with  which  promise  it  is  probable  Paul 
was  made  acquainted.  TVie  sahiiatiom  of  Paul 
with  mine  own  Aatid— See  on  1  Cor.  xvi.  21 ;  Gal. 
vi.  11 ;  which  is  the  token  in  every  epistle^The 
maiic  to  know  those  that  are  true  from  such  as  are 
counterfeit.  So  I  im7e— This  is  my  custom  in  all 
my  epistles. 

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PREFACE 

TO     THE 

FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 

TO 

TIMOTHY. 


nniMOTHY,  or  Timotheus,  was  a  native  of  Lystra,  in  the  Lesser  Asia.  His  father  was  a  Clreek, 
but  his  grandmother  Lois,  and  his  mother  Eunice,  were  pious  Jewish  women,  and  trained  him  up 
from  a  child  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  When  young,  and  probably  by  hearing  the  gospel 
preached  by  Paul  or  Barnabas,  he  was  converted  to  the  Christian  faith :  and  from  the  time  of  his 
conversion  made  such  proficiency  in  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and  was  «o  remarkable  for  his 
piety  and  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  that  he  attracted  the  esteem  of  all  the  brethren  in  those  parts, 
and  was  iso  well  spoken  of  by  them,  that  Paul  would  have  him  to  accompany  him  in  his  journeys 
through  the  Gentile  countries,  and  to  assist  him  in  his  labours  of  preaching  the  gospel.  And  as 
Timothy,  though  a  Jew,  had  not  been  circumcised,  by  reason  that  his  faJdhet  was  a  Gentile,  the  apos- 
tle thought  it  proper  that  he  should  bear  that  mark  of  his  descent  from  a  Jewess,  because  without  it 
the  Jews  would  have  looked  on  him  as  a  heathen,  and  would  have  despised  his  instructions.  This, 
and  not  any  opinion  that  circumcision  was  necessary  to  salvation,  caused  the  aposfle  to  propose  and 
Timothy  to  receive  that  rite,  by  which  the  Jews,  from  the  earliest  times,  had  been  distinguished  from 
the  rest  of  mankind.  Afterward  the  presbyters  at  Lystra,  the  more  strongly  to  impress  Timothy 
widi  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  the  work  he  had  undertaken,  solemnly  set  him  apart  to  the  office 
of  an  evangelist,  by  the  laying  on  of  their  hands  and  by  prayer.  This  was  followed  by  the  laying 
on  of  the  apostle's  hands,  for  the  purpose  of  conununicating  to  Timothy  the  gifU  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
2  Tim.  i.  6. 

Timotliy  being  thus  prepared  to  be  the  apostle's  fellow-labourer  in  the  gospel,  accompanied  him 
and  Silas  when  they  visited  the  churches  of  Phrygia,  and  delivered  to  them  the  decrees  of  the  apos- 
tles and  elders  at  Jerusalem,  declaring  it  unnecessary  for  the  believing  Gentiles  to  be  circumcised, 
and  to  observe  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses.  Having  gone  through  these  countries,  and  at  length 
come  to  Troas,  where  Luke  joined  them,  they  were  directed  by  a  vision  to  go  into  Macedonia. 
Loosing,  therefore,  from  Troas,  they  all  passed  over  to  Neapolis,  and  from  thence  went  to  Philippi, 
where  they  were  instrumental  in  converting  many,  and  in  planting  a  Christian  church.  Leaving 
Luke  at  Philippi,  they  proceeded  from  thence  to  Thessalonica,  where  also  they  made  many  converts ; 
but,  being  opposed  with  great  violence  by  the  unbelieving  Jews,  they  were  obliged  to  flee  to  Berea, 
whither  the  Jews  from  Thessalonica  followed  them.  To  elude  their  rage,  Paul,  who  was  most 
obnoxious  to  them,  departed  from  Berea  by  night  to  go  to  Athens,  leaving  Silas  and  Timothy  in  Berea. 
While  the  apostle  remained  at  Athens,  Timothy  came  to  him,  and  gave  him  such  an  account  of  the 
afflicted  state  of  the  Thessalonian  brethren,  as  induced  him  to  send  that  evangelist  back  to  comfort 
them.  The  apostle,  meeting  with  little  success  at  Athens,  did  not  think  it  proper  to  continue  there 
many  days,  but  leaving  that  city,  went  forward  to  Corinth,  where  Silas  and  Timothy  came  to  him,  and 
assisted  him  in  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  Corinthians.  And  when  he  left  Corinth, 
they  accompanied  him  first  to  Ephesus,  then  to  Jerusalem,  and  after  that  to  Antioch  in  S3rria.  Having 
spent  some  time  in  Antioch,  Paul  set  out  with  Timothy  on  his  third  apostolical  journey ;  in  which, 
after  visiting  all  the  churches  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia,  in  the  order  in  which  they  had  been  planted, 
they  came  to  Ephesus  the  second  time,  and  there  abode  long.  In  short,  from  the  time  Timothy  first 
joined  the  apostle  as  his  assistant,  he  never  left  him,  except  when  sent  by  him  on  some  special 
errand.  And  by  his  affection,  fidelity,  and  zeal,  he  so  recommended  himself  to  all  the  disciples,  and 
acquired  such  authority  among  them,  that  Paul  inserted  his  name  in  the  inscription  of  several  of  the 
letters  which  he  wrote  to  the  churches,  to  show  that  their  doctrine  was  one  and  the  same. 

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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHY. 

Timothy,  it  must  be  observed,  was  properly,  as  was  Titus  also,  an  itinerant  evangelist ;  a  kind  of 
secondary  apostle,  whose  office  was  to  regulate  all  things  in  the  churches  to  which  he  was  sent,  and 
io  inspect  and  reform  whatsoever  was  amiss  either  in  the  bishops,  deacons,  or  people.  St.  Paul 
had,  doubtless,  largely  instructed  him  in  private  conversation  for  the  due  execution  of  so  weighty  an 
office.  Yet,  to  fix  things  more  i^xm  his  mind,  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  having  recourse  to 
them  afterward,  as  there  might  be  occasion,  and  of  communicating  them  to  others,  as  also  to  leave 
divine  directions  in  writing,  for  the  use  of  the  church  and  its  ministers,  in  all  ages,  he  sent  him  this 
excellent  pastoral,  letter,  which  contains  a  great  variety  of  important  instructions  and  advices. 

With  respect  to  the  date  of  this  epistle,  learned  men  have  been  greatly  divided  in  their  opinions. 
The  hypothesis  which  has  prevailed  most  generally  is,  that  it  was  written  about  A.  D.  60,  when 
Paul  had  lately  quitted  Ephesus,  <m  account  of  the  tunuilt  raised  there  by  Demetrius,  and  was  gone 
into  Macedonia,  Acts  xx.  1.  And  this  has  been  the  opinion  of  many  learned  critics,  ancient  and 
modem  i  particularly  of  Athanasius,  Theodoret,  Baronius,  Ludovic,  Capellos,  Blondel,  Hammond, 
Grotius,  Salmasius,  Lightfoot,  and  Benson.  On  the  other  hand.  Bishop  Pearson  endeavours  to  prove, 
that  it  could  not  be  written  till  between  the  time  of  the  first  and  second  imprisonment  of  Paul  at 
Rome,  about  A.  D.  68 ;  which  opinion  has  been  embraced  by  Le  Clerc,  L'Enfant,  Cave,  Fabricius, 
Mill,  Whitby,  Paley,  Macknight,  and  others.  The  following  arguments,  however,  in  favour  of  the 
former  h3rpothe8i8,  do  not  appear  to  the  author  of  this  worii  to  have  yet  received  a  satisfactory  answer, 
and  therefore  he  prefers  the  ancient  opinion. 

1.  When  Paul  wrote  his  first  epistle  to  him,  Timothy  was  a  young  man,  as  appears  from  1  Tim. 
iv.  12,  where  the  apostle  says,  *'  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth ;"  which  is  also  referred  to  1  Cor. 
xvi.  10,11.  Now  supposing  he  were  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  converted  to  Christianity, 
which  is  thought  to  have  been  in  St  Paul's  journey  through  the  Lesser  Asia,  recorded. Acts  idv., 
(see  note  on  Acts  xvi.  1^)  he  would,  in  the  year  60,  be  about  thirty  years  of  age ;  but  in  68,  when 
the  latter  hypothesis  supposes  the  epistle  was  written,  he  would  be  thirty-eight,  and  certainly  past 
the  time  of  youth ;  thirty  being  the  age  at  which  the  Levites  were,  according  to  the  law,  to  enter 
upon  their  office.  2.  The  state  of  things  in  the  church  at  Ephesus,  in  A.  D.  60,  beUer  suits  the  con- 
tents  of  the  first  epistle  than  it  does  in  A.  D.  68,  For  it  appears  from  chap.  i.  3-7,  and  other 
passages,  that  those  corruptions  which  the  apostle  speaks  of  as  greatly  increased  and  risen  to  a  con- 
siderable height,  when  he  met  die  elders  of  Ephesus  at  Miletus,  and  when  he  wrote  his  second  epistle, 
were  but  just  beginning  to  creep  into  the  church  at  the  time  of  his  writing  the  first.  To  which  it 
may  be  added  that,  from  the  particular  instructions  which  the  apostle  gives  Timothy  about  ordination, 
it  seems  as  if  the  church  at  Ephesus,  and  those  in  the  neighbourhood,  had  few  or  no  bishi^s  at  the 
time  it  was  written ;  from  whence  it  appears  extremely  probable  that  the  meeting  between  Paul  and 
the  elders  of  Ephesus  at  Miletus,  must  have  been  after  the  writing  of  this  epidtle.  But,  3.  The 
argument  on  which  the  principal  stress  hath  been  laid,  in  favour  of  the  first  h3rpothesi8,  is  taken  from 
the  solemn  prophetic  declaration  which  Paul  made  when  he  took  his  leave  of  the  elders  of  Ephesus 
at  Miletus,  in  the  following  words,  "  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone  preaching  the 
kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more,"  Acts  xx.  25.  From  whence  it  is  inferred,  that  he  must 
have  written  this  epistle  to  Timothy  before  that  interriew,  since  in  it  he  not  only  expresses  a  ftill 
expectation  of  returning,  but  speaks  of  his  having  just  left  Ephesus  when  he  set  out  on  his  journey 
for  Macedonia. 

The  epistle  contains  three  parts:  I.  The  inscription,  chap.  L  1, 2.  II.  The  instruction  of  Timothy 
how  to  behave  at  Ephesus ;  wherein,  1.  In  general,  he  gives  an  injunction  to  deliver  to  them  that 
tau^  the  law  in  a  wrong  manner,  and  confirms,  at  the  same  time,  the  sum  of  the  gospel,  as  exem- 
plified in  himself,  verses  3-20.  2.  In  particular,  he  prescribes  to  men  a  method  of  prayer,  chap, 
ii.  1-8;  to  women,  good  works  and  modesty,  verses  9-15.  He  recount  the  requisites  of  a  bishop, 
chap.  iii.  1-7;  the  duties  of  deacons,  verses  8-10;  of  women,  verses  11-13.  3.  He  shows  what 
Timothy  should  teach,  verse  14 ;  ch^.  iv.  1-6 ;  what  he  should  avoid,  verses  7-11 ;  what  he  should 
fdlow  after,  verses  12-16.  How  he  should  treat  men  and  women,  chap.  v.  1,2;  widows,  verses 
3-16 ;  elders,  17-19 ;  ofienders,  20,  21 ;  himself,  22,  23 ;  those  he  doubts  of,  24,  25 ;  servants, 
chap,  vi,  1,  2.  4.  False  teachers  are  reproved,  verses  3-10;  Timothy  is  admonished  and  quick- 
ened, 11,  12 ;  precepts  are  jNrescribed  to  be  enforced  on  die  rich,  17-19.  III.  The  conclusion, 
vcises  20,  21. 

419 


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THE 


FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  ATOSTLE 


TO 


TIMOTHY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AfUf  ike  ordiiuay  mlulaiim,  PmU^  (1,)  Reminds  Ttmcthf  of  the  cheiTge  wfneh  he  had  given  Am  tU  Bpkesutt  to  Ukere 
eteadfasdy  to  ike  Ckristian  ioetrimt^  3, 4.  (8,)  Represent  the  true  end  mid  uee  of  the  Moemc  law,  6-11.  (8,)  With 
humbU  gralitude  he  relates  his  own  marvellous  conversion  and  call  to  the  ofOstUshif,  13-17.  (4,)  Charges  Ttmoiky  to 
maintain  faith  and  a  good  consdenee,  which  some  having  abandoned,  had  been  excommunicaiedf  18-20. 

JL  M.  4069.  p  AUL,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ 

— '-^ — -         •  by  the  commandment  **  of  God 


our  Saviour,  and  L(»rd  Jesus  Christ,  ^  which  is 
our  hope; 

2  Unto  ^  Timothy,  ^  my  own  son  in  the  faith ; 
'Gfrace,  mercy,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Fa- 
Uier  and  Jesus  Christ  our  Jjord. 


•  Aotg  ix.  15. k  Chip,  ii  3. «  OoL  i.  27. '  Acts  xri. 

1 :  I  Cor.  IT.  17;  Phil.  iL  49;  1  Thwi.  iu.  2. •  Tit.  i.  4. 

fOftLi.  3;  2  Tim.  L  2. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 
Verses  1,  %  Paul^  an  apoHle  of  Jesus  C^rUt^ 
The  apostle  begins  his  epistle  with  asserting  his 
apostolical  dignity,  not  becanse  Timothy  was  in  any 
donbt  concerning  it,  but  to  make  the  Epheslans  sen- 
sible of  the  danger  they  incurred,  if  they  rejected 
the  charges  and  admonitions  which  the  apostle  or- 
dered  Timothy  to  ddiver  to  them.  Familiarity  is 
to  be  set  aside  where  the  things  of  God  are  con- 
cerned. By— Or  according  to;  the  commandment 
r— The  authoritative  appointment  j  of  Ood  our  Sa- 
riour— So  styled  in  many  other  places  likewise,  as 
being  the  grand  orderer  of  the  whole  scheme  of  our 
salvation ;  and  Christ  our  Aope—That  is,  the  author, 
object,  and  ground  of  all  our  hope.  To  THmothy, 
my  own  son — If  Timothy  was  not  at  first  converted 
by  the  apostle,  (which  it  is  not  certain  he  was  from 
any  historical  account  that  has  reached  us,)  yet  he 
might  term  him  his  oisn,  or  genuine  son,  because  of  the 
parental  affection  he  had  for  him,  the  complacency 
which  he  found  in  that  assistance  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  him  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  in 
which  he  had  faithfully  served  him,  like  a  son  with 
His  father^  (Phil.  ii.  22,)  and  in  the  filial  reverence 
and  affection  which  this  excellent  young  evangelist 
expressed  to  him ;  not  to  mention  that  Timothy  had 
received  mueh  establishment  in  the  failh  through 
420 


A.D.  OS. 


3  As  I  besought  thee  to  abide  still  A.  M^ 
at  Ephesus,  'when  I  went  into  Ma- 
cedoiiia,  that  thou  mightest  charge  some  ^that 
they  teach  no  other  doctrine, 

4  '  Neither  give  heed  to  fables  and  endless 
genealogies,  ^  which  minister  questions,  rather 
than  godly  edifying  which  is  in  fiuth ;  so  do. 


ikda  XX.  1,  3; 

3,   10. »Ch»p.  i 

k  Chap.  Ti.  4. 


PhU.  ii  24. kGtl, 

r.  7;     tL  4,  90; 


6,  7;    Chap.  tL 
2  Tim.  ii  14,  1^  S3. 


the  apostle.  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace — St  Paul 
wishes  grace  and  peace  in  his  epistles  to  the  church- 
es. To  Timothy  he  adds  mercy,  the  roost  tender 
grace  toward  those  who  stand  in  need  of  it,-as  in- 
deed all  do.  The  experience  of  this  prepares  a  man 
to  be  a  minister  of  the  gospeL 

Verses  3,  4.  As  /besought  thee — UapeKoXeoa  ce,  I 
entreated  th  ee.  It  is  observed  by  Beza,  that  by  using 
this  soft  expression  the  apostle  hath  left  a  singular 
example  of  modesty,  to  be  Imitated  by  superiors  In 
their  behaviour  toward  their  inferiors  in  the  church. 
When  I  went  into  Macedonia,  (Acts  xx.  1,)  thai  thou 
mightest  charge  some— Who  appeared  to  be  incUned 
to  introduce  their  own  corrupt  noUons  into  the 
church  ;  that  they  teach  no  other  doctrine— Thvn  I 
have  taught.  Let  them  put  nothing  in  the  place  of 
it,  add  nothing  to  it.  These  teachers  were  probably 
Judaizers,  and  members  of  the  church  at  Ephesns ; 
for  with  other  teachers  Timothy  could  have  little 
influence.  In  not  mentioning  the  names  of  these 
corrupt  tethers,  the  apostle  showed  great  delicacy, 
hoping  that  diey  might  still  be  reclamed.  The 
same  delicacy  he  had  observed  in  his  treatment  of 
the  false  teacher  or  teachers  at  Corinth,  and  of  the 
incestuous  person  there.  Neither  give  heed  tofa- 
btes— To  fabulous  Jewish  traditions,  so  as  either  to 
teach  or  regard  them ;  and  endless  genealogies— 

h 


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use  of  the  fHoral  ktw^ 


A.  M.  4000.  5  Now  ^ike  end  of  the  commandment 
— U —  is  charity  "out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of 
a  good  conscience,  and  ofMih  unfe^ed : 

6  From  which  some  ^  having  swerved,  have 
turned  aside  unto  ''vain  jangling; 

7  Deskii^  to  be  teachers  of  the  law ;  ^  un- 
derstanding neither  what  they  say,  nor  where- 
of they  affirm. 


» Rom.  xiii.  B,  10;   Gal.  ▼.  14.— --■2  Tim.  ii  38. *0r,  mt 


Questions  about  their  genealogies.  The  apostle 
does  not  speak  of  those  recorded  in  the  Scriptures, 
but  of  the  long  intricate  pedigrees  whereby  many 
of  the  Jews  strove  to  .prove  their  descent  from  cer- 
tain persons :  which  minister  questions — Which  lead 
6nly  to  useless  and  endless  controversi^ ;  rather 
than  godly  edifying-^-The  promotion  of  holiness, 
which  leads  men  to  God ;  which  is  tn/att/i— Which 
edification  is  by  faith  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  in  Christ,  of  whom  the  Scriptures  testify 
as  the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  lost  sinners. 

Verses  5-7.  Now  the  cn<i— The  scope,  design,  or 
substance ;  of  the  commandment-^Qr  charge^  rather, 
as  irapayyeXia  properly  signifies,  being  a  noun  derived 
from  the  verb,  translated,  that  thou  mightest  charge^ 
verse  3.  The  apostle  had  desired  Timothy  to  con- 
tinue at  Ephesus,  that  he  might  charge  some  to 
teach  no  other  doctrine  than  what  had  been 
taught :  here  he  informs  him  what  the  scope  of  his 
charge  to  these  teachers  was  to  be,  namely,  that  in- 
stead of  inculcating  fables,  &c.,  ^ey  should  inculcate 
chariiyj  or  love  to  God  and  man,  proceeding  from  a 
pure  heart — That  is,  from  a  heart  purified  by  the 
Word  and  Spirit  of  God,  from  the  love  of  sin,  the 
love  of  the  world,  and  all  inordinate  self-love,  and 
from  all  corrupt  affections  and  dispositions;  a  good 
conscience— K  conscience  properly  informed  con- 
cerning sin  and  duty,  thoroughly  awakened  and 
sprinkled  from  evU^  or  the  guilt  of  sin,  by.  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  Heb.  ix.  14;  x.22;  and  faith  unfeigned-^ 
Namely,  in  the  truths  and  promises  of  the  go^el, 
and  in  Christ,  in  whom  those  truths  and  promises 
are  yea  and  amen.  Observe,  reader,  this  faith  uur 
feigned  is  the  root  of  the  other  particulars  here 
named.  By  it,4ind  by  it  only,  we  obtain  deliverance 
from  the  jruilt  and  power  of  sin,  essential  to  a  good 
conscience ;  by  it  our  hearts  are  purified.  Acts  xv.  9; 
1  Pet  i.  22 :  and  as  it  always  worketh  by  love,  (Gal 
V.  6,)  by  it  we  obtain  the  loveof  God  and  of  all  man- 
kind, the, source,  yea,  and  essence,  of  all  piety  and 
virtue.  Here  therefore  the  apostle  asserts  that  the 
k)ve  which  he  speaks  of^  proceeding  fW)m  the  prin- 
ciples here  named,  is  the  scope  and  design  of  the 
gospel  doctrine,  or  of  the  whole  Christian  insti- 
tution, as  it  is  indeed  also  of  the  moral  law, 
and  the  writings  of  the  prophets.  From  which-- 
Love,  accompanied  with  these  other  particulars) 
some  hajffng  swerved-^The  verb  <KvxvoavTec,  thus 
rendered,  signifies  to  err  from  the  mark  at  which  a 
person  shoots  or  auns ;  and  is  elegantly  used  in  this 
b 


8  But  we  know  that  >the  law  is  A.M.406O. 
good,  if  a  man  use  it  lawfidly ;  ^  ^'^' 

9  <i  Knowing  this,  that  the  law  is  not  made 
for  a  righteous  man,  but  for  the  lawless  and 
disobedient,  for  the  ungodly  and  for  sinners, 
for  unholy  and  pro&ne,  for  murderers  of 
fathers  and  murderers  of  mothers,  for  man- 
slayers, 


"  Chap,  tL  4, 20. «  Chap.  vi.  4. P  Rom.  iriL  12. 4  GaL 

iiilO;  y.23. 


place,  as  rsXoc,  the  scope  auned  at,  was  introduced 
in  the  preceding  verse :  have  turned  aside  into  vain 
^an^Ztn^— Unprofitable  disputes  and  disoourses.  An 
affectation  of  high  and  extensive  knowledge  sets  a 
man  at  the  greatest  distance  from  faith,  and  all 
proper  sense  of  true  experimental  religion :  and  of 
all  vanities  none  are  more  vain  than  dry,  empty 
disputes  on  the  things  of  God.  Desiring  to  be 
teachers  of  the  law — Greek,  vo/iodiSaaKoXot,  a  word 
which,  in  the  evangelists,  is  rendered  doctors  of  the 
law,  of  the  same  import  with  the  Hebrew  word  rab- 
bis. And  though  it  is  not  used  exactly  in  that  sense 
here,  yet  there  seems  to  be  some  reference  to  it : 
understanding  neither  what  they  say— ^The  very 
things  they  utter;  nor  whereof  they  q^Jrm— The 
subject  they  sp^ak  of,  or  concerning  which  they  ex- 
press themselves  strongly  and  confidently,  as  the 
words  irepi  rtvuv  dialMatmfTai  properly  signify. 

Verses  8-11.  We  know  that  the  law  is  good— An- 
swers excellent  purposes ;  if  a  man  use  it  lawfidly 
—In  a  proper  manner.  Even  the  ceremonial  law  is 
good  as  it  pouits  to  Christ,  and  is  emblematical  of 
the  various  branches  of  salvation .  that  are  in  and 
dirough  him ;  and  the  inond  law  is  holy,  just,  and 
good,  resulting  from  the  nature  of  God  and  man,  and 
the  relations  of  mankind  to  him  and  each  other,  and 
of  admirable  use  both  to  convince  men  of  sin,  and  to 
bring  them  to  Christ  for  justification,  as  well  as  to 
direct  such  as  are  justified  in  the  way  of  holiness. 
The  apostle's  expression.  If  a  man  use  U  lawfully, 
plainly  intimates,  as  Doddridge  observes, "  that  there 
were  some  who  abused  the  law,  borrowing  a  pre- 
tence from  it  to  condemn  some  of  the  best  of  men, 
and  to  subvert  the  gospel.  And  whereas  s6me  had 
represented  Paul  as  an  enemy  to  the  law,  he  here 
denies  ai|d  disproves  the  charge.  The  design  of  the 
Mosaic  law  was  to  direct  the  conduct  of  those  to 
whom  it  was  given,  and  to  humble  them  under  a 
sense  of  their  sin.  But  it  could  not  be  intended  to 
save  them  by  a  perfect  conformity  to  it,  which  was 
TO  adwarov  th  vofta,  whcU  the  law  could  not  do,  Rom. 
viii.  3."  Knowing  this^As  first  necessary  in  order 
to  the  making  a  right  use  of  the  law ;  that  the  law 
is  not  madefor-^Qreek,  s  Keirai,  does  not  lie  against, 
a  righteous  matir— Who  makes  it  the  rule  of  his  con- 
duct, and  has  it  written  on  his  heart,  sincerely  loving 
itysnd  carefully  guarding  against  every  violation  of 
it  Not  that  the  righteous  so  fWfil  the  law  as  to  an- 
swer its  high  demands  in  every  respect;  in  that 
sense,  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  living 
4»l 


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L  TIMOTHY. 


cMiolke^ipomhwkip: 


A.1C.406).    10  For   whoremongers,    for   them 
^^•^    that  defile  themselves  with  mankind; 

for  men-stealers,  for  liars,  for  peijured  persons, 

and  if  there  be  any  other  thing  that  is  contrary 

'  to  sound  doctrine, 
11  According  to  the  glorioiis  gospel  of  'the 

blessed  Ood  ^  ^ribich  was  conmikted  to  my  trust 


'Chmp.  Ti.  3;  2Tiiii.  ir.  3;   Tit  i  9:   it  U *Chap.  yL 

lA. 'ICor.  ix.17;    0«LiL7;  Col.  1.26;    ITheM.  li.  4; 

CSiap.  iL  7;  2  Tim.  L  11 ;  Tit.  i.  3. "2  Cor.  xiL  9. 


beJusHfied,  Ront  iii.dO;  Gal.  li.  16;  where  see  the 
notes.  But  Christ  having  redeemed  tme  believers 
from  that  curse  and  condemnation  of  the  law  to 
which  they  would  otherwise  be  exposed,  through 
him  their  love  to  €Sod  and  man  is  graciously  accept- 
ed as  the  fulfilling  of- the  law,  Rom.  xiiL  10;  Gal. 
V.  14 ;  James  ii.  8.  But  for  the  Unolesa^ThsX  is,  it 
lies  against  the  lawless;  and  disobedient — ^Wbo, 
despising  or  disregarding  the  authority  of  the  law- 
giver, knpwingly  transgress  his  commands.  Per- 
haps, as  some  observe,  the  expression,  Kewcu^  lies, 
refers  to  the  custom  of  havhig  laws  written  on  ta- 
bles, and  hung  up  or  laid  in  public  places,  to  be  read 
by  all,  and  evidently  showing  against  whom  the  law 
lay :  see  on  Col.  ii.  14.  Againtt  the  ungodly  and 
ttfifitfrt— Persons  destitute  of  the  knowledge  and 
fear,  as  well  as  love  of  God,  and  notorious  trans- 
gressors ;  the  vn^Zy— In  heart  and  life ;  and  profane 
—Violating  the  name  and  day  of  €K>d,  and  all  sacred 
things,  and  so  treating  with  contempt  or  neglect  all 
the  commands  of  the  first  table :  murderers  of  fo- 
tkers  and  of  mothers — The  apostle  proceeds  to  speak 
of  those  who  violate  the  commands  of  the  second 
table;  and  first,  of  those  who,  instead  of  honouring 
tiieir  parents,  even  imbrue  thmr  hands  in  their  blood, 
and  so  by  one  act  transgress  and  trample  under  foot 
both  the  fifth  and  sixth  commands :  whoremongers 
— Adulterers,  fornicators,  and  lewd  persons  of  all 
kinds,  who  violate  the  seventh ;  menrstealers^Vnio 
in  the  grossest  sense  possible  break  the  eighth ;  fbr 
of  all  thieves,  those  who  steal  human  beings  are  the 
worst.  In  comparison  of  thenij  highwaymen  and 
house-breakers  a^e  innocent!  ^^They  who  make 
war  for  the  inhuman  purpose  of  selling  the  van- 
quished for  slaves,  as  is  the  practice  of  African 
princes ;  and*  they  who,  like  African  traders,  en- 
courage their  unchristian  traffic  by  purchasing  that 
which  they  know  to  be  thus  unjustly  acquired,  are 
really  men-stealers.'' — Macknight.  And  such  are  all 
the  nations  who  legalize  or  connive  at  such  proceed- 
ings. And  what  shall  we  say  of  those  who  steal 
children  to  beg  with  them,  or  that  they  may  rob 
them  of  their  clothes,  or  for  other  purposes :  or  of 
those  who  enlist  soldiers  by  lies,  tricks,  or  entice- 
ments? Liurs^  perjured  persons-^Vfho  violate  the 
ninth  commandment ;  and  if  there  be  any  other 
thing— As  there  are  very  many ;  contrary  to  sound 
doctrine-^Truuvtrtan  dtdoffKoXio^  salutary,  or  healing 
doctrine.  According  to  ttie  apostle,  therefore,  the 
doetrine  which  condemns  and  restrains  wicked  prac- 
tices, though  ridiculed  by  some  as  legal  and  Phari- 


12  And  I  thank  Chri^  Jesus  our  a.  M.  400s. 
Lord,  "who  hath  enabled  me^  *lbr    ^^'^ 
that  he  counted  me  fiuthful,  ^  putting  me  into 
theminisiry; 

13  'Who  was  beliH^  a  blasphemer,  and  a 
pefsecutor,  and  injurious :  but  I  obtained  mer- 
cy, because  ^  I  dad  it  ignorantly  in  nnbdief : 


» I  Cor.  Til  25. J  2  Cor.  iii.  6,  6 ;    ir.  1 ;   Col.  i.  2S. 

«  Acts  riii.  3  ;   iz.  1 ;    1  Cor.  zr.  9 ;   PhiL  iiL  6. >Liik« 

xxiiL  34 ;   John  iz.  30, 41 ;  Aets  iii.  17 ;  zztL  0. 


sale,  is,  as  far  as  it  goes,  salutary  doctrine.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  doctrine  which  encourages  men  to 
sin,  or  which  makes  them  easy  under  it,  though  re- 
presented by  some  as  Evangelical,  and  the  sweet 
doctrine  of  grace,  is  unwholesome  and  pernicious. 
According  to  the  glorious  gospel — Which,  far  from 
making  void,  does  indeed  establish  the  law,  and  that 
in  the  most  efiectual  manner. 

Verses  12-14.  And  I  thank  Christ  Jesus— Here 
thanksgimng,  an  important  branch  of  divine  worship, 
is  addressed  to  the  Lord  Jesus ;  vAo  ^hath  enabled 
me,  for  that  he  counted  me  faithful — ^The  meaning 
is,  I  thank  him  for  putting  me  into  the  ministry,  and 
enabling  me  to  be  faithful  therein ;  who  was  before 
a  blasphemer— 0(  Christ ;  a  persecutor— Of  his 
church  J  and  injuriofus — ^In  my  behaviour  toward  it ; 
or  rather  a  reviler,  as  vtpi^rpf  may  be  properly  ren- 
dered^ namely,  of  his  doctrine  and  people.  But  i 
obtained  mercy— He  does  not  say,  be<mu8e  I  was 
unconditionally  elected,  but,  because  I  did  it  igno- 
rantly— Because,  though  I  acted  in  a  very  rash, 
savage,  and  criminal  manner,  yet  I  did  not  therein 
contradict  the  sentiments  of  my  own  conscience ; 
in  unbelief—Not  kno^ving  nor  believing  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  b  the  Messiah,  or  that  those  whom  I 
persecuted  were  liis  servants.  Not  that  his  igno- 
rance took  away  his  sin,^  but  it  left  him  capable  of 
mercy,  which  he  would  hardly  have  been,  had  he 
acted  as  he  did  in  contradiction  to  the  conviction  of 
his  own  mind :  for  had  he  knowingly  opposed  what 
he  apprehended  to  be  truth,  (especidly  truth  of  such 
unspeakable  importance  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  mankind,)  out  of  regard  to  bis  secular 
interest,  he  would  doubtless  have  been  left  to  ^rish 
under  a  judicial  blindness  and  hardness  of  heart  It 
is  probable,  as  Paul  was  ^  then  a  scholar  at  Gama- 
liel's feet,  he  might  not  have  been  present  when  any 
of  Christ's  miracles  were  performed,  as  Christ  spent 
but  little  time  at  Jerusalem.  The  popular  cry  was 
strong  against  him,  and  the  Pharisees  and  rulers 
treated  him  with  so  much  contempt,  and  were  so 
ftiU  of  malignity  toward  hhn,  and  so  ready  to  advance 
the  most  Janderous  reports  to  the  prejudice  of  his 
character,  that  it  is  the  less  to  be  wondered  at  that 
this  rash,  hoi  youth  was  borne  down  by  the  torrent. 
Yet  we  see  how  far  Paul  was  from  thinking  all  this, 
and  whatever  could  be  added  to  it,  a  sufficient  ex- 
cuse. Instead  of  insinuating,  with  some,  that  the 
miracle  wrought  for  his  conversion  to  Christianity 
was  a  reward  for  his  extraordinary  mtegrity  and 
virtue  while  a  Jewish  zealot,  he  speaks  of  himsdf  as 

b 


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CHAPnBB  I. 


to  Timoihf, 


A.  D.  65. 


14  ^Aad  the  gprace  of  our  Lord  was 
exceeding  abundant  ®  witli  ikith  ^  and 
love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

15  •  This  is  a  fiedthful  saying^  and  worthy  of 
aQ  acceptation,  that  ^Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners;  of  whom  I  am  chief. 

16  Howbeit,  for  this  cause  *  I  obtained  mercy, 
that  in  me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth 
all  long-sufTeringr  **  for  a  pattern  to  them  which 
should  hereafter  believe  on  him  to  life  everlasting. 


»» goffi.  T.  20;  1  Cor.  xr.  10. «  2  Tim.  L 13.— 

«  Chap.  iii.  1 ;  iv.O ;  2 Tim. ii.  11 ;  Til.  iil  8.— 
Mark  li.  17 ;  Lake  t.  32 ;  xix.  10. — f  2  Cor.  it.  1.- 


BTii.47. 

'Matt.ix.13; 
■^Acts  xiii.  39, 


one  of  (he  greatest  sinners  upon  earth,  and  thereby 
shows,  by  the  way,  how  much  giiiU  a  man  may  con- 
tract without  acting  directly  contrary  to  the  convic- 
tions of  hb  mind,  if  he  has  neglected  an  impartial 
care  in  forming  his  principles  of  action." — Doddridge. 
And  the  grace  of  our  Lord— Whereby  I  obtain  mer- 
cy ;  was  exceeding  abundant — XnepenXeovaae^  supkr- 
abounded;  with  faith — Opposite  to  my  preceding 
unbelief;  and  /opfr— Opposite  to  my  blasphemy, 
persecution,  and  reviling ;  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
— Which,  through  his  mediation  and  the  influence 
of  his  Spirit,  was  implanted  in  my  heart,  thereby 
giving  life  and  comfort  to  ray  profession. 

Verses  15, 16.  Hits  is  a  faithful  saying^A  say- 
ing not  only  certainly  true,  but  infinitely  momentous, 
as  the  same  expression  evidently  signifies  chap.  iv. 
9;  2  Tim.  iL  Uj  Tit.  iii.  8;  and  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation^As  infallibly  true,  it  is  worthy  of  all 
credit,  and  as  infinitely  important,  worthy  of  being 
considered,  received,  and  embraced,  with  all  the 
powers  of  our  souls;  tliat  Christ — The  Messiah 
promised;  Jesus— The Soyiout  exhibited;  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners— A\\  sinners  without  ex- 
ception, who  are  willing  to  be  saved  in  the  way  of 
repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  him  and  his 
gospel.  Of  wJiom  I  am  chief— ^^  The  apostle  did 
not  mean  that  he  was  absolutely  the  greatest  of  idl 
sinners,  but  the  greatest  of  those  who  sinned  through 
ignorance,  as  is  plain  from  verse  13.  And  he  spake 
iq  this  manner  concerning  himself,  to  show  the  deep 
sense  he  had  of  his  sin  in  revilmg  Christ,  and  pei^ 
secuting  his  disciples,  and  that  he  judged  chMtably 
of  the  sins  of  other  men,  and  of  their  extenuations." 
Howbeitjfor  this  cause — Among  others  which  were 
also  important ;  I  obtained  mercy,  that  in  me  first — 
Or,  in  me  the  chief  of  sinners,  as  the  clause  may 
be  rendered;  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long- 
suffering— yiighi  exhibit  an  example  thereof  to  the 
view  of  the  whole  world;  for  a  pattern  to  them— 
For  the  direction  and  encouragement  of  those  who 
should  afterward  believe  on  ^m— Even  to  the  re- 
motest ages  of  time ;  that  is,  to  teach  and  encourage 
them  to  expect  the  like  mercy  upon  their  believmg 
in  him,  to  the  obtaining  of  eternal  life.  And  it  must 
be  acknowledged,  that  no  example  could  be  more 
proper  to  encourage  the  greatest  sinners  in  every 
ago  to  repent,  than  the  pardon  which  Christ  grant- 
b 


17  Now  unto  *  the  King  eternal,  ^  im-  a.  m.  406O. 
mortal,  ^invisible,  "'the  only  wise  God,  '  — 
*  be  honour  and  gbry  fi)r  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 

18  This  charge  ^I  commit  unto  thee,  son 
Timothy,  ^  according  to  the  prophecies  which 
went  before  on  thee,  that  thou  by  them  might- 
esf^war  a.good  war&re; 

19  'Holding  fitith  and  a  good  conscience; 
which  some  having  put  away,  concerning  faith 
'  have  made  shipwreck : 


J  Fn,  X.  16. k  RcHB.  L  23. >  John  i.  la ■  Rom.  xri. 

27. ■  1  Chron.  xxU.  IL •  Chap.^  13, 14, 2a p  Eccl^s. 

xlvi.  1. iChap.  tI  12. '  Chap.  iii.  9. •  Chap.  ri.  9. 


ed  to  one  who  had  so  furiously  persecuted  his 
church. 

Verse  17.  Now  unto  the  King,  Ac.— A  considera- 
tion of  the  great  mercy  which  God  had  shown  him, 
in  not  only  pardoning  him  when  he  w^  involved 
in  such  great  guilt,  but  in  making  him  an  example 
for  the  comfort  of  future  penitents,  causes  him  to 
break  forth  in  a  rapture  of  praise  and  thanksgiving ; 
eternal— Whose  existence  had  no  begimiing,  and 
shall  have  no  end ;  immortal — Or  incorruptible,  as 
a^QpTu  also  signifies;  it  is  however  rightly  trans- 
lated immortal,  because  what  is  incorruptible  is  like- 
wise immortal  j  invisible — To  mortal  eyes.  By  this 
epithet  the  true  God  is  dbtlnguished  from  all  those 
heathen  deities  who  were  the  workmanship  of  men's 
hands,  or  the  creatures  of  God,  such  as  the  luminaries 
of  heaven,  and  from  all  those  deified  heroes  and 
other  human  beings  who  had  once  been  visible  on 
earth,  and  were  made  the  objects  of  worship  after 
their  decease.  To  the  only  wise  Godr— Or,  to  God 
only  wise;  that  is,  originally,  independently,  essen- 
tially, and  infinitely;  or,  to  the  wise  God  alone,  (for 
the  reason  of  which  rendering  see  note  on  Rom. 
xvL  27,)  be  honour  and  glory— Thfii  is,  let  these 
excellences  be  more  sensibly  manifested,  more  se- 
riously and  frequently  acknowledged,  and  sincerely 
venerated. 

Verses  18-20.  This  charge— To  the  Judaizers 
not  to  teach  differently,  or  this  office  of  the  ministry ; 
/commit  unto  thee— ThsX  thou  mayest  deliver  it  to 
the  church  5  according  to— Or,  bemg  encouraged  by ; 
the  prophecies  which  went  before  on  thee— He  refers 
to  some  special  revelations  concerning  Timothy,  that 
he  riiould  be  taken  into  the  ministry,  and  be  emi- 
nently  useful  therein ;  probably  these  were  uttered 
when  he  was  first  received  as  an  evangelist,  (see 
chap.  iv.  14,)  and  that  by  many  persons,  ehap.  vi.  12. 
That  being  assured  by  them  that  thy  calling  is  from 
God,  and  that  his  grace  and  bjessing  will  aceom> 
peny  thee,  thou  mightest  war  a  good  warfare — 
Mightest  execute  thy  office  with  courage,  resolution, 
and  persevering  diligence,  notwithstanding  all  oppo- 
sition and  discouragements  whatever.  Holding  fast 
a  true  and  lively /at4/i— In  the  gospel  and  its  divine 
Author;  and  a  good  conscience — That  is,  walking 
uprightly  before  God  and  man,  according  to  the 
directions  of  an  enlightened  and  renewed  mind; 
4M 


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for  magutratesy  fc.' 


A.  M.  4069.    20  Of  whom  is  ^Hym^neus  and 
'Alexander;  whom  I  have  *  delivered 


A.D.  65. 


« 2  Tim.  ii  17. »2  Tim.  iL  14. 


whichn^VmielYj  a  good  conscience;  eome-^knoca- 
/tevoij  having  thrust  away^  or  r^ected.  '*  It  departs 
unwillingly,''  says  Bengeliti%  '^  it  always  says, '  Do 
not  hurt  me ;'  and  they  who  retain  this,  do  not  easily 
make  shipwreck  of  their  faith.'^  Indeed,  none  can 
make  i^ipwreck  of  faith  who  n^er  had  faith.  The 
persons  here  spoken  of,  therefore,  were  once  true 
believers;  yet  they  fell,  not  only  foully,  but  finally. 
For  ships  once  wrecked  cannot  be  afterward  saved. 
"  In  this  metaphorical  passage  the  apostle  insinuates 
that  a  good  conscience  is  the  pilot,  who  must  guide 
us  in  our  voyage  through  the  stormy  sea  <^  this  life 
into  the  harbour  of  heaven."  Of  whom  is  Hyme- 
neus  and  Alexander — Two  of  the  corrupt  teachers 
at  Ephesus,  whom  Timothy  was  left  to  oppose; 
whom  I  have  delivered  unto  Satan — ^See  on  1  Cor. 
V,  5 ;  that  they  may  learn  not  to  blaspheme — ^That 
by  what  they  suffer  they  may  be,  in  some  measure, 
restrained  from  speaking  evil  of  the  truths  of  God. 
The  apostles  delivered  obstinate  offenders  to  Satan, 
not  only  for  their  own  reformation,  but  to  strike 


unto  Satan,  that  they  may  learn  not  a.  m.  4069. 
to  ^  blasphefte.  — — 


"ICor.v.  5.- 


r  Aett  xiiL  45. 


terror  on  others.  If  the  offender,  in  consequence  of 
this  punishment,  was  afflicted  with  some  bodily 
disease,  it  probably  was^reinoved  on  his  repentance, 
or  after  a  time.  And  even  though  ii  continued, 
some  of  the  offenders  may  have  been  so  obstinate  in 
their  wicked  courses,  that  they  did  not  amend.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  the  two  persons 
here  named  v"  for  notwithstanding  the  apostle,  after 
his  d^arture,  punished  them  by  delivering  them  to 
Satan,  they  persevered  in  spreading  their  erroneous 
doctrines,  2  Tim.  iL  17;  iv.  14.  At  what  time  tlie 
apostle  delivered  these  persons  to  Satan  does  not 
appear;  but  from  his  informing  Timothy*  of  it  as  a 
thing  he  did  not  know,  it  may  be  conjectured  that 
the  aposUe  did  it  after  he  left  Ephesus,  and  was 
come  into  Macedonia,  probably  immediately  before 
he  wrote  this  epistle.  And  as  it  was  done  without 
th^  knowledge  or  concurrence  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus,  it  was  not  the  censure  called  e^xxommuni" 
C€Uion,  but  an  exercise  of  miraculous  power,  which 
was  peculiar  to  him  as  an  apostle.^ — Macknight. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Here  the  apostle  {!,)  Directs  prayers  to  he  made  for  magistrates  and  all  sorts  of  men,  since  the  grace  of  God  and  the  bless- 
ings  procured  by  the  mediation  of  Christ  are  free  for  all  men,  IS.  (2,)  He  shows  how  women  professing  godliness 
ought  to  adorn  and  conduct  themselves,  and  prohibits  their  teaching  and  usurping  authority  over  men,  9-14.  (3,)  Signi' 
fits  how  they  may  be  salved  in  ehild-bearing,  15.  , 


A.  M.  4069. 
A.D.65. 


J  ^EXHORT  therefore,  that,  first 
of  all^  supplications,  prayers,  inter- 
cessions, and  giving  of  thanks  be  made  for  all 
men : 

*  Or,  desirs. •Esra  ri.  10 ;   Jcr.  xxix.  7.    - 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verse  1.  /  exJiort  therefbre—See'mg  God  is  so 
gracious,  and  thou  art  intrusted  with  the  office  of  the 
ministry,  I  give  thee  this  in  charge  among  other 
things.  He  proceeds  to  give  directions,  1st,  With 
regard  to  public  prajrers;  and,  ad,  With  regard  to 
doctrine.  That  supplications — To  prevent  evil; 
prayers—To  procure  good ;  intereessims-^Oxi  be- 
half of  others ;  and  giving  of  thanks— For  mercies 
received ;  be  made  for  all  ^m«»— Chiefly  in  public 
^^ Sapplications^  SenaeiCj^^  says  Whitby,  "are  depre- 
cations for  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  averting  divine 
judgments;  trpoqevxat,  prayers^  for  the  obtaining 
of  ail  spiritual  and  temporal  blessings;  evrevfetf, 
intercessions,  addresses  presented  to  God  for  the 
salvatkm  of  others.  And  by  this  rule  were  the 
devotions  of  the  church  continually  directed.  P(mp, 
faith  the  autiior  of  the  book  De  Vocatione  Oentium, 
4»4 


2  •  For  kings,  and  ^for  all  that  are  a.  m.  4oe9. 
^  '  ^  A  D.  05. 


in  ^authority;  that  we  ihay  lead  a 

quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and 

honesty. 

^RoHL  xiii.  1. •Or,  eminaaphce. 


^  there  is  no  part  of  the  world  in  which  the  Chris- 
tian pec^le  do  not  put  up  such  prayers  as  these, 
praying  not  only  for  the  saints,  but  for  infidels,  idola- 
ters, the  enemies  of  the  cross,  and  the  persecutors 
of  Christ's  members ;  for  Jews,  heretics,  and  schis- 
matics.' "  Oi prayer  in  general  we  may  observe,  it 
is  any  kind  of  offering  up  of  our  desires  to  God.  But 
the  true,  effectual,  fervent  prayer,  which  St.  Jame^ 
speaks  of  as  availing  much,  implies  the  vehemency 
of  holy  zeal,  the  ardour  of  divine  love,  arising  from  a 
calm,  undisturbed  soul,  moved  upon  by  the  Spirit  of 
God.  "  By  this  exhortation,"  says  Macknight,  "  we 
are  taught,  while  men  live,  not  to  despair  of  their 
conversion,  however  wicked  they  may  be,  but  to  use 
the  means  necessary  thereto,  and  to  beg  of  God  to 
accompany  these  means  with  his  blessing.^ 

Verses 2-4.  For  kings — Especially;  and  Jhr  alt 
that  are  in  authority— ^Thki  i^,  fdr  the  ministers 

b 


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CHABTEEIL 


aroMomfor  atlTnen. 


A.  M.  4069. 
A.D.6A. 


3  For  this  is  *  good  and  acceptable 
in  the  sight  '  of  God  our  Savknr ;    ' 

4  ^  Who  khtSI  have  all  m^  to  be  saved,  'and 
lo  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  trutti. 

5  V  For  there  is  one  God,  and^  one  mediator 
betwe^i  Grod  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus ; 


*  Rom.  xii.  2 ;   Chap.  t.  4. '  Chap.  i.  1 ;    2  Tim.  i.  0. 

•Ezod.  zniL  23  ;  John  iii.  16^  17 ;  Tit  iL  11 ;  2  Pet  Ui.  9. 

'John  xvu.  3;    2  Tim.  ii.  25. sRom.  iiL  29,  30;   x.  12. 

^Heb.  TiiLO;  ix.  15. 


and  coUnseUors  of  kings,  and  for  the  inferior  magis- 
trates, by  whatever  name  they  may  be  called,  seeing 
even  the  lowest  country  magistrates  frequently  do 
much  good  or  moch  harm.  In  the  early  times  the 
Jews  prayed  for  the  heathen  princes,  who  held  them 
m  captivity,  (Ezrayi.  10 ;  Bar.  i.  10, 11,)  being  direct^ 
ed  by  God  so  to  do,  Xer.  xxix.  7.  But  afterward  he- 
coming  more  bigoted,  they  would  not  pray  for  any 
heathen  ruler  whatever.  Nay,  the  zealots  among 
them  held  that  no  obedience  was  due  from  the  peo- 
ple of  God  to  idolatrous  princes,  and  often  raised 
seditions  in  the  heathen  countries,  as  well  as  in  Ju- 
dea,  against  the  heathen  magistrates.  This  malevo- 
lent disposition  some  of  the  Jewish  converts  brought 
with  them  into  the  Christian  Church.  The  apostle, 
therefore,  agreeably  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
commanded  the  brethren  at  Ephesns  to  pray,  both 
in  public  and  private,  for  all  men,  whatever  their 
nation,  their  religion,  or  their  character  might  be, 
and  especially  for  kings.  -T^kcU  we  may  lead  a  quiet 
and  peaceable  Ufe — God  supports  the  power  of  ma- 
gistracy for  the  sake  of  his  own  people,  when,  in  the 
present  state  of  men,  it  could  not  otherwise  be  kept 
up  in  any  nation  whatever.  And  we  should  pray 
that  our  rulers  may  exercise  their  power  in  such  a 
wise  and  equitable  manner,  that,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  their  government,  we  may  live  in  peace  with 
ourneighbouTs,  and  undisturbed  by  fordgn enemies. 
/h  all  godlinesM^In  the  genuine  fear,  love,  worship, 
and  service  of  God;  and  honesty — A  comprehensive 
word,  taking  in  the  whole  duty  we  owe  to  our  neigh- 
bour. "^  In  the  first  age,  when  the  disciples  of  Christ 
were  llaUe  to  be  persecuted  for  thenr  reHgion  by 
their  heathen  neighbours,  it  was  highly  necessary, 
by  praying  for  kings  and  all  in  authority,  to  make 
the  heathen  mlers  sensible  that  they  were  good  sub- 
jects. For  thus  they  might  expect  to  be  less  the  ob- 
ject of  their  hatred."  For  tA{«— That  we  should 
pray  for  them  and  all  men;  is  good  and  acceptahle 
in  ike  sigfU  of  €rod  our  iSfaimmr— Who  has  actually 
saved  us,  and  is  willing  to  save  all.  For  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ  thus  to  pray  for  all  men,  especially  for 
their  heathen  enemies  and  persecutors,  was  of  ex- 
cellent use  to  make  the  latter  sensible  how  good, 
how  patient,  and  how  benevolent  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  were,  and  that  their  religion  led  them  to  no 
seditious  practices.  Indeed,  as  Maeknight  observes, 
this  display  of  the  Christian  character  was  then  pe- 
culiarly necessary,  in  that  the  heathen  were  apt  to 
confound  the  Christians  with  the  Jews,  and  to  im- 
pute to  them  the  odious  spirit  and  wicked  practices 
of  the  Jews,  who,  confining  their  benev<rtenee  to 


6  *  Who  gave  himsdf  a  ransom  for  a.  m.  4060. 
all,  ^  to  ^  be  testified  ^  in  due  time.        

7  "^  Whereunto  I  am  ordained  a  preacher  and 
an  apostle^  ("^I  sp^k  the  truth  in  Christ,  and 
lie  not,)  *  a  teacher  of  the  Oentiks  in  fisdtfi  and 
verity. 


» Matt.  XX.  28 ;  Mark  x.  46 ;  Bph.  i.  7 ;  Tit.  ii.  14. ^  1  Cor. 

i.  a »  Or,  a  (Mttmony.— J  Rom.  t.  6 ;  Gal.  iv.  4 ;  Eph.  i. 


9;   iii.  5.— "Eph.  iii.  7,  8;   2  Tim.  L  11.- 
o  Rom.  tt  13 ;  xv.  16 ;  Oal.  L  16. 


>Rom.  IX.  1. 


those  of  their  own  religion,  cherished  a  most  rancor^ 
ous  hatred  of  all  the  rest  of  mankind.  Who  will 
have  aU  i7i«n-— Not  a  part  only,  much  less  the  small- 
est part;  to  he saved^Etemtdly.  This  is  treated  of 
verses  5, 6.  if  ndf— In  order  thereto  5  to  comt — (They 
are  not  compelled ;)  to  the  knowledge  of  the  fnUh — 
Which  brings  salvation.  This  is  treated  of  verses 
6,  7  3  to  which  knowledge  they  would  be  most  likely 
to  come,  if  they  should  see  the  professors  of  it  be- 
having in  the  manner  now  recommended,  and  avoid- 
ing all  occasions  either  of  public  or  private  offence. 
Verses  6^7.  For  there  is  one  6rod— One  Creator 
of  all,  the  Father  of  the  spirits  of  all  fleshy  who  is 
no  respecter  of  persons ;  and  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  wm— Appointed  by  God  to  make  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  men  by  his  death,  and  who,  in 
consequence  of  that  atonement,  is  authorized  to  in- 
tercede with  God  in  behalf  of  sinners^  and  empow- 
ered to  convey  all  his  blessings  to  them.  The  man 
Christ  /e«ta— Therefore  aU  men  are  to  apply  to 
this  Mediator.  By  declaring  that  the  one  Mediator 
is  the  man  Jesus  Christy  St  Paul  mtimated  that  his 
mediation  was  founded  in  tiie  atonement  which  he 
made  for  our  sins  in  the  human  nature.  Wherefore 
Christ's  intercession  for  us  is  quite  different  from  our 
intercession  for  one  another:  he  intercedes  as  having 
merited  what  he  asks  fbr  us.  Whereas  we  intercede 
for  our  brethren,  merely  as  expressmg  our  good-will 
toward  them.  We,  depraved  and  guilty  sinners, 
could  not  rejoice  that  there  is  a  God,  were  there  not 
a  Mediator  also ;  one  who  stands  between  Ood  and 
meOy  to  reconcile  man  to  God,  and  to  transact  the 
whole  afikir  of  our  salvation.  This  excludes  all 
other  mediators,  as  saints  and  angels,  whom  the 
Papists  set  up  and  idolatrously  worship  as  such: 
just  as  the  heathen  of  old  set  up  many  meiliators  to 
pacify  their  superior  gods.  Who  gave  hiinselfa  ran- 
som for  all^AvTiXvTpoVy  such  a  ransom,  the  word  sig- 
nifies, wherein  a  like  or  equal  is  giv^n,  as  an  eye  for 
an  eye.  The  clause  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to 
Christ's  words,  (Matt.  xx.  28,)  to  give  his  life,  T^vrpov 
tfVTi,  a  ransom  for  rnxmy.  Any  price  given  for  the 
redemption  of  a  captive,  was  called  by  the  Greeks 
Ivrpov^  a  ransom;  but  when  life  Was  given  for  life, 
they  used  the  word  avrikorpov.  Indeed,  this  ransom 
paid  by  Christ,  fVom  the  dignity  of  his  person,  was 
more  than  equivalent  to  ail  mankind.  To  he  testi- 
fied in  due  time — TofiaprvfHov  Katpotc  tdiot^,  the  testi- 
matty^  that  is,  a  thing  to  be  testified,  in  his  own 
seasons;  namely,  those  chosen  by  his  own  wisdom. 
Whereunto  I  am  ordained—Ap^'niitA;  a  preacher 
— Kiffw^  a  herald,  to  proclaim  the  grace  of  it  all 


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Paul  shows  how  godly  icomen 


€IUPTERIL 


augJU  to  adorn  ihemselv€0i. 


A.  H.  4060. 
A.D.65. 


8  I  will  therefore,  that  men  pray 
^  everywhere,  ^  lifiing  up  holy  haiub, 
without  wrath  and  jdoubth^. 
9  In  like  manner  also,  that  'women  adorn 
themselves  in  fnodest  apparel,  withBhamefaced- 
neae  and  sobriety ;  not  with  *  broidered  hair,  or 
gold,  or  pearls,  or  costly  array. 


p  Mai.  i.  11 ;  John  ir.  21. 4  Psalm  cxxxiv.  2;  Isaiah  L  15. 

'  I  Pet.  iii.  3. 


abroad ;  and  an  apostle — To  attest  by  miracles  that 
great  and  essential  doctrine  of  it,  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  from  the  dead.  I  speak  IheiruU^in  Christ — 
As  thou,  Timothy,  well  JcDowest ;  /  He  not — ^In  pre- 
tending  to  such  an  extraordinary  mission.  Ateo/cher 
of  the  G^ntiles-^ka  if  he  had  said,  I  was  not  only  in 
general  ordained  to  this  ministry,  but  by  peculiar 
destination  was  appointed  to  preach  to  the  heathen 
and  instruct  them ;  in  faith  ahd  verify— That  is,  in 
the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  in  the  whole  system  of 
truth  which  it  comprehmids.  This  same  solemn  as- 
severation the  apostle  used  Rom.  ix.  1.  He  intro- 
duces it  here  ui  confirmation  of  hb  being  an  apostle, 
and  a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  in  the  true  faith  of  the 
gospel,  because  some  In  Bphesus  denied  his  apostle- 
ship,  and  especially  because  the  Jews  were  so  averse 
to  his  preaching  the  gpspel  among  the  Gentiles, 
charging  his  doing  it  either  upon  ^e  want  of  a  due 
regard  to  his  own  nation,  or  some  view  of  avarice 
or  ambition.  On  this  passage  Dr.  Benson  remarks, 
"  What  writer  ever  kept  closer  to  his  subject  than 
this  apostle?  The  more  we  understand  him,  the 
more  we  admire  how  much  every  sentence  and 
every  word  tends  to  the  main  purpose  of  his  writing." 

Verse  8.  /wi//— Aword  strongly  expressing  his 
apostolical  authority ;  therefore-^Thia  particle  con- 
nects the  8th  and  the  Ist  verse;  that  men  pray 
every  wh  ere — E  v  navn  rowuf  in  everyplace.  Wherever 
men  are,  there  prayer  should  be  used ;  and  if  their 
hearts  be  right  with  God  they  will  use  it  By  this 
precept  the  apostle  condemned  the  superstitious 
notion  of  both  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  who  fancied 
that  prayers  offered  in  temples  were  more  ac- 
ceptable to  God  than  those  offered  anywhere  else. 
This  worshipping  of  Grod  in  all  places  was  foretold 
as  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  gospel  dispensation, 
Mai.  i.  11.  Lifting  up  holy  Jutnds-^Fvue  from  all 
known  sin,  and  in  particular  from  injustice  and  op- 
pression ;  without  wro/A— In  any  kind,  against  any 
creature.  And  observe,  reader,  every  temper  of  the 
soul  which  is  not  according  to  love  is  wrath;  and 
doubling—Whieh  is  contrary  to  faith.  Unholy 
actions^  or  wrath,  or  want  of  faith  in  him  we  call 
upon,  are  the  Uiree  grand  hinderanees  of  God's  hear- 
ing our  petitions.  Christianity  consists  of  faith  and 
love,  embracing  truth  and  grace.  Therefore  the 
8um  of  our  wishes  should  be  to  pray,  and  live,  and 
Uie,  shunning  every  known  sin,  and  guarding  against 
w  atii  an  1  doubting. 

Verses  9,  1(X  Fn  like  manner  also,  I  command 

that  loomen— Particularly  when  tl^ey  are  about  to 

4M 


10  'But  (which  becometh  Women  am. 4e6a. 
professing  godliness)  with  good  w(xte.  1^ 

11  Let  the  women  learn  in  sileoce  with  all 
subjection. 

12  But  ^1  Bufkt^  not  a  woman  to  teach^  ^nor 
to  usurp  a^thority  over  the  man,  but  to  be  ia 
silence. 


*0r,  flmted,- 


•1  Peter  iii.  4. «1 

•Eph.r.a4. 


Corintliiuii  xir.  34. 


appear  in  public  assemblies  for  divine  worship ; 
iidom  themselves  in  modest — Koa/ua,  decent,  or  be" 
coming,  a;)pare{— Neither  too  costly  nor  sindid,  but 
what  is  neat  and  dean,  as  the  word  signifies,  and 
suitable  to  their  place  and  calling.  The  word  caro- 
To^,  rendered  apparel,  according  to  Theophylact 
and  (Ecumenius,  was  a  long  upper  garment  which 
covered  the  body  every  way.  What  the  apostle 
e^eeially  forbids  is  that  imnaiodest  manner  of  dress- 
ing which  is  calculated  to  excite  impure  desires  in 
the  spectators,  or  a  vain  admiration  of  the  beauty  of 
those  that  use  it :  also  that  gaudiness  or  showiness 
of  dress  which  proceeds  from  vanity,  and  nourishes 
vanity,  wastes  time  and  money,  and  so  prevents 
many  good  works.  With  sJhamefacedness-'UeTa 
aiduc,  with  modesty,  teaching  to  avoid  every  thing 
unbecoming ;  and  sobriety-^Or  soundness  of  mind^ 
as  au^poijvvn  signifies,  which  will  prevent  aU  unne- 
cessary expense.  Tt^s  Idtter  expression,  in  St  Paul's 
sense,  signifies  the  virtue  that  governs  our  wh<de 
life  acconiing  to  true  wisdom.  Not  with  broidered 
— Plaited,  or  rather  ci«r(e(2  hair,  as  nXeyftofftv  properly 
signifies  j  or  gold — Worn  by  way  of  omap^ent ;  or 
pearls— Jewels  of  any  kind ;  (a  part  is  put  for  the 
whole ;)  or  costly  array — Iftarta^  koXvt^i,  expen- 
sive clothing.  These  four  things  are  expressly  for- 
bidden hy  name  to  all  women,  (there  is  no  exeepHon,) 
professing  godliness— And  no  art  of  man  can  recon- 
cile with  the  Christian  profession,  the  wilful  vicdation 
of  an  express  command.  iSziT— Instead  of  these  vain 
ornaments,  (what  is  itself  infinitely  more  valuable, 
and  much  better  becometh  women  prof essing  godli- 
nessydoid  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  great  rule  of  it,) 
with  good  works— ThoX  is,  works  of  mercy  and 
charity  to  their  fellow-creatures,  which  will  render 
them  amiable  in  the  eyes  of  God  himself,  and  of  all 
wise  and  virtuous  persons  with  whom  they  converse. 
Verses  1 1-14.  Let  the  women  leam  in  silence— hei 
every  woman  receive  instruction  in  religious  mat- 
ters from  the  men  in  silence,  in  your  public  assem- 
blies ;  with  all  stdtjection^Wiih  becoming  submission 
to  the  other  sex,  neither  teaching  nor  askmg  ques- 
tions there.  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach — Namely, 
publicly;  nor  to  usurp  enUhority  over  the  mcm^* 
Which  she  might  seem  to  do  if  she  officiated  under 
the  character  of  a  public  teacher.  The  word  ov^ev- 
reiv,  here  used^ signifies  both  to  have,  and  to  exercise 
authority  over  another.  In  this  passage  it  is  proper- 
ly trandated  usurp  authority;  because,  when  a 
woman  pretends  to  exercise  authority  over  a  man, 
she  arrogates  a  power  which  does  not  belong  to  her* 


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CHAPTER  II 


saved  in  child-bectrtng. 


A.  M.  4060. 
A.D.  65. 


13  For  'Adam  was  first  formed, 
then  Eve. 

14  And  y  Adam  was  not  deceived,  but  the 
woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgressioiu 


'Gen.  i.  37;  iL  18,  22;  1  Cor.  xL  8^  9. 


See  note  on  1  Cor.  xiv.  34^  35.  For  Adam  was  first 
fcTmedr^h&  the  head  and  chief;  then  Eve-— To  de- 
note her  subordination  to  and  dependance  on  Adam. 
So  that  the  woman  was  originally  inferior.  As  if  he 
had  said,  What  I  now  enjoin  is  agreeable  to  what 
was  intimated  at  the  first  formation  of  the  human 
race.  And  Adam  was  not  deceived— -The  serpent 
did  not  attempt  to  deceive  Adam.  But  he  attacked 
the  woman,  knowing  her  to  be  the  weaker  of  the 
two.  Hence  Eve,  in  extenuation  of  her  fault,  pleaded, 
The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat,  Gen.  iii.  13. 
And  Eve  did  not  deceive  Adam,  but  persuaded  him; 
for  he  said.  The  woman  wJiom  thou  gavest  to  he  with 
me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat,  Gen.  iil 
12 ;  insuiuating  that,  as  the  woman  had  been  given 
him  for  a  companion  and  help,  he  had  eaten  of  the 
tree  from  affection  to  her,  which  is  also  intimated 
verse  17,  in  God's  words  to  him,  Thou  hast  heark- 
ened unto  the  voice  of  thy  wife,  "  In  this  view  of 
the  matter,  the  fall  of  the  first  man  stands  as  a  warn- 
ing to  his  posterity  to  beware  of  the  pernicious  in- 
fluence which  the  love  of  women,  carried  to  excess, 
may  have  upon  them  to  lead  them  into  sin."  *  The 
preceding  verse  showed  why  a  woman  should  not 
usurp  authority  over  the  man:  this  shows  why  she 
ought  not  to  teach.  She  is  more  easily  deceived, 
and  more  easily  deceives.  Let  it  be  observed  here, 
however,  that  the  apostle's  doctrine  concerning  the 
inferiority  of  the  woman  to  the  man,  in  point  of  un- 
derstanding, is  to  be  interpreted  of  the  sex  in  general, 
and  not  of  every  individual ;  it  being  well  known  that 
some  women,  in  understanding,  are  superior  to  roost 
men.  The  woman  being  deceived,  was  first  in  the 
transgression^-And  prevailed  upon  Adam,  by  her 
solicitations,  to  transgress  also.  *'  The  behaviour  of 
Eve,  who  maybe  supposed  to  have  been  created  by 
God  with  as  high  a  degree  of  understanding  as  any 
of  her  daughters  ever  possessed,  ought  to  be  remem- 
bered by  them  all,  as  a  proof  of  their  natural  weak- 
ness, and  as  a  warning  to  them  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  temptation.  Perhaps  also  the  apostle  men- 
tioned Eve's  transgression  on  this  occasion,  because 
the  subjection  of  women  to  their  husbands  was  in- 
creased at  the  fall  on  account  of  Eve's  transgression. 
Gen.  iik  16."— Macknight. 

Verse  15.  Notwithstanding,  she  shall  be  saved  in 
chiidrhearing--Th9X  is,  says  Locke,  she  shall  be 
carried  safely  through  child- bearing ;  a  sense  which 
Dr.  Whitby  illustrates  at  large,  and  which  Dr. 
Benson  seems  partly  to  adopt,  observing,  "The 
apostle  having  intimated  that  the  man  was  superior 
by  creation,  and  the  subjection  of  the  woman  in- 
b 


15  Notwithstanding,  she   shall  be  A.  M.  4069. 
saved  in  child-bearing,  if  they  con-    ^'^'^ 
tinue  in  fyilh  and  charity,  and  holiness,  with 
sobriety. 


f  Oen.  iil  6 ;  2  Cor.  li.  3. 


Creased  by  the  fall,  he  here  declares,  that  if  the 
Christian  women  continued  in  holiness  and  charity, 
the  eurse  pronounced  upon  the  fall  would  be  removed 
or  mitigated."  To  the  same  purpose  also  Baxter 
paraphrases  the  words : "  Though  her  sin  had  brought 
her  low,  and  even  under  a  curse,  in  the  pain  and 
peril  of  child-bearing,  she  is,  even  in  that  low  and 
sad  condition,  under  God's  merciful  protection,  and 
saving  covenant  of  grace,  which  contains  the  pro- 
mise of  this  life  and  that  to  come,  if  she  continue  in 
faith,  charity,  and  purity,  with  sobriety."  He  adds 
another  interpretation,  as  follows :  ''  Though  sin  and 
sorrow  in  travail  came  in  by  the  woman,  yet  by  a 
woman's  child-bearing  a  Saviour  came  into  the 
world,  (which  is  some  reparation  of  the  honour  of 
the  sex,)  and  so  the  women  may  be  saved  as  well  as 
the  men  by  Christ."  This  latter  sense  is  nearly  that 
adopted  by  Macknight,  who  thus  paraphrases  on  the 
verse:  "However,  though  Eve  was  first  in  trans- 
gression, and  brought  death  on  herself,  her  husband, 
and  her  posterity,  the  female  sex  shall  be  saved 
equally  with  the  mide;  through  chUd4>earing ; 
through  bringing  forth  the  Saviour;  if  they  live  in 
faith,  and  love,  a/nd  cheutity,  with  that  sobriety 
which  I  have  been  recommending."  He  adds,  by 
way  of  note,  "The  word  au^fiatrai,  saved,  in  this 
verse,  refers  to  n  yvvii,  the  woman,  in  the  foregoiug 
verse,  who  is  certainly  Eve.  But  the  apostle  did  not 
mean  to  say  that  she  alone  was  to  be  saved  through 
child-bearing;  but  that  all  her  posterity,  whether 
male  or  female,  are  to  be  saved  through  the  child- 
bearing  of  a  woman ;  as  is  evident  from  his  adding, 
If  they  live  in  faith,  and  love,  and  holiness,  with 
sobriety.  For  safety  in  child-bearing  doth  not  depend 
on  that  condition,  since  many  pious  women  die  in 
child-bearing;  while  others  of  a  contrary  character 
are  preserved.  The  salvation  of  the  human  race 
through  child-bearing,  was  intimated  in  the  sentence 
passed  on  the  serpent.  Gen.  iii.  15 ;  /  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed- 
and  her  seed;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Saviour  being  conceived  in  the  womb  of 
his  mother  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  is 
truly  the  seed  of  the  wojnan  who  was  to  bruise  the 
head  of  the  serpent  And  a  woman,  by  bringing 
him  forth,  hath  been  the  occasion  of  our  salvation. 
If  they  continue  in  faith — The  change  in  the  num- 
ber of  the  verb  from  the  singular  to  the  plural, 
which  is  introduced  here,  was  designed  by  the 
apostle  to  show  that  he  does  not  speak  of  Eve, 
nor  of  any  particular  woman,  [merely,]  but  of  the 
whole  sex." 

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I.  TIMOTHY. 


w  overseer  of  the  dmrdL 


CHAPTER  in. 

The  itpofde  (1,)  hutructt  Timoihy  respeeimg  the  quaUficaiums  to  be  attended  to  m  tkoee  uiho  were  to  he  set  epart  to  the  qfiee 
o/bishopst  or  overseere,  ofthejiock  of  Chriet^  1-7 ;  and  ofdeaconeand  their  whee,  8-lS.  (%)  Owe*  Ttmolhf  a  reoMm, 
for  hi*  writing  *o  partieularhf  to  him  about  tkeee  and  other  ckureh  afair*^  for  directing  hi*  conduct  a*  an  emmgdiet^ 
14-18. 


A.M. 
A. 


1. 4060.  npHIS  •  M  a  true  8a)ring,  If  a  man 
-! — 1         desire  the  office  of  a  ^  bishop,  he 

desireth  a  good  ®  work. 
2  ^A  bishop  then  must  be  blameless,  *the 

husband  of  one  wife,  vigilant,  sober,  ^  of  good 


•Clmp.  i.  15. ^AcU  XX.  28;   Phil.  i.  1. eEph.  ir. 

12. 'Titus  i.  6,  &c. •Chapter  y.  9. »0r,  modest. 

'2  Tim.  ii.  24. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 

Verse  1.  Because  some  false  teachers  were  now 
spreading  their  erroneous  doctrines  with  assiduity 
among  the  believers  at  Ephesus,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary that  Timothy  (to  whom  the  care  of  the  church 
there  was  committed)  should  be  assisted  by  some 
bishops,  or  elders,  and  deacons,  well  qualified  to 
teach  the  people,  the  apostle,  after  observing  what 
an  honourable  office  that  of  a  Christian  bishop  is, 
here  describes  the  qualities  and  virtues  necessary  in 
one  who  desires  to  attain  it.  This  is  a  true  saying 
— Most  certain  in  itself^  and  worthy  of  being  always 
acknowledged  and  attended  \o\  if  a  man  desire^ 
(or  earnestly  seek,  as  opiye-ai  signifies,)  the  office  of 
a  bishop — Overseer,  or  pastor  of  Christ's  flock, 
frequently  termed  presbyters,  or  elders,  in  the  New 
Testament.  See  on  Acts  xx.  28;  1  Pet.  v.  1,  2;  he 
desireth  a  good  work — An  excellent  but  laborious 
employment  ^  A  bishop's  office  is  termed  epyov,  a 
work,  to  intimate  that  he  must  not  spend  his  life 
in  ease  and  idleness,  but  in  a  continued  application 
to  the  duties  of  his  office.  It  is  also  termed  kq^ov 
apyov,  a  good,  or  excellent  work,  because  of  its 
honourableness  and  usefulness.  See  on  2  Tim.  it  2. 
The  words  KaXog  and  aya^oc  are  often  used  promis- 
cuously, to  denote  what  is  morally  good.  But  when 
they  are  distinguished^  naXoc  includes  also  the  idea 
of  honour,  and  oya:&oc  the  idea  of  profit. 

Verses  2, 3.  A  bishop  then— Or  an  overseer  of  the 
flock  of  Christ,  that  he  may  be  capable  of  such  an 
office;  must  be  blameless — ^In  every  respect  with 
regard  to  his  moral  character,  since  any  thing  which 
might  be  amiss  in  that  would  tend  to  bring  a  re- 
proach upon  his  office,  and  greatly  obstruct  his  use- 
fulness; the  husband  of  one  tri/c— This  neither 
means  that  a  bishop  must  be  married,  nor  that  he 
may  not  marry  a  second  wife ;  which  is  just  as  law- 
ful for  him  to  do  as  to  marry  a  first,  and  may,  in 
some  cases,  be  his  bounden  duty.  But  whereas 
polygamy  and  divorce,  upon  slight  occasions,  were 
both  common  among  the  Jews  and  heathen,  it 
teaches  us  that  ministers,  of  all  others,  ought  to  stand 
clear  of  those  sins.  Macknight's  reasoning  on  this 
suogect  is  very  conclusive.  "  That  the  gospel  allows 
women  to  marry  a  second  time,  is  evident  from 
1  Cor.  vii.  9,  89.  By  parity  of  reason  it  allows  men 
to  marry  a  second  time  likewise.  Wherefore,  when  ' 
428 


behaviour,  given  to  hospitality,  ^apt  a.  if.  4060. 

.  A.  D.  66. 

to  teach ;  

3  'Not^  given  to  wine,  ^no  strilcer,  'not 
greedy  of  filthy  lucre;  but  ^patient;  not  a 
brawler,  not  covetous ; 

f  Verse  a 'Or,  Not  rtady  to  quarrel,  and  offer  wrong, 

aa  one  ill  wine. *  2  TimoChj  ii.  24. *  1  Peter  r.  2. 

k2TiiB.  iL24. 

it  is  said  here  that  a  bishop  must  be  the  Jiusband  of 
one  wife,  and  (1  Tim.  v.  9,)  that  the  widow,  who  is 
employed  by  the  church  in  teaching  the  young  of 
her  sex,  must  have  been  the  wife  of  one  husband, 
the  apostle  could  ncn  m^n  that  persons  who  have 
married  a  second  time  are  thereby  disqualified  for 
sacred  offices.  For  in  that  case,  a  bishop  whose 
wife  dies  while  he  is  young,  must  lay  down  his  office, 
unless  he  can  live  continently  unmarried.  The 
apostle's  meanmg,  therefore,  in  these  canons,  is,  that 
such  persons  only  were  to  be  intrusted  with  sacred 
ofllces  who  in  theur  married  state  had  contented 
themselves  with  one  wife,  and  with  one  husband  at 
a  time;  because  thereby  they  had  showed  them- 
selves temperate  in  the  use  of  sensual  pleasures; 
through  the  immoderate  love  of  which  the  Asiatic 
nations  universally  practised  polygamy.  In  like 
manner  because,  according  to  our  Lord's  determina- 
tion, persons  who  divorced  each  other  unjustly  were 
guilty  of  adultery  when  they  married  themselves  to 
others;  also  because  such  really  had  more  wives 
and  husbands  than  one  at  a  time,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  (John  iv.  18,)  the 
apostle,  to  restrain  these  licentious  practices,  which 
were  common  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  as 
well  as  among  the  Jlews,  ordered  that  no  widow 
should  be  chosen  to  instruct  the  younger  women,  but 
such  as  had  been  the  wife  of  one  husband  only  at  a 
time."  Vigilant-^lnieni  upon  his  duty,  ready  to 
resist  temptation,  and  careful  to  preserve  his  flock 
from  seduction;  softer— Greek,  oofpowa,  prudent; 
or,  as  the  word  also  implies,  one  who  governs  weU 
his  passions,  and  whose  mind  is  well  regulated.  He 
must  be  lively  and  zealous,  yet  calm  and  wise;  of 
good  or  comely  behaviour— Aa  Koa\uw  might  be  pro- 
perly rendered;  implying  that  his  conduct,  in  all 
respects,  must  be  such  as  becomes  his  office :  his 
discourse,  his  dress,  his  visage,  his  gait,  his  manners 
being  all  suitable  to  the  gravity  of  his  functions. 
The  former  word  respects  the  inward  man,  and  this 
the  outward.  Given  to  ^MptfoKfy— Literally,  a 
lover  of  strangers.  As  the  primitive  Christians  tdok 
a  particular  charge  of  orphans,  widows,  ack  people, 
and  of  such  as  were  imprisoned  for  their  religion,  or 
spoiled  of  their  goods,  so  also  of  strangers;  to  the 
care  of  whom  they  were  led  by  the  manners  of  the 
age,  and  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times. 

b 


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CHAPTER  UL 


amduct  of  a  hUhop. 


A.  M.  4069. 
A.  D.65. 


4  One  that  ruleth  wdl   his  own 
house,  ^  having  his  children  in  suh- 
jectbn  with  all  gravity ; 
5  (For  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his 


>  Tit  i.  6^*—^  Or,  mm  wndy  emm  to  thtfmtk. 


For  many  of  the  first  converts,  having  ^voted  them- 
selves to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  often  travelled 
from  one  place  to  another;  and  as  there  were  no  inns 
in  the  eastern  countries  like  those  used  now  with  us. 
It  was  customary  for  travellers  to  lodge  with  their 
acquaintance,  or  with  such  persons  as  they  were 
recommended  ta  But  all  the  disciples  of  Christ, 
considering  themselves  as  brethren,  and  as  engaged 
in  one  common  cause  for  the  benefit  of  the  world, 
they  made  each  other  welcome,  though  unacquainted, 
to  such  food  and  lodging  as  they  could  afibrd.  And 
therefore,  when  travellers  were  not  acquainted  with 
the  brethren  in  any  particular  place,  all  they  had  to 
do  was  to  make  themselves  known  as  Christians,  by 
declaring  their  faith,  (2  John  10,)  especially  to  the 
bifliiops,  who  had  a  liberal  maintenance  given  them 
to  enable  them  to  be  hospitable.  Yet  the  bishop's 
ho^tality  was  not  to  be  confined  to  the  brethren : 
he  was  to  extend  it,  on  occasion  at  least,  even  to  sUch 
heathen  strangers  as,  agreeably  to  the  manners  of 
the  times,  came  to  him,  drawn  by  his  reputation  for 
wisdom  or  beneficence.  The  reason  was,  by  receiv- 
ing such  into  his  house,  he  would  have  an  opportu^ 
nity  of  recommending  the  true  religion  to  them  by 
his  conversation  and  example.  From  this  account 
it  is  evident,  that  the  hospitality  anciently  required 
in  a  bishop  was  not  what  is  now  meant  by  that  word, 
namely,  the  keeping  a  good  table,  and  an  open  house 
for  one's  friends  and  others,  who  are  able  to  make 
him  a  return  in  kind ;  but  it  consisted  in  entertaining 
stnmgers  of  the  character  just  now  described ;  the 
poor  also,  and  the  persecuted  for  the  sake  of  religion. 
Apt^  or  fit,  to  teacK—By  having  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  things  he  is  to  teach,  a  clear  manner  of 
expressing  his  thoughts,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  i^- 
struct  the  ignorant;  or  one  that  is  himself  well  in- 
structed in  the  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  is 
communicative  of  what  he  knows ;  is  both  able  and 
willing  to  Impart  to  others  the  knowledge  which 
God  hath  given  him«  Not  given  to  wine^Or  any 
other  kind  of  strong  liquor ;  no  striker— Not  of  such 
a  hasty  temper  as  tb  have  so  little  government  of 
himself  as  to  be  ready  to  strike  those  who  provoke 
him;  or  one  that  is  apt  to  use  violence  to  any  one, 
but  who  does  every  thing  in  a  spirit  of  meekness, 
gentleness,  long-suflfering,  and  love.  For  the  wervant 
of  the  Lord  must  not  strive,  htU  be  gentle  toward  all 
men^  2  Tim.  u.  24;  not  greedy— Or  desirous,  rather, 
of  filthy  lucre^ThAi  is,  who  does  not  make  his  min- 
istry subservient  to  any  secular  design  or  interest; 
that  uses  no  mean,  base,  sordid  ways  of  getting 
money ;  who  is  dead  to  the  wealth  of  thb  world,  and 
makes  it  appear  by  his  conduct  that  he  is  so,  and  that 
he  lives  above  it.  It  is  rMoarkable  ^t  the  phrase 
b 


own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  a.  m.  iom. 
ofthe  church  of  God?)  /''^^- 

6  Not  ^a  novice,  lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride 
"^  he  M  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil. 


•IsiuziT.  12. 


aurxpoKepdTK,  which  is  here  used,  and  signifies  a  per- 
son attached  to  sordid  gain,  is  seldom  or  never  used 
in  the  New  Testament  to  express  any  gain,  but  that 
which  is  made  or  procured  by  the  covetousness  of 
Christian  ministers;  and  ^ never  surely,"  as  Dod- 
dridge observes,  '^  does  an  eagerness  in  pursuit  of 
money  appear  more  dishonourable  and  sordid  than 
in  persons  of  that  noble,  but,  alas!  tod  often  prosti- 
tuted profession."  But  palieni—EmeiKy,  gentle, 
yielding,  or  moderate ;  one  that  does  not  insist  upon 
the  extremity  of  his  right,  but  is  ready  to  give  it  up, 
in  some  degree,  for  the  sake  of  peace ;  not  a  brawler 
— ^A  contentious  person ;  not  covetous — A^i^apyvpoy, 
not  a  lover  of  money,  or  of  riches,  but  who,  having 
food  and  raiment  for  himself  and  those  dependant 
upon  him,  is  content  therewith. 

Verses  4-6.  One  that  ruleth  well  his  own  house — 
That  not  only  rules  it,  but  rules  it  well,  and  keeps  his 
family  in  good  order :  that  rules  it  so  as  to  promote 
religion  and  virtue  in  all  its  members ;  rules  it  calmly, 
but  firmly ;  never  usin^  harshness  where  gentleness 
and  love  will  produce  the  desired  effect ;  having  his 
children — If  he  be  a  father;  in  subjection,  with  all 
gravity — Or  seriousness;  for  levity  undermines  all 
domestic  authority :  and  he  must  thus  rule  his  house 
both  that  he  may  set  a  good  example  to  other  mas- 
ters of  families,  and  that  he  may  thereby  give  proof 
of  his  ability  to  preside  over  the  church  of  God. 
For  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own  house— 
So  as  to  preserve  a  due  decorum  in  the  family 
where  he  has  such  a  natural  authority ;  how  should 
he  be  able  to  take  care  of— Or  to  govern,  in  a 
proper  manner,  that  greater  and  more  important  so- 
ciety, the  church  of  God— In  which  there  will  be 
such  a  diversity  of  characters  and  dispositions,  and 
over  which  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  maintain 
an  equal  inspection  and  influence?  Not  a  novice— 
veo^Tov,  literally,  one  newly  ingrafted,  namely, 
into  the  body  of  Christ,  or  newly  planted,  name- 
ly, in  the  garden  of  his  church ;  that  b,  one  newly 
converted.  Such  were  not  to  be  made  bishops,  or 
presbyters ;  because,  being  yet  but  imperfectly  in- 
structed in  the  Christian  doctrine,  they  were  not  fit 
to  teach  it  to  others.  Besides,  as  their  zeal,  con- 
stancy, fideUty,  and  other  graces,  had  not  been  suf- 
ficiently tried,  they  could  have  had  but  little  autho- 
rity, especially  with  the  brethren  of  longer  standing 
and  greater  experience.  Lest  being  lifted  up  with 
pride— Greek,  rvi^^eic,  puffed  %tp,  with  this  new 
honour  conferred  upon  him,  or  the  applause  which 
frequently  follows  it;  he  fell  into  the  condemnation 
ofthe  deoil—TYie  same  into  which  the  devil  fell,  or  be 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  self-conceit  and  high-minded- 
ness,  for  which  the  devil  was  condemned, 
4M9 


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L  TMOTHT. 


and^Uir 


jl  m.  4069.    7  M(»reover,  be  must  have  a  good 
'    L  report  ^  of  them  which  are  without ; 

lest  he  foil  into  reproach  ®  and  the  snare  of  the 

devil 
8  Likewise  must  ''the  deacons  be  grave^  not 

double-tongued,  ^  not  given  to  much  wine^  not 

greedy  of  filthy  lucre; 


»  Acts  zsii.  12 ;   1  Cor.  r.  12:  1  Thess.  ir.  12. »  Chap.  vi. 

9 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  26. 


Verse  7.  Moreover,  he  must  have  a  good  report — 
That  is,  a  fair  or  good  character,  or  good  testimony, 
namely,  as  to  the  time  past ;  of  them  that  are  wWi- 
out — That  are  not  Christians ;  lest  he  fail  inio  re- 
proach— By  their  rehearsing  his  former  life }  and 
the  snare  of  the  devil^Which  Satan  might  make  a 
snare  of  to  discourage  and  cast  him  down,  or  in  some 
other  way  entangle  him  in  unbelief  and  sin.  Here 
Macknight  remarks,  ^^  It  is  intimated,  that  the  sins 
which  a  person  has  formerly  committed,  when  cast 
in  his  teeth  after  he  becomes  administer,  may  be  the 
means  of  tempting  him  to  repeat  these  sins,  by  the 
devil's  suggesting  to  him  that  he  has  little  reputation 
to  lose.  Nor  is  this  the  only  evil.  The  people, 
knowing  his  former  miscarriages,  will  be  lesd  affect- 
ed with  what  he  says  to  them.  All  who  are  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  ought  to  consider  these  things 
seriously." 

Verses  8,  9.  Likewise  the  dcocotw— Of  whom  see 
on  Acts  vi.  3,  4,  and  PhiL  L  1 ;  must  be  grave— 
Or  seriousy  as  some  render  aefomc:  men  of  a  steady, 
decent,  and  venerable  behaviour.  No  mention  is 
made  of  presbytersy  or  elders,  as  distinct  from 
bishops ;  evidently  because  (as  has  been  observed 
on  verse  1,  and  Phil.  i.  1)  they  were  not  distinct 
from  them ;  but'  the  two  names  were  used  promis- 
cuously for  the  same  persons.  Not  double-tongued 
— Deceitful  and  dissembling,  speaking  one  thing  in 
one  company,  and  another  in  another ;  fwf  given  to 
much  wine— Which  would  render  them  utterly  unfit 
for  their  office;  not  greedy,  or  desirous  of  filthy 
lucre — See  on  verse  3.  "With  what  abhorrence 
does  the  apostle  ever3rwhere  speak  of  this!  All 
that  is  gained,  (above  food  and  raiipent,)  by  minis- 
tering in  holy  things,  is  filUty  gain  indeed !  Far 
mort  fiUhy  than  what  is  honestly  gained  by  raking 
kennels,  or  emptying  common  sewers." — Wesley. 
Holding  the  mystery  of  faith  in  a  pure  conscience— 
Well  instructed  in,  and  firmly  believing,  all  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  adorning  them  by  a  cor- 
respondent practice ;  or  steadfast  in  faith,  and  holy 
in  heart  and  life.  Although  the  apostle  did  not  men- 
tion it,  Timothy  would  readily  infer  from  this  direc- 
tion concerning  deacons,  that  it  was  equally  neces-. 
sary  in  bishops  as  in  them  to  be  sound  in  the  faith, 
and  holy  in  life.  As  soundness  in  the  faith  was  re- 
quired in  deacons,  it  is  probable  they  were  some- 
times, if  not  generally,  employed  in  teaching;  but 
whetner  by  preaching  or  catechising  is  not  certain. 
They  likewise  acted  as  readers  in  the  congrega-i 
tions. 

49Q 


9  ""Hddmg  the  mystery  of  the  &ith  A.M.4e«a 

— o  J        ^  AD.  €5. 

m  a  piu-e  conscience. . 

10  And  let  these  also  first  be  proved;  then 
let  them  use  the  office  of  a  deacon,  heixig  found 
blameless. 

11  '  Even  80  nmst  their  wives  he  grave,  not 
slanderers,  sober,  feithful  in  all  things. 


PActeTi.3.- 


I  Vene  3 ;  Ler.  z.  9 ;  EacL  xliv.  21.- 
i.  19. "Tit.  ii.  3. 


'Chap. 


Verse  10.  Let  thess  also — (The  word  also  implies 
that  the  same  rule  was  to  be  observed  with  relation 
to  bishops)  frst  be  proved—"  By  the  examination,*' 
says  Whitby, "  of  the  soundness  of  their  feith,  and 
the  purity  of  their  former  lives:  and  then  let  them 
he  admitted  to  use  the  office  of  a  deacon,  being  thus 
found  blameless,''^  And  he  shows,  by  annotation 
from  the  Life  of  the  Einperor  S^verus,  written  by 
Lampridius,  and  from  the  epistles  of  Cyprian,  that 
such  an  examination  was  ysed  at  the  ordination  of 
both  bbhops  and  deacons  in  the  churches  of  the 
early  Christians,  and  that  it  was  a  practice  derived 
from  the  apostles.  ^Some,  however,  think  that  the 
apostle  required,  in  this  direction,  that  no  one  should . 
be  made  either  a  bishop  or  a  deacon,  till  he  had  given 
proof  both  of  his  steadfastness,  in  the  faith,  and  of 
his  genuine  piety  and  good  conduct  during  a  rea- 
sonable space  of  time  after  his  conversion :  or,  that 
the  persons  admitted  to  these  offices  should  be 
under  trial  for  a  while,  how  they  conducted  them- 
selves therein,  and  then  afterward,,  if  they  gave, 
satisfaction,  they  should  be  confirmed  in  them. 

Verse  11.  Even  so  must  their  iMt?e#— Namely,  the 
¥aves  of  the  deacons;  &€  grave — Serious  in  their 
deportment;  not  slanderers— Or  false  accusers  of 
the  brethren  and  others ;  sober— Or  watchful,  (as 
vtf^eHc  may  be  rendered,)  for  occasions  of  doing 
good,  and  guarding  against  every  temptation  to  evil ; 
faitf^l— To  God,  their  husbands,  and  the  poor ;  in 
all  things — Committed  to  their  care,  lest  their  im* 
prudent  and  unfaithful  conduct  should  bring  the 
character  of  their  husband?  under  suspicion.  Tlie 
apostle,  however,  may  be  understood  here,  as  jiot 
only  speaking  of  the  wives  of  the  deacons  and 
bishops,  but  of  the  believing  women  in^^eaeral,  and 
particularly  of  those  who  were  invested  with  any 
office  in  the  church.  So  the  Vulgate  interprets  his 
meaning,  having  here,  mulie)*es  similiter  pudicas, 
the  women  in  like-  manner  must  be  modest.  Chry- 
sostom  also,  and  the  Greek  commentates,  with 
most  of  the  Latin  fathers,  were  of  opmion  that  the 
apostle,  in  this  passage,  is  speaking  both  of  those 
women  who,  in  the  first  age,  were  employed  in 
ministering  to  the  afflicted,  and  of  those  who  were 
appointed  to  teach  the  young  of  their  own  sex  the 
principles  of  religion.  As  the  manners  of  the  Greeks 
did  not  permit  men  to  have  much  intercourse  with 
women  of  character,  unless  they  were  their  rela- 
tions, and  as  the  Asiatics  were  under  still  greater  re- 
straints, it  was  proper  that  an  order  of  female  teach- 
ers should  be  instituted  in  the  church  for  instmct- 

b 


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'thiiilkmdfmtintKeJU$k 


CHAPTEB  in. 


was  a  great  mystery. 


A.  iLMo.    12  Let  the  deacons  be  the  husbands 

of  one  ^e^  ruling  their  children  and 

their  own  houses  wdL 

13  For  ^  they  that  have  ^used  the  office  of  a 
deacon  well,  piut^hase  to  themselves  a  good 
degree,  and  great  boldness  in  the  Mth  which 
is  in  Chriat  Jesus. 

14  These  things  write  I  unto  thee,  ho|ring  to 
come  unto  thee  shortly : 

15  But  if  i  tarry  long,   that  thou  mayest 


^Matthew  xrr.  21. *0r,  mitiutered. BEphesiana  ii. 

ai.  22;   2  Timothy  li.  20. »Or,  «tey. »Johii  i  14;    1 

John  i.  2. *Qr.  mantfetud. rMttthew  iii.  16;    John 

i  22,  33;   xv.  26;   xri.  8, 9 ;  Romans  i.  4;    1  Peter  iii.  i8 ;    1 


ing  ihe  young  of  their  own  sex.  These,  it  seems, 
were  generally  widows,  CJlemeftt  of  Alexandria 
reckoning  widows  among  ecclesiastical  persons, 
Padag^Hh,  iii  c*  12;  and  Grotius  teUs  us  that  these 
female  presbyters,  or  elders,  were  ordained  by  impo- 
sition of  hands  till  the  council  of  Laodicea. 

Verses  12, 13.  Let  the  deacons — As  well  as  the 
bishops;  be  husbands  of  one  ict/c— That  is,  such  as 
hare  shown  their  temperance  by  avoiding  polygamy 
and  causeless  divorce;  (see  on  verse  2;)  ruling 
their  children,  &c.— This  qualification,  which  was 
required  in  bishops  likewise,  shows  how  anxious  the 
apostle  was  that  all  who  bore  sacred  offices  should 
be  unblameable  in  ^very  respect ;  knowing  that  tlie 
disorderiy  behaviour  of  the  members  of  their  family 
might  give  occasion  to  suspect  that  they  had  been 
careless  of  their  morals.  For  they  that  have  used— 
Have  discharged ;  ihe  office  of  a  deacon  weU,  (sec 
Rom.  xiL  7, 8,)  purchase  to  themselves  a  good  de- 
gree— Greek,  Ba^fiov,  step,  namely,  toward  some 
higher  office ;  and  great  boldness— From  the  testi- 
mony of  a  good  conscience;  in  the  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  /etfti^-'Namely,  in  professing  and  teaching  it, 
for  even  the  wicked  must  respect  persons  who  show 
80  much  benevolence  and  activity  in  relieving  the 
poor,  the  affiicted,  and  the  persecuted. 

Verses  14-16.  TViese  ^tn^^— Concerning  the 
character  of  persons  fit  to  be  intrusted  with  the  of- 
fice of  bishops  or  deacons ;  IwritSy  hoping  to  conie 
to  thee  shortly-— Ii  seems  evident  from  hence,  that 
P^ul  intended  to  have  come  back  to  Timothy  at 
Ephesus  in  a  little  time,  but  was  providentially  called 
another  way ;  but,  as  Doddridge  observes,  it  can  by 
no  means  be  concluded  from  hence  that  Paul  wrote 
this  epistle  to  Timothy  after  his  imprisonment  at 
Rome.  But  if  I  tarry  long— If  I  am  hindered  from 
coming,  I  give  thee  these  instructions  in  the  mean 
time ;  that  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to 
b^ave  thyself— Thtii  is,  how  to  discharge  thy  office 
properly ;  (which  is  the  scope  of  the  whole  epistle ;) 
in  the  house  ofChd — In  which  thou  hast  the  honour 
to  bear  so  high  an  office,  even  in  that  house,  or  fa- 
mily, which  is  the  church  of  the  living  Ood— "Where 
he  is  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth  by  his  believ^ 
ing  people,  manifests  his  special  presence,  and  be- 
stows peculiar  blesshigs.  The  tabernacle  first,  and 
afterward  tiie  temple,  obtained  the  name  of  the 
b 


know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  a.  m.  4060. 
thyself  *  in  the  house  of  God,  whidi^JL£l^ 
is  the  church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and 
Aground  of  the  truth. 

16  And  /without  controversy,  great  is  the 
mystery  of  godliness :  *  God  was  •  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  ^justified  in  the  S[mrit, 
■  seen  of  angels,  *  preadhed  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles, ^believed  on  in  the  world,  "received  up 
into  glory. 


John  T.  6,  &c. *  Matthew  zzriil  2}  Marli  xvi.  5;  Lulu 

ii.  13 ;   nir.  4 ;   John  zx.  12 ;    Epheatans  iii.  10.        ft  Acts  x. 

34, bOoiosstana  i.  6>  23.'T-^LiiiLe  xxij.  61;   Acts  i.  19; 

1  Peter  iii.  22. 


house  or  habitation  of  God,  because  there  the  sym- 
bol of  the  divine  presence  resided,  1  Sam.  i.  7  j  Matt, 
xxi.  13;  xxiii.  38.  But  under  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion no  material  building  or  temple  is  called  the 
house  of  God,  That  appellation  is  given  only  lo  the 
church  of  God,  or  to  those  societies  of  men  who 
profess  to  believe  inClirist,andjoin  together  in  wor- 
shipping Qod  according  to  the  gospel  form.  The 
pillar  and  ground — Or  support,  as  eSpcut^/ia  signifies ; 
of  the  trvXhr^ThsX  is,  of  the  whole  system  of  gospel 
truth.  "Some  commentators  think  Timothy  is 
called,  in  this  passage,  the  pillar  and  siipport  of  ihe 
truth,  for  the  same  reason  that  Peter,  James,  and 
John  are  called  pillars,  (Gal.  119,)  and  that  the  par- 
ticle uf,  a>s,  should  be  supplied  before  these  words, 
and  the  clause  translated  thus :  That  tJiou  inayest 
know  Iww  thou  ouglU  to  behave  thyself,  as  the  pillar 
and  support  of  the  truth  in  ike  church  dfthe  living 
Qod,  But,  not  to  insist  on  the  harshness  and  irregu- 
larity of  this  construction,  it  must  be  observed,  that 
seeing  the  interpretation  of  the  passage  hath  been 
much  contested,  a  word^  which  entirely  changes  the 
apostle'a  meaning,  should  by  no  means  be  inserted 
in  the  text  on  mere  conjecture,  because  in  that  man- 
ner the  Scriptures  may  be  made  lo  speak  any  thing 
which  bold  critics  please."— Macknight.  According 
to  the  common  reading,  the  church  of  God  is  evi- 
dently here  called  the  pillar  and  support  of  truth. 
And  since  the  apostle  must  be  understood  as  speak- 
ing, not  of  any  particular  falsely  pretended,  fallen, 
or  corrupt  church,  but  of  the  true,  genuine,  catholic 
church,  or,  as  he  expresses  himself,  the  church  of 
the  living  God,  consisting  of  all  the  true  churches 
of  Christ  throughout  the  world,  and  comprehending 
all  true  believers  and  lovers  of  God,  all  who  hold  th^ 
mystery  of  faith  in  a  pure  conscience',  (verse  9;) 
this  church,  so  constituted,'  may  with  perfect  pro- 
priety be  termed  the  pillar  and  support  of  the 
truth,  as  preserving,  from  ago  to  age,  the  Holy 
Bcriptures,  which  attest  the  truth,  and  as  always  be- 
lieving and  maintaining  the  great  fundamental  arti- 
cles of  the  Christian  faith.  Bengelius,  however,  and 
many  others,  adopt  a  different  reading,  so  far  as  to 
end  the  sentence  with  the  church  of  the  living  God, 
and  to  begin  the  next  with  the  words  following, 
thus:  The  mystery  of  godliness  is  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  truth,  and  confessedly  a  great  thing. 
481 


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L  TIMOTHY. 


^gHOim^m: 


And  this  reading  is  approved  by  Witsius,  Whitby, 
Doddridge,  Wesley,  and  many  other  eminent  com- 
mentators.#  According  to  this  interpretation,  by  the 
my$tery  of  godliness  we  are  to  understand  that 
wondeiAil  and  sublime  doctrine  which  is  revealed  in 
the  gospel,  and  immediately  specified  in  six  articles, 
which  sum  up  the  whole  economy  of  Christ  upon 
earth. 

Ood  was  manifest  tit  theflesh^Nuaelj,  the  Word 
that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  was  God, 
was  incarnated,  (J<^n  L  14,)  in  the  human  nature  of 
Jesus,  conceived  by  a  miracle  in  the  womb  of  the 
virgm,  and  bora  of  her,  to  whom,  therefore,  the  di- 
vine names  of  Ood,  Lord,  and  Jehovah,  are  repeat- 
edly given  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments ;  as  also  the  divine  titles  of  the  true  Ood, 
I  John  V.  20 ;  God  over  all  blessed  for  ever,  Rom. 
ix.  5;  Jehovah  of  hosts,  Isa.  viii.  13, 14;  Hos.  zii. 
5;  the  Lord  of  glory,  1  Cor.  ii.  8;  the  Holy  One 
and  Just,  and  Ae  Prince  of  life,  Acts  lit.  14, 15;  the 
first  and  last,  Rev.  i.  17.  To  bim  divine  attribntcis 
are  ascribed  5  omnipresence.  Matt.  xviiL  20;  omnipo- 
tence, Phil.  iii.  21 ;  omniscience.  Rev.  ii.  23.  And  di- 
vine works,  namely,  those  of  creation,  John  L  3 ; 
'preservation,  CoL  L  17;  Heb.  i.  3;  redemption  and 
salvation^  passim,  and  judging  all  mankind  at  the 
last  day,  Matt  txv.  31,  32,  &c.  And  to  him,  as  we 
have  very  often  seen  in  the  course  of  these  notes, 
divine  worship  was  frequently  paid  by  those  divine- 
ly-inspired persons,  who  could  not  be  mistaken,  par- 
ticularly in  a  matter  so  momentous.  He  was  mani- 
fested in  the  form  of  a  servant,  in  the  fashion  of  a 
man,  for  thirty-three  years,  his  divine  glory  fre- 
quently breaking  forth  through  the  veil  of  his  hu- 
manity, especially  in  the  wisdom  of  his  discourses, 
in  the  power  of  his  miracle^  in  the  holiness  of  his 
spotless  life,  and  in  his  unspeakable  and  never-ceas- 
ing benevolence,  beneficence,  and  other  divine  vir- 
tues, and  in  a  peculiar  manner  when  he  was  trans- 
figured on  the  holy  mount,  2  Pet  i.  16, 17.  Justified 
in  the  Spirit—The  Lord  Jesus  appeared  on  earth  in 
all  the  infirmity  and  frailty  of  mortal  fiesh,  poor,  de- 
spised, persecuted,  and  at  last  put  to  death  as  a  blas- 
phemer ;  yet  he  professed  and  maintained  a  high 
claim,  the  highest  possible,  even  that  of  being  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  Gk>d  in  a  peculiar  sense,  and  one 
with  his  Father,  John  viii.  68,  and  x.  30, 36.  Now 
how  could  he  be  justified  in  making  this  claim  ?  He 
^sas  justified  in,  or  by,  the  iSf/nW<— Namely,  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  1st,  That  Spirit  had  moved  holy  men  of  old, 
(2  Pet  i.  21,)  to  utter  many  predictions  concerning 
him,  and  these  were  all  exactly  fulfilled  in  him.  2d, 
The  Spirit  descended  upon  him  in  a  visible  form  at 
his  baptism,  and  pointed  him  out  as  the  person, 
whom  the  voice  from  heaven  declared  to  be  God^s 
beloved  Son;  and  this  Spirit  he  possessed  without 
ineasure  in  its  gifts  and  graces,  as  his  doctrme,  life, 
and  miracles  showed.  3d,  By  this  Spirit  he  was 
luised  from  the  dead,  (1  Pet.  ill  18,)  and  thereby 
powerfully  demonstrated  to  be  the  Son  of  God, 
Rom.  i.  4.  4th,  He  baptized  his  disciples  with  this 
Spirit,  particularly  on  the  day  of  pentecost,  accord- 
ing to  the  prediction  of  the  Baptist,  (Matt.  iii.  11,) 
and  his  o\»-n  often-repeated  promise,  and  thereby 
482 


c(Hivinced  of  sin  those  that  did  not  believe  in  him, 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  and  showed  diem  to  be 
inexcusable  in  resisting  such  evidence ;  giving  fUl 
proof^  at  the  same  time,  thai  he  himeelf  was  right- 
eous, John  xvL  7-10.  Seen  ofangels^Movferer  re- 
gardless men  might  be  of  this  astonishing  mystery, 
this  manifestation  of  €rod  in  the  flesh,  the  angc^ 
viewed  it  with  deep  and  constant  attention  and  greet 
interest,  as  a  most  astonishing  and  instmetive  spec- 
tacle, more  mysterious  than  any  work  of  creation,  or 
dispensation  of  providence,  and  giving  them  such 
views  of  their  Maker's  justice  and  grace,  and  espe- 
cially of  his  love,  as  they  had  not  had  before,  1  Pet. 
i.  12.  Accordingly  they  worshipped  him  at  his  en- 
tranoe  into  the  world,  Heb.  L  6;  celebrated  his 
birth,  Luke  iL  ^18 ;  ministered  to  him  in  the  de- 
sert, Matt  iv.  11;  and  in  hiff  agonies,  Luke  ii.  43; 
were  present  at  his  resurrection  and  ascension,  Luke 
xxiv.  4 ;  Acts  L 10.  Preached  to  the  Gentiles^Thk 
also  b  termed  a  mystery  Eph.  iii.  4-6;  Col.  i.  25 ; 
where  see  the  notes.  And  if  we  consider  how  the 
Gentile  world  was  sunk  in  idolatry  and  vice  of  every 
kind,  and  that  whoever  preached  the  gospel  to  them 
must  testify  against  their  abominable  practices  in 
strong  terms,  and  therefore  had  every  reason  to  ex- 
peet  the  most  violent  opposition  and  ill  usage,  even 
to  imprisonment,  torture,  and  martyrdom,  we  must 
allow  both  that  God  manifested  astonishing  grace  in 
sending  his  apostles  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them, 
and  that  these  his  messengers  displayed  amazing  for- 
titude in  going  so  willingly  to  preach  it.  Believed 
on  in  the  world^-Tbis  was  a  still  greater  mystery; 
1st,  That  a  poor,  mean,  and  persecuted  man,  cruci- 
fied as  the  vilest  malefactor,  should  be  believed  on 
as  the  Messiah  expected  by  the  Jews  and  all  na- 
tions—the Son  of  God— the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
2d,  That  his  gospel,  so  simple  and  unpromising  in 
appean^nce,  preached  without  wisdom  of  words,  and 
by  men  who  had  not  the  advantage  of  wealth,  power, 
or  learning  to  recommend  them,  and  whose  doctrine 
condemned  the  reigning  idolatry,  should  be  beheved 
in  as  a  revelation  from  God :  especially  as,  3d,  It 
could  not  prevail  but  it  must  evidently  overthrow 
the  heathen  idolatry,  established  and  revered  for 
ages,  and  bring  all  Uie  esteemed  doctrines  of  the 
philosophers  into  discredit,  and  therefore  would  cer- 
tainly be  opposed  and  persecuted  by  the  three  classes 
of  people  of  the  greatest  power,  the  priesthood,  the 
philosophers,  and  the  Roman  emperor,  with  all  sub- 
ordinate kings  and  magistrates.  4th,  Whoever  be- 
lieved it  were  under  an  indispensable  obligation  to 
confess  it ;  and  whoever  did  so  was  in  danger  of  suf- 
fering the  loss  of  all  things,  imprisonment,  torture, 
and  death.  But  notwithstanding  all  these  obstacles 
in  the  way,  Jesus  and  his  gospel  were  believed  on  in 
the  world.  "  This  undeniable  fact,  of  which  the  evi- 
dence remains  at  this  day,  is  mentioned  as  a  part  of 
the  mystery  of  godliness,  because  it  is  a  strong  proof 
of  the  truth  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  of  the 
spiritual  gifts  and  miraculous  powers  by  which  the 
apostles  and  their  assistants  are  said,  in  the  Christian 
records,  to  have  spread  the  gospel  through  the 
world.  For,  to  believe  that  the  multitudes,  not  only 
among  the  barbarous  nations^  but  among  the  learned 

b 


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CHAPTER  nr. 


ofswnefram  the  faith  ofChriei. 


Cheeks  and  Romans,  who  fonraiok  thehr  natiT6  reli- 
gion and  embraced  ike  gospel,  were  fersnaded  to  do 
io  merely  by  the  force  of  words^  without  the  aid  of 
miracles  and  spiritual  gifts,  is  to  believe  a  greater 
miracle  than  any  recorded  in  the  gospel  history.*^ — 
Macknight  Received  vp  into  ^2ory— When  his 
mfa^try  on  earth  was  completed  >  when  he  had  M- 
IDled  the  Old  Testament  prophecies,  and  answered 
the  ancient  types ;  taught  the  whole  truth  belonging 
to  his  new  dispensation,  and  confirmed  it  by  mira- 
cles ^  had  set  his  followers  a  perfect  example;  ex- 
piated sin  by  dying,  broke  the  power  of  death  by  his 
resurrection ;  giving  his  disciples  clear  proof  thereof 
by  (requently  appearing  to  them,  as  well  as  by  show- 


ing them  that  the  ancient  prophets  had  foretold 
these  things ;  and  had  given  them  their  commission 
and  all  needful  instru^n ;— He,  who  had  ao  long 
tabemaded  in  our  frail  nature  in  a  state  of  poverty, 
reproach,  and  suffering,  was  received  up  into  glory: 
that  is,  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  ho  resumed  the 
glory  he  had  wHh  his  Father  before  the  world  was ; 
(John  xvii.  5;)  his  human  nature  Was  transformed 
and  glorified,  and  in  his  complete  person,  as  God  and 
mui,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  whole'  crea- 
tion for  the  good  of  his  church,  (Eph.  i.  20-82,)  in- 
vested with  all  authority  and  power  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  and  constituted  ^e  final  Judge  of  man  and 
angels. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Hir$  (1,)  Tht  mpo§a€  forHdM  «  intkiful  apoiUe^  from  tk$  ioOrmta  tmd  pnctice*  ef  the  go$feU  1-5.  (2,)  iff  ikuU 
Timethy  to  attend  to  the  great eeeential  maftere  of  reUgum,  aadtohe  tUUgent,  pntdentf  and  faithful  t»  hie  pereemal  con- 
daet^  and  in  the  Uncharge  ofAe  iuHee  of  he  ogUef  6-16. 

A.M. 


If.  4069.  'M'OW  the  Spirit  •spcaketh  expressly, 

*  ihsit  1>m  iVkfk  Inttiir  fimAfl  oAnriA  akAll 


that  ^in  the  latter  times  some  shall 


•  John  xri.  13 ;  2  Then.  ii.  3.- 


iPet.i.aOL 


NOTES  ON  bHAPTER  IV. 

Verse  I.  JVbw  tA«  iS!ptrtl<— By  calling  the  Christian 
Church,  in  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  piU 
larandsupport  of  the  truth^  the  apostle  taught,  that 
one  of  the  important  purposes  for  which  that  great 
spiritual  huilding  was  reared,  was  to  preserve  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  true  religion  in  the  world. 
Nevertheless,  knowing  that  in  after  times  great  cor- 
ruptions, both  in  doctrine  and  practice, -would  at 
length  take  place  in  the  church  itself,  and  that  the 
general  reception  of  these  corruptions  by  professed 
Christians  would  be  urged  as  a  proof  of  their  being 
the  truths  and  precepts  of  God,  on  pretence  that  the 
church  is  the  pillar^  ^.,  of  the  truth^  the  apostle,  to 
strip  these  corruptions  of  any  credit  which  they 
might  derive  Arom  their  being  received  by  the  mul- 
titude, and  maintained  by  persons  of  the  greatest 
note  in  the  church,  judged  it  necessary  in  this  chap- 
ter to  foretel  the  introduction  of  these  corruptions, 
under  the  appellation  of  an  apostacy  front  the  faith, 
and  to  stigmatize  the  authors  thereof  as  hypocrites 
and  deceivers.  And  to  give  his  prediction  the 
greater  authority,  he  informed  Timothy  that  it  was 
revealed  to  him  in  a  peculiar  and  express  manner. 
Tlie  Spirit,  says  he,  epeaketh  expresBly—As  con- 
cerning a  thing  of  great  moment,  and  soon  to  be  ftil- 
filled.  Some  have  thought  the  meaning  of  the 
apostle  to  be,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  revealed  what 
follows  by  Daniel,  and  some  of  the  other  prophets; 
but,  says  Macknight,  '^the  things  here  mentioned 
are  not  in  Daniel,  nor  anywhere  else  in  Scripture, 
not  even  in  the  prophecy  which  the  apostle  himself 
lormeriy  delivered  concerning  thq  man  of  sin.  I 
therefbre  tiiink  these  words  were,  for  the  greater 

Vou  IL  (  88  ) 


depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  ^  to  se-  A.  M.  4069 
ducing  spirit^  ^  and  doctrines  of  devils ;  ^>1— i — 


•S  Tim.  iii.  la 'Dan.  zi.  35»  37,  38;  lUr.  k.  10. 


solemnity  and  certainty,  pronounced  by  the  Spirit 
in  the  apostle's  hearing,  after  he  had  finished  the 
preceding  passage."  But  the  apostle  might  mean, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  revealed  this,  not  only  to 
him,  but  also  to  other  contemporary  prophets. 

That  in  the  latter,  or  after  timee^As  the  phrase 
ep  v^tpoi^  Kotpoic  may  be  translated,  because  it  de- 
notes future  times,  without  marking  whether  they 
are  near  or  remote.  Or  if^  as  Mede  thinks,  DaniePs 
four  monarchies  are  referred  to,  as  it  was  under  the 
Soman  that  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  the  kingdom 
of  his  Son,  the  latter,  or  after  times  here  intended 
may  be  the  last  part  of  the  duration  of  the  Roman 
empire.  Some  shall  depart— Oi  rather,  shall  apos- 
tatize, from  the  faith— The  apostle  had  predicted 
the  same  thing  before,  2  Theaj.  ii.  3,  where  see  the 
notes.  There  (he  character  of  the  teachers  who 
were  to  introduce  the  apostacy  b  described ;  but  in 
this  epistle  the  erroneous  opinions  and  corrupt  prac- 
tices which  constituted  the  apQstacy  are  foretold. 
And  as  the  apostle  hath  introduced  this  prophecy 
immediately  after  his  account  of  the  mystery  of  god- 
liness, is  it  not  probable  that  his  design  in  so  doing 
was  to  give  the  faithful  an  opportunity  of  comparing 
this  mystery  of  iniquity  with  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness, that  they  might  be  more  sensible  of  the  perni- 
cious nature  of  it?  It  may  be  proper  to  observe, 
that  it  is  not  every  error  or  heresy  that  is  an  aposta- 
cy fVom  the  fedth.  It  is  a  revolt  in  the  principal  and 
essential  articles,  as  when  we  worship  God  by  an 
image  or  representation,  or  when  we  worship  other 
beings  besides  God,  and  pray  unto  other  mediators 
besides  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus.  It  b  the  very  essence  of  Chria- 
438 


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I.  TmOTHY. 


andpraciiees  o/ihe  go§pok 


A.M. 4060.    2  *  Speaking    lies    in    hypocosy, 

'. —  'having  their  consci^ce  sealed  with 

a  hot  iron ; 
3  '  Forbidding  to  marry,  ^  and  commanding 


•Matt.  TIL  15 ;   Rooi.  xn.  18;  2  Pet  ii.  3. ^Eplv  ■▼- 19, 

fflConTiL28,36,38;   CoLii.20,2L 


tian  worship,  to  worship  the  one  toue  Cioi  through 
the  one  true  Christ;  and  to  worship  any  other  God 
or  any  other  Mediator,  is  apostacy  and  rebellion 
against  God  and  Christ  It  is,  as  St.  Paul  says,  (Col. 
ii.  19,)  not  holding  the  head,  but  depending  upon 
other  heads;  it  is,  as  St  Peter  expresses  it,  denying 
the  Lord  that  bought  f<#,  and  serving  other  lords; 
and  the  denial  of  such  an  essential  part  may  as  pro- 
perly be  called  apostacy,  as  if  we  were  to  renounce 
the  whole  Christian  faith  and  worship.  It  is  re- 
nouncing them  in  effect,  and  not  regarding  God  as 
God,  or  Christ  as  Christ.  Such  is  the  nature  bfapoe- 
tacyfroin  th^fatth^  and  it  is  implied  that  this  apos- 
tacy should  be  general,  and  infect  great  numbers. 
For  though  it  be  said  only  some  shall  apostatize,  yet 
by  $ome  in  this  (flace  many  are  understood,  which  is 
the  case  also  in  many  other  passages  of  the  Scrip- 
tores,  as  Bishop  Newton  has  ftiUy  proved.  Giving 
J^ed  to  seducing  epirite—ynio  inspire  false  teach- 
ers; or  to  men  that  persuade  others  to  believe  them 
by  the  pretence  of  some  inspiration  or  revelation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  thereby  cause  people  to  err  from 
the  true  faith  of  the  gospel.  The  apostle  means 
those  gross  frauds  by  which  the  corrupt  teachers,  in 
the  dark  ages,  would  enforce  their  erroneous  doc- 
trines and  superstitious  practices  on  the  ignorant 
multitudes,  under  the  notion  of  revelations  from  God, 
or  from  angels,  or  departed  saints.  In  the  same 
sense  St.  John  is  to  be  understood,  when  he  says, 
(i  Epist  iv.  1,)  Believe  not  every  epiril,  ei'ery  pre- 
tender to  inspiration,  btU  try  the  apirite  whether  they 
be  of  God,  And  to  doctrines  of  devils — Or  rather, 
doctrines  concerning  demons.  The  word  daifiopia, 
translated  demons,  was  used  by  the  Greeks  to  denote 
a  kind  of  beings  of  a  middle  nature  between  God  and 
man..  They  gave  the  same  name  also  to  the  souls 
of  some  departed  men,  who  they  thought  were  ex- 
alted to  the  state  and  honour  of  demons  for  their 
virtue.  The  former  sort  they  called  superior  de- 
mons, and  supposed  them  to  have  the  nature  and  of- 
fice which  we  ascribe  to  angels.  The  latter  they 
termed  inferior  demons.  These  were  of  the  same 
character  with  the  Romish  saints.  And  both  sorts 
were  worshipped  as  mediators.  When  therefore  the 
Spirit  of  God  foretold,  that  in  after  times  many 
vxmld  give  heed  to  deceiving  spirits,  and  to  doc- 
trines concerning  demons,  he  foretold  that,  on  the 
authority  of  feigned  revelations,  many  in  the  church 
would  reciftre  the  doctrine  concerning  the  worship 
of  angels  and  saints,  and  the  praying  souls  out  of 
purgatory ;  and  called  it  the  doctrine  of  demons,  be- 
cause it  was  in  reality  the  same  with  the  ancient  hea- 
thenish worship  of  demons,  as  mediators  between  the 
gods  and  men.  Thus  the  sin  for  which  many  are 
represented  as  being  punished,  (Rev.  ix.  20,)  is  said 
434 


to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  a.  m.  406t. 
hath  created  *to  be  received  ^with    ^^'  ^ 


thank^ving  of  them  which  believe  and  knovr 
the  truth. 


3,  17:    1  Cor.  TiiL  a » Gea. 

kR^NiL  lir.  6;   1  Cor.  x.  3a 


L  »;    ^  a. 


to  be  their  worshipping,  ra  iaijiwia,  demons,  that  ii^ 
angels  tod  saints ;  not  devUs,  as  our  translators  have 
rendered  the  word,  ibr  in  no  period  of  the  church 
have  devils  been  worshipped  by  Christians. 

Verse  2.  Speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy — Greek,  tv 
viroKpiaet  ^evSoXoyciv,  by  the  hypocrisy  of  them  that 
speak  lies.  This  is  a  more  literal,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  more  just  translation  of  the  words  than  that 
given  in  our  Bible,  which  represents  the  demons  as 
speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  which  could  not  be  the 
apostle's  meaning,  as  it  would  not  accord  with  what 
follows.  Earing  their  consrience  seared,  &c. — ^An 
expression  which  could  not  be  intended  of  devils. 
The  hypocrisy  here  mentioned  is  that  feigned  show 
of  extraordinary  piety  and  sanctity  which  the  lying 
teachers  were  to  put  on,  with  an  intention  to  gain  Uie 
confidence  of  yie  multitude.  Hence  they  are  de- 
scribed as  haring  the  form  of  godliness,  but  deny- 
ing the  power,  2  Hm.  iil.  5.  These  hypocritical 
teachers  are  called  liars,  because  of  the  gross  fic- 
tions and  frauds  which  they  were  to  contrive  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  the  wOTship  of  demons. 
How  well  the  appellation  agrees  to  the  Romish  cler- 
gy in  the  dark  ages,  any  one  may  understand  who 
is  acquainted  with  the  lies  then  propagated  concern- 
iiig  the  apparitions  of  angels,  and  of  the  ghosts  of 
departed  saints;  and  concerning  the  miracles  done 
by  them,  and  by  their  relics,  and  by  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  &C.,  all  preached  by  monks,  priests,  and  even 
bishops;  and  committed  to  writing,  in  the  labu]oii8 
legends  of  their  saints,  to  render  them  objects  of 
adoration.  ^  It  is  impossible,'^  says  Bishop  Newton, 
'^  to  relate  or  enumerate  all  the  various  falsehoods, 
and  lies  which  have  been  invented  and  propagated 
for  this  purpose ;  the  fiaibulous  books  (brged  und«r 
the  names  of  apostles,  saints,  and  martys;  the  fabu- 
lous legends  of  their  lives,  actions,  sufferings,  and 
deaths ;  the  fabulous  miracles  ascribed  to  theirsepul- 
chres,  bones,  and  other  relics;  the  fabulous  dreams 
and  revelations,  visions,  and  apparitions  of  the  dead 
to  the  living;  and  even  the  fabulous  saints  who 
never  existed  but  in  the  imagination  of  their  wor- 
shippers :  and  all  these  stories  the  monks,  the  priests, 
the  bbhops  of  the  church,  have  imposed  and  ob- 
truded upon  mankind,  it  is  difficult  to  say,  whether 
with  greater  artifice  or  cruelty,  with  greater  confi- 
dence or  hypocrisy,  and  pretended  sanctity,  a  more 
hardened  face,  or  a  more  hardened  conscience.  The 
history  of  the  church,  saith  Pascal,  is  the  history  of 
truth;  but,  as  written  by  bigoted  Papists,  it  is  rather 
the  history  of  lies. ^ 

Verse  3.  ForfctcMtng  to  marry— The  same  hypo- 
critical liars,  who  should  promote  the  worship  of 
demons,  should  also  prohibit  lawful  marriage.  This 
false  morality  was  very  early  Introduced  into  the 
(28*  )  b 


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[JBwrfcreaiureof€Mi$good, 


CHAFrERIV. 


tfrecehei  linih  thanksgiving. 


A.  M.  4000, 

A.D.  e& 


4  For  ^evisry  creature  of  Ood  is 
good,  and  nolhiDg  to  be  refused^  if 
it  be  reoeiYed  with  thaakBgiving : 
5  For  it  k  Mnctified  by  the  wtxtd  <rf  God, 
aBdjHrayer. 


sir.  14,  20;  1  Cor.  z.  S5;  Tit  L  1& 


cburclly  being  taught  first  by  thei  Encratites  and 
Marcionitea,  and  afterward  by  the  Manicheans,  who 
said  marriage  was  the  inrention  of  the  evil  god ;  and 
who  considered  it  as  sinful  to  bring  creatures  into 
the  world  to  be  unhappy,  and  to  be  food  for  death. 
Id  process  of  time  the  monks  eoibraeed  celibacy, 
and  represented  it  as  the  highest  pitch  of  sancti^. 
It  is  a  thing  miiversally  known,  that  one  of  the  pri- 
mary and  most  essential  laws  and  constitutions  of 
all  monks,  whether  solitiiry  or  associated^  whether 
living  in  deserts  or  in  convents,  is  the  profe^on  of  a 
single  life,  to  abstain  from  marriage  themselves,  and 
to  discourage  it  all  they  can  in  others.  It  is  ocpially 
certmn  that  the  monks  had  the  principal  share  in  pro- 
moting and  propagating  the  worship  of  the  dead ;  and 
either  out  of  credulity,  or  for  worse  reasons,  recom- 
mended It  to  die  people  with  all  the  pomp  and  power 
of  their  eloquence  in  their  homilies  and  orations. 
At  ieogth  celibacy  was  recommended  by  the  priests, 
and  by  the  orthodox  themselves,  and  more  especially 
by  the  bishops  of  Rome,  the  great  patrons  of  the 
wordiip  of  angels  and  saints.  For  they  strictly  en- 
joined their  clergy,  both  regular  and  secular,  to  ab- 
stain from  marriage.  Thus  the  worship  of  demons 
and  the  prohibition  of  marriage,  though  naturally 
unconnected,  have  gone  hand  in  hand  in  the  church, 
as  the  Spirit  here  foretold.  And  commanding  to  ab- 
stain  finammeaU— The  same  lying. hypocrites,  who 
enjoined  the  won^iip  of  demons,  would  not  only 
prohilMt  lawftd  marriage,  but  likewise  impose  unne- 
cessary abstinence  from  meats.  This  part  of  the 
prophecy  hath  been  exactly  .fulfilled ;  for  it  is  as 
much  the  rule  of  the  monks  and  nuns  to  abstain  from 
meats  as  from,  marriage.  Some  never  eat  any  flesh, 
others  only  of  certain  kinds,  and  on  certain  days. 
Frequent  fiists  are  the  rule,  the  boast  of  their  order ; 
and  their  carnal  hnmiUty  is  their  spiritual  pride. 
So  lived  the  monks  of  the  ancient  church;  so  live, 
with  less  strictness,  perhaps,  but  with  greater  osten- 
tation, tiie  monks  and  friars  of  the  Church  of  Rome : 
and  these  have  been  the  principal  propagators  and 
defender8t>f  the  worship  of  the  dead,  both  in  former 
and  in  latter  times.  Here  therefore  the  qHwtle  hath 
pointed  out  two  instances  of  the  hypocrisy  of  the 
lying  teachers,  who  should  enjoin  the  worship  of 
demons.  Under  the  false  pretence  of  holiness,  they 
should  recommend  abstinence  from  marriage  to  the 
monks,  friars,  and  nuns ;  and  under  the  equally  false 
pretence  of  devotion,  they  should  enjoin  abstinence 
from  meats,  to  some  men  at  all  times,  and  to  all  men 
at  some  times.  There  is  no  necessary  connection 
between  the  worship  of  demons  and  abstinence  from 
marriage  and  meats.  And  yet  it  is  certain  that  the 
great  lulvocates  of  this  worship  have  commanded 
Doth:  and  by  this  protended  purity  and  mortification 
b 


6  If  thou  put  the  brethren  in  re-  a.m.40«^. 
membrance   of  these    thingB,  thou   ^'^'^ 
shalt  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  »  nou- 
rished up  in  the  words  of  feith  and  of  good 
doctrine,  whereunto  thou  hast  attained. 

"2TiB.iiLH,  15. 


have  procured  the  greater  reverence  to  their  per- 
sons, and  the  readier  reception  of  their  doctrine:  a 
proceeding  this  which  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  could 
have  foreseen  and  foretold.  Whidh  meats  God  hath 
created  to  be  received  with  ihanksgiping^Qo  that 
this  Popish,  monkifih  abstinence  is  as  unworthy  of  a 
Christian,  as  it  is  unnatural  to  man.  It  is  perverting 
the  purpose  of  the  Author  of  nature,  and  prohibiting 
the  use  of  the  creatures  Which  he  hath  made,  and 
given  to  be  used  of  them  who  believe  and  obey  the 
irtdh^Here  the  apostle  intimates  that  only  true  be- 
lievers havea  covenant  right  to  the  creatures  of  God, 
though  others  may  have  a  providential  right  By 
those,  however,  who  know  the  truth,  he  may  chiefly 
intend  those  who  are  instructed  to  place  religion  not 
in  such  indifiereUt  things  asabstainingfrom  marriage; 
or  /from  certain  meats,  but  in  things  more  truly  ex- 
cellent and  worthy,  of  God,  and  who  know  that  all 
meats  are  now  clean,  lind  therefore  may  be  Used  with 
a  pure  conscience,  and  with  thanksgiving  flowing 
therefrom.  For  every  creature  ofGod-^Vh  (or  man's 
food;  t>  g'ood— Lawful  to  be  used,  and  nothing  tabe 
refused — kirofih/itcfv,  to  be  rejected,  or -cast  away, 
either  from  peevishness,  or  a  fancy  that  it  is  unlaw- 
ful ;  if  it  be  received  with  (/(Ofz/csfgirtfi^-^  Which  is  a 
necessary  condition.  For  it  is  sanctifiedr-^Th^i  is, 
under  the  gospel  all  meats  are  made  lawful  to  us ;  6y 
the  word  of  (jod— Allowing  us  to  eat  of  every  kind 
in  moderation ;  and  by  prayer— To  God,  that  he 
would  bless  us^  uL  the  use  of  it  Observe,  reader,  the 
children  of  God  are  to  pray  for  the  sanctificatiim  of 
all  the  creatures  which  they  use,  and  to  give  thanks 
for  them :  and  not  only  the  Christians,  but  even  the 
Jews,  yea,  the  very  heathen,  used  to  consecrate 
their  table  by  prayer  and  praise.  "  What  then," 
says  Bishop  Newton,  ^'  can  be  said  of  those  who  have 
their  tables  spread  Mdth  the  most  plentiful  gifts  of 
God,  and  yet  constantly  sit  down  and  rise  up  again 
without  sufibring  so  much  as  one  thought  of  the 
Giver  to  intrude  upon  them?  Can  such  persons  be 
reputed  either  to  believe  or  know  the  truth?" 

Verses  6, 7.  If  thou  put  the  brethren  in  remem- 
brcmce,  &c. — Tavra  vKori^eftevoc  Totc  aie^^tCy  suggest- 
ing these  things  to  the  brethren,  concerning  the  law- 
Ailness  of  all  sorts  of  meats,  and  concemmg  the 
corrupt  doctrines  and  practices  which  are  to  arise  in 
the  church ;  thou  shalt  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ— And  shalt  act  as  may  be  expected  from  one 
who  has  been  nourished  up— From  his  very  child- 
hood 5  in  the  words  of  faith— Yfords  laying  a  foun- 
dation for  faith,  and  the  meaols  of  producing  it  in 
men's  hearts;  and  good  ctoc^rtne^Tnie,  genuine,  gosr 
pel  doctrine;  whereunto— ThBi  is,  to  the  knowledge 
ofwhich,thouhast  attained— So  v  nd^Ko^s^nfioc  may 
be  properly  trandated.  Bee  Luke  I  8,  where  the 
4» 


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Timothy  directed  to  uUmi  ta 


I.  TIMOTHY. 


ihe  etuwHtd  matUn  rfrtUgimu 


A.H*4060.    7  Bat ''reftisepro&ne and dd wives' 
^'    '  ^'   fables,  aad/exerdse  thyself  rather 

uoto  godliness. 
8  For  ^  bodily  exercise  profit^  ^  little :  ^  bm 

godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  thio^  'having 

promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that 

which  is  to  come. 


•QuH?.  i.  4;  Tt.  20;  a  Tim.  ii.  16,  23.- 
p  1  Corinthians  liii.  8 ;   GolOMiam  ii.  93.—— 
-fi  Cb«p.  vi  6. 


— oHeb.  T.  14. 
Or,  ybr  A  mU 


Mmo  verb  is  rendered,  having  perfect  vnderBtand- 
ing.  It  is  a  just  remark  of  Macknigbt  here,  that, 
^'If  any  prejudices,  with  respect  to  the  distinction 
of  meats,  renudned  in  Timothjr's  mind,  through  Ae 
striotness  of  his  education  in  the  Jewish  religion, 
the  clear  and  express  manner  in  which  the  apestle 
h^pe  asserted  the  lawfiihiess  of  eating  all  kinds  of 
meats,  most  have  entirely  freed  him  from  these  pre- 
possessions." But  refute  profane  and  old  wive»* 
fabUs^ThiBf  says  Dr.  Doddridge,  <<  nndoQbtedly 
signifies  Jewish  traditions ;  and  if  they  were  such  as 
ttnse  with  which  the  rabbinical  writers  abound, 
nothing  ever  better  deserved  the  name,  they  being 
not  only  the  most  incredible,  but  the  most  insipid 
and  senseless  tales  anywhere  to  be  met  with."  In 
Bishop  Newton's  opinion,  however,  the  apostle  in- 
tended here  lo  signify,  that  all  the  Uiings  which  the 
lying  teachers  would  preach,  during  the  above-men^ 
tioned  apostacy,  concerning  the  wor^p  of  angels, 
abstinence  from  meats,  and  the  miracles  said  to  be 
perform^  by  the  saintsand  their  relics,  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  superstitions  which  they  inculcated,  are 
no  better  than  profane  and  old  wives^  fables,  told  to 
amuse  children.  And  exercise  (i^te//' (the  word 
ytt/ivoCr,  so  rendered,  is  used  in  allutton  to  the  exer- 
cises by  which  the  contenders  prepared  themselves 
for  the  combats  in  the  Grecian  games)  unto  godU- 
ne$» — Train  thyself  up  in  holiness  of  heart  and  life 
with  the  utmost  vigour  and  diligence. 

Verse  ^For  bodily  exercise  proJUeth  little— 
That  is,  say  Estius,  Whitby,  Doddridge,  and  some 
others,  the  exercises  about  which  many  are  so  so- 
licitous, and  in  the  pursuit  of  which  they  go  through 
so  many  fatigues,  namely,  in  preparing  for  and  at- 
tending the  public  games,  are  but  of  little  use,  the 
best  rewards  of  them  being  of  a  very  transient  and 
fading  nature.  Or  by  bodily  exercise  nmy  be  under- 
sU>od  rather  the  mortifications  which  the  Jewish 
fables  were  framed  to  recommend,  and  the  austeri- 
ties and  labours  of  the  Essenes  and  Pythagoreans, 
according  to  the  rules  and  institutions  of  their  sects : 
to  which  we  may  add,  All  the  diligence  that  can  be 
used  in  mere  external  duties,  however  laboriously 
and  punctually  performed,  and  with  whatever  de- 
gree of  self-denial  and  punctuality,  even  although 
commanded  of  God,  can  be  of  little  use  to  any  man, 
separated  from  the  devotion  of  the  heart ;  and  all  in- 
ventions and  observances  merely  human,  must  be 
still  more  useless  and  vain.  Tlie  iy;K)stle,  however, 
may  be  understood  In  a  yet  diflforent  sense.  He  had 
•aid  in  the  preceding  verse.  Exercise  thyself  unto 


9  ^TUa  %»  a  failhfid  sayings  and  a«ic4ssol 
worthy  of  all  acceptation.  ^  ^'^. 

10  Fortherefora  ^wa  botb  labaur  aad  A^br 
reproadb^  because  we  *  traat  m  ^  livkigr  God^ 
'  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  espacbUy  of 
thpse  that  bdfeve. 

11  '^  These  things  command  and  teach. 


'Pn.  zxxriL  4 ;   Izxxir.  It ;   cxii.  2,  3 ;   exlr.  IS ;  Mark  z. 

30;   Rom.  rin.  SS.- 'Chap.  i.  18.— « I  Oor.  ir.  11,  18. 

•Ch4>.  ri.  17.- — 'Fsa.  uxn^;  «nt  S^S,  Sic r  Chap.Ti3. 


godliness;  includhig  mthat  term  aH  the  graees  and 
virtues  of  the  Christian  life.  He  then  add%  v  yo^ 
aofMOTtsaf  yvfwaaia  irpo^  4>kty^  i^of  oi^Xi^i  literally, 
for  bodHif  exerciseproJUM  a  Hide  ;  thai  is,  the  exer* 
cise  of  the  body  is  of  some  use,  incieasing  ks  health 
and  sdrength;  but  godliiness^ln  all  its  branches 
nam^y,  true,  substantia,  aiid  practical  ^^odliness,  the 
worshit>  and  service  of  God,  by  both  the  mwaKd 
and  outward  man,  the  heart  and  life;  is  proJUablt 
for  all  things— Beae^Xs  a  man  in  every  respeet;  is 
useful  to  him  in  things  temporal  as  well  as  ^iritual, 
in  his  domestic  and  civil,  as  well  as  religions  afiairs 
and  in  all  his  relations  and  cenaections  in  the  pre^ 
salt  world ;  having  the  promise  of  the  l\fe  thai  now 
ttf,  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come — Christ  having^ 
assured  us  tiiat  if  we  seek  first  ithe  htngdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousnessy  things  necessary  shdll  bt 
added  unto  us,  Matt  vi.  38.  ^And  OMnr^ver,  that  as 
he  gives  grace  and  glory,  he  will  withhold  no  good 
thing  from  them  that  walk  uprightlfy  Psa.  Ixxxiv. 
11.  It  is  true  these,  and  such  l^e  promises,  do  not 
ascertain  to  all  who  live  in  a  godly  manner,  health, 
and  wealth,  and  reputation ;  but  they  assure  us  that 
true  piety  and  virtue  have  a  natural  tendency  to  pro- 
mote  our  happiness  even  m  this  worid,  and  indeed 
do  promote  it,  not  only  in  being  attended  with  peace 
of  mind,  a  conscience  void  of  offnice,  a  weU^ounded 
and  lively  hope  of  future  felicity,  and  communion 
with  God,  which  is  heaven  begun  on  earth ;  but  with 
protection  in  dangers,  succour  in  temptations,  sup- 
port and  comfort  in  troubles,  with  an  assurance  that 
all  things  which  God  may  pm*mh  to  happen  to  us^ 
even  poverty,  reproach,  affliction,  and  death,  shall 
work  together  for  ottr  good, 

yerses9-ll.  TAi^— Conc^Hiog  the  advantage  of 
godliness ;  is  a  faithful  saying^K  saying  as  Impor- 
tant as  it  is  true;  and  worthy  of  all  acceptatidfi — 
That  is,  of  entire  credit,  and  of  the  most  earnest  and 
continued  attention  and  regard.  For,  therefore'-Oa 
this  account,  because  we  are  assured  of  the  excel- 
lence and  necessity  of  tlib  godliness^  and  of  the  ad- 
vantages attending  it  in  time  and  in.  eternity;  we 
both  labour  and  suffer  reproach— Take  all  manner 
of  pains,  and  tmdergo  all  kinds  of  hardships,  re- 
gaiding  neither  wealth,  nor  honour,  nor  pleasiwe,  nor 
any  thing  this  world  can  offer;  because  we  tru^ — 
HXTrtKofuv,  weJutve  trusted,  arid  at  present  do  trust, 
(the  word  denothig  continuation  of  action,)  tn  the 
living  6b(i— Boston  him  for  the  performance  of  his 
promises,  iblly  persuaded  he  will  give  the  life  and 
felicity  he  has  promised;  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all 

b 


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nmMf  txh&rted  te  dOigence^ 


CHAPTBR  IV, 


and  to  take  heed  to  hit  doctrine. 


A.  M.  4060.    12  "*  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth ; 

—  but  'be  thou  au  example  of  the  be- 

Beyers,  in  word,  in  conversation,  hi  charity,  in 
qMrit,  in  &ith,  in  parity. 

13  Tm  I  come,  give  attendance  to  reading, 
to  exhortatkni,  to  doctrine. 

14  ^Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee, 
which  was  given  thee  ®  by  prophecy,  ^^  with  the 


»lCor.xn.ll;  TiLiH5. »Titu.7;  iPetr.S. »>2 

Tim.  i.6- ^Ch.  L  la *  Acts  tL  6;  TiiL  17 ;  xiii  3 ;  xir.  6; 


men — Saving  them  from  many  evils,  sad  supplying 
them  with  manifold  mercies ;  preserving  them  in  this 
life,  and  willing  to  save  them  eternally;  but  espe- 
ciaUy — In  a  more  emineat  manner,  is  he  the  Saviour 
of  those  thai  freZteve— Saving  them  from  their  sins 
here,  and  from  the  consequences  of  them  hereafter. 
These  things  command  cmd  teach — For  they  are  of 
infinite  importance. 

Verses  12, 13.  Let  noman  despise  thy  youth— -TYidX 
is,  let  no  one  have  reason  to  despise  it,  but  conduct 
thyself  with  such  gravity,  wisdom,  and  steadiness, 
as,  instead  of  exposing  thee  to  contempt,  will  rather 
gain,  thee  respect  and  reverence.  In  particular,  be 
thou  an  example  of  the  believers— A  pattern  worthy 
of  their  imitation ;  in  word— In  prudent  and  edifying 
discourse,  whe^r  public  or  private ;  in  conversa- 
<i(m^-6reek,  oporpo^,  in  behaviour;  tncharUv'-^T 
love^  rather,  namely  to  God,  his  people,  and  all  man- 
kind; in  *ptri<— In  thy  whole  temper  5  infaUh—ln 
thy  sincere  and  constant  belief  of,  and  adherence  to, 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus;  in  thy  profession  of  it,  and 
faithfulness  to  thy  trust  in  the  execution  of  thy 
office.  When  fedth  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  several 
other  Christian  graces,  it  generally  means  fidelity, 
or  faithfulness ;  in  purity— Of  heart  find  life.  7%U  1 
come — ^To  take  thee  along  with  me ;  give  attendance 
to  reading— Both  publicly  and  privately.  Study 
the  Scriptures  diligently,  and  read  and  expound  them 
to  the  people,  whose  instruoter  thou  art  appointed  to 
be.  ^Enthusiasts,  observe  this!  expect  no  end 
without  the  means." — Wesley.  ''Besides  reading 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  to  the  brethren  in  their  assem- 
blies for  worship,  after  the  exampleof  the  synagogue, 
Timothy  was  here  directed  to  read  these  Scriptures 
in  private  likewise  for  his  own  improvement,  (verse 
15,)  that  he  might  be  able  to  confute  the  Jews  and 
Judaizers,  who  founded  their  errors  on  misinterpre- 
tations of  them.  Thus  understood,  the  direction,  as 
the  ancient  commentators  observe,  is  a  useful  lesson 
to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  dl  ages.  For  if  a 
teacher,  who  possessed  the  spiritual  gifts,  was  com- 
manded to  r^  the  Scriptures  for  improving  him- 
•elf  in  the  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  religion, 
how  much  more  necessary  is  that  help  to  those 
teachers  who  must  derive  all  their  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  from  the  Scriptures,  and  who  cannot,  without 
mudi  study,  be  supposed  to  know  the  customs,  man- 
ners, and  opinions  alluded  to  in  these  writings.'*— 
Macknight 

Verse  14.  iV<»glec<iio<— Through  omitting  to  «er- 
b 


laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  pres-  a.  m.  4000* 

u-1  A.  D.  65. 

bytery.  

15  Meditate  upon  these  things ;  give  thyself 
wholly  to  them ;  that  thy  profiting  may  appear 
*to  al. 

16  •  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  thy  doc- 
trine ;  continue  in  them :  for  in  doing  this  thoa 
shah  both  ^save  thyself  and  f  them  that  hear  thee. 

Chap.  T.  22  J  2  Tim.  i.  6. ■  Or,  in  M  ikingt, •  Acts  k.  28. 

'ExeL  xxxilL  9.—* Rmn.  xi.  14 ;  1  Cpr.  ix.  22 ;  James  v.  20. 

cise  it  tothefull;  thegift  thoi  isin  t^e— The  word 
xofuofia^  here  used,  commonly  denotes  some  spiritual 
gift  conferred  on  believers  in  the  first  age,  whether 
by  an  immediate  effiision  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  by 
means  of  the  imposition  of  the  apostle's  hands.  See 
Rom.  i.  10.  By  this  it  appears,  that  even  the  mira- 
culous gifts  might  be  improved ;  and  that  the  con- 
tinuance of  them  with  individutds  depended  in  a 
great  measure  upon  the  right  temper  of  their  minds, 
and  upon  their  malung  a  proper  use  of  their  gifts. 
Which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy— Bj  immediate 
direction  from  Ood,  or  in  consequence  of  predictions 
uttered  by  those  who  had  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
pointing  thee  out  as  a  person  fit  to  be  invested  with 
the  office  oi  an  evangelist,  and  called  of  God  to  jt. 
As  it  appears,  (rom  2  Tim.  i.  6,  that  the  gift  here  re- 
ferred to  was  given  to  Timothy  by  tlie  laying  on  of 
the  apostle'^  hands,  we  learn  from  hence,  that  in 
conferring  the  spiritual  gifts,  as  well  as  in  working 
miracles,  the  apostles  were  not  left  to  their  own  pru- 
dence, but  were  directed  by  revelations  from  God, 
communicated  to  themselves  or  others.  With  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery — Whose 
hands,  with  those  of  Paul,  were  laid  on  Timothy  at 
the  time  when  he  was  set  apart  solemnly  by  prayer 
to  the  ofilce  of  the  ministry,  and  received  the  spirit- 
ual gift  here  spoken  of.  Probably  the  apostle  first 
conferred  on  Timothy  the  gift  by  the  laying  on  of 
his  own  hands,  and  then  set  him  apart  to  his  office 
by  prayer,  the  elders  joining  with  him,  and  laying 
on  their  hands  to  show  their  concurrence  with  him 
in  the  solemn  work. 

Verses  IK,  16.  Meditate  on  these  things — On  the 
instructions  I  hAve  given  thee,  or  the  things  men- 
tioned verse  13.  True  meditation  implies  the  lively 
exercise  of  faith,  hope,  love,  joy,  as  it  were  mdtel 
down  together  by  the  fire  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  and 
offered  up  to  God  in  secret.  Give  thyself  wholly  to 
them — On  this  passage  Dengelius  writes,  He  that  is 
wholly  in  these  things,  will  be  little  in  worldly  com- 
pany, in  other  studies,  in  collecting  books,  shells, 
coins,  wherein  many  pastors  consume  a  consider- 
able part  of  (heir  lives.  That  thy  profiting— Thy 
proficiency  in  knowledge  and  wisdom,  holiness  and 
useftilness ;  may  appear  unio  aU— To  their  edifica- 
and  the  honour  of  the  gospel.  -Take  heed  tnUo 
tkysdf—To  the  state  of  thy  own  soul,  thy  growth  in 
grace,  the  motives  of  thy  actions,  and  thy  whole 
spirit  and  conduct;  atid  to  thy  doctrine— Th^i  it  be 
true,  important,  and  a^^ted  to  the  state  and  charac^ 
487 


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I.  TIMOTHY. 


toward  elder§  and  icomen. 


ter  of  thy  hearers.  Continue  in  thefit'-lTi  attention 
to  all  the  preceding  advices,  and  especially  in  this 
diligent  care  respecting  both  thy  life  and  doctrine. 
For  in  doing  thi» — ^With  zeal,  constancy,  and  perse- 
reranc^;  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and  those  that 
hear  ihee—yVhxX  a  powerful  argument  is  here  sug- 
gested to  engage  ministers  to  preach  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  vdth  truth,  zeal,  fidelity,  and  diligence, 
and  to  set  a  proper  example  before  their  hearers ! 
By  thus  faithfully  discharging,  their  duty,  they 


will  give  satisfactory  proof  of  the  reality  of  their 
fkith  and  love,  and  the  sincerity  of  their  ot>e- 
dience,  and,  persevering  In  this  way,  will  save 
themselves  etemaUy.  In  the  mean  time  by  their 
sound  doctrine,  and,  edifying  example,  they  will 
impress  their  hearers  with  such  a  just  sense  of  the 
truth  and  excellence  of  Christianity,  as  to  induce 
them  also  to  believe  and  obey  the  gospel,  so  that 
they  likewise  will  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord 
Jesus. 


CHAPTER  V. 

This  chapter  contains  directions /ot  Timothy's  conduct  toward  persons  in  different  circiimstances,  and  parttcularly  ciders  and 
tddows.  He  shows  (1,)  How  he  was  to  reprove  others,  elder  and  young^er,  1,  2.  (2,)  How  he  was  to  behave  toward  poor 
mdowsy  3-3.  (3,)  What  widows  wejre  proper  to  be  taken  under  the  churches  care,  or  to  receive  her  UberaJUty^  and  w%o  not, 
9-16.  (4,)  He  regulates  the  honour  due  to  elders,  who  ruled  in  the  church,  17-19.  {S,)  Prescribes  the  greatest  care  and 
impartiaUty  in  rebuking  offenders,  and  in  ordaining  elders ;  and  the  necessary  care  of  health,  20-25. 


A.  M.  4069. 
A.  D.  65. 


T>  EBUKE  •  not  an  elder,  but  en- 
treat him  as  a  fether;  and  the 
younger  men  as  brethren ; 

2  The  elder  women  as  mothers ;  the  younger 
as  sisters,  with  all  purity. 

3  Honour  widows  ^  that  are  widows  indeed. 

4  But  if  any  widow  have  children  or  ne- 


»Lev.  X.  38. 


Verses  5,  16.— -^' Or,  kindtuss," 
xlv.  10,  11 ;  Matt.  zr.  4;  Eph.  rL  1,  2. 


-«Gen. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verses  1,  2.  Because  it  is  the  duty  of  ministers  to 
reprove  such  of  their  people  as  err  in  principle  or 
practice,  and  beK^iuse  the  success  of  reproof  depends, 
in  a  great  measure,  upon  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
given,  the  apostle  here  proceeds  to  direct  Timothy 
in  that  Important  branch  of  his  oMce.  Rebuke  not-- 
Or  rather,  rebuke  not  severely^  the  phrase,  fitj  ein- 
^^nivCi  literally  signifying,  do  not  strike,  and  metapho- 
rically, do  not  sluirply  reprove;  an  dder^-Or  aged 
man,  as  the  word  frpeaSvrepu  here  evidently  signifies, 
being  opposed  to  vettrepa^^the  younger,in  the  follow- 
ing clause.  So  that  it  is  not  the  name  of  an  office, 
as  it  is  verses  17, 19,  but  denotes  simply  one  in  ad- 
vanced age ;  but  entreat  him  as  a  father^Or  as 
thou  wouldst  thy  father  in  the  like  case ;  and  the 
younger  men — Who  sin ;  as  brethrenr-^As  if  they  were 
thy  own  brothers;  that  is,  with  kindness  and  affec- 
tion, and  not  with  a  lordly,  domineering  contempt 
The  elder  women  as  mothers— With  respect  and  de- 
ference; and  the  younger  as  sisters,  wiik  all  purity 
-^With  the  strictest  decorum  in  thy  converse  with 
them,  and  distance  from  everything,  in  word  or 
deed,  that  could  have  the  least  appearance  of  levity 
and  wantonness,  remembering  how  many  eyes  are 
upon  thee,  and  how  fatal  any  thing  in  thy  conduct, 
which  might  bring  the  least  blemish  upon  thy  cha- 
racter, would  be  to  the  honour  and  success  of  thy 
ministry,  and  to  the  credit  of  the  gospel  and  its  pro- 
fessors. 

488 


phews,  let  them  learn  first  to  show  a.  m.406q. 
*  piety  at  home,  and  *  to  requite  their  — 1-^ — 1 
parents:  ^for  that  is  good  and  acceptable  before 
God. 

6  *  Now  she  that  is  a  widow  indeed,  and  de- 
solate, trusteth  in  God,  and  ^colntinuetb  in  sup- 
plications £md  prayers  '  night  and  day. 

dOhap.  ii.  3. "1  Cor.  rii.  32.— —^  Luke  ii.  37;   xriii.  1. 

f  Acts  xxvi.  7. 

Verses  3, 4.  J9bnour— And  endeavour  honourably 
to  support  iVom  the pqbhc  stock;  widows— Who9» 
destitute  circumstances  recommend  them  as  the 
certain  objects  of  charity.  According  to  the  Greek 
commentators,  the  widows  of  w)iom  the  apostle 
speaks  in  this  passage  were  aged  women  appo'mted 
by  the  church  to  instruct  the  young  of  their  own 
sex  in  the  principleii  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  who, 
for  that  service,  were  maintained  out  of  the  funds 
of  the  church.  Thk  opinion  is  rendered  probable 
by  the  apostle's  order  to  Timothy,  (verse  9,)  to  admit 
none  into  the  number  of  widows  without  inquuing 
into  their  age,  circumstances,  character,  and  qualifi- 
cations, even  as  in  Drdaining  bishops  and  deacons ; 
who  are  widows  indeed— EeBUy  such ;  that  is,  who 
are  desolate,  and  neither  able  to  malQtain  themselves^ 
nor  have  any  near  relations  to  provide  for  them, 
and  who  are  wholly  devoted  to  God.  But  if  any 
wido^D  have  diildren — Able  to  provide  for  her ;  or 
nephews — Raihtr  ^and-children,  as  tKyova  signifies ; 
let  them  learn — ^Their  children  or  descendants  'Jirst  to 
show  piety  at  home — Before  the  church  be  burdened 
with  thena ;  and  to  requite  their  parents—For  all  their 
former  care,  trouble,  and  expense ;for  thatisgood-^ 
KaXov,  decent^  fair,  and  amiable,  in  the  eyes  of  men ; 
and  acceptable  before  God— Who  requires  us,  out 
of  regard  to  his  honour  and  favour,  to  attend  care- 
fully to  the  duties  of  those  relations  m  which  we 
stand  to  each  other. 

Verses  5-7.   Now  she  who  is  a  widow  indeed — 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


provided  for  by  the  church. 


A.  M.  4060. 
A.  D.  95, 


6  ^Butshethatliveth'mpleasurei 
is  dead  while  she  liveth. 

7  ^  And  these  ibings  give  in  charge,  that  they 
may  be  Uameiess* 

8  But  if  any  provide  not  for  his  own^^and 
especiaUy  for  those  of  his  own  'house,  ^he  hsith 
denied  the  iaith^  ""atid  is  worse  than  an  infidel. 

9  Let  not  a  widow  be  ^takea  into  the  num- 


kJaiiietT.5.-^— *0r,  ddMMte/y. ^Chap.LS;   tr.  II;  ri. 

17. *  Isa.  briii.  7  ;  GaL  n.  10. »0r,  UnML » 2  Tim. 

iii  5 ;  Tit.  i.  1& 


Deprived  of  all  support  from  her  relations  and 
irieads.  The  apostle  seems  to  allude  to  the  signifi^ 
cation  of  the  word  xvfx*,  rendered  loidowy  which 
comes  from xnpoc^orbusy deaertusy  a  person  ^titute, 
forsaken:  arid  desolate-^-^yiefiovciiuvHy  reduced  to  soU- 
tudty  having  neither  children  nor  grand-chUdren  to 
relieve  her ;  trueteth  in  Ood — Having  no  one  else  to 
trust  in ;  and  contimneih  in  $7q)pHeation8  and  pray- 
er»,  &c. — ^Devotes  he^rself  wholly  to  the  service  of 
.Gody  spending  a  great  part  of  her  time  by  day  and 
night  in  devotion.  But  ehe  who  liveth  in  pleaaure 
— Delicately,  voluptuously,  in  elegant  regular  sen- 
suality, though  not  in  the  use  of  any  such  pleasures 
as  are  unlawful  in  themselves.  The  original  word 
fftraroAcMTo,  properly  signifies, /ortn^  deliciouslys  is 
dead  while  she  liveth—Boih  in  respect  of  Gk>d,  whom 
she.  doe?  not  serve,  and  in  respect  of  her  fellow- 
creatures,  whom  she  does^  not  benefit.  She  is  spirit^ 
ually  dead,  dead  to  true  piety  and  virtue.  These 
things  give  in  charge— For  they  are  things  which 
concern  Christians  in  all  circumstances  and  relations 
of  life,  who  are  too  ready  to  seek  happiness  in  the 
pursuit  of  sensual  pleasure ;  that  they  may  be  blame- 
less—The gender  of  the  word  here  rendered  blame- 
less shows  that  the  Ephesian  brethren,  not  the 
widows,  were  the  persons  to  whom  Timothy  was  to 
give  these  things  in  charge.  Probably  either  the 
deacons,  or  Timothy's  hearers  in  genercd,  were  in- 
tended^ Indeed,  in  so  luxurious  aeity  as  Ephesus, 
widows  could  not  be  the  only  persons  who  were  in 
danger  of  falling  into  such  sensualities  as  the  apos- 
tle had  been  warning  them  against. 

Verse  8.  If  any  provide  no^^Food  and  raiment ; 
for  his  ownr—FooT  relations ;  and  especially  those  of 
his  ovm  house — Tov  oiiceujv,  his  own  domestics,  ihode 
relations  who  live  in  his  own  family,  and  conse- 
quently are  under  his  eye ;  he  hath  dented  the  faith 
— Namely,  by  such  a  practice,  which  is  utterly  in- 
consistent with  Christianity,  which  does  not  destroy, 
but  perfects  natural  duties.  Here  we  see,  to  disobey 
the  precepts  of  the  gospel,  is  to  deny  or  renounce 
the  faith  of  the  gospel;  from  whence  we  infer,  that 
the  faith  of  the  gospel  includes  obedience  to  its  pre- 
cepts; and  is  worse  than  an  infidel — Dr.  Whitby 
shows  here,  by  very  apposite  citations,  that  the 
heathen  were  sensible  of  the  reasonableness  and 
necessity  of  taking  care  of  their  near  relations,  and 
especially  of  their  parents,  when  reduced  to  poverty 
and  want.  But "  what  has  this  to  do  with  heaping 
b 


ber  under  threescore  years  old,  "  hav-  a.  m.  4069. 
ing  been  the  wife  of  one  man,  J^i>,^ 

10  Well  reported  of  for  good  works ;  if  she 
have  brought  up  children,  if  she  have  **  lodged 
strangei-s,  if  she  have  i"  washed  die  saints'  feet, 
if  she  have  reheved  the  afiicted,  if  she  have 
diligently  followed  every  good  work. 

11  But  the  younger  widows  refuse :  for  when 


■Matt,  xriii  17. ^  Or,  chotmi. ■  Luke  ii.  36 ;  Oh.  iii.  2. 

^  Acts  ztI.  15 ;  Heb.  ziii  2 :   1  Pet.  !▼.  9. P  Oen.  zviiL  4 ; 

xiic.  8 ;  Luke  viL  3S,  44 ;  John  xiii.  5, 14. 


up  money  for  our  children,  for  which  it  is  often  so 
impertinently  alleged?  But  all  men  have  their  rea- 
sons for  laying  up  money ;  one  will  go  to  hell  for  fear 
of  want,  another  acts  like  a  heathen,  lest  he  should 
be  worse  than  an  infidel  /"—Wesley. 

Verses  0,  10.  Let  not  a  widow  be  taken  info  the 
nwmher — YLaraXeyetr&Q,  tcdcen  upon  the  list  of  those 
who  are  to  be  maintained  by  the  church,  and  to  at- 
tend upon  the  sick  poor,  and  teach  the  young ;  undei- 
threescore  years  o/<i— It  might,  on  many  accounts, 
and  for  very  obvious  reasons,  be  proper  that  this 
office  should  be  committed  only  to  persons  of  an 
advanced  age,  and  such  as  laid  aside  all  thoughts  of 
marrying  again.  Having  been — Neither  a  harlot 
toor  a  concubine ;  but  the  wife  of  one  man— At  a 
time;  or  having  chastely  confined  herself  to  one  hus- 
band while  in  the  married  relation,  and  not  divorced 
him  and  married  another.  See  note  on  chap.  iii.  2. 
Well  reported  of  for  good  works — Of  different 
kinds;  if  she  have  brought  up  children — Religiously 
and  virtuously,  her  own,  or  others  who  had  been 
committed  to  her  care;  if,  in  her  more  prosperous 
days,  she  manifested  a  generous  and  hospitable  dis- 
position; and  lodged  Christian  stranger^ — Who 
were  at  a  loss  for  necessary  accommodations  on  their 
journeys;  if  she  have  washed  the  saints*,  feet — Has 
been  ready  to  do  the  meanest  offices  for  them ;  if 
she  have  relieved  the  afflicted— This,  and  some  of 
the  other  good  works  mentioned  by  the  apostle,  be- 
ing attended  with  great  expense,  the  ooor  widows, 
who  desired  to  be  taken  Into  tne  number,  cannot 
be  supposed  to  have  performed  them  at  their  own 
charges.  "  I  therefore  suppose,"  says  Macknight, 
"the  apostle  is  speaking  of  female  deacons,  who  had 
been  employed  in  the  offices  here  mentioned  at  the 
common  expense ;  consequently  the  meaning  of  the 
direction  will  be,  that  in  choosing  widows,  Timothy 
was  to  prefer  those  who  formerly  had  been  em- 
ployed by  the  church  as  deaconesses,  and  had  dis- 
charged that  office  with  faithfulness  and  propriety. 
For  since  these  women  had  spent  the  prime  of  their 
life  in  the  laborious  offices  of  love  mentioned  by  the 
apostle,  without  receiving  any  recompense  but  main- 
tenance, It  was  highly  reasonable,  when  grown  old  in 
that  good  service,  to  promote  them  to  an  honourable 
ftmction,  which  required  knowledge  and  experience 
rather  than  bodily  strength,  and  which  was  rewarded 
with  a  liberal  maintenance." 

Vemes  11-13.  But  ihe  younger  widows  refuse-- 
490 


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I  TOIOTHT. 


ike  ydtmger  tndows. 


A.M. 4060.  they  have  begun  to  wax  wanton 
^•^'^,  against  Christ,  they  will  marry; 

12  Having  damnatbn,  because  they  have  cast 
off  their  fir^  faith. 

13  4  And  withal  they  learn  to  be  idle^  wan- 
dering about  from  house  to  house;  and  not 
only  idle,  but  tattlers  also,  and  buqr-bodies, 
q)eaking  things  which  they  ought  not 

14  'I  will  therefore  that  the  younger  women 
marry,  bear  children,  guide  the  house,  'give 
aone  occasion  to  the  adversary  '  to  speak  re- 
proachfully. 


i2TbM«.  iii.  11. '1  Cor.  vii  9. «Ch»p.  tL  1;   Tit 

it  a        *  Or,  for  their  raiUag. *  Verses  3,  5. ■  Rom.  xU. 

0;  1  Oor.  iz.  10,  U;  GaL  tL  ft;  PbU.  it  29;  I  Thess.  r.  12, 


Do  not  choose;  for  when  iheyhaioe  begun  to  'wax 
wanton  against  Christ — To  whose  more  inunecliate 
service  they  had  devoted  themselves)  they- will 
marry— Andy  perhaps,  to  husbands  who  are  strangers 
to  Christianity,  or  at  least  not  with  a  single  eye  to 
the  glory  of  God,  and  so  withdraw  themselves  from 
that  service  of  Christ  in  the  church  which  they  were 
before  engaged  in.  On  the  word  Karacf^Mowji^ 
rendered  to  wax  wanton^  Erasmus  remarks,  Aat  it 
comes  from  r«/>eiv,  to  pull  away^  and  nvta,  reins, 
and  that  the  metaphor  is  taken  from  high-fed  brute 
animals,  which,  having  pulled  away  the  reins,  run 
about  at  their  pleasure.  Le  Clerc  and  some  others 
translate  the  cUtuse,  who  do  not  obey  the  rein.  The 
apostle  plainly  mieans,  that  the  younger  widows, 
who  had  undertaken  the  ofiice  of  teaching  the  young 
of  their  own  sex,  not  being  willing  to  continue  under 
Ihat  restraint  from  marriage  which  they  had  laid  on 
themselves  by  devoting  themselves  to  the  service  of 
Christ,  and  which  the  nature  of  their  office  required, 
would  marry,  and  desert  his  service.  Having  dam- 
nation^  Chndemnaiion  rather,  both  from  God  and 
men;  because  they  have  cast  off  their  Jirst  faith — 
Have  deserted  their  trust  in  God,  and  have  acted  con- 
trary to  their  first  conviction,  namely,  that  wholly  to 
devote  themselves  to  his  service  w&s  the  most  excel- 
lent way;  for  their  first  faith  here  means  that  ilEiith- 
fulness  to  Christ  which  they  had  virtually  pUghted, 
when  they  took  on  them  the  office  of  teaching  the 
younger  women;  for  by  marrying  they  put  it  out  of 
their  power  to  perform  that  office  with  the  attention 
and  assiduity  which  it  required.  And  withal  they 
learn  to  be  u£/e— Slothful  and  negligent  in  the  office 
they  have  undertaken,  and  instead  of  attending  to 
the  proper  duty  of  their  charge,  wandering  about, 
^.;  taUlers  aiiro—Greek,  ^^vapoi,  trijlers,  foolish 
talkers^  or  tale  bearers ;  a  vice  to  which  women,  who 
go  about  from  house  to  house,  are  commonly  much 
addicted;  busy-bodies— Concerning  thems^ves  un- 
necessarily and  Impertinenay  in  the  afiaira  of  others ; 
speaking  thingswhich  they  ought  not— Things  very 
unbecoming. 

Verses  14-ld.  /  wiU  therefore  that  the  younger 
women— Ot  widows  rather,  (concerning  whom  only 
MO 


15  For  some  are  already  turned  aside  A.  M.  4009. 
after  Satan.  ^l>'9$. 

16  If  any  man  or  woman  that  beKeveth  have 
widows,  let  them  rdieve  th^o,  and  let  not  the 
chuich  be  charged ;  that  it  may  relieve  ^them 
that  aie  widows  ilideed* 

17  "^  Let  the  eldars  that  ndeweD,' be  counted 
worthy  of  double  tumour,  espedally  they  who 
labour  in  the  woid  and  doctrine. 

18  For  the  Scripture  saith,  I'Thou  shak  not 
muzde  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  com.  And, 
'  The  labourer  19  worthy  of  his  reward. 


18:  H«b.  ziii.  7,  17. »Act«  xxviiL  la flknl.  xxr.  4. 

1  Cor.  iz.  9.- — >Ler.  six.  1^;  Dent.  sdr.  M»  15;  Matt.  x. 
10 ;  Luke  x.  7. 


the  apostle  is  here  speaking,)  marry — Instead  of 
thinking  to  intrude  themselves  into  a  situation  ibr 
which  they  are  generally  so  ui^t  From  this  com 
mand  it  is  evident,  ^at  under  the  go^>el  second 
marriages  are  lawful  both  to  men^  and  women,  and 
that  abstaining  from  them  is  no  mai^  of  superior 
piety.  It  is  true  the  apostle,  in  his  first  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  advised  all  who  had  the  gift  <^  con 
tinency  to  remain  unmarried  $  not,  however,  because 
cehbacy  is  a  more  holy  state  than  marriage,  but 
because  in  the  then  persecuted  state  of  the  chnrt^,  a 
smgle  life  was  more  free  from  trouble  and  tempta- 
tion. See  1  €k>r.  vii.  9, 26,  32-39.  Give  no  occa- 
sion to  the  adversary^  Aq. — ^To  reproach  the  gospel 
on  account  of  Uie  bad  behaviour  of  those  who  pro* 
fess  it.  For  some  widows  have  already  turned 
aside  after  Satan—'Who  has  drawn  them  frcmi 
Christ  He  means  that  some  of  the  widows  em- 
ployed by  the  church  as  teachers^  had,  through  the 
temptations  of  Satan,  deserted  their  station  in  the 
church,  and,  by  marrying,  incapacitated  themselres 
for  continuing  in  the  excellent  oiBce  they  had  en- 
gaged in.  If  any  man  or  woman  tJiat  believelh 
have  poor  widows — ^Nearly  related  to  them ;  let  them 
relieve  them — ^If  they  are  able;  and  let  not  the  church 
be  ehargedr-^Or  burdened,  with  nudniaining  them ; 
that  it  may  relieve  them  that  are  widows  indeed-^ 
That  have  no  friends  able  to  sul>port  them,  and  who, 
if  the  church  did  not  grant  them  aid,  would  be  en- 
tirely destitute. 

Verses  17, 18.  Let  the  elders  (hat  rtUe  well-^ 
Who  approve  themselves  faithful  stewards  of  all  that 
is  committed  to  their  charge;  be  counted  worthy  of 
double  honour— A  more  abundant  provision,  seeing 
that  such  will  employ  it  all  to  the  glory  of  God.  As 
they  were  the  most  laborious  and  disinterested 
men  who  were  put  into  these  offices,  so,  whatever 
any  one  had  to  bestow,  in  his  life  or  death,  was 
generally  lodged  in  their  hands  for  the  poor.  By 
th^  means  the  churchmen  hecame  very  rich  in 
after  ages.  But  as  the  design  of  the  donors  was  the 
general  good,  there  was  die  highest  reason  why  it 
should  be  disposed  of  aceording  to  theb:  pious  intent. 
\  Especially  they  who  Za6et(r— Pillgently  and  pain- 

9 


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IsTVmoOi^. 


A.  M.  4060.    19  Against  an  dder  receive  not  an 

. — L  accusation,  but  ^before  *  two  or  three 

witnesses. 

aO  ^  Them  that  sin  lebiike  befere  all^  *  that 
olhers  also  may  &ar. 

21  ^  I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  tiie 
ImcA  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  elect  angels, 
that  thou  obeorve  these  thing*  ^without  pre- 
ftrring  one  b^bre  another,  ddng  nothing^  by 
partiality. 

22  *  Lay  hands  suddenly  im  no  man,  ^nei- 


•Or,iM<ier. •  DeuU  ziz.  15. »GaL  ii.  11,  U  ;  Tit.  i.  13. 

ii  11. 'Chap.  Ti.  18 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  14;  ir.  1. 


iiilly ;  in  the  word  and  doctrine— Thai  is,  in  preach- 
ing and  teaching.  For  the  Scripture  saith^  &c. — 
See  on  1  CJor.  ix.  9. 

Verses  19,  20.  Against  an  elder — Or  presbyter; 
do  not  even  receive  an  accusation — Unless  it  is 
offered  to  be  proved  by  two  or  three  credible  wit- 
nesses— ^By  the  Mosaic  law  a  private  person  might 
be  cited  (though  not  condeihned)  on  the  testimony 
of  one  witness.  But  St.  Paul  forbids  an  elder  to  be 
even  cited  on  such  evidence,  bis  reputation  being  of 
more  importance  than  that  of  others.  Them  that 
sin — ^Namely,  openly  and  scandalously,  and  are  duly 
convicted ;  rebuke  before  all  the  church,  that  others 
also  may  fear — To  commit  the  like  offences. 

Verse  21.  /  charge  thee  before  Ood,  &c.— He 
refers  to  the  last  judgment,  in  which  we  shall  stand 
before  Ood,  and  Christ,  and  his  elect—ThaX  is,  holy, 
angels— yflio  are  the  witnesses  of  our  conversation. 
The  apostle  looks  through  his  own  labours,  and  even 
through  time  itself,  and  seems  to  stand  as  one  already 
in  eternity ;  that  thou  observe  these  things  without 
preferring,  Ac — JlpoKpiftaroc,  prejudging.  The  word 
signifies  a  judgment  formed  before  the  matter  jiidged 
hath  been  duly  examined ;  doing  nothing  by  par- 
tiality — For  or  against  any  one;  Greek,  Kara  irpoc- 
kTuoiv,  literally,  a  leaning  to  one  side,  through  favour 
arising  from  private  friendship  or  affection. 

Ver.  22-25.  Lay  hands  suddenly— KxiA  rashly  5  on 


ther  be  partakor  of  other  men^  sins :  A.ir.  4oea. 
keq? thyself  pure.  ^    '^ 

23  Drink  no  longer  water,  but  use  a  Mttle 
wine  'for  thy  stmnach's  sake,  and  thine  often 
mnnmlifiB* 

24  ^Some  m^iV  sins  are  open  brfordiaod, 
going  b^xe  to  judgment :  and  s(Hnei7i€»  they 
fc^ow  after. 

25  Lycewise  also  the  good  works  of  ^omewc^ 
manifest  beforehand.;  and  they  that  aw  other- 
wise cannot  be  hid. 


^On  »iiA9ttljireiMA'ce.-^--«AfitsTi.6;  ziii.  3;  CSiapter  tr.  14 , 
aTini.i.  6. '2  John  11. »  Psa.  civ.  15. ^6.1.  r.  IS. 


no  97km— That  is,  appoint  no  man  to  church  offices 
without  full  trial  and  examination :  otherwise  thou 
wilt  be  accessary  to,  and  accountable  for,  his  mis- 
behaviour ki  his  office.  Neither  be  partaker  of 
other  men^s  sins — As  thou  wilt  certainly  make  thy- 
self, if  thou  be  the  means  of  bringing  those  into  the 
ministry  whom  thou  mightest  have  discovered  to  be 
unfit  for  that  office.  Keep  thyself  pur  e-^ree  from 
all  such  blameworthy  practices,  and  from  the  blood 
of  all  men.  Some  merCs  sins  are  open — Or  mani- 
fest \  6e^re^nd— Before  any  strict  inquiry  be 
made ;  going  before  to  judgmeni—hetLding  a  per- 
son immediately  to  judge  them  unworthy  of  any 
spiritual  office ;  and  some  men  they — Their  sins ;  fol- 
low after  inquiry  has  been  made— Or  are  not  disco- 
vered perhaps  till  aAer  their  ordination.  For  which 
reason  no  one  ought  to  be  appointed  to  sacred  offices 
hastily.  Likewise  the  good  works— And  good  qua- 
lities; of  some  are  manifest  beforehand — Before 
any  particular  inquiry  be  made  $  they  are  evident 
to  alL  Such  therefore  may  be  admitted  to  sacred 
offices  without  much  (sxaqiination ;  and  they— ThoBe 
good  works  and  good  qtialities ;  that  are  otherwise — 
That  remain  concealed  under  the  veils  that  humility 
spreadsover  them ;  canno^freentireiy  Atdlong— From 
thy  knowledge,  and  must  recommend  such  «leat 
and  reserved  Christians  both  to  thy  esteem,  and  that 
of  those  who  are  intimately  acquainted  with  them. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Tk$  ^ipastU  (1,)  Prescribes  the  iuty  of  sensnts  toward  their  masters,  whether  heUemmg  or  not,  snd  charges  Timothy  to  tn- 
sist  on  it,  in  opposition,  to  the  MUuging  teachers,  who  pervertoi  the  gospel,  1-5.  {%,)  He  shows  the  advantage  of  godli- 
ness with  eonientment,  and  the  miserabU  consequences  of  indsUging  a  cooetous  pnrsmt  of  riches,  6-10 ;  and  ineulcatu 
upon  Timothy  the  AUy  of  avoiding  worldly-mindedness,  and  following  ofisr  piity  and  virtne,  11,  19.  (S,)  He  setemnly 
dinrges  him  to  adhere  faithfnlfy  to  the  direetions  he  had  given  tdm,  and  to  admonish  ridinnn^ 
b  441 


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L  TIMOTOV. 


to  their  matien. 


A-M^4oe9.  y  ET  as  many  •servants  as  are 
under  the  yok0  count  their  own 


A.  D.  65.     ±J 


masters  worthy  of  all  hcmour,  ^  that  the  name 
of  God  and  his  doctrine  be  not  U^isphemed. 

2  And  they  that  have  believing  masters,  let 
them  not  despise  ihemy  "^  because  they  are  lure- 
thren ;  but  rsither  do  them  service,  beoeiuse  they 
are  ^  fiiithful  and  bebved,  partakers  of  the  be- 
nefit.   ^  These  things  teach  and  exhort. 

3  If  any  man  *  teach  otherwise,  and  consent 
^not  to  wholesome  words,  even  the  words  of 


•  Eph.  Ti.  5 ;  Col.  iii.  22 ;   Tit.  ii  9 ;    1  Pet.  ii.  18. ^  Isa. 

lil  5 ;    Rom.  ii.  24;  Tit  ii.  5,  8. -«  Col.  iT.  1. »Or,  be- 

Bevmf. *  Chap.  iv.  11. •  Chap.  i.  3. '  Chapter  i.  10 ; 

2  Tim.  L  13 ;  iv.  3 ;  Tit  i.  9. »Tit.  i.  1.-*— «  Or,  a  fooL 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 
Verses  1,  2.  Because  the  law  of  Moses  (Expd. 
xxi.  2)  did  not  alloy  Israelites  to  be  made  slaves  for 
life,  without  their  own  consent,  it  seems  the  Juda- 
izing  teachers,  with  a  view  to  allure  slaveir  to  their 
party,  encouraged  them  in  disobe3ring  the  commands 
of  their  masters.  This  doctrine  the  apostle  con- 
demns here,  as  in  his  other  epistles,  (1  Cor.  vii. 
20-22;  Col.  iii.  22,)  by  enjoining  Christian  slaves 
to  obey  their  masters,  whether  believers  or  unbe- 
lievers. Let  servante— Or  slates,  rather;  (see  on 
Eph.  vi.  5,  and  Col.  iii.  22 ;)  under  the  yoke— Of 
heathen  masters;  count  them  worthy  of  all  honour 
— All  the  honour  due  from  a  servant  to  a  master, 
and  show  it  by  their  obedience  and  respectful  beha- 
viour. That  the  name  of  God— God  himself;  and 
his  doctrine-r-The  doctrine  of  the  gospel ;  be  not 
bkisphemed—ThtLi  is,  evil  spoken  of,  as  tending  to 
destroy  the  political  rights  of  mankind.  And  they 
ifutt  have  believing  fr^asters — Which  for  any  to 
have  is  a  great  privilege ;  let  them  not  despise  them 
— Pay  them  the  less  honour  or  obedience ;  because 
they  are  brethren— 1\\  Christ,  believers;  and  in  that 
respect  on  a  level  with  them.  They  that  live  in  a 
religious  community  know  the  danger  of  this,  and 
that  greater  grace  is  requisite  to  bear  with  the 
foults  of  a  brother  than  of  a  man  of  the  world,  or 
even  of  an  infidel.  But  rather  do  them  service — 
Serve  them  so  much  the  more  diligently ;  because 
they  are  faithful — Or  believers,  as  vi^oi  may  be 
rendered ;  and  beloved^-Oi  God ;  partakers  of  the 
benefit — The  common  salvation.  ^^  Instead  of  en- 
couraging slaves  to  disobedience,  the  gospel  makes 
them  more  faithful  and  conscientious.  And  by 
sweetening  the  temper  of  masters,  and  inspiring 
them  with  benevolence,  it  renders  the  condition  of 
riaves  more  tolerable  than  formerly.  For,  in  ipt^o- 
portion  as  masters  imbibe  the  true  spirit  of  the  gos- 
pd,  they  will  treat  their  slaves  with  humanity,  and 
even  give  them  their  freedom,  when  their  services 
merit  such  a  favour."— Macknight  These  things 
teach  and  exhort — Thus  Paul  the  aged  gives  young 
Timothy  a  charge  to  dwell  upon  practical  holiness. 
Less  experienced  teachers  are  apt  toneglect  the  su- 
4^ 


our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  'and  to  the  a.  bt.  4oe»> 
doctrine  which  is  according  to  godii-  — ^— ^ — 1 
ness, 

4  He  is  'proud,  ^knowing  nothing^  but 
^doting  about  ^  questions  and  strifes  of  woids, 
whereof  ccHn^b  envy,  strife,  railings,  evil  sur- 
misings, 

6  ^Perverse  ^di^tiogs  of  4nen  of  corrupt 
minds,  and  destitute  of  the  truth,  "■supposing 
that  gain  is  godlmess:  'from  such  withdraw 
thyself. 


*  1  Cor.  Tiii,  3 ;  Ghipter  i.  7.-4-»  Or,  nek. « GhtpCer  i.  4 ; 

2  Tim.  ii.  23 ;  Tit.  iii  p. *  1  Cor.  xi.  16 ;  Chap.  i.  6. *  Or, 

Oallmgt  one  of  anothn. >  2  Tim.  iii.  8. ■  Tit.  i,  11 ;  2  Pet 

ii.  3. ■Rom.  xfi.  17;  2  Tim.  iii  6. 


perstructure,  while  they  lay  the  foundation.  But 
of  so  great  importance  did  St  Paul  see  it  to  enforce 
obedience  to  Christ,  as  well  as  to  preach /at<A  in  his 
blood,  that  after  urging,  the  life  of  faith  cm  pro- 
fessors, (verse  12,)  he  even  adds  another  charge  for 
the  strict  observance  of  it,  verse  13,  &c 

Verses  3-6.  If  any  man  teach  jothervnse— Thai 
strict,  practical  holiness,  in  all  its  branches;  and 
consent  not  to  wholesome  words — Tytcuvsat  T^yoic, 
literally,  healing,  or  hec^thful  words,  words  that 
have  no  taint  of  falsehood,  or  tendency  to  encourage 
sinj  and  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godli" 
ness^—The  sole  design  and  direct  tendency  of  which  is 
to  make  people  godly,  and  to  promote  the  glory  of 
God,  while  it  secures  the  salvatioit  of  men ;  he  is 
proud — Greek,  tctv^otoi,  puffed  up;  which  is  the 
cause  of  Ills  not  consenting  to  this  doctrine ;  hnow- 
ing  nothing — As  he  ought  to  know ;  but  doting — 
Greek,  vofw«,  being  sick,  or  distempered  in  his 
:  mind ;  about  questions — Potingly  fond  of  disputes; 
an  evil,  but  common  disease,  especially  where  prac- 
tice is  forgotten.  Such  contend  earnestly  for  sin- 
gular phrases  and  favourite  points  of  their  own; 
but  every  thing  else,  however  like  the  preaching  of 
Christ  and  his  aposUes,  is  all  law  and  bondage,  and 
carnal  reasoning.  And  strifes  of  words,  whereof 
Cometh  envy— Of  the  gifts  and  success  of  others ; 
contention  for  the  pre-emmence.  Such  disputants 
seldoi?i  like  the  prosperity  of  others,  or  to  be  less 
esteemed  themselves;  railings — BXaa^if/ueu,  evil 
speakings,  against  those  that  differ  from  them ;  evU 
surmisings — Or  unjust  suspicions  easily  entertained 
against  others ;  it  not  being  their  way  to  think  well 
of  those  that  hold  opinions  different  from  theirs. 
Perverse  disputings — Carried  on  contrary  to  con- 
science, by  men  whoHy  corrupted  in  their  minds, 
and  destitute  of  the  truth— Of  the  knowledge  of, 
and  faith  in,  the  true  doctrine  of  the  gospel ;  supposing 
tJuU  gain  is  godliness— Thtti  what  promises  the 
greatest  gain  is  the  most  worUiy  of  their  pursuit ; 
or  who  reckon  whatever  produces  most  money  to 
be  the  best  religion.  A  far  more  common  case  than 
is  usually  supposed.  Prom  such  wUhdrav  thyst\f 
— Shun  all  society  with  them. 

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Adtxmtagei  of  godliness. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Lave  of  money  a  great  etiL ' 


A.M.  4009. 
A.D.  65. 


6  But  *  godliness  with  contentment 
is  grtBat  gain. 

'  we    brought    nothing    into    this 
it  is  certain  we  can  cany  no- 


7  For 
world,  and 
thing  out 

8  And  « haying  food  and  raiment,  let  us  be 
therewith  content 

9  But  'they  that  will  be  rich,  M  into  temp- 
tation, "^and  a  enare,  and  into  many  feoGsh  and 

•  P«a. xxxrii.  16 ;  Prov.  xr.  16 ;  xrL 8:  Heb.  xiik 5.— P Job 

i.  81  j  Psa.  zlix.  17 ;  Pror.  zxni.  24  ;  EocIm.  t.  15. 4  Gen. 

xziriii.  20;  Heb.  »ii.  5. '  Pror.  xv.  27;  xx.  21 ;  xxnii.  20; 

' '  ■  "  ■  "       *"" 

Verses  6-10.  But  godliness — ^The  genuine  fear 
and  love  of  God,  and  obedience. to  bis  will;  ioUh 
contentment — The  inseparable  companion  of  vital 
pie^y ;  is  great  ^oin-^Brings  unspeakable  profit  in 
time  as  well  as  In  eternity,  and  indeed  is  the  only 
true  abiding  gain;  for  all  other  gain  b  perishing. 
Far  ve  brought  nothing  into  this  loorW— But  were 
thrown  naked  upon  the  indulgent  provision  which 
our  gracious ,  Creator  has  been  pleased  to  make 
for  us ;  and  U  is  certain — ^Whatever  treasures  insa- 
tiable avarice  may  amass ;  loe  can  carry  nothing 
out — But  must,  in  a  little  time,  return  to  the  dust, 
stripped  of  alL  To  what  purpose  then  do  wo  heap 
together  so  many  things?  O  let  us  remember  one 
thing  is  needful,  and  let  us,  above  all  things,  take 
care  to  ensure  that.  And  hating— -YDaMQ  we  con- 
tinue in  this  transitory  ^d  uncertain  life;  food  and 
raiment— Or  food  and  coverings,  rather ;  the  word 
cKeiroffftaTa  comprehending  not  only  clothes,  but 
lodgings ;  ( it  signifies  indeed  coverings  of  every  sort ;) 
let  us  be  therewith  content — And  not  seek,  with  rest- 
less solicitude,  the  great  things  of  this  world,  which 
are  often  of  short  continuance,  and  of  a  precarious 
as  weU  as  an  unsatisfying  nature.  But  they—Who, 
not  content  with  these ;  (which  are  all  that  a  Chris- 
tian needs,  and  all  that  his  reUgion  allows  him  to 
desire ;)  will  be  rich — Who  desire  to  be  so,  and  re- 
solve to  use  every  means  in  order  thereto;  fail — 
Headlong  ;  into  temptation— Or  trial,  frequently 
great,  peculiar,  and  distressing;  and  a  snare — 
Which  entangles  them  in  sin  and  misery ;  atul  into 
many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts — Or  desires,  which 
have  no  reason  whatever  in  them,  and  which 
not  only  sink  men  below  the  dignity  of  their  na- 
ture, but  prove  the  occasion  of  much  further  mis- 
chief, yea,  drown  men  in  destruction  here,  and 
eternal  perdition  hereafter.  "In  this  admirable 
picture  the  apostle  represents  men  who  are  actu- 
ated by  the  desire  of  riches,  and  with  the  lusts  ex- 
cited by  the  possession  of  them,  as  pursuing,  to  the 
utmost  verge  of  a  precipice,  those  shadowy  phan- 
toms which  owe  all  their  semblance  of  reality  to 
the  magic  of  the  passions,  which  riches,  and  the  de- 
sire of  them,  have  excited  in  their  minds ;  and  as 
falling  into  a  gulf,  where  they  plunge  so  deep  that 
they  are  irrecoverably  lost"  For  the  loveaf  money — 
Commonly  called  prudent  oiure  of  what  a  man  has ; 
is  the  root^Or  source ;  of  aH— Of  every  kind  of; 
b 


hurtful  lusts,  ^  which  drown  men  in  a.  m.  4069. 
destructkm  and  perdition.  ^De^ 

10  ""  For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all 
evil:  which  while  some  coveted  after,  they 
have  ^  erred  from  the  faith,  and  [nerced  them- 
selves through  with  many  sorrows. 

11  ""But  thou,  3^0  man  of  God,  flee  these 
things;  and  follow  afler  righteousness,  godU- 
nesBy  feith,  love,  patience,  meekness. 


Chap.  i.  19. 


Matt  xiiL  22 ;   Junes  y.  1. •  Chap.  iii.  7. ' 

«  Exodat  xxiii.  8 ;  Deuteronomy  xyi.  19. *  Or, 

»2Tiiii.  ii.  22;' r  Deut  xxxiii.  1;  8  Tim.  iiL  17. 


evil — Of  rin  ^nd  misery  consequent  thereon,  in  va- 
rious respects.  "  The  pernicious  influence  of  this 
vice  hath  been  taken  notice  o(^  and  painted  in  striking 
colours,  by  moralists  and  poets,  even  among  the 
heathen.  But  none  of  them  have  drawn  the  pic- 
ture with  such  skill  and  effect  as  the  apostle  hath 
done  in  this  and  the  precedmg  verse ;  where  he 
hath  set  forth,  in  the  strongest  colouring,  and  with 
the  fewest  words,  the  deformity  of  the  passion, 
and  the  evils  which  it  produces,  both  in  the  bo- 
dies and  in  the  minds  of  those  who  indulge  it" — 
Macknight.  Which,  while  some  have  coveted  after 
— Greek,  opeyoftevot,  reaching  otUrto,  or  eagerly  co- 
veting; have  erred — JL^enT^avn'^fiaav,  have  wandered 
far  from  the  faith,  or  have  wholly  missed  the  mark, 
indeed  they  aimed  not  at  faith,  but  at  something 
else;  and  pierced  themselves  through — Or  all  round, 
as  vtpieneipmf  properly  signifies;  have  stabbed  them- 
selves, as  it  were,  from  head  to  foot  on  all  sides,  so 
as  to  be  like  a  person  wholly  covered  with  wounds ; 
with  many  sorrows — Arising  from  a  guilty  con- 
science, tormenting  passions,  desires  contrary  to 
reason,  religion,  and  one  another.  How  cruel  arc 
worldly  men  to  themselves ! 

Verses  1 1, 12.  But  thou,  O  man  of  God— WhnieycT 
all  the  world  else  do;  (a  man  of  God  is  either  a  pro- 
phet, a  messenger  of  God,  or  a  man  devoted  to  God, 
a  man  of  another  world;)  fee — As  from  a  serpent, 
instead  of  coveting  ihese  things,  and  follow  after 
righteousness^TxMiYi,  justice,  mercy,  with  all  their 
proper  fruits ;  godliness — Sincere  and  fervent  piety, 
implying  devotedness  to  God,  in  heart  and  life,  and 
a  conformity  to  his  image ;  faith— In  all  its  branch- 
es, especially  as  having  the  perfections  of  God,  and 
the  truths  and  promises  of  his  word  for  its  object, 
implying  an  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  ai)d  an 
earnest  of  things  hoped  for,  with  fidelity  as  to 
every  trust  committed  to  thee.  This  faith  is  the 
foundation  of  righteousness,  the  support  of  godli- 
ness,  the  root  of  every  grace  of  the  Spirit ;  love — 
To.  God  and  all  mankind,  friends  or  enemies,  and 
especially  to  all  the  saints.  This  the  apostle  inter- 
mixes with  every  thing  tliat  is  good :  he,  as  it  were, 
penetrates  whatever  he  treats  of  with  love,  the  glo- 
rious spring  of  all  inward  and  outward  holiness. 
Patience— Under  all  afflictions  coming  immediately- 
from  the  hand  of  God ;  meekness— Vuder  all  provo- 
cations proceeding  from  man  through  God's  per^ 
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The  epHih^B  ioUmn 


1.  MMOTHV. 


ckwrge  to  TimBCkf. 


A»D.  66. 


thou 


12  <  Fight  the  good  fight  of  fiiith, 
*Iay  iiold  oa  etertial  life,  wfaereunto 
art  also  called)  ^  and  hast   professed 


good  profession  before  many  witness^. 

13  **  I  give  thee  charge  in  the  sight  of  God, 
^  who  quickeneth  all  things,  and  before  Christ 
Jesus,  *  who  befcwe  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a 
good  ^confession; 

14  That  thou  keep  this  coounandment  with- 


s  1  Cor.  K.  2A,  86 ;   Chap.  L  18 ;   2  Tim.  ir.  7. »PhiL  iiL 

1%  14;  Vers©  19. ^Hebrews  xiii.  23.^ — •Ch«>ter  r.  81. 

<  Deut  xxxiL  39;  1  Sam.  iL  6;  John  t.  21. •Matt.  xzviL 

11 ;  John  xriii  37. 


mission.  Fight '  the  good  fight  of  /afIA— Greek, 
nyovd^a  rov  koXov  ayova^  agonize  the  good  agofiif, 
or,  maintain  the  good  combat:  the  words,  vnih 
those  that  foUow,  are  plainly  agonisttcal,  and  refer 
to  the  eagerness  with  which  they  who  contended  in 
the  Grecian  games  struggled  for,  and  laid  hold  on 
the  crown  j  and  the  degree  to  which  the  presence 
of  many  spectators,  or  the  cloud  of  witnesses,  ani- 
mated them  in  their  contests.  Some  would  trans- 
late the  clause,  Exercise  the  good  exercise;  but  the 
word  exercise  does  not,  by  any  means,  express  the 
force  of  ayuva^  which  always  supposes  an  opponent  to 
be  resisted.  Lay  hold  on  eternal  /i/e— The  prize  just 
before  thee ;  yohereunto  thou  art  also  ccUled — By 
the  gospel  and  the  grace  of  Ood ;  and— In  pursu- 
ance thereof;  hast  prof essed,  &c. — Or,  rather,  hast 
confessed;  a  good  can/e«*i(m— Probably  at  his  bap- 
tism or  ordination,  or  perhaps  at  both  y  before  many 
witnesses—Who  were  present  on  that  solemn  day, 
when  thou  wast  dedicated  entirely  and  irrevocably 
to  the  service  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  his  church,  and 
all  mankind. 

Verses  13-16. 1  give  thee  charge,  Ae.^See  note 
on  chap.  v.  21 ;  in  the  sight— In  the  presence ;  of 
Ood-~Whos2  eye  is  upon  us  both ;  and  icAo  quick- 
eneth all  things— Wio  is  the  source  of  life,  natural, 
spiritual,  and  eternal,  and  therefore  is  able  to  raise 
those  from  the  dead  that  suffer  for  him ;  a  suitable, 
though  oblique  intimation,  that  should  Timothy, 
after  the  example  of  his  great  Lord,  sacrifice  his  life 
to  the  honour  of  hb  profession,  God,  who  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead,  would  raise  him.  See  2  Tim. 
il.  3,  10-12.  The  earnestness  and  solemnity  with 
which  the  apostle  addresses  Timothy  on  this  occa- 
non,  did  not  proceed  from  any  suspicion  of  his 
fidelity  as  a  minister,  but  from  his  own  deep  sense 
of  the  importance  of  the  truths  which  Timothy  was 
to  confess  and  maintain.  Hence  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel  may  learn  that  these  truths  oug^t  to  be 
often  and  earnestly  insisted  on  by  them  in  their  pub- 
lic discourses.  And  before — In  the  presenee  of; 
Jesus  Christy  loho  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed 
a  good  confession— This  was  made  by  our  Lord 
most  explicitly  before  Caiaphas  and  the  Jewish 
council,  when,  being  asked  whether  he  was  Christ 
the  Son  of  the  Blessed,  he  acknowledged  that  he 
was ;  and  added.  Ye  shM  see  (he  Son  of  man  sitting 
on  the  right  hand  qf  power,  S^  Mark  xhr.  61, 62. 


out  spot,  uorebukaUe,  'until  the  ap-  a.  M.  ^ees. 
peariog  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Girist :        -- — - — - 

15  Which  in  his  times  he  ^all  show,  who  is 
i^the  Messed  and  only  Potentate,  ^the  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords ; 

16  ^  Who  <mly  bath  immortality,  dwelling  in 
the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto: 
^whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see;  ^to 
whom  &e  honour  and  power  everlasting.  Amen. 


«0i^  flrv^cMMM. 'Phil  i.  S,  10;    1  Tbeat.  iii.  13;   ▼.  23. 

f  Chup.  i,  11, 17. fcRcT.  xrii.  14;  lix.  IS. »Chtp.  i.  17. 

kExod.zzxiU.20;  John  vi. 46. l£pli.iii21;  PhU.  iv.  SO  ; 

Jode  25 ;  Rer.  i.  6 ;  ir.  11 ;  TiL  12. 


TUs  confession  was  adhered  to  by  our  Lord  in  the 
presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  acknowledged  himself 
the  Kif^  of  the  Jews,  John  xviii.  83, 37;  that  is,  ac- 
knowledge that  he  was  Messiah  the  prince,  and 
suffered  death  rather  than  conceal  or  retract  it. 
And  the  apostle  calls  it  a  good  confession,  becanee 
all  our  hopes  of  salvation  are  built  upon  the  truth 
of  it  That  thou  keep  this  commandment— Th^X 
thou  obsenre  whatsoever  I  have^  enjoined  thee,  or, 
that  thou  keep  the  doctrine  which  I  have  committed 
to  thee ;  without  ^rpo^— Without  adding  to  it,  de- 
tracting from  it,  concealing  or  misrepresenting  any 
part  of  it;  and  unrebukable—8o  that  no  one  may 
have  cause  to  find  any  fault  with  thee,  or  reprove 
thee  for  thy  neglect ;  tilt  the  appearing  of  our  Lard 
Jesus  Christ— TiH  he  shall  call  thee  hence  by  death ; 
or  the  meaning  of  the  exhortation  is,  that  Timothy, 
by  keeping  the.  doctrines  and  precepts  which  the 
apostle  had  committed  to  him  without  spot,  was  to 
hand  them  down  pure  to  liis  successors  in  the  mi- 
nistry, and  thereby  to  contilbute  his  part  toward 
preserving  them  in  the  world  till  Christ's  second 
coming.  Which  appearing,  m  his  appointed  ttsu 
— (The  power,  the  knowledge,  the  revelation  of 
which  remain  in  his  own  eternal  mind;)  he  shaU 
show — ^In  the  most  awM  and  conspicuous  manner; 
who  is  ^e  blessed  and  only  Potentate — Before 
whom  no  other  name  or  power  is  worthy  of  being 
mentioned ;  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords 
^Tliese  titles  the  apostle  gave  to  God,  because  all 
who  have  dominion,  whether  in  heaven  or  on  earth, 
have  it  from  Ck>d,  and  are  absolutely  subject  to  him. 
The  eastern  princes  affected  these  titles  very  im- 
properly, being  weak,  mortal  men:  ttie  true  King 
of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  who  hath  the  fates  and 
lives  of  all  the  monarchs  on  earth  entirely  in  his 
hands,  is  alone  worthy  of  them.  .  Who  only  hath 
— Underived  and  independent;  immortality— jAf% 
without  beginning  and  without  ending ;  and  as  this 
implies  immutability,  he  only  is  immutable,  as  well 
as  immortal ;  whence  he  is  called,  (Rom.  I  38,) 
ai^^aproc  Beoc,  the  incorruptible,  or  imm^utable  Gody 
as  also  1  Tim.  i.  17.  Every  other  being,  angel  or 
man,  that  hath  life  without  end,  hath  it  by  his  gift. 
Dwelling  in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach 
unto—Which  is  absolutely  inaccessible  to  mortals, 
and  probaldy  also  to  angels.  Whom  no  man  hath 
seen,  nor  can  sea— With  bodily  eyes ;  yet  there  is  a 

b 


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Rich  men  are  admonithed 


CHAPTER  YL 


how  to  U9t  their  wealth. 


A.  IT  4069.  17  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in 
— 1-^ — 1.  this  world,  that  they  be  not  high- 
mindedy  *nor  trust  in  ^uncertain*  riches,  but 
in  ^  the  living  Ood,  ^  who  giveth  us  richly  all 
things  to  enjoy ; 

18  That  they  do  good,  that « they  be  rich  in 
good  works,  'ready  to  distribute,  ^willing'  to 
communicate; 

19  ^Laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a 
good  foundation   against  the  time  to  come. 


•Jobzzzi.  34;  Pn.liL7;   IziL la vGr.HU 

•frkUa, "ProT.  nriii.  ft.—*  1  Thest.  i.  9;  Chap.  iii.  IJ 

It.  la^— #  Acts  xiT.  17 ;  xrii.  Sft.-«— «  Luke  xii.  21 ;  Chap. 
▼.  10;  Tit.  iii.  8. tRmii.  liL  13. 


sense  in  which  the  pore  in  heart  shall  see  Qod^  in 
the. future  and  eternal  state:  yea,  ehaU  see  him  as 
A€if,MattT«8;  1  Johniii.3.  Towhombehawur, 
&c — ^Ascribed  by  every  intelligent  being  in  the  uni- 
verse, through  eternal  ages. 

Verses  17-19.  What  follows  seems  to  be  a  kind 
of  postscript  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this 
i0or2e{— Rich  in  such  beggarly  riches  as  this  world 
aiftvds.  For  the  danse,  tv  nt  vt*p  muvt^  seems  evi- 
dently to  be  added  to  extenuate  the  value  of  ridies, 
which  extend  only  to  this  transitory  and  precarious 
world,  and  cannot  attend  us  into  the  other;  nor,  if 
they  did,  could  at  all  influence  our  happiness  there; 
that  they  be  not  Tiigh-minded-^Thhi  they  do  not 
think  better  of  themsdves  on  account  6f  their  mo- 
ney, or  any  thing  it  can  purchase.  But,  alas !  who 
regards  this  advice  ?  Nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches 
— ^Which  they  may  lose  in  an  hour,  either  for  hap- 
piness or  defence.  Those  who  place  their  happi- 
ness m  the  enjoyment  of  sensual  pleasure,  or  in  the 
possession  of  the  conveniences  and  elegancies  of 
life,  naturally  trust  to  their  riches  for  their  happi- 
ness, because  by  their  money  they  can  procure 
these  things ;  and  thus  they  become  dead  to  all  sense 
of  their' dependance  on  God  and  his  providence  for 
their  happUiess.  But  in  the  Ueing  (rod— All  the 
rest  is  dead  clay ;  who  giveth  u«— As  it  were,  hold- 
ing them  out  in  his  hand ;  richfy — Freely,  plenti- 
fully; all  things — ^Which  we  have;  to  en/oy— As 
his  gift,  in  him  and  ibr  him.  When  we  use  them 
thus,  we  do  indeed  ei^oy  all  things.  That  they  do 
good-^MdkA  this  their  daily  employ;  that  they  be 
ric*— That  they  abound;  in  good  works-^To  their 
utmost  ability;  ready  to  distribute—Smglyj  to  par- 
ticular persons;  willing  to  communicate — To  join 
in  all  public  works  of  benevolence  and  beneficence. 
These  advices  clearly  show  that  there  was  not,  at 
tUs  time,  a  oommtHiity  of  goods  among  Christians 
in  general :  for  in  that  case  there  could  have  been 
no  room  for  the  exhortation  here  given,  and  the  dis- 
tinction on  which  it  is  founded.  Laying  up  in  store 
for  themselves  a  good  foundation — Hereby  mani- 
festing the  truth  of  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the 
promises  of  his  gospel,  and  the  genuineness  of  their 
love  to  Ood  and  mankind,  and  thereby  proving  that 
b 


that  they  may  ^  lay  hold  on  eternal  A  m.  4060. 
life.  ^'P'^ 

20  O  Timothy,  «keep  that  which  is  commit- 
ted to  thy  trust,  ^  avoiding  pro&ne  and  vain 
babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so 
called; 

21  Which  some  professing, '  have  erred  con- 
cerning the  fistith.   Grace  i6  with  thee.  Amen. 

IT  The  first  to  Timothy  was  written  from  Laodioea, 
which  is  the  diiefest  city  of  Phrygia  Pacatiana. 


•Or.toaaWfc. 

— •OaLTi.6: 

Heb.  ziii 

16. 

'MaU.ri.20; 

M.21; 

Luke  xri.  9. «« 

Verae  12. 

«2Tiin. 

1.14: 

Tit.L 

0;  Rer 

iii.  3.- 

— jrChap. 

i.4, 

6;  iT.7; 

2  Tun.  ii.  H. 

16,23. 

•Chap. 

L«.i9; 

BTinuii 

18. 

they  are  united  to  Christ,  and  made  heirs  through 
him  of  the  heavenly  hiheritance;  and,  by  bringing 
forth  these  fruits  of  righteousness,  obtain  for  them- 
selves, from  the  free  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  an 
everlasting  and  abundant  reward ;  that  (key  may  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life — ^This  cannot  be  done  by  alms- 
deeds,  or  any  good  works  that  we  can  perform ; 
which  are  all  so  defective,  that  they  have  need  of  a 
pardon,  instead  of  being  suflicient  to  procure  for  us 
eternal  life.  They,  however,  when  performed,  as 
here  directed,  both  manifest  the  reality  of  our  grace, 
and  come  up  for  a  memorial  before  God,  Acts  x.  4  -, 
and  while  they  are,  through  Christ  Jesus,  to  the 
praise andglory of  God,(Ph'H.l  ll,)shall  assuredly 
mqet  with  an  imij^e  recompense,  from  Him  who  is 
not  unfaithful  to  forget  that  work  and  labour  of  love 
which  his  children  thus  show  to  his  name,  Heb.  vL 
10:  Gal.  vi.  0. 

Verses  20, 21.  To  conclude  all :  O  Timothy,  keep 
^at  which  is  committsd  to  thy  frutt— The  original 
expression,  n^v  iropa«ora^«9v  fvXaiov,  ia^  literally, 
guard  the  deposite;  namely,  the  purity  of  gospel 
doctrine,  with  the  dispensation  of  which  thou  art 
intrusted ;  avoiding  profane  and  vain  babblings — 
See  chap.  i.  4,  and  iv.  7;  and  oppositions  of  science 
falsely  so  caUed^Qwih  philosophical  disquisitions 
and  debates,  as  both  contradict  one  another,  and 
were  contrary  to  the  truth,  though  reckoned  high 
points  of  knowledge.  Though  it  is  not  certain  that 
the  name  of  Cfnostics,  or  the  knowing  men,  was 
used  in  the  church  so  early  to  denominate  a  distinct 
sect,  yet  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  who  op- 
posed the  apostle  made  extraordinary  pretences  to 
knowledge,  and  this  text  seems  sufiicient  to  prove 
it.  Indeed,  most  of  the  ancient  heretics  were 
great  pretenders  to  knowledge.  Which  know- 
ledge, some  teachers  professing  to  have  attained, 
(1  Tim.  i.  6^  7,)  have  erred  concerning  the  faith— 
Have  departed  from  the  true  Christian  doctrine, 
some  entirely  forsaking  it,  and  others  corrupting 
it  with  gross  adulterations.  Grace  be  with  thee — 
To  guide,  in  all  thmgs,  thy  judgment  and  thy 
conduct.  This  epistle  being  chiefly  designed  for 
Timothy's  own  use,  no  salutations  were  sent  to 
any  of  the  brethren  at  Ephesus. 
445 


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PREFACE 


TO  ' 


SECOND   EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE   APOSTLE 


TO 


TIMOTHY. 


/CONCERNING  the  parentage,  comitry,  and  edncalkm  of  Tunothy,  as  also  his  conTersion  and 
appointment  to  die  office  of  an  evangelist,  with  some  particulars  of  his  life  and  labours,  see  the 
preface  to  the  former  epistle.  That  diis  second  epistle  was  written  while  Paul  was  a  prisoner  at 
Rome  is  imiversally  acknowledged ;  but  whether  during  his  first  or  second  imprisonment,  has  been 
matter  of  debate.  Hammond,  Ldghtfoot,  Cave,  and  Lardner,  with  several  others,  have  maintained 
the  former  opinion ;  while  Bishop  Pearson,  Whitby,  Doddridge,  Paley,  and  Macknight,  with  many 
more  t;ritics,  contend  for  the  latter :  and  the  arguments  they  offer  seem  to  be  quite  conclusive.  The 
principal  are  the  following: — 1st.  It  appears  from  chap.  i.  8,  and  ii.  9,  that  when  the  aposde  wrote 
this  epistle  he  was  a  prisoner  in  bonds :  but  these  could  not  be  his  first  bonds ;  for  then  he  was,  in 
libera  eustodia,  dwelling  in  his  own  hired  house,  receiving  all  that  came  to  him,  no  one  forbidding 
him,  (Acts  zxviii.  30,  31,)  and  his  bonds  being  known  in  Cesar's  palace,  and  **  to  all  others."  But 
when  he  wrote  this  second  epistle,  he  was  in  arcta  eustodia^  in  i^ch  close  confinement,  that  Onesi- 
phorus  was  obliged  to  "  seek  him  out  diligently,^  few  knowing  where  he  was  to  be  found,  chap.  i.  17. 
Secondly,  In  his  first  bonds,  many  of  the  brethiren,  being  encouraged  by  his  bonds,  '^  were  bold  to 
speak  the  word  without  fear,"  (Phil.  i.  14,)  but  when  he  wrote  this  second  epistle  all  men  had  for- 
saken him,  chap.  iv.  16.  Thirdly,  When  he  wrote  his  former  epistle  he  had  an  eiqpectation  of  being 
soon  released,  and  of  seeing  his  Christian  friends  again,  chap.  ui.  14 ;  but  in  this  epistle  he  not  only 
gives  no  hint  of  any  such  expectation,  but  evidently  signifies  the  contrary,  observing,  chap.  iv.  6,  "  I 
am  now  ready  to  be  offered,"  or  "  I  am  now  offered,**  as  ^iJv  fmevSofKu  means,  "  and  the  time"  n^  </«7C 
aiHiXucwc  <^n7«c^  "  of  my  dissolution  is  instant,"  or  '*  is  come."  "  I  have  finished  my  course,"  &c.j 
"  heneeforth,"  Xoitov,  *<  what  remains,  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,"  dtc.  From 
which  words  it  is  justly  inferred,  that  when  he  wrote  this  he  was  in  imme^hste  expectation  of  death, 
either  in  consequence  of  Nero's  menaces,  or  of  some  express  revelation  from  Christ,  such  as  Peter 
also  probably  had  a  little  before  his  martyrdom.  See  2  Peter  i.  14.  And  from  hence  the  ancients 
generally  concluded  that  this  was  the  last  epistle  that  St.  Paul  wrote. 

There  appears  to  be  no  certainty  where  Timothy  was  when  the  i^K)6tle  wrote  this  episde  to  him  ; 
bat  his  principal  design  in  writing  it  seems  evidently  to  have  been,  to  prepare  Timothy  for  those 
sufferings  to  which  he  foresaw  he  would  be  exposed ;  to  forewarn  him  of  the  apostacy  and  corrup- 
tion which  were  beginning  to  appear  in  the  church,  and  at  the  same  time  to  animate  him  by  his  own 
example,  and  from  the  powerful  motives  which  the  gospel  furnishes,  to  the  most  vigorous  and  reso- 
lute discharge  of  every  part  of  the  sacred  office  to  which  he  had  been  called.  The  epistle  has  three 
parts:  I.  The  inscription,  chap.  i.  1,  2.  II.  An  invitation,  "Come  to  me,"  variously  expressed; 
1.  Having  declared  his  love  to  Timothy,  verses  3-5,  he  exhorts  him,  "  Be  not  ashamed  of  me,"  verses 
6-14,  and  subjoins  various  examples,  verses  15^18.  2.  He  adds  the  two-fold  proposition^  (1.)  "  Be 
strong ;"  (2.)  "  Commit  the  ministry"  to  faithful  men,  chBp,  ii.  1,  2.  The  Cdrmer  is  treated  of  verses 
3-13 ;  the  latter,  verse  14 ;  with  fiirther  directions  concerning  his  own  behaviour,  verse  15 ;  chap, 
iv.  8.  3.  "Come  quickly,"  verse  9.  Here  St.  Paul  mentions  his  being  left  akme,  verses  10-12. 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHY. 

Directs  to  bring  his  books,  yerse  13.  Oires  a  oantioii  concerning  Alexander,  Terses  14,  15.  Ob- 
serres  the  inconstancy  of  men,  and  the  faithfulness  of  God,  verses  16-18.  4.  "  Come  before  winter  i**^ 
salutations,  rerses  ld-21.    III.  The  concluding  blessing,  rerse  22. 

From  this  epistle,  as  well  as  from  the  first  to  the  Thessalonians,  we  may  draw  a  convincing  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  the  certain  truth  and  unspeakable  importance  of  Christianity.  "  The  apostle  had 
been  for  some  time  under  close  confinement  at  Rome,  at  the  mercy  of  a  cruel  and  capricious  tyrant. 
He  had  seen  himself  deserted  by  his  friends  in  his  greatest  extremity,  and  had  nothing  before  him 
but  the  certain  prospect  of  being  called  to  sufifer  death  in  the  same  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted 
his  life.  In  this  situation  how  does  he  behave  ?  Does  he  seem  to  look  back  with  concern  on  his 
past  conduct,  or  to  regret  the  sacrifice  he  had  made  of  all  his  worldly  interest  1  Can  we  discover 
any  thing  that  betrays  a  secret  consciousness  of  guilt,  or  even  a  suspicion  of  the  weakness  of  his 
cause  ?  Nay,  does  he  drop  a  single  expression  that  can  be  interpreted  as  a  mark  of  fear,  or  discom- 
posure of  mind,  in  the  apprehension  of  those  gloomy  scenes  that  lay  before  him  ?  Surely  if  he  had 
been  an  impostor,  or  had  entertained  the  least  doubt  of  the  doctrines  he  had  taught,  something  of  this 
kind  must  have  escaped  him  when  writing  to  so  intimate  a  friend,  with  whom  he  could  intrust  all  the 
secrets  of  his  breast.  On  the  contrary,  upon  the  most  calm  and  deliberate  survey,  he  expresses  an 
entire  satisfaction  in  reflecting  on  the  part  he  had  acted,  and  earnestly  recommends  it  to  his  beloved 
pufHl  to  follow  his  example  in  maintaining  the  glorious  cause,  even  at  the  hazard  of  his  life.  He 
appears,  diroughout  his  epistle,  to  have  felt  a  strong  inward  conviction  of  the  truth  of  those  principles 
he  had  embraced,  and  glories  in  the  suiSerings  he  endured  in  support  of  them,  triumphing  in  the  full 
assurance  of  being  approved  by  his  great  Master,  and  of  receii^ing  at  his  hands  a  crown  of  distin- 
guished lustre.  A  behaviour  like  this,  in  one  who  had  so  considerable  a  share  in  establishing  the 
Christian  religion,  and  expected  in  a  short  time  to  seal  his  testimony  to  it  with  his  blood,  must  be 
allowed  a  strong  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  those  facts  on  which  our  faith  depends.  It  is  at  least  a 
convincing  proof  that  the  apostle  was  himself  sincere  in  what  he  professed  to  believe ;  and  when 
the  several  circumstances  of  his  history  are  considered,  and  impartially  weired,  it  will  appear  as 
evident  that  he  could  not  possibly  be  deceived,  and,  consequently,  diat  his  testimony  is  to  be  admitted 
in  full  force.** — Doddridge. 

I  447 


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THE 


SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO 


TIMOTHY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PomI  (1,)  AM9trt»  Ids  apostolical  clkaraettr,  saluUt  Tmoiky^  and  declares  his  permaMeni  and  high  regard  for  kimt  as  a  true 
beticver,  and  sympathizing,  afutiinate  UroUur,  1-6.  (2,)  Exhorts  him  to  a  diUgenlt  cmtrageens^  and^paHeni  improsewmU 
of  his  spirUual  gifts  and  graces  in  exercising  the  ministry  of  the  ghrums  gospel,  which  he  had  received,  6-14.  (8,)  Be 
relates,  to  the  honour  of  Onesiphorus,  how  he  had  befriended  him  when  many  others  at  Rome  had  shamefully  deserted  hiM, 
lft-18. 


A.M.  4070.  pAUL,  'an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ 
— 1— I —  by  the  will  <rf  God,  according  to 
^  the  promise  of  life  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus, 

2  •  To  Timothy,  my  dearly  beloved  aon : 
Grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  from  God  the  Father 
and  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

3  ^I  thank  God,  *wlfMn  I  serve  from  my 
fiirefrithers  with  pure  conscience,  that  ^with- 


•  2  Cor.  i.  L *  Eph.  iii.  6 ;  Tit.  i.  2 ;  Heb.  i jc.  15. <  1  Tim. 

1 2. *  Rom.  L'8  J  Eph.  L 16. •  Acts  xxii.  3 ;  xxiiL  1 ;  xxir. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  1-5.  Paul,  an  apostle  by  the  vnll  of  God 
— See  1  Cor.  i.  1-5 ;  according  to  the  promise  of 
life — Appointed  to  exhibit,  by  preaching  the  gospel, 
and  to  bring  men  to,  eternal  life,  promised  by  God 
to  ail  true  believers ;  in — And  through ;  Christ  Je- 
sus— Who  hath  revealed  and  procured  it.  /  thank 
God,  whom  I  serve  from  my  forefathers — That  is, 
whom  both  I  and  my  ancestors  served,  or,  whom  I 
serve  as  the  holy  patriarchs  did  of  old ;  with  a  pure 
conscience — He  always  worshipped  (Jod  according 
to  his  conscience,  both  before  and  after  his  conver- 
sion. Before  his  conversion,  however,  his  con- 
science was  neither  truly  enlightened  nor  awaken- 
ed ;  for  he  was  neither  acquainted  with  the  spiritu- 
ality and  extent  of  the  moral  law,  nor  with  his  own 
sinfulness  and  guilt  through  his  violations  of  it. 
Th€U  without  ceasing  I  have  remembrance  of  thee 
in  my  prayers — See  on  Rom.  i.  8,  9.  To  know 
that  the  apostle  prayed  for  him  continually,  must 
have  aitoided  great  encouragement  to  Timothy 
amidst  his  labours  and  sufferings:  being  mindful  of 
thy  /ear*— Perhaps  frequently  shed,  as  well  as  at 
448 


out  ceasing  I  have  remembrance  of  A.  BC.  loro. 
thee  in  my  prayers  night  and  day  y     ^-LJ. 

4  '  Greatly  desiring  to  see  thee,  being  mind- 
ful of  thy  tears,  that  I  mi^  be  filled  with  joy ; 

5  When  I  call  to  remembrance  ^  the  unfeign- 
ed faith  that  is  in  thee,  which  dwelt  first  in  thy 
grandmother  Lois,  and  ^  thy  mother  Eunice ; 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  in  thee  also. 


14:  zxrii.  23 ;  Rom.  i.  0 ;  OaL  i.  14.- — '  1  Thess.  i. 2 ;  iiL  10 
»  Ch^.  iv.  9,  21. k  1  Tim.  i  5  ;  ir.  6. « AcU  xti.  I. 


the  apostle's  last  parting  with  him ;  that  I  may  be 
filled  withjoy-^ln  conversing  with  thee,  and  giving 
thee  my  dying  charge  and  blessing.  When  I  call  to 
remembrance,  &c.— That  is,  my  desire  to  see  thee  is 
greatly  increased  by  my  calling  to  remembrance  the 
unfeigned  faith — In  the  gospel,  and  in  its  glorious 
Author;  that  is  in  thee—Of  which  thou  hast  given 
convincing  evidence  5  and  which  dwelt — An  expres- 
sion not  applicable  to  a  transient  guest,  but  only  to 
a  settled  inhabitant ;  /r«<  in  thy  grandmother  Lois 
—Probably  this  was  before  Timothy  was  bom. 
Here  it  is  insinuated,  to  the  great  praise  of  Timo- 
thy's grandmother  Lois,  that,  having  embraced 
the  Christian  faith  herself^  she  persevered  in  it, 
and  persuaded  her  daughter  Eunice  to  do  the 
same;  and  that  the  instructions  and  example 
of  these  pious  women  prepared  their  son  fbr 
receiving  the  gospel  when  it  was  preached  to 
him:  a  fit  example  this  for  the  imitation  of 
all  mothers,  who,  if  they  take  the  same  pains 
with  their  children,  may  hope  that,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  their  care  will  be  fdlowed  with  similar 
happy  effects. 

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CHAPTER  I. 


and  improve  Tu^  ipiritual  gifts. 


A.3f.  4070.    6  Wherefore  I  put   thee  in  remem- 
— L.^  brance,  ^that  thou  stir  up  the  ^  of 
God,  which  is  in  thee  bjr  the  putting  on  of  my 
hands. 

7  For  ^  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of 
fear;  •but  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  <rf  a 
sound  mind. 

8  ''Be  not  thou  therefore  ashamed  of  *^the 
testimony  of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me  I'his  pri- 
soner: ^  but  be  thou  partaker  of  the  afflictions 
of  the  gospel  according  to  the  power  of  God ; 


k  1  ThcBs.  r.  19.;  1  Tim.  ir.  14. >  Rom.  riii.  15. ■  Luke 

tmr.  4§ ;  Act*  i.  8. ■  Rom.  i.  10. •  1  Tim.  ii.  0 ;  Rer.  r.  2. 

P  EiA.  ill.  1 ;  Phil.  i.  7.-t— i  Col.  i.  24 :  Chap.  iv.  5. '  1  Tim. 

i.  1 ;  Tit.  iii.  4. ■  1  Thess.  iv.  7  ;  Heb.  lii.  1. 


Verses  0,  7.  Wherefore — Because  I  remember 
this;  I  put  thee  in  remembrance — ^Because  of  my 
love  to  thee;  that  thou  eiirup  the  gift  of  God — 
That  is,  every  gift  which  the  grace  of  Gk)d  has 
given  thee.  The  word  ava^i^nvpeiv  is  a  metaphori- 
cal expressioii,  borrowed  from  stirring  ap  fire  when 
it  is  almost  extinct^  and  thereby  causing  it  fb  biim 
with  a  fresh  flame.  The  meaning  is,  that  Timothy 
was  to  embrace  the  opportunities  which  his  station 
afibrded  him  for  improving  his  spiritual  gifts,  by 
boldly  and  diligently  exercising  them  in  inculcating 
and  defending  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  By  the 
putting  on  of  my  hands — ^Together  with  those  ^f 
the  presbytery,  1  Epist*  iv.  14.  And  let  nothing 
discourage  thee,  for  Qod  haffi  not  given  us  the  spirit 
offeoT—Thsl  is,  the  spirit  which  God  hath  given 
us  Christians^  is  not  the  spirit  of  fear,  or  of  timidity ^ 
ox  cowardice,  as  detXtag  signifies;  btU  (^powers- 
Banishing  fear ;  or  of  Christian  courage  in  the  midst 
of  dangers  and  troubles ;  and  of  love — ^To  Grod  and 
all  mankind,  animating  us  to  zeal  and  diUgence  in 
God's  service,  and  in  our  endeavours  to  save 
men's  souls.  And  of  a  sptmd  mind — So^  as  to  act 
according  to  the  best  principles  of  reason  and  re- 
ligion. 

Verses  8-10.  Eenotthou,therefore-^'D\seo\mged 
by  any  dangers  or  trials ;  or  ashamed  of  the  testi- 
mony of  ottr  Lord--The  gospel  which  testifies  of 
Christ,  or  of  testifying  th^  truth  and  importance  of  it 
to  all  men ;  nor  of  me  his  prisoner — The  cause  of 
the  servants  of  God,  doing  his  work,  cannot  be  scpar 
rated  from  the  cause  <^  God  himself.  But  be  thou 
partaker  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel — Of  such 
afOiictions  as  I  endure  for  the  gospel's  eeke :  or,  be 
ready  to  undergo  the  persecutions  and  troubles 
which  attend  the  profession  and  preaching  of  the 
gospel :  according  to  the  power  of  6rod— That  is, 
as  God  shall  enable  thee ;  who  haJlh  salved  us—By 
faith  in  fats  Son  and  in  his  gospel,  from  sin  and  mise- 
ry, present  and  eternal,  and  ^erefore  we  may  the 
more  leadily  endure  any  temporal  evils  for  the  gos- 
pel. 'nieloveoftheFather,thegraceofourSaviour, 
and  the  whole  economy  of  salvation,  are  here  ad- 
mirably described.  And  tailed  us  wUh  a  holy  call- 
ing'-A  calling  hdy  in  regard,  Ist,  Of  the  author, 

Vou  n.  (  99  ) 


9  ^Who  hath  saved  iis,  and  •call-  A.M.40TO. 
ed  Its  with  a  holy  catling,  *  not  --^— ^ — ^ 
according  to  our  works,  but  ^  according 
to  his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was 
given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  'before  the  worid 
b^;an; 

10  But  y  is  now  made  manifest  by  the 
appearing  of  ouf  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  *  who 
hath  abolished  death,  and  hath  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  Kght  through  the 
gospel: 


•Rom.  iii.  90:  ix.  11 ;  Tit  iii.  5.- 
xri.  25 ;  Eph.  i.  4 ;  iii.  11 ;  Tit. 


■  Rom.  riii.  28.- 
.2;   1  Pet.i.  2a> 


'Rom. 
-7  Rom. 


.  25 ;   Kph.  1. 4 ;  in.  11 :  Tit.  i.  2 ;   1  Pet.  i.  2a J  Rom. 

xri.  26 ;    Ephcsians  L  9 ;  Ck>l.  i.  26 ;   Titus  i.  3 :  1  Pet.  i.  20. 
» 1  Cor.  XT.  54,  55 ;   Heb.  ii.  14. 


God ;  2dy  The  means,  his  word  and  Spirit ;  8d,  The 
end,  holiness ;  not  according  to  our  works— Bee  on 
Rom.  ix.  11 ;  xi.  6.  But  according  to  his  own  pur- 
pose and  grace— That  is,  his  gracious  purpose ;  (see 
on  Eph.  iu.  11 ;)  which  was  given  us  in  Christ— 
Through  his  mediation  and  grace ;  before  the  world 
began— He  being  appointed,  in  the  everlasting  and 
unchangeable  counsels  of  God,  to  be  the  Redeemer 
and  Savionr  of  all  that  should  believe  in  and  obey 
him.  B%U  now  is  made  manifestos  openly  re- 
vealed and  exhibited ;  by  the  appearing  qf  our 
Saviour— By  hb  manifestation  ip  Uie  flesh,  and  the 
publication  of  the  gospel  of  his  grace.  Who  halh 
abolished  death — Hath  obtained  for  per9evering  be- 
lievers a  glorious  resurrection  even  from  temporal 
death  hereafter,  and  deliverance  from  the  sting  of  it 
here ;  with  u  title  to,  and  meetness  for,  the  eternal 
life  of  both  soul  and  body ;  so  that  death  shall  be 
completely  swallowed  up  in  victory.  And  hath 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light— HoXh  clearly 
revealed  by  the  gospelihBi  immortal  life  which  he 
hath  purchased  for  us.  Or,  ifaf^aptnavhe  rendered, 
as  it  properly  may,  liot  immortality,  but  incorrup- 
tion,  the  meaning  will  be,  he  hath  clearly  revealed 
the  life,  or  existence  and  happiness,  of  the  soul  im- 
mediately after  death,  and  the  incorrvption  of  ^e 
body:  or  rather,  hath  made  them  clear;  lor  the 
word  ^TiCo,  here  used,  means  to  make  athmg  dear 
and  f^n  which  was  formerly  obscure,  a  translation 
which  is  more  proper  here  than  to  bring  to  Hght. 
"  For  the  Israelites  had  an  obscure  knowledge  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  of  the  resurrection  of 
the4)ody,  given  them  in  the  writhigs  of  lifoses,  as  is 
plain  from  our  Lord's  words,  (Luke  xx.  87,)  and 
from  what  b  related  2  Mac.  vii.  9, 14, 2a  Neverthe- 
less, as  these  things  were  but  obscurely  revealed  in 
the  ancient  oracles,  the  far  more  clear  discovery  of 
them  in  the  gospel,  but  especially  Christ's  express 
promise  to  raise  the  dead^  and  give  eternal  life  to 
believers,  might  with  the  greatest  propriety  be  called 
a  making  these  things  cUar,""  The  heathen  abo 
had  some  conftised  hopes  of  the  immortahty  of  the 
soul,  but  as  they  had  no  ground  for  these  hopes  but 
uncertain  tradition  and  their  own  wbhes,  they  were 
much  In  the  dark  conoernhig  it 

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JHmotki^  is  exhorted  to  hold  fait 


U.  TIMOTHY. 


the  farm  of  sound  ward0i 


JL  Iff.  407a  11  *  Whereunto  I  am  appoinied  a 
! preacher,  and  an  apoBtle,  aod  a  teach- 
er of  the  Gentiles. 

12  ^For  the  which  cause  I  also  sufler  these 
things :  nevertheless  I  am  not  ashamed :  ®  for 
I  know  whom.  I  have  ^  believed,  and  am  per- 
suaded that  he  is  able  to  *^keep  that  which 
I  have  committed  unto  him  *  against  that 
day. 

13  'Hold  feist  'the  form  of  ^ sound  words, 
*  which    thou    hast   hesxi  of  me,   ^in  &ith 


•Aeti  ix.  25;   Eph.  iii.  7,  8;  1  Tim.  ii.  7;  Chap.  iv.  17. 

•»  Eph.  iiL  I ;    Cliap.  iL  9. «  1  Pet  ir.  19. »  Or,  tmittd, 

*  1  Tim.  ri.  20. •  Verse  18 ;  Chap.  iv.  8. '  Chap.  iii.  U ; 

Tit  i.  9 ;    Heb.  x.  23 ;    Re?,  ii.  25. ^  Rom.  ii.  20 ;  vi.  17. 

Verses  11, 12.  Whereunto-^Tor  proclaiming  which 
good  news ;  /  am  appointed  a  preacher — Ki/pvf,  a 
herald;  and  an  apo«</e— Invested  with  an  extraor^ 
dinary  commission,  and  furnished  with  spiritual 
gifts  to  make  me  a  suecessful  teacher  of  the  Gen- 
/il«#^That  is,  of  thtfm  chiefly.  For  wAicA— Namely, 
my  preaching  to  the  Gentiles ;  I  suffer  these  things 
— "  By  assigning  his  preaching  salvation  to  the  Gen- 
tiles throng  Christ,  without  obedience  to  the  law 
of  Moses,  as  the  cause  of  his  second  bonds  in  Rome, 
he  hath  ineonuated  that  the  unbelieving  Jews  were 
active  in  getting  him  imprisoned,  and  tried  for  his 
life  as  a  criminal."— Macknight.  Nevertheless-^ 
Though  my  condition  may  seem  infamous ;  /  am 
not  ashamed-^Bliher  of  my  doctrine  or  of  my  suf- 
ferings. For  I  know  loham  I  have  believed— Thtii 
is,  whose  word  and  proHUse  I  have  credited,  and  to 
whom  I  have  tmsted  all  my  important  concerns:  I 
know  his  power,  and  love,  and  faithfuineat ;  and  am 
persuaded,  fully  satisfied,  he  is  able  to  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  to  him — Tj^p  napa^niatv  fty^ 
my  deposits^  until  that  day— Of  final  retribution ; 
meaning,  undoubtedly,  his  immortal  soul,  or  his 
whcHe  person,  soul  and  body.  Thus  Peter,  ( 1  Epist 
iv.  19,)  Let  them  that  suffer  according  to  the  will  of 
Ood,  commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  hi^  (or, 
as  may  be  included,  the  preservation,  or,  if  taken 
away,  the  restoration,  of  the  life  of  their  bodies,)  in 
weU-doingy  as  unto  a  faithful  Creator^  who  never 
did,  and  never  will,  deceive,  or  disappoint  the  hopes 
of  any  that  trust  in  him. 

Verses  13, 14.  Holdfast  the  form— The  draught, 
pattern,  ormodel;  (sovrrorvTrfioic  signifies;)  of  sound 
words— Ot  pure  and  salutary  doctrine ;  which  thou 
hast  heard  of  me — Hast  received  repeatedly  from 
my  own  lips :  keep  this,  not  merely  in  theory,  and 
in  thy  memory,  but  m  thy  heart  j  in  faith  and  love 
— In  that  cordial  faith  and  sincere  love  which  are 
essentially  necessary  to  our  being  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  wUeh  will  ensure  our  being  owned  by  him  as 
tils  true  disciples.  Macknight  thinks  the  phrase 
vytatPovTwv  ^ioyttv,  sound,  wholesome,  or  salutary 
words,  here  used  by  the  apostle,  is  an  insinuation 
that  the  false  teachers  had  introduced  mto  their  dis- 
courses  a  variety  of  high- sounding,  mysterious 


and   love   wbich   is 


sus. 


in  Christ  Je-  A.iL407a 

A.D.^Ow 


14  ^  That  good  thing  which  was  committed 
unto  thee  keep  by  the  Holy  Ghost  *  which 
dwellelh  in  us. 

16  This  thou  knowest,  that  '  all  they  which 
are  in  Asia  be  ® turned  away  firom  me;  of 
whom  are  Pbygelltis  and  Hermogenes. 

16  The  Lord  '•give  mercy  unto  *»  the  house 
of  Onesiphorus;  'f(M:  he  oft  refreshed  me,  and 
'was  not  ashamed  q(  ^  my  diain : 


fc  1  Tim.  L  10 ;   ri.  3. *  Cliap.  ii.  2. k  i  Tim.  i.  14. 

'  1  Tim.  tL  2a «"  Rom.  viii.  11. ■  Act«  xix.  10. •  Chap. 

iv.  10,  16. PMalt.  T.  7. iChap.  iv.  19. rphilem.  7. 

'  Verse  8. «  Acta  xxviii.  20 ;  Eph.  vi.  20.' 


words  and  phrases  of  their  own  invention,  on  a  pre- 
tence that  they  expressed  the  Christian  doctrines 
better  than  those  used  by  the  apostles;  and  that 
Timothy  was  hereby  required  to  "  resist  this  had 
practice,  by  adheringcloscly  to  the  words  and  phrases 
in  which  the  apostle  had  taught  him  the  doctrines 
of  the'jgospel,  and  which  he  terms  wholesome  words, 
because,  being  dictated  by  the  Spirit,  (1  Cor,  ii.  13,) 
they  are  more  fit  for  expressing  the  doctrmes  of 
Christ  than  any  words  of  human  invention.  The 
teachers  in  modem  times,  who,  in  explaining  the 
articles  of  the  Christian  faith,  use  phrases  different 
from  the  Scripture  phraseology,  would  do  well  to 
attend  to  this  apostolical  injunction."  That  good 
thing  which  was  committed,  &c. — Greek,  n/v  *oA^ 
irapaKara^n'^vv,  literally,  the  good  deposite.  "Our 
translators  have  added  the  words  toihee,  which  are 
not  in  the  original ;  and  besides  are  unnecessary, 
because  the  apostle>is  spetdcing  of  a  deposite  ^com- 
mitted in  trust  to  himself,  as  well  as  to  Timothy ;  as 
is  plam  from  the  last  words  of  the  verse,  ^vXq^ov, 
guard  by  tJie  Holy  Ghost  which  dwelleth  in  tt£." 
Concemingihis  deposite,  see  on  1  Tim.  vi.  20.  "  As 
the  form  of  sound  words,  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
verse,  was  a  part  of  this  deposite,  an  exhortation  to 
guard  thenr  was  extremely  necessary,  before  the 
writmgs  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists  were  pub- 
lished, in  which  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are  ex- 
pressed in  words  taught  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
now  that  these  inspired  writings  are  in  our  posses- 
sion, this  exhortation  Implies  that  we  ought  to  pre- 
serve them  pure,  without  any  alteration;  and  that 
all  the  translations  which  are  made  of  ihem  ought  to 
exhibit,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the,  very  words  which 
were  dictated  to  the  inspired  writers  by  the  Spirit 
of  God." 

Verses  15-18.  This  thou  knoxcest—Of  this  thou 
hast  received  information ;  thai  all  they  whidi  are 
in  Asior—Ue  appears  to  mean  those  of  Asia  who 
were  known  to  him  by  a  profession  of  Christianity, 
and  who  had  attended  him  at  Rome  for  a  while; 
are  turned  away  from  mc— And  have  proved  treach- 
erous friends,  after  all  their  forward  pretences.  See 
on  chap.  iv.  W.  "What!  turned  away  from  Paul, 
the  aged,  the  iaith&l  soldier,  and  now  prisoner  of 


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JL  x.  Ma    17  But  when  he  was  in  Rcnne,  he 

sooghl  me  out  veiy  Aligendy,  and 

found  ffte. 
18  The  Loid  grant  unio  him  ''that  he  may 


«Matt.zxv.34,4a 


Christ!  This  was  a  glorious  trial,  and  wisely  re- 
sorted for  that  timewhen  he  was  on  the  borders  of 
hnmortriity.''— Wesley.  Of  whom  are  Phy^w 
and  HermogeneS'—VTibably  he  mentions  these  two 
persons  as  knoiim  to  Timothy,  or  as  having  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  profession,  so  that 
there  was  great  reason  to  expect  a  different  conduct 
from  Uiem.  The  Lord  give  mercy  unto  the  house 
— Or  family;  of  Onesiphorus — As  well  as  himself; 
for  he  oft  rejreehed  me — By  his  visits  and  liberal- 
ities, both  at  Ephesus  and  Rome ;  see  verse  18 ;  and 
vae  not  ashamed  of  my  chain— Th^i  is,  he  both 
owned  and  relieved  me  without  fear  or  shame,  in 
this  time  of  my  imprisonment  It  appears  that  offices 
of  kindness  done  to  Paul,  especially  when  in  distress, 


find  mercy  of  the  Lord  'in  that  day:  a.  H.«D7a 
and  in  how  many  things  he  ^minis-   ^'^'^ 
tered  unto  me  at  Ephesus,  thou  knowest  very 
well 

s2 Thest.  i.  10 ;  Veiie  Ml r  Hth.  vi.  la   . 

made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind,  and  filled  him 
with  gratitude.  When  he  was  in  Borne  he  sought 
me  oui — An  expression  implying  that  the  apostle 
was  in  such  close  confinement  that  few  knew  where 
he  was  to  be  found.  The  Lord  grant,  ^c,  t?ua  he 
may  find  mercy  of  the  Lord--7Vie  Lord,  in  this  lat- 
ter clause,  may  mean  the  Lord  Jesus;  or  the  words 
may  be  a  common  Hebraism  for,  Afay  the  Lord 
grant  him  mercy.  By  praying  first  for  the  family 
of  Onesiphoms,  (verse  10,)  the  apostle  intimated 
that  Onesiphoms  was  at  a  distance  from  his  family; 
and  then  his  praying  for  that  good  man  himself^  im- 
plies that  he  was  not  dead,  as  the  Papists  suppose, 
inferring  from  this  prayer  of  the  apostle  the  lawful- 
ness of  praying  for  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Here  the  apaetU  {!,)  Exhorts  Tmoik^^  m  the  stirtngtk  of  Christy  to  UiJbmar  in  his  mimsHrial  work  with  cotiroge,  tUHgeHce^ 
foiisiwe,  and  persoveranee,  in  hopes  of  «  happy  issue^  1-13.  (2,)  He  warns  kifn  agrnut  unprovable  ani  erroneous  doe-' 
irmss  Mid  teachers^  14-18.  (3,)  Comforts  him  with  the  assurance  that  Ood  woM  save  his  true  people^  and  uphold  his 
church,  though  dtfsrsnt  sorts  of  professors  would  always  be  found  in  her  %Ms  on  earth,  1^-3.1.  (4,)  He  charges  ktm  to 
0ee  youthful  lusts,  and  to  preserve  a  mask  spirit  in  all  his  endeavours  toinstruet  and  recover  sinners  from  the  nuseraUs 
condition  into  which  they  were  fallen,  as  the  most  likely  way  to  be  successful  in  winmng  souls,  S2-26. 

mit  thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  a.m. 4070. 
be  *  able  to  teach  others  also.  —^-^ — 1- 


A.M.  4(m).  rpHOU  therefore,   'my  son,  '^be 

— ! strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in 

Christ  Jesus. 

2  •  And  the  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of 
me  *  among  many  witnesses,  *  the  same  com- 

•1  Tim.  i.  2;    Chap.  i.  2. ^'Eph,  ri.  10. «Chap.  i.  13; 

iJL  10, 14. 'Or,6y. ^1  Tim,  i.  18. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verses  1, 2.  Hunt  therefore,  my  sofi— Animated 
by  the  example  of  fidelity  and  eourage  manifested 
by  Onesil^hdrus;  be  slrong-^BudwofUi,  be  encou- 
raged ani  strengthened,  in  a  firm  relkmce  on  the 
grace  that  is  in  Jesus^And  which  he  is  always 
ready  to  communicate  to  all  that  pray  for  and  ex- 
pect II.  And  the  things^The  wholesome  doctrine, 
(chap  L  13,)  that  thou  hasi  heard  ofme^To  which 
I  have  often  borne  itolemn  testimony ;  among  many 
witnesses-See  1  Tim.  ri.  12.  By  these  many  wit- 
nesses, he  seems  to  hare  meant  the  elders,  deacons, 
and  others,  present  when  Timothy  was  set  apart  to 
the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry,  and  received  a  so- 
lenm  charge  from  the  apostle  to  execute  his  trust 
iaithAilly.  The  same  commit  /Aou— With  great 
seriousness,  care,  and  diligence,  before  thou  leavest 
Epl^mm-jtofamfulmeny  who  s^iaU  be  able  to  teach 
b 


3  ^Thou  therefore  endure  hatdness,   'as  a 
good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 

4  ^  No  man  that  warreth  entangloth  himself 


•  1  Tim.  iu.  3  i  Tit.  i.  9.- 
i.  18.- 


—J  ChM».  i.  8 ;  ir.  5.- 
-*  1  Cor.  ix.  25. 


n  Tim. 


Others^ AHer  thou  art  gone:  that  the  truth  may 
be  continued,  in  an  uninterrupted  succession  of 
such  persons,  who  shall  hand  it  down  from  one  to 
another  throughout  all  ages,  even  till  the  end  of 
time. 

Verses  8-7.  Thou  therefore  endure  hardness—Ka- 
Koira&Jioov,  literally,  endure  evil;  that  is,  expect  per- 
secutions and  various  sufferings,  and,  by  the  power- 
ftil  aids  of  divine  grace,  endure  them  with  courage, 
constancy,  and  patience ;  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ— Vfho  endured  much  greater  afflictions  in 
the  days  of  his  flesh,  and  hath  thereby  shown  all 
who  engage  to  fight  imder  his  banner,  and  would 
approve  themselves  his  faKhful  soldiers,  that  they 
must  expect  to  meet  with  various  hardships  and 
sufferings,  and  in  what  spirit  they  must  sustain  them, 
that  they  may  war  a  good  warfare,  and  prove  victo- 
rious. M)  man  that  warreth  entanglelh  himself-- 
491 


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n.  TMOTHY. 


^aU  alto  reign  vnlh  iHmT 


A.  M.  407a  with  the  affiiirs  of  this  Ufe ;  ibftt  he 
^'    *^'    may  {dease  him  who  hath  chosea  him 
lobe  a  soldi^. 

5  And  '  if  a  man  also  strive  for  masteries,  yet 
is  he  not  crowned,  except  he  strive  lawfully. 

6  ^The'  husbandman  that  laboureth  must 
be  first  partaker  of  the  fruits. 

7  Consider  what  I  say;  and  the  Lord  give 
thee  understanding  in  aM  things. . 

8  Remember  that  Jesus  Christ,  ^of  the  seed 
of  David,  •  was  raised  from  the  dead,  ■  accord- 
ing to  my  gospel : 


» 1  Cor.  ijc.  25, 28. *  1  Cor.  ix.  10. •  Or,  th*  huibttHdmaH, 

Ubmrmgfrttt  mutt  U  pmfmktr  »/ the fiidu, *RoaL  i.  3,  4j 

Acts  ii.  30 ;  xiih  23. ■  1  Qor.  xr.  1,  4,  20. ■  Rom.  li.  16. 

o  Acta  ix.  16 ;  Chap.  i.  12. p  Eph.  iiu  1 ;  PhU.  i.  7 ;   Col. 


any  more  tban  is  unavoidable,  in  the  affaire  of  this 
fo/e— With  any  other  business  or  employment ;  that 
— ^Minding  war  only ;  he  may  pledee  him  who  hath 
chosen  Aim,  &c.-^Namely,  his  captain  or  general. 
In  this  and  the  next  verse,  there  is  a  plain  allusion 
to  the  Roman  law  of  arms,  and  to  that  of  the  Grecian 
games.  According  to  the  former,  no  soldier,  at  least 
no  legionary  soldier,  (as  Grotius  has  here  shown,) 
was  suffered  to  engage  in  any  civil  occupation,  such 
as  agriculture,  merchandise,  mechanical  employ- 
ments, or  any  business  which  might  divert  him  from 
his  profession.  Accdrding  to  the  latter,  no  one 
eould  be  crowned  as  conqueror  who  did  not  keep 
strictly  to  the  rules  of  the  game.  The  apostle,  by 
applying  these  things  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
hath  shown  that  all  who  undertake  the  ofllce  of  the 
ministry  should,  on  the  one  hand,  avoid  engi^ging  in 
such  secular  businesses  as  would  engross  their  atten- 
tion, and  require  much  time  to  execute ;  and,  on  the 
other,  should  be  careful  to  observe  all  the  rules  of 
faith  and  practice  enjoined  in  the  gospel.  The  hus- 
bandman that  laboureth^  &c, — This  should  undoubt- 
edly be  rather  rendered,  The  husbandman  mtist 
first  labour^  and  then  partake  of  the  fruits;  or, 
mttst  labour  before  he  partake  of  the  fruits.  For  it 
was  entirely  to  the  apostle*s  purpose  to  remmd 
Timothy  that  the  labour  of  the  husbandman  must 
precede  the  harvest ;  but  whether  he  was  to  receive 
these  fruits  first,  or  before  any  others,  was  not  the 
point  in  question.  How  much  more,  as  if  the  apos- 
tle had  said,  oughtest  thou  to  labour,  0  Timothy,  in 
the  ministry  before  thou  art  rewarded.  Consider 
whcU  /aay--Concerning  the  necessity  of  devoting 
thyself  wholly  to  the  ministry,  and  enduring  evil; 
and  the  Lord  give  thee  understanding  in  all  things — 
Belonging  to  the  gospel,  and  thy  duty  as  a  Christian 
and  a  minister. 

Verses  8-10.  Remember-So  as  to  be  encouraged 
against,  and  supported  under,  any  sufferings  which 
thou  mayest  be  called  to  endure  for  the  truth ;  that 
Jesus  Christ,  oj  the  seed  q/*Z>avt(i— According  to  the 
flesh;  see  on  Ronti.  8;  Heb.  il.  16;  was  raised 
from  the  dead—KvA  thereby  demonstrated  himself 
to  be  the  true  Messiah.  So.  our  translators  have  ren- 
408 


9  •Wherein  I  suffer  trooUe,  as  an  a.il407o. 
evfl-doer,  i*et?#nun(oboiul8;  ^btitthe  _LJ — 1 
word  of  <3od  is  not  bound. 

10  Therefixe  ^  endure  all  diings  ibr  the 
elect's  salce,  'that  they  may  abo  obtain  the 
salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  with  eternal 
glory. 

11  •//  w  a  fiutbful  saying:  For  *if  we 
be  dead  with  Atm^  we  shall  also  live  with 
Aim ; 

12  'If  we  suffer,  we  diall  also  re^  with 
him :  ^  if  we  deny  Aim,  he  also  will  dehy  us : 


iT.  3, 1& 4  AcU  zxviii.  31 ;  Eph.  tL  19,  SO ;  Phil.  i.  13, 14. 

••  Eph.  m.  13 ;   Col.  i.  24. •  Sf  CJor.  i.  S. *  1  Tim,  L  15. 

«  R4RIL tL  S, 8;  2  Cor.  ir.  10. «  Bom.  rUL  17 j  1  PoL  it.  13w 

r  Mfttt.  z.  33 ;  Uvk  viiL  38 ;  Lake  xii  9. 


dered  the  clause,  understanding  the  sense  to  be, 
Remember  and  adhere  to  this  important  fact,  as  the 
great  foundation  of  the  gospel.  But  the  original  ex- 
pressions,/<v9/<oveve  Itfasv  Xpt^ov  eytry^pfievov  ex  vexpov^ 
are,  literally.  Remember  Jesus  Christ  raised  from 
the  dead,  Ac.  That  is,  think  on  him,  keep  him  con- 
tinually in  remembrance,  and  it  will  be  instead  of  a 
thousand  arguments  to  support  thee  under,  and 
carry  thee  through,  all  thy  dangers  and  difficulties, 
thy  labours  and  sufferings.  Wherein— In  the  ser- 
vice of  which  gospel;  /  sf^er  trouble  as  an  evil- 
doer^K  malefactor,  deserving  some  heavy  punish- 
ment ;  even  unto  bonds — Imprisonment  and  chains. 
But  the  word  of  CM  is  not  bound-~lX  will  spread 
itself  in  spite  of  all  opposition.  ^Tliis  short  sen- 
tence," sajTs  Macknight,  ^  is  a  beautiitil  display  of 
the  apostle's  character.  The  evils  which  he  was 
suffering  for  the  gospel,  though  great,  he  reckoned 
as  nothing,  because  of  the  joy  which  he  felt  from  his 
persuasion  that  the  honour  of  Christ  and  the  hap- 
piness of  mankind  would  be  promoted  by  his  sufier- 
ings,  and  because  he  knew  that  all  the  opposition 
which  infidels  were  making  to  the  gospel,  would  not 
hinder  it  from  being  preached  and  believed.  They 
have  bound  me  in  chains,  said  he,  and  may  put  me 
to  death,  but  the  word  of  God  they  cannot  bind. 
Not  only  the  strength  of  the  apostle's  reasoning 
herC)  but  the  energy  of  his  expression  is  admiraUe.'' 
Therefore—lxi  hope  of  a  glorious  reward,  to  be  con- 
ferred in  due  time  on  them  and  myself.  /  endure  all 
things  for  the  decfs  safcc— That  is,  that  I  may 
thereby  promote  the  salvation  of  God*s  people.  See 
on  2  Thess.  it  13.  Observe  the  spirit  of  a  real 
Christian !  Who  would  not  wish  to  be  like-minded  t 
That  they  may  obtain  sahmtion—¥ram  sin  and  all 
its  consequences,  or  deliverance  from  all  evil;  with 
eternal  glory — The  enjoyment  of  all  good. 

Verses  11-14.  It  is  a  faithfid  saying^K  saying 
as  iraportsnt  as  it  is  true.  If  we  be  dead — Grreek, 
awcTTe^vofuv^  die.  Or  have  died,  with  Ww— To  the 
world  and  sin,  and  be  ready  to  die  for  him ;  we  shaU 
Jive  loith  Aitit—In  that  everlasting  happiness  which 
he  hath  prepared  for  all  his  people.  If  we  suffer  with 
him — Persecution,  or  whatever  be  may  be  pleased 

b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


errmwua  teachers. 


A.  M.  4im.    13  •  ff  we  bdiev6  not,  yet  he  abideth 
\ —  fiiithful :  ■  he  cannot  deny  himself. 

14  Of  these  things  put  them  in  remembrance, 
^charging  them  before  the  Lord  ^that  they 
strive  not  about  words  to  no  [Nrofit,  hut  to  the 
subverting  of  the  hearers. 

15  Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto  God, 


*  Rom.  iii.  3 ;  ix.  6. »Num.  xxiiL  19. *>  1  Tim.  r.  21 ;  yL 

13 ;  Chap.  ir.  1. « 1  Tim.  i.  4 ;  vi.  4 ;  Tit.  iii.  9,  11. 


to  appoint  or  permit  to  happen  to  us,  with  faith  and 
patience  becoming  a  Christian ;  we  shall  also  reign 
with  him^-ln  heavenly  glory:  see  on  Rom.  TiiL  17; 
1  Pet  iv.  13.  //*— Intimidated  with  these  transitory 
evils,  we  desert  his  cause,  and  deny  him — Before  men, 
that  we  may  escape  suffering  for  hinn  he  also  will 
deny  uf^In  the  great  day^  before  his  Father  and  the 
holy  angels,  Matt.  x.  33 ;  Luke  xii.  9.  Jfwe  believe  not 
—That  he  will  deny  us,  presuming  upon  his  mercy ; 
yet  he  abideth  faithful^ And  will  fulfil  his  threaten- 
ings  on  such  as  expose  themselves  to  them ;  he  can- 
not denjf  himself--C9smoi  falsify  his  word,  or  foil  to 
make  it  good.  Or  the  verse  may  be  interpreted  in 
a  more  general  sense  thus:  If  we  believe  ^wt  the 
truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel,  or  if  we  are 
unfaithful^  (hb  some  render  on-tcv/ccv,  considering  it 
as  opposed  to  iricor,  faithful,)  yet  he  abideth  faithfidy 
and  will  steadily  adhere  to  those  rules  of  judgment, 
and  distribution  of  rewards  and  punishments,  which 
he  hath  so  solemnly  laid  down  in  his  word :  for  it  is 
certain  he  cannot  deny  himself  or  frustrate  his  own 
public  declarations.  Therefore  be  diligent,  as  if  the 
apostle  had  said,  in  the  discharge  of  thy  duty,  and 
shrink  not  from  it  for  fear  of  suffering,  Of  these 
things  put  them  in  remembrance^Itemind  those 
who  are  under  thy  chlurge  of  these  poweriVil  motives 
to  persevere  in  patiently  suffering  ill,  and  diligently 
doing  well;  ck^ging  them  before  the  Lord-^As  in 
his  presence,  and  as  they  will  answer  it  to  him ;  not 
to  strive — Greek,  f<v  Xoyofiaxeivynot  to.contend^  or 
quarrelj  about  words^An  evil  to  which  they  are 
prone;  to  no  profit — Such  a  contention  is  altogether 
unprofitable,  and  even  tends  to  the  subverting  of  the 
hearers — The  diverting  their  attention  from  true, 
vital  religion,  and  the  important  truths  on  which  it 
is  built,  and  filling  their  minds  with  pride  and  passion, 
and  numberless  other  disorders  and  vices.  There 
is  an  awful  solemnity,  as  Doddridge  justly  observes, 
in  this  charge,  whidi  plainly  shows  the  great  folly 
and  misehief  of  striving  about  little  controversies. 
Indeed,  consequences  such  as  those  here  referred  to, 
are  wont  to  flow  from  most  religious  disputes  as  they 
are  commonly  managed ;  so  that  they  tend  to  nothing 
but  to  the  subverting  of  the  faith  and  morals  of  those 
who  engage  keenly  in  them.  They  ought  therefore 
to  be  carefWy  avoided  by  all  who  desire  to  promote 
true  piety  and  vurtue,  agreeably  to  the  apostle's  di- 
rection. 

Verse  15.  Study  to  show  thyself  approved,  dlEC.-^ 
Greek,  awudaeoif  etavrw  Somi/iov  -irapacTtwu  ro  8ea, 
literally,  be  zeaious,  make  haste,  or  diligently  en- 
deavour, to  present  thyse^  approved  to  Cfod^  what- 


a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  A.  M.  407a 
ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  ^'^'^ 
truth. 

16  But  ^shun  pro&ne  and  vain  babblings: 
for  they  will  increase  unto  more  ungodliness. 

17  .And  their  word  w3i  eat  as  doth  a  ^  canker : 
of  whom  is  •  Hymeneus  and  Pbiktus ; 


*1  Timothy  ir.  7;   ri.  20: 
•ITi 


W  i.  20. 


-*Ori  gwi^rwe. 


ever  men  may  judge  of  thee  and  thy  services;  a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  o^amcc^Either  on 
account  of  unfaithfulness,  unskilfulness,  lukewarm- 
ness,  negligence,  or  sloth ;  rightly  dividing  the  word 
of  truth — Greek,  op^orcfitwra,  literaUy,  rightly  cutting 
up  the  word~^ln  allusion,  as  some  think,  to  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Jewish  priests  in  dissecting  the  victhns, 
and  separating  the  parts  in  a  proper  manner,  as 
some  were  to  be  laid  on  God's  altar,  and  others  to  be 
given  to  those  who  were  to  share  in  the  sacrifices. 
Or  rather,  the  metaphor  may  be  taken  from  the  dis- 
tribution made  by  a  steward  in  delivering  out  to  each 
person  under  his  care  such  thhigs  as  his  office  and 
their  necessities  require ;  or  to  the  action  of  one 
who  carves  at  a  table,  and  distributes  meat  to  the 
guests,  according  to  theur  ages,  and  their  state  of 
health.  In  this  manner  the  apostle  himself  divided 
the  word  to  the  Ck>rinthians,  feeding  them  itith  milk, 
as  babes  in  C%rist,  and  not  with  meat,  as  not  being 
then  able  to  bear  it.  See  Heb.  v.  12-14.  The  Vul- 
gate version  renders  the  clause,  rectc  tractantem, 
rightly  handling  the  word,  which  gives  the  apos- 
tle's meaning  very  weU.  llius  those  ministers  han- 
dle it  who  duly  explain  and  apply  the  whole  gospel, 
so  as  to  give  each  hearer  his  due  portion.  But  they 
that  give  ooe  part  of  the  gospel  to  all,  (the  promises 
and  comforts,  suppose,  to  unawakened,  hardened, 
and  scoffing  sinners,)  have  real  need  to  be  ashamed. 
To  divide  or  handle  the  word  of  truth  aright,  implies 
that  it  be  done,  1st,  With  evidence  and  demonstra- 
tion, so  as  to  convince  the  conscience.  Acts  il  37; 
1  Cor.  li.4.  2d,  With  sincerity  and  faithfulness,  de- 
livering the  whole  counsel  of  God,  Acts  xx.  27.  8d, 
With  power  and  authority.  Matt,  vii.29;  1  Thess. 
i.  5.  4th,  With  wisdom  andseasonableness,  as  men  are 
able  to  bear  it,  Mark  iv.  33 ;  John  xvi.  12.  5th,  With 
meekness,  gentleness,  love,  and  all  winning  insinua- 
tions, verses  24, 25;  1  Thess.  iL7.  6th,  With  courage 
and  boldness,  Jer.  i.  17;  Eph.  vi.  19. 

Verses  15-18.  But  shun  profane  and  vain  bab- 
blings— See  on  1  Tim  i.  4  ;for  they  will  increase,  &c. 
—Though  the  evil  of  some  of  them  may  not  imme- 
diately appear,  and  they  may  seem  trifling  rather 
than  mischievous,  they  will  advance  unto  more 
impiety;  for  the  persons  who  so  babble,  having  been 
prevailed  on  by  Satan  to  quit  the  right  way  of  ex- 
perimental and  practical  godliness,  will  proceed  not 
only  to  neglect,  but  even  to  deny,  the  most  essential  ar- 
ticles of  the  Christian  faith.  And  their  i/>ord— Their 
doctrine;  will  eat  as  doth  a  can/cer-^Will  destroy 
the  souls  of  men,  as  a  gangrene  destrojrs  the  body, 
spreading  itself  further  and  further  till  the  whole  is 
453 


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fn  a  great  house  some  vessds 


n.  TIMOTHY. 


are  to  Tumour y  some  to  diskonoufi 


▲.M.4070.  18  Who  ^eoncendog  the  truth  have 
— 1-J — L  erred,  «  saymg  that  the  resurrectipn  is 
past  already ;  and  overthrow  the  faith  of  some. 
19  Nevertheless  ^  the  foundation  of  God 
standeth  ^sure,  having  this  seal,  The  Lord 
^  knoweth  them  that  are  his.    And,  Let  every 


1 1  Tim.  ri.  21. -f  1  Cor.  xr.  12. *  Matt.  xxiv.  24 ;    Rom. 

riii.  35yl  JohniL  19. 


infected.  Of  whomr-~0{  which  sort  of  ungodly 
talkers;  are  Hymeneus  and  Philetus—The  apostle 
mentions  these  two  by  name  as  empty  babblers, 
whom  the  faithful  were  to  resist,  because  their  errors 
were  of  the  most  dangerous  nature,  as  is  evident 
from  the  account  which  the  apostle  gives  of  them  in 
the  iiext  verse.  Of  Hymeuei^,  see  (Jn  1  Tim.  L  20; 
Philetus  is  mentioned  nowhere  else  in  Scripture. 
Probably  these  teachers  denied  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  in  the  flesh,  (see  1  John  iv.  2,)  consequently 
they  denied  the  reaUty  both  of  his  death  and  resur- 
rection. Who  concerning  the  truth  have  erred — 
U^oxncavy  have  gone  wide,  of  the  mark;  have  fallen 
into  a  most  dangerous  and  destructive  error,  by  their 
allegorical  interpretations,  explaining  away  one  of 
the  most  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and 
maintainiog  that  the  resurrection  is  ptut  already — 
That  is,  that  there  is  no  other  but  a  spiritual  resur- 
rection, from  a  death  in  sin  to  a  lifein  righteous- 
ness, which  consequently  is  already  past  with  regard 
to  all  true  Christians;  and  overthrow  thefaiih  of  some 
•—In  a  capital  point,  namely,  concerning  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  and  a  future  life  of  glory  de- 
signed for  it,  as  well  as  for  the  souL  By  explaining 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  in  a  figurative  sense, 
these  filse  teachers  probably  endeavoured  to  recom- 
mend the  gospel  to  the  Greek  philosophers,  who  con- 
sidered the  resurrection  of  the  body  not  only  as  im- 
possible in  itself,  but  as  a  thing  highly  disadvanta- 
geous had  it  been  possible. 

Verse  19.  Nevertheless  the  foundation  of  God— 
That  is,  the  foundation  of  God^s  churchy  represented 
as  a  house,  verse  20;  I  Tim.  iii.  15;  1  Pet  ii.  5;  in 
which  God  dwells,  Bph.  ii.  22;  as  a  family  inh8i>it- 
inga  house,  Heb.  iii.  3;  as  atemi^e,  Ef^.  ii.  21; 
in  which  God  displays  his  glory,  communicates  his 
blessings,  receives  the  prayers^  praises,  and  oblations 
of  his  people,  and  is  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  The  foundation  of  this  church  is,  Ist,  The 
great  truth  spoken  of  verse  8,  namely,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  the  principcd  support  of  the  whole 
fabric  of  Christianity,  as  manifesting  Christ  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  Bom.  i.  4;  confirming  his  doctrine, 
showing  the  efficacy  of  his  atonement,  Rom.  iv.  26 ; 
obtaining  for  us  the  Holy  Spirit,  John  xvi.  7;  show- 
ing the  necessity  of  our  rising^  to  a  new  life,  Rom. 
vi.  4, 5;  Eph,  iL  6, 6;  proving  that  we  shall  rise  at 
the  great  day;  that  immortality  is  before  us;  and 
that  we  ought,  therefore,  to  set  our  affections  on,  and 
seek,  the  things  above.  2d,  The  doctrine  of  our  re- 
sivrection  through  Christ,  which  is  a  capital  article  of 
Christianity,  (Heb.  vj.  1 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  19,)  and  all  the 
other  fimdamental  doctrines  of  ^e  gospel  oonnected 


one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  a.  m.  ioto. 

Ai  D  SB. 

depart  from  iniquity*  '■• — 

20  ^  But  in  a  great  house  there  are  not  only 
vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver^  but  also  of  wood 
and  of  earth ;  ^  and  ecmie  to  honour,  and  soma 
to  dishonour. 


*0r,  8Uady. *  Nah.  i.  7;    John  z.  14,  27;   Nam.  xtL  5, 

k  I  Tim.  iii  15. » Rom.  ix.  21. 


with  that  of  Christ's  and  his  people's  resorrection, 
termed,  (Bph.  il.  20^)  the  foundation  ofihe  apostles 
and  prc^fhets;  that  is,  the  foundation  laid  by  them. 
See  the  note  there,  and  on  1  Tim.  iiL  IS,  16.  8d, 
Christ  himself^  in  whom  all  these  doctrines  are  yea 
and  amen,  is  the  foundation  of  his  church,  and  of 
the  knowledge,  experience,  and  practice  of  every 
individual  belonging  tct  it,  of  which  see  the  note  on 
I  Cor.  iii.  11.  This  three-fold  foundaticnr  ^on^e^ 
«t«re-— Remains  immoveable  and  the  same,throughout 
all  ages.  But  who  build  on  this  foundation?  Who 
are  true  members  of  this  church,  true  worshippers 
in  this  spiritual  temple?  This  we  learn  from  the 
next  clause.  Having  this  seal^Or  inscription,  ss 
the  word  a^paytc  often  signifies,  meaning"  the  mark 
made  by  a  seal,  as  well  as  the  seal  itself.  So  it 
signifies  Rev.  ix.  4;  and  the  expression  is  here  used 
with  propriety,  in  allusion  to  the  custom  of  engrav- 
ing upon  some  stones  kid  in  the  foundation  of  build- 
ings, the  names  of  tha  persons  by  whom,  and  the 
purposes  for  which,  the  structure  was  raised.  See 
Zech.  iii.  9.  And  nothing  can  have  a  greater  ten- 
dency to  encourage  the  confidence  and  hope,  and  at 
the  same  tinie  to  engage  the  obedience  of  sincere 
Christians,  than  the  double  inscription  h&re  men- 
tioned. One  part  of  this  is,  The  Lord  knowsth — 
Or  acknowledgeth ;  ihem  that  are  Ai9— Namely, 
those  who  truly  turn  to  him  in  repentance,  faith,  and 
new  obedience,  or  who  confess  with  their  mouth  the 
Lord  Jesus,  even  Vrhen  their  confessing  him  might 
be  followed  with  the  loss  of  all  things,  with  impri- 
sonment and  martjH'dom,  ai^  who  believe  with  their 
heart  unto  righteousness,  that  God  hath  raised  htm 
from  the  dead,  Rom.  x.  9,  10.  All  such  he  as- 
suredly knows,  acknowledges,  and  will  favour  and 
protect  as  his.  Dr.  Whitby  supposes  that  the  apostle 
alludes  here  to  Num.  xvi.  ft,  7\Mnorrow  the  Lord 
will  show  who  are  his,  and  who  is  holy  ;  and  that  the 
clause  has  a  peculiar  reference  to  the  apostles,  in 
opposition  to  heretical  teachers.  Let  it  be  observed, 
however,  that  all  these  will  manifest  that  they  are 
the  Lord's  4iot  merely  by  naming  the  name  qf  Christ 
— Or  making  a  profession  of  Christianity;  but  by  de- 
partvng  from  tni^ui^sf— Without  which  tiiey  would 
not  be  worthy  of  being-  accounted  members  even  of 
the  visible  church,  as  they  would  show  themselves 
visiUy,  or  evidently,  to  be  of  the  devil,  by  doing 
his  woriLS,  J6bsi  viii.  4 ;  1  J(dm  iii.  8. 

Verses  20,  21.  B^U  in  a  great  Aoti^e— Such  as  the 
Christian  Church  soon  became,  taking  in  multitudes 
of  Gentiles  in  all  parts  of  Asia,  Macedonia,  Greece, 
and  Italy,  and  such  as  it  bas  long  been,  and  now  is ; 
there  are  not  only  vessels  of£old  and  sUver^B^ 

b 


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fffMO%  (Aarg^  tojlee  ytmihfid  lv$U,       CHAPTER  H. 


and  to  be  gentle  to  aU  men. 


^\^    21  ""  If  a  man  therefore  pijtfgebiiii- 

— self  from  these,  he  shall  be  a  vessel 

UQCa  honour,  sanctified,  and  meet  for  the  mas- 
ter's use,  and  ''prepared  unto  every  good 
work. 

22  Flee  also  youthful  lusis :  bat  ^'fellow  right- 
eousness, feith,  (Parity,  peace^  with  them  that 
'call  on  the  Lord  "^ out  of  a  [mre  heart. 

23  But   'foolish   and    unlearned    questions 


»  baiah  liL  11. ■  Chapter  iil  17;   Thw  Hi.  1.—^  1 

Timothy  vL  11. PActt  ix.  14;  I  Corinthians  L  «. %  1 

Timothy  i.  5 ;  iv.  12. 


signed  for  the  most  honourable  uses  $  hut  of  v>ood 
and  of  eoTlAr— Intended  for  uses  less  honourable. 
The  apostle  aUudes  to  the  houses  of  nobles,  princes, 
and  other  great  persons,  in  which  are  usually  found 
vessels  of  different  materials,  and  for  various  uses. 
Thus,  in  the  visible  church,  there  always  have  been, 
are,  and  will  be,  persons  of  different  giAs  or  abilities, 
and  intended  tor  different  offices,  as  is  also  repre- 
sented where  the  apostle  oompares  the  members  of 
^e  church  of  Christ  to  the  different  members  of  the 
human  body,  as  Rom.  xii.  4,  5;  1  Cor.  xii.  11^27, 
and  elsewhere.  And  mme  to  hmow^  and  mmte  to 
diehonour^Thsit  is,  Ist,  Some  designed  and  quali- 
fied for  more  honourable  offices  than  others ;  and, 
2d,  Some  whose'holy  tempers  and  practices  are  an 
honour  to  the  religion  they  profess ;  and  others  who, 
if  by  departing  from  outward  iniquity  they  obtain  a 
name  and  place  among  the  people  of  God,  and  are 
reckoned  members  of  the  visible  church,  yet,  by 
their  hypocrisy,  formality,  lukewarmness,  and  ne- 
gligence, are  so  far  from  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God 
their  Saviour,  or  from  being  an  honour  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  that  they  are  a  disgrace  to  it  But  if  a 
man  purge  himself  from  <^e»e— 1st,  By  making  ap- 
plication by  faith  to  Christ's  cleansing  blood,  1  John 
i.  7;  2d,  By  praying  for  and  receivmg  God's  purify- 
ing Spirit,  Bzek.  xxxvi.  25-27;  1  Pet.i.  2;  8d,  By 
receiving  and  obeying  the  purifying  word,  John  xv. 
8;  1  Pet  i.  23;  4th,  By  exercising  purifying  faith, 
Acts.  XV.  0 ;  and,  5th,  By  self-denial  and  mortification 
Rom.  viii.  13 ;  fie  bJuUI  be  a  vessel  unto  honour^ 
He  shall  be  a  credit  to  the  religion  of  Jesus;  sancti- 
./i«t— That  is,  separated  from  sin  and  sinners,  and 
dedicated  to  God  in  heart  and  life;  me^  for  the 
master^s  use — For  the  service  of  Christ;  prepared 
wUo — And  employed  in ;  every  good  work — Which  he 
is  called  to  perform.  Add  to  this,  notonly  may  those 
who  are  vessels  unto  dishonour  in  the  bad  sense, 
and  a  reproach  to  the  Christian  cause,  become  an 
honour  to  it  by  their  vital  piety  and  active  virtue ; 
out  those  whose  gifts  are  inferior,  and  who  are  like 
vessels  of  wood  and  earth,  only  fit  for  lower  offices 
in  the  ehurch,  may,  by  properly  exercising  their  gifts 
and  graces,  so  improve  them  as  to  becoitie  qualified 
for  higher  and  more  useful  offices;  and  be,  as  it 
were,  vessels  of  silver  and  gold.  For  to  him  that 
liath,  that  makes  a  right  use  of,  and  improves  what 
he  hath,  shaU  more  be  given,  Matt.  xili.  12.    Still, 

b 


avdd,  knowing  that  they  do  gender  A.  M,  4070. 
strifes.  ^'  ^'  ^' 

24  And  "the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 
strive;  but  be  gentle  unto  all  meuj  *apt  to 
teach,  *  patient; 

^  ^In  me^nesB  instraoting  those  that  op- 
pose themselves;  *if  God  peradventute  will 
give  them  repentance  ^  to  the  acknowledging 
of  the  truth ; 


'lTim.i.4;   if.7;   ri.4;   Ver«el6;    Tit.  iil  0. •Til 

iii.  8. *  1  Tim.  iii.  2,  3. «  Or, jMeorinf. *  GaL  tL  1. 

«  Acta  vui.  22. 7  1  Tim.  ii.  4 ;  Chap.  iii.  7. 


however,  they  will  be  but  vessels;  empty  in  them- 
selves, and  useless,  if  not  filled  by,  and  employed 
for,  the  Lord. 

Verse  22.  jF7eej^ou/A/t^/ti«te— Or  desires,  namely, 
those  peculiarly  incident  to  youth ;  that  is,  shun  all 
occasions  of  exciting  or  gratifying  them,  whether, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  love  of  sensual  pleasure  and  the 
inclination  to  gratify  the  appetites  and  senses  of  the 
body,  or,  on  the  other,  pride,  ambition,  vain-glory, 
r^hness,  contention,  obstinacy;  vices  to  which 
yoang  persons  are  peculiarly  obnoxious;  and  which 
some  who  are  free  firom  sensual  lusts,  are  at  little 
pains  to  avoid  ^  but  folUyw^  &c. — That  is,  instead  of 
making  provision  for  these  carnal  dispositions,  or 
yielding  to  their  motions  when  they  arise,  pursue, 
with  the  greatest  ardour  and  intenseness  of  mind, 
and  with  all  diligence  and  constancy,  righteousness 
—In  all  its  branches ;  every  part  of  thy  duty  toward 
God  and  man;  faith— Or  fidelity;  c^art/y— That  is, 
love ;  peace  with  them  that  call  on  the  Lord,  &c. — 
Especially  with  all  the  true  people  of  God. 

Verses  23-25.  But  foolish  and  unlearned  questions 
— Or  unimportant  subjects  of  inquiry  and  debate ; 
avoid,  knowing  that  they  gender  strifes — Or  conten- 
tions in  the  church ;  and  certainly  It  is  a  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  duty  of  a  Christian  minister  to 
guard  against  all  occasions  of  offence  and  mischief 
For  the  servant  of  the  hord  must  not  strive — Or 
contend  ^eagerly  and  passionately,  as  do  the  vain 
wranglers  spoken  of  in  the  preceding  verse;  hut 
he  gentle— Or  mild,  forbearing,  and  long-suffering ; 
unto  all  men. J  apt  to  <eocA— Chiefly  by  patience  and 
unwearied  assiduity.  In  meekness — Of  which  he 
has  always  need;  instructing  those  who  oppose 
themselves— Or  who  set  themselves  in  opposition  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  ifperadventure — Or  by 
any  means ;  God  may  give  them  repentance  to  the 
acknowledgment — The  belief  and  profession ;  oftJ^e 
truth— In  these  verses,  "  the  apostle  seems  to  have 
had  Christ's  example  as  a  teacher  in  his  eye,  pro- 
posing it  as  a  model  to  all  who  are  employed  in 
teaching.  The  virtues  herd  mentioned,  our  Lord 
generally  exercised  in  teaching.  Yet,  on  some  occa- 
sions, he  departed  from  his  usual  mildness,  and  with 
great  severity  reproved  notorious  sinners;  such  as 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  In  the  same  manner, 
the  prophets  and  apostles  used  strong  speech  in 
cheeking  obstinate  offenders;  while  those  who 
455 


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ILTmOTtTf. 


of  numfffimn  pracHc^d  godHmm», ' 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.D.  66. 


26  And   that  they  may  ^recover 
themsdves  *  out  of  the  snare  of  the 


•Or. 


-»  1  Tim.  ill  7. 


showed  any  candour  and  honesty  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  troth,  they  instructed  with  the  greatest 
meekness.'' — ^Maciinight  That  they  may  recover 
ihemedvee — Or  rather,  may  awake^  and  deliver 
themselves;  otU  of  the  snare  of  the  devil— In  which 
they  have  lain  sleeping,  and,  as  it  were,  intoxicated. 
^  In  order  to  understand  this  beautiftil  image,"  says 
Doddridge,  ^  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the  word 
avavri^oaiv  properly  signifies  to  awake  from  a  deep 
sleep,  or  from  a  fit  of  intoxication,  and  refers  to  an 
artifice  of  fowlers  to  scatter  seeds  impregnated  with 
some  drugs  intended  to  lay  birds  asleep,  that  they 


devil,  who  are ^ taken  captive  by  him  A.M.407t. 
at  his  wilL  .       

may  draw  the  net  over  them  with  the  greater  se- 
curity." Who  are  taken  capthe  by  Mm^Gre^ 
e^fuffuvoi^  caught  alive.  The  word  denotes  the 
action  of  a  fisher,  or  hunter,  who  takes  his  prey 
alive  in  order  to  kill  it ;  which  is  properly  applied  io 
Satan's  Insnaring  men  in  order  to  destroy  thenu 
And  the  snares  in  which  he  takes  them  are  those 
prejudices,  errors,  lusts,  and  vices,  in  which  he  en- 
tangles, and  by  which  he  detains  them  his  captives, 
in  the  most  shamoM  bondage,  danger,  and  misery, 
while  they  have  been  dreaming,  perhaps,  of  liberty 
and  happhiess.  « 


CHAPTER  in. 

j.%  th»  chapter  the  efoetU  {!,)  Fonld^  egmn  the  greei  ieparturg  frtm  pMCtieal  goiUnoM  vlhick  ehmtld  prmmL  m  the 
Christian  toorld,  end  tkt  emmiet  to  the  tnUkani  hoUnses  of  the  goopel  iMsdk  dbosM  oriM  tn  itt  1-0.  (t,)  He  propoete 
his  awn  exemple  for  Timothy^s  umtaiioHr  m  opposition  to  thorn,  10-18.  (8,)  He  eiAorts  him  to  eihsre  to  the  ioetrineo 
which  he  hod  teamed  from  him  and  from  the  Seriptwres,  vfhieh,  being  inspired  by  Ood,  are  si^/ieisnt  to  Oreet  men  in  the 
way  of  salvation,  1^17. 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.D.  66. 

»Por 


nryOiS  know  also,  that  *in  the  last 

days  perilous  times  shall  come, 
men  shall  be  ^lovers  of  their  own 


•  1  Tim.  iv.  1 ;  Chap.  ir.  3. ^  PhU.  ii.  21. «  2  Pet  U.  3. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1, 2.  The  apostle,  at  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  havii'ig  intimated  to  Timothy  that 
false  teachers  did  and  would  arise  in  the  church,  he 
in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  foretels  that  in 
future  times,  through  the  pernicious  influence  of  cor- 
rupt doctrines  propagated  by  these  teachers,  many 
professing  Christians,  and,  among  the  rest,  the  false 
teachers  themselves,  would  become  so  wicked,  that 
it  would  become  dangerous  to  the  truly  pious  to  live 
among  them.  As  if  he  had  said.  It  is  the  more 
necessary  to  urge  thee,  as  I  do,  to  use  every  precau- 
tion and  every  effort  which  may  tend  to  preserve 
the  purity  and  honour  of  the  Christian  Church, 
since,  after  all  we  can  do  for  this  purpose,  sad 
scenes  will  open  in  it.  TViie  know  also — Besides 
what  I  formerly  told  thee  concerning  the  apostacy, 
(1  Tim.  iv.  1,)  that  in  the  last^  or  latter  <^y«— That 
is,  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  called  the  latter 
days,  as  being  intended  to  wind  up  the  economy  of 
providence,  and  to  remain  in  full  force  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world:  perilous  times  shall  come — In 
which  it  will  be  difilcult  for  the  faithful  followers  of 
Jesus  to  discharge  their  consciences,  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  to  maintain  their  safety.  For  men —Even 
within  the  pale  of  the  outward  church,  wiU  he— In 
great  numbers,  and  to  a  higher  degree  than  ever, 
456 


selves,  ^covetous,  ^boasters,  *proud,  A.M.4070. 

^Uafphemers, 'disobedient  to  parents,  — '— 

untfaankfid,  unhdy, 


*  Jnde  16. •  1  Tim.  yL  4. '  1  Tim.  I  20.— f  Rom.  L  30. 


lovers  of  themselves— Only  y  (the  first  root  of  evil,)  not 
of  God  and  their  neighbours.  "The  vices  men- 
tioned in  this  and  the  two  following  verses  have 
always  existed  in  the  world.  But  their  being  spoken 
of  here  as  characterbtic  of  the  latter  days,  implies 
that,  besides  being  common  in  these  days,  they 
would  be  openly  avowed  and  defended.  Accord- 
ingly, it  is  well  known,  the  clergy  of  the  Romish 
Church  have  defended  all  the  enormities  mentioned 
by  the  apostle,  encouraged  the  people  by  their  false 
doctrine  to  commit  them,  and  gone  before  them  in 
the  practice  of  them."  Covetous— ^iXapyvpoi^  lovers 
of  money,  (the  second  root  of  evil,)  so  as  to  be  im- 
pelled to  the  basest  practices,  by  the  hopes  of  obtain- 
ing it.  The  Catholic  clergy,  it  is  well  known,  have 
carried  their  love  of  money  to  such  a  height,  that 
they  pretend  to  sell  heaven  for  money,  even  to  the 
wickedest  of  men,  under  the  name  of  indulgences; 
boasters— Of  what  they  have,  or  are,  or  can  do; 
proud— Thinking  highly  of  themselves  on  these  ac- 
counts; blasphemers — Of  God,  and  rovilers  of  their 
fellow-creatures ;  disobedient  to  parcnte— Notwith- 
standing all  the  obligations  they  are  under  to  them. 
^  In  the  language  of  the  Hebrews,  parents  signified 
superiors  of  every  denomination.  The  disobedience 
of  the  Romish  clergy  to  princes  and  magistrates,  and 
even  their  dethroning  princes,  is  well  known.    Il 

b 


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7  ho$e  'Who  had  tkefatm  (^godlhieis  CHAPTER  1(1. 


vniKotaihepowery  wu8t  he  tikimui. 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.  D.06. 


3  ^  Without    natural     affection, 
'  truce-breakers,  -^  fiUse    accusers, 


^  incontinent,  fierce,  deepisers  of  those  that  are 

4  ^  Traitors,  heady,  high-minded,  "  lovers  of 
pleasures  more  than  lovers  of  God ; 


.    ^  Rom.  i.  31.- 
k  2  Pet.  iii.  3. — 


— ]  RoBi.  i.  31.- 
i  2  Pot.  ii.  la- 


^  Or,  make-bate$t  Tit.  ii.  3. 
•PhiL  iii.  19;   2  Pet.  u. 


may  also  glgnify  their  eaeouraging  children  to  be- 
come monks  and  nuns,  contrary  to  the  will  of  thek 
parents."  Unihfinkfui-^To  other  benefactors,  and 
to  God  for  the  blessings  of  providence  and  grace ; 
unholy—'ThoxxgYL  they  profess  themselves  to  be  de- 
voted to  God^  and  consecrated  to  his  s^vice  by  the 
most  solemn  rites. 

Verses  3-^.  Without  natural  q^ectton— Even  to 
their  own  children,  as  weU  as  of  piety  toward  their 
parents.  "The  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  being 
forbidden  to  marry,  can  have  neither,  wives  nor 
children  openly ;  and  so  are  without  the  affeetions 
natural  to  mankind.  At  least  they  dare  UQt  avow  their 
having  these  affections.  It  may  likewise  be  meant 
of  the  laity,  who  shut  up  their  female  children  in 
nunneries,  on  pretence  of  superior  sanctity ;  but  in 
reality  from  interested  motives."  7}rucej  or  rather, 
covenant  breakers — For  this  sin  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy  have  been  remarkable,  having  not  loAg  ago 
professedly  held  it  as  a  principle  of  religion,  that  no 
faith  is  to  be  kept  with  heretics ;  and  having  set  sub- 
jects free  from  their  oaths  of  allegiance  to  their 
princes.  But  aairovdoi  may  signify  persons  who, 
being  offended,  will  enter  into  no  treaty  of  recon- 
dhation,  and  so  may  be  translated  implacable^  as  in 
Rom.  i.  81.  False  accusers — Or  slanderers^  as 
dtoBoXoi  may  be  properly  rendered;  in  which,  as  the 
word  implies,  they  will  imitate  that  diabolical  malig- 
nity which  renders  the  great  enemy  of  mankind  so 
justly  odious.  Thus  the  Romish  clergy  have  im- 
puted all  manner  of  cr'unes  to  those  who  have 
resisted  their  corruptions.  Incontinent — Or  intemr 
perate  in  their  pleasures.  /^rc€— Against  their 
opposers,  and  in  their  resentments  cruel  in  their 
revenge.  Despisers  of  those  that  are  good — That 
is,  of  those  who  maintain  the  truth,  and  are  real  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  Or,  as  afiXayadoi  may  be  trans- 
lated, mthout  love  to  goodness,  or  good  men,  TVat- 
lort— To  those  that  place  the  greatest  confidence  in 
them  I  yea,  such  base  traitors  as  to  give  qp  their 
brethren  into  the  hands  of  persecutors,  and  even 
their  nearest  relations,  who  oppose  their  corrupt 
practices,  to  death.  H^ody— Rash  in  enterprising 
things  which  can  only  issue  in  the  disturbance  of 
society,  or  the  ruin  of  those  that  undertake  them. 
High-minded— FuffoA  up  with  such  insolence  and 
self-sufficiency  as  to  despise  any  remonstrance  which 
can  be  made  to  bring  them  to  a  wiser  and  more  de- 
ceht  conduct.  Lovers  ofpleetsure — ^Namely,  sensual 
pleasure,  rather  than  lovers  of  God— And  who  will 
therefore  sacrifice  all  considerations  of  religion  to 
the  gratification  of  their  appetites.  Indeed,  the  love 
of  pleasiHre  naturally  extinguishes  all  sense  of  God 
b 


6  Having  a  fi>rm  of  godliness,  but    a  h.  4010. 
■denying  thepower thereof:  "^fhun     ^'^-^^ 
sudi  turn  away. 

6  For  i^of  tUs  sort  are  they  which  creep  into 
houses,  and  lead  captive  silly  women  laden 
with  sins,  led  away  with  divers  lusts ; 


13»  &c. ;  Jude  4, 19.- 
iii.  6 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  5.- 


J»lTim.  ▼.  8;  Tit.  i.  16. — 
vMatt.  xziii.  14;  Tit.  i.  11. 


|>2ThA8S. 


and  love  to  him.  '^  It  is  observable,  that  the  apostle's 
description  begins  with  mentioning  extreme  selfish- 
ness as  the  root,  and  concludes  with  the  excessive  love 
of  sensu^  pleasure  as  the  end,  of  all  the  corruptions 
that  were  toprevail  in thelatteir  times.  Hence  we  may 
learn  what  a  pernicious  thing  the  excessive  lave  of 
sensual  pleasure  is !  It  has  been  the  source  of  those 
monstrous  perversions  of  religion  which  took  place 
among  Christians  in  the  dark  ages.  And,  governed 
by  it,  many,  in  every  age,  destroy  their  health,  their 
fortune,  their  reputation,  the  comfort  of  their  fa- 
milies, and  every  thing  valuable  in  life,  for  the  sake 
of  gratifying  theu:  appetites.''— Macknight.  Having 
a  form — Or  appearance ;  of  godliness— In  observing 
with  exactness  the  rittmls  and  external  ordinances 
of  religion,  but  not  regarding,  nay,  even  denying 
and  blaspheming  the  mward  power  and  reality  of  it 
A  prediction  too  evidently  fiilfilled  even  at  this  day, 
and  that  not  only  among  the  Papists.  From  such— 
Even  from  all  in  whom  thou  discemest  a  temper 
like  that  here  described ;  turn  away — Avoid  all  in- 
timacy with  them,  lest  they  should  avail  themsdves 
of  it  as  an  advantage  for  doing  further  mischief. 
Let  it  therefore  evidently  appear  that  thou  givest 
them  no  countenance.  Or,  as  some  would  render 
the  original  expression,  TtiT8^  anorpens^  these  turn 
away;  that  is,  turn  out  of  the  church  all  teachers 
who  have  any  resemblance  to  the  persons  I  have 
mentioned.  For  they  are  introducing  the  corruptions 
which,  in  after  times,  their  successors  will  carry  to 
the  height  I  have  described. 

Verses  6,  7.  For,  Ac.— As  if  he  had  said,  There 
is  need  to  watch  against  such,  because  there  are  some 
of  them  already  in  the  church ;  for  of  this  sort  are 
those  artful  deceivers  whd  creep  into  houses— InBrno- 
ate  themselves  into  families,  and,  having  the  appear- 
ance of  godliness,  lead  captive  silly  women— Qmx 
such  influence  over  women  of  low  rank  and  mean 
nnderdtandings  as  to  obtain  the  direction  of  their 
consciences  and  purses;  women  who,  whatever  pre- 
tences they  may  make  to  sanctity,  are  laden  with 
sins,  and  led  away  with  divers  hists^^Or  desires, 
whidi  these  seducers  know  how  to  flatter,  so  as  to 
make  such  persons  their  own  piroperty .  "  This,  with 
the  two  subsequent  verses,  is  thought  by  some  a  pro- 
phetical description  of  the  practices  of  the  Romish 
monks  and  friars  in  the  dark  ages,  who,  hy  hypocriti- 
cal pretensions  to  extraordinary  sanctity,  and  by 
auricular  confession  and  other  wicked  arts,  deluded 
and  corrupted  their  female  votaries.  But  practices 
similar  to  those  began  very  early  in  the  church,  and, 
by  a  gradual  progress,  were  at  lengthy  under  the 
Romish  hierarchy;  formed  into  a  regular  system  of 
457 


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n.  TIMOTHY. 


firtheimiiatiot^rfTSimo^. 


A.  M.  4070.     7  Ever  learning,  and  nerer  able 
^^•^    *to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 

truth. 

8  'Now  as  Jannee  and  Jambrte  withstood 
Mosesi  80  do  these  also  resist  the  truth :  ?  men 
of  corrupt  minds,  ^ reprobate^  ccmcerning  the 
fitilh. 

9  But  they  shall  proceed  no  further :  for  their 


%  VTIin.  ii.  4. '  Exod.  tii.  11. » t  Tub.  vi.  5. *  RoflL 

i.38:  20or,xiiu5;  TO,  116.— ^ Or, cfmjmtgwunt, ^■Ex. 

Tu.  12 ;  viiL  18 ;  ix.  11. »  Phil.  U.  22 ;  1  Tim.  ir.  6. 


deceit.  We  may  therefore  suppose,  that  as  in  the 
prophecies  which  ibretel  the  political  state  of  the 
world,  so  i^  those  concerniog  the  apostacy,  in  which 
its  ireUgious  state  is  represented  the  general  course 
€i  thrags  through  a  successioa  of  ages  is  foretold, 
rather  than  the  state  of  things  in  any  particular  age. 
This  win  be  allowed,  when  it  is  considered  that  not 
the  rise  only,  but  the  progress  and  downfoll  of  the 
apostacy  is  ibrdtold  in .  these  propheciea  So  that 
their  subject  being  a  series  of  things  which  were  to 
happen  throughput  a  long  course  of  years,  and 
which  were  gradually  to  produce  a  widely*extended 
and  confirmed  state  of  corruption  in  the  church, 
there  is  no  reason  for  limiting  their  fiilfilment  to  any 
particular  period." — ^Macknigfat.  Ever  learnings 
IVetending  to  hear  with  great  eagerness,  and,  it  may 
be,  eharmed  with  every  apj[>earaHce  of  fervour  and 
novelty  m  their  teachers,  but,  being  tossed  about 
with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  they  are  never  able  to 
come  to  the  experimental  and  practical  knowledge  of 
the  truthr-'As  it  is  in  Jesus,  or  to  attain  any  fixed 
and  steady  principles  of  religion. 

Verses  8, 9.  Now  as  Jannes  and  Jambres — Some 
ancient  writers  speak  of  these  persons  as  the  chief 
of  Pharaoh's  magicians,  whose  names,  though  not 
recorded  by  Moses,  yet  being  handed  down  by  tra- 
dition, are  preserved  in  Jonathan's  Chaldee  Para- 
phrase on  £b:od.  vii.  11 ;  withstood  Moses-— We  learn 
from  Exod.  vii.  11,  22,  that  Pharaoh's  magicians 
imitated  three  of  Moses's  miracles  by  their  enchautr 
meats ;  that  is,  by  repeating  a  form  of  words  known 
only  to  themselves,  in  which  they  invoked  certain 
demons,  and,  as  they  fancied,  constndned  them  to 
do  the  things  desired.  By  thus  pretending  to  work 
miracles  equal  to  those  of  Moses,  they  resisted  him 
in  his  attempts  to  persuade  Pharaoh  to  let  the  Is- 
raelites go.  So  these  also  resist  the  tr^ih — That  is, 
the  true  and  genuine  gospel ;  namely^  as  he  seems 
to  mean,  by  false  miracles.  In  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity  the  heretical  teachers  are  said  to  have 
been  much  addicted  to  the  study  of  ouigic,  and  that 
some  of  the  Gnostics  pretended  to  have  the  secret 
books  of  Zoroaster.  Clemens.  Alexand,  Strom.,  lib. 
V,  p.  104.  And  we  know  that  in  later  times  the  monks 
and  friars  have  been  great  pretenders  to  miracles. 
Hence  (verse  13)  they  are  called  yovftCt  magicians. 
Men  of  corrupt  mtndf^I^pure  notions  and  wicked 
inclinations ;  reprohale,  a^/tifioi,  disapproved,  with 
respect  to  the  /at(A— And  worthy  of  being  rejected 
456 


My  shall  be  oaanifest  unto  all  men^  a.  v.  4€70. 
"  as  thars  also  was.  — U 

10  '  Bui  'thou  hast  fiilly  known  my  doctrine, 
manner  of  life,  purpose,  &ith,  long-sufibring, 
charily  patience, 

11  Persecutions,  afflktions,  which  came  onto 
me  'at  Antioch,  *at  Iconhim,  *at  Lystra; 
what  paisecutions  I  endured:   but  ^  out  of 


*  Or,  tktm  hoH  bem  •dOigmtJonomer  iff.-^ 

*  Act*  zi«..2,  5. •  Aoto  xir.  19,  4co. — 

Cor.  110;   Chap.  IT.  7. 


— y  Acts  xiii.  45, 00. 
-i»Pn.zzziT.  19;  8 


as  enemies  to  it  Or,  as  some  render  the  clause, 
void  of  Judgment  as  to  (he  faith  ;  quite  ignorant,  as 
well  as  careless,  of  true  spiritual  religion.  But  they 
shaU  proceed  no  furtlier-^r,  as  Doddridge  renders 
the  clause,  they  shall  not  proceed  much  fitrther,  in 
these  artifices,  and  in  gaining  proselytes ;  for  their 
folly  shall  be  made  manifest  unto  all — Ayam,  their 
want  of  understanding.  The  apostle  might  justly 
call  the  errors  of  the  authors  of  the  apostacy,  and 
the  base  arts  by  which  they  established  their  author- 
ity, ^^x^tVAnettf,  because,  though  they  thought  them- 
selves superlatively  wise  in  the  methods  which  they 
devised  for  obtaining  "power  and  wealth,  their  doc- 
trines and  practices  were  as  void  of  reason  as  are 
the  imaginations  and  actions  of  fools.  As  theirs  idso 
was^To  the  Israelites,  and  even  to  the  Eg3rptians 
themselves.  That  is,  *'  the  vile  arts  by  which  the 
corrupters  of  Christianity  established  their  errors 
being  discovered,  their  folly  and  wickedness  shall  t)e 
very  plain  to  the  people,  even  as  the  folly  and  wick- 
edness 6f  Pharaoh's  magicians  were  made  plain  to 
the  Israelites,  by  the  stop  which  God  put  to  their 
enchantments.  And  thus,  the  truth  being  set  ui  a 
more  dear  light,  the  wisdom  and  righteousness  of 
Ood,  in  permitting  these  corruptions  to  take  place 
for  a  while,  will  be  demonstrated.'^  They  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  andent  heretics^ 
and  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  of  the  Reformation^ 
need  not  be  informed  how  exactly  this  whole  pro- 
phecy hath  been  fulfilled. 

Verses  10-13.  But  thou  hast  a  better  pattern  to 
follow ;  for  thou  hast  fully  known  my  doctrine^-ln 
all  the  branches  of  it ;  manner  ofUfe — My  conduct 
toward  God,  his  people,  and  all  men ;  purpow— The 
end  and  design  of  my  ministry,  namely,  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  salvation  of  men,  and  not  any  honour, 
interest,  or  advantage  of  my  ownj  fai^ir-Mj 
fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty ;  long-suffering 
—When  treated  in  the  most  injurious  manner; 
chaarity^Or  love  rather,  to  all  men,  saints  or  sinners, 
not  excepting  even  mine  enemies  and  penecutors; 
pa/tcnc«— Under  great  and  long-continued  trials ; 
persecutions-'Ytom  Jews  and  Gentiles;  afflictions 
— -Toif  KoBiffiOfftp,  sufferings ;  at  Aniioch—ln  Pisidia ; 
atlconium,  at  Lystra — See  the  margin;  wfcfl/jaer* 
secutions  I  enduredr-^TixnoXhy  being  a  native  of 
Lystra,  and  Paul's  disciple  and  companion  when  the 
apostle  was  stoned  in  that  city,  and  dragged  out  of 
the  streets  as  one  dead,  he  may  have  been  present  on 

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CHAPTBR  IIL 


ike  aoripture$. 


fLU.iffro.  them  all   the 
^^'^-      12  Yea,  and 


Lord  ddivered 
""  all  that  will 


me. 
live 


godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution. 

13  'But  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax 
worse  and  worsO)  deceiving,  and  bekig  de- 
ceived. 

14  But  *.  continue  thou  in  the  things  which 
thou  hast  learned  and  hast  been  assured  o^ 
knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned  them  ; 


«  Pn.  xxxir.  10 ;  AcU  xir.  22  ;  Matt.  xri.  24 ;  Josh.  xrii.  14 ; 

I  Cor.  rr.  19 ;  1  Theat.  iu.  3. *2  Theti.  ii.  11 ;   1  TikL  ir. 

1  ;  ChajK  u.  1& 


that  occasion,  and  eren  one  of  those  who  stood 
round  him  when  he  revired,  Acts  xiv.  20.  But  out 
efthem  all  the  Lord  delivered  me — And  therefore 
be  not  thou  discouraged  if  thon  raeetest  with  simttar 
trials ;  yea,  and  all  that  will  live  g-od/y— That  wiU 
conduct  themselves  by  the  strict  rules  of  piety  pre- 
scribed in  the  gospel  of  Christy  not  turning,  aside  to 
the  right  hand  or  the  left,  and  having  the  Spirit  of 
Christy  without  which  we  are  not  his;  9hall  suffer 
persecution—More  or  less:  there  is  no  exception. 
Therefore  count  the  cost,  reader.  Art  thou  resolved 
to  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  out  of  whom  there  is 
no  godliness  1  Hence  we  infer,  that  either  the  apos- 
tle was  mistaken  in  making  this  assertion,  or  those 
who  think  they  are  religious,  and  are  not  persecuted 
in  some  shape  or  other,  deceive  themselves.  But 
evil  men  and  ^criticcr*— Though  they  naay  escape 
persecution,  are  yet  in  a  more  wretched  state,  for 
they  provoke  God  to  give  them  up  to  the  lusts  of 
their  own  hearts,  and  so  shall  wax  worse  and 
worse — More  corrupt  in  heart  and  life,  and  more 
obstinate  in  their  opposition  to  the  gospel  and  its 
faithful  ministers;  deceiving  and  being  deceived 
—He  who  has  once  begun  to  deceive  others,  is  both 
the  less  likely  to  recover  from  his  own  errors,  and 
the  more  ready  to  embrace  the  errors  of  other  men. 
Verses  14, 15.  But  continue  thou  in  the  things 
which  thou  hast  leamed^Thhiis,  continue  to  believe 
and  obey  them;  and  hast  been  assured  of— ffwakely, 
of  their  absolute  certainty  and  infinite  importance ; 
knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned  them — And 
what  convincing  evidence  I  have  given  thee  that  I 
have  been  commissioned  by  God  to  attest  and  teach 
them.  And  that  from  a  child — Airo  ppe^ac,  from  an 
infant;  thou  hast  known  the  Holy .  Scriptures— Ot 
the  Old  Testament,  which  only  were  extant  when 
Timothy  was  an  infant  The  apostle  calls  them 
holy  or  sacred  Scriptures,  or  writings,  because  they 
were  given  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  holy  men,  because  they  treat 
on  hoCy  things,  contain  holy  doctrines,  precepts,  and 
promises,  and  are  designed  and  calculated  to  make 
people  holy.  It  must  be  remembered,  that  Timo- 
thy's mother  and  grandmother,  being  pious  Jewish 
women,  had  trained  him  up  from  his  childhood  in 
the  knowlege  and  belief  of  the  writings  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets.  And  their  care  in  thus  instructing 
him,  being  commended  by  the  apostle,  shows  us  that 
b 


15  And  that  from  a  child  thou  haat  A.M.  407a 

known  'the  Holy  Scriptures^  which  ^1-J 

able  to   make  thee  wise  unto  salvation 


are 


through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

16  <A11  scripture  is  given  by  inspimtion  of 
God,  ^  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
f6r  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness : 

17  *  That  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
*  thoroughly  ^  furnished  unto  all  good  worka. 


•Chap.  i.  13;   iL  2. 'John  v.  39.— f 2  Pet  i.  20,21. 

>»  Romaiia   xv.  4. » 1  Titaiothv  vi  11. ^  Or,  petftcud. 

kC*«p.U.21. 


little  children  ought  to  be  made  acquainted  with  the 
Scriptures  as  early  as  possible ;  and  that  they  may 
derive  much  benefit  even  from  that  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  them,  and  of  the  principles  of  religion,  which 
they  are  capable  of  attaining  in  their  tenderest  years. 
Which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation — 
E?en  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  were  able 
to  make  men  thus  wise,  through  faith  in  the  Mes- 
siah, before  he  came.  How  much  more  are  those 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  taken  together,  able, 
in  God's  hand,  to  make  us  more  abundantly  wise 
unto  salvation,  through  faith  in  him  actually  come, 
even  such  a  salvation  as  was  not  known  before  Jesus 
was  glorified  ?    See  1  Pet.  i.  10-12. 

Verse  16.  All  Scripture— Or  the  whole  Scripture, 
received  by  the  Jewish  Church,  ^eoifvevg-oc,  is  in- 
spired ofGod—Respeciing  the  inspiration  of  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  I  find  two  opinions, 
says  Dr.  Benson,  on  this  passage:  "1st,  That  the 
writers  of  the  several  books  had  all  the  thoughts, 
and  even  the  very  words,  suggested  to  them  by  the 
Spirit  of  God:  and  that  they  were  the  penmen  of 
the  Spirit  to  commit  to  writing  just  what  he  dicta- 
ted. 2d,  Others  think  with  mord  latitude;  and 
allow,  indeed,  that  Moses  received  the  Law  from 
God ;  and  that  the  prophets  were  inspired  by  the 
Spirit  to  foretel  future  events,  which  lay  out  of  the 
reackof  human  foresight ;  but  that  they  were  left  to 
express  themselves  in  their  own  words  and  phrases, 
in  which  they  give  a  faithful  account  of  what  the 
Spirit  dictated  to  them,  2  Pet.  i.  20, 2L  But  as  to 
what  was  handed  down  by  authentic  tradition,  or 
the  facts  with  which  they  themselves  were  tho- 
roughly acquainted,  they  could,  as  faithful  histo- 
rians, commit  them  to  writing,  and  that  without  any 
extraordinary  inspiration.  And  theur  account,  as 
far  as  our  present  copies  are  exact,  may  be  depended 
upon  as  satisfactory  and  authentic."  He  adds,  '*  If 
the  Spirit  presided,  strengthened  their  memories, 
and  preserved  them  from  mistakes,  this  last  opuiion 
may  not  be  much  amiss."  See  Introduction  to  the 
New  Testament,  pp.  7,  8,  where  the  subject  of  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  is  more  particu- 
larly considered.  Is  profitable  for  doctrine— All  the 
great  and  important  doctrines  of  religion  necessary 
to  be  known  in  order  to  salvation,  are  there  taught, 
and  that  more  clearly  and  fully  than  elsewhere ;  and 
with  an  authority  and  influence  to  be  found  in  no 
450 


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n.  TIMOTHY. 


who  is  exkorttd  to  perseverance^ 


other  writingB.  For  reproof--Or  eonvieHortj  as 
eXeyxop  rather  signifies;  and  that  not  only  of  error 
in  judgment,  but  of  sin  in  p^ractice,  and  of  condem- 
nation and  wrath  due  to  us  on  account  of  sin ;  as 
also  the  depravity  of  our  nature ;  of  our  weakness 
and  inability  to  save  onrselves,  and  of  righteoosnees 
and  salvation  for  ns  in  Clirist  For  correction — Or 
amendment,  as  trravopduviv  may  be  properly  ren- 
dered ;  showing  us  clearly,  1st,  What  evils  in  temper, 
word,  or  work,  are  to  be  avoided :  2d,  What  graces 
and  virtues  most  be  possessed  and  practised;  fur- 
nishing us,  at  the  same  time,  with  all  pn^r  and 
needful  motives  to  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  show- 
ing us  where  our  strength  lies.  For  imtrttetion — Or 
training  and  building  persons  up,  in  righteoitenese — 
Leading  them  on  from  one  degree  of  piety  and  virtue 
to  another,  with  a  progress  which  will  continually  ad- 
vance in  proportion  to  the  regard  they  pay  to  Uiese 
divine  writings.  For  the  Spirit  of  God  not  only  once 
inspired  those  who  endited  them,  but  continu^y  in- 
spires and  supematurally  assists  those  that  read  Uiem 
in  humility,  simpUcity,  and  faith,  with  earnest  prayer 
to  the  Father  of  lights  for  a  right  undenrtanding^ 


them,  and  for  indination  and  power  to  redooe  their 
contenu  to  practice.  Tliat  the  man  ^Crod— N<H 
only  every  Christian  minister,  or  public  teacher  of 
religion,  but  every  man  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God;  may  be  perfect^MBj  come  to  the  measttre  of 
the  stature  of  Christs  fulness^  Eph.  iv.  13,  &c, 
where  see  the  note,  «nd  on  CoL  L  28;  or  may  stand 
complete  in  the  whole  Will  of  God ;  thoroughly  fur- 
nished unto  ail  good  works — Fitted  for  discharging 
every  part  of  his  duty.  Thus  we  see  that  the  apos- 
tle's encomium  on  the  Jewi^  Seriptnres  consiats  of 
two  parts ;  their  divine  inspiration,  and  their  useful- 
ness for  iUustrating  the  gospel  revelation ;  so  that  a 
Christian  minister,  who  rightly  understands  them,  is 
thereby  fitted  for  every  part  of  his  work.  Our  Lord 
also,  on  various  occasions,  bare  testimony  to  the 
Jewish  Scriptures,  and  to  their  connection  with  the 
gospel  What  then  are  we  to  think  of  those  teach- 
ers wh^  are  at  so  much  pains  to  disjoin  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  from  the  Jewish,  as  if  the  latter  were 
not  of  divine  original,  and  had  no  connection  with 
the  gospel;  and,  instead  of  illustrating  and  confirm- 
ing the  gospel,  were  rather  an  encumbrance  to  M 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  apoMtU  (1,)  Most  solemnly  charges  TinuHky  to  he  diligent  in  his  mimslrationSy  as  an  apostacy  from  the  truth  was  ad' 
vaTieingt  1-5.  (2,)  Encourages  Atm,  from  his  own  approaching  lut  glorious  and  happy  martyrdom^  6-8.  (8,)  Desires 
him  to  come  to  Rome  as  quickly  as  possible^  and  hrmg  Mark  and  certain  things  with  Aim,  as  his  brethren  there  were 
generally  gone,  or  sent  off  from  him,  9-13.  (4,)  Cautions  against  Alexander  the  coppersmith ;  complains  of  the  bre- 
thren's deserting  him  at  his  first  trial ;  hut  trusts  that  God,  who  had  stood  by  him,  would  always  preserve  and  support 
him,  14-18.    (5,)  Concludes  with  salutations  and  his  usual  benediction,  19-S3. 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.  D.  66. 


•CHARGE  thee  therefore befiwe ! 

God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  | 
*^who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at 
his  appearing  and  his  kingdom ; 

•1  Tim.  T.  21 ;  vi.  13 ;  C^»p.  ii.  14. ^Aets  X.  42. 

NOTIES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1-4.  Having,  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
explained  to  Timothy  the  duties  of  his  office,  as  an 
evangelist,  the  apostle  now  proceeds  solemnly  to 
charge  him,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  be  diFigentand  faithful  in  all  the  du- 
ties of  the  ministry ;  by  preaching  the  true  doctrine, 
confuting  gainsayers,  rebuking  sinners,  and  exhort- 
ing both  the  teachers  and  people  under  his  care  to 
conduct  themselves  properly  in  every  respect.  His 
words  are  peculiarly  solemn.  I  charge  thee^  there- 
fore—This is  an  inference  drawn  from  the  whole 
preceding  chapter ;  before  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
CArwf— Now  and  always  present  with  us,  observing 
our  whole  beliaviour ;  iofio  shall  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead— Bringing  every  work  into  Judgment  with 
every  secret  things  and  rendering  unto  every  man 
according  to  his  deeds,  Rom.  u,6;  at  his  appearing 
and  his  kingdom— Thai  is,  at  his  coming,  when  he 
£ihaU  most  manifestly  exercise  his  kingly  and  Judicial 
400 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.  D.  G6. 


2  Preach    the  word  ;    be  instant 
in  season,  out  of  season;   reprove, 
°  rebuke,  ^  exhort  with  all  long-suflfering  and 
doctrine. 


e  1  Tim.  V.  20;  Tit.  i.  13 ;  ii.  15. *  1  Tim.  ir.  13, 


power  in  the  sight  of  all  intelligent  beings.  Preach 
the  word— The  pure  gospel  doctrine,  in  aJI  its 
branches.  Be  instant— Importunate,  pressing;  in- 
sist on  and  urge  the  great  truths  and  duties  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus;  in  season,  out  of  season— Thai  is, 
continually,  at  all  times  and  places.  The  Greek,  ev- 
Mtpuc,  axaipijc,  may  be  rendered,  when  there  is  a  good 
opportunity,  and  when  there  is  no  opportunity; 
or,  not  only  when  a  fair  occasion  is  given,  but  even 
when  there  is  none,  one  must  be  made.  Reprove^ 
E^^ov,  convince  the  consciences  of  ncien,  and  en- 
deavour to  reclaim  them  from  their  erroneous  prin- 
ciples and  practices;  rebuke— Them,,  for  their  im- 
pieties and  immoralities,  without  fearing  the  face  of 
any  man;  and  exhort  to  zeal  and  diligence  in  the 
pursuit  of  every  grace,  and  the  performance  of  every 
duty ;  with  all  ^ong'-w/fenng-— Though  thou  mayest 
not  immediately  see  the  desired  success;  and  doe- 
/rtn«— That  is,  still  continue  to  warn  and  teach. 
And  the  rather  seize  the  present  opportunity  with 

b 


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CHAPTER  IT. 


in  Mhulaiuftu 


A.  M.  4070.    3  *  F<Nr  the  time  wi&  come,  when 

A    I)   flA. 

'    ' they  will  not  endure  'sound  doctrine; 

'but  after  their  own  hiats  shall  they  heap  to 
themsehree  teachers,  ^ving  itching^  ears  ; 

4  And  they  shall  lum  away  their  ears  fiom 
the  truth,  and  ^nhall  be  turned  unto  fiibles. 

6  *But  watch  Ummi  in  all  tfaingS)  <  endure  afflic- 
tions, do  the  work  of  ^an  evai^elist,  ^  make 
ftiU  proof  of  thy  mmistry. 

6  For  U  am  now  ready  to  be  offisred,  and 

•  Ohmp.  iii.  1. '  1  Tim.  L  la— ^*  Chap.  iiL  6. ^  i  Tim. 

i.  4 ;     IT.  7 ;    Tit.  i.  14. ♦  St.  Liik$  Evangelift,  epistle, 

rerae  5  to  rene  10. *Ghap.  L  8;   iL  3. -^AcU  zxi.  8; 

Eph.  IT.  11. 


all  earnestness;  for  the  time  viU  come— And  b  fast 
approaching ;  when  they^lRyen  the  professors  of 
Christianity;  will  not  endure  eound  doctrine^ 
Wholeetnne^  ealtUary^  heaKng  docfrme— Doctrine 
calculated  to  saye  them  from  their  errors  and  sins, 
and  to  heal  their  spiritual  disorders.  But  after  their 
awn  h»t<t^Ac^ording  to  their  own  desires;  ehall 
they  heap  to  themeelvee  teachere^Aa  smooth  as  they 
can  wish;  having  itching  «ar#— Fond  of  novehy 
and  YarieCy^  which  disposition  the  number  of  new 
teachers,  as  well  as  their  empty,  soft,  or  philosophi- 
cal discourses  will  please.  Such  teachers  and  such 
hearers  seldom  are  much  concerned  with  what  is 
strict  and  searching,  or  calculated  to  excite  them  to 
aspire  after  a  conformity  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  Not 
enduring  sound  doctrine,  they  will  reject  the  sound 
preachers,  and  gatiier  together  all  that  suit  their  own 
taste.  Ami— So  greatly  will  their  minds  be  per- 
verted, that  they  ehaU  turn  away  their  ears,  from 
the  tnah^Yrom  the  true,  genuine  doctrine  of  the 
gospel ;  and  he  turned  unto  fablee-^V nto  vain,  idle 
stories,  and  uncertain  opinions  and  traditions.  See 
on  1  Tiro.  i.  4. 

Verses  5-^.  But  watch  <^ot»— Both  over  thyself 
and  floek,  and  withstand  the  beginnings  of  all  these 
corruptions;  let  thy  mind  be  awake  and  watdiful; 
in  all  thinge—YfhBtevei  thou  art  doing,  let  this  be 
thy  earnest,  constant,  persevering  exercise.  Observe, 
reader,  the  Scripture  watching  or  waiting  implies 
steadfast  ftdth,  patient  hope,  labouring  love,  unceas- 
ing prayer ;  yea,  the  mighty  exertion  of  all  the  aflfec- 
tion»of  the  soul  that  a  man  is  enable  of:  endure  af- 
JHctione — Or  adoer«ffy,  as  caicoira#9oov  signifies.  I^- 
pect  ill-treatment  from  the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  and 
other  trials,  and  bear  them  patiently.  Dotheworkof 
anevangeliet-'Whkih  was  next  to  that  of  an  apostle. 
Make  fill  proof  of  thy  minietry^So  perform  all  the 
duties  of  thy  calling,  as  ftUly  to  approve  thyself  to 
be  a  foithftil  minister  of  Christ  /br,  ^tc— And  the 
rather  do  these  things,  considering  how  soon  the 
world  wUl  lose  whatever  advantage  it  may  now  re- 
ceive from  my  personal  labours.  For  I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered — Or  poured  out,  as  oKtvdofiai 
means,  as  a  libation  upon  God's  altar.  See  on  Phil. 
iL  17.  And  the  time  ofm/y  departure  it  at  hand— 
So  undoubtedly  CM  had  diown  him.  I  have  fought 
b 


the  time  of  "*my  departure  is  at  a.  H.4om 
hand.  A.v.ii6,_ 


7  *  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  fidth : 

8  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  ^  a  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  the  L(»d,  the  rig^Ueous 
Judge,  shall  give  me  >" at  that  day:  and  not  to 
me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  lore  his 
appearing. 

9  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  shortly  unto  me : 


» Or,  JylJU,  Rom.  xr.  19  ;  Col.  i.  25  ;  ir.  17. >  Phil,  ii  17. 

•Phil.  i.  23;   2  Pet,  L  14. "1  Cor.  ix.  24,  25;    Phfl.  iii. 

14;   1  Tim.Ti.  12;  Heb.  xH.  1. «>1  Cor.  ix.  25;  Jamei  i 

12;  Rov.  iL  10. i>C%p.  i.  12. 


o,  rather  the,  good  fight — Greek,  rov  iryi^a  top  koXov 
ifyoviofiai,  I  have  contended  the  good  contention  ;  or, 
as  Macknii^t  renders  it,  I  have  combated  the  good 
combat.  I  have  fmiehed  my  course — Of  duty  and 
of  suffering:  or,  I  have  fmiehed  the  race;  for  he 
likens  his  labour  in  the  gospel  not  only  to  fighting 
and  wrestling,  but  also  to  a  race,  which  was  likewise 
one  of  the  Olympic  exercises.  I  have  kept  the  faith 
—Committed  to  my  trust,  and  with  the  strictest^ 
fideUty  have  endeavoiu^  to  preserve  it  free  from 
all  additions  and  corruptions,  ffenceforih — Aoiirov, 
wh€U  remains;  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness — Namely,  of  that  righteousness  which 
G<>d  has  imputed  to  me,  and  wrought  in  me,  and 
enabled  me  to  practise.  Having  compared  his  la- 
bours as  an  apostle  to  the  exertions  of  the  combal- 
ants,  wrestlei^  and  racers,  in  the  Grecian  ^mes,  he 
represents  his  reward  under  the  idea  of  a  crown,  be- 
cause a  crown  was  the  reward  bestowed  on  the  vic- 
tors in  those  exercises.  It  was  not,  however,  a 
crown  of  leaves  like  theirs,  but  of  righteousness, 
which  he  expected  Christ  to  bestow  on  hun,  count- 
ing his  faith  to  him  for  righteousness,  and  reward- 
ing him  for  all  the  fruits  brought  forth  by  this  right- 
eousness. See  on  Phil.  i.  11.  Which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day — This 
text  evidently  proves,  that  the  great  and  most  glo- 
rious reward  of  faithfiil  Christians  is  referred  to  the 
day  of  general  judgment.  But,  as  Doddridge  ob- 
serves, ^  it  would  be  very  precarious  to  argue  from 
hence,  that  there  shall  be  no  prelibation  and  antici- 
pation of  this  happiness  in  a  separate  state.  And 
when  the  many  texts,  which  have  been  so  often 
urged  in  proof  of  that  intermediate  happiness,  are 
considered,  it  is  surprising  that  any  stress  should  be 
laid  on  the  objection  which  has  been  drawn  from 
sudi  passages  as  this.''  And  not  to  me  oh/y— This 
increases  the  Joy  of  Paul,  and  encourages  Timothy ; 
but  to  all  th€U  love  his  appearing— Which  only  a 
true  Christian  can  do.  Blany  of  those  Paul  himself 
had  gained,  and  he  rejoiced  to  think,  that  through 
his  having  gained  them,  they  should  receive  an  un- 
utterable and  eternal  reward  of  felicity  and  glory. 

Yeraes  9-11.  Do  thy  diligence— BndesirouT  by  all 
means;  to  come  shortly  unto  me— The  apostle,  now 
about  to  leave  the  world,  wished  to  enjoy  Timothy's 
491 


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II.  TmOTOY. 


wJio  did  Pond  iMtek  tvit 


A.  M.  4070.  10  For  "^  Demas  hath  forsaken  me, 
— 1— ^^ — -  '  having  loved  this  present  world,  and 
is  departed  unto  Tfaessalooica ;  Giescena  to  Oa- 
latia,  Titus  unto  Dahnada. 

11  'Only  ^  Luke  is  widi  me.  Take  "^Mark, 
and  bring  him  with  thee:  for  he  is  profitaUeto 
me  for  the  ministry* 

12  And  *  Tychicus  have  I  sent  to  Ephesos. 

13  The  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Car- 
pus, when  thou  cconest,  bring  with  tbee^  and 


qCol.  iv.  15;  Philem.  24. '1  John  iL  15. •  Chapter 

i.  15. » Col.  iv.  14 ;   Philem.  94, — -«  Acts  xii.  25 ;  jcv.  37 ; 

CoL  iv.  10. «  AcU  XX.  4|  Eph.  vi.  12  j  Col.  iv.  7;  Tit.  iii  12. 


company  and  conversation  for  a  little  while,  both 
that  that  evangelist  might  comfort  him,  and  might  be 
coolforted  and  strengthened  by  him,  so  that  he 
might  9Uffer  death  courageously  when  called  to  i^o 
so.  Accordingly,  it  is  said  by  some,  that  he  actually 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Ephesus.  For,  ^c— As  if 
he  had  said,  I  have  the  more  need  of  thy  company 
and  assistance,  because  I  have  been  deserted  by  sotte 
who  ought  to  haye  acted  in  a  very  different  manner: 
DenuU — Once  my  foUow-labourer,  (Philem*  24,) 
hath  forsaken  i9»e— By  calling  the  departure  of  De- 
mas  to  Thessalonica  a  forsaking  him,  the  apostle  in- 
timates that  he  departed  without  his  permission. 
Having  loved  this  present  iror^d— And  gone  where 
his  secular  views  invited  him.  CV^scen^— Probably 
a  preacher  aL|0,  is  gone  with  my  consent  to  Galatia. 
Titus  to  Dalmatia — Having  now  left  Crete.  These 
either  went  with  him^  Rome,  or  visited  him  there. 
Only  Luke-^Of  ray  fellow-labourers;  is  with  tite— 
For,  from  verse  21,  where  the  salutations  of  some  of 
the  Roman  brethren  by  name  are  mentioned,  it  a|>- 
pearsthat  the  apostle  had  many  friends  still  in  Rome, 
members  of  the  church  there,  with  whom  he  was 
allowed  to  have  some  intercourse,  but  his  diief  sup- 
port was,  that  God  was  with  him.  Of  the  character 
of  Luke,  see  on  CoL  iv.  14,  and  the  preface  to  his 
gospel  Take  Mirk  and  bring  Am— Who,  though 
he  once  <leparted  from  the  work,  is  novr  profitable 
to  me  for  the  ministry — ^Mark,  mentioned  in  this 
passage,  is  by  some  thought  to  be  a  different  person 
froih  the  writer  of  the  goi^el  which  bears  his  name. 
Verse  13.  The  c2oa/c— -Perhaps  the  toga  which 
belonged  to  himas^  Roman  citizen,  or  an  upper  gar- 
ment, which  might  be  needful  as  winter  came  on. 
The  word  ^Aov?,  however,  so  rendered,  also  sig- 
nifies a  bag,  in  which  sense  the  Syriac  translator 
understood  it,  paraphrasing  the  expression,  a  bag 
co^Uaining  books;  or  a  kind  of  portmanteau,  the 
contents  of  which  might  be  xoosee  important  than  the 
th'mg  itself.  Which  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus— 
Who  was  probably  his  host  there ;  when  thou  comest 
bring  with  thee,  and  the  books,  especially  the  parch- 
wea/ff— What  the  books  here  referred  to  were,  com- 
mentators nave  not  attempted  to  conjecture:  but 
Dr.  Benson  fancies  the  parchments  were  the  letters 
which  he  received  from  the  churches,  and  the  auto- 
gr^ha  of  his  own  letters  to  the  churches.  For  that 
402 


the  books,  but  espeoiaUy  the  parch-  A.M.4«7a 
meats.  ^  ' 

14  ^  Alexander  the  oopperasnith  did  me  much 
evil :  '  the  Lord  reward  him  acccH'diiig  to  fa« 
works: 

15  Of  whom  be  thoa  ware  also ;  for  he  hath 
greatly  wtehsiood  ^  our  words* 

16  At  my  first  answer  no  man  stood  wkh 
me,  •but  all  men  forwx^me:  ^I pr^nyGod 
that  it  may  not  be  laid  to  their  charge. 


TActB  xix.  33;    1  Tim.  L  20. ««  Sam.  iii.  39;    Psfc 

xxviiL  4 ;  Rer.  xviii.  6. *  Or,  owr  prtachingM.'—^  Chap.,  i. 

15. •»  Acta  Tii.  SO. 


he  employed  persons  to  transcribe  his  letters  is  pro- 
bable from  Rom.  xvi.  22,  where  the  name  of  the 
amanuonsis  of  that  epiMle  is  inserted.  In  those  foir 
copies  the  apostle  wrote  the  salutations  with  his 
ownliand,  (1  Cor.  xvL  21;  G^  vi.  11;  Col.  iv.  18j 
2  Thess.  iiL  17,)  and  thereby  authenticated  them  as 
his  letters. 

Verses  14,  15.  Alexatider  Ae  coppersmith— Or 
brader  ^  did  me  much  ^oO^This  seems  to  have  been 
the  person  mentioned  1  Tim.  i.  20:  probably  he  was 
one  of  the  Jhdaizmg  telLchers,  who  violentiy  opposed 
the  true  doctrine  of  the  gospeL  The  Lord  reward 
him^The  Alexandiian,  and  six  other  M8S.,  the 
Syriac  and  the  Vulgate  versions,  and  some  of  the  Fib- 
thet«,  read  here,  inrodcMret,  tJie  Lard  wUl  reward 
him:  and  it  is  probable  the  words  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  spoken  propheticaUy.  At  least,  as  l>od- 
dridge  observes,  ^'  what  we  know  of  Paul's  charaet^ 
must  leitd  us  to  conclude,  that  if  he  did^iot  mean  the 
words  as  a  mere  prediction,  he  did  not,  however, 
wish  evil  to  him  as  evil,  but  only  that  he  mii^t  be 
so  animadverted  upon  as  to  prevent  the  contagion 
of  his  bad  example  from  spreading  in  the  chwch, 
and  to  bring  him  to  repentance  and  reformatioii, 
that^  so  he  might  be  preserved  from  final  destruc- 
tion." Of  whom  be  thou  ware^  also-^Be  thou  upcm 
thy  guard  wherever  thou  happenest  to  meet  with 
him ;  for  he  hath  greatly  withstood  our  words— 
Hath  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  prevent  the 
progress  and  advancement  of  the  true  gospeL 

Verse  la  Atmyfrstanswtr-^in^ia^apology^ox 
defence,  before  the  emperor,  or,-as  is  hK»e  generally 
thought^  the  prefect  of  the  city  in  his  absence  5  fto  man 
—None  of  the  Christians  here  at  Borne ;  stood^ 
Appeared  in  court ;  wWi  me,Jmt  oZ^-Either  through 
treachery  or  cowardice;  forsook  me—" Many  cir- 
cumstqnoes  make  it  astonishing  that  Paul  should  have 
been  deserted  by  the  Christians  at  Rome  in  this  ex- 
tremity. When  he  ynoXA  his  epi^e  to  the  church 
there,  which  must  have  been  almost  ten  years  be- 
fore this,  he  speaks  of  their  Mh  as  celebrated 
through  the  world,  Iton.  i.  8.  He  salutes  a  vast 
number  of  illustrious  persons  by  name,  and  men- 
tions many  of  them  as  his  particular  friends^  diap. 
xvi.  3-15 ;  and  we  may  assure  ourselves  that  during 
the  two  years  he  spent  there  in  his  hired  house, 
when  aoeess  was  gnmted  t«  all  that  desired  it,  the 

b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


BiB  MhdaiionM. 


A.  M.  4070.    17  <"  Notwithstandiag,    the    Lord 

1 —  stood   with   me,    and    strengthened 

me ;  '  that  by  me  the  preaching  might  be 
fully  known,  and  ^Aa^  all  the  Gentiles  might 
hear :  and  I  was  detrrered  *  out  <rf  the  mouth 
of  the  Eon. 


«  Matt  X.  19;  Aets  zxiii.  11 ;  zzrii.  23. '  Acts  ix.  15 ;  xxri. 

17, 18 ;    Eph-  iii.  8, •  Psa.  xxii  21 ;   2  Pet.  iL  9. 


number,  and  probably  the  zeal  of  the  Chhstiaii  con- 
Terts  would  be  greatly  iucrejBsed,  as  indeed  he  ex- 
pressly assures  the  Philippians  that  it  was,  and  that 
some  of  Cesar's  palaces  were  added  to  them,  Phil, 
i.  12 ;  iv.  22.'^  How  then  did  it  happen  that  he  was 
thus  forsaken?  The  true  answer  seems  to  be,  that 
the  cruel  persecution  which  Nero  had  raised  against 
the  Christians  at  Rome,  (in  which  they  were  wor- 
ried in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  wrapped  up  in  pitch- 
ed clothes,  and  then  chained  to  stakes,  and  set  on 
fire  to  give  light  in  the  streets  by  night,)  had  taken 
place  before  this;  and  it  is  probable  that  many  of 
the  excellent  persons  above  mentioned  had  suffered 
death  for  their  religion ;  and  that  others,  according 
to  our  Lord's  advice,  had  retired  to  a  distance  from 
Rome,  while  some  were  so  terrified  that  they  con- 
cealed themselves ;  or  at  least  had  not  courage  to 
appear  with  him  before  the  tribunal.  For  these  last 
mentioned  the  apostle  prays.  May  it  not  be  laid  to 
their  cAorg-e— He  was  sensible  of  the  danger  to 
which  his  friends  would  have  exposed  themselves 
by  appearing  with  him  at  his  trial ;  he  knew  like- 
wise tbe  infirmity  of  human  nature ;  and  therefore 
he  made  great  allowance  for  their  yielding  in  such 
circumstances,  and  prayed  that  they  might  be  for- 
given, as  Christ  prayed  his  Father  to  forgive  those 
who  crucified  him. 

Verses  17,  18^  Notwithstanding — ^I  was  not  left 
entirely  destitute ;  for,  though  men  forsook  me,  the 
Ldird  stood  with  me — According  to  his  promise, 
Luke  "xxi.  15 ;  and  strengthened  me — ^With  that  in- 
ward fortitude  of  mind  which  no  human  support 
could  have  inspired ;  that  by  me  the  preaching— 
The  gospel  which  we  preach ;  might  be  fully  known 
— TLXiipot^prf^,  literally,  might  be  carried  with  a 
JuU  sail;  that  is,  fully  and  boldly  declared.  That 
the  apostle  could  thus  courageously  bear  witness  to 
the  gospel  when  all  his  friends  forsook  him,  and  his 
enemies  were  so  fiercely  raging  against  him,,  was  a 
glorious  testimony  to  the  honour  of  Christianity. 
And  that  all  the  Gentiles  might  Acar— This  implies 
that  he  made  his  defence  in  a  manner  which  he  was 
persuaded  would  be  taken  notice  of  and  reported 
abroad,  much  to  the  honour  of  that  sacred  cause 
which  was  dearer  to  him  than  his  life.  And  I  was 
delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Kon— By  the  lion 
Nero  is  generally  thought  to  be  meant,  or  rather  his 
prefect,  Hclius  Cesarianus,  to  whom  Nero  commit- 
ted the  government  of  the  city  in  his  absence,  with 
power  to  put  whomsoever  he  pleased  to  death.  But 
the  expression  may  be  understood  proverbially,  as 
denoting  an  escape  from  the  greatest  danger;  in 
b 


18  'And  the  Lord  shall  deliver  me  A.  M.  407a 

A  D   flS- 

from  every  evU  work,  and  will  pre-  — 1^-^ — 
serve  me  unto  his  heavenly  kingdom;  »to 
whom  be  gl(^y  for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

19  Salute    ^  Prisca   and  Aquila,   and  '  the 
household  of  Onesifdionttu 


'PMt  cxxi.  7. sRom.  xi.  36;    Gal.  i.  5;     Heb.  xiii.  21. 

h  Acta  xviii.  2 ;  Rom.  xri.  3. — ^*  2  Tim.  i.  16. 


which  sense  it  is  used  Psa.  xxii.  21.  And  the  Lord 
— Whose  power  and  iaithfulAesB  are  alwjiys  the 
same ;  shall  deiiver  me  from  every  evil  work-^ 
From  all  sin,  and  especially  from  doing  any  thing 
inconsistent  with  the  honour  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
salvation  of  my  own  soul ;  which  is  of  far  greater 
consequence  than  delivering  me  from  death.  And 
preserve  me  to  his  heaverdy  kingdom — An  in^nitely 
better  kingdom  than  that  of  Nero. 

Verses  19-22.  Salute  Prisca—This  word  is  a 
contraction  of  the  name  Priscilla;  or,  as  Estius 
supposes,  Pi'iscilla  may  be  the  diminutive  of  Prisca. 
Erastus  abode  at  Corinth — ^When  I  came  from 
thence,  being  chamberlain  of  the  city,  Rom.  xvi.  23. 
He  is  likewise  mentioned.  Acts  xix.  22,  as  one  who 
administered  to  Paul.  But  Trophimus  have  I  Uft 
at  Miletum  sick — It  has  been  very  justly  argued 
from  this  text,  that  a  power  of  working  miracles 
did  not  always  reside  in  the  apostles ;  and  indeed  if 
it  had,  one  can  hardly  imagine  that  any  good  and 
useful  man  would  have  been  sick  and  died  under 
their  notice ;  which  would  have  been  quite  incon- 
sistent with  the  scheme  of  Providence.  Timothy's 
frequent  infirmities  afford  a  further  argument  to  the 
same  purpose.  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  before 
winter — Sailing  being  then  dangerous.  Some,  com- 
paring Heb.  xiii.  23  with  this  text,  have  concluded 
that  Timothy  did  come,  and  was  seized  at  Rome, 
and  confined  longer  than  Paul  himself.  But  it  seems 
much  more  probable  that  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
was  written  during  Paul's  first  imprisonment,  and 
consequently  several  years  before  this.  Eubulus 
greeteth  thee,  and  Pudens — Though  these  persons, 
like  the  other  Roman  brethren,  did  not  appear  with 
the  apostl^  at  his  first  answer,  they  did  not  fLe%  from 
the  city,  nor  desert  him  altogether ;  but  visited  him  in 
his  prison,  and  desired  him  to  send  their  salutation  to 
Timothy.  Linus  is  said,  by  some  of  the  ancients, 
to  have  been  the  first  bishop  of  Rome,  after  the 
apostles  Paul  and  Peter.  But  Theodoret  speaks  of 
this  only  as  a  tradition.  Claudia  is  said  to  have 
been  a  Britbh  lady,  whom  Paul  was  the  instrument 
of  converting,  and  that  she  first  carried  the  gospel 
into  Britain.  But  of  this  there  is  no  evidence. 
According  to  tradition,  the  Apostle  Peter  was  now 
in  Rome,  and  sufiered  martyrdom  at  the  same  time 
with  St.  Paul  But  seeing  Paul  says,  verse  11, 
Only  Luke  is  with  me,  and  verse  16,  At  my  first 
answer  no  one  appeared  with  me;  also,  seeing  Pe- 
ter's salutation  was  not  sent  to  Timothy,  his  being 
in  Rome  at  the  time  this  letter  was  written  may 
justly  be  doubted^  If  he  suffered  martyrdom  along 
468 


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U.  TIMOTHY. 


Claudia,  and  ofaU  (he  brethren. 


▲.M.4070. 

A-D.as. 


20  ^  Erastus  abode  at  CorinCh :  but 
^  Trophimtwi  have  I  left  at  Miletum 
flick. 

21  ■  Do  thy  diligeHce  to  come  before  winter. 
Eubulus  gre^letb  thee,  and  Pudais,  and  Linus, 
and  Claudia,  and  all  tb»  fNrethr^. 

k  AeU  ziz.  23 ;  Rom.  zvi.  23. >  Acts  zx.  4  ;  zxl  20. 


with  Paul,  as  the  ancients  affirm,  he  nrast  have 
eome  to  Rome  after  Paul  wrote  his  second  letter 
to  Hmothy.  Graoe  be  wih  you^This  being  a 
benediction  distinct  trcm  the  one  bestowed  on  Ti- 
464 


22  ""  The  Lord  Jesus  Ghri^  be  with  A.  M.  ¥no. 

thy   spirit.      Grace    be   with   you.     '    . 

Amen. 

If  The  second  epietle  unto  Timotheus,  ordained  the 
first  bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Ephesians,  was 
written  from  Rome,  when  Paul  was  brought  bo- 
fore  Nero  the  second  time. 


•  Verse  1 


>0sLvL18;  Phileni.  25. 


mothy  in  the  preceding  claose,  it  must  have  been 
designed  for  such  of  the  brethren  where  Timothy- 
was,  as  maintained  the  truth  of  the  gospel  in  pa- 
rity. 

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PREFACE 

TO     THE 

EPISTLE   OF  PAUL   THE    APOSTLE 

TO 

TITUS. 


npiTUS  waa  originally  a  Gentile,  and  converted  to  Christianity  by  St.  Paul,  as  appears  from  the 
apostle's  calling  him,  (chap.  i.  4,)  "  his  own  son  after,"  or  according  to,  "  the  common  faith ;" 
though  the  particular  time  of  his  conversion  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  earliest  account  which  we 
find  of  him  (for  Luke  does  not  once  mention  his  name  in  the  Acts)  is  in  Gal.  ii.  1,  where  the  apostle 
informs  us  he  took  him  with  him  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem,  to  attend  the  council  that  was  held  there, 
to  consider  of  the  question  concerning  the  circumcision  of  the  converted  Gentiles,  fourteen  years  after 
Paul's  own  conversion.  At  which  time,  it  appears,  the  Judaizers  in  Jerusalem  urged  the  necessity 
of  having  Titus  circumcised ;  but  Paul  would  not  suffer  him  to  submit  to  that  rite,  that  he  might  not 
seem  to  abridge  the  liberty  of  the  Gentile  converts.  Some  years  after  this,  the  apostle  sent  him  to 
Corinth,  as  appears  from  2  Cor.  ii.  13,  where  his  piety  and  disinterested  and  zealous  preaching  of  the 
gospel  procured  him  a  kind  reception.  Coming  from  thence  to  Paul,  in  Macedonia,  he  brought  him 
such  inteUigence,  concerning  the  state  of  the  Corinthian  church,  as  gave  him  the  highest  satisfaction. 
And,  as  Titus  had  expressed  a  particulsb-  regard  for  the  Corinthians,  the  apostle  thought  proper  to 
send  him  back  again  to  them,  that  he  might  edify  them  by  the  exercise  of  his  ministry  among  them, 
and  excite  them  to  finish,  without  delay,  the  collection  for  the  poor  saints  in  Judea,  which  they  had 
begun  during  Titus's  former  vbit  to  them,  2  Cor.  vii.  6,  15 ;  viii.  6,  16,  17 ;  xii.  18.  The  apostle, 
it  ai^ars,  at  the  same  time  made  him  the  bearer  of  his  second  episUe  to  them.  After  this,  we  hear 
no  more  mention  of  him  till  he  is  spoken  of,  in  this  epistle,  as  having  been  with  Paul  in  Crete, 
where,  it  appears,  the  apostle  had  preached  the  gospel  with  great  success ;  (probably  after  his  first, 
and  before  his  second,  imprisonment  at  Rome ;)  Christian  churches  having  been  formed  in  several 
cities  of  that  island.  To  which  success,  it  is  probable,  the  labours  of  Titus  had  contributed  no  little, 
and  that  he  was  therefore  much  beloved  by,  and  had  great  authority  over,  the  new  converts  there. 
On  this  account,  and  also  because  the  apostle  knew  his  fidelity  and  ability  for  such  an  office,  not 
judging  it  proper  to  remain  in  the  island  himself,  he  left  Titus  there  to  superintend  these  churches, 
and  regulsie  Uieir  affairs.  This  circumstance  shows  the  high  esteem  and  great  affection  which  the 
apoetle  had  for  Titus ;  as  does  also  the  manner  in  which  he  speaks  of  his  discharging  the  commis- 
sion he  gave  him  to  the  Corinthians,  and  his  terming  him  his  "  brother,  partner,  and  fellow-helper," 
in  his  second  epbtle  to  the  members  of  that  church,  chap.  ii.  13  ;  viii.  23. 

Although  learned  men  have  thought  it  probable  that  this  epistle  was  written  during  the  apostle's 
last  progress  through  the  Asiatic  churches,  some  time  before  his  second  imprisonment  at  Rome,  and, 
consequently,  that  it  was  the  last  of  his  epistles,  except  the  second  to  Timothy ;  yet  nothing  can 
be  certainly  determined,  either  as  to  its  date  or  the  place  from  which  it  was  sent ;  for,  though  the 
spurious  postscript  supposes  it  to  have  been  written  from  Nicopolis,  yet  the  contrary  is  plainly  inti- 
mated, chap.  iii.  12 :  as  the  apostle  does  not  say,  I  propose  to  winter  "  here,"  (which  would  have 
been  most  natural,  if  he  had  resided  there  when  he  was  writing,)  but  "  there ;"  which  shows  he 
was  at  that  time  in  some  other  place.  It  is  plain,  however,  Titus  was  at  Crete  when  he  received  i^ 
bemg  left  there,  as  has  been  observed,  to  settle  the  churches  in  that  island,  and  ordain  elders  to 
minister  and  preside  in  them.     Accordingly,  the  greatest  part  of  the  epistle  is  taken  up  in  giving  him 

Toi-.IL  («0)  465  b 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  TITUS. 

directions  for  the  siore  successfiil  discharge  of  this  office  among  the  Cretans ;  and  particularly  for 
his  behsTioiir  toward  those  cormpt  Judaizing  teachers,  who  endeavoored  to  pervert  the  faith,  and 
distmb  the  peace  of  the  Christian  church  everywhei^e. 

This,  epistle  is  very  similar,  as  to  its  tenor  and  style,  to  the  two  epistles  to  Timothy,  and  they 
cast  much  light  upon  one  another;  and  are  worthy  the  serious  attention  of  all  Christian  ministers  and 
churches  in  all  ages.  This  has  four  parts :  I.  The  inscription,  chap.  L  1-4.  IL  The  instruction 
of  Titus  to  this  effect:  1.  Ordain  good  presbyters:  (5-9;)  2.  Such  as  are  especially  needful  at 
Crete :  (10-12 :)  3.  Reprove  and  admonish  the  Cretans :  (13-16 :)  4.  Teacli  aged  men  and  w(mien ; 
(chap.  iL  1-5 ;)  and  young  men,  being  a  pattern  to  them ;  (6-8 ;)  and  serrants,  urging  them  by  a 
glorious  motive:  (9-15:)  5.  Press  obedience  to  magistrates,  and  gentleness  to  all  men;  (chapter 
iii.  1, 2 ;)  enforcing  it  by  the  same  motive :  (3-7 :)  6.  Good  works  are  to  be  done;  foolish  questioM 
avoidod;  heretics  to  be  shunned;  8-11.  III.  An  iitvitstion  of  Titos  to  Nicopolis,  with  some  ad* 
monitions,  12-44.    IV.  The  conchiskm,  15. 

465  (10*)  b 


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THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO 


TITUS. 


CHAPTER  i 

Hen  P«tU»  after  aeserimg  Me  epoetolic  ekmrecUr,  tmd  eehaing  TitiUy  (1,)  Rcnmde  kimo/lke  ep^doi  reaeonefor  tohuh  ne 
left  Mm  m  Crete^  1-6.  (S,)  Direete  Mm  on  what  prineiplee  he  ehouid  act  in  the  ordinaHoH  of  thoee  eldere,  who  were  to 
take  the  overeigM  of  particular  ehwrcheet  6-9.  (8,)  He  eoMtiane  Mm  agairiet  eeduchig  teaehere,  whom  U  wm  neceeeary 
leealoudjf  to  eonfuUt  asd  repreeente  the  bad  national  character  of  the  Cretkne,  directing  Mm  to  rebuke  them  eharpfy,  that 
thfif  might  he  aomd  in  thefakk,  10-16. 

2  ^In  ^'hc^  of  etarnal  life,  which  A.M.40tf. 
Ood,  '  that  cannot  lie,  piomised  *  be-  —^-^ — 


A.  M.  4060.  T)AUL,  a  servant  of  God,  and  an 
— '. — ; —  apoBtie  of  Jesua  Christ,  according 
to  the  fiuth  of  God's  elect,  and  *the  acknow- 
ledging of  the  truth  ^  which  is  aft^  godliness ; 


•«  Timothy  ii.  25. ^  I  Tin 

«STiBtki.  1; 


*  Or,  For, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verse  1.  Panl,  a  $ervami  of  the  o&e  liring  and 
true  Qod^hi  some  of  his  otl^  ei^sties,  Paul  ealls 
binself  a  servant  of  Jesui  Christ;  bat  this  is  the 
oi^y  one  in  which  he  calls  himself  a  «eroan(  o/GM; 
an  appeUation  which  some  think  he  took  beciiuse 
the  Jndaizing  teachers  in  Crete  affirmed  that  he  had 
i|N)et8tized  from  God,  by  receiving  into  his  church 
the  uncircumcised  .Gentiles,  and  thereby  freeing 
them  from  obedioioe  to  the  law  of  Moses,  as  a  term 
of  salvation.  And  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ-^y 
this  title  he  distinguishes  himself  from  other  pious 
and  holy  men,  who  were  all  servants  of  God;  and 
asserts  his  apostleship,  not  to  raise  lumself  in  thees- 
ttmatiott  of  Titus,  but  to  make  the  false  teachers  in 
Crete,  and  aU  in  every  age  who  should  read  this  let- 
ter, sennble  that  every  thing  he  ordered  Titus  to  in- 
eukate  was  of  divine  authority.  According  to  the 
faith  of  GocPs  elec^— That  is,  God's  true  people;  the 
pn^lMigation  of  which  fttith  was  the  proper  bnshiess 
of  an  apostle.  And  the  acknowle^ing  of  the  truih 
—That  is,  the  do<^ne  of  the  gospel  here  termed  the 
mth,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  errors  of  heathenism, 
iDd  the  shadows  of  the  Mosaic  law ;  and  because  it 
teaches  the  true,  and  the  only  tm%  way  of  salvation 
for  Jews  and  Gentiles;  Mjhkh  is  after  godHness— 
Which  in  every  pc^nt  agrees  with  and  supports  the 
true,  vital^  flpiritual  wordup  and  servioe  of  God;  and 
indcMBd  has  no  other  end  or  scope.  These  two  verses 
iNMitam  the  sum  of  Christita^,  Which  Titus  was 
dways  to  have  in  his  eye. 


fore  the  world  b^an ; 
3  ^But  hath  in  due 


tinoes  manifested  lus 


'Num.  sdii.  19;   1  Tibl  ii.  13.- 
19;  iPeti.  20. — 


'2  Tim.  i.  la 


26;  2  Tim. 


Verses  2-4.  In  Aope— Which  doctrine  lays  a 
foundation  for,  and  shows  us  how  we  may  attain  a 
well-grounded  and  lively  hope ;  of  eternal  life — ^The 
grand  motive  and  encouragement  of  every  apostle 
and  every  servant  of  God.  fVhich  Ood,  that  cannot 
h* «— Nor  deceive  any  of  his  creatures,  hath  not  only, 
as  in  the  former  dispensation,  intimated  to  us,  but 
expressIy|>rofiit«e(2— Toall  obedient  believers ;  before 
the  world  begccn-^Or^  befbrethe  times  of  the  ages^  as 
Macknight  renders  irpo  xp<^^  awviov^  observing, 
"the  promise  here  referred  to  is  that  which  God 
made  to  Adam  and  Eve,  and  their  posterity,  at  the 
fall,  when  m  passing  sentence  on  the  serpent,  he 
said  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  h  shaU  knMS  % 
head.  The  same  promise  was  renewed  in  the  cove- 
nant with  Abraham:  InthyseedshaUaUthenations 
of  the  earth  le  blessed?^  That  this  included  a  pro 
mise  of  eterhal  life  to  all  believers  has  frequently 
been  shown.  It  is  true,  "supposhig  the  word  aunftocj 
in  this  clause,  to  signify  etemaly  the  literal  translation 
of  the  passage  would  be,  before  eternal  times.  But 
that  bemg  a  contradiction  in  terms,  our  translators, 
contrarv  to  the  propriety  of  tbe  Greek  language,  have 
rendered  it,  before  the  vorid  began.  As  Locke  ob- 
serves on  Rom.  xvL  25,  the  true,  literal  translation 
is,  before  the  secular  times,  referring  us  to  the  Jew- 
ish jubilees,  by  which  times  were  computed  among 
the  Hebrews,  as  among  the  Gentiles  they  were  com- 
puted by  generations  of  menJ*  But  hath  in  due 
times-^Otj  in  his  awn  times,  as  the  phrase  aatpoic 
tSuHc  properly  signtfiee.  God's  own  times  are  fittest 
*4W 


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DirectionB  concerning  elders. 


TITUa 


€tudUfication$  far  a  bishop. 


▲.M.4oeo.  w<H:d  thnugh  preaching,  '  which  is 
'  — 1  committeil  unto  m^  ^according  to 
the  commandment  of  God  our  Saviour ; 

4  To  '  Titus,  ^  mine  own,  son  after  ^  thcjoom- 
mon  fiiith :  ^  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  from 
God  Che  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
our  Sayiour. 

6  For  this  cause  left. I  thee  in  Crete,  that 
thou  shouldeet  ''set  in  order  the  things  that 
are  'wanting,  and  ^ordain  elders  in  every  city, 
as  I  had  appointed  thee : 

6  1^  If  any  be  blamdess,  ^  the  husband  of  one 


f  1  Thess.  ii.  4 ;  1  Tim.  L  11. ^  1  Tim.  i.  1 ;  ii  3 :  ir.  10. 

12  Cor.  il  13;   ru,  13;   Tiii.  6,  16,23;   xlL  18;    Gal.  iL  3. 

^  1  Timothy  i.  2. >  Rom.  i.  12:   2  Cor.  ir.  13 ;  2  Peter  i.  1. 

■Eoh.  i.  2;  Col  i.  2;   1  Tim.L2;   2  Tim.  i.  2. "1  Cor. 

xi;  34. »  Or,  left  tutdone. 


for  hia  otm  work.  What  creature  dares  ask,  Why 
no  sooner  ?  Manifested  his  word—Uis  gospel,  con- 
taining that  promise,  and  the  whole  truth  which  is 
after  godliness ;  through  preaching— The  public  de- 
claration thereof;  which  is  comniUed  unU}  mer-^r^ 
wherewith  I  am  intrusted.  According  to  the  corr^ 
tncmdment— Or  sovereign  pleasure,;  of  God  our 
Saviour— Axid  who  dar^  exercise  this  oflSce  on  any 
inferior  authority  7  By  affirming  that  Christ  intrust- 
ed him  with  the  preaching  x)f  the  gospel  according 
to  the  commandment  of  God,  Or  as  it  is  expressed 
1  Cor.  i.  1;  2  Cor.  Ll,!f^  the  will  of  God,  the  apos- 
tle carried  his  own  authority  to  the  highest  pit<^. 
To  JPittts,  mine  own  ^on-^Begotten  of  God  by  my 
preaching,  and  a  true  follower  of  me,  and  my  assist- 
ant in  the  Lord's  work.  See  on  Phil.  ii.  22.  After  the 
common  faiih^ComvBLon  to  me  and  ail  my  spiritual 
children.  GracCy  mercy,  and  peace,  &c.— See  on 
1  Tim.  L  2. 

Verse  6.  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Cret^ — Crete 
is  one  of  the  largest  islands  in  the  Mediterranean, 
being  in  length,  from  east  to  west,  about  250  miles, 
in  breadth  about  50,  and  in  circuit  about  600 ;  and 
anciently  it  must  have  been  very  populous,  being 
fomous  for  its  100  cities.  It  is  now  called  Candia, 
Arom  its  chief  city,  which  bears  that  name.  In  the 
year  1204  the  Venetians  took  Canea,  the  second 
greatest  city  in  Crete,  and  with  it  the  whole  island. 
That  city  they  held  till  the  year  1645,  when  the 
Turks  conquered  it,  and  almost  entirely  expelled 
the  Venetians  from  Crete ;  and  they  have  kept  pos- 
session of  it  ever  since.  After  the  gospel  was  plant- 
ed in  Crete  by  the  apostle  and  bis  assistant  Titus,  it 
took  such  deep  root,  and  spread  itself  so  widely 
through  the  island,  that  it  has  subsisted  there  ever 
since;  and  is  at  present  the  religion  of  the  natives, 
who  are  in  general  ofthe  Greek  Church.  These,  on 
payment  of  a  stated  tribute  to  the  Turks,  are  allow- 
ed the  exercise  of  ^eir  religion  without  molestation. 
That  thou  shouldest  set  in  order  the  things  that 
are  wanting— -ThoX  la,  that  thou  shouldest  perfect 
what  was  left  unfinished  at  my  departure,  or  might- 
est  settle  the  affairs  which  I  had  not  time  to  settle 
468 


wife,  'having  foithfiU  children,  not  A.M.4060 
accused  of  riot,  or  unruly.  ! — 

7  For  a  Ushop  must  be  blameless,  as  "the 
steward  of  God :  not  self-willed,  not  soon  an- 
gry, ^not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  ^not  given 
to  filthy  lucre ; 

8  '  Bui  a  lover  of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  ^good 
men,  sober,  just,  holy,  temperate ; 

9  ^Hddiogfast'thefidthfulwoid^ashehath 
been  taught,  that  he  may  be  able  *by  sound 
doctrine  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the 
gainsayers. 


•  AcU  ziv. 23;  S Timothy  iL  2. p  1  Timothy  iiL  2,  Sus. 

1 1  Tim.  iu.  12. '  1  Tim.  iii.  4, 12.- — 'Matthew  xxir.  45; 

1  Cor.  ir.  1, 2. « Lcr.  x.  S. » 1  Tim.  iii.  3,  8. » 1  Tim. 

iii.  2-— -»  Or,  good  /Aiy».— p— y  2  Thets.  ii.  15. «  1  Tim.  L 

15;  ir.  9;  Ti  3. ^  Or,  im.  ttaehmg. •  1  Tim.  i.  10;  tL  3. 


myself;  and  ordain  elders— Fsaton  or  teachers,  the 
same  with  bishops,  verse  7;  in  every  ctfy— -Where 
there  are  churches ;  as  I  had  appointedr— Or  com- 
manded thee.  The  apostle  proceeds,  in  the  foar 
next  verses,  to  show  teAa<  ought  to  be  the  charac- 
ter and  quahiications  of  the  persons  fit  to  be  or- 
dained. 

Verses  6-9.  If  any  be  blameless— As  to  his  con- 
duct, shunning  the  appearance  of  evil,  and  walking 
in  all  the  ordinances  and  commandments  of  God ; 
the  husband  of  one  wife—See  on  1  Tinu  iiL  2;  ha$h 
ing  faithful,  or  believing  ckHdren—Aa  mcva  m^c 
may  be  properly  rendered ;  that  is,  not  infidels,  but 
such  as  embrace  the  Christian  feith ;  not  accused  of 
riot—hmiTiQCv  of  hungry,  or  intemperance;  or  unruiy 
—kwiroTOKTa,  refractory  or  disobedient.  The  ape»- 
tle  required  that  the  children  of  tiie  person  who  was 
to  be  ordained  aa^lder  should  be  believers  in  Chrkt, 
and  of  a  sober,  exemplary  behaviour,  because  the  in- 
fidelity and  vices  of  childxen  never  &il  to  Tefleol 
sotae  blame  on  their  parents.  And  the  children  off 
ministers  ought  certainly,  from  that  consideratioB, 
as  well  as  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  their  own  sods, 
carefully  to  avoid  every  irregularity,  and  even  im^ 
propriety  of  conduct.  For  a  bishop— Or  elder,  as 
he  is  called,  verse  6 ;  must  be  blameless-^In  order 
to  his  being  useful ;  as  the  steward  of  0o<J— One  in- 
trusted by  God  with  the  care  of  immortal  souls,  and 
with  the  dispensaUon  of  the  mysteries  of  the  go^>el ; 
not  setf-willed^hv^adtifliterdXiy,  pleasing  himself; 
but  all  men  for  their  good  to  edification;  not  soon 
angry— Or  easily  provoked,  as  opyikov  means;  fisi 
given  to  wine,  &c. — See  on  1  Tina.  iii.  ^7 ;  «o6er— 
Or  prudent,  as  oufpova  may  be  properly  rend««d. 
It  implies,  especially,  the  proper^  government  of  our 
angry  passions ;  so  that  on  aU  occasions  we  behave 
with  prudence ;  temperate— In  the  use  of  every  b«i- 
sual  pleasure ;  one  who  has  so  the  command  of  him- 
self that  he  keeps  all  Ym  appetites  under  doe  re* 
stcaint.  Holding  fa^  the  fmthfid  «H>rd— Thai  i% 
the  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospsL  There  is  a 
great  beauty,  says  Macknigbt^  the  word  awtjcofUMw^ 
as  here  used.    It  signifies  the  holding  fast  the  true 

b 


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CHAPTER  L 


wi  to  give  heed  to  Jewish/able^, 


A.  M.40«9.  10  For  ^  there  are  many  unruly  and 
! — '-  vain  talkers  and  ^  deceivers,  *  especial- 
ly they  of  the  circumcision : 

11  Whose  mouths  must  be  stopped,  *who 
subvert  whole  houses,  teaching  things  which 
they  ought  not,  'f<Nr  filthy  lucre's  sake. 

12  'One  of  themselves,  even  a  prophet  of 
their  own,  said.  The  Cretians  €ure  always  liars, 
evil  beasts,  slow  bellies. 

^  1  Tim.  i.  6.— T-e  Rom.  xri.  18. 'Acta  xv.  I. •  Matt. 

xxiii.  14. '  1  Tim.  tL  5. 8  Acta  xriL  28.^ ^  2  Cor.  xiii. 

la *  Chap.  a.  2. k  1  Tim.  i.  4 ;  far.  7 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  4. 

doctrine,  in  opposition  to  those  who  would  wrest  it 
from  Tia;  as  he  hath  been  taught — Kara  nfv  6i6axnv, 
according  to  the  teaching^  namely,  of  the  apostles ; 
that  by  sound^ar  sahUary  doctrine^  may  be  able  both 
to  earAorf— Believers  to  zeal  and  diligence  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duty ;  and  to  convince  gainsay ers — 
Those  that  oppose  the  truth,  of  their  errors  and  sins. 

Verses  10,  11.  For  there  are  many  tinrt«/y— Sub- 
|ect  tone  order ;  and  vain  talkers — ^MarcuoAo/oi,  per- 
sons ^ho  utter  a  multitude  of  foolish  and  trifling 
things,  especially  concerning  genealogies  and  fables ; 
and  deceivers — ^pevajraraij  deceived  in  their  own 
minds,  or  deceivers  of  the  minds  of  others ;  who  de- 
lade  their  disciples  with  false  opinions,  in  order  ta 
reconcile  their  consciences  to  wicked  practices;  spe- 
cially they  of  the  circumcision— Hamely^ihA  Jewish 
teachers,  who,  though  converted  to  Christianity, 
laaght  the  necessity  of  observing  the  Jewish  law, 
together  with  faith  in  Christ,  Acts  xxL  20.  Whose 
mouths  must  be  stoppedSsLxneiy,  by  conviction  from 
reason  and  Scripture ;  vsJio  subvert  whole  hoiues — 
Overthrow  the  faith  of  whole  families  by  their  false 
doetrine,  and  as  he  seems  to  mean,  carry  them  over 
to  Judaism ;  teaching  things  which  they  ought  not— 
Which  are  most  false  and  mischievous ;  for  JiUhy 
lucres  sake — For  the  sordid  purpose  of  drawing 
money  from  their  disciples. 

Verses  12-14.  One  oJTihemsdves—ThBi  is,  one  of 
their  own  countr3rmen,  who  could  not  be  unac- 
quainted with  theh*  conduct,  or  disposed  to  belie 
liiem ;  even  a  prophet  of  their  oimi— This  was  the 
poet  Bpimenides,  who,  among  the  Romans,  was  re- 
puted to  have  foretold  future  events.  Cicero,  speak- 
ing of  him,  (De  Divinat,^  lib.  i.,)  says  he  wnafiUura 
prtjesciens^^vaticinansperfurorem;  one  who  fore- 
knew and  foretold  things  future  by  ecstasy.  Besides, 
as  an  poets  pretended  to  a  kini  of  inspiration,  the 
names  prophet  and  poet  were  used  as  synonjnnous 
both  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  Cretians  are 
always  liars,  &c.^Epimenides  said  this  in  his  book 
concerning  oracles,  a  passage  which  dassius  hath 
quoted  entire,  p.  Uif75,  According  to  Bishop  War- 
bonon,  (Div,  LegaS^  vol.  i.p.  150,)  the  Cretians  were 
miversally  hated,  and  branded  as  liars,  by  the  other 
Greeks,  because,  by  showing  in  their  island  the 
tomb  of  Jupiter,  the  father  of  gods  and  men,  they 
pnblidied  what  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  concealed  in 
their  mjrsteries,  namely,  that  their  gods  were  dead 
nan.  EvU  beasti^Or  wUd  beasts,  rather,  as  ^npm 
b 


13  This  witness  is  true :  **  wherefore  A.  M.  4oe^. 

rebuke  them  sharply,  that  they  may      '    ^ 

be  *  sound  in  the  fidth  j 

14  ^Not  giving  heed  to  Jewish  fiibles,  aud 
^  conmiandmeBtB  of  men  that  tumfrom  the  truth. 

16  "Unto  the  pure  all  things  ore  pure:  but 
"unto  them  that  are  defiled  and  unbelieving 
is  nothing  pure ;  but  even  their  mind  and  con- 
science is  dbflled. 


I  Isaiah  xxiz.  13  ;    Matt.  xr.  ,9;   Col.  ii.  22. aLuke  xi 

39-41 ;    Rom.  xiv.  14, 20;    1  Cdr.  vL  12;   z.  23,  25;   1  Tim. 
ir.  3,  4.— —"Rom.  xir.  23. 


signifies, fierce,  savage;  slow  beUies—Lezy  gluitoxis, 
as  averse  to  action  as  wild  beasts  are  after  gorging 
themselves  with  their  prey.  So  that  in  these  words 
the  poet  suggests  "  a  remarkable  contrast,  to  show 
what  a  mixture  there  was  of  fierceness  and  luxury 
in  the  characters  of  the  Cretians.  Bavage  beasts  are 
generally  active  and  nimble,  but  these  men,  while 
they  had  tiie  fury  of  lions  and  tigers,  indulged  them- 
selves so  much  in  the  most  sm-did  idleness  and  in- 
temperance that  they  grew,  as  it  were,  all  belly.  As 
for  their  proneness  to  falsehood,  it  is  well  known  that 
KpiiTtCeiv,  to  talk  like  a  Cretian,  was  a  proverb  for  ly- 
ing ;  (as  Kopiv^iQ^etp,  to  Uve  like  a  Corinthian,  was 
for  a  luxurions  and  debauched  life  \)  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  Polybius  scarce  ever  mentions  this  nation 
without  some  severe  censure."  This  witness  is 
^rue— Namely,  in  the  general,  though  some  particu- 
lar persons  may  be  found  of  a  different  character. 
Wherefore  rebuke  them  sharply— kirorofio^,  with  a 
cutting  severity.  From  this  Blackwall  infers,  "  that 
it  is  a  vain  pretence  that  only  gentle  and  soft  expres- 
sions are  to  be  applied  to  people  that  renounce  good 
principles,  and  corrupt  the  gospel."  But  it  oug^t 
to  be  observed,  that  St  Pftul  speaks  of  reproving 
vice,  not  error.  Besides,  though  Titus  was  to  re- 
prove the  Cretians  sharply,  "the  sharpness  of  his 
reproofs  was  not  to  consist  in  the  bitterness  of  the 
language  which  he  used,  nor  in  the  passion  with 
which  he  spake.  Reproofs  of  that  sort  have  little 
influence  to  make  a  person  sound,  either  in  fkiih  or 
practice.  It  was  to  consist  in  the  strengtb  of  the 
reasons  with  which  he  enforced  his  reproofs,  and  in 
the  earnestness  and  affection  with  which  he  deliver- 
ed them ;  wheteby  the  consciences  of  the  offenders 
being  awakened,  would  sting  them  bitterly."  Not 
giving  heed  to  Jewish  fables— See  1  Tim.  i.  4)  and 
cdmrndTidments  of  men— Of  Jewish  and  other  teach* 
ers;  that  turn  from  the  truth— Torvake  the  true 
doctrine  of  the  gospel.  ''It  appears,  from  the  fol* 
lowing  verse,  that  the  apostle,  in  saying  this,  had  in 
view  the  precepts  of  the  Judaizers  concerning  meats; 
clean  and  unclean,  which,  although  originally  the 
precepts  of  God,  were  now  abolished  under  the  gos- 
pel. Therefore,  If  these  thhigs  were  any  longer 
enjohied  as  obligatory,  they  were  not  enjoined  by 
God,  but  by  the  precepU  of  men/*  See  Doddridge 
and  Macknight 

Verses  15, 16.  Unto  (he  pure— -Namely,  believers 
whose  hearts  are  purified  by  ftdth,  Acts  xv.9\  all 
46» 


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A.H.4oeo.     16  They  pcofesB  that  they  know 
^*  ^" ^'    God;  but  •in  works  they  deny  Aim, 

•2TinLiu.5;  Jade  4. pRojulLSS. 


tiUiif9  ore  ji«re— All  kinda  of  meats  are  lawliil  to  be 
used;  buturUo  ihem  that  are  die/l/ed— Who  are  still 
under  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin;  and  unbeliemng 
—Destitute  of  tme,  saidng  faith,  to  purify  them; 
miking  is  |mre— Nothing  they  do,  enjoy,  or  pos- 
sess: they  are  still  defiled  with  guilt,  and  are  exposed 
to  condemnation  and  wrath  from  God.  The  apostle 
Joins  defiled  and  unhelieting^  to  intimate  that  no- 
thing can  be  clean  without  true  foith.  For  even  their 
fnind— Their  understanding,  whereby  they  should 
distinguish  between  what  b  lawful  and  what  is  un- 
lawfhl,  and  thm  oooscience,  whereby  ihey  should 
judge  of  their  own  actions;  ia  defiled — Btinded,per- 
Yerted,  and  polluted  with  past  guih  and  present  de- 
prsTity;  and  conseqvently  so  are  they,  and  all  they 


being  abominable^  and  disobedient,  a.m.4oos. 
'and  untoeverygood  work  ^r^robate, ^ — - 


*  Or,  imd  ofjwfgmmU. 


do.  Theff  profess  that  theyhmw  Chd-^AxA  glory 
in  their  relation  to  him  as  his  peculiar  people,  and 
boast  of  having  the  true  knowledge  of  his  will  from 
the  Mosaic  revelatton ;  see  Rom.  iL  17;  hut  in  wijrks 
ihey  deny  him — ^Liye  m  contradictbn  to  the  rery 
law  they  profess  to  know,  as  if  they  were  utteriy  ig- 
norant of  him  and  it;  being  a5ofnina5Ze— Worthy  to 
be  abhorred  and  avoided  by  all;  and  disobedient^ 
To  the  plainest  dictates  <^  duty  to  God  and  man; 
and  unto — Or,  with  respect  to;  every  truly  good 
work  reprobate — kdoKiftm^  without  discernment} 
neither  Judging  truly,  nor  acting  rightly :  or  disap- 
proved and  condemned,  when  brought  to  the  stand- 
ard of  God's  word,  though  almost  among  the  first  to 
condemn  others. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Btn  tk»  apo$ds  Unets  TOm,  (1,)  To  meulesH  upon  fnfessing  CkriMtiMM,  vktAtr  elder  or  yotmgert  suck  iutiee  s»  heesme 
ooimd  ioeirvuj  tmd  io  exemfltfy  them  in.  kit  own  practice,  IS,  {%)  To  exhort  eerNmU  to  conduct  tMemeehee  m  a  num- 
ner  smkMc  to  their  xtaAm,  osdeoasto  sdom  their  ChrietioM  profeonon,  9, 10.  (9,)  To  enforce  these  duties  from  the 
hoty  nstwrcy  design,  and  tendency  ^  the  gospd,  the  joyful  prospect  ^shich  it  opene  hefore  behesere  qfetemsl  hsppiness,  he 
Isoe  efmar  Redeemer,  and  the  design  of  his  desth  enAtredfor  us,  11-14^  ^eith  sU  hecoming  mtthority,  15. 


A.  1C.40SS.  13  UT  speak  thou  the  things  which 
_!-! become  *  sound  doctrine : 


2  That  the  aged  men  be  *  sober,  grave,  tem- 
perate, ^  sound  in  ihith,  in  charity,  in  pa- 
tience; 

3  <"  The  aged  women  likewise,  that  thejf  be 


»1  Tim.  L 10;  tL  8;  2  Tim.  L  13 ;  Olum.  i.  9. ^ Or,  vigilmia. 

fcChap.  L  13. •  1  Tim.  ii.  9, 10 ;  m.  11 ;  1  Pet  iu.  3, 4. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verses  1,  2.  The  apostle,  having  directed  Titus  to 
ordain  elders  in  every  city,  and  described  the  cliarac- 
ter  and  qualifications  of  the  persons  he  was  to  invest 
with  that  office  in  the  church ;  also  having  laid  open 
the  bad  character  and  evil  practices  of  the  Judaizing 
teachers  and  their  disciples  in  Crete,  and  ordered 
him  to  rebuke  them,  sharply,  he  now  proceeds  to 
give  him  a  short  view  of  the  duties  of  his  office  as 
superintendent  both  of  the  teachers  and  of  the  peo- 
ple in  that  island.  But  speak  tfum^  &c.^As  if  he 
had  said.  Though  false  teachers  dwell  upon  fa- 
bles, traditions,  and  the  eommandments  of  men, 
which  disorder  and  poison  the  souls  of  the  hearers, 
do  thou  inculcate  the  things  which  become — Or  agree 
with;  saund^  wholesome,  salutary  (ioc^ne— Calcu- 
lated to  restore  and  preserve  spiritual  health ;  to  in- 
vigorate all  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  and  keep  them 
in  a  healthy  state.  TViat  the  aged  men  be  sober^ 
NsfxAMfc,  vigilant,  as  veteran  soldiers,  not  to  be  ea- 
sily surprised ;  grave — Or  serious,  as  oeftvsc  may  be 
47Q 


in  behaviour  as  becometh  ^holiness;  A.M.4oa9, 

not  ^felse  accusers,  not  given  to  much  1 — 

wine,  teach^^  of  good  things ; 
4  That  they  may  teach  the  young  women 
tobe^sober,  ^to  loFe  their  husbands^  to  love 
their  (jiildren, 


•Or,  *D^ 


*Ot,  make-batm,  2  Tim.  iti.  X- 
r«. A  1  Tim.  ▼.  14. 


»0r, 


rendered;  temperate — Or  prudent,  as  aufpspaf  tig» 
nifies;  seeonch^.L  8;  sousidinthefaitk — Sincere 
and  steadfast  in  their  belief  of,  and  adherence  to,  all 
the  great  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  in  charity^hyawy^ 
love,  to  God  and  man ;  patience—A  virtue  partieu^ 
larly  needful  for,  and  becoming  them. 

Verses  3-6.  The  aged  wofsien  Ukewise^AW  el 
them  in  general,  and  not  merely  such  as  were  em* 
ployed  by  the  chnrch  in  teaching  the  young  of  their 
own  sex  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christianity; 
that  ihey  be  inbd^aviour — Sv  jKarocq/Miri,  in  their  ds- 
portment,  including  their  dress,  as  the  word  implies ; 
as  becometh  Tioliness — Or  holy  persons,  as  upoirperett 
may  be  rendered,  that  is,  such  as  is  agreeable  to 
their  holy  profession,  and  will  nianifest  the  holinesa 
of  their  hearts;  not  false  acct45<r«— Slanderers,  or 
evil  q>eakers ;  .not  given  to  much  ictne— If  (hey  use 
a  little  (or  their  many  infirmities;  t^ocAert— For 
their  age  and  experience  call  them  to  be  so ;  of  good 
things—Oniy,  and  iMrt  of  any  thing  of  a  eonUrary 
nature.    Thai  they  may  teach  the  young  womenr^ 


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A.  M.  ¥)6».    5  2h  be  discreet^  chaste,  k6epeiB  at 

' home,gQod,  *obediefit  to  their  owAhuB- 

bands,' thai  the  word  of  God  be  not  blaq^bemed. 

6  Yoiu^  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  'sober- 
minded. 

7  *  In  all  things  showing  thyself  a  pattern  of 
good  works :  in  doctrines  showing  uncomipt- 
ness,  gravity,  ^  sincerity, ' 

8  '  Sound  speech  that  cannot  be  condemned ; 
^  that  he  that  is  of  the  contrary  part  ^  may  be 


•  1  Cor.  *iT.  34;  £ph.  t;  22  ;  CoL  iii  la 'Rohl  ii.  24. 

•Or,  discrete f  1  Tun.  ir.  12. »"Bph.  ri.  24. » 1  Tim. 

▼i.  3. kNeh.  r.  9;    1  Timothy  ▼.  14. >2  Thesn.  iii.  14. 

■Eph.  ri.  5;  Ck)L  iii.  82;  1  Tim.  ri.  1,  2;  1  Pet«  ii.  18. 

These  Timothy  was  to  instruct  himself;  Titus,  by  the 
elder  women ;  to  be  *o6er— Or  icuc.  The  original 
expression,  ofa  fft^^povt^o<n  toq  veac,  is,  literally,  7%ai 
they  may  render  the  young  'women  wise^  or  prudent, 
naniely,  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  dieir  sta- 
tion; to  love  their  husbands,  their  children — In  a 
due  manner,  with  a  tender,  temperate,  holy,  wise 
afftotion.  O  how  hard  a  lesson !  7\)  be  discreet — 
Particulariy  in  the  love  of  their  children ;  chaste-- 
Particularly  in  the  love  of  their  husbands;  keepers 
at  home — Whenever  they  are  not  called  out  by  works 
of  necessity,  piety,  and  mercy ;  goorf— Well-temper- 
ed, sweet,  soft,  obliging;  obedient  to  their  hu^ands 
•^Whose  will,  in  all  things  lawful,  is  a  rule  to  the 
wife;  that  the  word  ofOod—The  doctrine  of  the 
gospel,  and  the  Christian  religion;  be  not  bias- 
phemed—Oi  evU  spoken  of,  particularly  by  unbe- 
lieving husbands,  who  usually  lay  all  the  blame  of 
what  they  Uilnk  wrong  in  their  wives,  on  their  re- 
ligion. Young  men  exhort  to  be  sober-minded — Or, 
rather,  prudent  and  discreet,  as  ouijfpoveiv  signifies. 

Verses  7,  8.  fn  all  thing^-^hx  all  these  and  other 
respects  not  here  mentioned;  showing  thyself  a  pat- 
tern of  good  works-^Ot  every  thing  amiable  and  ex- 
cellent; of  every  disposition  and  practice  which 
thou  enjoinest  to  others.  Titus  himself  was  then 
young.  In  doctrine^Or  in  thy  teaching,  namely, 
in  public ;  uncorruptness^AB  to  the  matter  of  it ;  or 
without  any  mixture  of  error;  gravity — Or  serious- 
ness^ as  to  the  manner  of  delivering  it;  weightiness, 
solemnity;  sound--Or  wholesome;  speech — Even, 
in  private  conversation ;  that  cannot  be  condemned 
— Or  found  fault  with  on  any  principles  of  reason  or 
religion:  or,  as  some  render  it,  that  cannot  be  confu- 
ted; tluU  he  who  is  of  the  contrary  part— An  unbe- 
liever, or  an  opposer  of  the  truth ;  may  be  ashamed 
— Of  his  unbelief  of,  and  opposition  to  it;  having  no 
evil  thing  to  say  ofyou^^i  thee,  of  the  elders  thy 
assistants,  or  of  any,  whether  old  or  young,  who  are 
mider  thy  care,  but  may  be  obliged,  with  all  his  pre- 
judices, to  acknowledge  that  thou  art  a  worthy  pre- 
sident of  a  worthy  and  useful  society  of  people. 

Verses  9, 10.  Exhort  servants — See  the  notes  on 
the  passages  referred  to  in  the  margin.  To  please 
them — Their  masters ;  wdl  in  all  things — Lawful, 
or  wherein  it  can  be  done  without  sin ;  not  ans^aer- 
ing  og-afn— Though  blamed  unj ustly.  This  honest 
b 


ashamed,  haying  no  evil  thing  to  say  A.M.4e(». 
of  you.  /•^•^, 

9  JBjrAorl  "^  servants  to  be  obedient  unto  Ifaaur 
own  masters,  tmd  to  please  them  wdl  *hi  all 
things;  not  ^answering  again ; 

10  Not  purloining,  but  showing  all  good  fidel- 
ity; "^  that  they  may  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
our  Saviour  hi  all  things. 

11  For  »]lhe  grace  of  Ood  ^that  bringeth  sal- 
vatmn  ^  hath  ajppeared  to  all  men, 


*Epheaiaai  r.  24.- 
Philjppians  iL  15. — 
^  Or.  that  bringtth 
4  Luke  iii.  a 


— »Or,  gamtaymg.- 
— P  Romans  t.  15  ; 
Molvaiion    to   all    i 


-^-oMaUhewT.  16; 

Chrater   iii.  4,  5. 

mh,    kath   appaar^ 


servants  are  most  apt  to  do.  Not  purloining— B^ 
cretly  stealing  any  part  of  their  masters'  goods,  not 
taking  or  giving  any  thing  without  their  masters' 
leave:  this,  iaur-spoken  servants  are  most  apt  to  do. 
But  showing  all  goodfidelity—Askd  honesty  in  every 
thing,  great  and  smsJl;  that  they  may  adorn  the 
doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour— M^oy  render  it  amiable 
and  honourable,  even  in  the  eyes  of  their  heathen 
masters,  and  of  others,  when  they  shall  observe  its 
influence  on  all  its  possessors,  even  on  those  in  the 
lowest  stations  in  life.  This  is  more  than  St.  Paul 
says  of  kings.  How  he  raises  the  lowness  of  his 
subject!  So  may  they  the  lowness  of  their  condi- 
tion! 

Verses  11, 12.  For  the  grace  of  God— The  free, 
unmerited  favour  of  God,  which  is  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  word  grace,  see  on  Rom.  xi.  6,  aj^ 
the  influence  of  the  divine  Spirit,  which  the  word 
grace  aloo  signifies;  see  2  Cqr.  xii.  9;  Heb.  xiii.  9; 
which  bringeth  salvation — ^The  original  expression, 
J7  xaptc  T8  Gen,  9  ounfpioc,  is  literally,  the  grace  of  Gody 
the  saving  grace;  that  is,  which  is  saving  in  its  de- 
sign and  tendency,  and  which  actually  saves  all  who 
truly  receive  it,  even  in  the  present  worid,  from  the 
ignorance  and  error,  guilt  and  depravity,  weakness 
and  wretchedness,  in  which  they  formerly  lay  in- 
volved, into  the  deivourand  image  of  God,  and  a  state 
of  fellowship  with  him,  hereby  giving  them  a  title 
to,  a  meetness  for,  and  an  anticipation  of,  eternal  sal- 
vation ;  hath  appeared— Kire^avti^  hath  been  manifest- 
ed^ or  hath  shone  for  thy  even  like  the  luminaries  of 
heaven,  as  the  word  signifies;  namely,  in  and  by  the 
gospel,  which  has  not  been  kept  concealed  in  a  cor- 
ner, as  the  Jewish  law  was,  being  confined  to  one 
particular  people  of  little  note  in  the  world,  but  was 
commanded  by  its  author  to  be  preached  to  every 
creatursj  Mark  xvL  15;  and  even  in  the  apostle's 
days,  had  been  made  known  in  a  great  measure  to  all 
nationsyfor  the  obedience  offaithyliom,  xvL  26;  or 
to  men  of  all  nations  and  conditions,  to  barbarians 
as  well  as  to  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  to  servants 
as  well  as  masters,  to  bond  as  well  as  free.  As  if  the 
apostle  had  said,  (connecting  this  verse  with  the  pre- 
ceding,) It  concerns  all  persons,  in  whatever  situa- 
tion or  condition,  and  especially  all  members  of  the 
visible  church,  to  perform  their  several  duties  faith- 
fully  and  diligently,  because  the  doctrine  of  the  gos- 
€71 


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TighUMuiy^  and  godhf. 


A.  M.  406ft.    12  Teaching   ub^    '  that  deoyitig 

— .: ungodliness,  ■and  worldly  lusts,  we 

dioold   live  soberly,  righteously,  and   godly, 
in  this  present  worid ; 


»  Lake  i.  75.- 


»1  Pet.  ir.  2. »1  Cor.  i  7. 


pel,  (which  is  the  effect  of  God's  ^race,  and  in  a 
peculiar  manner  displays,  offers,  and  invites  men  to 
receive  it,  and  is  the  means  whereby  that  grace  is 
communicated,  and  whereby  it  saves  menj)  is  pub- 
lished indifferently  to  all  nations,  as  well  as  Jews, 
and  therein  to  persons  of  ail  nmks  and  conditions. 
Or,  if  this  interpretation  be  not  thought  to  answer 
fully  to  the  universality  of  the  apostle's  declaration, 
the  ^race  of  God  hath  appeared  to  all  men^  there  is 
no  sufficient  reason  why  we  may  not  understand 
him  as  speaking  of  that  unmerited  love  and  favour 
he  hath  manifested  by  the  works  of  creation,  (which 
display  his  goodness,  as  well  as  his  wisdom  and  power, 
to  file  whole  universe,)  and  by  the  dispensations  of 
hi  i  providence,  and  of  those  enlightening,  Awaken- 
ing, convincing,  quickening,  and  drawing  influences 
of  the  Spirit  of  grace,  which  certainly  are  not  en- 
threly  withheld  from  any  child  of  man.  See  on  John 
i.  4-9.  Teaching^As  a  master  his  pupils,  as  they 
are  a^le  to  receive  his  instructions,  (so  the  word 
natdevwa  signifies,)  even  all  who  are  unbelieving 
and  disobedient ;  thai  denying — kpvriaafie»oi^  having 
renounced;  ungodliness— -ynuiteYeT  is  contrary  to 
the  knowledge,  fear,  and  love  of  God ;  and  worldly 
lusts— Em^fuacy  desires,  such  as  are  founded  in 
worldly  men,  and  have  the  things  of  the  present 
world  for  their  ol^ect,  as  riches,  honours,  pleasures, 
including  not  only  desires  of  unlawful  things,  but 
those  which,  though  fixed  on  lawful  objects,  are  in- 
ordinate and  excessive.  These  must  be  resisted  and 
renounced,  as  contrary  to  the  sobriety  and  right- 
eousness enjoined  in  the  next  clause,  and  utterly 
inconsistent  with  that  spiritual  and  heavenly  mind 
which  Christianity  is  intended  and  calculated  to  pro-  \ 
duce.  This  is  the  negative  part  of  religion.  It  has 
also  a  positive  part,  which  is,  1st,  To  live  soberly- 
Greek,  (Tw^povwf ,  temperately,  prudently,  and  in  all 
purity  and  holiness.  "Sobriety,  in  the  Scripture 
sense,  is  rather  the  whole  temper  of  a  man,  than  a 
single  virtue  in  him.  It  comprehends  all  that  is  op- 
posite to  the  drowsiness  of  sin,  the^%  of  ignorance, 
and  the  unholiness  of  disorderly  passions.  Sobriety 
is  no  less  than  all  the  powers  of  the  soul  being  con- 
sistently and  constantly  awake,  duly  governed  by 
heavenly  prudence,  and  entirely  confortnable  to  holy 
affections." — Wesley.  BigfUeously—Rigliieouaness, 
distinguished  here  from  godliness,  consists  in  ab- 
staining from  injurmg  any  one  in  hb  person,  repu- 
tation, or  fortune;  in  discharging  all  the  duties  be- 
longing to  the  relations  in  which  a  man  stands  to 
others  and  to  the  station  in  which  he  is  placed ;  in 
being  true  and  just  in  all  hb  dealings ;  in  performing 
hb  covenants  and  prombes  faithfully;  and,  in  short, 
in  rendering  to  every  man  hb  due,  and  doing  to  all 
as  he  would  they  should  do  to  him ;  and  godly — Or 
fiously]  as  persons  devoted  to  God  in  heart  and  life, 
47» 


A.  M.  4669. 
A.D.  e5u 


13  ^  Looking  for  that  blessed 
^  hope,  and  the  glorious  '  appearing 
of  the  great  God,  and  our  Savkmr  Jeaus  Christ ; 

14  7  Who  gave  himself  f<ff  ^  us,  that  he  might 


■Acts  zzir.  15.- 


«CoLiii.4.- 


^  Gal.  i.  4. 


fearing  him  with  a  reverential,  awful,  filial,  and 
watchful  fear;  loving  him  with  a  love  of  esteem, 
desire,  gratitude,  and  complacency,  because  of  hb 
loveliness  and  loving-kindness;  being  zealous  for4ib 
glory,  and  doing  every  thing  in  order  to  it;  obedient 
to  hb  will  in  all  things,  great  and  small,  and  that  from 
a  sense  of  duty  to  him;  resigned  and  patient  under 
the  dispensations  of  hb  providence;  .aspiring  after, 
and  earnestly  pursuing,  a  conformity  to  him,  and  the 
everlasting  enjojrmetit  of  him ;  and,  in  order  to  all 
this,  using  every  means  of  grace  he  hath  appointed, 
and  waiting  upon  him  in  all  his  ordinances;  in  this 
present  tcorW— Notwithstanding  the  many  snares, 
difficulties,  and  dangers,  the  temptations,  trials,  trou- 
bles, pains,  and  pleasures  of  it.  Or,  in  this  presefit 
age,  as  ev  ro  wv  aiovi  properly  signifies ;  that  b,  we 
must  be  thus  godly  and  righteous  in  thb  ungodly 
and  unrighteous  age,  and  sober,  as  above  explained, 
in  this  age,  in  which  examples  of  intemperance,  im- 
prudence, and  the  disregaid  of  such  sobriety  every- 
where abound.  No  wondef  that  the  apostle  attri- 
butes this  religion,  in  these  various  branches  of  it,  to 
the  free  grace  of  God  I 

Verses  13, 14.  Loo/ftng'— With  eager  desire  and 
lively  expectation  ;for  the  blessed  hope—ThnX  is,  for 
the  blessedness  for  which  we  hope ;  the  grace  of  hope 
being  here  put  for  the  object  of  it,  future  and  eternal 
felicity.  ^And  the  glorious  appearing— -WeTj  differ- 
ent from  his  former  appearance  in  a  state  of  poverty,' 
reproach,  and  suffering ;  of  the  great  God  and  oUr  So- 
viour— The  original  expression,  eiru^veiav  ri?f  do^c  «» 
fieyaXs  Getf  koi  Sc^nypof  n/^v,  are  literally,  the  appearing^ 
or  manifestation,  of  the  glory  of  the  greal  God  and 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ:  or,  oftJie  great  God^ 
even  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  If  the  words  be 
taken  in  the  former  sense,  the  apostle  may  be  con- 
sidered as  alluding  to  our  Lord's  words,  Luke  ix.  26, 
where  the  Lord  Jesus  is  spoken  of  as  coming  in  his 
own  glory  and  in  his  Father^s,  and  of  his  holy 
angels;  and,  (Matt.  xvi.  27,)  the  Son  of  man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  the  Father  with  his  angels, 
Bcza,  however,  b  of  opinion,  that  one  person  only 
b  spoken  of,  namely,  Jfesus  Christ,  to  whom  he 
thinks  the  title  of  the  great  God  b  given  in  this  verse ; 
and  with  him  Whitby  agrees,  both  because  the  ar- 
ticle b  wanting  before  lurripoc.  Saviour,  and  because, 
as  God  the  Father  is  not  said  properly  to  appear,  so 
the  word  eni^aveia,  appearing,  never  occurs  in  the 
New  Testament  but  when  It  is  applied  to  Jesus 
Christ.  But  to  thb  MaCknight  answers,  "  1st,  That 
the  article  wanting  before  <S?ai?ioar  may  be  supplied, 
as  our  translators  have  done  here  before  ein^aveia, 
appearing,  and  elsewhere,  particularly  Eph.  v.  5,  hi 
the  kingdom,  rtt  Xpifb  kql  em,  of  Christ  and  of  God: 
and,  2d,  That  the  apostle  does  not  speak  of  the  ap- 
pearing of  the  Father^  but  of  the  appearing  of  the 

b 


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CHAPTEB  m. 


the  duly  ofaU  CkrUiiam. 


A.M.40G0.  redeem  us  from  aJl  iniquity,  'and 
^^'^    purify  unto  himself  •a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, ^zealous  of  good  works. 


>H0b.iz.l4.- 


»Ezod.XT.  16;  xix.& 


ghry  of  the  Father;  agreeably  to  what  Christ  him- 
self declared,  that  at  his  return  to  judgment  he  will 
appear  surrounded  with  the  glory  of  his  Father." 
Whitby,  however,  as  an  additional  reason  for  think- 
ing that  Christ  is  only  spoken  of;  observes,  that "  not 
only  all  the  ancient  commentators  on  the  place  do 
so  interpret  this  text,  but  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers 
also;  Hippolytiis  speaking  of  the  appearance  of  our 
God  and  Savwur  Jeeue  Christy  and  Clemens  of 
Alexandria  proving.Christ  to  be  both  God  and  man, 
our  Creator,  and  the  Author  of  all  our  good  things, 
from  these  Very  words  of  St.  PauL"  Who  gave 
himeelfjbr  m#— Namely,  to  die  in  our  stead;  that 
he  might  redeem  tis— Miserable  bond-slaves ;  from 
all  iniquity— Kb  well  from  the  power  and  the 
very  being,  as  from  the  guilt  of  our  sins ;  and  pwrify 
to  himeey'-^Ftom  9]1  pollution  of  flesh  and  spirit 
(see  on  2  Cor,  vii.  1,)  a  peculiar  people^Wiio  should 
thankfully  oWn  themselves  his  property,  and  express 
their  gratitude  for  such  inestimable  favours,  by  being 
not  only  careful  to  avoid  the  practice  of  evil,  but 
zealoue  of  good  toorXv— Active  in  all  the  duties  of 
life,  and  in  every  office  of  righteousness  and  good- 
ness to  eadi  other.  "This  is  said  in  allusion  to 
Exod.  xix.  5;  Deut  vIL  6,  where  God  calls  the  Jews 
a  peculiar  and  a  special  people  to  himeelf  because 


16  These  things  speak,  and  *ex-  A.M.406d. 
hort,  and  rebuke  with  all  authmty.    ^^'^ 
^  Let  no  man  despise  thee. 


^  Eph.  it  10 ;  Ch.  viii.  8. «  2  Tim.  ir.  2. « 1  Tim.  it.  12. 


he  had  made  them  his  property  by  redeeming  them 
from  the  bondage  of  Eg3rpt,  and  had  distinguished 
them  from  the  rest  of  mankind  as  his,  by  rites  and 
ordinances  of  his  own  appointment.  Christ  hath 
made  believersAtf  peculiar  people  by  giving  himself 
for  them,  to  redeem  them  from  all  iniquity,  and  to 
purify  them  to  himself,^  people  zecUoue^  not  of  rites 
and  ceremonies,  but  of  good  works.  This  being  the 
great  end  of  Christ's  death,  how  dare  any  person, 
pretending  to  be  one  of  Christ's  people,  either  speak 
or  thhik  lightly  of  good  works,  as  not  necessary  to 
salvation  T'—Bfacknight. 

Verse  15.  These  things — Namely,  concerning  the 
universaUty  of  divine  grace,  and  the  excellent  pur- 
poses for  which  it  is  given,  the  coming  of  Christ  to 
judgment,  the  end  for  which  hedied  during  his  first 
appearing  on  earth,  and  concerning  the  character  of 
his  people  as  zealous  of  good  works;  speak  and  ex- 
hort— Show  them  their  duty,  and  exhort  them  to 
comply  wi&  it.  And  rdmke-^AXL  opposers,  or  confute 
(as  e>^yx^  also  means)  such  as  teach  otherwise ;  noiih 
all  the  authority  due  to  truth,  and  as  one  that  knows 
he  has  a  divine  commission  to  support  him.  Let  no 
man  despise  thee — That  is,  let  none  have  just  cause 
to  despise  thee:  yet  they  surely  wilL  Men  who 
know  not  God,  will  de^pisea  troe  minister  of  his  word. 


CHAPTER  in. 

The  apostle  directs  Titus  (If)  To  inculcate  ohedience  to  ckil  magistrates ^  and  a  good  behavioiur  toward  all  men,  as  enforced 
by  the  consideration  of  the  nuurvellous  change  made  by  converting  grace  on  true  beUeverSt  whsther  originally  Jews  or  Genn 
tiles,  1-7.  (2,)  Particularly  to  enforce  the  necessity  of  being  diligent  in  the  performance  of  all  good  tporks,  as  being 
excellent  m  themselves,  and  useful  to  mankind^  8.  (3,)  To  avoid  all  idle  disputes,  to  censure  erroneous  persons,  and 
exeommumeate  them  if  obstinate,  9-11.     (4,)  Speedily  to  visit  him  at  NicopoUs,  along  toith  ApoUos  and  Zenas,  12-15.    . 

A.  M.  4060.  "PUT  them  in  mind  •^to  be  subject 
A.  D.  as.    JT    ,       .    .    ^*^.         J  ''  ^ 

to  pnncipahtiea  and  powers,  to 


obey  magistratee,  ^  to  be  ready  to  every  good  work, 


aii  I;   1  Pet.  u.  12. »»CoL  L  10;  8  Tim.  iL  21; 

Heb.  xiii.  2l. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1-3.  Put  themr^All  the  CretianChristians ; 
in  mind  to  be  <u6/«c<— Passively,  not  resisting ;  to 
principalities — Supreme  rulers ;  and  powers — Sub- 
<»dmat«  governors ;  and  to  obey  magistrates^Ac^ 
tively,  as  far  as  conscience  permits*  It  is  probable 
that  the  reason  why  the  apostle  enjoined  this  so  par- 
tioolarly  was,  because  tiie  Judaizing  teachers  m 
Crete  affirmed,  that  no  obedience  was  due  from  the 
wordnppers  of  the  true  God  to  magistrates  who 
ware  idolaten^  and  becaose  by  that  doctrine  they 


2 


To  speak  evfl  (rf  no  man,  <*  to  be  a.  m.  406S. 

A  D   65 

no  brawlers,  but  •  gentle,  showing  all  _J L 

^meekness  unto  aD  m^]« 


•Eph.  IT.  31. *2Tim.  ii  24,  25. •  Phil.  ir.  5. 'Eph. 

iv.  2;  CoLiii.  12. 


were  beginnmg  to  make  not  only  the  Jewish,  but  the 
Gentile  believers,  bad  subjects,  and  liable  to  be 
punished  as  evil-doers.  7b  be  ready  to  every  good 
work— In  every  relation  which  they  sustain ;  to  speak 
evU  of  no  man— Neither  of  magistrates,  nor  of  any 
others.  "  The  word  dkao^iifuiv^  besides  evU-^peakingj 
denotes  all  those  viees  of  the  tongue  which  proceed 
either  from  hatred  or  from  contempt  of  others,  and 
whidi  tend  to  hurt  their  reputation,  such  as  railing, 
reviling,  mocking  speeches,  whisperings,  &c."  TV 
be  no  brawlers^-Qntk,  afiaxs^  eivui^  not  to  be  con- 
473 


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TITUS. 


wudce$  men  new  creaiure 


4.  M.  4060 
A.  a  65. 


3  For  '  wc    oursdves    abo    weie 
sometimes    foolish,    diBobedieaty   de- 
ceived,   serving   divers    lusts    and   {Measures, 
living  in  malice  and  envy,  hateful^  and  hating 
one  another. 
4  But  after  that  ^the  kindness  and  ^love  of 


f  1  Corinthians   tL    11. kdumier   it   11. *  Or,  pity. 

<  1  Timothy  u.  3. 


ientiou8j  or  qoarrelflome^to  ftflsault  none;  but  gefh- 
tie — EmiKHf,  fieldingy  whea  aasanlted,  and  often  giv- 
ing up  their  own  right  rather  than  contend ;  showing 
— In  their  tempers,  wordd,  and  actions ;  aU  meekness 
— A  mild,  inoffensive,  and  kmd  behaviour ;  vnio  all 
men—Even  enemies,  and  such  as  we  ourselves  once 
were.  Far  we  ourselves  also—ikj  even  we  ourselves, 
though  now  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus ;  were 
sometimes,  ^ore,  formerly,  foolish — Avo^roi,  igno- 
rant, of  God  and  divine  things;  uiureasonable,  par- 
ticularly in  rejecting  the  Lord  Jesus,  though  demon- 
strated to  be  the  true  Messiah  by  the  most  mcontro- 
vertible  evidences;  aiid  imprudent,  or  destitute  of 
true  wisdom,(as  the  word  alsbimplies,)  being  enemies 
to  ourselves,  in  that  we  were  disobedient  to  the 
divine  commands,  though  holy,just,  and  good;  and 
reAised  to  hearken  to  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
announced  in  the  gospel  of  his  grace.  The  cause 
of  this  unreasonable  and  foolisAi  conduct  was,  that 
we  were  deceived  by  the  grand  enemy  of  our  souls, 
the  subtle  serpent  that  lies  in  wait  to  deceive ;  de- 
luded by  the  aUurements  of  this  insnaring  woiid,  and 
erred,  or  wandered,  (as  the  word  ir^Mvu/ievoi  means,) 
from  the  right  way  of  truth  and  righteousness 
into  by-paths  of  error  and  sin,  promising  ourselves 
liberty ;  but  serving — AsAfwircf,  enslaved  to,  divers 
lusts^-Ent^vfuaic,  desires,  irregular  and  inordinate ; 
(see  on  chap.  ii.  12 ;)  and  pleasures^Ynnch  perished 
in  the  using,  but  nevertheless  wera  alluring  us  for- 
ward to  ev^lasting  miseries.  Such  was  the  state  of 
our  understanding,  will,  and  affections.  But  what 
were  our  tempers?  Such  was  our  conduct  toward 
€rod  and  ourselves;  but  what  was  It  towatd  our  fel- 
low-creatures? The  apostle  tells  us:  living  in 
mo/ica— Instead  of  exercising  benevolence  and  love 
toward  all  men;  and  envy — Grieving  at  the  good 
enjoyed  by  others,  instead  of  rejoicing  therein,  as  it 
was  our  duty  to  have  done;  hai^tl — Ourselves, 
while  under  the  tyranny  of  such  detestable  passions, 
worthy  to  be  abhorred  by  God  and  man ;  and  hating 
one  another — On  account  of  little  clashings  and  op- 
positions in  our  temporal  interests,  while  we  forgot 
the  great  ties  and  bonds  which  ought  to  have  en- 
deared us  to  each  other.  Dr.  Whitby,  arguing  from 
Actsxxiii.  1;  2Tim.  i.  3;  PhiLiii.6^  pleads  that  the 
above  description  could  not  be  ^plicable  to  Paul 
himself,  even  while  he  was  in  his  unconverted  state ; 
and  with  him  Dr.  Macknight  agrees;  forgetting,  it 
seems,  the  malicious  and  vengeful  passions  which 
evidently  dwelt  in  him  while  he  was  Saul  the  per- 
secutor, breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter 
aj^dnst  the  best  people  upon  earth,  thedisciples of 
the  Lord  Jesus ;  binding  and  deUvering  into  prisons 
474 


^God  our  Saviour  toward  men  ap-  A.M.40oeL 

peaied,  — -~1 

6  ^  Not  by  works  of  rig^teousnes  which  we 
have  done,  but  aocwding  to  his  mercy  he  saved 
us,  by  '  the  washiiig  of  FegeneratieDi  and  le* 
newing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 

kRom.iiL20;  ix.ll:  zi.0;  Od-iLlS;  Epfa. ii. 4, 8, 9 ;  ^Tim. 
L». iJohnnLl,^;  I^t.86;  lPeLiii.21. 

both  men  and  women,  (tnd  being  exceedingly  moA 
against  them,  punishing  them  oft  in  every  synct- 
gogue,  pursuing  them  into  strange  cities,  and  per- 
secuting  them  even  unto  death,  Acts  ix.  1 ;  xzii.  4  ; 
zxvi.  11.  On  account  of  which  conduct,  when  the 
eyes  of  his  understanding  were  opened  by  the  won- 
derful miracle  of  grace  which  the  Lord  Jesus 
wrought  for  him,  he  always  reckoned  himself  the 
chief  of  sinners.  But  besides  the  persecuting  spirit 
which  he  manifested  toward  die  Christians^  when  he 
had  a  just  view  of  his  temper  and  behaviour  in  other 
respects,  and  became  acquainted  with  the  parity  of 
God's  hc^y  law,  he  was  so  convinced  of  the  depra- 
vity of  his  nature,  and  of  the  imperfection  of  his  best 
obedience,  that,  notwithstanding  sXi  he  says  in  die 
passages  libove  quoted  by  Whitby,  he  could  undoubt- 
edly, as  Dr.  Doddridge  justly  observes,  ^apply  what 
he  here  wrote  to  much  of  his  own  character  whfle  an 
enemy  to  Christianity;"  The  reader  will  easily  see 
that  the  duty  inculcated  in  this  passage  is  highly  rea- 
sonable, and  of  peculiar  importance,  namely,  that  we 
should  be  ready  to  show  that  mercy  to  others  which 
God  hath  shown  to  us;  and  that,  from  a  recollec- 
tion of  the  errors  and  sins  which  we  were  chargeable 
with  in  our  unconverted  state,  we  should  exercise 
compassion  toward  those  who  are  still  ignorant  and 
out  of  the  way,  but  who  may  hereafter  be  brought 
to  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  be  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  as  y^t  have  been. 

Verses  4-7.  But  after  Viat  the  kindness — XpnTonK, 
the  goodness,  the  benignity,  koi  ^iXavdpQma,  and  phi' 
lanthropy,  love  toward  man,  of  Ood  our  Saviour, 
appeared-— Eire^Qvtj,  was  manifested,  or  shone  forth, 
namely,  through  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  The 
Father  is  here  called  God  our  Saviour,  as  is  evident 
from  verse  6,  where  the  same  person  is  said  to  have 
poured  out  the  Holy  Ghost  on  believers,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  Indeed,  the  tiUe  of  ow 
■Saviour  justly  belongs  to  the  Father,  because  he 
formed  the  scheme  of  our  salvation,  and  sent  his  Son 
into  the  world  to  accomplish  it;  on  which  account 
the  title  of  Saviour  is  given  to  the  Son  likewise. 
Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done 
—The  best  of  which  were  so  defective  and  polluted 
by  sin  while  we  were  in  out  unregenerate  state, 
that,  instead  of  meriting  acceptance,  t^y  needed  for* 
giveness.  But  according  to  his  fnerey^Hm  coBir 
passion  for  us  in  our  state  of  sin  and  misery,  and 
hia  free,  unmerited  love ;  he  saved  u^^Proip  oar 
state  of  ignorance  and  guitt,  of  depravity,  weaknessy 
and  misery.  CMiserve,  reader,  the  apo^  does  not 
say,  Jte  will  save  us,  but,  he  hath  saved  us,  true  be- 
lievers in  Christ  being  already  enUghtened,  justified^ 

h 


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CHAPT81  III. 


are  to  he  ^lunHed, 


A.M.  4060. 
A.  P.  05. 


6  "Which  he  shed  onus 'abundant- 
ly,   through    Jesus  Cibzisi  our  Sa- 
viour; 

7  *That  being  jusdied  by  his  grace,  ®we 
should  be  made  heirs  '  according  to  the  hope  of 
eternal  life. 

8  4  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  these  things 
I  will  that  thou  afSrm  constantly,  that  they 
which  have  belieyed  in  God  might  be  care- 

■  Esek.  xzzri.  25 ;  JoeliLSS;  John  L  16;  Acts  iL  33;  z. 

46;  Rom.  ▼.  & *0r.  r»c%. ■Bom.  iiL  84;  G«LiL16; 

Chap.  ii.  11. ^Rom.  Tui.  ^  24.—^  Chap.  L  2. ^  1  Tim. 

L  15 ;  Chap.  i.  9. 


and  made  new  creatures,  and  therefore  in  a  great 
measure  saved.  See  on  Eph.  ii.  8 ;  2  Tim.  L  9.  By 
the  vaehing  ofregeneration^Thht  is,  by  regenera- 
tion itself,  the  thing  signified,  and  not  merely  by 
baptismal  water,  the  outward  and  visible  sign ; 
which  regeneration  cleanses  the  soul  from  the  filth 
of  sin,  (as  water  washes  the  body,}  impl3ring  the  r^ 
ne^fiing  influences  of  the  £fi>ly  Ohoet:  see  on  Ezek. 
xxxvi.26,27*,  Eph. ▼.26,27.  Whiehheehedonue 
eAundantly-^UX8aii>c,  richly,  through  our  believing 
with  our  heart  unto  righteousness,  on  Jeeue  Christ 
our  Saviour^ln  virtue  of  whose  sacrifice  and  inter- 
cession it  has  been  Imparted  to  us,  sinAil  and  guilty 
children  of  men.  That  being  ^/(/iec^Acquitted 
from  the  guih of  sin,  and  accounted  righteous;  by  hie 
grace — His  mere  mercy,  his  unmerited  fovour, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ ;  see  on 
Bom.  iii.  24-28;  we  ehomld  be  made  Aetr^^All  who 
are  justified  being  adopted  into  God's  family,  bom  of 
God's  Spirit,  and  made  his  children,  and  therefore 
Us  heirs,  Rom.  viji.  17 ;  occordtfi^^Agreeably ;  to 
^  hope  of  eternal  h/»— With  which  we  are  inspired, 
and  for  which  his  promises,  in  and  through  Christ 
Jesus,  made  to  all  such,  lay  a  firm  foundation,  2  Tun. 
i.  1 ;  Tit  L  2. 

Verse  &  T%U  i$  afait^tU  eaying^A  saying  of 
infallible  truth  and  infinite  importance ;  (see  on  1 
Urn.  L  16  0  and  theee  things  I vriUthat  thou  affirm 
constanily'-BiiXoftai  ee  dtafiefiaisff^aij  I  will  that  thou 
strenuously,  zealously,  and  continually  assert,  as  a 
matter  of  unspeakable  moment ;  thai  they  vfho  have 
bdieved  in  the  living  and  true  Ood^Or  rather,  who 
have  believed  Chd,  (as  the  words  oi  fwri^evKorec  to 
Ofu  signify,)  namely,  with  respect  to  the  revelatfon 
which  he  has  made  of  his  wiU ;  might  be  care/id— 
bHi  fpovnCwti,  may  think,  consider,  contrive,  prepare, 
and  take  care;  to  mmn/am— Greek,  irpoi^aa^ai,  to 
excel,  take  the  lead,  and  go  before  others ;  in  g^ 
works— Of  all  kinds  which  they  have  ability  and  op- 
portunity to  perform,  namely,  works  of  piety  toward 
God,  and  of  justice  and  mercy  for  the  good  of  men. 
Though  the  apostle  does  not  lay  these  for  the  foun- 
dation of  men's  confidence  and  hope  of  eternal  life, 
3ret  he  brings  them  in,  as  we  see  here  and  elsewhere, 
in  their  proper  place,  and  then  mentions  them,  not 
slightly,  but  as  affiiirs  of  great  importance.  He  in- 
sists that  all  believers  should  &x  their  thoughts  upon 
them,  use  their  best  contrivance,  their  utmost  en- 
b 


M  'to  maintain  good  works.  These  a.  m.  4060. 
thrngsaregoodandpipfitableuntomen.  

9  But  'avoid  foolish  questioi^  and  genealo- 
gies, and  contenticms,  and  strivings  about  the 
law ;  ^  for  tbtj  are  unprofitable  and  vaLou 

10  A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  ''after  the  first 
and  second  admimition,  '  reject ; 

11  Knowing  that  he  that  is  such,  is  subverted, 
and  sinnetb,  ^being  condenmed  of  himself. 


r  Venes  1, 14 ;  Chap.  ii.  14. "  I  Tim.  i.  4 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  23 ; 

ChM.  i.  14. «2  Tim.  ii  14. •2  Cor.  xUi.  2. «M«tt. 

zriii.  17;  Bom.  xtL  17 ;  2  Thest.  iii.  6,  14 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  5 ; 
2  John  10. r  Acts  ziii.  46. 

deavours,  not  barely  to  practise,  but  to  excel,  to  be 
eminent  and  distinguished  in  them,  because,  though 
they  do  not  procure  our  reconciliation  with  God, 
yet  they  are  good — KaXa,  amiable  and  honourable, 
as  the  word  means,  namely,  to  the  Christian  profes- 
sion, and  bring  glory  to  God;  and  are  profitable  to 
men— To  those  who  do  them,  and  to  those  who  are 
the  objects  of  them :  to  the  former,  as  being  the 
means  of  exercising,  and  thereby  increasing,  their 
grace,  and  preparing  them  for  a  greater  reward  in 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  their  God  and  Saviour; 
and  to  the  latter,  as  lessening  their  miseries  and  in- 
creasing their  happiness  in  a  variety  of  ways. 

Verse  9.  But  avoid  foolish  questions— Quesiion» 
of  no  consequence ;  and  genealogies — See  on  1  Tiut> 
L  4 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  23 ;  and  contentions,  fc,  about  the 
law — About  the  observance  of  the  ceremonial  law, 
or  some  little  things  contained  therein ;  for  they  are 
unprofitahle,  &c.— Not  only  consuming  to'  no  pur- 
pose that  time  which  is  capable  of  being  much  better 
improved,  but  also  tending  to  discompose  men's 
minds,  to  alienate  the  affections  of  Christians  from 
each  other,  and  to  render  them  indifferent  to  the 
proper  duties  of  life. 

Verses  10, 11.  A  man  that  is  a  heretic— Greek, 
aipefiKov,  a  party  or  schism^maker,  namely,  in  the 
church,  among  the  true,  genuine  people  of  God ;  or 
one  that  causes  divisions  among  those  that  are  united 
in  Christian  fellowship;  see  on  Rom.  xvi.  17; 
after  the  first  and  second  admonition — From  thee 
and  the  elders  of  the  church,  given  with  proper  so- 
lemnity ;  re/ecf— Avoid,  and  declare  him  unfit  to  be 
any  longer  looked  upon  as  a  member  of  your  com- 
munity. "This  is  the  only  place  in  the  whole 
Scripture  where  this  word  heretic  occurs ;  and  here 
it  evidently  means  a  man  that  obstinately  persists  iu 
contending  about  foolish  questions,  and  thereby  oc- 
casions strifes  and  animosities,  schisms  and  parties, 
among  the  faithful.  This,  and  this  alone,  is  a  heretic 
in  the  Scripture  sense.  And  his  punishment  like- 
wise is  here  fixed*  iSf^tm,  avoid,  leave  him  to  himself; 
have  no  fellowship  with  him.  As  for  the  Popish 
sense  of  the  word,  ^  A  man  that  errs  in  fundamentals,' 
although  it  crept,  with  many  other  things,  early  into 
the  church,  yet  it  has  no  shadow  of  foundation  cither 
in  the  Old  or  New  Testament"— Wesley.  Know- 
ing that  such  a  one— Who  is  so  fond  of  his  own 
darling  notions,  that  he  will  rum  the  peace  of  the 
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A.  M.  4068.    12  When  I  shall  B^adArtemad  unto 
^^'^    thee,  (Mr  "Tychicas,  be  diligent  to  come 
unto  me  to  Nicx^xdis:  fiir  I  have  determined 
th^re  to  winter. 

13  Bring  Z^ias  the  lawyer  and  ^  ApoUos  on 
their  journey  diligently,  that  nothing  be  want- 
ing unto  them. 

14  And  let  ours  also  learn  ^  to  ^  maintain  good 


•  Acts  XX.  4  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  12. «  Acta  xviiL  24. >»  Verse  8. 

'  Or,  pro/kMM  honeMt  trades,  Eph.  ir.  28. 


church,  and  will  not  submit  to  thy  remonstrances,  and 
those  of  the  wiser  and  better  part  of  the  society ;  is 
stibverted — Or  perverted,  as  e^e^paTrrat  may  be  proper- 
ly rendered ;  and  sinneih — In  making  such  obstinate 
efforts  to  diffuse  his  notions,  and  form  a  party  to 
himself;  being  condemned  of  himself—Convinced 
in  his  own  conscience  that  he  acts  wrong,  as  he  can- 
not but  see  it  to  be  evil  to  cause  strife,  animosity, 
contention,  and  disunion  among  those  that  fear  Crod, 
and  were,  before  he  thus  troubled  them,  united  in 
Christian  love.  "  In  the  first  age,  when  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  were  delivered  by  the  apostles  in  per- 
son, under  the  guidance  of  inspiration,  and  when 
the  true  meaning  of  the  doctrines  was  not  liable  to 
any  doubt,  because  it  was  ascertained  by  the  apostles 
themselves,  if  any  teacher  taught  differently  from 
them,  and  made  a  party  in  the  (^urch  in  opposition 
to  them,  he  must  have  done  these  things  contrary  to 
his  conscience,  either  from  the  love  of  money,  or 
the  lust  of  power,  or  from  an  immoderate  propensity 
to  sensual  pleasures." — Macknight;  who  observes 
further,  "  This  method  of  treating  heretics  is  worthy 
of  attention  -,  for  the  Spirit  of  God  doth  not  order 
heretics  to  be  banished,  and  their  goods  confiscated ; 
far  less  doth  he  order  them  to  be  imprisoned,  tor- 
tured, and  burned,  if  they  will  not  retract  their  errors. 
He  doth  not  even  give  allowance  to  rail  at  or  speak 
evil  of  them.  Such  methods  of  treating  heretics 
never  proceeded  from  the  college  of  the  apostles, 
but  from  the  synagogue  of  Satan.  To  disown  a 
wicked  man  as  a  Christian  brother,  and  to  avoid  all 
familiar  society  with  him,  and  to  cast  him  out 
of  the  church  by  a  public  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation, is  what  the  church  and  every  society  hath 
a  right  to  do,  agreeably  to  our  Lord's  rule,  (Matt. 
xviiL  15, 17,)  and  is  all  that  should  be  done  in  such 
a  case." 

Verse  12.  When  I  shall  send  Artemas  to  thee,  or 
T^/chicus-^To  succeed  thee  in  thy  office ;  be  dili- 
gent to  come  unto  me— -Tychicus  is  often  mentioned 
in  St  Paul's  epistles, butof  Artemas  we  know  nothing 
only  from  this  passage  it  appears  that  he  was  a  faith- 
Ail  and  able  teacher,  and  fit  to  supply  Titus's  place 
476 


werks  for  necesBary  uses,  that  they  A.  M.  406a. 

be  ^^  not  unfroitiuL  1 

16  All  that  are  with  me  salute  thee.  Greet 
them  that  love  us  in  the  fiuth.  Grace  be  with 
you  alL    Amen. 

IT  It  was  written  to  Titus,  ordained  the  first  bishop 
of  the  church  of  the  Cretians,  from  Nicopolis  of 
.    Macedonia. 


cRonancxT.  28;  Pbilippians  i.  11 ;  ir.  17;  Colossians  i.  10% 
2  Peter  i.  a 


in  Crete.  At  Nicopolis — ^There  was  a  city  of  this 
name  In  Macedonia,  on  the  confines  of  Thrace ;  also 
one  in  Epirus,  and  another  in  Pontus.  The  one  in 
Epirus  was  built  opposite  to  Actium,  and  named 
Nicopolis,  or  the  city  of  victory,  in  memory  of  the 
victory  which  Augustus  obtamed  over  Antony  and 
Cleopatra.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  the  Nloopc^ 
here  referred  to :  many  think  the  Nicopolis  in  Mace- 
donia was  intended.  For  I  have  determined  to 
winter  there — ^This  manner  of  speaking  shows  that 
the  apostle  was  at  liberty  when  he  wrote  this  epiotle, 
and  consequently  that  it  was  written  in  the  interval 
between  his  first  and  second  imprisonment,  and  not 
from  Nicopolis ;  for  he  was  not  there  wheni  he  wrote 
it,  but  only  expected  to  be  there  by  and  by.  See  the 
preface. 

Verses  13-1$.  Brit^^-^r^nd  forward ;  ^enas  the 
lawyer — Zenas  is  mentioned  in  this  passage  only, 
and  called  voftiKov,  the  latoyer,  because,  according  to 
Jerome's  interpretation,  which  is  also  that  of  Dr. 
Benson,  he  had  formerly  been  a  teadier  of  the  law 
among  the  Jews;  see  Matt  xxii.  35,  where  the 
same  appellation  is  given  to  one  of  that  profession. 
He  might  possibly,  however,  as  others  think,  be  a 
Roman  lawyer;^  and  ApoUos—li  is  probable  that 
Zenas  and  Apollos  were  to  pass  through  Crete, 
either  in  their  way  to  the  apostle,  or  to  some  place 
whither  he  had  sent  them.  He  therefore  desired 
Titus  to  help  them  forward  on  their  journey  by  sup- 
plying them  with  such  necessaries  as  they  were  in 
want  o^  that  tiiey  might  not  be  retarded.  And  lei 
ours  also — ^All  our  brethren  in  Crete,  whether  minis- 
ters or  private  members  of  the  church;  Uam — By  thy 
admonition  and  example;  to  maintain  g6od  works 
—Works  of  charity  and  bounty ;  for  necessary  uses 
—For  the  relief  of  the  poor  brethren,  that  they  may 
not  want  any  necessary;  thai  fkcy— The  Cretian  be- 
lievers ;  be  not  iin/rut(/i4— Unserviceable  to  those 
among  whom  they  d  weU.  Perhaps,  at  some  former 
period,  they  had  not  assisted  Zenas  and  Apollos  as 
they  ought  to  have  done.  Greet  them  that  love  us 
in  the  /at(A— That  is,  for  the  faith's  sake^  and  with 
su€(h  a  love  as  Chtistianity  requires. 

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PREFACE 


TOTBB 


EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE   APOSTLE 

TO 

PHILEMON. 


r^NESIACUS,  a  servant,  or  sUto  ratker^  to  Philemon,  an  eminent  person  in  Golosse^  haring  run 
away  from  his  master,  came  to  Rome,  where,  hearing  some  of  the  discourses,  as  is  probablet 
which  Paul  delirered  in  his  own  hired  bouse,  he  became  a  sincere  couTert  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 
After  his  cdnrersion,  he  abode  with  the  aposde  for  some  time,  and  senred  him  as  his  son  in  the 
gospel,  with  the  greatest  assiduity  and  affection.  But  being  made  sensible  of  his  fault  in  running 
away  from  his  master,  and  of  its  being  his  duty  to  return  to  him,  the  apostle  sent  him  back  with  this 
letter,  in  which,  "  with  the  greatest  softness  of  expression,  warmth  of  affection,  and  delicacy  of  ad- 
dress, he  not  only  requests  Philemon  to  forgive  and  receive  him  again  into  his  family,  but  to  esteem 
and  put  confidence  in  him  as  a  sincere  Christian.''  And  when  we  consider  &e  earnestness  with 
which  the  apostle  solicited  Onesimus's  pardon,  and  the  benevolence  and  generosity  of  PhUemon's 
disposition,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  latter  readily  received  him  again,  and  even  gave  him  his  freedom, 
in  compliance  with  the  apostle's  insinuation,  verse  21,  that  "he  would  do  even  more  than  he  had 
asked."  This  certainly  must  have  been  the  case,  if  this  Onesimus  was  the  person  of  the  same  name 
mentioned  by  Ignatius,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  as  one  of  their  bishops,  as  Grotius  thinks 
he  was. 

Some  have  thought  this  letter  not  worthy  to  be  ranked  among  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  as  being 
written  upon  an  occasion  of  no  great  moment.  But  it  must  be  acknowledged  to  contain  instructions 
of  great  importance  to  both  ministers  and  people.  For  therein,  as  Chrysostom  has  observed,  the 
apostle  has  left  to  the  former  an  excellent  example  of  charity,  in  endeavouring  to  mitigate  the  resent- 
ment of  one  in  a  superior  station  toward  his  inferior,  who  had  injured  him,  and  to  restore  the  inferior 
to  the  favour  of  the  other,  which  he  had  lost  through  his  unfaithfulness ;  and  that  not  only  by  argu- 
ments drawn  from  reason,  but  by  generously  binding  himself  to  repay  all  the  loss  which  the  siq>erior 
had  sustained  by  the  injury  of  the  inferior.  It  also  sets  before  all  ministers,  even  those  of  the  highest 
dignity  in  the  church,  a  proper  example  of  attention  to  the  people  under  their  care,  and  of  affectionate 
concern  for  their  welfare,  which,  if  it  were  imitated,  would  not  fail  to  recommend  them  to  the 
esteem  and  love  of  their  people ;  consequently  it  would  give  them  a  greater  capacity  of  doing  them 
good.  To  these  uses  of  this  epistle,  Macknight  adds  that  it  is  therein  intimated,  "  1.  That  all  Chris- 
tians axe  on  a  level.  Onesimus,  the  slave,  on  becoming  a  Christian,  is  the  apostle's  son,  and 
Philemon's  brother.  2.  That  Christianity  makes  no  alteration  in  men's  political  state.  Onesimus, 
the  slave,  did  not  become  a  freeman  by  embracing  Christianity,  but  was  still  obliged  to  be  Philemon's 
*  slave  for  life,'  unless  his  master  gave  him  his  freedom.  3.  That  slaves  should  not  be  taken  nor 
detained  from  their  masters  without  their  masters'  consent,  verses  13,  14.  4.  That  we  should  not 
contemn  persons  of  low  estate,  nor  disdain  to  help  the  meanest,  when  it  is  in  our  power  to  assist 
them ;  but  should  love  and  do  good  to  all  men,  verses  15-17.  5.  That,  where  an  injury  hath  been 
done,  restitution  is  due,  unless  &e  injured  party  gives  up  his  claim.  6.  That  we  should  forgive 
sinners  who  are  penitent,  and  be  heartily  reconciled  to  them,  verses  17-19.  7.  That  we  should 
never  despair  of  reclaiming  the  wicked,  but  do  every  thing  in  our  power  to  convert  them.  Indeed, 
if  this  epistle  had  served  no  other  piurpose  but  to  show  the  world  what  sort  of  man  the  Apostle  Paul 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILElfON. 

WM  in  priyate  life,  it  would  justly  hare  merited  a  place  in  the  canon  of  Scripture.  For,  in  it  dM 
writer  luith  displayed  qnalitiee  which  by  men  are  held  in  the  greatest  estimation ;  snch  as  consmn- 
mate  prudence,  uncommon  generosity,  the  warmest  frieodsh^),  the  most  skilAd  address,  and  the 
greatest  politeness  as  well  as  purity  of  manners ;  qualities  not  to  be  found  either  in  the  enthusiast  or 
in  an  impostor.^  "  Indeed,"  as  Doddridge  obserres,  '<  it  is  impossiUe  to  read  over  this  admirable 
epistle,  without  being  touched  with  the  delicacy  of  sentiment,  and  the  masteriy  address,  that  appear 
in  every  part  of  it.  We  see  here,  in  a  most  striking  light,  how  perfectly  consistent  true  pditeness  is, 
not  only  with  aU  die  wantfth  and  sincerity  of  the  friend,  but  even  widi  die  dignity  of  the  Christian 
and  the  apostle.  And  if  this  letter  were  to  be  considered  in  no  o&er  view  than  as  a  mere  human 
con^osition,  it  must  be  allowed  a  master-piece  in  its  kind.  As  an  illuistration  of  this  remaik,  it  inay 
not  be  improper  to  compare  it  with  an  epistle  of  Pliny,  that  seems  to  have  been  written  upon  a  similar 
occasion ;  (tib.  ix.  lit.  21 ;)  which,  though  penned  by  one  that  was  reckoned  to  excel  in  the  epistolary 
s^le,  and  though  it  has  undoubtedly  many  beauties,  yet  must  be  acknowledged,  by  every  impartial 
reader,  vastly  inferior  to  ihis  animated  composition  of  the  i^postle.'' 

As  to  the  date  of  this  epistle,  it  appears  from  verses  1, 10,  13,  23,  that  it  was  written  when  St. 
Paul  was  a  prisoner,  and  when  he  had  lu^s  of  obtaining  his  liber^ ;  (verse  22 ;)  and  as  Timedij 
joins  him  in  this  epistle,  and  also  in  that  to  the  Colossians,  it  is  pnbable  it  was  written  aboirt  die 
same  time  with  the  latt^,  e^>ecially  as  in  both  epist^s  EpiqphroditQa^  Mark,  Demas,  and  Luke  jooi 
in  the  salutations ;  and  Onesimua,  the  bearer  of  this,  was  one  of  the  messengers  by  whom  the  epMe 
to  the  Colossians  was  sent,  Col.  iv.  9.  It  nmst  thereftirehave  been  written  at  Rome,  about  dw  ead 
of  A.  D.  63|  or  in  the  beginning  of  64. 

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THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE 


TO 


PHILEMON. 


4/i«r  tui  enoiormg  sahtUtum^  Pond,  (1,)  %%  comunds  and  thanks  God  for  PkHemon's  sUadff  JaUh  m  Christ  smdJsT' 
went  bmtathe  mkUs^^mrtieuJMy  tks  poor,  1-7.  (8,)  hi  a  most  obUgmg  and  effecting  manner  roconmends  Onesvmu, 
fonmi^  a  runawaxf  «koe,  hU  now  a  noted  concert  to  Christ,  and  retmmmg  to  his  master,  S-S2.    (8,)  Concludes  vnth 


A.M.4O0S. 


T>AUL,  ^a  prisoiiOT  of  Jesos  Christ, 
and  Timoihy  our  brother,  unto 
our  dearly  beWed,  ^and  feUow- 


labourer, 

2  Aad  to  vur  beloTed  Apphia,  and  ^  Archip- 
poB  'otur  fell0WH9(Mef^  aokl  to  *the  church  in 
thy  house: 

3  'Grace  to  j^ou,  and  peace  firom  God  our 
FflUher  aad  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


iiL  1; 
u.  29.*- 


It.  1 ;    9  TinoCfaj  i.  8 :    YtiM 
-^OokNMMni  ir.  17^— ^  philippia 


y  erMs  1-8.  Paulj  a  prisoner  ofJeauB  OkriBt—To 
whom,  as  such,  Fhileinon  could  deny  nothing. 
P^ul  does  not  call  himself  an  apostle,  because  he 
wrote  to  Philemon  only  in  the  character  of  a  friend, 
to  reqnest  a  fayonr  rather  than  to  enjohi  what  was 
fit,  Terses  8, 0;  and  T^mot^y— Who  was  now  with 
P^nl  at  Bome,  though,  it  is  probable,  not  in  prison ; 
OUT  5ro<%«r— So  the  apostle  calls  him,  to  add  dignity 
to  hto  character;  «nft>  PhUemon^  our  dearly  hehved 
—-That  is,  the  deariybeloredof  ns  both;  tmifeUoW' 
ldbomrer^''4n  the  gospel.  This  showslhat  Panl  and 
Fhflemon  were  personally  known  to  each  other. 
And  to  our  behoed  ApphiOn^ThoVi^i  by  some  of 
the  fiUhers  to  be  Philemon's  wife,  to  whom  also  the 
business  abont  which  Paul  writes  in  part  belonged ; 
and  Arekippu9  our  feUow-ioldier^ln  that  holy 
warfttre  in  whidi  we  are  engaged.  This  person, 
Lightfoottfihiks,  was  Philemon's  son.  The  apostle, 
l^addressfaig  this  letter  not  only  to  Philemon,  bat 
to  these  penNms  also,  and  to  dl  the  belicTers  that 
met  hi  his  house,  and  by  wishing  them  all  manner 
of  Micity,  faiterested  the  whole  of  Philemon's  &mily 
to  aid  him  hi  his  soticitatkm  for  Onesimns.  €frace 
to  jfou,  Ac— See  on  Rom.  L  7. 

Terses  4-«.  /  Oon^  my  Ood,  Ac.— This  epistle, 
whidi  infinitely  transcends  all  the  wisdom  of  tills 
world,  ghres  ns  an  tAnMbU  speeimen  how  Chris- 
b 


4  '  I  thank  my  God,  making  men-  A.  M.  4om. 
don  of  diee  always  'm  my  prayers,,       ^^'^ 

5  ^Hearing  of  thy  love  and  £uth,  which  thou 
hast  toward  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  toward  aH 
saii^; 

6  That  the  communication  of  thy  faith  may 
become  effectual  '  by  the  acknowledging  of 
eyery  good  thing  which  is  in  you  in  Chnt 
Jesus. 


•  Rom.  xri.  5 ;  1  Cor.  zvi.  19.— 
iThMS.  i.  2;  8  TImm.  i.  3.- 
*PhiLL»,  11. 


t  Eph. !.  a. r  El*,  i.  IS; 

-J>EplL  i  15;    Col.  i.  4. 


tians  ought  to  treat  of  secular  aflhirs  from  higher 
principles;  making  mention  of  ihee  in  my  prayers 
— See  Rom.  L  0;  Hearing  of  thy  hte  and  faiths 
*'By  telling  Philemon  that  be  thanlced  God  always 
in  his  prayers  for  hid  increasing  faith  and  love,  he, 
in  a  very  delicate  manner,  prepared  him  for  listening 
to  the  request  he  was  about  to  make  in  behalf  of 
Onesimus.  For  it  was  telling  him,  in  an  indirect 
manner,  that  his  own  benevolent  disposition  would 
lead  him  to  pardon  Onesimus,  although  he  had 
greatly  offended  him."  T*hat  the  communication 
of  thy  faUh  may  become  effectualy  dtc. — ^That  is, 
that  thy  liberality  to  the  saints,  proceeding  fVom  thy 
faith,  or  the  fruits  of  thy  faith  communicated  to 
them,  in  the  many  good  ofllces  which  thou  dost, 
may  be  effectual  for  bringing  others  to  the  acknow* 
ledgment  of  those  good  things  which  are  in  thee 
and  thy  family;  tn,  or  toward,  Christ  Jesus^Ot^ 
as  others  understand  the  verse,  the  apostle  prayed 
that  Philemon's  endeavours  to  communicate  bis 
faith  in  Christ  to  others,  or  to  bring  them  to  believe 
in  Christ  as  he  did,  might  be  rendered  eflbctual 
through  the  evident  excellence  of  his  own  example 
and  that  of  his  family,  inducing  them  to  entertam  a 
favourable  opinion  of  that  religion  which  produced 
such  beneficial  eflbcts  oh  the  conduct  of  those  who 
embraced  It. 

479 


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Paid  eameiUy  reecmmend$  Onenmui         PHILEMON. 


to  PhUeman^  his  former 


A.  M.  4008. 

▲.D.64. 


7  F(»r  we  have  great  joy  and  con- 
solatioa  in  thy  love,  because  the  bow- 
els of  the  samts  ^are  refredied  by  thee,  brother. 

8  Wherefijre,  '  though  I  might  be  much  bold 
in  Christ  to  enjdn  thee  that  which  is  conve- 
nient, 

9  Yet  for  love's  sake  I  rather  beseech  thesj 

*2  Cor.  rii.  13;  2  Tim.  i.  16;  Vene  20.— '  1  Thew.  iL  «. 

Verse  7.  /Vr  «e  h(tve  great  jay  and  consotation 
— ^Timothy  and  I  are  greatly  rejoiced  and  comforted ; 
tn,  or  by,  thy  love—To  God  and  hb  people ;  becauee 
the  boweU  of  the  saints-^ThQi  is,  the  saints  them- 
selves, to  whom  it  seems  Philemon's  house  was 
open;  are  refreehed  by  thee^  brotherSo  the  apos- 
tle terms  him ;  not  merely  because  he  was  a  be- 
liever in  Christ,  but  because  he  was  one  whom  he 
tenderly  loved.  "The  refreshment  of  which  the 
i^postle  speaks  was  produced  by  the  relief  which 
Philemon's  works  of  charity  brought  to  them  in 
their  distresses.  And  the  saints  who  were  thus  re- 
freshed were  not  those  only  who  lived  in  Phile- 
mon's neighbo«rlu>od,  but  those  also  who  were 
driven  from  their  homes  for  the  name  of  Christ,  or 
who  went  about  preaching  Uie  gospd.  Perhaps 
also  the  apostle  meant  that  the  knowledge  of  Phile- 
mon's charitaUe  actions  gave  great  joy  even  to  the 
niiits  who  had  no  need  of  his  good  offices."^Af  ac- 
knight. 

Verses  8, 9.  If  A^«^ore— Because  we  are  so  well 
Msured  of  thy  benevolent  disposition,  and  ihy  con- 
stant readiness  to  do  every  good"  in  thy  power; 
thcmgh  I  might  be  much  bold  in  Chriet-^MighX  take 
great  freedom  in  virtue  of  my  relation  to  him,  and 
the  authority  he  has,  given  me;  to  er^oin  thee  and 
others  that  which  is  convenient — Proper  and  reason- 
able to  be  done.  Yet  for  love's  sake^  ^.— That  is, 
instead  of  using  my  authority;  I  rather  beseech  thee 
— By  that  love  which  thou  bearest  to  the  saints  and 
me.  In  how  handsome  a  manner  does  the  apostle 
just  hint  at,  and  immediately  drop,  the  consideration 
of  Ills  power  to  command,  and  tenderly  entreat  Phi- 
lemon to  hearken  to  his  friend,  his  aged  friend,  and 
now  a  prisoner  for  Christ!  to  PaiU,  his  spiritual 
father ;  Paul,  grown  old  in  the  service  of  the  gospel, 
and  now  also  confined  with  a  chain  for  preaching 
ii;  considerations  which  must  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  Philemon,  who,  being  himself  a  sin- 
cere Christian,  could  not  but  wish  to  gratify  one 
who,  at  the  expehse  of  unspeakable  labour  and  suf- 
fering, had  done  the  greatest  service  to  mankind,  by 
communicating  to  them  the  knowledge  of  God,  of 
Christ,  and  of  the  gospel. 

Verses  10-14.  /  beseech  thee—There  b  a  beauti- 
ful emphasis  in  the  repetition  of  these  words,  which 
he  had  introduced  in  the  preceding  verse ;  for  my 
*on— Tlie  son  of  my  age.  TThe  order  of  the  original 
words  IS  this ;  /  entreat  thee  for  a  son  ofmine^whom 
i  have  begotten  in  my  bonds^  Onesimus-^n  this 
Macknight  remarks  as  follows:  "Onesimus's  name 
at  the  end  of  the  sentence  has  a  fine  effect,  by  keep- 
480 


bebfig  such  a  one  as  Paul  the  aged,  a.  M. 
■  and  now  also  a  prisoner  of  Jesus    ^^'^' 


Christ. 

10  I  beseech  thee  for  my  son   ^Onesimos, 
®  whom  I  have  begotten  in  my  bonds : 

11  Which  in  time  past  was  to  thee  nnpnifit- 
able,  but  now  profitable  to  thee  and  to  me : 


•Ve«e;.. 


•  CoL  ir.  9.- 


»1  Cor.  IT.  15.;  OaL  iv.  19. 


ing  the  reader  in  suspense.  This  every  person  of 
taste  must  perceive.  The  apostle  would  not  so 
much  as  mention  Onesimus's  name  till  he  bad  pre- 
pared Philemon  for  hearing  it;  and  when  he  does 
mention  it,  instead  of  calling  him  a  fogitive  slave, 
or  even  a  slave  simply,  he  calls  him  his  own  son,  to 
show  that  he  had  a  tender  aflbedcm  for  hiin,  and  was 
much  interested  in  his  welfare.  And  then,  by  tell- 
ing Philemon  that  he  had  begotten  him  in  his  bonds, 
he  insinuated  that  Onesimus  was  not  discomaged 
from  becoming  a  Christian  by  the  apostle's  bonds. 
Being,  therefore,  ^  firm  believer,  he  was  not  unwor- 
thy of  the  pardon  the  apostle  solicited  for  him.  In- 
deed, in  this  beautiful  passage  there  is  a  grovp  ot 
the  most  affecting  arguments  closely  crowded  to- 
gether. On  the  one  hand  we  have  IliilenKm's  own 
reputation  for  goodness ;  his  friendship  to  the  apoB- 
tle,  his  respect  for  his  character,  reverence  for  his 
age,  (now  it  is  supposed  about  sixty  or  sixty-three,) 
compassion  for  his  bonds,  and  at  the  saMs  time  an 
insinuation  o(  that  obedience  which  Philemon  owed 
to  him  as  an  aposUe.  On  the  other  hand  we  have 
Onesimus's  repentance  and  return  to  vhrtue,  bis  pro^ 
fession  of  Christianity,  notwithstanding  the  evils  to 
which  it  exposed  him,  and  his  being  the  object  of  his 
spiritual  father's  tender  affection.  In  short,  every 
word  contains  an  argument.  Philemon  therefore 
must  have  been  exceedingly  affected  by  this  moving 
passage."  Who  in  time  past  was  to  thee  vnproJU- 
able — ^We  have  just  seen  with  what  endearment  the 
apostle  called  Onesimus  his  son^  begotten  in  his 
bonds,  before  he  mentioned  his  name;  here  we  see 
with  what  fine  address,  as  soon  as  he  had  mentioned 
it,  he  touches  on  his  former  misbehaviour,  giving  it 
the  soAest  name  possible,  and  instantly  passing  on 
to  the  happy  change  that  was  now  made  upon  him, 
so  disposing  Philemon  to  attend  to  his  request,  and 
the  motives  whereby  He  enforced  it:  tut  now  profit- 
able—^o  one  should  be  expected  to  be  a  good  ser- 
vant hefore  he  is  a  good  man.  The  apostle  mani- 
festly alludes  to  his  name  Onesimus^  which  signifies 
profitable.  To  thee  and  to  me — Or  rather,  even  as 
to  me.  To  show  the  sincerity  of  Onesimus's  repent- 
ance, the  apostle  mentions  the  experience  which  he 
himself  had  had  of  his  benevolent  disposition,  in  the 
many  affectionate  services,  which  he  had  received 
from  him  during  his  confinement  Ailer  such  a 
proof  Pliilemon  could  have  no  doubt  of  Onesimus's 
piety  and  fidelity.  ^'It  has  been  justly  observed, 
that  it  was  strange  Onesimus,  who  had  been  so 
wicked  in  the^  pious  family  of  Philemon,  amidst  all 
the  religious  opportunities  he  enjoyed  there^  should 

b 


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P€nd  fftoiof  that  Onesimu$ 


FHILEIIOIC. 


1MM  a  cmtert  to  Christ. 


A.  M.  4088. 
A.  D.  61. 


12  Whom  I  have  sent  again :  thou 
therefore  receive  lum,  that  is,  mine 
own  bowels : 

13  Whom  I  would  have  retained  with  u^ 
'  that  in  thy  stead  he  might  have  ministered 
unto  me  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel : 
.  14  But  without  thy  mind  would  I  do  nothing; 
^  that  thy  benefit  should  not  be  as  it  were  of 
necessity,  but  willingly. 

15  'For  perhaps  he  therefore  departed  for 


H  Cor.  xvL  17;   PhiL  ii.  30. *2  Cor.  it.  7.- 

xlr.  5,  8. 


'Gen. 


meet  with  conversion  in  his  rambles  at  Rome.  In- 
stances have  often  happened  somewhat  of  a  similar 
nature;  but  it  is  very  unjustifiable,  and  may  proba- 
bly be  fatal,  for  any  to  presume  on  the  like  extraor- 
dinary interpositions  of  providence  aiid  grace  in 
their  favour." — Doddridge.  Wiow—How  agreeable 
and  useful  soever  he  might  have  been  to  roe  here ; 
I  have  tent  back  to  thee  again;  thou  therefore  re- 
ceive him — Into  thy  fhmily  with  readiness  and  affec- 
tion. Receive  Aim,  did  I  say  ?  nay  rather,  receive, 
as  it  were,  my  own  bowels — A  person  whom  I  so  ten- 
derly love,  that  he  may  seem,  as  it  were,  to  carry 
my  heart  along  with  him  whithersoever  he  goes. 
8uch  is  the  natural  affection  of  a  father  in  Christ  to- 
ward his  spiritual  children.  As  Bengelius  ob- 
serves, by  laying  aside  his  apostolical  authority,  St. 
Paul  had  brought  himself  to  a  level  with  Philemon ; 
and  now  to  exalt  Onesimus,  and  to  display  that  dig- 
nity which  a  man  acquires  by  becoming  a  sincere 
Christian,  he  calls  him,  not  his  son  simply,  but  his 
own  bowels;  or,  as  it  is  expressed  verse  17,  his 
very  self.  IFAom  /  would  Itave  retained,  that  in 
thy  stead,  &c.— That  he  might  have  performed 
those  services  for  me,  which  thou,  if  present,  wonld- 
est  gladly  have  performed  thyself.  Thus  the  apos- 
tle insinuates  to  Philemon  the  obligation  he  was 
under  to  assist,  with  his  personal  services,  him  who 
was  his  spiritual  father;  and  more  especially  while 
he  was  confined  with  a  chain  for  preaching  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  But  without  thy  min^i—- That  is,  with- 
out thy  express  consent ;  would  Ido  nothing — In  this 
affair.  From  this  we  learn,  that  however  just  our 
title  may  be  to  beneficent  actions  from  others,  they 
must  liot  be  compelled  to  peform  them ;  they  must 
do  them  voluntarily ;  that  thy  benefit  should  not  be 
as  it  were  of  necessity-4}x  by  constraint,  for  Phile- 
mon would  not  have  refused  it;  but  willingly—^'  If 
Onesimus  had  remained  with  the  apostle  in  Rome, 
and  Philemon  had  pardoned  him  at  the  apostle's  in- 
tercession, that  favour  would  not  have  appeared  so 
clearly  to  have  been  bestowed  voluntarily,  as  when 
Onesimus  relumed  and  put  himself  in  his  mastcr^is 
power,  and  was  received  again  into  his  family.  The 
apostle,  therefore,  sent  him  back  to  Pliilemon,  that 
his  receiving  him  might  be  known  to  have  proceeded 
from  his  own  merciful  disposition."— Macknight. 

Verses  15, 16.  For  perhaps  he  therefore  departed 
'^Ata  TSTo  exopte^,  fir  this  reason  he  was  sepa- 

Vou  IL  (  81  ) 


a  season^  that  thou  shouldest  receive  a.  m.  40s8. 
him  for  ever;  J^^ajj^ 

,  16  Not  now  as  a  servant,  but  above  a  ser- 
vant, 'a  brother  beloved,  especially  to  me,  but 
how^much  more  unto  thee,  ^  both  in  the  flesli, 
andintheLcNPd? 

17  If  theu  count  me  therefi)re  *a  partner, 
receive  him  as  myself. 

18  If  he  hath  wronged  thoe,  or  oweth  thee 
aught,  put  that  (m  mine  account ; 


•Matt,  xriii.  8;   1  Tim.  ri.  8. 

y'm.  23. 


GoL  iu.  8S.- 


>2  Cor. 


rated;  a  soft  expression,  to  denote  Onesimus's  ruiv- 
ning  away  from  his  master ;  for  it  eontains  an  in- 
sinuation that  this  had  happened  providentially;  for 
a  season — IIpo^  ci»pav,  for  an  hour,  a  little  while; 
that  thou  shouldest  receive  him — Ira  muricv  avrov 
a^^XVCy  mightest  have  or  possess  him;  forever — That 
is,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases  the  clause,  ^'  That 
he  might  not  only  be  dear  and  useful  to  thee  during 
all  the  remainder  of  his  life,  as  a  servant,  whose  ear 
is^  as  it  were,  bored  to  the  door  of  thy  house,  (to 
allude  to  the  Hebrew  custom,  Exod.  xxi.  6,)  but  that 
he  might  indeed  be  a  source  of  eternal  delight  to 
thee  iu  that  infinitely  better  world,  where  all  dis- 
tinctions between  masters  and  their  slaves  shall 
cease,  even  that  world  of  complete  liberty  and  ever- 
lasting friendship." — The  apostle  here  made  the 
same  kind  of  apology  for  Onesimus  which  Joseph 
made  for  his  brethren,  (Gen.  xlv.  5,)  Now  therefore 
be  not  grieved  ;  for  God  did  send  me  before  you  to 
preserve  life.  The  providence  of  God  often  brings 
good  out  of  evil.  Yet  we  must  not  for  that  reason 
do  evil  that  good  may  come.  Not  now  as  a  servant 
—Or  slave,  as  he  was  formerly,  when  ignorant  and 
wicked,  much  less  as  a  fugitive  slave,  to  be  long 
frowned  upon ;  but  above  a  slave,  or  even  a  com- 
mon servant—Aa  standing  in  ano|her,  a  much  more 
dear  and  honourable  relation;  as  a  brother  beloved, 
especially  to  m^— Whom  he  has  attended  with  great 
assiduity  in  my  afflictions;  but  Juyw  much  more  unto 
thee — To  whom  he  belongs;  both  in  tke  flesh— Ks  a 
dutiful  servant;  and  in  /Ae  Lord — As  a  fellow- 
Christian.  That  Philemon  might  not  be  offended 
at  htm  for  calling  his  fugitive  slave  his  brother,  the 
apostle  acknowledges  him  for  his  own  brother  also, 
as  being  now  a  son  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  life 
eternal. 

Verses  17-20.  If  thou  count  me  thereft^e  apart- 
nei^ — Kotvcjvov,  a  companion,  one  having  fellowship 
with  thee  in  Christ,  or  a  sharer  with  thee  in  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel,  the  dearest  bond  of  friend- 
ship ;  receive  him  as  myself'-Even  as  thou  would- 
est  receive  me,  if  I  could  hare  the  satisfaction  of 
paying  thee  a  visit  iu  person.  If  he  hath  wronged 
thee—leU,  TL  ndiiaiai,  if  he  hath  injured  thee  in  any 
thing;  or  oweth  thee  Might — We  cannot  infer  from 
this  that  Onesimus  bad  robbed  his  master :  it  seems 
to  be  no  more  than  a  soft  way  of  expressing  the  loss 
which  Philemon  had  sustained  by  being  deprived  of 
481  b 


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The  apotiU  cmicmikt 


l«IL£MOIf. 


w%th  ku  benediction. 


i.M.406a    19  I   Paul  bave  written  it  with 
^^^^    niine  own  band,  I  will  repay  t/: 
albeit  I  do  not  say  to  tbee  bow  tbou  owest  unto 
me  even  tbioe  own  self  beeddes. 

20  Yea,  brollher,  let  me  bave  joy  of  thee  in 
tire  Lord :  '  refresh  my  bowels  in  the  Lord.  . 

21  3r  Having  oonfidence  in  thy  obedience  I 
wrote  unto  tbee,  knowing  that  tbou  wilt  also 
do  more  than  1  say. 

22  But  withal  prepare  me  abo  a  lodging :  for 


»  Verae  7. »  2  Cor.  riL  16. «  PhU.  i.  25 ;  ii.  24. »  8  Cor. 

i.  11. ^kCol.  i.  7;  iv.  12. «  Acts  xii.  12,  25. 


his  sloveM  service ;  put  (hat  on  my  account— Charge 
it  to  me.  Ihaoe  written  this  with  my  own  hand-— 
And  do  thereby,  as  it  were,  give  thee  legal  security 
for  it;  /  will  repay  tt— If  thou  requirest  it;  aXbeit 
I  do  not  eayy  &c. — ^That.  is,  not  to  say  to  thee,  that 
as  I  was  the  instrument  of  thy  conversion  to  Christ ; 
thou  owest  unto  me  even  thine  own  self  besides — Be- 
sides pardoning  Onesimus,  thou  owest  to  me,  tinder 
God,  thy  very  existence  as  a  Christian,  or  the  pre- 
sent and  everlasting  salvation  of  thy  soul.  What 
an  immense  obligation!  Yet  rather  than  be  con- 
strained to  solicit  Onesimos's  pardon  on  account  of 
that  obligation,  he  would  himself  pay  to  Philemon 
every  thing  Onesimus  owed  him.  How  ungrateful 
would  Philemon  have  showed  himself  if  he  had  re- 
fused to  grant  the  apostle's  desire.  Yea,  brother — 
Lot  me  prevail  upon  thee  in  this  request;  let  me 
have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord — Let  me  obtain  this 
kindness  from  thee  for  the  Lord's  sake,  which  will 
much  rejoice  me.  Refresh  my  bowels — Give  me 
the  most  exquisite  and  Christian  pleasure ;  in  the 
Lord — ^In  a  matter  so  agreeable  to  the  will  of  Christ, 
The  word  avantmoov,  rendered  refresh,  "  is  Very  em- 
phatical.  It  literally  signifies,  to  appease,  or  quiet, 
which  strongly  intimates  the  commotion  he  felt, 
through  the  ardour  of  his  concern  for  Onesimus ; 
and  seems  to  represent  the  eagerness  of  his  desire 
for  his  re-establishment  in  Philemo^i's  family,  by  the 
appetite  of  hunger."— Doddridge. 

Verses  21, 22.  Having  confidence  in  thy  obedience 
— ^That  thou  wilt  comply  with  my  request ;  /  wrote — 
Rather,  I  have  written  ;  to  thee — ^With  great  freedom  \ 
knowing  thai  thou  wiU  do  more  than  I  say — ^Wilt 
show  Onesimus  more  kindness  than  I  have  ex- 
pressed. Some  commentators  think  the  apostle  here 
insinuates  to  I^ilemon,  that  it  would  be  proper  for 
him  to  give  Onesimus  his  freedom,  and  many  are  of 
opinion  that  he  actually  did  so.  But  withal — A/ia  dr, 
but  at  the  same  time,  that  I  beseech  thee  to  pardon 
Onesimus,  I  request  thee  also  to  prepare  me  a  lodg- 
tng—ln  Colosse.  "The  apostle,"  says  Macknight, 
^  having  experienced  the  advantage  of  having  a  hired 
house  of  his  own  in  Rome,  where  he  preached  the 
gospel  to  all  who  came  to  him,  very  prudently  de- 
mred  Philemon  to  provide  for  him  such  another 
house  in  Colosbe,  and  not  a  lodging  in  Philemon's 
482 


*  I  trust  that  •  through  yoor  prayers  A.  M.  -ices. 
I  shall  be  given  unto  you.  — .1— ^ — ! 

23  There  salute  thee  ^Epaphras,  my  feUow- 
prisoner  fai  Christ  Jesus ; 

24  *  Marctis,  ^  AristanAus,  *  Demas,  'Lucas^ 
my  feUow-lahourexs. 

16  '  Hie  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  he 
with  your  spirit    Amen. 

f  Written  from  Rome  to  Philemon,  by  Onesimus  a 
servant 


*Acts  xijL  29;   xxrit  2;  Colon,  fr.  la «Colo68.  ir.  14. 

'  2  Tim.  vw.  11. «  8  Tim.  iv.  22. 


own  house,  as  some  suppose.  It  seems  he  proposed 
to  stay  a  wlule  in  Colosse,  and  wished  to  have  a 
house  in  some  frequented  part  of  the  city,  to  receive 
conveniently  all  who  might  be  desirous  of  informa- 
tion concerning  his  doctrine."  Theodoret  observes, 
that  the  apostle's  resolution  to  visit  Philemon  soon, 
signified  to  him  in  this  letter,  naturally  added  weight 
to  his  solicitation  in  behalf  of  Onesimus.  For  1 
trust — EXTTtCtf,  I  hopes  that  through  your  prayers  I 
shall  be  given  unto  you — Shall  be  restored  to  liberty. 
The  efficacy  which  in  Scripture  is  ascribed  to  prayer^ 
is  a  great  encouragement  to  the  people  of  God  to 
have  recourse  to  it  Iq  all  their  straits,  agreeably  to 
the  exhortation  and  example  of  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles. But  to  render  prayer  effcsctual,  it  must,  as 
James  observes,  (chap.  i.  6,)  be  offered  in  faiths 
that  is,  in  a  full  persuasion  of  the  wisdom  and  power, 
goodness  and  faithfulness  of  God,  and  a  confidence 
in  him  that,  when  we  ask  with  sincerity,  earnestness, 
and  importunity,  what  is  according  to  his  will,  or 
what  his  word  authorizes  us  to  ask,  he  will  grant  our 
petitions,  as  far  as  will  be  for  our  good  and  his  glory. 
See  1  John  v.  14, 15.  On  this  passage,  Whitby  just- 
ly observes,  that  if  the  apostle  believe!  the  prayers 
of  angels  and  departed  saints  were  effectual  for  pro- 
curing blessings  to  God's  people  on  earth,  it  is 
strange  that  he  hath  not,  throughout  the  whole  of 
his  epistles,  so  much  as  once  addressed  any  prayers 
to  them,  or  directed  others  so  to  do. 

Verses  23-25.  There  salute  thee  Epaphras,  &c. 
—Respecting  these  persons,  see  on  Col.  iv.  10, 12, 
14.  In  that  chapter,  verse  10^  Aristarchus  is  called 
the  apostle's  fellow-prisoner  j  but  as  that  particular 
is  not  mentioned  here,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he 
had  obtained  his  liberty  about  the  time  when  this 
letter  was  written.  Demas  afterward  forsook  the 
apostle,  namely,  during  his  second  imprisonment, 
from  love  to  this  present  world,  2  Tim.  iv.  10.  T^e 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ— TbsX  is,  his  un- 
merited favour,  and  the  influences  of  his  Spirit ;  be 
with  your  spirit — Imparting  that  wisdom  and  power, 
that  peace  and  comfort,  which  nothing  but  the  com- 
munications of  his  grace  can  give.  As  the  word  v/«.»v, 
your,  is  plural,  it  signifies  that  the  apostle's  wish  did 
not  respect  Philemon  alone,  but  all  the  persons  men- 
tioned in  the  inscription  of  this  letter. 

(  31*  )  b 


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PREFACE 


TO     TBI 


EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE   APOSTLE 


TO  THB 


HEBREWS, 


A  S  most  of  the  principal  doctrines  of  tihe  gospel  are  more  ezpressty  asserted  and  more  fiiDf 
"^  explained  in  this  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  than  in  any  other  of  the  inspired  writings,  it  is  peoip 
liarly  important  that  its  authenticity  and  divine  authority  should  be  estaUished.  In  order  to  this,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  show  that  it  was  written  by  St.  Paul,  whose  inspiration  and  apostlesh^)  are  xnd* 
rersally  acknowledged,  and  consequently  the  divine  authority  of  all  his  official  writings.  Now  that 
he  was  the  author  of  this  epistle  seems  to  be  satis&ctorily  proved  by  the  following  argumeiils, 
advanced  by  Dr.  Whitby  and  many  o&ers. 

First,  from  the  wcnrds  of  St.  Peter,  (2  Epist.  iii.  15,  16,)  "  As  our  beloved  brother  Paul,  according 
to  the  wisdom  given  unto  him,  hath  written  unto  you,"  it  is  evident,  1.  That  Paul  had  wtitten  to  them 
to  whom  St.  Peter  was  then  writing,  namely,  to  the  believing  Jews  in  general,  (2  Peter  i.  1,)  many 
of  whom  were  dispersed  in  divers  countries,  as  mentioned  1  Peter  i.  1.  3.  That  he  had  written  to 
them  a  certain  letter,  distinct  from  all  his  other  epistolary  writings,  as  a{^>ears  from  diose  words, 
**  as  abo  in  all  his  epistles,'*  thait  is,  his  other  epistles.  Since  then  none  of  the  ancients  say  that  this 
epistle  was  lost,  it  must  be  that  which  bears  the  name  of  '*  the  episde  to  the  Hebrews."  Some  indeed 
have  thought,  the  epistle  intended  by  St.  Peter  might  be  that  written  to  the  Romans,  in  which  St  Paul 
speaks  to  the  Jews  by  name,  chap.  ii.  17.  But,  1.  That  passage  is  plainly  addressed  to  the  unbe* 
lieving  Jews,  and  concerned  them  only :  whereas,  St.  Peter  writes  to  the  brethren,  chap.  iii.  12 ; 
the  beloved,  verses  1,  14,  17;  to  them  who  had  "received  like  precious  fEdth,"  chap.  L  1.  He 
therefore  could  not  mean  the  Jews,  of  whom  St  Paul  speaks  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans. 

A  second  argument  to  prove  that  St.  Paul  was  the  author  of  this  epistle  is  taken  from  &ese  words, 
'*  Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timothy  is  set  at  liberty,  with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I  will  see  yoo : 
They  of  Italy  salute  you,"  chap.  xiii.  23,  24.  For  it  was  customary  with  St  Paul,  when  he  wrote  to 
the  churches,  to  call  Timothy  his  brother :  see  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  CoL  i.  1 ;  1  These,  iii.  2 ;  Philemon  1. 
Timothy  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome  in  the  seventh  year  of  Nero,  and  set  at  liberty  the  eighth,  says  Dr. 
Lightfoot,  Harm.,  pp.  139,  140.  Of  which  here  the  author  of  this  epistle  gives  notice,  and  says,  be 
would  come  with  him  to  them ;  that  is,  to  the  Jews  in  Judea,  to  whom  we  shall  soon  see  this  epistle 
was  written.  Now  Timothy,  we  know,  was  still  the  companion  of  St  Paid.  Lastfy,  he  desires  them 
to  pray  for  him,  which  is  frequently  done  by  St.  Paul  in  most  of  his  epistles,  but  is  never  done  in  any 
of  the  catholic  epistles.  And,  in  requesting  their  prayers,  he  adds  a  circumstance  which  more  folly 
characterizes  him ;  "  Pray  for  me,"  says  he,  "  that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the  sooner."  Now  Paul 
had  been  sent  bound  from  Judea  to  Rome,  and  therefore  his  return  from  Rome  to  Judea  was  prop«rly 
a  restoring  of  him  to  them.  And  that  he  was  thus  restcnred  lo  them,  we  learn  from  Chiysostom 
declaring,  that,  being  set  at  liberty,  he  went  to  Spain,  thence  to  Judea,  and  so  back  to  Rome. 

Thirdly.  That  this  epistle  was  written  or  coo^sed  by  St  Paul,  may  yet  more  strongly  be  con- 
cluded from  the  authority  of  the  ancients ;  for  that  &ey  did  deliver  this  as  die  qustle  of  St  Paul,  aAd 
that  they  were  not  rash  in  so  doing,  we  learn  from  the  words  of  Origen.  Now  among  the  ancients 
we  may  reckon  Clemens  Romanus,  the  companion  of,  and  oo-wnrker  with,  St  Paid ;  who,  as  EuseUus 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

tnd  St.  Jerome  obseire,  entertained  many  sentiments  which  are  in  this  epistle,  and  used  maajr 
expressions,  word  for  word,  taken  thence ;  which  show  that  this  epistle  was  not  new,  and  that  it  is 
duly  reckoned  among  the  writings  of  this  apostle.  Clemens  Alexandrinus  cites  those  words  of  St 
Paul,  ''  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,"  Heb.  xi.  6 ;  adding,  that  '*  faith  is  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  and  ^e  evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  chi^.  xi.  1 ;  Kara  rw  ^eiov  airot^Xov^ 
**  according  to  the  divine  apostle.**  And  again  he  saith,  0  ^etoc  airocoXof,  '*  The  divine  apostle  fears 
not  to  say,  '  Remember  ^e  former  days,  in  which  being  enlightened,  ye  suffered  a  great  fight  of 
affliction,' "  Heb.  x.  32.  And  so  he  proceeds  to  cite  the  apostle's  words  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  and 
then  gives  the  substance  of  chap,  xi.,  and  the  exhortation  in  the  beginning  of  chap.xii.,  verses  1, 2. 
And  that  this  divine  ]4>ostle  was  St.  Paul,  we  are  assured  from  these  words :  "  Paul  also  writing  to  the 
Hebrews,  relapsing  from  the  faith  unto  the  law,  saith, '  Ye  have  need  that  one  teach  you  again  which 
be  the  first  princifdes  of  the  oracles  of  God,  and  are  become  such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of 
strong  meat,' "  Heb.  v.  12.  In  the  third  century  Origen,  citing  the  very  words  now  mentioned,  and 
the  following  words,  *^  For  every  one  that  useth  mUk  is  unskilful  in  the  word  of  righteousness," 
(verses  13,  14,)  saith,  "  He  that  wrote  this  was  the  same  Paul  who  said  to  the  Corinthians,  '  I  have 
fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat,'"  &c.,  1  Cor.  iii.  2.  In  his  Philocalia  he  says,  *'  The  Apostle 
Paul,  who  said  to  the  Corinthians,  '  These  things  happened  in  a  figure,  and  they  were  written  for  us 
on  whom  the  ends  of  the  ages  are  come,'  (1  Cor.  x.  11,)  doth  also,  in  another  epistle,  use  these  words 
relating  to  the  tabernacle,  '  Thou  shalt  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern  showed  thee  in  the 
mount,' "  Heb.  viii.  5.  And  that  <*  the  apostle  who  said,  *  Jerusalem  which  is  above  is  free,  and  is 
the  mother  of  us  all,'  (Gal.  iv.  26,)  said  also  in  another  epistle^  '  Ye  are  come  to  mount  Sion,  the  city 
of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  myriads  of  angels,'  ^  &c.,  Heb.  xii.  22, 23.  In  his 
exhortation  to  mart3nrdom  he  hath  these  words,  ^tiai  iru  o  Ilav^f,^*  St.  Paul,  speaking  somewhere  to 
them  who  suffered  from  the  beginning,  and  exhorting  them  to  suffer  patiently  the  trials  which  after- 
ward fell  upon  them  for  the  word,  saith, '  Call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in  which  ye,  being 
enlightened,  suffered  a  great  fight  of  afflictions.'  '  Cast  not  away  therefore  your  confidence,  which 
hath  great  recompense  of  reward ;  for  ye  have  need  of  patience,' "  Heb.  x.  32-36.  And  in  his 
answer  to  Afiricanus,  having  cited  these  words  from  this  epistle,  "  They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn 
asunder,  they  were  slain  with  the  sword,"  (Heb.  xi.  37,)  he  says,  "  If  any  person,  being  pressed  with 
these  words,  should  faU  into  Ae  opinion  of  those  who  reject  this  epistle  as  not  one  of  Sti  Paul's,  he 
would  use  othei  words  to  demonstrate  to  him  that  it  was  the  epistle  of  St.  Paul."  He  also  adds,  that 
**  the  sentiments  contained  in  it  are  admirable,  and  in  no  respect  inferior  to  the  writings  of  the  apos- 
tles, as  he  who  diligently  reads  them  must  confess.  In  a  word,  when  this  epistle  was  denied  by  the 
Arians  in  the  fourth  century,  because  they  were  not  able  to  resist  the  conviction  it  affords  of  our  Lord's 
divinity,  Theodoret  says,  "  They  ought  at  least  to  revere  the  length  of  time  in  which  the  children  of 
the  church  have  read  this  ^istle  in  the  churches,  namely,  as  long  as  they  have  read  the  apostolic 
writings ;  or,  if  this  be  not  sufficient  to  persuade  them,  they  should  hearken  to  Eusebius,  of  whom 
they  boast  as  of  the  patron  of  their  doctrine ;  for  he  confesses  this  was  St.  Paul's  epistle,  and  declares 
that  all  the  ancients  had  this  opinion  of  it." 

That  this  epistle  was  written  and  directed  to  the  Jews  dwelling  in  Judea  and  Palestine,  though  not 
•0  as  to  exclude  the  believing  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  was  the  opinion  of  the  ancients.  This  may  be 
argued  from  its  being  inscribed  to  the  Hebrews,  rather  than  to  the  Jews.  It  must  have  been  written 
to  the  Hebrews,  or  converts  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  who  inhabited  some  one  particular  country, 
both  because  the  bearer  of  it,  whoever  he  was,  could  not  deliver  it  to  all  the  Jews  dispersed  through 
the  whole  vrorld,  and  because  its  author  directs  them  to  pray  that  he  might  be  restored  to  them,  and 
promises  to  come  and  visit  them.  And  this  country,  most  probably,  was  Judea,  where  the  converts 
from  Judaism  to  Christianity  were  almost  incessantly  persecuted  by  their  unbelieving  brethren,  who 
tenaciously  adhered  to  the  constitution  and  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  Christianity  super- 
seded ;  the  title,  therefore,  **  To  the  Hebrews,"  must  determine  the  place,  and  point  out  the  Jews  that 
dwelt  in  Judea,  a  sense  which  ^e  Holy  Ghost  puts  upon  the  name  "  Hebrews,"  where  it  is  said, 
"  There  was  a  murmuring  of  the  Hellenists  against  the  Hebrews,"  Acts  vi.  1 ;  by  the  "  HellenisU" 
meaning  the  Jews  that  dwelt  in  foreign  countries  among  the  Greeks,  and  by  the  *'  Hebrews,"  those 
lh«t  dwelt  in  Judea. 

But  it  caimot  be  reasonably  concluded  from  hence  ihat  this  epistle  was  written  in  Hebrew,  or  m 
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PRBFACl  Ta  THE  EnSTLE  TO  THE  HEBKBWR 

Syritc ;  text  die  gospel  of  St  John,  and  his  first  episde,  the  catholic  epistles  of  James,  Peter,  aMi 
Jude,  were  ako  written  to  the -Jews,  and  yet  were  written  in  Greek,  that  being  a  tongue  so  w^ 
known  to  the  Jews,  that  in  all  their  discourses  with  the  Roman  governors,  who  used  the  Greek 
Umgue,  we  never  read,  either  in  Scriptnre  or  Josej^us^  that  the  Jews  spake  to  them,  or  they  unio  the 
Jews,  l^  an  interpreter ;  nor  are  there  any  of  the  ancients  who  jf^etend  to  have  seen  any  Hebrew  copy 
of  thisepisde.  Thatit  was  written  in  Greek,  appears  not  only  from  the  passages  of  Scripture  so  ofWn 
cited  in  it  from  the  S^ptoagint,  even  where  they  differ  frimi  the  Hebrew,  {dhap,  L  6;  iii.  8-10; 
viil.  8-10 ;  x.  37,  38,)  bi^  also  from  chap.  vii.  2,  where  we  read  thus,  wporaif  fuv  epfi^tvoftMvoc  pafft?£9c 
StMowamnKy  "  first  being  interpreted  king  of  righteousness,  and  afterward  king  of  Salem,  whidi  is 
king  of  peace ;"  for  both  the  word  '*  Melchisedec,"  and  <*  king  of  Salem,*^  being  in  the  first  verse, 
should  have  been  there  interpreted,  had  this  been  ^e  addition  of  the  interpreter ;  for  so  we  find  it  is 
throughout  the  New  Testament,  where  the  interpretation  immediately  follows  the  Hebrew  word  or 
phrase,  as  Marie  v.  41,  "  Talitha  cumi,  which  is  by  interpretation,  Daughter,  arise,"  (see  Marie  xv.  22 ; 
Matt  zxvii.  46 ;  Mark  zv.  34 ;  John  i*  38,  41 ;  ix.  7 ;  xix.  17 ;  Acts  iv.  36 ;  ix.  36 ;  xiii.  8,)  whereas 
here  the  word  '*  Melchisedec"  is  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  verse,  and  the  supposed  addition  of  the 
mterpreier  is  added  where  the  word  is  not ;  so  *'  king  of  Salem"  is  in  the  first  verse  not  interpreted, 
and  when  it  is  repeated  thioa  comes  the  interpretation,  which  jdainly  shows  that  it  is  not  made  to  give 
the  sense,  but  to  exidain  the  mystery  contained  in  the  words,  namely,  that  '^  Christ"  was  *'  our  peace," 
(Eph.  iL  14,)  and  "  his  sceptre"  was  '*  a  sceptre  of  righteousness,"  chap.  i.  8. 

The  want  of  St  Paul's  name  has  been  mentioned  by  some  as  a  reason  for  doid>ting  its  being 
originally  written  by  him,  or  f<Nr  supposing  our  present  Greek  c<^y  is  only  a  translation  of  an 
epistle  which  was  written  in  Hebrew.  But  this  can  be  no  sufficient  reason  for  calling  in  question 
his  being  the  author  of  it  For  in  our  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  there  are  epistles  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  the  productions  of  an  inspired  apostle,  notwithstanding  his  name  is  nowhere 
inserted  in  ^em ;  for  instance,  the  three  epistles  of  the  Apostle  John,  who  for  some  reasons,  now  not 
known,  hath  omitted  his  name  in  all  of  them ;  his  first  epistle  beginning  exactly  like  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  while  in  his  other  epistles  he  calls  himself  simply,  "  the  presbyter,"  or  "  elder."  It  is 
true,  Paul  commonly  inserted  his  name  in  the  beginning  of  his  letters.  Yet  in  this  to  the  Hebrews, 
he  deviated  from  his  usual  manner,  probably  for  the  following  reasons : — 1.  Because  the  doctrines 
which  he  set  fordi  in  it,  being  wholly  founded  by  him  on  the  Jewish  scriptures,  the  faith  of  the  He- 
brews  in  these  doctrines  was  to  stand,  not  on  the  authority  of  the  writer  who  taught  them,  but  on  the 
deamess  of  the  testinionies  which  he  produced  from  the  Scriptures,  the  propriety  of  his  i^pplication 
of  these  testimonies,  and  the  justness  of  the  conclusions  which  he  deduced  from  them.  2.  As  Paul 
was  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  in  writing  ta  the  Hebrews  he  did  not  assume  his  apostolical  character, 
because  it  was  little  respected  by  the  unbelieving  Jews  and  the  Judaizing  Christians,  who  traduced 
him  as  one  who  taught  the  Jews,  liymg  in  foreign  countries,  to  forsake  Moses,  Acts  xxi.  21.  For 
which  reason,  instead  of  writing  to  the  Hebrews  with  the  authority  of  an  i^postle,  he,  in  the  conclusion 
of  his  letter,  <*  besought  tiiem  to  suffer  the  word  of  exhortation,"  (chap.  xiii.  22,)  and  protested,  that  in 
the  whole  of  the  doctrine  delivered  to  thorn,  he  had  maintained  a  good  conscience,  verse  18.  Indeed, 
if  he  had  prefixed  his  name  to  this  epistle,  as  he  did  to  the  epistles  addressed  to  the  Gentile  Chris* 
ttansj.  and  termed  himself  an  '*  apostle  of  Christ,"  it  might  have  so  awakened  the  prejudices  conceived 
against  him  by  the  Jewish  converts,  as  to  have  caused  them  to  throw  his  letter  aside  unperused. 

As  for  the  date  of  this  episde,  it  seems  evident  that  it  was  written  after  that  to  the  Colossians  and 
to  PhUemon ;  for  there  he  is  said  to  be  "  Paul  the  prisoner ;"  here  we  find  him  "  set  at  liberty,"  and 
hoping  to  come  quickly  to  those  to  whom  he  writes :  those  epbtles,  therefore,  being  written  in  the 
sixty-fourth  year  of  Christ,  this  must  at  least  have  been  written  in  the  following  y^ar.  Again,  in  the 
epistle  lo  the  Colossians  we  have  mention  of  Timothy,  but  nothing  of  his  bonds ;  here  we  have  men- 
tion  both  of  his  imprisonment  and  his  deliverance,  which  may  well  cast  this  epistle  into  the  year 
above  mentioned. 

The  manifest  design  of  St.  Paul  in  this  epbtle  was  to  confirm  the  Jewish  Christians  in  the  faith 

and  practice  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  from  which  they  were  in  danger  of  apostatizing,  either  through 

the  insinuations  or  ill  treatment  of  their  persecutors,  or  to  recover  such  as  had  apostatized.     I.  As 

the  zealous  defonders  of  the  Mosaic  law  would  naturally  insist  upon  the  divine  authority  of  Moso$, 

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PRKFAOl  Ta  THE  EPEEnUfi  TO  T0E  HEB1EW8. 

«k»  dtotingni»hing  1^17  «ad  mijestj  which  attended  itt  fint  pfomnlgttiim  by  the  miniitiy  of  togdi, 
and  the  special  priyilegee  with  which  it  invested  those  who  adhered  to  it,  and  by  arganients  and 
inahmations  of  that  kind  would  endearotur  to  Aake  the  faith  of  those  Jews  who  had  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, and  to  (Hreyail  oa  them  to  renounce  it,  and  return  to  Judaism,  the  aposde  shows  ^lat  in  all 
these  several  particulars  the  gospel  was  infinitely  superior  to  the  law ;  which  topic  he  pursues  from 
chiqp.  i.-zi.  1.  He  reminds  the  believing  Hebrews  of  the  extraordinary  favours  shown  diem  by  Ood» 
in  giving  them  a  revelation  by  his  own  Son,  whose  glory  was  far  superior  to  that  of  angels,  (chap,  i 
throughout,)  veiy  naturally  inferring  from  hence,  the  danger  of  despising  Christ  on  account  of  his 
humiliation,  which,  in  perfect  consistence  widi  his  dominion  over  the  world  to  come,  was  voluntarily 
submitted  to  by  him  for  wise  and  important  reasons,  particularly  to  deliver  us  from  the  fear  of  deathi 
and  encourage  the  freedom  of  our  access  to  God,  chap.  iL  2.  With  the  same  view  he  further  mag^ 
nifies  Christ  a»  superior  to  Moses,  their  great  legislator ;  and  from  the  punishment  inflicted  on  dK>se 
who  rebelled  against  the  au^rity  of  Moses,  he  infbrs  the  danger  of  contemning  the  promises  of  the 
gospel,  chap.  iii.  1-13.  And  as  it  was  an  easy  transition,  while  treating  on  that  subject,  to  call  to 
mind  that  rest  in  Canaan  to  which  the  authority  wherewith  Moses  was  invested  was  intended  to  lead 
&e  Israelites,  the  apostle,  3.  CauHons  Ihem  against  the  sin  of  unbelief,  as  what  would  prevent  their 
entering  into  a  state  of  rest  far  superior  to  what  the  Jews  ever  eigoyed,  (chap.  ii.  14 ;  iv.  11,)  a 
cai^on  which  is  stiU  further  enforced  by  awful  views  of  God's  omniscience,  and  a  lively  represents* 
tion  of  the  high-priesthood  <^  Christ,  of  whose  divine  appointment,  gracious  administration,  and 
previous  suffering,  he  goes  on  to  discourse,  promising  further  illustrations  of  so  inqportant  a  U^ic, 
chap.  iv.  13, 14.  4.  He  declares  that  he  wodd  advance  to  sublimer  truths,  without  dwelling  upon 
die  first  principles,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  might  have  apostatized  from  the  truth,  and  whose  case 
he  represents  as  very  hopeless,  (chap.  M.  1-9,)  and  then,  for  the  establishmeitf  and  comfort  of 
sincere  believers,  he  sets  before  them  the  consideration  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and  his  fidelity  to  his 
promises,  the  perfcmnance  of  which  is  sealed  by  the  entrance  of  Christ  into  heaven  as  our  forerunner, 
chap.  vi.  10,  to  the  end.  5.  Still  further  to  illustrate  the  character  of  our  Lord,  he  enters  into  a 
parallel  between  him  and  Melohisedec,  as  agreeing  in  title  and  descent ;  and  from  instances  wherein 
the  priesthood  of  Melchisedec  excelled  Ihe  Lievitical,  he  infers  tiiat  the  glory  of  the  priesthood  of 
Christ  surpassed  that  under  the  law,  chap.  vii.  1-17.  6.  From  these  premises,  which,  plainly  mani- 
fested the  defects  of  the  Aaionical  priesthood,  he  argues  that  it  was  not  only  excelled,  but  consummated, 
by  that  of  Christ,  to  which  it  was  introductory  and  subsenrient ;  and,  of  consequence,  that  the  obHga* 
tion  of  the  law  was  henceforth  dissolved,  chap.  vii.  18,  to  the  end.  '  Then,  7.  Recapitulating  what  he 
had  already  demonstrated  concerning  the  superior  dignity  of  Christ's  priesthood,  he  thence  illustrates 
the  distinguished  excellence  of  the  new  covenant,  as  not  only  foretold  by  Jeremiah,  but  evidently  en* 
riched  with  much  better  promises  than  the  old,  (chap,  viii.,  throughout,)  explaining  further  the 
doctrine  of  the  priesthood  and  intercession  of  Christ,  by  comparing  it  to  what  the  Jewish  high^niest 
did  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  chap.  ix.  1-14.  And,  8.  Having  enlarged  on  the  necessity  a( 
shedding  Christ's  blood,  and  the  sufficiency  of  the  atonement  made  by  it,  (chap.  ix.  19,  to  the  end,)t 
and  proved  the  legal  ceremonies  could  not,  by  any  means,  purify  the  conscience,  and  from  thence 
argued  the  insufficiency  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  the- necessity  of  looking  beyond  it,  (chap.  x.  1-15,) 
the  apostle  urges  the  Hebrews  to  improve  the  privileges  which  such  a  High-Priest  and  covenant 
conferred  on  them,  to  the  purposes  of  approaching  God  with  confidence,  a  constant  attendance  on  his 
worship,  and  most  benevolent  regards  to  each  other,  chap.  x.  15-25.  Haring  thus  obviated  the 
insinuations  and  objections  of  the  Jews  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  as  inferior  to  the  Mosaic  dispensation, 
by  showing  its  transcendent  excellence  in  a  clear  and  convincing  light,  for  the  satisfkction  and  estab- 
lishment of  the  believing  Hebrews,  the  apostle  proceeds, 

n.  To  awaxen  their  attention,  and  fortify  their  minds  against  the  storm  of  persecudon,  which  had 
come,  and  was  further  likely  to  coine  upon  them,  for  the  sake  of  the  Christian  faith.  To  this  end  he 
reminds  them  of  the  extremities  they  had  already  endured  in  defence  of  the  gospel,  and  of  the  fatal 
consequences  which  would  attend  their  apostacy,  (chap.  x.  26,  to  the  end,)  calling  to  their  remem- 
brance the  renowned  examples  of  faith  and  fortitude  which  had  been  exhibited  by  holy  men  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  (chap.  xi.  1-29,)  concluding  his  discourse  with  gkncingon 
many  illustrious  worthies  whom  he  does  not  name ;  and,  besides  diose  recorded  in  Scripture,  referring 
also  to  the  case  of  several  who  suffered  under  the  persecution  of  Antiochus  Efnphanes,  ch.  xi.  30 ;  xii.  2 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS. 

III.  Having  thus  executed  his  dq3ign  in  the  argumentative  part  of  ;the  epistle,  he  applies  th« 
whole,  by  exhorting  the  Hebrew  Christians  to  sustain  and  improve  the  afflictions  to  which  they  were 
exposed,  and  to  exert  themselves  vigorously  to  promote  the  united  interests  of  peace  and  holiness, 
chap.  xii.  3-14,  cautioning  them  against  disparaging  the  blessings  of  the  gospel,  and  making  them 
a  sacrifice  either  to  any  secular  Tiews,  or  sensual  gratifications ;  representing  the  incomparable  excel- 
lence of  these  blessings,  and  the  wonderM  manner  in  which  they  were  introduced,  which  even  the 
introduction  of  the  Jewish  economy,  glorious  and  magnificent  as  it  was,  did  by  no  means  equal, 
chap.  xii.  15-29 ;  exhorting  them  to  brotherly  afiection,  purity,  compassion,  dependance  on  the  divine 
care,  steadfastness  in  the  profession  of  the  truth,  and  to  a  life  of  thankfulness  to  Grod,  and  benevolence 
to  man,  from  the  consideration  of  the  inestimable  privileges  derived  to  us  from  Christ,  which  ought 
always  to  encourage  us  resolutely  to  endure  any  infamy  and  sufiering  which  we  may  meet  with  in 
his  cause,  chap.  xiii.  1-16;  concluding  the  whole  with  recommending  to  them  some  particular 
regards  to  their  pious  ministers,  entreating  their  prayers,  and  adding  some  salutations,  and  a  solemn 
benediction,  chap.  xiii.  17,  to  the  end.  See  Whitby,  Macknight,  and  Doddridge, 
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THE 


EPISTLE   OF   PAUL    THE   APOSTLE 


TO  THE 


HEBREWS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

/ji  tkis  ckapUfy  (1,)  The  apotiU  repraenU  to  the  Htbrewe,  to  whom  he  writes^  the  great  Jewnir  God  had  done  them  tm  gtmmg 
them  «  new  revelation  by  his  own  Son  ;  whose  ekaraeter  he  describes,  and  whose  humUiaHont  in  order  to  the  expiation  of 
oar  sins,  and  his  exaltation  to  the  right  hand  of  Ood,  ^  a  reward  of  his  suferings  and  for  oar  sokes,  he  transiently 
notices,  1-^.  (3,)  From  seteral  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  he  proves  Am  to  he  saperior  to  angds,  and  even  to  he  the 
true  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things,  4-14. 

post  unto  the  fiohers   by  the  pro-  A.M.40oe, 

1     .  AD.  64* 

phets,  


AM.  4068.  rj.OD,*whoat8Uiidry  times  and  •in 
-JL-l divers  manners  spake  in  time 


*  NativUy  of  Christ,  epistle,  verse  1  to  Terse  37. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Terse  1.  God,  fc— After  the  manner  of  the  best 
writers,  the  apostle  begins  this  most  instructive 
epistle  with  proposing  the  subjects  of  which  he  is 
about  to  discourse;  namely,  four  important  facts,  on 
which  the  authority  of  the  gospel,  as  a  revelation 
from  God,  is  built ;  and  \^ich,  if  well  established, 
should  induce  unbelievers,  whether  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles, to  renounce  their  infidelity  and  embrace  the 
gospel.  Of  these  facts,  the  first  is,  that  the  same 
God,  who  gave  the  former  revelations  to  the  fathers 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  hath  in  these  last  days  given 
the  gospel  to  all  mankind.  This  the  apostle  men- 
tions first  of  all,  to  show  the  agreement  of  the  gos- 
pel with  the  former  revelations.  For  if  there  were 
any  real  opposition  between  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian revelations,  the  authority  of  one  or  of  both  of 
them  would  be  destroyed;  whereas  these  revela- 
tions agreeing  in  all  things,  they  mutually  explain 
and  support  each  other.  Thus  in  this  verse ;  God, 
who  at  sundry  times — The  creation  was  revealed  in 
the  time  of  Adam ;  the  last  judgment  in  the  time  of 
Enoch ;  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  in  the  time  of 
Abraham,  and  the  following  patriarchs ;  the  offices 
he  should  sustain,  and  the  process  he  should  go 
through  in  accomplishing  man's  redemption,  in  the 
time  of  Moses,  of  Ih  /id,  of  Isaiah,  and  the  other 
prophets;  and  so  a'  various  times  more  explicit 
knowledge  was  given.  But  the  word  volvfiepof  ra- 
ther signifies  in  sundry  parts,  parcels,  or  degrees,  in 
opposition  to  a  complete  revelation ;  or  the  gradual  I 
discovery  of  the  mind  and  will  of  God,  by  commu- 
nications, one  after  another,  as  the  church  could  bear  I 
the  light  of  them.  Thus  to  Adam,  victory  over  the  | 
grand  enemy  of  mankind  by  the  Seed  of  the  woman,  I 
488 


•  Nam.  zii.  e-6. 


was  promised:  to  Abraham,  that  all  mankind  sdiould 
be  blessed  in  him  and  his  seed :  to  Jacob,  that  the 
promised  Seed  of  the  woman  and  of  Abraham  should 
be  a  peaceful  Prince,  unto  whom  the  gathering  of 
the  people  should  be:  by  Moses,  that  he  should  be 
an  extraordinary  Prophet,  the  disobeying  of  whom 
would  be  punished  with  certain  destruction :  by  Da- 
vid, that  he  should  be  a  Priest  of  a  higher  order  than 
that  of  Aaron,  and  a  King  in  Zion,  whose  dominion 
should  extend  from  sea  to  sea,  yea,  to  the  ends  of 
the  ear^  Psa.  IxxiL  1, 8:  by  Isaiah,  that  he  should 
be  the  Child  horn,  the  Son  given,  and  yet  the  mighty 
God,  of  the  increase  of  whose  government  and  peace 
there  should  he  no  end;  that  he  should  go  through 
great  scenes  of  suffering,  (chap.  liiL,)  but  should  ex- 
piate sin,  and  conquer  death :  by  Jeremiah,  that  he 
should  be  the  Lord  our  righteousness:  by  Ezekiel, 
the  one  Shepherd  of  God^s  people,  chap,  xxxiv.  28: 
by  Zechariah,  that  he  should  build  the  spiritual  tem- 
ple, bear  the  glory,  and  be  a  Priest  upon  his  throne ; 
fVom  whence,  according  to  Joel,  he  should  pour  out 
his  Spirit  in  an  extraordinary  measure  upon  his  dis- 
omies :  by  Haggai  and  Malachi,  that  he  should  come 
to  the  temple,  built  after  the  return  from  Babylon, 
and  that  awful  judgments  should  follow  his  coming 
upon  such  as  rejected  him.  If  (says  Dr.  Owen)  we 
consider  the  whole  progress  of  divine  revelation 
from  the  beginning  of  the  worid,  we  shall  find  that 
it  comprehends  four  principal  parts  or  degrees,  with 
such  as  were  subservient  to  them.  The^^i,  made 
to  Adam,  was  the  principle  of  faith  and  obedience  to 
the  antediluvian  fathers,  and  to  this  were  subservient 
all  the  consequent  particular  revelations  before  the 
flood.  The  second,  to  Noah  after  the  flood,  contained 
the  renewal  of  the  covenant,  and  establishment  of 

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thdmw^^eak$witommbp 


CHAPTBRI. 


the  gospel  of  hie  Son. 


A.  v.4O0a    2  Hath  ^m  these  last  days  ^npoken 

A.  1)  •ii  ' 

1 —  unto  U8  by  Ai^  Son,  ^  whom  he  hath 

i>Deat.  ir.  30;    GaL  b.  4;    Epk.  i.  10. «John  L  17; 

XT.  15;  Chap.iL3. <Pn.u.8;  Matt.  zxi.  38  ;   zxTiiLlS; 


the  church  in  his  family,  whereonto  were  subser- 
vient the  revelations  made  to  Melchizedec  (Gen.  xiy. 
19)  and  others^  before  the  calling  of  Abraham.  The 
third,  to  Abraham,  implied  a  pecoiiar  restricticm  of 
the  promise  to  his  seed,  and  a  fuller  illustration  of 
the  nature  of  it  confirmed  in  the  revelations  made  to 
Isaac,  Jaeob,  and  others  of  their  posterity.  The 
fourihj  to  Moses,  comprehended  the  giving  of  the 
law,  and  erection  of  the  Jewish  Church  in  the  wil- 
derness;  to  which  was  principally  subservient  the 
revelation  made  to  David,  which  was  peculiarly  de- 
signed to  perfect  the  Old  Testament  worship.  To 
which  we  may  add  the  revelations  made  to  Solomon, 
and  the  prophets  in  their  respective  days ;  particu- 
larly those  who,  before  and  during  the  captivity, 
pleaded  with  the  people  about  their  defection  by 
scandalous  sins  and  fialse  worship :  and  Ezra,  with 
the  prophets  that  assisted  in  the  reformation  of  the 
church  after  its  return  from  Babylon,  who  in  an  emi- 
nent manner  excited  the  people  to  expect  the.  Mes- 
siah. These  were  the  principal  parts  and  degrees 
of  divine  revelation,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  at  least  until  his  fore- 
runner, John  the  Baptist  And  by  thus  reminding 
the  Hebrews,  that  the  will  of  God  was  not  formerly 
revealed  to  his  church  all  at  once,  by  Moses  or  any 
odier,  but  by  several  parts  and  degrees,  by  new  ad- 
ditions of  light,  as  in  his  infinite  wisdom  he  saw 
meet,  the  apostle  clearly  convinces  them  of  their 
mistAe  in  obstinately  adhering  to  the  Mosaic  insti- 
tutions. It  is  as  if  he  had  said,  Cdniader  the  way 
whereby  God  revealed  his  will  to  the  church  hither- 
to. Hath  it  not  been  by  parts  and  degrees?  Hath 
he  at  any  time  shut  up  the  progress  of  revelation  ? 
Hath  he  not  always  kept  the  church  in  expectation 
of  new  discoveries  of  his  will  1  Did  he  ever  declare 
that  he  would  add  no  more  to  what  he  had  com- 
Bianded ;  or  make  no  alteration  in  what  he  had  in- 
stituted ?  8o  far  from  it,  that  Moses,  when  he  had 
finished  all  his  woric  in  the  Lord's  house,  told  the 
peo|rfe  God  would  raise  up  another  prophet  like  unto 
him,  that  is,  who  should  reveal  new  laws  and  insti- 
tations  as  he  had  done,  whom  they  were  to  hear  and 
obey  on  the  penalty  of  utter  extermination.  Dent, 
xviit  15,  &e.  But  in  opposition  to  ^is  gradual  reve- 
lation, the  apostle  intimates  that  now,  by  Jesus  the 
Bfessiah,  the  Lord  had  begun  and  finished  the 
whole  revelation  of  his  will,  according  to  their  own 
hopes  and  expectations. 

And  in  divere  mannere — By  dreams,  visions,  au- 
dible voices,  the  appearances  of  angels,  of  the  Lord 
in  a  hnman  form,  by  Urim  and  lliummim,  and  the 
inunediate  inspiration  of  his  Spirit,  2  Pet  I  SI ;  1 
Pet.  i.  IL  Or,  the  expression,  divere  mannere,  may 
refer  to  the  different  ways  in  which  the  prophets 
eommnnlcated  the  different  revelations  which  they 
reeerred  to  the  Ikthers.  They  did  it  in  types  and 
fifures,  significant  actions,  and  dark  sayings,  as  well 
b 


appoiBted  heir  of  all  things,  *  by  whom  a.  m^  4oes. 
also  he  made  the  worlds; 


A.  D.  S4. 


John  ilL  35;   Rom.  Tiii. 
CoL  i.  16. 


17.- 


•  John  i.  3;   1  Cor.  viii.  6; 


as  in  plain  language:  whereas  the  gospel  revelation 
was  spoken  by  Christ  and  his  aposUesin  one  manner 
only,  namely,  in  plain  language ;  and  to  this  one  en- 
tire and  perfect  revelation  the  various,  partial,  im- 
perfect revelations  made  before  are  opposed.  Sp€ike 
in  time  paet^UaXat^  of  old,  or  ancientiy.  The  word, 
taken  {Aeolutely,compnaes  the  whole  space  of  time 
from  the  giving  of  the  first  promise  to  the  end  of  the 
Old  Testament  revelations.  Taken  as  relating  to  the 
Jews,  it  includes  the  ages  intervening  between  the 
giving  of  the  law  and  the  death  of  the  last  prophet, 
Malachi,  namely,  the  space  of  twenty-one  jubilees, 
or  hear  one  thousand  one  hundred  years,  after 
which,  as  the  Jews  confess,  the  Spnrit  of  prophecy 
was  taken  fh>m  Israel  The  word  epake  is  put  for 
every  khid  of  divine  communication:  unto  the  fa- 
there-^The  ancestors  of  the  Jewish  nation;  by  the 
prophete^-The  mention  of  whom  is  a  virtual  decla- 
ration that  the  apostie  received  the  whole  Old  Tes- 
tament as  of  divine  authority,  and  was  not  about  to 
advance  any  doctrine  in  contradiction  to  it  Indeed, 
as  he  was  writing  to  the  Helu'ews,  many  of  whom 
were  prejudiced  against  him  as  a  person  who  de- 
parted from  Moses  and  the  prophets,  it  was  an  in- 
stance of  great  wisdom  in  him  to  signify,  at  the  very 
beginning  of  his  epistie,  that  he  believed  the  revela- 
tions given  by  them  of  old.  Thus,  by  removing  one 
groat  cause  of  prejudice^  from  those  to  wbom  he 
wrote,  he  would  open  the  way  for  their  receiving 
the  doctrines  contained  in  his  epistie,  a  summary  of 
which  we  have  in  the  two  next  verses. 

Verse  2.  Balh  in  theee  laet  <2ay«— Namely,  the 
last  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  state,  which  were  then 
drawing  to  their  final  abolition.  Or  the  times  of  the 
Messiah  may  be  intended,  as  2  Tim.  iii.  1.  Here  we 
have  the  second  fact  of  which  the  apostie  proposed 
to  discourse,  namely,  that  the  person  by  whom  God 
hath  revealed  the  gospd  Is  his  Son,  appearing  in  the 
human  nature;  a  person  far  superior  to  the  highest 
creatures,  even  a  person  properly  divine;  from 
which  it  is  reasonable  to  infer,  that  the  revelation 
made  by  him  to  mankind  is  more  perfect  than  that 
made  to  the  Jews  by  angels,  and  that  the  dispensa- 
tion founded  thereon  is  a  better  and  more  perma- 
nent dispensation  than  the  law.  In  saying,  Ood 
hath  epoken  to  ne,  the  apostie  chiefly  intends  the 
members  of  the  Jewish  Church.  The  Jews  of  those 
times  were  very  apt  to  think  if  they  had  lived  in  the 
days  of  the  former  prophets,  and  had  heard  them  de- 
liver their  message  from  God,  t^ey  would  have  re^ 
ceived  it  with  cheerful  obedience.  Their  only  un- 
happiness,  as  they  thought,  was,  that  they  were  bom 
out  of  due  time,  as  to  prophetical  revelations.  Matt 
xxili.  30.  Now  the  apostie,  aware  of  this  prejudice, 
hiforms  them  that  God,  in  the  revelation  of  the  gos- 
pel, had  spoken  to  themselves  what  they  so  mudi 
desired ;  and  that  if  they  did  not  attend  to  this  word, 
they  must  needs  be  sdf-<condemned.    Besides  thal^ 

4im 


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BBBSKWa 


iimp^M9^tkM^ihۤo9fi4. 


A.M.  4008.  3  ^  Who  being  the  brightness  of  At« 
^  '  ^'  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person,  and  «  upholding  all  things  by  the  word 


'John  i.  14;  xir.  9;  2  Corinthians  It.  4;  Gdossians  i.  IS. 
f  John  i.  4 ;  Col.  i.  17 ;  Rev.  it.  11. ^  Chap.  rii.  27 ;  ix.  12, 


the  care  and  love  which  God  had  manifested  toward 
them,  in  speaking  to  them  in  this  immediate  manner, 
requiring  the  most  indisputable  obedience,  especial- 
ly considering  how  far  this  mode  excelled  what  he 
had  before  used  toward  their  fathers.  For  this  reve- 
lation, by  the  Son  of  God,  is  more  perfect  than  any 
preceding  one,  because,  1st,  It  is  xsmatt  deary  even 
respecting  things  formerly  revealed;  as,  for  instance, 
God's  spiritual  nature,  (John  iv.  24,)  and  some  of 
his  attributes,  particulaiiy  his  love ;  the  fall  and  de- 
pravity of  man ;  his  redemption ;  the  person,  offices, 
and  work  of  the  Redeemer ;  the  salvation  that  is 
through  him,  particularly  as  it  is  future  and  eternal ; 
that  it  is  attained  by  faith,  the  fruits  of  which,  and 
the  spirituality  of  God's  law,  are  set  in  a  clearer 
point  of  view  in  the  gospel  than  icnrmerly,  2d,  More 
fullt  giving  us  explicit  information  of  things  hardly 
intimated  before,  as  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation, the  temporary  rejection  of  their  nation 
because  of  their  onbehef,  a  general  and  scdemn  judg- 
ment; that  the  consequences  of  it  will  be  eternal; 
that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  be  destroyed, 
and  a  new  heaven  and  new  earth  shall  be  prepared 
for  the  habitation  of  the  righteoiMu  So  that  whereas 
the  former  dispensations  might  be  compared  to  star^ 
light,  or  moonshine,  this  last  revelation  is  called  the 
day-epring  from  on  high  visiiing  «s,  (Luke  i.  78, 
79,)  and  the  Bimofrighteoueneee  arising  upon  us: 
and  no  wonder,  considering  that  the  messenger  of 
this  new  covenant  is  the  Son  of  God,  to  whom  €k>d's 
will  was  known  not  by  dreams,  visions,  voices,  iVc, 
or  In  any  of  the  ways  before  mentioned,  but,  as  St. 
John  speaks,  he  was  in  the  bosom  <ji  the  Father; 
that  is,  was  intimately  and  perfectly  acquainted  with 
his  eternal  mind  and  counsels,  being  his  wisdom, 
word,  and  truth,  and  therefore  fully  qualified  to  give 
mankind  a  revelation  every  way  perfect  and  ooof 
plete. 

Whom  hehaih  appointed  heir  of  all  things^ThsA 
is,  of  the  whole  creation;  of  all  creatures,  visible 
and  invisible,  which  were  all  made^r  Aim,  as  well 
as  by  him^  CoL  L  16.  The  apostle's  grand  design 
throughput  thb  epistle  being  to  engage  the  Hebrews 
to  constancy  and  perseverance  in  their  attachment 
to  the  gospel,  with  its  fundamentid  doctrines,  he 
takes  his  main  argument  for  that  purpose  from  its 
immediate  author,  the  promised  Messiah,  the  Son  of 
God.  Him,  therefore,  in  this  chapter  he  describes 
at  large,  declaring  what  he  is  absolutely^  in  his  per- 
son and  offices ;  and  comparatively^  with  respect  to 
other  ministerial  revealers  of  the^mind  and  will  c^ 
God,  principally  insbting  on  his  excellence  and  pre- 
eminence above  aiigels.  After  the  name  of  Sony  his 
Inheritanoe  is  mentioned.  God  appointed  him  the 
tieir  long  before  he  made  the  worlds,  Eph.  iii.  11 ; 
Prov.viii.22.  Crellius,  a  noted  Socinian,  with  whom 
scHue  other  Socinians  have  agreed,  allowed  that 
MO 


d  his  power,  ^  when  he  had  by  4iim-  A.  M. 
self  purged  our  sms,  ^  sat  cbwn  on  . — -^ 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high ; 


64. 


14,  la <  Pm.  ex.  1 ;   Eph.  i.  20;  Chap.  Tiii.  1 ;  z.  18 ;  xiL 

2 ;  1  Pet  iii.  22. 


Christ  hath  the  highest  dominion  and  emigre  over 
men  and  angels.  But  still  they  would  permiade  as 
that  all  this  was  sp<&en  of  him  as  a  mere  man,  as  ttie 
son  of  Mary.  But  how  a  mere  man,  or  mere  creature, 
should  have  4his  empire  over  dH  men  and  ang^ 
and  all  creatures  in  the  universe,  or  even  i^io«M 
ktiow  them  all,  and  have  power  over  death,  is  as  im- 
possible to  understand  as  the  mystery  of  the  incar- 
nation, or  that  of  the  Trinity.  But  to  goard  os 
agahdst  this  error,  the  inspired  writeri  have  taken 
eare  to  inform  us  that  he  existed  befyre  hewasbom 
of  Mary ;  before  Abraham,  John  viii.  56 ;  before  aU 
tbkngSy  Col.  i.  17;  that  he  was  loved  by  the  Father, 
and  had  glory  with  him  before  the  foundation  of  the 
toorZ(2,Johnxvii.6,24.  Nay,  and,  as  the  apostle  here 
asserts,  that  the  'worlds  were  made  by  Am.  It  is 
true,  the  word  autva^y  here  used  by  the  apostle,  inaj 
be  rendered  agesy  or  dispensations;  yet  in  Heb.  xL 
3,  it  most  mean,  as  it  is  rendered,  worlds.  And  ws 
know,  from  John  L  2, 3, 10;  CoL  i.  16;  Eph.  iii  9; 
1  Cor.  viiL  6,  and  verse  lOof  this  chapter,  that  the 
Son  of  God  did  in  fact  make  the  worids;  fmd  agrea- 
ably  to  &e  apostle's  words  here,  (Chdhath  spoksn 
unto  us  by  his  Qon,  by  whom  he  made  the  worldsy) 
in  their  plain  and  literal  meaning,  he  was  the  Son  of 
God  when  the  worlds  were  made  by  him.  Accord- 
ingly, He,  without  whom  was  not  any  thing  made 
thai  was  madey  is  called  the  only-begotten  of  the  Fsh 
ther,  John  i.  1-14,  where  see  the  notes.  Thoefore, 
theSony  as  the  Son,  was  before  all  worlds:  and  his 
glory  reaches  from  everlasting  to  everiasthig,  thou|^ 
God  spake  by  him  to  us  only  m  these  Icut  days. 
This  is  the  third  fact  of  which  the  apoSUe  proposes 
to  discourse,  namely,  that  the  Author  of  the  gospel, 
in  consequence  of  his  having  made  the  worids,  is 
Heir,  or  Lord,  and  Governor  of  alL  Andalthonj^ 
after  becoming  man,  he  died,  yet,  being  raised  fioM 
the  dead,  he  had  the  government  of  me  world  re- 
stored to  him  in  the  human  nature.  To  the  faitbftil 
this  is  a  source  of  the  greatest  consolation;  because 
if  the  worid  is  governedby  their  Master,  he  certainly 
hath  power  to  protect  and  Mess  them;  and  every 
thing  beiallingthemwill  issue  in  good  to  them.  Be- 
sides, bemg  the  Judge  as  well  as  the  Ruler  of  the 
world,  he  hath  authority  to  acquit  them  at  the  judg- 
ment, and  power  to  reward  them  for  all  the  ev^ 
they  have  suffered  on  his  account.  This^  that  the 
author  of  the  gospel  is  the  Son  of  God,  is  the  main 
binge  on  whidi  aU  the  apostle's  subsequent  ai;gu- 
ments  throughout  the  epistle  turn,  and  this  bears  the 
stress  of  all  his  inferences ;  and,  therefore,  having 
mentioned  it,  he  proceeds  immedii^y  to  that  de- 
scription of  him'which  gives  evidence  to  aH  he  de- 
duces from  this  consideration. 

Verse  8»  If^o  being  the  brightness^hKsvyaefUf 
the  ^ulgencey  or  out4)eaming,  or  splendour ;  qfhis 
—The  Father's;  glorj^ln  Sci^ture,  the  glory  sf 


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CHAPtERI. 


$uperior  to  the  angeU. 


A.  M.  4068.    4  Being  made  so  much  bett^  than 
! — L  the  angels,  as  ^  he  hath  by  inherit- 


^Eph.i.21; 


God  signifies  the  perfections  of  €k>d.  See  Bom.  i. 
23 ;  and  in  and  by  the  Son  of  God,  the  glorious  na- 
ture and  attributes  of  the  Father  have  shone  forth 
probably  to  angels,  at  least  to  men ;  as  oti  mount 
Sinai,  when  his  voice  shook  the  earth,  (chap.  zii.  26,) 
in  the  tabernacle  and  temple.  Compare  Exod.  xxiv. 
10  with  John  1 18,  and  1  Tim.  vi.  16.  The  divine 
glory,  which  was  manifested  to  Isaiah  in  the  vision 
recorded  chap.  vi.  1-4,  is  expressly  said,  John  xii. 
41,  to  have  been  the  glory  of  Christ.  This  glory 
indeed  was  veiled  in  flesh  when  he  became  incar- 
nate, yet  he  still  possessed  it,  and  it  shone  forfii,  in 
tome  degree,  on  many  occasions,  especially  at  his 
transfiguration,  and  even  in  his  whole  ministry ;  in- 
finite wisdom  manifesting  itself  in  his  discourses ; 
ahnigbty  power  in  his  miracles ;  unspeakable  love 
in  his  benevolent  actions;  and  hc4iness  unparalleled 
in  his  spirit  and  conduct  dady.  So  that  he  was  fitly 
denominated  the  Boly  One  of  God,  And  the  expreee 
imaj^e— Stamp  or  delineation ;  of  his  pereon-^OT 
substance^  as  wroranuc  signifies.  That  is,  he  is  one 
who  has  the  whole  Jiature  of  God  in  him,  as  he  is 
his  eternal  Son ;  and  declares  and  represents,  in  a 
most  conspicuous  manner,  the  divine  properties  to 
our  futh  and  contempbrtion  as  incarnate:  whatever 
the  Father  is,  is  exhibited  in  the  Son  as  a  seal  in  the 
stamp  on  wax.  For  the  word  ;t<ipcHcr7p,  here  ren- 
dered express  image,  property  signifies  an  image 
made  by  engraving,  sueh  as  that  on  a  seal ;  also 
the  image  which  the  seal  makes  on  wax  by  im- 
presnon*.  Phavorinus  says,  it  is  Starvvoat^  ^Asax 
rnv  iMrocwfftv,  a  form,  or  draughty  manifesting  the 
mihstance  whence  it  vos  taken*  And  the  word 
vTToccurtCy  rendered  person,  he  says,  is  wia  /lera  ruv 
tStofiaruVj  the  substance  with  the  properties.  So 
that  the  clause  here;  according  to  him,  is  a  draught 
manifesting,  or  exhibiting  the  substance  and  pro- 
perties of  God.  "According  to  the  Crreek  com- 
mentators on  the  place,"  says  Whitby,  "  it  is  the 
same  with  our  Lord's  being  in  the  form  of  God 
before  he  took  our  nature  on  him."  See  on  Phil. 
iL  6;  CoL  i.  15,  where  this  is  explained  at  large. 
And  upholding^^tfn*¥,  sustaining,  or  preserving 
and  governing;  M  things^YiaMe  and  in  viable. 
This  expression  is  parallel  to  1  Col.  L  17,  ra  navra 
ev  offTQ  awtrniit,  by  him  all  ^ings  consist  Accord- 
ing to  Pierce,  the  meaning  of  both  passages  is,  that 
as  the  Son  gave  being  to  all  things,  so  he  maintains 
them  in  behig.  By  tJ^  word  of  his  power—ThBi  is, 
by  his  powerful  word :  in  the  same  divine  manner 
In  which  all  things  were  created;  for  he  only  spake, 
and  they  were  done.  JVfien  he  had  by  himself^ 
By  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  (chap.  ix.  26,)  without 
-  any  Mosaic  rites  or  ceremonies ;  purged  our  sini-^ 
Ka&ofMTfutv  woiffffofupoc,  having  effected  a  purified' 
tion  of  them,  or  made  atonement  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  divine  justice.  In  order  to  which  it 
was  necessary  he  should  for  a  time  divest  him- 
self of  his  glory.    Tto  is  the  fourth  (act  treated 


ance  obtained  a  mcffe  excdlent  name  a.  m.  4oe8. 
than  they.  ^•^'^' 

PhiL  ii.  S>,  10. 


of  hi  this  epistle,  namely,  that  the  Author  .of  the 
gospel  laid  down  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  sin  j  of  which ^ 
when  oflfered,  God  declared  his  acceptance,  by  set- 
ting Jesus  at  his  own  right  hand.  The  gospel, 
therefore,  hath  a  priesthood  and  sacrifice  more  efli- 
cacious  than  the  priesthood  and  sacrifices  of  the  law 
taken  together.  For  an  expiation  made  by  a  penK>n 
so  great  in  himself,  and  so  dear  to  God  as  his  own 
don,  and  made  by  the  appointment  of  God,  could 
not  but  be  acceptable  to  him ;  consequently  it  must 
be  a  sure  foundation  for  that  hope  of  pardon,  by 
which  the  gospel  encourages  sinners  to  repent 
Sat  down^The  Jewish  priests  stood  while  they 
ministered :  Christ's  being  said  to  sit  down,  there- 
fore, denotes  the  consummation  of  his  sacrifice :  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  Mdjesty^Oi  God ;  on  high^ 
In  the  highest  heavens.  The  apostle's  meaning  is, 
that  our  Lord,  after  his  ascension,  was  invested 
in  Uie  human  nsture  wiA  that  visible  glory  and 
power  which  he  enjoyed  with  God  before  the 
world,  as  mentioned  by  himself,  John  xvii.  A. 
Our  Lord's  sitting  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
is  affirmed  in  this  epistle  no  less  than  &ve  diflerent 
times,  because  it  presupposes  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  and  implies  his  being  put  in  possession  of 
the  highest  authority  in  heaven,  under  the  Father. 
Consequently  it  is  a  clear  proof  that  he  is  really  the 
Son  of  God.  It  must  be  observed,  that  in  this  chap- 
ter the  apostle  describes  Christ's  glory  chiefly  as  he 
is  the  Son  of  God ;  afterward,  chap.  ii.  6,  Ac,  the 
glory  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  He  speaks  indeed 
briefly  of  the  former  before  his  humiliation,  but  co- 
piously after  his  exaltation ;  as  from  hence  the  glory 
he  had  from  eternity  began  to  be  evidently  seen. 
Both  his  purging  our  sins,  and  sitting  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  are  largely  treated  of  in  the  seven  fol- 
lowing chapters. 

Verses  4-6.  Being  f?uu2€— Rather  being;  (for  the 
word  made  is  not  implied  in  the  original  expression, 
yevo/ievof ;)  so  much  better — Higher;  thaai  the  an- 
gels^Aa  the  Jews  gloried  exceedhigly  in  the  law 
of  Moses,  on  account  id  its  being  delivered  by  the 
ministry  of  angels,  the  apostle  proves,  by  passages 
from  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  that  the  Son  is  superior 
in  nature  and  dignity  to  all  the  angelical  hosta 
How  much  more  then  may  we  glory  in  the  gOspel, 
which  was  given,  not  by  die  ministry  of  angels,  but 
by  the  very  Son  of  God.  As  he  haih  by  inherit- 
ance obtained — Greek,  KexXfipovoftifKipf,  he  haih  inhe- 
rited; a  more  excellent  name  than  M^y^Namely, 
the  name  of  Son  ;  a  name  which  he  is  said  to  inherit, 
because  he  really  is  God's  Son,  and  that  in  a  sense  In 
which  no  creature,  man  or  angel,  is  his  son.  1st,  Not 
by  adoption,  regeneration,  or  title,  as  patriarchs,  pro- 
phets, or  any  other  saints  might  be  his  sons;  for  he 
is  distinguished  from  all  these,  Mark  xii.  6.  2d,  Not 
by  the  resurrection  merely,  by  which  the  saints  will 
hereafter  be  manifested  to  be  the  sons  of  God,  Luke 
XX.  M.  For  he  was  distinguished  ftt>m  Moses  and 
4M 


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HEBREWS.: 


the  Creator  of  aUtkkigm. 


A.  M.  4008.  6  For  unto  whic|i  of  the  angels 
^'^'^  said  he  at  any  time,  ^  Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee?  And 
again,  "I  will  be  to  him  a  Father,  and  he  shall 
b&tomeaSon? 
6  ^  And  again,  when  he  bringeth  in  <^the  first- 
begotten  into  the  world,  he  saith,  *And  let 


>P«a.  U.  7;  Acta  xiii.  33;  Chap.  r.  5. "2  Smb.  tu.  14; 

1  Chnm.  xxiL  10 ;  xxviiL  6 ;  kxxix.  26,  27. » Or,  When  he 


"EXum  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration,  who  bad  both 
entered  the  immortal  state,  Matt.  xvii.  6.  8d,  Not 
by  creation,  as  Adam  was^  (Luke  iiL  88,)  and  angels 
are  God's  sons;  for  hels  here  represented  as  having 
a  right  to  the  name  of  Son  by  inheritance,  which 
the  angels  haye  not  Hence  he  is  termed  the  only- 
begotten  of  the  Father;  an  expression  which  ex- 
dudes  from  that  honourable  relation  angels,  and 
all  other  beings  whatever.  For  unto  which  of  the 
ange2«— Although  sometimes  termed  in  Scripture  the 
sons  of  God,  because  created  by  him ;  said  he  at 
any  time,  Thou  aH  my  fifon— God  of  God,  Light  of 
Light,  the  eternal  Word  of  the  eternal  Father;  this 
day  have  I  begotten  thee — ^Namely,  in  and  ftOTn 
eternity ;  whtoh,  by  its  unalterable  permanency  of 
duration,  is  one  continued  unsuccessive  day.  See 
the  note  on  Psa.  ii.  7.  ^^  It  is  true,  because  the  angel 
said  to  his  mothei:,  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon 
thee;  therefore  also  that  holy  thing  which  shcUl  be 
bom  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God;  some 
contend  that  these  words,  Thou  art  my  Son,  &c., 
are  a  prediction  of  our  Lord's  miraculous  conception. 
But  on  that  supposition  the  argument  taken  from  the 
name  falls :  for  instead  of  proving  Jesus  superior 
to  angels,  his  miraculous  conception  does  not  make 
him  superior  to  Adam,  who  was  as  much  the  imme- 
diate work  of  God  as  Christ's  human  nature  was  the 
immediate  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Besides,  he  is 
said  (John  iii.  17)  to  have  been  the  Son  of  God  before 
he  was  sent  into  the  world ;"  and  verse  2  of  this 
chapter,  when  the  worlds  were  made  by  him.  See 
Macknight 

Afid  again,  I  will  he  to  him  a  Father,  and  he 
shall  be  to  me  a  <Sbm— I  will  own  myself  to  be  his 
Father,  and  him  to  be  my  Son,  by  eminent  tokens 
of  my  peculiar  love.  ^'  The  former  clause  relates 
to  his  natural  Sonship  by  an  eternal  inconceivable 
generation,  the  other  to  his  Father's  acknowledg- 
ment and  treatment  of  him  as  his  incarnate  Son : 
indeed  this  promise  related  immediately  to  Solo- 
mon, but  in  a  far  higher  sense  to  the  Messiah ;  ap- 
plied to  whom,  it  hath  a  very  different  meaning 
from  what  it  had  when  applied  to  Solomon." — 
Wesley.  Understood  of  the  Messiah,  it  is  a  predic- 
tion that  God  would,  in  the  most  public  manner,  de- 
clare Jesus  his  Son  by  voices  from  heaven  uttered 
on  different  occasions,  and  by  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  him  after  his  baptbm,  and  by  his  re- 
surrection from  the  dead.  Whereas  the  same  pro- 
mise spoken  concerning  Solomon,  means  only  that 
lie  was  to  be  the  object  of  God's  especial  affection 


all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him.  A.  M.  4060 

7  And  »  of  the  angels  he  saith,  ±±^ 
p  Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits,  and  his  minis 
ters  a  flame  of  fire. 

8  But  unto  die  8oa  he  saith,  «  Thy  throoey 
O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever:  a  sceptre  of 
^  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom ; 


■Rom.  yiiL  29 ;  Col.  i.  18;  ReT.  i.  5. <>  Deal,  zxzii*  43, 

LXX.;  Pia.  xcrii.  7;   1  Pet  iiL22. »Gr.  wito, pPt*. 

ciT.  4. fl  Pmu  xIt.  S,  7.'       *  Or.  rifAlMw,  or,  Mtrmghtauu. 


and  care.  Aeeordin^y  it  was  sa  explained  in  the 
revelaiion  to  David  himsell^  1  Ohron.  xxiL  9;  IwiU 
give  Jiim  rest  from  €al  his  ^umies  round  abomL 
And  a^atfi— That  is,  in  another  pasaage  of  Scrip* 
ture;  when  he  bringeth  in  tJie  fr^st-begotten—Wm 
who  is  before  all  ereature8,^ProT.  TiiL  24, 25;  more 
ezcdlentthan  all,  Gen. xlix.3; and  HeirotLordof 
all,  Psa.  ii.  6,  8.  The  appellation  first-begotten  in- 
cludes that  of  ^Sbn,  together  with  the  rights  of  pri- 
mogeniture, which  the  first-begotten  Son  of  God  en- 
joys, in  a  manner  not  communicable  to  any  crea* 
ttire;  into  the  irorZdE— Namely,  at  his  incarnation; 
he,  God,  sai^  Let  all  the  angds  of  God  worMp 
him — So  mu<^  higher  was  he,  when  in  his  Joweet 
estate,  than  the  highest  angel  I  ^  In  the  Hebrew 
text  it  is  coZ  Ehhim,  which  in  our  BiUes  is  rendered 
all  ye  gods.  But  the  expression  is  elliptical,  and 
may  be  supplied  as  the  writer  of  this  epistle  hath 
done ;  ail  ye  angels  of  God--lh  the  97t)i  Psalm, 
whence  it  is  commonly  thought  this  quotation  is 
made,  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
foretold,  together  w^  its  happy  influence  in  de> 
strojring  idolatry^  Because,  in  a  few  instances,  the 
word  Elohim,  gods,  denotes  idols,  this  clause  is 
translated  by  isome.  Worship  him,  oM  ye  idols.  Bui 
how^an  idols,  most  of  whom  are  nonentities,  wor* 
ship  the  Son  T' 

Verses  7-0.  Of  the  ange2«— Speaking  of  them ;  he 
— David ;  saith,  Who  maketh — Or  rather,  who  made  ; 
his  angels  spirits,  &c — That  is,  the  greatest  thing 
said  of  angds  is,  that  they  are  beings  not  clogged 
with  flesh,  and  who  are  zealous  and  actiye  in  the 
service  of  God  like  flames  of  Are.  The  expressions 
intimate  not  only  their  office,  but  also  their  nature^ 
which  is  very  excellent ;  the  metaphor  being  taken 
from  the  most  swift,  subtle,  and  efficacious  things  on 
earth ;  but,  nevertheless,  infinitely  below  the  majesty 
of  the  Son.  For  tinto  the  Son  he  saith^-Oi  him  the 
psalmist  speaks  in  more  exalted  language,  expres- 
sive of  his  sovereign,  universal,  and  everlasttng 
dominion,  saying,  Thy  throne^Thjii  is,  thy  reign, 
which  the  word  throne  implies ;  O  God,  is  for  ever 
and  evar— These  words  are  quoted  from  the  45th 
Psalm,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  "  some  commenta- 
tors, was  composed  concerning  Solomon's  marriage 
with  Pharaoh's  daughter.  But  could  Solomon,  with 
any  propriety,  be  addressed  by  the  title  of  God  7 
Or  could  it  be  said  of  him  that  his  kingdom,  which 
lasted  only  forty  years,  was  eternal  ?  It  was  not 
even  eternal  in  his  posterity ;  and  with  respect  to  his 
loving  righteousness,  and  hating  wickedness^  it  but 

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CHAPTER  L 


CrecOcr  o/aU  thingi. 


A.  M.  4068.  9  Thou  hast  loved  righteous- 
^^  ^  Hess,  and  hated  iniquity ;  there- 
fore God,  even  thy  God,  'hath  anointed 
diee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fel- 
lows* 

10  And,   ■  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  banning 
hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth ;   and 


.  Izi.  1.- 


*Pn.cifeS5,  4(c. 


ill  applies  to  one  who,  in  his  old  age,  became  an  en- 
coarager  of  idolatry,  through  ^e  influence  of 
women.  This  Psalm,  therefore,  is  applicable  only 
to  Christ^  Further,  Solomon's  marriage  with  Pha- 
raoh's daughter  being  expressly  condemned  as 
contrary  to  the  law,  (1  Kings  xL  2,)  to  suppose  that 
this  Psalm  was  composed  in  honour  of  that  event, 
is  certainly  an  ill-founded  imagination.  The  rab- 
bins, in  their  commentaries,  affirm  that  it  was  writ- 
ten wholly  concerning  the  Messiah.  Accordingly, 
they  translate  the  title  of  the  Psalm  as  we  do,  A 
Song  of  Loves :  the  LXX.,  odii  vittp  m  ayamrrny  a 
$ang  concerning  the  Beloved:  a  title  justly  given  to 
the  Messiah,  whom  God,  by  voices  from  heaven, 
declared  hie  beloved  Son," — ^Macknight.  Pierce 
says,  "  They  who  imagine  this  Psalm  is  an  epithala- 
mium  upon  Solomon's  marrying  Pharaoh's  daugh- 
ter, must  suppose  that  it  is  here  foretold  that  Solomon 
was  to  have  a  numerous  progeny  by  her,  whom  he 
should  set  up  for  princes  up  and  down  the  world,  by 
one  of  whom  he  should  be  succeeded,  verse  16,  /n- 
etead  of  thy  father  shall  be  thy  children,  when  thou 
mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth.  But  this 
cannot  be  true ;  for  besides  that  we  read  not  of  any 
children  Solomon  had  by  Pharaoh's  daughter,  it  is 
certain  that  Rehoboam,  who  succeeded  him,  was 
the  son  of  Naamah,  an  Ammonitess,  2  Chron.  xii. 
19.  And  so  far  was  he  from  being  able  to  set  his 
sons  to  rule  over  other  countries,  that  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  his  successors  kept  two  tribes  of  the 
twelve  steadfast  to  them.  The  whole  tenor  of  the 
Psalm  directs  us  plainly  to  understand  it  of  some 
excellent  prince,  who  was  highly  favoured  of  God, 
and  not  of  such  a  degenerate  one  as  Solomon  be- 
came, God  also  having  testified  his  displeasure 
against  him.  Further,  how  unlikely  is  it  that  verse 
2  should  be  understood  of  Solomon?  Nothing 
could  be  more  suitably  said  of  Christ  than  what  we 
there  meet  with:  Grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips, 
therefore  Ood  hath  blessed  thee  for  ever:  but  was 
such  language  fit  to  be  used  concerning  a  man  who 
became  a  most  notorious  idolater?  Was  not  the 
promise  conditional  that  was  made  to  Solomon  of 
blessedness,  and  had  he  not  forfeited  it  by  breaking 
Uie  condition  ?  The  last  verse  of  the  Psalm  seems 
aiflo  very  unlikely  to  belong  to  Solomon:  /  iDiU 
make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all  genera- 
tions ;  therefore  shall  the  people  praise  thee  for 
ever  and  ever.  Certainly  a  greater  than  Solomon 
is  here :  and  the  primitive  Christians  were  much  in 
the  right,  who  universally  agreed  in  applying  the 
Psalm  to  Christ,  and  him  only."  See  notes  on  Ps.  xlv. 
A  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy 
h 


the  heavens  are  the  woife  of  thy  a.m. 40gs. 
bands.  U 1 


11  *  They  shall  perish;  but  thou  remainest: 
and  they  aJI  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment  ; 

12  And  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up, 
and  they  shall  be  changed :  but  thou  art  the 
same,  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail. 


*  hft.  xucir.  4. 


ibtii^dlom^— That  is,  thy  reign,  of  which  the  seet>ire 
is  the  ensign,  is  fuU  of  justice  and  equity.  Or,  thy 
government  is  exercised  for  maintaining  truth  and 
righteousnoM  in  the  world.  Thou  hast  loved  right- 
eousness, &c. — Thou  art  infinitely  pure  and  holy ; 
therefore  God^-Who,  as  thou  art  Mediator,  is  thy 
Chdy  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness — 
With  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  fountain  of  joy ;  above 
thy  fellows — ^Above  all  the  children  of  men.  For 
God  gave  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him,  John 
iiL  34.  In  other  words,  God  bestowed  on  him,  as  a 
prophet,  priest,  and  king,  endowments,  whereby  he 
excelled  all  his  associates  (as  fieroxoi  signifies)  in 
those  offices.  ^*  Anciently,  kings,  priests,  and  pro- 
phets were  consecrated  to  their  several  offices  by 
the  ceremony  of  solemn  unction  with  perfhmed  oil, 
called  in  the  Psalm  the  oil  of  gladness,  because  it  oc- 
oasioned  great  joy,  both  to  the  person  anointed,  and 
to  those  who  were  present  at  the  ceremony.  Where- 
fore the  Son,  being  appointed  of  God  to  the  high 
offices  of  universal  King,  Priest,  and  Prophet  among 
men,  he  is  called,  by  way  of  eminence,  the  Lord's 
Messisdi,  Christ,  or  Anointed  One.  But  the  oil  with 
which  €k)d  anointed  or  consecrated  him  to  these  of- 
fices was  not  any  material  oil,  nor  was  the  unction 
external,  but  internal,  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  We 
may  therefore  understand  the  Psalm  as  a  predicti<»i 
of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  Jesus  at  his 
baptism,  whereby  was  signified  God's  giving  him 
the^pirit  without  measure." 

Verses  10-12.  And  thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning, 
&c.— These  words,  with  those  contained  in  the  two 
following  verses,  are  quoted  from  Psa.  cii.  35-27, 
where  they  are  evidently  spoken  of  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, the  living  and  true  God.  ^  Some  have  thought 
they  are  here  addressed  to  the  Father,  and  notto  the 
Son.  But,  as  the  former  passages  are  directed  to 
the  Son,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  this  is  so  liiee- 
%vise :  especially  as  it  would  not  have  been  to  the 
apostle's  purpose  to  quote  it  here,  if  it  had  been  ad- 
dressed to  the  Father.  By  affirming  that  these 
words  were  spoken  to  the  Son,  the  apostle  confuted 
the  opinion  of  those  Jews  who  held  that  the  angels 
assisted  in  making  this  mundane  system ;  an  error 
which  was  afterward  maintained  by  some  heretics 
in  the  Christian  Church.  7%cy— Permanent  as  they 
seem,  and  though  firmly  founded ;  shall  at  length 
perish^Of  the  perishing  of  the  earth  and  aerial 
heavens,  Peter  speaks,  2  Epist.  iii.  10-13,  where  he 
also  foretels  that  there  shall  be  new  heatens  and  a 
new  earth,  formed  for  the  habitation  of  the  righteous, 
after  the  old  creation  is  destroyed.  But  thou  re- 
mainest^Lioficrtig^  continuest  in  undecaying  glory; 

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Vd^    13  But  to  which  of  the  angels  eaid 

— '-  he  at  any  time,  '  Sit  on  my  right 

hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool? 


•PWL  ex.  1. «Gen.  xix.  16;  xxxii.  1, 2, 24 ;  Pmu xxxiT.  7; 


a»  a  ve$tur€^Ilepi6QXtuwy  a  mantle,  upper  gar- 
ment, or  cloak ;  shaU  ihon  fold  them  up— With  infi- 
nite ease;  and  they  shaU  be  changed — Into  new 
nearens  and  a  new  earth ;  or  thou  shalt  remove  them 
out  of  their  place,  and  introduce  a  new  soene  of 
things  with  as  much  ease  as  a  prince  lays  aside  one 
robe  and  puts  on  another.  But  thou  art  eternally 
t%e  same,  and  thy  yean  shaU  not  /aiZ— Through 
eYerlasting  agea^  nor  can  thy  perfections  admit  any 
possible  diminution. 

Verse  13.  But  to  which  qfthe  angels  said  he  ai 
any  time^  Sit  thou,  Ac — In  this  interrogation  a  ve- 
hement negation  is  included;  He  said  not  at  any 
time  to  any  of  the  angels,  as  he  said  to  his  Son  in  the 
human  nature,  Psa.  ex.  1.  Sit  thou  on  my  right 
hand— Reign,  thou  over  the  universe)  till,  &c. — He 
never  spake  these  words,  or  the  like,  concerning 
them;  there  is  no  testimony  to  that  purpose  record- 
ed in  the  whole  book  of  God,  the  only  means  of  such 
knomdedge,  and  rule  of  our  faith  in  such  things. 
Our  Lord  (Matt  xxiL  43)  spake  of  it  to  the  Phari- 
sees as  a  thing  eertain,  and  allowed  by  all  the  Jewish 
doctors,  that  David  wrote  the  cxth  Psalm  (from 
which  this  quotation  is  made)  by  inspiration  of  the 
Spirit,  concerning  Christ.  This  passage,  therefore, 
is  rightly  applied  to  Christ  by  the  writer  of  this 
epistle.  See  note  on  Psa.  ex.  1.  I  make  thine  ene- 
mies thy  Jbotstool— The  eastern  princes  used  to  tread 
on  the  necks  of  their  vanquished  enemies,  in  token 
of  their  utter  subjection,  Josh.  x.  24.  And  some  of 
the  more  haughty  ones,  in  mountuig  their  horses, 
used  their  enemies  as  a  footstool  This  passage, 
therefore,  is  a  prediction  of  the  entire  conquest  of 
evil  angels  and  wicked  men,  Christ's  enemies.  Are 
they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  &c. — ^The  apostle 
havhig  proved  the  pre-eminence  of  the  Son,  as  Me- 
diator of  the  new  covenant,  above  all  the  angels, 
from  the  attributes  of  honour  and  glory  that  are 
asoribsd  to  him  in  the  Scripture,  that  he  might  not 
appear  to  argue  merely  in  a  negative  manner,  from 
what  b  not  said  concerning  them,  he  adds  here  such 
a  description  of  their  natures  and  office,  or  employ- 
I  shows  that  indeed  no  such  thing  can  be 


14  ""Are  they  noC  aB  ministering  A.M. 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  minisier  for  them  — 1— ! 
who  shall  be  '  heirs  of  sal vation  7 


xci.  11 ;   ciii.  20,  21^ f  Romans  riu.  17 ;   Titos  iii.  7. 


rightly  affirmed  coneeming  them,  as  he  had  before 
manifested  to  be  spoken  and  recorded  eonceraiBf 
the  Son :  Ist,  As  to  their  natxnre,  they  are  irvnymro, 
spirits,  or  spiritnal  substances;  not  qualities,  or 
natural  faculties,  as  the  Sadducees  imagined :  and 
2d,  As  to  their  offices,  they  are  nvavftara  Xetrapxixo, 
ministering  spirits.  So  they  are  termed  Psa.  oui.Sl. 
Bless  the  Lord  all  ye  his  hosts,  7.eiTtspyoi  a»m,  ye 
ministers  of  his  thtU  do  his  pleasure.  And  l^ow 
they  execute  their  office  we  here  learn.  They  are 
eic  dioKowav  airo^eXXofuva,  setU  forth  unto  a  ministry: 
Sia  Tdf  ueXXovToc  ichfpovofieiv  troTtfpiav,  on  account,  or 
for  the  sake  of  those  that  shall  beheirs  of  salvation — 
Perhaps  this  is  said  in  allusion  to  the  Hebrew  name 
of  angels,  which  properly  signifies  messengers.  The 
word  all  is  here  erophatical,  denotmg  that  even  the 
highest  orders  of  angels,  dominions,  thrones,  princi^ 
palities,  and  powers  bow  the  knee  and  are  subject  to 
Jesus ;  ministering  in  the  afihirs  of  the  world  ac- 
cording to  his  direction.  But  although  the  Scrip- 
tures speak  of  ail  the  angels  as  thus  ministering,  the 
word  all  does  not  imply  that  every  individual  angel 
is  actually  employed  in  this  way,  but  that  every  one 
is  subject  to  be  so  employed.  It  must  be  observed 
also,  that  the  expression  is  not,  sent  forth  to  minister 
to,  but  dia,for--^  on  account  of;  them  who  ^laU 
be  heirs  qjf  salvation.  And  herein  the  harmony 
subsisting  between  both  parts  of  God's  family  is  still 
preserved.  As  in  the  service  of  the  church  the  min- 
isters thereof  do  not,  properly  speaking,  minister  to 
man,  but  to  the  Lord  in  the  behalf  of  men,  (Acts 
xiii.  2,)  so  is  it  with  these  spirits  also;  they  are  sent 
forth  to  minister  for  the  good  of  men,  but  property 
it  is  the  Lord  to  whom  they  minister.  His  servants 
they  are,notourii :  rather,they  are  owr fellow-servants. 
As  all  the  servants  of  a  king,  though  otherwise  they 
greatly  differ,  agree  in  this,  that  they  are  all  servants 
to  the  same  person.  Wherefore  this  passage  afl^ntls 
no  ground:  for  believing  that  every  heir  of  salvation 
has  a  guardian  angel  assigned  him.  Of  the  ministry 
of  angels  for  the  benefit  of  the  heirs  of  salvation  we 
have  many  examples  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
Testament 


CHAPTER  n. 

Htkscksptert  {I,)  The  i^fOstU  vnftTS^from  tki  dignity  of  Christ,  the sutkor  of  ths  gooptl^  tks  imiy  of  twnutAfi 
ttM€  wUsdfa$ay  adksring  to  it,  1^  (SJ  He  efitsrges  further  sm  CkrisCs  pro-emmenu  sbooe  the  sitgeU,  notwitkskmikig 
hie  st^ferings  for  a  time,  6-10.  (3,)  Shows  tkst  hu  tuferisgs  were  neeesssry,  ta  order  is  omr  eshsiion  smd  his  smn 
miidistorislghry;  end  thst  hie  aeewmftum  of  our  nature^  not  tf  the  lyrifc,  wss  mse$9Mry  to  As  discharge  of  his  fsisHly 
^tkefor  ue,  9-lS. 

4Bi  b 


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^tM^^^^.^M     ^*  -—   -■^   m  tmt  f  m  ■« 


A.  0.64. 


fpHEREFORE  we  ought  to  give 
the  moKe  eameBt  heed  to  the 


^  €hr.  rmn  Mtf  a« 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IL 
Terse  1.  TA«r«^)re,  &o.— The  foregoing  dis- 
pky  of  the  greatness  of  the  Son  of  God  being  de- 
signed to  convince  mankind  of  the  g^reat  excellence 
a^  importance  of  that  gospel  of  which  he  is  the 
anther,  and  of  the  great  guilt  of  disobeying,  neglect- 
ing, or  apostatizing  from  it,  the  apostle  now  proceeds 
to  cantion  his  readers  against  these  evils,  solemnly 
warning  them  of  the  awful  consequences  thereof^ 
and  urging  them  to  pay  the  utmost  attention  to  the 
things  which  they  had  heard  from  Jesus  and  his 
apostles,  that  is,  to  the  contents  of  the  gospel  in  gen- 
eral, whether  historical,  doctrinal,  preceptive,  pro- 
missive,  or  comminatory.  Therefore^  says  he,  dia 
Ttrro^on  this  account^  because  the  Son,  by  whom 
Ood  has  spoken  to  us  in  these  last  days,  and  given 
us  his  gospel,  is  so  glorious  a  person,  infinitely  supe- 
rior even  to  the  holy  angels,  and  much  more  to  every 
merely  human  messenger  formerly  sent  by  God  to 
men ;  we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  it — 
More  than  the  Israelites  gave  of  old  to  the  law, 
which  had  not  such  an  immediate  author,  and  more 
than  we  ourselves  have  formerly  given  to  the  gos- 
pel itself,  when  we  were  less  acquainted  with  its  ex- 
ceUence  and  importance.  We  ought  to  take  heed 
that  we  neither  forfeit  nor  lose  our  interest  in  it; 
to  the  things  which  we  have  heard^So  the  apostle 
expresses  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  with  respect  to 
the  way  and  manner  whereby  it  was  communicated, 
namely,  by  preaching^  an  ordinance  which  he  mag- 
nifies, making  it,  as  everywhere  eLie,  the  great  means 
of  begetting  faith  in  men,  Rom.  x.  14, 15.  So  that 
he  insists  upon  and  recommends  to  them,  not  only 
the  things  themselves,  wherein  they  had  been  in- 
structed, but  also  the  way  whereby  they  were  made 
acquainted  with  them :  this,  as  the  means  of  their 
believing,  as  the  ground  of  their  profession,  they 
were  diligently  to  remember  and  attend  ta  The 
apostle  says  we  ought,  joining  himself  with  them  to 
whom  he  wrote,  to  manifest  that  the  duty  he  ex- 
horted them  to  was  of  general  concern  to  all  to 
whom  the  gospel  was  preached,  so  that  he  laid  no 
singular  burden  on  (hem ;  and  that  he  might  not  as 
3ret  discover  to  them  any  suspicion  of  their  incon- 
stancy, or  make  them  suppose  that  he  entertained 
any  severe  thoughts  concerning  them;  apprehen- 
sions whereof  are  apt  to  render  exhortations  sus- 
pected, the  minds  of  men  being  very  ready  to  disre- 
gard what  they  are  persuaded  to,  if  they  suspect  that 
undeserved  blame  is  the  ground  of  the  exhortation. 
Lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  sUp — Namely, 
out  of  our  minds;  lest  we  should  lose  the  remem- 
brance of  them,  or  the  impression  they  once  made 
upon  us.  The  Greek,  fui  irore  irapappvijfiev^  is  lite- 
rally, lest  we  should  run  out^  namely,  as  leaky  ves- 
sels which  let  the  wiAer,  poured  into  them  one  way, 
run  out  many  ways,  l^e  word  relates  to  the  per- 
sons, not  to  Uie  things,  because  it  contains  a  crim^. 
b 


things  which  we  have  heard,  lest  at  A.it  406a, 
any  time  we  should  ^  let  Mem  slip. 


A.D.  Si. 


ktddng  vMMtU. 


It  is  our  duty  to  retain  the  word  which  we  have 
heard,  and  therefore  it  is  not  said  that  the  waier  flows 
out^  but  that  we,  aa  it  vrereypowU  outy  losing  that 
negligently  which  we  ought  to  have  retained.  And, 
says  Dr.  Owen,  '^  there  is  an  elegant  metaphor  in  the 
word ;  for  as  the  drops  of  rain  falling  on  the  earth 
water  it  and  make  it  fruitful,  so  does  the  celestial 
doctrine  make  fruitM  unto  God  the  souls  of  men 
upon  whom  it  descends:  and  hence,  with  respect  to 
the  word,  of  the  gospel,  Christ  is  said  to  come  down 
as  ihe  sJiowers  on  the  mown  grass,  Psa.  Ixxii.  6;  and 
the  apostle  calls  preaching  the  gospel,  waiering  men, 
1  Coriii.6,  7;  and  compares  them  to  whom  it  is 
preached,  to  the  earth  thatdrinketh  in  the  rain,  Heb, 
vi.  7.  Hence  men  are  here  said  to  pour  out  the 
word  preached,  when,  by  negligence,  they  lose,  in- 
stead of  retaining,  the  benefit  of  the  gospel  So 
when  our  Lord  compares  the  same  word  to  seed,  ho 
illustrates  men's  falling  from  it  by  all  the  ways  and 
means  whereby  seed,  cast  into  ihe  earth,  may  be 
lost  or  become  unprofitable."  It  may  not  be  im- 
proper to  observe  here,  that  as  water  is  lost  gradually 
out  of  a  leaky  vessel,  so  the  remembrance  of,  and 
ffith  in,  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  with  the  enlighten^ 
ing,  quickening,  renewing,  strengthening,  and  com- 
forting infiuence  produced  by  them,  are  usually  lost 
gradually,  perhaps  also  insensibly.  We  lose,  1st,  Our 
remembrance  of  them ;  2d,  Our  love  to  and  relish 
for  thenaj  and,  3d,  The  effect  produced  by  them, 
perhaps  both  the  internal  graces  and  the  external 
virtues  flowing  therefrom.  The  apostle  says,  lest  at 
any  time  we  shovld  let  them  slip.  Some  lose  their 
grace  in  a  time  of  peace  and  prosperity,  some  in  a  time 
of  persecution  and  adversity,  and  some  in  the  hour  of 
peculiar  temptation:  for  God  in  his  wisdom  suffers 
such  an  hour  to  come  upon  the  church  for  its  trial, 
and  upon  every  member  of  it,  that  they  may  be  con- 
formed to  their  Head,  who  had  his  special  seasons 
of  temptation.  In  this  trying  time  many  lose  the 
good  effects  of  the  word  they  have  heard,  either 
wholly  or  in  some  measure.  They  are  cast  into  a 
negligent  slumber  by  the  opiates  of  temptation,  and 
when  they  awake  and  consider  the  state  of  their 
hearts  and  lives,  they  find  that  the  whole  efficacy  of 
the  word  is  lost.  The  ways  also,  it  ought  to  be  ob- 
served, whereby  this  woful  effect  is  produced,  are 
various;  as,  1st,  The  love  of  the  world,  which  made 
Demas  a  leaky  Vessel,  2  Tim.  iv.  10 ;  and  choked  the 
fourth  part  of  the  seed  in  the  parable,  Matt.  xiii.  22. 
3d,  The  love  of  sin ;  a  vile  affection  or  corrupt  pas- 
sion wUl  make  the  spiritual  vessel  full  of  chinks,  so 
that  it  will  not  retain  the  spiritual  water.  Again, 
3d,  False  doctrine,  formality  in  worship,  conten- 
tions and  divisions  among  the  serious  professors 
of  religion,  will  easily  produce,  if  yielded  to, 
the  same  unhappy  effect.  Let  the  reader,  thus 
warned,  be  upon  his  guard  in  these  and  such  like 
respects. 


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iheif  eamol  e§capB:pumbm§iC*, 


A.  if.4088.    2  For  if  the  word  ^epoken  by  an- 
^^'^   geb  was  steadfasi,  and  *•  every  traiw- 
grankm  and  digobedieace  reeeiyed  a  juai  recom- 
pODse  of  reward; 


•  Devt  xxxiiL  9;  P«l  IxviiL  17.— >  Nam.  xr.  30,  31. 


Vene8  2-4.  For  if  ike  itard  spoken  bjf  angeU^ 
The  law  delivered  by  their  minisdy.  It  is  nowhere 
afinned  that  the  law  was  gtven  by  angela,  bat  that 
the  people  received  it,  etc  dmrayac  ayyeWu^^  by  tJie  die- 
poeition,  adminittration^  or  dqnaatum  of  angels, 
Acts  viL  53  J  and  that  it  was  Sun-ayet^^  ordained,  ap- 
pointed, or  promulgated,  by  angels,  (QnL  iii.  19,)  and 
here  that  it  was  epijken  by  them«  From  hence  it  is 
evident,  that  not  the  original,  authoritative  givmgof 
the  law,  but  the  ministerial  ordering  of  things  in  its 
promulgation,  is  that  which  is  ascribed  to  them.  As 
Chrysostom  observes,  they  excited  the  thunderings, 
the  lightnings,  the  smoke,  the  earthquake,  and  the 
sounding  of  the  trumpet  which  preceded  God's  giv- 
ing the  law.'  And  perhaps  also  an  angel  effected  the 
articulate  voices  which  conveyed  the  words  of  the 
ten  commandments  to  the  ears  of  the  people;  or  an 
angel  was  employed  to  repeat,  in  a  loud  and  terrible 
voice,  the  words  which  God  pronounced,  /  am  the 
Lord  thy  Ood,  with  what  follows,  Exod.  xx.  2,  &c. 
The  apostle  having  just  insisted  (chap,  i.)  on  a  com- 
parison between  Christ  and  the  angels,  his  argumei^ 
b  greatly  corroborated  when  it  is  considered,  that 
the  law  was  the  word  spoken  by  angels,  but  the  gos- 
pel was  delivered  by  the  Son,  who  is  so  far  exalted 
above  them;  was  stecutfast^BtSaiocy  firm,  a  sure 
covenant  between  God  and  the  people ;  and  every 
transgression  and  disobedience — ^The  word  irapaSa- 
ati,  transgression,  signifies  the  leaping  over  the 
bounds  which  the  law  had  set,  by  doing  the  things 
forbidden  by  it ;  napoKoji  is  the  refusing  to  do  the 
things  it  enjoins;  received  a  just  recompense  of  re- 
ward—-ThKi  is,  a  just  punishment.  But  how  could 
every  sin  and  transgression  be  said  to  receive  a  just 
retribution,  seeing  it  is  certain  that  some  sins,  under 
the  law,  were  not  punished,  but  expiated  by  atone- 
ments ?  In  answer  to  this,  it  must  be  observed,  that 
every  sin  was  contrary  to  the  doctrine  and  precepts 
of  the  law,  and  therefore  punishment  was  assigned 
to  every  sin,  though  not  executed  on  every  sinner. 
Besides,  the  sacrifices  of  atonement  manifested  pun- 
ishment to  have  been  due,  though  the  sinner  was  re- 
lieved against  it.  But  the  sins  especially  intended  by 
the  apostle  were,  in  fact,  such  as  were  directly  against 
the  law,  as  it  was  the  covenant  between  God  and  the 
people ;  for  wjiich  there  was  no  provision  made  of  any 
atonement  or  compensation.  But  the  covenant  being 
broken,  the  sinners  were  to  die  without  mercy ;  and 
thus  to  be  utterly  exterminated  by  the  hand  of  God, 
or  that  of  man,  by  his  appointment.  The  expression, 
n^Koc  pLio^aKodoaiv,  rendered,  a  just  recompense  of 
reward,  signifies  a  recompense  proportionable  to  the 
crime,  according  to  the  judgment  of  God,  which  is  in- 
finitely just  and  equal,  and  impfies  that  they  who  com- 
mit sin  are  worthy  of  death,  Rom.  i.  32;  and  particu- 
larly refers  to  the  temporal  punishment  of  cutting 
496 


3  ""  Hew  shall  we  escape,  if  we  ne-  am.  ^ooa 
gleet 80 groat sahratkn;  ^wbickatthe         '^^ 
first  began  to  be  spokeo  \fy  the  Lord,  and  wob 
*  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard  Attn/ 


•  Chip.  X. «, ». 'Matt  IT.  17. •hukB  i  %, 

them  off  from  the  land  of  flie  Ifving,  according  to 
the  dhipeusation  of  the  law  to  which  the  IsraeUtes 
were  subject. 

How  shall  we  eM^ape— Severe  punishment;  if  we 
neglect — A/uXnooptec,  not  caring  about,  not  embrac- 
ing and  improving;  so  great  salvatian^ThaX  is, 
both  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  the  gospel  which 
brings  us  tidings  of  it,  shows  us  our  want  of  it,  offers 
it  to  us,  and  is  the  most  powerfhl  means  of  bringing 
us  to  enjoy  it;  and  salvation  itself,  declared  by  this 
doctrine,  and  announced  and  exhibited  in  this  gos- 
pel. The  greatness  of  this  salvation  may  be  Inferred 
with  certainty  from  the  great  dignity  and  glory  of 
its  Author,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  chapter,  and 
from!  the  great  things  he  hath  done  and  suffered  to 
procure  it  for  lost  mankind ;  the  great  price  paid  fbr 
it,  (1  Pet.  L  18, 19,)  and  the  great  power  exerted  to 
put  us  in  possession  of  it,  Eph.  i.  19.  But,  independ- 
ently of  these  considerations,  it  is  evidently  great, 
unspeakably  great,  in  its  own  nature ;  being,  Ist,  A 
deliverance  from  a  state  of  great  ignorance  and 
folly,  with  respect  to  things  spiritual  and  divine, 
Tit  ill.  d ;  of  great  guilt  and  depravity,  weakness 
and  misery,  which,  were  it  not  for  this  salvation, 
would  be  eternal;  2d,  A  restoration  (so  the  word 
auTTipia,  rendered  salvation,  also  signifies)  to  the 
favour  and  friendship,  image  and  nature  of  God, 
and  communion  with  him;  blessings  lost  by  the 
fall— 4>lessing6  of  infinite  value,  and  intended  to  be 
of  everlasting  duration;  and,  (which  likewise  is 
implied  In  the  same  expression,)  3d,  A  preservation^ 
notwithstanding  all  the  subtlety  and  power,  ma- 
lice and  diligence  of  our  spiritual  enemies,  contin- 
ually exerted  to  effect  our  destruction,  to  eternal 
life,  felicity,  and  glory ;  or  the  being  kept  by  the 
power  of  God,  through  faith,  unto  final,  eternal  sal- 
vation, of  both  body  and  soul,  1  Pet  i.  6.  A  salva- 
tion this  unspeakably,  yea,  infinitely  greater  than 
that  wrought  for  the  IsraeDtes  of  old,  when  God  de- 
livered them  from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  esta- 
blished them  in  the  quiet  possession  of  Canaan. 
J^hich  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken — ^To  be 
preached  In  a  clear  and  distinct  manner;  h^  the 
Lor(2— The  Son  of  God,  the  Lprd  of  angels.  Jesus 
is  called  the  Lord,  chiefly  because,  as  the  Maker  and 
Governor  of  the  world,  Ac  is  Lord  of  all,  Acts  x.  36; 
consequently  he  is  able  both  to  reward  those  who 
obey  him,  by  bestowing  on  them  eternal  salvation, 
and  to  punish  with  everlasting  destruction  (hose 
who  disobey  him;  and  was  confirmed— TxxrWieT 
declared,  and  its  truth  attested ;  unto  la— Of  this 
age,  even  every  article  of  it ;  by  them  that  heard 
himr— The  apostles,  who  had  been  themselves  both 
eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the  word.  "  Matters 
of  fact  which  were  transacted  before  our  own  time, 
and  whereof  we  could  not  be  ourselves  ey  e-witnessc^ 

b 


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Th$  tnUk  o/Chrisi*$  gapel  was 


CHAPTER  U. 


confirmed  by  miracles  and  gifts. 


LIX  64. 


4  ^God  abo  bearing  them  witness, 
f  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with 


fMaxkzTi.20.- 


r  Acta  ii  22,  43. •  Or,  dittributioHs. 


•re  readily  belieTed  upon  the  report  of  others.  And 
when  the  reporters  are  persons  of  credit  and  repu- 
tation, and  report  nothing  but  what  they  declare 
tiiemseives  to  have  seen  and  certainly  known,  and 
they  are  likewise  many,  and  exactly  concur  in  their 
testimony,  and  nothing  is  alleged  against  them  by 
any  others,  and  particularly  by  such  as  were  con- 
cerned to  invalidate  their  account  if  possible,  we 
think  we  haire  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  receive 
their  testimony.  All  which  circumstances  do  evi- 
dently concur  in  the  confirmation  of  the  gospel." — 
Pierce.  God  also  bearing  them  mtness — As  to  the 
truth  and  importance  of  their  doctrine ;  both  with 
signs  and  wonders — Many  and  marvellous.  "  The 
apostle  havmg  observed,  in  verse  2,  that  the  law 
spoken  by  angels  was  confirmed  by  the  miracles 
wfaieh  accompanied  its  delivery,  he  judged  it  proper 
to  mention  that  the  gospel  was  equaUy  confirmed  by 
(he  great  miracles  which  accompanied  the  preach- 
ing, both  of  Jesus  Christ  himself  and  of  the  apostles. 
Wherefore  such  of  the  Hebrews  as  had  not  heard 
Jesus  preach  the  great  salvation,  were  nevertheless 
bound  to  give  heed  to  the  things  which  he  had 
preached,  since  they  were  sufficiently  declared  and 
proved  to  them  by  the  apostles  and  other  ministers 
of  the  word,  who  had  heard  him  preach  these 
things."— Macknight.  With  divers  miracles  and 
gifts — UepifffiotCj  distributions;  of  the  Holy  Ghost — 
In  his  extraordinary  operations,  imparted  in  diflerent 
degrees  to  different  persons;  according  to  his  own 
ipifl— "Moses  wrought  many  signs,  wonders,  and 
miracles;  but  the  distributions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  he 
knew  nothing  of.  They  were  peculiar  to  the  gos- 
pel dispensation,  and  consisted  of  the  internal  gifts 
of  wisdom,  knowledge,  prophecy,  faith,  the  discern- 
ment of  spirits,  tongues,  and  the  interpretation  of 
tongues,^  These  are  called  distributions  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  because  Grod  by  his  Spirit  divided  them  to 
every  one  as  he  pleased,  1  Cor.  xii.  11.  "The  mir- 
acles," says  Pierce, "  which  were  wrought  by  the  first 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  were  an  attestation  from  God 
of  the  truth  of  what  they  delivered.  And  indeed  we 
must  entertain  very  strange  and  unworthy  appre- 
hensions of  the  blessed  God,  if  we  can  suppose  that 
he  would  countenance  a  notorious  imposture,  by  en- 
abling those  who  published  it  to  the  world  to  per- 
form, in  confirmation  of  it,  so  many  miracles  as  they 
did,  things  that  were  vastly  above  the  power  and 
ability  of  men.  It  is  true  there  were  other  confir- 
mations of  our  Saviour's  character  and  commission, 
particularly  the  concurrence  of  all  that  was  foretold 
by  the  old  prophets  concerning  the  Messiah.  But 
this  does  by  no  means  hinder  these  miracles  to  be 
an  attestation  from  God,  and  accordingly  to  deserve 
our  utmost  regard." 

And  now  let  the  reader  consider  how  those  will 
excuse  their  conduct  to  God,  their  own  consciences, 
or  the  assembled  world  of  men  and  angels  in  the 
day  of  final  Judgment,  who  negleet  this  salvation ;  a 

Vou  n.  (  t»  ) 


divers  miracles,  and  »gifts  »»of  the  Hdy  a.  m.  4068. 
Ghost,  <  according  to  his  own  will?       ^  ^  ^ 


fcl  Cor.  xiL  4,  7, 11 JEph.  i.  5,  9. 


salvation  which  has  so  glorious  an  Author,  which 
is  so  unspeakably  great  and  excellent  in  itself;  has 
cost  such  an  immense  price,  and  to  attest  and  con- 
firm which  God's  almighty  power  has  been  exerted 
in  so  extraordinary  a  manner  in  signs  and  wonders 
innumerable;  yea,  "has  waked  and  worked  for 
ages."  But  who  are  they  that  may  properly  be 
said  to  neglect  this  salvation?  Surely  not  those 
merely  who  disbelieve  and  reject  the  gospel,  which 
proclauns,  displays,  and  offers  it ;  or  who  oppose  and 
persecute  the  preachers  and  professors  of  it ;  but  those 
who,  as  the  expression  used  hereby  the  apostle  means, 
make  light  of  it,  have  little  or  no  care  or  concern 
about  it,  and  consequently  take  no  pains  to  bo- 
come  partakers  of  it.  All  do  and  will  neglect  this 
salvation  who  do  not,  Ist,  See  their  want  of  it,  and 
thehr  undone  state  without  it;  who  are  not  convinced 
of  its  absolute  necessity  and  great  excellence ;  2d, 
Who  do  not  earnestly  and  pcrseveringly  desire  it, 
and  hunger  and  thirst  for  the  enjoyment  of  it;  3d, 
Who  do  not  diligently  seek  it  in  the  use  of  the  means 
which  God  has  appointed,  the  private  and  public 
means  of  grace,  such  as  hearing,  reading,  and  medi- 
tating on  the  word  of  God,  prayer,  watchflilness, 
self-denial,  and  taking  up  the  daily  cross;  4th,  Who 
do  not  humble  themselves  before  God  in  true,  genu- 
ine repentance,  and  bring  forth  fruit  worthy  of  re- 
pentance ;  5th,  Who  do  not  embrace  the  gospel  in 
all  its  branches,  its  truths,  precepts,  and  promises ; 
its  doctrines,  privileges,  and  duties;  and  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, its  blessed  Author,  in  all  his  offices  and  charac- 
ters, in  faith,  love,  and  new  obedience.  Nay,  and, 
6th,  They,  in  some  measure  at  least,  neglect  this  sal« 
vation  who,  having  experienced  one  part  of  it,  as^ 
for  instance,  a  sense  of  pardon  and  the  divine  favour, 
yet  do  not  go  forward  with  zeal  and  diligence  in 
pursuit  of  what  remains,  namely,  perfect  holiness, 
and  eternal  glory.  And  these,  7th,  Most  of  all  ne- 
glect this  salvation  who,  having  begun  in  the  Spirit, 
end  in  the  flesh ;  who  fall  from  grace,  and  turn  from 
the  holy  commandment  delivered  to  them;  whose 
case  the  apostle  represents  in  a  just  but  awful  light, 
chap.  vi.  4-8;  X.  26-31;  xii.  25-27.  From  which 
passages  the  reader  may  learn  how  the  neglecters 
of  this  salvation  in  general,  and  apostates,  or  back- 
sliders, in  particular,  may  expect  to  escape.  The  truth, 
with  respect  to  this,  is,  1st,  That  mankind  in  general 
being  by  nature  and  practice  in  a  lost  state,  a  state  of 
ignorance  and  sin,  of  guilt,  condemnation,  and  wrath, 
of  depravity,  weakness,  and  misery ;  and  this  salvation 
being  provided  for  their  recovery,  they  who  neglect  it 
of  course  remain  in  that  lost  estate,  unenlightened,  un- 
pardoned, unchanged,  unholy,  and  unhappy.  They 
sin  against  the  remedy,  the  only  remedy  which  the 
wisdom  of  God  hath  found  out  for  man's  restoration, 
and  therefore  must  perish  without  remedy.  This  is 
not  all ;  they  have,  2d,  To  expect  a  superadded  and 
increased  misery  for  neglecting  the  glorious  salva- 
tion provided  for  them ;  provided  at  so  great  an  ex- 
497  b 


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HEBREWS. 


lamer  Aon  the  angtb.' 


A.  M.  4068.    5  For  unto  the  angels  hath  he  not 
',        put  in  subjection  ^  the  world  to  come 
whereof  we  Bpeak. 

6  But  one  in  a  certain  [dace  testified,  saying, 
'  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindiidof  him?  or 


k  Chi^.  n.  5 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  13. » Job  rii.  17 ;  Psa. 


pense  of  love  and  sufiferings,  and  with  so  great  an 
^paratus  of  grace  and  mercy.  This  passage  proves 
this  point  to  a  demonstration ;  as  do  also  the  other 
paragraphs  above  referred  to.  Observe,  reader,  the 
greatness  of  the  salvation— its  eternity— the  glory 
of  its  Author—the  amazing  sufferings  he  endured — 
the  various  and  extraordinary  gifts  and  operation^ 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  in  former  ages  sealed  and 
signalized  this  divine  dispensation — the  pardon  and 
grace  offered  to  us,  and  urged  upon  us— the  advices, 
exhortations,  entreaties,  and  warnings  of  ministers 
and  others,  who  h.ad  our  salvation  at  heart; — in 
short,  the  various  means  made  use  of,  in  various 
ways,  to  bring  us  to  the  knowledge  and  enjoyment 
of  this  salvation:— all  these  must  aggravate  our 
guilt,  and  increase  our  condemnation  and  Aiture 
punishment,  if  we  neglect  it. 

Verse  5.  For,  &c.— This  verse  contains  a  proof  of 
the  third :  the  greater  the  salvation  is,  and  the  more 
glorious  the  Lord  whom  we  despise,  the  greater  will 
be  our  punishment  Unto  the  angels  hath  he  (God) 
not  put  in  subjection  the  V)m*ld  to  come— That  is,  as 
most  commentators  have  understood  the  clause,  the 
dispensation  of  the  Messiah ;  which,  being  to  suc- 
ceed the  Mosaic,  was  usually  styled  by  the  Jews, 
The  world  to  come;  although  it  is  still,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  come :  whereof 'we  speak— 0{  which  I 
am  now  speaking.  In  this  last  great  dispensation, 
the  Son  alone  presides.  Macknight,  however,  ob- 
jects to  this  interpretation  of  the  words,  observing, 
^  The  gospel  dispensation  is  called  aujvoc  fulXovrot, 
the  age  to  come,  (Heb.  vi.  5,)  but  never  oiKHftevfiv  fieX- 
Xbvav,  the  habitable  world  to  come.  That  phrase,  if  I 
mistake  not,  signifies  the  heavenly  country  promised 
to  Abraham,  and  to  his  spiritual  seed.  Wherefore, 
as  ounftevfiVf  the  world,  (Luke  iL  1,  and  elsewhere,) 
by  a  usual  figure  of  speech,  signifies  the  inhabitants 
of  the  world,  the  phrase  oiKttfi^vijv  fu^naav,  may  very 
well  signify  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  to  come, 
called,  (Heb.  L  14,)  them  who  shall  inherit  salvation. 
If  so,  the  apostle's  meaning  will  be,  that  God  hath 
not  put  the  heirs  of  salvation,  who  are  to  inhabit  the 
world  to  come,  the  heavenly  Canaan,  in  subjection 
to  angels,  to  be  by  them  coiiducted  into  that  world, 
as  the  Israelites  were  conducted  into  the  earthly 
Canaan,  by  an  angel,  Bxod.  xxiii.  20.  They  are 
only  ministermg  spirits,  sent  forth  by  the  Son  to 
minister  for  the  heirs  of  salvation,  but  not  to  con- 
duct them.  The  heirs  who  are  to  inhabit  the  world 
to  come,  God  hath  put  in  subjection  to  the  Son  alone. 
Hence  he  is  called  the  Captain  of  their  salvation, 
Heb.  IL  10.  And  having  introduced  them  into  the 
heavenly  country,  he  will  deliver  up  the  kingdom 
.to  God  the  Father,  as  we  are  told  1  Cor.  xv.  24." 

Verse  6.  But  one  in  a  certain  ptece— Namely, 
496 


the  eon  of  man,  that  thou  visilest  him  ?  A.  u,  4068l 
7  Thou  madest  hkn  ^a  Iktk  lower  ±^L^ 
than  the  angels ;  thou  crownedst  him  with 
glory  and  honour,  and  didst  set  him  over  the 
works  of  thy  hands; 


▼iii  4,  d(c. ;  ezlir.  3.— ^Or,  «  UiUtwhikktfmw  f». 


David,  Psa.  viii.  4 ;  testified,  saying,  What  is  man 
—The  Hebrew  word  isnj»,  used  in  the  Psalm,  means 
weak, miserable,9M.mortat man;  man inhis fallen 
state;  obnoxious  to  grief^  sorrow,  annety,  pain, 
trouble,  and  death :  that  thou  art  mindful  ofhimn^ 
What  is  he  to  the  vast  expanse  of  the  heavens,  to 
the  moon  and  the  stars  which  thou  hast  ordained? 
This  Psalm  seems  to  barve  been  composed  by  David 
in  a  clear,  moon-shiny,  and  star-light  night,  while  he 
was  contemplating  the  wonderful  fabric  of  the  hea- 
ven ;  because,  in  bis  magnificent  description  of  its 
luminaries,  he  takes  no  notice  of  the  sun,  the  most 
glorious  of  them  alL  The  words  here  cited  concern- 
ing dominioi\,  were  doubtless  in  some  sense  applica- 
Me  to  Adam ;  although,  in  their  complete  and  highest 
sense,  they  belong  to  none  but  the  second  Adam. 
It  has  indeed  been  a  great  question  among  interpret^ 
ers,  whether  the  Psalm  speaks  of  man  in  general, 
and  of  the  honour  which  God  put  upon  him  in  his 
creation,  or  only  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  But  upon 
comparing  the  contents  of  it  with  this  chapter,  it 
seems  evident  that  both  are  included.  For  the  de- 
sign of  the  Psalm  appears  plainly  to  have  been  to 
display  and  celebrate  the  great  love  and  kindness  of 
God  to  mankind :  not  only  in  their  creation,  but  also 
in  their  redemption  by  Christ  Jesus  -,  whom,  as  he 
was  man,  God  advanced  to  the  honour  here  qioken 
of,  that  he  might  carry  on  that  great  and  glorious 
work.  Some  parts  of  the  Psalm,  however,  relate 
more  eminently  to  Christ  than  to  man  in  general, 
and  accordingly  are  so  interpreted,  both  by  our  Lord 
and  by  his  aposUes,  particularly  verses  2,  6.  Or  the 
Son  of  man — Hebrew,  OiK  {3,  the  son  of  Adam, 
of  one  made  put  of  the  earth ;  thai  thou  visitest  him 
— The  sense  rises :  we  are  mindful  of  him  that  is 
absent ;  but  to  visit  denotes  the  care  of  one  present. 
And  it  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  the  Hebrew 
word  occurring  in  the  Psalm,  and  rendered  visitest, 
though  variously  used,  yet  constantly  denotes  the 
action  of  a  superior  toward  an  inferior,  and  commonly 
expresses  some  act  of  God  toward  his  people  for 
good.  And  especially  in  the  term  visiting  used  to 
express  the  stupendous  act  of  God  in  sending  his 
Son  to  take  our  nature  upon  him,  as  Luke  i.  68, 78. 
"  He  hath  visited  and  redeemed  his  people ;"  and 
"  The  day-spring  from  on  high  hath  visited  us." 
This  was  the  ground  of  the  psalmist's  admiration, 
and  will  be  a  cause  of  admiration  to  all  believers 
through  eternal  ages. 

Verse  7.  Thou  madest  AitTi— That  is,  1st,  Man, 
when  first  created ;  a  little  lower  than  the  angels — 
So  th^  LXX.,  and  all  the  old  Greek  translations,  as 
also  the  Targum,  read  the  clause ;  but  the  Hebrew, 
0'nb«D  oyo,  is  a  little  lower  than  God;  the  word 
God  being  probably  put  by  an  ellipsb  (cnt  the  angels 
(»♦  )  b 


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OHAPTBRIL 


to  mak4  atmemetUfir  all  men. 


A.1L406&    8  "'ThcMi  hast  put  all  thuiga  in 

^ sid^ectioii  under  his  feet   For  in  that 

he  put  aU  in  sid>jecii(Hi  un^r  him,  he  bft  no- 
dung  that  t^  not  put  under  him,  But  now  '^we 
Bee  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him : 


•Matt,  zzriii.  18;   1  Cor.  zr.  87;   Eph.  i.  22;  Chtp.  L  13. 
•1  Cor.  zv.  8ft. •  PhiL  iL7-a. *Or,iy. — ^  Acts  it  S3. 


ofCfocL  Man,  when  first  formed,  was,  it  seems,  in 
the  scale  Of  creatures  next  to  angels,  his  soul  being 
spiritual,  intelligent,  free,  and  immortal ;  but,  as  by 
his  body  he  wss  allied  to  the  earth,  and  to  the  beasts 
that  perish,  he  was  lower  than  they.  But,  2d,  The 
expression  here  used,  ppajcv  n,  may  berendered,/(;r 
aUttle  lohile^  as  it  is  Acts  v.  44;  And  commanded  to 
put  ihe  apoetlee  forth,  ppaxv  ti,  a  little  space,  or 
while ;  and  Luke  xxiL  58,  lura  fipaxv,  ojier  a  little 
while*  Thus  translated,  the  clause  is,  Hum  haat 
made  him,  for  a  little  while,  lower,  or  less,  than  the 
angels:  in  which  sei»e  the  passage  may  be  properly 
applied  to  Christ,  as  it  here  is  by  tiie  apostle,  whose 
meaning  appears  to  be,  Thou,  O  God,  hast  made  thy 
Son,  by  his  incarnation,  humiliation,  and  obedience 
unto  death,  ^  a  little  while,  lower  than  the  angels. 
For  although  from  Christ's  birth  the  angels  adored 
his  person  as  their  Lend,  yet  in  the  outward  condi- 
tion of  his  human  nature  he  was  made  exceedingly 
braeath  their  state  of  glory  and  excellence,  for  a 
little  while,  a  s^k^Hfeotfon.  <*  That  which  renders  this 
sense  unquestionable,''  says  Dr.  Owen,  ^^  is  the  apos- 
tle's restraining  the  words  precisely  thereto,  verse  9^. 
It  was  but  for  a  little  while  that  the  person  of  Christ, 
in  Ae  nature  of  man,  was  brought  into  a  condition 
more  indigent  than  that  to  which  the  nature  of  an- 
gels is  exposed :  neither  was  he  for  that  season  made 
a  little,  but  very  much  lower  than  the  angels.  And 
had  this  been  the  whole  of  his  state,  it  could  not 
have  been  an  efiect  of  that  inexpressible  love  which 
the  psalmist  so  admires.  But,  seeing  it  was  but  for 
a  short  season,  and  that  for  the  blessed  ends  which 
the  apostle  speaks  o^  nothing  could  more  commend 
it  to  us."  Thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and 
Aonour— That  is,  not  only  man  at  his  first  creation,  to 
whom  God  gave  dominionover  the  creatures, but  also, 
and  more  e^iecially,  Jesus,  after  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  and  ascension  into  heaven.  Jesus  was  co- 
vered with  the  greatest  ignominy  when  he  was  cruci- 
fied by  the  Jews  as  a  deceiver,  for  caUing  himself 
ChristtheSonofGod.  But  at  his  resurrection  and  sub- 
sequent exidtation  that  ignominy  was  entirely  re- 
moved ;  and  his  fame,  and  name,  and  honour,  as  the 
Son  of  God,  were,  in  the  most  illustrious  manner, 
restored  to  him.  See  Phil.  ii.  9-11.  And  didst  set 
him  aver  the  work  of  thy  hands^Aa  Ruler  and  Lord 
of  all ;  namely,  in  a  lower  sense  Adam  when  cre- 
ated, and  more  eminently  Christ  when  raised  from 
the  dead,  and  set  at  God's  own  right  hand.  For  as 
he  had  actual  dominion  given  him  upon  his  ascen- 
sion into  heaven,  so  the  extent  of  this  dominion  is 
the  works  ofGod?s  hands, 

yerses8,9.  T%m  hast  put  aUthing^^AU  things 
without  exception  $  nLSuhjection-^TwoKari*  tmu  irodwf 
b 


9  ButweseeJesufly^'v^wasinade  AM.406a 
a  little  low^  than  the  angels  «ibr   ^^'^ 
the  suflfering  of  death,  >"  crowned  with  ^ry  and 
honour;  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God  should 
taste  death  ^  for  every  man. 


4  John  ill.  16;  ziL  32 ;  Romans  ▼.  18;  yiii.  39 ;  2  Cor.  r.  15  ; 
1  Timt  ii.  6 ;  1  John  ii.  S ;  Rer.  r.  ft. 


<WT»,  under  his  very  /ec/— Such  are  the  psalmist's 
words,  expressive  of  a  dominion  every  way  unlimit- 
ed and  absolute.  For  in  that  it  is  said,  he  put  oil 
things  under  him,  he  left  notfung—ThBi  is,  no&ing 
is  excepted ;  thcU  is  not  put  under  him — But  the 
whole  universe  and  every  creature  in  it  is  included. 
Bui  now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  htm-— 
That  is,  under  man,  concerning  whom  the  words 
were  spoken,  being  connected  with  verse  4  of  the 
Psalm,  What  is  man?  As  if  the  apostle  had  said, 
A  long  space  of  time  hath  elapsed  since  the  giving 
out  this  testimony,  and  much  longer  since  the  cre- 
ation of  num ;  and  yet,  during  all  these  years,  or 
rather,  all  these  ages,  we  see  that  all  things  are  very 
far  from  being  put  under  man's  feet,  from  being 
subjected  to  the  human  race  in  general,  or  to  any 
individual  mere  man.  Hence,  (as  if  the  apostle  had 
added,)  we  ourselves,  by  our  own  observation,  may 
easily  discern  that  these  words  of  the  psalmist  re- 
spect not  only,  or  principally,  either  the  first  man 
or  his  posterity,  under  whom  certainly  all  things 
are  not,  and  never  were,  put  in  subjection.  But  we 
see  Jesus-^Th^  is,  it  is  only  in  Jesus  that  the 
psalmist's  testimony  is  verified ;  he  was  made  lower 
than  the  angels — And  he  hath  had  all  things  put  in 
subjection  to  him.  These  things,  says  the  apostle, 
we  see.  Yet  it  was  not  on  his  own  account  that  he 
was  made  lower  than  the  angels,  in  being  clothed 
with  our  frail  and  mortal  nature,  but  in  order  that  he 
might  suffer  death,  which  is  further  explained  by 
the  addition  of  the  next  clause.  For  the  words  6f 
TO  na&ii/ta  tb  ^Oavaru,  for  the  suffering  of  death,  lure 
evidently  intended  to  express  the  final  cause  of  the 
humiliation  of  Christ,  (he  was  made  lower  than  the 
angels,  who  cannot  die,  that  he  might  suffer  death,) 
and  not  the  meritorious  cause  of  his  exaltation.  Thisy 
therefore,  is  the  import  and  natural  order  of  the 
words :  we  see  Jesus  crowned  with  glory  and  honour^ 
who  was  for  a  little  while  made  lower  than  the  an- 
gels,  for  ttc  suffering  of  death  ;  that  he  by  the  grace 
of  Ood^-By  his  gracious,  free,  sovereign  purpose, 
suited  to,  and  arising  from,  his  natural  goodness  and 
benignity,  mercy  and  compassion ;  might  taste  death 
•^Tasting  decUh,  (like  seeing  death,)  is  a  Hebrew 
f(Nrm  of  expression,  signifying  really  dying,  not 
dying  in  appearance  or  pretence,  as  some  of  old 
foolishly  taught  respecting  the  death  of  Christ,  which 
shadow  of  dying  could  only  have  produced  a  shadow 
of  redemption.  The  expression  may  also  imply, 
finding  by  experience  what  is  in  death;  Christ 
knew  by  experience  what  bitterness  was  in  that  cup 
of  death  which  is  threatened  to  sinners.  He  under- 
stood and  felt  it  fully.  The  expression  might  also 
be  intended  to  mtimate,  (as  Cbrysostom  and  the 


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IMeverB  h49  hnO&en, 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  64. 


10  '^ For  it  became  him,  ■for  whom 
cure  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all 
things,  in  broigiag  many  sons  unto  glory,  to 
make^the  Captain  of  their  saiYatbn  ^p^rfect 
through  sufierin^. 

11  For  ''both  he  that  sanctifieth,  and  they  who 
are  sanctified,  ^areaH  of  one :  for  which  cause  *  he 


cLuke  xxiv.  46.- 
31 ;  Chap.  xii.  2.— 
X.  10, 14. 


■" RoouAS  xi.  36. » Aetfl  iiL  15;    t. 

•  Luke  xiii.  32 ;  Chap.  r.  9. «  Chap. 


ancients  thought,)  onr  Lord's  continuing  only  a 
ibort  time  in  the  state  of  the  dead,  and,  of  oonse- 
qaenee,  his  conquest  orer  death ;  for  though  the 
phrase  be  used  coneeming  other  persons  also,  yet 
as  applied  to  him,  the  event  shows  that  it  was  only 
a  thorough  taste  of  it  that  he  had.  He  neither  was 
nor  could  be  detained  under  the  power  of  it  Far 
every  man— That  ever  was  or  will  be  born  into  the 
world,  without  the  exception  of  any.  To  die  for 
another,  according  to  the  constant  use  of  the  expres- 
sion, imports  to  die  in  his  room  and  stead ;  and  this 
the  Jews  understood  in  the  use  of  their  sacrifices, 
where  the  life  of  the  beast  was  accepted  instead  of 
the  life  of  the  sinner.  Thus  Christ  tasted  death ;  he 
was,  by  the  grace  and  wisdom  of  God,  substituted  as 
a  mediator  and  surety  in  the  stead  of  others,  of  all 
others ;  for  he  gave  himeelfa  raneomfor  ally  I  Tim. 
ii.  6;  vihen  all  were  dead,  he  died  for  all,  2  Cor.  ▼.  15. 

Verse  10.  In  this  verse  the  apostle  expresses,  in 
nis  own  words,  what  he  before  expressed  in  those 
of  the  psalmist.  Far  it  became  Atm— It  was  suita- 
ble to  all  his  attributes,  especially  to  his  Justice  and 
mercy,  his  holiness  and  goodness,  his  wisdom  and 
truth ;  for  whomr^As  their  ultimate  end ;  and  by 
whom — As  their  first  cause ;  are  all  things;  in  bring- 
ing mofiy  eons  unto  glory — Namely,  believers,  called 
God's  sons,  John  L  12 ;  Rom.  viH.  14 ;  and  frequently 
elsewhere.  The  clauseseems  to  be  an  allusion  to  the 
introduction  of  Israel  (whom  God  dignified  with  the 
title  of  his  son)  into  Canaan,  which  was  a  type  of 
heaven ;  called  glory,  both  because  God  there  mani- 
fests his  presence  in  a  most  glorious  manner,  and 
because  there  all  his  saints  are  rendered  unspeakably 
glorious ;  to  make  the  Captain — Apxnyov,  the  prince, 
leader,  and  author;  of  their  ealvatidnperfect^Thfii 
is,  a  complete  Saviour ;  through  sufferings -^Endnred 
for  them.  By  which  sufferings  he  was  consecrated 
to  his  office,  and  qualified  to  disehwrge  it ;  expiated 
men's  sios,  obtained  for  Uiem  the  Holy  Spirit,  John 
xvi.  7;  Acts  ii.  38;  showed  them  by  his  example 
that  their  way  lay  through  sufferings  to  glory,  and  in 
what  spirit  they  must  suffer ;  learned,  as  man,  to 
.sympathize  with,  and  to  succour  and  support  them 
in  their  siifferings,  verses  17, 18 ;  chap.  iv.  15, 16. 

Verses  11-13.  For— As  if  he  had  said,  And  it  ap- 
pears that  it  was  meet  that  Christ  should  suffer,  be- 
caiUK),  having  the  sai^e  nature  with  us,  it  was  neces- 
sary he  should  thus  be  made  like  us,  who  must  suflfer 
before  we  can  reign ;  both  he  that  sancHJiM'-'ThdLi 
washes  men  from  their  sins  in  his  blood,  rehews 
them  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds^  and  consecrates 


is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  A5r.4iKa 
13  Saying,  ^  I  will  declare  thy  name  — ,-1 — 

unto  my  brethr^  in  the  nndst  of  the  chnrcfa 

will  I  smg  praise  unto  thee. 
13  And  again,  ^  I  wiU  put  my  trust  in  him. 

And  again,  *Behold,  I  and  the  children  ^which 

God  hath  given  me. 


r  Acts  xrii.  26.-> 
*  PsAlm  xviii.  2.— 
0,9,11,12. 


-■Matt,  zxviii.  lOwr ■  Pm.  sxu.  22, 25. 

^Isaiah  viii.  la 'John  zx.  29;'^KTii. 


them  unto  God;  andiheywhoaresancHfied^yniO 
are  renewed  and  dedicated  to  God ;  are  all  ofone-^ 
Of  one  nature,  from  one  parent,  Adam ;  for  which 
cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them—Whom  he 
thus  sanctifies  and  saves ;  brethren-^He  reckons  ii^ 
no  disparagement  to  him,  though  in  respect  of  his 
divine  nature  he  is  infinitely  above  them,  to  acknow^ 
ledge  aiid  deal  with  them  as  his  brethren.;  saying, 
(Psa.  xxii.  22,)  to  his  Father,  When  I  appear  in  the 
human  nature  on  the  earth,  /  vnll  declare  thy  name 
—Thy  perfections,  and  especiaUy  thy  grace  and 
mercy  in  sending  me  into  the,  world ;  unto  my 
brethren— 0( mankind ;  in  the  midst  ofihechxtrcK— 
Publicly  among  the  peof^e  of  God;  wUl  I  sing 
praise  unto  thee— As  the  precentor  of  the  chohr. 
This  he  did  literally  in  the  midst  of  his  apostles,  on 
the  night  before  his  passion.  And  in  a  more  general 
sense,  as  the  expression  means  setting  forth  the 
praise  of  God,  he  has  done  it  in  the  church  by  his 
word  and  Spirit  in  all  ages;  and  he  still  does,  and 
will  do  it  throughout  all  generations.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  22d  Psalm,  from  which  this  passage 
is  cited,  is  a  prophetic  descripdon  of  Che  sufferings 
of  Christ,  the  apostles  and  evangelists  having  applied 
many  passages  of  it  to  him.  Also  by  repeating  the 
first  words  of  it  from  the  cross,  our  Lord  appro- 
priated the  whole  of  it  to  himself.  The  ancient 
Jewish  doctors  likewise  interpreted  this  Psalm  of 
the  Messiah.  And  again— {Feei.  xviii.  2,)  as  one 
that  has<;ommunion  with  his  brethren  in  suflferings, 
as  well  as  in  nature,  he  says;  I  will  put  my  trust  in 
him — To  support  me  under,  and  carry  pie  through 
them  al  I.  Hereby  the  apostle  proves  that  Christ  had 
the  same  affections,  and  consequently  the  same  na- 
ture with  believers.  For  had  he  been  God  only,  or 
the  Son  merely  in  his  original  slate,  he  could  not 
have  been  brought  into  such  aeondition  as  required 
dependance  upon  another ;  neither  is  the  nature  of 
angels  exposed  to  such  dangers  or  troubles,  as  ren- 
der it  necessary  for  them  to  have  recourse  to  God 
for  support,  protection,  and  consolation.  And  again 
— Isa.  viii.  18,  (where  see  the  note,)  when  he  says ; 
Behold  I  ami  the  children  which  God  halh  given 
me—Ut  makes  a  like  acknowledgment  of  his  near 
relation  to  them,  and  of  his  being  of  the  same  nature 
with  them,  parents  being  of  the  same  nature  with 
their  children.  The  opposers  of  Christianity  affirm, 
that  the  prophecy  from  which  this  is  taken  doth 
not  relate  to  the  Messiah,  and  that  in  applying  it  to 
Jesus,  the  writer  of  this  epistle  hi^h  erred ;  and  from 
this  they  infer  that  be  was  not  inspired.    But,  in 

b 


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CHAPTER  II. 


in  order  to  men^s  sahatioru 


A.  BT.  4068.    14  Forasmuch  then  as  the  children 

— — '- are  partakers  of  flesh  and  bbod,  he 

*also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same ; 
^that  dirough  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death;  that  is,  the-devil ; 

15  And  ddiver  them,  who^  ^  through  fear  of 
.  death,  were  all  their  life-time  sulgect  to  bondage. 


•John  i.  14;  Ron.  TiiL  3;  Phil.  ii.  7.^ '1  Cor.zT.  54,  &5; 

CoL  ii.  15;  2TtiB0lhy  L  la r  Luke  i.  74 ;  Romans  viii.  15 ; 

2  Tim.  i.  7. 

answer,  be  it  observed,  that  the  application  of  this 
prophecy  to  Christ  doth  not  rest  on  this  writer's 
testimony  alone.  The  14th  verse  of  the  prophecy  is 
applied  to  him  both  by  Paul,  (Rom.  ix.  33,)  and  by 
Peter,  (1  Pet.  ii.  6,  8,)  and  by  Simeon,  (Luke  ii.  34 ;) 
nay,  our  Lord  has  applied  the  15th  verse  to  himseli^ 
Matt.  xxi.  44.  So  that  if  the  wiiter  of  this  epistle 
hath  erred  in  the  application  of  that  prophecy,  all 
the  others  have  erred  in  the  same  manner.  But  that 
they  have  not,  is  sufficiently  shown  in  the  notes  on 
the  passages  referred  ta 

Verses  14, 15,  Forcumtich  then  as  the  children — 
Believers,  who  are  Christ's  spiritual  seed;  are  par- 
takers qffiesh  anc^fr/doef— Of  human  nature  with  all 
its  infirmities;  he  also  took  part  of  the  same — See 
on  Phil.  il.  8;  thai  through  his  own  decuk  he  might 
destroy  the  tyranny  of  him  thai  Aod— By  Qod's  per- 
mission ;  the  power  of  death — ^The  power  of  bring- 
ing death  on  all  mankind  by  tempting  our  first  pa- 
rents to  sin.  Hence  he  is  called  a  murderer  from 
the  beginning^  and  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it,  John 
viiL  44.  It  is  observable  that  the  power  of  death, 
ascribed  to  the  devil,  is  called  Kparoc,  and  not  e^sma, 
because  he  had  no  right  to  it  It  was  a  power 
usurped  by  guile.  And  all  the  baneful  effects  of  this 
power  Christ  at  the  resurrection  will  remove,  as  &r 
as  they  relate  to  the  righteous.  iThe  word  KaTopyncy, 
rendered  that  he  might  destroy,  properly  signifies, 
that  he  might  render  ineffectual.  *'  Since  the  Son 
of  Ood  is  said  to  have  partaken  of  the^e^A  and  blood 
of  the  children  in  the  same  manner  that  they  them- 
selves partake  of  these,  namely,  by  being  born  of  a 
woman ;  and  since  he  was  born  into  the  world  in 
that  manner,  to  render  him  capable  of  dying,  that 
through  his  death  in  the  flesh  he  might  frustrate  the 
maTicious  eontrivance  of  the  devil,  who  first  intro- 
duced death  into  the  world ;  we  are  thereby  taught 
&at  he  is  t/ie  seed  of  the  woman,  which  at  the  fall 
was  promised  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent;  and 
that  the  serpent  who  deceived  Eve  was  not  ^  natural 
serpent,  but  the  devil,  who,  because  he  assumed  the 
form  of  a  serpent  on  that  occasion,  is  called  (Rev. 
XX.  2)  the  great  dragon,  or  serpent ;  and  ih€U  old 
serpent,  the  devil.  See  on  2  Cor.  xi.  8.  The  inten- 
tion of  the  devil,  in  seducing  our  first  parents,  was 
to  destroy  them,  and  thereby  put  an  end  to  the  hu- 
man species.  This  malicious  design  the  Son  of  God 
rendered  ineffectual,  by  assuming  our  nature,  and  in 
that  nature  dying  as  a  sacrifice  for  sia.'WMacknight 
And^By  his  death  making  atonement  for  their  sins, 
ftnd  procuring  for  them  psJdon  and  holiness ;  that  Is, 
b 


16  For  verily  ^he  took  not  on  him  a.  m.  4068. 
the  luiUure  of  angels ;   but  he  took    ^'  ^'  ^' 
on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham. 

17  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  him 
^tobe  made  like  mito  his  brethren;  that  be 
might  be  ^  a  merciful  and  feithful  H^h-Priest 
in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to  make  re- 


•Or.  At  uHuik  not  hold  •/  attgOo,  Ina  ^  tkt  ond  of  Ahrn- 

ham   ht  tuktth  kokL ^Pliilippians  ii,  7. ^Chapter   iv. 

15 ;  V.  1,  2. 


both  justification  and  sanctification,  both  a  title  to 
heaven  and  a  meetness  for  it,  and  also  an  earnest  of 
it  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  hearts,  he  delivers 
them^Bven  dlwho  are  made  God's  children  by 
faith  in  him ;  i^Ao^Before  they  received  this  de- 
liverance; were  all  their  life-time,  through  tor- 
menting fear  of  death,  subject  to  bondage— In  a 
slavish  uncomfortable  state  of  mind.  And  every 
man  (ears  death,  more  or  less,  who  is  not  savingly 
acquainted  with,  and  united  to  Christ  -,  who  is  not 
justified  through  faith  in  his  blood,  and  regenerated 
by  the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  and  therefore  is  not 
begotten  again  to  a  lively  hope  of  a  heavenly  inhe- 
ritance. Death  is  unwelcome  to  him  if  he  knows 
what  death  is.  But  he  delivers  all  true  believers 
from  this  bondage. 

Verse  16.  For  verily  he  took  not  on  him — Greek, 
H  yap  ayye7yuv  em'XafiSaveTat,  he  took,  or  taketh,  not  hold 
of  angels,  to  save  them  from  the  abyss  of  misery 
into  which  they  are  fallen,  as  not  taking  their 
nature  upon  him;  but  he  took,  or  taketh,  hold  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham—And  hath  made  a  gracious  pro- 
vision for  the  salvation  of  all  who  shall  by  true 
faith  approve  themselves  the  genume  children  of 
that  holy  patriarch.  The  apostle  says,  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  rather  than  the  seal  of  Adam,  because  to 
Abraham  was  the  promise  made.  "  If  the  sin  of  the 
angels,  who,  as  Jude  tells  us,  (verse  6,)  kept  not 
their  own  office,  consisted  in  their  aspiring  after 
higher  stations  and  offices  than  those  originally 
allotted  to  them  by  God,  as  Jude's  expression  in- 
timates, we  can  see  a  reason  why  the  Son  of  God 
did  not  take  hold  of  them  to  save  them,  but  took  hold 
o(the  seed  of  Abraham;  that  is,  of  believers  of  the 
human  species.  The  first  parents  of  mankind 
sinned  through  weakness  of  nature  and  inexperience, 
and  by  their  lapse  brought  death  on  themselves  and 
on  their  posterity,  notwithstanding  their  posterity 
were  not  accessory  to  their  ofience.  Whereas  the 
angels,  through  discontentment  with  their  own  conr 
dition,  and  envy  of  their  superiors,  perhaps  also 
animated  by  pride,  rebelled  presumptuously  against 
God.  Wherefore,  since  they  could  not  plead  weakr 
ness  of  nature  and  inexperience  in  excuse  of  their 
sin,  nor  complain  that  the  sin  for  which  they  were 
doomed  to  punishment  was  the  act  of  another,  they 
were  jusUy  left  by  the  Son  of  God  to  perish  in  theif 
sin."— Macknight 

Verses  17,  18.  Wherefore  in  all  thfngs^ThvX 
essentially  pertain  to  our  nature,  and  in  all  sufferings 
and  temptations}  it  behooved  him^ln  respect  of  the 
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A.  M.  4068.  conciliation  for  the  sms  of  the  people. 
^^•"'      18  ^F<x  in  that  he  himedf  hath 


kCbap.  iT.*15,16; 


office,  dnty,  and  employment  he  bad  taken  upon 
him;  or  it  was  highly  fit  and  proper,  yea,  necessary, 
in  order  to  bis  design  of  redeeming  them;  to  be 
made  like  his  breihrenr-Thai  is,  a  mortal  man ;  thai 
— By  experience  of  suffering  in  hlHiself ;  he  nUght 
be  a  merciful  and  faithful  High-Priest — Mercifid 
toward  sinners,  affected  with  the  sorrows  and  suffer- 
ings  of  others,  and  the  more  inclined  to  pity  and  re- 
lieve them ;  emd  faithful  toward  God,  in  discharging 
every  other  part  of  his  office,  as  well  as  m  relieving 
his  suffering  members.  A  priest  or  high^priesty  is 
one  who  has  a  right  of  approaching  God,  and  of 
bring'uig  others  to  him.  His  being  faithful  is  treated 
of,  chap.  iii.  2,  &c.,  with  its  use :  mercifid,  chap.  iv. 
14,  &c.,  with  the  use  also:  high-priest,  chap.  v.  4, 
&c.,  viL  1.  The  use  is  added,  from  chap.  x.  19. 
^  The  Son  of  God,  who  made  men,  no  doubt  had 
such  a  knowledge  of  their  infirmity,  as  might  have 
rendered  him  a  mercifiil  intercessor,  though  he  had 
not  been  made  flesh.  Yet,  considering  the  greatness 
of  his  nature,  it  might  have  been  difficult  for  men  to 
have  understood  this.  And  therefore,  to  impress  us 
the  more  strongly  with  the  belief  that  he  is  most 
affectionately  disposed,  from  sympathy,  to  succour 
us  when  tempted;  and,  in  judging  us  at  the  last  day, 
to  make  every  reasonable  allowance  for  the  infir- 


Buffered,  being  t^npted,  he  is  aUe  to  A;  ir  4M%. 
succour  them  that  are  tempted. 


AD.  64. 


T.2;  ▼1125. 


mity  of  our  nature,  he  was  pleased  to  be  made  like 
us  in  all  things,  and  even  to  suffer  by  temptations." 
in  thif^  pertaining  to  Cfod-^TbAt  were  to  be  doum 
either  for  men  with  God,  or  focGod  with  men;  to 
make  reconciliation  for^—Ot  to  expiate^  as  tXaoKtc* 
^ui  signifies,  t^  sins  of  the  people^^oi  the  people 
of  the  Jews  merely,  but  the -people  of  all  nations, 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  who,  in  repentance  and 
faith,  should  turn  to  God.  Hence  St  John  tells  w, 
he  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  wcrld^ 
offering  sacrifice  and  interceding  for  them,  and  de- 
riving God's  grace,  peace,  and  blessings  upon  them. 
For  in  that  he  himself  suffered^  being  tempted — Bee 
chap.  iv.  15;  he  is  a6Ze— Has  a  greater  fitness  and 
readiness;  to  succour  them  that  are  tempted— Axxd 
he  has  given  a  mauifest,  demonstrative  proof  that  he 
is  able  so  to  do.  Our  Lord  was  not  only  tempted 
immediately  ailer  his  baptism  in  the  wilderness,  but 
his  whole  life  was  a  continued  scene  of  temptation, 
as  we  learn  from  Luke  xxiL  28:  Ye  are  they  who 
have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptcUion.  Christ's 
temptations,  like  those  of  his  brethren,  arose  from 
the  persecutions  and  sufferings  to  which  he  was  ex- 
posed, as  well  as  from  direct  attacks  of  the  devil  by 
evil  suggestions,  such  as  those  mentioned  Matt, 
iv.  1-11;  Lukeiv,  1-13. 


CHAPTER  m. 

To  thaw  ttiU  morefulfy  the  exceUenee  of  tik  gospd  from  the  exeellenee  of  its  Author,  the  ofosits  tti  Hds  dtsfter,  (I,)  i  r9»e# 
the  great  superiority  cf  Christ  in  his  persdn  and  office  to  Motets  the  noted  prophet,  deliverer,  mnd  law-giwer  of  the  Jews, 
1-e.  (20  Prom  the  fate  of  their  unbeHeving  aneeHors  m  the  wUdemess,  he  shows  the  sin  and  danger  of  unheUef  ami 
apostacy^  and  the  necessity  of  immediate  attention  to  ChrisVs  voice,  and  of  a  truefaiik  in,  and  steadfast  adherence  to  Am^ 
tJi  order  to  their  entering  into  the  heavenly  rest^  7-19. 

AM. 4068.  -TT^HEREFORE,    holy   brethren, 
- — - — 1-  partakers  of  •  the  heavenly  caD- 


»  Rom.  i.  7. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  lU. 
Verse  1.  The  apostle,  in  the  first  chapter  of  this 
epistle,  having  affirmed  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  by 
whom  the  gospel  revelation  was  given  to  mankind,  is 
God's  Son^  in  a  peculiar  sense;  a  sense  in  which  no 
man  or  angel  is  his  son ;  and  having  proved,  from  the 
Jewish  Scriptures^  that  €rod  had  constituted  this  his 
Son  the  Heir  or  Lord  of  all  things,  because  by  him  he 
made  the  worlds;  and  in  the  second  chapter,  having 
answered  the  objectioins  which  were,  or  might  be, 
brought  for  invalidating  the  claim  of  Jesus  to  be 
CKkI's  Son,  and  having  thereby  given  full  effect  to 
the  direct  proofs  which  established  his  claim ;  he,  in 
this  third  chapter,  proceeds  to  ^ow  what  is  implied  in 
Christ's  being  the  Heir  or  Lord  of  all  things;  which 


ingj  consider  '^the  Apostle  and  High  ^^^jff^ 
Priest  of  our  profesoon,  Christ  Jesus; '- — ^ 


k  Rom.  XT.  a 


is  the  third  feet  on  which  the  authority  of  the  gospel 
revelation  depends.  A  proper  account  of  this  mal;- 
ter  was  necessary;  1st,  Because  the  Utie  of  Jesus  to 
remove  the  Mosaic  economy,  and  to  eabstitute  the 
gospel  dispensation  in  its  place,  was  founded  on  tlie 
power  which  he  possessed  as  the  Son  of  God  and 
Heh-  of  all  things;  ^,  Because  many  of  the  Jews^ 
in  the  persuasion  that  the  law  of  Moses  was  of  per- 
petual obligation,  and  that  its  sacrifices  were  real 
atonements  lor  sin,  rejected  Jesus  as  an  impoAor, 
fcMT  pretending  to  abolish  these  institutions. 

Wherefore—Seeing  the  author  of  the  gosp^  im 
so  excellent  a  person,  (chap,  i,)  Mid  so  highly  ad- 
vanced above  all  others,  men  and  angels,  (efa^>.  iL 
7,  8,)  holy  brethren^By  giving  this  a^peilatioa  to 

b 


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CHAPTBEtm. 


of  more  gbny  ikon  Mo^9. 


A.M.#O0&    2  Who  was  fidthfui  to  him  that 

.       ^  m^KAnted  him,  b»  abo  5  Moees  «ra« 

faiihfvl  in  aJl  his  house. 
3  For  this  man  was  counted  worthy  <tf  mcNre 
g^ory  than  Moses,  inasmuch  as  ^he  who  hath 


1  Or.  iNMb;  1  Sam.  zii  6l— ^  Num.  xiL  7 ;  Tefse  6. 


Ilvwe  to  whom  he  wrote,  it  is  evident  be  addressed 
Ids  epistle,  not,  as  Maduught  supposes,  chiefly,  if  at 
all,  to  the  unbelieTing.  Hebrews^  but  principally,  if 
not  only,  to  such  as  hjEul  embraced  the  gospel,  and 
were  really  made  new  creatures  in  Christ ;  partaken 
of  the  heavenly  calling— Thit  calling  of  the  gospel, 
ifldeYk  came  from  heaven,  and  is  intended  to  bring 
men  to  heaven,  including  the  preaching  of  the  word, 
and  the  various  means  of  grace,  whereby  men  are 
brought  to  belichre  in  Christ.  Cbnmder  ike  Apoeile 
*-The  messenger  of  God,  sent  immediately  fix>m 
him  to  preach  that  gospel  to  you  which  you  profess 
to  bdieve ;  the  highest  office  this  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment; and  BighrPriesC-^Thisw^  the  highest  func- 
tion in  the  Old  Testament  church.  As  an  Apostle^ 
or  Qod's  messenger,  he  pleads  the  cause  of  God 
with  us;  and  as  High-Priest,  he  pleads  our  cause 
with  God.  Both  are  contained  in  the  one  word 
Mediator.  He  compares  Christ  as  ant  apostle,  with 
Moses;  as  a  priest,  with  Aaron.  Both  these  offices, 
whic^  Moses  and  Aanm  severally  bore,  he  bears 
together,  and  far  more  eminently;  ofourprofeeeion 
—Of  Uie  religion  we  profess,  of  which  Jesus  is  called 
the  ilpof^^  because  he  was  sent  by  God  to  reveal  it; 
and  the  Btgh-Prieet,  because  we  receive  its  blessings 
through  his  mediation.  By  thus  calling  upon  them 
to  consider  Christ  Jesus  in  these  characters,  the 
apostle  seems  to  intimate  that  the  believing  Hebrews 
bad  not  sufficiently  adverted  to  the  nature  and 
quality  of  the  person  and  offices  of  Christ,  and  for 
that  reason  were  kept  in  the  entanglements  of  Ju- 
daism; therefore  he  exlM>rts  them  to  fix  their  minds 
attentively  on  the  sublime  subject 

Verse  2.  Who^ae  faithful  to  him  that  appointed 
him — The  sacred  penman,  entering  upon  a  com- 
parison iKBtween  Moses  and  Christ,  as  he  was  the 
apostle  of  God,  or  one  sent  by  htm  to  reveal  his  will, 
he  recommends  him  to  the  faith  of  the  Hebrews, 
under  the  principal  qualification  of  a  person  in  that 
office;  he  was  fckthfiUj  which  faithfulness  he 
(urther  describes  by  its  respect  to  that  act  whereby 
be  was  appomted  by  Qod  to  the  office.  God's 
apostle  is  the  chief  steward  or  dispenser  of  his  mys- 
teries; and  it  is  principally  requfred  in  stewards 
that  a  man  be  found  faithful.  Now  the  fidelity  of  a 
legate,  ambassador,  or  apostle  consists  principally  in 
the  full  declaration  of  the  mind  and  will  of  him  who 
sent  him,  as  to  those  ends  for  which  he  is  sent. 
Faithfiilness  reiq[>ects  trUst.  Our  Lord,  therefore, 
must  have  had  a  trust  committed  to  him  wherein  he 
was  faithful.  Accordingly  he  sought  not  his  own 
glory,  but  the  glory  of  him  that  sent  him;  declaring 
that  he  came  not  in  his  own,  but  in  his  Father's 
name,  John  v.  43.  He  moreover  sealed  that  truth 
with  his  blood,  which  he  came  into  the  worid  to  bear 
b 


imilded  the  house,  hath  more  ho-  am.  ^oes. 
nour  than  the  house.  h.i>*^ 

4  For  every  house  is  builded  by  some 
man ;  but  '  he  that  built  all  tidngs  is 
God. 


*  Zeoh. Ti.  12 ;  Matt  xri.  18. •  Eph.  u.  10 ;  iii.  0;  Chap.  L  8. 


witness  to,  John  xviii.  87;  and  greater  faithfulness 
could  not  be  expressed.  Am  also  Moses  v)as  faith' 
fid  in  all  his  hcmse^Thp  church  of  Israel,  then 
the  peculiar  family  of  God.  The  words  are  an 
allusion  to  the  testimony  which  God  bare  to  Moses, 
Num.  xiL  7,  My  servant  Moses  is  not  so,  vho  is 
faithful  in  all  my  house.  It  is  true,  Moses  failed 
personally  in  his  faith,  and  was  charged  of  God  that 
he  beUeved  him  not.  Num.  xx.  12;  but  this  was  no 
impeachment  of  his  faithfulness  in  the  special  office 
intended.  As  he  was  to  reveal  Jehovah's  mind,  and 
institute  his  worship,  he  was  universally  fiiithful; 
for  according  to  cUl  that  Ood  appointed  him  so  did 
he,  Exod.  xL  16.  He  did  not  conce^  any  of  the 
divine  laws,  on  account  of  their  disagreeableness  to 
the  Israelites;  nor  did  he  alter  ^m  in  the  least,  to 
make  them  acceptable,  but  delivered  the  whole  law 
as  it  was  spoken  to  himself^  and  formed  the  taber- 
nacle and  the  ritual  of  the  worship  exactly  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  showed  hiin.  In  like  manner, 
Christ's  faithfulness  consisted  in  his  teaching  the 
doctrines,  appointing  the  laws,  and  establishing  the 
worship  which  his  Father  had  ordained  for  the 
church. 

Verses  3, 4.  For,  Ac—The  apostle  proceeds  in 
this  verse,  and  the  three  following,  with  his  design  of 
evidencing  the  excellence  of  Christ  above  Moses,  as 
he  had  done  before  in  ref^ence  to  angels,  and  all 
other  revealers  of  the  will  of  God  to  the  church ; 
the  word  for  denoting  the  connection  of  this  para- 
graph with  verse  1 :  "  Consider  him,"  says  he ;  for  he 
is  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses, — The  church 
being  called  the  house  of  God,  and  that  by  God  him- 
self, the  apostle  takes  advantage  of  the  metaphor  to 
express  the  dignity  of  Christ.  He  that  buildeth  the 
house,  &c. — The  verb  KaraoKtva^Li,  here  used,  and 
rendered  to  btiild,  signifies  to  set  things  in  order, 
Heb.  ix.  6.  It  likewise  signifies  to  form  a  thing  as 
an  artificer  doth;  in  which  sense  it  is  applied  to 
Noah's  forming  the  ark,  Heb.  xi.  7.  In  this  passage 
it  signifies  the  forming  a  church,  or  religions^society, 
by  bestowing  pn  it  privileges,  and  by  giving  it  laws 
for  the  direction  of  its  members.  And,  as  the  apostle 
is  speaking  of  the  forming  of  the  Christian  Church, 
his  meaning  is,  that  Jesus,  who  formed  the  Christian 
Church,  is  a  more  honourable  or  greater  person  than 
all  the  members  of  that  church  colleetively ;  coBse- 
quently  greater  than  any  particular  member  of  it 
By  making  this  observation,  the  apostle  intimated 
that  Moses,  being  a  member  of  the  Jewish  Church, 
which  he  formed  as  God's  servant,  and  needing  its 
services  and  privileges  equally  with  the  Israelites,  he 
was  not  to  be  compared  with  Jesus,  who  by  his  own 
authority  had  erected  and  supported  the  church  in 
all  ages  and  places,  and  had  need  o£  none  of  the 

flOi 


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A.M. 4068^    5  f  And  Moses  yerily  was  fitithfiil 
'    in  all  lus  house^  as  "^a  servant,  ^for 


a  testimony  of  those  things  wbkh  were  to  be 
spoken  after : 


'  V«r*e  3.' c  Ezod.  xiv.  31 ;  Nom.  xiL  7 ;  DeuU  iii.  24 ; 

losiL  i.  2;  Tiii  31. — ^  Deut  xviii.  15, 18, 19.^— '  Gh«p.  L2. 


privileges  or  services  of  the  church  which  he  had 
formed.  For  every  hcuee  is  htnlded  by  some  man — 
As  the  discourse  is  not  concerning  a  material  edifice, 
but  concerning  the  Jewi^  and  Christian  Churches, 
every  house  must  mean  every  church  or  reUgkus 
society;  perhaps  also  every  community,  state,  or 
government  righteously  established,  is  included  in 
this  general  expression.  Bvi  he  that  built  all  things 
— Or  aU  these  things^  as  Beza  renders  the  expression, 
namely,  the  whole  church,  and  all  the  persons  that 
belong  to  it,  or  the. parts  of  it,  in  all  ages;  the  ex- 
pression all  things  being  properly  restrained  to  the 
subject  treated  of^  and  the  word  used  by  the  apostle 
to  express  the  building  of  the^ house,  plainly  declar- 
ing that  it  is  the  same  kind  of  building  he  is^  treating 
of,,  and  not  the  absolute  creation  of  all  things,  which 
is  nowhere  expressed  by  that  word;  is  G^ot^--'^The 
words  may  be  so  understood  as  to  signify  either 
that  God  made  or  buiU  all  these  things^  or  that  he 
vho  made  and  buiU  aU  these  things  is  God;  the 
first  sense  n^ing  Ood  the  subject,  the  latter  the 
predicate  of  the  proposition.  But  as  to  our  purpose, 
they  amount  to  the  same  thing;  for  if  he  who  made 
them  is  God,  his  making  of  them  decjares  him  to 
be  so.  And  that  it  is  the  Lord  Christ  who  is  intended 
in  this  expression,  will  appear  immediately ;  for,  1st, 
If  Ck>d  absolutely,  or  God  the  Father  be  intended, 
then  by  the  buUding  of  ail  things,  the  creation  of  the 
world  is  demgned ;  so  they  all  grteoit  who  are  of  that 
opinion ;  but  that  this  is  not  so,  we  have  already  de- 
monstrated fh>m  the  words  themselves.  2d,  The 
introduction  of  God  absolutely,  and  his  building  of 
all  things  in  this  place,  is  no  way  subservient  to  the 
apostle's  purpose;  for  what  light  or  evidence  doth 
this  contribute  to  his  principal  assertion,  namely, 
that  Christ  was  more  honourable  than  Moses,  and 
that  on  account  of  his  building  the  house  of  God, 
the  confirmation  whereof  he  doth  in  these  words 
expressly  design  ?  3d,  It  is  contrary  to  his  purpose. 
For  he  doth  not  prove  the  Lord  Christ  to  be  de- 
servedly preferred  before  Moses,  unless  he  manifest 
that  by  his  own  power  he  built  the  house  of  God  in 
such  a  manner  as  Moses  was  not  employed  in ; 
whereas,  according  to  this  interpretation,  he  assigns 
the  principal  building  of  the  house  to  another,  even 
the  Father,  and  so  overthrows  what  he  had  before 
asserted.  This  then  is  that  which  by  these  words 
the  apostle  intends  to  declare ;  namely,  the  ground 
and  reason  whence  it  is  that  the  house  was  or  oould 
be  in  that  glorious  manner  built  by  Christ,  even 
because  he  is  God,  and  so  able  to  efiect  it ;  and  by 
this  effect  of  his  power  he  is  manifested  so  to  be." — 
Owen. 

Verses  5, 6.  And  Moses  v^ri/y— Another  proof  of 
the  pre-eminence  of  Christ  above  Moses;  was  faith- 
9H 


6  But  Christ  as  ^  a  Son  over  his  own  a.  m.  4008. 

house,  ^  whose  house  are  we,  ^  if  we '. — 1. 

hold  last  the  confidence,  and  the  rejoicing  of 
the  h(3ipe  firm  unto  the  end. 


k  1  Cor.  iii.  IS;  E^U. 21,22;  1  Pet.  lift. > Terie  U ;  Malt. 

X.  22;  xjtiT.  13;  Rom.  t.  2;  CoL  i  23 ;  Chap.  tL  11 ;  z.  35. 


fid  in  all  his  house  a$  a  servant — Bepaicwv,  minister^ 
or  officer.  In  describing  the  futhAilness  of  Moses 
when,  under  God,  he  built  the  Jewish  Church,  God 
called  him,  (Num.  xiL  7,)  My  servant  Moses.  From 
this  the  apostle  justly  inferred  that  Moses  was  not  a 
legislator,  but  only  a  messenger  from  the  legislator, 
or  his  minister.  This  was  his  place,  this  his  dignity 
and  honour;  and  it  was  amplified  by  the  considers* 
tions,  that  he  vns  faithfid  in  his  service— was  a 
servant  in  the  house  of  God—Bnd  was  not  thus  em- 
plo3red,  and  thus  faithAil,  in  this  or  that  part,  this  or 
that  ^service  of  God's  house,  but  in  his  whole  house, 
and  all  the  concernments  of  itr  Herein  was  he 
different  from  all  others  in  the  same  service  in  the 
Old  Testament;  one  was  employed  in  one  part  of  it, 
another  in  another;  one  to  mstruct,  another  to  re- 
form it,  one  to  renew  a  neglected  ordinance,  another 
to  give  new  instructions;  no  one  but  ^e  was  used 
in  the  service  of  the  whole  house.  For  a  testimony 
of  the  things,  &c.— That  is^  because  the  Jewish 
Church  was  designed  for  a  testimony  of  the  things 
which  were  aAerward  to  be  spoken  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles.  This  shows  that  Moses's  feithfblness 
consisted  not  only  in  forming  the  tabemade  and  its 
services,  according  to  the  pattern  showed  him  by 
God,  but  in  recording  aU  the  preceding  revelations^ 
exactly  as  they  were  discovered  to  him  by  the  Spirit. 
For  these  revelations^  equally  with  the  types  and 
figures  of  the  Leviticail  ritual,  were  intended  to  ex- 
hibit the  things  afterward  to  be  spoken  by  Christ. 
Hence  our  Lord  said  to  the  Jews,  (John  v.  46,)  Had 
ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me,  for 
he  wrote  o/me;  namely,  in  the  figures,  but  especially 
in  the  prophecies  of  his  la^y  where  the  gospel  di»* 
pensatioh,  the  coming  of  Its  author,  and  his  character 
as  Messiah,  are  all  described  with  a  precision  which 
adds  the  greatest  lustre  of  evidence  to  Jesus  and  hja 
gospel.  See  Luke  xxiv.  44.  But  Christ  as  a  Son — 
That  is,  was  faithful  as  a  Son;  over  his  own  house-^ 
"  Every  word  proves  the  asserted  pre-eminence  of 
Christ ;  h^  is  a  Son,  Moses  a  servant ;  he  over  the 
house,  Moses  in  the  house ;  he  over  his  own  hotise, 
Moses  in  the  house  of  another.  The  argument  of 
the  apostle  therefore  is  obvious."— Owen.  But 
Pierce  objects  to  this  version,  over  his  own  house, 
and  thinks  the  reading  ought  to  be  ^i>,  that  is,  God's 
house;  *'  1st,  Because  if  the  church  be  Christ's  own 
house,  to  speak  of  him  as  a  ^Sbn  was  improper,  hy 
reason  that  he  would  have  presided  over  it  as  its 
master.  2d,  Because  the  apostle's  argument  requires 
that  Christ  be  faithfU  to  the  same  person  as  a  Son,  to 
whom  Moses  was  faithful  as  a  servant"  Wherefore 
his  house,  he  thinks,  in  this  verse,  is  God's  house  or 
church.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  Christ  is  the  heir 
of  aU  things,  it  may  with  the  utmost  propriety  ba 

b 


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agaimt  the  voice  of  God. 


A.  M. 4068.    Wherefore,  as    ""the    Holy  Ghost 

saith,  »T<Hlay  if  ye  will  hear  his 

voioe^ 
8  Harden  not  your  hearty  as  in  the  provoca- 


»2S«n.zxiil2;  Acta  i.  16. 


said  that  the  church  is  hie  own  houee^  that  is,  the 
hoose  in  which  he  hath  not  only  a  trust  and  office, 
hut  also  a  property;  which  is  appointed  for  him  to 
inhabit  and  predde  over,  and  which  is  still  more 
especially  his  own,  as  it  was  purchased  with  his  own 
Mood,  Acts  XX.  28.  Whose  house  we— All  true  be- 
lievers;  are^-Or  shall  make  it  appear  that  we  are, 
namely,  lively  stones  in  the  spiritual  temple  built 
upon  him,  1  Pet  ii.  5;  and  inhabited  by  him,  Epb. 
it  20-22;  1  Cor.  iiL  16;  vL  19;  and  true  members  of 
his  femily^  his  servantc^  yea,  even  his  brethren  and 
sisters ;  ifioe  holdfast  the  confidence — ^Ti^v  irapptftjiav, 
properly,  the  liberty  of  speech;  that  is,  that  bold  pro- 
fession of  the  Christian,  faith  which  in  the  first  age 
was  so  dangerous,  exposing  those  who  made  it  fre- 
quently to  imprisonment  and  martyrdom,  but  which 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  the  continuance  of  the 
gospel  in  the  world;  and  therefore  it  was  expressly 
required  by  Christ,  Matt.  x.  32,  ^8.  See  Heb.  x. 
22^  129.  The  apostle  uses  anbther  word,  namely, 
wncaetCy  to  express  confidence,  as  verse  14.  And 
the  rejoicing — Or,  glorying^  as  Kavxnfia  signifies;  of 
*ope— Hope  of  eternal  Hfe  founded  on  Ood's  pro- 
mises, namely,  the  hope  which  we  professed  at  our 
baptism;  firm — ^Without  declining  from  or  being 
fliiaken  in  it;  keeping  it  up  against  all  that  fluc- 
tuating uncertainty  of  mind,  which  is  apt  to  invade 
and  possess  unstable  persons ;  unto  the  end— That  Is, 
as  long  as  we  live ;  not  for  the  present  season  only, 
but  in  sdl  future  occurrences  until  we  come  to  the 
end  of  our  faith,  the  final  salvation  of  our  souls. 
Now,  in  order  to  this^  great  care  and  watchfulness, 
seal,  diligence,  and  resolution  must  be  exercised, 
because  of  the  opposition  and  violence  that  will  be 
used  to  wrest  them  from  us.  Hence  the  exhortation 
contained  in  the  following  paragraph. 

Verses  7-^.  Having  demonstrated  the  pre-emi- 
nence of  Christ  above  Moses  in  their  respective  mi- 
nistries, the  apostle,  according  to  his  design  and 
usual  method,  now  proceeds  to  the  application  of  the 
truth  he  had  evmceid,  in  an  exhortation  to  stability 
and  constancy  in  faith  and  obedience.  And  this  he 
does  in  a  way  that  adds  double  force  to  his  exhorta- 
tion, in  that  he  both  reminds  them  of,  and  urges  upon 
them  the  words,  testimonies,  and  examples  recorded 
in  the  Old  Testament,  to  which  they  professed  a 
special  deference  and  subjection;  and  also  in  th^t 
the  nature  of  the  example,  which  he  insists  upon,  is 
such  as  supplies  him  with  a  new  argument  for  his 
purpose.  Now  this  is  taken  A*om  God's  conduct 
toward  them,  who  were  disobedient  under  the  mi- 
nistry of  Moses,  which  he  further  explains,  verses 
15-19.  For  if  God  dealt  in  severity  with  them  who 
were  unbelieving  and  disobedient,  with  respect  to 
him  who  was  but  a  servant  in  the  house,  they  might 
easily  learn  from  this  what  his  displeasure  would  be 

D 


tion,  in  the  day  of  templatioQ  in  the  A.  M.  406t. 
wilderness:  ±^1^ 

9  When  your  feohens  tempted  me,  proved  me^ 
and  saw  my  works  forty  years. 

•VertelS;  Pmu  xcr.  7. 

toward  those  who  should  behave  so  with  respect  to 
the  Sony  who  is  Lord  over  the  whole  house,  and 
whose  property  all  the  members  of  it  are.  Where- 
fore—TbSa  word  shows  that  what  follows  is  an  in- 
ference from  what  precedes ;  as  the  Holy  Ghost  saiih 
— The  expression  is  emphatical,  to  irvevfta  to  ayiw^ 
that  Spirit,  that  Holy  l^rit,  so  called  by  way  of 
eminence ;  who  in  an  especial  manner  spake  in  and 
by  the  penmen  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  2  Pet  i.  2L 
The  words  here  quoted  are  taken  from  Psa.  xcv.  7, 
which  the  apostle  tells  us  (chap.  iv.  7)  was  written 
by  David.  Hence  we  learn  that  David  wrote  his 
Psalms  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  our  Lord 
likewise  testifies.  Matt.  xxii.  43.  "  The  judgments  of 
God  executed  on  sinners  in  ages  past,  being  design- 
ed for  the  reproof  and  instruction  of  those  who  come 
after,  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  David,  very  properly 
founded  his  exhortation  to  the  people  of  that  age 
upon  the  sin  and  punishment  of  their  fathers  in  the 
wilderness.  And  the  apostle,  for  the  same  reason^ 
fitly  {q>plied  the  words,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  spake 
to  the  people  by  J)avid,  to  the  Hebrews  in  his  day, 
to  prevent  them  fronTnardening  their  hearts  when 
they  heard  God's  voice  speaking  to  them  in  the  gos- 
pel of  his  Son."  TVday— Now,  at  the  present  time, 
while  the  season  of  grace  lasts,  and  you  are  favour- 
ed with  die  means  thereof;  if  ye  wiU  hear  his  voice 
— If  ye  ever  intend,  or  will  consent  to  do  it;  harden 
not  your  hearts— By  inattention,  by  thoughtlessness, 
by  unbelief,  and  disobedience.  Observe,  reader, 
God  speaks  by  his  works,  particularly  those  of  crea- 
tion, providence,  and  grace,  and  in  and  by  his  word ; 
and  to  hear  him,  implies  that  we  hearken  to,  under- 
stand, believe,  and  obey  him ;  and  instead  of  reject- 
ing bis  counsel,  that  we  suffer  it  to  enter  into  our 
hearts, so  as  to  influence  our  spirits  and  conduct;  as 
in  the  provocation — Xl<tpamkpaafuij  hitter  provocation; 
that  is,  as  the  Israelites  hardened  their  hearts  when 
they  provoked  me  by  their  strife  and  murmurings. 
SeeBxod.  xvi.  4;  xvii.  2-0;  xxxii.  10;  Num.  x.  33; 
xi.  3,  33,  35;  xii.  16;  xiii.  25-32;  xiv.  4-22;  Deut, 
L  6,  7, 19-22,  34,  35;  ii.  14;  ix.  7;  xxxu.  51 ;  1  Cor. 
X.  4.  In  short,  their  whole  story  manifests  a  con- 
tinued scene  of  provocation.  When^Or  where,  ra- 
ther, as  the  Syriac  and  Vulgate  read  the  words;  for 
the  word  when  would  imply  that,  at  the  time  of  the 
Wtter  provocation  chiefly  referred  to,  the  Israelites 
had  seen  God's  works  forty  years,  contrary  to  the 
history,  which  shows  that  that  provocation  happened 
in  the  beginning  of  the  third  year  from  the  gomg 
out  of  Egypt:  whereas  to  read  where  instead  of 
when,  agreeably  to  the  matter  of  fact,  represents  God 
as  saying  by  David,  that  the  Israelites  tempted  him 
in  the  wilderness  during  forty  years,  notwithstand- 
ing all  that  time  they  had  seen  his  miracles.  The 
I  tempting  God,  here  spoken  of,  consisted  in  thek 
005 


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^wAeHrfand  nfmtaef. 


A.  M.  4068.    10  Wb^:«fi>re  I  was  grieved  with 
A.P.  64>    ^^  generation,  and  said,  They  do 

always  err  in  their  heart ;  and  they  have  not 

known  my  ways. 
11  So  I  sware  in  my  wrath,  ^They  shall  not 

enter  into  my  rest 


•Qi,  if  they 


calling  iQ  question  his  presence  with  them,  their  dis- 
trusting his  power  to  help  and  save  them,  or  his 
faithfulness  to  his  promises  j  or  their  despising  ordi- 
nary means  of  help  and  deliverance,  and  desiring 
extraordinary.  See  note  on  Psa.  xev.  8,  0;  Matt 
iv.  7;  and  proved  i»«— Put  my  patience  to  the 
proof,  even  while  4hey  saw  my  glorious  works  both 
of  judgment  and  mercy ;  or  had  proof  by  experience 
of  my  power,  providence,  goodness,  and  faithfalness, 
and  that  (or  forty  years. 

Verses  10,  11.  Wherefore—To  speak  after  the 
manner  of  men ;  /  wis  grievai— Highly  displeased ; 
wUk  that  generation—W\ik  the  generality  of  thb 
people;  and  said.  They  do  always — Notwithstand- 
ing all  that  I  have  done  for  them  before  their  eyes ; 
err  in  their  heart— Ase  led  astray  by  their  stubborn 
will  and  vile  affections;  and  they. have  not  known 
my  ways—HB,ve  not  paid  any  regard  to  the  clear 
discoveries  of  my  will  and  design.  They  saw  in- 
deed God's  worksy  or  the  ways  of  his  providence, 
the  ways  in  which  he  walked  toward  th^m ;  and  the 
ways  of  his  laws  were  made  known  to  them,  the 
ways  wherein  he  would  have  had  them  to  walk  toward 
him;  and  yet  it  is  said  of  them  that  they  knew  "Tiot  his 
ways,  because  they  knew  them  not  to  any  good  pur- 
pose ;  they  did  not  know  them  spiritually  and  prac- 
tically. They  were  not,  properly  speaking,  igno- 
rant of  them,  but  they  disliked  them,  and  would 
not  walk  ud  them.  So  I  sware  in  my  wrath — The 
matter  here  referred  to  is  recorded  Num.  xiv.  21, 
&c.,  where  see  the  notes.  It  must  be  observed, 
when  in  Scripture  human  parts  and  passions  are  as- 
cribed to  God,  it  is  not  because  these  parts  and  pas- 
sions do  really  exist  in  God,  but  that  way  of  speak- 
ing is  used  to  give  us  some  idea  of  his  attributes  and 
operations,  accommodated  to  our  manner  of  cpnceiv- 
ing  things.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that,  when  God 
said  he  sware  in  his  wrath,  he  felt  the  passion  of 
wrath  as  men,  when  provoked,  aire  wont  to  do;  but 
that  he  acted  on  that  occasion  as  men  do  who  are 
moved  by  anger.  He  declared  by  ian  oath  his  fixed 
resolution  to  punish  the  unbelievmg  Israelites,  by 
excluding  them  for  ever  from  his  rest  in  Canaan, 
because  they  refused  to  go  into  that  country  when 
he  commanded  them;  and  to  show  that  this  punish- 
ment was  not  too  severe,  God,  by  the  mouth  of  Da- 
vid, spoke  of  thejr  tempting  him  all  the  forty  years 
ihey  were  in  the  wilderness. 

Verses  12, 13.  Take  Jieed—BXefrere,  see  to  it,  con- 
aider,  use  care  and  circumspection;  brethren,  lest— 
UriKore,  lest  at  any  time;  there  be  inany  of  you — As 
there  was  in  your  forefathers  of  old ;  he  speaks  to 
them  collectively,  to  take  care  tbat  none  might  be 
ibund  among  them  with  such  a  heart  as  he  guards 
906 


12  Take  heed,  brethren,  ket  tl^re  a.  M.  «Ma 

A.  D   64. 

be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of — 

imbelief,  in  departing  team  the  living  God. 

13  Butexliortwe  another  daily,  while  it  is 
called  to-day;  lest  any  ot  yoa  be  hardened 
through  the  decatftdness  of  sin. 


tAott  enter. 


them  against,  and  consequently  his  eantion  coneera- 
ed  every  individual  of  them;  an  evU  heart  of  unbe- 
lief—VvlbeUei  is  the  parent  of  al}  evU,  and  ti^e  very 
essence  of  it  lies  in  departing  from  God,  as  the  Zto- 
ing  Ood^The  fountain  of  all  our  life,  holiness,  and 
happiness.  For  as  faith  draws  near  to  him  in  the 
consideration  and  knowledge  of  him,  in  beholding 
his  glory,  in  desire  after  him,  ^^tttude  to  him,  and 
delight  in  him ;  continually  aspiring  after  a  conform- 
ity to  him,  and  longing  to  enjoy  union  and  commu- 
nion withhim;  so  unbelief  produeesdirectly  contrary 
efiects,  rendering  the  mind  averse  to  approach  God  in 
these  respects  and  for  these  purposes,  disTiking  and 
shunning  all  intercourse  with  him.  It  is  distinguished 
by  some  into  negative  and  positive.  Negative  unbe- 
lief is  wherever  any  believe  not,  or  have  not  foith, 
because  they  have  not  yet  had  the  means  o[  believ- 
ing, namely,  the  Scriptures,  or  the  truths  deckired 
in  them,  as  the  heathen  nations.  Such,  suppodng 
they  beUeve  and  lay  to  heart  ^e  tmths  of  what  is 
called  natural  religion,  cannot  be  said  to  have  in 
them  an  evil  heart  of  unbelirf,  2d,  Poative  nnbe- 
Uef  is  where  menbeUeve  not,  though  they  enjoy  the 
means  of  iiiith.  This  latter  is  here  meant,  and  in  it 
consist  some  of  the  highest  woridngs  of  the  dq)raved 
nature  of  man ;  it  being,  on  many  accounts,  the 
greatest  provocation  of  God  that  a  creature  can  be 
guilty  of.  For  it  is  an  exposition  to  God  in  all  the 
perfections  of  his  nature,  and  in  the  whole  revelation 
of  his  will  And  therefore  the  gospel,  which  is  a 
declaration  of  grace,  mercy,  and  pardon,  and  which 
indeed  condemns  all  sin,  yet  denounces  final  con- 
denmation  only  against  this  sin,  he  thai  beUeveth 
not  shaU  be  damned,  Mark  xvL  16. 

Observe  reader,  the  apostle's  caution  against  a 
heart  of  unbelief  implies  two  things:  Ist,  Tbat  we 
take  heed  lest,  through  refusing  to  consider  the  evi- 
dence of  the  truth,  or  the  goodness  and  excellence 
of  the  things  proposed  to  be  embraced  by  our  foilh, 
we  should  continue  in  our  natural  nnbeliel^  and 
never  attain  foith.  2d,  Lest  we  ^ould  reject  or  de- 
cline from  tlie  faith  after  it  has  been  reeeived, 
through  neglect  of  the  means  which  minister  to  its 
continuance  and  increase,  namely,  the  word  oi 
God,  prajrer.  Christian  fellowship,  the  Lord^  supper, 
&c. ;  through  yielding  to  the  temptations  of  the  devil, 
the  worldand  the  fiesh,  and  to  the  love  of  sin ;  through 
unwatchfulness  and  the  neglect  of  self<l^ial  and 
mortification;  through  relapsuig  into  our  former 
habits,  and  imitating  the  i^pirit  and  conduct  of  the 
carnal  and  worldly  part  of  mankind  around  us ; — 
through  fear  of  reproach,  of  ill-usage  and  persecution 
from  those  that  are  enemies  to  the  truth  and  gface 
of  God.    As  a  powerful  means  to  prevent  this  from 


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CHAPTER  in. 


hardnesi  of  heart.' 


A.  M.  4008. 
A.  D.64. 


14  For  we  are  made  partakers  of 
Christ,  ®if  we  hold  the  beginning  of 
our  confidence  steadfast  unto  the  end ; 
16  While  it  is  said,  '  To<lay  if  ye  will  hear 


o  Verse  e.- 


FVene' 


being  the  case,  the  apostle  adds,  exhort  one  another^ 
&c.~It  is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Owen,  that  "  manjr 
practical  duties  are  neglected  because  they  are  not 
understood,  and  they  are  not  understood  because 
they  are  supposed  to  have  no  difficulty  in  theuL" 
The  duty  of  constant  exhortation,  that  is,  of  per- 
suading men  to  constancy  and  growth  in  faith,  love, 
and  obedience,  to  watchfulness  and  diligence  in  the 
ways  of  God,  and  attention  to  every  duty  which  we 
owe  to  God,  our  neighbour,  and  ourselves^  is  the 
most  important  part  of  the  ministerial  office.  It  is, 
however,  not  confined  to  ministers :  it  must  also  be 
mutual  among  believers;  and,  in  order  to  the  right 
perfbrmance^  of  it,  the  following  things  are  neces- 
sary :  Ist,  A  deep  concern  for  one  another's  salvation 
end  growth  in  grace.  2d,  Wisdom  and  understand- 
ing in  divine  things.  3d,  Qare  that  only  words  of 
truth  and  soberness  be  spoken,  for  only  such  words 
will  be  attended  with  authority,  and  have  the  desired 
effect  4th,  Avoiding  those  morose  c^id  severe  ex- 
pressions which  savour  of  unkindness,  and  using 
words  of  mildness,  compassion,  tenderness,  and  love, 
at  least  toward  such  as  are  well-disposed,  and  de- 
sirous to  know  and  do  the  will  of  God.  5th,  Avoid- 
ing levity,  and  always  speaking  with  seriousness. 
0th,  Attention  to  time,  place,  persons,  occasions,  cir- 
cumstances. '  7ih,  A  suitable  example  in  the  persons 
exhorting,  giving  weight  and  influence  to  every 
advice  that  is  given,  in  imitation  of  the  apostle,  who 
could  say,  Be  yefollovjcrs  of  me  as  lam  of  Christ. 
8th,  We  must  be  unwearied  in  this  duty,  and  exhort 
one  another  (2a%;  and  that  not  only  in  appointed 
meetings,  but  in  every  proper  season,  and  on  all  fit 
occasions,  whenever  we  happen  to  be  in  company 
one  with  another :  and,  lastly,  while  it  is  called  to- 
day— While  the  season  for  doing  it  continues ;  and 
therefore  now,  without  delay,  the  time  for  perform- 
ing this  duty  being  both  very  short  and  very  un- 
certain. 

As  a  motive  impelling  to  the  practice  recommend- 
ed, the  apostle  adds,  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened— 
That  is,  1st,  Rendered  blind  and  insensible  as  to  the 
nature,  excellence,  necessity,  and  importance  of 
spiritual  things :  2d,  impenetrable  to  mercy  or  just- 
ice, promises  or  thrcatenings ;  to  the  word,  provi- 
dence, or  grace  of  God ;  stubborn  and  irreclaimable : 
3d,  Abandoned,  and  finally  given  up  of  God  to  sin 
and  its  consequences.  It  should  be  well  observed, 
that  this  awful  effect  is  not  usually  produced  sud- 
denly, and  all  at  once,  but  by  slow  degrees,  and 
perhaps  insensibly,  just  as  the  hand  of  a  labouring 
man'is  wont  gradually  to  contract  a  callousness.  It 
is  effecte(]^  the  apostle  says,  by  the  deceitfulness  of 
sin,  probably  first  by  yielding  to,  instead  of  resist- 
ing and  mortifying,  sinful  dispositions  and  corrupt 
passions,  which  by  degrees  produce  those  smful 
b 


his  voke,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  a.  m.  4068. 
in  the  provocation.  '  ^' 

16  4Forsonie,whentheyhadheard,didprovolce: 
howbeit,  not  all  that  came  outof  Egypt  by  Moses. 


fNuiii.  zir.  2, 4,  U,  34, 30;  Peut  i.  34,  36,  S8. 


practices,  which,  1st,  Not  only  grieve,  but  quench 
and  do  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace,  and  cause  him 
to  withdraw  hb  influences  from  us.  2d,  The  mind 
becomes  hereby  indisposed,  and  averse  to  attend  to, 
or  to  obey,  the  voice  of  God  in  Jiis  word  or  provi- 
dence, to  consider  or  to  yield  to  his  counsel  and  au- 
thority. Hereby,  3d,  The  conscience  is  stupified, 
the  win,  affections,  and  all  the  powers  of  the  soul 
are  preoccupied  and  engaged  in  the  service  of  sin 
and  Satan,  of  the  world  and  the  fiesh.  The  apostle 
terms  sin  deceitful^  because  it  promises  the  satisfac- 
tion it  never  yields :  persuades  us  we  may  venture 
to  yield  a  little  to  its  solicitations,  but  need  not  go 
far ; — ^that  we  may  yield  at  this  time,  this  once,  but 
need  not  afterward ;— that  we  may  and  can  repent 
and  reform  when  we  will ;— that  God  will  not  be  ex- 
treme to  mark  little  things ;-— and  that  he  is  merciful, 
and  will  not  be  so  strict  as  ministers  are  wont  to 
urge,  in  fulfilling  his  thrcatenings. 

Verse  14.  For  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ 
— Of  all  the  blessings  procured  by  his  death,  and 
offered  in  his  gospel,  even  of  pardon,  holiness,  and 
eternal  life ;  if  we  Ao/ri— If  we  retain  with  constancy 
and  perseverance  5  the  beginning  of  ouf  confidence 
—That  is,  the  confidence  or  trust  we  have  begun  to 
place  in  him ;  steadfast — Be6aiav,fiin;  unto  the  end 
— Of  our  lives,  whatever  difliculties  or  oppositions 
may  arise.  Dr.  Owen  (who,  by  being  partakers 
of  Christ,  understands  our  having  an  interest  in  his 
nature,  by  the  communication  of  his  Spirit,  as  Christ 
had  in  ours  by  the  assumption  of  our  fiesh)  inter- 
prets the  word  vnog-aai^,  here  rendered  confidence^ 
of  that  union  which  we  are  bound  to  preserve  and 
maintain  with  Christ,  or  of  our  subsistence  in  him, 
our  abiding  in  him  as  the  branches  in  the  vine,  ob- 
serving, "  So  the  word  very  property  signifies,  and 
so  it  is  here  emphatically  used."  He  adds,  "the 
beginning  of  our  subsistence  in  Christ,  and  of  our 
engagements  to  him,  is,  for  the  most  part,  accom- 
pani^  with  much  love  and  other  choice  affections, 
resolution,  and  courage ;  which,  without  great  care 
and  watchfulness^  we  are  very  ready  to  decay  in  and 
fall  from." 

Verse  16.  For  some^  &c.— As  if  he  had  said.  You 
have  need  to  attend  *,  be  watchful  and  circumspect 
For  some—Yea,  many ;  when  they  had  heard— The 
voice  of  God  in  giving  the  law,  and  the  various  in- 
structions which  God  granted  them  in  the  wilder- 
ness; did  prow/re— Literally,  bitterly  provoke,  that 
is,  God,  whose  voice  they  heard.  By  this  consider- 
ation the  apostle  enforces  his  exhortation;  when 
the  people,  says  he,  of  old  heard  the  voice  of  God  in 
that  dispensi^tion  of  his  law  and  grace  which  was 
suited  to  their  condition,  some  of  them  provoked 
God ;  ^d  whereas  those  also  may  do  so  who  hear 
his  voice  in  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  it  con- 
fiOT 


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HEBREWa 


c<ndd  not  ^ter  Canaan, 


A.  M.  «68.   17  But  with  whom  was  he  grieved  for- 

.* ty  years?  tro^t^  not  with  them  that  had 

sinned,  'whoee  carcasses  feU  in  the  wilderness? 
18  And  '  to  whom  sware  he  that  they  should 


f  Num.  xir.  22,  29,  iio. ;  xxri.  65 ;   Pmu  cri.  26 ;  1  Con  z.  5 ; 


eems  all  that  hear  it  to  take  eare  that  they  be  not 
disobedient ;  for,  under  every  dispensation,  dreadful 
is  the  consequence  of  abused  mercy.  Howbettj  not 
all  thai  came  out  of  Egypt — In  the  preceding  dis- 
course the  apostle  had  expressed  the  sin  and  punish- 
ment of  the  people  indefinitely,  so  as  to  appear  at 
ibst  view  to  include  the  whole  generation  in  the 
wilderness ;  but  here  he  makes  an  exception,  which 
may  refer  to  three  sorts  of  persons.  Fhrst,  Those 
who  were  under  twenty  years  of  age  in  the  second 
year  after  their  commg  out  of  Egypt,  and  who  were 
not  numbered  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai.  See  Num. 
1. 1, 3.  For  of  those  that  were  then  numbered,  there 
was  not  a  man  left  save  Caleb  and  Joshua,  but  they 
all  died,  because  of  their  provocation.  Secondly, 
the  tribe  of  Levi;  for  the  threatening  and  oath  of 
God  was  only  against  them  that  were  numbered,  and 
Moses  was  expressly  commanded  not  to  number  the 
Levites;  although  it  is  much  to  be  ftored  that  the 
generality  of  this  tribe  also  provoked  and  fell. 
Thirdly,  Caleb  and  Joshua  are  excepted;  and  indeed 
seem  here  to  be  principally  intended.  Now  the 
ai>ostle  thus  expresses  the  limitation  of  his  former 
general  assertion,  that  he  might  enforce  his  exhort- 
ation by  the  example  of  them  who  believed  and 
obeyed  the  voice  of  God,  and  therefore  entered  into 
his  rest;  as  well  as  of  those  who  provoked,  and 
therefore  were  prohibited  from  entering  it.  So  that 
he  draws  his  argument  not  only  from  the  severity 
of  God,  which  at  the  first  view  seems  to  be  only 
set  forth,  but  also  from  his  implied  faithfulness  and 
mercy. 

Verses  17,  18.  But  with  whom  was  he  grieved — 
Or,  displeqsccly  as  Macknight  renders  npoaox^ias; 
forty  year*?— The  apostle's  answer  to  this  inquiry 
consists  of  a  double  description  of  them.  First,  By 
their  sin;  woe  it  not  with  them  that  had  sinned? 
Secondly,  By  their  punishment ;  wJiose  carcasses 
fell  in  the  wilderness?— As  some  only,  and  not  all 
provoked^  so  it  was  with  some  only,  and  not  all,  that 
God  was  displeased.  The  sins  here  principally  in- 
tended are  the  general  sins  of  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, which  consisted  in  their  frequent  murmur'mgs 
and  rebellions,  which  came  to  a  head,  as  it  were,  in 
that  great  provocation  upon  the  return  of  the  spies, 


n6t  enter  into  his  rest)  but  to  Uiem  that  a.m.^ossl 
beUevednot?  a.d.94. 

19  ^  So  we  see  that  they  could  not  enter  in 
because  of  unbelief. 

Jude  6. •Norn.  xir.  30 ;  Deut.  i.  34, 36. *  ClMp.  It.  S. 


Sfum.  xiv.)  when  they  not  only  provoked  God  by 
elr  own  unbelief,  but  encouraged  one  another  to 
destroy  Joshua  and  Caleb,  who  woUld  not  concur  in 
their  disobedience ;  for  all  the  congregation  bade 
stone  them  wiili  stones.  And  to  whom  sware  Ae,  &c. 
—The  apostle  refers  to  Num.  xiv.  21-23^  90 ;  btU 
to  them  that  believed  not? — Or  were  disobedient,  as 
the  word  aneidrfoaai  may  be  properly  rendered ;  or 
who  would  not  be  persuaded,  namely,  to  trust  God, 
and  believe  that  he  would  give  them  the  possession 
of  Canaan,  and  would  not  obey  him  when  he  com- 
manded them  to  go  up  against  their  enemies^  and 
take  possession  of  it. 

Verse  19.  So  we  see,  &c — The  conclusion  we 
draw  from  the  whole  is,  that  they  could  not  enter  in 
because  of  unbelief— Though  afterward  they  deared 
it  In  looking  over  the  whole  story  of  the  sins  of 
the  Israelites,  and  of  God's  dealings  with  them,  one 
would  be  apt  to  ^x  upon  some  other  causes  of  their 
exclusion  from  Canaan,  as  the  Jews,  their  posterity, 
do  at  this  day.  But  our  apostle  here  lays  it  abso- 
lutely and  wholly  on  their  ui^elicif^  which  he  proves 
to  have  been  the  chief  spring  and  causie  of  all  their 
provocations.  From  this,  in  particular,  proceeded 
that  cowardice  which  made  them  refuse  to  march . 
against  the  Canaanites,  when  the  spies  brought  them 
information  concerning  the  giants  whom  they  had 
observed  ia  the  country,  the  sons  of  Anak,  and  the 
large  and  well-fortified  eities.  But  how  inexcusable 
was  this  their  unbelief,  considering  the  many  astonish- 
ing miracles  which  God  had  wrought  for  them,  before 
he  gave  them  the  command  to  enter  Canaan  I  *'  The 
conclusion,"  says  Macknight,  "  of  the  apostle's  rea- 
soniiig  concerning  the  sin  and  punishment  of  the 
ancient  Israelites,  contained  in  this  verse,  ought  to 
make  a  deep  impression  on  every  reader,  since  it 
shows,  in  the  strongest  colours,  the  malignity  o£  un- 
belief, and  teaches  us  that  it  is  the  source  of  all  the 
sin  and  misery  prevalent  among  mankind.  Our  first 
parents  sinned  through  their  not  beUeving  God, 
when  he  said.  In  the  day  Hum  eatesi  thereof  thou 
shatt  surety  die;  and  their  posterity  &Xi  through 
their  not  believing  what  God  hath  suggested  to  them 
by  their  own  reason,  and  by  revelation,  concerning 
the  rewards  and  punishments  of  a  future  state." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Here,  (1,)  The  apostUineuleates  on  professing  Christians  an  holy  fear  and  eare  to  prevent  their  coming  short  of  the  heavenfy 
rest  through  unbelief  I,  2.  (2,)  Shows  that  the  rest  into  which  those  enter  oh  earth  that  believe  the  gotpelj  and  the  rest  of 
heaoen,  are  more  exceUejU  tJuin  that  of  Canaan,  3-10.  (8,)  By  the  most  awakening  and  encouraging  arguments  hs  exekes 
men  to  faith  and  hope  in  (heir  approaches  to  God,  1 1-16. 

008  b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


we  fail  of  the  prondeed  reeL 


A.  M.  406a  T  ET  *  us  therefore  fear,  lest  a  pro- 

.^1— ! mise  being  left  us  of  entering 

mto  bis  rest,  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come 
short  of  it 

2  Tot  unto  us  was  the  gospel  preached,  as 
well  ai  unto  them^  but  ^  the  word  preached  did 


•  Cbap.  xii  16. *  Or,  ikt  word  of  hmmngr- 

they  were  not  umted  hyfiutk  to. 


•Or, 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1, 2.  In  this  chapter,  which  is  of  the  same 
nature  with  the  foregoing,  the  apostle  proceeds  with 
his  exhcHlation  to  the  Hebrews,  and  all  professing 
Christians,  to  faith,  obedience,  and  perseverance; 
and  enforces  it  by  a  most  apposite  and  striking  in- 
stance in  the  punishment  which  befel  the  Israelites, 
those  ancient  professors  of  the  true  religion,  who 
were  guilty  of  sins  contrary  to  those  duties.  And 
the  example,  as  has  been  oAcn  observed,  was  pe- 
culiarly suitable,  taken  from  their  own  ancestors, 
the  evil  being  tlic  same,  namely,  unbelief;  the  time 
in  both  cases  being  just  after  the  establbhment  of  a 
new  constitution,  and  the  consequence  being  the 
same,  the  exclusion  from  rest  The  superior  dignity 
of  Christ  above  Moses,  and  the  superior  excellence 
of  heaven  above  Canaan,  greatly  confirm  the  force 
r.f  the  apostle's  argument.  Let  us — Christian  He- 
brews; therefore  fear,  lest  a  promise  being  left — A 
conditional  promise,  to  be  fulfilled  to  all  obedient, 
persevering  believers ;  (the  pronoun  tis  is  not  in  the 
original ;)  of  entering  into  his  rest — The  rest  of 
glory  in  heaven ;  and,  preparatory  thereto,  the  rest 
of  grace  on  earth ;  the  peace  and  joy,  the  solid  and 
satisfying  happiness  consequent  on  pardon  and  holi- 
ness, on  the  justification  of  our  persons,  the  reno- 
vation of  our  nature,  and  that  lively,  well-grounded 
hope  of  eternal  life,  which  is  as  an  anclwr  of  the 
sold  sure  and  steadfast j  and  entering  in  within  the 
veilj  chap.  vi.  19 ;  any  of  you  shndd  seem  to  come 
short  of  if— Should  fail  of  it ;  as  your  forefathers 
failed  of  entering  the  rest  of  Canaan.  The  fear  here 
Inculcated  is  not  a  fear  of  diffidence  or  distrust,  of 
doubting  or  uncertainty,  as  to  the  event  of  our  faith 
and  obedience.  This  is  enjoined  to  none,  but  is 
evidently  a  fruit  of  unbelief,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
our  duty.  Neither  can  it  be  a  timidity  or  dismayed- 
ness  of  mind  upon  a  prospect  of  difficulties  and 
dangers  in  the  way,  for  this  is  the  sluggard's  fear 
who  cries.  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way,  I  shall  be 
slain.  Nor  is  it  that  general  fear  of  reverence  with 
which  we  ought  to  be  possessed  in  all  our  concerns 
with  Crod ;  for  that  b  not  particularly  influenced  by 
threatenings,  and  the  severity  of  God,  seeing  we  are 
bound  always  in  that  sense  to  fear  the  Lord  and  his 
goodness.  But  it  is,  1st,  A  jealous  fear  of  ourselves, 
lest,  having  run  well  for  a  time,  we  should  be  hin- 
dered ;  should  grow  Inkewarm  and  indolent,  formal 
and  dead,  and  so  should  fall  from  that  state  of  grace 
io  which  we  had  once  stood.  2d,  A  suspicious  fear  of 
our  spiritual  enomies,  inducing  us  to  watch  and  stand 
un  our  guard  against  them.  For  unto  us  was  the  gos- 
pel preached-^Th^i  is,  good  news  of  entering  into 
b 


not  profit  them, 'not  being  mixed  with  a.m.  4068. 
fitith  in  them  that  heard  U.  — '— — 

3  ^  For  we  which  have  bdieved  do  enter' into 
rest,  as  he  said, "  As  I  hare  sworn  in  my  wrath,  if 
they  shall  enter  into  my  rest :  although  the  works 
were  fimshed  trom  the  foyndaticm  of  the  world. 


^Chap.  iii.  14. «  Pta.  xor.  11 ;  Chmp.  iu.  11. 


his  rest  have  been  brought  to  wa;  as  well  as  unio 
ffiem — The  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.  The  He- 
brews, to  whom  he  wrote,  might  be  ready  to  say, 
"What  have  wc  to  do  with  the  people  in  the  wilder- 
ness, with  the  promise  of  entering  into  Canaan?  or 
with  what  the  psalmist  from  thence  exhorted  our 
fathers  to?*'  Nay,  these  things,  saith  the  apostle,  be- 
long to  you  in  an  especial  manner.  For  in  the  ex- 
ample proposed,  you  may  evidently  see  what  you 
are  to  expect,  if  you  fall  into  the  same  sins.  For  he 
declares,  that  in  the  example  of  God's  dealing  with 
their  progenitors,  there  was  included  a  threatening 
of  similar  dealing  with  all  others,  who  should  fall  into 
the  same  sin  of  unbelief  5  that  none  might  flatter 
themselves  with  vain  hopes  of  any  exemption  in 
this  matter ;  which  he  further  confirms  in  these  two 
verses,  though  his  present  exhortation  be  an  imme- 
diate inference  from  what  went  before.  But  the 
word  preached—The  promise  declared  unto  them ; 
did  not  profit  them — So  far  from  it,  that  it  increased 
their  condemnation ;  not  being  mixed  with  faith  in 
them  that  heard  it—So  firmly  believed  as  to  become 
a  principle  of  obedience  in  them.  And  it  is  then 
oidy,  when  these  tniths  are  thus  mixed  with  faith, 
that  they  exert  their  saving  power. 

Verse  8.  For  we  who  have  believed — Or,  who  be- 
lieve, namely,  in  Christ,  and  the  promises  of  rest 
made  in  the  gospel,  and  are  diligent  in  the  use  of  the 
means  appointed  in  order  to  the  attainment  of  it; 
do  enter  into  rest— Are  at  present  made  partakers 
of  the  rest  promised  by  Jesus  to  the  weary  and 
heavy-laden  that  come  to,  and  learn  of  him,  Matt. 
xi.  28,  29:  the  rest  implied  in  peace  with  God,  peace 
of  conscience,  tranquillity  of  mind,  the  love  of  God 
and  of  all  mankind  shed  abroad  in  the  heart,  and  lively 
hopes  of  future  felicity.  Or  rather,  as  Macknight 
observes,  the  present  tense  is  put  for  the  future,  to 
show  the  certainty  of  believers  entering  into  the 
rest  of  God.  For  the  discourse  is  not  directly  con- 
cerning any  rest  belonging  to  believers  in  the  pre- 
sent life,  but  of  a  rest  remaining  to  them  after  death, 
verse  9.  As  he  said— Clenrly  showing  that  there  is 
a  further  rest  than  that  which  followed  the  finishing 
of  the  creation ;  As  I  have  sworn,  fc,  if  they  shall 
enter— Thdii  is,  they  shall  never  enter;  into  my  rest 
—Namely,  by  reason  of  their  unbelief.  The  apps- 
tle's  argument  is  to  this  purpose:  Seeing  men  are  by 
the  oath  of  God  excluded  from  God's  rest  on  account 
of  unbelief,  this  implies  that  all  who  believe  shall 
enter  into  his  rest.  Although  the  works  were  fin- 
ished before,  even  from  the  foundation  of  the  world 
—So  that  God  did  not  speak  of  resting  from  them. 
The  proposition  is^  There  remains  a  rest  for  the 
609 


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There  is  a  rest  yet  remaimng 


HEBREWa 


fir  ^people  of  GofL 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  0.64. 


4  For  he  spake  in  a  certain  [dace  of 

the  seventh  day  on  this  wise,  ^  And 

God  did  rest  theiseyenth  day  from  all  his  works. 

6  And  in  this  pl<ice  again,  If  they  shall  enter 

into  my  rest 

6  Seeing  therefore  it  ramaineth  that  some 
must  enter  therein,  *and  they  to  whon^  ^it 
was  first  preached  entered  not  in  because  of 
unbelief: 


'  Geo.  u.  2 ;  Ezod.  xr.  11 ;  xxxi.  17. •  Chap.  iii.  19.- 

the  goapel  wasfrtt  preached. 


•Or, 


people  of  God.  This  is  proved,  (verses  8-11,)  thus : 
that  psalm  (the  95th)  mentions  a  rest,  yet  it  does 
not  mean,  1st,  God's  rest  from  creating,  for  this  was 
long  before  the  time  of  Moses,  nor  the  rest  of  the 
seventh  day,  which  was  instituted  from  the  begin- 
ning. Therefore  God's  swearing  that  the  rebellious 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  should  not  enter  into  his 
rest,  shows  that  there  was  then  another  rest  to  be 
entered  into,  of  which  they  who  then  heard  fell  short. 
Nor  is  it,  2d,  The  rest  which  Israel  obtained  through 
Joshua,  for  the  psalmist  wrote  afler  hinL  There- 
fore it  is,  3d,  The  eternal  rest  in  heaven. 

Verses  4-8.  For  he  spake  in  a  certain  place — 
Namely,  Gen.  ii.  2j  Exod.  xxxi.  17;  on  this  wise, 
God  did  rest,  &c. — These  words  the  apostle  quotes, 
because  they  show  that  the  seventhrday  rest  is  fitly 
called  God?s  rest,  and  that  the  seventhrday  rest  was 
observed  from  the  creation  of  the  world.  "  God's 
ceasing  from  his  works  of  creation  is  called  his  rest- 
ing ^»i  all  his  works,  because,  according  to  our 
way  of  conceiving  things,  he  had  exerted  an  infinite 
force  in  creating  the  mundane  system." — Macknight. 
And  in  this  place  again,  If  they  shall  enter — That 
is,  they  shall  not  enter;  into  my  rest — Namely,  the 
rest  of  Canaan,  to  be  entered  above  three  thousand 
years  after  the  former.  This  is  called  God's  rest, 
Ist,  Because,  after  the  Israelites  got  possession  of 
that  country,  God  rested  from  his  work  of  intro- 
ducing them;  2d,  Because  they  were  there  to  ob- 
serve God's  sabbaths,  and  to  perform  his  worship 
free  from  the  fear  of  their  enemies,  Luke  i.  68, 74. 
Seeing  therefore  it  remaineth  that  some  must  enter 
therein-^Aa  if  he  had  said,  Prom  what  has  been 
spoken,  it  is  evident  that,  besides  the  rest  of  God 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  a  seventh-day 
sabbath  as  a  pledge  thereof,  there  was  another  rest, 
which  some  persons  were  to  enter  into,  namely,  the 
rest  in  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and  they  to  whom  it  was 
first  preached^Thoi  b,  published  and  offered  by 
Moses  in  the  wilderness;  entered  not  in  because 
of  unbelief-— As  was  said  above.  Again,  &c. — And 
further,  besides  the  two  times  of  rest  before  men- 
tioned, namely,  those  of  the  creation  and  of  Canaan, 
he  afterward,  in  this  psalm,  speaks  of  another;  he 
limiteth  a  certain  day— That  is,  the  Holy  Ghost 
specifics  and  appoints  another  determinate  time  or 
season  of  rest  besides  those  before  mentioned,  whose 
season  was  now  past;  saying  in  Davidr—ln  the 
psalm  penned  by  him;  after  so  long  a  fiwc— After 
510 


7  (Again,  be  limiteth  a  certain  day,  a  m.  4Ma 
saying  in  David,  Torday,  after  so 


long  a  time ;  as  it  is  said, '  Tonilay,  if  ye  will 
hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts, 

8  For  if  ^Jesus  had  given  them  rest,  then 
would  he  not  afiefward  have  spoken  of  an- 
other day. 

9  Thete  remaineth  therefore  a  'rest  to  the 
people  of  God. 


r  Psa.  xcT.  7 ;  Chip.  iu.  7. «  That  is,  /odhok- 

i$tg  of  a  sabbath. 


*Or,*«p. 


they  had  entered  into  the  rest  of  Canaan,  and  had 
possessed  it  for  about  five  hundred  years,  he  yet 
again  calls  upon  them  to  seek  after  another  rest: 
therefore  there  is  another  besides  that  of  Canaan. 
For  ifJesus—Thst  is,  Joshua ;  had  given  them  rest 
— If  Uiat  rest  which  Uiey  obtained  under  the  con- 
duct of  Joshua,  who  brought  them  into  Canaan,  h^d 
been  all  which  was  intended  by  God  for  them,  this 
latter  exhortation  by  David  had  been  needless. 
Upon  the  whole,  the  apostle  proves  that  after  the 
original  rest  at  the  creation,  there  was  a  second  pro- 
mi^  and  proposed  to  the  people  of  God,  namely,  in 
Canaan ;  but  yet  neither  was  that  the  rest  intended  in 
the  place  of  the  psahn  here  'so  often  referred  to ;  but 
a  third,  which  yet  remained  for  them,  and  was  now 
offered  to  them,  and  that  under  the  same  promises 
and  threatenings  with  the  former,  namely,  to  be  con- 
ferred on  obedient  believers,  and  withheld  from  the 
unbelieving  and  disobedient 

Verse  9.  TJiere  remaineth  therefore  a  rest,  &c — 
Since  neither  of  the  two  former  rests  is  intended 
by  David,  and  there  was  no  new  rest  for  the  people 
to  enter  into  in  the  days  of  David,  and  the  psalm 
wherein  these  words  are  recorded  is  acknowledged 
to  be  prophetical  of  the  days  of  the  Messiah,  it  una- 
voidably follows  that  there  is  such  a  rest  remahiing; 
and  not  only  a  spiritual  rest,  in  the  peace  and  love 
of  God,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  communion  with 
him  entered  into  by  believing  in  Christ,  (Matt  xi.  28, 
29;  Isa.  zxxii.  17, 18,)  but  an  eternal  rest  in  the  hea- 
venly world.  "The  apostle  having  established  this 
conclusion  by  just  reasoning  on  the  sayings  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  uttered  by  the  mouth  of  David,  they 
misrepresent  the  state  of  the  Israelites  under  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  who  affirm  that  they  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  Immortality  of  the  soul,  nor  of 
future  retributions.  They  had  both  discovered  to 
them  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  as  recorded  by 
Moses,  and  explained  by  the  prophets.  The  apostle 
here,  in  this  conclusion,  substitutes  the  word  <ra<to-' 
Tifffioi,  sabbaiism,  for  the  word  KoraKovmcr  rest,  in 
hb  premises.  But  both  are  proper,  especially  the 
word  sdbbatism,  in  this  place,  because,  by  directing 
us  to  what  is  said  verse  4,  it  showeth  the  nature  of 
that  rest  which  remaineth  to  the  people  of  God.  It 
will  resemble  the  rest  of  the  sabbath,  both  in  its  em- 
ployments and  enjoyments.  For  therein  the  saints 
shall  rest  from  their  work  of  trial,  and  fipom  all  the 
evils  they  are  subject  to  in  the  present  life ;  and  shall 

b 


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tbdunriation  to  labour 


CHAPTBtlV. 


to  etUerinto  heaven. 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  6i. 


10  For  he  thai  is  entered  into  his 
rest,  be  also  bath  ceased  from  his  own 
works,  as  God  did  from  his.) 

11  Let  us  labour  therefore  to  enter  into  that 
rest,  lest  any  man  &U  ^^  after  the  same  exam- 
ple <rf  ^  unbelief 


f  Chap.  iii.  12,  18,  19. *  Or,  duobidience. ^  Is«.  xlix.  2 ; 

Jer.  zziu.  29;  2  Cor.  ^.  4, 5;  1  Pet.  i.  23. 


recollect  the  labours  they  have  undergone,  the  dan- 
gers they  have  escaped,  and  the  temptations  they 
have  overcome.  And  hy  reflecting  on  these  things, 
and  on  the  method  of  their  salvation,  they  shall  be 
unspeakably  happy,  Rev.  xxi.  3.  To  this  add,  that 
being  admitted  into  the  immediate  presence  of  God 
to  worship,  they  shall,  as  Doddridge  observes,  pass  a 
perpetual  sabbath  in  those  elevations  of  pure  devo- 
tion, which  the  sublimest  moments  of  our  most  sa- 
cred and  happy  days  can  teach  us  but  imperfectly 
to  conceive^  Here  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the 
Hebrews  themselves  considered  the  sabbath  as  an 
emblem  of  the  heavenly  rest:  for  St.  Paul  reckons 
sabbcUhB  among  Uiose  Jewish  institutions  which 
were  shadows  of  good  things  to  come,  Col.  ii.  IT.'' — 
Macknight 

Verse  10.  For  that  rest  of  which  we  were  speak- 
ing, may  properly  be  called  a  sabbatical  rest,  or  the 
celebration  of  a  sabbath ;  for  lie  that  haHh  entered 
into  this  his  final  and  complete  rest^  hath  ceased 
from  his  own  works— ¥rom  all  his  labours  and  toils ; 
as  Ood  did  from  his — In  that  first  seventh-4ay, 
which,  in  commemoration  of  it,  was  appointed  to  be 
kq>t  holy  in  all  future  ages.  Probably  God  appoint- 
ed men  to  rest  on  the  seventh  day,  not  only  in  com- 
memoration of  his  having  rested  on  that  day,  but  to 
teach  them  that  their  happiness  in  a  future  state 
will  consist  in  resting  from  their  work  of  trial,  and  in 
reviewing  it  after  it  is  finished,  as  God,  when  he 
rested  from  the  work  of  creation,  surveyed  the 
whole,  and  pronounced  it  good.  From  this  account 
of  the  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God, 
namely,  that  they  do  not  enter  into  it  till  their  works 
of  trial  and  suffering  are  finished,  it  is  evident  that 
the  rest  which  is  here  said  to  remain  to  them  is  Uie 
rest  of  heaven,  of  which  the  seventh-day  rest  is  only 
an  imperfect  emblem. 

Verse  11.  Let  us  labour  therefor e,  &c. — ^That  is, 
shice  the  Israelites  were  so  severely  punished  for 
their  unbelief,  let  us  labours-Greek^  ansSaaufiev,  let 
us  be  in  earnest,  use  diligence,  and  make  haste,  (all 
which  particulars  are  iniduded  in  the  word,)  to  enter 
into  that  rest— By  sincerely  believing  and  stead- 
fastly obeying  the  gospel,  aspiring  after  and  striving 
to  attain  every  branch  of  holiness,  internal  and  ex- 
temad;  lest  any  man  fall— Into  sin  and  eternal  per- 
dition; after  the  same  example  of  unbelief— By 
reason  of  such  unbelief  aa  the  Israelites  gave  an  ex- 
ample of  The  unbelief  against  which  we  are  here 
cautioned,  as  being  the  cause  of  men's  falling  under 
the  wrath  of  God,  is  chiefly  that  kind  of  it  which 
reflects  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body,  the  reality  and  greatness  of  the 
b 


12  For  the  word  of  God  is  ^  quick,  a.  M.  4068 

and  powerful,  and  ^  ebarper  than  any  '. — 

^two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  soul  and  qpfarit,  and  of  the  joints  and 
manow,  and  t^^a  discemer  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart 


i  Proverb*  ▼,  4.- 


t  EpbesiftiM  yi.  17 ;  Rerelation  i*  16 ;  ii.  16. 
» 1  Cor.  xiT.  24, 25. 


joys  of  heaven,  and  the  miseries  of  hell ;  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  men's  sin- 
fulness and  guilt,  depravity  and  weakness,  and  their 
need  of  the  salvation  of  the  gospel  in  all  its  branches, 
the  ability  and  willingness  of  Christ  to  save  them 
from  their  sins  here,  and  conduct  them  to  the  hea- 
venly country  hereafter,  together  with  his  authority 
to  judge  the  world,  and  power  to  dispense  rewards 
to  the  righteous,  and  inflict  punbhments  on  the 
wicked.  The  unbelief  of  these  great  tniths,  revealed 
to  us  in  the  gospel,  being  the  source  of  that  wicked- 
ness which  prevails  among  those  called  Christians, 
as  well  as  among  Mohammedans  and  heathen,  we 
ought  carefully  to  cherish  a  firm  and  steady  belief 
of  these  things,  lest  by  the  want  of  a  lively  sense  of 
them,  we  be  led  to  live  after  the  manner  of  the  un- 
godly, and  God  be  provoked  to  destroy  us  by  the 
severity  of  his  jud  gments. 

Verse  12.  f^or  the  word  of  God— As  if  he  had 
said,  Take  heed  of  unbelief,  for  the  word  of  God 
will  try  and  condemn  you  if  you  be  guilty  of  it. 
It  is  greatly  debated  among  commentators  whether 
this  is  to  be  understood  of  Christ,  the  eternal  Word,  or 
of  the  gospel.  "  None  of  the  properties,"  says  Cal- 
met,  '^  mentioned  here  can  be  denied  to  the  Son  of 
Qod,  the  eternal  Word.  He  sees  all  things,  knows  all 
things,  penetrates  all  things,  and  can  do  all  things. 
He  is  the  Ruler  of  the  heart,  and  can  turn  it  where 
he  pleases.  He  enlightens  the  soul,  and  calls  ii 
gently  and  efficaciously,  when  and  how  he  wills. 
Finally,  he  punishes  in  the  most  exemplary  manner 
the  insults  offered  to  his  Father  and  to  himself  by 
infidels,  unbelievers,  and  the  wicked  in  general.  But 
it  does  not  appear  Uiat  the  divine  Logos  is  here  in- 
tended :  1st,  Because  St  Paul  does  not  use  that  term 
to  express  the  Son  of  Go^.  2d,  Because  the  con- 
junction, yap,  for,  shows  that  this  verse  is  an  infer- 
ence drawn  from  the  preceding,  where  the  subject 
in  question  is  concerning  the  eternal  rest,  and  the 
means  by  which  it  is  obtained.  It  is  therefore  more 
natural  to  explain  the  term  of  the  word,  order,  and 
will  of  God ;  for  the  Hebrews  represent  the  revela* 
tion  of  God  as  an  active  being,  living,  all-powerful^ 
illumined,  executing  vengeance,  discerning  and 
penetrating  all  things.'*^  Of  this  he  produces  divers 
examples.  Macknight  considers  the  passage  in  the 
same  light,  observing,  "The  apostle  having  said, 
(verse  2,)  that  ^yoc  r^f  oKorjc,  the  word  which  they 
heard  did  not  profit  them;  Uie  word  of  God  in  this 
verse,  I  think,  signifies  the  preached  gospel;  under- 
standing thereby  its  doctrines,  precepts,  promiseS| 
and  threatenings,  together  with  those  examples  of 
the  divine  judgments  which  are  recorded  in  the 
611 


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pa$$ei  into  ike  htatenM, 


A.  M.  4068. 
h.  D.  6i. 


13  "^  Neither  is  there  any  creature 
that  is  not  manifest  in  hb  sight :  but 
all  things  are  naked  *and  opened  onto  the 
eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do. 


>  Pia.  xxxiii.  13,  14 ;   ze.  8 ;   oxzxiz.  11, 12.- 
xzzir.  21 ;  Pror.  xt.  II. 


■JobzzrL  6; 


Scriptures ;  by  all  wbich  the  gospel  operates  pow- 
erfully on  the  minds  of  believers.  In  our  common 
version  of  1  Pet  i.  23,  the  word  of  God  is  said  to  be 
IMng,  So  also  Cbxist,  John  vL  63^  The  words  that 
I  speak  to  you  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life;  and 
in  the  last  clause  of  this  verse,  actions  are  ascribed 
to  the  word  of  God  which  imply  life,  namely,  it  is  a 
discemer  of  the  devices  anc2  purposes  of  the  hearV^ 
And  as  the  word  is  here  said  to  be,  fvepytjg,  effica- 
cious, "  this  efficacy  is  described  by  Paul,  2  Cor.  x. 
4,  The  weapons  of  our  wcnfare  arc  powerful^  for 
the  overturning  cf  strong  holds,  &c.  Also  1  Thess. 
it  13,  the  word  of  God  is  said  to  work  effectually  in 
*hem  who  believe :  Eph.  vL  17,  t?ie  sword  of  the  Spirit 
denotes  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  called  a  sword, 
because  it  is  of  great  use  to  repel  the  attacks  of  our 
spiritual  enemies ;  and  a  sword  of  the  Spirit,  because 
it  was  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of  God :  Rev.  i.  16,  the 
word  of  God  is  represented  as  a  sharp,  two- edged 
sword,  which  went  out  of  the  mouth  of  Christ:  Isa. 
xi.  4,  it  is  said  of  Christ,  He  shall  smite  the  earth  wiUi 
the  rod,  or  (as  the  LXX.  render  It)  rv)  Xayu,  the  word 
of  his  mouthJ^  Bengelius  and  Wesley  understand 
the  passage  in  the  same  sense,  the  note  of  the  latter 
being  as  follows :  "  The  word  of  God  preached,  (verse 
2,)  and  armed  with  threatenings,  (versed,)  is  living 
and  powerful,  attended  with  the  power  of  the  living 
God,  and  conveying  either  life  or  death  to  the  hear- 
ers ;  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sxoord,  penetrating 
the  heart  more  than  this  does  the  body ;  piercing 
quite  through,  and  laying  open  the  soul  and  spirit, 
joints  and  marrow,  the  inmost  rfecesses  of  the  mind, 
which  the  apostle  beautifully  and  strongly  ex- 
presses by  this  heap  of  figurative  words :  and  is  a 
discemer  not  only  of  the  thoughts,  but  also  of  the  in- 
tentions?^ 

In  the  clailise,  piercing  to  the  dividing  aswider  of 
soul  and  spirit,  the  writer  proceeds  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  man  consists  of  three  parts,  a  body,  a  sen- 
sitive soul,  which  he  hath  in  common  with  the 
brutes,  and  a  rational  spirit,  of  which  see  the  note 
on  1  Thess.  v.  23.  In  representing  the  word,  or  gos- 
pel, as  a  person  who  shall  judge  the  world  at  the  last 
day  the  apostle  hath  imitated  Christ,  who  said  to  the 
Jews,  (John  xii.  48,)  He  that  rejecteth  me,  and  re- 
ceiveth  not  my  words,  hath  one  tluit  judgeth  him:  o 
^yoc,  the  word  that  I  have  spoken  shall  judge  him 
in  the  last  day.  But  to  raise  the  figure,  the  apostle 
ascribes  to  the  word  life,  strength,  discernment,  and 
action;  qualities  highly  necessary  in  a  judge. 

Verse  13.  Neither  is  there  any  creature — Espe- 
cially no  human  creature;  that  is  not  manifest— 
Aftfv^f,  unapparent ;  in  his  sight-^^wnely,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  whose  word  is  thus  powerful;  for  it  is 
Ood  in  whose  sight,  or  before  whom,  Greek  iyoicio, 
612 


14  Seeing  then  that  we  have  *"  a  A.  M.  4069. 
great  High-Priest,  'that  is    passed   ^^'^ 
into  the  heavens,  Jesus  Uie  Son  of  Ood,  <  lei 
us  hold  fast  our  profession. 


0  Chapter  iii.  1.- 


PChapter  rii.  26;  iz.  IS,  24.- 


tChiplOT 


avTov,  every  creature  is  manifest,  and  oi  this  bis 
word,  working  on  the  consdence,  gives  the  ftiUest 
conviction ;  but  ail  things  are  naked  amd  opened^ 
TvfiPa  Ktu  nrpaxn^MTfieva,  expressions  used  with  a 
plain  aUusion  to  the  state  in  which  the  sacrifices  call- 
ed burnt-offerings  were  laid  on  the  altar.  They 
were  stripped  of  their  skins,  theur  breasts  were  rip- 
ped open,  their  bowels  were  taken  out,  and  thett 
back-bone  was  cleft  from  the  iieck  downward,  as 
the  latter  word  signifies.  So  that  every  th'mg,  both 
within  and  without  them,  was  exposed  to  open  view, 
particularly  to  the  eye  of  the  priest,  in  order  to  a 
thorough  examination.  Lev.  i.  5, 6.  And  being  found 
without  blemish,  they  were  laid  in  their  natural  or- 
der on  the  altar,  and  burned,  verse  8.  The  apostle's 
meaning  is,  that  neither  infidelity,  nor  hypocrisy, 
nor  worldly-mindedness;  neither  covetousness,  nor 
pride,  nor  ambition,  nor  any  sinful  disposition,  how- 
ever secretly  it  may  lurk  in  the  mind,  can  be  con- 
cealed from  our  judge ;  with  whom  we  have  to  do—- 
Upoc  ov  iifuv  0  Xoyoc,  to  whom  we  must  give  an  ac- 
count. So  the  word  hryo^  frequently  signifies.  See 
Matt.  xii.  36;  xviiL23;  Lukex;vi.2;  and  particular- 
ly Rom.  xiv.  12,  where  the  final  judgment  is  spoken 
of.  So  every  one  of  us,  h}yov  dooti,  shall  give  an 
account  of  himself  to  God;  and  Heb.  xiiL  17,  they 
watch  for  your  souls,  uc  ^oyov  a^o6wrwnc,  as  those 
who  must  give  etccounL 

Verse  14.  The  writer  of  this  epistle  having  spoken 
of  the  Author  of  the  gospel,  as  the  Creator  of  the 
world,  as  the  Lawgiver  in  God's  church,  as  the  Con- 
ductor of  the  spiritual  aeed  of  Abraham  into  the 
heavenly  country,  the  rest  of  God,  and  as  the  Judge 
of  the  whole  human  race,  now  proceeds  to  speak  of 
him  as  the  High-Priest  of  our  religion,  and  to  show 
that,  as  such,  he  hath  made  atonement  for  our  sins 
by  ^e  sacrifice  of  himself.  This  is  the  fourth  fact 
whereby  the  authority  of  the  gospel,  as  a  revelation 
from  God,  is  supported.  See  note  on  chap.i.  1.  They 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  mankind, 
know  that  from  the  earliest  times  propitiatory  sacri- 
fices were  ofiered  by  almost  all  nations,  in  the  belief 
that  they  were  the  only  effectual  means  of  procuring 
the  pardon  of  sin  and  the  (kvour  of  the  Deity.  In 
this  persuasion  the  Jews  more  especially  were  con- 
firmed by  the  law  of  Moses,  in  which  a  variety  of 
sacrifices  of  that  sort,  as  well  as  free-wilj-ofierings, 
were  appointed  by  God  himself.  And  as  the  heathen 
offered  these  sacrifices  with  many  pompous  rites, 
and  feasted  on  them  in  the  temples  of  their  gods, 
they  became  extremely  attached  to  a  form  of  wor- 
ship which  at  once  eased  their  consciences  and 
pleased  their  senses.  Wherefore,  when  it  was  ob- 
served that  no  propitiatory  sacrifices  were  enjoined 
in  the  goepd,  and  that  nothing  of  the  kind  was  of- 

b 


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CidAPTBR  IV. 


yei  without  sin. 


A^lt  <oa9. 16  For^wehaTenotahigh-^esrtwfaich 
cannot  be  touched  with  thefe^gof  our 


▲.  D.  61 


r Iniah  liu.  3;  Chapi  u.  1&— •  Lvka  xzii.  7Sk 


iered  lA  the  Clirifltian  placefl  of  wOn^p,  Jews  and 
Ctontiies  equally  were  very  diAetiltly  persuaded  to 
renouBce  tfieir  ancient  worship  for  the  gospel  form, 
in  which  no  atonements  appeared ;  and  which,  em- 
ploying ration^  motives  alone  for  exciting  their  af- 
fections, wad  too  naked  to  be,  to  such  persons,  in  any 
degree  interesting.  Wherefore,  to  ^ve  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  just  views  of  the  gospel,  the  apostle,  in 
this  passage  of  his  epistle,  affirms,  that  although  no 
sacrifices  ^are  offeriBd  in  the  Christian  temples,  we 
have  a  great  High-Priest,  even  Jesus  the  Son  of 
God,  who,  at  his  ascension,  passed  through  the  visi- 
ble heavens  into  the  true  habitation  of  God,  with  the 
sacrifice  of  himself;  and  from  these  considerations 
he  e^hort^  the  believing  Hebrews  in  particular  to 
hold  fast  their  profession.  Then  to  show  that  Jesus 
is  well  qualified  to  be  a  High-Priest,  he  observes, 
that  though  he  be  Che  Son  of  God,  he  is  likewbe  a 
man,  and  so  cannot  but  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of 
our  infirmities.  Qn  whi?h  account  we  may  come 
boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace,  well  assured  that 
through  his  intercession  we  shsdl  obtain  the  pardon 
of  our  sins,  and  such  supplies  of  grace  as  are  need- 
ful for  us.  ITiese  being  the  doctrines  which  the 
apostle  is  to  prove  in  the  remaining  part  of  this  epis- 
tle, this  paragraph  may  be  considered  as  the  propo- 
sition of  the  stibfects  he  is  going  to  handle  in  the 
following  chapters.  And  as  his  reasonings  on  these, 
as  well  as  on  the  subjects  discussed  in  the  foregoing 
part  of  the  epistle,  are  all  founded  on  the  writings 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  his  interpretations  of  the  passages  which 
he  quotes  from  these  writings,  are  no  other  than  those 
which  were  given  of  them  by  the  Jewish  doctors 
and  scribes,  and  which  were  received  by  the  people 
at  the  time  he  wrote.  See  Macknight  Seeing  then 
that  we  have — Greek,  exovreg  sv,  having  therefbre. 
The  apostle  refers  to  what  he  had  affirmed,  (chap. 
i.  3,)  that  the  Son  of  Grod  had  made  purification  of 
our  sins  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  to  what  he 
had  advanced  chap.  ii.  17,  that  he  was  made  like  his 
brethren  in  all  things^  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
and  faithful  High-Priest;  and  to  his  having  called 
him  the  High-Priest  of  our  profession,  chap,  iil  1. 
He  had  not,  however,  hitherto  attempted  to  prove  that 
Jesus  really  was  a  high-priest,  or  that  he  had  offered 
any  sacrifice  to  God  for  the  sins  of  men.  The  proof 
of  these  things  he  deferred  tiU  he  had  discussed  the 
other  topics  of  which  he  proposed  to  treat.  But 
having  finished  what  he  bad  to  say  concerning  them, 
he  now  enters  on  the  proof  of  Christ's  priesthood, 
and  treats  thereof,  and  of  vs^rious  other  matters  con- 
nected with  it,  at  great  length,  to  the  end  of  chap.  x. 
Theodoret,  who  had  divided  this  epistle  into  sections, 
begins  his  second  section  with  this  verse,  because  it 
Introduces  a  new  subject.  Indeed,  the  5th  chapter, 
according  to  our  division  of  the  epistle,  should  have 
begun  with  this  verse.  A  great  IMgh-Priest—tiresi 
indeed,  being  the  eternal  Son  of  God ;  that  is  passed 
Vol.  n.  (  33  ) 


infirmities:  but 'was  in  all  points  tempt-  a.  m.  4068. 
ed  like  as  we  are,  *  yet  without  sin.       ^'^'^ 

*2CorT.2l;  Chap.iriL26;  lPet.ii.a8;  iJohn  Hi.  5« 

into  the  heavens — Or,  through  the, heavens,  as  the 
eipiession  6ie7.ri\v^oTa  T8f  spavac,  literally  signifies. 
The  word  heavens  is  taken  in  two  senses:  1st,  For 
the  palace  of  the  great  King,  where  is  his  throne, 
and  where  thousands  of  the  holy  ones  stand  minis- 
tering before  him.  This  heaven  the  Lord  Jesus  did 
not  pass  through  but  into,  when  he  was  taken  up 
mto  glory,  1  Tim.  iil  16.  There  he  b  at  tJie  right 
hand  of  tile  majesty  on  high  ;  and  these  heavens  have 
received  him  until  the  time  of  restitution  of  all 
things.  Acts  iii.  27.  But  by  the  heavens  we  are 
sometimes  to  understand,  2d,  the  air,  as  when  men- 
tion is  m&de  of  tJie  fowls  of  heaven;  and  concerning 
them  our  apostle  says,  (chap.  viL  26,)  that  Jesus  is 
made  higher  than  the  heavens  ;  he  passed  through 
them,  and  ascended  above  them,  into  that  which  is 
called  the  third  heaven,  or  ihe  heaven  of  heavens. 
The  allusion  is  evidently  made  to  the  Jewish  high- 
priest,  and  to  what  he  typically  represented  to  the 
church  of  old.  As  he  passed  through  the  veil  into 
the  holy  of  holies,  carrying  with  him  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifices  on  the  yearly  day  of  atonement ;  so  our 
great  High-Priest  went,  once  for  all,  through  the 
visible  heavens  with  the  virtue  of  his  own  blood, 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  God.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  the  apostle  calls  Jesus,  the.  Son  of  God,  a 
great  High- Priest,  because  in  chap.  i.  he  had  proved 
him  to  be  greater  than  the  angels ;  and  in  chap.  iii. 
1-4,  to  be  worthy  of  more  honour  than  Moses.  Jjet 
us  hold  fast  our  profession — Our  professed  subjec- 
tion to  him  and  his  gospel,  notwithstanding  our  past 
sins,  the  present  defects  of  our  obedience,  and  our 
manifold  infirmities.  The  word  ofioh)-yia,  however, 
may  be  properly  rendered,  and  probably  was  chiefly  . 
intended  to  signify,  confession;  for  it  is  required  that 
we  should  make  a  solemn  declaration  of  our  sub- 
jection to  the  gospel,  with  prudence,  humble  confix* 
dence,  and  constancy;  for  mth  the  mouth  confession 
is  made  unto  salvation,  Rom.  x.  10.  The  open  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Lord  Christ,  of  his  word  and 
ways  under  persecution,  is  the  touch-stone  of  all 
profession.  This  is  what  we  are  to  hold  fast,  totis 
viribus,  with  our  whole  strength,  as  Kparofuv  signi- 
fies, or  with  resolution,  zeal,  and  firmness.  See  Rev. 
ii.  25 ;  iii.  12.  This  verse,  therefore,  contains  the 
enjoinment  of  a  duty,  with  a  motive  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  due  perfbrmance  of  it  We  have  a 
great  High-Priest,  therefore  let  us  hold  fast,  &c. 

Verse  15.  For  we  have  not  a  high-priest,  &c.— As 
if  he  had  said.  Though  he  be  so  great,  yet  he  is  not 
without  concern  for  us  in  our  mean  and  low  condi- 
tion. Here  the  apostle  lets  the  Hebrews  know  that 
in  the  gospel  there  is  no  loss  of  privilege  hi  any 
thing.  Had  they  a  high-priest  who,  with  hjs  office, 
was  the  life  and  glory  of  their  profession  and  wor- 
ship? We  also,  says  he,  have  a  High-Priest,  who 
is,  in  like  manner,  the  life  and  glory  of  our  profes- 
sion and  service ;  and  not  one  who  cannot  be  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities— Ot,  who  cannot, 
513 


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£  M.  4066.    16  "^  Let  US  therefore  come  boldly 
'- —  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we 

«£ph.  il28;  iii.  12; 


av/iira&ifwu  rate  aa^evetai^  JW««v,  sympathize  with  our 
weakneasesj  oar  temptations,  trials,  and  troubles,  of 
whatever  kind  they  may  be,  ifhostly  or  bodily.  The 
Son  of  God,  having  been  made  flesh,  experienced 
an  the  temptations  and  miseries  incident  to  man- 
kind, sin  excepted;  consequently  he  must  always 
have  a  lively  feeling  of  our  infirmities ;  of  our  wants, 
weaknesses,  miseries,  dangers;  btU  v>c»  in  all 
points  tempted— Thed  is,  tried;  like  as  ire  are— 
Kad'  ofiotoTtira^  according  to  a  similitude  of  our  trials, 
or  with  such  as  belong  to  human  nature.  What  is 
here  said  of  the  similarity  of  our  Lord's  trials  to 
ours,  does  not  imply  an  exact  likeness ;  for  he  was 
free  from  that  corruption  of  nature  which,  as  the 
consequence  of  Adam's  sin,  has  infected  all  man- 
kind; which  is  intimated  l^cewise  in  the  expression, 
(Rom.  viii.  8,)  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness 
of  sinful  fleshy  yet  without  sin — For  he  never 
committed  any ;  and  is  able  to  preserve  us  in  all  our 
temptations  firom  the  commission  of  it. 

Verse  10.  Let  us  therefore  come  6oW/y— Without 
any  doubt  or  fear,  trusting  in  his  sacrifice  and  inter- 
cession for  acceptance ;  unto  the  throne  of  grace— 
The  throne  of  our  reconciled  Father,  which  grace 
erected,  and  where  it  reigns  and  dispenses  all  bless- 
ings in  a  way  of  unmerited  favour ;  th€U  we  may  ob- 
tain mercy— To  pardon  all  our  past  sins,  and  compas- 
sionate our  condition,  amidst  our  various  infirmities 
and  sufferings ;  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need 
— Or,  for  a  seasonable  help;  accordmg  to  our  re- 
spective necessities,  as  eig  evKaipov  pon^eiav  implies. 


may  obtain  meicy,  and  find  grace  to  A.  M.  406a 
help  in  time  of  need.  ^^^ 


Chap.  z.  19, 21, 82. 


The  latter  word  properly  signifies  kelp  obtain^  in 
coasequenee  of  cryk^g.  ahudy  or  strong  crying  for 
it  Observe,  reader,  though  every  time  may  be  pro-: 
perly  termed  a  time  of  needy  in  which  w«  want 
supplies  of  grace,  yet  some  times  are  peculiarly 
such:  as  seasons  of  affliction,  of  persecution,  and 
temptation ;  or  times  when  God,  to  chastise  us  for 
our  lukewarmness  and  sloth,  our  hypocrisy  and  for* 
mality,  or  pride,  self-will,  discontent,  or  impatienee; 
our  neglect  of  prayer  and  watchftolness,  our  levity 
ai^d  folly,  or  any  other  &ult  or  failing,  withdraws 
his  presence  from  us :  or  when  we  are  called  to  the 
performance  of  any  great  and  signal  duty,  as  it  was 
with  Abraham  when  he  was  called  first  lo  leave  his 
country,  and  afterward  to  sacrifice  his  son:  or  to 
something  that  is  new,  and  in  whidi  we  are  yet  jn« 
experienced;  a  duty  against  which  there  is  great 
opposition,  or  for  which  we  may  seem  to  be  very 
unfit,  or  in  which  the  glory  of  God  is  in  an  especial 
manner  concerned.  And,  i^hove  all,  the  time  of  death 
will  be  such  a  season.  To  part  with  all  present 
things  and  present  hopes,  to  give  up  one's  departing 
soul,  entering  the  invisible  world,  an  unchangeable 
eternity,  into  the  hands  of  our  sovereign  Lord,  are 
duties  which  require  strength  beyond  our  own,  for 
their  right  and  comfortable  performance.  And  at 
such  seasons,  as  we  have  peculiar  need  to  make  ap- 
plication to  the  tluK>ne  of  grace,  here  spoken  of^  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  seasonable  help;  so,  if  we 
apply  in  fiedth,  and  with  sincere  and  earnest  desire 
and  persevering  diligence,  we  shall  not  apply  in  vain. 


CHAPTER  V. 

nthu  ekspteTf  (1,)  The  apotUe  tett  forth  the  duty  and  qusli/UstUms  of  a  higkfnsst^  1-4.  {%)  Shows  how  siunimtfy  these 
are  answered  in  QkrisCe  supereminaU  csU  to^  JUnsss  for,  and  discharge  of  that  office,  6-10.  ^,)  Reproves  the  helievimg 
Hehrewsfor  their  eloth  atid  negligence,  and  the  Uttle  progress  they  had  made  w  the  bwwUdge  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel, 
tohkk  were  pre^gnred  by  the  ceremomal  dispensation,  12-14. 


A.  At  4068.  "pOR  every  high-priest  taken  from 
— ^ — 1—        among  men,  ^  is  ordained  for  men 


*  Chap.  Tiu.  3. »» Chap,  ii  17. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verse  1.  The  priesthood  and  sacrifice  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  the  pturdon  procured  for  sinners  thereby, 
together  with  the  many  happy  effects  of  the  pardon 
thus  procured,  being  matters  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance to  mankind,  the  apostle  in  this  chapter,  and  in 
what  follows  to  chap.  x.  19,  hath  stated  at  great 
length  the  proofs  by  which  they  are  estabUshed. 
And  it  was  very  proper  that  he  should  be  copious, 
not  only  in  his  proofii  of  these  important  subjects, 
but  also  in  his  comparison  of  the  priesthood  of 
514 


**  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  ^  that  t^-Mt  ^2?^ 
mayoiSer  both  gifts  and  sacrificesfor  sins : '. — 1 


«  Chap.  Tiii.  3,  4 ;  iz.  9 ;  z.  11 ;  ».  4. 


Christ  with  the  Levitical  priesthood,  that  while  he 
established  the  merit  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  he 
might  show  the  mefficacy  of  the  Levitical  atone- 
ments, and  of  all  other  sacrifices  whatever.  For  as 
the  unbelieving  Jews,  and  probably  many  of  thc«e 
who  believed,  did  not  acknowledge  his  apostleship, 
St.  Paul  knew  that  his  affirmation  of  these  matters 
would  not  be  held  by  them  as  sufficient  evidence. 
His  proof  of  the  priesthood  of  Christ  he  begins  m 
this  chapter,  in  the  course  of  which  he  shows,  that 
whatever  was  excellent  in  the  Levitical  priesthood 
(W)  b 


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(^  order  of  Mekhisedec 


jLiL406a  2  ''Who  'can  have compasaioa on 
ii_: —  the  ignorant,  and  on  them  1that  are 
out  <^  the  way ;  for  that  *  he  himself  abo  is 
compassed  with  infirmity. 

3  And  'by  reason  hereof  he  ou^t,  as  for  the 
f^G^  so  also  for  himself,  to  offer  for  sins. 

4  'And  no  man  taketh  this  honour  unto  him- 
self bat  he  th^  is  called  x)f  God,  as  ^was 
Aaron: 


'Chapter  it  18;    !▼.  IS. *0r,  cl _.    

«Chap.  vii.  28. 'tier.  iv.  3;  ix.  7 ;  xri.  6,  15,  16, 17:  Chap. 

vii  27 ;  iz.  7.—*  2  Chron.  xxvi.  18  j  John  iii.  27. *  Ezod. 

xxvUi.  1 ;  Nam.  xwu6, 40 ;  1  Cfanm.  zziiL  13. 


is  in  Christ,  and  in  a  more  eminent  manner.  And 
whatever  excellence  was  wanting  in  those  priests,  is 
in  him.  For — Ot  now;  every  Mghrprieet — ^As  if  he 
had  said,  To  show  that  Clirist  is  a  real  High-Priest, 
I  will  describe  the  designation,  the  duties;^  and  the 
qnalifications  of  a  high-priest,  by  which  it  will  ap- 
pear that  all  the  essential  parts  of  that  office  are 
found  in  him ;  taken  from  omon^  men~*Being,  till 
he  is  taken,  of  the  same  rank  with  them ;  is  ordained 
—Appointed,  set  apart  for  that  office;  for  men— For 
their  ben^t;  in  thingf  pertaining  to  God-^To 
bring  God  near  to  men,  and  men  to  God;  that  he 
may  offer  both  gifte^-Out  of  things  inanimate ;  and 
sacrificee — Of  animals ;  to  atone  for  iins—^^  Oifis^ 
or  free-will-offerings,  as  distinguished  from  sacrifices 
for  sins,  were  expressionsof  gratitude  to  God  for  his 
goodness  in  the  common  dispensations  of  his  pfovi- 
dence.  And  because  the  priests  offered  both  kinds, 
Paul  speaks  of  himself,  (Rom.  xv,  16,)  as  exercising 
the  priegthood  accordhtg  to  the  gospel^  by  offering 
the  Gentiles  in  an  acceptable  manner,  through  the 
sanctification  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Verses  2,  a  Who  can  have  compa$$ion— The 
word  furpioira&eiVj  here  used,  signifies  to  feel  com- 
passion  in  proportion  to  the  misery  of  others.  The 
apostle's  words  imply  that  a  high-priest,  who  is  not 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  the  weaknesses  and  mise- 
rly of  others,  is  unfit  to  officiate  for  them,  because 
he  win  be  apt  to  neglect  them  in  his  ministrations, 
or  be  thought  by  the  people  in  danger  of  so  doing. 
On  the  ignorant'-'Who,  not  being  property  in- 
structed in  divine  things,  are  invohred  in  error  with 
respect  to  them;  and  on  them  ihat  are  out  of  the 
way—Of  truth  and  duty,  of  wisdom,  holiness,  and 
happiness ;  or  who,  through  their  ignorance  or  any 
other  cause,  M  into  sin :  so  that  all  sins  and  sinners 
are  here  comprehended.  For  that  he  himself  is 
compassed  with  infirmitySo  that  under  a  con- 
sciousness thereof,  he  will  officiate  for  them  with 
the  greater  kindness  and  assiduity,  knowing  that  he 
needs  the  compassion  which  he  shows  to  others. 
And  by  reason  herecf-^Beeixu^  he  himself  is  a  sin- 
ner ;  he  ought,  as  for  the  people,  so  also  for  himself 
(see  the  mso^n,)  to  offer  for  «n«— That,  being  par- 
doned himself,  and  in  a  state  of  reconciliation  and 
peace  with  God,  he  may  offer  for  others  with  more 
acceptance.  We  are  not  to  infer  from  this  that 
b 


6  ^  So  also  Christ  glorified  not  him-  a.  h.  406& 
self  to  be  made  a  high-priest;  but  he   ^  ^' ^ 
that  said  uttto  Wm,  ^  Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day 
have  I  begotten  thee. 

6  As  he  saith  also  in  another  pZac^  ^  Thou 
art  a  priest  isx  ever  after  the  ord^  of  Mdchi- 
souec 

7  Who  in  the  days  of  his  fleeh,  when  he  had 
"  (^ered  up  prayers  and  supplications  "  with 


*Johii  riii.  64. ^  Psalm  ii.  7;  Chapter  i.  6.— »P8a|i» 

ex.  <;     Chapter   viL    ^7,   21. "Matthew    xxvi.    39,    42, 

44 ;    Mark  »▼.  36,  39. » Paalm  xjtii.  1 ;    Matthew  xxvii. 

46,  60;  Mark  iv.  34,  37;  lohn  xrii.  1. 


Christ  had  any  sins  of  his  own  to  offer  fot,  or  that 
he  offered  any  sacrifice  for  himself^  it  being  repeat- 
edly affirmed  by  the  apostles  that  he  was  absolutely 
free  from  ail  sin. 

Verses  4-6.  And  no  man— Who  has"  any  regard 
to  duty  or  safety ;  taketh  this  honour— This  awfhl 
office,  attended  with  a  high  degree  of  responsibility; 
unto  himself  but  he  only  that  is  called  of  God  to  it; 
as  was  Aaron— And  his  posterity,  who  were  all  of 
themxalled  at  o^e  and  the  same  time.  But  it  is  ob- 
servable Aaron  did  not  preach  at  all,  preaching  heing 
no  part  of  the  priestly  office.  So  also  Christ  glo- 
ried not  himself^See  John  viiL  54 ;  to  be  made  a 
Highr Priest— Thnt  is,  did  not  take  this  honour  to 
himself,  bnt  received  it  from  his  Father,  who  said 
unto  him,  Thou  aH  my  Sbn— This  solemn  acknow- 
ledging of  him  for  his  Son,  shows  that  he  undertook 
nothing  but  what  his  Father  authorized  him  to  un- 
dertake ;  to-day  have  I  begotten  thee — As  if  he  had 
said,  There  is  an  etem&l  relation  between  us,  which 
is  the  foundation  of  thy  call  to  this  work.  See  note 
on  Psa.  ii.  7 ;  Acts  xiii.  33.  As  Ae— God  the  Father  j 
saith  in  another  place — Because  the  formei'  testi- 
mony was  somewhat  obscure,  the  apostle  adds  an- 
other more  clear:  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  after 
—Or  according  to ;  the  order  of  Melchisedec— That 
is,  thou  art  a  pries^  not  like  Aaron,  but  Melchisedec. 
Inasmuch  as  Melchisedec  had  neither  predecessor 
nor  successor  in  his  office,  his  priesthood  could  not, 
properly  speaking,  be  called  an  order,  if  by  that 
phrase  be  understood  a  succession  of  persons  exe- 
cuting that  priesthood.  Therefore  the  expression, 
Kara  ra^ti^,  here  rendered  after  the  order,  must  mean 
after  the  similitude  of  Melchisedec,  as  it  is  expressed 
chap.  vii.  15;  and  as  the  Syriac  version  renders  the 
phrase  in  this  verse.  The  words  of  God*s  oath,  re- 
corded Psa.  ex.  4,  are  very  properly  advanced  by  the 
apostle  as  a  proof  of  the  Messiah's  priesthood,  be- 
cause the  Jews  in  general  acknowledged  that  David 
wrote  that  psalm  by  inspiration  concerning  Christ. 

Verse  7.  Who,  &c.— The  sum  of  the  things  treated 
of  in  the  7th  and  following  chapters,  is  contained  in 
this  paragraph,  from  verse  7-10,  and  in  this  sum  is 
admirably  comprised  the  process  of  his  passion  with 
its  inmost  causes^  in  the  very  terlns  used  by  the 
evangelists.  Who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh— Tho^^ 
two  days  in  particular  whcrem  his  sufferings  were 
515 


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HBBBBWfi. 


h^tkeihi$^9luei^erA 


JL*  JH.  4068. 
A.  D.  64.  -^ 


strong  crying  and  tears  unto  him 
^tbat  was  able  to  save  him  from 


death,  and  was  heard  ^in  >^  that  he  feared ; 


"ICatlkew  zxri.  58;   Mark  »▼. 
*  Or,  far  kit  jritijf. 


a6w 


at  the  height;  Vfhen  he  had  offered  up  pntyere  and 
euppHcationa  thrioe ;  irith  etvng  crying  and  tears 
—In  the  garden;  to  him  (his heavenly  Father)  that 
i0a8  able  to  sate  him  from  dJca</i— Which  yet  he 
endured  in  obedience  to  bis  Father's  will.  The  reader 
will  easily  understand  what  is  here  said  concerning 
the /ear  and  sorrow,  the  strong  crying  and  tedrs  of 
the  Son  of  €U)d,  if  he  remember  that  He,  who  was 
perfect  God,  and  possessed  of  all  possible  perfections 
as  the  eternal  Word  of  the  Father,  was  also  perfect 
man^ "  of  a  reasonable  soul  and  human  flesh  sub- 
sisting :"  in  other  words,  that  in  his  mysterious  per- 
son, the  perfect  human  nature,  consisting  of  soul 
and  body,  was  indeed  united  indissolubly  to  the 
divine,  but  was  not  while  he  was  on  earth,  (and  is 
not  even  now,)  absorbed  by  it  The  union  was  such 
as  gave  an  infinite  dignity  to  the  person  of  the  Re- 
deemer, and  mfinite  merit  to  his  sufferings,  but  not 
such  as  made  him  incapable  of  Buffering,  or  rendered 
his  sufferings  of  no  efficacy,  which  would  have  been 
the  case  if  they  had  not  been  felt.  Only  let  this  be 
kept  in  remembrance,  and  Christ's  humiliation  and 
sorrow  will  not  be  a  stone  of  stumbling  to  us,  or  rock 
of  offence,  any  more  than  his  exaltation  and  glory. 
And  wae  heard  in  that  he  feared— To  be  heard, 
signifies,  in  Scripture,  to  he  accepted  in  our  requests, 
or  to  be  anst^ered  in  them.  T%ere  is  no  doubt  but 
the  Father  heard  the  Son  always  in  the  former 
sense,  John  xi.  42:  but  how  far  was  he  heard  in  the 
latter,  so  as  to  be  delivered  from  what  he  prayed 
against?  In  answer  to  this  it  must  be  observed,  the 
prayers  of  Christ  on  this  occasion  were,  Ist,  Con- 
ditional ;  namely,  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  him 
if  it  were  agreeable  to  his  Father's  will ;  Father,  if 
thou  be  willing,  remove  this  cup  from  me,  Luke 
xxii.  42.  He  could  not  have  been  man,  and  not 
have  had  an  extreme  aversion  to  the  sufferings  that 
were  coming  upon  him  mXhsX  hour  and  power  of 
darkness,  when  it  is  certain  that  Satan  and  his 
angels,  who  had  departed  from  him  for  a  season, 
(Luke  iv.  13,)  were  again  permitted  to  oppress  his 
soul  with  inexpressible  horror.  Nothing,  in  fact,  is 
suffering,  or  can  be  penal  to  us,  but  what  is  grievous 
to  our  nature.  But  the  mind  of  Christ,  amidst  these 
assaults  of  hell,  and  the  view  given  him  of  the  suffer- 
ings which  awaited  him,  was  so  supported  and  for- 
tified, as  to  come  to  a  perfect  acquiescence  in  his 
Father's  will,  saying,  Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but 
thine  be  done-  But,  2d,  His  prayers  were  also  abso- 
lute, and  were  absolutely  heard.  He  had  conceived 
a  deep  and  dreadftil  apprehensbn  of  death,  upon  its 
being  presented  to  him  as  attended  with  the  wrath 
and  curse  of  God,  due  to  those  sins  of  mankind,  for 
which  he  was  to  make  atonement.  And  he  well 
knew  how  unable  the  human  nature  was  to  undergo 
it,  (so  as  to  remove  that  wrath  and  curse,  and  make 
516 


8  ^Though  he  were  a  S09,  jei 
learned  he  '  obedience  by  the  things 
which  he  sqfiered  \     r^ 


A.  M.  4068. 

A.D,  64. 


»  Mttthew  xxri.  37 :  Maxk  zit.  33 ;  Lake  xzii..43 ;  Jbkn  xii.  37. 
iClMp.  iiie. 'PhiLiLe, 


way  for  tiie  jnstillcation  of  soch  as  should  believe  m 
him,)  if  not  mightily  supported  and  carried  through 
the  trial  by  the  power  of  God.  And  while  his  faith 
and  trust  in  God  were  terribly  assaulted  by  the  temp- 
tations of  Satan  suggesting  fear,  dread,  and  terrible 
apprehensions  of  ^e  divine  displeasure  due  to  our 
sins,  it  was  his  duty,  and  a  part  of  the  obedience  he 
owed  to  his  heavenly  Father,  to  pray  that  be  might 
be  supported  and  delivered,  airo  nw  tv^aS^iac,  in  thai 
he  pwticularly /car«d— Or  rather ;  from  his  fear^ 
namely,  the  fear  of  that  weight  of  infinite  justice 
and  wrath,  which  our  sins  had  provoked ;  oit,  the 
being  bruised  and  put  to  giriefby  the  hand  of  God 
himself  Compared  with  this,  every  ihmg  else  was 
as  nothing.  And  yet  so  greatly  did  he  thirst  to  be 
obedient  even  unto  this  dreadful  death,  and  to  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  sheep,  under  this  dreadAil  load 
of  anguish  and  sorrow,  that  he  vehemently  longed 
to  be  baptized  with  this  baptism,  Luke  xii.  50.  The 
consideration  of  its  being  the  will  of  God  that  be 
should  thus  suffer,  first  tempered  his  fear,  and  after- 
w^  swallowed  it  up.  And  he  v>a8  Aeoret— Not  so 
that  the  cup  should  pass  away,  but  so  that  he  was 
enabled  to  drink  it  witiiout  any  fear*  Thus  the  pro- 
phet represents  him  assayiufif^  The  Lord  God  haih 
opened  niine  ear^  and  I  was  not  rebellious,  neither 
turned  away  bade:  I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters, 
^Cjfor  the  Lord  Qod  will  help  me,  therefhre  shall 
I  hot  be  confounded;  therefore  ha/te  I  set  my  face 
like  a  flint,  I  know  that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed,  &c^ 
Isa.  1.  5-8.  Add  to  this,  that  he  was  actually  de- 
livered from  the  power  of  death  itself  by  a  glo- 
rious resurrection,  of  which  the  prophet  intimates 
his  having  an  assured  expectation,  representing 
him  as  adding.  He  is  near  that  justifieth  me; 
namely,  that  acquits  me  from  the  charge  of  being 
an  impostor  and  ola^hemer,  by  raising  me  from  the 
dead,  exalUng  me  to  his  own  right  hand,  and  in- 
vesting me  with  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
and  especially  by  authorizing  me  to  confer  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  his  extraordinary  giAs  upon  my  disciples, 
and  thereby  to  give  demonstration  of  my  being  the 
true  Me^ah.  In  this  sense  the  apostle  seems  to 
have  imderstood  the  passage  when  he  said,  that  he, 
who  was  put  to  death  in  the  flesh  ;  namely,  as  a 
blasphemer;  was  justified  in,  x)r  by,  the  Spirit, 
conferred  by  him  after  his  ascension. 

Verse  8.  Though  he  were  a,  son — And  so,  one 
would  have  supposed,  might  have  been  exempted 
from  suffering ;  this  is  interposed,  lest  any  should  be 
offended  at  all  these  instances  of  human  weakness; 
yet  learned  he  obedience,  Ac — Yea,  although  he  was 
such  a  son  as  has  been  before  described,  even  that 
Son  of  God,  who  had  glory  with  his  Father  before 
all  worlds.  It  was  no  singular  thing  for  a  son,  or 
child  of  God  by  adoption,  to  be  chastised,  to  suffer, 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


toatttkatobeffJdm. 


A.1L4068.     9  And    '  being    made     perfect, 
"     he   became  the   author  of  eternal 


A.D.  64. 


•  Chapter  ii. 


and  thereby  to  be  instructed  to  obedience.  He  there- 
fore sptAM  not  of  him  as  a  Mm  in  Boch  a  i^y,  or  in 
any  way  in  vhich  a  mere  creature  migfat  be  God'a 
aon,  but  as  he  was  his  Son  in  a  peculiar  sense,,  his 
only-begotten  8on,  who  was  In  the  beginning  with 
God,  and  was  God,  John  i.  1, 14:  that  He  should  do 
and  suffer  the  things  here  spoken  of,  was  indeed 
manrellous.  Therefore  it  is  said,  he  did  and  suffer- 
ed them  cUthough  he  was  a  Son,  Which  words  im- 
ply both  the  necessity  of  his  doing  and  suffering 
what  is  here  ascribed  to  him,  and  his  love,  that  when, 
on  his  own  account  no  such  thing  was  required,  or 
in  any  respect  needful,  yet  that  he  would  submit  to 
this  condition  for  our  rakes.  But  what  is  the  obedi- 
ence here  intended?  To  this  it  maybe  answered, 
the  word  viroKov^  so  rendered,  means  an  obediential 
attendance  to,  or  compliance  with,  the  commands  of 
another,  when  they  are  heard^  and  thereby  known. 
This  obedience  in  Christ  was  two-fold :  1st,  Genera], 
in  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  Every  thing  he  did 
was  not  only  right  and  holy  as  to  the  matter  of  it, 
but  as  to  the  form  and  manner  of  it;  it  was  obedi- 
ential :  he  did  all  things,  because  it  was  the  will  of 
Gk)d  that  he  should  do  them;  and  this  his  obedience 
to  €rod  was  the  life  and  beauty  of  the  holiness,  even 
of  Christ  himself.  ThisL  however,  is  not  chiefly 
meant  here,  but  rather,  zd,  That  peculiar  compli- 
ance with  the  Father's  wik,  whereby  he  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  For 
this  commandment  had  he  received  of  the  Father, 
that  he  should  lay  down  his  life  for  his  people,  and 
which  he  did  in  the  way  of  obedience,  saying,  A 
body  hast  thou  prepared  me;  lo!  I  come  to  do  thy 
will^  by  offering  up  that  body,  chap.  x.  5,  9.  But 
how  did  he  learn  this  obedience?  It  must  be  ob- 
served, 1st,  The  word  fiav&avo^  here  used,  signifies 
to  kam  as  a  disciple,  with  an  humble,  willing  sub- 
jection to,  and  a  ready  reception  of,  the  instruction 
given.  2d,  It  is  said  he  learned  obedience,  not  he 
learned  to  obey,  which  will  give  us  light  in  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passage.  He  did  not  learn  that  to  be  his 
duty  which  he  knew  not  before^or  did  not  consider; 
nor  was  he  impelled  to,  or  instructed,  or  directed  in 
the  various  actd  of  the  obedience  required,  as  we  are 
often  taught  by  chastisements.  But,  3d,  He  learned 
obedience  by  experiencing  it,  as  a  man  learns  the 
taste  of  meat  by  eating  it.  Thus  he  was  said  to  taste 
of  death,  or  to  experience  what  was  in  it  by  under- 
going it.  The  obedience  he  learned  was  a  submis- 
sion to  undergo  great,  hard,  and  terrible  things,  ac- 
companied with  patience  under  them,  and  faith  for 
deliverance  from  them.  This  he  could  have  no  ex- 
perience of  but  by  suffering  the  things  he  was  to 
undergo,  and  by  the  exercise  of  appropriate  graces 
while  suffering.  Thus  he  learned  or  experienced  hi 
himself,  what  difllculty  obedience  is  attended  with. 
And,  4th,  This  way  of  his  learning  it  is  what  is  so 
useful  to  us,  and  so  full  of  consolation-  For  if  he 
bad  only  known  obedience^  though  never  so  per- 


sal^ation  unto  all  them  that  obey  a.  M.4068. 

,  .  ^     A.  D.  64. 

him;  

10;  n.40, 

fectly,  in  theory  merely,  what  relief  could  have  ac- 
crued to  us  fh>m  it  ?  How  could  it  have  been  a  spring 
in  him  of  suitable  compassion  toward  us  ?  But  now, 
having  (iiUy  experienced  the  nature  of  that  special 
obedience  which  is  yielded  to  God  in  a  suffering  con- 
dition, what  difficulty  it  is  attended  with,  what  op- 
position is  made  to  it,  how  great  an  exercise  of 
grace  is  required,  Ac,  he  is^disposed  to  support  and 
succour  us  in  this  our  obedience  and  sufferings.  See 
Dr.  Owen. 

Verse  9.  And  being  made  perfect,  &c.— Many  of 
the  difficulties  which  we  m6et  with  in  Scripture,  are 
entirely  owing  to  our  ignorance:  some  to  our  igno- 
rance of  the  subjects  under  consideration,  and  others 
of  the  meaning  of  the  terms  made  use  of  to  express 
these  subjects.  This  is  peculiarly  the  case  here: 
there  would  be  |io  difficulty  in  conceiving  how  Christ 
could  be  said  to  be  made  perfect,  if  we  observed,  Ist, 
That  he  was  very  man,  and  that  his  human  nature, 
before  his  xesurrection,  was  in  a  state  of  infirmity, 
and  not  of  perfeption,  his  body  being  subject  to  vari- 
ous weaknesses,  and  the  faculties  ofbis  soul,  of  course, 
being  influenced  thereby.  While  in  his  childhood 
he  is  said  to  have  increased  in  wisdom  as  well  as 
in  stature,  namely,  as  the  powers  of  hb  mind  were 
gradually  unfolded,  and  subjects,  through  the  me- 
dium of  his  senses,  were  presented  to  his  contempla- 
tion. And  if  he  increased  in  wisdom,  he  must,  of 
course,  have  increased  in  love  to  God  and  man,  and 
all  other  graces  and  virtues,  tl^ough  always  perfectly 
free  from  every  defilement  of  sin,  internal  or  external : 
but  when  he  was  raised  from  the  dead,  and  exalted  to 
his  Father's  right  hand,  his  human  nature  was  fully 
and  for  ever  freed  from  this  state  of  infirmity,  and 
was  rendered  completely  perfect  This,  however, 
does  not  appear  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  Word  per^ 
feet  here,  but  the  expression  rather  refers,  2d,  To 
his  having  fully  accompUshed  the  work  he  had  to  do, 
and  the  sufferings  he  had  to  endnre  in  order  to  his 
being  a  perfect  Mediator  and  Saviour.  Accordingly 
the  expression  here  used  by  the  apostle,  reXetoi^etf ,  ^ 
literally  being  perfected,  answering  directly  to  the 
word  used  chap.  2.  10,  rtXtioaai,  to  perfect  by  suf- 
ferings; only  there  it  is  used  actively,  it  became 
him  (God  the  Father)  to  make  perfect  the  Captain 
of  our  salvation;  here  it  is  used  passively,  with 
respect  to  the  effect  of  that  act,  and  signifies  his 
being  consummated,  or  having  finished  his  whole 
process,  from  his  leaving  the  celestial  glory  to  his 
returning  to  it;  which  process  it  was  absolutely  ne- 
cessary he  should  accomplish,  that  his  character,  as 
a  High-Priest,  might  be  completed,  and  he  might  be 
consecrated  as  such  This,  3d,  Is  another  meaning 
of  the  term,  and  a  meaning  given  it  by  our  transla- 
tors at  the  close  of  the  seventh  chapter,  where  they 
have  rendered  rereXeitj/ievov,  (another  participle  of 
the  same  verb,)  consecrated  or  dedicated  to  his  high 
office.  The  priests  under  the  law  were  consecrated 
by  the  death  and  oblation  of  the  beasts  offered  in 
W7 


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HESREWa 


for  their  sloth  and  negUgenct, ' 


A.  M.  4068.     10  Called   of   God    a    high-priest 


A.  D.64. 


^  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec. 


11  Of  whom  *  we  have  many  things  to  say, 
and  hard  to  be  uttered,  seeing  ye  are  '  dull  of 


12  For  when  for  the  time  ye  ought  to  be 
teachers,  ye  have  need  that  one  teach  you 
again  which  be  ^  the  first  principles  of  the  ora- 
cles of  Godj'imd  are  become  such  as  have 


t  Yeise  6 ;  ChvpUt  rl  20.^^*  John  zrL  12 ;  S  Pet  iii.  16. 
'Matthew  xiiu  16.— 7  Chapter  vL  1.—— «1  Cor.  iiL  1-3. 
*  Or.  kaik  n0  esperitnce. 

sacrifice  at  their  consecration,  (Exod.  xxix.,)  but  it 
belonged  to  the  perfection  of  Christ  as  a  high-priest, 
that  he  should  be  consecrated  by  his  own  suffering^. 
This  was  necessary  both  from  the  nature  of  the  of- 
fice, to  which  he  was  to  be  solemnly  set  apart,  and 
to  answer  the  t3rpes  of  the  Aaronical  priesthood. 
This,  however,  was  only  the  external  means  of  bis 
consecration,  and  an  evidence  thereof.  He  was 
really  consecrated  by  the  act  of  Ood  the  Father,  who 
said,  Thou  art  niy  Son^  &c^  and  by  his  own  act 
when  he  said,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  vnUy  O  Ood, 
Be  became  f^  au^Aor— A/nof,  the  cause^  both  the 
xneritorious  and  efficient  cause;  of  eternal  salva- 
iiofi — As  procuring  it  for  us  by  bis  obedience  unto 
death,  and  conferring  it  upon  us  in  all  its  branches, 
in  consequence  of  bis  ascension  and  exaltation ;  to 
all  Hiose  thai  obey  him—The  expression  is  emphati- 
cal :  the  salvation  belongs  oaly  to  those  that  obey 
him,  and  it  belongs  to  all  such.  And  as  the  Greek 
term  here  used  imports  to  obey  upon  hearing^  the 
obedience  intended  is,  1st,  Faith,  which  cometh  by 
bearing.  2d,  The  subjection  of  the  heart,  of  the  will 
and  affections  to  him,  in  consequence  of  faith ;  and, 
3d,  A  uniform  complying  with  the  will  of  God  as  far 
as  it  is  known  to  us,  (Matt.  vii.  21,)  or  a  conscien- 
tious, steady,  and  persevering  obedience  to  all 
the  precepts  of  the  gospel.  For  only  blessed  are 
they  that  do  his  commandments,  because  they,  and 
only  they,  shall  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  Rev. 
xxiL  14.  Thus,  as  Macknight  observes,  "  in  this 
verse  three  things  are  clearly  stated:  1st,  That  obe- 
dience to  Christ  is  equally  necessary  to  salvation 
with  believing  on  him.  2d,  Tha^  he  was  made  per- 
fect as  a  high-priest,  by  offering  himself  a  sacrifice 
for  sin;  and,  3d,  That  by  the  merit  of  that  sacrifice 
he  hath  obtained  pardon  and  eternal  life  for  them 
who  obey  him." 

Verse  10.  Oalled — Upoaayopev^ei^,  denominated 
by  Crod  himself,  or,  as  some  understand  the  expres- 
sion, openly  declared,  namely,  in  the  110th  Psalm, 
before  referred  to;  a  high-priest  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec—Ot,  according  to  the  constitution  of 
Melchisedec's  priesthood,  which  was  a  figure  and  ex- 
ample of  Christ's  priesthood,  in  the  peculiar  properties 
and  circumst&nces  of  it,  namely,  not  by  a  materia] 
unction,  legal  ceremonies,  or  any  human  ordination, 
but  by  a  heavenly  institution,  and  the  immediate 
unction  of  the  divine  Spirit.  The  Holy  Ghost  seems 
tilB 


need  of  '  milk,  and  not  of  stromr  A.  M.  406s. 

^^  ^     AD.  64. 

meat.  . 

13  For  every  one  that  useth  mOk^  ^is  unskil- 
M  in  the  word  of  righteousness :  for  he  is  *  a 
babe. 

14  Bui  strong  meat  belongeth  to  than  thai 
are  '^of  ftffl  age,  even  those  who  by  reaaon  *crf 
use  have  their  senses  exercised  ^to  discern 
both  good  and  eviL 


*  1  CorinthwM  3dU.  11 ;  xir.  SO;  RiIimmpi  It.  14. *Or, 

fMrftct,  1  Corinthiaat  ii.  6 ;  £ph.  ir.  13.—^  Or,  ^  a  AoM,  or» 
perfection, ^  Isaiah  rii.  15 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  14,  15. 


to  have  concealed  who  Melchisedec  was,  on  purpose 
that  be  might  be  the  more  eminent  type  of  Christ 
Thb  only  we  know^  that  he  was  a  priest,  and  the 
king  of  Salem,  or  Jerusalem. 

Verses  11-14  Of  whom,  &c.— The  apostle  here 
begins  an  important  digression,  wherein  he  reproves, 
admonishes,  and  exhorts  the  believing  Hebrews; 
toe— Apostles  and  other  ministers  of  the  word ;  hass 
many  things  to  say — And  things  of  great  import- 
ance, in  opder  to  your  full  illumination,  and  perfect 
acquaintance,  with  that  Christianity  which  you  pro- 
fess; and  hard  to  be  tiered— Interpreted  or  ex- 
plained, as  dv^xepi^ifvcvrof  signifies;  though  not  so 
much  firom  the  subject  matter,  as  because  ye  are  duU 
of  hearing — Careless  as  to  giving  attention,  slothful 
in  considering,  and  dull  in  apprehending  the  things 
of  God.  For  when,  for  the  h*m€— Since  ye  first  pro- 
fessed Christianity ;  ye  ought  to  be  teachers— Able 
to  teach  others  less  informed  than  yourselves;  ye 
have  need  that  one  teach  you  again  which  be  the  na- 
ture of  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God — 
Accordingly  these  are  enumerated  in  the  first  versQ 
of  the  ensuing  chapter.  And  are  become  such  as 
have  need  ofmilk-^the  fii^t  and  plainest  doctrtaes. 
See  on  1  Cor.  iii.  2.  For  every  one  that  useth  milk— 
That  is,  that  neither  desires  nor  can  digest  any  thing 
else ;  (otherwise  strong  men  use  milk,  but  not  that 
chiefly,  much  less  that  only;)  is  unskilful  in  the  word 
of  righteousness— Mdke9  it  appear  that  he  is  unac- 
quainted (through  want  of  exercise  and  experience) 
with  the  sublimer  truths  of  the  gospel  Such  are  all 
they  who  desire  and  can  digest  nothing  but  the  doc- 
trine of  justification  and  imputed  righteousness.  For 
he  is  a  &a5e— See  on  1  Cor.  xiv.  20.  The  apostle 
compares  these  Hebrews  to  babes,  not  on  account  of 
their  innocent  simplicity  and  teachableness,  qualities 
which  Christ  recommended  to  all  his  disciples ;  but 
on  account  of  their  weakness  and  ignorance ;  for 
which,  considering  the  advantages  they  bad  so  loni; 
enjoyed,  they  were  deserving  of  censure.  Butsti  ong 
meal — The  sublimer  truths  relating  to  a  perfect  ac- 
quaintance with,  experience  in,  and  the  practice  of, 
the  whole  gospel,  chap.  vi.  1 ;  belongeth  to  them  thai 
are  of  full  age—Te^eiov,  the  perfect,  or  perfectly  in- 
instructed  :  see  on  1  Cor.  ii.  6,  where  the  same  ex- 
pression seems  to  be  used  in  the  same  sense;  eren 
tJiose  who,  by  reason  of  use — Or  habit,  as  ef«v  signi- 
Qes,  implying  strength  of  spiritual  understanding^ 

h 


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CRAFTBB  VL 


principles,  and  go  an  to  perfedion 


mhiing  from  Bnaturhy  of  spiritual  age;  have  their 
senses  exercised — Though  the  word  atfrdnrnp^  here 
used,  properly  signifies  the  outward  senses,  as  the 
eyes,  ears,  &c. ;  yet  it  is  evidently  here  put  for  the 
hiWB^  senses,  the  senses  of  tl^e  mind;  to  discern 
i$tk  good  amd  emh^Owwi  GhristiaM)  by  eocerds- 


ing  their  spiritual  faculties,  become  aoie^  to  distin- 
guish truth  from  error,  in  the  various  branches  of 
Christian  doctrines,  haying  attained  the  full  assur- 
ance of  understanding  in  the  mystery  of  Qod  and 
of  Christ,  (CoL  ii.  2,)  as  also  to  distinguish  duty  from 
sin,  or  moral  and  G^tual  good  from  evi/. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Aere.  (1.)  T^  saotde  declares  Ms  resobuUm  cfaiissmang  to  suiHmer  truths  wthmU  dwelling  further  upon  the  first  prtnei- 
fU$i  and  exhorts  ^  heUeping  Hebrews  to  aspire  after  greater  profieieney  in  the  knowledge  0}  the  gospel,  as  a  mean  to 
prevent  Aeir  haeksUding  and  apostaey,  which  he  shows  would  end  in  ruin,  1-8.  (2^  He  expresses  his  hopes  that  they 
would  persevere  w  the  good  way  on  toAtcA  they  had  entered,  and  would  attain  eternal  salvation ;  pressing  them,  however,  to 
still  greater  diUgenee,  in  imitation  of  those  who  already  inherited  the  promises,  d-13.  (3»>  Addressing  himself  to  sincere 
believers,  he  comforts  them  with  a  view  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and  his  fidelity  to  those  sacred  engagements  into  which  he 
had  condescended  to  enter  ;  the  performance  of  which,  he  shows,  is  further  sealed  by  the  entrance  of  Christ  into  heaven  as 
our  forerunner,  t8-20. 


▲.11.4008. 
A.D.64. 


q^HERBPORE  •leaving  1  the  prin- 

ciples  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ, 

let  us  go  on  nnto  perfectbn ;  not  laying,  again 
the   foandati(»i   of  r^ntance    ^  from 


*PluL  ill.  18,  14;  Chapter  r.  18. ^  Or,  lie  word  if  the  be- 

^CAru/.— ^Chapter  iz.  14. «  Acts xiz.  4»  5. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VI. 
Verses  1,2.  TA^e^re—SeeShg  that  most  of  you 
have  contintled  so  ignorant,  although  yoo  have  been 
so  long  favoured  with  the  light  bf  the  gospel,  and 
various  means  of  edification,  it  is  high  time  for  you 
to  labour  lor  more  knowledge  and  grace,  and  for 
me  to  instruct  you  further;  leaving  the  principles 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ — That  is,  saying  no  more 
for  tlie  present,  ^  those  things  in  which  those  who 
embrace  Christianity  are  wont  to  be  first  instructed. 
The  original  expression,  tov  rtjc  ofiXK  ts  Ipi^vXoyov^ 
is,  literally,  the  word  of  the  beginning  of  Christy  as 
in  the  margin;  and  signifies  those  parts  of  the  Cluris- 
tian  doctrine  which  misn  were  usually  and  property 
first  instructed  in;  and  which  the  apostle  imme- 
diately enumerates.  They  are  the  same  with  the 
first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  Ood,  mentioned 
chap.  V.  19^  But  it  must  be  observed  that  the  sig* 
nification  of  the  words  must  be  limited  10  the  present 
occasion ;  for  if  we  consider  the  things  here  spoken 
of  absolutely,  they  are  never  to  be  lefl,  either  by 
teachers  or  hearers.  There  is  a  necessity  that  teacher^ 
should  often  insist  on  the  rudiments,  or  first  prin- 
ciples, of  religion;  not  only  with  reepc|ct  to  them 
who  are  continually  to  be  trained  up  in  knowledge 
from  their  infancy,  but  also  those  who  have  made  a 
frirther  progress  in  knowledge.  And  this  course 
we  find  our  apostle  to  have  followed  in  all  his  epistles. 
Nor  are  any  hearers  so  to  leave  these  principles,  as 
to  forget  them,  or  not  duly  to  make  use  of  them. 
Cast  aside  a  constant  regard  to  them,  ki  their  pro- 
per place,  and  no  progress  canbe  made  in  knowledge, 
BO  more  than  a  building  can  be  carried  on  when  the 
foundation  is  taken^way.    L^  us  go  on  unto  per- 


works,   and   of  feith  toward  God,  A.H.40S8 
2  •  Of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms,  -J—^ — l 
*and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  •and  of  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  ^and  of  eternal  judgment 


««Aot8  riii  14-17;    xix.  6.— •Acte  xrii.  31,  38. 'Acts 

zxIt.  26 ;  Rom.  ii  16. 

fection—Vnto  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  more 
sublime  and  difficult  truths,  and  the  high  privileges 
and  duties  of  Christianity ;  not  laying  og-awi-^What 
has  been  laid  already;  the  foundation  of  repentance 
from  dead  twrAr«— That  is,  from  thie  works  done  b^ 
those  who  are  dead  in  ein,  or  who,  through  sin,  are 
Tinder  condemnation  to  the  second  death,  are  alien- 
ated from  the  life  of  God,  and  carnally  minded, 
which  is  death,  Rom.  viii:  6.  See  note  on  Eph^  ii. 
1,  2.  Not  only  are  known  and  wHfrd  sins,  which 
proceed  from  spiritual  death,  and  if  not  pardoned 
and  taken  away,  end  in  death  et^mal,  here  intended ; 
but  even  all  works,  though  apparently  moral,  chari- 
table, and  pious,  are  but  dead  works,  before  the 
living  God,  if  they  do  not  proceed'  from  spiritual 
life  in  the  soul,  or  ftt)m  living  faith,  even  the  faith 
which  worked  by  love,  (Gal.  v.  6;  1  Cor.  xiii.  3,)  as 
their  principle,  and  be  not  directed  to  the  glory  of 
God  as  their  end.  And  faith  toward  (?oi— Look- 
ing to,  and  confiding  In  him  for  pardon,  holiness, 
and  etermd  life,  through  Christ  Of  the  doctrine  of 
baptismS'-The  apostle  does  not  speak  of  the  legal 
washings  in  use  among  the  Jews,  whether  by  im- 
mersion, ablution,  or  sprinkling;  (for  why  should 
those  who  believed  in  Christ  be  instructed  concern- 
ing these?)  but  John's  baptism  and  that  of  Christ, 
which  were  distinct  from  each  other,  and  were  sub- 
jects of  disputation  with  many  among  the  Jews, 
Mark  vii.  3,  4;  John  iil  22-26.  John  admitted  the 
penitent  to  the  baptism  of  water;  and,  in  obedience 
to  the  command  of  Christ,  (Matt,  xxviii.  19,)  the 
apostles  baptized  all  that  professed  to  believe  in  him, 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Or,  as  Whitby  thinks,  the  apostle  is 
M9 


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AwfuX  candUitm  of  those  who 


HEBREWS*. 


fallftvni  a  Ucde  ofgixm^ 


A.  H.  4066.    3  And  this  will  we  do,  '  if  God  p^- 


A.  D.  64 


mit 


4  For  ^t^M  impossible  fdr  those  *who  were  once 
enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  ^  the  heavenly 
gift,  and  ^  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 


c  AcU  xTiii.  21 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  19. ^  Matt,  xil  31,  33 ;  Cbap.  x. 

2C;  2  Pet.  u.  20,  21 ;  1  John  ▼.  16. 


here  to  be  understood  of  the  double  baptism  ^'  of 
which  John  spfid^e,  when  he  said,  J  baptize  you  with 
water,  InU  he  that  comeih  after  me  shall  baptize  you 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  mthfire,  Matt.  ilL  19;  and 
of  which  Chrbt  spake  to  Nicodemus,  (John  iii.  5,) 
saying,  Esscept  a  man  be  born  again  of  water  and 
of  the  Spirit,  he  ca^mot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.  For  this^  in  order,  followed  the  doctrine  of 
repentance,  and  of  faith  in  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  ^nd  the  laying  on  of  hands— The  im- 
position of  hands  was  used  by  the  apostles  and  first 
Christian  ministers  in  the  healing  of  diseases,  and  in 
setting  persons  apart  for  the  work  of  the  ministry; 
hut  neither  of  these  were  common  to  all  Christiana, 
nor  joined  with  baptism ;  nor  were  fliey  reckoned 
among  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  or 
the  Initiatory  doctrbies  of  the  Christian  faith.  We 
must  therefore  understand  this  of  that  imposition  of 
the  apostles'  hands  which  was  wont  to  be  used,  alter 
baptism,  to  confer  upon  the  persons  baptized  the 
extraordinary  gills  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  See  Acts 
viii.  14-17;  xix.  6.  And  this  was  a  matter  wherein 
the  glory  of  the  ifospel  and  its  propagation  were 
highly  concerned;  indeed,  nejU  to  the  preaching  of 
the  word,  it  was  the  great  means  usM  by  God  for 
l)ringing  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  over  to  the  fiuth  of 
the  gospel,  or  for  establishing  them  therein.  And 
the  resurrection  o/iAe-deod— Namely,  of  the  bodies 
of  the  dead ;  and  of  eternal  judgment— The  future 
and  general  judgment,  called  eternal,  because  the 
sentence  then  pronounced  will  be  irreversible,  ^nd 
the  effects  of  it  remain  for  ever.  In  whi^  two  last- 
mentioned  articles,  the  penhent  and  believing,  that 
hadbeen  admitted  to  baptism,  were  more  fully  in- 
structed, as  being  most  powerful  motives  to  engage 
them  herein  to  exercise  themselv^  to  have  always 
consciences  void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward 
aUmen,  "  Interpreters  observe,"  says  Whitby, "  that 
the  doctrine  of  Origen,  touching  the  period  of  the 
torments  of  the'  damned,  is  here  condemned ;  and 
indeed  the  primitive  father's  not  Origen  himself 
excepted,  taught  the  contrary.  'If  we  do  not  the 
will  of  Christ,'  says  Clemens  Romanus,  *  nothing 
will  deliver)  us  from  eternal  punishment.'  *The 
punishment  of  the  damned,'  says  Justin  Martyr,  'is 
endless  punishment  and  torment  in  eternal  fire.'  In 
Thcophilus  it  is,  '  eternal  punishment.'  Irensus, 
in  his  S3rmbol  of  foith,  makes  this  One  article, '  that 
God  would  send  the  ungodly  and  ui^ust  into  ever- 
lasting fire.'.  Tertullian  declares, '  that  all  men  are 
appointed  to  torment  or  refreshment,  both  eternal.' 
And  '  if  any  man,'  says  he, '  thinks  the  wicked  are  to 
be  consumed  and  not  punished,  let  him  remember 
that  heU-fire  is  styled  eternal,  because  designed  for 
eternal  punishment;  and  their  sid)stance  will  remain 


6  And  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  A.  ic.  4oee. 
God,  and  the  powers  of  ■■  the  woAi  ■   '   '  — 
to  come, 

.  6  If  they  shall  £dl  away,  to  renew  them  again 
unto  tepentance ;  '^sedng  they  cradfy  to  them- 


^Chap.  z.  32. k  John  W.  10;  ti.  32;    Eph.  ii.  8. iGaL 

ill.  2,  5 ;  Chap.  ii.  4. ■  Chap.  IL  5. ■  Chap.  x.  29. 


for  ever  whose  punishment  doth  so.'  St.  Cyprian 
says,  *The  souls  of  the  wicked  are  kept  with  their 
bodies  to  be  grieved  with  endless  torments.'  '  There 
is  no  measure  nor  end  of  their  torments,'  says 
Miuutius.  Lastly,.  Origen  reckons  this  among  the 
doctrines  defined  by  the  church ;  '  That  every  soul, 
when  it  goes  out  of  this  world,  shall  either  enjoy 
the  inheritance  of  eternal  life  and  bliss,  if  its  deeds 
have  rendered  it  fit  for  bliss;  or  be  delivered  up  to 
eternal  fire  and  punishment^  if  its  sins  have  deserved 
that  state.'" 

Verses  3^,  And  this  we  will  do— We  will  go  on 
to  perfection;  if  God  permit— Th9i  is,  afford  as- 
sistance and  opportunity*  And  we  will  do  this  the 
rather,  and  the  more  diligently,  because  it  is  impos- 
sible Jfor  those  who  were  once  enlightened^~W\ih 
the  I^nowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  (Bph. 
iv.  21,)  and  have  been  made  free  thereby  from  the 
bondage,  of  sin  i^  Satan,  John  viil  31-86;  omf 
have  tasted  the  heavenly  gift— The  gift  of  righteous- 
ness imputed  to  them,  Rom.  v.  17;  ikith  counted  for 
righteousness ;  or  the  remisTOn  of  sins  through  faith 
in  Christ,  sweeter  than  honey  to  the  taste;  and  have 
been  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Gho^—Ot  the 
witness  and  Ihiits  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  and  have 
tasted  the  good  word  of  God^Heve  had  arelish  for 
and  delight  in  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  have  fed 
upon  it,  and  been  nourished  by  it ;  jond  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come^-Ut^Xovwc  atupoc,  of  the  fidur,e 
age,  as' the  Christian  dispensation  was  termed  by  the 
Jews,  the  Messiah  being  called  by  the  LXX.  ia 
their  interpretation  of  Isa.  ix.  6,  (instead  of  the 
everlasting  Father,  which  is  our  translation  of  the 
clause,)  vanip  Tit  /t^lovrof  tuopoc,  the  Pother  of  the 
age  to  come.  If  the. expression  be  thus  taken,  by 
the  powers,  here  spoken  of,  we  are  to  understand 
the  privileges  and  blessings  of  th^  gospel  dispensa- 
tion in  general,  induding,  at  least  with  regard  to 
some,  the  miraculous  gifts  conferred  on  many  of  the 
first  Christians^  But  as  the  future  state,  or  future 
world,  may  be  meant,  the  expression  may  be  un- 
derstood of  those  eumestoand  anticipations  of  future 
felicity  which  every  one  tasted  who  has  a  hope  full 
of  immortality.  ''Every  child  that  is  naiuraUy 
bom,  first  sees  the  light,  then  receives  and  tastes 
proper  nourishment,  and  partakes  of  the  things  of 
this  world.  In  like  manner  tiie  apostle,  comparing 
spiritual  with  natural  things,  speaks  of  one  bom  of 
the  Spirit  ad  seeing  the  light^  tcuting  the  sweetness, 
and  partaking  of  the  things  of  the  world  to  come?^ — 
Wedey. 

Verse  6.  J^they  fall  away^lAienXXj,  and  have 
fallen  away.  The  preceding  participles,  f<jtcfOnrrar, 
yewiafievu^^  and  ytinf^tvrof,  being  aorists,  sajrs  Mae- 
knight,  "are  rightly  rendered  by  our  trandators  is 


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CHAPTER  VI. 


ofihtm  i^keformike  GcA 


A.  H.  4066.  selves  the  Sod  of  God  afresh,  and 
A.  D.  64.         ,  . .     ^  i_ 
put  hwi  to  an  open  shame. 

7  For  the  earth  which  drinketh  in  the  rain 

that  Cometh  oft  upm  it,  and  bringeth  finrth 

herbs  meet  (or  them  'by  whom  it  is  dressed, 

°  receive(h  blessing  from  Qod : 


^  Or,  for, opML  IxT.  10. 


the  past  time;  urAo  itert  enlightmed,  hate  icuted^ 
were  made  partakers;  wherefore  irapairtctwraCf  be- 
ing also  an  aorlst,  ought  to  have  been  translated  in 
the  past  time,  have  faUen  away.  Nevertheless  our 
ti^ansletors,  (following  Beza,  ^idio,  without  any 
authority  from  ancient  MS8.,  has,  inserted  in  his 
version  the  word  n,  t^)  have  rendered  this  clause, 
if  they  fall  away;  that  this  text  might  not  appear 
to  contradict  the  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints.  But  as  no  translator  ^ould  take  upon  him 
to  add  to,  or  alter  the  Scriptures,  for  thesake  of  any 
favourite  dootrme,  I  have  translated  the  word  in  ihe 
past  time,  JunefcUlen  away^  aecording  to  its  true  im- 
port)  as  standing  in  connection  with  the  other  aorists 
in  the  preceding  verses."  "Two  things,"  says 
Pierce,^  are  here  to  be  observed:  1st,  That  he  speaks 
of  such  only  as  fell  away  from  the  very  professicm 
of  Christianity.  This  appears  from  what  he  pre- 
sently adds,  to  set  forth  the  aggravations  of  their 
guilt,  that  they  crucify  to  ffiemselvee  the  S<m  of  Qod 
afreaih^  andptUhim  to  open  shame^^ — That  is,  show 
themselves  to  be  of  the  same  mind  with  those  that 
did  crucify  him,  and  would  do  it  again  were  it  in 
their  power;  and  do  all  they  can  to  make  him  con- 
temptible and  despised.  '^It  is  therefore  very  un- 
reasonable for  persons  to  give  way  to  despair  them- 
selves, or  to  drive  others  to  it,  by  applying  to  other 
sins  this  tact,  which  only  relates  to  total  apostacy. 
2d,  As  the  same  thing  is  spoken  of  again,  chap.  x. 
26,  Ac,  it  cannot  be  improper  to  compare  the  two 
places  together,  in  order  to  our  fully  understanding 
his  desigti.  And  therefore,  from  the  other  place,  I 
would  explain  this,  Jf  they  sJuUl,  tKwtoc,  wilfully, 
fall  away.  But  it  may  be  inquired  why  our  author 
speaks  so  severely  of  the  conditioh  of  such  apostates. 
Now  the  reason  of  this  may  be  taken  partly  frt>m  the 
nature  of  the  evidence  which  they  rejected.  The 
fullest  and  clearest  evidence  which  God  ever  de- 
sired to  give  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  was  these 
miraculous  operations  of  the  Spirit;  a^d  when  men 
were  not  only  eye-witnesses  of  these  miracles,  but 
were  likewise  themselves  (prdbaUy)  empowered 
by  the  Spirit  to  work  them,  and  yet  after  all  rejected 
this  evidence,  they  could  have  no  frirther  or  higher 
evidence  whereby  they  should  be  convinced;  so  that 
their  case  must,  in  that  respect,  s^pear  desperate, 
l^iis  may  be  partly  owing  to  their  putting  them- 
selves out  of  the  way  of  conviction.  If  they  could 
not  see  enough  to  settle  them  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, while  tiiey  made  a  profession  of  it,  much  less 
were  they  like  to  meet  with  any  thing  new  to  con- 
vince and  reclaim  them,  when  they  hid  taken  up  an 
opposite  profession,  and  joined  themselves  with  the 
inveterate  enemies  of  Christianity.    And  finally, 


8  'But  that  which  beareth  thorns  a.  m.406S. 
and  briers  is  rejectedi  and  t^  nigh         '^' 
onto  ciirfiing;  whose  end  is  iohe  burned. 

9  But,  l)e]oved,  we  are  pevBuaded  better  things 
of  you,  and  thmgs  that  accompany  salvation, 
though  we  thus  speak. 


PlM^y.6. 


this  may  be  resolved  into  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God  against  such  men  for  the  heinous  and  aggra* 
vated  wickedness  of  which  they  are  guilty." 

Verses  7,  8.  For  the  earth  which  drinketh  in  the 
rotrt,  ^.-^Thus  they  to  whom  the  gospel  is  preach- 
ed, and  who  believe  and  embrace  it,  bring  forth  the 
fruits  of  repentance,  faith,  and  new  obedience,  and 
are  accepted  and  blessed  by  God  with  frirther  mea- 
sures of  grace,,  according  to  Matt  xiii.  12 ;  xxv.  29, 
where  see  the  notes.  But  that  wTUch  beareth  thorns 
and  briers — Only  or  chiefly ;  is  rejected— iio  more 
labourls  bestowed  upon  it ;  and  is  nigh  unto  cursing 
—As  in  the  blessing  mentioned  in  the  former  verse, 
there  is  an  allusion  to  the  primitive  blessing^  whereby 
the  earth  was  rendered  fruitfrd.  Gen.  i.  11 ;  so  in  the 
curse,  here  mentioned,  there  is  an  allusion  to  the 
curse  pronounced  on  the  earth  after  the  fall,  Gen« 
iii.  17.  Whose  end  is  to  be  bumed^A  principal 
part  of  the  eastern  agriculture  consists  in  leading 
rills  of  Water  from  ponds,  fountains,  and  brooks  to 
render  the  fields  fruitftil.  When  this  is  neglected, 
the  land  is  scorched  by  the  heat  and  drought  of  the 
climate,  and  so,  being  burned  up,  is  altogether  sterile. 
Or,  he  may  refer  to  the  custom  of  husbandmen's 
burning  up  the  thorns  and  briers  produced  by  barren 
ground.  The  apostle's  meaning  is,  that  as  land, 
which  is  unfruitful  under  every  method  of  culture, 
will  at  length  be  deserted  by  the  husbandmen,  and 
burned  up  with  drought ;  so  those  that  enjoy  the 
means  of  grace,  and  yet  bring  forth  nothing  but 
evil  tempers^  words,  and  works,  must  expect  to  be 
deprived  of  the  means  they  enjoy,  and  exposed  to 
utter  ruin.  And  the  apostle  particularly  referred  in 
these  words  to  the  Jewish  nation,  the  generality  of 
whom  rejected  the  gospel,  while  many  others,  who, 
had  received  it,  apostatized  from  It;  and  who  there- 
fore, in  a  peculiar  sense,  were  exposed  to  the  divine 
malediction,  as  was  signified  by  Christ's  cursing  the 
barren  fig-tree,  mentioned  Mark  xi.  13,  20.  The 
consequence  of  which  was  the  burning  of  their  city> 
and  temple,  and  the  (daughter  of  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  them  shortly  after  ,thb  epistle  was 
written,  together  with  the  awful  state  of  spiritual 
barrenness  in  which  the  remnant  of  them  have  long 
lain.  ' 

Verses  0-11.  But,  beloved— In  this  one  place  he 
calls  them  so.  He  never  uses  this  appellation  but  in 
exhorting ;  we  are  persuaded  better  things  of  you — 
Than  those  mtimated  verses  4-6.  TTiis  is  exactly, 
in  St  Paul's  manner  of  softening  the  harsh  things 
he  found  himself  obliged  to  write.  See  Eph.  iv.  20 ; 
2  Thess.  ii.  13.  And  things  that  accompany  salva-, 
^ior>— Which  argue  you  to  be  in  a  state  of  salvation, 
and  will  in  the  end,  if  you  persevere,  brmg  you  ta 

m 


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HKIREWa 


dm^enee^  andpalimt^/ 


▲.H.4068.    10  "(For  'God  is  not  unrighteous 
*  to  forget  'your  work  and  labour  of 

love,  which  ye  have  showed  toward  his  name,  m 
that  ye  have  ^mini^ered  to  the  sathts,  and  do 
numster. 

11  And  we  desire  that  ^every  oae  of  yoa 
do  show  the  same  diligence  'to  the  full  assu- 
rance of  hope  unto  the  6nd : 


4  Proreibs  ziv.  31:  Matthew  z.  42 ;  zxr.  40 ;  John  ziii.  20. 
K  Rfftft^n*  iiL  4 ;  2  Thettalpnians  L  0,  7.^^-*  1  TheMalonians 
i.  3. *  Romans  zr.  25 ;  2  GofUithians  riiL  4 ;   iz.  1,  12 ; 


eternal  salvation;  namely,  sincere  faith  in  Cbnst  and 
his  gospel,  love  to  God  and  one  another,  and  obedi- 
ence to  his  will ;  ihtrngh  we  thus  gpeak — Dedare  the 
danger  of  apostacy  to  warn  you,  lest  you  should  fall 
from  your  present  steadiastness.  For  God  is  not 
UHrigMeoua  to  forget^  &c. — You  give  plain  proof  of 
your  faith  and  loye,  which  the  righteous  God  will 
surely  reward ;  and^  or  rather,  buty  ve  desire  that 
every  one  of  you  do  continue  to  Motp  the  same  dili- 
gence— Which  you  have  used  hitherto ;  and  there- 
fore we  thus  speak ;  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope — 
That  you  may  be  fully  confirmed  in  your  hope  of 
eternal  felicity ;  unto  the  end—Aa  long  as  you  live ; 
which  you  cannot  expect  if  ^ou  abate  of  your  dill- 
fence.  "  The  full  assurance  offaiQi  relates  to  pre- 
sent pardon,  the  full  assurance  of  hope  to  future 
glory.  The  former  iis  the  highest  degree  of  dirdne 
evidence  that  God  is  reconciled  to  us  in  the  Son  of 
his  love :  the  latter  is  the  same  degree  of  divine  evi- 
dence (wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  same  immediate 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost)  of  persevering  grace, 
and  of  eternal  glory.  So  much,  and  no  more,  as 
faith  every  moment  beholds  wi^  open  face,  so 
much  does  hope  see,  to  all  eternity.  But  this  as- 
surance of  faith  and  hope  is  not  ah  opinion,  not  a 
bare  construction  of  Scripture,  but  is  given  immedi- 
ately by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  what 
none  can  have  for  another,  but  for  himself  only." — 
Wesley. 

Verse  12.  That  ye  be  not  slothful—Jioepdiy  care- 
•ess  and  negligent,  or  dull,  sluggish,  and  indolent, 
namely,  in  the  use  of  the  means  of  grace,  or  in  those 
works  of  piety  and  virtue  which  are  the  proper 
fruits  of  faith  and  love ;  butfoUoiDers^ifufTat,  imir 
tators;  of  them  who  trough  faith— la  God,  and  in 
the  truths  and  promises  of  his  holy  word ;  and  pa- 
tience— Or,  long-st^eringy  as  UoKpo^vfuac  rather 
rignifies,  enduring  long  in  the  constant  exercise  of 
fhith,  hope,  and  love,  notwithstanding  any  or  all 
opposition,  and  the  bearing  all  trials  and  troubles,  of 
whatever  kind,  with  composure  of  mind  and  resig- 
nation to  the  divine  will ;  inherit  the  promises— Dr. 
Whitby  would  render  it,  inherited  the  promises^ 
supposing  that  the  expression  refers  to  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham,  and  the  other  patriarchs  respect- 
ing the  multiplication  of  their  seed,  their  being  put 
in  possession  of  Canaan,  and  the  various  other 
promises  made  to  them,  the  accomplishment  of 
which  they  afterward  received.  But  the  participle, 
^p9von»ipfw^  being  m  the  present  tense,  will  hardly 


12  That  ye  be  not  dothM,  bot  M-  a.  H.4osb. 
lowers  of  them  who  through  fiiith  and    ^^  ^ 
patience  ^'inheiit  the  {NXNauses. 

13  For  when  God  made  promise  to  Abmham, 
because  he  ooidd  swear  by  no  gi-eater,  '  he 
sware  by  himself 

14  Saying,  Surely  blessing  I  will  blese  thee, 
and  mukqilying  I  will  muIjU{dy  thee. 


2  Timothy  L  18.— —•  Chrater  iii.  6, 14. ^Colestiaiis  iL  2. 

rCluipter  xiiL  36. 'Oenetis  xxii.  16,  17;    Psalm  ct.  9; 

Luke  i.  73. 


bear  to  be  so  rendered,  signifying  literally,  mre  ^ 
heritingy  naiQely,  the  promises.  Pierce  and  Mao- 
knight,  Uierefore,  understand  U  of  the  beHeving 
Gentiles,  who  at  the  titne  when  the  epostle  wrote 
were  inheriting  those  promises  made  to  Abraham 
oonceming  all  nitons  of  the  earth  being  blessed  in 
him  and  his  seed.  But,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  observes^  if 
this  Were  intended  as  a  hint  to  stir  vip  the  Jews  to 
emulation,  as  is  supposed,  **  it  was  indeed  a  very 
obscure  one ;  for,  con^MratiT^,  it  is  a  low  sense 
in  which  Christians,  in  this  imperfect  state,  can  be 
said  to  inherit  the  promises.  It  seemA  nther  to  re- 
fer to  all  good  men,  who  were  departed  out  of  our 
world,  whether  in  former  or  latter  days,  and  under 
whatever  dispensatkm  they  died.  Takhig  it  hi  this 
view,  it  is  a  conclusive  argument  against  the  souPs 
continuing  in  a  state  of  sleep  durhig  the  intermediate 
period  betweeh  deaUi  and  the  resurreetion."  This 
certainly  seems  the  most  natural  interpretation  of 
the  verse,  namely,  that ''  the  apostle  meant  to  le^d 
his  readers  to  meditate  on  the  happiness  of  Abraham, 
Moses,  Jo&ua,  Job,  and  all  those  who  had  on  etorth 
Uved  by  faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  espeeiaUy  the 
great  promise  of  a  Saviour,  and  eternal  salvation  by 
him ;  and  had  patiently  waited,  laboured,  and  suf- 
jfered  in  the  obedience  of  faith ;  and  imeonsequenee 
were  at  the  time,  when  the  apostle  wrote  this,  in- 
heriting the  promises  of  God,  of  eternal  blesnngs, 
through  Christ,  to  all  believers.''— Scott 

Verses  13>16.  For  when  Ood  made  promise^  Ac. 
— As  if  he  had  said,  And  it  appears  that  this  is  the 
way  to  partake  of  mercies  pnMnised,  because  Abra- 
ham was  obliged  to  exercise  fhith  and  long-suffering 
before  he  obtained  the  acoompli^ment  c^  the  pro- 
mise made  to  him.  The  promise  here  referred  to, 
is  that  which.  Crod  made  to  Abraham  after  hehad 
laid  Isaac  o&the  altar,  Gen.  xxiL  10, 17.  For  on  no 
other  occasion  did  God  confirm  any  promise  to 
Abraham  with  an  oath.  To  Abraham^—Whoeie 
spiritual  as  well  as  natural  seed  you  believing  He- 
brews are,  and  therefore  shall  partake  of  the  same 
promises  and  blessings  which  were  ensured  to  htm. 
Because  he  could  swear  by  no  greater  person,  he 
sware  by  himself-^By  his  Own  sacred  and  divine 
name ;  saving,.  Surely  blessing  I  wHl  bless  thee — 
And  all  believers  in  thee ;  and  nnuUipl^ng  I  will 
multiply  <^e— Both  thy  natural  and  thy  spiritual 
seed.  The  apostle  quotes  only  the  first  words  of  the 
oath ;  but  his  reasoning  is  fomided  on  the  whole ; 
and  particularly  on  the  promise,  (Gen.  zxiL  18,)  And 


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CHAPTER  VI. 


a9mia$idu)rtothe$(ni, 


4.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  64. 


16  And  80,  after  he  had  patiently 
endured,  he  obtained  the  promise. 

16  For  men  verily  «wear  by  the  greater :  and 
*an  oath  tar  coi^rmation  t^  to  them  an  end  of 
all  strife. 

17  Wherein  God,  willing  more  abund^tly  to 
show  unto  ^  the  heirs  of  promise  <"  the  immuta- 
bilky  of  his  counsd,  'confirmed  it  by  an  oath: 


•Exodus  xxiL  11. *  Chipter  id.  9. 

«  Rom.  zL  SS.        ' 


tn  thy  $€ed  ail  the  naHona  of  the  earth  shall  he 
blessed.  They  shall  be  blessed  by  having  their 
fidth  counted  to  them  for  righteousness,  through 
thy  seed,  Christ  And  so  after  he  h€ui  patiently 
endured-— MoKpo&vfiffeaCf  after  he  had  waiied^  or 
suffered  long :  he  waited  about  thirty  years  before 
Isaac  was  born,  after  he  was  promised ;  he  obtained 
the  promise — Here,  by  a  usual  figure  of  speech,  the 
promise  is  put  for  the  thing  promised.  "In  the 
'  birth  of  Isaac,  Abraham  obtained  the  beginning  of 
the  accomplishment  of  God's  promise  concerning 
his  numerous  natural  progeny.  Moreover,  as  the 
birth  of  Isaac  was  brought  about  supernaturally  by 
the  divine  power,  it  was  both  a  proof  and  a  pledge 
of  the  accomplishment  of  the  promise  concerning 
the  birth  of  his  numerous  spiritual  seed.  Where- 
fore, in  the  birth  of  Isaac,  Abraham  may  truly  be 
said  to  have  obtained  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promise  concerning  his  numerous  spiritual  seed 
likewise.  In  any  other  sense,  Abraham  did  not 
obtain  the  accomplishment  of  that  promise." 

Verses  10, 17.  For  men  verily  swear  by  the  great- 
er— By  persons  greater  than  themselves,  whose  ven- 
geance they  imprecate  if  they  swear  falsely;  and 
particularly  by  Him  who  is  infinitely  greater  than 
the  msel ves ;  and  an  ocUh  ftnr  amfirmation-r-To  >CQik^ 
firm  wh^t  is  promised  or  asserted;  isio  them  an  end 
of  all  strife — IIo^c  avrOoyux^  irfpof^  Usually  puts  an 
end  to  all  coniradictiAm,  This  shows  that  an  oath 
talcen  in  a  religious  manner,  is  lawftil,  even  omder 
the  gospel:  otherwise  the  apostle  would  never  have 
mentiouad  it  with  so  much  honour,  as  .ft  proper  means 
to  confirm  the  truth.  Wherein—In  which  business 
of  confirmiing  his  promise ;  God^  willing  more  ofrtm- 
<ian//y— Beyond  what  was  absolutely  necessary, 
and  out  of  his  superabundant  love  to  andeare  for  us ; 
to  show  unto  the  heirs  of  promise — To  Abraham's 
spiritual  seed,  whose  faith  is  counted  for  righteous- 
ness, and  who  partake  of  the  blessings  promised ; 
the  immtUability  of  his  counfe^— Of  his  purpose, 
which  is  accompamed  with  infinite  wisdom;  con- 
firmed it-'-Grtek^  tfueirtveev^  interposed,  or  came 
between  the  making  of  the  promise  and  its  accom- 
plishment. The  expression,  says  Macknight,  "li- 
terally signifies,  he  mediatored  it  ^oith  an  oath:  he 
made  an  oath,  the  mediator,  surety,  or  ratifior  of  his 
counsel"  This  sense  of  the  word  merits  attention, 
because  it  suggests  a  fine  interpretation  of  chap.  ix. 
15,  where  see  the  note.  What  amazing  condescen 
sion  was  this  of  Ood  {    He,  who  is  greatest  of  all,  acta 


18  That  by  two  immutable  things,  a.  m.  406a. 
in  which  it  was  impoesiUe  for  God  »-l— i — L 
to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation, 
who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the 
hope  ^set  before  us: 

19  Whidi  hope  we  have  as  an  anchcNT  of  the 
soul,  Wh  sure  and  stead&st,  *  and  which  en- 
tereth  into  that  widihi  the  ve3 ; 


*  Or.  iiUerpoMed  hinaelf  by  an  oath. '  Chap.  xii.  1. •  Ler. 

xri.  15 ;  Chap.  iz.  7. 


as  if  he  were  a  middle  person;  as  if,  while  he  swears, 
he  were  less  than  hinoiself,  by  whom  he  swears. 

Verses  18, 19.  That  by  two  immutable  things  in 
either,  much  more  in  both,  of  which  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  God  to  lie—To  alter  his  purpose  and  disap- 
point our  expectation;  We  might  have  a  strong  con- 
solation—A powerful  argument  to  believe  the  pro- 
mise with  a  confidence  excluding  all  doubt  and  fear, 
and  might  receive  a  great  comfort  thereby ;  w?to  have 
fled  for  reftige— Who,  under  a  consciousness  of  our 
sinfulness  and  guilt,  depravity,  weakness,  and  wretch- 
edness^ have  betaken  ourselves  for  safety  from  de- 
served wrath ;  to  lay  hold  on  the  liope^The  promise 
(so  confirmed  by^an  oath)  which  is  the  ground  of 
our  hope;  set  before  us  in  Christ— Throngh  whom 
alone  we  can  have  salvatioq,  present  and  eternal ; 
which  Ju>pe—ln  and  through  Christ,  our  righteous- 
ness and  sanctification ;  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the 
soul— The  apostle  here  aUudeei  to  an  anchor,  which 
when  cast,  both  preserves  the  vessel  from  losing  the 
ground  she  has  gained,  and  keeps  her  steady  amid 
the  winds  and  waves,  when  the  art  and  skill  of  the 
mariners  are  overcome,  and  they  cannot  steer  the 
ship  in  its  right  course,  nor  could  otherwise  preserve 
it  from  recks,  shelves,  or  sand-banks;  both  sure — 
Air^9,  safe,  that  will  not  fail,  or  may  with  confi- 
dence be  misted  to,  the  matter  of  which  it  is  formed 
being  solid,  and  the  proportion  of  it  suited  to  the 
burden  of  the  ship;  and  steadfast— Bt$atav,  firm 
against  all  opposition,  which  no  violence  of  winds  or 
storms  can  eiUier  bredc  or  move  from  its  hold ;  and 
which  entereth  into  that  within  the  veil— He  alludes 
to  the  veil  which  divided  the  holy  place  of  the  Jew- 
ish tabemade  or  temple  from  the  most  holy :  and 
thus  he  slides  back  to  the  priesthood  of  Christ.  But 
he  does  not  speak  of  that  which  was  within  the  veil, 
namely,  the  ark  and  mercy-seat,  the  tables  of  stone, 
and  chembim,  the  work  of  men's  hands,  but  of  the 
things  signified  by  them ;  €k>d  himself  on  a  throne 
of  grace,  and  the  Lord  Christ,  as  the  high-priest  of 
the  church,  at  his  right  hand:  or  the  Father  as  the 
author,  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  purchaser,  and  the  co- 
venant as  the  conveyer  of  all  grace ;  which  were  all 
typically  represented  by  the  things  within  the  veil 
And  the  apostle  makes  use  of  this  allusion  to  instruct 
the  Hebrews  in  the  nature  and  use  of  the  oM  taber- 
nacle institutions;  and  from  thence  in  the  true  na- 
ture of  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  to  which  he  is  now 
returning.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  bdtever's  hope 
lays  hold  on  God  himself,  on  a  throne  of  grace  and 
628 


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9^  ixpaale  shoftM  that  MekhUedec 


HEBREW& 


wa$a  type  of  Jesus  CkrUt; 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.  D.  64. 


20  'Wtuther  the  forerunner  is  for 
us  entered,  ^ven  JcBUSy '  made  a  EKgh- 


'  Chap.  ir.  14 ;  viu.  1 ;  iz.  !M. 


on  Ghriflt  as  the  High-Pnest  of  the  church,  who  is  in 
heaven  itself;  the  i^e  of  God's  presence,  typified 
by  the  holy  of  holies. 

Verse  20.  Wkither  the  foreruhner^DpodpofiOf^  a 
forerunner,  is  one  who  goes  before  to  do  some  ser- 
^ce  for  another  who  is  to  follow :  in  which  sense 
also  the  Latin  word  onte^wrsor  is  used.  A  forerun- 
ner uses  to  be  less  in  dignity  than  those  that  are  to 
follow  him:  but  it  is  not  so  here;  for  Christ,  who  is 
gone  before  us,  is  infinitely  superior  to  us;  is  far  us 
en^^oi— -Namely,  for  our  good.  1st,  To  prepare  a 
place  for  us,  John  xiv.  2.  2d,  To  make  continual  in- 
tercession for  us.  3d,  To  make  us  partakers  of  his 
own  glory,  John  xvii.  24 ;  Rev«  iii.  21.  4th,  To  take 
possession  of  heaven  for  us,  John  xiv.  3.    What  an 


Priest  for  ever  a|ter  the  order  of  Mel-  a.  m.  406a 
chiaedec  ^^'^ 


ff  Chap.  liL  1 ;  r.  e»  10 ;  ni»  17. 


honour  is  it  to  believers  to  have  so  glorious  a  fort" 
runner  now  appearing  in  the  presence  of  God  for 
them !  Made  a  High-Priest  fir  ^ver^-Christ  as- 
cttided  to  heaven,  1st,  To  open  it  to  us  by  the  aaerF 
fice  of  himself^  and  to  plant  our  hope  of  eternal  lifo 
there  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul.  2d,  Because  having 
opened  heaven,  he  remains  there  as  the  High-Priest 
of  that  holy  place,  to  introduce  all  believers  into  the 
presence  of  God.  This  shows  in  what  sense  Jeeus 
is  a  High' Priest  for  evfir.  He  is  so,  not  by  ofi^ering 
sacrifice  for  ever  in  behalf  of  his  people,  but  by  in- 
terceding for  them  always,  Rom.  viiL  34 ;  and  by 
introducing  them  into  the  presence  of  God  by  the 
merit  of  the  one  sacrifice  of  himself^  which  he  oflfer- 
ed  to  God  without  spot. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

TV  apostle,  (1,)  Enters  into  a  parallel  between  Melehisedec  and  Christ  as  agresing  in  title  and  descent ;  anijrom  varwus 
respects  in  which  the  priesthood  of  Melchisedec  was  superior  to  that  of  Aaron  and  his  successors,  he  infers  the  superior 
glory  of  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  1->17.  (2,)  From  what  had  been  said  above,  he  argues  that  the  Aaronical  priesthood  toas 
not  only  excelled,  but  vindicated  and  consummated  hy  that  of  Christ ;  and,  by  consequence,  that  the  obUgation,  of  the  law 
toas  dissolved,  18-28. 

who  met  Abraham  returning  fix)m  the  a.  ii.  4068. 
slaughter  of  the  kings,  and  blessed  him ;  — 1— ^ 


A.M 
A. 


€.  4068.  pOR  this  *  Melchisedec,  king  of  Sa- 
— ^ lem,  priest  of  the  most  high  God, 


aQexL  xir. 


m)TEa  ON  CHAPTER  Vn. 
Verse  1.  For,  ^to.— l^ie  apostle  having  promised 
to  lead  the  believing  Hebrews  forward  to  the  per- 
fection of  Christian  knowledge,  (chap.  vL  1-4,)  par- 
ticulady  with  regard  to  the  high-priesthood  of  Christ 
as  typified  by  that  of  Melchisedec,  which  he  had  re- 
peatedly mentioned,  (namely,  chap.  v.  6, 10;  vi.  20^) 
as  a  figure  of  it  he  proceeds  now  to  fulfil  his  pro- 
mise; and,  in  order  thereto,  points  out  the  deep 
meaning  of  the  oath  recorded  Psa.  ex.  4.  And  by 
accurately  examining  the  particulars  concerning 
Melchisedec,  related  in  the  Mosaic  history,  he  shows 
tbaX  Melchisedec  was  a  far  more  excellent  priest 
than  Aaron  and  all  his  sons,  and  consequently  that 
Jesus,  whom  God  had  made  a  High- Priest  for  ever 
after  the  similitude  of  Melchisedec,  exercised  a  priest- 
hood both  more  acceptable  to  God,  and  more  effect- 
ual for  procuiing  the  pardon  of  sin,  than  the  priest- 
hood which  the  sons  of  Aaron  exercised  under  the 
law.  For  the  design  of  the  apostle  in  this  chapter  is 
not  to  declare  the  nature  ot  the  exerciseoUhe  priest- 
hood of  Christ,  though  occasionally  mentioned ;  hav- 
ing spoken  of  the  former,  chap^  v.,  and  intending  to 
treat  of  the  latter  at  large  afterward,  which  he  does 
chap.  ix.  But  it  is  of  its  excellence  and  dignity  that 
lie  discourses  here,  and  yet  not  absolutely,  but  in 
G24 


i8»acc. 


comparison  with  the  Levitical  priesthood,  which 
method  was  both  necessary,  and  directly  conducive 
to  his^end.  For  if  the  priesthood  of  Christ  were 
not  so  excellent  as  that  of  Aaron,  it  was  to  no  pur- 
pose to  persuade  them  to  embrace  the  former,  and 
reject  the  latter.  This,  therefore,  he  designs  io  prove 
upon  principles  avowed  among  themselves,  by  argu- 
ments taken  from  what  had  been  received  and  ac- 
knowledged in  the  Jewish  Church  fit>m  the  first 
foundation  of  it  To  this  end  he  shows,  that  antece- 
dently to  th6  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  institution 
of  the  Levitical  priesthood,  God  had,  without  any 
respect  thereto,  given  a  typicsil  prefiguration  of  this 
priesthood  of  Christ,  in  one  who  was  on  all  accounts 
superior  to  the  future  Levitical  priests.  This  sacred 
truth,  which  had  been  hid  for  so  many  ages  in  the 
church,  and  which  undeniably  manifests  the  certain 
future  introduction  of  another  and  better  priesthood, 
is  here  brought  to  light  by  the  apostle  and  improved. 
For  this  Melchisedec^Oi  whom  Moses  speaks.  Gen. 
xiv.  18,  &c.,  (the  passage  to  which  David  refers,)  was 
king  of  &Zeifv— "According  to  Josephus,  {ArUiq. 
lib.  i.  cap.  ll^y Salem,  the  city  of  Melchisedec,  was 
Jerusalem.  But  according  to  Jerome,  who  says  he 
received  his  information  from  some  learned  Jews,  i' 
was  the  town  which  is  mentioned  Gen.  xxxiii.  18, 

b 


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CHAPTER  Vn. 


itmtrecord&L' 


A.  If.  4068. 
A.D.64. 


2  To  wlumi^  aUo  Abraham  gave  a 

tenth  part  of  all ;  first  being  by  inter- 

pretaticm  king  of  righteousness,  and  after  that 

also  king  of  Salem,  which  is,  king  of  peace ; 

3  Without  &ther,  wilboui  mother,  ^without 

descent,  having  nekher  beginning  of  days,  nor 


,  ^Or.WftfAMtljMefifrM.- 


^Qe]i.zir.  9D. 


as  a  city  of  Shechem^  and  which  is  spoken  of  (John 
iiL  23)  as  near  to  Enon,  where  John  baptized.  This 
city  being  in  Abraham's  way,  as  he  returned  from 
Damsscos  to  Sedom^  after  the  daughter  of  the  kings, 
many  are  of  Jerome's  opinion,  that  the  northern  Sa- 
lem was  Meiehisedee's  city  rather  than  Jerusalem, 
which  was  situated  farther  to  the  south.''  Priett  of 
ihe  most  high  (?od— This  title  given  him  by  Moses, 
and  here  taken  notice  of  by  the  apostle,  implies  that 
he  had  been  appointed  to  that  office  in  a  solemn  and 
public  manner ;  and,  of  consequence, "  that  there  was 
a  priest  divinely  appointed  to  officiate  for  the  worship- 
pers of  the  true  Qod  in  Canaan,  long  before  the  days 
of  Aaron,  and  before  God  formed  to  himself  a  visible 
church  from  any  particular  family  or  nation  of  man- 
kind. The  Hebrew  word,  indeed,  translated  a  priest, 
sometimes  signifies  a  prince,  but  the  historian  hath 
removed  the  ambiguity  by  adding  the  words,  of  ihe 
most  high  GodJ" ,  Who  met  Abraham  returning 
from  the  slaughter  of  the  kings— -^V^o  had  taken 
Lot  prisoner,  with  the  kings  of  Sodom,  Ccomorrah, 
and  the  neighbouring  cities  of  the  plain  ^  and  blessed 
Mm— Pronounced  on  him  a  blessing  in  the  name  of 
God,  to  whom  he  ministered ;  and  in  his  manner  of 
blessing  himishowed  himself  to  be  a  priest  of  the 
only  true  God,  his  words  being.  Blessed  be  Abraham 
of  the  .mast  high  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

Verses  2,  3.  To  vhom  also  Abraham  gave  a  tenth 
qfo/l— Namely,  of  all  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished 
kings,  (verse  4,)  but  not  a  tenth  also  of  the.  goods 
that  had  been  taken  from  the  king  of  Sodom  and 
from  Lot ;  for  of  these  Abraham  took  nothing  to  him- 
self. By  paying  tithes  to  Melchbedec,  Abraham 
acknowledged  him  to  be  a  priest  of  the  true  God.  It 
seems,  indeed,  his  being  supernaturally  appointed  a 
priest  by  God,  was  known  through  all  that  coun- 
try. Being  Jtrst— According  to  the  meaning  of  his 
own  name;  king  of  righteousness;  and  after  that 
oZtfo— According  to  the  name  of  his  city ;  king  of 
peace — So  that  in  him,  as  in  Christ,  righteousness 
and  peace  were  joined.  And  so  they  are  in  all  that 
believe  in  him.  ^*  In  ancient  times,  it  was  usual  to 
give  names  to  persons  and  places  expressive  of  their 
qualities,  or  in  comnaemoration  of  some  remarkable 
events.  Thus  Abram^s  name  was  changed  into 
Ajbrahanu  to  signify  that  he  was  made  the  father  of 
many  nations;  and  jS^rat  was  named  Sarah,  be- 
cause she  was  made  the  mother  of  nations ;  and  Ja- 
cob obtained  ihe  name  of  Israel,  because^  he  had 
power  with  God.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  this  ancient 
practice,  the  apostle's  argument,  from  these  names, 
is  conclusive,  to  show  what  an  excellent  person  Mel- 
b 


^d  of  life;  but  made  like  unto  the  S<m  a.m.4068. 
of  God^,  aUdeth  a  priest  continually.    ^^'^ 

4  Now  consider  how  great  this  man  v>as^ 
^unto  whom  evm  the  patriarch  Abraham 
gave  the  tenth  of  the  spoils. 

6  And  verily. « they  that  are  of  the  boob  of 


•Niiiii.xniiSl,28. 


chisedec  was,  and  how  fit  to  be  made  a  tjrpe  of  the 
Son  of  God.  Without  fath^,  without  mother-— 
Without,  any  mention  of  his  parents;  withoiU  de- 
scent^Ot  rather,  v>ithotU  genealogy,  or  pedigree, 
recorded;  for  so  the  word  here  used,  ayevioXoyiiToc, 
signifies;  not  a  person  who  hath  no  descent  or  ge- 
nealogy, but  one  whose  descent  and  pedigree  is  no- 
where entered  on  record.  This  was  the  case  with 
Melchlsedec.  He  was  assuredly  bom,  and  did  no 
less  certainly  die  than  other  men;  but  neither  his 
birth  nor  his  death  are  recorded.  Or  the  apostle's 
principal  meaning  may  be,  that  there  is  no  account 
of  his  being  descended  from  any  ancestors  of  the 
priestly  order,  and  that  therefore  he  did  Qot  derive 
hb  priesthood  from  his  parents,  but  was  a  priest  of 
the  most  high  God  by  a  particular  appointment. 
Having  neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life — 
Mentioned  by  Moses.  But  whence  was  it  that  Moses 
should  introduce  so  great  and  excellent  a  person  as 
Melchisedec,  without  making  any  mention  of  his 
race  or  stock,  of  his  parents  or  progenitors,  of  his 
rise  or  fall,  contrary  to  his  own  custom  in  other  cases, 
and  contrary  to  -  all  rules  of  useful  history  1  The 
true  cause  of  the  omission  of  all  these  things  was  the 
same  with  that  of  the  institution  of  his  priesthood, 
and  the  introduction  of  his  person  in  the  story.  And 
this  was  that  he  might  be  a  more  express  and  signal 
representative  of  the  Lord  Christ  in  his  priesthood. 
But  in  all  these  respects,  made  like  the  ,Son  of 
God— Who  was  really  without  father  as  to  his  hu^ 
man  nature,  without  mother  as  to  his  divine;  and  in 
this  also,  wiihout  pedigree;  and  not  descending, 
even  in  human  nature,  from  any  ancestors  of  the 
priestly  order ;  abideth  a  priest  continually — That 
is,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  end  of  the  priesthood 
of  his  order,  nor  of  the  termination  of  his  own  per- 
sonal administration  of  bis  office  by  death ;  and  so 
he  stands  in  the  story  as  a  kind  of  immortal  priest, 
without  any  successor  being  mentioned.  And  this  is 
that  which  the  apostle  chiefly  designed  toconfirm  from 
hence,  namely,  that  there  was.  in  the  Scripture,  be- 
fore the  institution  of  the  Aaronical  priesthood,  a 
representation  of  an  eternal,  unchangeable  one, 
namely,  that  of  Christ,  who,  as  he  was  without  be- 
ginning of  days,  alone  does  re^ly  remain  without 
death  and  without  successor. 

Verses  4-7.  Consider  how  great  this  man  was — 
The  greatness  of  Melchisedec  is  described  in  all  the 
preceding  and  foUowing  particulars.  But  the  most 
manifest  proof  of  it  was,  that  Abraham  gave  him 
tithes  as  a  priest  of  God,  and  a  superior;  though  he 
was  himself  a  patriarch,  greater  than  a  king,  and  a 
progenitor  of  many  kings.  The  sons  of  Levi  take 
526 


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pcMU^^ii^JifMUiedee.' 


£l  m.  406Q.  Levi}  \yho  r^eive  the  office  of  the 
^.£l^  priesthood,  have  a  commaadment  to 
take  tithes  of  the  peqple  accofdkig  to  the  law, 
that  is,  of  thdr  brethreOy  though  thejxoma  out 
of  the  loins  of  Abraham : 

6  But  he  whose  ^descent  is  not  coonted  from 
them  received  tithes  of  Abraham,  ^and  Messed 
*  him  that  had  the  promises. 

7  And  without  all  contradiction  the  less  is 
blessed  of  the  better. 

8  And  here  men  that  die  receive  tiihes ;  but 
there  he  receiveth  them^  'of  whom  it  is  wit- 
nessed that  he  Uveth. 


*  Or^ptd&gree. 7*  Gen.  xiv.  19. •  Rom.  iv.  13 ;  Gtl.  iii.  16. 


tithes^  oflheir  6rc/Aren— Sprung  from  Abraham  as 
well  as  themselves.  The  Levites,  therefore,  t^re 
greater  than  theyj  but  the  priests  are  greater  than 
the  Levites;  the  patriarch  Abraham  than  the  priests, 
aad  Melchisedec  than  him.  But  he  whose  descent  is 
not  counted  from  them — From  that  people  who 
conie  out  of  the  loins  of  Abraham^  not  only  receited 
tithes  of  Abraham^  but  blessed  him — Another  proof 
of  Melchisedec's  superiority ;  even  him  thcU  had  the 
promises — With  whom  God  made  the  covenant  of 
grace,  as  with  the  Father  of  all  the  blessed  seed. 
Thus  Gfid.  Ui.  16:  7b  Abraham  and  his  seed  were 
the  promises  made.  And  withotU  cUl  contradiction 
— Without  all  question ;  the  less  is  blessed  authorita- 
tively o/^Ac  6cWer— Or  greater ;  that  is,  when  a  man 
does,  in  God's  name  and  stead,  and  by  his  authority, 
declare  and  pronounce  another  to  be  blessed,  he 
that  gives  the  blessing  is,  in  that  respect,  greater 
than  he  who  receives  it 

Verses  8-10.  And  Aerc— In  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood ;  men  that  die,  receive  titJies,  but  there — In  the 
case  of.  Melchisedec;  he  of  whom  it  is  witnessed 
thai  he  liveih-^Vfho  is  not  spoken  of  as  one  that 
died  for  another  to  succeed  him,  but  is  represented 
only  as  living,  being  mentioned  in  such  a  way  as  if 
he  lived  for  ever.  And  even  '  Leviy  who  received 
tithes — Not  in  person,  but  in  his  successors,  as  it 
were,  paid  tithes  in  the  person  of  Abraham.  For  he 
was  yet  in  the  loins  of  his  /oiAcr— "This  might 
justly  i)e  said  of  Levi,  who  descended  from  Abra- 
ham in  the  ordmary  course  of  generation.  But  it 
cannot  be  said  of  Christ,  who  was  bom  in  a  miracu- 
lous manner,  without  any  human  fother.  While, 
therefore,  the  apostle's  argument,  taken  from  Abra- 
ham's paying  tithes  to  Melchisedec,  and  his  receiv- 
ing the  blessing  from  him,  proves  that  both  Abraham 
and  the  Levitical  priests,  his  natural  descendants, 
were  inferior  to  Melchisedec,  it  does  not  apply  to 
Christ  at  all."— Macknight. 

Verse  11.  The  apostle,  having  cleared  his  way 
from  objections,  now  enters  on  his  principal  argu- 
ment concerning  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  and  all 
the  consequences  of  it  with  respect  to  righteousness,  I 
salvation,  and  the  worship  of  God  which  depend 
thereon.  If^  therefore,  or,  now  if  perfectibn  were  | 
by  the  Levitical  priesthood^K  it  perfectly  answered  I 


9  And  as  I  ihay  so  say,  Levi  also,  A.  m.  <i06S. 

who  recehpeth  titbtSj  phytA  tithes  in 1 — 

Abrakaat. 

10  For  he  wis  yet  m  the  kite  of  his  fioher, 
when  Meldiisedec  met  him. 

11  ^If  therefore  perfection  weie  t^  the  L^ 
vitical  priesthood,  {for  iincler  it  the  peo(de 
received  the  law,)  what  forther  need  wets 
there  that  another  priest  should  rise  after  the 
order  of  Helchi^ec,  and  not  be  called  after 
the  order  of  Aaron  ? 

12  For  the  priesthood  being  changed,  there  is 
made  of  Necessity  a  change  also  of  the  law. 


'Cha£uT.6;  yi. 20.— -« Qal. ii. 21  j  Ver.  18, 19 ;  Chap. yiii. 7. 


an  God's  designs  and  man's  wants ;  what  further 
need  was  there  that  another  priest — A  priest  of  a 
new  order;  should  we— Or  be  set  np  j  and  not  one 
afier  the  order  of  Aaron?— As  if  he  had  said,  Since 
by  what  has  been  advanced  it  appears  from  Scrip- 
ture that  another  priesthood  was  to  arise  after 
Aaron's,  of  another  order,  it  follows  hence  that  per- 
fection conld  not  be  attained  by  that  of  Aaron ;  for 
if  it  could,  that  certainly  would  not  have  been  re- 
moved, and  another  substituted  in  its  place.  In 
other  words,  the  prediction  of  the  rising  up  of  a 
priest  of  a  different  order  from  that  of  AarOn,  is  a 
declaration  of  the  inefficacy  of  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, and  of  God's  intention  to  change  it  Instead 
of  the  clause,  for  under  it,  (namely,  the  Levitical 
priesthood,)  Macknight  reads,  on  account  of  it,  t!ie 
people  received  the  Zair— Observing  that  the  law 
'^was  prior  to  the  priesthood,  being  given  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  and  esti^shing  ^e  priesthood ; 
and  that  the  Jewish  people  themselves  were  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  made  a  people 
by  the  law,  merely  that  they  might,  as  a  nation, 
worship  the  only  true  God  according  to  the  Leviti- 
cal ritual,  in  settling  which  most  of  the  precepts  of 
t^e  law  were  employed.  This  being  the  case,  is  it 
any  wonder  that  such  of  the  Jews  as  looked  no 
ferther  than  the  outside  of  the  priesthood  and  law, 
imagined  that  perfection,  in  respect  of  pardon  and 
acceptance  with  God,  was  to  be  obtained  by  the 
Levitical  priesthood  and  sacrifices,  and  in  that  per- 
suasion believed  they  never  would  be  abolished  ? 
Nevertheless,  if  they  had  understood  the  true  mean- 
ing of  (he  law,  they  would  have  known  that  it  was 
a  typical  Oracle,  hi  which,  by  its  services,  the  priest- 
hood and  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God  were  prefigured, 
and  that  by  calling  his  Son  a  priest,  not  after  the 
order  of  Aaron,  but  after  that  of  Melchisedec,  God 
declared  that  his  services  as  a  High-Priest,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  himself  which  he  was  to  ofler,  were  en- 
tirely diflbrent,  both  in  their  nature  and  effects,  ftom 
the  Levitical  services  and  sacrifices,  and  that  they 
were  to  be  substituted  in  the  room  of  these  services, 
for  which  there  was  no  occadon  after  the  priest  and 
sacrifices  which  they  prefigured,  were  come.** 

Verses  12-14.  For,  or,  wherefore,  the  priesthood 
—On  account  of  which,  the  law  was  given  j  bein^ 

h 


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ofAarmi^  but  o/Meiehumhe. 


A.  M.  4068.    13  For  he  of  whom  tbeee  things  are 

^'  ^'  ^'  ^kea  pertaineth  to  another  tribe,  of 
which  no  man  gave  attendance  at  the  ahar. 

14  For  it  is  evident  that  ^our  Lord  qprai^ 
out  of  Juda;  of  which  tribe  Moe^  spake 
Clothing  c<moerBing  priesthood. 

16  And  it  is  yet  fiur  more  evident :  fer  that 
after  the  similitude  of  Melchisedec  there  arise^h 
another  priest, 

16  W^  is  made^  not   after  the  law  o(  a 


i>  lia.  xi.  1;  Mttt  1 3 ;  Luke  iii.  S3 ;  Rom.  L  3  ]  R«t.  t.  5. 

» P«a.  ex.  4 ;   Chap.  t.  6, 10 ;  tL  2a ^  Rom.  niL  3 :  Gai 

IT.  9.— J  Acts  xiii.  30;  Rom.  ilL  20, 21,  28 ;  viii.  3 ;  Oal.  ii. 


changed,  of  necessity  (here  must  be  a  change  also 
of  the  law — As  if  he  had  said,  Since  there  is  such  a 
near  relation  between  the  priesthood  and  the  law^ 
aod  since  the  whole  administration  of  the  law,  as  the 
mle  of  worship,  depended  absolutely  on  the  Aaroni- 
cal  priesthood,  therefore  the  one  being  changed,  the 
other  must  be  changed  also.  "  Under  the  law  the 
offices  of  the  priesthood  consisted  in  offsring  the 
sacrifices  of  beasts,  and  in  performing  various  rites 
for  purifying  the  bodies  of  the  worshippers  from 
ceremonial  defilement,  that  they  might  be  fit  to  join 
the  congregation  in  the  public  worsh^  of  God.  Bui 
when  the  priesthood  was  changed  by  raising  up 
from  another  tribe  a  priest  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chisedec, whose  services  had  for  their  object  to 
purify  the  conscience  of  the  worshi[^ers,  not  by  the 
sacrifice  of  beasts,  but  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself," 
and  to  sanctify  their  jeuls  by  the  infiuences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  *'the  whole  law  concerning  the  sacri- 
fices of  beasts,  and  the  sanctifying  of  the  flesh  of  the 
Israelites  by  washing,  was  of  necessity  entirely 
abolished."  For  he  of  loAom— Or,to  whom;  these 
things  are  spokeTi-^ThnX  is^  he  to  whom  it  was  said, 
Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  &e.,  was  of  a  different 
tribe,  namely,  that  of  Judah }  of  which  no  man  gave 
attendance  at  the  aUar-^,  was  suffered  by  the  law 
to  minister  there,  so  that  the  priesthood  is  manifestly 
changed  from  one  order  to  another,  and  from  one 
tribe  to  another.  For. it  is  evident  that  our  Lord 
sprang  out  of  Judah--^^  ThnX  the  Messiah  was  to 
spring  up  from  Judah  is  plain  from  the  prophecies 
concerning  his  descent :  and  it  is  likewise  plain  that 
this  part  of  his  character  was  verified  m  our  Lord, 
whose  genealogy  Matthew  and  Luke  have  tracea 
up  io  King  DaVid  from  the  public  tables.  For  that 
such  tables  of  their  descent  were  kept  by  the  Jews 
Josephus  testifies,  (section  i.  of  his  Life,  at  the  end,) 
saying,  ^  I  give  you  these  successions  of  our  family 
as  I  find  them  written  in  the  public  tables.'  By  these 
tsblea  Paul  knew  himself  to  be  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin." 

Verses  lfr-17.  And  it  is  yet  far  more  evident^ 
That  both  the  pri^hood  and  the  law  are  changed, 
because  the  priest  now  raised  up  is  not  only  of  an- 
other tribe^  and  of  a  quite  different  order,  but  is 
made  a  priest ;  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  com- 
mandment^Wiilik  such  carnal  rites  and  outwigrd 
b 


carnal  commandmeiiL  but  after  the  a.  m.  4o^ 

r  Ji        v7  A.  D.  64. 

power  of  an  endless  life.  

17  For  he  testifietb, '  Thou  art  a  priest  for 
ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec. 

18  For  there  is  verily  a  disannulling  of  the 
commandment  gmng  before,  for  ^  the  weakness 
and  unprofitableness  thereof. 

19  For  ^  the  law  naade  nothing  perfect,  ^  but 
the  bringing  in  of  ""a  better  hope  did  ;  by  the 
which  we  *  draw  nigh  unto  God. 


IS ;  Chap.  ix.  0. •  Or,  but  it.  was  the  hrinting  in.  Gal.  iii.  24, 

«  Cl«p.  tL  18 ;   Tiii.  S. ■  Rom.  y.  2  j   Eph.  ii.  18  y  iii.  12  ; 

Ch^.  iv.  16;  z.  19. 


solemnities  as  the  law  prescribed  for  those  priests, 
which  reached  na  further  than  to  the  purifying  of 
the  flesh;  but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life — 
Which  he  has  in  himself  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God. 
Being  a  sacrifice,  as  well  as  a  priest,  it  was  indeed^ 
necessary  that  he,  as  a  man,  should  die ;  but  as  he^ 
continued  only  a  short  while  in  the  state  of  the  dead, 
and  arose  to  die  no  more,  he  may  justly  be  said  to 
have  Mn  endless  life,  even  as  to  his  human  nature. 
Besides,  it  should  be  considered  that  his  life,  as  a 
priest,  did  not  begin  till  after  his  ascension  when  he 
passed  through  the  heavens  into  the  holiest  of  all, 
with  the  sacrifiee  of  his  cruciffed  body.  And  having 
off(^red  that  body  there,  he  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  his  Father's  majesty,  where 
he:  remains  the  minister  of  that  true  tabernacle, 
making  continual  intercession  for  his  people. 

Verses  18, 19.  For  there  is  rertVy— Implied  in  this 
new  and  everlasting  priesthood,  and  in  the  new  dis- 
pensation connected  therewith ;  a  disannulling  of 
the  precedmg  commandment'-^An  abrogation  of  the 
Bfottic  law ;  for  the  weakness  and  unprofitableness 
thereof—In  oemparlson  of  the  new  priesthood  and 
dispensation.  See  on  Rom.  viik  3.  For  the  law— 
Tbe  dispensation  of  Moses,  taken  by  itself,  separate 
from  the  light  and  grace  of  the  gospel :  made  nothing 
perfect— Eiih^r  as  to  the  state  of  God's  church, 
(which  was  then  in  its  minority,  Gal.  iv.  1-3,)  or  the 
religion  of  its  membevs.  The  institutions  of  divine 
worship  were  imperfect,  being  mere  shadowy  repre- 
sentations of  good  things  to  come ;  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham  were  but  imperfecdy  fulfilled,  and 
divine  revelation  was  very  incomplete,  and  in  many 
respects  obscure.  Therefore  that  dispensation  did 
not  perfect  the  illumination  of  the  people  of  God  in 
things  spiritual  or  divine,  but  they  were  still  in  com- 
parative darkness  as  to  divers  particulars  of  great 
importance.  See  on  Luke  i.  70, 79.  It  did  not  per- 
fect their  justification  and  reconciliation  with  God, 
or  remove  their  guih  before  God,  or  a  sense  of  it  in 
their  own  consciences ;  it  only  did  this  typically  and 
figuratively,  chap.  ix.  9;  x.  1^.  It  did  not  perfect 
ihehr  sanctification  and  conformity  to  God,  Rom. 
vii.  ft,  Ac.  For  the  truths,  precepts,  and  promises 
which  it  revealed,  were  Chiefly  of  a  worldly  and  car- 
nal nature,  and  not  calculated  to  sanctify  the  minds 
andhetetsof  tiioae  that  received  them,  or  to  render 

fssat 


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A.  M.  4068.    20  And  inasmuch  as  not  without 

1—1  an  oath  he  was  made  priest : 

21  (For  those  priests  were  made  ^without 
an  oath ;  but  this  with  an  oath,  by  him  that 
said  unto  him,  ^The  Lord  sware,  and  will 


*  Or,  wiik&ui  twearing  of  on  oaik.- 


>!P8«.  CZ.4. 


them  heavenly  and  holy.  And  the  sanctifying  Spirit, 
and  the  salvation  consequent  thereon,  were  not  so 
largely  given  as  under  the  gospel,  John  viL  37,  38; 
1  Pet.  i.  16-12.  But  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope 
— ^The  Christian  dispensation,  or  the  priesthood  of 
Christ  and  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  Which  afibrd 
more  solid  grounds  for  hope,  didj  or  does ;  making 
full  provision  bc^h  for  our  Justification  and  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  for  our  living  in  the  practice  of  universal 
holiness  and  righteousness^  and  therefore  furnishing 
us  with,  a  title  to,  and  a  meetness  for,  eternal  life. 
"Promissa  terrestria  non  operantur  mortis  con- 
temptum,  sed  eum  operantur  spes  melior  vitse 
etemse,  atque  celcstis.  Inde  tarn  <Mrebra  macl3rria." 
Earthly  promises  do  w^  produce  a  contempt  of 
death^  but  the  better  hope  of  a  heavenly  and  eternal 
life  produces  it.  Hence  so  many  martyrdoms, 
namely,  in  the  first  chUrch. — Orotins.  The  word 
efrtuyayuyrj,  rendered  the  bringing  in^  literally  means, 
the  introduction  of  a  thing  after,  or  upon,  another. 
The  priesthood  and  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  the  dis- 
pensation thereupon,  were  brought  in  after  the  law, 
upon  it,  in  the  room  of  it,  to  effect  what  the  law 
could  not  do.  This,  therefoi;^,  says  Dr.  Owen,  is  the 
sense  of  the  Words :  ^  The  introduction  of  the  better 
hope  after  and  upon  the  law,  when  a  sufficient  dis- 
covery had  been  made  of  its  weakness  and  insuffi- 
ciency as  to  this  end,  made  all  things  perfect,  or 
liath  brought  ^e  church  to  that  state  of  consumma- 
tion which  was  designed  for  it.  It  is  called  better 
with  respect  to  the  law,  and  all  it  contained,  or  could 
effect"  By  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  G^oc2— Have 
free  liberty  to  draw  nigh  in  faith  and  pra3rer,  through 
the  sacrifice  and  intercession  of  our  ever-living  and 
glorious  High-Priest  and  Mediator.  JX  is  an  ex- 
pression, says  Grotius,  "properly  sacerdotal,  de- 
noting the  approach  of  the  priests  to  Qod  and  his 
worship."  Under  the  Levitical  priesthood  the 
priests,  in  their  sacrifices  and  solemn  services,  drew 
nigh  to  God:  the  same  liberty  is  now  granted  to  all 
true  believers,  under  the  sacerdotal  ministration  of 
the  Lord  Jesus ;  through  him  they  have  access  by 
one  Spirit  unto  the  Father^  at  all  times,  and  pai^ 
ticularly  in  their  prayers  and  praises,  and  all  acts  of 
worship;  and  may  draw  so  nigh  as  io^ecome  one 
spirit  with  him,  which  is  true  Christian  perfection. 
Verses  20*^.  And  inasmuch  as,  &c.— Here  is 
another  argument  fipm  the  words ^f  the  psalmist, 
to  prove  the  appointment  of  a  new  priesthood,  the 
removal  of  the  old,  and  the  superior  excellence  of 
the  new  to  the  old ;  iiot  without  an  oath — Which 
argues  the  weightiness  of  Uie  matter,  and  the  eternal 
eonunuance  of  Christ's  priesthood.  "  The  apostle's 
reasoning  here  is  founded  on  this,  that  God  never 
interposed  his  oaUi  except  to  show  the  certainty  ami 


not  rqpent,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  A.Bf.iO«. 
ever  after  the  order  of  Mekhise-  — — '. — L 
dec:) 

22  By  80  much  i^was  Jesus  made  a  surety 
(rf' a  better  testament 


fChap.TiiL6}  iz.  15;  xii.  24. 


immutability  of  the  thing  sworn.  Thus  he  sware  to 
Abraham,  that  in  his  seed  aU  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed,  QexL  xxlL  16-48$  and  tothe  rebel- 
lious Israelites,  that  they  should  not  enter  into  his  rest^ 
Deut.  i.  34,  36 }  and  to  Moses,  that  he  should  not  go 
into  Canaan,  Dent.  iv.  21 ;  and  to  David,  that  his 
seed  should  endure  for  ever,  and  his  thhone  unto  all 
general ions,Fsa,\xzxbi,  4.  Wherefore,  since  Christ 
was  made  a  priest  not  without  an  oath,  that  he  should 
be  a  priest  for  ever,  &C.,  that  circumstance  showed 
God's  immut^le  resolution  hever  to  change  or 
abolish  his  priesthood,  or  the  coYenant  established 
thereon.  Whereas  the  Levitical  priesthood  and  the 
law  of  Moses  being  established  without  an  oath 
were  thereby  declared  to  be  changeable  at  God's 
pleietfrare." — Macknight  The  lard  sware  and  will 
not  i*^n<«— Hence  also  it  appears  that  his  priestiiood 
is  Unchangeable.  God  not  only  sware  that  he  would 
make  him  a  priest  for  ever,  hut  sware  also  that  he 
would  never  repent  of  doing  it  By  so  much,  &c. 
— By  how  much  the  priesthood  of  Christ  viras  better 
than  the  former,  by  so  much  the  testament,  or  rather 
covenant,  of  which  he  was  to  be  surety,  was  better 
also.  The  word  covenant  frequently  occurs  in  the 
remaining  part  of  this  epistle.  The  original  word 
means  either  a  covenant,  or  a  last  will  and  testamept. 
St.  Paul  takes  it  sometimes  in  the  former,  sometimes 
in  the  latter  sense;  sometimes  he  includes  both. 
The  word  surety  or  sponsor,  may  here  mean  one 
who  has  undertaken,  on  our  behalf^  to  satisfy  divine 
justice  for  our  sins,  makings  atonement  for  them ; 
and  to  give  to  aH  that  sincerely,  earnestly,  and  per- 
se veringly  ask  it,  grace  sufiicient  to  enable  them  io 
perform  the  conditions  of  the  covenant,  and  there- 
upon to  receive  its  blessings.  But  it  is  proper  to 
observe,  that  the  Greek  commentators  explain  the 
word  eyyvoc,  here  tendered  a  surety,  hyfucirvc,  a 
mediator,  which  is  its  etymological  meaning. 
"  For  it  comes  from  tyjv^,  near,  and  signifies  one 
who  draws  near,  or  who  causes  another  to  draw 
near.  Now,  as  in  this  passage  a  comparison  is' 
stated  between  Jesus,  as  a  High-Priest,  and  the  Le- 
vitical high-priests ;  and  as  these  were  justly  con- 
sidered by  the  apostle  as  the  mediators  of  the  Sinai 
covenant,  because  through  their  mediation  the  Is- 
raelites worshipped  God  with  sacrifices,  and  received 
from  him,  as  their  king,  a  political  pardon,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  sacrifices  offered  by  the  high-priest 
on  the  day  of  atonement,  it  is  evident  that  the  apos- 
tle, in  this  passage,  calls  Jesus  the  Uigh-Priesl,  or 
Mediator,  of  the  better  covenant,  because  throu|^  his 
mediation  believers  receive  all  the  blessings  of  the 
better  covenant.  And,  as  the  apostle  had  said, 
(verse  19,)  that,  by  the  introduction  of  a  belter  hope, 
eyyt^ofuv  ^ce  draw  near  to  Ood,  he,  in  this  verse, 

b 


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CHAVTBR  YII. 


highrfrieMt  of  ike  human  race. 


A.  M.  4008.  33  And  they  tndy  were  many 
^^^  (Mriests,  because  they  were  not  suffer- 
ed to  c<mtinuel)y  reason  of  death : 

24  Bat  this  man,  because  he  contiQiietb  ever, 
bath*  an  unchangeable  priesthood.  ^ 

25  Wherefore  he  is  able  also  to  save  them  *to 
the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing 
he  ever  Uveth  ^  to  make  interceasioh  kx  them. 

26  For  such  a  high-priest  became  us;  ^who 
%8  holy,  harmless,    undefiled,    separate  from 


*Qr,  «t/Udl  patsetk  not  from  one  to  OMdtker^^—^  On  ovet'mor: 
^RcHD.  TiiL  34;  1  Tim.  ii.  5;  Gba^.  iz.  24;  1  Jdin  ii  1. 
'  Chap.  iT.  15. 'Eph.  L  20;  iv.  10;  Ghap.  nii  1. 


very  properly  called  Jesus  r^yvoiy  rather  than  fuaipi^, 
to  denote  the  effect  of  his  mediation.  See  verse  25. 
Our  translators,  indeed,  following  the  Volgate  and 
Beza,.have  rendered  the  word  surety,  a  sense  which 
it  hath  Ecclus.  xxix.  16,  and  which  nati^rally  en9iigh 
follows  from  its  etymological  meaning.  For  the 
person  who  becomes  surety  for  the  good  behaviour 
of  another,  or  for  his  performing  scmiething  stipu- 
lated, brings  that  other  near  to  the  party  to  whom 
he  gives  the  security ;  be  reconciles  the  two.  But 
in  this  sense,  the  word  eyyvoc  is  not  applicable  to  the 
Jewish  high-priests.  For  to  be  a  proper  surety,  one 
must  either  have  power  to  compel  the  party  to  per- 
form that  for  which  he  hath  become  his  surety,  or, 
in  case  of  his  not  performing  it,  he  must  be  able  to 
perform  it  himself.  As  little  is  the  appellation, 
surety  of  the  new  covenant ,  applicable  to  Jesus.  For 
smce  the  new  covenant  doth  not  require  perfect 
obedience,  but  only  the  obedience  of  faith ;  if  the 
obedience  of  faith  is  not  given  by  men  themselves, 
it  cannot  be  given  by  another  in  their  room,  unless 
we  suppose  that  men  can  be  saved  without  personal 
faith ;  I  therefore  infer,  that  they  who  speak  of  Jesus 
as  the  surety  of  the  new  covenant,  must  hold  that  it 
requires  perfect  obedience,  which  not  being  in  the 
power  of  believers  to  give,  Jesus  hath  performed  it 
for  them.  But  is  not  this  to  make  the  covenant  of 
grace  a  covenant  of  works,  contrary  to  the  whole 
tenor  of  Scripture?  For  these  reasons,  I  think  the 
Greek  commentators  have  given  th^  true  meaning 
of  the  word  ryyvoc  in  this  passage,  when  they  ex- 
plain it  by  /uairtfc,  MedialorP — Macknight. 

Verses  23-25.  And  there  were  many  prieMs — One 
alter  another,  because  they  were  hindered  by  death 
from  continuing  in  the  perpetual  execution  of  their 
office.  But  this  many  because  he  continueth  ever — 
In  life  and  in  his  office ;  hath  an  unchangeable 
priesthood^Oneih^i  passes  not  from  one  to  another. 
Wherefore—Froia  whence  it  appears ;  that  he  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost— Txom  sin  and  its  con- 
sequences, into  the  favour  and  image  of  God,  and  to 
preserve  to  eternal  life,  all  that  by -faith  and  prayer 
come  to  God  through  him — As  their  priest ;  seeing 
he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession— Th^i  is,  he 
lives  and  intercedes,  in  every  circumstance  of  their 
respective  lives,  through  all  successive  ages  and 
generations.    He  died  once,  he  intercedes  perpetu- 

VoL.  II.  (  84  ) 


sinners, '  and  made  higher  than  the  A.  M.  4068. 
heavens;  - 

27  Who  needeth  not  daily,  as  those  high- 
pciests,  to  oflfer  up  sacrifice,  ^  first  for  his  own 
sins,  ''and  then  for  the  people's  r  for  ^this  he 
did  bnce,  when  he  offered  up  himself. 

28  For  the  law  maketh  ^men  high-prieets 
which  have  infirmity;  but  the  word  of  the 
oath,  which  was  since  &e  law,  maketh  the 
Son,  "  who  is  ^consecrated  for  evermore. 


*  Lev.  ix.  7;  xri.  6, 11 ;  Chap.  t.  3;  ix.  7.- 
>Ilom.  Ti.  10;  Chap.  iz.  12,  28;  x.  12.— 
•  Chap,  il  10 ;  v.  9. '  Gr.  perfecttd. 


-■  Ler.  xvi.  16. 
rChap.  V   I,  2 


ally.  "The  nature  of  the  apostle's  argument  re- 
quires that  by  Chxisi^s  always  Ifving  we  understand 
his  always  living  in  the  body :  for  it  is  thus  that  he  is 
a  sympathizing  High-Priest,  who  in  his  intercession 
pleads  the  merit  of  his  death  to  procure  the  salvation 
of  all  who  come  unto  God  through  him.  Agreeably 
to  this  account  of  Christ's  intercession,  the  apostle 
(verse  27)  mentions  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  which 
Christ  offered  as  the  foundation  of  his  intercession. 
Now,  as  he  offered  that  sacrifice  in  heaven,  (chap. 
vilL  3,  3,)  by  presenting  his  crucified  body  there, 
and  as  he  continually  resides  there  in  the  body, 
some  of  the  ancients  were  of  opinion  that  his  con- 
tinual intercession  consists  in  the  continual  present- 
ation of  his  humanity  before  his  Father,  because  it 
b  a  continual  declaration  of  his  earnest  desire  of  the 
salvation  of  men,  and  of  his  having,  in  obedience  to 
his  Father's  will,  made  himself  flesh,  and  suffered 
death  to  accomplish  it.  This  opinion  is  confirmed 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  Jewish  high-priest 
made  intercession  for  the  people  on  the  day  of  atone- 
ment, and  which  was  a  type  of  Christ's  intercession 
in  heaven.  He  made  it  not  [merely  or  chiefly]  by 
offering  prayers  for  them  in  the  most  holy  place,  but 
by  sprinkling  the  bbod  of  the  sacrifices  on  the 
mercy-seat,  in  token  of  their  death.  And  as  by  that 
action  he  opened  the  earthly  holy  places  to  the 
prayers  and  worship  of  the  Israelites  during  the  en- 
suing year ;  so  Jesus,  by  presenting  his  humanity 
continually  before  the  presence  of  his  Father,  opens 
heaven  to  the  prayers  of  his  people  in  the  present 
life,  and  to  (heir  persons  ai\er  the  resurrection."  See 
Macknight. 

Verses  26-28.  Such  a  High-Priest  became  us-^Or 
rather,  was  suited  to  us.  Who  are  unholy,  mischiev- 
ous, defiled  sinners ;  whq  is  holy-^Wiih.  respect  to 
God ;  harmless — With  respect  to  jnen ;  undefiled — 
In  himself  by  any  sin;  separate  from  sinners— Th^X 
is,  from  all  defiling  society  of  sinners,  though  merci- 
fully conversant  among  them ;  and,  to  complete 
all,  made  higher— l^yem  in  his  human  nature,  than 
the  heavens,  and  than  all  their  inhabitants ;  being, 
far  more  superior  to  the  noblest  of  them  than  Aaron 
was  to  the  meanest  Levite  who  ministered  in  the 
temple.  Who  needeth  not  daily— Th^i  is,  on  every 
yearly  day  of  expiation ;  as  those  high-priests,  tg 
offer  sacrifice,  frst  for  his  own  sins — For  he  had  no 
529  b 


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sinfl  of  his  own ;  and  then  for  the  peopZe'*— Whidi 
Uct  he  did  once  for  all,  when  he  offered  up  himself— 
A  spotlesB  and  acceptable  sacrifice  to  God.  "  In  this 
panage,''  says  Mtfcknight,  ^  the  apostle  notices  three 
particulars^  which  distinguish  the  sacrifioe  offered 
by  Christ  from  those  offered  by  the  Jewish  high- 
priests:  1st,  He  offered  no  sacrifice  for  himself;  but 
only  for  the  people.  2d,  He  did  not  offer  that  sa- 
crifice amraallyj  but  once  for  all.  Sd,  The  sacrifice 
which  he  oflfered  was  not  of  calves  and  goats,  but  of 
himself,''    Jbr  the  law  nuxketh  men  highrprieete 


which  have  inJirmUf— Who  are  weal;,  sWU^  and 
mortal ;  but  the  oatik  which  was  since  tiie  law-^ 
Namely,  in  the  time  of  David ;  maketh  the  Son — ^A 
priest  5  who  is  eensecrated — Or  perfected,  as  rcreAei- 
ofMPwprap^j  significB;  see  note  on  chip.  v.  0; 
for  evermore^yfhOj  having  finished  his'^rtude  pro- 
cess, nnderti^en  and  accomplished  to  effect  tiie  work 
of  our  redemption,  and  being  without  blemish,  and 
^rfectlyik^e  fh>m  every  natural  imd  moral  infirmity, 
and  invested  with  all  authority  and  power  in  heavda 
and  on  earth,  remaineth  apriest  fwew. 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

hi  ihu  chapter  the  apoMtle,  (1,)  DenumstraUM  the  exceUtnu  of  Christ* m  priestitood  above  that  of  Aarom,  in  respect  of  the  place 
where  he  now  officiates,  the  sacrifice  which  he  offered^  and  the  covenant  of  which  he  is  the  mediator^  \,  3.  {%)  Shows  the 
excellence  of  the  covenant  of  grace  and  the  gospel  dispensation  above  the  legal  covenant  and  ceremonial  dispensatioHf  7-19. 


A.H.4O0B. 
A.  D.  64. 


J^OW    of 
have 


sum: 


We 


the    things  which  we 
spoken,     (his     is    the 
have  such  a  High-Priest,  *who 


*Eph.  i.  20;  Ool.iii.li 


N0TB3  ON  CHAPTER  VIII, 
Verse  1.  The  apostle  having  shown  that  Jesus,  as 
a  High-Priest,  is  superior  to  all  the  Levitical  high- 
priests,  inasmuch  as,  like  Melchisedec,he  is  a  King, 
as  well  asa  Priest;  nay,  a  more  righteous  King  than 
even  Melchisedec,  being  absolutely  free  from  sin,  he 
in  this  and  the  following  chapter,  for  the  further  il- 
lustration of  the  glory  of  Christ,  as  a  High-Priest, 
compares  his  ministrations  with  those  of  the  Leviti- 
cal high-priests,  both  in  respect  of  the  place  where 
he  ofliciatei^  and  of  the  efficacy  of  his  ministrations. 
Of  this  chapter  there  are  two  general  parts.  1st,  A 
further  explication  of  the  excellence  of  the  priest- 
hood of  Christ,  or  of  Christ  himself  as  vested  with 
that  office.  2d,  A  further  confirmation  thereof, 
wherein  is  introduced  the  consideration  of  the  two 
covenants,  the  old  and  the  new.  For  to  the  former 
was  the  administration  of  the  Levitical  priests  con- 
fined ;  of  the  latter,  Christ  is  our  Prie^  Mediator, 
and  Surety. 

Now  of  the  things  which  we  have  ^poAen— Name- 
ly, in  the  preceding  part  of  thhi  discourse;  ^is  is  the 
sum — Or  rather,  the  chief  article,  as  Ke^aXaiov  is  in- 
terpreted by  Chrysbstom  and  Theophylact,  in  which 
sense  the  Syriacand  Vulgate  translations  understand 
the  expression.  He  calls  Chrisfs  sitting  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  Ood  the  chief  of  all  the  things  he 
had  hitherto  meqtioned,  because  it  implied,  1st,  That 
ina  sacrifice  of  himself  which  he  had  oflfered  was 
accepted  of  God  as  a  sufficient  atonement  for  the 
shis  of  the  world.  Sd,  That  he  possesses  all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth  next  to  the  Father ;  so  that 
he  is  able  to  defend  the  people  for  whom  he  offici- 
ates from  their  enemies,  and  is  authorized  by  God 
to  acquit  and  reward  them  at  the  final  judgment.  3d, 
That  he  did  not,  like  the  Levitical  high-priests,  de- 
080 


is  set  on   the  right    hand  of 
throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the  ha- 
vens: 


the  A.  M.  4069. 
A.D.  64. 


Chap.  i.  3;  x.  12;  ziLS. 


part  out  of  the  most  holy  place  after  finidiing  the 
atonement,  but  abideth  there  always  as  the  minister 
thereof,  to  open  that  holy  place  to  the  prayers  and 
other  acts  of  worship  performed  by  his  people  on 
earth,  and  to  their  persons  after  death  and  judgment. 
We  have  such  a  High-Priest — One  so  great  and  il- 
lustrious as  hath  been  described,  made  after  the  or- 
der, or  simUitude,  of  Melchisedec,  and  by  the  oath 
of  God  himself  invested  with  immortal  honours. 
The  expression  answers  to  such  a  Htgh-Prieet  he- 
came  us,  (chap.  vii.  26,)  and  brings  to  the  reader's 
recollection  the  description  there  given  of  the  High- 
Priest  who  could  effectually  officiate  for  us.  Who 
is  set  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  Of  the  Majesty 
in  the  heavens.  TThat  is,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  vi- 
sible glory,  whereby  the  divine  presence  is  manifest- 
ed to  the  angels  in  heaven.  Of  this  Stephen  had  a 
clear  view  before  he  expired ;  for  being  full  of  (he 
Holy  Qhost,  and  looking  up  steadfastly  into  heaven^ 
he  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  at  the  right 
Juind  of  Ood  This  sight,  it  is  probable,  the  apostle 
himself  enjoyed  when  he  was  caught  up  into  the 
third  heaven.  "  That  the  Deity  manifests  his  pre- 
sence to  his  intelligent  creatures  in  a  sensible  man- 
ner, somewhere  in  the  universe,  is  a  notion,"  says 
Macknight, ''  which  has  been  entertained  by  all  man- 
kind." Higher  expressions  cannot  be  imagined  than 
those  here  used  to  lead  us  into  a  holy  adoration  of 
the  tremendous  glory  intended  to  be  described.  And 
now,  what  was  the  glory  of  the  Jewish  high-priest, 
if  considered  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  Lord 
Christ,  the  High-Priest  of  our  profession?  The  le- 
gal priest  indeed  entered  into  the  holy  place  made 
with  hands,  and  presented  there  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifices  of  beasts  before  the  august  pledges  of 
the  divine  presence ;  but  all  the  while  he  was  there 
(84*)  b 


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CHAPTER  Tin. 


above  that  o/Aarcn, 


A. M. 406a    a  A  04nister  ^of  ^the  sanctuary, 
^^'^   and  of  *  (he  true  tabernacle,  wbkh 


dw  Lord  pitched,  and  not  man. 
3  For  '  every  hi^-priest  is  (»rdained  to  oflbr 
gifts  and  sacrifices :  wherefore  *  it  is  of  neces- 
sity that  this  man  have  somewhat  also  to 


4  For  if  he  w^reim  earth,  he  ^ould  not  be 


^OftofhdmAmgM, >»  Chi».  iz.  8,  IS,  S4.-^^-«  Chap.  is.  11. 

«C^.T.  1. •fipk.T.S;  Oinp.ix.l4. 

be  w^od  before  the  tjrpieal  fbron^  with  b<dy  awe 
and  reverenee,  and  immediately  on  the  disduurge^of 
bis  duty  was  to  wttbdraw,  and  depart  out  of  the  sa- 
cred place;  but  oilrHigb-Prieet,  after  be  had  oflbred 
bis  great  sacrifice  on  the  cross,  entered  with  the  vir- 
tue of  his  own  blood,  not  into  the  holy  places  made 
wOh  hctnd$i  but  into  heaven  itself,  not  to  stand  with 
bomble  reverence  before  the  throne,  bat  to  sit  on  the 
throne  of  God  at  bis  right  band,  and  that  for  ever- 
moret 

VeitieS.  A  minitter^AeirspYocj  a  public  minister^ 
who,  having  entered  within  the  veil^  now  ministers, 
or  executes,  the  remaining  part  of  his  office  in  his 
human  nature,  representing  the  merit  of  bis  own  sa- 
crifioe,  as  the  big^-priest  represented  the  blood  of 
those  sacrifices  onoe  a  year;  ofihe  sanctuarf — The 
I^ace  of  Ood's  g^rions  presence,  tyi^ed  by  the  holy 
of  holies  of  the  Jewish  tabemade  and  temple,  where 
were  the  mercy-seat  and  ark,  the  symbols  of  God's 
presence  with  bis  cbnrch;  €md  of  the  true  tabema- 
c[e— The  third  heaven,  called  the  tme  tabernacle  or 
habitation  of  God,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Mosmc 
tabemade,  which  was  only  its  representation  or 
shadow,  by  means  of  the  inhabitation  of  the  glory 
of  the  Lord,  which  heavenly  tabernacle  the  Lord 
pitched-^Or  fixed;  and  not  ma»i~Tbat  is,  a-  taber- 
nacle infinitely  snperior  to  any  which  human  hands' 
could  be  concern^  in  rearing,  and  proportionable  to 
the  boundless  wisdom,  power,  and  magnificence  of 
God,  In  this  most  holy  place  our  great  High- 
Priest  ever  lives,  happy  in  bis  own  blessedness 
and  glory,  and  having  the  whole  administration  of 
things  sa^ed  between  God  and  the  cburdi  commit- 
tedtobim. 

Verses  9,4.  For  every  highrpriestj  Ac,-— Ab  if  the 
apostle  had  said,  And  it  appeaUB  that  Christ  is  a  mi- 
nister, or  priest,  of  the  true  tabernacle,  because  he 
offers  sacrifice,  which  none  but  the  prieists  might  do. 
Wherefore — Greek,  o^tp^  whence  ;  tiie  whole  force 
of  this  inference  depends  on  this  supposition^that 
aU  the  dd  tjrpical  instituUons  did  repres^t  what 
was  really  to  be  accomplished  in  Christ ;  it  isof  ne- 
cessity that  this  man  have  somewhat  to  offer—'Yat 
whateveijr  oAerwise  this  glorions  person  might  be, 
yet  a  higb-prie^  be  could  not  be,  unless  be  bad  in 
his  possession  somewhat  to  offnr  in  sacrifice  to  God, 
and  that  was  his  whole  human  nature,  soul  and 
body.  For,  rtr,  rather,  but,  if  he  were  on  earik— 
If  his  priesthood  terminated  here;  he  should,  or, 
rather,  cou^  not  be  a  pHest— Cpnsistentty  with  the 
b 


a  priest,  seeing  that  'therq  are  priests  a.  m.  406S. 
that  ofier  gifts  acc<nn£ng  to  the  law :  ' 

6  Who  serve  unto  the  example  and  '  shadow 
of  heavenly  things,  as  Moses  was  admonished 
of  God  when  he  was  about  to  make  the  taber- 
nacle :  'for,  See  (saith  he)  that  thqu  n^e  all 
things  according  to  the  pattern  showed  to  thee 
in  the  mount 


•Or»  «*« a«pri«tto. 'Ool  ii.  17;  Ch.  ix.  23;  x.  1.— *Ex. 

iBpr,40\  zxvisa;  xxriiS;  Nam.ritt.  4;  ▲oUTii.44. 


Jewidli  institutions;  seeing  thai  there  are  priests^ 
other  priests,  that  offer  according  to  the  law—To 
whom  alone  this  office  is  allotted.  As  if  he  had  said, 
It  appears  fuither  that  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the 
heavenly  sanctuary,  and  was  to  execute  his  office  in 
heaven ;  1st,  Because  he  did  not  execute  it  on  earth. 
For  though  his  priesthood  may  be  considered  as 
being  hi  some  sense  begun  on  earth,  by  his  offering 
the  sacrifice  of  hiipself  upon  the  cross,  yet  the  con- 
tinuance and  consummation  of  all  is  in  heaven,  by 
his  representing  there  the  merit  of  his  sacrifice,  and 
his  making  contmual  Intercessioiu  2d,  Because 
there  was  a  priesthood  settled  on  earth  already,  and 
there  could  not  be  two  orders  of  priesthood  divinely 
appointed  offidaiing  on  earth  toge^er. 

Verse  6.  Whio  »e/Tc— Which  priests,  according  to 
the  Jewish  institutions,  serve  in  the  temple,  which 
was  not  yet  destroyed ;  unto,  or,  after,  the  exam- 
ple, or,  pattern,  and  shadow  of  heavenly  things*^ 
Of  gospel  mysteries,  even  of  Christ  himself,  with  all 
that  he  did  and  suffered,  and  still  continues  to  do, 
including  spiritual,  evangdical  worship,  and  ever- 
lasting glory.  In  other  words,  The  Whole  mfaiistry 
of  the  Jewish  priests  was  about  such  things  as  had 
only  a  resemblance  and  obscure  representation  of 
things  of  the  gospeh  The  word  virodeiyjua,  rendered 
example,  or  pattern,  means  somewhat  expressed  by 
the  strokes  pencilled  out  upon  a  piece  of  fine  Imen, 
which  exhibit  the  figures  of  leaves  and  fiowers,  but 
have  not  yet  received  their  splendid  colours  and  cu- 
rious shades;  and  axta,  the  word  rendered  shadow^ 
is  that  shadowy  representation  which  gives  some 
dim  and  imperfect  idea  of  the  body ;  but  not  the  fine 
features,  not  the  distinguishing  air,  none  of  those 
living  graces,  which  adorn  the  real  person.  Yet 
both  the  pattern  and  shadow  lead  our  minds  to  some- 
thing nobler  than  themselves;  the  pattern  to  those 
spiritual  and  eternal  blessings  which  complete  it,  the 
shadow  to  that  which  occasions  it.  Of  the  shadow, 
see  on  chap.  x.  1.  As  Moses  was  admonished  of 
God — Kexpr/fiaTicat,  an  expression  which  sometimes 
signifies  to  receive  an  oracle,  or  a  revelation,  or  di- 
vine direction :  a^  Heb.  xi.  7,  By  faith  Noah,  xPifio- 
Tia^eic,  being  directed  by  a  revelation.  Sometimes 
it  denotes  a  direction  fVom  ui  angel,  as  Acts  x.  22, 
Comelius^XP^IMTto^ei^  vKo  ayyeXu  aytti^  being  warned 
by  a  holy  angeL  In  the  active  voice  it  signifies  to 
ddtver  an  oracle,  as  Heb.  xii.  25,  If  they  did  notes- 
cape  who  refusedy  rov  ;tP7/'fl^*C«wrtt,  him  delivering 
oracles  on  earth.  Here  the  expression  means  that 
531 


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amoreeaxdUnimimtirfiL 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  64. 


6  But.now^hathheobtainedamore 
excellent  ministry,  by  how  much  also 
he  k  the  mediator  of  a  bett^  ^  covenant,  wlach 
was  established  ixpoa  better  prranises. 


*2Cor.  iii.  6»8,9;  Ch«PtTu.3S. 


Hoses  was  divindy  instructed,  when  he  was  dbotU 
to  make  the  tabernacle,  concerning  ev^ry  port  of  it, 
by  a  model  which  was  shown  him  in  the  mount, 
and  which  exhibited  the  form,  fashicm,  dimensions, 
and  all  the  ptensiis  of  it.  Forseey  eaith  he,  ^uU 
thou  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern,  &c. 
,  — "  The  strictness  of  this  charge  implying  th^t  tke 
tabernacle  and  its  services  were  intended  to  be  re? 
presentations  of  heavenly  things,  may  we  not  sup* 
pose  that  thb  purpose  was  discovered  to  Moses  as 
the  reason  of  the  exactness  required,  and  that  the 
knowledge  thereof  was  preserved  among  the  Jews 
by  tradition.  God's  direction  to  Moses  to  make  all 
according  to  the  pattern  showed  him,  is  here  appealr^ 
ed  to  by  the  apostle  with  great  propriety,  as  a  proof 
that  the  p^ests  worshipped  Qod  in  the  tabernacle 
with  a  representation  and.  shadow  of  heavenly 
things.  For,  since  by  this  admonition  Moses  was 
required  not  only  to  make  the  ti^macle,  and  all 
the  vessels  of  the  ministry,  exactly  according  to  the 
pattern  showed  him  in  the  mount,  but  also,  and  in- 
deed chiefly,  to  appoint  the  service^  of  the  priests  in 
the  tabernacles  according  to  that  pattern,  the  strict- 
ness of  the  injunction  imjdied  that  there  was  some 
important  reason  for  this^  exactness.  Now  what 
could  that  reason  be,  unless  the  one  assigned  by  the 
apostle;  namely,  that  the  tabernacle  was  intended 
to  be  a  shadow  of  the  heavenly  holy  place,  and  the 
services  of  the  tabernacles  to  be  representations  of 
the  ministrations  of  Messiah  as  a  priest  in  heaven  ?" 
Accordingly  the  tabernacles^  are  called,  Heb.  ix.  23, 
ra  pirodety/MTo,  the  pottema,  or  repreaentationa,  of 
the  holy  places  in  the  heafoens*  And  verse  24,  the 
holy  places  made  with  hands  are  called  avnrvn-o,  an- 
titypes of  the  true. .  The  ministry  of  the  priests  in 
the  earthly  tabernacles  is  represented  as  typical  of 
the  ministrations  of  Christ  in  heaven,  chap.  ix.  7  -, 
and  by  the  absolute  exclusion  of  the  priests  and  peo- 
ple from  the  most  holy  place,  the  representation  of 
heaven,  (verse  8,)  the  Holy  Ghost  signified  that  the 
way  into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  mani- 
fest while  the  first  tabernacle  was  yet  standing ; 
aad  (verse  9)  that  the  outward  tabernacle  with  its 
services  was  a  figure  for  the  time  then  present,  by 
which  figure  the  Jews  were  taught  the  inef&cacy  of 
all  the  atonements  ma^eby  men  on  earth  for  cleans- 
ing the  conscience.  To  which  add,  that  (verses  II, 
12)  Christ  is  called  a  High-Priest  of  good  things  to 
come,  is  said  to  have  entered  once  into  the  holy  place, 
and  to  have  obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us. 
'^  These  things  show  that  the  ministrations  of  the 
Levitical  high-priests  in  the  inward  tabernacle  on 
earth,  were  typical  of  the  ministrations  of  Christ 
in  the  true  tirt>emacle,  that  is,  in  heaven." — Mack- 
night. 
Verses  6^  7.  BtU  iioir,  &c.— In  this  verse  begins 
0» 


7  *  For  if    thai    &nA   cavenani  Jlu.4mb. 

had    hem  fiuiUkse,    then    dioald   ——L 

no    place  have    been    soi^^hi    fcr   the   00^ 
cond. 


*  Or,  UtUtmtnt, *  Chap.  tIL  11,  la 


the  second  part  of  the  chapter  oonceming  the  dif- 
ference between  the  two  covenants,  the  old  and 
the  new,  with  the  pre-eminence  of  the  latter  to  the 
former,  and  of  the  ministry  of  Christ  to  thatof  the 
Jewish  high-priests.  He  ha^  obtained  a  more  ex- 
cellent ministry,  dte^— His  priesthood  as  much  exrds 
theirs  as  the  promises  of  the  goqwl,  whereof  he  is 
a  surety,  excelled  those  of  the  law;  or,  the  excels 
\enc-e  of  his  minktry  above  that  of  the  Levitical 
priests  is  in  proportion  to  the  excellence  of  the 
covenant,  whereof  he  is  the  Mediator,  above  the  old 
covenant  wherein  Uiey  had  ministered.  With  this 
argianenttheapostlecloseehislongdiscouise  respect- 
ing the  pre-eminence  of  Christ  in  his  office  ai>ove 
the  high-priests  of  old,  a  subject  to  which  he  could 
not  give  too  much  evidence,  nor  too  Aill  a  c<mfUma- 
tion,  considering  that  it  was  tiie  very  hinge  on  which 
his  whole  controversy  with  the  Jews  depended. 
For  if  that  first  covenant  had  been  JauUless^lf 
that  dispensation  had  answered  all  God's  designs 
and  man's  wants,  if  it  had  not  been  weak  and  un- 
profitable ;  then  should  no  place,  Ae.-^^^  Although  the 
Sinai  covenant  was  well  calcukted  to  preserve  the 
Jews  from  idolatry,  and  to  give  them  the  knowledge 
of  their  duty,  it  was  foulty  or  imperfect  in  the  fol- 
lowing respects:  1st,  The  rites  of  worship  which  it 
enjoined,  sanctified  only  to  the  purifying  of  the  fle^ 
but  not  the  conscienees  of  the  worshippers.  2d, 
These  rites.could  be  performed  nowhere  but  in  the 
tabernacle,  or  in  the  temple,  consequently  they  could 
not  be  the  religion  of  mai>kind.  Sd^  This  covenant 
had  n9  real  sacrifices  for  sin,  consequently  it  granted 
no  pardcto  to  any  sinner.  4th,  Its  promises  were  aU 
of  a  temporal  kind.  5th,  It  required  an  unsinning 
obedience,  which^  in  our  preseQt  state,  no  one  can 
give;  and  threatened  death  for  every  offence.  See 
GaL  iv.  3.  No  place  have  been  sought  for  the 
second — Since  the  first  covenant  is  that  which  God 
made  with  the  Israelites  at  Sinai  by  the  puhlicatiou 
of  the  law,  the  second  covenant  must  be  that  which 
was  made  with  mankind  in  genera],  by  the  publica- 
tion of  the  gospel.  Accordingly  the  publication  of 
the  gospel  was  foretold,  (Jer.  xxxi^  31,)  under  the 
idea  of  making  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of 
Israel,  &C.,  and  the  gocq;>el  itself  is  called  (Isa.  ii.  3,) 
the  law  which  went  forth  from  Zion,  But  it  is  to 
be  observed,  that  the  law  of  Moses  is  called  the^r^ 
covenant,  net  merely  because  it  was  prior  to  the 
gospel,  but  also  because  it  was  in  some  respects  (he 
same  with  the  first  covenant  under  which  Adam 
was  placed  in  paradise;  for,  like  it,  it  required  per- 
fect obedience  (in  many  cases)  under  the  penalty  of 
death,  and  allowed  no  pardon  to  any  sinner,  however 
penitent.  It  is  likewise  to  be  observed,  that  the 
gospel  is  called  the  second  covenant,  not  merely  be- 
cause it  was  posterior  to  the  law,  but  also  becau^  't 

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CHAPTER  Vni. 


ofmtrcy  and  forgiveness. 


A.  M.  4060.  8  Forfiiiding:&uItwithChe]ii,hfi8aitli, 

1 —  ^Behold,  the  daye  come,  siuth  tbe  Lord, 

when  I  wiU  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house 
of  Israd  and  with  die  house  of  Judah : 
9  Not  aecorcyng  to  the  covenant  that  I  made 
with  their  fethers,  in  the  day  when  I  took 
them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt ;  because  they  continued  not  in  my 


»  Jer.  xxxi.  31-3i.-r — » Chap.  x.  16. *  Or.  ght, 

is  actually  the  same  with  the  second  coveaant  under 
which  Adam  was  placed  after  the  £Gm  ^  for  it  requires,, 
not  a  sinlefs,  but  a  sincere  obedience,  and  grants 
pardon  to  sinners  on  their  repentant,  see  Gal.  iii. 
10.  However,  though  the  rigour  of  the  first  cove- 
nant, (which,  properly  speaking,  was  the  law  of 
nature  written  on  Adam's  heart,)  was  mitigated 
under  the  second  or  gospel  covenant,  by  the  abolition 
of  its  curse,  (Gal.  liL  13,)  Its  obligation,  as  a  rule  of 
life,  never  was,  nor  ever  could  be  cancelled,  but  its 
[moral]  precepts  have  constantly  remained  in  force. 
Hence  all  the  sins  which  men  commit,  and  which 
are  pardoned  under  the  second  covenant,  are  very 
properly  called  transgresHons  of  the  first,  Heb. 
ix.l6.» 

VersjBs  8, 9»  For— In  this  verse  the  apostle  en- 
ters upon  the  proof  of  his  argument  prop<^ed  in  that 
ipregoing,  namely,  that  the  first  covenant  was  not 
(auHless^  or  every  way  sufficient  for  the  end  God 
had, in  view,  because  there  was  cause  for  Ihe  intro- 
duction of  another.  Forjmding  fault  with  them— 
Namely,  the  people^  he  saith^  Behold  the  days  come, 
Ae. — This  is  translated  by  Grotius  and  others,  Find- 
ing fauUj  hesaith  to  theniy  and  understood  oi  finding 
favU  with  the  form  er  covenant.  But  it  seems  much 
more  proper  to  understand  it  of  Qod^B  finding  fault 
with  the  Jews^  (as  he  evidently  does  in  the  words 
preceding  those  here  quoted,  Jer.  xxxi.  29, 30,)  for 
using  the  proverb,  against  which  he,  expresses  so 
much  displeasure,  in  Ezek.  xviil.  2.  And  in  the  words 
themselves  he  also  finds  fault  with  them  for  breaking 
this  covenant,  though  he  had,  with  so  much  tender 
eare,  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  It  is  true,  the 
first  covenant  was  not  every  way  perfect  with  respect 
to  God's  general  end  toward  his  church ;  yet  it  may 
not  be  proper  to  say  that  God  complained  of- it; 
whereas  God,  in  this  testimony,  actually  complains 
of  the  people  that  they  brake  his  covenanty  and  ex- 
presses his  indignation  thereon,  saying,  /  regarded 
then  not.  He  saith—By  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  in 
that  celebrated  text,  which  undoubtedly  refers  to  the 
gospel  dispensation;  Beholdr—AA  if  he  had  said, 
Because  the  covenant,  which  they  were  under  before, 
was  not  the  means  of  reforming  them,  but,  notwith- 
standing it,  they  were  rebellious  still;  therefore  the 
days  come— Namely,  of  the  gospel ;  when  I  will 
make  a  new  covenant — ^Not  new  in  regard  of  the 
substance  of  it,  but  the  manner  of  its  dispensation ; 
1st,  Being  ratified  by  the  death  of  Christ;  2d,  Freed 
from  the  burdensome  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the 
law ;  3d,  CJontaining  a  more  full  and  dear  revelation 
b 


covenant,  and  I  r^;arded  them  not,  A.M.406S 
saith  the  Lord.  a,d.g4, 

10  For  ^  this  iff  the  coTcnant  that  I  will  mafco 
with  the  house  of  farad,  afler  those  days, 
saith  the  Lord ;  I  will  ^put  my  laws  into  their 
mind,  and  write  them  ^  m  their  hearts :  and 
"^  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be 
to  me  a  people : 


*0r. 


•Zech.  viii.  a 


of  the  mysteries  of  reli^on,  and  a  more  perfect 
description  of  it  as  spiritual,  and  having  its  seat 
chiefly  in  men's  hei^;  4th,  Attended  with  larger 
influences  of  the  Spirit;  5th,  Extended  to  all  men; 
6th,  N^ver  to  be  abolished.  WUh  the  house  of  Israel 
andwUh  iheJumse  of  Judah—ThsX  is,  wRh  the  whole 
Jewirii  nation,  including  descendants  from  both 
these  houses.  For  although  £^Aott«e«q/'/«raeZanc2 
Judah  had  existed  separately,  the  one  from  the 
other,  from  the  time  of  the  first  Jeroboam,  yet  after 
the  captivi^  of  the  ten  tribes,  who  composed  the 
house  of  Israel,  such  of  them  as  joined  themselves 
to  the  house  ofJudah,  were  so  mixed  with  them  as 
not  to  be  distinguished  from  them.  Not  according 
to  the  covenant  which  I  made  with  their  faihers^ 
— But  differing  from  it  in  the  circumstances  above 
mentioned,  and  in  others  declared  afterward;  when 
I  took  them  bjf  the  Jumd—Witk^  the  care  and  tender- 
ness of  a  parent ;  or  manifested  my  infinite  conde- 
scension and  almighty  power  in  their  deliverance ; 
because  they  continued  not-rOr,  in  which  covenant 
of  mine  they  did  not  continue ;  while  their  deliverance 
was  fresh  in  their  memory  they  obeyed,  but  pre- 
sently after  they  shook  off*  the  yoke,  and  did  not 
abide  by  the  terms  of  the  covenant.  And  /regarded 
themnot — Greek,  it(»y«  ij/uT^atLavruvJneglected  tJiem^ 
Sothat  the  covenant  was  soon  entirely  broken.  The 
passage  here  quoted  stands  thus  in  Jeremiah,  Which 
my  covenant  they  brake,  though  J  was  a  husband  to 
them,  saith  the  Lord.  The  apostle's  translation  of 
it  is  that  of  the  LXX.  And  to  reconcile  it  with  the 
Hebrew  text,  Pocock  (in  his  Miscel.,  chap.  1)  ob- 
serves, that  in  the  eastern  languages,  letters  of  the 
same  organ,  as  they  are  called,  being  often  inter- 
changed, the  Hebrew  word,  ^3,  bagnal,  to  be  a 
husband,  is  the  same  with  the  Arabic  word,  THD, 
bahal,  which  signifies  to  refuse,  despise,  nauseate. 
So  thai  the  Hebrew  clause  wiU  bear  to  be  translated 
as  the  apostle  and  the  LXX.  have  done,  I  neglected 
them,  I  nauseated  them.  See  note  on  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  &c. 
Verse  10.  For  this  is  the  covenant  that  I  will 
make  after  those  days— In  the  times  of  the  Messiah ; 
/  will  put  my  laws  into  their  mindr—l  will  open  the 
eyes  of  their  understandmg,  and  give  them  light  to 
discern  the  true,  full,  spiritual  meaning  thereof; 
and  write  them  in  their  hearts—So  that  they  shall 
love  them,  and  shall  experience  inwardly,  and  prac- 
tise outwardly,  whatsoever  I  command.  They  shall 
have  that  love  to  me  and  all  mankind  shed  abroad  in 
their  hearts,  which  shall  be  a  never-failing  spring  of 
piety  and  virtue  within  them,  and  which,  of  my 


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A.BL406a.    11   And    ''they    shall   nx^   teadi 

1 every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every 

man  his   brother^  ^saying,   Elnow  the  Loid : 

for  all  shall  know  i^  fr^»m  the  least  to  the 

greatest 

13  For  I  wiH  be  mercifid  to  their  unright- 


» Ita.  lir.  13 ;  John  ri.  45 ;  1  John  ii.  27. 


mercy  and  grace^  I  will  accept  as  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law.  The  words  are  an  all  usion  to  the  writing  of  the 
law  on  the  two  tables  of  stone.  And  I  will  beta  them 
a  (jod— Their  allHsnfficient  portion,  preserver,  and 
rewarder ;  cmd  they  shall  he  to  me  a  peopl&^My  be- 
loved, loving,  and  obedient  children.  Or  the  former 
clause  may  signify,  They  shall  know,  fear,  love, 
and  serve  me  willin^y  and  acceptably  as  tiieir  God, 
and  I  will  protect,  guide,  govern,  bless,  and  save  them 
as  my  people. 

Ver.  11, 12,  And  tJhey-^Who  are  under  this  cove- 
nant ;  shaU  not  teach^Thni  is,  shall  not  any  more 
have  need  to  teach  •,  every  man  his  neighbour,  fc,, 
saying,  Know  the  I-oni— Though  in  other  respects 
they  will  have  need  to  teach  each  other  to  thdr  lives' 
end ;  yet  they  shall  not  need  to  teach  each  other  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord ;  for  this  they  shaU  possess; 
yea,  all  reied  Christians,  who  believe  in  Jesus  as  the 
true  Messiah,  with  a  living  faith,  a  faith  working  by 
love,  s?tall  know  me — Even  as  a  pardoning  Grod, 
(verse  12,)  and  therefore  savingly  5 //wn  the  least 
to  the  greatest—From  the  babe  In  C5hrist,  the  little 
children  spoken  of  by  St.  John,  whose  sins  are  for- 
given them  ;  unto  such  as  are  of  fidl  age  5  strong  in 
the  Lord,  and  deeply  experienced  in  his  ways.  See 
1  John  ii.  12-14.  Or,  by  the  lecut  may  be  meant  the 
poor  and  despised,  and  by  the  greatest,  persons  of 
wealth,  authority,  and  power.  In  this  order,  the 
saving  knowledge  of  God  ever  did,  and  ever  will 
proceed ;  not  from  the  greatest  to  the  lea>st,  but  from 
the  least  to  the  greatest ;  from  the  poor  to  the  rich ; 
from  the  low  to  the  high ;  that  no  flesh  may  glory  in 
his  presence.  For  I  will  he  merciful  to  their  unright^ 
eousnees—l  will  pardon  and  accept  them  Arough 
my  Son,  in  consequence  of  their  repentance  and  faith 
in  him ;  or,  I  will  justify  them,  and  give  them  peace 
with  myself,  and  thus  will  make  them  wise  unto 
salvation,  truly  holy  and  happy.  Observe,  reader. 
Justification  and  peace  with  God  is  the  root  of  all 
true  knowledge  of  God  and  Conformity  to  him.  This, 
therefore^  is  God's  method ;  First,  a  sinner,  beiiig 
brought  to  true  repentance  toward  God,  wnA  faith 


eousnesB,  ^  and  their  sins  and  thek  a.m.4S«l 

A.  1^  64. 

iniquUieB  will  I  remembor  no  odore.     1- 

13  »Ia  that  he  saitb,  A  new  c^venant^  h9 
hath  made  the  first  oldl  Now  that  which  d*^ 
cayeth  and  waxeth  old,  is  ready  to  vstiish 
away. 


oRom.  xi.  27;  Chap.  1. 17. P2  Cor.  ▼.  17. 


in  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  pardoned ;  then  he 
knows  God  as  gracious  and  merciful*,  then  God's 
laws  are  written  on  his  heart ;  he  is  God's,  and  God 
is  his.  And  their  sins  and  their  miqiUties  wiU  I 
remember  no  more — ^Namely,  so  as  to  punish  them. 
In  the  Hebrew  of  Jeremiah,  ihis  passage  runs  tiius ; 
Twill  forgive  their  iniquity,  anfi  will  remember  their 
svn  no  more.  Probably  the  apostle  translated  the 
prophet's  words  freely,  to  show,  that,  under  the  new 
covenant,  evei^  kind  of  sin  is  freely  forgiven  to  the 
truly  penitent  and  believing,  Which  was  not  the  case 
under  the  fbrmer  covenant 

Verse  18.  Jn  that  he  sai^  A  new  covenant^ln 
that  he  expi^esses  himself  in  this  manner;  he  hath 
made  the  first  old — He  hath  manifested  it  to  be  old, 
or  he  hath  shown  that  it  is  disannulled  and  out  of 
date.  Now  ffiai  which  decdyeth,  &c.— That  ndiich 
is  antiquated,  and  of  no  further  use ;  is  ready  to 
vanish  away — As  the  Mosaic  dispensation  did  soon 
after,  when  the  temple  Was  destroyed.  ^  The  Sinai 
covenant,  before  it  was  id>rogated  by  Christ,  was 
become  old^  or  useless,  in  three  respects;  Ist,  By  its 
curse  condemning  every  transgressor  to  death  with- 
out mercy,  it  was  designed  to  show  the  necessity  of 
seeking  justification  fpom  the  mercy  of  God.  But 
that  neces^ty  being  more  directly  declined  in  the 
gospel,  there  was  no  reason  for  continuing  the  for- 
mer covenant,  after  th^  second  covenant  was  ftilly 
and  universally  published.  5M,  The  cov'enant  of  the 
law  was  introduced  to  prefigure  the  good  things  to 
come  under  the  covenant  of  the  gospel.  But  When 
these  good  things  Were  actually  bestowed,  there  was 
no  longer  any  use  for  the  typical  services  of  the 
law.  3d,  The  Jewish  doctors,  by  teaching  diat  par- 
don was  to  be  obtained  only  by  the  I^evitical  sacri- 
fices, and  the  Judaizing  Christians,  by  affirming* 
that  under  the  gospel  itself  men  are  pardoned  only 
through  the  efficacy  of  these  sacrifices,  Iwth  the  one 
and  the  other  had  corrupted  the  law;  on  wldeik 
account,  it  was  fit  to  lay  it  aside  as  a  thing  whose 
tendency  now  was  to  nourish  soperstition.*'*-Mae- 
knight. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

hi  tMs  ehapisr  the  apoHle,  returning  to  his  main  argument,  (1,)  Gives  an  aeeount  of  the  Jetmsh  ssnetuary  and  its  ntenstts^ 
1-5.  (2,)  Shows  their  use  and  meamng  m  their  figurative  services  and  sacrifices^  6-10.  (3,)  He  illustrates  the  dodrins 
of  the  priesthood  and  tntercession  of  Christy  11-14.  (4,)  He  disccurses,  by  way  of  digression^  on  the  necessity  of  shedding 
Christ's  btood,  and  the  sufficiency  of  the  afanement  made  by  it,  15-28. 

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CnAPTBK  IX. 


and  it$  varnms  tOmmU, 


A.M.«ie.  q^HEN  verily  the  firet  wvenant 
— l-I — 1  had  also  ^  ordinaiices  of  dmne 

service,  ^nd  *  a  worldly  saDctuary. 
2  ^  For  there  was  a  tabemack  made  ^  the 
first, ""  whereki  imi^  ^  the  candMick,  and  *  the 


*  Or,  «inMoiiMt.— ^-»Sz.  unr.  8v— *  Ei.  xrri.  1. «  Ex.  xrfi 

35;xL4. — 'Ez.xxt.31. — •Ez.xxr.23,30;  ^T.xziT.5,6w 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  DC 
Verse  1.  To  show  that  the  old  oove|iant  was  just- 
ly laid  aside,  the  iq[M>stle  judged  it  necessary  to  enter 
into  a  particular  examination  of  the  religious  services 
which  it  enjoined,  and  to  prove  that  these  were  de- 
signed not  for  cleansing  the  consciences  of  the  wor- 
shippers, but  to  prefigure  the  services  and  blessings 
of  the  new  or  gospel  covenant:  so  that  the  latter 
being  come,  there  was  no  longer  occasion  for  con- 
tinuing the  former  to  prefigure  them.  This  chap- 
ter, therefore,  Is  an  illustration  ot  chap.  viii.  5,  where 
the  apostle  affirms  that  the  priests  worshipped  Crod 
hi  the  tabernacle  unto  the  example  ot  pattern  and 
shadow  of  heavenly  things.  And  it  was  proper  to 
explain  this  matter  copiously,  because  it  must  have 
had  a  great  iolluence  in  weaning  the  Hebrews  from 
tiie  Levitical  services,  and  in  reconciling  ihem  to  the 
abrogation  of  a  form  of  wondiip  which,  though  of 
divine  appointment,  was  now  become  useless,  hav- 
hig  accomplished  its  end. 

TTien  verily  thejhst  covenant — Bfany  copies  read 
here  npurfi  exnv^^  the  first  tabernacle;  but  as  that 
reading  does  not  agree  with  verse  2,  Beza  and  Mill 
prefer  the  reading  of  the  Alexandrian  and  other 
MSS.  of  good  authorityj'which  have  vporri^  leaving 
the  reader  to  supply  Jmc^«9,  covenant^  from  the 
preceding  verse.  This  reading  our  translators  like- 
wise have  adopted.  Had  ceremonial  ordinances  of 
outward  vxirship^  and  a  worldly,  that  is,  a  visible, 
material  sanctuary,  or  tabemade.  The  meaning 
of  the  apostle  is,  tluit  the  Sinai  covenant  had  tiiese 
things  annexed  to  it  when  it  was  first  made,  as  its 
privileges  and  glory.  For  rnthe  whole  discourse  he 
has  continual  respect  io  the  first  making  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  the  first  institution  of  its  admimstrations; 
and  this  was  that  part  of  divine  worship  about  which 
€k>d  had  so  many  controversies  with  the  people  of 
Israel,  under  the  Old  Testament  The  law  of  this 
worship  was  a  hedge  that  God  had  set  about  them  to 
keep  them  from  superstition  and  idolatry.  And,  if 
at  any  time  they  brake  over  it,  or  neglected  it,  they 
failed  not  to  rush  into  the  most  abominable  idolatries. 
On  the  other  hand,  oftentimes  they  placed  all  their 
trust  and  confidence  for  their  acceptance  with  Qod, 
and  reception  of  blessings  ffrom  him,  on  the  external 
observance  of  its  institutions.  And  hereby  they 
countenanced  themselves,  not  only  in  a  neglect  of 
moral  duties  and  spiritual  obedience,  but  in  a  course 
of  flagitious  sins,  and  various  wickednesses.  To  re- 
press these  exorbitances,  with  respect  to  both  ex- 
tremes, the  ministry  of  the  prophets  was,  in  an  espe- 
cial manner,  directed. 

Verse  2.    For  there  was  a  tabemaele  made — 
Namely,  the  first  part  of  it  of  which  he  speaks,  of 
b 


table,  and  the  diow-bread;  which  A.M.4oa8. 
is  cdied^  the  sanctuary.  k.i}.ei, 

8  'And  afUa-  the  eecond  veil,  the  tabemade 
which  is  called  the  holiest  of  aU ; 

4  Which  had  the  golden  censer,  and  'the 


•Or,Jkly. 'Ex«>d.xxTL31,38;xL3,Sl;  OlMp.  vi  19. 

ff£xod.xxT.10i  xxn.33;  xL  3»  21. 


boards  and  curtams,  pillars  and  coverings,  which 
constituted  a  little  apartment,  as  a  kind  of  ante-cham- 
ber to  the  oracle;  wherein  was  the  candlesttck-^Of 
pure  gold,  with  its  seven  lamps  perpetilally  bumiug 
with  pure  oil,  and  so  giving  light  to  all  holy  ad- 
ministrations. Thm  undoubtedly  represented  the 
Ailness  of  spiritual  light  which  waste  be  in  the  Mes- 
^ah,  and  by  him  to  be  communicated  to  his  whole 
church ;  and  the  table  and  s^botr-6rea<2— That  is,  the 
bread  shown  continually  before  God  and  his  people, 
conmsting  of  twelve  loaves,  according  to  the  number 
of  the  tribes,  and  placed  on  this  table  in  two  rows, 
six  upon  one  another  iaeach  row.  As  the  candle- 
stick t3rpified  the  light,  so  the  bread  seems  to  have 
been  an  emblem  of  the  spiritual  food  provided  in 
Christ,  especially  in  his  doctrine,  merits,  and  Spirit 
for  the'  support  of  the  spiritual  life,  health,  and 
strength  of  believers.  This  is  set  forth  at  latge, 
John  vL  27-56.  There  was  also  in  this  flrst  taberna- 
cle the  golden  alter  of  mcense  placed  at  the  west 
end  of  it,  where  the  veil  opened  into  the  most^holy 
place.  On  this  incense  was  burned  every  morning 
and  evening,  emblematical  doubtless  of  the  prayers 
of  God's  people,  and  especially  of  the  efficacy  given 
to  them  by  the  mediation  and  idtercession  of  Christ. 

Verse  3.  And  after  the  second  rei7— -That  is,  with 
nespect  to  them  who  entered  into  the  tabemaele ;  for 
they  were  to  pass  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
first  part  before  they  came  to  this:  nor  was  there, 
any  other  way  of  entering  into  it.  This  veil  divided 
the  holy  place  from  the  most  holy,  as  the  first  veil 
did  the  holy  place  from  the  courts;  and  they  are 
both  here  called  veils,  because  by  the  first,  the  peo- 
ple were  hindered  from  entering  or  even  looking  into 
the  first  part  of  the  tabernacle,  into  which  the  priests 
entered  daily;  and  by  the  second,  the  priests  who 
performed  services  in  the  holy  place  were  prohibited 
from  entering,  or  even  looking  into  the  most  holy. 
ne  tabernacle  whidi  is  called  the  holiest  of  all-- 
^  This  represented  heaven,  not  only  because  in  it  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  or  visible  symbol  of  bb  presence, 
rested  between  the  cherubim,  whereby  the  angelical 
hosts^  surrounding  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven, 
were  t3rpified,  but  because  this  tabemaele  was  hidden 
from  the  eyes  of  all  who  frequented  the  outward 
tabernacle ;  even  as  heaven,  the  habitation  of  God,  is 
hidden  by  the  veil  of  their  fiesh  from  the  eyes  of  all 
who  live  on  the  earth." 

Verses  4,5.  Which  had  the  golden  cetisei^— Used 
by  the  high-priest  only  on  the  great  day  of  atonement. 
"The  apostle  may  have  learned  from  the  priests  that 
this  censer  was  of  gold,  and  that  it  n'as  left  by  him 
in  the  inward  tebernade,  so  near  to  the  veil,  that 
when^he  was  about  to  officiate  next  year,  by  putting 


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jl  m.  4008.  ark  of  the  oovenant  overlaid  round 
'„ —  about  with  g(dd,  wherein  was  >4he 
golden  pot  that  had  manna,  and  'Aaron's  rod 
that  kidded,  and  ^  the  tables  of  the  cov^ 
nant; 

6  And  ^  over  it  the  cherubims  of  glory  sha- 
dowing the  mercy-seat;  of  which  we  cannot 
now  speak  particularly. 


»  Exod.  xri.  33,  34. — ^  Num.  xirii.  10. r^  Exod.  xxr.  16, 21-, 

>  xxxiy.  20 ;  zl.  20 ;  Deat.  x.  2,  6 ;  1  Kings  viii.  9,  21.^ 


his  hand  aader  the  veU  he  could  draw  it  oat  to  fill  it 
with  burning  coals,  before  he  entered  ioto  the  most 
holy  place  to  bufn  the  incense,  agreeably  to  the  di- 
rection," Lev:  xvi.  12, 13  $  where  see  the  note.  And 
the  ark  ofihe  covenant— This,  with  the  mercy-seat 
wherewith  it  was  covered,  was  the  most  glorious  and 
mysterious  utensil  of  the  tabernacle,  and  afterward 
of  the  temple,  the  most  eminent  pledge  of  God's 
presence,  and  the  most  mysterious  representation  of 
the  divine  attributes  in  Christ.  This  being  the  heart, 
00  to  speak,  of  all  divine  services,  was  first  foriped ; 
all  other  things  in  the  Jewish  wonihip  had  a  relation 
to  it,  Exod.  XXV.  l(y,  11.  Sometimes  it  is  called  the 
ark  of  the  testimony,  because  God  called  the  tables 
of  the  covenant  lodged  in  it  by  the  name  of  his  tes- 
ttmonif,  or  that  which  testified  his  will  to  the  people, 
and  which,  by  the  people's  acceptance  of  the  terms 
of  it,  was  to  be  a  perpetual  witness  between  God  and 
them.  On  the  same  account  it  is  called  the  ark  of 
the  covenant^  and  lastly,  it  is  called  the  ark  of  God, 
because  it  was  the  most  eminent  pledge  of  the  spe^ 
cial  presence  of  God  among  the  people.  As  to  its 
fiEU>ric,  it  was  wovro^ev,  every  way,  widiin  and  with- 
out, overlaid  with  plates  of  beaten  gold.  This  being 
the  most  sacred  and  glorious  instrument  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, all  neglects  about  it,  and  contempt  of  it,  were 
most  severely  punished.  From  the  tabernacle  it 
was  carried  into  the  temple  built  by  Solomon,  wherein 
h  continued  until  the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  whdt 
became  of  h  after^rd  is  altogether  uncertain. 
Wherein  was  the  golden  pat  thai  had  mdnno— The 
monument  of  God'9  care  over  Israel.  When  the 
manna  first  fell,  every  one  was  commanded  to  gather 
an  omer  for  his  own  eating,  (Exod.  xvi.  16,)  and  €|od 
appointed  that  an  omer  of  it  should  be  put  into  a 
pot,  and  kept  in  the  tabernacle  before  the  Lord, 
verse  83:  tiiere  it  was  miraculously  preserved  from 
putrefaction,  whereas  otherwise  it  would  have  putre- 
fied in  less  Uian  two  da3r8.  The  pot  was  to  be  made 
oi  that  which  was  most  durable,  as  being  to  be  kept 
for  a  memorial  throughout  all  generations.  Because 
it  is  said,  1  Kings  viii.  0,  there-  was  nothing  in  the 
ark  save  the  two  tables  of  stone,  the  words  w  9,  here 
used  by  the  apostle,  maybe  translated,  fdgh  to  which. 
Or  the  difficulty  may  be  removed  by  supposing  that 
the  pronoun  9,  which,  relates  to  mnvij,  tabenuzcle,  in 
wfaidi  tabernade  also  was  the  golden  pat:  or  be- 
cause it  is  said,  Deut.  xxxi.  26,  Take  this  book  of  the 
law  and  put  it  in  the  side  of  the  ark,  we  may  con- 
jecture that  the  book  was  put  into  some  repository 
fixed  to  the  side  of  the  ark,  and  that  the  pot  of  man- 
880 


6  Now  when  these  things  were  thus  A.M.4oei. 
ordained,  ^  the  priests  went  always  -LJ. — ^ 
into  the  first  tabernade,  accompUshii^  the  ser- 
vice of  CM : 

7  But  into  the.  secimd  went  the  high  prieet 
Alone  '^once  every  year,  not  without  Uood, 
<*whi9h  he  offered  for  himself,  and  /or  the 
errors  of  the  people : 


'  Exod.  xxT.  18, 22 ;  Lev.  xvi.  2.       ■»  Nnm.  xxviii.  3. ■  Exod 

xicx.  10. vOhap.  ▼.  ^  TiL  27. 


na  was  laid  up  befoie  the  Lord  in  the  same  manner. 
Aaron^s  rod  that  budded^r-TYk^  monument  of  a  regu- 
lar priesthood.  The  apostle  affirms  only  that  il 
budded,  but  in  the  sacred  story  concemmg  the  trial 
ai>out  the  priesthood,  recorded  Num.  xvii.  2-10,  it  is 
added,  that  it  brfmght  forth  buds,  and  bloomed  blos- 
soms, and  yielded  almonds,  being  originally  cut  from 
an  almond-tree.  This  rod  Moses  took  from  before 
the  testimony  when  he  was  to  smite  .^e  ro6k  and 
work  a  miracle,  of  which  this  was  consecrated  to  be 
the  outward  sign;  und  tJie  tables  of  the  covenat^-^ 
The  two  tables  of  stone  on  which  the  ten  command- 
ments were  written  by  the  finger  of  God ;  the  most  ve- 
nerable monument  of  all.  Andover  it-^Over  the  ark  3 
the  cherubim  of  glory— '^*  Cherubim  being  the  name 
of  an  order  of  angels,  (Gen.  iiL  24,)  the  figures  called 
cherubim,  placed  on  the  sides  of  the  mercy-seat,  with 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  resting  between  them,  reprcr 
sented  the  angels  who  surrouQd  the  manifestation  of 
the  divine  presence  in  heaven.  These  figures,  there- 
fore, were  fitly  termed  the  cherubim  of  glory;  and 
by  ihis  glory  constantly  abiding  in  the  inward  taber- 
nade, and  by  the  figures  of  the  cherubim,  that  taber- 
de  was  rendered  a,  fit  image  of  heaven.''  Shadow- 
ing^— With  outspread  wings;  the  mercy^eat — And 
reprinted  as  lookmg  doWn  upon  it ;  a  posture  sig- 
nificative of  the  desire  of  angels  to  look  into  the 
mysteries  of  man's  redemption,  of  which  the  mercy- 
seat,  or  propitiatory,  being  a  plate  of  gold  covering 
the  ark,  was  an  emblem,  1  Pet.  i.  12.  See  also  notes 
on  Exod.  xxv.^7-22,  where  the  making  and  frame 
bothofthemercy-seatand  the  cherubim aredescribed. 

Versed.  Now  when  these  things  were  thus  ordaitir 
ed — KareaKevaoftevop,  prepared.  Having  given  an 
account  of  the  structure  of  the  tabernade  in  the  two 
parts  i>f  it,  and  the  furniture  of  those  several  parts 
distinctly,  to  complete  his  argument,  the  apostle  adds 
the  consideration  of  their  sacred  use;  the  priests 
went  always^Eyery  day ;  into  thefrst  tabernacle 
—Termed  the  holy  place;  accomplishing  the  ser- 
vice of  6^0€^Performing  what  was  there  to  be  done, 
namely,  burning  the  incense  at  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice,  dressing  the  lamps  and  supplying 
them  with  oil,  changing  the  show-brea4  every  sab- 
bath mommg.  Added  to  this,  as  the  prinpipalpart 
of  the  service  of  this  tabernacle,  the  priests  brought 
into  it  the  blood  of  the  sin-ofierings,  and  sprinkled  it 
before  the  veil,  Lev.  iv.  6.  At  all  other  times  they 
entered  into  it  without  blood,  for  the  blood  of  the 
bumt-ofierings  was  sprinkled  aboutthealtar.  Lev.  i.ll. 

Verse  7.  But  into  the  second-'The  holy  of  holiee; 

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CHAPTER  IX. 


prefigured  a  mare  perfect  service. 


^.  M.  4068.    8  »  The    Hdy   Ghost    this    sig- 

'. hifying^,    that    *the   way   into   the 

holiest  of  all  was  not  yet  made  manifest, 
while  as  the  first  tabernacle  was  ye^  stand- 
ing- 


9  OIm^  z.  \9t  aO.«— 4  John  ST.  & 


went  the  higJ^-prieet  alone— And  no  other  person ; 
and  he  was  to  be  so  alone  as  that  none  were  to  at- 
tend in  order  to  assist  him  in  any  part  of  the  service ;. 
ye^i,  no  one  was  allowed  to  be  in  the  other  part  of 
the  sanctuary  if(4iere  he  might  so  much  as  see  the 
veil  opened,  but  all  the  priests,  as  well  as  the  people, 
were  kept  without  the  sanctuary,  Lev.  xyl,  2, 17, 32. 
Hence  it  was  always  provided,  in  case  of  the  sick- 
ness or  occasional  pollutions  of  the  actual  high-priest, 
the  next  in  succession  should  perform  this  office, 
who  was  therefore  called  the  second  priest 
From  whence,  in  times  of  disorder  and  confusion, 
they  hitd  two  high-priests  at  once.  This  entrance 
was  a  type,  both  of  the  entrance  of  Christ  into  hea- 
ven, and  of  our  entrance  1^  him  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  verse  2i;  chap.  x.  19, 20.  And  this  was  the 
veil  which,  in  the  temple,  was  rent  from  top  to.  bot- 
tom upon  the  death  of  our  Lord.  For  by  his  death 
the  way  was  laid  open  to  the  most  holy  place,  and 
the  gracious  presence  of  God  discovered  to  dl  that 
come  to  God  byhinu  Once  every  ycoj^— Thai  is, 
on  one  day  only,  namely,  the  day  of  expiation,  Lev. 
xvL  2;  but  on  that  day  he  went  iti  several  times: 
not  wilhoiU  blood — To  signify  that  there  is  no  en- 
trance into  God's  gracious  presence  but  by  the  blood 
of  Christ  After  the  high-priest  had  filled  the  holy 
place  with  a  cloud  of  incense^  he  returned  to  the  al- 
tar of  burnt-offerings  without  the  tabernacle,  where 
the  sacrifice  had  been  newly  slain;  and  while  the 
blood  of  the  beasts  was  fresh,  and,  as  it  were,  living, 
he  took  of  it  in  his  hand,  and  entering  again  into  the 
most  holy  place,  sprinkled  it  seven  times  with  his 
finger  toward  the  mercy-seat  Which  he  offered— 
Where  or  when  he  offered  it  is  not  expressed :  in 
the  holy  place  there  was  no  use  of  blood  but  for  the 
sprinkling  of  it,  but  the  sprinkling  of  blood  was  al- 
ways consequential  to  the  offering  properly  so 
called.  Probably  by  the  word  irpoff^epei,  here  used, 
he  intends  only  bringing^  and  not  properly  offering. 
For  himself  and  the  errors  of  the  people — The 
apostle  refers  to  the  distinct  sacrifices  that  were  to 
be  offered  on  that  day,  the  first  of  which  was  of  a 
bullock  and  a  ram,  which  were  offered  for  the  high- 
priest  himself;  such  being  the  imperfection  of  their 
state,  that  they  could  have  no  priests  to  offer  sacri- 
fices for  the  sins  of  the  people,  but  he  must  first  offer 
for  himself.  By  the  errors  of  the  people^  are  meant 
their  sins  of  ignorance,  to  which  only,  and  not  to 
sins  presumptuously  committed,  those  atonements 
extended.  They  were  offered  for  the  whole  nation, 
to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  which  they  had  ig- 
norantly  committed  during  the  preceding  year,  and 
to  open  the  tabernacle  for  their  acts  of  worship  dur- 
ing the  succeeding  year.  And  to  show  this,  the 
high-priest  carried  the  blood  of  these  sacrifices  into 
b 


9  Whibh  toas  a  figure  tat  the  time  a.  M.4oa8. 
then  present,  in  which  were  ofiered  ~LJ — L 
both  gifts  and  sacrifices/' that  could  not  make 
him  that  did  the  service  perfect,  as  pertaining 
to  (he  conscience ; 


rr: 


rO«Liti.31;  Cktp.TU.  18,19;  z.i«ll. 


the  inward  tabernacle,  and  sprinkled  it  before  the 
symbol  of  the  divine  presence. 

Versed  8-10.  The  Holy  Ghost—By  whom  the  Mo- 
saic ritual  was  prescribed ;  signifying — By  this  diffi- 
culty of  entrance,  and  the  necessity  of  the  incense- 
cloud  and  the  atoning  blood ;  that  the  v>ay  into  the 
holiest  q/'aZ^Namely,  into  heaven,  the  place  of  Cfod*s 
immediate  presence,  represented  by  the  inward 
tabemad^;  ircM  no<  yet  made  manifest— Voi  ao 
clearly  and  fully  reveled;  while  the  first  tabemd- 
clSy  and  its  service,  was  yet  standing— Reiamed  its 
station  and  use :  or,  in  other  words,  while  the  Jew- 
ish economy  lasted.  This  lasted,  according  to  the 
mind  of  God,  until  the  death  of  Christ,  and  no 
longer :  until  which  time  both  Christ  himself,  and  all 
his  disciples,  continued  to  observe  all  its  services,  for 
he  was  made  under  the  law  of  it  So  long  it  con- 
tinued by  divine  appointment.  Its  abolition,  how- 
ever, was,  properly  speaking,  not  declared  until  the 
dJEiy  of  pentecost,  when,  by  the  extraordinary  effu- 
sion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  foundation  of  the  gos- 
pel church,  with  its  state,  order,  and  worship,  was 
solemnly  laid ;  and  a  new  way  of  worship  being  es- 
tablished, the  abrogation  of  the  old  was  shown.  But 
through  the  patience  of  God,  the  Jewish  worship, 
though  no  longer  acceptable  to  him,  cohtinued  until 
the  destruction  of  the  temple,  city,  and  people,  somie 
years  after.  Which  tabernacle,  with  all  iU  furni- 
ture and  services,  ir(M  a  figure— UapaSoXtfj  a  para- 
ble, that  is,  a  parabolical  or  emblematical  instruction ; 
for  the  time  then  present— During  the  continuance 
of  that  service  and  way  of  worship.  Or,  as  the  ori- 
ginal may  be  interpreted,  Which  figure  (or  paraboli- 
cal instruction)  continues  till  this  present  time^ 
namely,  in  the  like  service  performed  in  the  temple ; 
according  to  which,  namely,  time,  or  during  which, 
gifts  and  sacrifices,  npoc^povTai,  are  offered,  liv  ^' 
vofievai,  which  cannot  make  him  who  does  the  ser- 
Vice,  Tov  Xarpcvovra^  the  worshipper,  whether  the 
priest,,  or  him  who  brings  the  offering,  per/ecr— As 
to  his  conscience,  so  that  he  should  be  no  longer 
conscious  of  being  undef  the  guilt  or  power  of  sin, 
or  should  have  a  full  assurance  that  his  sins  are  for- 
given. Doddridge  understands  the  verse  in  a  rather 
different  sense,  thus:  "  Which,  far  from  being  the 
grand  and  ultimate  scheme,  is  only  a  kind  of  allego- 
rical ,/^re  and  parable,  referring  to  the  glorious  dis- 
plays of  the  present  time:  in  which,  nevertheless, 
there  is  hitherto  a  continuance  of  the  temple-ser- 
vice; so  that  gifts  and  sacrifices  are  still  offered, 
which  yet  in  the  nature  of  things,  are  not  able  to 
make  the  person  who  performs  the  service  perfect, 
with  respect  to  the  conscience;  as  they  refer  not  to 
the  real  expiation  of  gu'dt,  but  only  to  averting  some 
temporal  evils  which  the  law  denounces  on  tran«- 
687 


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HEBBEW& 


frxegOuxd  and  imiere€$9ifin  qfOirifi. 


▲.M.4068. 
A.  D.  ei. 


10  Which  stood  only  in  ■meata 
and  drinks,  and  *  divers  washings, 
^  and  carnal  ^ordinanceS|  impoood  oti  them  until 
the  time  of  reformadcm. 
11  But  Christ  being  come  'a  high-priest  ^of 
good  things  to  come,  *  by  a  greater  and  mcare 
perfect  tabernacle,  not  made  with'  hands,  that 
is  to  say,  not  of  this  buildingj 


■  LeT.  xi.  2 ;  Cd.  ii.  la « Num.  xix.  7,  &c. «» Eph.  ii.  16 ; 

Cot  IL  20 ;  Chap.  viL  16. "^  Or,  n^,  or,  c«r«iiow«.— *  Oh«^>. 

ill.  1. '  Chap.  X.  1. '  Chap,  ^m,  2. »  Chap.  x.  4» 


gresaora.'*  This,  he  adda,  I  take  to  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  for  understanding  the  Mosaic  sacrifices^ 
namely,  "that  they  were  never  intended  to  expiate 
offences  to  such  a  degree  as  to  deliver  the  sinner 
from  the  final  judgment  of  God  in  another  world ; 
but  merely  to  make  his  peace  with  the  government 
under  which  he  then  was,  and  furnish  him  with  a 
pardon  pleadable  against  any  prosecution  which 
might  be  commenced  against  him  in  their  courts  of 
justice,  or  any  exclusion  from  the  privilege  of  draw- 
ing neat  to  God,  as  one  eternally  at  peace  with  him, 
in  the  solemnities  of  his  temple  worbhip."  WMch 
service  stood,  or  consisted,  only,  or  chiefly,  in 
meats  and  drinks— Or  in  divers  ceremonious  ob- 
servances concerning  these  things;  in  the  distinc- 
tion between  different  kinds  of  meats,  clean  or  un- 
clean, and  drinks,  some  of  which  were  allowed,  and 
others  denied,  to  priests  in  some  circumstances,  and 
to  Nazarites  in  others ;  and  divers  washings — Either 
of  the  whole  body,  or  of  a  part  of  it,  in  water,  as  dif- 
ferent occasions  demanded ;  and  carnal  ordinances 
— Various  injunctions  relating  to  the  purification  of 
the  flesh,  imposed  on  them  as  necessary  to  be  ob- 
served ;  until  the  time  of  reformation — Namely,  of 
the  worship  of  God  by  Christ,  who  was  to  abolish 
the  Levitical-services,  and  to  introduce  a  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  which  might  be  performed  in 
everyplace. 

Verses  1 1, 12.  BtU  Christ  being  come— As  if  he 
had  said,  Though  the  types  and  legal  ceremonies 
oould  not  make  the  worshippers  perfect,  yet  Christ, 
the  antitype  and  truth,  can.  Here  he  comes  to  In- 
terpret and  show  the  end  of  the  typical  services  he 
had  spoke  of;  a  high^priest  of  good  things  to  come 
-^Described  verse  15 ;  that  is,  a  dispenser  of  those 
benefits  and  advantages  which  were  prefigured  by 
the  SI ossuc  institutions,  but  could  only  be  obtained 
for  us,  and  bestowed  upon  us,,  by  the  Messiah.  By 
a  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle — That  is,  not 
by  the  service  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle,  (verse  ^,) 
but  by  a  service  performed  in  a  greater  and  more 
perfect  tabernacle  above;  not  made  with  hands,  that 
is,not  of  this  frutWing'— Namely,  the  building  of  this 
worldly  sanctuary,  or  not  making  any  part  of  this 
lower  creation.  Neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and 
calves,  &c.,  did  he  procure  a  right  to  enter  and  mi- 
nister in  that  tabernacle,  but  hy  his  own  blood^By 
the  merit  of  his  death;  he  entered  in  once  into  the 
holy  place  above— That  is,  once  for  all :  not  once, 
or  one  day  every  year,  as  the  Jewish  high-priest 
088 


12  N^her  ''by  the  blood  of  goats  A. M. 4008. 

and  calves,  but  ^  by  his  own  blood,  ^ 

he  entered  in  °  oace  into  the  holy  plac^  ^  having 
obtained  Vernal  redemption  for  us. 

13  For  if^  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goata, 
and  'the  adies  of  a  hmkt  qprinkling  the 
undean,  sanetffieth  to  the  porifying  of  the 
flesh: 


i»  ActSTZ.  28;  Epb.  i.  7;  Cc^  i.  14;  1  Pet  i.  19^  Rer.  i.  5; 

r,9.—^Zech.i^9:  YerMS  96, 28  ;  ClMp.  x.  10. «  Dml 

iz.  24. *  her.  zri  14)  16^—*-'  Nqib.  xix.  2, 17,  Ate 

into  the  holy  place ^f  the  emblematical  tabernacle: 
having  obtained— By  his  one  perfect  sacrifice;  eter- 
nal redemption  and  salvation  ^r  us — Of  which  all 
the  remissions,  and  all  the  benefits  procured  by  the 
ministration  of  the  Aaronical  priesthood,  were  but 
very  imperfect  figures.  Beza,  Pierce,  and  many 
others,  by  the  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle, 
understand  our  Lord's  human  nature.  In  support 
of  which  iiotion  Beza  says,  that  his  human  nature 
may  as  properly  be  called  a  tabernacle  as  his  flesh 
is  called  a  veil,  Heb.  x.  24.  ^But,  not  to  dispute 
about  the  propriety  of  the  figure,  it  appears  an  ab- 
surdity to  say  that  Clhrist  entered  into  flie  holy  place 
through  his  own  human  nature,  as  through  a  taber- 
nacle. He  entered  into  heaven  clothed  with  his  hu* 
man  nature,  and  not  through  it,  as  through  a  place: 
for,  on  that  supposition,  he  did  not  carry  his  human 
nature  with  him  into  heaven." — Macknight 

Verses  13,  14.  For^  &c.^Tbe  truth  intended  to 
be  cortfirmed  in  these  verses.  Is  that  which  the  apos- 
tle had  asserted  in  the  two  preceding,  namely,  That 
Christ  by  Bis  blood  Jiath  obtained  for  us  eternal  re- 
demption. And  his  words  contain  both  an  argument 
and  a  comparison,  to  this  effect :  "  If  that  which  is 
less  can  do  that  which  is  less,  then  that  which  is 
greater  can  do  that  which  is  greater;  provided  also 
that  less,  in  what  ii  did,  was  a  t3rpe  of  what  was 
greater  in  that  greater  thing  which  it  was  to  efiect 
The  apostle  takes  for  granted,  what  he  had  proved 
before,  namely,  1st,  That  the  Levitical  services  and 
ordinances  were  in  themselves  carnal,  and  had  only 
an  obscure  representation  of  things  spiritual  and 
eternal ;  and  that  the  office  and  sacrifice  of  Christ 
were  spiritual,  and  had  their  effects  jn  eternal  things. 
2d,  That  those  other  carnal  earthly  tilings  were  di- 
vinely-appointed types  and  resemblances  of  those 
which  were  spiritual  and  eternal.  From  these  rtip- 
positions  the  argument  is  firm:  as  the  ordinances  of 
old,  being  carnal,  had  an  efficacy  to  their  proper  end, 
to  purify  the  unclean  as  to  the  flesh ;  so  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ  hath  a  certain  efficacy  to  its  proper  end, 
the  purging  of  our  consciences,  &c.  The  force  of 
the  Inference  depends  on  the  relation  that  was  be- 
tween them  in  the  appointment  of  God.  Nay,  there 
was  evidently  a  greater  efficacy  in  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  with  respect  to  its  proper  end,  than  there 
was  in  those  sacrifices,  with  respect  to  their  proper 
endrthei^ason  is,  because  all  their  efficacy  depend- 
ed on  a  mere  arbitrary  institution,  having  in  their 
own  nature  neither  worth  nor  efficacy  5  but  hi  the 

b 


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CHAPTBB  IX. 


to  confirm  the  n^w  tettament. 


K.  M.  406&  14  How  ingc}i  more  '  shall  the 
^^'^  blopa  ot  Christ,  ^  who  through 
tfie  eternal  Spirit  '  offered  himself  without 
^flpot  to  God,,  spurge  your  consdepce  from 
*  dead  works  "^  to  serve  the  living  God  ? 
15  "^  And  for  this  cause  "^  he  is  the  me- 


f  1  Pet  i.  19 ;  1  John  L  7 ;  Rer.  L  5. kRom.  i.  4 ;  1  Pet. 

iii  la i^kii  5;  Tit  ii  14;  OhMp.  riL  27. ^Ot,fauU. 

k  OhajL  L  3. *  Chip.  li.  1. 

sacrifice  of  Christ  tliere  is  an  innate  glorious  worth 
and  efficacy,  which,  suitably  to  the  rules  of  eternal 
reason  and  righteousness,  will  procure  and  aqcom- 
pllsh  its  effects." — Owen.  Therefore  the  apostle 
says,  How  much  mere  shall  the  blood  of  Chriet^  &c. 
These  things  being  observed,  the  explication  of  the 
s^postle's  words  will  not  be  difficult  As  if  the  apos- 
tle had  said,  That  Jesus,  by  his  death,  should  pro- 
cure an  eternal  pardon  and  deliverance  from  all  the 
consequences  of  sin  for  us,  is  reasonable;  for  if  the 
blood  of  bulla  and  ofgoatSy  of  which  I  have  just  been 
speaking,  when  presented  to  God,  with  the  appointed 
clrcuinstances,  on  the  day  of  general  expiation  by 
the  high-priest,  and^  in  cases  of  personal  pollution, 
the  ashes  of  a  heifer^  (namely,  the  red  heifer,  of 
which  see  Num.  xix.  17-19,)  consumed  by  fire,  as  a 
sin-ofiering,  being  sprinkled  on  them  who  were  le- 
gally unclean,  did  sanctify  to  the  purifying  of  the 
Jlesh^Hdd  so  much  efficacy  in  consequence  of  the 
divine  institution,  as  to  recoiicile  God  to  the  whole 
Jewish  people,  in  the  former  instance,  and  in  the 
other  to  introduce  persons  legally  unclean  to  the 
liberty  of  approaching  him  in  his  sanctuary,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  denied  them^  Aoio  much 
more  reasonable  is  it  tothinkJthat  the  blood  of  Christ, 
who  VkTough  the  eternal  Spirit — Supporting  the  iur 
firmities  of  his  human  nature,  and  animating  him  to 
the  exercise  of  all  those  graces  which  shed  such  a 
lustre  round  all  the  infamy  of  Jiis  cross ;  offered  him- 
self voluntarily,  without  spot^  a  most  acceptable, 
sacrifice,  to  Qod—Movf  much  more,  I  say,  shall  that 
blood  of  his  avail  to  purge  our  consciences  from 
dead  works,  (of  which  see  on  chap.  vi.  1,)  that  is, 
from  the  pollutions  we  have  coxitracted^  by  works  of 
sin  and  death ;  to  »«ri?e— That  is,  that  we  may  freely 
approach,  and^acceptably  worship  and  serve  the  liv- 
ing God? — How  surely  shaU  it  i^pease  that  con- 
sciousness of  guilt,  which  might  otherwise  be  very 
distressing  and  discouraging  to  us,  a^d  introduce  us 
to  present  our  prayers,  praises,  and  other  services  in 
the  divine  presence,  with  assurance  of  acceptance 
and  regard.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Macknight  here, 
that  "  the  ceremonial  institutions  mentioned,  sancti- 
fied the  bodies  of  the  polluted,  not  by  any  natural 
e$cacy,  (for  they  rather  defiled  them,)  but  by  the 
appointment  of  God,  who,  considering  them  as  acts 
of  obedience,  was  pleased,  on  their  account,  to  remit 
the  punishment,  which,  as  their  political  ruler,  he 
had  a  right  to  inflict  on  the  polluted',  but  the  shed- 
diqg  of  the  blood  pf  Christ,  both  by  the  appointment 
of  God,  and  by  its  own  efficacy,  availeth  to  the  pro- 
curing an  eternal  pardon  for  penitent  sinners.    The  I 


diator  of  th^  i^ew  testament,  I'that  a.  M.  4068 

by  means  of  deaith,  for  the  redemp  '- — '- 

tion  of  the  transgressions  thai  were  under 
the  first  testam^it^  "^they  which  are  called 
might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal  inh^- 
ance. 


m  x^nl^  i.  74 ;  Rom.  tI.  13, 2Z}  1  Pet.  ir.  2. ■  1  Tim.  ii.  5. 

«Gh«p.  tILSS;  riii.  6 ;  jdi.  24. P Rom.  iii.  25 ;  t.  6;  1  Pet 

iii.  18,^^-«i  Chap,  iii.  1. 


saactiflcation  efibcted  by  the  legal  rites  being  the 
«mctifioatjkm  of  nothing  but  the  body,  it  was,  in  a 
religious  light,  of  little  use,  unless  it  was  a  tepre- 
sentaiion  and  pledge  of  some  real  expiation.  Now, 
what  jreal  expiation  of  sin  is  there  in  the  whole  uni- 
verse, if  the  sacrifice  of  Christ Js  excluded?  We 
must  therefore  acknowledge  tha^  the  Levitical  rites, 
which  sanctified  the  flesh,  derived^their  whole  virtue 
from  their  ^ing,  as  the  apostle  affirms,  fignrative 
representations  c^  the  real  atonement  which  Christ 
[made  upon  the  cross  and]  was  to  make  in  heaven, 
[by  presentuig  hra  cruqfied  body  there,]  lor  sancti- 
fying the  soul  of  the  sinner.  Christ  is  said  to  have 
offered  hknidelf  through  the  eternal  Spirit,  because 
he  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  Spirit,  (I  Pet  iiL 
18,)  consequently  iie  was  enabled  by  the  Spirit  to 
offer  himself  to  God«" 

Verse  15.  And, for  this  cati#e— Ata  twto,  on  this 
account,  ihsA  Christ's  Mood  is  so  efficacious;  or  fmr 
this  end,  that  he  niight  die  and  thereby  procure  re- 
demption, and  an  eternal  inheritance  for  us;  he  is 
the  mediator— Between  God  aod  man,  making  peace 
between  them;  of  the  new  testament — Or  covenant 
rather,  as  the  word  6ta&tiicsj  is  generally  rendered  in 
the  New  Testament,  answering  to  the  Hebrew  word 
berithj  which  all  the  translators  of  the  Jewirii  Scrip- 
tures have  understood  to  signify  a  covenant.  It  is, 
however,  such  a  covenant,  aS)  having  been  procured 
for  us,  and  confirmed  by  h^  death,  is  thereby  become 
a  testament  For  through  it  we  receive  the  bless- 
ings which  Christ,  by  his  will,  designed  (br,  and  de- 
clared should  be  conferred  upon  believers  through 
faith  in  his  blood.  ^  Thus  when  he  said, /or  tJieir 
sokes  I  sancfify  myself  John  -xvii.  19;  that  is,  I 
offer  up  jnyself  as  a  piacular  victim,  that  they  might 
be  sancHfiedf  or  truly  purged  from  their  sins;  he 
adds,  as  his  last  will  and  testament,  Fedher,  I  wiU 
thcU  those  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me 
where  I  am.  So  here  he  is  become  a  highrfriest 
of  good  things  to  come,  purchasing  eternal  redemp* 
tion  fbr  us  by  his  blood :  and  the  mediator  of  that 
new  covenant,  in  which  God  promises  to  be  mereifui 
to  our  transgressions,  and  to  remember  our  sins  no 
more,  chap.  viii.  12;  procuring  the  remission  of 
them  by  the  intervention  of  his  death,  that  they  who 
believe  in  him  might  receive  the  promise  of  an  eter- 
nal inheritance— VfhSih:  he  died  to  entitle  them -to, 
^d  confer  upon  diem ;  whence  it  is  styled  the 
purchased  posseesion,  Bph.  i.  14.  This  therefore 
was  his  wiU  and  testament,  that  they,  for  whom  be 
dled^  should  live  through  him.  And  this  testament 
could  not  be  confirmed  but  by  his  death :  he,  thev^ 
119 


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HEBREWS. 


Vfhtle  the  testator  is  o/ive. 


A.  M.4oeB. 
A.D.  M. 


16  *  For  where  a  testament  is,  there 
must  abo  of  neceBsity  ^be  the  death 
of  the  testator. 

17  For 'a  testament  t^  of  fcroe  after  men  are 
dead:  otherwise  it  is  of  no  strength  at  all  while 
the  testator  liyeth. 

18  "  Whereup(m    nether    the    jfirst    tester 

*  WedtuBda^  before  Easter,  vene  16  to  the  end. ^Or,  bi 

broMgkt  nu 'Gml  ill.  16. «£zDd.  rrir.  «,  dec. 

fore,  was  at  once  the  mediator  in  whom  the  nev> 
eovenantj  promising  to  ns  remission  of  sins,  was 
made,  and  the  testator  by  whose  death  the  testa- 
ment, that  tiiey  who  believed  in  him  sfundd  have 
eternal  Ufe,  was  ratified."  So  Dr.  Whitby,  who, 
faoweTer,  otMerves,  that  the  paragraph,  to  the  end  of 
verse  20,  wUl  admit  of  a  fair  interpretation  without 
supposing  that  any  thing  is  said  in  it  either  ofhtes- 
tofnent  or  testator:  See  en  the  next  verse.  That 
by  means  of  death  for  the  redemption  of  the  trans- 
gressions^Thtii  is,  for  -the  redemption  of  trans- 
gressors from  the  guilt  and  pimishment  of  those  sins 
whieh  were  committed  under  the  first  covenant  In 
other  words,  He' suffered  for  this  end,  that  he  might 
procure  deliverance,  not  only  from  the  condemna- 
tion  due  to  the  sins  which  have  been  committed 
since  his  death,  bnt  from  that  due  to  those  which 
were  committed  during  the  former  dispensation  and 
state  of  the  chutch,  which  couid  not  be  fully  expi- 
ated by  any  of  those  sacrifices  which  belonged  to 
the  first  covenant.  They  which  are  caUedr—And 
obey  the  call,  6t  are  made  partakers  of  the  grace  of 
the  gospel ;  might  receive  the  promise  of  eternal 
inheritance^The  things  promised  in  the  new  cove- 
nant, namely,  not  a  temporary,  earthly  inheritance, 
such  as  the  land  of  Canaan,  promised  in  the  first 
covenant,  but  that  eternal  ^ory  which  is  promised 
in  the  new  covenant. 

Vwses  16,  IT.  Fer  where  a  testdmehi^i—ThQi 
is,  where  there  is  a  covenant,  whieh  is  also  a  testa- 
ment; there  must  of  necessity  be  the  dea^  of  the 
testator—kA  if  he  had  said.  The  reason  why  there 
was  a  necessity  that  Christ  should  die,  is  taken  from 
the  nature  of  the  covenant  whereof  he  is  Mediator, 
which  covenant  is  also  a  .testament  and  therefore 
could  not  be  of  force  but  by  his  death.  For  a  testa- 
ment is  of  force — Has  validity ;  ctfter,  meri  are  dead 
—When,  and  not  before,  the  legatees  may  claim 
their  legacies.  Otherwise  it  is  cf  no  strength  at  all 
while  the  testator  livethr^Axid  therefore  hath  power 
to  alter  his -Will  at  pleasure.  But  it  is  not  necessary 
that  the  expression  tb  du^^efuvB^  at  the  end  of  verse 
16,  should  signify  a  testator,  properly  so  called:  it 
may  mean  only  a  promiser,  and  one  that  confirms 
his  promise  with  his  own  blood.  For  itart^fu^  ac- 
cording to  Pbavorinus,  is,  I  promise,  I  covenant;  and 
duin^ea^ai  iar^Kiiv  is  very  commonly  in  profane 
authors,  to  enter  into  covenant ;  and  in  the  same  sense 
the  phrase  is  used  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  there- 
fore the  participle  Sia^efuvoct  derived  from  the  same 
▼eit>,  must  probably  have  the  tome  stgaification  here, 
540 


ment  was  ^dedicated  without  Uood.  A.if.^oea 
19  For  when  Moees  had  spoken  ^^'^ 
every  prec^  to  all  the  people  according  to  the 
law,  *he  took  the  blood  of  calves  and  of 
goats,  *with  water,  and  ^scarlet  wod,  and 
hyasc^  and  sjnrinkled  both  the  book  and  all 
the  people, 


•Or,  jmrHUd. 'Ezod.  xrir.  5.  6,  8;  Lev.  zvi.  14,  15,  la 

•  hew.  m,  4,  6,  7,  49,  51,  52. ^Ot,  jnajle. 


in  which  it  Is  continually  used  by  the  LXX.,  and 
which  it  always  bears  in  the  New  Testament  Thus, 
Acts  ill  25,  Ye  are  the  children,  due^Kifc  nc  ^u^ero, 
of  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  our  fathers; 
Luke  xxll.  29;  icttya  diarc&e/iai  v/uvj  and  I  appoint  to 
you  a  kingdom,  ko&oc  die^ero,  as  my  Father  hath 
appointed  to  me.  So  in  this  epistle,  chap.  viii.  10; 
X.  16,  avTff  II  dia^ffKff  ii»  iia^riaoiiai,  This  is  the  co^ 
venant  which  I  will  make  with  ffU  house  oflsraeL 
And  because  covenants  were  usally  made  victimcis 
cadendo,  by  sacrifices,  as  the  ^Hebrew,  Greek,  and 
Latin  expressions  used  in  the  making  of  covenants 
show;  accordingly,  the  new  covenant  was  ^tab-' 
lished  in  the  blood  of  Jestis.  Hence  the  apostle 
speaks  thus  of  this  covenant,  and  the  appointdl  dis- 
poser or  maker  of  it.  This  sense  of  the  passage  is 
defended  at  large  by  Dr.  Macknight,  in  a  note  too 
long  to  be  here  quoted.  His  pazaphilaae  on  it  is  as 
follows:  '^And  for  this  reason,  that  the  death  of 
Christ  is  so  eflScacious,  [namely,  as  is  set  forth  in 
verses  13, 14,]  of  the  new  covenant  he  is  the  Media- 
tor, or  High-Priestyby  whom  its  blessings  are  dis- 
pensed; and  also  the  sacrifice  by  which  it  is  pro- 
cured and  ratified;  that  his  death  being  accom- 
plished for  obtaining  the  pardon  of  the  transgres- 
sions of  the  first  covenant,  behevers  of  all  ages  and 
nations,  ^  the  called  seed  of  Abraham,  (Rom. 
viii.  28,)  may  receive  the  promised  eternal  inherit- 
ance. For  where  a  covenant  is  made  by  sacrifice, 
there  is  a  necessity  that  the  death  of  the  appointed 
sacrifice  be  produced*  JVr— According  to  the  prac- 
tice of  God  and  man ;  a  covenant  is  made^rm  over 
dead  sacrifices,  seeing  it  never  hath  force  while  the 
goat,  calf,  or  buHock,  appointed  as  the  sacrifice  of 
ratification,  liveth.  Because  from  the  beginning  God 
ratifi^  his  covenant  by  sacrifice,  to  preserve  among 
men  the  expectation  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  Son ; 
hence  not  even  the  covenant  of  Sinai  was  made 
mthoiU  sacrifice.** 

Verses  18-20.  Whereupon— On  which  principle 
we  may  observe^  neither  was  ffie  first — Covenant, 
of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  I  mean  that  of 
Moses;  dedicated  without  fttood— Namely,  that  of 
an  appointed  sacrifice.  "Irt  the  original,  the  word 
covenant  is  wanting;  and  our  translators,  by  supply- 
ing the  word  testament,  have  made  the  ffinai  cove- 
nant or  law  of  Moses,  of  which  the  apostle  is  speak- 
ing, a  testament,  tlian  which,"  says  Macknight, 
"  nothing  can  be  more  incongruous.  The  word  to 
be  supplied  is  not  testament,  but  covenant  For 
when  Moses  had  spoken  every  prscept'-^Tht  pre- 

b 


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CHAPTER  DC 


of  bloody  amd  iU  de$ign. 


A.K.406a    20  Sayings  'Thte  is  the  blood  of 
^^•^    the  testament  which  God  hath  en- 
joined unto  yoiL 

21  Moreover,  ^lie  sprinUed  Ukewiae  with 
blood  both  t^  tabemade,  and  all  the  yeeieb 
ofihe  ministry. 

22  And  alinoBt  all  things  aie  by  the  law 


«Er.»dr.  8;  Mttt.  jnnrLae.— -yEr.xxix.iar3<l;  Ler.vlii 


cepts  of  the  law  which  Moses  read  to  die  people  on 
thb  occasion,  were  chiefly  those  contained  in  Exod. 
zx-xxiiL^  as  is  e^ent  from  Exod.  xxir.  5.  See  the 
margin.  To  aU  the  people  according  to  the  law-^ 
The  will,  appointment,  6r  express  order  of  God ;  he 
took  the  blodd  of  calves,  f  c,  with  itater.  The  blood 
was  mixed  with  water,  to  prevent  its  growing  too 
stiff  for  sprinkling,  perhaps  also  to  typify  the  Wood 
and  water  which  should  issue  out  of  Christ's  side, 
signifying  the  expiating  and  cleansing  virtue  of  his 
sufferings.  And  ecarlei  wool  and  hyssop — All  these 
circumstances  aje  not  particularly  mentioned  in  ihat 
chapter  of  Exodus,  but  are  supposed  to  be  already 
known  from  other  passages  of  Mose? ;  and  sprin- 
kled both  the  5ooX;— Which  contained  all  he  had  said ; 
and  all  the  people — ^Who  were  near  him.  The  book 
was  sprinkl^  to  show,  1st,  That-the  law  itself  was 
not  able  to  reconcile  them  to  €k>d,  and  give  life 
without  the  Wood  of  Christ  added  to  it  2d,  That 
atonement  was  to  be  made  by  blood  for  sins  oom^ 
mitted  against  the  law.  8d,  That  every  thing  is  un- 
dean  to  us  that  is  not  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
Christ.  Sayingy  (Exod.  xxiv.  8,)  This  is  the  blood 
of  the  covenant,  &c.— This  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
is  a  ceremony  instituted  by  God  to  signify  the 
mutual  consent  of  both  parties  to  the  terms  of  the 
covenant ;  or,  this  is  the  blood  whereby  the  covenant 
is  ratified  on  both  sides;  which  God  hath  enjoined 
unto  yott— Hath  required  me  to  deliver  unto  you : 
or,  A/rfA  commanded  with  respect  to  you,  as  m  evere- 
iXaro  irpoc  vfta^  literally  signifies,  requiring  you  to 
declare  your  consent  to  the  terms  of  it. 

Verses  21, 22.  M?r«w<fr— To  prefigure  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  render  our  acts  of 
worship  acceptable;  he  sprinkle  with  blood  the 
tabemacle^The  altar,  and  mercy-seat ;  and  all  the 
vessels  of  (he  ministry — All  that  were  used  in  the 
tabernacle  service.  See  the  margin.  And  almost  all 
the  things — Pertaining  to  the  tabernacle  and  service 
of  God,  (the  apostle  says  almost  all  things,  because 
some  were  cleansed  with  water,  and  some  with  fire, 
Nuih.  xxxl  28,  and  some  with  the  ashes  of  the  red 
heifer,  Num.  xix.  2-10,)  are  by  the  law  purged  from 
any  ceremonial  defilement  with  MoocC-^ffered  or 
sprinkled ;  and  w&hout  shedding  of  blood— Accord- 
ing  to  the  law;  is  no  remission — Of  sins,  neither 
typical  nor  real.  Or  he  means,  no  remission  was 
granted  on  the  day  of  atonement  without  blood.  All 
this  pointed  to  the  blood  of  Christ, effectually  cleans- 
ing from  all  sin,  and  intimated  that  there  can  be  no 
purification  from  it  by  any  other  means.  Because 
some  fancy  that  a  real  purdonof  sin  was  obtained 
b 


pnrged  with   Mood  ;    and    '  with-   A.M.406a 

out  shedding  of  blood  is  no  lenns- L-1. 

sioq. 

^  It  teas  ther^MPe  necessary  that  *th^  pat- 
terns of  things  in  the  heavens  should  be  puri- 
fied with  these;  but  the  hearenly  things  them 
selves  with  better  sacrifices  than  these. 


16,19;  xri.  14, 16, IS, IS,  19.— sLer.zrii  11.- 


^ClLTiii.9. 


by  tiie  atonements  of  the  Mosaic  laW,  and  especially 
l^  those  made  on  the  tenth  of  the  seventh  month j 
concerning  which  it  is  said,  (Lev.  xvi.  80,)  on  that 
day  shaU  the  priest  make  an  atonement  for  you  that 
you  may  he  clean  from  aU  your  sins:  it  may  be 
prc^r  to  observe  here,  that  "this  cleansing  of  the 
people  from  all  their  sins  could  not  possibly  have 
any  reference  to-  the  punishments  of  the  life  to 
come,  because  the  atonement  was  made  fhr  all  the 
people  indiscriminately,  whether  penitent  or  not, 
consequently  it  couM  not  be  a  cleansing  of  tlieir 
consciences,  but  of  their  bodies ;  redeeming  them 
from  those  civil  pensOties  which  God,  in^he  charac- 
ter of  their  chief  magistrate,  would  have  inflicted  on 
them  for  breaking  the  laws  of  the  state,  unless  these 
atonements  had  been  made.  A  remission  of  that 
kind  all  the  people  of  the  congregation  might  re* 
ceive,  and  it  was  the  only  remission  whidi,vin  a 
body,  they  oould  receive  through  the  sacrifices  men- 
tioned. And  from  the  inefldcacy  of  the  annua] 
atonements,  made  on  the  dajr  above  mentioned,  to 
procure  for  the  people  the  eternal  pardon  of  their 
sins,  it  ibllows  that  the  daily  atonements,  made  by 
the  ordinary  priests,  had  no  greater  efficacy  in  pro- 
curing their  pardon:" — Macknight.  See  notes  on 
verses  8-10;  diap.  Xw  4. 

Verse  23.  ii  tea*,  </ier6/orc,&c.— That  is,  it  plainly 
appears  from  what  has  been  said,  it  was  necessary 
—Accordingto  the  appointment  of  Qod;  that  the 
patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens — Termed  the 
figures  of  the  true,  (verse  24,)  namely,  the  covenant, 
the  book,  the  tabernacle,  with  all  the  vessels  of  its 
ministry,  which  were  shadowy  representations  of 
heavenly  Mn^s— That  is,  of  the  things  of  the  gospel, 
whether  bel<mging  to  the  church  militant  or  the 
church  triumphant;  tfAouZd  be  purified  with  these — 
Should  be  procured  for,  or  opened  and  sanctified  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  priests  and  people,  by  these 
oblations  and  sprinklings  with  blood',  and  those  other 
things  which  were  appointed  by  (he  law  to  be  all 
used  for  their  purification.  He  says  purified,  or 
cleansed,  not  because  the  tabernacle  and  its  utensils, 
the  book  of  the  law^  Ac,  were  Unclean  in  them- 
selves, bnt  because  through  the  uncleanness  of  the 
people  they  would  have  been  considered  as  polhUed 
if  not  thus  purified.  But  the  heavenly  things  them- 
selves— That  is,  the  things  whereof  the  others  were 
patterns,— the  redemption,  wor^ip,  salvation,  and 
eternal  glory  of  theehurch ;  by  better  sacrifices  than 
^Ae^e— Namely,  by  the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ,  ex- 
pressed in  the  plural  number,  because  it  induded  the 
signification  of  all  odier  sacrifices,  exceeded  them  in 
Ml 


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A.K.  4068.    24  For  ^  Christ  is  Bot  entered  into 
_: the  holy  places  made  witji  hands, 

which  are  the  figures  of  •  the  true  ]  but  into 

heaven  itself,  now  ^  to  appear  in  the  presence 

of  Gfod  for  us : 
25  Nor  yet  that  he  should,  offer  hunself  often, 

as  *  the  high-priest   entereth    into  the   hdiy 


»>  CJhi^).  TL  aO.— — •  Chap.  Tlii.  2. *  Rom.  viU.  34 ;  Chap. 

ni.25;   1  John  iL  1. •Ywn^l, 


dignity^  and  was  of  more  use  and  efficacy  than  they 
alL  .  For  by  this  alone  could  spiritual  and  eternal 
blessings,  the  privileges  of  God's  churdi  on  earth 
and  in  heaven,  be  laid  open  to  the  enjoyment  of 
guilty  and  polluted  sinners.  In  other  words,  and 
especially  as  the  Jewish  tabernacle,  including  the 
holy  and  the  most  holy  place,  could  not  be  entered 
by  the  priests,  and  opened  to  the  prayers  and,other 
acts  of  religious  wor^p  of  them  and  of  the  people, 
nor  the  utensils  and  ceremonies  of  the  tabernacle 
service  be  sanctified  to  them,  without  the  sacrifices 
and  atoh^nents  appointed  in  the  law;  so  the  hea- 
venly holy  places  represented  by  them,  could  not 
be  opened  for  the  reception  of  the  prayers  and 
praiM-of  God's  people  while  they  are  here,  nor  of 
their  persons  hereaAer,  except  through  tl^  sacrifice 
and  intercession  of  Christ  Or,  as  Mr.  Scott  para- 
phrases the  passage,  '^  It  was  then  necessary  by  the 
appointment  of  the  law  for  the  exemplars  or  types 
of  heavenly  things  to  be  purified  by  the  sacrifice  of 
innocent  animals,  and  by  the  application  of  their 
blood,  or  they  could  not  be  acceptably  used  in  the 
worship  of  €k>d$  but  it  was  necessary,  for  more 
durable  and  inunutable  reasons,  that  the  heavenly 
things  themselves  should  be  purified  by  an  atone- 
ment of  snperier  exeeUence,  even  by  the  one  sacri- 
fice of  the  death  of  Christ.  In  order  to  his  effica- 
ciously intercediag  for  sinners  in  heaven,  and  open- 
ing for  them  the  way  to  the  mercy-seat,  it  was  ne- 
cessary that  Christ  riiould  on  earth,  in  our  nature, 
shed  Ms  blood,  and  die  a  sacrifice  on  the  cross;  that 
he  might  have  the  ii^nito  merit  of  that  sacrifice  to 
plead  before  the  throne,  in  behalf  of  all  who  should 
come  unto  God  by  him;  otherwise  mercy,  riiovm 
to  sinners,  would  dishonour  the  justice  and  holiness 
of  God,  and  their  admission  into  heaven  would,  as 
it  weie,  defile  that  holy  place." 

Verse  24-20.  For  Christ  19^  or,  hath,  not  entered 
—With  the  sacrifice  of  his  crucified  body;  into  the 
holy  places  made  wilh  ^oncii— He  never  went  into 
the  holy  of  holies  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem;  the 
figuree  of  the  true  tabernacle  in  heaven;  Greek, 
oi^nrvsro,  the  antitypes.  <<  IiTthe  mount  Moses  had 
nnror,  the  type,  or  model  of  the  tabernacles,  and  of 
the  services  to  be  performed  in  them,  showed  to 
him.  Hence  the  tabernacles;  with  thehr  services, 
which  he  formed  according  to  that  model,  are  called 
anUiypes,  or  images  of  that  model;  consequently 
inMg^  of  heaven  itself^  atid  of  the  services  to  be 
performed  by  Christ  as  the  High-Priest  of  the  hea- 
venly holy  places,  of  aU  which  the  model  showed  to 
M2 


place    eveiT   year   with   Mood   of  a.m.4<m 
otheiB;  ^•"•»*' 

!26  For  then  nuist  he  often  have  suflfered 
since  the  foundation  of  the  world :  but  now 
'once  f  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  he  ap- 
peared to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him* 
self. 


fTctrael2;  Chap,  yii.77;  x.  10;  1  P«t  til  la rlCor.sc 

11;  Oal.iT.4;  ]^i.ia 


Moses  in  the  mount  was  a  shadow  or  dark  repre* 
sentation."  BtU  unto  heaven  itself y  noit>  to  appear 
—As  our  glorious  High-t^riesi  and  powerful  Inter- 
cessor; in  the  presence  of  God  for  t«#— That  is,  be- 
fore the  manifestation  of  the  divine  presence,  to 
officiate  on  our  account.  Tfor  ^e<— Was  it  needful 
thai  he  should  qfer  himself  often— The  atonement 
made  by  Christ  being  founded  on  the  sovereign 
pleasure  of  God,  it  was  to  be  made  according  to  the 
appointment  of  God.  Wherefore  Christ  having 
made  that  atonement  only  once,  it  follows  that  no 
more  atonement  was  requiredby  God  in  order  to  his 
pardoning  believers  in  eJl  nations  and  ages.  As  the 
high-priest  entereth  into  the  earthly  holy  place  every 
year-'On  the  day  of  atonement;  ^Hth  the  blood  of 
others— Ot  another  kind  of  creatures,  that  is,  of 
buUocks  and  goats.  For  then  must  he  (Christ) 
often  have  steered  sinCe  the  foundation  of  the  ^oorld 
—"This  reasoning,"  says  Macknight,  "merits the 
reader's  particular  attontion,  because  it  supposes  two 
facts  which  are  of  great  importance.  "Hie  first  is, 
that  fh)m  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
no  man  wiU  be  pardoned  but  ihrojugh  Christ's  offer- 
ing himself  to  God  a  samfice  for  sin.  The  second 
is,  that  although  Christ  (^ered  himself  only  once^ 
that  one  offering  is  in  itsdf  so  meritorious,  and  of 
sudi  efficacy  in  procuring  pardon  for  the  penitent, 
that  its  influence  reacheth  backward  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  and  forward  to  the  end  of 
time;  on  which  account  Christ  is  with  great  pro- 
priety termed,  (Rev.  xiiL  8,)  the  Lamb  slamfromthe 
foundaJHon<fthe  world ;^^  or  from  the  time  of  man's 
fall,  for  the  necessity  of  Christ's  offering  himself  a 
sacrifice  for  sin  did  not  take  place  inmiediately  at 
the  creation,  but  at  the  fall.  But  now  once  in  t^e 
end  of  the  world— At  the  conclusion  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation,  and  the  entrance  of  gospel  times,  which 
are  the  last  season  of  God's  grace  to  the  church. 
The  apostle's  expression,  ewrtlttn  ruv  oiuvqv,  may 
be  properly  rendered,  the  consummation^  or  con- 
clusion, of  the  agesy  or  divine  dispensations,  termed 
the  dispensation  of  the  folness  of  times,  Eph.  L  10. 
See  also  Gal.  iv.  4.  The  sacrifice  of  Christ  divides 
the  whole  age  or  duration  of  the  world  into  two 
p^rts,  and  extends  its  vurtue  backward  and  forward. 
He  haih  appeared— Utfavt/MiTm^  been  manifested  f 
to  put  away  sin— Or^  for  the  abolition  ofsin^  as  the 
original  expression  signifies ;  that  is,  to  remove  both 
its  guilt  and  power,  (and  not  merely,  or  chiefly,  to 
abolish  the  Levitical  sinrqfferingSy  as  Mad^night 
strangely  intorprets  the  clause,)  hy  the  sacrifice  of 

b 


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Jmm  CkrUi^amafria 


CHAPTBt  X. 


ftjf  ike  Boerijke  ofhiwuetfr 


▲.M.406a    27  ^And  ae  it  is  appointed  unto 
1 —  men  once  to  dioi  ^but  after  this  tb^ 


judgment: 
28  So  ^Cbiki  was  once   ^offered  to  bear 


k  Gen.  iu.  19 ;  Eecles.  ill.  20. >  2  Cor.  r.  10 ;  Rer.  xx.  12, 13: 

kRoiii.Ti.  10;  lPet.iii.ia 


himself-^yfhicli  at  once  purchases  the  pardon  of  it 
for  us^  and  grace  to  sabdue  it,  and  effectnally  teaches 
nsto  mortify  it,  when  we  see  siich  aransompaid  for 
omr  forfeited  lives. 

Yerses  27, 28.  And  as  it  it  appointed^  &c. — Inas- 
much  as  this  is  the  eonstitatioQ  of  God,  that  sinful 
men  shall  efts  once,  and  but  once  ;  (see  the  margin ;) 
and  after  this  the  judgmemU-^Ot  the  great  day,  be- 
tween Which  and  death  nothing  shall  interpose  to 
make  any  alt^tion  in  Ae  state  or  condition  of  any 
one,  for  at  death  every  man's  final  state  is  deter- 
mined ;  but  we  do  not  find  a  word  in  the  Scriptures 
of  any  particular  judgment  taking  place  immediately 
after  death.  So  Christ,  &c.— In  correspondence  to 
that  state  of  things,  and  for  a  remedy  against  it;  and 
the  r^ief  (0  wonderful  efiect  of  infinite  wisdom !)  is 
eminently  proportionate  to  the  evil,  the  remedy  to 
the  disease.  Christ  imm  oftce  offered  to  hear  (he 
sins,  M^tt  zxvL  28;  1  l^et.  iL  24;  2  Cor.  v.  21;  the 
guilt  and  punishment  due  to  Oiem;  of  many— Even 
of  as  many  as  are  bom  into  the  world  j  or  the  ex- 
pression, wtvrynetv  afi&pTUMCf  may  be  rendered^  to 
carry  away  sins;  in  allusion^  perhaps,  to  the  scape- 
goat|  vhich  hare  all  the  iniquities  of  the  congregor 
tion  into  a  land  not  inhabited.  The  meaning,  how- 
ever, if  the  word  be  so  rendered,  will  be  the  same 
in  efiect,  namely,  that  Christ  was  once  offered  to 
make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  many.  And  tmto 
ihem  that  look  for  Aim— Whiph  all  true  believers 
do;  see  Rom.  viii.  23;  2  Cor.  v.  2;  2Tmi,  iv.  8; 
Ht  ii.  13;  2  Pet  ill  12.  Shall  he  appear  the  second 
time — O^^atroi,  he  shall  be  seen,  by  eveiy  eye. 
Rev.  i.  7;  there  shall  be  a  public  sight  of  him  in  ihe 
heavens,  when  he  comes  to  raise  the  dead  and  judge 
mankind ;  isiihout  #m— Not  bearing  men's  sins  as 
formerly,  or  without  any  thing  that  wears  the  marks 
of  humiliation  and  abasement,  or  resembles  the  form 
in  which  he  came  to  make  an  atonement  for  sin; 
unto  sahalion^-To  bestow  complete  happiness  of 
soul  and  body  upon  us.  Thus  Archbishop  Tillotson ; 
''What  is  the  meaning  of  this  opposition,  that  at  his 
first  coming  he  bare  our  sins,  but  at  his  second  com- 
ing As  sluUl  appear  wiihaut  sin  unto  salvation? 


the   sins   ^  of   many;    and   unto  a. if.iosa 
them  that  »look  for  him  shall  he    ^^•"' 


ajqpear  the  second  Xime  without  sin  unto  sal- 
vaticm. 


>  1  Pet.  iL  84 ;   1  John  iii.  5. "Matt  xxri.  28 ;  Bom.  t.  W. 

■Tit.ii.13;  2Pet.  iiLl2. 


These  w<nrds  can  have  no  other  imaginable  sense 
but  this,  that  at  his  first  coming  he  sustamed  the 
person  of  a  sinner,  and  suffered  instead  of  us,  but  his 
second  coming  shall  be  on  another  account,  and  he 
shall  appear,  not  as  a  Sacrifice,  but  as  a  Judge." 
Thus  the  Jewish  high-priest,  after  entering  into  the 
holy  of  holies  in  the  plain  dress  of  an  ordinary 
priest,  in  linen  garments,  making  atonement  for  the 
people,  came  out  thence  arrayed  in  his  magnificent 
robes  to  bless  the  peopie,  who  waited  for  him  in  the 
court  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation.  To  this 
transaction,  as  limborch  and  many  others  have 
supposed,  there  evidently  se^ms  to  be  an  allusion 
here.  And  as  the  irumpet  of  jubilee,  each  fiftieth 
year,  sounded  at  that  time  to  prodaim  the  com- 
mencement of  that  happy  period,  there  is  not,  says 
Doddridge,  perhaps,  an  image  that  can  enter  into 
the  mind  of  man  mere  suitable  to  express  the  grand 
idea  which  the  apostle  intended  to  convey,  than  tiiis 
would  be  to  a  Jew,  who  w^  knew  the  grand  so- 
lemnity to  which  it  referred.  ^But  there  will  be 
this  difference  between  the  return  <^  Christ  to  Mess 
his  people,  and  the  return  of  the  high-priest  to  Mess 
the  congregatioB.  The  latter,  alter  coming  out  of 
the  most  holy  place,  made  a  new  atonement  in  his 
pontifical  rebes  for  hilns^f  and  for  the  people.  Lev. 
xvi.  24;  which  showed  that  the  former  atonement 
was  not  real,  but  only  typical.  Whereas  Jesus, 
after  having  made  atonement,  with  his  own  blood, 
will  not  return  to  Ihe  earth  for  the  purpose  of  mak«- 
ing  himself  a  sacrifice  a  second  time;  but  havhig 
procured  an  eternal  redemption  for  his  people  by 
the  sacrifice  of  hhnself  once  offered,  he  will  re*^ 
turn  for  the  pui^KMe  of  publicly  absolving  them, 
and  bestowmg  on  them  Uie  great  blessing  of  eter- 
nal life,  whidi  absolution  and  reward  he,  being  sur- 
rounded with  the  glory  of  his  Father,  Mattibew  xvL 
27,  will  give  them  m  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
universe,  both  as  their  kUig  and  their  priest  And 
this  is  the  great  salvation  which  Christ  himself 
began  to  preach,  and  which  was  confirmed  to  the 
worid  by  them  who  heard  him,  chapter  ii.  8."- 
Iknight 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  apostli,  returning  from  his  digression,  (1,)  Proves  thai  the  Ugsl  eerssumiis  csM  not  psrify  the  conscience ;  snd  from 
thence  argues  the  ins^/^jfidsncy  cf  the  Mossic  law^  and  the  necessity  of  looking  beyond  0,  1-16.  (S,)  He  urges  Christians 
to  imj^ooe  the  prisileges  which  such  a  Highr  Priest  and  covenant  gem  them,  to  the  pmrfoses  of  a  fidudsl  Sfproach  to  Ood, 
a  constant  attendance  on  his  uforehip,  a  sincere  Une  to  each  other,  and  all  good  works,  16-26.  (3,)  He  enforces  his  ex- 
hortation steadily  to  adhere  U>  their  Christian  faith,  ly  reminding  thsm  (^  the  extremitiu  they  had  endtired  in  iu  defence, 
and  of  the  fatal  consequences  of  i^osiaey,  2Si~9^, 

b  la 


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^  7%4  sacrificiB  under  ike  law 


HEBBEWa 


could  not  pmrify  the  etm$deiiee. 


iLM.4068. 
A.  D.6i. 


'.  T70R* 


the  law  having  *  a  shadow 
good  thingB  to  come,  and 
not  the  very  image  of  the  things,  °can  never 
with  those  sacrifices,  which  they  oflered  year  fay 
year  continually,  mak6  the  comers  thereunto 
*  perfect. 
2  For  then  ^  would  they  not  have  ceased  to 


•Oo0d  fVMby,^^istle,  reiwe  1  to  Terse  26. >CoL  ii.  17; 

Chap.  viii.  5;     ix.  S3. ^Chap.  ix.  11.— *ChM>.  ix.  9. 

*Vwiel4. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  X. 
Yen^e  1.  The  apostle,  in  order  to  display  Christ^s 
dignity  as  a  High-Priest,  having  illustrated  what  he 
affirmed,  (chap.  viii.  7,)  namely,  that  the  Levitical 
priests  worshipped  God  ki  the  tabernacle  with  the 
representations  of  the  services  to  be  performed  by 
Christ  in  heaven ;  also  having  contrasted  the  inef- 
fectual services  performed  by  these  priests  in  the 
tabernacle  on  earth,  with  the  effectual  services  per- 
formed by  Christ  in  heaven;  and  the  covenant  of 
which  they  were  the  mediators,  with  the  covenant 
of  which  Christ  is  the  Mediator;  and  the  blessings 
procured  by  the  seryices  of  the  Levitical  priests  in 
the  earthly  tabernacle,  with  the  blessings  procured 
by  the  services  performed  by  Christ  in  heaven;  he, 
in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  as  the  necessary 
consequence  of  these  things,  infers,  that  since  the 
law  contained  nothiog  but  a  shadow,  or  emblemati- 
cal representation,  of  the  blessings  to  come,  through 
the  senricea  of  the  greater  and  more  perfect  hea- 
venly tabernacle,  and  not  these  blessings  themselves, 
it  never  could,  with  the  same  emblematical  sacrifices 
which  were  offered  annually  by  the  high-priest  on 
the  day  of  atonement,  make  those  who  came  to 
these  sacrifices  perfect  in  respect  of  pardon.  Thus, 
fV,  Ac-^As  if  he  had  said.  From  all  that  has  beea 
advanced,  it  appears  that  the  law — The  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation ;  being  a  bare  unsubstantial  shadow  of 
good  things  to  come— Oi  gospel  Uessiugs  and  gospel 
worship ;  and  not  the  very  image—The  substantial, 
solid  i^presentation,  or  complete  delineation ;  of  the 
things,  can  never,  with  the  same  kind  of  sacrifices 
— Though  oontinually  repeated;  make  ihe  comers 
thereunto  perfect.  In  the  terms  shadow  and  image, 
there  seems  to  be  an  allusion,  as  Doddridge  observes, 
"  to  the  different  state  of  a  painting,  when  the  first 
sketch  only  is  drawn,  and  when  the  picture  is  fin- 
ished 9  or  to  the  first  sketch  of  a  painting,  when 
compared  with  what  is  yet  more  expressiye  than 
even  the  completest  picture,  and  exact  image  ?'  or 
between  the  shadow  of  a  man,  made  by  his  body's 
intercepting  the  sun's  rays,  and  a  good  portrait  or 
statue  of  him,  or  the  reflection  of  his  person  in  a 
mirror.  The  good  things  of  which  the  law  con- 
tained only  a  shadow,  were,  Ist,  The  cleansing  of 
the  mind  of  believers  from  evil  dispositions,  by  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  by  the  influences  of  the 
Bphrit  of  God.  Of  this  the  washings  and  purifica- 
tions of  the  bodies  of  the  Israelites,  enjoined  in  the 
law,  were  a  shadow;    2d,  That  real  atonement  for 


be  offered?  because  that  the  woishk>-  a.  m.  4068i 

A.  D  M 

pers  once  purged  should  hare  had  no  ! 1. 

more  conscience  of  sins. 

3  ^  But  m  those  sacrifices  there  is  a  remem- 
brance again  made  of  sins  evay  year. 

4  For '{/ 19  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  buBi 
and  of  go^  shouki  take  away  mm. 


»0r,  cVy 
•  l<ev.  zri  SI ;  Cfaui.  ix.  7. 
Vene  11. 


to  U  ffendf   Ueatue,    4*, 
MIc  ri.  6,  7;  Chap.  ix.  13 ; 


sin,  whi^  was  made  by  the  oflbring  of  the  body  of 
Christ  dnce  for  all,  verse  10.  Of  this  the  Levitied 
atonements,  made  by  the  bflering  of  beasts,  were  a 
shadow.  Sd,  The  eternal  pardon  of  dn,  procured 
for  believers  by  the  atonements  which  Christ  made.' 
Of  this  the  political  pardon,  obtained  for  the  Israel- 
ites by  the  sacrifice  of  beasts  which  the  priests 
oflered,  was  a  shadow.  4th,  Access  to  worship  God 
on  earth  through  the  blood  of  Christ  with  the  hope 
of  acceptance.  Of  this  ihe  drawing  nigh  of  the  Is- 
raelites to  worship  in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle, 
through  the  blood  of  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  was  a 
shadow.  6Ch,  The  eternal  possession  of  heaven, 
through  beUevin^  and  obeying  the  gospel.  Of  this 
the  continued  possession  of  Canaan,  secured  to  the 
Israelites  by  their  obedience  to  the  law,  was  a  shadow. 
Now  since  the  good  things  which  Christ  hath  ob- 
tained for  believers  through  his  ministrations  In  the 
heavenly  tabernacle,  were  not  procured,  but  only 
typified,  by  the  ministrations  of  the  high-priests  in 
the  tabernacle  on  earth,  it  was  fit  that  those  shadows 
should  be  done  away  after  the  things  of  which  they 
were  ^adows  were  accomplished. 

Verses  2,  3.  For  then  would  they  not  have  ceased, 
&p.^There  would  not  have  been  need  to  have  of- 
fered theqo  mdre  than  once:  that  is,  if  these  sacri- 
fices had  made  the  worshippers  perfect,  in  respect 
of  pardon,  they  would  have  ceased  to  be  offiered ; 
because  C&e  worshippers  once  purged — Or  fully  dis- 
charged from  the  guilt  Of  their  transgresaons ; 
should  have  had  no  more  conscience  of  sin — ^Therc 
would  have  remained  no  more  sense  of  guilt  upon 
their  cbnsciences  to  have  troubled  them,  and  no  more 
fear  of  future  punishment  in  consequence  thereof. 
But  it  was  not  so  with  them,  as  appears  by  the 
yeariy  repetition  of  these  sacrifices,  wherein  there 
was  a  continual  remembrance  made  of  sin — A  con- 
sciousness of  their  sins,  as  unpardoned,  still  remained 
even  after  tlxose  sacrifices  were  ofifered,  as  is  evident 
from  this,  that  in  the  annual  repetition  of  their  sa- 
crifices, the  people's  sins,  for  which  atonement  had 
formerly  been  made,  were  remembered;  that  is, 
confessed  as  needing  a  yet  further  expiation.  And, 
though  it  is  true  we  are  daily  to  remember  and  con- 
fess our  sins,  yet  that  respects  only  the  application 
of  the  virtue  and  efficacy  of  the  atonement  already 
made  to  our  consciences,  without  the  least  desire  or 
expectation  of  a  new  propitiation. 

Verse  4.  For  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  qf 
buUs  and  goats— Or  of  any  brute  animals ;  sTumld 

b 


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Ckrui  took  a  human  body  that 


CHAPTER  X. 


he  might  make  eaHsfactionfir  $x$l 


A.  If.  4068.  5  Wherefore,  when  he  cometh  into 
*  n  A4 
'. — 1-  the  world,  he  eaith,  » Sacrifice  and 

oflering  thou  wooldest  not,  but  a  body  'hast 

thou  {urepared  me : 


ff  Pta.  zL  Ot^cc ;  L8,te.;  In.  ill; 


take  avay  Wn«— Should  make  full  satisfaction  and 
atonement  for  them,  so  as  to  procure  the  pardon  of 
them  on  its  own  account  To  mderstand  the  apos- 
tle, we  must  remember,  that  though  reqnlsdon  of 
bins  be  originally  from  mere  grace  and  mercy,  yet  it 
is  not  to  be  accomplished  by  sovereign  grace  aJbne, 
which  would  be  inconsistent  with  God's  truth,  holi- 
ness, and  righteous  government  of  the  world.  Hence 
shedding  of  blood  has  been  the  appointed  means  of 
obtaining  it  in  all  ages  $  and  the  psalmkt,  Psa.  1. 5,  re- 
presents all  God's  true  people  as  making  a  covenant 
with  him  ty  sacrifice.  And  for  this  appointment 
much  may  be  said  on  the  principles  of  reason.  For 
as  the  most  ancient  way  of  teaching  was  by  sym- 
bols, emblems,  or  hieroglyphics,  God,  by  requiring 
sacrifices  of  mankind  in  order  to  the  pardon  of  then: 
sins,  intended  hereby  to  teach  them,  1st,  Their  guilt, 
and  desert  of  death  and  destruction :  2d,  The  great 
evil  of  sin,  its  odious  nature,  and  destructive  conse- 
quences, in  that  it  could  not  be  expiated  without 
blood :  3d,  The  necessity  of  mortifying  it,  and  the 
carnal  principle  whence  it  proceeds:  4th,  Hereby 
to  lay  a  foundation  for  the  confidence  and  hope  of 
the  sinner,  with  respect  to  pardon,  as  the  substitution, 
by  divine  appointment,  of  the  life  of  the  animal  in 
the  stead  of  the  life  of  the  sinner,  manifested  grace 
and  promised  forgiveness :  5th,  Hereby  also  provi- 
sion was  made  both  for  condemning  and  pardoning 
sin,  both  which  things,  in  order  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  mankind,  were  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  be  done.  Now,  though  these  ends  migh^ 
be  answered,  in  some  faint  degree,  or,  to  speak 
more  properly,  though  a  shadow  of  them  might  be 
exhibited  in  the  sacrifices  of  brute  animals,  yet  they 
could  not  be  accomplished  in  an  ftdequate  manner, 
nor  the  very  images  of  the  things  be  exhibited  thereby. 
For,  1st,  These  sacrifices  could  not  fully  manifest 
the  great  evil  of  sin,  and  its  destructive  nature.  For 
what  great  evil  was  there  in  it,  if  only  the  death  of 
an  inferior  creature,  or  of  a  number  of  inferior  crea- 
tures, was  required  in  order  to  the  expiation  of  it? 
Nor,  2d,  For  the  same  reason  could  the  sacrifice  of 
these  animals  adequately  manifest  the  great  guilt  of 
mankind  in  committing  sin,  and  the  punishment 
they  thereby  deserved :  nor,  3d,  God's  infinite  hatred 
to  it,  and  the  infinite  rectitude  of  his  nature,  and 
dignity  of  his  government.  Add  to  this,  as  the  sa- 
crificed animals  were  not  of  the  same  nature  with 
man,  who  had  sinned,  their  death  could  not  dissolve 
the  debt  of  death  and  destmction  which  the  human 
nature  had  contracted.  Nay,  being  irrational,  they 
were  of  an  inferior  nature,  and  the  lives  of  ten  thou- 
sands of  them  were  not  worth  the  life  of  one  man, 
even  if  num  were  no  more  immortal  than  they.  "In 
satisfaction  to  justice,  by  way  of  compensation  for 
Injuries,  there  must  be  a  proportion  between  the  in- 
VoL.  II.  (  85  ) 


6  In    bumt-ofierings    and    sacri-  A.  M.  4068. 
Jices  for  sin  thou  hast  had  no  plea-       ^ 
sure. 

7  Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  volume  of 


J«r.TL20;  AmosT.21,S3. *  Or,  Aoukaal/iiUdmt. 

jury  and  the  reparation,  that  justiee  maybe  as  mxkch 
exalted  and  glorified  in  the  one,  as  it  is  depressed 
and  debased  in  the  other.  But  there  could  be  ho 
such  proportion  between  the  affront  put  on  the  right- 
eousness of  God  by  sin,  and  the  reparation  by  the 
blood  of  bulls,  &c."  If  a  nobleman  forfeit  hia  head 
by  high  treason,  his  giving  up  his  flocks,  and  herds 
would  not  expiate  his  offence,  and  satisfy  the  law. 
And  if  the  blood  of  thousands  of  them  would  not  be 
an  adequate  ransom  for  the  life  of  one  man,  much 
less  for  the  lives  of  all  men.  They  are  in  their  own 
nature  mortal ;  man  is  immortal ;  and  surely  the 
sacrifice  of  their  temporal,  yea,  short  lives,  could  be 
no  adequate  price  for  men's  everlasting  lives.  The 
appointment  of  these  sacrifices,  however,  was  not 
made  in  vain.  Though  they  could  not  take  away 
sin,  they  had  their  use.  1st,  They  purified  the  flesh 
from  ceremonial  defilement  and  gave,  or  restored, 
to  those  that  ofiered  them,  a  right  to  the  benefits  of 
the  Mosaic  dispensation,  namely,  access  to  God  in 
his  worship,  and  life  and  prosperity  in  the  land  of 
Canaan;  cdthough  they  did  not  purify  their  con- 
science so  as  to  procure  them  admission  Into  the 
heavenly  Canaan.  2d,  They  continually  represented 
to  sinners  the  curse  and  sentence  of  the  law,  or  that 
death  was  the  wages  of  sin.  For  although  there 
was  allowed  in  them  a  commutation,  namely,  that 
the  sinner  himself  should  not  die,  but  the  beast  sa- 
crificed in  his  stead ;  yet  they  all  bore  testimony  to 
the  sacred  truth,  that,  in  the  judgment  of  God,  they 
who  commit  sin  are  worthy  of  death.  3d,  TTiey 
were  intended,  as  we  have  repeatedly  seen,  to  be 
typical  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ ;  and  the  temporal 
benefits  obtained  for  the  Israelites  by  them  were 
emblematical  of  the  everlasting  blessings  procured 
for  believers  by  his  sacrifice. 

Verses  5-10.  Wherefore—ka  if  ho  had  said.  Be- 
cause the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  could  not  take 
away  sms,  therefore  Christ  offered  himself  as  a  sa- 
crifice to  do  it.  When  he  cometh  into  the  worlds 
That  is,  when  the  Messiah  is  described  by  David  as 
making  his  entrance  into  the  world ;  he  sailh—He 
is  represented  by  that  inspired  writer  as  saying.  Sec- 
crifice  and  offering  thou  wouldest  not — Accept  for  a 
sufficient  expiation  and  Aill  satisfoction  for  sin ;  but 
thou  hast  provided  something  of  another  nature  for 
this  purpose ;  tJiou  hast  given  me  a  body — Miracu- 
loudy  formed,  and  qualified  to  be  an  expiatory 
sacrifice  for  sin.  The  words,  a  body  hast  thou  pre- 
pared mcy  are  the  translation  of  the  LXX. ;  but  in 
the  Hebrew  it  is,  Mine  ears  Tiast  thou  opened,  or 
Itored;  an  expression  which  signifies,  I  have  de- 
voted myself  to  thy  perpetual  service,  and  thou  hast 
accepted  of  me  as  thy  servant,  and  signified  so  much 
by  the  bormg  of  mine  ears.  So  that,  though  the 
words  of  the  translation  of  the  LXX.,  here  used  by 
545 


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A.  M.  4068.  the  book  it  is  written  of  me)  to  do  thy 
±±^  wiU,  O  God. 

8  Above,  when  he  said,  Sacrifice  and  offer- 
ing and  burnt-offerings  and  offing  for  sin 
thou  wouldest  tiot,  neither  hadst  pleasure  there- 
in ;  which  are  offered  by  the  law ; 

9  Then  said  he,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will, 
O  God.  He  taketh  away  the  first,  that  he  may 
establish  the  second. 

10  ^By  the  which  wiE  we  are  sanctified 
'through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ  once  for  all. 

11  And  every  priest  standeth  ^daUy  minis- 
tering and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacri- 
fices, ^  which  can  never  take  away  sins : 

12  »  But  this  mauj  after  he  had  offered  one 


»>  John  xvii.   19 ;    Chapter  xiii.    12. »  Chapter   ix.    12. 

k  Numbers  xcviii.  3  j  Chapter  rii.  27. •  Verse  4. ■  Chap. 

i.3;Col.  iii.  1. 


the  apostle,  are  not  the  same  with  those  signified  by 
the  original  Hebrew,  the  sense  is  the  same ;  for  the 
ecurs  suppose  a  body  to  which  they  belong,  and  the 
preparing  of  a  body  implies  the  preparing  of  the 
ears,  and  the  obligation  of  the  person  for  whom  a 
body  was  prepared,  to  serve  him  who  prepared  it ; 
which  the  boring  of  the  ear  signified.  How  far  the 
rest  of  the  psalm  b  applicable  to  Christ,  see  the 
notes  there.  Then^  &c, — That  is,  when  the  way 
appointed  for  the  expiation  of  sin  was  not  perfectly 
available  for  that  purpose ;  /  said,  Lo,  I  come— To 
make  expiation ;  in  the  volume  of  the  book — That  is, 
according  to  what  is  foretold  of  me  in  Scripture, 
even  in  this  very  psalm ;  todotky  will,  O  God— To 
suffer  whatsoever  thy  judtiee  shall  require  of  me  in 
order  to  the  making  of  a  complete  atonement. 
Above  when  he  said — That  is,  when  the  psalmist 
pronounced  those  words  in  his  name ;  Sacrifice,  f-c, 
thou  wouldesl  not— Or  thou  hast  not  chosen ;  then 
said  he—la  that  very  instant  he  subjoined ;  Lo,  I 
come  to  do  thy  will— By  offering  myself  a  sacrifice 
lor  sin.  He  taketh  away  the  first,  &c.— That  is,  by 
4hi8  very  act  he  taketh  away  the  legal,  that  he  may 
establish  the  evangelical,  dispensation.  By  which 
iDt7/— Namely,  that  he  should  become  a  sacrifice; 
«e— Believers  under  the  gospel;  are  sanctified — 
Are  both  delivered  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  dedica- 
ted to  God  in  heart  and  life ;  yea,  are  conformed  to 
his  Image,  and  made  truly  holy ;  through  the  offer- 
ing  of  the  body  of  Christ — Which,  whUe  it  expiates 
our  sins,  procures  for  us  the  sanctifying  Spirit  of 
God,  and  lays  us  under  an  indispensable  obligation 
to  die  to4hose  sins,  the  guilt  of  which  required  such 
an  expiation,  and  to  live  to  him  who  made  it.  "  Hens 
we  learn  it  was  by  the  express  will  of  Crod  that  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  was  appo'mted  a  propitiation  for 
the  sins  of  mankind;  and  it  must  ever  be  remem- 
bered, that  the  will  of  God  is  the  true  foundation  on 
^which  any  atonement  of  sin  can  be  established. 
M6 


sacrifice  for  sins,  for  ever  sat  down  on  a.  k.  ^4om. 
the  right  hand  o£  God;  _! 

13  From  henceforth  expecting  *till  his  ene- 
mies be  made  his  footstool 

14  F<»r  by  one  offering  ^he  hath  perfected 
for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified. 

15  Whereof  the  Hdy  Ghost  also  is  a  witness 
to  us :  for  after  that  he  had  said  befcN^, 

16  ''This  is  the  covenant  that'Iviillmake 
with  them  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord ;  I 
will  put  my  laws  into  their  hearts,  and  in  their 
minds  will  I  write  them ; 

17  ^  And  their  sins  and  iniquities  wiD  I  re- 
member no  more. 

18  Now,  where  remission  of  these  t^,  there 
is  no  more  ofiering  for  sin. 

■Psa. ex.  1 ;  Acts  ii.  35.;  1  Cor.  rr.  25;  Gh.  i.  IX ^  Vcwe 

1. P  Jer.  xzxi.  33,  34;  Chap.  viii.  10, 12. ^"Some  copies 

h«Ve,  TfuH  hi  mmI,  And  their. 

Wherefore,  since  the  death  of  Christ  is  by  God  made 
the  propitiation  for  men's  sins,  it.  rests  on  the  found- 
ation of  his  will,  secure  from  all  the  objections 
raised  against  it,  either  by  erring  Christians  or  by 
obstinate  infidels,  on  account  of  our  not  being  able 
to  explain  the  reasons  which  determined  God  te 
save  sinners  m  that  method,  rather  than  in  any 
other." 

Verses  11-18.  And  every  priest  standeth,  &c.— In 
token  of  humble  service  and  subjection  \  daily — 
Morning  and  evening;  ministering  and  offering 
qften  the  same  sacrifices,  wJiich  shows  that  these  sa- 
crifices can  never  take  away  sins — Can  never  fully 
expiate  them,  so  as  to  make  it  consistent  with  the 
justice  of  God  to  forgiye  them  to  the  penitent  and 
believing.  But  this  man—hvroc  <Je,  but  He,  the  virtue 
of  whose  one  sacrifice  remains  for  ever,  so  that  it 
need  not  be  any  more  repeated ;  sat  down  on  the 
right  hand  of  Qod — ^As  a  Son  in  majesty  and 
honour,  and  in  token  of  the  continuance  of  his  priest 
hood,  and  of  his  dignity  there  as  Lord ;  from  hence- 
forth, (to  "koiitov,  what  remains,)  expecting — Wait- 
ing ;  tiU  his  enemies  be  made  his  footstoot-^TUl  his 
ministry  as  High-Priest,  and  government  as  King, 
shall  issue  according  to  God's  promise,  (Psa.  ex.  l^) 
in  the  utter  destruction  of  his  enemies.  For  by  one 
offering— Of  himself;  (and  it  appears  that  he  did 
not  need  to  offer  himself  more  than  once ;)  he  hoik 
perfected  for  ever— Hath  fully  reconciled  to  God ; 
them  that  are  aoncfi/S^d— Those  who  in  true  repent- 
ance, living  faith,  and  new  obedience,  give  them- 
selves up  to  the  love  and  service  of  God.  Whereof 
— Of  the  perfection  of  whose  sacrifice;  the  Holy 
Ghost  also  is  a  witness  to  us — Namely,  in  the  form 
of  the  new  covenant  recorded  by  him  Jer.  xxxi.  31. 
Tliis  is  the  covenant,  &c. — See  on  ehap.  viii.  10.  In 
these  three  verses,  the  apostle  winds  up  his  argu- 
ment concerning  the  exceUence  and  perfeetionof 
the  priesthood  and  sacrifice  of  Christ.  He  had  proved 
(  86*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  X 


aeeeee to  Chdbythe blood ofJeeua. 


A.if.4O60L    19  Having (berefiN:e,breUmn,9bcrfd- 
-1.1 —  ness^  to  enter  'into  the  holiest  by  the 
Mood  of  Jesus, 

20  By  ^  a  new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath 
'oonseciated  for  ns,  Hhiough  the  veil,  that  is 
to  say,  his  flesh ; 

21  AnA  having  *a  high-priest  over  'the 
house  of  God ;      . 

*  Rom.  T.  2 ;  Eph.  iL  18;  iii.  12. ^  Or,  Ubtrty. '  Chap. 

iz.  8, 12. •  Jolm  z.  9;  zir.  6;   Chap.  iz.  8. — ^Or,  turn- 

mad*. « Chap.  ix.  3.-^-"  Chap.  It.  14. « 1  Tim.  iU.  15. 

r  Ohap.  IT.  18. 


this  before  by  a  quotation  fh>m  Jeremiah,  which  he 
here  repeats,  describing  the  new  covenant  as  now 
completely  ratified,  and  all  the  blessings  of  it  secured 
to  us  by  the  one  offering  of  Christ,  Which  renders  all 
other  expiatory  sacrifices,  and  any  repetition  of  his 
own,  ntteriy  needless. 

Verses  19-22.  Having  ther^e—The  apostle,  hav- 
ing finidied  the  doctrinal  part  of  his  epiatie,  now 
proceeds  to  exhortlation,  deduced  from  what  has  been 
treated  of  from  chap.  v.  4.  For  though  there  are 
some  occasional  intermiztures  of  doctrines,  conso- 
nant to  those  before  insisted  on,  yet  his  professed 
design  henceforward  is  to  propose  to,  and  press  on, 
the  believing  Hebrews,  such  duties  as  the  truths  he 
had  insisted  on  laid  a  fbundation  (or,  and  showed  to 
be  necessary  to  be  practised.  Irving  therefore  bold- 
netf— The  word  irapptfata,  thus  rendered,  properly 
means  liberty  of  speech  ;^  and  by  an  easy  figure, 
boldneee,  or  confidence^  as  it  is  rendered  chap.  iii.  6. 
Here  it  signifies  that  boldness  which  arises  from  a 
firm  persuasion  of  our  title  to  appear  before  God  as 
pardoned  persons,  through  the  blood  of  Christ  To 
enter  into  the  holieet — That  is,  the  true  sanctuary, 
the  holy  place  not  made  with  hands,  the  immediate 
gracious  presence  of  God  himself  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Whatever  was  typically  represented  in  the  most  holy 
place  of  old,  we  have  access  to,  especially  into  the 
favour  and  friendship  of  God,  and  a  state  of  fellow- 
ship with  him.  Of  this  privilege  the  blood  of  Christ, 
or  his  sacrifice,  is  the  procuring  cause.  By  this,  all 
causes  of  distance  between  God  and  believers  are  re- 
moved. For  on  the  one  hand,  it  made  atonement  for 
our  sins,  and  procured  our  free  justification ;  and  on 
the  other  gives  peace  to  our  consciences,  and  re- 
moves every  discouraging  fear  of  approaching  him, 
whether  in  his  ordinances  here,  or  in  his  kingdom 
and  glory  hecealter.  By  a  new  and  living  way — 
He  calls  it  a  new  way,  because  it  was  but  newly 
made  and  prepared;  belongs  to  the  new  covenant, 
and  admits  of  no  decays,  but  is  always  new,  as  to  its 
efficacy  and  use,  as  in  the  day  of  its  first  prepara- 
tion ;  whereas  that  of  the  tabernacle  waxed  old,  and 
so  was  prepared  for  a  removal  And  he  terms  it  a 
living  way,  because  all  that  use  it  are  alive  to  God, 
and  in  the  way  to  life  everlasting.  And  this  is  no 
other  than  the  way  of  faith,  or.  confidence  in  the 
mercy  and  promises  of  God,  through  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  according  to  the  revelation  made  thereof 
ia  the  gospel;  which  he  hath  comecratedr^Pre- 
b 


22  3^  Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  a.  m.  4068. 
heart,  «in  fidl  assurance  of  feith,    ^^'^' 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  ^tom  an  evil 
omsdence^  and  ^our  bodies  washed  with  pure 
water. 

23  •Let  us  hdd  fast  the  profession  of  oier 
fiuth  without  wavering ;  for  *  he  w  fiuthful  that 
promised: 

sElph.  iii.  12;    Jam6t  i.  8;    1  John  iii  21. *Chap.  ix. 

14. *  Ezek  xzxvi.  25 ;   2  Cor.'  rii.  I.— c  Chapter  ir.  14. 

*lCor.i.»;  x.  13;  lTh6ai.T.24;  2Th«Mt.  iilS;  Chapter 
xi.  11. 


pared,  dedicated,  and  established ;  through  the  veilj 
that  is,  hisflesh^He  refers  to  the  veil  that  was  in- 
terposed between  the  holy  and  the  most  holy  place 
of  the  Jewish  tabernacle  and  temple :  see  ch&p.  ix.  3. 
This  veil,  on  our  Lord's  death,  was  rent  from  the  top 
to  the  bottom,  by  which  the  most  holy  place  became 
visible  and  accessible  to  all  (hat  were  in  the  outward 
tabernacle ;  by  which  fact  was  signified,  that  by  vir- 
tue of  Christ's  sacrifice,  whereby  his  fiesh  was  torn 
and  rent,  the  God  of  heaven  was  manifested,  and  the 
way  to  heaven  laid  open  to  all  true  believers.  And 
hamng  a  ERgh'Priest  over  the  hoUse-^Or  family ; 
of  G'od— Who  continually  appears  in  the  presence 
of  God,  and  ever  lives  to  make  intercession  for  us| 
let  tis  draw  near— To  God ;  with  a  true  heart — In 
godly  sincerity,  and  with  fervent  desire  after  such 
blessings  of  the  gospel  as  we  have  not  yet  received ; 
in  full  assurance  of  faith — That  we  shall  find  ac- 
ceptance with  God  through  the  mediation  of  our 
High-Priest,  and  the  answer  of  our  petitions*,  having 
our  hearts  sprinkled— ThsX  is,  cleansed,  by  the  ap- 
plication of  Christ's  blood ;  from  an  evil  conscience 
— ^Namely,  a  conscience  defiled  with  the  guilt  of  past 
sin.  See  on  chap.  ix.  14.  When  the  Israelites  were 
ceremonially  polluted,  they  were  to  be  cleansed  by 
sprinkling  them  with  the  water  of  separation,  de- 
scribed Num.  xix.  2-10 ;  but  the  sprinkling  or  cleans- 
ing here  recommended  is  not  of  the  body  from  cere- 
monial pollution,  but  of  the  soul  from  the  guilt  and 
distress  of  an  accunng  conscience.  This  cleansing  is 
effected  neither  by  water  nor  by  the  blood  of  beasts, 
but  by  faith  in  Christ's  blood,  shed  as  a^in-olTering, 
whereby  the  repenting  sinner  liath  a  full  assurance  of 
pardon.  And  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water — 
All  our  conversation  unblameable  and  holy,  through 
the  influence- of  God's  sanctifying  Spirit  This  seems 
to  be  spoken  with  an  allusion  to  the  high-priest's 
washing  his  body  with  water  before  he  entered  the 
inward  tabernacle.  Lev.  xvi.  4.  In  that  manner  also 
the  Levites  were  purified,  (Num.  viii.  7,)  to  prepare 
them  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary. 

Verses  23-26.  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of 
our  faith — Or,  rather,  of  our  hope,  as  the  most  ap- 
proved MSS.,  indeed  all  but  one,  read  the  clause. 
The  apostle  referred  to  that  profession  or  confession 
of  their  hope  of  eternal  life,  which  believers  made  at 
their  baptism.  For  being  God's  children,  and  heirs 
through  faith  in  Christ,  (John  i.  12;  GaL  iii.  26,) 
they  had  an  undoubted  right  to  hope  for  the  heavenly 
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faUfrom  ^  CkrUiianfakk. 


XM.406a.   24  And  let  us  coDBid^  one  another,  to 
^^•^  pioToke  unto  love,  Md  to  good  works : 

25  *  Not  fiMTsaking  the  asBembling  of  our- 
idves  togeth^,  as  the  manner  of  some  %»;  but 
exhorting  one  another;  and  ^so  much  the 
more,  as  ye  see  'the  day  approaching. 

26  For  ^if  we  sin  wilfiijlly  *aft^  that  we 
have  received  the  knowledge  of  the  truAy  there 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins, 

27  But  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judg- 


•  AclB  iL  42;  Jad«  19. — ^Rom.  xiii.  U. f  Ptiil.  ir.  5; 

%  Pet  iit  0, 11, 14.—^  Nam.  xr.  30;  Chw.  tL  4. *  2  Pet 

u.  90, 21. k  Esek.  zzxrL  5 ;  Zeph.  L  18 ;  iii.  8;  2  Tbeas. 

i.  8 ;  Ohap.  xii.  29. 


inheritance:  wiifu^  watering^ViWYioxA  giving 
way  to  any  doubt  or  fear  in  a  case  where  we  have 
fludi  certain  and  indubitable  evidence ;  or  unmoved 
by  the  threats  of  our  persecutors.  For  he  t$  faith' 
fid  that  promteed—ThaX  is,  all  the  promises  of  God 
shall  be  made  good  to  us,  if  we  continue  steadfast 
And  let  US  coneider  one  another^hei  us  reflect  se- 
riously on  one  another's  temptations,  trials,  infirmi- 
ties, failings,  and  other  circumstances  attending  us, 
that  We  may  judge  what  influence  we  can  have  over 
one  another  for  our  mutual  advantage:  and  espe- 
cially to  prowjke  and  excite  one  another  tmto  hve  to 
God,  his  people,  and  all  mankind ;  (tnd  to  good 
iporAcf — Of  all  kinds,  the  proper  fruits  of  love.  Mbe 
for$aking  the  osBerMing  of  ourselves  together^— 
For  public  or  social  worship ;  as  the  manner  of  some 
is — ^Either  through  fear  of  persecution,  or  from  a 
vain  imagination  that  they  are  i^ye  external  or^i 
nances ;  but  exhorting  one  another^-^To  constancy 
in  the  faith,  zeal  and  diligence  in  all  works  of  piety 
and  virtue ;  and  so  nmch  the  more  as  ye  see  the  day 
approaching-— Thot  awfril  day,  in  which  we  must 
appear  before  the-  tribunal  of  God,  preceded  by  the 
day  of  death,  which  is  drawing  continually  nearer, 
and  will  fix  our  character  and  condition  for  ever.  As 
also  that  day  of  vengeance  coming  on  the  Jewish 
nation,  which  Christ  hath  described  as  so  terrible  an 
emUem  of  the  day  of  final  judgment,  and  the  con- 
flagration of  the  worid.  From  what  Christ  had  said 
concerning  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
temple,  and  the  dreadful  calamities  awaiting  the 
Jews,  as  events  that  should  happen  during  the  lives 
of  some  who  had  been  present  with  him  about  thirty 
years  before  the  date  of  this  epistle,  these  Hebrews 
might  infer  that  these  judgments  were  now  near, 
and  doubtless  might  see  them  approaching,  by  the 
appearing  of  those  signs  which  our  Lord  had  said 
should  precede  them. 

Verses  28, 27.  For,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said,  It  con- 
cerns us  to  use  all  means  to  ensure  our  perseverance, 
because  apostacy  is  so  dangerous ;  t/ir«— Any  of  us 
Chiisiians;  sin  wilfuUy^By  total  apostacy  from 
God ;  (see  on  chap.  vL  4;)  after  we  have  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truths  As  it  is  in  Jesus,  name- 
ly, an  experimental  and  practical  knowledge  thereof, 
so  as  to  have  been  made  free  thereby  from  the  guilt 
and  power  of  sin;  there  remaineth  no  more  sacri- 


roent  and  ^  fiery  indignation,  which  a  l^^sssw 
shall  devour  the  adversaries.  1 

28  ^He  that  despised  Moses's  law^  died vrilhr 
out  inercy  "* under  tw^  or  three  witnesses: 

29  "Of  bow  much sorarpunishmsnti suppose 
ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trod- 
den under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  ""haih 
counted  the  Mood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith 
he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  'and  hath 
done  despite  unto  the  Sfnrit  of  grace? 

»  Chap.  ii.  2. ■  Deot.  xrii.  2,  S ;    xix.  16 ;    ICat^  xriii. 

16;  John  ▼iii.  17;  2  Cor.  ziii.  1. >Chap.  ii.  3;  ziL  15. 

•  1  OoiinthiuM  jL  29 ;  Chapter  nii.  2a P  Matthew  xii  31, 

32>;  Eph.  ir.  30. 


fee  for  m'fw— None  but  that  which  we  obstinately 
reject  ''As  the  apostte,  in  the  former  part  of  the 
episUe,  had  proved  that  the  sacrifices  of  the  law 
were  all  abolished,  and  that  the  only  sacrifice  for  sin 
remaining  was  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  it  followed  that 
apostates,  who  wilfolly  renounced  the  benefit  of 
that  sacrifice,  had  no  sacrifice  for  sia  whaterer  re* 
maining  to  them."  But  a  certain  fearful  looking 
for^-^dStpa  6e  ric  ric^otV}  a  kind  of  fearful  espeeta- 
tion,  intimatmg  something  inexpressible,  such  as  no 
heart  could  conceive  or  tongue  describe.  Hius  St 
Peter,  1  Epist  iv.  17, 18,  What  shall  be  the  end  of 
themwho  obey  nor  the  gospel?  Where  shaU  the  mt- 
godly  and  the  sinner  appear?  Of  judgment  and 
fiery  indignation.  The  apostle  refers  both  to  the 
final  judgment  of  the  great  day,  when  apostates  from 
the  religion  of  Jesus,  as  well  as  those  who  obstinately 
rejected  it,  shall  be  punished  wi^  everlasting  de- 
structionfirom  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  &e^  2  Thess. 
i.  0;  and  also  to  the  dreadftil  and  fiery  indignation 
which  Ood  was  eboni  to  bring  on  the  unbelieTing 
and  obstinate  Jews,  in  the  total  destruction  of  their 
city  and  temple  by  sword  and  fire,  derouring  them, 
as  adversaries  to  God  and  his  Christ,  of  all  others  the 
niost  inexcusable.  The  reader  should  observe  that 
the  apostle  lays  it  down  here  as  certain,  that  God 
will  not  pardon  sinners  without  some  sacrifice  or 
satisfaction.  For  otherwise  it  would  not  follow, 
from  there  remaining  to  apostates  no  more  sacrifice 
for  sin,  that  there  must  remain  to  them  a  dreadAil 
expectation  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation.  In 
these  last  words,  the  conflagration  of  the  heaTen  and 
the  earth  at  the  day  of  judgment  seems  especially  to 
be  referred  to. 

Verses  28, 29.  He  that— In  capital  cases,  such  as 
by  the  sins  of  sabbath-breaking,  disobedience  to  pa- 
rents, blasphemy,  adultery,  murder;  despised— ^re- 
sumptuously  transgressed ;  Moseses  laiw,  dtcd— Was 
put  to  death ;  without  mtfrcy— Without  any  delay  or 
mitigation  of  his  punishment,  if  convicted  by  two  or 
three  witnessesSee  the  margin.  €fhow  much  sorer 
punishment— Thwn  that  of  the  death  of  the  body; 
shall  he  be  thmight  worthy,  who— By  wilful,  total 
apostacy;  (to  which  only  it  appears  that  this  pas- 
sage refers ;)  hath,  as  it  were,  trodden  underfoot  the 
Son  of  Qod—K  lawgiver  far  more  honourable  than 
Moses,  and  the  true  Messiah,  the  only  Sariour  of  Ae 

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Exkorlalion  to  remember  the 


CHAPTER  X. 


firmer  merdee  of  Qod, 


A.  M.  4068.    BO  For  we  know  bmi  that  hath  said, 

A.  D  04. 

1 —  ^Yengeiuice  beUmgeth  unto  me,  I 

wiD  recompMue,  saith  the  Lord    And  again, 
'  The  Lord  shall  jadge  his  peo|^ 

31  '  JB  t«  a  fearful  thing  to  M  into  the  hands 
of  the  living  <Sod. 

32  But  *  ceSk  to  remembrance  the  former  days. 


4  Dent  zzziL  35 ;  Rom.  zii.  18L- 
exxzT.  14. *  I>«ke  xii.  5^- 


*  Devt.  vuui.  36;  Ptft.  L  4 ; 
-<OaLiii.4;  SJohnS. 


world;  him  whom  God  hath  exidted  above  princi- 
palities and  powers,  and  whom  therefore  all  mankind 
ought  to  exdt  and  adore  in  their  souls ;  hut  who  now, 
by  this  sort  of  persons,  was  esteemed  an  evil-doer,  a 
seducer;  one  not  in  any  sense  sent  of  God,  but  a 
malefactor,  justly  condemned  and  executed  for  his 
crimes:  herein  they  trod  underfoot  the  Son  of  God 
with  all  contempt  and  scorn.  And  hath  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant—Thai  is,  the  blood  of  Christ, 
whereby  the  new  covenant  was  confirmed;  wJiere- 
with  he  "1008  tfonctt/Ud— Dedicated  to  Crod,  aiid  taken 
into  covenant  with  him,  and  evep  Inwardly  renewed 
m  the  spirit  of  his.mind;  an  unholy— Koivw^tL  com- 
mon thing,  of  no  value  or  virtue;  a  worthless  thing; 
not  even  of  so  much  use  to  the  glory  of  €rod  as  the 
blood  of  beasts  in  legal  sacrifices.  Observe,  reader, 
those  by  whom  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  blood,  for  the 
expiation  of  sin,  is  denied,  may  be  truly  said  to  make 
it  a  common  thing;  and  hath  done  dispite  unto  the 
Spirit  of  grace—'RvvSpiffocj  having  treated  with  con- 
tumely or  reproach  that  Holy  Spirit  which  the  grace  | 
of  God  confers  upon  his  people,  and  which  b  the  au- 
thor of  saving  grace  to  them.  Macknight  renders  it, 
Hath  insulted  the  ^rit  of  grace;  observing,  "  the 
apostle  means  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  gifts  were  be- 
stowed in  the  first  age  on  believers,  for  the  confirm- 
ation of  the  gospel.  Wherefore  if  one  apostatized 
in  the  first  age,  after  having  been  a  witness  to  the 
miraculous  gifts,  much  more,  after  having  possesied 
them  himself,  he  must,  like  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, have  ascribed  them  to  evil  spirits ;  than  whicJi 
a  greater  indignity  could  not  be  done  to  the  Spirit 
ofGod." 

Verses  30,  31.  For  we  khow  him— As  If  he  had 
said.  We  may  well  think  that  such  shall  be  pnoished 
very  severely,  because  God  has  declared  as  much, 
saying.  Vengeance  belongeth  unto  me,  Dent,  xxxii. 
35 ;  Psa.  xciv.  1, 2.  Though  this  was  originally  said 
of  the  idolatrous  nations  who  oppressed  the  Israel- 
ites, it  was  very  properly  applied  by  the  apostle  to 
apostates,  being  a  general  maxim  of  God's  govern- 
ment, according  to  which  he  will  act  in  all  cases 
where  vengeance  or  punishment  is  due.  /  will  re- 
compense— Recompense  is  the  actual  exercise  of 
Tengeance,  and  vengeance  is  the  actual  execution 
of  judgment  on  sinners,  according  to  theh*  desert, 
without  mitigation  by  mercy.  He  however  often- 
times exercises  great  patience  and  forbearance  ^even 
then,  when  yengeanee  might  justly  be  expected. 
And  this  commonly  adds  to  the  security  of  wicked 
men,  who  take  occasion  Arom  it  to  despise  all  the 
tbreatenings  of  the  divine  judgments  which  they 
b 


in   which,    *  after  ye  were  Shimi-  a.m.  400s. 
dated,  ye  endured  «a  great  fight  of  ^' ^'  ^' 
afflictions; 


33  Partly,  while  ye  vvere  made  ^a  gazing* 
stock  both  by  reproaches  and  afflictions ;  and 
partly,  while  *  ye  became  companions  of  them 
that  were  so  need. 


iCfctp.  tL  4. «PBiL  i.  90,  30 ;  Cd.  ii.  1. f  1  Cor.  ir.  0. 

•PUL  L  7;  ir.  14;  1  Thew.  ii.  14. 


have  deserved;  condudiDg  from  it,  that  either  ven- 
geance doth  not  belong  to  God,  or  that  it  shall  be  ex- 
ecuted when  and  where  they  are  not  concerned. 
And  the  Lord  will  judge  his  people— U  they  rebel 
against  him;  and  that  for  more  ngorously  than  he 
win  judge  the  heathen.  R  is  a  foarfid  thing— X 
thing  above  all  others  the  most  to  be  dreaded ;  to  fall 
into  the  hands— To  be  exposed  to  the  avenging  jus- 
tice; of  the  living  God— YHiOj  living  for  ever,  can 
for  ever  punish,  in  what  degree  he  pleases,  the 
wretched  creatures  who  have  made  themselves  the 
objects  of  his  final  displeasure. 

Verses  32-34.  But—hs  if  he  had  said,  I  trust  you 
will  be  preserved  ih>m  so  terrible  a  ruin;  and  in 
order  that  you  may,  I  exhort  you  to  call  to  remem- 
brance the  former  days— To  look  back  upon  past 
evenis,  whldi,  if  duly  considered,  may  be  very  in- 
structive, and  may  prove  the  means  of  establishing 
you  in  your  resolution  of  adhering  to  the  gospel.  In 
particular,  reflect  on  what  you  have  suffered,  and 
how  you  have  been  supported  and  delivered,  that 
you  may  not  despond  upon  the  approach  of  similar 
evils,  but  may  still  trust  in  God  and  persevere  in  his 
service;  in  whichy  after  you  were  enlightened — 
With  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  truth ;  ye  en- 
dured—Courageously sustained,  through  God's  help ; 
a  great  fight  of  afflictions — A  grievous  persecution 
from  your  unbelieving  brethren,  and  great  and  vari- 
ous troubles  and  distr^ses,  on  account  of  your  faith 
in,  and  profession  of,  the  gospel ;  and  therefore  you 
should  not  fall  off  now  at  last,  lest  you  lose  the  fruit 
of  all  these  sufferings.  There  were  various  perse- 
cutions of  the  Christians  in  Jndea,  particularly  the 
great  persecution  ^after  the  death  of  Stephen,  Acts 
viii.  1,  and  Herod's  persecution.  Acts  xii.  1.  But 
perhaps  the  apostle  here  refers  to  the  persecution  in 
Judea,  mentioned  1  Thess.  ii.  U,  in  which  the  be- 
lieving Hebrews  showed  great  love  to  their  suffer- 
ing brethren,  Heb.  vi.  K).  .  Their  enduring  this  per- 
secution with  fortitude  and  patience,  the  apostle  calls 
here  noXkriv  a&Xnaiv,  a  great  combat,  in  allusion  to  the 
combats  in  the  Grecian  games.  Partly,  Ac— Both 
in  respect  of  your  own  sufferings  and  of  your  sym* 
pathy  with  others  in  theirs ;  while  ye  were  made  a 
gazing'Stock — BeaTpi^ofievoi,  made  a  public  specta 
cle,  or  openly  exposed,  as  in  a  theatre.  Bee  on  1  Cor 
iv.  9.  By  reproaches— Cnsi  on  you  as  atheists,  ox 
enemies  to  the  true  God,  for  deserting  the  instita 
tions  of  Moses;  and  afflictions— yn^lch,  befel  yoi 
on  that  and  other  accounts;  and  partly  while  ye  be 
came  companions  of  them  that  were  so  used— In 
pit3riiig,  owning,  visiting,  and  relieving  them  who 
549 


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The  confidence  of  the  believer 


HEBREWS. 


haih  great  recompense  ofrewen^ 


A.  M.  4068.  34  For  ye  had  oompasskm  of  me 
^•^'^  *  in  my  bonds,  and  **  took  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  your  goods,  knowing  ^in  yourselves 
that  '  ye  have  in  heaven  a  better  and  an  en- 
during substance. 

35  Cast  not  away  therefore  your  confidoic^ 
^  which  hath  great  recompense  of  reward. 

36  •  For  ye  have  need  of  patience,  that, 
after    ye    have    done    the   will     of    God, 


*PhiL  i.  7;   2  Tim.  i.  16. »'Matt.  t.  12;   Acts  t.  41; 

Junes  i.  2.'       *  Or*  that  ye  have  inwntrtelv^t,  or,  for  fouradves. 

« Matt.  Ti.  20 ;  zix.  21 ;  Utike  zii. 33 ;  lTitn.yi.l9. *Matt. 

V.  12;  x.d2. 


were  treated  in  the  same  cruel  manner.  Far  ye  had 
companion  on  me— Ye  sympathized  with  all  your 
suffering  brethren,  and  with  me  in  particular;  in  my 
bonds—Boih  at  Jerusalem  and  at  Cesarea;  and  ye 
took  joyfully — For  the  sake  of  him  who  died  for  you ; 
the  spoiling  of  your  goods^The  loss  of  your  pro- 
perty;  knov^ing  in  yourselves—Oty  rather,  knowing 
that  you  have  for  yourselves ;  in  heaven — ^Laid  up 
for  you  there;  a  Rettery  than  any  which  you  lose, 
and  an  enduring  substance — Even  Unspeakable  and 
eternal  riches,  glory,  and  felicity,  when  all  the  pos- 
sessions of  earth  have  perished,  and  all  its  sorrows 
have  come  to  a  perpetual  period. 

Verses  35-37.  Therefore,  having  formerly  behaved 
with  such  fortitude,  cast  not  away  your  confidence 
— As  cowardly  soldiers  cast  away  their  shields,  and 
flee  in  the  day  of  battle ;  but  since  God  has  support- 
ed you  under,  and  brought  you  through  all  your 
sufferings  hitherto,  with  much  patience  and  joy 
maintain  and  improve  your  confidence  imd  courage 
against  all  difficulties  and  dangers;  which  hath— 
That  is,  will  receive;  great  recompense  of  reward— 
That  is,  a  great  reward,  (namely,  eternal  glory,) 
by  way  of  recompense  for  your  obedience.  For  ye 
have  need  of  patience — Or,  of  perseverance,  as 
vwofiovijc  may  be  properly  rendered ;  that  is,  ye  have 
need  of  the  pontinual  exercise  thereof  in  well-doing, 
tnd  waiting  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  promises ; 
that  after jye  have  done  the  will  of  Ood—H^yQ  con- 
ducted yourselves  as  it  is  God's  win  you  should,  by 
enduring  whatsoever  he  is  pleased  to  lay  upon  you ; 
ye  might  receive  the  promise — The  promised  reward 
of  glory.  For  yet  a  little  while — Mt^pov  oeov  oaov,  a 
little,  a  very  little  time.  And  he  thcU  shaU  come — 
O  epxofuuoc,  he  who  is  coming;  the  appellation  given 
by  the  Jews  to  Messiah,  Matt.  xL  ^  ilW  Ihou  he,o 
epxoutvo^,  who  should  come?  will  come — As  if  he  had 
said,  Be  patient,  for  it  will  not  be  long  before  he  will 
take  you  hence  by  death,  and  release  you  from  all 
your  trials.  Or  rather.  It  will  not  be  Icmg  before 
Christ  will  come  to  take  vengeance  on  your  perse- 
cutors, the  unbelieving  and  obdurate  Jews,  and  de- 
liver you  from  all  the  sufferings  to  which  you  are 
exposed  from  them;  and  will  not  tarry — Beyond 
the  appointed  time.  It  must  be  observed,  though 
the  apostle  in  this  verse  uses  some  words  of  the  Pro- 
phet Habakkuk,  (chap.  ii.  3,)  he  doth  not  introduce 
them  as  a  quotation  from  him,  containing  a  prophecy 
550 


A.  M.  4068 
A.D.6i. 


f  ye    might    receive   the   promise. 

37  For  'yet  a  little  while,  and^he 
that  shall  ccane  will  coipe,  and  will  not  tarry. 

38  Now  ^the  just  shall  live  by  feith :  but  if 
anf.man  draw  back,  my  soul  shaU  have  no 
ideasure  in  him. 

39  But  we  are  not  of  them  ^  who  draw  bade 
unto  perdition ;  but  of  them  that  '  bel^e  to 
the  saving  of  the  souL 


•Luke  zxL  19;  Galatiana  vi.  9;    Chq]*er  TiL  Iw 'CoL 

iii.  34 ;  Chapter  ix.  15. »  Luke  xriii.  3, 8. *  Hob.  ii.  3,  4. 

*  Romans  n.  17. *  S  Peter  ii.  20, 21. 1  Acta  xri.  30, 31 ; 

1  Tlieas.  ▼.  9. 


of  any  coming  of  Christ  There  is  therefore  no  ne- 
cessity of  endeavouring  to  show  that,  as  they  stand  in 
Habakkuk,  they  may  be  interiMreted  of  Chrwt's  com- 
ing to  destroy  Jerusalem.  In  the  passage  where 
they  are  found,  the  prophet  exhorted  the  Jews  to 
trust  in  God  for  deliverance  from  the  Chaldeans,  by 
putting  them  in  mind  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  in 
performing  his  promises.  Wherefore,  as  the  faith- 
fulness and  power  of  Go4are  a  source  of  consolaticm 
to  which  good  men,  stall  times,  may  have  recourse 
in  their  distresses,  the  apostle  might,  with  great  pro- 
priety, apply  Habakkuk's  words,  by  way  of  accom- 
modation, to  Christ's  coming  to  destroy  Jerusalem 
and  the  Jewish  state.  Christhad  promised  to  come 
for  that  purpose  before  the  generation  then  living 
went  off  the  stage;  and  as  the  believing  Hebrews 
could  entertain  no  doubt  of  h'ls  being  foithful  to  his 
promise,  the  apostle,  to  encourage  them  to  bear  their 
afflictions  with  patience,  very  fitly  put  them  in  mind 
of  that  event  in  the  words  of  this.  {Hrophet,  because  it 
assured  them  that  the  power  of  their  persecutors 
would  soon  be  at  an  end. 

Verses  88,  9d.  IVok^— That  is,  in  the  mean  time, 
as  it  is  th^re  added;  the  just,  dwcutof,  the  righteous 
—He  that  is  pardoned  and  renewed,  or  justified  and 
regenerated,  and  who  therefore  is  humble,  meek, 
sincere,  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  and  relying  on 
his  wisdom,  power,  goodness,  and  faithfulness;  «Aa/Z 
live-^hdXi  be  supported  and  preserved  even  in  the 
midst  of  surrounding  dangers,  trials,  and  troubles, 
and  shall  live  in  God's  favour  a  ^iritual  and  holy 
life;  6y/at7A— See  on  Rom.  i.  17;  namely,  as  long 
as  he  retains  that  gift  of  God.  In  this  passage  the 
prophet,  as  well  as  the  apostle,  speaks  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  faith  to  support  and  comfort  a  man  under 
temptations  and  afllictions  in  such  a  manner,  that  he 
neither  faints  in  the  combat,  nor  withdraws  from  it 
Bui  if  any  mem— The  words  any  man  are  not  in 
the  original,  and  certainly  are  not  necessary  to  be 
here  supplied.-  The  Greek,  xai  eav  tnrocet?jftat,  are, 
and,  or  InU,  if  he  (who  lived  by  faith)  draw  back— 
If  he  make  Aipwreck  of  his  faith,  and  cease  to  be- 
lieve and  rely  on  God's  promises ;  or  if,  by  reason 
of  sufferings  and  temptations,  he  cease  to  exercise 
faith  in  Christ,  and  in  the  truths  and  promises  of  the 
gospel,  and  in  consequence  thereof  renounce  his 
profession  of  Christ,  and  withdraw  himself  from 
communion  with  other  professors;  my  soul  shaU 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


and  the  efficacy  of  true  faith. 


have--Or  rather,  hat?^  (the  word  being  In  the  pre- 
sent tense,)  no  pleantre  in  him — That  is,  I  withdraw 
my  favour  from  him,  nay,  and  cast  htm  off  in  my 
displeasure.  But  we  are  nof— But  I  am  persuaded 
that  the  persons  to  whom  I  address  my  letter,  to- 
gether whh  myself  and  my  fellow-labourers;  are 


noi  of  the  number  of  those  that  draw  back  unto  per- 
dition—Like him  who  backslides  and  apostatizes,  as 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse ;  btU  of  them  that 
believe— Thnt  continue  in  the  faith  grounded  and 
settled;  to  the  saving  of  the  souU-^To  the  attaining 
of  final  eternal  salvation. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ill  Hdi  ckaptir,  thi  apoitU,  (1,)  Describes  the  nature,  exeeUencCt  and  enlightening  efficacy  of  faith,  1-9,  and  the  necessity  of 

it,  6.    {%)  He  proposes  to  the  bdieving  Hehretcs  many  illustrious  examples  of  it,  tohich  had  appeared  in  holy  men,  whose 

history  is  jrecorded  in  their  Scriptures,  and  particularly  in  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  and  Sarah,  and  the  other  patri- 

.  archs,  as  far  as  Moses,  A,  5,  7-39.    (3,)  He,  mentions  many  other  glorious  instances  of  it,  and  besides  several  recorded  in 

their  Scriptures  refers  also  to  the  ease  of  those  who  suffered  under  the  persecution  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  30-40. 


A.  M.  4068.     T^OW      fidth 


stance    o( 


is     the      ^  sub- 
things    hoped   for, 


^  Or»  ground,  or,  confidmcs. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XI. 

Verse  1.  Knowing  that  the  believing  Hebrews 
had  been,  and  still  Were  exposed  to  persecution  on 
tUM^uat  of  the  gospel,  and  fearing  lest  they  should 
be  thereby  cast  down,  and  moved  from  their  stead- 
fastness, the  apostle  had  endeavoured  to  support 
them  in  their  adherence  to  Christ  and  his  cause  by 
suggesting  the  declaration  whereby  the  prophet 
H^bakkuk  had  directed  and  encouraged  the  Jews  on 
the  approach  of  the  Chaldean  invasion,  namely,  the 
just  shall  live  by  faith*  He  now  proceeds  to  illus- 
trate and  improve,  that  saying,  by  bringing  into  the 
view  of  these  Hebrews  examples  from  their  own 
Scriptures  of  persons  who,  by  a  strong  fiiith  in  God 
and  in  his  promises,  resisted  the  greatest  temptations, 
sustained  the  heaviest  persecutions,  were  preserved 
in  imminent  dangers,  petformed  mpst  diffici^t  acts 
of  obedience,  and  at  length  obtahied  tt  distinguished 
reward.  This  beautiful  discourse,  therefore»inay  be 
considered  as  an  animated  display  of  the  triumphs 
of  Aiith  over  the  allurements  and  terrors  of  the 
worid.  But  first,  to  prevent  all  mistimes,  and  to 
show  that  the  noble  grace  which  he  speaks  of  is  at^ 
tainable  by  men  in  every  age  and  country,  he  gives 
a  concise  but  clear  description  of  it  in  the  following 
words. 

Now  faith — As  if  he  had  said,  Nowihat  you  may 
imderstand  what  the  faith  is  (A  which  I  speak,  and 
may  be  encouraged  to  exercise  it,  and  to  persevere 
in  so  doing,  consider  its  excellent  and  efficacy.  It 
is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  ybr— The  word 
pwo^wnc,  here  rendered  substancej  is  translated  confr- 
dence,  (Heb.  iii.  14,)  and  may  be  rendered  sidmst- 
ence^  which  is  its  et3rniological  meaning,  and  also 
ground,  basis,  or  support.  The  meaning  of  the 
danse  seems  to  be,  that  fiuth  is  a  confidence  that  we 
riiall  receive  the  good  things  for  which  we  hope,  and 
that  by  it  we  enjoy,  as  it  were,  a  present  subsistence 
or  anticipation  of  them  in  our  souls.  It  also  gives  a 
Iniiidation  or  ground  for  our  eiq>ecting  them;  be- 


the     evidence     ^  of     things     not 


seen: 


A.  M.  4068. 
A,  D.64. 


•  Rom.  TiiL  24,  26 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  18 ;  t.  7. 

cause  by  it  we  are  justified,  adopted  into  God's 
family,  and  bom  of  God's  Spirit,  and,  therefore, 
being  his  children,  are  heirs  of  the  things  for  which 
we  hope ;  namely,  of  happiness  with  Jesus  imme- 
diately after  death,  of  the  glorious  resurrection  of 
the  body  at  the  time  of  Christ's  second  coming,  of 
acquittance  and  a  gracious  reception  at  his  judgment- 
seat,  and  felicity  and  glory  with  him  in  the  new 
heavens  and  new  earth  for  ever.  The  evidence-^ 
'Elsyxo^,  the  conviction,  persuasion,  or  demonstra- 
tion, wrought  in  the  mind;  of  things  not  tfcen— Of 
things  invisible  an4  eternal,  of  God  and  the  things 
of  God ;  giving  us  an  assurance  of  them  in  some 
respects  equal  to  that  which  our  outward  senses 
give  us,  of  the  things  of  this  visible^  and  temporal 
world.  "  The  word  )e^ey;tof,"  says  Macknight,  "  de- 
notes a  strict  proof,  or  demonstration;  a  proof 
which  thoroughly  convinces  the  understanding,  and 
determines  the  will.  The  apostle's  meaning  is,  that 
faith  answers  all  the  purposes  of  a  demonstration, 
because,  being  founded  on  the  veracity  and  power 
of  God,  these  perfections  are  to  the  believer  com- 
plete evidence  of  the  things  which  God  declares 
have  happened,  or  are  to  happen,  however  much 
they  may  be.  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  things." 
The  objects  of  faith,  therefore,  are  much  more  nu- 
merous and  extensive  than  those  of  Jiope:  the  latter 
are  only  thidgs/t^^ure,  and  apprehended  by  us  to  be 
good;  whereas  those  ot faith  are  either  £ature,past, 
or  present,  and  those  either  good  or  evil,  whether  to 
us  or  others:  such  as ''the  creation  of  the  world 
without  any  pre-existing  matter  to  form  it  of,  the 
destruction  of  the  old  world  by  the  deluge,  the  glory 
which  Christ  had  with  his  Father  before  the  world 
began,  his  miraculous  conception  in  the  womb  of 
his  mother,  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  his  exal- 
tation in  th^  human  nature  to  the  government  of  the 
universe,  the  sin  and  punishment  of  the  angels,  &c. 
All  which  we  believe  on  the  testimony  of  God,  as 
firmly  as  if  they  were  set  before  us  by  the  evi- 
501 


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HEBBBWa 


more  eaceUent  ikmm  (UM9^ 


A.  M.406e.    2  For  ^by  li  the  ddeiB  obtained  a 

A.  D.  64.  J  f 

good  report. 

3  Through  faith  we  understand  tha^  ®the 
worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so 
that  things  which  are  seen  weie  not  made  of 
things  which  do  appear. 


^  Verse  39. *  Oen.  i.  1 ;   Pta.  xxziii.  6 ;  John  i.  3 ;  Chap. 

i  « ;   a  Pet.  Hi.  5. *  Gen.  ir.  4 ;  1  John  iii.  12. 


dance  of  sense.'*  The  reader  will  easily  observe, 
that  though  the  definition  of  faith  here  given,  and 
exemplified  in  the  various  instances  following,  un- 
doubtedly includes  or  implies  justifying  faith,  yet 
the  apostle  does  not  here  speak  of  it  as  justifying^ 
or  treat  oi  JustiJkcUion  dA  all,  but  rather  shows  the 
efficacy  and  operation  of  faith  in  them  toJio  are 
jueiified.  Faith  justifies  only  as  it  refers  to,  and 
depends  on  Christ,  and  on  the  promises  of  God 
through  him ;  in  which  light  it  is  represented  Rom. 
iv.,  where  the  aposUe  professedly  describes  it  But 
here  is  no  mention  of  him  as  the  object  of  feith : 
and  in  several  of  the  instances  that  follow  no  notice 
is  taken  of  him  or  his  salvation,  but  only  of  tem- 
poral blessings  obtained  by  faith ;  and  yet  most  of 
these  instances  maybe  considered  as  evidences  of  the 
power  of  justifying  faith,  and  of  its  extensive  ex- 
ercise in.  a  course  of  steiady  obedienee  amidst  trials 
and  troubles,  difficulties  and  dangers  of  every  kind. 
Before  we  proceed  to  the  particular  instances  of  the 
power  of  faith  here  recorded,  it  may  be  proper  to 
remark,  that  it  is  &ith  alone  which,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  under  ^1  dispensations  of  divine 
grace,  and  all  the  alterations  which  have  taken  place 
in  the  modes  of  divine  worship,  hath  been  in  the 
church  the  chief  principle  of  living  unto  God,  of 
obtainihg  the  promises,  and  of  inheriting  life  etemaL 

Verse  2.  By  it  the  eldbre — Our  forefathers,  or  the 
pious  of  former  ages;  obtained  a  good  report — 
'S/tapTvptjOjfffav^  received  testimony^  of  God's  appro- 
bation of  them,  6r  were  borne  witnesses  to  by  €k>d 
as  persons  accepted  of  him.  The  word  is  very 
comprehensive,  implying  that  God  gave  a  testimony, 
not  only  of  them,  but  to  them,  and  they  received 
his  testimony,  as  if  it  had  been  the  things  them- 
selves, of  which  he  testified,  verses  4,  5, 90.  Heiice 
they  also  gave  testimony  to  others,  and  others  testi- 
fied of  them.  This  chapter  is  a  kind  of  summary  of 
the  Old  Testament,  in  which  the  apostle  comprises 
the  design^  labours,  spjoumings,  expectations,^  mar- 
tyrdoms of  the  ancients.  The  former  of  them  had  a 
long  exercise  of  their  patience ;  the  latter  suffered 
shorter,  but  sharper  triids. 

Verse  3.  Through  faith  we  understand  thai  the 
tDorlds — Although  the  expression,  rwf  aiavac,  gene- 
rally signifies  the  ages,  yet  here  the  subsequent 
elause  determines  its  signification  to  the  material 
fabric  of  the  world,  comprehending  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  &c^  f  called  by  Moses  the  heaven  and  the 
earth,  Gen.  L  1,)  by  whose  duration  and  revolutions 
time,  consisting  of  days,  months,  years,  and  ages,  b 
measured;  were  framed^ Formed,  faMoned,  and 
finished,  as  the  word  nanipTio^ai  implies,  properly 
signifying  to  |^ace  the  parts  of  any  body  or  ma- 
502 


4  By   feith    ^  Abd   offered    unto  A.K.406& 
God  a  more  exceUent  sacrifice  than 1 — . 


Cain;  by  which  he  obtained  witness  thai 
he  was  righteous,  God  testifying  of  hiil 
gifts:  and- by  it  he  bring  dead  'yet'speak- 
elh. 


•  0«n.  ir.  10 ;  Matthew  zxiiL  35 ;  Chiller  zii.  21 
yet»pokmff. 


■Or,  if 


x^hine  in  their  right  order,  Eph.  iv.  VSL  It,  however, 
also  signifies  to  make,  or  produce^  as  Heb.  x.  ff, 
where  it  is  applied  to  tbiebody  made  for  Christ  And 
that  it  here  signifies,  not  merely  the  t>rderly  dis- 
position of  the  parts  of  the  universe,  but  their  pro- 
duction, is  plain  from  the  following  clause.  By  the 
word  of  €hd—The  sole  command  of  God,  without 
any  instrument  or  preceding  matter.  The  word 
pnfM,  here  used,  properly  signifies  a  word  spoken^  or 
a  command.  It  is  nowhere  used  in  Scripture  to 
denote  the  Son  of  God.  .  His  proper  title  is  o  ^oyoc^ 
the  Word.  That  the  worlds  were  made  by  the  wordy 
order,  or  command  of  God,  is  one  of  the  unseen 
things  which  cannot  be  known  but  by  divine  revela- 
tion. The  apostle,  therefore,  doid)t|e8s  refers  to 
the  M osalo  account  of  the  creation,  Grea.  L  3^  ^., 
where  Moses  informs  us,  God  saiid,  let  there  be  ligkt^ 
and  there  W€ls  Ught,&c  As  the  creation  is  the 
fountain  and  specimen  of  the  whole  divine  economyi 
so  faith  in  the  Creator  is  the  foundation  and  spe- 
cimen of  all  Mth;  so4hat  the  things  which  are  seen 
— The«arth  and  heavens,  with  all  Uiat  they  contun ) 
were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear-— Or,  of 
things  appearing,  or  which  did  appear,  as  ^atvt/terw 
may  be  properly  rendered  -,  that  is,  they  were  not 
made  of  any  pre-existing  matter,  but  of  matter 
which  God  created  and  formed  into  the  things  which 
we  see ;  and  having  formed  them,  he  placed  them 
in  the  beautiful  order  whic^  they  now  h<^d,  and 
impressed  on  them  the  motions  proper  to  each, 
wiidch  they  have  retained  ever  since.  "This  account 
of  the  origin  of  things,  given  by  revelation,  is  very 
different  from  the  cosmogony  of  the  heathen  philo- 
sophers, who  generally  held  that  the  matter  of  which 
the  worlds  wei!e  composed  was  uncreated  and  eternal ; 
consequently,  being  independent  of  God,  and  not 
obedient  to  his  will,  they  supposed  it  to  be  the  occa- 
sion of  all  the  evil  that  is  in  the  world.  But  revela- 
tion, which  teaches  us  that  the  things  which  ara 
seen  were  not  made  of  matter  which  did  appear 
before  they  were  made,  but  of  matter  which  God 
had  brought  into  existence;  by  thus  establishUig 
the  sovereignty  of  God  over  matter,  hath  enlarged 
our  ideas  of  his  power,  and  strengthened  our  faith 
in  his  promises  concemmg  the  felicity  of  good  men 
in  the  life  to  comcf.  For  the  creation  of  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth,  and  the  glories  of  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  do  not,  in  order  to  their  fot^ 
mation,  require  more  power  than  the  creation  of  the 
present  universe;  and  there£cMre,  if  we  believe  that 
the  worlds  were  formed  by  the  word  of  God  from 
nothing,  every  other  exercise  of  faith  will  be  easy 
tons. 
Verse  4.  By  /ottA— In  the  divine  command  or 

h 


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CHAPTKBXI. 


<ipproach  Qodj  or  please  hiin. 


A.M.4^  6  By  £uth  'Enoch  was  translated, 
'  that  he  should  not  see  death;  and 
was  not  found,  because  Qod  h^  trandated 
him :  for  before  his  trandation  he  had  this  tes- 
timony, that  he  {fleased  Ood. 


'66B.T.3S,34;  Wisd.iT.  10; 


appointmeiit,  signified  unto  him  by  some  supema- 
tund  revelation,  and  by  fetdi  in  the  fuHire  Re- 
deemer; Abel  (^ered  a  more  excellent  sacrifice — 
The  firstlings  of  his  fiock,  imply'mg  boih  a  oon- 
fession  of  wkat  his  own  sins  deserved,  and  a  desire 
of  sharing  in  the  great  atonement;  than  Cain — 
Whose  olering  testified  no  such  faith,  but  was 
merely  a  bare  acknowledgment  of  God  as  the 
Creator.  Macknight,  after  Kennicott,  translates 
nXiiwa  ^vaiav^  more  sacrifice^  observing,  ^  In  this 
translation  I  have  followed  the  critics;  who  tell  us 
that  tr^eMvo,  in  the  comparative  degree,  signifies 
more  in  number  rather  than  more  in  value."  Ac- 
cordingly it  is  said,  (Gen.  iv.  4,)  Abel  also  brought 
of  the  firstlings  ofkisfiocky  and  of  the  fat  thereof; 
"  that  is,  beside  the  fnaii  of  the  ground,  which  was 
one  of  hb  gi0s,  he  also  brought  the  fattest  of  the 
firstlings  of  his  flock ;  so  that  he^offered  a  sin-ofiering 
as  well  as  a  .meat  or  bread-ofiering,  and  thereby 
showed  both  his  sense  of  the  divine  goodness,  and 
of  his  own  sinfulness.  Whereas  Cain,  having  no 
sense  of  sin,  thought  himself  ofa^ed  to  offer  nothing 
but  a  meat-offering;  and  made  it,  perhaps,  not  of  the 
first-fruits,  or  of  the  best  of  the  fruita"  By  which 
faith  Abel  obtained  both  ^righteousness,  and  a  testi- 
mony of  it,  God  testifying  visibly  that  his  gifts  were 
accepted.  Moses  does  not  say  in  what  manner  God 
testified  his  respect  to  Abel  and  his  offering,  but 
from  Cain's  being  very  wroth,  as  we  learn  Gen.  iv.  5, 
we  may  believe  it  was  by  some  outward  visible  sign. 
And  as  in  after-times  Grod  testified  his  acceptance  of 
particular  sacrifices  by  sending  down  fire  upon  them 
to  consume  them,  it  is  probable  that  he  bore  wit- 
ness to  Abel's  in  that  way,  thus  giviug  a  token  that 
justice  seized  on  the  sacrifice  instead  of  the  sinner. 
It  is  of  importance  to  observe,  that  God's  acceptance 
of  Abel's  sin-of&ring  is  a  proof  that  propitiatory  sa- 
crifices were  of  divine  appointment,  otiierwise  his 
offering,  being  will-worship,  must  have  been  offen- 
sive to  God,  and  rejected.  Besides,  as  Hallet  justly 
observes,  flesh  not  being  permitted  to  be  eaten  by 
men  till  after  the  flood,  Abel  must  have  thought  it 
unlawful  to  kill  any  aninud,  unless  God  had  ordered 
it  to  be  killed  as  a  saiarifice.  Andby  it— By  hisfaith ; 
he^  being  dead,  yet  speaketh—ThieX  a  -sinner  is  ac- 
cepted only  through  faith  in  the  great  Sacrifice.  See 
notes  on  Gen.  iv^  8-^. 

Verses  5,  (k  By  faith-'ThaX  is,  his  firm  (aith  in 
the  being  and  perfections  of  God,  especially  his 
omnipresence,  omniscience, omnipotence;  his  truth, 
justice,  mercy,  and  goodness ;  and  in  consequence 
of  that  exemplary  hdiness  which  was  tiie  fruit  of 
this  fiiith ;  Enoch  was  translatedr^yieTeTt^,  was  re- 
molded, namely,  in  a  miraculous  manner,  from  among 
men,  God  taking  him  out  of  this  sinful  and  miserable 
li 


6  But  without  feith  U  is  impossitJe  a.  H.406S. 
to  please  him:  for  he  that  cometh    ^^•^• 


to  Ood.  must  beUeve  that  he  is,  and  thcU 
he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
him. 


BeeleczUr.  IS;  xliz.  14. 


world  to  himself.  See  notes  on  C(en.  v.  2^34. 
Thai  he  shotUd  not  see  death— He  was  dianged 
probably  in  a  moment,  as  ESijah  afterward  was,.and 
as  those  saints  shaU  be  tiuit  are  found  alive  at  Ovist's 
second  coming;  and  was  not  any  longer  founds 
Among  m&a ;  an  expressioh  which  implies  he  was 
translated  privately,  and  that  some  (his  relations 
and  friends,  doubtiess)  sought  for  him,  as  the  sons  of 
tiie  propheu  sought  for  Elijah ;  (2  Kings  ii.  17 ;)  be- 
coiuse  God  had  translated  Atm— To  what  place 
these  holy  men  were  translated  is  not  said ;  but  their 
translation  in  the  body,  as  Macknight  observes^  is 
recorded  for  an  example,  to  assure  believers  that,  in 
due  time,  they  also  shall  Uve  in  the  heavenly  country 
in  the  body^  and  to  excite  them  in  that  assurance  to 
imitate  Enoch's  faith.  For  before  hi*  translation  he 
had  this  testimony— From  God  in  his  own  conscience ; 
that  he  pleased  ijfod— The  verb  tvape^aai,  here  used, 
occurs  only  in  this  epistie,  namely,  in  this  and  the 
following  verse,  and  in  chap.  xiiL  16,  in  the  passive 
voice,  where  it  is  rendered,  God  is  well  pleased. 
l*hree  things  are  included  in  our  pleasing  God ;  that 
our  persons  be  accepted;  that  our  duties  be  ap- 
proved, of;  and  that  we  have  a  testimony  that  we 
are  righteous  or  justified,  as  Abel  and  Enoch  had,  and 
as  all  true  believers  have.  This  is  that  pleasing  of 
God  which  is  appropriated  to  faith  alone,  and  which 
alone  shaU  receive  an  eternal  reward.  In  a  lower 
sense,  however,  there  may  be  many  acts  and  duties 
with  which,  as  to  the  matter  of  them,  God  may  be 
pleased,  and  which  he  may  reward  in  this  world 
without  faith ;  as  the  destruction  of  the  house  of 
Ahab  by  Jehu.  Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  there- 
fore is  said  to  please  him;  that  is,  he  set  God  always 
before  him,  and  thought,  spoke,  and  acted  as  one  that 
considered  he  was  always  binder  God's  eye,  and  he 
made  it  his  daily  business  to  worship  and  serve  him 
acceptably.  BtU  without  faith— In  the  being,  attri- 
butes, superintending  providence,  and  grace  of  God ; 
it  is  impossible— For  a  fallen,  sinful,  and  weak 
creature,  such  as  man  is,  and  such  as  Enoch  un^ 
doubtedly  was ;  to  please  him— Thougk  no  particular 
revelation  is  mentioned  as  the  object  of  Enoch% faith, 
yet  from  Moses's  telling  us  that  he  walked  with,  or 
pleased  God,  it  is  certain  that  his  faith  in  those  doc- 
trines of  religion,  which  are  discoverable  by  the  light 
of  nature,  and  which  are  mentioned  in  this  verse, 
must  have  been  very  strong,  since  it  led  him  habit- 
ually to  walk  with  God,  so  as  to  please  him ;  for  he 
that  Cometh  to  God— In  prayer,  or  any  other  act  of 
worship,  or  who  endeavours  to  serve  him ;  must  be- 
lieve that  he  is— Thai  he  exists;  and  that  he  is  a 
rewarder  of  them  who  diligently  seek  him— And 
therefore,  tiiat  he  is  wise  and  mighty,  holy,  just,  and 
good,  "  By  representing  the  existence  of  God  and 
603 


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"  The  neUure  and  fruits  offosUh 


H^REWS. 


tn  the  atident  fathers  enchihiied. 


A.  11.4068.    7  By  faith  «Noab,  being  warned 
'    *    '    of  God  of  things  not  seen  as  yet, 


'moved  with  fear,  ^prepared  €ui  ark  to  the 


r  Oen.  tL  13,  22 ;   Ecdus.  ir.  17. *  Or,  being  wary. 


his  government  of  the  world  as  objects  of  fslth,  the 
apostle  hath  taught  ns,  that  the  truths  of  natural 
religion  are  equally  the  objects  of  faith  with  Uie 
troths  of  revelation.  And  this  doctrine  is  just.  For 
the  evidence  by  which  the  truths  of  natural  religion 
are  supported,  being  of  the  same  kind  with  the 
evidence  which  supports  the. truths  of  revelation, 
namely,  not  demonstrative,  but  probable  evidence, 
the  persuasion  produced  by  that  kind  of  evidence  in 
matters  of  natural  religion,  is  as  really  faith  as  the 
persuasion  which  the  same  evidence  produces  in 
matters  of  revelation.  Further,  the  faith  or  per- 
suasion of  the  truths  of  natural  religion  whichnnen 
attain,  being  as  much  the  effect  of  attention,  im- 
partial search,  and  prayer,  as  the  fiuth  which  they 
attain  of  the  truthis  of  revelation,  it  is  as  much 
a  matter  of  duty,  and  as  pleasing  to  God,  [as 
fiur  as  it  extends,]  as  faith  in  the  truths  of  revela- 
tion."— Macknight. 

Verse  7.  By  faith  Noah — The  third  person  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,' to  whom  testimony  was  parti- 
cularly given  that  he  was  tighteous;  and  therefore, 
the  apostle  brings  him  forward  as  a  third  example  of 
the  power  and  efficacy  of  faith,  4eclaring  also  where- 
in his  faith  wrought  and  was  effectual.  Being 
warned  of  Qod — Xptffiarta&e^iy  literally,  being  ad- 
monished by  a  divine  oracle^  or  by  a  particular  and 
express  revelation;  of  which  see  Gen.  vi.  13;  of 
things  not  seen  as  yet^TYvaX  is,  not  only  as  being 
future,  but  of  such  a  nature  that  no  one  had  ever 
seen  or  heard  of  any  thing  like  them,  namely,  the 
dissolution  of  the  world  by  a  flood,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  its  inhabitants;  yet  this  discovery  Nodi 
received  with  faith,a  discovery  which  had  two  parts; 
the  first,  a  declaration  of  the  purpose  of  God  to 
destroy  the  whole  world ;  the  second,  a  direction 
respecting  the  steps  which  Noah  was  to  take  for  the 
preservation  of  his  family  from  the  impending  ruin. 
Accordingly  itiiad  a  two-fold  effect  on  Noah;  pro- 
ducing, 1st,  Fear  from  the  threatening;  2d,  Obe- 
dience in  building  the  ark,  according  to  Uie  direc- 
tion. The  application  of  this  example  of  Noah  to 
these  Hebrews  was  highly  proper  and  reasonable; 
for  they  stood  now  on  their  trial,  whether  they  would 
be  influenced  by  faith  or  unbelief;  for  here  they 
might  see,  as  in  a  glass,  what  would  be  the  effect  of 
the  one  and  the  other.  Moved  vithfear—EvXaSn^itc, 
a  religious,  reverential,  and  awful  fear;  prepared  an 
arft— Doubtless  amidst  many  insults  of  profane  and 
wicked  men,  the  preparing  of  such  a  vessel,  or  any 
thing  like  it,  being  a  new  thing  on  the  earth,  and  not 
to  be  effected  without  immense  labour  and  cost;  to 
the  saving — Etc  aurfjpiav^  for  the  salvation;  of  his 
hoiuse—We  have  here  an  instance  in  which  salva- 
tion signifies  a  temporal  deliverance.  By  the  which 
— Ai  i7f,  by  which  faith,  or  by  which  ark,  for  the  rela- 
tive may  agree  with  either;  he  condemned  the  world 
564 


saving  of  his  house;  by  the  wliich  he  a.k.4061 

condemned  the  world,  and  became  -^ L^ 

heir  of  '  the  rigbteousneas  which  is  by  fiuth. 


h  1  Pet  iii.  20. *  Rom.  iii.  8S ;  It.  13 ;  Phfl.  iii.  0. 


— ^Who  neither  believed  nor  feared.  Persons  are 
said,  in  other  places  of  Scripture,  to  condemn  those 
against  whom  they  furnish  matter  of  accusation  and 
condemnation.  See  Itt  iii  11.  It  appears,  from 
2  Pet.  ii.  5,  that  during  the  time  in  which  the  sark 
was  building,  Noah  was  a  preacher  of  righteousness 
to  the  people  of  that  generation,  cdling  ^em  to  re- 
pentance, and  warning  them  of  approaching  de* 
struction,  if  they  remained  impenitent;  and  that  on 
the  ground  of  the  revelation  which  God  had  made  to 
him,  with  which  he  doubtless  acquainted  them. 
But  all  the  time  of  warning^  being  carnally  secure, 
and  unmoved  by  his  threatenings,  they  continued 
to  be  unbelieving,  impenitent,  and  disobedient,  even 
to  the  last  hour.  Matt  xxi  v.  ^  39 ;  for  which  cause 
they  were  not  only  destroyed  temporally,  but  shut 
tfp  in  the  everlasting  prison,!  Pet  iii.  10,  20.  And  he- 
came  heir—A  packer  of;  the  righteousness  ithich 
is  by  faith — And  entitled  to  the  rewards  thereof  in 
a  future  and  eternal  world,  of  which  his  temporal 
deliverance,  though  so  amazing,  was  only  an  emblenL 
^  The  faith  of  Noah  is  proposed  for  our  imitation, 
to  assure  us  that  they  who  believe  and  obey  God 
shall  be  safe  in  the  midst  of  a  faUen  world,  while  the 
wicked  shall  be  condemned  and  destroyed." 

The  apostle  has  now  passed  through  the  first 
period  of  Scripture  records  from  the  beginning  of  the 
wortd  to  the  flood;  and  therein  hath  considered  the 
examples  of  all,  concerning  whom  it  is  testified  in 
particular  that  they  pleased  God;  and  he  hath 
shown,  that  they  all  pleased  him,  and  were  righteous, 
by  faiUi ;  and  that  their  faith  was  effectual  to  pre- 
serve them  in  that  state  of  divine  favour,  by  enabluig 
them  to  persevere  in  the  practice  of  all  the  duties 
required  of  them,  notwithstanding  the  difiicultiesand 
oppositions  they  met  with.  Hereby  he  confirms 
his  doctrine  respecting  the  necessity  and  efllcacy  of 
faith,  and  proves  to  these  Hebrews,  that  If  they  did 
not  persevere  In  their  profession,  it  was  because  of 
their  unbelief,  seeing  that  true  faith  would  certainly 
render  them  steadfast  In  their  adherence  to  it,  what- 
ever diffieultles  they  should  have  to  encounter. 
Hence  he  proceeds  to  the  next  period,  (extending 
from  the  renovation  of  the  worid  In  the  family  of 
Noah  to  the  giving  of  the  law,)  to  manifest  that 
In  every  state  of  the  church  the  way  of  pleasing 
God  was  one  and  the  same';  as  also  that  faith  still 
retained  its  efficacy  under  all  economical  alterations. 
The  person  whom,  in  this  period,  he  first  speaks 
of  as  having  a  testimony  In  the  Scripture  of  bemg 
righteous,  is  Abraham ;  on  whose  example,  by  reason 
of  the  eminence  of  his  person,  the  relation  of  the 
Hebrews  to  him,  (deriving  from  him,  under  God, 
all  their  privileges,  temporal  and  spiritual,)  the 
efficacy  of  hb  faith  with  the  various  successftd  ex- 
ercises of  it,  he  dwells  at  large  from  hence  to  the 
end  of  verse  18. 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


offirmfaUh  in  God. 


A.  H.  406a 
A.  Dw64. 


8  By  fitiih  ^Abraham,  when  he 
was  called  to  go  out  mto  a  place 
which  he  should  after  receive  for  an  mfaerit- 
ance,  obeyed ;  and  he  went  out  not  knowing 
whither  he  went 
9  By  &ith  he  sojourned  in  (he  land  of  pro- 
mise, as  tn  a  strange  country,  ^  dweUing 
in  tab^mades   with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  "^the 


k  Gen.  xii.  1.  4 ;  Acts  vii.  ^-4. 1  Gen.  xii.  8 ;  xiii.  3,  18 ; 

xviiL  1,  9. B>Chi^.  vi.  17. "Chap.  xii.  82;   xiiL  14. 


Verse  8.  By  faith—In  the  divine  promises; 
Abraham  when  he  was  called — The  call  here  in- 
tended is  referred  to  Gen.  xii.  l\  to  go  out— From 
his  father's  house  and  native  land ;  into  a  place  iar 
distant,  which  €rod  promised  he  should  qjfterward 
receive  for  an  inheritance — Without  disputing  or 
murmuring,  obeyed;  an(i-^Relytng  on  the  power 
and  veracity  of  Ood ;  went  out,  not  knowing  whither 
he  toen<— Although  he  did  not  know  the  country  to 
which  he  was  going,  nor  whether  it  was  a  good  or 
a  bad  huid. 

Verses  9, 10.  By  faith,  &c. — Believing  that  Canaan 
was  promised  to  him  and  his  seed  only  as  a  type  of  a 
better  country,  he  acquired  no  possessions  therein 
except  a  burying-place,  and  built  no  houses  there; 
but  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise  as  in  a  strange 
country — AXXoriavy  a  country  belonging  to  others, 
dweUing  in  tents,  as  a  sojourner;  with  Isaac  and 
Jaccb — Who  by  tiie  same  manner  of  living  showed 
the  same  faith.  Jacob  was  born  /ifteen  3rears  before 
the  death  of  Abraham,  as  is  evident  from  the  account 
of  the  lives  of  the  patriarchs  given  in  Genesis.  Isaac 
and  7acob  are  said  to  be  heirs  with  Abraham  of  the 
same  promise,  because  they  all  had  the  same  interest 
therein ;  and  Isaac  did  not  receive  this  inheritance 
from  Abraham,  nor  Jacob  from  Isaac,  but  all  of  them 
from  God .  In  saying  that  Abraham  dwelt  in  tents  with 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  apostle  does  not  mean  that  they 
all  three  dwelt  together  in  one  family,  and  one  place, 
while  they  were  in  Canaan ;  for  Abraham  and  Isaac 
had  separate  habitations  when  Jacob  was  born. 
But  he  means  that,  while  in  Canaan,  they  all  dwelt 
in  tents ;  and  by  applying  this  observation  to  the  two 
latter,  as  weU  as  to  Abraham,  the  apostle  praises 
their  faith  likewise.  For,  since  Canaan  belonged  to 
them  as  joint  heirs  with  their  father,  by  dw^ing 
there  in  tents  as  Sojourners,  they  showed  that  they 
also  knew  the  true  meaning  of  the  promise,  and 
looked  for  a  better  country  than  Canaan.  For  he 
looked  for— R^  expected  at  length  to  be  led  on  to  j 
a  city  which  hath  foundations-'-'WhereBS  a  tent 
hath  none.  Grotius  thinks -Abraham  hoped  that 
his  posterity  should  have,  in  the  land  of  promise,  a 
city  that  God  would  prepare  for  them^  in  a  special 
manner,  namely,  Jerusalem.  But  such  an  interpre- 
tation is,  1st,  Expressly  contrary  to  the  exposition 
given  by  the  apostle  himself  of  -this  expression, 
verse  16:  2d9  It  is  not  suitable  to  Bod's  dealing  with 
Abraham,  and  to  the  nature  and  effects  of  the  holy 
patriarch's  faith,  that  he  should  have  nothing  to  en- 


heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise :  a,  M.  4068. 

10  For  he  looked  for  a  /city  which    ^  ^'  ^' 
bath  foundaticHis, ""  whose  builder  and  maker  is 
God. 

11  Through  feUh  also  ^  Sara  herself  received 
strength  to  conceive  seed,  and  ^  was  delivered 
o(  a  child  when  Ae  was  past  age,  because  she 
judged  him  'Mhful  who  had  promised. 


oChap.  iii.  4;   Ray.  zzi.  2,10. POan.  zTii.  19;  xviii.  11, 

14;  xxi.  2. 1  Luke  i.  36, 'Rom.  ir.  21 ;  Chap.  x.  23. 

courage  him  in  his  pilgrimage  but  a  hope  that,  alter 
many  generations,  his  posterity  should  have  a  city 
to  dwell  in,  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  wherein  the  con; 
dition  of  most  of  them  was  not  better  than  his  in 
tents ;  3d,  To  suppose  that  this  was  only  an  earthly 
city,  not  to  be  possessed  by  his  posterity  until  eight 
hundred  years  aifterWard,  and  that  but  for  a  limited 
time,  is  utterly  to  overthrow  his  faith,  the  nature  of 
the  covenant  of  God  with  him,  and  his  being  an  ex- 
ample to  gospel  believers,  as  he  is  here  proposed  to 
be.  This  eity,  therefore,  which  Abraham  looked 
for,  is  that  heavenly  city,  that  everlasting  mansion 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  ell  true  believers  with 
himself  after  this  life ;  It  being  the  place  of  their 
everlasting  abode,  rest,  and  refreshment,  and  that 
with  the  expectation  of  which  Abraham  and  the 
following  patriarchs  comforted  and  supported  them- 
selves amidst  all  the  toil  and  labour  of  their  pilgrim- 
age. Whose  builder  and  maker  is  God^-Oi  which 
God  is  the  sole  contriver,  former,  and  finisher. 
"  The  word  rtxyirfK,  trtinslated  buildier,  denotes  one 
who  constructs  any  hodse  or  machine ;  an  architect. 
But  the  other  word,  dnfubpyo^,  signifies  one  who 
forms  a  people  by  institutions  and  laws.  The  apos- 
tle ioins  this  term  to  the  other  to  show  that  God  is 
both  the  Founder  and  the  Ruler  of  that  greatcom- 
munity  of  which  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abraham  is 
to  make  a  part.  FronLGod's  bebng  both  the  Founder 
and  Ruler  of  the  city  which  the  seed  of  Abraham 
are  to  possess,  it  may  justly  be  inferred  that  the 
glory,  security,  privileges,  and  pleasures  of  their 
state  are  such,  that  in  comparison  of  them,  the  ad- 
vantages or  security  found  in  any  city  or  common- 
wealth on  earth,  are  nothing,  and  but  of  a  moment's 
duration." — Macknight 

Verses  11,  12.^  Through  faith  also  Sara— 
Though  at  first  she  laughed  at  the  promise  through 
unbelief;  received  strength— Eic  KoraSoXtiv  airepftaroCf 
for  the  conception  of  seed;  and  W€u  delivered  of  a 
child  when  she  was  past  age—HlaX  is,  beyond  the 
due  time  of  age  for  such  a  purpose,  when  she  was 
ninety  years  old,  and  in  the  course  of  nature  abso- 
lutely IncapaMe  of  being  a  mother.  "I  believe," 
says  Dr.  Owen,  "that  this  was  not  a  mere  miracu- 
lous generation,  but  that  she  received  a  general 
restoration  of  her  nature  for  the  productioii  of  a 
child,  which  was  before  decayed,  as  Abraham  after- 
ward, who,  after  his  body  was  in  a  manner  dead, 
received  strength  to  have  many  children  by  Eetu- 
rah."  Because  she  judged  him  faithful  who  had 
066 


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Servaniiof  Ctod  are  0$  pilgnmi 


HEBREWS. 


and  9ira$tger$  <m  earik. 


.u. 

LD. 


¥m,    12  Theretoe  sprang  there  even  a! 
one,  and  '  him  as  good  as  dead,  ^  ^ 


so 


many  as  the  stars  of  the  sky  in  maltkode,  and  as 
the  sand  which  is  by  the  sea-shore  innumerable. 
13  These  aU  died  *in  &]th,  *  not  having  re- 
ceived the  piomnesjbut '  having  seen  thema&r 
cttf  and  were  perauaded  o(  ihem^  and  embraced 


ir.  19. « Qtn.  zzu.  17 ;  Rom.  ir.  18. *  Or. 

M^  tojmiih, ■  Vecse  39. >  Verte  37 ;  John  Tiii.  50. 


fnwnu^d—And  that,  as  he  could,  so  he  would  fulfil 
hi«  piomke,  whatever  difficulties  might  stMid  in  the 
way  of  its  fulfilment  Therefore^By  tiiis  mighty 
principle  of  faith  iu  her  and  in  Abraham ;  sprang 
there  even  ofone-^i  one  father ;  and  hhn  at  good 
as  dead^TilX  his  strength  was  supemkturally  re- 
stored ;  $o  many  a$  the  stare  oftheekyin  ntuUiiiuie 
— ^This  expression  was  first  used  by  Ck>d  himself^ 
who  brought  Abraham  forth  abroad^  and  bade  him 
look  toward  heaven^  ind  number  the  stars,  if  he 
were  able;  and  then  said,  So  ehaU  thy  seed  bf.  It 
is  evident  that  at  the  first  view,  as  they  were  shown 
to  Abraham,  not  being  reduced  into  constellmtions, 
there  can  perhaps  be  no  greater  appearance  of  what 
is  kmumeraUe,  than  the  stars.  Probably  too  in  this 
comparison  not  only  their  number,  but  their  beauty 
and  order  were  intended.  In  the  other  allusion,  as 
the  sand  which  is  by  the  seorskore^  they  are  declared 
to  be  absolutely  innumerable.  It  is  not  said  that 
they  shall  be  as  many  as  the  sand  by  the  sea-shore, 
but  as  innumerable,  to  which  the  event  wonderAilly 
corresponded. 

Verse  13.  These  oi^Namely^  Abraham  and  Sa- 
rah, with  their  children,  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  died  in 
faith — Believing  that  Ood  would  Ailfil  his  promises; 
but  not  having  received  the  promises^-Thhi  is,  the 
things  promised,  for  which  the  word  promises  is 
here  put  by  a  usual  metonymy.  For  the  promises 
being  made  to  Abraham  personally,  and  to  his  im- 
mediate descendants,  the  apostle  could  not  say  of 
them  that  they  died,  not  having  received  the  pro^ 
mises;  but  he  might  justly  say,  they  died  not  hav- 
ing received  the  things  promised.  For  they  neither 
received  the  possession  of  Canaan  before  their  death, 
nor  the  actual  exhibition  of  Christ  in  the  fiesh,  witb 
the  privileges  |pranted  to  the  church  in  consequence 
thereof,  which  the  apostle  had  so  ftilly  set  forth  in 
the  four  preceding  chapters.  This  was  that  better 
t/itn^  provided  for  us  under  the  New  Testament, 
that  they  without  us  should  not  be  made  perfect 
BtU  having  seen  them  afar  off^-AX  a  great  distance 
of  time;  as  sailors,  says  Chrysostom,  who  after  a 
long  voyage,  descry  at  a  great  distance,  with  much 
Joy,  their  intended  port.  This  makes  it  further  evi- 
dent that  the  things  promised^  and  not  the  promises 
themselves,  are  intended ;  for  the  promises  were  not 
afar  qff^  but  present  with  them.  They  saw  the 
things  promised  in  that  they  had  the  idea  of  them  in 
their  minds,  understanding  in  general  the  minfl  of 
God  in  his  promises.  And  were  persuaded  of  them 
-^Namely,  that  such  thhigs  as  they  had  an  idea  of 
506 


ikem^  and  ^confissBed  that  they  wete  a.  k.  400a 
strangers  and  (Nlgrims  (m  the  earth. 


14  For  they  that  say  snch  things  ^declare 
plainly  that  lliey  seek  a  country. 
.  16  And  truly,  if  they  had  been  mindful  of 
that  country  from  whence  they  came  out,  they 
might  have  had  opportunity  to  have  returned. 


f  GoL  ndit  4 ;  ilvii.  S ;  1  Chnm.  zxiz.  16 ;  Pftm.  izziz.  18 ; 
eziz.  IS;  1  Pet^L  17;  ii.  11. *Ch^  ziii.  14. 


were  promised,  and  that  the  promises  would  be  ful- 
filled in  due  time;  and  embraced  ^ em— With  the 
most  cordial  affection  and  greatest  ardour  of  mind. 
The  original  word  denotes  the  affectionate  salutations 
and  embracings  of  friends  after  a  long  separation* 
We  then  embrace  the  promises,  and  promised  bless- 
mgs,  when  our  hearts  cleave  to  them  with  confi- 
dence, love,  complacency,  and  delight,  the  never- 
failing  fruit  of  faith  in  them.  This,  and  not  a  mere 
naked  barren  assent  to  divine  revelation,  was  the 
faith  whereby  the  elders  obtained  a  good  report 
And  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  the  earth— ThMi  their  interest,  hopes,  and  enjoy- 
ments were  not  in  this  world,  but  in  another  which 
they  expected.  In  other  words.  These  heavenly- 
minded  men,  knowing  well  that  a  better  country 
than  any  on  earth  was  pi^omised  to  them  under  the 
figure  of  Canaan,  considered  their  abode  in  Canaan 
and  on  the  earth  as  a  pilgrimage  at  a  distance  fhjim 
their  native  country;  and  to  show  what  their  expect- 
ations were,  they  always  spake  of  themselves  as 
strangers  and  pUgrims.  See  the  passages  referred 
to  in  the  margin. 

Verses  14-16.  For  they  thai  say  such  things^ 
That  speak  of  themselves  as  strangers  and  pilgrims; 
declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country — Diflferent 
froofi  that  in  which  they  dwelL  Or  rather,  that  they 
seek  their  own,  or  their  father's  country,  as  trarpida, 
the  word  here  used,  signifies.  They  show  that  they 
keep  in  view,  and  long  for,  their  eternal  home.  Arid 
truly  if  they  had  been  minimi  of  that  country — Ur, 
of  the  Chaldees;yroiit  whmce  they  came  out,  they 
might  have  had  opportunity  to  have  retumedr—From 
the  call  of  Abraham  to  the  death  of  Jacob  there  were 
two  hundred  years,  so  that  they  had  time  enough  for 
a  return  if  they  had  had  a  mind  to  it ;  there  was  no  ex- 
ternal difficulty  in  their  way  by  force  or  opposition ; 
the  way  was  not  so  far,  but  that  Abraham  s^t  his  ser- 
vant thither  out  of  Canaan,  and  Jacob  went  the  same 
journey  with  his  staff.  The  fact  is,  all  love  to,  and 
desire  after  theur  native  country,  was  so  mortified  in 
these  holy  men,  by  faith  influencing  them  to  act  in 
obedience  to  the  call  of  God,  that  no  remembrance 
of  their  first  enjoyments,  no  impressions  from  their 
native  air  and  soil,  no  bonds  of  consanguinity 
among  the  people,  nor  difficulties  they  met  with  in 
their  wanderings,  could  kindle  in  them  any  peculiar 
love  and  attachment  of  their  native  place.  Abraham 
in  particular  considered  the  very  thought  of  return- 
ing into  Chaldea  as  a  renunciation  of  his  interest  in 
the  promises  of  God ;  and  therefore  he  made  his 


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CHAPRll  XI. 


Abrdkam  offered  vp  baae. 


A.  M.  4066.    16  Bat  iK>w  they  derire  a  better 
^   '^    country  J  that  ia,  a  heavenly :  where- 
fore God  is  not  ashamed  *to  be  called  thdr 
God:  for  ^he  hath  prqpared^fer  them  a  city. 
17  By  fiuth  ®  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried, 


»fiiod.iu.  6,15;  Mattizii.38;  A«li  tu.  SS.— ->  FhiU  Hi 
20 ;  Chap.  xiii.  14. 


servant  EHezer  swear,  that  on  no  pretence  whatever 
woold  he  carry  Isaac  into  Chaldea,  Gen.  xd  v.  5-8. 
This  absolute  renunciation  of  Chaldea,  notwithstand- 
ing Crod  gave  Abraham  none  inheritance  in  Canactn^ 
no,  not  80  much  cu  to  $et^hia  foot  on^  (Acts  vii  5,}  is 
a  strong  proof  of  his  knowledge  of  the  true  meaning 
of  the  promises,  and  of  hb  faith  in  them.  BxU  now 
they  desire — Or  desired,  rather;  opeyovrai,  they 
strongly  desired^  they  longed  after;  a  better  coun- 
fry— Than  Chaldea ;  that  iff,  a  AeauenZy— Which 
€^  hath  promised  to  them.  This  is  a  full,  confine- 
ing  proof  that  the  patriarchs  had  a  revelation  and 
promise  of  eternal  life  and  felicity  in  heaven. 
Wherefore  Ood  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their 
Ood—ynnchy  sj^eekmg  aAer  the  manner  of  men,  he 
would  have  been,  if  he  had  provided  nothing  better 
for  them  than  what  he  gave  theni  to  enjoy  on  earth. 
Or  if  they  had  been  content  with,  and  attachedHo, 
earthly  things.  But  since  by  faith  they  sought  after 
a  better  inheritance,  on  the  possession  of  which  they 
entered  partly  at  death,  and  shall  more  fiilly  enter 
when  their  bodies  are  conformed  to  Christ's  glorious 
body,  therefore  God  counts  it  no  dbparagement  to 
or  reflection  upon  his  greatness  and  majesty,  to  own 
himself  to  be  a  God  in  covenant  with  them,  since  he 
has  provided  eternal  life,  felicity,  and  glory  for  them. 
Or,  as  Macknight  states  the  case,  ^^  He  might  have 
been  ashamed  of  the  name  [of  their  God]  if  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  to  whom  as  their  God  he  had 
promised  Canaan,  but  who  had  died  without  receiv- 
ing the  possession  of  it,  are  not  to  be  raised  from  the 
dead  to  enjoy  the  country,  promised  under  the  em- 
blem of  Canaan.  The  reason  is,  in  the  sense  which 
the  name  of  God  bears  in  the  covenant,  he  cannot 
be  the  God  of  the  dead;  he  can  neither  bestow  the 
possession  of  Canaan,  nor  of  the  country  prefigured 
by  Canaan,  on  persons  who  are  dead.  But  he  is  the 
God  of  the  living;  he  can  bestow  that  country  on 
living  persons  who,  by  the  re-union  of  soul  and 
body,  are  capable  of  enjoying  it.  And  that  he  can 
restore  to  Abraham  and  to  Iris  seed  their  bodies,  to 
enable  them  to  eiyoy  the  [heavenly]  Canaan,  is  un- 
deniable ;  because  all  who  now  live  in  the  body,  live 
merely  by  his  will  and  power;  all  livebyhimP 

Verses  17,  18.  By  faith — Namely,  b/  believing 
that  God  would  perform  his  promise  of  giving  him 
a  numerous  issue,  notwithstanding  that  the  com- 
mand here  referred  to  seemed  to  contradict  and  pre- 
clude the  performance  of  it;  Abraham,  when  he  was 
<n«i— When  God  made  that  glorious  trial  of  him, 
recorded  Gen.  xxiL  9,  10;  offered  up  /»aac— "In 
this  trial  of  Abraham^s  faith,  there  was  the  highest 
wisdom.  For  God^  to  whom  all  his  creatures  be- 
b 


offered  up  Isaac:  and  he  that  had  A  M.406a 

A  D  64 

recced  the  jHromides  ^  <^ered  up  his  — 1-^ — 1- 
only4)i^ottai  «on> 

18  ^Of  whom  it  was  said,  *  That  in  Isaac 
shall  thy  seed  be  called: 


«0«LziiLl,S.- 


*  Jtnea  it  SI. »  Or,  To.- 

12 ;  Rom.  ix.  7. 


•OeiLxxi. 


long,  and  who  may  justly  take  away  the  life  of  any 
of  them  by  whatever  means  or  instruments  he  thinks 
fit,  ordered  Abraham  with  his  own  hands  to  sacrifice 
his  only  son  Isaac,  in  whom  all  the  promises  were  to 
be  fulfilled,  that  the  greatness  of  Abraham's  under- 
standing, faith,  and  piety,  becoming  conspicuous, 
future  generations  might  know  with  what  propriety 
God  made  him  the  pattern  of  the  justification  of 
mankind,  and  the  father  of  all  believers,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  their  receiving  the  promises  in  him.  The 
sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  commanded  also  for  the  pur- 
pose of'  being  a  type  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ." 
Isaac,  indeed,  was  not  sacrificed:  but  Abraham,  in 
the  full  resolution  of  obeying  God's  command,  pro- 
ceeded so  far  as  to  show  that  if  he  had  not  been 
hindered  by  God  himself,  he  would  actually  have 
obeyed  it  For  he  bound  Isaac,  laid  him  on  the 
altar,  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  took  the  knife  to 
slay  his  son,  Gen.  xxii.  10.  Now,  though  Abraham 
was  restrained  from  killing  Isaac,  his  firm  purpose 
to  offer  him  was  considered  by  God  as  equivalent  to 
the  actual  offering  of  him,  Gen.  xxii.  16 :  Becattse 
thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy 
son,  thine  only  son.  But  if  Abraham,  at  God's  com- 
mand, was  willing  himself  to  slay  his  only  son,  how 
much  more  willing  should  we  be  to  part  with  our 
beloved  children  ^nd  fViends  when  God  himself  takes 
them  from  us  by  death  ?  And  he  that  had  received 
(he  promises— 'ThsX  his  seed  should  he  as  the  stars, 
and  shouki  inherit  Canaan,  and  that  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed  in  his  seed ;  offered 
up  his  only-begotten — Isaac  is  so  called,  because 
Abraham  had  no  other  son  by  Sarah,  his  legitimate 
wife;  ofwiiom  it  was  expressly  said,  (Gen.  xxi.  12,) 
Jn  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called--¥rom  him  shall 
the  blessed  seed  spring;  and  in  him  all  the  promises 
which  I  have  made  to  thy  seed  shall  be  fulfilled. 
Observe  here,  reader,  "  1st,  Faith  must  be  tried ;  and 
of  all  graces  it  is  most  suited  to  trial :  2d,  God  pro- 
portions trials,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  strength  of 
faith:  3d,  Great  trials,  in  believers,  are  an  evidence 
of  great  faith,  though  not  understood,  either  by  them- 
selves or  others,  before  such  trials :  4th,  Trials  are 
the  only  touchstone  of  faith,  without  which  men 
must  want  the  best  evidence  of  its  sincerity  and 
efficacy,  and  the  best  way  of  testifying  it  to  others 
Wherefore,  5th,  We  ought  not  to  be  afraid  of  trials, 
because  of  the  admirable  advantages  of  faith  by 
them.  See  James  I.  2,  4 ;  1  Pet.  i.  6, 7.  And  6lh, 
Let  them  be  jealous  over  themselves  who  have  had 
no  special  instances  of  the  trial  of  their  faith :  7th, 
True  faith,  being  tried,  will  in  the  issue  be  victo- 
rious."—Owen. 

557 


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SpfaUk  Jacch,  when  dfingy 


HEBREWa 


bkssed  Hhe  aons  ofJacpk* 


A.  M.  406a    19  Accounting  that  Qoi  ^was  aUe 
^'    — L  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead ; 
from  whence  also  he  received  hfan  in  a  figure. 

20  By  fitith  '  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau 
concerning  things  to  come^ 

21  By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying, 
'^blesd^  both  the  sons  of  Joseph;  and  'wor- 
shipped, leaning  upon  the  top  of  his  staff. 


^  Rom.  ir.  17,  19,  21.— «  Gen.  xxrii  27,  39.— 
5, 16, 2a ^  Gen.  zlrii.  31. 


*Gen.  xlviii. 


Verse  19.  Accounliiig — Aayurofiepof^  reasotdngy  or 
concluding,  alter  weighing  all  circumstances ;  that, 
notwithstanding  the  apparent  contradiction  in  the 
divine  revelations ;  God  was  able  to  raise  him  up— 
Although  he  should  be  burned  to  ashes  j  fuid  Would 
raise  him  even  from  the  dead — Though,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  there  never  had. been  one  single  instance 
of  a  resurrection  from  the  dead  in  the  world.  From 
tDhence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure — ^That  is, 
Figuratively  speaking,  or  in  a  figure  or  resemblance 
of  the  resurrection  from  the  de«d,  as  being  hindered 
frotn  slaying  him.  JPor  Abraham  having  fully  pur- 
posed to  sacrifice  him,  and  his  intention  and  action 
being  considered  by  God  as  a  real  offering  of  him 
up,  he  might  with  propriety  be  said  to  receive  him 
from  the  dead  when  he  was  stopped  from  shying 
him.  This  is  a  much  more  natural  interpretation  of 
the  clause  than  to  understand  it,  as  many  do,  of  his 
receiving  him  at  his  birth  by  a  kind  of  miracle,  as  it 
were,  from  the  dead  bodies  of  those  who,  in  a  course 
of  nature,  had  no  hope  of  children ,  for  this  could 
with  no  propriety  be  termed  a  resurrection,  or  a  re- 
ceiving him /rom  the  dead,  as  he  had  had  no  prior 
existence.  To  this  may  be  added,  that  the  miracu- 
lous birth  of  Isaac  was  not  so  proper  a  type  of  a 
resurrection  as  his  deliverance  from  death  was; 
being  rather  an  image  of  a  creation  than  of  a  resur- 
rection.  H  may  not  be  improper  to  obserye  here, 
that  the  phrase  ev  irapaSoX^,  which  we  render  in  a 
figure,  and  which  is  literally,  in,  or  for  a  parable, 
is  understood  by  Warburton  to  signify,  that  this 
whole  transaction  was  parabolical,  br  typical,  of 
the  method  God  would  take  for  the  salvation  of  man- 
kind, namely,  in  giving  up  his  only-begotten  Son  to 
be  a  sacrifice  for  the  expiation  of  human  guilt.  And 
certainly,  when  all  the  circumstances  of  this  extra- 
ordinary Oact  are  considered,  Abraham's  offerh)g  up 
Isaac  will  appear  to  be  a  most  apt  emblem  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God.  '^  Isaac  was  Abraham's 
only-begotten.  This  only-begotten  son  he  volunta- 
rily gave  unto  death  at  the  commandment  of  God : 
Isaac  bare  the  wood  on  which  he  was  to  be  burned 
as  a  sacrifice,  and  consented  to  be  oAered  up ;  for  he 
made  no  resistance  when  his  father  bound  him, 
which  shows  that  Abraham  had  made  known  to  him 
the  divine  command.  Three  days  having  passed 
between  God's  order  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  and  the  re- 
voking of  that  order,  Isaac  may  be  said  to  have  been 
dead  three  days.  Lastly,  his  deliverance,  when  on 
the  point  of  being  slain,  was,  as  the  apostle  obseryes, 
equal  to  a  resurrection.  In  all  these  respects,  this 
S58 


22  By  fiiith  *  Joseph,  when  he  died,  A.k  406a 

•  made  mention  of  the  departing  oif '. 

the  children  of  Israel;  and  gave  commandment 
concerning  his  bones. 

23  By  iaitfa  ^  Moses,  when  he  was  bom,  was 
hid  three  months  of  his  parents,  becau^  they 
saw  he  was  a  proper  chUd ;  and  ^ey  were 
not  afiraid  of  the  king's  ^  commandment. 


k  Gen.  1. 24, 25 ;  Exod.  xiii.  19.- 
ii.  2 ;  Acts  vii.  2a- 


'  Or,  rejn«ni6«re<^— 
B  Exod.  i.  16, 22.. 


lEzod. 


transaction  was  a  fit  emblem  of  the  death  of  the  Son 
of  God  as  a  sacrifice,  and  of  his  resurrection  on  the 
thhd  day.  And  it  is  probable  that  after  Isaac  was 
offered,  when  God  confirmed  his  promises  to  Abra- 
ham by  an  oath,  he  showed  him  that  fais  seed,  in 
whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed, 
was  to  die  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sin  of  the  world ; 
and  that  he  had  commanded  him  to  ofier  up  Isaac  to 
prefigure  that  great  event,  and  to  raide  in  mankind 
an  expectation  of  it.  How,  otherwise,  can  we  un- 
derstand our  Lord's  words  to  the  Jews,  Tour  father 
Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day,  and  he  saw  it,  and 
was  glad?  For  Christ's  day  denotes  the  things 
done  by  Christ  in  his  day,  and  especially  his  dying 
as  a  sacrifice  for  sin." — Mack  night. 

Verses  20, 21.  jBy/ait^-*By  firmly  believing  what 
God  had  revealed  unto  him  concerning  the  future 
state  of  his  children ;  J^aoc  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau 
— Prophetically  foretold  the  particular  blessings 
they  should  receive,  preferring  the  younger  before 
the  elder.  See  notes  on  Gen.  xxvii.  6-40.  By  faith 
Jacob,  when  a  dying— Thsii  is,  when  near  death, 
believing  that  God  would  make  good  his  promise  of 
giving  hisi[>osterity  the  land  of  Canaan ;  blessed  both 
the  sons  of  Joseph — Foretelling  that  two  tribes 
should  spring  from  these  two  sons;  and  that  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim,  the  younger,  should  be  more 
powerful  than  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  the  elder ;  and 
worshipped-^Acknowledged  God's  goodness  to  him, 
which  he  had  so  long  experienced ;  leaning— Or 
l>owing  down )  on  the  top  of  his  staff— In  the  pas- 
sage referred  to,  (Gen.  xlvii.  81,)  it  is  said,  accord- 
ing to  our  version,  Israel  bowed  himself  upon  his 
b^s  head  ;  but  the  apostle  says  here,  He  worshipped 
upon  the  top  of  his  staff;  which  agrees  with  the 
Greek  and  Syriae  translation.  It  seems,  as  Hallet 
observes,  the  word  nOD,  used  in  Genesis,  signifies 
either  a  bed  or  a  staff;  and  the  passages  may  be 
reconciled  by  supposing  that  he  ii^is  utting  on  the 
side  of  the  bed  when  he  blessed  these  sons  of  Joseph, 
and  leaned  on  the  top  of  his  staff  for  support,  t)emg 
very  old  arid  feeble. 

Verse  22.  By  ,^»/A— In  God's  promise,  to  give 
Canaan  to  the  posterity  of  Jacob ;  Joseph,  when  he 
died — TcXeuTov,  ending  his  life;  made  mention  of 
the  departing  of  /fraei—Namely,  out  of  Egypt,  as 
an  event  which  would  certainly  take  place;  and 
gave  commandment  concerning  his  bones — To  be 
carried  into  the  land  of  promise,  thereby  testifying 
his  joint  interest  with  them  in  the  promises  of  Crod. 

Verse  23.  By  faith  Moees-^At  if  he  had  said,  The 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


aJHction  with  the  people  of  God, 


A.  H.  4068.    24  By  feith  ■  Moaes,  when  he  was 

'. — 1-  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  c^ed 

the  ^n  of  Pharaoh's  daughter ; 
26   "  Choosing    rather   to    suffer    affliction 
with    the    people   of    God,    than    to   enjoy 


"Eiod.  it  10, 11. oPml  Ixxxir.  10.— ^p  Chap.  xiii.  13. 


parents  of  Moses  believing,  when  he  was  a  ehild,  that 
God  would  make  use  of  him  at  a  future  period^  for 
some  extraordinary  service  to  his  people ;  Jud  him 
three  tnon^Atf— In  their  own  house,  to  preserve  him 
from  falling  a  sacrifice  to  the  cruelty  of  Pharaoh.  It 
appears  by  this,  that  both  his  parents  were  engaged 
in  the  work  of  concealing  him,  although  his  mother 
only  is  mentioned,  Exod.  il.  2 ;  because  thejf  eav)  he 
was  a  proper  child — Greek,  e^6ov  a^uov  to  naidiov^ 
they  saw  the  child  beautiful;  and  doubtless  through 
a  diviiie  presage  of  things  to  come,  and  not  merely 
flrom  his  beauty,  believed  that  God  had  designed  him 
tot  some  singular  usefulness.  And  they  were  not 
afraid  of  the  king^s  commandment — Requiring  all 
Israelitish  parents,  on  pain  of  death,  to  give  up  their 
male  children  that  they  might  be  thrown  into  the 
river.  Of  Moses's  beauty,  see  note  on  Acts 
vii.2a 

Verses  24-26.  By  faith  Moses-^^onfi  m  the  old 
world  was  more  signalized  by  Providence  in  his 
bi  rth,  education,  and  actions,  than  Moses  >  hence  liis 
renown  was  both  then  and  ever  after  very  great ; 
when  he  was  come  to  years — llcyof  yevo^icvof,  when  he 
became  great;  Syriac,  when  he  was  a  man.  The 
w  ord  may  respect  either  state  and  condition,  or  time 
of  fife  and  stature.  To  become  great,  is  in  Scripture 
and  common  speech,  to  become  so  in  wealth,  honour, 
or  power,  and  so  Moses  was  become  great  in  the 
court  of  Pharaoh ;  and  hence  the  greatness  of  his 
self-denial  here  commended.  But  although  this  is 
true,  and  is  a  circumstance  which  greatly  commends 
his  faith,  yet  it  is  not  primarily  intended  in  this  ex- 
pression ;  for  having  declared  the  faith  of  his  parents, 
and  the  providence  of  God  toward  him  in  his  infancy, 
in  the  foregoing  verse,  the  apostle  here  shows  what 
his  own  disposition  and  practice  was,  after  he  was 
grown  up  to  years  of  understanding.  The  expres- 
sion is  the  same  with  that  used  by  the  LXX.  Exod. 
ii.  11,  where  we  read.  In  those  days  when  Moses  was 
grown.  The  time  referred  to  seems  to  have  been 
that  mentioned  by  Stephen,  Acts  vii.  7,  when  he 
left  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  and  visited  his  brethren, 
being  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians, 
nndJuU  forty  years  old  ;  refused  to  be  called^ An  j 
longer,  as  he  had  before  been;  the  son  of  Pharaoh^  s 
daughter— It  is  not  said  in  the  history  that  Moses 
made  this  refusal  formally,  but  he  did  it  in  effect  by 
his  actions ;  he  boldly  professed  himself  an  Israelite, 
and  interposed  to  vindicate  his  brethren  from  their 
oppression;  at  the  same  time  leaving  Pharaoh's 
court,  and  (after  kilKng  the  Egyptian  who  had  smit- 
ten a  Hebrew)  fleeing  into  the  land  of  Midian.  And 
though  he  afterward  returned  to  Egypt,  he  did  not 
reside  with  Pharaoh's  daughter  as  formerly,  but 
went  among  his  afflicted  brethren,*  and  never  after- 
b 


the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  ;    A.K.  406& 
26  Esteeming  ^  the  reproach  '  of  ^'  ^'  ^' 
Christ  greater   richer  than  the  treasures  in 
Egypt:  lor  he  had  respect  unto  ^the  recom- 
pense of  the  reward. 

'  Or,  for  Chrut. 1  Chap.  x.  36. 

ward  forsook  them;  choosing  rather  to  suffer 
(iffiiction  with  the  peopleof  God — Greek,  ovyKtucsx^t^ 
tadaij  to  fie  evU  erUi'eated,  or  pressed  with  things 
evil  and  grievous.  What  the  afflictions  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  people  of  God  were  at  that  time  in  Egypt 
is  well  known :  but  it  does  not  appear  that  it  was 
required  of  Moses  to  work. in  the  kihis  and  furnace's 
with  his  brethren ;  but  considering  their  woful  con- 
dition he  sympathized  with  them,  and  was  wiUing 
tQ  suffer  witlrthem  whatever, they  might  be  exposed 
to  in  the  course  of  divine  providence.  To  account 
for  this  exercise  of  faith.in  Moses,  we  must  suppose 
that  in  his  childhood  and  youth  he  had  often  eon- 
versed  with  his  parents  and  with  the  Israelites,  of 
whom  he  knew  himself  to  be  one  by  his  circumci- 
sion ;  and  that  they  had  given  him  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God,  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  of  the 
promises  which  God  had  made  to  their  nation  as  his 
people.  Than  to  enjoy  t/ie  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  sea- 
son— Jlpooxaipov  exetv  afiapriac  anoXavciVj  literaUy,  to 
have  the  temporary  fruition^  or  enjoyment  of  sin.  The 
enjoyment  of  sin  is  therefore  said  to.be  temporary, 
or  for  a  season,  because  it  is  subject  to  a  thousand 
interruptions  and  reverses  in  this  life,  unavoidably 
ends  with  it,  and  is  followed,  if  repentance  prevent 
not,  with  everlasting  misery.  Thus  were  things 
truly  represented  to  the  thoughts  of  Moses ;  he  did 
not  shut  his  eyes  on  calamities  to  be  endured  on  the 
one  hand,  nor  suffer  himself  to  be  imposed  upon  by 
flattering  appearaqces  on  the«other.  He  omitted  ito 
circumstance  that  might  produce  a  right  choice,  rie 
considered  the  worst  thing  belonging  to  the  people 
of  God,  which  is  their  affliction,  and  the  best  of  the 
world,  which  is  but  the  vanishing  pleasure  of  sin  ^ 
and  he  preferred  the  worst  of  the  one  above  the  best 
of  the  other.  Esteeming  the  reproach  ofChristr—So 
he  terms  the  infamy  that  he  was  or  might  be  exposed 
to,  by  acknowledging  himself  one  of  the  Israelites, 
whom  Christ  had  been  pleased  to  take  under  his 
special  protection.  Or  he  may  mean  the  scoffs  cast 
on  the  Israelites  for  expecting  the  Messiah  to  arise 
among  them :  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of 
^ST/P'— Though  then  a  very  opulent  kingdom.  It 
is  here  intimated,  that  if  Moses  had  continued  in  the 
court  of  Egypt,  as  a  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  he 
might  have  had  the  free  use  of  the  king's  treasures, 
and  therewith  might  have  procured  to  himself  every 
sensual  enjoyment*  For  he  had  respect  unlo — 
ATce^Aetre,  he  looked  offy  from  all  those  perishing  trea- 
sures, and  beyond  all  those  temporal  hardships; 
unXo  the  recompetue  of  reward — ^Not  to  an  inherit- 
ance in  Canaan :  he  had  no  warrant  from  God  to 
look  for  this,  nor  did  he  ever  attain  it ;  but  what  his 
believing  ancestors  looked  for,  a  future  slate  of  hap- 
pmess  in  heaven. 

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resptd  to  the  promised  reward. 


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A.  a  64. 


27  By   fedih   'he  forsook    Egypt, 

not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king : 

fi>r  he  endured,  as  'seeing  him  who. is  invisible. 

28  Through  &ith  ^W  kept  the  passover,  and 

the  sprinkling  of  blood,  lest  he  that  destroyed 

the  firstborn  should  touch  them. 


'Exod.x.a8,29;  jdi.37;  xiu.  17,  la 'Venel). 

Verse  27.  ^/ot^A— Namely,  in  the  power  of  God 
to  preserve  and  conduct  him  and  them,  notwith- 
standing Pharaoh's  rage  and  threatening ;  hejbrsoek 
Egypt-T-TMng  all  the  Israelites  with  him;  not  fear- 
ing the  wrath  of  the  king^As  he  did  many  years 
before,  when  he  fled  from  Egypt  into  Midian :  see 
Exod.  ii,  14, 15.  For  he  cnrftiro^-Cootinued  reso- 
lute and  immoveable ;  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisi- 
6Ze^KeepiQg  the  eye  of  his  mind  continually  £xed 
on  that  great  invisible  Being,  whose  presence  and 
friendship  is  of  snch  importance,  thai  the^  person 
who  fixes  his  regards  on  him,  will  never  by  any  con- 
sideration be  influenced  knoWingly  to  offend  him, 
nor  be  much  impressed  with  the  fear  of  any  person 
or  thing  that  would  tempt  him  to  do  this.  This 
character  of  Qod  is  here  given  with  peculiar  pro- 
priety. Moses  was  now  in  that  condition,  and  had 
those  difficulties  to  encounter,  wherein  he  continu- 
ally stood  in  need  of  divine  power  and  assistance: 
whence  this  shonid  come  he  could  not  discern  by 
his  senses  r  his  bodily  eye  could  behold  no  present 
assistant ;  for  Ood  was  invisible :  but  he  saw  him  by 
(hiih,  whom  he  could  not  see  with  his  bodily  eyes, 
and  thus  seeing  him  he  foand  him  a  present  help,  no 
less  than  if  he  had  been  tnanifest  to  his  senses.  A 
double  act  of  Moses's  faith  is  intended  herein ;  1st,  A 
clear,  distinct  view  and  apprehension  of  God's  om- 

Zesence,  power,  and  faithftilness;  and,  2d,  A 
dy  trust  in  him  on  account  of  these  perfections. 
This  he  relied  on,  to  this  he  trusted,  that  God  was 
everywhere  present  with  him,  able  to  protect  and 
assist  him,  and  faithful  to  bis  promises.  Of  these 
things  he  had  as  certain  a  persuasion,  as  if  he  had 
seen  God  working  with  him  and  for  him  with  his 
bodily  eyes.  This  sense  of  Ck)d  he  continually  had 
recourse  to  in  all  his  ha2ards  and  difiiculties,  and 
thereby  endured  courageously  to  the  end. 

Verses  28, 29.  Through  faith—From  a  lively  ap- 
prehension and  firm  persuasion  of  the  benefits  sig- 
nified and  sealed  thereby,  and  especially  that  God 
would  assuredly  send  his  angel  on  the  vindictive  de- 
sign predicted,  and  would  spare  the  houses  properly 
distinguished;  see  Exod.  xii.  12,  23;  he  kept  the 
passover  and  the  sprinkling— Or  pouring  forth, 
rather;  of  bloodS^mely,  that  of  the  paschal  lamb, 
which  he  sprinkled  on  the  lintels  and  the  posts  ot 
the  doors,  as  the  mark  of  committing  those  who 
dwelt  under  such  roofs  to  the  divine  protection ;  that 
he  who  destroyed  the  firstborn— TheLi  is,  the  angel, 
whom  God  employed  in  that  work  as  the  executioner 
of  his  judgments,  as  he  did  afterward  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sennacherib's  army,  and  of  Sodom  j  should 
not  touch  them — That  is,  the  Israelites  or  their  cattle. 


29  By  &ith  *they  passed  through  A.M.406a 
the  Red  sea  as  by  dry  Umd :  — i—^ — '-^ 
which  the  Egyptians  assaying  to  d(^  were 
drowned. 

30  By  feith  '  the  walls  of  Jericho  fdl  down, 
after  they  were  compassed  aboutTseven  days. 


t|:xod.  zlL  81,  Sm. HSxod.  xi^.  SS»  SS. *JoaL  tL  SOl 


By  faith  <9key— Moses,  Aaron,  Knd  the  Israelites; 
passed  through  tf^  Bed  ^ea—Thatpart  of  the  Ethio- 
pic  ocean  which  lies  between  Egypt  and  Arabia.  In 
the  Hebrew  h  is  constantly  call^  ^jiD  t3%  ^  sea  of 
sedges,  reeds  or  canes,  firom  the  multitude  growing 
on  its  shore,  as  to  this  day.  The  GreelLS  called  it 
tpv^paioc,  or  epv^pa,  red,  not  from  the  red  colour  of 
the  waters,  appearing  so  from  the  sand  or  the  sun, 
but  beeanse  it  washed  the  borders  of  Edom,  which 
signifies  red :  ashy  dry  land— Kb  sedately  as  if  they 
had  marched  on  dry  land,  while  its  waters,  by  the 
divine  command,  divided  and  left  the  channel  bare 
to  them,  so  that  they  easily  completed  their  march 
through  it,  and  arrived  safely  on  the  opposite  shore : 
which  the  Egyptians,  assaying  to  do,  were  destroy- 
ed—Kareirodifffav,  were  drowned,  swallowed  up.  This 
attempt  of  the  Egyptians  was  the  greatest  height  of 
folly  and  presumption  that  ever  obdurate  sinners  ar- 
rived at  in  this  world.  They  had  seen  all  the  mighty 
works  which  God  had  wrought  in  behalf  of  his  peo- 
ple among  them ;  they  and  their  country  were  al- 
most consumed  with  the  plagues  and  Judgments  that 
were^jnflicted  on  them ;  and  yet  now,  beholdmg  this 
wonder  All  work  of  God  in  opening  the  sea  to  receive 
his  people  from  their  pursuit,  they  would  make  a 
venture,  (as  the  original  expres^on,  ireipav  XaSwrecj 
signifies,)  to  follow  them  into  it.  Vain  and  despe- 
rate attempt !  and  a  high  evidence  of  infatuation ! 
It  is  one  of  the  most  signal  examples  of  blindness  of 
mind,  confirmed  by  judicial  hardness  of  heart,  that  is 
upon  record  in  the  whole  book  of  God ;  nor  is  there 
any  monument  of  equal  folly  and  infatuation  among 
the  annals  of  time.  Thus  far  the  examples  are  cited 
from  Genesis  and  Exodus;  those  that  follow  are 
from  the  former  and  the  latter  prophets. 

Verse  30.  By  faith— The  faith  of  Joshua  and  the 
Israelites  in  God's  promise;  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell 
down— Being  smitten  by  the  hand  of  God,  without 
any  human  force ;  after  they  were  compassed  about 
— In  solemn  silence,  according  to  the  divine  com- 
mand ;  seven  days — How  absurd  a  spectacle  soever 
their  procession  might  appear  to  the  besieged.  '^As 
the  land  of  Canaan  belonged  to  the  Israelites  by  a 
grant  from  God,  the  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth, 
it  was  proper  that  the  first  city  which  resisted  them 
should  be  taken  in  isuch  a  manner  as  to  demonstrate 
the  truth  of  their  title.  And  therefore  God  did  not 
order  them  to  attack  Jericho  with  engines  of  war, 
but  he  ordered  the  priests,  his  immediate  ministers, 
to  carry  the  ark,  containing  the  tables  of  his  cove- 
nant, round  the  city  daily  for  seven  days,  Josh-  f  i. 
13 ;  and  to  sound  trumpets  of  rams'  horns,  as  sum- 
moning the  inhabitants  in  the  name  of  the  God  of 

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A.K.«MB.  31  By  &Uh  ^the  hailot  Kakab 
A.iX<i  perijhed  not  with  them  •that  h^emi 
not,  when  'she  had  received  the  epkfi  wkh 
jpeacie. 
32  And  what  shall  I  more  say?  for  the  time 
would  M  me  to  leU  (tf  *  Oideoa,  and  o/*  ^'Ba- 
xaic,  and  of  «SaiiMon,  and^/  "^Jepbthae,  of 
"^  David  alsoif  and  '  Samuel,  and  ofthe  prophets : 


f  JtMh.  Ti.  33;   JaniM  iL  25. *0r,  (^  wtri  iutMient. 

«Jodi.  i.  1. »  Jodses  ri.  11. »  Judge*  ir.  «. «  Ji|<teet 

xUi.  2i. 'Judges  xi.  1;   xii.  7.—*  J  Samael  xri.  1, 13; 

xriL  45. '1  Sam.  i.  20 ;   ziL  20. f  2  Sun.  Til.  U,  &c. 


Israel  to  surrender;  the  armed  men  going  before, 
and  the  rearward  following.  And  cm  the  seventh 
day,  having  surrounded  Jerieho  seven  times,  they 
laJsed  a  great  shout,  upon  which  the  wall  fell  dowi 
JUUf  80  1h€U  the  people  went  %q>  into  the  city  every 
VMU  straight  before  him,  verse  20.  Thus  were  the 
inhabitants  of  Jericho  and  all  the  Caaaanites  made 
to  know  the  supremacy  and  power  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  and  how  vain  it  was  to  make  any  resistance." 
— ^Macknight 

Verse  31.  By  /ait/k— Expressed  in  her  words,  re- 
eoirded  Josh.  ii.  9-11,  /  know  that  the  Lord  hath 
giwen  you  the  landj  fc, ;  the  harlot  Bahab—ThaX  is, 
wlio  had  once  been  a  harlot;  but  after  she  believed 
in  the  true  God,  it  is  reasonaUe  to  think  she  mnend- 
ed  her  manners,  as  well  as  repented  of  the  lie  by 
wliich  she  deceived  the  king  of  Jericho's  messen- 
gers. For  that  faith  in  &e  true  God,  which  made 
her  hazard  her  life  in  receiving  and  concealing  the 
spies,  must,  when  she  attained  to  more  knowledge, 
Im've  wrought  in  her  a  thorough  reformation  f  jDe- 
rimhed  not  with  them  that  believed  not— With  the 
rest  of  the  Canaanttes  in  that  city,  among  whom  she 
dwelt;  when  she  had  received  the  tpies—Hospiin- 
bly,  and  dismissed  them  in  peace,  when  an  alann 
was  taken  by  her  fellow-citizens^  and  they  searched 
for  them  to  destroy  them. 

Verse  32.  And  what  ehatt  I  nwre  eay-rOn  this  co- 
pious, this  inexhaustible  subject?  For  the  time 
would  fail  me—U  I  should  attempt  to  discourse  at 
large;  of  Gideon — Who  with  a  small  band  of  men 
cut  off  so  many  thousands  of  the  Midianites ;  and 
Jforo*— Who,  through  faith  in  the  prophecy  of  De- 
borah, freed  Israel  from  the  oppression  of  Jid)io,  and 
routed  Sisera  his  general;  end  iSfafMon— Who, 
through  faith  in  the  power  of  God,  slew  so  many 
thousands  of  the  Philistines  with  the  jaw-bone  of  an 
88%  and  performed  many  other  astonishing  achieve- 
ments; and  of  /^p^Aae— Who,  through  believing 
God's  promise  to  Abraham,  that  his  posterity  should 
possess  the  land  of  Canaan,  (see  Judg.  xi.  %i,)  and 
through  obey  big  the  divine  impulse,  which  moved 
him  to  fight  against  the  Ammonites,  obtained  a  great 
victory  over  these  enemies  of  God's  people.  OfDor 
vid  a/«o— Whose  faith  was  manifesteld,  as  in  his 
meny  other  heroic  acts,  so  especially  in  his  combat 
with  Goliath :  and  even  of  Samuelr^yfho,  though  a 
prophet  and  a  judge,  yet  led  on  the  armies  of  the 

Vol.  n.  (  96  ) 


93  Who  through  feith  subdued  a.  M.  4oe8. 
tdngdoms,  vmmght  righteousness,  — J — 1 
>^  obtained  {mxnises,  ^stopped  the  mouths  of 
limifl^ 

34  '  Quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  ^  escaped 
the  edg<6  of  the  sword,  ^out  of  weakness  were 
made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  "^turned 
to  flight  the  armies  o(  the  aliens.  ' 


hJadgetnT.5.6;  1  Sam.  zrii.  34, 35 ;  DaD.Ti.22. 'OaiL 

iii.  25. ^1  Sam.  zx.  1;    1  Kino  xiz.  3;   2  Kings  Ti.  16. 

'  2  Kinga  tx.  7,  &c  ;  Job  xUL  10;  Psa.  vi.  8. »  Judges  rr. 

B,  15;  1  Sam. sir.  13,  &c. ;  zriL51,  92;  2  Sipn.  Tiii  1,  See. 


Lord  on  a  remarki^le  occasion,  to  an  illustrious  vic- 
tory :  and  of  the  prophets^kiteT  Samuel,  the  pro- 
phets are  properly  nientioned:  David  also  was  a 
prophet,  but  he  was  a  king  too.  By  the  prophets 
he  especially  intended  Elijah,  Elisha,  IsiJah,  &c., 
induding  likewise  the  believers  who  lived  in  their 
days. 

Verses  83, 34.  Who  through  faith  tubdned  king- 
dome-^Aa  /oriiua,  the  Judges,  David,  and  others ; 
wrought  righteou9ne90-^L\ved  righteous  and  holy 
lives,  and  administered  justice  impartially,  1  Sam. 
xii  3-d.  Obtained  promises— Ni^mely,  of  particu- 
lar mercies,  as  Sarah,  Hannah,  Manciah,  and  the  pro- 
phets in  general,  both  for  themselves,  and  to  deliver 
to  others ;  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions — By  their 
taith  prevailed  with  G^od  to  do  it,  as  Daniel,  Dan.  vi. 
22:  quenchfid  the  violence  of  fire — As  fiiiadraeh,  Me- 
shac^  and  Abc^nego,  Dan.  iil  He  does  not  say 
they  quenched  fire,  which  may  be  dcme  by  natural 
means,  but  they  took  off,  restrained  ihe  viximce,  the 
power  of  fire  with  respect  to  themselves.  The  fire 
continued  still,  and  retained  its  burning  power,  forii 
slew  the  men  that  cast  them  into  the  itoiaee.  But 
by  faith  they  disarmed  it  of  its  power  to  hurt  them- 
sdves,  so  that  not  one  hair  of  their  heads  wassinged. 
To  these  examples,  whence  the  nature  of  faith  clear- 
ly appears,  those  more  ancient  ones  are  subjofaied, 
(by  a  transposition  and  in  an  inverted  order,)  whkh 
receive  light  from  these.  Jephthae  e^cofped  the  edge 
of  the  sword;  Samson  out  of  weakness  was  made 
strong;  Bsiik  became  valiant  in Jight;  Gideon  jn<f 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  Faith  animates  to 
the  most  heroic  enterprises,  both  civU  and  military. 
Faith  overcomes  all  impediments,  eflfects  the  greatest 
things,  attains  to  the  very  best,  and  inverts,  by  its 
miraculous  power,  the  very  course  of  nature.  One 
thing,  however,  is  necessary  to  be.  observed  by  the 
reader,  namely,  that  these  celebrated  worthies  are 
not  represented  by  the  apostle  as  being  justified  by 
their  faith,  but  only  as  performing  miracles,  and  he- 
roic, valiant  actions  by  it :  nor  are  they  all  commend- 
ed for  their  good  conduct  in  general  5  for  several  of 
them  failed  in  their  duty  in  divers  instances,  through 
the  want  of  an  abiding  principle  of  faith  and  b<diness 
in  their  hearts,  even  as  the  Israelites  in  general,  who 
by  faith  had  passed  through  the  Bed  sea,  lost  their 
faith,  rebelled,  and  were  doomed  to  die  in  the  wil> 
demess^ 

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A.  D.M. 


35  *  Women  received  tbrir  dead 
raised  to  life  again:  and  others 
were  *  tortured,  not  accepting  ^  deliverance ; 
that  they  might  obtain  a  bettn:  resurrec- 
tion: 

36  I*  And  other?  had  trial  of  crud  mockingi 
and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  ^of  bonds  and 
imprisonment ; 


•X  Kinei  xiriL  22;   2  Kingf  ir,  35. P2  lUe.  tL  10, 28 ; 

▼ii  7,  &c. ;  Acts  xxii.  25. p  2  Mac  vii.  1, 7. 1  Gen. 

20 ;  Jer.  xx,  2 ;  zzxni.  15. 


Verses  35,  36.  fVomen,  naturally  weak,  redeived 
their  dead  children  raised  to  life  ag^atn^'-TCompare 
1  Kings  xviL  22,  23;  2  Kings^iv.  36, 37;  amd  others 
— Particularly  seven  children  and  one  pious  and 
holy  mother;  were  tortured — In  the  most  inhuman 
manner,  to  compel  them  to  renounce  their  religion, 
and  be  guilty  of  idolatry.  See  the  margip.  Thus 
from  those  who  acted  great  things  the  apostle  rises 
higher,  even  to  those  who  showed  the  power  of  faith 
by  suffering;  twt  accepting  deliverance^When  it 
was  offered  tiiem  on  sinful  terms,  nor  even  riches  and 
preferments  added  to  the  proposal ;  that  they  might 
obtain  a  better  resurreciion^A  resurrection  to  a 
better  life  than  that  they  were  to  lose,  and  a  higher 
reward  than  they  could  have  received  had  they  not 
endured  these  afflictions;  seemg  the  greater  their 
sufferings,  the  greater  would  be  their  felicity  and 
glory  hereafter ;  and  others — ^In  the  same  glorious 
cause;  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings^As  Samson 
before  Dagon,  when  the  Philistines  had  put  out  his 
eyes ;  and  doubtless  hundreds  of  others,  whose  names 
and  trials  have  not  been  recorded ;  and  scour gings 
— Jeremiah  was  beaten  l^  Pashur,  Jer.  xx.  2 ;  and  by 
the  princes,  chap.  xxxviL  15 :  but  scourging  was  ^ 
frequent  a  punishment,  both  alone  and  before  a  capi- 
tal execution,  that  it  is  probable  it  was  inflicted  on 
many  pious  persons ;  moreover,  of  bonds  and  impri- 
sonments— Joseph  was  cast  into  a  prison,  Jeremiah 
was  let  down  into  a  dungeon  full  of  mire,  Jer.  xxxvii. 
13, 16;  xxxviii.  6;  and  Micaiah  was  imprisoned  by 
Ahab,  1  Kings  xxii.  27. 

Verses  37,  38.  They  were  stoned^-^Aa  Zechariah, 
the  son  of  Jehoiada,  2  Chron.  xxiv.  21.  See  also 
Matt  xxiii.  31 ;  they  were  sawn  asunder-^As,  ac- 
cording to  the  tradition  of  the  Jews,  Isaiah  was  by 
Manassdi;  were  tempted— With  offers  of  deliver- 
ance; but  remaining  steadfast,  were  then  slain  with 
the  swordr^As  also  were  the  eighty-five  priests  slain 
by  Doeg,  1  Sam.  xxii.  18 ;  and  the  prophets,  of  whose 
slaughter  by  the  sword  Elijah  complains,  1  Kings 
xix.  10.  Or,  as  emipa<rdtfaav  may  be  rendered,  they 
were  tried,  and  that  in  every  possible  Way;  by 
threatenings,  reproaches,  tortures,  the  variety  of 
which  cannot  be  expressed  r  and  again  by  promises 
and  allurements.  'They  wandered  about  in  sheep- 
skins and  goat-^kins— Their  outward  condition  was 
poor,  mean,  and  contemptible;  their  clothing  being 
no  better  than  the  unwrought  sicins  of  sheep  and 
goats.    Nothing  is  here  intimated  of  their  choosing 


37  'They  were  stcmed^  they  were  A. m.40Q8. 

sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were 1 — L 

slain  with  ihe  sword:  'they  wandered  about 
^  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins ;  being  destitiil^ 
afflicted,  tormented ; 

38  (Of  whom  the  wbrid  was  not  worthy:) 
they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in  mountaim^ 
and  *  tn  dens  and  caves  <tf  the  earth. 

■>   ■       .      .  ,   .      ■  ■*  -■ 

'  1  Kiagt  zzL  13 ;  2  Gkrcm.  xzir.  21 :  Acts  tU.  68 ;  ut.  19. 

•2  Kings  L  ^;   Matt  iu.  4. »ZecL  xiii.  4. ^»1  Kingi 

jriii.  4 ;  xix.  S. 


mean  clothing,  as  a  testimony  of  mortification,  but 
they  were  compelled  by  necessity  to  use  such  as 
they  could  find  or  obtam.  Thus  have  the  saints  of 
God,  in  sundry  seasons,  been  reduced  to  the  utmost 
extremities  of  poverty  and  want  But  there  is  sudi 
a  satisfaction  in  the  exercise  of  fahh  and  obedience, 
and  such  internal  consolation  attending  a  state  of 
suffering  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  godliness,  as  quite 
overbalance  aU  the  outward  evils  that  can  be  uii- 
dergone  for  the  profession  of  them:  and  there  is  a 
future  state  of  eternal  rewards  and  punishments, 
which  will  set  all  things  right,  to  the  glory  of  divine 
justice,  and  the  everlasting  honour  of  the  sufferers. 
Being  destitute-^TheX  is,  as  Dr.  Owen  interprets  it 
of  friends,  and  of  all  means  of  relief  from  them ;  af 
^iclai— Various  ways;  the  former  word  declares 
what  was  absent,  what  they  had  not  as  to  outward 
supplies  and  comforts;  this  declares  what  was  pre- 
sent with  them,  the  various  evils  and  positive  suffer- 
ings inflicted  on  them ;  tormented — KoKHxttfievoi,  malt 
habiti,  or  malt  vexaXi,  badly  treated ;  that  is,  in  their 
wandering  condition  they  met  with  bad  treatment 
continually,  all  sorts  of  persons  taking  occasion  to 
vex  and  press  them  with  various  evils.  Of  whom— 
Of  whose  society,  example,  prayers,  instructions; 
the  world  Was  not  worthy — It  did  not  deserve  so 
great  a  blessing.  The  world  thinks  them  not  wor- 
thy of  it,  to  live  in  it,  or  at  least  to  enjoy  any  name 
or  place  among  the  men  of  it ;  but  whatever  they 
think,  we  know  that  this  testimony  oi  the  apostle  is 
true,  and  the  world  will  one  day  confess  it  to  be  so. 
The  design  of  the  apostle  is  to  obviate  an  objection, 
that  these  persons  were  justly  cast  out,  as  not  wor- 
thy of  the  society  of  mankind,  and  this  he  does  by  a 
contrary  assertion,  that  the  world  was  not  worthy  of 
them ;  not  worthy  to  have  converse  with  them,  or 
of  those  mercies  and  blessings  which  accompany 
this  sort  of  persons,  where  they  have  a  quiet  habit- 
ation. They  wandered  in  deserts,  &c. — Being 
driven  from  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  and  all  inha- 
bited places,  partly  by  law,  and  partly  by  force,  these 
servants  of  the  living  God  were  compeDed  to  wan- 
der in  such  as  were  solitary,  wild,  and  desert,  and  to 
take  -up  with  dens  and  caves  for  their  shelter.  And 
instances  of  the  same  kind  have  been  multiplied  in 
the  pagan  and  antichrlstian  persecutions  of  the 
churches  of  the  New  Testament;  but  (hat  no  coun- 
tenance is  here  given  to  an  hermetical  life,  volunta- 
rily chosen,  much  less  to  the  horrible  abuse  of  it 
(  36*  )  b 


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CHAPnOt  XL 


received  not  Ikepromin. 


A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.6i. 


not  the  pcomise : 


39  And  these  all,  'having  qbtained 
a  good  refKNTt  through  jfoith,  receiyed 


«  Vewe*  8, 13. — —^  Ott/onutn. f  Chap.  tU.  28 ;  TJiL  9. 


under  the  j^pacy,.  is  too  eTident  to-need  being  here 
insitfkedon. 

Verse  80.  These  ally  having  obtained  a  good  re- 
|>dr<— Mopriyf^ii^rtf,  being  leUneeeed  imto,  as  per- 
sons who  did  or  soifored  greal  things  by  faith.  The 
expression  does  not  imply  that  all  the  Israelitish 
judges,  captains,  and  other  worthies  mentioned  ia 
this  chapter,  as  well  as  the  ancients,  were  truly 
ri^iteoiii  persons.  Justified  by  their  foith,  and  made 
bein  of  eternal  salration;  for  the  apocrtle's  design  in 
this  part  of  his  ^istle  being  to  show,  by  examples 
from  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  the  influence  which 
faith  in  the  divine  revelations  and  promises  hath  to 
excite  men  to  perform  those  difficult  and  dangerous 
enterprises  which  he  assigns  to  them  in  particular, 
the  witness  which  was  borne  to  some  of  them  means 
only  the  praise  which  was  given  to  them  in  Scrip- 
ture on  account  of  the  faith  which  they  showed  in 
performing  these  particular  great  actions.  Received 
w^  the  promiee — The  great  promised  blessings, 
namely,  Christ  the  promised  seed,  come  in  the  flesh, 
as  the  accomplishment  of  all  the  types  and  shadows, 
whether  of  the  Mosaic  or  the  patriarchal  dispensa- 
tion. They  received  the  promise  that  the  Messiah 
should  come,  as  is  said  of  Abraham,  (verse  17,)  but 
did  not  receive  the  accomplishment  of  it  This  the 
apostle  positively  asserts;  but  that  the  Christians  in 
his  days  had  received  it,  as  is  signified  v^rse  40.  "  It 
is  therefore  not  only  untrue  and  unsafe,''  as  Dr. 
Owen  observes,  **  but  contrary  to  the  fundamental 
principles  of  our  religion,  the  faith  of  Christians  in 
all  ages,  and  the  design  of  the  apostle  in  this  whole 
epistle,  to  interpret  this  promise,  as  some  do,  of  any 
thing  but  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh,  of  his 
accomplishment  of  the  work  of  our  redemption,  with 
the  unspeakable  privileges  and  advantages  that  the 
church  hath  received^  thereby.  Tha^  this  promise 
was  made  to  the  elders  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  that  it  was  not  actually  accomplished  to 
them,  being  necessarily  confined  to,  one  season, 
called  the  fidnese  of  time,  and  ihat  herein  lies  the 
great  diflereuce  of  the  two  states  of  the  church,  that 
under  the  Old  Testament  and  that  under  the  New, 
with  the  prerogative  of  the  latter  above  the  former, 
are  such  weighty  sacred  truttis,  that  without  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  them  no  important  doctrine,  either 
of  the  Old  Testament  or  of  the  New,  can  be  rightly 
understood.  This  then  was  the  state  of  believers 
under  the  Old  Testament;  they  had  the  promise  of 
the  exhibition  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  flesh, 
for  the  redemption  of  the  church ;  this  promise  they 
received^  saw  afar  q/f,  as  to  its  actual  accomplish- 
ment, were  persTUJkied  of  the  truth  of  it,  and  en^ 
braced  it,  verse  13.  The  actual  accomplishment  of 
it  they  desired,  longed  for,  and  looked  after,  (Luke 
X.  24y)  inquiring  ^gently  into  the  grace  of  God 
contained  therein,!  Pet  i.  11-13.  Hereby  they 
enjoyed  the  benefits  of  it,  even  as  We  do;  yet  they 
received  not  its  actual  aocompliahment  in  the  com- 
b 


40  QoA  having   ^provided  ^rgome  A.M.406S. 
better  thing  .for  us,  that  they  wkh-  .^\^^' 
out  us  should  not  be  *  made  perfect 


» Chap,  y.  9 ;  xiL  23 ;  Rev,  ri.  IL 


ing  of  Christ,  the  reason  of  whi<4i  the  apostle  gives 
in  the  next  verse. 

Yexfie  40.  God  having  provided  eome  better  thing 
ybrtM— Believers  under  the  gospel,  than  any  be- 
stowed npott  them,  which  better  ihing  is  Christ  him* 
self  manifest  in  the  flesh,  with  the  various  privileges 
and  blessings  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  far  exceed- 
ing those  of  the  two  dispensations  that  preceded  it 
Por,  as  the  divine  last  quoted  fhrthcr  observes,  "  It 
ought  to  be  ptit  out  of  question  with  all  Christians,  that 
it  is  the  actual  exhibition  of  the  Son  of  God  ia  ^be 
flesh,  the  coming  of  the  promised  seed,  with  his  ac- 
complisliment  of  the  work  of  redemption,  and  all 
the  privileges  of  the  church,  in  light,  grace,  liberty, 
spiritual  worship,  with  the  boldness  of  access  to  God 
that  ensued  thereon,  which  is  intended.  For  were 
not  these  the  things  which  they  received  not  under 
the  Old  Testament?  Were  not  the^  the  things 
which  were  promised  from  the  beginning;  whi^ 
were  expected,  longed  for,  and  desired  by  ail  believ- 
ers of  old,  who  yet  saw  them  only  afar  off,  though 
through  faith  they  were  saved  by  virtue  of  them? 
And  are  not  these  the  things  whereby  the  church 
state  of  the  gospel  was  perfected;  the  things  alone 
wherein  our  state,  is  better  than  theirs?  For,  as  to 
outward  appearances  of  things,  they  had  more  glory, 
costly  ceremonies,  and  splendour  in  their  worship, 
than  is  appointed  in  the  Christian  Church ;  and  their 
worldly  prosperity  was,  for  along  season,  very  great, 
much  exceeding  any  thing  that  the  Christian  Church- 
eiijoyed  in  the  apostle's  days.  To  deny,  therefor^ 
these  to  be  the  better  things  that  God  provided  for 
us,  is  to  overtlirow  the  faiUi  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New."  That  they  without  ue  ehotdd  not 
be  made  perfect— The  expression  without  ti«,  is  the 
same  as  without  the  things  which  are  actually  ex- 
hibited to  us,  the  things  provided  for  us,  and  our  par- 
ticipation of  them.  They  and  we,  that  is,  the  be- 
lievers under  the  old  dispensations,  and  those  under 
the  new,  though  distributed  by  divine  appointment 
into  distinct  states,  yet,  with  respect  to  the  first  pro- 
mise, and  th^  renewal  of  it  to  Abraham,  are  but  one 
church,  built  on  the  same  fpundation,  and  enlivened 
by  the  same  Spirit  of  grace.  Wherefore  until  we, 
that  is,  Christian  believers,  with  our  privileges  and 
blessings,  were  added  to  the  church,  it  could  noi  be 
said  to  be  made  perfect,  or  to  have  attained  that  per- 
fect stale  which  God  had  designed  and  prepared  for 
it  in  the  fulness  of  times,  and  which  the  believers  in 
those  ages  foresaw  should  be  granted  to  others,  but 
not  to  themselves.  See  1  Pet.  i.  11-13.  "  I  cannot 
but  marvel,"  says  Dr.  Owen,  "that  so  many  have 
stumbled  in  the  exposition  of  these  words,  and  in- 
volved themselves  in  difficulties  of  their  own  devis- 
ing; for  they  are  a  plain  epitome  of  the  whole  doc- 
tr'mal  part  of  the  epistle;  so  as  that  no  intelligent 
judicious  person  can  avoid  the  sense  which  the 
words  tender,  unless  he  divert  his  mind  from  the 
whole  scope  and  design  of  the  apoeUe." 
663 


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caiAPTER  xn. 

To  9tie<mrage  i%«  Ckrutian  JSArtm$  to  faiih  iM  patiatUf  under  oR  iheir  trials  tmd  afficHokit  ike  ttpbBlk  refreoenU  Jo 
ikem,  (1,)  TImt  tktf  ka  noi  oi^  m  ikon  ttneima  leortkiie,  hut  Christ  himself  as  their  pattern,  )=«.  (ft,)  T^lB 
these  trmMes  were  JtindfyappotntedhyChd;  and  would,  through  faiih  and  paHinee,  haiiM  a  happif  iisue  m  their  samei^ 
MiMM,  4-18.  (8,)  He  recommends  pedes  and  hoUneee  as  neeesmrf  mtans  effettowskip  wM  0edi  emd  from  the  fate  ef 
Bemhcmiii^nsagmnstpn^aneimdmlgenuofinit^oreentenipiof^f^^  X^)  JIyi  f  Win  tks  i»a»rtr 

exeellenee  of  the  New  Testament  dispenoaihn,  as  repnrisfg  proportionaU  hoHness  and  reserence  of  God  and  CMst,tMB, 


X.1L4068.  TT7HEREFOREL  sediig  wi  also 
±±^  ^  «e  cdrnpasBed  abc«t  whh  «> 
gTMii  a  daoA  of  wkneeseB^  *Iet  us  lay  aside 
every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily 
beset  uSf  and  ^let  us  ran  ^  with  patience  tb^ 
race  that  is  Bet  before  os, 
9  Looking  unto  Jesus  ^e  ^author  and  finisher 


■  CoL  iii.  a;  1  Pet  ii  1.- 
"^     uzti.]S;  Ch.x.36.— 


-^  1  Cor.  UE.  34 ;  PhiL  iii,  13, 14. 
*  Or,  bigmner, *  Lake  joaw.  €6 ; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XH. 
Verse  1.  By  a  bold  but  ifaetorical  figure,  the  apos- 
tle, In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  represents  the 
patriarchs,  judges,  kings,  prophets,  and  righteous 
men,  whose  faithhe  had  celebrated  in  the  preceding 
diapter,  alter  having  finished  their  own  labours, 
combats,  and  sulKsrings  with  honour,  as  standing 
round  and  looking  on  the  believing  Hebrews  while 
rumdng  the  Christian  race.  He  therefore  exhorts 
fhem  to  exert  themselves  strenuously  in  the  presence 
of  such  spectators.  But,  above  all,  to  fix  their  atten- 
tion on  Jesus,  whom  also  he  represents  as  looking 
on,  because  his  graces,  virtues,  and  sufXbrings  were' 
fiur  more  remarkable,  and  far  more  worthy  of  imita- 
tion than  diose  of  the  ancients.  Whose  great  actions 
he  had  celebrated.  Wherefore  teeing  we  also-^r 
even  ve.  The  apostle  joinis  himself  with  these  He- 
brews, not  only  the  better  to  insinuatethe  exhortation 
into  their  minds  thereby,  but  also  to  intimate,  that 
the  strongest  believers  stand  in  need  of  the  encou- 
ragement here  given^  are  compassed  about—lAke 
combatants  in  the  Grecian  games;  with  so  great  a 
cUmdSo  great  a  multitude;  of  witneaseg^Ot  the 
power  of  faith ;  even  of  all  the  saints  of  the  Old 
Testament,  who,  as  it  were,  stand  looking  on  us  in 
our  striving,  running,  wrestling,  and  fighting ;  en- 
couraging us  in  our  duty,  and  ready  to  bear  Witness 
to  our  success^  with  their  applauses.  Let  ue  lay 
aside  £very  weight— :K%  all  who  run  a  race  take  care 
to  do;  let  us  throw  off  wh^ver  weighs  us  down, 
or  daimps  the  vigour  of  our  souls,  especially  all  world- 
ly affections  and  delights;  all  worldly  hopes,  fears, 
cares,  and  friendships  [  whatever  would  encumber  us 
in  running,  would  impede  our  progress,  or  draw  us 
from  our  duty;  and ^le  sin  which  doth  so  easily  he 
set  us — Namely,  the  slavish  fear  of  men,  or  of  any 
loss  or  suffering  that  may  befall  us;  or  the  sin  of 
our  constitution,  the  sin  of  our  education,  or  that  of 
our  profession.  The  original  expression  is,  literally, 
the  sin  which  stands  conveniently  around  us,  or  the 
wellrcircumstanced  Hn;  which  is  Well  adapted  to 
our  circumstances  and  incUnations;  consequently  is 
easily  committed;  let  U8  run  with  patience—And 
064 


of  our  feith ;  ^  who,  forlfae  joy  that  ^^^ 
set   befon  bias,  endured   the  .^^^..^1..-^ 


cross,  despising  the  cAiame,  and  *  is  sel  down 
at  the  light  hand  of  the  throne  of  Goi. 
3  ^For  oonsider  him  that  endured  such  ccn^ 
tiadictioii  of  sinnere  agaSmft  hfusel^  ^lest  ye 
be  wearied  and  &mt  in  your  mibds. 


PhiLii.8,&c.;  lPet.i.ll. •Psa.cx.l;  Ch.L3,13;  yiill; 

1  Pet.  iii.  ^. '  Matt.  x.  24,  25 ;  Jolm  xr.  90. rOaL  ri.  a 


perseverance,  as  the  word  vrofiovn  also  agnifies;  the 
race— Of  Christian  experience,  duty,  and  sufferhig*, 
that  is  set  before  t49— Andis  necessary  to  be  run  by 
us  before  we  can  obtain  the  prize. 

Verse  2.  Looking— k^opavrecy  literally,  Ibcking  off, 
from  an  other  things ;  unto  Jesus — As  the  wounded 
Israelites  looked  to  the  brazen  serpent.  Our  cruci- 
fied Lord  was  prefigured  by  the  liAing  up  of  this ; 
our  guilt  by  the  stings  of  the  fiery  serpents ;  and  our 
faith  by  their  looking  up  to  the  miraculous  remedy^ 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  fmthr-Who  called  us 
out  to  this  strenuous  yet  glorious  enterprise,  who 
animates  us  by  his  exaimple,  and  supports  us  by  his 
grace,  tin  the  season  comes  in  which  he  sbaU  bestow 
upon  us  thfe  promised  crown;  or  who  begins  it  in 
us,  carries  it  on,  and  perfects  it  Who  for  ^e  joy 
that  was  set  htfore  Aim— Namely,  that  of  bringing 
many  sons  unto  glory ;  or,  who,  in  consideration  of 
that  glory  and  dignity  his  human  nature  should  be 
advanced  to,  as  a  reward  of  his  labours  and  suffer- 
ings, and  of  that  satisfaction  and  pleasure  he  should 
take  in  the  happiness  of  his  members,  procured  for 
ihem  by  his  incarnation,  life,  and  death ;  patiently 
and  wUlingly  endured  the  ctom— The  ilfnominlous 
and  painful  death  of  crucifixion,  with  all  the  torture 
and  misery  connected  therewith ;  de^fnsing  the  shame 
—Not  accounting  the  disgrace  which  attended  his 
sufferings  so  great  an  evQ  as  folr  fear  thereof  to  neg- 
lect the  prosecution  of  his  great  and  glorious  design. 
He  did  not  faint  because  of  it ;  he  regarded  it  not,  in 
comparison  of  the  blessed  and  glorious  effect  of  his 
sufferings,  which  was  always  in  his  eye.  And  is  set 
down^  &c.— Where  there  is  fulness  of  joy  for  ever- 
more.   See  on  chap.  i.  3;  viii.  1. 

Verses  8;  4.  For  considei*  Aim— Draw  the  com- 
parison and  think ;  the  Lord  bore  an  this,  and  shall 
his  servants  bear  nothing?  If  he  suffered,  if  he  en- 
dured such  things,  why  should  not  we  do  so  also*? 
If  he,  though  so  great,  so  exceUent,  so  Infinitely  ex; 
alted  above  us;  yet  endured  such  contradiction  of 
«nner#— Such  grievoUs  things,  both  in  words  and 
deeds,  ifrom  his  enemies;  against  himself— Ought 
not  we  to  do  so  too,  if  caUed  to  it  7  Comber  this; 

b 


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umtidhedmfrited.' 


A.]f.4ei8L 


4  ^  Te  bave  not  yet  reskted  unto 
bloodi  ftriving  agaiQst  skL 

5  And  ye  havte  fora^oUen  the  exhortadoo 
wbidi  ipeakeUi.  unto  you  as  nnlo  childreB, 
■  My  aoii,  debpise  net  thou  the  rluiBtening  of 
the  Loid,  nor  ftint  when  thou  art  rebuked  of 
him: 

6  Fbr  ^whou  the  Lord  loYOth  he  chasten- 
eth^  and  Bcoorgelh  every  son  whom  he  Fecetveth. 

7  ^  K  ye  endure  chastening,  Ood  dealeth  with 
you  as  with  sons :  for  what  son  is  he  whom  the 
fiuhtf  chasteneth  not? 


k  1  Cor.  z.  13 ; 

Chap.  z. 

38-34.- 

,  « 

Job 

T.17; 

PfOT. 

iiLU. 

*Pi4.  icir.  12; 

exix.  73 

;   Pror. 

iii. 

12; 

Jamei 

1  i.  12; 

Rev. 

iii  la >  Dent 

niL5; 

SSam. 

Tll. 

14; 

ProT. 

ziu.24 

;  nx. 

IBi  zxuil3. 

leHyebe  wearied-^Bj  the  greataefls  and  length  of 
your  trids  and  sufieriiigB;  and  faint  in  your  inindt 
^Lest  yoin-  hearts  should  £ul  you,  and  you  should 
draw  back,  partiaUy  or  totaUyi  from  the  profession 
of  the  gospel  Yekavenoiy€ire$iHtdwUobiood^ 
Your  suflbrings  are  ikr  abort  of  those  wbidi  Christ 
oidured.  He  grants  that  they  had  met  wtdi  many 
saffBrings  already,  but  their  enemies  had  been  so  re- 
strained that  they  had  not  proceeded  to  take  their 
fires,  or  to  inflict,  wounds  and  bhdses  upon  their 
bodies.  By  which  the  apostle  intimates  two  things: 
Ist,  Hist  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  profession 
of  the  gospel  haTe  no  security  that  they  shall  not  be 
called  to  the  utmost  and  last  sufliNrings^  by  la]ring 
down  their  lives  on  account  of  it;  and  2d,  That 
whatever  befolls  us  on  this  side  martyrdom,  is  to  be 
looked  on  as  a  fruit  of  divine  tenderness  and  mer- 
cy. Strivi$ig  agctinMi  sin^Or  against  violent  and 
injurious  persons,  and  in  opposing  men's  wicked 
practices,  and  your  own  sinful  inclinations,  lusts,  and 


Verses  S-8.  And  ye  have  forgotten^  Ac.— As  if  he 
had  said.  If  you  faint  it  will  appear  you  have  forgot- 
ten, ^  exhoHattfm^Whertin  God  speaks  to  you 
with  the  utmost  tenderness ;  as  tuOo  bis  own 
dear  children^  nytng,  My  mm^  despise  not  tkau — 
Do  not  slight  or  Bsake  light  of  ^  the  ckaetening  of 
the  Lord^Do  not  impute  it  to  chance  or  to  second 
causes,  but  see  and  revere  the  hand  of  Ood  in  it ; 
account  it  a  great  mercy,  and  improve  it;  norfaini^ 
and  sink,  when  IAom  art  rebuked  of  him — But  en- 
dure itpatientiy  and  fniitfuUy,^  avoiding  the^extremes 
of  proud  insensibility  and  entire  dejection.  Forr— 
All  such  dispensations  spring  from  love;  therefore 
neither  despise  them  nor  faint  under  them;  v>hom 
the  Lord  loveth  he  chaeieneth—Or  sorreete^  for 
their  ^etults,  in  order  to  their  amendment ;  and  that 
he  may  tiy,  exercise,  and  then^y  increase  their 
fiidth,  hope,  love,  resignation,  patience,  meekness, 
and  other  graces;  and  that  he  may  purify  them  by 
such  ires,  as  gold  and  silver  sre  purged  in  the  fur- 
nace from  their  dross.^  And  scotir^sfJ^With  seem- 
ing severity;  every  eon  whom  he  receiveih-'lnioiuB 
peculiar  forour.  See  note  on  Prov.  iii.  11,  KL  Ac 
k 


8  Sut  if  ye  be  without  chastisemeDt,  A.M.406a 
"whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are   ^  ^' ^ 
ye  bastards,  aod  not  sons. 

9  Furthermore,  we  have  had  fathers  of  our 
flesh  whidi  corrected  us^  and  we  gave  them 
reverence:  shall  we  not  much  tather  be  in 
subjection  unto  'the  FVidier  of  spirits,  and 
live? 

10  For  they  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened 
Its  ^after  their  owti  jdeasure;  but  he  fcur  our 
profit,  ""that  «^  might  be  partakers  oi  his  hdi- 
ness. 


■P«L  bodiL  1 ;  1  Pet.  T.  9. ■Nnm.  vri.  28;  TrriL  16 ; 

Job  zii.  10 ;  Ecclet.  tn.  7 ;  Ita.  xliL  5 ;  Ivii.  16 ;  Zech.  xii.  1. 

*  Or,  aft  seemed  fOMi,  or,  fiiM(  to  them. <>LeT.  xi.  44 ;  six.  2 ; 

1  Pet.  i.  15, 1& 


If  ye  endure^  d(C.-^If  God  correct  you,  and  cause 
you  to  endure  ohatiening,  he  deaUth  with  you  ae 
wise  and  affectionate  parents  deal  with  their  beloved 
SONS  y  for  what  eon  is  he  whom  thefMer^^femeiy^ 
the  person  who  performs  the  duty  of  a  father;  diae- 
tenith  not^More  or  lessl  There  are  scarce  any 
diildren  who  do  not  sometimes  need  correction,  and 
no  wise  and  good  parent  will  always  forbear  it.  Bui 
if  ye  be  wiSiout  duuHeement-^^^  If  ye  pass  your 
lives  without  experiencing  sickn«»  of  any  kind,  or 
worldly  losses,  or  affliction  in  your  families,  or  death 
of  diildren,  or  injuries  from  your  neighbours,  or  any 
of  the  other  troubles  to  which  the  children  of  God 
are  exposed,  certainly  you  are  treated  by  your  hea- 
venly Father  as  bastarde^  and  not  as  eone^  Ye  are 
not  owned  by  God  for  his  diildren. 

Verses  9-11.  Furthermore,  we  have  had  fathers 
qfotirjiiedi— Natural  parents,  from  whom  we  derived 
our  bodiesand  mortal  lives ;  which  corrected  tis— For 
our  faults;  a$kd  we  gave  them  reverence^-'^obtmWod 
patiently  and  quietly  to  thenr  discipline,  n.either  de- 
spising nor  fiifaiting  under  their  correction ;  and  ehaU 
we  not  m/ueh  rather-^From  the  strictest  principles 
of  filial  duty;  be  in  sti^ec/tofi--Sobmit  with  reve- 
rence and  me^uiess;  unto  the  Father  of  epvrite^ 
Who  has  regenerated  our  souls;  and  Uve^hxA 
thereby  at  length  obtain  eternal  life,  as  a  reward  of 
our  patience  and  obedience.  "  Here  Uie  apostle 
seems  to  have  had  Deut  xxi.  18  in  his  eye,  where 
the  son  that  was  disobedient  to  his  father  was  order- 
ed^ be  ptU  to  deajth.  This  is  one  of  the  many  in* 
stances  in  which  the  apostle  conveys  the  most  forci- 
ble reason  in  a  single  word."  By  distinguishing 
between  itiefathere  of  our  fleth,  and  the  Father  <^ 
our  epirit8y  the  apostle  seems  to  teach  us  that  we 
derive  only  our  flesh  from  our  parents,  but  our 
spirits  from  God.  See  Eccles.  xii.  7 ;  Isa.  IviL  16; 
Zech.  xiL  1.  For  they  verily  far  a  ftw  days— Du- 
ring our  no»4ige,  (so  bur  corrections  shall  last  only 
dturing  our  abode  in  this  worid,  and  how  few  are 
even  all  our  days  herel)  ehaetened  ue  after  their 
own  pleaeure^AjB  they  thought  good,  though  fre- 
quently Aey  erred  therein,  either  by  too  much  in- 
dulgence or  severity ;  but  ^ie— God,  always,  unques- 


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A*  M*  4008« 
A.D.  64. 


11  Now  no  chaAtening  for  the  pre^ 
smA  seemeth  to  be  jc^ous,  but  griev- 
ous: neverthdess,  afterward  it  jriddeth  ■'the 
peaceable  fruit  <^  rigt^eousnesB  unto  them 
wiuch  are  exeidsed  thereby. 

12  Wherefore  « lift  up  the  hands  which  hang 
down,  and  the  feeble  knees ; 

13  'And  make  ^straight  paths  for  your  feet, 
lest  that  which  is  lame  be  turned  out  of  the 
way;  '  but  let  it  rather  be  healed. 


pJaiDM  iii.  18. 4  Job  It.  3,  4;    Isa.  xzzr.  3:    Eodes. 

XXV.  23. *"ProT.  iv.  26,  27. »0r,  ••en. •GaL  ri.  1. 

t  Pmi.  xzziT.  14 ;  Rom.  sii.  18 ;  xir.  0 ;  3  Tim.  ii.  22. 


tionably;  for  our  proJU—Thdii  oar  corrupt  inclina- 
tions might  be  more  and  more  purged  out,  and- a 
heavenly,  divine  nature  more  and  more  implanted  in 
us;  that  106  might  be  partakere  ef  his  hoUneee — 
That  16,  of  himself^  bis  glorious  image,  and  heavenly 
divine  nature.  Now  no  chaetening—Wheiher  from 
Cvod  or  man ;  for  the  present— That  is,  at  the  time 
it  is  inflicted;  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  btd  grievous-— Is 
not  cause  of  joy,  but  of  sorrow,  to  the  person  chas- 
tised; nevertheless  afterward— fioi  indeed  of  its 
own  nature,  but  being  blessed  and  sanctified  by  God ; 
it  yielddh  the  peaceable  fruU  of  righteousness — 
That  holiness  and  reformation  which  gives  peace  of 
conscience;  to  them  who  are  exercised  ther^y — 
That  receive  the  exercise  as  from  God,  and  improve 
it  according  to  his  wilL    See  on  Isa.  xxxii.  17. 

Verses  12-14.  Wherefore— ^ace  afflictions  are 
so  beneficial ;  lift  up  the  Aancb-*Whether  your  awn 
or  your  brethren's ;  which  hang  down—VvoibXe  to 
continue  the  combat;  shake  o£f  discoiuragement, 
sloth,  and  indolence,  and  .exert  yourselves  in  your 
spiritual  warfare,  and  in  the  performance  of  your 
duty ;  and  strengthen^  by  faith  and  prayer,  the  fee- 
ble knees — Unable  to  continue  the  race.  And  make 
straight  pa^for  your  ovrn  feet— And  for  those  of 
others;  remove  every hinderance,  every  offence  out 
of  the  way;  lest  that  which  is  lame— Thoae  who  vre 
weak  and  feeble  among  you ;  be  turned  out  of  the 
way — Of  truth  and  duty ;  but  let  it  rather  be  healed 
-*Let  them  rather  be  delivered  from  their  fears  and 
dejections^  and  be  confirmed  in  their  Christian  course. 
Follow  peace  withaU  men-^Asmudi  as  in  3rou  lieth ; 
do  not  willingly  or  unnecessarily  give  offenee  to  any, 
and  be  not  easily  offended  with  others;  bear^and 
forbear,  foir  the  sake  of  peace  and  mutual  love ;  /xnd 
holiness— hiiAm^  and  external,  holiness  of  heart 
and  life ;  the  mind  of  Christ,  and  a  conformity  to 
God ;  without  which — How  ready  soever  men  may 
be  to  flatter  themselves  with  vain  expectations ;  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord — It  being  his  unalterable  de- 
cree to  exclude  those  vdio  live  and  die  under  the 
defilement  of  sia,  from  the  sight  of  himself  in  the 
celestial  world,  for  which  Aeir  unholy  tempers  and 
vile  affecUons  render  them  altogether  unfit ;  only  the 
pure  in  heart  shall  or  can  see  God,  Matt.  v.  8.  We 
must  be  Uke  Am,  if  we  would  see  him  as  he  is, 
I  John  iii.  % 


14  ^Follow  peace  with  all  i?i«n,  and  a.m.406s.. 

holiness,  *  without  which  no   man • — ' 

shall  see  the  L(M:d : 

16  "^ Looking  diligently,  ^^lest  anyman^fojl 
of  the  .grace of  God;  'lest  any  root  of  bitter- 
ness sprii^^ing  up^  trouble  yoUf  and  thereby 
many  be  defiled; 

16.  ^Lest  there  be  any  fornicator,  or  profiine 
penon,  as  Esau,  >  who  for  one  morsel  of  meat 
sold  Ins  birthr^t 


•Matt.  T.  8;    2  Cor.  vii.  1;  "Eph.  r.  5. »2  Cor.  ri.  1.. 

T  GaL  T.  4. *  OrJaUfrvm. «  Dent.  xxix.  18 ;  C?hap.  iii  12 

•  Eph.  ▼.  3;  CoL  iii.  5j  1  Then.  ir.  8.— *G«n.  xxr.  33. 


Verses  16,  16.  Looking  dUigenayr-With  the 
greatest  attention,  watchfulness,  and  care,  for  your- 
selves and  each  other ;  for  Christ  hath  ordained  that 
the  members  of  the  same  church  or  society  sheidd 
mutually  watch  over  one  another,  and  Uie  whole 
body  over  all  the  members,  to  their  mutual  edifica- 
tion ;  lest  any  man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God^^Thni 
is,  come  short  of  It,  or  do  not  obt^  it,  as  the  same 
verb  is  rendered,.Rom.  iii.  28.  Itmeans  also^beiie- 
ficieat  in  any  thing,  Afott  xiz.  20 ;  sometimes  to  come 
bMnd,  1  Cor.  1-7;  and  sometimes  to  be  destitute, 
Heb.  xL  37;  which  different  senses  of  the  expres- 
sioa  are  nearly  allied  to  each  other,  and  seem  all  to 
be  here  included;  test  any  root  of  bitterness  spring- 
ing up,  trouble  yotf^The  apostle  here  aUudes  to 
Deut.  xxix.  18,  Lest  there  should  be  among  you  man, 
or  woman,  or  family,  or  tribe,  whose  heart  tumeth- 
awayfromthe  Lord,  lest  there  should  be  a  root  that 
beareth  gall  and  wormwood  ;^  and  he  primarily 
intends,  lest  there  be  any  person  whose  heart  is  in- 
clined to  apostasy  Axim  the  gospeL  He  may  mean, 
however,  also,  lest  any  evil  disposition,  such  as 
covetousness,  ambition,  anger,  malice,  envy,  revenge, 
should  spring  up  in  any  person  or  number  of  per- 
sons, and  destroy  the  peace  and  harmcmy  of  the 
Christian  society.  In  general,  any  corruption,  either 
in  doctrine  or  pracUce,  is  a  root  of  bitterness,  which, 
springmg  up,  would  trouble  others,  and  might  defile 
many.  See  note  on  Deut  xxix.  18.  Lest  there  be  any 
fomieator—l^ssX  any,  not  following  after  universal 
holiness,  ishould  be  suflered  to  fail  even  into  gross 
sm,  particularly  that  of  fornication,  a  sin  which  is 
most  directly  and  particoiarly  oppoMsed  to  that  holi- 
ness which  the  apostle  has  been  exhorting  the  believ- 
ing Hebrews  to  press  after,  as  an  attainment  without 
which  they  should  not  see  the  Lord ;  err  profane 
person— One  Who  treats  sacred  things  with  con-^ 
tempt,  or  who  despiseth  or  makes  light  of  spiritual 
blessings;  who  neglects  G<xP8  worship,  speaks  irre- 
verently of  him,  and  of  his  word  and  ordinances ; 
and  who,  in  the  whole  of  his  behaviour,  shows  that 
he  has  no  just  sense  of  Ood  and  his  attributes,  or  of 
religion,  and  therefore  is  ranked  among  the  most 
fiagitious  sinners,  1  Tim.  i.  9.  As  Esau—^y^e  do 
not  read  that  Bsau  was  a  fornicator,  nor  does  the 
apostle  say  that  he  was  addicted  to  that  vice.  By 
putting  a  comma  after  the  wofdfomicater,  and  by 


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A.  ¥.4068. 

A.IXM. 


17  For  ye  koow  how  that  after- 
ward, "^  when  he  wouU  have  itihent- 
ed  the  Ueanng,  he  was  rejected :  ^for  he  found 
no  ^place  of  repentance,  though  he>  sought  it 
carefully  with  tears. 


«  Gen.  zxriL  34, 36, 38.- 


-*  Chap,  ri 
kuwund. 


i.  8. *  Or,  tMy  to  ck«v* 


connecting  the  words,  or  profane  person^  w!  A  what 
follows,  Esau  will  be  called  only  a  profane  pevBon: 
tills  he  showed  himself  to  be  by  selling  his  birth- 
right for  9  mess  of  pottage.  It  is  triie,  Jacob  pro- 
posed to  him  to  sell  these,  not^  however,  as  taking 
adyantage  of  his  necessity,  bat,"  as  Macknight 
thinks,  ''because  he  had  heaid  him  on  former  occa- 
aons  speak^  contemptuously  of  his  birthrights.  For 
what  else^KNild  put  it  into  Jacob's  mind  to  make  the 
proposition?  Theretoe,  when,  instead  of  going 
into  his  father's  tent,  where  he  might  have  got  food, 
Esau  sold, his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  he 
showed  the  greatest  profanity;  for.in  the  fiimily  of 
Abraham  the  birthright  entitled  the  eldest  son  to 
q>iritaal  as  well  as  temporal  privileges ;  he  had  a  right 
to  the  priesthood,  Ezod.  xix.  9®;  •nd  to  a  double 
portion.  Dent  xzu  17;  and  was  lord  over  his 
brethren.  Gen.  zrvti;  39,  87;  xlix.  3.  Further,  in 
tiiat  fomily  the  firstborn,  as  the  root  of  the  people 
Of  God,  conveyed  to  his  posterity  all  the  Uessings 
promised  in  the  covenant:  such  as  a  right  to  possess 
tbe  land  of  Canaan,  and  to  be  the  father  of  him  in 
wliom  all  nations  were  to  be  blessed,  and  to  explain 
and  confirm  these  promises  to  his  children  in  his 
dying  blessing  to  them,  of  which  we  have  a  remark- 
able example  in  Jacob,  Gen.  xlix."  See  note  on 
Gen.  XXV.  29-84. 

Verae  17.  For— As  if  he  had  said.  Beware  of  pro- 
fimeness,  because  Esau  was  punished  for  it,  and  so 
will  jTOu  be  if  you  fall  into  it;  ye  kruno  how  iJuU 
ctftenDord-^Aiiieit  the  Uessing  had  been  bestowed 
on  Jacob,  Gen.  xxvii.  80.  This  afterward  was  pro- 
bably not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  years  after;  for  he 
sold  his  Inrthright  when  he  was  young,  and  now, 
when  he  wished  to  recover  the  blessing,  Isaac  was 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  years  old:  so  long,  it 
seems,  he  lived  in  his  sin,  without  any  proper  sense 
<^  tt,  or  repentance  for  it.  Things  went  prosper- 
oudy  with  him  in  the  world,  and  he  did  not  consider 
what  he  had  done^or  what  would  be  the  end  of  it 
But  falling  now  into  a  new  distress,  he  was  filled 
with  perplexity.  And  so  it  is  with  all  secure  sinners : 
while  things  go  prosperously  with  them  Aey  can 
eonttnue  without  remorse,  but  sooner  or  later  their 
iniquity  will  find  them  out  Wh^n  he  would  hone 
inherited  the  bleeeing-'The  patriarchal  blessing,  of 
which  he  esteemed  himself  the  presumptive  heir, 
and  which  he  knew  not  that  he  had  vktually  re- 
nounced by  selling  his  birthright  For  the  apostle 
here  distinguishes  between  the  birthright  and  the 
Messing:  he  sold  his  birthright,  but  would  have  in- 
herited the  blesMUg.  And  herein  he  was  a  tjrpe  of 
the  unbellevhig  Jews  at  that  tone;  for  they  adhered 
to  the  outward  things  of  the  blessing,  to  the  rejection 
af  him  who  was  the  whole  lifo,  soul,  and  power  of 


18  For  ye  are  not  come  unto  the  a.  m.  4oeB. 
•  mount  that  might  be  taiched,  and    ^'^'^ 
that  burned  with  fire,  nor  unto  blackness,  and 
darkness,  and  tempest, 

19  And  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the 


•Exod.zix.12,18,19;  zz.18;  Dent.  ir.  11;  v.  22;  Rom.rt 
14 ;  Tiii.  IS ;  2  Tim.  i.  7. 


it  The  meaning  is,  when  he  would  have  obtained 
what  had  been  given  to  his  younger  brother,  he  woe 
r«/«rfed— Namely,  by  his  father ;  for  he  found  no 
place  ofrepentance — Could  by  no  means  induce  his 
father  to  alter  his  mind ;  though  he  sought  it — Name- 
ly, the  blessing,  or  the  repentance  of  his  father ;  (with 
either  of  which  expresaons  the  pronoun  ovr^,  tY, 
with  equal  propriety  agrees;)  earefully  with  ieare 
— For,  instead  of  repenting,  his  father  eonfinded  the 
blessing  of  Jiicob,  Gen.  xxvii.  88.  Esau  had  dis- 
covered a  great  readiness  to  part  with  his  birthright 
and  all  that  was  annexed  to  it  by  divine  institution, 
not  considering,  it  seems,  what  it  was  significant  of 
as  to  matters  spiritual  and  heavenly.  Hetiee  he  put 
so  little  value  upon  it,  as  to  give  it  up  for  one  mbrsel 
of  meat  And  afterward,  regardless  of  what  he 
had  done,  after  the  power  of  his  pres^it  temptation 
was  over,  it  is  said  he  did  ecU  and  drink,  and  rose 
up  and  went  his  way,  as  a  man  utterly  uncon- 
eemed  about  what  had  taken  place ;  whereon  the 
Holy  Ghost  adds  that  censure,  Thus  Esau  despised 
his  birthright.  He  did  not  only  sell  it,  but  despised 
it  But  he  is  represehted  on  this  occasion  as  being 
under  great  amazement,  as  if  he  had  little  thought 
to  fell  into  such  a  condition.  And  thus,  at  one  time 
or  other,  it  will  happen  to  all  profane  persons  who 
refuse  the  mercy  and  privileges  of  the  gospel ;  they 
shall,  sooner  or  later,  fall  into  a  state  of  dreadful 
surprise.  Then  shall  they  see  and  feel  the  horriUe 
consequence  of  that  conduct,  and  of  those  sins, 
which  before  they  made  nothing  of. 

Verses  18, 19.  For,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said,  Take 
heed  of  apostatizing  from  Christianity  to  Judaism 
again,  because  of  the  great  privileges  you  enjoy  by 
the  gospel  above  what  your  fathers  enjoyed,  by  the 
law:  which  privileges  contain  a  strong  reason  why 
3rou  should  attend  to  these  exhortations  and  cau- 
tions ;  yc— Who  are  proselyted  to  Christianity ;  are 
not  come  unto  the  mount  that  might^Or  could  ;  be 
toMC&ed-— That  is,  of  an  earthly,  material,  or  tangible 
nature^  but  which  the  people  were  prohibited  to 
approach,,  and  much  more  to  touch.  And  that 
burned  withfre — Unto  the  midst  of  heaven,  (Deut 
TV.  11,)  to  show  that  God  is  a  consuming  fire  to  the 
impenitent;  and  to  blackness  and  darkness — An 
emblem  of  the  obscurity  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation ; 
andto  tempest — Josephus  tells  us,(ilfitt9.,  lib.  iii.c.  6,) 
that  at  the  giving  of  the  law  strong  winds  came 
down,  and  manifested  the  presence  of  God.  "  Per- 
haps," says  Afacknight,  "  this  prefigured  what  hap- 
pened when  the  new  law,  the  gospel,  was  given. 
For,  previous  to  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there 
came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  mighty  rushing 
wind :  and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet — Formed,  with- 
out doubt,  by  the  ministry  of  angels.  And  which  at 

9m 


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A.M.4068.  Ycke  of  woidfl :  which  voice  they 
^^'^  that  heard,  '  entreated  thai  the 
w(Mrd  should  not  be  ^keii  to  them  any 
more: 

20  (For  they  could  not  endure  that  which  was 
commanded,  *  And  if  so  much  as  a  beast  touch 
the  mountain,  it  riiali  be  stoned,  or  thrust 
through  with  a  dart : 

21  ^  And  so  terrible  was  the  sight,  that  Moses 


'  Ezod.  XI.  19 ;  Doat.  r.  5,  25 ;  xriii.  16. r  Exod.  zix.  13. 

^Ezod.  xix.  16. »Gal.  ir.  26;    Rcr.  iii  12;    xxi.  2,  10. 

k  PhiL  iii.  20. — -J  Dent  nzui.  2;  Pm.  bnriii.  17;  Jode  14. 


leagth  waxed  exceeding  iovct,  (Exod.  xix.  18,  19,) 
preparatory  to  the  wice  of  words — ^That  is^  the  ten 
comaiaiidments,  written  afterward  on  the  two  tables 
of  stone.  For  (idl  other  noises,  as  of  thunder,  the 
trumpet,  &c^  ceasing)  Ood  caused  a  load  voice, 
iqpeaUng  those  ten  commandments  articolately  in 
their  own  languagi^  to  be  heard  by  the  whole^coa- 
grefffttion,  men,  women,  and  children,  ia  die  station 
wherein  they  were  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  mount; 
and  this  voice  was  so  great  and  terrible  that  the 
people  were  not  aUe  to  bear  it:  for  although  they 
were  terrified  with  the  dreadfnl  appearances  on  the 
moqnt,  yet  was  it  this  speaking  of  Ood  that  utterly 
overwhelmed  them.  See  Dent  v.  22.  Which  they 
tha^  /ieorei— Namely,  the  whole  assembly  or  congre- 
gation, strongly  impressed  with  the  holiness  and 
power  of  their  Lawgiver  and  Judge,  and  being  ex- 
ceedingly terrified;  entreated  that  the  word  should 
not  be  spoken  to  them  any  more*— Or  that  the  word 
or  speaking  of  Ood  to  them  should  not  be  continued. 
The  verb  naptjujaavrOf  here  rendered  entreated,  is 
twice  translated  to  refuse^  verse  25.  The  meanihg 
is,  they  deprecated  the  hearing  of  the  word  in  that 
manner  any  more,  which  they  did  doubtless  by  their 
officers  and  elders,  who  both  themselves  being  ter- 
rified, and  observing  the  dread  of  the  whole  congre- 
gation, made  request  for  themselves  and  the  rest  to 
Moses;  and  because  they  did  it  with  a  good  Inten-, 
tipn,  out  of  reverence  for  the  majesty  of  Ood,  without 
any  design  of  declining  obedience,  it  was  accepted. 
Verses  20,  21.  For  they  could  not  endure  that 
which  was  commanded--Th^  is,  either,  1st,  The 
law  itself^  so  strict  and  holy,  and  promulged 
amidst  such  terrors  seen  and  heard  i  or,  2d,  The 
sense  is,  they  could  not  bear  to  hear  the  following 
charge,  or  endure  the  terror  which  seized  them 
when  they  heard  those  words  proclaimed,  And  if 
even  a  beast  touch  the  mountain,  it  shall  be  stoned, 
&c.  And  so  terrible  was  the  sight — That  m^i- 
iestation  of  the  divine  presence,  that  even  Mosesr- 
(Notwithstanding  his  office  as  a  mediator,  his  great 
sanctity,  and  his  having  been  frequently  admitted  to 
a  very  near  intercourse  with  Ood,  who  had  often 
spoken  to  him  as  a  man  speaketfa  to  his  friend;) 
said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and  gua/re— This  circum- 
stance is  not  recorded  in  the  history :  bnt  seeing  the 
aposUe  mentions  it  here  ia  this  letter  to  the  Hebrews 
as  a  thing  known  to  them,  it  seems  probid)le  that 
they  had  it  from  tradition,  or  that  it  was  recorded  in 
066 


9U(I,I  exceedkigly'feftr  and  ^lake:)  k.u.wia^ 
22  Bat  ye  are  come  'onto  mocmt 


Sion,  ^and  unto  the  dty  of  the  living  God,  tbe 
heavenly  Jerusalenv  ^aad  to  an  hmiimiBraUe 
company  oi  angeb, 

23  To  thd  geneml  assembly  and  ^hnrch  of 
^  tbe  firstborn,  "^wbich  are  'written  in  heaven^ 
and  to  God  ''the  Judge.of  all,  and  to  tbe  sfuits 
of  just  men  '  ipade  perfect, 

■Exod.  ir.  22 ;  Judm  L  18 ;  lUr.  zsr.  4.^ ^Uakm  z.  90; 

PhiL  It.  3 ;    Rer.  xiii.  8. •  Or,  enrolled. •  Gen.  rriiL  25 ; 

Pm.  zoiT.  2. 1»  PUl.  iiL  13 ;  0Im4>.  zi  40. 


some  Jewish  writuig  then  extant  At  other- times 
Moses  acted  as  a  mediator  between  God  and  tha 
pieople^  but  while  Uieten  oommimdments  wei^e  pgo* 
nouneed  amidat  Meekness,  darkness,  and  tempeat| 
preceded  by  tiie  sound  of  the  trumpet  wndof 
louder  and  kradw,  Mosesstood  as  oae  of  the  heaser^ 
Exod.  XIX.  20 ;  zx.  19. 

Verse  22.  Aa  ye— MTho  behere  In  ChnsI,  by 
your  embrachig  Christianity ;  are  come  unto  m^uaU 
i9!iofi*-Are  admitted  to  the  conummion  of  the  charcb 
of  Christ,  with  its  priTileges  and  UessuigB.  Or,  ye 
are  come  to  a  diiqpensation  the  rererse  of  all  thsM 
terrors,  even  to  the  .mild  and  gentle  diseoyeiies 
which  Ood  makes  of  himself  ia  the  new  coreaant* 
For  what  the  apostle  hitends  is  evidently  to  descrtba 
that  state  whereunto  belierera  are  called  by  the 
gospel:  and  it  is  that  alone  which  he  opposes  to  the 
state  of  the  church  under  the  Old  Testament  For 
to  suppose  that  it  is  the  heavenly  future  state  which 
he  intends,  is,  as  Dr.  Owen  justly  observes,  ^uttwly 
to  destroy  the  force  of  his  argument  and  exhorts 
tion.  For  they  are  built  solely  on  the  pre-emi- 
nence  of  the  gospel  state  to  .that  under  the  lam,^ 
and  not  on  the  pre-eminence  of  heaven  above  the 
state  of  the  church  oa  earth,  whether  Jewish  or 
Christiaa,  which  none  could  question.  Unto  tiU  city 
of  the  living  Qod-^TksX  holy  and  h^py  socie^ 
or  community,  of  which  true  believers  Me  eiti> 
zens,  Eph.  iL  10;  Phil.  iiL  90;  in  which  €k>d  hiOH 
self  dwells,  and  whieh  is  governed  by  htm ;  the  hot^ 
i^enly  Jerusalemr—T&roieA,  (Gal  iv.  26^)  theJsmsiSh 
lem  above;  so  called  because  it  has  its  original  froaa 
heaven,  and  the  merabors  thereof  have.their  oonver- 
sation  in  heaven,  and  tend  thither,  and  its  most  pei^ 
feet  state  will  be  there.  All  these  glorious  titlee 
belong  to  the  NeW  Testament  church.  7\>  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels— To  join  with  tiien 
in  the  service  of  God,  tyt>ified  by  the  cherubs  in  tbe 
temple.  The  Ghreek  is,  to  myriads  of  angels.  A 
myriad  is  ten  thousand ;  and  when  it  is  used  in  the 
plural  number,  it  signifies  an  innumerabie  company, 
as  we  here  render  it  Possibly  he  speaks  with  an 
allusion  to  the  angete  that  attended  tbo  presence  of 
God  in  the  giving  of  the  law,  whereof  the  psalmist 
says,  71^  chariot  of  God  are  twenty  ihous€Md,^so. 

Verses  2^9L  Ththe  general  assembly^To  the 
Christian  Church,  eonsistittg  of  the  whole  number  of 
true  believers  spread  over  all  the  world.  Hie  word 
TraynpffHc^  here  used,  properly  signifies  a  stated  eon* 


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jLM.4068     34  And    to  Jeeua  «the  Mediator 

A.D;94. 


of  the  new  ^covenant,  and  to  'the 
blood  of  sprinklings  thai  qieaketh  better  Ihings 
'than^o^^AbeL 
as  See  that  ye  reftiae  not  him  tba|r  speak- 


4Chap.TtiL6i   it.  15.-^^^  Or,  teskmunt,— 
G^.x.22;  iPatiS. 


■'Eiod.  zziT.  8; 


yention,  upon  some  joyM  and  festin^  occasion: 
particularly  it  is  api^ed  to  the  concourse  at  the 
CHympie  games;  in  which  view  it  presents  a  very 
elegant  and  lively  oppodticm  to  the  coe  of  tiie  Is- 
raelites^ who  werestmck  with  a  general  terror  when 
they  were  eonvened  before  mount  Sinai.  And 
ekwrch  ofthefirtibom  'Kie  whole  body  of  true  be- 
lievaiS)  constsdog  of  conveiied  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
The  saints  are  called  the  firslbom^  because  under 
the  law  tiie  firstborn  w^re  peculiarly  appropriated  to 
Ood,  and  heirs  of  a  double  honour  and  inheritance : 
and  the  saints  are  in  a  special  manner  devoted  to 
€k>d,are  made  his  children  by  a  gratuitous  adop- 
tion, and  entitled  to  the  heavenly  inheritance.  T^ere- 
liiMre  they  are  said  (Rev.  xiv.  4)  to  be  redeemed 
from  among  meUy  the  Jtrtt-fndU  to  CM  and  the 
Lmm^  being  the  most  excellent  of  mankind,  as  the 
ftrst-frtdU  were  judged  to  be  the  best  of  the  har- 
vest. Which  are  wriUen  in  heaven-^The  firstborn 
of  Israd  were  enrolled  by  Moses  in  catalogues  kept 
on  earth,  but  these  are  registered -in  heaven  as  citi- 
aenaof  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  of  the  church  of  God, 
whether  militant  or  triumphant  See  note  on  Phil. 
iiL  20,  and  iv,  8.  And  to  Chd  the  Judge  ofcUl-Ati' 
stead  of  standing  afar  ofl^  as  your  fathers  did  at  Si- 
nai, you  are  allowed  to  draw  near  to  God  as  to  a 
friend  and  father,  and  to  have  intercourse  and  com- 
mnnion  with  him,  who,  as  Judge  of  all,  will  reward 
]nm  with  a  crown  of  glory,  and  inflict  on  your  per- 
secutors condign  punishment.  And  to  the  spirits  of 
just,  or  righteous,  men  made  per/ec<— Namely,  the 
spints  of  the  saints  in  paradise,  with  whom  the  saints 
on  earth  have  communion  by  faith,  hope,  and  love, 
and  make  up  one  body  with  ihem.  These  are  said 
to  be  made  perfect,  because,  being  Justified  before 
God,  and  fully  sanctified  in  their  natures,  they  are 
completely  holy;  and  being  Areed  from  all  the  in- 
firmities of  the  body,  are  perfected  in  a  much  higher 
sense  than  any  who  are  stiH  on  earth.  Hence  it  is 
evident,  says  Whitby,  <^  that  the  souls  of  just  men 
are  not  reduced  by  death  to  a  state  of  insensibility; 
for,  can  a  soul  that  reasons  and  perceives  ^ood  things 
be  made  perfect  by  perceiving  nothing  at  all?  Can 
a  9ph\tj  ^^eh  here  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  a  good 
conscience,  of  a  life  of  fiuth,  of  communion  with 
GK>d,  and  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  ad- 
vanced to  perfection  by  a  total  deprivation  of  all 
those  satisfactions  and  enjojrments  7"  And  to  Jesus 
the  Mediaior  of  ^  new  covenant-^Vnr  exceeding 
that  establidied  wHh  Israel  of  old  by  the  mediation 
of  Moses,  a  covenant  founded  on  better  promises, 
and  ratified  witii  unspeakably  greater  solemnity. 
And  to  the  blood  ofsprinkHng—To  all  the  virtue  of 
Christ^  precious  blood  shed  for  you,  whereby  you  j 


eth.      Fbr   ^  if   they   escaped   not  a.m.4o». 
who   refused   him    that   Bpake   on   ^^'^ 
earth,  much  more  shall  not  we  escape^  it  we 
turn   away  firom  him  that  speaketh   ftom 
heaven: 


•Generis  !▼.  10;  Cbaptttr  ri.  4. ^Chapter  iL  2,  3 ;  iiL  17 ; 

z.  SS^  3S. 


are  ^prifiArlei  from  an  evil  consci^ce.  Tliisbloodof 
sprinkling  was  the  foundation  of  our  Lord's  mediato- 
rial office.  The  expression  IS  used  in  allusion  both  to 
the  sprinkling  of  the  Israelites  with  blood,  when  iSbm 
covmant  was  made  at  Sinai,  and  to  the  sprinkling 
of  the  blood  of  the  sin-offerings  before  the  veil  and 
on  the  mercynseat.  For  the  former  sprinkling  typi> 
fied  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  blood  in  procuring  tihe 
new  covenant,  and  the  latter  its  efficacy  In  procuring 
the  pardon  of  sin,  acceptance  with  God,  his  renew- 
ing Spirit,  and  all  the  other  blessings  of  the  gospel, 
for  all  them  who  believe  in  him  with  their  hearts 
unto  righteousness.  TVuU  speaketh  better  things 
than  the  Mood  of  A^^—FOr  whereas  Abel's  blood 
called  for  vengeance  upon  him  that  wickedly  edied  it, 
the  blood  of  Jesus  obtained  mercy  and  salvation  for 
his  malicious  and  cruel  murd^^rs.  This  is  the  gene- 
ral intei^retation  of  the  clause.  But  Dr.  Whitby, 
and  sotae  others,  by  the  blood  of  Abel,  understand 
not  his  own  blood,  which  called  for  vengeance  on 
his  murderer,  (see  Gen.  iv.  10,)  but  the  blood  of  tiie 
sacrifice  which  he  ofiered  In  faith,  of  which  God  tes- 
tified his  acceptance,  and  by  which,  it  is  said,  ?ie  being 
dead  yet  speaketh;  understanding  the  sense  to  b^ 
that  the  blood,  or  sacrifice,  of  Christ  speaks,  or  pro- 
cures, better  things  than  Abel's  sacrifice,  his  pro- 
curing acceptance  for  himself  alone,  but  Christ's 
meriting  it  for  all  believers ;  his  only  declaring  him- 
self righteous,  but  Christ's  interceding  to  God  for  the 
justification  of  all  men.  But,  as  Doddridge  observes^ 
there  is  a  harshness  not  easily  to  be  parceled  in 
calling  the  blood  of  Abel's  sacrifice  his  blood.  The 
other  mterpretation,  therefore,  seems  preferable,  as 
referring  to  the  gentle  and  gracious  character  of 
Christ,  and  the  blessings,  instead  of  vengeance, 
drawn  down  by  his  blood.  "There  seems,  tfirough- 
out  this  whole  period,  to  be  a  reference  to  the  mani- 
festation God  made  of  himself  upon  mount  Sion,  as 
being  milder  than  that  upon  motmt  Sinai.  And  the 
heavenly  society  with  which  Christians  are  incorpo- 
rated is  considered  as  resembling  the  former  (that 
is,  mount  Sion)  in  tiiose  circumstances  in  which  It 
was  more  amiable  than  the  latter.  Sion  was  the  city 
of  God.  In  the  temple,  which  stood  there,  cherubim 
were  the  ornaments  of  the  walls,  both  in  the  holy 
and  most  holy  place,  to  signify  the  presence  of  to- 
gels.  There  was  a  general  assembly  and  congrega- 
Uon  of  the  priests,  which  were  substituted  Instead 
of  the  frstiMm,  of  whose  names  ciitalogucs  were 
kept.  There  was  God,  as  the  supreme  Judge  of 
controversies,  giving  forth  his  oracles.  The  high- 
priest  was  the  mediator  between  God  and  Israel, 
(comp.  Luke  i.  8-10,)  and  the  blood  of  sprinkling 
was  daily  used."— Doddridge. 
Verse  36.  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speak 
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A.  M.  4066.    26  *"  Whose  voice  then  riiook  the 
^  ^'  ^'    earth:  but  now  he  hath  promised, 

saying,  '  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth 

•nly,  but  also  heaven. 
27  And  this  word^  Yet  once  more,  aignifieth 

^ihe  removing  of  Uiose  things  that  •are  shaken, 

as  of  things  that  are  made,  that  those  things 


■Eiod.  lix.  18. «H«g.  ii  6.- f  Ps*.  ciL  26;  Matt.  xxIt. 

36  J  2  Pet  iii,  10 ;  Ker.  xxL  1. *  Or,  nufif  be^haktn. 


eth — (He  alludes  to  his  having  jtist  said  that  hishlood 
speaketh ;)  nameiy,  Christ,  who  speaks  to  you  in  the 
gospel,  and  by  his  Spirit  and  messengers,  and  whose 
speaking,  even  now,  is  a  prelude  to  the  final  sceae. 
In  this  eommand  the  apostle  has  respect  to  the 
double  s<demn  charge  given  by  God  to  his  church  to 
h^r  and  obey  his  Son:  the  first,  Deut.  xviiL  15, 19, 
7%6  Lorfi  thy  God  v>Ul  raise  up  unto  thee  aprophet, 
unto  him  ye  shail  hearken^  &c.  A  charge  intended 
io  prepare  the  church  for  their  duty  in  the  proper 
season.  The  other  eharge  was  given  immediately 
from  heaven,  Matt.  xvu.  5;  This  is  my  beloved  Son, 
hear  ye  him.  This  is  the  foundation  of  all  gospel 
faith  and  obedience,  and  the  formal  reason  of  the 
eondemnation  Of  all  unbelievers.  God  hath  com- 
manded all  men  to  hear;  that  is,  to  believe  and  obey 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  Hence  he  hath  given  com- 
mand to  others  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all  individuals. 
They  who  believe  them  believe  in  Christ ;  and  they 
who  believe  in  Christ,  through  him,  believe  m  God, 
(1  Pet.  i.  21,)  so  that  their  faith  is  ultimately  re- 
solved into  the  authority  of  Ck>d  himself.  And  in 
like  manner,  they  who  refuse  them,  who  hear  them 
not,  do  thereby  refuse  Christ  himself;  and,  by  so 
doing,  reject  the  autl^ority  of  God,  who  hath  given 
this  command  to  hear  him,  and  hath  taken  on  him- 
self  to  require  it  when  it  is  neglected.  For  if  they 
escaped  not  divine  vengeance,  v>ho  refused  him  that 
spake — Greek,  ;rp»yf*««Covra,  literally,  that  gave  forth 
oracles;  (namely,  Mo^es,  who  delivered  the  law  by 
inspiration  of  God;)  on  eort^— Who  received  his 
message  on  earth,  and  delivered  it  only  from  mount 
Sinai,  and  whose  oracles  and  doctrines  were  but 
earthly  and  carnal,  in  comparison  of  Christ's ;  mttch 
more  shall  we  not  escape— Still  greater  vengeance 
ifise  turn  away  from  him  that  speaketh  from  hea- 
penr^Who  received  his  message  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  came  down  from  heaven  to  deliver  it  to  us, 
and  now  addresses  us  not  oi^j  in  the  solemn  di&- 
oourses  which  he  uttered  in  the  days  of  his  fiesh, 
sealed  with  his  blood,  and  confirmed  by  his  resurrec 
tion  and  ascension;  but  speaks  to  us  from  heaven  by 
his^  Spirit  in  his  apostles,  evangelists,  and  other  faith 
ful  ministers,  and  (he  might  have  added)  manifests 
that  he  does  so  by  the  mighty  signs  and  wonders 
which  he  enables  many  of  them  to  perform ;  and  by 
the  success  he  gives  to  the  word  of  his  grace  which 
proceeds  from  their  lips.  IJee  on  chap.  IL  2, 3 ;  x.  28. 
Verses  26,  27.  Whose  wics— Namely,  Christ's, 
who  appeared  to  Moses  at  the  bush,  gave  the  law, 
and  conducted  Israel  through  the  wilderness;  see 
m  £xod«  iii.  2;  Isa.  Ixiii.  9;  1  Cor.  x.  9;  then  shook 


whKh  caoDDt  be  shaken  may  re-  A.M.40sa. 

^  A.  D.64. 

main.  

28  Wherefore  we  teceiving  a  kingdom  which 
cannot  be  moved,  *Iet  us  have  grace,  whmby 
we  may  serve  Qoi  accqptaUy,  with  reverence 
and  godly  Isar; 

29  For  *  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire. 


*  Or,  let  ui  holdfast. »  Exod.  xxiT.  17 ;  Deot.  iv.  24 ;  ix.  S ; 

Psa.  1.  3 ;  xcnL  3 ;  laa.  Wrl  15 ;  2  Thest.  i  8 ;  Ch«p.  x.  27. 


the  edrth-^WheUy  at  the  giving  of  the  law,  he  spoke 
from  Sinai,  and  the  whde  mount  quaked  greaUy, 
Exod.  xix.  18;  but  noi0^— In  the  gospel  times;  he 
hath  proiftitttj— Or  ^elared.  Saying^  (Hag.  iL^i,)  Yet 
once  more  I  shake  not  the  earthonly,  but  aisoheoffen 
—Meaning,  probably,  the  abolition  of  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  constitution  of  the  Jews,  with  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  and  ih^  temple.  Matt  xxiv. 
29;  John  iv.  21, 28;  and  even  ^e  overthrow  of  the 
heathen  idolatryr  John  xvi.  11,  and  the  propagation 
of  the  gospel  throughout  the  world:  changes  which, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  could  not  take  place  without 
great  commotions,  and  the  shaking  of  goveroments 
and  nations.  Dreadful  commoti<ms  and  wars  pre- 
ceded the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh,  of  which  see 
on  Hag.  ii.  6:  but  the  shakings  here  intended 
must  be  those  consequent  on  his  so  coming,  and  pro- 
ductive of  the  events  now  referred  to.  They  may, 
however,  look  forward  even  to  Christ's  second  cqin- 
ing,  and  the  final  consummation  of  all  things.  For 
this  word,  Yet  once  more—Or  once  for  aU,  not  only 
signr/ielh  the  removing  of  those  things  that  are 
shaken—Th'e  total  subversion  of  the  Jewidi  com- 
monwealth and  church,  with  the  ordinances  of 
Moses ;  as  of  things  that  are  mocle— Namely,  by 
human  hands;  or^ constituted  or  appointed  only  for 
a  time;  (the  verb  mmv,  here  used,  ^equeatly  mean- 
ing to  constitute  or  appoint^  as  chap.  iii.  2;  Mark  iii. 
14,  in  both  which  passages  it  is  translated  to  appoint, 
as  it  is  also  in  many  .other  places;)  that  those  Mngs 
which  cannot  be  shaken-^A  dispensation  to  be 
changed  no  more ;  may  remain — l^ed  on  a  per- 
petual basis ;  even  that  eternal  kingdom  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace  which  God  hath  established  by  bis 
Son  Jesus  Christ  This  inference  the  apostle  rightly 
draws  from  the  expression,  yet  once  more.  For,  as 
it  implies  that  God  would  make  but  one  alteration 
more  in  the  religious  WOTship  of  the  worid,  it  cer- 
tainly follows  that  the  form  to  be  substituted  in  the 
room  of  the  things  to  be  shaken  or  removed,  shall  be 
permanent  The  gospd,  therefore,  will  remain  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  as  the  only  form  of  region  ac- 
ceptable to  God.  And  then,  as  the  words  also  imply, 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  shall  themselves  be  re* 
moved,  as  things  made  and  intended  only  to  endure 
for  a  time ;  and  those  things  whidi  cannot  be  idiaken, 
the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth,  shall  remain,  to 
be  the  inheritance  of  God's  peo]^e  for  ever.  Rev. 
xxi.  1,  &c. . 

Verses  28,  29.  Wherefore  ve— Who  believe  in 
Christ ;  receiving-^r  having  received,  throof^  the 
gospel;  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved— A  dis* 

b 


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p«B0ation  (frequently  called,  the  kingdom  of  God) 
which  shall  neyer  be  changed,  but  shall  remain  to 
the  end  of  time,  (2  Cor.  iii.  11,)  and  which  opens  be- 
for  us  an  assured  and  bright  prospect  of  a  reign  in 
eternal  glory;  Ut  U8  have  ^ace— Let  us  ask  and 
receive  it  "  As  grace  is  so  freely  offered  to  us,  let  us 
not  be  so  wanting  to  ourselves  as  to  fall  short  of  it." 
So  Dr.  Doddridge  paraphrases  the  clause,  and  adds 
in  a  note,  ''This"  (namely,  that  grace  is  freely  of- 
fered) ^is  strongly  intimated  in  the  words  of  the 
exhortation,  else  there  could  be  no  room  for  it  And 
this  oblique  intimation,  in  which  it  is,  as  it  were,  taken 
for  granted  that  we  may  certainly  have  grace  if  we 
take  proper  methods  for  obtaining  it,  appears  to  me 
peculiarly  affecting."  'Rx^l*^  X^p^^  oiay  be  proper- 
ly rendered,  let  us  hold  fast  grace  ;  for  it  is  as  ne- 
cessary to  retain  it  as  it  is  to  obtain  it ;  and  this  we 
may  do  as  well  as  the  other ;  whereby  we  may  have 
both  inclination  and  power  to  serve  God  acceptably 
— Evo^ertf r,  in  a  manner  well  pleasing  to  him,  niak^ 
ing  his  will  the  sole  rule  of  our  conduct,  of  our  tem- 
pers, words,  and  works,  and  his  glory  the  end  there- 
of^ and  from  a  principle  of  love  to  him,  endeavouring 
to  glorify  him  in  our  body  and  spirit  which  are  his; 


wiik  reverence-^Utra  oi<J«f ,  literally,  with  shame^  or 
modesty^  arising  from  a  d^  sense  of  our  unworthl- 
ness;  and  godly  fear->-A  tender,  jealous  fear  of 
offending  God,  arisiug  from  a  sense  of  hb  gracious 
majesty.  For  our  Ood-An  the  strictness  of  his 
justice,  and  the  purity  Of  his  holine«;  is  a  consum- 
ing Jire — Though  he  manifests  himself  in  the  gospel 
with  the  beams  of  such  mild  majesty,  he  is  still  pos- 
sessed of  that  tremendous  power  which  was  so  aw^- 
frdly  di^layed  at  mount  Sinai,  and  will  break  forth 
as  a  consuming  fire  against  all  those  that  presump 
tuously  violate  his  laws  and  despise  his  gospel.  See 
Deut  iv«  23, 24,  a  passage  which  the  apostle  had  now 
in  his  eye,  where  Moses,  giving  the  Lord  this  app^-. 
lation,  reminded  the  Israelites  of  the  fire  which  came 
forth  from  him  to  destroy  Korah  toid  his  company, 
Num.  xvL  35.  Wherefore,  by  adopting  his  words, 
the  apostle  brought  the  same  instance  of  vengeance 
to  the  remembrance  of  the  H^rews,  that  they 
might  be  deterred  from  apostacy,  disobedience, 
and  dl  irreverence  in  the  worship  of  God :  who, 
though  he  appears  so  full  of  mercy  in  the  goq>el, 
is  as  much  determined  to  punish  the  rebeUfous  as 
ever. 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

Here  the  apostle^  (I,)  Exhort*  the  Hetrewt  to  brotherly  love,  hoefitaiity,  eympaOky  with  persons  in  honist  or  suffering  per- 
seciUion  for  Christ ;  to  chastity ;  contentment ;  regard  a$td  subjection  to  their  pastors,  \S.  (2,)  Cautions  them  agsinst 
being  carried  away  with  Jewish  doctrines  and  ceremonies,  which  were  fulfilled  in  Christ,  the  fUghnpriest^  altar,  and  sseru 
fee  of  Us  church,  9-14..  (3,)  Recommends  praise  and  thanksgioings  to  Ood,  and  acts  of  benevolence  and  benejkenee  to 
the  poor ;  and  again  exhorts  them  to  obey  their  spiritual  rulers,  1&-17.  (4,)  Entreats  their  prayers  for  himself  and  his 
brethren ;  and,  after  offering  to  Ood  a  solemn  prayer  for  them,  recommends  the  epistle  to  their  serious  eoiwiderfUion,  l$-4)2. 
(6,)  He  concludes  with  intimating,  that  he  hoped  to  pay  them  a  visit  with  Tinwthyi  with  some  sabttatisns,  and  a  solemn^ 
benediction,  33-25. 

strangers:  for  thereby  ^'some  have  A.M. 4068. 

A.  D.  64. 


A.  M.  4068.  T  ET  *  brotherly  love  continue.         I 
'■ — ^         2  ^  Be  not  finrgetiul  to  entertain 

•RoBL  lii.  10;    1  Thets.  it.  9;   1  Pet.  L  22;   u.  17;  iii.  8;  | 
iy.  8 ;  2  Pet  L  7. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  Xni. 

Verses  1, 2.  In  this  concluding  chapter  we  find 
f^esh  instances  of  that  divine  wisdom  wherewith  flue 
aposUe  was  influenced  in  writing  this  epistle ;  im- 
proving still  more  the  doctrines  he  had  advanced  to 
practical  purposes;  in  which  he  gives  all  ministers 
of  Christ  an  instructive  example  of  the  order  and 
method  proper  to  be  pursued  in  teaching  Christian- 
ity ;  first  to  declare  the  great  doctrine84)f  it,  and  then 
to  improve  them  to  promote  hoiinesB;  And  they 
will  be  mistaken  who  propose  to  themselves  any 
other  method,  and  those  most  of  all  who  think  one 
part  of  it  is  sufficient  without  the  others 

Let  brotherly  love  continue — Or  abide  constant 
Love  is  the  fountain  and  foundation  of  all  moral  and 
religious  duties  which  Christians  owe  to  each  other 
and  to  all  men,  and  therefore  it  is  here  placed  at  the 
lofthemdL  Several  of  the  fruits  of  this  love 
1^ 


entertained  angels  unawares. 


^  Mitthew  xxT. 


Romant  xii.  13.- 
xiz.  2. 


'  Genesis^  zriii.  8; 


are  touched  on  in  the  following  verses.    It  is  Justly 
observed  by  Diodati,  that  this  exhortation  was  pe- 
culiarly suitable  to  the  converted  Jews,  as  the  pre- 
judices of   many  of  them  against  their  Gentile 
brethren  were  so  strong  that  they  were  ready  to 
disown  them  with  abhorrence.    Be  not  Jbrgetfiil  to 
entertain  strangers^The  apostle   chiefly  means 
I  those  of  their  Christian  brethren  who  were  travel- 
I  ling  from  place  to  place  at  their  own  coat  to  preach 
the  gospel.  Thus  St.  John  speaks  of  some  who  went 
j  forth  for  Uu  sake  of  Ckristj  taking  nothing  of  the 
I  Gentiles^  to  whom  they  preached,  8  John  7.  Add  to 
this,  the  church  behig  then  under  great  persecution 
'  in  sundry  places,  many  Christians  were  obliged  to 
leave  their  own  habitations  and  countries,  and  to  flee 
for  safety  to  other  parts  where  they  were  strangers. 
Such  as  these^  the  apostle  recommends  to  the  love 
and  charity  of  those  to  whom  he  wvote.  fywtherebf 
971 


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iMd  contaiffli£ii& 


A.  M.  4018. 


3  ^Bemembet  them  that  are  in 
bonds,  as  bound  with  them;  and 
them  which  suffer  ^dverrity,  as  bdng  your- 
selves also  in  the  body. 

4  Marriage  is  honourable  tn  aU,  and  the  bed 
undefiled:  *but  whoremongers  and  adulterers 
God  will  judge. 

6  Lei  yottr  conversation  be  without  cov^ous- 
a$id  ^be  content  with  such  things  as  ye 


*Matt.  xrr. 

36;  Rom. 

xii 

15 

;  1  Cor. 

xU.  26; 

CoL  IT. 

18; 

1  Pet.  iii.  8.- 

— •!  Cor. 

n. 

«; 

CW.   T. 

19.  21 ; 

Eph.T 

5; 

OoL  iii.  6, 9 ; 

Kew,  xziL  15.- 

Matl.TL25,34; 

Phil.iT. 

11. 

12;  lTiin.Ti 

6.8. 

_ 

«Miie— For  Instance,  Abraham  and  Lot;  have  enter- 
taifud  angeU  tmaioaret— So  may  an  unknown 
guest,  even  now,  be  of  more  worA  than  he  ap- 
peaars,  and  may  have  angels  attending  him,  though 
imseeii. 

Versed.  /?efiMjit6«^— In  your  prayers  and  by  your 
help;  them  that  are  in  bonde^Thrown  into  prison 
for  the  sake  of  Christ,  ae  if  you  yourselves  were 
b(mnd  vnth  them — Seeing  ye  are  members  one  of 
another;  a;nd  ihem  which  wffer  advereitf — Tw 
KOKHxufuvoPj  who  are  iU-treaied^  or  afflict^  with 
evil;  ae  being  yotareelvee  also  in  the  body-- And 
consequently  liable  to  similar  suflferings. 

Verse  4.  Marriage  is  honourable  tn,  or  for,  all 
sorts  of  persons,  elergy  as  well  as  laity,  though  the 
Romanists  -teach  otherwise ;  and  the  bed  undefiled 
— Ck>nsi8tent  with  the  highest  purity.  For  who 
can  imagine  that  God  would  make  any  thing  moral- 
ly evil  absolutely  necessary  for  the  support  of  the 
human  race  in  future  generations?  BtU  whore- 
mongere  and  adulterers  (rod  wiU  Judge—ThBi  is, 
punish,  and  frequently  does  so  in  a  very  awful  man- 
ner, even  in  the  present  world;  though  they  fre- 
quently escape  punishment  fh)m  men.  The  dis- 
tinction between  these  two  characters,  i0Aoremofi^er« 
and  adulterers^  is  well  known  to  be  this:  that  the 
former  are  single  persons  who  have  unlawful  con- 
verse with  one  another,  and  the  latter  are  those  who 
are  both,  or  at  least  one  of  them,  in  a  married  state. 
The  sin  of  the  first  is  fomication^o(  the  Other  adul- 
tery; although  the  word  nopi^ia,  fomicatum,  may 
sometimes  be  used  to  denote  any  uncleanness,  and 
so  io  comprise  adultery  ako. 

Verses  5, 6.  From  particular  duties  the  apostle 
proceeds  to  one  which  is  more  general,  relating  to 
onr  whole  course  of  walking  with  God.  Let  your 
convereation — Greek,  t/do^oc,  yeur  behaviour,  or  man- 
ner of  living;  be  withotU  covetoueneee—A^tXafyyvpoc, 
without  the  love  of  moiuy;  or  an  inordinate  desire 
of^  and  endeavour  after,  more  of  this  world's  goods 
than  ]rou  have,  or  than  God  is  pleased  to  give  you, 
proceeding  from  an  undue  esteem  of  them,  and  at- 
tachment to  them.  See  on  CoL  hi.  5;  1  Tim.  vl. 
6-10.  And  be  content  with  euch  things  as  ye  have 
— And  which  God  ailbrds  you  by  his  providence  in 
a  lawM  way.  The  original  expression,  rmc  vfLpaaw^ 
n^  with  ike  things  ihat  are  present.    Endeavour  to 


have:  for  he  hath  said,' I  w31  never  A.H.Ma 
leave  thee,  nor  fcHBake  thee.  — — _ 

6  So  that  we  may  bddly  say,  ^The  Lord  ie 
my  helper,  and  I  wfil  not  feeur  i^at  man  shall 
dountorae. 

7  'Remember  them  which  ^have  the  rule 
over  you,  who  have  spcdcen  unto  you  the  word 
of  God:  ^whoee  jEodth  follow,  considering  the 
end  of  their  conversation : 


f  G^n.  zzviii.  15 ;   Deut  zzxi.  6,  6 ;   Josh.  L  5 ;    1  Clmm. 
xzriiL  20;  Psa.  xzxviL  25.— ^— ^Pml  xzrii.  1 ;  In.  4, 11, 12; 

ozriii  S.— -*  VeiM  17.^—*  Or,  one  tft«  fKidiw. ^  Gbaoter 

ri.12. 


bring  your  mind  down  to  your  circumstances,  be  they 
whatihey  may.  ^  Hie  apostle  did  notmeanby  ^ 
to  preclude  the  Hebrews,  or  any  person,  from  using 
lawful  means  for  bettering  their  circumstances;  but 
thM,havlngusedsochmeans,they  wevetobe  content- 
ed, although  God  did  not  make  them  suceessfoL" 
For  Jkd^Rather,  he  hvmsdf  namely,  God,  who  hath 
all  the  stores  of  nature  at  his  command,  and  who 
owns  the  relation  of  a  Father  to  us ;  hath  said—To 
all  believers,  in  saying  it  to  Jacob,  Joshua,  and  Solo- 
mon, (see  ^e  margin,)  /  wiU  never  leave  thee  nor 
forsake  thee — The  many  negative  particles,  and 
their  position  in  the  original,  render  this  passage  ex- 
tremely emphatical  and  beautiful.  Doddridge  ren- 
ders it,  /  will  not,  I  wiU  not  leave  thee  ;  I  will  never^ 
never^  neverforsake  thee  ;  words  from  which  all  God's 
people  (his  love  to  them  being  the  same  in  all  ages) 
may  take  a  just  encouragement  in  all  the  difficulties 
to  which  they  may  be  exposed.  So  that  we  may 
boldly  say — Ufs  i^appwrac  nf^ac  Aexny,  taking  cour- 
age, we  may  say,  with  the  psalmist.  The  Lord  is 
my  helper^— He  is  my  helper,  whose  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness  are  boundless;  /  ^oill  not  fear  what 
man  shall  do  unto  me — ^However  subtle,  mighty,  or 
malicious  he  may  be.  €rod's  promises  to  Jstcoh^ 
Joshua,  David,  &c.,  and  their  expressions  of  trust  in 
God,  being,  applied  by  the  apostle  to  the  believing 
Hebrews,  teach  us  that  God's  promises  to  individuals, 
and  their  exercises  of  faith  <md  trust  built  thereon, 
are  recorded  in  Scripture  for  tiie  encouragement  of 
the  people  of  €h)d  in  every  age. 

Verse  7.  Remember  thetn  who  have  the  rule  over 
you — ^Tpv  iifHfuvav  viMv^  or,  who  are,  or  rather,  loere, 
the  guides  qf  you,  namdy,  formerly;  who  have 
spoken— Or,  whotpake;  unto  you  tl^  word  of  Ood-^ 
Remember  who  they  were,  and  your  obligations  to 
them  ^  and  though  all  your  intercourse  with  them 
is  for  the  presmit  cut  ofl^  do  not,  however,  forget  their 
instructions  and  their  examples.  Bishop  Lloyd  (see 
his  funeral  sermon  for  Bi^op  Wilkiiis>  thinks  this 
may  refer  to  James  the  brother  of  John,  and  to 
James,  commonly  called  the  first  bishop  ofJerus^ 
lem,  both  of  whom  had  been  put  to  death  there  be> 
fore  this  epistle  was  written ;  whose  faith  follow — 
Embrace  by  foith  the  aame  doctrines,  preeepts,  and 
promises  of  the  gospel  which  they  embraced;  and 
let  your  foith  be  assured,  lively,  and  operative  aa 

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jl m. 4008.    8  Jesofl Christ  ^the  same  yest^^y, 


'. and  to-day )  and  for  ever. 

9  "^Be  not  canled  aboot  with  dif^n  and 
•trange  doctrities :  tbt  Uis  h  good  ttnig  that 
die  heart  be  estaUished  with  grace ;  ^not  with 
meats,  which  have  not  jm^ted  them  that  have 
been  occupied  therm. 


IJohnTiii.  86;  Ohap.i  IS;  Rer.  L4.*— »Bph.  iF.14(  t. 
6;  OoL  ii  4,  8;   I  John  It.  1.- — ■  Rom.  ow.  17 ;  Qd.  ii.  16 ; 


theirs  was,  purifying  your  hearts,  and  rendering 
your  lives  fmitlol  to  the  glory  of  God ;  cermdering 
the  end-—Ttrv  tKBwiv^  the  i9aue^  of  their  caftverwation 
—The  happy  end  they  made ;  the  blessed  manner 
in  which  tlusy  quitted  life;  the  gronnd  of  that  sup- 
port ivhieh  they  eiqpmrienced  in  their  latest  moments 
from  the  truths  they  had  taught  you;  the  heroic 
resolution  with  which  they  were  animatedto  meet 
even  martyrdom  itself  in-that  sacred  cause ;  and  let  the 
remembnmce  of  these  -things  engage  you  to  retain 
their  faith,  and  courageously  to  fc^ow  their  steps. 

Verses  ^  9.  Men  may  die,  hut  Je^us  Ckriet  ie  the 
same  yeeterday^  to-day ^  and  fir  eeer^From  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting^  the  same  in  his  person  i^od 
ojflices,  in  his  love  and  power,  in  his  truth  and  grace; 
the  same  object  of  lleillh ;  and  the  same  in  all  respects, 
to  all  believers,  in  aH  ages;  and  therefore  be  stead- 
fast in  (he  faith  and  hope  of  the  gospel:  tmd  be  not 
carried  about  vnih  diverSy  UotKiXaic,  various,  and 
strange  docfrMes— Doctrines  inconsistent  with  each 
ither,  and  di^ring  from  that  one  iaith  in  our  one 
unchangeable  Loi^  and  strttnge  to  the  ears  and 
hearts  of  all  that  abide  iq  him.  For  itisa  good 
tking-^Of  great  importance  to  our  own  peaceof 
mind,  to  the  glory  of  God^  and  the  edification  of 
otiiers;  it  is  honourable,  pleasant,  and  profitable,  for 
the  heart  to  be  eetablished^ln  the  faith  and  hope  of 
the  gospel ;  loOh  grace — ^The  inlhience  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  received  through  Christ ;  not  with  meats— - 
With  Jewish  ceremonies  of  any  kind,  which  indeed 
can  never  establish  the  heart;  and  which  have  not 
profited— To  the  purifjring  of  the  conscience  from 
guilt,  or  increasing  Aefar  holiness;  them  that  have 
been  occupied  therein  How  exact  and  scrupulous 
soever  they  have  been  in  obsenring  them. 

Verse  10.  We  have  an  altar-^ThaX  is,  a  sacrifice 
upon  an  altar,  namely,  Christ,  who  was  sacrificed 
on  the  altar  of  the  cross,  whoalso  is  the  only  Chris- 
tian altar,  to  whieh  we  bring  all  our  ^sacrifices  and 
services.  The  apostle,  having  set  forth  the  only 
way  of  the  establishment  of  the  heart  in  faith  and 
hi^iness,  and  the  uselessness  of  all  distinctions  of 
meats  for  that  purpose,  here  declares  the  foundation 
of  all  this;  for  whereas  the  ground  of  all  distinction 
of  meats  and  other  ceremonies  among  the  Jews  was 
the  ahar  in  the  tabernacle,  with  its  nature,  use,  and 
services,  he  lets  them  know  that  Christians  have  an 
altar,  anid  services  quite  of  another  kind  than  those 
which  arose  from  the  altar  of  old,  such  as  he  de- 
scribes verses  1^10.  This  seems  to  be  the  direct 
design  of  the  ^[KMtle  in  this  place,  and  a  proper 


10  ''We  have  an   akar,  whereof  a. M. 4068. 
tfiey  have  no  right  to  eat  which  serve   ^^'^ 
the  tabamacle. 

11  For  'the  bodies  of  those  beasts,  whose 
Mood  is  brought  kto  the  sanctuary  by  the 
high-priest  for  «n,  be  burned  without  the 
cany. 


1  Tim.  IT.  S.— -«1  Cor.  iz.  13;  x.  la pExcd  nix.  14; 

Ler.  ir.  11, 12, 21 ;  n.30;  ix.ll;  xyi27;  Num.  xix.  3. 


analysis  of  his  words.  Whereof  they  have  no  right 
to  eat— To  partake  of  the  benefits  which  we  receive 
tiierefrom^  who  serve  the  tdbemacle—Who  adhere 
to  the  Mosaic  law,  or  who  maintain  the  necessity, 
and  continue  the  observance,  of  the  Jewish  cere* 
monies  and  worship.  For  this  in  effect  was  to  deny 
Christ  to  be  come  in  the  flee^  and  to  have  offered 
himself  a  sacrifice  on  the  cross. 

Verse  11.  For,  &e.— As  if  he  had  said,  This  was 
shown  figuratively  In  the  law ;  for  the  bodies  of  those 
beasts  i^utse  blood  is  immght-^n  the  day  of  atone- 
ment; into  the  sancHtary^The  holy  of  holies;  by 
«*e  JUgh-priesty  for  st»— To  rai^e  expiation  of  h; 
are  burned  wiUwut  the  camp — See  Lev.  iv.  12;  and 
therefore  no  part  ot  them  could  be  eaten  by  the 
priest  or  people;  so  ^ey  who, under  the  gospel, 
adhwe  to  that  way  of  worship,  cannot  partake  of 
Christ,  who  is  the  truth  signified  by  that  t3rpe.  In 
other  words^  accc»ding  to  then  own  law,  ttie  sin- 
offerings  were  wboQy  consumed,  and  no  Jew  ever 
ate  thereof.  But  Christ  was  a  sin-offering;  there- 
fore they  cannot  feed  upon  him  as  we  da  This  is 
explained  more  at  large  by  Macknight,  thus:  "  This 
law,  concerning  the  bodies  of  the  auimah  whose 
Uood  the  high-priest  carried  into  the  h<riy  places, 
we  have  Lev.  xvL  27.  The  same  law  is  given  cen- 
ceming  all  the  proper  sin-offerings,  Lev.  vi.  90;  from 
which  it  appears  that  neither  the  priest,  who  offered 
the  sin-offidrings,  nor  the  people,  for  whom  they 
offered  them,  were  to  eat  of  them.  Wherefore,  if 
the  eating  of  the  bumt<>fferings  and  peace-ofiferings 
was  permitted,  to  show  that  the  offerers  were  at 
peace  with  Clod,  as  their  political  Ruler,  it  may 
fairly  be  presumed  that  the  prohibition  to  eat  any 
part  of  ^e  bodies  of  animals  whose  blood  was 
brought  into  the  holy  places  as  an  atonement,  was 
intended  to  make  the  Israelites  sensible  that  their 
sins  against  God,  as  moral  Governor  of  the  world, 
were  not  pardoned  through  these  atonements;  not 
even  by  the  sacrifices  which  were  offered  by  the 
high-priest  on  the  tenth  of  the  seventh  month, 
which,  like  the  rest,  were  to  be  wholly  burned.  Un- 
less this  was  the  intention  of  the  law,  the  apostle 
could  not,  from  that  prohibition,  have  argued  with 
truth  that  they  who  worshipped  in  the  tabernacles 
with  the  sin-offerings,  had  no  right  to  eat  of  the 
Christian  altar.  Whereas  if,  by  forbidding  the  priests 
and  people  to  eat  the  sin-offerings,  the  law  declared 
that  their  offences  against  Qod,  as  moral  Crovemor 
of  the  world,  were  not  pardoned  thereby,  it  was  in 
effect  a  declaratipn,  as  the  apostle  affirms,  that  they 
673 


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A.  M.  4068. 
A.D.  64. 


12  Wherefore  Jesos  abo,  that 
he  mig^fai  sanctify  the  peofde 
with  his  own  blood,  ^suffered  without  the 
gate. 

13  Let  us  go  fiMTth  therefore  unto  him  wkb- 
out  the  camp,  bearing  'his  reproach. 

14  '  For  here  have  we  no  continuing  city,  but 
we  seek  one  to  Come. 

15  *By  him  therefore  let  us  offer  ''the  sacri- 
fice of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  *  the 


sJohn  xix.  17, 18;  Acts  yii.  58. 'CW  xi.  26;  1  Pet. 

iv.  14. 'Mic.  ii.  10 ;  PhU.  iii.  90;  Chap.  xl.  10,  16 ;  xii.  22, 

« Eph.  ▼.  20;    1  Pet.  ii.  5.- — "Lev.  vi^.  12. 


had  BO  right  to  eat  of  the  Christian  altar;  that  is,  to 
share  in  the  pardon  which  Christ  hath  procured  for 
sinners  by  his  death,  who  trusted  in  the  licvitical 
sacrifices  for  pardon  and  aoceptrace  with  God." 

Verses  12-14.  Wherefore  Jesus  ofso— Who  was 
typified  by  these  sin-offerings ;  that  he  might  sane- 
t^fy-^Mxghi  make  atonement  for,  and  consecrate  to 
Ood ;  the  pepple^His  church,  the  i^iritaal  Israel  of 
God ;  wWiiia  own  frJood^-Canried  into  the  heavenly 
sanctimry,  and  presented  before  the  throne  of  God 
as  a  sin-offering;  suffered  without  the  gate — Of 
Jerusalem,  as  the  bodies  of  the  sin-offerings  were 
burned  without  the  camp  of  Isra^  in  the  wilderness, 
signifying  hereby  that  those  carnal  Jews,  who  «till 
adhered  to  the  Mosaical  way  of  Worship,  had  no  in- 
terest in,  nor  communion  with  Christ,  nor  partook  of 
the  benefits  of  his  atonement  The  Israelites  hav- 
ing cities  to  live  in  at  the  time  our  Lord  suffered,  the 
expression,  without  the  gate,  wa^  of  the  same  im- 
port as  without  the  camp  in  the  wilderness.  Where- 
fore criminals,  being  regarded  as  unclean,  were 
always  put  to  death  without  the  gates  of  their  cities. 
Let  us,  &C. — As  if  he  had  said,  And. this  considera- 
tion, as  it  shows  it  to  be  our  duty  to  leave  the  Jewish 
sacrifices,  so  it  should  undoubtedly  engage  us  will- 
ingly to  suffer  all  extremities  in  his  cause ;  Let  us 
therefore  break:  through  all  attachments,  and  go 
forth  unto  him  without  the  camp — The  terrestrial 
Jerusalem ;  the  Jewish  Church,  with  its  ceremonious 
services ;  let  us  cleave  to  him  and  his  doctrine,  and 
openly  profess  ourselves  his  disciples;  bearing  his 
reproadh — ^Patiently  enduring  all  manner  of  shame, 
obloquy,  and  contempt,  and  whatever  other  sufifer- 
ing  may  await  us,  for  his  sake.  And  we  have  the 
more  reason  to  do  this;  for  here  we  Jux^e  no  con- 
tinuing city — ^No  settled  condition,  net  lasting  place 
of  al^ode;  all  things  here  are  but  fot*  a  moment;  and 
the  interests  of  ih[s  mortal  life,  as  they  are  very  uncer- 
tain, and  of  short  duration,  so  they  are  very  trivial, 
when  compared  with  those  that  relate  to  eternity. 
It  is  thought  by  some,  that  in  this  the  apostle  had  the 
destniction  of  Jerusalem  in  his  eye,  which  happened 
about  seven  or  eight  years  after  this  epistle  Was 
written;  but  we  seek  one  to  come — Namely,  the  city 
of  the  living  God ;  a  city  prepared  for  us,  and  pro- 
mised to  us,  as  the  place  of  our  everlasting  abode. 

VerMs  16,  16.  Having  mentioned  the  altar,  the 
574 


fruit  oLour  lips,  'giving  thanks  to  a.  M.  40011 
his  name.  '. — ,- 

16  ^But  to  do  good,  and  to  comtnunieate, 
forget  not:  for  'wkh  sueh  sacriflGes  God  » 
wdl  pleased. 

17  *  CMbey  them  that  ^have  the  nile  over  yoUi 
and  submit  yourselves:  for  ^they  watch  for 
your  souli^  as  th^  ihat  must  give  accounl, 
that  they  may  do  it  with  joy,  and  not  with 
grief:  for  that  is  unprofitaUe  for  you. 


»  Hose&  xiT.  2. ■  Gr.  confttn 

»  2  Cor.  ix.  12.-; — »  Phil.  ii.  ».-^ 
17 ;  txxiii.  2,  7 ;  Acts  xz.  26,  2S. 


[  to. y  Romans  xii.  13. 

*  Or,  gmdt. >>^£tek.  iii 


apostle-now  proceeds  to  qpeak  of  the  sacrifice.  By 
him  therefore— Qvx  great  High-Priest,  though  pef- 
secuied  by  our  imbelieving  brethren,  and  ezposed^to 
many  sufferings ;  let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise 
to  God  eonHnuaHy-^Tor  surely  we  have  continue 
reason,  having  before  us  a  prospect  of  such  unuttera^ 
ble  folicity  and  glory  ythat  is,  thefruitofour  lips^ 
It  is  generally  granted  that  this  expression  is  taken 
from  Hosea,  where  the  same  duty  is  called  the  calves^ 
or  sacrifices,  of  our  Ups;  for  the  sense  is  the  same, 
and  praise  to  God  is  intended  in  both  places.  Bui 
to  do  good,  &c.^As  if  he  had  said.  But  while  we 
present  this  verbal  tribute,  let  us  remember^thM 
another  yet  more ,  substantial  sacrifice  is  required, 
namely,  to  do  good  to  our  fellow-creatures,  and  that 
in  every  way  tn  our  power,  to  their  souls  as  well  as 
to  their  bodies,  supplying;  as  we  have  ability,  both 
their  spiritual  and  temporal  wants;  for  with  sw^ 
sacrifices  God  is  weU  pleased—AB  his  inspired  ser- 
vants have  abundantly  testified.  Indeed  diey  hsve 
been  always  more  pleasing  to  him  than  any  victiios 
which,  in  the  neglect  of  these,  co^d  be  brought  to 
his  altar. 

Terse  17.  Obey  them  thai  have  thtruic  overyou^ 
The  expression,  ro<f  irynfAevotc,  implies  also,  that  lead 
or  guide  you,  namely,  in  truth  and  holiness ;  and 
submit  yourselves— To  ^em  with  a  becoming  re* 
spect,  even  though  tiieir  office  should  render  it 
sometimes  necessary  for  them  to  reprove  you  fdr 
some  instances  of  misconduct,  or  to  urge  you  to 
duties  which  3roti  are  averse  to  perform.  Give  np  to 
them,  not  your  conscience  or  judgment,  but  your 
own  will,  in  all  diings  purely  indififerent ;  for  they 
watch  for  your  «Ott29— With  all  zeal  and  dilig^ice 
they  guard  and  caution  you  against  aU  dimger;  as 
they  that  must  give  an  account— To  the  great  Shep- 
herd for  every  part  of  their  behaviour  toward  you. 
Chrysostom  says,  he  never  read  these  words  of  the 
apostle  without  trembling,  though  he  often  preached 
several  times  in  a  day.  How  vigilant  then  ought  every 
pastor  to  be,  how  careful  of  every  soul  eommhted 
to  his  charge ;  that  they  may  do  it — May  watch  over 
you;  with  joy  and  not  with  grief— Greek,  /nt  rtvii. 
Covrec,  not  groaning,  under  discouragement  and  grief 
on  account  of  the  little  success  of  theur  ministry 
among  you ;  for  that  is — Or  would  be ;  unprofitable 
for  2^oti^Both  here  and  hereafter;  for  beside  dis- 

b 


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CHAPTER  Xm. 


the  Eebrew  krHnret^ 


4. M. 4068.    18  ®Ptay  lor  us:  for  we  trust  we 

— —  have    ^  a  ^  good   consdence,  in    all 

things  willing  to  live  honestly. 

19  But  I  beseech  pau  *  the  rather  to  do  this, 
that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the  sooner. 

20  Now  'the  God  of  peace,   "^that  brought 
again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  ^that 

«  Rom.  XT.  30 ;    Ephi.  ri.  19. *  Acts  xxiii.  1 ;   xxIt.  16. 

•  Philem.  22. '  Rom.  zr.  33 ;   1  Tfaest.  t.  23. v  Acts  ii. 

24,32. kiMuxl.  11. 

couraging  your  guid.es,  it  would  displease  the  Lord 
Jesus,  aod  preclude  or  endanger  your  eternal  salva- 
tion. ^'He  is  not. a  good  shepherd,  who  does  not 
either  rejoice  over  his  flock  ojr  groan  for  them. 
The  groans  of  other  creatures  are  heard:  how  much 
more  shall  these  come  up  into  the  ears  of  God! 
Whoever  answers  this  character  of  a  Christian  pastor, 
may  undoubtedly  demand  this  obedience." — Wesley. 

Verses  18, 19.  Pray  for  u#— For  our  freedom 
and  success  in  preaching  the  gospel,  (see  the  mar- 
gin,) and  our  deliverance  from  the.  enemies  of  the 
faith;  for — Though  our  enemies  may  meanly  in- 
sinuate the  contrary,  and  though  the  doctrine  incul- 
cated in  this  epistle  may  not  be  pleasing  to  some^of 
you;  we  intst  we  have  a  good  conscience-— Have 
acted,  and  continue  to  act,  conscientiously  before 
Crod,  his  people,  and  all  men,  and  have  executed  our 
trust  faithfully,  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God; 
vnlHng — QeXovTecy  denringy  and  resolving;  in  aU 
things— Or  among  aUmen,as  ev  iraat  may  signify, 
among  the  Jews  as  well  as  among  the  Gentiles;  to 
Jive  honestly — Or  rather,  to  behave  oursehes  well, 
or  honourably,  as  the  original  expression  signifies ; 
that  is,  always  to  act  in  the  most  fair  and  reputable 
manner,  according  to  the  obligations  of  our  sacred 
profession  and  office,  though  this  should  be  attended 
with  the  sacrifice  of  every  thing.  /  beseech  you  the 
rather  to  pray  earnestly  for  me,  that  I  may  be 
restored  to  you  the  sooner— From  this  confinement, 
and  may  have  it  in  my  power  to  render  you  those 
services,  which  have  been  and  still  are  prevented  by 
this  unjust,  imprisonment 

Verses  20, 21.  Now,  &c.— Having  desired  them  to 
pray  for  him,  he  now  addresses  a  prayer  to  God  for 
them,  and  therewith  gives  a  solemn  close  to  the  whole 
epistle.  And  a  glorious  prayer  it  is,  including  the 
whole  mystery  of  divine  grace,  and  that  both  with 
respect  to  its  original,  and  the  way  of  its  communi- 
cation; and  therefore  including  the  whole  of  this 
epistle,  especially  as  far  as  it  is  doctrinal,  and  apply- 
ing the  benefit  of  all  that  he  had  instructed  them  in  to 
themselves.  The  prayer  includes,  Ist,  A  title  given 
to  God  suited  to  the  request  made.  2d,  The  work 
ascribed  to  him  suitable  to  that  title.  3d,  The  bless- 
ings prayed  for.  4th,  A  doxology,  with  a  solemn 
close  of  the  whole.  The  title  assigned  to  God,  or 
the  name  by  which  he  calls  upon  him  is,  the  God  of 
peace— All  things  being  brought  by  sin  into  a  state 
of  disorder,  confusion,  and  enmity,  there  was  no 
source  left  from  whence  peace  could  be  derived,  but 
in  the  nature  and  will  of  God.  Hence  the  apostle, 
b 


great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, '  through  A.  M.  4om 

the  blood  of  the  everlasdng  ^cove-  1^ 

naut, 

21  ^Make  you  perfeU  in  every  good  work, 
to  <k>  his  wHl,  ^utrorking  Mn  you  that  which  m 
well-pleasing  in  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Ghrkt; 
"  to  whom  be  glory  for  eyer  and  ever.    Amen« 


<  Zech.  ix.  11 ;  Chap.  z.  2Z^ ^ Or,  te$tameiU. ^2  Them, 

ii.  17 ;    1  Pet.  ▼.  10. *  Or,  doing. >  PhiL  ii.  13. ■  Gal. 

i  6;  2  Tim.  it.  18 ;  Rct.  i.  6. 


when  about  to  represent  God  in  this  character,  be- 
gins by  observing,  All  things  are  of  God,  whohatik 
reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  2  Cor.  v.  IR 
God  alone  is  the  Author  of  all  peace  to  fallen  roan, 
whether^  the  peace  whidi  we  have  with  himself,  or 
that  in  our  own  souls ;  whether  peace  between  an* 
gels  and  men,  or  between  Jews  and  Gentiles :  it  is 
all  from  him,  the  God  of  pardoning  mercy  and  re> 
newittg  grace.  TTiat  brought  again  from  the  dead 
our  Lord  /esus^On  whom  the  iniquities  of  us  all, 
and  the  chastisement  necessary  to  procure  our  peacc^ 
were  laid ;  and  who  was  raised  from  the  dead  to 
manifest  that  the  atonement  which  he  had  made  was 
accepted,  and  that  God  was  now  in  him  reconciling 
us  to  himself;  and  as  a  further  proof  of  this,  bring- 
ing him  from  the  dead  to  be  the  great  Shepherd  of 
the  sheep — To  gather,  defend,  feed,  and  save  them ; 
yea,  and  to  give  unto  them  eternal  life,  John  x.  28. 
This  title,  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  is  given 
to  Christ  here,  because  he  was  foretold  under  that 
character,  (Ezek.  xxxiv;  23,)  bemuse  he  took  to 
himself  the  title  of  the  good  Shepherd,  (John  x.  11,) 
and  because  all  who  are  employed  in  feeding  the 
flock  are  but  inferior  shepherds  under  him.  Through 
the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant — Namely,  the 
covenant  of  grace,  in  its  last  dispensation,  termed 
everlasting,  both  in  opposition  to  the  covenant 
made  at  Sinai,  which  was  but  for  a  time,  and  accord- 
ingly was  now  removed,  and  because  the  effects  of 
it  are  not  temporary  benefits,  but  everlasting  mer» 
cies  of  grace  and  glory.  It  is  not  quite  certain 
whether  this  clause  should  be  connected  with  what 
goes  before,  or  what  foUows.  If  it  is  connected  with 
what  goes  before,  the  meaning  is,  either  that  God 
brought  back  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead, 
on  account  of  his  having  shed  his  blood  to  procure 
the  everlasting  covenant:  or  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
became  the  great  Shepherd  and  Saviour  of  the  sheep, 
by  shedding  his  blood  to  procure  and  ratify  the 
everlasting  covenant.  This  latter  sense  seems  to 
be  supported  by  Acts  xx.  28,  where  Christ  is  said 
to  have  purchased  the  church  with  his  own  blood. 
But  if  the  clause  is  connected  with  what  follows,  the 
meaning  is.  May  God  make  you  perfect  in  every 
good  work,  through  the  assistance  of  his  Spirit, 
promised  in  the  everlasting  covenant,  procured  and 
ratified  by  his  blood. 

Make  you  perfect — KarapTiaat  vfiac,  an  expression 
similar  to  that  used  Eph.  iv.  12:  for  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,  or  the  rendering  them  complete  in  the 
various  branches  of  true  Christianity,  namely,  (as  is 

cm 


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,The  apoitU  clo$e§  wUh 


HEBREWS 


a  miiemnhmedieiMu 


SlU. 4066.    22  And 
^^'^   sufi^nr  the  word  of  cxhortatkm 


I  beseedi  you,  brethrai} 
for 


•  I  have  written  a  letter  uotoyoa  id  few  words. 
S3  Enow  ye,  that  *"  mr  brother  llmothy  » is 
set  at  liberty ;  mrith  whom,  tf  he  come  diortly, 
I  wiHseeyou. 


■  1  P«it  T.  1% •  I  TheM.  lit  % 9 1  Tim.  rl  12. 


there  obeerved,)  in  the  knowledge  of  afl  die  doctrines, 
ttkt  poeeeseion  of  all  the  graces,  the  enjoyment  of  all 
titt  priyileges,  iStte  perforinaiiee  of  all  tiie  dutiea  be- 
longing to  tmeChrifltianity.  But  the  laal  particnlar 
ii  what  Is  here  chiefly  intended,  the  expreseion 
being,  May  he  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  vork, 
implying  the  apesUe's  desire  that  they  m^gfat  omit 
no  good  work  which  it  was  in  their  power  to  per- 
form, and  that  fliey  should  do  eyery  one  in  the  most 
perfect  manner ;  namely,  aecordingto  God'ewillas 
their  mle,  from  love  to  him  as  thehr  principle,  with 
in  eye  to  his  gbry  as  their  eod:  Working  in  you 
tikil— Internal  holiness  and  conformity  to  the  divine 
hnage;  which  i»  veU  pleasing  in  hie  eighi^Vnik^ 
he  apiNTOves  of,  and  takes  complacency  in ;  through 
Ibe  doctrine,  the  merits,  and  the  Spirit  of  Jeeue 
CkrisL  To  vohoim  he  ghrryfar  ever  and  ei>«r— Here 
eternal  glory  is  ascribed  to  Christ,  as  it  is  likewise 
2^  Pet.  iii.  18,  and  Rev.  v.  18^  m  terms  exactly  simi- 
lar to  those  in  which  it  is  ascrtt)ed  to  €hd,  even  the 
Father,  PhiL  iv.  80;  1  Tim.  i.  17;  2  Tim.  iv.  18 ;  a 
manifest  proof  of  Christ's  Deity,  divine  adoration 
and  wordiip  b^ig  doe  to  God  alone. 
"Verses  22-235;  I  beeeech  you,  6ref^efi— He  snb- 
678 


S4  Salute  aU  them  «lhat  have  die  a.il6O09l 
rule  over  yoH,  and  aU  the  sabts. 1 — 


They  of  Italy  salute  you. 
26  'Grace  (ewidiyouaH. 


Amm. 


If  Written  to 
Timothy. 


the  Hebrews  (hMn   Italy,  by 


4  Verses  7,  17. 'Tit  iii.  15. 


joins  this  tender  address  to  his  epistle  to  cantiim 
them  against  losing,  through  negligence  or  preju- 
dice, the  benefit  theymight  otherwise  d^ive  from 
it ;  suffer  the  irord  of  exhortation — Or,  consolation, 
(for  the  word  irapaKhf<ric  signifies  either,)  address^ 
to  yon  in  this  letter,  which  is  contained  in  few 
words — Considering  the  copionsnras  of  the  subject. 
Know  jfc— That  is,  I  give  you  the  joy  of  knowing ; 
that  our  brother  Timothy — ^Whose  zeal  for  me  had 
for  a  while  made  him  a  partner  in  my  confinement ; 
is  set  at  liberty ;  with  whom,  if  he  return  to  me 
shortly,  IwiU  see  you— Will  pay  you  a  visit  From 
this  it  is  evident  that  the  apostle,  when  he  wrote 
this,  waft  set  at  liberty.  Tliey  of  Italy  salute  you— 
The  salutations  from  the  Christians  of  Italy  show 
that  the  writer  of  this  letter  was  either  in  Italy,  or 
had  some  of  the  brethren  of  Italy  with  him  when  he 
wrote  it;  which  agrees  with  the  supposition  that 
Paul  was  the  author  of  it.  For  he  had  been  two 
years  a  prisons  at  Rome,  but  had  now  obtained  his 
liberty,  (verse  23,)  by  means,  as  is  supposed,  of  the 
persons  he  had  converted  in  the  emperor's  family, 
Phil.  iv.  22.  Grace  be  with  you  aZ^-St  Paul's  usual 
benediction.    God  apply  it  to  our  hearts  t 

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PREFACE 


TO     THX 


GENERAL    EPISTLE  OF  JAMES. 


^HIS,  the  twa^putles  of  Peter,  the  fii^t  epistle  of  John,  and  that  of  Jude,  have  been  called  catholic 
or  general  epistles,  because,  according  to  (Ecumenius  and  others,  they  were  aU  written,  not  to 
ai^  particular  church  or  churches,  or  to  people  dwelling  in  one  place,  as  all  St.  Paul's  ^^les  were 
but  to  the  Jewish  converts,  dispersed  through  all  the  countries  within  the  Roman  empire. 

That  the  author  of  this  epistle  was  an  apostle  appears  frpm  the  testimony  of  Eusebius,  {Eccl,  Hi$t.^ 
lib.  ii.  cap.  23,)  who  declares  concerning  that  James  to  whom  the  ancients  ascribed  this  epistle,  that 
he  was  the  brother,  or  kinsman,  of  the  Lord ;  and  by  the  Syriac,  Arabic,  Vulgate,  and  EthiofMc  ver- 
sions, by  all  which  he  is  styled,  "  James  the  apostle."  It  is  true,  some  have  imagined  that  James  the 
elder,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  brother  of  John,  was  the  author  of  this  epistle;  "  but  in  diis  they  aca 
evidently  mistaken ;  for  James  the  elder  wa&  beheaded  by  Herod,  A.  D^  44,  whereas  this  epistle  was 
not  written  till  a  very  considerate  time  aftejrward.  So  early  as  A,  D.  44  the  gos^l  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  propagated  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  Palestine,  and  it  canaot  be  suj[^o»od  there  was  any 
very  large  number  of  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion  who  were  then  converted  to  the  Christian  faith; 
and,  though  the  epistle  seems  to  have  been  intended,  in  some  measure,  for  the  general  benefit  of  the 
twelve  tribes,  yet  more  especially  for  those  among  them  who  were  converts  to  the  Christian  religion. 
Besides,  it  is  intimated,  in  the  epistle  itself,  that  the  Jewish  Christians  were  at  this  time  sunk  into 
very  remarkable  degeneracy,  both  in  doctrine  and  practice,  which  is  not  likely  to  have  been  the  case 
while  they  were  under  the  first  impressions  of  their  conversion.  And,  indeed,  in  this  epistle  there 
are  some  plain  intimations  that  the  destniction  of  Jerusalem  was  near  at  hand,  (chap.  v.  1-8,)  which 
event  was  accomplished  about  the  year  70 ;  and  from  this  circumstance  we  may  reasonably  conclude 
the  date  of  it  to  be  about  A.  D.  60  or  61." — Doddridge.  This  epistle,  therefore,  could  not  have  been 
written  by  James  the  elder,  but  must  have  been  the  composition  of  James  the  son  of  Alpheus  or 
Cleophas,  by  Mary,  the  sister  of  the  Uessed  Virgin. 

Now,  it  being  thus  shown  that  James  the  apostle  was  the  author  of  this  epistle,  we  cannot  reason- 
ably doubt  tlie  authenticity  of  it,  especiaUy  if  we  consider  that  "  it  is  cited  by  Clemens  Romanus  four 
several  times,  by  Ignatius  in  his  genuine  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  by  Origen  in  his  thirteenth 
homily  upon  Genesis.  Eusebius  says  it  was  known  to  most,  and  publicly  read  in  most  Christian 
churches ;  St.  Jerome,  that  in  process  of  time  it  obtained  authority.  Estius  observes,  that  <  they  who 
before  doubted  of  it,  in  the  fourth  century  embraced  the  opinion  of  them  who  received  it,  and  that 
from  thence  no  church  or  ecclesiastical  writer  ever  doubted  of  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  all  jthe  cata- 
logues of  the  books  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  published  by  general  or  provincial  councils,  Roman  bishops, 
or  other  weU-informed  writers,  number  it  among  the  canonical  Scriptures ;'  which  proof  must  give 
sufficient  certainty  of  it  to  any  Christian." — ^Whitby.  If  any  further  argument  were  necessary  to  be 
advanced  in  proof  of  the  divine  authority  of  this  epistle,  it  may  be  observed  that  while  the  second 
epistle  of  Peter,  the  second  and  third  of  John,  the  epistle  of  Jude,  and  the  Revelation,  are  omitted  in 
the  first  Syriac  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  i^ch  was  made  in  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century  for  the  use  of  the  converted  Jews,  this  epistle  of  James  hath  found  a  place  therein ;  an  argu- 
ment diis  of  great  weight.  For  certainly  the  Jewish  believers,  to  whom  that  epistle  was  addressed 
and  delivered,  were  much  better  judges  of  its  authenticity  than  the  converted  Gentiles,  to  whom  it 
was  not  sent,  and  who,  perhaps,  had  no  opportunity  of  being  acquainted  with  it  till  long  ailer  it  was 
written. 

Vou  II.  (  37  )  577  b 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  GENERAL  EPISTLE  OF  JAME& 

In  addition  to  the  support  which  its  sntiquity  gives  to  ihB  authenticity  of  this  epistle,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  correspondence  of  the  sentiments  it  contains  with  the  tenor  of  the  Christian  doctrine.  It  is 
true,  this  was  called  in  question  by  Luther,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation ;  but  deeper  experience, 
a  more  perfect  investigation,  more  extensive  observation,  and  a  maturer  judgment,  afterward  induced 
him  to  change  his  opinion.  As  to  the  subjects  treated  on  in  this  epistle,  it  must  be  observed  that,  as 
the  author  of  it  statedly  resided  at  Jerusalem,  (whence  he  hath  been  styled,  by  some  of  the  ancient 
fathers,  the  bishop  of  that  city,)  it  was  very  natural  for  him,  while  he  confined  hb  personal  labours, 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Judea,  to  endeavour,  by  his  writings,  to  extend  his  services  to  the  Jewish  Chris* 
tians  who  were  dispersed  abroad  in  more  distant  regions.  ^  For  this  purpose,*'  says  Dr.  Doddridge, 
'*  there  are  two  points  which  the  apostle  seems  to  have  principally  aimed  at,  though  he  has  not  pursued 
them  in  an  orderly  and  logical  method,  but  in  the  free  epistolary  manner,  handling  them  jointly  or 
distinctly,  as  occasion  naturaOy  offered.  And  these  were,  to  correct  those  errors,  both  in  doctrine 
and  practice,  into  which  the  Jewish  Christians  had  fallen,  which  might  otherwise  have  produced  fatal 
consequences ;  and  then  to  establish  the  faith,  and  animate  the  hope,  of  sincere,  believers,  both  under 
their  present  and  their  future  sufferings^'' 

It  may  add  some  wei^  to  the  important  advices,  cautions,  and  exhortations,  contained  in  this 
epistle,  to  observe  that  the  author  of  it,  for  the  remarkable  holiness,  of  lus  life,  was  sumamed  *^  the 
Just ;"  and  that  our  Lord  so  regarded  him  as  to  appear  to  him  when  alone,  after  his  resurrection  ; 
(1  Cor.  XV.  7 ;)  and  that  about  three  years  after  Paul's  conversion,  being  resident  at  Jerusalem,  he 
was  considered  as  a  pillar,  or  noted  supporter,  of  the  church  there,  GraL  ii.  9.  Hence  the  deference 
paid  to  his  advico  at  the  apostplic  council,  spoken  of  Acts  xv.  About  A.  D.  63,  when  Festus  was 
dead,  and  Albinus  his  successor  had  not  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  the  Jews  being  exceedingly  enraged  at 
the  success  of  the  gospel,  Ananias  IL,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  caused  him  to  be  condemned,  and 
delivered  him  into  the  hands  of  the  people  and  the  Pharisees,  who  threw  him  down  frpm  the  stairs 
of  the  temple,  when  a  fuller  dashed  out  his  brains  with  a  club.  His  life  was  so  holy,  that  Josephus 
considers  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  as  a  punishment  inflicted  on  that  city  for  his  death. 

678  ( 37*  )  b 


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THE   GENERAL    EPISTLE 


OF 


JAM  E  S. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ifUr  tie  saluUUion,  the  apottle,  (1,)  Endeawmrs  to  fortify  the  eomerted  Jew^  to  vfhom  he  mites,  under  those  trials  wher§» 
mth  they  were  and  would  be  exercisedj  hy  suitable,  representations  of  the  benefit  qf  them,  and  of  the  readiness  of  God  to 
communieate  all  necessary  supplies  of  wisdom  and  grace  in  answer  to  the  fervent  prayer  of  faith,  1-8.  (2,)  He  directs 
them  how  to  beha^  in  prosperous  and  adverse  circumstances,  and  expose  the  vanity  of  all  worldly  enjoyments,  9-18. 
(8,)  He  warns  them  not  to  impute  to  God  any  temptation  to  sin,  but  to  look  on  all  evil  as  proceeding  from  themsehes,  md 
all  good  from  God,  1&-18.  (4,)  He  cautions  them  against  a  rash  and  irascible  disposition,  and  exhorts  thejn  to  receiva 
the  word  of  God  with  meekness,  and  to  Uve  according  to  it,  19-25.  (5,)  He  mentions  some  ia^ortasU  properties  of  trua 
religion,  and  shows  that  all  pretences  to  it  are  vain,  ifjhe  tongue  be  not  bridled,  2Q|  37. 


A.  M.  4064.  ♦  Tames ,•  ^  a  servant  of  God  and  of 

A.  D  60        V 

'■ — 1         the  Lord   Jesua  Christ,  ''to  the 


*  St  PhU^  and  St.  James,  epistle,  rene  I  to  rene  13.— 
xii.  17 ;  XV.  13}  Gal.  i.  19;  ii.  9;  Jade  1. 


^Aets 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 
Verse  1.  JameSy  a  $ervafU  of  Jesus  Christ — 
Whose  name  the  apostle  mentions  but  once  more  in 
the  whole  epistle,  namely,  chap.  ii.  1,  and  not  at  all 
in  his  whole  discourse,  Acts  xv.  14^  &c^  or  jlxL 
20-25.  It  might  have  seemed,  if  he  had  men- 
tioned him  often,  that  he  did  it  out  of  vanity,  as 
being  the  brother,  or  near  kinsman,  of  the  Lord ;  to 
the  twehe  tri6M— Of  Israel;  that  is,  to  those  of 
ihem  that  were  converted  to  Christianity,  and 
with  an  evident  reference,  in  some  parts  of  the 
epistle,  to  that  part  of  them  which  was  notconverted ; 
which  are  scattered  abroad^In  various  countries ; 
ten  of  the  tribes  were  scattered'ever  since  the  reign 
of  Hoshea,  and  a  great  part  of  the  rest  were  now 
dispersed  through  the  Roman  empire,  as  was  fore- 
told Deut.  xxviii.  25,  and  xxx.>.  That  the  twelve 
tribes  were  actually  in  existence  when  James  wrote 
his  epistle,  will  appear  from  the  following  facts. 
1st,  Notwithstanding  Cyras  allowed  all  the  Jews  in 
his  dominions  to  return  to  their  own  land,  many  of 
them  did  not  return,  but  continued  to  live  among 
the  Gentiles,  as  appears  from  this,  that  in  the  days 
of  Ahasuerus,  one  of  the  successors  of  Cyrus,  who 
reigned  from  India  to  Ethiopia,  over  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  provinces,  (Esth.  iii.  8,)  the  Jews 
were  dispersed  among  the  people  inaUthe  provinces 
of  his  kingdom^  and  their  Iqws  were  diverse  from 
the  laws  of  all  other  people;  so  that,  by  adhering 
to  their  own  usages,  they  kept  themselves  distinct 
b 


twelve  tribefiT^  ^  which  are 
abroad,  greeting. 


scattered  a.m.4064. 

A.  D.  60. 


»»Tit.  L  1.- 


35; 


Acta  zxvt.  7. 'Dent,  zxzii.  26;  John  vii. 

Acta  ii.  5 ;  Tiii.4  ;  1  Pet.  L  1. 


from  all  the  nations  among  whom  they  lived.  2d| 
Josephus  considered  the  twelve  tribes  as  being  in 
ei^istence  when  the  Old  Testament  Scr^)tures  were 
translated  into  Greek,  (namely,  in  the  time  of 
Ptolemy  Phlladelphus,  i^ut  two  hundred  and  fifty 
or  two  hundred  and  sixty  years  before  Christ,)  as 
he  says  that  six  persons  were  sent  out  of  every  tribe 
to  assist  in  that  work.  8d,  On  the  day  of  pentecosti 
as  mentioned  Acta  ii.  5, 0,  there  were  dwelling  at 
Jerusalem  devout  men  out  of  every  nation  under 
heaven^  Parthians,  Medes^  &c. :  so  numerous  were 
the  Jews,  and  so  widely  dispersed  through  all  the 
countries  of  the  world.  4th,  Wheu  Paul  travelled 
through  Asia  and  Europe,  he  found  the  Jews  so  nu- 
merous, that  in  all  the  noted  cities  of  the  Gentiles 
they  had  synagogues,  in  which  they  were  assembled 
for  the  worship  of  God,  and  were  joined  by  miihi- 
tudes  of  proselytes  from  among  the  heathens.  6tb, 
The  same  apostle,  in  his  speech  to  Agrippa,  affirmed 
that  the  twelve  tribes  were  then  existing,  and  thai 
they  served  God  day  and  night,  in  expectation  of 
the  promise  made  to  the  fathers,  Acts  xxvi.  6.  6th, 
Josephus  {Antiq.,,  1.  xiv.  c.  12)  tells  us,  that  in  his 
time  one  region  could  not  contain  the  Jews,  but  they 
dwelt  in  most  of  the  flourishing  cities  of  Asia  and 
Europe,  in  the  islands  and  continent,  not  much  less 
in  number  than  the  heathen  inhabitants.  From  all 
which  it  is  evident  that  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion 
were  more  numerous  than  even  the  Jews  in  Judea ; 
and  that  James  very  properly  inscribed  his  letter  to 
579 


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The  apoBtU  exhorU  the  brdhren 


JAMEa 


to  fHUience  under  itibukaUm. 


A.M.4064.    2  My  brethren,  *coant  it  all  joy 
^^'^'    'when  ye  fidl  into  divers  temptations ; 

3  'Knowing /Ait,  that  the  trying  of  your  faith 
worketh  patience. 

4  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that 
ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  no- 
thing. 

6  ^If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  ^  let  him  ask 
of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  up- 


•Mmtt.  T.  13;   AcU  v.  41 ;  Heb.  x.  34,  I  Pet.  W.  13,  16. 

'1  Peter  i.  8.— ^<  Romans  t.  3. ^1  Kings  iii  9,  11,  12; 

PfOT.  ii.  3. 


the  twelve  tribes  which  were  in  the  dispersion, 
seeing  the  twelve  tribes  really  existed  then,  and  do 
still  exist,  although  not  distinguished  by  separate 
habitations,  as  they  were  anciently  in  their  own  land. 
Crrcca'n^— That  is,  wishing  you  all  blessings,  tem- 
poral, spiritual,  and  eternal. 

Verses  2-4.  CowU  it  all  ^oy— That  is,  matter  of 
the  greatest  joy;  vjhen  ye  fall  into  divers  temptor 
tions—Unpafffiotc^  trials;  fbr though  rendered  tempt- 
ations,  it  does  not  signify  here  what  is  commonly 
meant  by  temptations,  for  these  we  are  directed  to 
pray  against,  but  it  denotes  trials  by  affliction  and 
persecution.  To  these  God,  by  whose  providence 
they  come,  exposes  men,  not  to  lead  them  into  sin, 
but  to  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  exercising  and 
improving  their  graces  and  virtues.  Hence  our  Lord 
declared  those  to  be  blessed  who  were  persecuted 
for  rigTUeausness*  sake,  Matt.  v.  10;  and  exhorted 
•iich,  (verse  ^,)  to  refoice  and  be  exceeding  glad; 
sentiments  which  doubtless  the  Apostle  James  had 
in  his  eye  when  he  spoke  to  the  Jewbh  Christians 
in  this  manner.  Knowing  that  the  trying,  or  pro- 
wng,  of  yourfaith-^By  persecution  and  affliction ; 
worketh  patience^^xetciaea  and  thereby  increases 
your  patience,  through  the  divine  Messing,  and  your 
resignation  to  Ckxl's  will,  from  which  many  other 
virtues  will  flow.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work— Lei  it  be  duly  end  fully  exercised,  thaft  it  may 
ffse  to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection :  Ist,  By 
oompesing  your  minds  to  a  sweet  and  humble  frame 
vnder  yoursuiierings.  Sd,  By  acknowledging  God's 
hand  in  them,  and  blessing  him  for  them.  Sd,  By 
resisting  all  inclinations  to  impatience,  fretAilness, 
and  murmuring.  4th,  By  quietly  waiting  for  de- 
liverance, in  the  way  God  hath  appointed,  till  he 
shaU  see  fit  to  grant  it.  6th,  By  enduring  to  the  end 
of  the  time  of  your  trial ;  thcU  ye  may  be  perfect 
and  entire — Adorned  with  every  Christian  grace 
and  virtue ;  wanting  nothing-^^o  kind  or  degree 
of  grace  which  God  requires  to  be  in  you  j  but  may 
be  complete  in  all  the  parts  of  holiness. 

Verses  5-7.  If  any  o/'yow— In  whole  or  in  part ; 
lack  wisdom— To  understand  whence  and  why 
temptations  come,  and  how  they  are  to  be  improved, 
or  for  any  other  purpose.  Wisdom,  in  the  common 
acceptation  of  the  word,  denotes  a  sound  practical 
Judgment  concerning  things  to  be  done  or  avoided : 
but  here  the  expression  seems  to  mean  wisdom  to 
68U 


braideth  not:  and  ^it  shaB  be  given  A.M.40S1 
him.  .f 

6  ^  But  lei  him  ask  in  fiutb,  nothing  wavoring. 
For  he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea 
driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed. 

7  For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall 
receive  any  thing  of  the  Lord. 

8  **  A  double-minded  man  is  unstable  in  all 
bis  ways. 


i  Matt  rii.  7 ;  zxL  2S ;  Maik  xL  24 ;  Lqke  zi.  9 ;  John  zir.  13 ; 

XT.  7 ;  xtL  23. ^  Jer.  xxix.  12 ;    1  John  t.  14,  15. >  Mark 

xi.  24 ;  1  Tim,  ii.  B. *  Chap.  ir.  8. 


know  how  to  conduct  ourselves  under  afflictions,  or 
how  to  make  a  right  use  of  them.  Patience  is  in 
every  pious  man  already ;  let  him  exercise  this,  and 
ask  for  wisdom.  The  sum  of  wisdom,  how  to  con- 
duct ourselves  in  the  trial  of  poverty,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  riches,  on  the  other,  is  described  in  the 
9tlv  and  10th  verses.  The  connection  between  the 
second  and  following  verses  of  this  chapter  will  be 
easily  discerned  by  him  who  reads  them  while  he 
is  suffering  wrongAilly.  He  will  then  readily  per- 
ceive why  the  apostle  mentions  all  these  various 
affections  of  the  mind.  Let  him  ask  of  God— The 
eternal  fountain  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  of  grace; 
that  giveth  to  all—Th^i  ask  aright;  liberally— 
Freely  and  richly;  and  upbraideth  fipf— Either 
with  their  past  sinfulness  or  present  unworthiness. 
But  let  him  ask  in  faith — With  a  firm  confidence 
in  the  power,  love,  and  faithfulness  of  God.  St. 
James  also  both  begins  and  ends  wi^  faith,  chap. 
V.  16 ;  the  hmderances  of  which  he  removes  in  the 
middle  part  of  his  epistle ;  nothing  wavering—Or 
doubting,  as  StoMptvoftevoc  frequently  and  properly 
signifies;  or  not  divided  in  his  mind,  between  the 
desires  of  obtaining  and  the  fears  of  not  obtaining 
the  grace  he  asks;  or  not  questioning  God's  willing- 
ness to  bestow  it.  For  he  that  wavereth — Or  doubt- 
eth,  and  therefore  is  divided  in  his  mind,  as  just  ob- 
served, and  who  does  not  firmly  confide  in  the  good- 
ness and  faithfulness  of  Ood,  can  have  no  other  solid 
and  substantial  support,  but  t9  like  a  wave  of  the  sea 
— Restless  and  inconstant ;  driven  with  the  wind  to 
and  fVo,  and  tossed  about  at  its  mercy ;  is  unsettled 
and  irresolute.  Let  not  that  man— Who  thus  yields 
to  diffidence  and  distrust;  think  that  he  shall  re- 
ceive any  thing  of  the  Lord — ^While  he  continues  in 
such  an  unstable  and  wavering  state  of  mind,  and 
dares  not  rely  on  God  for  those  supplies  of  gnce 
which  he  professes  to  seek.  Such  unreasonable 
doubts  and  suspicions,  as  they  vnt>ng  the  divine 
goodness,  so  they  may,  in  many  instances,  prevent 
the  communication  of  those  favours  which  might 
otherwise  be  obtained. 

Verse  8.  A  double-minded  man — Avj7p  Sirfn^xoc^  <* 
man  who  has,  as  it  were,  two  souls  ;  whode  heart  is 
divided  between  God  and  the  world,  and  is  not  simply 
given  up  to  him,  nor  entirely  confides  in  him  for 
the  direction,  aid,  and  support  which  he  stands  in 
need  of;  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways— Being  without 

b 


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CHAPTra  L 


OodiemfUftoman  ioriiu 


A.  M.  4004.  9  Let  the  brother  of  bw  degree 
'. *  rejoice  in  that  be  is  exalted : 

10  But  the  rich)  In  that  he  \b  made  low :  be- 
cause-* as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he  Aall  pass 
away. 

11  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  with  a  burn- 
ing heat,  but  it  withereth  the  grass,  and  the 
flower  thereof  fedleth,  and  the  grace  oi  the 
fiEishion  of  it  perisheth :  so  also  shall  the  rich 
man  &de  away  in  his  ways. 

^ Or, ^fary .  y  ■  ■  Job  Sir.  2 ;  Pn.  zxzrii.  2;  xc. 5, 6 ;  oU.  U  ; 
ciii.  15;  Iga.  xl.  6;  1  Cor.Tii  31 ;  Chap.  nt.  14;  1  Pet.  i.  24 ; 
1  John  u,  17. 

the  tme  wisdom,  he  perpetuaUy  disagrees  both  with 
hims^f  and  others;  and  wUl  be  perpetually  running 
into  inconsistencies  of  conduct,  while  those  imper- 
fect impressions  of  religion  which  he  feels  will 
serve  rather  to  perplex  and  torment  than  to  guide 
and  confirm  him  in  tiie  right  way. 

Verses  9-11.  Let  the  hroiher-^i.  James  does  not 
give  thb  appellation  to  the  rich ;  of  low  degree — 
Poor  and  tempted,  or  brought  low  by  his  sufferings 
for  Chrtstj  and  humbled  in  spirit  thereby;  rejoice 
that  he  i»  exaUed'-To  be  a  child  of  God,  and  an 
hefar  of  eternal  glory;  let  him  think  of  his  dignity 
as  a  Christian,  and  entirely  acquiesce  in  his  low  sta- 
tion in  life,  which  will  continue  only  for  a  short 
season,  and  which  God  has  wisely  appointed  for  his 
eternal  good.  Or,  let  him  rejoice  that  he  is  thought 
worthy  to  be  called  to  sufi^r  for  Christ,  Acts.  v.  41 ; 
Phil*  i.  20.  But  the  ncA-rLet  the  rich  rejoice  in 
that  he  i$  made  low — Is  humbled  by  a  deep  sense 
of  his  true  condition,  and  brought  to  have  low 
thoughts  of  all  worldly  excellences,  and  to  be  pre- 
pared for  sufferings.  The  Greek  is,  «v  r^  raireivtHret 
avTb,  in  his  humiliation,  as  the  word  is  rendered 
Acts  viil.  33 ;  where  it  is  used  to  express  the  humilia- 
tion of  Christ  by  his  various  sufferings.  And  as  it 
is  here  opposed  to  t^«<,  exaltation,  in  the  preceding 
verse,  it  may  signify  the  humiliation  of  the  rich 
man,  by  his  being  stripped  of  his  riches  and  posses- 
sions, of  his  liberty^  and  his  being  made  liable  to 
lose  his  life  on  account  of  the  gospel.  Here,  there- 
fore, the  apostle  advises  the  rich  to  glory  when  they 
lose  the  uncertain  riches  of  this  life,  and  are  ex- 
posed to  other  sufferings,  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  a 
good  conscience,  with  the  favout  and  approbation 
of  God.  For  the  sun,  Ac. — Literally,  For  the  $un 
arose  with  a  burning  heat^  and  withered  the  grass, 
and  the  flower  fell  of,  and  the  beauty  of  its  farm 
perished  There  is  an  unspeakable  beauty  and  ele- 
gance, both  in  the  comparison  itself  and  the  very 
manner  of  expressing  it;  intimating  both  the  cer- 
tainty and  the  suddenness  of  the  event.  So  shall 
the  rich  man  fade  away,  in  his  ways — In  the  midst 
of  his  various  pleasures  and  enjoyments. 

Verse  12.  Blessed^UoKOfuof,  happy,  is  the  man 

that  endureth  temptation — ^Trials  of  various  kitids, 

patiently  and  perseveringly ;  for  when  he  is  tried— 

AoKtftoc  ytvoftevoc,  being  approved  on  trial,  he  shall 

h 


12  <>Bkssed  is  the  man  that  en-  a.  M.  4004. 
dureth  temptation :    for  when  he  is    ^  ^*^' 
tried,   he  shall   receive  'the  crown   of  fife, 
"^  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that 
love  him. 

13  Let  no  man  say  when  he  is  tempted,Iam 
tempted  of  God:  fi>r  God  cannot  be  tempted 
with  ^  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man : 

14  But  every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is 
drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed. 


•Job  T.  17;  PfDT.  iii  11,  12:  Heb.  xii.  5;  Rer.  iu.  19. 
P 1  Cor.  ix.  25;  2  Tim.  iv.  8;  CW  ii.  5;  1  P^t.  t.  4;  EeT. 
ii.  10. ^  Mstt.  X.  22.— -»  Or,  tviia. 


receive  the  crown  of  eternal  life,  which  the  Lord 
Christ  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him — And 
express  their  love  by  such  fidelity  and  zeal. 

Verse  13.  Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted — 
To  commit  sin,  in  whatever  way  it  may  be ;  /  am 
tempted  of  God — God  has  laid  this  temptation  in  my 
way  5  ^  Ood  cannot  be  tempted, with  evil— Ii  can- 
not appear  desirable,  or  otherwise  than  detesta(ble,  iQ 
God's  eyes;  nor  can  he  be  inclined  to  it  in  any  de- 
gree, through  any  external  object,  or  any  internal 
motion ;  neither  tempteth  he  any  «kin— he  does  not 
persuade  or  incline,  much  less  constrain  any  one  to 
sin  by  any  means  whatever.  The  word  netpa^tiv^  to 
tempt,  as  we  have  seen,  often  signifies  ''  to  try,  in 
order  to  discover  the  disposition  of  a  person,  or  to 
improve  his  vlrtne,  verse  12.  In  this  sense  God  is  said 
to  have  tempted  or  tried  Abraham  and  the  Israelites. 
Not  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  dispositions  of  either 
of  them.  In  the  same  sense  the  Israelites  are  said 
to  have  tempted  or  proved  God.  They  put  his  power 
and  goodness  to  the  trial,  by  enteriaining  doubts 
concerning  them.  Here,  to  tempt,  signifies  to  solicit 
one  to  sin,  and  actually  to  seduce  him  into  sin,  which 
is  the  effect  of  temptation  or  solicitation.  See  verse 
14.  In  this  sense  the  devil  tempts  metu  And  be- 
cause he  is  continually  employed  in  that  ipalicious 
work,  he  is  called,  by  way  of  eminence,  O  ireipa^uv, 
the  tempter.  It  is  in  this  sense  we  are  to  understand 
the  saying  in  the  end  of  the  verse,  that  God  is  inca- 
pable of  being  tempted,  that  is,  seduced  to  sin  by  evil 
things,  and  that  he  seduces  no  one  to  sin.  God  hav- 
ing nothing  either  to  hope  or  fear,  no  evil  beings, 
whether  man  or  angel,  can  either  entice  or  seduce 
him.  Further,  his  infinitely  perfect  nature  admit- 
ting no  evil  thought  or  inclination,  he  is  absolutely 
(aireipacoc)  incapable  of  being  tempfai.''— Mac- 
knight 

Verses  14, 15.  But  every  man  is  tempted  when— 
In  the  beginning  of  the  temptation;  he  is  drawn 
away  of  his  own  fti^f—Greek,  vko  t^c  '^*«f  em^/uac 
e^eXnof^evoc;  literally,  he  Is  drawn  out  of  God,  his 
strong  reAige,  by  his  own  desire;  excited  by  some 
external  object  presenting  itself;  and  ctrftcect— AeAe- 
aCoftevoc,  caught  with  a  bait.  It  is  generally  sup- 
posed that  the  allusion  here  is  to  the  drawing  of  fish 
but  of  a  river  with  a  baited  hOok :  a  metaphor  used 
by  Plato,  as  quoted  by  Cicero,  {De  Senect^  cap.  18,) 
561 


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Every  good  and  every  perfect  gift 


JAIQSa 


iefrom  the  Father  ofUgkte. 


A. M. 4064.    15  Then,  'when  lust   hath  ccm- 
^^'  ^'    ceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin ;    and 
sin^   when    it    is    finished,    *  bringeth   forth 
death. 

16  Oanoterr,  my  beloved  brethren. 

17  •Every*  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is 


'Job  XT.  35 ;  Pmu  rii.  14. 'Rom.  tL  21,  23.' •  Fourth 

Sunday  after  EMter,  epistle,  Ter.  17  to  ver.  22. '  John  iiL  27 ; 


^  Divine  enim  Plato,  escam  malonnn  appellat  volup- 
tatem;  quod  eayidelicet  homines  capiantur  atha- 
mo  pisces."  Plaio  divinely  calls  pleaeure  a  bait 
of  evil  (hinge;  namely,  because  by  it  men  are  taken 
as  fishes  by  a  hook.  With  regard  to  most  tempta- 
tions that  draw  men  into  sin,  the  case  seems  to  be 
thus:  Ist,  An  outward  object  presents  itself,  which 
appears  tp  be  desirable,  either  on  account  of  the 
profit  or  pleasure  it  seems  calculated  to  aflbrd )  2d, 
Through  an  inordinate  love  of  ease,  honour,  wealth, 
or  pleasure,  a  desire  of  that  object  arises  in  a  man's 
corrupt  heart;  3d,  That  desire  is  yielded  to,  instead 
of  being  resisted,  and  thereby  he  is  drawn  from  that 
line  of  duty  in  which  he  before  walked,  and  from  that 
state  of  union  and  communion  with  God  i^hich  he 
enjoyed,  and  is  entangled  in  the  guilt  and  misery  of 
siiL  We  are  therefore  to  look  for  the  causes  of  every 
sin  chiefly  in  ourselves;  in  our  appetites,  passions, 
and  corrupt  inclinations.  Even  the  injections  of  the 
devil  cannot  hurt  us,  till  we  make  them  our  own,  by 
entertaining  and  yielding  to  them.  Then,  when  lust, 
desire,  hath  conceived'-^By  obtaining  the  consent 
of  our  will,  that  is,  when  it  is  yielded  to;  it  bringeth 
forth  actual  sin*-^By  a  speedy  birth,  where,  perhsq[>B, 
the  full  indulgence  of  the  desire  was  not  at  first  in- 
tended. It  does  not  follow  from  this,  that  the  desire 
itself  is  not  sin.  He  that  begets  a  man  is  himself  a 
man ;  and  sin,  when  it  is  finished — Actually  com- 
mitted; bringeth  forth  death — Tends,  In  its  conse- 
quences, to  the  final  ruin  of  both  soul  and  body,  as 
naturaUy  as  the  conception  of  an  animal  does  to  its 
birth.  Indeed,  sin  is.  born  big  with  death.  Thus  St 
James  "  represents  men's  lust  as  a  harlot,  which  en- 
tices their,  understanding  and  will  into  its  impure 
embraces,  and  from  that  conjunction  conceives  sin. 
And  sin,  being  brought  forth  and  nourished  by  fre- 
quent repetition  in  its  tufn  begets  death,  which^e- 
stroys  the  sinner.  This  is  the  true  genealogy  of  sin 
tod  death.  Lust  is  the  mother  of  sin,  and  sin  the 
mother  of  death ;  and  the  sinner  the  parent  of  both. 
Verse  18,  the  apostle  gives  the  genealogy  of  right- 
eousness. All  the  righteous  deeds  which  men  per- 
form, and  the  holy  designs  and  desires,  intentions 
and  affections,  which  are  found  in  them,  proceed 
from  their  renewed  nature ;  and  their  nature  is  re- 
newed by  the  power  of  truth  and  grace ;  and  God  is 
the  prime  mover  in  the  whole."— Macknight. 

Verses  16,  17.  Do  not  err,  &c.— By  supposing 
that  God  is  the  author  of  sin,  or  that  any  thing  which 
is  sinful  in  the  heart  or  conduct  of  man  can,  with 
truth,  be  ascribed  to  him:  as  well  might  darkness 
and  coldness  be  attributed  to  the  sun.  It  is  indeed  a 
grievous  error  to  ascribe  the  evil,  and  not  the  good, 
083 


from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  a  m.  406i. 
the  Path«r  of  lights,  '  with  whom  is  ^-1—1 — 
no  variableoesSf  neither  shadow  of  taming. 

18  '  Of  his  own  will  b^;at  he  us  with  the 
word  of  troth,  ^  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of 
'  first-fruits  of  hn  creatures. 


1  Cor.  ir.  7. ^"  Num.  xxiii,  19 ;  1  Sam.  xr.  20 

Rom.  zi.  2S.    '  ■  '  John  L 13 ;  iiL  3.~*-J  Eph.  L  IS.- 


Bf  aL  ill.  6 ; 
— «Jor.iLd. 


which  we  receive,  to  God.  No  evil,  but  every  good 
gift^Oi  every  kind :  whatever  is  beautiful,  excel- 
lent, and  good  in  any  creature  in  the  universe;  all 
the  members  and  senses  of  our  bodies,  and  all  our 
temporal  blessings ;  and  every  perfect  gift— Every 
gift  of  truth  and  grace,  whatever  tends  to  holiness 
and  happiness  here  or  hereafter ;  is  from  above-— 
From  heaven,  not  from  earth,  much  less  from  hell ; 
and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  tights — Whe- 
ther material  or  spiritual,  in  the  kingdom  of  grace 
and  glory;  the  author  of  all  truth,  knowledge,  wis- 
dom, holiness,  and  happiness.  The  appellation  of 
Father  is  here  used  with  peculiar  propriety.  It  fol- 
lows in  the  next  verse,  he  begat  us.  With  whom  is 
no  variableness — In  his  understanding ;  or  shadow 
of  tumingr-hi  his  wiH;  but  he  is  immutably  wise 
and  good,  holy  and  happy.  He  infallibly  discerns 
all  good  and  evil,  and  invariably  loves  the  one  and 
hates  the  other.  There  is  in  both  the  Greek  words 
here  used  a  metaphor  taken  from  the  heavenly  bo- 
dies, particularly  proper,  where  the  Father  of  lights 
is  mentioned ;  both  words  are  applicable  to  any  ce- 
lestial body  which  has  a  daily  vicissitude  of  day  and 
night,  and  sometimes  longer  days,  sometimes  longer 
nights.  In  God  is  nothing  of  this  kind.  He  is  mere 
light  If  there  be  any  such  vicissitude  in  us,  it  is 
from  ourselves,  not  from  him.  "Will  he  give  us 
holy  desires  at  one  time^  and  evil  inclinations  at  an- 
other? No:  he  always  gives  us  what  is  good,  and 
nothing  but  good.  It  is  blasphemous,  therefore,  as 
well  as  absurd,  to  suppose  that  God  either  tempts  or 
constrains  men  to  sin,  on  purpose  that  he  may  have 
a  pretence  for  making  them  miserable.  Some  are 
of  opijiion  that  in  the  word  napa^Xayn,  translated 
variableness,  there  is  an  allu^on  to  the  parallaxes 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  But  as  these  were  not 
known  to  the  common  people,  the  apostle,  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  them,  would  hardly  introduce  a  refer- 
ence to  such  things."— Macknight 

Verse  18.  Of  his  own  viW— Without  any  necessi- 
ty on  his  part^  or  merit  on  ours;  from  a  will  most 
loving,  most  free,  most  pure,  just  opposite  to  our  evil 
desire,  verse  15 ;  begat  he  m«— He  converted,  regene- 
rated us,  who  believe ;  by  (he  word  of  truth — The 
true  word,  emphatically  so  termed,  the  gospel ;  that 
we  should  be  a  kind  offirstfrutts  of  his  creatures — 
The  most  excellent  of  hhi  visible  creatures,  and  con- 
secrated to,  and  set  apart  for  him  in  an  especial 
manner.  The  first-fruits  being  the  best  of  their 
kind,  by  calling  the  regenerated  the  first-fruits  of 
God's  creatures,  the  apostle  has  shown  how  accept- 
able such  are  to  God,  and  bow  excellent  in  them- 
selves through  the  renovation  of  their  nature ;  and 


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CHAPTER  I. 


iDord  of  God  wUh  meeknem,^ 


A.D.eo. 


It  4064.    19  Wherefore,  iny  beloved  brethren, 
^let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  ^  slow 
to  speak,  ^  slow  to  wroth.: 

20  For  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the 
righteousness  aCQpd« 

21  Wherefore  ^lay  apart  all  fikhiness,  and 

•  Eccleg.  T.  1. »»Pror.  x.  19. «PfOT.  xir.  17. *  Col. 

ni.  & •  Acts  xiii  26;  Rom.  i.  16 ;  1  Cor.  xr.  2 ;  Eph.  L 13 ; 

Tit.  ii.  11 ;  Hclx  ii.  3 ;  1  Pet  i.  9. 

as  the  ftrgt-fruits,  being  offered  to  God,  were  sup- 
posed to  saDctify  tke  rest  of  the  harvest,  true  Chris- 
tians, whp  are  in  a  peculiar  manner  dedicated  to 
God,  in  some  respects  may  be  said  to  sanctify  the 
rest.  The  apostle  says,  a  kind  of  first-fruits,  for 
Ch fist  alone  is  absolu t ely  th efrst-fruits. 

Verses  19,  20.  Wherefore — As  if  he  had  said. 
Since  you,  are  regenerated,  and  that  by  the  word  of 
God,  therefore  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear — That 
word ;  let  Kim  be  willing  and  desirous  to  receive  in- 
struction from  it,  and  therefore  diligent  in  embracing 
all  opportunities  of  hearing  it;  slow  to  speak — To 
deliver  his  opinion  in  matters  of  faith)  that  he  does 
not  yet  well  understand.  Persons  half  instructed 
frequently  have  a  high  opinion  of  their  own  know- 
ledge in  religious  matters,  are  very  fond  of  teaching 
others,  and  zealous  to  bring  them  over  to  their  opin- 
ions. That  the  converted  Jews  were  fond  of  being 
teachers,  we  learn  from  James  iii.  1 ;  1  Tim.  i.  7. 
Slow  to  wrath— AgBinsi  those  that  differ  from  him. 
Intemperate  religious  zeal  is  often  accompanied  by 
a  train  of  bad  passions,  and  particularly  with  anger 
against  those  who  differ  from  us  in  opinion.  The 
Jews,  even  the  Jewish  Christians  to  whom  this  letter 
was  chiefly  written,  were  very  faulty  in  this  respect. 
The  apostle,  however,  may  be  understood  as  cau- 
tioning his  readers  against  easily  yielding  to  provo- 
cation in  any  respect  whatever,  and  especially  when 
injuriously  treated  by  their  persecutors.  For  the 
wrath  of  man — Even  when  it  appears  in  the  garb  of 
religious  zeal,  worketh  «o^— But,  on  the  contrary, 
greatly  obstructs,  the  right eoitsness  of  Ood— Instead 
of  promoting  the  cause  of  true  religion  in  the  world, 
it  is  a  reproach  to  it,  and  a  means  of  exciting  the  pre- 
judices of  mankind  against  it.  Persecution,  in  par- 
ticular, the  effect  of  the  wrath  of  man,  if  violent,  may 
make  men  hypocrites,  by  forcing  thera  to  profess 
what  they  do  not  believe ;  but  It  has  no  influence  to 
produce  that  genuine  faith  which  God  accounts  to 
men  for  righteousness.  Nothing  but  rational  argu- 
ments, with  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
can  do  this. 

Verse  21.  F^'Aerc/brc^Because  wrath  is  such  a 
hinderance  to  true  religion,  and  yon  are  regene- 
rated ;  lay  apart— As  you  would  a  dirty  garment  j  all 
JUlhiness— Every  kind  of  sin  which  is  of  a  defiling 
nature.  The  word  pvizapia^  here  used,  signifies  filth- 
iness  adhering  to  the  body.  When,  as  here,  applied 
to  the  mind,  it  denotes  those  lusts  and  appetites,  and 
other  sins  which  defile  the  soul,  particularly  those 
which  are  gratified  by  gluttony,  drunkenness,  and 
uncleanness  \  vices  to  which  many  Jews,  pretending 
b 


superfluity  of  naughtiness,  and  re-  A.M.40G4. 

ceive  witfi  meekness  the  ingrafted  '- — ^ 

word,  *  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls. 
22    *But^  be    ye    doers    of    the   word, 
and    not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own 
selves. 


*  Fifth  Svndav  mfter  East«r,  epistle,  rene  22  to  the  end. 
'Mttt.  Tii.  21 ;  ttuhe  ri.  46;  xi.  28 ;  Rom.  iL  13. 


to  be  teachers,  were  addicted;  and  superfluity  of 
naugJUiness — Kaxiact  maliciousness^  or  wickedness 
of  any  sort;  for  however  specious  and  necessary  it 
may  appear  to  worldly  'wisdom,  it  is  vile,  hateful, 
contemptible,  and  really  superfluous:  every  reason- 
able end  may  be  effectually  answered  without  any 
kind  or  degree  of  iL  Lay  Ihisj  every  known  sin, 
aside  bythe  grace  of  God,  or  all  your  hearing  is  v^n ; 
and  receive— Into  your  ears,  your  heart,  your  life ; 
with  meekness— ConsiBint  evenness  and  serenity  of 
mind,  or  with  an  humble,  submissive  frame  of  spirit ; 
the  ingrafted  word— The  word  of  the  gospel,  in- 
grafted in  penitent,  believing  souls  by  regeneration, 
(verse  18,)  and  by  habit,  (Heb.  v.  14,)  through  the 
influence  of  God's  Spirit  attending  the  ministry  of 
your  teachers,  1  Cor.  iii.  5, 6.  Whichis  able  to  save 
your  souls— As  a  means  appointed  by  God  for  that 
end,  and  when  received  by  faith,  Heb.  iv,  2.   ^ 

Verse  22.  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word— See  on 
Matt.  vii.  21,  24.  We  are  then  doers  of  the  word, 
when,  being  enlightened  by  its  doctrines,  awe4  by 
its  threatenings,  and  encouraged  by  its  promises,  we, 
through  the  aid  of  divine  grace,  love  and  obey  its 
precepts,  both  those  which  enjoin  repentance  toward 
God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  terms 
necessary  to  be  complied  with  in  order  to  dur  justi- 
fication and  regeneration,  and  those  subsequent  com- 
mands which  show  how  those,  who  are  already  just- 
ified and  bom  from  above,  ought  to  walk  that  they 
may  please  Ctod,  and  save  their  souls;  and  not  hear- 
ers only — Not  contenting  yourselves  with  mere 
hearing,  or  even  with  understandmg  and  believmg 
what  you  hear,  without  reducing  it  to  practice ;  de- 
ceiving your  own  selves — As  if  it  was  sufficient  to 
know  your  Master's  will  without  doing  it. '  Some 
suppose  that  in  these  words  the  apostle  refers  pri- 
marily to  the  Jews,  whose  doctrine  it  was,  1st,  That 
to  be  Abraham's  seed  was  sufficient  to  obtain  for 
them  God's  favour,  and  secure  them  against  his 
judgments ;  2d,  That  circumcision  procured  them 
acc^tance  with  God ;  8d^  That  all  Israelites  had  a 
portion  in  the  world  to  come ;  and  especially,  4tb, 
That  to  be  employed  in  hearing  and  studying  the 
law  was  of  itself  sufficient.  But  it  seems  more  likely 
that  he  gives  this  caution  with  Ji  reference  to  those 
Gnostics  and  other  Antinomians  that  were  creeping 
fast  into  the  church;  and  were  hearers  only,  not 
even  considering  the  word  they  heard,  and  there- 
fore not  understanding  it ;  and  especially  not  expe- 
riencing its  power  to  regenerate  and  save  them  from 
the  guilt  and  power  of  their  sins,  and  restore  them 
to  the  divine  imager  The  words,  napaJioyU;oftevt 
0B8 


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Th€  nature  of  pure 


JAMES. 


andundeJUedr^'gioni 


A.  If. 4064.    23  For  'if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the 

^.1— I \^ord,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like  unto 

a  man  beholding  his  natural  fece  in  a  glass : 

24  For  he  beholdeth  himsdf,  and  goeth  his 
way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner 
cf  man  he  was. 

25  But  ^  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  *  law 
of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein^  he  being  not 
a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work, 

f  Lake  v'u  47,  &c. ;  Cluijjter  iu  14,  &c. *  2  Corinth,  iii.  18. 

*  Chap,  ii  12: ^  John  xiii.  17.       ■»  Or,  doing. >  Pga.  xxxiv. 


eavraf,  rendered,  deceiving  your  own  selves^  properly 
signify,  imposing  upon  yourselves  by  sophisticfd 
reasonings;  an  expression  here  used  with  great 
propriety,  and  very  applicable  to  ail  those  professors 
of  Christianity  who  abuse  the  doctrines  of  grace  to 
Antinomian  purposes,  and  mak,e  void  the  moral  law 
through  a  pretence  of  faith. 

Verses  23,24.  If  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word 
merely,  and  not  a  doer^U  he  do  not  comply  with 
Its  design,  do  not  so  consider  and  believe  it  as  to 
lay  it  to  heart,  and  be  influenced  by  its  doctrines, 
obey  its  precepts,  embrace  and  rely  on  its  promises, 
revere  and  stand  in  sM^e  of  its  threatenmgs,  guarding 
against  what  would  expose  him  to  them ;  he  is  like 
a  man  bdwlding^Ytom  custom  or  by  accident; 
his  ncUuralface  in  a  glass — ^Without  any  intention 
to  discover,  and  ^jirash  or  wipe  offj  the  spots  that  may 
be  on  it  For  he  beholden  AtuMeZ/^Wilhout  taking 
particular  notice  of  what  renders  his  visage  disagree- 
able ;  and  goeth  his  way— To  other  business ;  and 
straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  ofm^n  he  was 
— What  renders  his  countenance  uncomely,  ^nd  re- 
quires to  be  removed.  Here  the  word  of  God  is 
represented  as  a  mirror,  in  which,  if  a  man  will  look 
with  attention  and  care,  he  will  pee  the  face  of  his 
soul,  and  discover  in  what  state  he  is,  and  what 
character  he  bears  in  the  sight  of  God.  It  will  man- ! 
ifest  to  him  those  principles  and  practices,  those  I 
thoughts  and  imaginations,  those  affections,  inten- 
tions, dispositions,  words,  and  actions,  which  are 
contrary  to  truth  and  grace,  to  wisdom,  piety,  and 
virtue.  But  frequently  those  who  discover  all  this 
through  the  word  heard  or  read,  go,  away,  and  so 
occupy  themselves  in  secular  affiurs,  as  immediately 
to  forget  what  manner  of  persons  they  were,  and 
continue  the  same  in  their  temper  and  conduct  as 
before.    Reader,  is  this  thy  ease  ? 

Verse  25.  BtU  whoso  looketh — Not  with  a  transient 
glance,  but,  as  irapaK%nf>ac  signifies,  bending  down^  as 
it  were,  with  an  intention  to  fix  his  eyes  upon,  ex- 
amine with  accuracy,  and  search  all  things  to  the 
bottom.  The  expression  implies  much  thought  and 
meditation,  joined  with  self-examination:  into  Vie 
perfect  law — Namely,  that  of  the  gospel,  termed  a 
law,  as  being  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  obligatory 
upon  all  to  whom  it  is  made  known,  acquitting  or 
condemning  men,  (for  by  it  they  will  be  judged  at 
the  last  day,)  and  determining  our  state  for  ever : 
called  a  perfect  ]n,Wj  1st,  Because  it  is  clear^  concise, 
684 


^  this  man  shall  be  blessed  fai  his  a.  bc.  4061 
Meed.  ±±^ 

26  If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  reli- 
gious, and  'bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  de- 
ceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vaiio. 

27  Pure  religion  and  undeffled  before  God  and 
the  Father  is  this,  *  To  visit  the  &therless  and 
widows  in  their  afiUction,  '^  and  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world. 


13 ;  xxxix.  1 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  10. "Ua.  i.  16, 17 ;  lyiii.  6,7 ;  Matt. 

zxv.  36.- ■  Rom.  zii.  3 ;  Chap.  ir.  4 ;  1  Jcim  t.  la 


full,  having  no  deficiency,  and  yet  containing  nothing 
superfluous.  2d,  Because  of  ifs  superiority  to  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  made  no  man  perfect,  either  in 
respect  of  justification  or  sanctification,  Heb.  vit.  10; 
whereas  the  gospel  is  calculated, to  make  men  per- 
fect in  both  respects.  And  Uie  apostle  terms  it  the 
law  of  liberty,  Ist,  In  opposition  to  the  ceremonial 
laW)  vi^ch  was  a  yoke  of  bondage  the  Jews  could 
not  bear,  and  from  which  it  freed  all  that  received 
it;  Christ's  yoke  being  easy, his  burden  light,  and 
his  commandments  not  grievous.  2d,  Because  ti 
delivers  all  true  believers  from  the  guilt  of  past  sin, 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
God.  3d,  Because  it  rescues  them  from  the  power 
of  sin  and  Satan,  of  the  world  and  the  flesh,  and 
from  the  slavery  of  their  lusts  and  passions,  restoring 
the  domiuion  of  reason  and  conscience  in  their 
minds,  which  is  true  liberty.  4th,  Because  it  saves 
those,  on  whom  it  has  its  designed  influence,  from 
all  slavish  fear  of  God,  all  tormenting  fear  of  death 
and  hell,  and  the  whole  spirit  of  bondage.  Observe, 
reader,  he  who  receives  the  gospel  in  faith,  love,  and 
new  obedience,  i&free;  he  that  does  not  is  not  free, 
but  a  slave  to  sin,  and  a  criminal  before  God.  And 
continueth  thereinc— Perseveres  in  the  study,  con- 
sideration, and  belief  of  it,  and  in  obedience  to  it ; 
see  John  viii.  31 ;  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer— 
Like  the  person  ilbove  described ;  but  a  doer  of  the 
work—Oi  the  duty  which  the  gospel  requires ;  this 
man— There  is  a  peculiar  force  in  thb  repetition  of 
the  word ;  shaU  be  blessedr^yLoKOfiioc,  happy;  in  hia 
deed—Sot  only  in  hearing,  but  especially  in  doing^ 
the  will  of  God. 

Verses  26,  27.  If,  &c— Here  the  apostle  shows 
more  particularly  who  are  the  doers  of  the  word ; 
1st,  Negatively,  in  this  verse :  2d,  Positively,  in  the 
next  verse.  If  any  ma^  among  your— Who  date  pro- 
fessors of  Christianity ;  seem  to  be  religious— OpntTKoc, 
pious,  devout,  or  a  worshipper  of  God':  and  if  his 
conduct  in  other  respects  be  irreprehensible,  and  he 
be  exact  in  all  the  outward  offices  of  religion,  yet  if 
he  bridleth  not  his  tongue— From  tale-bearing,  back- 
biting, evil-speaking,  slandering;  or  from  vain, 
Ibolish,  ostentatious  talking  and  jesting;  or  rash, 
bitter,  passionate,  malicious,  revengeful  expressions: 
this  man  only  deceiveth  his  own  heart— U  he  fancy 
he  has  any  true  religion  at  all ;  for  his  religion  is 
vain — Is  a  mere  empty  profession,  and  neither  is 
nor  will  be  of  any  service  to  him.    Pure  religion^ 


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rupeet  ofpertom. 


The  word  ^pf^ccio,  here  fMed,  properly  eiffnifies 
worMp,  whkh  bnlndi  of  rengkm  is  put  for  the 
whole.  In  the  epithets  here  given  to  it,  pur.e  cmA 
tmdefiUd^  Arehbiriiop  Tillotson  thinks  there  is  an 
sUni^on  to  the  excellence  of  a  precious  stone,  which 
consists  much  in  it^  being  /cdi^^  km  afuavrof^  clear, 
and  wilkoui/aw,  or  cloud.  And  sor^y,  says  Dod- 
dridge,  no  gem  is  so  precious  or  omammital  as  the 
lovely  temper  here  described.  Here  then  the  apos- 
tle describes  the  religion  which  is,  1st,  True  and 
genuine,  in  opposition  to  that  which  is  fhlse  and 
mistaken:  2d,  Sincere  and  solid,  in  oppontion  to 
that  which  is  feigned  and  pretended:  3d,  Pure  and 
holy,  in  oppodtioa  to  that  which  is  mixed  with  the 
inventions  and  superstitions  of  men,  and  defiled  by 
erroneous  principles  and  vicious  practices.  But 
what  is  this  religion?  Inwhatdoesitconflost?  The 
^K>6tle  informs  us :  it  consists  not  in  speculations  or 
notions,  however  Just  uid  orthodox.  Not  in  fohns 
or  modes  of  worship,  however  Scriptural  and  neces- 
sary to  be  observed.  Not  in  the  warmth  of  aflection, 
or  ardour  of  xealjAc^during"  worship.  Bot,incon- 
sequenceof  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in  our 
LcHrd  Jesus  Christ,  of  justification  by  faith,  and  re- 
generation by  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spiri^  it 
consists  in  the  possession  and  exercise  of  that  love 


to  God  and  all  mankind,  which  is  the  source  of  the 
various  branches  of  practical  religion,  of  mercy  as 
wdl  as  justice  toward  men,  and  of  holiness  toward 
God.  True  religion  before  6^(xi— Before  his  pene- 
trating eyes ;  even  the  FcOher^Wtioee  intelligent 
and  immortal  offspring  we  all  are;  ie  this,  to  tdeit'^ 
With  counsel,  comfort,  and  relief;  the  fiUherleee 
and  iPuioiD^— Those  who  need  it  mo^t;  in  their 
affiictum-An  their  most  helpless  and  hopeless  state ; 
and  to  keep  Mfneelfumpottedfrom  the  world — From 
the  maxims,  tempers,  habits,  and  customs  of  it.  But 
Mb  cannot  be  dmie  tiU  we  have  given  our  hearts  tp 
God,  and  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves.  That  this 
is  true  or  pure  religion,  or  the  proper  efiect  and  evi- 
dence hereof,  the  reader  will  not  question,  if  he 
recollects,  1st,  That  religion  consists  principally  in 
faith  working  by  love  to  God  and  man,  Gal.  v.  6 ; 
1  Tim  i. 5;  1  Cor. xiii.  1, &c.;  John iv.8.  2d, That 
the  most  eminent  and  important  fhiit  of  faith,  and 
of  the  love  of  our  neighbour,  is  not  saying,  Be  thou 
warmedy  (James  it  14 ;  1  John  iv.  17,)  but  visit- 
ing, comforting,  and  relieving  the  needy  and  dis- 
tressed, ad,  That  the  most  hnportant  fruit  of 
faith  in,  and  love  to,  God,  is  purity  of  intention 
and  affection,  or  the  being  dead  to,  and  mispotted 
by,  the-world. 


CHAPTER  IL 

&  tkig  ckufUr  (1,)  the  opM^Ir  cautwnM  tU  Jewi$h  Ckristumi  •gahut  showing  sn  vmEik  ro^McT  to  men's  exUmtd  eiram- 
sUncoB,  €nd  resting  sitisJUd  in  «  pMrtial  obstrvaHon  of  the  dmme  prseeplst  esfecieMy  tohers  the  royal  low  of  tkearity  or 
nmoorsol  benevolence  W0ts  m  question,  1-18.  («,)  He  desconis  Uargely  on  the  ineffiasof  of  «  mere  historicol  faith,  and 
eoineu,  by  most  striking  instances  and  illustrationSj  the  vtter  nuujkieney  of  it  for  our  justification  and  sternal  salvation^ 
li-M. 


A.H. 
A. 


If.  4064.  lUfY  brethren,  have  not  the  feith  of 
-J — L  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  */A«lx>rd 


<rf glory,  with  ^respect  of  persons^ 
2  For  if  there  come  unto  your  *  assembly,  a 
man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel,  and 
there  come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile  rai- 
ment; 

•  1  Corinthians  it  a *  Leriticns  xix.  15 ;  Denteronomy 

i«  17 ;  vn.  to ;   ProTeito  zzir.  83 ;  zzviiL  2t ;  Matthew  Axii. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  U. 
Verses  1-4;  My  brethren-^The  equality  of  Chris- 
tians intimated  by  this  name  is  the  ground  of  Ae 
admonition ;  have — That  is,  hold.;  not  the  faith  of 
our  Lord  Jetue  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory — Of  which 
glory  all  who  believe  in  him  partake }  with  respect 
ofpereone — So  as  to  give  undue  preference  to  any 
on  account  of  their  external  circumstances ;  honour 
none  merely  for  being  rich,  despise  none  merely  for 
being  poor.  Remember  that  the  relation  in  which 
the  meanest  of  your  fellow-Christians  stands  to  Him 
who  is  the  Son  of  God,  ought  to  recommend  them  to 
your  regard  and  esteem.  For  if  there  come  unto 
b 


3  And  ye  have  respect  to  hun  that  A.  if.  4064. 
,    •',  .  ■^, .  ,  A.  D.  60. 

weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  eay 


onto  him,  Sit  thou  here  ^in  a  good  place ;  and 
say  to  the  poor,  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here 
under  my  footstool : 
4  Are  ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves,  and 
are  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts  ? 


or, 


VerM  •;    Jude  16. *Gr.  tynagogut,' 


•Or, 


your  oMemMy— Convened  either  for  religious  wor- 
ship, or  for  deeidiag  civil  differences;  a  man  with  a 
gold  ring'-Oty  having  his  fingers  adorned  with- 
gold  ringe,e»  xp^^^^oSasrvXtof  may  be  rendered.  For^ 
as  the  learned  Albert  hath  observed,  those  who  val- 
ued themselves  upon  the  richness  and  luxury  of 
their  dress,  were  accustomed  to  deck  their  fingers 
with  a  considerable  number  of  costly  and  valuable 
rings,  frequent^  wearing  several  upon  one  finger. 
And  a  poor  man  in  vHe  {povapa,  in  sordid,  or  diHy) 
raiment^  and  ye  have  reepect^Yt  show  an  undue 
regard  to  the  former,  and  put  a  visible  slight  on  the 
latter,  without  eonstdering  what  may  be  the  real 


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wham  (he  rich  oppret^ 


A.  M.  4064.    5  Hearken,  my  beloved    hrethreD, 

^^'  ^'    •  Hath  not  God  diosen  the  poor  of  this 

world  ^  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of 'the  kkigdom 

•  which  he  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him? 

6  But  ^ye  have  despised  the  poor.  Do  oot 
rich  men  oppress  yoa, .'  and  draw  yon  before  the 
judgment-seats? 

7  Do  not  they  blaspheme  that  worthy  name 
by  the  which  ye  are  called? 

8  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the 
Scripture,  **  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself,  ye  do  well : 


«  John  rii  48 ;    1  Cor.  i.  26, 28. '  Lnke  'xii.  ^ ;    1  Tim. 

Ti.  18 ;    Rer.  ii.  9. »  Or,  that. •  Exod.  xx.  6 ;    1  Sam.  ii. 

30;  Prov.  viii.  17 ;   Unit.  v.  3 ;  Luke  ri.  20;  xii.  32 ;   1  Cor. 
ii.  9 ;   2  Tim.  iv.  8  ;  Chap.  i.  12. '  1  Cor.  xi.  22. 


character  of  the  one  or  tke  other.  Are  ye  net  par- 
tial in  yourselves — Or,  asu  duttfu^re  tv  eaimtc  m^y  be 
rendered,  ye  distinguish  not  in  yourselves  accerd- 
mg  to  the  different  characters  of  Ihese  two  men,  to 
which  of  them  Uie  most  respect  is  due,  to  the  poor 
or  to  the  rich  -,  but  only  regard  their  outward  appear- 
ance, and  care  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts^-Ot 
evU-reasoning  judgesy  as  the  original  words  may  be 
translated.  You  reason  ill,  and  so  judge  wrong ; 
for  fine  apparel  is  no  proof  of  worth  in  him  that 
wears  it. 

Verses  5-7.  Hearken— As  if  he  had  said.  Stay, 
consider,  ye  that  judge  thus.  Does  not  the  presump- 
tion lie  rather  in  favour  of  the  poor  man  ?  Hath  not 
God  chosen  the  poor — That  is,  are  not  they  whom 
Qod  hath  chosen,  generally  speaking,  poor  in  this 
world,  who  yet  are  rich  in  fait\  and  heirs  of  the 
Anng^fiom— Consequently  the  most  honourable  of 
men?  And  those  whom  God  so  highly  honours, 
ought  not  ye  to  honour  likewise  1  But  ye — Chris- 
tians, that  know  better;  have  despised— nrifiaffarey 
have  dishonoured,  or  disgraced ;  the  poor — By  such 
conduct.  Do  not  rich  men,  &c.^As  if  he  had  said. 
You  have  litllie  reason  to  show  so  much  respect  to 
them,  if  you  consider  what  their  carriage  toward  you 
has  been ;  ^ose  whom  you  court  with  so  much  re- 
spect and  assiduity,  oppress— Karadwaceuwiv,  tyran- 
nise over  you,  and  draw—Or  drag ;  you  before  the 
judgment-seats— Axe  not  most  of  the  rich  men  your 
persecutors,  rather  than  your  friends?  Do  not  they 
blaspheme  that  worthy  name—Ot  God  and  of  Christ ; 
by  which  ye  are  called — And  which  deserres  to  he 
had  in  the  highei^  esteem  and  veneration  by  all  in- 
teUigent  beings  ?  The  apostle  speaks  chiefly  of  rich 
heathen:  but  are  Christians,  so  called,  a  whit  behind 
them  in  persecuting  the  disciples  of  Jesus? 

Verses  &-11.  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  /aw— The  su- 
preme law  of  the  great  King,  which  is  love ;  and  that 
to  every  man,  poor  as  well  as  rich ;  ye  do  well— The 
phrase,  v^ftoc  paat^iKocy  royal  law,  here  admits  of 
three  interpretations.  1st,  As  the  Greeks  called  a 
Mng  royal  which  was  exeellent  in  its  kind,  it  may 
mean  an  excellent  Usw.  2d,  As  the  same  Greeks, 
kaving  few  or  no  kings  among  them,  oaUed  the  laws 


9  But /if  ye  have  respect  to  persons,  A.M.40M. 

ye  commit  sin,  and  are  ccnTinced  of '. — 1 

the  law  as  tran^essors. 

10  For  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law, 
and  yet  offend  in  one  fumi^,  ^h^  is  guilty  of 
aU. 

11  For  ^he  that  said,  ^  Do  not  ccmimit  adul- 
tery;  said  also,  Do  not  kilL  Now,if  thou  com- 
mit no  adultery,  yet  if  thou  kilt,  thou  art  becomo 
a.  transgressor  of  the  law. 

12  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  th^  that  shall 
be  judged  by  ■  the  law  of  ^berty. 


f  AcU  xiii.SO;  xvii.  6;  xriii.  12;  Chap.  T.a ^Lev.  xix. 

18 ;  M«U.  xxii.  39 ;  Rom.  xiii.  8, 9 ;  Gal.  v.  14 ;  vL  2. *  Veree  1. 

kDeut.  xxrii.  26;  Matt.  t.  10;  Gd.  iii.  10.— <0r,  l&ol  l»w 
which  MsA >  Exod.  xx.  13,  U.-— «  Chap.  L  26. 


of  the  kings  of  Persia,  ^oatkuun  vofun,  roysl  laws,  the 
expression  here  may  signify,  the  law  made  by  Chrisi 
our  King.  8d,  This  law,  enjoining  us  to  love  our 
neighbour,  may  be  caHed  the  royal  law,  because  it 
inspires  us  with  a  greatness  of  mind,  fit  for  kings, 
whose  greatest  glory. consists  in  benevolence  and 
clemency.  The  law  or  precept  here  spoken  o[  was 
enjoined  by  Moses,  but  Christ  carried  it  to  such  per- 
fection, as  it  was  to  be  practised  among  his  follow- 
ers, and  laid  such  stress  upon  it,  that  he  called  it  a 
new  commandment,  John  xiii.  34;  and  Aif  commqnd- 
m^t,  John  XV.  12.  But  if  ye  have  respect  to  per- 
sons— In  this  partial  manner,  ye  commit,  epya^w^e^ 
ye  work,  sin — That  is,  ye  do  a  sutful  action ;  and 
are  convinced — Or  rather  convicted,  by  the  law, 
which  1  have  just  now  mentioned :  for  that  law  en- 
joins you  to  love  your  neighbours  as  yourselves,  and 
consequently  to  do  them  justice.  For  whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  law—In  eyery  other  instance;  and 
yet  offend  in  one  point — Knowingly ;  he  is  guilty 
of  all — He  is  liable  to  condemnation  from  the  law- 
giver, as  if  he  had  ofiended  in  every  point.  The 
Jewish  doctors  afEirmed,  that  by  observing  any  one 
precept  of  Ihe  law  with  care,  men  secured  to  them- 
selves the  favour  of  God,  notwithstanding  they  neg- 
lected all  the  rest.  Wherefore  they  recommended 
it  to  their  disciples  to  make  choice  of  a  particular 
precept,  in  the  keeping  of  which  they  were  to  exer- 
cise themselves.  Whitby  says,  they  commonly 
chose  either  the  law  of  the  sabbath,  or  the  law  of 
sacrifice,  or  ^e  law  of  tithes,  because  they  esteemed 
these  the  great  commandments  in  the  law.  This 
corrupt  Jewish  doctrine  St.  James  here  expressly 
condemns;  for  he  thai  said,  Do  not  commit  aduUe* 
ry,  said  also,  Do  not  kill — The  apostle's  meaning  is, 
that  all  the  commandments  being  equally  enjoined 
by  God,  the  man  who  despises  the  authority  of  God 
so  far  as  to  break  any  one  of  them  habitually,  would, 
in  the  like  circumstances  of  temptation  and  oppor- 
tunity, certainly  break  any  other  of  them;  conse- 
quently, in  the  eye  of  God,  he  is  guihy  of  breaking 
the  whole  law :  that  is,  he  hath  no  real  principle  of 
piety  or  virtue  in  him. 
Verses  12, 13.  So  speak  ysy  and  so  do^lu  itt 


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A.M.4064.  13  For  ■'he  sbaD  have  judg- 
! — L  ment  without  mercy  that  hath  ^ow- 
ed no  mercy;  and  ^mercy ^rqcHceth  agamst 
judgment 

14  >  What  doth  it  profit,  my  tare^ren,  though 
a  man  say  he  hath  fiuth,  and  have  not  works? 
can  fidth  save  him? 

15  ^If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked,  and  desti- 
tute of  daily  food, 

16  And  'one  of  you  say  unto  them,  Depart  in 
peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled ;  notwithstand- 


■  Job  xxiL  6,  dec  ;    Prov.  xti.  13;    Matt  ri  15;    zriiLSS; 

anr.  41,  42. •  1  John  ir.  17, 18. •  Or,  Mlorittk. p  Blatt. 

Ttt.  26;  Chap.  i.  23. 4  Job  zxxi.  19,  20;  Luke  iii.  11. 


things;  a$  they  that  shaU  be  ,/ti4^«fi— Without  re- 
spect of  persons;  by  the  law  ofhberty^Th^  gospel, 
(see  on  chap.  i.  25,)  the  law  of  nniyersal  love,  which 
alone  is  perfect  freedom.  For  their  transgression  of 
this,  botli  in  word  and  deed,  the  wicked  shall  be  con- 
demned. And  according  to  their  worke,  done  in 
obedience  to  this,  the  righteous  will  be  rewarded. 
JTor  he  ehtdl  have  judgment  without  mercy — In  that 
day ;  loAo  JuUh  showed  no  m&rcy — ^To  his  poor  breth- 
ren ;  and,  or  rather  but,  m«rcy— The  mercy  of  God 
to  believers,  answering  to  tiiat  which  they  have 
shown,  will  then  refoice,  or  glory,  oiet  judgment. 

Verses  14-17.  What  doth  it  prq/i^-F^om  chap.  L 
9Z,  the  aposUe  has  been  enforcing  Christian  practice ; 
he  now  applies  to  those  who  neglected  this  under  tbe 
pretence  of  faith.  St  Faul  had  taught,  that  a  nuxn  is 
justified  by  faith  wiihoiU  the  works  of  the  law.  This 
some  began  already  to  wrest  to  their  own  destruction. 
Wherefore  St.  James,  purposely  repeating  (verses 
21-25)  the  same  phrases,  testimonies,  and  examples, 
which  St.  Paul  hdA  used,  (Rom.  iv.  3 ;  Heb.  xi.  17-31,) 
refutes,  not  the  doctrine  of  St  Paul,  but  the  error  of 
those  who  abused  it  There  is,  therefore,  no  contra- 
diction between  the  apostles:  they  both  delivered 
Uie  truth  of  Ood,  but  in  a  different  manner,  as  having 
to  do  with  different  kinds  of  men.  On  another  occa- 
sion St  James  himself  pleaded  the  cause  of  faith. 
Acts  XV.  13-21.  And  St  Paul  hinuelf  strenuously 
pleads  for  works,  particularly  in  his  latter  epistles. 
This  verse  is  a  summary  of  what  follows.  What 
doth  it  profUr—Ol  what  advantage  is  it  to  him, 
ihMigh,  or  if,  a  man  say  hehathfaith^lx  is  not  t/* 
he  have  faith,  but  if  he  say  he  Jutth  it,  i  Here,  there- 
fore, true,  living  iaith  is  meant.  But  in  other  parts 
of  the  argument  the  apostle  speaks  of  a  dead  imagi- 
nary faith.  He  does  not  therefore  teach  that  true 
iaith  can,  but  that  it  cannot  subsist  without  works. 
Nor  does  he  oppose  faith  to  works,  but  an  empty 
name  or  profession  of  faith  to  real  faith  working  hy 
hve,  Cui  that  faith,  which  is  without  works,  save 
him  ?  Surely  not.  It  can  no  more  save  him  than 
it  can  profit  his  neighbour.  For  if  a  brother  or  sis- 
ter be  naked,  Jto.— Destitute  of  food  and  clothing; 
and  one  q/*  you— Who  calls  himself  a  Christian,  say 
to  them.  We  sincerely  pity  your  case,  and  feel  the 


ing  ye  give  them  not  those  things  A.M.406i. 
which  are  needful  to  the  body ;  what    ^  P'  ^' 
doihitpco&il 

17  Even  so&ith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  i»dead| 
being®  alone. 

18  Yea,  a  man  may  say,  Thou  haist  liEtith, 
and  I  have  works  t  show  me  thy  Ihith  ^  without 
thy  works,  'and  I  will  show  thee  my  feith  by 
my  works. 

19  Thou  beUevest  that  there  is  one  God ;  thou 
doest  well :  *  the  devils  also  believe,  and  tremble. 


'l  John  iii.  18.-^ — •Gr.  Ay  iiaetf, »  Some  copies  read,  Ay 

tkt  works. *  Chtp.  iii.  la » Matt,  viii  89  ;  Mark  i.  24 ;  ▼. 

7;  Luke  b.  34  ;  Acts  xvi.  17 ;  xix.  15. 


tender  emotions  of  that  love  which  onr  relation  to 
each  othei;  requires;  depart  therefore,  in  peace-^ 
Whithersoever  ye  are  gmng;  be  ye  warmed  and 
JUledr-~Be  clothed  and  fed  by  some  humane  person : 
but  notwithstanding  eAl  these  kind  speeches,  ye  give 
them  no<— Either  food  or  raiment,  or  any  money  to 
purchase  the  things  necessary  for  the  body;  what 
doth  it  profitf^WhBt  is  the  advantage  of  being  ad- 
dressed with  such  hypocritical  professions  of  love? 
Will  such  speeches  feed  and  doUie  the  poor  and  des< 
titnte?  Will  they  not  rather  seem  a  cruel  mockery 
than  a  real  kindness?  Even  so  faith— \  belief  of 
the  gospel,  and  of  the  great  tnUhs  contained  in  it, 
how  zealously  soever  it  may  be  professed^  and  how 
orthodox  soever  those  articles  are  to  which  an  as- 
sent is  given ;  if  it  have  not  works — If  it  do  not  pro- 
duce love  to  Ood  and  all  mankind,  and  obedience  to 
his  will,  yea,  the  various  fruits  of  righteousness;  if 
it  do  not  work,  by  love,  it  is  but  a  dead,  empty  no- 
tion, of  no  more  profit  to  him  that  has  it  than  bidding 
the  naked  be  clothed  is  to  him.  It  can  neither  con- 
vey spiritual  life  to  the  soul  here,  (which  aU  true 
faith  do^)  nor  entitle  any  one  to  eternal  life  here- 
after. 

Verses  18-90.  Yea,  a  man— Who  judges  better ; 
may  say — To  such  a  vain  talker,  in  order  to  bring 
matters  to  a  short  issue ;  thou  hast  faith — Thou<8ay- 
est;  and  I  make  it  appear  by  my  life  and  conver- 
sation that  I  have  ieor/»— Which  naturally  spring 
from  that  principle.  Show  me  thy  faith  witlunU  thy 
works — If  thou  canst.  Or,  e*  Tui>^  epyov  atf,  by  thy 
works,  as  the  most  and  the  best  copies  read  it,  and  as 
it  b  read  in  the  margin.  And  I  will  show  thee  my 
faith  by  my  works — Let  us,  without  contending 
about  different  explications  of  faith,  make  it  manifest 
to  each  other  that  our  profession  is  solid,  by  its  sub- 
stantial effects  upon  our  tempers  and  lives.  As  if  he 
had  said.  The  only  way  in  which  thou  canst  show 
thy  faith  is  by  thy  works;  but  as  thou  hast  no  works 
to  produce,  thou  never  canst  show  thy  faith  in  this 
way.  7}um  believest  that  there  is  one  Oodr—l  allow 
that  thou  dost :  but  this  only  proves  that  thou  hast 
the  same  faith  which  the  devils  have.  Nay,  they  no< 
only  believe,  but  tremble  at  the  dreadful  expectation 
of  eternal  torments.  So  for  is  that  iaith  from  either 
fl87 


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A.ir4064.    ao  Bui  vikthoa  know,  O  vain  man, 
! that  fiuth  without  works  k  dead? 

21  Was  not  Abraham  our  fether  justified  by 
^works,  ">  when  he  had  offered  Isaac  his  son 
upon  the  altar? 

22  ^Seest  thou  'howfikith  wrought  with  his 
works,  and  by  works  was  feith  made  perfect? 


•Oen.zxii.9,12.< 


',  Thou  tteat.- 


'Heb.zLl7.- 


rO«a. 


jusUfying  or  saving  them.  BtU  wilt  ihcm^Ari  thou 
willing ;  to  know — Indeed  thon  art  not,  thou  would- 
est  lain  be  ignorant  of  it :  O  vain — Keve,  empty,  mm 
— Devoid  of  all  trtie  religion ;  that  faith  without 
warka — ^A  pefsnaaion  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel;  if 
it  produces  no  real  fhiits  of  holiness ;  is  dead — As 
to  any  valuable  purpose  that  can  be  expected  from 
it  Indeed  it  cannot  justly  be  said  to  be  iaith,  as  a 
dead  carcass  is  not  a  man.  By  a  deadfax^  then, 
]9t  James  means  a  fiiith  which,  because  it  has  no  in- 
fluence on  a  man's  actions^  is  as  incapable  to  justify 
him,  as  a  dead  carcass  is  to  perform  tiie  offices  of  a 
living  man. 

Verse  21.  Wcu  not^  4tc.— As  if  he  had  said.  Take 
on  instance  of  this  in  the  most  celebrated  of  all  the 
patriarchs,  our  father  Abraham.  Was  aothe^fi- 
JUd  by  loorAcf— Did  not  his  works  manifest  the  truth 
and  liveliness  of  hb  faith ;  when-^In  consequence 
of  the  full  persuasion  he  had  of  a  divine  command 
to  do  it ;  he  offered  leaachie  eon  upon  the  aUar?-^ 
Intending,  in  obedience  to  what  he  apprehended  to 
be  the  will  of  God,  actually  to  have  slain  him,  and  to 
have  trusted  in  €rod  to  accomplish  the  promise  of  a 
numerous  seed  to  descend  from  him,  by  raising  him 
from  the  dead :  see  notes  on  Heb»  xi.  17-19.  St. 
Paul  says  Abraham  was  justified  by  faith,  (Rom.  iv. 
d,  &C,,)  yet  St.  James  does  not  contnulict  him.  For 
he  does  not  speak  of  the  ssme  justification.  St  Paul 
speaks  of  that  which,  Abraham  received  many  years 
before  Isaac  was  bom,  Gen.  xv.  6 ;  St  James  of  that 
which  he  did  not  receive  till  he  had  offered  up  Is€utc 
on  the  altar.  He  was  justified,  therefore,  in  St 
Paul's^  sense ;  that  is,  accounted  righteous  by  faith, 
antecedent  to  his  works.  He  was  justified  in  St 
James's  sense,  that  is,  made  righteous  by  works,  sub- 
sequent to  \nn  faith :  so  that  St  James's  justification 
by  works  is  the  fruit  of  St.  Paul's  justification  by 
faith. 

Verse  32.  Seest  ihou— Or  thou  seest  then,  in  this 
instance^  how  faith  wrought  iogeih^T  with  his 
works— 'And  animated  him  to  great  zeal  and  self- 
dmial  in  them.  Therefore  faith  has  one  energy 
and  operation,  works  anoUier.  And  the  energy  and 
operation  of  faith  are  before  works,  and  together 
with  them.  Works  do  not  give  life  to  faith,  but  faith 
b^ets  works,  and  then  is  completed  by  them.  And 
by  works  was  faith  made  p«/cc<— "The  command 
to  ofier  Isaac  for  a  burnt-offering,  (Gen.  xxii.  2,)  ap- 
pearing directly  contrary  to  the  promise,  (Gen. 
xxi.  12^)  fn  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called,  Abra- 
ham's faith  was  thereby  put  to  the  severest  trial. 
Yet  it  was  not  staggered  by  the  seeming  contrariety 


S3  And  the  scrqiture  was  ftdfiUed,  A.  M.4oai 
which  Bsdth^  rAbrdiam  bdieved -±^l!L 
Ood,  and  it  was  fanpuied  unto  him  fcr  right* 
eousness :  and  he  was  called  *  the  Friend  of 
GoA 

24  Ye  see  thm  how  that  by  works  a  man  k 
justified,  and  not  by  fiiith  only. 


XT.  6 ;  Rml  ir.  3 ;  Gid.  iii.  S. >  2  Chron.  zr:  7 ;  Ita.  zli.  8. 


of  the  divine  revelation:  Abraham  reasoned  with 
himself,  (Heb.  xi.  19,)  that  God  was  able  to  raise 
Isaac  even  from -the  dead;  and  firmly  believing  that 
he  would  actually  do  so,  he  therefore  set  himself  to 
obey  the  divine  couunand  without  the  least  gain- 
saying. James  therefore  had  good  reason  to  say 
that  Abraham's  faith  co-operated  with  his  works  in 
procuring  him  the  promises  confirmed  with  an  oath, 
because  it  was  his  faith  in  God  which  enabled  him 
to  perform  the  difficult  works,  requisite  to  the  offer- 
hag  of  Isaac  as  a  burnt-offering.  He  had  equally 
gCK^  reason  to  say^  by  works  his  futh  was  perfected, 
or  rendered  complete ;  because,  M,  when  ^ried,  he 
had  refused  to  obey,  his  would  not  have  been  a  com^ 
plete  faith.  In  this  passage,  therefore,  1st,  James 
hath  declared  that  feith  and  works  are  inseparably 
connected,  as  eause^nd  effect,  and  that  good  works 
unist  flow  from  faiUi  as  their  principte.''  dd,  He 
here  fixes  the  sense  wherein  he  uses  Uie  word  just- 
ified; so  Uiat  no  shadow  of  contradiction  remainsbe- 
tween  hisasseition  andSt Paid's.  Abrdmm returned 
firom  that  sacrifice  perfected  in  faith,  and  far  higher 
in  the  favour  of  God.  Faith  hath  not  its  existence 
from  works ;  for  it  is  before  them ;  but  its  perfec- 
tion. That  vigour  of  faith  which  begets  woriis  is 
then  excited  and  increased  thereby:  as  th& natural 
heat  of  the  body  begets  motion,  whereby  itself  is 
then  excited  and  increased :  see  1  John  iii.  32. 

Verses  23, 24.  And  the  scrtpfure— Which  was  af'- 
terward  written,  was  hereby  eminently  fulfilled, 
Abraham  believed  God,  and  U  was  imputed  to  him 
for  righteousness.^  This  was  twice  f^ilfilled,  wh^i 
Abraham  first  believed,  and  when  he  offered  up 
Isaac.  St  Paul  speaks  of  the  former  fulfilling,  and 
St  James  of  the  latter.  And  he  was  called  tAe 
friend  o/ i?o*-Both  by  his  posterity,  (2  Chron. 
x^  7,)  and  by  God  himself,  Isa.  xli.  8.  So  pleading 
to  God  were  the  works  he  wrought  in  faithl  -  "The 
passage  of  Scripture  which  St  James  here  says  was 
fulfilled,  contains  two  assertions :  1st,  That  Abraham 
believed  God;  2d,  That  his  believing  God  was 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  By  the  offering 
of  Isaac  that  scripture  was  confirmed  or  proved  to 
be  true  in  both  ito  parts.  For,  1st,  By  offering  Isaac, 
in  the  firm  expectation  that  God  would  raise  him 
from  the  dead,  and  flilfil  hi  him  the  promise  of  the 
numerous  seed,  Abraham  showed  that  he  believed 
God  in  the  firmest  manner.  2d,  By  offering  Isaac, 
Abraham  had  the  promise,  that  God  would  count  his 
faith  to^him  for  righteousUesa^  renewed  and  con* 
firmed  in  a  solemn  manner  whh  an  oath." — ^Mao- 
knight     Ye  see  f&en— By  this  instance  of  the  great 

o 


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CHAPTER  III. 


forwardness  in  assuming  q^Ece. 


A.  M.  4004. 

A.  D.  a0. 


25'LUE6wi0e  also    ^  was  not  Ra- 
hab  the  haiioC  justified  by  works^ 
when  she  had  received  the  messengere,  and 


t 


» Josh. ill;  Heb.zL31. 


Hather  of  (he  faithfbl,  (for  the  characters  of  the  chil< 
dren  are  to  be  estimated  ui  the  same  manner  as 
those  of  the  fath^)  that  a  tna»  is  Justified  by 
works,  and  not  by  faith  orUy^li  is  by  no  meaBs 
sufficient,  ia  order  to  oar  salyation,  thst  the  great 
principles  of  religion  be  credited,  if  they  have  not 
their  practical  mflaence  on  the  heart  and  life. 

Verses  26,  26.  Likewise  also,  &c.— After  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  the  Jews,  the  apostle  cites  Rahd), 
a  woman  and  a  sinner  of  the  Gentiles,  to  show  4hat 
in  every  nation  and  sex  true  faith  produces  works, 
and  is  perfected  by  them;  that  is,  by  the  grace  of 
God  working  in  the  believer,  while  he  is  showing 
his  faith  by  his  works:  see  note  on  Heb.  xi*  Si. 
'^Rafaab's  faith  conasted  in  her  attending  to,  and 
reasoning  justly  on,  what  she  had  heard  concerning 
the  dividing  of  the  waters  of  the  Red  sea  for  a  pass- 
age to  the  Israelites,  and  concerning  the  destmc* 
tion  of  Sihon  and  Og.  For  from  tiiese  things  she 
concluded  that  the  God  of  the  Israelites  was  tjie 
true  God^  and  sole  Governor  of  the  universe;  and, 
firmly  believing  this,  she  irenouneed  her  former  false 
gods,  and  concealed  the  Jsraelitish  spies  at  the 
hazard  of  her  life.  In  this  she  showed  a  disposition 
of  the  same  kind  with  that  which  Abraham  showed, 
when  he  left  his  country  and  kindred  at  God's  com* 


had  sent  them  out  another  way?  AM.40S4 
86.  For  as  the  body  without  the  •spi-    ^^'^' 
rk  is  dead,  so  feith  without  works  is  dead  also. 


•Ot^bftaA. 


mand.  And  as  Abraham,  for  that  great  act  of  faith 
and  obedience,  was  rewarded  with  the  promise  of 
Canaan,  so  Rahab,  as  the  reward  of  her  faith  and 
works,  was  not  destroyed  with  the  unbelieving  in* 
habitants  of  Jericho."  For  as  the  body  without  the 
spirit  is  dead^Hea  no  sense  or  feeling  no  vital  heat, 
action,  or  energy,  but  is  a  mere  carcass,  how  fair 
and  entire  soever  it  may  appear,  and  will  at  leng^ 
fall  into  putrefaction  and  dissolution;  so  such  a 
faith  as  is  withotU  works  is  dead  also—Now  w^ 
pears  as  a  carcass  in  the  sight  of  God,  is^  useless, 
yea,  loathsome  and  offensive.  Two  things,  then,  of 
great  importance  must  be  attended  to  on  this  sub- 
ject 1st,  That  the  best  outward  works  without 
faith  are  dead ;  they  want  their  root  and  vital  prin* 
ciple ;  for  it  is  only  by  fidth  that  any  thing  which 
we  do  is  really  good,  as  being  done  with  an  eye  to 
the  glory  of  God,  and  in  obedience  to  him.  2d,  That 
the  most  plausiUe  profession  of  faith  without  works 
is  dead,  as  the  root  is  dead  when  it  does  not  vege- 
tate, when  it  produces  no  fruit  Faith  is  the  root, 
good  works  are  the  fruits,  and  we  must^ee  to  it  that 
we  have  both.  We  must  not  think  that  ei^r  of 
them,  without  the  other,  will  justify  and  save  us. 
This  is  the  grace  of  God  wherein  we  stand,  and  we 
must  take  care  that  we  stand  in  it 


CHAPTER  ra. 

In  Ikii  chapter,  (1,)  7%«  apo$tU  cmUioru  them  against  being  to6  forward  in  assuming  the  office  and  character  pj  teachers, 
and  recommends  a  strict  government  of  the  tongue,  as  a  matter,  though  of  great  difficulty,  yet  of  the  highest  importance, 
1-lS.  (8,)  He  shows  the  extdUnce  of  heaoenly  wisdom,  which  discovers  itself  in  purity,  meekness,  and  peace,  in  opposi- 
turn  to  that  which  is  Utigiaus,  eamal,  and  worldly,  13-18. 


A.  M.  4064.  jyj^Y  brethren,  •  be  not  naany  mas- 
— ^-^ — '-  ters,  ^knowing  that  we  shall 


•Matthew  zziii.  8,  14  ;    Ronmnt  ii.  20»  21  ;    1  Peter  r.  3. 
^  hukie  rie  37. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IIJ. 
Verses  1,  2.  Be  not  many  masters— -LidaoKaXoL, 
teachers.  Let  none  of  you  rashly,  and  without  pro- 
per qualifications,  undertake  the  office  of  teachers 
of  others ;  an  office  into  which  many  are  ready  to 
intrude  themselves,  without  being  calledrof  God  to 
it  "  The  great  desire  which  the  Jewish  Christians, 
to  whom  this  letter  was  written,  had  to  become 
teachers  in  the  church  after  their  conversion,  and  to 
inculcate  the  obligation  of  the  law  of  Moses,  is 
noticed  by  St.  Paul,  1  Tim.  L  7.  Desiring  to  be 
teachers  of  the  law,  &c— These  teachers  of  the  law 
in  the  Christian  Church  were  the  great  corrupters 
of  the  gospel'*  Knowing  that—K  we  err,  we  shall 
b 


IL  M.  4064 

A.D.ao. 


receive  the  greater  ^condemnation. 
2  For**  in  many  things  we  offend  all. 

*  Or,  judgment. «  1  Kings  Tiii.  46 ;    2  Chfbn.  ri.  36 ;  Piov. 

xz.  9 ;  Ecclet.  tH.  80 ;  1  John  i.  8. 


receive  the  greater  condemnaticnr^On  account  of 
our  taking  upon  ns  an  office  for  which  we  are  not 
qualified,  and  in  the  exercise  of  which  more  is  re- 
quired of  us,  in  many  respects,  than  of  others  in  a 
more  private  station  of  lifSe.  St  James  here,  as  in 
several  of  the  following  verses,  by  a  common  figure 
of  speech,  joins  himself  with  the  persons  to  whom 
he  wrote,  to  mitigate  the  harshness  of  his  reproof: 
we  shall  receive— we  offend— we  put  bits — we  curse, 
none  of  which  particulars,  as  common  sense  sfao^s, 
are  to  be  interpreted  either  of  him  or  of  the  other 
apostles.  For  in  many  things  we  offend  all— 
Through  natural  infirmity  and  strong  temptation,  we 
are  all  liable  to  fall.  The  original  expression. 
589 


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The  tongue  must  be  kept 


JAMBa 


under  due  eidifeciCcftu' 


A.  M.4064.  ^  If  any  man  oflfend  net  in  word, 

— 1  *  the  same  is  a  perfect  man,  and  able 

also  to  bridle  the  whde  body. 

3  Behold,  'we  put  bits  in  the  horses'  mouths, 
that  they  may  obey  us;  and  we  turn  about 
their  whole  body. 

4  Behold  also  the  ships,  which,  though  they 
be  so  great,  and  are  driven  of  fierce  winds,  yet 
are  they  turned  about  with  a  very  smaQ  h^. 


'Pn.  xxxir.  13 ;  Eccles.  xiv.  1 ;   xix.  16 ;  zxr.  8 ;  Chip,  L 

36;  1  Peter  iiL  20. •  Matthew xu. 37.-^— 'Pftalm  xzzii.9. 

rPiio«.ziL  18;  XT.  X    ' 


vtata/ttp  oirovref ,  is  literally,  wt  all  stumble.  ^  It  b 
a  metaphor  taken  from  persons  who,  walking  on 
slippery  or  rough  ground,  riide  or  stumble  without 
falling)  as  appears  from  Rom.  xL  11,  fin  tirrataav  iva 
iretToaij  have  they  stumbled  so  as  to  fall?  There- 
fore, as  in  Scripture,  iDolking  denotes  the  course  of 
a  man's  conduct,  stumbling,  in  this  passage^  signifies 
those  lesser  foilings  in  duty,  to  which  common  Chris- 
tians are  liable."  If  any  man  offendr^tumble ;  not 
in  word^Keep  his  tongue  under  constant  govern- 
ment, so  that  no  corrupt  discourse  proceeds  out 
of  his  mouthy  at  any  time  or  on  any  occa- 
sloh,  but  only  that  vhich  is  either  about  necessary 
bufoness  as  far  as  is  necessary,  or  good  to  the  use  of 
edifyingy  (see  note  on  Eph.  iv.  29,)  the  same  is  a 
perfect  man— Eminently  good ;  one  who  has  at- 
tained to  a  high  degree  of  wisdom  and  grace,  and 
able  also  to  bridle  the  wJiole  body — ^To  keep  all  his 
senses,  appetites,  and  passions  under  due  regulation. 
The  tongue  is  an  index  of  the  heart,  and  he  who 
does  not  transgress  the  law  of  truth,  or  love,  or 
purity,  or  humility,  or  meekness,  or  patience,  or  ise- 
riousness,  with  his  tongue,  will,  with  the  same 
grace,  so  rule  all  hisdispositiQus  and  actions,  as  to 
manifest  that  he  has  in  htm  the  mind  that  was  in 
Christ,  and  walks  as  Christ  walked. 

Verses  8-5.  Behold,  Ac.— -As  if  the  apostle  had 
said.  Think  not  the  tongue  a  weak  member  because 
it  is  small;  we  put  bits  in  the  horses*  mouths  thM 
they  may  obey  u^— M ay  go  as  we  direct  ^em ;  t^nd, 
strong,  and  sometimes  furious  as  they  are ;  we  turn 
dboHl  their  whole  body — ^Influence  as  we  please  all 
their  motions.  Behold  also  the  ships,  which  though 
they  be  so  great — So  large  and  heavy,  and  are 
driven  frequently  hy  fierce  winds  which  seem  to  be 
irresistible,  yet  are  they  turned  about-^To  the 
right  or  left;  with  a  very  small  AeZ»?^— Which,  to  a 
person  unacquainted  with  nauticd  afihirs,  woidd 
appear  to  be  weak  and  insignificant;  whithersoever 
the  govemor^Hopfoi  ts  ev^wovTo^^  the  force  of  the 
director,  or  steersman;  wiUeth^Thsii  is,  according 
to  the  will  of  the  person  who  sits  at  the  helm ;  who 
was  not  necessarily  either  the  ship-master  or  the 
tpllot,  but  a  person  appointed  to  that  office.  So  the 
tongue  is  a  little,  and  apparently  insignificant  mem- 
ber, and  yet  boasteth  great  things-— HsiYi  great  in- 
fluence: also,  to  show  by  another  comparison  the 
operation  of  the  tongue,  behold  how  great  a  mcMer 


whithersoever  the  govenK)r  listeth.  A.M.4oei. 

6  Even  so  'the  tongue  is  a  little  . ! — 1.' 

member,  and  ^boasteth  great  things.  -Bdioldy 
how  great '  a  matter  a  little  fire  kincKeth! 

6  And  ^  the  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  wc»id  of  ini- 
quity :  so  is  th^  tongue  anK)ng  our  membeis, 
that  ^It  defileth  tlie  whole  body,  and  setteth  on 
fire  the  ^course  of  nature;  and  it  is  set  cm  fire 
ofhdL 


*  Psa.  xiL  3 ;   Ixxiii.  8,  9.- — »  Or,  wood, — r-*  Pror.  xvL  Tt. 
k Matthew  xr.  11,  18, 19,  SO;   M^rk  rii.  15,  20,  83. >Gr. 


— How  great  a  quantity  of  wood  and  other  materials; 
a  little  fire  kindle — Into  a  terrible  flame. 

Verse  (i:7^he  tongue  is  afire— Which  often  pro- 
duces a  great  conflagration;  a  world  of  iniquity — 
This  is  a  metaphor  of  the  same  kind  with  a  sea  of 
troubles,  a  deluge  of  wickedness.  The  meaning  is, 
that  a  great  collection  of  iniquity  proceeds  from  the 
tongue.  Indeed  ^  there  is  no  iniquity  which  an  un- 
bridled tongue  is  not  capable  of  producing;  either 
by  itself^  when  it  curses,  rails,  teaches  false  doc^ 
trine,  and  speaks  evil  of  ciod  and  man ;  or  by  means 
of  oUiers,  whom  it  entices,  commands,  terrifles,  and 
persuades,  to  commit  mufdei*s,  adulteries,  and  every 
evil  wOrk."  So  is  the  tongue— Such  is  the  rank  and 
place  it  holds  among  our  members,  that  it  defileth 
the  whole  body — The  whole  man,  all  our  members, 
senses,  and  faculties.  In  this,  and  in  what  follows, 
the  similitude  of  the  fire  and  wood  is  carried  on. 
For  as  the  fire,  put  among  the  wood,  first  spotteth 
or  blackeneth  it  with  its  smoke,  and  then  setteth  it 
on  fire,  so  the  tongue  spotteth  or  blackeneth,  and 
then  setteth  on  fire  the  natural  frame,  termed  here 
the  course,  rpoxw,  the  wheel,  of  nature — "  The  won- 
derful mechanism  of  the  human  body,  and  its  power 
of  affecting  and  of  being  affected  by  the  soul,  is  iit 
this  passage  aptly  represented  by  the  wheels  of  a 
machine  which  act  on  each  other.  The  pernicious 
influence  of  the  ton^e,  in  finit  spotting,  and  then 
destroying,  both  the  bodies  and  the  souls  of  men, 
arises  from  the  language  which  it  frames,  whereby 
it  inflames  men's  passions  to  such  a  degree,  that, 
being  no  longer  under  the  direction  of  their  reason, 
those  passions  push  them  on  to  such  actions  as  are 
destructive  both  of  their  bodies  and  souls."  Some 
writers,  by  the  natural  wheel,  or  course  of  nature, 
understand  the  successive  generations  of  men,  one 
generation  going,  and  another  coming,  without  in- 
termission; according  to  which  interpretation  the 
apostle's  meaning  is,  that  the  tongue  hath  set  on  fire 
our  forefathers,  it  infiameth  us,  and  will  have  the 
same  influence  on  those  who  come  after  us.  And  it 
is  set  on  fire  ofheU^Vut  here  for  the  devil ;  as,  by 
a  like  metonymy,  heaven  is  put  for  God.  S^tan  in- 
fluences the  heart,  and  its  wickedness  overflows  by 
the  tongue,  and  tends,  by  its  fatal  consequences,  to 
produce  a  very  hell  upon  earth.  "  The  use  we  ought  to 
make  of  the  doctrine  taught  in  this  highly  figurative 
passage  is  obvious.    Being  surrounded  with  such  a 

b 


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cHAPrratiiL 


cau$e  of  much  mi$diitf. 


A.M.4064    7  Forervery^kiiidofbea0lB,aiidof 
^^'^    tefc,  and  <rf  eerpentB,  and  of  things 


in  the  sea^  is  tamed,  and  bath  been  tamed,  of 
*  mankind; 

8  But  the  tongue  can  no  man  tame ;  Uuwdl 
unruly  evil,  ^  flill  <tf  deadly  poison. 

9  Thfioewith  Uess  we  Gkd,  even  the  Fath^ ; 
and  therewith  curse  we  men,  *"  vduch  are  made 
after  the  similitude  of  God.  ^ 

10  Out  of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing 
and  cursing.  My  brethren,  these  things  ought 
notso  tobe. 


»Oiv 


— ^Or.iMfiir«<^ii 
L  ^ ;  T.  1 ;  IX.  6.- 


>Psa.cxL3.* 
•Or«Me. 


•Gen. 


I  of  combiistible  matter,  we  should  take  great 
care  not  to  send  from  our  tongues  the  least  spark  by 
which  it  may  be  kindled,  lest  we'  ourselvea^  with 
those  whom  we  set  on  iire,  be  consumed  in  the 
flames  which  we  raise." — Macknight 

Verses  7,  8.  For  every,  kind  ofbeasU=^naaa  fvcif 
^pHuvj  every  tuUwre  of  wild  heaeie.  The  phrase 
signifies  the  strength  and  fierceness  ctf  wild  beasts, 
the  swiftness  of  birds,  the  poison  of  serpents,  the  ex- 
ceeding great  foree  of  sea-monsters;  is  tamed — 
Aa^eroi,  if  «ti&ciiie(2,  or  is  citable  of  being  subdued ; 
by  mankind — Tii  ^et  rn  av^pomvif^  by  the  human 
natwre;  every  sort  of  these  has  been  overcome  by 
the  art  and  ingenuity  of  man  \  so  that  they  have  been 
made  subservient  to  his  use  and  pleasure.  The  apos- 
tle c^omot  mean  that  such  creatures  as  shariu  and 
whales  have  been  tamed,  according  to  the  general 
import  of  that  term,  or  made  harmless  and  fluniliar 
with  man,  as  some  beasts,  naturally  savage,  have 
been ;  but  of  which  large  fishes  are  in  Uietr  ilature 
incapable.  But  even  they  have  been  conquered,  and 
bronight  entirely  nnder  the  power  of  man,  so  that  he 
could  use  them  as  he  would.  But  the  tongue  can 
no  mon  <ama— Namely,  the  tongue  of  another ;  no, 
nor  his  own,  without  peeuliar  help  from  God.  Mack- 
night  reads,  The  tongue, of  men  no  one  can  eubduej 
olMerving,  that  this  transaction  arises  from  the  right 
construction  of  the  original,  end  that  it  gives  a  more 
just  sense  than  the  common  translation.  Some 
read  the  <^use  interrogatively,  thus,  And  can  no 
man  eubdue  the  tongue?  A  is  an  unruly  evilj  full 
of  deadly  jMif(m--Mlsehievous  wickedness. 

Verses  0^  la  Therewith  bless  we  Cfod^ThBt  is, 
therewith  mankind  Uess  Ood;  for  the  apostle,  as 
appears  from  the  next  clause,  did  not  speak  of  him- 
self particularly,  or  of  his  fellow-apostles,  or  even 
of  true  private  Christians,  who  certainly  donotcttr^e 
fiMcn.  Perhaps  in  this  last  clause  he  glanced  at  the 
nneonverted  Jews,  who  often  cursed  the  Christians 
bitteily  in  their  sjrnagogues.  Made  after  the  sinUU- 
itide  of  I7m{— Which  we  hive  indeed  now  lost,  but 
yet  there  remains  from  thence  an  indeliUe  noble- 
11680,  which  weought  to  reverence, both  in  ourselves 
and  others.  Ouicf  the  same  mouth  proceedeith  bless- 
ing  and  ctirttng— And  the  same  tongue  is  often  the 
b 


11  Doth  a  fountain  send  forth  at  the  a.  H.  4064. 
same  ^[daoe  sweet  water  and  Iritter?  '• — 

12  Can  the  fig-tree,  my  brethren,  bear  oliv^ 
berries?  either  a  vine,  figs?  so  can  iko  fountain 
both  yield  salt  water  and  fresh. 

13  *Wbo  t«  a  wise  maii  and  endued  with 
knowledge  among  you?  let  him  show  out  of^a 
good  conversation  ®  his  works  p  with  meekness 
of  wisdom. 

14  But  if  ye  have  "^  bitter  envying  and  strife 
in  your  hearts,  'glory  not,  and  lie  not  against 
the  truth. 


■  Gtl.  Ti.  4. •  Chap.  ii.  18. P  Chap.  i.  21  .- 

'  Rom.  ii.  17, 23. 


lR(»n.xiJi.  13. 


instrument  of  expressing  l>oth ;  and  "  too  frequent- 
ly," says  Doddridge,  **  when  the  act  of  devotion  is 
over,  the  act  of  slander,  or  outrage  and  insult,  com- 
mences." My  brethren^  these  things  ought  not  so  to 
be— At  least  among  those  who  profess  Christianity ; 
it  is  a  shame  that  any  such  thing  should  be  found  in 
human  nature ;  and  it  is  a  still  greater  shame  that 
any  thing  of  the  kind  riiould  be  practised  by  any  that 
profess  to  be  the  disciples  of  Him  who  was  manifest- 
ed to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil 

Verses  11,  12.  Doth  a  fountain  send  forth  at 
th6  same  opening,  alternately,  and  at  different  times, 
sweet  water  and  bitter^- Aa  if  he  had  said.  No  such 
inconsisttocy  is  found  in  the  natural  world,  and 
nothing  of  the  kind  ought  to  be  known  in  the  moral 
world.  Estius  Observes,  ^Hhat  the  apostle's  design 
was  to  confirm  his  doctrine  by  four  similitudes ;  the 
first  taken  from  fountains,  the  second  and  third  from 
Ihdt-trees,  and  the  fourth  from  the  sea,  which  being 
in  its  nature  salt,  does  not  produce  fresh  water." 
He  therefore  approves  of  the  reading  of  the  Alexan- 
drian MS.,  which  is,  So  neither  can  salt  water  pro- 
duce sweet.  The  Sjrriac  version  reads,  Salt  waters 
cannot  be  made  sweet;  and  the  Vulgate,  So  neither 
can  salt  water  make  fresh  water.  In  like  manner, 
we  ought  to  maintain  a  consistency  in  our  words  or 
discourses;  and  if  we  profess  religion  and  devotion, 
we  should  speak  at  all  times  as  persons  who  are  en- 
deavouring to  employ  our  tongues  to  the  noble  pur- 
posesf  or  which  the  use  of  speech  was  granted  to  man. 

Verses  18-16.  Who  is  a  wise  many  &c.— People 
are  naturally  desirous  of  the  reputation  of  possessing 
an  understanding  superior  to  that  of  othisrs.  Now, 
let  us  consider  in  what  way  the  sense  we  have  may 
be  best  manifested ;  let  him  who  would  be  thought 
wise  show  his  wisdom,  as  well  as  his  faith,  by  his 
works;  let  him  show  out  of  a  ^ooef— *That  is,  a  holy 
and  useful  converto/um,  Am  commendable  and  bene- 
ficent works,  with  meekness  of  wisdom — ^  This  beau- 
tiful expression,"  says  Macknight,  ^  intimates,  that 
true  wisdom  is  always  accompanied  with  meekness, 
or  the  goverhment  of  the  passiotis."  But  if  ye  have 
bitter  envying^7*n^Mpy  zeal,  as  the  word  properly 
signifies,  or  zeal  accompanied  with  a  bitter  spirit,  or 
an  unkind  di^poirition  toward  others.  True  Chris 
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A.  M.  4064. 

A.D.IK>. 


16  "  TiuM  wiidom.  dMcmdelh  Mt 
from  iri[)ovei|  but  i$  eartbfyi  ^aeniwal, 
devilish. 

16  For  ^idiere  envying  and  sirife  if^  tfaen  u 
^confusion  and  every  evil  worliu 

17  But  "■  the  wisdom  that  iBfimnabofieiiinC 


•Chapter  i.  17 ;  Phtiippians  iil.  19. *  Or,  natnral,  Judo  19. 

•  I  CDrinlk.  Hi.  a;   OtL  ▼.  Wt— -*6r.  tmrnOi,  w, i^— — 

« 1  Cor.  ii.  6»  7. 


tian  zeal  is  only  the  flame  of  love ;  but  bitter,  unbal- 
lowad  seal  is  evil,  evenif  H  be  only  found  in  the 
heart,  and  go  no  further.  If  that  kind  of  aed  be  in 
you,  ghry  not—Or  boast  not  of  your  improvement 
in  Chpistianity ;  and  lie  not  against  the  trtUh — By 
pretending  that  such  zeal  may  consist  with  heavenly 
wisdom.  This  irifdooi— That  which  is  attended 
with  such  zeal;  descendeth  not  from  above — Does 
not  come  from  God;  but  is  earthly — Not  heavenly 
in  its  origin,  or  end ;  senstud—irvxiicttf  animal;  not 
spiritual,  not  from  the  Spirit  of  God ;  <2mZ^/U- Not 
the  gift  of  Christ,  but  such  as  Satan  brea^es  into  the 
souls  of  mem  For  where  this  bitter  zeal  and  strife 
— Or  contention;  i«,  there  is ayr^nsumr-^kKartKaoiOy 
tumtdty  or  unquietness ;  and  every  evil  work — ^Many 
other  mischiefs  attending  it.  It  may  be  proper  to 
observe,  that  about  this  time  the  Jews,  from  their  m- 
temperate  zeal  for  the  law  of  Moses,  raised  seditions 
in  Judea  and  elsewhere,  which  were  the  occasion 
of  many  crimes  and  of  much  bloodshed.  And  as 
the  apostle  expected  that  this  epistle  would  foil  into 
the  hands  of  some  of  the  unconverted  Jews^  and  in- 
deed, perhaps,  partly  addressed  them  in  it,  he  proba- 
bly might  refer  to  these  t,umults  and  disorders  in 
this  verse.  \ 

Verse  ft.  But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  abov^ 
— Of  celestial  origin;,  which  comes  from  God;  is 
first  jjwrc— From  all  unholy  and  corrupt  mixtures, 
whether  of  error  or  sin.  It  is  agreeable  to  the  tenor 
of  divine  and  evangelical  truth,  and  conscientious  in 
the  discharge  of  every  duty  to  God  and  man ;  it  is 
therefore  purified  from  all  that  is  earthly,  sensual, 
and  devilish ;  then  peaceable-^DeairouB  of  making 
and  mamtaining  peace;  and  willing,  in  order  there- 
to, to  sacrifice  any  thing,  except  important  truth  and 
manifest  duty ;  gentle—Sod,  mild,  yielding,  not  ri- 
gid ;  easy  to  he  entreated— PersuBded  and  reconciled 
where  any  matters  of  disgust  may  have  arisen;  not 
stubborn,  sour,  morose ;  J^l  of  mercy— Ot  pity  and 
compassion  toward  persons  in  a  state  of  iguManee, 
guilt,  and  depravity ;  ready  to  relieve  the  miseries 
and  pardon  the  faults  of  others;  and  goodfhtits— 


piire^tbeapeaceabkvgailky.«iatftasy  a.k.«B4 
tobetnMtod^fkdoCneoqrMdfOod   ^^^ 
fruits^  •wihoiit  pMBfi^>  'Md  witheol  liyp^^ 
crisy. 

18  y  And  ihediA  of  righi luww  ii  80Wi  Ji 
peace  of  them  tkai  dial»  peace. 


.•OrfWUkmtimmufia^. >Raiii.zaL9;  lPM.i.SS;  ai{ 

HohBi&lS.^— fPtoT.zi.lS;  Hot.  1.12;  HattT.9;  nfl. 
i.  n  ;  Hah.  ziL  11. 

Both  in  the  heart  and  in  the  life.;  two  of  which  are 
immediately  specified;  without  partiatOy—Tt^fho&t 
of  our  own  sentiments  or  denomination,  to  Hie  info- 
ry  of  ethers;  lovmg  all  without  respect  of  pefsons; 
embracing  idL  good  things^  rcjeoting  «&  eviL  The 
original  word,  sdiMMpiToc,}aj^tenBy,wi^out  making 
a  difference.  This  character  of  true  religion  was 
very  properly  mentioned  to  thoee  whsai  the  aposiie 
had  rebuked  for  their  respeet  of  pemms,  chap.  M* 
1-0.  ff^(Aoti<Aypocrify--Int8ndiiigidlthekin^bMBas 
it  expresses,  and  glad  fo  extend  its  good  offices  as 
universally  as  possible ;  or  wi&tout  dissisusdaaon^  m 
ofnnrotspiToc  may  be  rendered ;  tint  is,  frank  ettd  open. 
ThqS)  *' in  this  beantifiil  passage,  St  James  describes 
the  excellent  nature  of  that  temper  which  is-reeMn» 
mended  by  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  happy  ef- 
fects whidi  it  prodnees.  It  is  the  highest  wieton; 
it  comes  from  God,  and  makes  Aose  who  receive  It 
holy  and  happy.  All  the  apostles,exeeptFBnl,  were 
ilUterate  men ;  but,  aeeording  to  ihetr  Btaster's  pro* 
mise,  they  had,  by  the  nMpiration  of  th^  Spirit,  a 
wisdom  and  eloquenee  given  Aieni,  ftr  eseeetef 
what  they  could  have  eeqnired  by  the  deepest  era- 
dition.  Of  the  folfilttent  of  Christ's  pnnisa,  tte 
epistle  ef  lames  is  a  striking  prroof.  Seanbellheft- 
then  antiqpity,  and  see  wMh^  it  can  produce 
any  sentiments  more  noble,  or  mere  shnply  and 
beautifully  expressed,  than  those  contained  in  HJs 
chapter,  and  indeed  tiunougfaout  the  wboie  epistle.'^-* 
Ma^night 

Verse  18.  And  thefruk  of  rigMeottsness,  Ac— 
The  priooiple  productive  of  this  righteousness,  is 
sown,  IBlo  good  ^seed,  in  f^  peace  of  a  b^ever's 
mind,  and  brings  forth  a  plentiftil  harvest  of  happi- 
ness, (which  is  ^le  prefer  firoh  of  rigfateeusness,) 
for  them  that  make  peace— Thst  labour  to  promote 
this  pure  and  lioly  peace  among  aU  men.  Or,  the 
meaning  may  be,  they  that  endeavour  to  nudce 
peace  among  moi,  (which  is  a  fruit  orwofk  of  right- 
eousness,) do  thereby  sow  to  themselves  in  peace ; 
that  is,  they  take  that  course  ^diidi  will  produce  to 
them  happiness  in  the  end. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  apo$tU,  (1,)  Cautions  them  against  corrupt  passions,  ss  the  somree  nffusmeUtad  wsrs,  ami  hsitOelo prayer  and  pi^ly; 
and  against  an  inordinaU  lope  of  the  world,  pride,  sand  «ttoy,  as  enmity  against  God,  whs  gises  grass  to  ths  htmhU,  i  -<. 
(2,)  He  direcU  proud  and  carnal  prof essors  to  submii  and  betake  thsmsehss  is  God,  to  resist  Ou  issily  and  abandon  and 
lamerU  theit  sinful  courses  in  order  to  thsir  being  exalted,  7-10.  (S,)  He  ea^Ufris  thsm  to  speak  temdidiy  ons  ofanoOer, 
and  to  undertake  no  temporal  affairs  without  a  constant  regard  to  the  providence  of  God,  11-17. 

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A.  M.  4064.  'pROM  whence   came  wars   and 

~ ^  fightings  among  you  ?  come  they 

not  henc^  even  of  your  'lusts  ^that  war  in 
your  members? 

2  Ye  lust  and  have  not:  ye  'kill,  and  desire 
to  have,  and  cannot  obtain :  3^  fight  and  war, 
yet  ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not 

*  Or.  brawUngt. *  Or,  pUasures^  Verse  3. »  Ronu  Wi. 

23 ;  GaL  t.  17 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  11. »0r,  «n«f. *  Jo^xxrii.  9 ; 

ZZX7. 12 ;  Ps«.  xviiL  41 ;    Prov.  L  28 ;   Isa.  i.  15 ;  Jer.  zi.  II ; 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verse  1.  The  crimes  coodemnoid  in  thb  and  the 
following  chapter  were  so  atrocious,  and  of  so 
public  a  nature,  that  we  can  hardly  suppose  them  to 
have  been  committed  by  any  who  bore  the  name  of 
Christiani.  MThereibre,  as  this  letter  was  directed 
to  the  twelve  tribee,  (chap.  i.  1,)  it  is  reasonable  to 
think  that  the  apostle,  in  writing  these  chapters, 
bad  the  unbelieving  Jews,  not  only  in  the  provinces, 
but  in  Judea,  chiefly  in  his  eye.  From  whence 
come  ware  and  fightings  among  you — Some  time 
before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  the  Romans, 
which  ended  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  of 
the  Jewish  commonwealth,  the  Jews,  as  Josephus 
informs  us,  on  pretence  of  defending  their  religion, 
and  of  procuring  to  themselves  that  freedom  from 
foreign  dominion,  and  that  liberty  which  they  thou^ght 
themselves  entitled  to  as  the  people  of  God,  made 
various  insurrections  in  Judea  against  the  Romans, 
which  occasioned  much  bloodshed  and  misery  to 
their  nation.  The  factions,  likewise,  into  which  the 
more  zealous  Jews  were  now  spDt,  had  violent  con- 
tentions among  themselves,  in  which  they  killed  one 
another,  and  plundered  one  another's  goods.  In  the 
provinces  likewise  the  Jews  were  become  very  tur- 
bolenti  particularly  in  Alexandria,  Eg3rpt,  Syria,  and 
many  other  places,  where  they  made  war  against 
the  heathen,  and  killed  numbers  of  them,  and  were 
themselves  massacred  by  them  in  their  turn.  This 
being  the  state  of  the  Jews  in  Judea,  and  in  the  pro- 
vinces, about  the  time  the  Apostle  James  wrote  his 
epistle  to  the  twelve  tribes,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  the  wan,  fightings,  and  murders,  of  which  he 
here  speaks,  were  those  above  described.  For  as  he 
composed  his  letters  after  the  confusions  were  begun, 
and  as  the  crimes  committed  in  these  confusions, 
although  acted  under  the  colour  of  zeal  for  God  and 
for  truth,  were  a  scandal  to  any  religion,  it  certainly 
became  him,  who  was  one  of  the  chief  apostles  of  the 
circumcision,  to  condemn  such  insurrections,  and  to 
rebuke,  with  the  greatest  sharpness,  the  Jews  who 
were  the  prime  movers  in  them.  Accordingly,  this 
is  what  he  hath  done.  And  both  in  this  and  in  the 
following  chapter,  using  the  rhetorical  figure  called 
apostrophe,  he  addresses  the  Jews  as  if  they  were 
present,  whereby  he  hath  given  his  discourse  great 
strength  and  vivacity.  See  Macknight.  Come  they 
not  hence,  even  of  your  lusts-^Qreek,  tfSovov,  plea- 
sures; that  is,  your  greedy  desire  after  the  plea- 
sures and  enjoyments  of  the  world;  that  war-- 
Against  your  souls ;  or  raise  tumults,  as  it  were,  and 
rebel  both  against  reason  and  religion;  in  your 

ToL.  II.  (  88  ) 


3  ^Ye  ask,  and  receive  not, «  because  a.m.  4064. 
ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  consume      '    '    ' 
it  upon  your  ^  lusts. 

4  ^  Ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses,  know  ye 
not  that  *  the  firiendship  of  the  world  is  enmity 
with  GJod?  'whosoever  therefore  wiH  be  a 
friend  (tf  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God. 

Mio.  iii.  4 ;  Zech.  vii.  13, «  Pta.  IzrL  18 ;  1  John  iii.  28 ;  y. 

14. ^*Or,  ptMncrM.-^-^PM.  bcxiii.  27. •  1  John  ii.  15. 

'John  XT.  19 ;  xrii  14 ;  6«1.  L  10. 


members— In  your  wills  and  affections.  Here  is  the 
first  seat  of  war.  Hence  proc^ds  the  war  of  man 
with  man,  king  with  king,  nation  with  nation;  the 
ambition  of  kings  and  nations  to  extend  their  terri- 
tories; their  love  of  grandeur  and  riches;  their  re- 
sentments of  supposed  injuries ;  all  the  effect  of  lust, 
or  of  earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish  desires,  engage 
them  in  wars. 

Ver.  2, 3.  Ye  lust—Fjin&vfieiTej  ye  covet,  or  eagerly 
desire ;  and  have  not — ^What  you  d  eslre ;  you  are,8ome 
way  or  other,  hindered  from  attaining  that  of  which 
you  are  so  greedy ;  ye  kill— -In  your  heart ;  fijr  he 
that  hatelh  his  brother  is  a  murderer.  Or  he  speaks 
of  the  actual  murders  which  the  carnal  Jews,  called 
zealots,  committed  of  the  heathen,  and  even  those 
of  their  own  nation  who  opposed  them.  Accord- 
ingly, he  says,  ye  kill,  Kai  ^Tj^tre,  and  are  zealous, 
thereby  showing,  evidently,  that  the  persons  to 
whom  he  spake  were  zealots.  Ye  fight  and  war, 
yet  ye  Juive  not — What  ye  so  eagerly  desire ;  because 
ye  ask  not — And  no  marvel ;  for  a  man  full  of  evil 
desire,  of  malice,  envy,  hatred,  cannot  pray.  Since, 
as  appeals  by  this,  the  persons  to  whom  the  apostle 
is  speaking  faUed  of  their  purpose,  because  they  did 
not  pray  to  God,  it  shows,  says  Macknight,  ^  that 
some  of  their  purposes,  at  least,  were  laudable,  and 
might  have  been  accomplished  with  the  blessing  of 
God.  Now  this  will  not  apply  to  the  Judaizing 
teachers  in  the  church,  who  strongly  desired  to  sub- 
ject the  converted  Gentiles  to  the  law  of  Moses.  As 
little  will  it  apply  to  those  who  coveted  riches.  The 
apostle's  declaration  agrees  only  to  such  of  the  un- 
converted Jews  as  endeavoured  to  bring  the  heathen 
to  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God.  So 
far  their  attempt  was  commendable,  because,  by 
converting  the  Gentiles  to  Judaism,  they  prepared 
them  for  receiving  the  gospel ;  and  if  for  this  they 
had  asked  the  blessing  of  God  sincerely,  they  might 
have  been  successful  in  their  purpose.'*  Ye  ask,  &c. 
— But  if  ye  do  ask,  ye  receive  not,  because  ye  ask 
amiss — Kaxoc  airua^e,  ye  ask  wickedly,  from  sinAil 
motives.  Some  understand  this  of  the  Jews  praying 
for  the  goods  of  this  life :  "  But  though,"  says  Mac- 
knight, "such  a  prayer  had  been  allowable,  the 
apostle  scarcely  would  have  spoken  of  it  here,  as  it 
had  no  connection  with  his  subject  His  meaning, 
in  my  opinion,  is,  that  they  prayed  for  success  in 
converting  the  heathen,  not  from  any  regard  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  the  heathen,  but 
from  a  desire  to  draw  money  from  them  whom  they 
converted,  to  spend  on  their  own  lusts." 

Verse  4  Ye  adulterers  and  ad^dieresses'-Who 
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A.  M.  4064.    5  Do  ye  think  that  the  Scripture 

: — 1  saith  in  vain,  '  The  spirit  that  dwell- 

eth  in  ns  lusteth  *  to  envy? 

6  But  he  giveth  more  grace.  Wherefore  he 
sakh,  ''Ood  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth 
grace  unto  the  hund>le. 

7  Submit  youFBdves  therefore  to  Gk>d.  *  Re- 
gigt  the  devil,  and  he  will  'flee  from  you. 

8  ^  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  he  will  draw  nigh 
to  you.     ^  Cleande  your  hands,  ye  sinners,  and 


«  Gen.  vL  5 ;  viii.  21 ;  Nam.  xL  29;  Prov.  xxi.  10.— — •  Or, 

gnnum$lv. *  Job  udi.  29 ;'  Psa.  cxxxriii.  6 ;  Pror.  iii.  34 ; 

xxxx.  23;   Matt,  xziii.  12;   Luke  i.  52;  xiv.  11;    xriii.  14; 
lPet.v.5. »Eph.iv.37;  Ti.ll;  lPet.v.9. k2Chr.xT.2. 


have  broken  your  faith  with  God,  your  rightful 
spouse.  Thu.<i  many  understand  these  expressions, 
because  God  himself  represented  his  relation  to  the 
Jews  as  his  people  under  the  idea  of  a  marriage,  and 
because  the  prophets,  in  conformity  to  that  idea, 
represented  the  idolatry  of  the  Jews  as  adultery. 
But  inasmuch  as  gross  idolatry  was  a  sin  from  which 
the  Jews  had  long  been  entirely  free,  and  whereas 
to  adultery,  and  other  sins  of  the  flesh,  they  were 
exceedingly  addicted,  it  seems  more  probable  that 
these  appellations  are  to  be  understood  literally. 
Knov>  ye  not  that  the  friendehip  of  the  irorW— The 
desire  of  the  flesh,  the-jdesire  of  the  eye,  and  the 
pride  of  life,  yielded  to,  to  gain  the  favour  of  carnal 
and  worldly  men ;  or  a  conformity  to  such  in  their 
sinful  courses,  in  order  to  gain  their  friendship;  i* 
enmity  v>Uh  God— Is  an  evident  proof  thereof?  see 
Matt.  vl.  24 ;  xiL  30.  Whosoever  therefore  will  be  a 
friend  of  the  world— Mokes  it  his  business  to  comply 
with  and  gratify  worldly  men,  thereby  constitutes 
himself  an  enemy  of  God— And  takes  part  with  his 
adversaries. 

Verse  5.  Do  ye  think  tliat  the  Scriptttre  taUh  in 
Tain — Without  good  grouncl,  or  that  it  speaks  falsely. 
St.  James  seems  to  refer  to  many,  not  to  one 
particular  passage  of  Scripture.  The  spirit  that 
dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  to  envy — That  is,  as  many 
understand  the  words,  our  natural  corruption,  ex- 
cited and  influenced  by  Satan^  strongly  inclines  us 
to  unkind  and  envious  dispositions  toward  our  fel- 
low-creatures. Some,  however,  suppose  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  intended  by  the  apostle  in  this 
clause,  and  that  the  sense  is,  The  Spirit  of  love, 
that  dwelleth  in  all  believers,  lusteth  against  envy, 
(Gal.  V.  17,)  is  directly  opposite  to  all  those  unloving 
tempers  which  necessarily  flow  from  the  friendship 
of  the  world.  Nearly  to  the  same  purpose  is  Dod- 
dridge's paraphrase  of  the  verse :  ''  Do  you  think  the 
Scripture  speaks  m  vain  in  all  the  passages  in  which 
It  guards  us  against  such  a  temper  as  this,  and  leads 
the  mind  directly  to  God  as  the  supreme  good, 
teaching  us  to  abandon  every  thing  for  him  ?  Or  does 
the  Holy  Spirit,  that  dwells  in  us  Christians,  lust  to 
envy/  Do^  it  encourage  these  worldly  affections, 
this  strife  and  envying  which  we  have  reproved  ? 
Or  can  it  be  imagined  that  we,  who  appear  to  have 
:«o  much  of  the  Spirit,  have  any  interested  views  in 
d94 


■purify  ywr  hearts,   ye  *  double-  A.  M.  4064. 
minded.  ^'^'^' 

9  ""Be  afflicted,  and  moum,  and  weep:  let 
your  laughter  be  turned  to  mourning,  and  ymtr 
joy  to  heayineas. 

10  ^  Humble  yoursdves  in  the  mght  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  shall  lift  you  vtp. 

11 ,4  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren. 
He  that  speaketh  evil  of  Ai^  brother, '  and  judg- 
eth  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  and 

iln.  L16.- — "IPflCLtt;  1  Jolm  uL  3. ■Chip. La 

o  Matt.  7.  4. P  Job  zni.  29 ;  Matt.  ^xiii.  12 ;  Loke  xir.  11 ; 

xviii.  14 ;  1  Pet  v.  6. 1  Eph.  iv.  31 ;  1  Pet  ii.  1. r  Matt 

rii  1  i  Lok*  ri.  2n ;  Rom.  ii.  1 ;  1  Cor.  !▼,  5. 


the  cautions  we  give,  and  would  persuade  you  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  world,  because  we  shoidd  envy 
you  the  enjp3rment  of  it  ?  No." 

Verses  6-10.  B%U  Ae^God,  giveth  wore  grace — 
To  all  those  who,  wh'de  they  shun  those  tempers^ 
sincerely.and  earnestly  pray  for  it  Wherefore  he 
saiihj[see  the  margin,]  Chd,  resisteth  Iheproud—The 
nnhnmbled ;  those  that  think  highly  of  themselves, 
and  put  confidence  in  their  own  wkdom,  power,  or 
holiness,  and  who  seek  the  praise  of  ro^  rather 
than  the  praise  of  God ;  against  these  God  sets  him" 
self  in  batUe  array y  as  it  is  expressed,  Prov.  iii.  24. 
He  rejects  them,  and  will  not  allow  them  access  to, 
or  communion  with  himself.  He  thwarts  their  un- 
dertakings, and  renders  their^chemes  abortive.  Bui 
giveth  grace  unto  the  humble — Unto  those  that  are 
humbled  under  a  sense  of  their  ignorance  and  weak- 
ness, their  guilt  and  depravity,  and  therefore  have 
no  confidence  in  any  thing  they  are  or  have.  Sub' 
mU  yourselves— Ot  he  subject,  as  rmoTaynrt  ognifies, 
therefore  to  G^o(i— Pursue  your  hists  no  longer,  but 
yield  an  humble  obedience  to  God  in  all  thmgs. 
Resist— W\^  faith  and  steadfastness ;  the  dm^-The 
father  of  pride  and  envy;  and  he  wiU  Jleefrom  you 
— And  your  progressin  religion  will  become  greater, 
and  your  victory  over  your  spiritual  enemies  more 
easy  and  evident  day  by  day.  Draw  nigh  to  God — 
In  faith  and  prayer ;  and  he  will  draw  nigh  unto  you 
— By  his  grace  and  blessing;  which  that  nothing 
may  hinder,  cleanse  your  Juind^— From  doing  evil; 
and  purify  your  hearts— From  all  spiritual  idolatry, 
from  all  vile  atfections  and  corrupt  inclinations,  from 
the  love  of  the  world  in  all  its  branches ;  be  no  more 
double-minded-^ViAnly  endeavouring  to  serve  both 
God  and  mammon.  Be  afflicted — On  account  of  your 
past  sins,  especially  your  ingratitude  to  God,  your 
abuse  of  his  blessings,  and  unfaithfulness  to  his 
grace;  and  nwum  and  weep—¥ot  the  miseries  to 
which  you.  liave  exposed  yourselves.  LH  your 
laughter  be  turned  into  mourning— Became  of  the 
heavy  judgments  that  hang  over  you;  humble  your- 
selves in  the  sight  and  presence  of  the  Lerdy  and 
he  shall  lift  you  up— ComSori  you  with  a  s^iae  of 
his  pardonmg  mercy. 

Verses  11, 12.  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another-^' 
See  on  Tit  iii.  2.  Evil-speaking  is  a  grand  hhi- 
derance  of  peace  and  comfort;  yea,  and  of  holiness. 
(  »♦  )  b 


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iifi 


CHAFmiV. 


Uavapmtr. 


A. M. 4064.  judgeth  the  law:  but  if  thoa  judge 
^^'^   the  fatw,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the 


lawibutajudge. 

12  There  is  <Hie  lawgiver,*  who  k  able  to  save, 
and  to  destroy:  ^who  art  thou  that  judgest 
another? 

13  *  Oo  to  now,  ye  that  say,  To-day  or  to- 
morrow we  will  go  into  such  a  cky,  and  conti- 
nue there  a  year,  and  buy,  and  sell,  and  get 
gain: 


•  Matt  X.  28. » RboL  xir.  4>  13. ■  Pror.  xxrii.  1 ;  Luke 

xiLlSy^fcc *Or,foritis. 'Jobrii.?;  PsiueiL);  Chap. 

ilO;  lPet.L24;  iJohniul?. 

O  who  Is  snfficienUy  aware  of  the  evil  of  that  dn? 
He  that  speaketh  evil  ofkU  brother-^Of  his  £bUow- 
Christian  or  fellow-creature ;  andjudgethhis  brother 
—For  such  things  as  the  word  of  God  allows,  or  does 
not  condemn^  does,  in  effect,  epeak  eti}  of  the 
/aii>— Both  of  Moses  and  x>f  Christ,  whidiforbids  that 
kind  of  speaking  *,  and  judgeth  the  law — Condemns 
it,  as  if  it  were  an  imperfect  mle.  In  doing  which, 
thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  (aio— Dost  not  yield  due 
obedience  toii;but  ajudge  of  it-^-Settest  thyself  itove 
it,  and  showest,  if  thou  wert  able,  thou  wouldest 
abrogate  it  There  is  one  la^giver^By  whose 
jud^ent  and  final  sentence  thon  must  stand  or  fall 
hereafter;  for  he  i$  able  to  ezecnte  the  sentence  he 
denounces,  and  tave  with  a  perfect  and  everlasting 
salvation,  and  to  destroy  with  au  utter  and  endless 
destruction;  who  a^  iho»^A  poor,  weak,  dyhig 
worm;  ihaljudgeet  another^And  thereby  assumest 
the  prerogative  of  Christ  ? 

Verses  13-15.  Go  to  now^hyt  wy,  come  now,  an 
int^ecUon,  calculated  to  excite  attention ;  ye  that 
aayy  To-day  or  to-morrow  we  wiU  go^  &c.— As  if 
future  events  were  in  your  own  power,  and  your 
health  and  lives  were  ensured  to  you  for  a  certain 
time ;  whereae  ye  know  not  what  shall  be  on  the 
morrotD— Whether  your  spirits  before  then  shall 
not  have  passed  into  eternity;  for  what  ie  your  life? 
h  i$  even  a  vapour^An  unsubstantial,  uncertain, 
and  fleeting  vi^pour;  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time 
—In  this  visible  world ;  and  then  suddenly  vanish- 
eth  away-^Aod  is  seen  here  no  more.  Thus  Isaiah, 
AU  flesh  is  grasSy  and  all  the  goodUness  thereof  as 
ajioweroftheflM  ;  a  similitude  used  also  by  David, 
Psa.  ciiL  15, 16^  As  for  man,  his  4ayf  are  as  grass, 
as  a  flower  of  the  field  so  he  flowritheth;  for  the 
wind  passeth  over  it  and  it  is  gone,  and  the  place 
thereofshaUknowitnomore.  And  still  more  strik- 
ing is  the  metaphor  used  by  Asaph,  Psa.  Izxvill  89, 
where  he  terms  men,  even  a  generati<m  of  them,  A 
b 


14  Whereas  ye  know  not  what  ^AoU  a.m.4064. 
ieonthemonow.    For  what  {»  your  .^'  ^'  ^ 
life?   *  It '  is  even  a  vapour,  that  ai^)eareth  for 
a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away. 

15  Forthatyeot4^A^to8ay,7lftheLordwill9 
we  shall  live^  and  do  this,  or  that 

16  But  now  ye  rejoice  in  your  boastings :  'all 
such  rejoicing  is  evfl. 

17  Therefore  *to  him  that  knoweth  to  do 
good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin. 


7  Acta  xriii.  21  j  1  Cor.  ir.  19 ;  xrL  7;  Heb.  ri.  3. « 1  Cor. 

T.  e. 'Luke  zii.  47 ;  John  ix.  41 ;  xr.  22 ;  Rom.  i.  20» 21, 32 ; 

ii.  17, 18,  23. 


wind  that  passeth  away  and  cometh  not  again. 
But  in  no  author,  sacred  or  profane,  is  there  a  finer 
image  of  the  brevity  and  uncertainty  of  human  life 
than  this  given  by  Bt.  James,  who  likens  it  to  a  va- 
pQur,  which,  after  continuing  and  engaging  men's 
attention  for  a  few  moments,  unexpectedly  disap- 
pears while  they  are  looking  at  it  For  that  ye 
ought,  &c.^That  is,  whereas  ye  ought  to  say—In 
consideration  of  this  your  great  frailty;  If  the  Lord 
will,  we  shall  live  and  do  this  or  that — Intimating, 
even  by  your  manner  of  speaking,  the  sense  that 
you  have  of  his  being  able,  at  pleasure,  to  cut  you 
short  in  all  your  schemes  and  appointments.  The 
apostle  does  not  mean  that  these  very  words  should 
always  be  used  by  us,  when  we  speak  of  our  pur- 
poses respecting  futurity ;  but  that,  on  such  occa- 
sions, the  sentiment  which  these  words  express 
shouM  always  be  present  to  our  minds. 

Verses  16, 17.  Now  ye  rejoice— Kavxaa^e,  ye  glory, 
in  your  boastings — Ye  please  yourselves  in  the  vain 
thoughts  which  you  entertain  of  these  worldly  pro- 
jects and  successes,  and  you  boast  of  them.  All 
such  rejoicing— Of  glorying,  is  eri^-TTie  delight 
you  take  in  these  expectations  argues  either  a  strange 
want  of  consideration,  or  gross  stupidity.  There- 
fore to  him  tltat  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it 
not— That  knows  what  is  right  and  is  his  duty,  and 
does  not  practise  it;  to  him  it  issin—Hia  know- 
ledge does  not  prevent  but  increase  his  condemna- 
tion. As  if  he  had  said,  Since  you  cannot  but  know 
better,  as  you  have  the  oracles  of  God,  and  profess 
to  believe  them,  if  you  do  not  act  answerably  thereto, 
you  are  guilty  of  Uie  greater  sm.  "  Because  this  is 
true  with  respect  to  Jl  who  act  contrary  \o  know- 
ledge and  conscience.  Beza  and  Estius  consider  it 
as  a  general  conclusion,  enforcing  the  whole  of  the 
reproofs  given  to  the  Jews  for  acting  contrary  to  the 
divine  revehition,  of  which  they  were  the  keepers.' 
— Macknight 


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Admonition  to 


JAMES. 


the  rich: 


CHAPTER  V. 

Jh  tkU  ckofUr^  (1,)  Th$  apottU  iemmnou  temUe  judgment$  Mgmnst  the  rich  mnhdienng  Jtw  who  d^rsMiii  ike  poor, 
and  Ihed  in  huwry  and  oppres9umf  1-6.  (S,)  He  exhorU  the  Jewish  heUevere  to  patience  and  meekneeo  wnder  ikeir  iri' 
bnlationst  which  would  eoon  have  an  end,  7-11.  (8,)  Wama  them  againet  rath  owearing^  and  reeommende  frai^  im 
affiicted,  and  praise  inprosperous  circumstances,  13, 13.  (4,)  He  prescribes  prayer  and  a$winting  wiAoUfor  (kefniraeuUms 
recovery  of  the  sick,  14, 15.  (5,)  He  directs  private  Christians  to  confess  their  fautts  one  to  another,  and  toprayferwentfy 
for  each  other,  encmraging  them  to  expect  the  answer  of  their  prayers  hf  the  exampU  qf  BUas,  16-18.  {%,)  Shows  the 
hlessedness  of  being  instmmenial  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  19,  >0. 

A. M. 4064.  rH)  •to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep 
_1-! — L         and  howl  foit  your  miseries  that 


shall  come  upon  you. 

2  Tour  riches  are  corrupted,  and  ^  your  gar- 
ments are  moth-eaten. 


•ProT.  xi.28;  LiikaTLS4;  1  Tim.  vL  9. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 

Verse  1.  The  unbelieving  Jews,  being  exceedingly 
addicted  to  sensual  pleasure,  and  very  covetous, 
were  of  course  grievous  oppressors  of  the  poor. 
Wherefore,  to  alarm  these  wicked  meh,  and,  if  pos- 
sibly to  bring  them  to  repentance,  St.  James,  in  the 
first  paragraph  of  this  chapter,  sets  before  them,  in 
the  most  lively  colours,  the  miseries  which  the 
Romans,  the  instruments  of  the  divine  vengeance, 
vrete  about  to  bring  on  the  Jewish  people,  both  in 
Judea  and  everywhere  else,  now  deserted  of  God 
for  their  crimes,  and  particularly  for  the  great  crime 
of  murdering  the  Just  One^  Jesus  of  Na^aretii,  their 
long-expected  Messiah.  So  that,  being  soon  to  lose 
their  possessions  and  goods,  it  was  not  only  criminal, 
but  foolish,  by  injustice  and  oppression  to  amass 
wealth,  of  which  they  were  soon  to  be  stripped.  In 
this  part  of  his  letter  the  apostle  hath  introduced 
figures  and  expressions  which,  for  boldness,  vivacity, 
and  energy,  might  have  been  used  by  the  greatest 
tragic  poet  See  BCacknight.  Oo  to  now — Or,  come 
noWy  ye  rich  men — The  apostle  does  not  speak  this 
so  much  for  the  sake  of  the  rich  themselves,  as  of 
the  poor  children  of  God,  who  were  then  groaning 
under  their  cruel  oppression.  Weep  and  Juml  for 
yottr  mieeriei  that  ahall  come  upon  you — Quickly 
and  unexpectedly.  The  miseries  of  which  he  speaks 
were  those  which  our  Lord  had  pointed  out  in  his 
prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  in 
which  this  apostle  foresaw  they  would  soon  be  in- 
volved; miseries  arising  from  famine,  pestilence, 
and  the  sword.  These  fell  heaviest  on  the  Jews  in 
Judea.  But  they  extended  also  to  the  Jews  in  the 
provinces.  The  reader  who  desires  to  see  a  particu- 
lar account  of  these  calamities,  may  read  Josephus's 
history  of  the  Jewish  war,  where  he  will  find  scenes 
of  misery  laid  open  not  to  be  paralleled  in' the  annals 
of  any  nation.  And  as  these  were  an  awful  prelude 
of  that  wrath  which  was  to  fall  upon  them  in  the 
world  to  come,  so  this  passage  may  likewise  refer 
to  the  final  vengeance  which  will  then  be  executed 
on  the  impenitent. 

Verses  2,  3.  Your  riches  are  corrupted — Greek, 
oeorjirej  are  piUreJied,  or  are  as  things  putrefied  by 
being  kept  too  long.  The  riches  of  the  ancients 
596 


3  Tour  gold  ani  fdh^  is  cankered;  h,  u.  4064. 

and  the  rust  of  them  shall  be  a  wit-     '    1 

ness  against  you,  and  ^aU  eat  your  flesh  as  il 
were  fire.  •  Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together 
for  the  last  days. 


^  Job  ziii.  28 ;  Matt.  tL  20;  Chap.  iL  2.- 


iL5. 


consisted  much  in  large  stores  of  com,  wine,  oU,  and 
costly  apparel.  These  things  the  rich  men  in  Judea 
had  amassed,  like  the  foolish  rich  man  mentioned 
Luke  xii.  18,  little  imagining  that  they  would  soon 
be  robbed  of  them  by  the  Roman  soldiers,  and  the 
destructive  events  of  the  war.  Your  garmento^ln 
your  wardrobes ;  are  moth^eaten^-The  fashion  of 
clothes  not  changing  in  the  eastern  countries  as  with 
us,  persons  of  fortune  used  to  have  many  garments 
I  made  of  different  costly  stufis,  which  they  laid  up  as 
a  part  of  their  wealth.  Thus,  according  to  Q.  Cur- 
I  tins,  (lib.  V.  c.  6,)  when  Alexander  took  Persepolis, 
he  found  the  riches  of  all  Ana  gathered  together 
there,  which  consisted  not  only  of  goid  and  silver, 
but  vestis  ingena  modu^,  a  vast  quantity  of  gannents. 
Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered^Or  eaten  out  with 
rust ;  and  the  rust  of  them— Yoiur  perishing  stores 
and  moth-eaten  garments;  shaUhe^etc  fULprtpiow^for 
a  testimony  against  you—Oi  your  covetousness  and 
worldly  mind.;  and  of  your  having  foolishly  and 
wickedly  buried  those  talents  in  the  earth,  whidi 
you  ought  to  have  employed,  according  to  your 
Lord's  will,  in  relieving  the  wants  of  your  fellow- 
creatures.  And  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire 
—Will  occasion  you  as  great  a  torment  as  if  fire 
were  consuming  your  fiesh.  Or,  as  the  rust  eats 
into  the  gold  and  silver,  so  shall  your  fiesh  and 
wealth  be  eaten  up  as  if  you  had  treasured  up  ^re  in 
the  midst  of  it.  This  was  punctually  fulfilled  in  the 
destruction  of  that  nation  by  their  own  seditions, 
and  their  wars  with  the  Romans.  For,  among  the 
Sicariivad  the  Zealots,  the  ringleaders  of  all  their 
seditions,  it  was  crime  enough  to  be  rich ;  and  their 
insatiable  avarice  induced  them  continually  to  search 
into  the  houses  of  the  rich,  an^  by  false  accusation, 
to  slay  them  as  deserters,  for  the  sake  of  their  pro- 
perty. Yea,  both  thefar  substance  and  their  bodies 
were  devoured  by  the  fiaraes  which  burned  up  the 
city  and  the  temple :  and  if  any  thing  remained,  it 
became  a  prey  to  the  Roman  soldiers.  Ye  have 
leaped  treasure  for  the  last  days— The  days  which 
are  now  coming,  when  your  enemies  shall  seize  or 
destroy  all,  to  your  infinite  vexation  and  distress : 
or,  you  have  heaped  them  up  when  it  is  too  late ; 
when  you  have  no  time  or  opportunity  to  enjoy 

b 


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Judgments  denounced  agdnnet 


CHAPTER  V. 


ike  rich  cppreeecrs  of  ike  poor. 


/Ltf.4064: 
A.  D.  60. 


4  Behold,  ^  the  hire  of  the  labourers 
who  have  reaped  down  your  Mds, 
-whidiisofyoukeptbackbyfiraud|Crieth;  and 
*the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are  Al- 
tered into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth. 

6  'Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth, 
and  been  wanton;  ye  have  nouridied  your 
hearts,  as  in  a  day  of  daughter. 

6  'Te  have  condeinned  and  killed  the  just ; 
and  he  doth  not  resist  you. 

*  Lev.  zix.  13;  Job  xxi^.  10,  11 ;  Jer.  xnl  13;  M«L  iii  5; 

Ecdes.  xxxiv.  21,  22. •  Dent  xxir.  15.-^— '  Job  xxi  13 ; 

AmoB  ▼!.  1,  4 ;  Luke  xri.  19,  i5i  1  Tim.  ▼.  <L iClmp.  ii.  6. 

'  Or,  Be  UmgptaUmt,  or,  A^n-  withjmtimet. 

them.  This  phrase,  the  last  days,  does  not  merely 
signify^  the  time  to  come^  but  for  that  period  when 
the  whole  Jewish  economy  was  to  close,  and  when 
those  awful  judgments,  threatened  in  the  prophets 
to  be  poured  out  upon  wicked  men  in  the  last  days, 
were  just  coming. 

Verse  4.  Behold^  the  hire  of  the  labourers— The 
apostle  alludes  in  this  vcirse  to  Lev.  xix.  13:  7%e 
wages  of  him  that  is  hired  shall  not  abide  with  thee 
all  night:  and  to  Deut.  xxlv.  15,  At  his  day  thou 
sHaU  give  him  his  hire^  neither  shall  the  sun  go 
down  upon  tV,  ^c,  lest  he  cry  against  thee  unto  the 
Lordy  and  it  be  sin  unto  thee.  In  allusion  to  these 
passages,  the  apostle  here  mentions  a  two-fold  cry ; 
the  cry  of  the  hire  unjustly  kept  back ;  that  is,  the 
cry  of  the  sin  against  the  sinner  for  vengeance ;  in 
which  sense  those  sins  chiefly  cry  to  God  concern- 
ing which  human  laws  are  silent ;  such  are  luxury, 
unchastity,  and  varipu^  kinds  of  injustice.  But  the 
cry  of  the  labourers  Uiemselves  is  also  here  men- 
tioned, to  mark  more  strongly  the  greatness  of  the 
Injustice  committed.  And  '^by  representing  the 
cries  of  the  reapers  defrauded  of  their  hire  as  enter- 
ing into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  qf  Sabaoth,  that  is, 
hosts,  or  armies,  the  apostle  intimates  that  the  great 
Ruler  of  the  universe  attends  to  the  wrongs  done  to 
his  Creatures,  and  b  affected  by  them  as  tender- 
hearted person^  are  affected  by  the  cries  of  the  mise- 
rable y  and  that  he  will,  in  due  time,  avenge  them 
by  punishing  their  oppressors.  Let,  all  oppressors 
consider  this  P — Macknight. 

Verses  5,  6.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure,  qnd  have 
been  wa:$Uon — Erpv^aare  koi  ecnraroA^aarff.  The 
former  word  signifies,  ye^  have  lived  luxuriously ; 
or,  as  the  Vulgate  has  it,  Epulati  estis,  ye  have  feasted; 
it  being  intended  of  their  luxuries  and  intemper- 
ance in  eating  and  drinking :  the  latter  word  is 
intended  of  their  indulging  themselves  in  lascivious- 
ness  and  carnal  lusts.  Ye  have  nourished--Ot 
cherished ;  your  hearts — Have  indulged  yourselves 
to  the  uttermost ;  as  in  a  day  ofslaugJUer^-Thai  is, 
as  beasts  are  fed  for  a  day  of  slaughter ;  or,  as  the 
words  may  be  rendered,  as  in  a  day  of  sacrifice, 
which  were  solemn  feast-days  among  flie  Jews*  The 
apostle's  meaning  is,  both  that  the  rich  Jews  pam- 
pered themseTves  every  day,  as  the  luxurious  did  on 
Jilgh  festival-days;  and  that,  by  their  luxury  and 
b 


7  ^Be  paUent  therefcn'e,  brethren,  A.  H.  4064. 
unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Behold,    ^  ^'  ^' 


the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit 
of  the  earth,  and  hath  long  patience  for  it, 
until  he  receive  ^  the  early  and  latter  rain. 

8  Be  ye  also  patient;  staUish  your  hearts: 
^  for  the  comingof  the  Lord  draw^  nigh. 

9  ^Grudge' not  one  against  another,  brethren, 
lest  ye  be  condemned :  behold,  the  Ju(]^e '  stand- 
eth  before  the  door. 


kDoiit.xi.84;  Jer.  t.  34;  Hot.  tL3;   Joel  ii.  123;   Zech. 
X.  1.-. — iPhU.  iT.5;   Heb.  x.25,37;   lPeLiv.7.-, — kChim. 

iy.  11. 'Or,  Onam,  or,  gritve  not, ^Matthew  xxir.  33; 

1  C5or.  iv.  6u 


lascivlousness,  they  had  rendered  themselves  fit  to 
be  destroyed  in  the  day  of  God's  wrath.  Ye  have 
condenimed  and  kiUed,  tov  Sikoiov,  the  Just  One — 
Many  just  men,  and  in  particular  that  Just  One, 
termed,  (Acts  iii.  14,)  the  Holy  One  and  Just.  They 
had  killed  Stephen,  also,  and  they  afterward  kiUed 
James,  the  writer  of  this  epistle,  sumamed  the  Just. 
But  the  expression  might  be  intended  to  compre- 
hend all  the  righteous  persons  who  were  murdered 
by  the  Jews  from  first  to  last  And  Ae— The  Just 
One ;  dothnotresist  yow— With  that  display  of  power 
which  he  can  easily  exert  to  your  utter  destruction, 
and  therefore  you  are  secure.  But  the  day  will 
speedily  come  when  God  will  avenge  his  own  cause, 
and  pour  out  upon  you  the  judgments  he  has  threat- 
ened. 

Verses  7-9.  Be  patient  therefore,  brethren — He 
now  addresses  the  pious,  oppressed,  and  persecuted 
disciples  of  Christ:  as  if  he  had  said.  Since  the  Lord 
will  soon  come  to  punish  them,  and  relieve  you,  pa- 
tiently bear  the  injuries  which  rich  men  offer  you, 
and  quietly  wait  till  he  come.  Behold  the  husband- 
man waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit — Which  will  re- 
compense his  labour  and  patience;  till  he  receive 
the  early,  or  the  former  rain — Immediately  after 
sowing ;  and  the  latter— Before  harvest  In  Judea 
the  rains  usuidly  come  in  a  regular  manner;  the 
early  rain  about  the  beginning  of  November,  after 
the  seed  is  sown,  and  the  latter  in  the  middle  or  to- 
ward the  end  of  April,  while  the  ears  are  filling. 
These  rains  were  promised  to  the  Israelites,  Deut. 
xi.  14,  where  see  the^  note,  and  on  Hos.  vi.  3.  Be 
ye  also  patient — Like  the  husbandmail ',  stablish — 
IniptiaTe,  strengthen,  or  confirm;  your  hearts — In 
faith  and  patience,  considering  that  your  sufferings 
will  not  be  long ;  the  coming  of  the  Lord — To  de- 
stroy your  persecutors ;  draweih  nigh — ^And  so  does 
his  coming  to  rescue  his  people  from  Uie  troubles 
of  this  life  by  death,  and  to  judge  the  world  in  Tight- 
eousness  at  the  last  day.  Orudge,  or,  groan,  not 
— As  cevQ^erz  signifies ;  one  against  anoMer— Groan- 
ing is  caused  by  oppression ;  and  when  it  is^merely 
the  natural  expression  of  aflllction,  it  is  perfectly 
consistent  with  genuine  piety,  and  moves  God  to 
pity  the  afflicted  person,  Judg.  ii.  18:  but  when  it  is 
the  effect  of  impatience,  or  when  it  implies  a  desire 
of  revenge,  it  becomes  criminid,  and  is  the  kind  of 
897 


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Exhortaiion  to  patience 


JAMES. 


undem^enn^s  and  appremeim 


A.M. 4064.    10  ■Tab?,  my  brethren,  the  pro- 

'- — L  phots,  who  have  spoken  in  the  nam^ 

of  the  Lord,  6x  an  example  of  suffering  afflic- 
tion, and  of  patience. 

11  Behdd,  *  we  count  them  hs^j  which 
endure.  Ye  have  heard  of  ^  the  patience  of 
Job,  and  have  seen  ''the  end  of  the  hoxd] 
that  ^.the  Lord  is  y^  pitifol,  and  of  tender 
mercy. 

12  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  'swear 

■Matt  T.  12;  Heb.  n.35,6uK *Paa.  zmy.  13; Matt.  r.  10, 

11 ;  X.  22. •  Job  i.  21, 22;  ii.  10. p  Job  zHL  10,  dtc 

groaning  which  the  apostle  forbids.  Some  read  the 
clause^  Murmur  not  one  against  another:  that  is, 
have  patience  also  with  each  other;  le$t  ye  be  con- 
demned^-Leai  you  all  su0er  for  it,  and  perish  in  the 
common  calamity  -,  behold  the  Judge — Christ ;  stand- 
eth  before  the  door— Hearing  every  word,  marking 
every  thought,  and  ready  to  execute  those  judgments. 

Verses  10,  11.  Take  the  prophets — Once  perse- 
cuted like  you,  even  for  speaking  in  the  name  of 
the  Lorc2— The  very  men  that  gloried  In  having  the 
prophets,  yet  could  not  bear  their  mes^e.  Nor 
did  either  the  holiness  or  the  higli  commission  of 
these  messengers  of  God  screen  them  from  suffer- 
ing ;  for  an  example  of  suffering  affliction — Or  per- 
secution from  the  persons  to  whom  they  brought 
divine  revelations;  and  of  patience — In  suffering. 
Beholdy  we  count  them  happy — We  commend  them, 
and  believe  them  to  be  the  beloved  children  of  God ; 
vho  endure— BtdX  their  sufferings  with  patience, 
meekness,  and  a  contented  mind.  The  apostle's 
mentioning  this  immediately  after  he  had  proposed 
the  prophets  as  an  example  of  patience  in  suffering, 
shows  that  he  herein  alludes  to  Christ's  words,  (Matt. 
V.  11,)  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shaU  revile  you,  fc^ 
for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  ^at  were  before 
you.  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job — Under 
his  peculiarly  heavy  sufferings ;  and  have  seen  the 
end  of  the  Lord^Ye  have  seen,  in  the  history  of 
that  good  man,  what  a  happy  issue  the  Lord  gave  to 
his  sufferings ;  or  how  much  to  his  honour  and  com- 
fort his  various  and  heavy  afflictions  concluded; 
thai  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  &c.— And  that  it  is 
with  the  bowels  of  an  affectionate  Xatherjhat  he  cor- 
rects his  beloved  children,  and  not  for  his  own  ghiti- 
fication,  but  MTith  a  view  to  their  eternal  advantage. 

Verse  12.  But  above  all  things,  swear  no<— How- 
eyer  provoked.  The  Jews  were  notoriotisly  guilty 
of  common  swearing,  though  not  so  much  by  God 
himself  as  by  some  of  his  creatures.  The  apostle 
here  fortnds  these  oaths,  as  well  as  all  swearing  in 
common  conversation.  It  is  very  observable  how  so- 
lemnly the  apostle  introduces  this  command ;  above 
qU  things,  swear  not;  as  if  he  had  said.  Whatever 
you  forget,  do  not  forget  this.  This  abundantly  de- 
monstrates the  horrible  iniquity  of  the  crime.  But 
he  does  not  forbid  the  taking  of  a  solemn  oath  before 
a  magistrate.  Neither  by  any  other  odtft— Namely, 
unhiwlul  or  unnecessary;  btU  let  your  yea  be  yea, 


not,  neither  by  leaven,  neither  by  A.M.4064. 
the  earthy  neither  by  any  other  oath :  ^'^'^ 
but  let  your  yea  be  yea ;  and  your  nay,  nay  ; 
lest  ye  ftU  into  condemnation. 

13  b  any  among  you  afflicted?  let  him  pray, 
bany  merry?  '  let  him  sing  psaln^ 

14  b  any  sick  among  you?  let,  him  call  for 
the  elders  of  the  church ;  and  let  tbem  jvay 
over  him,  *  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name 
oftheljord: 


4 Norn.  xir.  18;    Pm.  ciii.  8. 'Matt.  t.  34,  Ac •  Eph. 

T.  1^;  CoL  iu.  16. «Mmrk  ri.  13;  xvi.  18. 

and  your  nay,  nay — Let  your  dtscourse  be  0(»finiied 
with  a  bare  affirmation  or  denial ;  and  use  no  higher 
asseverations  in  common  discourse.  But  let  your 
words  stand  firm ;  and  whatever  ye  say,  take  eare  to 
make  It  good ;  lest  ye  faU  into  condemnation — Ex- 
pose yourselves  to  God's  judgments. 

Verse  18.  Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?  lei  him 
pray — That  he  may  be  supported  under  his  afflic- 
tion, so  as  to  be  enabled  to  bear  it  with  patience  ^nd 
resignation  to  the  divine  win,  and  find  it  to  be  sanc- 
tified to  him,  and  made  the  means,  as  of  exercising, 
so  also  of  increasing  his  grace,  and  of  purifying  him 
as  gold  and  silver  are  purified  in  the  furnace.  Is 
any  merry  7—Ib  any  in  health,  and  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  and  under  no  peculiar  trial;  let  him  sing 
psalms— Let  him  give  thanks  to  God,  and  express 
his  thankfulness  by  singing  psalms  or  hynms  of 
praise.  The  purport  of  the  verse  is,  that,  as  believ- 
ers in  Christ,  we  ought  to  employ  ourselves  in  sudi 
private  religious  exercises  as  are  suitable  to  our  pre- 
sent circumstances  and  frame  of  mind.  ^When 
rendered  cheerful  by  contemplating  the  manifesta- 
tions^hich  God  hath  made  d  his  perfections  in  the 
works  of  creation,  providence,  ai^  redemption,  or 
by  any  Messing  bestowed  on  ourselves,  we  are  to 
express  our  joy,  not  by  drinking,  and  singing  pro- 
fhne,  lewd  songs,  but  by  hymns  of  praise  and  thanks- 
givings  oflTered  to  God  for  all  his  mercies,  Eph.  r. 
18, 19.  On  the  other  hand,  when  afflicted,  we  are  to 
pray;  that  being  the  best  means  of  produchig  in 
ourselves  patience  and  resignation.  But  as  the  pre* 
cept  concerning  xrar  ringing  psalms,  when  cheerM, 
does  not  imply  that  we  are  not  to  pray  then ;  so  the 
precept  concerning  prayer  in  affliction,  does  not  im- 
ply that  we  are  not  to  express  our  Joy  in  sufferhig 
aecordmg  to  the  wUl  of  God,  by  ringing  psalms  of 
hymns,  as  Paul  and  Silas  did  in  the  jail  at  FliOippi.* 
— Macknight. 

Verses  14, 15.  Is  any  sick?  let  himeaUfhr  the  d- 
dersofihechurchr—Those  ministers  of  Christ  whose 
office  it  is  to  oversee  and  feed  the  flock ;  and  lei  them 
pray  over  him^For  his  recovery,  persuaded  that 
what  two  or  three  of  the  Lord^s  true  disciples  shaH 
agree  to  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them;  anointing 
him  with  oil—^  Tliis  single  conspicuous  gift,  (heal- 
ing the  rick  by  anointing  them  with  oil,)  which 
Christ  committed  to  hb  apostles,  (Mark  vi.  13,)  »- 
mamed  in  Ae  church  long  after  the  other  miraculGiii 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


^edual/ervmU  profmr. 


A.  M.  4004.    16  And  the  prayer  c^&ith  shall  save 
^^'^'    the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 


up;  *  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shaH 
be  forgiven  hhn. 

16  Confess  ymtr  fiitdts  one  to  another,  and 
pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may  be  healed. 
*  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous 
man  availeth  much. 

•I».  zxxiiL  24;  Matt.  ix.  2. «0«n.  xx.  17;  Nam.  xL  2; 

Dent  ix.  iS-aO ;  Josh.  x.  13 ;  1  8tm.  xiL  IS ;  1  Kings  xiii.  6; 
S  Kingt  iv. SS;  xix.  16, 20 f  xx.  2,  4, 4co. ;  Pn.  x.  17 ;  xxxb. 

gifts  were  withdrawn.  Indeed  it  seems  to  have  been 
designed  to  remi^  always,  atnd  Bi,  James  directs  the 
ilders,  who  were  fte  most,  if  not  the  only  gifted 
men,  to  administer  it  -  Hiis  was  the  wliole  process 
of  pliysio  in  the  Christian  Church  till  it  was  lost 
through  vnbelief.  That  novel  invention  among  the 
Bomans,  extremeuncHan,  practised  not  for  cure,  but 
where  life  is  deq^aired  ik,  bearn  no  manner  of  re- 
semblance to  tliis."  See  Bengelius  and  Wesley. 
And  the  prayer  otTei^  infaidi  ^uUl  eave^  or  hod, 
f^  eick^  and  ihe  Lord  skatt  raiwe  him  tip— FVom 
Iris  sickness ;  and  if  he  have  committed  nn»— That 
is,  any  special  sins,  for  which  this  sickness  has  been 
1^  upon  him;  they  ehcUl  be  forgiven  Atm^Upon 
his  repentance  the  punishment  shall  be  taken  off. 

Verse  10.  Confeee  yourfauUe — ^Whether  you  are 
i^k  or  in  health;  one  to  cenather^Ue  does  not  say 
to  the  elders ;  this  may  or  may  not  be  done,  for  it  is 
nowhere  commanded.  We  may  confess  them  to 
any  pious  person  who  can  pray  in  faith:  he  will 
then  know  how  to  pray  for  us,  and  will  be  more  ex- 
cited so  to  do.  And  pray  one  for  another^  ihat  ye 
may  be  healed^Boih  in  soul  and  body.  Let  it  be 
observed,  Ist,  This  passage  of  Scripture,  only  en- 
joining true  believers  to  confess  their  sins  to  one 
another,  affords  no  foundation  for  the  Popish  prac- 
tice of  auricular  confession  to  a  priest  Besides, 
mutual  confession  being  here  enjoined,  the  priest  is 
as  much  bound  to  confess  to  the  people  as  the  people 
to  the  priest  3d,  This  direction  being  addressed  to 
women  as  well  as  to  men,  they  are  required  to  pray 
for  one  another,  and  even  for  the  men,  whether  laity 
or  clergy.  8d,  There  is  no  mention  made  here  of 
absolution  by  a  priest,  or  by  any  other  person.  4th, 
Absolution,  in  the  sound  sense  of  the  word,  being 
nothing  but  a  declaration  of  the  promises  of  pardon 
which  are  made  in  the  gospel  to  penitent  sinners, 
every  one  who  understands  the  gospel  doctrine  may 
declare  these  promises  to  penitent  sinners  as  well 
as  any  bishop  or  priest  whatever,  and  the  one  has 
no  more  authority  to  do  it  than  the  other:  nay, 
every  sincere  penitent  may  expect  salvation  without 
the  absolution  of  any  person  whatever:  whereas 
the  impenitent  have  no  reason  to  expect  that  bless- 
ing, dtiiough  absolved  by  all  the  priests  in  the 
world.  See  Dr.  Benson.  The  effectual  fervent 
prayer — Greek,  Seitatc  tvepybftnnif  a  singular  ex- 
pression, which  Macknight  renders,  the  inwrought 
prayer  f  and  Doddridge,  the  prayer  wrought  by  the 
^f^^if  of  the  Spirit;  and  Whitby,  the  inepired 
b 


17  Elias  was  a  man  7  subject  to  like  a.  M.  4064. 

passions  as  we  are,  and  '  he  prayed L 

^earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain:  ^anditrained 
not  on  the  earth  by  (he  space  of  three  yesuB  and 
six  months. 

18  And  ^he  prayed  again,  and  the  heaven 
gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her 
fruit 


15  ;  oxIt.  is  ;  Prov.  xr.  29 ;  xxriii.  9 ;  Jcim  ix.  31 ;  1  John 
iiL  2S. tAcU  xir.  15.— »1   Kkiga^xrii.  K— ^Or,   tit 


prayer,  observing,  "as  they  who  Were  inwardly 
acted  by  an  evil  spirit  were  styled  wepynfitpoif  (per- 
eons  inwardly  wrought  tipon,)  so  they  who  were 
acted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  inwardly  moved  by 
his  impulses,  were  also  evepyvfievoij  inwardly  wrought 
upon,  in  the  good  sense:  and  therefore  it  seems  most 
proper  to  apply  these  words,  not  to  the  prayer  of 
every  righteous  person,  but  to  the  prayer  Offered  by 
such  an  extraordinary  inipulse.^  Doubtless  every 
prayer  ofevery  righteous  person  is  not  here  intended, 
but  every  truly  righteous  person  has  the  Spirit  of 
Chriet,  without  which  no  man  can  belong  to  him ; 
and  is  led,  more  or  less,  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  other- 
wise he  could  not  be  a  son  of  God,  Rom.  yiii.  0, 14 ; 
and  every  such  hxme  walks  not  after  Ae  flesh,  but 
after  the  Spirit,  Rom.  viii.  1 :  and  therefore,  if  not 
always,  yet  sometimes,  yea,  generally,  snob  a  one, 
as  Jude  expresses  it,  (verse  20,)  prays  in  the  Holy 
Ohost ;  that  is,  in  and  by  his  influence,  and  there- 
fore in  a  spirit  of  true,  genuine  prayer,  feeling  sin- 
cere and  earnest  desires  after  the  blessings  which  he 
asks,  and  being  enabled  to  offer  those  desires  up  unto 
God  in  faith  or  confidence,  that  he  shall  receive  what 
he  asks.  And  this  fervent,  energetic  prayer  is  evi- 
dently the  prayer  here  intended,  and  said  to  avail 
much,  or  to  be  of  great  efficacy,  being  frequently 
and  remarkably  answered  by  God's  granting  the 
petitions  thus  addressed  to  him. 

Verses  17, 18.  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  like 
passions — To  the  like  infirmities ;  as  we  are— In 
which  sense  the  same  word,  ofioiona^fjg,  is  used.  Acts 
xiv.  16.  It  literally  signifies,  suffering  like  things 
with  another.  Elijah,  through  natural  infirmity, 
suffered  as  we  do  from  diseases,  from  temptation, 
from  persecution,  &c.  And  he  prayed  earnestly — 
Greek,  npoaevxtt  irpoeiiv^aTo,  in  praying  he  prayed, 
that  it  might  not  rain— That,  by  being  punished  for 
their  idolatry  and  murder  of  the  prophets,  they 
might  be  brought  to  true  repentance  for  these  crimes. 
And  it  rained  not  on  the  earth— Thai  is,  on  the  land 
of  the  ten  tribes ;  for  three  years  and  six  months— 
This  is  the  period  which  our  Lord  likewise  says  the 
drought  continued,  Luke  iv.  25.  It  is  said,  indeed, 
(1  Kings  rviii.  1,)  that  in  the  third  year  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Elijah,  namely,  concerning  the 
rahi.  But  this  third  year  was  computed  from  the 
time  of  his  going  to  live  at  Zarephath,  which  hap- 
pened many  days  after  the  drought  began;  as  is 
plain  from  this,  that  he  remained  at  the  brook 
Cheriih  till  it  was  dried  up,  and  then  went  to  Zare- 


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JAMER 


i^agoodwofh^ 


A.  11.4004. 
A.D.  00. 


19  Brediren,  •  if  any  of  you  do  err 
from  thetruCh,  and  one  omvert  him; 
20  Let  him  know,  that  he  which  converteth 


«  Matt  xriii.  15. 'Rom.  xi  14;  1  Cor.  iz.  8S;  ITim*  it.  10i 


pliadi  in  the  country  of  Sidoo,  1  Kingd  xviL  7, 0. 
Wherefore  the  t^^e  years  and  eta:  months  must  be 
computed  from  his  denouncing  the  drought,  at 
which  time  that  judgment  commenced.  See  note 
on  1  Kings  zviii.  1.  .  And  he  prayed  again — ^When 
idolatry  was  abolished ;  and  the  heaven  gave  rain 
^Ab  is  recorded  1  Kings  xriii.,  where' we  are  told, 
that  he  cast  himsdfdovm  on  the  earthy  and  piU  his 
face  between  his  knees^  which  was  the  posture  of 
an  humlde  and  earnest  supi^icant  Thus  Moses's, 
praying  is  expressed  by  his  fatting  on  his  face^ 
Nnm.xvi.  4. 

Verses  19, 20.  Brethrenr^kB  if  he  had  said,  I 
have  now  warned  you  of  those  things  to  which  you 
are  most  liable.  And  in  all  these  respects  watch, 
not  only  over  yourselves,  but  every  one  over  his 
brother  also.  Labour,  in  particular,  to  recover  those 
that  are  fallen.  For  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the 
tru(h--¥Tom  the  right  way  in  which  he  ought  to 
walk,  if  he  be  seduced  by  any  means  from  ttie  doc- 
trine and  practice  of  the  gospel  \  and  one-^  Any  one ; 
convert  Aun^Be  a  means  of  bringing  him  back  into 
that  way  from  which  he  had  wandered;  let  him 
kmw-^Wtio  has  been  enabled  to  effect  so  good  a 

OOQ 


the  dinner  from  the  error  <^  his  way,  a.  M.  _  . 
^  shall  save  a  docd  from  death,  and  ^  ^'^ 
*  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins. 


•Pi«T.z.l2;  lPet.ir.a 


work;  ihaJt  he  itho  converted  a  ^nner  from  the 
error  qf  his  v>ay — ^From  the  false  doctrine  and  bad 
practice  to  which  he  had  turned  aside,  shall  produce 
a  much  happier  effect  than  any  miraculous  cure  of 
the  body;  for  he  shaU  save  a  precious  immortal 
soul  from  spiritual  and  etemd  deaih,  and  OioU  hide 
a  multitude  ofntu^Namely,  the  sins  of  the  persons 
thus  converted,  whiiiii  shall  no  more,  how  many 
soever  they  are,  be  remembered  to  bis  condeoma* 
tion.  ^  The  covering  of  sin  is  a  phrase  which  oitea 
occurs  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  always  signifies 
the  pardoning  of  sin.  Nor  has  it  any  other  meaning 
here.  For  surely  it  cannot  be  the  apostle's  Intentioa 
to  tell  us,  that  the  turning  of  a  sinner  from  the  error 
of  his  way  will  conceal  from  the  eye  of  God's  jus- 
tice a  multitude  of  sins  committed  by  the  person 
who.  does  this  charitaUe  office,  if  he  continueth  m 
them.  Such  a  person  needs  himself  to  be  turned 
from  the  error  of  hi&way,  m  order  that  his  own  soul 
may  be  saved  from  death.  St  Peter  has  a  similar 
expression,  (1  Pet  iv.  8,)  love  covered  a  multitude 
of  sins  i  not,  however,  in  the  person  who  is  pes* 
sessed  of  love,  but  in  the  person  who  is  the  object 
of  his  love."— Madinight 


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PREFACE 

TO     THE 

FIRST  EPISTLE   GENERAL  OF  PETER 


IVj'O  person,  who  has  read  with  attention  the  four  gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  can  be 
unacquainted  with,  the  chaiacter  of  St.  Peter,  whether  as  a  follower  of  Christ,  or  as  an  apostle. 
He  and  his  brother  Andrew  were  the  first  two  that  were  called  by  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  hia  disciples, 
John  i.  41 ;  Matt  iv.  18-20.  And  in  all  the  passages  in  which  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are 
recorded,  Peter  is  mentioned  first.  He  was  one  of  the  three  whom  Jesus  admitted  to  witness  the 
resurrection  of  Jairus's  daughter ;  before  whom  he  was  transfigured,  and  with  whom  he  retired  to 
pray  in  the  garden,  the  night  before  he  suffered.  And  although  afterward,  in  an  hour  of  sore  temptaf- 
tion,  termed  by  Jesus  **  the  hour  and  power  of  darkness,"  Peter  gave  a  sad  proof  of  human  weaknesst 
in  den3ring  three  times,  and  that  with  oaths,  that  very  Master  with  whom,  a  /ew  hours  before,  he  had 
declared  his  readiness  to  go  to  prison  and  to  death ;  yet  in  consequence  of  the  deep  remorse  he  feh 
for  his  crime,  Jesus,  having  pardoned  him,  ordered  the  women,  to  whom  he  first "  showed  himself 
alive  alter  his  passion,**  to  carry  the  news  of  his  resurrecticm  to  Peter  by  name ;  and  appeared  to  him 
before  he  appeared  to  any  other  of  his  apostles.  And  at  another  a{4)earance,  (John  zid.  15-17,)  he 
confirmed  him  in  his  apostolical  ofiice,  by  giving  him  a  special  commission  to  "  feed  his  sheep ;"  and 
soon  after  judged  him  worthy,  under  the  impulse  and  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  open  the  gospel 
dispensation  in  all  its  glory,  and  first  to  preach  salvation  through  a  crucified  Redeemer  to  Jews  (Acts  n.) 
and  Gendles,  Acts  x.  When  he  and  John  were  brought  before  the  Jewish  council,  to  be  examined 
concerning  the  miracle  wrought  on  the  impotent  man,  Peter  boldly  testified  that  the  man  had  been 
healed  in  the  name,  and  by  the  power  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  they  had  crucified,  but  whom  God 
had  raised  from  the  dead ;  assuring  them  that  there  was  salvation  in  no  other.  It  was  P^er  who 
questioned  Ananias  and  Sapphira  about  the^  price  of  their  lands ;  and  for  their  l3ring  in  that  matter 
punished  them  miraculously  with  death.  And,  what  is  yet  more  remarkable,  although  by  the  hands 
of  all  the  apostles  many  signs  and  wonders  were  wrought,  it  was  by  Peter's  shadow  only,  that  the 
sick,  who  were  laid  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  were  healed  as  he  passed  by.  Soon  after,  when,  to 
please  the  Jews,  enraged  at  Ms  zeal  and  success  in  preaching  the  gospel,  Herod  Agrippa,  who  had 
lately  killed  James,  the  brother  of  John,  with  the  sword,  had  cast  Peter  into  prison,  intending  to  put 
him  to  death  also,  he  was  delivered  by  an  angel.  From  these  and  many  other  facts,  recorded  in  the 
gospel  history,  and  well  known  to  every  Christian  reader,  it  appears  that  Peter  was  very  early  dis* 
tinguished  as  an  apostle,  and  that  his  Master  highly  esteemed  Inm  for  his  courage,  zeal,  and  various 
other  good  qualities,  and  conferred  on  him  various  marks  of  his  favour,  in  common  with  James  and 
John;  who  likewise  distinguished  themselveis  by  their  fortitude,  zeal,  and fai diidness  in  the  execu* 
tion  of  their  apostolic  office.  But,  that  Peter  received  from  Christ  any  authority  over  hit  brethren,  or 
possessed  any.siqperior  dignity  as  an  apostle,  as  the  Romanists  contend  he  did,  there  is  no  reason  for 
believing.  All  the  apostles  were  equal  in  office  and  authority,  as  is  plain  firom  our  Lord's  declaration, 
^  One  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren."  And  it  i^pears,  from  Peter's  epistles, 
that  he  did  not  think  himself  superior  in  authority  to  the  other  apostles ;  for  if  he  had  entertained  any 
imagination  of  that  scnrt,.  insinuaticms  of  his  superiority,  if  not  direct  assertions  thereof,  might  have 
been  expected  in  his  epistles,  and  especially  in  their  inscriptions ;  yet  there  is  nothing  of  that  sort  in 
either  of  his  letters*  On  the  contrary,  the  highest  title  he  takes  to  himself,  in  writing  to  the  elders 
of  the  churches,  is  that  of  their  "  feUow-elder,"  1  Peter  v,  L 

b  001  . 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  GENERAL  OF  PETER. 

In  the  history  of  the  Acts,  no  mention  is  made  of  Peter  after  the  comicil  of  Jerusalem.  But,  from 
Gal.  ii.  11,  it  appears  that  after  that  council  he  was  with  Paul  at  Antioch;  after  which,  it  is  generally 
supposed  that  he  returned  to  Jerusalem.  What  happened  to  him  after  that  b  not  said  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  but,  according  to  Eusebius,  Origen,  in  his  exposition  on  Genesis,  wrote  as  follows :  "  Peter 
is  supposed  to  hav^e  fHreached  to  the  dispersion  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia,  Cappadocia,  and  Asia ; 
and  at  length,  coming  to  Roine,  was  crucified  with  his  head  downward,  himself  haying  desired  that 
his  crucifixion  might  be  in  that  manner."  Lardner  thinks,  that  when  he  left  Judea  he  went  again  to 
Antioch,  the  chief  city  of  S3rTia,  and  thence  into  other  parts  of  the  continent,  particularly  those  men- 
tioned in  the  beginning  of  this  epistle ;  and  that,  when  he  left  those  parts,  he  went  to  Rome ;  but  not 
till  after  Paul  had  been  in  that  city  and  was  gone  from  it.  If  the  reader  wishes  to  see  the  eyidences 
from  antiquity,  on  which  Peter's  having  been  at  Rome  rests,  he  will  find  them  fully  set  forth  by 
Lardner,  (Can.,  voL  iii.  c.  18,)  who  concludes  his  inquiry  a»  follows :  '*  This  is  the  general,  uncon- 
tradicted, disinterested  testimony  of  ancient  writers,  in  several  parts  of  the  world — Greeks,  Latins, 
Syrians.  As  our  Lord's  prediction,  concerning  the  death  of  Peter,  is  recorded  in  one  of  the  four 
-gospels,  it  is  rety  likely  that  Christians  would  observe  the  accomplishment  of  it ;  which  mnst  have 
been  in  some  place.  And  about  this  place  there  is  no  difierence  among  Christian  writers  of  ancient 
times.  Never  any  other  place  was  named  besides  Rome ;  nor  did  any  other  city  ever  glory  in  the 
mart3nrdom  of  Peter.  It  is  not  for  our  honour,  nor  for  our  interest,  either  as  Christians  or  Protestants, 
to  deny  the  truth  of  events  ascertained  by  early  and  well-attested  traditions.  If  any  nrtke  an  ill  use 
of  such  facts,  we  are  not  accountable  for  it  We  are  not,  from  a  dread  of  such  abases,  to  overthrow 
the  credit  of  all  history,  the  consequence  of  which  would  be  fatal." 

Learned  men  are  not  agreed  to  whom  chiefly  this  epistle  was  addressed,  whether  to  the  converted 
Jews  of  the  dispernon  only,  or  to  the  converted  Gentiles,  or  to  both  conjointly ;  or  (which  was  Lord 
Barrington's  opinion,  embraced  and  defended  by  Dr.  Benson)  to  ihe  eonverted  pioselytes  of  the  gate. 
In  tibis  diversity  of  opinions,  die  only  role  of  determination,  as  Dr.  Macknighi  observes,  must  be  die 
inscriptions,  together  with  the  things  contained  in  the  episde  itself.  Now  from  2  Pet  iii.  1,  it  appears 
that  both  St  Peter's  epistles  were  sent  to  the  same  people ;  wherefore,  since  the  inscription  of  the 
latter  epistle  is,  ^  To  them  vrho  have  obtained  like  precious  faith  with  us,"  both  epistles  must  have 
been  addressed  to  believers  in  generaL  Accordingly  the  valediction  in  the  first  episde  is  general, 
"  Peace  be  with  you  all  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus,**  chap.  v.  14.  So  also  is  the  inscription,  EKXetcrotc 
waptwidifftoic  dimnofMf  Ilovrv,  Ac,  "  To  the  elect  sojourners  of  the  dispersion  of  Pontus,**  Ac.  For  the 
appellation  of  "  sojourners"  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  this  letter  was  written  to  none  but  Jewish 
believers.  In  Scripture  all  religious  persons  are  called  "  sojourners  and  strangers,**  because  they  do 
aot  consider  this  earth  as  their  home,  but  look  for  a  better  country :  therefore,  in  writing  to  the  Gentile 
believers,  Peter  might  call  them  '<  sojourners,"  as  weU  as  the  Jews,  and  exhort  them  to  *^pass  the 
time  of  their  sojourning  here  in  fear ;"  and,  beseech  them  "  as  strangers  and  pilgrims  to  abstain  from 
fleshly  lusts,"  chap.  ii.  11.  Further,  he  might  term  them  **  sojourners  scattered"  through  those  coun- 
tries, althougfa  none  of  them  were  driven  from  their  native  countries,  because  the  expression  may 
merely,  signify,  diat  they  lived  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  in  the  widely-extended  regions  men- 
tioned in  the  inscription,  and  because  they  were  few  in  number  compared  with  the  idolaters  and 
tttbeUevers  among  whom  they  Hved.  Many  other  argiunents  might  be  drawn  from  divers  passages 
in  the  epistles,  to  prove  that  tibey  were  written  to  the  whole  body  of  Christians  residing  in  these 
countries,  and  that  whether  they  were  of  Jewish  or  Gentile  extraction. 

RespeoUng  the  design  of  this  epistle  it  may  be  observed,  ^at  it  was  intended,  1.  To  explain  more 
fiilly  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  to  these  newly-converted  Jews  tuid  Gentiles.  2.  To  direct  and 
persoade  them  to  a  holy  conversation,  in  the  faithfi^  discharge  of  all  personal  and  relative  duties,  in 
Ae  several  states,  both  of  the  civfl  and  tiie  Christian  Mfe,  whereby  they  would  secure  tiieir  own 
peace,  and  ^ectually  oonfrite  the  slanders  and  reproaches  of  their  enemies,  who  spoke  against  them 
as  evil<^oers^  3.  To  prepare  them  lor,  and  comfort  and  confirm  them  under,  the  various  sufierings 
and  fiery  trials  which  they  already  endured,  or  were  likely  to  endure.  This  seems  to  be  ihe  apostle^ 
principal  intention,  ftir  he  Mngs  this  subject  forward,  and  Mdarges  less  or  more  upon  it,  in  every 
diopter ;  encouraging  and  ejiiorting  them,  by  a  great  variety  of  arguments,  to  patience  and  perse- 
verance in  the  faith,  lest  the  persecntions  and  calamities  to  which  they  were  expiosed  should  cause 
them  to  apostatize  from  Christ  and  his.go^el. 

608  H. 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  GENERAL  OF  PETESt. 

**  St.  Peter's  style,"  says  Blackwall,  "  expresses  the  noble  vehemence  and  fervour  of  his  spirit,  the  , 
fun  knowledge  he  had  of  Christianity,  and  ^e  strong  assurance  he  had  of  the  truth  and  certainty  of  ( 
his  doctrine ;  and  he  writes  with  the  authority  of  the  first  man  in  the  college  of  the  apostles.    He 
writes  with  that  qmckness  and  rapidity  of  style,  with  that  noble  neglect  of  some  of  the  fomud  conse- 
quences and  niceties  of  grammar,  still  preserving  its  true  reason  and  natural  analogy,  (which  are 
always  marks  of  a  suUime  genius,)  that  you  can  scarce  perceive  the  pauses  of  his  discourse,  and 
distinction  of  his  periods.     A  noble  majesty,  and  becoming  freedom,  is  what  distinguishes  St.  Peter :  ^ 
a  devout  and  judicious  person  cannot  read  him  without  solemn  attention  and  awful  concern.     The 
conflagration  of  this  lower  world,  and  future  judgment  of  angels  and  men,  in  the  third  chapter  of  the 
second  epistle,  is  described  in  such  strong  and  terrible  terms,  such  awful  circumstances,  that  in  the 
description  we  see  the  planetary  heavens  and  this  our  earth  wrapped  up  with  devouring  flames,  hear 
the  groans  of  an  expiring  world,  and  the  crashes  of  nature  tumbling  into  universal  ruin.'' 

It  is  not  very  easy  to  assign  the  date  of  this  epistle  with  exactness.    The  most  commonly  received 
0{Mnion  is,  that  it  was  written  about  the  seventh  of  the  emperor  Nero,  or  A.  D.  62. 

Respecting  the  place  where  this  epistle  was  written,  from  Peter  sending  the  salutation  of  the 
church  at  Babylon  to  the  Christiuns  in  Pontus,  <&;c.,  it  is  generally  believed  that  he  wrote  it  near 
Babylon.  But  as  there  was  a  Babylon  in  Eg3rpt,  and  a  Babylon  in  Assyria,  and  a  city  to  which  the 
name  of  Babylon  is  given  figuratively,  (Rev.  xvii.^  xviii.,)  namely,  Rome,  the  learned  are  not  agreed 
which  of  them  is  the  Babylon  meant  in  the  salutation.  Pearson,  Mill,  and  Le  Clerc,  think  the 
apostle  speaks  of  Babylon  in  Egypt :  but  if  Peter  had  founded  a  church  in  the  Egyptian  Babylon,  it 
probably  would  have  been  of  3ome  note ;  yet,  if  we  may  believe  Lardner,  there  is  no  mention  made 
of  any  church  or  bishop  at  that  place,  in  any  of  the  writers  of  the  first  four  centuries ;  consequently 
it  is  not  the  Babylon  in  the  salutation.  Erasmus,  Drusius,  Beza,  Lightfoot,  Basnage,  Beausobre, 
Cave,  Wetstein,  think  the  apostle  meant  Babylon  in  Assyria ;  in  the  remains,  or  vicinity,  of  which 
city,  a  Christian  church  had  probably  been  planted,  consisting  principally  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Jews,  who  remained  in  those  regions  aftdr  the  Babylonish  captivity :  and  in  support  of  this  opinion 
Dr.  Benson  observes,  that  the  Assyrian  Babylon  being  die  metropolis  of  the  eastern  dispersion  of  Uie 
Jews,  Peter,  as  an  apostle  of  the  circumcision,  would  very  naturally,  when  he  left  Judea,  go  among 
the  Jews  at  Babyl(m,  and  that  it  is  not  probable  he  would  date  his  letter  from  a  place  by  its  figurative 
name.  For  which,  indeed,  no  satisfactory  reason  could  be  assigned :  language  of  that  kind,  however 
well  it  might  be  suited  to  the  nature  of  such  a  book  as  St  John's  Revelation,  (a  book  almost  wholly 
figurative  and  emblematical,)  being  entirely  vasmtable  to  the  date  of  a  letter, 
b  60a 


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THE    FIRST   EPISTLE  GENERAL 


OF 


PETER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

(I,)  T%e  Mpotde  Midrestei  tk*  Ckrutuaii  to  whom  he  wrote,  mm  strangers  scattered  thnmgh  Pontus,  4^.,  deseriUs  their  eha* 
raeUTySlHd  gioes  themhU  apostolte  henedietUmy  1,S.  {%,) He bissses  GodforregtneraiingthemtoaU9eljfhopt€faheaMenfy 
inheritance,  in  which  they  had  great  comfort  under  their  sesere  persecutions,  8-9.  (8,)  He  shows  that  this  great  sahatimt 
by  Christ  was  foretold  by  their  ancient  frophets,  and  introdaced  ky  the  apostles,  10-12.  (4,)  Exhorts  them  to  a  hdy  con" 
versation  and  brotherly  love,  answerahle  to  their  hopes  of  salvation,  to  the  command  and  nature  of  God,  and  to  their  re- 
demption  by  Chrisfs  blood,  and  regeneration  by  his  word,  18r-S5. 

A.  M.  4064. 
A.  D.  60. 


A.  M.  4064.  PETER,  an  aposde  of  Jesus  Christ, 

'. — 1  t^    the    strangers    *  scattered 

throughout  Pootus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia, 
and  Bythynia, 
2  ^  Elect  °  according  to  the  foreknowledge 


ft  John  Yii.  35;   AcU  iL  5,  9,  10;   James  i.  1. ''^pli.  i  4; 

Chap.  ii.  9. ^  Rom.  viii.  29 ;  xi  2. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  L 

Verse  1.  Peier^  fc,,  to  the  strangers — Or  sojourn- 
erSy  as  napeiridn/ioic  more  properly  signi^es ;  Uiat  is, 
to  the  Jewish  or  Gentile  Christians  sqfouming  on 
earth:  see  on  IChron.  xxix.  15;  Psa.  xxxix.  12; 
Heb.  xL  13.  Scattered — Aiaawopacy  of  the  dispersicn^ 
or  dispersed^  partly,  probably,  by  the  persecution 
mentioned  Acts  viiL  1 ;  or  the  expression  may  mere- 
ly signify,  that  they  lived  at  a  distance  from  each 
other,  being  scattered  through  the  widely-extended 
regions  here  mentioned ;  through  PontuSj  &c. — He 
names  these  Ave  provinces  in  the  order  wherein 
they  occurred  to  him,  writing  from  the  east  AJi 
these  countries  lie  in  the  Lesser  Asia.  The  Asia  here 
distinguished  from  other  provinces,  is  that  which  was 
usually  called  the  Proconsular  Asia,  bemg  a  Roman 
province. 

Verse  2.  Elect-^eJled  out  of  the  world,  and 
from  a  state  of  ignorance  and  sin,  guilt  and  deprav- 
ity, weakness  and  wretchedness,  by  the  word,  the 
Spirit,  imd  providence  of  Ctod ;  and  in  consequence 
of  obeying  the  call,  by  turning  to  GhxL  in  true  re- 
pentance, living  faith,  and  new  obedience,  chosen — 
Or  accepted  of  God.  For  all  true  believers,  or  gen- 
uine Christians,  whose  faith  works  by  love,  have 
continually  the  title  of  Ood's  elect  in  the  New  Tes- 
Ument  See  notes  onRouL  viii.  28,83;  Eph.  L  4^5. 
604 


<rf  God  the  Father,  ^  through  sanc- 
tification  of  the  S^nrit,  unto  obe- 
dience and  *  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
CSirist:  ^  Grace  unto  you,  and  peace,  be  mul- 
tij^ied. 


<2  Theas.  iL  IS.'- 


—•Heb.  X.  22;    xfi.  24.- 
2Pet.  i.  2;  Jade  2. 


'Rom.  i.  7; 


<'  Election^"  says  the  Rev.  J.  Wesley,  '^  in  the  Scrip- 
ture sense,  is  God's  doing  any  thing  that  our  merit 
or  power  has  no  part  in.  The  true  predestination, 
or  fore-appointment  of  God,  is,  1st,  He  that  beUeveth 
shall  be  saved  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin.  2d, 
He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved  eternally. 
3d,  They  who  receive  the  precious  gift  of  fiiith, 
thereby  become  the  sons  of  God ;  and  being  sons, 
they  shall  receive  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  to  walk  as 
Christ  also  walked.  Throughout  every  part  of  this 
appointment  of  God,  promise  and  duty  go  hand  in 
hand.  All  is  free  gift ;  and  such  b  the  gift,  that  the 
final  issue  depends  on  our  future  obedience  to  the 
heavenly  call.  But  other  predestination  than  this, 
either  to  life  or  death  eternal,  the  Scripture  knows 
not  of  Moreover,  it  is,  1st,  Cruel  respect  of  per- 
sons ;  an  unjust  regard  of  one,  and  an  unjust  disre- 
gard of  another.  It  b  mere  creature  partiality,  and 
not  infinite  justice :  2d,  It  is  not  p/atn  Scripture 
doctrine,  (if  true,)  but,  rather,  inconsistent  with  the 
express  written  word,  that  speaks  of  God's  universal 
offers  of  grace;  his  invitations^  promises,  threaten- 
ings,  being  all  general  dd.  We  are  bid  to  choose 
life,  and  reprehended  for  not  doing  it  4th,  It  is  in- 
consistent with  a  state  of  probation  in  those  that 
must  be  saved  or  must  be  lost  6th,  It  b  of  &tal 
consequence ;  all  men  being  ready,  on  very  slight 

b 


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CHAPTER  L 


ihe  believer  declared. 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.60. 


3  ^  BlesBed  be  tbe  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Cfariat|  which, 
^  according  to  his  ^  abundant  mercy,  >  hath  be- 
gotten us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  ^  by  the  resur- 


ff2Cor.i.3;  £ph.L3. fcTit.m.5. »Gr. 

iti.  3,  5 ;  Jtmat  i.  18. 


iJohn 


groundSy  to  fancy  ihemeehee  of  the  elect  number. 
But  the  doctrine  of  predestination  is  entirely  changed 
from  what  it  formerly  was.  Now  it  implies  neilher 
fidth,  peace,  nor  purity.  It  is  something  that  will 
do  without  them  alL  Faith  is  no  longer,  according 
to  the  modern  predestinarian  scheme,  a  divine  evi- 
dence of  things  not  eeen,  wrought  in  the  soul  by  the 
immediate  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  not  an  evi- 
dence at  all,  but  a  mere  notion.  Neither  is  faith 
made  any  longer  a  means  of  holiness ;  but  something 
that  will  do  without  it  Christ  is  no  more  a  Saviour 
from  sin;  but  a  defence,  a  countenancer  of  it.  He 
is  no  more  a  fountain  of  spiritual  life  in  the  souls  of 
believers,  but  leaves  his  elect  inwardly  dry,  and  out- 
wardly unfruitful;  and  is  made  little  more  than  a 
refuge  f^m  the  image  of  the  heavenly ;  even  from 
righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
According  to  the  foreknowledge  of  Crod — That  is, 
speaking  after  the  manner  of  men;  for,  strictly 
speaking,  there  is  no  foreknowledge,  any  more  than 
alter- knowledge,  with  God ;  but  all  things  are  kno^vn 
to  him  as  present  from  eternity  to  eternity."  As 
none  but  the  truly  penitent  and  believing  have  in 
Scripture  the  title  of  God's  elect,  so  such  may  be 
properly  styled,  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge 
of  Gody  because  God  knows  beforehand  from  eter- 
nity who  will  turn  to  him  in  repentance  and  faith, 
and  who  will  not ;  but,  as  Milton  observes, 

''  Foreknowledge  has  no  influence  on  their  fault, 
Which  had  no  less  proved  certain  unforeknown." 

Nor  is  there  any  inconsistency  between  the  divine 
prescience  and  human  Uberty ;  both  are  true,  accord- 
ing to  the  Scripture ;  and  doubtless  God  can  recon- 
cile them,  if  we  cannot.  Macknight  explains  the 
clause  thus:  *'The  persons  to  whom  the  apostle 
wrote  were  with  propriety  said  to  be  elected  accord- 
ing to  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  because,  agreeably 
to  the  original  purpose  of  God,  discovered  in  the 
prophetical  writings,  Jews  and  Gentiles  indiscrimi- 
nately were  made  the  visible  church  and  people  of 
God,  and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  people 
of  God,  by  their  believing  the  gospel,"  namely,  with 
a  faith  working  by  love  to  God  and  man :  "  God's 
foreknowledge  of  all  believers  to  be  his  people," 
[that  is,  true,  genuine  believers,  possessed  of  living, 
loving,  and  obedient  faith ;  for  only  such  are  God's 
people,]  **  was  revealed  in  the  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham. This  the  apostle  mentions  tp  sliow  the  Jews 
'  that  the  believing  Gentiles  were  no  intruders  into 
the  church  of  God.  He  determined,  from  the  begin- 
ning, to  make  them  his  people.  See  Rom.  xi.  2, 
where  God  is  said  to  have  foreknown  the  whole 
Jewish  nation ;  and  1  Pet  i.  20,  where  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ  is  said  to  be  foreknown  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world."  Through  sanctification  of  the 
b 


recdoQ  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  a.  m.  4064. 

4  To  an  inheritance  incorruptible, 1— 1 

and  undefiled,  ^and  that  fitdeth  nol  away,  ^  re- 
served in  heaven  ^  for  you, 


k  1  Corinthians  vr,  20.- 


-J  Chapter  ▼.  4.- 
•Or,yorii». 


>  Colosstans  i.  5. 


;Sjptri^— Through  the  renewing  and  purifying  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit  on  their  souls ;  for  sanctifica- 
tion implies  an  intomal  change  wrought  in  the  heart, 
the  first  part  of  which  is  termed  regeneration,  John 
L  18,  or  tt  new  creation,  2  Cor.  v.  17;  Tit.  iii.  5; 
producing,  1st,  Power  over  sin,  I  Pet  iv.  1, 2;  Rom. 
vi.;  over  the  world,  1  John  v.  4;  and  the  flesh,  Rom. 
viiL  2.  2d,  Devotedness  to  God  and  his  service  in 
heart  and  life.  3d,  A  continually  increasing  con- 
formity to  the  divine  image.  Unto  obedience — To 
engage  and  enable  them  to  yield  themselves  up  to 
all  hcdy  obedience;  namely,  both  internal,  to  the 
great  law  of  love  toward  God  and  man,  with  every 
holy  disposition  connected  therewith ;  and  external, 
to  all  Grod's  known  commands.  And  sprinkling  of 
the  blood  of  Jesus^ThBii  is,  through  his  atoning 
blood,  which  was  t3rpifled  by  the  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  of  sacrifices  under  the  law,  in  allusion  to  which 
it  is  termed,  (Heb.  xii.  24,)  the  blood  of  sprinkling. 
This  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  rest,  for  by  this  we 
are,  1st,  Introduced  into  a  state  of  justification  and 
peace  with  God,  being  freed  from  a  condemning 
conscience,  put  in  possession  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
rendered  capable  of  obeying,  Heb.  ix.  13, 14 ;  and 
hereby,  2d,  Our  obedience  is  rendered  acceptable  to 
God,  which  it  would  not  be  if  it  were  not  sprinkled 
with  hb  blood,  or  recommended  by  his  mediation, 
Grace  unto  you — The  unmmted  favour  and  love  of 
God,  with  those  influences  of  the  Spirit,  which  are 
the  efl^ect  thereof;  and  peace — All  sorts  of  bless- 
ings; be  multiplied— 'Vosaessed  in  great  abundance. 
Verses  3,  4.  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father,  or, 
€hd  even  the  Father,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — 
His  only-begotlen  and  beloved  Son ;  who,  according 
to  his  abundant  mercy — His  compassion  for  us  in 
our  state  of  ignorance  and  guilt,  depravity  and  weak- 
ness ;  his  undeserved  love  and  goodness,  the  source 
of  all  our  blessings,  temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal: 
h€Uh  begotten  us  again— Regenerated  us;  fo  a  lively 
— Zwrav,  living,  hope — A  hope  which  implies  true 
spiritual  life,  is  the  consequence  of  repentance  unto 
life,  living  faith,  justification  by  faith,  and  a  birth 
from  above,  by  which  we  pass  from  death  unto  life ; 
a  hope  which  revives  the  heart,  and  makes  the  soul 
lively  and  vigorous:  by  ffie  resurrection  of  Christ — 
Which  not  only  proved  him  to  be  th€^  Son  of  God, 
(Rom.  i.  4,)  and  demonstrated  the  truth  and  import- 
ance of  his  doctrine,  which  brought  life  and  immor- 
tality to  light,  but  manifested  the  acceptableness  and 
efficacy  of  the  sacrifice  he  offered  for  sin,  opened  an 
intercourse  between  God  and  man,  made  way  for 
our  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  is  a  pledge  and 
earnest  of  our  resurrection,  he  having  risen  the^r*r- 
fruits  of  them  that  sle^  in  him.  To  an  inheritance 
— For  if  we  are  children,  then  are  we  heirs ;  incor- 
ruptibte—'Noi  like  earthly  inheritances  or  posses- 
600 


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hdiever$  amrtfoiee  in  (fo£ 


A  M.4064.    6  *  Who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 

! God  through  fiulh  unto  nlvatioD, 

ready  to  be  rerealad  in  the  but  time. 
6  ^  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  thou^  now 
1"  for  a  season  (if  need  be)  ^  ye  are  in  heaviness 
through  manifold  temptations : 

■  John  X.  28, 20. •  Matt.  t.  1 2.—^  2  Cor.  ir.  IT ;  Ctuip.  r.  10. 

4  JamM  L  2. '  James  L  3, 12 ;  Chap.  !▼.  12. 

sions,  of  whaterer  kind,  which  are  both  corruptible 
iu  themaeWes,  tending  in  their  own  nature  to  diMo- 
lution  and  decay;  and  are  possessed  by  that  which 
is  corruptible,  even  through  the  medium  of  the  body, 
with  its  senses  and  members,  all  tending  to  decay  and 
dissolution.  But  the  inheritance  we  expect  is  neither 
corruptible  in  itself,  nor  shall  we  that  enjoy  it  be  cor- 
ruptible, either  in  soul  or  body.  UndeJUed^BveTy 
thing  here  is  therefore  corruptible^  because  it  has 
been  defiled  with  the  sin  of  man,  and  laid  under  a 
curse,  so  that  vanity  and  misery  are  attached  to  the 
enjoyment  of  every  thing ;  and  we  ourselves,  having 
been  defiled  in  soul  and  body,  have  aU  the  seeds  of 
vanity  and  misery  sown  in  our  frame.  But  the  in- 
heritance reserved  for  us  has  not  been  defiled  by  any 
sin,  and  therefore  has  no  curse,  vanity,  or  misery 
attached  to  it.  Rev.  xxiL  3.  And  we  ourselves,  when 
admitted  into  that  world,  shall  be  perfectly  pure,  and 
shall  have  in  our  frame  no  hinderance  to  the  most 
perfect  enjoyment  And  fadeth  not  away — As  every 
thing  in  this  world  does,  decaying  in  lustre  and  glo- 
ry, in  sweetness,  or  the  pleasure  it  yields  in  the  en- 
joyment, and  in  value  to  us,  who  can  only  have  a  life 
estate  in  any  thing ;  v^ence,  whatever  we  possess 
b  continually  decreasing  in  value  to  us,  as  the  time 
approaches  when  we  are  to  be  dispossessed  of  it 
But  the  inheritance  above,  on  the  contrary,  will  not 
decay  in  any  of  these  respects:  its  value,  its  glory 
and  sweetness,  or  the  pleasure  it  yields  in  the  enjoy- 
ment, will  continue  the  same  to  all  eternity;  or 
rather,  will  continually  increase ;  new  glories  open- 
ing upon  us,  new  pleasures  offering  themselves  to 
our  enjoyment,  and  new  riches  not  ceasing  to  be 
conferred  upon  us  from  the  inexhaustible  stores  of 
divine  and  mfinite  beneficence.  Beserved  in  heaven 
— ^And  therefore  not  subject  to  such  change^  as  are 
continually  taking  place  here  on  earth ;  for  yoik^ 
Who  by  patient  continuance  in  welldoing  seek  for 
glory,  honour^  and  immortality. 

Verse  5.  Who  are  Accpf— "Wio,  though  now  sur- 
rounded with  many  apparent  dangers,  are  not  left 
defenceless,  but  are  guarded,  kept  as  in  a  garrison, 
as  the  word  fpttpsfupitc  signifies;  by  the  poweiK  of 
G'od— Which  worketh  all  in  all ;  or  secured  from  all 
real  harm,  under  the  observation  of  his  all-seeing 
eye,  and  the  protection  of  his  almighty  hand ;  through 
/ai/^i— Through  the  continued  exercise  of  that  faith, 
by  which  alone  salvation  is  both  received  and  re- 
tained. The  clause  is  very  emphatical:  "It  repre- 
sents," says  Macknight,  "believers  as  attacked  by 
evil  spirits  and  wicked  men,  their  enemies,  but  de- 
fended against  those  attacks  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  the  influence  of  their  (aith,  (1  John  v.  4,) 
606 


7  Thai  '  the  trial  rf  your  fidth,  A.  M.  4064. 
being  nnieh  more  precious  than  of  ^^'^' 
gold  that  peririieth,  though  >it  be  tried  with 
fire,  ^  might  be  found  unto  praise,  and  ho* 
nour,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus 
Christ: 

*Jbb  zziiL  10;   Pml  Ixvi  \Q;   Prov.  ztu.  8;  Isa.  zhriii.  la 
- «Rom.iL7, 10;  ICgf.iv.fi. 

just  as  those  who  remain  in  an  Impregnable  fortress 
are  secured  from  the  attacks  of  their  enemies  by  its 
rampartsand  wails."  i?ea«2y-7-£roi/t9v, prepared,  to  &e 
revealed— In  all  its  glory;  in  the  Uut  time— Th^ 
time  of  Christ's  second  coming ;  the  grand  period, 
in  whidi  all  the  mysteries  of  divine  providence  shall 
beautifully  and  gloriously  terminate.  Some  have 
thought  that  by  the  salvation  here  spoken  o(,  the 
apQstle  meant  the  preservation  from  the  destruction 
brought  on  the  Jewish  nation  by  the  Bomans,  which 
preservation  the  disciples  of  Christ  ^  obtained,  by  ob- 
serving the  signs  mentioned  in  their  Master's  pro- 
phecy concerning  that  event  For,  when  they  saw 
these  signs  take  place,  they  fled  from  Jerusalem  to 
places  of  safety,  agreeably  to  their  Master's  order, 
Matt  xxiv.  16.  But  what  is  sud,  verses  9-12^  con- 
cerning this  salvation ;  that  it  is  a  salvation,  not  of 
the  body,  but  of  the  soul,  to  be  bestowed  as  the  re- 
ward of  faith;  that  the  prophets,  who  foretold  thie 
salvation,  searched  diligently  among  what  people, 
and  at  what  time,  the  means  of  procuring  it  were  ac- 
complished; that  it  was  revealed  to  the  prophets 
that  these  means  were  to  be  accompli^ed,  not 
among  them,  but  among  us;  and  that  Uiese  things 
were  to  be  preached  by  the  apostles  as  actually  come 
to  pass :  I  say,  the  above-mentioned  particulars  con- 
cerning the  salvation  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time, 
do  not  agree  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Christians 
from  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  but  are  applicable 
only  to  the  salvation  of  believers  in  general  from 
eternal  death,  by  a  resurrection  to  an  inunortal  life 
in  heaven,  at  the  time  of  Christ's  coming,  when  this 
salvation  is  to  be  revealed ;  and  that  time  is  called 
the  last  time,  because  it  will  be  the  concluding  scene 
of  God's  dispensations  relating  to  our  world." — 
Macknight 

Verse  6.  Wherein— In  vt\^c\l  living  hope  ol  mich 
a  glorious  inheritance,  and  in  being  so  kept  to  the  en- 
joyment of  it,  ye,  even  now,  greatly  r^oice—kyaX^ 
Xiaa^c,  ye  are  exceeding  glad,  or  leap  for  joy, 
though  for  a  season,  Q7ayov  apTt,now — A  little  while: 
such  is  our  whole  life  compared  to  eternity  I  if  need 
&e— When  God  sees  it  needful,  and  the  best  means 
for  your  spiritual  profit ;  ye  are  in  heaviness — Awrf- 
^evre^  grieved,  or  in  sorrow i  but  not  in  darkness: 
for  they  still  retained  both  faith  and  hope,  verses 
3, 5;  yea,  and  love,  verse  8.  From  this  we  learn 
that  the  people  of  God  are  never  afflicted  except 
when  it  is  either  necessary  for,  or  conducive  to,  their 
spiritual  improvement  What  a  consolation  is  this 
to  the  afflicted !  Thai  the  trial  ofyour  f aith— Tht 
trying  whether  it  be  genuine,  or  the  proof  of  it  upon 
trial;  being  much  more  precious— Or  much  mwe 

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CHAPTER  I. 


for^M  by  ancient  prophet. 


A.1L  4064.    8  » WbOTft  baring  notieen,  yc love; 

'. — 1  *  in  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him 

not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejdee  with  joy  unspeak- 
able, and  foil  of  glory : 

9  Receiving  ^  the  end  of  your  faith,  wen  the 
salvation  of  your  souls. 

10  *  Of  which  salvation  (he  prophets  have 

■  1  John  iT.  20. '  John  jol  99;    2  CortntluaBS  ▼.  7 ; 

Hebrews  xL  1,  27. 7  Romau  n,  38. »  Geneeis  xlix.  10 ; 

Daniel  ii.  44 ;  Haggai  ii  7 ;  Zeebariah  wi,  12;  ICatthew  xiii. 

important,  or  of  greater  consequence,  than  the  trial 
of  gold— Or  that  yonr  foith,  being  tried,  and  proved 
to  be  genuiae  upon  trial,  which  is  more  precious 
than  gold,  (for  g^  though  it  bear  the  fire,  will  yet 
perish  with  the  world,)  may  be  found,  though  it 
doth  noi  yet  appear,  t$fUo  praise— From  God  him- 
self; or  may  be  approved  and  commended  by  him ; 
and  honour — From  men  and  angels;  and  glory^ 
Assigned  by  the  great  Judge  *,  aithe  appearing  of 
Jesus  Christ — ^At  4he  time  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  when  he  shall  appear  for  the  perfect  and  final 
salvation  of  hb  followers.  One  reason  why  the 
Christians,  in  the  first  age,  were  subject  to  persecu- 
tion and  death  was,  as  Macknight  observes,  '^that 
their  faith  being  put  to  the  sever^  trial,  mankind 
might  have,  in  their  tried  and  persevering  faith,  what 
19  infinitely  more  profitable  to  them  than  all  the  gold 
and  silver  in  the  world ;  namely,  such  an  irrefraga- 
ble demonstration  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  on  which 
the  Christian  religion  is  built,  as  will  bring  praise, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  to  God,  and  to  the  martyrs 
themselves^  at  the  last  day.  For  what  can  be  more 
honourable  to  God,  than  that  the  persons,  whom  he 
appointed  to  bear  witness  to  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  to  the  other  miracles  by  which  the  gos- 
pel was  establidied,  sealed  their  testimony  with 
their  blood  ?  Or  what  greater  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  these  miracles  can  the  world  require,  than  that  the 
persons  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  them,  lost  dieir 
estates,  endured  extreme  tortures,  and  parted  with 
their  lives,  for  bearing  testimony  to  them  ?  Or  what 
greater  felicity  can  these  magnanimous  heroes  wish 
to  receive  than  that  which  shall  be  bestowed  on 
them  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  when  their 
testimony  shall  be  put  beyond  all  doubt,  their  perse- 
cutors shall  be  punished,  and  themselves  rewarded 
with  the  everlasting  possession  of  heaven  ?"     ^ 

Verses  8,  0.  Whom  having  not  seen — Et<5oref, 
known,  that  is,  personally  in  the  flesh;  ye  love— 
Namely,  on  account  of  his  amiable  chi^acter,  and 
for  the  great  things  he  hath  done  and  suffered  for 
you,  and  the  great  benefits  he  hath  bestowed  on  you. 
It  is  very  possible,  as  Doddridge  c^Merves,  that  among 
these  dispersed  Christians,  there  might  be  some  who 
had  visited  Jerusalem  while  Christ  was  there,  and 
might  have  seen,  or  even  conversed  with  him ;  but 
as  the  greater  part  had  not,  St.  Peter  speaks,  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  apostolic  manner,  as  if  they  all  had 
not.  Thus  he  speaks  of  them  all  as  loving  Christ, 
though  there  might  be  some  among  them  who  were 
destitute  both  of  this  divine  principle  and  of  ihsXjoy 
b 


inquired  and  searched  dili^ntly,  who  a.  m.  4064. 
prophesied  of  Oie  grace  that  should  ^'  ^'  ^' 
come  unto  yon : 
11  Searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  tinie 
•  the  S[ririt  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did 
signify,  when  it  testified  befi^ehsmd  ^the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 

17;    Loke  x.  24:    2  Peter  i.  19-Sl. » Chapter  iii.  19: 

3  Peter  i.  21. »  Paakn  zzii.  6 ;  laaiah  liii.  3,  &e. ;  Daniel 

ix.  26 ;  Luke  xxi^.  26. 


which  he  here  describes  as  aveicXaXirra  kgi  dedo^aa/uptj^ 
unutterable  and  glorified;  that  is,  such  joy  as  was 
an  anticipation  of  that  of  the  saints  in  glory.  Be-^ 
ceiving'—EYtn  now  idready,  with  unspeakable  de- 
light, as  a  full  equivalent  for  all  your  trials ;  ^  end 
of  your  faith— Thfii  which  in  your  faith  you  aim  at, 
and  which  is  the  seal  and  the  reward  of  it;  the  sal- 
vation  of  your  souls— from  the  guilt  and  power  of 
your  sins,  and  all  the  consequences  thereof,  into  the 
favour  and  hnage  of  God,  and  a  state  of  communion 
with  him;  implying  a  qualification  for,  and  earnest 
of,  complete  and  eternal  salvation.  The  Jews  thon  ght 
that  the  salvation  to  be  acccnnplished  by  the  Mes- 
siah would  be  a  salvation  from  the  Roman  and  every 
foreign  yoke;  but  that  would  only  have  been  a  sal- 
vation of  their  bodies:  whereas  the  salvation  which 
believers  expect  from  Christ  is  the  salvation  of  their 
souls  from  sin  and  misery,  and  of  their  bodies  from 
the  grave. 

Ver.  10, 1 1.  Of  which  salvationr^Th&i  in,  concern- 
ing the  nature  and  extent  of  it,  and  the  way  and 
means  of  attaining  it,  namely,  by  believing  and  obey- 
ing the  gospel,  to  be  preached  among  all  nations : 
(see  ^e  margin :)  the  prophets  have  inquired — E^»- 
^tfTnaav,  sought  with  ajccuracy,  or  were  earnestly  in- 
quisitive about;  and  seardied  diligently— {lAke 
miners  searching  for  precious  ore,)  after  the  mean- 
ing of  the  prophecies  whieh  they  delivered ;  who 
prophesied— Long  ago ;  of  the  grace  of  God  toward 
you — Of  his  abundant  overflowing  grace  to  be  be- 
stowed on  believers  under  the  dispensation  of  the 
Messiah :  searching  what,  ot*  what  time— Wt^t  par- 
ticular period ;  and  whai  manner  of  time— By  what 
marks  to  be  distinguished ;  or  in  what  age  of  the 
world,  and  what  events  should  then  take  place. 
From  this  it  appears  that  in  many  instances  the  pro- 
phets did  not  understand  the  meaning  of  their  own 
prophecies,  but  studied  them,  as  others  did,  with 
great  care,  in  order  to  find  it  out  See  Dan.  viL  28; 
xiL  8.  This  care  they  used  more  especially  In  ex- 
amining the  prophecies  which  they  uttered  concern- 
ing Christ  The  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in 
them— The  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  Spirit  of  prophecy 
communicated  to  them  by  Christ,  who  therefore 
then  existed,  and  that  not  as  a  creature,  for  no  crea- 
ture can  give  the  Holy  Ghost  but  a  person  properly 
divine.  Here  then  we  learn  that  the  inspiration  of 
the  Jewbh  prophets  was  derived  from  Christ;  it 
was  his  Spirit  (see  GaL  iv.  6)  which  spake  in  them. 
The  same  Spirit  he  promised  to  the  apostles,  John 
xvL  7, 13.  Wherefore,  the  prophets  and  apostles  bft- 
Wt 


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A.M.406C 
A.D.60. 


12  *  Unto  whom  k  was  reyealed, 
that  '  not  unto  tbemselyes,  but  unto 
us  they  did  minister  the  things  which  are  now 
reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have  preached 
the  gospel  unto  you,  with  *  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  bom  heaven ;  ^  which  things  the  angels 
desire  to  look  into. 


«  Daniel  U.  24. *  Hebrews  xL  13, 39, 40.^—*  Acta  it  4. 

'Ezod.  zxT.  20.— c  Luke  zii.  35.^-^J>Lake  xxL  34;  Rom. 
ziii.  13 ;  1  Theee.  r.  6,  8;  Chap.  ir.  7 ;  ▼.  8. 

log  inspired  by  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  their  doc- 
trine must  be,,  as  in  fact  it  is,  the  same.  When  it 
testified  beforehand— MoYed  them  to  foretel  and 
show ;  the  tufferinge  of  Christy  (see  the  margin,) 
and  the  glory  that  shotUdfoUow — Ta^ntra  ranra  do^acj 
the  glories  that  should  succeed  ^se  sufferings^ 
namely,  the  glory  of  his  resurrection,  ascension,  ex- 
altation, and  the  effhsion  of  his  Spirit;  the  glory  of 
the  last  judgment,  and  of  his  eternal  kingdom;  and 
also  the  glories  of  his  grace  in  the  hearts  and  lires 
of  true  believers. 

Verse  1!^.  UtUovjhom'So  searching;  it  was  re- 
vealedy  that  not  unto  themselves^  hut  unto  us — ^Not  so 
much  for  their  own  benefit  as  for  ours,  to  whose 
time  the  accomplishment  of  their  prophecies  was 
reserved;  they  did  minister  the  things  which  are 
now  reported  unto  yoti — Performed  the  office  of 
foretelling  the  things,  the  accomplishment  whereof 
has  been  declared  unto  you.  In  other  words,  that  they 
did  not  so  much  by  their  predictions  serve  themselves 
or  that  generation,  as  they  have  served  us,  who  now 
enjoy  what  they  mily  saw  afar  off.  With  the  Holy 
Ghost  sent  down  from  heacen — Confirmed  by  the  in- 
ward powerful  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well 
as  the  mighty  effusion  of  his  miraculous  gilts.  Which 
things  the  angels  desire  lo  look  into^—To  obtain  a 
more  perfect  insight  into,  and  knowledge  of,  as  being 
matters  of  their  admiration  and  delight,  because  in 
them  the  manifold  wisdom  of  Ood  is^  displayed,  and 
by  them  the  salvation  of  mea  is  procured  and  effect- 
ed, which  they  rejoice  in.  The  expression,  tlie 
angels  desire  to  look  into,  is  literally,  to  stoop  down 
to.  "  But  stooping  being  the  action  of  one  who  do- 
sires  to  look  narrowly  into  a  thing,  it  properly  means, 
to  look  attentively.  The  omission  of  the  article  be- 
fore ayyeyiot,  angels^  renders  the  meaning  more  grand. 
Not  any  particular  species  of  angels,  but  all  the  dif- 
ferent orders  of  them,  desire  to  look  into  the  things 
foretold  by  the  prophets,  and  preached  by  the  apos- 
tles. See  Eph.  iii.  10.  This  earnest  desire  of  the 
angds  to  contemplate  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  was 
emblematically  signified  by  the  cherubim  placed  in 
the  inward  tabernacle,  with  their  faces  turned  down 
toward  the  mercy-seat,  Exod.  xxv.  20.  To  that 
emblem  there  is  a  plain  allusion  in  the  word  napor 
KVflfoi  here,  to  stoop.  The  apostle's  meanmg  is,  If  our 
salvation,  and  the  means  by  which  it  b  accomplished, 
are  of  such  importance  as  to  merit  the  attention  of 
angels,  how  much  more  do  they  merit  our  atten- 
tion, who  are  so  much  interested  in  them !" — Mac- 
knight 

608 


13  Wherefixe  'giid  up  the  loiiis  of  a.  m.  4064. 

your  niind,  ^.be  sober,  and  hope  '  to  1— L 

the  end  for  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto 
you  ^  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ : 

14  As  obedient  children,  ^  not  ftahioning 
yourselves  according  to  the  former  lusts  ^in 
your  ignorance: 

*  Or.  jM/tfetfy.-p— J  Luke   xriL  30  ;    1  Corinthiaiw   L  7 ; 

2  Thestaloniana  i.  7. kRomutf  ziL  2;    Ch^ter  ir.  9 

1  Acts  zrii.  30 ;   1  Themikiaiimi  iv.  5. 


Here  is  a  beautifbl  gradation :  prophets,  righteous 
men,  kings,  desired  to  hear  and  see  the  thbdgs  which 
Christ  did  and  taught,  Matt  xiiL  17 ;  but  what  the 
Holy  Ghost  taught  concerning  Christ,  the  very  an- 
gels long  to  understand. 

Verses  13-16.  Wherejbre--Biuce  your  Jot  is  fallen 
into  these  glorious  times,  wherein  you  enjoy  such 
high  privileges  above  what  the  people  of  God  form- 
erly enjoyed;  since  the  blesangs  which  are  set 
before  you  are  so  invaluable,  and  are  so  freely  offered 
you,  and  you  have  such  great  encouragement  to  be- 
lieve you  may  attain  them ;  gird  up  the  loins  of  your 
mtfui--Prepare  to  pursue  them  with  vigour,  con- 
stancy, and  perseverance,  and  to  perform  &e  various 
duties  which  they  lay  you  under  an  indispensable 
obligation  steadily  to  practise.  The  apostle  alludes 
to  the  manners  of  the  eastern  countries,  in  which 
the  men's  garments  being  long  and  flowing,  they 
prepared  themselves  for  travelling,  and  other  active 
employments,  by  girding  them  ut)  with  a  girdle  put 
round  their  loins,  to  prevent  their  being  encumbered 
by  them.  The  loins  of  the  mind,  therefore,  is  a 
figurative  expression  for  the  foculties  of  the  soul,  the 
understanding,  memory,  will,  and  affections,  which 
the  apostle  signifies  must  be  gathered  in  and  girded, 
as  it  were,  about  the  soul  by  the  girdle  of  truth,  so 
as  to  be  in  a  state  fit  for  continual  and  unwearied 
exertion  in  running  the  Christian  race,  fighting  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  and  working  out  our  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling.  Our  mind  must  not  be 
overcharged  at  any  time  with  surfeiting  and  drunk- 
enness, or  the  cares  of  this  life :  our  affections  must 
be  placed  on  proper  objects,  and  in  a  just  degree ; 
and  especially  must  be  set  on  the  thmgs  that  are 
above,  which  are  to  be  our  portion  and  felicity  for 
ever :  our  various  passions  must  be  under  the  go- 
vernment of  reason  and  religion,  of  the  truth  and 
grace  of  God.  Be  sober— Or  rather,  watchjulj  as 
vrj^Tt^  properly  signifies,  as  servants  that  wait  for 
their  Lord  ;  and  hope  to  the  ^end — ^TeAetwf  e^Kiaare, 
hope  perfectly,  namely,  with  the  full  assurance  of 
hope  J  for  the  grace— The  blessings  flowing  from 
the  free  favour  of  €k)d ;  to  be  brought  unto  you  at 
the  final  and  glorious  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ — 
At  the  end  of  the  world.  As  obedient  children— As 
children  of  God,  obedient  to  him  in  all  things  \  not 
fashioning — Or  conforming ;  yourselves — In  spirit 
and  conduct  j  according  to — Or,  as  if  you  were  in- 
fluenced by ;  yovi  former  desires  in  your  ignorance 
— When  you  were  unacquainted  with  those  better 
things  which  now  claim  the  utmost  vigonr.of  your 

b 


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CHAPTBR  I. 


the  precious  Hood  of  CktUt. 


A.tf.i06i  15  ■'BoC  as  he  whkh  halh  cdled 
j^ou  is  hdy,so  be  ye  holy  in  all  man- 
lier of  amvefsatioii ; 

16  Because  it  is  written,  ^Be  ye  holy;  far  J 
amhqly^ 

17  And  if  ye  can  on  the  Father,  "  who  with- 
out req)ect  of  persons  judgeth  according  to 
every  man^i  work,  ^  pass  the  time  of.  yoor  «  so- 
journing A^re  in  fear : 

18  Forasmuch  as  ye  know  'that  ye  were  not 
redeemed  with  comiptiUe  things,  oj  silver  and 


■  Luke  i.  71,  79 ;  S  Cor.  rii.  1.— **L«y.  «L  44 ;    xit.  »; 

XX.  7, ©Dwit  X.  17;  Acti  x.  34;  Rofo.  ii.  II- 1»2  Cor. 

▼ii  1 ;  PhiL  il.  12. fl  3  Corinth,  y.  «. »"  1  Corinth,  ri.  20 ; 

Tji.  23-^ — » Eiek.  XX.  18 ;  Chap,  ir.  3. » Acto  xx.  28. 


affections.  But  as  he  which  halh  called  you— To  be 
his  children  and  his  heirs ;  is  holy— A.  being  per- 
fectly pure  and  spiritual;  he  ye  holy — In  imitation 
of  him,  your  heavenly  Father ;  in  all  manner  of 
converscUion — Ev  munf  ava^po^^  in  your  whole  be- 
haviour^ in  all  your  tempers,  words,  and  works, 
fro.m  day  to  day. 

Verse  17.  And  if  ye  call  on  the  Father— With  an 
expectation  of  being  heard ;  or,  as  ybu  desire  or  ex- 
pect audience  and  acceptance  at  God's  hands ;  who^ 
without  respect  of  persons— Wtikih  can  have  no 
place  with  God ;  see  note  on  Rom.  IL  11 ;  judgeth 
according  to  every  man^s  icor^^-According  to  the 
tenor  of  his  life  and  convei^tion ;  pass  the  time  of 
your  sofouming— The  short  season  of  your  abode  on 
earth ;  in  fear—in  the  reverential  and  awful  fear  of 
God,  in  an  humble  and  loving  fear  of  offending  him, 
in  a  watchful  fear  of  your  spiritual  enemies,  and  in 
a  jealous  fear  of  yomrselves,  lest  a  promise  being  left 
you  of  entering  into  his  rest,  you  should,  through 
lukewarmneas,  sloth,  and  indigence,  or  through 
levity,  carelessness,  and  negligence,  after  all^  come 
short  of  it  This  (ear  is  a  proper  companion  and 
guard  of  hope.  The  word  napoucta^  here  rendered 
sojourning^  properly  signifies  the  stay  which  travel- 
lers make  in  a  place  while  finishing  some  business. 
The  term,  therefore,  is  applied  with  great  propriety 
to  the  abode  of  the  children  of  God  in  the  present 
world,  as  it  signifies  that  this  earth  is  not  their  home, 
and  that  they  are  to  remain  in  it  only  a  short  time. 
See  on  Heb.  xi.  la 

Verses  1^21.  Forasmuch  as  ye  know,  &c^— That 
is,  be  holy  in  your  whole  behaTiour,  because  ye  know 
what  an  immense  price  your  redemption  cost ;  that 
you  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things- 
Such  as  all  visible  and  temporal  things  are ;  even 
silver  and  gold—Highly  as  they  are  prized,  and 
eagerly  as  they  are  sought ;  from  your  vain  conver- 
sation— Your  foolish,  sinful  way  of  life,  a  way 
wholly  unprofitable  to  yourselves,  and  dishonourable 
to  God ;  received  by  traditions  from  your  faihers^^ 
Which  you  had  been  engaged  in  by  Uie  instruction 
or  example  of  your  forefathers.  The  Jews  derived 
from  their  fathers  that  implicit  regard  for  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  elders,  by  which  they  made  the  law  of 
God  of  none  effect,  with  a  variety  of  other  corrupt  | 

Vol.  n.  <  89  ) 


gdd,  from  your  rain  conversation  "re-  A.  M.  4064 
ceis^ed  by  tradition  from  your  fisitheiB;    ^^'^' 

19  But  ^wkb  Uie  predkms  blood  of  Christ,  *  as 
of  a  lamb  without  falemish  and  without  q)ot : 

ao  <  Who  verily  was  foreordained  before  the 
foimdation  of  the  world,  but  was  manifest  ^in 
these  last  times  for  you, 

21  Who  by  hhn  do  bdieve  m  God,  ^that 
raised  him  up  from  the  dead,  and  ^gave  him 
glory ;  that  your  faith  and  bqpe  might  be  in 
God.  

■Brod.  xiLfi. «Ron.iii.25;  xri.  25,36;  Eph.iiLO,  11; 

Col.  i.  26 ;  2  Tim.  i.  9,  10 ;  Tit.  i.  2,  3 ;  Rer.  xiii.  8. — -i  Gd. 

ir.  4 ;  i^h.  i.  10;  Heb.  i.  2. «  Acta  ii.  24. »Matt.  xxviiL 

18?  Acts  1133. 


principles  and  practices.  In  like  manner  the  Gen- 
tiles derived  their  idolatry,  and  other  abominable 
Tices,  from  the  teaching  and  example  of  their  fathers ; 
for,  in  general,  as  Whitby  justly  remarks,  the  strong- 
est arguments  for  false  religions,  as  well  as  for  errors 
in  the  true,  is  that  men  have  received  them  from 
their  fathers.  But  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ 
—Blood  of  immense  value,  being  the  blQod  of  the 
only-begotten  Son  of  ^od,  who  had  glory  with  the 
Fatber  before  the  world  was ;  as  of  a  lamb  without 
blemish  and  without  spot — See  on  Lev.  xxii.  21, 22. 
The  sacrifice  of  hims^f,  which  Christ  offered  to  God 
without  spot,  being  here  likened  to  the  sacrifice  of 
the  paschal  lamb,  and  of  the  lambs  daily  offered  as 
sin-ofibrings  for  the  whole  nation,  we  ate  thereby 
taught  that  th«  shedding  of  Christ's  blood  is  a  real 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  Hence  John 
the  Baptist  called  him  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world.  And  to  show  the  extent 
of  the  efficacy  of  his  sacrifice,  that  it  reaches  back- 
ward to  the  fall  of  man,  as  well  as  forward  to  the 
end  of  time,  he  is  said  (Rev.  xiii.  8)  to  be  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Who  verily 
was  foreordained — Upoeyvua/ievtt,  foreknoiDUj  before 
the  foundation  cfthe  world— Before  God  called  the 
universe  into  being ;  but  was  manifested— ^dmely, 
in  the  flesh,  John  i.  14 ;  1  John  iij.  8 ;  in  these  last 
times— Of  the  Mosaic  economy,  or  in  the  times  of 
the  go^>el,  the  last  dispensation  of  divine  mercy ; 
see  note  on  Heb.  L  2 ;  for  you— Jews  or  Gentiles ; 
who  by  Atfit^Through  the  virtue  of  his  sacrifice,  and 
the  effic^y  of  his  grace ;  do  believe  in  God— In  the 
one  living  and  true  God,  as  your  Friend  and  Father ; 
that  raised  him  up  from  the  dead^-TheTebj  con- 
firming his  doctrine,  showing  the  efficacy  of  his 
atonement,  procuring  for  you  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
assuring  you  of  your  resurrection ;  see  on  verse  3 ; 
and  gave  him  glory — Placed  him  at  his  own  right 
hand,  and  invested  him  with  all  power  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  for  the  salvation  of  his  followers,  and 
the  destruction  of  his  and  their  enemies.  See  Heb. 
X.  19.  That  your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in  God 
— ^That  you  might  be  encouraged  to  believe  in  God 
as  reconciled  to  you  through  Christ,  that  you  might 
hope  on  good  grounds  that  he  will  glorify  yon  as  he 
hath  done  Christ  your  Head ;  or,  that  your  fcdfft 
009  b 


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ofattJUiL' 


A.M.  4064.    22  Seeing  ye  ^  have  purified  jrour  souk 

— 1-  in  obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit 

unto  unfeigned  ®love  of  the  brethren,  see  tkcU 
ye  love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart  fervently : 
23  ^  Being  born  again,  not  of  oorraptiUe  seed, 
but  of  incoaruptiUe,  *  by  the  woid  of  God,  which 
liveth  and  abideth  for  ever. 


^  Aets  XT.  0.-:— B  Rom.  xii.  9, 10;   1  Then.  ir.  9 ;  1  Tim. 

i  5 ;   Heb.  xiiL  1. *  John  L  13 ;   iii.  6. •  James  L  18 ; 

1  John  iil  9. *  Or,  for  ikmi. 


and  hope  Blight  terminate  in  God  the  Father,  or  be 
ultimately  fixed  on  him  through  the  mediation  of  his 
Son. 

Verses  22,  23.  Seeing  you  have  purified  your 
souls — By  applying  to  this  fouatain  which  God  has 
opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanhess,  and  by  believ- 
ing and  obeying  the  truths  which  God  hath  ap- 
pointed to  be  the  grand  means  of  sanctification, 
delivering  sufch  as  obey  it  from  the  power,  and  puri- 
fying them  from  the  defilement  of  sin,  John  viii. 
32;  xvii.  J7;  through  the  l^rU  working  by  the 
word,  unto  the  unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren — For 
the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love  to  the  children  of  God, 
as  well  as  to  God  their  heavenly  Father.  See  that 
ye  love  one  another  itith  a  pure  heart^A.  heart 
purified  from  all  earthly  and  sensual  affections,  and 
corrupt  passions ;  from  all  selfish,  interested  views, 
designs,  and  desires ;  and  that  fervently  as  Christ 
loved  the  church;  and  so  as  to  b&  willing,  if  called 
to  it,  to  lay  down  your  lives  for  the  brethren,  1  John 
iv.  W.  Peter's  description  of  Christian  love  here  is 
excellent ;  it  springs  up  in  a  heart  purified  by  the 
truth  of  God,  through  the  influence  of  his  Spirit 
It  is  sincere  in  its  operation,  it  is  unmixed  with 
carnal  passions,  and  it  is  fervent  and  increasing. 
Being  bom  dgain^Borti  from  above,  born  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  therefore  his  genuine  children ;  a 
consideration  which  lays  you  under  an  indispensable 
obligation  to  love  all  your  brethren  and  sisters  in 
Christ,  who  are  bom  of  the  same  Spirit.  See  the 
note  on  John  iil  8.  Not  of  corruptible  <e«d— Not 
by  virtue  of  any  descent  from  human  parents ;  but 
of  incorruptible— '^a,me]y,  the  truth  of  God,  ten- 
dered effectual  through  his  grace;  which  liveth^-l9 
full  of  divine  virtue  and  vital  energy;  and  abideth 
for  erer— Produces  effects  which  will  continue  for 
ever,  or  begets  in  us  that  spiritual  life  which  will 
issue  in  life  eternal 


24  *  For  'an  flesh  is  as  graas,  and  a.  m.  4064. 
all  the  glory  of  man  as.the  flower  of   ^^'^ 
grass.     The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower 
thereof  ftUeth  away : 

25  '  But  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  fer 
ever.  ^  And  thb  is  the  word  which  bythe  gos- 
pel IS  preached  unto  you. 


'Pm.  ciiL  15;   Im.  d.  6;  U.  12;  Janet  L  10. ^Fka. 

cii.  12,  26;    Im.  zL  8;    Luke  xri.  17. ^  John  L  1,  14; 

1  John  L  1,  3.        . 


Verses  24, 25.  For  aK/e«A— Every  human  crea- 
ture, is  transient  and  withering  asgras9--The  word 
XopTocy  here  rendered  grass,  denotes  not  only  what 
we  generally  call  grcus,  but  all  kinds  of  herbs ;  and 
among  the  rest,  those  which  have  stalks  and  flowers. 
And  aU  the  glory  of  man — His  learning,  wisdom, 
wealth,  power,  dignity,  authority,  dominion;  a»  the 
fhvMT  of  grass — ^Which  is  yet  more  frail  than  the 
grass  itself.  The  grass  withereth  of  itself^  if  not  cnt 
down  by  the  scythe  of  the  mower ;  and  the  body  of 
man  gradually  wastes  away  and  perishes,  even  if  it 
be  not  cut  off  by  some  unexpected  stroke  ;^  and  the 
flower  thereof  faUeth  aicay— Drops  its  blooming 
honours,  and  falls  dying  to  the  ground ;  and  thus 
precarious  and  uncertain  are  all  the  dependances 
which  we  can  place  on  perishing  creatures.  But 
the  word  of  the  Lord — His  revealed  truth,  by  which 
you  are  regenerated  or  begotten  again  to  a  lively  hope 
of  a  heavenly  inheritance;  endureth  for  ever-^ 
Alwa3rs  remains  true  and  infellible,  a  foundation  on 
which  we  may  safely  build  our  present  confidence 
and  future  hopes.  The  reader  will  recollect  that 
this  is  a  quotation  from  Isa.  xL  6-8;  "where  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  is  foretold  and  recom- 
mended, from  the  consideration  that  every  thing 
which  is  merely  human,  and  among  the  rest  the 
noblest  races  of  maiddnd,  with  ail  their  glory  and 
grandeur,  thehr  honour,  riches,  beauty,  strength,  and 
eloquence;  as  also  the  arts  which  men  have  in- 
vented, and  the  works  they  have  executed,  all  decay 
as  the  flowers  of  the  field.  But  the  incorruptible 
seed,  the  gospel,  called  by  the  prq>het  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  shall  be  preaeheid  while  the  worid  standeth ; 
and  the  divine  nature,  which  it  is  the  instrument  of 
conveying  to  believers,  will  remain  in  them  to  all 
eternity.  James  likewise  hath  illustrated  the  brevity 
and  uncertainty  of  human  life,  with  its  glory,  by  the 
same  figures,  chap.  L  ,11." 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  sposde,  sdire$sing  them  at  persons  regensraUd  hy  the  word  of  God,  (1,)  Urges  O^m,  by  a  representstum  of  Aeir 
Ckristimprvriiegee^to  receive  that  word  vfUh  meehuit ;  to  coiUirme  in  the  exercise  of  faitk  in  Christ,  as  the  great  fmmd^ 
oHon  of  their  eternal  hopes,  and  to  maintain  such  a  holy  eonversoHon  as  might  adorn  his  gospel,  among  ths  uneonserted 
Cftniiles,  1-12.  (2,)  He  exhorU  thsm  to  the  performance  of  various  reiaJtive  duties,  and  espeeisUy  to  a  proper  regard  and 
suhfeetion  to  (heir  dsU  governors,  18-17.  (8,)  Directs  setvants  to  obey  their  masters,  tshethsr  believers  or  unbeUevers, 
'^nd  whether  gentle  in  their  manners  orfroward,  assuring  them  that  it  was  an  acceptable  thing  to  God,  if  a  servant  or  a 
610  (  89*  )  b 


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'  t\>  b^evert  ^  Zjord  i$  graciaui^ 


CHAPTEBn. 


and  Christ  i$preeumi. 


9U9er(ustk$w^rim^mgmff,)fnmaprincipUofr€ligi^  (4,)  He  enforce*  kia 

exkortatitm  to  tUm  iy  the  eanmderatum  ^  iktl  jMtiMC*  I0it4  \oUik  the  Lord  Jeem  ettiured  kU  moet  grievous  eufer' 


A^]L4064  T;mQS3tEP0RE,  •btymg  aside  aU 

'. naalibe,  and^all  guile,  a&d  hy- 

poeriflies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  et^eakings, 
2  ^As  new-bom  babes,   desire  the  sincere 
«  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  maygrow  therebyc 


»Eph.iT.22,;25,31;  CoLuLS;  Heb.ziL  1;  James i. 21;  ▼. 
9;  CInp.  iv.  2. i>Matt  zriii  3;  Mark x.  15;  Rom.  rl  4. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTfiR  11. 
Yerses  1-8.  WhereforeSince  the  word  of  God 
18  so  excellent  and  durable  in  itself,  and  has  had 
sach  a  blessed  effect  vpon  you  as  to  regenerate  yo]i, 
and  bring  3roa  to  the  ei\ioyment  of  true  Christian 
love ;  laying  aside — As  utterly  inconsistent  with  that 
love;  aU  ma/ice— All  ill-wiU,  every  unkind  dispo- 
sition ;  or  all  wickednesi,  as  Kcuciav  may  be  properly 
rendered,  all  sinful  tempers  and  practices  whatso- 
ever ;  and  all  guile^AH  crait,  deceitful  cunning,  and 
artifice,  every  temper  contrary  to  Christian  simpli- 
city ;  cmd  hypocrUies^lEtyery  kind  of  dissimulation ; 
and  6nvte9---Orieving  at  the  prosperity  or  good, 
temporal  or  spiritual,  enjoyed  by  others;  and  all 
evil  speakings— -AXi  reproachfUI  or  unkind  speeches 
concerning  others;  a$  new-born  habes^ka  persons 
lately  regenerated,  and  yet  young  m  grace,  mere 
babes  as  to  your  acquaintance  with  the  doctrines, 
your  experience  of  the  graces,  your  enjoyment  of 
the  privUeges,  and  your  performance  of  the  duties  of 
Christianity ;  desire — Eiriiroi^ycTore,  desire  earnestly ^ 
or  love  affectionately,  or  from  your  inmost  soul,  the 
sincere— The  pure,  uncorrupted  milk  of  the  word- 
Thai  is,  that  word  of  God  which  nourishes  the  soul 
as  milk  does  the  body,  and  which  is  free  from  all 
guile,  so  that  none  are  deceived  who  cleave  to  it, 
and  make  it  the  food  of  their. souls;  that  ye  may 
grow  thereby^ln  Christian  knowledge  and  wisdom, 
in  faith,  hope,  and  love;  in  humility,  resignation, 
patience,  meekness,  gentleness,  long-suffermg,  in 
all  holiness  and  righteousness,  unto  the  full  measure 
of  Christ's  stature.  In  Reformer  chapter  the  apostle 
had  represented  the  word  of  €k>d  as  the  incorrupti- 
ble seed,  by  which  the  believers,  to  whom  he  wrote, 
had  been  bom  again,  and  by  obeying  which  they 
had  purified  their  souls;  here  he  represents  it  as  the 
milk  by  which  the  new-bom  babes  in  Christ  grow 
up  to  maturity.  The  word,  therefore,  is  both  the 
principle  by  which  the  divine  life  is  produced  in  the 
aoul,  and  the  food  by  which  it  is  nourished.  Some 
critics,  following  the  Vulgate  version,  render  ^oyucov 
aSo^ov  ToAa,  the  unaduUerated  rational  miVc.  But 
the  context  evidently  shows  that  our  translators 
have  given  us  the  trae  meaning  of  the  apostle. 
By  a£Ung  the  epithet,  ado^ovy  unadulterated,  or 
pure^  the  apostle  teaches  us  that  the  mUk  of  the  word 
will  not  nourish  the  divine  nature  in  those  that  use 
it,  if  it  be  adulterated  with  human  mixtures.  If  so 
bsy  or  rather  since,  ye  have  tasted-^Uwre  sweetly  and 
experimentally  known ;  that  the  Lord  is  gracious^ 
b 


3  If  80  be  ye  have  'tasted  that  the  a.  m.4064w 
Lord  ts  gramous :  ZL 

4  To  whom  coming  tis  tmto  a  living  stone, 
"disaOowed  indeed  of  men,  but  chosen  (^ God, 
ami  precious, 


«lCor.iii3. «  Paa.  xxxir.  8 ;   Heb.  tL  5. •  Paa.  cjnrii|. 

22;  Matt.xzi.42;  Acts  ir.  11. 


Is  merciful,  Ipvmg,  and  kind,  in  what  he  hath  already 
done,  and' in  what  he  is  still  doing  for  and  in  you. 
The  apostle  seems  evidently  to  allude  to  Psa. 
xxxiv.  8,  O  taete  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good: 
where  see  the  note.  Npt  only  think  and  believe^ 
on  his  own  testimony,  or  on  the  testimony  of  others, 
that  he  is  good,  but  know  it  by  your  own  experience ; 
know  that  he  is  good  to  you  in  pardoning  your  sins, 
adopting  and  regenerating  you  by  his  grace,  shed- 
ding his  love  abroad  in  your  heart,  and  giving  you 
to  enjoy  communion  with  himself  through  the  eternal 
Spirit 

Verse  4.  7b  whom  coming — ^With  desire  and  by 
faith;  as  unto  a  living  «<on€— Living  from  eternity; 
alive  from  the  dead ;  and  alive  for  evermore :  and  a 
firm  foundation,  communicating  spiritual  life  to  those 
that  come  to  him,  and  are  built  upon  him,  making 
him  the  ground  of  their  confidence  and  hope  for 
time  and  for  eternity.  The  apostle  alludes  to  Isa. 
xxviii.  16,  where  the  formation  of  a  Christian 
church,  for  the  spiritual  worship  of  Grod,  is  foretold 
under  the  image  of  a  temple,  which  God  was  to 
build  on  the  M^iah  as  the  foundation-stone  thereof. 
See  the  note  there.  There  is  a  wonderful,  beauty 
and  energy  in  these  expressions,  which  describe 
Christ  as  a  spiritual  foundation,  solid,  firm,  durable ; 
and  believers  as  a  spiritual  building  erecting  thereon, 
m  preference  to  that  temple  which  the  Jews  ac- 
counted their  highest  glory ;  and  St.  Peter,  speaking 
of  him  thus,  shows  he  did  not  judge  himself,  but 
Christ,  to  be  the  rock  on  which  the  church  was  built; 
disallowed — ktfodidoKifiaaiitvov^  rejected  indeed  of  or 
by,  men — First  and  primarily  by  the  Jews  and  their 
ralers,  as  not  answering  their  carnal  and  worldly 
expectations,  nior  suiting  their  way  of  building;  that 
is,  not  to  be  made  use  of  for  the  carrying  on  and^ 
promoting  of  their  worldly  projects  and  interests.' 
By  representing  Christ  as  being  rejected  of  men,  the 
apostle  intimated  that  he  was  the  person  spoken  of 
Psa.  cxviii.  22;  The  stone  which  the  builders  re- 
fused is  become  thehead  stone  of  the  comer  ;  a  pas- 
sage which  our  Lord  himself,  in  his  conversation 
with  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  referred  to  as  a  pro- 
phecy which  they  were  about  to  fulfil  by  rejecting 
him;  but  Whose  exaltation,  notwithstanding  all  they 
could  do  to  prevent  it,  should  assuredly  take  place. 
See  on  Matt.  xxi.  42.  But  the  Jews,  or,  added  to 
them,  the  Turks,  heathen,  and  infidels,  are  not  the 
only  people  that  have  rejected,  and  do  reject  Christ ; 
I  but  all  Christians  so  called,  who  live  in  known  sin 
611 


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I.  PETIBB* 


CkHtt  is  proeiom. 


▲.BL40M.  6  'Te  abo^  89  lively  stoaos^  ^are 
^^•^-  lyoiii  up  ta  qnitnal  iioase,  ^a  holy 
priesthood,  to  ofier  up  *  spiritual  sacrifices,  ^  ac- 
ceptable to  Ood  by  Jesus  Christ 
6  Wherefore  also  it  is  c<»Uaiaod  in  the  Scrip- 
ture, *Bebold|IlaymSioaachiefconierH9loiie, 
elect,  precious:  aad  he  that  believeth  en  him 
shall  not  be  confounded. 

nit.       t  Hebrewi  iu.  6. 
Hof .  ziT.  3 ;  Mid.  i.  11 ; 


'Eph.  ii.  21,  28. »0r,  6«  yt  hmU. 

klM.  lxL«;  ljm.21;  Vatfe  9. 


Rom.  sii.  1.- 


fc  PhiL  IT.  18. 


on  the  one  hand,  or  who  expect  to  be  saved  by  the 
merit  of  their  own  works  oH  the  other,  reject  him ; 
as  do  also  all  hypocrites,  formalists,  lid:ewarnL  in- 
dolent, world]y-minded  professors,  and  all  those 
backsliders  who,  having  begun  in  Me  Spirit  end  in 
the  fle$\  and  draw  hack  unto  perdition^  instead  of 
continuing  to  believe^  love,  and  obey,  to  the  saving 
of  their  souls,  Heb,  x.  38, 39.  But  chosen  of  God^ 
From  all  eternity,  to  be  the  foundation  of  his  church ; 
and  preciouB^-ix  unspeakable  dignity  and  worth 
hi  himself^  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  the  eyes  of 
all  true  believers. 

Verse  5.  Ye  also — ^Believing  in  }nm  with  a  loving 
and  obedient  faith,  as  lively — Greek,  {«vref,  living^ 
stones — Quickened  and  made  alive  to  God  by  spirit- 
ual life  derived  from  him,  are  built  up — Upon  him, 
and  in  union  with  each  other;  a  spiritual  Jhouse — 
Spirituid  yourselves ,  and  a  habitation  of  God  through 
the  BpirU,  For,  according  to  his  promise,  he  lives 
and  walks  in  every  true  believer,  2  Ck>r.  vL  16;  and 
collectively  considered,  as  a  holy  society,  or  as- 
sembly, uniting  together  in  his  worship  and  service, 
you  are  the  hmtsey  or  temple,  of  the  living  God, 
(1  Tim.  iiL  15;  1  Cor.  iii.  16;  Eph.  iL  20,  21,)  in 
which  he  manifests  his  presence,  displays  his  glory, 
communicates  his  Uessdngs,  and  accepts  the  prayers 
and  praises,  alms  and  oblations,  of  his  people ;  a 
holy  priesthood— ^oi  only  God's  temple,  but  the 
priests  that  serve  him  in  that  temple ;  that  is,  persons 
dedicated  to  and  employed  for  God.  Thus,  Isaiah 
IxL  6,  it  b  foretold  that,  in  the  days  of  the  Messiah, 
the  people  of  God  should  be  named  the  priests  of 
the  Lord^  and  the  ministers  of  our  God  ;  as  also  chap. 
Ixvi.  21.  Christians  are  called  a  priesthood,  in  the 
same  sense  that  the  Israelites  were  called  a  kingdom 
of  priests,  Exod.  xix.  6.  The  apostle's  design,  in 
giving  these  titles  to  real  Christians,  is  partly  to 
show  that  they  are  dedicated  to  God  in  heart  and 
life,  and  also  that  in  the  Chrbtian  church  or  temple 
there  is  noneed  of  the  mediation  of  priests  to  present 
our  prayers  to  God.  Every  sincere  worshipper  has 
access  to  the  Father  through  Christ,  as  if  he  wei-e 
really  a  priest  himself.  The  apostle  says,  a  holy 
priesthood,  because  genuine  Christians  are  very 
different  characters  from  the  generality  of  the  Jewish 
priests,  who,  though. the  posterity  of  Aaron,  and  de- 
dicated externally  to,  and  employed  in,  the  service 
of  God,  were  remarkably  unholy,  yea,  very  vicious 
characters;  whereas  the  true  disciples  of  Christ  are 
really  holy  in  heart  and  life.  7h  offer  up  spiritual 
613 


7  UntayM,ihecdbre,  which  beikfvv,  A.  M.  4661 
Aei^^predoce:  batxmtotlieaiirliidi   ^^^ 
be  disobedient,  "^  the  stone  which  the  builders  dis^ 
aUowed,4hesa«]e  ismadetfaeheadof  tbe^oiMf, 

8  *  And  a  stone  of  stuttbttng,  and  a  rock  of 
offes^oe^/'evenio.tkem  wluA  stOBUe  at  iht 
word^  being  disobedient:  'wlMraanloalBOlbey 
w«e  appointed. 


I  Iniih  zxriii.  16. 'Or,  < 

Matt  xzi.  42;  Acts  ir.  11.— 
rEaod.tx.16. 


— »  Pnlm  cxriii.  28 ; 
B|8t.Tifi.ll »lCor.  i.«. 


sacr(/?ce«— Not  merdy  their  prayers  and  praises^ 
but  their  pools  and  bodies,  their  time  and  talents^ 
with  all  their  thoughts,  words,  and  action^^  accep- 
table  to  Godihrough  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ^^ 
The  great  High-Priest  over  the  house  of  God,  whose 
intercession  alone  can  recommend  to  the  Father 
such  imperfect  sacrifices  as  ours. 

Verses  6-8.  Wherefore  edso-^To  which  purpose ; 
it  is  contained  in  the  Scripture^Ixk  Isa.  xxvuL  161, 
the  passage  before  referred  to.  Beholdy  I  lay  in 
Sion  a  chief  comer-stone—To  support  and  hold  to« 
ge&er  the  whole  building.  This,  as  explained  Eph. 
ii.  21,  signifies  the  union  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  one 
faith,  baptism,  and  hope,  so  as  to  form  one  church  or 
temple  for  the  worship  of  God  through  the  media- 
tion of  Christ.  And  he  that  believeth  on  %tm— "With 
a  lively  faith,  a  faith  productive  of  love  and  obedi- 
ence; shall  not  be  confounded—In  time  or  in  eter- 
nity. 7h  you  therefore  who  believe — With  such  a 
fahh;  Tie  is  precious—Highly  esteemed  by  you,  and 
of  infinite  advantage  to  you.  Or,  ais  We  read  in  the 
margin,  he  is  an  honour.  The  clause  may  also  be 
rendered,  To  you  who  believe  in  this  honour;  the 
honour  of  being  built  on  Christ,  the  foundation,  or 
chief  cdmeiHitone  of  the  new  temple  of  God.  Bui 
unto  them  which  be  disobedient — Who  disbelieve  and 
disobey  the  gospel,  the  words  of  the  psalmist  are 
accomplished ;  the  stone  which  th^e  tmilders  disal- 
2oire(i— -Namely,  the  Jewish  chief-priests,  elders,  and 
scribes,  called  builders,  because  it  was  their  office  to 
build  up  the  church  of  God  among  the  Jew^.  See 
on  Psa.  cxvlii.'  22.  But  they  irijected  the  stone  here 
spoken  of,  and  would  give  i;  uo  plaee  in  the  build- 
ing ;  the  same  is  made  the  head  of  the  comer — And 
all  their , opposition  to  it  is  Ycun,  It  is  not  only  placed 
at  the  foot  of  the  comer,  Iw  support  the  two  sides  of 
the  building  erected  upou  it,  Dut  at  the  head  of  the 
comer,  to  fall  upon  and  iitind  to  powder  those  that 
reject  it ;  and,  as  the  same  prophet  elsewhere  speaks, 
a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  rock  of  offence— 'Sfkmely, 
to  the  unbelieving  and  disobedient.  Thus  Simeon, 
(  Luke  iL  34 ;)  litis  child  is  s^for  thefalL  as  well  as 
the  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign 
that  shall  be  spoken  against;  a  prediction  awruUy 
fulfilled.  Even  to  them  which  stumble,  being  disobe- 
dient: whereunto  also  they  were  appointed— This 
translation  of  the  clause  seems  to  imply  that  those 
who  are  disobedient  were  appointed  to  be  so ;  but 
the  original  does  not  convey  that  sense,  but  is  lite- 
rally rendered.  Who,  disobeying  the  word,  stumble^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


be  careJvUy  onoidetL 


A.  ^-^    9  But  ye  are  «  a  chosen  generation, 

: —  »a  loyal  priesthood,  'a  holy  nation, 

«a  'peculiar  people ;  that^  ye  should  show  forth 
the  ^  praiseB  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 

*  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light : 

10  '  Which  in  time  past  were  not  a  people, 
but  are  now  the  people  of  God :  which  had  not 
obtained  mercy,  but  now  have  obtained  mercy. 

«  DevteKMu  X.  15.——'  Ezodn*  six.  0^  6.— •John  xriL  19. 

«  DeoU  i».  90. 'Or,  •  pureha$9d  pm^ *0r,  mrtrnt. 

"  Aeto  zxvi  la '  Hosea  L  9»  10  f  ii.  23 ;  Komaiu  iz.  25. 

*  Tbird  Svmiay  sfter  JSasUr,  epittle,  verie  11  to  verM  18L 


to  which  also  they  were  appointed:  that  is,  those 
who  disobey  the  word  are  appointed  to  stumble, 
namely,  at  Uie  stone  of  stumUing  here  spoken  of, 
according  to  the  prediction  of  Isaiah,  Tiii.  14, 15 ;  He 
shall  be  for  a  9anct%aTy^  but  for  a  stone  ofstumb- 
lingy  fCy  to  both  the  houses  of  Israel;  that  is,  to  those 
that  are  unbeUeving  and  disobedient;  and  many 
among  them  sJuUl  stumble  and  fall,  and  be  broken, 
and  snared,  and  taken.  This  is  what  God  has  ap- 
pointed, that  they  who  reject  Christ  shall  stumble  at 
him,  and  £Bdl  into  misery  and  ruin :  or,  that  he  who 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned:  the  unalterable  de- 
cree of  the  €Sod  of  heaven.  Or  the  words  may,  with 
equal  propriety,  be  rendered,  Unto  which  stumbling 
they  were  disposed;  those  who  disbelieve  and  diso- 
bey the  gospel ;  being,  through  blindness  of  mind 
and  perverseness  of  ^ill,  disposed  to  reject  Christ, 
stumble  at  him,  and  fall  into  eternal  ruin. 

Verses  9, 10.  Bui  ye-^  Who.have  been  bom  again 
of  incorruptible  seed,  and  have  pureed  your  sotds 
by  obeying  the  truth,  &c^  (chap,  i.  22, 23,)  and  have 
tasted  tJuU  the  Lord  is  grMums,  (chiqp.  ii.  3,)  and 
are  built  up  upon  him  as  lively  stones;  ye,  who  bear 
this  character  ore  a  chosen  generation — E«rXe«rov 
yipocy  an  elect  race;  all  such,  and  such  only,  have 
that  title,  and  other  titles  of  a  similar  import,  in  the 
New  Testament  See  on  Eph.  i.  8-7;  2  Thess.  ii. 
13,  14.  A  royal  priesthood^Kings  and  priests 
unto  God,  Rev.  L  6^  As  princes,  you  have  power 
with  God,  and  victory  over  sin  and  Satan,  the  World 
and  the  flesh:  as  priests,  ye  are  consecrated  to  God 
for  the  purpose  of  offering  spiritual  sacrifices;  a 
holy  no^toft— Under  Christ,  your  King ;  zpeadiar or 
purchased  people,  as  hnc  e^c  irepiTroiijaiv  is  rendered 
in  the  margin ;  that  is,  a  people  who,  being  purchased 
by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  dedicated  to,  and  accept- 
ed of,  God,  are  taken  into  covenant  with  him,  and 
are  his  in  a  peculiar  sense.  See  on  Tit  ii.  14 ;  tliat 
ye  skoiUdshow  forth—In  your  spirit  and  conduct,  in 
all  your  tempers,  words,  and  works ;  the  praises— 
T^aperac,  the  virtues,  that  is,  the  perfections;  the 
wisdom,  power,  goodness,  truth,  justice,  mercy,  the 
holiness,  the  love ;  of  Atm—Christ,  or  the  Father,  in 
and  through  Christ;  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness— Out  of  that  state  of  ignorance  and  error, 
sin  and  misery,  in  which  you  lay  formerly  involved ; 
into  his  marvellous  %At— The  light  of  know- 
ledge, wisdom,  holiness,  and  happiness,  into  which 
you  are  now  brought     Which  in  time  past  were 


11  Y  *Dearly  beloved,  I  beseech  you,  A.  M.  4064. 
^as  strangers  and  pilgrfans,  'abstain    ^^'^ 
from  fleshly  lusts,  ^wiiich  war  against  the  soul; 

12  *  Having  your  conversation  honest  among 
the  Gentiles :  that,  •  whereas  they  speak  against 
you  as  evil-doers,  •  they  may  by  your  good 
works,  which  they  shall  behold,  glorify  God 
<i  in  the  day  of  visitation. 


71  Chran.  zziz.  16;  Fwtu  xzzix.  IS;  «zix<  19;  Heb.  zi.  13. 

*Roai.  ziii  14;  GiL  y.  la >  Junes  It.  1. ^ Bom.  xiL  17; 

2 Cot.  TiiL  dl ;  Plul.  ii.  16;  Tit  ii.  8;  Chap.  iii.  16. •Or, 

whtreim. ^Matt.  v.  la — -*  Luke  xix,  44. 


not  a  people— (Much  less  the  people  of  God,)  but 
scattered  kidltiduals  of  many  nations.  This  is  a 
quotation  from  Hosea  ii.  23,  where  the  Conversion 
of  the  tientiles  is  foretold,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  in- 
forms us,  Rom.  ix.  25.  Upon  which  passages  see  the 
notes;  which  had  not,  formerly,  obtained  mercy — 
Namely,  the  pardoning,  saving  mercy  of  God;  but 
now — In  consequence  of  repentance,  and  faith  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  Juive  obtained  mercy — Are 
forgiven,  accepted,  and  made  Gtod's  children. 

Verses  11, 12.  /  beseech^  you,  as  strangers^Ot 
sojourners;  and  pilgrims— Who  have  no  inherit- 
ance on  this  earth,  but  are  travelling  to  the  heavenly 
country.  The  former  Word,  irapoiKot,  properly  means 
those  who  are  in  a  strange  house,  a  house  not  their 
own:  the  second,  napeiridnftot,  those  who  are  in  a 
strange  country,  and  among  a  people  liot  their  own. 
We  sojourn  in  the  body  5  we  are  pilgrims  in  this 
world ;  abstain  from  fieshtg  lusts — Or  carnal  de- 
sires; from  inordinate  desires  of  any  thing  in  this 
country.  '^  The  settled  inhabitants  of  a  country  are 
anxious  to  acquire  riches,  to  purchase  lands,  and  to 
buUd  houses.  But  they  who  stay  but  a  few  weeks 
in  a  country,  or  who  oi^y  travel  through  it,  are  com- 
monly not  solicitous  to  secure  to  themselves  accom- 
modations which  they  are  so  soon  to  leave.  In  the 
same  manner,  believers,  being  only  sojourners  on 
earth,  and  travellers  to  a  better  country,  ought  not  to 
place  their  happiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  ob- 
jects by  which  carnal  desires  are  gratified,  and 
which  are  peculiar  to  this  earthly  state,  but  in 
securing  themselves  possessions  in  the  heavenly 
country,  the  proper  habitation  of  the  righteous." — 
Macknight  Which  carnal  desires,  though  plea- 
sant to  the  senses,  war  against  the  «ott^  A  gainst 
the  health,  the  strength,  the  liberty,  the  purity, 
the  usefulness,  the  comfort  of  ^e  soul.  Having 
your  conversation— Y6\xr  "^hoXe^  behaviour;  honest 
— Greek,  Koktiv,  amiable,  excellent,  commendable, 
and  honourable,  pious  and  virtuous  in  every  respect. 
But  our  language  sinks  under  the  force,  copiousness 
and  beauty  of  the  original  expressions;  among  the 
Gentiles— Y owe  heathen  neighbours,  who  narrowly 
watch  you ;  thai  whereas  they  speak  against  you  as 
evildoers— ks  seditious  persons  and  atheists,  be- 
cause ye  do  not  worship  their  false  gods,  and  be- 
cause you  join  yourselves  with  what  they  presump- 
tuously call  the  impious  sect  of  Christians;  they 
may  by  your  good  works — Your  unblameable,  use* 


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I.  PETER. 


DuHes  oftervatOs  to  tkehr.mattefi,' 


A.  M.  4064.    13  •  Submit  yourselyes  to  every  or- 
^  ^'^'    dinaDce  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake : 
whether  it  be  to  the  king,  as  supreme ; 

14  Or  unto  governors,  as  unto  them  that  are 
sent  by  him  ^  for  the  punishment  of  evil-doers, 
and  '  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do  welL 

15  F<^  80  is  the  will  of  God,  that  ^  with  well- 
doing ye  may  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of 
fodish  men : 


•  Matt.  zziL  21 ;  Rom.  ziiL  1 ;  Tit  iii.  1. '  Rom.  nil.  4. 

f  Rom.  xiii.  8.— J»Tit.  ii.  8;    Verse  12. *GaL  r.  1,  13. 

•  Gr.  having. *  i  Cor.  ▼ii.  22. »  Rom.  xiL  10 ;  Phil.  ii.  3. 

'  Or,  B»umi.n ■  Heb.  xiii.  1 ;  Chap,  t  22. 


fill,  and  holy  conduct,  your  obedience  to  the  jodt 
laws  of  the  state,  your  submission  to  magistrates, 
and  your  patience  and  meekness  when  unjustly 
punished;  whick  they  shall  6e^2i— Shall  be  eye- 
witnesses of;  may  not  only  lay  aside  their  blasphe- 
mous reproaches  and  bitter  enmities,  but  may  ex- 
change them  for  commendations  and  praises,  and  so 
may  glorify  God^By  owning  his  grace  in  you,  being 
induced  to  believe  and  obey  the  truth,  and  to  imitate 
your  example;  in  the  day  of  visitation— Dming  iihe 
season  in  which  the  gospel  is  preached  among  them, 
whereby  they  are  visited  with  the  offers  of  pardon 
and  salvation.  It  is  well  known  that  the  patience, 
fortitude,  and  meekness  with  which  the  first  Chris- 
tians bore  persecution  for  their  religion,  and  the  for- 
giving disposition  which  they  expressed  toward 
their  persecutors,  made  such  tta  impression  on  the 
heathen,  who  were  witnesses  of  their  sufferings,  that 
many  of  them  glorified  €rod  by  embracing  the 
gospel. 

Verses  13-15.  Submit  yourselves  to  every  ordi- 
nance of  man — Greek,  iraaif  dv^omvij  ktiosi^  to  every 
human  constitution  of  government,  under  which 
you  are  placed  by  Divine  Providenee,  and  which  is 
formed  instrumentally  by  men,  and  relates  to  you  as 
men,  and  not  as  Chrbtians.  Macktiight  translates 
the.  clause,  Be  subject  to  every  human  creation  of 
Toagistrates ;  observmg  that  ^Hhe  abstract  word 
creation  is  put  for  the  coneretQ,  the  person  created; 
just  as  governments  and  powers  are  put  for  persons 
exercising  government  and  power.  The  phrase, 
human  creation  ofrnagistrates,  was  formed  by  St. 
Peter  with  a  view  to  condemn  the  principles  of  the 
zealots,  who  maintained  that  obedience  was  due  to 
no  magistrates  but  to  those  who  were  appointed  by 
God,  as  the  Jewish  kings  had  been."  Whether  to  the 
king— Th»t  is,  to  the  emperor ;  as  supreme — For 
though  at  Rome  the  name  of  King  was  odious,  the 
people  in  the  provinces  gave  that  name  to  the  em- 
peror, John  xix.  15;  Actsxvii.  7.  When  this  epis- 
tle was  written,  Nero  was  emperor.  Or  to  subordi- 
nate governors— Ot  magistrates,  iiji  the  different 
provinces  of  the  empure.  "  From  this  we  learn  that 
k  is  the  duty  of  Christians,  residing  in  foreign  and 
even  in  infidel  countries,  to  obey  the  laws  of  those 
countries  in  all  things  not  sinful,  without  consider- 
ing whether  the  religion  of  the  magistrate  and  of  the 
state  be  true  or  fidse."  Thai  arc  sent  by  him— 
%14 


16  'As  free,  and  pot  ^ using  yoi<r  A- M. 4064 
^berty  for  a  cloak  of  maliciousDeaB,  — '-J. — 1 
^t  as.  ^  the  servants  of  God. 

17  'Honimr^  all  men.  "Love  the  bro- 
therhood.   ^  Fear  God.    Honour  the  king. 

18  ®  Servants,  6^  subject  to  yotir  masters  with 
all  fear ;  not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle,  but 
also  to  the  frowaid. 

19  *For  this  is  •  thank-worthy,  *  if  a  man  for 

r  ■  ,  ' 
■Ph>T.  zzir.Sl ;  Matt.  zxii.  21 ;  Rom.  xiii.?.— «£pli.Ti.5; 
Col.  iii.  22;  Tit  ii.  9. *  Second  Stmday  mfter  Easter,  epis- 
tle, Terse  19  to  the  end. *  Or,  thmtk,  Luke  ri.  32.;  Veise  20l 

^Matt.  T.  10 ;  Rom.  xiii.  5. 


Commissioned  by  the  emperor  from  Rome ;  for  the 
punishment  of  eviUdoers— The  Roman  governors 
had  the  power  of  life  and  death  in  such  conquered 
provinces  as  those  mentioned  chap.  i.  1.  Tliere  is, 
therefore,  the  exactest  propriety  in  the  apostle's 
style.  And  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do  vdl— For 
protecting  and  rewarding  them  who  give  due  obe- 
dience to  the  good  laws  of  the  state.  For  so  is  the 
will  ofGodr—As  I  assure  you  by  inspiration;  that 
by  well-doing— By  your  due  subjection  to  magis- 
trates, and  the  performance  of  all  other  Christian 
duties;  you  may  put  to  silence — ♦f^tw,  may  bridle 
in,  or  restrain  by  a  bridle  or  a  muzzle,  (so  the  word 
signifies,)  the  ignorance — ^The  calumnies  proceeding 
from  the  ignorance  qf  foolish  men— Of  men  desti^ 
tute  of  ^he  fear  of  God,  who  blame  you  because  they 
do  not  know  you,  affirming  that  your  religion 
makes  you  bad  subjects. 

Verses  10, 17.  As  free— In  the  noblest  sense,  in 
consequence  of  your  relation  to  Christ,  and  your 
interest  in  the  merit  of  his  death ;  (see  on  John 
viiL  32;  1  Cor.  vii.  22;  GaL  v.  1, 13;)  as  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty,  and  therefore  hens 
of  God  5  and  not  using  your  liberty  as  a  cloak  of 
mcUiciousness—KaKiac,  of  wickedness.  Though  you 
are  indeed  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and 
Satan,  the  world  and  the  flesh,  yet  not  from  subjec- 
tion to  magistrates;  therefore  use  not  your  liberty 
so  as,  under  pretence  thereof,  to  be  guilty  of  disobe- 
dience to  governors,  or  any  other  wickedness :  but 
act  in  all  things  as  the  servants  of  (yorf— Observing 
all  his  laws,  and  performing  all  the  duties  he  re- 
quires. ,  Honour  all  men — As  being  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  intelligent,  free,  and  immortal  beings ; 
bought  by  the  blood  of  his  Son,  and  designed  for 
his  eternal  kingdom.  Love  ihe  bnaherhood—AH 
true  Christians.  Fear,  reverence,  and  obey,  God, 
HoTiaiir  the  king— Whom  God  has  set  over  you. 
Pay  him  all  that  regard,  both  in  affection  and  action^ 
which  the  laws  of  God  and  man  require.  Perhaps 
no  finer  and  stronger  instances  of  the  laconic  style 
are  to  be  found  anywhere  than  In  this  passage.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  Apostle  requires  Christians  to 
honour  the  Roman  emperor,  though  a  great  perse- 
cutor, and  of  a  most  abandoned  character. 

Verses  18-20.  Servants — Oi  ointrai,  household  ser- 
vants^ be  subject  to  your  masters— Thoxxgh  heathen, 
in  all  things  lawful  j  with  all  fear— Of  offending 


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CHAPTBB  II. 


leaving  ti«  an  exampU. 


A.  M.  4064.  conscience  toward  God  endure  grief, 

iu  D.  60.  «.    .  -  „  ^       ' 

' sufifenng  wrongfully. 

20  For  *  what  glory  w  i^,  i^  when  ye  be  buf- 
feted ,for  your  feults,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently? 
but  if^  when  ye  do  well,  and  sufier  for  it, 
ye  take  it  patiently,  this  is  *  accqptable  with 
God. 

21  For  'even  hereunto  were  ye  called:  be- 
cause '  Christ  also  suffered  ^^  for  us,  ^  leaving  ucr 
an' example,  that  ye  should  follow  his  stqps : 


1  Ch»p.  iu.  14 ;  ir.  If  15. •  Or,  tMmk r  UstU  ul  24 ; 

AcU  xit.  22 ;  1  Thess.  iii.  3;  2  TioL  iii.  12. >  Chap.  iii.  18. 

^*  Some  read,  fsr  jfom, <  John  xni.  15 ;   Philippiims  ii.  5 ; 

J  John  iL  6.  ' 

them  or  God;  not  only  to  the  good^The  tender, 
kind;  and  getUle—MM,  easy,  forgiving;  bust  also 
to  ^e  froward— The  ill-natured  and  severe.  "  In 
this  verse,"  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  ''the 
apostle  establishes  ode  of  the  noblest  t^id  most  im- 
portant principles  of  morality,  namely,  that  our  ob- 
ligation to  relative  duties  does  not  depend  either  on 
the  character  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  should 
be  performed,  or  on  their  performing  the  duties  they 
owe  to  us,  but  on  the  unalterable  relations  of  things 
established  by  God."  For  this  is  thankworthy—An 
acceptable  thing  to  Gtod.  Greek,  rm-o  yap  x<ip^ ;  lite^ 
rally,  this  is  graces  that  is,  a  grand  proof  of  true 
grace ;  if  a  man  for  conscience  toward  God—From 
a  pure  desire  of  pleasing  him ;  endure  grief-Severe 
treatment ;  suffering  wrongfully — The  apostle  here 
refers  to  those  punishments  which,  according  to  the 
customs  of  that  age,  tyrannical  masters  were  allowed 
to  inflict  on  their  servants,  however  contrary  to  jus- 
tice and  mercy  such  punishments  might  be.  For 
what  glory— Or  praise ;  is  it  if  when  ye  be  buffeted 
— Corrected  or  beaten ;  for  your  fauUs— For  acts  of 
manifest  disobedience;  ye  shall  take  it  patiently— 
Since  the  punishment  being  just,  it  ought  in  reason 
to  be  borne.  But  if  when  ye  do  well— Do  your  duty 
conscientiously ;  and  suffer  for  it— As  if  you  had 
neglected  it ;  ye  take  it  patiently — Receive  it  in  a 
meek  and  quiet  spirit;  this  is  acceptable,  or  this  is 
grace^  with  God— li\^  eye,  which  always  observes 
every  individual  of  his  people,  and  all  their  actions, 
is  pleased  with  such  a  disposition  and  behaviour, 
though  exhibited  in  the  lowest  ranks  of  human  life. 
Verses  21-^.  For  even  Aercun/o— Namely,  to 
suffer  wrongfully,  and  to  bear  such  treatment  witti 
patience  and  meekness;  are  j^e  Christiana  called ; 
because  CS^ri*<— Whose  followers  you  profess  to  be, 
pure  and  spotless  as  he  was;  buffered  for  u#— Not 
only  hard  speeches,  buffetings,  and  stripes,  but  deep 
and  mortal  wounds,  even  the  ignominious  and  pain- 
ful death  of  crucifixion;  leaving  us — ^When  he  re- 
turned to  heaven ;  an  example  of  suffering  patiently 
for  well-doing ;  that  ye  should  foUow  his  steps — Of 
innocence  and  patience.  Who  did  no  sin — ^And 
therefore  did  not  deserve  to  suffer  any  Uiing;  neither 
was  guii0— Any  insincerity,  or  dissimulation,  or  the 
least  misspoken  word^  found  to  drop  from  his  mouth 
—This  ia  an  allusion  to  the  words  of  Isaiah,  concem- 


22  ""  Who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  a.  v.  4004. 
guile  found  in  his  mouth :  '    ' 

23  '  Who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not; 
but  7  committed  ^^  Aim^e^jftohim  thatjudgeth 
righteously: 

24  '  Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his 
own  body  ^'  on  the  tree,  ^  that  we,  being  dead 
to  sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness :  ^  by 
whose  stripes  ye  were  healed. 


« la^  Hti  S ;  Luke  zxiii.  41 ;  John  viiL  46.*— 'lea.  liii.  7 ; 

Matt,  xxrii.  39 ;  John  viii.  48,  ifi. T  Loke  xxiii.  4& "  Oi, 

cmvnitted   his  cause. » Isaiah   liii.  4-6,  11. **  Or,  to. 

•  Rom.  vi.  2, 11 ;  viL  6. *»  Isa.  liiL  5. 


tng  the  Messiah,  ehap.liii.  9;  neither  was  any -deceit 
in  his  mouth.  Who,  when  he  was  reviled— As  he 
frequently  was,  being  called  a  Samaritan,  a  glottoo, 
a  wine-bibber,  a  blasphemer,  a  demoniac,  one  in 
league  with  9«elzebub,  a  perv^rter  of  the  nation, 
and  a  deceiver  of  the  people ;  he  reviled  not  again 
—In  any  one  instance:  he  did  indeed  once  say  to 
the  Jews,  Ye  are  of  your  father  tlie  devU,  and  the 
works  of  your  father  ye  wiU  do.  This,  however, 
was  not  a  reviling  speech,  but  a  true  description  of 
their  character,  and  a  prediction  that  they  would 
murder  him;  and  when  he  sttffered — ^All  kinds  of 
insults  and  tortures,  till  they  ended  in.  his  death  on 
t)ie  cross;  he  threatened  not  the  vengeance  which  he 
had  it  in  his  own  power  to  have  executed ;  but  com- 
mitted himself  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously — 
The  only  solid  ground  of  patience  in  affliction.  In 
all  these  instances,  the  example  of  Christ  was  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  the  instruction  of  servants,  who 
easily  slide  into  sin  or  guile,  reviling  their  fellow- 
servants,  or  threatening  them,  the  natural  result  of 
anger  without  power.  . 

Verses  94, 25.  Who  his  own  self— In  his  own  per- 
son, and  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  not  of 
another,  (Heb.  ix.  28,)  bare  our  sins— Th^i  is,  the 
punishment  due  to  them ;  in  his  afflicted,  torn,  dying 
body  on  ^e  tree — The  cross,  whereon  chieifly  slaves 
or  servants  were  wont  to  suffer.  The  apostle  al- 
ludes to  Isa.  liii.  12;  He  bare  the  sins  of  mtmy, 
"  The  phrase,  bearing  sin,  is  often  used  in  the  Oil 
Testament.  It  signifies  sometimes  the  making 
atonement  for  sin.  Lev.  x.  17 ;  sometimes  the  suffer- 
ing punishment  for  sin,  Lev.  xxii.  d;  Ezek.  xviii.  20; 
and  sometimes  the  carrying  away  sin  from  the  sight 
of  God;  as  the  scape-goat  is  said  to  do,  Lev.  xvi.22. 
The  apostle  uses  hpre  the  first  person,  our  sins,  to 
show  Uiat  Christ  ba^  the  sins  of  believers,  m  every 
age  and  country;  and  to  make  us  sensible  how  ex- 
tensive the  operation  of  his  death  is  in  procoring 
pardon  for  sinners."  TTiat  we,  being  dead  to  sins— 
Or,  as  rmf  ofiopruuc  airoytvofievoi  is  more  literally  ten* 
dered,  freed  from  nnt— That  is,  from  the  guilt  and 
power ;  fh>m  which,  without  an  atonement,  it  was 
impossible  we  should  bedelivered.  By  whose  Stipes 
ye  were  healed— Oi  your  spiritual  disorders:  eiViai 
infinitely  greater  than  any  which  the  cruelty  of  the 
severest  masters  can  bring  upon  yon.  See  on  ta. 
619 


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IhUiUs  rf  wives 


I.  PETES. 


fofkeirktiaam^ 


A.M.40M. 
A.  D.60. 


26  FcNT  ^  ye  were  as  Aeep  going 
astray;  but  are  now  returned  ^unto 


«l8a.Hii.6. 


lilL  5.  '^  By  changing  his  dlsoonrse  from  the  iSrst  to 
the  second  persoti,  the  apostle  addressed  those  slaves 
who  might  be  beaten  uomercifully  by  cruel  masters ; 
because,  of  all  the  considerations  by  which  they 
could  be  animated  to  patience,  the  most  powerAil 
wafl^  to  put  them  in  mind  of  the  paiiifnl -stripes  with 
which  Christ  was  beaten,  when  he  was  8eo^rged  by 
Pilate's  cnrder,  (Matt  xxvii.  26,)  and  to  tell  them, 
that  with  these  stripes  the  wounds  in  their  sotds^ 
occasioned  by  sin,  were  healed ;  wounds  fjur  more 
painful  and  deadly  than  those  inflicted  on  them  by 
their  iroward  masters."  For  ye  is^re  oi  sheep  going 
astray — From  their  pastures^  their  shepherd,  and 
his  flock,  and  exposed  to  want  and  the  d«)ger  of 
being  lost  in  the  wildemess^  or  destro;^ed  by  wild 
beasts^  ye  were  wandering  out  of  the  way  of  truth 
and  du^,  of  safety,  hcdiness,  and  haf^nnen,  imo  the 


the  Shei^iard  and  BMiop  of  your  a.  M.  4001. 
soub.  ^^^ 

*  E^eLxxxJy.  23 ;  ppcWL  24;  Jolun.  11,14,1s. 

by-paths  of  error  and  Btn^  of  guilt  and  misery'— 
paths  leaidfog  )a  certain  destruotioB.  But  art  now 
returned — Through  the  influence  of  diTine  grace ; 
unto  the  Shepherd—The  great  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep,  brought  again  from  ^e  dead,  through  the 
blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant;  and  Bishop^^ 
the  kind  Observer,  Inspeetoi^  and  Overaecr ;  of  your 
MmZ#-*Who  has  gracipudy  received  you  under  his 
pastoral  care,  and  will  maintain  that  inspection  over 
you  which  shall  be  your,  best  security  against  re- 
tuming-to  those  fatal  wanderings.  "  Though  in  this 
passage  the  apostle  addressed  his  discourse  imme- 
diately to  servants  or  slaves,  yet,  by  giving  titles  to 
Christ  which  marked  his  relation  to  men  of  all  rsnks 
and  conditions,  he  hath  intimated  that  his  ezhorta* 
tion  to  suffer  unmerited  evils  patientiy,  is  intended 
ibr  afl  wbo  profess  the  gospel.'' 


CHAPTER  IIL 

Tk  t  spoftk  exhorts  ChristiMn  whes  to  submit  tkemsehes  to  their  huhandg,  and  to  sdom  their  minds  rather  thorn  tkar  MUes  ; 
snd  Wkewise  kusbasids  to  treat  their  teives  tfi  a  becoming  and  honourable  manner^  from  a  tender  seme  of  thooe  infirmities 
to  which  the  female  tex  is  peculiarly  liable^  1-7.  (2,)  He  exhorU  all  Chrisliant  to  miutual  agreement  in  prtnapUf  ejfec- 
tion,  and  kindness,  and  to  the  forgiving  of  injuries,  8-13.  (3,)  Encourages  them  to  patienee  emd  perssosremes  vsdir  perm 
secutions  for  rightesusnsse^  sake,  in  considsration  of  Christ^s  basing  suffered  in  their  stead,  14-18.  (4,)  Repremnts  the 
destruction  and  dammUion  ofthsold  world  ae  a  warning  against  disobedience  to  ChriH;  and  the  tahation  of  Noah,  as  a 
figure  of  our  redemption^  and  emHem  of  our  baptism,  through  the  resurrection  and^aseension  of  Christ,  19-23. 

A.  M.  4064.  T  IKE  WISE,  »  ye  wives,  be  in  sub- 

1-         jection  to  your  own  husbands; 

that,  if  any  obey  not  the  word,  *  they  also  may 
without  the  word  ""  be  won  by  the  conversation 
of  the  wives; 


•1  Corinth,  ziv.  34;   Eph.  ▼.  22 ;  Coloss.  iU.  18;  Tituf  U.  5. 
b  1  Cor.  vii.  16. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  III. 
Verses  1, 3.  Likewise— ks  I  have  exhorted  ser- 
vants to  be  in  subjection  to  their  masters,  I  in  like 
manner  say,  Ye  wives,  be  in  subjection  to  your  owii 
huebands—ln  all  things  just  and  lawfbl ;  thai  if  any 
(he  speakB  tenderly)  obey  not  the  word— Disbelieve 
and  reject  the  gospel ;  they  also  may)  without  the  word 
^Though  they  neglect  or  reject  that  means  of  grace  5 
be  won  by  the  ctrnversaiion— The  good  behaviour 
of  the  tptvet— That  is,  be  gained  over  to  Christ. 
"  Here  St  Peter  wisely  intimates  4o  the  women,  that 
the  silent,  but  powerftd  persuasion  of  a  becoming 
behaviour,  wouM  be  more  eflectual  in  winning  then: 
unbelieving  husbands  to  embrace  the  gospel,  than 
many  arguments,  proposed  perhi^  with  heat,  for 

Me 


2  ^  While  they  behold  your  chaste  A.M.4064. 
conversation  coupled  with  fear.  

3  *  Whose  adorning  let  it  not  be  that  outward 
adomiitg  oi  plaiting  the  hair,  and  of  wearing 
<tf  gold,  or  of  putting  on  of  apparel ; 

•  Matt  xviiL  15 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  l»-22. «•  Chap.  u.  12. •  1  Tun. 

iLQ;  Tit.  ii.  8,  4m. 

the  purpose  of  convincing  them.  For  when  the 
hu^ands  (bund  what  a  happy  influence  the  goq;>el 
had  in  making  their  wives  sweet-tempered  and  du- 
tiftil  in  every  jespect,  they  could  not  but  entertain  a 
good  opinion  of  a  religion  which  produced  such  ex- 
cellent effects.''  WhilOy  with  admiration  and  in- 
creasing love,  they  daily  behold  your  chaste  and 
spotless  conversation  coupled  wiVi  fear — ^With  a 
dutiful,  respectAd,  obliging  conduct,  and  a  care  not 
to  displease. 

Yerses  8,  4.  Whose  adorning,  to., — See  note  on 
1  Tim.  ii,  9 ;  Tit.  ii.  a  "  Three  things  are  here  ex- 
pressly forbidden :  curling  the  hair,  wearing  gold^ 
(by  way  of  ornament,)  and  putting  on  costly  or  gay 
apparel.  These,  therefore,  ought  never  to  be  allow^ 


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tftvet  tahorUd  to  odom  their  mind$.  CHAPTER  IIL 


Dutie9  i^hm$banda  to  their  wive$. 


A.M.  4004. 
A.D.  00. 


4  But  Jet  it  be  ^^  hidden  man 
of  the  heart,  in  that  which  is  not  cor- 
ruptible, even  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and 
qdet  spirit,  which  id  in  the  sight  of  God  of 
great  price. 

6  For  after  this  manner  in  the  old  time  the 
holy  women  also,  who  trusted  in  God,  adorned 
themselves,  h&ng  in  subjection  unto  their  own 
husbands : 


'Pta.  ilv.  13;  Rom.  u.  29;  TiL»;  SCor.  iv.  lOL^^-cGea. 
znu.  12. ^  Gr.  ckiUrm. 


ed,  much  less  defended,  by  Christians.'*— Wesley. 
But  Ut  it  be  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart — An  in- 
ward,- gracious  disposition,  or  complete  inward  holi- 
ness, namely,  that  which  is  not  corrupiible^Which 
will  not  wear  out  and  decay,  as^  the  external  orna- 
ments of  dress  will ;  even  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit — 
Essential  to  true  holiness.  A  meek  spirit  consists  in 
bearing  provocation  patiently ;  a  qtiiet  ^rit  in  ab- 
staining from  giving  provocation,  especially  by  bit- 
ter language,  and  from  causing  unnecessary  trouble 
to  any ;  in  the  sight  of  (j(k^— Who  looks  at  the  heart. 
'^  An  superfluity  of  dress  contributes  more  to  pride 
and  anger  than  is  generally  supposed.  The  apostle 
seems  to  have  an  eye  to  this,  by  substituting  meek- 
ness and  quietness  in  the  room  of  the  ornaments  he 
forbids.  '  I  do  not  regard  these  things,'  is  often  said 
by  those  whose  hearts  are  wrapped  up  in  them.  But 
offer  to  take  them  away,  and  you  touch  the  very  idol 
of  their  souls.  Some,  indeed,  only  dress  elegantly 
that  they  may  be  looked  on;  that  is,  they  squander 
away  their  liord's  talent  to  gain  applause;  thus 
making  sin  to  beget  sin,  and  then  plead  one  in  excuse 
of  the  other."— Wesley.  The  sentiments  contaiaed 
in  this  verse  are  illustrated  by  Blackwell  {Sacred 
Classics,  voL  L  p.  164,)  as  follows:  '^  How  must  all 
the  short-lived  beauties,  the  shapes,  features,  and 
most  elegant  and  rich  ornaments  of  the  mortal  body, 
which  attract  the  eyes  and  admiration  of  vain  mor- 
tals, fade  away,  and  lose  their  charms  and  lustfe, 
when  compared  with  the  heavenly  graces  of  a  pious 
and  regular  temper,  the  incorruptible  ornaments  and 
beauties  of  the  soul,  which  are  ever  amiable,  and  of 
high  value  in  the  eye  of  God,  the  Sovereign  Judge 
of  what  is  good  and  beautiful  T'  Nearly  resembling 
this  is  a  passage  of  Crates,  a  heathen  philosopher, 
quoted  by  Plutarch:  "Neither  gold,  nor  emeralds, 
nor  pearb  grace  and  ornament  a  woman ;  but  all 
those  things  which  clearly  express  and  set  off  her 
gravity,  regtUarity,  and  modesty.^ 

Verses  5,  6.  For  after  this  wanner— Namely, 
with  inward  holiness  and  outward  plainness;  in  old 
time— In  the  patriarchal  ages ;  the  holy  women  who 
trusted  in  God— And  therefore  did  not  act  thus  from 
servUe  fear,  but  from  true  piety,  and  are  consequent- 
ly worthy  to  be  imitated;  adorned  themselves— 
Their  adorning,  according  to  St  Peter  here,  was, 
1st,  Their  meek  subjection  to  their  husbands ;  2d, 
Their  quiet  spirit,  not  afraid  or  amazed;  and,  3d, 
Their  onblameable  behaviour,  doing  all  things  well, 
b 


6  Even  as  Sarah  obeyed  Abraham,  A  M.  4064. 
rcaffing  him  kwrd:  whose  »dai^h-    ^'^'^ 
ters  ye  are,  as  long  as  ye  do  well,  and  are  not 
afraid  with  any  amazement. 

7  ^  Likewise  ye  husbands,  dwdl  with  them 
aecordii^  to  Jknowtedge,  giving  honour  unto 
the  wife,  *  as  unto  the  weaker  vessel,  and  as 
being  hdrs  together  of  the  grace  of  life ;  ^  that 
your  pray^MB  be  not  hindered. 


^1  Cor.  rn.  3 ;   Eph.  r.  26;   CoL  iiL  10. » I  Cor.  xii.  33; 

I  TheM.  It.  4. k  Job  xUi.  8 ;  Matt.  v.  23, 24 ;  xviii .  IS. 


Even  as  Sarah  obeyed  Abraham— See  Gen.  xii.  9; 
xviii.  6;  caXling  him  lord— In  token  of  her  subjec- 
tion ;  for  the  ancients,  by  giving  titles  of  respect  to 
their  superiors,  acknowledged  their  own  inferiority. 
Therefore,  by  mentioning  the  reverence  with  which 
Sarah  spake  of  Abraham,  the  apostle  intimates  that 
she  entertained  the  highest  respect  for  him,  and  a 
just  sense  of  her  own  subjection  fo  him.  Sarah  was 
considered  by  the  Jewish  women  as  an  illustrious 
pattern  of  a  dutiftd  wife ;  whose  daughters  Or  chil- 
dren, in  a  spiritual,  as  well  as  natural  sense ;  ye  are 
— Or  show  yourselves  to  be,  and  that  ye  are  entitled 
to  the  same  inheritance ;  as  long  as  ye  do  well — 
Discharge  all  your  conjugal  duties  conscientiously. 
Sarah  being  constituted  by  God  the  mother  of  all  be- 
lievers, (Gal.  iv.  26,)  even  as  Abraham  was  made 
their  father,  the  believing  woknen  of  Pontus,  by  imi- 
tating Sarah's  virtues,  became  her  children,  though 
not  descended  from  her.  And  are  not  afraid  with 
any  anuzzement — So  terrified  with  the  apprehension 
of  any  danger  or  prejudice  that  may  arise  to  you  on 
account  of  your  piety,  as  to  be  discouraged  from 
your  duty,  or  induced,  through  fear  of  displea^g 
your  husbands,  to  do  actions  contrary  to  your  reli- 
gion. For,  while  the  apostle  enjoined  wives  to  be 
in  subjection  to  their  husbands,  he  cautioned  them 
against  committing  sin,  especially  the  sin  of  idolatry, 
either  from  a  desire  to  please  their  husbands,  or 
from  a  fear  of  offending  them. 

Verse  7.  Likewise,  ye  husbands— See  on  Eph.  v. 
26;  Col.  iii.  19  j  dwell  with  i^icm— -Conduct  your- 
selves toward  them,  according  to  knowledge^ 
Wisely  and  discreetly ;  suitably  to  that  knowledge 
of  your  duty  which  you  have  obtained  by  the  gos- 
pel :  or,  knowing  they  are  weak,  and  therefore  to  be 
used  with  tenderness:  yet  do  not  despise  them  for 
this,  but  ^ve  them  honour — Both  in  heart  and  in 
your  behaviour  toward  them,  as  those  who  are 
called  to  be  Joint-heirs  of  that  eternal  life  which  ye 
and  they  hope  to  receive  by  the  free  grace  of  God. 
"  In  Scriptilre,  honour  is  sometimes  used  for  main- 
tenance, because  to  supply  any  one  with  the  neces- 
saries and  conveniences  of  life  was  considered,  in 
ancient  times,  as  doing  him,  honour.  Aecordingly 
the  Greeks,  in  reward  of  eminent  services  done  to 
the  community,  decreed  maintenance  at  the  public 
expense  to  those  who  had  performed  these  services. 
By  assigning  as  the  reason  why  honour  should  bo 
given  to  the  wife,  that  she  is  weaker  than  the  bus* 
617 


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Exhortation  to  iiuititalti^ecHotu 


L  raiTES. 


7^  Lord  prot§cU  the  righteom. 


A.  M.  4064.    8  ^  *  Finally, '&ey6  all  of  0Q6  mind, 
haying  compaasion  one  of  another  \ 


■^love'  as  brethien,  ^be  ptifiil,  be  courteous 

9  ®  Not  rendering  evii  for  evil,  or  railing  for 
failing:  but  contrariwise,  blessing;  knowing 
that  ye  are  thereunto  called,  'that  ye  should 
inherit  a  blessing. 

10  For  "^  he  that  will  love  life,  and  see  good 
days,  'let  him  refrain  his  t(»igue  from  evil,  and 
his  lips  that  they  speak  no  guile : 

11  Let   him  '  eschew  evil,    and  do  good : 


*  Fifth  Stmdmf  after  TrinitT,  episUe,  rene  8,  ending  in 

▼WM  15,  tt.  And  ftt  ready. >  Kom.  xii  16;  zr.  5 ;   PUL  iii. 

16. ■  Roouw  xn.  10 ;   Heb.  xiii,  1 :  Chap,  ii-  17. ■  Or, 

loving  to  tho  brethren. »  CoL  iii.  12;   Eph.  ly.  32. •Prov. 

ZTii.  30;  zx.  22 ;  Matt.  r.  39 ;  Rom.  xii.  14, 17 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  12 ; 
J  Theaa.  ▼.  15. 


band,  in  body  or  person,  (to  the  word  cKevof,  vessel, 
here  seems  to  mean,)  the  apostle  hath  intimated, 
not  only  that  he  ought  to  afford  her  a  competent 
share  of  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life,  but 
as  much,  relief  from  bodily  labour  as  his  circum- 
stances will  allow:  all  which  is  most  reasonable, 
considenng  the  many  bodily  troubles  women  are 
subject  to,  in  the  breeding,  bearing,  and  nursing  of 
children."  That  your,  prayers  be  not  hindered— 
On  the  one  part  or  the  oUier.  All  sin  hinders  prayer, 
particularly  anger.  Any  thing  at  which  we  are  an- 
gry is  never  more  apt  to  come  into  our  minds  than 
when  we  are  at  prayer.  And  those  who  do  not  for- 
give, will  find  no  forgiveness  from  God. 

Verses  8,  9.  /VnaWy— This  section  of  the  epistle 
reaehes  to  chap.  iv.  11.  The  apostle  seems  to  have 
added  the  rest  afterward.  Be  ye  all  o/^one  mind-- 
Ofto^poveg,  unoninhous;  guarding  against  all  unneces- 
sary occasion  of  contention :  see  on  Rom.  xii.  16 : 
hai^  compcLssion,  &c, — Greek,  onftKoOeit,  sympa- 
ihizing  with  each  other;  rejoicing  and  sorrowing 
together:  love  all  believers  as  brethren:  be  pitiful 
—Toward  the  afflicted.  The  original  word,  tva- 
Klayxyoi,  is,  literally,  of  good  bowels.  The  meaning 
is,  Be  moved  with  compassion  on  beholding  the  weak- 
nesses and  distresses  of  othera,  and  do  all  you  can  to 
assist  and  relieve  them.  Be  courteous^To  all  men. 
Courtesy  is  such  a  behaviour  toward  equals  and  in- 
feriors as  shows  respect  mixed  with  love.  Not  ren- 
dering evil  for  evU-See  on  Matt  v.  39 ;  or  railing 
for  railing—One  reproachful  speech  for  another; 
but  contrariwise,  blessing—Even  to  those  that  curse 
you,  according  to  Christ's  precept ;  wishing  and 
praying  for  their  welfare,  and  endeavouring  to  pro- 
mote it  Knowing  thai  ye  are  thereunto  called— 
Namely,  to  be  of  this  benevolent  and  beneficent  for- 
giving temper :  that  ye  should  inherit  a  blessing, 
immense  and  eternal.  Therefore  their  railing  can- 
not hurt  you ;  and  by  blessing  them,  you  imitate 
God,  who  blesses  you. 

Verse  10-18.  He  thai  wiU  love  life— That  would 

make  life  amiable  and  desirable ;  and  see  good  days — 

Namely,  such  as  are  prosperous  and  happy ;  let  Mm 

T^ain  his  tongue  from  evil—From  railing,  back- 

618 


*  let    him    seek  peace,  and   ensue  A.  M.  4ML 


12  F(h:  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over  the 
righteous,  *  and  his  ears  are  open  unto  their 
prayers:  but  the  &ce  of  the  Lord  is  'against 
them  that  do  eviL 

13  '  And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye 
be^fdlowers  of  that  which  is  gqod  ? 

14  ^  But  and  if  ye  suffer  for  righteousness 
sake,  happy  are  ye;  and  '  be  not  afraid  of  their 
temH*,  neither  be  trouUed ; 

p  Matt.  xxT.  34.—^  P«u  xx^rir.  12,  &c. '  Junes  i.  26 ; 

Chap.  ii.  1,  SS;  Rer.  xir.  5.— •Paa.  zzxvii.^;  3JohnlL 

tRom.  xii.  18;  xir.  19 ;  Heb.  xii.  14. ■  John  ix  31 ;  James 

T.  16. *  Gr.  upon, «  Prov.  xri.  7 ;  Tob.  xii.  7 ;  Rom.  tiH. 

28.^-y  Matt.  T.  10-12 ;  Chap.  ii.  10 ;  iv.  14. » laa.  riii.  ia» 

13 ;  Jer.  L  B, 

biting,  tale-bearing,  from  all  rash  and  provoking  ex- 
pressions ;  and  his  lips  that  they  speak  no  guile — 
No  deceit;  nothing  contrary  to  sincerity  and  sim- 
plicity. See  on  Psa.  xxxii.  2.  In  this  and  the  fol- 
lowing verses  the  apostle  offers  three  arguments,  of 
great  importance,  to  induce  men  to  the  practice  of 
piety  and  virtue :  1st,  It  secures  the  happiness  both 
of  the  present  and  of  the  future  life :  2d,  It  ensures 
the  favour  and  protection  of  God,  verse  12:  3d,  It 
disarms  the  malice  of  men,  verse  13.  Let  him 
eschew  evil — EKuXivaro  ano  kokh,  let  him  turn  away 
from  evil,  of  every  kind,  and  from  evil  dispositions, 
as  well  as  evil  words  and  actions ;  and  do  good — ^To 
the  utmost  extent  of  his  power.  Let  him  seekpeace 
—Endeavour,  as  much  as  in  him  lieth,  to  live  peace- 
ably with  all  men:  and  pursue  it — ^When  it  appears 
to  flee  from  him.  For  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over 
the  righteous— hie  continually  set  upon  them,  to 
watch  over  and  protect  them ;  and  his  ears  are  open 
to  their  prayer*— Especially  when  they  are  in  dis- 
tress. But  the  face  of  the  Lord— His  countenance, 
full  of  wrath  and  resentment ;  t*  against  them  thai 
do  evil — Against  all  that  live  in  known  sin,  whether 
high  or  low,  rich  or  poor.  And  who  is  he  that  shall 
harm  you- That  shall  have  the  ability  to  do  you  any 
real  harm ;  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good — 
Or  imitators  of  the  good  One,  as  the  original  ex- 
pression, T8  ayix&fi  fiiM'^at,  may  be  rendered :  that  is, 
if  you  copy  after  the  benevolence  of  your  heavenly 
Father,  and  of  his  beloved  Son,  your  great  Master, 
whose  whole  life  was  so  illustrious  an  example  of 
the  most  <di£fusive  generosity  and  goodness  to  his 
followers'? 

Verses  14-16.  ^m^  if  you  should  suffer— If  any 
should  be  so  wicked  as  to  endeavour  to  harm  you 
when  you  are  doing  good ;  if  your  heathen  rulers, 
or  any  others,  should  persecute  you  for  righteous- 
ness' sake ;  that  is,  upon  the  account  of  your  reli- 
gion, because  you  follow  Christ,  and  believe  and 
obey  his  gospel ;  this,  properly  speaking,  will  be  no 
harm  to  you,  but  a  good:  yea,  happy  are  yott— In  so 
suffering,  in  spite  of  all  the  malicious  and  outrageous 
efforts  of  your  enemies ;  yea,  your  sufferings  will  be 
so  far  from  lessening,  that  they  will  increase  your 


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CHAPTER  III. 


$t^erfir  evil-doing. 


A.  M.  4064 

A.D.  aa 


15  But  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in 
your  hearts:  and  ^be  ready  always 
to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asketh 
you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  with 
meekness  and  *  fear. 

16  ^  Having  a  good  c<Hi8cience ;  ®  that, 
whereas  they  speak  evil  <if  you,  as  of  evil- 
doers, they  may  be  ashamed  that  falsely  ac- 


•  Pia.  cm.  48;   Acta  iv.  8;   Col.  ir.  6. ^•Or,  revtrmee. 

k  Heb.  iii.  18.— —«  Tit.  ii.  8. 


happiness,  and  that  ia  many  respects,  ^e  not  afraid 
of  their  terror— Tov  ^e  ^o6ov  avruv  fiif  ^o6ti^ijTt^  the 
very  words  of  the  Septuagint,  Isa.  viiL  12, 13  j  Fear 
ye  not  their  frar:  the  exhortation  which  Isaiah  gave 
to  the  Jews  when  threatened  with  an  invasion  by  the 
Assyrians.  The  words  are  a  Hebraism  -,  the  jnean- 
ing  of  which  is,  Be  not  affected  with  the  fear  which 
they  endeavour  to  raise  in  you  by  their  thrcatenings. 
Or,  as  some  understand  the  expression,  Let  not  that 
fear  be  in  you  which  th6  wicked  feel.  But  sanctify 
the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts — Namely,  by  fearing 
him  more  than  men,  how  many  or  powerful  soever  [ 
they  may  be;  by  believing  all  his  promises;  by 
trusting  in  his  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness;  by 
acknowledging  his  justice  in  the  punishments  which 
he  inflicts^  and  by  patiently  bearing  all  the  trials  he 
is  pleased  to  appoint.  By  these  dispositions,  be- 
lievers sanctify  God  in  their  hearts ;  they  give  him 
the  glory  of  all  his  perfections.  See  on  Isa.  viii.  19. 
And  be  ready  always — By  a  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  contents  and  evidences  of  your  holy  reli-. 
gion,  and  by  that  cheerfulness  ^nd  presence  of  mind 
which  arises  from  a  consciousness  of  your  practical 
regard  to  it;  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that 
asketh  you— Either  hy  virtue  of  his  office,  or  for  his 
own  information ;  or  when  the  defence  of  the  truth 
requires  it;  a  reason  of  the  hqpe  that  is  in  you— Of 
eternal  life;  with  meekness— For  anger  would  hurt 
your  cause,  as  well  as  your  soul;  and  fear — A  filial 
fear  of  offending  God,  and  a  jealoud  fear  of  your- 
selves, lest  you  should  speak  amiss.  Having  a  good 
conscience — Keeping  your  consciences  clear  from 
guilt,  that  they  may  justify  you  when  men  accuse 
you;  or  conducting  yourselves  so  that  your  con- 
sciences may  not  reproach  you  for  dishonouring  the 
gospel,  by  walking  unsuitably  to  its  holy  precepts; 
that  whereas^  or  Mrherein,  thi^y  speak  evil  ofyou^  as 
of  evil-doers — And  lay  to  your  charge  crimes  of  the 
most  detestable  nature ;  they  may  be  put  to  shame, 
who  falsely — Without  any  shadow  of  cause ;  accuse 
your  good  conversation— Y quit  inoffensive,  useful, 
and  holy  hehaviour;  in  O^mi— According  to  his 
doctrine  and  example. 

Verses  17,  18.  For  it  is  infinitely  better,  if  the 
wUofGod  be  so — That  you  should  suffer;  and  his 
permissive  will  in  this  respect  appears  from  his  pro- 
vidence ;  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing,  rather  than 
for  evil-doing— 'The  testimony  of  a  good  conscience, 
and  the  sense  of  the  divine  favour,  affording  the  no- 
il 


cuse  your  good  conversation  in  Chrkt.  a.  if.  4064, 

17  *Fort/w  better,  ifthe  will  of  God    ^'  ^'  ^' 
be  80,  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing,  than  for 
evil-doing. 

18  For  Christ  also  hath  ^once  suffered  for 
Bins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might 
bring  us  to  God,  *  being  put  to  death  ^in  the 
flesh,  but  '  quickened  by  the  Spirit : 


*  Easter  ISve,  epistle,  vene  17  to  the  end.   '     *  Romaxiii  v.  S. 
4. ^Col.  i.  21,22.— fRonLi.4;  riii.  11. 


•2Cor.  xiil^ 


blest  supports  in  the  former  case ;  ^here^s,  m  the 
latter,  the  severest  torments  that  can  be  endured  are 
those  which  the  guilty  mind  inflicts  upon  itself;  to 
which  may  be  added,  that  while  we  suffer  for  the 
truth,  we  have  the  comfort  of  reflecting  that  we  fol- 
low our  blessed  Redeemer,  which  is  another  most 
powerful  source  of  consolation.  For  Christ  also 
hath  once  suffered  for  tfirw— Not  his  own,  but  for 
ours,  to  make  an  atonemeut  for  them ;  ihe  just  for 
the  ur^uet-^Ox  the  holy  for  the  unholy  ;  for  the  word 
just  here  denotes  a  person  who  has  fulfilled- not 
barely  social  duties,  but  every  branch  of  righteous- 
ness I  and  the  word  ur^ust  signifies  not  only  those 
who  have  wronged  their  neighbours,  but  those  who 
have  transgressed  any  of  the  commands  of  God ;  that 
he^night  bring  us  to  6ro(i— Might  reconcile  God  to 
us,  and  us  to  God ;  and  might  obtain  for  us  his  gra- 
cious favour  here,  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  renew  us  after 
his  image,  and  might  bring  us  to  his  blissful,  pre* 
sence  hereafter;  by  the  same  steps  of  suffering  and 
of  glory.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Macknight,  that  in 
the  sufferings  of  Chri^tsWe  have  a  clear  proof  that 
sufferings  are  no  evidence  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
sufferer,  nor  of  the  badness  of  the  cause  for  which 
he  suffers ;  and  that  the  power  of  God,  visible  in 
Christ's  resurrection,  affords  to  all,  who  lose  thehr 
lives  for  the  gospel,  a  sure  ground  of  consolation  and 
hope  that  God  will  raise  them  up  at  the  last  day. 
Being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh—In  the  human  na- 
ture ;  or  in  respect  of  that  frail,  mortal  life  he  had  on 
earth;  but  quickened — Zt^oirottj^ig,  made  alive;  by 
the  apirit--The  Spirit  of  God  and  of  Chijst,  "  As 
Christ  was  conceived  in  the  womb  of  hb  mother  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  (Luke  L  35,)  so  he  was  raised  from 
the  4ead  by  the  same  Spirit;  on  which  account  he 
is  said  (1  Tim.  iii.  IG)  to  have  been  justified  by  the 
Spirit;  and  (Heb.  ix.  14)  to  have  offered  himself 
without  spqt  to  God,  through  the  eternal  SpiHt,  It 
is  true  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  ascribed  to  the 
Father,  1  Cor.  vi.  14 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  14 ;  Eph.  i.  20 ;  but 
that  is  not  inconsistent  with  Peter's  affirmation  in 
this  verse;"  for  the  Father  may,  with  the  strictest 
propriety,  be  said  to  have  done  what  his  Spirit  did, 
especially  as  it  was  done  to  show  that  God  acknow- 
ledged Jesus  to  be  his  Son.  And  our  Lord's  worda» 
(John  u.  19,)  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days 
I  will  raise  it  14^  are  to  be  understood  in  the  same 
manner.  He  raised  it  up  by  that  Spirit  which  pro* 
ceeded  from  him  as  well  as  from  the  Father, 
61» 


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L  PETER. 


the  spirit  in  prison^ 


A.  M.  4064.  19  By  which  also  he  went  and 
-  '  •  ^pleached  unto  the  spirits  *in  prison ; 
20  Which  scHnetime  were  disobedient,  ^  when 
once  the  long-suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days 
<rfNoah,whiie  *the  ark  was  a  preparing,*  where- 
in few,  diat  is,  eight  souls,  were  saved  by  water. 

l^Chao,  L  12 ;  ir.  6.— — * I»a.  xliL  7:  xlix.  9;  Izi  1.— *Gcii. 
▼!.  3,5, 13. iHebwxi.  7. 

Verses  19, 20.  By  v>hich  also— Thai  is,  by  which 
Spirit;  he  went  and  preached — Uopev^ei^  eofpv^ev, 
having  gone^  he  preached,  namely,  in  and  by  Noah, 
who  spake  by  the  Spirit  of  Chnst,  (chap.  i.  11,)  and 
of  the  Father,  who  said,  (Gen.  vi.  8,)  referring  to  the 
men  of  that  generation,  Afy  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man.  Hence  Noah  is  called  a  preacher 
of  righteousness,  2  Pet  ii.  6.  '^  By  attributing  the 
preaching  of  the  ancient  prophets  to  Christ,  theapos- 
tie  hath  taught  us,  that  from  the  beginning  the 
economy  of  man's  redemption  lias  been  under  the 
direction  of  Christ.  To  the  spirits  mpmon— That 
is,  which  were  in  prison  when  St.  Peter  wrote  this 
epistle.  They  were  men  in  the  flesh  when  Christ 
preached  to  them  by  his  Spirit  speaking  in  Noah ; 
but  after  they  were  dead,  their  spirits  were  shut  up 
in  the  infernal  prison,  detained,  like  the  fallen  angels, 
(Jude  6,)  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  ; 
which  sometime — Ilore,  once,  or  formerly,  were  diso- 
bedient, when  the  long-suffering  of  God  waited — 
For  their  repentance ;  in  the  days  ofNoah—Bxinng 
the  long  space  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years ;  while 
the  ark  was  preparing — During  which  time  Noah 
warned  them  all  to  repent,  and  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  Wherein — In  which  ark ;  few,  that  w, 
eight  souls — Namely,  Noah  and  his  wife,  with  their 
three  sons  and  their  wives;  were  saved  by  water — 
Or,  were  carried  safety  through  the  water,  namely, 
the  waters  of  the  flood,  which  bare  up  the  ark  in 
which  they  were  enclosed.  Some  suppose  that  the 
persons  here  spoken  of  are  said  to  have  been  in  pri- 
son in  the  days  of  Noah,  by  the  same  figure  of  speech, 
by  which  the  persons  to  whom  Christ  preached  in 
the  days  of  his  flesh,  are  called  captives  in  prison, 
Luke  Iv.  18.  "  Christ's  preaching  to  the  antedilu- 
vians by  Noah,  their  destruction  for  their  disobedience 
to  that  preaching,  and  the  preservation  of  Noah  and 
his  family  in  the  ark,  are  all  fitly  mentioned,  to  show 
that  it  hath  been  God's  way  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world,  when  the  wickedness  of  men  became 
general,  to  oppose  It,  by  raising  up  prophets  to  re- 
prove them,  and  warn  them  of  their  danger;  and 
after  waiting  for  their  repentance  to  no  purpose,  to 
destroy  them;  while  he  delivered  the  righteous  frdm 
the  evils  to  which  they  were  exposed,  by  manifest 
interpositions  of  his  power.  These  things  teach  us, 
that  we  should  not  think  the  worse  of  the  gospel, 
because  it  hath  been  rejected  by  many ;  nor  of  our- 
selves, because  we  are  persecuted  by  the  wicked. 
On  the  other  hand,  by  the  punishment  of  the  ante- 
diluvians, and  of  the  Jews  who  crucified  our  Lord ; 
wicked  meti  and  persecutors  are  taught  to  dread  the 
Jndgments  of  God."— Macknight. 


21  »The  Kke  figure  whereunto,  a.m^40S4. 
even  baptism, -doth  also  now  save  us,  ' 
(not  the  putting  away  of  "^  the  fikh  of  the 
flesh,  i^but  the  answer  of  a  good  consdence 
toward  God,)  ^  by^  (he  resurrection  of  Jesus 
CSmst: 


•Geneiit  viL  7;  tiii.  18. — 
pRon.vZ.  la- 


»Eph.  ir.  26.- 
— ^Chap.  L3. 


•Titus  iii.  ^ 


Verses  %\,  28.  The  like  figtare  wherewnio — Avri- 
rvirov,  the  antitype  whereof,  that  is,  the  thing  which 
corresponds,  not  with  the  water,  but  with  the  ark ; 
even  baptism  doth  now  save  us — Or  is  the  instrument 
of  our  safety  and  preservation,  from  the  guilt,  pow- 
er, and  consequences  of  sm,  which  overwhelms  the 
world  as  a  flood.  Not  the  putting  away4hefiUh  of 
the  fleshn-ks  if  he  had  said.  By  baptism  I  do  not 
mean  merely  or  chiefly  the  sprinkling  or  washing 
the  body  with  water  from  its  filthiness,  which  is  only 
the  outward  or  visible  sign  of  baptism,  but  the  in- 
ward renewing  grace  of  God,  producing  the  answer 
of  a  good  conscience,  er  a  divine  consciousness  that 
both  our  persons  and  our  actions  are  accepted;  by  the 
resurrection  of  C%rw<-^That  is,  the  baptism  which 
consists  in  the  answer  ef  a  good  conscience  toward 
God,  and  which  \s  the  antitype  or  thing  which  was 
signified,  by  Noah's  preservation  in  the  ark,  now 
saves  us  as  eflfectualiy  as  the  ark  preserved  Noah 
from  dest^ction  by  the  flood.  It  is  well  known  the 
Jews  laid  a  great  stress  upon  their  lustrations  or 
washings.  '  The  apostle,  therefore,  very  properly 
cautions  his  readers  against  such  foolish  dependan- 
oies.  A  readiness  to  perform  their  whole  duty,  and 
even  to  suflfer  persecution  for  the  sake  of  truth,  was 
absolutely  necessary  in  the  fij-st  Christians,  in  order 
to  their  maintaining  that  good  conscience,  to  which, 
in  the^r  baptism,  they  professed  a  great  regard,  and 
to  the  exercise  of  which  they  solemnly  engaged 
themselves.  The  word  trrepuTtjfta,  here  rendered  an- 
swer,  signifies  rather  interrogation,  and  is  said  by 
Archbishop  Leighton  to  be  a  judicial  word,  and  to 
signify  interrogations  used  in  the  law  )br  a  trial,  or 
executing  a  process,  and  has  been  thought  by  some 
commentators  to  refer  to  certain  interrogations,  said 
by  Cyprian  and  other  ancient  writers  to  be  put  to 
persons  who  offered  themselves  to  baptian,  concern- 
ing their  faith  in  Christ,  and  their  renunciation  of 
Satan  with  all  his  works,  and  the  vanities  of  the 
world.  But  it  does  not  appear,  Macknight  thinks^ 
that  these  questions  and  answers  were  used  in  the 
apostle's  days ;  and  if  they  were  not,  the  apostle 
could  not  refer  to  them.  "  Allowing,  however,"  he 
says,  "  that  the  word  question  is  here  put  for  ihe 
word  answer,  this  answer  of  a  good  conscience,  be- 
ing made  to  God,  is  an  inward  answer,  and  means 
the  baptized  person's  sincere  persuasion  of  the 
things  which,  by  submitting  tol)aptism,  he  professed 
to  believe;  namely,  that  Jesus,  in  whose  name  bap- 
tism is  admhiistere»d,  arose  from  the  dead,  and  that 
at  the  Iflist  day  he  will  raise  all  from  the  dead  to  eter- 
nal life,  who  sincerely  obey  him.  This  signification 
of  baptism  the  Apostle  Paul  hath  taught,  Rom.  vi.  •^ 


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A.  H.  4064. 


23  Who  is  gone  into  beartti,  and 
'IB  on  the. right  hand  of  God;  "an- 


r  Pta.  ex.  1 ;  Rom.  Tiii.  34. 


6 ;  and  therefore  he  calls  it,  own  begun  confidence^ 
Heb.  liL  14;  and  exhorts  the  Hebrews  to  held  it 
steadfast  to  the  endJ*  Who  is  gone  intoJuaiven-^ 
Asourforenmner;  and  is  on  the  right  Juind  of  God 
—Having  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth ;  angels, 
atUhorities,  and  potf^rt— That  is,  all  orders,  both  of 
angels  and  men;  being  mads  subfeet  to  Aim^In 


gds,  and  authorities,  and  powers,  be*  ^^^^^2^ 
ing  made  subject  unto  him.  *  ^  '^ 


D.OO. 


■Roin.Tm.38;  lCor.xy.24;  E^i.21. 

subserviency  of  his  great  design,  of  saving  all  Ids 
tme  ibUowers.  The  apostle,  in  speaking  here  of  the 
resurrection  and  glor^rof  ciiTist,  means  not  only  to 
represent  him  as  the  object  of  our  confidence,  hot 
to  intimate,  that  if  we  imitate  him  in  his  courageous 
fidelity,  we  may  hope  to  partake  with  him  in  his 
glory. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

The  apoitU  here,  (1,)  JElxkorU  kit  resdart  (o  improve  Chrises  suf  cringe  and  thoee  of  hie  followere,  the  rememhranee  of  their 
pset  einfiUneee,  and  an  ttpprocn\uig  judgment,  ae  exbitemerUe  to  hoUneee  of  heart  tmd  life,  l-S.  (2,)  To  improve  the 
approaching  dieeolution  of  ike  Jewieh  etate  ae  a  motive  to  eobrtety^vHUehfubneee,  prayer,  mutual  love,  hoepUaUty,  and  a 
faithful  diecharge  o*  teligioue  truete,  7-1 1  .^  (8,)  He  cautione  Chrietieme  against  committing  faults  which  would  expose 
them  to  puniehzent;  Imt  eneowragee  them  to  rejoice  and  glory  in  reproaches  and  sugertngs  for  Christ ;  and  tti  the  view 
oftheierriUe  ruincfdie  Jewieh  neition,  to  commit  their  preservation  to  Ood,  12-19. 


A^M.  4M4.  pORASMUCH   then    •  as  Christ 

: — 1-         hath  suflered  for  us  in  the  flesh, 

arm  yourselves  likewise  with  the  same  mind : 
ftr  ^  he  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  hath 
ceased  from  sin ; 

2  ^  That  be  no  longer  ^  should  live  the  rest 
of  his  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  *  but 
to  the  will  of  God. 

»  Chap.  iii.  18. *  Rom.  tI.  2,  7;    Gal.  t.  24 ;  Cot  iii.  3,  5. 

•Ronftntziv.  7;  Chapter  iLl. AOmLiL20;  Chapter  i.  14. 

•  John  L  13;  Rom.Ti.  11.       ^^ 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verses  1, 2.  Forasmuch  then  as  Christ  hath  suf- 
fered-^'Eyen  the  ignominious  and  painful  death  of 
the  cross,  with  all  those  previous  and  concomitant 
evils,  which  rendered  his  death  peculiarly  bitter;  for 
us — And  that  from  a  pure  and  disinterested  principle 
of  love>  arm  yourselves  likewise  with  the  same 
mind — ^With  a  resolution  such  as  animated  him  to 
suffer  all  the  evils  to  which  you  may  be  exposed  in 
the  body;  and  particularly  to  suffer  death,  if  called 
by  God  to  do  so  for  your  religion.  For  this  will  be 
armour  of  proof  against  all  your  enemies.  For 
he  that  hathr^lu.  conformity  to  our  Lord  Jesus; 
svffered  in  the  flesh — Or,  who  hath  so  suffered  as  to 
be  thereby  made  inwardly  and  truly  conformable  to 
Christ  in  his  sufferings,  haih,  of  course,  ceased  from 
sin — From  knowingly  committing  it.  ''He  hath 
been  made  to  rest,"  says  Macknight,  "  from  tempta- 
tion to  sin,  consequently  from  sin  itself.  For  if  a 
man  hath  overcome  the  fear  of  torture  and  death, 
no  weaker  temptation  will  prevail  with  him  to  make 
shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience."  That 
he  no  longer  should  live  in  tlieflesh— liven  in  his  mor- 
tal body ;  to  the  iusts—The  desires,  o/* men— Either 
his  own  or  tfaosc  of  others;  should  no  longer  be! 
b 


8  ^  For  the  time  past  of  cmr  life  may  a.m.4064. 

suffice  ua  <^  to  have  wrought  the  will '- — ^ 

of  the  Gentiles,  when  we  walked  in  lascivious- 
ness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquet- 
ings,  and  abominable  idolatries : 

4  Wherdn  they  think  it  strange  that  ye  run 
not  with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riol,  ^  speak- 
ingevil  otyou: 


f  Eiek.  zliv.  6 ;  xlr.  9 ;  Aet«  xrii.  30.— ff  Eph.  ii.  2 ;  ir.  17 ; 
1  Thett.  ir.  5 ;  Titua  iii  3 ;  Chapter  L  14.-^—^  Acts  ziii.  45 ; 
zriiL  6 ;  Chap,  iii  16. 

governed  by  those  irregular  and  inordinate  affec- 
tions which  rule  in  unregenerate  men ;  btit  to  the 
will  of  Godwin  a  holy  conformity  and  obedience  to 
the  divine  precepts,  how  contrary  soever  they  may 
be  to  his  carnal  and  sensual  inclinations,  or  appa- 
rently to  his  worldly  interests. 

Verses  ^-5.  For  the  time  past  of  our  life  may 
suffice  us—ApKeroc  vfuv^  is  sufficient  for  us;  to  have 
wrought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles— -The  expression  is 
soft,  but  conveys  a  very  strong  meaning,  namely, 
that  in  no  period  of  our  lives  ought  we  to  have 
wrought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles ;  and  that  whatever 
time  we  spent  in  so  doing  was  too  much.  When 
we  walked  in  lasciviousness — In  various  kinds  and 
degrees  of  it;  Zit^f«--Inordinatc  desires  j  excess  of 
wine—Oivo^Xvyiatc,  being  inflamed  with  wipe ;  revel- 
lings — Koftoic^  luxurious  feastings;  see  on  Rom. 
xiii.  13;  banquetinge—TloToic,  drunken  entertain- 
ments; and  abominable  idolatries — With  all  the 
shameful  vices  connected  therewith.  Wherein 
they  think  it  strange,  &c.— The  word  (evt^ovrai, 
thus  rendered,  was  used  by  the  Greeks  to  express 
that  admiration  and  wonder  with  which  a  stranger 
is  struck,  who  beholds  anything  uncommon  or  new. 
The  meaning  here  is,  On  account  of  your  former 
021 


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L  PETSB. 


thatiif  and  ho0fPitaUif^ 


A.  M.  4064.    5  Who  shall  give  account  to  him 
^'  ^'  ^'    that  is  ready  Uo  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead. 

6  For  for  this  cause  ^  was  the  gospel  preached 
also  to  them  that  are  detfcd,  that  they  might  be 
judged  according  to  men  in  the  fleshy  but  live 
according  to  God  in  the  spirit. 

7  IT  *  But '  the  end  of  all  diings  is  at  hand:  "be 


1  Acts  X.  42 ;  xrii.  31 ;  Rom.  xir.  10, 12 ;  2  Tim.  ir.  1 ;  Jamei 

T.  9.        ^  Chap.  iii.  19. *  Sunday  after  Atcenaion,  epistle, 

verse  7  to  Tcrse  12.- 

V.  8. 


J  Matt.  xxir.  13, 14 ;  PhiL  ir.  5 ;  James 


manner  of  life,  they  wonder  that  you  now  shun 
their  company,  and  run  not  with  them  to  the  tame 
excess  of  riot  you  formerly  ran  into;  speaking  evil 
of  you — As  proud,  singular,  silly,  wicked,  and  the 
like ;  who  shall  give  account'— Of  this  as  well  as  all 
their  other  ways;  to  him  thai  is  ready— So  faith 
represents  him  now;  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead — Those  who  are  now  alive,  and  those  who 
shall  be  found  alive  at  his  coming  to  judgment. 

Verse  6.  For  for  this  cause — Or  to  this  end ;  wcu 
the  gospel  prea4ihed — Ever  since  it  was  intimated  to 
Adam,  in  the  promise  made  to  him  after  the  fall, 
ih€U  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  ser- 
penCs  head  ;  to  them  that  are  dead^-^yPoQ  have  died 
in  their  several  generations,  and  especially  to  our 
fore&thers,  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  iemd  the 
other  patriarchs,  by  Moses  and  the  prophets;  that 
they  might  he  judged  cuxording  to  men  in  thefiesh — 
Or,  that  though  they  were  judged  in  the  flesh  accord- 
it^  to  the  manner  of  men,  with  rash,  unrighteous  judg- 
ment, were  condemned  as  evil-doers,  and  some  of 
them  put  to  death,  they  might  live  according  to  God 
— AgreeaUy  to  his  word  and  will;  m  the  spirit — ^In 
their  soul,  renewed  after  the  divine  image,  as  his 
devoted  servants  and  witnesses  in  the  midst  of  their 
persecutors,  and  so  be  prepared  to  live  with  him  in 
a  future  world. 

Verse  7.  The  end  ofaU  things  is  at  hand—Of 
our  mortal  lives,  and  of  all  the  joys  and  sorrows, 
goods  and  evils  connected  therewith,  and  so  of  all 
your  wrongs  and  sufferings.  Many  commentators 
indeed  understand  St.  Peter  as  speaking  only  of  the 
end  o|  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  city,  temple,  and 
worship.  Thus  Whitby  understands  him:  "This 
phrase,  and  the  advice  upon  it,  so  exactly  parallel  to 
what  our  Lord  had  spoken,  will  not  suffer  us  to 
doubt  that  the  apostle  is  here  speaking,  not  of  the 
end  of  the  world,  or  of  all  things  in  general,  which 
was  not  then,  and  seems  not  yet  to  be  at  hand,  but 
only  of  the  end  of  the  Jewish  state.''  Thus  also 
Macknight:  ^This  epistle  being  written  about  a 
year  after  the  war  with  the  Romans  began,  which 
ended  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
Jewish  state,  Peter,  who  had  heard  his  Master's  pro- 
phecy concerning  these  events,  and  the  signs  of  their 
approach,  had  good  reason  to  say  that  they  had  ap- 
proached." But,  as  Dr.  Doddridge  justly  observes, 
this  was  an  event  in  which  most  of  those,  to  whom 
the  apostle  wrote,  were  comparatively  but  little  con- 
cerned. It  is  probiitble,  therefore,  that  the  apostle 
622 


ye  therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto  a.  m.  4064. 

„  A.D.60. 

prayer.  

8  ■  And  above  all  things  have  fervent  chaurky 
among  yourselves:  for  ® charity  ^ shall  cover 
the  multitude  of  mns. 

9  ^  Use  hospitality  one  to  another  '^  without 
grudging. 

10  *  As  every  man  hath  receivied  the  gift,  even 

■  BCatt.  xxvi.  41:  Lake  xxL  34  S  Col,  ir.  2. — — •  Heb.  xiii.  1 ; 

Col.  iii.  14. o  ProT.  X.  12 ;  1  Corintlu  ziii.  1 ;  Jamat  ▼.  dfh 

» Or,  wQL P  Rom.  adi.  13 ;   Heb.  xiu.  2. f  2  Cor.  ix.  7  ; 

Phil,  ii.  14. ^Rom.  xii.  6 ;   1  C?or.  ir.  7. 


either  referred  to  death,  whidi  may  be  considered 
as  the  end  of  the  whole  world  to  every  particular 
person;  or  the  consummation  of  all  things,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  at  hand  in  the  sense  in  wldch  our 
Lord,  long  after  the  destruction  of  Jenisalem,  says 
to  the  church,  (Rev.  xxil.  7,  20,)  Behold  I  come 
quickly.  To  the  same  purpose  is  Mr.  Scott's  inter- 
pretation; ^AU  Christians  must  expect  tribulations 
in  the  world,  but  these  would  soon  termmate; /or 
the  end  of  all  things  was  at  hand,  and  death  was 
about  to  close  th^ir  course  of  trials  or  services; 
nay,  judgment  would  not  be  so  long  delayed,  as  that 
the  intervening  space  should,  in  the  estimation  of 
faith,  be  at  all  compared  with  eternity."  Be  ye 
therefore  Mftei^— Temperate  in  all  things,  and  mode- 
rate in  all  earthly  cares  and  pursuits ;  remembering 
their  end  approaches,  and  the  foshlon  of  this  world 
passeth  away.  Or,  be  prudent  and  considerate^  mm 
aufpovntrare  also  signifies.  Look  before  you,  and 
provide  for  eternity.  And  watch  unto  prayer— To 
which  temperance,  moderation  in  woridly  desires 
and  cares,  prudence,  and  consideration,  are  greai 
helps,  tending  to  produce  a  wakelttl  state  of  niind. 
and  guarding  against  all  temptations  to  sin  and  foUyl 
And  this  watchfulness  is  to  connected  with  prayer 
that  the  one  cannot  exist  without  the  other.  See  ob 
1  Thess.  V.  6-0. 

Verses  8,  9.  Above  all  things— See  that  you  re- 
member the  distinguishing  badge  of  your  religion 
and  have,  maintain,  fervent  charity,  love,  amonf 
yourselves — One  toward  another :  for  love  shall  cover 
a  multitude  of  sins— Ii  will  cause  us  to  excuse  then* 
in  others,  and  will  entitle  us,  through  divine  mercy 
to  the  expectation  of  forgiveness  for  our  own 
numberless  failing&  See  on  James  v.  20.  Love 
cover eth  all  things,  1  Cor.  xiii.  7.  He  that  love? 
another  covereth  his  faults,  how  many  soever  they 
be.  He  turns  away  his  own  eyes  from  them,  and, 
as  far  as  it  is  possible,  hides  them  from  others.  And 
he  continually  prays  that  all  the  sinner's  iniquities 
may  be  forgiven,  and  hb  sins  covered.  Meantime 
the  God  of  love  measures  to  him  with  the  same 
measure  into  his  bosonu  Use  hospitality  one  to 
another— Ye  that  are  of  diflferent  towns  or  countries ; 
without  grudging— The  expense  which  may  attend 
the  exercise  of  a  virtue,  wbich  in  present  circum- 
stances is  important  and  necessary.  Practise  it  with 
all  cheerfulness. 

Verses  10, 11.  As  every  num  hath  received  the 
gift— Or,  a  gift,  spiritual  or  temporal,  ordinary  or 

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GHAPTER  IV. 


apeak  ob  ihe  cractet  of  Gwl  diredt  ^ 


A.  M.  4064.  M  minister  the  same  one  to  another, 
^^•^'  -as  good  stewardsr  of  the  *  manifold 
grace  of  God.  , 

11  ^  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God ;  '  if  any  man  minister,  lei  him 
do  Has  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth :  that 
7  God  in  aU  things  may  be  glorified  through 
Jesus  Christ ;  *  to  whom  be  praise  and  domi- 
nion fijT  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

12  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange^  concerning 
•  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  its  though 
some  strange  thing  happened  unto  you : 

•  Matt  zxir.  45 ;  xxv.  14, 21 ;  Liik«  zii.  •Ti ;  1  Cor.  iv.  1,  2 ; 

Tito*  i.  7. *  I  Cor.  xiL  4;   Ept  hr.  11. ^»  Jer.  xjdii.  22. 

'Rom.  xii.  e-8;  1  Cor.  iii.  10. r  Eph.  v.  20;   Chap.  ii.  5. 

« 1  Tim.  vL  16;  Chap.  r.  11 ;  Rev.  i.  6. 


extraordinary,  (dthough  ihe  latter  seems  primarily 
intended,)  «o  minister  the  same  one  to  another^ 
Employ  that  gift  for  the  common  good ;  as  good 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God — Of  the 
talents  wherewith  his  free  love  has  intrusted  you. 
JfctHi^  man  speak'—In  public  assemblies,  or  in  the 
social  meetings  of  his  Christian  brethren ;  let  him 
speak  as  the  oracles  of  God-^Lei  all  his  Words  be 
according  to  that  pattern,  both  as  to  matter  md 
manner,  and  more  especially  when  he  speaks  in 
public  By  this  mark  we  may  always  know  who 
are,  so  far,  the  true  or  false  prophets.  The  oracles 
of  God  teach  that  men  should  repent,  belike,  and 
o&e^;  he  that  treats  of  faith,  and  leaves  out  repent- 
ance, and  fruits  worthy  of  repentance ;  or  treats  of 
repentance  and  its  fruits,  but  omits  mculcating  faith  j 
or  who  does  not  enjoin  practical  holiness  to  believ- 
ers, does  not  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God ;  he  does  not 
preach  Christ,  let  him  think  as  highly  of  himself  as 
he  will.  If  any  man  minister—Bewe  his  brother  in 
love,  whether  in  temporal  or  spiritual  things^  Uthim 
do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth — That  is, 
humbly  ai^d  diligently,  ascribing  all  his  pow^r  to 
God,  and  using  it  with  his  mighty  that  God  in  all 
^tfig^«— Whether  of  nature  or  of  grace;  may  be 
glorifed  through  Jesus  Christ'-Thfi  wise  dispenser 
of  these  gifts;  to  whom — ^As  our  great  Redeemer 
and  Saviour;  be  praise  and  dominion — Greek,  n 
do^a  Kai  TO  Kparoc,  the  glory  of  them,  and  the  power 
of  dispensing  them ;  or  the  glory  of  his  wisdom, 
which  teaches  us  to  speak,  and  the  might  which 
enables  us  to  act 

Verses  12, 13.  TVUnk  it  not  strange,  &c.— Won- 
der not  at  the  fiery  trial— The  dreadful  series  of 
furious  and  bitter  persecutions.  The  original  ex- 
pression, ev  vfuv  wpoae$,  is  literally,  the  burning 
which  is  among  you;  denoting  the  grievous  perse- 
cution which  the  Christians  in  Pontus,  &c.,  were 
sufiering  for  their  faith ;  including  both  martyrdom 
itself^  wbich  frequently  was  by  fire,  and  all  the  other 
suiTerings  joined  with  or  previous  to  it.  The  meta- 
phor is  bold,  but  noble :  it  expresses  in  a  lively  man- 
ner the  painful  and  dangerous  nature  of  their  trials. 
Which  is  to  try  you—lB  permitted  by  the  wisdom 
b 


13  '^But  rej<»ce,  inasmuch  as  *  ye  A.M.406i 
are  partakers  of  Christ's  saffcr-  — — '. — 1 
ings ;  ^  that,  when  liis  glory  ehall  be  re- 
vealed, ye  may  be  glad  alsa  with  exceeding 
joy. 

14  ♦  If  ye  be  reproa<^hed  for  the  name  of  Christ, 
happy  are  ye  ;  for  the  l^pirii  of  glory  and  of  God 
resteUi  upon  you.  '  On  their  part  he  is  evil 
spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he  is  glorified. 

15  But  *  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer, 
or  cts  a  thief,  or  o^  an  evil-doer,  ^  <»-  as  a  busy- 
body in  other  men's  matters. 


»1  Cor.  iii.  13;  Ohapter  i.  7, *Act8  v.  41;  James  i.  2. 

«Rom.  viii  17;  Phil.  m.  10. «»Chap.  i,  5,  6. •Matt  ▼. 

11 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  10. '  Chap.  ii.  12 ;  iiL  16. J  Chap.  ii.  20 

"IThess.  ir.'ll. 


of  God  for  the  trial  of  your  faith  in  Christ,  and  in 
the  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel ;  of  your  hope 
of  eternal  life,  your  love  to  God,  his  people,  and 
his  ways,  of  your  resignation  to  his  will,  your  pa- 
tience and  meekness ;  as  though  some  strange  thing 
happened  unto  yow— Different  from,  or  beyond,  aU 
which  you  were  taught  to  expect.  But  rejoice  in 
these  trials,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  therein  partakers 
ofChrisVs  sufferings— ^MfSeimgs  endured  for  his 
rake,  in  defence  of  his  truth,  and  in  proof  of  your 
faith  in  him ;  thai  when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed 
— At  the  great  and  glorious  day  of  his  second  ap- 
pearance ;  ye-^In  the  participation  of  it ;  maybe  glad 
with  exceeding  joy—rXofnjre  ayaXXiofievoi,  may  re- 
joice transported  with  gladness. 

Verses  14-16.  If  ye  be  reproached  for  Christ — 
Reproaches  and  cruel  mockings  were  always  one 
part  of  their  sufiferings,  and  to  an  ingenuous  mind 
reproach  is  often  worse  than  the  spoiling  of  goods, 
or  even  than  bodily  pain;  happy  are  you — The 
apostle  alludes  to  Clurist^s  words,  5^tt.  v.  11,  Blessed 
are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you,  &c.  Fhr  the 
l^rit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteih  upon  you — Con- 
quering all  reproach,  and  spreading  a  lustre  around 
you,  while  he  supports  and  comforts  you  in  a  glorious 
manner  under  all  your  trials.  The  apostle  alludes 
to  Isa.  xi.  2.  "  The  Spirit  of  glory,  which  rested  on 
the  persecuted  disciples  of^^Christ  in  the  first  age, 
was  a  Spirit  of  fortitude,  enabling  them  to  suffer 
the  greatest  evils  without  shrinking,  a  virtue  which 
the  heathen  greatly  admired.  For  which  reason, 
when  they  put  the  first  Christians  to  death  for  re- 
lying to  worship  idols,  they  were  so  struck  with  the 
constancy,  patience,  meekness,  and  benevolence 
wherewith  they  suffered,  that  it  led  many  of  them  to 
think  well,  both  of  a  religion  which  inspired  its 
votaries  with  such  admu^ble  virtues,  and  of  those 
votaries  themselves.  And  as  this  constancy  in  suf- 
fering, from  which  the  Christians  derived  so  much 
glory,  proceeded  from  the  aid  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
the  apostle  justly  termed  it,  both  the  Spirit  of  glory, 
and  the  Spirit  of  G^od."— Macknight.  But  let  none 
of  you — Who  have  the  honour  to  bear  the  Christian 
name;  suffer^By  your  own  fault;  suppose  as  a 

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A.M. 4064.    16  Yet  if  anff  mem  sfifer  em  a 
.^'^•^    CbristiaD,  let  him  not  be  aehamed ; 
^  t>ut  let  him  glorify  Qod  on  this  behalf. 
17  For  the  time  t«  come  ^  that  judgment  must 
begin  at  the  house  of  Ood :  and  ^  if  U  first  be- 


I  T.  41. ^bftiih  z.  12;   Jeremiah  zzr.  80;   zlix.  12; 

Eaek.  ii.  0. 


fimrderer^  or  <u  a  (hieff  &c — At  the  time  St 
Peter  wrote  this  epistle,  the  unbelieving  Jews  in  Ju- 
dea  were  e^ctremely  addicted  to  murder  and  robbery, 
and  every  kind  of  Wickedne8s>  as  we  learn  from  Jo- 
sephus ;  for  they  robbed  and  killed,  not  only  the 
iieathen,  but  their  own  brethren,  who  would  not  join 
them  in  their  opposition  ta  the  Romans.  Hence  the 
apostle  judged  it  proper  to  caution  the  Christians, 
especially  the  Jewish  Christians,  in  this  manner,  lest, 
being  corrupted  by  such  bad  examples,  they  should 
be  1^  to  the  commission  of  any  such  crimes.  As 
the  apostle  is  here  cautioning  them  aga'mst  those 
sins  which,  if  they  committed  them,  would  expose 
them  to  punishment  from  the  civil  magistrate,  hy 
oXXor/Moefrurxotrof,  here  rendered  a  busj^-body  in  other 
men'a  matters,  he  cannot  well  be  supposed  to  mean 
merely  one  ^D7u}  pries  into  the  concerns,  of  private 
familiee,  as  such  a  one  could  not  properly  be  ranked 
with  such  criminals  ^s  are  hera  mentioned.  But  he 
might  mean  one  that  affected  to  inspect  and  direct 
the  behaviour  of  persons  in  public  offices,  from  a 
factious  disposition  to  find  fault  with  their  conduct, 
and  thereby  to  raise  commotions  in  the  state ;  which 
Lardner  hath  shown  was  the  practice  of  the  Jews  in 
Alexandria,  Cesarea,  and  other  places.  Or  we  may, 
with  L'Enfont,  understand  the  word  in  the  more 
ffeaeral  sense  of  meddling  with  other.  peq>le's  affeiirs 
irom  avarice,  anger,  revenge,  malice,  or  other  bad 
passions.  Yet  if  any  man  evffer  a$  a  Christian — 
That  is,  because  he  is  a  Christian ;  and  if  he  suffer 
In  a  Christian  spirit,  let  him  not  be  ashamed—Of  his 
sufferings ;  biU  let  him  glorify,  or  praise,  God  on 
this  behalf— Thai  is,  for  having  judged  him  worthy 
to  suffer  in  so  good  a  cause ;  and  for  enabling  him 
to  do  it  with  fortitude  and  patience.  It  may  be 
propet  to  observe  that  this,  with  Acts  xi.20,xxvi.28, 
are  the  only  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  the  dis- 
ciples are  called  Oiristians,  after  their  Master. 

Verse  17.  For  the  time  is  come — Foretold  by 
Christ,  Matt  xxiv.  0 ;  John  xvi.  2 ;  that  judgment 
must  begin  at  the  house  of  God— la  the  Christian 
Church ;  God's  own  family,  which  he  first  visits, 
both  in  justice  and  mercy.  The  judgment  here 
spoken  of  is  thought  by  many  commentators  to  sig- 
nify the  particular  distress  which  was  to  happen 
before  Jerusalem  should  be  utterly  destroyed.  The 
Christians  were  to  expect  to  feel  some  of  the  first 
effects  of  that  general  calamity :  it  was  to  begin  with 
them,  as  Christ  had  plainly  foretold  in  the  passages 
just  referred  to.  It  was  God's  method  of  old  to  be- 
gin with  sending  calamities  on  his  own  people }  and 
indeed  a  state  of  trial  seems  highly  proper  before  a 
state  of  recompense.  See  chap.  i.  6.  There  seems 
to  be  an  allusion  in  this  passage  to  Ezek.  ix.  6,  and 


^  at  us,  ""what  shall  the  and  ie  of  a.  It.  40S4 
them  that  ob^  not  the  gospel  of  God?  -^'^^. 
18  ^And  if  the  righteous  acarcdy  he  saved, 
where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  i^h 
pear? 


iLiyLezziU.3i.- 


•Luke  X.  12, 14.—^ Fm.  xL  31 :  UU 
xriirsi. 


Jer.  XXV.  SO.  By  us  here,  the  apostle  meant  the 
Christians  of  that  age,  whether  formerly  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles ;  for  they  appear  to  have  been  now  persecuted 
generally  everywhere.  And  if  U  frsi  begin  at  us 
—Who  have  truly  turned  to  God,  imd  are  taken  into 
his  favour  throu|^  Christ,,  his  beloved  Son ;  vAat 
shall  be  the  end  of  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
6W7«-Who,  through  unbelief  and  obstinacy,  reject 
the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves?  how  terri- 
bly will  he  visit  them !  The  words,  vho  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  God,  properly  describe  the  unbelieviag 
Jews:  they  were  not  ohargeaUe  with  idolatry; 
they  acknowledged,  and  in  a  sense  worshipped,  tba 
true  God ;  but  they  rejected  the  gospel  which  God 
had  reveded  by  his  Son,  and  therefore  the  divine 
wrath  was  executed  upon  them  in  so  -dreadftil  a 
manner.  See  on  1  Thess.  iL  14-10.  Whoever  com- 
pares the  accounts  in  the  Scriptures,  or  ancient 
fathers,  eoncem'mg  the  perseeutions  which  befell  the 
Christians  about  this  time,  with  the  sufierings  of  the 
Jews,  as  related  by  Joeephus,  will  ealuly  see  that  the 
distress  only  began-  with  the  Christians,  and  was 
light  compared  with  what  afterward  fell  upon  the 
Jews:  for  when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  the 
Christians  escaped  with  their  lives,  and  enjoyed  more 
peace  and  tranquillity  than  they  had  done  before. 

Verse  18.  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved 
— Escape  with  the  utmost  diificuhy.  So  the  word 
/MAif,  rendered  scarcely,  signifies.  That  is.  If  it  be 
not  without  much  difficulty  that  the  Christians  are 
secured  and  preserved  in  those  overflowing,  devour- 
ing judgments  which  are  coming  on  the  Jewish 
nation ;  where  shaU  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner— 
The  impenitent  and  unbelieving,  tjbe  obstinate  and 
wicked  part  of  the  Jewish  nation ;  appear? — ^That 
is,  what  will  become  of  them?  DieadM  will  be 
their.destruetion.  The  meaning  of  the  apostle,  ho  w* 
ever,  may  be,  If  the  righteous,  o  Saccuoc,  the  right  eou9 
man,  be  scarcely,  or  not  wholly  saved  from  suffer* 
ing,  that  is,  from  chastisemeiit,  (in  which  light 
the  apostle  represents  the  perseeutfons  to  which  the 
Christians  were  exposed,)  if  God  judges,  and,  by 
various  temporal  afflictions  and  calamhies,  punidies 
him,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  impenitent  sinner 
appear  7  How  terrible  will  be  the  wrath  which  win 
fall  upon  him?  If  the  faults  of  the  loyal  subject, 
yea,  of  the  dutiful  son,  be  not  passed  over  unnoticed, 
unchastised,  by  the  holy  and  just  Governor  and 
Judge  of  the  world,  what  has  not  the  enemy  and 
rebel  to  fear  ?  Perhaps  this  may  be  the  diief  mean- 
ing of  the  apostle,  and  not  the  deliverance  of  the 
Christians  from  the  Roman  invasion,  in  which  very 
few  of  them  were  concerned,  to  whom  the  apostle 
addressed  his  epistle;  namely,  those  sojourning  ia 


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CHAPTER  v. 


imnUien  ^4mJdfeed  ihmrjhck: 


4.  M.  4084. 


19  Wheidbrei  let  thwi  that  sofier 
aocordinglothewinof  Ood,  ^commit 


•pM.xzzi5;  Lak0 


Poniiis,  &c.  See  chfi^.  L  1.  And  the  passage  may 
be  intended  to  signify  also  the  difficntty  with  which 
pious  men  get  to  heaven,  through  this  dangerous  and 
insnaring  worid.  Compare  Acts  xiy.  18  \  xxm  J, 
8, 16,  where  the  word  ^Aif,  here  used,  signifies  vnih 
difficulty.  "  The  tnm  of  the  latter  clause  of  the 
Ycrse  in  the  original,  kch  ^eirai,  is  very  lively ;  it 
seems  as  if  the  apostle  were  solicitous  to  lead  the 
sipner  to  consider  where  he  should  hide  his  head, 
since  wherever  he  was  he  would  find  God  immedr- 
ately  appearing  against  him  as  an  irresistible  eiiemy. 
This  he  might  say,  by  way  of  warning  to  persecu- 
tors, and  to  encourage  Christians  to  hope  that  God 
would  vindicate  their  cause,  and  preserve  them  from 
turning  aside  to  crooked  paUis.  And  this  the  connec- 
tion with  the  following  verse  favours."— Doddridge. 
Verse  19.  Wherefore  let  ihem  that  suffer— This 
temporary  chastisement ;  aeoording  to  the  loiU  of\ 


the  kee|wig  of  their  souls  iokim  m  am.  4064 
weQ-doii^y  as  unto  a  Mhfol  Creator.   ^  ^'^' 


ixiu.  46;  ))Tim.i.l3. 


Cro(^-*Namely,  for  a  good  cause,  and  in  a  right  spirit ; 
dommit  the  keeping  of  their  aotUe  to  Atiw— Intrust 
themselves  to  God's  care,  either  to  preserve  their 
lives,  if  he  see  good,  or  to  save  their  souls  if  they 
suffer  death ;  or,  ^whatever  become  of  their  liodies, 
let  them  commit  their  souls  to  him  as  a  sacred  de- 
positum :  in  iDellrdoing—FeTseYefrng  to  the  end  in 
the  way  of  duty  and  obedience,  notwithstanding  all 
the  sufferings  to  which  they  are  exposed.  In  other 
words,  let  it  be  their  care  to  do  well,  and  suffer  pa- 
tiently, and  God  will  take  care  of  the  rest  As  unto 
afaithfid  Creator-^In  whose  wisdom,  power,  good- 
ness, truth,  and  faithfulness  to  his  promises,  they 
may  safely  trust :  for  as  he  called  them  into  exist- 
ence when  they  were  not,  he  is  able  to  pj^eserve 
them  without  any  visible  means,  and  will  dispose  of 
them  as  he  sees  will  conduce  most  to  their  eternal 
welfare. 


CHAPTER  V, 

In  «&t#  chapter,  (1,)  The  afOsiU  exharU  mimsUrt  to  a  eheerfid,  disinkreste4,  humMe,  and  faithful  dUeharge  of  the  duties  of 
their  qfiee,  m  hifpe  of  a  graeious  reward^  1-4.  (2,)  He  directs  private  Christians  to  sulnnit  to  their  elders,  and  to  mu 
anotherj  and  especially  to  be  subject  to  God,  in  his  providential  dispensations,  with  humility  and  patience,  casting  all  their 
core  upon  him,  &-7.  (8,)  He  exhorU  them  to  be  sober,  watchful,  and  steadfast  in  tkR  faith,  knowing  that  their  brethren, 
everywhere,  were  exposed  to  the  same,  or  similar  trials,  9,  9.  (4,)  He  prays  earnestly  to  God  to  strengthen  and  establish 
themy  and  ends  with  a  doxology  and  his  salutations  and  benediction,  iO-H. 

^  which  AM.  4064. 
D.60. 


.  M.  4064.  rpHE  elders  which  are  among  you 
I  exhort,  who  am  also  »  an  elder, 


and^  a  wHn^  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and 
also  ^  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed : 


»  Phflem.  9.- 


•>>Liikezziv.  48.;    AcUi.  8.  22;   t.  32;    x.  2 
« llom.  Till.  17,  18 ;  Rer.  l  9. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 

Verse  1.  The  elders  which  are  among  you  I  ex- 
hort^T\i\9  was  a  name  of  office  belonging  to  those 
who  were  appointed  to  feed  and  oversee  the  flock 
of  Christ.  Tliey  are  indifferently  called  bishops, 
pastors,  or  rulers.  The  apostle  addresses  them  here 
particularly,  because  the  knowledge  and  good  be- 
haviour of  the  people  depend,  in  a  great  measure, 
upon  the  kind  of  instruction  which  they  receive  from 
their  teachers,  and  upon  the  care  which  their  teach- 
ers take  of  them :  who  am  also  an  etder—Or  rather,  a 
fellow-elder,  as  avftirpeo^vTepoc. signifieB,  So  Peter,  the 
first,  and  one  of  the  chiei;  though  not  the  head,  of  the 
apostles,  appositely  and  modestly  styles  hiinself. 
Commentators  justly  observe,  that  if  Peter  had  been 
the  prince  of  the  apostles^  as  the  Papists  affirm,  he 
would  in  this  place,  and  in  the  inscription  of  his  two 
epistles,  certainly  have  assumed  to  himself  that  high 
prerogative.  And  a  witness  ofthe  sufferings  of  Christ 

Vol.  n.  (  4a  ) 


2  '^Feed  the  flock  of  God 
is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight 
thereof,  •  not  by  constraint,  bat  willingly ;  ^  not 
for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mmd ; 


'John  xxi.  15-17 ;   Acts  xz.  28. >  Or,  as  much  as  m  you  is. 

•  1  Cor.  ix.  17. '  1  Tim.  fii.  3,  8 ;  Tit.  i.  7. 

— Having  seen  him  suffer,  and  now  suffering  with  him. 
^^One  ofthe  purposes  for  which  Christ  chose  twelve  of 
his  disciples  to  be  with  him  always  was,  that,  having 
heard  his  discourses,  and  seen  his  miracles  and  sitf- 
ferings,  they  might  be  able  to  testify  these  things  to 
the  world  as  what  they  themselves  heard  and  saw. 
Wherefore  fioprvc,  a  witness,  in  this  passage,  signifies 
not  only  one  who  was  present  at  a  transaction,  but 
who  testifies  it  to  others."  These  two  circumstances 
of  Peter's  being  a  fellow-elder  and  a  witness  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  are  mentioned  by  him  to  give 
weight  to  his  exhortation.  And  also  a  partrker 
^That  is,  hoping  to  be  a  partaker ;  of  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed— When  he  shall  appear  the 
second  time,  in  circumstances  so  different  from  those 
in  which  he  appeared  before ;  a  glory  which  shall 
be  bestowed  on  all  faithful  pastors,  in  different  de- 
grees ;  yea,  and  on  all  his  genuine  followers. 
Verse  Z.  Feed  theflockof  Gfod— Both  by  doctrine 
62S  b 


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A.  M.  4064. 

A.  D.  ea 


3  Neither   a^  -^beii^'  iStAB  over 
^  OecPs  hexhagey  hot  <  bdng  ensam- 
ple3  to  the  flock* 

4  And  when  ^  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  ap- 
pear, ye  shall  receive  ^  a  crown  of  ^ry  ■  that 
fedeth  not  away. 


•  Or,  wemding. 1  Rsekiel  xadr.  4;    Mitth«w  xx.  35, 

26;   1  CorinduaiiB  iii.  0. ^  Pulm  zzxiii.  IS;    Izxir.  3. 

iPhilippiana  iiL  17;   2  tliessaloniuu  iiL  9)   1  TimoUiy  ir. 
12;  Titu«H,7. 


and  discipline ;  which  is  among  yot*— Namely,  the 
churches  of  Christ,  which  you  are  called  to  preside 
over ;  taking  the  oversight  ^Acrcq^Greek,  tnujKo- 
fl-airer,  discharging  the  episcopal  office.  By  this  it 
appears  that  those  who  are  styled  bishops^  from  their 
having  the  oversight  of  others,  and  also  presbyters^ 
or  elders^  are  spoken  of  as  the  same  persons.  Not 
by  con*/rain<— Unwillingly,  as  if  it  were  a  burden  5 
Imt  wiUingly^"  In  the  first  age,  when  the  profession 
of  the  gospel  exposed  men  to  persecution,  and  when 
the  persecutions  fell  more  especially  on  the  bishops, 
it  may  easily  be  imagined  that  some  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  that  office  would  undertake  It  unwilling^ 
ly;  not  only  because  they  were  not  disposed  to  do 
the  duties  thereof  diligently,  but  because  they  were 
not  willing  to  suffer."  NbtforJUthy  lucre — Which, 
if  it  be  the  motive  of  acting,  is  filthy  beyond  expres- 
sion. The  apostle  means  also,  not  for  a  maintenance; 
for  the  sake  of  which  merely,  or  chiefly,  no  one 
should  undertake  the  pastoral  office.  They  that 
preach  the  gospel  may  live  by  the  gospel^  hut  no  one 
ought  to  engage  in  such  a  work  merely  that  he  may 
live  by  it.  "  O  consider  this,  ye  that  leave  one  flock 
and  go  to  another,  merely/ because  there  is  more 
gain,  a  larger  salary !'  Is  it  not  astonishing  that  men 
'  can  see  no  harm  in  thisT  That  it  is  not  only  prac- 
tised, but  avowed,  all  over  the  nation?" — Wesley. 
BtU  of  a  ready  nMfui— With  a  sincere  desire  to  glo- 
rify God,  and  to  save  the  souls  of  men.  In  the  Sy- 
riac  version,  the  word  wpo&vfwc^  here  used,  is  trans- 
lated toto  corclej  with  the  whole  heart.  Dr.  Benson's 
observation  on  this  verse  is,  "  How  severely  are  they 
here  condemned,  who  feed  themselves  and  not  the 
flock ;  who  take  the  patrimony  of  the  church,  and 
commit  the  care  of  souls  to  others,  to  whom  they 
allow  a  very  small  share  of  tiiat  plenty  which  they 
have  for  doing  little."" 

Verses  8,  4.  Neither  as  being  lords^  or  lording 
it,  over  God^s  heritage^Belmying  in  a  haughty,  do- 
mineering manner,  as  though  you  liad  dominion 
over  their  consciences.  From  this  prohibition  it 
would  seem  that,  in  the  apostle's  dajB,  the  bisihops 
or  elders  were  beghining  to  assume  that  dominion 
over  their  flocks,  which  in  after  tmies  they  carried 
to  the  greatest  height  of  tyranny.  Or  St  Peter,  by 
inspiration,  foreseeing  what  would  happen,  con- 
demned in  this  prohibition  the  tyranny  which  in 
after  times  the  clergy  exercised.  But  being  ensam- 
pies  to  the  flock-^Seiiing  them  an  example  worthy 
oi  their  imitation;  and  therefore,  being  of  a  meek 
and  lowly,  kind  and  condescending  mind,  and  be- 


-6  1  *  likeww,  ye  yomger,  mh-  a.  Bi.4064. 
mii'  youraelvee  unto  the  elder.  Y«s  '  .'  •  ' 
^  all  0/  you  be  sabject  one  to  anotb^, 
and  be  clothed  with  humility:  for  ®God  re- 
dsteth  the  proud;  and  ''giveth  grace  to  the 
humble.    - 


^Htb.  xiiL  90. 1 1  Cor.  iz.'SS  kSTUb.  it.  8;  James  L  19l 

■Chap,  i  4,-^-*Third  Smidajf  after  Trinity,  epistle.  1 

5  to  verM  12. «  Roman*  ziL  10;  Eph.  t.  21 ;  Phil  ] 

o  James  It.  6.- P  Isa.  Ini.  15 ;  bm.  2. 


.  ii.  3. 


having  toward  them  with  such  gentle,  tend^  solici- 
tude for  their  salvation,  and  such  an  entire  freedom 
Crooi  the  very  iq>pearance  ehher  of  avarice  or  am- 
bition, that  you  may  gain  their  confidence,  and  win 
their  affections.  And  when  the  chief  Shephe^ 
shaU  appear-^To  judge  the  worl^  >  ye— llVho  havo 
discharged  your  duty  to  your  flocks  fidthfully ;  shaU 
receive  a  cr&wn  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away — A. 
crown  which  shall^  bloom  in  immortal  beauty  and 
vigour,  when  all  the  transitory  glories  of  this  world 
are  withered,  like  a  fading  flower.  In  the  original 
expression,  afutpavrtvovy  amaranthine^  there  is  an  al- 
lusion to  the  crowns  of  green  leaves  and  herbs  be- 
stowed by  the  ancients  as  the  rewards  of  military 
prowess,  or  of  victory  in  the  games.  These,  toge- 
ther with  the  honours  of  which  they  were  the 
symbols,  Eoon  faded  awof;  but  the  crown  of  gk>ry, 
the  reward  to  be  given  to  laithfol  shepherds,  will 
never  fade,  being  a  crown  of  righteousness,  2  Tim. 
iv.  8,  and  a  crown  of  life,  James  L  12.  The  word 
rendered  heritage  in  the  singular  number,  properly 
signifies  a  fot.  But  because  the  land  of  Canaan  was 
divided  among  the  Israelites  by  lot,  the  word  came 
to  signify,  a  heritage.  Wherefore,  believers  being 
God's  people,,  or  portion,  the  difierent  churches  or 
congregations  are  cfldled  here  God^s  heritages.  In 
process'of  time,  the  name  «Aj7pof,  clergy,  was  appro- 
priated to  the  ministers  of  Uie  gospel,  because,  being 
considered  as  the  sneeessors  of  the  Levitical  priestsL, 
they  were  regarded  as  6od^s  lot  or  portion. 

Verses  5-7.  Likewise,  ye  younger— Namejy,  in 
years,  whether  ministers  or  people^  submit  your- 
selves unto  the  elder-^To  those  who  are  more  ad- 
vanced in  years;  give  them  all  due  respect,  and  be 
ready  to  take  their  counsel  5  yea,  all  of  you— Elder 
or  younger;  be  subject  one  to  ano/A«r— Endeavour, 
by  mutual  condescension,  to  make  each  other  as 
easy  and  comfortable  as  possible.  Perhaps,  as  in 
the  preceding  part  of  this  chapter,  the  apostle,  by 
elders,  means  persons  holding  sacred  offices,  such  as 
pastors  or  teachers,  he  may  here  use  the  word  in  the 
same  sense.  If  soothe  word  vearepoi,  rendered  young- 
er, which  signifies  inferiors  of  any  kind,  (Luke  xxii. 
26,)  and  which  is  opposed  to  it  here,  may  denote  the 
laity,  orpeople  of  the  churches  of  Pontus,  &c.,  whom 
the  apostle  Airther  exhorts  to  be  subject  to  one  an- 
other. And  be  clothed  all  over  with  humility^The 
word  Fyicof46<Hna&e,  here  used,  is  derived  from  the 
noun  eyKo/iSofio,  which,  Whitby  sayB,  was  a  frock 
put  over  the  rest  of  the  clothes;  and  that  the  apos- 
tle's meaning  ubl  that  humility  should  be  visible  over 
(40*)  b 


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CHAPCTEt  V. 


ataj0rest9ttked0viL 


A.H.40M.    6  *>  Humble  younselveB,  therdore, 
'^'    under  the  mighty  hfmd  of  Crod,  that 
he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time: 

7  'Casting  all  your  care  upon  him;  for  he 
careth  for  you. 

8  '  Be  sober,  be  vigilant ;  because  ^  your  ad- 
versary, the  devil,  as  a  roaring  Mob,  watketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour :        ' 

9  ?  Whom  resist  steadfest  in  the&,ith,  ^know- 


fl  Janet  iv.  10.— »"  Pml  joxrii.*  5 ;  It.  23. — ^  Luke  xxi.  34» 
16;  1  Then.  t.  6;  Chap.  ir.  7.—-^  Job  L  7 ;  ii.  3 ;  Luke  zzii. 
U. "Epk.  ri.  11,  13;    Jadiea  ir.  7.- — «Act8   xiv:  22; 


til  the  other  Christian  graces  and  virtues  in  our  whole 
dehaviour.  For  God  resisteth — Greek,  avTiToacerai, 
ia  set  in  battle  array  against  the  proud-'^Q  on  Jam. 
4v.  6;  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble— As  humility 
IS  the  fruit  of  God's  graco,  so  it  prepares  us  for  re- 
ceiving larger  measures  thereof.  Humble  youreelvea^ 
therefore^  urtder  (he  mighty  hand  of  God — ^Which 
IS  in  all  your  troubles ;  that  is,  receive  his  corrections 
(vith  revei^ence  and  patient  submission,  even  though 
wicked  men  should  be  made  the  instruments  of  them ; 
ihat  he  may  eoroZ/ you— Raise  you  above  your  trials, 
and  from  that  state  of  depression  in  which  you  are ; 
or  exalt  you  to  the  glory  and  felicity  of  heaven;  in 
dt^  time — The  time  which  he  knows  will  he  most 
proper  for  your  exaltation.  Ckuting  aU  your  care-^ 
Vour  anxious  care,  as  thie  word  ftepifivm  means,  in 
all  your  wants  and  pressures;  tfpon  him;  for  he 
careth  for  yow— With  the  care  which  a  father  exei^ 
cises  toward  his  children.  That  is,  whatsoever  dif- 
ficulties you  meet  with,  be  not  solicitous  about  them, 
but  refer  yourselves  to  God's  providence,  either  for 
the  removal  of  them,  or  support  under  them. 

Verses  8, 9.  BesoberSee  on  1  Thess.  v.  6.  Keep 
your  appetites  and  passions  under  proper  restraint 
and  government,  or  awake^  as  v^V^ave  also  signifies  ^ 
namely,  to  a  deep  sense  of  the  certainty  and  import- 
ance of  things  invisible  and  eternal ;  he  vigilant — 
Watchful  against  the  subde  and  malicious  designs 
of  your  spiritual  enenues.  As  if  he  had  said,  Awake, 
and  keep  awake ;  sleep  no  more ;  be  this  your  care, 
whiFe  you  cast  your  temporal  and  anxious  cares  on 
God.  How  deeply  had  Peter  himself  suffered  for 
want  of  the  wakeful  vigilance  which  he  here  recom- 
mends 1  Because  your  grand  adversary^  the  devil, 
full  of  rage,  a$  a  roaring  lion — Fierce  and  hungry, 
wdlketh  about — Watching  for  an  opportunity  to  in- 
snare  and  destroy  you ;  seeking — With  all  subtlety 
likewise,  whom  he  may  assault  with  the  greatest  like- 
lihood of  success,  and  devour — Swallow  up  both  soul 
and  body.  This  manner  of  speaking  strongly  ex- 
presses the  insatiable  rage  of  this  enemy  of  mankind 
to  hinder  their  salvation,  and  the  danger  we  are  in 
from  his  devices  and  snares.  He  sometimes  attacks 
the  people  of  Crod  in  person,  ^ough  not  visibly,  and 
sometimes  by  his  ministers,  the  other  evil  spirits  who 
are  in  league  with  him ;  and  sometimes  by  wicked 
men,  his  subjects,  whom  he  instigates  to  tempt  them 
by  the  terror  of  persecution.  This  account  of  the 
devil's  malice  is  given  with  great  propriety  by  Pe- 
h 


ing  that  the  same  afflictioas  are  ac-  a.  m.  4064. 
dopiftehed  in  your  brethrai  that  ace    ^^'^ 
in  tb^  world* 

10  But  the  Qod  of  aB  grace,  ^who  hath  called 
ns  unto  his  eternal  glory  by  Christ  Jesus,  after 
that  ye  have  suffered  'a  while,  *  make  you  per- 
fect, ^establish,  strengthen,  settle  you, 

11  ®  To  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever 
and  ever.    Amen. 


1  Thess.  fii.  3  J  2  Tim.  iii.  12;  Chap,  ii  21. 7  1  Cor.  i.  9 ; 

1  Tim.  ri.  12. «2  Cor.  iv.  1?;  Chap.  i.  S. »  Heb.  xiii. 

21 ;  Jude  24.-^-^  2  Then.  ii.  17 ;  iii.  3.>-*^-«  Chap.  ir.  11. 


ter,  to  whom  our  Lord  had  said,  Simon,  Satan  hatk 
desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat ; 
but  I  have  prayed  for  thee.  Whom  resist^As  you 
regard  your  safety  und  life,  be  careful io  oppose  him 
in  aQ  his  assaults  j  steadfast  in  the  faith-^Flrmly 
believing  the  truths  and  promises  of  the  gospel,  and 
adhering  constantly  to,  and  confiding  in  Christ,  in 
whom  aU  these  truths  and  promises  are  yea  and 
am^n.  To  show  the  e;0ca^y  of  faith,  in  enabling  us 
to  resist  temptation,  St.  Paul  calls  it  a  shield,  (Eph, 
vL  16,)  wherewith  the  fiery  darto  of  the  wicked  one 
may  be  quenched  jTmowin^  that  the  trials  with 
which  you  are  exercised  are  not  peculiar  to  ypu,  but 
that  the  same  q^tc^ion^  which  you  are  ealled  to  st^ 
tain  are  accompUahed  in^That  is,  suffered  by ;  your 
brethren  that  are  in  the  iDor<d— Till  the  measure  al- 
lotted them  is  filled  up,  and  you  may  reasonably 
hope  that  the  same  grace  which  is  their  support  will 
be  also  yours. 

Verse  10.  The  God  of  all  grace— Oi  all  mercy, 
compassion,  and  free,  unmerited  goodness;  and  the 
source  of  all  those  influences  of  the  Holy  Spurit,  by 
which  alone  true  spiritual  light  and  life,  peace,  pu- 
rity, and  consolation,  can  be  attained;  who  hath 
catled^Inwiiei ;  us  unto  his  eternal  glory — And  not 
merely  to  behold,  but  to  possess  it ;.  and  hath  sent  us 
the  invitation  by  Christ  Jesus — His  Word  made 
flesh;  that  is,  not  only  through  him^  as  Mediator, 
who  hath  procured  the  inestimable  blessmg  for  us 
by  his  obedience  unto  death,  but  by  him  as  a  Divine 
Messenger,  the  greatest  that  ever  appeared  among 
men,  confirming  and  enforcing  his  message  by  a 
most  holy  life,,by  extreme  sufferings,  by  mighty  mi- 
racles, by  an  ignominious,  punfid  death,  and  a  most 
glorious  resurrection.  Ajfter  that  ye  Jiave  suffered 
a  while — Such  trials  as  his  infinite  wisdom  shall  see 
fit  to  appoint.  Observe,  reader,  sufferings  must  pre- 
cede glory!  See  chap.  ii.  19,  23;  iii.  14;  iv.  12; 
Rom.  viii.  17,  35;  2  Tim.  ii.  12.  But  it  is  only  a 
while  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  called  to  suffer;  a 
very  short  while  compared  with  eternity.  Or  St. 
Peter  may  use  the  word  oXiyov,  here  rendered  a 
while,  and  which  means  a  little,  in  respect  of  the  de- 
gree as  well  as  of  the  duration  of  suffering;  for,  com- 
pared with  the  joys  of  heaven,  the  sufferings  of  this 
life  are  ligJU  as  weU  as  momentary,  2  Cor.  iv.  17. 
Make  ymi  perfect— Thzi  no  defect  may  remain  in 
your  Christian  knowledge,  experience,  or  practice. 
See  on  Heb.  xiii.  21.  StabHshr-liYi^X  nothing  may 
627 


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The  apo$ty$  MohtlaHoni 


1.  PETER. 


anihenedxctioiru 


A.  M.  4064. 
A.D.  60. 


12^By  Sflvanus,  a  fitithftd brether 

untoyoa,  aslsuppose^  I  have  ^writton 

briefly,  exhorting,  and  teetifyin^  '  that  this  is 

the  true  grace  of  Go^  wherein  ye  stand. 

13  The  church  that  is  at  Babykm,  elected 


<2  Cor.ju  19.— •Heb.  zui.  2S. 'Aeti  sz,  24. 


overthrow  your  faith  or  hope,  damp  the  flame  of  yom* 
loTe,  or  interrupt  the  eonstancy  of  your  obedience  \ 
ttrenfftheji^ThaXje  may  conquer  il  your  enemies, 
and  may  do,  be  conformed  to,  andsufier  the  willof  Goa 
to  the  ^id ;  and  settle  yat»— As  a  housierupon  a  rock. 
Or,  inverting  the  order  of  the  words,  and  taking  the 
last  particular  first,  as  preparatory  to  the  others, 
(which  the  sense  of  the  several  expressions  seems 
to  require,  accorduig  to  the  usual  progress  of  the 
work  of  grace  in  the  hearts  of  believers,)  the  mean- 
ing will  be,  1st,  May  he  place  you  on  your  foundiei- 
tion,  (so  the  word  ^efteXu^ai^  here  rendered  settle 
youj  properly  signifies,)  even  on  the  foundation 
which  God  hath  laid  fai  Zion,  (1  Cor.  iii.  11,)  Christ 
Jesus,  or  on  the  fotrndation  of  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets, (Eph.  ii.  20,)  namely,  the  fundamental  d6c- 
trines  attested  by  them.  2d,  May  lie  strengthen 
you,  that  no  power  of  earth  or  hell  may  move  you 
from  that  foundation.  In  consequence  of  this,  3d, 
Bfay  he  eetablish  you  in  his  truth  and  grace,  in  faith, 
hope,  love,  and  new  obedience,  that  you  may  be 
ste^idfast  and  iminoveable  in  your  adherence  1o  the 
doctrines,  your  possession  of  the  graces  and  privi- 
^legeis,  and  your  performance  of  the  duties  of  your 
holy  calling.  And  in  this  way,  4th,  May  he  make 
you  perfect,  or  complete  Christians,  lacking  nothing, 
destitute  of  no  grace  <>r  virtue,  and  possessing  every 
one  in  a  mature  state,  a  state  of  meetnesB  for  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light  Thus  the  apostle, 
being  converted,  does  how  strengthen  his  bre^en. 

Verse  12»  By  Silvanus^The  person  probably  of 
that  name,  whom  St.  Paul  united  with  himself  in 
writing  the  epistles  to  the  Thessaloniaiis,  namely, 
Silas,  who  (Acts  xv.  22)  is  called  a  chief  man  among 
the  brethren,  and  a  prophet,  verse  32.  Being  Paul's 
constant  companion  in  travel  after  the  defection  of 
John  Mark,  he,  no  doubt,  assisted  in  planting 
churches  in  Galatia,  and  the  other  countries  of  the 
Lesser  Asia,mentionedchap.i.  1.  Sobeing  wellknown 


together  with  you,  salute^  you ;  and  A.tf.406<. 
so  doth  ^  Marcus  my  sou.  ^^'  ^' 

14  ^  Grreet  ye  (me  another  with  a  kiss  of  cha- 
rity. '  Peace  be  with  you  all  that  are  m  Ghrisi 
Jesus.    Amen. 


ffAet8zu.l2,toy kRosLZTLie. — ^  Eph.  visa. 


to  the  brethren  in  those  parts,  he  was  a  fit  peraon  to 
carry  this  letter  to  them  from  St.  Peter ;  to  whom, 
probably,  after  Paul's  death,  he  had  attached  hinMclf 
as  an  assistant.  A  faithful  brother,  as  I  sfuppose — 
As  I  judge  upon  good  grounds,  though  not  by  imme- 
diate inspiration;  1  have  written  briefly — AioXiyu/v^ 
in  few  words  /  exhorting  and  testifyin^—Ot  adding 
my  testimony,  as  entfiapTvpuv  signifies;  namely,^to 
that  which  they  had  before  heard  from  Paul;  ^iot 
this  is  the  true  grace  of  Oodn-The  true  and  only 
doctrine  procecdiug  from  the  grace  of  God,  and 
wherein  the  grace  of  God  is  offered  and  bestowed 
upon  all  penitent  believers ;  and  therefore  earnestly 
exhorting  you  to  attend  to  and  seriously  confer  it. 
Verses  13,  14  The  church  that  is  at  Babylon  sa- 
hiteth  you — ^See  the  prefac^.  The  word  church  is 
not  in  the  original,  but  it  is  supi^ed  in  the  Syriae, 
Vulgate,  and  other  ancient  versions,  and  by  (Ecu- 
menius.  Probably,  as  Beza  observes,  Peter  omitted 
it  as  being  a  word  of  common  use,  which,  in  such  a 
conn^tion,  would  be  easily  supplied  in  the  reader's 
mind.  There  being  many  Jews  remaining  in  Baby- 
lon, and  in  the  country  adjacent,  ever  sini;e  the  cap- 
tivity, and  Peter  being  the  apostle  of  the  Jews,  it  is 
likely  he  went  thither  to  preach  the.  gospel  to.  them, 
and  so  planted  a  church  among  them.  Elect- 
ed together  with  you — 2we«Ae«Ti7,  co-elect,  that  is,  a 
branch  of  Crod's  chosen  people,  as  all  true  be 
lievers  are.  See  on  chap.  u%  And  Marcus  my 
son— So  he  calls  him,  because  he  had  been  converted 
by  his  nunistry.  With  the  &mily,  of  which  he  was 
a  member,  Peter  was  well  acquainted,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  his  going  immediately  to  the  house 
of  Mary,  Mark's  mother,  after  he  was  miraculously 
brought  out  of  prison  by  the  angel.  Acts  xiL  12.  See 
more  concerning  him.  Acts  xiiL  5;  Col.  iv.  10; 
2  Tim.  iv.  11.  It  b  believed  by  many  that  he  was  the 
author  of  the  gospel  called  by  his  name ;  this,  how- 
ever, is  not  certain.    See  the  preface  to  that  gospeL 

b 


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PREFACE 


TO  THE 


SECOND   EPISTLE   GENERAL   OF   PETER. 


rpHlS  second  epistle  of  Peter  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  many  years  after  the  former,  namely, 
"^  A.  D.  67,  a  short  time,  before  his  martyrdom,  which  happened  in  68,  and  to  which  he  alludes  in 
one  or  two  places.  The  authority  of  it  was,  for  some  time,  doubted  of  in  the  Christian  Church,  as 
Origen,  Eusebius,  St.  Jerome,  and  others,  have  observed.  What  made  the  ancients  call  it  in  question 
was,  first,  its  being  omitted,  (togedier  with  that  of  James,  the  2d  and  3d  of  John,  and  that  of  Jude,) 
in  the  first  Syriac  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  in  the 
second  century.  But  the  only  conclusion  that  can  be  drawn  from  the  omission  is,  that  the  author  had 
not  seen  these  epistles,  or  rather,  that  they  were  not  generally  known,  when  he  made  his  version. 
Now  thia  might  easily  happen,  if,  as  it  is  probable,  he  was  a  Syrian  Jew.  For  Syria  being  at  a  great 
distance  from  Pontus,  Galada,  &c.,  (to  the  Christians  of  which  countries  these  epistles  were  originally 
sent,)  it  would  be  a  con3iderable  time  before  copies  of  them  were  dispersed  among  the  people,  for 
whom  the  Syriac  version  of  the  New  Testament  was  made.  So  that  the  author  might  think  it  useless 
to  translate  them.  Another  reason  why  the  authority  of  this  second  epistle  of  t'eter  was  called  in 
question  was,  the  supposed  difference  of  its  style,  particularly  of  the  second  chapter,  from  that  of  the 
other  parts  of  St.  Peter's  writings.  But  "  I  cannot,"  says  Blackwall,  "  find  any  great  difference  be- 
tween the  style  of  the  first  and  second  epistle :  it  is  to  me  no  more  than  we  find  in  the  style  of  the 
same  persons  at  different  times.  There  is  much  the  same  energy  and  clear  brevity,  the  same  rapid 
run  of  language,  and  the  same  commanding  majesty,  in  them  both.  Take  them  together,  and  they 
are  admirable,  for  significant  epithets,  and  strong  compound  words ;  for  beautiful  and  sprightly 
figures;  adorable  and  sublime  doctrines;  pure  and  heavenly  morals,  expressed  in  a  chaste,  lively, 
and  graceful  style.**  As  to  the  style  of  the  second  chapter,  thought  by  some  to  be  peculiarly  different 
from  that  of  other  parts  of  St.  Peter's  writings,  Bishop  Sherlock  supposes  that  the  apostle,  describing 
in  that  chapter  the  character  of  such  seducers  as  endapgered  the  faith  of  the  Christian  converts,  adopts 
the  language  and  sentiments  of  some  Jewish  author,  (as  St.  Jude  also  is  supposed  to  have  done,  see 
verse  14,)  containing  a  strong  description^  in  the  eastern  manner,  of  some  false  prophets  in  that  or  an 
earlier  age.  But  for  complete  satisfaction  on  that  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  that  writer's  Dis- 
courses on  Prophecy,  Disc,  i.  Diss.  1 ;  and  to  the  second  part  of  Dr.  Lardner's  Credibility  of  the 
Gospel  History. 

But,  to  prove  the  authenticity  of  this  epistle,  it  may  be  sufiicient  to  refer  to  the  epbtle  itself,  where 
we  find  divers  marks  of  its  being  the  genuine  work  of  St.  Pet^.  1.  The  writer  of  it  expressly  calls 
himself,  in  the  inscription,  and  in  chap.  iii.  2, ''  an  apostle."  2.  In  other  places  he  iMicribes  to  himself 
things  which  agree  to  none  but  to  Peter  the  apostle.  For  example,  chap.  i.  14,  "  Knowing  that 
shortly  I  must  put  off  this  my  tabernacle,  even  as  our  Lord  Jesus  hath  showed  me ;"  alluding  to  John 
zxi.  19,  where  we  are  told  that  Jesus  signified  to  Peter  by  what  death,  when  old,  he  should  glorify 
God.  Chapter  i.  16,  this  writer  affirms  that  he  was  one  of  the  three  apostles  who  were  with 
Jesus  at  his  transfiguration,  when,  by  a  voice  from  Grod,  he  was  declared  to  be  "his  beloved 
Son."  Chap.  iii.  15,  this  writer  calls  Paul  his  "beloved  brother,"  in  allusion,  no  doubt,  to  his  having 
given  Paul  the  right  hand  of  fellowship :  withal  he  commends  his  epistles  as  "  Scriptures,"  that  is, 
^vinely-inspired  writings.     Having,  therefore,  thus  repeatedly  taken  to  himself  the  name  and 

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PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  GENERAL  OF  PETER. 

character  of  an  inapired  apostle,  the  writer,  if  he  was  an  impostor,  must  have  been  the  most  profligate 
of  men.  3.  By  calling  this  his  second  epistle,  the  writer  intimates  that  he  had  written  to  them 
formerly;  he  intimates  the  same  thing,  chap.  i.  12-15 ;  and,  by  so  doing,  shows  himself  to  be  the 
same  Peter  who  wrote  the  first  epistle.  4.  The  matters  contained  in  this  epbtle  are  highly  worthy 
of  an  inspired  apostle ;  for,  besides  a  variety  of  important  discoveries,  aU  tending  to  display  the  per* 
fections  of  God  and  the  glory  of  Christ,  we  find  in  it  exhortations  to  virtue,  and  condemnations  of  vice, 
delivered  with  an  earnestness  and  feeling,  which  show  the  author  to  have  been  incapable  of  imposing 
a  forged  writing  upon  the  world,  and  that  his  sole  design  in  this  epistle  was  to  iHX>mote  the  interests 
of  tmdi  and  virtue  among  mankind. 

In  the  preface  to  the  former  epistle  it  has  been  observed,  that  they  were  both  addressed  to  the  same 
people,  as  appears  from  2  Epistle,  chap.  iii.  1.  This  epistle,  therefore,  l&e  the  former,  was  addressed 
to  the  whole  of  the  brethren,  whether  of  Gentile  or  Jewish  extraction,  who  were  dispersed  in  the 
widely-extended  countries  mentioned  in  the  inscription  of  the  former.  And,  as  the  matters  which  it 
contains  were  admirably  calculated  for  confirming  them  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  for  comforting 
them  under  the  persecutions  to  which  they  were  exposed  ibr  their  religion,  it  most  have  been  of  great 
use  to  an  the  brethren  in  these  countries  to  have  them  in  writing  from  an  inspired  apostle ;  and  the 
epistle  which  contained  them  could  not  fail  to  be  exceedin^y  valued  by  them,  especially  as  it  is 
written  in  a  higher  strain  than  common,  both  of  discovery,  and  of  language ;  written  also  in  the  pros- 
pect of  his  soon  dying  a  martyr  for  the  truths  which  he  had  all  along  taught,  during  the  course  of  a 
long  life. 

The  general  design  of  this  epistle  was  to  confirm  the  doctrines  and  instructions  delivered  in  die 
former,  to  excite  the  Christian  converts  to  adorn,  mm!  steadfastly  adhere  to,  their  holy  religion,  as  a 
religion  proceeding  from  God,  notvnthstanding  the  artifices  of  false  teachers,  whose  character  is  at 
large  described,  or  the  persecution  of  dieir  bitter  and  inveterate  enemies.  To  be  a  little  more  par- 
ticular :  having  congratulated  the  Christian  converts  on  the  happy  condition  into  vdiich  they  were 
brought  by  ihe  gospel,  I.  He  exhorts  them,  in  order  to  secure  the  blessings  of  it,  to  endeavour  to 
improve  in  the  most  substantial  graces  and  virtues,  chap.  i.  1-11.  II.  To  engage  their  attention  the 
more  efibctually,  he  reminds  them  both  that  he  wrote  in  the  near  view  of  eternity,  and  that  the  subjects 
on  which  he  discoursed  were  not  cunningly-devised  fables,  but  attested  by  a  miraculous  voice  from 
heaven,  and  by  divinely-inspired  prophecies,  verses  12-21.  III.  He  cautions  them  against  the  false 
teachers,  whose  character  he  describes,  reminding  them  of  the  judgments  executed  on  the  apostate 
angels,  on  the  old  world,  and  on  Sodom,  and  of  the  deliverance  of  Noah  and  of  Lot ;  considerations 
calculated,  on  the  one  hand,  to  terrify  such  ungodly  wretches ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  comfort  and 
establish  the  hearts  of  upright  and  pious.  Christians,  chap.  iL  1-9.  lY .  He  further  describes  the 
character  of  these  seducers,  warning  all  true  Christians  of  the  danger  of  being  perverted  by  them,  and 
them  of  the  dreadful  destruction  to  which  they  exposed  themselves,  rerses  10-22.  Y.  That  the 
persons  to  whom  he  was  writing  might  be  more  effectually  guarded  against  the  artifices  of  those  who 
lay^in  wait  to  deceive,  they  are  directed  to  adhere  steadily  and  closely  to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and 
to  consider  the  absolute  certain^,  and  awful  mai(mer,  of  the  final  destruetion  of  this  world :  and  then 
the  whole  is  concluded  with  several  weigh^  and.  pertinent  exhortations,  chap.  iiL  throughout.  See 
Mftcknii^  and  Doddridge. 

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THE    SECOND   EPIStLE  GENERAL 


OF 


PETE  R . 


CHAPTER  I. 

Herct  (1,)  The  ajpostU  saltUes  those  Jeios  and  QerUiUs  who  had  obtained  true  faith,  prays  for,  and  reminds  them  of  its  attend* 
ant  blessings,  1-4.  (2,)  He  encourages  and  exhorts  them  to  add  to  their  faith  the  vigorous  exercise  of  various  other  graces^ 
from  a  eonsideroHon  of  the  happy  issues  thereof,  5^11.  (3,)  He  intimates  his  resolution  to  help  them  as  much  as  possible 
in  their  spiritual  concerns  before  his  approaching  duease,  12-15.  (4,)  He  confirms  the  doctrine  of  Chrisfs  second  coming, 
from  the  Father's  testimony  on  the  mount  (and  refers,  for  a  more  direct  proof  of  it,  to  the  inspired  writings  of  the  prophets, 
ie-21. 


A.M. 4070.  OII^ON^  Peter,  a  servant  and  an 
—LJ — L  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  them 
that  have  obtained  *like  predoua  feith  with ns 
through  the  righteousness  'of  Grod  and  our  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ : 
2  ^  Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto  you 

1  Ot,  Synmn,  A«t8  xw.  14. *  Rom.  i.  12 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  13 ; 

£phMiui8  ir.  6 ;  Titns  l  4.        *  Or.  of  our  Chd  and  Soviour, 
Titua  ii.  13. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verses  I,  2.  To  them  that  have  obtained^Noi  by 
iheirowu  works,  but  by  the  free  grace  ofGod ;  likepre- 
ciou$  faith  with  i^^^The  i^[)06tles  ;  the  faith  of  ihose 
who  have  aot.seeu  being  of  the  same  nature,  value, 
and  virtue,  equally  precious,  with  that  of  those  who 
saw  our  Lord  in  the  flesh ;  ev,  tn,  or  through  the 
righteousnesg-of  God^  and  our  Saviour  Je9U$  Christ 
— That  \Sf  faith  sn,  and  received  through,  the  mercy 
(in  consistence  with  the  justice)  of  God  the  Father, 
and  in  and  through  the  obedience  unto  death  of  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  according  to  the 
common  translation.  ^  But  oawhat  authority,"  says 
M acknight,  ^^  our  translators  have  rendered  rv  de« 
iiliuv  Koi  our^poc,  of  God  and  our  Saviour,  I  know 
not^  The  literal  translation  of  the  clause  undoubt- 
edly is,  Faith  tn,  or  through,  the  righteousness, 
(namely,  both  active  and  passive,)  of  our  God^nd 
Saviour,  which  is  at  once  a  principal  object  of  sav- 
ing laith,  and  that  through  which  alone  the  justice  of 
God  is  satisfied,  and  saving  faith  conferred  upon  us. 
Some,  however,  are  of  opinion  that  the  relative  our, 
in  the  first  clause,  though  omitted  in  the  second,  is  to 
be  understood  as  repeated.  The  reading  would  then 
be,  lae  righteousness  of  our  God,  and  of  our  So- 
wUrttr.  But  the  propriety  of  this  construction  is 
b 


through  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  a.  m.  4070. 

of  Jesus  our  Lord,  — U 

3  Accqxiing  as  his  divine  power  hath  given 
unto  us  all  things  that  pertain  unto  life  and 
godliness,  *  through  the  knowledge  of  him 
^  that  hath  called  us  ^  to  glory  and  virtue : 


i>Dan.  ir.  1 ;  ri  25 ;  1  Pet  i.  2 ;  Jude  2. «  John  rrii.  3. 

<i  1  Then.  ii.  12 :  ir.  7 ;   2 ThoM.  ii.  14;  2 Tim.  L  9;  1  Pet. 
ii.  9;  iji.  9. *  Or,  by. 


justly  questioned.  Grace  and  peace — See  on  1  Pet 
L  2;  through  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Jesus 
our  ZiOn^Through  the  experimental,  practical 
knowledge  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  (who,  as 
appears  from  the  order  of  the  priginal  words,  are 
both  here  intended,)  even  that  knowledge  which  is 
communicated  by  the  Spirit  cf  wisdom  and  revela* 
Hon,  (see  Matt  xL  27;  Eph.  i.  17;  1  John  v.  20,)  and 
in  which  consisteth  our  eternal  life,  John  xvU,  3^ 
where  see  the  note. 

Verses  3^  4.  As  his  divine  power  hath  given  us  all 
things^There  is  a  wonderAil  cheerfulness  in  this 
exordium,  which  begins  with  the  exhortation  itself; 
that  pertain  to  life  and  godliness—To  the  present 
natural  life,  and  to  the  continuance  and  increase  of 
spiritual  life,  termed  here  godliness;  through  the 
ftnotrZedge— The  divine  and  saving  knowledge;  of 
Aim^Christ;  that  hath  called  us  to  glory — Eternal 
glory  hereaAer,  as  the  end ;  and  to  virtue — Or  holi- 
ness, as  the  way  leading  thereto.  Or  fortitude,  one 
particular  branch  of  holiness,  (frequently  meant  by 
the  word  optn;,)  nwy  be  here  intended,  as  it  isbythe 
same  word,  verse  5.  The  original  phrase,  however, 
6ia  So^{  Kot  ttperiK,  is  literally,  by,  or  through  glory 
and  virtues  that  is,  as  some  understand  it,  by  his 
glorious  power;  or  the  glorious  and  powerful  efiu* 
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nrough  the  knowledge  o/Jeeua  C^riet         IL  FET&L  are  giun  great  a$tdpreciau9  promises. 


A.  If.  4070.  4  *  Whereby  are  given  unto  us 
'■ exceeding  great  and  precious  pro- 
mises ;  that  by  these  ye  might  be  ^partakersof 
the  divine  nature,  'having  escaped  the  comip- 


•  2  Oor.  Tii.  1.- 


'2  Cor.  iii.  18;  Eph.  it.  24;  Heb.  zii.  10; 
1  John  iiL  2. 


sion  of  the  Spirit,  as  Whitby  understands  the  words. 
Whereby — By  means  of  which  glorious  power,  or  il- 
lustrious seal  settothedeclaration  of  the  gospel;  or,  as 
some  would  render  St  uvjbrthe  sake  ofwhichthlngs ; 
that  is,  that  we  might  attain  to  this  glory  and  virtue; 
are  given  unio  us  great  and  preciotte  promisee — 
Namely,  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  which  he  calls 
great  and  precious^  because  the  things  promised  are 
the  grandest  that  can  be  conceived  by  the  hiuman 
mind,  and  infinitely  more  valuable  than  any  present 
enjoyments  or  expectations:  promises  of  the  pardon 
of  sin,  of  acceptance  with  God,  of  his  peculiar  fa- 
vour, ^option  into  his  family,  and  bein|^  treated  as 
his  sons  and  dau^ters;  favoured  with  liberty  of  ac- 
cess to  him,  and  intercourse  with  him;  with  direc- 
tion in  difliculties,  protection  in  dangers,  succour  in 
temptations^  comfort  in  troubles,  a  supply  of  all  our 
wants,  and  an  assurance  that  aH  things  shall  work 
for  our  good ;  promises  of  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  of 
regeneration  and  sanctifioation,  to  be  sent  into  our 
hearts  as  a  pledge  and  earnest  of  our  future  felicity ; 
and)  to  crown  the  whole,  the  promise  of  everlasting 
life,  felicity,  and  glory.  Both  the  promises  and  the 
things  promised,  which  follow  in  their  due  season, 
are  here  intended;  that  &y{^ie«e— By  the  considera- 
tion of^  and  faith  in,  these  true  and  faithful  promises, 
and  the  great  and  glorious  blessings  exhibited  in, 
and  ensured  to,  true  and  persevering  believers  there- 
by, you  might  be  encouraged  and  induced  to  re- 
nounce the  worid  and  sin,  with  every  corrupt  incli- 
nation and  affection,  design  and  desire,  and  be  made 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature — Of  a  new,  holy,  and 
heavenly  nature,  derived  from  God,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  his  Spirit  renewing  you  in  his  image,  and 
giving  you  communion  with  himself  so  as  to  dwell 
in  Ckxi,  and  God  in  you;  having  escaped  the  cor- 
ruption thai  is  in  the  world— The  corrupt  customs 
and  habits,  principles  and  practices,  that  are  found  in 
worldly  men,  ev  eiri^fua^  through  desire,  namely, 
irregular  and  inordinate  desire,  the  desire  of  unlaw- 
ful things,  or  the  immoderate  desu%  of  things  law- 
ful, that  fruitful  source  of  sin  and  misery. 

Verse  6.  And  besides  <Am^— Besides  your  renoun- 
cing the  corruption  that  is  in  the  worid,  you  must 
increase  in  all  the  graces  of  God's  Spirit,  and  in  the 
virtues  to  which  they  naturally  lead.  Or,  as  awo 
rsTo  is  rendered  by  some  learned  critics,  (the  parti- 
cle etc  being  supposed  to  be  understood,)  Jbr  this  pttr- 
pose,  or  for  this  very  reason,  namely,  because  (Jod 
hath  given  you  such  great  blessings ;  giving  aU  dil- 
igence— Or,  showing  all  earnestness,  and  making 
all  haste,  as  avsdfjv  naaav  implies.  The  word 
irapetffevtynavTfc,  rendered  giving^  literally  signifies, 
bringing  in  by  the  by,  or  over  and  above;  im- 
ptying  that  God  works  the  work,  but  not  unless  we 
are  earnest  and  diligent.    Our  earnestness  and  dili- 


don  that  b  in  the  worid  through  lust  A.  M. 
5  And  beodes  this,  ^  giving  aU  dili- 


4070 


gence,  add  to  your  fiuth,  virtue;  and  to  virtue, 
^  knowledge ; 


c  Chapter  ii.   IS, 


20.  — ^Chipicr   iii.   1S.« 
iiL  7. 


-U   Peter 


gence  must  follow  the  gift  of  God,  and  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  an  increase  of  all  his  gifts.  Add  to — ^And 
tft,  or  by,  the  promises  of  God,  and  his  other  gifts, 
the  graces  here  mentioned :  superadd  the  latter  with- 
out losing  the  former.  The  Greek  word  tKtxofnrm- 
wrre  prpperly  means,  lead  ^  as  in  a  dance,  one  of 
these  graces  in,  by,  or  after  the  other  in  a  beautiftil 
order.  Add  to  (ti^,  in,  or  by)  your  faith  that  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen,  termed  before,  the  know- 
ledge of  €k>d  and  of  Christ,  the  root  of  all  Christian 
graces;  virtue — Or,  courage;  amidst  all  the  difficul- 
ties, dangers,  trials,  and  troubles  you  meet  with,  ex- 
ercise that  courage,  or  fortitude,  whereby  you  may 
conquer  all  enemies  and  oppositions,  and  execute 
whatever  faith  dictates.  In  this  most  beautiftd  con- 
nection, each  preceding  grace  leads  to  the  following: 
each  following  tempers  and  perfects  the  preceding. 
They  are  set  down  in  the  order  of  nature,  rather 
than  the  order  of  time :  for  though  every  grace  bears 
a  relation  to  every  other,  yet  here  ^ey  are  so  nicely 
ranged,  that  those  which  have  the  closest  depend- 
ence on  each  other  are  placed  together. 

The  propriety  of  the  apostle's  exhorting  those  to 
whom  he  wrote,  to  add  courage  to  their  faith,  will 
more  clearly  appear,  if  we  recollect  that,  in  the  first 
age,  the  disciplos  of  Christ  were  frequeiitly  accused 
before  the  heathen  magistrates  of  being  Christians^ 
and  that,  "on  such  occasions,  it  was  incumbent  on 
them  to  acknowledge  it,  notwithstanding  they  ex- 
posed themselves  thereby  to  every  species  of  perse- 
cution; because,  by  boldly  professing  their  fiiith, 
they  not  only  encouraged  each  otilier  to  persevere  in 
their  Christian  profession,  but  they  maintained  the 
gospel  in  the  world.  Accordingly  Christ  solemnly 
charged  ail  his  disciples  to  confess  him  before  men, 
and  ^reatened  to  inflict  the  severest  punishment  on 
those  who  denied  him.  Matt.  x.  82^  83.'' — Macknight. 
And  even  in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  true  and 
vital  religion  will  always,  more  or  less,  meet  with 
opposition  from  the  carnal  and  wicked,  and  will  fre- 
quently expose  those  who  possess  it  to  no  little  per- 
secution, especially  hi  some  countries;  if  not  to  hn- 
prisonment,  and  the  spotting  of  their  goods,  yet  to 
contumely,  reprOach,  revilings,  and  various  insults; 
so  that  it  is  still  necessary,  if  we  would  prove  our- 
selves the  genuine  f<^lowers  of  Jesus,  that  we  should 
add  to  our  faith  courage,  or  fortitude  and  firmness 
of  mind,  that  we  may  stand  in  the  evil  day,  and  war 
agood  warfare.  And  to  your  courage,  knowledg&^ 
Wisdom,  teaching  you  how  to  exercise  it  on  all  oo- 
casions.  The  word  may  include  also  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  doctrines,  precepts,  and  promises  of  the 
gospel,  and  of  the  whole  nature  and  design  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  as  dso  wn  acquaintance  with  the  principal 
evidences  of  its  truth  and  importance:  for,  without 
a  full  persuasion  of  these,  our  courage  must  want 

b 


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SiduHfia^Mto9^§kufier 


CHAPrBBL 


variaut  Ckri^ian  graefff. 


A.M.4a7a 
▲.a 


lam    6  And  to  knowledge,  teinpeiaiioe; 
and  to  tempecance,  patienite;  and  to 


patienoe,  fodlinbRi , 

7  And  to  godliaees,  brotberiy  kindnan;  and 
^  to  brotherly  Jdndness,  chanty. 

8  For  if  theBB  things  be  in  you,  and  abound, 


kOalatiani  tL  10;    1  Then.  iii.  12;   ▼.  15;    1  John  ir,  ^1, 
«  Or.  Mttf . 


its  proper  support,  and  will  desert  ns  in  the  day  of 
trid^ 

Verses  0, 7.  And  to  knowledge,  temperance— ThiB 
virtue  consists  in  a  confirmed  habit  of  ruling  all  the 
affections^  passions,  and  appetites  of  our  nature  in  a 
proper  manner,  by  placing  our  affections  on  proper 
objects;  by  restraining  our  angry,  peevish,  envious, 
and  unholy  tempers,  and  by  using  moderation  in 
gratifying  our  appetites.  Christian  temperance,  in- 
deed, includes  thev<duatary  abstaining  ifomallpleap 
sure  which  dpes  not  lead  to  God,  extending  to  all 
things  inward  and  outward,  and  im^ying  the  due 
government  of  our  thoughts  and  ioiaginatfons,  as 
well  as  of  our,  desires  and  designs.  It  is  the  using 
the  world  properly :  so  to  use  all  outward,  and  so  to 
restrain  all  inward  things,  that  they  may  become  a 
means  of  what  is  spiritual)  a  scaling-ladder  to  as- 
cend to  what  is  above.  hUemperance  is  to  abuse 
the  world.  He  that  uses  any  thing  below,  looking 
no  higher,  and  getting  no  farther,  is  intemperate. 
He  that  uses  the  creature  only  so  as  to  attidn  to  more 
of  the  Creator,  is  alone  temperate  in  all  things,  and 
walks  as  Christ  hunself  walked;  and  to  temperance, 
patience—Sear  as  well  as  forbear;  sustain  as  well 
as  abstain ;  take  up  your  cross,  as  well  as  deny  your- 
self^ daily ;  and  the  more  knowledge  you  have,  do 
this  the  more:  the  more  steadily  jEmd  resolutely  re- 
nounce your  own  will;  submit  to,  and  acquiesce  in, 
the  will  of  God;  and  indulge  yourself  the  less. 
Knowledge  puffejh  up;  and  the  great  boasters  of 
knowledge,  the  Gnostics,  were  tiiose  that  turned  the 
grace  of  God  into  wantonness,  being  lovers  of  plea- 
sure more  than  lovers  of  God,  and  of  course  effemi- 
nate and  unprepared  to  encounter  any  opposition, 
or  to  endure  any  hardship  on  account  of  truth  and  a 
good  conscience*  But  see  that  your  knowledge  be 
attended  with  temperance,  and  your  temperance  with 
patience;  and  to  patience^  godliness — Its  proper 
support;  a  contimial  sense  of  God's  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness;  of  his  holiness,  truth,  justice,  and 
mercy;  of  his  presence  and  providence,  with  a  rer 
verential,  awful,  filial,  and  loving  fear  of,  and  confi- 
dence in  him.  Otherwise  your  patience  may  be  pride, 
sur|ineas,stoicism;butitwillnotbeChristianity.  And 
to  godliness,  brotherly  ^puu^neM— SuUenness,  stern- 
ness, moroseness,  are  noteonsistent  with  genuine  god- 
liness. Sour  godliness^  so  called,  is  of  the  devil  Of 
Christian  godliness  it  may  always  be  said : 

'^  Mild,  sweet,  serene,  and  tender  is  her  mood, 

Nor  grave  with  sternness  nor  with  lightness  free ; 
Against  example  resolutely  good, 
Fervent  in  zeal,  and  warm  in  charity.'' 


they-make  if<ni  that  ye  shail  neither  a.  m.  407d 
be  ^banen  'nor  unfruitful  in  th^    A.D.6fl. 
knowledge  of  our  Lonl  Jesus  Christ 
9  But  be  that  lacketh  these  things  "  is  blind, 
and  cannot  see  afer  off,  and  ba£h  fiNtgotten  that 
ho  was  "purged  from  bis  dd  sins. 


I  John  XV.  2;  Tit  iii.  U. "1  John  ii.  9, 11.- 

H6b.ix.  16;  IJoknL?. 


>£ph.v.26; 


And  to  brotherly  kindness,  love — ^The  pure  and  per- 
fect love  of  God  and  of  all  mankind.  The  apostle 
here  makes  an  advance  upon  the  preceding  article, 
brotherly  kindness,  which  seems  only  to  relate  to 
the  love  of  Christians  toward  one  another. 

Verse  8.  For  if  these  things,  be  in  j^ou— This 
fi&ith,  this  courage,  thb  knowledge,  &c.  Not  if  they 
be  understood  and  professed  by  you  merely,  but  if 
they  be  in  you,  experienced  in  your  hearts,  and 
evinced  in  your  lives ;  and  oAound^- Increase  more 
and  more,  otherwise  you  fall  short ;  they  make  you — 
They  cause ;  that  ye  shaU  neither  be  toren— Or  ra- 
ther, slotJ^fid,  as  WY^  signifies ;  nor  uufruitftUr'-JCvmr 
berers  of  the  ground ;  or  taking  pains  to  do  good,  but 
without  success,  your  efibrts  being  fruitless  through 
your  want  of  one  or  other  of  these  graces.  But 
these  graces,  possessed  by  you  and  kept  in  lively 
exercise,  will  neither  suffer  you  to  feilnt  jn  your 
minds,  nor  be  without  fruit  in  your  lives.  Observe, 
reader,  if  there  be  in  us  less  faithfulness,  less  watch- 
fulness and  care,  less  tenderness  of  conscience,  less 
fervour  of  spirit  and  diligence  in  working  out  our 
salvation,  and  serving  God,  and  hiacause,  and  people, 
since  we  were  pardoned,  than  there  was  before; 
less  outward  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  and  lew 
zeal  and  conscientiousness  in  doing  his  will,  and 
glorifying  him  in  and  with  our  body  and  spirit, 
which  are  his,  than  when  we  were  seeking  re- 
mission of  sins  and  regenerating  grace,  we  are  both 
slothftd  and  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ — 
That  is,  in  the  faith,  which  m  that  casei  does  not, 
cannot  work  by  love, . 

Verse  9.  But  he  thai  lacketh  these  things— Anii 
does  not  ndd  them  to  his  faith;  is  &/tnd— With 
respect  to  spiritual  things.  The  eyes  of  his  under- 
standing are  again  closed ;  he  hath  lost  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen;  he  no  longer  sees  by  faith  God 
reconciled  to  him  in  Christ  Inward  and  outward 
holiness  being  the  natural  fruit  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  the  person  who  pretends  to  have  that  know- 
ledge, and  yet  dpes  not  aspire  and  labour  after  that 
holiness,  is  blind  with  respect  to  the  nature  of  true 
Christianity;  and  cannot  see  afar  off— Nwaaely,  the 
things  of  another  world,  but  only  the  things  of  this 
world,  which  are  present.  The  word  fivoiraCt^  sig- 
nifies literally,  he  is  pur-blind.  He  has  lost  sight 
of  the  precious  promises:  perfect  love  and  heaven 
are  equally  out  of  sight  Nay,  he  cannot  now  see 
what  he  himself  once  enjoyed,  having,  as  it  were, 
forgot  that  he  was  purged,  Ac.— Greek,  Xi?^  Xa6ui> 
T8  Ko^apuTfLs  Tuv  noXoi  avT8  nftapnuv^  having  for-' 
gotten  the  purification  from  his  former  sins  ;  not 
remembering,  or  not  having  a  proper  sense  of  what 


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A.  u,¥no.    10  Wherafore  the  radm,  brocluw, 
^^'^    gi^e  diligence  •to  make  your  calling 
and  election  sure :  fer  if  ye  do  these  things,  »ye 
shall  never  fell: 

11  For  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  un- 
to yoa  abundantly  into  the  eyerlleMting  kingdom 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 

12  Wherefore  *  I  will  not  be  n^ligent  to  put 
you  always  in  remanbrance  of  these  things, 


•  1  John  iii.  19. P  Chap.  iiL  17. •  Rom.  xr.  14, 15 ;  PhiL 

Hi.  1 ;  Chap.  iii.  1 ;  1  John  ii.  21 ;  Jode  5. '1  Pet.  v.  12; 


he  himself  felt  when  his  past  sind  were  forgiven 
him,  and  he  was  first  assured  of  his  acctsptance  with 
God.  "  The  apostle^s  expression  here,  in  which  he 
alludes  to  baptism,  together, with  Ananias's  words  to 
Paul,  (Acts  xxiL  16,)  Arise  and  he  baptized,  and 
wash  away  thy  sine,  is  thought  by  many  to  imply, 
that  in  baptism  the  guilt  of  former  sins  is  wadied 
away.  But  Paul  himself  hatii  taught  the  sound 
meaning  of  Anania^s  words,  (Heb.  x.  23,)  Having 
eur  hearie  eprinkied  from  an  evil  conscience,  and 
our  bodies  ivashed  with  pure  water.  Besides^  Peter, 
in  his  first  epistle,  tells  us  expi'essly  that  baptism  is 
not  the  washing  away  of  the  fiUh  of  the  flesh,  but 
the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God,  in 
which  respect  it  resembles  circumcision,  which  is 
not  that  which  is  outward,  but  of  the  heart,  by 
cutting  off  all  iiregular  passions  and  i^petites.  The 
washing  in  baptism,  therefore,  is  not  a  real,  but  an 
emblematical  washing  of  the  sinner  from  the  guilt  of 
his  sins."  Which  emblem,  as  it  contains  a  promise 
of  pardon,  so  it  is  realized  to  all  truly  penitent 
siimers,  who  believe  in  Christ  toith  their  hearts  unto 
righteousness^  and  to  none  else.    See  Macknight. 

Verses  10, 11.  Wherefore — Considering  the  mise- 
rable state  of  these  apostates ;  the  rather — ^That  you 
may  not  be  destitute  of  these  things,  but  be  fruitful 
in  all  graces  and  virtues;  brethrenrSi.  Peier  no- 
where uses  this  appellation,  in  either  of  his  epistles, 
but  in  this  important  exhortation ;  give  diligence — 
Namely,  by  the  exercise  and  increase  of  the  fore- 
mentioned  graces.  The  word  airtiSaaare  means  alqo 
be  in  earnest^  and  make  hastSj  the  matter  being  of 
infinite  moment,  and  delays  extremely  dangerous. 
7b  make  your  calling  arid  election  sure^BeSaiav^ 
firm.  As  if  he  had  said,  God  hath  called  you  by  his 
word,  his  providence,  and  his  Spirit,  to  repentance, 
faith,  and  new  obedience.  By  obeying  this  cidl, 
and  turning  sincerely  to  God,  you  became  God's 
elect  or  chosen  people;  even  elect,  through  the 
sancttfication  of  the  Spirit,  unto  obedience.  See 
on  1  Pet.  i.  2.  Now  as  you  made  your  calling 
irm  or  eflfectual  by  obejing  it,  so  make.your  election 
firm  by  enduring  to  the  end,  remembering  the  Lord's 
words,  Many  are  called^butfew  ^ally  chosen.  For 
if  ye  do  these  things — If  you  thus  give  diligence, 
and  are  thus  in  earnest,  without  delay,  to  add  the 
graces  and  virtues  here  inculcated  to  your  faith,  and 
to  make  your  eamng  and  election  finn;  ye  ^all 


'thoogh  ye  know  tkmnj  and  be  es-  Ait 407a 
tabludKdmdieprsBeirttnrth*  

13  Yea,  I  think  it  meet,  as'kn^aslamia 
this  tabernacle,  ^lostir  yoa  np1:iy  potting  you 
in  remembrance : 

U  ""KaowinglhatriiortlylniiiBtpiitcff/As^ 
my  tabernacle,  even  as  '  our  Lord  Jesos  Chrisi 
hath  showed  me. 

15  Moreover,  I  win  endeavoor  that  ye  may  be 


camp.  in.  17. "2  Cor.  t.  1,  4.— 

It.  21, 22 ;  «ad.  14 ;  2  Tim.  ir.  6.- 


t  Chap.  iiL  l^-^-'Dwit. 
-'  JobR  zxL  18, 19. 


ne^er  finally  /aW— Nay,  ye  shall  not  fen,  mm,  once^ 
or  at  any  time,  into  known  sin,  so  as  to  come  under 
guilt,  condemnation,  and  wrath ;  nay,  » fof  wraisn^ 
irore,  ye  shall  not  so  mucb  as  stumble  at  any  time^ 
StumWirig-blocks  will,  indeed,  be  in  your  way,  pro- 
bably not  a  few,  but  you  shafl  not  stumble  at  Uiem, 
much  less  shall  you  fall  over  them;  but  youshaU 
proceed  forward  on  your  way  with  ateadineas^ 
alacrity,  and  jo^.  For  so  an  entrance  shall  be 
ministered  unto  you  abnndantly^tOiseutf,  richly, 
freely,  and4n  the  most  honourable  manner;  into  the 
everlasting  kingdom  <if  our  Lord  and  Saviovr — 
The  kingdom  of  his  eternal  glory.  Ton  diall  de- 
part hence  in  peace  and  triumph,  knowing  that  as 
soon  as  yon  are  ebsexA,  from  the  body  yon  ^all  be 
present  with  the  Lord ;  and  you  shall  be  received  as 
with  a  cordial  welcome,  and  shall  sail,  as  it  were, 
into  that  blessed  harbour  with  a  Ml  gale  of  consola- 
tion and  joy. 

Verses  12-14.  Wherefore — Considering  the  evfl 
consequent  on  the  want  or  neglect  of  diese  graces, 
and  the  benefit  which  will  arise  from  the  exercise  of 
them;  since  everlasting  destruction  would  be  the 
consequence  of  your  tukewarmness  and  sloth,  and 
everlasting  glory  will  be  the  fruit  of  your  earnest- 
ness and  diligence,  /  wiU  not  be  negligent,  &c^ 
Therefore  he  wrote  another  letter  so  soon  after  the 
former ;  to  put  you  in  remembrance  of  those  things, 
though,  as  I  am  aware,  you  already  know  them  in  a 
great  measure,  and  are  established  in  the  present 
truth — The  trutti  which  I  am  now  dedanng;  yea, 
I  think  it  meet-^^tismev,  just  or  reasonable,  as  long 
as  lam  in  this  tabernacle — Or  tent.  See  on  2  Cor. 
V.  i.  How  short  is  our  abode  in  the  body!  how 
easily  d<ms  a  believer  pass  out  of  It!  Th  stir  you 
tip— To  seek  an  increase  of  aU  Christian  graces,  and 
to  practise  all  the  Christian  Virtues;  by  putting  you 
in  remembrance^ThBt  they  are  necessary  to  your 
entrance  into  Christ's  kingdom;  knowing-^As  if  he 
had  said,  I  am  the  more  earnest  in  this^  because  I 
know  that  I  must  shortly  put  off,  &c.— That  my 
death  is  soon  to  happen ;  even  as  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  hath  showed  me— By  an  express  prophecy ; 
meanmg  the  revelation  which  Christ  made  to  him, 
John  xxi.  18,  19.  And  it  is  not  improbable  that 
Christ  had  showed  him  by  a  late  revelation  that  the 
time  was  now  drawing  nigh. 

Verse  15.  Moreover  J  will  endeavour— -^y  wrhing 

i 


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CniAPTBK  I. 


or*  no^  cu9mi$%gly-de9i$€d  fabler. 


A.  M.  iOTO,  aUe,  after  my  dedease,  to  have  these 


jLIX  06. 


things  always  ifl  lemembniBoe. 


16  For  we  h^ve  not  fcUowed  ^  cttBoingly- 
devised  fiibles,  when  we  made  known  unto 
yon  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Je- 
vos  Ohrist,  but  "  were  eye-witnesses  of  his 
majesty. 

17  f\ir  he  received  from  God  the  Father  hcm- 
our  and  glory^  when  there  cslme  such,  a  Toice  to 


yl  Cor.  i.  17;  ii.  1,4;  2  Cor.  ii.  17 ;  iv.  2.- 
8;  llukiz.8;  JdmtU;  1  John i.  1 ;  ir.H 


I  Matt  zrii  1, 
AMattiil.l7; 


ihese  thini^s  in  this  epistle,  and  by  every  other 
means  in  my  power,  while  it  pleases  €rod  to  con- 
titiue  me  among  you ;  that  ye  may  be  a6/6^— Through 
frequently  reading  what  I  here  write;  q^er  my 
decease  to  have  ihese  things  always  in  remmbrance 
— "  TOe  apostle's  care  in  this  was  highly  commend- 
able; because  the  most  important  truths,  if  they  are 
not  remembered,  have  no  influence  on  the  mind. 
The  gradation  in  this  passage  is  beautiful.  He  pro- 
posed to  put  the  brethren  in  remembrance  of  some 
revealed  truths,  with  which  they  were  acquainted ; 
he  proposed  to  do  this,  not  once  or  twice,  but  always, 
as  long  as  he  lived ;  nay,  he  proposed  [by  leaving  this 
written  testimony  among  them}  to.  put  them  in  re- 
membrance of  these  things  after  his  death.  Where- 
fore the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  following  Peter's 
example,  ought  to  insist  most  on  the  things  which 
are  of  most  importance  to  their  people,  although  they 
are  already  wdl  instructed  in  them,  the  infltiehce  of 
truth  depending  not  so  much  upon  the  knowledge, 
as  upon  the  frequent  recollection  of  it."— Macknight. 
Verses  16-18.  JV— These  things  are  worthy  of 
being  always  remembered  and  regarded;  for  we 
have  not  followed  cwmingly-devised  fables — Like 
those  common  among  the  heathen,  but  things  in- 
fallibly true  and  infinitely  momentous;  when  ire 
made  known  unto  you  the  potD«r— The  evidences 
and  demonstrations  which  we  gave  of  his  divine 
power ;  (in  the  miracles  which  he  wrought,  whereby 
he  demonstrated  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God ;)  and 
coming  of  our  Lord  7<e««*— Namely,  that  the  pro- 
mised Messiah  was  already  come,  and  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  he.  Or  his.  second  commg  to  raise 
the  dead,  to  judge  mankind,  and  to  introduce  his 
people  into  his  eternal  kingdom,  might  be  chiefly 
intended.  But  it  majr  be  observed,  if  what  the 
apostles  have  advanced  concerning  Christ  had  not 
been  true,  if  it  had  been  only  of  their  own  invention, 
then,  to  have  imposed  such  a  lie  on  the  world,  as  it 
was  in  the  very  nature  of  things  above  aJl  human 
power  to  defend,  and  to  have  done  this  at  the  ex- 
pense of  life  a^  all  things,  only  to  engage  the 
whole  world,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  against  them, 
would  not  have  t>een  cimntng,  but  the  greatest  foUy 
that  men  could  have  been  guilty  of.  But  were  eye- 
witnesses of  his  majesty — ^At  his  transfiguration, 
which  was  a  specimen  of  his  glory  at  the  last  day. 
For  he  received  frtm  Ood  the  Father  divine 
honour  and  inexpressible  glory-Si^snng  from  hea- 


him  from  the  excdlent  glory,  *  This  a.  m.  407o. 
is  my  beloved  Son,  in  wiibm  I  am    ^^'^ 
weUi^eaaed. 

18  And  tins  voice  which  came  firom  heaven 
we  heard)  when  we  were  with  him  in  ^  the  holy 
mount 

19  We  have  abo  a  mote  sure  word  of  pn^e- 
cy ;  whereunto  ye  do  i^ell  that  ye  take  heed,  as 
unto  ^  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place,  until 


xriL  5 ;  Mark  L  11 ;  ix.  7 ;  Luke  iii.  22 ;  iz.  35. ^  Exod.  iii. 

5 ;  Joth.  ▼.  15 ;  Matt.  zrii.  6. ^  Pta.  cxix.  105 ;  John  ▼.  35. 


ven  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun;  wJien  there 
came  such  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory — From 
the  Shechinah,  as  the  Jews  termed  that  glorious 
i^ppearance  which  was  a  83nnbpl  of  the  presence 
of  Jehovah;  This  is  my  beloved  Son^  &c. — See 
notes  on  Matt.  xviL  2-5.  This  voice  we  heard 
—Namely,  Peter,  James,  and  John.  St  John  was 
still  alive  when  Peter  wrote  this;  when  we  were 
wOh  him  in  the  holy  97umn<-r-The  mount  made  holy 
by  that  glorious  manifestation,  as  mount  Horeb  was 
of  old  by  the  peculiar  presence  of  God,  Exod.  iii.  4^  $. 
Verse  19.  We  have  afeo— Peter  speaks  here  in 
the  name  of  all  Christians,  a  more  sure  iror^Than 
that  voice  from  heaven,  or  any  particular  revelation, 
not  in  itself  but  iQore  satisfactory  to  us,  as  being  less 
liable  to  be  mistaken;  o/'prop/tepy — He  means  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  concerning  the 
Messiah,  which,  one  being  consistent  with  another, 
and  connected  together,  might  properly  be  repre- 
sented as  one  and  the  same  word  of  prophecy. 
Some  are  of  opinion  Uiat  the  apostle  intended  no 
comparison  in  this  place,  but  that  the  comparative 
is  used  for  the  positive,  and  that  bis  words  Were  only 
intended  to  signify  a  very  sure  word  of  prophecy^ 
or  prophetical  word;  and  it  is  certain  that  there  are 
many  instances  in  the  New  Testament  of  a  similar 
kind,  in  which,  though  the  comparative  degree  is 
used,  the  positive  or  superlative  is  evidently  intended. 
Others  assert,  with  much  truth  and  propriety,  that  the 
series  of  prophecies  contained  in  the  Old  Testament 
concerning  Christ,  when  explained  in  the  Jight  of 
the  New  Testament,  is  a  much  clearer  proof  of  Jesus 
being  the  Messiah,  than  any  single  miraculous  fact, 
such  as  Christ's  transfiguration  was.  Wherenxnto-^ 
Unto  which  Chain  of  propliecy  concerning  the  con- 
ception and  birth,  the  character,  doctrine,  miracles, 
sufferings,  death,  resurrection,  ascension,  and  exalt- 
ation of  the  Messiah,  with  the  erection  and  establish- 
ment, the  extent,  prosperity,  and  duration  of  his 
kingdom,  and  his  second  coming  to  raise  the  dead, 
and  judge  the  world  in  righteousness— all  evidently 
accomplished  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  ye  do  well  to  take 
heed^ln  order  that  your  iaith,  in^^d  of  being 
shaken  by  the  objections  of  the  enemies  of  the  gospel, 
may  be  more  fully  confirmed ;  even  as  urUo  a  light — 
Avxyuf,  a  lamp,  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place — The 
whole  world  anciently  was  indeed  a  dark  place  with 
respect  to  the  knowledge  of  divine  things,  except 
that  little  spot,  Judea,  where  this  light  shone;  until 

eas 


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IL  PETES. 


moved  by  ihe  BO^  Okdd. 


A.M.4orro.  the  day  dawn/ and' the  dajTHsUur  arise 
^   '^    inypurhearta; 
20  Knowii:^  this  first,  that  *  no  pvqphecy  ct 
the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation. 


*  Rer.  U.  28 ;  xxU.  16 ;  2  Corin.  iv.  i,  6. 

f2Tii]i.iu.  16;  lPet.i.  11. 


■Romans  xiL  6. 


the  day  should  c2aion--Till  the  fiill  light  of  the 
gospel  should  break  through  the  darkness.  As  is 
the  difference  between  the  Ught  of  a  lamp  and  that 
of  the  day,  such  is  that  between  the  light  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  that  of  the  New.  Or  the  apostle 
meant  by  these  words,  that  those  to  whom  he  wrote 
should  attend  to  these  prophecies  concerning  the 
Messiah,  and  compare  them  with  the  facts  attested 
by  the  apostles  and  evangelists  concerning  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  till  their  minds  should  be  more  fully  en- 
lightened by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  Ood;  and  the 
day-etar  should  arise  in  their  hearts — ^Till  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  bright  and  morning  star,  (Rey.  xxiL  16,) 
riioidd  be  more  fully  revealied  in  them.  Or  '^till  tiie 
Holy  Spirit  should  discover  to  their  souls  the  glory 
and  excellence  of  the  gospel,  and  by  his  sanctifying 
and  comfortmg  influences  give  them  the  dawning 
of  heaven  m  their  hearts ;  and  tOl  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  the  experience  of  his  power,  truth,  and 
lovc^  had  farmed  within  them  an  assurance  and  anti- 
cipation of  the  light,  holiness,  and  felicity  of  the 
saints  in  the  presence  of  their  glorified  Saviour,  even 
as  the  morning-star  preceded  and  ushered  in  ^e 
rising  sun  and  the  perfect  day." — Scott  Who  adds, 
that  nothing  can  be  more  manifest  than  that  the  day- 
dawn  and  day-star  are  spoken  of  as  arising  in  the 
hearts  of  true  Christians,  and  that  no  external  evi- 
dence of  the  divine  origin  of  Christianily  is  meant, 
nor  even  that  internal  evidence  of  the  divine  inspirth- 
tion  of  the  Scriptures  which  they  contain  in  them- 
selves, arising  from  the  exc^ence  of  their  doctrines, 
precepts,  promises,  &c.  But  the  expressions  must 
mean  what  is  internal  in  our  own  experience.  ^  The 
unnatural  and  far-fetched  interpretadons  of  those 
who  oppose  this  conclusion,  serve  only  to  confirm 
the  author  in  his  Judgment  This  inward  demon- 
stration of  the  truth  of  Christianity  would  render  the 
external  evidences  less  necessary  to  those  who  en- 
joyed it;  as  they  could  no  longer  doubt  of  it  when 
they  saw  the  glory,  and  tasted  the  eomfort  ci  it,  and 
experienced  the  truth  and  power  of  it  in  their 
hearts,  and  maUifested  it  in  their  conduct" 

Verses  20, 21.  jKhovtfi^  ^i9^»(-^That  you  may 
not  rashly  or  ignorantly  put  a  sense  upon  any  part 


21  For  ^  the  prophecy  came  not  ^  in  ^^f;^- 
old  tune  by  tho  will  of  inan :  »  bat    *  "  ^ 


D.{ 


hdy  men  of  God  q^afce  a>  tkey  %cere  mevwl 
by  the  Holy  Ghost 


*0r,  €d  tmy  ftet.- 


fS  Smm.  zzuL  2: 
16;  iix.ia 


Lake  i  70;  Acte  i. 


of  the  prophetic  writings,  not  iittended  by  the  Di- 
vine t^irit  which  dictated  them  *,  that  no  prophecy 
of  the  Scripture — No  prediction  contained  therein; 
is  of  any  private  interpretation — Greek,  t6iac  eirtXv- 
(reuf ,  an  expression  of  which  various  interpretations 
have  been  given,  but  only  two  of  them  shall  be  here 
noticed ;  namely,  Doddridge's,  who  renders  it,  of  pri- 
vate impulse^  or  original  ^^  and  Macknight's,  who 
reads,  of  private  invention.  But  certainly  no  sudi 
sense  can,  with  propriety,  be  forced  upon  the  words: 
and  why  should  it?  Why  should  not  the  literal  sig- 
nification of  them  be.  acquiesced  in?  namely,  that 
given  in  our  translation.  For  -surely  no  prophecy 
of  Scripture,  and  hardly  any  doctrine,  precept,  or 
promise  thereof,  will  or  can  be  properly  or  fully  un- 
derstood by  any  man,  let  his  natural  abilities  be  what 
they  may^  without  supernatural  light  from  God, 
without  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation,  Eph. 
i.  17.  For,  as  the  apostle  argues,  i  Cor.  ii.  II,  1^ 
(where  see  the  notes,)  as  a  man  could  not  under- 
stand the  things  that  belong  to  human  nature,  if  he 
had  not  a  human  spirit  in  him,  so  the  things  of  God, 
divine  things,  know^h  no  tnan,  clearly  and  fully^ 
but  by  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which 
must  be  sought  by  sincere,  fervent,  importunate, 
persevering  prayer.  In  other  words.  No  man's  pri- 
vate natural  reason  will  enable  him  to  understand 
the  Scriptures,  and  the  truths  which  they  contain, 
properly  and  fully,  and  especially  to  rdbh,  love,  and 
delight  in  them,  without  the  guidance  of  that  Spirit 
which  dictated  tiiem.  And  if  this  be  true  respecting 
the  Scriptures  in  general,  it  is  particularly  so  with 
regard  to  Ae  prophetic  writings ;  for  prophecy  espe- 
cidly  came  not  of  old  by  the  will  ofman—Oi  any 
man's  own  will  or  picture.  No  true  prophet  either 
prophesied  when  he  pleased  or  what  he  pleased. 
But  holy  men  of  (rod-*The  penmen  of  the  sacred. 
Scriptures ;  <paAre— Uttered  their  predictions  or  re- 
corded them ;  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
—By  an  extraordinary  impulse  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
whose  organs  only  they  were  in  declaring  what  he 
was  pleased  to  suggest  to  them ;  and  what  he  moved, 
and  enabled  them  to  communicate,  he  must  enable 
us  to  understand  and  profit  by. 


CHAPTER  n. 

The  sipostU,  (1,)  Cautiaiu  those  to  whom  he  wroU  against  false  teachers,  whosre  isscnbei  by  their  permdotts  pwicifUs  ami 
tf^btenee,  1-8.  (%,)  From  the  examples  of  the  fallen  angels,  the  old  world,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  he  shows  the  certsxniy 
of  their  punishment;  from  which  he  foretels  thai  the  Lord  would  deliser  the  godly,  as  he  did  Lot  out  of  Sodom,  4-9. 
(^,y  He  gives  an  iUarmng  representation  of  seducers  as  extremely  and  aggraiBatedly  wicked,  under  high  pretences  to  Wurty 
and  purity,  10^-«l. 

680  h 


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CHAPTER  n. 


and  (heir  danger<nts  doctrines. 


A.M. 

A.D. 


4OT0.  ]RUT  *  there  were  fitlse  prophets  also 
'- —         ^mong  the  people,  even  as  ^  there 


diaU  be  &be  teachers  among  you,  who  privily 
shall  bring  in  damnable  heresies,  even  *  deny- 
ing the  hoftd  ^  that  bought  them,  *  and  bring 
upon  themsdves  swift  destruction. 
2  And  many  shall  follow  their  ^pernicious 


«D«at  ziiL  1. )>MaU.  xxir.  U ;   Acta  zz.  90;   1  John  vr, 

1 ;  Jud«  18. «  Jude  4. '  1  Cor.  tL  20 ;  Gal.  iii.  13 ;  Rer. 

T.  9l— ^  PUL  vL  19. ^  Or,  U^eimotu  wayt,  *m  tome  oopiet 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER^n. 
Verne  1.  Ifti^— Now  that  1  am  speaking  of  the  di- 
tineiy-insptred  Jewish  prophets,  whose  writings  yon 
most  gire  heed  to,  I  must  remiiid  you  that  there 
iDcre  also  false  prophets  amumg  the  people — Of  Is- 
rael, whose  doctrine  and  pretended  predictions  were 
to  be  disbelieved  and  diisregatded,  and  whose  society 
was  to  be  shunned.  Under  the  name  oi  false  pro- 
p/keto,  that  appeared  among  the  Israelites  of  old, 
those  that  even  spake  the  truth,  when  God  had  not 
sent  them,  might  be  comprehended ;  and  also  those 
that  were  truly  sent  of  him,  and  yet  corrupted  or 
softened  their  message.  Even  as  there  shail  he 
false  teachers — As  well  as  true ;  ajnong  you — Chris- 
thms.  The  entrance  of  false  teachers  into  the  church 
of  Christ,  their  impious  doctrines,  their  success  in 
perverting  many,  and  the  influence  of  their  doctrines 
in  corrupting  the  morals  of  their  disciples,  were  all 
very  early  made  knownby  the  Spirit  to  the  Apostle 
Paul,  as  we  learn  from  his  speech  to  the  elders  of 
Ephesus,  and  from  his  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians, 
to  Timothy,  and  to  Titus.  The  same  discoveries 
were  made  to  the  Apostles  Pe^r,  John,  and  Jude, 
who,  as  well  as  Paul,  published  them  in  their  writ- 
ings, that  the  faithful  might  oppose  these  false  teach- 
ers, and  conftite  their  errors,  as  soon  as  they  appear- 
ed. Peter,  therefore,  here  records  the  revelation 
which  was  made  to  him  concerning  the  false  teach- 
ers who  were  to  arise  in  the  church,  and  concerning 
their  destructive  ways.  But,  lest  the  prospect  of 
these  gfeat  evils  should  grieve  the  faithful  too  much, 
as  suggesting  a  fear  that  Ood  had-  forsaken  his 
church,  he  observes,  by  way  of  preface,  that  such  a 
thing  was  not  unexampled ;  because  that,  together 
with  many  true  prophets,  there  were  also  many  false 
ones  in  God's  ancient  church,  which,  however,^  God 
had  not  therefore  forsi^en,  but  continued  to  superin- 
tend and  take  care  of  it.  Who  privily  shaU  bring 
in — Into  the  church ;  damnable^  or  destructive  here- 
sies^ As  aiptaeic  amtXaac  signifies;  understanding  by 
the  word  heresies  not  only  fundamental  errors  in 
doctrine  and  practice,  but  divisions  and  parties  occa- 
sioned by  them,  formed  among  the  faithfbL  See 
note  on  1  Cor.  xl.  18, 1©.  Even  dertying  the  Lord 
that  bought  tAem— They  either,  first,  by  denying  the 
Lord,  introduced  destructive  divisions,  or  they  oc- 
casioned first  those  divisions,  and  then  were  given 
up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  even  to  deny  the  Lord,  both  by 
their  doctrine  and  their  works.  By  the  Lord  here  may 
oe  understood  either  the  Father,  who  hath  redeemed 
ipankindby  the  blood  of  his  Son,  or  the  Son,  who  hath 
b 


wajrs ;  by  reason  of  whom  the  way  of  a.  m.  4070. 
truth  shall  be  evfl  spoken  of.  h.J>.9», 

3  And  ^through  covetousness  shall  they  with 
feigned  words  'make  merchandise  of  you: 
^  whoBe  judgment  now  of  a  long  time  liogereth 
not,  and  their  damnation  elumbereth  not 

4  F<Hr  if  God  spared  not  ^  the  angels  ^  that  sinnedi 

TMd.— ^ Rom.  ztL  IS;  1  Tim.  ▼!.  5.->— <2  Cor.  ii.  17 ;  Clwp. 

i.  16.— k  Dent.  xxxiL  35. *  Job  ir.  IS ;  Jude  6. k  John 

▼iii.  44 ;  1  John  iii.  6. 

bought  them  with  his  own  blood.  Observe,  reader, 
the  persons  here  spoken  of  as  denying  the  Lord,  ana 
therefore  as  perishing  everlastingly,  were  neverthe- 
less bought  by  him;  by  which  it  appears  that  even 
those  who  finally  perish  were  bought  with  the  blood 
of  Christ ;  a  full  proof  this  of  the  truth  of  the  doc- 
trine of  general  redemption.  And  bring  upon  them- 
selves swift  destruction — Future  and  eternal  misery. 

Verses  2,  3.  And  many  shall  follow  their  perni- 
cious tray«^-Their  destructive  doctrines,  and  sinful 
practices.  By  reason  ofuhom'the  way  of  truth — 
The  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  and  the  genuine  religion 
of  Christ ;  sJuzU  be  evil  spoken  of— By  many  others, 
who  will  blend  all  false  and  true  Christians  together, 
as  if  the  errors  and  vices  of  those  members  who  are 
corrupted  were  to  be  charged  on  those  who  are  not 
infected  with  their  disorders ;  or  the  vices  of  a  few 
were  to  be  imputed  to  all.  And  through  covetous- 
ness—UhYlng  nothing  in  view  but  worldly  gain; 
shall  they— fi&mely,  the  false  teachers  here  spoken 
of;  with  feigned  words—Words  formed  to  deceive, 
smooth  and  artful  speeches,  such  as  covetous  mer- 
chants, or  unfair  traders,  make  use  of  to  put  off  bad 
goods;  make  merchandise  of  you — Use  you  to  gain 
by  you.  "  In  this  single  sentence,"  siays  Macknight, 
"there  is  a  clear  prediction  of  the  iniquitous  prac- 
tices of  those  great  merchants  of  souls,  the  Romish 
clergy,  who  have  rated  all  crimes,  even  the  most 
atrocious,  at  a  fixed  price ;  so  that  if  their  doctrine 
be  true,  whoever  pays  the  price  may  commit  the 
crime  without  hazarding  his  salvation."  XVliose  judg- 
ment now  of  a  long  time  lingereth  not — ^Was  long 
ago  determined,  and  will  be  executed  speedily.  All 
sinners  are  adjudged  to  destruction;  and  God's 
pumshing  some  proves  he  will  punish  the  rest ;  and 
their  damnation  slumbereth  not — How  fondly  soever 
they  may  dream  of  escaping  it.  Thus,  while  the 
apostle  asserts  the  justice  of  God,  he  declares  his  pa- 
tience. He  is  slow  to  punish,  that  sinners  may  have 
time  to  repent  But  if  they  continue  impenitent,  he 
win,  without  fail,  punish  them  at  last. 

Verse  4.  For  if— Or  since,  as  et  yap  may  be  here 
rendered;  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned— 
^  The  angels  seem  to  have  been  placed  originally  in 
a  stat^  of  trial.  Those  who  stood  are  called  in 
Scripture,  tJie  holy  angels.  The  sin  of  the  angels  is 
spoken  of  likewise,  John  viii.  44,  and  Jude,  verse  6,  . 
as  a  thing-  well  known.  Perhaps  it  was  handed 
down  by  tradition  f^om  Adam  and  Eve,  for  the 
memory  of  It  seems  to  have  been  preserved  among 
the  heathens  in  the  foble  of  the  Titans  warring 
087 


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H.  FBTBB. 


foaUaskMthe^DUMLbepmMUA 


A.  M.  4070.  but '  cast  them  down  to  helL  and  de- 

A   Ti   66 

-J— 1 — L  livered  them  into  chains  of  darknees, 
to  be  reserved  unto  judgment ; 

6  And  spared  not  the  old  world,  but 
saved  "Noah  the  eighth  person,  *a  preach- 
er of  righteousness,   ^  bringing  in  the  flood 


» Luke  Tiii.  31 ;  Rer.  xx.  2,  3. 

xL7;  1  Peter  uL20.- 


>  Genesis  rii.  1,  7, 23 ;  Heb. 
— ■  1  Pet.  iii.  19. 


against  the  gods.  What  the  sin  of  the  angels  was  is 
not  well  known.  Jude,  verse  6,  says,  They  kepi  not 
their  first  estate^  or  their  awn  principalityj  as  np/ 
iovTQv  apxnv  may  be  properly  rendered,  hut  left  their 
proper  habitation.  Hence  their  sin,  by  many,  is 
thought  to  have  been  pride,  and  a  discontent  with 
their  station.  See  1  Tim.  iii.  6.  But  whatever  it 
was,  considering  their  high  intellectual  powers,  they 
might  easily  have  avoided  it ;  and  therefore  God  did 
not  spare  them,  as  he  spared  Adam  and  Eve,  who, 
on  account  of  the  greatness  of  the  temptation  spread 
for  Uiem  by  the  evil  angels,  and  their  own  inexpe- 
rience, were  fit  objects  of  mercy."  But  cast  them 
down  to  hell— The  bottomless  pit,  a  place  of  un- 
known misery.  The  original  expression,  oUa  petpatc 
Co^tf  TapTapoaac,  b  rendered  by  Macknight,  But  with 
chains  of  darkness  confining  them  in  Tartarus. 
The  word  TartaruSyYie  observes^  is  not  found  in  the 
LXX.,  nor  anywhere  in  the  New  Testament  but 
here.  Its  meaning,  therefore,  must  be  sought  for 
among  the  Greeks.  Homer  represents  Tartarus, 
Biady  viiL  L  13,  as  "  a  deep  place  under  the  earth, 
where  there  are  iron  gates  and  a  brazen  entrance," 
It  is  derived  from  a  word  expressive  of  terror,  and 
signifies  the  doleful  prison  in  which  wicked  spirits 
are  reserved  till  they  shall  be  brought  out  to  public 
condemnation  and  execution.  In  like  manner,  He- 
siod  speaks  of  Tartarus  as  a  place  far  under  ground, 
where  the  Titans  are  bound  with  chains  in  thicJL 
darkness.  But  on  other  occasions  the  Greek  writers 
speak  of  Tartarus  as  in  the  air,  and  at  the  extremity 
of  the  earth.  Hence  the  epithet  Taprapov  n^x^evTa^ 
airy  Tartants,  T)re  Jews,  as  appears  from  Job  ii. 
12,  thought  that  at  least  some  of  the  fallen  angels 
were  permitted  to  wander  up  and  down  the  earth, 
and  to  tempt  men.  This  was  the  doctrine  of  the 
evangelists  likewise,  who  speak  of  the  devil  tempt- 
ing our  Lord ;  and  of  Peter,  who  represents  him  as 
a  roaring  lion  walking  about,  &c.,  1  Epist.  v.  8;  as 
also  of  St.  Paul,  who  insinuates  that  evil  spirits  have 
their  habitation  in  the  air,  Eph.  ii.  2;  vi.  11,  12. 
Wherefore  seeing  the  Greeks  named  the  place  where 
they  supposed  the  Titans,  the  enemies  of  the  gods, 
were  confined,  Tartarus,  it  was  natural  for  Peter, 
when  writing  in  the  Greek  language,  concerning 
confining  the  evil  angels  in  the  place  where  they 
were  shut  up,  to  call  it  Tartarus,  although  his  idea 
of  Tartarus  was  different  from  that  of  the  Greeks. 
Because  it  is  said.  Rev.  xx.  3^  that  Satan  was  cast^ 
etc  a6tHr<Tov,  into  the  abyss,  and  Luke  vilL  31,  that  the 
devil  besought  Jesus  that  he  would  not  command 
them  to  go  otrf,  9i(  a6vaaov,  into  the  abyss,  Estius  in- 
fers that  Tartarus  and  Hell  a^e  the  same;  and  that 


upon  the  wcMrld  of  the   ungodty;  ^m.  •fom 
6  AndPtumiDgthecatiBeofSodom   ^^-^ 


and  Cromorrah  into  ashes,  cc»demiiDd  them$ 
with  an  ovartbrow,  ^makiiig  them  ui  en* 
sample  unto  those  that  after  should  live  ua* 
godly; 


>  Chap.  iii.  6.- 


PGen-  xix.  24;    Dent  rdx. 
4  Nniir.  zxri.  10. 


23;    Jndt  7. 


the  greatest  part  of  the  angels  who  mnned  are  osn* 
fined  there,  though  some  of  them  are  allowed  to 
roam  about  on  the  earthy  tempting  men.  See  Mack- 
night  and  Doddridge.  Reserped  unto  judgment-^ 
The  full  execution  and  open  manifestation  thereof. 
From  this  it  follows  that  the  angels  who  sinned  are 
not  at  present  suffering  the  punishment  due  to  them 
for  their  crimes ;  but,  like  malefactors,  they  are  kepi 
in  durance  till  the  time  come  when  they  are  to  be 
punished  with  the  wicked  of  mankind,  whom  they 
have  seduced.  Whitby  hath  shown  that  this  was 
the  opinion  of  all  the  Christian  writers  for  five  cen- 
turies. And  it  is  agreeable  to  our  Lord's  doctrine, 
who  says,  the  fire  into  which  wicked  men  are  to  be 
cast,  is^re  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 

Verse  6.  And  spared  not  the  old — The  antedi- 
luvian ;  world,  but  saved  Abo^r— Interposed  amidst 
t^e  general  ruin  for  the  preservation  of  one  good 
man  and  his  family ;  the  eighth  person,  a  prettcher, 
&c.— Bishop  Pearson  translates  this  clause,  the  eighth 
preacher  of  righteousness ;  supposing  ihAi  Enodi, 
(Gen.  V.  24,)  from  whom  Noah  was  descended,  was 
the  first  preacher  of  righteousness,  and  that  aU  the 
intermediate  persons  were  likewise  preachers  there- 
of, and  that  Christ  preached  by  fhem  all.  But  of 
this  there  is  no  evidence ;  and  it  seems  certain  that 
Enoch  could  not  be  the  first  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness :  Adam  was,  in  a  wonderful  manner,  fitted  to 
perform  that  office  in  the  first  world,  as  N(»h  was  m 
the  second ;  and  what  excellent  instructions  both 
might  give,  is  easy  to  be  conceived !  Bishop  Pear- 
son adds,  that  if  the  above-mentioned  sense  of  the 
passage  be  not  admitted,  it  may  be  understood  as 
denoting,  not  the  order  in  which  Noah  was  ranked, 
but  merely  the  number  of  persons  that  were  with 
him,  namely,  Noah  with  seven  others,  or  Noah  one 
of  eight  By  terming  Noah  a  preacher,  laipvKa,  a 
crier,  or  herald,  of  righteousness^  Peter  intimates 
that  all  the  time  Noah  was  preparing  the  ark,  he 
proclaimed  to  the  antediluvians  the  destruction  of 
the  world  by  a  flood,  that  from  the  dread  of  that  im- 
pending judigment  of  God  they  might  be  brought  to 
repentance.  His  preacl^ing,  however,  it  appears, 
was  attended  with  littie  or  no  success.  Bringing 
in  the  flood— In  a  gradual,  but  irresistible  manner; 
upon  the  world  of  the  ungodly— Vftioee  numbers 
stood  them  in  no  stead. 

Verses  6-8.  And  turning  the  cities  ofSodom,^.^ 
into  ashes— When  the  inhabitants  of  tiiose  pieces 
were  sunk  into  the  lowest  degeneracy;  amd  con- 
demned them  i0i(A  an  onert&roi^— Punished  them 
with  utter  destruction,  both  of  their  persons  and 
habitations ;  making  them  an  ensample—Soi  an  ar 

b 


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CEAPTKR  XL 


lmif9»kM€$ihewirighieou9. 


A.  M  407a  7  And  'deKvered  just  Lot,  vexed 
_L-: —  with  the  filthy  conyenatioii  of  the 
Wicfced: 

8  ('  For  that  righteouB  mto  dwdling  among 
them,  ^  in  seehig  aiid  heaiiag,  vexed  his  right- 
eous soul  from  day  to  day  w^  tftatr  imlawfid 
deedf  f) 

9  "^  The  LoidJaiioweth  how  todeUfer  the  godly 
oat  of  temptations,  and  to  leserve  the  tmjmt 
iHrto  the  di^  of  judgment  to  be  punished : 

10  But  chiefly  '  them  that  walk  after  the  flesh 


'Oen.  xix.  16. ■  Wiad.  nx.  17. *  Pta,  cxix.  139,  168; 

Esek.  ix,  4. ^Fm.  xnriT.  17, 19 ;  1  Cor.  x.  13. »  Jude  4, 


ample  to  be  imitated,  bnt  an  example  to  be  avoided, 
as  the  word  vwodeiyfn,  here  used,  signifies.  Hence 
Jnde,  to  express  the  same  idea,  uses  Uie  word  inyfiu. 
And  delivered  jml  Loi—By  the  miraei^dous  interpo- 
sition of  his  providence ;  vexed  with  thefiUhy  can- 
venation  of  (Ae  leic&e*— Exceedingly  grieved  by 
the  lewd  behaviour  of  the  lawless  Sodomites.  For 
that  righteow  man^  dwelling  among  them^Lot  ap- 
pears to  have  dwelt  sixteen  years  in  Sodom,  after 
he  parted  from  Abraham ;  a  long  space  to  abide  in 
one  of  the  lewdest  and  most  outrageously  wicked 
cities  in  the  worid,  and  not  be  tainted  with  thdr 
vices.  Doubtless,  as  he  was  so  exceedingly  grieved 
with  their  lewd  conduct  from  day  to  day,  he  often 
earnestly  desired  to  leave  the  place,  but  he  was  di- 
rected, it  seems,  by  God,  to  remain,  ^at  he  might  be 
an  examine  of  the  divine  goodness  and  power  in 
delivering  the  godly  from  temptation,  sin,  and  pu- 
mshment.  In  eeeing  their  base  actions,  and  in 
hearing  their  lewd  speeches,  he  vexedr^ESatravi^ev, 
tormented;  kia  right&otts  $otd  from  day  to  day— 
For  thefar  wickedness  was  incessant ;  voUh  their  un^ 
lawfid  deetir— The  cry  of  which  came  up  at  length 
to  heaven,  and  brought  down  upon  them  flaming 
destruction.  " 

Verse  0.  Hie  Lord,  &c.-=-This  answers  to  verse 
4,  and  closes  the  sense  which  was  begun  there; 
knoweih  how  to  deHver^As  if  he  had  said,  R  plainly 
appears,  from  these  instances,  that  the  Lord  hath 
both  wisdom  and  power  sufficient,  or  can  find  out 
ways  and  means,  and  will  do  so ;  to  deliver  the  godly 
^Those  who  now  sufler  persecution ;  out  of  tempt- 
ofiofw^That  is,  trials  and  afflictions  of  various  kinds ; 
and  to  reserve^-Oty  keep  in  ward,  as-  it  were ;  (so 
Tffpiiv  seems  here  to  signify ;)  the  unjust-^The  un- 
righteous, or  ungodly ;  unto  the  day  of  judgment— 
Temporal  and  eternal ;  to  be  pwiiihed—lxi  a  niost 
signal  manner,  or  with  a  severity  becoming  their 
gidlt  and  wickedness.  ^The  multitude  of  the  m- 
habitants  of  the  old  world,  and  of  the  cities  of  the 
plain,  was,  in  the  eye  of  God,  no  reason  fbr  not  de- 
stroy big  them.  He  destroyed  them  all  at  once.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  few  godly  persons  among  them 
were  not  overlooked  by  God  because  &ey  were 
few,  but  preserved  by  an  hnmediate  interposiUon 
of  lUs  power.  This  last  observation  Peter  makes  to 
show  that,  notwithstttiding  God  permits  fUse  teachr 
b 


4070. 
,60. 


in  the  lust  irfuncleanness,  and  despise  a.m. 
^government    ^  Presumptuous  are   ^'^      . 
they^  self-willed ;  they  are  not  afiuid  to  speak 
evilofdignitiGb. 

11  Whereas  *  angels,  which  are  greater  in 
power  and  might,  bring  not  railing  accusation 
^  against  them  heSore  the  Lord. 

12  But  these,  *  as  natural  brute  beasts,  made 
to  be  taken  and  destroyed,  speak  evil  of  the 
things  that  they  understand  not ;  and  shall  ut* 
teriy  perish  in  their  own  corruption : 


7,   S,   10,  16. •Or,  dominion,- 

*  Some  read,  ogamH  themselve*. 


—  yJode   a »Jude 

»Jer.  xii.  3;  Jude  10. 


ers  to  arise  and  deceive  many,  he  will  preserve  the 
sineere  from  being  deluded  hy  them,  and  at  len^h 
will  destroy  them  out  of  the  church.  By  God's 
keeping  the  unrighteous  in  ward  to  be  punished  at 
the  day  of  judgment,  we  are  taught  that  the  punbh- 
ment  inflicted  ^on  the  wicked  in  this  life,  will  not 
hinder  them  from  being  punished  in  the  next  The 
principal  part  of  their  punishment  will  be  that  which 
they  fi^all  suffer  after  the  judgment." 

Verses  10,  li.  But  chiefly  them  that  walk  after 
theJleshr-^Thm  corrupt  nature ;  particularly  in  th^ 
lusts  ofuncleanness — Which  arc  especially  detesta- 
Ue  in  the  eye  of  God ;  and  the  crimes  they  comn^ 
so  much  resemble  those  of  Sodom,  that  it  is  the  less 
to  be  wondered  at  if  they  share  in  its  punishment ;  and 
with  them  may  be  joined  those  who  despise  govemr 
ment — ^The  authority  of  their  governors.  Presump- 
tuous— To^ijTaiy  audacious,  ready  to  venture  upon 
any  thing  that  may  serve  their  purposes ;  self-willed 
— UncontroUi^e  in  their  own  designs  and  ways ; 
tJiey  are  not  afraid  to  speak  evil  of  dignities — Of 
persons  in  the  highest  dignity.^  Whereas,  angels — 
When  they  appear  before  the  Lord,  (Job.  L  6 }  ii. !,) 
to  give  an  account  of  what  they  have  seen  and  done 
in  the  earth ;  even  those  who  arc  greater  in  power 
and  might — ^Than  the  rest  of  those  glorious  beings  \ 
bring  not  railing  accusation  against  them — With 
whom  they  contend,  namely,  the  devil,  (as  Jude, 
verse  9,)  or,  when  they  speak  of  rulers,  they  speak 
honourably  of  them,  Dto.  iv.  SI ;  and,  always  avoid- 
ing all  violence  of  language,  they,  with  all  calmness 
and  decency,  dedare  matters  as  they  are,  revering 
the  presence  of  God,  how  much  soever  they  may 
abhor  the  characters  of  wicked  men. 

Verses  12-14.  But  these— VeUse  teachers ;  as  na- 
tural brute  beasts— As  irrational  animals,  led  merely 
by  their  brutish  inclinations,  several  of  which,  in  tho 
present  disordered  state  of  the  world,  seem  to  be 
made  to  be  taken  and  destroyed  by  mankind.  He 
speaks  chiefly  of  savage  beasts,  which  men  for  their 
own  security  and  preservation  hunt  down  and  de- 
stroy ;  speak  eril  of  things  that  they  understand 
no^— Namely,  the  mysteries  of  Christianity;  or 
magistracy,  the  institution,  use,  and  benefit  whereof 
they  understand  not;  and  shall  utterly  perish  in 
their  own  corruption— In  that  kK>se  and  abandoned 
coorse  of  liffe  to  which  they  have  given  up  them- 
6W 


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n.  nTER. 


apeeiafee  atd  eetbteete: 


A.  M.  4070.  13  ^And  shall  ^receive  the  rewitrd 
— 1-J —  of  unrigbteousaesB,  as  they  that 
count  it  pleasure  ®to  riot  in  the  day-time. 
'Spots  they  are  and  Uemisjies,  sporting  them- 
selves with  their  own  deceiyings  while  *  they 
feast  with  you ; 
14  Having  eyes  fiill  of  ^adultery,,  and  that 
cannot  cease  from  sin;  beguiling  imstable 
souls:    ^a   heart   they   have  exercised  with 


^PhiL  Hi.  10.- 


'  Rom.  xiii.  13. — 
SO,  81. 


>Jode  12.- 


•iCor.jd. 


selvei^  John  viiL  21 ;  who  account  it  pleaettre  to  riot 
in  the  day-time — ^Reckon  it  their  chief  happiness  to 
pursue,  even  in  the  broad  light  of  day,  those  riotous 
and  voluptuous  courses,  which. one  would  suppose 
they  would  endeavour  to  conceal  under  the  cover 
of  night.  SeelThe8s.v.7;Ifla.iiL9.  Spotethefare— 
In  themselves ;  and  blemishee — To  any  church ;  eport- 
ing  themselves  vnth  their  ovm  deceivings^M^iang 
a  jest  of  those- whom  they  deceive,  and  even  jesting 
while  they  are  deceiving  their  own  souls ;  while  they 
feast  with  you — ^When  they  join  with  you  in  the 
love-feasts.  ^  The  primitive  Christians  were  used  to 
feast  together  befi^re  Ihey  celebrated  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, because  it  was  instituted  by  Chri^  after  he  had 
eaten  the  passover  with  his  disciples.  See  1  Cor. 
xi.  21.  These  previous  suppers,  it  appears  from 
Jude,  verse  13,  were  called  ayairtu^  love-feasts ;  be- 
cause the  rich,  by  feasting  their  poor  brethren, 
expressed  their  love  to  them.  But  on  these  occa- 
sions, it  seems,  the  &lse  teachers  and  their  disciples 
were  guilty  of  great  intemperance.  Having  eyes 
Jull  of  adultery — ^Many  of  them  are  as  lewd  as  they 
are  gluttonous.  The  Greek  is,  more  literally,  hav- 
ing eyes  full  of  an  adulteress;  a  very  strong  ex- 
pression, implying  their  having  an  adulteress  con- 
tinually before  their  eyes;  and  that  eannot^Or 
who  act  as  if  they  could  not ;  cease  from  sin;  he- 
guUing—AeXea^ovTecy  insnaring;  unstable  souls — 
Such  as  are  not  established  in  the  faith  and  practice 
of  tiie  gospel.  A  heart  exercised  with  covetous 
practices — Well  experienced  in  such  contrivances 
as  are  calculated  to  promote  their  gain  and  carnal 
mterest.  Cursed  children— FeiBOus  worthy  to  be 
had  in  utter  abomination,  and  peculiarly  exposed  to 
the  curse  of  God. 

Verse  15.  Which  have  forsaken  the  right—-Evde- 
«av,  straight;  iray— Theway  of  truth  and  integrity, 
and  are  gone  astray— Yksy^  wandered  in  dangerous 
and  destructive  paths;  following  the  way  of  Ba- 
laam the  son  of  Bosor—(8o  the  Chaldeans  pro- 
nounced what  the  Jews  called  Bear,)  namely,  the 
ways  of  covetousness.  Balaam  loved  wealth  and 
honour  so  much,  that  to  obtain  them  he  acted  c<m- 
trary  to  his  conscience.  To  follow  his  way,  there- 
fore, Js  to  be  guided  by  similar  base  passions,  and  to 
commit  dmilar  base  actions;  who  loved  the  wages 
of  unrighteousness— ^^When  Balaam  was  first  sent 
for  to  curse  the  Israelites,  Balak's  messengers  carried 
only  the  rewards  of  divination  in  their  hands,  Num. 
640 


practices ;     cursed    ebil- 


A.  M.  4070. 

A.  D.  se. 


covetous 
dren: 

15  Which  have  fixsaken  the  right  way,  and 
are  gone  astray,  following  the  ]Mray  of  «  Balaam 
the  9on  of  Boeor,  who  loved  the  wage&  <tf  na- 
lig^teonsnesB ; 

16  But  was  rebuked  for  his  uiiquky :  tbedomb 
age,  speakyig  with  man's  voice,  fivbade  the  mad- 
ness of  the  prophet 


«0r.  mi  adM2ter«M.— -iJiide  11.— -^Nnm.  xxii.  5,7,2l,23» 
28;  Jodell. 


xxiL  7:  and  therefore  when  God  fbrhade  him  to  go^ 
he  easily  acquiesced,  and  refused  to  go,  verse  13. 
But  when  Balak  sent  a  second  request  by  more 
honourable  messengers,  and  with  them  a  promise  to 
promote  him  to  very  great  honour,  and  to  do  what- 
ever he  idiould  say  to  him,  Balaa^i,  inflamed  with 
the  love  of  the  promised  hire,'endeavoured  a  second 
time  to  obtain  permission  to  go.  And  though  God 
allowed  him  to  go,  on  the  express<condition  that  he 
should  do  nothing  in  &e  affiiir  without  his  order,  Ba- 
laam went  with  tlbe  resolution  of  cursing  the  Israd- 
ites,  whether  God  permitted  him  or  not  f^  as  evidently 
appears  from  the  circumstances  of  the  story,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred.  ^' And  though  he  so 
£ur  obeyed  God  that  he  Uessed  the  Israelites,  it  waK 
no  dictate  of  his  heart,  but  a  suggestion  of  the  ^irit 
of  God,  which  he  could  not  resist  For  diat  his  loTe 
of  the  hire,  and  his  inclination  to  curse  the  Israelites 
contmned,  he  showed  by  his  behaviour  afterward, 
when,  to  bring  the  curse  of  God  upon  the  Israelites, 
he  counselled  Balak  to  entice  them  to  fornication 
and  idolatry  by  means  of  the  Midianitirii  women. 
Numbers  xxxi.  16;  Rev.  ii.  14  z**  in  giving  which 
advice  he  acted  most  unrighteously,  knowiiig  it 
to  be  evil,  and  that  God's  purpose  concerning  the 
Israelites  was  irrevocable.  Numbers  xxiii.  19,  Ac 
^'  He  therefore  gave  the  advice,  not  in  the  persuasioii 
that  it  would  be  effectual,  but  merely  to  gain  tiie 
promised  hire,  which  therefore  is  called  the  hire  of 
unrighteousness.  In  these  things  the  false  teachers^ 
who,  to  draw  money  from  their  disciples,  encou- 
raged them  by  their  doctrine  to  commit  all  manner 
of  lewdness,  might  well  be  said  Xo  follow  in  the  way 
of  Baalam;  and  their  doctrine  might  justly  be 
called,  the  doctrine  ©/"JJa/aam."— Macknight 

Verse  16.  But  was  rebuked  for  his  iniquity — In  a 
very  extraordinary  manner;  the  dumb  ass — On 
which  he  rode;  speaking  with  tnan^s  voice — ^That 
is,  in  man's  language;  forbade  the  madness  of  the 
prophet— Nhxmly,  his  endeavour  to  contradict  the 
will  of  God,  which  might  well  be  cidled  madnesSy 
because  it  could  have  no  effect  but  to  bring  the  cuise 
of  God  upon  himselil  "  The  apostle  does  not  mean 
that  the  ass  foibade  Balaam,  in  so  many  words,  to 
go  with  the  princes  of  Moab ;  but  that  her  unwil- 
lingness to  proceed  in  the  journey, her  falling  down 
under  him  rather  than  go  on,  her  complaint  in  man's 
language  of  hissmitrog  her  three  times  for  not  going 
on,  and  her  saying,  Was  lever  wont  to  do  so  to  ihesy 

b 


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CBAPTER  U. 


is  icar$e  than  ihejlr$t 


A*  M.  4aia    17  ^  Thea^  are  wefls  without  water, 

!^ —  ekmds  that  are  carried  with  a  tempest; 

to  whom  the  mist  of  darkness  iareaervedibr.eyer. 

18  For  wfaea  >they  speak  great  sw^ing 
ipards  of  vaaily,  they  aOure  tfmmgh  die  fccsts 
of  the  flesh}  through  much  wantomiess,  those 
that  ^  were  ^  clean  escaped  from  them  who  live 
m -error. 

19  Whfle  they  promise  them  *  liberty,  they 
themsdves  tre  "  the  servants  of  c€»Tuption :  for 
of  whom  a  man  is  overc^m^  erf*  the  same  is  be 
brought  in  bondage. 

20  For  '  if  after  they  ®  have  escaped  the  pol- 


fcJude  12,  13. Unde  Ifi. *AcU  ii.  40;   Chap.  L  4; 

Vene  20.        *  Or,  for  a  littU,  or,  a  vJuU,  as  some  read. 
>  GaL  T.  13 ;   1  Pel.  h.  la ■  John  Tui.  34 ;  Rom.  tL  16. 


were  things  so  extraordinary,  especially lier  speak- 
ing, that  Balaam,  from  that  miracle  at  least,  ought  to 
have  understood  that  the  whole  was  a  rebuke  from 
God  of  his  foolish  project"  Though  Balaam  is 
termed  a  soothsay  er,  (Josdi.  xiii.  22,)  and  is  said  to 
have  used  enchantments,  (Num.  xxiv.  1,}  Peter  justly 
calls  him  a  prophet,  on  aoeount  of  God's  speaking  to 
him,  and  giving  him  a  very  remarkable  prophecy, 
recorded  Num.  xxiv.  15.  However,  being  a  very 
bad  man,  he  may  often  have  feigned  communications 
with  the  Deity  to  draw  money  from  the  multitude. 
Perhaps  the  c»ily  communications  he  ever  had  with 
God  were  on  this  occasion ;  and  they  may  havebeen 
granted  to  him,  that  by  uttering  them  in  the  hearing 
of  Bali^  and  of  the  princes  of  Moab  and  Midian,  the 
coming  of  one  out  of  Jacob,  who  was  to  have  domi- 
nion, might  be  known  to  the  nations  of  the  East 

Verse  17.  These  are  uoeUs  vnihoul  water^  Ac;— 
Pretenders  to  knowledge  and  piety,^  but  really  desti- 
tute thereof;  clotM^^^Promising  fertilLiing  siiowers 
of  instructive  and  edifying  doctrine,  but  yielding 
none;  carried  with  a  tempest — Driven  by  the 
violence  of  their  own  lusts  from  one  error  ao^  vice 
to  another;  to  whom  the  mtX— O  ^^,  the  black- 
ness; of  darkness  is  reserved  for  eDcr^Eternal 
darkness.  Frequently  in  Scripture  the  word  Jor/c- 
ness  signijfies  a  state  of  disconsolate  misery;  here  it 
denotes  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  after  the  day 
of  judgment ;  which  our  Lord  a)so  hath  represented 
by  persons  being  cast  into  outer  darkness.  ^  There 
being  few  wells  and  little  rain  in  the  eastern  comi- 
tries,  for  a  thirsty  traveller  to  come  to  a  well  that 
had  no  water,  was  a  grievous  disappointment;  as  it 
was  also  to  the  husbandman  to  see  clouds  arise  which 
gave  him  the  prospect  of  rain,  but  which,  ending  in 
a  tempest,  instead  of  refreshing,  destroyed  the  fruits 
of  the  earth.  By  these  comparisons  the  ostentation, 
hypocrisy,  levity,  and  mischief  of  the  false  teachers 
are  set  forth  in  the  strongest  colours." 

Verses  18, 19.  When  they  speak  great  swelHng 
itords  of  vanity — ^Propose  their  vain  and  false  doc- 
trine in  a  lofty  style,  or  affect  sublime  strains  of  lan- 
guage, whidi  are  often  void  of  any  real  meaning; 
they  allure  through  the  lusts  ofthefleshr-'By  allow- 

voL.  n.  (  ^i ) 


lutions  of  the  world  ''through  the  A.M.4070. 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour  ^^'^^ 
Jeeos  Christ,  they  are  again  entangled  therdn, 
and  overcome,  the  latter  rad  is  worse  with  them 
than  the  b^mi^ng. 

21  For  "t  it  had  been  better  for  them  not  to 
have  known^  the  way  of  righteousness,  than^ 
after  they  have  known  U,  to  turn  fifom  the  holy 
commandment  delivered  unto  them. . 

22  But  it  is  happened  unto  them  according  to 
the  true  proverb,'  The  dog  is  tpmed  to  his  own 
vomit  again ;  and  the  sow  that  was  wadied, 
to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire. 


BMatt.  xii.  45;    Luke  xi.  28;   Heb.  tI.  4,  &c.;    z.  26,  27. 

«  Chap.  i.  4 ;    Vewe  18. p  Chap.  i.  2. 1  Luke  xu.  47,  48 ; 

John  tx.  41 ;  xt.  22. '  ProT.  xxtL  11. 


ing  their  hearers  to  live  in  lewd  courses,  or  to  gratify 
some  unholy  desires  under  pretence  of  Christian 
liberty,  verses  10,  19 s  ikose^'Who,  as  Christians; 
were  clean  escaped  from  the  spirit,  customs,  and 
company  of  them  that  live  in  error— That  is,  in  sin. 
In  other  words,  they  bring  back  again  to  their  former 
sensuality,  and  other  vices,  those  who,  having  been 
converted,  had  entirely  forsaken  their  former  evil 
ways  and  wicked  companions.  While  they  promise 
th^  liberty — From  needless  restraints  and  scruples, 
and  from  the  bondage  of  the  law;  they  themselves 
are  the  servants  of  corruption — Slaves  to  their  own 
lusts,  to  sin,  the  vilest  of  all  kinds  of  bondage ;  for 
of  whom — Or  what ;  a  man  is  overcome^  of  the  same 
thing  he  is  brought  into  bondage — Becomes  a  per- 
fect slave  to  it.  The  apostle  seems  here  to  allude  to 
the  ancient  custom  of  making  those  slaves  who  were 
conquered  or  taken  in  battle.  It  was  one  of  the 
Stoical  paradoxes,  that  the  wise  man  is  the  only^ree 
Tiian,  and  that  all  wicked  men  are  slaves.  This  maxim 
the  apostle  adopts,  and  supports  h  hi  a  sound  sense 
by  the  above  unanswerable  argument  Hence  our 
Lord  sa|d  to  the  Jews,  who  boasted  of  their  freedom, 
(John  viii.  34,)  Whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the 
sluve  of  sin.  Of  the  slavery  in  which  every  carnal 
man  lives,  St  Paul  has  given  us  a  lively  picture, 
Romans  vi.  16-SO. 

Verses  20-22.  For  if  after  they--The  persons 
here  spoken  of  as  deluded ;  have  escaped  the  poUn- 
tionsofthe  worW— The  sins  which  poUute  those 
who  know  not  God;  throughthe  knowledge  of  Christ 
—That  is,  through  faith  in  him,  chap.  i.  3;  they  are 
again  entangled  therein  and  oroercome,  the  latter 
c«d— Their  last  state )  is  worse  than  the  beginning 
—More  inexcusable,  and  exposing  them  to  a  greater 
condemnation.  For  it  had  been  fetter  fbr  them  not 
to  have  known  the  way  of  righieousness—As  set 
forth  in  the  gospel ;  than,  after  they  have  known  it, 
to  tumfirom  the  holy  commandment,  &c.— The  doc- 
trine of  Christ,  which  enjoins  nothhig^  but  what  is 
holy.  It  would  have  been  better,  because  their  sin 
would  have  been  less,  and  their  punishment  lighter. 
See  the  margin.  But  it  has  happened  unto  them  ac- 
cording to  the  true  pro^erfr— The  ancients  used  to 
641  b 


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IL  PBTEB. 


t^  deride  Ike  word  of  Cfod, 


sum  up  their  wisest  and  most  useful  obeervaticms  in 
short)  nervous,  and  impresnve  proverbs,  which  were 
jnore  easUy  understood,  and  better  remembered, 
than  long, laboured iliscourses.  TVudog,  the  aow— 
Unclean  creatures :  such  are  all  men  in  the  sight  of 
God  before  they  receive  his  grace,  and  after  thej 
have  made  shipwreck  of  tiie  faith.  These  proverbs 
teach  ps  the  absolute  necessity  of  constant  watchful- 
ness and  prayer,  self-denial  and  mortification,  in 
order  to  our  persevering  in  the  way  of  righteoos^ 
ness  after  we  have  entered  up<Hi .  it.  And,  as  some 
think,  they  teach  also  that  many,  if  not  most  of  those 
who  relapse  into  their  former  habits  of  sin,  had  con- 
tented themselves  with  a  mere  external  refbrmittion, 


and  bad  stopped  short  of  a  thotoagh  change  of  na- 
ture, or  being  made  new  creatures  In  Chrtet  Jesus. 
It  may  be  worth  observing,  that  the  former  of  these 
proverbs  is  found  Prov.  xxvi.  11,  and  the  latter  is 
said  to  have  been  a  common  proverb  among  the  an- 
cients: see  Ecd.  JonrL  24-86.  Horace  has  aptada 
reference  to  both  of  them,  lib.  i.  ep.  2.  L  26,  where  he 
is  speaking  of  the  travels  of  Ulysses,  and  says,  ''If 
he  had  been  conquered  by  the  charms  of  Circe,  he 
had  lived  like  an  impure  dog,  or  a  sow  that  is  fond 
of  the  mire."  Sorely  these  proverbs  w&l  not  be 
thought  coarse  orunpollte  in  St  Peter,  when  some 
of  the  most  elegant  writers  of  antiquity  have  made 
use  of^  or  referred  to  diem. 


CHAPTESR  in. 

In  ikU  chapter,  (1,)  The  apotUe  repreeenU  this  epistU  mm  being  eeni  to  remind  them  of  Christie  second  coming,  foretold  try 
the  prophets  and  apostles,  since  scegers  would  quickly  arise  to  deny  and  deride  it,  1-7.  (2,)  He  shows  the  irue  reason 
why  tMs  his  coming  is  so  deferred,  and  the  certain,  sudden,  and  awful  nature  of  it,  8-10.  (3,)  He  directs  them  how  to 
improve  it,  and  the  information  given  them  concerning -the  ^tw  state  of  the  world  that  will  attend  it,  as  a  powerful  motive 
to  holiness,  patience,  and  steadfastness  in  the  faith,  1 1-16. 


A.  M.  4070.  rpms   igecond  epistk,    beloved,    I 

— -^ now  write  unto  you ;    in  both 

which  *  I  stir  up  your  pure  minds  by  way  of 
remembrance : 

2  That  ye  may  be  mindful  of  the  words 
which  were  spoken  before  by  the  holy^  pro- 


•Chap.  L 


Jade  17. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  in, 
Verses  1, 2.  The  doctrines  and  precepts  delivered 
by  the  prophets  and  apostles,  being  the  most  effect- 
ual means  of  preserving  the  Christian  converts  from 
being  seduced  by  the  false  teachers  spc^en  of  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  the  apostle  begins  this  with  in- 
forming the  brethren  that  his  design  in  writing  both 
his  epistles  was  to  bring  these  doctrines  and  precepts 
rto  their  remembrance.  And  as  one  of  the  greatest 
of  these  men's  errors  was  their  denjring  the  coming 
of  Christ  to  judge  the  world,  and  destroy  this  mun- 
dane system,  he  first  exhorts  tiie  brethren  to  recol- 
lect what  the  holy  prophets  had  anciently  spoken  on 
this  subject,  together  with  the  commandments  of  the 
apostles  of  Christ  to  their  disciples,  to  expect  and 
prepare  for  these  events.  His  saying,  7!fiw  second 
epUtle  I  now  write,  &C.,  implies  that  he  had  written 
a  former  one  to  the  same  people,  and  hehere  affirms 
tnat  in  them  both  he  had  one  great  end  in  view, 
which  was  to  stir  up  their  minds  (which  he  terms 
pure,  or  rather  sincere,  as  etAucpo^  more  properly 
signifies)  to  keep  in  remembrance  and  lay  to  heart 
what  had  been  already  taught  them  on  fliese  import- 
ant subjects,  so  as  to  be  properly  influence  by  it. 
The  holy  prophets  intended,  who  had  Bp<>ken  of 
these  things,  were  chiefly  Enoch,  mentioned  Jude, 
verses  14^  15;  David,  Psa.  1. 1-6;  Ixxv.  8;  and  Daniel, 
chap.  xii.  ^ 

648 


phets,  ^and  of  the  commandment  a.  M.  4070. 
of  us  the  apostles  of  the  Lord  and  — '-^ — 
Saviour : 
3  ^  Knowing  this  first,  that  there  diall  come 
in  the  last  days  scoffers,  ^  walking  afler  theif 
own  lusts, 

«  1  Tim.  iy.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iu.  1 ;  Jude  la *  C5h*p,  ii.  10. 

Yersed.  ITnoi^ng- t^t>  ^r•^-That  your  fieuth  in 
the  prophetic  word  may  not  be  shaken,  but  that  you 
maybe«rmed  and  prepared  for  the  trial;  that  there 
shall  come  in  the  last  days—The  expression  here 
used,  sn*  eoxara  ruv  vfupav,  is  different  from  v^potc 
Xfxn^ti,  future,  or  UUter  times,  (1  Tim.  iv,  1,)  and 
from  eoxaratc  nfupai^,  the  last  days,  2  iMm.  iii.  1.  It 
is  also  different  from  eif  taxaruv  ruv  xpovuv,  these  last 
times,  I  Pet  L  20.  And  it  probably  means  the  last 
part  o(  the  days  of  the  world's  duration.  Scoffers — 
Or  mockers,  who  shall  ridicule  the  expectation  of 
such  awful  events,  and  deride  the  truths,  promises, 
and  threatenlngs  of  the  divine  word ;  walking  after 
their  own  lusts — Influenced  by  their  appetites  and 
passions,  and  their  earthly  and  sensual  inclinations. 
Here  the  apostle  has  laid  open  the  true  source  of 
infidelity,  and  of  men's  scoffing  at  religion.  "  They 
may  pretend  to  religion,"  as  Dr.  Benson  says,  "but 
they  are  governed  by  sense  and  appetite,  and  they 
take  refuge  in  infidelity,  and  scoff  at  religion,  to 
make  themselves  easy  in  their  vices."  "When  the 
apostle  .wrote  this  passage,  there  were  Epicureans 
and  others  among  the  Gentiles,  and  Sadducees 
among  the  Jews,  who  ridiculed  the  promises  of  the 
gospel  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the 
general  judgment,  the  destruction  of  the  earth,  and 
a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments.  Where- 
fore, seeing  the  scoffers,  of  whom  St.  Peter  here 
(  41»  )  b 


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CHAPTER  m. 


are  reeerted/or  destruction. 


A.  M.  4(r7a  4  And  saying,  *  Where  is  the  pro- 
''  miie  of  h]0  ooming?  fi>r  since  the 
tubers  IdLaskep,  all  thmgs  continue  as  thejf 
iMTs  from  the  begiaoing  of  the  cr^tloii. 
6  For  this  they  willingly  are  ignorant 
€ij  that  '  by  the  word  of  God  the  hea- 
vens were  of  old)  and  the  earth  ^standing 


•Isft.T.19;  Jer.xviLlS;EMk.ziL38,37;  M11U.ndx.4a; 

Lake  xii.  45. 'Gen.  i.  6,  9;   Psa.  zzxiii.  6;   Heb.  3d.  3. 

»Gr. 


speaks,  had  not  yet  appeared,  but  were  to  come  in 
the  last  period  of  the  duration  of  the  worid,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  they  were  to  ariise  fai  the  church  itself. 
Accordingly  they  ere  reproved,  (verse  5,)  for  being 
wilfully  ignorant  of  ihe  Mosaic  history  of  the  crea- 
tion and  of  the  deluge;  and  Jude  says^ (verses  18, 
19,)  the  scoffers  separated  themselves  fh)m  other 
Christians,  and  had  not  the  Spirit,  though  they  pre- 
tended to  be  Inspired.  The  evil  of  scoffing  at  the 
doctrines  and  promises  of  the  gospel  may  be  learned 
from  Psa.  L  1,  where  scoffing  at  religion  is  repre- 
sented as  the  highest  stage  of  impiety."— Nacknight. 
Verses  4-0.  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming 
— To  raise  the  dead,  judge  mankind,  and  destroy 
the  earth?  We  see  no  sign  of  any  soc^  thing.  The 
promise  of  Christ's  coming  we  have  Matt.  xv.  27, 
The  Son  of  man  shcM  come  in  his  glory,  &e, ;  John 
XIV.  8,  /  loill  come  and  receive  you  to  myself  &c., 
and  in  many  other  passages  of  the  gospel ;  a  pro 
mtse  which  was  renewed  by  ^the  angels  at  our  Lord^s 
ascension,  and  is  spoken  of  in  many  passages  of  the 
q>istle8,  especially  in  those  of  St.  Paul.  By  repre 
senting  Christ^s  promised  coming  as  a  delusion,  the 
scoffers  set  themselves  and  others  free  from  all  fear 
of  a  future  judgment,  and  bereft  the  righteous  of 
their  hope  of  reward.  For  since  Ifte  fathers  fell 
asteep-^lnee  our  ancestors  died;  M  things^Hetx- 
ven,  earth,  air,  water;  confinue  as  they  were  from 
the  beginning  of  the  creaiionr^Wiiboni  any  such  ma- 
terial change  as  might  make  us  b^eve  they  v/'iJl  ever 
have  an  end.  So  say  these  scoffers,  /br  this  they 
willingly  are  ignorant  of-'Aa  if  he  had  said.  It  is 
from  their  ignorance,  their  gioss,  affected  igpnorance, 
that  they  argue  after  this  manner.  He  says  willingly 
ignorantj  to  signify  that  they  had  sufficient  means 
of  knowing  better,  but  that  they  did  not  care  to 
know  or  consider  any  thing  respecting  it  TVuU  by 
the  ipord  of  Ood^Uis  almighty  word,  which  bounds 
the  duration  of  all  thmgs,  so  that  it  cannot  be  either 
longer  or  shorter;  the  heavens — As  by  the  heavens 
here  the  apostle  means  the  atmosphere  which  sur- 
rounds this  earth,  the  plural  is  put  for  the  singular 
by  a  diange  of  the  number  very  common  in  the 
Scriptures  ^  were  of  old — ^Anciently  before  the  flood ; 
and  the  earth  standing~-Or  subsistingy  (as  atrve^owi 
more  properly  signUles,)  out  qf  the  wo^er— Which 
had  betoe  coverui  it,  namely,  emerging  from  it  by 
the  divine  command,  (the  earth  being  formed  out 
of  the  chaos,  whl^  had  been  previously  brought 
into  existence  for  that  purpose,)  and  the  Uqutd  ele- 
ment retiring  to  the  channels  prepared  for  it;  and 
b 


'out  of  the  water  and  in  the  water:  A.  M.  407a 

6  ^Whereby  the  world  that  then    ^^-^ 
was,  being  o^^erflowed  with  water,  perished : 

7  But '  the  heavens  and  the^  earth,  which  are 
now,  by  the  same  word  are  kept  in  store,  re- 
served unto  ^fire  against  the  day  of  judgment 
and  perdition  of  ungodly  men. 


f  P«u  xrir.  2  ;   onzrl.  6 ;.  OoL  L   17. h  Gen.  tIL  11, 

21,  22^  23;   Chap.  ii.  5. ^Verae  10.^ kMaU.  xrr.  41; 

2Tbe88.  i.  8. 


in  the  iDo/er— By  which  God  appointed  that  it  should 
be  surrounded,  nourished,  and  supported,  water 
being  the  life  of  the  vegetable  creation  5  whereby 
— At'  wv,  by  which  things,  thus  constituted ;  the  world 
that  then  was^-Tht  whole  antediluvian  race,  with 
all  the  brute  animals,  except  such  as  were  with  Noah 
in  the  ark ;  being  overflowed  with  water,  perished 
—Perhaps  di*  «v,  by  which  things,  refers  to  the  hea- 
vens mentioned  above,  and  may  relate  to  the  winr 
dows  of  heaven  being  opened,  as  the  expression  is 
Gen.  vii.  11,  and  pouring  forth  upon  the  earth  a 
destructive  deluge  of  water.  The  apostle  means 
that  these  scoffers  did  not  consider  God's  power 
manifested  In  making  the  world,  which  must  enable 
him  also  to  destroy  it  if  he  pleased,  and  that  they 
had  little  reason  for  saying  that  all  things  continued 
as  they  were  from  the  creation- 
Verse  7.  5ta— Though  the  destruction  of  the  old 
world  by  water  shows  thai  the  present  world  may 
be  deistroyed,  1  do  ndt  say  it  will  be  destroyed  by 
water.  No:  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  which  are 
flow— This  whole  sublunary  world;  by  the  same 
irori— Which  at  first  created  them,  and  afterward 
destroyed  them,  and  then  again  restored  them ;  are 
kept  in  store-^Te^tfoavpiafievoi  eict  irvpi  Ttjptffuvoi,  are 
treasured  up  dnd  preserved  for  flre;  that  is,  pre- 
served from  a  deluge  for  the  purpose  of  being 
burned.  Therefore  the  earth  is  not  always  to  re- 
main, but  is  to  suffer  a  destruction  even  more  terri- 
ble than  the  former;  at  the  day  of  judgment  and 
perdition  of  ungodly  men— The  day  when  God  will 
judge  the  world,  and  punish  the  ungodly  with  ever- 
lasting destruction.  "^  In  regard  that  Hamfnond  and 
some  other  celebrated  commentators  understand  this 
prophecy  as  a  prediction  of  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, it  will  be  proper  here  to  inform  the  reader,* 
that  in  support  of  their  interpretation  they  appeal  to 
the  ancient  Jewish  prophecies,  where^  as  they  con- 
tend, the  revolutions  in  the  political  state  of  empires 
and  nations  are  foretold  in  the  same  forms  of  ex- 
pression with  those  introduced  in  St.  Peter's  predic- 
tion. The  following  are  the  prophecies  to  which 
they  appeal:  Isa.  xxxiv.4;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7;  Joel  ii. 
10,  30,  31 J  Amos  viii.  9;  Hog.  ii.  6 ;  Matt.  xxiv.  29. 
Noiv  It  is  remarkable,  in  these  prophecies  none  of 
the  prophets  have  spoken,  as  Peter  has  done,  of  the 
entire  destruction  of  this  mundane  system,  nor  of 
the  destruction  of  any  part  thereof.  They  mention 
only  the  roUing  of  the  heavens  together  as  a  scroll, 
the  obscuring  of  the  light  of  the  sun  and  of  the 
moon,  the  shaking  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and 
648 


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The  Lord  i$  not  slack 


IL  PEnpL 


e^ncetmMg  hit^promhA 


A.  M.  4070.    8  But,  beloved,   be  noC  igoomoi 
il£l!!l  of  this  one  thing,  that  one  dny  tf 
with  the  Lord  as  a  thouBand  years,  and  '  a 
thousand  years  as  (me  day. 
9  »  The   Lord    is    not    slack    concerning 


•  Pml  x^. 


Bfiab.  it  3;  Heb..z.  37,- 
1  Pet  liL  90  i  VdkM  lA. 


■Im.  zzx.  18; 


his   Momise,  as  sc^oie   men  couttt  a-Bl^w* 

dacknesQ  ;    hut   ^  le   Ion^«ufieiiiig 

to  UB-wae^  ""  Mt  wffling  thai  any  sbooU^ 
perish,  but  » that  all  gbooli  mm  tovqieBi* 
aoce. 


the  /oZ/iii^  cloiMi  o/  ihe  $tar$.  Whereas  Peter 
speiJu  of  the  utter  destraction  of  all  the  parts  of  this 
mundane  system  by  fire.  This  difference  affords 
loom  for  belieying  that  th^  eveots  foretold  by  the 
prophets  are  different  in  their  nature  from  those 
foretold  by  the  apostle;  and  that  they  are  to  be 
figuratively  understood,  while  those  predicted  by 
th^  apostle  are  to  be  understood  literally.  To  this 
conclusion  likewise  the  phraseology  of  the  prophets, 
compared  with  that  of  the  apostle,  evidently  leads. 
For  the  prophetic  phraseology,  literally  interpreted, 
exhibits  impossibilities;  such  as  the  rolling  of  the 
heavens  together  as  a  scroll^  the  turning  of  the  moon 
into  bloody  and  the  falling  down  of  the  stars  from 
heaven  as  the  leaf  of  a  tree.  Not  so  the  apostc^c 
phraseology.  For  the  burning  of  the  heavens,  or 
atmosphere,  and  its  passing  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  the  burning  of  ihe  earth  and  the  works 
thereon,  together  with  the  burning  and  melting  of 
iht  elements,  that  is,  of  the  constituent  parts  of  which 
this  terraqueous  globe  is  composed,  are  aU  things 
possible,  and  therefore  may  be  literally  understood ; 
while  the  things  mentioned  by  the  prophets  can 
only  be  taken  figuratively.  This,  however,  is  not 
all.  There  are  things  in  the  apostle's  prophecy 
which  show  that  he  intended  it  to  be  taken  literally. 
As,  1st,  He  begins  with  an  account  of  the  perilling 
of  the  old  world,  to  demonstrate,  against  the  scof- 
fers, the  possibility  of  the  perishing  of  the  present 
heavens  and  earth.  But  that  example  would  not 
have  suited  his  purpose  unless,  by  the  burning  of 
the  present  heavens  and  earth,  he  had  meant  the 
destruction  of  the  material  fabric.  Wherefore  the 
opposition  stated  in  this  prophecy  between  the 
perishing  of  the  old  world  by  water,  and  the  perish- 
ing of  the  present  world  by  fire,  shows  that  the  latter 
is  to  be  as  real  a  destruction  of  the  materia]  fabric  as 
the  former  was.  2d,  The  circumstances  of  the 
present  heavens  and  eart]i  being  treasured  up  and 
kept,  ever  since  the  first  deluge,  from  all  after  del- 
uges, in  order  to  their  being  destroyed  by  fire  at  the 
day  of  judgment,  shows  that  the  apostle  is  speaking 
of  a  real,  and  not  of  a  metaphorical  destruction  of 
the  heavens  and  the  earth.  3d,  This  appears  like- 
wise from  the  apostle's  foretelling,  that  after  the 
present  heavens  and  earth  are  burned,  a  new  hea- 
ven and  a  new  earth  are  to  appear,  in  which  the 
righteous  are  to  dwell  for  ever.  4th,  The  time  fixed 
by  the  apostle  for  the  burning  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  namely,  the  day  of  judgment  and  punish- 
ment of  ungodly  men,  shows  that  the  apostle  is 
speaking,  not  of  the  destruction  of  a  single  city  or 
nation  during  the  subsistence  of  the  world,  but  of 
the  earth  itself,  with  all  the  wicked  who  have  dwelt 
044 


•  Eiekial  zniL  83,  33;    nziii.   11.— —» 
1  TtoMtlijr  ii.  4. 


ii.  4  a. 


thereon.  These  eircomstances  diow  ftat  this  pro- 
phecy, as  well  as  the  one  recorded  2  Thess.  L  9,  i» 
not  to  be  interpreted -metaphorieally  id  the  destmor 
tion  <rf  Jemsalmn,  but  sh(»ild  be  understood  literally 
of  the  destruction  of  our  mundane  system,  and  of 
the  general  judgmeipit.'' 

Verse  8.  i^enoty^^g^itoraiti^Whatever  they  are} 
of  this  one  t^in^— Which  casts  much,  light  on  the 
point  in  hand;  thai  one  day  is  mih  the  Lord  as  a 
tlumsand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  ^ay 
—This  is  an  allusion  to  Psa^  xc«  4,  where  Moses  had 
said,  A  ^umsand  years  in  thy  sight  are  as  one  day, 
which  words  St.  Peter  ^plies  with  regard  to  tine 
period  intervening  betw,een  the  time  when  he  wrote, 
and  the  last  day;  denoting  thereby,  ist,  God's  eter- 
nity, whereby  he  exceeds  all  measure  of  time  in  his 
essence  and  in  his  operatiiMJt:  2d^  His  knowledgcf,  to 
which  all  things  past,  or  to  eoaae,  are  present  every 
moment :  9i,  His  powei;^  which  needs  no  long  de- 
lay in  order  to  bring  his  work  to  perfection:  an^ 
4th,  His  long-suffering,  which  exdudes  all  impe- 
tience  of  expectation  and  desire  of  making  haste. 
But  it  must  be  observed,  that  neither  the  qxMtle  nor 
the  psaUnist  ^m^ant  that  God  does  not  perceive^any 
difference  between  the  duration  of  a  day  and  that 
of  a  thousand  years;  but  that  these  dififerences  do 
not  affect  either  his  designs,  or  actions,  or  felicity,  as 
they  do  those  of  finite  creatures.  So  &at  what 
he  brings  to  pass  on  the  day  he  declares  his  purpose, 
is  not  more  certain  than  what  he  will  bring  to  pass 
a  thousand  years  after  such  dedaration.  In  like 
manner,  what  is  to  be  brought  to  pass  e  long  time 
after  his  declaration,  it  not  less  certain  than  if  it  had 
been  done  when  declared.  See  Abemethy's  Ser^ 
mons,  vol.  i.  p.  2lSi  The  apostle's  meaning  is  in 
substance^  that  in  one  day,  yea,  in  one  moment,  be 
could  do  the  work  of  atbowmd  yean;  theretoe 
he  is  n(^  slow,  he  is  always  e^uaNyable,  equally 
ready  to  fulfil  his  promise^  and  a  ikomamd  years^ 
yea,  the  longest  time^  is  no  more  delay  to  the  eteis- 
nal  God  thanonedQiy]»\0mi  therefore  he  is  long- 
suffering  ;  he  gives  us  £^>ace  for  repentance  without 
any  inconvenience  to  himselt  In  a  word,  with  God 
time  passes  neither  slower  not  swifter  than  is  suita- 
ble to  him  and  his  economy.  Nor  can  there  be  any 
reason  why  it  should  be  necessary  fbr  him  eidier  to 
delay  or  hasten  the  end  of  aQ  things.  How  can  we 
compr^end  thb  ?  If  we  cenid  have  comprehended 
it,  St.  Peter  needed  not  to  have  added)  wiJth  the  Lord. 
Verse  9.  The  Lord  is  nst  s/odfc— On  (Spo^Jwet,  does 
not  dday,  or  is  not  slow ;  concerning  his  promis&-^ 
To  fulfil  it,  as  if  the  time  fixed  for  the  fuMment  of 
it  were  pa«t  ^  for  it  ihall  surely  be  fulffied  in  its 
season  y  but  is  long-^t^ering,  to  tft-warrtl— Children 


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TJU  da^  of  the  Lord  iritt 


CHAPTER  ra. 


come  aeu  thief  in  the  night. 


k.u.4070.    10  But  ^the  day  of  the  Lord  will 

A.  H   flflL 

— 1— : —  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night ;  in  the 
which  ■'the  heayend  shall  pass  away  with  a 
great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat,  the  earth  also,  and  the  works 
that  are  therem,  shall  be  burned  up* 


« M att  zxir.  43 ;  LnkaxiLSO;   ITImm.t.2;  Rer.  iii.3; 
x?i  lA.— -^ Psa.  eti  es ;  I«uli.6;  Matt,  zxiir. 35 ;. M^k ziiL 


of  men ;  not  wiUing  (hot  any  ahotOd  perUh^Any 
human  being,  any  sonl  that  he  hath  made.  Hiat  b, 
he  is  not  primarily  wiUmg ;  his  first  will,  with  regard 
to  the  whole  posterity  of  Adam,  hath  been  and  is, 
that  they  should  be  eternally  saved;  and  as  a  proof 
of  it  he  hath  given  his  Son  a  ransom  for  all;  (1  Tim. 
ii.  6  ]  Heb.  ii.  0 ;)  hath  commanded  his  gospel,  that  is, 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  to  be  preached  to  all, 
to  every  human  creature,  (Nark  xvi.  15,)  and,  to  help 
man's  weakness,  causes  his  grace,  even  his  saving 
grace,  (as  n  A:«P'f  n  curttpioc  literally  signifies,)  to 
appear  to,  or  to  visit  and  strive  with,  all  men,  in 
order  to  their  repentance,  faith,  and  new  obedience. 
But  if  they  reject  his  counsel  against  themselves^ 
which  they  are  under  no  necessity  of  doing,  by  con- 
tinuing impenitent,  unbelieving,  and  disobedient, 
then,  secondly,  he  wills,  and  that  justly,  that  they 
should  perish^  for  they  are  accountable  to  him,  their 
rightful  Lawgiver,  Governor,  and  Judge,  and  he  wiU^ 
judge  them,  and  all  the  world,  in  righteousness. 

Verse  10.  ^tiT— Notwithstanding  the  long-^ruffer- 
ing  of  God ;  ihe  day  of  the  Lordr—Tht  dav  of  the 
consummation  of  all  things,  and  of  final  judgment ; 
voill  come^  and  that  as  a  thief  in  the  night^BecsuBe 
thieves  commonly  break  into  houses  in  the  night- 
time, and  occasion  great  fear  to  those  who  are  within, 
any  sudden,  unexpected  event,  especially  such  as 
occasioned  terror,  was  compared,  by  the  Hebrews, 
to  the  coming  of  a  thief  in  Uie  night  The  sudden- 
ness, therefore,  and  unexpectedness  of  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  the  Lord,  and  the  terror  which  it  will 
occasion  to  the  wicked,  are  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  will  resemble  the  coming  of  a  thief,  and 
not  that  it  will  happen  in  the  night-time.  In  the 
which  the  heavens — ^That  is,  the  aerial  heavens,  the 
atmosphere  which  surrounds  this  earth,  and  which 
the  apostle  calls  the  heavens,  because  Moses  had 
called  it  so ;  shall  pass  away—The  passing  away  of 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  does  not  mean,  it  seems, 
that  they  wilTbe  removed  to  another  part  of  space, 
or  that  they  wiQ  be  annihilated;  but  that,  being 
burned,  their  form  and  constitution  will  be  changed 
much  more,  probably,  than  the  constitution  or  form 
of  the  old  world  was  by  the  flood;  destruction  by 
fire  being  more  complete  and  dreadfiil  than  destruc- 
tion by  water;  with  a  great  noise — Surprisingly  ex- 
pressed by  the  very  sound  of  the  original  word, 
poi^n^'  ''  That  the  thundering  noise  occasioned  by 
the  burning  of  the  whole  heavens,  or  atmosphere,  will 
be  terrible  beyond  description,  may  be  conjectured 
by  considering  what  a  noise  is  made  by  those  small 
portions  of  the  air  which  are  burned  when  it  thun- 
ders, or  which  are  set  in  commotion  in  a  storm.*^ 
b 


11  iSbei'n^  then /Aci^  an  these  things  JLU.iOTO. 
shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  ^^'^ 
persons  ought  ye  to  be  *in  oU  hdy  conversa- 
tion and  godliness, 

12  ^  Looking  for  and  ^  hasting  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  day  of  Ghxl,  wherein  the  heavens  be- 


31} 
L15.- 


fUi.  20:  Heb.  I U  ;  Rer.  xz.  11 ;  xzL  1.— 
1  Cor.  I.  7;  Tit.  i.  13. •Or,  k^Hng  the 


MPet. 


But  how  much  greater  wilf  be  the  noise  arising 
from  the  general  conflagration  of  the  whole  earth, 
with  all  that  it  contains.  And  ihe  eletnenls  shall  meU 
with  fervent  heat — Kavanfitva  XvOf^aiovTai,  burning 
shall  be  dissolved.  The  word  ro^x^ia,  rendered 
elements,  signifies  the  first  principles,  or  constituent 
parts  of  any  thing.  Hence  it  denotes  the  principles 
of  science,  (Heb.  v.  12,)  as  well  as  the  principles  of 
bodies,  l^tius  understands  by  the  word  the  element9 
of  which  this  terraqueous  globe  is  composed ;  but  as 
the  melting  of  these  Is  mentioned  verse  12,  Mae- 
knight  is  of  opinion  "that,  in  thb  verse,  the  apostle 
is  speaking  of  the  electrical  matter,  the  sulphureous 
vapours,  the  clouds,  and  whatever  else  floats  in  the 
air,  all  which,  burning  furiously,  will  be  disunited 
and  separated."  7%e  earth  cdso,  and  the  works  that 
are  <Acr«n— Whether  of  nature  or  of  art ;  shall  be 
burned  up— And  has  not  God  already  abundantly 
provided  for  this  ?  1st,  By  the  stores  of  subterranean 
fire,  which  are  so  frequently  bursting  out  at  iBtna, 
Vesuvius,  Hecla,  and  many  other  burning  moun- 
tains ;  2d,  by  the  ethereal  (vulgarly  called  electri- 
cal) fire,  diff\ised  through  the  whole  globe;  which, 
if  this  secret  chain  that  now  binds  it  up  were  loosed, 
would  immediately  dissolve  the  whole  frame  of 
nature ;  8d,  By  comets,  one  of  which,  if  it  touch  the 
earth  in  its  course  toward  the  sun,  must  needs  strike 
it  into  that  abyss  of  fire.  If  in  its  return  from  the 
sun,  when  it  is  heated  (as  a  great  man  computes) 
two  thousand  times  hotter  than  a  red-hot  cannon 
ban,  it  must  destroy  all  vegetables  and  animals  long 
before  their  contact,  and  soon  alter  bum  it  up. 

Versed  11, 12.  Seeing  then  that  all  these  things — 
Which  our  eyes  behold ;  shall  be  dissolved^^Aud  we 
shall  be  spectators  of  their  dissolution,  being  raised 
,from  the  dead  before,  or  at  the  time  of,  its  taking 
place;  what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  6e— How 
serious,  how  watchful,  how  free  from  levity  and 
folly,  how  disengaged  from,  and  dead  to,  this  lower 
world,  with  all  it  contains ;  how  unmoved  by  the 
trifling  changes  which  are  now  continually  occurring, 
the  comparatively  insignificant  losses  and  gains, 
honour  and  reproach, .pleasure  and  pain!  How 
heavenly-minded,  having  our  thoughts  and  aflTec- 
tlons  set  upon  that  world,  with  its  riches,  glories,  and 
joys,  which  is  durable  and  eternal ;  in  all  holy  con- 
i?cr*a/ion— With  men ;  and  godHness^-TowdxA 
God.  LooAcin^/or— Earnestly  desiring  ;a»irfAa*ft'ng 
tin<o— Or  hasting  on,  (as  (rtrewJovrof  may  signify,) 
namely,  by  your  earnest  desires  and  fervent 
prayers ;  the  coming  of  the  day  of  G'oc^Fitly  so 
called,  because  God  will  then  make  such  a  display 
of  his  glorious  perfections  as  was  never  made  before  ( 
649 


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Ood  mil  create  new  heavem 


n.  PETER. 


and  a  new  earik. 


A.  If.  4070.  ing  00  fire  shall  ^be  dissolved,  and 

! the  elements  shall  '  mdt  wkh  fervent 

heat? 

13  Nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  promise, 
look  for  ^new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  where- 
in dweUeth  righteousness. 

14  Wherefore,  bebved,  seeing  that  ye  look  for 


•Pmlt.8;  I«u  xxidr.  4. *.Mic.  i.4j  Verte  10. rlwu 

lzT.17;  lxTi.22;  BeT.xzLl,  27. 


of  hb  fxnoeTj  m  raising  all  the  dead,  and  transform- 
ing all  the  liviag  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  and  in  destroying  the  present  world,  and 
preparing  for  his  people  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth ;  of  his  wUdiom,  in  showing  that  he  knew,  and 
will  now  bring  into  judgment,  all  the  thoughts,  de- 
sires, and  designs,  the  di9^[>ositions,  words,  and  actions 
of  all  the  thousands  of  oiUUons  of  human  beings  that 
bad  lived  on  earth  in  the  different  ages  of  the  world  j 
of  his  justice,  ia  rendering  unto  every  man,  with 
infinite  exactness,  according  to  his  works,  and  re- 
compensing tribulation  to  those  that  troubled  his 
saints  and  servants ;  of  his  mercy  and  lave  in  justify- 
ing, at  his  judgment-seat,  his  believing  and  obedient 
people,  and  in  conferring  upon  them  an  incorrupt- 
ible and  eternal  inheritance;-  and  of  his  trtUhy  in 
punctually  fulfilling  all  his  promises  and  threaten- 
ings,  and  making  good  all  his  declarations.  Wherein 
the  heavens  being  on  fire,  &c. — ^The  apostle  repeats 
his  former  testimony,  because  of  its  great  importance. 
Macknight,  however,  thinks  that,  by  the  elements,  in 
this  verse,  we  are  not  to  understand,  as  in  verse  10, 
the  heavens  or  atmosphere,  but  the  elements  of 
which  this  terraqueous  globe  is  composed ;  namely, 
earth  and  water,  and  every  thing  which  enters  into 
the  composition  of  these  substances,  and  on  Which 
their  constitution  and  form  depend.  Hence,  1st,  In 
speaking  of  them,  he  uses  an  expression  which  he 
did  not  use  in  verse  10.  There  his  words  were.  The 
elements,  burning,  Xv^jiaovrai,  shall  be  dissolved; 
here  he  says,  The  elements,  burning,  rtiKerai,  (for 
roKijaerai,)  shall  melt;  a  "  word  which  is  applied  to 
the  melting  of  metals  by  fire.  Wherefore,  as  the 
elements  signify  the  constituent  parts  of  any  thing, 
the  expression,  shall  melt,  applied  to  the  constituent 
parts  of  the  terraqueous  globe,  intimates  that  the 
whole,  by  the  intense  heat  of  the  conflagratiou,  is  to 
be  reduced  into  one  homogeneous  fluid  mass  of  burn- 
ing matter.  Consequently,  that  it  is  not  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  with  all  the  things  thereon,  which  is  to 
be  burned,  as  some  have  imagined,  but  the  whole 
globe  of  the  earth."  And  that  he  is  here  speaking 
of  these  elements,  and  consequently  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  earth,  appears  st'dl  further  by  the  pro- 
mise made  in  the  next  verse. 

Verse  13.  Nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  pro- 
mise, ^.-^That  OS,  ^  Though  the  present  frame  of 
things  shall  be  dissolved  by  fire,  yet  we  look  for 
another,  a  more  durable  and  perfect  state;  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earM^— New  and  everlasting 
abodes,  which  the  divine  mercy  will  then  open  to 
our  eqraptured  view,  into  which  it  will  conduct  us, 
949 


such  things,  be  diligent  ■  that  ye  may  A.  M.  «ro. 

be  found  o(  jiim  in  peace,  without ^ L 

spot,  and  blameless. 

15  And  account  that  *the  long-suffering  ci 
our  Lord  is  salvation ;  even  as  our  beloved  bro- 
ther Paul  also,  according  to  the  wisdom  given 
unto  him,  hath  written  unto  you; 


slCoclS;    x«;  5S;    Phil  i.  10;    lTheM.iu.18; 
»Rom.ii.  4;  iPet^iiLSO;  VeneS. 


r.  2S. 


and  in  which  perfect  righteousness,  holiness,  and 
felicity,  shall  dwell  forever;*'  Bov.  xxLl-7*,  xxii. 
1-5.  Some  expositors  suppose  that  these  lower 
heavens  and  this  earth,  having  been  melted  down 
by  a  general  conflagration,  shall  thereby  be  refined, 
and  that  God  will  form  them  into  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth  for  the  habitation  of,  the  righteous ;  a 
supposition  which  seems  to  be  favoured  by  St.  Peter, 
Acta  ill.  21,  where  he  speaks  of  the  restitution  of 
all  things,  which  God  hath  promised  by  the  mouth 
of  all  his  holy  prophets;  by  St.  Paul,  Rom.  viU.  21, 
where  he  says,  The  creation  itself  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  destruction;  and  also  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  himself,  whose  words  (Rev.  xxi.  5)  are, 
Behold,  I  make  all  things  new.  As  St  Peter  had  a 
revelation  fvom  Christ  that  he  would  create  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  he  might  justly  call  that 
his  promise;  but  the  patriarchs  and  believmg  an- 
cients were  not  without  the  expectation  of  such  an 
inheritance.  See  Gen.xviL  1-,  Dan.  xii.  2;  Heb.  xi. 
10-16. 

Verses  14, 15.  Wherefore,  ftcZwecI— Bearing  these 
great  truths  in  your  minds,  give  up  your  whole 
souls  to  the'ur  influence ;  and,  seeing  that  ye  look  for 
such  things— Since  you  expect  the  coming  of  Christ 
to  destroy  the  present  mundane  system,  and  to 
create  a  new  heaven  and  earth,  and  since  death, 
which  will  confirm  your  title  to  this  inheritance,  or 
your  exclusion  from  it,  for  ever,  is  fast  approaching, 
and  may  come  both  very  soon  and  very  unex- 
pectedly ;  be  diligent — 2ir8da<TaT€,  the  same  word 
that  is  used  chap.  i.  10,  which  implies  not  only  the 
diligent  use  of  dl  the  means  of  grace,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  universal  holiness  and  righteousness,  in  con- 
sequence of  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  active  exertion  of 
every  gift  of  nature  and  of  grace,  but  the  doing  all 
this  earnestly  and  without  delay  ;  relying  not  on  any 
power  of  your  own,  but  on  the  influence  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  for  all  the  help  you  stand  in  needof ; 
that  ye  may  be  found  of  Mm— Christ,  when  he 
Cometh ;  in  peace— With  God,  being  justified  by 
grace  through  faith,  Rom.  v.  1;  without  spot^ 
Cleansed  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit, 
and  renewed  after  the  divine  image;  and,  as  an 
evidence  thereof^  blameless^In  behaviour  toward 
God,  your  fellow-creatures,  and  yourselves;  having, 
in  consequence  of  your  regeneration,  lived  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world,  and 
adorned  the  doctrine  of  God  your  Saviour  in  aft 
things.  And— Instead  of  considering  his  delaying 
to  come  as  a  proof  that  be  w'dl  never  come,  account 

b 


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CMAfTBRIU. 


H  dkeir^emndmtnicUom. 


A.M.4aio.  16  Ab also ia all At^epiBtleB) ^speak- 
,^^*^  iDg  in  them  (^  these  thiDgB;  ID  which 
are  some  things  hard  to  be  nndeiBCood,  which 


TiiilO;  lOmr. 


that  delay,  and  his  /oti^wi^erifig^Thcreby  mani- 
fested; to^iMz^ian— Designed  to  promote  your  salva- 
tion, and  the  salvation  of  many  others;  giving  sin- 
ners space  for  repent^ce,  and  an  opportunity  to  pre- 
pare fbr  these  solemn  and  awful  scenes,  and' so  be- 
coming a  precious  means  of  saving  many  more  souls. 
Am  our  beloved  brother  Paul  aUd  according  to  the 
iHedom  given  unto  him—That  admirable  insight 
into,  and  understanding  of^  the  mysteries  of  tbe  gosr 
pel,  which  appears  in  all  his  epistles,  and  was  giVep 
to  him  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  hath 
written  to  yoti^llus  refers  not  only  to  the  single 
sentence  preceding,  but  to  all  that  went  before.  This 
epistle  of  Peter  being  written  to  those  to  whom  the 
first  epistle  was  sent,  the  persons  to  whom  St.  Pau] 
wrote  concerning  the  long-suffering  of  God,  and  the 
other  subjects  here  referred  to,  were  the  Jewish  and 
Gentile  Christians  in  the  Lesser  Asia.  Accordingly, 
we  know  he  wrote  to  the  Galatians,  the  Ephesians, 
the  Colossians,  and  to  Timothy,  things  which  imply 
that  God's  mercy  in  sparing  and  bearing  with  sin- 
ners, is  intended  for  their  salvation;  and  that  an 
awful  judgment,  and  an  eternal  state  of  happiness  or 
misery,  await  aU  mankind. 

Verse  16.  As  also  in  all  his  epistles— From  thb  it 
appears  that  Peter  had  read  Paul's  epistles;  and,  as 
he  speaks  not  of  some  but  of  all  of  them,  it  b  proba- 
ble that  Paul  was  dead  when  St.  Peter  wrote  this, 
namely,  a  little  before  his  martyrdom,  as  appears 
from  chap.  i.  14.  And  seeing  that  Paul,  in  his  epistle 
to  the  Bomans,  chap.  ii.  4,  and  to  the  Hebrews,  chap. 
X.  36,  38,  wrote  that  the  long-suffering  of  God  was 
intended  for  salvation,  by  mentioning  that  circum- 
stance, Peter  intimated  that  he  knew  Paul  to  be  the 
author  of  the  epistles  to  the  Romans,  and  to  the  He- 
brews. Speaking  in  them  of  these  things— Pnul^  in 
all  his  epistles,  hath  spoken  of  the  things  written  by 
Peter  in  this  letter.  For  example:  he  hath  spoken 
of  Christ's  coming  to  judgment,  1  Thess.  iiL  13 ;  iv. 
14-18;  2  Thess.  i.  7-10;  Tit  iL  13;  and  of  the  re- 
surrection Arom  the  dead,  1  Cor.  xv.  22 ;  Phil.  iii.  20, 
21 ;  and  of  the  burning  of  the  earth,  2  Thess.  i.  8; 
and  of  the  heavenly  country,  2  Cor.  v.  1-10;  and  of 
the  introduction  of  the  righteous  into  that  country, 
1  Thess.  iv.  17;  Heb.  iv.  0;  xil  14-24;  and  of  the 
judgment  of  all  mankind  by  Christ,  hi  which  are 
some  things  hard  to  be  undl^rttood— According  to 
the  greatest  number  of  MSS.  the  apostle  does  not 
say,  ev  ate  J  in  which  epistles ,  but  ev  otf,  in  or  among 
which  things;  namely,  the  things  which  Paul  had 
written  concerning  Christ's  coming  to  judgment,  the 
burning  of  the  earth,  the  heavenly  country,  and  the 
introduction  ol  the  righteous  into  that  country.  The 
Alexandrian,  however,  and  six  other  MSS.  read  here, 
ev  (uc,  in  which  epistles.  This,  Beza  says,  is  the  true 
reading,  because  he  thinks  it  would  have  been  im- 
proper in  Peter  to  say  that  Paul  had  written  obecure- 
b 


they  that  are  unlearned  and  nnstable  a.  m.  4(no. 

wrest,  as  iJiey  do  also  the  other  scrip-  — 

tures,  tmto  their  own  destruction. 


XT.  34;  1  Tl)Mt.  ir.  IS. 


ly  concerning  subjects  of  which  Peter  himself  liad 
written  more  things  hard  to  be  understood  than  any 
Paul  had  written  in  any  part  of  his  epistles.  Never- 
theless "  the  common  reading  may  be  retained,  be- 
cause the  antecedent  to  the  neuter  relative,  •ic,  may 
be  a  word  not  expressed,  but  understood,,  namely, 
ypoftftaoi,  which  signifies  letters  or  episUeS|  Acts 
xxviiL  21.  On  this  supposition  Peter's  meaning  wlU 
be,  In  which  epistles  there  are  s<mit  things  hard  to 
be  understood?^  Barclay,  in  his  Apology^  explains 
this  of  the  9th  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, in  which  there  are  some  things  that  seem  to 
be  contrary  to  God's  long-suffering  to  all,  and  which 
are  very  liable  to  be  perniciously  wrested ;  which 
they  that  are  unlearned— Who  are  not  taught  of 
God,  or  ttteunteachable,  as  E^ius  translates  the 
word  ofta&eic,  here  used;  namely,  persons  whose 
passions  blind  their,  understanding,  and  make  them 
averse  to.  the  truth,  or  whose  prejudices  indispose 
them  to  admit  it :  and  the  unstable— The  wavering, 
unsettled,  double-minded,  or  men  of  two  minds,  as 
St  James's  word,  (Jt^t^oi,  signifies;  who  have  no 
real,  steady  love  of  piety,,  but  sometimes  follow  it, 
sometimes  desert  it,  as  good  or  bad  inclinations  hap- 
pen to  predominate  in  them.  Whereas  xhe  stable 
are  those  who  have  a  firm,  unshaken,  and  warm  at- ' 
tachment  to  the  religion  of  Jesus:  wrest — "The 
original  word,  ^peShiaiv,  signifies  to  put  a  person  to 
the  torture,  to  make  him  confess  some  crime  laid  to 
his  charge,  or  reveal  some  secret  which  he  knows. 
Applied  to  writings  it  signifies,  by  far-fetched  criti- 
cisms and  unsupported  senses  of  words,  to  make  a 
passage  speak,  &  meaning  different  from  what  the  au- 
thor intended.  Hence  in  our  language  we  have  the 
expression,  to  torture  words^  Of  this  vice  they  are 
most  commonly  guilty  who,  from  pride  of  under- 
standing, will  receive  nothing  but  what  they  can  ex- 
plain. Whereas,  the  humble  and  teachable  receive 
the  declarations  of  revelation  according  to  their 
'plain,  grammatical,  unconstrained  meaning,  which 
it  is  their  only  care  to  attain,  by  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures frequently  and  with  attention."— Macknight, 
As  they  do  also  the  other  scriptures— In  this  clause 
Peter  expressly  acknowledges  Paul's  epistles  to  be  a 
part  of  the  Scriptures,  and  therefore  to  have  been 
written  by  divine  inspiration.  The  affection  with 
which  Peter  on  this  occasion  speaks  of  Paul,  and  the 
honourable  testimony  which  he  bears  to  his  writings, 
deserves  great  praise.  He  had  been  formerly  re- 
buked by  Paul  before  the  brethren  at  Antioch  for 
refusing  to  keep  company  with  the  Gentile  converts ; 
but  if  at  that  time  he  felt  any  dbpleasure  at  Paul  for 
that  rebuke,  which  we  nowhere  learn  that  he  did, 
he  had  long  ago  laid  it  aside,  and  probably,  instead 
of  thinking  ill  of  Paul  on  that  account,  had  for  many 
years  admired  him  for  his  bold  and  steady  testimony 
to  the  truth. 

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toginmvii 


A. M. 4070.    17  Te  Ibemlbce,  bdoved,  ''smug 

^^'^,  ye  know  fAete  tttw^#  befiwe,  *be- 

ware  lest  ye  abo,  being  led  away  with  the  error 

of  the  wicked,  fall  from  youi^own  stead&stness. 


•Mtrk  xiii.  23;  Chapter  L  12.— ^Eph.  ir.  14;  Cfawter  L 
10, 11 ;  ii  18. 

Yenes  17, 18*  Therefore^  teeing  ye  know  these 
Mnga  6^re— ReiapectiiSg  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
to  jodgmeot,  in  what  an  awM  manner  the  scene 
will  dose,  and  what  dreadfol  vengeance  will  be  exe- 
eateld  on  all  the  wicked,  and  especially  on  those  that 
pollute  the  Church  of  Christ,  into  which  they  hare 
profiMoed  to  enter;  and  that  scoffers  will  arise  and 
ridicule  the  promise  Of  Christ's  coining,  as  also  the 
danger  there  is  of .  mismiderstanding  and  misintei^ 
preting  the  Scriptures,  and  so  of  being  seduced  and 
perrerted  thereby.  Here  St  Peter  teaches  that  one 
great  purpose  for  which  the  prophets  were  inspired 
to  foretel  the  corruptions  which  were  to  arise  in  the 
church,  and  the  evils  which  were  to  befUl  the  ein- 
cere  disciples  of  Christ,  was  to  pat  them  on  their 
guard  against  these  corruptions,  and  to  arm  them 
with  fortitude  to  bear  pemecntions.  B^vore— Be 
on  your  guard;  lett  ye  also,  f>eing  led  away  with 
the  error  of  ihe  wicked^  (<t&wfunf,  the  lawless,)  faU 
from  your  own  steadfastness-^ha  the  faith  and  prac- 
tice of  Uie  gospel;  that  steadfastness  which,  by  God's 
648 


18  ^But  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  a.  M.  ¥rm, 
knowledge  of  oinr  Lord  and  SavkiiBr  -^    '^ 
Jesui  Christ    '  To  him  ^  glory  both  now  and 
forever.    Amen. 


ir.  16;    1 


u.  2.- 
IUt.  L6. 


'8  nmunky  ir.  IS, 


assistance,  you  have  hitherto  retained.  Bui — To 
^vent  this  falling  away ;  grow  in  grace^ln  every 
Christian  temper;  and  in  order  thereto,  conscien- 
tiouidy  and  diligently  use  the  means  appointed.  And 
in  the  knowledge  of  Ovrist — That  is,  in  faOhj  the 
root  of  all  pietv  and,  virtue;  faith  implying  thai 
bdowledge  of  him  which  is  communicated  by  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation,  mentioned  Epb.  L 
17,  and  pxomised  John  xvL  14.  7b  Am  be  glory^ 
eic.n/^fpav  aiu¥oc,to  the  day  of  eternity — An  expres- 
sion naturally  flowing  lix>m  Uiat  sense  which  the 
apostle  had  felt  in  his  soul  throughout^  this  whole 
chiqpter.  Eternity  is  a  day  without  night,  with- 
out interruption.  Without  end.  ilmen— Dr.  Ben- 
son remlurks,  that  when  this  word  is  placed  at  the 
begnming  of  a  sentence,  it  is  an  earnest  asseve- 
ration.  In  the  conclusion  of  a  sentence,  it  im- 
ports an  earnest  wish  that  it  may  be  so.  Thedozolo- 
gy,  with  which  this  epistle  concludes,  is  evidently 
directed  to  Christ,  as  are  some  of  the  other  dozolo- 
gies  in  Scripture. 

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PREFACE 

TO     THB 

FIRST  EPISTLE   GENERAL  OF  JOHN. 


/CONCERNING  the  aposde  and  evangelist.  John,  to  whom  this  epistle,  (or  treoHse  rather,)  as  weD 
as  the  gospel  which  bears  his  name,  has  been  justly  ascribed  by  all  the  earliest  and  best  Christian 
writers  without  hesitation,  see  the  preface  to  his  gospeL  Indeed,  thoX  the  same  person  was  the  author 
of  both  works,  is  evident  from  the  similarity,  or  rather  sameness,  of  the  sentimentS/and  expressions 
which  runs  through  them  both.  A  great  many  instances  of  this  are  enumerated  by  Dr.  Macknight 
in  his  preface  to  this  epistle,  a  few  of  which  shall  be  here  mentioned. 

EPISTLE.  GOSPEL. 

Chap.  i.  1,  That  which  was  from  the  begmaing,— o  e$e*  Chap.  1. 1,  In  the  beginning  was  the  WoitL-^VmBe  14, 

aaofjudot  which  we  have  looked  upon  concerning  the  word  And,  ed€aaafu$at  we  beheld  his  ^ry«— Vene  4,  In  him 

of  life.  was  life. 

Chap,  ii.  6,  He  who  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought  him-  Chap.  zv.  4,  Abide  in  me  and  I  in  yon.    As  the  branch 

self  to  walk  even  as  he  walked.  cannot  bear  frnit  of  itself  4bCn  no  more  can  ye  except  ye 

abide  ia  me. 

Chap.  ii.  8,  A  new  commandibent  I  write  vnto  yon.  Chap.  ziii.  34,  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  yed 

Chap.  iii.  11,  This  is  the  message,  that  we  shonld  lore  Tliat  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  yon. 
o^eanotbor. 

Chap.  ti.  10,  He  that  lovetfa,  &c.,  abideth  in  the  light,  Chap.  xi.  10,  If  a  mftn  walk  {n  the  night,  he  sUimbletb, 

and  there  is  none  oocasion  of  etnmUing  in  hin^.  becanse  there  is  no  light  in  him. 

Chap.  in.  8,  He  ,who  eomlnltteth  sin  is  of  the  devil;  Ibr  Chap.  riii.  44,  Te  are  of  yovat  -^ther  the  devil ;  he  was 

the  devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning.  a  murderer  from  the  beginnkig. 

Chap.  iv.  9,  In  diis  was  manifested  the  love  of  God,  Adc^  Chap.  iii.  18,  God  so  loved  the  worlds  that  he  gave  bis 

that  God  sent  his  only.begeCten  Son,  ftc,  tiiat  we  might  only.begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth,  ftc,  might 

Hve  through  him.  have  everlasting  life. 

Chap.  iv.  151,  No  man  ^th  seen  God  at  any  time.  Chap.  i.  18,  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time. 

Chap.  V.  13,  These  things  have  I  written  to  yon  who  Chap.  zz.  3,  These  things  are  written,  that  ye  might 

believe,  Slo^  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  &c.,  and  that  believing  ye 

and  that  ye  may  beUeve,  4bc.                                         ^  might  have  life  through  his  name. 

Various  have  been  the  opinions  respecting  the  persons  to  whom  this  epistle  was  addressed.  The 
most  probable"  seems  to  be,  ihat  the  i^KMtle  did  not  write  to  any  particular  church,  but  to  all  the  Chris 
lians  of  that  age,  and  in  them,  to  the  whole  Chiistian  Church  in  all  succeeding  ages.  As  to  the  time 
when  the  epistle  was  written  there  is  the  same  uncertainty.  Sopie  indeed  conclude,  from  chap.  ii.  18; 
ir.  1,  compared  with  Matt  zxiv.  34,  that  it  was  written  a  Utile  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ; 
but  several  others  fix  the  date  at  A.  D.  9Q,  91,  or  92.  There  are,  however,  many  reasons  for  thinking 
that  it  was  written  before  the  Revelation.  In  the  s^le  of  this  apostle  there  is  a  remarkable  pecu* 
tiarity,  and '  especially  in  this  epistle.  His  sentiments,  considered  separately,  are  exceeding  clear 
and  intelligible ;  but  whea  wo  search  for  their  connection,  we  freijaently  meet  with  greater  difficulties 
than  we  do  i4  the  epistles  of  Pad.  The  principal  characteristic  of  his  manner  is  an  artless  and 
amiable  simplicity,  afid  a  singular  modesty  and  candour,  in  conjunction  with  a  wonderful  sublimity 
of  sentiment.  His  conceptions  are  af^Murently  delivered  to  us  in  the  order  in  which  they  arose,  in  his 
own  mind,  and  are  not  the  product  of  artificial  reasoning  or  laboured  investigations. 

His  leading  design  is,  "  to  demonstrate  the  vanity  of  faith  separate  from  morality ;  to  sooth  and 
refine  the  warm  and  over-sealous  tempers  oT  the  Christians  to  whom  he  writes,  into  that  amiable 
charity  and  love,  for  which  he  himself  was  so  eminent  and  illustrious ;  and  to  guaid  and  arm  them 
against  the  snares  and  efifortsof  af»(ieAiif^,  the  grand  apostate  and  seducer,  and  of  all  who  were  endued 
with  his  spirit.** 

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THE 


FIRST  EPISTLE  GENERAL 


OF 


JOHN. 


CHAPTER  L 

Htre,  (1,)  The  €fo$tk  bear*  Ustimony  to  JttuB  at  the  Ward  tf  Uft^  wkkh^  mm  numifeaUd  in  tUfiaik^  tkt^  ktd  htard,  Mtn, 
Mnd  hojtdUd ;  and  thcrehy  »how9  Uu  firm  ground  on  which  hi*  preaching  and  writings  a$id  the  faith  of  beHevert,  toere  huU^ 
1-4.  (2,)  Represents  the  necessity  of  holiness^  in  order  to  fdlowship  with  God  and  Christy  t,  6.  (8,)  Bears  witness  to 
ths  guiU  and  depramty  of  tMnkind,  and  represents  pardon  and  sanetifieaiion  as  bUssings  necessary^  etnd  provided  for  them 
throMgh4he  blood  of  Christy  and  emswred  to  ail  the  trtUy  pemtsni,  by  the  mercy  and  faUhfuhees  ofOod,  7-^0. 

A.M.  4094. 
A.  D.  00. 


THHAT  *  •  which  was  from  the  be- 

— ^ ginniDgy  which  we  have  heard, 

which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  ^  which  we 
have  locked  upon,  and  ®  our  hands  have  han- 
dled, of  the  Word  of  life ; 


*St  John  Erangelitt's  DtT,  epiitle.  Terse  1  to  the 

» John  i.  1 ;  Chap.  ii.  13. »  John  L  14 ;  8  Pet.  i.  16 ;  < 

ir.  14. «  Luke  xxir.  39 ;  John  xx.  27. 


_  end. 
Chap. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verse  1.  That  which  im(«— That  ia^  as  the  ex- 
pression here  means,  the  word  which  was,  namely, 
with  the  Father,  (verse  2,)  before  he  was  manifested ; 
from  the  beginning-^This  phrase  sometimes  means 
the  beginning  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  as  chap.  ii.  7, 
8,  and  is  thus  interpreted  hereby  Whitby,  Doddridge, 
and  Macknight  But  if  the  apostle  be  speakmg,  as 
the  context  seems  to  show  he  is,  of  the  eternal  Word, 
the  Son  of  God,  he  could  not  mean  to  teU  us  merely 
that  he  existed  from  the  beginning  of  the  gospel,  for 
who  needed  to  be  informed  of  that?  since  it  was 
well  known  by  all  professing  Christians,  that,  even 
as  to  hb  human  nature,  he  had  existed  near  thirty 
years  before  the  gospel  dispensation  was  in  any  de- 
gree opened  by  the  ministry  of  his  forerunner,  John 
the  baptist  Tfie  expression,  yrom  the  beginning, 
here  seems  to  be  equivalent  with  tit  the  beginning, 
(John  k  1,)  and  therefore  to  mean  from  the  begin- 
ning of  time,  or  rather,  ijrom  eternity ;  that  which 
«e— The  apostles ;  Jiave  Acard— Most  credibly  at- 
tested by  authentic  witnesses ;  nay,  have  heard  dis- 
coursing to  ns  times  innumerable ;  which  we  have 
8een  with  our  eyes-^And  that  not  only  daily,  for 
three  years  before  bis  crucifixion,  but  repeatedly 
after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead ;  which  we  have 
looked  upon-^E^eaaofit^a,  have  contemplated;  the 
word  is  different  from  that  rendered  we  have  eeen, 
in  the  former  clause ;  and  denotes  theur  beholding 
bim  atteotiyely,  and  considering  maturely  and  dili- 
gently his  person  and  conduct,  his  words  and  actions, 
WO 


2  (For  ^the  life  'was  manifested,  A.M.40Q4. 

and   we  have  seen   ii,   ^and  bear  — ~ 1 

witness,  'and  show  unto  you  that  eternal  life 
^  which  was  with  the  Father,  and  was  mani- 
fested unto  us ;} 


'John  i  4;  xi.  25:  xir.  6. 

Chap.  iii.  5.-«^JohQ  xxL  34; 
kJobiiLl»2. 


»Roai.  xri.  26;  1  Tim.  iii  IS; 
Acta  iL  32. 1  Chap.  r.  20. 


his  doctrine,  sufferings,  and  miracles,  and  afl  the 
other  particulars  by  which  he  manifested  the  reality 
and  extraordinary  nature  of  his  life  in  the  fleslu 
And  our  hands  have  AoncCad,  Ac— Her^  the  apos- 
tle seems  chiefly  to  allude  to  what  Christ  said  to  his 
disciples  when  he  appeared  to  them  a(t^  his  resur- 
rection, and  said,  Hcmdle  me  and  gee;  for  a  spirit 
hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  me  have,  Luke 
xxiv.  39.  On  many  other  occasions,  however,  the 
disciples  had  an  opportunity  of  handling  their  Mas- 
ter, and  knowing  that  he  had  a  real  body.  For 
eximiple,  when  he  wadied  their  feet ;  when  he  took 
Peter  by  the  hand  to  prevent  him  ^m  sinking  as 
be  walked  on  the  water ;  when  the  disciples  gave 
him  the  loaves  and  fishes,  and  when  he,  a/ler  multi- 
plying them,  put  them  into  their  hands  to  be  distri- 
buted to  the  multitude.  John,  in  particular,  had  an 
opportunity  of  feeling  Christ's  body  when  he  leaned 
on  his  bosom  during  the  last  passover  supper,  John 
xiii.  23.  Of  the  Word  of  K/c— He  b  termed  the 
Word,  John  i.  1,  (he  lAfe,  John  L  4^  as  he  is  the 
living  word  of  God,  who  with  the  Father  and  the 
Spirit,  is  the  fountain  of  life  to  all  creatures,  particu- 
larly of  spiritual  and  eternal  life. 

Verse  2.  For  the  li/e— The  living  Word  j  was 
manifested'-In  the  flesh  to  our  very  senses ;  and 
we  have  seen  t<— In  its  full  evidence ;  and  bear  wit* 
ness — l*estify  by  declaring,  by  preaching,and  writing, 
verses  8^  4.  Preaching  lays  the  foundation,  writing 
builds  thereon :  and  show  unto  you — Who  have  not 
seen ;  the  eternal  lif e^The  eternal  Word  and  Son 

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CjBAPTEBL 


ddonseih/rom  aU  HfL^ 


A.  M.  4001    3  '  That  which  we  have  neesa  and 

! —  heard  declare  we  unto  you,  that  ye 

also  may  have  feUowship  with  us:  and  truly 
^  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  widi 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

4  And  these  things  write  we  unto  you,  ^  that 
your  joy  may  be  fiilL 

6  "*  This  then  is  the  message  whkh  we  have 
heard  6f  him,  and  declare  unto  you,  that  *  God 


(Act*  ir.  20. kjohn  zrii.  11;  2  Cor.  I  0;  Chap.  ii.  24. 

I  John  XT.  lUxTi.d4;2  John  12, *Cluip.iiL  U. *JobiL 

1.  9 ;   riti  12 ;  iz.  5 ;  zH.  35,  36. 


of  God,  who  lives  himself  for  ever,  and  is  the  author 
of  eternal  life  to  ns,  John  x.  28 ;  Heb.  v.  9 ;  Vfhich 
was  with  the  Fa^er— John  i.  1,  2 ;  in  his  bosom, 
John  i.  18 ;  of  the  same  nature  and  essence  with 
himself,  and  was  with  him  from  eternity ;  and  was 
manifested  to  t»— With  all  the  genuine  characters 
of  the  Son  of  God  and  the  promised  Messiah.  That 
the  apostle  speaks  of  his  eternity  a  parte  ante,  (as 
they  say,)  and  as  from  everlasting,  is  evident,  in  that 
he  speaks  of  hin  as  he  was  in  and  from  the  begin- 
iiing;  when  he  was  with  the  Father,  before  his 
manifestation  to  us ;  yea,  before  the  making  of  all 
things  that  were  made,  a^  John  L  2, 8.  So  that  he  is 
the  eternal,  vital,  intellectual  Word  and  Son  of  the 
eternal,  living  Father.  Now  here  was  condescension 
and  kindness  indeed!  that  a  person  possessed  of 
eternal,  essential  life,  should  put  on  flesh  and  blood, 
or  the  entire  human  nature ;  should  assume  infirm- 
ity, affliction,  and  mortality,  in  order  to  visit  sinAiI 
mortals,  to  dwell  among  and  converse  with  them ; 
to  reveal  to  them,  procure  for  them,  aud  then  confer 
oik  them,  eternal  life ;  even  felicity  and  glory  un- 
speakable with  himself  for  ever ! 

Verses  3,  4.  That  which  we  have  seen— 'Him,  I 
say,  of  whom  we  have  such  infallible  knowledge,  or 
that  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  from  him  and  of 
him ;  declare  we  to  you — For  this  end ;  that  ye  also 
may  hacefelloinship  with  us—Maj  ei^oy  the  same 
fellowship  which  we  enjoy ;  or,  in  other  words,  that, 
being  fuUy  satisfied  and  firmly  persuaded  of  the 
truth  of  our  testimony,  and  laying  hold  on  him  by 
a  lively  faith,  you  may  have  fellowship  with  God  and 
with  Christ,  such  as  we  apostles,  and  other  faithful 
Christians  have,  and  may  partake  with  us  of  the 
benefits  and  privileges  we  enjoy  thereby.  And  truly 
oxir  fellowship — Whereby  he  is  in  us,  and  we  in 
h>m ;  is  with  the  Father — ^We  are  savingly  acquaint- 
ed with,  have  access  to,  and  intercourse  with,  the 
Father,  and  partake  of  all  those  Uessings  which  God 
the  Father  has  promised  to  those  that  are  in  cove- 
nant with  him ;  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ-- 
And  we  partake  dso  of  all  those  privileges  Clirist 
has  purchased  for  his  members,  namely,  pardon,  re- 
conciliation, the  divine  favour,  adoption  into  God's 
family,  the  Spirit  of  adoption  sent  into  our  hearts, 
regeneration,  sanotification,  a  lively,  joyful  hope  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance,  and  an  earnest  of  that  in- 
heritance by  his  Spirit  dwelling  in  us,  whereby  we 
sit  in  heavenly  places  with  Christ  Jesus,  ind  th^se 
b 


is  hghL  and  in  him  ie  no  darkness  at  a.  m.  4094. 
aU.        ,  ^-^'^ 

6  "*  If  we  say  diat  we  have  fellowship  with  him^ 
and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the 
truth: 

7  Bat  if  we  walk  in  die  Bght,  as  he  is  in  the 
light,  we  have  feUowship  one  with  another,  and 
^  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin. 


03  Corinthians  ri.  H;  Chapter  ii.  4. -Pi  Coirinthiani  ri. 

11;  £ph.L7i  Hebiewiix.14;  lPet«rL10;  ChapUrit2; 
Rer.  i.  5. 

things  write  we  unto  you — We  not  only  declare  them 
in  word,  which  might  soon  escape  from  your  re- 
membrance, but  we  put  them  down  in  writing,  that 
you  may  frequently  peruse  and  consider  them ;  that 
your  Joy  may  beJuU — So  our  Lord  also,  John  xv.  11 ; 
xvL  22 ;  that  is,  to  confirm  you  in  the  faith,  and  di- 
rect you  into  that  way,  wherein  you  may  have  an 
abundant  source  of  comfort.  There  is  a  joy  of  faith, 
a  joy  of  hope,  and  a  joy  of  love.  Here  the  joy  of 
faith  is  chiefly  intended :  and  the  expression,  your 
joy,  chiefly  means  your  faith,  and  the  joy  arising 
from  it.  It  likewise,  however,  implies  the  joy  of 
hope,  and  the  joy  of  love. 

Verses  6-7.  TViis  then  is  the  message— Thni  is, 
one  part  of  it;  which  we  have  heard  of  him — The 
Son  of  God;  thai  Qod  U  light— the  light  of  truth, 
wisdom,  holiness,  glory.  What  light  is  to  Ae  na- 
tural eye,  that  God  is  to  the  spiritual  eye ;  and  in 
him  is  no  darkness  at  allr—Soi  the  least  mixture  of 
ignorance  or  error,  of  folly,  sin,  or  misery ;  if  we 
say— Either  with  our  tongue,  or  in  our  heart ;  if  we 
endeavour  to  persuade  ourselves  and  others,  that 
we  have  fellowship  with  him — If  we  pretend  to,  or 
make  a  profession  of  it ;  and  walk  in  darkness-^ 
Live  in  a  state  of  ignorance  error,  foUy,  or  sin, 
which  things  are  as  contrary  to  his  wise  and  holy 
nature,  as  darkness  is  to  that  of  light,  whatever  pro- 
fessions, we  may  make  of  our  -acquaintance  with 
Christianity,  and  of  being  zealous  for  its  interests ; 
we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth — Our  conduct  shows 
that  our  professions  are  false,  and  that  the  truth  is 
not  in  us.  But  if  we  walk  in  the  light— In  the  way 
of  truth,  knowledge,  and  holiness ;  as  he  is  (sl  deep- 
er word  than  waUc,  and  more  worthy  of  God)  in  the 
light— Is  essentially  and  perfectly  wise  and  holy, 
then  we  may  truly  say,  we  have  fellowship  one  with 
another— God  with  us,  and  we  with  him ;  for  that  is 
the  fellowship  the  apostle  is  ^>eakuig  of  verse  6, 
namely,  fellowship  or  intercourse  between  the  head 
and  the  members  of  the  community :  a  fellowship 
which  consists  in  the  Father's  bestowing  blesshigs 
on  us  through  the  mediation  of  Christ,  and  in  our 
reoeiving  these  blessings  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son  with  thankfuhiess.  As  if  the  apostle  had  said, 
We  who  have  seen,  and  you  who  have  not  seen,  do 
alike  enjoy  that  fellowship  with  God  and  Christ,  the 
imitation  of  God  being  the  only  sure  proof  of  our 
having  fellowship  with  him.  And  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Chriet  his  iSim— With  the  grace  purchased  thereby; 


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Jmu$  Ckruiis^ propitiation 


L  JOHN. 


fir  ^  nm  <^  ike  world. 


A.  H.  4094. 
A.0.  do. 


8  *If  wesay  tRat  weh^e  no  sin, 
we  deceive  ourselves,  ^  and  the  tru^ 
is  not  in  us. 
9  ■  If  we  confess  our  dns,  he  is  &ithful  and 


4 1  £ia£i  f iu.  46 ;  2  Chran.  tL  36;  Job  ix.  2 ;  zv.  14 ;  zxr. 
.  4 ;  ProT.  xz.  9 ;  Eceles.  riL  20;  Jamet  iii  2. 

cleanseth  uifrorn  all  Hn—Tnkeih  away  all  the  (piilt, 
and  therewith  all  the  power  of  sin,  both  original  and 
actuaL  There  is  dso  a  cleansing  from  all  sin  in  a 
higher  sense,  even  from  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and 
spirit,  (see  2  Ck)r.  viL  1 ;  Epb.  v.  25, 26;  CoL  L  22 ; 
Tit.  ii.  14,)  from  whatever  is  contrary  to  the  mind  of 
Christ  and  the  image  of  Go^  which  may  be  expe- 
rienced in  the  present  life,  by  the  blood  of  Christ, 
who,  having  died  to  procure  for  us  the  influences  of 
the  Spirit  for  fully  sanctifying  our  nature,  may  be 
truly  said  to  cleanse  us  from  all  sin  by  his  blood. 
Of  this  cleansing,  however,  the  apostle  does  not 
speak  directly  in  this  verse,  but  he  speaks  of  it 
verse  9. 

Verses  8-10.  If  we  *ay— Before  Christ's  blood 
has  cleansed  us ;  that  we  have  no  «tn^To  be  cleansed 
from;  or  if,  even  after  we  have  experienced  the 
cleansing  virtue  of  his  blood,  and  are  acquitted 
through  the  merit  of  it  from  all  past  guilt,  and  saved 
from  all  evil  tempers,  words,  and  works  j  if^  even 
after  this,  after  we  are  both  justified,  regenejated^ 
and  sanctified,  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  but  are  per- 
fectly sinless,  and  that  our  spirit  and  conduct  can 
bear  the  scrutiny  of  God's  holiness  and  justice,  as 
exhibited  in  his  spiritual  and  holy  law ;  we  deceive 
ourselvei^Asid  that  in  a  very  capital  point ;  €tnd  the 


just  to  forgive  us  otir  sins,  and  to  a.  M.  4094. 

*  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness. 

10  If  we  say  that  we  have  nbt  sinned,  vc 
make  him  a  liar,  and  Yaa  word  is  not  in  us. 


^Ckip.iL^ 


•*Pn.z3csii<S;  Fwiw,  sofwiu*  Vk" 
l>8a.li.2. 


b7; 


truthi^not  in tt#^Neitlier  in  our  noath  nor  in  our 
heart ;  we  must  be  destitute  even  of  that  self-know- 
ledge which,  in  ^e  nature  of  things,  must  necessa- 
rily precede  every  other  branch  of  experimental  and 
practical  religion.  If  we  confe$$  our  stns— With 
penitent  and  b^eving  hearts  y  he  it  faxthful^Hvi^ 
ing  promised  this  Idesslng  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  all  )iis  prophqts ;  and  juit-^^nuely  then  he  will 
punish :  no ;  for  this  very  reason  he  will  pardon. 
This  may  seem  strange,  but,  upon  the  evangelical 
principle  of  atonement  and  redemption,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true.  Because  when'  the  debt  is  paid,  or 
the  purchase  made,  it  is  the  part  of  equity  to  cancel 
the  bond,  and  consign  over  the  purchased  posses** 
sion ;  hoih  to  forgive  our  snu— To  take  away  all  tbe 
guilt  of  them,  and  to  give  us  peace  with  himself^  and 
peace  of  conscience ;  and  to  cleanse  u$from  all  imh 
righteousneM^Yrom  all  iniquity  of  heart  add  life, 
and  to  purify  our  souls  from  all  vile  affections  and 
unholy  dispositions,  from  every  thing  contrary  to 
the  pure  and  perfect  love  of  God.  Yet  still  we  are 
to  retain,  even  to  our  lives'  end^  a  deep  sense  of  oor 
past  sins :  still,  if  we  aan  we  have  not  sinned,  we 
make  Mm  a  Ztar^Who  saith,  all  have  sinned;  and 
his  word  is  not  in  tit^We  give  it  no  place  in  our 
hearts. 


CHAPTER  a 

(It)  He  points  believers  ta  ike  intcrceesien  and  tUomement  of  Ckriet  for  kelp  against  despimdency^  and  peace  and  comfort  t% 
case  of  any  relapse  into  sin^  1,  t.  (2,)  He  testifies  that  all  saving  knowledge  of  Christ  and  union  with  ^im  produce  holy 
obedience  to  God^s  laWt  and  love  to  his  people^  8-11.  (8,)  After  addressing  Christians  in  their  different  characters,  as 
little  childreD,  young  men,  oni  iathen,  he  u>ams  them  aU  against  an  inordinate  love  to  the  world,  and  against  antichristian 
errors,  12-28.  (4,)  He  encourages  them  to  standfast  in  the  faith  and  holiness  of  the  gospel,  according  to  the  light  and 
influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  %l^9, 

these 


A.  M.  4094. 
A.  D.  90. 


wnte  1 


children,  these  things 
unto  you,  that  ye.  sin 


not  And  if  any  man  sin,  *  we  have  an  advocate 


•  Roaa.  viii.  34;   1  Tim.  ii.  5 ;  Heb.  rii.  25 ;  ix.  24. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  II. 
Verses  J,  2.  My  little  childrenSo  the  apostle 
frequently  addresses  the  whole  body  of  Christians, 
and  so  our  Lord  himself  addressed  his  disciples,  J<^n 
xiii.  33.  It  is  a  tender  and  aflbctlonate  appellation, 
denoting  paternal  authority,  love,  and  concern, 
which,  in  the  character  of  an  apostle,  BL  John  might 
have  used  in  any  period  of  his  life;  but  as  used  in 
this  epistle,  it  seems  to  imply,  together  with  apostol- 
ieal  authority,  the  apostle's  advanced  age.    It  is  a 


with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  ^^Jj^^T' 
righteous: 


2  And  ^  he  is  the  propitiation  fcMr  our  sins : 

»>  Rom.  iii.  25 ;  2  Cor.  r.  IS^  Chap,  i.  7  ;  it.  10. 


dtffbrent  word  from  that  which  is  translated  little 
children,  in  several  parts  of  the  epistle,  to  distinguish 
it  from  which,  it  may  herei>e  rendered  beloved  chil- 
dren. These  things  write  I  unto  you,  that  ye  sin 
no<— Thus  he  guards  them  beforehand  against  abu- 
sing the  doctrine  of  reconciliation.  AU  the  words, 
ijistitutions,  and  Judgments  of  God,  are  leveHed 
against  sin,  either  that  it  may  not  be  committed,  or 
that  it  may  be  abolished.  And  if  any  man  «tn— Let 
him  not  lie  in  sin,  despairing  of  help ;  for  we  have  an 

b 


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CH^FTEB  n. 


cbecUence  to  €MPo  [otfi* 


A. M. 4094  ai^  not  foroiUB  only,  tat  ^alao  fof 


A.P.  ea 


the  9ina  i^ihe  whofe  wodd. 


3  Ajiid  hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  him, 
if  we  keep  his  ^ommandn^ts. 

4  "^He  that  saith^  I  know  him,  and  keqpeth 
not  h]0  commandmeftUs,  *  is  aiiar,  and  the  truth 
isnotinhiro« 

5  Bat  ^who0O  keqpeth  hiawoidi^  ^in  him  ve- 
rity is  the  IpTe  of  Ood  perfected :  ^hereby  know 
we  that  .we  are  in  him. 

6  ^  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ^  ought 


•John  i.  29;  iv.  42;  xi.  51i  S2;  Chap.  U,  14. *Chap.  i. 

6:  ir.  20.— •  Chap.  i.  8^——^  John  «▼.  21, 23. f  Chap.  W. 

18. JiChap,  it;  13. »Johii  iv.  4,  S. kjiatt,  xi.  28; 


Adwcflrfc— We  have  for  our  Advocate  not  a  mean 
person,  but  Him  of  whom  it  was  said,  This  is  my 
beloved  Son;  not  a  guilty  person,  who  stands  in 
need  of  pardon  for  Iiimself ;  but  Jestu  Christ  the 
riglUeoitS'^^oi  a  mere  petitioner,  who  relies  purely 
upon  liberality,  but  one  that  has  merited,  fully 
merited,  whatever  he  asks.  And  he  is  the  propUi" 
ation—The  atoning  sacrifice,  through  the  merit  of 
which  our  sins  are  pardoned  when  we  repent  and 
believe  in  him.  The  word  tXaafto^y  here  rendered 
propitintiony  is  nowhere  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, but  in  this  passage,  and  chap.  iv«  10.  But  It 
occurs  often  m  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  where  it  signifies  a  sacnfice  of  atone- 
ment Thus,  Lev.  vi.  6,  7j  Num.  v.  8,  icpioc  iXaafiSj  is 
a  ram  for  a  sinroffering.  And  Ezek.  xliv.  27,  npod- 
ftp€iv  Lka&iiovy  is,  to  qffer  a  sinroffering,  ''  In  oonsi- 
deriug  the  death  of  Christ  as  a  sacrifice  for^n,  8t. 
John,  like  the  other  apostles,  followed  his  Master, 
who,  in  the  institution  of  his  supper,  directed  his  dis- 
ciples to  consider  it  as  designed  to  bring  to  their  re- 
membrance his  blood  shed  far  many  for  the  remission 
ofsinsP  For  owr  M7W— Who  believe;  and  not  for 
our  sins  only^  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world 
— Just  as  wide  as  sin  extends,  the  propitiation  extends 
also. 

Verses  8-6.  Hereby  we  do  know  that  we^  truly  end 
savingly,  know  himr^Aa  he  is  the  Advocate^  the 
righteous  One,  the  Propitiation ;  if  we  keep  his  comr 
tfwtndmen/*— Particularly  those  of  faith  and  love, 
He  that  sait\  I  know  him,  and  keepeth  not  Kis  com- 
manamehtSj  is  a  liar — ''  The  Nicolaitans  and  Gnos- 
tics, notwithstanding  they  lived  in  an  habitual  course 
of  the  most  criminal  sensual  indulgences,  boasted 
that  they  were  the  objects  of  God's  love,  and  sure  of 
obtaining  eternal  life,  merely  because  they  possessed 
the  knpwledge  of  the  true  God,  and  of  his  mercy  in 
forgiving  men's  sins.  In  this  boasting  the  apostle 
declared  them  liars,  either  because  they  spake  what 
they  knew  to  be  false,  or  at  least  what  was  m  itself 
most  false."  BtU  whoso  keepeth  his  icordf— Sincere- 
ly endeavours  to  live  in  obedience  to  all  his  com- 
mands ;  in  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God — Reconciled 
to  us  through  Christ;  per/ec/ei— Perfectly  known, 
or  shows  itself  to  be  sincere.  See  on  chap.  iv.  12^ 
Hereby^Bj  our  keeping  his  word;  know  we  that 
b 


hin^elf  also  io  to  walk,  even  as  he  a.  m.  4094. 
walked.  ±^1^ 

7  Brethren,  ^  I  write  no  new  commandinent 
luHo  yoo,  but  an  old  comtnandm^it  ^  which  ye 
had  from  the  beginning :  The  dd  command- 
ment is  the  W(nrd  which  ye  have  heard  from  the 
beginning. 

S  Again,  *a  new  commandment  I  write  unto 
you,  which  thing  is  true  in  him  and  in  you : 
®  because  the  darkness  is  past,  and  I'the  true 
light  now  shineth. 

John  xiii.  16 ;  1  Pet  il  21. » 2  John  5. »  Chap.  iii»  11 ; 

2  John  8.       *  John  xiii.  34 ;  xr.  12. «» Rom.  xiii.  12  ;  Eph. 

t.  S;  1  These.  ▼.  5)  8.-— H>John  i  9;  riii.  12;  xii.  35. 

Vie  are  in  himr^trnty  united  to  him  by  a  lively 
fahh,  and  have  commnnion  with  him^  So  is  the  tree 
known  by  its  fruits.  To  kmw  him^  to  be  in  him,  to 
abide  in  him,  are.  nearly  synonymous  terms ;  only 
with  a  gradation ;  knowledge,  communion,  eonstan* 
cy.  ffe  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him — ^An  expression 
which  implies  a  durable  state;  a  constant,  lasting 
knowledge.  (^  and  communion  with  him^  ought 
Atf»«6J/*--0therwise  they  are  vain  words  i  so  to  walk^ 
even  ashewdtkedr-ln  the  world.  As  he  are  words 
that  frequently  occur  in  this  epistle.  Believers, 
having  their  hearts  full  of  him,  easfly  supply  his 
name. 

Verses  7,  B.  /  write  no  new  commandment-^Mi' 
nister9  must  avoid  all  suspicion  and  affectation  of 
novelty  in  their  doctrine.  BtU  an  old  commandment 
•— Qonceming  holiness  of  life,  and  loving  one  another. 
Which  ye  had  from  the  beginning-^Which  was 
given  to  your  fathers  at  the  first  forming  of  your 
commonwealth,  Lev.  xix.  18.  The  old  command- 
ment is  the  i9on2— The  doctrine  of  the  goepd  also ; 
which  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning— Which 
was  delivered  at  the  first  puldication  thereof,  and  has 
been  insisted  upon  ever  since.  Matt.  v.  43 ;  John  xr. 
12.  Again,  a  new  comm^andm^nt  I  write  unto  you — 
Namely,  with  regard  to  your  loving  one  another ;  a 
commandment  which  is  true  in  him  and  in  you— It 
was  exem];>lified>  in  him,  andis  now  fulfilled  by  you, 
in  such  a  manner  as  it  never  was  before.  "  The  new 
commandment,"  says  Macknight,  "of  which  the 
apostle  speaks,  is  that  contained  in  verse  6.  That 
Christ's  disciples  ought  to  walk  eveu  as  he 
walked ;  and  in  particular  that,  as  Christ  laid  down 
liis  life  for  his  people,  they  ought  to  lay  down  their 
lives  for  cme  another,  chap.  iii.  16.  Thus,  to  walk 
as  Christ  walked,  St.  John,  with  great  propriety, 
termed  a  new  commandment,  because,  notwithstand- 
ing the  prec^t  to  love  one  another  was  strongly  en- 
joined in  the  law  pf  Moses,  consequently  was  not  a 
new  commandment,  the  precept  to  love  one  another 
ofs  Christ  loved  us,  was  certainly  a  new  command- 
ment, and  so  is  termed  by  Christ  himself,  (John  xiii. 
34,)  and  is  thus  explained  and  inculcated  chap.  iii. 
16:  He  laid  down  his  life  for  us^  therefore  we  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethrenJ^  Which 
thing  is  <nie— This  tmuslation  is  exacts  for  the  word 

am 


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Mieihindarkne$k 


A.  M.  4004.  9  «  He  that  saidi  he  k  in  the  light, 
■^'  ^'  ^  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  darkness 
even  until  now. 

10  'He  that  loveth  his  brother  abidethin  the 
%ht,  and  "there  is  none  ^occasion  of  stamUing 
in  him. 

11  But  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  in 
darkness,  and  ^walketh  in  darkness,  and 
knowetb    not    whither    he    goeth,    because 


4 1  Cor.  xiii.  2 ;  2  Pet.  i.  0  \  Chftp.  iii.  14, 15. 
•2  Pet.  i.  10. »Gr. 


^  Chap.  iii.  14. 


alT^er,  beiug  in  the  neuter  gender,  cannot  agree  with 
tvToMj  commandment^  which  is  feminine ;  we  must 
"  therefore  supply  iffxiyii^  {action  or  thing,)  or  some 
such  general  word,  expressive  of  the  subject  of  the 
command.  By  8a3ringthat  the  thing  enjoined  in  the 
new  commatidment  was  true,  concerning  the  per- 
sons to  whom  the  apostle  wrote,  he  perhaps  meant 
that  some  of  them  had  already  hazarded  their  lives 
in  assisting  their  brethren."  Because  the  darkneM  is 
past,  &c.— The  apostle  not  only  means  the  darkness 
of  heathenism,  but  that  Of  the  Mosaic  dispensation, 
together  with  the  eompt  doctrines  and  practices  of 
the  Jews  under  that  dispensation ;  and  particularly 
the  impious  notion  that  they  were  commanded  in 
the  law  to  hate  the  Gentiles,  Matt.  r.  48.  This 
darkness  was  gradually  passing  away  by  means  of 
the  shining  of  the  light  which  was  true  -,  that  is,  by 
the  publication  of  Christ's  doctrine  and  example  in 
the  gospel.  The  Mosaic  law,  with  its  obscure 
types,  was  likewise  ready  to  vanish^  in  consequence 
of  the  destruction  of  Jerusidem  and  the  dispersion 
of  the  Jewish  nation ;  which  events  were  soon  to 
take  place. 

Verses  9-11.  Be  that  saiih  he  is  in  the  light'-ln 
Christ ;  united  to  him,  and  truly  enlightened  by  (he 
gospel  and  the  grace  of  God;  and  yet  haieth  his 
brother— (The  very  name  shows  the  love  due  to 
him ;)  is  in  darkness  until  now— Ymd  of  Christ, 
and  of  all  true  light  He  that  hvelh  his  brother— 
See  chap.  ilL  14  f  obidM  in  the  light— Therehj 
shows  that  he  possesses  the  saving  knowledge  of 
God  and  of  Christ,  and  that  he  is  truly  enlightened 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel.  And  there  is  none 
occasion  of  stumbling  in  him — He  walks  so  as 
neither  to  give  nor  take  offence.  The  apostle  alludes 
here  to  Christ's  words,  (John  xL  9,)  If  any  one  toaVe 
in  the  day  he  doth  not  stumble,  Ac  By  expelling 
ill-will,  pride,  anger,  immoderate  selfishness,  and  all 
other  evil  passions,  which  are  occasions  of  shi,  love 
removes  every  stumbling-block  lying  in  our  way, 
and  enables  us  to  do  our  duty  to  our  brethren  in 
Christ,  or  to  mankind  in  general,  with  ease  and  plea- 
sure. But  he  that  haieth  his  brother— And  he  must 
hate  if  be  does  not  love  him ;  there  is  no  medium ; 
is  in  darkness — In  a  state  of  spiritual  blindness,  of 
sin,  perplexity,  and  entanglement'  For  his  malevo- 
lence blinds  his  reason  to  such  a  degree  that  he  does 
not  see  what  is  right,  and  it  extinguishes  every  vir- 
tuous inclination  which  would  lead  him  to  practise 
what  is  right,  and  puts  him  wholly  under  the  power 


that  darkness  hath  blinded  his  eyes.  a.  m.  40m, 

12  I  write  unto  ypu,  Iktle  children,  —^ — L 
because  *  yoor  sins  are  forgiven  you  ,for  his 
name's  sake. 

13  I  wrke  unio  you,  fethers,  because  ye  hate 
knovm  him  ""thai  is  from  the  beginning.  I 
write  unto  you,  young  men^  because  ye  have 
overcome  the  wicked  one.  I  write  unto  you,  little 
children,  because  ye  have  known  the  Father. 


<  John  xti.  35. "  Luke  xxit.  47 ;  AcU  ir.  12 ;  x.  43 ;  xiii.  38 ; 

Chap.  L  7. >pbap.i.  1. 

of  bad  passions ;  so  that,  in  this  darkness,  he  is  in 
danger  not  only  of  stumbling,  but  of  destroying  him- 
self ;  not  knowing  vjhither  he  goeth — Whether  to 
heaven  or  hell,  or  how  near  he  is  to  destruction ; 
while  he  that  loves  his  brother  has  a  free,  disencum- 
bered journey. 

Verse  12.  /  write  unto  you,  litlle,  or  beloved,  chil- 
dren—Becdiose  this  appellation  is  used  (verscj)  to. 
denote  Christians  of  all  ages  and  characters.  Beza, 
and  many  other  critics,  suppose  that  St.  John  here 
addresses  the  whole  body  of  Christ's  disciples,  as 
their  common  instructer,  (see  on  verse  1,)  whom  he 
afterward  divides  into  three  classes.  In  support  of 
this  opinion,  it  may  be  observed,  1st,  That  tiie  word 
by  which,  in  the  distribution,  he  expresses  young 
Christians,  is  naidia,  which  properly  means  young 
children,  and  not  rexvia,  which,  it  seems,  should  be 
here  rendered  dear,  or  betoved  children;  2d,  That 
the  reason  which  St  John  assigns  for  writing  to 
those  to  whom  he  gives  the  latter  appellation,  name- 
ly, that  their  sins  were  forgiven  them,  through  Christ, 
is  applics^le  to  the  whole  body  of  believers ;  and 
was  a  strong  reason,  for  such  of  them  as  John  ad- 
dressed, not  to  love  the  world,  &c. 

Versfe  13.  Here  he  distributes  the  whole  body  ol 
Christians  into  three  classes,  according  to  their  dif- 
ferent standmgs  in  the  faith,  and  their  proficiency  in 
Christian  knowledge  and  holiness ;  namely,  ya<Aer<, 
young  meny  and  young  children  The  fathers  were 
the  most  ancient  believen^  who  had  made  the  great- 
est progress  in  the  knowledge,  experience,  and  prac- 
tice of  true  religion.  Young  ihen  were  those  in  the 
greatest  vigour  of  the  spiritual  life,  and  who  were 
considered  by  the  apostle  as  soldiers  fighting  under 
Christ  against  the  powers  of  darkness.  Little  or 
young  children  were  the  newly  converted,  who,  be- 
ing under  instruction,  were  called  in  the  first  age 
catechumens.  Fathers,  ye  have  known  him  that  is 
from  the  beginning— Yo\i  have  attained  to  a  more 
perfect  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Ancient 
of  Days,  (Dan.  vii.  9,)  the  eternal  Crod,  than  others, 
though  true  believers,  and  with  Christ,  who  is  from 
the  beginning,  chap.  i.  1 ;  and  therefore  you  should 
more  diligently  keep  his  commandments,  (verses 
3,  4,)  and  this  particularly  of  loving  one  another. 
Instead  of.  Ye  have  known  him  who  is  from  the  be- 
ginning, Macknight  reads.  Ye  have  known  him  from 
thebeginning,  and  paraphrases  the  clause  thus :  "  Old 
Christians,  I  write  to  you  what  follows,  (verse  15,) 
because  you  have  known  Christy  his  doctrine,  and 

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but  the  will  of  Ood  ahiddh  forever.' 


▲.  M.  4094.  14  I  have  written  unto  you,  fiithers, 
^  '^  because  ye  have  known  him  that  is 
fnunthe  beginning.  I  have  written  unto  you, 
young  men,  because  '^  ye  are  strong,  and  the 
woid  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  over- 
come the  wicked  one. 

16  '  Love  not  the  wodd,  neither  the  things 
that  are  in  the  wodd.    *  If  any  man  love  the 


rEph.  ri.  10. 'Rom. 


xiL  2. •Mitt  vi  24;  GaL  i  10; 

iiY.4. 


precepts,  and  manner  of  life,  fram  the  hegtmnmg^ 
and  muftt  know  that  what  I  am  going  to  write  is  his 
precept."  /  write  unto  yoti,  young  wieii— ^Who  a^e 
in  the  flower  of  youv^spiritualage,  and  are  strong  in 
grace,  vigorous  Christiana^  verse  XAy  because  ye 
have  already  overcome  the  wicked  one— Have  resist- 
ed his  strongest  temj>tations  to  apostacy  i  or^  more 
at  large,  you  have  manifested  your  spiritual  strei^th 
in  your  conflicts  with,  and  conquests  over  the  devil, 
and  his  associates,  the  world  and  the  flesh;  and 
therefore  take  heed  you  be  not  hereafter  foiled  by 
them.  /  write  the  same  precept  unto  you^  young 
children— Or  new  converts;  of  short  standing  in 
grace,  and  of  little  knowledge,  strength  and  experi- 
ence in  divine  thinp ;  because  ye  have  known  the  Fa- 
ther— As  your  Father,  (though  ye  have  not  yet  over- 
come,) by  the  Spirit  witnessing  with  your  spirits 
that  you  are  the  children  of  God,  In  other  words, 
As  children  in  the  first  place  learn  to  know  their 
parents,  so  you  have  attained  to  some  saving  know- 
led  ge  of  God  your  heavenly  Father,  and  of  his  will- 
ingness and  power  to  support  and  strengthen  you, 
and  therefore  you  must  take  care  to  conduct  your- 
selves at  all  times  as  his  loving  and  obedient  chil- 
dren. 

Verse  14.  I  have  writteny  &c— He.  repeats  al- 
most the  same  words,  in  order  that  they  might  the 
more  regard  them.  As  if  he  had  said,  Observe  well 
what  I  now  write.  He  speaks  very  Inriefly  and  mo- 
destly to  those  who  needed  not  much  to  be  said  to 
them,  as  having  that  deep  acquaintance  with  God, 
which  comprises  all  necessary  knowledge ;  young 
men,  ye  are  strong-^ln  God  and  his  grace,  Eph.  vL 
10  J  in  faith,  hope,  love,  and  in  prayer;  and  the  word 
of  God  abideth  in  you— t)eeply  rooted  in  your 
hearts,  whereby  you  have  often  foiled  your  great 
adversary.  Macknight  thus  paraphrases  the  verse: 
"  Old  Christians,  I  have  written  to  you  to  walk 
even  as  Christ  walked,  (verse  d,)  by  loymg  your 
brethren  as  he  loved  you,  verse  8;  because  ye 
have  known  him  from  the  beginning,  and  have 
been  deeply  affected  with  the  knowledge  of  his 
love.  Vigorous  Christians,  I  have  written  the 
same  precept  to  you,  (verse  8,)  because  ye  are  strong 
in  all  the  Christian  virtues,  through  the  word  of  God 
abiding  in  you,  and  ye  have  already  overcome  the 
devil.'' 

Verses  15-17.  To  you  all,  whether  fathers,  young 
men,  or  little  children,  I  say,  Love  not  the  worlds 
b 


world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  A.  M.  4094. 

V .  .       A.  D.  90. 

him.  — 

16  For  an  that  {« in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  ^  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride 
of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world. 

17  And  ®  the  worid  passeth  away,  and  the  lust 
thereof:  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  Ood  abideth 
forever. 


b  £ooiet.  ▼.  11.- 


^1  Cor.  rii  ai;   Junes  i.  10; 
1  Pet.  i.  a*. 


IT.  14; 


Pursue  your  victory  by  overcoming  the  world,  and 
ail  the  temptations  which  may  assault  you  from  it, 
whether  from  prosperity  or  adversity,  from  riches 
or  poverty,  honour  or  reproach,  pleasure  or  pain, 
life  or  dea4i;  from  the  persons  of  the  world,  or  from 
the  things  that  are  in  the  iror/t^-Whether  they  as- 
sault you  through  the  medium  of  your  senses,  or 
your  appetites  and  passions.  If  any  man  love  the 
world-— EeXeem,  desire,  or  pursue  it,  or  any  thing 
in  it,  inordinately,  so  as  to  place  his  happiness  in  the 
enjoyment  of  it ;  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him 
— ^There  being  a  real  inconsistency  between  the  love 
of  the  world  and  the  love  of  God ;  between  being 
camaUy  minded,  esteeming,  desiring,  tind  pursuing 
immoderately  visible  and  temporal  things,  which  is 
death,  and  being  spiritually  minded,  having  our 
thoughts  and  ^fections  set  on  invisible  and  heavenly 
&ings,  which  is  life  and  peace,  Rom.  viii.  6.  For  all 
thcU  is  in  the  world— Thnl  is  tempting  and  alluring ; 
the  lust—Bm^vfua,  the  desire;  of  the  Jlesh— The 
pleasure  arising  from  gratifying  the  outward  senses, 
whether  of  the  taste,  smell,  or  toucli,  or  the  bodily 
appetites;  the  desire  of  the  eyes — Those  things, 
which,  being  seen  by  the  eyes,  are  earnestly  desired 
and  sought  after,  and  which  they  take  pleasure  in 
beholdrog,  especially  riches,  including  also  the  plea- 
sures of  unagination,  (to  which  the  eye  chiefly  is 
subservient,)  of  that  internal  sense  whereby  we  rel- 
ish whatever  is  grand,  new,  or  beautiful ;  and  the 
pride  of  life — Those  things  wherein  men  are  wont 
to  take  the  greatest  pride,  and  which  chiefly  feed 
pride  of  heart;  all  that  pomp  in  clothes,  houses,  fur- 
niture, equipage,  manner  of  living,  things  which 
generally  procure  honour  from  the  bulk  of  mankind, 
and  so  gratify  pride  and  vanity.  It  therefore  directly 
includes  the  desire  of  praise,  and,  remotely,  covet- 
ousness.  All  these  desires  are  not  of  the  Father, 
butcf  the  world— Thai  is,  from  the  prince  of  this 
world,  or  from  that  corruption  of  nature  that  pre- 
vails in  woridly  men.  And  the  world  passeth  away 
— Namely,  aU  the  enjojrments  of  the  world ;  and  the 
desire  thereof— All  that  appears  desirable  in  it,  and 
causes  it  to  be  so  much  sought  after ;  or  all  thpt  can 
gratify  the  above-mentioned  desires,  passeth  away 
with  it;  but  he  that  doM  the  will  of  God— Theii 
loves  him,  and  not  the  world,  and  seeks  happiness  ih 
him,  and  not  in  worldly  things,  abideth  in  the  en- 
joyment of  what  he  loves,  and  makes  the  object  of 
his  pursuit,  for  ever. 

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tSOBK. 


i.  M.  40M.  18  "^  LitOe  children^  •  k  is  the  last 
'. L  time :  and  as  ye  have  heard  that  'an- 
tichrist shall  come,  ^  even  now  are  there  many 
antichrists ;  whereby  we  know  ^  that  it  is  the 
last  time. 
19  'Th^  went  out  fifom  us,  but  they  were  not 


'  John  zzL  5.*-^ Heb.  i.  2. '2  Theti.  iL  3,  4cc.:  2  Pet 

iL  1 ;  Chgo.  W.  3. f  BiiUt  xriv.  5, 34;  2  John  7. »1  Tim. 

ir.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1. f  Dent.  liii.  13 ;  Fta.  xlL  9;  AcU  zx.  30. 


of  us;  fbr^if  they  had  heeo  of  us,  ^^J^^ 
they  wouU  no  do^At  have  coottnued 


with  us :  but  thsy  went  oui^  ^  thai  they  might 
be  made  manifest  ttiat  they  WCTe  not  afl  of  us. 
20  i9ut*yehamanunctk»i  *  from  the  Bdy 
One,  and  *ye  know  all  things* 


kJCatt.  szhr.  24;    John  n.  37;   z.  1 

« 1  Cor. n.  19. "2 Cor.  i. 21 ;  Heb.  L 9 :  Veree 27. ■  Merit 

L24;  AcUiii.l4. •Johnz.4,5;  xiT.26;  xtL  13 ;  Veite  27. 


., ,    -  m^JB;  2  Tim.  n.  10. 

■20or.i.21;  Heb.L9:  Ver»e27. >Merk 


Vwse  18.  Little f  or  yatmg, chUdrenr-ThefoTmeT 
caution  against  the  love  of  the  world  belongs  chiefly 
to  old  experienced  Christians,  or  those  who  have 
attained  some  considerable  knowledge  and  expe^ 
lience  in  divine  things,  because  they  are  most  apt  to 
offend  in  that  particular;  this  against  seducers  be- 
longs chiefly  to  youQger  Christians,  who  are  kss 
established,  and  therefore  more  liaUe  to  be  seduced. 
It  is  the  last  tiiii«— -Greek,  toxani  apa  eri,  it,  i$  thfi 
last  TiouTy  namely,  as  some  understand  it^  of  the  du- 
ration of  the  Jewish  Church  and  state,  a  sense  of  the 
expression  which  is  &vouredby  the  consideration 
that  it  was  the  period  in  which  our  Lord  had  fore- 
told the  rise  of  many  false  Christs.  Aad  therefore 
the  apostle  here  cautions  them  against  such  deceiv- 
ers, intimating,  at  the  same  time,  for  their  encourage- 
ment and  comfort,  that  the  power  of  their  persecu- 
tors, the  Jews,  would  speediiy  be  broken.  Dod- 
dridge, however,  Wesley,  and  many  others,  by  the 
last  Tiour,  or  last  time,  here  understand  the  last  dis- 
pensation of  grace.  As  if  the  apostle  had  said,  ^'  The 
last  dispensation  that  God  will  ever  give  to  the  world 
is  now  promulgated,  and  it  is  no  wonder  if  Satan 
endeavour,  to  the  utmost,  to  adulterate  a  system  from 
which  his  kingdom  has  so  much  to  iear.**  And  as 
ye  have  heard  that  antichrist  shall  come — E^:tiierai, 
Cometh,  "The  word  avnxpis^j  antichrist^  is  no- 
where found  but  in  John's  first  and  second  epistle. 
It  may  have  two  meanings.  For  if  the  preposition 
avTij  in  avTixpi^oc,  denotes  in  place  off  the  name  will 
signify  one  who  puts  himself  in  the  place  of  Christ : 
consequently  antichrist  is  a  false  Christ  But  if  the 
preposition  denotes  opposition,  antichrist  is  one  who 
opposeth  Christ  The  persons  to  whom  this  epistle 
was  written  had  heard  of  the  coming  of  antichrist 
in  both  senses  of  the  name.  For  the  first  BOti  of 
antichrists  were  foretold  by  our  Lord,  Matt  xxiv. 
5:  Many  shaU  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am 
Christ,  and  shall  deceive  many.  The  second  sort 
were  foretold  Matt  xxiv.  II,  Ma$iy  false  prophets 
vill  arise  and  deceive  many.  From  what  John 
hath  written,  verse  22  of  this  chapter,  and  chap.  iv. 
8,  and  2  Epist.  verse  i,  there  is  reason  to  think  that 
by  antichrist  he  meant  those  false  prophets,  or 
teachers,  who  were  foretold  by  our  Lord  to  rise 
about  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
who  were  now  gone  abroad.  Some  of  these  denied 
the  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ,  others  of  them  denied 
his  divinity ;  and  as  both  sorts  opposed  Christ,  by 
denying  the  redemption  of  the  w<Mrld  through  his 
death,  it  is  probably  of  them  chiefiy  that  Jcdm  speaks 
'x  bis  epistles.  When  the  apostle  mentions  these 
606 


false  teiMrhers  collectively,  he  calls  them  the  anti- 
christ in  the  singular  number,  as  St.  Paul  called  the 
false  teachers  collectively,  oi  whom  he  prophesied, 
2  Thess^  iL  a,  tAe  man  of  sin.  But  when  John 
speaks  of  these  teadiers  as  individuals,  he  calls  them 
many  antichrists,  in  the  plural  number.'^— Mac* 
knight  Thus  also  Mr.  Wmley :  ^  Under  the  term 
antickrisi,  or  the  spirit  of  antichrist,  he  includes  idl 
false  teachers  as  enemies  to  the  tiuth;  yea,- what- 
ever dottrines  or  men  are  contrary  to  Christ  It 
seems^  to  have  been  long  after  this  that  the  name  of 
antidirist  was  appropriated  to  that  grand  adversary 
of  Christ,  the  man  of  sin,  2  These.  iL  3."  Bvennow 
are  there  many  anttchrists^^vny  sedtkcers  revolt- 
ed firom  Christianity,  (verse  19,)  who  were  actuated 
by  an  antichristtan  spirit,  and  do  secretly  undermine 
the  interest  of  Christ,  and  so  make  way  for  the  grand 
antichrist  The  pr^erit  tense,  yeyovoffi,  is  here 
used  to  signify,  not  only  the  existence  of  many  anti- 
christs at  thatthne,  but  also  that  there  had  been 
many  antichrists  who  had  gone  off  the  stage ;  where- 
by we  know  (hat  it  is  the  last  time^The  last  hour  of 
the  Jewiish  state,  namely,  by  Clmst's  prediction, 
Matt  xxiv.  24. 

Verse  19.  They  went  ofU  fivm  us—Se^ntdXi^ 
themsdves  from  the  communion  of  the  true  church 
of  Christ  Hence  it  is  one  of  the  marks  of  anti- 
christ, that  he  had  been  once  in  the  Christian  Church, 
and  a  teacher  by  profession,  but  had  left  it  or  aposta- 
tized; hut  they  were  not  o/*  ti#— When  they  went, 
their  hearts  were  hefore  departed  firom  God ;  for  if 
they  had  been  of  ti«— Had  been  inspired  by  the 
same  spirit  wherewith  we  are  inspired ;  (hey  would, 
no  doubt,  have  continued  with  us — For  upright  men, 
of  a  pure  intention,  would  never  have  seen  any  cause 
to  leave  us,  and  divine  grace  would  have  preserved 
such  from  being  overcome  by  the  temptations  of 
these  artful  deceivers  j  but  <Acy  went  owZ— They 
were  permitted  to  apostatize  outwardly;  that  they 
might  be  made  manifestSee  1  Cor.  xi.  19.  (This 
was  made  manifest  by  then:  going  out;)  that  they 
were  not  all  of  us — Sound  members  of  our  body, 
really  believing  the  same  truths  which  we  believe, 
and  partaking  of  the  same  grace  which  we  partake 
of. 

Verse  20.  But  ye  have  an  unctum^Xpurfm,  a 
chrism,  (perhaps  so  termed  in  opposition  to  the 
name  of  antichrist,)  an  inward  teaching  from  the 
Holy  Qhost,  whereby  ye  know  all  things — Necessary 
for  your  preservation  from  these  seducers,  and  for 
your  eternal  salvation.  There  seems  to  be  no  proof 
that  the  apostle  here,  as  some  suppose,  was  address- 

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CIUJPTEB  IL 


in  faith  etidholine$9. 


A.M.40M.    21  I  have  not  wrkten  unto  you 
^   '^    becsmse  ye  know  not  the  troth,  but 
because  ye  know  it,  and  tbiat  no  Be  k  of  tbd 
truth. 

22  i»  Who  is  a  liar  but  he  that  denieth  that 
Jewtf  18  Che  Caurist?  .He  is  antichiiait,  that  de- 
nieth the  Father  and  the  Son. 

23  *  Whosoever  denieth  the  Son,  the  same 
hath  not  the  Father:  [but  ^ he  thai  acknauh 


p  Chap.  It.  3 ;  2  John  7. 1  John  xr.  23 ;'  2  John  9. ^  John 

ziT.  7,  9, 10  ;  Chap.  it.  15. 


iHg  those  of  the  primitiTe  Christians  only  who  were 
e^owed  with  extraordinary  gifts,  especially  the  gift 
of  discemiiig  spirits.  It  rather  appears,  that  through 
tiie  whole  epistle  he  is  addressing  true  Christians  in 
general,  that  is,  divinely  illuminated,  justified,  and 
regenerated  persons,  sdl  of  whom  are  represent- 
ed in  this  very  epistle  as  dwelling  in  God,  and 
Ood  in  them,  and  as  knowing  that  he  dwelt  in  them 
by  the  Spirit  which  he  had  given  them,  chap.  iii.  24; 

Y.  16;  which  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  other  apostles,  particularly  of  St  Paul,  who 
represents  believers  in  general  as  the  temple  of  God, 
having  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  them,!  Cor. 
iii.  16;  vi.  19;  2  Cbr.  vi.  16;  Eph.  ii.  22:  and  who 
declares  positively,  that  if  any  mem  hate  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none  of  Ms,  Rom.  vlii.  9;  and 
that  only  they  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  are 
the  sons  of  God,  Rom.  viii.  14.  Now,  this  Spirit, 
which  alltrue  believers  possess,  at  least  in  his  ordi- 
nary graces,  as  a  Spirit  of  light  and  life,  of  love, 
peace,  and  joy,  of  holiness  and  happiness,  is  a  Spirit 
of  Uruth  as  well  of  grace,  and  leads  those  on  whom 
he  is  conferred  into  at  least  cdl  essential  truth,  all  the 
grand  leading  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  which  virould 
sufficiently  secure  those  to  whom  the  apostle  wrote 
against  the  seducing  teachers,  the  antichrists  here 
referred  to. 

Verses  21-23.  I  have  not  written  unto  you — In  the 
manner  I  have  done;  because  ye  know  not  the  truth 
— In  which  case  I  must  have  entered  largely  into 
the  discudsion  of  this  matter ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I 
have  contented  myself  with  these  short  intimations ; 
because  ye  know  it — Approve  of  and  embrace  it,  and 
I  am  desirous  to  confirm  you  in  the  knowledge  of 
it;  and  because  no  lie  is  of  (he  truth — No  false  doc- 
trine can  proceed  from,  or  agree  with,  that  gospel 
#hich  you  have  embraced;  in  other  words,  that  all 
the  doctrines  of  these  antichrists  are  irreconcilable 
to  it  Or  perhaps  the  doctrine,  contrary  to  that 
which  was  taught  by  the  apostles,  may  be  called  a 
lie,  because  the  teachers  who  propagated  such  doc- 
trines knew  them  to  be  false,  especially  the  doc- 
trines which  they  propagated  concerning  the  person 
and  actions  of  Christ.  They,  therefore,  in  particu- 
lar are  called  o  V'evrJ7C,  the  liar,  as  in  the  next  clause. 
Who  is  the  Kor— The  false  teacher  foretold  to  come 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  but  he  that  de- 
nieth that  Jesus  is  the  C^mt— Who  is  guiHy  of  that 
lying  but  he  who  denies  the  troth  whi<di  is  the  sum 

Vol.  n.  (42) 


ledgeth  the  Son  hath  the  Ftither  a.  M.  4094 
also.]  .  ^'P-^ 

24  Let  that  therefore  abide  in  jou, "  whicfa  ye 
haye  heard  fyxa  Uie  beginning.  If  that  which 
ye  have  heard  fi:oin  the  beginnmg  shall  remain 
in  you,  *  ye  abo  shall  continue  in  the  Son,  and 
in  the  Father. 

S6  "^  And  thifir  is  the  {promise  that  he  hath  pro- 
mised us,  even  eternal  life. 


•2  John  6.- 


-'John  zir.  23;  Chmp.  i. 
Chap.  i.  2;  r,\\. 


II  John  krii.  3; 


of  alLChristianity?  That  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  that 
he  is  the  Son  of  God,  that  he  came  In  the  flesh,  is 
one  undivided  truth;  and  he  that  denies  one  part,  in 
effect  denies  the  whde.  He  is  antichrist^He  de- 
servedly bears  that  name;  that  denieth  the  Father 
and  the  5fon— Denies  God  to  be  the  Father  of  Christ, 
by  denying  Christ  to  be  his  Son.  Or  who,  in  de- 
nying the  Son,  denies  the  Father  also.  He  denies 
the  Son  directly,  and  by  consequence  denies  the 
Father,  who  testified  by  a  voice  from  heaven  that 
Jesus  was  his  Son,  and  by  all  the  miracles  which 
Christ  ^wrought.  Whosoever  denieth  the  5!on— Even 
the  only-begotten  and  eternal  Son  of  God,  either  in 
his  person,  his  natures,  offices,  or  merits.  The 
same  hath  not  the  Father— Has  no  interest  in  him 
as  his  Father,  since  that  is  obtahied  only  through 
Christ;  and,  consequently,  he  hath  not  communion 
with  the  Father.  But  he  that  truly  «)d  believingly 
acknowledgeth  the  Son,  hath  comrnvmion  vriih  the 
Father  also-^The  last  clause  of  this  verse,  in  our 
Bngltsh  Bible,  is  printed  in  italic  letters,  to  show 
that  it  is  not  in  the  common  Greek  copies;  Beza, 
however,  hath  mserted  it  in  his  edition  of  the  Greek 
Testament,  on  the  authority  of  some  ancient  MSS., 
and  of  the  Syriac  and  Vulgate  versions.  Mill  also, 
on  this  verse,  mentions  a  number  of  M6S.  which 
have  this  clause.  Estius  reckoned  it  genuine,  as  did 
Doddridge,  who  says,  '^  It  is  to  be  found  ih  so  many 
good  MSS.  that  I  cannot  but  believe  it  made  a  part 
of  the  original,  by  whatever  accident  it  was  omitted 
in  some  early  copy,  to  which,  as  it  seems,  too  much 
regard  has  been  paid." 

Verses  24, 26.  Let  that  therefore  abide  in  yoti-^ 
Namely,  that  doctrine  concerning  th^  Father  and 
the  Son ;  which  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning 
—Of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel:  retain  a  firm  be- 
lief of  it,  and  let  your  minds  be  so  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  its  certain  truth  and  hufinite  importance, 
that  it  may  have  the  desired  infinence  on  your  sphrit 
and  conduct  If  that  which  ye  have  heard,  fc,, 
shall  remain  fixed  and  rooted  in  you — If  you  per- 
severe in  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  show  that  you 
do  80  by  your  life  and  conversation ;  ye  also  shall 
continue  in  the  Son  and  in  the  Fa/A^— Genuine 
members  of  Christ's  mystical  body,  and  conse- 
quently in  the  love  of  God,  and  in  communion  with 
him.  And,  to  encourage  you  in  this,  remember  the 
promise,  that  he,  the  S<m,  hadi  made  to  us,  if  we 
abide  in  him,  even  eternal  life, 

em  b 


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BxhortcUion  to  abide  in  Christ. 


I.  JOI». 


High  catting  of  bdie^erk 


A.  M.  4094. 
A.D.  9«. 


26  These  things  have  I  written 
unto  you  'concerning  them  that  0^ 
duce  you. 

27  But  ^rthe  anointing  which  ye  have  re- 
ceived of  him  al^ideth  in  yoa,  ai^  ■  ye  need 
not  that  any  man  teach  jo\x :  but  as  the  same 
arfointing  ^teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and 
is  truth,  and  is  no  fie,  and  even  as  it  hath 


>Chap.  iii.7;  2John7.- 
Heb.viii.  10,  U. ' 


— y  Verse  20. "Jer.  xacd.  33, 34 ; 

John  xir.  36;  xvi.  13;  Verse  20. 


Verses  26, 27.  These  things'—From  verse  2I5  have 
I  written  unto  you — St  John,  according  to  his  cus- 
tom, begins  and  ends  with  the  same  form,  and 
having  finished  a  kind  of  parenthesis,  (verses  21*26,) 
continues  (verse  27)  what  he  said  verse  20;  con- 
cerning them  that  would  seduce  fou— That  is,  I  say 
it  to  arm  you  against  the  solicitations  of  those  who 
endeavour  to  draw  you  from  the  truth  and  grace  of 
the  gospel;  from  the  experience  and  practice  of 
real  Christianity.  But  the  anointing—The  spirit 
of  illumination ;  vJUch  ye  haioe  received  of  him — 
Who  hath  given  you  the  promise  of  eternal  life ; 
ahideih  in  yaw— Continually  and  powerfully ;  and 
— In  consequence  thereof;  ye  need  not  thai  any 
man  teach  yott—Namely,  ^e  principles  of  Christ's 
religion,  and  things  necessary  to  salvation ;  (see  on 
Jer.  xxxi.  34;  Heh.  viii.  11 ;)  hut  as  the  same  anoint- 
ing teacheth  yott— Whidi  is  always  the  same, 
always  consistent  with  itself.  See  oa  verse  20.  But 
this  does  not  exclude  men's  need  of  being  taught  by 
them  that  partake  of  the  same  anointing,  much  less 
their  need  of  being  put  in  remembrance  of  the 
things  they  already  know,  and  being  confirmed 
therein.  Teacheth  you  of  all  things-— Vfhieh  it  is  ne- 
cessary for  you  to  know ;  and  is  truth — Certain  and 
infallible;  dnd  is  no  lie — Like  that  which  antichrist 
teaches.  And  €u  t^^The  truth  I  speak  of;  hath 
taught  yoUf  ye  shaU  abide  in  him^ln  Christ,  and  iu 


taught  you,  ye  shaU  abide  in* him.  A.M. 
28  And  now,  Ktde  children,  abide  m 


hkn ;  that^  when  he  shall  appear,  we  may  have 
confidence,  ®  and  not  be  ashamed  before  turn  at 
his  coining. 
29  ^If  yeknowthat  he  is  righteous,  'ye  know 
that  *  every  one  that  doeth  righteoumesB  is  hem 
of  him. 


•  Or,  it. J»  Chap.  iii.  2. «  Chap.  ir.  17. *  Acto  xxit  14. 

»  Or,  ibioio  ye. •  Chap.  iiL  7, 10. 


the  bdief  and  profession  of  his  truth.  Hie  whole 
discourse,  from  verse  18  to  this,  is  peculiaiiy  adapted 
to  young  Christians^  whom  he  terms  UttU  children. 
Verses  28, 29.  And  now,  UUle—Ot  rather,  beloved^ 
children,  (for,  having  finished  his  address  to  each,  he 
now  returns  to  all  in  general,)  abide  in  kirn — Main- 
tain your  union  with  and  interest  in  him,  by  living 
a  life  of  faith,  love,  and  new  obedience;  of  prayer, 
watchfulness,  and  self-denial ;  that  when  he  shoU 
appear— As  he  assuredly  will,  in  his  own^lory  and 
in  that  of  his  Father,  with  all  his  holy  angels;  106 
may  have  confidence,  (a  modest  exprcsaion,)  and 
not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his  coming — ^And  put 
to  conftision.  O  how  will  you,  ye  Jews,  Deists,  and 
nominal  Christians,  and  especially  ye  apostates  from 
the  faith,  and  aU  who,  having  begun  in  the  Spuit, 
end  in  the  flec^,  be  adiamed  before  him  m  that  day! 
But  how  certainly  may  all,  who  approve  their  fidd- 
ity  to  him,  expect  from  his  mercy  and  love  a  gra- 
cious reception,  and  an  abundant  reward !  If  ye 
know— Thai  is,  as  certainly  as  you  know ;  that  ke  is 
righteous,  so  surely  ye  know  dso  that  every  one— 
And  none  else ;  that  doeth — That  practiseth ;  right- 
eousness—From  a  believing,  loving  heart;  if  bom 
of  him — Is  regenerated  and  made  a  i\ew  creature  by 
the  power  of  God's  Spirit,  (John  L  13,)  and  so  is 
made  like  him  by  partaking  of  the  divine  nature, 
2  Pet.  i.  4.    For  all  his  children  are  like  himself. 


C3HAPTER  ra. 

7^^apo»Ae  htrt,  (I,)  ExteU  the  love  of  Qoi  in  mskimg  heUevers  his  ekHdren,  sni  sets  forth  thsir  hgk  digmty^md  glorious 
expeMtatumtj  I,  8.  (2,)  H$  shows  dtat  ail  ssmmg  hof€  of  otsmaL glory ^  umon  wUk  Christ,  oni  regeneration,  by  his  Spirit^ 
infaiUbiy  promote  hJiness,  and  viUory  ovitr  sin,  a-10.  (8,)  He  represent  looe  to  the  hretkren  as  «  iistingwMmg  mark 
Ofui  characteristic  of  the  children  ef  Ood,  and  shows  how  that  looe  nmst  be  proved  to  be  nscete,  11-81.  (4,>  AfeafioM 
some  of  the  ilossed  effects  (^  faith,  looe,  and  obedience^  9%-9i. 


A.1L4CW.  jDEHOLD  'what  manner  of  love 
— J — L  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon 
us,    that    *we   should    be   called    the    sons 


*  Bixlh  iSmdety  after  Epiphany,  epictle,  vene  1  to  yeroo  9. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IIL 
Veise  1.  The  apostle,  in  the  last  verse  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  having  declared  that  every  one  who 
608 


of  Qod!  therefore  the  world  know- 
eth  us  not,  ^because  it  knew  him 
not 


A.D.9a 


•John  L  12.; ^  John  xr.  18, 19 ;  xtL  3 ;  xfiL  25. 

worketh  righteousness  is  bom  of  God,  begins  tbi 
chapter  with  an  exclamation  expressive  of  his  bigl 
admiration  of  the  love  of  God  in  calling  them  hJ« 


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CHAPTER  II](. 


the  9onB  of  Ood, 


A.  M.  lOM.     2  Beloved,    now    are   <"  we    the 

! sons  of  God,  and  ^  it  doth  not  yet 

appear  wiiat  we  ehaQ   be  :    but  we  know 
that,  When  he  shall  appear,  *  we  shall   be 


« Ita.  Iri  5 ;   Rom.  Tiii.  15 ;  Oal.  iii.  26 :  ir.  6 ;  Ch^>.  ▼.  1. 
<Roin.Tiii.l8;2Cor.  iT.17. •  Rom.  tui.  SO ;  IGor.  xt.49; 

children,  although  they  are  not  acknowledged  to  be 
such  by  the  men  of  the  world,  because  carnal  men 
haye  no  just  noticm  of  the  character  of  God.  Behold 
m^hcU  fnanner~-The  word  iroramyy,  thus  rendered, 
signifies  both  how  grecUy  and  v>hat  kind;  of  lot  e^ 
Love  immense,  condescending,  and  kind,. compas- 
sionate, forgiving,  patient,  forbearing,  sanctifying, 
comforting,  enriching,  exalting,  and  beautifying,  the 
Father— Of  universal  nature,  of  men  and  angels,  and 
of  our  Iiord  Jesus  Christ;  haih  bestowed  on  us— 
Fallen  and  depraved  creatures,  sinful,  guilty,  and 
dying;  theU  we  should  he  called  sone,  ^Teicva^  chil- 
dren,) of  Chd— Should  be  accounted,  acknowledged, 
and  treated  by  him  as  such;  should  be  brought  so 
near,  and  rendered  so  dear  to  him ;  should  have  free 
access  to  him,  as  children  to  a  father,  and  be  taken 
under  his  peculiar  direction,  protection,  and  care, 
and  constituted  his  heirs^  and  joint-heirs  with  his 
only-begotten  and  beloved  Son:  and  all  this  on  the 
easy  condition  of  turning  to  him,  in  repentance, 
ftuth,  and  new  obedience.  Therefore  the  world— 
The  carnal  and  worldly  part  of  mankind ;  knoweth 
iw  not— Is  not  acquainted  with  our  true  character, 
our  principles  and  practices,  our  disposition  and  be- 
haviour, our  present  privileges  and  future  expecta- 
tions; and  therefbre  does  not  acknowledge  us  for 
what  we  really  are,  nor  esteem  and  love  us,  but 
hates  and  persecutes  us;  because  it  knew  Mm  not — 
Ckid's  eternal  and  only-begotten  Son,  through  whom 
we  have  received  the  adoption,  but  accounted  him  a 
sinner,  an  impostor,  and  a  blasphemer,  and  crucified 
him  as  such.  As  if  he  had  said,  Since  ^e  enmity 
of  carnal  men  against  the  divine  will,  and  the  divine 
nature,  is  so  great  that  Christ  himself,  the  image  of 
the  ifwisible  Qod^  inhabited  by  the  fulness  of  the 
Deity,  was  unknown  and  hated  when  he  dwelt  in  the 
flesh,  it  is  no  wonder  that  we  are  hated  also  in  those 
respects  in  which  we  resemble  him.  Neverdieless, 
Verse  2.  Beloved— H  is  a  most  certain  and  Joyful 
truth,  that  now  are  we,  who  believe  on  God's  Son 
with  our  heart  unto  righteousness;  the  children  of 
6M— And,  persevering  in  that  faith,  we  shall  be  ac- 
knowledged as  such  before  men  and  angels  in  the 
day  of  final  accounts;  a  truth  which  draws  after 
it  a  long  train  of  glorious  consequences.  For  the 
happy  condition  we  shall  be  in  hereafter  exceeds  all 
that  we  can  now  conceive;  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear — Even  to  ourselves,  though  supematurally 
enlightened  by  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation ; 
whtU  we  shah  be— How  pure  and  holy,  intelligent 
and  wise  in  our  souls,  how  spiritual  and  glorious  in 
our  bodies,  how  exalted  in  dignity,  how  great  in 
power,  how  rich  in  inheritance,  how  happy  hi  en- 
joyments 1  But  we  know — In  the  genera],  on  the 
testimony  of  him  who  cannot  lie ;  that  when  he— 
TheSonof  Ck>d;  shall  (^fpear^  we shaU  be  like  him 
b 


like  hkn :  fer  'we  shall  see  him  as  A.  M.  4094. 

t      .  '  A.  D.90. 

he  18.  

3  'And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him 
purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure. 


Phil  iii.  21 ;  Col.  iii,  4 ;  2  Pet  L  4. 'Job  xix.  26;  Pta.  xri. 

11 ;   Matt.  ▼.  8 ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  12^  2  Cor.  v.  7. f  Ckap.  iv.  17. 


— ^In  all  these  respects;  our  souls  perfectly  con* 
formed  to  his  wise  and  holy  souL  our  bodies  to  his 
immortal  and  glorious  body,  and  that  we  shall  share 
with  him  in  his  felicity,  honour,  and  riches,  world 
without  end.  For  we  shall  see  him  <u  he  is— Which 
it  would  be  impossible  we  should  do  if  we  were 
not  like  him.  Or  rather,  as  perhaps  the  apostle 
chiefly  means,  the  great  privOege  being  granted 
us,  of  seeing  him  as  he  is,  the  sight  of  him  will 
transform  us  into  his  likeness.  "The  sight  of 
God,**  [in  Christ,]  as  Archbishop  TiJlotson  proves  at 
large,  (see  his  works,  voL  iii.  p.  194,)  "  is  put  to  ex- 
press the  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  him,  because 
of  its  excellence  and  dignity,  its  largeness  and  com- 
prehension, its  spirituality  and  quickness,  its  evi- 
dence and  certainty."  The  apostle  alludes  to  Christ's 
words,^  which  he  has  recorded!  in  his  gospel,  (John 
xviL  24,)  Father,  I  will  that  they  whom  thou  hast 
given  me  be  with  me  where  lam,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory  which  thouhqtst  givenme:  and  therefore  is 
speaking,  not  of  a  transient,  but  of  an  abiding  sight 
of  Christ,  as  is  plain,  because  only  such  a  view  of 
him  could  be  a  reason  for  our  being  like  him.  And 
since  we  are  to  live  with  him  for  ever,  our  bodies 
must  be  fashioned  like  to  his  body,  corruptible  bodies 
not  being  capable,  in  the  nature  of  things,  of  inherit- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God.  And  with  respect  to  our 
minds,  the  seeing  of  Christ  as  he  is  cannot  be  sup- 
posed effectual  to  make  us  like  him,  unless  U  be  an 
abiding  sight;  which,  by  exciting  in  us  an  admira- 
tion of  his  glories,  esteem  for  his  excellences,  grati- 
tude for  his  goodness,  love  to  his  person,  delight  in 
his  will,  with  all  wise,  holy,  and  happy  affections, 
will  assuredly  produce  that  h^py  eflfect.  At  the 
day  of  judgment,  it  is  probable  that  the  wicked  will 
have  a  transient  sight  of  Christ  as  he  is,  but  will  not 
thereby  be  made  like  him,  in  body  or  mind. 

Verse  3.  And  every  man  that  haih  this  hope  in 
him — An  expectation  of  seeing  Christ  as  he  is,  built 
on  a  solid  foundation,  namely,  the  foundation  of 
being  a  child  and  heir  of  God ;  purifieth  himself-^ 
By  apply  tog  to,  and  confiding  in,  the  purifying  blood 
of  Christ,  with  a  penitent,  believing  heart;  by  ear- 
nestly praying  for  and  receiving  the  purifying  Spirit 
of  God ;  by  obeying  the  purifying  word,  (1  Pet  i. 
22,)  and  by  exercising  purifying  faith  in  the  truths 
and  promises  of  the  gospel.  Acts  xv.  9:  even  as  he 
is  pure— The  person  who  is  inspired  with  this  well- 
grounded  hope,  will  keep  before  his  eyes  the  pure 
aud  holy  character  of  Christ,  as  the  mark  to  which 
he  is  to  press,  that  he  may  be  prepared  to  receive 
the  prize  of  his  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  JesuSy 
(Phil.  iii.  14,)  it  bemg  God's  will  and  pleasure  that 
believers  should  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  in  order  to  their  having  the  high  honour  and 
great  happiness  of  dwelling  with  him,  Rom.  viii.  29; 


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L  JOBN< 


iotakeama^mtrfitm. 


▲.D.  9a 


4  Whosoever  commiitedi  aia  Iraos- 
greeseth  also  the  law ;  fiNT^sinisthe 
tcaiu^essioD  of  the  bw. 

6  And  ye  know  'ihatiie  was  manifestad^U) 
take  away  our  sins ;  and  ^  in  him  is  no  sin. 

6  Whosoever  abideih  in  him  sinneCh  not: 
*  whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen  him,  neither 
known  him. 

7  liule  children,  "^  let  no  man  deceive  you : 


kRom.  IT.  15 ;  Chap.  ▼.  17. ^Chtp.  i.  2,  _,  _, 

II;  ITim.  i.  If;  H6b.i.3;  ix.96< iSCor^T.81;  1  Pet 

iL  as.— ^*  Chap.  iL  i;  IT.  8 ;  3  lohn 


Isa.  liiL'5.  d, 
.    r. 81 ;  IP 
Ohap.ii.M. 


tad  that  ihey  gbonld  not  expect  to  enjoy  the  privi- 
lege of  sitting  down  at  the  marriage-feast^  unless 
they  had  previoosly  pnt  on  the  weMdding-gannent. 
Mark  this,  reader :  and  give  up  all  hope  of  being  ad- 
mitted into  heaven  hereafter,  without  a  conformity 
to  Christ  in  holiness  here. 

Verses  4,  5.  The  truth  asserted  in  the  preceding 
verse  b  so  important,  and  the  apostle  knew  so  weU 
that  carnal  men  would  be  prone  to  flatter  themselves 
that  they  might  be  admitted  into  heaven  after  they 
die,  without  being  holy  whUe  they  live,  that  he  here 
enlarges  on  the  important  subject  Whosoever  com- 
mitieth  Wn— That  is,  as  the  apostle  here  means, 
known  sin,  whether  by  doing  actions  which  God 
hath  forbidden,  or  by  omitting  duties  which  he  hath 
enjoined,  or  by  uttering  words  which  are  false,  pro- 
fane, slanderous,  malicious,  passionate,  or  trifling 
and  foolish;  or  by  indulging  tempers  contrary  to 
those  of  Christ ;  tranegresseth  also  the  Zato—The 
holy,  just,  and  good  law  of  God,  and  so  sets  his  au- 
thority at  naught;  for  sin  is  the  transgression  of 
the  Zair—Which  is  implied  in  the  very  nature  (^sin. 
The  apostle's  meaning  is.  That  no  one  should  think 
lightly  of  his  sins,  because  every  sin,  even  the  least, 
being  a  violation  of  the  law  of  God,  if  not  repented 
of  and  pardoned,  through  faith  in  Christ,  will  most 
certainly  be  punished.  And  ye  know  that  /ie,  Christ, 
was  nuznifested—ThdX  he  came  into  ^e  world  for 
this  very  purpose ;  to  take  away— The  guilt,  power, 
and  pollution  of  oifr  sins— By  his  atoning  sacrifice, 
and  the  sanctifying  influences  of  his  word  and 
Spirit ;  and  in  him  is  no  sin— So  that  he  could  not 
sufler  on  his  own  account,  but  to  expiate  our  sins, 
and  to  make  us  like  himself. 

Verse  6.  Whosoever  abideih  in  union  and  fellow- 
ship with  him— By  loving  faith ;  sinneth  not— Doth 
not  commit  known  sin,  while  he  so  abideth:  whoso- 
ever amnc^A— Transgresseth  any  known  law  of  God ; 
halh  not  seen  him^  neither  known  him — His  views 
and  knowledge  of  him  have  been  so  superficial  that 
they  deserve  not  to  be  mentioned,  since  they  have 
not  conquered  his  love  Of  sin,  and  the4>revalence  of 
it,  and  brought  him  to  a  holy  temper  and  life.  Or 
he  has  not  attained  to,  or  has  not  retained,  a  spiritual, 
experimental  acquaintance  and  communion  with 
him.  For,  certainly,  when  a  person  sins,  or  trana- 
gresseth  any  known  law  of  God,  the  loving  eye  of 
iiis  soul  Is  not  fixed  upon  God;  neither  doth  he  then 
experimentally  know  him,  whatever  he  did  in  time 
660 


he  tb»t  doeth  ri^btfiousMBBigfi^-  Vn.^ 
eous,  even  «i  1^  is  qghteooi.  

8  'HethatccHaumttelksfaiii^fthftieffljte 
the devi  sippeth from  the hifinBing.  Forl)iii 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  ^  that 
he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  deviL 

9  'Whosoever  is  bom  of  God  doth  not  commit 
sin;  for  "his  seed  remaineth  ii^  him;  ao4  b^ 
cannot  mOj  because  he  is  bom  of  God. 


•Es«k.  xriii.  5^-9 ;  Rom.  u.  13 ;  Chap.  iL 90.^^ 

3S;  JolmTiii  44. 4 Gen.  ill.  16;  Luke  i. IS;  Jobn  xri.  11 ; 

Heb.  ii.  14. 'Chap,  t,  la ■  1  Pet.  i.  23. 


past  Macknight  thinks  it  prohable  that  '^some  ef 
the  heretical  teachers,  condemned  by  the  apostle  la 
this  epistle,  to  make  their  disciples  believe  ttiat  thm 
opinions  were  derived  from  Christ,  boasted  their 
having  seen  and  conversed  with  him  dming  his  mi- 
nistry on  earth,  consequently  that  they  knew  his 
doctrine  perfectly.  Bnt  the  apostle  assured  his  chil- 
dren that,  if  these  teachers^  who  avowedly  continued 
in  sin,  had  ever  seen  or  conversed  with  (Jurist,  they 
had  utterly  mistaken  both  his  character  and  his  doe- 
trine.** 

Verses  7-10.  LnttUj  or  beloved  chUdrem,  lei  m 
man  deceive  you— In  this  important  matter,  by  vain 
words,  however  serious  and  plausiUe  they  may 
seem  to  be.  For.  a  being,  himself  imnuitably  holy, 
ciin  never  dispense  with  the  want  of  holiness  in  his 
intelligent  creatures.  The  apostle's  words  imply, 
that  some  pretenders  to  inspiration  had  endeavoured 
to  deceive  the  brethren,  by  teaching  what  the  aposUe 
here  condenms.  And  as  it  is  a  solemn  address  of 
the  apostle  to  the  disciples,  it  shows  the  importance 
of  the  matter  which  it  introduces.  Ee  that  uniform- 
ly doM^  or  practiseth,  righteousness,  in  all  the 
known  branches  of  it,  it  righteous,  even  at,  (Mr  be- 
cause, he,  Christ,  is  righteous  He  is  righteous  alter 
Christ's  example.  The  apostle  speaks  of  that  prac- 
tical righteousness  which  is  consequent  on  justifica- 
tion and  regeneration,  when,  being  created  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus,  (Eph.  ii.  10^)  we  have  both  inolmation 
and  power  to  maintain  an  unblameable  conduct,  and 
all  good  works.  He  that  committeth  sin^Tbai 
knowingly  transgresses  God's  law,  is  a  child,  not  of 
God,  but  of  the  devil;  for  the  devil  «ime<A— That  is, 
hath  sinned  ifrom  the  beginning— Wbs  the  first  sm- 
ner  in  the  universe,  and  has  continued  to  sin  ever 
since.  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  mani- 
fested—In our  flesh,  lived,  and  died,  and  rose  again 
for  us ;  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  efthe  devil 
—Namely,  all  error,  sin,  and  nusery.  And  will  he 
not  perform  this  for,  and  in,  all  that  trust  in  him? 
The  word  Avoi?,  rendered  destroy,  property  means 
to  dissolve,  or  demolish,  and  implies  the  demolition 
of  that  horrible  fabric  of  sin  and  misery  which  Sa- 
tan, with  such  art,  industry,  and  malice,  hath  reared 
in  this  our  world.  Whosoever  is  bom  (f  God— la 
truly  regenerated  by  divine  grace,  through  living 
faith,  and  received  into  the  number  of  God's  ^ul- 
dren;  doth  not— Knowingly  and  voluntarily;  com- 
mit sin;  for  his  seed— The  incorruptible  seed  of  the 

b 


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CHAPTER  la 


to  God  and  one  another. 


JLD.9a 


10  In  this  the  children  of  God  are 
manifast,  and  the  children  of  the  devil: 
^  whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness  ia  not  of 
Gody  *ndther  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother. 

11  For  'this  is  the  ^message  that  ye  heard 
from  the  beginnings  ^  that  we  shoidd  love  one 
anodier. 

12  Not  as  *  Gun,  who  was  of  that  wicked 
one,  and  slew  his  brother.  And  wherefore  slew 
he  him?  Because  his  own  works  were  evil,  and 
his  brother's  righteous. 


« Chap,  ii  S9. ■  Chap.  it.  a *  Chap.  L  6 ;  il  7. '  Or, 

c^mMmdmeni.^ — 7  John  xiiL  34 ;  xt.  13 :  Verse  23 ;  Chap.  ir. 

7,  21;   2  Johi^  5. 'Geo.  iv.  4^  8;   Heb.  xi.  4:   Jude  11. 

*  Seooad  Stmdajf  after  Trinity,  episUe,  rene  13  to  the  end. 

word  of  God,  (1  Pet.  i.  23;  James  i.  18,)  aceoHi(>a- 
nied  with  his  Spirit,  (John  iiL  6,)  or  a  divine  princi- 
ple of  tiving,  loving,  and  obedient  feith ;  remaineth 
in  him — Implanted  in  his  inmost  soul ;  and  he  can- 
not «tn— It  would  be  contrary  to  the  nature  of  that 
divine  principle  which  is  implanted  in  him,  that  he 
should'sin ;  that  principle  having  not  only  manifest* 
ed  to  him  the  infinite  evil  and  destructive  oonse- 
guences  of  sin,  but  produced  ux  him  a  fixed  hatred 
to  it,  and  given  him  power  over  it ;  because  he  is 
bom  of  Ood—U  inwardly  and  universally  changed. 
/h  this— Or  by  this  mark ;  the  children  of  God  are 
manifest^  &o. — It  manifestly  appears,  to  all  who 
have  understanding  to  judge  in  spiritual  matters,  who 
are  the  children  of  God  and  who  are  not,  namely, 
by  their  committing  or  not  committing  known  sin. 
Whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness — Does  not  live  a 
holy  and  righteous  Hie;  is  not  of  Ood— la  not  one 
of  his  true  children ;  neither  he  that  loveth  not  his 
brother — With  such  a  love  as  the  apostle  proceeds 
to  describe  and  insist  upon.  Here  the  apostle  passes 
from  the  general  proposition  respecting  universal 
holiness,  to  a  particular  branch  of  it,  namely,  bro- 
therly love. 

Verses  11-14.  For,  &c. — ^As  if  he  had  said,  I  have 
just  declared  that  the  want  of  brotherly  love  b  a 
proof  that  a  man  is  not  of  God,  and  a  little  consider- 
ation may  convince  you  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion : 
for  this  is  the  message  that  ye  heard  of  us— The  apos- 
tles and  ministers  of  Chmi;  from  the  beginning — 
Of  our  ministry  among  you ;  that  we  should  love  one 
another— K  doctrine  frequently  inculcated  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  in  person :  not  as  Cain,  (see  the  margin,) 
who  was  of  the  wicked  one — Who  showed  he  was  a 
child  of  the  de?il,  by  killing  his  brother.  And 
wherefore  slew  he  him? — For  any  fault?  No:  but 
just  the  reverse ;  for  his  goodness.  Because  his  own 
works  were  evU — ^In  a  very  high  degree;  and  his 
brother's  righteous — ^And  he  could  not  bear  that  hb 
brother's  sacrifice  was  accepted  of  God  while  hb 
own  was  rejected ;  a  circumstance  that,  instead  of 
humbling  him  and  bringing  him  to  repentance,  as  it 
ought  to  have  done,  only  excited  hb  envy  and  ha- 
tred, which  at  length  setUed  into  the  most  rancorous 
malice,  and  produced  that  horrible  effect  Marvel 
notf  Ac— Am  if  he  had  said,  Since  there  b  a  great 


13  *Marvel  not,  my  brethren,  if  *the  a.  m.  4094. 
world  hate  you.  A?l!^ 

14  ^  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  ^He 
that  loveth  not  his  brother,  abideth  in  death. 

16  'Whosoever  hateth  hb  brother,  b  a  mur- 
derer: and  ye  know  that  *  no  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  abiding  in  him. 

16  ^Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  Cfod^  be- 
cause he  laid  down  hb  life  for  us:  and  we  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren. 


«  John  XT.  IS,  19;  zrii.  U;  2  Tim.  iii.  12. bChu».  u.  la 

« Chap,  iL  9, 1 1. * Mat^  v.  21,  22.- — •  Gil.  ▼.  21  JRev.  xxi 

a f  John  ui.i6;  xr.  13j   Rom.  ▼.  8;   Eph.  ▼.2,25;  Chap 

ir.  9, 11. 


deal  of  the  same  malignant  temper  remaining  in  the 
carnal  part  of  mankind,  and  there  are  many  who 
are,  in  Uiat  sense,  though  not  by  natural  descent,  of 
the  seed  of  Cain,  marvel  not  if  the  world  hate  you — 
Remembering  they  lie  in  the  wicked  one,  and  are 
under  his  influence.  We  know^  &c.— Thai  is,  we 
ourselves  could  not  love  our  brethren,  unless  we 
were  passed  from  spiritual  death  to  spiritual  life — 
That  is,  unless  we  were  bom  of  God.  He  that  loveth 
not  his  brother  abideth  in  c^eo/A— Namely,  in  spi- 
ritual death,  and  is  obnoxious  to  eternal  death.  In 
other  words,  he  is  not  bom  of  Ood:  and  he  that  is 
not  born  of  God  cannot  love  his  brother.  See  on 
chap.  iv.  7.  Reader,  observe  this:  all  mankind, 
being  born  in  sin,  are  in  a  state  of  spiritual  death^ 
and  in  the  way  to  eternal  dea&,  till  they  are  bom 
again  \  and  none  are  bom  again  who  do  not  truly 
love  both  God  and  his  people. 

Verse  15.  He,  I  have  just  said,  who  loveth  not  his 
brother,  abideth  in  death ;  is  void  of  the  life  of  God : 
for  whosoever  JuUeih  his  brother— And  there  is  no 
medium  between  loving  and  hating  him^  t«— In 
God's  account  j  a  murderer— Every  degree  of  hatred 
being  a  degree  of  the  same  temper  which  moved 
Cahi  to  murder  his  brother.  And  no  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  abiding  in  Aim— But  every  loving  be- 
liever hath.  For  love  is  the  beginning  of  ^  eternal 
life.  It  is  the  same  in  substance  with  future  felicity 
and  glory.  The  word  avSponoKrovo^j  here  rendered 
murderer,  is  by  Macknight  translated  a  manslayert 
who,  as  he  observes,  differs  from  a  murderer  as  man- 
slaughter differs  from  murder :  adding, "  The  hatred 
of  one*8  brother  may  be  the  occasion,  by  accident, 
of  putting  him  to  death.  For  he  who  indulgeth 
hatred  to  his  brother,  lays  himself  open  to  the  influ- 
ence of  such  passions  as  may  hurry  bim  to  slay  his 
brother.  So  our  Lord  tells  us,  in  his  explication  of 
the  precept,  7*hou  shalt  not  kiU,  Matt  vi.  21.  For 
he  mentions  causeless  anger  and  provoking  speeches 
as  violations  of  that  command,  because  they  are  often 
productive  of  murder." 

Verses  16, 17.  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  Ood 
—The  word  Ood  is  not  in  the  original :  it  seems  to 
be  omKted  by  the  apostle  just  as  the  name  of  Jesus 
is  omitted  by  Mary,  when  she  says  to  the  gardener, 
Sir,  if  thou  hast  borne  him  hence.  &c,  John  xx.  15^ 
061 


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ExhorUUion  not  to  love  in 


L  j(ms. 


iDord  only,  btU  in  tndL 


A.  M.  iOH.    17  But  '  whoeo  hath  this  world's 

'- — ^  good}  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need, 

and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from 
him,  *»  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ? 

18  My  little  children,  *  let  us  not  love  in  word, 
neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth. 

19  And  hereby  we  know  ^  that  we  are  of  the 
tnith,  and  shall  ^  assure  our  hearts  before  him. 

20  ^  For  if  our  heart  amdemm  us^  God  is 
greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things. 

21  "^  Beloved,  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not, 
*  then  have  we  confidence  toward  Grod. 

rDeut  XT.  7;   Luke  iii.  U. ^Chftp.  ir.  80. ^Exek. 

zxxiii.  31  'j  Rom.  xii.  9 ;  Eph.  ir.  15 ;  Jam^  ii.  15 ;  1  Pet.  L  22. 

k  John  xviii.  37 :  Chap.  i.  8. *  Gr.  persuade. *  1  Cor.  iv. 

4: -Job  xxii.  28. "Heb.  x.  22;  Chap.  ii.  28 f    ir,  17. 

«*  Psa.  xxxir.  15;  exlr.  18, 19 ;  Pror.  xr.  29 ;  Jer.  xxix.  12. 


io  which  place  there  is  a  very  emphatical  language, 
evea  in  silence.  It  declares,  how  totally  her  thoughts 
were  possessed  by  the  blessed  and  glorious  subject 
It  expresses  also  the  superlative  dignity  and  amiable- 
oess  of  the  person  meant;  as  though  he,  and  he 
alone^  were,  or  deserved  to  be.  both  known  and  ad- 
mired by  alL  Because  he  laid  down  his  life — Not 
merely  for  sinners,  but /or  us  in  particular.  From 
this  truth  believed,  and  salvation  received  by  that 
faith,  the  love  of  Christ,  and,  in  ponsequence  thereof 
the  love  of  the  brethren,  take  their  rise,  which  may 
very  justly  be  admitted  i^  an  evidence  that  our  faith 
is  no  delusion.  But  whoso  hath  this  world^s  good — 
Worldly  substance,  far  less  valuable  than  life ;  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need — (The  very  «ght  of 
want  knocks  at  the  door  of  the,  spectator's  heart ;) 
and  shutteth  «fp— Restraineth,  whether  asked  or  not ; 
his  bowels  of  compassion — Excited,  it  may  be,  by 
the  view  of  misery ;  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God 
in  him  7 — Certainly  not  at  all,  however  he  may  talk 
of  it,  as  the  next  verse  supposes  him  to  do.  Thus 
the  apostle  having,  in  the  preceding  verse,  observed, 
that  we  know  the  love  of  Christ  by  his  laying  down 
his  life  for  us,  and  that  the  consderation  of  his  love 
to  us  should  induce  us  "  so  to  love  him  as,  at  his 
call^  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren ;  here 
tells  us,  that  if,  so  Obut  from  laying  down  our  lives 
for  them,  we  refuse  them,  when  in  need,  some  part 
of  our  worldly  goods  to  support  their  lives,  the  love 
of  God  can  in  no  sense  be  said  to  be  in  us." 

Verses  18-20.  My  beloved  children,  let  us  not  love 
merely  in  word  or  in  tcm^«— Contenting  ourselves 
with  complimental  expressions  of  regard,  or  with 
giving  our  Christian  brethren  nothing  but  fair 
speeches ;  but  in  deed  and  in  truth — Let  our  actions 
approve  the  sinceritv  of  our  professions,  and,  by  re- 
lieving them  in  their  necessities  and  straits,  let  us 
show  that  we  sincerely  love  them.  And  hereby — 
£v  T8Tij,  in  this,  by  being  compassionate,  kind,  and 
bountiful,  according  to  our  abiUif ;  we  /moir— We 
have  a  satisfactory  evidence  by  this  real,  operative 
love  3  that  we  are  of  the  truth — That  we  have  true 
faith,  and  are  the  genuine  disciples  of  Christ  and 
children  of  God  i  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  before 


22  And  ^  whatsoever  yre  ask,  we  re-  a.  m.  4DM. 

ceiveofhim,  because  we  keep  hb  com- '. — 

mandments,  ''and  do  those  things  that  are  pleas- 
ing in  bis  sight  - 

23  «  And  this  is  bis  commandment ;  That  we 
should  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  'and  love  one  another^  'as  he  gave  us 
commandment 

24  And  ^he  that  keepeth his  commandments, 
^dwelleth  in  him, and  he  in  him.  And  'herdjy 
we  know  that  he  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Sprit 
whidi  he  hath  given  us. 


P  John  yiii..29 ;   ix.  31. <i  John  ri.  20 ;    irii.  3.—^ Matt. 

Z3di.  39 ;  John  xiii.  34 ;  zr.  12 ;  Eph.  ▼.  2 ;  1  Thesa.  ir.  0 ; 

1  Pet.  it.  8 ;   Chitp.  ir.  21. "Chiq).  ii.  8,  10. » John  vr, 

23  ^  XT.  10 ;  Chap,  ir.- 12.-- — ■  John  xrii.  21,  6tc. '  Robl 

viiu  9 ;  Ch^  It.  13. 


him — Shall  enjoy  an  assurance  of  his  favour,  and  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God.  The 
heart,  in  St  John's  language,  is  the  conscience.  The 
word  conscience  is  not  used  in  his  writings.  For  if 
we  have  not  this  testimony ;  if  in  any  thing  our  heart 
— Our  conscience,  condemn  us,  much  more  does 
God,  who  is  greeUer  than  our  heart — ^An  infinitely 
more  holy  and  impartial  Judge  \  and  knoweth  all 
things—So  that  there  is  no  hope  of  hiding  it  from  him. 

Verses  21,  23.  Beloved,  if  our  heart  cofidemn  us 
not — If  our  conscience,  duly  enlightened  by  the 
word  iEmd  Spirit  of  God,  and  comparing  all  our 
thoughts,  words,  and  works  with  that  word,  pro- 
nounce that  they  agree  therewith ;  then  have  we 
confidence  toward  God — Our  consciousness  of  his 
favour  continues,  with  liberty  of  access  to  him,  an^ 
intercourse  with  him ;  and  we  have  this  further  bless- 
ing, that  whatsoever  we  o^/r— Accordmg  to  his  will; 
we  receive  of  him — Or  shall  receive  in  the  time, 
measure,  and  manner  which  he  knows  will  be  most 
for  his  glory  and  for  our  good.  This  general  declara- 
tion must  be  limited  by  the  conditions  which  in  other 
passages  of  Scripture  are  represented  as  necessary 
in  order  to  our  petitions  being  granted  by  God :  such 
as,  that  we  ask  things  which  his  word  authorizes  us 
to  ask,  1  John  v.  14, 15 ;  and  that  we  ask  them  in 
faith,  James  i.  6 ;  or  in  a  full  persuasion  of,  and  re- 
liance upon,  his  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness;  and 
with  sincerity  and  resignation.  Such  prayers  they 
who  live  in  his  fear  and  love,  and  comply  with  his 
will,  as  far  as  they  know  it,  walking  before  him  in 
holiness  and  righteousness,  may  expect  will  be  heard 
and  answered. 

y exses  23, 24.  And  this  is  his  commandment,  That 
we  should  belike,  &c,— Namely,  all  his  command- 
ments: in  one  word,  Tltai  we  should  believe  and 
hve — In  the  manner  and  degree  which  he  hath  taught. 
This  is  the  greatest  and  most  important  command 
that  ever  issued  from  the  throne  of  glory.  If  this  be 
neglected,  no  other  can  be  kept ;  if  this  be  observed, 
all  others  are  easy.  And  he  that  keepeth  his  com- 
mandments—Th^  thus  believes  and  loves ;  dwelleth, 
or  abideth  in  him — In  Christ  Jesus,  or  in  God  the 
Father;  and  ile— Christ,  or  the  Father;  in  him-^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  IV. 


•educing  ipirfti. 


This  seems  ta  be  an  aUnsion  to  oar  Lord's  words, 
John  ±tv.  2B;  If  a  man  love  me,  he  inU  keep  my 
words,  and  my  Father  will  love  Arm,  and  we  will 
come  unto  kim,  and  make  our  abode  with  him.  That 
is,  in  this  way  we  obtain  fellowship  with  the  Father, 
as  well  as  with  the  Son ;  yea,  the  most  intimate  ac- 
quaintance, firiendsfaip}  and  conmranioo,  and  are 


thereby  made  nnspeal^iy  happy ;  and  hereby  we 
know  that  he  abideth  in  u#— That  we  have  this  in- 
timate union  and  communion  with  him;  by  the 
Spirit  which  he  hath  given  ti«— The  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion and  regeneration,  witneasmg  with  our  spirits 
that  we  are  his  children,  and  producing  in  us  loye^ 
joy,  and  peace,  holiness  and  happiness. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  apostle,  (I,)  CautioHM  (he  CkritHem,  eonverU  agtmut  hemg  deeehed  hy  eedudng  tpirite,  ami  ekowM  haw  they  mtght  dte- 
iinguieh  between  ^  Spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error,  1-6.  (2,)  Enforces  brotherly  love  as  the  proper  characteristic 
of  a  sincere  Christian,  espeeiaUy  from  the  Urn  of  Oodrand  Christ  toward  us,  7-16.  (3,)  Describes  ourlopcto  Ood  in  its 
eoMse,  nature,  and  effects,  17-81. 

2  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  a.  m.4064. 
God:   *  Every  spirit  that  confesecth    ^'  ^  ^' 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  ia  the  flesh,  is  of 
God: 


A. M. 4094.  TDELOYED,  •believe  not  every 
1— .  sjririt,  but  *  try  the  spirits  whe- 
ther they  are  of  God :  because  •  many  fiedse  pro- 
phets are  gone  out  into  the  world. 


•  Jer.  xxiz.  6 ;  Matt.  zzIt.  4. ^  1  Coc  zir.  20;  1  Theat.  r. 

21;  ReT.ii.2. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 

Verse  1.  Because  the  Gnostics  and  other  heretics,  in 
the  first  age,  to  gain  the  greater  credit  to  their  erroneous 
doctrines,  assumed  to  themselves,  the  character  and 
authority  of  inspired  teachers,  John  put  his  disciples 
in  mind,  (chap.  iL  27,)  that  they  had  an  unction  from 
&e  Holy  Spirit,  by  which  ^ey  were  enabled  to  judge 
with  certainty,  both  of  teachers  and  of  their  doctrine. 
He  therefore,  in  this  cluster,  commands  them  not  to 
believe  rashly  every  teacher  who  pretended  to  be 
inspired,  but  to  try  the  inspiration  by  which  any 
preacher  professed  to  speak,  whether  it  was  from  God 
or  from  evil  spuits ;  tluit  after  trial  tiiey  might  know 
whom  it  was  their  duty  to  attend  to,  and  whom  they 
opght  to  disregard  and  reject  And  to  secure  them, 
as  far  as  possible,  from  being  deceived,  he  especially 
desires  them  to  consider  whether  the  teacher,  who 
came  to  them,  pretending  to  inspiiation,  held  the 
great  and  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  which 
all  the  teachers,  really  inspired  of  Ckxl,  regularly  and 
uniformly- maintained.  His  words  may  be  para- 
phrased as  fbUows :  Believe  not  every  spirit — ^By 
which  any  teacher  is,  or  professes  to  be,  actuated : 
or,  believe  not  every  teacher  who  pretends  to  be  in- 
spired by  the  Spirit  of  God;  but  try  the  spirits — 
Namely,  wheiher  they  are  of  Qod^Bj  the  rule 
which  God  hath  given.  We  are  to  try  all  spirits  by 
the  written  word :  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  ! 
If  any  man  speak  not  according  to  these,  the  spirit 
which  actuates  him  is  not  of  God.  Because  many 
false  prophets^Or  false  teachers  5  are  gone  forth 
into  the  world^WiOk  an  iiUention  to  draw  disciples 
after  them. 

Verse  2.  Hereby-^By  the  following  plain  mark ; 
know  ye  the  Spirit  of  Ood — ^In  a  teacher.  Every 
spiritr^-^i  a  teacher;  that  confesseth  that  Jesus 


«Matt.xziT.5,24;  Acto  xx.  30;  1  Tim.  iv.  1:  2  Pet  ii.  1; 
Chap.  iL  18 ;  2  John  7. <  1  Cor.  xii  3. 

Christ  is  cotke  in  the  fleshy  is  of  God — Doddridge, 
with  many  other  commentators,  reads  this  clause, 
Every  spirit  that  confesseth  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
come  in  the  flesh,  is  of  God:  that  is,  that  confesseth 
him  to  be  the  Messiab^  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world,  and  that  both  with  heart  and  voice,  sin- 
cerely believing  him  to  be  such,  and  behaving  to  him 
and  confessing  him  as  such,  though  this  might  ex- 
pose them  to  ^e  loss  of  all  things,  even  of  their 
property,  liberty,  and  lives.  This  must  be  acknow- 
ledged to  be  a  perfectly  Scriptural  and  very  proper 
mark  of  trial,  proving  those  in  whom  it  was  found  to 
be  possessed  of  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  Christ. 
Nevertheless,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  though  the 
original  words,  0  ofioXoyei  hjcw  Hpi^ov  ev  caput  eA^Xv- 
i9ora,  might  bear  this  rendering,  they  much  more 
favour  the  sense  given  them  in  our  translation,  signi- 
fying, literally  and  exactly,  that  confesseth  Jesus 
Christ  hath  come  in  ihe  flesh.  This  imports  two 
things:  1st,  That  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  whose  coming 
was  foretold  by  the  Jewish  prophets,  in  opposition  to 
the  unbelieving  Jews ;  a  truth  which  those  who  con- 
fessed, whether  in  Judea  or  in  the  Gentile  countries, 
exposed  themselves  to  the  danger  of  having  their 
goods  spoiled,  and  their  bodies  imprisoned,  if  not  also 
tortured  and  put  to  death.  So  that  those  who  volun- 
tarily made  this  confession,  manifested  that  they 
preferred  Christ  and  his  gospel  to  all  other  things 
whatever.  The  clause  imports,  2d,  That  this  great 
personage,  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  had  really 
come  in  the  flesh,  and  had  a  real  human  nature,  in 
opposition  to  a  sect  which  arose  very  early  in  the 
Christian  Church,  called  the  Doceta,  who  would  not 
allow  that  Christ  had  a  real  body,  and  that  he  really 
suffered,  died,  and  rose  again.  This  sect  St  John 
seems  to  have  had  in  his  eye  throughout  this  ep'istle. 


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IJOHN. 


are  under  ihe  spbrU  ofanik^uitt' 


A.M.4004.  3  And*evei7Bpiritthatcoafc8dethiK)t 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  J8 


not  of  God.  And  this  is  that  fpH^  of  antichrist, 
wberec^  ye  have  heard  that  it  sboold  come;  and 


•  Chftp.  ii.  22.- 


rsTlMM.ii.7;  C1hi|kU.  IS, 


Chap. 


Hence,  in  the  very  beginning  of  it,  he  speaks  of 
seeingy  hearing^  and  handling  Christ ;  and  here,  to 
the  fundamental  article  of  Jesus's  being  the  MessLah, 
he  adds,  that  he  came  in  the  flesh;  with  which  doc- 
trine his  atoning  for  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself^ 
and  his  rising  from  the  dead,  the  first-fruits  of  them 
that  sleep,  were  closely  and  necessarily  connected, 
and  therefore  the  acknowledgment  of  it  was  a  point 
of  the  greatest  importance. 

The  Socinlans  Indeed  contend,  that  to  confess 
Jesus  Christ  hath  come  in  the  flesh,  means  simply  to 
confess  that  he  wis  a  mere  man :  uid  from  this  they 
infer  that  he  had  no  existence  before  he  was  con- 
ceived of  his  mother.  In  proof  of  thei/  sense  o£  the 
clause,  they  cite  Heb.  IL  14,  where  the  writer  says, 
he  partook  of  our  flesh  and  blood.  Now,  though  H 
may  be  true  that  these  words  import  nothing  more 
than  that  Christ  was  a  man,  like  other  men,  St.  John's 
words,  hath  c^tme  in  thefles\hdiye  evidently  a  more 
extensive  meaning.  For,  as  Bishop  Horsley  ob- 
serves,^ the  sense  of  a  proposition  ariseth,  not  from 
the  meaning  of  a  single  word  contained  in  it,  but 
from  the  union  of  the  whole  into  one  sentence,  espe- 
cially if  that  union  suggests  any  circumstance  by 
which  the  sense  of  the  proposition  is  modified.  This 
is  the  case  of  the  clause,  hath  come  in  the  flesh; 
words  which,  while  they  specify  the  manner  of  his 
coming,  imply  that  he  might  have  come  in  a  differ- 
ent manner  if  he  had  pleased.  Accordingly  the 
apostle  hath  used  the  verb  to  come  in  that  sense 
1  John  V.  6.  This  is  he  who  came  by  water  and 
blood,  even  Jesus  Christ;  not  by  water  only,  but  by 
the  water  and  the  blood.  For  his  meaning  plainly 
is,  that  Jesus  came  attested  as  the  Christ  by  water 
and  blood  jointly,  although  he  might  have  come  at- 
tested by  either  of  these  separately;  and  that  Jesus 
existed  as  the  Christ  before  he  came  attested  by  the 
water  and  the  blood.  Thus  the  clsose^hflth  comein 
the  flesh,  implies  that  he  might  have  come  in  another 
manner  than  in  the  flesh,  namely,  in  the  form  of  God, 
as  mentioned  Phil,  ii  6, 7.  It  implies  that  he  existed 
before  he  came  in  the  flesh,  and  chose  to  coxtie  in 
that  manner,  rather  than  ih  any  other;  consequent- 
ly that  he  is  more  than  a  mere  man.  Tliat  Jesus 
Christ  might  have  come  in  another  manner,  was  the 
opinion  of  Clemens  Rbmanus,  one  of  the  apostolical 
fathers  mentioned  Phil.  iv.  3:  for  in  his  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  he  saith,  "The  sceptre  of  the  ma- 
jesty of  God,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  came  not  ta  the 
pride  of  pomp  and  arrogance,  although  he  had  it  in 
his  power;  but  in  humility,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  spake 
concerning  him."  See  Macknight,  and  Bishop 
Horsley's  5th  letter  to  Priestley. 

Verse  8.  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh—Thht  doth  not 
acknowledge  him  to  be  the  true  Messiah,  as  above 
064 


'  even  now  already  is  it  in  the  world.  A.  m.  40M. 
4  »Ye  are  of  God,  litde  children,    ^'^'^ 
and  have  overcome  them:  because  greater  is  he 
thai  it  in  yon,  than  ^he  that  is  in  the  world. 


r.4. — >-^JoIb  zu.  si ;  ziv. 30 }  zn.  11 ;  RpLii.  S;  tL  Id. 


observed,  and  that  he  came  in  that  partiealar  man- 
ner, though  he  might  have  come  otherwise;  is  not 
ofOod—^^  To  determine  whether  the  Soeinian  inter- 
pretation of  the  clause,  hath  come  in  ihe  fiesk,  ex- 
presses the  apostle's  meaning,  let  that  interpretation 
be  substituted  for  the  expression  of  which  it  is  the 
interpretation,  and  the  passages  under  consideratioa 
will  run  thus:  verse  2,  Every  spirit,  every  teacher, 
calling  himself  inspired^  who  confesseth  Jesus  Christ 
hath  come  a  mere  man,  is  from  Gpd;  verse  3,  And 
every  spirit  who  doth  not  confess  Jesus  Christ  haih 
come  a  mere  man^  is  not  from  €hd  Wherefore^  as 
St.  John  is  here  giving  marks  by  which  tme  aiid 
false  teachers  were  to  be  distinguished,  if  the  So- 
einian sense  of  the  phrase,  hath  come  in  the  flesh,  bd 
just,  he  hath  made  it  the  mark  of  a  true  teacher,  that 
he  confesseth  Jesus  Christ  as  a  mere  man;  and  the 
mark  of  a  ftdse  teacher,  that  he  doth  net  confess  Je* 
sus  Christ  as  a  mere  man,  but  affirmeth  Uiat  he  is 
more  than  a  mere  man;  cons^squenUy,  by  so  doing, 
St.  John  has  condemned  himself  as  a  false  teacher; 
because,  having  declared  (chap,  iv.'  15;  v.  5)  that  Je- 
sus Christ  is  the  ;Sbn  of  Ood,  he  hafth  confessed  that 
he  is  more  than  a  mere  man."  And  also  in  his  gos- 
pel, having  told  us,  (chap.  i.  14,)  that  the  Word  (who 
he  had  said,  verse  1,  was  with  €rod  and  was  God) 
was  fhade  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  they  be^ 
held  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only4)egotten  of 
the  Father,  ^he  hath  certainly  confessed  that  Jesus 
Christ  b  more  than  a  mere  man:  for  whose  glory 
did  the  apostles  behold,  if  it  was  not  the  glory  of  the 
Word  made  flesh,  the  only-begotten  of  (he  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth!  Wherefore,  Jc^  having 
confessed  that  Jesus  is  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  €k>d, 
he  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  branded  those  teach' 
ers  as  deceivers,  who  did  not  confess  Jesus  Christ  to 
be  a  mere  man,  but  affirmed  him  to  be  more  than  a 
man ;  because,  by  so  doing,  he  would  have  condemn-* 
ed  himself  as  a  fiBdse  teacher."  And  this  is  that  spirit 
of  antichrist  which  ye  have  heard,  Ac — "From 
this,  as  wen  as  from  chap.  ii.  1^  it  appears  that  anti^ 
Christ  is  not  any  particular  person,  nor  any  particu- 
lar succession  of  persons  in  Uie  church,  bnt  a  general 
name  for  all  false  teachers  in  every  age,  who  dis> 
seminate  doctrines  contrary  to  those  taught  by  the 
aposties ;  especially  £f  these  doctrines  have  a  tenden- 
cy to  derogate  from  Christ's  character  and  ae^ons 
as  the  Saviour  of  the  world."— lifacknigfat 

Verses  4-6.  Ye— Who  abideln  the  truth  taught  yon 
fVom  the  beginning ;  are  of  God,  and  have  overcome 
t^ftit^— Namely,  these  seducers,  in  all  thehr  snares  and 
delusions:  that  is,  the  doctrine  to  which  yon  adhere 
has  prevailed  against  those  who  deserve  the  name 
of  antichrist,  (as  undoubtedly  all  who  oppose  the 
Christian  interest  in  Some  measure  did,)  and  as  yetl 
have  the  true  miraculous  gifis  of  the  Spirit  among 


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mai^oftfue  ChtigHaniiy. 


A.H,40M. 
A.D.9Q. 


5  '  They  are  of  the  woiid:  therefore 
gpeak  they  of  the  w(»rld,  and  ^  the 
world  heareth  them. 

6  W^  are  of  God.  >  He  diat  knoweth  God, 
heareth  os ;  he  that  is  not  of  God,  h^reth  not 
us.  Hereby  know  we  ■  the  spirit  of  truth,  and 
the  spirit  of  error. 

7  "^'Bebvedjlet  U0  love  cme  another:  for  love 


i  Jolm  iiL  31. ^  John  xr.  10:  zrii.  14.—^  John Tui.  47 ; 

iL  27;  1  Cortnthians  xIt.  37;  3  €orinthi»ot  z.  7^-—     -    -  - 
Tiii.  30 ;  John  zIt.  17. 


you,  to  which  they  falsely  pretend,  it  is  soon  seen 
that  the  advantage  is  clearly  oii  yonr  side.  Because 
greater  is  ?u  that  is  in  yot^Nainely,  the  Spirit  of 
Christ;  than  he^The  spirit  of  antichrist;  that  is  in 
the  irorW— The  Son  of  God,  who  stands  at  the  head 
of  that  interest  in  which  yon  are  embarked,  and  who 
aids  you  by  the  mighty  communications  of  his  Spirit, 
is  infinitely  too  strong  for  Satan,  the  great  head  of 
the  apostacy,  and  for  all  hb  confederates.  Thus,  the 
isstie  of  the  divme  goyemment  will  be,  that  truth 
and  virtue  shall  be  finally  victorious  over  error  and 
wickednesis,  because  God,  the  Patron  of  truth  and 
virtue,  possesseth  far  greater  pOwer  and  wisdom 
than  the  evil  spirits  who  promote  error  and  wicked- 
ness, TJiey — Those  false  teachers ;  are  of  the  world 
—Of  the  number  of  those  that  know  not  God ;  there- 
fore speak  they  of^e  world — From  the  principle, 
tvisdom,  and  spirit,  that  actuate  worldly  men;  and^ 
of  consequence,  the  world  heareth  <^em— Namely, 
with  approbation.  ''Lest  the  faithful  shoijld  be  dis- 
couraged by  the  success  which  false  teachers  often- 
times have  in  spreading  their  errors,  the  apostle  ob- 
serves that  their  success  arises  generally  from  their 
accommodating  their  doctrines  to  the  prejudices  and 
evil  inclinations  of  the  world.  Wherefore,  from  the 
prevalence  of  any  doctrine  no  argument  can  be 
drawn  in  favour  of  its  truth."  We — Apostles;  are 
of  Qod — Immediately  taught  and  sent  by  him,  and 
have  approved  ourselves  to  be  so  by  such  irresistible 
evidence,  that  I  may  now  venture  to  say,  he  who 
knoweth  Qod — And  experiences  the  governing  in- 
fluence of  his  fear  and  love,  heareth  and  regardeth 
us;  but  he  who  is  not  of  God  heareth  not  us — Nei- 
ther believes  nor  obeys  opr  word;  but,  by  rejecting 
our  testimony,  attended  as  it  b  with  such  evidence, 
he  proves  himself  destitute  of  all  true  religion. 
Hereby  we  know— Yrom  what  is  said  verses  %S ;  the 
spirit  of  truths  and  the  spirit  of  error— ^^  This  mark, 
by  whbh  St.  Johii  directed  his  disciples  to  judge  of 
teachers,  is  not  to  be  understood  of  their  hearkening 
to  the  apostles  personally,  but  of  their  receiving  their 
doctrine  with  that  submission  which  was  due  to  per- 
sons in^ired  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Wherefore, 
though  the  apostles  be  all  dead,  yet  as  they  still  speak 
in  their  divinely-inspired  writings,  John,  in  this  pas- 
sage, declares  that  their  writings  are  the  test  by 
which  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  to  judge  both  of 
teachers  and  of  their  doctrine." 

Verses  7,  8.  Let  us  love  one  another— Vtom  the 
doctrine  he  has  just  been  defending,  he  draws  this 
b 


is  of  God ;  and  every  one  that  loveth  A  H.  4004. 
is  bom  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.       ^  ^-  *^ 


8  He  that  loveth  not,  <>  knoweth  not  God ;  fcsr 
^  God  is  love. 

9  ^  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  to- 
ward us,  because  that  God  sent  his  only-begotten 
Son  into  the  world, '  that  we  might  live  throQgh 
him. 


■Chapter  iii.  10,  11,  33. — >-*Firit  Smiav  after  Trinity, 
epietle,  reiee  7  to  dM  eMd.-*- ^  Chap.  ii«  4 ;  iiit  e^^-^P  Verae 
16.-*-^  John  iii.  16 ;  Rom.  ▼.  8 ;  viii.  Vl^^—*  Chap.  ▼.  11. 


exhortation:  as  if  he  had  said.  Think  it  not  enough 
speculatively  to  admit  the  Christian  doctrine,  but  let 
it  oe  your  great  care  to  acknowledge  it  practically, 
and  especially  with  respect  tothat  most  important 
article,  brotherly  love.  The  frequency  and  earnest- 
ness with  which  the  apostle,  in  the  priesent  epistle, 
inculcates  this  love,  is  very  remarkable.  The  great- 
est part  of  this  chapter,  and  of  chapter  ill,  is  em- 
ployed in  pressing  this  duty.  See  also  chap.  ii.  9- 
II.  For  love  is  of  Qqd—l^  from  him  as  its  source, 
and  particularly  enjoined  by  him  as  a  duty  of  the 
greatest  importance,  and  of  absolute  necessity,  in 
order  to  our  pleasing  and  imitating  him.  And  every 
one  thai  loveth  is  horn  of  God — Every  one,  in  whose 
heart  this  divine  principle  reigns,  and  conquers  the 
selfish  and  contrary  passions,  shows  by  it  that  he  is 
regenerated  and  transformed  into  the  divine  linage; 
and  that  he  knoweth  God— By  tbe  teaching  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  as  the  God  of  love,  infinitely  amiable  in 
himself,  and  infinitely  loving  to  his  people.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  that  loveth  not^  whatever  he  may  pre- 
tend, knoweth  not  God^-Uoa  no  experimental  and 
saving  knowledge  of  him ;  for  God  is  love— lis  great 
fountain  and  exemplar.  He  enjoins  it  by  his  law, 
and  produces  and  cherishes  it  by  the  influences  of 
his  Spirit;  and  the  due  contemplation  of  him  will 
naturally  inflame  our  hearts  with  love  tohb  divine 
majesty,  and  to  our  fellow-creatures  for  his  sake, 
whose  creatures  they  are,  and  especially  to  his  chil- 
dren, who  love  him,  bear  his  image,  and  are  pecu- 
liarly dear  to  him.  Tbb  little  sentence,  God  is  love, 
brought  St.  John  more  sweetness,  even  in  the  time 
he  was  writmg  it,  says  Bengelius,  than  the  whole 
world  can  bring.  God  is  often  styled  holy,  right- 
eous, wise;  but  not  holiness,  righteousness,  or  wi^^ 
dom,  in  the  abstract,  as  he  is  said  to  be  love :  intima- 
ting that  this  is  his  darUng,  his  reigning  attribute; 
the  attribute  that  sheds  an  amiable  glory  on  931  his 
other  perfections. 

Verse  9.  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God- 
Namely^  most  eminently  above  all  other  instances 
thereof;  because  that  God  sent  his  only-begotten 
Son  into  the  world— Th^X  is,  evidently,  sent  him, 
who  was  his  only-begotten  Son  before  he  was  sent. 
"This,"  as  Macknight  justly  observes,  "is  an  allu- 
sion to  our  Lord's  words,  John  iiL  16,  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only4>egotten  Son,  &c. 
Christ  is  called  God's  only-begotten  Son,  to  distin- 
guish him  from  all  others,  who  in  Scripture  are 
called  the  sons  of  God;  and  to  heighten  our  idea  of 


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L  JOHN. 


hefiretUwedlkem^ 


A.M.409i.    10  Herein  is  love,  '  not  that  we 

1 — 1-  loved  God,   but  that  he  loved  us, 

and  sent  his  Son  ^  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
our  eons. 

11  Beloved,  *  if  God  so  loved  us^  we  ought  also 
to  love  one  another. 

12  '  No  man  hatb  seen  God  at  anytime.  If 
we  love  one  another,  God  dweUeth  in  us,  and 
This  love  is  perfected  in  us. 


•John  XT.  16;  Rom.  r.  S,  10 ;  Tit  iiL  4. >  Chapter  ii.  2. 

«Hatt.  zWu;  33 ;  Jphn  zt.  12,  13;  Chap.  iii.  16.--r->  John  L 
18;  1  Tim.  ri.  16;  Vene  20. 


God's  love  to  us,  in  giving  a  person  of  such  dignijty, 
and  so  belored  of  God,  to  die  for  us.  It  is  supposed, 
that  by  giving  Christ  t)ie  title  of  GocTe  only-begotten 
Son  in  this  passage,  the  apostle  intended  to  overturn 
the  error  of  Ebion  and  Cerinthus,  who  affirmed  that 
Christ  was  not  God's  Sen  by  nature,  but  that,  like 
other  good  men,  he  was  honoured  with  the  title  of 
God's  Son  on  account  of  his  virtues;  in  which  opi- 
nion these  heresiarchs  have  been  followed  by  some 
in  modern  times.  They,  however,  who  hold  this 
opinion  ought  to  show  a  reason  why  the  epithet  of 
ffie  only  begotten  is  appropriated  to  Christ"  That 
we  might  live  through  Atm— That  the  sentence  of 
condemnation  to  the  second  death,  to  which  we  were 
obnoxious,  might  be  reversed,  and  that  being  Justi- 
fied by  living  faith,  and  regenerated  by  the  quicken- 
ing Spirit  of  God,  we  might  live  a  spiritual  life  in  the 
divine  favour,  and  in  union  with  Christ  here,  and 
might  be  coiiducted  to  eternal  life  hereafter. 

Verses  10-12.  Herein  is  tore— Worthy  of  our 
highest  admiration ;  not  that  we  loved  6^od— First ; 
for  we  were,  on  the  contrary,  in  a  state  of  enmity  to 
him,  in  which,  if  we  had  remained  unsolicited  and 
untouched  hy  his  love  and  grace,  we  should  have 
oersisted  and  perished ;  but  that  he  loved  t««— First, 
(Verse  19,)  without  any  merit  or  motive  in  us  to  in- 
duce him  to  do  it ;  aiid^  in  his  boundless  compassion 
to  our  necessities  and  miseries ;  sent  his  Son  to  be 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins — That  is,  to  make 
atonement  to  his  injured  justice  for  them  by  offering 
himself  as  a  sacrifice,  and  so  to  introduce  us  into  his 
favour  on  honourable  terms.  If  God  so  loved  us^ 
With  such  a  transceudent,  free,  and  inconceivable 
love ;  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another — In  imita- 
tion of  his  divine  example,  from  a  sense  of  the  hap- 
py state  into  which  we  are  brought,  and  in  gratitude 
to  him  for  so  inestimable  a  favour.  And  It  is  of  the 
greater  importance  that  we  should  do  this,  because 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  In  order  to  our  having  fel- 
lowship with  him.  For  no  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time--^Qx  indeed  can  see  him,  since  he  is  in  his 
own  nature  invisible ;  nor  can  any  one  have  any 
knowledge  of  him,  or  intercourse  with  him  by 
his  senses,  or  any  information  concerning  his  will 
and  the  way  of  pleasing  him  by  any  visible  appear- 
ance of  him,  or  converse  with  him;  yet,  from  what 
his  only-begotten  Son  hath  taught  us,  we  know  that 
if  we  love  one  another^ln  consequence  of  first  lov- 
ing him  5  God  dweHHh  /levti^  abideth,  in  tw— This 


13  'Hereby  know  we  that  we  dwell  A.M.40M 

in  him,  and  he  in  us,  because  he  hath 

given  u$  of  his  Spirit 

14  And  *  we  have  seen  and  ^do  testify,  that 
^  the  Father  sent  the  Saa  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
the  worid. 

16  *  Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 

Son  of  Grod,  Grod  dweUethin  him,  and  he  in  God. 

16  And  we  have  known  and  bdieved  the 


fChMB.  ii  5;  Vene  Ifi.- 
«  John  1.  H;  Chap.  i.  1,  3.~ 
Chi^k.  T.  1,  fi. 


•>  John  ziT.  90 ;  Chap.  UL  Si. 
b  John  iiL  17. «  Ron.  z.  0 ; 


is  treated  of  verses  13-16;  and  his  love  is  perfected^ 
Has  its  ftill  efiect;  in  t«t— This  is  treated  of  venes 
17-19. 

Verses  13, 14.  Herd>y—Ep  Tttroy  by  this^  we  know 
— Have  full  proof ;  thqt  we  dwelt,  fuvoftev,  we  abide 
in  him,  and  he  in  us,  because  he  hath  given  us  of 
his  Spirit--ln  the  enlightening,  quickening,  renew- 
ing, and  comforting  influences  thereof.  Some  com- 
mentators understand  the  apostle  as  speaking  here 
of  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Spirit;  hut  surely 
these  glfts^  of  whatever  kind  they  might  he,  never 
were  to  any  man  a  certain  evidence  of  his  possess- 
ing real  piety  and  union  with  God,  as  is  manifest 
from  our  Lord's  words,  (Matt  vii.  22,)  Many  will  say- 
to  me  in  that  day  of  final  judgment,  We  have  prophe- 
sied in  thy  name,  fc;  then  wHl  1  profess  unto  thern^ 
I  never  knew  you,  &c.  And  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  xiii.  2) 
declares,  that  though  a  man  had  such  a  measure  of 
miracle-working  faith,  that  he  could  remove  mount- 
ains, yei  if  he  had  not  love  to  God  and^ mankind,  it 
would  profit  him  nothing.  The  ordinaiy  graces  of 
the  Spirit,  such  as  are  enumerated  Gid.  v.  22, 23 ; 
Eph.v.  9;  Col.  iii.  12-17;  Rom.  xii.9-21,  are  cer- 
tain evidences  of  a  person's  being  a  child  of  God; 
but  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  not,  in- 
asmuch as  they  sometimes  have  been  and  still  may 
be  possessed  by  persons  destitute  of  true  religion. 
And  we  have  seen-rOr  known,  by  undoubted  evi- 
dence, ourselves;  and  therefore  do  boldly  testify  to 
others ;  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  die  Saviour 
of  the  worldr—And  that  ft  is  in  and  by  him  alone,  how 
proudly  soever  the  unbelieving  and  carnal  world 
may  reject  and  disdain  him,  that  present  and  eternal 
salvation  can  be  obtained.  These  things  are  the 
foundation  and  the  criteria  of  our  abiding  in  God 
and  God  in  us.  namely,  the  communion  of  the 
Spirit,  spoken  of  verse  13,  and  the  confessdon  of  the 
Son,  verse  15. 

Verses  15-17.  IF?b#oa?cr*^aH— From  a  principle 
of  loving  foith,  openly  c(m/<?«t^In  the  face  of  all 
opposition  and  danger,  maintaining  this  profession 
with  resolution  atid  zeal,  and  acting  in  conformity 
to  it ;  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  (Fod-The  Christ,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world ;  God  abideth  in  him,  and  he 
in  Croi— There  is  a  blessed  union  between  God  and 
his  soul,  so  that  it  is,  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
the  habitation  of  God ;  who,  as  it  were,  lives  and 
walks  in  him,  Eph.  ii.  22;  1  Cor.  iii.  16;  2  Cor.  vi. 
18.    And  we  have  known  €md  believed'-^By  the  in- 

b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


butperfid  love  caeieih  out  fear. 


A.  M.4Q94*  lofve  that  God  h»th  to  us.  ^  God  is 

'. — 1-  love:  and  'he  that  dweUeth  in  love, 

dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him. 

17  Herein  is  ^  our  love  made  perfect,  that '  we 
may  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment: 
^because  as  he  is^  so  are  we  in  this  world. 

18  There  is  no  fear  in  love ;  but  perfect  love 
casteth  out  fear :  because  fear  hath  torment  He 
that  feareth,  ^is not  made  perfect  in  love. 


*  Verse  8. •  Verse  12 ;  Chapter  iii.  24. <  Or.  hoe  with  u§. 

'Jam.  ii.  13;  Chap.  ii.  28;  iii.  19, 21.— -c Chap,  iil  3. 

iluence  of  the  same  Spirit;  the  love  thai  Qod  haih 
to  us — And  hath  manifested,  not  only  by  giving  his 
Son  to  die  for  us,  (verses  9, 10,)  but  by  making  us 
his  ch'ddren  in  and  through  his  Son,  chap.  iii.  1. 
God  is  /ore— The  apostle  repeats  what  he  had  de- 
clared verse  8,  where  see  the  note;  and  he  thai 
abideth  in  toi?c— Namely,  in  love  to  God,  his  people, 
and  all  mankind ;  abideth  in  God,  and  God  in  him 
— His  union' and  communioa  with  God  fkre  hereby 
continued  and  increased.  Herein — Or  hereby,  that 
is,  by  the  continuance  of  this  communion  with  God ; 
is  our  love  made  perfect — We  are  brought  to  love 
him  with  all  our  hearts,  and  our  neighbour  as  our- 
selves ;  ihat  we  may  ^re— That  is,  so  that  we  shall 
have  J  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment — When  aU 
the  stout-hearted  shall  tremble;  because  as  he, 
Christ,  is,  so  are  we — Who  are  fathers  in  Christ;  in 
this  trorW— Even  while  We  live  on  earth,  so  far  as 
the  imperfections  of  this  mortal  life,  to  which  we  are 
here  confined,  will  admit. 

Verses  18, 19.  There  is  no  fear  in  love — No  slav- 
ish or  tormenting  fear,  diffidence,  or  distrust,  can  be 
where  love  reigns ;  biit  perfect,  mature  love  casteth 
out  such  f ear,  becattse  such /cor  JuUh  torment — And 
so  is  Inconsistent  with  the  happiness  of  love.  He 
that  feareth  isnot  made  perfect  in  love — In  the  sense 
above  explained.  Study  therefore  to  increase  more 
and  more  in  that  noble  affection- of  love  to  God,  and 
you  will  find  your  happiness  increasing  in  propor- 
tion to  it.  Observe,  reader,  a  mere  natural  man  has 
neither  the  fear  nor  love  of  God ;  one  that  is  awaken- 
ed and  cottviuc€fd  of  sin,  has  fear  without  love ;  a 


19  We  love  him.  because  he  first  a.m.  4094. 

1  „  J  A.  D,  90. 

loved  us,  

20  *  If  a  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  he  is  a  liar.'  For  he  that  loveth  not  his 
brother,  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  be  love 
God,  ^  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ? 

21  And  Uhis  commandment  have  we  firom 
him,  Thatiie  who  bveth  God,  love  his  brother 
also. 


hVen©  12. *Chap.  ii.  4;  ui.  17. kVerte  12.— ^-J  Matt. 

zxii.  37,  30 ;  Johji  xiii.  34 ;  zr.  12 ;  Chap.  iii.  23. 


babe  in  Christ,  love  and  fear ;  a  father  in  Christ,  love 
without  fear.  We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us 
—This  is  the  sum  of  all  religion,  the  genuine  model 
of  Christianity.  Non6  can  say  more ;  why  should 
any  one  say  less,  or  speak  less  intelligibly  ? 

Verses  20j  21.  If  any  man  say,  I  love  God — And 
even  say  it  with  the  utmost  confidence;  and  hateth 
his  brother^Which  he  will  do  more  or  less,  if  he  do 
not  love  him ;  he  is  a  liar — He  affirms  what  is  false, 
although,  perhaps,  he  may  oiot  know  it  to  be  sio ;  for 
he  that  loveth  not  his  brother,  whom  he  haih  seen — 
Who  is  daily  presented  to  his  senses  to  raise  his  es- 
teem, or  move  his  kindness  or  compassion  toward 
him  \  how  can  he  love  God,  whomhe  hath  not  seen?-' 
Whose  excellences  are  not  the  objects  of  his  senses, 
but  are  discovered  imperfectly  from  his  works  of 
creation,  providence,  and  grace,  or  from  the  declara- 
tions and  promises  of  his  word;  his  invisible  nature 
being  an  obstacle  to  our  loving  him,  which  our  weak 
and  carnal  minds  cannot  be  expected  easily  to  con- 
quer. Indeed^  we  never  could  love  him  unless,  as 
the  apostle  observes,  his  love  were  shed  abroad  in 
our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  to  us.  And  this 
commandment  have  we  from  Aim— Both  from  God 
and  Christ;  that  he  who  loveth  God,  love  his  brother 
in  Christ  a/«>— That  is,  every  one,  whatever  his 
opinions  or  modes  of  worship  may  be,  purely  be- 
cause he  is  the  child  and  beal^  the  image  of  God. 
Bigotry  is  properly  the  want  of  this  pure  and  univer- 
sal love.  A  bigot  only  loves  those  who  embrace  his 
opinions,  and  he  loves  them  for  that,  not  for  Christ's 
sake. 


CHAPTER  V. 


The  apostle,  (1,)  Dieeoursee  <m  the  character  of  those  who  truly  helieve  in  Jesus  as  the  Christy  describing  them  as  horn 
of  Oody  as  lomng  him,  their  heavenly  Father,  and  all  his  children,  and  as  overcoming  the  world,  1-5.  (20  Speaks  of  the 
offices  of  Christ,  exhibited  emblematically  by  water  and  blood,  and  of  the  toitnesses  in  heaven  and  earth,  that  bear  testimony 
to  him  and  his  salvation,  6-9.  (3,)  Bears  witness  to  the  happiness  of  believers  in  having  eternal  Kfe  in  Christ,  and  their 
prayers  of  faith  heard,  for  his  sake,  10-17.  (4,)  He  adds  a  reflection  on  the  happy  difference  which  regeneration  and  the 
knowledge  of  God  in  Christ  had  made  between  them  and  the  ignorant  and  wicked  world,  and  directs  them  to  guard  care" 
fully  against  all  idolatry,  18-21. 

b  667 


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overcome  the  wcrld. 


A.  M.  40§i.  TTTHOSOETER  *  bdjeyeth  that 
^^'^  ^^  »»Je8U8  is  the  Ch^i8^  is  •born 
of  Ood :  '  and  ev^  one  that  loreth  hmi  that 
begat,  kveth  him  ateo  that  is  b^;otten  of  him. 
2  B;  this  we  know  that  we  love  the  children 
of  God,  when  we  lore  God,  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments. 


» John  I.  12; *  Chapter  ii.  22, 23 ;  iv.  2, 15. « lohn  L  13. 

*  John  XT.  23. •  John  zir.  15, 21, 23 ;  xv.  10 ;  2  John  6. 


3  •For  this  18  the  bve  of  God,  A.M.40M. 

that  we  keep  his  commandments;  i — 

and  ^  his  commandments  are  not  grievous. 

4  *Por  »wlMitsoev«  is  bom  of  God,  ov«- 
Cometh  the  wc^ld  :  and  this  is  the  vic- 
tory that  ov^com^  the  woiid,  even  our 
fidth. 


Terse  4  to  Terse  13. 


Fbst  Stmd^g  sfterE;Mter,flpist]e» 
John  xTi.  33 ;  Chap.  iii.  9 ;  ir.  4. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 
Verses  1-4.  FFAo#oct>«r,  Ac.— The  apostle  having 
diacoorsed  m  the  preceding  chapters,  on  the  privileges 
of  the  children  of  God,  now  adds  a  farther  iUostration  . 
of  the  great  essential  parts  of  their  character,  in  or- 
der that  those  to  whom  he  wrote  might  be  enabled  ; 
to  form  a  more  accurate  judgment  of  their  own  con- ! 
cern  in  the  matters  spoken  o(.    And  the  scope  and 
sum  of  the  whole  first  paragraph  appears  from  the  \ 
conclusion  of  it,  verse  13.    These  ihings  have  1 1 
wriilen  to  you  who  believe^  &c.     Whosoever  believ-  ^ 
e^^^Namely,  with  a  living  faith, »  faith  of  the  divine  , 
operation ;  thcU  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  (he  Christ— ' 
The  true  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  so  as  to  be  ready 
to  confess  this,  even  when  the  confession  of  it  might 
expose  him  to  imprisonment  and  martyrdom ;  is 
born  of  God — Is  a  child  of  Grod,  not  only  by  adop- 1 
tion,  but  by  regeneration ;  he  is  renewed,  in  a  mea- 1 
sure  at  leasts  after  the  divine  image,  and  naade  a 
partaker  of  the  divine  nature.    See  on  John  iiL  6. 
And  every  one  that  loveth  him  that  begat — That  is, 
God,  who  begat  him  again  by  the  influence  of  his 
word  and  Spirit,  1  Pet  i.  23j  Tit.  ill  5;  loveth  him 
also  that  isfiegotten  of  Am^Hath  a  natural  affec- 
tion to  all  the  children  of  his  heavenly  Father,  whom 
he  views  as  his  brethren  and  sisters  in  Christ,  and 
as  joint  heirs  with  him  of  the  heavenly  inheritance. 
By  this  we  know — This  is  a  plain  proof;  that  we  love 
the  children  of  God — Namely,  as  his  children,  in  that 
welove  God,  and  keep  his  commafidments — In  the  first 
place,  and  then  love  his  children  for  his^sake.  "  Gro- 
tius,^to  render  the  apostle's  reasoning  clear,  thinks  the 
original  should  be  construed  and  trandated  in  the 
following  manner:  By  this  we  know  that  we  love 
God^  when  we  love  the  children  of  God^  and  keep 
his  commandments.    But  not  to  mention  that  this 
construction  is  forced,  it  represents  the  apostle  as 
giving  a  mark  by  which  we  know  when  we  love 
God;  whereas  his  intention  is  to  show  how  we 
may  know  that  we  love  the  children  of  God  in 
a  right  manner.    Now  this  was  necessary  to  be 
showed,  since  men  may  love  the  children  of  God 
because  they  are  their  relations,  or  because  they 
are  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits  with  themselves, 
or   because  ^ey  are   mutually  united  by  some 
common  bond  of  friendship.    But  love,  proceed- 
ing from  these  considerations,  is  not  the  love  of 
the  children  of  God  which  he  requireth.    By  what 
mark,  then,  can  we  know  that  our  love  to  the 
children  of  God  is  of  the  right  sort?    Why,  saith 
the  apostle,  by  this  we  may  know  that  we  love  the 
children  of  God  in  a  right  manner,  when  we  love 


God,  and,  from  that  exceEent  prindpk,  keep  his 
commandments,  especially  his  commandment  to  love 
his  children,  because  they  bear  his  image.  True 
Christian  love,  therefore,  is  that  which  proceeds  from 
love  to  God^  from  a  regard  to  his  wiU,  and  which 
leadeth  us  to  obey  all  his  commandments.'^— Bilao- 
knight  For  this  is  the  love  of  God— The  only  sure 
proof  of  it4  (hat  we  keep  his  commandments— -ThsX 
we  conscientiously  and  carefully  shim  whatever  we 
know  he  hath  forbidden,  and  that  we  do  whatever 
he  has  enjoined;  aaid  his  commcmdmef^  wre  not 
^w  w*e— To  way  that  are  bom  of  God ;  for,  as  they 
are  all  most  equitable,  reasonable,  and  gracious  in 
themselves,  and  all  calculated  to  promote  our  happi- 
ness in  time  and  in  eternity,  so  fervent  love  to  him 
whose  confioiandments  they  are,  and  to  his  children, 
whom  wedesiretoedifybyaholy  example,  will  make 
Aempleasantanddelifi^t^ltous^  For— Whereasthe 
great  obstruction  to  the  keeping  of  God's  command- 
ments is  the  influence  of  worldly  motives  and  consi- 
derations on  men's  minds ;  whaisoever—Aji  expres- 
sion which  implies  the  most  unlimited  universality, 
(the  word  used  by  the  apostle  being  irav,  the  neuter 
gender,  to  comprehend  ul  sorts  of  persons,  males  and 
females,  old  and  young,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  freemen 
and  slaves,)  is  born  of  God,  overcomeththe  world-^. 
Conquers  whatever  it  can  lay  in  the  way,  either  to 
allure  or  fright  the  children  of  God  from  the  line  of 
duty  to  God,  thenr  fellow-creatures,  or  themselves, 
or  from  keeping  his  eovnnandments.  And  this  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  tcorW— The  grand 
means  of  overcoming  it ;  even  our  faith — The  faith 
which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  and  the 
subsistence,  or  anticipi^ion,  of  things  hoped  for  ;  a 
full  persuasion  especially,  1st,  That  Christ  is  the  Son 
of  God,  (verse  5,)  and  consequently  that  all  his  doc- 
trines, precepts,  promises,  and  threatenings,  are  in- 
disputably true,  and  infinitely  important;  2d,  That 
there  is  another  Hfe  after  this  awaiting  us,  wherein 
we  shall  be  either  happy  or  miserable  beyond  con- 
ception, and  for  ever ;  8d,  That  Christ  has  overcome 
the  world  for  us,  (John  xvi.  33,)  and  hath  obtained 
grace  for  us  to  enable  us  to  overcome  it;  and  that 
we  have  an  interest  by  Duth  in  all  he  hath  done, 
suffered,  or  procured  for  us.  "  The  power  of  faith, 
in  enabling  men  to  overcome  the  temptations  laid  in 
their  way  by  the  things  of  the  world,  and  by  world- 
ly and  carnal  men,  is  finely  illustrated  by  examples, 
(Heb.  xi.,)  which  show  that  before  the  coming  of 
Christ  the  children  of  GcB,  by  believing  the  things 
which  he  discovered  to  them,  whether  by  the  light 
of  natural  reason  or  by  particular  revelations^  resist 
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CHAPTER  y. 


itUnem  to  ihe  truth  of  CM. 


A.  M.  4004. 
A.D.  00. 


5  Who  IS  he  that  cyveroomedi  the 
world,  but  ^he  that  believetb  that 
JoBUs  is  the  S<m  of  Qod  ? 
6  This  is  he  that  came  ^  \fj  water  and  Mood, 


^  1  Cor.  XT.  57 ;  Chap.  ir.  15.^— <  John  xix.  94. 


ed  the  greatest  temptations,  sustained  the  bitterest 
sufferings,  and  performed  the  most  difficult  acts  of 
obedience,  and  thereby  obtained  a  great  tod  lasting 
fame.  But  now  that  Christ  hath  come,  and  made 
the  gospel  revelation  in  person  and  by  his  apostles, 
tiie  faith  of  the  children  of  God,  by  which  they  over- 
come the  world,  hath  for  its  object  all  the  doctrines 
and  promises  contained  in  that  revelation,  and  par- 
ticularly the  great  doctrine  which  is  the  foundation 
of  all  the  rest,  namely,  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God, 
and  Saviour  of  the  world,  as  the  apostle  observes  in 
the  following  verse." 

Verse  6.  Who  is  he  thai  overcomeih  the  world— 
That  is  superior  to  all  earthly  care,  desire,  fear? 
Who  is  the  man,  and  where  is  he  to  be  found? 
Surely  none  have  gauied,  or  will  gain,  this  important 
victory,  but  ^ey  wJio  believe  tliat  Je^us  is  the  Son 
of  €hd—^^  The  great  principles,"  says  Doddridge, 
**  peculiar  to  our  divine  religion,  a  sense  of  redeem- 
ing love,  and  the  prospect  of  such  a  sublime  and  per- 
petual happiness  as  the  gospel  opens  upon  us,  can 
alone  be  sufficient  to  teach  us  to  triumph  over  these 
transitory  vanities,  and  to  establi^^  a  uniform  charac- 
ter, superior  to  the  variety  of  temptations  with  which 
we  may  be  assaulted  i  while  the  boasted  toiumphs  of 
othets,  upon  meaner  principles,  have  been  very  par- 
tial and  imperfect,  and  they  have  evidently  been 
sednced  by  one  viinlty,  while  they  have  gloried  in 
despising  .another."  "  That  the  Jews,"  says  Mac- 
knight,  "  universally  believed  thdr  Messiah,  or  Christ, 
was  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  appears  from  many  passa- 
ges of  the  New  Testament,  especially  from  the  fol- 
lowing: Peter  answered^  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  ihe  living  God,  Matt.  xvi.  16.  Devils  also 
came  out  of  many,  crying  out,  Thou  art  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  Luke  iv.  41.  These  things  are  written 
that  you  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  John  xx.  31.  And  that  the  Jews  uni- 
versally believed  the  Son  of  God  to  be  God,  ap^pears 
from  the  following  passages  :  Jesus  answered,  My 
Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work.  Therefore 
ihe  Jetos  sought  the  more  to  kill  him,  because  he  not 
only  had  broken  the  sahbaih,  but  said  also  that  God 
"mas  his  Father,  making  himself  equal  with  God, 
John  V.  17,  18.  The  Jews  answered,  For  a  good 
work  we  stone  thee  not,  but  for  blasphemy,  because 
thou,  being  a  man,  makest  thyself  God,  John  x.  33. 
The  high^priest  said,  I  adjure  thee,  fc,  that  thou 
tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 
Jesus  saith  to  him.  Thou  hast  said.  Then  the 
high-priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying.  He  hath  spoken 
blasphemy:  what  think  ye?  they  answered,  Be  is 
guilty  of  death.  Matt.  xxvi.  63.  **  The  high-priest 
and  council,  composed  of  men  of  the  highest  learn- 
ing and  rank  among  the  Jews,  equally  with  the 
common  people,  believed  that  the  Messiah  was  to  be 
b 


evenJeeoBCbsvA:  not  l^  water  only,  a.  m.  4094. 

A.  D  90 

bat  by  water  and  blood.    ^  And  k  is 1— 1 

the  Sparit  that  beaieth  witness,  because  the  Spi- 
rit is  truth. 


k  John  UT.  17;  ZT.~2e;  xvi.  13;  1  Tim.  iii  16. 


the  Son  of  GodfWud  that  the  Son  of  God  is  himself 
God,  otherwise  they  could  not  have  reckoned  Jesus 
a  blasphemer  for  calling  himself  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  FroiQ  these  indkiputable  facts  it  is  evident 
that  the  mpdem  Socinians  contradict  the  gospel  his« 
tory  in  two  of  its  essential  articles,  when  they  affirm 
that  the  first  Jewish  Christians,  beibre  their  conver- 
sion, had  no  idea  that  their  Messiah  was  to  come  down 
from  heaven,  having  never  been  taught  to  expect 
any  other  than  a  man  like  themselves.  Next,  since 
John  hath  so  frequently  declared,  and,  in  what  fol- 
loweth  the  verse  under  consideration,  hath  proved 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  and  the  Son  of  God,  the 
same  Socinians  must  be  mistaken  when  they  affirm, 
that  in  this  epistle  John  is  silent  concerning  the  di- 
vinity of  Christ,  and  hath  not  in  any  part  of  it  cen- 
sured those  who  deny  it" 

Verse  6.  This  is  he  that  came  by  water  and  blood 
— Here  the  apostle  evidently  alludes  to  the  testimony 
borne  by  him  in  his  gospel,  that  when  the  soldier 
pierced  Christ's  ^de,forthwHh  there  came  out  blood 
and  water;  a  ficict  which  the  apostle  represents  as 
of  great  importance ;  adding.  He  that  saw  it  bare 
record,  and  his  record  is  true :.  and  he  knoweth  that 
he  saith  true,  that  ye  might  believe.  It  was  im- 
portant, not  only,  1st,  As  being  a  full  proof,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  doctrine  of  the  Docets,  that  Christ 
came  in  the  flesh,  and  really  died ;  of  which  see  on 
John  xix.  34 :  but,  2d,  Because  it  was  emblematical 
of  the  offices  which  he  sustained,  and  of  the  salva- 
tion he  hath  procured  for  his  people.  For  the  water 
was  a  symbol  of  the  purity  of  his  doctrine,  instruct- 
ing men  in  the  purest  morals,  and  of  his  own  pure 
and  holy  example ;  and,  what  is  of  still  greater  im- 
portance, of  the  purifying  grace  of  which  he  is  the 
fountain,  sanctifying  and  cleansing  such  as  believe 
in  him,  from  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit :  while 
the  blood  which  issued  from  him  was  an  emblem 
both  of  the  sufferings  which  awaited  his  followers, 
who  were  to  seal  the  tenth  with  their  blood,  and  of 
his  own  sufferings,  whereby  he  hath  made  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  procured  for  his 
followers  a  (ree  and  full  justification.  Thus,  as  an 
eminent  divine  observes, he  also  manifested  himself 
to  be  the  Son  of  God,  the  promised  Messiah,  by  ful- 
filling those  types  and  ceremonies  of  the  law  which 
were  performed  by  water  and  blood:  the  former 
whereof,  denoting  purification  from  sin,  he  fulfilled 
by  cleansing  us  by  hit  Spirit,  (signified  by  water, 
John  vii.  38,  39,)  from  the  corruption  of  nature,  and 
the  power  and  pollution  of  sin,  and  so  restoring  the 
image  of  God  in  us,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26, 27  j  Eph.  v.  25, 
265  Tit.  ii.  14;  iii.  6.  The  latter,  which  prefigured 
the  expiation  of  our^^sin,  he  fulfilled  by  shedding  his 
blood  to  atone  for  our  sins,  and  to  procure  for  us 
deliverance  from  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  them^ 


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A.  M.  4094. 
A.  D.  90. 


7  For  there  ax6  three  that  bear  re- 
cord in  heaven,  the   Father,  ^  the 


1  John  i.  1 ;  Rer.  ziz.  13. 


(Rom.  T.  9 ;  Gal.  iiL  13  -,  Eph.  L  7J  and  to  restore 
us  to  the  favour  of  Grod  again.  Not  by  water  only 
— Not  only  was  his  doctrine  pure,  and  his  life  holy, 
and  not  only  may  purifying  grace  be  derived  from 
him,  but  he  came  by  blood,  shed  for  the  expiation  of 
our  guilt,  for  these  things  must  go  together  3  because 
it  will  not  avail  us  to  be  enabled  to  avoid  sin,  and  to 
live  in  a  holy  manner  for  the  time  to  come,  except 
the  sins  of  the  time  past  be  expiated.  And  it  is  the 
Spirit  that  beareth  witness — To  these  things,  namely, 
in  the  writings  of  the  ancient  prophets,  who  have 
spoken  largely  concerning  both,  and  in  the  dis- 
courses and  writings  of  the  apostles,  who  have  borne 
a  still  more  clear  and  full  testimony  to  them ;  and 
also  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  faitl^ful,  who,  as  they  are 
fully  convinced  of  thenr  need  of  both  pardon  and 
holiness,  so  through  the  merits  and  Spirit  of  Christ 
Ihey  receive  both. 

Verse  7.  For  there  are  three^  &c. — It  is  well 
known  that  the  authenticity  of  this  verse  has  been  a 
subject  of  much  controversy.  "The  arguments, 
on  both  sides  of  the  question,  taken  from  ancient 
Greek  MSS.  and  versions,  and  from  quotations  made 
by  the  fathers,  and  from  printed  editions,  have  been 
stated  with  the  greatest  fidelity  and  accuracy  by 
Mill  in  his  long  note  at  the  end  of  John^s  first  epis- 
tle, where  he  observes  that  this  verse  is  wanting  in 
all  the  ancient  Greek  MSS.  of  the  New  Testament 
which  have  come  down  to  us,  except  a  few,  which 
shall  be  mentioned  immediately.  It  is  wanting  like- 
wise in  the  first  Syriac,  and  other  ancient  versions, 
particularly  the  Coptic,  Arabic,  and  Ethioplc,  and  in 
many  of  the  present  Latin  MSS.  With  respect  to 
quotations  from  the  Others,  Mill  acknowledges  that 
few  of  the  Greek  writers,  who  lived  before  the  coun- 
cil of  Nice,  have  cited  this  verse.  The  same  he 
observes  concerning  those  who,  after  that  council, 
wrote  in  defence  of  the  Trinity  against  the  Arians, 
and  other  heretic^ ;  which,  he  thinks,  shows  that  this 
verse  was  not  in  their  copies.''  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  proofs  of  the  authenticity  of  this  verse  are, "  1st, 
Some  of  the  most  ancient  and  most  correct  Vatican 
Greek  copies,  from  which  the  Spanish  divines  formed 
the  Complutensian  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament, 
and  with  which  they  were  furnished  by  Pope  Leo 
X.,"  one  of  which  Mill  speaks  of  as  peculiarly  emi- 
nent, of  great  antiquity,  and  approved  fidelity.  "  2d, 
A  Greek  copy,  called  by  Erasmus,  Codex  Britanni- 
cus,  on  the  authority  of  which  he  inserted  this  verse 
in  hb  edition  anno,  1522,  but  which  he  had  omitted 
in  his  two  former  editions.  This  is  supposed  to  be  a 
MS.  at  present  in  the  Trinity  College  librar}',  Dub- 
lin, in  which  this  verse  is  found  with  the  omission  of 
the  word  aytav,  holy,  before  nvevfia.  Spirit.  It  like- 
wise wants  the  last  clause  of  verse  8,  namely,  and 
these  three  are  one.  All  Stephens's  MSS.,  being  seven 
in  number,  which  contain  the  catholic  epistles,  have 
this  verse :  only  they  want  the  words  ev  vpavo,  in 
heaven.    4th,  llie  Vulgate  version,  in  most  of  the 

e7o 


Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost:  "and  am. 4094 
theee  three-are  one,  '  ^' 

-Johaz.aO. 

MS.  copies  and  printed  editions  of  which  it  is  found, 
with  some  variations.  6th,  The  testimony  of  Ter« 
tullian,  who  alludes  to  this  verse,  Praxeam,  c.25,  and 
whp  lived  in  an  age  in  which  he  saith,  Prescript, 
c.  30,  the  authentioB.lUerce  (the  authentic  writings) 
of  the  apostles  were  read  in  the  churches.  By  authenr 
ticce  litera  Mill  understands,  either  the  autographs 
of  the  apostles,  which  the  churches,  to  whom  they 
were  written,  had  cai'efully  preserved,  or  correct 
transcripts  taken  from  th^e  autographs.  Also  the 
testimony  of  Cyprian,  who  flourished  about  the 
middle  of  the  third  century,  and  who,  in  his  epistle 
to  Jub«yanus,  expressly  cites  the  latter  clause  of  this 
verse.  The  objections  which  have  been  raised 
against  the  testimonies  of  TertuUian  and  Cjrprian, 
Mill  hath  mentioned  and  answered  in  his  long  note 
^  the  end  of  1  John  v.,  which  see  in  page  582^  of 
Kuster's  edition.  6th,  The  testimony  of  many 
Greek  and  Latin  fathers  in  subsequent  ages,  who 
have  cited  the  last  clause  of  this  verse ;  and  some 
who  have  appealed  to  the  Arians  themselves  as  ac- 
knowledging its  authenticity.  Lastly,  the  Conqilu- 
tensian  edition,  anno  1515,  had  this  seventh  verse 
exactly  as  it  is  in  the  present  pr'mted  copies,  with 
this  difference  only,  that  instead  of  these  three  are 
one,  it  hath  stibstituted  the  last  clause  of  verse  8, 
And  these  three  agree  in  one,  and  hath  omitted  it 
in  that  verse.  .  These  arguments  appear  to  Mill  of 
such  weight,  that,  after  balancing  them  against  the 
opposite  arguments,  he  gave  it  as  his  decided  opi- 
nion that,  in  whatever  manner  this  verse  disappear- 
ed, it  was  undoubtedly  in  St  John's  autograph,  and  in 
some  of  the  copies  which  were  transcribed  from  it." 
''Instead  of  passing  any  judgment  in  a  matter  so 
much  contested,"  says  Macknight,  "  I  shall  only  ob- 
serve, 1st,  That  this  verse,  instead  of  disturbing  the 
sense  of  the  verses  with  which  it  is  joined,  rather 
renders  it  more  connected  and  complete.  2d,  That 
in  verse  9,  the  witness  of  God  is  supposed  to  have 
been  before  appealed  to:  If  we  receive  the  witness 
of  men,  the  witness  of  God  is  greater.  And  yet,  i[ 
verse  7  is  excluded,  the  witness  of  God  is  nowhere 
mentioned  by  the  apostle.  3d,  That  in  the  opinion 
of  Beza,  Calvin,  and  other  orthodox  commentators, 
the  last  clause  of  verse  7  hath  no  relation  to  the 
unity  of  the  divine  essence.  If  so,  the  Trinitarians, 
on  the  one  hand,  need  not  contend  for  the  authen- 
ticity of  this  verse,  in  the  view  of  supporting  their 
doctrine,  nor  the  Arians,  on  the  other,  strive  to  have 
it  excluded  from  the  text  as  opposing  their  tenets. 
4th,  That  the  doctrine  which  the  Trinitarians  afiSrm 
to  be  asserted  in  this  verse  is  contained  in  other 
places  of  Scripture.  So  Wall  saith.  Dr.  Benson 
likewise,  in  his  Dissertation,  written  to  prove  this 
verse  not  genuine,  saith,  '  If  it  were  genuine,  there 
could  nothing  be  proved  thereby  but  what  may  be 
proved  from  other  texts  of  Scripture.'"  The  reader 
who  wishes  for  more  satisfactory  information  re- 
specting the  authenticity  of  the  text,  may  find  it  in 

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CHAPTER  V. 


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Dr.  Calamy'tVindioation  of  it,  annczed  to  hit  Ser- 
rnooa  cm  ihe  Trinity,  preached  at  the  lecture  at  Salt- 
er's Hall,  and  published  in  1722. 

There  are  three  that  bear  witness,  &c.— When 
there  is  a  cause  depending  in  any  court,  and  proof  is 
to  be  given  m  order  to  the  decision  of  it,  witnesses 
are  produced,  and  if  they  are  credible,  and  liable  to 
no  just  objection,  the  cause  is  defermined  according 
to  the  evidence  they  give,  unless  they,  to  whom  it 
belongs  to  determine  the  matter,  are  partial  or 
biased.  Now  St  John,  aiming  at  the  establishment 
of  those  in  the  truth  to  whom  he  wrote  this  his  first 
epistle,  represents  the  6ause  depending  before  them 
as  very  weighty;  a  cause  of  such  conseqi^ence,  that 
it  highly  concerned  them  to  weigh  all  matters  well 
before  they  came  to  a  detenfnination.  It  was  really 
no  less  a  matter  than  whether  Christianity  was  true 
or  a  forgery:  and  he  intimates  to  them  that  they 
had  very  good  evidence  to  assist  them  in  determin- 
ing. There  were  two  sets  of  witnesses,  the  one 
above,  the  other  below;  and  both  of  them  unexcep- 
tionable. The  one  was  of  pcr«ww,  and  the  other  of 
things^  which,  by  a  figure,  are  represented  as  wit- 
nesses. The  persons  witnessing  were,  bf  all  others 
in  the  universe,  the  most  worthy  of  credit  and  re- 
gard, being  all  truly  and  properly  divine  persons, 
even  the  Father^  the  Word^  and  the  Holy  Ghost-— 
Persons  with  whom  none  tliat  had  the  least  know- 
ledge of  Christianity  could  be  unacquainted.  For 
these  are  the  very  persons  in'  whose  name  they  had 
been  baptized,  and  to  whom  they  had  been  most  so- 
lemnly dedicated.  Th^re  is  only  this  difference  to 
be  observed,  that  the  second  witness  mentioned  has 
another  name  given  him.  In  the  form  of  baptism  he 
is  called  the  Son,  but  here  the  Word;  a  name  or  title 
which  St.  John  seems  to  have  taken  a  peculiar  plea- 
sure in  giving  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  he  begins  his 
gospel  with  it,  John  i.  1,  repeats  it  again  in  verse  14 
of  the  same  chapter,  and  in  entering  upon  this  epis- 
tle, represents  it  as  the  great  subject  about  which  he 
was  going  to  write ;  and  mentions  it  again  in  the 
Apocalypse,  chap.  xix.  13.  And  as  for  the  third  wit- 
ness, the  Holy  Ghost,  he  would  not  have  been  men- 
tioned separate  from  the  other  two  if  he  were  not 
distinct  from  both.  For  the  apostle  does  not  speak 
of  three  names  as  bearing  record,  but  three  distinct 
persons,  acting  different  ways  and  in  different  capa- 
cities. It  is  also  hereby  intimated  tbat  the  evidence 
given  b  very  fidl  and  convincing,  no  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses being  liable  to  any  just  objection:  so  that 
Christianity,  the  truth  of  wldch  is  so  well  attested, 
must  necessarily  have  a  firm  foundation.  Observe, 
reader,  the  witnesses  brought  forth  and  appealed  to 
on  this  occasion,  are  the  same  that  our  Lord  himself 
had  mentioned  as  attesting  his  divine  mission  and 
Messiahship  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  as  John  v.  37, 
where  he  speaks  of  the  Father  that  sent  him  as 
bearing  witness  of  him;  and  John  viii.  IB,  where  he 
says  that  he  bore  witness  of  himself;  and  John  xv. 
26^  where  he  mentions  the  Comforter,  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  as  testifying  of  him.  Accordingly  we  learn 
from  the  gospel  history,  Ist,  That  the  Father  bore 
witness  to  Jesus  with  an  audilHe  voice  three  sundry 
times;  first,  when  he  was  baptized,  Matt  iiL  16, 17; 
b 


a  second  time  when  he  was  tratisfigured,  Matt  xvii. 
5i  and  a  third  time  after  he  had  raised  Jikzarusfrom 
the  dead,  when  many  fipcked  out  of  Jerusalem  to 
meet  and  applaud  him,  John  xii.  28 ;  and  the  two 
form<3r  of  those  times,  the  testimony  borne  is  the 
same  with  that  here  mentioned  by  St  John,  verses 
1,  5,  namely,  that  Jesus  is  God's  beloved  Son,  and 
therefore  the  true  Messiah  and  Saviour  of  the  world. 
2d,  The  Word  made  flesh,  the  Lord  Jesus  himself, 
several  times  bore  the  same  testimony;  as,  for  in- 
stance, to  the  woman  of  Satnaria,  John  iv.  26 ;  to  the 
Jews,  John  vfii.  24,  58;  x.  30,  36;  and  especially 
Ivhen  adjured  by  the  high-priest,  in  the  name  of  the 
living  God,  to  tell  them  whether  he  was  ihe  Christy 
the  Son  of  God,  Matt  xxvi.  63 ;  Mark  xiv.  61.  And 
he,  in  effect,  bore  the  same  testimony  when  Tie 
showed  himself  to  d3ring  Stephen,  as  standing  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  in  all  ihe  splendour  of  the  divine 
glory, — when  he  appeared  to  Paul  on  his  way  to  Da- 
mascus, surrounded  with  a  light  above  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun,— and  when  he  manifested  himself  to 
John  in  the  isle  of  Patmos,  to  give  him  the  wonder- 
ful visions  contained  in  the  Apocalypse.  And,  3d, 
The  Holy  Ghost  in  many  ways  bore  the  same  testi- 
mony, as  by  his  descending  on  Jesus  immediately 
after  his  baptism,  i^nd  in  a  glorious  manner  remain- 
ing on  him,  John  L  32,  33,  and  working  miracles  by 
the  disciples  sent  out  during  his  life:  by  coming 
down  on  the  apostles  in  fiery  tongues  ten  days  after 
our  Lord's  ascension,  thereby  publicly  declaring  to 
all  present,  and  to  all  to  whom  a  well-attested  account 
of  that  fact  should  come,^  that  he  really  was  the  Son 
of  God,  exalted  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
high ;  a  truth  which  these  same  apostles  boldly  tes- 
tified from  that  day  forward  in  Judea,  and  all  the 
world  over.  Thus  we  see  what  the  apostle  means 
when  he  says,  the  Father^  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  witnessed  in  heaven.  Or,  as  the  words  may 
be  rendered,  there  are  three  in  heaven  that  bear^  or 
th€U  bore  witness,  (for  ftaprvpuvre^  is  a  participle  of 
the  imperfect  as  well  as  of  the  present  tense,)  dis- 
tinguished from  the  other  three  witnesses  mentioned 
in  ^e  next  verse,  that  are  on  earth.  The  meaning 
is,  not  that  they  bear,  or  bore,  witness  to  the  angels 
and  blessed  spirits  that  are  in  heaven,  but  only  that 
they  speak  from  heaven,  while  the  others  speak  on 
earth.  They  witness  while  they  are  in  heaven,  not- 
withstanding that  they  are  so  much  above  us,  and  so 
far  distant  from  us:  and  therefore  the  testimony 
they  bear  is  to  be  the  more  regarded,  and  we  shall 
be  Uie  m<Mre  inexcusable  if  we  do  not  acquiesce  in 
it,  and  improve  by  it. 

And  these  three  are  one— The  word  is  not  sic,  one 
person,  but  ev,  one  thing,  expressing  evidently  the 
unity  of  the  three,  and  that  not  only  as  to  their  tes- 
timony, but  also  and  especially  with  respect  to  their 
nature;  it  being  evident,  from  a  variety  of  other 
texts,  that  each  of  the  three  is  tfuly  and  properly 
God,  as  has  been  abundantly  proved  in  the  course  of 
these  notes.  If  unity  of  testimony  had  only  been 
intended,  it  is  probable  the  expression  would  have 
been  as  in  the  close  of  the  next  verse,  where  the 
three  witnesses  on  earth  are  spoken  of:  these  three 
ei{  TO  ev  eiaiv,  agree  in  one. 
671 


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T&ere  are  three  ihai 


L  JOHN. 


he0r  ittftiect  in  eartk. 


A.M.40M. 

A.D.90. 


8  And  there  are  three  that  bear 
wkneee  in  eaith,  the  Sjririt,  and  the 
water,  and  the  Udod :  and  these  three  agree  in 
one. 


»JolinTiu.l7,ia. 


Verse  8.  And  there  are  three  that  hear  wUne$B  on 
earth— To  the  same  important  doctrine  conoeming 
Christ,  the  Son  ctf  God,  and  salvation  through  him ; 
the  ^nrit,  the  water,  and  the  bloodr-^The  Spirit 
here,  distinguished  from  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  pre- 
ceding Terse,  seems  to  mean,  1st,  That  influence  of 
the  Spirit,  which,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  by  the  apostles  and  first  mi- 
nisters of  the  Word,  in  that  early  age  of  Christiani- 
ty: together  with  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the 
Spirit,  which  remained  with  the  church  for  a  con- 
siderahle  time.  2d,  The  inspired  writers  of  the  apos- 
tles and  the  eyangelist^  bearing  witness  to  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ,  when  they  were  deceased ;  including 
the  predictions  uttered  by  holy  men  of  old,  as  they 
vere  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  concerning  the  com- 
ing and  character  of  the  Messiah,  which  had  been 
punctually  fulfilled  in  him ;  and  including  also  the 
predictions  uttered  by  Christ  concerning  the  destrqc- 
tion  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  calamities  coming  on  the 
Jewish  nation,  with  divers  other  predictions,  particu- 
larly those  concerning  the  coming  of  false  Christs 
and  false  prophets,  which  were  already  in  part  ac- 
complished when  St.  John  wrote  this  epistle  and  the 
rest,  he  knew,  soon  would  be  accomplished.  Cer- 
tainly, the  inspired  Scriptures,  including  the  predic- 
tions of  the  prophets,  and  of  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
sealed  by.their  accomplishment,  are  one  grand  proof 
on  earth  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation  contained  therein.  And  the  water 
— Of  baptism,  emblematical  of  the  washing  of  re- 
generation, and  of  that  purity  of  life  consequent 
thereon,  to  which  we  are  obliged,  and  which  we  in 
effect  promise  when  we  devote  ourselves  to  the  Fa- 
ther, Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  in  that  ordhiance:  and 
which,  when  evidenced  in  our  conduct,  is  a  convinc- 
ing proof  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  of  our  title 
to  that  eternal  life  whicli  is  revealed  in  it.  And  the 
blood— The  Lord's  supper,  appointed  as  a  memorial 
of,  and  testimony  to,  the  sacrifice  of  the  death  of 
Christ,  till  his  second  coming;  and  which  exhibits 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ,  from  age  to  age,  as  the 
procuring  cause  of  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  all  the 
spiritual  blessings  consequent  thereon,  bestowed  on 
true  believers.  It  may  be  proper  to  observe  here, 
that  there  is  also  another  respect  in  which  these  two 
ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  may  be 
considered  as  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
It  is  certain  that  such  ordinances  are  in  use  among 
Christians:  now,  how  came  this  to  be  the  case? 
When,  and  how  were  they  introduced?  What  was 
their  origin  ?  The  gospels  inform  us.  If  we  admit 
the  account  they  give,  we  must  of  necessity  admit 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  with  which  that  account  is 
closely  connected.  If  any  do  not  admit  that  account, 
let  them  give  another :  but  this  they  cannot  do.  That 
672 


9  If  w6i«ceive''tiiew]tiie0B<^meD[,  A.M.4001. 

the  witness  of  Qoi  is  graater :  **  fyr  1 — 

this  is  the  witness  of  Crod  which  he  hath  testi- 
fied of  his  Soil 


iB.  16, 17 ;  XTii.  & 


account  therefore  is  just ;  and,  of  csoseqaence,  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  forgery^  but  a  divine  institotion.  As 
the  blood  here  implies  the  testimony  which  C^inst 
bore  to  the  truth  of  the  gcn^l,  especially  of  ihst  most 
essential  article  of  i^  his  being  the  Son  0/  Qod^  so  It 
may  also  represent  that  testimony  whieb  is  borne  lo 
the  truth  by  the  sufierings  of  those  ^who,  in  difierent 
ages  and  nations,  have  sealed  it  with  their  blood ; 
which  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  ccmviction  they  had 
of  its  truth  and  importance,  and  of  the  virtue  and  ex- 
cellence of  that  religion  which  enabled  them  so  to 
da  And  these  three  agree  in  one— In  bearing  one 
and  the  same  testimony,  namely,  that  Jesus  Christ  m 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah,  the  only  Saviour  of 
sinners;  in  and  through  whom  alone  the  guilty,  de- 
praved, weak,  and  miseraUe  children  of  men  can 
obtain  spiritual  and  eternal  liie;  the  testimony  ape- 
ctfied  verses  11, 12. 

Bengelius4hinks  there  has  bee^  a  tram^osltionof 
these  two  verses,  and  that  this  latter,  concerning  the 
three  that  bear  witness  on  earth,  was  placed  by  St 
John  before  that  whi<^  respects  the  witnesses  in 
heaven ;  and  that  it  must  appear  to  every  reasona- 
ble man  how  absolutely  necessary  the  contested 
verse  is.  "St  John,"  says  he,  " could  not  think  of 
the  testimony  of  the  Spirit,  and  water,  and  bloody 
and  subjoin,  the  testimony  of  God  is  greater,  with- 
out thinking  also  of  the  testiipaony  of  the  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost ;  yea,  and  mentioning  it  in  so  solemn  an 
enumeration.  Nor  can  any  possible  reason  be  de* 
vised  why,  without  three  testifying  in  heaven^  he 
should  enumerate  three,  and  no  more,  who  testify 
on  earth.  The  testimony  of  all  is  given  on  earth, 
and  not  in  heaven ;  but  they  who  testify  are  part  on 
earth,  part  in  heaven.  The  witnesses  who  are  on 
earth,  testify  chiefly  concerning  his  abode  on  earth, 
thou^  not  excluding  his  state  of  exaltation.  The 
witnesses  who  are  in  heaven  testify  chiefly  concern- 
ing his  glory  at  God's  right  hand,  though  not  ex- 
cluding his  state  of  humiliation.  The  former,  there- 
fore, concerning  the  witnesses  on  earth,  with  the  6th 
verse,  contains  a  recapitulation  of  the  whole  econo* 
my  of  Christ,  from  his  baptism  to  pentecost:  that 
concerning  the  witnesses  in  heaven,  contains  the 
sum  of  the  divine  economy,  from  the  time  of  hisex- 
altation.  Hence  it  further  appears,  that  the  position 
of  the  two  verses,  which  places  those  who  testify  on 
earth  before  those  who  testify  in  heaven,  is  abun- 
dantly preferable  to  the  other,  and  affords  a  grada- 
tion admirablv  suited  to  the  subject" 

Verse  9.  If  we  receive  the  lestinumyofmen—AA 
we  do  continually,  and  must  do,  in  a  thousand  in- 
stances, if  we  would  not  give  over  all  business,  and 
even  refuse  taking  ncoessary  nourishment  The  tes- 
timony of  two  or  three  credible  witnesses,  according 
to  the  law  of  Moses,  was  deemed  sufllclent  to  prove 

b 


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Bumat  ly^is  fiten 


CHAPTHRY. 


through  the  La^dJmm  Christ 


A.  M.  4094. 

A.  0.9a 


10  He  that  bdkveth  od  the 
Son  of  God  'hath  the  wknew  in 
himself:  he  that  bdienreth  not  God,  «hath 
made  him  a  Bar,  because  he  believelh  not 


rBonuTiii  16;  €Kd.iT.  (k — ^  John  ill  33;  r.  38L 


any  matter  of  fact ;  and  indeed  human  aflkirs  in  gene- 
ral, even  the  moat  important,  are  conducted  aikl  de- 
termined by  depending  on  the  testimony  of  men. 
Nay,  and  we  not  only  receive  the  testimony  of  men, 
when  they  bear  their  testimony  in  a  solemn  manner, 
apon  oath,  before  magistrates,  bat  we  rely  on  one 
another^  word  from  time  to  time,  and  sometimes 
concerning  things  of  great  moment:  the  teetvmonf 
ofQod  is  greater-^MoTe  valid,  of  higher  authority, 
and  much  more  worthy  to  be  received  than  the  wit- 
ness of  men,  be  they  ever  so  numerous,  or  ever  so 
respectable  for  their  understanding  and  their  integ- 
rity ;  so  that  we  may  rely  on  it  with  the  greatest 
assurance.  For  this  is  the  testimony  of  God — Name- 
ly, this  six-fold  testimony,  and  especially  that  of  the 
last  three  mentioned  witnesses,  of  the  Father,  the 
Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost :  which  he  hath  testified 
of  his  Son^AB  the  true  Messiah,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  able  to  save,  even  to  the  uttermost,  all  that 
come  unto  God  by  him ;  and  actually  saving  all  that 
believe  in  him  with  their  heart  imio  righteousness. 

Verse  10.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God, 
with  such  a  fohh,  hath  the  testimony  in  himse^— 
Namely,  knows  by  experience,  that  what  God  hath 
testified  concerning  his  Son,  and  salvation  in  and 
^ough  him,  is  indeed  true,  being  already  saved  by 
him  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  into  the  favour 
and  image  of  God,  and  a  state  of  communion  with 
him.  He  knows  by  experience,  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God  in  such  a  sense  as  to  be  an  all-sufficient 
Saviour,  and  that  he  came  by  cleansing  water, 
and  by  atoning  blood,  having  received  justification 
through  the  latter,  and  sanctification  through  the 
former.  Or,  which  is  to  the  same  purpose,  he  hath 
received  the  testimony  mentioned  verse  11.  For, 
as  in  that  verse,  ^Hhe  witness,  by  a  usual  metony- 
my, b  put  for  the  thing  witnessed,  and  the  thing  wit- 
nessed being,  that  God  hath  given  us  eternal  life 
through  his  Son,  he  who  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God,  may  justly  besaid  to  have  eternal  life,  the  thing 
witnessed,  in  himself;  because,  by  his  faith  on  the 
Son,  being  begotten  of  God,  he  hath,  in  the  disposi- 
tions of  God's  children  communicated  to  him,  eter- 
nal life  begun  in  him ;  which  is  both  a  pledge  and  a 
proof  that  God,  in  due  time,  will  completely  bestow 
on  him  eternal  life  through  his  Sou."— Macknight. 
Add  to  the  above,  that  eternal  life  is  begun  in  him, 
and  that  God  will,  in  due  time,  bestow  on  him  the 
ftdl  enjojrment  of  it,  he  hath  the  testimony  of  the 
Fatiier,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  the  Father  haVing 
lifted  up  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon  him,  and 
thereby  put  joy  and  gladness  into  his  heart,  Psa,  iv. 
6,  7;  Christ  dwelling  in  his  heart  by  faith,  and  being 
precious  to  his  soul,  Bph.  iii.  17;  1  Pet.  ii.  7 ;  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  Spirit  of  adoption,  witnessing 
with  his  spirit  that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  and  pro- 

VoL.  U.  (  48  ) 


the  record  ^t  God  gave  of  his  Son.  a.  M.  4094 
11   '  And  this  M  the  record,  that    ^'^'^' 
God  hath  given  \o  us  eternal  life:  and  "this 
fife  is  in  his  Son. 


'Ch^  ii.  26. » John  i.  4 ;  Chap.  ir.  S. 


ducing  in  him  love,  joy,  and  peace,  Rom.  viii.  15,16; 
GaL  V.  22.  And  he  hath  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  in 
himself^  mentioned  verse  8,  or  of  the  inspired  wri- 
tings, which  bear  witness  to  the  genuineness  of  his 
religion,  and  his  title  to  eternal  life,  and  which  are 
the  food  of  his  soul,  the  sweetness  of  which  he  tastes, 
and  is  nourished  thereby ;  tastes  the  good  word  ofGod^ 
Heb.  vi.  5.  He  hath  the  witness  of  the  water  in 
himself,;  having  been  baptized  with  water,  and  had 
the  sign,  and  also  the  thing  signified  thereby,  the  re- 
generating grace  of  God ;  and  the  witness  of  the 
blood,  having  received  the  atonement,  and  pardon 
through  it,  and  taking  all  opportunities  of  receiving 
the  Lord's  supper,  when  the  bread  that  he  breaks  is 
to  him  the  communion  of  Christ* s  body;  and  the 
wine  which  he  drinks,  the  commvmon  of  his  blood; 
and  he  feeds  on  Christ  in  his  heart  by  faith,  with 
thanksgiving.  On  the  other  hand,  he  that  believeth 
not  Godr^As  to  his  testimony  concerning  Christ, 
when  at  his  baptism,  and  on  the  mount  of  trans- 
figuration, he  declared  him  to  be  his  Son  by  a  voice 
from  heaven;  and  when,  after  his  death,  he  demon- 
strated hini  to  be  his  Son  by  raising  him  from  the 
dead ;  h^h  made  him  a  liar-^Thtii  is,  by  refusing  to 
believe  these  testimonies,  he  hath  acted  as  if  he 
judged  God  to  be  a  liar,  or  ftilse  witness.  Some 
MSS.  and  ancient  versions,  particularly  the  Vulgate, 
instead  of  He  that  believeth  not  God,  have.  He  that 
believeth  not  the  Son;  which  Grotius  and  Bengelius 
think  the  true  reading.  But,  like  most  of  the  vari- 
ous readings,  this  makes  no  alteration  in  the  sense 
of  the  passage. 

Verses  11, 12.  And  this  is  the  record-— H  itaprvfna, 
the  testimony  ;  the  sum  of  God's  testimony  concern- 
ing his  Son,  and  salvation  through  him :  this  is  the 
thing  testified  by  the  six  witnesses— the  three  in  hea- 
ven, and  the  three  on  earth;  that  God  hath  given  to 
us — Hath  sincerely  and  freely  offered  to  mankind  in 
general,  and  hath  actually  conferred  on  true  believ- 
ers in  particular;  eternal  life — Namely,  a  title  to  it, 
in  their  justification  and  adoption.  Tit  iii.  7;  Rom. 
viii.  17;  a  meetness  for  it,  in  their  new  creation  or 
sanctification.  Col.  i.  12;  2  Cor.  v.  17;  Eph.  iv.  22, 
24 ;  and  a  foretaste  or  earnest  of  it,  by  the  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  hearts,  Eph.  i.  14 ;  giving 
them  to  enjoy  communion  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  1  John  i.  3 ;  and  through  that,  as  it  were,  to  sit 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  their 
conversation  in  heaven,  Eph.  ii.  6;  Phil.  iii.  20.  And 
this  life  is  in  his  Son— Whose  doctrine  hath  revealed 
it;  whose  merits  have  procured  it;  whose  Spirit 
hath  imparted  the  beginning  of  it;  and  whose  exam- 
ple will  conduct  us  to  the  complete  possession  of  it. 
In  other  words,  by  whom  it  is  purchased,  and  in 
whom  it  is  treasured  up ;  so  that  he  has  all  the 
springs,  and  the  fulness  of  it,  in  himself,  to  communi 
678  b 


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A.  M.  4094. 
A.  D.  90. 


12  ^  He  that  hatb the  SoQ,  hath  life; 
and  be  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God, 
hath  not  life. 

13  °  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  that 
believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  Grod ;  » that 
ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  Hfe,  and  that 
ye  may  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God. 


<  John  iii.  30  i  r.  24. «Johnzz.Sl^ 


«Ch.Ll,2. 


cate  to  his  body,  the  church,  first  in  grace  and  then 
in  gloty.  "  Though  the  apostle,  in  what  goes  be- 
fore, has  spoken  partictdarly  of  the  three  in  heaven, 
and  of  the  three  on  earth,  who  bear  witness  continu- 
ally, he  deferred  mentioning,  till  now,  what  it  4s  they  j 
are  witnessing;  that  by  introducing  it  last  of  all,  and 
after  so  much  preparation,  it  might  make  the  stronger 
impression  on  the  minds  of  his  readers."  He  thcU 
hath  the  Son — That  hath  the  saving  knowledge  of 
him  communicated  by  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  re- 
velation, Eph.  i.  17;  Matt  xL  27;  that  hath  living 
faith  in  him,  working  by  love,  Gal.  ii.  20;  v.  6;  and 
hereby  hath  a  real  interest  in  him,  as  a  wife  hath  in 
her  husband,  Bom.  viL  4;  and  vital  union  with  him, 
such  as  a  branch  hath  with  the  tree  in  which  it  grows, 
John  XV.  4 ;  or  such  as  a  member  of  the  human  body 
has  with  the  head  thereof,  1  Cor.  xii.  27 ;  Bom.  xU. 
5;  and  who,  in  consequence  of  that  interest  in  him, 
and  union  with  him,  hath  a  conformity  to  him^ 
hath  in  him  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ,  and  walks 
as  he  walked,  PhiL  ii.  5 ;  or  he,  to  whom  Christ  is 
made  of  God  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification, 
and  redemption;  see  on  1  Cor.  i.  90;  such  a  one  in 
these  respects  having  the  Son,  hath  h/6— Hath  spi- 
ritual life  here,  and  is  entitled  to,  made  in  a  degree 
meet  for,  and  has  an  earnest  of,  eternal  life  hereafter. 
But  he  that  haih  not  the  Son  of  (jod— Hath  not  that 
interest  in  his  merits,  that  union  with  him  through 
the  Spirit,  that  conformity,  more  or  less,  to  his 
image:  he,  whom  Christ  has  not  enlightened  as  his 
wisdom,  justified  as  his  righteousness,  renewed  as 
his  sanctification ;  whatever  he  may  profess^  what- 
ever orthodoxy  of  sentiment,  regularity  of  conduct, 
or  form  of  godliness;  haih  not  It/e— Hatb  neither 
spiritual  life  here,  being  still  ahenated  from  the  hfe 
of  God,  Eph.  iv.  18 ;  nor  is  in  the  way  to  eternal  Ufe 
hereafter.    He  hath  no  part  or  lot  therein. 

Verse  13.  These  ihinga  have  I  written  unto  you — 
The  things  contained  in  the  former  part  of  this  chap- 
ter concerning  the  fruits  of  regenerating  faith,  and 
the  water  and  the  blood,  and  the  witnesses  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  and  especially  concerning  the  things 
which  they  have  witnessed,  mentioned  in  the  two 
last  verses;  to  you  thai  believe  on  the  name  of  the 
Son  of  Oodr-^Wiih  a  faith  grounded  on  a  saving 
knowledge  of  him,  and  productive  of  the  fruits 
spoken  of  verses  1-4;  that  ye  may  /wioir— Onthe 
testimony  of  all  the  evangelists  and  apostles,  and  of 
Christ  himself;  that  ye  have  eternal  /(/c— That  ye 
are  heirs  of  it,  notwithstanding  your  past  sins  and 
present  infirmities,  and  the  imperfection  of  your 
knowledge  and  holiness,  and  the  various  defects  of 
674 


14  And  this  is  the  confidence  that  A.M. 4094. 

we   have  *  in   hiniy  that   ^  if  we 1 

ask  any  thing  according  Uf  his  will,  he  hear- 
ethus: 

15  And  if  we  know  that  he  hear  us^  whatso- 
ever we  ask,  we  know  that  wehave  the  peutions 
that  we  desired  of  him. 


^  Or^  conoemmg' him,' 


^  Ghftptar  UL  22. 


your  love  and  obedience ;  and  that  you  may  believe 
—That  is,  may  persevere  in  believmg;  on  the  naM€ 
of  the  Son  of  Chd—MAy  continue  in  tbe  faith 
grounded  and  settled,  and  not  be  moved  away 
from  the  hope  of  the  gospel;  knowing  that  the  just 
man  shall  live  byfaith^  but  if  he  draw  back,  Go^s 
soul  will  have  no  pleasure  in  him.  See  John  xv.  Sy 
and  Bom.  xi.  22. 

Verses  14, 15.  Andthis  is  the  farther  confidence — 
Tlappifoia,  boldness;  that  we  have  in,  or  with,  hiniy 
that  if  we  ask  any  thing — See  on  Matt  vii.  7;  ac- 
cording- to  his  t0ti/— His  revealed  will,  (for  lus  word 
shows  us  what  things  we  may  lawf^ly  ask,}  he 
heareth  u«— Not  only  observes  and  takes  notice  of 
our  petitions,  but  iavourably  regards  them,  and  will 
assuredly  grant  them  if  he  sees,  and  as  for  as  he  sees, 
that  it  will  be  ibr  our  present  and  eternal  good  to 
have  them  granted :  see  verse  15.  Archbishop  Til- 
lotson  supposes  that  this  refers  particularly  to  the 
apostles.  "  But  so  few  of  the  apostles  could  be  con- 
cerned in  this  advice  of  St.  John,  and  there  are  so 
many:promises  of  the  answer  of  prayer  scattered  up 
and  down  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  that  I,** 
says  Dr.  Doddridge,  *'  would  by  no  means  thus  con- 
fine the  interpretation."  The  truth  is,  with  regard 
to  allspiritual  blessings,  such  as  illumination  of  mind, 
remission  of  sins,  the  divine  fovour,  adoption  into 
God's  family,  regeneration  and  sanctification  through 
his  Holy  Spirit,  grace  to  help  us  in  time  of  need,  and 
eternal  life,  we  may  be  sure  Grod  will  grant  them,  if 
we  ask  them  sincerely,  importunately,  persevering- 
ly,  and  in  faith,  complying,  in  the  mean  time,  through 
his  grace,  with  the  conditions  or  terms,  on  our  com- 
plying with  which  God  hath  suspenddi  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  promises  of  these  blessings,  namely, 
repentance  toward  him,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  tbe  truths  and  promises  of  his  gospel. 
But  wkh  respect  to  temporal  Uessinga,  as  we  do  not 
know  how  far  it  would  be  good  for  us  to  receive 
them,  we  must  ask  them  with  entire  submission  to 
the  divine  will,  persuaded  that  if  we  se^  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  other  things, 
that  he  knows  to  be  needful  and  useful,  shall  be  add- 
ed unto  us  ;  and  that  he  who  gives  grace  and  glory, 
mil  withhold  no  good  thing  from  them  that  walk 
uprightly.  And  if  we  know  that  he  heareth  us,  we 
know^Even  before  the  event,  (for  faith  anticipates 
the  blessings,)  that  we  have  the  petitions  thai  we  de- 
sired of  him — And  when  they  are  received,  we 
know  they  are  given  in  answer  to  our  prayers.  The 
meaning  of  this  is,  that  God's  hearing  is  not  in  vain; 
but  that,  as  he  hears  in  general,  so  he  will  grant  in 
(  4»*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


of  Ood,  einneth  noC, 


A.  M.  4094. 
A.  D.  90. 


16  If  any  man  see  bis  brother  sin  a 
sin  which  is  not  unto  deatb,  he  shall 
ask,  and  *  he  shall  give  him  life  for  them  that 
sin  not  unto  death.  ^  There  is  a  sin  unto 
death :  ^  I  do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray  for  it. 

17  ®  All  unrighteousness  is  sin :  and  there  is  a 
sin  not  unto  death. 

18  We  know  that  *  whosoever  is  bom  of  God, 
sinneth  not;  but  he  that  is  begotten  of  God, 
"  keepeth  himself  and  that  wicked  one  toUcheth 
him  not 


■Job  xlii.  8;  Jaa.  v.  14,  15. •  Matt.  xii.  31,  32;  Mark  iii. 

29;    Lnke  xii.  10;  Hcb.  vL  4,0;  x.  26. *Jcr.  rii.  16;  xit. 

11 ;  John  xvii.  9. «  Chap.  iiL  4. — r-^  I  Peter  i.  23 ;  Chapter 

iii.  0. •  James  i.  27. 


due  time,  and  in  his  own  way,  those  particular  me^ 
cies  which  we  ask  of  him. 

Verses  16,  17.  If  any  man,  &c. — As  if  he  had  said, 
Yea,  he  hears  us  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  others 
also;  see  his  brother— Thnt  is,  any  child  of  man; 
•in  a  sin  which  is  not  unto  Jaa^A— That  is,  any  sin 
but  that  which  is  marked  out  in  the  awful  words 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  unpardonable,  namely, 
the  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  which  see 
on  Matt,  xii,  31 ;  Mark  iii.  29.  Or,  which  may  rather 
be  intended,  the  sin  of  total  apostacy  from  both  the 
power  and  form  of  godliness ;  /ie  shall  ask,  and  God 
shail  gite  him  life — Repentance  unto  life,  and,  in 
consequence  thereof^  pardon  and  salvation  for  that 
sinner.  There  is  a  sin  unto  death;  I  do  not  say 
that  he  shall  fray  for  i7— That  is,  let  him  not  pray 
for  it.  A  sin  unto  death  may  likewise  mean  one 
which  God  has  determined  to  punish  with  temporal 
death.  All  unrighteousness  is  «i7i— Every  deviation 
from  perfect  holiness  is  sin ;  but  dl  sin  is  not  unpar- 
donable, nor  does  God  determine  to  punish  every 
sin  with  temporal  death. 

Verses  18, 19.  We  know,  &c.~As  if  he  had  said, 
Yet  this  gives  no  encouragement  to  sin.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  an  indisputable  truth,  that^  wJwsoever 
is  bom  of  God — That  is,  regenerated  and  made  a 
new  creature ;  see  on  chap.  ii.  29 ;  sinneth  not — Doth 
not  commit  any  known  sin,  so  long  as  he  lives  by 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  and  by  that  faith  has  union 
with  Christ ;  but  ?^  that  is  begotten  ofGod^-By  the 
word  of  truth,  (James  i.  18 ;  1  Pet  i.  23,)  accompa- 
nied by  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  keepeih 
himself— By  the  aid  of  divme  grace  watching  unto 
prayer,  denying  himself  and  taking  up  his  cross 
daily;  and  that  mcked  one— Namely,  the  devil; 
toucheth  him  not — So  as  to  overcome  and  l^ad  him 
into  known,  wilful  sin.  And  we  know— By  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  our  own  consciences ; 
that  to«— Who  believe  in  Christ,  (verse  13,)  and  are 
bom  of  God,  and  made  partakers  of  the  divine  na- 
ture ;  are  of  G^od— Belong  to  him,  as  his  children 
and  his  heirs ;  and  f^  wMe  worlds  All  the  rest  of 
b 


19  And  we  know  that  we  are  of  a.  M.  4094. 
Gtod,  and  'the  whole  world  lieth  in  A£l!?L 
wickedness. 

20  And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is 
come,  and  ^hath  given  us  an  understanding, 
^that  we  may  know  him  that  is  true;  and 
we  are  in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  *This  is  the  true  God,  ^and 
etemd  life. 

21  Little  children,  ^  keep  yourselves  from  idols. 
Amen. 


'  GaL  i.  4.- — I  Luke  xxir,  45. •»  John  xvH.  3. *  I«a. 

iz.  6;  xliT.  6;  lir.  5 ;  John  xx.  28 ;  AcU  xx.  28;  Rom.  ix.  5; 
1  Tim.  iii.  10  ^  Titos  iL  13 ;  Hebrews  L  8.  ■  ^  Verses  11-13* 
•  1  Cor.  X.  14. 


mankind,  that  are  not  such,  a]l  who  have  not  his 
Spirit,  are  not  only  touched  by  him,  but  very  gene- 
rally are  guilty  of  idolatry,  fraud,  violence,  lascivi- 
ousness,  impiety,  and  all  manner  of  vice ;  lieth  in 
wickedness — Rather,  in  the  wicked  one,  as  ev  ru  novripu 
signifies.  They  are  under  his  dominion :  just  as  it 
is  said  of  believers  in  the  next  verse,  that  they  are 
ev  TO  ahf^tvo,  in  the  true  one.  "  The  power  of  Satan 
in  this  lower  world,  and  over  its  inhabitants,  is  often 
spoken  of  in  Scripture.  Thus  Eph.  ii.  2,  he  is  called 
Vie  spirit  which  noto  wOrketh  in  the  children  of  diso- 
bedience :  2  Cor.  iv.  4,  he  is  termed  tJie  god  of  this 
world,  and  ia  said  to  blind  the  minds  (fthem  thai 
believe  not :  1  Pet.  v.  8,  he  is  called  our  adversary, 
and  is  said  to  be  going  about  as  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  Further,  2  Tim, 
ii.  26,  wicked  men  are  said  to  be  held  in  the  snare 
of  the  devil,  who  (Ephesians  vL  11)  is  said  to  ust 
wiles  for  the  destruction  of  mankind,  and  (2  Co- 
rinthians xi.  3)  to  have  beguiled  Eve  by  his  sub- 
tlety?' 

Verses  20,  21.  We  know— By  all  these  infallible 
proofs;  that  Vie  Son  of  God  is  come— Into  the 
world ;  and  JuUh  given  us  an  understanding^Uhih 
enlightened  our  minds ;  that  we  may  know  him  that 
is  true— Tho  living  and  true  God,  namely,  the  Fa- 
ther, of  whom  the  aposUe  appears  here  to  speak ; 
and  we  are  in  him  that  is  true— In  his  favour,  and 
in  a  state  of  union  and  fellowship  with  him ;  even — 
This  particle  is  not  in  the  Greek ;  in—Ot  rather, 
through;  his  Son  Jesus  C9irirt— Through  whose 
mediation  alone  we  can  have  access  to,  or  inter- 
course with,  the  Father.  TVtis—OvTog,  he,  namely, 
Christ,  the  person  last  mentioned  ;  is  the  true  God 
and  eternal  h/e— He  partakes  with  the  Father  in 
proper  Deity,  and  our  immortal  life  is  supported  by 
union  with  him.  Little— Or  beloved  ;  children,keep 
yourselves  from  idols— From  all  false  worship  of 
images,  or  of  any  creature,  and  from  every  inward 
idol:  from  loving,  desiring,  fearing  any  thing  more 
than  God.  Seek  all  help  and  defence  from  evil,  all 
happiness,  in  the  true  God  alone. 
675 


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PREFACE 

TO     THE 

SECOND    EPISTLE  OF  JOHN. 


^  C  OME,''  says  Bede,  (in  the  begtmiing  of  the  ei^^  eentmy,)  **  hare  thought  this  and  the  fcdlowing 
epistle  not  to  have  been  written  hj  John  the  erangelist^  Init  by  another,  a  presbyter  of  the  same 
name,  whose  sepulchre  is  still  seen  at  Ephesos,  whom  also  Papias  mentions  in  his  writings.  But 
now  it  is  the  general  consent  of  the  church,  that  John  the  apostle  wrote  also  these  two  epistles,  foras- 
much  1^  there  is  a  great  agreement  of  the  doctrine  and  style  between  these  and  his  first  epistle,  and 
there  is  also  a  like  zeal  against  heretics."  Compare  2  Epistle  verse  5,  with  1  Epistle  ii.  8 ; — ^Ferse  6» 
with  1  Epistle  v.  3 ; — averse  7,  with  1  Episde  iv.  3 ; — 3  Epistle  verse  12,  widi  John  xix.  35.  Of 
John's  peculiar  manner  of  expressing  things,  compare  2  Epistle  verse  7,  and  3  Epistle  verse  11. — 
Of  the  second  epistle,  which  contains  only  ihirteen  verses,  eight  may  be  found  in  the  first,  either  in 
sense  or  in  expression.  It  is  true,  Eusebius,  in  bearing  testimony  to  the  authenticity  of  the  first 
epistle  of  John,  hath  insinuated  that  some  ascribed  the  second  and  third  epistles  to  another  person  of 
&e  name  of  John,  called  "  the  elder,"  of  whom  he  speaks,  lib.  iii.  c.  39.  And  Jerome  likewise  hath 
mentioned  this  John  in  his  catalogue.  But  the  earliest  and  best  Christian  writers  ascribe  the  second 
and  third  epistles,  as  well  as  the  first,  to  the  Apostle  John.  All  the  three  were  received  as  his  by 
Athanasius,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Epij^ianius,  Jertmie,  and  the  council  of  Laodicea ;  as  adso  by  Ruffin, 
by  the  third  council  of  Carthage,  by  Augustine,  and  by  all  those  authors  who  received  Che  same  canon 
of  the  New  Testament  which  we  receive.  All  the  three  are  in  the  Alexandrian  MS.  and  in  the 
catalogue  of  Gregory  Nazianzen.  The  second  epistle  is  cited  twice  by  Irenstis  as  written  by  John 
(he  s^stle,  declaring,  that "  they  who  denied  Jesus  Christ  to  be  <  come  in  the  flesh,'  were  '  seducers' 
and  '  antichrists,'  verses  7,  8 ;  and  that  they  who  '  bid'  the  heretic  '  God  i^ed,'  w^e  '  partakers  of 
his  evil  deeds;'"  which  words  are  found  in  verses  10,  11.  And  Aurelius  cites  the  10th  verse  as 
the  words  of  St.  John  the  apostle. 

As  to  the  title  of  "  elder,"  taken  by  the  writer  of  these  two  short  epistles,  we  cannot  infer  from 
this  ihat  ^ey  were  not  written  by  the  Apostle  John ;  the  word  "  elder"  being,  it  seems,  only  intended 
to  denote  that  the  person  so  called  was  of  long  standing  in  the  Christian  faith.  It  was,  therefore,  an 
appellation  of  great  dignity,  and  endtled  the  person,  to  whom  it  belonged,  to  the  highest  respect  fi^m 
all  the  disciples  of  Christ:  for  which  reason  it  was  assumed  by  the  Apostle  Peter.  Or,  as  some 
think,  the  word  ^'  elder"  might  be  used  with  a  reference  to  John's  great  age,  and  that  he  was  as  well 
known  by  the  name  of  "  elder"  as  by  his  proper  name ;  the  word  signifying  &e  same  as  if  it  had  been 
said,  "  The  aged  apostle."  The  circumstance,  that  the  writer  of  these  epistles  hath  not  mentioned 
his  own  name,  is  agreeable  to  John's  manner ;  who  neither  hath  mentioned  his  name  in  his  gospel, 
nor  in  the  first  epistle,  which  are  unquestionably  his. 

These  epistles  have  very  improperiy  been  termed  **'  general"  or  '*  catholic,"  since  each  is  inscribed 
to  a  single  person,  one  to  a  woman  of  distinction,  styled  "  the  elect  lady,"  or,  as  some  render  the 
words,  "  the  elect  Kuria,"  (taking  the  latter  word  for  a  proper  name,)  and  the  other  to  ''  Gains  ;** 
probably  the  same  person  with  Gaitis  of  Corinth,  who  is  styled  by  St.  Paul  "his  host,"  and  is  cele- 
brated for  his  hospitality  to  die  brethren ;  a  character  very  agreeable  to  that  which  is  here  given  of 
Gains  by  the  Apostle  John. 

There  is  no  fixing  the  date  of  these  two  epistles  with  any  certainty.  It  in  a  great  measure  depends 
on  the  date  of  the  first  epistle ;  so(m  after  which,  it  is  generally  agreed,  both  these  were  written.  And 
this  indeed  appears  exceeding  probable  from  that  coincidence,  both  of  sentiment  and  expression,  which 
occurs  in  ail  these  epistles,  as  mentioned  above. 

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THE  SECOND  EPISTLE 


<»■ 


JOHN. 


Vl,)  The  Af09d€  JokuMhOtM  a  Chrutum  mMiroH  mid  Aar  ekiUrent  1-9.  {%)  WUk grtiU  joy  r$eommmit  fiuriUr  i$grm9 
tffittik  mid  Um,  4-6.  (8,)  Cndiofit  •gmmtt  eeiuun,  fortieuUtrfy  meh  M9  ienM  ChrUfs  hiemmaiiamj  mid  Mttuain 
fnm  €iit§rt§immg  fertem  thai  emd  from  th§  fntfA,  or  wiskmg  A«m  miceest,  T-11.  (4,)  Rrftn  tome  ether  metitUn  to  m 
fenemtd  udenoeney  \%  19. 

from  God  the  Father,  and  from  the  A.iC409i. 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  _!-! — 1 
Fath^,  ^in  truth  and  bve. 


A.1L4004.  npHE  dder  unto  the  elect  lady,  and 

! 1.         herdiildren,*whomIloivein,the 

truth;  and  not  I  only,  but  also  an  they  thai  have 
known  ^ the  truth; 

8  For  the  truth's  sake  which  dwelleth  in  us^ 
and  diaU  be  wkh  us  fcr  ever. 

3  ®  Grace  ^be  with  you,  mercy  and  peace 


*1  John  iii.  18 ;  ^  John  1 ;  Yerae  3. ^  John  viii.  32 ;  Gal. 

ti.5, 14;  iU.  1;  t.  7;  CoLL5;  3TlMm.  ii.13;  lTim.u.4; 


yeneel,2.  TAeelcter— An  appellation  suited  to  a 
famifiar  letter;  fbr  the  import  of  it  see  the  preface: 
wUo  the  eZect— That  is,  the  Christian;  lady---Ot 
KuriOj  ratiier,  for  iSbt  word  seems  to  be  a  proper 
name,  both  here  and  in  verse  5,  it  not  heiag  then 
usual  to  apply  the  title  of  lady  to  any  but  the  Roman 
empress,  neiUier  would  such  a  mamier  of  iq>eaking 
have  been  suitable  to  the  simplicity  and  dignity  of 
the  apostle ;  and  herchildren--'There  is  ik>  mention 
made  by  the  aposde  of  this  matron's  hu^iand,  either 
because  he  was  dead,  or  hecause  he  was  not  a  Chris- 
tian ;  w^iom— That  is,  both  her  and  her  children ;  / 
love  in  the  fnttii— Or  rather  (as  a^t^ia  is  without 
the  article>  in  truth.  The  meaning  is,  whom  I  love 
with  unfeigned  and  holy  love.  The  sincerity  and 
purity  of  his  love  to  this  fkmily,  the  apostle  showed 
on  the  present  occasion,  by  his  eamestbess  to  guard 
them  agafaist  betng  deceived  by  the  false  teachers, 
who  were  then  going  about  among  the  disciples  of 
Christ  And  mt  I  only  love  her  and  them,  hut 
aito  all  love  them  that  have  known  the  tntthr^ 
As  H  is  in  Jesus,  and  have  had  any  opportunity  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  them.  For  the  trithU 
MJbs— Because  yon  have  embraced  the  same  truth 
of  the  gospel  whidi  I  myself;  and  other  ftithful 
CMstians,  have  received;  whididwdle(hinn9^AB 
a  living  principle  of  faith  and  hoUness;  seePhiLL6; 
IJohniLU;  and  ehaUhe  with  ue  fir  eeer^yiYAoh^ 

D 


4  I  rejoiced  greatly,  that  I  found  of 
thy  children  *  walking  in  truth,  as  we 
have  reoedved  a  commandment  from  the 
Father. 


Heb.  z.  2a- 
«3Jo|m). 


e  1  Timothy  i  2. '  Or.  AmU  ht, '  Veno  1. 


I  trust.  Cod  win  enable  us  to  believe  and  obey  to  the 
end  of  our  lives. 

Verse  a  Grace  he  wiGk  you,  ftc-^See  on  Rom. 
L  7.  Grace  takes  away  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin, 
and  renews  our  fallen  nature ;  mercy  relieves  our 
misery;  peace  implies  our  abiding  in  grace  and 
mercy.  It  mchides  the  testimony  of  God's  Sphrit 
and  of  our  own  conscience,  both  that  we  are  his 
children,  and  that  all  our  ways  are  acceptable  to  him. 
This  is  the  very  foretaste  of  heaven,  where  It  is  per- 
fected :  in  truth  and  love — TVuth  embraced  by  a 
lively  faith,  and  hve  to  God,  his  children,  and  all 
mankind,  flowing  from  discoveries  of  his  favour. 

Verse  4.  /  rejoiced  greatly  that  I  found  of  ffiy 
chUdren—TbAt  is,  some  of  thy  children;  walking 
in  truthr— In  a  manner  agreeable  to  the  gospel.  It 
js  probable  that  John  speaks  of  such  of  her  children 
as  he  had  met  with  In  the  course  of  his  travels,  pro- 
bably at  their  aunt's  house,  rtsne  18;  and  that  hav- 
ing conversed  with  4hem,  and  ol^rved  their  con* 
duict,  he  had  found  reason  to  conclude  that  they 
were  truly  j^ous,  and  sound  in  the  faith.  After  their 
return  home,  it  seems,  he  inscribed  this  letter  to 
them  as  well  as  to  their  mother,  and  by  the  com- 
mendation which  he  bestowed  on  them  hi  h,  he  no 
doubt  encouraged  them  much  to  persevere  In  the  truth. 
By  the  Joy  which  this  circumstance  gave  the  apostle, 
was  manifested  the  disposition  of  a  fiadthftd  minister 

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Canai&n  against  anliehrisiian 


U.  JOHN. 


teachers  andsedneen. 


A.1C4004.  5  And  now  I  beseech  thee,  lady/ not 
■  '  '  '  as  though  I  wrote  a  new  command- 
ment unto  thee,  but  that  which,  we  had  from 
the  beginning,  'that  we  bve one  another. 

6  And  ^  this  is  love,  that  we  walk  after  his 
commandments.  This  is  the  commandment, 
That, '  as  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginnii^, 
ye  should  walk  in  it. 

7  For  ^  many  deceivers  are  entered  into  the 
woild,  ^  who  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  oome 
in  the  flesh.  ^  This  is  a  deceiver,  and  an  anti- 
christ 


f  1  John.  ii.  7,  8 ;  iii.  11.^— <  John  ziii.  84  ;  xr.  12 ;  Eph.  ▼. 
2 ;  I  Pet.  iT.  8 ;   I  John  iii.  23. — ->»  John  xir.  15^  21 :  xv.  10 ; 

1  John  iL  5 ;    ▼.   3. *  1  John   ii.  24. ^  1  John  ir.  1. 

&  1  John  ir.  2,  3. ■!  John  ii.  22 ;  ir.  3. ■  Mark  xiii.  9. 


of  Christ;  for  suck  derive  great  happiaess  from  the 
faith  and  holiness  of  their  disciples. 

Verse  5.  NoWj  I  beseech  thee,  Kuria — This  sort 
of  address  suits  a  particular  person  much  better  than 
a  whole  church,  consisting  of  many  individuals,  to 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  this  letter  was  directed ; 
not  as  though  I  wrote  a  new  commandment — A  com- 
mandment which  thou  didst  never  hear  before; 
but  that  which  we  had  from  the  beginning — Of  our 
Lord's  ministry.  Indeed  it  was  in  some  sense  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world ;  that  we  love  one  another 
^More  abundantly.  The  apostle  does  not  here 
speak  of  a  new  commandment  in  the  sense  in  which 
our  Lord  used  that  phrase  John  xiii.  34;  (see  on 
L  John  ii.  7,  8 ;)  but  his  meaning  is,  either  that  the 
commandment  to  love  one  another,  which  he  gave 
to  this  family,  was  not  a  commandment  which  had 
never  been  delivered  to  the  church  before,  or  that  it 
was  not  a  commcmdment  peculiar  to  the  gospel. 
The  first  of  these  seems  to  be  the  apostle's  meaning ; 
as  he  tells  this  matron  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  had 
had  this  commandment  delivered  to  them  from  the 
beginning.  In  Inculcating  mutual  love  among  the 
disciples  of  Christ  so  frequently  and  so  earnestly  in 
all  his  writings,  John  showed  himself  to  be,  not  only 
a  faithful  apostle  of  Christy  but  a  perscm  of  a  most 
amiable  and  benevolent  disposition ;  his  own  heart 
being  full  of  love  to  all  mankind,  and  particularly  to 
the  followers  of  Jesus^  he  wished  to  promote  that 
holy  and  happy  temper  in  all  true  Christians. 

Verses  %  7.  And  this  is  love-^Tha  principal  proof 
of  true  love,  first  to  God,  and  then  to  his  people; 
that  we  walk  after  his  commandments — That  we  be 
obedient  to  his  will  in  all  things.  This  love  is  the 
great  commandment,  which  ye  have  heard  from  the 
&egwfitn^— Of  our  preaching;  that  ye  should  walk 
in  it — Should  per^vere  in  love.  For  many  de- 
ceivers, &C.— See  on  1  John  iv.  1 :  as  if  he  had  said, 
Carefully  keep  what  you  have  heard  from  the  be- 
ginning; for  many  seducers  are  come ;  who  confess 
not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come — Or  came,  as  epxofievov 
(considered  as  the  participle  of  the  imperfect) 
may  be  rendered ;  for  Jesus  Christ  was  not  on  earth 
in  Uie  flesh  when  John  wrote  this ;  as  the  translation 
678 


8  '  Look  to  youxselves,  •  that  we  a.  m.  40m. 

lose  not  those  things  which  we  have  — U . 

'  wrou^t,  hut  that  we  receive  a  full  reward. 

9  ^  VIThoeoever  transgresseth,  and  abideth  not 
in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  hath  not  Grod.  He  that 
abideth  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  he  hath  both 
the  Father  and  the  Son. 

10  If  there  come  any  unto  you,  and  bring  not 
this  doctrine,  receive  hipi  not  into  ymtr  house, 
4  neither  bid  him  God  speed ; 

11  For  he  that  biddeth  him  God  speed,  is  par- 
taker of  his  evil  deeds. 


oQal.  iii.  4 ;  Heb.  x.  33,  36. '  Or,  gmitud.    Some 


read,  whkh  yt  have  gMmedf  but  that  m  rwcehey  &c.- 

ii.  23. «  ftom.  xri.  17 ;   1  Cor.  v.  11 ;  xvi.  22 ; 

2  Tim.  iii.  6 ;  Tit.  iii.  10. 


ootnos 
1  Jolm 

6aL  i.  8,  9 ; 


in  our  Bible,  is  come,  imports.  He  had  come  in  the 
flesh,  but  was  gone.  So  that  no  translation  of  this 
clause,  which  represents  Jesus  Christ  as  then  pre- 
sent, can  be  just.  The  apostle  alhides  to  the  rise  of 
those  heretics,  who  affirmed  that  Christ  came  only 
in  appearance;  and  who,,  of  coarse,  denied  b'ls 
pnestly,  if  not  also  his  prophetic  and  kingly  office. 
7^At>— Every  one  who  does  this,  who  does  not  ac- 
knowledge that  Christ  came  in  the  flesh ',  is  a  de- 
ceiver— A  seducer  from  God;  and  antichrist — An 
enemy  to  Christ 

Verses  8,  9.  Loolc  to  yourselves — ^Take  heed,  lest 
you  grow  remiss  or  negligent  in  the  course  of  your 
obedience.  Thai  we  lose  not,  &c~rLe8t  you  Jose 
the  reward  of  what  yon  have  already  done,  which 
every  apostate  does;  but  that  we  receive — Which 
every  one  that  is  faith  Ail  unto  death  shall  do;  a  full 
reward — ^That,  having  fully  employed  all  our  talents 
to  the  glory  of  him  that  gave  them,  we  may  receive 
the  whole  portion  of  felicity  which  God  has  i«o- 
mlsed  to  diligent,  persev^ing  Christians.  Receive 
this  as  a  certain  rule;  toAoioerer  transgresseth^ 
Any  law  of  God ;  and  abideth  not — ^Does.  not  peAe- 
vere ;  in  his  belief  of^  and  obedience  to,  the  doctrine 
of  Christ,  haih  not  God—For  his  Father  and  his  God. 
He  thai  abideth  in  the  doctrine  of  CAri«^— Believ- 
ing and  obeying  it;  Jmth  both  the  Father  and  the 
Sonr-Who  have  confirmed  that  doctrine  in  the 
most  ample  manner. 

Verses  10, 11.  If  there  come  any  unto  yot*— Either 
as  a  teacher  or  a  brother ;  and  bring  not  this  doctrine 
—Of  Christ,  namdy,  that  Jedus  Christ,  the  Sonof  God, 
did  come  in  the  flesh  to  save  mankind;  or  advanoe 
any  thing  contrary  to  it,  or  any  other  branch  of 
Christ's  doctrine ;  receive  him  notinio  your  hou^e — 
Either  as  a  teacher  or  a  brother;  neither  bid  him 
God  speed — Give  him  no  encouragem^t  therein; 
for  he  that  biddeth  him  God  speed— Th9i  gives  him 
any  encouragement;  is  partaker  of— Is  accessary 
to;  his  eml  deeds— "We  may  infer,  from  what  the 
apostle  here  says,  Ist^  That  when  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  the  disciples  of  Christ  came  to  any  place 
where  they  were  not  known  to  the  brethren  who 
resided  there,  nor  were  recommended  to  them  by 
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U.  JOHN. 


to  a  personal  interview. 


A.  M.  4094.  12  'Having  many  things  to  write  unto 
— ^ — 1-  you,  I  would  not  write  with  paper  and 
ink :  but  I  trust  to  come  unto  you,  and  speak 


'3  John  13. >  Gr.  mmOh  to  mouth. 


some  with  whom  they  were  acquainted,  they  made 
themselves  known  to  them  as  the  real  disciples  of 
Christ,  by  declaring  their  faith.  This  shows  the  pro- 
priety of  the  apostle's  advice  to  this  pious  matron 
and  her  children.  2d,  That  as  the  Christians  in 
those  days  exercised  hospitality  to  their  stranger 
brethren,  who  were  employed  in  spreading  the  gos- 
pel; so  the  Christian  sister  to  whom  the  apostle 
wrote  this  letter,  being  probably  rich,  and  of  a 
benevolent  disposition,  thought  herself  under  an 
obligation  to  supply  the  wants  of  those  strangers  who 
went  about  preaching.  Wherefore,  to  prevent  her 
from  being  deceived  by  impostors,  the  apostle  here 
directs  her  to  require  such  teachers  to  give  an 
account  of  the  doctrines  which  they  taught;  and  if 
she  found  that  they  did  not  hold  the  true  Christian 
doctrine,  he  advised  her  not  to  receive  them  into  her 
house,  nor  to  give  them  any  countenance.  And  this 
advice  of  the  apostle  was  certainly  perfectly  proper, 
because  they  who  entertained,  or  otherwise  showed 
respect  to,  false  teachers,  enabled  them  the  more 
effectually  to  spread  their  erroneous  doctrine,  to  the 
seduction  and  ruin  of  those  whom  they  deceived. 

Verses  12, 13.  Having  many  things  to  vrrite — Con- 
cerning these  and  other  subjects;  Iwonld  not — Ovk 
f6«A9^,  /  ipas  not  minded^  to  communicate  them 
hy  paper  and  infc— Probably  the  apostle  meant  that 
he  had  many  things  to  say  concerning  the  cha- 
racters and  actions  of  the  iblse  teachers;  perhaps 


3  face  to  fece,  ■  that  *  our  joy  may  be  full  A.  M.  4094. 

13  *The  children  of  thy  elect  sister  ! 1 

greet  thee.    Amen. 

•  John  xrii.  13 ;  1  John  i.  4. ^  Or,  your. *■  1  Pet.  ▼.  13. 


also  he  wished  to  mention  to  her  the  names  of  those 
that  he  had  principally  in  view.  But  these  things 
he  did  not  think  it  proper  to  write  in  a  letter;  espe- 
cially as  he  proposed  to  visit  this  matron  and  her 
children  soon,  and  to  converse  with  them  personally. 
TkechUdrenofihy  elecf—Or  Christian  sister,  greet 
thee— li  seems  she  was  absent,  if  not  dead,  when  the 
apostle  wrote  this.  It  is  justly  observed  by  Macknlght, 
that  *^  the  word  elect  here,  as  in  verse  1,  doOi  not 
signify  chosen  from  eternity  to  salvation.  For  the 
apostle  could  not  know  that  the  matron's  sister  was 
so  elected,  unless  the  matter  had  been  made  known 
to  him  by  a  particular  revelation,  which  is  not 
alleged  to  have  been  the  case  by  any  who  so  in^r- 
pret  election."  But  it  signifies,  as  the  same  ex- 
pression generally  does,  in  other  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, a  true  believer  in  Christ,  who,  as  such^  is  in  a 
state  of  acceptance  with  God,  and  one  of  his  chosen 
people.  See  on  Eph.  i.  3-7.  It  is  proper  to  observe 
here  also,  that  the  salutations  which  the  Christians 
in  the  first  age  gave  to  each  other,  were  not  of  the 
same  kind  with  the  salutations  of  unbelievers,  which 
were  wishes  of  temporal  health  and  felicity  only ; 
but  they  were  prayers  for  the  health  and  happiness 
of  their  souls,  and  expressions  of  the  most  sincere 
love.  See  8  John,  verse  2.  The  apostle  sent  this 
matron  the  salutation  of  the  children  of  her  sister, 
to  intimate  to  her  that  they  were  all  Christians,  and 
that  they  persevered  in  the  true  doctrine  of  the  gospel. 

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THE  THIRD  EPISTLE 


OF 


JOHN. 


The  ijnttfg,  ui  tkU  skori  tfUiU  U  tUm$,  (1,)  Ej^€99€9  kit  amcem  for  hi*  protperitf,  tmd  kit  jo^  w  ike  hmumfwbU 
€ktarucUr  ki  mmnfmnei  fm  CkmHtm,  eandourt  kotfiU&hff  toti  xed,  1-8.  (t,)  He  ccdtHoms  Mm  mgaitut  tke  ambitUnu 
md  tfohdaU  fruticu  ifDiotrtfku^  but  reeommtmiM  Demetritu  to  kis  friendik^  m  a  mas  of  am  excettaU  chtrMUr^ 
^VL    (3,)  Ht  refer*  wkat  ke  kadfwrlker  to  e*^  to€permmal  tnterview^  13, 14. 


A.  M.  4094.  nrHE 

A.D.9D.      X     ^ 


truth. 


elder  unto  the  weQ-beloved 
Gaius,   ^whom  I  love  ^in  Uie 


2  Beloved,  I  ^  wish  above  all  tfarngs  that  thou 
mayest  prosper  and  he  in  h^lth^  even  as  thy 
soul  prospereth. 


«2  Johnl.- 


^  Or,  irWjf.*-— •Or,|»r«3r<- 


»2Jolui4. 


Verse  1.  The  elder  unto  the  well-beloved  Gaiue 
— Gahis,  or,  aecording  to  the  Latin  orthography, 
Came^  was  a  comnion  name  among  the  Romans.  In 
the  history  of  the  Acts^and  in  the  epistles  we  meet 
with  five  persons  of  this  name.  1st,  One  mentioned 
Acts  xix.  29,  called  a  man  of  Macedonia,  ipd  Paul's 
companion  in  travel.  2d,  A  Gains  of  Derbe,  a  city 
of  Lycaonia,  mentioned  Acts  xx.  4.  Sd,  A  Gains  widi 
whom  St  Paul  lodged  at  Corinth,  and  called  his 
hoet^  Acts  xvii  23.  4th,  One  of  that  name,  whom  the 
apostle  had  baptized  at  Corinth,  mentioned  I  Cor. 
i.  14,  who  probably  was  the  same  person  with  the 
Gaius  last  mentioned.  5th,  A  Gaius  to  whom  John 
wrote  this  epistle,  thought  by  Estius  and  Heuman  to 
be  a  different  person  from  9SI  those  above  men- 
tioned; because  the  apostle  hath  intimated,  verse 
4,  that  he  was  his  convert,  which  they  suppose  he 
could  not  say  of  any  of  the  Gaiuses  mentioned  above. 
Lardner  supposes  he  was  an  eminent  Christian,  who 
lived  in  some  city  of  Asia,  not  far  firom  Ephesus, 
where  St.  John  chiefly  resided  after  his  leaving 
Judea.  For,  verse  14,  the  apostle  speaks  of  shortly 
coming  to  him,  which  he  could  not  well  have  done 
if  Gaius  had  lived  at  Corinth,  or  any  other  remote 
place.  This  Gaius  being  neither  a  bishop  nor  a 
deacon,  but  a  private  member  of  some  church,  (as 
appears  by  the  contents  of  the  epistle,)  his  hos- 
pitality to  the  brethren,  who  came  to  him,  is  a  proof 
that  he  possessed  some  substance,  and  that  he  was 
of  a  very  benevolent  disposition.  The  design  of  St 
John,  in  writing  to  him,  was  not  to  guard  him  against 
the  attempts  of  the  heretical  teachers,  who  were 
gone  abroad,  or  to  condemn  the  errors  which  they 
were  at  great  pains  to  propagate;  but  only,  1st,  To 
praise  Gains  for  having  showed  kindness  to  some 
060 


3  For  I  rejoiced  greatly,  when  the  a.  a^ 4094. 

brethren  came  and  tMified  of  the \ — 

truth  that  is  in  thee^  even  as  ^thou  walkeet  in 
the  truth. 

4  I  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  that  ^mj 
diildren  walk  in  truth. 

<  1  Cor.  iir.  IS;  Philem.  10. 

Christian  strangers,  who,  in  journeying  among  the 
Orentiles,  had  come  to  the  place  where  Gaius  resided ; 
and  to  encourage  him  to  show  them  the  like  kind- 
ness, when  they  should  call  upon  him  again,  in 
the  course  of  their  second  journey.  2d,  For  the 
purpose  of  rebi^dng  and  restraining  one  Diotrephes, 
who  had  arrogantly  assumed  to  himself  the  chief 
direction  of  the  afflBdrs  of  the  church,  of  which  Gains 
was  a  member,  and  who  had  both  refused  to  assist 
the  brethren  above  mentioned,  and  had  even  hin- 
dered those  from  ^receiving  and  entertaining  them 
who  were  desirous  to  do  it  dd,  Tlie  apostle  wrote 
this  letter  to  commend  an  excellent  person  named 
Demetrius,  who,  in  disposition  and  behaviour,  being 
the  reverse  of  Diotrephes,  the  apostle  proposed  him 
as  a  pattern,  whom  Gaius  and  the  rest  were  to  imitate. 
Verses  2-4.  Beloved^  I  wish — Or,  I  pray,  as  evxoftai 
is  translated  by  Beza,  Estius,  Erasmus,  Scbmidiufl^ 
Doddridge,  and  others.  Ahote  aU  things— Or,  with 
respect  to  all  things,  as  nepi  navruv  rather  signifies ; 
that  thou  mayest  prosper  and  be  in  AeoWk^Namcly, 
of  body ;  even  as,  I  doubt  not,  thy  soul  prospereth 
— In  faith,  love,  and  every  virtue.  For  I  r^oiced 
greatly  when  the  brethren— Who  went  to  the  church, 
of  which  thou  art  a  member ;  came  back  and  tesiir 
fied  of  the  truth  thai  is  in  <^e— Thy  feith,  love,  and 
other  Christian  graces ;  even  as  thou  waJkest  in  the 
truth— kAomesX  the  gospel  by  an  exemplary  con- 
duct, and  all  good  works.  The  apostle  emphatically 
terms  Gaius's  joining  works  of  charity  with  faith  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  the  truth  that  was  in  him. 
For  there  is  no  true  faith  without  good  works: 
it  always  produces  good  works:  neither  are  any 
works  good  but  such  as  proceed  from  faith.  These 
two  joined  constitute  the  truth  of  religion.    For  1 

b 


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JWto?t  ^mmmdaHon  of  OatuB^ 


m.x>mi. 


and  honourable  character  of  him. 


A.u.mi.   B  BeloTed,  thou  ^k)e8tfitkhfi]Dy  what- 
1 — L  floerer  thou  doest  to  the  brethreD}  and 


to  strangers; 

6  Which  have  btrtne  witness  of  thy  ciiarity 
befere  the  chnrch :  whook  if  diou  l^g  forward 
OBthebjimmey' after  a  godly  sort,  diou  sfaalt 
do  well  : 

7  Because  that  for  his  name's  sake  they  went 
forth,  '  taking  nodnng  at  the  G^tiles. 

8  We  therefore  ought  to  recme  sodi,  that  we 


*  Or,  wortky^  CM. 


Aooe,  Ac— That  \m,  nothing  gives  me  greater  Jo^t 
than  to  hear  that  my  chUdren  wdOc  in  the  trvik-- 
Such  10  the  f^it  of  every  true  Chnstiaa  pastor.  Ii 
seoms  probable  by  this,  as  has  been  intimated  above, 
that  Gains  was  converted  by  St  Jo^n.  Hence,  in 
speaking  to  him,  he  nses  the  tender  style  of  paternal 
love,  and  his  caHing  liim  one  oi  his  chiMr^  when 
writing  under  the  chaneter  of  the  dder^  has  pe- 
culiar beauty  and  propriety. 

Verses  5-a  Beloved,  fhou  doeH  fai^fuUy—Vp- 
rightly  and  sincerely;  or,  as  wicw  mneic  is  more 
accurately  rendered,  ^ou  doet  a  faithful  thing;  or 
a  thing  becoming  a  faithfol  person,  or  one  ^iriui  is  a 
real  believer ;  whaj^everthimdoeet  to  ^e  brethren, 
and  to  etrangere-^To  thy  fdlow-Christians,  known 
to  thee,  and  to  those  with  whom  thou  hast  had  no 
acquaintance.'  Who  have  born  vntneee  of  thy  chari- 
ty  before  the  ehwrch-^The  congregation  witii  whom 
I  now  reside ;  wAoin— Which  brethren  or  Christiaa 
strangers ;  if  thou  bring  forward  on  their  jimmey 
— Supplied  with  what  Is  needful ;  after  a  godly  sort 
—In  a  manner  worthy  of  God,  or  from  a  principle 
of  divine  love,  and  correspondent  to  the  relation  in 
which  you  and  they  stand  to  him ;  thou  ehccU  do 
well— How  tenderly  does  the  apostle  enjoin  this ! 
Because  that  for  hie  name^e  sake — Out  of  zeal  for 
his  honour  and  interest ;  they  went  forth — To  preach 
the  gospel,  abandoning  their  habitations,  possessions, 
mndeallings;  taking  nothing  of  tJie  Gentries — Among 
whom  they  laboured,  towiml  then*  support,  that  they 
might  take  off  all  suspicion  of  their  being  influenced 
by  mercenary  motives.  We,  ^^erefore-— Who  do 
not  undertake  expensive  journeys  for  the  sake  of 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  who  have  any  habitation 
of  our  own ;  ought  to  receive  ^ticA— Hospitably  and 
respectfully;  <Aa(~If  Divine  Providence  do  not  give 
us  opportunities  of  laying  ourselves  out,  as  they  do, 
in  the  exercise  of  the  ministerial  office ;  we  might— 
Though  in  a  lower  degree ;  be  fellow-helpers  to  the 
truthr^Which  they  preach,  and  may  be  entitled, 
through  divine  grace,  to  a  share  in  their  reward. 

Verses  9-11.  /  wrote— Or  have  written;  to  the 
church— Prohahlj  that  to  which  they  came ;  but 
Diotrephes,  &c.— As  if  he  had  said,  But  I  fear  lest 
my  letter  should  not  produce  the  desired  eflfect ;  for 
Diotrephes,  perhaps  the  pastor  of  it,  who  loveih  to 
have  Uie  pre-eminence  among  them— To  govern  all 
things  according  to  his  own  will;  receiveth  ue  not 
b 


migfat  be  f<A>w-Mpers  to  the  troth,  a.  k.  4oai 
9  I  wrote  unto  the  chnrch:  but  Dio-    ^'^'^ 


trephes;  who  loveth  to  have  the  (Nre-eminence 
among  them,  receiveth  us  not 

10  Wherefore,  if  I  nxne,  I  wiB  remember  his 
deeds  which  he  doeth,  prating  against  us  with 
mafidous  words:  and  not  content  therewith, 
neither  doth  he  himself  receive  the  brethren, 
and  ibrbiddeth  them  that  would,  and  casteth 
/ftem  out  of  the  church. 


'ICor.  ix.12,15. 


-•Neither  them  nor  me ;  or,  does  not  acknowledge 
my  authority  as  an  apostle  of  Christ  So  did  the 
mystery  of  iniquity  already  begin  to  work  I  As  six 
or  seven  MS8.  read  here,  typaiKi,  w,  a  reading  which 
is  followed  by  the  Vulgate,  the  Syriac,  and  the  Cop- 
tic venriotts,  Macknight,  supposing  it  to  be  the  genu^ 
ine  readmg,  renders  the  clause,  I  would  have  written; 
remarking^  that  the  letters  which  the  apostles  wrote 
to  the  churches,  were  all  sent  to  the  bishops  and 
elders  in  those  churches,  to  be  by  them  read  to  the 
people  in  their  public  assemblies.  So  that  ^  if  DicK 
trephes  was  a  bishop  or  elder  of  the  church  to  which 
St  John  would  have  written,  the  apostle  might  sus- 
pect that  that  imperious,  arrogant  man,  would  have 
suppressed  his  letter ;  consequently,  to  have  written 
to  a  chnrch  of  which  he  had  usmped  the  sole  go- 
vernment, would  have  answered  no  good  purpose." 
Wherefore,  if  I  come^As  I  hope  I  quickly  shall ; 
/  wiU  remember— Or,  as  vn^fimiffo  more  properly 
signifies,  /  will  bring  to  remembrance;  his  deeds 
which  he  ptetcikaei&k,  prating  against  t«*— Both 
them  and  me;  with  malicious  words— Ab  if  I  were 
not  an  apostle,  but  had  assumed  that  office.  "In 
thus  speaking,  the  writer  of  this  epistle  showed  him* 
self  to  be  Diotrephes's  superior.  It  is  therefore  highly 
probable  that  the  writer  of  it  was  not  the  person 
called  by  the  ancients  John  the  presbyter,  but  John 
the  apostle*  Heuman  and  Lardner  are  of  opinion 
the  apostle  only  meant  that  he  would  put  Diotrephes 
in  mind  of  his  evil  deeds,  and  endeavour  to  persuade 
him  to  repent  of  them  by  mild  admonitions.  But 
there  is  no  occasion  to  give  a  mild  sense  to  the  apos- 
tle's words :  for,  allowing  that  John  threatened  to 
punish  Diotrephes  for  his  insolence,  in  prating 
against  him  with  malicious  words,  and  for  his  un- 
charitableness  in  refusing  to  entertain  and  assist  the 
brethren  and  the  strangers,  his  threatenings  did  not 
proceed  fnmi  resentment,  but  from  zeal  for  the  in- 
terests of  religion,  in  which  he  is  to  be  commended ', 
because,  as  Whitby  remarks  on  this  verse,  'private 
offences  against  ourselves  must  be  forgiven  and  for- 
gotten ;  but  when  the  offence  is  an  impediment  to 
the  faiUi,  and  very  prejudicial  to  the  church,  it  is  to 
be  opposed  and  publicly  reproved.' "—Macknight 
Neither  doth  he  himself  receive  the  brethren — 
Though  he  knows  they  come  from  us ;  and  forbid- 
deih  them  that  iooiU(^Receive  them,  to  do  it ;  and 
casteth  (^i€m— Who  entertain  them  contrary  to  his 
081 


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The  commendation 


HI.  JOHN. 


of  Demehriuf. 


A.  M.  40d4.    11  Beloved,  *!  fi4bw  not  that  M^iich 

'. L  is  evil,  but  that  which  is  good.    'He 

thatdoeth.goodisof  God:  but  he  that  doeth 
evil  hath  not  seen  God.' 

12  Demetrius  ^rhath  good  report  of  all  men, 
and  of  the  truth  itself:  yea,  and  we  €Uso  bear 
record ;  ^  and  ye  know  that  our  record  is  true. 


•  Psa.  xxxrii.  27;  I«a.  i.  16,  17 ;   1  Pet.  iii.  11.- 
29;  iii.  6k  9. 


f  I  ^ohn  ii. 


orders ;  oiU  of  the  church.  But  as  for  thee,  beloved, 
follouh—Ot  imitate ;  not  that  which  is  evil — In  Dio- 
trephes,  or  any  one ,  but  that  which  thou  seest  to  be 
good  in  those  with  whom  thou  art  acquainted  j  that 
is,  behold  such  a  conduct  as  that  of  Diotrephes  with 
a  just  abhorrence,  and  act  according  to  that  model 
of  humility  and  condescension  which  you  have  seen 
In  others.  He  that  doeth  g-ood— From  a  proper  prin* 
Ciple,  namely,  from  love  to  God,  in  obedience  to  his 
will,  and  with  a  view  to  his  glory ;  is  qf  God— He 
knows  God,  and,  as  one  of  his  people,  imitates  him ; 
but  he  that  doeth  ein7— ^That  harbour^  unkind  tem- 
pers in  his  heart,  and  acts  in  an  unfriendly  manner 
toward  the  servants  of  Christ,  in  their  wants  and 
necessities,  Whatever  high  notions  he  may  entertain 
of  himself,  haih  not  seen  or  known  Cfod — But  is  evi^ 
dently  ignorant  of  his  perfections  and  of  his  will, 
and  even  an  enemy  to  him. 

Verse  12.  Demetrius,  on  the  contrary,  liath  good 
report— Hath  a  good  testimony  from  all  that  know 
him ;  and  of  the  truth — ^The  gospel  ;itself-^WB  tem- 
per and  conduct  being  conformable  to  its  precepts, 
and  he  having  exerted  himself  greatly  to  propagate 
it.  Yea,  and  we  also  bear  record — ^I,  and  they  ttiat 
are  with  me ;  and  ye  know  that  our  record  is  true — 
That  every  commendation  I  give  is  well  founded. 

Ver.  18, 14.  /  had  many  other  things  to  write — To 
communicate  to  thee  concerning  the  aflSsdrs  of  your 


13  *  I  had  many  things  to  write,  but  a.m.40»4. 

I  will  not  with  ink  and  pen  write  unto  '. I< 

thee: 

14  But  I  trust  I  fihall  shortly  see  thee,  and 
wesballepeak  ^^Bu:e  tofiBu».  Peace  6e  to  thee. 
Our  friends  salute  thee. .  Greet  the  friaods  by 
name. 


f  1   Tim.  iii.  7.- 


^John  Tfj.  24. — 
mmUktommlk. 


12  John  12.- 


•Or. 


church,  and  cont^eming  Diotrephes ;  but  I  will  fiof— 
I  am  not  minded ;  to  write  un$o  thee  with  ink  and 
pen—Meaning,  probably,  lest  this  letter  should  fall 
into  hands  who  might  make  an  improper  use  of  it 
Bvt  I  trust  I  shall  shortly  see  C^— Lardner  conjec- 
tures' that  John  did  actually  visit  Craios ;  and  adds,  I 
please  myse^with  the  supposition  that  his  journey 
was  not  in  vain,  but  that  Diotrephes  submitted  and 
acquiesced  in  the  advices  and  admonitions  of  the 
apostle.  Peace  be  to  Ihee—Ajid  every  desirable 
blessing,  from  God  our  Father,  and  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord.  Our  friends  sahtte  tAee— Our  translalors 
have  inserted  the  word  our  in  this  clause  without 
any  authority.  The  apostle^s  words  are  oi  fiAoc,  the 
friends,  an  expression  nowhere  else  found  in  Scrip- 
ture; but  it  applies  excellently  to  fte  primitive 
Christians,  as  it  denotes,  in  the  strongest  jnanner, 
the  love  which,  in  the  first  ages,  subsisted  among 
the  true  disciples  of  Christ  Chreet  the  friends  by 
name— Tint  is,  m  the  same  manner  as  if  I  had 
named  them  one  by  one.  The  apostle,  by  sending 
a  salutation  to  the  faithftil  disciples  of  Christ,  who 
were  in  the  church  of  which  Gains  was  a  member, 
and  who  were  living  together  in  great  love,  showed 
his  paternal  and,  affectionate  regard  for  them,  and 
encouraged  them  io  be  steadfast  m  their  adherence 
to  the  truth  and  grace  of  the  gospel,  and  to  walk 
worthy  of  it 


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PREFACE 


TO  THE 


GENERAL    EPISTLE    OF    JtJDE. 


TXTE  kam  from  the  inscription  of  this  epbtle,  that  the  writer  of  it  was  Judas,  the  "  brother  of 
James ;"  not  of  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  brodier  of  John,  but  of  James  ihe  son  of  Alpheus, 
the  anthor  of  the  epistle  that  bears  his  name.  Jude  was  therefore  an  apostle.  Indeed  we  find  his 
name  mentioned  in  two  catalogues  of  the  apostles  given  us  by  St.  Luke ;  namely,  Luke  vi.  14-16 ; 
Acts  i.  13.  In  the  catalogue,  however,  given  Matt.  z..3,  in  the  place  of  Judas,  we  find  "  Lebbeus, 
whose  surname  was  Thaddeus ;"  and  in  Mark  iii.  18,  **  Thaddeus,"  simply.  But  as  all  the  evangelists 
agree  that  there  were  only  twelve  apostles,  we  must  suppose  that  Judas,  the  brother  of  James,  was 
sumamed  Lebbeus  and  Thaddeus.  The  reason  why  he  is  styled  "  brother  of  James"  probably  was, 
because  James  was  the  elder  brother,  and  because,  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  James  became  a  person 
of  considerable  note  among  the  apostles,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  Jewish  believers.  This 
Judas,  being  the  brother  of  James,  was,  consequently,  the  brotlier,  or  kinsman,  of  Christ :  see  preface 
to  the  epistle  of  James.  Accordingly,  we  find  James,  Joses,  Simon,  and  Judas,  expressly  called  the 
brethren  of  Jesus,  Matt  xiii.  55 ;  Mark  vi.  3.     Of  his  election  to  the  apostleship,  see  Luke  vi.  13. 

As  it  is  certain,  then,  that  Judas  was  an  apostle,  no  other  proof  is  wanted  of  the  divine  inspiration 
and  authority  of  his  epistle.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  matters  contained  in  it,  in  every  respect,  suit- 
aUe  to  the  character  of  an  inspired  apostle  of  Christ.  For  the  writer's  design  in  it  was,  evidently,  to 
characterize  and  condemn  the  heretical  teachers,  who  in  that  age  endeavoured,  by  a  variety  of  base 
arts,  to  make  disciples ;  to  reprobate  the  impious  doctrines  which  they  taught  for  the  sake  of  advan- 
tage, and  to  enforce  the  practice  of  holiness  on  aQ  who  professed  the  gospel.  In  short,  there  is  no 
error  taught,  nor  evil  practice  enjoined,  for  the  sake  of  which  any  impostor  could  be  moved  to  impose 
a  forgery  of  this  kind  on  the  world.  Hence,  although  the  authenticity  of  this  epistle  was  doubted  of 
by  some  in  the  early  ages,  yet,  as  soon  as  it  was  understood  that  its  author  was  Judas,  the  brother 
of  James,  mentioned  in  the  catalogues  of  the  apostles,  it  was  generally  received  as  an  apostolical 
inspired  writing,  and  read  publicly  in  the  churches  as  such.  The  evidence  of  these  important  facts 
is  stated  and  proved  at  large  by  Lardner,  in  his  "  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History ;"  to  which  the 
reader,  who  desires  fuU  satisfaction  on  the  subject,  is  referred. 

The  inscription  of  this  epistle  leads  us  to  believe  that  it  was  written  to  all,  without  distinction,  who 
had  embraced  the  gospel ;  and,  from  its  contents,  we  plainly  see  that  the  design  of  the  apostle  was, 
"  by  describing  the  character  of  the  false  teachers,  and  pointing  out  the  divine  judgments  which 
persons  of  such  a  character  had  reason  to  expect,  to  caution  Christians  against  listening  to  their 
suggestions,  and  being  thereby  perverted  from  the  faith  ahd  purity  of  the  gospel."  Indeed,  Jude's 
design  seems  to  have  been  the  same  with  that  of  Peter  in  writing  ffis  second  letter,  between  the 
second  chapter  of  which,  and  this  epistle  of  Jude,  there  is  a  remarkable  similarity ;  which,  as  was 
observed  in  the  preface  to  that  epistle,  was  probably  owing  to  this  circumstance,  that  both  the  apostles 
drew  their  character  of  the  false  teachers,  against  whom  they  cautioned  their  readers,  from  the 
character  given  of  the  false  prophets,  in  some  ancient  Jewish  author.  Or,  as  Bishop  Sherlock 
observes,  Jude  might  have  the  second  epistle  of  Peter  before  him  when  he  wrote ;  a  circumstance 
which,  if  admitted  as  probable,  will  give  us  light  as  to  the  date  of  this  epistle.  That  of  Peter  was 
written  but  a  very  little  while  before  his  death ;  whence  we  may  gather,  that  Jude  lived  some  time 
after  that  event ;  and  saw  that  grievous  declension  in  the  church  which  Peter  had  foretold.  But  he 
passes  over  some  things  mentioned  by  Peter,  repeats  some,  in  different  expressions,  and  with  a  dif- 
ferent view,  and  adds  others ;  cleariy  evidencing  thereby  the  wisdom  of  God  which  rested  upon  him. 
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PREFACE  to  THE  QENEBAL  EPISTLE  OF  JU0E. 

Thus  St  Peter  cites  and  confiims  St  PanFs  writiiigB,  and  is  bimself  cited  and  c<nifimied  hy  & 
Jnde. 

Mill  badi  fixed  the  dale  of  this  epistle  to  A.  D.  90 ;  hat  Dodwell,  who  is  Mowed  by  Cave,  sap^ 
poses,  with  a  greater  appearance  of  probability,  diat  it  was  written  soon  after  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem;  namely,  about  A.  D.  70  or  71.  L'EafiuH  andBeansobre  also  thought  it  was  written  about 
•the  same  time ;  namely,  between  ihe  years  70  and  75.  There  are  varioiis  other  opinions  respecting 
its  date,  among  the  learned.  Bat,  upon  the  whole,  thoa|^  die  precise  dale  of  it  cannot  be  deleraiined» 
it  is  hig^  probaUe  thai  it  was  written  in  Ike  laHer  part  of  ihe  apostdic  age,  and  not  hmg  before 
Jade's  death. 

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THE  GENERAL  EPISTLE 


OF 


J  U  D  E 


(1,)  Afler  «  general  MahtUatUm^  Jude  ixhorU  Me  CkriitUau  to  wham  he  wrote,  to  eontend  eamtothf  for,  and  tteadUy  to  Ad- 
here to,  the  common  Christian  faith,  against  those  false  teachers  who  aUemfted  to  undermine  it ;  reminding  them  of  the 
destruction  which  came  on  Qod^s  professing  people,  yea,  on  the  apostate  angels,  for  their  sins  ;  as  wdt  as  on  the  inhaJbit* 
ants  of  Sodom  and  Oomorrah,  1-7.  {2,)  He  gives  an  awfiU  representation  of  the  character  of  ^e  seducers  to  whom  he 
refers,  and  of  their  miseroNe  end  foretold  by  Enoch,  8-16.  (3/)  Cautions  them  against  being  surprised  at  the  rise  of 
impostor^,  and  admonishei  to  forttfy  themselves  against  their  seductions  by  firmness  in  the  faith,  ardency  of  love  to  God 
and  each  other,  fervent  prayer,  and  prudent  care  one  of  another,  17-^.  (4,)  Concludes  with  a  solemn  ascription  of  praise 
toGod,%i,9S. 

2  Mercy  unto  you,  and  *  peace,  and  ^;  ^^• 
love,  be  multiplied.  -,-1— ^ — 

3  Beloved,  when  I  gave  all  diligence  to  write 
unto  you  *  of  the  common  salvation,  it  was  need- 


A.iL407a  JUDE,*  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 
— U — 1  and  'brother  of  James,  to  them 
that  are  sanctified  by  God  the  Father,  and  ^pre- 
served in  Jesus  Christ,  tmd  ®  called : 


*  St.  Simon  and  St  Jude,  epistie,  Tone  1  to  rent  9.- 
n.  16 ;  Acts  i.  13. 


»Liike 


Verses  1, 2.  Jade,  the  eervatU  of  Jesm  Christ^ 
The  higbest  glory  which  any,  either  man  or  angel, 
can  aspire  to.  The  word  Bervant,  Qnder  the  old 
covenant,  was  adapted  to  the  spirit  of  fear  and  bond- 
age, which  cleaved  to  that  dispensation.  But  when 
the  time  appointed  of  the  Fatiier  was  come  for  the 
sending  of  his  Son,  to  redeem  them  that  were  mnder 
the  toio,  the  word  servant  (used  by  the  apostles 
coneermng  themselves  and  all  the  children  d  Qod) 
signified  one  that,  having  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  was 
made  ftee  by  the  Son  of  God.  His  being  a  servant 
is  the  fruit  and  perfection  of  his  being  a  Son.  And 
whenever  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall 
be  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  then  it  will  be  indeed  that 
hie  eervants  ehcUl  eerve  him,  Rev.  xziL  3.  And  Jmh 
ther  of  James — So  well  known  by  his  distinguished 
services  in  the  cause  of  Christ  and  of  his  gospel  St 
James  was  the  more  eminent,  namely,  Jctmes  the 
LeM,  usually  styled  thebrotheroflhe  Lord  j  and  Jude, 
being  his  brother,  might  also  have  been  called  the 
brother  of  Christ,  rather  than  the  brother  of  James. 
But  he  avoided  that  designation  in  the  inscription  of 
a  letter,  which  he  wrote  in  the  character  of  an  apos- 
tle, to  show,  that  whatever  respect  as  a  man  he 
might  deserve  on  account  of  his  relation  to 
Christ,  he  derived  no  authority  from  it  as  an  aposde, 
nor  indeed  claimed  any.  7\>  them  that  are  sancti- 
fied by  Ood  the  Fa</ier— Devoted  to  his  service,  set 
apart  for  him  and  made  hcdy,  through  the  influence 
ofhisgrace;  and  pre^enped  in  Jesus  Christ^-Anihe^ 
b 


»» John  xvii  11, 12, 15 ;  1  P«t.  i.  6.- 
i.  2 ;  2  Pet.  i  2. 


— •  Rom.  i.  7.- 
•Tit.i.4. 


>  1  Pet. 


faith  and  professicm  of  Christ,  and  union  with  him, 
and  by  his  power.  In  other  words,  brought  udto  the 
fellowship  of  his  religion,  and  guaided  fay  his  grace 
m  the  midst  of  a  thousand  snares,  which  might  have 
tempted  them  to  have  made  shipwreck  of  &eir  faith. 
And  caUedn-By  the  preaching  of  the  word,  by  the 
dispensations  of  divine  providence,  and  by  the  draw- 
ings of  divine  grace ;  called  to  receive  tfie  wh(4e 
gospel  blessing  in  time  and  in  eternity.  These  things 
are  premised,  lest  any  of  them  should  be  discouraged 
by  the  terrible  things  which  are  afterward  mentioned. 
Mercy  and  ptace,  &c.— A  holy  and  truly  apostolical 
blessing,  says  Estius;  observing,  that  from  this,  and 
the  benedictions  in  the  two  epistles  of  Peter,  we 
learn  that  the  benedictions  in  Paul's  epistles  are  to 
be  completed  by  adding  the  word  nwlHpUed, 

Verse  3.  When  I  gave  all  diligence-^r  made 
aU  haste,  as  iraaav  airsdrn^  miBftevoc  literally  signifies, 
Jude  being  informed  of  the  assiduity,  and  perhaps 
the  success,  with  which  the  false  teachers  were 
spreading  their  pernicious  errors,  found  it  necessary 
to  write  this  letter  to  the  faithful  without  delay.  To 
write  to  you  of  the  common  tfalrirfMm— The  salvation 
from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin,  into  the  favour  and 
image  of  God  here,  and  from  all  the  consequences  of 
sin  into  eternal  felicity  and  glory  hereafter ;  a  salva- 
tion called  common,  because  it  belongs  equally  to  all 
who  believe;  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  the  Jews; 
to  men  of  all  nations  and  conditions ;  desigbed  for 
aU,  and  enjoyed  in  part  by  all  believers.    For  the 


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ExhcTtation  to  contend  for  thefcnth, 


JtJDE. 


and  to  avoid  $educmg  teacken^ 


A.  M.  4070.  fill  for  me  to  write  unto  you,  and  ex- 

A.  D  66. 

'■ hort  you,  that  'ye  should  earnestly 

contend  for  the  feith  which  was  once  delivered 
unto  the  saints. 
4  'For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in  ima- 


'Phil.t.27;  lTim.Ll8;  ri.  12 ;  2  Tim.  L  13 ;  ir.7.- — « 
ii.  4 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  1. >>  Rom.  ix.  21, 22 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  a 


6«L 


same  reason  Paul  terms  the  foith  of  the  gospel,  the 
common  faiihy  (Tit.  i,  4,)  because  an  opporttmity  of 
believing  is  afforded  to  all.  Here  the  design  of  the 
epistle  is  expressed,  the  end  of  which  exactly  an- 
swers the  beginning.  It  was  needful  for  me  to  ex- 
hort you  that  ye  should  earnestly  corUend—Yti 
humbly,  meekly,  and  lovingly,  otherwise  your  con- 
tending will  only  hurt  your  cause,  if  not  destroy 
your  souls ;  for  the  faith— AH  the  fundamental 
truths  of  the  gospel.  ^^In  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  faithful  were  when  Jude  wrote  this  letter, 
an  exhortation  to  hold  fast  and  maintain  the  true 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  against  the  false  teachers,  was 
more  necessary  and  profitable  for  the  disciples,  than 
explications  of  Uie  particular  doctrines  of  the  gospel. 
By  streniMualy  contending  for  thefai^y  the  apQstle 
did  not  mean  contending  for  it  with  fire  and  sword, 
but  their  endeavouring,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness 
and  love,  to  establish  the  true  doctrines  of  the  gos- 
pel, by  arguments  drawn,  not  only  from  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  but  especially  from  the  writings  o[  the 
evangelists  and  apostles,  which  were  all,  or  most  of 
them,  published  when  Jude  wrote  this  letter.  In  the 
same  manner  they  were  strongly  to  oppose  and  con- 
fute the  errors  of  the  false  teachers.  The  word 
ewaytiviCea^at  properly  signifies,  to  strive  as  in  the 
Olydipic  games,  that  is,  with  their  whole  force." 
Once  delivered  to  the  saints — By  owo|^,  once^  Mac- 
knight  understands  ybr/nerZy,  the  word  being  used  in 
that  sense,  verse  5.  But  Estius  and  Beza  adopt  the 
common  translation,  supposing  the  meaning  of  the 
clause  to  be,  that  the  faith  spoken  of  was  delivered 
to  the  saints  once  for  all,  and  is  never  to  be  changed ; 
nothing  is  to  be  added  to  it,  and  nothing  taken  from 
it  By  the  saints  Jude  first  means  the  holy  apostles 
and  prophets  of  Christ,  (in  whieh  sense  the  word 
saints  is  used.  Col.  iiL  26,  compared  with  Eph.  iii.  5,) 
to  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  delivered  the  doctrine  of 
the  gospel  in  all  its  {>arts,  including  the  truths  which 
men  were  to  believe,  and  the  precepts  they  were  to 
perform,  together  with  the  promises  of  present  and 
eternal  salvation  made  to  the  believing  and  obedient, 
and  the  threatenings  denounced  against  the  unbe- 
Iieving  and  disobedient.  Thb  doctrine  the  apostles 
and  evangelists  delivered  to  their  hearers  in  their 
various  discourses,  and  consigned  it  to,  writrag  for 
the  instruction  of  future  ages^  "  Hence  it  is  evident 
that  the  faith  for  which  Christians  are  to  contend 
strenuously,  is  that  alone  which  is  contained  in  the 
writings  of  the  evangelists,  apostles,  and  Jewish  pro- 
phets. Now  as  they  have  expressed  the  things  which 
were  revealed  to  them  in  words  dictated  by  the  ! 
Spirit,  (1  Cor.  ii.  13,)  we  are  to  contend,  not  only  for  | 
the  things  conta'med  in  their  writings,  but  also  for{ 


wares,  ^  who  were  befcMre  of  old  or-  A.  M.  imo. 

dained  to  this  condenmatiim,  ungodly  '. 

men,  Uuming^the  grace  of  our  God  intolasdv- 
iousoess^and  ^denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


<2Pet.ii.10.- 


-kXitasiLll;  Heb.  zii.15.^ 
2  Pet  ii.  1 ;  1  John  ii.  22. 


'TituLie; 


that  form  of  words  in  which  they  have  expreaaed 
these  things,  lest  by  contending  for  forms  mvented 
and  established  by  human  authority,  as  better  fitted 
to  express  the  truth  than  the  words  of  inspiration, 
we  fidl  into  error.  See  2  Tim.  i.  13.  Jude's  exhorta- 
tion ought  in  a  particular  manner  to  be  attended 
to  by  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  whose  duly  more 
especially  it  is  to  preserve  the  people  from  error, 
both  in  opinion  and  practice."— Macknight. 

Verse  4.  For  there  are  certain  men  (see  the 
margin)  crept  in  unawares — Insinuating  themselves 
into  people's  affections  by  their  plausible  pre- 
tences, and  leavening  them  by  degrees  with  their 
errors.  The  ungodly  teachers  here  described  seem 
to  have  been  the  Nicolaitans,  mentioned  Rev.  iL  61, 
whose  doctrine  Christ  himself  declared  to  be  hateful 
to  him.  Perhaps  the  Gnostics  and  Carpocratians, 
the  successors  of  th?  Nicolaitans,  were  ^so  meant. 
The  Nicolaitans  are  said  to  have  maintained  that 
marriage  was  a  human  invention,  not  binding  on 
Christians;  on  which  account  they  had  women  in 
common,  and  practised  unnatural  lusts,  as  is  plain 
from  Jude's  account  of  them.  And  they  hardened 
themselves  against  the  fear  of  punishment  in  a  future 
state  for  these  crimes,  by  extolling  the  goodness  and 
men^  of  CJod,  which  they  thus  perverted  to  las- 
ci  vionsness.  Who  were  of  old  ordained — Or  rather, 
as  the  original  expression,  itpoyeypaftfuvot  etc  nro  t* 
Kpifia^  literally  signifies,  written,  or  described,  oefore 
to  this  ^condemnation — Even  as  eariy  as  Enoch,  by 
whom  it  was  foretold,  that  by  their  wilftil  sins  tliey 
would  incur  th  is  condemnation.  ^  JtAe  mean^  that 
these  wicked  teachers  had  their  punishment  hefore 
written,  that  is,  foretold,  in  what  is  written  con- 
cerning the  wicked  Sodomites  and  rebellions  Is- 
raelites, whose  crimes  were  the  same  with  tbelrs ; 
and  whose  punishment  was  not  only  a  proof  of  God's 
resolution  to  punish  sinners,  but  an  example  of  the 
pahishment  which  he  would  inflict  on  them. 
Others  think  that  in  the  word  irpoyeypapfuvot^  written 
before,  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  ancient  custom 
of  writing  laws  on  tables,  which  were  hung  up  in 
public  places,  that  the  people  might  know  the  pun- 
ishment annexed  to  the  breaking  of  the  laws.  If 
this  is  the  allusion,  the  apostle's  meaning  will  be, 
that  the  wicked  teachers,  of  whom  he  is  speaking, 
were,  by  the  divine  law,  condemned  to  severe  pun- 
ishment from  the  beginning.  Timing  the  grace 
of  our  God — Revealed  in  the  gospel ;  into  lascivious' 
ness — Into  an  occasion  of  more  abandoned  wicked- 
ness, even  to  countenance  their  lewd  and  filthy  prac- 
tices. It  seems  these  ungodly  men  interpreted  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  in  snch  a  manner 
as  to  free  believeri  from  all  obligatioQ  to  obey  the 

b 


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JUDB. 


(herthrow  of  Sodomy  ^.,  far  siiu 


A.M.4070.    6  I  will  therefore  put  you  in  remem- 

_J brance,  thougfi  ye  once  knew  this, 

how  that  *  the  Lord,  having  saved  the  peo(^ 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  afterward  ^destroyed 
them  that  bdieved  not. 

6  And  •  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  ^first  es- 
tate, but  left  their  own  habitation,  i^he  hath  reserved 


■  1  Cor.  T.  0. ■  Num.  xiv.  29, 37 ;  jxri.  6i ;  Psa.  cvL  26 ; 

Heb.  iii.  17, 19.        <»  John  viii.  44. '  Or,  prindpaUty. 

law  of  God,  and  taught  that  they  might  commit  the 
worst  actions  without  being  liable  to  punishment,  if 
they  possessed  faith ;  by  whieh  they  meant  the  mere 
speculative  belief  and  outward  profession  of  the 
gospel.  Denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  lAnxL 
Jesua  C^mt— See  on  2  Pet.  ii.  1.    The  original 

words,    KUL    TOV   ItOVOV    deOKOTTlV    BtOV    Kai     KVptOV    ffflOV 

Itjfftnf  Xpiz'ov  apvBfievoij  "  may  be  translated  various 
ways,  dl  equally  literal:  1st,  And  denying  the  only 
Lord  Ood,  even  our  Lord  Jesua  Christ,  According 
to  this  translation,  one  person  only  is  spoken  of  here, 
namely,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  called  the 
onltf  Lord  God,  2d,  Denying  both  the  only  Lord 
God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  According  to  this 
translation,  two  persons  are  distinctly  spoken  of, 
namely,  the  one  Lord  God,  or  God  the  Father, 
and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hid  Son.  3d,  And  deny- 
ing the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This,  which  is  the  translation  in  our  English  Bible, 
and  which,  in  sense,  is  not  different  from  the  second 
rendering,  I  have  adopted,"  says  Macknight,  "  not 
only  because,  according  to  it,  two  persons  are  spoken 
of  as  denied,  namely,  the  only  Lord  God,  and  cur 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  because  it  represents  Jude's 
sentiment  as  precisely  the  same  with  John's  1st  epist. 
ii.  22,  He  is  the  antichrist  who  denieth  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  By  declaring  that  those  ungodly 
teachers  denied  both  the  Father  and  the  Son,  the 
apostle  showed  to  what  a  pitch  of  impiety  they  had 
proceeded. 

Verse  6.  /  will  therefore  put  you  in  remem- 
brance, &c.— I  will  remind  you  of  some  examples 
of  God's  judgments  against  such  persons.  (Ecu- 
menius  observes,  that  "  by  proposing  the  following 
examples  of  the  destruction  of  sinners  from  the  Old 
Testament  history,  the  apostle  designed  to  show, 
that  the  God  of  the  Old  Testament  is  the  same  with 
the  God  of  the  New,  in  opposition  to  the  Manicheans, 
who  denied  this;  idso  to  prove  that  the  goodness  of 
God  will  not  hinder  him  from  punishing  the  wicked 
under  the  new  dispensation,  any  more  than  it  hin- 
dered him  from  punishing  them  under  the  old."  In 
this  passage  Jude  has  mentioned  two  of  the  in- 
stances of  the  divine  vengeance  against  atrocious 
sinners,  which  Peter  took  notice  of,  2  epist.  il  4,  5, 
(where  see  the  notes,)  and  in  place  of  the  third  in- 
stance, the  destruction  of  the  old  world,  he  hath 
introduced  the  destruction  of  the  rebellious  Israelites 
in  the  wilderness.  Though  ye  once  knew  this— 
Were  informed  of  it,  and  received  it  as  a  truth ;  that 
the  Lord,  having  saved  the  people  out  of  Egypt— 
By  a  train  of  wonderful  mir^nles;  afterwcard  de- 
b 


in  everlasting  chains. under  darkness  a.  m.  4070 
<»  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  — '—^ — '- 
7  Even  as  '  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  the 
dties  about  them  in  like  manner,  giving  them- 
selves over  to  fornication,  and  going  after 
^  strange  flesh,  are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suf- 
fering the  vengeance  of  eternal  Are, 


P2PetiL4.- 


— «Rer.  XX.  10.— 
23 ;  2  Pet  ii.  6.- 


i*  Gen.  xix.  24 ;  Deut.  xxix 
-•  Or.  other 


stroyed  them  that  believed  nor— That  is,  destroyed 
the  far  greater  part  of  that  very  people,  whom  he 
had  once  saved  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner. 
Let  n6  one,  therefore,  presume  upon  past  ^lercies, 
as  if  he  were  now  out  of  danger.  Jude  does  not 
mention  the  various  sins  committed  by  the  Israelites 
in  the  wilderness,  such  as  their  worshipping  the 
golden  calf,  refusing  to  go  into  Canaan,  when  com- 
manded of  God,  their  fornication  with  the  Midiani- 
tish  women,  their  frequent  nnitmurings,  &c.,  but 
he  sums  up  the  whole  in  their  unbelief  because  It 
was  the  source  of  all  their  sins. 

Verse  6.  Arid  the  angels  which  kepi  not  their 
first  estate— Or,  as  the  clause  may  be  rendered, 
their  first  dignity.  Or  principality,  (see  on  2  Pet. 
ii.  4,)  namely,  the  dignity  or  principality  assigned 
them ;  Imt  left  their  own  habitation— ProipeTly  their 
oxen  by  the  free  gift  of  God.  The  apostle's  manner 
of  speaking  insinuates  that  they  attempted  to  raise 
themselves  to  a  higher  station  than  that  which  God 
had  allotted  to  them ;  consequently,  that  the  sin  for 
which  they  were  and  are  to  be  punished,  was  pride 
and  rebellion.  He  hath  reserved — Delivered  to  be 
kept';  in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness — O 
how  unlike  their  own  habitation !  Everlasting 
chains  is  a  metaphorical  expression,  which  denotes 
a  perpetual  confinement,  from  which  it  is  no  more 
in  their  power  to  escape,  than  a  man,  who  is  strongly 
bound  with  iron  chains,  can  break  them.  Unto  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day— Elsewhere  called  the 
day  of  the  Lord,  and  emphatically  <Aa«  day.  In 
our  Lord's  description  of  the  general  judgment,  he 
tells  us  that  the  wicked  are  to  depart  into  everlast- 
ing fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels; 
which  implies  that  these  wicked  spirits  are  to  be 
punished  with  the  wicked  of  mankind.  Observe, 
reader,  when  these  fallen  angels  came  out  of  the 
hands  of  God,  they  were  holy,  (else  God  made  that 
which  was  evil,)  and  being  holy  they  were  beloved 
of  God,  (else  he  hated  the  image  of  his  own  spot- 
less purity.)  But  now  he  loves  them  no  more,  they 
are  doomed  to  endless  destruction;  (ibr  if  he  loved 
them  still,  he  would  love  what  is  sinAil;)  and  both 
his  former  love,  and  his  present  righteous  and 
eternal  displeasure,  toward  the  same  work  of  his 
own  hands,  are  because  he  changeth  not  j  because 
he  invariably  loveth  righteousness,  and  hateth 
iniquity. 

Verses  7,  8.  Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomo7*rha — 

See  on  2  Pet.  ii.  6-9 ;  and  the  cities  about  them-r 

These  were  Admah  and  Zeboun.    The  four  are 

mentioned  Deut.  xxix.  28;  Zoar,  the  fifth  city  in  the 

667 


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A.  M.  4070. 
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8  'likewise also tbaM^/S^dreanBh 
era  defile  the  flesh,  de8{iise  dominioD, 


and  ^  qpeak  evil  of  dignities. 
9  Yet  ^Michael  the aichangd, when contend- 


*2P«t.  u.  10.- 


'EzDd.zxu.23.— >^Dui.x.  13; 


plain  of  Sodom,  wm  spared,  at  the  request  of  Lot, 
for  a  place  of  reftige  to  him  and  his  family.  In  Wet 
manner — ^Tw  oftotov  -nrotc  rpomv^  in  a  manner  like 
to  ihese  ;  that  is,  either  like  to  these  wicked  teachers, 
or  like  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  wicked  cities, 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  giving  themj^elves  over  to 
fomication'-The  word  is  applicable  to  any  sort  of 
uncleanneas ;  and  going  after  strange  JUBf^GiY'mg 
themselves  up  to  unnatural  lusts;  are  9et  forth  for 
an  example—Ho  other  presumptuous  sinners ;  tuffer- 
ing  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire — Having  their 
lovely  and  fruitful  country  turned  into  a  kind  of  hell 
upon  earth.  The  meaning  is,  The  vengeance  which 
they  suffered  is  an  example,  or  type,  of  eternal  fire. 
lAkewite^^fjtoioi  /lev  toi^  in  like  manner,  indeed  ; 
these  filthy  dreamers — So  our  translators  render 
the  word  twinnal^oiuvoi,  an  epithet  which  the  persons 
described  undoubtedly  deserved.  The  wpid,  how- 
ever, only  signifies  dreamers  ;  or  rather,  persons  cast 
into  a  deep  sleep,  namely,  into  a  state  of  ignorance 
and  insensibility,  of  negligence  and  sloth,  with  respect 
to  spiritual  and  eternal  things ;  sleeping  and  dream- 
ing all  their  lives.  Defile  the  fiesh— -Their  own 
bodies,  which  ought  to  be  sacred,  together  with  their 
spirits,  to  the  service  of  God.  Despise  dominion — 
Those  that  are  invested  with  it  by  Christ,  and  made 
by  him  the  overseers  of  his  flock ;  or,  he  may  mean 
that  they  despised  their  civil  rulers ;  and  speak  evil 
of  dignities — Of  persons  in  the  most  honourable 
stations.  The  Jews,  fancying  it  sinful  to  obey  the 
heathen  magistrates,  despised  both  them  and  their 
office.  The  ungodly  teachers,  of  whom  Jude  speaks, 
carried  the  matter  still  further;  they  reviled  all  ma- 
gistrates whatever,  as  enemies  to  the  natural  liberty 
of  mankind. 

Verse  9.  Yet  Michael,  &c. — It  does  not  appear 
whether  St.  Jude  learned  this  by  any  revelation,  or 
from  an  ancient  tradition.  It  suffices  that  these 
things  were  not  only  true,  but  acknowledged  to  be 
so  by  them  to  whom  he  wrote.  Michael  is  men- 
tioned Dan.  X.  13,  21 ;  xii.  1,  as  standing  up  in  do- 
fence  of  Daniel's  people.  "Because  the  book  of 
Daniel  is  the  first  sacred  writing  in  which  proper 
names  are  given  to  particular  angels,  some  have 
fancied  that,  during  the  Babylonish  captivity,  the 
Jews  invented  these  names,  or  learned  them  from 
the  Chaldeans.  But  this  seems  an  unfounded  con- 
jecture. For  the  angel  who  appeared  to  Zacharias, 
(Luke  i.  19,)  called  himself  Oabriel,  which  shows 
that  that  name  was  not  of  Chaldean  invention." 
The  archangel — This  word  occurs  but  once  more 
in  the  sacred  writings,  namely,  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  So 
that,  whether  there  be  one  archangel  only,  or  more, 
it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  determine.  Michael  is 
called  one  of  the  chief  princes,  Dan.  x.  13,  and  the 
great  prince,  xii.  I;  (on  which  passages  see  the 


ing  with  d^  devil)  he  dispotad  idxnt  a.  m.  mo 
the  bodyof  Moee9,>diinit  not  hug  J^J^ 
ggaiDatbimaiaiKBgnfri|gitMn,httt«ai^ 
Lord  lebuke  thee. 


xii.  1 ;  B*T.  xiL  7. »  2  Pet  iL  11.- 


rZ«dL  iiLX. 


notes.)  And,  becanse  it  is  said,  (Rev.  m.  7,)  ftsnt 
llficfaael  and  his  angeb  faoigii  against  the  dragon 
and  his  angela^Estins  conjectoi^  tiiat  Miehaelia  the 
chief  or  prince  of  all  the  angels.  But  this  argument 
b  not  conclusive.  When  conttndii^  with  the  deml^ 
he  disputed  (at  what  time  we  know  not)  concem- 
uig  the  body  of  Mb««»— Beza,  Estius^  TUlotson,  and 
other  good  writers,  think  this  passage  is  iUnstrated 
by  Dent  xxxiv.  6,  where  it  is  said  the  Lord  buried 
Moses  m  a  valley,  in  the  kmd  of  Bfoab,  and  that  no 
one  knew  of  his  sepulchre.  They  suppose  that,  had 
the  devil  been  able  to  discover  to  the  Jews  the  place 
where  Moses,  was  interred,  they  would  afterward 
have  paid  an  idolatrous  honour  to  his  remains;  and 
it  would  have  gratified  his  malice  exceedingiy,  to 
have  made  him  an  occasion  of  idcdatry,  alter  biA 
death,  who  had  been  so  great  an  enemy  tp  it  in  his 
life.  To  prevent  this,  he  thinks,  Michael  buried 
his  body  secretly.  This  proves,  by  the  way,  that  ^ood 
angels  are  sometimes  concerned  in  limiting  the 
power  of  the  devils,  which  must,  no  doubt,  be  a 
great  vexation  to  those  malignant  spirits.  But  Mr. 
Baxter  suggests  it  as  a  doubt,  whether  it  were  about 
the  dead  body  of  Moses,  or  Moses  exposed  on  the  wa- 
ter, when  an  infant,  that  there  was  this  contention. 
Baxter  suggests  also  another  interpretation,  in  his 
note  on  this  verse.  Because  the  apostle  here  seems 
to  allude  to  Zech.  iiL  1,  where  we  read  of  Joshua  the 
high-priest,  (representing  the  Jewish  people,)  stand- 
ing before  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Satan  standing 
at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him ;  and  the  Lord,  name- 
ly, by  his  angel,  saymg  unto  Satan,  The  Lord  re- 
buke thee,  O  Satan;  even  the  Lord  thai  haih  chosen 
Jerusalem,  rebuke  thee:  and  inasmuch  as  the  sub- 
ject of  that  contention,  between  the  angel  and  Satan, 
was  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  state, 
Baxter  thinks  that  by  the  body  of  Moses  here  may 
be  meant  the  Jewish  constitution,  civil  and  religious, 
which  Moses  had  established.  An  interpretation 
which  Mackni^ht  seems  to  countenance  -,  '*  Michael 
is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  chief  angels,  who  took 
care  of  the  Israelites  as  a  nation.  He  may  therefore 
have  been  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  before  whom 
Joshua,  the  high-priest,  is  said,  (Zech.  iii.  1)  to  have 
stood,  Satan  being  at  his  nght  hand  to  resist  him, 
namely,  in  his  design  of  restoring  the  Jewish  Church 
and  state,  called  by  Jude,  the  body  of  Moses,  just  as 
the  Christian  Church  b  called  by  Paul,  the  body  of 
Christ,^  And  this  interpretation,  however  appa- 
rently improbable,  receives  some  countenance  from 
the  consideration,  thai,  among  the  Hebrews,  the  body 
of  a  thing  is  often  used  for  the  thing  itself.  Thus, 
Rom.  vii.  24,  the  body  of  sin  signifies  sin  itself.  So 
the  body  of  Moses  may  signify  Moses  himself;  who 
is  sometimes  put  in  the  New  Testament  for  his  law, 
as  2  Cor.  iii.  15,  ^Vhen  Moses  is  read,  Ac. ;  Acts  xv. 

b 


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JUDE. 


ofeeducere  and  apostates. 


A.  M.  4070.    10  '  But  these  speak  evil  of  those 

'- —  things  which  they  know  not:   but 

what  they  know  natuiaOy,  as  brute  beasts,  in 
those  thii^  they  corrapt  themselves. 

11  Wo  unto  them  !  fix*  they  have  gone 
in  the  way  *  of  Cain,  and  ^  ran  greedily 
after  the  error  of  Balaam  for  reward,   and 


«2  Pet.  ii.  12. »  Gen.  iv.  6 ;  1  John  iU.  12. *  Num.  xxii. 

7, 21 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  15. «  Num.  xn.  1,  &c 


31,  Moses  hath  in  every  city  them  ^uU  preach 
him. 

Durst  not  bring  against  him  a  railing  accusa- 
'  tion — But  80  revered  the  divine  presence  as  to  speak 
with  moderation  and  gentleness,  eyen  to  that  great 
enemy  of  God  and  men.  Michael's  duty,  says  Arch- 
bishop Tillotson,  ^^  restrained  him,  and  probably  his 
discretion  too.  As  he  durst  not  offend  God  in  doing 
a  thing  so  much  beneath  the  dignity  and  perfection 
of  his  nature,  so  he  could  not  but  think  thai  the  devil 
would  have  been  too  hard  for  him  at  railing ;  a 
^ng  to  which,  as  the  angeb  have  no  disposition,  so 
I  believe  they  have  no  talent,  no  faculty  at  it ;  the 
cool  consideration  whereof  should  make  all  n^en, 
particularly  those  who  call  themselves  divines,  and 
especially  in  controversies  about  religion,  ashamed 
anid  afraid  of  this  manner  of  disputing."  Bttt  shn- 
ply^otc^— So  great  was  his  modesty!  The  Lord 
rebuke  thee— I  leave  thee  to  the  Judge  of  all.  The 
argument  of  the  apostle  certainly  does  not  lie  in  any 
regard  shown  by  the  angel  to  the  devil,  tis  a  digni- 
tatyy  and  one  who  exercises  domhuon  over  subordi- 
nate evil  spirits ;  for  to  be  the  leader  of  a  band 
of  such  inexcusable  rebels  could  entitle  him  to 
no  respect;  but  it  arises  from  the  detestable  cha- 
racter of  the  devil ;  as  if  the  apostle  had  said.  If  the 
angel  did  not  rail  even  against  the  devil,  how  much 
less  ought  we  against  men  in  authority,  even  suppos- 
ing them  in  some  things  to  behave  amiss  ?  To  do  it, 
therefore,  when  they  behave  well,  must  be  a  wick- 
edness yet  much  more  aggravated. — Doddridge. 

Verses  10, 11.  But  <Ac5e— Without  any  shame; 
speak  evil  of  those  things  which  they  know  not — 
Namely,  the  things  of  God ;  of  whose  nature  ^uid 
excellence,  truth  and  importance,  they  ai^  entirely 
ignorant  See  on  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  But  what  they  know 
naturaUy  as  brute  beasts— By  instinct,  as  animals 
void  of  reason ;  in  those  things  they  corrupt  them- 
selves—They make  them  occasions  of  sin:  or,  they 
are  corrupted  by  the  gross  and  scandalous  abuse  of 
them,  to  the  dishonour  of  God,  and  their  own  infamy 
and  destruction.  Thus  the  apostle  signifies  that, 
notwithstanding  their  high  pretensions  to  know- 
ledge, they  had  no  knowledge  even  concerning  the 
use  of  their  own  bodies,  but  what  they  derived  from 
natural  instinct  as  brute  animals ;  and  that,  instead 
of  using  that  knowledge  rightly,  they  thereby  de- 
stroyed both  their  souls  and  bodies.  Thus,  in  this 
passage,  he  condemned  the  lascivious  practices  of 
the  Nicolaitans,  and  of  all  the  ungodly  teachers,  who 
defended  the  promiscuous  use  of  Women,  and  con- 
futed the  argument  taken  from  natural  appetite,  by 

Vol.  IL  (  44  ) 


perished  ®  in  the  gainsaying  of  Core.  a.  h.  4070. 

12  4  These  are  spots  hi  your  •  feasts '— — 

of  charity,  when  they  feast  with  you,  feeding 
themselves  without  fear :  '  clouds  they  are 
without  water,  ' carried  about  of  winds;  trees 
whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead, 
^{ducked  up  by  the  roots ; 


«2Pet.iL13.- 


••  1  Cor.  xL  21. '  ProT.  a 

It.  14. k  Mmtt.  xr.  13. 


.14.- 


rEph. 


which  they  vindicated  their  common  whoredoms. 
Wo  unto  them^-Of  all  the  apostles,  Jude  alone,  and 
that  in  this  single  passage,  denounces  a  wo.  St.  Pe- 
ter, to  the  same  effect,  pronounces  them  cursed  chil- 
dren. Macknight,  who  renders  the  clause,  wo  is  to 
them^  considers  it  as  only  a  declaration  of  the  mise- 
ry which  was  to  come  on  them :  in  which  sense  only 
the  phrase  is  used  by  our  Lord,  Matl.  xxiv.  19 ;  Wo 
unto  them  that  are  with  child,  &c.,  for  certainly  this 
was  no  wish  of  punishment,  since  to  be  with  child, 
and  to  give  suck  in  those  days,  was  no  crime.  But 
it  was  a  declaration  of  the  misery  which  was  coming 
on  persons  in  that  helpless  condition.  For  they  luive 
gone  in  the  way  of  Cain — The  murderer;  and  ran 
greedily — Greek,  eUx^n<r<^v,  have  been  poured  out, 
like  a  torrent  without  banks ;  after  the  error  of  Ba- 
laam— The  covetous  false  prophet,  being  strongly 
actuated,  like  him,  by  a  passion  for  riches,  and  there- 
fore drawing  money  from  their  disciples  by  allow- 
ing them  to  indulge  their  lusts  without  restraint. 
See  on  2  Pet.  ii.  1$.  And  perished  in  the  gainsay- 
ing of  Cbre— Having  opposed  God's  messengers,  as 
Korah  did,  like  him  and  his  company,  vengeance 
will  overtake  them,  as  it  did  him.  Here,  as  in  many 
passages  of  Scripture,  a  thing  is  said  to  have  hap- 
pened which  was  only  to  happen.  This  manner  of 
speaking  was  used  to  show  the  absolute  certainty  of 
the  thing  spoken  of.  The  gainsaying,  here  mention- 
ed, implies  rcfceWion;  for  when  princes  and  magistrates 
are  contradicted,  it  is  rebellion.  Dy  declaring  that  the 
ungodly  teachers  would  perish  in  the  rebellion  of 
Korah,  Jude  insinuated  that  these  men,  by  opposing 
the  apostles  of  Christ,  were  guilty  of  a  rebellion  simi- 
lar to  that  of  Korah  and  his  companions,  who  op- 
posed Moses  and  Aaron,  on  pretence  that  they  were 
no  more  commissioned  by  God,  the  one  to  be  a 
prince,  the  other  a  priest,  than  the  rest  of  the  con- 
gregation, who,  they  said,  were  aW  holy.  Num.  xvi. 
3, 13.  By  comparing  these  false  and  wicked  teach- 
ers to  Cain,  Balaam,  and  Korah,  Jude  has  represent- 
ed them  as  guilty  of  murder,  covetousness,  and  am- 
bition. 

Verse  12.  TAcse— Ungodly  teachers ;  arc  spots— 
Blemishes;  in  yowr feasts  of  charity— Ot  love-feasts, 
as  ayaiToug  is  rendered  by  many  interpreters.  Com- 
mentators, however,  are  not  agreed  what  sort  of 
feasts  they  w«re.  Some  think  they  were  those  sup- 
pers which  the  first  Christians  ate  previous  to  their 
eating  the  Lord's  supper,  of  which  St.  Paul  is  sup- 
posed to  have  spoken  1  Cor.  xi.  21 ;  but  which,  in 
conseqtience  of  the  abuse  of  them  by  persons  ot  a 
character  like  those  here  described,  were  soon  liid 
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amfiilend^apa$Udm^ 


A.M.  4070.    13  'Ragii^  waves  of  the  sea,  ^foam- 

'. ing  out  their  own  shame ;  wandering 

stars,  Uowhom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of 
darkness  far  ever. 

14  And  Elnoch  also,  "*  ^e  seventh  from  Adam, 
prophesied  of  these,  sayii^,  Behold,  ^  the  Lord 


»I«L  Mi  20. kPhU.  iu.  19. »2Pet.  ii.  17. •Gau 

T.  la «Deat.  xxziL  3;  Dan.  ru.  10;  Zech.  zir.  5;  Man. 


aside.  Others  think  Jude  is  speaking  of  the  ancient 
lave-9upperMyWliich  Tertullian  hath  described,  {ApoL^ 
chap.  90,)  and  which  do  not  seem  to  have  been  ac- 
companied with  the  eucharist.  These  were  con- 
turned  in  the  church  to  the  middle  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, when  they  were  prohibited  to  be  kept  in  the 
churches.  Dr.  Benson  observes,  ^*  they  were  called 
love-fecuU,  or  suppers,  because  the  richer  Christians 
brought  in  a  variety  of  provisions  to  feed  the  poor, 
the  fatherless,  the  widows,  and  strangers,  and  ate 
with  them  to  show  their  love  to  them."  When  they 
feast  with  you,  feeding  themselves  without  fear — 
Abandoning  themselves  to  gluttony  and  excess, 
without  any  fear  of  God,  or  jealousy  over  themselves, 
and  so  bringing  a  great  reproach  on  the  gospel,  and 
the  religion  of  Christ  Clouds  without  water— Pro- 
mising fertilizing  showers  of  instruction  and  edifica- 
tion, but  yielding  none,  or  making  a  show  of  what 
they  have  net;  see  on  2  Pet  it.  17;  carried  aboul 
o^tMmiff— Of  temptation  hither  and  thither,  without 
any  command  of  themselves,  into  various  sorts  of 
wickedness.  TVees  without  fruit— The  original  ex- 
pression, devdpa  ^^ivonupipa^  b  rendered  by  Mack- 
night,  withered  autumnal  trees;  the  latter  word 
being  derived  from  ^divovopov^  which,  according  to 
Scapula,  signifies.  The  decline  of  autumn  drawing 
toward  winter.  Or,  according  to  Phavorinus,  it 
signifies  a  disease  in  trees  which  withers  their  fruit; 
a  sense  of  the  word  which  Beza  has  adopted  in  his 
translation.  The  translation  of  the  Vulgate,  arbores 
aulumnales  infructuosoR,  gives  the  same  sense  with 
that  of  Macknight,  and  suggests,  he  thinks,  a  beauti- 
ful idea.  For,  "iu  the  eastern  countries,  the  finest 
fruits  being  produced  in  autumn,  by  calling  the  cor- 
rupt teachers  aiUumnal  trees,  Jude  intimated  the 
just  expectation  which  was  entertained  of  their  be- 
ing fruitful  in  good  doctrine :  but  by  adding  oKopna, 
without  fruit,  he  marked  their  uselessness,  and  the 
« disappointment  of  their  disciples."  Twice  dead— 
First  in  the  stock,  and  afterward  in  the  graft ;  first 
by  nature,  and  afterward  by  apostacy.  Or  dead  un- 
der the  Mosaic  dispensation,  (those  ungodly  teach- 
ers being  mostly  of  the  Jewish  nation,)  and  though 
at  first  apparently  quickened  on  their  reception  of 
the  gospel,  yet,  through  the  abuse  of  its  doctrineaand 
privileges,  dead  and  barren  a  second  time :  plucked 
uphy  the  roots — K&  hopeless  and  irrecoverable. 
^There  is  a  striking  climax  in  this  description  of  the 
false  teachers:  they  were  trees  stripped  of  their 
leaves,  and  withering;  they  had  no  fruit,  being  bar- 
reu  that  season:  they  were  twice  dead,  having  borne 
no  fruit  formerly:  lastly,  they  were  rooted  out,  as 
^terly  barretf*" 

600 


Cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  a.  If. 
15  To  execute  judgment  upcm  all, 


and  to  convince  all  ths^  are  ungodly  among  (hem 
of  all  their  \mgodly  deeds  which  they  have  ua- 
godly  committed;  and  of  all  their  "hacd  speeches 
which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against  bun. 


xxT.  81 ;  il  Tliess.  i.  7.- 
MaL  ui.  13, 


*  1  Sam.  ii.  3 ;  Psa.  zzzi.  IB ;  xdj,  4 ; 


Verse  13.  Raging  waves  of  the  «ea— Unstable  in 
their  doctrine,  and  turbulent  and  furious  *m  th^  tem^^ 
pers  and  manners,  having  no  command  of  their  iras- 
cible passions.  Foaming  out  their  own  WUzme^By 
their  wicked  and  outrageous  behaviour,  even  among 
their  disciples,  showing  their  own  filthiness  to  their 
great  disgrace.  The  apostle  seems  here  to  have  al- 
luded to  Isa.  lvii.20,  7^6  wicked  are  like  the  troubled 
sea  when  it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire 
and  dirt.  Wandering  stars — HAoj^jyTOi,  literally, 
planets,  which  shine  for  a  time,  but  have  no  light  in 
themselves.  The  Jews  called  their  teachers  starSj 
and  Christian  teachers  are  represented  under  t^ 
emblem  of  stars,  Rev.  i,  20^  ii.  1.  And  as  the  planets 
seem  to  have  a  very  irregular  motion,  being  some- 
times stationsury  and  sometimes  retrograde,  they  are 
very  proper  emblems  of  persons  unsettled  in  their 
principles,  and  irregular  in  their  behaviour,  such  as 
Uiese  men  were.  7h  whom  is  reserved  the  btack- 
ness  of  darkness,  &c.  Who  will  soon  be  driven  to 
an  eteraal  distance  from  the  great  original  ef  light 
and  happiness,  to  which  they  shall  never  return. 
Thus  the  apostle  illustrates  their  desperate  wicked- 
ness, by  comparisons  drawn  from  the  air,  earth,  sea, 
and  heavens. 

Ver.  14, 15.  And  Enoch  also,the  seventh  from  Adaim 
— Thus  described  to  distinguish  him  from  Enoch 
the  son  of  Cain,  (Cren.  iv.  17,)  who  was  only  the 
third  from  Adam ;  sp  early  was  the  prophecy  de- 
livered, referred  to  verse  4:  prophesied  of  these — 
As  well  as  of  the  antediluvian  sinners.  The  first 
coming  of  Christ  was  revealed  to  Adam,  his  second 
and  glorious  coming  to  Enoch,  who  foretold  the 
things  which  will  conclude  the  last  age  of  the  world. 
St.  Jude  might  know  thb  either  from  some  ancient 
book  or  tradition,  or  from  immediate  revelation.  In 
whatever  way  he  knew  it,  a  precious  fragment  of 
antediluvian  history  is  thus  preserved  to  us  by  the 
special  providence  of  God,  who  taught  the  Apostle 
Jude  to  distinguish  between  what  was  genuine  and 
what  was  spurious  in  ancient  story.  "Though 
Moses  has  said  nothing  concerning  Enoch's  prophe- 
sying, yet  by  telling  us  t^at  he  was  a  person  of  such 
piety,  as  to  be  translated  to  heaven  in  the  body  with- 
out dying,  he  hath  warranted  us  to  believe  Jude's 
account  of  him;  namely,  that  God  employed  him, 
as  he  did  Noah,  in  reforming  the  wicked  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lived,  and  that  he  inspired  him  to  deliver 
the  prophecy  of  which  Jude  speaks.  Saying,  Be- 
hold, (as  if  it  were  already  done !)  The  Lord  c&metk 
with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints— Or  holy  ones,  name- 
ly, angels,  with  legions  of  whom  his  descent  for  the 
purpose  here  mentioned  will  be  attended ;  to  execute 
(  44*  )  b 


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▲.¥.4070.    16  These  are  murinurerB^ccwidaiiir 
^^'^   era,  walking  after  their  own  lusts; 

ami  'Ifaeir  mooih   speaketh  gnat  swelUiig 

^pardsj  ^having  meo's  peisons  in  admiiation 

because  of  advantage. 
17  'But,  ))eiovecl,  leioeiDber  ye  the  words 

which  were  epoken  before  of  the  apostles  of  our 

Lord  Jesus  Christ; 


92  Peter  iL  IS.       n  Proverbe  zzriiL  81 ;  Jame«  ii.  1,  9. 

»2  Pot.  iii.  2. ■  1  Tim.  ir.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1 ;  iv.  3 ;   2  Pet 

ii.  1 ;  iii.  3. 

judgment — Or  to  p€ui  eenience^os  ivouiwu  icpi<nv  may 
be  rendered ;  upon  a/^— According  to  their  respect- 
ive works.  Herein  Enoch  looked  beyond  the  flood : 
and  to  convince — Or  contnc^  rather,  as  e^eAeyfoi  more 
properly  signifies,  by  witnesses  that  cannot  be  con- 
ih>nted ;  all  thai  ate  ungodly  among  them—hxvtong 
those  judged,  and  upon  whom  sentence  is  "passed. 
Of  all  their  ungodly  deede-r-Thca  wicked  actions ; 
which  they  have  ungodly — Impiously ;  commiUed— 
Being  destitute  of  the  fear  as  well  as  love  of  God, 
and  in  defiance  of  his  justice  and  wrath:  and  of  all 
their  hard—Their  impious,  atheistical,  scoffing 
tpeechesy  whiclh  ungodly  svmers  have  epoken  against 
/Mtf»— Namely,  against  Christ,  as  if  he  were  an  im- 
postor, who  was  justly  punished  with  an  ignominious 
death;  and  against  his  people,  representing  them,  al- 
though the  excellent  of  the  earth,  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy,  (Heb.  xL  38,)  as  the  vilest  of  men. 
Verse  16.  These  are  murmurers — Against  God 
and  men,  never  contented  with  the  allotments  of 
Providence,  or  with  the  conduct  of  any  about  them ; 
complainere^iiefiififiotpoiy  literally,  complainera  of 
thekrfate.  Some  think  that  the  two  expressions, 
murmurers  and  complainers^  are  synonymous  terms 
to  express  the  same  thought  with  more  strength  and 
emphasis.  If  there  be  any  difference  in  their  signi- 
fication, the  former  may  imply  their  murmuring  in 
genera),  the  other  the  subject  of  their  murmuring; 
they  complained  of  their  lot  and  condition  in  the 
world,  and  of  the  course  of  Providence.  Jude,  in 
writing  this,  seems  to  have  had  his  eye  upon  the 
mutmurings  and  complainings  of  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness,  which  were  highly  displeasing  to  God, 
1  Cor.  X.  10.  And  writing,  if  not  chiefly,  yet  at  least 
in  part,  to  such  Christians  as  had  been  Jews,  he  might 
partly  refer  to  the  complaining  temper  prevalent 
among  the  Jews  about  this  time,  as  Josephus  testifies, 
in  which  the  Judaizing  Christians  very  much  resem- 
ble them.  Walking  after  ^eir  otm  lusts— Their 
own  fooli^  and  mischievous  desires ;  the  source  this 
of  their  murmuring  and  complaining.  For  the  plan 
of  the  divine  government  is  in  favour  of  piety  and 
virtue,  imd  vice  cannot  always  prosper,  or  even  hope 
to  end  well,  in  such  a  constitution  of  things;  and 
their  mouth  speaketh  great  swelling  words—In 
praise  of  ^emselves,  as  the  only  teachers  who  free 
men  from  the  shackles  of  superstition.  Or  perhaps 
the  apostle  means  that  the  frdse  teachers  spake  in  an 
indolent  manner  against  the  Roman  magistrates  for 
pmiidiing  them,  and  against  the  laws  for  prohibiting 
b 


18  How  that  they  t<^  you  "there  A.M.4070. 

should  be  inockeis  in  the  last  iixne^ 1^ 

who  should  walk  after  their  ^owu  ungodly  lusts. 

19  These  be  they  *  who  separate  theuttelvesy 
"^  sensual,  having  not  the  Siririt 

90  But  ye,  beloved,  ""  building  up  yourselves 
on  your  moei  holy  ^th,  ^  [ffajriiig  in  the  Holy 
Ghost, 


t ProT.  xriii.  1 ;  Es^  ziv. 7 ;  Hoe.  ir.  14;  ix.  10;  Heb.  x.  35. 

•  1  Cor.  ii.  14 ;   James  iii.  15. >  Ool.  ii.  7 ;    1  Tim.  i.  4. 

7  Rom.  riiL  26 ;  Eph.  vi.  18. 


the  vices  in  which  they  delighted.  For  they  are  said 
(verse  8)  to  despise  government,  and  to  revile  dig- 
nities. And  this  they  might  do  on  pretence  of  main- 
taining the  cause  of  the  people  of  God,  against  the 
tyranny  and  oppression  of  the  Romans;  having 
men^s  persons  in  admiration  because  of  advantage 
—Admiring  and  commending  them  only  for  what 
they  can  get. 

Verse  17.  But,  beloved—To  prevent  you  from 
giving  heed  to  the  vain  speeches  of  these  deceivers; 
remeinber  the  words  which  were  spoken  before — Or 
spoken  prophetically ;  by  the  apostles — Who  have 
preached  the  gospel  to  you  in  all  its  purity.  He  does 
not  exempt  himself  from  the  number  of  apostles; 
for  in  the  next  verse  he  says,  they  told  yot^  not  us. 
The  resemblance,  as  Doddridge  jlistly  observes,  be- 
tween this  text  and  Peter  iii.  2,  is  very  remarkable. 
It  is  such  as  would  incline  one  to  think  that  Jude  had 
the  text  in  Peter  before  him,  and  omitted  what  had 
a  peculiar  reference  to  the  former  part  of  St.  Peter's 
epistle,  and  to  which  there  was  nothing  in  his  own  to 
answer.  Though  Jude  only  cites  the  words  spoken 
by  Peter  in  particular  concerning  the  coming  of 
scours  in  the  last  time,  yet  his  exhortation  being 
general,  it  comprehends  the  words  spoken  by  the 
other  apostles  concerning  the  coming  of  false  teach- 
ers, such  as  Paul's,  1  Tim.  iv.  1-5 ;  2  Tito.  iii.  4. 
Nay,  it  comprehends  the  words  spoken  by  Jude 
himself  in  the  preceding  part  of  this  epistle. 

Verse  19.  These  be  they  who  separate  ihemsehes 
— Namely,  from  the  communion  of  the  church  and 
from  other  Christians,  under  pretence  of  their  great- 
er ilhraiination;  sensual — ^vxlkol,  animal;  not  hav- 
ing the  iS(ptri<— Having  a  natural  understanding  and 
natural  senses,  but  not  the  Spirit  of  God,  either  as 
Spirit  of  truth  or  grace,  and  therefore  addicted  to 
the  low  gratifications  of  their  animal  life;  otherwise 
they  would  not  separate  themselves  from  the  Church 
of  Christ.  For  that  it  is  a  sin,  and  a  very  heinous 
one,  to  separate  from  it,  is  out  of  all  question.  But 
then  it  should  be  observed,  Ist,  That  by  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  meant  a  body  Of  living  Christians,  who 
are  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit,  Eph.  ii 
20, 21.  And,  2d,  That  by  separating  is  understood 
renouncing  all  religious  intercourse  with  them,  no 
longer  joining  with  them  in  solenm  prayer,  or  ^he 
other  public  offices  of  religion. 

Verses  20,  21.  But  ye,  beloved— Not  separating 
yourselves  from  your  Christian  brethren,  but  build- 
ing up— Or  edifying  one  another  in  knowledge  and 
001 


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tueripii^  ofpreoMt  to  Goi.' 


A.  M.  4070. 
A.  D.  60w 


21  Eeq>  younelyes  in  the  love  oi 
God,  '  looking  for  the  mercy  of  our 
Lord  Jesos  Chrifli  unto  eternal  Hfe. 

22  And  kA  some  have  compaanon,  making  a 
difference : 

23  And    othen    *  save  with    fear,    ^  poD- 
ing   ihMn  out   of   the   fire  ;    hating   even 


•Titos  iL  13;  2  Petar  iii.  13. 'Ron.  xi.  14;  1  Tim.  It.  16. 

^  AflMW  ir.  11 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  15 ;  Zeoh.  iiL  S. 


grace;  on,  or  tit,  yoicr  mxMt  holy  faith^The  tme 
Christian  faith,  haviag  for  its  object  all  the  doctrines, 
precepts,  and  promises  of  the  gospel ;  a  faith,  than 
which  none  can  be  more  holy  in  itseU^  or  more  con- 
ducive to  the  most  refined  and  exalted  holiness; 
praying  tn,  or  through,  the  Holy  (i Aa#r— By  a  prin- 
ciple of  grace  derived  from  him,  and  by  his  enlight- 
ening, quickening,  sanctifying,  and  comforting  influ- 
ences, showing  yon  what  blessings  you  may  and 
ought  to  pray  for,  inspiring  you  with  sincere  and 
fervent  desires  after  those  bles^gs,  and  enabling  you 
to  offer  these  desires  to  God  in  faith,  with  gratitude 
for  the  blessings  which  you  have  already  received. 
And  by  these  means,  and  through  divine  grace  com- 
municated therein,  Arecp  yourselves  in  the  love  of 
Ood—ThAi  is,  in  love  to  God,  arising  from  a  sense 
of  his  love  to  you ;  looking  for  the  mercy,  Ac. — Con- 
tinually possessing  a  confident  expectation  of  that 
eternal  life,  which  is  purchased  for  you  and  con- 
ferred upon  you  through  the  mere  mercy  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ 

Verses  22, 23.  And  o/«ot?i€— Who  are  perverted 
by  these  seducers,  erring  only  through  infirmity,  and 
m  lesser  points ;  have  compomon— Treat  with  leni- 
ty, and  endeavour  to  reclaim,  in  a  mild  and  gentle 
way,  by  the  winning  method  of  persuasion ;  making 
a  difference — ^Between  them  and  others  that  are 
more  guilty  and  stubborn.  And  others — ^Who  sin 
presumptuously  and  openly ;  save  with  fear — En- 
deavour to  rouse  their  fears,  setting  before  them  a 
future  judgment  and  its  awful  consequences  in  all 
their  terrors.  And  if  they  continue  unmoved,  use 
the  censures  of  the  church  as  the  last  remedy.  Or, 
as  some  think,  he  may  mean  with  a  jealous  fear 
for  yourselves,  lest  you  should  be  infected  with 
the  disease  you  endeavour  to  cure ;  pulling  them  out 
of  the  fire^--Oi  temptation,  sin,  and  divine  wrath, 
into  which  they  are  fallen,  or  are  just  ready  to  falL 
As  if  he  had  said.  And  if  you  desire  that  your  efforts 
in  either  of  these  cases  should  be  successful,  you 
must  take  great  care  to  preserve  your  own  purity ; 
and  while  you  love  the  sinners,  to  retain  the  utmost 
abhorrence  of  their  sins,  and  of  every  the  least  de- 
gree of  approach  to  them ;  hating  even  the  garment 
spotted  by  the  /e#^— Lest  by  the  touch  of  it  you 
092 


"^  the  garment  spotted  by  the  flesh,  a.  m.  wto: 
24  ''NowuntohimthatisaMetokeqp   ^^'^ 

you  fiom  fidling,  and  *  to  present  you  firaltlesB  be* 

fore  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy, 
85  'To  the  only  wise  God  our  Savioor,  be 

glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both 

now  and  ever.    Amen. 


c  Zeoh.  iii  4,  5 ;  Rer.  iii  4. *  Rom.  xii.  35 ;   ExJL  iiL  90. 

•Coii.83. 'Roai.zTL87;  lTiB.L17;  u.  8. 

yourselves  should  be  pc^uted.  This  danse,  which 
is  a  caution  addressed  to  ''those  who  snatch  others 
out  of  the  fire,  implies  that  in  doing  them  that  com- 
passionate office,  they  are  to  avo^  all  fiuniliarity 
with  them,  even  as  they  would  avoid  touching  a  gar- 
ment spotted  by  the  flesh  of  one  who  bad  died  of 
the  plague,  lest  they  should  be  infected  by  their  vi- 
cious conversation." 

Verses  d4, 25.  Now  unto  him  who  alone  is  able  to 
keep  you  from  faUing^-laU}  any  of  these  errors  or 
sins,  or  from  stumbling,  as  airrai^yc  literally  mgnifies, 
rugged  and  dangerous  as  the  ways  of  life  are,  and 
feeUe  as  you  know  yourselves  to  be ;  and  at  length 
to  present  you  fauUless^Vuilj  sanctified  and  con- 
formed to  the  image  of  €k>d's  Son$  see  on  Ck>L  L  22; 
before  the  presence  of  his  glory— Thht  is,  in  his  own 
presence,  when  he  td^all  be  revealed  in  all  his  glory ; 
with  &rc€«Kfi^^oy— With  joy,  great  and  unuttera- 
ble. Totheonly  wise  God,  now  become  otcr  Saviour 
—That  is,  our  Deliverer  from  the  guilt  and  power 
of  sin  and  its  consequences,  our  Restorer  to  the  en- 
joyment of  the  blessings  lost  by  the  foil,  and  our 
Preserver  to  eternal  life.  Or,  as  Macknight  reads 
the  clause,  7b  the  %rise  God  alone.  See  on  Rom. 
xvL  27.  Be  glory,  Ac— That  is,  the  glory  of  infi- 
nite perfection;  and  &e majesty— Oi  empire  abso- 
lutely universal ;  domtnum— Or  strength,  as  uparo^ 
may  be  properly  rendered,  namely,  to  govern  that 
empire;  and  power— B^wia,  authority,  or  right  to 
do  whatever  seemeth  to  himself  good ;  both  now  and 
ever — Etc  irovroc  r«r  auivat,  throughout  all  ages, 
or  both  now  and  throughout  all  eternity.  "From 
the  appellation  here  used,  ottr  Saviour,  it  is  argued 
by  some  that  this  doxology  is  addressed  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  vi^ose  proper  title  is  our  Saviour,  and  who  is 
called  God  in  other  passages  of  Scripture,  particu- 
larly Rom.  ix.  6,  where  he  is  styled,  God  blessed  for 
ever.  Nevertheless,  as  in  some  passagesof  Scripture, 
particularly  Luke  i.  47;  1  Tim.  L  1 ;  Tit.  L  B,  the 
Father  is  styled  our  Saviour,  this  aigument  is  doubt- 
ful. They  who  contend  that  the  doxtdogy  in  this 
passage  belongs  to  the  Father,  observe  that  the  same 
doxology  is  unambiguously  addressed  to  God  the 
Father,  Rom.  xvL  27,"  to  which  passage  we  hare 
Just  referred  the  reader.  ^ 

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PREFACE 


TO  THE 


REVELATION    OF   ST.   JOHN   THE    DIVINE. 


npHil>  ^ook  of  the  Revelation  has,  for  very  good  reasons,  been  received  as  one  of  the  sacred  books 
of  tAe  New  Testament.  The  chief  of  these  reasons  have  been  mentioned  by  many  authors,  and 
are  represented  with  great  evidence  and  strength  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  observes,  he  does  not 
find  any  other  book  of  th^  New  Testament  so  strongly  attested,  or  commented  upon  so  early,  as  this. 
And  Dr.  Lardner  has  collected  with  great  care  and  faithfulness  the  twtimonies  of  the  most  early 
Christian  writers  to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  in  his  Treatise  on  the  Credibility  of  the  Gospel 
History.  The  testimony  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  to  the  authority  of  this  book  is  as  follows :— ^ 
1.  Justin  Mar^,  a  person  of  great  name,  about  the  year  of  Christ  140,  and  so  about  My  or  sixty 
years  after  the  writing  of  this  book,  expressly  calls  it  a  prophecy,  and  ascribes  it  to  John  the  apostle, 
saying,  "A  man  from  among  us,  by  name  John,  one  of  the  apostles  of  Christ,  in  ^e  Revelation  to 
him,  has  prophesied,"  &c.  2.  Mileto,  bishop  of  Sardis,  one  of  the  seven  churches  mentioned  in  the 
second  and  third  chapters,  wrote  a  book  on  the  Revelation  by  St.  John,  which  some  think  was  an 
entire  commentary ;  but  whether  or  not,  it  shows  he  esteemed  it  a  book  of  canonical  authority.  3. 
Irensus,  who  wrote  about  A.  D.  178,  within  seventy  or  eighty  years  of  St.  John,  expressly  ascribes 
the  Revelation  to  him,  calling  him  the  disciple  of  the  Lord.  His  testimony  to  this  book,  as  Lardnor 
observes,  '*  is  so  strong  and  full,  that,  considering  the  age  of  Irenieus,  it  seems  to  put  it  beyond  all 
question  that  it  was  the  work  of  St.  John  the  apostle  and  evangelist.''  4.  A  little  later,  Theophilus 
oi  Antioch,  in  a  book  of  his  against  the  heresy  of  Hermogenes,  makes  use  of  testimonies  from  St. 
John's  Apocalypse.  5.  Clement  of  Alexandria  quotes  these  revelations  as  St.  John's,  saying,  *'  As 
John  testifies  in  the  Revelation."  And  he  refers  to  them  as  the  words  of  an  apostle,  or  as  having  the 
authority  of  apostolic  writings.  6.  Tertullian,  who  wrote  about  the  year  of  Christ  200,  and  so  some- 
what about  a  hundred  years  after  the  time  in  which  this  book  was  written,  observes,  "  John,  in  his 
Apocalypse,  is  conunanded  to  correct  those  who  ate  things  sacrificed  to  idok,  and  committed  fomica- 
tion."  And  again :  *'  We  have  churches,  disciples  of  John ;  for,  though  Marcion  rejects  his  Revelation^ 
the  succession  of  bishops,  traced  to  the  original,  will  assure  us  that  John  is  the  author  of  it."  We 
cannot  wonder  that  Marcion  should  reject  the  Revelation,  since  he  rejected  all  the  Old  Testament, 
and  of  the  New  received  only  the  gospel  of  St.  Luke,  and  ten  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  which  also  he  had 
corrupted  and  altered. 

But  this  book  of  the  Revelation,  though  never  rejected  by  the  ancient  church,  and  as  fully  authen- 
ticated as  any  part  of  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament,  yet  from  the  obscurity  of  the  prophecies 
contained  in  it  before  their  comjdetion,  was  less  known  and  less  studied  than  the  gospels,  Acts,  and 
episdes.  Perlu^,  says  Dr.  Apthoi^,  it  was  purposely  concealed  from  being  publicly  read  in  the 
congregations  of  the  early  Christians,  on  principles  of  prudence  and  loyalty,  as  it  distinctly  foretold 
the  subversion  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  erecting  other  dynasties  on  its  ruins.  It  was,  however, 
universally  received  by  the  Latin  Church,  most  interested  in  its  predictions ;  and  i^usebius  and  the 
Greek  Church  concurred  with  the  Latins  in  venerating  its  authority  as  an  essential  part  of  the  sacred 
canon.  Indeed,  the  churches  in  general,  nearest  the  times  of  the  writing  of  this  book,  received  it 
with  so  full  consent,  that,  in  a  very  few  years,  as  Dr.  Mill  observes,  it  was  acknowledged  and  placed 
in  the  number  of  apostolical  writings,  not  only  by  the  churches  of  Asia,  but  by  the  neighbouring 
churches  of  Syria  and  Samaria,  by  the  more  distant  churches  of  Africa  and  Egypt,  by  Rome,  and  llie 
other  churches  of  Europe.  Such  reasons  there  are  to  receive  this  as  one  of  the  books  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
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PREFACE  TO  THE  REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  DIVINE. 

lures  of  the  New  Testament,  that  hardly  any  one  hook  has  more  early,  fnU,  or  authentic  attestatioaf 
given  to  it 

Now  all  who  thns  receive  it  most  acknowlMlge  that  it  proceeds  from  the  Spirit  of  prophecy ;  and 
that  Spirit  itself  declares,  ''  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear,  the  words  of  this 
prophecy,"  &c.,~  chap.  i.  3.  If  we  acknowledge  this  to  he  a  true  testimony  respecting  this  book,  as 
we  nrast  if  we  own  it  to  be  a  book  of  Holy  Scripture,  we  must  acknowledge,  also,  that,  how  obscure 
soever  the  words  of  this  prophecy  may  be,  they  are  yet  sufficiently  intelligible  to  be  very  useful. 
Considering,  however,  the  nature  and  des^  of  pro^iecy,  and  the/s^le  and  manner  o£  e3q>ressi<m 
generally  used  in  it,  we  are  not  to  expect  that  prophecies  should  be  as  easily  understood  as  doctrines 
or  precepts  delivered  in  plain  language,  and  the  common  familiar  forms  of  speech.  The  nature  and 
intention  of  prophecy  were  not  to  gratify  our  curiosity,  by  giving  us  to  know  inture  events,  or,  as  it 
were,  enabling  us  to  tell  the  fortunes  of  the  church  and  world  ;  but  to  answer  wise  and  good  purposes ; 
to  confirm  our  faith,  patience,  and  ccmstancy ;  to  encourage  our  hope  and  trust  in  God,  and  give  us 
assurance  of  his  protecting  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  that  is,  of  true  religion :  and  especiaOy 
to  answer  these  good  ends  when  we  might  be  tempted  to  forsake  true  religion,  by  the  power  of  pre- 
vailing error  and  reigning  corruption,  or  might  be  greatly  dejected  and  despair  of  success,  when 
opposition  to  the  truth  is  so  powerfid  and  violent  as  hardlv  to  leave  a  reasonable  prospect  of  bearing 
up  against  it.  In  such  a  state  of  thii^,  which  often  has  happened,  it  has  been  the  use  of  prophecy 
to  support  the  confidence  and  courage  of  good  men,  with  lively  and  affecting  representations  of  the 
majesty,  power,  and  goodness  of  God ;  of  his  care  to  protect  his  cause  and  people,  and  of  the  power 
of  his  providence  to  superintend  and  order  all  things  in  the  world  in  that  way  which  shall  most 
promote  his  own  glory  and  the  salvation  of  mankind.  And,  finally,  the  design  of  prophecy  is  to  repre- 
sent these  things  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  fix  men's  attention,  and  confirm  their  faith  in  the  truth  of 
the  Scriptures  in  which  such  prophecies  are  contained,  and  in  his  faithfulness  certainly  to  accomplish 
his  word  in  all  things. 

When  such  events  of  fiiture  time  are  foretold  as  shall,  in  their  accomplishment,  confirm  our  faith  in 
the  goodness,  power,  and  faithfulness  of  God,  and  by  such  strong  and  lively  representations  thereof  as 
•hall  make  deep  impressions  on  our  minds,  they  answer  a  very  wise  and  important  design,  and  are 
of  greater  use  than  plainer  precepts,  enjoining  constanqy  and  perseverance,  or  plain  promises  of 
encouragement  and  reward,  delivered  in  expressions  more  easy  to  be  understood.  In  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity,  as  well  as  in  after  times,  good  men  were  wont  to  be  greatly  discouraged  with  the 
afflictive  state  of  the  church,  and  the  powerful  opposition  that  was  made  to  the  gospel.  For  they 
hardly  knew  how  to  reconcile  such  a  state  of  things  with  what  they  thought  the  Scriptures  had  given 
them  reason  to  expect  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  It  was,  therefore,  wise  and  proper,  by  a 
prophecy  in  the  Christian  Church,  to  support  the  minds  of  good  men  under  these  af&ictions  with 
assurances  of  Christ's  second  coming,  in  its  proper  season,  and  of  the  watchful  providence  of  Ood 
over  his  cause  and  people  in  the  mean  time.  Thus  the  prophecies  of  this  book  are  to  us  in  the 
Christian  Church  of  the  like  use  that  the  prophecies  of  Christ's  first  appearance  were  of  to  his  ancient 
church. 

That  this  is,  properly  speaking,  a  book  of  prophecy  of  things  to  come,  as  well  as  a  description  of  the 
then  present  state  and  condition  of  the  churches  in  Asia,  Christ  himself  declares,  chap.  i.  19,  saying, 
"  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  the  things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  be 
hereafter  ;**  and,  chap.  iv.  1,  John  heard  a  voice,  which  said,  "  Come  up  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee 
the  things  that  must  be  hereafter."  Some  of  these  predictions,  indeed,  related  to  events  not  far 
distant  (Vom  the  time  when  the  vision  and  prophecy  were  given,  and,  therefore,  wjere  soon  to  be 
accomplished.  Thus  the  book  is  termed,  chap.  i.  1,  "the  Revelation  of  Jesus  Ctrist,  Ac,  to  show 
unto  his  servants  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass ;"  and,  chap.  i.  3,  "  Blessed  is  he  that 
readeth,  &c.,  for  the  time  is  at  hand."  But  from  these  and  such  like  expressions  we  cannot  infer,  as 
some  have  done,  that  the  whole  prophecy  was  to  be  accomplished  in  a  few  years  after  the  vision. 
They  only  show  that  the  things  foretold  were  soon  to  begin  to  be  accomplished ;  not  that  their  accom- 
plishment was  soon  to  end ;  the  time  included  in  these  predictions  evidently  extending  from  the  period 
when  John  had  these  visions  to  the  day  of  final  judgment. 

At  the  time  when  John  received  the  discoveries  contained  in  this  book,  he  was  in  banishment  for 
**the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus ;"  and  the  church  was  under  persecution  so  long 


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PREFACB  TO  THE  REVBLATION  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  DIYINE. 

«fe  the  Roman  empire  continiied  lieathen.  Severe  persecutions  were  almost  perpetually  renewed ; 
and,  a  IRde  before  the  time  of  Ck)n8ta]!^e,  they  were  so  seyere,  that  they  seemed  to  threaten  the 
utter  destruction  of  all  who  could  not  be  forced  to  renounce  the  Christian  faith,  and  fall  in  with  the 
idolatrous  worsh^)  esti^lished  in  the  empire.  The  last  persecution,  under  Diocletian,  destroyed  such 
incredible  numbers,  that  the  persecutors  boasted  they  had  effaced  the  name  and  superstition  of  the 
Cttiristians,  and  had  restored  and  propagated  the  worship  of  the  gods.  Yet  the  divine  providence,  after 
several  great  revolutions,  made  way  for  the  authority  of  Constantine  the  Great,  who  put  an  end  to  the 
long  persecution  of  ten  years,  gave  freedom  to  the  churches,  and  finally  gave  all  protection  and  coun- 
tCTiance^  to  die  Christian  Church,  and  all  assistance  to  promote  the  Christian  faith  and  worship.  So 
that  the  same  power  which  before  persecuted  now  protected  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  first  period 
of  prophecy,  &en,  seems  naturally  to  pdnt  but  this  period  of  history,  which  in  general  answers  to  it 
with  great  propriety  udd  exactness,  and  will  direct  us  to  look  for  the  folfilment  of  the  several  parts  of 
it,  in  some  of  the  events  of  providence,  which  took  place  between  the  time  of  the  vision,  and  die 
year  of  Christ  about  323,  when  the  of^position  of  the  idolatrous  ppwer  of  Rome  gave  way  to  the  pro- 
tection and  favour  of  Christian  emperors. 

The  second  period  of  prophecy  points  out  the  period  of  history  between  the  year  of  Christ  323  to 
about  750,  in  which  compass  of  time  vre  seem  to  be  directed  to  look  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
several  particular  predictions  contained  in  this  period ;  nsunely,  when  the  Roman  empire  beginning  to  lose 
its  power,, and  becoming  unable  to  protect  the  church,  a  swarm  of  idolatrous  nations  from  the  northetn 
couittries,  under  several  names,  broke  in  upon  that  empire,  and  divided  the  western  part  of  it  into 
several  separate  and  independent  governments,  or  kingdoms ;  so  that  the  Christian  faith  and  worship 
were' in  as  much  danger  from  the  idolatry  of  the  northern  nations,  who  had  divided  the  empire  among 
them,  as  they  were  heUxe  in  danger  from  the  idolatry  of  the  empire  itself.  It  pleased  God,  also,  to 
permit  that  impostor,  Mohammed,  and  his  successors,  togain  so  much  ground,  and  to  spread  that  imposture 
so  far  and  so  fast,  that  it  threatened  the  ruin  of  the  Christian  name  and  religion  in  the  East.  Yet 
the  idolatrous  northern  nations  wete  soon  themselves  brought  to  embrace  Christianity,  and  to  use  all 
their  power  and  auth(m^  to  protect  and  promote  it.  And  though  the  Saracens  made  great  inroads 
for  some  time,  yet  was  thmr  progress  stopped  both  in  the  east  and  west,  as  shall  be  shown  in  the 
proper  ]^ace. 

The  third  period  seems  also  to  be  determined  to  the  time  of  its  beginning  and  ending  by  the  pro- 
phecy itself,  including  the  time  of  the  beast,  of  the  woman's  being  in  the  wilderness,  and  of  the 
treading  down  €i  the  holy  city ;  which  times  are  variously  expressed,  btit  plainly  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  intend  the  same  duration.  It  is  said  to  be  for  "  forty-two  months  ;"  (chap.  xi.  2  ;  :dii.  5 ;)  *'  for 
a  time,  times,  and  half  a  time ;"  (chap.  xii.  14 ;)  which  ways  of  nmnbermg  are  explained  by  another; 
namely,  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  chap.  xi.  3.  The  difficulty  then  of  assigning  the  exact 
historical  time  of  this  period  lies  chiefly  in  fixing  when  these  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  are  to 
begin ;  or,  which  will  be  the  same,  at  what  period  in  history  we  are  to  fix  the  beginning  of  the  power 
of  the  beast,  of  the  flying  of  the  woman  into  the  wilderness,  and  of  treading  the  holy  city  under  foot ; 
for  these  are  the  calamities  of  this  period. 

When  the  last-mentimied  period  shall  have  continued  the  time  specified  in  the  above-mentioned 
numbers,  namely,  forty-two  months,  a  time,  times,  and  half  a  time,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days, 
according  to  the  style  of  pn^hecy,  the  beast  shall  be  destroyed,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil  and 
Satan,  shall  be  bound  a  ^usand  years,  during  which  time  the  church  shall  be  in  a  happy  and  peace- 
ftd  state,  which  will  be  the  fourth  remariiable  period,  described  chap.  xix.  20 ;  xx.  5^. 

When  these  thousand  years  shall  be  expired,  Satan  again  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison  for  a  short 
time ;  and  this  will  make  a  fifth  period,  chap.  xx.  7.  This  shall  occasion  a  new  and  the  last  attempt 
of  error  and  wickedness  against  truth  and  righteousness ;  but  this  attempt  shall  end  in  the  final  ruin 
of  all  the  enemies  of  religion,  which  shall  be  the  sixth  period,  chap.  xx.  9, 10. 

The  seventh  period,  set  forth  in  chap,  xxi.,  xxii.,  respects  the  everlasting  happiness  of  the  righteous 
and  faithful  servants  of  God  and  Christ  in  a  state  of  glorious  immortality,  and  an  endless  sabbath. 
This  order  of  the  prophecies  given  by  Lowman  appears  very  natural  and  intelligible,  and  more  agree- 
able to  the  important  facts  of  history  thaa  perhaps  any  other  system  i  and  yet  it  is  the  truth  of  history 
which  alone  can  show  us  what  he^  been  the  providence  of  God  toward  the  church  and  worid  from 
the  time  of  this  viskm  of  St.  John  to  our  own  days. 


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PREFACE  TO  THE  REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  DIVINB. 

It  it  erident  sucb  a  jdan  of  proj^iecy  and  OTder  of  hitlory  are  well  calculated  to  answer  ite 
importaot  deaigna  of  revelation  ia  general,  to  fHrepare  the  church  to  expect  opposition  and  BtsfferiagB 
in  this  present  world,  to  support  good  men  under  all  the  trials  of  their  laith  and  patience,  to  give 
encouragement  to  persevere  in  true  religion,  whatever  dangers  may  attend  our  so  dcnng,  to  assure  us 
that  God  will  attend  to  and  protect  his  own  cause,  so  that  no  o]^N>sition  shall  finally  prevail  againac 
it ;  that  God  will  assuredly  judge  and  punish  the  enemies  of  tmUi  and  ti^teousness,  and  thai  their 
oj^osition  thereto  shal}  certainly  end  in  their  own  destruction,  when  the  faithful  perseverance  of  the 
true  followers  of  Christ  shall  be  crowned  with  a  glorious  state  <^  immortal  life  and  bsppinesB, 

The  great  truths  concerning  the  majesty  of  God,  the  wisdom  and  care  oi  his  ^:ovidence,  the 
dignity,  i^uthority,  and  power  of  Chrbt,  the  protection  of  the  church,  the  restraint  and  puniiriiment  of 
its  enemies,  and  the  final  happiness  of  all  who  shall  faithfully  persevere  in  true  faith,  piety,  sad 
virtue,  are  here  delivered  in  such  an  awful  manner,  mich  animated  language,  and  striking  representa- 
tions^ as  must  greatly  affect  the  spirits  of  genuine  Christians.  A  regard  to  this  book  of  Revelation, 
as  predicting  events  by  a  Spirit  of  prophecy,  which,  therefore,  will  surely  come  to  pass,  serves  to 
raise  us  above  the  fear  of  men,  by  a  lively  faith  and  assured  confidence  in  t^od.  To  lock  upon  ^ 
promises  and  threatenings  of  this  book  as  infallible  predictions,  which  shall  certainly  be  accomplished, 
must  animate  eveiy  well-disposed  imd  considerate  person  to  resist  all  temptations  of  error  and  sin 
with  faithfulness,  constancy,  and  zeal.  The  lake  of  fire,  and  the  tenors  of  the  secmid  death,  the 
pcHTtion  of  the  fearful  and  unbelieving ;  and,  on  the  other  hand»  the  ^ory  and  felicity  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  and  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  the  portion  of  all  the  faithful,  are  represented  by  such  strong 
and  lively  images,  as  are  calculated,  not  only  to  fix  men's  attention,  but  to  touch  their  hearts  and 
affections,  and  engage  them  with  zeal  and  diligence  to  follow  the  wise  directions  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness. And  an  exact  conformity  between  these  proj^etic  descriptions  and  the  real  state  of  the 
church  and  the  worid,  for  a  series  of  some  hundreds  of  years,  gives  continually  new  and  increaaing 
evidence  of  the  truth  and  iiiiportance  of  the  Christian  revelation,  and  the  authenticity  and  authority 
of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  it  greatly  confirms  our  faith  in  God's  promises  and  threat^i- 
ings,  end  thereby  gives  them  their  full  force  and  influence  upon  us.  Such  is  the  imi^rovement  whidi 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  proj^ecy  designed  should  arise  from  the  perusal  of  diis  book  of  Revelation  ^  and 
doubtless  it  has  had,  and  still  will  have,  this  effect  upon  thousands  that  seriously  read  and  weigh  its 
contents.  For  one  of  its  jHrophetic  declarations  is,  *^  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  heart 
the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those  things  that  are  writt^i  therein." 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  in  the  interpretations  and  applications  of  these  prophecies  we 
are  not  to  expect  demonstrations,  or  such  proofs  as  shall  be  liable  to  no  manner  of  objection ;  or  that 
some  weak  and  ill-informed  persons  may  not  wrest  these  prophecies,  as  they  do  the  other  scriptures, 
and  may  do  any  principles  whatsoev^,  to  extravagant  expectations,  designs,  and  actiona.  It  should 
be  sufiicient  to  satisfy  us,  if  we  find  a  proper  and  probable  sense  of  these  prophetic  egressions  and 
descriptions,  suited  to  the  manifest  and  wise  design  of  the  whole  prophecy.  And  if  these  interprets 
ations  are  supported  by  an  apidicati<m  of  events  in  historjr,  that  ^re  justly  applicable,  both  to  the 
prophetic  descriptions,  and  to  the  series  and  order  of  the  predictions ;  if  Uiey  are  events  worthy  a 
spirit  of  prophecy  to  reveal,  and  agreeable  to  the  spirit  and  intention  of  this  prophecy  in  particular,  we 
may,  without  exposing  ourselves  to  the  charge  of  being  over  credulous,  reasonably  rest  satisfied  with 
ih&m.  Then  we  may  represent  these  prophecies  to  ourselves  in  that  noble  and  useful  view  in  which 
a  great  author  (Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  Explication  of  the  Revelation,  Preface)  has  placed  them : 
"  In  the  gospel  of  St.  John  we  read  the  life  of  Christ  on  earth ;  a  maA  conversing  with  men,  humble, 
poor,  weak,  and  suffering ;  we  behold  a  sacrifice  ready  to  be  offered,  and  a  man  q>pointed  to  sorrows 
and  death ;  but  in  the  Revelation  we  have  the  gospel  of  Christ  now  raised  from  the  dead.  He  speaks 
and  acts  as  having  conquered  the  grave,  and  triumphed  over  death  and  hell,  as  entered  into  the  place 
of  his  glory ;  angels,  principalities,  and  powers  being  made  subject  to  him ;  and  exercing  the  supreme 
universal  power  he  has  received  from  the  Father  over  all  ^lings  in  heaven  and  earth,  as  our  Saviour, 
for  the  protection  of  his  church,  and  for  the  sure  hi^piness  of  his  fai^ul  servants  in  the  end.** 

Nothing,  says  Dr.  Apdiorp,  who  pursues  the  same  line  of  interpretation  with  Lowman,  in  the 

Jewish  prophecies  themselves,  exceeds  the  sublimity  of  the  exordium  of  the  Apocalypse ;  *'  the  vision 

of  Jesus  Christ,  the  monarch  of  his  church,  and  the  divine  instructions  to  the  Asian  churches,  and  in 

them  to  the  churches  of  all  succeeding  times,  chi^.  i.  1-8 ;  iii. ;  iv.    In  the  second  vision  heaven 

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PREFACE  TO  THE  REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  DIVINE. 

opens,  the  throne  of  God  is  surrounded  by  his  saints,  and  the  Lamb  opens  the  seven  seals  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  the  angelic  hosts,  chap,  v.-viii.  In  the  third  vision  the  angels  sound  the  seven 
trumpets,  viii.-ii.  In  the  fourth  vision  the  dragon  persecutes  the  church,  the  two  beasts  rise  from 
the  earth  and  sea,  and  are  defeated  by  the  Lamb,  chap.  xi.  15;  xiv.  In  the  fifth  vision  the  angels 
pour  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God  on  the  kingdom  and  throne  of  antichrist,  chap,  xv.-^xix.  In  the 
sixth  vision  Satan  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years,  chap.  zx.  The  seventh  vision  reveab  the  destined 
glories  of  the  true  religion,  emblemized  by  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  and  the  New  Jerusalem 
descending  from  God  out  of  heaven,  chap,  xxi.,  xxii." 

Respecting  the  style  of  this  hook  we  may  rely  on  the  testimony  of  Blackwall.  "  The  Revelation,'' 
sajrs  he,  in  his  Sacred  Classics,  ^*  is  writ  in  much  die  same  style  with  the  gospel  and  epistles,  and 
entertains  and  instructs  the  reader  with  variety  of  Christian  morals  and  sublime  mysteries.  From 
this  noble  book  may  be  drawn  resistless  proofs  of  our  Saviour's  eternal  existence ;  the  incommuni- 
cable attributes  of  eternity  and  infinite  power  are  there  plainly  and  directly  applied  to  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  God.  It  is  in  vain  to  look  for  more  lofly  descriptions  or  majestic  images  than  you  find  in  this 
sacred  book.  Could  the  acclamations  and  hallelujahs  of  Grod's  household  be  expressed  with  more 
propriety  and  magnificence  than  by  the  shouts  of  vast  multitudes,  the  roaring  of  many  waters,  and 
the  dreadful  sound  of  the  loudest  and  strongest  thunders  ?  And  how  transporting  an  entertainment 
must  it  be  to  the  blessed  to  have  all  the  strength  of  sound,  tempered  with  all  its  sweetness  and  har- 
mony, perfectly  suited  to  their  celestial  ear  and  most  exalted  taste !  The  description  of  the  Son  of 
God  in  the  nineteenth  chapter,  verses  11-17,  is  in  all  the  pomp  and  grandeur  of  language.  We  have 
every  circumstance  and  particular  that  is  most  proper  to  express  power  and  justice,  majesty  and 
goodness ;  to  raise  admiration  and  high  pleasure,  corrected  with  awe." 

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THE   REVELATION 


OF 


SAINT  JOHN  THE   DIVINE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

m$  ehapUr  contmnSf  (1,)  A  preface,  »kowing  the  divine  original^  the  dtngn,  and  importance  of  the  hook,  1-3.  (2,)  JoJkm*s 
MtUuttUion  of  the  eeven  churches  of  Asia,  vnshing  them  grace  and  peace  from  all  the  thru  Dhine  Persons  m  their  iiHimci 
economical  characters,  4-^.  (3,)  An  accmmt  when,  where,  and  how  he  receioed  his  revslaii&ns,  0-lS.  (4^)  A  timM  of 
Christ,  with  an  affecting  display  pf  Att  <lt9fiie  glonf,  encouraging  and  animatittg  to  true  heUevers,  imt  UrrHiU  to  badb- 
sUders  and  apostates,  13-90. 

A.lf.4l6a 
▲.D.  96. 


A.  M.  4100.  rpHE  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ, 

'. — 1-  •  which  Ood  gave  unto  him,  to 

show  unto  his  servants  things  which  ^must 


•Johniii.  22;  Tiii.  20;  xiL  49. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  I. 
Verse  1.  The  book  opens  with  the  title  or  inscrip- 
tion of  the  book  itself,  and  an  account  of  the  scope 
and  design  of  it,  namely,  to  foretel  things  which 
should  shortly  begin  to  be  fulfilled,  and  should  suc- 
ceed in  their  due  season  and  order  till  all  were  ac- 
complished. The  /?ei?cZa/ton— Properly  so  called; 
for  things  covered  before,  are  here  revealed,  or  un- 
veiled. No  prophecy  in  the  Old  Testament  has  this 
title  ;Jt  was  reserved  for  this  alone  in  the  New.  It 
is,  as  it  were,  a  manifesto,  wherein  the  Heir  of  aU 
things  declares,  that  all  power  is  given  him  in 
heaven  and  earth ;  and  that  he  will,  in  the  end, 
gloriously  exercise  that  power,  maugre  all  the  oppo- 
sition of  all  his  enemies.  Of  Jeans  Chriatr—^ot  of 
John  the  divine,  a  title  added  in  latter  ages.  Certain 
it  is,  that  appellation,  the  divine,  was  not  brought 
into  the  church,  much  less  was  it  affixed  to  John  the 
apostle,  till  long  after  the  apostolic  age.  It  was  St. 
John  indeed  who  wrote  this  book ;  but  the  Author 
of  it  is  Jesus  Christ.  Which  God  gave  untq  him— 
According  to  his  holy,  glorified  humanity,  as  the  great 
Prophet  of  the  church.  Gk)d  gave  the  revelation  to 
Jesus  Christ,  Jesus  Christ  made  it  known  to  his  ser- 
vants. To  «AoK?— This  word  recurs  chap.  xxii.  6. 
And  in  many  places  the  parts  of  this  book  refer  to 
each  other.  Indeed,  the  whole  structure  of  it 
breathes  the  art  of  God ;  comprising,  in  the  most 
finished  compendium,  things  to  come ;  many,  vari- 
ous; near,  intermediate,  remote;  the  greatest,  the 
least ;  terrible,  comfortable ;  old,  new ;  long,  short ; 
and  these  interwoven  together,  opposite,  composite; 
086 


shortly  come  to  pass ;  and  °  he  s^it 
and  signified  t^  by  his  angel  unto  his 
servant  John : 


*  Ch^).  ir.  1 ;  Yeite  3. «  Chap.  xxiL  16. 

relative  to  each  other,  at  a  small,  at  a  great  distance; 
and  therefore,  sometimes,  as  it  were,  disappearing, 
broken  off,  suspended,  and  afterward  unexpectedly, 
and  most  seasonably,  appearing  again.  In  all  its 
parts  it  has  an  admirable  variety,  with  the  most  ex- 
act harmony,  beautifully  illustrated  by  those  very 
digressions  which  seem  to  interrupt  it ;  in  this  man- 
ner does  it  display  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God, 
shining,  in  the  economy  of  the  church,  through  so 
many  ages.  Hia  aervanta—yLxic^i  is  comprehended 
in  this  appellation.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  a  ser- 
vant of  Jesus  Christ.  This  book  is  dedicated  parti- 
cularly to  the  servants  of  Christ  in  the  seven  church- 
es in  Asia;  but  not  exclusive  of  all  his  other  ser- 
vants, in  all  nations  and  ages.  It  is  one  single  reve- 
lation, and  yet  sufficient  for  them  all,  from  the  time 
it  was  written  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Serve  thou 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  truth.  So  shalt  thou  learn 
his  secret  in  this  book.  Yea,  and  thou  shall  feel  in 
thy  heart,  whether  this  book  be  divine  or  not.  The 
things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass— The  things 
contained  in  this  prophecy  did  begin  to  be  accom- 
plished shortly  after  it  was  given ;  and  the  whole 
might  be  said  to  come  to  pass  shortly,  in  the  same 
sense  as  St  Peter  says.  The  end  of  all  things  is  at 
hand;  and  our  Lord  himself.  Behold  I  come  qtdckiy. 
There  is  in  this  book  a  rich  treasure  of  all  the  doc- 
trines pertaming  to  faith  and  holiness.  But  theae 
are  also  delivered  in  other  parts  of  Holy  Writ ;  so 
that  t/ie  Revelation  need  not  to  have  been  given  for 
the  sake  of  these.  The  peculiar  design  of  this  is, 
To  show  (he  things  which  must^^ome  to  pass.   And 

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and  keep  the^ward  ofChd, 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.M. 


Jesus 
saw. 


2  f  Who  bare  recotd  at  the  word 
of  Gfod}  and   of  the  testimony  of 
CSirist,   and  of  all  things   *  thai  he 


*  1  Cor.  L  6 ;  Ckap.  Ti.  9;  xu.  17;  Ve»e  a—*  1  John  LI. 


this  we  are  especially  to  have  before  our  eyes, 
whenever  we  read  or  hear  it. 

It  is  said  afterward,  fVrite  itfkatthoueeeet;  and 
again,  Write  what  thou  hast  seen,  and  what  is,  and 
what  shall  he  hereafter  ;  but  here,  where  the  scope 
of  the  book  is  shown,  it  is  only  said,  the  things  which 
must  come  to  pass.  Accordingly,  the  shpwing  things 
to  comej  is  the  great  point  in  view  throughout  the 
whole.  And  St  John  writes  what  he  has  seen,  and 
what  is,  only  as  it  has  an  influence  on,  or  gives  light 
to,  what  shaU  be.  And  he — Jesus  Christ ;  sent  and 
signified  them^Showed  them  by  sighs  or  emblems ; 
(so  the  Greek  word  properly  means ;)  by  his  angel 
-^Peculiarly  called  in  the  sequel,  The  angel  of  God, 
and  particularly  mentioned  chap.  xvii.  1 ;  xxi.  9; 
xxii.  6, 16 ;  to  his  servant  John— A  title  given  to  no 
other  single  person  throughout  the  bock. 

Verses  2,  3.  Who  bare  record  of,  or  testifial,  the 
word  ofXjfod-^ThdX  is,  who,  being  honoured  with  so 
Important  a  message,  did  not  faU  faithfully  to  declare 
it ;  and  the  testimony  of  /«*i#*— That^  which  Jesus, 
as  the  failhfbl  and  true  Witness,  appointed  to  be  de- 
clared; and  aU  things  thai  he  «atr-^Was  made 
acquainted  with  in  such  a  manner  as  was  attei^ded 
with  the  Mlest  and  most  satbfactory  evidences  of 
theirtruth  and  importance.  Blesse&^Uakaptoc,hap-' 
py;  is  fie  that  readeth — Some  have  miserably  hand- 
led this  book.  Hence  others  are  afraid  to  touch  it. 
And  while  they  desire  to  know  all  things  else,  reject 
only  the  knowledge  of  those  which  God  hath  shown. 
They  inquire  after  any  thing  rather  than  this;  as  if 
it  were  written,  Happy  is  he  that  doth  not  rectd  this 
prophecy.  Nay,  but  happy  is  he  that  readeth,  and 
they  that  hear  and  keep  the  words  thereof—Especi-^ 
ally  at  this  time,  when  so  consideraUe  a  part  of  them 
is  on  the  point  of  being  fulfilled.  Nor  are  helps 
wanting,  whereby  any  sincere  and  diligent  inquirer 
may  understand  what  he  reads  therein.  The  book 
itself  is  written  in  the  most  Accurate  manner  possi- 
ble ;  it  distinguishes  the  several  things  whereof  he 
treats  by  seven  epistles,  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets, 
seven  vials,  each  of  which  sevens  is  divided  into 
four  and  three.  Many  things  the  book  itself  ex- 
plains, as  the  iseven  stars,  the  seven  candlesticks,  the 
lamb,  his  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  the  incense, 
the  dragon,  the  heads  and  horns  of  the  beasts,  the 
flne^linen,  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  And  much  light 
arises  from  comparing  it  with  the  ancient  prophe^ 
des,  and  the  predictions  in  the  other  books  of  the 
New  Testament  In  this  book  our  Lord  has  com- 
prised what  was  wanting  in  those  prophecies,  touch- 
ing the  time  which  followed  his  ascension,  and  the 
end  of  the  Jewish  polity.  Accordingly,  it  reaches 
from  the  Old  Jerusalem  to  the  New,  reducing  all 
things  into  one  sum  in  the  exactest  order^  and  with 
a  near  resemblance  to  the  ancient  prophets.    The 


3  ^Blessed  t9  he*  that  reac^h,  and  A.M.4ioe. 
they  that  hear  the  words  (rf  this  pro-    ^'  ^*  ^ 


(rfiecy,  and  keep  those  diingB  which  are  wiit- 
ten  therein :  for  '4he  time  is  at  hand. 

'Lnka  xL  28 f  Cbap.  xzii.  7.        r  Rom.  xiii.  11 ;  James  r.  S, 

hitroduction  and  conclusion  agree  with  Daniel;  the 
description  of  the  man-child,  and  the  promises  to 
Sion,  with  Isaiah ;  the  judgment  of  Babylon,  with 
Jeremiah ;  agsdn,  the  determination  of  times,  with 
Daniel ;  the  architecture  of  the  holy  city,  with  Eze- 
kiel ;  the  emblems  of  the  horses,  candlesticks,  &C., 
with  Zechariah,  Many  things,  largely  described  by 
the  prophets,  are  here  summarily  repeated,  and  fre- 
quently in  the  same  words.  To  them  we  may,  then, 
usefully  have  recourse.  Yet  the  Revelation  suffices 
for  the  explaming  itself,  even  if  we  do  not  yet  un- 
derstand those  prophecies;  yea,  it  casts  much  light 
upon  them.  Frequently,  likeMrise,  where  there  is  a 
resemblance  between  them,  there  is.  a  difference 
also;  the  Revelation,  as  it  were,  taking  a  stock 
from  one  of  the  old  prophets,  and  inserting  a  new 
graft  into  it  Thus  Zechariah  speaks  of  two  olive- 
trees  ;  and  so  does  St  John,  but  with  a  different 
meaning.  Daniel  has  a  beast  with  ten  horns ;  so 
has  St.  John.  And  here  the  difference  of  words, 
emblems,  Mugs,  times,  ought  studiously  to  be  ob- 
served. Our  Lord  foretold  many  things  before  his 
passion;  but  not  all  things,  for  it  was  not  yet  sea- 
sonable. Many  things,  likewise,  his  Spirit  foretold, 
in  the  writings  of  the  jostles,  so  far  as  the  necessi- 
ties of  those  times  required ;  now  he  comprises  them 
all  in  one  short  book,  therein  presupposing  all  the 
other  prophecies,  and  at  the  same  time  explaining, 
continuing,  and  perfecting  them  in  one  thread.  It 
is  right,  therefore,  to  compare  them;  but  not  to 
measure  the  Ailness  of  these  by  the  scantiness  of 
those  preceding.  Christ,  when  on  earth,  foretold 
what  would  come  to  pass  in  a  short  time ;  adding  a 
brief  description  of  the  last  things.  Here  he  foretels 
the  intermediate  things ;  so  that  both  put  together 
constitute  one  complete  chain  of  prophecy.  This 
book  is  therefore  not  only  the  sum  and  the  key  of 
all  the  prophecies  which  preceded,  but  like\^ise  a 
supplement  to  all,  the  seals  being  closed  before ;  of 
consequence,  it  contains  many  particulars  not  re- 
vealed in  any  other  part  of  Scripture.  They  have, 
therefore,  little  gratitude  to  God  for  such  a  Revela- 
tion, reserved  for  the  exaltation  of  Christ,  who  bold- 
ly reject  whatever  they  find  here,  which  was  not 
revealed,  or  not  so  clearly,  m  other  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture. He  that  readeth  and  they  that  hear— The 
distinction  here  made  of  him  that  readeth  and  of 
them  that  hear,  is  remarkable ;  for  books,  being  then 
in  manuscript,  were  in  few  hands,  and  it  was  a  much 
readier  way  to  publish  a  prophecy,  or  any  thing,  by 
public  reading,  than  by  transcribing  copies.  It  was 
also  the  custom  of  that  age  to  read  all  the  apostoli- 
cal writings  in  the  congregations  of  the  faithful.  And 
perhaps  John  sent  this  book  by  a  single  person  into 
Asia,  who  read  it  in  the  churches,  while  many 
heard.    But  this  likewise,  in  a  secondary  sense,  re- 


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A.  M.  4100. 
▲.D.96. 


^J 


OHN  to  the  seven  churches 
which  are  hi  JLsia:  Grace  be 
unto  you^  and  peace,  from  him  ^whkh  id,  and 
'which  was,  and  which  is  to  o^e;  ^and 
from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  his 
throne ; 

5  And  from  Jesud  Christ,  ^  who  is  the  foithfid 
Witness,  and  the  Tirst-begotten  of  the  dead, 
and  ^  the  Princeof  the  kingsof  the  earth.   Unto 


^Exod.  ilL  14;  V«r»e  8.—*  John  1 1.— — ^Zech.  iii.  »; 

i?.  10;  Chap.  iii.  1 ;  ir.  6 ;  r.  6. 'John  riii.  14 ;  1  Tim.  tL 

13. »1  Cor.  xr.  20;   Col.  i.  18. ■Eph.  i.  20;  ChAp. 

vik  14. •  John  xiii.  34 ;  xv.9 ;  Gal.  ii.  20. 


ferg  to  all  that  shall  duly  read  or  hear  it  in  all  ages. 
The  words  of  this  prophecy-^Ii  is  a  revelation  with 
regard  to  Christ,  who  gives  it;  a  prophecy  with  re- 
gard to  John,  who  delivers  it  to  the  churches.  And 
keep  the  things  which  are  written  ther^in-^ln  such  a 
mauner  as  the  nature  of  them  requires ;  name^,  with 
repentance,  faith,  patience^  prayer,  obedience,  watch- 
fulness, constancy.  It  behooves  every  Christian,  at  all 
opportunities,  to  read  what  is  \ihritten  in  the  oracles  of 
God ;  and  to  read  Uiis  precious  book,  in  particular,  fre- 
quently, reverently,  and  attentively.  For  the  time — 
Of  its  beginning  to  be  accomplished ;  t>  n^or— Even 
when  St.  Jc^n  wrote.  How  much  nearer  to  us  is  even 
the  full  accomplishment  of  this  weighty  prophecy ! 
Verses  4-6.  John^The  dedication  of  this  book  is 
contained  in  the  4th,  5th,  and  6th  verses ;  but  the 
whole  Revelation  is  a  kind  of  letter.  7b  the  seven 
churches  which  are  in  Asia — That  part  of  the  Less- 
er Asia,  which  was  then  a  Roman  province.  There 
had  been  several  other  churches  planted  here ;  but 
it  seems  these  were  now  the  most  eminent  And 
it  was  among  these  that  St.  John  had  laboured  most 
during  his  abode  in  Asia.  In  these  cities  there  were 
tnany  Jews.  Such  of  them  as  believed,  in  each, 
were  joined  with  the  Qentile  believers  in  oneehUrch. 
€hace  be  unto  you,  and  peace — The  favour  of  God, 
with  all  temporal  and  eternal  blessings;  from  him 
who  is,  and  who  was,  and  who  cometh,  or,  who  is 
to  come — A  wonderful  translation  of  the  great  name, 
Jehovah:  iieioa^of old,het#now,1iecome/A;  that 
is,  will  be  for  ever.  And  from  tiie  seven  Spirits 
which  are  before  his  throne — Christ,  is  he  who  hath 
the  seven  Spirits  of  Qod,  The  seven  lamps  which 
burn  before  his  throne  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God, 
The  Lamhhath8et>enhomsandseveneyes,  which  are 
the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  Seven  was  a  s»nred  number 
in  the  Jewish  Church.  But  it  did  not  always  imply^ 
precise  number.  It  sometimes  is  to  be  taken  figura- 
tively, todenote  completeness,  or  perfection.  By  these 
seven  Spirits,  not  seven  created  angels,  but  the  Holy 
6ho$t,  is  to  bo  understood ;  the  angels  are  never  term- 
ed Spirits  in  this  book ;  and  when  all  the  angels  stand 
up,  while  the  four  living  creatures,  and  the  four  and 
twenty  elders,  worsMp  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  the  Lamb,  the  seven  Spirits  neither  stand 
up  nor  worship.  To  these  seven  Spirits  of  God,  the 
seven  churches,  to  whom  the  Spirit  spealui  so  many 
thhigs,  are  subordinate;  as  are  also  their  angels,  yea, 
TOO 


him  ""  that  loved  vs,  'and  Washed  us  a.  m.  410o 
from.our  sins  in  his  own  Mood,  *    L 

6  And  hath  ^  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  his  Father ;  '  to  him  be  glory  and  do- 
minion for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

7  'Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds ;  and  every 
eye  shall  see  him,  and  ^  they  also  whidi  pierced 
him :  and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail 
because  of  him.    Even  so,  Amen. 


PHebrews  is.  14 ; ,  1  John  i.  7.-^  1  Peter  iL  5, 9 ;  Chaptei 

V.  10;    XX.  6. »■  1   Timolhy  vL   16;    Hebrews   xiiL  21. 

•Daniel  vii.  13;  Matthew  xxiv.  30;   xxtL  64. 'ZecharialS 

xii.  10 ;  John  xix.  37. 


and  the  seven  angels  which  stand  before  God,  He  is 
called,  The  seven  Spirits,xkoi  with  regard  to  his  es- 
sence, which  is  one,  but  with  iregard  to  his  manifold 
operations.  And  from  Jesus  Christ,  the  faithful 
Witness,  the  First-begotten  from  the  dead,  and  the 
Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth— Three  glorious 
appellations  are  here  given  him,  and  in  their  pro- 
per order.  He  was  the  faithful  Witness  of  the 
whole  will  of  God  before  his  death,  and  in  death, 
and  remains  such  in  glory.  He  rose  from  the  dead, 
as  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept;  and  now  hath 
all  power  both  in  heaven  and  earth.  He  is  here 
styled  a  Prince.  But  by  and  by,  he  bears  his  title 
of  King;  yea,  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 
This  phrase,  the  kings  of  ^  earth,  signifies  their 
power  and  multitude,  and  also  the  nature  of  their 
kingdom.  It  became  the  Divine  Majesty  to  call  them 
kings  with  a  limitation ;  especially  in  this  manifesto 
from  his  heavenly  kingdom.  For  no  creature,  much 
less  a  sinful  man,  can  bear  the  title  of  king  in  an 
absolute  sense,  before  the  eyes  of  God.  To  him  thai 
loved  us,  and — Out  of  that  free,  abundant  love,  hath 
washed  us  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  our  sins  wiih 
his  own  blood  ;  And  hath  made  us  kings — Partakers 
Of  his  present,  and  heirs  of  his  etemid  kingdom;  and 
priests  unto  God  and  his  Father— To  whom  we 
continually  offer  ourselves,  a  holy,  living  sacrifice ; 
to  him  be  the  glory— For  his  love  and  redemption; 
and  the  might — Whereby  he  governs  all  things. 

Verse  7.  Behold^In  this  and  the  next  verse  are 
the  proposition  and  the  summary  of  the  whole  book. 
He  oometh—JesQB  Christ  Throughout  this  book, 
whenever  it  is  said  He  cometh,  h  means  his  glorious 
coming.  The  preparation  for  this  began  at  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  and  more  particularly  at  the 
time  of  writing  this  book,  and  goes  on  without  any 
interruption,  till  that  grand  event  is  accomplished. 
Therefore  it  is  never  said  in  this  book,  He  will  come, 
but,  He  comieth.  And  yet  it  is  not  said,  He  cometh 
again.  For  when  he  came  before,  it  was  joot  like 
himself^  but  in  the  form  of  a  servant.  But  his  ap- 
pearing in  ^ory  is,  properly,  his  coming;  namely, 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  every 
ey«— Of  the  Jews  in  particular;  shall  see  Aim— But 
with  what  different  emotions,  according  as  they  had 
received  or  rejected  liim!  And  they  who  have 
pierced  him— They,  above  all,  who  pierced  his 
hands,  oc  feet,  or  side.    Thiwias  saw  the  prints  of 

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CHAPTER  I. 


is  Alpha  and  Omegal 


A.  M.  4100.    8  ^  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 

'. —   begmning  and  the  ending,  saith  the 

Lord,  'which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which 
is  to  come,  the  Ahn^hty. 
9  I  John,  who  also  am  your  brother,  and 

•Isa.  zli  4 ;  zlir.  0 ;  zlTiiL  12:  Yene  17 ;  Clwp. ii.  8;  cd.  0; 
xzii.  13. '  Yene  4 ;  Chap.  tr.  8 ;  xi.  11 ;  zvi.  5. 

these  wounds,  eren  after  his  resurrection.  And  the 
same,  undoubtedly,  will  be  seen  by  all,  when  he 
cometh  in  the  clouds  of  heaven ;  and  they  that  con- 
demned him  shall  be  arraigned  at  his  tribunal  And 
all  the  tribes  of  the  eor/A— The  word  tribes,  in  the 
Revelation,  generally  means  the  Israelites;  but 
where  another  word,  such  as  noHons,  or  people,  is 
joined  with  it,  it  imjdies  likewise,  (as  here,)  all  the 
rest  of  mankind.  Shall  vfail  because  ofhim^For 
terror  and  pain,  if  they  did  not  wail  before  by  true 
repentance ;  even  all  who  have  rejected  his  govern- 
ment and  opposed  his  interest,  shall  lament  the  fatal 
opposition,  l^  which,  instead  of  prevailing  in  the 
least  against  him,  they  have  only  effected  their  own 
destruction.  In  this  verse  is  prefixed  the  great  mo- 
ral, which  the  whole  book  is  designed  to  illustrate ; 
namely,  that  though  there  should  be  great  opposition 
made  against  the  cause  and  kingdom  of  Clirist,  yet 
it  should  be  utteiiy  in  vam,  and  his  kingdom  should 
triumph  in  the  most  illustrious  manner,  so  that  all 
who  opposed  it  should  have  the  greatest  reason  to 
mourn.  And  as  this  series  of  divine  prophecy  begins, 
so  it  ends  with  this  sentiment,  and  with  the  joyful 
consent  of  his  faithful  servants  to  this  glorious  truth, 
which  should  fill  the  enemies  of  Christ  with  both 
terror  and  dismay.  Yea,  amen— This  refers  to, 
every  eye  shall  see  him.  He  that  cometh  saith. 
Yea;  he  that  testifies  it,  Amen.  The  word  trans- 
lated yea  is  Greek,  amen  is  Hebrew ;  for  what  is 
here  spoken  respects  both  Jew  and  Grentile. 

Verse  8.  lam  Alpha  and  Omega,  saith  the  Lord 
— Alpha  is  the  first.  Omega  the  last  letter  in  the 
Greek  alphabet.  Let  his  enemies  boast  and  rage 
ever  so  much  in  the  intermediate  time,  yet  he  is  both 
,  the  Alpha,  or  beginning,  and  the  Omega,  (n  end,  of 
all  things.  Grotius  and  Bengelius  read,  ^eyet  Kvpioc 
0  ^eoc,  saith  the  Lord  God  a  reading  with  which 
the  Vulgate  accords^  having,  it  seems,  understood 
the  verse  as  spoken  by  the  Father.  Accordingly 
Bengelius's  note  is,  "  God  is  the  beginning,  as  he  is 
the  Author  and  Creator  of  all  things,  and  as  he  pro- 
poses, declares,  and  promises  such  great  things.  He 
is  the  end,  as  he  brings  all  the  things  which  are  here 
revealed  to  a  complete  and  glorious  conclusion. 
Again,  the  beginning  and  end  of  a  thing  is,  in  Scrip- 
tore,  styled  the  whole  thing.  Therefore,  God  is  the 
Alj^  and  the  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end; 
thai  is,  one  who  is  all  things,  and  always  the  same." 
See  Wesley.  It  will,  however,  as  Doddridge  ob- 
serves, be  difficult  to  give  sufficient  proof  that  the 
words  of  this  verse  were  spoken  by  the  Father. 
^  Most  of  the  phrases  which  are  here  used  concern- 
ing this  glorious  Person,  are  afterward  used  concern- 
iag  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  witrroKpantp,  almighty, 
b 


^companion  in  tribulation,  and  'in  a.m. 4100. 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  — 1—! — 
Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos, 
*for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  Christ 


7  PhiL  L  7 ;  iv.  14;  2  Tim.  L  8. 'Rom.  riiL  17 ;  2  Tim.  iL 

12. »Cluip.  t19;  Verse  2. 


though  in  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  earliest  ages  it 
is  generally  appropriated  to  the  Father,  may,  accord- 
ing to  the  Syriac  version,  be  rendered.  He  uho  holds  ; 
that  is,  superintends,  supports,  and  governs  all;  and 
then  it  is  applied  to  Christ,  Col.  L  17;  Heb.  i.  3.  But 
if,  after  all,  the  words  should  be  understood  as  spoken 
byihe  Father,  our  Lord's  applying  so  many  of  these 
titles  afterward  to  himself,  plainly  proves  his  partak- 
ing with  the  Father  in  the  glory  peculiar  to  the  di- 
vine nature,  and  incommunicable  to  any  creature." 
See  Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  p.  175. 

Verse  9.  IJohn— The  mstruction  and  preparation 
of  the  apostle  for  the  work  are  describ^  from  the 
9th  to  the  20th  verse :  your  brother^-Jn  the  common 
fedth:  and  companion  in  trtbukUien^-For  the  same 
book  peculiarly  belongs  to  those  who  are  under  the 
cross.  It  was  given  to  a  banished  man ;  and  men  in 
affliction  imderstand  and  relish  it  most.  Accord- 
ingly, it  was  little  esteemed  by  the  Asiatic  churches 
after  the  time  of  Constantine ;  but  highly  valued  by 
all  the  African  churches;  as  it  lias  been  since  by  all 
the  persecuted  children  of  God.  In  the  tribulation, 
and  kihgdom,  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ — The 
kingdom  stands  in  the  midst  It  is  chiefly  under 
various  afflictions  that  faith  obtains  its  part  in  the 
kingdom.  And  whosoever  is  partaker  of  this  king- 
dom, is  not  afraid  to  suffer  for  Jesus,  2  Tim.  ii.  12. 
Itpas  in  the  isle  that  4s  called  Paimos-^A  desolate 
island  in  the  Archipelago,  now  called  Palmosa, 
mountainous,  but  moderately  fruitful,  especially  in 
wheat  and  pulse,  though  defective  in  other  commo- 
dities. The  whole  circumference  of  the  island  is 
about  thirty  miles;  and  on  one  of  its  mountains 
stands  a  town  of  the  same  name,  having  on  the  top 
of  it  a  monastery  of  Greek  monks }  and  on  the  north 
side  of  the  town  the  inhabitants,  by  tradition,  show  a 
house  in  which  the  Apocal3rpse  was  written,  and, 
not  far  off,  the  cave  where  it  was  revealed ;  both 
places  of  great  esteem  and  veneration  with  the 
Greeks  and  Latins.  To  this  island,  after  he  had 
cx)me  unhurt  out  of  a  caldron  of  boiling  oil,  he  was 
banished  ybr  the  word  of  God — Namely,  for  preach- 
ing it ;  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus— For  testifying 
that  he  is  the  Christ:  in  other  words,  he  was  ban- 
ished for  the  confession  of  the  gospel.  This,  accord- 
uig  to  the  testimony  of  Iremeus,  who  was  the  dis- 
ciple of  Polycarp,  who  had  been  the  disciple  of  St 
John,  was  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Domitian ; 
and,  if  we  may  credit  ecclesiasticsd  history,  he  was 
here  employed  in  digging  in  a  mine.  But  the  histo- 
rical evidence  produced  foi*  this  is  very  uncertain. 
One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  that  it  was  in  this 
island  he  received  the  wonderful  discoveries  which 
make  the  subjects  of  this  book.  There^hesaw  and 
701 


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and  i^  ki^  virion  qf  ChriHk 


A.  M.  4100.  10  ^Iwas  in  the  3pirit  oa  ""the 
^*  ^'  ^^  Lord's  day,  and  heard  behiad  me 
^  a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet, 

11  Saying,  •!  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  'the 
first  and  the  last  :  and,  What  thou  seest, 
write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  sevai 
churches  which  are  in  Asia  ;  unto  Ephe- 
8us.  and  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto  Pergamos, 
and  unto  Thyatira,   and   unto   Sardis,  and 


>»  Act!  X.  10;  2  Cor,  xU.  2;  Chaju  It.  2;  xvii.  3;  xxi.  10. 

«  John  XX.  26 ;  AcU  xx.  7 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  2. '  Chap.  iv.  I ;  x.  a 

•  Verse  9. 

wrote  all  that  follows.  And  it  was  a  place  peculiarly 
proper  for  these  visions*  He  had  over  against  him, 
at  a  small  distance,  Asia  and  the  seven  churches; 
going  on  eastward,  Jerusalem  and  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan; and  beyond  this,  Antioch,  yea,  the  whole 
continent  of  Asia.  To  the  west  he  had  Rome,  Italy, 
and  all  Europe,  swimming  as  it  were  in  the  sea;  to 
the  sonth  Alexandria  and  the  Nile,  with  its  outlets; 
Egypt  and  all  Africa ;  and  to  the  north,  what  was 
afterward  called  Constantinople,  on  the  straits  be- 
tween Europe  and  Asia.  So  he  had  all  the  three 
parts  of  the  world  which  were  then  known,  with 
Christendom,  as  it  were  before  his  eyes:  a  large 
theatre,  for  all  the  various  scenes  which  were  to 
pass  before  him :  as  if  thb  island  had  been  made 
principally  for  this  end,  to  serve  as  an  observatory 
for  the  apostle. 

Verses  10,  11.  I  was  in  the  SpirU — That  is,  in  a 
trance,  a  prophetic  vision ;  so  overwhelmed  with  the 
power,  and  filled  with  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  to  be  insensible  of  outward  things,  and  tvhqlly 
taken  up  with  spiritual  and  divine.  "What  follows  is 
one  single,  connected  vision,  which  St  John  saw  in 
one  day :  and  therefore  he  Uiat  Would  understand  it 
should  carry  his  thoughts  straight  on  through  the 
whole,  without  interruption.  The  other  prophetic 
books  are  collections  of  distinct  prophecies,  given 
upon  various  occasions.  But  here  is  one  single 
treatise,  whereof  all  the  parts  exactly  depend  on 
each  other.  Chap.  iv.  1,  is  connected  with  chap. 
L  19.  And  what  is  delivered  in  the  4th  chapter  goes 
on  directly  to  the  22d.  On  the  LorcPe  day—On  this 
our  Lord  rose  from  the  dead.  On  this  the  ancients 
believed  he  would  come  to  judgment  It  was  there- 
fore with  the  utmost  propriety  that  St  John  on  this 
day  both  saw  and  described  his  coming.  And  I 
Jieard  behind  me — St  John  had  his  face  to  the  east: 
our  Lord  likewise,  in  this  appearance,  looked  east- 
ward toward  Asia,  whither  the  apostle  was  to  write: 
a  greai  voice  as  of  a  trumpet — ^Which  was  pecu- 
liarly proper  to  proclaim  the  coming  of  the  great 
King,  and  his  victory  over  all  his  enemies.  /  am 
Alpha  and  OmegOy  &c.— That  these  titles  should  be 
repeated  so  soon,  in  a  connection  which  demon- 
strates they  are  given  to  Christ,  will  appear  very 
remarkable,  whatever  sense  be  given  to  the  8th 
verse.  The  argument  drawn  in  the  preceding  note 
upon  it  would  have  been  strong,  wherever  such  a 
passage  as  this  had  been  found;  but  its  immediate 
71» 


unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodi-  A.  M.  4ioa 
■            '                        A.  Jt).  9a 
cea.  . 

12  And  I  turned  tasee  the  voice  that  spake 
with  me.  And  being  turned,  'J  saw  aeven 
gdden  candlesticks ; 

13  ^  And  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candle- 
sticks '  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  ^  clothed 
with  a  gannait  down  to  the  foot,  and  ^giri 
about  the  pape  with  a  golden  girdle. 


'Verse  17. r Verse  20;    Exod.  xxr.  37;    Zech.  ir.  2. 

»»Cbap.  ii.  1. 1  Ezek.  i.  26;    Dan.  viL  13;  x.  16. ^Dzu. 

X.  5. *  Chsp.  XV.  6. 


connection  with  this  greatly  strengthens  it.  "And 
I,"  says  Doddridge,  "cannot  forbear  recording  il^ 
that  this  text  has  done  more  than  any  other  in  the 
Bible  toward  preventiug  me  from  giving  into  that 
scheme  which  would  make  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
no  more  than  a  deified  creaitireJ^  And,  What  thou 
se^est,  and  hearest,  write — He  both  saw  and  heard. 
This  command  extends  to  the  whole  book.  All  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  were  written  by  the 
will  of  God :  but  none  were  so^xpressly  commanded 
to  be  written;  in  a  book—So  all  the  revelation  is 
but  one  book :  nor  did  the  letter  to  the  angel  of  each 
church  belong  to  him  or  his  church  only,  but  the 
whole  book  was  sent  to  them  all :  and  e&nd  it  unto 
tJie  eeven  c^im^A^t^Hereafter  named ;  and  through 
them  to  all  churches,  in  all  ages  and  nations.  To 
Ephesus — Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  who,  in  the  year  1(01, 
travelled  through  all  these  cities,  observes,  that  from 
Ephesus  to  Sm3rrna  is  forty-six  English  miles;  from 
Smyrna  to  Pergamos,  sixty-four ;  from  Pergamos  to 
Thyatira,  fortyrcight;  from  Thyatira  to  Sardis, 
thirty-three ;  from  Sardis  to  Philadelphia,  twenty- 
seven;  and  from  Philadelphia  to  Laodicea,  about 
forty-two  miles. 

Verses  12-16.  And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice— ThtX 
is,  to  see  him  whose  voice  it  was ;  and  being  turned^ 
I  saw — It  seems  the  vision  presented  itself  gra- 
dually. First,  he  heard  a  voice,  and  upon  looking 
behind  him  he  saw  the  golden  candlesticks^  and  then, 
in  the  midst  q/*  the  candlesticks,  which  were  placed  . 
in  a  circle,  he  saw  one  like  the  Son  ofmanr—Th^t  is, 
one  in  a  human  form.  As  a  man,  likewise,  our 
Lord  doubtless  appears  in  heaven ;  though  not  ex- 
actly in  this  symbolical  manner,  wherein  he  pre- 
sents himself  as  the  Head  of  his  church.  He  next 
observed  that  our  Lord  was  clothed  with  a  garment 
down  to  the  fiot,  and  girt  with  a  golden  girdle^^ 
Such  the  Jewish  high-priests  wore.  But  both  of 
them  are  here  marks  of  royal  dignity  likewise;  girt 
about  at  the  breast— He  that  is  on  a  journey  girds 
his  loins.  Girding  the  breast  was  an  emblem  of  so- 
lemn rest  It  seems  that  the  apostle,  having  seen 
all  this,  looked  up  (o  behold  the  face  of  our  Lord ; 
but  was  beat  back  by  Ibe  appearance  of  his  ^ming 
eyes,  which  occasioned  his  more  particularly  observ- 
ing his  feet  Receiving  ^strengUi  to  raise  his  eyes 
again,  he  saw  the  stars  in  his  right  hai^d,  and  the 
sword  coming  out  of  his  mouth:  but  upon  beholding 
the  brightness  of  his  glorious  countenance,  (which 

D 


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CHAPTER  I. 


and  of  the  eeven  $tar$. 


▲.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  96. 


14  Hb  head  and  ™  hia  hairs  were 
white  tike  wool^  as  white  as  snow; 
and  ^  his  eyes  wercm  a  flame  of  jfire ; 

15  ®  And  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they 
bumed  in  a  furnace ;  and  ^  his  voice  as  the 
sound  of  many  waters. 

16  ^AnSi  he  had  in  his  right  hand  seven 
stars :  and  'out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two- 
edged  sword : '  and  his  countenance  was  as  the 
sun  shineth  in  his  strength. 

■  Dan.  vii.  9. "  Dan.  x.  6 ;  Chap,  ii  18 ;  xix.  18. »  Exek. 

i.  7;  Dan.  x.  6  j  Chap.  ii.  18. p  Ezek.  xliii.  2;  Dan.  x.  6  ; 

Ohap.  xir.  2 ;  xix.  6. — -^  Verse  20 ;  Chap.  ii.  1 ;  iii.  1. '  Isa. 

xlix.  2 ;  Eph-  ri.  17 ;  Heb.  ir.  12.— ->  Acts  xxvi  13 ;  Chap.  x.  1. 


probably  waa  much  increased  since  the  first  glance 
the  apostle  had  of  it,)  he  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead. 
During  the  time  that  St.  John  was  discovering  these 
several  particulars,  our  Lord  seems  to  have  been 
speaking.  And  doubtless  even  his  voice,  at  the  very 
first,  bespoke  the  God ;  though  not  so  insupportably 
as  his  glorious  appearance.  His  head  and  his  hairs 
—That  is,  the  Jiairs  of  his  head^  not  his  whole  head ; 
were  white  as  white  wool—Like  the  Ancient  of 
Days,  represented  in  Daniel's  vision,  chap.  vii.  9. 
Wool  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  an  emblem  of 
eternity ;  as  snow — Betokening  his  spotless  purity ; 
and  his  eyes  as  aflame  of  fire — Piercing  through  all 
things:  a  token  of  his  omniscience.  And  his  feet 
like  fine  ftrctw— Denoting  his  stability  and  strength ; 
as  if  they  bumed  in  a  furnace— As  if,  having  been 
melted  and  refined,  they  were  still  red  hot;  and  his 
voice — To  the  comfort  of  his  friends,  and  the  terror 
of  his  enemies ;  as  the  voice  ofma^ny  waters — Roar- 
ing aloud,  and  bearing  down  all  before  them.  And 
he  had  in  his  right  hand  seven  stars— In.  token  of 
his  favour  and  powerful  protection.  And  out  of  his 
motUh  went  a  sharp  two-edged  fiooni— Signifying 
his  justice  and  righteous  anger,  continually  pointed 
against  his  enemies  as  a  sword,  sharp^  to  stab;  two- 
edged^  to  hew.  And  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun 
shineth  in  his  strength — Without  any  mist  or  cloud. 
Verses  17,  IS.  And  when  I  saw  hirn^ln  this  aw- 
ful, this  glorious,  and  resplendent  form,  I  was  per- 
fectly overwhelmed  with  the  m^esty  of  his  appear- 
ance, so  that  I  feli  at  his  feet  as  dead^Human 
nature  not  being  able  to  sustain  so  glorious  an  ap- 
pearance. Thus  was  he  prepared,  (like  Daniel  of 
old,  whom  he  particularly  resembles,)  for  receiving 
so  weighty  a  prophecy.  A  great  sinking  of  nature 
usually  precedes  a  large  communication  of  heavenly 
things.  St.  John,  before  our  Lord  sulTered,  was  so 
intimate  with  him  as  to  lean  on  his  breast,  to  lie  in 
his  bosom.  Yet  now,  near  seventy  years  after,  the 
aged  apostle  is  by  one  glance  struck  to  the  ground. 
What  a  glory  must  this  be !  Ye  sinners,  be  afraid. 
Cleanse  your  hands.  Purify  your  hearts.  Ye  saints, 
be  humble.  Prepare.  R^oice.  But  rejoice  unto 
him  with  reverence.  An  increase  of  reverence  to- 
wud  this  awful  Majesty  can  be  no  prejudice  to  your 
faitb.  Let  all  petolaney,  with  all  vain  curiosity,  be 
Su  away,  while  yoa  are  thinking  or  reading  of  these 
b 


17  And  *  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  a  m.  4ioo. 
his  feet  as  dead.    And  «  he  laid  his  .^'^'^ 


right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto  me,  Fear  not] 
'  I  am  the  first  and  the  last : 

18  ^  lam  he  diat  liveth,  and  was  dead ;  and 
l^ehold,  *  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen ;  and 
»  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death. 

19  Write  **  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen, 
"^  and  the  things  which  are,  ^  and  the  things 
which  shall  be  hereafter : 


«Ezek.  i.  28. »Dap.  viii.  18  ;  x.  10. «l«a.  xli.4;  xliv. 

6;  xlviii.  12;  Chap.  ii.  8:  xxii.  13;  Verse  11. t  Rom,  vi  9. 

■  Chap.  iv.  9 ;  T.  14. *  Psa.  Ixviii.  29 ;  Chap.  xx.  I. »» YejmB 

12,  &c. c  Chap.  ii.  1,  &<j. *  Chap.  iv.  1,  &c. 


things.  And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me — The 
same  wherein  he  held  thc^  seven  stars.  What  did 
St  John  then  feel  in  himself?  Saying^  Fear  not-^ 
His  look  terrifies,  his  speech  strengthens.  He  does 
not  call  John  by  name,  (as  the  angel  did  Zachariah 
and  others,)  but  spoke  as  his  well-known  Master. 
What  follows  is  also  spoken  to  strengthen  and  en- 
courage him.  /  am — When  in  his  state  of  humilia- 
tion he  spoke  of  hb  glory,  he  frequently  spoke  in 
the  third  person,  as  Matt  xxvi.  64,  but  he  now  speaks 
of  his  own  glory  without  any  veil,  in  plain  and  di- 
rect terms.  The  first  and  the  tof— That  is,  the 
eternal  God,  who  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting, 
Isa.  xli.  4.  /  am  he  that  liveth— Another  peculiar 
title  of  God ;  and  I  have  the  keys  of  death  and  of, 
hell-— Or  hades,  ihsX  is,  the  invisible  world;  in  the 
intermediate  state  the  body  abides  in  death,  the  soul 
in  hades.  Christ  hath  the  keys  of,  that  is,  the  power 
over  both,  killing  or  quickening  of  the  body,  and 
disposing  of  the  soul  as  it  pleaseth  him.  He  gave 
St.  Peter  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  not 
the  keys  of  death  or  of  Trades.  How  comes  then  his 
supposed  successor  at  Rome  by  the  keys  of  purga- 
tory? It  must  be  allowed  that  a^^^heuies,  some- 
times signifies  the  grave;  but,  as  Mr.  Howe  has 
largely  proved  in  his  excellent  discourse  on  this 
text,  the  interpretation  here  given  is  most  reasonable. 
That  which  would  refer  it  to  hell,  as  the  seat  of  the 
damned,  limits  the  sense  in  a  manner  very  deroga- 
tory from  the  honour  of  our  Lord,  as  he  there  shows 
unanswerably.  According  to  Grotius,  (in  his  note 
on  Matt.  xvL  18,)  the  word  odi/f  always  denotes 
either  death,  or  the  state  after  death.  Our  English, 
or  rather  Saxon  word,  JuU,  in  its  original  significa- 
tion, (though  it  is  now  understood  in  a  more  limited 
sense,)  exactly  answers  to  the  Greek  word  adjj^,  and 
denotes  a  concealed  or  unseen  place,  and  this  sense 
of  the  word  is  still  retained  in  the  eastern,  and  espe- 
cially iji  the  western  counties  of  England ;  for  to 
hele  over  a  thing,  is  to  cover  it  From  the  preceding 
description  mostly  are  taken  the  titles  given  to 
Christ  in  the  following  letters,  particularly  the  first 
four. 

Verses  19,  2a    WriU   the   things   which  thou 

hast  veeii^- Contained  in  this  chapter,  which  accord- 

mgly  are  written,  chap.  i.  11-18:  and  the  thingM 

which  are^The  instructions  relating  to  the  present 

TO 


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Ti&e  mfHery  of  the  eatndU$iick$ 


REVELATION. 


a$td  of  ike  seven  etare  explained. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  99. 


20  The  mystery  *of  the  seven  stars 
which  thou  sawest  in  ray  right  hand, 
'  and  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.   The  seven 


•  Vci»e  la '  VeiM  12. f  Mat  ii.  7  ;  Chap.  iL  1,  dee. 

state  of  the  seven  churches ;  these  are  written  chap. 
iL  1-29 ;  iii.  1-22 ;  and  which  ehall  be  hereafter-^ 
The  future  events  which  begin  to  be  exhibited  in 
the  fourth  chapter,  where  (verse  1)  it  is  said,  Come 
up  hither^  and  I  will  show  thee  things  which  must  [ 
be  hereafter^  namely,  to  the  end  of  the  world.     The  | 
mystery— Th^  mysterious  meaning ;  of  the  seven  ^ 
starsSt  John  knew  better  than  we  do,  in  how  j 
many  respects  these  stars  were  a  proper  emblem  of 
those  angels ;  how  nearly  they  resembled  each  other, 
and  how  far  they  differed  in  magnitude,  brightness, 
and  other  circumstances.    The  seven  stars  are  the 
angels  of  the  seven  churches— Mentioned  in  the 
eleventh  verse.    In  each  church  there  was  one  pas- 
tor or  ruling  minister,  to  whom  all  the  rest  were 


stars  are  'the  angds  of  the  seven  A.M. 4ioa 
churches:   and  ^the  seven  candle-         '^' 


sticks  which  thou  sawest  are  the  seven  churches. 

kZech.  IT.  2;  Matt.  t.  15;  PhiL  u.  IS. 

'         — ^ 

subordinate.  This  pastor,  bidiop,  or  overseer,  had 
the  peculiar  care  over  that  Hock :  on  hiih  the  [Mroe- 
perity  of  that  congregation  in  a  great  measure  de- 
pended; and  he  was  to  answer  for  all  those  souls 
at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  And  the  seven  can-- 
dlesticks  are  seven  cAurdiet— How  significant  an 
emblem  is  thisl  For  a  candlestick,  ihongh  of  gold, 
has  no  light  of  itself;  neither  has  any  church,  or 
child  of  man.  But  they  receive  from  Christ  the 
light  of  truth,  holiness,  comfort,  that  it  may  shine  to 
an  around  them.  As  soon  as  this  was  spoken,  St 
John  wrote  it  down,  even  all  that  is  contained  in  this 
first  chapter.  Afterward,  what  was  contained  in  the 
second  and~third  chapters,  was  dictated  to  him  in 
like  manner. 


CHAPTER  n. 

In  this  and  the  following  chapter,  the  state  of  the  seven  churches  in  Ana,  at  the  time  of  the  vision,  is  described,  as  to  what 
was  commendable  and  deserved  encouragement,  and  what  was  faulty  and  called  for  reproof  and  reformation.  This  part 
of  the  prophecy,  which  is  designed  to  show  the  constant  care  of  Christ  over  his  church,  is  contained  in  seven  letters,  endited 
by  Christ,  and  written  by  John,  to  the  pastors  of  the  Asian  churches,  that  they  might  transmit  them  to  their  people, — com- 
mending, reproving,  warning,  and  encouraging  them,  as  their  present  state  required  ;  and  intimating  %ekajt  mercies  or 
judgments  they  might  expect,  according  to  their  future  conduct.  Four  of  those  letters  are  contained  in  this  chapter,  namely^ 
one  to  each  of  the  following  churches ;  to  that  at  Mphesus,  1t7  ;  that  at  Smyrna,  S-11 ;  that  at  Pergamos,  12-17;  and 
thai  at  Thyatira,  18-29. 

*he  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  A.  M.  4100. 
his  right  hand,  **  who  walketh  in  the      '    — 


A.  M..4100.  TJNTO  the  angel  of  the  church  of 
! — L         Ephesus  write :  These  things  saith 


•  Chap.  i.  16,  20. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  H. 

Of  the  following  letters  to  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches  it  may  be  necessary  to  speak  first  in  gene- 
ral, and  then  particulariy.  In  general  we  may  ob- 
serve, when  the  Israelites  were  to  receive  the  law  at 
mount  Sinai,  they  were  first  to  be  purified.  And 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  was  at  hand,  John  the 
Baptist  prepared  men  for  it  by  repentance.  In  like 
manner  these  letters  were  designed  to  prepare  these 
churches  for  the  worthy  reception  of  this  glorious 
revelation.  By  following  ^e  directions  given  therein, 
by  expelling  incorrigibly  wicked  men,  and  putting 
away  aU  wickedness,  they  were  prepared  to  receive 
the  precious  depositum.  And  whatever  church  or 
individual  person,  in  any  age  or  nation,  would  profit- 
ably read  or  hear  the  contents  of  this  book,  must 
observe  the  same  admonitions.  These  letters  are  a 
kind  of  seven-fold  preface  to  the  book.  Christ  now 
appears  in  the  form  of  a  man,  (not  yet  under  the 
emblem  of  a  lamb,)  and  speaks  mostly  in  proper,  not 
in  figurative  words.  It  is  not  till  chap.  iv.  1,  that  St. 
John  enters  upon  that  grand  vision  which  takes  up 
the  residue  of  the  book. 

There  is  in  each  of  these  letters,  Ist,  A  command 
704 


*Chap.  i.  is; 


to  write  to  the  angel  of  the  church.  2d,  Some  cha- 
racter and  attribute  of  the  speaker,  taken  finom  the 
vision  in  the  first  chapter,  and  impropriated  to  the 
matter  of  each  epistle,  dd,  An  address  to  the  angel 
of  the  church,  containing  a  testimony  of  his  good, 
bad,  or  mixed  state;  commendations  or  reproofs, 
with  suitable  promises  or  threatenings,  and  an  ex- 
hortation to  repentance  or  steadfastness:  and  then 
in  all  the  same  conclusion.  He  that  hoik  an  ear^  &c. 
The  address  in  each  letter  is  expressed  in  plain 
wonls,the  promises  in  figurative.  In  the  address  our 
Lord  speaks  to  the  angel  of  each  church  which  then 
was,  and  to  the  members  thereoi;  directly ;  whereas 
in  the  promise  he  speaks  of  all  that  should  overcome, 
in  whatever  church  or  age,  and  deals  out  to  them 
one  of  the  precious  promises  (by  way  of  anticipatjcm) 
from  the  last  chapters  of  the  book. 

"These  seven  churches,"  says  Bidiop  Newton, 
"  are  addressed  particularly,  because  they  were  un- 
der John's  immediate  inspection;  he  constituted 
bishops  or  pastors  over  them ;  he  was,  as  it  were, 
their  metropolitan,  and  resided  much  at  Ephesus, 
which  is  therefore  named  the  first  of  the  seven. 
Many  contend,  and  amoiig  them  such  learned  men 

b 


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LMer  io  the  angd  of  the 


CHAPTER  n. 


church  at  Ephesue. 


A.  H.  4100.  midst  of  the  seven  eotden  candlesticks; 

A  D   06. 

'. 2  <»  I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  la- 


•Pm  l0;  Yenesd,  13, 


as  More  and  Vitringa,  that  the  seven  epistles  are 
prophetical  q{  so  Biany  successive  periods  and  states 
of  the  church,  from  the  beginning  to  the  conclusion 
of  bH  But  there  are  in  these  epistles  several  innate 
characters,  which  are  peculiar  to  the  church  of  that 
age,  and  cannot  iye  so  well  applied  to  the  church  of 
any  other  age.  Besides  other  arguments,  there  b 
also  this  plain  reason ;  the  last  state  of  the  church  is 
described  in  thb  very  book  as  the  most  glorious  of 
all,  but  in  the  last  state  in  these,  epistles,  that  of  La- 
odicea,  the  church  is  represented  as  wretched,  and 
miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked.  But 
though  these  epistles  have  rather  a  literal  than  a 
mystical  meaning,  yet  they  contain  excellent  pre- 
cepts and  exhortations,  commendations  and  reproofs, 
promises  and  threatenings,  which  may  be  of  use  and 
instruction  to  the  church  in  all  ages.  And  indeed, 
what  the  Spirit  saith  to  one  church,  he  saitb,  in  some 
measure,  to  all  the  churches."  For  there  can  be  no 
state,  either  of  any  pastor,  church,  or  single  person, 
which  has  not  here  suitable  instructions.  All^  whe- 
ther ministers  or  hearers,  together  with  their  secret 
or  open  enemies,  in  all  places  and  all  ages,  may 
draw  hence  necessary  self-knowledge,  reproof^  com- 
mendation, warning,  or  confirmation.  Whether  any 
be  as  dead  as  the  angel  of  Sardis,  or  as  much  alive 
as  the  angel  at  Philadelphia,  this  book  is  sent  to  him, 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  something  to  say  to  him 
therein.  For  the  seven  churches,  with  their  angels, 
represent  the  whole  Christian  Church  dispersed 
throughout  the  whole  world  as  it  subsists,  not  in  one 
age  aAcr  another,  but  in  every  age.  This  is  a  point 
of  deep  importance,  and  always  necessary  to  be  re- 
membered ;  that  these  seven  churches  are,  as  it  were, 
a  sample  of  the  whole  church  of  Christ  as  it  was 
then,  as  it  is  now,  and  as  it  will  be,  more  or  less,  in 
all  ages. 

Verse  L  Unto  the  angel — That  is,  to  the  pastor, 
presiding  elder,  or  bishop,  called  an  angel  because 
he  was  God's  messenger  (as  the  word  angel  signi- 
fies) to  the  people,  or  his  minister  appointed  to  serve 
them.  "  That  there  was  one  pastor,"  says  Doddridge, 
"  who  presided  in  each  of  these  churches,  is  indeed 
evident  from  the  expression  here  used ;  but  that  he 
was  a  diocesan  bishop,  or  had  several  congregations 
of  Christians  under  his  care,  can  by  no  means  be 
proved.  Nar  is  there  the  least  hint  of  it  in  any  of 
these  epistles."  Of  the  church  of  Ephesus—Con- 
ceming  Ephesus,  see  note  on  Acts  xix.  1,  and  the 
preface  of  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  The  first 
letter  is  addressed  to  the  church  in  this  city,  as  it 
was  the  metropolis  of  the  Lydian  Asia,  and  the  place 
of  St.  John's  principal  residence.  According  to 
Stxabo,  it  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  glorious 
cities,  and  the  greatest  emporium  of  the  Proper  Asia. 
ll  was  called  by  Pliny  one  of  the  eyes  of  Asia, 
Smyrna  being  the  other ;  but  now,  as  eye-witnesses 
have  related,  it  is  venerable  for  nothing  but  the  ruins 
of  palaces,  temples,  and  amphitheatres.    It  Is  called 

Vol.  II.  f  45  ) 


hour,  and  thy  patience,  and  how  thou  i- M.  4094. 
canst  not  bear  them  which  are  evil ;  '- — 1 


IS;  Ch^.  ill.  1»  S,  15. 


by  the  Turks  Ajasaluk,  or  the  temple  of  the  moon, 
from  the  magnificent  structure  formerly  dedicated 
to  Diana,  l^e  church  of  St  Paul  is  whc^y  de- 
stroyed. The  little  which  remains  of  that  of  St. 
Mark  is  nodding  to  ruin.  The  only  church  remain- 
ing is  that  dedicated  to  St.  John,  which  is  now  con- 
verted into  a  Turkish  mosque.  The  whole  town  is 
nothing  but  a  habitation  for  herdsmen  and  farmers, 
living  in  low  and  humble  cottages  of  mud,  sheltered 
from  the  extremities  of  weather  by  mighty  masses 
of  ruinous  walls,  the  pride  and  ostentation  of  former 
days,  ahd  the  emblem  in  these  of  the  frailty  of  tlie 
world,  and  the  transient  vanity  of  human  glory. 
The  Rev.  H.  Lindsay,  Chaplain  to  the  Embassy  of 
Constantinople,  in  a  letter  to  the  British  and  Fcnreign 
Bible  Society,  relative  to  the  present  state  of  the 
Apocalyptic  churches,  dated  Jan.  10,  1816,  says, 
^'  The  town  consists  of  about  fifteen  poor  cottages.  I 
found  there  but  three  Christians,  two  brothers,  who 
keep  a  small  shop,  and  a  gardener.  They  are  all 
three  Greeks,  and  their  ignorance  is  lamentable  in- 
deed. In  that  place,  which  was  blessed  so  long  with 
an  apostle's  labours,  and  those  of  his  zealous  assist- 
ants, are  Christians  who  have  not  so  much  as  heard 
of  that  apostle,  or  seem  only  to  recognise  the  name 
of  Paul  as  one  in  their  calendar  of  saints.  One  of 
them  I  found  able  to  read  a  little,  and  left  with  him 
the  New  Testament  in  ancient  and  modem  Greek, 
which  he  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  read,  and 
promised  me  he  would  not  only  study  it  himself, 
but  lend  it  to  his  friends  in  the  neighbouring  villages :" 
so  strikingly  hath  the  denunciation  been  fulfilled, 
that  their  candlestick  should  be  removed  out  of  its 
place.  Wriie— So  Christ  dictated  to  him  every 
word.  These  things  saith  he  that  holdeth  the  seven 
stars  in  his  right  Jiand^To  signify  that  he  is  the 
great  support  of  his  muiistering  servants,  and  directs 
their  several  situations  and  motions  in  the  churches. 
Such  is  his  favour  to  them,  and  care  over  them,  that 
they  may  indeed  shine  as  stars,  both  by  purity  of 
doctrine  and  holiness  of  life.  Who  walketh — Ac- 
cordmg  to  his  promise,  /  am  with  you  always,  even 
to  the  end  of  the  world;  in  the  midst  of  the  golden 
candlefiicks-'BeholdmgiM  their  worksand  thoughts, 
and  ready  to  remove  the  candlestick  out  of  its  place, 
if  any,  being  warned,  will  not  repent.  Perhaps  here 
is  likewise  an  allusion  to  the  oflSce  of  the  priests  in 
dressing  the  lamps,  which  was  to  keep  them  always 
burning  before  the  Lord. 

Verses  2,3.  I  huno — Jesus  knows  all  the  good 
and  all  the  evil  which  his  servants  and  his  enemies 
suffer  and  do.  Weighty  words,  /  know !  How* 
dreadful  will  it  one  day  sound  to  the  wicked,  how 
sweet  to  tlie  righteous !  The  churches  and  their 
angels  must  have  been  astonished  to  find  their 
several  states  so  exactly  described,  even  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  apostle,  and  could  not  but  acknowledge 
the  all-seeing  eye  of  Christ  and  of  his  Spirit.  With 
regard  to  us,  to  every  one  of  us  also  he  saith,  I  know 
705  b 


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Letter  to  the  angel  of  the 


SEVELATION. 


chmrch  at  Epkeem, 


A.  M.  4100.  and  '  thou  hast  tried  them  *  whidi 

—LJ. say  they  are  apostles,  and  are  not; 

and  hast  found  them  liars : 

3  And  hast  borne,  and  hast  patience,  and  for 
my  name's  sake  hast  laboured,  and  hast  ^not 
£iinted. 

4  Nevertheless,   I   have  somewhat   against 


*i 


it.  L- 


•2  Cor.  xL  13;  2  Pet.  il  I, 


thy  works  !  Happy  is  he  that  conceives  leas  good 
of  himself,  than  Christ  knows  concerning  him !  The 
good  works,  which  are  the  proper  and  necessary 
fruits  of  iiodth,  are  here  intended.  See  on  1  Thess. 
i.  8;  James  iL  14-26.  And  thy  labour— 0(  love,  thy 
endeavours  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
present  and  everlasting  good  of  mankind ;  and  thy 
patience — In  bearing  persecution,  opposition,  and 
the  various  trials  to  which  thou  hast  been  exposed. 
And  how  thou  hast  such  zeal  for  the  honour  of  my 
gospel,  and  the  establishment  of  my  kingdom,  that 
thou  canst  not  bear  them  who  are  evil — Canst  Qot 
suffer  them  to  go  uncensured,  but  proceedest  against 
all  those  by  the  exercise  of  a  proper  discipline, 
whose  principles  or  practices  are  contrary  to  the 
gospel,  and  are  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  others. 
And  thou  haet  tried  them—By  my  word ;  (see  on 
1  John  iv.  1 ;)  wJio  say  they  are  apostles^  and  are  not 
—Who  make  false  pretensions  to  a  divine  mission, 
and  inspiration,  and  have  endeavoured  to  impose 
their  errors  on  others,  on  the  pretence  of  apostolical 
authority ;  and  hast  found  them  liars — Or  deceivers, 
and  accordingly  hast  rejected  their  pretensions  with 
a  becoming  disdain.  And  hast  6ome-^Endured  the 
contradiction  of  false  apostles,  and  much  opposition 
from  men  and  devils,  and  still  art  not  wearied  out, 
but  hast  patience,  and  perseverest,  and  for  my  name^s 
tfo/r^—That  is,  out  of  love  to  me,  and  with  a  view  to 
my  glory;  hast  laboured — In  opposing  error  and 
sin,  and  promoting  the  progress  of  truth  and  grace ; 
and  hast  not  fainted — Hitherto,  under  any  diffi- 
eolties  or  dangers,  trials  or  troubles,  which  thou 
hast  had  to  encounter. 

Verse  4.  Nevertheless,  I  have  somewhat  to  allege 
against  Mee— Exemplary  as  thou  art  in  many  re- 
spects; or,  as  somewhat  is  not  in  the  original,  the 
verse  may  be  properly  read,  /  have  against  thee 
that  thou  hast  left  thy  first  /or^—Namely,  the  zeal 
and  fervour  of  it,  which  thou  didst  manifest  to  me 
and  my  cause ;  that  love  for  which  the  church  at 
BphesQs  was  so  eminent  when  St  Paul  wrote  his 
epistle  to  them.  Neither  they  nor  their  pastors  need 
to  have  left  this;  they  might  have  retained  it  entire 
to  the  end.  And  they  did  retain  it  in  part,  otherwise 
there  could  not  have  remained  so  much  of  what  is 
eommendable  in  them.  But  they  had  not  kept,  as 
they  might  have  done,  the  first  tender,  affectionate 
love  in  its  vigour  and  warmth.  Reader,  has  the 
love  of  God,  of  Christ,  and  of  his  people,  been  shed 
sbroad  in  thy  heart?  And  hast  thou  retained  it  in 
an  its  fervour  and  efficaey?  If  not,  the  following 
oenortatton  is  addressed  to  thee.  '^  It  is  very  plain," 
■ays  Doddridge,  ^xhtX  these  epistles,  though  in- 
706 


thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  a.  m.  tisa 
r^                                        ^           A  J),  sc 
love.  

6  Remember,  therefore,  from  whence  thoa  ait 

frdlen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works*,  *or 

else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  wffl  le- 

move  thy  candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except 

thou  repent 


'OaLtLS;  Hel».zu.3,j 


rHatt.zzi4n4% 


scribed  to  the  angels  or  pastors  of  the  diurcfaes,  are 
directed  to  the  churches  themselvea,  asxepresented 
by  them.  Just  as  the  Jewish  Church  was  repre- 
sented by  Joshua  their  high-priest,  Zech.  iiL  1.  But 
it  is  not  improbable  that  where  some  of  the  churches 
are  blamed,  there  might  be  in  their  ministers  some 
faults  correspondent  to  those  charged  on  the  society ; 
and  particularly  that  the  zeal  of  this  minister  of 
Ephesus  might  l>e  declining.  There  is,  I  think,  no 
reason  to  be  anxious  with  regard  to  Timothy's 
character  on  this  account;  for  it  can  never  be  proved 
that  he  was  a  stated  pastor  oif  the  church  of  Ephesna, 
though  such  confident  things  have  been  said  con- 
cerning it  on  very  slender  foundations.'' 

Verse  5.  Remember  thereforey  &c — ^It  is  not  pos- 
sible for  any  church,  or  individual  Christian,  whether 
public  teacher  or  private  member,  that  has  lost  the 
first  love,  to  recover  it,  but  by  taking  the  three  steps 
here  spoken  of.  1st,  Remember;  2d,  Repent;  3d, 
Do  the  first  works.  Remember  from  whence  thou 
art  fallen— From  what  degree  ^f  faith,  love,  holi- 
ness, though  perhaps  insensibly ;  and  repent— HbYt 
a  deep  and  lively  conviction  of  thy  fall,  be  humbled 
and  truly  sorry  for  it  before  God,  earnestly  desiring 
to  be  pardoned  and  renewed,  and  bringing  forth 
fruits  worthy  of  repentance  in  all  respects ;  do  the 
first  iror/w— Outwardly  and  inwardly,  otherwise 
thou  canst  never  regain  the  first  love ;  or  else  thou 
must  expect  that  /  wiU  come  unto  thee  quickly— In 
some  awful  dispensations  of  providence.  By  this 
word  is  the  warning  sharpened  to  those  five  churches 
which  are  called  to  repent,  this  admonition  belong- 
ing equally  to  them ;  (for  if  Ephesus  was  threatened, 
how  much  more  shall  Sardis  and  Laodicea  be  afraid !) 
and  according  as  they  obey  the  call  or  not,  there  is 
a  promise  or  a  threatening,  chap.  ii.  5, 16, 22 ;  iil.  S,  20. 
But  even  in  the  threatening  the  promise  is  implied 
in  the  case  of  true  repentance.  And  wHl  remove  thy 
candlestick  out  of  its  place— This  threatening,  con- 
sidered as  addressed  to  the  angel  or  pastor  of  the 
church,  meant.  Unless  thou  repent,  I  will  remove 
the  flock  now  under  thy  care  to  another  place,  and 
put  it  under  the  care  of  another  pastor,  where  it  shall 
be  better  taken  care  of.  Considered  as  addressed  to 
the  church,  it  implies  that  It  should  no  longer  con- 
tinue to  be  a  church,  if  the  members  of  it  did  not 
endeavour  to  recover  their  lost  ground,  and  to  shine 
at  least  with  their  former  lustre ;  but  that  the  hedge 
of  discipline  should  be  broken  down,  and  the  light  of 
the  gospel  removed  from  them.  From  the  flourish- 
ing state  of  the  church,  however,  at  Ephesus,  for  a 
time  after  this,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  both 
the  pastor  and  his  flock  did  repent,  although,  not 
(  45*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  n. 


ckmxh  (U  Smyrna. 


A.]|.4U».    6  But  this   thou   hast,  that   thou 
hatest  the  deeds  of  ^  the  Nkdaitanes, 


whkh  lalsohate. 

7  ^  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  hjm  hear  what  the 

Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches ;  To  him  that 

overcometh  will  I  gi ve  ^  to  eat  of  Uhe  tree  of  Ufe, 


^Yene  15. >  Matt  xi.  15;  xiii.  9,  43;  Tenes  11, 17,  30 

Chap.  iu.  6»  13, 88;  xiii.  9. 


long  after,  they  declined  again,  and  fell  lower  than 
ever;  and  this  church,  with  the  other  churches  ad- 
dressed in  these  letters,  was  ruined  and  overthrown 
hy  heresies  and  divisions  from  within,  and  hy  the 
arms  of  the  Saracens  from  without  So  that  Moham- 
medanism prevails  and  prospers  in  all  those  coui^tries 
which  were  once  the  glory  of  Christendom,  their 
churches  being  turned!  nto  mosques,  and  their  wor- 
ship into  superstitions;  even  Ephesus,  which  was 
once  so  magnificent  and  glorious  a  city,  being  be- 
come, as  is  observed  on  verse  1,  a  mean,  sordid 
village,  with  scarcely  a  smgle  family  of  Christians 
dwelling  in  it. 

Verse  6.  5i*/— Or  nevertheless;  this  thou  hast — 
This  honour  and  praise  remaming;  divine  grace 
seeks  whatever  may  help  him  that  is  fallen  to  re- 
cover his  standing;  that  thou  hatest  the  deeds  of  the 
NicolaitaausS'  sect  so  called,  it  is  thought,  from  Ni- 
colas, one  of  the  seven  deacons  mentioned  Acts  vi.  5 ; 
according  to  ancient  writers,  their  doctrine  and  their 
lives  were  equally  corrupt  They  allowed  the  prac- 
tice of  the  most  abominable  lewdness  and  adulteries, 
as  well  as  sacrificing  to  idols;  all  which  they  placed 
among  things  indifferent,  and  pleaded  for  as  branches 
of  Christian  liberty. 

Verse  7.  He  that  haih  an  eoTj  let  him  hear — 
Every  man,  whoever  can  hear  at  all,  ought  care- 
fully to  hear  this;  what  the  Spirit  saith — In  these 
great  and  awful  threatenings,  and  in  these  encourag- 
ing and  precious  promises;  to  the  churches — And  in 
them  to  all  in  a  similar  state,  in  every  age  and  na- 
tion. To  him  that  overcomethr^KiB  spiritual  enemies, 
visible  and  invisible,  that  resi^  the  devil,  overcomes 
the  world,  crucifies  the  flesh,  and  conquers  every 
besetting  sin,  and  the  fear  of  death ;  that  goes  on 
from  faith  to  fiiith,  and  by  faith  to  full  victory  over 
all  opposing  power;  wiU  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of 
life— Tins  first  thing  promised  in  these  letters  is  the 
last  and  highest  in  the  accomplishment,  chap.  xxii. 
2, 14,  19 ;  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of 
d^oci--Namely,  the  paradise  above,  and  the  fhiit  of 
which  tree  gives  immortality ;  so  that  he  who  resides 
within  its  reach,  is  possessed  of  such  felicities  and 
delights  as  are  far  superior  to  those  which  Adam 
enjoyed  in  an  earthly  paradise,  though  in  a  state  of 
uncorrupted  and  perfect  innocence.  The  tree  of 
life  and  water  of  life  go  together,  chap.  xxii.  1, 2, 
both  implying  the  living  with  God  eternally.  In 
these  seven  letters  twelve  promises  are  contained, 
wnich  are  an  extract  of  aH  the  promises  of  God. 
Some  of  them  are  expressly  mentioned  again  in  this 
book,  as  the  hidden  manna,  the  inscription  of  the 
name  of  the  New  Jerusaieimy  the  sitting  upon  the 
b 


which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  a.  m.  4100. 
ofGod.  ^P"^ 

8  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church,  in 
Smyrna,  write ;  These  things  saith  ^  the 
first  and  the  last,  which  was  dead,  and  is 
alive ; 


kOh^iter  zzii.  8,  14.- 


iGen«eit  ii.  9.- 
17, 18. 


•  Chapter  i,  8, 


throne.  Some  resemble  what  is  afterward  men- 
tioned, as  the  hidden  name^  (chap.  xix.  12,)  <Ae  rul- 
ing the  nations,  (chap.  xix.  16,)  the  morning  star, 
chap.  xxii.  16.  And  some  are  expressly  men- 
tioned, as  the  tree  of  life,  (chap.  xxii.  2,)  freedom 
from  the  second  death,  (chap.  xx.  6,)  the  name  in 
the  book  of  life,  (chap.  xx.  12,  xxL  27,)  the  remain- 
ing in  the  temple  of  God,  (chap.  vii.  15,)  the  inscrip- 
tion of  the  name  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  chap, 
xiv.  1 ;  xxii.  4.  In  these  promises,  sometimes  the 
enjoyment  of  the  highest  good,  sometimes  deliver- 
ance from  the  greatest  evils,  is  intended.  And  each 
implies  the  other,  so  that  where  either  part  is  ex- 
pressed, the  whole  is  to  be  understood.  That  part 
is  expressed  which  has  most  resemblance  to  the 
virtues  or  works  of  him  that  was  spoken  to  in  the 
letter  preceding. 

Verses  8,  9.  And  wUo  the  angel  of  the  churdh  in 
Smyrna— ^^  Smyrna  was  the  nearest  city  to  Ephesus, 
and  for  that  reason  probably  was  addressedin  the 
second  place*  It  is  situated  on  lower  ground  than 
the  ancient  city,  and  lieth  about  forty-five  miles 
northward  of  Ephesus.  It  is  called  Esmir  by  the 
Turks,  and  is  celebrated,  not  so  much  for  the  splen- 
dour and  pomp  of  the  buildings,  (for  they  are  rather 
mean  and  ruinous,)  as  for  the  number,  and  wealth, 
and  commerce  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Turks  have 
here  fifteen  mosques,  and  the  Jews  several  83ma- 
gogues.  Among  these  enemies  of  the  Christian 
name  the  Christian  religion  also  fioutishes  in  some 
degree.  Smyrna  still  retains  the  dignity  of  metro- 
polis, although  there  are  only  two  churches  of  the 
Greeks.  But  besides  them,  here  is  a  great  number  of 
Christians  of  all  nations,  sects,  and  languages.  The 
Lath)  church  hath  a  monastery  of  Franciscans.  The 
Armenians  have  one  church.  But  the  English,  who 
are  the  most  considerable  number,  next  to  the  Greeks 
and  Armenians,  have  only  a  chapel  in  the  consul's 
house,  which  is  a  shame,  says  Wheler,  considermg 
the  great  wealth  they  heap  up  here,  beyond  all 
the  rest;  yet  they  commonly  excel  them  in  their 
pastor.  Frequent  plagues  and  earthquakes  are  the 
great  calamities  of  the  place ;  but  the  Christians  are 
here  more  considerable,  and  in  a  far  better  condition, 
than  in  any  other  of  the  seven  churches ;  as  if  the  pro- 
mise was  still  in  some  measure  made  good  to  Smyrna, 
Fear  none  of  those  things  which  thou  shaU  suffer , 
he  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a 
crown  oflife^ — Newton.  "  From  the  conversation," 
says  Mr.  Lindsay,  ^  which  I  had  with  the  Gredc 
bishop  and  his  clergy,  as  well  as  various  well-in- 
formed individuals,  I  am  led  to  suppose,  that  if  the 
population  of  Smyrna  be  estimated  at  one  hundred 
707 


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RBVELA'nON. 


at  Smyrna  andPeri^amdi. 


A,  BL  4100. 
A.  D.96. 


9*1  kno^  thy  works,  and  tribula- 
tioD,  and  poverty,  (but  thou  art ""  rich,) 
and  /  know  the  blasphemy  of  ^  them  which  say 
they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  ^  but  are  the  sjma- 
gogue  of  Satan. 

10  'Fear  none  of  those  things  which  thou  ibalt 
suffer.  Behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you 
mto  {Nison,  that  ye  may  be  tried ;  and  ye  shall 
have  tribulation  ten  dajTs.  'Be  thou  faithful  unto 


•  Vtfte  2. 0  Lake  xiL  21 ;  1  Tim.  ri.  IB ;  Jam.  ii.  5. f  Horn. 

ii.  17, 28, 39 ;  ix.  iS. ^  Chap.  iii.  9. ^  Matt.  i.  22. 


and  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  there  are  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  thousand  Greeks,  six  thousand  Armenians, 
five  thousand  Catholics,  one  hundred  and  forty 
Protestants,  and  eleven  thousand  Jews."  These 
thinga  saith  the  First  and  the  I#a«t— Even  that 
glorious  and  Divine  Person,  who,  having  assumed 
the  human  nature  into  union  with  his  Deity,  is  able 
to  say  he  was  dead  and  is  alive;  and  who  therefore 
demands,  by  all  considerations  of  reverence,  grati- 
tude, and  love,  thy  most  attentive  and  obedient  re- 
gards. How  directly  does  this  description  of  the 
person  of  Christ  tend  to  confirm  the  pastor  of  this 
church,  and  all  the  members  of  it,  against  the  fear 
of  death !  See  verses  10, 11.  Even  with  the  com- 
fort wherewith  St.  John  himself  was  comforted, 
(chap.  i.  17,  18,)  would  the  angel  of  this  church,  and 
the  people  under  his  care,  be  comforted.  /  know 
thy  works-^To  have  been,  in  many  respects,  ex- 
traordinary; and  thy  tribulation  and  poverty — A 
poor  prerogative  in  the  eyes  of  the  world !  Theangel 
at  Philadelphia  likewise  and  his  flock  had  in  their 
own  sight  but  a  little  strength.  And  yet  these  two 
were  the  most  honourable  of  dl  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord.  BtU  thou  art  rich — In  faith  and  love,  of  more 
vtUue  than  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  And  the 
blasphemy  of  them  who  say  they  are  /<mp#— God's 
own  people ;  and  are  no<— They  are  not  Jews  in- 
wardly ;  not  circumcised  in  heart ;  but  a  synagogue 
of  Satan^Who,  like  them,  is  a  liar  and  murderer 
frc^m  the  beginning,  and  whose  temper  they  breathe 
in  their  opposition  to  my  gospel  and  to  my  people, 
being  engaged  in  promoting  error,  superstition,  and 
wickedness,  the  very  things  whe|*ein  the  kingdom  of 
Satan  consists. 

Verses  10, 11.  Fear  none  of  those  things  which 
thou  ahalt  ^i^er-rrProbabJy  by  means  of  the  false 
Jews.  Behold'-nT\\vs  intimates  the  nearness  of  the 
affliction;  the  daw'/— Who  sets  all  persecutors  to 
work,  and  those  more  particularly  who  persecute 
the  followers  of  Christ,  to  imprisonment,  torture,  tind 
death;  shall  cast  some  q/" you— Christians  at  Smyr- 
na, where,  in  the  first  ages,  the  blood  of  many  mar- 
tyrs was  shed ;  into  prison^  thai  ye  may  be  tried — 
Which  God  will  permit,  for  the  trial  of  your  faith 
and  patience,  to  your  unspeakable  advantage,  1  Peter 
iv.  12, 14.  And  ye  shall  have  infttt/a/ion— Either 
in  your  own  persons,  or  by  sympathizing  with  your 
lirethren;  ten  days— Thhi  is,  a  considerable  time: 
for,  as  Lowman  obser^'es,  It  is  not  to  be  understood 
708 


deathjandlwiDgivethee  ^acrownof  A.iL4U)a 

1*^  A.  mJ»  96. 

11  ^He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches ;.  He  that 
overcometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of  '  the  second 
death. 

12  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Perga- 
mo0  write ;  These  things  saith  ^he  which  hath 
the  sharp  sword  with  two  edges ; 


■  Matt.  x»r.  13. *  Jannet  L  12 ;  Chap.  iii.  11. ^«  Verae  7 : 

Chap.  xiii.  9. »  Chap.  xx.  14 ;  xxi.  S. f  Chap.  i.  16. 


literally,  which  would  have  been  a  short  time  of  af- 
fliction indeed,  and  hardly  agreeable  to  such  a  de- 
scription of  that  tribulation  as  this  prophecy  seems 
to  have  been  intended  to  prepaife  the  church  for. 
Bishop  Newton  supposes  that  these  ten  days  mean 
ten  years^  according  to  the  usual  style  of  prophecy; 
and  that  the  persecution  of  Dioclesian  is  referred  to, 
Which  lasted  that  time,  and  was  the  greatest  persecu- 
tion that  the  primitive  Church  ever  endured,  most 
grievously  afflicting  all  the  Asian,  and  indeed  all  the 
eastern  churches.  This  persecution,  he  thinks,  and 
none  of  the  other  general  persecutions,  answers  the 
character  here  given,  none  of  the  others  lasting  so 
long  as  ten  yearsT  Be  tliou  faithful^— Out  Lord  does 
not  say,  till  Icome^  as  in  the  other  letters,  but  unto 
death — Signifying  that  the  angel  of  the  church 
should  quickly  after  seal  his  testimony  with  his 
blood,  fifty  years  before  the  martyrdom  of  St  Poly- 
carj^,  for  whom  some  have  mistaken  hun.  And  I 
will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life—The  peculiar  reward 
of  them  who  are  faithful  unto  death.  He  that  over- 
cometh—Th^t  is  victorious  unto  the  end ;  shall  not 
be  hurt  of  the  second  death — Though  he  may  en- 
counter the  first  death  in  this  world  for  my  sake,  he 
shall  not  be  injured  by  the  second,  namely,  the  lake 
of  fire,  the  portion  of  the  fearful,  who  do  not  over- 
come, chap.  zxi.  8;  but  he  shall  rest  in  everlasting 
security  and  peace,  while  those  who  desert  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  renounce  their  duty,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  this  transitory  life,  shall  be  consigned  to  that 
state  of  misery  where  they  shall  seek  death,  but  it 
shall  for  ever  flee  from  them. 

Verses  12,  13.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Pergamos  trrifc— ^^Pergamos,  formerly  the  metro- 
polb  of  the  Hellespontic  Mysia,  and  the  seat  of  the 
Attalic  kings,  is  by  the  Turks,  with  some  little  varia- 
tion, still  called  Bergamo,  and  hath  its  situation  about 
sixty-four  miles  to  the  north  of  Smyrna.  Here  are 
some  good  buildings,  but  mo^e  ruins.  All  the  city, 
almost,  is  occupied  by  the  Turks,  very  few  families 
of  Christians  being  left,  whose  state  is  very  sad  and 
deplorable.  Here  is  only  one  church  remaining, 
dedicated  to  St.  Theodorus ;  and  that  the  name  of 
Christ  is  not  wholly  lost  and  forgotten  in  Pergamos, 
is  owing  to  the  care  of  the  metropolitan  of  Smyrna, 
who  continually  sends  hither  a  priest  to  perforin  the 
sacred  ofiices.  The  cathedral  church  of  St  John  is 
buried  in  its  own  ruins ;  their  angel  or  bishop  re- 
moved ;  and  its  fair  pillars  adorn  the  graves  and  rot 

b 


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CHAPTER  It 


nt  Pergamos. 


A.  M.  4100.  13  *  I  know  thy  works,  and  where 
-^  ^^  thou  dwellest,  even  •  wh^rc  Satan's 
seat  t^ :  and  thou  holdest  fiust  my  name, 
and  hasC  not  denied  my  feith,  even  in  those 
days  Wherein  Antipas  tro^  my  fidthftd  mar- 
tyr, who  was  slain  among  you,  where  Satan 
dweUeth. 

14  But  I  have  a  few  things  against  thee,  be- 
cause thou  hast  there  them  that  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  ^Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  cast  a 
stumUing-Uock  before  the  chiidren  of  Israel, 


»  Ver.  2. »  Vcr.  9. *  Nam;  xjut.  14 ;  xxv.  1 :  xwi.  16 ; 

2  Pet  ii.  15 ;  Jude  11. •  Ver.  20 ;  ActB  xr.  29 ;  1  Cor.  tIu.  9, 


ten  carcasses  of  its  destroyers,  the  Turks,  who  are 
esteemed  about  two  or  three  thousand  in  number. 
Its  other  fine  church,  called  Santa  Sophia,  is  turned 
into  a  mosque,  and  dally  profaned  with  the  blas- 
phemies of  the  false  prophet  There  are  not  in  the 
whole  town  above  a  dozen  or  fifteen  families  of 
miserable  Christians,  who  till  the  ground  to  gain 
their  bread,  and  live  in  the  most  abject  and  sordid 
servitude."  There  b  the  less  reason  to  wonder  at  the 
wretched  condition  of  this  church,  when  we  consider 
what  Christ  here  testifies  concerning  the  corruptions 
which  now  prevailed  in  it,  and  the  threatening  de- 
nounced against  it,  if  they  did  not  rispent,  and  purge 
out  the  destructive  leaven. 

These  things  saith  he  which  luiih  the  sharp 
5]0ore{— Coming  out  of  his  mouth,  with  two  edges^ 
To  wound  and  pierce  the  unbelieving  and  disobe- 
dient, and  bring  them  to  the  footstool  of  divine  mer- 
cy for  pardon  and  salvation ;  and  to  cut  off  the  hn- 
penitent,  and  especially  the  persecuting  enemies  of 
his  church ;  even  that  Word,  which  is  qiiick  and 
powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword : 
I  know  thy  works — I  observe  them  exactly;  so  as  to 
reward  or  punish  as  the  case  requires :  the  ministers 
are  commended  for  what  is  good,  or  blamed  for 
what  is  amiss  in  their  respective  churches,  because 
the  state  thereof  depends  much  upon  them,  and  they 
will  be  made  accountable,  in  some  measure,  for  it. 
And  where  thou  dtPcWe*^— What  thy  situation  is,  and 
the  circumstances  in  which  thou  art  placed;  even 
where  Satan^s  seat  is — Fixed  in  the  midst  of  idola- 
try, superstition,  and  persecution,  by  the  union  of 
which  the  kingdom  of  darkness  is  supported.  Per- 
garaos  was  above  measure  given  to  idolatry.  And 
thou  holdest  fast  my  name — Openly  and  resolutely 
confessing  me  before  men ;  and  hast  not  denied  my 
faith — Any  great  truth  of  my  gospel ;  even  in  those 
days  wherein  Antipas — Put  to  death  under  Domi- 
tian;  was  my  faithful  martyr — Laying  down  his 
life  in  attestation  of  the  truth.  Happy  is  he  to  whom 
Jesus,  the  faithful  and  true  Witness,  giveth  such  a 
testimony !  Slain  among  you^  where  Satan  dwell- 
fthr-Seema  to  take  up  his  residence,  as  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  enormities  which  are  continually 
practised  there. 

Verses  14, 15.  But  I  have  a  few  things  against 
thee— Things  that  deserve  reproof,  and  require  re- 
b 


*  to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto  idols,  a.  m.  4100. 
*and  to  oonunit  fornicatiM.  ^^•^' 

16  So  hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the  doc- 
trine *  of  the  Nkolaitanes,  which  thing  I  hate. 

16  Repent;  or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee 
quickly,  and  'will  fight  against  them  with  the 
sword  of  my  mouth. 

17  'He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches :  To  him  that 
overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  hidden 
manna,  and  will  give  him  a whitestone,  and  in 


10 ;  X.  19,  20. *  1  Cor.  ri.  13,  &c. •  Veiw  6. '  laa.  xi. 

4;  2  Thess.  u.  8;  Chap.  i.  16;   xtx.  15,  21. 1  Venes  7,  11. 


formation ;  because  thou  hast  there— Those  whom 
tiiou  oughtest  to  have  immediately  cast  out  from  the 
flock,  that  hold  the  doctrine  of  Balaam— -IkKirint 
nearly  resemhling  his:  who  taught  Balak— And  the 
rest  of  the  Moabites ;  to  cast  a  stumbling-block  be- 
fore the  children — Rather,  the  sons,  as  tuv  vufv  sig- 
nifies ;  of  Israel—So  named  in  opposition  to  the 
daughters  ofMoab,  by  whom  Balaam  enticed  them 
to  the  commission  of  gross  sin ;  to  eat  things  sacri- 
ficed to  idols— y^iehy  In  so  idolatrous  a  city  as  Per- 
gamof,  was,  in  the  highest  degree,  hurtful  to  Chris- 
tianity: and  to  commit  fornication — Which  was 
constantly  joined  with  the  idol-worship  of  the  hear 
then.  So  hast  thou  also— As  well  as  the  angel  ti 
Ephesus;  them  that  hold  the  doctrine^  &c, — Who  go 
so  far  as  to  justify  their  bad  conduct  by  receiving  the 
principles  of  the  NIcolaitanes;  which  thing  I  hate — 
Condemn  and  detest  as  most  inconsistent  with  the 
purity  of  the  Christian  faith  and  religion :  and  these 
thou  sufferest  to  remain  in  the  flock.  "  It  seems  not 
Improbable,"  Doddridge  thinks,  "  that  the  doctrine 
of  Balaam  and  that  of  the  Nicolaitanes  might  be  the 
same ;  or  the  latter  might  be  more  strenuous  in  jus- 
tifying and  propagating  their  doctrine,  and  acting 
upon  it;  and  that  this  doctrine  might  be  like  that  of 
some  modem  seducers,  namely,  that  It  is  lawful  to 
dissemble  the  Christian  faith,  and  to  conform  to  the 
established  superstition,  to  prevent  persecution:  a 
fatal  error,  which  tends  most  eflcctually  to  over- 
throw Christianity,  the  existence  of  which,  in  these 
later  ages,  is  owing  to  the  contrary  doctrine  and 
practice." 

Verses  16, 17.  Repent^  therefore,  of  these  irregu- 
larities ;  or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly— In 
the  way  of  chastisement;  and  will  fight  against 
them — Those  corrupt  members ;  with  the  sword  of 
my  mouth— VfliYi  my  word,  pronouncing  terrible  ca- 
lamities against  them,  and  executing  what  I  have 
threatened.  The  word  of  God  Is  the  great  engine 
wherewith  Christ  fights  against,  wounds,  and  over- 
comes all  antichristlan  powers.  He  that  hath  an 
car— That  is  disposed  to  receive  useful  instruction ; 
let  him  hear  what  the  l^rit  saith  unto  the  churches 
—Let  him  carefully  regard  the  arguments  and 
warnings  given  by  the  Spirit  of  prophecy.  Jh  him 
that  overcometh,  and  eateth  not  of  th^M  sacrifices, 
will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna— tie  shall  be 
709 


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IaUct  to  the  angel  of 


EEYELATION. 


the  dkwneh  at  ThfaHrm. 


A.  M.  4100.  (he  stooe^a  new  name  written,  whkh 
^^'^    no  man  knoweth,  Baying  he  that  re- 
ceivethi/. 

18  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Thya- 
tira  write ;  These  things  saith  the  Son  of  Ood, 
<  who  hath  hisses  like  unto  a  flame  of  fire,  and 
his  feet  are  like  fine  brass  ; 

19  ^  I  know  thy  works,  and  charity,  and  ser- 


*  Chapter  iU.  12 ;  xix.  12. *  Chapter  i.  14, 15. *  Vei«e  2. 

1 1  Kings  ZYi.  31 ;  zxi.  25 ;  2  King*  ix.  7. 


made  a  partaker  of  those  sacred  pleasures  which 
God's  sanctoary  above  affords,  ai^  of  which  the 
manna  that  fell  in  the  wilderness,  and  was  laid  up 
in  a  golden  vessel  before  the  Lord,  was  only  an  im- 
perfect type;  even  the  full,  glorious,  everlasting 
fruition  of  God,  and  those  comforts  which  flow  from 
him.  And  will  give  him  a  white  stone — The  an- 
cients, on  many  occasions,  gave  their  votes  in  judg- 
ment by  small  stones ;  by  black  they  condemned, 
by  white  ones  they  acquitted.  Sometimes  also  they 
wrote  on  small  smooth  stones.  Here  may  be  an  al- 
lusion to  both  customs^  and  the  thing  principally 
intended  by  the  white  stone  is  complete  victory,  and 
It^ll  public  absolution.  And  in  the  stone  a  newname 
irrt/^en— Eminent  honour  following  thereon.  So 
Jacob,  after  his  victory,  gained  the  name  of  Israd. 
Wouldest  thou  know  what  thy  new  name  will  be? 
The  way  to  this  is  plain :  overcome.  Till  then,  all 
thy  inquiries  are  vain.  But  then  thou  wilt  read  it 
on  the  white  stone. 

Verse  18.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Thyatira  icri/c— "  Next  to  Pergamos  is  Thyatira 
situated,  at  the  distance  of  about  forty-eight  miles  to 
the  south-east.  At  present  the  city  is  called  by  the 
Turks  Akhisar,  or  The  White  Castle^  from  the  great 
quantities  of  white  marble  there  abounding.  Only 
one  ancient  edifice  b  left  standing :  the  rest,  even 
the  churches,  are  so  destroyed,  that  no  vestiges  of 
them  are  to  be  found.  The  principal  inhabitants  are 
Turks,  who  have  here  eight  mosques.  So  terribly 
have  the  divine  judgments,  denounced  in  this  letter, 
been  poured  upon  this  church !"  "  Akhizar,  the  an- 
cient Thyatira,"  observes  the  Rev.  H.  Lindsay,  "  is 
said  to  contain  about  thirty  thousand  inhabitants ;  of 
whom  three  thousand  are  Christians,  all  Greeks,  ex- 
cept about  two  hundred  Armenians.  There  is,  how- 
ever, but  one  Greek  church  and  one  Armenian.  The 
superior  of  the  Greek  church,  to  whom  I  presented 
the  Romaic  Testament,  esteemed  it  so  great  a  trea- 
sure that  he  earnestly  pressed  me,  if  possible,  to 
spare  another,  that  one  might  be  secured  to  the 
church,  and  be  free  from  accidents,  while  the  other 
went  round  among  the  people  for  their  private  read- 
ing. I  have,  therefore,  since  my  return  hither,  sent 
him  four  copies."  Write;  These  things  saith  the 
Son  of  God-See  how  great  he  is  who  appeared  like 
a  Son  ofman,  chap.  i.  13 ;  who  haih  eyes  bright  and 
penetrating,7i/(e  unto  aflame  of  fire — Searching  the 
reins  and  Vie  hearty  verse  23 ;  and  his  feet  like  fine 
6ra««— Denoting  his  immense  strength.  Job  com- 
710 


Yice,  and  feith,  and  thy  patience,  and  a.  m.  41001 
thy  works ;  and  the  last  to  be  more    ^^'^ 
than  the  first : 

20  Notwithstanding,  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,  because  thou  sufierest  that  woman 
^  Jezeb^  which  calleth  faeradf  a  pxophetes^  to 
teach  and  to  seduce  my  servants  "to  commit  for- 
nication, and  to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto  idols. 


■  Eiodnt  zzziv,  \5 ;  Acts  xv.  20,  S9 ;  1  Conalbiaat  x.  10, 90; 
Vei»e  14. 


prises  both  these  particulars,  namely,  his  wisdom  to 
discern  whatever  is  amiss,  ajid  his  power  to  avenge 
it,  in  one  sentence,  (ch^>.  xlii.2,)  saying.  No  thought 
is  hidden  from  hin^  atid  he  can  do  all  things.  Or 
the  latter  emblem,  his  feet  being  like^ne  brass^  may 
sigpify  that  all  his  ways  are  gloriously  just  and 
holy. 

Verse  19.  //pnowtAyicorAw— Of  piety  and  mercy; 
and  charity — Or  love,  rather.  How  different  a  cl^- 
racter  is  this  from  that  of  the  angel  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus  t  The  latter  could  not  bear  the  wicked^  and 
hated  the  works  of  the  Nicolaitanes  ;  but  he  had  left 
his  first  love  and  first  works.  The  former  retain^ 
his  first  love,  and  had  more  and  more  works,  but 
bore  with  the  wicked;  did  not  withstand  them  with 
becoming  vehemence.  Mixed  characters  both ;  yet 
the  latter,  not  the  former,  is  reproved  for  his  fall,  and 
commanded  to  repent  And  service^  andfaxth^  and 
thy  patience,  and  thy  works — Love  is  shown,  exer- 
cised, and  improved,  by  serving  God  and  our  neigh- 
bour :  so  is  faith  by  patience  and  good  works.  And 
the  last  to  be  more  than  rAc  /r«<— Greater  and  bet- 
ter. Very  far  art  thou  from  that  declining  state  of 
religion  of  which  I  have  had  reason  elsewhere  to 
complain. 

Verses  20,  21.  Notwithstanding^  I  have  a  few 
things,  &c. — Yet,  observe,  there  are  some  things  in 
thy  conduct  I  take  notice  of,  which  deserve  blame, 
and  call  for  reformation,  namely,  thou  s^tfferest  that 
woman  Jezebel^Thon  givest  too  much  countenance 
to  some  evil  persons,  who,  like  that  wicked  woman 
Jezebel,  of  old,  who  defiled  Israel  with  her  idolatrous 
and  lewd  practices,  set  themselves  to  teach,  and,  on 
wicked  pretences  of  prophecy  and  revelation,  to  se- 
duce my  servants  to  cmnmit  fornication,  and  to  eat 
things  sacrificed  to  idols— Both  which  are  contrary 
to  the  truth  and  purity  of  the  doctrine  and  worship 
of  my  gospeL  When  the  description  of  the  imitatorB 
or  followers  of  Jezebel  in  this  verse  is  compared 
with  what  was  before  said  of  the  Nicolaitanes,  verses 
14,  16,  "  the  resemblance,"  says  Doddridge,  "  ap- 
pears so  great,  that  I  am  induced  to  believe  it  is  the 
same  heresy  which  is  represented  under  both  these 
views ;  namely,  the  doctrine  of  those  who  taught  it 
was  lawful  to  dissemble  our  religious  principles,  and 
occasionally  to  conform  to  superstition  and  idolatry, 
in  order  to  avoid  persecution.  And  as  Jezebel  was 
so  infamous  an  idolatress,  and  so  great  q  mistress  of 
seducing  arts,  there  was  an  evident  propriety  in  such 
a  representation,  1  Kings  xvi.  31 ;  xxi.  25.**    Some 

b 


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Lmerio  the  angel  of 


CHAPTBB  U. 


the  church  ai  ThyaUrm, 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.96. 


21  And  I  gave  her  space  "  to  repent 
of  her  fornication,  and  she  repented  not. 

22  Behold,  I  will  cast  her  intoa  bed,  and  them 
that  commit  adultery  with  her  into  great  tribu- 
lation, except  they  repent  of  their  deeds. 

23  And  I  will  kill  her  children  with  death;  and 
all  the  charches  shall  know  that  ®  I  am  he  which 
searcheth  the  reins  and  hearts:  and  i*Iwill  give 
unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your  works. 

24  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto  the  rest  in 
Thyatira,  As  many  as  have  not  this  doctrine, 


■  Rom.  ii.  4 ;  Chap.  iz.  20. » 1  Sam.  xtL  7 ;  1  Cftur.  xxviii. 

0 ;   zxix.  17 :   2  Chron.  vi.  30 ;    Pta.  f  ii.  9 ;  Jer.  xL  20 ;    xrii. 

10:  XX.  12:  John  ii. 24, 25;  AcUi.24;  Roro.vui.27. PPsa. 

Ixii.  12 ;  BlaU.  xri.  27;  Rom.  ii.  6;  xir.  12 ;  2  Cor. r.  10;  GaL 


have  fancied  this  was  some  ftmale  heretic.  And  I 
gave  her  space  to  repent,  &c. — Though  I  have 
granted  these  persons  a  long  time  to  consider  the 
sinfulness  of  their  conduct,  and  to  reform  it,  yet  they 
are  so  sunk  in  depravity  and  wickedness,  that  they 
still  remain  impenitent  and  obstinate,  and  afford  no 
signs  or  hopes  of  amendment.  So,  though  repent- 
ance is  the  gift  of  God,  man  may  refuse  it :  God  will 
not  compel. 

Ver.  ^  23.  Behold— I  will  at  length  execute  judg- 
ment upon  her,  and  let  the4)roce88  of  my  righteous 
vengeance  be  observed.  /  will  cast  her  Mo  a  bed 
— Not  of  pleasure,  but  of  great  tribulation — I  will 
severely  punish  these  seducers  for  their  evil  princi- 
ples and  practices ;  tmd  thb  punishment  shall  reach 
all  who  have  been  partakers  in  such  acts  of  wicked- 
ness :  and  this  threatening  shall  be  accomplished  as 
surely  as  the  punishment  was  which  the  Prophet 
Elijah  denounced  hi  the  name  of  the  Lord  against 
Jezebel,  1  Kings  xxi.  2S,  Except  they  repent^  &c, 
— Except  they  be  humbled  for,  and  forsake  their 
vile  practices.  And  I  will  kill  her  children— -I  will 
slay  those  that  pre^me  to  follow  her  in  her  wicked- 
ness; with  deaih^An  expression  which  denotes 
death  by  the  plague,  or  by  sopie  manifest  stroke  of 
God's  hand.  Probably  the  remarkable  vengeance 
taken  on  these  was  the  token  of  the  certainty  of  all 
the  rest.  And  all  the  churches — To  which  thou  now 
writest ;  shall  know  that  I  can  he  which  searcheth 
the  reins — The  desires;  and  AeorU— Thoughts ; 
and  that  though  I  am  very  long-suffering  with  re- 
spect to  many  s'mners,  and  am  unwilling  immedi- 
ately to  come  to  extremities ;  yet  I  am  not  to  be 
mocked  and  trifled  with  ^  and  therefore  they  will 
learn  to  respect  and  honour  the  administration  of  my 
government ;  who,  as  I  know  the  secrets  of  men's 
hearts,  so  I  will  at  length  give  unto  every  one  of  you 
according  to  your  works — ^And  according  to  those 
principles  from  which  I  know  they  have  proceeded; 
and  thus  I  will  approve  the  perfect  justice  of  my 
treatment  of  you  alL  It  is  observable,  the  angel  of 
the  church  at  Thyatira  was  only  blamed  for  steer- 
ing such  deceivers  to  seduce  Christ's  servants.  This 
fault  ceased  when  God  took  vengeance  on  these  se- 
b 


and  which  have  not  known  the  depths  a.  m.  4100 
of  Satan,  as  they  speak ;  *»  I  will  put  '  ^ 
upon  you  none  other  burden : 

25  But '  that  which  ye  have  already,  hold  &s( 
till  I  come. 

26  And  he  that overcometh, and  keepeth  'my 
works  unto  the  end,  ^  to  him  will  I  give  power 
over  the  nations : 

27  (""And  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron; 
as  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken  to 
shivers :)  even  as  I  received  of  my  Father. 


vi,  5;   Chapter  xx.  12. «  Acta  jr.  2a— 'Chapter  iii.  11. 

•  John  Ti.  29 ;  1  John  iii.  23. ^  Matt.  six.  2S;  Luke  zxii.  29, 

30;    1  Cor.  tL  3;   Chap.  iii.  21;   xx.  4. "Psa.  ii.  8,  9; 

xlix.  14  ;   Dan.  vii.  22 ;  Chap.  xii.  5 ;  xix.  15. 


ducers.    Therefore  he  is  not  expressly  exhorted  to 
repent,  though  that  is  implied. 

Verses  34,  25.  But  unto  you  I  say,  who  have  not 
this  doctrine—Of  Jezebel ;  and  to  the  rest— Who 
have  kept  themselves  from  being  led  astray  by  these 
delusions;  and  hate  not  known-^-O  happy  igno- 
rance !  the  depths  of  S€Uan— The  deep  arts  of 
deceit  and  error  practised  in  his  kingdom,  to  bring 
in  all  sorts  of  corruption,  by  teaching  men  to  ac- 
count things  as  indifferent  and  innocent  that  are 
wicked  and  abominable ;  as  they  speak— -It  seems 
they  were  continually  boasting  of  the  deep  things 
which  they  taught  Our  Lord  owns  they  were  deep, 
even  deep  as  hell ;  for  they  were  the  very  depths  of 
ScUan.  I  will  put  upon  you  none  other  burden — 
Than  that  you  have  already  suffered  from  Jezebel 
and  her  adherents.  Or,  I  will  lay  no  new  restraints 
or  injunctions  upon  you ;  but  will  only  confirm  the 
laws  of  truth,  righteousness,  and  goodness,  given 
to  make  you  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  the  truest 
and  most  important  liberty.  But  that  which  ye— 
Both  the  pastor  and  the  diurch ;  have  already  re- 
ceived through  my  gospel,  as  essential  to  true  reli- 
gion, and  necessary  in  order  to  your  pleasing  God, 
hMfast^ln  principle  and  practice,  in  faith,  love, 
and  obedience ;  till  I  come — To  put  an  end  to  your 
time  of  trial,  and  receive  you  to  the  heavenly  para- 
dise. 

Verses  26-29.  Andhethatovercometh—ThhthoiAti 
fast  faith  and  a  good  conscience,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  the  enemies  of  my  gospel  to  wrest  them 
from  him ;  and  keepeth  my  works— Those  which  I 
have  commanded  to  be  done.;  unto  the  end—0(  his 
time  and  trials ;  to  him  'wUl  I  give  power  over  the 
nations— Th^X  is,  I  will  give  him  to  share  with  roe 
in  that  glorious  victory  which  the  Father  hath 
promised  me  over  all  the  nations  which  as  yet  resist 
me,  Psa.  ii.  8,  9.  This,  says  Doddridge,  appears  to 
be  intended  of  that "  final  triumph  of  Christ  over  hi? 
enemies  in  the  last  day,  when  he  shall  crush  them 
all  to  utter  and  irrecoverable  ruin,  and  when  all  h» 
saints,  raised  from  the  dead,  and  clothed  with  robes 
of  glory,  shall  sit  down  with  them  on  his  throne,  and 
constitute  that  illustrious  body  which  in  and  witli 
711 


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REVELATION. 


ike  church  ai  8af4i$. 


X.  H.  4100. 
A.D.  90. 


28  And  I  will  give  him  '  the  mom- 
iog-8tar. 

*2?0L  i.  19;  Chap.  zxii.  16. 


their  exalted  Head,  shall  subdue  every  opposing 
power."  And  he  shall  rule  them— That  is,  shall 
share  with  me  when  I  do  this ;  with  a  rod  ofiron-^ 
With  irresistible  power,  employed  on  those  only  who 
will  not  otherwise  submit;  who  will  hereby  be 
dashed  in  pieces,  totally  conquered.  And  J  ioill 
give  him  the  moming'-eiar-~'Thou,  O  Jesus^  art  the 
Morning-Star !    O  give  thyself  to  me !    Then  will  I 


29  3"  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  A.M.410Q. 
what  the  Spirit  saithuntothechurches.  '^^ 

7Ve«e7» 

desire  no  son,  only  thee,  who  art  the  son  also.  He 
whom  thb  Star  enlightens,  has  always  morning  and 
no  evening.  The  duties  and  promises  here  answer 
each  other :  the  valiant  conqueror  has  power  over 
the  stubborn  nations.  And  he  that,  after  having 
conquered  4iis  enemies,  keeps  the  words  of  Christ 
to  the  end,  shall  have  the  moming-8tar--an  unspeak- 
able brightness  and  peaceable  dominion  in  hinu 


CHAPTER  ffl. 

TkU  ehapUr  eonlains  the  three  remaiimng  epistUtf  vrith  toaminge,  tkreatenmge,  exhartatUmSf  enamragtments,  andpromuts, 
suited  to  the  etaU  of  the  church  at  Sardisy  1-6 ;  at  Philadelphia,  7-13 ;  at  Laodicea,  14-SS. 

thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  ^  and  a.  m.  4100. 
art  dead.  *  '■ 


A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  unto  the  angel  of  the  church 

'    —  in  Sardis  write;   These  things 

saith  be  ^that  hath  the  seven  Spirits  of  God, 

and  the  seven  stars ;  ^  I  know  thy  works,  that 

^Cbap.  L4,16;  It.  5;  v.  6.— ->Ohap.  iL2. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IIL 
Verse  1.  To  the  angel  of  <Ac  church  in  Sardis 
irri^c— This  city,  "once  the  renowned  capital  of 
Croesus  and  the  rich  Lydian  kings,  is  now  no  longer 
worthy  of  the  name  of  a  city.  It  lies  about  thirty- 
three  miles  to  the  south  of  Thyatira,  and  is  called 
by  the  Turks,  Sart,  or  Sard,  with  little  variation 
from  the  original  name.  It  is  a  most  sad  spectacle ; 
nor  can  xme  forbear  weeping  over  the  ruins  of  so 
great  a  city :  for  now  it  is  no  more  thaii  an  ignoble 
village,  with  low  and  wretched  cottages  of  clay ;  nor 
hath  it  any  other  inhabitants  besides  shephenis  and 
herdsmen,  who  feed  their  flocks  and  cattle  in  the 
neighbouring  plains.  Yet  the  great  extent  and  gran- 
deur of  the  ruins  abundantly  show  how  large  and 
splendid  a  city  it  was  formerly.  The  Turks  them- 
selves have  only  one  mosque,  a  beautiful  one  indeed, 
perverted  to  that  use  from  a  Christian  church.  Very 
few  Christians  are  here  to  be  found ;  and  they,  with 
great  patience,  sustain  a  miserable  servitude ;  and, 
what  is  far  more  miserable,  are  without  a  church, 
without  a  priest  among  them.-  Such  is  the  deplora- 
ble state  of  this  once  most  glorious  city;  but  her 
iDorks  were  not  found  perfect  5  that  is,  they  were 
found  blameable  before  God;  she  was  dead  even 
while  she  lived;  and  she  is  punished  accordingly." 
—Bishop  Newton.  Mr.  Lindsay,  however,  informs 
us,  that  there  is  a  small  church  establishment  on  the 
plains  of  Sardis,  where,  about  five  years  ago,  the 
few  Chrbtians  who  dwell  around  the  modem  Sart^ 
and  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  at  each 
other's  houses  for  the  exercise  of  religion,  built  a 
church  within  view  of  ancient  Sardis  9  and  that  there 
they  maintain  a  priest  In  consequence  of  this^  the 
712 


2  Be  watchful,   and   strengthen  the  things 
which  remain,  that  are  ready  to  die :  for  I  have 


cEph.iL  1,5;  1  Tim.  r.  6. 


place  has  gradually  risen  into  a  little  village,  now 
called  Tartar-keury,  and  thither  the  few  Christians 
of  Sart,  who  amount  to  seven,  and  those  in  its  imme- 
diate vicinity,  resort  for  public  worship,  and  form 
together  a  congregation  of  about  forty.  There  ap- 
pears then  still  a  remnant,  a  few  names  even  in 
Sardisy  which  have  been  preserved.  *^  I  cannot  re- 
peat," says  he,  "  the  expressions  of  gratitude  vith 
which  they  received  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament 
in  a  language  with  which  they  were  familiar.  Seve- 
ral crowded  about  the  priest  to  hear  it  on  the  spot ; 
and  I  left  them  thus  engaged." 

TViese  things  saith  he  that  hath  the  seven  Spirits 
of  God— ThAi  is,  the  Holy  Spirit,  from  whom  alone 
idl  spiritual  gifts  and  graces  proceed ;  or  he  who 
presides  over  and  orders  the  various  dispensations 
of  the  Spirit,  and  produces  thereby  such  wonderful 
ef&cts;  and  the  seven  stars— Which  represent  the 
ministers  of  the  churches,  all  whose  motions  he  con- 
tinues to  govern  and  direct,  according  to  his  all-wise 
and  gracious  pleasure.  /  know  thy  works — ^The 
state  thou  art  in,  and  thy  conduct:  and  that  thou 
dost  not  answer  that  character  which  thou  generally 
maintainest  in  the  neighbouring  ehurches  for  true 
religion  and  virtue ;  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou 
livest — A  fair  reputation;  the  character  of  being 
truly  alive  unto  God ;  of  possessing  spiritual  life 
here,  and  being  in  the  way  to  eternal  life  hereafter; 
biUart  dead—kxi  really  destitute  of  that  life,  and 
in  the  way  to  the  second  death. 

Verses  2,  3.  Be  watchful— Thcrcfotc  awake  to  a 
sense  of  thy  danger,  and  stand  on  thy  guard  against 
the  enemies,  visible  and  invisible,  which  threaten 
thy  eternal  destruction ;  and  strengthen — By  prayer, 

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CHAPTER  III. 


to  the  church  at  Sardis. 


A.M. 4100.  not  found  thy  works  perfect  before 
±£j:?LGod. 

3  ^Remember,  therefore,  how  thou  hast  re- 
ceived and  heard,  and  hold  fest,  and  *  repent. 
^  If^  therefore,  thou  ^halt  not  watch,  I  will  come 
on  thee  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not  know 
what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee. 

4  Thou  hast, '  a  few  names  even  in  Sardis 
which  have  not  ^defiled  their  garments;  and 
they  shall  walk  with  me  *  in  white :  for  they  are 
worthy.  x 

6  He  that  overcometh,  >^  the  same  shall  be 


*1  Tim.  ri.  20;   2  Tim.  L  1>;  Verse  11. •Verte  19. 

f  Matt  xxiT.  42, 43 ;  xzr.  13 ;  Mmri^  xiiL  33 ;  Luke  zii.  30,  40 ; 

1  Thes».  V.  2,  6 ;  2  Ptet.  iii.  10 ;  Chap.  xvL  15.^ »  Acts  L  15. 

<»  Jade  23, *  Chip.  ir.  4 ;  ri.  11 ;  Tii.  9, 13. ^chap.  xix.  8. 

1  Ezod.  zzxiL  32 ;  Paa.  bdx.  28. 


bearing  and  reading  the  word,  by  meditation  there- 
on, and  a  conscientious  use  of  every  private  and  pub- 
lic means  of  grace;  the  things  which  remain — In 
thy  soul:  such  as  knowledge  of  the  truth,  good  de- 
sires, convictions  of  sin,  of  depravity  and  weakness, 
and  of  thy  duty  and  interest ;  which  are  ready  to 
die — ^Wherever  pride,  self-confidence,  lukewarm- 
ness,  indolence,  levity,  Or  the  love  of  the  world  re- 
vives, every  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  ready  to  die.  For 
I  have  not  found  thy  works  perfect — Greek,  nenXijpo- 
fuva^  filled  up,  or  complete ;  before  Ood— As  not 
being  performed  from  a  right  principle ;  a  principle 
of  love  to  God  and  man ;  to  a  right  end,  the  glory  of 
God;  by  a  right  rule,  his  holy  will;  and  in  a  right 
spirit,  a  spirit  of  humility,  resignation,  and  patience ; 
of  meekness,  gentleness,  and  long-suffering:  and 
therefore  the  good  things,  which  might  still  remain 
in  part,  were  very  defective,  wanting  those  qualities 
required  in  the  gospel  to  render  them  acceptable  in 
the  sight  of  God.  Remember  therefore  how  thou 
Juut  received — How  humbly,  zealously,  affectionate- 
ly, and  seriously  thou  didst  once  receive  the  enlight- 
ening, pardoning,  and  renewing  grace  of  God ;  and 
Acar— His  ward ;  and  holdfast — That  knowledge  of 
and  faith  in  the  truth,  and  whatever  degree  of  grace 
thou  yet  retainest ;  and  repent — Of  that  carelessness 
and  negligence  through  which  thou  hast  lost  so  many 
opportunities  of  gaining  and  doing  good.  If  there- 
fore, thou  wilt  not  watch — As  thou  art  now  directed 
to  do ;  I  will  come  on  thee — By  some  sudden  and  un- 
foreseen judgment,  as  a  thief  in  the  night  comes  on 
those  that  are  buried  in  sleep ;  and  thou  shalt  not 
know  what  lumr  I  wiU  come  upon  thee — So  that  the 
surprise  win  throw  thee  into  the  greatest  consterna- 
tion and  distress. 

Verse  4.  Yet  thou  hast  a  few  na7ne«— That  is, 
persons;  even  in  Sardis — Corrupt  and  indolent  as 
the  general  state  of  the  place  is ;  who  have  not  de- 
fied their  garments — Who^  notwithstanding  the 
common  corruption,  have  preserved  their  purity, 
having  neither  spotted  themselves,  nor  partaken  of 
the  guilt  of  other  men's  sins.  These  persons,  though 
few,  had  not  separated  themselves  from  the  rest ; 
b 


clothed   in   white  raiment;    and   I  A. M.410D. 

will  ijot  ^  blot  out  his  name  out  of '• — 

the  "book  of  life,  but   "^I   will  confess  his 
name  before  my  Father,  and  before  his  an- 


6  ^  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

7  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Philadel- 
phia write ;  These  things  saith  ^  he  that  is  holy, 
4  he  that  is  true,  he  that  hath  '  the  key  of  Da- 
vid, '  he  that  qpeneth,  and  no  man  shutteth ; 
and  *  shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth : 


■>  Philip,  iv.  3  ;  Chapter  xiii.  8 ;  xrii.  8 ;   xz.  12 ;   zzi.  27. 

■Matt.  X.  33 ;  Luke  xii.  8. •  Chapter  ii.  7. 1>  Acts  iii.  14* 

q  1  John  ▼.  20 ;  Verse  14 ;  Chap.  i.  5 ;  ti.  10 ;  xix.  11. '  Isa. 

xxii.  22 ;    Luke  i.  32 ;   Chapter  i.  18. •  MaUhew  xri.  19. 

<  Job  xii.  14. 


Otherwise  the  angel  of  this  church  would  not  have 
had  tl^em.  Yet  it  was  no  virtue  of  his  that  they 
were  unspotted ;  whereas  it  was  his  fault  that  they 
were  but  few.  Tliey  shall  walk  with  me  in  white — 
In  joy,  in  perfect  holiness,  in  gbry.  "It  is  well 
known  that  white  robes  were  worn  on  occasions  of 
great  joy,  and  sometimes  in  triumphal  processions; 
to  boUi  which  there  is  probably  a  reference  here. 
Priests  also  were  clothed  in  white;  and  the  addition 
of  that  dignity  may  likewise  be  implied  as  certainly 
coming  within  the  scheme  of  Christ  with  regard  to 
his  people :  see  R6v.  i.  6.  Some  think  here  is  an  al- 
lusion to  the  custom  of  the  sanhedrim,  when  they 
examined  the  candidates  for  the  high-priesthood;  if 
they  judged  the  candidate  worthy,  they  gave  him  a 
white  garment ;  if  unqualified,  he  was  sent  out  from 
among  them  in  mourning."— Doddridge.  For  they 
are  worthy — A  few  good  among  many  bad  are  dou- 
bly acceptable  unto  God.  O  how  much  happier  is 
this  worthiness  than  that  mentioned  chap.  xvi.  6. 

Verses  6, 6.  He  thai  overcometh— ThdX  is  finally 
victorious  over  his  spiritual  enemies ;  shall  be  clotlied 
in  white  raiment — In  the  habit  of  victory,  joy,  and  tri- 
umph ;  and  I  will  not  blot  Ms  name  out  of  the  book  of 
life — Like  that  of  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Sardis. 
See  on  PhU.  iv.  3 ;  Dan.  xii.  1.  This  passage  plain- 
ly implies,  that  some  names  shall  be  blotted  out  from 
the  book  of  life:  that  is,  some  who,  in  consequence 
of  their  adoption  and  regeneration,  were  entitled  to 
and  fitted  for  eternal  life,  shall,  through  falling  from 
grace,  lose  these  blessings,  and  come  again  under  guilt, 
condemnation,  and  wrath.  ,  But  I  will  confess  his 
name — Who  overcomes  to  the  end,  as  one  of  my 
faithful  servants  and  soldiers ;  before  my  Father— 
In  the  great  day  of  decisive  judgment:  and  as  he 
was  enrolled  among  my  believing,  loving,  and  obe- 
dient people,  he  shall  continue  for  ever  in  their  num- 
ber. He  that  hath  an  ear,  &c.— Let  everyone  that 
hears  this  be  animated  by  so  glorious  a  hope  to  exert 
his  utmost  efforts  in  this  holy  and  honourable  warfare. 

Verses  7,  8.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Philadelphia  irrife— "  PhUadelphia,  so  called  from 
Attains  Philadelphus,  its  builder,  is  distant  fromSar 
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REVELATION. 


atPhiladdphm. 


A.  M.  4100.      8 

1—  have  set  before  thee  * 


I  know  thy  wcnrks:  behold,  I 

aa  open  door, 

for  thou  hast  a  Uttle 


and  no  man  can  diut  it 
strength,  and  hast  kept  my  word,  and  hast  not 
denied  my  name. 
9  Beh(4d,  I  wiQ  make  ^them  of  the  syna- 
gogue of  Satan,  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and 


•YeiM  L- 


^1  Coiintluuu  xri.  9; 
7  Chap.  iL  0. 


2  Corinthians  ik  12. 


dis  about  twenty-MTen  miles  to  Uie  aQuth-eaat  It  is 
called  by  the  Turks  Alah  Shahr,  or  the  beautiful  city, 
on  account  of  its  delightful  situation,  standing  on  the 
declivity  of  the  mountain  Tmolua,  and  having  a  most 
pleasant  prospect  on  the  plains  beneath,  well  fur- 
nished with  divers  villages,  and  watered  by  the  river 
Pactoliis.  It  still  retains  the  form  of  a  city,  with 
something  of  trade  to  invite  the  people  to  it,  being  the 
road  of  the  Persian  caravans.  Here  is  little  of  an- 
tiquity remaining,  besides  the  ruins  of  a  church  ded- 
icated to  St.  John,  which  is  now  made  a  dunghill  to 
receive  the  oJOTals  of  dead  beasts.  However,  God  hath 
been  pleased  to  preserve  some  of  this  place  to  make 
profession  of  the  Christian  faith,  there  being  above 
two  hundred  houses  of  Christians,  and  four  churches. 
Next  to  Smyrna,  this  city  hath  the  greatest  number 
of  Christians,  and  Christ  hath  promised  a  more  par- 
ticular protection  to  it.  Behold,  I  have  set  before 
thee  an  open  door,  &c.,  verse  8."  So  Bishop  New- 
ton. But  Mr.  Lindsay's  account  given  of  this  church 
two  years  ago,  in  consequence  of  a  personal  inspec- 
tion, is  still  more  favourable,  thus :  *'  Whatever  may 
be  lost  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  there  is  still  the 
form  of  a  Christian  church ;  which,  according  to  the 
promise,  has  been  kept,^Y>m  the  hour  of  temptation, 
Ac.,  verse  10.  There  are  here  about  one  thousand 
Christians,  chiefly  Greeks,  who  for  the  most  part 
speak  only  Turkish.  There  are  twenty-five  places 
of  public  worship;  five  of  which  are  large,  regular 
churches:  to  these  there  is  a  resident  bishop,  with 
twenty  inferior  clergy.  A  copy  of  the  modem 
Greek  Testament  was  received  by  the  bishop  Mrith 
great  thankfulness.'' 

TVtese  things  saith  he  that  is  holy,  he  that  is  true 
—Or,  the  Holy  One,  the  true  One ;  two  great  and 
glorious  titles;  he  that  hath  the  key  of  Davidr—A 
master  of  a  family  has  one  or  more  keys  wherewith 
he  can  open  and  shut  all  the  doors  of  his  house  or 
palace.  So  had  David  a  key,  (a  token  of  right  or 
sovereignty,)  which  was  afterward  adjudged  to  Eli- 
akim,  Isa.  xxii.  22.  Much  more  has  Christ,  the  Son 
of  David,  the  key  of  the  spiritual  city  of  David,  the 
New  Jerusalem ;  the  supreme  right,  power,  and  au- 
thority, as  in  his  own  house.  He  openeth  this  to  all 
that  overcome,  and  none  shutteth:  he  shutteih  it 
against  all  the  fearful  and  unbelieving,  and  none 
openeth— He  hath  likewise  all  authority  and  power 
in  his  church  on  earth,  so  that  none  can  exclude  from 
(he  privileges  of  that  kingdom  those  whom  he  thinks 
proper  to  admit  to  the  enjoyment  of  them ;  and  none 
can  bestow  them  upon  those  from  whom  he  shall  be 
714 


are  not,  bat  do  lie;  behold, 'I  will  make  A^]r4m 
them  to  come  and  wcMBhip  before  thy 


D.  J 


feet)  and  to  know  that  I  have  k>ved  thee. 

10  Because  thou  hast  kcfit  the  word  of  my 
patience,  *  I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour 
of  temptaticHa,  which  shall  ccoocie  upon  ^all  the 
world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  ®  upon  the  earth. 


'Imu  xlix.  23;    Iz.  R >2  Peter  ii. 

•ba.  JtxiT.  17. 


i>Luke  ii  1. 


pleased  to  withhold  diem.  Likewise,  when  he  opened 
adoor  for  the  progress  of  his  work,  or  the  useAihMss 
of  his  servants,  none  can  shut  it ;  and  when  he  shui- 
teth  against  whatever  would  hurt  or  defile,  none  can 
open.  /  kn&a  thy  vorfes— How  exemplary  they 
are;  behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  &c. 
—I  have  given  thee  power  and  opportunity  of  spread- 
ing my  gospel,  which  none  can  hinder  thee  from 
doing;  for  thou  hast  a  little  strength— k  little  cou- 
rage and  power ;  and  hast  kept  my  word — ^Both  in 
judgment  and  practice;  and  hast  not  denied  m% 
name — Though  my  enemies  have  made  many  e^ 
forts  to  compel  thee  to  do  it 

Verses  9,10.  Behold,  /—Who  have  all  power,  and 
when  I  exert  it  they  must  then  comply ;  vnll  make 
them — Who  are  indeed  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan — 
And  under  all  the  solemn  guise  of  religious  worship 
are  carrying  on  Satan's  cause  and  interest;  vhidi 
say  they  are  Jews — Pretend  to  be  my  people,  but 
are  not;  I  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship,  or 
bow  down,  before  thy  feet — To  pay  thee  the  lowest 
homage ;  and  to  know  that  I  have  loved  thee — That 
all  depends  on  my  love;  and  that  thou  hast  a  place 
therein;  or  to  find  that  I  evidently  support  thy  cause 
and  interest  against  all  that  oppose  it.  Because 
thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience — That  gos- 
pel which  I  have  myself^  by  such  patient  suffering  in 
my  human  nature,  established  in  the  world,  and  by 
which  I  at  once  exercise  and  support  the  faith  and 
patience  of  my  people;  /  also  will  keep  thee — O 
happy  exemption  from  that  spreading  calamity! 
from  the  hour  of  temptation — Or  of  triaL  I  will 
partly  p^-eserve  thee  from  it,  and  partly  support 
thee  under  it.  In  other  words,  My  hand  shall  re- 
markably appear  in  defending  thee  from  the  dangers 
by  which  others  fall;  and  in  strengthening  thee  in 
proportion  to  the  trial.  The  word  fiour  denotes  the 
short  time  of  its  continuance;  that  is,  at  any  one 
place.  At  every  one  it  was  very  sharp,  though  short, 
wherein  the  great  tempter  was  not  idle,  chap.  iL  10. 
If  hich  shall  come  upon  all  the  world— Upon  the 
whole  Roman  empire,  as  the  original  expression 
frequently  signifies.  It  went  over  the  Christians, 
and  over  the  Jews  and  heathen,  though  in  a  very 
different  manner.  This  was  the  time  of  the  perse- 
cution under  the  seemingly  virtuous  emperor  Trajan. 
The  two  preceding  persecutions  were  under  those 
monsters,  Nero  and  Domitian.  But  Trajan  was  so 
admired  for  his  goodness,  and  his  persecution  was  of 
such  a  nature,  that  it  was  a  temptation  indeed,  and 
did  thoroughly  try  them  thai  dwelt  upon  the  earth. 

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CHAPTER  in. 


Philadelphia  and  LaodicetL 


A.  M.  4ioe.    11  Behold,  ^  I  come  quickly :  *  hold 


that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  do 
man  take  'thy  crown. 

12  Him  that  overcometh,  will  I  make  ^a  pillar 
in  the  temple  of  my  Qod,  and  he  shall  go  no 
more  out :  and  ^  I  will  write  upon  him  the 
name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the  <iity  of 
my  (xod,  which  is  *  New  Jerusalem,  which 
Cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from  my  God: 


<  l>ha.  iv.  5 ;  Chap.  i.  3 ;  xiii.  7,  12^  20. •  Verse  3 ;  Chap. 

ii.  25. 'Chapter  ii.  10.-;^ — 1 1  iCinga  rii.  21 ;  Oalatians  ii.  9. 

^  Chap.  ii.  17 ;  zir.  1 ;   xzii.  4. 


Verses  11, 12.  i?dioW, /come  gwicWy— To  put  an  end 
to  those  trials  which  for  the  present  are  so  painful; 
hold  that  fast  which  thou  /io*/— With  resolute  fideli- 
ty ;  that  no  man  take  thy  croim-^That  no  person  or 
thing  may  prevent  thy  receiving  that  crownof  ever- 
lasting glory  which  will  be  the  gracious  reward  of 
thy  continued  fidelity.  Him  that  overcometh — All 
opposing  power  by  faith  and  patience ;  will  I  make 
a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God — I  will  5x  him  im- 
moveable in  God'?  heavenly  temple,  ;where  he  shall 
be  as  a  pillar  of  distinguished  ornament  and  beauty ; 
and  he  shall  go  no  more  out — But  shall  be  holy  and 
happy  for  ever :  and  I  will  write  upon  Mm  the  name 
of  my  God— So  that  the  nature  and  image  of  God 
shall  appear  visibly  upon  him.  And  the  name  of  the 
city  of  my  God — Giving  him  a  title  to  dwell  in  the 
New  Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven 
from  my  God — And  shall  soon  be  represented  to 
thee,  O  John,  in  a  most  glorious  vision.  And  I  will 
write  upon  him  my  new  name — I  will  give  him  a 
share  in  that  joy  which  I  entered  into  after  over- 
coming all  my  enemies.  "  Few  texts,"  says  Dod- 
dridge, "  in  the  whole  New  Testament,  are  more  illus- 
trated by  antiquity  than  this.  Great  numbers  of 
inscriptions  are  yet  remaining,  brought  from  the 
Grecian  cities  of  Europe  and  Ajsia,  and  some  from 
Islands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Patmos,  in  which  the 
victories  of  eminent  persons  are  commemorated. 
And,  as  some  of  these  were  placed  near  the  temples 
of  their  deities,  others  were  in  those  temples,  to  sig- 
nify their  being  put  under  the  particular  protection 
of  those  deities ;  whose  names  therefore  were  in- 
scribed upon  them,  and  the  names  of  the  conquerors 
and  of  the  cities  to  which  they  belonged ;  as  also  the 
names  of  the  generals  by  whose  conduct  the  victory 
was  gained." 

Verses  14-16.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  of 
the  Laodiceans  write — Laodicea  lay  south  of  Phila- 
delphia in  the  way  to  return  to  Ephesus:  for  the 
seven  churches  lay  in  a  kind  of  circular  form,  so  that 
the  natural  progress  was  froii»  Ephesus  to  Smyrna, 
and  so  forward  in  the  order  in  which  the  cities  arc 
here  addressed,  which  probably  was  the  order  in 
which  St.  John  used  to  visit  them.  "That  there  was 
afiourishing  church  at  Laodicea,  in  the  primhive 
times  of  Christianity,  is  evident,  from  St.  Paul's  epis- 
tle to  the  Colossians,  wherein  frequent  mention  is 
made  of  the  Laodiceans,  as  well  as  from  this  epistle 
b 


^  and  lunll  write  upon  him  my  new  a.  m.  4100 
name.  '  ' 

13  ^  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

14  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  ^  of  tha 
Laodiceans  write ;  °*  These  things  saith  the 
Amen,  '^  the  fiuthful  and  true  Witness,  ^the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation  of  God ; 

15  I"  I  know  thy  works^  that  thou  art  neither 


i  Gal.  ir.  26 ;    Heb.  xii.  22 ;  Cli.  xxi.  2,  10. ^  Ch.  zxii.  4. 

1  Chap.  ii.  7.—*  Or,  in  Laod£c«i.— — ™  Isa.  Ixt.  16.— ■  Ch^. 
L  5 ;  xix- 11 ;  xxii.6 ;  Verse  7. »Col.  i  15. p  Veise  1. 


by  St.  John.  But  the  doom  of  Laodicea  seemeth  to 
have  been  more  severe  and  terrible  than  that  of  al- 
most any  other  of  the  seven  churches.  For  it  is  now 
utterly  destroyed  and  forsaken  of  men,  and  is  become 
a  habitation  only  for  wolves,  foxes,  and  jackals,  a 
den  of  dragons,  snakes,  and  vipers.  And  that  be- 
cause the  Lord  hath  executed  the  judgment  that  he 
had  pronounced  upon  her,  that  all  the  world  might 
know  and  tremble  at  the  fierce  anger  of  God  against 
impenitent,  negligent,  and  careless  sinners.  The 
ruins  show  it  to  have  been  a  very  great  cjty,  situated 
on  six  or  seven  hills,  and  encompassing  a  large  space 
of  ground.  Some  notion  may  be  formed  of  its  for- 
mer greatness  and  glory  from  three  theatres  and  a 
circus  which  are  remaining ;  one  of  which  is  truly 
admirable,  as  it  was  capable  of  containing  about 
thirty  thousand  men,  into  whose  area  they  descended 
by  fifty  steps.  This  city  is  now  called  Eski  Hisar, 
or  the  Old  Castle ;  and  though  it  was  once  the  mo- 
ther church  of  sixteen  bishoprics,  yet  it  now  liesde« 
solate,  not  so  much  as  inhabited  by  shepherds ;  and^ 
so  far  from  showing  any  of  the  ornaments  of  God's 
ancient  worship,  it  cannot  now  boast  of  an  ancho- 
rite's or  hermit's  chapel,  where  God  is  praised  or  in- 
voked." The  testimony  of  Mr.  Lindsay  (quoted 
respecting  the  other  churches)  agrees  perfectly  with 
this  of  Bishop  Newton.  "Eski  Hisar,"  he  says, 
"  close  to  which  are  the  remains  of  ancient  Laodicea, 
contains  ab6ut  fifty  poor  inhabitants,  in  which  num- 
ber are  but  two  Christians,  who  live  together  in  a 
small  mill :  unhappily,  neither  could  read  at  all :  the 
copy,  therefore,  of  the  New  Testament,  which  I  in- 
tended for  thi^  church,  I  left  with  that  of  Denizli, 
the  ofl&pring  and  poor  remains  of  Laodicea  and  Co- 
lossC;.  The  prayers  of  the  mosque  are  the  only 
prayers  which  are  heard  near  the  ruins  of  Laodicea, 
on  which  the  threat  seems  to  have  been  fully  exe- 
cuted in  its  utter  rejection  as  a  church." 

These  things  saith  the  Amen — That  is.  The  true 
One;  the  faithful  and  true  WHness—Ue  who  attests 
those  truths,  which  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  on 
the  most  perfect  knowledge  of  them,  and  with  the 
most  unerring  exactness:  the  beginning — The  Au- 
thor, Head,  and  Ruler  of  the  creation  of  God— Of 
all  creatures,  as  opxn  "^c  Knaeug  evidently  here  signi- 
fies. The  person  by  whom  the  Father  created  all 
things,  Heb.  i.  2 ;  Eph.  iii.  9 ;  John  i.  3.  /  know  thy 
works—Thj  disposition  and  behaviour ;  though  thou 
716 


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'Letter  to  the  diurch  at  Laodicea. 


REVELATION. 


Promise  to  kin  that  otercometh^ 


k,  M.  4U)0.  cold  nor  hot :  I  would  thou  wert  cdd 

A.  D.  90.  1  ^ 

or  hot 

16  So  then,  because  thou  ait  lukewarm,  imd 
neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my 
mouth : 

17  Because  thou  sayest,  ^  I  am  rich,  and  in- 
creased with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing ; 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and 
miserable,  and  poor,  and  bCnd,  and  naked : 

18  I  counsel  thee  '  to  buy  of  me  gold  tried  in 
the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich  ;  and  *  white 
raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  thcU 
the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  do  not  appear; 

<iH<M.  xii.  8;  i  Cor.  ir.  8. 'Isa.  It.  1 ;  Matt.  xiii.  44; 

xxj.  d.— ^-•2'Cor.  ▼.  3;   Chwler  yii.  13;   xri.  15;    xix.  8. 
t  Job  V.  17 ;  Pror.  uL  U,  12 ;  Heb.  xii.  5,  6 ;  James  i.  12. 


kuowest  it  not  thyself;  that  thou  art  neither  cold — 
An  utter  stranger  to  divine  things,  having  no  care  or 
thought  about  them ;  nor  Aot— Zerof ,  fervent^  like 
boiling  water,  as  the  word  implies:  so  ought  we  to 
be  penetrated  and  heated  by  the  fire  of  divine  love. 
/  v)ould  that  thou  wert — This  wish  of  our  Lord 
plainly  implies  that  he  does  not  work  on  us  irresisti- 
bly, as  the  fire  does  on  the  water  which  it  heats: 
cold  or  hot— Even  if  Ihou  wert  cold,  without  any 
thought  or  profession  of  religion,  there  would  be 
more  hope  of  thy  recovery.  The  religion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  either  true  or  false :  there  is  no  me- 
dium :  if  it  be  false,  it  is  worth  nothing;  and  there- 
fore it  is  quite  reasonable  to  be  cold  and  indifferent 
about  it:  but  if  it  be  true,  as  w^  are  sure,  on  the  most 
satisfactory  evidence,  that  it  is,  it  is  worth  every 
thing:  it  is  of  infinite,  because  of  everlasting  worth : 
it  is  therefore  a  most  unreasonable  thing,  not  to  be 
deeply  concerned  about  it ;  even  unspeakably  more 
than  about  any  earthly  thing  whatsoever :  and  we  are 
inexcusable  if  we  are  not  so  concerned.  So  then^  be- 
cause ihou  art  lukewarm— In  a  state  of  indifference, 
which  is  as  disagreeable  to  me  as  lukewarm  water  is 
to  a  man's  stomach ;  /  will  spew  thee  out  of  my 
mouth—l  win  utterly  cast  thee  from  me ;  that  is, 
unless  thou  repent. 

Verses  17-19.  Because  thou  sayest,  lavi  ric/t— In 
gifts  and  grace,  as  well  as  worldly  goods;  and  in- 
creased  with  goods— (ireek,  Kai  itewXttTifKa,  literally. 
And  have  enriched  myself,  by  my  own  wisdom  and 
virtue;  and  have  need  of  nothing— Iimgimng  thy 
state  in  rerigion  to  be  very  prosperous  and  happy ; 
and  knowest  not — Dost  not  so  much  as  suspect  that 
thy  religion  is  at  all  defective :  th€U  thou  art—Jn 
Grod's  account;  wretched^  miserable,  &c. — In  a  most 
deplorable  condition,  destitute  of  every  desirable 
blessing.  I  counsel  thee— Who  art  poor,  and  blind, 
and  naked ;  to  buy  of  me — ^Without  money  or  price ; 
gold  tried  in  the  fire— Living  faith,  purified  in  the 
furnace  of  aflliction;  thai  thou  mayest  be  rich — In 
the  enjoyment  of  God's  favour,  and  communion  with 
him,  and  all  the  blessings  consequent  thereon.  And 
white  raiment— True  and  genuine  holiness;  that 
thou  mayest  be  closed— With  the  divine  image  and 
71« 


and  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eye-salve,  a.  m.  410a 
that  thou  mayest  see.  — ! — ! — 

19  ^  As  many  as  Hove,  I  rebuke  and  chasten  i 
be  zealous,  therefiMre,  and  repent. 

20  Behdd,  ^  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock: 
'  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
7 1  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  me. 

21  To  him  that  overcometh  '  will  I  grant  to  sit 
with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame, 
and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  dirone. 

22  *  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

«  Cant  T,  2. «  Lake  xU.  37. y  John  xir.  23. *  Matt. 

ziz.28;  Luke  zxii.  30 ;  IGor.  vi.  2;  2Tiffl.  ii.  12;  Chap.  ii. 
26,  27. »  Chap.  ii.  7. 

nature.  And  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eye-^cUve-^ 
Spiritual  illumination ;  the  unction  of  the  Holy  One, 
which  teacheth  all  things ;  thai  thou  mayest  see — 
Mayest  possess  that  acquaintance  with  God  and 
things  divine  which  is  essential  to  true  religion.  As 
many  as  I  love — Even  thee,  thon ,  poor  Laodicean. 
As  if  he  had  said,  Do  not  imagine  that  what  may 
seem  severe  in  this  address,  proceeds  from  any  unr 
kindness  to  thee :  far  from  it:  love,  that  is,  a  regard 
to  thine  immortal  interests,  dictates  the  whole.  O 
how  much  has  his  unwearied  love  to  do !  From  this 
principle,  /  rebuke — For  what  is  past :  and  chasten 
—That  men  may  amend  for  the  time  to  come.  Be 
zealousy  therefore — More  so  than  thou  hast  ever  been, 
and  deeply  repent — Of  thy  prevailing  lukewarm- 
ness  and  indolence. 

Verses  20,  21.  Behold,  Island— Or,  I  have  stood^ 
as  er9«ux  literally  signifies,  namely,  for  a  long  time ; 
and  I  still  stand,  even  at  this  instant;  at  the  door — 
Of  men's  hearts ;  and  fejocA— Waiting  for  admit- 
tance :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice — With  a  due  re- 
gard, namely,  the  voice  of  my  providence,  word, 
and  Spirit;  and  open  the  door — Willingly  receive 
me,  or  welcome  me  with  the  affection  due  to  such  a 
friend  and  Saviour ;  /  will  come  in  to  him — And 
dwell  in  his  heart  by  faith,  (Eph.  iii.  17,)  how  mean 
soever  his  circumstances  in  life  may  be,  and  bow 
faulty  soever  his  character  may  have  been  former- 
ly ;  and  will  sup  with  kirn — Refreshing  him  with 
the  gifts  and  graces  of  my  Spirit,  and  delighting  my- 
self in  what  I  have  given ;  and  he  with  me — As  I 
will  sup  with  him  here,  he  shall  sup  with  me  in  life 
everlasting  hereafter.  For  to  him  that  overcomethr-- 
The  various  temptations  with  which  he  is  assaulted, 
and  patiently  bears  the  trials  which  he  is  called  to 
pass  through ;  will  I  grant  to  sit  down  with  me  on 
my  throne — In  unspeakable  happiness  and  glory  in 
the.  heavenly  and  eternal  world  ;  even  as  I  also  over- 
came— The  enemies  which  violently  assaulted  me 
in  the  days  of  my  flesh;  and  am  set  down  with  my 
Father  in  Ms  throne — For  all  things  that  the  Father 
hath  are  mine. 

Verse  22.  He  that  hath  ian  ear,  let  him  hear,  &c 
---This  stands  in  the  three  former  letters  before  the 

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CHAPTER  IV. 


opened  in  heaven. 


promise ;  in  the  four  latter^  after  it ;  clearly  diriding 
the  seven  into  two  parts;  the  first  containing  three, 
the  last  four  letters.  The  titles  given  our  Lord  in 
the  three  former  letters  peculiarly  respect  his  power 
after  his  resurrection  and  ascension,  particularlyover 
his  church;  those  in  the  four  latter,  his  divine  glory 
and  unity  with  the  Father  uod  the  Holy  Spirit 
Again,  this  word  being  placed  before  the  promises 
in  the  three  former  letters,  excludes  the  liaise  apos- 
tles at  Ephesus,  the  false  Jews  at  Smjrma,  and  the 
partakers  with  the  heathen  at  Pergamos,  from  hav- 
ing any  ^are  therein.  In  the  four  latter  being 
placed  afler  them,  it  leaves  the  promises  immediately 
joined  with  Christ's  address  to  the  angel  of  the 
church,  to  show  that  the  fulfilling  of  these  was  near : 
whereas  the  others  reach  beyond  the  end  of  the 
worid.  It  should  be  observed,  that  the  overcoming 
or  victory  (to  which  alone  these  peculiar  promises 
are  annexed)  is  not  the  ordinary  victory  obtained  by 
every  believer,  but  a  special  victory  obtained  over 
great  and  peculiar  temptations  by  those  that  are  | 
strong  in  faith.    *'  Such,"  says  Bishop  Newton  on ! 


the  dose  of  these  chapters,  ^is  the  state  and  condi- 
tion of  these  seven  once  glorious  and  flourishing 
churches;  and  there  cannot  be  a  stronger  proof  of 
the  truth  of  prophecy,  nor  a  more  effectual  warning 
to  other  Christians.  *  These  objects,'  Wheeler  justly 
observes,  ^  ought  to  make  us,  who  yet  enjoy  the  di- 
vine mercies,  to  tremble,  and  earnestly  contend  to 
find  outyrom  whence  we  arefaUen^  and  do  daily  faU 
from  bad  to  worse ;  that  God  is  a  <5od  of  purer  eyes 
than  to  behold  iniquity;  and  seeing  the  a.re  is  thus 
long  since  put  to  the  root  of  the  tree,  should  it  not 
make  us  repent  and  turn  to  God,  lest  we  likewise 
perish  ?  We  see  here  w?uU  d^truction  the  Lord 
hath  brought  upon  the  earth.  But  it  is  the  Lord^s 
doing:  and  thence  we  may  reap  no  small  advantage 
by  considering  how  just  he  is  in  all  hxs  judgments^ 
^nd  faithjul  in  all  his  promises.^  We  may  truly  soy, 
(i  Cor.  X.  11, 12,)  that  all  these  tilings  happened  unto 
them  for  ensamples  ;  and  they  are  written  for  our 
admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are 
come.  Wherefore,  let  him  that  thinkeih  he  standeth 
take  heed  lest  he  falV 


CHAPTER  IV. 

We  are  now  entering  uppn  the  main  prophecy ^  to  which  the  contents  of  this  and  of  the  foOawing  chapter  are  a  solemn  intro- 
duction. Another  scene  therefore  now  opens  on  the  apostle^  in  which,  (1,)  God  is  represented  as  enthroned  in  celestial 
glory,  surrounded  by  a  rainbow,  emblematical  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  with  hieroglyphical  representations  of  his  church, 
both  under  the  Jewish  and  Christian  dispensations,  1-7.  (S,)  These  attendants  on  the  Divine  Majesty  are  represented  as 
adoring  Mm  with  incessant  songs  of  praise,  8-11. 


A.  M.  4100.    A  FTER*  this  I  looked,  and  behold, 

A.  D.  96.      iX         J  ,    .      1 

a  door  wets  opened  in  heaven : 

and  *  the  first  voice  which  I  heard  was  as  it 


*  Trinity  Swtday,  epittle,  reree  1  to  the  end. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IV. 
Verse  1.  The  former  vision  which  John  saw,  con- 
tained in  the  foregoing  chapters,  represented  the 
state  of  the  church  at  the  time  when  the  vision  was 
given,  or  the  things  that  then  were,  (chap.  i.  19,)  and 
gave  suitable  directions  to  the  churches,  with  their 
pastors,  to  encourage  their  faith  and  patience,  and 
excite  them  to  constancy  and  perseverance.  Now 
the  apostle  records  a  second  vision,  in  which  the 
things  were  revealed  to  him  that  should  be  after- 
ward, namely^  to  the  end  of  time:  or  the  things 
which  were  to  come  to  pass,  in  successive  order, 
from  the  time  of  the  vision  till  the  mystery  of  God 
should  be  finished.  In  order  to  raise  the  greater  at- 
tention of  the  church,  and  to  represent  the  certainty 
and  great  importance  of  the  things  revealed,  both  to 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  mankind,  God 
himself  is  represented  as  seated  on  his  heavenly 
throne,  in  the  midst  of  his  saints,  and  the  whole 
general  assembly  of  his  church,  and  the  glorious 
majesty  and  infinite  perfections  of  Grod  are  set  forth 
by  very  lively,  expressive,  and  beautiful  images,  to^ 
gether  with  the  high  regard  which  the  churches 
b 


were  of  a  trumpet  talkmg  with  me;  A.M. 4ioo. 

which  said,  **  Come  up  hither,  ®  and  I  '. — 

will  show  thee  things  which  must  be  hereafter. 

»  Chap.  L  10. »>  Chi^).  xi.  12. c  chap.  i.  19 ;  xxii.  6. 


ought  always  to  have  for  the  counsels,  designs,  and 
dispensations  of  divine  providence,  declared  and 
published  in  so  solemn  a  manner. 

After  this— Thiii  is,  after  I  had  seen  the  foregoing 
vision,  and  had  written  as  I  was  directed,  the  seven 
letters  to  the  seven  churches,  from  the  mouth  of 
Christ ;  /  looked^Being  directed  so  to  do ;  and,  be- 
hold,  a  door  was  opened  in  heaven — So  it  appeared 
to  me,  and  hereby  I  understood  that  other  heavenly 
discoveries,  Such  as  had  not  been  made  before,  were 
about  to  be  communicated  to  me,  and  that  I  should 
obtain  a  further  insight  into  the  divine  counsels. 
Other  openings  like  that  here  spoken  of  are  succes- 
sively mentioned .  Here  a  door  is  opened  ;  aAerward, 
the  temple  of  God  in  heaven,  chap.  xi.  19 ;  xv.  5  j 
and,  at  last,  heaven  itself  is  opened,  chap.  xix.  1 1. 
By  each  of  these  openings,  St.  John  gains  a  new  and 
more  extended  prospect.  He  saw  and  heard,  and 
then,  it  seems,  immediately  wrote  down  one  part 
a(ler  another.  By  the  particle  and  the  several  parts 
of  the  prophecy  are  usually  connected:  by  the  ex- 
pression after  these  things,  they  are  distinguished 
from  each  other,  chap.  Ml  9;  xix.  1  j  and  by  that 
717 


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REVELATimf. 


•ttihronediiiiglorf. 


A.  M.  4ioa 

A.  D.9G. 


2  And  immediately  '  I  was  in  the 

.  Spirit :    and  behold,  *  a  throne  was 

heaven,  and  one   sat  on   the  throne. 

he  that  sat  was  to  look. upon  like  a 

^and  there  VHJLs^ 


set    m 

3  And 

jasper  and  a  sardine-stone 
rainbow  round  abont  the  throne,  in  sight  Eke 
unto  an  emerald. 

4  '  And  round  about  the  throne  were  four  and 


*  Chap.  i.  10 ;  xriL  3  ;  ixi  10. •  Isa.  tL  1 ;  Jer.  xviL  12 ; 

Ezek.  i.  26  ;  x.  1 ;  Dan.  vii.  9. 'Exek.  i.  2a %  C^itp.  xi. 

16. fc  Ohap.  iii.  4, 5 ;  ri.  11 ;  rii.  9, 13, 14;  xix.  14. 


expression,  And  after  these  things^  they  are  both 
distinguished  and  connected,  chap.  vii.  1;  xv.  5; 
xviii.  1.  And  the  first  voice  which  Iheard-Some- 
ly,  that  of  Christ,  (afterward  he  heard  the  voices  of 
many  others,)  was  aa  it  were  of  a  trumpet  talking 
with  wc~There  may  probably  be  an  alhision  here 
to  the  custom  of  the  Jewish  Church,  in  which,  upon 
opening  the  gates  of  the  temple,  the  priests  sounded 
their  trumpets  to  call  the  Levites  and  priests  to  at- 
tend to  their  several  offices;  which  said,  Come  up 
hither—'Soi  in  body,  but  in  spirit,  which  was  in- 
stantly done;  and  I  will  show  thee  things  which 
must  be  hereafter-^To  such  things,  then  future,  the 
whole  subsequent  prophecy  refers. 

Verse  2.  Immediately  Iw<u  in  the  fifpirft— Even 
in  a  higher  degree  than  before.  "This  phrase," 
says  Doddridge,  "signifies  to  be  under  a  strong  and 
supernatural  impulse,  caused  by  the  miraculous  op- 
eration of  the  Spirit  of  God  acting  on  the  imagina- 
tion, in  such  a  manner  as  to  open  extraordinary 
scenes,  which  had  not  any  exact  external  archetj^. 
And  it  is  much  illustrated  by  the  view  presented  to 
Ezokiel,  when  he  sat  in  his  house  among  the  elders 
of  the  people,  (Ezek.  viii.  1,)  who  probably  saw 
nothing  but  the  prophet  himself,  as  one  who  was  in 
a  trance  or  ecstasy,  or  whose  thoughts  were  so  at- 
tentively fixed  as  to  be  insensible  of  what  passed 
around  him.  We  are  not  therefore  to  imagine  that 
the  person  sitting  on  the  throne,  or  the  four  animals, 
or  theybt^r  a;nd  twenty  elders,  were  real  beings  ex- 
isting in  nature,  though  they  represented,  in  a  figura- 
tive manner,  things  that  did  really  exist.  And, 
though  it  is  possible  that  aerial  scenes  might,  by  di- 
vine or  angelic  power,  have  been  formed,  I  think  it 
much  more  probable  that  all  that  passed  was  purely 
in  the  imagination  of  St.  John.  This  will  keep  us, 
in  our  interpretation,  clear  of  a  thousand  difficulties, 
not  to  say  absurdities,  which  would  follow  from  a 
contrary  supposition,  namely,  that  there  is  in  hea- 
ven an  animal  in  the  form  of  a  lamb,  to  represent 
Christ,  and  that  there  are  such  living  creatures  as 
here  described;  and  that  God  himself  appears  in  a 
human  form,**  &c. 

Behold,  a  throne  was  set  in  ^ieaven— Representing 
that  of  the  blessed  God;  and  one  sat  on  the  throne^ 
Of  a  majestic  form  and  appearance,  and  arrayed  in 
robes  of  glory  as  a  king,  governor,  and  judge.  Here 
is  described  God,  the  Almighty,  the  Father  of  hea- 
ven, in  his  majesty,  glory,  and  dominion. 
718 


twenty  seats;  and  upon  the  sei^  I  saw  a.  M.4iofli 
four  and  twenty  elders  sitting,  ^  clothed  ^    '^ 
in  white  raiment ;  ^  and  they  had  on  their  heads 
crowns  of  gold. 

5  And  out  of  the  throne  pioceeded^  lightnings, 
and  thunderings,  and  voices.  ^  And  there  were 
seven  lamps  of  fire  burning  before  the  throne, 
which  are  "^  the  sevea  Spirits  of  God. 


*  Verse  10. ^  Chap.  viii.  5:  iti.  18. ^  Exod.  xzxrii.  83 ; 

2  Chron.  it.  20;  Ezek.  L  13  ;  Zech.  ir.  2. «  Chap.  i.  4  j  Hi. 

1;  T.a 


Verse  3.  He  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a  Jasper 
— Shone  with  a  visible  lustre,  like  that  of  sparkling 
precious  stones,  such  aa  those  which  were  of  old  on 
the  high- priest's  breast-plate,  and  those  placed  as  the 
foundations  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  chap.  xxi.  19, 20. 
If  there  be  any  thing  emblematical  in  the  colours  of 
these  stones,  possibly  the  jasper  (one  species,  at  least, 
of  which,  according  to  Pliny,  is  milky  white,  and 
according  to  Daubuz,  of  a  white  and  bright  shining 
colour)  might  be  a  s3rmboi  of  God's  purity,  with  va- 
rious other  perfections  which  shine  in  all  his  dispen- 
sations. The  sardine-stone,  of  a  blood-red  colour, 
or  with  white  and  red  strata,  may  be  an  emblem  of 
his  justice,  and  of  the  vengeance  he  was  about  to 
execute  on  his  enemies.  An  emerald,  being  green, 
may  betoken  favour  to  the  penitent  and  pious;  and 
the  rainbow,  of  an  emerald  colour,  was  undoubtedly 
intended  to  express  the  everlasting  covenant  of  grace 
and  peace,  of  which  the  rainbow  was  to  Noah  an  ap- 
pointed token.  And  this  rainbow,  being  round 
about  the  whole  breadth  of  the  throne,  0xed  the  dis- 
tance of  those  who  stood  or  sat  round  it. 

Verses  4, 5.  And  round  about  the  throne — In  a  cir- 
cle ;  four  and  twenty  'seats — Greek,  ^povoi,  thrones; 
andupon  the  thrones  four  and  twenty  elders — Signi- 
fying, perhaps,  the  most  wise^  holy,  and  useful  of  all 
the  former  ages,  whether  of  the  patriarchal,  Jewish, 
or  Christian  Church,  Isa.  xxiv.  23;  Heb.  xii.  1.  In 
the  number,  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  that  of 
the  patriarchs  and  apostles,  and  they  may  be  called 
elders,  because  the  presidency  of  elders  was  common 
among  the  Jews.  Or,  as  Bishop  Newton  thinks,  the 
allusion  is  to  the  princes  of  the  four  and  twenty 
courses  of  the  Jewish  priests:  and  if  so,  these  four 
and  twenty  elders  must  be  considered  as  represent- 
ing the  Jewish  Clwrch.  Indeed,  their  harps,  and 
golden  vials  fuU  of  odours,  (chap.  v.  8,)  seem  to  in- 
timate their  connection  with  the  ancient  tabernacle 
service,  in  which  such  things  were  wont  to  be  used. 
Sitting— In  general;  but  falling  down  when  they 
worshipped;  clothed  in  white  raiment--k  habit 
resembling  that  of  the  Jewish  priests,  and  emble- 
matical of  their  purity ;  and  on  their  heads  crowne 
of  gold— In  token  of  their  being  made  kings  as  weU 
as  priests  unto  God.  And  out  of  the  throne  proceed- 
ed lightnings,  thunderings,  voices — The  usual  con- 
comitants of  the  divine  presence,  representing  the 
awful  majesty  of  the  one  true  God,  the  King  of  Is- 
rael ;  and  also  emUematical  of  the  revelations  about 

b 


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CHAFTBR  FT. 


to  the  L&rd  Chd  Almighty. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  90. 


6  And  before  the  throne  there  was 
■^a  sea  of  glass  like  unto  crystal: 
*  and  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  round 
about  the  throne,  v)ere  four  beasts  Adl  of  eyes 
before  'and  behind. 
7  4  And  the  first  beast  K^o^  like  a  lion,  and  the 
second  beast  like  acalf,  and  the  third  beast  had 


•  Ezod.  zzzriii.  8 ;  Chap.  rr.  % — ^  Esek.  i.  5. — 
4  Num.  ii.  2,  4cc ;  Ezek.  i.  10 ;  z.  14. 


}Yex99  9, 


to  be  given,  aod  of  the  commotiona  and  convplsions 
about  to  take  place  in  the  world  and  in  the  church. 
See  on  chap.  viii.  5  \  xi.  19.  And  there  were  seven 
lamps  of  fir  e^  fc,y  which  arc  the  ^even  spirita—Thoi 
is,  which  represent  the  various  gifts  and  operations 
of  God's  Holy  Spirit.    See  on  chap.  i.  4 

Verses  6,  7.  And  before  the  thronetherewcLs  a  sea 
of  glass  like  unto  aystal — Wide  and  deep,  pure  and 
clear,  transparent  and  still.  Both  the  seven  lamps 
of  fire  and  this  sea  are  before  the  throne,  and  both 
may  mean  the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
whose  powers  and  operations  are  frequently  repre- 
sented both  under  the  emblem  of  ^6  and  wcUer, 
We  read  again,  chap.  xv.  2,  of  a  sea  as  of  glass, 
where  there  is  no  mention  of  the  seven  lamps  of 
fire;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  sea  itself  is  mingled 
with  fire.  We  read  also,  chap.  xxii.  1,  of  a  stream 
of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal.  Now,  the  sea 
which  is  before  the  throne,  and  the  stream  which 
goes  out  of  the  throne,  may  both  mean  the  same, 
namely,  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  in  the  midst  of  the 
^rone— With  respect  to  its  height;  and  round 
about  the  throne — ^That  is,  toward  the  four  quarters, 
east,  west,  north,  and  south ;  were  four  beasts^Or 
rather  living  creatures,  as  C»a  means,  (not  beasts, 
certainly,  any  more  than  birds,)  "  It  was  a  most 
unhappy  mistake,"  says  Doddridge,  ^^  in  our  trans- 
lators to  render  the  word  beasts,  as  it  certainly  sig- 
nifies any  other  kind  of  animals ;  that  is,  of  creatures 
which  have  animal  life,  as  weU  as  beasts.  The  word 
beasts  not  only  degrades  the  signification,  but  the 
animals  here  mentioned  have  parts  and  appearances 
which  beasts  have  not,  and  are  represented  in  the 
highest  sense  rational."  It  has  been  observed  on 
verse  4,  that  the  four  and  twenty  elders  may  repre- 
sent the  Jewish  Church.  If  so,  these  living  crea- 
tures may  represent  the  Christian  Church.  Their 
number,  also,  is  symbolical  of  universality,  and 
agrees  with  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  which  ex- 
tends to  all  nations  under  heaven.  And  the  new 
song,  which  they  all  sing,  saying,  TViou  hast  re- 
deemed us  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation,  (chap.  v.  9,)  could  not  possibly 
suit  the  Jewish  without  the  Christian  Church ;  nor 
is  it,  in  any  respect,  applicable  to  angels.  The  first 
living  creature  was  like  alum — ^To  signify  undaunt- 
ed courage;  the  second  like  a  calf'-ih  ox,  (Ezek. 
i.  10,)  to  signify  unwearied  patience:  the  third  with 
thefaceofaman^To  signify  prudence  and  compas- 
sion; the  fourth  like  a  flying  eagle-'To  signify  ac- 
tivity and  vigour;  JuU of  eyes^To  betoken  wisdom 
b 


a  &oe  as  a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast  a.  m.  4)oa 
was  Uke  a  flying  eagle.  ^'    '  ^ 

8  And  the  four  beasts  had  each  of  them  'six 
wings  about  him  ;  and  iAey  were  full  of  eyes 
'  within :  and  ^  they  rest  not  day  and  night,  say- 
ing, *HoIy,  hdy,  holy,  ''Lord  God  Almighty, 
'  which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come. 


rl8A.W.2.- 


■■  Verse  6. *  Gr.  theyhape  no  rttt.- 

•  Chap.  i.  S. s  Chap.  i.  4. 


-( Isa.  ri.  3. 


and  knowledge ;  before— To  see  the  face  of  him  that 
sittcth  on  the  throne ;  and  behind— To  see  what  is 
do^e  among  the  creatures.  Two  things  may  be  ob- 
served l^re ;  1st,  That  the  foiu*  qualities,  thus  em- 
blematically set  forth  in  these  four  living  creatures, 
namely,  undaunted  courage,  unwearied  patience 
under  sufferings,  prudence,  and  compassion,  and  vig- 
orous activity,  are  found,  more  or  less,  in  the  true 
members  of  Christ's  church  in  every  age  and  nation. 
2d,  That  it  may  possibly  be  here  intimated,  that 
these  qualities  would  especially  prevail  in  succeed- 
ing ages  of  the  church,  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  here  placed ;  that  is,  that  in  the  first  age,  true 
Christians  would  be  eminent  for  the  courage,  forti- 
tude, and  success  wherewith  they  should  spread  the 
gospel;  that  in  the  next  age  they  would  manifest 
remarkable  patience  in  bearing  persecution,  when 
they  should  be  killed  all  the  day,  like  calves  or  sheep 
appointed  for  the  slaughter:  that  in  the  subsequent 
age  or  ages,  when  the  storms  of  persecution  were 
blown  over,  and  Christianity  genendly  spread 
through  the  whole  Roman  empire,  knowledge  and 
wisdom,  piety  and  virtue  should  increase,  the  church 
should  wear  the  face  of  a  man;  and  excel  in  pru- 
dence, humanity,  love,  and  good  works :  and  that  in 
ages  still  later,  being  reformed  from  various  corrup- 
tions in  doctrine  and  practice,  and  full  of  vigour  and 
activity,  it  should  carry  the  gospel  as  upon  the  wings 
of  a  flying  eagle,  to  the  remotest  nations  under  hea- 
ven ;  to  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people. 

Verse  8.  And  the  four  living  creatures— yiiih  an 
allusion  to  the  seraphim  represented  in  Isaiah's 
vision ;  hcul  each  of  them  six  wings  about  him — 
Which  they  used  in  part  to  express  their  reverence 
and  humility,  and  in  part  to  show  readiness  and  ex- 
pedition in  performing  the  orders  and  commands  of 
God.  See  on  Isa,  vi.  2,3.  And  they  were  fuU  of  eyes 
within — Bengelius  reads  icvK^odev  xai  eaueev  yeftuciv 
ofeaXfutv,  round  about  and  wtihin  they  are  full  of 
eyes :  round  about  signifying  their  attention  to  and 
knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  world  and  church  in 
general ;  or  rather,  perhaps,  their  vigilance  and  cir^ 
cumspection,  their  attention  to  their  duty  to  God 
and  man,  and  their  watchful  observance  of  the  de- 
signs, wiles,  devices,  and  various  motions  and  snares 
of  their  spiritual  enemies ;  and  they  are  said  to  be 
fuU  of  eyes  within,  to  signify  their  self-knowledge, 
their  diligent  attention  to  the  state  of  their  own 
hearts,  and  the  various  workings  of  their  passions 
and  appetites,  their  afifections  and  thoughts.  And 
they  restnot-^0  happy  unrest!  day  and  night-^ 
719 


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whQ  uU  MfMNi  Ike  iknmA 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.96. 


9  And  when  those  beasts  give  glo^ 
ry,  and  hcmour,  and  thanks  to  him 
that  sat  on  the  throne,  ^  who  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever, 

10  'The  four  and  twenty  elders  Mdovm  be- 
fore him  that  sat  on  the  thrcNie,  ^and  worship  him 


rChap.  i.  IS;  ▼.  14; 


XT.  7. »  ChM>.  ▼.  8, 14.- 

k  Verse  4. 


iVeiM  S. 


They  are  incessant  in  the  spiritual  worship,  adora- 
tion, and  praise  of  him  who  is  a  Spirit ;  and  at 
all  proper  opportunities  they  unite  in  acts  of 
solemn  and  external  worship ;  saying^WWh  their 
lips^  as  well  as  in  their  hearts;  Holy^  holy,  holy.  Lord 
God  Almighty^  which  ever  icaSy  and  now  is,  and  is 
still  to  come— Or,  for  ever  will  be ;  the  one  true  God, 
the  everlasting  Lord,  the  Supreme  Governor  of  all 
beings. 

There  are  two  words  in  the  original  very  diflferent 
from  each  other,  both  which  we  translate  holy.  The 
one,  o(no^,  means  properly,  merciful:  but  the  other, 
ayioc,  which  occurs  here,  implies  much  more.  "  This 
holiness  is  the  sum  of  all  the  praise  which  is  given 
to  the  Almighty  Creator,  for  all  that  he  does  and  re- 
veals concerning  himself,  till  the  new  song  brings 
with  it  new  matter  of  glory.  This  word  properly 
signifies  separated.  And  when  God  is  termed  holy, 
it  denotes  that  excellence  which  is  altogether  pecu- 
liar to  himself;  and  the  glory  flowing  from  all  his 
attributes  conjoined,  shining  forth  from  all  his  works, 
and  darkening  all  things  besides  itself,  whereby  he 
is,  and  eternally  remains,  in  an  incomprehensible 
manner,  separate,  and  at  a  distance,  not  only  from 
all  that  is  impure,  but  likewise  from  all  that  is  created. 
God  is  separate  from  all  things.  He  is,  and  works 
from  himself,  out  of  himself,  in  himself,  through  him- 
self, for  himself.  Therefore  he  is  the  First  and  the 
Last,  the  only  One,  and  the  Eternal ;  living  and 
happy,  endless  and  unchangeable,  almighty,  omnis- 
cient, wise  and  tnie,  just  and  faithful,  gracious  and  i 
merciful.  When  God  is  spoken  of,  he  is  often  named,  | 
The  Holy  One,  And  as  God  swears  by  his  name, ' 
so  he  does  also  by  his  holiness,  that  is,  by  himself. ! 
This  holiness  is  often  styled  glory;  often  his  holi- 
ness and  glory  are  celebrated  together,  Lev.  x.  3 ; 
Isa.  vi.  4.  For  holiness  is  covered  glory,  and  glory 
is  uncovered  holiness.  The  Scripture  speaks  abund-  . 


that  liveth  for  ever  and  ev^,**  and  cast  a.  if.  4100 

their  crowns  before  the  throne,  sayiog,  1 . 

11  «Tbou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  reoehre 
glory,  aiid  honour,  and  pofwer :  '  for  thou  faaai 
created  all  things,  and  for  thy  [Measure  they  aie 
and  were  created. 


'  C^  T.  19;- 


>  Gen.  i.  1 ;  Aeto  sriL  S4 ;  Epk.  UL  9 ;   CoL 
I  IS;  Ckftp.z.6u 


antly  of  the  holiness  and  glory  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  And  hereby  is  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Holy  Trinity  eminently  confirmed.  TTiat 
is  also  termed  holy,  which  is  consecrated  to  him,  and 
for  that  end  separated  from  other  things.  And  so 
is  that  wherein  we  may  be  like  God,  or  united  to 
him.  In  the  hymn  resembling  this,  recorded  by 
Isaiah,  (chap.  vi.  3,)  is  added,  TVke  vhoie  earth  is 
JuU  of  his  glory.  But  this  is  deferred  in  the  Reve- 
lation, til]  the  glory  of  the  Lord  (his  enemies  being 
destroyed)  fills  the  earth."— Wesley. 

Verses  9-11.  And  when  those  living  creatures 
give  glory,  ^c,  the  elders  fall  doirw— -That  is,  as 
often  as  the  living  creatures  begin  thehr  song  of  ado- 
ration and  praise,  the  elders  immediately  fall  down. 
The  expression  implies  that  they  did  so  at  the  same 
instant,  and  that  they  both  did  this  frequently.  The 
living  creatures  do  not  say  directly,  Boly,  holy,  holy 
art  thou;  but  only  bend  a  little,  out  of  deep  reve- 
rence, and  say.  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord,  But 
the  elders,  when  they  are  fallen  down,  say,  Thon 
art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory — This  be  re- 
ceives, not  only  when  he  is  thus  praised,  but  also 
when  he  destroys  his  enemies,  and  glorifies  himself 
anew ;  glory,  &c. — ^In  the  Greek,  (which  has  the  ar- 
ticle with  each  noun,)  it  is,  the  glory,  and  the  honovr^ 
and  the  power ;  answering  the  thrice  holy  of  the 
living  creatures,  verse  9.  For  thou  hast  created  all 
things— By  thine  almighty  energy.  Creation  is  the 
ground  of  all  the  works  of  God.  Therefore  for  this, 
as  well  as  for  all  his  other  works,  he  must  and  will  be 
praised  to  all  eternity.  And  for  thy  pleasure — ^ta  ro 
^eXfffta  OH,  on  account  of  thy  will ;  they  are — They 
exist ;  and  were  at  first  created — Their  first  produc- 
tion and  continued  existence  are  owing  to  the  riches  of 
thy  free  goodness ;  and  therefore  they  are  all  under 
the  strongest  obligations,  according  to  their  respec- 
tive natures,  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  thy  glory. 


CHAPTER  V. 

tn  this  chapter,  (1,)  The  future  evenis  wMeh  were  about  to  take  place  sueceseively,  in  relation  to  God's  church,  are  repre- 
sented as  recorded  in  a  book  of  »even  volumes,  or  a  roll  of  seven  parchments  wrapped  up  one  within  snotker,  and  each 
sealed ;  which,  to  Johns  great  grief,  no  creature  could  open,  1-4.  (3,)  To  his  comfort,  Christ  takes  the  hook  from  kis 
Father's  hand  to  open  it,  5-7.  (3,)  Hereupon  the  four  living  creatures  and  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  or  tke  church  urn- 
versal.  Christian  and  Jewish,  fall  down  before  the  Lamb,  and  ascribe  high  praises  to  him  and  the  FatJter  in  their  respeetim 
songs,  8-14. 

720  b 


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CHAPTER  V. 


is  opened  by  Christ. 


k.  M.  4100.    A  ND  I  saw  m  the  right  hand  of 
■^  ^  ^'  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  a 

*  book  written  within  and  on  the  back  side, 
^  sealed  with  seven  seals. 

2  And  I  saw  a  strong  angel  proclaiming  with 
a  loud  voice,  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book, 
and  to  loose  the  seals  thereof? 

3  And  no  man  ^  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth,  nei- 


» Ezekiel   iL  9,   10. ^  Isaiah   xxix.   11 ;    Daniel   zii.  4. 

«  Vewc  13. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  V. 

Verse  1.  And  /«ai9— (This  is  a  continuation  of 
the  same  vision  0  in  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne — The  emblem  of  his  all-ruling  power; 
a  6ooAc— Which  he  held  openly,  in  order  to  give  it  to 
him  that  was  worthy  and  able  to  make  known  its 
contents.  Future  events  are  supposed  by  St.  John, 
as  well  as  by  Daniel,  and  other  prophets,  in  a  beau- 
tiful figure,  to  be  registered  in  a  book  for  the  greater 
certainty  of  tbem.  This  book  is  here  represented 
as  being  in  the  right  hand  of  God,  to  signify  that,  as 
he  alone  directs  the  afiairs  of  futurity,  so  be  alone  is 
able  to  reveal  them.  It  is  hardly  need  ful  (after  what 
was  observed  on  chap.  iv.  2)  to  say  that  there  is  not 
in  heaven  Any  real  book,  of  parchment  or  paper,  or 
that  Christ  does  not  really  stand  there,  in  the  shape 
of  a  lion  or  of  a  lamb.  Neither  is  there  on  earth 
any  monstrous  beast  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 
But  as  there  is  upon  earth  something  which,  in  its 
kind,  answelrs  to  such  a  representation ;  so  there  are 
in  heaven  divine  counsels  and  transactions  answer- 
able to  these  figurative  expressions.  Writings  ^erve 
to  inform  us  of  distant  and  of  future  things.  And 
hence  things  which  are  yet  to  come,  are  figuratively 
said  to  be  written  in  Ck)d's  book.  The  book  here 
spoken  of,  through  the  abundance  of  the  matter,  is 
said  to  be  vrritten  within  and  without,  or  on  the 
hack  side — As  the  roll  of  the  book  which  was  spread 
before  Ezekiel  (chap.  il.  10)  was  written  within 
and  without.  This  book  was  also  scaled^  to  signify 
that  the  counsels  of  God  are  inscrutable;  and  to  be 
sealed  with  seven  seals,  referring  to  so  many  signal 
periods  of  prophecy.  In  short,  we  should  consider 
this  book  as  being  such  a  one  as  the  ancients  used, 
whose  books  were  not  like  ours,  but  volumes,  or  long 
pieces  of  parchment,  rolled  upon  a  stick,  as  we  fre- 
quently roll  silks.  Such  was  this  volume  or  roll, 
consisting  of  seven  volumes  all  sealed.  Not  as  if 
the  apostle  saw  all  the  seals  at  once,  there  being 
seven  volumes  wrapped  up  one  within  another,  each 
of  which  was  sealed:  so  that  upon  opening  and  un- 
rolling the  first,  the  contents  only  of  one  volume 
were  laid  open,  and  the  second  appeared  to  be  seal- 
ed up  till  that  was  opened,  and  so  on  to  the  seventh. 
All  the  contents  of  this  book  are  included  and  exhi- 
bited in  the  following  chapters.  The  seals,  succes- 
sively opened,  show  the  state  of  the  church  under 
the  heathen  Roman  emperors,  and  predict  the  judg- 
ments coming  on  that  empire,  (which  had  so  cnielly 
persecuted  the  Christians,)  and  the  events  whereby 
it  should  be  brought  to  the  profession  of  Christianity. 

Vol.  II.  f  46  J 


ther  under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  A.  M.  4100. 
the  book,  neither  to  look  thereon.  ^^'^^ 

4  AndIweptmuch,becausenomanwasfound 
WOTthy  to  open  and  to  read  the  book,  neither  to 
look  thereon. 

5  And  one  of  the  elders  saith  unto  me,  Weep 
not :  behold,  ^  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda, 
•  the  Root  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to  open  the 

*GeiL  xlix.  9, 10;  Heb.  rii.  14. •Ita.  zi«  1, 10;  Rmb.  xv 

.12;  Chap.  xxiL  16. 


By  the  trumpets,  contahied  under  the  seventh  sea], 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  shaken,  that  they 
may  at  length  become  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  By 
the  vials,  (under  the  seventh  jtrumpet,)  the  power  of 
the  beast,  and  whatsoever  is  connected  with  it,  is 
broken.  This  sum  of  all  we  should  have  continually 
befoi-e  our  eyes.  It  was  all  represented  to  St.  John, 
at  Patmos,  in  one  day,  by  way  of  vision ;  but  the 
accomplishment  of  it  extends  from  that  time  through- 
out all  ages. 

Verses  2,  3.  And  I  saw  a  strong  angel,  Ac. — I 
beheld  in  my  vision  an  angel  of  chief  power,  as  at- 
tendant upon  the  heavenly  court,  making  proclama- 
tion, with  a  strong  audible  voice,  to  every  creature ; 
a  proclamation  too  great  for  a  man  to  make,  and  yet 
not  becoming  the  Lamb  himself,  and  therefore  made 
by  an  angel,  and  one  of  uncommon  eminence.  Who 
is  worthy  to  open  the  book,  &c.--Is  any  being  able 
and  fit  to  reveal  and  make  known  the  counsels  of 
God  registered  in  this  book,  and  to  brmg  them  into 
execution  ?  And  no  man— Greek,  ovSeic,  no  one,  no 
creature;  no,  not  the  Virgin  Mary  herself;  in  hea- 
ven, nor  in  earth,  neither  under  ^e  carfA— That  is, 
none  jn  the  universe ;  for  these  are  the  three  great 
regions,  into  which  the  whole  creation  is  divided ; 
was  able  to  open  the  book—To  declare  the  counsels 
of  God ;  neither  to  look  thereon— So  as  to  understand 
any  part  of  it. 

Verses  4,  5.  And  I  wept  much— Being  greatly  af- 
fected with  the  thought  that  no  being  whatsoever 
was  to  be  found  able  to  understand,  reveal,  and  ac- 
complish the  divine  counsels,  fearing  they  would 
still  remain  concealed  from  the  church.  This  weep- 
ing of  the  apostle  sprang  from  greatness  of  mind. 
The  tenderness  of  heart  which  he  always  had;  ap- 
peared more  clearly  now  he  was  out  of  his  own 
power.  The  Revelation  was  not  written  without 
tears:  neither  without  tears  will  it  be  understood. 
How  far  are  they  from  the  temper  of  St.  John,  who 
inquire  after  any  thing  rather  than  after  the  con- 
tents of  this  bookl  Yea,  who  applaud  their  own 
clemency,  if  they  excuse  those  that  do  inquire  into 
them  \  And  one  of  the  elders— One  of  the  four  and 
twenty  mentioned  chap.  iv.  4 ;  saith  unto  me,  Weep 
nor— He  relieved  my  fears,  and  comforted  me,  say- 
ing, Behold,  the  Lion,  Ac— Though  no  one  is  yet 
found  able  to  reveal  and  execute  these  purposes  of 
God,  respecting  ftiture  eVents,  there  is  one  person 
described  in  ancient  prophecy  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Juda — The  victorious  Prince,  who  is,  like  a  lion, 
able  to  tear  his  enemies  in  pieces ;  the  Root  of  David 
721  b 


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REYELATKK^. 


ioGodandiheLauA. 


A.  M.  4100,  book,  '  and  to  loose  the  eevea  seab 
±^—^  tliereof. 

6  And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in  the  nudsi  of  the 
throne,  and  of  the  foiir  beasts,  suid  in  the  midst 
of  the  elders,  stood  *a  Lamb  as  it  had  been 
slain^  having  seven  horns,  and  ^  seven  eyes, 
which  are  *  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth 
into  an  the  earth. 

7  And  he  came  and  took  the  book  out  of  the 
right  hand  ^  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  throne. 


'Vene  1;   Chap,  vi  1.— «Isa.  liiL  7;   John  L  99,  36; 

1  Pet.  L  19 ;  Chap,  xiii  8 ;  Venet  9, 12. ^  Zech.  iii.  9 ;  iv. 

10. •  Chapter  iv.  5. *  Chapter  ir.  2. » Chap,  ir.  8.  10. 

■  Chap.  »T.  2 ;  tt.  2.*—*  Or,  meeiue. ■  Paa.  cxli.  2 ;  Chap. 

viu.3,4. 


— As  God,  the  root  and  source  of  David's  family, 
Isa.  zi.  1, 10;  hath  prevailed  to  op^  the  boqk'-HB.th 
overcome  an  obstructions,  and  obtained  the  honour 
and  the  power  to  disclose  the  divine  counsels  to  the 
church,  and  ensure  their  accomplishment. 

Verses  6, 7.  And  Ibeheldy  and  lo,  &c.— Upon  this 
I  observed,  in  my  vision,  a  new  representation ;  in, 
or  on,  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  ofthefottr  living 
creatures — Within  the  circle  which  Uiey  made  round 
him;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders— Making  a 
larger  circle  round  him  and  them^  stood  a  Lamb— 
Apviov  e^Koc,  a  lamb  standing.  He  no  more  falls 
on  his  face ;  the  days  of  his  weakness  and  mourning 
are  ended  \  He  is  now  in  a  posture  of  readiness  to 
execute  all  his  offices  of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King ; 
as  it  had  been  slain — ^For  sacrifice ;  bearing  the  re- 
cent marks  of  slaughter,  in  the  wounds  and  blood 
on  its  throat  and  breast.  And  because  he  was  slain, 
he  was  now  worthy  to  open  the  book,  (verse  9,)  to 
the  joy  of  his  own  people  and  the  terror  of  his  ene- 
mies. Nor  was  this  lamb  only  represented  as  a  sa- 
crifice ;  but  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes — 
Emblematical  of  perfect  power  and  perfect  know- 
ledge, whereby  he  is  able  to  accomplish  what  is 
contained  in  the  book ;  namely,  by  his  almighty  and 
all-wise  Spirit,  even  to  reveal  future  events  respect- 
ing the  world  and  the  church,  and  to  accomplish  all 
Grod's  designs  of  providence  and  grace.  To  these 
seven  horns  and  seven  eyes  answer  the  seven  seals 
and  the  seven-fold  song  of  praise,  verse  12.  In  Ze- 
chariah,  likewise,  (chap.  iii.  9;  iv.  10,)  mention  is 
made  of  the  seven  eyes  of  the  Lord,  which  go  forth 
over  all  the  earth.  Which  (both  the  horns  and  the 
eyes)  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into  all 
the  earth— They  represent  that  divine  wisdom  and 
energy  which  operate  everywhere;  or  that  effect- 
ual working  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  goes  through 
the  whole  creation:  and  that  in  the  natural  as  well  as 
spiritual  world.  For  could  mere  matter  act  or  think ? 
Could  it  gravitate  or  attract?  Just  as  much  as  it 
could  think  or  speak.  And  he  came — Here  we  have 
an  instance  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  words  re- 
corded Psa.  ii.  8,  Ask  of  me  and  I  vnll  give  thee, 
'f«. ;  and  took  the  book,  &c. — It  is  one  state  of  exalta- 
tion tiiat  reaches  from  our  Lord's  ascension  to  his 
coming  in  glory,  yet  this  state  admits  of  various  de- 
722 


8  And  wh^i  he  ha<Uaken  the  book^  A.  M.  4ioo!i 
^  the  jbur  beasts,  and  four  cmd  twcijty    ^^'^ 
elders,  foil  do^m  before  the  Lamb,  having  every- 
one of  them  "^harps,  and  goldea  vials  fiill  of 
^  odours,  ^  which  are  the  (Nrayers  of  saints. 

9  And^theysunga  new  song,  saying,  i^Thou 
art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the 
seals  thereof:  ^  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  'hast 
rederaned  us  to  (Sod  by  thy  blood  *  out  of  eveiy 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ; 

r  .  ■ 

•Psa.  xl.  3;  Chi^.  xir.  8. i»€hap.  ir.  11. ^Vene  a 

'Acta  zx.  28:  Rom.  iiL 24 ;  1  Cor.  rL  20 ;  Tii»83;  £ph.L7; 
Col.  u  14;  Heb.  ix.  12 :  1  Pet.  i.  18, 19;  2  Pet.  ii.  1 ;  1  John 
i.  7 ;  Chap.  xir.  4.. ■Dan.  It.  1 ;  tL  25 ;  Chap.  rii.  9;  xi.  9 ; 

XIT.  6. 


grees.  At  his  ascension,  angels,  and  principalities^ 
and  powers,  were  subjf^ed  to  him.  Ten  days  after 
he  received  from  the  Father,  and  sent,  the  Holy 
Ghost  And  now  he  took  the  book  out  of  the  right 
hand  of  him  that  sat  upon  (Ae'ti^rone— -Who  gave  it 
to  hinras  a  signal  of  his  delivering  to  him  all  power 
in  heaven  and  earth.  He  received  it  in  token  of  his 
being  both  able  and  willing  to  fulfil  all  that  was 
written  therein. 

Verses  8-10.  And  whenhe  had  taken  the  book,  the 
four  living  creatures  fell  down—Sow  is  homage 
done  to  the  Lamb  by  the  whole  Christian  Church 
and  all  its  members,  represented  by  these  four  living 
creatures.  These,  together  with  the  elders,  make 
the  beginning,  and  afterward  (verse  14)  the  conclu- 
sion. They  are  together  surrounded  with  a  multi- 
tude of  angels,  (verse  11,)  and  together  sing  the 
new  song,  as  they  had  before  praised  God  together, 
chap.  iv.  8,  &c.  Having  every  one—That  is,  each 
of  the  elders^  not  of  the  living  creatures ;  harps^ 
Ki^apav,  a  harp,  which  was  one  of  the  chief  instru- 
ments of  thanksgiving  in  the  temple  service;  a  fit 
emblem  of  the  mdody  of  their  hearts ;  and  golden 
vials— Cups  or  censers ;  fidl  of  odours— Or  incense^ 
producing  odours;  whidt  are  the  prayers  of  the 
«ainte— That  is,  fit  representations  of  them.  As  if 
the  apostle  had  said,  As  I  understood  these  elders  to 
be  the  representatives  of  the  church,  I  apprehended 
that,  in  allusion  to  the  incense  ofiered  in  the  temple, 
while  the  people  were  praying,  this  circumstance 
had  a  reference  to  prayer,  tuid  was  intended  to  show 
how  acceptable  it  is  to  God,  when  it  proceeds  from 
a  holy  and  an  upright  heart  And  they  sung— Or, 
rather,  sing,  oSboip,  a  new  song— One  which  neither 
they  nor  any  others  had  sung  before ;.  saying.  Thou 
art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  &c.— That  is,  to  under- 
take the  work  of  revealing  and  accomplishing  the 
designs  of  God's  providence  toward  the  world,  and 
of  his  grace  toward  his  church ;  for  thou  wast  slain 
—A  sacrifice  of  propitiation ;  and  by  thy  blood  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God—Sa  the  living  creatures  also 
were  of  the  number  of  the  redeemed;  but  this  does 
not  so  jnuch  refer  to  the  act  of  redemption,  which 
was  long  before,  as  to  the  fruit  of  it;  namely,  de- 
liverance from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin;  the 
tyranny  of  Satan;  the  curse  of  the  law;  and  the 
(  46*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  VI. 


to  the  Lamb  that  v>a$  slaifu 


A.K.4ioa    10  ^  And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God 
^^'^    kings  and  priests :  and  we  shall  reiga 
on  the  earth. 

11  And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of 
many  angels  ^  round  about  the  throne^  and  the 
beasts,  and  the  elders:  and  the  number  of  thjem 
was  'ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and 
thousands  of  thousands ; 

12  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  ^  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power, 
and  riches,   and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and 

*EzocL  xix.0;  1  Pet.  iL  5,  9;  Chap.  i.  6;  xx.  6;  <xii.  5. 

«  Chap.  IT.  4,  A. '  Psa.  Izriii.  17 ;  Dan.  tU.  10 ;  Heb.  zU.  22. 

y  Chap.  ir.  U. «  PhU.  ii.  10 ;  Verse  3. 

wrath  of  a  Justly  offended  God,  whose  servants  and 
favourites  they  were  now  become.  Out  of  every 
kindred,  &c. — That  is,  out  qf  all  mankind.  And 
host  made  us,  who  are  thus  redeemed,  unto  our  God 
kinge  and  ffrietis — Consecrated  to  his  service,  and 
hcmoured  with  the  liberty  of  a  near  approach  to  his 
presence,  to  offer  up  prayers  and  praises  acceptable 
hi  his  sight;  and  we  ahall  reign  on  the  earth — 
The  Christian  cause  shall  prevail  through  all  ageo, 
while  those  happy  persons  who  have  passed  cou- 
rageously through  their  trials  on  earth  shall,  at 
the  appointed  season,  share  the  honours  of  thy  tiir 
umphant  kingdom  in  the  new  heavens  and  new 
earth. 

Verses  11-14.  And  I  beheld— The  many  angels; 
and  heard  the  voice— And  the  number  of  them; 
round  about  the  throne — Of  the  Dirine  Majesty ;  ofid 
the  living  creatures  and  the  eldere — So  forming  the 
third  circle.  It  is  remarkable  that  men  are  repre- 
sented, through  the  whole  vision,  as  nearer  to  God 
than  any  of  the  angels.  And  the  number  of  them 
Vfcu  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands 
of  thousands-^An  innumerable  multitude.  And  yet 
these  are  but  a  part  of  the  holy  angels;  afterward, 
(chap.  vii.  11,)  St.  John  heard  themalL  Saying, 
with  a  loud  voice-rWiih  united  ardour  and  har- 
mony, there  not  being  a  cold  and  languid  mind  in 
the  whole  assembly ;  Worthy  is  the  Lamb — The 
elders  said,  verse  9,  Worthy  art  thou;  being  more 
nearly  allied  to  him^  and  addressing  him  with  greater 
familiarity  than  the  angels;  to  receive  power,  ^.-* 
The  seven-fold  praise  answers  the  seven  seals,  of 
which  the  four  former  represent  all  visible,  the  lat- 
ter all  invisiUe  things  made  subject  to  the  Lamb. 
And  every  creature— In  the  whole  univeree ;  which 
is  in  heaven~^on  the  earth-sunder  the  sartK-^in  the 
seor-^^  As  the  inhabitants  of  the  watery  elements 
are  necessarily  mute,  we  are  not  to  understand  by 


honour,    and    glory,   and   blessing,   a.  M.4ioa 

13  And  "every  creature  which  is       ' 

in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under  the 
earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that 
are  in  them,  heard  I  saying,  *  Blessing,  and 
honour,  and  glory,  and  power^  be  unto  ^him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  for 
ever  and  ever. 

14  ^  And  the  fimr  beasts  said,  Amen.  And 
the  four  an^  twenty  elders  feU  down  and  wor* 
shif^ied  him  '  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 


*lChroii.  xxix.  11;  Rom.  ix.  5;  xvi.  27^  1  Tim.  ▼!.  16; 

1  Pet  IT.  11;   V.  11;  Chap.  i.  6. *»Chap.  ti.  16;  viL  10. 

«  Chap.  zix.  4. d  chap,  {y,  9,  10. 


this  that  they  seemed  to  grow  Tocal  in  the  praise* 
of  Christ,  upon  this  occasion,  but  rather  that  heaven, 
earth,  and  sea  are  used  to  signify  that  all  nature,  in 
its  different  ways,  concurred  in  the  praise ;  that  ii^ 
the  whole  constitution  of  it  contributed  to  furnish 
out  matter  of  praise ;  just  as  inanimate,  as  well  as 
rational  creatures,  are  called  upon  to  praise  God,  in 
several  of  the  Psalms,  especially  in  Psa.  cxlviii.^ — 
Doddridge.  And  all  that  are  in  them—In  every 
varied  form  of  nature ;  heard  I  saying,  Blessing, 
&C. — This  praise,  from  all  creatures,  begins  before 
the  opening  of  the  first  seal ;  but  it  continues  from 
that  time  to  eternity,  accotding^  to  the  capacity  of 
each.  His  enemies  must  acknowledge  his  glory, 
but  those  in  heaven  say,  Blessed  be  God  and  the 
Lamb.  And  the  four  living  creatures  said,  Amen — 
To  this  hymn,  to  testify  their  hearty  concurrence. 
And  the  four  and  twenty  elders f  at  the  same  time, 
feU  down  before  the  throne,  and  worshipped  him 
that  liveth  for  ever  and  erer— Acknowledging  him 
to  be  infinitely  superior  to  all  those  services  which 
the  most  exalted  powers  of  created  nature  are  capa- 
ble of  rendering.  This  royal  manifesto  is,  as  it 
were^  a  proclamation,  showing  how  Christ  fulfils  all 
things,  and  every  knee  bows  to  himy  not  only  on 
earth,  but  also  in  heaven,  and  under  the  earth.  This 
book  exhansts  all  things,  (1  Cor.  xv.  27, 28,)  and  is 
suttaUe  to  a  heart  enlarged  as.  the  sand  of  the  sea. 
It  iniq^ires  the  attentive  and  intelligent  reader  with 
such  a  magnanimity,  that  he  accounts  nothing  in 
this  worid  great;  no,  not  the  whole  frame  of  visible 
nature,  compared  to  the  immense  greatness  of  what 
he  is  here  called  to  behold;  yea,  and  in  part  to  in- 
herit St.  John  has  in  view,  through  the  whole  of 
the  following  vision,  what  he  has  been  now  describ- 
ing; namely,  the  four  living  creatures,  the  elders, 
the  angels,  and  all  creatures,  looking  together  at  the 
opening  of  the  seven  seals. 


ifi  lltff  chsftSTf  wnier  the 
emfirSj  is  refrsssntei  tiU 
McAtMfcl-17. 
b 


C3HAPTER  VI. 

efstx  seats  opsned  suceessitely,  the  state  cf  the  Christian  Church,  with  that  of  the  TUmask 
A.  D.  8S8,  induding  the  important  and  awful  events  which  accompany  the  opening  of 


923 

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The  opening  of  ike  tealg^ 


REVELATION. 


€md  ^duUfMymed  Hereupon^ 


Sl  m.  4ioa 

A.D.  M. 


AND  'I    saw  when    the   Lamb 

opened  one  of  the  seals,  and  I 

heard,  as  it  were  the  noise  of  thunder,  ^  one  of 
the  four  heasts,  saying,  Come  an^  see. 


•Chap.  T.  5»1. — -^  Chap.  ir.  7^       *  Zeeh.  Ti.  3 ;  Olnp.  xdl  11. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  YI. 

St  John  had  seen,  in  the  former  part  of  his  vision^ 
a  representation  of  the  majesty,  glory,  power,  and 
supreme  authority  of  God;  and  the  sealed  book,  In 
whieh  were  contuned  the  counsels  of  DiTlne  Provi- 
dence toward  the  church  and  the  world,  4eliv«^  to 
Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  to  open  and  make  known 
its  coQtents  for  the  encouragement  of  the  church  to 
patience  and  faithfulness ;  together  with  the  adora- 
tion of  the  church  on  this  solemn  occasion.  Now 
this  revelation  of  Christ  begins  with  a  prophetic 
representation  of  the  future  state  of  the  church  and 
the  world,  so  &r  as  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God 
thought  fit  to  make  it  known,  for  the  consolation  of 
his  faithful  people,  compreheoided  under  the  emblem 
of  opening,  one  after  another,  seven  seals.  These 
seven  seals  are  not  distinguLihed  from  eadi  other,  by 
specifying  the  time  of  them :  they  swiAly  follow  the 
letters  to  the  seven  churches.  And  by  the  four  for- 
mer is  shown.  First,  the  progress  of  the  gospel ;  and 
afterward  that  all  the  public  occurrences,  as  wars 
between  nations)  destruction  of  mankind  thereby, 
famine,  pestilence,  are  made  subject  to  Christ  And 
these  four  have  a  peculiar  connection  with  each  other, 
as  have  also  the  three  latter  seals. 

Before  we  proceed  it  may  be  observed,  1st,  No 
man  should  constrain  either  himself  or  another  to 
explain  every  thing  in  this  book.  It  is  sufBcient  for 
every  one  to  speak  just  so  for  as  he  understands. 
3d,  We  should  remember,  that  although  the  ancient 
prophets  wrote  the  occurrences  of  those  kingdoms 
only  with  which  Israel  had  to  do,  yet  the  Revelation 
contains  what  relates  to  the  whole  world,  through 
which  the  Christian  Church  began  to  be  extended. 
Yet,  3d,  We  should  not  prescribe  to  this  prophecy, 
as  if  it  must  needs  admit  or  exclude  this  or  that  his- 
tory, according  as  we  judge  one  or  the  other  to  be 
of  great  or  small  importance.  Ood  aeeth  not  as  man 
aeeih.  Therefore,  what  we  think  great  is  often 
omitted,  what  we  think  little  inserted  in  Scripture 
history  or  prophecy.  4th,  We  must  take  care  not 
to  overlook  what  is  already  fulfilled,  and  not  to  de- 
scribe as  fulfilled  what  is  still  to  come.  We  are  to 
look  in  history  for  the  fulfilling  of  the  first  four  seals, 
quickly  after  the  date  of  the  prophecy.  Jn  each  of 
these  appears  a  different  horseman,  and  in  each  we 
are  to  consider,  1st,  The  horsemsm  himself.  2d, 
What  he  does.  The  horseman  himself,  by  an  em- 
blematical prosopopooia,  represents  a  swift  power, 
brmging  with  it  either  conquest,  producing  a  flou- 
rishing state,— or  bloodshed,— or  scarcity  of  provi- 
sion,—or  public  calamities.  With  the  qualities  of 
each  of  these  riders,  the  colour  of  his  horse  agrees 
The  first  horseman,  with  his  bow  and  crown,  is  a 
conqueror.  The  second,  with  his  great  sword,  is  a 
warrior.  The  third,  with  his  scales,  has  power  over 
TO4 


2  And  I  eawi  and  behd^  ""  arwhi(e  a]^410o. 
horse :  ^  uid  be  that  sat  on  faiQi  had  — L-I — 
a  bow;  *and  a  crown  was  given  unto  him: 
and  he  went  f(^h  oooquei^ng,  a^  to  oon^er. 


'Pte.xlT.4,ft.LXX. •ZddLTill;  Chap. zir.  14. 


the  produoe  of  the  earth.  The  f^murlh  is  expresriy 
termed  deajtk^  implying  eertttj^y  a  greet  deetmo- 
tion  of  the  lives  of  men  by  some  fogaH  judgments. 

Terses  1, 2.  And— Being  all  attention  to  this  won- 
derftil  scene ;  /«a«  ithen  (he  Lamb  opened  one  of 
tAeseoZ^— Of  the  book  which  he  had  taken  from  the 
hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the  thFone-,  andlheardyoa 
it  were  the  noise  of  tender— Signifying  the  great 
importance  of  the  event  about  to  be  disdosed;  one 
of  the  four  living  creatures — That  is,  it  seems,  the 
first,  which  was  like  a  lion,  looking  forward  toward 
the  east,  toward  Asia  and  Syria,  where  the  prophecy 
had  its  principal  accomplishment,  and  firom  whence 
Christ  and  his  gospel  came.  Sdying^  Come  and  see 
— Pay  particular  attention  to  what  is  now  to  be  ex- 
hil^ted.  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  Aor^e— The 
cimtents  of  this  seal  seem  evidently  to  refer  to  the 
triumph  of  Christianity  over  Jewish  and  heathen  op- 
position, by  &e  labours  of  its  first  preachers.  There- 
fore the  person  here  represented  is  Jesus  Christ, 
who  had  received  a  kingdom  from  the  Father,  which 
was  to  rule  all  nations,  and  concerning  which  it  was 
foretold,  that  notwithstanding  the  efibrts  that  would 
be  made  by  earth  and  hell  to  oppose  its  progress,  and 
even  to  destroy  it,  it  should  be  preserved  and  pre- 
vail, so  that  at  length  idl  enemies  to  it  should  be  sub- 
dued, and  the  hingdome  of  this  world  should  become 
the  kingdom  of  our  Ood  and  of  his  Christ,  The 
white  colour  of  the  horse,  the  bow  which  he  had 
that  sat  on  it,  shooting  arrows  afar  of^  the  crown 
given  unto  him,  and  his  going  forth  conquering  and 
to  con^«r— All  these  circumstances  betoken  victo- 
ry, triumph,  prosperity,  enlargement  of  empire,  and 
dominion  over  many  people.  And  all  these  figura- 
tive representations  of  authority,  government,  suc- 
cess, and  conquest,  may  be  properly  applied  to  the 
gospel  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  which  was  now 
beginning, to  spread  far  and  wide,  and  would  tend 
greatly  to  conoibrt  the  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus,  as- 
suring them  that^  however  the  Jews  on  the  one 
hand,  or  the  heathen  Roman  empire  on  the  other, 
opposed  and  persecuted  them,  yet  they  should  see 
the  punishment  of  thefr  enemies,  bo^  Jews  and  hea- 
then, and  the  cause  of  Christianity  prevailing  over 
both,  in  the  proper  and  appointed  time.  These  ex- 
pressions, and  this  interpretation  of  them,  are 
elucidated  by  the  words  of  the  psalmist,  Psalm 
xlv.  3,  &c. :  Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  most 
mighty^  and  in  thy  majesty  ride  prosperously,  be- 
cause of  truth,  &c.  Thine  arrows  are  sharp,  fc., 
whereby  the  people  faU  under  thee.  Thy  throne,  O 
Ood,  is  for  ever,  Ac  The  application  of  this  pro- 
phecy to  Christ  is  still  further  justified  by  chap.  xix. 
11, 1  saw  heaven  opened^  and  bdkold  a  wl^tehorse^ 
&C.,  a  passage  w^ch  i^  allow  yf»B  intended  of 
Christ;  he  onlv  being  worthy  of  being  called,  as  he 

b 


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The  opening  of  the  second 


CHAPTER  VI. 


and  third  scale  in  order. 


A.  M.  4ioa  3  And  ^en  he  had  opened  the  se- 
-^ — '■ — 1  cond  seal,  'I  heard  die  second  beast 
say,  Come  and  see. 

4  i^  And  there  Went  out  another  horse  ^Ao/K^o^ 
red:  and  power  was  given  to  him  that  sat  ttiere- 
oa  to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  that  they 
should  bill  one  another :  and  there  was  given 
onto  him  a  great  sword. 

5  And  when  he  had  qpened  the  third  seal,  ^I 


'Chwter  iv.  7.- 
•  Zechanah  vi.  2.-^ 


-fZechtriaK  tL  2. ^  Chapter  it.  7. 

'The  word  ehcmix  signifieth  a  meaaure 


IB  there,  Faithful  and  7Vu€,  and  The  Word  op  God. 
Thus,  with  great  propriety  to  the  order  and  design 
of  this  revelation,  the  dignity  and  power  of  Christ, 
and  the  protection  and  success  of  his  gospel,  are  the 
flrst  part  of  its  prophecy  for  the  consolation  of  his 
foUowers,  which,  it  seems,  is  the  chief  end  of  the 
whole  book. 

Verses  3,  4.  When  he  opened  the  second  seal^  i 
heard  the  second  living  creature-— Which  was  like 
an  ox,  and  had  his  station  toward  the  west ;  «ay, 
Come  and  «ee— As  the  former  had  don6  when  the 
first  seal  was  opened;  and  there  went  out  another 
horse  that  was  red—Seemmg  to  betoken  great 
slaughter  and  desolation  by  approaching  wars :  and 
to  him  that  sat  thereon  was  giten  to  take  peace  from 
the  earth—In  the  year  76,  Vespasian  had  dedicated 
a  temple  to  Peace:  but  after  a  time  we  hear  no 
more  of  petice ;  all  is  full  of  war  and  bloodshed.  Ac- 
cording to  Bishop  Newton,  this  second  period  com- 
mences with  Trajan,  who  came  from  the  west,  being 
a  Spaniard  by  birth,  and  was  the  first  foreigner  who 
was  elevated  to  the  imperial  throne.  In  his  reign, 
and  that  of  his  successor,  Adrian,  there  were  horrid 
wars  and  slaughters,  and  especially  between  the  re- 
beDious  Jews  and  Romans.  Dion  relates,  that  the 
Jews  about  Cyrene  slew  of  the  Romans  and  Greeks 
two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  with  the 
most  shocking  circumstances  of  barbarity.  In 
Egypt  also,  and  in  Cyprus,  they  committed  the  like 
barbarities,  and  there  perbhed  two  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  men  more.  But  the  Jews  were  sub- 
dued in  their  turn  by  the  other  generals  and  Lucius, 
sent  against  them  by  Trajan.  Eusebius,  writing  of 
the  same  time,  says,  that  the  Jews,  inflamed,  as  it 
were,  by  some  violent  and  seditious  spirit,  in  the  first 
conflict  gained  a  victory  over  the  Crentiles,  who,  fly- 
ing to  Alexandria,  took  and  killed  the  Jews  in  the 
city.  The  emperor  sent  Marius  Turbo  against 
them,  with  great  forces  by  sea  and  land,  who,  in 
many  battle^  slew  many  myriads  of  the  #ews.  The 
emperor  also,  suspecting  that  they  might  make  the 
like  commotions  in  Mesopotamia,  ordered  Lucius 
Quietus  to  expel  them  out  of  the  province,  who, 
marching  against  them,  slew  a  very  great  multitude 
of  them  there.  Orosius,  treating  of  the  same  time, 
says,  that  the  Jews,  with  an  incredible  commotion, 
made  wild,  as  it  were,  with  rage,  rose  at  once  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  earth.  For  throughout  all  Libya 
they  waged  the  fiercest  wars  against  the  inhabitants, 
h 


heard  the  third  beast  say,  Come  and  a.m.  4100. 
see.    And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  *ablack  Z'^'^' 
horse ;  and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  pair  of 
balances  in  his  hand. 

6  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the 
four  beasts  say,  ^A  measure,  of  wheat  for  a 
penny,  and  three  measures  of  barley  for  a 
penny  J  and  ^see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the 
wine. 


containing  one  wine  qoart,  and  the  twelfth  part  of  a  quart. 
'  Chap.  ix.  <, 


and  the  country  was  almost  desolated.  Egypt  also, 
Cyrene,  and  Thebais  they  disturbed  with  cruel  se- 
ditions. But  in  Alexandria  they  were  overcome  in 
battle.  In  Mesopotamia  also  war  was  made  upon 
the  rebellious  Jews  by  the  command  of  the  emperor. 
So  that  many  thousands  of  them  were  destroyed 
with  vast  slaughter.  They  utterly  destroyed  Salar 
mi%  a  city  of  Cyprus,  having  first  murdered  all  the 
inhabitants.  These  things  were  transacted  in  the 
reign  of  Trajan ;  and  in  the  reign  of  Adrian  was 
their  great  rebellion,  under  their  false  Messiah  Bar- 
chochab,  and  their  final  dispersion,  after  fifty  of  their 
strongest  castles,  and  nine  hundred  and  eighty-five 
of  their  best  towns  had  been  demolished,  and  after 
five  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men  had  been 
slain  by  the  sword,  besides  an  infinite  number  who 
had  perished  by  famine  and  sickness,  and  other  ca- 
sualties; with  great  loss  and  slaughter  too  of  the 
Romans,  insomuch  that  the  eipperor  forbore  the 
usual  salutations  in  his  letters  to  the  senate.  Here 
was  another  illustrions  triumph  of  Christ  over  his 
enemies;  and  the  Jews  and  the  Romans,  both  the 
persecutors  of  the  Christians,  were  remarkably  made 
the  dreadful  executioners  of  divine  vengeance  upon 
one  another.  The  great  sword  and  red  horse  are 
expressive  emblems  of  this  slaughtering  and  bloody 
period,  and  the  proclamation  for  slaughter  is  fitly 
made  by  a  creature  like  an  ox,  that  is  destined  for 
slaughter.  This  period  continued  during  the  reigns 
of  Trajan  and  his  successors,  by  blood  or  adoption, 
about  ninety-five  years. 

Verses  5, 6.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  third 
seal  I  heard  the  third  living  creature— Which  was 
like  a  man,  and  had  his  station  in  the  south;  say— 
As  the  two  former  had  done ;  Come  and  see.  And 
I  beheld,  and  lo  a  black  horse — A  fit  emblem  of 
mourning  and  distress;  particularly  a  6/acfc /amine, 
as  the  ancient  poets  termed  it.  And  he  that  sat  on 
him  had  a  pair  of  balances,  or  scales,  in  his  hand 
—Implying  that  men  should  eat  Iheir  bread  by 
weight,  and  drink  their  water  by  measure,  or  that 
there  should  be  a  great  scarcity.  For  when  there 
is  great  plenty  men  do  not  think  it  worth  their  while 
to  weigh  and  measure  what  they  eat  and  drink ;  but 
when  there  is  a  famine  or  scarcity  they  are  obliged 
to  do  it.  And  I  heard  a  voice — It  seems  from  God 
himself;  in  the  midst  of  the  four  living  creatures, 
saying,  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny ^  &c.— As 
if  he  had  said  to  the  horsem&n.  Hitherto  shalt  thou 
729 


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The  vision  of  Death 


REVELATION. 


<mapdUhonc 


A.M. 4100.    7  And  when  he  had  opened   the 

fourth  seal,  ^  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 

fourth  beast  say,  Come  and  see. 
8  *  And  I  looked,  and  behdd,  a  pale  hxxst : 
and  his  name  that  sat  on  him  was  Death,  and 


>  Chap.  ir.  7.      ■■  Zech.  tl  a •  Or,  to  turn. 


come,  and  no  farther.  Let  there  be  a  tneasure  of 
vheai  for  a  penny^Tbis  may  seem,  to  an  English 
reader,  a  description  of  great  plenty,  but  it  certainly 
intends  the  contrary.  The  word  at©""?,  chcRnix,  a 
Grecian  measure,  was  only  about  equal  to>  our  quart, 
and  was  no  more  than  was  allowed  to  a  slave  for  his 
daily  food.  And  the  Roman  penny,  the  denarius, 
about  7M  English,  was  the  usual  daily  wages  of  a 
labourer:  so  that,  if  a  man's  daily  labour  could  earn 
no  more  than  his  daily  bread,  without  other  provi- 
sion for  himself  and  family,  corn  must  needs  bear  a 
Tery  high  price.  This  must  have  been  fulfill^ 
when  the  Grecian  measure  and  the  Roman  money 
were  still  in  use,  as  also  when  that  measure  was  the 
common  measure,  and  this  money  the  current  coin. 
It  was  so  in  Egypt  under  Trajan.  And  three 
measures  of  barley  for  a  penny — Either  barley 
was,  in  common,  far  cheaper  among  the  ancients 
than  wheat,  or  the  prophecy  mentions  this  as 
something  peculiar.  And  see  thou  hurt  not  the 
oil  and  the  irtne — Let  there  not  be  a  scarcity 
of  every  thing.  Let  there  be  some  provision  left 
to  supply  the  want  of  the  rest.  Lowman  inter- 
prets this  third  seal  of  the  scarcity  in  the  time 
of  the  Antonines,  from  A.  D.  138  to  A.  D.  193, 
and  produces  passages  from  Tertullian  and  the  Ro- 
man historians,  concerning  the  calamity  the  empire 
cndorcd  by  scarcity  in  this  period.  But  Bishop 
Newton  supposes  this  third  period  commences  with 
Septimius  Severus,  who  was  an  emperor  from  the 
south,  being  a  native  of  Africa  j  and  was  an  enacter 
of  just  and  equal  laws,  and  very  severe  and  implaca- 
ble to  offences;  he  would  not  suffer  even  petty  lar- 
cenies to  go  unpunished ;  as  neither  would  Alexan- 
der Severus  in  the  same  period,  who  was  a  most 
severe  judge  against  thieves;  and  was  so  fond  of  the 
Christian  maxim.  Whatsoever  you  uould  not  have 
done  to  youj  do  not  you  to  another,  that  he  com> 
manded  it  to  be  engraven  on  the  palace,  and  on  the 
public  buildings.  These  two  emperors  were  also  no 
less  celebrated  for  the  procuring  of  com  and  oil,  and 
other  provisions;  and  for  supplying  the  Romans 
with  them,  after  they  had  experienced  the  want  of 
them :  thus  repairing  the  neglects  of  former  times, 
and  correcting  the  abuses  of  former  princes.  The 
colour  of  the  black  horse  befits  the  severity  of  their 
nature  and  their  name,  and  the  balances  are  the 
well-known  emblem  of  justice,  as  well  as  an  intima- 
tion of  scarcity.  And  the  proclamation  for  justice 
and  judgment,  and  for  the  procuration  of  corn,  oil, 
and  wine,  is  fitly  made  by  a  creature  like  a  man. 
This  period  continued  during  the  reigns  of  the  Sep- 
timian  family,  about  forty-two  years. 

Verses  7, 8.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  fourth 
seal^  I  heard  the  voice  ofthefotirthliy'ing  creature — 


hell  followed  with  him.    And  power  a  m.  4ioa 
was  given  ^  unto  them  over  the  fourth       ^'^ 
part  of  the  earth,  '  to  kill  with  sword,  and  with 
hunger,  and  with  death,  i^and  with  the  beasts 
of  the  e^uth. 


■  Bxek.  ziT.  21.- 


PLer.  xxvi.  22. 


Like  an  eagle,  toward  the  north;  say,  Come  andsee 
— Receive  a  fiirther  discovery  of  the  divine  wilL 
And  I  looked,  and  behold  a  pale  horse — Suitable  to 
pale  death,  his  rider.  By  deatJi,  in  the  Hebrew,  we 
are  frequently  to  understand  the  pestilence.  See 
Jer.  ix.  21 ;  xviii.  21 ;  and  Ecclus.  xxxix.  29.  And 
many  other  Instances  might  be  produced.  And  hell 
— Or  hades,  rather,  representing  the  state  of  sepa* 
rate  souls,  foTUrwed  with  him.  And  power  was  given 
unto  them — Namely,  to  death  and  hades*  Or  if  we 
read,  with  Bengelius,  avm,  the  expression  is,  Power 
was  given  to  him,  namely,  to  death ;  over  the  fourth 
part  of  the  earthr-r-Th^i  is,  a  very  considerable  part 
of  the  heathen  Roman  empire :  to  kill — By  the  seve* 
ral  judgments  of  God  here  mentioned ;  with  sword 
— That  is,  with  war;  with  hunger— Or  famine ;  with 
death — Or  the  pestilence ;  and  with  the  beasts  of  the 
earth-^ThesG  are  called  the  four  sore  judgnoents  of 
God,  in  the  style  of  ancient  prophecy.  See  Ezek.  xiv, 
21 ;  xxxiii.  27.  The  meaning  is.  That  the  sword  and 
famine,  which  were  judgments  of  the  foregoing  setda, 
are  continued  in  this,  and  the  pestilence  is  added  to 
them.  Accordingly,  says  Lowman,  we  find  all  these 
judgments  in  a  very  remarkable  manner  in  this  part 
of  history,  that  is,  in  the  reigns  of  Maximm,  Decins, 
Gallus,  Volusian,  and  Valerian,  beginning  after  Seve- 
rus, about  the  year  21 1,  to  A.  D.  270.  Thus  also  Bishop 
Newton ;  who  observes.  This  period  commences  with 
Maximin,  who  was  an  emperor  from  the  north,  being 
bom  of  barbarous  parents  in  a  village  of  Thrace.  He 
was  indeed  a  barbarian  in  all  respects ;  an  historian  af- 
firming that  there  was  not  a  more  cruel  animal  upon 
the  earth.  The  history  of  his,  and  several  succeeding 
reigns,  is  full  of  wars  and  murders,  mutinies  of  sol- 
diers, invasions  of  foreign  armies,  rebellions  of  sub- 
jects, and  deaths  of  princes.  There  were  more  than 
twenty  emperors  in  the  space  of  fifty  years,  and  all,  or 
most  of  them, died  in  war,  or  were  murdered  by  their 
own  soldiers  and  subjects.  Besides  lawAii  emperors, 
there  were,  in  the  reign  of  Gallienus,  thirty  usurp- 
ers, who  set  up  in  different  parts  of  the  empire,  and 
came  all  to  violent  and  miserable  ends.  Here  was 
sufficient  employment  for  the  sword ;  and  bu<^  wars 
and  devastations  must  necessarily  produce  n  famine, 
and  the  famine  is  another  distinguishing  calamity 
of  this  period.  In  the  reign  of  Gallus,  the  Scythians 
made  such'incursions,  that  not  one  nation,  subject  to 
the  Romans,  was  left  unwasted  by  them ;  and  every 
unwalled  town,  and  most  of  the  walled  cities,  were 
taken  by  them.  In  the  reign  of  Probus  also  there 
was  a  great  famine  throughout  the  world ;  and  for 
want  of  victuals,  the  army  mutinied  and  slew  him. 
A  usual  consequence  of  fkmine  is  the  pestilence^ 
which  is  the  third  distinguishing  calamity  of  this 
period.    According  to  Zonaras^  it  arose  from  Etht 


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CHAPTER  VL 


the  fifth  $€al. 


A.M.4ioa    9  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  ^the  altar 'the 


souls  of  them  that  were  slain  *  for  the  woid  of 
God,  and  for  ^  the  testimony  which  they  held : 
10  And  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  say- 
ing, *How  long,  O  Loid,  'holy  and  true, 
3^  dost  thou  not  judge  and  ayenge  our  blood 


«Cliap.  TiiL 3 ;  ix.  18 ;  jxw,  IS.^— 'Chu.  ] 
<2  Tim.  L  8;  ChAp.  xiL  17;  zix.  10.- 


-4. >Chu.  i.9. 

-»  Zeclu  L  12. 


opia,  while  Gallus  and  Voliisiaii  were  emperors, 
pervaded  all  the  Roman  provfaices,  and  for  fifteen 
years  together  incredibly  exhausted  them ;  and  the 
learned  Lipsina  declares,  that  he  nerer  read  of  any 
greater  plagae,  for  the  space  of  time  that  it  lasted, 
or  of  land  that  it  overspread.  Zozimus  also,  speak- 
ing of  the  devastatioDS  of  the  Scythians  before  men- 
tioned, ftirther  adds,  that  the  pestilence,  not  less  per- 
nicious ihaa  war,  destroyed  whatever  was  left  of 
human  kind,  and  made  such  havoo  as  it  bad  never 
done  in  former  times.  Many  other  historians,  and 
other  auUiors  quoted  by  Bishop  Newton,  bear  the 
same  testimony;  among  whom  Eutropius  affirms, 
that  the  reign  of  Gallus  and  Volusian  was  remark- 
aUe  only  for  the  pestilence  and  diseases.  And  Tre- 
bellius  PoUio  attests,  that  in  the  reign  of  Gkdlienus 
the  pestilence  was  so  great,  that  flve^thousand  men 
died  in  one  day.  Now  when  countries  thus  lie  un- 
cultivated, uninhabited,  and  unfrequented,  the  wild 
beasts  usually  multiply,  and  come  into  the  towns  to 
devour  men,  which  is  the  fourth  distinguishing  ca- 
lamity of  this  period.  This  would  appear  a  proba- 
ble consequence  of  the  former  calamities,  if  history 
had  recorded  nothing.  But  Julius  Capitolinus,  in 
his  account  of  the  younger  Maximin,  p.  150,  informs 
us  that  five  hundred  wolves  together  entered  into  a 
city,  which  was  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  where 
this  Maximin  chanced  to  be.  The  colour  of  the 
pale  horse,  therefore,  is  very  suitable  to  the  mortality 
of  this  period  \  and  the  proclamation  for  death  and 
destruction  is  fitly  made  by  a  creature  like  an  eagle, 
that  watches  for  carcasses.  This  period  the  bishop 
considers  as  continuing  ftrom  Maximin  to  Dioclesian, 
about  fifty  years. 

Verses  9, 10.  The  following  seala  have  nothing 
extrinsical,  like  the  proclamation  of  the  living  crea- 
tures, but  they  are  sufficiently  distinguished  by  their 
internal  markis  and  chtoracters.  When  he  opened  the 
fifth  seal,  I  saw  under,  or  at  the  foot  of^  ihe  altar— 
Which  was  presented  to  my  view;  not  the  golden 
altar  of  incense,  mentioned  chap.  ix.  13,  but  the  altar 
of  burnt-offering,  spoken  of  also  chap.  viii.  6;  xiv. 
18;  xvL  7;  (he  aonU  of  them  that  'mere  $lain — 
Namely,  newly  slain  as  sacrifices,  and  offered  to  God ; 
for  the  word  of  God — For  believing  and  profess^ 
ing  faith  in  it ;  and  for  ihe  te$ttmony—TQ  the  truth 
of  the  gospel ;  which  they  held-'Thnt  is,  courage- 
ously retained  in  the  midst  of  all  opposition.  A 
proper  description  this  of  true  Christians,  who  pel^ 
severed  in  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  gospel,  not^ 
Withstanding  all  the  difficulties  and  sufferings  of 
1^ 


on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?  a.m.41oo. 
11  And  *  white  robes  were  given  — '—^ — 
unto  every  one  of  them ;  and  it  was  said  unto 
them,  *  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  sea- 
son, until  their  fdlow-servants  also  and  their 
birethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they  were, 
should  be  fulfilled. 


'Chap.  iii.  7. 7  Chap.  xi.  18;  xix.  2. sChap.  iiL  4,5; 

viL  9, 14. »  Heb.  xL  40 ;  Chap.  Jtir.  13. 


persecution.  And  thep  cried  with  a  loud  voice — 
As  making  an  appeal  to  the  injured  justice  of  Qod. 
This  cry  did  not  begin  now,  but  under  the  first  Ro- 
man persecution.  The  Romans  themselves  had 
ahready  avenged  the  martyrs  slain  by  the  Jews  on 
the  whole  nation ;  eaying,  How  long'-They  knew 
their  blood  would  be  avenged,  but  not  immediately, 
as  is  now  shown  them ;  O  Lord — The  word  o  dea- 
iroTtic  properly  signifies  the  master  of  a  family ;  it 
is  therefore  beautifully  used  by  these,  who  were  pe- 
culiariy  of  the  household  of  God.  Holy  and  true- 
Both  the  holiness  and  truth  of  God  requiro  him  to 
execute  judgment  ,and  vengeance ;  dost  thou  not 
judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them — Who,  with- 
out remorse,  have  poured  it  out  as  water.  This  de- 
sire of  theirs  is  pure,  and  suitable  to  the  will  of  God. 
These  martjnrs  are  concerned  for  the  praise  of  their 
Master,  of  his  holiness  and  truth.  And  the  praise  is 
given  him,  chap.  xix.  2,  where  the  prayer  of  the 
martyrs  is  changed  into  a  thanksgiving.  But  this 
sentence.  How  long,  &c.,  is  intended,  not  so  much 
to  express  the  desire  of  the  martyrs  that  their 
cause  should  be  vindicated,  and  their  persecutors 
punished,  as  to  signify  that  the  cruelties  exercised 
upon  them  were  of  so  barbarous  and  atrocious  a  na- 
ture as  to  deserve  and  provoke  the  vengeance  of 
God. 

Verse  11.  And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every 
one  of  <^em— As  a  token  of  their  justification,  and 
favourable  acceptance  with  God ;  of  their  victory 
and  triumph  over  death,  their  joy  and  glory.  And 
it  was  said  unto  them,  thai  they  should  rest — That 
is,  wait  J  yet  for  a  little  *ea«m— Though,  in  the 
mean  time,  their  blood  remained  nnrevenged ;  until 
their  feUow-servants  also,  and  their  brethren,  thai 
should  be  killed  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel,  as 
they  had  been,  shotdd  be  fulfiUed—Tik^X  is,  should 
have  finished  Uieir  testimony ;  or  till  the  number  of 
the  martyrs  should  be  completed,  according  to  the 
intention  of  Divine  Providence,  in  letting  perse- 
cutors go  on  a  while,  until  they  should  have  filled  up 
the  measure  of  their  iniquities,  when  the  martyrs 
should  receive  their  full  reward,  as  we  shall  sec 
hereafter.  Lowman  observes  here,  very  well,  that 
"this  representation  seems  much  to  favour  the  im- 
mediate happiness  of  departed  saints,  and  hardly  to 
consist  with  that  uncomfortable  opinion,  the  insensi- 
ble state  of  departed  souls,  till  after  the  resurrec- 
tion." There  were  other  persecutions  before,  but 
this  was  by  far  the  most  considerable,  the  tenth  and 
last  general  persecution,  which  was  begun  by  Dio' 
W7 


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The  opemng  of  the  sixth  seed. 


REV£LATI(»<. 


The  awfid  evenU  thtU  attend  it 


A.1L4100.     12  And  I  beheld  when  he  had  (^)en- 

! — 1  ed  the  sixth  seal,  ^and  b,  there  was 

a  great  earthquake;  and  'the  sun  became 
black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the  moon  be- 
came as  blood : 
13  ^  And  the  stars  of  bearen  fell  i»to  the 


*  Chap.  xri.  18.- 
Acts  iL  20. — 


-ejoel  ii.  10,  31;  Hi.  15:  Matt  zxir.  29; 
I  Chap.  Tiii  10 ;  ix.  1.— — •  Or,  green  Jigs. 


clesian,  and  continaed  by  others,  and  lasted  longer, 
and  extended  farther,  and  was  sharper  and  more 
bloody,  than  any  or  all  preceding;  and  therefore 
this  was  particularly  predicted*  Eiwebius  and  Lac- 
tantios,  who  were  two  eye-witnesses,  have  written 
large  accounts  of  it  Orosius  asserts  that  this  p^- 
secution  was  looger  and  more  enxel  than  all  the 
past ;  for  it  raged  incessantly  for  ten  years,  by  burn- 
ing the  <^iirdie8,  proscribing  the  innocent,  and  slay- 
ing the  martyrs.  Sulpicius  Sererus,  too,  describes 
it  as  the  most  bitter  persecution,  which  for  ten  years 
together  depopulated  the  people  of  God ;  at  whidi 
time  all  the  world  almost  was  stained  with  the  sar 
cred  blood  of  the  martjnrs,  and  was  never  moi«  ex- 
hausted by  any  wars.  So  that  this  became  a  memo- 
rable era  to  the  Christians,  under  the  name  of  the 
era  of  Dioclesian,  or,  as  it  is  otherwise  cidled,  the 
era  of  martyrs. 

Verses  12-17.  And  I  beheld^Fnriher  in  my 
vision ;  when  he — The  Lamb;  had  opened  the  sixth 
seal;  andlo!  there  was  a  great  eorfA^ruo/ce— Greek, 
aiutuo^  fieyac  tyeveto,  there  w<u  a  great  concussion: 
for  the  expression  comprehends  the  shaking  of 
heaven  as  well  as  of  the  earth ;  and  the  sun  became 
black  as  sackcloth  of  Aotr— It  lost  its  usual  lustre, 
and  looked  black  and  dark,  as  in  a  total  eclipse ;  and 
the  moon  became  as  blood— Instead  of  appearing 
with  its  usual  brightness  in  the  heavens,  it  appeared 
of  a  dusky-red  colour,  as  blood.  And  the  stars  of 
heaven  /c/^-They  seemed  to  disapp^r  out  of  their 
places  in  the  heavens,  and  to  fall  down  upon  the 
earth,  like  meteors,  or  as  blasted  fruit  is  blown  down 
from  the  trees  upon  die  ^Rround  in  a  violent  storm. 
And  the  heaven  departed  as  a  scroU^  &e. — It  was 
further  represented  to  me  in  my  vision  as  if  the 
heavens  were  no  longer  spread  over  the  earth,  but 
rolled  up  together  as  a  roll  of  parchment;  and  every 
mountain  and  every  island — The  most  secure  from 
the  danger  of  earthquakes,  were  not  only  shaken, 
but  quite  overturned  and  destroyed ;  so  as  never  to 
be  restored  again :  and  all  this,  says  Lowman,  ^*  to 
signify,  aceording  to  the  expressions  of  ancient  pro- 
phecy, such  a  downfall  of  the  empire  and  power  of 
heathen  Rome,  as  should  never  be  recovered;  but  the 
power  of  these  idolatrous  enemies  of  the  Christian 
faith  should  cease  and  be  no  more,  as  the  power  of 
the  Assyrians  uid  Babylonians,  the  ancient  enemies 
of  God's  people,  was  destroyed  and  never  recovered." 
Thus  the  Prophet  Joel  describing,  in  the  beautiful 
images  of  prophetic  style,  a  famine  to  be  occasioned 
by  a  great  number  of  locusts,  which  were  to  devour 
the  whole  fhiits  of  the  earth,  so  expresses  it,  Joel 
ii  10;  The  earth  shaU  quake  before  them,  the 
728 


earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  a.  m.  4ioe. 
^  untimdy  figs,  when  ^  is  riiak^a  ■  ^'  ^'  ^ 
of  a  mi^ty  wind. 

14  *  And  the  heaven  dqMvted  as  a  scroll  wfam 
it  is  rolled  together;  and  'every  mountam  and 
island  were  nxived  oot  of  their  placee. 


•Paa.  eii.  26;  Isa.  xxziv.  4;  Heb.  1 12, 13.- 
ir.  24  ;  Chap.  ztL  30. 


■^  Jer.  ilL  S3 ; 


heavens  shall  tremble^  tiu  sun  and  moon  c&ofi  be 
dark,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining. 
The  Prophet  Isaiah,  prophesymg  of  a  great  destmc- 
tioa  of  GodHi  enemies,  for  their  opposition  to  his 
church,  (which  he  calls  the  day  of  the  LonPs 
vengeance,  and  the  year  of  recompenses  for  the  con- 
troversy of  Zion,  hoL,  xxxiv.  S,)  thus  describee  it, 
verse  4;  AndaUthehostofheavenehaUbedissolvod^ 
and  the  heavens  shaH  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll^ 
and  all  their  hosts  sJtaU  fall  dawn  as  ^e  leaf 
falieth  off  from  the  vine,  and  as  a  failing  fig  from 
the  fig-tree.  The  genend  meaning  of  whidi  ex- 
pressioos  is  expiained  in  ^e  following  verse ;  Far 
my  sword  shall  be  bathed  in  heawn;  b^Md  it  ^oU 
came  down  upon  Mwhea,  and  upon  the  people  of 
my  curse  to  judgment.  In  like  manner,  the  same 
prophet  thus  expresses  the  judgments  of  €iodin  the 
punishment  of  sinn^v,  Isa.  xiii.  10;  For  the  stars 
of  heaven  and  the  consteUaXions  thereof  shall  not 
give  their  Ught ;  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  in  Ms 
going  forth,  and  themoon  shall  not  cause  her  light 
to  shine.  The  meaning  of  which  is  thus  explained 
in  the  next  words,  vecsse  11;  /  will  punish  the 
world  for  their  evU,  and  the  wicked  for  their  inr 
iquUy  ;  and  I  wUl  cause  the  arrogancy  of  (he  proud 
to  cease,  and  will  lay  low  the  haughtiness  qf  the 
terrible.  The  Prophet  Exekiel  uses  the  same  images 
to  ei4>ress  the  downfoll  of  oppressive  empires  and 
power.  Thus  in  the  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of 
the  empire  of  Egypt  by  the  empire  of  Babylon, 
Ezek.  xxxii.  7, 9;  And  when  I  shaU  put  thee  ouH,  I 
will  cover  the  h^kven,  and  make  the  stars  thereof 
dark;  J  will  cover  <^  sun  with  a  cloud,  and  the 
moon  shall  ntU  give  her  light ;  aUthe  bright  lights 
of  heaven  %oill  1  make  dark  over  thee,  and  set  dark- 
ness upon  thy  land,  saith  the  Lord  God,  And 
Jeremkh,  concerning  the  Isnd  of  Jodah,  chap.  iv. 
28^24;  Ibehdd  the  earth,  and,  h!  it  was  without 
form  and  void;  and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no 
light ;  I beheldthemountains,and^lo,they  trembled s 
and  all  the  hills  moved  lighUy.  And  thus  our 
Saviour  himself  also  speaks,  concerning  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  Matt.  xxiv.  29 ;  The  sun  ^uUl  be 
darkened,  cmd  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  tight,  and 
the  stars  ^hall  fall  from  h^iven,  and  the  powers  of 
the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.  Now  it  is  certaio^  says 
Bishop  Newton,  who  interprets  this  prophecy  in  the 
same  manner,  that  the  fall  of  any  of  thokse  cities  and 
kingdoms  was  not  of  greater  concern  and  conse- 
quence to  the  world,  nor  more  deserving  to  be  de- 
scribed in  such  p<MaQpou8  figures,  than  the  fall  of  the 
pagan  Roman  empire,  when  the  great  lights  of  the 
heathen  worid,  the  stm,  moon,  and  stars^  the  powers 

b 


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CHAPTER  Vt 


in  the  day  ofetemUy. 


A.M.4ioa.     16  And  the  kkigs  of  the  earth,  and 

— 1-^ the  j^eat  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and 

the  chief  captaina,  and  the  mighty  men,  and 
every  bcmd-man)  and  every  free-man,^ hid 
themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the 
mountains ; 


«l8a.  ii.  19. fc Hoc  x.  8;  Luke  xxiii.  30 j  Oh.  iz. 6. » Isa. 

civil  and  ecclesiastical,  wereall  eclipsed  and  obscured, 
the  heathen  emperors  and  Cesars  were  slain,  the 
heathen  priests  and  augurs  were  extirpated,  the 
heathen  (^cers  and  magistrates  were  removed,  the 
temples  demolished,  and  their  revenues  apiNt>priated 
to  better  uses. 

It  is  customary  wiUi  the  prophets,  ailer  Aeyhave 
described  a  thing  in  the  most  symbolical  and  figura- 
tive diction,  to  represent  the  same  again  ia  plainer 
language ;  and  the  same  method  is  observed  here, 
verses  15, 16, 17:  Andtiie  kings  of  the  earth,and  the 
great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  capr 
tarns,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every  bond-man  and 
every  free-man ,— That  is,  Maximian,  Galerius,  Max- 
imin,  Maxentius,  Licinius,  &c^  with  all  their  ad- 
herents and  followers,  were  so  routed  and  dispersed, 
thftt  they  hid  themselves  in  the  dens,  and  in  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains,  and  said  to  Vie  mountains 
an^  rocks.  Pall  on  us  and  hide  us — Expressions 
nsed,  as  in  other  prophets,  (Isa.  ii.  19, 21 ;  Hos.  x.  8 ; 
LulcexxiiLdO,)  to  denote  the  utmost  terror  fmd  con- 
sternation ;  FaU  on  us,  and  hide  Us  from  the  face 
of  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb,  &c. — ^This  is  therefore  a  triumph  of 
Christ  over  his  heathen  enemies,  and  a  triumph  after 
a  severe  persecution ;  so  that  the  time  and  all  the 
circumstances,  as  well  as  the  series  and  order  of  the 
prophecy,  agree  perfectly  with  this  interpretation. 
Galerius,  Maximin,  and  Licinius  made  even  a  public 
confession  of  their  guilt,  recalled  their  decrees  and 
edicts  against  the  Christians,  and  acknowledged  the 
just  judgments  of  God  and  of  Christ  in  their  destruc- 
tion.   The  history  of  this  extraordinary  event  b 
given  more  at  large  by  Lowman,  from  whose  account 
the  following  short  extract  is  taken.    A  short  time 
after  the  heavy  persecution  of  Dioclesian,  termed, 
in  the  prophecy,  a  little  season,  (verse  11,)  a  very 
great  change  took  place  in  the  heathen  Roman  em- 
pire, attended  with  great  calamities  on  the  persecu- 
tors of  the  Christians,  even  such  as  broke  in  pieces 
their  oppressive  power.    Dioclesian  and  Maximian 
had  been  compelled  by  Galerius  to  resign  the  empire 
and  retire  to  private  life ;  but  upon  the  death  of  Con- 
stantius,  and  the  accession  of  his  son  Constantine  to 
his  part  of  the  empire,  Maxentius  having  got  him- 
self declared  emperor  at  Rome,  Galerius,  to  sup- 
press this  rebellion,  persuaded  Maximian  to  resume 
the  empire,  which  he  did ;  but  in  a  short  time  had 
the  mortification  of  being  deposed ;  and  soon  after, 
navmg  in  vain  attempted  to  take  the  life  of  Con- 
stantine^ put  an  end  to  his  own  life.    Galerius  was 
smitten  with  a  very  loathsome  and  incurable  dis- 
temper, attended  with  such  insupportable  torments, 
that  he  often  endeavoured  to  kill  himseU^  and  caused 
b 


16  ^  And  sajd  to  the  mountains  and  a.  m.  4100. 
rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  — '— — 
the  fiice  oi  him  that  sitteth  on,  the  thvone,  an^ 
from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb : 

17  *  For  the  great  day  of  hia  wmth  is  come ; 
^and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand? 


jdii.  6|^  &c. ;  Zeph.  i.  14,  &c. ;  Ch,  xri.  14. *  Psa.  Ixxri.  7. 


some  of  his  physicians  to  be  put  to  death  because 
their  medicinee  had  not  been  effectual  to  remove  his 
disorder.  At  last,  his  wicked  and  cruel  conduct 
toward  the  Christians  being  brought  to  his  reneai- 
branee,  as  the  cause  of  his  sufferings,  he  immediately 
put  an  end  to  the  persecution  (that  had  been  carried 
on  against  them)  by  a  pql^  edict,  in  whi<^  he  par- 
ticularly desired  their  prayers  for  his  recovery.  Soon 
after  this  public  acknowledgment,  however,  in 
favour  of  Christianity,  he  died  of  his  loathsome  dis- 
temper. Constantino,  who  had  become  a  great 
favourer  of  the  Christians,  marched  against  Maxen- 
tius, who  opposed  him  with  an  army  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  foot,  and  eighteen  thousand 
horse ;  after  a  very  fierce  and  bloody  battle,  Maxen- 
tius was  defeated  by  Constantine,  who,  having  upon 
this  victory  secured  to  himself  the  whole  empire  of 
the  west,  gave  free  liberty  to  Christians  openly  to 
profess  their  religion.  But  in  the  east,  Maximian 
revoked  the  liberties  which  had  been  granted  to  the 
Christians,  and  made  war  against  Licinius ;  being 
defeated,  however,  with  great  slaughter  of  his  nu- 
merous army,  he  put  many  heathen  priests  and 
soothsayers  to  death  as  cheats.  But  not  long  after, 
when  he  was  endeavouring  to  try  the  event  of  a 
second  battle,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  dlstenw 
per,  attended  with  intolerable  pains  and  torments 
all  over  his  body ;  so  that,  after  being  wasted  to  a 
skeleton,  and  becoming  quite  blind,  he  at  length  died 
in  Tfige  and  despair;  confessing,  upon  his  death-bed, 
that  his  torments  were  a  just  punishment  upon  him 
for  his  malicious  and  unprovoked  proceedings  against 
Christ  and  his  religion. 

Constant'me  and  Licinius  now  remained  sole  em- 
perors, the  former  in  the  west,  and  the  latter  in  the 
east.  Licinius  having  crueUy  persecuted  the  Chris- 
tians in  his  part  of  the  empire,  a  war  broke  out  be- 
tween him  and  Constantine,  in  which  Licinuis  was 
overcome,  and  forced  to  flee;  and  after  renewing 
the  war,  and  carrying  it  on  with  greater  fiuy  than 
before,  he  was  again  defeated  in  a  general  battle,  in 
which  it  is  said  one  hundred  thousand  men  were 
slain.  He  also  was  taken  prisoner,  and  though  his 
life  was  then  spared,  yet  upon  new  attempts  against 
the  life  of  Constantine,  he  was  put  to  death,  and 
with  him  ended  all  the  heathen  power  of  Rome. 
Thus,  by  great  and  frequent  calamities,  in  which  so 
many  emperors  had  their  share  one  alter  another, 
this  wonderful  change  was  wrought  in  the  heathen 
Roman  empire.  So  that  their  power  to  oppress  and 
persecute  the  Christians  fell,  never  to  rise  agam; 
and,  together  with  it,  f^ll  (he  pagan  superstition 
and  idolatry.  "This  part  of  history,''  as  Lowman 
observes,  "  is  very  proper  to  the  general  design  of 
72d 


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REVELATION. 


the^flur  comers  of  the  tarOu 


this  whole  revelation ;  to  support  the  patience,  and 
enooorage  the  perseTeranee  of  the  church,  hy  such 
an  instance  of  God's  power  and  fiedthfidness  in  the 
proteeticm  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  punishment 
of  its  enemies.  We  see  in  this  period,  during  the 
persecution  of  heathen  Rome,  the  church  in  a  state 
of  great  trial  and  suffering,  and  yet  preserved  and 


protected,  and  finally  obtaining  a  state  of  peace  and 
safety,  when  all  the  power  of  its  petsecutore  was 
totally  destroyed  by  God's  ovemding  providence. 
Thus  this  history  confirms  the  general  truth  of  all 
the  prophecies,  and  t)ie  particular  predietions  of 
each  of  ^em  severally : — a  strong  encouragement  to 
the  patience  and  constancy  of  the  true  church." 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

n  test  ekapUr  u  rtprtsenUd,  (1,)  Tk*  mupenaum  of  fwrther  emUumtiet  I0  the  ehurek  hf  perMntion,  till  mmlHtuJti  Mhtmli 
U  cMverted  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  tmd  the  enjojfment  of  the  bUssed  primUgee  of  the  goepd,  from  ammg  both  Je%09  mni 
Cftntilu,  Md  should  be  prepared,  by  the  SMnctifying  and  comforting  infiueitcee  of  the  Spirit^  for  glorifymg  God  on  earth 
amd  enjoying  hmn  tn  Amvm,  1-8.  (2,)  The  happy  state  which  the  cJbtncA,  now  deUteredfrom  all  persecution,  should  be  in, 
ewen  an  earth,  but  espedaUy  in  ike  eternal  world,  vokin  all  tribulation  should  be  for  eoer  ended,  9-17. 


A.  M.  4100.  A  ND  after  these  things  T  saw  four 
'. —  angels  standing  on  the  four  cor- 
ners of  the  earth,  ^  holding  the  four  winds  of 


^DaiLTiLS. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VII. 

The  former  chapter  concluded  the  first  grand 
period  of  the  sufferings  of  the  church,  under  the  per- 
secutions of  the  heathen  Roman  empire.  The  second 
grand  period  of  prophecy  begins  with  the  opening 
of  the  seventh  seal,  and  is  contained  in  the  events 
which  attend  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets^  an 
account  of  which  we  have  in  chap,  viii^  ix.  In  this 
chapter  we  have  an  account  of  a  little  pause,  or  in- 
terval, to  describe  the  state  of  things  for  a  short  time, 
between  the  two  periods.  It  seems  to  be  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  state  of  peace  and  quiet  throughout  the 
earth,  especially  in  the  Roman  empire;  and  of  the 
great  number  of  persons  in  every  nation  who 
embraced  the  profession  of  Christianity;  of  the 
encouraging  protection  that  was  given  to  the  Chris- 
tian church;  of  thankful  acknowledgments,  by  the 
whole  church,  for  the  goodness  and  power  of  God 
and  Christ,  in  such  eminent  instances  of  favour  and 
protection ;  and,  finally,  of  the  happy  state  of  all  the 
faithful  confessors  and  mart3rrs;  who,  after  a  short 
time  of  tribulation  for  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  con- 
stancy in  his  religion,  have  arrived  at  a  state  of  ever- 
lasting rest,  happiness,  and  glory.  Thus  wisely 
does  this  part  of  prophecy  promote  the  principal 
design  of  the  whole,  to  encourage  the  faith  and 
patience,  the  hope  and  constancy  of  the  church, 
under  aU  opposition  and  sufferings.  It  seems  de- 
signed to  show,  with  the  certainty  of  prophetic  reve- 
lation, that,  as  God  directs  all  things  in  the  world  by 
his  providence,  so  he  will  direct  them  to  serve  the 
designs  of  his  goodness  to  the  church ;  and  that  the 
great  revolutions  of  the  world  shall  often  be  in  favour 
of  true  religion,  and  for  its  protection ;  and  to  assure 
the  faithful  that  all  they  suffer,  for  the  sake  of  truth 
and  righteousness,  shall  soon  be  rewarded  with  a 
state  of  peace,  glory,  and  felicity.    See  Lowman. 

Verse  1.  After  these  things — After  the  former 
730 


the  earth,  *»  that  the  wind  should  not  ^JL^^ 

blow  on  the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  '. 

on  any  tree. 

^Chap.ii.  4. 


discoveries  made  to  me,  which  represented  the  pro- 
vidence of  God  toward  his  church  and  the  world,  till 
the  downfall  of  the  heathen  Roman  empire,  the  state 
of  the  church  and  the  world  immediately  to  succeed 
was  also  represented  to  me  in  ^e  manner  following : 
— I  saw  four  angels  standing  on  the  four  comers  of 
the  earih—Thhi  is,  the  north,  the  south,  the  east,  and 
the  west ;  holding  the  four  cardinal  vinds  of  the 
tfar^A— Keeping  them  in  a  state  of  restraint ;  th€U 
the  isind  might  not  blow  upon  the  earth — That  there 
m^ht  be  the  most  entire  and  complete  calm,  to  re- 
present the  peaceful  state  of  things  which  should 
succeed  the  tumultuous  and  distressing  revolutions 
which  had  been  last  discovered  to  me.  liVlnds  are 
emblems  of  commotions,  and  very  properly,  as  they 
are  the  natural  causes  of  storms.  Thus  this  figura- 
tive expression  is  used  and  explained  by  Jerenuah, 
chap.  xlix.  36,  37 ;  Upon  Blam  will  I  bring  the  four 
winds,  from  the  four  quarters  of  heaven,  and  will 
scatter  them  toward  cUl  those  winds,  ^c^for  I  wHl 
cause  Elam  to  be  dismayed  before  their  enemies, 
&c.  To  hold  the  windsj  therefore,  thai  they  should 
not  bloWy  is  a  very  proper  prophetic  emblem  of  a 
state  of  peace  and  tranquillity.  This  chapter,  it  must 
be  observed,  is  stQl  a  continuation  of  the  sixth  seal, 
for  the  seventh  seal  is  not  opened  tiH  the  beginning 
of  the  next  chapter.  It  is  a  description  of  the  state 
of  the  church  in  Constantine's  time,  of  the  peace  and 
protection  that  it  should  enjoy  under  the  civil  pow- 
ers, and  of  the  great  accession  that  should  be  made 
to  it,  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Eusebius  is  very 
copious  upon  this  subject  in  several  parts  of  his 
writings,  and  hath  applied  that  passage  of  the  psalm- 
bt  in  the  version  of  the  Seventy,  (Psa.  xlvi.  8, 9,) 
Come  hither,  and  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord,  what 
wonders  he  hath  wrought  in  Uu  earth;  he  maketh 
wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  ;  he  breaketh 
the  bow,  and  aUteth  the  spear  asunder;  he  bumeih 

b 


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The  church  hath  rest  from  per$ecut%on      CHAPTER  TIL 


till  the  eervctnti  of  God  are  eealeSL 


A.  M.  4100.  2  *  And  I  saw  another  angel  ascend'- 
^^'^  iog  from  the  east,  having  the  seal  of 
the  Uving  God:  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice 
to  the  four  angels>  to  whom  it  was  given  to  hurt 
the  earth  and  the  sea, 

3  Saying,  <^  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  4he 
sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  ^  sealed  the  ser- 
vants of  our  God  *  in  their  foreheads. 

4  '  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  which 
were  sealed :  and  there  were  sealed  »  a  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand  of  all  the  tribes  of 
the  children  of  Israel 

5  Of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.    Of  the  tribe  of  Reuben  were  sealed 


f^AU  SaimW  Day,  «pisUe,  rerse  2  to  rerae  13.- 
6;  ix.4. 


"Chap.  ri. 


the  chariot  in  ihefte  ;  which  things,  ^th  he,  being 
manifestly  folfilled  in  our  times,  we  rejoice  over 
them.  Lactantius  also  saith,  in  the  same  triumphant 
strain,  "  Tranquillity  being  r^estored  throughout  the^ 
world,  the  church  which  was  lately  ruined  riseth 
again.  Now,  after  the  violent  agitations  of  so  great 
a  tempest,  a  calm  air  and  the  desired  light  become 
resplendent.  Now  God  hath  relieved  the  afflicted. 
Now  he  hath  wiped  away  the  tears  of  the  sorrow- 
ful." These  are  testimonies  of  contemporary  writers. 
Medals  of  Constantine  are  still  preserved,  with  the 
head  of  this  emperor  on  one  side,  and  this  inscrip- 
tion, CoNSTAKTiNus  AuG.,  and  on  the  reverse,  BEiWTA 
TiUNauiLUTAS,  Blessed  Tranquillity, 

Verses  2,  3.  Aiid  I  sav)  another  angel  ascending, 
from  the  east — To  intimate  the  progress  which  the 
gospel  should  make  from  the  east  to  the  west; 
having  in  his  hand  the  seal  of  the  living  God— In 
order  to  impress  a  mark  upon  those  who  should  be- 
lieve and  obey  the  gospel,  and  dedicate  themselves 
to  his  service.  And  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice — 
Thus  showing  the  great  importance  of  what  he  ut- 
tered ;  to  the  four  angels  to  whom  it  was  given — At 
present  to  restra'm  the  winds,  but  afterward  to  loose 
them  with  great  violence,  and  by  them  to  hurt  the 
earth  and  the  sea-^To  injtu'e  them  in  a  terrible 
manner ;  saj/ing,  Burt  not  the  earth,  &c.— Execute 
not  your  commission  with  respect  to  punishing  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth ;  till  we  have  sealed  the 
servants  of  God — Marked  them  out  as  such,  and  se- 
cured them  from  the  impending  calamities  in  a  man- 
ner by  which  they  shall  be  as  clearly  distinguished 
from  the  rest  of  mankind  as  if  they  were  vbibly 
marked  on  their  foreheads.  Bishop  Newton  thinks 
that  this  expression,  sealing  on  theforehead^  is  used 
in  allusion  to  the  ancient  custom  of  marking  servants 
on  their  foreheads,  to  distinguish  what  they  were, 
and  to  whom  they  belonged:  and  that  as,  among 
Christians,  baptism  was  considered  as  the  seal  of  the 
covenant  between  God  and  believers,  so  the  sealing 
here  spoken  of  signifies  the  admitting  them  into  the 
visible  church  of  Christ  by  baptism ;  and  that  their 
being  said  to  be  sealed  on  their  foreheads  can  im- 
b 


twelve  thousand.   Of  the  Uibe  of  Gad  A.M.4iok 
were  sealed  twelve  thousand.  ! — 

6  Of  the  tribe  of  Aser  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Nephthalim  were 
sealed  twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Ma* 
nasses  were  sealed  twelve  thouswd. 

7  Of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Levi  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Issachar  were 
sealed  twelve  thousand. 

8  Of  the  tribe  of  Zabulon  were  sealed  twdve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  JoBepti  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin 
were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 


^  £z«k.  ix.  4 ;  Clmp.  xIt.  I. — — •  Chap.  xxii.  4.- 
f  Chap.  xir.  1. 


'  Chap.  ix.  la 


ply  no  less  than  that  those  who  before,  in  times  of 
persecution,  had  been  compelled  to  worship  God  in 
private,  should  now  make  a  free,  open,  and  pubUc 
[HDfession  of  their  religion,  without  any  fear  or  dan- 
ger of  thereby  exposing  themselves  to  persecution. 
To  this,  however,  must  be  added,  that  this  sealing 
doubtless  implies  that  very  many  should  not  only 
be  baptized,  and  make  a  profeseion  of  Christianity, 
but  should  also  be  really  converted  to  God,  made 
new  creatures  in  Christ;  and,  having  believed  in 
him,  should,  as  the  apostle  observes,  (Eph.  i.  13,)  be 
seeded  with  the  JOoly  Spirit  of  promise ;  that  is, 
both  stamped  with  God's  image,  and  assured  of  their 
sonship  by  the  Spirit  of  adoption  and  regeneration ; 
and  should  possess  that  Spirit,  in  his  witness  and 
fruits,  till  they  should  receive  Ute  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession. 

Verses  4-8.  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them,  a 
hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand^This  single 
passage,  says  the  bishop  of  Meaux,  may  show  the 
mistake  of  those  who  always  expect  the  numbers  in 
the  Revelation  to  be  precise  and  exact ;  for  is  it  to 
be  supposed,  that  there  should  be  in  each  tribe  twelve 
thousand  believers,  neither  more  nor  fewer,  to  make 
up  the  total  sum  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thou^ 
sand?  It  is  not  by  such  trifles  and  low  sense  the 
divine  oracles  are  to  be  explained,  ^e  are  to  ob- 
serve, in  the  numbers  of  the  Revelation,  a  certain 
figurative  proportion  which  the  Holy  Ghost  designs 
to  point  out  to  observation.  As  there  were  twelve 
patriarchs  and  twelve  apostles,  twelve  became  a  sa- 
cred number  in  the  synagogue  and  in  the  Christian 
Church.  This  number  of  twelve,  first  multiplied 
into  itself,  and  then  by  one  thousand,  makes  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand.  The  bishop  sees, 
in  the  solid  proportion  of  this  square  number,  the 
unchangeableness  of  the  truth  of  God  and  his 
promises.  Perhaps  it  may  mean  the  beauty  and 
stabUity  of  the  Christian  Church,  keeping  to  the 
apostolical  purity  of  faith  and  worship.  Cfthe  tribe 
of  Juda,  &c.^As  the  Church  of  Christ  was  first 
formed  out  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  nation,  so  here 
the  spiritual  Israel  is  first  mentioned.  But  the  twelva 
7S1 


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camt  <mi  of  great  iribulatiaiL. 


A. M.  4100.    9  After  thb  I  beheld,  and  b,  ^a 

I great  mukiiude,  which  no  man  could 

number,  >  of  aU  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peo- 
1^  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and 
bc^e  the  Lamb,  ^  clothed  mxh  white  robes, 
and  pahns  in  their  hands ; 
10  And  died  with  a  loud  vdce,  saying,  ^  Sal- 


kRom.  xL  25. ^Chap.  ▼.  9.^ ^  Chtt.  iii.  d,  18;  ir.  4;  vL 

11;  Veneli.  

tribes  are  not  enumerated  here  in  the  same'  order 
as  they  are  in  other  places  of  Holy  Scripture. 
Jndah  hath  the  precedence,  beeause  from  him  de- 
scended the  Messiah,  and  in  this  tribe  the  kingdom 
was  established.  Dan  is  entirely  omitted,  being  the 
first  tribe  that  fell  into  idolatry  after  the  settle- 
ment of  Israel  in  Canaan ;  knd  also  being  early  re- 
duced to  a  single  family,,  which  fJEimily  itself  seems 
to  have  been  cut  off  in  war  before  the  time  of  Ezra. 
For  in  the  Chronicles,  where  the  posterity  of  the 
patriarchs  is  recited,  Dan  is  wholly  omitted.  Ephraim 
^so  was  a  tribe  that  greatly  promoted  idolatry,  and 
therefore  is  not  mentioned  by  name,  but  the  tribe  is 
denominated  that  of  Joseph,  The  Leritical  cere- 
monies being  abolished,  Levi  was  again  on  a  level 
with  his  brethren,  and  is  here  mentioned  as  a  tribe 
instead  of  that  of  Dan.  In  this  list  the  childcen  of 
the  bond-woman  and  of  the  free-woman  are  con- 
founded together ;  for  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is  nei- 
ther bond  nor  free. 

Verse  9.  After  this  I  beheld,  and  io,  a  great  mnlr 
tUude^TK\&  first  refers  to  the  happy  and  prosperous 
state  of  the  church  at  the  end  of  so  many  grievous 
persecutions  and  sufferings:  for  an  innttmerable 
multitude  of  all  nations  and  tongues  embraced  the 
gospel,  and  are  here  represented  as  clothed  with 
white  robes,  in  token  of  their  acceptance  with  €rod, 
and  their  sanctification  through  his  Holy  Spirit. 
And,  as  Sulpicius  Severus  says,  it  is  wonderful  how 
much  the  Christian  religion  prevailed  at  that  time. 
The  historians  who  have  written  of  this  reign  relate 
how  even  the  most  remote  and  barbarous  nations 
were  converted  to  the  faith,  Jews  as  well  as  Geptiles. 
One  historian  in  particular  affirms,  that  at  the  time 
when  Constantino  took  possession  of  Rome,  after 
the  death  of  Maxentius^  there  were  baptized  more 
than  twelve  thonsand  Jews  and  heathen,  besides 
women  and  children*  These  converts  from  the 
tribes  of  Israel  and  from  the  Gentile  nations  are  here 
represented  as  having  finished  their  course,  and  as 
standing  before  the  throne  in  robes  of  glory,  and 
with  palms  in  their  hands  as  tokens  of  joy  and  vic- 
tory ;  because  if  they  were  sincere  converts,  brought 
to  possess,  as  well  as  profess,  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
and  ^ould  continue  in  the  faith  grounded  and  set- 
tled, and  not  be  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the 
go^3l,  they  would  certainly  be  presented  before  the 
presence  of  the  divine  glory  with  exceeding  joy, 
and  obtain  all  the  felicity  here  spoken  of.  Doddridge 
indeed  supposes  that  only  the  sealing  of  these  thou- 
sands expressoi  the  progress  of  the  gospel  under 
Constantine ;  and  that  the  innui»erable  multitude 


vatkm  to  our  God  '■which  siueth  a. m. 4100 

upon    the    throng   and    unto  the  — '—^ 

lAmb. 

II  '^  And  all  the  angds  stood  roond  about  the 
throne,  and  o&ou/  the  eldeis  and  the  four  beasCs^ 
and  fell  befi^re  the  throne  (m  their  feces,  and 
worshipped  Qod, 


1  Ps«.  iii.  S ;  Isa. idiiL  U ;  Jer.  iii.  23;  Hos.  ziiL 4;  Chap.  lix.  i. 
■»  Chap.  T.  13. ■  Chap.  rr.  a 

here  spoken  of  were  the  spirits  of  good  men  de- 
parted out  of  this  world,  and  then  with  God  in  glory : 
and  especially  those  who  had  weathered  the  diifi- 
cuities  and  persecutions  with  which  the  church  had 
been  tried  during  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity, 
when  the  civil  power  was  generally  active  against 
it,  and  when  probably  many  persecutions  raged  in 
various  parts  of  the  world,  whose  histories  are  not 
come  down  to  ns. 

Verses  10-1^  Arid  tried  vnlh  a  loud  wnce— In 
token  of  the  intenseness  of  their  devotion  ^  saytit^, 
Salvation  to  our  Oodr-^Thni  is.  Let  the  salvation 
Wbich  we  have  attained  be  ascribed  to  him ;  which 
sitteth  upon  the  tfwone^And  from  thence  has  gra- 
cioiBly  regarded  us,  and  exalted  us  to  such  dignity 
and  happiness,  mean  and  miserable  as  we  once  were. 
And  unto  the  Lamb — Let  it  be  also  ascribed  to  the 
mediation  and  grace  of  the  Lamb,  who  gave  himself 
to  be  slain  for  our  redemption.  The  salvation  fo. 
which  they  praised  Crod  is  a  deliverance  from  sin 
and  its  consequences^  and  a  restoration  to  the  favour 
and  image  of  God,  and  communion  with  him  here, 
and  the  eternal  enjoyment  of  him  hereafter.  It  is 
described  and  exhibited  in  its  blessed  results  and 
completion,  verses  16-17 :  that  for  which  they  praise 
Qod  is  described  verse  15;  that  for  which  they 
praise  the  Lamb,  verse  14 ;  and  both  in  the  16th  and 
17th  verses.  This  vision,  especially  when  compared 
with  the  former,  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chapters, 
Lowman  also  thinks  is  to  be  understood  of  the 
church  in  heaven;  because,  as  heaven  seems  to  be 
the  proper  scene  of  the  vision,  so  the  innumerable 
company  of  saints,  with  whom  the  angels  join  in  the 
following  words,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  the 
Lamb,  is  most  naturally  to  be  understood  of  those 
who,  having  been  faithful  unto  death,  have  received 
the  crown  of  immortal  life  in  the  state  of  heavenly 
happiness.  And  he  questions  whether  the  praises 
of  the  church  on  earth  can  answer  this  prophetic 
description,  or  the  intention  of  the  prophetic  Spirit, 
in  the  great  encouragement  it  designed  to  give  to 
faithfulness  and  constancy.  He  thinks,  to  under- 
stand it  of  the  heavenly  church,  is  a  natural  sense  of 
the  expressions,  and  a  sense  proper  to  the  design  of 
the  prophecy,  as  it  represents  the  faithful  martyrs 
and  confessors,  once  so  great  sufferers  on  earth,  now 
blessed  saints  in  heaven.  And  all  the  angels  stood 
— In  waiting ;  round  the  throne,  and  the  elders,  and 
the  four  Irving  creatures — That  is,  the  living  crea- 
tures next  the  throne,  the  elders  round  these,  and 
the  angels  round  them  both ;  and  fell  before  the 
throne—Of  the  Divine  Majesty  j  on  Oieirfaces^Bo 

b 


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A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  96. 


12  "*  Saying,  Amen :  Messing,  and 
^ory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving, 
and  honour,  and  power,  and  might,  be  unto  our 
Ood  fx  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

13  And  one  of  the  eiders  answered,  saying 
unto  me.  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  ip 
^  white  robes  1  and  whence  came  they? 

14  And  I  said  unto  him.  Sir,  thou  knowest 
And  he  said  to  me,  *  These  are  they  which 
came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  'washed 
their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb. 


•Chap.  T.  13,  14. P  Vei»e  9. 1  Chap.  ri.  9;  xriL  6. 

'  Itaiah  L  18 ;  Hebrews  ix.  14 ;  1  John  i  7 ;  Chapter  i.  6 ; 
Zech.  iii.  3-6. 


do  the  elders  once  only,  chap.  xL  16 ;  and  v>or8hip' 
ped  6^od— Joining  in  the^  same  act  of  worship  and 
thanksgiving  with  the  saints;  saying^  Amen — So 
let  it  be !  With  this  word  all  the  angels  confirm  the 
praises  and  thanksgivings  of  the  great  multitude,  and 
show  their  hearty  consent  with  thein  and  approba- 
tion of  them,  carrying  likewise  the  praises  much 
higher,  saying,  Bleasingy  cmd  glory,  ^.,  be  unto  our 
God  for  ever  and  ever — May  all  creature^  for  ever 
bless  and  give  thanks  to  him,  as  origiually  and  es- 
sentially possessed  of  supreme  glory ,  complete  wis- 
dom, of  irresistible  and  almighty  power,  and  therefore 
worthy  of  all  honour^  though  exalted  above  all 
praise.  Before  the  Lamb  began  to  open  the  seven 
seals,  a  seven-fold  hymn  of  praise  was  brought  him 
by  many  angels,  chap.  v.  12.  Now  he  b  upon  open- 
ing the  last  seal,  and  the  seven  angels  are  going  to 
receive  seven  trumpets^  in  order  tp  make  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  subject  to  God,  all  th^  angels 
give  seven-fold  praise  to  God. 

Verses  13-17.  And /me  of  the  elders,  &c. — ^What 
is  here  related,  to  verse  17,  might  have  immediately 
followed  the  tenth  verse;  but  that  the  praise  of 
the  angels,  which  was  given  at  the  same  time  with 
that  of  the  great  multitude,  came  in  between :  an- 
swered—-Thai  is,  he  answered  St  John's  desire  to 
know,  not  to  any  words  the  apostle  spoke.  Or,  in 
order  to  give  him  a  mor^  exact  information  concern- 
ing the  persons  Who  were  clothed  in  the  white 
robes  of  purity,  honour,  and  dignity,  one  of  the 
elders  led  him  on  by  a  question  to  ask  of  him  a  fuller 
account  of  them.  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed 
in  white  robes  7 — And  make  such  a  splendid  i^pear- 
ance ;  and  whence  came,  or  come,  they  7  And,  be- 
lieving the  question  to  be  asked  in  order  to  quicken 
my  attention  to  what  he  had  to  tell  me  concerning 
them,  I  said.  Sir,  thou  knowest — Though  I  do  not. 
Andhesaid^  &c.— These  persons,  whom  you  behold 
appearing  m  their  state  of  honour  and  happiness, 
are  they  which  came — Or  come,  as  ol  tpxofuvoi  rather 
signifies;  out  of  great  tribulation—They  were  very 
b 


15  Therefore  are  they  before  the  a.  M.  4100. 
throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day    ^  ^'^' 
and   night   in   his   temple :    and    he    that 
sitteth  on  the  thnme  shall    'dwell   among 
them. 

16  ^  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst 
any  more;  "^ neither  shaH  the  sun  light  on 
them,  nor  woty  heat. 

17  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  'shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them 
unto  living  fountains  of  waters :  ^  and  God  ^hall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes. 


■  lea.  iv.  5,  6 ;  Chap.  axi.  3. » Isa.  xlix.  10. «•  Psa.  cxxi. 

6 ;   Chap.  xju.  4. «  Paa.  xxiii.  1 ;  xzxn.  8;  John  x.  11, 14. 

Y  Isa.  xxT.  8 ;  Chap.  iv.  21. 

lately  in  a  state  of  great  affliction  and  suffering,  for 
the  sake  of  their  faith  and  constancy;  but,  having 
kept  the  faith,  they  have  received  the  blessings- 
whidi  Chrial  obta'med  by  his  blood  for  his  church 
and  faithful  pHSople.  Yet  these  could  not  be  all  mar- 
tyrs, for  the  raartjnrs  could  not  be  such  a  multitude 
as  ao  man  could  ntunder.  But  as  all  the  angels  ap- 
pear here,  so  probably  did  all  the  souls  of  the  right- 
eous, who  had  lived  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world.  All  these  may  be  said,  more  or  less,  to  come 
out  of  great  tribulation,  of  various  kinds,  wisely  and 
graoioudy  allotted  by  God  to  all  his  children ;  and 
hofoe  washed  their  robes — From  all  guilt ;  and  made 
them  white^-lti  all  purity  and  holiness ;  tn,  or  by, 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb — Through  which  alone  we 
obtain  remission  of  sins,  and  the  influences  of  the 
sanctifying  Spirit,  so  that  they  are  advanced  to  the 
state  of  glory  and  happiness  in  which  you  see  them. 
Therefore — Because  they  cione  out  of  great  afflic- 
tion, and  have  washed  their  robes  in  Christ's  blood ; 
are  they  before  the  throne  of  Ood— It  seems  even 
nearer  than  the  angels;  and  serve  him  day  and 
t}?^^/—- Speaking  after  the  manner  of  men ;  that  is, 
continuaUy ;  in  his  temple — In  heaven ;  and  he  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them—'ZKii' 
vuoei  tir  avTttc,  shall  have  hi^  tent  over  them:  shall 
spread  his  glory  over  them  as  a  covering.  T?^ 
shaU  hunger  no  more — They  shall  be  no  more  sulv- 
ject  to  any  of  their  former  infirmities,  wants,  or 
afflictions ;  neither  shaU  the  tun  light  on  them,  &c. 
— None  of  the  natural  or  common  evils  of  the  world 
below  shall  reach  them  any  more.  For  the  Lamb 
who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them-— 
With  etemfd  peace  and  joy,  so  that  they  shall  hun- 
ger no  more ;  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  foun- 
tains of  waters— ThQ  comforts  of  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit, so  that  they  shall  thirst  no  more ;  neither  shall 
they  grieve  any  more,  for  God  shall  wipe  away 
aU  tears  from  their  eyes— Ewery  sorrow,  with 
every  cause  of  sorrow,  shall  be  fully  taken  away 
for  ever 

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CHAPTER  Vm 

{\,yThe»ttaUh  seal  being  opetudy  afUr  a  short  silence,  seven  angds  ^prepare  to  gits  soUmH  alarms  of  ofproacktng  judg- 
ments,  answerwHt  to  CkrisCs  inUreessim,  and  the  prayers  of  his  peopU,  1-6.  (2,)  Four  of  the  trumpets  heing  sounded^ 
are  eaehfoUowed  by  terriUe  judgments,  OU  the  Roman  empire  is  quite  destroyed,  and  the  tkurek  feaxfulbf  defaced,  7-l«. 
(3,)  An  angel  denounces  stia  greater  miseries  to  come  upon  theearth  under  the  thrufoUpwing  trumpets,  18- 

3  And  another  angel  came    and  a.m. 4100. 
Stood  at  the  altar,  having  a  golden 


A.  M.  -1100.    A  ND  *  when  he  had  opened  the  se- 

A    D   96.       7^  * 

LJ venth  seal,  there  was  silence  In 

heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour. 
2  ^  And  I  saw  the  seven  angds  which  stood 
before  God  j  •  and  to  them  were  given  seven 
trumpets. 


•  Chap.  Ti.  2. *  Matt  xriii.  10 ;  Luke  i. 

xxix.  85-88. 


19.- 


■  2  Chron. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  VHI. 

This  chapter  introduces  the  second  period  of  this 
prophecy,  which  begins  upon  the  opening  of  the  se- 
venth seal,  and  isdistinguished  by  the  sounding  of  the 
seven  trumpets.  This  period  of  the  trumpets  con> 
tains  a  prophetic  description  of  the  state  of  the  world 
and  church  for  a  considerable  space  of  time  after  the 
empire  became  nominally  Christian,  and  was  go- 
verned by  the  successors  of  Constantine.  It  de- 
scribes the  great  devastation  of  that  empire  by  the 
several  nations  that  broke  in  upon  it,  and  finally  put 
an  end  to  it;  and  it  predicts  a  time  of  great  calamity, 
a  state  of  new  trials.  So  that  here  the  church  was 
shown  the  new  dangers  and  oppositions  it  had  to 
expect,  after  it  should  be  delivered  from  the  perse- 
cutions of  the  heathen  Roman  government:  and 
that  even  when  the  Christian  religion  should  have 
the  protection  of  the  laws  and  the  favour  of  the  em- 
perors, the  church  would  still  have  great  need  of 
caution,  watchfulness,  patience,  and  constancy ;  and 
there  would  be  still  this  encouragement  to  faithful- 
ness and  perseverance,  that  though  the  opposition 
in  this  period  of  time  would  be  very  great,  yet  nei- 
ther should  this  prevail  against  the  cause  of  truth 
and  righteousness,  but  the  Christian  faith  should  be 
preserved,  and  in  the  end  triumph  over  this  opposi- 
tion, as  it  had  before  been  victorious  over  that  of  the 
heathen  emperors  of  Rome.  And  thus  these  fresh 
discoveries  fully  answer  the  general  design  and  use 
of  the  prophecy,  namely,  to  direct  and  encourage 
the  constancy  of  Christ's  true  church,  whatever  op- 
position it  may  meet  with  from  its  enemies,  visible 
or  invisible. 

Verse  1.  And  v>hen  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal 
— Thb  seal  is  introductory  to  the  trumpets  con- 
tained under  it,  as  the  seventh  trumpet  introduces 
the  vials  which  belong  to  it  The  period,  therefore, 
of  this  seal  is  of  much  longer  duration,  and  compre- 
hends many  more  events,  than  any  of  the  former 
seals.  It  comprehends,  indeed,  seven  periods,  dis- 
tinguished by  the  sounding  of  seven  trumpets. 
There  was  silence  in  heaven  about  half  an  hour — 
This  seems  to  have  been  intended,  not  only  as  an 
lnter\'al  and  pause,  as  it  were,  between  the  forego- 
ing and  the  succeeding  revelations,  distinguishing 
In  a  remarkable  manner  the  seventh  seal  from  the 
734 


censer ;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  mudi 
incense,  that  he  should  ^ofler  U  wtth  ^  the 
prayers  of  all  saints  upon  *  the  golden  altar 
which  was  before  the  throne. 


^  Or,  add  it  to  the  prayers. '  Chap.  r.  ft- 

Ch^.  Ti.  9. 


•Ezod. 


six  preceding;  but  as  expressive  of  the  solemn  ex- 
pectation excited  on  this  occasion  of  great  events 
about  to  be  revealed.  And  the  time  of  this  silence 
being  only  half  an  hour,  it  seems,  was  intended  to 
signify  that  the  peace  of  the  church  would  continue 
for  a  short  season  only,  which  was  the  case,  namely, 
during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  Constantine's  reign, 
from  A.  D.  328  to  A.  D.  837.  Of  this  silence  some 
expositors  think  they  find  a  figure  in  the  following 
ceremonies  of  the  Jews,  mentioned  by  Philo.  The 
incense,  in  the  worship  of  God  in  the  temple,  used 
to  be  offered  before  the  mdming  and  after  the  even- 
ing sacrifice:  and  while  the  sacrifices  were  made, 
(2  Chron,  xxix.  25-28,)  the  voices,  and  instruments, 
and  trumpets  sounded ;  while  the  priest  went  into 
the  temple  to  bum  incense,  (Luke  i.  10,)  ail  were 
silent,  and  the  people  prayed  without  in  silence  or 
to  themselves.  Now  this  was  ihe  morning  of  the 
church,  and  therefore  the  silence  precedes  the  sound- 
ing of  the.  trumpets. 

Verses  2, 3.  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels-A  beheld 
further  in  my  vision  seven  chief  angels,  instruments 
especially  designed  of  God  for  a  very  important  ser- 
vice, now  to  be  declared;  which  stood — Or  were 
standing ;  before  God—To  receive  and  execute  his 
commands,  after  the  manner  of  the  great  princes  of 
the  East,  Who  used  to  be  so  attended  by  the  chief 
officers  of  their  courts.  And  to  them  were  given 
seven  trumpets— To  sound  an  alarm,  and  give  warn- 
ing to  the  nations  of  approaching  judgments.  And 
another  angel  came — Representing,  it  seems,  the 
great  High-Priest  of  the  church.  The  Lamb  was 
emblematical  of  Christ,  as  a  sacrifice  for  us,  and  this 
angel  represented  him  in  his  priestly  office  as  offer- 
ing up  to  God  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints,  recom- 
mended by  his  intercessions ;  having  a  golden  cen- 
ser— Signifying  his  mediatorial  office.  And  there 
was  given  unto  him  mtich  incense—An  emblem  of 
his  great  merits,  and  power  with  God ;  that  he  should 
offer  it  with,  or  add  it  to,  tJ^  prayers  of  the  saints 
upon  ihe  golden  altar— The  altar  of  incense ;  which 
was  before  the  throne— There  being  in  this  repre- 
sentation of  the  divine  presence  no  veil,  and  so  no 
distinction  between  the  holy  and  most  holy  place. 
"The  great  angel  of  the  covenant,"  says  Bisliop 
Hall,  "  came  and  stood  as  the  Hij^-Priest  of  his 

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of  ike  first  angeL 


A.  M.  4100.    A  And  '  t&e  smoke  of  (he  mcense, 

' ti^AtcA  came  with  the  prayers  of  the 

saints,  ascended  up  before  God  out  of  the  an 
gel's  hand. 

6  And  the  angel  took  the  ooiser,  and  filled  it 
with  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  t^  'into  the  earth : 
and  » there  were  voices,  and  tbunderings,  and 
lightnings,  ^  and  an  earthquake. 


'Psa.  cxU.  2;  Laka  i.  10. •Or, 


^  2  Sam.  xxiL  8 ;  1  Kings  zix.  11 ;  AcU  iv.  31. 


.TJT" 


rChsp.  xtL  la 


church  before  the  altar  of  heaven,  and  many  holy 
and  effectual  prayers  were  offered  unto  him,  that  he 
might  by  his  merciful  mediation  present  them  to 
God  the  Father."  '^  Some  have  thought,^'  says  Dod- 
dridge, "  that  this  is  a  plain  intimation  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  intercession  of  the  angels,  which,  is  urged 
to  have  been  an  erroneous  Jewish  notion ;  and  those 
who  imagine  it  to  be  taught  here,  have  made  it  an 
argument  against  the  inspiration  of  this  book.  But 
I  rather  agree  with  those  interpreters  who  consider 
this  angel  as  an  emblem  of  Christ  If  we  were  in- 
deed to  consider  Christ  as  appearing  in  the  shape  of 
a  Iamb,  this  would  be  a  difficulty ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  at  all  absurd  to  me,  that  while  the  efficacy  of 
Christ's  atonement  was  represented  by  a  lamb  slain, 
his  intercession  consequent  uppn  it  should  be  repre- 
sented by  an  angel  offering  the  incense ;  which  seems 
only  a  symbolical  or  hieroglyphical  declaration  of 
this  truth,  that  the  prayers  of  the  saints  on  ^rth 
are  rendered  acceptable  to  God  by  the  intercession 
of  one  in  heaven,  who  appears  as  a  priest  before 
God :  just  as  the  vision  of  the  Lamb  represents  to  us 
that  a  person  of  perfect  innocence,  and  of  a  most 
gentle  and  amiable  disposition,  eminently  adorned 
and  enriched  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  has  been  offered 
as  a  sacrifice ;  and  is,  in  consequence  of  that,  highly 
honoured  on  the  throne  of  God,  But  who  this  im- 
portant victim  and  this  intercessor  is,  we  are  to  learn 
elsewhere;  and  we  do  learn  that  both  these  offices 
met  In  one,  and  that  this  illustrious  person  b  Jesus 
the  Son  of  God.  Mthe  golden  altar  made  a  part  of 
the  scene,  there  was  a  propriety  in  its  appealing  to 
be  used,  and  the  time  of  praying  was  the  hour  of 
incense.  This  vision  may  probably  be  designed  to 
Intimate,  th^  considering  the  scenes  of  confusion 
represented  by  the  trumpets,  the  saints  should  be 
exceeding  earnest  with  God  to  pour  out  a  spirit  of 
wisdom,  piety,  and  zeal  upon  the  churches  amidst 
these  confusions." 

Verses  4-6.  Andthe  smoke  of  the  incense  cucended 
before  Ood— In  an  odoriferous  cloud,  with  the  prayers 
of  the  saints— A  testimony  of  God's  gracious  ac- 
ceptance, both  of  the  intercession  of  the  great  High- 
Priest,  and  of  the  prayers  of  his  believmg  people, 
proceeding  from  devout  hearts ;  and  consequently 
of  the  contmuance  of  his  protection  and  blessing  to 
his  Cfiithful  worshippers.  And  when  the  angel  had 
performed  this  office,  in  order  to  show  the  awful 
manner  in  which  God  would  avenge  the  injury  which 
his  praying  people  upon  earth  had  received  from  its 
b 


6  And  the  seven  angels  which  had  A.  M.  4ioo. 

AD  O0L 

the  seven  trumpets  prepared  them-      ' 
selves  to  sound. 

7  The  first  angel  sounded^ '  and  there  followed 
hail  and  fire  minted  with  blood,  and  they  were 
cast  ^  upon  the  earth :  and  the  third  part  '  of 
trees  was  burnt  up,  and  all  green  grass  was 
burnt  up. 


^Esekifil  xxxriiL  22.- 


—k  Chapter  xri.  2.- 
Chap.  ix.  4. 


iJsaiah  ii.  13; 


tyrannical  and  oppressive  powers,  he  took  the  censer, 
and  filled  it  with  fire  of  the  altar — Not  of  the  golden 
altar,  uppn  which  there  was  no  fire,  (except  that 
which  was  in  the  censer,  and  which  burned  the  in- 
cense,) but  from  the  brazen  altar  of  burnt-offerings ; 
and  cast  it  into  the  earth — To  denote  the  judg- 
ments about  to  be  executed  upon  the  earth,  as  in 
Ezek.  X.  2  coals  of  fire  are  taken  from  between  the 
cherubim  and  scattered  over  Jerusalem,  to  denote 
the  judgments  of  God  about  to  be  executed  upon 
that  city ;  and  there  were  voices,  and  thundefings, 
and  lightnings^-Wldch  seemed  to  break  forth  from 
the  divine  presence ;  and  also  an  earthquake— The 
violent  shock  of  which  seemed  to  shake  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world;  Uie  usual  prophetic  signs  these, 
and  preludes  of  great  calamities  and  commotions 
upon  the  earth.  See  chap.  xvi.  19.  Accordingly, 
this  being  mentk>ned  here  previous  to  the  sounding 
of  the  trumpets,  was  intended  to  foretcl  that  many 
calamities  were  approaching,  which  should  afflict 
the  world  and  the  church,  notwithstanding  the  seem- 
ing secure  prosperity  of  hoth,  after  the  Boman  em- 
pire had  become,  in  profession,  Christian.  And  the 
seven  angels  prepared  themselves  to  sound — As  the 
seeds  foretdd  the  state  and  condition  of  the  Roman 
empbre  before  and  till  it  became  Christian,  so  the 
trumpets  foreshow  the  fate  and  condition  of  it  after- 
ward. The  sound  of  the  trumpet,  as  Jeremiah  says, 
chap.  iv.  19,  and  as  every  one  understands  it,^  is  the 
alarm,  of  war;  and  the  sounding  of  these  trumpets 
is  designed  to  rouse  and  excite  the  nations  against 
the  Roman  empire,  called  the  third  part  of  the  world, 
as  perhaps  including  the  third  part  of  the  world, 
and  being  seated  principally  in  Europe,  which  was 
the  thurd  part  of  the  world  at  that  time. 

Verse  7.  The  first  angel  sounded,  and  there  fol- 
Unped  hail  and  fire  mingled  with  blood — A  proper 
representation  of  great  commotions  and  disorders, 
attended  with  much  bloodshed,  and  the  destruction 
of  many  of  the  several  ranks  and  conditions  of  men. 
"  A  thunder-storm  or  tempest,  that  throws  down 
all  before  it,  is  a  fit  metaphor  to  express  the  calamities 
of  war,  whether  from  civil  disturbances  or  foreign 
invasion,  which  often,  like  a  hurricane,  lay  all  things 
waste  as  far  as  they  reach.  Accordingly,  in  the 
language  of  prophecy,  this  is  a  usual  representation 
thereof.  So  the  Prophet  Isaiah  expresses  the  m- 
vasion  of  Israel  by  ^almaneser,  king  of  Assyria, 
chap,  xxviii.  2.  And  thus  he  expresses  the  judg- 
ments of  God  in  general,  chap.  xxix.  6.  And  in  tlfis 
736 


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BEVBLATION. 


ofihejhrst  angeV 


way  Bzekiel  ezpreasei  the  judgments  of  €tod  on  tbe 
prophets  who  deceived  the  people,  chap.  xiiL  13." — 
Lowman.  Treea  here,  says  Mr.  Waple,  according 
to  the  prophetic  manner  of  speech,  signify  the  great 
ones,  and  ^tom,  by  the  like  analogy,  signifies  the 
common  people.  The  reader  will  wi^  to  see  bow 
this  prophetic  representation  was  verified  in  corres- 
ponding history.  Let  it  be  recollected  then,  as  was 
stated  in  the  noteron  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal, 
chap.  vi.  12-17,  that  the  former  period  put  an  end 
to  the  persecution  of  heathen  Rome  l^  the  empire 
of  Constantino,  about  A.  D.  883.  Then  was  a  time 
of  peace  and  rest  to  the  empire,  as  wen  as  the  church ; 
which  answers  well  to  the  time  appointed  for  sealing 
the  servants  of  God  in  their  foreheads.  Bui  this  is 
represented  as  a  short  time,  and  the  angels  soon  pre- 
pajred  themselves  to  sound  when  there  would  be 
new  commotions  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  empire 
and  church.  Constantine  came  to  the  whole  power 
of  the  empire  about  A.  D.  323,  and  continued  pos- 
sessed of  that  power  about  fifteen  years,  namely  to 
A.  D.  337^  During  all  this  time  the  empire  enjoyed 
a  state  of  tranquiUity  unknown  for  many  years; 
tiiere  were  no  civil  disorders  ^  and  though  the  Goths 
made  some  incursions  into  Mysia,  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  Roman  dominions,  they  were  soon  driven 
back  into  4heir  own  country.  The  profession  of 
Christianity  was  greatly  encouraged,  and  the  con- 
verts to  it  irmn  idolatry  were  innumerable ;  so  that 
the  face  of  religion  was  in  a  very  short  time  quite 
changed  throughout  the  Roman  empire.  Thus  the 
providence  of  God,  notwithstanding  all  opposition, 
brought  the  Christian  Church  into  a  state  of  great 
security  and  prosperity. 

But  on  the  death  of  Constantine  the  state  of  things 
was  soon  altered.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  three 
sons  in  different  parteiof  his  empire ;  by  Constantine 
in  Gaul,  Constans  in  Italy,  and  Constantius  in  Asia 
and  the  East.  Constantius  in  a  short  time  sacrificed 
biff  father's  near  relations  to  his  jealousy  and  power ; 
differences  arose  between  Constantme  and  Constans, 
and  the  latter  surprised  the  former  and  put  him  to 
death.  Soon  after  Constans  hhnself  was  put  to 
death  by  Magnentius,  who  assumed  the  empire.  At 
the  same  time  Constantius,  in  the  East,  was  hard 
pressed  by  the  Persians;  but  apprdiending  greater 
danger  from  Magnentius,  he  marched  against  him ; 
and  the  war  between  them  was  so  fierce  and  bloody, 
that  it  almost  ruined  the  empire.  A  little  after  this 
bloody  intestine  war  all  the  Roman  provinces  were 
invaded  at  once,  from  the  eastern  to  the  western 
limit^  by  the  Franks,  Almans,  Saxons,  Quades,  Sar- 
matians,  and  Persians;  so  that,  according  to  Eutro- 
pius^  when  the  barbarians  had  taken  many  towns, 
besieged  others,  and  there  was  everywhere  a  most 
destructive  devastation,  the  Roman  empire  evidently 
tottered  to  its  fall.  It  is  a  remarkable  part  of  this 
history,  that  this  storm  of  war  fell  so  heavy  on  the 
great  men  of  the  empire,  and  in  particular  on  the 
family  of  Cojiistantine,  though  so  likely  to  continue, 
seeing  his  own  children  and  near  relations  were  so 
many :  and  yet,  in  twenty-four  years  after  his  death 
these  commotions  put  an  end  to  his  posterity,  in  the 
death  of  his  three  sons;  and  in  three  years  more 
730 


ezting^hed  his  family  by  the  death  of  Julian  m  a 
battle  against  the  Persians.  The  Allowing  reigna 
of  Jovian,  Yalentinian,  Yalens,  and  Gratian,  to  the 
time  when  Gratian  nomuiated  Theodoaus  to  the 
empire,  are  one  centhiued  series  of  trouble^  by  the 
invasion  of  the  several  proviMes  of  the  empire,  and 
bloody  battles  in  defence  of  them,  for  about  the 
space  of  sixteen  years,  from  the  year  363  to  379. 
Thus  Lowman,  whose  interpretation  and  application 
of  this  part  of  the  profphecy  are  ^nfirmed  byBliliop 
Newton,  save  that  the  bishop  considers  this  first 
trumpet  as  comprehending  several  events  subsequent 
to  those  which  Lowman  includes  in  it  At  the 
sounding  of  the  first  trumpet,  says  he,  the  barbarous 
nations,  like  a  storm  o(  hail  and  fire  mingled  with 
bloody  invade  the  Roman  territories,  and  destroy  the 
third  part  of  treee — That  is,  Ike  trees  of  the  third 
part  of  the  earth ;  and  the  green  grast — That  is,  both 
old  and  young,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor  toge- 
ther. Theodosius  the  Great  died  in  the  year  395 ; 
and  no  sooner  was  he  dead,  than  the  Huns.  Goths^ 
and  other  barbarians^  like  hail  for  multitude,  and 
breathing  fire  and  slaughter,  broke  in  upon  the  best 
provinces  of  the  empire,  both  in  the  east  and  west, 
with  greater  success  than  they  had  ever  done  be- 
fbre.  But  by  this  trumpet,  I  conceive,  were  princi- 
pally intended  the  irruptions  and  depredations  of 
the  Goths,  under  the  coiiduct  of  the  femous  Alaric, 
who  began  his  incursions  in  the  same  year,  395; 
first  ravaged  Greece,  then  wasted  Italy,  bedeged 
Rome,  and  was  bought  off  at  an  exorbitant  price; 
besieged  it  again  in  the  year  410,  took  and  plundered 
the  city,  and  set  fire  to  it  in  several  places.  Philos- 
torgius,  who  lived  and  wrote  of  these  times,  saifh, 
that  "the  sword  of  the  barbarians  destroyed  the 
greatest  multitude  of  men;  and  among  other  calam- 
ities, dry  heats,  with  fiashes  of  flame  and  whirl- 
winds of  fire,  occasioned  various  and  intolerable  ter- 
rors ;  yea,  and  hail  greater  than  could  be  held  in  a 
man's  hand,  fell  down  in  several  places,  weighing  as 
much  as  eight  pounds."  Well  therefore  might  the 
prophet  compare  these  incursions  of  the  barbarians 
to  hail  and  fire  mingled  vrith  blood,  Claudian,  in 
like  manner,  compares  them  to  a  storm  of  hail,  in 
his  poem  on  this  very  war.  Jerome  also  saith,  of 
some  of  these  bariwrians,^  that  they  came  on  unex- 
pectedly everywhere,  and  marching  quicker  than 
report,  spared  not  religion,  nor  dignifies,  nor  age, 
nor  had  compassion  on  crying  infants:  those  were 
compelled  to  die,  who  had  not  yet  begun  to  live." 
So  truly  did  they  destroy  the  treei  and  the  green 
grass  together.  These  gteat  calamities,  which  in 
so  short  a  time  befell  the  Roman  empire  after  its 
being  brought  to  the  profession  of  Christianity,  and 
in  particular  the  family  of  Constantine,  by  whose 
instrumentality  the  great  change  in  favour  of  Chris- 
tianity had  been  effected,  was  a  new  and  great  trial 
of  the  faith,  constancy,  and  patience  of  the  church. 
As  it  became  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence to  punish  the  wickedness  of  the  world, 
which  caused  the  disorders  of  those  times,  Christ 
was  pleased  in  his  goodness  to  forewarn  the  church 
of  it,  that  it  might  learn  to  justify  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence, and  not  to   faint  under  the  chastisement 

b 


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Th€teamda$id 


CHAPTBR  VIII. 


third  angeU  soufid. 


A.M.4ioa    8  And  the  secooid  angel  sounded, 

*and  as  k  were  a  great  mountain 

borning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea :  '^  and 

the  third  part  of  the  sea  "*  became  Uood; 

9  '  And  the  third  part  of  the  creaturee  which 

were  in  ibe  sea,  and  had  tife,  dted;  and  the 


* Jer.  li  35;  AmM  rii 4. ■Chap.  zri.  a— *t>Ezak. law,  19. 


which  the  abuse  of  the  best  religion  in  the  wcHrld 
had  rendered  both  proper  and  necessary:  and  when 
probably  sudi  aflUctions,  coming  so  soon  after  their 
great  deliTerance  from  the  persecutions  of  heathen 
Rome,  would  be  very  miexpected,  and  the  more  dis- 
couraging. 

Verses  8, 9.  And  the  second  angel  founded,  and,'  as 
it  vere,  a  great  mountain  burning  with  fire — ^That  is^ 
a  great  warlike  nation,  or  hero;  for  in  the  style  of 
poetry,  which  is  near  akin  to  the  style  of  prophecy, 
heroes  are  compared  to  mountains;  was  ca$tinto 
the  tea:  and  the  third  part  of  the  sea  became  blood; 
and  the  third  part  of  the  creatures  which  were  in 
the  sea  died^^The  sea,  in  the  Hebrew  language,  is 
any  colleetion  of  waters,  as^Daubu2  observes:  now, 
as  waters  are  expressly  made  a  83rmbol  of  people  in 
this  prophecy,  Rev.  xrii.  15,  the  waters  which  thoii 
sawest  are  people,  and  nations,  and  tongues;  the 
sea  here  may  well  represent  the  collection  of  many 
people  and  nations  into  one  body  politic,  or  empire ; 
and  when  a  sea  is  considered  as  an  empire  or  a  col- 
lection of  people  into  one  body,  the  living  creatures 
in  that  sea  will  be  the  people  or  nations  whose  union 
constitutes  this  empire.  And  the  third  part  of  the 
ships  were  destroyed — Ships,  from  their  use  in 
trade,  are  a  proper  representation  of  the  riches  of 
the  people ;  and  as  they  are  of  use  in  war,  especially 
to  maritime  nations,  they  are  proper  emblems  of 
strength  and  power.  As  ships  were  of  both  uses  in 
the  Roman  empire,  they  piay  be  well  understood 
both  of  the  riches  and  power  of  that  empire.  Thus 
we  have  a  description,  in  this  part  of  the  second 
period  of  prophecy,  of  a  judgment  to  come  on  the 
empire,  in  which  the  capital  should  suffer  much, 
many  provinces  should  be  dismembered,  as  well  as 
invaded,  and  the  springs  of  power  and  riches  in  the 
empire  should  be  very  much  diminished.  And  ac- 
cordingly we  find  in  history  that  this  was  indeed  a 
most  calamitous  period.  The  year  400  is  marked 
out  as  one  of  the  most  memorable  and  calamitous 
that  had  ever  befallen  the  empire ;  and  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  year  406,  the  Alans,  Vandals,  and  other 
barbarous  people,  passed  the  Rhine,  and  made  the 
most  furious  Irruption  into  Gaul  that  had  yet  been 
known;  passed  into  Spain,  and  from  thence  over 
into  Africa;  so  that  the  maritime  provinces  became 
a  prey  to  them,  and  the  riches  and  naval  power  of 
the  empire  were  almost  quite  ruined.  But  the  hea- 
viest calamities  fell  upon  Rome  itself,  besieged  and 
oppressed  with  famine  and  pestilence.  After  Alaric 
and  his  Goths,  the  next  ravagers  were  Attila  and  his 
Huns,  who,  for  the  space  of  fourteen  years,  shook 
the  east  and  west  with  the  most  cruel  fear,  and  de^ 

Vol.  II.  (  *r  ) 


third  part  of  the  ehips  were  destroy-  a.m. 4100. 
ecL  ^■'>-^' 

10  And  the  third  angel  sounded,  ^  and  there 
fell  a  great  star  item  heaven,  burning  as  it  were 
a  lamp,  'and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part  of  the 
rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains  of  waters ; 

PChap.  xn,  3. 4Imu  mt.  13;  Chap.  ix.  1.— »  Chap.  Kwi.  4. 

formed  the  provinces  of  each  empire  with  all  kinds 
of  plunderipg,  slaughter,  and  burning.  They  first 
wasted  Thrace,  Macedon,  and  Greece,  putting  all  to 
fire  and  sword,  and  compelled  the  eastern  emperor, 
Theodosius  the  second,  to  pur<^hase  a  shameAil 
peace.  Then  Attila  turned  his  arms  against  the 
western  emperor,  Valentinian  the  third;  entered 
Gaul  with  seven  hundred  thousand  men,  and,  not 
content  with  taking  and  spoUing,  set  most  of  the  cities 
on  fire.  But  at  length,  being  there  vigorously  op- 
posed, he  fell  upon  Italy,  took  and  destroyed  Aqui- 
leia,  with  several  other  cities,  slaying  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  laying  the  buildings  in  ashes,  and  filled  all 
places  between  the  Alps  and  the  Appennines  with 
flight,  depopulation,  slaughter,  servitude,  burning, 
and  desperation.  Such  a  man  might  properly  be 
compared  to  a  great  mountain  btmiihg  wUhfire^ 
who  really  was,  as  he  called  himself,  (he  scourge  of 
Qod,  and  the  terror  of  men,  and  boasted  that  he  was 
sent  into  the  world  by  God  for  this  purpose,  that,  as 
the  executioner  of  his  just  ange1r,he  might  fill  the  earth 
with  all  kinds  of  evils ;  and  he  bounded  hb  cruelty 
and  passion  by  nothing  less  than  blood  and  burning. 
Verses  10,  11.  And  the  third  angel  sounded,  and 
there  fell  a  great  star  from  Acarcn-^Bengelius,  and 
some  other  commentators,  interpret  this  of  Arius 
and  his  heresy,  and  the  persecutions  connected 
therewith;  "and  no  doubt,"  as  Mr.  Scott  observes, 
"  such  events  might  very  aptly  be  represented  by^e 
falling  of  a  star,  and  its  imbittering  and  poisoning  the 
waters  to  the  destruction  of  those  Who  drank  of  them : 
yet  the  series  of  the  prophecy  favours  the 'interpret- 
ation of  those  who  explain  these  verses  as  predict- 
ing tbe  continuation  of  those  calamities  which  sub- 
verted the  emjHre."  Stars,  in  prophetic  style,  are 
figurative  representations  of  many  things.  Among 
others  they  signify  kings  and  kingdoms,  eminent 
persons  of  great  authority  and  power.  Rivers,  and 
fountains  of  waters—To  supply  them,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  necessary  to  the  support  of  life ;  the  dry- 
ing up  these  expresses  the  scarcity  off  things  neces- 
sary. Here  then  we  have  a  prophecy  which  aptly 
expresses  a  judgment  to  come  on  the  seat  of  the 
Roman  empire,  which  should  destroy  the  power  of 
it  in  its  spring  and  fountain,  and  cut  off  all  its  neces- 
sary supports;  as  when  rivers  and  fountains,  so  ne- 
cessary to  life,  are  infected,  and  become  rather  dead- 
ly than  fit  for  use.  At  the  sounding  of  the  third 
trumpet,  says  Bishop  Newton,  "  a  great  prinee  ap- 
pears like  a  star  shooting  from  heaven  to  earth,  a 
similitude  not  unusual  in  poetry.  Hiscoming  there- 
fore  is  sudden  and  unexpected,  and  his  stay  but  short. 
The  name  of  the  star  is  called  Wormwood,  and  hi> 
787  b 


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An  angel  dewmnce$  great 


KBVBLAtiON. 


mUeriet  tofiUow  ike  vokee. 


A.  M.  4ioa 

A.  D.06. 


11  'Andthenameof  the  Star  is  call- 
ed Wormwood:  *  and  the  third  part  <^ 
the  waters  became  wormwood;  and  many  men 
died  (rf  the  waters,  because  they  were  made  bitter. 
12  "■  And  the  fourth  angel  sounded,  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten,  and  the  third 
part  of  the  moon,  and  the  third  part  of  the  stars; 
80  as  the  third  part  of  them  waa  darkened,  and 


•  Ruth    i.    20. 


-t  ExoduB    XT.   23  ; 
xziiL  15. 


Jeremith    iz.    16  ; 


iofects  the  third  part  ofthenrers  and  fonntains  with 
the  bitterness  of  tDormwood-r-ThtX  is,  he  is  a  bitter 
enemy,  and  proves  the  author  of  grievous  calamities 
to  the  Roman  empire.  The  rivers  and  Jbuntaine 
have  a  near  connection  with  the  sea;  and  it  was 
within  two  years  aAer  Attila^s  retreat  from  Italy, 
that  Yalentinian  was  murdered ;  and  Maximus,  who 
had  caused  him  to  be  murdered,  reigning  in  his  stead, 
Genserie,  the  king  of  the  Vandals,  having  settled  in 
Africa,  was  solicited  by  Eudoxla,  the  widow  of  the 
deceased  emperor,  to  come  and  revenge  his  death. 
Qenseric  accordingly  embarked  with  three  hundred 
thousand  Vandals  and  Moors,  and  arrived  upon  the 
Roman  coast  in  June,  455,  the  emperor  and  people 
not  expecting  nor  thinking  of  any  such  enemy.  He 
landed  his  men,  and  marched  directly  to  Rome; 
whereupon  the  inhabitants  fleeing  into  the  woods 
and  mountains,  the  city  fell  an  easy  prey  into  his 
hands.  He  abandoned  it  to  the  cruelty  and  avarice 
of  his  soldiers,  who  plundered  it  for  fourteen  days 
together,  not  only  spoiling  the  private  houses  and 
palatfes,  but  stripping  the  public  buildings,  and  even 
the  churches,  of  their  riches  and  ornaments.  He 
then  set  sail  again  for  Africa,  carrying  away  with 
him  immense  wealth,  and  an  innumcrsblo  multi- 
tude of  captives,  together  with  the  Empress  Eudoxia 
and  her  two  daughters ;  and  left  the  state  so  weak- 
ened, that  in  a  little  time  it  was  utterly  subverted. 
8ome  critics  understand  rivers  smd  fountains  with 
relation  to  doctrines;  and  in  this  sense  the  applica- 
tion is  still  very  proper  to  Genserie,  who  was  a  most 
bigoted  Arian,  and  during  his  whole  reign  most  cru- 
elly persecuted  the  orthodox  Christians." 

Verse  12.  And  the  fourth  angel  sounded^  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten^  &c. — A  fit  repre- 
sentation to  express  the  last  desolation  of  the  impe- 
rial city,  which  God's  righteous  judgment  doomed, 
as  Babylon  heretofore,  to  a  loss  of  all  power  and  of 
■all  authority.  Darkening^  smitingy  or  the  setting 
of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  says  Sir  I.  Newton,  are 
put  for  the  setting  of  a  kingdom,  or  the  desolation 
thereof^  proportional  to  the  darkness.  And  when 
darkness  is  opposed  to  light,  as  light  is  a  symbol  of 
joy  and  safety,  so  darkness  is  a  symbol  of  misery 
and  adversity ;  according  to  the  style  of  Jeremiah, 
chap.  xiiL  16,  Crive  glory  to  the  Lord  before  he  cause 
darkness^  and  before  your  feet  stumble  upon  Vie 
dark  mountains^  &c.  The  darkness  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  is  likewise  observed  to  denote  a 
general  deficiency  in  government,  as  the  prophets 
describe  a  day  of  severe  judgment.  See  Isa.  xiil 
7)M 


the  day  shone  not  for  a  third  part  of  A,if.  410ol 
it,  and  the  night  likewise.  *^ 

13  And  I  bdieU,  '  aqd  heard  an  angd  Aymg 
through  the  midst  of  heaven,  saying  with  a 
loud  vdce,  ^  Wo^  wo,  wo,  to  the  inhabiters  of 
the  earth,  by  reacNA  of  the  other  voices  of  the 
trmnpet'Of  the  three  angels,  which  are  yet  to 
sound! 


^luiah  xiii.  10; 


TiiL  9. 


hmm  vui.  ».  ■       ■  %jnM\ 
1  Chap.  iz.  12 ;  «.  14 


Cluqrter  sir.  6;  ziz.  17. 


10, 11;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7, 8.  In  pointing  out  the  ae- 
complishment  of  this  (»t>phecy,  and  showing  how 
the  great  lights  of  the  Roman  empire  were  eclipsed 
and  darkened,  and  remained  in  darkness,  Bishop 
Newton  observes,  Genserie  left  the  western  empire 
in  a  weak  and  desperate  cooditioD.  It  struggled 
hard,  and  gasped,  as  it  were,  for  breath,  through 
eight  short  and  turbulent  reigns,  for  the  Apace  of 
twenty  years,  and  at  length  expired  utthe  year  478, 
under  Momyllus,  or  Augustulus,  as  he  was  named  \u 
derision,  beitig  a  diminutive  Augustus.  Tliis  change 
was  effected  by  Odoacer,  king  of  the  Heruli,  who, 
coming  to  Rome  with  an  army  of  barbarians,  stripped 
Momyllus  of  the  imperii  robes,  put  an  end  to  the 
very  name  of  the  western  empire,  and  caused  him- 
self to  be  proclaimed  king  of  Italy.  His  kingdom 
indeed  was  of  no  long  duration :  for  after  a  reign  of 
sixteen  years,  he  was  overcome  and  slain  in  the  year 
493  by  Theodoric,  who  (bunded  the  kingdom  of 
the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy,  which  continued  about  sixty 
years  under  his  successors.  Thus  was  the  Roman 
sun  extinguished  in  the  western  emperor,  but  the 
other  lesser  luminaries,  the  moon  and  stars^  still  sub- 
sisted ;  for  Rome  was  still  allowed  to  have  her  sen- 
ate and  consuls,  and  other  subordinate  magistrates, 
as  before.  These  lights,  we  may  suppose,  shone 
more  faintly  under  barbarian  kings  than  under  Ro- 
man emperors ;  but  they  were  not  totally  suppressed 
and  extinguished  till  after  the  kingdom  of  the  Ostro- 
goths was  destroyed  by  the  emperor  of  the  east's 
lieutenants,  and  Italy  was  made  a  province  of  the 
eastera  empire.  Longinus  was  sent  in  the  year  566 
by  the  Emperor  Justin  II.  to  govern  Italy  with  abso- 
lute authority;  and  he  changed  the  whole  fonq  of 
the  government,  abcdished  the  senate  and  consuh^ 
and  all  the  former  magistrates  in  Rome  and  Italy, 
and  in  every  city  of  note  constitated  anew  governor 
with  the  title  of  duke.  He  himself  presided  over 
all ;  and,  residing  at  Ravenna,  and  not  at  Rome,  he 
was  called  the  exarch  of  Ravenna,  as  were  also  hissuo- 
cessors  in  the  same  office.  Rome  was  degraded  to 
the  same  level  with  other  places,  and,  from  being 
the  queen  of  cities  and  empress  of  the  world,  vras  re- 
duced to  a  poor  dukedom,  and  made  tributary  to  Ra- 
venna, which  she  had  used  to  govern. 

Verse  13.  And  I  beheld  an  angel  flying  through 
the  midst  of  heaven — Between  the  trumpets  of  the 
fourth  and  fiAh  angels;  saying  with  a  loud  voice — 
That  is,  proclaiming  for  the  information  of  all,  ffb, 
wo,  too,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth— All,  without 
exertion:  heavy  calamities  were  coming  on  all; 
(47*)  b 


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STAe  9mmding  of 


CHAPTER  DL 


the  fifth  trwnpet. 


bf  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the  trumpety  ^tc— 
As  if  he  had  said,  Though  the  judgments  signified 
by  the  four  trumpets  which  have  ahready  sounded 
are  very  great  and  dreadful,  yet  greater  judgments 
still  remain  to  be  inflicted  on  the  earth,  in  the  events 
that  are  to  follow  upon  sounding  the  three  remain- 
ing trumpets.  Several  interpreters  suppose  this 
part  of  the  vision  to  be  a  representation  of  some 
faithful  witnesses  against  the  superstition,  idolatry, 
and  growing  corruptions  of  those  times;  and  that 
the  dreadfulness  of  the  woes  of  the  three  remaining 
trunix>ets  is  proclaimed  to  the  corrupt  members  of  the 
church,  because  as  they  were  endued,  by  the  divine 
revelation,  with  more  knowledge  than  before,  being 
all  Christians  by  name,  they  therefore  deserved  to 
suffer  more  for  their  crimes  than  plain  heathen,  such 
as  were  chiefly  concerned  in  the  former  judgments. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  whether  this  angel  was  designed 
to  represent  any  such  faithful  witnesses  against 
these  corruptions,  and  to  signify  that  such  should 


arise,  or  not,  it  must  at  least  be  allowed,  as  Bi^op 
Newton  observes,  that  the  design  of  this  messenger, 
in  conformity  with  the  design  of  the  angels  that 
sounded  the  preceding  trumpets,  was  to  raise  men's 
attention  especially  to  the  three  following  trumpets, 
predicting  events  of  a  more  calamitous  nature,  or 
more  terrible  plagues,  than  any  of  the  preceding^ 
and  therefore  distinguished  from  them  by  the  name 
of  woee.  And  they  are  not  woes  of  a  light  or  com- 
mon nature,  but  such  in  the  extreme  3  for  the  He- 
brews, having  no  superlative  degree,  in  the  manner 
of  other  languages,  express  thehr  superlative  by  re- 
peating the  positive  three  times,  as  in  this  place. 
The  foregoing  calamities  relate  chiefly  to  the  down- 
fall of  Ae  western  empire,  the  two  following  to  the 
downfall  of  the  eastern  empire.  The  foregoing  are 
described  more  succinctly,  and  contain  a  leas  com- 
pass of  time;  the  foUowing  are  set  forth  with  more 
particular  circumstances,  and  are  of  longer  duration, 
as  wen  as  larger  description. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CI,)  Theffih  trumpet  ttnmds,  mid  the  hottomtees  pit  is  opened,  h  3.  (2,)  Mohammed  and  his  Saracens,  or  Ishmaelites,  pro- 
pagate  and  establish  the  imposture  cf  Mohammedanism  in  the  East,  to  the  terriUe  destruction  of  thi  souls  and  bodies  of  men, 
8-1 1.  (3,)  7*he  sixth  trumpet  is  sounded,  and  the  Turks,  after  a  long  restraint,  near  the  river  Euphrates,  are  permitted 
by  Christ  terribfy  to  ravage  the  countries  between  Asia  and  Greece^  and^  destroy  the  nominal,  but  tticked  Christians, 
Papists  and  others,  for  about  four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  12-21. 


^L^b^flS^'    A  ND  the  fifUi  angel  sounded,  »and 
— — 1 I  saw  a  star  fedl  from  heaven 


•Luke  z.  18;  Gh»p.  riii.  10. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  IX. 
Verse  1.  The  fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a 
atarfaU  from  heaven  to  the  earth — "  Stare,  in  the 
language  of  prophecy,"  says  Lowman,  "signify  an^ 
gels.  The  angels  of  the  heayenly  host,  as  well  as 
the  angels  or  bishops  of  the  churches,  (see  chap.  i. 
20;  viii.  10,)  seem  to  be  called  stars  in  Scripture: 
as  when,  at  the  creation,  the  morning  stare  eang  to- 
gether, and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy,  Job 
xxzviiL  7.  In  like  manner,  when  the  abyss  or  bot^ 
tomless  pit  is  shut  up,  it  is  represented  in  this  pro- 
phecy to  be  done  by  an  angd  coming  down  from 
Tuaven  having  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit.  These 
expressions  are  so  nearly  the  same,  as  well  as  upon 
the  same  subject,  that  they  may  be  well  taken  in  the 
same  sense,  and  so  used  to  explain  each  other.  The 
expression  then,  a  star  fallen  from  heaven,  or  an 
angel  come  down  Jrom  heaven,  with  a  key  to  open 
the  bottomless  pit,  seems  naturally  to  mean  the  per- 
mission of  the  Divine  Providence  for  those  ^vil  and 
calamitous  events,  which  are  described  to  follow  firom 
opening  the  bottomless  pit,  which  could  not  have 
happened  but  by  the  permission  of  the  Divine  Pro- 
▼idenoe,  and  according  to  the  wise  and  holy  ordens 
of  the  divine  government ;  for  the  providence  of  God 
could  as  surely  have  prevented  the  temptations  of 
Satan,  and  the  powers  of  dariuiess^  as  if  Satan  and 
b 


unto  the  earth :  and  to  him  was  eiven  a.  m.  4100. 

A    D  96 

the  key  of  ^  the  bottomless  pit.  -J ! *_ 

OLttke  riii.  31 ;  Chap.  xvii.  8 ;  xx.  1 ;  Verses  2,  11. 

his  angels  had  been  fast  locked  up,  and  secured  in 
safe  prison ;  so  that  he  sends  an  angel,  his  messen- 
ger, with  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit^  to  open  tho 
prison  and  permit  them  to  go  out,  to  teach  that  they 
can  only  act  so  far  as  they  have  permission,  and  can 
always  be  restrahied  and  shut  up  again,  at  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world.  The 
abyss,  or  bottomless  pit,  is  explained  in  the  prophecy 
itself  to  be  the  place  where  the  devil  and  Satan  are 
shut  up,  that  they  should  not  deceive  the  nations, 
chap.  XX.  1-^.  The  abyss  seems  also  to  be  used  in 
the  same  sense  when  the  devils  besought  Christ  that 
he  would  not  command  them  to  go  out  into  the  deep, 
Greek,  etc  rnv  aS^aov,  into  the  aJbyss,  or  bottomless 
pit  Grotius  observes  on  Luke  viii.  31,  that  this 
abyss  is  the  same  with  what  St.  Peter  calls  hell,  or 
tariarus,^^  2  Pet  il  4;  where  see  the  note.  "  Now 
this  prison  of  Satan  and  of  his  angels,  by  the  right* 
eous  judgment  of  God,  is  permitted  to  be  opened  for 
the  just  punishment  of  apostate  churches,  who  would 
not  repent  of  their  evil  works.  We  may  then  say 
with  the  bishop  of  Meaux, '  Behold  something  more 
terrible  than  what  we  have  hitherto  seen!  Hell 
opens,  and  the  devil  appears,  followed  by  an  army, 
of  a  stranger  figure  than  any  St  John  has  anywhere 
described.'  And  we  may  observe  from  others,  that 
this  great  temptation  of  the  faithful  was  to  be  with 


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The  boUomkwpU  it  opened, 


BSVZLATIOM. 


and  there  comejbr^  loeuMi 


A.  M.  4i(».    2  And  he  opened  die  bottondess  pit ; 

^•^'^  •  and  there  aroee  a  ^moke  out  of  the 
pit,  as  the  smdce  of  a  great  fiimace ;  and  the 
8un  uid  the  air  were  darkened  by  leason  oC 
the  smoke  of  the  (Ht 

3  And  there  came  oat  of  the  smoke  ^  locosts 
upon  the  earth :  and  nnto  them  was  given  power, 


cJoelii.2,  10.- 


■Ezod.  z.  4;  Judges  tu.  22.- 
f^Chap.  ri.  6;  ni.  3. 


•Verse  10. 


the  united  force  of  false  doctrine  md  persecotion. 
Heil  does  not  open  itself,  (as  the  blsliop  observes,) 
it  is  always  some  false  teacher  that  opens  \iP 

Verses  2, 3.  There  arose  a  emoke  out  of  the  pit — 
As  a  great  smoke  hinders  the  sight,  so  do  errors  blind 
the  understanding.  The  apostle  keeps  to  the  alle- 
gory, says  Grotlus,  for  smoke  takes  from  ns  the  sight 
of  the  stars;  smoke,  especially  when  proceeding 
from  a  fierce  fire,  is  also  a  representation  of  devas- 
tation. Thus  when  Abraham  beheld  the  destruction 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  the  smoke  of  the  country 
went  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace*  The  great  dis- 
pleasure of  Grod  is  represented  by  the  same  figura- 
tive expressions  of  smoke  and  fire,  Psa.  xviii.  7, 8. 
And  there  came  out  of  (he  smoke  locusts  upon  the 
ear<A~Many  Protestant  writers  imagine  these  lo- 
custs signify  the  religious  orders  of  monks  and  friars, 
4&C.,  but  Mede  understands  by  them  the  inundation 
of  the  Saracens,  locusts  and  grasshoppers  being  else- 
where expressly  made  to  signify  both  the  multitude 
of  the  eastern  nations  invading  Israel,  and  the  swift 
progress  and  destruction  they  made,  Judg.  vi.  5.  And 
Lo wman  confirms  this  interpretation,  and  shows  that 
the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Mohammedan  religion 
and  emph'e,  till  checked  by  internal  divisions,  is  a 
remarkable  accomplishment  of  this  part  of  the  pro- 
phecy \  which  is  further  illustrated  by  the  ignorance 
and  error  the  Mohammedans  everywhere  spread, 
their  great  number  and  hardiness,  their  habits,  cus- 
toms, and  manners,  namely,  twisting  their  hair, 
wearing  beards,  their  care  of  their  horses,  invading 
their  neighbours  in  summer  like  locusts,  sparing  the 
trees  and  fruits  of  the  countries  they  invaded;  the 
captivity  of  the  men,  and  the  miserable  condition  pf 
the  women,  exposed  to  persons  who  gave  an  almost 
unbounded  liberty  to  their  lusts,  which  was  enough 
to  make  them  even  to  desire  death,  verse  6.  All 
these  circumstances  are  suitable  to  the  character  of 
the  Arabians,  the  history  of  this  perfod,  and  to  the 
particulars  of  thb  prophecy. 

That  the  Saracens  were  intended  by  the  locusts 
here  mentioned,  was  also  the  opinion  of  Bishop 
Newton,  who  interprets  this  part  of  the  prophecy  as 
follows :— "  At  the  sounding  of  the  fifth  trumpet,  a 
star  fallen  from  heaven,  meaning  the  wicked  im- 
postor Mohammed,  opened  the  bottomless  pii,  and 
there  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  and  thesun  and  the 
air  were  darkened  by  it;  that  is,  a  false  religion  was 
set  up,  which  filled  the  world  with  darkness  and 
errot,  and  swarms  of  Saracen  or  Arabian  locusts 
overspread  the  earth.  A  felse  prophet  is  very  fitly 
typified  by  a  blazing  star  or  meteor.  The  Arabians, 
740 


*  as  the  ssorpione  of  the  eaidi  hav^  a.  m .  4ioii 

'^  A.  IK  ML 

power.  

4  And  it  was  commanded  them  ^  thai  thqr 
^ould  not  huft  '  the  grass  of  the  eaith,  iMfllber 
any  green  thing,  neither  any  tree ;  but  ocdj 
those  men  which  have  not  ^  the  seal  of  God 
in  their  finreheads. 


c  Chapter  viiL  7.- 


k  Chmter  vii.   3  ; 
Eseiiet  ix.  4. 


Exodni  jxL  23: 


likewise,  are  properly  compared  to  locusts,  notoidy 
because  numerous  armies  frequently  are  so,  but  also 
because  swarms  of  locusts  often  arise  (jrotn  Arabia  ; 
and  also  because  in  the  plagues  of  l^gypt^  to  which 
constant  allusion  is  made  in  these  trumpets,  the  lo* 
cttsts  (Exod.  X.  13)  are  brought  ly  an  east  wind^ 
that  i%  from  Arabia,  which  lay  eastward  of  Egypt; 
and  also  because  m  the  book  of  Judges^  (vii.  It,)  die 
people  of  Arabia  are  compared  to  locusts  or  grass-' 
hoppers  for  multitude,  for  in  the  original  the  word 
for  both  is  the  same.  As  the  natural  locusts  are  bred 
in  pits,  and  holes  of  the  earth,  so  these  mystical 
locusts  are  truly  infernal,  and  proceed  with  the 
smoke  yrom  the  bottomless  pit?^  It  is  too  a  remark- 
able coincidence,  that  at  this  time  the  sun  and  the 
earth  were  really  darkened  For  we  learn  from  an 
eminent  Arabian  historian,  that  "in  the  seventeenth 
year  of  Heraclius  half  the  body  of  the  sun  was 
eclipsed,  and  this  defect  continued  from  the  former 
Tisrin  to  Haziran,  (that  is,  from  October  to  June,)  so 
that  only  a  little  of  its  light  appeared."  Hie  seven- 
teenth year  of  Heraclius  coincides  with  the  year  of 
Christ  626,  and  with  the  fifth  year  of  theHegira; 
and  at  this  time  MohamAied  was  training  and  exer- 
cising his  followers  in  depredations  at  home,  to  fit 
them  for  greater  conquests  abroad. 

Verses  4-6.  And  it  was  commanded  that  the% 
should  not  hurt  the  grass,  &c. — This  verse  demon- 
strates that  they  were  not  natural,  but  symbolical 
locusts.  The  like  injunctions  were  given  to  the 
Arabian  officers  and  soldiers.  When  Yezid  was 
marching  with  the  army  to  invade  S3nia,  Ababeker 
charged  him  with  this  among  other  orders:  "  De- 
stroy no  palm-trees,  nor  bum  any  fields  of  com ;  cut 
down  no  fruit-trees,  nor  do  any  mischief  to  catlie, 
only  such  as  you  kill  to  eat"  Their  eoromisnon  is 
to  hurt  only  those  men  who  had  not  the  seal  of  Cfod 
in  their  foreheads-^Th^t  is,  those  who  were  not  the 
true  servants  of  God,  but  were  corrupt  and  idola- 
trous Christians.  Now  from  history  it  appears  evi- 
dently, that  in  those  countries  of  Asia,  Africa,  and 
Europe,  where  the  Saracens  extended  their  con- 
quest, the  Christians  were  generally  guilty  of  idol- 
atry in  the  worshipping  of  saints,  if  not  of  images; 
and  it  was  the  pretence  of  Mohammed  and  his  fol- 
lowers to  chastise  them  for  it,  and  to  re-^tablish  the 
unity  of  the  Godhead.  The  parts  which  remained 
the  freest  from  the  general  infection  ivere  Savoy, 
Piedmont,  and  the  southern  parts  of  France,  which 
were  afterward  the  nurseries  and  habitations  of  the 
Waldenses  and  AJbigenses;  and  it  is  very  memora- 
ble that  when  ^e  Saracens  approached  these  parta^ 

b 


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€freaide$irueihntotke 


CHAPTQEI  DL 


mni$  and  bodies  of  men. 


A.M.4ioa  0  And  to  th^mitwas  given  that  tbey 
^  ^^  sbould  not  kiU  them,  'but  that  they 
should  be  tormented  five  months :  and  thdr  tor- 
ment was  as  the  torment  of  a  scorpion^  wh^i 
He  striketh  a  man. 

6  And  in  those  days  ^  shall  men  seek  death, 
andshaUnotfindit;  and  shall  desLce  to  die,  and 
death  shall  flee  fiK>m  them. 

7  And  ^  the  shapes  erf  the  IbcHsts  were  like  nnto 


i Chap,  zi  7;  Vene  la*— ^  Job  iii.  21 ;  Im.  iL  19 ;  Jer.  viii 
3 ;  Chap.  ri.  10. 


they  were  defected  with  great  rianghter  by  the 
fomous  Charles  Martel,  in  several  engagements.  To 
them  it  -woe  given  that  they  should  not  kill  them,  but 
that  they  shotM  be  tormented,  &c. — As  the  Saracens 
were  to  hurt  only  the  corrupt  and  idolatrous  Chris- 
tiansyso  these  they  were  not  toXrt/Z,  but  only  to  torm«n<, 
and  should  bring  mieh  calamities  upon  ^e  earth,  as 
should  make  men  weary  of  their  lives.  Not  that  it 
could  be  supposed  that  the  ^uracens  would  not  kiU 
many  thousands  in  their  incursions.  On  the  con- 
trary, their  angel  (verse  11)  hath  the  name  of  the 
destrier.  They  might  kill  them  as  individuals, 
but  st^  they  should  noikill  them  as  a  political  body, 
as  a  state,  or  empire.  They  might  greatly  harass 
and  torment  both  the  Greek  and  the  Lathi  churches, 
but  they  should  not  utterly  extirpate  the  one  or  the 
other.  They  besieged  Constantinople,  and  even 
plund^ed  Rome,  but  they  could  not  make  them- 
*lves  masters  of  either  of  those  capital  cities.  The 
Greek  empire  suffered  most  from  them,  as  it  lay 
nearest  to  them.  They  dismembered  it  of  Syria  and 
Egypt,  and  some  other  of  its  best  and  richest  pro- 
vinces; but  they  were  never  able  to  subdue  and 
conquer  the  whole.  As  often  as  they  besieged  Con- 
stantinople, they  were  repulsed  and  defeated.  They 
attempted  it  in  the  reign  of  Constantine  Pogonatus, 
A  D.  072;  but  their  men  and  ships  were  miserably 
destroyed  by  the  sea-fire  invented  byCallinicus,and 
after  seven  years  fruitless  pains  they  were  compel- 
led to  raise  the  siege,  and  to  conclude  a  peace. 
They  attempted  it  again  in  the  reign  of  Leo  isauri- 
cus,  A  D.  718;  but  they  were  forced  to  desist  by 
famine  and  pestilence,  and  losses  of  various  kinds. 
In  this  attempt  they  exceeded  their  commission,  and 
therefore  they  were  not  crowned  with  their  usual 
success.  The  taking  of  this  city,  and  the  putting  an 
end  to  this  empire,  was  a  work  Sreserved  for  another 
power,  as  we  t^ll  see  under  the  next  trumpet 

Verses  7-9.  The  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like 
unto  horses  prepared  unto  bcUtle — In  this  and  the 
two  following  verses,  the  nature  and  qualities  of 
these  locusts  are  described,  partly  in  allusion  to  the 
properties  of  natural  locusts  and  the  description 
given  of  them  by  Joel,  and  partly  in  allusion  to  the 
habits  and  manners  of  the  Arabians,  to  show  that  not 
real  but  figurative  locusts  were  here  intended.  The 
first  quality  mentioned  is  their  being  like  unto  horses 
prepared  unto  battle;  which  is  copied  from  Joel  ii. 
4.  The  appearance  of  them  is  as  the  appearance 
ofhorsesy  ^,    Many  authors  have  observed  that 

D 


horses  prepared  unto  battle;  ""andon  A.IL4100 
their  b^dsi^era  as  it  were  crowns  like  ^  ^'^ 
gold,  '^and  thdr  &ces  toere  as  the  faces  of  men. 

8  And  diey  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women, 
and  <*  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions. 

9  And  they  had  breast-plates,  as  it  were 
lH:east-[dates  of  iron ;  and  the  sound  of  their 
wings  was  ^as  the  sound  of  chariots  of  many 
horses  running  to  battle. 


» Joel  ii.  4.— -^^Nah.  iii.  17. "Dan.  viL  a »  Joel  I  6. 

P  Joel  ii  5-7. 

the  head  of  a  locust  resembles  that  of  a  horse. 
The  Italians,  therefore,  call  them  cavalette,  as  it 
were  little  horses.  The  Arabians  too  have  in  all 
ages  been  famous  for  their  horses  and  horsemanship. 
Their  strength  is  well  known  to  consist  chiefly  in 
their  cavalry.  Another  distmguishing  mark  and 
character  is  their  having  on  their  heads  as  ii  were 
crowns  Uke  go2e2— Which  is  an  allusion  to  the  head- 
dress of  the  Arabians,  who  have  constantly  worn 
turbans  or  mitres,  and  boast  of  having  those  orna- 
ments for  their  common  attire,  which  are  crowns 
ismd  diadems  with  other  people.  The  crowns  also 
signify  the  kingdoms  and  dominions  which  they 
should  acquire.  For,  as  Mede  excellently  observes, 
^No  nation  had  ever  so  wide  a  command,  nor  ever 
were  so  many  kingdoms,  so  many  regions  subju- 
gated in  so  short  a  space  of  time.  It  sounds  incred- 
ible, yet  most  true  it  is,  that  in  the  space  of  eighty 
or  not  many  ihore  years,  they  subdued  and  acquired 
to  the  diabolical  kingdom  of  Mohammed,  Palestine, 
Syria,  both  Armenias,  almost  all  Asia  MinOr,  Persia, 
India,  Egypt,  Numidia,all  Barfoary,  even  to  the  river 
Niger,  Portugal,  Spain.  '  Neither  did  their  fortune 
or  ambition  stop  here  till  they  had  added  also  a  great 
part  of  Italy,  as  far  as  to  the  gates  of  Rome ;  more- 
over, Sicily,  Candia,  Cyprus,  and  the  other  islands 
of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  Good  God!  how  great  a 
tract  of  land!  how  many  crowns  were  here! 
Whence  also  it  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  men- 
tion is  not  made  here,  as  in  other  trumpets,  of  the 
third  pari;  forasmuch  as  this  plague  fell  no  less 
without  the  bounds  of  the  Roman  empire  than  with- 
in it,  and  extended  itself  even  to  the  remotest  In 
dies."  They  had  also  faces  as  the  faces  of  men, 
and  hair  eu  the  hair  of  women — And  the  Arabians 
wore  their  beards,  or  at  least  mustaches,  as  men ; 
while  the  hair  of  their  heads  viras  flowing,  or  platted 
like  that  of  women ;  as  Pliny  and  other  ancient  au- 
thors testify.  Another  property,  copied  from  Joel, 
is  their  having  teeth  as  the  teeih  of  lions;  that  is, 
stron  g  to  devour.  So  Joel  describes  the  locusts,  (cb  ap. 
L  0,)  a«  a  nation  whose  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  a  turn, 
Ac. ;  and  it  is  wonderful  how  they  bite  and  gnaw  ali 
things,  as  Pliny  says,  even  the  doors  of  the  houses. 
They  had  also  hreasUplaies,  as  it  were  breast-plates 
of  iron— And  the  locusts  have  a  hard  shell  or  skin, 
which  hath  been  called  their  artnour.  This  figure 
is  designed  to  express  the  defensive,  as  the  former 
was  the  offensive  arms  of  the  Saracens.  And  the 
sound  of  their  wings  was  cu  the  sound  of  chariots 
741 


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The  Moluxomedan  herety  compared  REVELATION. 


iolocutU  cmd  9eorpUmM.\ 


A.M.4ioa    10  Aad  they  had  taib  like imtosccNr- 

^•^'^  pioDs,  and  therewere  stings  in  their  tails: 

*i  and  their  power  wcls  to  hurt  men  five  months. 

11  'And  they  had  a  king  over  them^irAicAt^ 


<  Ver»e  6. '  Eph.  ii.  2. •  Veit«  L 

I — ■■ 


of  many  horses  running  to  battle — ^Mach  the  same 
comparison  had  been  used  by  Jod,  ebap.  ii.  5,  lake  the 
noise  of  chariots  on  the  tops  of  mountains  sJuUl  they 
leap;  and  Pliny  affirms  tbat  they  fly  with  so  great 
a  noise  of  their  wings,  that  they  may  be  taken  for 
birds.  Their  wingSj  and  the  sound  of  their  wings, 
denote  the  swiftness  and  rapidity  of  their  conquests; 
and  it  is  indeed  astonishing  that  in  less  than  a  cen- 
tury they  erected  an  empire  which  extended  from 
India  to  Spain. 

Verses  10, 11.  TI^  had  tails  like  unto  scorpions 
— ^They  are  thrice  compared  to  scorpions,  namely, 
verses  3,  5,  as  well  as  in  this  verse.  But  whether 
these  tails  and  stings,  as  of  scorpions,  were  designed 
to  express  that  these  Saracens  should  spread  the 
poison  of  error  and  delusion  where  they  came,  or 
only  to  signify  the  great  pain  and  uneasiness  their 
invasion  should  occasion,  seems  doubtful  Bishop 
Newton,  however,  interprets  the  metaphor  in  ttie 
former  sense,  as  intended  to  signify,  that  wherever 
they  carried  their  arms,  there  also  they  should  dis- 
til the  venom  of  a  fedse  religion.  And  their  power 
was  to  hurt  men  Jive  months^-^^  One  difficulty,"  says 
Bishop  Newton,  '^and  the  greatest  of  all,  remains 
yet  to  be  explained;  and  that  is  the  period  oijive 
months  assigned  to  these  locusts,  which  being  twice 
mentioned,  merits  the  more  particular  consideration. 
They  tormented  men  Jive  months,  verse  5 ;  and  again 
here,  their  power  was  to  hurt  men  five  months.  It 
is  said,  without  doubt,  m  conformity  to  the  type ;  for 
locusts  are  observed  to  live  about  £ve  months ;  that 
is,  from  April  to  September.  Scorpions,  too,  as  Bp- 
chart  asserts,  are  noxious  for  no  longer  a  term,  the 
cold  rendering  them  torpid  and  inactive.  But  of 
these  locusts  it  is  said,  not  that  their  duration  or 
existence  was  only  for  five  months,  but  their  power 
of  hurting  and  tormenting  men  continued  five 
months.  Now,  these  months  may  either  be  months 
commonly  so  taken ;  or  prophetic  months,  consist- 
ing each  of  thirty  days,  as  St.  John  reckons  them, 
and  so  making  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  at  the 
rate  of  each  day  for  a  year ;  or  the  jiumber  bemg 
repeated  twice,  the  sums  may  be  thought  to  be 
doubled,  and  Jtve  months  and  five  months,  in  pro- 
phetic computation,  will  amount  to  three  hundred 
years.  If  these  months  be  taken  for  common 
months,  then,  as  the  natural  locusts  live  and  do  hurt 
only  in  the  five  summer  months,  so  the  Saracens,  in 
the  five  summer  months  too,  made  their  excursions, 
and  retreated  again  in  the  winter.  It  appears  that 
this  was  their  usual  practice,  and  particularly  when 
they  first  besieged  Constantinople  in  the  time  of 
Constantine  Pogonatus.  For  from  the  month  of 
April  to  September,  they  pertinaciously  continued 
the  siege,  and  then,  despairing  of  success,  departed 
to  Cyzicum,  where  they  wintered,  and  in  spring 
743 


'the angel <tf the bottomleespit, whose  A.]f. 41001 

name  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abad- 1 — 

dim,  but  in  the  Greek  tongoe  hath  his  namo 
^Apdlyon. 

^  That  is  to  say,  c  deatrojftr. 


agahi  renewed  the  war:  and  this  course  they  held 
for  seven  years,  as  the  Greek  annals  tell  us.  If 
these  months  be  taken  for  prophetic  months,  or  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  it  was  within  that  space  of 
time  that  the  Saracens  made  their  pnncipd  con- 
quests. Their  empire  might  subsist  much  longer, 
but  their  power  of  hurting  and  tormenting  men  was 
exerted  chiefly  within  that  period.  Read  the  his- 
tory of  the  Saracens,  and  you  will  find  that  their 
greatest  exploits  were  performed,  their  greatest  con- 
quests were  made,  between  the  year  61^  when  Mo- 
hammed &ml  opened  the  bottomless  pit,  and  began 
publicly  to  teach  and  propagate  his  imposture,  and 
the  year  702,  when  the  Calif  Almansor  built  Bag- 
dad, to  fix  there  the  seat  of  his  empire^  and  called  it 
the  city  of  peace,  Syria,  Persia,  India,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  Asia;  Egypt,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  Africa;  Spain,  and  some  parts  of  Europe,  were 
all  subdued  in  the  intermediate  time.  But  when  the 
califs,  who  before  had  removed  from  place  to 
place,  fixed  their  habilation  at  Bagdad,  then  the  Sa 
racens  ceased  from  their  incursions  and  ravages, 
like  locusts,  and  became  a  settled  nation ;  then  they 
made  no  more  such  rapid  and  amazing  conquests  as 
before,  but  only  engaged  in  common  and  ordmary 
wars,  like  other  nations ;  then  their  power  and  glory 
began  to  decline,  and  their  empire  by  Uttle  and  little 
to  moulder  away;  then  they  had  no  longer,  like  the 
prophetic  locusts,  one  king  over  them  ;  Spun  having 
revolted  in  the  year  736,  and  set  up  another  calif  in 
opposition  to  the  reigning  house  of  Abbas.  If  these 
months  be  taken  doubly,  or  for  three  hundred  years, 
then,  according  to  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  'the  whole 
time  that  the  califs  of  the  Saracens  reigned  with  a 
temporal  dominion  at  Damascus  and  Bagdad  toge- 
ther, was  three  hundred  years ;  namely,  from  die 
year  687  to  the  year  996  inclusive ;  when  their  migh- 
ty empire  was  broken  and  divided  into  several  prin- 
cipalities or  kingdoms.  So  that,  let  these^e  months 
be  taken  in  any  possible  construction,  the  event  will 
still  answer,  and  the  prophecy  will  still  be  f^ilfiUed ; 
though  the  second  method  of  interpretation  and  ap- 
plication appears  much  more  probable  than  either 
the  first  or  the  third.  And  they  had  a  king  over 
them^-Bj  this  is  signified  (hat  the  same  person  should 
exercise  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  sovereignty 
over  ^em ;  and  the  califs  were  their  emperors,  as 
well  as  the  heads  of  their  religion.  The  king  is  the 
same  as  the  star  or  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  whose 
name  is  Abaddon  in  Hebrew^  and  ApoUyon  in  Greek ; 
that  is,  (he  destroyer.  Mede  imagines  that  this  is 
some  allusion  to  the  name  of  ObodcLs,  the  common 
name  of  the  kings  of  that  part  of  Arabia  from  whence 
Mohammed  came,  as  Pharaoh  was  the  common 
name  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  Cesar  of  the  empe- 
rors of  Rome ;  and  such  allusions  are  not  unusual  in 

b 


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2^  four  angd9  are  let  loo$e 


CHAPTER  IX. 


1o  slay  the  third  part  of  men. 


A. M. 4100.    12  ^One  wo  ib  past;  and  behdd, 

A.  D.  9ft  '         '  ' 


there  come  two  woes  more  hereafter. 

13  And  the  sixth  angel  sounded,  and  I  heard 
a  voice  from  the  four  horns  of  the  golden  ahar 
which  is  before  God, 

14  Sayingtothesixthangelwhichhadthetrum- 


^C]Mi».Tiu.  13. 


the  style  of  Scripture.  However  that  be,  tbe  name 
agrees  perfectly  well  with  Mohammed,  and  the  ca- 
lifs his  successors^  who  were  the  authors  of  all 
those  horrid  wars  and  desolations,  and  openly  taught 
and  professed  their  religion  was  to  be  propagated 
and  established  by  the  sword. 

Verse  12.  One  wo  i$  poet,  &c.— This  is  added  not 
only  to  distinguish  the  woes,  and  to  mark  more 
strongly  each  period,  but  also  to  suggest  that  some 
time  will  intervene  between  this  first  wo  of  the  Ara- 
bian locusts  and  the  next  of  the  Euphratean  horse- 
men. The  similitude  between  the  locusts  and  Ara- 
bians is  indeed  so  great,  that  it  cannot  fail  of  spiking 
every  curious  observer:  and  a  further  resemblance 
is  noted  by  Mr.  Panbuz,  that  "there  had  happened 
in  the  extent  of  this  torment,  a  coincidence  of  the 
event  with  the  nature  of  the  locusts.  The  Saracens 
have  made  inroads  into  all  those  parts  of  Christen- 
dom where  the  natural  locusts  are  wont  to  be  seen, 
and  known  to  do  mischief,  and  nowhere^else:  and 
that,  too,  in  the  same  proportion.  Where  the  lo- 
custs are  seldt^  seen,  there  the  Saracens  stayed 
little:  where  the  natural  loeusts  are  often  seen, 
there  the  Saracens  abode  most;  and  where  they 
breed  most,  there  the  Saracens  had  their  beginning 
and  greatest  power.  This  may  be  easily  verified  by 
history." 

Verses  13-15.  7%e  sixth  angel  sounded^  &c.— At 
the  sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet,  a  voice  proceeded 
from  the  four  hontt  of  the  golden  altar,  (for  the 
scene  was  still  in  the  temple,)  ordering  the  angel  of 
the  sixth  trumpet  to  loose  ^e  four  angels  which 
were  bound  in  the  great  river  Euphrates;  and  they 
were  loosed  accordingly.  Such  a  voice,  proceeding 
from  the  four  horns  of  the  golden  altar,  is  a  strong 
indication  of  the  divine  displeasure ;  and  plainly  in- 
timates, that  the  sins  of  men  must  have  been  very 
great.  When  the  altar,  which  was  their  sanctuary  and 
protection,  called  aloud  for  vengeance.  The  four 
angels  are  the  four  sultanies,  or  four  leaders  of  the 
Turks  and  Othmans.  For  there  were  four  principal 
sultanies,  or  kingdoms  of  the  Turks,  bordering  upon 
the  river  Euphrates:  one  at  Bagdad,  founded  by 
Togrnl  Bpg,  or  Tangrolipix,  as  he  is  more  usually  call- 
ed, in  the  year  1066 ;  another  at  Damascus,  founded 
by  Tagjuddaulas,  or  Duces,  in  the  year  1079 ;  a  third 
at  Aleppo,  founded  by  Sjarsuddaulas,  or  Melech,  in  the 
same  year,  1079 ;  and  the  fourth  at  Ic(Hiium,  in  Asia 
Minor,  founded  by  Sed3rdnddaulus,  or  Cutlu  Muses, 
or  his  son,  in  the  year  1060.  These  four  sultanies 
subsisted  several  years  afterward ;  and  the  saltans 
were  bound  and  restrained  from  extending  their  con- 
quests farther  than  the  territories  and  countries  ad- 
b 


pet,  Loose  the  four  angels  which  are  A.M.4ioo. 
bound  *  in  the  great  river  Euphrates.  ^^'^ 
15  And  the  four  angels  were  loosed,  which 
were  prepared  ^fin:  an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a 
month,  and  a  year,  for  to  sky  the  third  part  of 
men. 


•  Chap.  xri.  12. •  Or,  at. 


joining  to  the  river  Euphrates,  primarily  by  the  good 
providence  of  Ood,and  secondarily  by  Uie  croisades, 
or  expeditions  of  the  European  Christians  into  the 
holy  land,  in  the  latter  part  of  ihe  eleventh,  and  in 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  Nay,  the  Eu- 
ropean Christians  took  several  cities  and  countries 
from  them,  and  confined  them  within  narrower 
bounds.  But  when  an  end  was  put  to  the  croisades, 
and  the  Christians  totally  abandoned  their  conquests 
in  Syria  and  Palestine,  as  they  did  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  then  the  four  angels  on  the 
river  Euphrates  were  loosed,  Soliman  Shah,  the 
first  chief  and  founder  of  the  Othman  race,  retreat- 
ing \^ith  his  three  sons  from  Jingiz  Chan  and  the 
TMars,  would  have  passed  the  river  Euphrates,  but 
was  unfortunately  drowned,  the  time  of  loosing  the 
four  angels  being  not  yet  come.  Discouraged  at 
this  sad  accident,  two  of  his  sons  returned  to  their 
Ibrmer  habitations;  but  Ortogrul,  the  third,  with  his 
three  sons,  Conduz,  Sarubani^  and  Othman,  remained 
some  time  in  those  parts;  and  having  obtained  leave 
of  Aladin,  the  sultan  of  Iconium,  he  came  with  four 
hundred  of  his  Turks,  and  settled  in  the  mountains 
of  Armenia.  From  thence  they  began  their  excur- 
sions ;  and  the  other  Turks  associating  with  them, 
and  following  their  standard,  they  gained  several 
victories  over  the  Tartars  on  one  side,  and  over  the 
Christians  on  the  other.  Ortogrul  dying  in  the  year 
1286,  Othman  his  son  succeeded  hitn  in  power  and 
authority ;  and  in  the  year  1299,  as  some  say,  whh 
the  consent  of  Aladin  himself,  he  was  proclaimed 
sultan,  and  founded  a  new  empire;  and  the  people 
afterward,  as  well  as  the  new  empire,  were  called  by 
his  name.  For  though  they  disclaim  the  name  of 
Turks,  and  assume  that  of  Othmans,  yet  nothing  is 
more  certain  than  that  they  are  a  mixed  multitude, 
the  remains  of  the  four  sultanies  above  mentioned, 
as  well  as  the  descendants  particularly  of  the  house 
of  Othman. 

In  this  manner,  and  at  this  time,  the  four  angels 
were  loosed,  which  were  prepared  for  an  hour,  and 
a  day,  and  a  month:,  and  a  year,  for  to  slay  the 
third  part  o/mfti— That  is,  as  before,  the  men  of 
the  Roman  empire,  tind  especially  in  Europe,  the 
third  part  of  the  world.  The  Latin  or  western  em- 
pire was  broken  to  pieces  under  the  four  first  tram- 
pets  ;  the  Greek  or  eastern  empire  was  cruelly  hurt 
and  tormented  under  the  fifth  trumpet ;  and  here, 
under  the  sixth  trompet,  it  is  to  be  slain  and  utteriy 
destroyed.  Accordingly,  all  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Pa- 
lestine, Egypt,  Thrace,  Macedon,  Greece,  and  all  the 
countries  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Greek  or 
eastern  Cesars,  the  Othmans  have  conquered,  and 
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TerHMe  appearance  of  the 


WEnsuLTum. 


Aortet  tn  IIU  vMiR. 


A.M,4ioo.    16  And  'tbe  number  of  the  aimy 

'- —  ^of  the  borsemen  were  two  handred 

thousand  (houeand :  *  and  I  heard  the  number 
of  them. 
17  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the  vismi, 


«  Pml  IxriiL  17 ;  I>ml  tu.  la 1  Esek.  xzxriit.  4. 


subjugated  to  their  dominkm.  They  first  passed 
OTer  into  Europe  in  the  reign  of  Orchan,  their  second 
emperor,  and  in  the  year  1857;  they  took  Constan- 
tinople in  the  reign  of  Mohammed,  their  seventh 
emperor,  and  in  the  year  1453;  and  in  time, 
all  the  remaining  parts  of  the  Greek  empire 
shared  the  fate  of  the  capital  eity.  The  last  of 
their  conquests  were  Candia,  or  the  ancient  Crete^ 
in  1669,  and  Cameuiec,  in  1672.  For  the  execn- 
tion  of  this  great  work,  it  b  said  that  they  were 
prepared  for  an  Jiour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month, 
and  a  year ;  which  will  admit  either  of  a  literal 
or  a  mystical  interpretation;  and  the  former  will 
hold  good  if  the  latter  should  faiL  If  it  be  taken 
literally,  it  is  only  expressing  the  same  thix^  by  dif- 
ferent words;  as  peoplee,  and  mtUiitudes,  and  ncb- 
tions,  and  tongues,  are  jointly  used  in  other  places ; 
and  then  the  meaning  is,  that  they  were  prepared 
and  ready  to  execute  the  divine  commission  at  any 
time,  or  for  any  time,~any  Iwwr,  or  day,  or  numtk, 
or  year,  that  God  should  appoint.  If  it  be  taken 
mysticidly,  and  the  hour,  and  day,  and  month,  and 
year  be  a  prophetic  hoiur,  and  c2ay,^and  month,  and 
year,  then  a  year,  (according  to  St  John's,  who  fol- 
lows herein  Daniel's  computation,)  c<»isisting  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  di^s,  is  three  hundred 
and  sixty  years ;  and  a  m^mth,  consisting  of  thirty 
days,  is  thirty  years;  and  a  day  is  a  year;  and  an 
hour  is,  in  the  same  proportion,  fifteen  days :  so  that 
the  whole  period  of  the  Othmans  slaying  the  third 
pari  of  men,  or  subduing  Ae  Christian  states  inihe 
Greek  or  Roman  empire,  amounts  to  three  hundred 
and  ninety-one  years  and  fifteen  days.  Now  it  ie 
wonderfully  remarkable,  that  the  first  conquest 
mentioned  in  history  of  the  Othmans  over  the 
Christians,  was  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira  680^  and 
the  year  of  Christ  1261.  For  Ortogrul  "in  that 
year  (according  to  the  accurate  historian  Saadi) 
crowned  his  victories  with  the  conquest  of  the  fa- 
mous city  of  Kutahi  upon  the  Greeks."  Compute 
three  hundred  and  ninety-one  years  from  that  tio^e, 
and  they  will  terminate  in  the  year  1672:  and  in 
that  year,  as  it  was  hinted  before,  Mohammed  the 
Fourth  took  Cameniec  from  the  Poles,  "and  forty- 
eight  towns  and  villages  in  the  territory  of  Came- 
niec were  delivered  up"  to  the  sultan  upon  the  treaty 
of  peace.  Whereupon  Prince  Cantemir  kath  made 
this  memoraUe  reflection:  "This  was  the  last  vic- 
tory by  which  any  advantage  accrued  to  the  0th- 
man  state,  or  any  city  or  province  was  annexed 
to  the  ancient  bounds  of  the  empire."  Agree- 
ably to  which  observation,  he  hath  entitled  the 
former  part  of  his  history,  Of  the  growth  of 
the  Olhman  entire,  and  the  Ibllowing  part,  Of 
the  decay  of  the  Othman  empire.  Other  wars  and 
7i4 


and  them  that  sat  on  them,  hhring  a.  m .  4ieoi 

A.  JX  Sib 

breast-plates  of  fire,  and  of  jadnth,  

and  brimstone:  'and  the  heads  of  the  haiBes 
were  as  the  heads  of  lions ;  and  out  oC  their 
mouths  issued  fire,  and  tnnoke,  and  brimsloBe. 


'  Chap.  rh.  i.- 


*■  1  Chnm.  ziL  8 ;  laa.  r.  28, 29. 


daughters,  as  he  says,  have  ensued.  The  Torks 
even  besieged  Vienna  in  1668^  but  this  exeeeding 
the  bounds  of  their  commission,  they  were  deSeated. 
Belgrade  and  other  places  may  have  been  taken 
from  them,  and aurrendered  to  them  again;  bat  still 
they  have  subdaed  no  new  ^ate  w  potentate  of 
Christendom  •  now  for  the  space  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years ;  and  in  all  probability  they  never  may 
again,  their  emfure  appearing  rather  to  decreaaa 
than  increase.  Here  then  the  prophecy  and  the 
event  agree  exactly  in  the  period  of  three  hundred 
and  ninety'-one  years;  and  if  more  aeeorate  and  au- 
thentic histories  of  the  Othmans  were  brought  to  light, 
and  we  knew  the  very  day  whereinlLutahi  was  tsikem 
as  certainly  as  we  know  that  wherein  Cameniec  was 
taken,  the  like  exactness  might  also  be  foond  m  the 
fifteen  days.  But  though  the  time  be  limked  to  the 
Othmans*  slaying  the  third  part  ofmen,  yet  no  time 
is  fixed  fOT  the  durationof  their  empire;  only  this 
second  wo  will  end  iiiien  the  third  wo,  (xL  lA,)  or 
the  destruction  of  the  beast,  shall  be  at  hand. 

Verses  16-19.  T^  number  qfthe  army  of  horse- 
men were  two  hundred  thousand — ^A  descriptioB  Is 
here  givan  of  tbe  forces,  and  of  the  means  and  in- 
struments by  which  the  Otlunans  should  effect 
the  ruin  of  the  eastern,  empire.  The  armies  are 
described  as  very  numeroua  myriads  of  myriads. 
When  Mohammed  the  Secona  besieged  Coastentino- 
ple,  he  had  about  four  hundred  thousand  men  in  his 
army,  besides  a  powerful  fleet  of  thirty  larger  and 
two  hundred  lesser  ships.  They  are  descr&ed,  too, 
chiefly  as  horsemen;  and  so  they  are  described  both 
by  Ezekiel  and  by  Daniel;  (see  Bidiq>  Newton's 
last  dissertation  upon  Daniel;)  and  it  is  wdl  known 
that  their  armies  consisted  chiefly  of  cavalry,  espe- 
cially before  the  order  of  Janizaries  was  instttnted 
by  Amurath  the  Furst.  The  Timariots,  or  horsemen, 
holding  lands  by  serving  m  the  wars,  are  ihe^strenglh 
of  the  government  $  and  are  in  all  accounted  be- 
tween seven  and  eight  hundred  thousand  fightini^ 
men.  9ome  say  they  are  a  million;  and  besides 
these,  there  are  Spahis  and  other  horsemen  m  the 
emperor's  pay. 

In  the  vifion— That  is,  in  ai^pearanee,  and  not  in 
reality,  they  had  hreastrplates  of  fire  and  o/hyacinth 
and  brimstone^Th%  colour  of  ^«  is  r^  of  hya- 
cinth blue,^  and  of  brimstone  yellow :  and  this  "hath 
a  literal  accompiishment;  for  the  Othmans,  from  the 
first  time  of  their  appearance,  have  aflfected  to  wear 
such  warlike  i^parel  of  scarlet,  blue,  and  yellow.^ 
Of  the  Spahis  particulariy,  somehave  red,  and  some 
have  yellow  standards,  and  others  red  or  yellow, 
mixed  with  other  colours.  In  appearance,  toe,  the 
heads  of  the  hm^es  were  as  the  heads  of  lions — ^To 
denote  their  strength,  courage,  and  fierceness;  and 

b 


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OHAPTIB  DL 


the  widced  do  not  repmL 


A.  M.  4100.    18  By  these  three  was  the  thiid  part 

! of  men  killed,  by  the  fire,  and  by  the 

smoke,  and  by  the  brimstooe,  which  issued  out 
of  their  mouths. 

19  For  their  power  is  in  their  mouth,  and  in 
their  tails:  ^for  their  tafls  i^^^re  like  unto  ser- 
pents, and  had  heads,  and  w;ith  them  they  xlo 
hurt. 

30  And  the  rest  of  the  mea  which  were  not 


^  Isa.  is.  15.-*-^*  Dent  zzjo.  20. '  Let-,  zriu  7 ;  Deal.  xxziL 

17 ;  Pw.  cri.  37;  1  Cor.  x.  20. 


out  of  their  mouthe  ieeuedfire^  and  emoke^and  briny- 
etone'-A  manifest  allusion  to  great  guns  and  gun- 
powder, which  were  invented  under  this  trumpet, 
and  were  of  such  signal  service  to  the  Othmans  in 
their  wars.  For  by  these  three  was  the  third 
part  of  men  kiUed^By  these  the  Othmans  made 
such  havpcand  destruction  in  the  Greek  or  eastern 
empire.  Amurath  the  Second  brol^e  into  Pelopon- 
nesus, and  took  several  strong  places  by  means  of 
his  artiflery.  But  his  son  Mohammed,  at  the  sieg^ 
of  Constantinople,  employed  such  great  guns  as  were 
never  made  before.  One  is  described  to  have  been  of 
such  a  monstrous  size,  that  it  ¥ras  drawn  by  seventy 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  by  two  thousand  men.  Two 
more  discharged  a  stone  of  the  weight  of  two  talents. 
Others  emitted  a  stone  of  the  weight  of  half  a  talent. 
But  the  greatest  of  all  discharged  a  ball  of  the  weight 
of  three  talents,  or  about  three  hundred  pounds ;  and 
the  report  of  this  cannon  is  said  to  have  been  so  great, 
that  all  the  country  round  about  was  shaken  to  the  dis- 
tance of  forty  furlongs.  For  forty  days  the  wall  was 
battered  by  these  guns,  and  so  many  breaches  were 
made,  that  the  city  was  taken  by  assault,  and  an  end 
put  to  the  Grecian  empire. 

Moreover  they  had  power  to  do  hurt  by  t^srr  tails 
as  well  as  by  their  mouths,  their  tails  being  like 
unto  serpentfij  and  having  Juads^ln  thb  respect 
they  very  much  resemble  the  locusts,  only  the  dif- 
ferent tails  are  accommodated  to  the  different  crea- 
tures, the  tails  of  scorpions  to  locusts,  the  tails  of 
serpents,  itith  a  head  at  each  end,  to  horses.  By 
this  figure  it  is  meant,  that  the  Turks  draw  after 
them  the  same  poisonous  trains  as  the  Saracens ; 
they  profess  and  propagate  the  same  imposture, 
they  do  hurt  not  only  by  their  conquests,  but  also 
by  spreading  their  false  doctrine;  and  wherever 
they  establish  their  dominion,  there  too  they  estSr 
bli£^  their  religion.  Many  indeed  of  the  Greek 
Church  remained,  and  are  still  remaining  among 
them;  but  they  are  subjected  to  a  capitation-tax, 
which  is  rigorously  exacted  from  all  above  fourteen 
years  of  age;  are  burdened  besides  with  the  most 
b 


killed  by  these  plagues  ®  yet  repent-  a.  m.  41oo 
ed  not  (^  the  works  of  their  hands,  ^'  ^'^ 
that  they  ^ouki  not  worship  <^  devils,*  and  idols 
of  gdd,  and  stiver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and 
of  wood:  which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
walk: 
21  Neither  repented  they  of  their  murders, 
^  nor  of  their  sorceries,  nor  of  their  fornication, 
nor  of  their  thefts. 


•  PmIib  ozt.  4 ; 


oxzxT.   16;    Daniel 
xxiL  IS. 


T.   23. 'Chi^f 


heavy  and  arbitrary  impositions;  are  compelled  to 
the  most  servile  drudgery;  are  abused  in  their  per- 
sons, and  robbed  of  their  property:  but  notwith- 
standing these  and  greater  persecutions,  some  re- 
mains of  the  Greek  Church  are  still  preserved  among 
them,  as  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  to  serve  some 
great  and  mysterious  ends  of  providence. 

Verses  20, 21.  And  the  rest  of  the  men  which  were 
not  killed  &y  these  plagues^-That  is,  the  Latin 
Church,  whldi  pretty  well  escaped  these  calamities; 
yet  repented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands,  that 
they  should  not  worship  devils — DaimonifL,  demons, 
or  second  mediatory  gods,  as  it  hath  largely  been 
shown  before,  saints  and  angels;  and  idols  ofgoldj 
and  silver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and  wood — From 
hence  it  is  evident,  that  those  calamities  were  inflict- 
ed upon  the  Christians  for  their  idolatries.  As  the 
eastern  churches  were  first  in  the  crime,  so  they 
were  first  likewise  in  the  punishment.  At  first  they 
were  visited  by  the  plague  of  the  Saracens,  but  this 
working  no  change  or  reformation,  they  were  again 
chastised  by  the  still  greater  plague  of  the  Othmans; 
were  partly  overthrown  by  the  former,  and  were 
entirely  ruined  by  the  latter.  What  churches  were 
then  remaining,  which  were  guilty  of  the  like  idola- 
try, but  the  western,  or  those  In  communion  with 
Rome?  And  the  western  were  not  at  all  reclaimed 
by  the  ruin  of  the  eastern,  but  persisted  still  in  the 
worship  of  saints  and  (what  is  worse)  the  worship  of 
images,  which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk — 
And  the  world  is  witness  to  the  completion  of  this 
prophecy  to  this  day.  Neither  repented  they  of  their 
murders^Their  persecutions  and  inquisitions;  nor 
of  their  sorceries^Their  pretended  miracles  and 
revelations ;  nor  of  their  fomications^Their  pub- 
lic stews  and  uncleanness;  nor  of  their  thefts — 
Their  exactions  and  impositions  on  mankind:  and 
they  are  as  notorious  for  their  licentiousness  and 
wickedness,  as  for  their  superstition  and  idolatry. 
As  they  therefore  refused  to  take  warning  by  the 
two  former  woes,  the  third  wo,  as  we  shall  see,  will 
fall  with  vengeance  upon  them. 
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BEVELATION. 


wmtkeHmebock, 


CHAPTER  X. 

TkU  ckafUr  eonUim  a  soltmn  preparation  for  the  sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  {h)  It  represents  a  imghti/  angel  i 
ing  dtwn  from,  kettven  with  a  little  open  book  in  kis  hand,  4R^  on  his  erying  aloud,  seven  thunders  utter  thekr  voices,  hut 
John  is  forbidden  to  write  what  they  uttered,  1-4.  (2.)  The  angel  solemnly  swears  by  the  eternal  God,  the  Creator  tfaU 
things,  that  the  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence  in  time  should  end  with  the  seventh  trwmpet,  5->7.  (8,)  John  is 
commanded  to  take  and  digest  in  his  mind  the  contents  of  the  open  book,  as  a  preparation  for  his  uttering  further  predic* 
tions  concerning  the  future  stats  of  the  church  and  of  the  world,  8-11. 


A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  I  saw  another  mighty  angel 

'. come  down  from  heaven,  clothed 

with  a  cloud:  'and  a  rainbow  wets  upon  his 
head,  and  ^'liis  face  was  as  it  were  the  sun, 
and  ^hisfeetasfnllaiBof  fire: 
2  And  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book  q)en : 
'  and  he  set  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and 
his  lehfoot  on  the  earth, 

•Ezek.  L  28. ^  Matt  xvii.  2;    Chap.  i.  16. «  Chap.  i.  15. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  X. 

The  foregoing  chapters  have  given  u«  a  prophetic 
description  of  the  first  two  periods,  or  of  the  state 
of  the  world  and  the  ehurch  under  the  persecutions 
of  Rome  heathen  j  of  the  troubles  occasioned  by  the 
invasions  of  the  northern  nations,  which  broke  the 
power  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  divided  it  into  se- 
veral new  governments ;  and  finally  of  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  and  empire, 
which  caused  so  many  evils  throughout  the  greatest 
part  of  the  world,  both  in  the  eastern  and  western 
empires.  ^  This  tenth  chapter  seems  to  be  au  inter- 
val between  the  second  and  third  periods,  in  which 
the  scene  of  the  vision  alters,  and  preparation  is 
made  for  a  new  prophecy,  representing  a  new  state 
of  the  world  and  church,  for  a  new  period  of  forty- 
ttDo  months,  a  time^  times,  and  h<ilfatime,  or  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  days ;  being  the  days  of  the  voice 
of  the  seventh  angel,  when  the  mystery  of  God  shall 
be  finished.  The  scene  of  the  vbion  is  represented 
to  b^  different  from  that  of  the  foregoing :  it  is  not  now 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven,  as  in  the  fourth 
chapter,  but  on  earth,  as  is  the  first  scene,  chap,  i 

Ver.  1, 2.  And — After  my  former  vision,  related  in 
the  foregoing  part  of  this  prophecy,  another  scene 
was  opened  unto  me  introductory  to  a  further  reve- 
lation concerning  the  state  of  the  church  and  the 
world.  For  I  saw  a7iother  mighty  angel^Anothery 
different  from  that  mighty  angel  mentioned  chap.  v. 
2 ;  yet  he  was  a  created  angel,  for  he  did  not  swear 
by  himself;  come  down  from  heaven — Or  divinely 
commissioned,  verse  6;  clothed  with  a  cloud— In 
token  of  his  high  dignity;  and  a  rainbow  upon  his 
head — A  lovely  token  of  the  divine  favour,  and  a 
symbol  of  God's  covenant  and  mercy  toward  peni- 
tent sinners;  and  his  face  was  as  it  were  the  sun — 
Nor  was  this  too  much'  for  a  creature,  for  all  the 
righteous  sJuUl  shine  forth  as  the  sun,  Matt  xiii.  43. 
Or  this  might  be  an  emblem  of  the  light  of  the  gospel 
about  to  be  diffused.  And  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire 
— Bright  and  shining  as  flame.  Intimating,  per- 
haps, that  the  faithful,  in  the  period  about  to  be 
opeiMd,  should  suffer  persecution,  and  yet  be  pre- 
746 


3  And  cried  with  a  loud  v(»ce,  as  A.  if .  4100. 
when  a  lion  roareth :  and  whea  he         '^' 


had  cried,  *  seven  thunders  uttered  their  voices. 
4  And  when  the  seven  thunders  had  uttered 
thdr  voices,  I  was  about  to  write :  and  I  beard 
a  voice  firom  heaven  8a3ring  unto  me,  ^Seal  up 
those  things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered, 
and  writa  them  not 

*  Matt.  xxriiL  18. •  Cb^.  viii.5. '  Dan.  riii.  26 ;  xiL  4, 9 

served  from  the  rage  of  their  enemies.  And  he  had 
in  his  hand—Uis  left  hand,  for  he  swore  with 
his  right,  verse  6;  SiSXapidtov,  a  little  book,  dif- 
ferent from  the  6i6Xiov,  or  book,  mentioned  before : 
and  it  was  open,  that  all  men  might  freely  read  and 
consider  it.  It  was  indeed  a  codicil  to  the  larger 
book,  and  properly  cometh  under  the  sixth  trumpet, 
to  describe  the  state  of  the  western  church  after  the 
description  of  the  state  of  the  eastern :  and  this  is, 
whh  good  reason,  made  a  separate  and  distinct  pro- 
phecy, on  account  of  the  importance  of  the  matter, 
as  well  as  for  engaging  the  greater  attention.  And 
he  set  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  en  the 
earth — To  show  the  extent  of  his  power  and  com- 
mission. This  angel  set  his  right  foot  on  the  sea 
toward  the  west,  his  left  on  the  land  toward  (he  east, 
so  that  he  looked  southward.  By  the  eartli,  sajrs 
Sir  I.  Newton,  the  Jews  understood  the  great  conti- 
nent of  Asia  and  Africa,  to  which  they  had  access 
by  land ;  and  by  the  isles  of  the  sea  they  understood 
the  places  to  which  they  sailed  by  sea,  or  the  several 
parts  of  Europe :  and  hence,  in  this  prophecy,  the  earth 
and  sea  he  considers  as  put  for  the  nations  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  empires.  In  this  sense  the  angel's 
putting  his  right  foot  oh  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  on 
the  earth, will  represent  him  as  standing  with  one  foot 
on  Asia,  and  another  on  Europe,  to  signify  that  the 
prophecies  which  he  was  to  reveal  would  relate  to 
the  empires  of  the  east  and  west 

Verses  3,  4.  And  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice-- 
Uttering  the  words  recorded  verse  6 ;  as  when  a  lion 
rooref^— With  a  voice  strong  and  awful,  as  the  roar 
of  a  lion,  j^ighifying,  some  think,  tliat  the  gospel 
would  be  openly,  resolutely,  and  efficaciously 
preached  and  published.  In  order  to  effect  the  subse- 
quent reformation  of  the  church  from  the  errors  and 
su  perstitions  that  had  now  overspread  it.  And  when 
he  had  cried — Or,  while  he  was  crying,  seven  thun- 
ders uttered  their  voices~^ln  distinct  audible  sounds, 
each  after  the  other,  as  from  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
and  loud  as  thunder.  Doubtless  those  who  spoke 
these  words  were  glorious  heavenly  powers.  And 
when  (he  seven  thunders  had  uttered  their  voices^ 

b 


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CHAPTER  X. 


to  eat  the  lUtU  book. 


A.  M.  4ioa    6  And  the  angel  which  I  saw  stand 

.^1-J. upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth,  >lift- 

ed  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 

6  And  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever,  ^  who  created  heaven,  and  the  things  that 
therein  are,  and  the  ecurth,  and  the  things  that 
therein  are,  and  the  sea,  and  the  things  which 
are  therein,  *  that  there  should  be  time  no 
longer. 

7  But  ^  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mys- 
tery of  God  should  be  finished,  as  he  hath 


»  Exod.  vi.  8 ;  Dan.  xii.  7. ^  Neh.  ix.  6 ;  Chap.  iT.  11 ;  xir.  7. 

i  Dan.  xii.  7 ;  Chap.  xrL  17. 


Having uuderstood  the  things  they  expressed ;  Iwaa 
about  to  write— To  record  what  was  spoken  by 
them.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven — Doubt- 
less from  him  who  had  at  first  commanded  him  to 
write,  and  who  presently  commands  him  to  take  the 
book,  namely,  Jesus  Christ,  saying,  Seal  up  the 
things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and  write 
them  not — These  are  the  only  things,  of  all  which 
he  heard,  that  he  is  commanded  to  keep  secret  So 
some  things  pecuUarly  secret  were  revealed  to  the 
beloved  John,  besides  all  the  secret  things  written  in 
this  book,  ^d  as  we  know  not  the  subjects  of  the 
seven  thunders,  30  neither  can  we  know  the  reasons 
for  suppressing  them.  Vitringa  indeed,  by  these 
seven  thunders,  understands  the  seven  great  croi- 
sades,  or  expeditions  of  the  western  Christians  for 
the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  Daubuz  the 
seven  kingdoihs  which  received  and  established  the 
Protestant  reformation  by  law.  On  which  Dr.  Ap- 
thorp  observes  as  follows:  "As  heaven  signifies  the 
station  of  the  supreme  visible  power,  which  is  the 
political  heaven,  so  thunder  is  the  voice  and  pro- 
clamation of  that  authority  and  power,  and  of  its 
will  and  laws,  implying  the  obedience  of  the  subjects, 
and  at  last  overcoming  all  opposition.  The  thunders 
are  th^  symbols  of  the  supreme  powers,  who  esta- 
blished the  Reformation  in  their  respective  domi- 
nions." But,  as  Bishop  Newton  remarks,  "  Doth  it 
not  savour  rather  of  vanity  and  presumption  than  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  to  pretend  to  conjecture 
what  they  are  when  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  purposely 
concealed  them."  Suffice  it  that  we  may  know  all 
the  contents  of  the  opened  book,  and  of  the  oath  of 
the  angel. 

Verses  5-7.  And  the  angel,  &c. — But  though  I 
was  iiot  allowed  to  reveal  what  the  seven  thunders 
had  uttered,  yet  the  angel  proceeded  to  give  a  fur- 
ther revelation  of  the  dispensations  of  Divine  Provi* 
dence  toward  the  world  and  the  church  in  general ; 
and,  to  confirm  the  truth  and  certainty  of  his  revela- 
tion, he  took  his  oath  in  the  most  solemn  manner: 
he  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  Him 
thai  liveth  for  ever  and  ever — By  the  eternal  God, 
before  whom  a  thousand  years  are  but  as  a  day  id 
with  us;  who  created  the  heaven,  the  earth,  the  sea, 
&c. — And  consequently  has  the  sovereign  power 
b 


declared   to   his   servants    the   pro-  a.  M.  4100. 

-.u^*^  A.  D.  90. 


8  And  ^  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heaven 
q)ake  unto  me  again,  and  said,  Go,  and  take 
the  Uttle  book  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of  the 
angel  which  standeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon 
the  earth. 

9  And  I  went  unto  the  angel,  and  said  unto 
him,  Give  me  the  little  book.  And  he  said  unto 
me,  ""  Take  i/,  and  eat  it  up ;  and  it  shall  make 
thy  belly  bitter,  but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth 
sweet  as  honey. 

IE  Chap.  xi.  16. 1  Verse  4. — -nJer.  xr.  16;  Ezek.  ii.  8; 

iii.  1-3. 

over  all;  therefore  all  his  enemies,  though  they  rage 
a  while  on  the  earth  and  on  the  sea,  yet  must  give 
place  to  him :  That  there  should  be  time  no  longer 
— Greek,  oTixpovocf^K  e^ai  en,  that  the  time  shall  not 
be  yet;  (so  Lowman  and  Bishop  Newton  under- 
stand it ;)  that  is,  t)iat  the  time  of  the  glorious  state 
of  the  church,  though  sure  to  take  place  in  its  due 
time,  should  not  be  yet ;  but  in  the  days  of  the  voice 
of  the  seventh  angel — Who  was  yet  lo  sound ;  the 
mystery  of  God — In  his  providence  toward  his 
church;  should  be  finished— Or  completed.  The 
mystery  of  God  is  his  counsel  or  design,  which  be- 
gins in  the  present  conversion  and  happiness  of  man 
on  earth,  will  terminate  in  diffusing  that  felicity  over 
all  the  world,  and  will  complete  it  in  a  state  of  im- 
mortality; as  he  hath  declaredr^Qc  evriyyeXute,  ac- 
cording to  the  good  news  which  he  hath  published ; 
to  his  servants  the  prophets — And  then  the  glorious 
state  of  the  church  should  be  no  longer  delayed.  So 
long  as  the  third  wo  remains  on  the  earth  and  the 
sea,  the  mystery  of  God  is  not  fulfilled.  And  the 
angePs  declaration  that  it  shall  be  fulfilled,  confirmed 
by  a  solemn  oath,  is  made  peculiarly  for  the  conso- 
lation of  holy  men,  who  are  afflicted  under  that  wo. 
Indeed  the  wrath  of  God  must  be  first  fulfilled  by 
the  pouring  out  of  the  viala,  and  then  comes  the  joy- 
ftil  ftilfilling  of  the  mystery  of  God. 

Verses  8-10.  And  the  voice  said,  Go  up  to  the  an- 
gel standing  upon  the  sea  and  the  earth,  and  take 
the  little  book  which  is  open— To  signify  that  its 
contents  were  not  to  be  kept  secret  like  those  of  the 
seven  thunders,  but  revealed  for  the  instruction,  di- 
rection, encouragement,  or  warning  of  mankind,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  larger  book ;  for  it  was  a  kind  6f 
second  prophecy  added  to  the  former,  and  as  it  con- 
ceded kings  and  ncUions,  so  it  was  to  be  made  pub- 
lic for  their  use  and  information.  And  I  went  unto 
the  angel^^ks  I  was  directed;  and  «iie^— With 
boldness,  in  consequence  of  the  divine  command; 
Give  me  the  little  book.  And  he  said,  Take  it,  and 
eat  it  up — ^As  Ezekiel  did  that  which  was  shown  to 
him  upon  a  like  occasion ;  that  is,  consider  its  con- 
tents carefully,  and  digest  them  well  in  thy  mind : 
and  it  shall  make  thy  belly  bitter,  but  it  shall  be  in 
thy  mouth  sweet  as  Jioney— The  knowledge  of  fu- 
ture things  was,  at  first,  pleasant,  but  the  sad  eon- 
747 


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Ike  teHnpU  amd  Ae  akaii 


A.  H.  4100. 
A.  D.  ML 


10  And  I  took  Ihe  little  book  out 
of  the  angel's  hand,  and  ate  it  up ; 
■and  it  was  in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey:  and 
as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it  *  my  belly  was  bitter. 


■  Ezek.  Ill  3. 


tents  of  the  little  book  afterward  filled  his  soul  with 
sorrow.  As  this  prophecy  was  to  reveal  the  provi- 
dences of  God  during  the  period  of  the  seventh 
trumpet,  in  which,  as  there  was  a  revelation  of  great 
opposition  to  true  religion,  and  persteution  of  the 
&i(hful  professors  of  it,  so  was  there  also  a  revela- 
tion of  divine  protection  during  the  time  of  trial,  and 
of  a  sure  accomplishment  of  the  promises  concern- 
ing the  glorious  and  happy  state  of  the  church  la  the 
end.  The  consideration  of  such  a  dbpensation  of 
Providence  might  well  occasion  a  mixture  of  joy 
and  grief  in  the  apostle's  mind,  as  it  must  do  in  the 
minds  of  all  who  understand  and  reflect  upoa  it 

Verse  11.  And  he  said-^Thou  hast  not  yet  finish- 
ed the  whole  of  thy  work,  in  what  thou  hast  already 
recorded  of  the  visions  of  the  Lord :  but  thou  must 
again  prophesy  before^  or  to,  many  peoples  and  na- 
tions, &C.— Mede  infers  from  hence,  that  the  apostle 
is  about  to  go  over  the  same  period  of  time  that  he 
had  before  been  discoursing  o(^  giving  an  account  of 
the  state  of  the  church  as  he  had  just  done  of  the 


11  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou  a.m.4}<mi 

must  prophesy  again    befi>re    ma- 1 — 

ny  peofdes,  and  natkms,  and  tongues,  and 
hhigB. 

•Eigk.  iiia 

State  of  the  empire.  But  the  new  descriptioiis  and 
new  events  to  which  the  subsequent  prophecies  re- 
fer, that  are  introduced  here,  and  which  constitnle 
the  following  chapters,  are  sufficient,  without  any 
peculiarity  of  int^retalton,  to  justify  the  expres- 
sion, Thou  must  prophesy  agaisL  Besides,  as 
Bishop  Newton  observes,  if  the  prophecy  begin  here 
again  anew,  the  subject  be  resumed  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  all  that  follows  he  contained  in  the  liule 
6oo^  then  the  little  book  contains  more  matter  than 
the  larger  book ;  and  pari  of  the  sealed  book  is  made 
part  of  the  open  book,  which  is  contrary  to  the  regu- 
larity and  order  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  in  a  great 
measure  destroys  the  beauty  and  symmetry  of  the 
different  parts:  for  it  is  evident  and  undeniable  thai 
the  seventh  trumpet  is  the  seventh  part  of  the  sev- 
enth seal,  as  the  seventh  seal  is  the  seventh  part  of 
the  sealed  book,  and  consequently  can  be  no  part  of 
the  little  open  book,  which  ends,  as  we  shall  see, 
with  the  sixth  trumpet,  and  immediately  before  the 
sounding  of  the  seventh. 


CHAFTERXL 

Heret  (1,)  The  apo$tU  is  directed  to  measure  the  temple  cf  Chd,  Ae  dtar^  snd  tkem  thai  worship  thereinr  hU  to  lewoe  tks 
outer  court  unmeasured,  as  being  given  to  (he  Gentiles,  with  a  prediaion  that  they  should  tread  under  foot  the  holy  dty 
J&rty-two  months,  1,  S.  (%)  Power  is  given  to  two  witnesses,  who  should  prophesy  in,  sackcloth  during  t%oehe  humirei 
and  sixty  days,  S-S.  (3,)  T%e  beast  makes  war  upon  them,  prevails  against  and  slays  Asm;  but  they  are  raised  from 
the  dead  after  three  days  anda  half,  when  they  arise  and  ascend  into  heaven,  7-lS.  (4,)  ThejudgmenU  of  Ood  are  exe- 
cuted on  their  enemies,  and  the  second  wo  is  accomplished,  13,  14.  (5,)  TTu  seventh  trumpet  sounds,  and  a  revelation  ia 
made  of  glorious  events,  which  should  follow,  and  the  triumphs  of  divine  vengeance  over  the  persecutors  of  God's  people 
are  celebrated,  15-18.  (6,)  The  Umple  of  God  is  opened  in  heaven,  and  a  view  is  given  of  the  ark  of  his  covenant,  while 
lightnings,  thunders,  and  an  earthquake  foreshow  the  wars  and  convulsions  introductory  to  those  awful  evenU  ijUdk  are 
to  overthrow  all  antiekristian  opposers,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  unhersal  reign  of  righUoutness^  19. 


A.  M. 4100.    A  ND  there  was  given  me  'a  reed 

! — L         like  unto  a  rod :  and  the  angel 

stood,  saying,  ^  Rise,  and  measure  the  temple 


•  Esek.  xL  3,  &c. ;  Zech.  ii.  1 ;  Chap.  xxi.  15. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XI, 
We  now  enter  upon  the  third  period  of  this  pro- 
phecy, distin^ished  by  the  seven  vials,  as  the  for- 
mer were  by  seven  seals  and  seven  trumpets.  This 
period,  being  much  longer  than  either  of  the  fore- 
going, is  described  more  at  large,  and  with  greater 
particularity ;  and  the  state  of  it  is  represented  by 
several  prophetic  images  or  emblems,  as  by  mea- 
suring the  temple,  by  the  prophesying  of  two  wit- 
nesses, by  the  vision  of  a  woman  fleeing  into  the 
wilderness,  and  the  representation  of  one  wild  beast 
rising  out  of  the  sea,  and  of  another  coming  up  out 
of  the  earth.  8o  that  here  are  two  distinct  repre- 
748 


of  God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that  ^- *{;^'** 
worship  therein 


2  But  **  the  court  which  is  without  the  tcm- 


>»Num.  xxiii.  la r«  Exek.  xl.  17, 20. 


sentations  of  the  state  of  the  church  during  this  pe- 
riod, and  another  representatioivof  the  persecuting 
power  from  whence  this  afflicted  state  of  the  church 
should  proceed ;  and  in  the  end  of  this,  as  in  each 
of  the  other  periods,  here  is  a  representation  of  the 
church's  deliverance  out  of  its  afflicted  state.  And, 
in  particular,  the  afflictions  of  the  church  are  to  be 
terminated  with  this  period,  and  to  be  succeeded  by 
the  most  happy  and  glorious  state  of  peace  and  pros- 
perity, of  truth,  purity,  protection,  safety,  and  com- 
fort; and  are  not  to  be  followed,  in  a  short  time,  by 
a  new  period  of  troubles  and  calamities,  to  try  the 
faith  and  patience  of  the  samts,  as  the  former  deli- 

b 


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CHAPTER  XI. 


loAo  fnrophesy  in  $ackclo(h. 


A.  M .  4100.  pie,  ^  leave  out,  and  measiore  k  not ; 
^^'^    <>  for  it  is  given  nnto  the  Gentiles : 


and  the  bolj  city  sbaH  they  *  tread  under  foot 
'forty  and  two  montluk 


^Or.  AMlMtf.- 


1  Psa.  Ixzix.  1 :  Luke  zzi.  24.- 
10.-^  Ch^  xiiL  5. 


>D«ILTUL 


veranees  were.  In  the  former  pdrt  of  this  chapter, 
from  verse  1-14^  Bishop  Newton  thinks  are  exhibit- 
ed the  contents  of  the  litfle  book  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  diapter. 

Verses  1, 2.  And  there  W€u  given  me — By  Christ, 
as  appears  firom  verse  8;  a  reed — As  there  was 
shown  to  Ezekiel,  whose  vision  bore  a  great  resem- 
blance to  this,  Ezek.  xL-xliii.  And  the  angel'- 
Which  had  spoken  to  me  before ;  etood  by  me,  eay- 
ingi  RUe^FrohMy  he  was  sitting  to  write ;  and 
measure  the  temple  of  God  and  the  altar— The  house 
and  the  inner  coart  where  the  altar  stood,  in  which 
the  priests  worshipped  €k>d  and  performed  the  du- 
ties of  their  office,  and  into  whieh  such  as  offered 
private  sacrifices  for  themselves  were  admitted.  A 
prpper  representation  of  the  church  of  God  and  his 
true  worship,  and  of  such  »b  were  true  worshippers 
of  hinu  The  reason,  It  seems,  of  St.  John's  being 
commanded  to  measure  the  inner  court  and  the  tem- 
ple was,  to  show  that  during  all  this  period  there 
were  some  true  Christians,  who  cmiformed  to  the 
rule  and  measure  of  God's  word  and  worship.  ^*  Mech 
euring  the  senrants  of  God  is  equivalent  to  sealing 
them.  The  unmeasured  tenants  of  the  otit^  court, 
and  the  unsealed  meu  throughout  the  Roman  em- 
pire, are  alike  the  votariesof  the  apostacy ;  while  they 
that  were  measured  and  they  that  were  sealed,  are 
the  saints  who  refbsed  to  be  imrtakers  of  its  abomi- 
nations."— Faber,  vol.  ii.  p.  63.  This  measuring 
might  alliide  more  particularly  to  the  Reformation 
Arom  popery,  which  took  place  under  the  sixth 
trumpet  And  one  of  the  moral  causes  of  it  was  the 
Othman's  taking  Constantinople,  which  occasioned 
the  Greek  fugitives  to  bring  their  books  with  them 
into  the  more  western  parts  of  Europe,  and  proved 
the  happy  cause  of  the  revival  of  learning ;  as  the 
revival  ^f  learning  opened  men's  eyes,  and  proved 
the  happy  occasion  of  the  Reformation.  But  though 
the  inner  courts  which  includes  the  smaller  number, 
vma  measured,  yet  the  outer  court,  which  implies 
the  far  greater  part,  was  left  out,  (verse  2,)  and  re- 
jected, as  being  in  the  possession  of  those  Who  were 
Christians  only  in  name,  but  Gentiles  in  worship 
and  practice,  who  profaned  it  with  heathenish  su- 
perstition and  idolatry  5  and  they  shall  tread  under 
foot  the  holy  city — They  shall  trample  upon'  and 
tyrannise  over  the  church  of  Christ,  which  shall  be 
filled  with  idolaters,  infidels,  and  hypocrites,  possess- 
ing its  most  eminent  and  lucrative  places,  while 
true  Christians  are  oppressed  in  a  grievous  manner ; 
and  that  for  the  space  of  forty  and  two  months,  or 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  thirty  days  being 
included  in  a  month,  the  same  period  iVith  that  after- 
ward termed  a  time,  times,  and  a  half  time;  that 
is,  a  year,  two  years,  and  half  a  year,  or  three  years 
and  a  half,  according  to  the  ancient  year  of  three 
b 


3^  And  *I  will  give  power  unto  my  am.  4100. 

two  '  witnessee,  "» and  they  shall  pro-  1^ 

phesy  ^  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore 
days,  clothed  in  sackcloth. 


*Ot,I  vnll  give  vmto  nw  two  wittuteu  that  tk^  may  prophesy, 
» Chap.  XX.  4. -■Chap.  xix.  10.— < Chap.  xii.  6. 

hundred  and  sixty  days,  all  which  are  prophetic 
numbers;  so  that  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days 
are  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years.  Now  it  plainly 
appears  from  the  predictions  both  of  Daniel  and  St. 
John,  that  this  period  of  persecution  and  trouble  has 
no  connection  with  the  persecutions  which  the 
church  endured  from  the  pagan  Roman  emperors. 
We  are,  however,  according  to  the  same  prophecies, 
to  look  for  the  promoters  of  it  within  the  limits  of 
the  old  Roman  empire;  and  since  that  empire  had 
embraced  Christianity  previoue  to  its  division  into 
ten  kingdoms,  the  little  horn,  which  symbolizes  one 
of  these  persecuting  powers,  and  which  is  repre- 
sented as  being  contemporary  with  the  ten  king- 
doms; must  be  nominally  Christian.  And  this  is 
no  other  than  the  apostate  Church  of  Rome,  so  mi- 
nutely described  by  St.  Paul,  2  Thess.  ii.  1,  as  well 
as  by  Daniel  and  St.  John.  And  the  two  latter  spe- 
cify with  much  exacthess  the  era  Arom  which  the 
computation  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years 
is  to  be  made.  Daniel  directs  us  to  date  them  from 
the  time  when  the  saints  were,  by  some  public  act 
of  the  state,  delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  little 
horn :  and  St.  John,  in  a  similar  manner,  teaches  us 
to  date  them  from  the  time  when  the  woman,  the 
true  church,  fled  into  the  wilderness  from  the  face 
of  the  serpent;  when  the  mystic  city  of  God  began 
to  be  trampled  under  foot  by  a  new  race  of  Gentiles, 
or  idolaters  j  when  the  great  Roman  beast,  which 
had  been  slain  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  re- 
vived in  its  bestial  character,  by  setting  up  an  idola- 
trous spiritual  tyrant  in  the  church  ;  and  when  the 
witnesses  began  to  prophesy  in  sackcloth.  A  date 
which,  as  Mr.  Faber  jtistly  observes,  can  have  no 
connection  with  the  mere  acquisition  of  a  temporal 
principality  by  the  pope,  but  must  evidently  be  the 
year  in  which  the  bishop  of  Rome  was  constituted 
supreme  head  of  the  church,  with  tlie  proud  title  of 
bishop  of  bishops:  for,  by  such  an  act,  the  whole 
church  was  formally  given,.by  the  head  of  the  Roman 
empire,  into  the  hand  of  the  little  horn.  This  was 
the  year  606,  when  the  reigning  emperor,  Phocas, 
the  representative  of  the  sixth  head  of  the  beast,  de- 
clared Pope  Boniface  to  be  universal  bishop;  at 
which  time,  the  saints  being  delivered  into  his  hand, 
the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  the  apostacy, 
in  its  public  and  dominant  capacity,  commenced. 

Verses  3-6.  And  I  will  give  power  unto  my  two 
witnesses-^Here  God  promises  to  raise  up  some 
true  and  faithful  witnesses  to  preach  and  protest 
against  the  innovations  and  inventions  which  ho 
foresaw  would  corrupt  Christianity,  especially  in 
the  western  parts  of  Europe.  "  Of  these  witnesses," 
says  Bishop  Newton, "  there  should  be,  though  but  a 
small,  yet  a  competent  number ;  and  it  was  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  making  them  two  witnesses,  because 
749 


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The  beast  makea  war  agdntt 


REVELATION. 


and  stofi  tke  two  wkneaiK^ 


A.M. 4100.  4  These  are  the  ^  two  olive-trees, 
*- — 1  and  the  two  candleslicks  standiDg  be- 
fore the  God  of  the  earth. 

5  And  if  any  man  will  hurt  them,  *  fire  pro- 
cecdeth  out  of  their  mouth,  and  devoureth  their 
enemies :  "  and  if  any  man  will  hurt  them,  he 
must  in  this  manner  be  killed. 

6  These  ^  have  power  to  shut  heaven,  that  it 
rain  not  in  the  days  of  their  prof^ecy ;  and 
*  have  power  over  waters  to  turn  them  to  Mood, 
and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues,  as  often 
as  they  will 

7  And  when  ihey  ^  shall  have  finished  their 


k  Psa.  lii.  8 

;  Jer.  xi. 

16;  Zeoh.  iv.  3, 11,  14.- 

1 2  Kiugt  i. 

6. "Num. 

10, 12  ;  Jer.  i. 

10;t.14 

;  Ezek.  xliii.  3 : 

Ho«.vi 

xri.  89. ■  1 

Kings  zvii.  1 ;  Jamet  r 

16,  17.- 

— »  Exod.  rii. 

19. p  Lake 

xiii.  38. 

that  is  the  number  required  by  the  law,  and  approved 
by  the  gospel,  Dent  xix.  16 ;  Matt  xviiL  16 ;  and 
upon  former  occasions  two  have  o(ten  been  joined 
in  commission,  as  Bioses  and  Aaron  in  Egypt,  Elijah 
and  ElLsha  in  the  apostacy  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  Ze- 
rubbabel  and  Joshua  after  the  Babylonish  captivity, 
to  whom  these  witnesses  are  particularly  compared. 
Our  Saviour  himself  sent  forth  his  disciples,  (Luke 
X.  1,)  tico  and  two:  and  it  hath  been  observed  also, 
that  the  principal  reformers  have  usually  appeared, 
as  it  were,  in  pairs ;  as  the  WaMenses  and  Alfoigenses, 
John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin, Cranmer  and  Ridley,  and  their  followers.  Not 
that  I  conceive  that  any  two  particular  men,  or  two 
particular  churches,  were  intended  by  this  prophecy ; 
but  only  that  there  should  be  some  in  every  age, 
though  but  a  few  in  number,  who  shoul^  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  truth,  and  declare  against  the  iniquity  and 
idolatry  of  their  times.  They  should  not  be  dis- 
couraged even  by  persecution  and  oppression,  but, 
though  clothed  in  sackcloth,  and  living  in  a  mourn- 
ipg  and  afflicted  state,  should  yet  prophesy-^hould 
yet  preach  the  sincere  word  of  God,  and  denounce 
the  divine  judgments  against  the  reigning  idolatry 
and  wickedness :  and  this  they  should  continue  to 
do,  as  long  as  the  grand  corruption  itself  should  last, 
for  the  space  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days, 
which  is  the  same  space  of  time  with  the  forty  and 
two  monthsy  before  mentioned,  the  period  assigned 
for  the  tyranny  and  idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
The  witnesses,  therefore,  cannot  be  any  two  men,  or 
any  two  churches,  but  miurt  be  a  succession  of  men, 
and  a  succession  of  churches." 

A  character  is  then  given  of  these  witnesses, 
ana  of  the  power  and  effect  of  their  preaching. 
These  are  the  two  olive-trees,  and  the  two  candle- 
sticks, &c.,  verse  4— That  is,  they,  like  Zerubbabel 
and  Joshua,  (Zech.  iv.,)  are  the  great  instructers  and 
enlighteners  of  the  church.  Fire  proceedeth  out  of 
their  mouth,  and  devoureth  their  enemies,  verse  6 — 
That  is,  they  are  like  unto  Moses  and  Elijah,  (Num. 
xvi. ;  2  Kings  i.,)  who  called  for  fire  upon  their  ad- 
versaries. But  their  fire  was  real,  this  is  symbolical, 
750 


testimony,  ^the  beast  that  ascendeth  a.  h.  4iooi 
'outofthe  bottomless  pit 'shall  make    ^'^'^ 
war  against  them,  imd  shall  overcome  them^ 
and  kill  them. 

8  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  tie  in  the  street 
of  Uhe  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called 
Sodom  and  Egypt,  ^  where  also  our  Lord  was 
crucified. 

9  '  And  they  of  the  people,  and  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  nations,  shcdl  see  their  dead  bodies 
three  days  and  a  half^  3r  and  shall  not  suffer  their 
dead  bodies  to  be  put  in  graves. 

10  *  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall 

4  Chapter  ziiL  11 ;  zrti  9, '  ^^^>P*  i^*  ^ *  ^^^"^  ^i-  ^^  * 

Zech.  XIV.  2. *  Chap.  xiv.  8 ;  xvii.  1, 5 ;  XTiii.  10. ^«  Heb. 

xiii.  12 ;  Chap,  xviii.  34. *  Chap,  xrii  15. J  Psa.  Ixxix. 

2,  a. »  Chap.  xii.  13 ;   xiii.  8. 


and  proceedeth  out  q/'the  matsth  of  the  witnesses, 
denouncing  the  divine  vengeance  on  the  corrupters 
ai\d  opposers  of  true  religion ;  much  in  the  same 
manner  as  it  was  said  to  Jeremiah,  (chap.  v.  14,)  / 
wUl  make  my  words  in  thy  mouth  fire,  and  tkispeo' 
pie  wood,  and  it  shall  devour  theni.  These  have 
power  to  shut  heaven^  that  it  rain  not,  &c,  vene  6— 
That  is,  they  are  like  EHjah,  who  foretold  a  want  of 
rain  in  the  days  of  Ahab,  (1  Kings  xviL  1 1  James  v^  17,) 
and  it  rained  not  on  the  earth  for  the  space  of  three 
years  and  six  months,  which,  mystically  understood, 
is  the  same  space  of  time  as  the  forty  and  two  months, 
and  the  twdve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  which  are 
allotted  for  the  prophesying  of  the  witnesses.  Durmg 
this  time  the  divine  protection  and  blessmg  shaD  be 
withheld  from  diose  men  who  neglect  and  despise 
their  preaching  and  doctrine.  They  have  also  pow- 
er  over  the  waters,  &c. — That  is^  they  are  like  Moses 
and  Aaron,  who  inflicted  these  plagues  on  Egypt ; 
and  they  may  be  said  to  smite  the  earth  with  the 
plagues  which  they  denounce;  for,  in  Scripture 
language,  the  prophets  are  often  said  to  do  those 
things  which  they  declare  and  foretel.  But  it  is 
mo^t  highly  probable  that  these  particulars  will  re- 
ceive a  more  literal  accompli^ment  when  the 
plagues  of  God,  and  the  vials  of  his  wrath  (chap, 
xvi.)  shall  be  fully  poured  out  upon  men,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  having  so  long  redsted  the  testimony 
of  the  witnesses.  Their  cause  and  the  cause  of 
truth  will  finally  be  avenged  on  all  their  enemies. 

Verses  7^14.  When  they  shall  havefnishcd  their 
testimony,  &c. — ^After  the  description  of  the  power 
and  office  of  the  witnesses,  follows  a  prediction  of 
those  things  which  shall  befall  them  at  the  latter 
end  of  their  ministry  ;  and  their  passion,  death,  re- 
surrection, and  ascension,  are  copied  from  our 
Saviour's,  who  is  emphatically  styled,  (chap.  iii. 
14,)  the  faithful  and  true  Witness;  but  with  this 
difference,  that  his  were  real,  theirs  are  figurative 
and  mystical  And  wJun  they  shall  have  finished — 
Orov  reXeawii,  when  they  shall  be  about  finishing  their 
testimony,  verse  7 ;  the  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of 
the  abyss—The  tyrannical  power  of  Rome,  of  which 

b 


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CHAPTBB  n. 


destroyed  hp  an  earthquake* 


A.  M.  4100.  rejoice  over  tbem,  and  make  merry, 

^ L  '  and  shall  send  gifts  one  to  another ; 

^because  thes^  two  jHrophets  tormented  thetn 
that  dwelt  on  the  earth. 

11  ^  And  tifter  three  days  and  a  half  ^  the 
Spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  into  them,  and 
they  stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  great  fear  fell 
iipon  them  which  saw  them. 

12  And  they  heard  a  gresX  YcAce  from  hea- 
ven, saying  unto  them.  Come  up  hither.  ^  And 

•  Esth.  ix,  19, 22. »  Chap,  xri  la «  Veise  9.-^ — <»  Eaek. 

xxxvii.  5,  »,  10,  14. ^Isa.  xir.  13 ;  Chap.  xii.  5.-*— 'Isa.  Ix. 

8 ;    Acts  i.  9. s  2  Kings  ii.  I,  5,7. 

we  ihall  hear  more  hereafter;  shall  make  war 
agahtsl  them,  and  shcUl  overcome  jmd  kill  them — 
The  beast  indeed  shall  make  war  against  them  all 
the  time  that  they  are  performhig  their  ministry ; 
but  when  they  shall  be  near  finishing  it,  he  shall  so 
make  war  against  them  as  to  overcome  them,  and 
kill  them.  They  shall  be  subdued  and  suppressed, 
be  degraded  from  all  power  and  authority,  be  de- 
prived of  ail  offices  and  functions,  and  be  politically 
dead,  if  not  naturally  so.  In  this  low  and  abject 
state  they  shall  lie  some  time,  (verse  8j)  in  the  street 
of  the  great  city— In  some  conspicuous  place  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  Rome;  which  spiritually  is  called 
Sodom — For  corruption  of  manners ;  and  Egypt^ 
For  tyranhy  and  oppression  of  the  people  of  God  j 
where  also  owr  Lord  was  crucified  spiritually — 
Being  crucified  afresh  in  the  sufferings  of  his  faith- 
ful martyrs.  Nay,  to  show  the  greater  indignity  and 
cruelty  to  the  martyrs,  ^eir  dead  bodies  shall  not 
only  be  publicly  exposed,  (verse  9,)  but  they  shall 
be  denied  even  the  common  privilege  of  burial, 
which  is  the  case  of  many  Protestants  in  Popish 
countries ;  and  their  enemies  sJuill  rejoice  and  insult 
over  them,  (verse  10,)  and  shall  send  mutual  pre- 
sents and  congratulations  one  to  another  for  their 
deliverance  from  these  tormentors,  whose  life  and 
doctrine  were  a  continual  reproach  to  them.  But 
after  three  days  and  a  half,  (verse  11,)  that  is,  in  the 
prophetic  style,  after  three  years  and  a  half,  for  no 
less  time  is  requisite  for  all  these  transactions,  they 
shaH  be  raised  again  by  the  Spirit  of  Ood;  and 
(verse  12)  shall  ascend  up  to  heaven — They  shall  not 
only  be  restored  to  their  pristine  state,  but  shall  be 
further  promoted  to  dignity  and  honour ;  and  that 
by  a  great  voice  from  heaven— "By  the  voice  of  pub- 
lic authority.  At  the  same  hour  there  shall  be  a 
great  earthquake— There  shall  be  commotions  in 
the  world ;  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  shall  fall- 
As  an  omen  and  earnest  of  a  still  greater  fall ;  and 
seven  thousand  names  of  men,  or  seven  thousand 
men  of  name,  shall  be  slain;  and  the  remainder,  in 
their  fright  and  fear,  shall  acknowledge  the  great 
power  of  God. 

Some  interpreters  are  of  opinion  that  this  prophe- 
cy, of  the  death  and  restnrection  of  the  witnesses, 
received  its  completion  in  the  case  of  John  Huss  and 
Jerome  of  Prague,  who  were  two  faithful  witnesses 
and  martyrs  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  being  condemned 
b 


they  ascended  up  to  heaven  ^in  a  a.  ft.  4100. 


'and  thdr  enemies  beheld 


A.D.  96. 


doud; 
them. 

13  And  the  same  hour  ^  was  there  a  great 
earthquake,  '  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell, 
and  in  the  earthquake  were  dain  ^  of  men  seven 
thousand:  and  the  remnant  were  affrighted, 
^  and  gave  glory  to  the  Ood  of  heaven. 

14  ^  The  second  wo  is  past ;  and  behold,  the 
third  wo  cometh  quickly. 

•>  Chrnp.  vi.  12. *  Ch«p.  xyi.  19.—*  Gr.  names  of  men. 

Chap.  iii.  4. ^  Josh.  vii.  19 ;  Chap.  xiv.  7 ;  xv.  4. *  Chap. 

viii.  13 ;  ix.  12 ;  xy.  1. 

to  death,  and  afterward  burned  for  heresy,  by  the 
council  of  Constance.  Others  refer  this  prophecy 
to  the  Protestants  of  the  league  of  Smalcald,  who 
were  entirely  routed  by  the  Empeiior  Charles  V.  in 
the  battl^of  Mulburg,  on  the  24th  of  April,  1547, 
when  the  two  great  champions  of  the  Protestants, 
John  Frederic,  elector  of  Saxony,  was  taken  prison- 
er, and  the  landgrave  of  Hesse  was  forced  to  sur^ 
render  himself,  and  to  beg  pardon  of  the  emperor. 
Protestantism  was  then  in  a  manner  suppressed,  and 
the  mass  restored.  The  witnesses  were  dead,  but 
not  buried;  and  the  Papists  rejoiced  over  them,  and 
made  merry,  and  sent  gifts  one  to  another.  But 
this  joy  and  triumph  of  theirs  were  of  no  very  long 
continuance;  for  in  the  space  of  about  three  years 
and  a  half,  the  Protestants  were  raised  again  at 
Magdeburg,  and  defeated  and  took  the  duke  of 
Mecklenburg  prisoner^  in  December,  1550.  From 
that  time  their  affidrs  changed  for  the  better  almost 
every  day ;  success  attended  their  arms  and  coun- 
cils ;  and  the  emperor  was  obliged,  by  the  treaty  of 
Passau,  to  allow  them  the  free  exercise  of  their  re- 
ligion, and  to  readmit  them  into  the  imperial  cham- 
ber, from  which  they  had,  ever  since  the  victory  of 
Mulburg,  been  excluded.  Here  was  indeed  a  great 
earthquake— A  great  commotion ;  in  which  many 
thousands  were  slain,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city 
fell— A  great  part  of  the  German  empire  renounced 
the  authority,  and  abandoned  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

Some  again  may  think  this  prophecy  very  appli- 
cable to  the  horrid  massacre  of  the  Protestants  at 
Paris,  and  in  other  cities  of  France,  begun  on  the 
memorable  eve  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  1572.  Ac- 
cording to  the  best  authors  there  were  slain  thirty 
or  forty  thousand  Huguenots  in  a  few  days;  and 
among  them,  without  doubt,  many  true  witnesses 
and  faithful  martyrs  of  Jesus  Christ.  Their  dead 
bodies  lay  in  the  streets  of  the  great  city  ;  one  of 
the  greatest  cities  of  Europe ;  for  they  were  not 
suffered  to  be  buried,  being  the  bodies  of  heretics ; 
but  were  dragged  through  the  street,  or  thrown  into 
the  i;iver,  or  hung  upon  gibbets,  and  exposed  to  public 
infamy.  Great  rejoicings  too  were  madein  the  courts 
of  France,  Rome,  and  Spain ;  they  went  in  procession 
to  the  church^,  they  returned  public  thanks  to  God, 
they  sang  Te  Deums,  they  celebrated  jubilees,  they 
struck  medals ;  and  it  was  enacted  that  St.  Barthol 
7W 


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The$9undingof 


beyblahon. 


the  9e9en9^  trumpd. 


k.  M.  iioo.    15  And  "Ihe  seventh  angel  sounded; 

~-L L  "and  there  weragreat  voices  in  heaven, 

saying,  <"  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his 
Christ;  i^and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ev6r. 

16  And  ^  the  fiiur  and  twenty  etders,  which 
sat  before  God  on  their  seats,  M  upon  their 
feces,  and  worshipped  Qod, 

17  Saying,  We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God 
Almighty,  '  which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to 


■Chap.  X.  7. "Isa.  xzriL  13;    Chap.  xvi.  17;   xix.  6. 

•  Chap,  xii  10. f  Dan.  ii.  44 ;  vii.  14, 18,  97. ^  Chap.  ir. 

4;  T.  8;  xix.  4. 


omew's  day  should  ever  afterward  be  kept  with  dou- 
ble pomp  and  solemnity.  But  neither  was  this  joy 
of  long  continuance  \  for  in  little  more  than  three 
years  and  a  halfy  Henry  III.,  who  succeeded  his 
brother  Charles,  entered  into  a  tceaty  with  the  Hu- 
guenots, which  was  concluded  and  publitdied  on  the 
14th  of  May,  1&76,  whereby  all  the  former  sentences 
against  them  were  reversed,  and  the  free  and  open 
exercise  of  their  rdigi<m  was  granted  to  them  -,  they 
were  to  be  admitted  to  all  honours,  dignittes^  and 
offices,  as  well  as  the  Papists.  But  others  again  ap- 
ply this  prophecy  to  the  poof  Protestants  in  the  val- 
leys of  Piedmont,  who  by  a  cruel  edict  of  their  so- 
vereign the  duke  of  Savoy,  instigated  by  the  French 
king,  were  imprisoned  and  murdered,  or  bani^edin 
the  latter  end  of  the  year  1686.  They  were  kindly 
receiTed  and  succoured  by  the  Protestant  states; 
and  after  a  while,  secretly  enterhig  Savoy  with  their 
swords  in  their  hands,  they  regained  their  ancient 
possessions  with  great  daughter  of  their  enemies ; 
and  the  duke  himself,  having  then  left  the  French 
interest,  granted  them  a  full  pardon ;  and  re-esta- 
blished them,  by  another  edict,  signed  June  4, 1690, 
Just  three  years  and  a  Ao//*  after  their  total  dissipa- 
tion. Bishop  Lloyd  not  only  understood  the  pro- 
phecy in  thb  manner,  but,  what  is  very  remarkable, 
made  the  application  even  before  the  event  took 
place,  as  Mr.  Whiston  relates ;  and  upon  this  ground 
encouraged  a  refugee  Aiinister,  of  the  Vaudois, 
whose  name  was  Jordan,  to  return  home ;  and  re- 
turning, he  heard  the  joyful  news  of  the  deliverance 
and  restitution  of  his  country.  These  were  indeed 
most  barbarous  persecutions  of  the  Protestants,  both 
in  France  and  Savoy ;  and  at  the  same  time  Popery 
here  in  England  was  advanced  to  the  throne,  and 
threatened  an  utter  subversion  of  our  religion  and 
liberties ;  but  in  a  little  more  than  three  years  and  a 
half,  a  happy  deliverance  was  wrought  by  the  glo- 
rious revolution.  Connected  with  the  witnesses  in 
the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  agreeing  in  their  lead- 
ing doctrines,  in  oppositioa  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
were  those  called  Lollards  in  England ;  and  many 
in  other  countries  embre^ed  the  same  doctrines 
in  those  times,  and  preached  or  professed  them  at 
the  hazard  of  their  lives;  and  great  numbers  were 
burned,  or  put  to  death  in  the  most  cruel  manner, 
for  so  doing.  "  Tlie  visible  assemblies,"  says  Gib-  | 
bon,  "  of  the  Albigeois  were  extirpated  by  fire  and 
758 


come : 


because    thou    bast 


tftfcsn  A.ic.4Uie. 
and  hast  .±.^J?L 


to  thee  thy  great  power^ 
rdgned. 
18  ^And  the  nations  wens  angiy,  and  thy 
wrath  is  come,  *  and  the  time  of  the  dead,  that 
they  Aodid  be  judged,  and  that  thou  fiboaldest 
give  reward  unto  thy  servants  ^prophets,  and 
to  the  saints,  and  th^m  that  fear  thy  name^ 
^  small  and  great;  ^  and  shoddest  destroy  them 
winch  ^  destroy  the  earth. 


'  Chtp.  i.  4»  8 :  iv,  8 ;  tfl  5. •  Chqk  xix.  «. «  V« 

2,  9, "Dml  Tii.  9, 10 ;   Chapter  vL  la »  Cli^»t«r  six.  & 

T  Chi^.  xiii.  10 ;  xriii.  S. -^  Or,  t 


sword )  and  the  bleeding  remnant  escaped  by  flight, 
concealment,  or  catholic  conformity.  But  the  in- 
vineible  spirit  which  they  had  kmdied  still  lived  and 
breadied  in  the  western  world.  In  the  states,  in  the 
chinch,  and  even  in  the  cloister,  a  latent  suceesskm 
was  preserved  of  the  disciples  of  8t  Paul,  who  pro* 
tested  against  the  tyranny  of  Some,  embraced  U»e 
Bible  as  the  mle  of  £uth,  and  purified  thetr  creed 
from  all  the  visions  of  the  Gnostic  tbecdogy.  The 
straggles  of  Wieklifife  in  Eoglandj  aed  of  Hnss  ia 
Bohemia,  were  prematare  and  inefiectoal;  but  the 
names  of  Znin^bs,  Lather,  and  Calvin,  are  pro- 
noonced  with  gratitude  as  the  deUvereis  of  nations." 
A  striking  testiinony  this  from  an  enemy  of  Christi- 
anity, to  the  ihlfifaneot  of  the  divme  predictioiis ! 
At  length,  "  Lather  arose,  and  the  Reformation  took 
place;  ainpe  which  time  the  same  testimony  to  the 
troth  of  Christ,  and  against  the  errors  of  antichrist, 
hath  been  maintained.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  the 
term  is  yet  expnred ;  the  witnesses  are  not  indeed  at 
present  exposed  to  such  terrible  suffenngs  as  in  for- 
mer times;  but,"  as  Mr.  Scott  observes,  and  as 
Bishop  Newton  and  many  other  eminent  divines 
kave  believed,  "  those  scenes  may  be  reacted  before 
kmg,  for  what  any  man  can  foreknow;  and  they 
have  abundant  cause  to  prophesy  in  sackcloth,  on 
account  of  the  declined  state  of  religion  evea  in  the 
Protestant  diurches." 

Verses  15-18.  And  the  seventh  angel  sewtded, 
&c.r-With  the  sounding  of  this  angel,  the  third  vo 
commences,  which  is  rather  implied  than  expressed, 
as  it  will  be  described  more  fully  hcreaAer.  The 
third  v>o  brought  on  the  inhabitanis  of  ike  earthy  is 
the  ruin  and  downfall  of  the  antichrislian  kingdom : 
and  then,  and  not  till  then,  according  to  Vhe  heaven- 
ly choius,  the  kingdoms  of  this  iPorW  wU  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he 
shaU  reign  for  ever  and  ever — St  John  is  rapt  and 
hurried  away  as  it  were  to  a  view  of  the  happy  mil- 
lennium, without  considering  the  steps  preceding  and 
conducting  to  it  At  the  same  time,  the  four  and 
twenty  elders — Or  the  ministers  of  the  church, 
(verses  16-18,)  are  represented  as  praising  and  glo- 
rifying God,  for  manilbsting  his  poircrand  kUigdovi 
more  than  he  had  done  before.  Hiey  give  likewise 
an  intimation  of  some  succeeding  events,  ^  the  an- 
gerofthe  nations,  Gog  and  Magog,  (xx.  8,)  and  the 
wrath  of  God,  displayed  in  their  destrucUon,  (xx. 

b 


Digitized  by 


Google 


The  temple  0f€fod 


ctiApmxu. 


leepmedHihmmetL 


A.  M.  4100, 
A.  D.  96. 


19  And  '  Uie  tanfri^  of  G^  wfts 
opened  inhearen,  and  there  wa0  seen 
in  hk  temide  the  ark  of  his  testament:  and 


•  Chap.  XT.  5,  8. »  Chap.  Tiii.  5 ;  xn,  181 


9,)  and  the  rewarding  of  all  the  good,  small  and  great^ 
as  well  as  the  punishing  of  the  wicked.  Here  We 
have  only  a  summary  aeconnt  of  the  circumstances 
and  occurrences  of  the  serenth  trumpet,  but  the  par- 
ticulars will  be  dilated  and  enlarged  upon  hereafter. 
And  thus  are  we  arrived  at  the  comumBMtkMi  of  all 
things,  through  a  series  of  proi^ecies,  extending 
from  the  apostle's  days  to  the  end  of  the  world.  It 
is  this  series  which  has  been  our  dew  to  conduct  us 
in  our  interpretation  of  these  prophecies :  and  though 
some  of  them  may  be  dark  and  obscure,  considered 
in  themselves,  yet  they  receive  light  and  illustration 
from  others  preceding  and  f^Uowing.  All  together, 
they  are,  as  it  were,  a  chain  of  prophecies,  whereof 
one  link  depends  on  and  supports  another.  If  any 
parts  remain  yet  obscure  and  unsatisfactory,  they 
may  pertmps  be  cleared  up  by  what  the  apostle  him- 
self hath  added  by  way  of  explanation. 

Verse  19.  And  thetemple  o/G^oci— Bishop  Newton 
and  Orotins  think  that  this  verse  slknild  introduce 
cbap,  laLj  as  it  appears  to  begin  a  new  subject    It  is 


^  there  were  lighiningi^  and  voieei^  a.  m.  sno 
and  thunderings,  and  an  earthqmke)  _... 
^and  great  haiL 

*  Chap.  xri.  21. 

I.  *        ■', •  ■'  r  '!  "Ill  i,tafc 

somewhat  like  the  beginning  of  Isaiah's  vision,  (ehi^ 
vi.  1,)  /  MSip  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne^  &c. 
And  like  the  beginning  of  St  John's  |«ophetic  vision, 
(chap.  iv.  1,  2,)  /  looked^  and  beheld  a  door  was 
opened  in  heaven,  Ae,  This  is  much  hi  the  same 
spirit;  and  ike  temple  of  God  was  opened  in  heav^t, 
&c--That  is,  more  open  discoveries  werenowoMde, 
and  the  m3rstery  of  €tod  was  revealed  to  tile  pit>{^Mt 
And  there  were  lightnings  and  voices,  itc-^Tht^ 
sore  the  usual  concomitants  of  the  divine  preseneey 
and  especially  St  givmg  new  laws  and  sew  revels* 
tions:  see Exod. xx.  16, &c ;  Rev.iv.6;  viiLO.  Aad 
with  as  much  reason  they  are  made,  in  this  plsee, 
the  signs  and  preludes  of  the  revelations  and  Judg- 
ments which  are  to  follow.  It  is  no  just  objectieii 
that  a  new  subject  is  supposed  to  begin  with  the  eoo^ 
junction  and,  for  this  is  frequent  in  the  style  of  die 
Hebrews ;  some  books,  as  Numbers,  Jo^aa,  the  two 
IxxdLS  of  Samuel,  and  others,  begin  with  i  vcm,  or  and  j 
and  the  same  ofajectimi  would  hold  against  beginning 
the  division  with  the  first  verse  of  the  next  dbsgUft, 


CHAPTER  xn. 

In  tkit  chsfter,  (1,)  The  sfostle  mm  in  «  mtion  s  wemanin  tra9sil,  toetched  h^  €  r$d  drsgon,  thsi  h$  migki  itnem  her  ttf" 
spring,  1-4.  (2,)  She  brings  forth  a  son,  who  is  esughi  %p  imto  God,  and  the  woman  jUes  into  the  wilderness  is  mpkcs 
prepared  for  her,  6,  S.  (8,)  There  is  war  between  Michad  and  Satan ;  the  former  ooeresmesy  and  esMses  grem  jojf  in 
heaven,  while  a  wo  is  denomwed  on  the  inhslntants  of  the  earth  on  account  of  Sstan*s  malke  and  rage,  now  shout  to  bs 
exercised  against  them  tn  a  peculiar  manner,  7-12.  (4,)  The  dragon  pereeeutes  the  wosMn,  but  she  flies  into  the  wilder^ 
nees  and  escapes  all  his  eforts,  msny  snd  varied  as  they  are,  to  effect  her  destruction,  13-17. 

upon  her  head  a  crown 


A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  there  appeared  a  great  *  won- 

— I — '. der  in  heaven ;  a  woman  clothed 

with  the  sun,  and  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and 


^Or,  eign. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XII. 

We  now  come  to  a  second  representation  of  the 
same  third  period  of  prophecy,  that  is,  the  state  of 
the  church  and  world  m  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
seventh  angel ;  or  while  the  woman,  who  fled  into 
her  place  in  the  wilderness,  was  nourished  there  for 
a  time,  times,  and  half  a  time,  or  three  years  and  a 
hali^  equal  to  forty-two  months,  which  are  equal  to 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  prophetical  days,  the  exact 
time  in  which  the  witnesses  were  to  prophesy.  As 
the  former  representation  showed  that  true  religion 
should  be  preserved  among  a  few  faithful  confessors, 
though  in  a  constant  state  of  severe  persecution,  iK> 
this  represents  the  state  of  the  church  under  the 
figure  of  a  woman,  persecuted  so  as  to  flee  into 
desert  places  to  hide  herself;  yet  preserved  and  fed 

Vol.  IL  (  48  ) 


of  twelve  A.Bi.4ioo. 

A.D.  SS. 


stars: 
2  And  she,  being  with  child,  eried,    *  tra- 

^lMulxTi.7;  Oal.  ir.  19. 

there,  notwithstanding  all  endeavours  of  a  furious 
serpent,  ready  to  destroy  her.  This  plainly  describes 
an  afflicted  and  persecuted  state  of  the  church  in  ge- 
neral during  this  period ;  in  which  false  and  idola- 
trous worship  shall  be  in  great  power,  and  the  faith- 
ful profession  of  the  true  religion  shall  expose  men 
to  great  danger ;  that,  however,  the  true  worshippers 
of  God  shall  still  be  preserved,  though  in  an  obscive 
state,  and  be  enabled,  notwithstanding  all  opposition, 
to  keep  and  maintain  the  truth  unto  the  end.  See 
Lowman.  Most  of  the  best  commentators,  says 
Bishop  Newton,  divide  the  Apocalypse  into  two  parts, 
the  book,  6t6Xtvv,  sealed  with  seven  seals,  and  StBXapi" 
diov,  a  little  book,  as  it  is  called  several  times.  Eut 
it  happens  unluckily,  that  according  to  their  division 
the  lesser  book  is  made  to  contain  as  much  or  more 


753  b 

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A.  woman  in  travail,  watched 


SEYKLATION. 


r  a  great  red  dragpn. 


A.  M.  4100.  vailing  in  birth,  and  pained  to  be  de- 

A*  D.  96.     1.  J 

livered. 

3  And  there  appeared  anoth^  ^w<mder  in 
heaven;  and  behdd,  ^a  great  red  dragon, 
®  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  ^  and  seven 
crowns  upon  his  heads. 


*0r,«^- 


» Chap.  xriL  3. •  Chi^*.  xriL  9, 10.- 

xiii.  1. ^  Ch^.  iz.  10, 19. 


>Ch«p. 


than  the  larger;  whereas  in  truth  the  little  book  is 
nothing  more  than  a  part  of  the  sealed  book,  and  is 
added  as  an  appendix  to  it  If  we  were  to  divide  the 
Revelation  as  they  would  have  it  divided,  into  two 
parts,  the  fonner  of  which  should  end  with  chap.  ix.  and 
^e  latter  begin  with  chap,  x.,  the  whole  frame  of  the 
book  would  be  disjointed,  and  things  would  be  separa- 
ted which  are  plainly  connected  together,  and  depend- 
ant on  one  another.  We,  however,  also,  continues  the 
bishop,  would  divide  the  Revelation  into  two  parts,  or 
rather,  the  book  so  divides  itself.  For  the  former  part 
proceeds,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a  regular  and  successive 
series,  from  the  apostle's  days  to  the  consummation  of 
all  things.  Nothing  can  be  added,  but  it  must  fisll  some- 
where or  other  within  the  compass  of  this  period ;  it 
must  in  some  measure  be  a  resumption  of  the  same 
subjects,  and  this  latter  part  may  most  properly  be 
considered  as  an  enlargement  and  illustration  of  the 
former.  Several  things,  which  were  only  touched 
upon,  and  delivered  in  dark  hints  before,  required  to 
be  more  copiously  handled,  and  placed  in  a  stronger 
light  It  was  said  that  the  beast  should  make  war 
againet  the  witnesses^  and  overcome  them;  but  who 
or  what  the  beast  is,  we  may  reasonably  conjecture 
indeed,  but  the  apostle  himself  will  more  surely  ex- 
plain. The  transactions  of  the  seventh  trumpet  are 
all  summed  up  and  comprised  in  a  feiv  verses,  but 
we  shall  see  the  particulars  branched  out  and  en- 
larged into  as  many  chapters.  In  short,  this  latter 
part  is  designed  as  a  supplement  to  the  former,  to 
complete  what  was  deficient,  to  explain  what  was 
dubious,  to  illustrate  what  was  obscure;  and  as  the 
former  described  more  the  destinies  of  the  Roman 
empire,  so  this  latter  relates  more  to  the  fates  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

Verses  I-^.  And  there  appeared  a  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun — "  It  was  a  well-known  custom,"  says 
Lowman,  "  at  the  time  of  this  prophecy,  to  represent 
the  several  virtues,  and  public  societies,  by  the  figure 
of  a  woman  in  some  peculiar  dress,  many  of  which 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  Roman  coins ;  in  particular, 
Salusj  the  emblem  of  security  and  protection,  is  re- 
presented as  a  Woman  standing  upon  a  globe,  to  re- 
present the  safety  and  security  of  the  world  under 
the  emperor's  care.  The  consecration  of  the  Roman 
emperors  is  expressed  in  their  coins  by  a  moon  and 
stars,  as  in  two  of  Faustina,  to  express  a  degree  of 
glory  superior  to  any  on  earth.  Never  Was  any  im- 
age more  expressive  of  honour  and  dignity  than  this 
in  the  vision:  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  glory  made 
by  the  beams  of  the  sun ;  and  upon  the  moon,  as 
above  the  low  condition  of  this  sublunary  world ;  to 
wear  a  crown  set  with  the  stars  of  heaven,  as  jewels, 
754 


4  And  « his  tail  drew  the  third  part  a.  m.  4100 
^of  the  stars  of  heav^  'and  did  — '—^ — 
cast  them  to  the  earth:  and  the  dragon  stood 
^before  the  woman  whidi  was  ready  to  be 
delivered, '  f(x  to  devour  her  child  as  soon  as  it 
was  bom. 


'Chap.  xTii.  ISw- 


tDan.  Tiii.  10.- 
i.  IS. 


^Vewe  2.- 


is  .something  more  sublime  than  any  thing  where- 
by antiquity  has  represented  their  societies,  fheir 
virtues,  or  their  deities."  Bishop  Newton  ex- 
plains this,  and  the  five  following  verses,  as  fol- 
iows:  ''St.  John  resumes  his  subject ^m  the  be- 
ginning, and  represents  the  church  (verses  1, 2)  as 
a  woman,  and  a  mother  bearing  children  untoChiisL 
She  is  clothed  with  the  sun,  invested  with  the  rays 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Sun  of  righteoosness ;  having 
the  7M)wi — The  Jewish  new  moons  end  festivals,  as 
well  as  sail  sublunary  things ;  under  her  feet^  and 
upon  her  head  a  crown  oftweive  stars — An  emblem 
of  her  being  under  the  light  and  guidance  of  the 
twelve  apostles.  And  she,  being  vith  child,  cried^ 
travailing  in  birth,  and  pained  to  be  delivered^^Si. 
Paul  hath  made  use  of  the  same  metaphor,  and  ap- 
plied it  to  his  preaching  and  propagating  of  the  gos- 
pel, in  the  midst  of  tribulation  and  persecution,  GaL 
iv.  19.  But  the  words  of  St  John  are  much  strong- 
er, and  more  emphatically  express  the  pangs  and 
struggles  which  the  church  endured  from  the  first 
pubUcation  pf  the  gospel  to  the  time  of  Constantino 
the  Great,  when  she  was  in  some  measure  eased  of 
her  pains,  and  brought  forth  a  deliverer.  At  the  same 
time,  there  appeared  a  great  red  dragon — Which 
is  the  well-known  sign  or  symbol  of  the  devil  and 
Satan,  and  of  his  agents  and  instruments*  We  find 
the  kings  and  people  of  Egypt,  who  were  the  great 
persecutors  of  the  primitive  church  of  Israel,  distin- 
guished by  this  title  in  Psa.  Ixxiv.  13 ;  Isa.  li.  9 ; 
Ezek.  xxix.  3;  and  with  as  much  reason  and  propri- 
ety naay  the  people  and  emperors  of  Rome,  who 
were  the  great  persecutors  of  the  primitive  church 
of  Christ,  be  called  by  the  same  name,  as  they  were 
actuated  by  the  same  principle.  For  that  the  So- 
man empire  was  here  figured,  the  characters  and  at- 
tributes of  the  dragon  plainly  evince.  He  is  a  great 
red  dragon;  and  purple  or  scarlet  was  the  distin- 
guishing colour  of  the  Roman  emperors,  consuls,  and 
generals ;  as  it  hath  been  since  of  the  popes  and  car- 
dinals. His  seven  heads^  as  the  angel  afterward 
(chap.  xviL  9,  10)  explains  the  vision,  allude  to  the 
seven  mountains  upon  which  Rome  was  built,  and  to 
the  seven  forms  of  government  which  successively 
prevailed  there.  His  ten  horns  typify  the  teti  king- 
doms into  which  the  Roman  empire  was  di\ided ; 
and  the  seven  crowns  upon  his  heads  denote,  that  at 
this  time  the  imperial  power  was  in  Rome,  the  'high 
city,  seated  on  seven  hills,  which  presides  over  the 
whole  world,'  as  Propertius  describes  it,  book  iii. 
His  tail  also  (verse  4)  drew  the  third  part  oj  the 
stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them  to  the  earth — 
That  is,  he  subjected  the  third  part  of  the  princes 
(  48*  )  b 


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CHAPTEIt  XIL 


and  Satan  u  overcome. 


A.M. 4100.    5  And  she  brought  forth  a  man* 

A    D  96 

-J LJ-  child,  ^  who  was  to  rule  all  natioiis 

with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  her  child  was  catight 
up  unto  God,  and  to  his  throne. 

6  And  ^  the  woman  fled  into  theivilderness, 
wher^  she  hath  a  place  prqxired  of  Qody  that 
they  should  feed  her  there  ""a  thousand  two 
hundred  and  threescore  days. 

7  *  And  there  was  war  in  heaven :  ^  Michael 
and  his  angels  fought  ®  against  the  dragon ; 
and  the  dragon  fought  and  his  angels, 

8  And  prevailed  not;  neither  was  their  jdace 
found  any  more  in  heaven. 

9  And  ^  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  "^  that 
M  serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  'which 
deceiveth  the  whole  world:  'he  was  cast  out 

k  Psa.  ii.  9 ;  ChajK  ii.  27 ;  xix.  15. >  V«rae  4. *  Chap. 

zi.  3. *  St.  MickaePs  Day,  epiatle.  Terse  7  to  rerae  13. 

■  Dan.  X.  13,  21 ;  xii.  1. «»  Verse  3 ;  Qhap.  xx.  2.— — P  Luke 

X.  18 ;   John  xii.  31. 1  Gen.  iii.  1,  4 ;   Chap.  xx.  2.' 

and  potentates  of  the  earth;  and  the  Roman  empire, 
as  we  have  seen  before,  is  represented  as  the  third 
part  of  the  world.  He  stood  before  the  woman,  vhich 
W€ts  ready  to  be  delivered,  for  to  devour  her  child  as 
soon  as  it  was  6am— And  the  Roman  emperors  and 
magistrates  kept  a  jealous,  watchful  eye,  over  the 
Christians  from  the  beginning.  As  Pharaoh  laid 
snares  for  the  male  children  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
Herod  for  the  infant  Christ,  the  son  of  Mary ;  so  did 
the  Roman  dragon  for  ^e  mystic  Christ,  the  son  of 
the  church,  that  he  might  destroy  him  even  m  his 
inTancy.  But  notwithstanding  the  jealousy  of  the 
Romans,  the  gospel  was  widely  diff\ised  and  propa- 
gated, and  the  church  brought  many  children  unto 
Christ ;  and,  in  time,  such  as  were  promoted  to  the 
empire.  She  brought  forth  a  man-child,  who  was 
to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod  of  irmi,  verse  5— It 
was  predicted  that  Christ  should  rule  over  the  na- 
tions, Psa.  ii.  9;  but  Christ,  who  is  himself  invisible 
in  the  heavens,  ruleth  visibly  in  Christian  magis- 
trates, princes,  and  emperors.  It  was  therefore  pro- 
mised before,  to  Christians  in  general,  (chap.  ii.  26, 
27,)  He  that  overcometh,  and  keepeth  my  words  unto 
the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the  nations, 
&c.  But  it  should  seem  that  Constantine  was  here 
particularly  intended,  for  whose  life  the  dragon  Ga- 
lerius  laid  many  snares,  but  he  providentially  es- 
caped them  all ;  and  notvirtthstanding  all  opposition, 
was  caught  up  unto  the  throne  of  God — Was  not 
only  secured  by  the  divine  protection,  but  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  imperial  throne,  called  the  throne  of 
Ood;  for,  (Rom.  xiii.  1,)  there  is  no  power  but  of 
Ood,  &c.  He  too  iruled  all  nations  with  a  rod  of 
iron;  for  he  h&d  not  only  the  Romans,  who  before 
had  persecuted  the  church,  under  his  dominion,  but 
also  subdued  the  Scythians,  Sarmatians,  and  other 
barbarous  nations,  who  had  never  before  been  sub- 
ject to  the  Roman  empire ;  and,  as  Spanheim  informs 
us,  there  are  still  extant  medals  and  coins  of  his  with 
b 


into  the  earth,  and  his  angels  were  a.  m.  4ieoi 

^       .      •*!.  u:  A.  D.  96. 

cast  out  With  him.  . 

10  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice  saying  in  heaven, 
^  Now  is  come  salvation  and  strength,  and  the 
kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of  his 
Christ :  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast 
down  ^  which  accused  them  before  our  God  day 
and  night 

11  And  '  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony ; 
^  and  they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death. 

12  Therefore  *  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye 
that  dwell  in  them.  *  Wo  to  the  inhabiters  of 
the  earth,  and  of  the  sea!  for  the  devil  is  come 
down  unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  ^  because 

he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short  time. 

_  ■■  ■         , ,  '  f        ...-■■      -  ■  . 

'Chap.  XX.  3. 'Chap.  ix.  1. *Chajp.  xi.  15;   xix.  1. 

n  Job  i.  9 ;  ii.  5 ;    Zedi.  iii.  1. «  Rom.  viiL  33,  34,  37 ;   xvi. 

20. 7  Luke  xi7.  26. 'Paa.  xevi.  11 :  Isa.  xlix.  13;  Cbap. 

xviii.  20. *  Chap.  viii.  13 ;  xi.  10. »  Chap.  x.  6. 

these  inscriptions :  The  subduer  of  the  barbarous  na- 
tions; the  conqueror  of  all  nations;  everywhere  a 
conqueror  ;  and  the  like.  What  is  added,  verse  0, 
of  the  woman's  fleeing  into  the  wilderness  for  a 
thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore  days,  is  said 
by  way  of  prolepsis  or  anticipation.  For  the  war  in 
heaven  between  Michael  and  the  dragon,  and  other 
subsequent  events,  were  prior,  in  order  of  time,  to  the 
flight  x)i  the  woman  into  the  wilderness ;  but  before 
the  prophet  passes  on  to  a  new  subject  he  gives  a 
general  account  of  what  happened  to  the  woman  af- 
terward, tod  enters  more  into  the  particulars  in  their 
proper  place. 

Verses  7-12.  And  there  was  war  in  heaven,  &c. — 
It  might  reasonably  be  presumed  that  all  the  powers 
of  idolatry  would  be  strenuously  exerted  against  the 
establishment  of  Christianity,  and  especially  against 
the  establishment  of  a  Christian  on  the  imperial 
throne :  and  these  struggles  and  contentions  between 
the  heathen  and  the  Christian  religions  are  here  re- 
presented by  war  in  heaven,  between  the  angels  of 
darkness  and  angels  of  light.  Michael  was  (Dan.  x. 
21 ;  xii.  1)  the  tutelar  angel  and  protector  of  the 
Jewish  Church.  He  performs  here  the  same  office 
for  the  Christian  Church.  He  and  the  good  angels, 
who  are  sent  forth  (Heb.  i.  14)  to  minister  to  the 
heirs  of  saivation,  were  the  invisible  agents  on  one 
side,  as  the  devil  and  his  ctU  agents  were  on  the  other. 
The  visible  actors  in  the  cause  of  Christianity  were 
the  believing  emperors  and  ministers  of  the  word, 
the  martyrs  and  confessors ;  and  in  support  of  idol- 
atry, were  the  persecuting  emperors  and  heathen 
magistrates,  together  with  the  whole  train  of  priests 
and  sophists.  This  contest  lasted  several  years,  and 
the  final  issue  of  it  was,  (verses  8, 9,)  that  the  Chris- 
tian prevailed  over  the  heathen  reli^on ;  the  heathen 
were  deposed  from  all  rule  and  authority,  and  the 
Christians  were  advanced  to  dominion  and  empire 
in  their  stead.  Our  Saviour  said  unto  his  disciples, 
7»6 


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Thi  dragon  pen$cuU9  the  vfotnan, 


SBVKU^TIDN. 


whojkm  i/iUo  the  wUdemess. 


A.  M.  4100.    13  And  when  the  dragon  saw  thai 
he  was  cast  unto  the  eaith,  he  per- 


secuted ^  the  woman  which  birought  foxth  the 
msin-child. 

14  ^  And  to  the  woman  w^fe  given  two  wings 
of  a  great  eagle,  *that  she  might  fly/ioto  the 
wilderness,  into  her  [dace,  wb^e  she  is  nourish- 
ed ff  for  a  time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,  from 
the  fitce  of  the  serpent 

15  And  the  serpent  ^castoutof  his  mouth  war 


•Verse  5.- 


— 4Exod.  xix.  4. 

f  Dan.  y\x.  25 ;  ziL7. 


"  Veree  6. '  Qhap.  xrii.  3. 

»» I»a.  Ux.  19. 


castingdeTils  ont  of  the  bodies  of  men,  (Luke  x.  18,) 
/  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven.  In 
the  same  figm«  Satan  fell  from  heaven,  and  was  east 
oiU  into  the  earth — When  he  was  thrust  out  of  the 
imperial  throne ;  and  his  angels  'were  cast  out  with 
^m— Notonly  all  the  heathen  priests  and  officers,  civil 
and  military,  were  cashiered,  but  tiieir  very  gods 
and  demons,  who  before  were  adored,  became  the 
subjects  of  contempt  and  execration.  It  is  very  re- 
markable that  Ck>nstantine  himself  and  the  Chris- 
tians of  his  time,  described  his  conquests  under  the 
same  image,  as  if  they  had  understood  that  this  pro- 
phecy had  received  its  accomplishment  in  him. 
Moreover,  a  picture  of  Constantine  was  set  up  over 
the  palace  gate,  with  the  cross  over  his  head,  and 
under  his  feet  the  great  enemy  of  mankind^  who  per- 
secuted the  church  by  the  means  of  impious  tyranis,  in 
the  form  of  a  dragon^  transfixed  with  a  dart  through 
the  midst  of  his  body,  and  iiedling  headlong  into  the 
depth  of  the  sea :  in  allusion,  it  is  said  expressly,  to 
the  divine  oracles  in  the  books  of  the  prophets,  where 
that  evil  spirit  is  caUed  the  dragon,  and  the  crooked 
serpent  Upon  this  victory  of  the  church  there  b 
introduced  (verse  10)  a  triumphant  hymn  of  thanks- 
giving for  the  depression  of  idolatry  and  exaltation 
of  true  reUgion.  It  was  not  by  temporal  means  or 
arms  tMt  the  Christians  obtained  this  victory,  (verse 
11,)  but  by  spiritual ;  by  the  merits  and  death  of 
their  Redeemer,  by  their  constant  profession  of  the 
truth,  and  by  their  patient  suflfering  of  all  kinds  of 
tortures,  even  unto  death :  and  the  blood  of  the  mar- 
tyrs hath  been  often  called  the  seed  of  the  church. 
This  victory  was  indeed  matter  of  joy  and  triumph 
to  the  ble-ssed  angels  and  glorified  saints  in  heaven, 
(verse  12,)  by  whose  sufferings  it  was  in^reat  mea- 
sure obtained ;  but  still  new  woes  are  threatened  to 
the  inhabiters  of  the  earth  ;  for,  though  the  dragon 
was  deposed,  yet  was  he  not  destroyed ;  though  idol- 
atry was  depressed,  yet  was  it  not  wholly  suppressr- 
ed ;  there  were  still  many  pagans  intermixed  with 
the  Christians,  and  the  devil  would  incite  fresh 
troubles  and  disturbances  on  earth,  became  he  knew 
that  he  had  but  a  short  time — That  is,  it  would  not 
be  long  before  the  pagan  religion  should  be  totally 
abolished,  and  the  Christian  religion  prevail  in  all 
the  Roman  empire. 
Verses  13-17.  And  wJten  the  dragon  saw  that  he 
756 


ter  as  a  flood,  after  the  woman,  that  he  a.m.41oo 

might  canise  her  to  be  carried  away  of  _! — ! 

theflood. 

16  And  the  earth  hdped  the  woman,  and  the 
earth  i^ned  her  mouth,  and  swallowed  up  the 
flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his  mouth. 

17  And  tjie  dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman, 
■  and  went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  <^  her 
seed,  ^  which  keep  the  oxnmandments  of  God, 
and  have  ^  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ. 


Geo.  iiL  16 ;  Chap.  an.  7 ;  xiii.  7. *  Cb«p.  »▼.  12. » 1  Cor. 

IL  1 ;  1  Jonn  v.  10;   Chap.  i.  2,  9  ;  vi.  9;  zz.  4. 


was  cast  unto  the  earthy  &c. — When  the  dragon  was 
thus  deposed  from  the  imperial  throne,  and  casi  im- 
to  the  earthy  (verse  13,)  he  still  continued  to  perse- 
cute the  church  with  equal  malice,  though  not  with 
equal  power.  He  made  several  attempts  to  restore 
the  pagan  idolatry  in  the  reign  of  Constantine,  and 
afterward  in  the  reign  of  Julian ;  he  traduced  and 
abused  the  Christian  religion  by  such  writers  as 
Hierodes,  Libanius,  and  others  of  the  same  stamp 
and  character  \  he  rent  and  troubled  the  church  with 
heremes  and  schisms;  he  stirred  up  the  favourers 
of  the  Arians  to  persecute  and  destroy  the  orthodox 
Christians.  But  ,the  diurch  was  still  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  empure,  (verse  14,)  and  to  the  woman 
were  given  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle — As  God 
said  to  the  children  of  Israel,  (Exod.xix.4,)  Ye  have 
seen  what  I  did  unto  the  EgyptianSyOnd  how  I  bare 
you  on  eagles^  wings^  &c. ;  so  the  church  was  sup- 
ported and  carried,  as  it  were,  on  eagles'  wings:  but 
the  similitude  is  the  more  proper  in  this  case,  an 
eagle  being  the  Roman  ensign^  and  the  two  wings 
alluding  probably  to  the  division  that  was  then  made 
of  the  eastern  and  the  western  empire.  In  this  man- 
ner was  the  church  protected,  and  these  wings  were 
given,  thai  she  might  flee  into  the  wildemessy  into 
a  place  of  retirement  and  security,  from  the  face  of 
the  «crpfini— Not  that  she  fled  into  the  wilderness  at 
that  time,  but  several  years  afterward ;  and  there 
she  is  nourished  for  a  time^  and  times,  and  half  a 
<tm€— That  is,  three  prophetic  years  and  a  hali; 
which  is  the  same  period  with  the  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  or  years,  before  mentioned.  So  long 
the  church  is  to  remain  in  a  desolate  and  afiUcted 
state,  during  the  rejgn  of  antichrist ;  as  EUjah,  while 
idolatry  and  famine  prevailed  in  Israel,  was  secretly 
fed  and  nourished  three  years  and  six  months  in  the 
wilderness.  But  before  the  woman  fled  into  the 
wilderness,  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  water 
as  a  flood,  (verse  15,)  with  intent  to  wash  her  away. 
Waters,  in  the  style  of  the  Apocalypse,  (chap.  xviL 
16,)  signify  peoples  and  nations;  so  th^t  here  was 
a  great  inundation  of  various  nations  excited  by  the 
dragon,  or  the  friends  and  patrons  of  the  old  idolatry ,^ 
to  oppress  and  overwhelm  the  Christian  religion. 
Such  s^peared  plainly  to  have  been  the  design  of 
the  dragon,  when  Stilicho,  prime  minister  of  the  Em- 
peror Honorius,  invited  the  barbarous  heathen  na- 

b 


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Description  of  a  beast 


CHAPTER  Xni. 


ikai  to»e  ftp  out  of  Hie  sea. 


tions,  the  Gothd,  Alans,  Sueves,  and  VaaidaLs,  to 
invade  the  Roman  empire,  hoping  by  their  means 
to  raise  his  son  Gucherius  to  the  throne,  who  from  a 
boy  was  an  enemy  to  the  Christians,  and  threatened 
to  signalize  the  beginning  of  his  reign  with  the  re- 
storation of  the  pagan,  and  abolition  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Nothing  indeed  was  more  likely  to 
produce  the  ruin  and  utter  subversion  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  than  the  iiruptions  of  so  many  barbarous 
heathen  nations  into  the  Roman  empire.  But  the 
event  proved  contrary  to  human  appearance  and 
expectation:  the earUi  stoaiUmed  up  thefiood^  verse 
16--The  barbarian^  were  rather  swallowed  up  by 
the  Romans,  than  the  Romans  by  the  barbarians ; 
the  heathen  conquerors,  instead  of  imposing  theur 


own,  submitted  to  th«  reMgion  of  the  conquered 
Christians ;  and  they  not  only  embraced  the  religion, 
but  affect^  even  the  laws,  the  manners,  the  cus- 
toms, the  language,  and  the  very  name  of  Romans. 
This  course  not  succeeding  according  to  probable 
expectation,  the  dragon  did  not  therefore  desist  from 
his  purpose,  (verse  17,)  but  only  took  another  method 
of  persecuting  the  true  sons  of  the  church,  as  we 
shall  see  in  the  next  chapter.  It  is  said  that  he  went 
to  make  v>ar  with  (he  remnant  of  her  seed,  who 
I  kept  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testi- 
mony of  JiMt«— Which .  implies  that  at  this  tune 
there  was  only  a  remnant;  that  corruptions  were 
greatly  increased,  and  the  faithful  were  diminished 
from  among  the  diildren  of  men. 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

Here,  (1,)  TAe  apo9tU  sees  tn  vtsum  a  least  rising  out  of  the  sea^  a  description  of  vjkich,  as  eUso  of  its  powsr^  rage^  ami 
success  is  given,  I^IO.  (2,)  He  sees  a  second  beast  coming  up  out  of  the  earth,  exercising  all  the  power  of  the  formsr 
beast,  causing  an  image  of  it  to  be  made,  and  compelling  all  to  worship  it,  11-17.  (3,)  The  number  of  the  beast  is 
given,  18. 


A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  I  Stood  upoh  the  sand  of  the 

'- sea,  and  saw  •  a  beast  rise  up  out 

of  the  sea,  >  having  sev^  heads  and  ten  horns, 

•  Dan.  vii.  2,  7. ^  Chap.  xii.  3  ;  xvii.  3,  9, 12. 


NpTES  ON  CHAPTER  XIII. 
In  this  chapter  we  have  a  further  account  of  the 
itttte  of  the  church  and  the  world  in  this  third  period. 
Tlie  representation  of  the  wild  beasts  in  this  vision 
refers  to  the  same  times  with  the  two  former  visions 
of  the  witnesses  prophe63ring  in  sackcloth,  and  the 
¥roman  fleeing  into  the  wilderness.  Power  is  given 
unto  the  beast  to  continue,  or  to  make  war  and  pre- 
Tail,  forty-two  months,  verse  5.  This  vision  gives 
a  more  distinct  account  of  the  manner  and  means  by 
which  the  true  diurch  and  worshippers  of  God 
should  be  persecuted,  and  so  greatly  oppressed,  as 
is  represented  by  the  woman's  fleeing  into  the  wil- 
derness, and  by  slaying  the  witnesses.  So  that  tills 
representation,  in  coi\junction  with  the  two  former, 
will  aflford  us  a  sufilcient  description  of  the  state  of 
providence  and  the  church,  with  the  useful  lessons 
of  caution,  patience,  and  fiiithftilness  in  times  of 
great  corruption  and  great  danger,  which  are  the 
principal  intentions  of  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  in  the 
whole  of  these  revelations.    See  Lowman. 

Verses  1-4.  And  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea, 
te.«"-Here  the  beast  is  described  at  large,  who  was 
only  mentioned  bef<M«,  chap.  xi.  7;  and  a  beast,  in 
the  prophetic  style,  is  a  tyrannical  idolatrous  em- 
pire. The  kingdom  of  God  and  of  Christ  is  never 
represented  under  the  image  of  a  beast.  As  Daniel 
(chap.  viL  2,  3)  beheld  four  great  beasts^  represent- 
ing the  four  great  empires,  come  up  from  a  stormy 
sea,  that  is,  from  the  commotions  of  the  world ;  so 
St.  John  (verse  1)  saw  this  beast  in  like  maimer  rise 
up  out  of  the  sea.  He  was  said  before  (chap.  xi.  7) 
b 


and  upon  his  horns  ten  crowns,  and  a.  m.  4100. 
upon  his  heads  the  ^  name  of  Was-  — 1— i — 1 
phemy. 


lOr, 


,  Chap,  xrii,  3. 


to  ascend  <mt  of  the  abyss^  or  bottomless  pit;  and  it 
is  said  afterward,  (chap.  xvii.  8,)  that  he  shall  ascend 
out  of  the  abyss,  or  bottomless  pit;  and  here  he  is 
said  to  ascend  out  of  the  sea;  so  that  the  sea  and 
abyss,  or  bottomless  pit,  are  in  these  passages  the 
same.  No  doubt  is  to  be  made  that  this  beast  was 
designed  to  represent  the  Roman  empire ;  for  thus 
far  both  ancients  and  modems.  Papists  and  Protest- 
ants, are  agreed:  the  only  controversy  is,  whether  it 
was  Rome,  pagan  or  Christian,  imperial  or  papal. 

St.  John  saw  this  beast  rising  out  of  the  sea,  but 
the  Roman  empire  was  risen  and  established  long 
before  St.  John's  time ;  and  therefore  this  must  be 
the  Roman  empire,  not  in  its  then  present,  but  in 
some  future  shape  and  form ;  and  it  arose  in  another 
shape  and  form  after  it  was  broken  to  pieces  by  the 
incursions  of  the  northern  nations.  The  beast  hath 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns — Which  are  the  well- 
known  marks  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  seven  heads 
alluding  to  the  seven  mountains  whereon  Rome  was 
seated,  and  to  the  seven  forms  of  government  which 
successively  prevailed  there  j  and  the  ten  horns  sig- 
nifying the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  the  Roman  em- 
pire was  divided.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  dragon 
had  seiDen  crowns  iipon  his  heads,  but  the  beast  hath 
upon  his  horns  ten  crowns — So  that  there  had  been, 
in  the  mean  while,  a  revolution  of  power  from  the 
heads  of  the  dragon  to  the  horns  of  the  beast,  and 
the  sovereignty,  which  before  was  exercised  by 
Rome  alone,  was  now  transferred  and  divided  among 
ten  kingdoms ;  but  the  Roman  empire  was  not  di- 
vided into  ten  kingdoms  till  after  it  was  become 
757 


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REVELATION. 


that  ro9e  up  out  of  the  tetu 


A.  H.  4100. 
A.  D.  96. 


2  ^  And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was 
like  unto  a  leopard,  ^  and  his  feet  were 
as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  *  and  his  mouth  as  the 
mouth  of  a  lion:  and  ^the  dragon  gave  him 
his  power,  '  and  his  seat,  ^  and  great  authority. 
3  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  ^  as  it  were 
'  wounded  to  death ;  and  his  deadly  wound  was 
healed :  and  ^  all  the  world  wcmdered  after  the 
beast 


•  D«iL  Tii.  0.- 
ff  Ch.  zri.  10.— 


■^Dan.  vii.  5.- 
*  Ch.  xii.  4.— 


-•DM.vii.4.- 
»V©r.  12,14.- 


J  Ch.  xii.  9. 
'Ghr.  tlain. 


Christian.  Althou^  the  heads  had  lost  their  crowns, 
yet  still  they  retained  the  naniea  of  bkuphemy^ln 
all  its  heads,  in  all  its  forms  of  government,  Rome 
was  still  gailty  of  idolatry  and  blasphemy.  Imperial 
Rome  was  called,  and  delighted  to  be  called,  The 
Vernal  city;  the  heavenly  city;  the  goddess  of  the 
earth;  the  goddess:  and  had  her  temples  and  altars, 
with  incense  and  sacrifices  offered  up  to  her:  and 
how  the  papal  Rome  Ukewise  hath  arrogated  to  her- 
self divine  titles  and  honours  will  be  ^own  here- 
after. 

As  Daniel's  fourth  beast  (chap.vii.  6)  was  without 
a  name,  and  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces  the  three 
former;  so  this  beast  (verse  2)  is  also  without  a 
name,  and  partakes  of  the  nature  and  qualities  of 
the  three  former ;  having  the  body  of  a  leopard— 
Which  was  the  ihM  beast,  or  Grecian  empire ;  and 
the  feet  of  a  6car— Which  was  the  second  beast,  or 
Persian  empire;  and  the  mouth  of  a  /toa— Which 
was  the  first  beast,  or  Babylonian  empire :  and  con- 
sequently this  must  be  the  same  as  Daniel's  fourth 
beast,  or  the  Roman  empire.  But  still  it  is  not  the 
same  beast,  the  same  empire  entirely,  but  with  some 
variation.  And  the  dragon  gave. him  his  power — 
Awa/Mv,  or  his  armies ;  and  his  seat — 9/>ov«v,  or  his 
imperial  throne;  and  great  authority-^Or  jurisdic- 
tion over  all  the  parts  of  his  empire.  The  beast, 
therefore,  is  the  successor  and  substitute  of  the  dra- 
gon, or  of  the  idolatrous  heathen  Roman  empire : 
and  what  other  idolatrous  power  hath  succeeded  to 
the  heathen  emperors  in  Rome,  all  the  world  is  a 
judge  and  a  witness.  The  dragon,  having  failed  in 
bis  purpose  of  restoring  the  old  heathen  idolatry, 
delegates  his  power  to  the  beast,  and  thereby  intro- 
duces a  new  species  of  idolatry,  nominally  different, 
but  essentially  the  same,  the  worship  of  angels  and 
stints,  instead  of  the  gods  and  demigods  of  anti- 
quity. 

Another  mark,  whereby  the  beast  is  peculiarly 
distinguished,  is,  (verse  8,)  one  of  his  heads  as  it 
vers  wounded  to  death — It  will  appear  hereafter, 
that  this  head  was  the  sixth  head^  (or  Jive  were  fallen 
(chap.  xviL  10)  before  St  John's  time :  and  the  sixth 
head  was  that  of  the  Cesiurs,  or  emperors,  there 
having  been  before,  kings,  and  consuls,  and  dictators, 
and  decemvirs,  and  military  tribunes,  with  consular 
authority.  The  sixth  head  was  as  it  were  wounded 
to  death,  when  the  Roman  empire  was  overturned 
by  the  northern  nations,  and  an  end  was  put  to  the 
very  name  of  emperor  in  Momyllus  Augustulus ;  or 
7W* 


4  And  they  worshipped  the  dragon  a.  m.  4ioa 
which  gave  power  unto  the  beast :         I, 
and  they  worshipped  the  beast,  saying,  ^Who 
is  like  unto  the  beast?  who  is  able  to  make 
war  with  him? 

5  And  there  was  given  unto  him  ■  a  mouth 
speaking  great  things  and  blasphemies;  and 
power  was  given  unto  him  ^  to  continue  ^  forty 
and  two  months. 


*  Chap.  xvii.  8.- 
xi.  36. ■Or,  to 


Chap,  xriii.  18.-^ — »Daii.  vii.  8, 11, 25 ; 
or. ■  Chap.  xi.  2 ;   xii.  6. 


rather,  as  the  government  of  the  Gothic  kings  was 
much  the  same  as  that  of  the  emperors,  with  only  a 
change  of  the  name,  this  head  was  more  effectually 
I  wounded  to  death,  when  Rome  was  reduced  to  a 
poor  dukedom,  and  made  tributary  to  the  exarchate 
I  of  Ravenna.  But  not  only  one  of  his,  heads  was,  as 
I  it  were,  wounded  to  death,  but  his  deadly  irotind 
was  heated—If  it  was  the  sixth  head  which  was 
wounded,  that  wound  could  not  be  healed  by  the 
rising  of  the  seventh  head ;  the  same  head  which 
was  wounded  must  be  healed:  and  this  was  effected 
by  the  pope  and  people  of  Rome  revolting  from  the 
exarch  of  Ravenna,  and  proclaiming  Charles  the 
Great  Augustus  and  emperor  of  the  Romans.  Here 
the  wounded  imperial  head  was  healed  again,  and 
hath  subsisted  ever  since.  At  this  time,  partly 
through  the  pope,  and  partly  through  the  emperor, 
supporting  and  strengthening  each  other,  the  Roman 
name  again  became  formidable :  and  atl  the  world 
wondered  after  the  beast;  and  (verse  4)  they  wor- 
shipped the  dragon,  v^ich  gave  po%ter  unto  the 
beast;  and  they  worshipped  the  beast,  saying,  Who 
is  like  unto  the  beast?  Who  is  able  to  make  war 
with  Aim?— No  kingdom  or  empire  was  like  that  of 
^e  beast ;  it  had  no  parallel  upon  earth ;  aqd  it  was 
in  vain  for  any  to  resist  or  oppose  it ;  it  prevailed 
and  triumphed  over  all ;  and  all  the  world,  in  sub- 
mitting thus  to  the  religion  of  the  beast,  did  in  effect 
submit  again  to  the  religion  of  the  dragon,  it  being 
^e  old  idolatry  with  new  names.  For  the  worship- 
ping of  demons  and  idols  is  in  effect  the  worshipping 
of  devils. 

Verses  5-8.  And  there  was  given  unto  him  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things— -Thia  expression 
seems  to  be  taken  fhmi  the  descr^^on  of  the  litUe 
horn  in  Daniel's  vision,  (chap.  vii.  8,)  and  is  explain- 
ed, verse  11,  by  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which 
the  horn  spake.  It  must  be  observed,  however,  that 
it  is  of  the  secular  empire  that  this  is  spoken,  which 
empire  is  here  considered  as  under  the  influence  of 
the  eedesiastieal  power  of  Rome,  and  as  being  mere- 
ly its  agent,  and  especially  the  agent  of  the  pope,  the 
speaking  image  of  the  beast.  And  it  is  well  known 
what  blasphemous  and  extravagant  claims  of  au- 
thority and  power  have  been  made  by  hire,  who  has 
been  styled,  His  Holiness^infaUibleSovereign 
of  kings  and  kingdoms—ChrisVs  Vicegerent'-yeh, 
God  upon  earth.  Power  also  has  been  given  unto 
him  to  coTUtntie— Greek,  wottfaai,  to  practise,  prevail, 
and  prosper, /orfy  and  tu>o  numths^lt  doth  not  fol- 

b 


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The  beast  makes 


CHAPTER  Xm. 


war  ^Dttk  the  saints» 


A.  M.  4100.    6  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  Uas- 

A.  D  96  . 

'■ — ^  phemy  against  God,  to  blaspheme  his 

name,  ""and  his  tabernacle,  and  them  that  dwell 
in  heaven. 

7  And  it  was  given  unto  him  i^to  make 
war  with  the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them : 
'  and  power  was  given  him  over   all-  kin- 


•  John  I  14 ;  Col.  iL  9. p  Dao.  vii.  21 ;  Ch^».  xL  7 ;  xii.  17. 

1  Chap.  xi.  18 ;    xvii.  15. 


low  from  this  that  the  beast  is  to  continue  to  exist 
for  no  longer  a  term,  but  he  is  to  practise,  to  pros- 
per, and  prevail,  for  that  term:  as  the  holy  city 
(chap.  xi.  2)  is  to  be  trodden  uhder  foot  of  the  Gen- 
tiles forty  and  two  months,  which  are  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  days,  or  years,  of  the  reign  of 
antichrist.  But  if  by  the  beast  were  understood  the 
heathen  Roman  empire,  that  empire,  instead  of  sub- 
sisting twelve  hundred  and  sixty,  did  not  subsist 
four  hundred  years  after  the  date  of  this  prophecy. 
And  he  opened  his  motUh  in  blasphemy,  &c. — This 
newly-erected  government  of  Rome  used  the  au- 
thority it  had  obtaii^ed  in  making  and  publishing 
constitutions  for  the  establishment  of  idolatry,  in 
contempt  of  God  and  his  true  worship,  and  by  all 
methods  of  oppression  and  persecution,  forcing  the 
church  to  comply  with  them,  and  }Held  obedience  to 
them*  "  Any  acts  of  idolatrous  worship,"  says  Low- 
man,  "may  well  be  expressed  by  blaspheming  God 
and  his  name,  as  they  deny  to  the  true  God  his  dis- 
tinguishing honour,  and  give  it  to  creatures,  whether 
to  images,  saints,  or  angela  The  church,  as  it  is 
called  the  temple  of  Ood,  the  place  of  God's  pre- 
se  nee,  is  properly  also  called  his  tabernacle?^  By 
th  em  that  dwell  in  heaven,  Grotius  understands  all 
saints,  all  Christians,  whose  conversation  is  in  hea- 
ven. The  Christian  Church  is  called,  the  Jerusalem 
which  is  above,  Gal.  iv.  26 ;  and  the  governors  of  it 
are  styled  angels,  Rev.  i.  20.  To  blaspheme  tJiem, 
therefore,  tfiat  dwell  in  heaven,  will  signify  the  con- 
tempt ai^  injurious  manner  with  which  the  new 
government  of  Rome  shall  treat  the  true  worship- 
pers of  God,  as  well  as  God  himself  and  his  name. 
So  much  for  his  blasphemies;  nor  are  his  exploits 
less  extraordinary.  It  was  given  unto  him  to  make 
war  with  the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them — The 
power  of  this  new  Roman  government  became  so 
great,  by  divine  permission,  that  it  prevailed  against 
the  worshippers  of  God,  either  to  force  them  to  a 
compliance  with  the  corruptions  established  by  its 
authority,  or  to  persecute  them  for  their  constancy; 
and  this  oppressive  power  was  extended  far  and 
wide,  even  over  all,  or  many,  kindreds,  and  tongues, 
and  no/um*— Even  in  all  the  countries  of  the  west- 
em  Roman  empire.  And  who  can  make  any  com- 
putation, or  even  frame  any  conception  of  the  num- 
bers of  pious  Christians  who  have  fallen  a  sacrifice 
to  the  bigotry  and  cruelty  of  Rome,  or  this  new  Ro- 
man government?  Mede,  upon  the  place,  hath  ob- 
served from  good  authority,  that  in  the  war  with  the 
Albigenses  and  Waldenses,  there  perished  of  these 
poor  creatures  in  France  alone  a  million !  From 
b 


dreds,    and    tongues,    and    nations.  A.  M.  4100. 

8  And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  — 1— ! — 1 
earth  shall  worship  him,  '  whose  names 
are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the 
Lamb  slain  'from  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

9  *  K  any  man  have  an  ear^  let  him  hear. 


'  Exod.  xxxii.  32  \  Dan.  xii.  1 ;  PhiL  iv.  3 ;  Chap.  iii.  5 ;  zx. 
12, 15 ;  xxi.  27. •  Chap.  xvii.  8. ^  Chap.  ii.  7. 


the  first  institution  of  the  Jesuits  to  A.  D.  1480,  that 
is,  in  little  more  than  thirty  years,  nine  hundred 
thousand  orthodox  Christians  were  slain.  In  the 
Netherlands  alone  the  duke  of  Alva  boasted  that 
within  a  few  years  he  had  despatched  to  the  amount 
of  thirty  thousand  persons,  and  those  all  by  the 
hands  of  the  common  executioner.  In  the  space  of 
scarce  thirty  years,  the  inquisition  destroyed,  by  va- 
rious khids  of  torture,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand Christians.  Sanders  himself  confesses  that  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  Lollards  and  Sacramenta- 
rians  were  burned  throughout  all  Europe,  who  yet, 
he  says,  were  not  put  to  death  by  the  pope  and 
bishops,  but  by  the  civil  magistrates ;  which  perfectly 
agrees  with  this  prophecy,  for  it  is  of  the  secular 
beast  that  it  is  said.  He  shall  make  war  with  the 
saints,  and  overcome  them.  No  wonder  that  by 
these  means  he  should  obtain  a  kind  of  universal  au- 
thority over  all  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations. 
Let  the  Romanists  boast,  therefore,  that  theirs  is  the 
catholic  church,  and  universal  empire:  this  is  so  far 
from  being  any  evidence  of  the  truth,  that  it  is  the 
very  brand  infixed  by  the  Spirit  of  prophecy.  And 
all  thai  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him — 
AU  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  to  which  this  new 
power  shall  reach,  shall  be  prevailed  upon  to  receive 
his  idolatrous  constitutions,  and  yield  obedience  to 
his  tyrannical  authority :  whose  names  are  not  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  life,  &c. — Except  such  true  and 
faithful  servants  of  God  as  are  enrolled  in  the  regis- 
ters of  heaven,  according  to  the  promises  of  Christ's 
g:ospel,  who  from  the  beginning  was  the  true  pro- 
pitiation and  mediator  of  acceptance  with  God,  and 
of  the  blessings  consequent  thereon.  It  has  been 
justly  observed  by  Mr.  Faber,  that  there  is  a  great 
inaccuracy  in  Bishop  Newton's  exposition  of  the 
above  paragraph,  in  that  he  seems  to  confoimd  this 
beast,  or  the  secular  empire,  in  all  the  ten  kingdoms, 
with  the  little  horn  predicted  by  Daniel,  which  ac- 
cords with  the  second  beast  afterward  mentioned. 
As  the  secular  power,  however,  executed  the  perse- 
cuting decree  of  the  ecclesiastical  power,  and  gave 
its  power  to  that  beast,  the  diings  represented  by 
Bishop  Newton  as  accomplishing  this  prophecy  did 
indeed  accomplish  it,  though  he  has  not  marked  the 
manner  in  which  this  was  done. 

Verses  9, 10.  If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him 
hear — It  was  customary  with  our  Saviour,  when  he 
would  have  his  auditors  to  pay  a  particular  attention 
to  what  he  had  been  saying,  to  add.  He  who  hath 
ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  St.  John  repeats  the 
same  admonition  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  seven 
759 


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B8VSLATI0N. 


wu  of  the  tank. 


A.M.4100.    10  ""Hd  that  leadeth  into  captivity 

'    flball  go  into  captivity :  'he  that  kill- 

etb  with  the  sword,  must  be  killed  with  the 
sword.  ^  Here  is  the  patience  and  the  &ith  of 
the  saints. 

11  And  I  beheld  another  beast 'coming  up  out 
of  the  earth,  and  he  bad  two  horns  likealamb, 
and  he  q>ake  as  a  dragmL 


*  In.  EudiL  1.- 


12.- 


'  G«n.  ix.  6 ;  Matt  zztL  88. — 
— »  Chap.  xi.  7. »  Verse  3. 


^  Cfaap.  ziv. 


epistles  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  and  here  in 
the  conclusion  of  his  description  of  the  beast,  If  any 
wan  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear:  and  certainly  the 
description  of  the  beast  is  deserving  of  the  highest 
attention  upon  many  accounts^  and  particularly  be- 
cause the  right  interpretation  of  this  book  turns  upon 
it,  as  one  of  its  main  hinges.  It  is  added,  by  way 
of  consolation  to  the  church,  that  these  enemies  of 
God  and  of  Christ,  represented  under  the  character 
of  the  boast,  shall  suffer  the  law  of  retaliation,  and 
be  as  remarkably  punished  and  tormented  them- 
selves, as  they  punished  and  tormented  others,  verse 
10.  He  foho  leadeth  into  captivity,  shall  go  into 
captivity ;  he  who  killeth  with  the  sword,  must  be 
kihed  wiih  the  sword^Sn^k  a  promise  might  ad- 
minister some  comfort  f  and  indeed  it  would  be 
wanted,  for  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints 
would  be  tried  to  the  utmost  during  the  reign  of  the 
beast.  Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  tht^ 
saints — Of  all  the  trials  and  persecutionsof  thechurch 
this  would  be  the  most  severe,  ^xA  exceed  those  of 
the  primitive  times,  both  in  degree  and  in  duration. 
Verses  11, 12.  And  I  beheld  another  beast,  &c.— 
From  the  description  of  the  ten-homed  beast,  or 
Roman  state  in  general,  the  prophet  passeth  to  that 
of  the  two-homed  beast,  or  Roman  Church  in  par- 
ticular. The  beast  with  ten  crowned  horns  is  the 
Roman  empire,  as  divided  into  ten  kingdoms;  the 
beast  with  two  horns  like  a  lamb  is  the  Roman  hie- 
rarchy, or  body  of  the  clergy,  regular  and  secular. 
This  beast  isotherwise  called  the  false  prophet;  than 
which  there  cannot  be  a  stronger  or  plainer  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  false  doctors  or  teachers  were 
particularly  designed.  For  the  false  prophet,  no 
more  than  the  beast,  is  a  single  man,  but  a  body  or 
succession  of  men,  propagating  false  doctrines,  and 
teaching  lies  for  sacred  truths.  As  the  first  beast 
rose  up  otU  of  the  sea,  that  is,  out  of  the  wars  and 
tumults  of  the  world,  so  this  beast  groweth  up  out 
of  the  earth^lAke  plants,  silently  and  without  noise ; 
and  the  greatest  prelates  have  often  been  raised  from 
monks,  and  men  of  the  lowest  burth.  He  had  two 
hems  like  a  lamb — He  had,  both  regular  and  liecu- 
Isr,  the  appearance  of  a  lamb ;  he  derived  his  powers 
lh>m  the  lamb,  and  pretended  to  be  like  a  lamb,  all 
meekness  and  mildness;  but  he  spake  as  a  dragon 
-*He  had  a  voice  of  terror,  like  Roman  emperors, 
In  usurping  divine  titles,  in  commanding  idolatry, 
and  in  persecuting  and  slaying  the  true  worshippers 
of  God  and  faithful  servants  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  is 
an  ecclesiasticai  person,  but  intermixeth  himself 
780 


12  And  he  ezerdseth  all  the  power  a,  u.  41<xil 
of  the  first  beast  befive  him,  and   ^'^  ^ 
causeth  the  earth  and  them  which  dwdl  there- 
in to  worship  the  first  beast,  "whose  deadly 
wound  was  healed. 

13  And  ^  he  doeth  great  wcmd^B,  ^  so  that  he 
maketh  fire  come  down  from  heaven  on  the 
earth  in  the  sight  of  men, 


i»  Deut.  ziii.  1-3  ;  Matt  xxiv.  94 ;  2  Then.  ii.  9 ;  Chap.  rn.  14. 
« 1  Kiaga  znii.  38 ;  2  Kinga  i.  10,  12. 


much  in  civil  affidrs.  He  is  the  prime  minister,  ad- 
viser, and  mover  of  the  first  beast,  or  the  beast  before 
mentioned*  He  exerciseih  ail  the  power  of  the  first 
beast  before  him — He  holdeth  imperium  in  imperio, 
an  empire  within  an  empire ;  claimeth  a  temporal  «|h 
thority  as  well  as  a  spiritual,  and  enibrceth  bis  can- 
ons and  decrees  with  the  sword  of  ihe  civil  magis- 
trate. As  thc(  first  beast  concurs  to  maintain  his  au- 
thority, so  he  in  return  confirms  and  maintains  the 
sovereignty  and  dominion  of  the  first  beast  over  his 
subjects ;  amdcauseth  the  earth,  and  them  who  dwell 
therein,  to  worship  the  first  beast,  whose  deadly 
wound  was  healedr—He  supports  tyranny,  as  be  is 
by  tyranny  supported.  He  enslaves  the  conscience^ 
as  the  firstbeast  subjugates  the  bodies  of  men.  This 
ecclesiastical  power,  as  Whiston  observes,  is  the  com- 
mon centre  and  cement  which  unites  all  the  distinct 
kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire;  and,  by  joining 
with  them,  procures  them  a  blind  obedience  from 
Uieir  subjects:  and  so  he  is  the  occasion  of  the  pre- 
servation of  the  old  Roman  empire  in  some  kind  of 
unity,  and  name,  and  strength,  which  (^erwise 
would  have  been  quite  dissolved  by  the  inundations 
and  wars  succeeding  the  settlement  of  the  barbarous 
nations  in  tbat  empire.  ''Here,"  says  Mr.  Faber, 
"  we  have  a  plain  prediction  of  some  spiritual  pow- 
er, which  should  arrogate  to  itself  universal  or  cath- 
olic authority  in  religious  matters;  which  should 
coexist,  t^n  the  most  friendly  terms,  with  the  ten- 
homed  temporal  empire,  instigating  it  to  persecute, 
during  the  space  of  forty-two  prophetic  months,  all 
such  as  should  dare  to  dispute  its  usurped  domina- 
tion ;  and  which,  in  short,  should  solve  the  symb<^- 
ical  problem  of  two  contemporary  beasts,  by  exhibit- 
ing to  the  world  the  singular  spectacle  of  a  complete 
empire  within  an  empire.  Where  we  are  to  look 
for  this  power,  since  the  great  Roman  beast  was 
divided  into  ten  horns,  let  the  impartial  voice  of 
history  determine.  Daniel,  who  fully  delineates 
the  character  of  the  little  hxtm,  is  silent  respecting 
the  two-homed  beast;  ,and  John,  who  as  fully  deli- 
neates the  character  of  the  two-homed  beast,  is  en- 
tirely silent  respecting  the  little  horn.  The  little 
horn  and  the  two-homed  beast  act  precisely  in  the 
same  capacity;  each  exercising  the  power  of  the 
frst  beast  before  him,  and  each  perishing  in  one  com- 
mon destruction  with  him."— Vol.  ii.  pp.  291-283. 

Verses  13-17.  And  he  doeth  great  wonders— Vfe 
have  seen  the  greatness  of  the  power  and  authority 
of  the  beast,  and  we  shall  now  see  what  course  he 
pursues  to  establish  it.    He  pretends,  like  other  false 

b 


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CiLkPTBR  Xni. 


o/tk^bdoti. 


A.  H.  4ida  14  And  ^deceiveththemthBidwdloii 
the  earth  ^by  the  means  of  tboBtrxmB,- 


A.  D.96. 


cles  which  he  had  power  to  do  iii  the  sight  of  the 
beast;  saying  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast, 
which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  ^and  did  liv^ 
15  And  he  had  power  to  give  ^life  unto  the 
image  oi  the  beast,  that  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  both  speak,  '  and  cause  that  as  many 
as  would  not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  be  killed. 


*  Chap.  ziL9 ;  six.  30^— »•  8  Thee.  ii.  9, 10.— —'2  Kings  xx.  7. 
*  Ofc  ArKtf*.— f  Chap.  xvL  2 ;  xix.  20 ;  xx.  4.—^ — ^  Chap.  xir. 


prophets,  to  show  great  signs  and  wonders^  and 
evea  to  call  for  Jire  from  heave^n,  as  Ellas  did,  2 
Kings  L  11, 12.  His  impostures,  too,  are  so  suc- 
cessful, that  he  deceiveifi  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earthj  Ac, — In  this  respect  he  perfectly  resembles 
St.  Paul's  man  of  sin,  2  Thess.  ii.9;  or  rather  they 
are  one  and  the  same  character,  represented  in 
different  lights,  and  under  different  names.  ^  It  is 
further  obsenra^le,  that  he  is  said  to  perform  his  mi- 
racles in  the  sight  of  men,  in  order  to  deceive  them, 
and  in  the  sight  of  the  beast,  in  order  to  serve  him : 
but  not  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  serve  his  cause,  or 
promote  his  religion.  Now  miracles,  visions,  and 
revelations,  are  the  mighty  boast  of  the  Church  of 
Rome ;  the  contrivances  of  an  artful,  cunning  cler^ 
gy,  to  impose  upon  an  ignorant,  credulous  laity. 
Even^re  is  pretended  to  came  down  from  heaven, 
as  in  the  case  of  St  Anthony's  fire,  and  other  in- 
stances, cited  by  Brightman  and  other  writers  on 
the  Revelation:  and  in  solemn  excojnmnnications, 
which  are  called  the  thunders  of  the  church,  and  are 
performed  with  the  ceremony  (tf  casting  down  burn- 
ing torches  from  on  high,  as  symbols  and  emblems 
oi  fire  from  heaven.  Miracles  are  thought  so  neces- 
sary, that  they  are  reckoned  among  the  notes  of  the 
Cadiolic  Church.  But  if  these  miracles  were  all  real, 
we  learn  from  hence  what  opinion  we  ougl^t  to  frame 
of  them;  and  what  then  shall  we  say,  if  they  are  all 
fictions  and  counterfeits?  They  are  indeed  so  far 
from  being  any  proofs  of  the  true  church,  that  they 
are  rather  a  proof  of  a  false  one ;  and,  as  we  see,  the 
distinguishing  mark  of  antichrist. 

The  influence  of  the  two-horned  beast,  or  oorruptr 
ed  clergy,  is  further  seen  in  persuading  and  inducing 
mankind  to  make  an  image  to  the  beast,  which  had 
the  wound  by  a  s^oord,  and  did  Zice— That  is,  an 
image  and  representative  of  the  Roman  empire, 
which  was  wounded  by  the  sword  of  the  barbarous 
nations,  and  revived  in  the  revival  of  a  new  emperor 
of  the  west  He  had  also  power  to  give  life  and  ac- 
tivity unto  ^le  image  of  the  beast — It  should  not  be 
a  dumb  and  lifeless  idol,  but  should  speak  and  de- 
liver orades,  as  the  statues  of  the  heathen  gods  were 
feigned  to  do,  and  should  cause  to  be  killed  as  many 
as  would  not  worship  and  obey  it — This  image  and 
representation  of  the  beast  is,  most  probably,  the 
pope.  He  is  properly  the  idol  of  the  church.  He 
b 


16  And  he  causeth  all,  both  small  A.M.4ioa 

and  great,  rich  and  poor,  free  and      '    1 

bcmd,  ^to^  receive  a  mark  in  their  right  hand, 
or  in  their  foreheads ; 

17  And  that  no  man  might  buy  or  sell,  save 
he  that  had  the  mark,  or  ^  the  name  of  the 
beast,  ^  or  the  number  of  his  name. 

18  ^  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him  that  hath  un- 
derstanding coupt  "^the  number  of  the  beast: 
^  for  it  is  the  number  of  a  man ;  and  his  num- 
ber is  Six  hundred  threescore  a7id  six. 


0;   xix.  20;  xXr4.— ^^Gr.  to  give  them. 'Chap.  xir.  11. 

k  Ch.  XT.  2. » Chi  xvii.  9. "Oh.  xr.  2. »  Ch.  xxi.  17. 


represents  in  himself  the  whole  power  of  the  beast, 
and  is  the  head  of  all  authority,  temporal  as  w^l  as 
spirituaL  He  is  nothing  more  than  a  private  person, 
without  power  and  without  authority,  till  the  two- 
homed  beast,  or  the  corrupted  clergy,  by  choosing 
him  pope,  give  life  unto  him,  and  enable  him  to 
spe(^  aiid  utter  his  decrees,  and  to  persecute  even  to 
death  as  many  as  -refuse  to  submit  to  him  and  to 
worship  him.  As  soon  as  he  is  chosen  pope,  he  is 
clothed  with  the  pontifical  robes,  and  crowned,  and 
placed  upon  the  altar,  and  the  cardinals  come  and 
i^iss  his  feet,  which  ceremony  is  called  adoration. 
They  first  elect,  and  then  they  worship  him ;  as  in 
the  medals- of  Martin  V.,  where  two  are  represented 
crowning  the  pope,  and  two  kneeling  before  him, 
with  this  inscription,  Quem  creant  adorant,  Whom 
they  create  they  adore.  He  is  the  principle  of  unity 
to  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the  beast,  and  causeth,  as  far 
as  he  is  able,  all  who  will  not  acknowledge  his  su- 
premacy to  be  put  to  deietth.  In  short,  he  is  the  most 
perfect  likeness  and  resemblance  of  the  ancient  Ro- 
man emperors,  is  as  great  a  tyrant  in  the  Christian 
world  as  they  were  in  the  heathen,  presides  in  the 
same  city,  usurps  the  same  power,  affects  the  same 
titles,  and  requires  the  same  universal  homage  and 
adoration.  So  that  the  prophecy  descends  more 
and  more  to  particulars,  from  the  Roman  state  or  ten 
kingdoms  in  general,  to  the  Roman  Church  or  clergy 
in  particular,  and  still  more  particularly  to  the  person 
of  the  pope,  the  head  of  the  state,  as  well  as  of  the 
church,  the  king  of  kings,  as  well  as  bishop  of  bishops. 
Other  ofilces  the  false  prophet  performs  to  the 
beast  in  subjecting  all  sorts  of  people  to  his  obedi- 
ence, by  imposing  certain  terms  of  communion,  and 
excommunicating  all  who  dare  in  the  least  article  to 
dissent  from  him.  He  causeth  all,  both  small  and 
great,  rich  and  pdor,  free  and  bond,  of  whatsoever 
rank  and  condition  they  be,  to  receive  a  mark  in 
their  right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads-^Vfe  must 
remember,  that  it  was  customary  among  the  ancients 
for  servants  to  receive  the  mark  of  their  master,  and 
soldiers  of  their  general,  and  those  who  were  devot- 
ed to  any  particular  deity,  of  the  particular  deity  to 
whom  they  were  devoted.  These  marks  were  usu- 
ally impressed  on  their  right  hand,  or  on  their  fore- 
heads;  and  consisted  of  some  hierogljrphic  charac- 
ters, or  of  the  name  expressed  in  vulgar  letters,  or 
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REVELATION. 


o/ihebeasL 


ot  the  name  disguised  in  numerical  letters,  according 
to  the  fancy  of  the  imposer.  It  is  in  allusion  to  this 
ancient  practice  and  custom,  that  the  symbol  and 
profession  of  faith  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  sub- 
serving superstition,  idolatry,  and  tyranny,  is  called 
the  mark  or  character  of  the  beast;  which  character 
is  said  to  be  received  in  their  forehead  when  they 
make  an  open  profession  of  their  faith,  and  in  their 
right  hand  when  they  live  and  act  in  conformity  to 
it.  If  any  dissent  from  the  stated  and  authorized 
forms,  they  are  condemned  and  excommunicated  as 
heretics;  and  in  consequence  of  that  they  are  no 
longer  suffered  to  buy  or  «cW— They  are  interdicted 
from  traffic  and  commerce,  and  all  the  benefits  of  civil 
society.  Thus  Hovedon  relates,  that  William  the 
Conqueror  would  not  permit  any  one  in  his  power 
to  buy  or  sell  any  thing,  whom  he  found  disobedient 
to  the  apostolic  see.  So  the  canon  of  the  council  of 
Lateran,  under  Pope  Alexander  the  Third,  made 
against  the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  enjoins, 
upon  pain  of  anathema,  that  ^  no  one  presume  to 
entertain  or  cherish  them  in  his  house  or  land,  or 
exercise  traffic  with  them."  The  synod  of  Tours, 
in  France,  under  the  same  pope,  ordered,  under  the 
like  intermination,  that  "no  man  should  presume  to 
receive  or  assist  them,  no,  not  so  much  as  to  hold 
any  communion  with  them  in  selling  or  buying^  that, 
being  deprived  of  the  comfort  of  humanity,  they 
may  be  compelled  to  repent  of  the  error  o(  their 
way."  So  did  Pope  Martin  V.  in  his  bull  after  the 
council  of  Constance.  In  this  respect  the  false  pro- 
phet spake  as  the  dragon :  for  the  dragon  Diocle- 
sian  published  a  like  edict,  that  no  one  should  sell  or 
administer  any  thing  to  the  Christians,  unless  they 
had  first  burned  incense  to  the  gods.  Popish  excom- 
munications are  therefore  like  heathen  persecutions, 
and  how  large  a  share  the  corrupted  clergy,  and  es- 
pecially the  monks  of  former,  and  the  Jesuits  of  later 
times,  have  had  in  framing  and  enforcing  such  cruel 
interdicts,  and  in  reducing  all  orders  and  degrees  to 
so  servile  a  state  of  subjection,  no  man  of  the  least 
reading  can  want  to  be  informed. 

Verse  18.  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him  that  Tiathun^ 
derstanding  count  the  number  of  the  beast — In  say- 
ing, Here  is  wisdom,  the  apostle  shows  that  it  is  not 
a  vain  and  ridiculous  attempt  to  search  into  this 
mystery,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  is  recommended 
to  us  on  divine  authority.  For  it  is  the  number  of 
a  man— li  is  a  method  Of  numbering  practised 
among  men,  as  the  measure  of  a  man  (xxi.  IT)  is 
such  a  measure  as  men  commonly  use.  It  was  a 
practice  among  the  ancients  to  denote  names  by 
numbers ;  of  which  many  instances  might  be  given, 
if  it  were  necessary  to  prove  it.  It  has  likewise 
been  the  usual  method  in  all  God's  dispensations,  for 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  accommodate  his  expressions  to 
the  customs,  fashions,  and  manners  of  the  several 
ages.  Since  then  this  art  and  mystery  of  numbers 
was  so  much  used  among  the  ancients,  it  is  less 
wonderful  that  the  beast  also  should  have  his  num- 
ber ;  and  there  was  this  additional  reason  for  this 
obscure  manner  of  characterizing  him  in  the  time 
of  St.  John,  that  no  other  banner  would  have  been 
safe.  Several  namps  possibly  might  be  cited,  which 
762 


contain  tiiis  number;  but  it  is  evident  that  it  must 
be  some  Greek  or  Hebrew  name,  and  with  the  name 
also  the  other  qualities  and  properties  of  the  beast 
must  all  agree.  The  name  sdone  will  not  constitute 
an  agreement ;  all  other  particulars  must  be  perfectly 
applicaUe,  and  the  name  also  must  comprehend  the 
precise  number  of  six  hundred  threescore  and  six. 
No  name  appears  more  proper  and  suitable  than  that 
famous  one  mentioned  by  Iremeus,  who  lived  not 
long  after  St.  John's  time,  and  was  the  disciple  of 
Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St  John.  He  saith,  that 
"the  name  Laieinos  contains  the  number  of  six 
hundred  and  sixty-six ;  and  it  is  very  likely,  because 
the  last  kingdom  is  so  called,  for  they  are  Latins 
who  now  reign :  but  in  this  we  will  not  glory :"  that 
is,  as  it  becomes  «  modest  and  pious  man  in  a  point 
of  such  difficulty,  he  will  not  be  too  confident  of  his 
explication.  Lateinos  with  ei  is  the  true  orthogra- 
phy, as  the  Greeks  wrote  the  long  t  of  the  Latins, 
and  as  the  Latins  themselves  wrote  in  former  times. 
No  objection  therefore  can  be  drawn  from  the  spell- 
ing of  the  name,  and  the  thing  agrees  to  admiration. 
For  after  the  divbion  of  the  empire,  the  Greeks  and 
other  orientalists  called  the  people  of  the  western 
church,  or  Church  of  Rome,  Latins:  and  they  Latin- 
ize in  every  thing.  Mass^  prayers,  hymns,  litanies, 
canons,  decretals,  bulls,  are  conceived  in  Latin.  The 
papal  councils  speak  in  Latin.  Women  themselves 
pray  in  Latin.  Nor  is  the  Scripture  read  in  any 
other  language  under  Popery  than  Latin.  Where- 
fore the  council  of  Trent  commanded  the  vulgar 
Latin  to  be  the  only  authentic  version.  Nor  do  their 
doctors  doubt  to  prefer  it  to  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
text  itself,  which  was  written  by  the  prophets  and 
apostles.  In  short,  all  things  are  Latin ;  the  pope 
having  comnranicated  his  language  to  the  people 
under  his  dominion,  as  the  mark  and  character  of  his 
empire.  They  themselves  indeed  choose  rather  to 
he  called  Romans,  and,  more  absurdly  still,  Roman 
Catholics:  and  probably  the  apostle,  as  he  hath 
made  use  of  some  Hebrew  names  in  this  book,  as 
Abaddon,  (ix.  11,)  and  Armageddon,  (xvi.  16,)  so 
might  in  this  place  likewise  mlude  to  the  name  in 
the  Hebrew  language.  Now  Romiith  is  the  Hebrew 
name  for  the  Roman  beast,  or  Roman  kingdom: 
and  this  word,  as  well  as  the  former  word  Lateinos. 
contains  the  just  and  exact  number  of  six  hundred 
and  sixty-six. 

Lateinos.  Romutb. 

A 80  -^ ^200 

A 1  1- — -    6 

T 300  D- 40 

E-^ 6 —  10 

I 10  ^ 10  ' 

N 60  n 100 

O 70  — 


2- 


-aOO  666 

AAA 

It  is  really  surprising  that  there  should  be  such  a 
fatal  coincidence  in  both  names  in  both  languages. 
And  perhaps  no  other  word,  in  any  language  what- 
ever, can  be  found  to  express  both  the  same  number 
and  the  same  thing.    See  Bishop  Newton. 


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CHAPTER  XIV. 


a  nao  eong  in  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

To  comfort  the  dmrek  tm  her  suffering  eendMiien  during  the  reign  of  antiekritt,  (1,)  A  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  are 
repreeetUed  as  faithfully  adhering  to  Christ  and  his  truths  in  that  period^  and  praising  God  for  their  preservation  from 
the  general  corruption^  1-5.  (2,)  While  three  angels  prepare  the  way  for  antichrists  ruin,  one  by  preaching  the  gospel, 
a  second  by  proclaiming  the  dotonfaU  of  Popery ,  and  a  third  by  denouncing  terrible  vengeance  on  its  adherents,  the  Holy 
Ghost  attests  the  happiness  of  all  that  die  in  the  Lord,  martyrs  or  others,  6-18.  (3,)  By  the  emblems  of  harvest,  com 
reaped,  and  vine  clusters  ga^ered  and  trodden,  is  represented  the  sudden  and  most  terrible  destruction  of  the  antichristian 
kingdom  and  its  subjects,  14-20. 


A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  *  I  looked,  and  lo,  •  a  Lamb 

A.  D.  96.      Jm.  ,  ,  «. 

. Stood  on  the  mount  Sion,  and 

with  him  ^  a  hundred  forty  and  four  thousand, 
®  having  his  Father's  name  written  in  their 
foreheads. 

2  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  ^  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  a 


*  /imocml**  J)a%  epictk,  YefM  1  to  rem  6. ^Chap.  r.  5. 

^  Chap.  vii.  4. «  Chap.  viL  3 ;   xiii.  16.    . 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XIV. 

*'  The  description  of  the  melancholy  state  of  the 
church  and  world  during  this  period,  in  the  forego- 
ing chapters,  might  be  apt  somewhat  to  discourage 
the  faithful  worshippers  of  God ;  for  though  God,  by 
a  spirit  of  prophecy,  had  before  revealed  this  suffer- 
ing state  to  the,  church,  and  so  it  was  represented  as 
what  the  wisdom  of  Divine  Providence  thought  fit  to 
permit,  and  what  was  therefore  reconcileable  to  the 
goodness  and  power  of  the  great  Governor  of  the 
world ;  yet  it  was  a  very  useful  design  of  these  reve- 
lations to  subjoin  proper  principles  of  consolation 
and  encouragement  to  such  a  melancholy  represent- 
ation of  temptation,  danger,  and  suffering.  This 
seems  the  intention  of  this  chapter,  in  which  the 
scene  of  the  prophetical  vision  is  changed  from  earth 
to  heaven;  from  a  view  of  the  church  under  the 
persecution  of  the  beast,  to  a  view  of  the  church  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb :  delivered  from  the  state 
of  corruption  and  oppression  so  much  to  be  expected 
from  this  evil  world,  and  arrived  at  a  state  of  com- 
plete and  perfect  happiness  in  the  heavenly  world. 
This  vision,  then,  represents  the  sure  destruction  of 
the  enemies  of  truth  and  righteousness  in  the  end, 
however  they  may  prevail  for  a  time :  it  shows  the 
very  great  reward  of  the  faithful,  and  dreadful  punish- 
ment of  the  apostates,  who  shall  fall  from  the  faith 
and  purity  of  the  Chrbtian  worship  in  the  day  of 
triaL  Thus  this  part  of  the  prophecy  unites  the 
strongest  principles  of  warning,  caution,  encourage- 
ment, and  hope,  than  which  nothing  could  be  more 
proper  or  useful  for  the  church  in  such  a  state  of 
providence ;  or  to  the  general  design  of  the  whole 
prophecy,  which  is  to  exhort  and  encourage  the 
constancy  and  patience  of  the  saints  in  all  their  trials. 
When  we  consider  this  chapter  in  this  view,  it  will 
show  a  more  easy,  natural,  and  proper  connection  be- 
tween this  vision  and  the  foregomg  than  is  usually 
observed ;  and  make  the  whole  plan  and  design  appear 
more  regular  and  exact  than  it  is  usually  thought  to 
be."— Lowman. 

Veriea  1-4.  /  looked,  and  behold  a  Lawift— The 
b 


ftreai  thunder :  and  I  heard  the  voice  a.  m.  4100. 

A.  D  96 

of  •harpers  harping  with  their  harps:  ! L 

3  And  ^they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  be- 
fore the  throne,  and  before  the  four  beasts,  and 
the  elders:  and  no  man  could  learn  that  song 
'but  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thou- 
sand, which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth. 


*  Chap.  L  15 ;  ziz.  6.- 


-•  Chap.  V.  8.- 
f  Verse  1. 


'  Chap.  ▼.  9 ;  xf.Z, 


Lord  Jesus,  in  the  form  of  a  lamb,  or  as  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
and  not  only  with  horns  like  a  lamb ;  stood  on  viount 
Sum — Namely,  the  heavenly  Sion ;  and  with  him  a 
hundred  forty  and  four  thousand — The  same  select 
number  that  was  mentioned  chap.  vii.  4,  the  genu- 
ine followers  of  the  twdve  apostles,  apostolically 
multiplied,  and  therefore  the  number  of  the  church, 
as  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  is  the  number  of  the 
beast ;  and  as  the  followers  of  the  beast  have  the 
name  of  the  beast,  so  these  have  the  name  of  God, 
and,  as  some  copies  add,  of  Christ,  written  in  their 
foreheads — As  being  the  redeemed  of  God  and  of 
the  Lamb,  his  now  unalienable  property,  and  as 
having  been,  when  on  earth,  his  professed  servants, 
and  the  same  as  the  witnesses.  This  prophecy  often 
introduces  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  as  a  kind  of 
chorus,  with  great  propriety  and  elegance.  The 
church  above,  making  suitable  reflections  on  the 
grand  events  which  are  foretold  in  this  book,  greatiy 
serves  to  raise  the  attention  of  real  Christians,  and  to 
t^ach  the  high  concern  they  have  in  them.  Thus 
is  the  church  on  earth  instructed,  animated,  and 
encouraged,  by  the  sentiments,  temper,  and  devotion 
of  the  church  in  heaven.  And  I  heard  a  voice — Or 
sound,  from  ^arcn— Sounding  clearer  and  clearer ; 
first  at  a  distance ;  as  the  sound  of  many  waters — 
Or  ihundere;  and  afterward,  being  nearer,  it  was  as 
of  harpers  harping  on  their  harps — It  sounded  vo- 
cally uid  instrumentally  at  once.  And  they  sung — 
With  voices  and  instruments  oi  music ;  as  it  were  a 
new  song — The  Christian  song,  which  they  sung 
before,  chap.  v. ;  and  no  man  could  learn  that  song 
biU  the  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand — Those 
who  had  been  the  true  spiritual  worshippers  of  the 
one  true  God,  through  the  one  true  Mediator,  Jesi|s 
Christ;  all  the  rest  of  mankind  offering  up  their  de- 
votions to  other  objects,  and  through  otiier  medi- 
ators; or  not  worshipping  with  a  truly  spiritual 
worship ;  which  were  redeemed  fiom  the  earth — 
From  this  present  evil  world,  being  bought  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  delivered  from  the  guilt  and 
763 


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ike  everioMting  gotpd. 


A.  M.  4100.    4  These  are  they  which  were  not  de- 

A   D  96. 

— 1^-i —  filed  with  women ;  ^  for  they  are  vir- 
gins. These  are  they  ^  which  fcdlow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  he  goeth.  These  ^  were  ^  redeem- 
ed from  among  men,  ^  being  the  first-fruits  mito 
God  and  to  the  Lamb. 

5  And  ^  in  their  mouth  was  found  no  guile :  for 
*  they  are  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God. 


^2  Cor.  xi.  2. 'Chap.  iii.  4;  vii.  15,  17;  xrii  14. »Gr. 

were  bought. *  Chap.  t.  9. *  James  i.  18.        "Pta.  xsdi. 

2 ;  Zeph.  iii.  13. •  £pk.  r.  27 ;  Jude  24. 


power  of  sin  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God.  These 
are  they  which  were  not — Or,  had  not  been,  defiled 
with  women — It  seems  that  one  kind  of  defilement, 
and  the  most  alluring  temptation,  is  put  for  every 
other.  Or  rather,  the  meaning  is,  that  they  had 
kept  themselves  pure  from  the  stains  and  pollutions 
of  spiritual  whoredom,  or  iddatry,  with  which  the 
other  parts  of  the  world  were  miserably  debauched 
and  corrupted.  These  are  they  which  follow  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth — ^Who  are  nearest  to 
him;  or  rather,  the  meaning  is,  who  followed  the 
Lamb  in  all  things  while  on  earth ;  who  adhered 
constantly  to  the  religion  of  Christ,  in  all  conditions 
and  in  all  places,  whether  in  adversity  or  prosperity ; 
whether  in  conventicles  and  deserts,  or  in  churches 
and  cities.  These  were  redeemed  from  among  men 
— Rescued  from  the  corruptions  prevalent  among 
mankind,  and  consecrated  ^the  first-fruits  unto  God 
and  the  Lamb — An  earnest  and  assurance  of  a  more 
plentiful  harvest  in  succeeding  times.  And  in  their 
moiUh  was  found  no  guile — They  were  as  free  from 
hypocrisy  as  from  idolatry ;  for  they  were  without 
fault  before  the  throne  of  Ood-^TYa^y  resembled 
their  blessed  Redeemer,  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was 
guile  found  ifi  his  mouth,  (1  Pet  ii.  23,)  and  were, 
as  the  apostle  requires  Christians  to  he,- blameless 
and  harmless,  the  sons  of  God  without  rebuke,  &c., 
Phil.  ii.  15.  But  possibly  it  may  be  asked,  Where 
did  such  a  church  ever  exist,  especially  before  the 
Reformation?  To  which  it  may  be  replied.  That  it 
nath  existed,  and  not  only  in  idea,  history  demon- 
strates; as  it  hath  been  before  evinced  that  there 
hath  been,  in  every  age,  some  true  worshippers  of 
God,  and  faithful  servants  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  as 
Bli|ah  did  not  know  the  seven  thousand  who  had 
never  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  so  there  may  have 
been  more  true  Christians  than  were  always  visible. 
Verses  6, 7.  And — As  a  further  motive  to  Christian 
patience  and  x;onstancy,  this  vision  of  the  happy  state 
of  faithful  Christians  was  followed  by  another;  / 
saw  another  angel — A  second  is  mentioned  verse 
8 ;  a  third,  verse  9.  These  denote  great  messengers 
of  God,  with  their  assistants.  The  first  exhorts  tso 
the  fear  and  worship  of  God,  the  second  proclaims 
the  fall  of  Babylon,  the  third  gives  warning  concern- 
ing the  beast.  Happy  were  they  who  made  a  right 
use  of  these  divine  messages !  Fly — Or  flying,  going 
on  swiftly ;  in  the  midst  of  heaven — Through  the 
air;  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  jtreach  unto 
764 


6  And  I  saw  another  angel  <»fly  in  the  A  M.  4100. 

midst  of  heaven,  I*  having  the  everlast- ' 

ing  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwdl  on  the 
earth,  «  and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people. 

7  Saying  with  a  loud  vdce,  '  Pear  God,  and 
give  glory  to  him ;  forthehourof  his  judgment 
is  come:  'and  worship  him  that  made  heaven, 


»Cbap.  viii.  13* PEph.  iii.  9-11 ;   Tit.  i.  2. 4Chm. 

xiii.  7. 'Chap.  xi.  18 ;  xr.  4.        •  N^  ix.  6 ;  P«a.  xxxiii.  C; 

cxxir.  8 ;  cxlvi.  5,  6 ;  AcU  xiv.  15 ;  xrii.  24. 


every  nation  and  people — ^Both  to  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles, even  as  far  as  the  authority  of  the  beast  had 
extended.  In  the  fourth  and  filth  verses  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  true  Christian  Church,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  wicked  autichristiaii  kingdom,  were  de- 
scribed ;  and  here  it  is  predicted  that  three  principal 
efibrts  would  be  made  toward  a  reformation  at  three 
different  times,  represented  by  the  three  angels  ap- 
pearing one  after  another*  Or,  that  the  gospel,  here 
said  to  be  everlasting,  because,  like  its  Divine  AuthOT, 
it  is  t^  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,  should 
bo  preached  during  this  period,  in  opposition  to  the  no- 
vel doctrines  of  the  beast  and  die  fiEdse  prof^et,  whith 
should  be  rooted  up,  Blatt  xv.  13.  And  the  swift- 
ness with  which  the  gospel  should  be  disseminated 
and  spread  over  the  world,  is  admirably  represoited 
by  the  swift  flight  of  the  first  angel;  and  the  nature 
of  the  doctrine,  and  the  earnestness  wherewith  it 
should  be  especially  inculcated,  is  set  forth  by  the 
first  clause  of  the  next  verse ;  saying,  with  a  loud 
voice— That  is^  urging  in  the  most  zealous  and  forci- 
ble manner,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him,  who 
made  heaven,  earth,  the  sea,  &c — Revere,  stand  in 
awe  of,  dread  to  offend,  wordiip,  and  serve  him ;  fbr 
the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come — It  is  now  de> 
nounced  with  certainty,  and  in  due  time  will  be  fully 
executed  on  the  impenitent,  unbdieving,  and  disobe- 
dient ^  It  is,"  says  Bishop  Newton,  "  a  scdenm  and 
emphatic  exhortation  to  forsake  the  reigning  id<^try 
and  superstition,  and  such  exhortations  were  made 
even  in  the  first  and  earliest  times  of  the  beast  Be- 
sides several  of  the  Greek  emperorB,^who  strenuous- 
ly opposed  the  worship^  of  images,  Charlemagne 
himself  held  a  council  at  Frankfwt  in  the  year  7&^ 
consisting  of  about  three  hundred  French,  and  Ger- 
man, and  Italian,  and  Spanish,  and  British  bishops, 
Who  condetnned  all  sorts  of  adoration  or  worship  of 
images,  and  rejected  the  second  council  of  Nice, 
which  had  authorized  and  estaUished  it  At  the  same 
time  the  Caroline  books,  as  they  are  called,  four 
books  written  by  Charles  hmiself,  or  by  his  author- 
ity, proving  the  worship  of  images  to  be  contrary  to 
the  Scripture,  and  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  an- 
tiquity, were  approved  by  the  council,  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  pope.  Lewis  the  Pious,  the  son  and 
successor  of  Charles,  held  a  council  at  Paris,  in  the 
year  824,  which  ratified  thcBCts  of  the  council  of 
Frankfort,  and  the  Caroline  books,  and  affirmed  that, 
according  to  the  Scripture  and  the  fathers,  adoration 

b 


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CHAPTKtXIV, 


iUdoTtf^e^pf  Poptry. 


▲.M.  4100.  and  earth,  and  the  secu  and  the  fount- 

ains  of  waters. 

8  And  there  foUowed  another  angel,  paying, 

*  Isaiah  nd.  9 ;  Jer.  li.  8 ;  Chap.  xTiii.  2. ^«»  Jcr.  IL  7 ; 


was  due  to  God  alone.  Several  private  persons  also 
taught  and  asserted  the  same  Scriptural  doetrines. 
Claude,  bishop  of  Turin,  declares,  that  '  we  are  not 
commanded  to  go  to  the  creature  that  we  may  be 
made  happy,  but  to  the  Creator  himself;  and  there- 
fore we  should  not  worship  dead  men ;  they  are  to  be 
imitated,  not  to  be  adored ;  let  us,  together  with  the 
angels,  worship  one  God.'  Agobard,  archbishop  of 
Lyons,  wrote  a  whole  book  agabist  images,  and  says, 
that  '  angels  or  saints  may  be  loved  and  honoured, 
but  not  be  served  and  worshipped ;  let  us  not  put 
our  trust  in  man,  but  i^  God,  lest  that  prophetic  de- 
nunciation ^ould  redound  on  us.  Cursed  is  the  man 
who  irusteth  in  man?  Many  other  bishops  and  wri- 
ters of  Britain,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany,  and  France, 
professed  the  same  sentiments;  and  this  public  oppo- 
sition of  emperors  and  bishops  to  the  worship  of 
saints  and  images,  hi  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries, 
appears  to  be  meant  particularly  by  the  loud  voice 
of  this  first  angel  flying  aloft,  and  calling  upon  the 
world  to  worship  God.  In  another  respect,  too,  these 
emperors  and  bishops  resemble  this  angel  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  every  nation; 
for  in  their  time,  and  greatly  by  their  means,  the 
Christian  religion  was  propagated  and  established 
among  the  Saxons,  Danes,  Swedes,  and  many  other 
northern  nations." 

Verse  8.  And  there  followed  another  angel — As 
the  a-dmonitions  of  the  first  angel  had  not  the  proper 
effect  upon  the  kingdom  of  the  beast,  a  second  angel 
is  commissioned  to  proclaim  the  faUof  the  capital 
city,  saying,  Babylon  isfatleny  is  fallen,  thai  great 
city — By  Babylon  is  meant  Rome,  including  the  an- 
tichristian  kingdom,  the  papal  hierarchy  seated  there. 
Rome,  considered  in  this  light,  is  Called  Babylon, 
upon  many  accounts.  Babylon  was  magnificent, 
strong,  proud,  powerful  So  was  Rome  also.  Baby- 
lon was  first,  Rome  afterward,  the  residence  of  the 
emperors  of  a  great  part  of  the  world.  What  Baby- 
lon was  to  Israel  of  old,  Rome  hath  been  both  to  the 
literal  and  spiritual  Israel  of  God.  Hence  the4iberty 
of  the  ancient  Jews  was  connected  with  the  over- 
throw of  the  Babylonbh  empire.  And  when  Rome 
is  finally  overthrown,  then  the  people  of  God  will  be 
at  liberty.  Whenever  Babylon  is  mentioned  in  this 
book,  the  great  is  added,  to  teach  us  that  Rome  then 
commenced  Babylon  when  it  commenced  the  great ' 
city;  when  it  swallowed  up  the  Grecian  monarchy 
and  its  fragments,  Syria  in  particular ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  this,  obtained  dominion  over  Jerusalem, 
about  sixty  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ  Then 
it  began,  but  it  will  not  cease  to  be  Babylon,  till  it  is 
finally  destroyed.  Its  spiritual  greatness  began  in 
the  filth  century,  and  increased  from  age  to  age.  It 
seems  it  will  come  to  its  utmost  height  just  before  its 
final  overthrow.  Her  fornication  is  her  idolatry, 
invocation  of  aaints  and  angels,  worship  of  images, 
b 


^Babylon is &Uni, is Men,''that great  A.M.4ioo. 
city,  because  she  made  ail  nations  drink     '     .^ 


of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication. 


Chap.  xi.  8 ;  xri.  10 ;  zriL  2,  5 ;  xviii.  3,  10, 18,  21 ;  xix.  2. 


human  traditions,  with  all  that  outward  pomp,  yea, 
ttid  that  fierce  and  bloody  zeal,  wherewhh  she  pre- 
tends to  serve  God.  But  with  spiritual  fomicatiim, 
as  elsewhere,  so  in  Rome,  fleshly  fornication  is  join- 
ed abundantly.  Witness  the  sfews  there,  licensed  by 
the  pope,  which  are  no  inconsiderable  branch  of  his 
revenue.  This  is  fitly  compared  to  wine,  because  of 
its  intoxicating  nature.  Of  this  wine  <fte  hath,  in- 
deed, made  all  nations  drink — More  especially  by 
her  later  missions.  We  may  observe,  this  nuiking 
them  drink  is  not  ascribed  to  the  beast,  but  to  Baby- 
lon. For  Rome  itself^  the  Roman  inquisitions,  con- 
gregationsy  and  Jesuits^  continually  propagate  their 
idolatrous  doctrines  and  practices,  with  or  without 
the  consent  of  this  or  that  pope,  who  himself  is  not 
secure  from  their  censure.  But,  as  Bishop  Newton 
observes,  though  Rome,  with  the  antichristian  power 
above  described,  was  evidently  here  intended,  it 
would  not  have  been  prudent  to  predict  and  de^ 
nounce  its  destruction  in  open  and  direct  terms;  it 
w^  for  many  wise  reasons  done  thus  covertly  under 
the  name  of  Babylon,  the  great  idolatress  of  the  earth, 
and  enemy  of  the  people  of  God  in  former  times.  By 
the  same  figure  of  speech  that  the  first  angel  cried, 
that  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come,  this  second 
angel  proclaims  that  Babylon  is  fallen  ;  the  sentence 
is  as  certain  as  if  it  was.  already  executed.  For 
greater  certainty  too  it  is  repeated  twice,  Babylon  is 
falleUy  is  fallen;  as  Joseph  said.  Gen.  xlL  32,  that 
the  dream  was  doubled  unto  Pharaoh  twice,  because 
the  thing  was  established  by  God.  The  reason  then 
is  added  of  this  sentence  against  Babylon ;  because 
she  made  all  nations  drink  of  the  wine  of  her 
wrath,  or  rather,  q/*/^  inflaming  wine,  of  her  forni- 
cation— Hers  was  a  kind  of  Circean  cup  with  poi- 
soned liquor,  to  intoxicate  and  infiame  mankind  to 
spiritual  fornication.  St  John,  in  these  figures,  co- 
pies the  ancient  prophets.  In  the  same  manner,  and 
in  the  same  words,  did  Isaiah  foretel  Ihe  fate  of  an- 
cient Babylon,  (chap.  xxi.  9,)  Babylon  is  fallen,  is 
fallen;  and  Jeremiah  hath  assigned  much  the  same 
reason  for  her  destruction,  (li.  7,)  Babylon  hath  been 
a  golden  cup  in  the  Lord^s  hand,  that  made  all  the 
earth  drunken :  the  nations  have  drunken  of  her 
wine ;  therefore  the  nations  are  mad.  As  by  the 
first  angel  calling  upon  men  to  worship  God,  we  un- 
derstand the  opposers  of  the  worship  of  images  in 
the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  so  by  this  second  an- 
gel proclaiming  the  fall  of  mystic  Babylon  or  Rome 
we  understand  particularly  Peter  Valdo,  and  those 
who  concurred  witli  him  among  the  Waldenscs  and 
Albigenses ;  who  were  the  first  heralds,  as  I  may  say, 
of  this  proclamation,  as  they  first  of  all,  m  the  twelfth 
century,  pronounced  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  the 
apocaljrptic  Babylon,  the  mother  of  harlots  and  abo- 
minations of  the  earth;  and  for  this  cause  not  only 
departed  from  her  commimion  themselves,  but  en- 
766 


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to  be  tormetUsdfir  ever  and  evet. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  96. 


9  And  the  third  angel  fcdlowed  them, 
saying  with  a  loud  vmce,  '  If  any 
man  worship  the  beast  and  his  image,  and 
receive  his  mark  in  his  forehead,  or  in  his 
hand, 

10  The  same  ^shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the 
wrath  of  God,  which  is  '  poured  out  without 
mixture  into  *  the  cup  of  his  indignation ;  and 
^he  shall  be  tormented  with  ®fire  and  brim- 
stone in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb : 


«  Chap.  xiii.  1-10. r  P«a.  Uxv.  6 :  Isa.  li.  17 ;  Jer.  xjy.  15. 

»  Chap,  xviii.  8. »  Chap.  xvL  19. »» Chap.  xx.  10. «  Chap. 

xix.  20. '  Isa.  xxxiy.  10  ;  Chi^).  xix.  3. 


gaged  great  nnmbers  also  to  follow  their  example, 
and  laid  the  first  foundation  of  the  Reformation. 
Rome  then  began  to  fall ;  and  as  the  ruin  of  Babylon 
was  completed  by  degrees,  so  likewise  will  that  of 
Rome;  and  these  holy  confessors  and  martyrs  first 
paved  the  way  to  it 

Verses  9-12.  And  the  third  angel  followed^ At  no 
great  distance  of  time ;  saying — As  the  two  former 
had  done ;  with  a  loud  tjoice— With  authority  and 
earnestness ;  If  any  man  worship  the  beast,  Ac. — 
The  commission  of  this  angel  reaches  further  than 
that  of  the  preceding;  it  extends  not  only  to  the  ca- 
pital city,  not  only  to  the  principal  agents  and  pro- 
moters of  idolatry,  but  to  ^  the  subjects  of  the  beast, 
whom  it  consigns  over  to  everlasting  punishment. 
If  any  man  worship  the  beast — That  is,  embrace  and 
profess  the  religion  of  the  beast ;  or,  what  is  the  same, 
the  religion  of  the  Papal  hierarchy ;  the  same  shall 
drink,  &c. — The  worship  against  which  judgment  is 
here  denounced,  consists  partly  hi  an  inward  submis- 
sion to  the  beast,  a  persuasion  that  all  who  are  sub- 
ject to  Christ  must  be  subject  to  the  beast,  or  they 
cannot  receive  the  influences  of  divine  grace;  or,  as 
their  expression  i?,  "  There  is  no  salvation  out  of  the 
church ;"  and  partly  in  a  suitable  outward  reverence 
to  the  beast  and  his  image— the  antichristian  king- 
dom, and  the  pope  that  rules  in  it.  The  same  shall 
dritik  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  G^ocf— The  wine  of 
God's  indignation,tempered  with  various  ingredients 
of  wrath  ;  which  is  poured  out  without  mixture — 
Namely,  of  mercy,  and  without  hope.  Bishop  New- 
ton renders  the  expression,  the  poisonous  wrath  of 
God;  observing,  "  His  punishment  shall  correspond 
with  his  crime ;  as  he  drank  of  the  poisonous  wine 
of  Babylon,  so  he  shall  be  made  to  drink  of  the  poi- 
sonous wine  of  God  ;  r«  KeKepaofuvs  oKpara,  which  is 
mixed  unmixed,  the  poisonous  ingredients  being 
stronger  when  mixed  with  mere,  or  unmixed  wine;" 
in  the  cup  of  his  indignation;  and  he  shall  be  tor- 
mented with  fire  and  brimstonc—lnihe  day  of  God's 
future  vengeance ;  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels 
—From  hence  some  conjecture  that  possibly  the  tor- 
ments of  the  damned  may,  at  certain  seasons,  through 
eternal  ages,  become  a  spectacle  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  blessed  world  above;  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
Fiamb — This  signifies  that  their  punishment  shall 
766 


11  And  ^  the  smoke  of  their  torment  A.|f.4ioa. 

ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever :  and '. 

they  have  no  rest  day  nor  night,  who  worship 
the  beast  and  his  image,  and  whoeoever  re- 
ceiveth  the  mark  of  his  name. 

12  *  Here  is  the  patience  ot  the  saints:  'heie 
are  they  that  keep  the  oxnmandments  (rf  God, 
and  the  &ith  of  Jesus. 

13  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing unto  me,  Write,  'Blessed  are  the  dead 
^ which  die  in  the  Lcnrd  ^from  henceforth: 

•Chap.  xiii.  10. 'Chap.  xii.  17.— r£oc]ec  ir.  1,  2; 

Chap.  XX.  e. ^  1  Cor.  xv.  18 ;  1  Theai.  ir.  10. •  Or,  from 

henceforth  eaiih  the  Spirit^  Yea. 

not  only  be  appointed  by  the  infinite  majesty  of  God, 
but  approved  moreover  by  inen  and  angels,  and  by 
him  also  who  loved  us  unto  death,  even  Christ,  our 
merciful  and  compassionate  High-Priest  In  all  the 
Scriptures  there  is  not  another  threatening  so  terrible 
as  this.  And  (Jod,  by  this  greater  fear,  mtended  to 
arm  his  servants  agamst  the  fear  of  the  beast  T%e 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascendetJi  up  for  ever  and 
ever — "  YHien  I  seriously  reflect  on  this  text,"  says 
Doddridge,  "and  how  directly  the  force  of  it  lies 
against  those  who,  contrary  to  the  light  of  their  con- 
sciences, continue  inthe  communion  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  for  secular  advantage,  or  to  avoid  the  terror 
of  persecution,  it  almost  makes  me  tremble."  By 
this  third  angel  following  the  others  with  a  louid 
voice,  we  may  understand  principally  Luther  and  his 
fellow-reformers^  who,  with  a  loud  voice,  protested 
against  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
declared  them  to  be  destructive  of  salvation  to  all 
who  obstinately  continued  in  the  practice  and  pro- 
fession of  them.  This  would  be  a  time  of  great  trial, 
verse  12.  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints — Mani- 
fested in  suffering  all  things,  rather  than  receive  this 
mark  of  the  beast,  the  badge  of  their  devotedness  to 
him,  and  making  an  open  profession  of  his  religion ; 
who  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith 
of  Jesus — The  character  of  all  true  saints.  It  is  very 
well  known  that  this  was  a  time  of  great  trial  and 
persecution;  the  Reformation  was  not  introduced 
and  established  without  much  bloodshed ;  there  were 
many  martyrs  in  every  country,  but  they  were  com- 
forted with  a  solemn  declaration  from  heaven  in  the 
next  words. 

Verse  13,  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven — ^This 
is  most  seasonably  heard  when  the  beast  is  in  his 
highest  power  and  fury;  saying  unto  me.  Write — 
He  was  at  first  commanded  to  write  the  whde  book. 
Whenever  this  is  repeated,  it  denotes  something 
peculiarly  observable.  Blessed— Uatutpioi,  happy,  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord-  In  the  faith  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and,  in  consequence  of  that  faith, 
in  a  state  of  vital  union  with  him,  he  being  thereby 
made  of  God  unto  them  wisdom,  righteousness, 
sanctiflcation,  and  redemption,  and  thereby  hnpart« 
ing  unto  them,  1st,  A  satisfactory  knowledge  of  the 
nature  and  greatness  of  their  future  felicity,  in  their 

b 


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CHAPTER  XIV. 


with  a  sickle  to  reap  the  earth. 


A.  M.  4100.  Yea^  saith  the  Spirit,  >  that  they  may 

. '. —  rest  from  their  labours ;    and    their 

works  do  fiJlow  them. 

14  And  I  looked,  and  behdd,  a  white 
doud,  and  upon  the  cloud  one  sat  ^like 
unto  the  Son  of  man,  ^having  on  his  head 
a  golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp 
sickle. 


» 2  Thew.  L  7 ;  Heb.  iv.  9,  10  j  Chap.  vi.  IL k  Eiek.  i.  26 ; 

Dan.  Tii.  13 ;  Chap.  1. 13. 1  Chap.  tI.  2. 


illumination;  2d,  A  title  to  it,  in  their  justification; 
3d,  A  meetness  for  it,  in  their  sanctification ;  and, 
4th,  Bringing  them  to  the  enjoyment  of  it,  in  their 
complete  redemption  from  all  the  consequences  of 
the  fall;  from  Aencc/or/A— Particularly,  Ist,  Because 
they  escape  the  approaching  calamities,  or  are  taken 
away  from  the  evil  to  come^  as  the  expression  is, 
Isa.  Ivii.  1,  2,  to  which  passage  there  seems  to  be  an 
allusion  here;  2d,  Because  they  already  enjoy  so  near 
an  approach  to,  and  indeed  an  anticipation  of,  glory 
— the  glory  to  be  conferred  at  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead ;  for  they 
rest — No  pain,  no  purgatory  follows ;  but  pure  and 
unmixed  happiness;  from  their  labours^-And  the 
more  laborious  their  life  was,  the  sweeter  is  their 
rest.  How  different  is  this  state  from  that  of  those 
(  verse  11)  who  have  no  rest  day  nor  night !  Reader, 
which  wilt  thou  choose?  And  their  works — Each 
one's  peculiar  works,  done  from  a  principle  of  faith 
and  love,  with  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God,  and 
in  a  spirit  of  humility  before  God,  resignation  to  his 
will,  and  patience  under  all  trials  and  sufferings;  and 
in  meekness,  gentleness,  and  long-suffering  toward 
those  who  oppose  them  in  their  Christian  course  of 
cheerfully  doing  good,  and  patiently  suffering  ill ; 
follow  them — And  will  be  produced  as  evidences  of 
their  faith  and  love ;  or  of  the  genuineness  of  their 
religion  at  the  day  of  judgment  But  the  words,  ra 
epya  ovtqv  axoht^ei  fuf  avrwf^  properly  signify,  their 
works  follow  with  them,  or  follow  them  immediately ; 
that  is,  the  fruit  of  their  works ;  they  reap  this,  in 
some  measure,  immediately  on  their  admission  into 
paradise.  Observe,  reader,  their  works  do  not  go 
before,  to  procure  for  them  admittance  into  the 
mansions  of  joy  and  glory,  but  they  follow  or  attend 
them  when  admitted.  Bishop  Newton  accounts  for 
the  expression,  Fromhenceforth,blessedare  the  dead, 
&c.,  by  observing,  that  though  from  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  "  the  blessedness  of  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord  hath  not  been  enlarged,  yet  it  hath  been 
much  better  understood,  more  clearly  written  and 
promulgated  than  it  was  before,  and  the  contrary 
doctrine  of  purgatory  hath  been  exploded  and  ban- 
ished from  the  belief  of  all  reasonable  men.  This 
truth,"  adds  he,*"  was  moreover  one  of  the  leading 
principles  of  the  Reformation.  What  first  provoked 
Luther's  spirit  was  the  scandalous  sale  of  indul- 
gences ;  and  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  having  a 
close  connection  with  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  the 
refutation  of  the  one  naturally  leads  to  the  refutation 
b 


15  And  another  angel  ^  came  out  of  a.  m.  4ioo. 
the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud  voice  to    ^'^'^ 
him  that  sat  on  the  cloud,  ''Thrust  in  thy 
sickle,  and  reap :  for  the  time  is  come  for  thee 
to  reap;  for  the  harvest  *»of  the  earth  is  ^ripe. 

16  And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in 
his  ockle  on  the  earth;  and  the  earth  was 
reaped. 


■  Chap.  xvi.  17. ■  Joel  iil  13  ;   Matt.  xiii.  39. o  Jer.  li. 

33 ;  Chap.  xiii.  12. »  Or,  dried. 

of  the  other ;  and  hb  first  work  of  reformation  was 
his  ninety-five  theses,  or  positions,  against  indul- 
gences, purgatory,  and  the  dependant  doctrines. 
So  that  he  may  be  said  literally  to  have  fulfilled  the 
command  from  heaven,  of  writing,  Blessed  are  the 
dead,  &c.,and  from  that  time  to  this,  this  truth  hath 
been  so  clearly  asserted,  and  so  solemnly  established, 
that  it  is  likely  to  prevail  for  ever."  But  though 
what  the  bbhop  here  states  might  be  one  reason  of 
the  expression,  from  Jtenceforth  blessed,  &e.,  yet 
the  principal  reason  of  its  being  used  seems  evidently 
to  have  been  that  above  suggested,  namely,  to  in- 
timate that  the  sufferings  which  the  people  of  God 
would  be  exposed  to  at  this  period,  from  the  per- 
secutions of  the  antichristian  power,  would  be  so 
great  that  those  individuals  who  escaped  them  by 
being  taken  out  of  the  world  by  death  before  they 
came,  would  have  reason  to  think  themselves  happy. 

Verses  14-16.  And  I  looked,  and  behold  a  white 
cloud— An  emblem  of  the  equity  and  holiness,  as 
also  of  the  victory  of  him  that  sat  upon  it,  over  all 
adverse  power ;  and  upon  the  cloud  one  like  unto 
the  Son  of  man — By  the  majesty  of  his  form,  as  re- 
presented in  Daniel ;  having  on  his  head  a  golden 
croton—Signifying  his  high  dignity,  his  extraor- 
dinary authority  and  power ;  and  a  sharp  sickle  in 
his  hand-"As  if  going  forth  to  reap  some  re- 
markable harvest.  And  another  angel  came  out  of 
the  temple-—  Which  is  in  heaven,  (verse  17,)  out  of 
which  came  the  judgments  of  God  in  the  proper 
seasons;  crying,  by  the  command  of  God,  with  a 
loud  voice,  Thrust  in  thy  sickle  and  reap,  for  the 
time  is  come,  &c.— Namely,  the  appointed  time  of 
judgment,  for  which  the  world  is  ripe;  the  voices  of 
the  three  warning  angels,  spoken  of  from  verse  6-11, 
not  having  their  due  effect,  it  is  here  predicted  that  the 
judgments  of  God  would  overtake  the  followers  and 
adherents  of  the  beast,  which  judgments  are  repre- 
sented in  this  paragraph  under  the  figures  of  harvest 
and  vintage,  figures  not  unusual  in  the  prophets,  and 
copied  particularly  from  the  Prophet  Joel,  who  de- 
nounced God's  judgments  against  the  enemies  of 
his  people  in  the  like  terms,  chap.  iil.  13,  saying,  Put 
ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe  ;  come,  get 
you  down,  for  the  press  is  full,  the  fais  overflow 
for  their  wickedness  is  great, 

"  Having  passed,"  says  Mr.  Faber,  "  the  epoch  of 

the  Reformation,  we  now  advance  into  the  times  of 

God's  last  judgments  upon  his  enemies,  the  days  of 

the  third  wo-trumpet.    Two  remarkable  periods  of 

767 


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KEVEIWkTION. 


wine-preee  of  the  wrath  of  €heL 


A.  M.  4100.    17  And  another  aaffel  came  out  of 
'        the  temfde  wbkh  is  in  heaven,  he  also 
having  a  sharp  sickle. 

18  And  another  angd  came  out  from  the 
altar,  '  which  had  power  over  fire ;  and  cried 
with  a  loud  cry  to  hira  that  had  the  sharp 
sickle,  saying,  "^  Thrust  in  thy  Aarpsickle,  and 
gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth ;  lor 
her  grapes  are  jfully  ripe. 

9  Chap.  xW.  a 1  Joel  iii.  13.T »"  Chap.  xix.  16. •  Iia.  Iriii. 


the  most  conspienoos  of  these  judgments  (the  several 
steps  of  the  whole  of  which  are  afterward  described 
under  seven  vials)  are  here  arranged  under  the  two 
grand  divisions  figuratively  styled  iht  harvest  and 
the  vintage.  In  the  days  of 'Bishop  Newton  the 
third  wo-tmmpet  had  not  begun  to  sound.  Hence 
his  lordship  justly  observed, '  What  particular  events 
are  signified  by  this  harvest  and  vintage^  it  appears 
impossible  for  any  man  to  determine;  time  alone 
can  with  certainty  discover,  for  these  things  are  yet 
in  futurity.  Only  it  may  be  observed,  that  these  two 
signal  judgments  will  as  certainly  come,  as  harvest 
and  vintage  succeed  in  their  season^  and  in  the 
course  of  providence  the  one  will  precede  the  other, 
as  in  the  course  of  nature  the  harvest  is  before  the 
vintage  ;  and  the  latter  will  greatly  surpass  the  for- 
mer, and  be  attended  with  a  most  terriUe  destruction 
of  God's  enemies.'  But  although  both  these  signal 
Judgments  were  future  when  Bishop  Newton  wrote, 
it  has  been  our  lot  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  third  wo, 
and  to  behold  in  the  French  revolution  the  dreadful 
scenes  of  the  harvest.  Still,  however,  a  more  dread- 
ftil  prospect  extends  before  us.  The  da3rs  of  the 
vintage  are  yet  future ;  for  the  time  hath  not  yet 
arrived  when  the  great  controversy  of  God  with  the 
nations  shall  be  carried  on  between  the  two  sects,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  glorious  holy  mountain,  in 
the  blood-stained  vaie  of  Megiddo,  in  the  land  whose 
space  extends  one  thousand  six  hundred  furlongs." 
Mr.  Faber,  therefore,  considers  the  harvest  and  the 
vintage  here  as  predicting  ^  two  tremendous  mani- 
festations of  God's  wrath,  two  seasons  of  peculiar 
misery;"  and  that  the  apostle  gives  here  only  a 
general  intimation  of  these,  reserving  a  more  par- 
ticular account  of  them  for  future  consideration 
under  the  pouring  out  of  the  seven  vials,  which  are 
all  contprehended  under  the  third  wo,  and  which  he 
divides  into  three  classes ;  the  vials  of  the  harvest, 
the  intermediate  vials,  and  the  vials  of  the  vintage. — 
Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies,  vol.  ii.  pages  878 
and  382,  edition  1810.  Whether  and  how  far  these 
views  of  Mr.  Faber  appear  to  be  just  and  con- 
sistent with  the  general  tenor  of  this  latter  part  of 
the  prophecy,  we  shall  be  better  able  to  judge  when 
we  come  to  consider  the  contents  of  the  two  next 
chapters. 

Verses  17-20.  And  another  angel  came  out  of 
the  temple  which  is  in  heaven — As  the  former  had 
done;  he  also  leaving  a  ^harp  sickle — To  assist  in 
7«8 


19  And  the  angd  thrust  in  his  sickle  ▲.M.4ioiL 

into  the  earth,  and  gathered  the  vine  — 

of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  '  the  great  wine- 
pcesa  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

20  AimI  'the  wine-preas  was  trodd^i  ^wkb« 
out  the  city,  and  blood  came  cut  of  the  wine- 
presSy  ^even  undo  the  horse-bridles,  by  the 

ace  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  lor* 
longs. 


3;  Lun.  L  IS. ^  Chap.  zL  8 ;  Heb.  xiiL  12. "Ch.  six.  U. 


this  execntioh,  and  finish  the  destmction  of  the 
enemies  of  the  truth.  And  another  angel,  jnst  at 
that  instant,  came  out  from  the  aUcar — Of  burnt- 
offering,  from  whence  the  martyrs  had  cried  for 
vengeance.  Which  angel,  it  is  said,  ?iad  power  over 
fire — This,  according  to  Danbnz,  is  spoken  in  allusion 
to  the  office  of  that  priest  who  was  appo'mted  by  lot 
in  the  temple-service  to  take  care  of  the  fire  npon 
the  altar,  and  who  was  therefore  called  the  priest 
over  the  fire.  Grotius  interprets  it,  habens  minis- 
terium  ir»  divinae,  having  the  office  of  God^s  venr 
geance.  And  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice — ^With 
great  vehemence;  to  him  that  had  the  sharp  sickle 
•^Being  sent  to  bring  a  message  to  him ;  saying, 
Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters, 
&c.^^Begin  to  put  in  execution  the  righteous  judg- 
ments of  God  on  this  wicked  generation  ;  for  her 
grapes  are  fully  ripe — The  time  of  God^  ven- 
geanecj  his  appointed  time,  is  ftilly  come,  for  the 
iniquities  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  made 
them  fully  ripe  for  destmction.  And  the  angd 
thrust  in  his  sickle — Immediately  upon  this  order 
the  angel  began  to  cut  down  those  wicked  persons 
whose  iniquities  had  made  them  ripe  for  destruc- 
tion; and  gathered — Or  lopped  off  the  grapes  of 
the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  them  into  the  great 
wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  GW—Which  seemed  to 
stand  ready  to  receive  them ;  that  is,  delivered  them 
over  to  divine  vengeance,  which  should  press  them 
hard  with  grievous  afflictions,  as  grapes  are  pressed 
in  a  wine-press.  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden 
withoia  the  city— The  images  in  this  vision  are  very 
strong  and  expressive.  The  largest  wine-presses 
used  to  be  in  some  places  out  of  the  city.  This 
expression,  therefore,  seems  to  intimate  Uie  great 
numbers  that  should  be  involved  in  this  general 
destruction.  And  the  blood  came  out  of  the  wine- 
press even  unto  the  horses-bridles,  &c. — Which  is  a 
strong  hyperbolical  expression,  to  signify  a  vast 
slaughter  and  effusion  of  blood ;  a  way  of  speaking 
not  unknown  to  the  Jews,  for  the  Jerusalem  Talmud, 
describing  the  woful  slaughter  which  the  Roman 
Emperor  Adrian  made  of  the  Jews  at  "Oie  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  of  Bitter,  saith,  that  "the  horses 
waded  in  blood  up  to  the  nostrils."  Nor  are  similar 
examples  wanting  even  in  classic  authors ;  for  Silius 
Italicus,  speaking  of  Hannibal's  descent  into  Italy, 
useth  a  like  expression  of  "  the  bridles  flowing  witfi 
much  blood."    The  stage  where  this  bloody  trageiij 

b 


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CHAPTER  XV. 


Lb  m:ted  is  vnthout  the  city,  by  the  space  of  a  tkoueand 
and  six  hundred  furlongs^  which,  as  Mr.  Mede  in- 
geniously observes,  is  the  measure  of  stato  deUo 
chiesa^  or  the  state  of  the  Roman  Church,  or  St 


Peler's  patrimony,  which,  readiing  ftom  the  walla 
of  Borne  unto  the  river  Po  and  the  marshes  of 
Verona,  ocmtains  the  space  of  two  hundred  Italian 
miles,  which  make  exactly  sixteen  hundred  tolongs. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  96. 


the  victory  over  the  beast,  ^and  over  a.m.41oo. 

^  ^  A.  D.  90. 


his  image,  and  over  his  mark,  cmd 
over  the  nmnber  of  his  name,  stand  on  the  qea 
of  glass,  'having  the  harps  of  God. 
3  And  they  sing  ^  the  song  of  Moses  the  ser- 
vant of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying, 


'Chap.  xiii.  15-17. fChap.  v.  8;   xiv.  2. — 

Deut  xxxi.  30";  Chtp.  x'lv.  3. 


*  Exod.  XT.  1 ; 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Here  the  apoitUf  (1,)  Ha$  •  vitum  qf  seven  sngeU  prepared  to  execute  the  dinne  judgments  on  the  oniiciriMtiem  kmgdmK 
and  on  all  that  uphold  ii,  with  the  triumphant  song  oftheckureh  on  that  occasion,  1-4.  (2,)  Their  coming  forth  out  ef 
the  temple,  and  receiving  vials  full  of  divine  wrath,  which  they  were  to  pour  out  for  that  purpose,  6-8. 

ND  *  I  saw  another  sign  in  hea- 
ven,   great    and     marvellQus, 
^  seven  angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues : 
«  for  in  them  is.fiUed  up  the  wrath  of  God. 
2  And  I  saw  as  it  were  ^  a  sea  of  glass 

*  mingled  with  fire :  and  them  that  had  gotten 

•  Chap.  xiL  1,  3. *  Chap.  xri.  1 ;   xxi.  9i       <  Chap.  xir.  10. 

'  Chap.  iv.  6 ;   xxi.  16. •  Matt.  iii.  11. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XV. 

The  prophecy  proceeds,  in  this  and  the  following 
chapters,  to  open  further  Uie  appointed  punishment 
of  antichristian  Rome  for  her  oppression  of  the 
truth,  and  persecution  of  the  saints.  This  chapter 
represents  the  .solemn  manner  in  which  preparation 
is  made  for  the  execution  of  these  judgment,  as  j^ 
next  describes  the  actual  execution  of  tiiem.  The 
happy  state  of  Gk>d'8  faithful  servants,  and  the  joyful 
thanksgivings  with  which  they  celebrate  the  good- 
ness of  God  in  the  protection  of  their  cause,  are  very 
elegantly  represented,  to  encourage  their  constancy 
and  perseverance.  God's  judgments  upon  the  king- 
dom of  the  beast,  or  antichristian  empire,  have  been 
hitherto  denounced,  and  described  only  in  general 
terms,  under  the  figures  of  harvest  and  vintage,  A 
more  particular  account  of  them  follows  under  the 
emblem  of  seven  vials.  ThecfC  must  necessarily  fall 
under  the  seventh  trumpet,  and  the  four  last  of  them, 
at  least,  under  the  third  wo;  so. that  as  the  seventh 
seal  contained  the  seven  trumpets,  the  seventh 
trumpet  comprehends  the  seven  vials.  Not  only  the 
concinnity  of  the  prophecy  requires  this  order,  for 
otherwise  there  would  be  great  confusion,  and  the 
vials  would  interfere  with  the  trumpets,  some  falling 
under  one  trumpet,  and  some  under  another ;  but, 
moreover,  if  these  seven  last  plagues,  and  the  conso- 
quent  destructlpu  of  Babylon,  be  not  the  subject  of 
the  third  wo,  the  third  wo  is  nowhere  described  par- 
ticularly, as  are  the  two  former  woes.  Before  the 
vials  are  poured  out,  the  scene  opens  with  a  prepa- 
ratory vision,  which  is  the  subject  of  this  chapter. 
As  seven  angeb  sounded  the  seven  trumpets,  no 
seven  angels  are  appointed  to  pour  out  the  seven 
vials,  angels  being  always  the  ministers  of  Provi- 
dence ;  and  in  order  to  show  that  these  judgments 
are  to  fall  upon  the  kingdom  of  the  beast,  the  true 
worshippers  of  God  and  faithful  servants  of  Jesus, 
who  had  escaped  victors  from  the  beast,  are  here 

Vou  II.  (  49  ) 


described  as  praising  God  for  their  deliverance  ftom 
its  tyrannical  power. 

Verse  1.  And  I  saw  a  sign  in  heaven,  great  and 
marvellous — Such  as  fixed  ipy  attention,  and  will 
demand  that  of  the  reader :  seven  angels  (doubUets 
holy  angels)  having  the  seven  kbst  plagues — Hither* 
to  €k>d  had  IxMrne  with  his  enemies  with  much  long* 
suffering,  but  now  his  wrath  will  go  forth  to  the 
uttermost  But  even  after  these  plagues  the  holy 
wrath  of  God  against  his  other  enemies  does  sol 
cease,  chap.  xx.  15. 

Verses  ^-4.  /  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mm- 
gled  with  fire — It  WBBbeforeclear  as  crystal,  (chap. 
iv.  6,)  but  is  now  mingled  irt/^^re— EmblcBiattcal 
of  the  judgments  whereby  God's  enemies  were  about 
to  he  devoured ;  and  them  that  had  gained— Or 
were  gaining,  as  r&f  viKuvrac  rather  means;  theviO' 
lory  over  the  beast  and  his  im<ige — And  not  submit* 
ted  to  his  tyranny  or  region,  having  steadfastly  re- 
fused, though  at  the  expense  of  thehr  property, 
liberty,  and  lives,  amidst  so  many  who  were  devoted 
to  him,  to  receive  his  mark,  and  the  number  of  his 
name-r-Expressions  which  seem  to  mean  nearly  the 
same  thing;  standing  on  the  sea  of  glass — ^Which 
was  before  the  throne;  having  the  harps  of  Godr— 
Given  by  him,  and  appropriated  to  his  praise.  And 
they  sing,  &c— Like  unto  the  people  of  Israel  after 
their  deliverance  and  escape  out  of  Egypt,  when, 
having  passed  through  the  Red  sea,  they  stood  on 
the  shore ;  and,  seeing  their  enemies  overwhelmed 
with  the  waters,  sung  0ie  triumphant  song  of  Moses. 
So  these,  having  passed  through  the  fiery  trials  of 
this  world,  stand  on  a  sea  of  glass,  and,  seeing  the 
vials  ready  to  be  poured  out  upon  their  enemies, 
sing  a  song  of  triumph  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
divine  judgments,  which  is  called  the  song  of  Moses 
and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  because  the  words  are,  in 
a  great  measure,  taken  from  the  song  of  Moses  and 
other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  implied  m  a 
760  b 


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The  $even  <mgd$^  with  ieven  plagues.       REYELATIOH . 


The  glory  of  God  JUU  the  temple. 


A.M.4100.  <Oieat  and  marvellous  are  thy  wortcsi 

^^•^  Lord  God  Almighty ;  ^  just  and  true 
are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  ^  saints. 

4  1  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glo- 
rify thy  name  ?  for  thou  only  art  holy :  for  "all 
natioDs  shall  come  and  wcxdiip  befiMre  thee ;  for 
thy  judgments  are  made  manifest 

6  And  after  that  I  looked,  and  behdkl,  ''the 
temple  (rf  the  tabernacle  of  the  testimony  in 
heaven  was  opened : 

6  "And  the  seven  angels  came  out  of  the 


>  Deat.  xxxiL  4;  Psa.  cxL2 ;  czxziz.  14. *  pg^.  cxlv.  17; 

Hot.  xir.  9 ;  Chap.  xri.  7. *  Or,  nations,  or,  agea. >  Exod. 

XT.  14-16 ;   Jcr.  x.  7. ■  Im.  Ixvi.  22. ■  Chapter  xL  19 ; 

Num.  L  50. 

Christian  sense ;  but  chiefly  because  Moses  was  the 
minister  and  representative  of  the  Jewish  Church, 
as  Christ  is  of  the  church  universal :  therefore  it  is 
also  termed,  the  song  of  the  Lamb.  Saying,  Great 
and  marvelloua  are  thy  irorAw— We  acknowledge 
and  know  that  all  thy  works,  in  and  toward  all  the 
creatures,  are  great  and  wonderful ;  just  and  true 
are  thy  ways— Wiih  aU  the  children  of  men,  good 
and  eviL  Who  shaU  not  fear  thee^  O  Lord— Stand 
in  awe  of  thee,  revere  thy  justice  and  thy  power,  and 
fear  to  offend  thee ;  and  glorify  thy  name — Honour 
and  praise,  love  and  serve  thee  'yfor  thou  only  art  holy 
— ^And  in  thy  presence  the  holiness  of  all  other  beings 
disappears,  as  utterly  unworthy  to  be  mentioned. 
Or,  as  the  words  may  be  rendered,  thou  only  art 
gracious,  and  thy  grace  is  the  spring  of  all  thy  won- 
derful works,  even  of  thy  destroying  the  enemies  of 
thy  people.  Accordingly,  in  the  ld7th  Psalm,  that 
clause,,^  Attf  mercy  endurethfor  ever,  is  subjoined 
to  the  thanksgiving  for  his  works  of  vengeance,  as 
well  as  for  his  delivering  the  righteous.  For  all 
nations  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee — Shall 
serve  thee  as  their  king,  and  confide  in  thee  as  their 
Saviour  with  reverential  joy :  a  glorious  testimony 
this  to  the  future  conversion  of  all  the  heathen.  The 
Christians  are  now  a  little  flock ;  and  they  who  do 
not  worship  God,  an  immense  multitude.  But  all 
the  nations,  from  all  parts  of  the  earth,  shall  come  and 
worship  him,  and  glorify  his  name.  Far  thy  judg- 
ments shall  be  made  manifest — And  then  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth  will,  at  length,  learn  to  fear  thee. 

Verses  5-7.  After  that  I  looked,  and  behold,  the 
temple  of  the  tabernacle — In  which  ^as  the  ark  of 
the  testimony  in  heaven,  was  opened — ^Namely,  the 
most  holy  place,  disclosing  a  new  theatre  for  the 
coming  forth  of  the  judgments  of  God,  now  made 
.  manifest  And  the  seven  angels  came  out  of  the 
temple-^From  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  to 
denote  that  their  commission  was  immediately  from 
him ;  having  the  seven  plagues — Already  mention- 
ed ;  clothed-'hike  the  high-priest,  but  in  a  more  au- 
770 


temple,  having  the  seven  plagues,  A.M.4100. 

i»  clothed  in  pure  and  white  linen,  and  ! 

having  their  breasts  girded  with  golden  girdlee. 

7  ^  And  one  of  the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the 
seven  angels  seven  golden  vials  fiill  of  tho 
wrath  cfGod,  'who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 

8  And  *the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke 
*  from  the  glory  of  Grod  and  from  his  power ; 
and  no  man  was  able  to  enter  into  the  temple, 
till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were 
fiilfiUed. 


•  Verse  1. p  Exod.  zxriii.  6,  8 ;  Exek.  xlir.  17, 18;  Cbapu 

L  13. «» Chap.  ir.  S. *  1  Then.  i.  9 ;   Chep.  iv.  » ;    x.  6. 

•  Exod.  xl.  34 ;  1  Kings  viiL  10 ;  2  Chran.  v.  14 ;  Isa.  tL  4. 
« 2  These.  L  9. 


gust  manner;  in  pure  and  white  linen—To  signify 
the  righteousness  of  these  judgments ;  and  having 
their  breasts  girded— To  show  their  readiness  to 
execute  the  divine  commands ;  with  golden  girdles 
—As  emblems  of  their  power  and  majesty.  And  one 
of  the  four  living  creatures— The  representatives  of 
the  church ;  gave  unto  the  seven  angels  seven  golden 
vials — Bowls,  or  censers;  the  Greek  word  signifies 
vessels  broader  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom ;  fuU 
of  the  wrath  of  God— By  which  it  is  intimated  that 
it  is  in  vindication  of  the  church  and  true  religion 
that  these  plagues  are  inflicted ;  who  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever— A  circumstance  which  adds  greatly  to 
the  dreadfnlness  of  his  wrath,  and  the  value  of  his 
favour;  and  that  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  most 
formidable  enemy,  as  well  as  the  most  desiraUe 
friend,  to  immortal  beings. 

Verse  8.  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke 
from  the  glory  of  Chd— In  the  same  manner  the 
tabernacle,  when  it  was  consecrated  by  Moses,  and 
the  temple,  when  it  was  dedicated  by  Solomon,  were 
both  filled  with  a  cloud,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  ; 
which  cloud  of  glory  was  the  visible  manifestation 
of  Gk>d's  presence  at  both  times,  and  a  sign  of  God^s 
protection.  But  in  the  judgment  of  Korah,  when 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared,  he  and  his  com- 
panions were  swallowed  Up  by  the  earth.  So  proper 
is  the  emblem  of  smoke  from  the  glory  of  God,  or 
from  the  cloud  of  glory,  to  express  the  execution  of 
judgment,  as  well  as  to  be  a  sign  of  favour.  Both 
proceed  from  the  power  of  God,  and  in  both  he  is 
glorified.  And  no  man— Not  even  those  who  ordi- 
narily stood  before  God ;  icas  able  to  enter  into  the 
temple — As  neither  Moses  could  enter  into  the  ta- 
beniacle,  nor  the  priests  into  the  temple,  when  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  fiUed  those  sacred  places ;  a  fur- 
ther proof  of  the  majestic  presence  and  extraordi- 
nary interposition  of  God  in  the  execution  of  these 
judgments:  tUl  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  an- 
gels were  fulfilled— Ot  were  finished :  till  they  had 
poured  them  out  by  the  divine  command. 

(  48*  )  b 


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The  fret  angel  poure  <nU 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


his  viai  on  the  earth* 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

In  tJuM  ekapUr  it  represented  the  ptmring  out  of  the  seven  vials  of  Ooi's  destructive  vengeance  upon  antichrist :  the  iSnt 
upon  the  earth,  producing  grievous  sores,  1,  8  ;  tike  tecond  on  As  tea,  turning  it  into  bloody  and  hUing  the  fish,  d ;  ths 
thvd  on  the  wrtn  and  foantaini,  rendering  the  waters  Hood,  to  punish  the  Popish  persecutions  and  murdsrs,  4-7 ;  ths 
fourth  upon  the  ton,  causing  him  to  scorch  men  vfith  his  heat,  S,  9 ;  Me  fifth  o»  antichrisi's  aeai,  darkening  his  kingdom^ 
and  tormenting  his  subjects,  10,  11 ;  the  nzth  on  the  river  Euphrates,  followed  by  the  ruinous  battle  of  Armageddon^ 
18-16 ;  and  the  sefenth  into  Me  air,  Me  seat  of  Satan*s  power,  issuing  in  the  universal  and  complete  destruction  of  all 
antiehristian  enemies  and  opposition,  17-38. 


A.  M.  4ioa    A  ND  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 

! the  temi^  sajring  •  to  the  seven 

angels,  Go  your  ways,  and  pour  out  the  vials 
^  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the  earth. 
2  And  the  first  went,  apd  poured  out  his 


•Chap.  XV.  1. ^  Chap.  xIt.  10 ;  xv.  7. «  Chap.  tuL  7. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XVI. 

This  chapter  contains  the  judgments  themselves, 
signified  by  the  seven  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God; 
and  gives  us  a  prophetic  representation  of  each  of 
them  in  their  order,  being  an  exact  description  of 
the  greater  and  more  eminent  judgments  of  God  on 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their  emnity  to  true 
religion,  and  persecution  of  the  saints  during  this 
third  and  last  period;  and  especially  on  the  Papacy 
and  its  dominions,  or  the  antiehristian  kingdom. 
For,  as  the  events  comprehended  under  the  trum- 
pets raised  antichrist  up,  those  that  occurred  under 
the  vials  must  bring  him  down.  And,  as  he  began 
to  be  brought  down  in  a  particular  manner  at  the 
first  rise  of  the  Reformation,  and  his  power  has  de- 
clined more  and  more  ever  since;  insomuch  that 
the  Protestant  religion  is  now  established  in  many 
of  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  why  may  we  not  suppose  that  the  vials, 
which  are  the  appointed  instruments  of  effecting 
this  happy  change,  began  to  be  poured  out  at  that 
time?  This  view  of  the  vials  was  given  by  Mr. 
Robert  Fleming,  in  his  '^  Apocalyptical  Key,''  en- 
titled, "An  extraordinary  Discourse  on  the  Rise 
and  Fall  of  Papacy ;  or  the  Pouring  out  of  the 
Vials  in  the  Revelation  of  St  John,  chap,  xvi.,  con- 
taining Predictions  respecting  the  Revolutions  of 
France;  the  Fate  of  its  Monarch;  the  Decline  of  the 
Papal  Power:  together  with  the  Fate  of  the  sur- 
rounding Nations ;  the  Destruction  of  Mohammedan- 
ism; the  Calling  in  of  the  Jews;  the  Restoration 
and  Ck>n8umraation  of  all  Things,"  &c.,  &c,  published 
in  the  year  1701 ;  some  particulars  of  which  have 
been  remarkably  verified  by  the  events  which  have 
since  taken  place.  Of  his  scheme  of  interpretation, 
which  is  not  here  maintained  to  be,  in  all  respects, 
the  true  one,  but  which  certainly  carries  with  it,  in 
several  points,  some  striking  marks  of  probability, 
the  substance  is  given  below. 

Verse  1.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the 
temple — All  things  being  prepared,  the  angels  hav- 
ing received  their  instructions  from  the  oracle,  and 
the  vials  being  filled  with  the  wrath  of  God,  by  one 
of  the  four  living  creatures,  (see  on  chap.  xv.  7,)  I 
heard  the  word  of  command  given  to  the  seven  an* 
b 


vial 


upon  the  earth;    and  ^there  am.410ol 

fell   a   noisome   and    grievous   sore  ' 

upon  the  men  *  which  had  the  mark  of  the 
beast,  and  upon  them  ^  which  worshipped  his 
image. 


J  Erod.  ix.  9-11. •  Ch^.  xiii  16, 17. '  Chap.  xiiL  4. 

gels  to  pour  out  their  vials  in  their  order,  the  unha- 
bitants  of  the  earth  being  ripe  for  those  Judgments 
which  the  justice  of  God  had  appointed  for  their 
punishment.  The  epistles  to  the  seven  churches 
are  divided  into  three  and  four ;  the  seven  seals,  and 
so  the  trumpets  and  vials,  into  four  and  three.  The 
trumpets  gradually,  and  in  a  long  tract  of  time,  over- 
throw the  kingdoms  of  the  world ;  the  vials  destroy 
chiefly  the  beast  and  his  followers,  and  that  with  a 
more  swift  and  impetuous  force.  The  four  former 
afi'ect  the  earth,  the  sea,  the  rivers,  the  sun :  the 
rest  fall  elsewhere,  and  are  much  more  terrible. 

Verse  2.  And  the  first  poured  out  hie  vial  upon 
t?^  earfA— This,  according  to  Mr.  Fleming,  denotes 
God's  judgments  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Papal 
kingdom;  the  earth  being  (hat  on  which  we  walk, 
and  by  the  fruits  of  which  we  are  supported.  By 
this,  therefore,  he  understands  the  Popish  clergy, 
and  the  Papal  dominions  and  revenues,  by  which 
they  were  upheld.  This  vial,  he  thinks,  began  with 
the  Reformation,  and  continued  until  the  time  when 
these  agents  of  Popery  were  thrown  out  of  ^  many 
countries  of  Europe  as  embraced  the  Reformation. 
And  we  may  easily  conceive  what  a  mortification  it 
was  to  that  party,  when  the  pretended  sanctity  of 
their  bishops,  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  was  disco- 
vered to  be  a  mere  cheat,  and  their  miracles  nothing 
but  lies  or  tricks ;  and  when  their  tales  of  purgatory 
were  exposed  to  public  contempt,  and  their  pardons 
and  indulgences  would  seU  iio  longer ;  and  conse- 
quently,  when  the  pope  and  his  mitred  ofllcers  saw 
themselves  driven  out  from  so  great  a  part  of  their 
dominions,  their  seminaries  for  training  up  their  ad- 
vocates and  defenders,  of  all  denominations  and  or- 
ders, pulled  down,  and  so  much  of  their  yearly  reve- 
nues lost.  Whence  they  are  said  to  fall  under  a 
noisome  and  grievous  eA«of,  ulcer^  or  sore — Being 
by  this  means  pained  and  vexed  inwardly,  and  ren- 
dered  contemptible  to  the  whole  world,  which  looked 
upon  them  as  no  better  than  the  plagues  of  mankind. 
So  that  this  vial  began  with  the  rise  of  Zuinglius 
and  Luther,  and  the  other  reformers,  in  the  years 
1616  and  1517,  and  continued  to  the  year  1506; 
that  tB,  about  forty  or  fifty  years;  for  by  that  time 
all  the  reformed  chuxches  were  settled,  and  had 
TTl 


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The  second^  ihirdy  and  fourth 


REVELATION. 


angeU  pour  out  their  viiUs. 


A.  M.  4i5o.  3  And  the  second  angel  poured  out 
i — L  his  vial  'upon  the  sea;  and  ^it  be- 
came as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man  ;  ^  and  every 
living  soul  died  in  the  sea. 

4  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
■^upon  the  rivers   and   fountains   of  waters: 

and  they  became  blood. 

5  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  waters  say, 
•Thou  art  righteous,  O  liord,  ■  which  art,  and 
wast,  and  shalt  be,  because  thou  hast  judged 
thus. 

6  For  •  they  have  shed  the  blood  'of  saints  and 


f  Chapter  viii.  8. *»  Exodus  vii.  17, 20. » Chapter  viiL  9. 

k  Chap.  viii.  10. •  Exod.  vii.  20. "» Chap.  xv.  3. »  Chap. 

i.  4,  8;    iv.  8 ;    xL  17. »  Matt,  xxiii.  34,  35;   Chap.  xiii.  15. 

P  Chap.  xi.  18 ;   xviii.  20.-^1  Isa.  xlix.  26. 


published  their  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  against 
Rome,  in  opposition  to  the  determinations  of  the 
Popish  council  of  Trent,  published  A.  D.  1563,  and 
*he  creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  which  added  twelve  an- 
tichristian  articles  to  the  twelve  primitive  Christian 
ones,  A.  D.  1564. 

Verse  3.  And  the  second  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  sea,  &c. — This,  says  the  same  pious 
author,  must  begin  where  the  other  ended,  as  to  the 
l^riod  of  time.  Now  I  find  that  in  the  year  1566 
the  wars  between  the  king  of  Spain  and  the  states 
of  the  Netherlands  began.  The  Spaniards,  indeed, 
were  often  victorious  at  first,  yet  they  were  at  length 
compelled  to  declare  them  free  states.  It  was  then 
that  the  sea  became  blood  to  the  Romanists,  their 
votaries  being  miserably  defeated  in  their  expecta- 
tions. For  after  their  cruelties  under  the  duke  of 
Alva,  in  the  Low  Countries,  and  their  massacre  of  the 
Protestants,  in  France  and  other  places,  the  scene 
was  changed  very  quickly;  so  that,  in  the  year 
1588,  the  Spaniards  lost  their  vast  armada,  and  ever 
after  declined  in  their  power.  And  the  duke  of 
Guise,  the  inveterate  enemy  of  the  Protestants,  was 
killed  the  same  year;  and  A.  D.  1598  Philip  II.  of 
Spain  died,  being  eaten  of  vermin:  the  edict  of 
Nantz  was  also  issued  the  same  year  in  France  in 
favour  of  the  Protestants.  So  that,  as  the  Reformed 
interest  was  in  peace  everywhere,  and  conquered  in 
Holland  and  England,  the  Popish  party,  on  the 
other  hand,  saw  Spain,  the  late  terror  of  the  Pro- 
testants, brought  to  a  languishing  condition,  and  all 
their  allies  weary  of  wars  and  persecutions.  And 
as  in  the  year  1609  the  truce  was  made  between  the 
Spaniards  and  the  Dutch,  so  the  war,  though  re- 
newed and  carried  on  afterward,  became  languid 
and  faint,  so  as  hardly  to  be  regarded  by  eith'fer 
party,  especially  the  Dutch,  who  were  generally 
victorious  and  successful.  Hence,  as  the  period  of 
this  vial  began  in  1566,  so  we  may  reckon  it  conti- 
nued about  fifty  years,  namely,  till  the  year  1617, 
when  the  third  vial  began. 

Verses  4-7.  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his 

vial  upon  the  rivers  cmd  fountains  of  waters,  &c. — 

Or  those  territories  of  the  Papacy  which  were  as 

772 


prophets,  ^  and  thou  hast  given  them  a.  m.  4100 
blood  to  drink ;  for  they  are  worthy.    — ^J 

7  And  I  heard  another  out  of  the  altar  eay, 
Even  80,  'Lord  God  Almighty,  'true  and 
righteous  etre  thy  judgments. 

8  And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his  via] 
*upon  the  sun;  ^and  power  was  given  unto 
him  to  scorch  men  with  fire. 

9  And  men  were  ^scorched  with  great  heat, 
and  blasi^emed  the  name  of  *  God,  which 
hath  power  over  these  plagues:  ^and  they 
repented  not  *to  give  him  glory. 

'  Chap.  XT.  3. •  Chap.  xiii.  10 ;  xit.  10;  xix.  2. » Chap^ 

viii.  12.— *-o  Chi^rter  ix.   17,  18;    xiv.   18. *  Or,  Immed. 

'Verses  11,21. ^7  Dan.  v.  22, 23 ;   Chap.  ix.  20. 'Chap. 

xi.  13;  xiv.  7. 


necessary  to  it  as  rivers  and  fountains  are  to  a  coun- 
try :  the  kind  of  plague  under  this  vial  being  the 
same  as  that  of  the  former.  For,  as  the  former  de- 
stroyed the  living  creatures,  or  living  souls,  thut 
were  in  or  upoa  the  sea,  namely,  the  Spaniards,  the 
great  mariners  of  the  world  at  that  time,  as  to  their 
maritime  power,  who  after  the  ye^r  15^  lost  their 
former  sovereignty  of  the  seas,  it  bemg  transferred 
to  the  English  and  Dutch;  so  this  latter  plague 
makes  it  difficult  for  the  Popish  party  ^o  subsist  and 
maintain  their  ground,  even  in  the  inland  countries, 
particularly  in  the  several  dominions  of  Germany 
and  the  neighbouring  countries.  For  in.  the  year 
1617,  Ferdinand  being  forced  upon  the  Behemiaos 
by  the  Emperor  Matthias,  and  crowned  king,  the 
foundation  of  new  quarrels  was  thus  laid.  For,  a 
little  while  after,  another  most  bloody  religious  war 
ensued,  which  shook  all  the  empire,  and  excited  the 
terror  of  all  Europe.  And,  though  the  Protestants 
lost  Bohemia,  the  Palatinate  in  part,  and  were 
driven  out  of  Moravia,  Austria,  and  Silesia,  at  this 
time,  and  were  not  only  persecuted  in  many  places, 
but  were  in  danger  of  being  extirpated  and  rooted 
out  universally ;  yet  the  tide  turned  all  on  a  sudden. 
For  after  the  emperor  had  ruled  Germany  with  a 
veteran  army  for  a  considerable  time,  Gustavus 
Adolphus  entered  it  in  the  year  1630,  and  conquered 
everywhere.  And  though  he  was  killed  about  two 
yeai-s  afterward,  yet  his  army  continued  to  be  vic- 
torious ;  until  at  length  all  thmgs  were  settled  at  the 
peace  of  Munster,  A.  D.  1648;  with  which  there- 
fore the  period  of  this  Tial,  consisting  of  thirty-one 
years,  must  be  supposed  to  end.  Now,  as  this  began 
with  persecutions  against,  and  cruelties  upon  the 
Protestants ;  so  at  length  the  angel  of  the  waters  is 
heard  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  causing  the  enemies 
of  his  people  at  last  to  drink  of  their  own  blood. 
To  which  song  of  praise  another  angel  sviys.  Amen: 
all  which  seems  to  denote  the  joy  of  the  Protestant 
states  and  churches  on  the  success  of  the  Swedish 
arms  against  the  emperor. 

Verses  8,  9.  And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  iwm— Namely,  of  the  Papal  kingdom  ; 
and  power  was  given  unto  him — Unto  the  angel;  to 

b 


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Men^  scorched  with  great  heat, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


blasphemed  the  name  of  Ood, 


scorch  men  with  ^e— -Alluding  to  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  namely,  the  men  who  had  the  mark  of  the  beast. 
And  they  were  scorched  with  great  heat;  neverthe- 
less, they  repented  not  to  give  glory  to  God,  who 
had  power  over  these  plagues;  but  blasphemed  his 
name  the  more — "  Now -as  this  vial,"  says  Fleming, 
^'  must  begin  where  the  other  ends,  namely,  at,  or  a 
little  after,  A.  D.  1648,  so  I  cannot  see  but  it  must 
denote,  first,  the  French  wars  in  Flanders,  that  fol- 
lowed the  peace  of  Munster,  inflamed,  after  they 
had  been  apparently  quenched,  by  the  seizure  of 
Lorraine,  the  new  conquests  of  the  French  in 
Burgundy  and  Flanders,  the  wars  in  Germany, 
and  invasion  of  the  Low  Countries ;  to  which  may 
be  added  the  French  king's  quarrels  with  several 
popes,  about  the  restitution  of  Castro,  the  rights 
of  the  duke  of  Modena,  &c.  Now,  seeing  the 
bombarding  of  towns  and  cities  was  chiefly  made 
use  of  in  these  later  wars,  we  may  see  how  properly 
the  scorching,  or  burning  men  from  above,  (as  if  the 
sun  had  sent  down  fire  and  heat  from  his  own  body,) 
is  made  use  of  to  characterize  the  time  of  this  vial. 
But  the  chief  thing  to  be  taken  notice  of  here  is, 
that  the  sun,  and  other  luminaries  of  heaven,  are  the 
emblems  of  princes  and  kingdoms;  therefore,  the 
pouring  out  of  this  vial  on  the  sun  must  denote  the 
humiliation  of  some  eminent  potentates  of  the  Ro- 
mish interest,  who  cherished  and  supported  the 
Papal  cause.  And  these,  therefore,  must  be  prin- 
cipally the  houses  of  Austria  and  Bourbon,  though 
not  exclusively  of  other  Popish  princes.  Now  it  is 
not  unusual  with  God  to  make  his  enemies  crush 
and  weaken  one  another,  which  has  been  done  in 
that  part  of  the  vial  which  is  already  fulfilled,  and 
^ill  be  perhaps  more  so  afterward.  [Reader, 
mark  this:  how  manifesQy  has  it  been  accom- 
plished !]  As,  therefore,  France  was  made  use  of, 
in  the  instances  given,  to  vex  and  gicorch  the 
Austrian  family,  in  both  branches  of  it,  so  after- 
ward the  French  king  h'unself  was  vexed  when 
he  saw  himself  forced  to  leave  Holland,  which  he 
was  so  near  surprising,  A.  D.  1672;  and  especially 
when  he  was  compelled  to  resign  all  his  con- 
quests in  Flanders  by  the  peace  of  Ryswick. 
The  effect  of  this  vial  is  also  seen  in  darkening  the 
glory  of  King  James,  (from  whom  the  Papists  ex- 
pected new  conquests,)  by  the  hand  of  King 
William;  by  whom  also  God  put  a  stop  to  the 
career  of  the  French  monarch  in  his  conquests  in 
Flanders  and  on  the  Rhine.  And  we  see  it  fur- 
ther poured  out  by  the  eclipse  of  the  Austrian 
family,  in  the  loss  of  8pain  and  its  dependant 
principalities.  As  to  the  remaining  part  of  this 
vial,  I  do  humbly  suppose  that  it  will  come  to 
its  highest  pitch  about  A.  D.  1717;  and  that  it 
will  run  out  about  the  year  1794."  [Mr.  Fleming 
states  at  large  his  reasons  for  this  conjecture, 
which,  however,  cannot  be  inserted  here.]  "At 
which  time  I  suppose  the  fourth  vial  will  end,  and 
the  fifth  commence,  by  a  new  mortification  of  the 
Papacy,  after  this  vial  has  lasted  one  hundred  and 
lorty-eight  years,  which  is  indeed  a  long  period  in 
comparison  of  the  former  vials ;  but  if  it  be  consi- 
dered in  reference  to  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth 
b 


trumpets,  it  is  but  short,  seeing  the  fourth  lasted  one 
hundred  and  ninety,  the  fifth  three  hundred  and 
two,  and  the  sixth  three  hundred  and  nin^ty-tnree 
years."  It  seems  probable,  if  Mr.  Fleming  had  lived 
in  our  time,  instead  of  fixing  the  termination  of  the 
fourth  vial  in  the  year  1794,  he  would  have  extend- 
ed the  period  of  it  till  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo, 
in  the  middle  of  the  year  1815. 

Mr.  Faber,  it  may  be  observed,  considers  the 
French  revolution,  with  all  its  consequences,  as  be- 
ing comprehended  in  the  fourth  vial ;  for  which  he 
assigns  the  following  reasons:  "  In  the  language  of 
symbols,  the  sun  of  a  kingdom  is  the  goverament 
of  that  kingdom ;  and  the  sun  of  an  empire,  if  it  be 
a  divided  empire,  is  the  government  of  the  most 
powerful  state  within  that  empure.  When  the  poli- 
tical sun  shines  with  a  steady  histre,  and  yields  a 
salutary  warmth,  it  is  a  blessing  to  a  people.  But 
when  it  glares  whh  a  fierce  and  unnatural  heat, 
scorching  all  the  productions  of  human  industry 
with  the  intolerable  blaze  of  a  portentous  tyranny,  it 
is  the  heaviest  curse  which  can  befall  a  nation.  Since 
the  whole  prophecy  relates  to  the  Roman  empire, 
the  sun  mentioned  under  this  vial  must  be  the  sun 
of  the  Roman  firmament :  since  the  pouring  out  of 
all  the  vials  takes  place  long  posterior  to  the  division 
of  the  empire,  this  sun  must  be  the  sun  of  the  di- 
vided empire ;  or  the  government  of  that  state  within 
the  limits  of  the  empire,  which  at  the  present  era  is 
the  most  powerful.  The  prediction  then  of  the 
fourth  vial  obviously  intimates,  that  the  frantic  scenes 
of  the  harvest  should  be  succeeded  by  a  systematic 
military  tyranny,  which  should  be  exercised  over 
the  Romcm  empire  by  the  government  of  the  most 
powerful  state  then  existing  within  its  limits.  The 
I  world,  exhausted  with  the  miseries  of  the  symbolical 
harvest,  and  wearied  with  the  wild  struggles  of  licen- 
tious anarchy,  should  tamely  submit  to  the  lawless 
domination  of  an  unrelenting  despot.  In  pointing 
out  the  particular  government  intended  by  this 
scorching'  sun  of  the  Latin  or  Papal  firmament,  the 
reader  will  doubtless  have  anticipated  me.  The 
present  Popish  states  are  France,  Austria,  Spain, 
Portugal,  Naples,  Sardinia,  and  Etruria.  Of  these,  I 
apprehend,  no  one  will  be  inclined  to  deny  that 
France  is  by  many  degrees  the  most  powerful,  and 
consequently  that  its  government  must  inevitably 
be  esteemed  the  sun  of  the  system.  To  observe 
then  the  accurate  completion  of  the  prophecy  of  the 
fourth  vial,  in  which  it  is  said  that  power  was  given 
to  this  sun  to  scorch  men  with  fire,  and  that  they 
were  scorched  with  great  heat,  we  have  only  to  cast 
our  eyes  over  the  continent.  A  system  of  tyranny 
hitherto  unknown  in  Europe,  except  in  the  worst 
periods  of  the  Roman  history,  has  been  established, 
and  is  now  acted  upon,  by  him  who  styles  himself 
emperor  of  the  French :  and  the  scorching  rays  of 
military  despotism  are  at  this  moment  felt,  [namely, 
in  1804,  when  this  was  written,]  more  or  less, 
throughout  France,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Italy, 
Spain,  and  the  west  of  Germany.  A  regular  plan 
of  making  each  man  a  spy  upon  his  neighbour  de- 
stroys all  the  comfort  and  all  the  confidence  of  so- 
cial life :  and  France,  with  her  degraded  provinces, 
773 


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Mm,  9cardied  loUh  great  heat, 


REVELATION. 


hUuphe^ed  the  nrrme  of  GotL ' 


or,  as  they  are  termed,  with  diplomatic  mockery, 
oZZtet,  groans  under  the  weight  of  endless  requisi- 
tions, levies,  and  extortions,  at  once  tormented  her- 
self^ and  the  savage  tormentor  of  others.  But  the 
effect  produced,  both  by  these  plagues  and  by  the 
foUowing  ones,  will  only  be  blasphemy  and  hardness 
of  heart,  instead  of  a  reformation  of  principles  and 
practice.  The  earthquake  which  overthrew  the 
tenth  part  of  the  city,  (chap.  xi.  19,)  caused  the  rem- 
nant of  the  seed  of  the  woman  to  give  glory  unto 
the  Lord ;  but  ihe  effusion  of  the  vials  upon  God's 
enemies  produces  not  the  least  tendency  to  repent- 
ance. We  must  not  therefore  look  for  any  further 
reformation  from  Popery;  for  the  vials  are  instru- 
ments of  God's  wraUi,  not  of  mercy.  France  ac- 
cordingly has  nominally  returned,  like  a  dog  to  its 
vomit,  to  her  old  aOiance  with  the  blasphemous  cor- 
ruptions of  Popery ;  but,  according  to  every  account 
of  eye-witnesses,  she  still  really  and  individually 
strengthens  herself  in  the  yet  more  blasphemous 
abominations  of  antichrist.  Yet,  although  there  will 
be  no  further  reformation,  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  inspired  writers  give  any  intimations  of  some 
still  more  dreadful  persecution  of  the  witnesses  than 
that  which  they  have  already  undergone  from  the 
two  Latin  beasts;  on  the  contrary.  Scripture  seems 
to  me  rather  to  lead  to  a  directly  opposite  opinion. 
I  mean  not,  indeed,  to  deny  that  individual  Protest- 
ants, those,  for  instance,  who  reside  in  Popish  coun- 
tries, may  experience  persecution ;  these  will  con- 
tinue to  prophesy  in  sackcloth  to  the  very  end  of 
the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days:  I  would  only  be 
understood  to  intimate,  that  I  can  discover  np  war- 
rant for  expecting  that  Protestantism  in  general,  as 
nationally  professed,  will  ever  be  so  far  subdued  by 
Popery  as  to  undergo  throughout  the  whole  world 
a  grand  universal  persecution  resembling  those  of 
the  pagan  emperors,  or  the  Roman  pontiff  in  the 
plenitude  of  their  power." 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  Fleming.  ^  Let  the  reader," 
says  he,  "  call  to  mind  what  I  premised  to  the  con- 
sideration of  these  vials,  namely,  that  seeing  they 
suppose  a  struggle  between  the  Popish  and  Reform- 
ed parties,  every  vial  is  to  be  looked  upon  as  the 
event  and  conclusion  of  some  new  periodical  attack 
of  that  first  party  upon  the  other,  the  issue  of  which 
proves  at  length  favourable  to  the  latter  against  the 
former.  For  if  this  be  duly  considered,  it  will  con- 
vince us  that  a  great  declining  of  the  Protestant  in- 
terest for  some  time,  and  great  and  formidable  ad- 
vances and  new  degrees  of  increase  in  the  Romish 
party,  are  very  consistent  with  the  state  of  both 
these  opposite  interests  under  the  vials.  For  as 
Borne  pagan  was  gradually  ruined  under  the  seals, 
under  many  of  which  it  seemed  to  increase,  and  to 
become  more  rampant  than  before,  when  yet  it  was 
indeed  declining,  so  must  we  suppose  it  will  be  with 
Rome  Papal.  For  monarchies,  as  they  rise  gradu- 
ally and  insensibly,  wear  out  so  likewise.  And 
therefore  we  must  not  entertain  such  chimerical  no- 
tions of  the  fall  of  the  Papacy,  as  if  it  were  to  be  ac- 
complished speedily  or  miraculously,  as  many  have 
done.  For  as  it  rose  insensibly,  and  step  by  step,  so 
must  it  fall  in  like  manner.  For  it  is  with  the  church 
774 


as  it  is  with  particular  Christians,  who  are  often 
sorely  buffeted  by  Satan,  and  sometimes  brought 
even  to  extremities  by  temptations;  but  do  ever 
carry  the  victory  at  last  Who  would  have  believed 
that  the  Christian  Church  was  about  to  triumph  over 
the  Roman  pagan  empire  when  the  dreadful  perse- 
cutions under  Dioclesian  and  his  collegiate  emperors 
was  at  its  liighest  pitch?  But  the  darkest  time 
of  the  night  ushers  in  the  dawning  of  the  church^ 
day,  in  the  usual  way  of  God's  providence.  And 
this  is  very  conspicuously  to  be  obaerved  in  the  pe- 
riod of  the  third  viaL  Who  would  have  thought 
that  the  loss  of  Bohemia,  and  the  Emperor  Ferdi- 
nand's ruling  all  Germany  with  a  formidable  army, 
were  likely  to  issue  in  the  victories  of  the  Swedish 
arms,  and  the  future  security  of  the  Protestant  in- 
terest through  the  empire  and  elsewhere?  So  that 
we  must  not  wonder  if  for  sixteen  years  [this  wss 
published  in  1701]  the  house  of  Bourbon  be  raised 
up  to  be  a  further  terror  and  scourge  to  the  world, 
and  to  Protestant  nations  particularly.  And,  as  a 
confirmation  of  this  conjecture,  let  it  be  observed 
further,  that  it  is  something  very  extraordinary,  and 
peculiar  in  some  sense  to  this  vial,  '  that  the  sun, 
upon  which  it  is  poured  out,  should  yet  be  made  the 
executor  of  the  judgment  of  it  upon  others  at  the 
same  time  that  he  is  tormented  with  it  himself.'  So 
that  whosoever  is  denoted  by  the  sun  here,  (as  I 
suppose  the  house  of  Bourbon  principally  is,)  is 
made  use  of;  as  the  devil  is,  both  to  torment  others, 
and  to  be  tormented  himself  Iq  so  doing.  And  if 
the  king  of  France,  therefore,  be  denoted  by  this 
principally,  I  fear  he  is  yet  to  be  made  use  of  in  the 
hand  of  God,  as  Nebuchadnezzar  was  of  old  against 
the  Jews,  namely,  as  a  Airther  severe  scourge  to  the 
Protestant  churches  everywhere.  And  besides  this 
characteristical  mark,  which  seems  to  forebode  his 
further  exaltation  and  our  humiliation,  there  is  yet 
another  thing  that  I  cannot  think  upon  but  with 
dread  and  trembling  of  heart,  namely,  that  it  is  fur- 
ther said,  ^  that  while  this  sun  of  the  Popish  world  is 
running  his  fatal  and  dreadful  career,  and  scorching 
men  with  fire,  they  are  so  far  from  being  bettered  by 
these  judgments,  that  they  go  on  more  and  more  to 
blaspheme  the  name  of  G^  who  has  power  over 
these  plagues.  And  while  this  continues  to  be  the 
state  of  the  Protestant  world,  and  while  atheism, 
deism,  socinianism,  irreligion,  profaneness,  skepti- 
cism, formality,  hatred  of  godliness,  and  a  bitterper- 
secuting  spirit  continue  and  increase  among  us, 
what  can  we  expect  but  new  and  desolating  judg- 
ments? For  while  we  continue  to  walk  thus  con- 
trary to  God,  we  cannot  but  expect  that  he  should 
walk  contrary  to  ns  also.  It  is  in  vain  for  us  to 
boast  of  our  privileges,  or  plead  exemption  from 
judgments  on  this  account.  For  where  there  is  no 
national  reformation  and  repentance,  national  sins 
are  like  to  pull  down  miseries  upon  us  so  much  the 
sooner  and  more  certainly,  in  that  we  have  been  so 
singularly  and  peculiarly  privileged.  For  we  may 
in  this  case  expect  that  God  will  say  to  us,  as  to  the 
Israelites  of  old,  (Amos  iii.  2,)  You  especially  Aoi^e  / 
knovm  of  all  the  families,  or  nations,  of  the  earth; 
therefore  I  will  punish  you  for  alt  yottr  inigtiities. 

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Men  blaspheme  Ood,  but 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


repent  not  of  their  sine. 


A.  M.  4100.  10  And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out 
— '. — '. — 1  his  vial  *upon  the  seat  of  the  beast ; 
^  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness ;  ^  and 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain, 

11   And    ^  blasphemed    the    Grod    of    hea- 
ven,   because   of   their    pains     *  and    their 


«  Chap.  xiiL  2.- 


*  Chap.  ix.  2. «  Chap.  zL  10.—*  Verses 

9,21. "Verse  2. 


And  therefore  if  we  go  on  in  sin  as  we  have  hitherto 
done,  let  us  take  heed  to  ourselves  lest  vengeance  be 
near.  I  pray  God  I  may  be  mistaken  in  my  fears, 
but  I  am  afraid  I  have  but  too  just  reason  to  turn 
prophet  here,  by  applying  to  ourselves  what  Peter 
said  to  those  of  his  time,  1  Epist.  iv.  17,  &c..  The 
time  is  come  thai  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house 
of  Odd,  Though  I  do  also  conclude  with  him,  that 
if  it  begin  at  us,  dreadful  will  be  the  end  of  our  ene- 
mies at  last:  and  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved^ 
where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear? 
Wherefore^  if  we  be  called  to  suffer  for  our  holy  re- 
ligion, let  us  do  so  according  to  the  will  of  Ood,  com- 
mitting  the  keeping  of  our  souls  to  him  in  ioell-- 
doing,  as  unto  a  faithful  Creator,  Should  it  be 
asked,  When  will  the  tide  turn  for  the  Pro^stant 
Church?  I  answer,  when  they  turn  more  univer- 
sally to  God,  and  no  sooner.  But  if  it  be  inquired 
further,  Whether  the  sun  of  the  Popish  kingdom  is 
not  to  be  eclipsed  himself  at  lengdi?  I  must  posi- 
tively assert  he  will,  else  this  vial  were  not  a  judg- 
ment upon  him  and  the  Romish  party.  But  if  yet 
again  the  question  be.  When  this  is  to  fall  out,  and 
how  7  I  must  say,  I  have  nothing  more  to  add  to 
what  I  have  said,  as  to  the  time.  But  as  to  the  man- 
ner  how  this  is  to  be  done,  our  text  lays  a  foundation 
of  some  more  distinct  thoughts.  And  we  may  sup- 
pose, lastly,  that  the  French  monarchy,  alter  it  has 
scorched  others,  will  itself  consume  by  domg  so;  its 
fire,  and  that  which  is  the  fuel  that  maintains  it, 
wasting  insensibly,  till  it  be  exhausted  at  last  toward 
the  end  of  this  century,  as  the  Spanish  monarchy  did 
before  toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  age."  Thus 
Mr.  Fleming:  and  it  is  remarkable  that  in  17d3  the 
French  king  was  beheaded  by  the  National  Assem- 
bly ;  and  great  and  unparalleled  miseries  fell  upon 
the  French  nation,  which  nearly  extinguished  all 
their  nobility,  and  brought  about  a  war  that  has  last- 
ed twenty-three  years,  and  has  nearly  ruined  that 
country  and  all  the  nations  of  Europe. 

Verses  10,  11.  And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his 
Tial  on  the  seat,  or  throne,  of  the  beast— The  reader 
will  recollect  that  mention  has  been  made  of  two 
beasts,  (see  chap.  xiii.  1, 11,)  the  secular  and  the  ec- 
ciesiastical;  and,  as  Mr.  Faber  observes,  '^  it  might 
be  doubted  which  of  the  two  was  here  intended, 
were  we  not  assisted  in  our  inquiries  by  the  general 
context  of  the  whole  prophecy.  "Whenever  the  beast 
is  simply  mentioned,  by  way  of  eminence,  as  it  were, 
It  will  invariably  be  found  that  the  ten-homed  or 
secular  beast  is  meant,  not  the  twd-homed  or  eccle- 
siastical beast  In  addition  to  this  general  proof^  the 
particular  context  of  the  present  passage  may  be 
b 


sores,   ^  and  repented  not  of   their  A.  M.  4100. 

«      1  A.  D.  96. 

deeds.  

12  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
'upon  the  great  river  Euphrates;  ^and  the 
water  thereof  was  dried  up^  '  that  the  way  of 
the  kings  of  the  east  might  be  prepared. 


'Vene  9.- 


rCh^. 


ix.  14. kJer.  L  3S;   IL  36.- 

zli.2,25. 


adduced.  The  angel  pours  his  vial  on  the  throne  of 
the  beast  Now  the  first  beast  is  expressly  said  to 
have  had  a  throne  given  him  by  the  dragon;  be- 
cause, although  nominally  Christian,  he  exercised 
his  secular  authority  like  his  predecessor,  the  pagan 
empire,  in  persecuting  the  church  of  God:  (see 
chap.  xii.  2 :}  whereas  no  mention  js  made  of  the 
throne  of  the  second  beast,  and  for  this  plain  reason ; 
the  secular  authority  of  the  pope  [and  his  clergy] 
was  cotifined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  an  Italian 
principality,  and  all  the  persecutions  which  he  ever 
excited  against  the  fiedthful  were  carried  into  efiect 
by  the  first  beast,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
last  head,  or  his  ten  horns.  Hence  it  is  manifest 
that  the  beast,  upon  whose  throne  the  present  vial  is 
poureid,  is  the  first  or  secular  beast.  What  is  pre- 
cisely meant  by  this  judgment,  it  is  impossible  at 
present  to  determine  with  any  certainty,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  yet  future.  If,  however,  we  may  argue  Arom 
analogy,  since  the  great  city  means  the  Roman  em- 
pire, and  since  the  throne  means  the  authority  exer- 
cised withm  that  empire  by  its  head,  the  pouring 
out  of  a  vial  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast,  so  as  to  fill 
his  whole  kingdom  with  darkness,  seems  most  na- 
turally to  mean  some  severe  blow  aimed  directly  at 
his  authority,  which  should  fill  his  whole  kingdom 
with  confusion."  This  judgment,  which  Mr.  Flem- 
ing supposed  would  begin  about  A.  D.  1794,  (but 
which  probably  did  not  begin  till  after  the  termina- 
tion of  the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution  by  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  in  the  year  1815,)  that  pious  di- 
vme  thought  would  not  expire  till  A.  D.  1848.  For, 
says  he,  "since  the  pope  received  the  title  of  su- 
preme bishop  no  sooner  than  the  year  606,  he  cannot 
be  supposed  to  have  any  vial  poured  upon  his  throne, 
so  as  to  ruin  his  authority  as  signally  as  this  judg- 
ment must  do,  until  the  year  1848,  when  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years  in  the  prophetical  account 
may  be  considered  as  ending.  But  yet  we  are  not  to 
imagine  that  this  vial  will  totally  destroy  the  Papacy, 
(though  it  will  exceedingly  weaken  it,)  for  we  find 
it  still  in  being  and  active  when  the  next  vial  is 
poured  out"  Bishop  Newton  thinks  the  judgment 
here  intended  will  fall  upon  Rome  itself,  and  will 
darken  and  confound  the  whole  antichristian  em- 
pire. But  still  the  consequences  of  this  plague  are 
much  the  same  as  those  of  the  foregoing  one ;  for 
the  sufferers,  instead  of  repenting  of  their  deeds,  are 
hardened  like  Pharaoh,  and  still  persist  in  their  blas- 
phemy add  idolatry,  and  obstinately  withstand  all 
attempts  of  reformation." 

Verses  12-14.  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  itpon  the  great  river  Euphrates — Affected  also 
775 


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bU$$ed  is  he  VuU  watcheO^ 


A. M. 4100.  13  And  I  saw  three  unclean  ^spi- 
'  ^  rits  like  frogs  come  out  of  the  mouth 
of  ^  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
beast,  and  out  (tf  the  mouth  d*  ""  the  &lse  pro- 
ject. 

14  ■  For  they  are  the  sfMrits  of  devils,  ®  w(Nic- 
ing  miracles,  which  go  jfc»th  unto  the  kings 


*  1  John  iT.  1-3. »  Chap,  xii  3,  9.- 

JOL  10.— 5-»  1  Tim.  It.  1 ;   James  m.  15.- 
CbMp.  xiii.  13, 14 ;   xix.  20. 


■>  Chap.  xix.  20 ; 
'»2Thess.  ii.  9; 


by  the  sixth  trumpet ;  and  the  water  thereof  was 
dried  up^And  of  all  the  rivers  that  flowed  into  it. 
The  'turkish  empire  seems  to  be  here  intended,  ly- 
in(f  chiefly  on  this  side  the  Euphrates.  The  Ro- 
mish and  Mohammedan  affairs  ran  nearly  parallel  to 
each  other  for  several  ages.  In  the  seventh  age 
rose  Mohammed  himself^  and  a  little  before  him 
Boniface  III.,  with  his  universal  bishopric.  In  the 
eleventh,  both  the  Turks  and  Gregory  VII.  carried 
all  before  them.  In  the  year  1300  Boniface  appear- 
ed with  his  two  swords  at  the  newly-erected  jubilee. 
In  the  self-same  year  arose  the  Ottoman  Porte ;  yea, 
and  on  the  same  day.  And  here  the  vial  poured  out 
on  the  beast  is  immediately  followed  by  that  poured 
out  on  the  Euphrates ;  that  is,  as  appears,  on  the 
Mohammedan  antichrist,  as  the  former  were  on  the 
Papacy.  And  as  the  sixth  trumpet  brought  the 
Turks  from  beyond  the  Euphrates,  from  crossing 
which  river  they  date  their  rise,  this  sixth  vial  dries 
up  their  waves,  and  exhausts  theur  power,  as  the 
means  and  way  to  prepare  and  dispose  the  eastern 
kings  and  kingdoms  to  renounce  their  heathenish 
and  Mohammedan  errors,  in  order  to  their  receiv- 
ing jnd  embracing  Christianity.  To  nearly  the 
same  purpose  Mr.  Faber  interprets  the  effects  of 
this  vial.  "  Under  the  sixth  trumpet,"  says  he, "  the 
four  Turkish  sultanies,  the  mystic  waters  of  the  Ot- 
toman empire,  issued  from  the  river  Euphrates:  un- 
der the  sixth  vial  the  waters  of  the  same  Euphrates 
are  to  be  dried  up.  We  cannot,  therefore,  reason- 
ably doubt  that  the  symbolical  Euphrates  means,  in 
both  cases,  the  same  power.  Rivers  typify  nations ; 
and  when  a  particular  river  is  specified,  the  nation 
immediately  connected  with  that  river  is  obviously 
intended.  Such  being  the  case,  as  the  issuing  forth 
of  the  four  sultanies,  those  mystic  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, which  deluged  the  eastern  empire,  denotes 
the  rise  of  the  Turkish  power,  so  the  drying  up  of 
those  waters  must  evidently  denote  its  subversion." 
As  a  prelude  to  this,  if  we  advert  to  the  present  state 
of  the  Turkish  power  we  shall  be  convinced  that,  for 
several  years,  it  has  gradually  been  upon  the  decline ; 
and  the  approaching  termination  of  the  Ottoman 
empire  Is  so  manifest,  that  even  those  whose  atten- 
tion is  solely  directed  to  politics,  are  sufficiently 
aware  that  the  time  of  its  extinction  cannot  be  far 
distant  Of  late  it  has  been  preserved  rather  by  the 
Jealousy  of  the  great  European  powers  than  by 
any  physical  strength  of  its  own ;  and  it  doubtless 
will  be  preserved  by  the  hand  of  Providence,  until 
Qis  own  appointed  season  shall  approach  for  pre- 
776 


oftheearth,  I'andof  thewhr'eworld,  a.m. 4100. 
to  gather  them  to  *ithe  battle  of  that    ^'^-^ 
great  day  of  Crod  Almighty. 

15  IT  'Behold,  I  come  as  a  thie£  Blessed 
i3  he  that  3ivatchetb,  aad  keepeth  his  gar- 
ments, *  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his 
diame. 

F  Lake  ii  1.— — «i  Chap.  xriL  14 ;  xix.  19 ;  xx.  B. '  Matt. 

xxiY.  43 ;  1  Thess.  t.  2 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  10 ;  Chiq).  iiL  3. ■  2  Cor. 

T.  3 ;  Chap.  iiL  4, 18. 

paring  a  way  for  the  kings  of  the  east^  and  for 
gathermg  together  the  kings  of  the  Latin  world  to 
the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty — By 
the  kings  of  the  east  are  probably  meant  the  kings 
or  kingdoms  lying  east  from  the  Euphrates,  namely, 
in  Persia,  India,  and  perhaps  also  China,  for  the  con- 
version of  whom  to  the  Christian  faith,  it  seems  the 
removal  of  the  Mohammedan  empire  will  prepare 
the  way.  But  though  this  seems  probable,  there 
can  be  no  certainty  of  it;  nor  can  the  matters  here 
predicted  be  more  than  the  subjects  of  conjecture. 
Whoever  these  kings  or  kingdoms  may  be,  they  ap- 
pear. Bishop  Newton  thinks,  to  threaten  the  ruin  and 
destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  the  beast ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  agents  and  Emissaries  of  Popery,  (verses 
13,  \4,)  of  the  dragon^  the  representative,  of  the 
devil,  and  of  the  heast^  the  representative  of  the  an- 
tichristian  empire,  and  of  the  false  prophet^  the  re- 
presentative of  the  antichristian  church,  (that  is,  as 
some  think,  the  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  and  Jesu- 
its,) as  disagreeable,  as  loquacious,  as  sordid,  as  im- 
pudent as  frogs^  are  employed  to  oppose  them,  and 
stir  up  the  princes  and  potentates  of  their  commu- 
nion to  make  their  united  and  last  effort  in  a  reli- 
giotis  war.  These  three  unclean  spirits^  it  is  said, 
are  the  spirits  of  devils  working  f»i>ac2««— Namely, 
pretended  miracles,  to  impose  upon  the  weak  and 
credulous ;  which  go  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  earth — 
Tijc  oiKHfuvfK  oXtjCi  of  the  whole  Roman  world,  or  em- 
pire, as  the  expression  frequently  means;  to  gathet 
them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Air 
mighty.  That  is,  ihey  use  all  their  evil  arts  and 
wicked  policy  to  excite  the  princes  and  great  men 
of  the  world  to  unite  more  firmly  against  all  who 
aid  and  abet  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  of 
God  and  religion. 

Verses  15, 16.  Behold^  I  come  as  a  t/ue/— Sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly.  Observe  the  beauUCul  ab- 
ruptness ;  /,  Jesus  Christ.  Hear  him !  Thus,  when 
it  Is  foretold  that  these  evil  agents  will  use  great  art 
and  address  in  support  of  their  bad  cause,  the  Spirit 
of  wisdom  adds  a  useful  caution,  warning  the  faithful 
servants  of  Christ  to  be  on  their  guard  against  the 
emissaries  of  hell,  lest  they  should  be  deceived  to 
their  own  destruction.  Blessed  is  he  that  wcUcheth — 
That  looks  continually  for  him  that  comes  quickly  ; 
and  keepeth  his  garments  on  him — Which  men 
usually  put  off  when  they  sleep ;  that  is,  that  keepeth 
himself  clothed  with  the  robe  of  righteousness,  the 
garment  of  salvation;  lest  he  walknakedy  and  they 
see  his  shame^hesi  he  lose  the  graces  which  he 

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7'he  seventh  angel  pours  out  hie  vial,         CHAPTBR  XVI. 


Great  hail  faUs  from  heaven. 


A.  M.4I00.     16  ^  And  he  gathered  them  together 
^'  into  a  place  called  in  the  Hebrew 

tongue,  Armageddon. 

17  And  the  seventh  langel  poured  out  his 
vial  into  the  air ;  and  there  came  a  great  voice 
out  of  the  temfde  of  heaven,  from  the  throne, 
saying,  *  It  is  done. 

18  And  *  there  were,  voices,  and  thunders, 
and  lightnings ;  ^  and  there  was  a  greatearth- 
quake,  'such  as  was  not  since  men  were 
upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and 
so  great. 


*  Chap.  xix.  19.— «  Chap.  xxi.  6. »  Chap.  ir.  5 ;  riii.  5 ; 

xi.  19. f  Chap.  xL  13. «  Dan.  xii.  1. »  Chap.  xiv.  8 ; 

xviL  18. 


takes  no  care  to  keep,  and  others  see  his  sin  and 
punishment.  And  he  gathered  them  together — The 
true  construction  is,  Arid  they  gathered  them  to- 
gether; that  is,  the  evil  spirits  and  agents,  before 
mentioned,  gather  all  the  forces  of  the  Popish 
princes  together;  into  a  place  called,  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  Armageddon-^Thdi  is,  the  mountain  of  de- 
struction. Mageddon,  or  Megiddo,  is  a  place  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  well 
known  in  ancient  times  for  many  memorable  oc- 
eurrences ;  in  particular,  the  slaughter  of  the  kings 
of  Canaan,  related  Judges  v.  19.  Here  the  narra- 
tive appears  to  break  off,  but  is  resumed  again  chap, 
xix.  19. 

Verses  17-21.  And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out 
his  vial  into  the  air — The  seat  of  Satan's  residence, 
who  is  emphatically  styled,  (Eph.  ii.  2,)  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,  and  is  represented  (ver.  13,) 
as  a  principal  actor  in  these  latter  scenes ;  so  that  this 
last  period  will  not  only  complete  the  ruin  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  beast,  but  will  also  shake  the  king- 
dom of  Satan  everjnvhere.  Upon  the  pouring  out 
of  this  vial,  a  solemn  proclamation  is  m^de  from  the 
throne  of  God  himself;  It  is  done— In  the  same 
sense  as  the  angel  before  affirmed,  chap.  x.  7,  that 
in  the  days  of  the  seventh  trumpet  the  mystery  of 
Ood  should  be  finished.  Of  this  vial,  as  indeed  of 
all  the  former,  the  completion  is  gradual ;  and  the 
immediate  effects  and  consequences  are,  (verses  18- 
21,)  voices,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake,  and  great  Aat7--Bvent8  portending 
great  calamities.  Voices,  and  thunders,  and  light- 
nings, are  the  usual  attendants  of  the  Deity,  espe- 
cially in  his  judgments.  Great  earthquakes,  in 
prophetic  language,  signify  great  changes  and  revo- 
lutions; and  this  is  such  a  one  as  men  never  felt 
and  experienced  before ;  such  as  was  not  since  men 
were  upon  the  earth.  Not  only  the  great  city  is  di- 
vided into  three  parts,  or  factions,  but  /Ae  cities  of 
the  neUions  fall  from  their  obedience  to  her.  Her 
sins  are  remembered  before  God,  and,  like  another 
Babylon,  she  will  soon  be  made  to  drink  of  the 
bitter  cup  of  his  anger.  Nay,  not  only  the  works  of 
men,  the  cities,  fall,  bnt  even  the  works  of  nature ; 
the  islands  flee  away,  and  the  mountains  are  not  i 
b 


19  And  •  the  great  city  was  divided  a.  m.  4ioa 

into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  —1 — '. 

nations  fell:  and  great  Babylon  ^eame  in  remem- 
brance before  God,  ^  to  give  unto  her  the  cup 
of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath. 

20  And  ^  every  island  fled  away,  and  the 
mountains  were  not  found. 

21  •  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail 
oat  of  hewea,'  every  stone  about  the  weight 
of  a  talent:  and  ^men  blasphemed  God  be- 
cause of  » the  plagiie  of -the  hail ;  for  the  plague 
thereof  was  exceeding  great. 


t»  Chap,  xviii.  6. ^  {^^  \i  n,  23 ;  Jer.  xxv.  15,  16 1   Chap. 

iv.  10. i  Chap.  YL  14. •  Chap.  xi.  19. f  Verses  9,  11. 

E«-<vJ     :...    OO    OK 


XIV.  __.  

fExod.  ix.  23-25 


found;  which  is  more  than  was  said  before,  chap, 
vi.  14,  that  they  were  moved  out  of  their  places; 
atid  can  import  no  less  than  an  utter  extirpation  of 
idolatry.  Great  hail,  too,  often  signifies  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  and  these  are  uncommon  judgments. 
Diodorus,  a  grave  historian,  speaketh  of  hailstones 
which  weighed  a  pound  and  more^  Philostorgius 
mentions  hail  that  weighed  eight  pounds ;  but  these 
are  about  the  weight  of  a  talent — Or  about  a  hundred 
pounds ;  a  strong  figure,  to  denote  the  greatness  and 
severity  of  these  judgments.  But  still  the  men  con- 
tinue obstinate,  and  blaspheme  God  because  of  the 
plague  of  the  hail— They  remain  incorrigible  under 
the  divine  judgments,  and  shall  be  destroyed  before 
they  will  be  reformed.  This  vial  of  consummation 
was  supposed  by  Mr.  Mede  to  synchronize  with  the 
vintage,  mentioned  chap.  xiv.  18, 10,  the  conclusion 
of  the  grand  drama  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  and 
sixty  years,  the  time  of  the  end. — Wlien  it  shall  be 
poured  out,  says  Faber,  "  the  great  controversy  of 
Grod  with  the  nations  will  commence;  his  ancient 
people  will  begin  to  be  restored ;  and  the  sentence 
of  destruction  will  go  forth  against  the  beast  and  the 
false  prophet,  even  while  they  are  in  the  midst  of 
their  temporary  success,  and  while  they  are  vainly 
flattering  themselves  with  the  hope  of  a  complete 
victory  over  the  church  of  God.  Such  being  its 
contents,  it  is  said  to  be  poured  out  into  the  air,  in 
allusion  to  the  dreadful  storms  of  political  thunder 
and  lightning  which  it  will  produce.  Four  import- 
ant events  are  comprehended  under  it :  the  earth- 
quake, by  which  the  great  dty  is  divided  into  three 
parts ;  the  symbolical  storm  of  hail ;  the  overthrow 
of  Babylon,  and  the  battle  of  Armageddon,  to  which 
the  kings  of  ^e  earth  had  begun  to  gather  them- 
selves together  under  the  preceding  vial."  On  t-hese 
particulars  we  may  observe  as  follows :  1st,  The 
earthquake,  by  which  the  great  city  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  manifestly  signifies,  according  to  the 
usual  import  of  prophetic  language,  some  great  re- 
volution by  which  the  Latin  empire  shall  either  be 
divided  into  three  sovereignties,  or  prefectures,  like 
the  ancient  Roman  empire.  But  what  the  precise 
meaning  of  this  prediction  is,  and  how  the  city  will 
be  divided  into  three  parts,  time  alone  can  discover. 
777 


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with  eeven  vials. 


3d,  The  haiireUmn  seomsto  denote  some  northern 
invasion  of  the  Roman  empire.  Since  the  northern 
incarsions  of  the  Gothic  nations,  under  the  first 
trumpet,  are  typified  by  a  storm  of  hail,  it  is  only 
natural  to  conclude,  from  analogy,  that  the  hail- 
storm of  this  vial,  which  83mchronizes  with  the  time 
of  the  endy  likewise  t3rpifies  a  northern  invasion. 
3d,  The  fall  of  the  spiritual  Babylon,  described  at 
large  in  chap.  xviiL,  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  de- 
struction of  the  little  horn  of  Daniel's  fourth  beast ; 
they  both  equally  relate  to  the  complete  subversion 
of  the  Papacy.  4th,  Exactly  contemporary  with  the 
fall  of  the  spiritual  Babylon,  or  the  adulterous 
Church  of  Rome,  will  be  the  overthrow  of  its  sup- 
porter, the  secular  Babylon,  or  the  ten-homed 
Roman  beast  The  power  of  both  will  be  broken 
in  the  same  battle  of  Armageddon,  which  is  abun- 
dantly manifest  from  the  concurring  testimony  both 


of  Daniel  and  St  John.  Thus  also  Fleming : 
"  This  vial  brings  down  thunder,  lightning,  hail,  and 
storms ;  which,  together  with  a  terrible  earthquake, 
destroys  all  the  antichristian  nations,  and  particu- 
larly Rome,  or  mystical  Babylon.  And  as  Christ 
concluded  his  sufferings  on  the  cross  with  this  voice, 
It  is  Jiniehedy  so  the  church's  sufferings  are  con- 
cluded with  a  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaveii, 
and  from  the  throne  of  God  and  Christ  there,  saying, 
Jt  ie  done :  and  therefore  with  this  the  millennium, 
or  thousand  years  of  Christ's  spiritual  reign  on  earth, 
begins.  Now  how  great  and  remarkable  this  last  de- 
struction of  the  Papal  antichrist  will  be,  we  may  guess 
by  the  representation  given  of  it  chap.  xiv.  19,  20, 
(where  see  the  note,)  in  which  it  is  set  forth  under 
the  emblem  of  the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  which  can  refer  to  nothing  so  properly  as  the 
event  of  the  seventh  vial." 


CHAPTER  XYIL 

Tki»  ehttpter  eonUum  an  exfianaiary  iigrestum,  {!,)  One  of  the  angds,  who  had  the  viaU,  to  mamfeH  the  putneee  of  At 
above  fearful  ruin  of  the  Papal  etate^  refreeente  ithy  an  awful,  liaephemous,  and  infamoue  harioi,  faufy  decked,  drunk 
with  the  blood  of  the  eainte,  end  riding  ona  ecarlet-eoloured  beaet,  all  over  marked  with  blaephemy,  and  hating  eeoen  heada 
a$td  ten  home,  1-6.    (2,)  He  exfUane  who  and  what  the  it,  and  what  thaU  be  her  fate,  7-18. 

2  •  With  whom  the  kings  of  the  a  m.  4ioa. 

earth   have   committed    fornication,  i — 

and  ^  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  have 
been  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  ibmi- 
cation. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  96. 


A  ND  there  came  *  one  of  the  seven 

angels  which  had  the  seven  vials, 

and  talked  with  me,  saying  unto  me,  Come 
hither;  ^  I  will  show  unto  thee  the  judgment  of 
^  the  great  whore  ^  that  sittethupon  many  waters 


•Clitp.  xxL  9. ^  Chap.  xri.  19 ;  xriii.  16-19.— «  N»h.  lit 

4 ;  Chap.  xiz.  2. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XVII. 
As  the  seventh  seal  and  the  seventh  trumpet  con- 
tained many  more  particulars  than  any  of  the  former 
seals  and  former  trumpets,  so  the  seventh  vial  con- 
tains more  than  any  of  the  former  vials:  and  the 
more  you  consider,  the  more  admirable  you  will  find 
the  structure  of  this  book  in  all  its  parts.  The  de- 
struction of  the  antichristian  empire  is  a  subject  of 
such  importance  and  consequence,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  hath  thought  fit  to  represent  it  under  a  variety 
of  images.  Rome  hath  already  been  characterized 
by  the  names  of  spiritual  Egypt  and  Babylon^  and 
having  seen  how  her  plagues  resemble  those  of 
Egypty  we  shall  now  see  her  fall  compared  to  that 
of  Babylon,  It  was  declared  before  in  general, 
(chap.  xiv.  8,}  Babylon  isfallen^  is  fallen;  but  this 
is  a  catastrophe  deserving  of  a  more  particular  de- 
scription, both  for  a  warning  to  some  and  for  a  con- 
solation to  others.  But  before  the  description  of  her 
fall  and  destruction,  there  is  premised  an  account  of 
her  state  and  condition,  that  there  may  be  no  mis- 
take in  the  application.  Rome  was  meant,  as  all, 
both  Papists  and  Protestants,  agree;  and  I  think  it 
appears,  almost  to  demonstration,  that  not  pagan  but 
Christian,  not  imperial  but  Papal,  Rome  was  here 
778 


*  Jer.  11. 13 ;  Verse  15. •Chap,  xriji.  3.- 

zIt.  8 ;  xriiL  3. 


'Jer.  li  7;  Chap. 


intended ;  and  the  arguments  urged  to  the  contrary 
by  the  bishop  of  Meaux  himself^  the  best  and  ablest 
advocate  for  Popery,  prove  nothing  so  much  as  the 
weakness  and  badness  of  the  cause  which  they  are 
brought  to  defend. 

Verses  1,  2,  And  ^ere  came  one  of  the  seven 
angels  whidi  had  the  seven  viaU^Motsi  probal^y 
this  was  the  seventh  angel;  for,  under  the  seventh 
vial,  great  Babylon  came  in  remembrance  before 
Gody  and  now  St.  John  is  called  upon  to  see  her  con- 
demnation and  execution ;  saying,  Come  hither,  JwtU 
show  thee  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore — ^MThich 
is  now  circumstantially  described.  This  relation 
concerning  the  great  whore,  and  that  concerning  the 
wife  of  the  Lamb,  (chap.  xxi.  9, 10,}  have  the  same 
introduction,  in  token  of  the  exact  opposition  be- 
tween them ;  that  sitteth  as  a  queen,  in  pomp,  pow- 
er, ease,  and  luxury,  upon  Y?ianyipa/er»---So  ancient 
Babylon,  which  was  seated  upon  the  great  river  Eu- 
phrates, Sb  described  by  Jeremiah,  (chap.  li.  18,)  as 
dwelling  upon  many  waters;  and  from  thence  the 
phrase  is  borrowed,  and  mgnifies,  according  to  the 
angel's  own  explanation,  (verse  15,)  ruling  over 
many  peoples  and  nations.  Neither  was  this  an  or- 
dinary prostitute ;  she  was  the  great  whore,  with 


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CHAPTER  XVn. 


ofid  ihoee  ivho  eupported  her. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  06. 


3  So  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit 
'  into  the  wilderness :  and  I  sawa  wo- 
man sit  ^upon  a  sciurl^HxiIoured  beast,  full  of 
*  names  of  blasphemy,  ^having  seven  heads  and 
^ten  horns. 


f  Chapter  xii.  6,  14. ^  Chapter  xii.  3. *  Chapter  xiii.  1. 

k  Verse  0. "Verse  12. 


whom  the  kings  of  the  earthy  both  ancient  and  mo- 
dem, have  committed  fomiccUumr^By  partaking  of 
her  idolatry,  and  various  kinds  of  wickedness.  So 
Tyre  is  described,  Isa.  xxiii.  17,  as  having  commit- 
ted fornication  vrUh  aU  the  kingdoms  of  the  world 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Nay,  not  only  the  kings, 
but  inferior  persons,  the  irihabiters  of  the  earthy  the 
common  people,  have  been  made  drunk  with  the 
wine  of  her  Jfomication'^^o  wine  can  more  tho- 
roughly intoxicate  those  who  drink  it,  than  false 
zeal  does  the  followers  of  the  great  whore.  Thus  it 
was  said  of  ancient  Babylon,  The  nations  have  drunk 
of  her  winCy  therefore  the  nations  are  mad.  Forni- 
cation, in  the  usua}  style  of  Scripture,  is  idolatry ; 
but  if  it  be  taken  even  literally,  it  is  true  that  modem 
Rome  openly  allows  the  one  as  well  as  practises  the 
other.  Ancient  Rome  doth,  in  no  respect,  so  well 
answei^the  character;  for  she  ruled  more  with  a  rod 
of  iron  than  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication.  Her 
ambition  was  for  extending  her  empire,  and  not  her 
religion.  She  permitted  even  the  conquered  nations 
to  continue  in  the  religion  of  their  ancestors,  and  to 
worship  their  own  gods  aft$r  their  own  rituals.  She 
may  be  said  rather  to  have  been  corrupted  by  the 
importation  of  foreign  vices  and  superstitions  than 
to  have  established  her  own  in  other  countries. 

Verse  Z.  Sohe  carried  me  away,  &c.— Namely, 
in  the  vision.  As  Ezekiel,  while  he  was  a  captive 
in  Chaldea,  was  conveyed  by  the  Spirit  to  Jerusa- 
lem, (Ezek.  viiL  3,)  so  John  is  carried  away  in  the 
Spirit  into  the  wilderness;  for  there  the  scene  is  laid, 
being  a  scene  of  desolation.  MThen  the  woman,  the 
trae  church,  was  persecuted  and  aflUcted,  she  was 
said  (chapter  xii.  14)  to  Jlee  into  the  wilderness: 
and,  in  like  manner,  when  the  woman,  the  false 
church,  is  to  be  destroyed,  the  vision  is  presented  in 
the  wilderness.  For  they  are  by  no  means,  as  some 
have  imagined,  the  same  woman,  under  various  re- 
presentations. They  are  totally  distinct  and  differ- 
ent characters,  and  drawn  in  contrast  to  each  other, 
as  appears  from  their  whole  attire  and  behaviour, 
and  particularly  from  these  two  circumstances,— 
that  during  the  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
years,,  while  the  woman  \sfed  in  the  wilderness,  the 
beast  and  the  scarlet  whore  are  reigning  and  trium- 
phant, and,  at  the  latter  end,  the  whore  is  burned 
wUhfire,  when  the  woman,  as  his  wife,  hath  made 
herself  ready  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  And 
I  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet-coloured  beast — 
The  same  which  is  described  chap,  xiii.,  but  he  was 
there  described  as  he  carried  on  his  own  designs 
only ;  here  he  is  connected  with  the  whore.  A  wo- 
man sitting  upon  a  beast  is  a  lively  and  significative 
emblem  of  a  church  or  city  directing  and  governing 
b 


4  And  the  woman  ^  was  arrayed  in  a.  M.  4100. 

A  D  96 

purple  and  scarlet-colour,'^  and  Mecked — — i- 

with  gdd,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  ®  hav- 
ing a  golden  cup  in  her  hand,  p  Aill  of  abomi- 
nations and  filthiness  of  her  fornication : 


»  Chap,  xriii.  12, 16. »  Dan.  li.  38. » Gr.  gUd^ »  Jer. 

11.  7;  Chap,  xriii.  6. P  Chap.  xir.  8. 


an  empire.  In  painting  and  sculpture,  as  well  as  in 
prophetic  language,  cities  are  often  represented  in 
the  form  of  women:  and  Rome  herself  is  exhibited, 
in  ancient  coins,  as  a  woman  sitting  upon  a  lion. 
Here  the  beast  is  a  scarlet-coloured  beast,  bearing 
the  bloody  hvery,  as  well  as  the  person  of  the  wo- 
man, called  so  for  the  same  reason  that  the  dragon 
(chap.  xii.  3)  was  termed  a  red  dragon,  namely,  to 
denote  his  cruelty,  and  in  allusion  to  the  distinguish- 
ing colour  of  the  Roman  emperors  and  magistrates. 
The  beast  is  also/uZ<  of  names  of  blasphemy — He 
had  before  a  name  of  blasphemy  upon  his  heads, 
(chap.  xiii.  1,)  now  he  has  many:  from  the  time  of 
Hildebrand,  the  blasphemous  titles  of  the  Roman 
pontiff  have  been  abundantly  multiplied ;  having 
seven  heads— Which  reach  in  a  succession  from  his 
ascent  out  of  the  sea  to  his  being  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire;  and  ten  horns — Which  are  contemporary 
with  each  other,  and  belong  to  his  last  period.  So 
that  this  is  the  very  same  beast  which  was  described 
in  the  former  part  of  chap,  xiii.:  and  the  woman,  in 
some  measure,  answers  to  the  two-horned  beast,  or 
false  prophet ;  and  consequently  the  woman  is  not 
pagan,  but  Christian  Rome ;  because  Rome  was  be- 
come Christian  before  the  beast  had  completely 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns ;  that  is,  before  the  Ro- 
man empire  experienced  its  last  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  was  divided  into  ten  kingdoms. 

Verses  4,  6.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed— With 
the  utmost  pomp  and  magnificence ;  in  purple  and 
scarlet-^Vfhich  were  the  colours  of  the  imperial 
habit, — the  purple  in  times  of  peace,  and  the  scarlet 
in  times  of  war:  and  the  scarlet  is  the  colour  of  the 
popes  and  cardinals,  as  it  used  to  be  that  of  the  Ro- 
man emperors  and  senators.  Nay,  the  mules  and 
horses  which  carry  the  popes  and  cardinals  are  co- 
vered with  scarlet  cloth,  so  that  they  may  properly 
be  said  to  ride  upon  a  scarlet-coloured  beast.  The 
woman  is  ti\3ao  decked  with  gold,  andprecious  stones^ 
and  pearls — ^And  who  can  sufficiently  describe  the 
pride,  and  grandeur,  and  magnificence  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  her  vestments  and  ornaments  of  all  kinds  ? 
One  remarkable  instance  of  this  we  have  in  Paul  11^ 
whose  mitre  was  set  with  diamonds,  sapphires,  em- 
eralds, chrysolites,  jaspers,  and  all  kinds  of  precious 
stones:  and  another  conspicuous  instance  is  in  the 
lady  of  Loretto ;  the  riches  of  whose  holy  image, 
and  house,  and  treasury  are  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
description.  There  silver  can  hardly  find  an  admis* 
sion,  and  gold  itself  looks  but  poorly  among  such  an 
incredible  number  of  precious  stones.  Moreover, 
the  woman,  like  other  harlots,  who  give  filters  and 
love-potions  to  inflame  their  lovers,  hath  a  golden 
cup  in  her  hand,  like  the  ancient  Babylon,  Jer.  li.  7, 
779 


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Mpstery  Babylon  ts  drunk 


REVELATION. 


vriOi  the  blood  of  the  9adnU. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.90. 


5  And  upoa  her  forehead  was  a 
name  written,  *  MYSTEEY,  BA- 
BYLON 'THE  GREAT,  -THE  MOTHER 
OP  » HARLOTS  AND  ABOMINATIONS 
OF  THE  EARTH. 


«i 2  Thess.  ii.  7. ""Chap.  xi.  8 1  xiv.  8 ;  xtL  19 ;  xriiL  2, 10, 21. 

■  Chap,  zviii.  9 ;  xix.  2. 


full  of  abominatione  and  fiUhineee  of  her  fomicar 
tion — Signifying  the  specious  and  alluring  arts 
wherewith  she  bewitches  and  incites  men  to  idol- 
atry, which  is  an  abomination,  and  spiritual  fbr^ 
liication,  and  to  many  other  abominable  doctrines 
as  well  as  practices.  And  upon  her  forehead  a 
name  vmiten — ^Whereas  the  saints  have  the  name 
of  Gkxl  and  the  Lamb  on  their  foreheads.  The 
allusion  here  seems  to  be  to  the  practice  of  some 
notorious  prostitutes,  who  had  their  names  written 
in  a  label  upon  their  foreheads,  as  we  may  collect 
firom  ancient  authors;  (see  Seneca,  Book  i.  contr.  2; 
Juvenal,  Sat.  vi.  lin.  122 ;)  Mystery,  Babylon  the 
Great— This  name  mystery  can  imply  no  less  than 
that  she  dealeth  in  mysteries  ;  her  religion  is  a  mys- 
tery,—a  mystery  of  iniquity;  and  she  herself  is  mys- 
tically Babylon  the  Great.  Benedict  XIII.,  in  his 
proclamation  of  the  jubilee,  A.  D.  1725,  explains  this 
sufficiently.  His  words  are,  "To  this  holy  city, 
famous  for  the  memory  of  so  many  holy  martyrs, 
run  with  religious  alacrity!  Hasten  to  the  place 
which  the  Lord  hath  chosen.  Ascend  to  this  new  Je- 1 
Tusalem,  whence  the  law  of  the  Lord^  and  the  light 
of  evangelical  truth,  hath  flowed  forth  into  all  nations, 
from  the  very  first  beginning  of  the  church :  the 
city  most  rightfolly  called  The  Palace ;  placed  for 
the  pride  of  all  ages ;  the  city  of  the  Lord ;  the  Sion 
of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  This  catholic  and  apos- 
tolical Roman  Church  is  the  head  of  the  world,  the 
mother  of  all  believers,  the  faithful  interpreter  of 
God,  and  mistress  of  all  churches."  But  God  varies 
the  style:  he  terms  her  the  mother  of  harlots— -The 
parent,  ring-leader,  patroness,  and  nourisher  of  many 
daughters,  that  closely  copy  after  her;  and  abomi- 
nations—Oi  every  kind,  spiritual  and  fleshly ;  of 
the  earth — In  all  lands.  In  this  respect  she  is  in- 
deed catholic^  or  universal. 

The  Papists  would  fain  persuade  us  that  pagan 
Rome  is  here  intended:  but,  as  Bishop  Newton 
justly  observes,  "  The  title  of  mystery  is  in  no  re- 
spect proper  to  her  more  than  any  other  city,  and 
neither  is  there  any  mystery  in  substituting  one 
heathen,  idolatrous,  and  persecuting  city  for  another; 
but  it  is  indeed  a  mystery  that  a  city,  called  Chris- 
tian, professing  and  boasting,  herself  to  be  the  city 
of  God,  should  prove  another  Babylon  in  idolatry 
and  cruelty  to  the  people  of  God.  She  glories  in 
the  name  of  Roman  CatJiolic,  and  well  therefore 
may  she  be  called,  Babylon  the  Great.  She  affects 
the  style  and  title  of  our  holy  another  the  church,  but 
she  is  in  tnith  the  mother  of  fornications  and  abo- 
minations. Neither  can  this  character,  with  any 
propriety,  be  applied  to  ancient  Rome,  for  she  was 
780 


6  And  I  saw  ^the  woman  drunken  A.  M.  41001 
''with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and    ^-^-^ 
with  the  bttod  of  '  the  martyrs  of  Jesus :  and 
when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with  great  admi- 
ration. 


■  OTffomieatum$. *  Ch^  xriiL  24.*-^"  Chap.  xiii.  15 ;  ZTie. 

»Chap.  vi.9, 10;  x.  11. 


rather  a  learner  of  foreign  superstitions  than  the 
mistress  of  idolatry  to  other  nations ;  as  appears  in 
I  various  instances,  and  particularly  from  that  sc^enm 
I  form  of  adjuration  which  the  Romans  used  when 
I  they  laid  siege  to  a  city,  calling  forth  the  tutelary 
I  deities  of  the  place,  and  promising  them  temples, 
j;  and  sacrifices,  and  other  solemnities  at  Rome.    It 
I  may  be  concluded,  therefore,  that  this  part  of  the 
prophecy  is  sufficiently  fulfilled,  though  there  should 
I  be  reason  to  question  the  truth  of  what  is  asserted 
I  by  son)e  writers,  that  the  word  MTdrfiRT  was  form- 
erly written  in  letters  of  gold  upon  the  forepart  of 
!  the  pope's  mitre.    Sealiger  affirms  it  upon  the  an- 
I  thority  of  the  duke  de  Montmorency :  Francis  le 
j  Mo3me  and  Brocardus  confirm  it,  appealing  to  ocu- 
lar inspection :  and  when  King  James  objected  this, 
I  Lessius  could  not  deny  it    If  the  thing  be  true,  it  is 
I  a  wonderful  coincidence  of  the  event  with  the  letter 
I  of  prophecy.    It  is,  however,  much  more  certain, 
I  and  none  of  that  communion  can  deny  it,  that  the 
;  ancient  mitres  were  usually  adorned  with  inscrip- 
tions. 

j  Verses  6, 7.  /  saw  the  woman,  &c — Infamous  as 
the  woman  is  for  her  idolatry,  she  is  no  less  detest- 
]  able  for  her  cruelty,  whicn  are  the  two  prindpal 
I  characters  of  the  antichristian  empire.  She  is 
drufiJcen  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs — Or  witnesses ;  of  Jestts—Sb 
that  Rome  may  well  be  called,  the  slaughter-house 
of  the  martyrs.  ^'  This  may  indeed  be  applied  both 
to  pagan  and  to  Christian  Rome,  for  both  have  in 
their  turns  cruelly  persecuted  the  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs of  Jesus;  but  the  latter  is  more  deserving  of 
the  character,  as  she  hath  far  exceeded  the  former 
both  in  the  degree  and  duration  of  her  persecutions. 
It  is  very  true,  as  it  was  hinted  before,  that  if  Rome 
pagan  hath  slain  her  thousands  of  innocent  Christians^ 
Rome  Christian  hath  slain  her  ten  thousands.  F<v 
not  to  mention  other  outrageous  daughters  and  bar- 
barities, the  croisades  against  the  Waldenses  and 
Albigenses,  the  murders  committed  by  the  duke  of 
Alva  in  the  Netherlands,  the  massacres  in  France 
j  and  Ireland,  will  probably  amount  to  above  ten 
times  the  number  of  all  the  Christians  slain  in  all  the 
ten  persecutions  of  the  Roman  emperors  put  toge- 
ther. St.  John's  admiration  also  plainly  evinces 
that  Christian  Rome  was  intended :  for  it  could  be 
no  matter  of  surprise  to  him  that  a  heathen  city 
should  persecute  the  Christians,  when  he  himself 
had  seen  and  suffered  the  persecution  under  Nero : 
but  that  a  city,  professedly  Christian,  should  wanton 
and  riot  in  the  blood  of  Christians,  was  a  subject  of 
astonishment  indeed ;  and  well  might  he,  as  it  is 

b 


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hUerpreUUion  of  the  seven  heade 


CHAPTER  XVU. 


andthetenhcmn. 


A.  M.  4100.    7  And  the  angel   said    unto  me^ 
'^'    Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel?  I  wiU 


tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the  woman,  and  of 
the  beast  that  carrieth  her,  which  hath  the 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

8  The  beast  that^  thou  sawest,^  was,  and  is 
not;  and  ^shall  ascend  out  of  the  bottomless 
pit,  and  'go  into  perdition:  and  they  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  'shall  wonder,  (•* whose 
names  were  not  written  in  the  book  of  life 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,)  when  they 
behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and 
yet  is. 

9  And  ^here  is  the  mind  which  hath  wisdom. 
^  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth. 

10  And  there  are  seven  kings :  five  are  fellen, 

J  Chapter  xi.  7  j    xiii.  I. «  Chapter  xiii.  10 ;   Verse  11. 

'Chapter  xiii.  3. ^Chapter  xiii.  8. « Chapter  xiii.  18. 

*  Chap.  xiii.  1. «  Verse  8. 

emphatically  expressed,  wonder  with  great  wonder  J^ 
And  the  angel  saidj  Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel? 
I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery — It  was  not  thought  suffi- 
cient to  represent  Uiese  things  only  in  vision,  and 
therefore  the  angel,  like  the  ayyt^^  nuniius^  or 
messenger,  in  the  ancient  drama,  undertakes  to  ex- 
plain the  mystery,  the  mystic  scene  or  secret  mean- 
ing, of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carries  her : 
and  the  angel's  interpretation  is  indeed,  as  Bishop 
Ne\jvton  observes,  the  best  key  to  the  Revelation, 
the  best  clew  to  direct  and  conduct  us  through  this 
intricate  labyrinth. 

Verses  S-14.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest,  &c. — 
The  mystery  of  the  beast  is  first  explained,  and  the 
becut  is  considered  first  in  general,  (verse  8,)  under 
a  threefold  state  or  succession,  as  existing,  and  then 
ceasing  to  be,  and  then  reviving  again,  so  as  to  be- 
come another  and  the  same.  He  was,  and  is  not-^ 
Kaircefi  er«)^,  and  yet  is^  or,  accoitiing  to  other  copies, 
Kai  TTope^ai^  and  shall  come,  shall  ascend  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit — ^A  beast  in  the  prophetic  style,  as  we 
before  observed,  is  a  tyrannical  idolatrous  empure; 
and  the  Roman  empire  was  idolatrous  under  the 
heathen  emperors,  and  then  ceased  to  be  so  for  some 
time  under  the  Christian. emperors,  and  then  became 
idolatrous  again  under  the  Roman  pontiffs,  and  so 
hath  continued  ever  since.  It  is  the  same  idolatrous 
power  revived  again ;  but  only  in  iinother  form ; 
and  all  the  corrupt  part  of  mankind,  whose  names 
were  not  enrolled  as  good  citizens  in  the  registers 
of  heaven,  arc  pleased  at  the  revival  of  it ;  but  in 
this  last  form  it  sliall  go  into  perdition — It  ^lall  not, 
as  it  did  before,  cease  for  a  time  and  revive  again, 
but  shall  be  destroyed  for  ever. 

After  this  general  account  of  the  beast,  follows  an 
explanation  of  the  particular  emblems,  with  a  short 
preface,  intimating  that  they  are  deserving  of  the 
deepest  attention,  and  are  a  proper  exercise  and  trial 
of  the  understanding.  Here  is  the  mind  which  haih 
b 


and  one  is,  and  the  other  is  not  yet  a.  m.  41001 

A.  n   96 

come;  and  when  he  cometh,  he  must — '- 

continue  a  short  space. 

11  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  even 
he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven,  *and 
goeth  into  perdition. 

12  And  ^the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawesi 
are  ten  kings,  which  have  received  no  king- 
dom as  yet ;  but  receive  power  as  kings  one 
hour  with  the  beast 

13  These  have  one  mind,  and  shall  give 
then:  power  and  strength  unto  the  beast. 

14  »  These  shall  make  war  with  the  Lamb, 
and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them:  ^for  he 
is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings;  'and 
they  that  are  A\nth  him  are  called,  and  chosen, 
and  faithful. 

'  Dan.  vii.  20;   Zech.  i.  18, 19,  21 ;  Chap.  xiii.  1. 8  Chap. 

xTi.  14 ;  xix.  19. »» Dent.  x.  17;  1  Tim.  vL  15;  Chap.  xix.  16. 

« Jer.  1.  44,  45 ;  Chap.  xiv.  4. 

wisdom,  verse  d-^As  it  was  said  upon  a  former  oo- 
casion,  xiii.  8,  Here  is  wisdom :  let  him  that  haih 
understanding  count,  &e.  The  seven  heads  have 
a  double  signification:  they  are,  primarily,  ssven 
mountains  on  which  the  woman  sitteth — On  which 
the  capital  city  is  seated ;  which  all  know  to  be  the 
situation  of  Rome.  It  is  observed  too,  that  new 
Rome,  or  Constantinople,  is  situated  on  seven  moun- 
tains: but  these  are  very  rarely  mentioned,  and 
mentioned  only  by  obscure  authors  in  comparison 
of  the  others;  and  besides  the  seven  mountains, 
other  particulars  also  must  coincide,  which*  cannot 
be  found  in  Constantinople.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  city  seated  on  seven  mountains  must  be 
Rome ;  and  a  plainer  description  could  not  be  given 
of  it  without  expressing  the  name,  which  there  might 
be  several  wise  reasons  for  concealing. 

As  the  seven  heads  signify  seven  mountains,  so 
they  also  signify  seven  kings  reigning  over  them. 
And  they  are  seven  kings — Or  kingdoms,  or  forms 
of  government,  as  the  word  imports,  and  hath  been 
shown  to  import  in  former  instances.  Five  are  fallen 
— Five  of  these  forms  of  government  are  already 
past;  and  one  t>— The  sixth  is  now  subsisting.  The 
five  fallen  are  kings,  and  consuls,  and  dictators^ 
and  decemvirs^  and  military  tribunes  with  consular 
authority;  as  they  are  enumerated  and  distinguished 
by  the  two  greatest  Roman  historians,  Livy  and 
Tacitus.  The  sia:ih  is  the  power  of  the  Cesars  or 
emperors,  which  was  subsisting  at  the  time  of  the 
vision.  An  end  was  put  to  the  imperial  name,  A.  D. 
476,  by  Odoaeer,  king  of  the  Herqli.  He  and  his 
successors,  the  Ostrogoths,  assumed  the  title  of  kings 
of  Italy;  but  though  the  name  was  changed,  the 
power  still  continued  much  the  same.  This,  there- 
fore, cannot  well  be  called  a  new  form  of  govern- 
ment ;  it  may  rather  be  considered  as  a  continuation 
of  the  imperial  power,  or  as  a  renovation  of  the  king* 
ly  anthority.  Consuls  are  reckoned  but  one  form  ol 
781 


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The  great  whore 


REVELATION. 


hurtAwUhfrt. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  96. 


15  And  he  saith  unto  me,  ^  The 
waters  which  thou  sawest,  where 
the  whore  sitteth,  ^  are  peo^es,  and  multkudes, 
and  nations,  and  tongues. 

16  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest 
upon  the  beast,  ■"  these  shaU  hate  the  wh(»:e, 
and  shall  make  her  desolate  "and  naked,  and 
shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  °  bum  her  with  fire. 


kiM.  Tiii.  7;  Verse  1. »Chap.  xuL  7. "Jer.  L41,42; 

Chap.  xri.  12. ■  Ezek.  xn.  37-44 ;   Chap,  xriii.  16. 


government,  though  their  office  was  frequently  sus- 
pended, and  after  a  time  restored  again :  and  in  the 
same  manner  kings  may  be  counted  but  one  form 
of  government,  though  the  name  was  resumcki  after 
an  interval  of  so  many  years.  A  new  form  of  go- 
vernment was  not  erected  till  Rome  fell  under  the 
obedience  of  the  eastern  emperor,  and  the  emperor's 
lieutenant,  the  exarch  of  Ravenna,  dissolved  all  the 
former  magistracies,  and  constituted  a  duke  of  Rome, 
to  govern  the  people,  and  to  pay  tribute  to  the  ex- 
archate of  Ravenna.  Rome  had  never  experienced 
this  form  of  government  before ;  and  this  was,  per- 
haps, the  other  which,  in  the  apostle's  days,  v)a»  not 
yet  come,  and  when  he  corned  he  must  continue  a 
short  space — For  Rome  was  reduced  to  a  dukedom, 
tributary  to  the  exarch  of  Ravenna,  by  Longinus^ 
who  was  sent  exarch  A.  D.  566  or  568 ;  and  the  city 
revolted  from  the  eastern  emperor  to  the  pope,  A.  D. 
727 ;  which  is  a  short  space,  in  comparison  of  the 
imperial  power,  which  preceded,  and  lasted  above 
five  hundred  years  -,  and  in  comparison  of  the  Papal 
power,  which  followed,  and  hath  now  continued 
about  one  thousand  years.  But  still  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  tliis  is  properly  a  new  form  of  government, 
Rome  being  still  subject  to  the  imperial  power,  by 
being  subject  to  the  Greek  emperor's  deputy,  the 
exarch  of  Ravenna:  an^,  according  as  you  determine 
this  point,  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not —  Was,  while 
idolatrous,  and  was  not,  while  not  idolatrous,  will 
appear  to  be  the  seventh  or  eighth.  If  you  reckon 
this  a  new  form  of  government,  .the  beast  that  now 
is,  is  the  eighth;  i{  you  do  not  reckon  this  a  new 
form  of  government,  the  beast  19  of  the  seven;  but 
whether  he  be  the  seventh  or  eighth,  he  is  the  last 
form  of  government,  and  goeth  into  perdition — It 
appears  evidently  that  the  sixth  form  of  government, 
which  was  subsisting  in  St.  John's  time,  is  the  impe- 
rial ;  and  what  form  of  government  hath  succeeded 
to  that  in  Rome,  and  hath  continued  for  a  long  space 
of  time,  but  the  Papal?  The  beast,  therefore,  upon 
which  the  woman  rideth,  is  the  Roman  government 
in  its  last  form ;  and  this,  all  must  acknowledge,  is 
the  Papal,  and  not  the  imperial. 

Having  thus  explained  the  mystery  of  the  seven 
heads,  the  angel  proceeds  to  the  explanation  of  the 
ten  horns,  (verses  12-14,)  which,  says  he,  are  ten 
kings,  who  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet — And 
consequently  they  were  not  in  being  at  the  time  of 
the  vision ;  and  indeed  the  Roman  empire  was  not 
divided  into  ten  kingdoms  till  some  time  after  it 
was  become  Christian.  But  they  receive  power  as 
782 


17  I"  For   God   hath  put  in  their  A.M.4ioa 
hearts    to    fulfil   his    will,    and   to  1^ 


agree,  and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the 
beast,  "luntil  the  words  of  God  shall  be  ful- 
fiUed. 

18  And  the  wconan  v^iich  thou  saweet  'k 
that  great  city,  'which  reigneth  over  the  kings 
of  the  earth. 


oChftp.xriiLS.- 


-P2TheM.  iL  II. «  CJhap.  r.  7. rChap. 

xvi.  19. ■  Chap.  xiL  4. 


kings  one  hour—^  rather,  at  the  same  time,  or  for 
the  same  length  of  time ;  with  the  beast— It  \a  true  in 
both  senses,  they  rise  and  fall  together  with  the 
beast;  and  consequently  they  are  not  to  be  reckoned 
before  the  rise  and  establbhment  of  the  beast.  lUng- 
doms  they  might  be  before,  but  they  were  not  before 
kingdoms  or  horns  of  the  beast,  till  they  embraced 
his  religion,  and  submitted  to  his  authority ;  and  the 
beast  strengthened  them,  as  they  again  strengthened 
the  beast  It  is  upon  the  seventh  or  last  head  of  the 
beast  that  the  horns  were  seen  growing  together, 
that  is,  upon  the  Roman  empire  in  its  sevmith  or 
last  form  of  government;  and  they  are  not,  like 
the  heads,  successive,  but  contemporary  kingdoms. 
These  have  one  mind,  and  shodl  give  their  power 
and  strength  unto  the  beast,  verse  13 — ^Which  is 
easily  understood  tmd  applied  to  the  princes  and 
states  in  communion  with  the  Church  of  Rome. 
However  they  may  differ  in  other  respects,  yet  they 
agree  in  submitting  implicitly  to  the  autliority  of  the 
Roman  Church,  and  in  defending  its  rights  <md  pre- 
rogatives against  all  opposers.  But  where  were 
ever  ten  kings  or  kingdoms  who  were  all  unanimous 
in  their  submissions  to  the  Roman  empire,  and 
voluntarily  contributed  their  power  and  strength, 
their  forces  and  riches,  to  support  and  maintain  it? 
Th^e  shall  make  war  with  the  Lamb,  and  the 
Lamb  shall  overcome  them,  verse  14 — ^They  perse- 
cute the  true  Church  of  Christ,  but  the  true  church 
shall  in  the  end  prevail  and  triumph  over  them; 
which  particulars  have  been  fulfiUed  in  part  already, 
and  win  be  more  fully  accomplished  hereafter. 

Verses  1&-18.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  The  waters 
which  thou  sawest  where  the  whore  sitteth  are 
peoples,  &c. — In  the  former  part  of  this  description, 
(verse  1,)  the  whore  is  represented  like  ancient 
Babylon,  sitting  upon  many  waters;  and  these 
waters  are  here,  verso  15,  said  expressly  to  signify 
peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  ncUions,  and  tongues. 
So  many  words  in  the  plural  number  fitly  denote 
the  great  extensiveness  of  her  power  and  jurisdic- 
tion ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  peculiarity  of  Rome, 
different  from  all  other  governments  in  the  world, 
that  her  authority  is  not  limited  to  her  own  im 
mediate  subjects,  and  confined  within  the  bounds  of 
her  own  dominions,  but  extends  over  all  kingdoms 
and  countries  professing  the  same  religion.  She 
herself  glories  in  the  title  of  the  catholic  church, 
and  exults  in  the  number  of  her  votaries,  as  a  certain 
proof  of  the  true  religion.  But  notwithstanding  the 
general  current  in  her  favour,  the  tide  shall  turn 

b 


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CHAPTER  XVin. 


ulier  ruin  of  the  Papal  $taU* 


against  her ;  and  the  hands  which  helped  to  raise 
her  shall  also  pull  her  down ;  the  ten  horns  shall  hate 
the  ithore^  Terse  16 — ^That  is,  by  a  common  figure  of 
the  whole  for  a  part,  some  of  the  ten  kings ;  for  others 
(xTiiL  0)  shall  bewail  her  and  lament  for  her;  and 
(xix.  19)  shall  fight  and  perish  in  the  Cause  of  the 
beast  Some  of  the  kings,  who  formerly  loved  her, 
grown  sensible  of  her  exorbitant  exactions  and  op- 
pressions, shall  hate  her,  shall  strip,  and  expose,  and 
plunder  her,  and  utterly  consume  her  with  fire. 
Rome,  therefore,  will  finally  be  destroyed  by  some 
of  the  princes  who  are  reformed,  or  shall  be  re- 
formed, from  Popery;  and  as  the  kings  of  France 
have  contributed  greatly  to  her  advancement,  it  is 
not  impossible  nor  improbable  that  some  time  or 
other  they  may  also  be  the  principal  authors  of  her 
destruction.  And  such  a  revolution  may  more 
reasonably  be  expected,  because  (verse  17)  this  in- 
fatuation of  Popish  princes  is  permitted  by  Divine 
Providence  only  for  a  certain  period,  until  the  words 
of  God  shall  be  fulfilled— And  particularly  the 
words  of  the  Prc^het  Daniel,  viL  25, 26,  They  shall 


be  given  into  his  hand  untU  a  time,  and  times,  and 
the  dividing  of  time;  but  then,  as  it  immediately 
follows,  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take 
away  his  dominion,  to  consume,  and  to  destroy  it 
unto  the  end. 

Little  doubt  can  remain  after  this,  what  idolatrous 
church  was  meant  by  the  whore  of  Babylon;  but 
for  the  greater  assuredness  it  is  added  by  the  angel, 
verse  18,  the  woman  which  thou  sawest  is  thai  great 
city,  &c. — He  hath  explained  the  mystery  of  the 
beast,  and  of  his  seven  heads  and  ten  horns ;  and 
his  explanation  of  the  mystery  of  the  woman  is,  that 
great  city,  which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth 
— And  what  city,  at  the  time  of  the  vision,  reigned 
over  the  kings  of  the  earth,  but  Rome?  She  hath, 
too,  ever  since  reigned  over  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
if  not  with  temporal,  yet  at  least  with  spiritual 
authority.  Rome,  therefore,  is  evidently  and  unde- 
niably this  great  city;  and  that  Christian,  and  not 
heathen,  Papal,  and  not  imperial  Rome  was  meant, 
hath  appeared  in  several  instances,  and  will  appear 
in  several  more. 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

Ill  this  ekapteTf  {!,)  A  mighty  and  glorious  ungel  proclswu  the  final  fall  and  utter  rum  of  Rome,  and  of  the  Papal  state,  on 
account  of  her  corrupting  the  nations  with  apostacy,  idolatry,  luxury,  and  unlawful  traffic,  1-8.  (3,)  A  voiufrom  heaven 
admonishes  the  people  of  God  to  forsake  her  communion,  lest,  partaking  of  her  sins,  they  should  also  partake  of  her  fear- 
ful and  expected  plagues,  4-8.  (3,)  Her  eupportere,  friends,  and  traders  in  indulgences,  pardons,  relics,  and  preferments, 
or  even  common  merchandise,  mournfully  bewail  her  tremendous  and  sudden  destruction,  ^19.  (4,)  Chrisfs  glorified  and 
militant  saints  and  ministers  are  called  to  rejoice  in  her  ruin,  as  sudden,  furious,  complete,  and  irretrievable,  and  a  full 
punishment  of  her  murdering  the  saints,  20-34. 

A.  M.  4100.    AND 
A.  D.  96.     2\. 


after  these  things  I  saw  an- 
other angel  come  down  from  hea- 


*Chap.  zvii.  1. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XVIII. 

In  the  former  chapter  the  angel-interpreter,  or 
messenger,  has  given  us  a  key  to  the  meaning  of  the 
prophecy,  which  describes  this  third  and  most  lastr 
ing  period,  in  which  the  saints  were  to  suffer  for 
their  faith  and  constancy ;  that  they  might  expect  a 
time  of  temptation  and  suffering ;  that  they  might  be 
more  careful  to  confirm  their  faith  and  patience,  and 
encourage  their  perseverance.  This  chapter  re- 
presents another  angel  sent  from  heaven  to  reveal 
the  sure  judgments  of  God  on  these  enemies  of  pure 
and  genuine  Christianity,  to  foretel  their  sure  de- 
struction, and  in  as  eminent  a  manner  as  God  ever 
appeared  to  punish  Babylon  or  Tyre,  the  ancient 
enemies  of  true  religion.  This  part  of  the  pro- 
phecy is  very  fit  and  proper  for  the  general  design 
of  it,  to  warn  and  caution  true  Christians  against  the 
corruption  of  the  time  and  age  in  which  they  live,  to 
give  them  consolation  in  all  their  sufferings,  through 
hope  in  the  protection  of  God,  of  deliverance  in  a 
proper  time,  and  of  a  glorious  reward  in  the  end. 

Verse  1.  And  after  these  thitigs^Ader  the  angel- 
b 


ven,  having  great  power;  *and  the  A.M. 4ioa. 
earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory.      — 1— ! — 1 

^Ezek.  zliii.  2. 

interpreter  had  so  far  explained  the  meanmg  of  the 
vision,  and  mystery  of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast 
with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns  which  carried  her; 
I  saw  another  angel — Termed  another,  with  respect 
to  him  mentioned  chap.  x.  1 ;  come  down  from  hear 
ven— To  show  the  sure  downfall  of  this  antichristian 
power,  which  is  here  described  in  the  same  sublime 
figurative  style  as  that  in  which  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
and  Ezekiel  have  foretold  the  fidl  of  ancient  Babylon 
and  Tyre,  the  types  and  emblems  of  the  spiritual 
Babylon;  and,  together  with  her  punishment,  the 
crimes  which  deserved  it,  her  idolatry  and  wick- 
edness; having  great  powej\  and  the  earth  was 
lightened  with  his  glory — In  this  description  of  the 
angel  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  vision  of 
Ezekiel,  (chap,  xliii.  2,)  when  he  beheld  the  glory 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  the  earth,  it  is  said,  shin&d 
with  his  glory,  A  bright  and  shining  light,  it  seems, 
usually  attended  the  appearance  of  angels ;  and  it  is 
likely  the  splendour  of  the  appearance  used  to  be 
greater  in  proportion  as  the  angel  appearing  was 
more  honourable.  The  sendi  ng  an  angel  of  superior 
788 


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The  utter  deetruction  of  Rome,  and 


RBVfiLATION. 


ofherfrie$^  and  ettpporien* 


A.M.4ioa    2  And  he  cried  mightily  with   a 
'  strong  voice,  saying,  •  Babylon  the 

great  is  Allien,  is  fallen,  and  ^  is  become  the  ha- 
bitation of  devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  and  *  a  cage  of  every  undean  and  hate- 
ful bird. 

3  For  all  nations  ^  have  drunk  of  the  wine 
of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings 
of  the  earth  have  committed  fornication  with 


« Isa.  xiiL  19 ;  xxi.  9 ;  Jer.  li.  8 ;  Chap.  xir.  8. *  Isa.  xiiL 

8;   xxxiv.  14;  Jer.  1.  39;  li.  37. — -•Isa.  xiv.  23; 


21 ;   XXI.  8 ;    xxxiv. 
zxxiy.  11 ;   Mark  i(.  2,  3. 


'  Chap.  xir.  8 ;  xvii.  2. 


rank  alludes  to  the  custom  of  courts  in  employing 
persons  of  dignity,  according  to  the  weight  and  im- 
portance of  the  commissions  they  were  to  execute. 
We  may  observe  here,  if  such  be  the  lustre  of  the 
servant,  in  lightening  the  earth  with  his  glory,  what 
images  can  display  the  majesty  of  the  Lord,  who  has 
thoueande  of  thousands  of  those  glorious  attendants 
ministering  to  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  standing  before  him  ! 

Verses  2,  3.  And  he  cried  mightily  wi^  a  strong 
voice — Proclaimed  aloud  with  triumphant  joy,  in  the 
words  of  Isaiah,  chap.  xxi.  9,  saying^  Babylon  the 
great  is  fallen,  is  fallen — As  if  he  had  said,  What 
was  prophesied  formerly  concerning  the  celebrated 
seat  of  the  Clialdean  empire,  shall  presently  be  ve- 
rified in  this  mystical  Babylon.  Her  fall  was  an- 
nounced before,  chap.  xiv.  8,  but  is  now  declared  at 
large ;  and  is  become  a  habitation  of  devils,  &c. — 
Here  it  is  foretold,  that  after  her  fall  she  should  be 
made  a  scene  of  desolation,  as  the  ancient  Babylon 
was,  according  to  the  predictions  of  the  prophet  re- 
specting ancient  Babylon,  Isa.  xiii.  10,  Babylon,  the 
glory  of  kingdoms,  shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  ;  it  shall  never  be  inhabited, 
neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  ge- 
neration. Neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  his  tent 
there,  neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their  fold 
there  ;  but  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie  there, 
and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful  creatures, 
and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  -and  satyrs  shaU  dance 
there;  where  the  word  anijrzr,  which  we  translate 
satyrs,  the  LXX.  render  Saifuvia,  demons,  or  devils, 
who  were  supposed  sometimes  to  take  the  shape  of 
goats,  or  satyrs,  and  to  haunt  forlorn  and  desolate 
places ;  and  it  is  from  the  translation  of  the  LXX.  that 
the  apostle  hath  borrowed  his  images  and  expres- 
sions. According  to  this  prediction,  how  horrid 
were  the  inhabitants  of  desolate  Babylon  to  be  as 
long  as  the  world  shall  stand  !  Of  mvisible  bemgs, 
devils  and  unclean  spirits;  of  visible  beings,  every 
unclean  beast,  every  filthy  and  hateful  bird.  Sup- 
pose then  Babylon  to  mean  here  heathen  Rome,  and 
the  fall  predicted  in  this  chapter  to  have  been  effected  | 
by  Totilas,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths,  as  Grotius  would 
persuade  us,  or  by  Alaric,  king  of  the  Visigoths,  as  I 
the  bishop  of  Meaux  contends,  how  can  Rome  be  i 
said  ever  since  to  have  been  the  habitation  of  devils, 
and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,and  a  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hateftd  bird,  unless  they  will  allow 
784 


her,  <  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth  a.  m.  410a. 

AD  06l. 

are  waxed  rich  through  the  ^abon-  ^-LJ 

dance  of  her  delicacies. 

4  And  I  heard  anoth^  vchcc  from  heayen, 
sayii^,  ^  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye 
be  not  partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  re- 
ceive not  of  her  plagues. 

5  *  Fot  her  sins  have  reached  unto  beaveiiy 
and  ^  God  hath  remembered  her  iniqukies. 

t  Verses  11, 16 ;  Isa.  xlviL  16. *  Or,  pmoer. k  lam.  idviiL 

20 ;  lii.  11 ;   Jer.  1.  8 ;  IL  6,  45 ;  2  Cor.  ri.  17. *  Gen.  xriii. 

20,  21 ;  Jer.  li.  9 ;  Jon.  i.  2. ^  Chap,  xvi  19. 


the  popes  and  cardinals  to  merit  these  appeHatiofls  ?  ^ 
For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  mie  ofherfomi' 
cation,  &c. — She  hath  notonly  been  guilty  of  iiiolaftry 
herself,  and  with  great  wrath  persecuted  the  tme 
Christian  faith,  worship,  and  practice,  but  hath  also 
corrupted  the  princes  and  nations  of  the  earth,  as  if 
she  had  given  them  a  cup  of  poisonous  compodtion, 
to  disorder  their  reason  and  inflame  them  into  rage 
and  fury,  having  prevailed  upon  them  to  commit  the 
same  sins  of  which  she  was  guilty,  and  to  propagate 
her  corruptions  by  ambitious  views,  incitements  to 
luxury,  and  prospects  of  gain.  And  ike  merchants 
of  the  earth  are  waxed  rich  through  the  abundance 
of  her  delicacies'-^^  The  Romish  clergy,"  says 
Daubuz,  '^  by  trading  m  spiritual  matters,  have  gotten 
vast  wealth;  th^  are  the  merchants  of  the  earth, 
who  by  their  Popish  tricks  and  trinkets  have  gotten 
a  good  part  of  the  wealth  of  the  world  into  their 
hands.  In  short,  Rome  is  a  great  mart ;  the  Bomisli 
clergy  are  the  merchants  and  factors  \  the  secular, 
inferior  clergy,  the  monks  and  friars,  are  the  pedlers 
and  hawkers  which  retail  the  merchandise.  As  for 
the  luxury  of  Rome,  procured  by  thb  trade,  it  needs 
no  proof 

Verses  4-6.  And  I  heard  another  voice  from  hea- 
ven— Probably  the  voice  of  Christ,  graciously  warn- 
ing his  people  of  their  danger  of  being  infected  by 
the  prevailing  corruptions  of  the  mystical  Babylon, 
and,  in  consequence  thereof^  of  being  involved  in 
her  ruin ;  saying.  Come  out  of  Tier,  my  people — Im- 
mediately forsake  the  communion  of  so  corrupt  a 
church;  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins — 
Which  you  surely  will  be  if  you  do  not  separate 
yourselves  from  her;  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her 
plagues^Thni  ye  share  not  in  that  guilt  wYdch 
would  render  you  liable  to  all  the  plagues  and  judg 
ments  with  which  she  shall  assuredly  be  punished. 
But,  as  Bishop  Newton  observes,  *^  was  there  any  such 
necessity  of  forsaking  the  Church  of  Rome  in  the 
days  of  Alaric  or  Totilas,  before  she  had  degene- 
rated again  into  idolatry?  Or,  what  were  then  her 
notorious  crimes,  deserving  of  such  exemplary  pun- 
ishment, unless  Rome  Christian  was  to  suffer  for 
the  sins  of  itome  pagan  T  What  a  remarkable  pr> 
vidence  it  was  that  this  book  of  the  Revelatimi 
was  printed  in  the  midst  of  Spain,  in  the  Great 
Polyglot  Bible,  before  the  Reformation!  Else 
how  much  easier  had  it  been  for  the  Papists  to 
reject  the  whole  book,  than  it  is  to  evade  Uieee 

b 


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JS&me  i$  btwdUd  bff  her 


CHAPTBaXVm.  Jarmer  aihertUU  md  4uppmUt^ 


A.  K.  4100.    6  ^  Eewaid  her  evM  as  ebe  fe- 

waided  you,  and  doaUe  unto  her 

double  according  lo  her  works  :  "*  in  the 
cup  which  she  haA  fiHed^  *fiU  to  her  dou^ 
ble. 

7  *  How  much  she  hath  glorified  heiself,  and 
lived  dehciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow 
give  her:  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a 
1^  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and  shdl  see  no 
sorrow. 

8  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  ^  in  one 


iPsa.  czzxvii.  8;  Jer.  L15,29;  li.24,49;  2Tiin.iT.  14; 

Chap.  xiii.  10. ■  Chan.  xiT.  10.— •  Ch.  xri.  19.— •  Esak. 

xzYui.  2,  ice. 9  laa.  xlTii.  7,  8 ;  Zeph,  ii.  15. 1  laa.  xlvii. 


striking  parts  of  it!  Per  her  sins  have  reached 
unto  heaven-^Whea  sins  are  ripe  for  judgment^ 
tiiey  are  said  to  reach  unto  heaven,  or  to  come  up 
before  the  face  of  Jehovah.  So  tlie  angels  speak 
who  were  sent  to  punish  the  sins  of  Sodom,  Gen. 
xix.  18,  We  idUI  deetroy  thi$  place^  because  the  cry 
of  them  u  vaxed  great  before  the  face  of  the  Lord, 
Thus  God  said  to  Jonah,  Cry  against  Nineveh,  for 
pieir  wickedness  is  come  up  before  me:  and  St. 
James  uses  a  like  expression  concerning  oppressors, 
The  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  have  entered 
into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  ofSabaoth.  It  seems  to 
be  an  elegtant  allusion  to  the  methods  of  justice  in 
human  courts,  when  criminals  are  actually  prose- 
cuted, and  their  crimes  are  brought  to  light  before 
the  court  of  judgment  Reioard  Aer— God  speaks 
to  the  executioners  of  his  vengeance;  even  as  she 
hath  rewardedr^Oilien,  in  particular  the  saints  of 
God ;  and  dottble  unto  her  double-— This,  according 
to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  implies  only  a  full  retaliation ; 
according  to  her  tporfr*— The  injuries  and  evils 
with  which  she  has  oppressed  the  faithful  servants 
of  God.  In  the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to 
her  double — Let  her  suffer  whatever  the  laws  of 
justice  have  made  the  punishment  of  such  great 
offences.  By  the  laws  of  the  Jewish  government 
some  offences  were  punished  by  retaliation,  or  hy 
inflicting  on  the  offender  that  evil  which  he  liad  in- 
juriously done  to  his  neighbour.  It  was  therefore 
enacted  by  the  Jewish  law,  that  life  should  be  given 
for  life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  hand, 
foot  for  foot,  Exod.  xxi.  23,  &c.  In  other  cases  of 
damage  it  was  enacted  that  the  offender  should  pay 
double  damages.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  theft,  the  law 
required  the  thief  to  restore  double,  (Exod.  xxii.  4,) 
it  being  just  that  the  thief  should  suffer  for  his  of- 
fence, as  well  as  make  foil  restitution  for  the  damage 
he  haid  done.  In  allusion  to  these  laws  of  the  Jew- 
ish government,  divine  justice  is  represented  as 
punishing  Rome  for  her  idolatry  and  persecution, 
by  inflicting  upon  her,  as  an  offender,  such  pains 
and  penalties  as  the  laws  of  equity  direct,  where  in- 
juries are  so  highly  criminal. 

Terses  7,  8.  Ehw  witicA  she  Tiath  glorified  herself 
—By  pride,  and  pomp,  and  arrogant  boasting;  and 

Vol.  II.  (  50  ) 


day,  death,  and  mounmig,  and  la-  A.M.tfoo 

mine  ;    and  '  she  diaU  be  utterly  — '— 

burned  with  fire :  'for  strong  t^  the  Lord  Ood 
who  judgeCh  her. 

9  And  ^the  kings  of  the  eaith,  who  bai% 
committed  fornication  and  Uved  deliciously 
with  her,  ^ehail  bewail  her,  and  lam^it  for 
h^,  'when  they  diall  eee  the  smoke  of  her 
boming, 

10  Standing  a&r  off  for  the  fear  of  her  tor*^ 
ment,  saykig,  ^  Alas,  alas  I  that  great  city  Ba« 


9:   Verse  10. ^CUtp.  xvii.  16. "Jer.  1. 34;  Chap.  xi.  17. 

*  Esek.  zzn.  IS,  17 }  Gh«p.  xvii.  2 ;   Verae  3. •  Jer.  1.  4$. 

z  Vene  18 ;  Chap.  xix.  3. 7  Isa.  xxi.  9 ;  Chap.  xit.  6. 


lived  deliciously— In  all  kinds  of  elegance,  luxury, 
and  wantonness ;  so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give 
her — Proportioning  the  punishment  to  the  sin ;  for^ 
or  because,  she  saith  in  her  heart — As  did  ancient 
Babylon,  Isa.  xlvii.  8,  9;  /  sit— Her  usual  style. 
Hence  those  expressions,  tJie  chair,  the  see  of  Rome. 
She  sat  so  many  years  as  a  queen,  over  many 
kings,  '^  mistress  of  all  churches ;  the  supreme,  the 
infallible,  the  only  spouse  of  Christ;  a  church  out 
of  which  thet-e  is  no  salvation :"  and  am  no  widow 
— But  the  spouse  of  Christ ;  and  shall  see  no  sor- 
row— From  the  death  of  my  children,  or  any  other 
calamity,  for  God  himself  will  defend  "  the  church." 
Therefore— As  both  the  natural  and  judicial  conse- 
quence of  this  proud  security;  shall  her  plagues 
come  in  one  day— AH  at  once,  in  full  extremity; 
death— The  death  of  her  children,  with  an  incapa- 
city of  bearing  more ;  mourning — Ilevi^jf,  sorrow^ 
or  lamentation,  instead  of  carnal  pleasure  and  de« 
lights;  and  famine— In  the  room  of  luxurious 
plenty ;  the  very  things  from  which  she  imagined 
herself  to  be  most  safe ;  aTid  she  shall  be  utterly 
burned  with  fire— ^ven  ancient  Borne,  which  glo- 
ried in  the  name  of  the  eternal  city;  for  strong  is 
the  Lord  God  who  judgeth  ^ier— Expressions  thoie 
which,  as  Bishop  Newton  observes,  "can  imply  no 
less  than  a  total  destruction  by  fire;  but  Rome  hath 
never  yet  been  totally  destroyed  by  fire.  The  most 
that  Alaric  and  Totllas  did  was  burning  some  parts 
of  the  city:  but  if  only  some  parts  of  the  city  were 
burned,  it  was  not  an  event  important  enough  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  Lord  God  particularly,  and  to  be 
considered  as  a  strong  exertion  of  his  judgment" 

Verses  9-11.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  iot,'^ 
Even  the  chief  rulers  and  great  powers  of  the  world, 
who  were  formerly  in  league  with  her,  and  sup- 
ported her  in  her  corruptions,  practised  her  idola- 
tries, and  lived  deliciously  with  Acr— Shared  hi  the 
ponip  and  luxury  of  her  prosperous  state ;  shall  be- 
wail her,  &c.— Shall  not  be  able  to  afford  her  any 
support  or  defence,  or  to  do  any  more  than  fimitlesriy 
condole  with  her,  and  lament  her  sad  condition,  wheu 
they  shall  behold  all  these  calamities  come  suddeidy 
upon  her.  Saying,  Alas,  oto*/— Only  expressing 
their  astonishment  at  so  great  and  wondeHUa  revo- 
7»  b 


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Tk^men^anU  of  the  earth 


VBTELATWaX^ 


weep  and  mowm  aver  Rome, 


A. M. 4100.  bylon,  that  mighty  city !  'forinone 
*        hoar  is  thy  judgment  come. 

11  And  'the  merchants  of  the  earth  sbaU 
weep  and  mourn  over  her ;  for  no  man  buyeth 
their  merchandise  any  more : 

12  ^  The  merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver, 
and  precious  i^nes,  and  of  pearls,  and  fine 
linen,  and  purple,  and  silk,  and  scariet,  and 
all  'thyine-wood,  and  all  manner  vessels  of 
ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels  of  most  precious 
wood,  and  of  brass,  and  iron,  and  marble, 

13  And  cinnamon,  and .  odours,  and  oint- 

»  Ver.  17,  19. ■  Ewk.  xxnl  27-36;  Ver.  3. »>CIl  xrii.  4. 

lation,so  little  expected,  so  little  thought  of;  thcU 
great  city^  that  mighty  city — Rome  was  anciently 
termed  by  its  inhabitants,  Valeniia,  that  is,  strong; 
and  the  word  Borne  itself^  in  Greek,  signifies  strength. 
This  name  was  given  to  it  by  the  Greek  strangers. 
For  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come — How  strange, 
how  awful,  that  so  great  and  mighty  a  city  should  be 
80  suddenly,  so  utterly  destroyed !  Aiid  the  mer- 
chants of  ike  earth — Her  men  of  business,  and  those 
skilled  in  the  afiSurs  of  life,  who  gained  so  much  by 
her  preferments,  and  by  employments  under  her ; 
the  men  of  riches  and  credit  in  the  several  nations 
which  she  had  corrtq>ted,  and  who  were  supported  in 
their  pride  and  luxury  by  her  means,  shall  not  be 
able  to  help  in  this  hour  of  her  distress,  any  more 
than  the  kings  of  the  earth ;  they  can  only  weep  and 
moum  for  her  misery,  and  for  their  own  loss  in  her 
destruction.  Now  all  commerce  with  her  shall  be 
utterly  cut  off;  and  no  man  by  her  means  shall  ob- 
tain wealth,  credit,  or  power,  any  more. 

Verses  12-14.  The  merchandise^  &c.— There  is 
an  end  of  all  traffic  or  commerce  with  her,  whether 
spiritual  or  temporal;  of  gold  arid  silver^  Sec—Al- 
most all  the  things  here  named  are  still  in  use  at 
Rome,  both  in  their  idolatrous  service  and  in  com- 
mon life;  Jine  Unen—The  sort  of  which  here  men- 
tioned, 6wrtfof,  is  exceedingly  costly;  thyine-wood— 
A  sweet-smelling  wood,  not  unlike  citron,  used  in 
adorning  magnificent  palaces.  Vessels  of  most  pre- 
ciotts  v>ood— Ebony  in  particular,  which  is  often, 
as  here,  mentioned  with  ivory,  the  one  excelling  in 
whiteness,  the  other  in  blackness,  and  both  in  un- 
common smoothness.  And  cinnamon — Bengelius 
adds,  KGL  ofiQfiov^  and  amomum,  a  shhib  whose  wood 
is  a  fine  perfume;  and  ointments — Mvpoi^,  liquid  and 
fragrant  ointment ;  andbeasts-^Cows  and  oxen ;  and 
chariots— Pedov^  a  word  purely  Latin,  but  here  in- 
serted in  the  Greek,  doubtless,  on  purpose  to  show 
more  fully  the  luxury  of  Rome ;  and  slaves— lufiaruv^ 
bodies;  a  conunon  term  for  slaves;  and  souls  of  men 
^-For  these  also  have  been  and  are  continually 
bought  and  sold  at  Rome.  And  this,  of  all  others, 
is  the  most  gainful  merchandise  to  the  Roman 
traffickers.  And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted 
after-^And  for  which  alone  thy  degenerate  nature 
had  any  remainmg  relish.  From  what  was  im- 
786 


ments,  and  firanldncense,  and  wine,  a.  u.  4ioa 
and  cil,  and  fine  fiour,  and  wheat,  ^'  '^ 
and  beoflts,  and  sheep,  and  horses,  and  charioCs,. 
and  ^slaves,  and  ^  scwils  of  men. 

14  And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted  after 
are  depaited  from  thee,  and  aU  things  which 
were  (btinty  and  goodly  are  departed  fr<un  thee^ 
and  thou  shalt  find  them  no  mcnpe  atalL 

16  ^  The  merchants  ct  these  things  which 
were  made  rich  by  her,  shall  stand  a&r  off* 
for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  weeping  and 
wailing. 


•Or. 


■•Or,  bodiea. «  Esek.  xxvii.  13. *  Ver.  iii.  11. 


ported,  the  narrative  proceeds  to  the  domestic  deli- 
cacies of  Rome ;  none  of  which  is  in  greater  leqnesl 
there  than  the  particular  sort  of  fruits  here  men- 
tioned. The  word  orr^pa  properly  signifies  such 
fiiuit  as  pears,  peaches,  nectarines,,  and  all  the  apple 
and  plum  kinds ;  and  ail  things-^Aitrapa  koi  ra  Xofiwpa 
dainty— Ot  delightfiU  to  the  taste;  and  splendid^— 
To  the  si^t;  as  clothes,  buildings,  furniture.  '^It 
is  plain,"  says  Iiowmau,  ^'this  is  designed  to  be  a 
figwrativey  and  not  a  literal  description ;  therefore 
readers  seem  to  be  at  liberty  to  apply  the  figurative 
expressions  to  such  literal  meanings  as  will  agree  to 
the  general  and  certain  intention  of  them.  But 
whether  each  of  these  wares  is  designed  to  p<Hnt  out 
some  particular  gainful  corruption  of  Popery,  may 
very  well  l^  questioned.  It  is  sufficient,  to  answer 
the  general  intention  of  the  prophecy,  to  observe, 
that  Rome  shall  be  deprived  of  all  her  wealth,  which 
she  procured  by  her  management  and  intrigues,  in 
the  several  places  where  her  agents  resided,  who 
continually  made  her  returns  of  great  riches,  and 
plentifully  supplied  her  excessive  pride  and  luxuiy. 
It  is  a  pretty  observation  of  Daubuz,  ''  Rome  re« 
ceives  all  the  luxurious  wares  mentioned,  but  she  has 
so  infatuated  the  world  that  she  pajrs  nothing  for 
them  but  trumpery ;  her  money  is  her  enchantments 
and  sorceries.  Her  merehants,  her  superior  clergy, 
engross  the  real  wealth  of  the  world  to  bring  it  to 
her;  and  her  returns  and  exportations  are  paper  and 
bills  drawn  uppn  heaven  and  hell,  never  to  be  ac- 
cepted; however,  they  pass  among  the  common 
people  for  payment,  as  if  they  were  of  real  value. 
The  merchant  who  finds  means  to  get  shut  of  them 
takes  no  care  about  their  intrinsic  value,  finding  gulls 
who  take  them  ofi"  his  hands  for  real  wealth." 
Whether  these  wares  were  designed  to  signify  par- 
dons, indulgences,  dispensations,  and  the  like  trifles, 
with  which  Rome  purchases  gold,  silver,  and  what- 
ever ministers  to  pride  and  luxury,  this  is  a  plain 
and  manifest  meaning,  that  she  shah  be  deprived  of 
all  her  wealth  and  luxury  \i  once,  and  of  all  the 
means  by  which  she  used  to  procure  them. 

Verses  15-21.  The  merchants^  ship-masters,  and 
sailors,  and  as  m,any  as  trade  by  sea,  weep  and 
wail— For  they  can  no  longer  import  or  export  com- 
modities for  her,  or  convey  strangers  to  and  fro,  for 
(  60*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  XVHL 


t^edding  the  blood  of  the  eainle. 


A.  u.  4100.    16  And  saying,   Alas,   alas  I   that 

.^LJ. great  city,  •  that  was  clothed  in  Ane 

linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with 
gold,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearb ! 

17  ^For  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  is  com&to 
naught  And  '  every  shipmaster,  and  aU  the 
c(mipany  in  ships,  and  sailoiB,  and  as  many  as 
trade  by  sea,  stood  a&r  cff^ 

18  ^  And  cried  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of 
her  burning,  saying,  '  What  city  is  like  unto 
this  great  city ! 

19  And  ^  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and 
cried,  weeping  and  wiuling,  saying,  Alas,  alas ! 
that  great  city,  wherein  were  made  rich  all 
that  bad  ships  in  the  sea  by  reason  of  her 
costliness !  ^  for  in  one  hour  is  she  made  de^ 
flolate. 

20  "Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  pe 
holy  apostles  and  pro[diets;  for  '^God  hath 
aveng^  you  on  her. 


•Chap.  xvii.  4. 'Vewe  10. risa.  xxiii.  14;   Exek. 

xxrii.  29. ^  Ezek.  xxrii.  30,  31 ;  Vcrte  9. — J  Chap.  xiii.  4. 

k  Joffhna  vii.  0;   1  Samuel  It.  12;  Job  ii.  12 ;  Exek.  xxrii.  30. 

>  Verse  8. ■  Isa.  xlir.  23 ;  xlix.  13 ;  Jer.  IL  48. "  Luke  xi. 

49,  50 ;  Chap.  xix.  2. 


there  is  an  end  of  all  her  gains,  wealth,  and  glory. 
These  lamentations  are  copied  from  the  like  lamenta- 
tions over  Tyre,  (Ezekiel  xzvi.  and  xxvii.,)  and  are 
eqaal  to  the  most  mourn  fnl  strains  of  the  Greek  tra- 
gedians over  Thebes  or  Troy.  In  all,  they  stand 
afar  q/f— -In  a  mixture  of  terror  and  grie(^  but  abso- 
lutely incapable  of  giving  her  any  relief^  verses  10, 
]  5, 17.  In  all,  they  cry,  Aku  !  alas  ! — Ovot,  «a4,  lOo,  100, 
(verses  10, 16, 19,)  for  this  is  the  third  w^o  before 
mentioned,  chap.  viii.  Id;  zi.  14.  For,  as  the  fall  of 
the  Othman  empire  is  the  end  of  the  second  wo,  so 
the  fall  of  Rome  is  the  completion  of  the  third  wo. 
In  all  they  lament  the  suddenness  of  her  fall;  ^r  in 
one  hour  is  her  judgment  come.  .  At  the  same  time, 
her  destruction  is  matter  of  joy  and  triumph  to  the 
saintS)  apostles,  and  prophets;  for  it  is  added,  verse 
80,  Rejoice  overher^  thou  ^aren— That  is,  all  the  in- 
habitants of  heaven ;  ictu  ot  aytoiy  and  ye  saints ;  and 
among  the  saints,  still  more  eminently,  the  apostles 
and  prophets^  for  Ood  hath  avenged  you  on  her-- 
For  it  is  to  avenge  the  cause  of  his  church  and  faith- 
Ail  servants,  that  God  so  severely  punishes  this  per- 
secuting city.  And  a  mighty  angel,  &c.— And  fnr- 
ther,  to  confirm  the  irrecoverable  ruin  of  this  perse- 
cuting place,  another  mighty  angel  appeared  in  my 
vision,  and  took  up  a  stone,  like  a  great  miU-stoney 
and  cast  it  into  the  sea — Using  the  same  emblem  by 
which  Jeremiah  foreshowed  the  fall  of  the  Chal- 
dean Babylon;  saying,  Thus  vnth  violence  shall 
that  great  city,  this  mystical  Babylon,  he  thrown 
down — Shall  sink  never  to  rise  again.  Her  utter  de- 
solation is  further  described  in  the  two  next  verses, 
in  phrases  and  expressions  borrowed  from  the  an- 
cient prophets, 
b 


21  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  a.  m.  4ioo. 
stone  like  a  great  mill-stone,  and  cast 


it  into  the  sea,  saying,  "*  Thus  with  vkdence 
shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down, 
find  ^  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all. 

22  4  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  musicians, 
and  of  pipers,  and  trumpeters,  shall  be  heard  no 
more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  no  craftsman,  of  what- 
soever craft  he  be,  shall  be  found  any  more  in 
thee ;  and  the  sound  of  a  mill-stone  shall  be 
heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ; 

23  '  And  the  light  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no 
more  at  all  in  thee ;  'and  the  voice  of  the  bride- 
groom and  of  the  bride  shall  be  heard  no  more 
at  all  in  thee :  for  ^  thy  merchants  were  the 
great  men  of  the  earth ;  ^  for  by  thy  sorceries 
were  all  nations  deceived. 

24  And  '  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  pro- 
phets, and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that  ^  were  dain 
upon  the  earth. 

*>  Jer.  li.  64. p  Chap.  xii.  8 ;  xvi.  20. « Isft.  xnr,  8 ;  J«r. 

rii.  34 ;  xvi.  9  ;  xxv.  10 ;   Exek.  Jtxri.  13. ^  Jer.  xxf,  la 

■Jer.  Tu.  34;  xvi.  9;  xxv.  10;  xxxiii.  11. ^*I*a.  xxiii.  8. 

>  2  Kings  ix.  22 ;  Nah.  iii.  4 ;  Chmp.  xvii.  2,  5. >  Chap.  zrii. 

6. T  Jer.  li.  49. 

Verses  2^24.  The  voice  of  Jiarpers—Vlsyen  on 
stringed  instruments ;  and  musicians — SkilAil  sing* 
ersin  particular;  and  pipers — ^lio  played  on  flutes, 
chiefly  on  mournful,  whereas  trumpeters  played  on 
joyful  occasions;  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in 
thee;  and  no  craftsman — Oreek,  rexviTtfc  wknyf  re;rvw, 
no  artificer,  of  whaiever  art.  Arts  of  every  kind, 
particularly  music,  sculpture,  painting,  and  statuary, 
were  there  carried  to  their  greatest  height  No,  nor 
even  the  sound  of  a  mill-stone  shall  be  heard  any 
more  in  thee— Not  only  the  arts  that  adorn  life,  but 
even  those  employments  without  which  it  cannot 
subsist,  will  cease  from  thee  for  ever:  all  which  ex- 
pressions denote  absolute  and  eternal  desolation. 
There  shall  be  no  more  musicians  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  rich  and  great ;  no  more  tradesmen  or 
artificers  to  employ  those  of  the  middle  ranks,  and  to 
furnish  the  conveniences  of  life ;  no  more  servants 
or  slaves  to  grind  at  the  mill,  prepare  bread,  and  sup- 
ply the  necessaries  of  life.  Nay,  there  shall  be  no 
more  lights,  no  more  bridal  songs :  that  is,  no  more 
marriages,  in  which  lamps  and  songs  were  known 
ceremonies ;  and  therefore  the  city  shall  never  be 
peopled  again,  but  shall  remain  depopulated  and  de- 
solate for  ever.  The  desolation  of  Rome  is  therefore 
described  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  neither 
rich  nor  poor,  neither  persons  of  middle  rank  nor 
those  of  the  lowest  condition,  should  be  able  to  live 
there  any  more.  For  thy  merchants  were  the  great 
men  of  the  earth — ^A  circumstance  which  was  in  it^ 
self  indifferent,  and  yet  led  them  into  pride,  luxury 
and  numbeiiess  other  sins.  For  by  thy  sorceries 
were  all  nations  deceived^Thzi  is,  poisoned  by  thy 
pernicious  practiees.  So  that  the  reasons  aes^fned 
787 


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praUe  CM  fat  ike  fail  of  Rome. 


for  her  utter  desolation  are  her  pride  and  Inxnry, 
her  superstition  and  idolatry,  with  various  other 
Tices;  and  especially  her  cruel  persecutions  of  CU>d's 
saints  and  senrants :  for  it  is  added,  hi  herwaefownd 
the  blood  of  frofketa^  &o.-^These  seem  to  be  the 
words  of  St.  John:  and  of  all  that  were  elain  upon 
the  earth — ^As  if  he  had  said,  Her  punishment  shall 
be  as  severe  and  exemplary  as  if  she  had  been 
guilty  of  all  the  persecutions  that  ever  were  upon 
account  of  religion;  for  by  her  conduct  i^  haft  ap- 
proved, and  imitated,  and  surpassed  them  alL  Cer- 
tainly there  is  no  city  under  the  sun  which  has  so 
clear  a  title  to  general  blood-guiltiness  as  Rome. 
The  guilt  of  the  blood  shed  under  the  heathen  em- 
perors was  not  removed  under  the  popes^  but  hugely 
multiplied.  Nor  is  Rome  accountable  only  for 
what  hath  been  shed  in  the  city,  but  for  that  shed  in 
all  the  earth.  For  at  Rome,  under  the  popes,  as 
well  as  under  the  heathen  emperors,  were  the  bloody 
orders  and  edicts  given:  and  wherever  the  blood  of 
holy  men  was  shed,  there  were  the  grand  rejoicings 
for  it  And  what  immense  quantities  of  blood  have 
been  shed  by  her  agents !  Charles  IX.  of  France,  in 
his  letter  to  Gregory  XIII.,  boasts  that  in,  and  not 
long  after,  the  massacre  of  Paris,  he  had  destroyed 
seventy  thousand  Huguenots.  Some  have  computed 
that,  from  the  year  1518  to  1548,  fifteen  millions  of 


Protestants  perished  by  war  and  the  inquisitioii. 
This  may  be  overcharged ;  but  certainly  the  number 
of  them  in  those  thirty  years,  as  well  as  since,  is  al- 
most incredible.  To  these  we  may  add  innumersble 
mart3nrs  in  ancieat,  middle,  and  late  age8,-^in  Bo- 
hemia, Germany,  Hotiand,  France,  England,  Ire- 
land, and  many  other  parts  of  Europe,  Africa,  and 
Asia. 

Now  this  tjrrannical  cruelty  exercised  against 
God's  saints,  apostles,  and  prophetsbemg  considered, 
we  cannot  wonder  that  the  sentence  otf*  so  terriUe  a 
desolation  and  destruction  should  be  passed  on  this 
persecuting  city.  But  the  reader  must  observe, 
Rome  hath  never  yet  been  depopulated  and  deso- 
lated in  this  manner.  She  hath  been  taken  hideed 
and  laundered  by  Alaric,  king  of  the  Visigoths,  in 
the  year  410;  by  Genseric,  king  of  the  Vimdate,  in 
the  year  455;  by  Totilas,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths^  in 
the  year  540 ;  and  by  others  since  that  time :  but  yet 
she  is  still  standing  and  flouri^ing,  and  is  honoured 
by  many  nations  as  the  metropolis  of  the  Christian 
world;  she  still  resounds  with  eingere  and  tim- 
siciane;  she  still  excels  in  arts,  which  serve  to  pomp 
and  luxury;  she  still  abounds  with  candles^  and 
lampsy  and  torches,  burning  even  by  day  as  weH 
as  by  night:  and  consequently  this  prophecy  hath 
not  yet  iMen,  but  remaineth  still  to  be,  ftOfilled 


^M.4iw.  J^D  after  these  things  *I  heard 

— ^— ^ a  great  voice  of  much  peo[de  in 

heaven,  saying,  Alleluia:  •» Salvation,  and  glo- 


•  Chap.  xi.  15. k  Chap.  ir.U;  rii.  10,  12 ;  xii.  10. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Hsrs,  (1,)  Tks  saimis  in  heeven  and  on  $srth  en  represented  as  trmmfking  and  praising  Ocd  far  his  righteous  pdgstentn 
on  iJte  tmfstical  Bahylonf  and  for  their  awn  and  others*  honawabU  espousals  to  Christ,  partieularfy  in  the  general  casner^ 
sionofJems and  Gentiles  to  Am,  1-8.  (3,)  An  atq^el pronounces  those  blessed  whoare  c^ed  to  the  manriage-sapper  of 
the  Lamb ;  and  refuses  the  adoration  which  John  offered  Atm,  9,  10.  (8,)  Christ  and  his  people  are  represented  as  going 
forth  to  make  war  against  antichrist  and  his  armies,  which  are  utterly  and  miserablf  destroyed,  11-Sl. 

ry,  and  honour,  and  power,  unto  the  a.  m.  410Q. 

Lord  our  Grod :  '. — L 

2  For    « true  and  righteous  are  his  judg- 

«  Chap.  XT.  3 ;  xvi.  7. 

enemies  of  true  religion,  and  of  its  professors,  yet 
the  final  event  of  things  will  surely  show  God's  fhith- 
jfblness  in  the  blessing  of  his  people,  and  Justlee  in 
the  punishment  of  his  enemies;  a  mdkiesA  reason 
for  consolation,  gratitude,  and  praise. — Lowman. 

Verses  1-S.  And  after  ^leee  thtngs^-Afier  this  af- 
fectmg  repfeeentation  of  the  certain  destruction  of 
Babykm,  as  the  seat  of  the  antichristian  kingdom; 
I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much  people  in  heavenr-^ 
great  chorus,  who,  with  united  voices,  began  to 
praise  Ood  on  the  occasion,  saying,  Alleluia-— Th9i 
is.  Praise  ye  Jehovah,  or.  He  thai  is,  and  was,  and 
is  to  come;  a  title  which,  of  all  others,  is  the  most 
peculiar  to  the  everlasting  God.  Sahaiion,  glory, 
honour,  and  power  be  ascribed  unto  the  Lord  our 
GW— To  whom  only  they  belong.  The  saJvation 
spoken  of  is  opposed  to  the  destruction  which  the 
great  ^ore  had  brought  upon  the  earth:  his  power 
and  his  glory  appear  from  the  judgment  executed  on 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  prophecies  relating  to  the  third  period  con- 
cluded with  a  severe  punishment  of  Rome,  for  her 
pride,  luxury,  superstition,  and  idolatry ;  and  espe- 
cially for  her  cruel  persecution  of  all  who  were  found 
faithful  to  their  duty,  in  preserving  the  purity  of  the 
Christian  doctrines  and  worship.  When  Rome  thus 
fell,  like  ancient  Babylon,  to  rise  no  more,  the  hea- 
venly church  is  introduced  as  a  chorus,  to  prabe  God 
for  his  righteous  judgments  and  faithfulness.  This 
excellent  hjonn  of  praise,  sung  by  the  united  voices 
of  angels  and  saints,  the  whole  aaserably  of  heaven, 
strongly  represents  to  all  Christians,  and  to  every 
church  on  earth,  what  a  grateful  sense  they  ought 
to  have  of  God's  faithfuhiess  in  their  protection,  and 
of  his  righteous  judgments  in  punishing  the  perse- 
cutors of  truth  and  righteousness.  Though  for  wise 
reasons,  and  for  a  limited  time,  God  may  permit  the 
righteous  and  faithful  to  suffiur  many  things  from  the 


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CHAPTER  XIX. 


praUe  CM  fir  thefiUl  of  Rome. 


A.  BI.4100.  ments:  for  he  hath  judged  the  great 
-J — '. — 1  whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth 
with  her  fornication,  and  '  hath  avenged  the 
blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand. 

3  And  again  they  said,  Alleluia.  And  *  her 
smoke  rose  up  for  ever  and  ever. 

4  And  ^  the  four  and  twenty  dders  and  the 
four  beasts  fell  down  and  worshipped  God 
that  sat  on  the  throne,  saying,  '  Amen ;  Alle- 
luia. 

5  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  say- 


'Deat. 

xxzii 

43 

Chap. 

Ti. 

10: 

xriii.  20.- 

•Isa. 

xxziv. 

10;   CbH> 

XIT. 

11; 

xriii.  9 

.la — 

'Chap.W. 
6i  Chap. 

4.6,10; 

T.  14. 

f  1  Chron. 

XYl. 

36: 

Ncth.v. 

13  J 

VUl. 

V.14. 

J»Pia. 

cxxxiv.  1 ; 

cxzxv.  1 

her,  and  from  the  setting  up  of  his  kingdom  to  en- 
dure through  all  ages.  For  true  (ind  righteous  are 
his  judgments — His  j  udgments  show  him  to  be  right- 
eous, true,  and  faithful  \for  he  hath  judged  the  great 
loAore— His  punishment  of  mystical  Babylon,  for 
her  pride,  superstition,  and  idolatry,  declares  his 
righteousness;  and  his  truth  and  faithfulness  to  his 
promises  are  illustriously  manifested  in  his  avenging 
the  blood  of  his  servants  on  her,  who  so  cruelly  put 
them  to  death  for  their  faith  in  his  word  and  con- 
stancy in  his  religion.  And  again  they  said^  Alle- 
luia— With  their  hearts  inflamed  with  gratitude 
and  joy.  And  her  smoke  rose  up — Avo^aivet,  rises 
up,  for  they  seem  to  be  the  words  of  the  same  hea- 
venly chorus  which  praised  in  the  preceding  lan- 
guage. As  if  they  had  said,  Let  our  God  be  glori- 
fied, who  in  this  last  judgment  hath  put  an  end  to 
this  persecuting  power  for  ever.  It  shall  not  hence- 
forth, as  formerly,  rise  up  again  to  afflict  his  saints. 
This  city  shall  lie  waste  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, never  to  be  restored.  Mr.  Daubuz  observes: 
^'  The  two  alleluias  in  this  part  of  the  hymn  corres- 
pond to  the  messages  of  the  two  angels,  one  of  which 
proclaims  th&fall  of  Babylon,  and  the  other  shows 
its  destruction  to  be  perpetual."  The  expression, 
her  smoke  rose  up,  Ac^  intimated  that  Rome  should 
be  made  as  signal  a  monument  of  divine  vengeance 
as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  had  been.  It  is  taken  from 
Isa.  xzxiv.  9,  IQ,  where  by  Edom  the  Jews  under- 
stand Rome ;  and  in  the  genuine  editions  of  the  Chal- 
dee  paraphrase  it  is,  And  the  rivers  of  Rome  shall 
be  turned  into  pitch,  and  the  dust  thereof  into  brim- 
stone, and  the  land  thereof  shall  become  burning 
pitch: — it  shall  not  be  quenched  night  nor  day :  the 
smoke  shall  go  up  for  ever.  And  this  tradition  of 
the  rabbins  may  receive  some  confirmation  from  this 
verse.  Indeed,  such  an  event  must  appear  the  more 
probable,  when  we  consider  that  the  adjacent  coun- 
tries are  known  to  be  of  a  sulphurous  and  bitumin- 
ous soil:  and  that  even  at  Rome  there  have  been 
eruptions  of  subterraneous  fire,  which  have  con- 
sumed several  buildings,  according  to  Dion,  (lib. 
Ixvi.,)  on  one  occasion,  even  a  considerable  part  of 
Rome ;  so  that  the  friel  seems  to  be  prepared,  and  to 
wait  only  for  the  breath  of  the  Lord  to  kindle  it. 
b 


ing,  ^^  Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  ser-  a.  m.  4ioa 
vants,  and  ye  that  fear  him,  *  both      ' 
small  and  great 

6  ^And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunder- 
ings,  sajing,  Alleluia:  for  ^the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth. 

7  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour 
to  him :  for  '"the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come, 
and  his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready. 


<  Chapter  xL    18;    xx.  12. ^Ezekiel  i.  24;     xliii.  S; 

Chapter  xiv.  2. >  Chapter  xi.   16,  17;   xii.  10;    xxi.  2S. 

■  Matthev  xxii.  2 ;  xxv.  10 ;  2  Cohnthiaiia  xi.  2 ;   Ephesians 
v^.  32;  Chapter  xxi.  2»  9. 


Verses  4,  5.  IVie  four  and  twenty  elders  and  the 
four  living  creatures— After  the  preceding  chorus 
had  ended  their  hymn,  the  representatives  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  Churches  prostrated  themselves 
before  Jehovah,  saying.  Amen — So  be  it :  let  God  be 
ever  praised  for  the  displays  now  made  of  his  infinite 
perfections.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  tlie  throne — 
From  the  glory,  or  the  oracle;  this  shows  the  great 
authority  and  solemnity  with  which  this  order  was 
published;  saying,  Praise  our  God,  &c. — The  oc- 
casion and  matter  of  this  song  of  praise  seem  to  be 
somewhat  different  from  those  of  the  foregoing 
hymn :  that  hymn  was  to  celebrate  the  praises  of 
Grod  principally  on  account  of  his  faithfulness  and 
justice  manifested  in  the  punishment  of  a  persecu- 
ting power,  that  had  long  oppressed  Christ's  faithful 
servants.  But  this,  as  appears  by  what  follows,  is 
principally  to  praise  God  for  the  happy  and  glorious 
state  of  his  church,  about  to  take  place  in  conse- 
quence of  this  punishment  of  its  enemies;  even  that 
state  of  it,  as  appears,  wherein  it  is  said  to  live  and 
reign  with  Christ  a  thousand  years,  and  which  is 
more  particularly  spoken  of  in  the  following  chap- 
ter :  for  which  wonderful  display  of  the  divine  good- 
ness all  the  truly  pious  are  prepared  by  this  hymn 
for  solemnly  and  devoutly  praising  God. 

Verses  6-8.  And  I  heard,  &c— Upon  this  order 
from  the  oracle,  the  whole  church,  in  obedience  to 
it,  began  to  praise  God  with  loud  voices;  which 
might  be  compared  to  the  sound  of  many  toaters,  or 
of  mighty  thunderings,  saying.  Alleluia,  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent-^The  Almighty  Maker  and 
Upholder  of  universal  nature;  reigneth-^Among 
men,  more  eminently  and  gloriously  than  ever  be- 
fore. Let  us  be  glad,  &C. — Xaipufuv  koi  ayaX^iufisOii, 
let  us  r^oice  and  exuU  mth  transport,  and  ascribe 
to  him  the  glory  which  is  so  justly  due  ;for  the  mar- 
riage  of  the  Lamb  is  come — Is  near  at  hand,  and 
will  be  speedily  solemnized.  His  true  church,  his 
faithAil  servants,  are  now  about  to  receive  public  and 
peculiar  marks  of  his  affection  in  a  state  of  happi- 
ness and  dignity  suitable  to  their  relation  to  him. 
The  ancient  prophets  frequently  express  the  favour 
of  God  to  his  people  by  the  affection  of  a  bridegroom 
to  his  spouse.  See  Isa.  IziL  6 ;  Hos.  ii.  10, 20 ;  Zeph. 
789 


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The  church  arrayed  in  whiter 


REVELATION. 


ait  emblem  o/jmriiy. 


A.  M.  4100.,    8  And   >"  to  her  was  granted  that 

A.  D  96. 

'. she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen, 

clean  and  ^ white:    ®for  the  fine  linen  is  the 
righteousness  of  saints. 

9  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Write,  ^  Blessed  are 
they  which  are  called  unto  the  marriage-supper 
of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto  me,^  ^  These 
are  the  true  sayings  of  Grod. 

10  And  '  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him. 


■  Pm.  sir.  13,  14  }  Esek.  xri.  10 ;  Chap.  iii.  18. >  Or, 

hright.~^FMA.  oxxzti.  9.— 4»Matt.  niL  2,  3 ;   Luke  lir.  15, 
16. 4  Cfamp.  zzi.  5 ;  zxii.  6. 


kL  17.  And  the  Church  of  Christ  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament is  often  represented  tinder  the  same  simili- 
tude of  a  bride.  See  Rom.  viL  4 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  2 ;  Eph. 
v.  25,  &c.  And  as  marriages  used  to  be  celebrated 
with  great  joy,  this  is  a  proper  emblem  to  show  the 
state  of  prosperity  and  happiness  to  which  God  will 
raise  his  church,  after  all  its  sufferings  for  the  sake 
of  tmth  and  righteoasness.  And  his  wife  hathmade 
herself  ready— ^xeu  while  upon  earth,  being  ac- 
quitted from  all  guilt,  purified  from  ail  pollution,  and 
adorned  with  all  those  graces  and  virtues  which  are 
most  excellent  in  themselves,  and  most  agreeable  to 
him.  As  if  he  had  said,  She  is  not  a  harlot  tainted 
with  idolatry,  but  a  spouse  prepared  for  her  heaven- 
ly husband.  And  to  her  was  granted — By  Grod, 
from  whom  all  her  good  qualities  proceed ;  that  she 
should  he  arrayed  in  fine  linen — Expressive  of  her 
purity  and  holiness;  for  the  fine  linen  is  an  emblem 
of  the  righteousness  of  the  saints — Including  both 
their  justifical ion  and  sanctification.  Thus  St  Paul, 
(Eph.  V.,)  Christ  gave  himself  for  his  church,  thai 
he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it,  and  present  it  to 
himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing. 

Verses  9,  10.  And  he  (the  angel)  saith  unto  me, 
IFrtte— Record  this  as  an  important  truth,  in  which 
all  that  read  this  book  in  future  ages  wiU  be  greatly 
concerned;  Blessed — Uaxaptot,  happy;  are  they 
which  are  called  unto  the  marriage-supper  of  the 
Lamb--Who  shall  be  living  at  this  time,  and  shall 
obey  the  invitation  to  this  marriage-feast,  and  par- 
take of  all  the  privileges  and  blessings  belonging  to 
it.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  after  a  little  pause.  These 
are  the  true  sayings  of  Ood— They  are  to  be  regard- 
ed by  thee,  and  all  that  read  them,  as  declarations 
infallibly  true,  and  infinitely  momentous.  And— 
While  he  was  speaking  to  me  in  this  kind  and  con- 
descending manner,  being  overawed  by  his  majestic 
appearance,  and  in  such  a  rapture  and  ecstasy  at 
these  discoveries  that  I  knew  not,  or  did  not  con- 
sider, what  I  did;  /fell  at  Aw /ce<— Prostrated  my^ 
self  before  him ;  to  worship  him— Or  to  do  him  ho- 
mage, as  though  I  had  owed  all  these  discoveries  to 
him.  And  he  said,  8ee  thou  do  it  not — Greek,  upa 
fiff.  See  not,  with  a  beautiful  abruptness.  It  does  not 
appear  that  St.  John  intended  to  pay  religious  wor- 
ship to  this  angel;  for  he  could  not  but  know  that  he 
was  only  a  creature,  and  that  religiously  to  worship 
790 


And  he  said  unto  me,  'See  thou  doit  a.m.  4100. 

AD  96 

not:  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  — U — 1. 
thy  brethren  ^  that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus : 
wcNRship  God :  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the 
spirit  of  prophecy. 
11  ^  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behdd, 
'a  white  horse;  and  he  that  sat  upon  him  ira« 
called  ^Faithful  and  True,  and  'in  righteous- 
ness he  doth  judge  and  inake  war. 


'Chap.  xxti.  S. 'Acta  z.  2'«;  xiv.  14, 15;  Cb«>.  xzii  St. 

tlJohn  T.  10;  Cfaafkzii  17. •Chap.  zr.  5. 'Chap.TL2. 

r  Chap,  iii  14. « laa.  xL  4. 


any  creature,  however  exalted,  would  be  flat  idola- 
try. He  seems  only  to  have  intended  such  civil  re- 
spect and  reverence  as  the  Asiatics  were  wont  to 
pay  to  superiors,  and  especially  to  persons  in  high 
rank ;  which  indeed  is  frequently  all  that  is  meant 
by  the  word  vpowweo,  here  rendered  to  worship. 
Thus  Ruth  complimented  Boaz  with  Ihis  kind  of 
honour,  when  she  fell  on  her  face,  and  bowed  her- 
self to  the  ground,  Ruth.  ii.  10.  Thus  Abigail  alsa 
iihowed  her  respect  for  David:  she  fell  before  him 
on  her  face,  and  bowed  herself  to  the  ground,  1  Sam. 
XXV.  23.  Indeed,  the  reason  for  which  the  angel 
forbids  this  high  act  of  respect,  seems  to  intimate 
that  he  did  not  understand  it  as  an  act  of  religious 
honour,  for  he  mentions  nothing  concerning  the  sin 
or  danger  of  idolatry,  as  implied  in  it :  he  only  shows 
that  it  was  improper  the  apostle  should  pay  such 
respect  to  him,  which  he  does,  not  by  showing  that 
it  was  unlawful  to  give  such  respect  to  any  created 
being  whatsoever,  but  because  he  was  only  a  fellow- 
servant  with  the  apostle,  and  a  servant  of  his  breth- 
ren, that  had  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  As  if  he  had 
said,  I  am  now  employed  as  your  fellow-servant,  to 
testify  Of  the  Lord  Jesus  by  the  same  Spirit  which  in- 
spired the  prophets  of  old.  Worship  God— Pay  thine 
homage,  in  such  expressions  of  it,  to  God  alone,  to 
whom  alone  thou  owest  these  revelations.  Tlu  tes- 
timony of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy — That  is^ 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  serves,  in  a  glorious  manner, 
to  confirm  Jesus's  divine  mission,  to  all  that  know 
and  duly  observe  the  circumstances  of  it;  and  that 
which  I  now  reveal  to  thee  makes  a  considerable 
article  of  the  proof:  or,  this  ability  of  foretelling 
things  to  come  is  an  argument  or  evidence  of  Christ^s 
speaking  in  and  by  me,  as  he  does  by  thee. 

Verses  11-16.  And  I  saw  heaven  openeti— This  is 
a  new  and  peculiar  opening  of  it,  in  order  to  show 
the  magnificent  expedition  of  Christ  and  his  attend- 
ants against  his  great  adversary ;  andbehold  a  white 
Aor«c— Many  paid  little  regard  to  Christ  when  he 
came  meek  and  lowly,  riding  upon  an  ass :  but  what 
will  they  say  or  think,  when  he  comes  forth  upon 
his  white  horse,  with  the  sharp  sword  of  his  mouth? 
The  white  horse,  on  which  Christ  is  represented  as 
riding,  was  intended  to  denote  his  justice  and  holi- 
ness, and  also  that  victory  and  triumph  should  mark 
his  progress.  And  he  thai  sat  on  him  was  called 
Faithful— In  performing   all  hi9  promises;   and 

b 


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CHAPTER  XIX. 


folUn^ed  by  his  armies. 


A.  M.  4100.     1 2  **  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of 
'    — 1  fire,  ''and  on  his  head  were  many 
crowns ;   ^  and  he  had  a  name  written,  that  no 
man  knew  but  he  himself. 

13  ^  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dip- 
ped in  blood :  and  his  name  is  called  *  The 
Word  of  God. 

14  ^And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven 
fdlowed  him  upon  white  horses,  'clothed  in 
fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 

15  And  ^out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
sword,  that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations: 
and  *  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron:  and 
*he  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness 
and  wrath  of  Almighty  God. 

16  And  '  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his 


•Ch^.  i. 

U;    iL  18.- 

— »» Chap. 

Ti. 

2. .Chap.  u. 

m  i.  1 ;  1  John  i 

17; 

Vcria  le.- 

— *  laa.  Ixiii. 

2,3.— i-« 

Jol 

r.  7. 

'  Chapter  xiv.  20. f  Matthew  xxviii.  3 

;  Chapter  iv.  4;  vii.  9. 

^laa.zi.  4; 

2  These,  ii.  8 

;  Chap.  i. 

16; 

Vene  21. 

_ 

TVue— In  executing  all  his  threatenings;  and  in 
riglUeousness^Wiih  the  utmost  justice  and  equity; 
he  doth  judge  and  make  irar— Often  the  sentence 
and  execution  go  together.  His  eyes  were  as  a 
fiame  o/[/fr6— Gloriously  bright  and  piercmg.  He 
is  described  in  such  characters  as  are  appropriated  to 
him  in  this  book,  and  in  the  ancient  prophets ;  and 
on  his  head  were  many  crowns — In  token  of  his  nu- 
merous conquests,  and  the  many  countries  now  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  God  and  of  his  Christ. 
And  he  had  a  ntxme  written  upon  them  that  no  man 
knew  but  himself—The  praise  of  his  mediatorial 
undertaking  being  ineflltble  and  incomprehensible, 
and  his  person  mysterious  and  wonderful,  Judg.  xiiL 
18 ;  Isa.  ix.  6.  Hence  we  read,  Matt  xi.  27,  No  man 
knoweth  the  Son  btU  the  Father.  And  he  wasclothed 
with  a  vesture  of  pure  white,  emblematical  of  his 
holiness;  and  dipped  in  blood-^ln  token  of  his  suf- 
ferings; or  rather,  as  some  think,  of  the  blood  of  the 
enemies  already  conquered.  See  Isa.  Ixiii.  1,  &c. 
And  his  name  is  called^  The  Word  of  Ood—Be- 
cause  he  spoke  every  thing  into  being,  and  reveal- 
eth  his  Father  and  his  Father's  wiU  to  mankind.  In 
other  words,  he  has  this  name  because  he  is  that 
glorious  and  Divine  Person,  said,  John  L  1,2,  to  have 
been  in  the  beginning  with  God,  and  to  be  himself 
God ;  and  who  was  the  great  mediumof  divine  reve- 
lation in  all  ages.  And  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven—The  heavenly  hosts;  followed  him—Aa 
being  most  willingly  and  entirely  under  his  com- 
mand; upon  white  horses — All  the  inhabitants  of 
Leaven  being  pure  and  holy,  and  all  in  a  state  of  joy 
and  triumph.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
#ii>ord— Signifying  that  his  word  is  quick  and  pow- 
erful, and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword;  that 
with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations — That  he  was 
now  about  to  use  it  in  a  strict  execution  of  justice  on 
his  enemies;  and  he  shall  rule  them — Who  are  not 
•lain  by  his  sword ;  wUh  a  rod  of  tron— That  is,  if 

D 


thigh  a  name  written,  "KING  OP  a.m.410o. 
KINGS,  AND  LORD  OP  LORDS.  ±l^l^ 

17  And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun ; 
and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying  ■'to 
an  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
^  Come,  and  gather  yourselves  together  unto  the 
supper  of  the  great  Grod ; 

18  ^  That  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and 
the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty 
men,  and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that 
sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of  all  men^  both  free 
and  bond,  both  small  and  great 

19  ^  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to 
make  war  against  him  that  sat  on  the  horse, 
and  against  his  army. 


*  PwL  ii.  9 ;  CImw.  ii.  27 ;  xiL  6. ^  ha.  Iriii.  3 ;  Chap.  xir. 

IS,  20. »  Verse  12. ■  Dan.  ii.  47 ;  1  Tim.  ri.  15 ;  Chapter 

xvii.  14. ■  Vene  21. «>  Ezek.  iiziz.  17. P  Ezek.  xxziz. 

18,  20. iChap.  xri.  16 ;  xriL  13, 14. 


they  will  not  snbmit  to  his  golden  sceptre ;  see  on 
Psa.  ii.  9;  and  he  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the 
fierceness — T«  ^ftti^  oftheindigncUion;  and  wrath 
of  Almighty  Crodt— Signified,  probably,  by  the  blood 
which  stained  his  garments.  The  metaphor  signi- 
fies that  he  shall  subdue  the  proudest  of  his  enemies 
with  as  much  ease  as  men  crush  grapes  by  treading 
them  under  their  feet  And— To  the  everlasting 
confusion  of  his  enemies,  and  the  perpetual  joy  of 
his  friends  and  followers ;  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and 
on  his  thigh— Or  on  the  part  of  the  vesture  which 
was  upon  his  thigh;  aname  written — Different  from 
that  mentioned  above ;  Kino  of  Kings,  and  Lord  op 
Lords— To  show  that  he  was  really  possessed  of  a 
just  dominion  over  all  the  princes  and  kingdoms  of 
the  earth ;  a  dominion  which  the  eastern  monarchs, 
and  after  them  the  Roman  emperors,  unjustly  at- 
tempted to  acquire  and  establish,  and  a  title  which, 
with  great  vanity,  they  assumed  to  themselves.  It 
was  usual  of  old,  for  great  personages  in  the  eastern 
countries  to  have  magnificent  titles  inscribed  on,  or 
affixed  to,  their  garments. 

Verses  17-19.  And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in 
the  sun— And  therefore  conspicuous  to  all ;  and  he 
cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  all  the  fowls  of  heaven — 
To  intimate  the  slaughter  and  desolation  which  were 
soon  to  come  upon  the  enemies  of  the  church ;  say- 
ingy  Come,  gather  yourselves  together  to  the  supper 
of  the  great  God— To  the  great  feast  which  his  ven- 
geance will  soon  provide;  a  strongly  figurative 
expression,  taken  from  Ezek.  xxxix.  17,  denoting 
the  vastness  of  the  ensuing  slaughter.  And  J  saw 
the  6e(w<— Appearing  again,  as  at  the  head  of  the 
antichristian  interest,  see  chap.  xiii.  1,  &c. ;  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth— The  ten  kings  mentioned  chap. 
xviL  12,  who  aided  and  supported  that  persecuting 
power,  and  had  now  drawn  other  kings  of  the  earth 
to  them ;  and  their  armies  gathered  together — All 
the  forces  they  could  collect,  all  the  enemies  of  truth 
791 


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The  bea$t  <md  the /alee  propkH 


EEVBLATION. 


are  eati  into  the  lake  offirt^ 


A.  M.  4100.  20  '  And  the  beast  was  taken, 
^^•^'  and  with  him  the  &l9e  prq^  that 
wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which  he 
decdved  them  that  had  recdved  the  mark 
of  the  beast,  and  *them  that  worshipped  his 
image.      ^  These  both  were  cast  ahve  into 


rChap.  xri.  13,14.- 


«Chap.  xiiL  12, 15.- 

IklLT&ll. 


'Chap.  zz.  10; 


and  righteousness ;  to  make  'war  tigainet  him  that 
eat  on  the  horee— To  oppose  the  progress  of  his  gos- 
pel, and  the  enlargement  of  his  kingdom.  All  beings, 
good  and  bad,  visike  and  invisible,  will  be  conoeroed 
in  this  grand  contest 

Verses  20,  21.  And~-The  issue  was  such  as  might 
be  expected :  Christ  and  his  saints  obtained  a  full 
and  entire  victory;  a  victory  as  complete  as  when 
the  generals  and  all  the  chief  officers  of  an  enemy's 
army  are  made  prisoners  of  war,  and  the  rest  are 
cot  to  pieces  in  the  field  of  battle.  For  the  beaet— 
The  idolatrous  persecuting  power  represented  there- 
by ;  and  the  false  jnrophet^  that  wrought  miracles 
before  him — That,  by  pretended  miracles  and  &lse 
doctrine,  had  supported  the  apostacy ;  that  is,  the 
antichristian  tyranny,  and  the  corrupt  clergy,  were 
taken,  were  made  prisoners,  and  condemned  to  suffer 
the  most  exemplary  punishment  by  the  hands  of 
Justice.  These  both  were  cast  alive — Without  un- 
dergoing bodily  death ;  into  the  lake  of  fir  e^  burning 
with  brimstone — And  that,  it  seems,  before  the  devil 
himself  chap.  xx.  10.  Here  is  the  last  of  the  beast 
and  of  the  false  prophet.  After  several  repeated 
strokes  of  divine  vengeance,  they  are  rq[>resented  as 
delivered  to  suffer  Uie  vengeance  of  eternal  fire. 
They  are  plunged  at  once  into  the  extremest  degree 
of  torment,  without  being  reserved  in  chains  of  darii- 
ness  to  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  Surely  none 
but  the  beast  and  false  prophet  of  Rome,  the  perse- 
cutors and  deceivers  of  that  antichristian  kingdom, 
could  have  hardened  themselves  thus  against  the 
Qod  they  pretended  to  adore ;  or  refused  to  have 
repented  under  such  dreadful  and  repeated  visita- 


a  lake  of  fire  ^  buming  ^ith  brim-  a.  m.  4100. 

_^  °  A.  D.  96. 

stone.  

21  And  the  remnant  'were  slain  with  the 
sword  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  whidi 
^iMTct  proceeded  out  of  his  moirth:  ^andallthe 
fowls  '  were  filled  with  their  flesh. 


■Chap.  xIt.  10; 


xxi.  18. «Ver»e  15.- 

s  Chap,  xvii  IS. 


Yenes  17,  18. 


tions.  And  the  remtiafU—Those  of  inferior  rank 
and  power,  who  had  aided  and  abetted  the  ^x>staey, 
and  concurred  in  opposing  the  truth  and  religion  of 
Christ ;  were  slain  with  the  sword  of  him  that  sat 
ttpon  the  horsej  which  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth — 
That  is,  with  tlie  word  of  Christ,  like  the  common 
soldiers  of  a  conquered  army,  who  fall  in  the  field 
of  battle,  and  are  left  there  unbnried,  a  prey  to  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  which  feed  on  them,  and  tre  filled 
with  their  flesh'-'Thek  substance  being  seized  for 
other  persons,  and  othor  uses.  A  most  magnificent 
description  this  of  the  final  overthrow  of  the  beast 
and  false  prophet,  and  all  their  adherents.  It  bai^ 
in  particu]iBtr,one  exquisite  beauty,  that,  after  exhibit- 
ing the  two  opposite  armies,  and  all  the  apparalns  fcr 
a  battle,  (verses  11-19,)  then  follows  immediately 
(verse  20)  the  account  of  the  victory,  withent  one 
word  of  an  engagement  or  fighting.  Here  is  the 
most  exact  propriety ;  ftnr  what  struggle  can  there 
be  between  Omnipotence  and  the  power  of  all  the 
creation  united  against  it?  Every  description  ranst 
have  fallen  short  of  this  admirable  silence.  The  m- 
telligent  reader  will  easily  observe,  that  the  descrip* 
tion  is  not  only  incomparably  suUime,  but  strongly 
figurative ;  and  that,  speaking  in  ]^n  language,  its 
design  is  to  show,  in  the  most  expressive  manner, 
the  complete  downftdl  of  Popery,  with  all  its  delu- 
sive and  destructive  ab<HDination8,  and  the  triumphs 
of  the  pure  and  genuine  reUgion  of  Jesus ;  the  tme 
word  of  God  will  in  the  end  prevail  over  every  species 
of  superstition  and  idolatry:  all  the  powers  of  anti- 
christ dull  be  com{detely  subdued:  and  the  religion 
of  Rome,  as  well  as  Rome  itm^  be  totally  destroyed. 


C3HAPTER  XX. 

Ai  Au  ehsfUr  w$  Amm,  (lt)Tks  himHitg  or  tutrsmmg  of  Sstsn  for  one  thoummd  yesrs,  during  which  HU  gospel  grtsJdy  pre- 
miU,  ssU  ike  ekmrck  ttf  Cknei  fimuriekee  exeeeHngly,  1-6.  (9,)  Satsn,  being  loosed  for  a  UtOe  season  from  Me  reetraini^ 
dsesms  ike  nstions,  a$td  unites  tkem  in  a  fsHtme,  hut  the  luet,sitempt  to  destroy  tke  ckurek.  They  are,  however,  diesp- 
pointedin  their  expeetaHone,  and  are  mieeraHy  and  irretriswaUy  overthrown,  7-10.  (S,)  Hereupon  Christ  appeare  to  the 
last  judgment,  and  hamng  gatkera  before  kkn  tke  quick  and  the  dead,  as  from  opened  booke  of  account  he  judges  tke 
wsrU  with  in^miU  exactness,  and,  t^  passing  a  righteous  sentence  upon  aU,ehuU  up  devi^ 
smnsrs,  m  mB,  $o  be  tormented  far  over,  11*10. 


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Satan  is  bound  and  teaUd 


CHAPTER  XX. 


far  a  thousand  years. 


A. M. 4100.    AND  I  saw  an  angel  comedown 

'. —         from  heaven,  *  having  the  key  of 

the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand. 
2  And  he  laid  hold  on  ^  the  dragon,  that  old 
serpent,  which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and 
bound  him  a  thousand  years, 


•Chap.  i.  18 ;  ix.  1.— ■^I'Chap.  zii.  9;  2  Pet.  ii.  4;  Juda  6. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XX. 

This  chapter  represents  a  new  state  of  the  church, 
upon  its  deliverance  from  the  persecution  and  cor- 
ruption of  the  third  period,  during  the  reign  of  the 
two  beasts,  or  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  prophet- 
ic days  or  years.  That  long  state  of  oppression  is 
to  be  followed  by  a  long  continuance  of  peace  and 
prosperity.  A  fourth  period  is  described,  which, 
among  other  characters,  is  to  last  for  one  thousand 
year&  The  first  two  periods  ended  in  a  deliverance 
of  the  church;  but  those  deliverances  were  of  short 
continuance,  imd  attended  with  considerable  defects; 
but  now,  after  the  church  shall  have  passed  through 
this  third  trial  of  faith  and  patience,  it  is  to  attain  a 
state  of  very  great  prosperity,  and  to  remain  in  it  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time.  This  is  that  happy 
state  of  the  church  which,  from  the  continuation  of 
it  for  one  thousand  years,  is  usually  called  the  mil- 
lennium^ a  term  fomous  in  the  church.  The  descrip- 
tion, however,  which  we  have  of  it  in  this  chapter  is 
very  short,  being  all  contained  in  the  first  six  verses. 
But  interpreters  have  abundantl<y  supplied  what  they 
thought  wanting  in  the  prophetical  account;  out  of 
their  own  invention  it  is  to  he  feared,  rather  than 
from  sure  and  well-grounded  principles  of  judgment. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  they  have  differed  so  much 
about  the  true  meaning  of  a  prophecy,  in  which 
they  have  mixed  so  many  of  their  own  imaginations. 
Let  us  then  carefully  endeavour  to  distinguish  what 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  plainly  intends,  from  what 
uncertain  conjectures  or  doubtful  reasonings  may 
suggest  to  our  minds,  that  we  may  obtain  a  more 
distin^  and  satisfaetory  account — Lowmui. 

Verses  1-3.  And  I  saw  an  angel — An  especial  min- 
ister of  Providence ;  come  downfrom  heaven — With 
m  commission  from  Ood ;  having  the  key  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit^-In  vested  with  power  to  open  or  to  shut 
it ;  see  on  chap.  ix.  1 ;  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
JUind— Emblematical  of  his  power  to  perform  the 
work  here  assigned  him.  And  he  laid  hold  on 
the  dragon^Who,  after  the  destruction  of  the  beast 
and  of  the  false  prophet,  (to  whom  he  had  delegated 
his  power,)  still  remained ;  that  old  serpent^ThtX 
ancient  enemy  of  the  human  race,  who,  in  the  form 
of  a  subtle  serpcint,  deceived  the  first  parents  of 
mankind,  and  brought  s'm  and  death  into  the  world, 
with  an  incalculable  train  of  evils  attendant  on  them ; 
who  is  the  DmJ— The  malicious  and  false  ac- 
cuser of  God's  saints,  as  the  word  6ta6oXoc,  so  ren- 
dered, signifies ;  and  Satan^The  grand  adversary 
both  of  God  and  man ;  and  bound  him  a  thousand 
yeoTi— That  is,  at  least  one  thousand  literal  years; 
during  whidi  the  light  of  the  gospel  i^iall  be  dif- 
b 


3  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  a. 
pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  ^  set  a  seal 


M.4100. 
,  D.  96. 


upon  him,  *  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations 
no  more,  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  ful- 
filled ;  and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed  a  Uttle 
season. 


*  D»a.  tL  17. •  Chap.  xvL  14, 16;  Ve»e  8. 


fiised  through  all  the  world,  and  the  reign  of  truth 
and  righteousness  be  established  universally  among 
men.  "  I  think,"  says  Doddridge,  "  we  must  des- 
pair of  being  able  to  interpret  any  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture upon  the  plainest  principle  of  reason,  if  this  do 
not  signify  that  there  shall  be  such  a  period  as  this, 
in  which  Satan  shall  be  remarkably  restrained,  and 
the  Christian  interest  shall  prevail.  But  whether 
the  one  thousand  years  are  here  to  be  taken  literally, 
as  is  most  probable ;  or  whether  here  [as  elsewhere 
in  this  book]  each  day  is  put  for  a  year,  and  conse- 
quently the  whole  period  be  three  hundred  and  six- 
ty thousand  years,  I  will  not  pretend  to  determine. 
This  thought  has  been  very  lately  started  by  an  in- 
genious and  worthy  person,  who,  I  doubt  not,  hath 
intended  the  service  of  Christianity ;  though  I  am 
very  apprehensive  he  has  failed  in  some  of  the  me- 
diums by  which  he  hi^  endeavoured  to  prove  this 
point."  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pt7— His 
mfemal  prison ;  afterward  he  is  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire ;  and  shut  him  up  therein,  and  set  a  seal  upon 
him — ^^These  are  strong  figures,  to  show  the  certain, 
strict,  and  severe  restraint  which  he  shall  be  laid 
under ;  that  he  might  deceive  the  nations  no  more — 
During  this  whole  period.  One  benefit  only  is  here 
expressed  as  resulting  from  the  confinement  of 
Satan ;  but  how  many  and  great  blessings  are  im- 
plied !  For  the  grand  enemy  and  opposer  of  truth 
and  righteousness  being  removed,  the  kingdom  of 
God  holds  on  its  uninterrupted  course  among  the 
nations;  and  the  great  mystery  of  God,  so  long  fore- 
told, is  at  \eiiglhJfulJUled — Namely,  when  the  beast 
and  folse  prophet  are  destroyed,  and  Satan  bound. 
This  fulfilment  approaches  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
contains  things  of  the  utmost  hnportance,  the  know* 
ledge  of  which  becomes  every  day  more  distinct  and 
easy.  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  highly  necessary  to 
guard  against  the  present  rage  and  subtlety  of  the 
devil ;  remembering  that  the  events  which  are  to 
precede  the  bmding  of  him,  and  the  commencing  of 
these  one  thousand  years,  are  awibl,  and  shortly  to 
be  expected,  one  after  another,  namely,  the  calami- 
ties implied  in  the  vintage,  (chap.  xiv.  18,)  the 
pouring  out  of  the  last  three  vials,  the  judgment  of 
Babylon,  the  last  raging  of  the  beast  and  false  pro- 
phet, and  their  destruction.  How  great  things  are 
these  I  and  how  short  the  time!  What  isneedfti^ 
for  us?  Wisdom,  patience,  faithfulness,  watchftil- 
ness.  Surely  this  is  not  a  time  for  us  to  settle  upon 
our  lees.  This,  if  it  be  rightly  understood,  will  not 
be  an  acceptable  message  to  the  wise,  the  mighty, 
I  the  honourable  of  this  world.  Yet  that  which  is  to 
t  be  done  shall  be  done :  there  is  no  counsel  against 
798 


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Blemid  state  oftho§e  who  have 


REVELATION. 


a  part  in  thejint  remtrrecHom. 


A.  M.  4100.  4  And  I  saw  ^  thrcmes,  and  they 
'  sat  upon  them,  and  'judgment  was 
gtvea  unto  tl^m :  and  /  saw  ^  the  souls 
of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  wit- 
ness of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  'which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast, 
^  neither  his  image,  neither  had  received 
his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in 
their  hands;    and  they  lived   and   ^reigned 


'  D^n.  vii.  9, 22, 27 ;  Malt.  lix.  28 ;  Luke  xxii.  30. i  1  Cor. 

TL  2,  3. ^  Chapter  tL  9. *  Ch^>ter  xUi.  12. ^  Chapter 

ziii.  15,  16. 


the  Lord.  After  that  he  must  he  tooeed—So  does 
tlie  mysterious  wisdom  of  God  permit ;  for  a  Uitle 
season—For  a  small  time,  comparativcdy  :  though, 
upon  the  whole,  it  cannot  be  very  short,  because  the 
things  that  are  to  be  transacted  therein  (see  verses 
8,  9)  must  take  up  a  considerable  space. 

Verses  4-^.  And  I  saw  thrones— Such  as  were 
promised  to  the  apostles.  Matt.  xix.  28 ;  Luke  xziL  30; 
and  rA^— Namely,  the  saints,  whom  St  John  saw 
at  the  same  time ;  sat  upon  them^  and  judgment  was 
given  to  them— I  Cor.  vi.  2.  Error  and  sin  being 
restrained,  the  reign  of  righteousness  succeeds,  and 
the  administration  of  justice  and  judgment  is  given 
to  the  saints  of  the  Most  ffighy  Dan.  vii.  22.  And  J 
saw  the  souls — ^That  is,  the  persons ;  of  them  that 
were  beheaded — Namely,  with  the  axe,  as  the  word 
ntireXemofuvuv  properly  signifies :  one  kind  of  death, 
however,  which  was  particularly  inflicted  at  Rome, 
is  mentioned  for  all  kinds  thereof  :^^e  witness,or 
testimony,  of  Jesus — For  testifying  that  Jesus  of 
Nazaretb  is  the  true  Messiah,  the  Son  of  Gk>d,  the 
Saviour,  Lawgiver,  and  final  Judge  of  the  world,  and 
especially  of  those  who  believe  in  him ;  and  for  the 
word  of  God — In  general,  or  for  some  particular  and 
peculiarly  important  truth  of  it ;  or  for  bearing  witness 
to  the  great  truths  of  the  everlasting  gospel ;  and  who 
had  not  worshipped  the  beast— H^  x^X  made  any 
acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the  antichristian 
power  of  the  beast,  nor  yielded  to  the  prevailing 
corruptions ;  nor  his  image — The  pope  and  his  cor- 
rupt hierarchy;  but  had  persevered  in  the  true 
Christian  faith  against  all  opposition.  See  on  chap, 
xiii.  4-8, 11-17.  Neither  had  received  his  mark  in 
their  foreheads^  or  on  their  hands — Had  neither 
made  an  open  profession  of  hb  corrupt  religion,  nor 
had  secretly  complied  with  its  idolatries  or  super- 
stitions. And  they  lived — ^Their  souls  and  bodies 
being  reunited ;  and  reigned  with  Christ — It  is  not 
said,  on  earth,  Dpubtless  the  meaning  is,  that  they  as- 
cended and  reigned  with  him  in  heaven;  a  thousand 
years—Sfimely,  before  the  rest  of  the  dead,  even 
the  one  thousand  years  during  which  Satan  is  bound, 
and  truth  and  righteousness  prevail  over  all  the 
earth.  Although  the  martyrs,  when  thus  raised 
from  the  dead,  shall  not  continue  on  earth,  it  is 
highly  probable  that,  in  proof  of  their  resurrection, 
they  will  appear  to  pious  individuals,  in  the  places 
where  they  were  so  cruelly  martyred,  and  where 
794 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  96. 


with    Christ    a    thousand    years. 

5  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 
not  again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finish- 
ed.   This  is  the  first  resurrection. 

6  Kessed  and  lioly  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
first  resurrection:  on  such  "the  second  death 
hath  no  power,  but  they  shall  be  "priests  of  Grod 
and  of  Christ,  *^and  shall  reign  with  him  a 
thousand  years. 


•  Rom.  viii.  17 ;  2  Tim.  il  12. ;  Chap.  v.  10. ■  Chap.  iL  II 

zzi.  8.- — >  Isaiah  bd.  6 ;  1  Peter  ii.  9 ;  Chapter  L  6 ;  r.  la 
«Ven«4. 


they  are  raised :  as  those  saints  who,  at  Jerusalem, 
rose  with  Christ,  went  into  the  city,  and  appeared  to 
many,  Matt  xxviL  52,  53.  And  if  so,  it  is  likely 
this  circumstance  will  tend  gready  to  confirm  the 
faith  and  hope  of  believers  respecting  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  will  check  vice  and  prof^ne- 
ness,  and  contribute  much  to  the  spread  of  the  go^ 
pel  '^  The  mart3rrs  and  confessors  of  Jesus,"  says 
Bishop  Newton,  ^  who  are  here  represented  as  being 
raised  from  the  dead,  at  least  one  thousand  yean 
before  others,  are  not  only  those  who  were  be- 
headed, or  suffered  any  kind  of  death,  under  the 
heathen  Roman  emperors,  but  also  those  who  re- 
fused to  comply  with  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the 
beast  and  his  image.  All  these  have  this  peculiar 
prerogative  above  the  rest  of  mankind:  they  all 
riuure  in  this  first  resurrection.  And  aD  of  them  the 
apostle  here  pronounces.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he 
thai  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection — He  is  holy 
in  all  senses  of  the  word :  holy,  as  separated  from 
the  common  lot  of  mankind ;  holy,  as  endowed  with 
all  virtuous  qualifications ;  and  none  but  such  are 
admitted  to  partake  of  this  blessed  state.  On  mc% 
the  second  death  has  no  power — The  second  death 
is  a  Jewish  phrase  for  the  punishment  of  the  wicked 
after  death.  The  Chaldee  paraphrase  of  Onkeloa, 
and  the  other  paraphrases  of  Jonathan  Ben  Uzziel, 
and  of  Jerusalem,  on  I)eut.  xxxiiL  0,  Let  Reuben 
live,  and  not  die,  say.  Let  him  not  die  the  second 
death,  by  which  the  wicked  die  in  the  world  to  come. 
The  sons  of  the  resurrection,  therefore,  shall  not  die 
again,  but  shall  live  in  eternal  bliss,  and  be  priests 
of  God  and  Christ,  and  reign  with  him  a  thousand 
year«"— Before  any  others.  For  the  Lord  Jesus 
will  not  suffer  any  of  his  disciples  to  be,  in  the  end, 
losers  for  their  fidelity  to  him  and  his  cause.  These 
loved  not  their  lives  unto  death,  but  voluntarily  sac- 
rificed them  out  of  love  to  him ;  and  he  thus  amply 
recompenses  them.  He  gives  each  of  them  an  infi^ 
nitely  better  life  than  that  given  up  for  his  sake — 
and  this  a  thousand  years  before  the  other  pious 
dead  receive  theirs.  "Nothing  is  more  evident," 
says  Bishop  Newton, "  than  that  this  prophecy  of  die 
millennium,  and  of  the  first  resurrection,  hath  not  3ret 
been  fulfilled,  even  though  the  resurrection  be  taken 
in  a  figurative  sense.  For  reckon  the  thousand 
years  from  the  time  of  Christ,  or  reckon  them  from 
the  time  of  Constantine,  yet  neither  of  these  periods^ 

h 


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Saian  agaxn  lei  loo$e^  vlho 


CHAPTER  XX. 


gather^  Oog  end  Magog, 


A.  M.  41G0. 
A.D.06. 


his  prison. 


7  And  when  the  thousand  years  are 
expired,  p  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of 


P  Vena  2.- 


1  Tenes  3, 10. 


nor  indeed  any  other,  will  answer  the  description 
and  character  of  the  miUennium,  the  purity  and 
peace,  the  holiness  and  happiness  of  that  blessed 
state.  Before  Constantine,  indeed,  the  church  was 
in  greater  purity ;  but  was  groaning  under  the  per- 
secutions of  the  heathen  emperors.  After  Constan- 
tine, the  church  was  in  greater  prosperity,  but  was 
soon  shaken  and  disturbed  by  heresies  and  schisms, 
by  the  incursions  and  devastations  of  the  northern  na- 
tions, by  the  conquering  arms  and  prerailing  impos- 
ture of  the  Saracens,  and  afterward  of  the  Turks ;  by 
the  corruption,  idolatry,  and  wickedness — the  usurp- 
ation, tyranny,  and  cruelty,  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
If  Satan  was  then  hound^  when  can  he  be  said  to 
be  loosed!  Or  how  could  the  eainte  and  the  beastj 
Christ  and  antichrist,  reign  at  the  same  period? 
This  prophecy  therefore  remains  to  be  fulfilled, 
even  though  the  resurrection  be  taken  only  for  an 
allegory,  which  yet  the  text  cannot  admit  without 
the  greatest  torture  and  violence.  For  with  what 
propriety  can  it  be  said,  that  some  of  the  dead,  who 
loere  beheaded^  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a 
thousand  years,  but  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not 
again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finished,  un- 
less the  dying  and  living  again  be  the  same  in  both 
places,  a  proper  death  and  resurrection  ?  Indeed 
the  death  and  resurrection  of  the  witnesses  before 
mentioned,  chap,  xl,  appears,  from  the  concurrent 
circumstances  of  the  vision,  to  be  figurative ;  but  the 
death  and  resurrection  here  mentioned  must,  for 
the  very  same  reasons,  be  concluded  to  be  real.  If 
the  martjrrs  rise  only  in  a  spiritual  sense,  then  the 
rest  of  the  dead  rise  only  in  a  spiritual  sense ;  but  if 
the  rest  of  the  dead  really  rise,,  the  martyrs  rise  in 
the  same  manner.  There  is  no  difference  between 
them:  and  we  should  be  cautious  and  tender  of 
making  the  first  resurrection  an  allegory,  lest  others 
should  reduce  the  second  into  an  allegory  too,  like 
those  whom  St.  Paul  mentions  2  Tim.  ii.  17, 18.  In 
the  general,  that  there  shall  be  such  a  happy  period 
is  the  plain  and  express  doctrine  of  Dan.  vii.  27; 
Psa.  ii.  8;  Isa.  xi.  9;  Rom.  xL  25,  26,  and  of  all  the 
prophets,  as  well  as  of  St.  John ;  and  we  daily  pray 
for  the  accomplishment  of  it  in  saying,  7%y  king- 
dom come.  But,  of  all  the  prophets,  St.  John  is  the 
only  one  who  hath  declared  particularly,  and  in  ex- 
press terms,  that  the  martyrs  shall  rise  at  the  com- 
mencement of  it,  though,  as  has  been  observed, 
probably  not  to  remain  on  earth,  but  to  ascend  and 
be  with  Christ  in  heaven ;  and  that  this  happy  state 
of  the  church  shall  continue  for  one  thousand  years. 
And  the  Jewish  Church  before  him,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church  aAer  him,  have  further  believed  and 
taught,  that  these  thousand  years  will  be  the  seventh 
millenary  of  the  world.  A  pompous  heap  of  quota- 
tions might  be  produced  to  this  purpose,  both  from 
Jewish  and  Christian  writers;  but  to  enumerate 
only  a  few  of  both  sorts:  among  the  Jewish  writers 
b 


8  And  shall  go  out  ^  to  deceive  a.  m.  4ioa 
the  nations  which  are  in  the  four  — '. — '. — 1 
quarters  of  the  earth,  ^Qi>g  and  Magog,  'to 


'Esek.  zzzviii.  2 ;  zxxix.  1. "Chap.  xri.  14. 


are,  Rabbi  Ketina,  and  the  house  of  Ellas ;  among 
the  Christian  writers  are,  St  Barnabas  in  the  first 
century,  Justin  Martyr  in  the  second  century,  Ter- 
tullian  in  the  beginning  of  the  third,  and  Lactantius 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  In  short, 
the  doctrine  of  the  millennium  was  generally  believed 
in  the  first  three  and  purest  ages  of  the  church :  and 
this  belief  was  one  principal  cause  of  the  fortitude  of 
the  primitive  Christians:  they  even  coveted  mar- 
tyrdom, in  hopes  of  being  partakers  of  the  privileges 
and  glories  of  the  martyrs  in  the  first  resurrection. 
Afterward,  this  doctrine  grew  into  disrepute,  for 
various  reasons.  Some,  both  Jewish  and  Christian 
writers,  have  debased  it  with  a  mixture  of  fables. 
It  hath  sufibred  by  the  misrepresentations  of  its 
enemies,  as  well  as  by  the  indiscretions  of  its  friends; 
it  hath  been  abused  to  the  worst  purposes:  it  hath 
been  made  an  engine  of  faction.  Besides,  wherever 
the  influence  and  authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
have  extended,  she  hath  endeavoured  by  all  means 
to  discredit  this  doctrine ;  and,  indeed,  not  without 
sufllcient  reason,  this  kingdom  of  Christ  being 
founded  on  the  ruins  of  antichrist.  No  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  this  doctrine  lay  depressed  for  many  ages ; 
but  it  sprang  up  again  at  the  Reformation,  and  will 
flourish  together  with  the  study  of  the  Revelation. 
All  the  danger  is,  on  the  one  side,  of  pruning  and 
lopping  it  too  short ;  and,  on  the  other,  of  suflertng 
it  to  grow  too  wild  and  luxuriant  Great  caution 
and  judgment  are  required  to  keep  in  the  middle 
way.  We  should  neither,  with  some,  interpret  into 
an  allegory ;  nor,  with  others,  indulge  an  extrava- 
gant fancy,  nor  explain  too  curiously  the  manner 
and  circumstances  of  this  future  state.  We  must 
not  imagine,  as  Fleming  observes,  that  the  appear- 
ance of  Christ,  to  mtroduce  this  glorious  state  of  the 
church,  will  be  a  personal  one,  any  more  than  his 
appearance  to  destroy  Jerusalem,  and  punish  the 
Jewish  nation  by  Titus,  was  such ;  for  the  heavens 
must  retain  him  until  the  time  of  the  restitution  of 
all  things.  Nor  are  we  to  imagine  that,  in  this 
prosperous  state  of  the  church,  it  i^all  be  free  from 
all  mixture  of  hypocrisy,  error,  and  sin,  seeing  that 
the  sudden  and  general  apestacy  which  will  follow 
that  period  shows  that  all  were  not  Israel  that  feigned 
themselves  to  be  of  it ;  otherwise  it  is  not  likely  that 
God,  in  his  equity  and  goodness,  would  sufler  the 
enemies  of  his  people  so  dreadfully  to  assault  them 
as  they  are  here  represented  to  do.  It  is  safest  and 
best  faithfully  to  adhere  to  the  words  of  Scripture, 
and  to  rest  contented  with  the  general  account,  till 
time  shall  accomplish  and  ecburcise  all  the  particu- 
lars. 

Verses  7-l(X  The  following  verses  of  this  chapter 
to  verse  11  inform  us  that  the  happy  days  of  the 
church,  prophesied  of  in  the  foregoing  vision,  will  at 
length  have  their  period,  though  they  are  to  contmue 
for  a  long  time,  and  are  not  to  expire  till  after  one 
79a 


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The  devil  is  eaet  inio 


ftEYBLATlON. 


the  lake  of  fire  and  h/Hmaione. 


A.  M.  4100.  crather  them  toirether  to  battle:  thenum- 

A    D   Ml 

'    ber  of  whom  t«  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 


9  ^  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the 
earth,  and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints 
about,  and  the  bdoved  city:  and  fire  came 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured 
them. 

10  ^And  the  devil  that  deceived  them  was 


ilMuthriiLS;  Eiak.  zzzriii.  9, 16.- 
zix.20. 


>VefM8.- 


( Chapter 


thousand  yean :  yet  then  there  shall  be  one  attempt 
more  against  the  purity  of  religion,  and  against  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  church.  Satan  will  be 
released  for  a  little  season,  but  in  that  little  season 
be  shall  deceive  many,  and  so  far  seduce  them  as  to 
prevail  upon  them  to  jom  with  him  in  his  apostacy. 
This  new  attempt  against  truth  and  righteousness 
shall  end  in  the  utter  riUn  of  the  enemies  of  Christ 
and  his  religion ;  they  shall  be  totally  defeated,  and 
their  obstinate  wickedness  punished  with  everlasting 
destniction.  This  state  of  the  church  and  world,  so 
different  from  the  preceding,  deserves  to  be  consi- 
dered as  a  new  period,  which  will  therefore  be  the  fifth 
in  order. — Lowman.  And  when  the  thousand  yeare 
are  expired^  &e. — '^  At  the  expiration  of  the  thou- 
sand years  the  restraint  shall  be  taken  off  from 
wickedness ;  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison 
— And  make  one  eflfort  more  to  reestablish  his 
kingdom.  As  he  deceived  our  first  parents  in  the 
paradisiacal  state,  so  he  shall  have  the  artifice  to  de- 
ceive the  nations  in  this  millennium  kingdom,  to  show 
that  no  state  or  condition  on  earth  is  exempted  or 
secured  from  sinning.  The  nations  whom  he  shall 
deceive  are  described  as  living  in  the  remotest  parts 
of  the  world ;  in  the  four  quarters — Ev  rate  rea<rap<n 
yovtaic  rtfc  yvc,  in  the  four  angles,  or  comers,  of  the 
earth;  and  they  are  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Qog  and  Magog,  and  are  said  to  be  as  numerous  as 
ihe  sands  of  the  sea.  Gog  and  Magog  seem  to 
have  been  formerly  the  general  name  of  the  north- 
em  nations  of  Europe  and  Asia,  as  the  Scythians 
have  been  since,  and  the  Tartars  are  at  present  In 
Ezekiel  there  is  a  famous  prophecy  concerning  Gog 
and  Magog,  and  this  prophecy  alludes  to  that  in 
many  particulars.  Both  that  of  Ezekiel  and  this  of 
St  John  renuiin  yet  to  be  AilfiUed  j  and  therefore 
we  cannot  be  absolutely  certain  that  they  may  not 
both  relate  to  the  same  event,  but  it  appears  more 
probable  that  they  relate  to  diffsrent  events.  The 
one  is  expected  to  take  place  before,  but  the  other 
will  not  take  place  till  c^er,  the  millennium.  Gog 
and  Magog,  in  Ezekiel,  are  said  expressly  (xxxviii. 
6, 15 ;  xxxix.  2)  to  come  from  the  north  quarters 
and  the  north  parts;  but  in  St  John  they  came  from 
the  four  quarters,  or  comers,  of  the  earth,  Gog 
and  Magog,  in  Ezekiel,  bend  their  forces  against  the 
Jews  resettled  in  their  own  land ;  but  in  St  John 
they  march  up  agahist  the  saints  and  church  of  God 
in  general.  It  may  therefore  be  concluded  that  Gog 
and  Magoer,  as  weU  as  Sodom,  and  Egypt,  and  Baby- 
796 


cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  hrimsUme,  a.  m.  4100l 

*  where  the  beast  and  the  fidse  pro- ! I 

phet  arcy  and  ^shall  be  tormented  day  andni^ht 
for  ever  and  ever. 

11  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  him 
that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  &ce  '  the  earth  and 
the  heaven  fled  away ;  ^and  th^re  was  Cound 
no  fiace  for  thenL 


T  Chapiar  xiT.  10, 11.- 


-s  S  Pet  iii.  7, 10, 11 ;  Chafiimt  s 
«DtiLii26. 


Ion,  are  mystic  names  in  this  book ;  and  the  last 
enemies  of  the  Christian  Church  are  sodenommated, 
because  Gog  and  Magog  appear  to  be  the  last  ene- 
mies of  the  Jewish  nation.  Who  they  aha]!  be,  we 
cannot  pretend  to  say  with  any  degree  of  certainty: 
but  whoever  they  diall  be,  they  shall  come  up  firom 
the  four  comers  of  the  earth,  on  the  breadth  of  the 
earth,  and  shall  compass  the  camp  of  the  saints 
about,  and  the  beloved  city^The  new  Jemsalem, 
with  the  saints  encamped  around  it,  as  the  Iforaelites 
encamped  around  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness. 
But  they  shall  not  succeed  in  their  attempts ;  they 
shall  not  be  able  to  hurt  the  church  and  city  of  God, 
but  shall  be  destroyed  in  an  extraordinary  manner, 
by  fire  from  heaven:  and  the  devil  hims^  the  pro- 
moter and  leader  of  this  new  apostacy  and  rebellion 
against  God  and  his  Christ,  shall  not  only  be  confined 
as  before,  but  shall  be  cast  into  (he  lake  of  fire  and 
brimstone,  where  he  shall  be  punished  together  whh 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet,  who  were  cast  hi 
before  him,  and  shall  be  tormented  for  ever  and 
ever. 

Verse  11.  The  course  of  these  propihedes,  alter 
many  important  visions  describing  the  state  of  the 
church  and  world  in  this  present  life,  brings  us  at 
last  to  the  great  and  final  judgment,  when  the  whole 
scene  and  m3rstery  of  Providence  i^all  be  finished. 
Then  the  great  doctrine  which  runs  through  the 
whole  of  these  prophecies  will  be  fhlly  verified, 
namely,  that  truth  and  righteousness  shaU  sorely 
prevail  in  the  end,  against  error  and  all  iniquity; 
eternal  happiness  shall  be  the  reward  of  the  faith  fol, 
and  everlasting  destruction  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked.  This  is  represented  as  a  sixth  period  of 
Providence,  after  which  there  will  be  in  the  seventh 
period  an  everlasthig  sabbath ;  a  state  of  eternal  rest 
and  happiness  for  all  the  righteous,  and  of  the  most 
perfect  worship  of  God,  in  the  praises  and  devotions 
of  the  heavenly  church.-^Lowman.  And  I  stMW-^ 
A  representation  of  the  great  day  of  the  Lord ;  a 
grea^tcAi^e^Arone— How  great  who  can  say?  White 
—With  the  glory  of  God,  and  to  show  the  holiness^ 
justice,  and  equity  of  him  that  sits  on  it,  the  Lord 
Jesus.  The  apostle  does  not  attempt  to  describe 
him  here;  he  only  adds  that  circumstance,  far  above 
all  description ;  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the 
heaven  fled  away — ^At  least  the  aerial,  if  not  also  the 
starry  heaven ;  and  there  was  found  no  place  for 
them — But  they  were  wholly  dissolved ;  the  very 
elements  melting  with  fervent  heat.    It  Is  not  ai^d 


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7%e  imeral  reiwrectum^ 


CHAPTER  XX. 


and  la$t  judgment 


A.  M.  4100. 

A.  D.oa 


12  And  I  saw  the  dead,  ^small  and 
great,  stand  before  God;  ®and  the 
books  were  opened:  and  another  ^  book  was 
opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life :  and  the  dead 


^Chap.  six. 5.—^ Dan. rii.  10. ' Psa. bdx.  28 ;  Dan. xiL  1 ; 

Phil.  iY.  3 ;  Chap.  iii.  5 ;  ziii.  8 ;  xzL  27. 

they  were  thrown  into  great  commotions,  but  they 
fell  into  dissohUion;  not  they  removed  to  a  distant 
place,  but  there  woe  found  no  place  for  them :  at 
least  as  to  their  present  state ;  they  ceased  to  exist, 
they  were  no  more.  See  on  2  Pet.  iii.  7-13.  And 
all  this,  not  at  the  strict  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
not  at  his  awful  presence,  or  befpre  his  fiery  indig- 
nation, but  at  the  bare  presence,  oi  his  Majesty, 
sitting  with  seyere,  but  adorable  dignity,  on  his 
throne. 

Verse  12.  And  leaw  the  dead,  small  and  greats 
Of  every  age  and  condition,  rank  and  degree ;  as 
well  those  who  perished  at  sea,  and  were  buried 
in  the  waters,  as  those  who  died  on  land,  and  were 
buried  in  graves :  all  are  raised,  and  stand  before  the 
Judgment-seat  of  Ood,  as  also  those  who  are  found 
aUve  at  Christ's  second  coming,  and  undergo  a 
change  equivalent,  to  death,  1  Cor.  xv.  51.  All  these 
stand  before  their  Judge,  whether  they  had  been 
rich  or  poor,  kings  or  subjects,  in  one  grand  assem- 
bly, waiting  to  receive  their  final  doom  from  him 
who  once  stood  at  the  bar  of  a  weak  and  sinful  mor- 
tal, by  whom  he  was  condenpied  to  suffer  the  igno- 
minious and  painful  death  of  crucifixion,  but  now, 
how  unlike 

The  babe  of  Bethlehem !  how  unlike  the  man 
That  groan'd  on  Calvary !    Yet  he  it  is ; 
That  Man  of  sorrows !    O  how  changed ! 

And  the  books  were  opened—The  records  of  the  Di- 
vine Omniscience  on  the  one  hand,  and  those  of  the 
sinners'  consciences  on  the  other ;  and  the  book  of 
the  natural  law,  the  rule  by  which  those  shall  be 
judged  who  had  not  been  favoured  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  the  book  of  the  revealed  law,  iur 
eluding  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New :  by  which 
they  shall  be  judged  who  were  favoured,  and  as  far 
as  they  were  favoured,  with  these  divine  oracles. 
Human  judges  have  their  books  written  with  pen 
and  ink ;  but  how  different  is  the  nature  of  these 
books,  and  how  many  hidden  things  will  be  brought 
to  light  when  they  are  opened !  And  how  many 
will  have  a  quite  different  appearance,  in  the  sight 
of  men,  from  what  tfiey  had  before  ?  With  the 
book  of  God's  omniscience  that  of  conscience  will 
exactly  tally.  It  is  not  said  the  books  will  be  read; 
the  light  of  that  day  will  make  them  visible  to  all : 
then  particularly  shall  every  man  know  himself,  and 
that  with  the  utmost  exactness.  This  will  be  the 
first  true,  full,  impartial,  universal  history  that  was 
ever  published.  And  now,  if  these  were  the  only 
books  that  will  be  opened,  no  flesh  could  be  saved : 
for  all  heathen  will  be  found  to  have  violated  the 
law  of  nature,  or  to  have  fallen  short  of  its  demands : 
all  Jews  to  have  transgressed  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
to  have  contracted  guilt  thereby,  though  in  dUferent 
b 


were  judged  out  of  thoeethmgs  which  A.M.4ioa 

were  written  in  the  books,  *"  according '. — 

to  their  works. 
13  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were 


•  Jer.  xrii.  10;  zxzii.  19;  Matt  xn.  27;  Rom.  ii.  6;  Chap.  ii. 
23;  XZU.12;  Verse  13. 

xlegrees ;  and  all  Christians,  so  called,  to  have  devi- 
ated, more  or  less,  from  the  spirituality  and  strictness 
of  the  law  of  Christ,  at  one  time  or  another.  But 
another  book  was  opened— Wherein  were  enrolled 
all  that  had  turned  to  God  in  true  repentance  and 
living  faith,  and  had  been  accepted  in  the  Beloved; 
had  been  both  justified  and  sanctified  through  the 
mediation  and  grace  of  Chrbt,  and  had  lived  and 
died  in  the  possession  of  that  faith  in  God  and  his 
truth,  which  worketh  by  love.  Which  is  the  book  of 
h/e— That  is,  without  a  figure,  that  divine  wisdom 
or  remembrance,  whereby  the  Lord  knows  them  that 
are  his,  namely,  them  that,  in  the  days  of  their  flesh, 
had  been  truly  pardoned  and  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  their  minds;  had  been  taken  into  God's  favour, 
stamped  with  his  image,  possessed  of  communion 
with  him,  and  bad  brought  forth  the  genuine  fruits 
of  righteousness,  by  a  patient  continuance  in  weU" 
doing.  All  these  shall  be  acquitted  at  the  bar  of 
Christ,  and  acknowledged  as  hiis  genuine  followers. 
Nevertheless  even  these  shall  be  judged  out  of  those 
things  which  were  written  in  the  books — That  is,  in 
a  >nanner  agreeable  to  the  tenor  of  them ;  according 
to  their  works^ThiX  is,  according  as  their  spirit  and 
conduct,  their  intentions  and  affections,  their  tempers, 
words,  and  actions,  had  been  agreeable  or  disagree- 
able to  the  discoveries  which  God  had  made  to  them 
of  his  wilL  In  other  words  their  reward  shall  be 
greater  or  less  in  proportion  to  the  degrees  of  holi- 
ness which  they  had  attained,  the  endeavours  they 
had  used  to  glorify  God,  and  do  good  to  mankind  in 
their  generation,  and  to  the  patience  and  resigna- 
tion wherewith  they  had  endured  the  various  suffer- 
ings which,  in  the  course  of  Divine  Providence,  they 
had  been  called  to  sustain  for  the  trial  of  their  grace, 
and  to  render  them  examples  of  patience  to  others. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  are  not  found  written 
in  the  book  oflife^  (verse  15,)  who  in  the  days  of 
their  flesh  did  not  turn  to  God  in  repentance,  faith, 
and  new  obedience,  and  therefore  were  not  accepted 
of  him  through  the  mediation  of  his  Son,  are  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fir  e^  where  they  are  punished  in  dif- 
ferent degrees,  according  to  their  evil  works ;  that 
is,  according  to  the  unholiness  and  unrighteousness 
of  their  tempers,  words,  and  actions ;  their  internal 
enmity  against,  or  unlikeness  to  God,  the  dishonour 
they  bad  done  to  him,  and  the  evil  they  had  done  to 
their  fellow-creatures  by  their  iniquitous  conduct, 
including  their  abuse  of  their  time  and  talents,  of  the 
privileges  afforded  them,  and  the  various  means 
used  in  vain  to  reclaim  and  bring  them  to  repent- 
ance. 

Verses  13-15.  i4nd— That  none  might  be  exempt 

(h)m  bemg  brought  to  judgment,  the  resurrection 

extended  even  to  the  waters;  the  #6a— The  lakes 

and  rivers;  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them, 

797 


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Ai^fid  end  of  the  wicked. 


REVELATION. 


A  new  heaven  and  a  new  earA, 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.D.  96. 


in  k;  and  ^death  and  ^ hell  delivered 
up  the  dead  which  were  in   them: 

s  and  they  were  judged  every  man  according  to 

their  works. 
14  And  ^  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the 


'Chap.  TL  8. » Or,  th*  grave. sYerte  12. *  i  Cor.  xr. 


and,  o  ^avaroc  not  o  adtfc,  death  and  hades — Or,  the 
state  of  separate  souls,  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them — Death  gave  up  all  the  bodies  of  men, 
and  Jutdes  their  souls,  to  be  united  to  their  bodies. 
And  death  and  hadee  were  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fre — That  is,  were  abolished  for  ever.  For  neither 
tiie righteous  nor  the  wicked  were  to  die  any  more; 
tiieir  souls  and  bodies  were  to  be  no  more  separated. 
Consequently  neither  death  nor  hades  could  any 
more  luive  a  being.  Such  is  the  awful  end  of  the 
whole  human  race:  they  are  plunged  into  that 
flaming  and  eternal  ruin  signified  by  the  lake  of  fire, 
or  are  received  into  those  abodes  of  glory,  which  are 
described  in  the  next  two  chapters  under  the  figures 
of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth. 

Here  then  we  have  before  us  a  most  afiecting 
view  of  those  important  events  in  which  we  are  all 
most  intimately,  yea,  infinitely  concerned;  even  the 
illustrious,  day  of  the  passing  away  of  the  heaven 
and  earth,  and  the  final  judgment  of  all  mankind, 
whether  small  or  great.  Therefore  let  all  the  living, 
both  small  and  great,  seriously  weigh  these  things; 
let  them  often  look  forward  to  the  awful  period 
when  the  glorious  throne  shall  be  set,  the  important 
volumes  opened,  and  our  whole  lives,  all  our  tem- 
pers, words,  and  works,  which  are  now  perfectly 


second  AM.4ioa 

A.D.  96. 


bke  of  fire.     '  This  is  the 
death. 

15  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in 
the  book  of  life  ^was  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire. 


26,  54,  55. 1  VerM  6 ;  Chapter  xzi  a ^  Chapter  xiz.  90L 

known  to  God,  shall  be  exhibited  to  the  view  of  men, 
angels,  and  devils.  Let  us,  therefore,  judge  our- 
selves impartially,  that  we  be  not  condemned  of  the 
Lord ;  and,  conscious  how  unable  we  shall  be  to  stand 
in  Aat  judgment  if  he  were  to  lay  justice  to  the.  Une^ 
let  us  humbly  and  penitently  apply  to  the  throne 
of  mercy,  to  the  graceof  the  gospel  covenant,  tbroo^h 
the  blood  of  the  Redeemer.  So  shall  we  find  mercy 
of  the  Lord  in  that  day,  and  reign  with  him,  not  a 
thousand  years  only,  but  for  everlasting  ages.  In 
the  mean  time,  let  those  who  have  no  reverence  for 
his  majesty,  nor  esteem  for  his  gospel,  and  who  have 
never  taken  this  awful  alarm,  have  never  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  them, 
tremble  at  these  awakening  views.  Let  them  all, 
of  every  condition,  both  small  and  great,  say  in  thdr 
hearts.  Who  ahaU  dwell  with  devouring  Jlamee^ 
with  everlasting  burnings?  Shall  we  have  our 
portion  in  this  lake  of  fire,  into  which  everyone 
who  is  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life  diall  be 
cast  ?  and  shall  we  be  those  wretched  victuns  of  the 
divine  justice,  who  shall  be  tormented  for  ever  and 
ever  7  Nay,  rather  let  us  turn  to  God  in  sincerity 
and  truth  that  our  souls  may  live^  and  an  entranee 
be  administered  unto  us  into  his  everlasting  kin^ 
dom! 


CHAPTER  XXL 

Here  vte  Aove,  (1,)  A  solemn  tntroduetion  to  the  glorioue  vision  of  the  new  hesven  and  the  new  esrth^with  s  ieelsrsHon  of  the 
blessed  etate  of  those  that  are  faithful  unto  deaths  and  finally  overcome  their  spiritual  enemies,  and  of  the  misery  to  be  in- 
flicted on  unbelietfing  and  impious  offenders,  IS.  (2, )  A  suJUime  and  particular  description  of  the  splsndour,  glory,  pmr 
rity,  and  happinese,  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  9-37. 

A.  M.  4100.    A  ND  *  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a 


A.D. 


new  earth :  ^  for  the  first  heaven 


•Isa.  bnr.  17 ;  Uvi.  22 ;  2^  Pet.  iii.  13. 


NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XXI. 
We  are  now  come,  in  the  course  of  these  pro- 
phecies, to  the  consummation  of  all  things.  This 
vision  stands  in  the  prophecy,  after  the  last  attempt 
of  the  enemies  of  religion  had  been  defeated ;  after 
the  dead,  small  and  great,  had  appeared  before  God's 
judgment-seat,  and  were  judged  according  to  their 
works ;  after  all  the  wicked  were  doomed  to  ever- 
lasting punishment,  and  all  who  were  not  found 
written  in  the  book  ol  life  were  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire.  This  order  of  the  prophecies  seems  to  point 
79B 


and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  ^:  *t ^JJ^- 
and  there  was  no  more  sea.  ^ — ^ 


^  Chap.  XX.  11. 


out  to  us,  that  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  re- 
presented in  this  vision,  signify  that  state  of  un- 
changeable perfection  and  heavenly  happiness  to 
which  the  true  and  faithful  servants  of  the  living 
God  shall  be  advanced,  when  all  their  trials  and 
suffering  in  this  life  shall  be  ended.  Nothing  eui 
be  more  proper  to  the  useful  design  of  these  reve- 
lations than  such  a  conclusion  of  them,  with  so  affect- 
ing a  representation  of  the  final,  complete,  and  ever- 
lasting happiness  of  all  the  true  worshippers  of  God 
and  faithful  servants  of  Jesus.    This  is  a  powerfid 

b 


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ViMkmofl^ 


CHAPTER  XXL 


New  Jerutalem. 


A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  98. 


2  And  I  John  saw  ""  the  holy  city, 
new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  ^as  a  hide  adorn- 
ed for  her  husband. 
3  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven, 

«Ita.liil;  Gal.  iv.  26;  Heb. xi.  10 ;  xii 22 ;  ziiLU;  Chap. in. 
12;  VereelO. 


motive  to  present  patience,  a  firm  foundation  of 
present  hope,  a  strong  encouragement  to  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  true  religion,  and  constancy  in  the  incorrupt 
faith  of  Jesus.  It  is  a  very  ancient  observation, 
"  that  happiness  is  the  reward  of  virtue  in  the  end ;" 
but  here  is  a  sure  word  of  prophecy,  which  before- 
hand acquaints  us  what  will  be  the  last  period  and 
state  of  things.  The  present  world  for  a  few  years, 
a  very  few  in  comparison  of  eternity,  will  be  a  state 
of  various  sorts  of  trials  and  troubles;  of  evils 
caused  by  wicked  men,  of  evils  wherewith  the 
righteous  Governor  of  the  world  punishes  their 
wickedness ;  but  the  unchangeable  purpose  of  God 
has  appointed  another  state  of  things,  when  the  dead 
shall  be  raised  and  judged  according  to  their  works. 
Ail  the  faithful  servants  of  God  and  Christ  will  en- 
joy a  state  of  eternal  life  in  perfect  peace  and  se- 
curity, in  complete  prosperity  and  happiness.  It  is 
with  great  advantage  this  encouragement  is  given 
the  church  in  such  a  prophecy.  An  observation  of 
the  faithful  and  punctual  accomplishment  of  the 
former  parts  of  this  prophecy  in  times  past,  for 
several  hundreds  of  years,  serves  much  to  confirm 
our  faith  and  hope  in  as  exact  a  performance  of  what 
remains.  It  must  be  owned,  several  interpreters  of 
good  reputation  understand  the  following  vision  as 
a  description  of  the  happy  state  of  the  church 
during  the  thousand  years  in  which  it  shall  reign 
with  Christ;  or  to  describe  the  full  and  complete 
reformation  of  the  Christian  Church  during  the  last 
period  upon  earth.  But  as  there  seems  nothing  in 
the  prophetic  description  to  confine  it  to  this  mean- 
ing, so  the  order  of  the  prophecies,  the  chief  and 
principal  design  of  them,  and  the  description  itself, 
greatly  favour  the  judgment  of  those  learned  writers, 
who  understand  these  last  visions  of  the  future  state 
of  happiness  in  heaven,  after  the  general  resurrection 
and  last  judgment.  Thus  the  seventh  and  last 
period  concludes  the  whole  plan  of  Providence,  and 
finishes  it  in  an  endless  sabbatism.— Lowman. 

Verses  1-3.  And  I  aawSo  it  runs,  chap.  xix. 
11 ;  XX.  1,  4;  11,  in  a  succession.  All  these  several 
visions  follow  one  another  in  order,  and  this  vision 
reaches  into  eternity;  a  new  heaifen  and  a  new 
earth — That  is,  after  the  foregoing  visions,  in  which 
I  beheld  a  representation  of  the  state  of  the  church 
and  world  to  the  consummation  of  all  things,  I  had 
the  final  happiness  of  the  true  worshippers  of  God, 
to  be  enjoyed  after  the  resurrection  and  the  general 
judgment,  represented  to  me  in  a  new  vision,  in 
which  I  beheld  a  perfectly  new  state  of  things ;  the 
heaven  and  earth,  in  which  we  now  live,  being 
quite  passed  away,  melted  with  fervent  heat  and  dis- 
solved in  fire,  there  was  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 


of  A.  M.  4100. 
A.  D.  90. 


saying,  Behold,  *  the  tabernacle 

God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell 

with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and 

God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 

God. 


<  Isa.  liv.  5 ;  bd.  10:  2  Cor.  zi.  2. •  LeT.  xxri.  11, 12 ;  Eiek 

xliii.  7;  2  Cor.  vi.  16;  Chap.  vii.  15. 


earth,  in  which  I  perceived  one  thing  very  remark- 
able, that  there  was  no  more  sea — A  circumstance 
which,  whether  it  be  effected  by  the  means  which 
the  theorists  of  the  earth  (see  Burnet's  and  Whiston's 
theory)  have  prescribed,  or  by  any  other,  time,  or 
rather  eternity,  must  show ;  for  it  is  evident  from 
hence  that  this  new  heaven  and  earth  are  not  de- 
signed to  take  place  till  after  the  general  judgment; 
for  at  that  judgment,  (chap.  xx.  13,)  the  sea  gives  up 
the  dead  which  were  in  it.  Many,  however,  under- 
stand the  expression  figuratively,  that  there  shall  be 
no  troubles  or  commotions  in  the  world ;  but  it  seems 
much  more  probable  that  it  is  to  be  understood  liter- 
ally. And  I  saw  the  holy  city— The  new  heaven, 
the  new  earth,  and  the  new  Jerusalem,  are  closely 
connected.  This  city  is  wholly  new,  belonging,  not 
to  this  world,  not  to  the  millennium,  but  to  eternity. 
This  appears  from  the  series  of  the  vision,  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  description,  and  the  opposition  of 
this  city  to  the  second  death,  chap.  xx.  11, 12;  xxL 
1,  2, 5, 8,  9 ;  xxii.  6.  Coming  down—In  the  very  act 
of  descending;  from  God — Its  maker  and  builder; 
out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her 
Atitf&and— Prepared  to  meet  him,  with  all  her  charms 
set  out  to  the  greatest  advantage,  and  full  of  glory 
and  splendour.  At  the  commencement  of  the  mil- 
lennium it  was  said,  (chap,  xix  7,)  the  marriage  of 
the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  haih  made  herself 
ready.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  millennium,  Gog 
and  Magog  went  up  against  the  beloved  city  ;  and 
here  it  is  represented  as  the  metropolis  of  the  new 
heaven  and  the  new  earth.  The  new  Jerusalem 
shall  be  the  habitation  of  the  saints  of  the  first  re- 
surrection, and  it  shall  also  be  the  habitation  of  the 
saints  of  the  general  resurrection;  the  church  of 
Christ  shall  endure  through  all  times  and  changes 
of  this  world,  and  shall  exist  eternally  in  the  world 
to  come.  It  shall  be  glorious  upon  earth  during  the 
millennium,  and  it  shall  be  more  glorious  still  in  the 
new  earth  after  the  millennium,  to  all  eternity. 
Earth  shall  then  become  as  heaven,  or  rather  it  shall 
be  heaven  on  earth ;  God  dwelling  visibly  among 
men,  and  sin  and  suffering  being  for  ever  done  away ! 
For  the  apostle  adds,  /  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 
heaven — A  voice  proceeding  from  the  eternal  Word 
and  Son  of  the  Father ;  saying,  Behold  tlie  tabernacle 
of  God  with  men  /—So  it  is  in  the  original,  there 
being  nothing  for  the  verb  is;  and  he  will  dwell 
with  themr— In  token  of  his  favour  and  great  love  to 
them ;  and  they  shall  be  his  people — Protected  and 
governed  by  him ;  and  God  himself  shall  be  with 
them — Continually,  as  their  Friend  and  Father ;  and 
he  shall  be  their  G^d— Their  supreme  good  and 
final  portion,  their  all  in  all. 
790 


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BEYELATIOIf. 


yfho  shall  inherit  aU  tkmg9. 


▲.M.410D.    4  ^And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
^'   •^.  from  their  eyes;  'and  there  shall  be 

no  more  death,  ^neitl^  sorrow,  nor  crying,  nei- 

ther  shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  lor- 

mer  things  are  passed  away. 
6  And  '  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said, 

^  Behdd,  I  make  all  things  new.    And  he  said 

unto  me.  Write :  for  ^  these  words  are  true  and 

fiiithfuL 

6  And  he  said  unto  me,  "^  It  is  done.  '^  I  am 
Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end. 
*I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the 
fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 

7  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  ^  aU  things ; 


f  Isa.  xxT.  8 ;  Chop.  vii.  17. f  1  Cor.  xr.  28, 54  ^  Chap.  n. 

14. kiga.  xixr.  10 ;  IxL  3  ;  Ixt.  19. » Chap.  iv.  2,  9 ;  t. 

1;  XX.  11. kjga,  xiiii.  19;   2  Cor.  t.  17. »Chap.  xix.  9. 

•Chap.  xri.  17. ■  Chap.  i.  8 ;  xxii.  13. 'lia.  xiL  8 ;  It. 

1 ;  Johnir.  10,  14;  vii.  37;  Chap,  xxii  17. 


Verses  4,  5.  And  God  shall  ynpe  away  all  tears 
from  their  eyes— Though  here  their  tears  have 
flowed  plentifully,  not  one  shall  ever  be  found  on 
the  face  of  any  of  them ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more 
death — This  is  a  full  proof  that  this  whole  descrip- 
tion belongs  to  eternity  and  not  to  time.  Neither 
shall  sorrow^  or  crying^  or  pain  be  any  more— 
Under  the  former  heavens,  and  upon  the  former 
earth,  there  were  death  and  sorrow,  crying  and  pain ; 
all  which  occasioned  many  tears.  But  now  pain  and 
sorrow  are  fled  away,  and  the  saints  have  everlast- 
ing life  and  joy  5  for  the  former  things— AIL  the 
mournful  scenes,  which  were  on  earth  so  familiar  to 
their  eyes ;  are  passed  away — To  return  no  more 
for  ever.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said — 
Not  to  St.  John  only;  Behold^  I  make  all  things 
new—Ytom  the  first  mention  of  him  that  sat  upon 
the  throne,  (chap.  iv.  2,)  this  b  the  first  speech  which 
is  expressly  ascribed  to  him.  He  is  the  author  of 
this  second,  as  he  was  of  the  first  creation ;  and  he 
commands  these  things  to  be  written  for  the  edifica- 
tion, support,  and  consolation  of  his  people,  with  a 
full  assurance  of  their  certainty  and  importance. 
And  he — The  same  person ;  saith  to  me,  Write — 
Namely,  as  follows:  These  words  are  true  and 
faithful— T^VA  includes  all  that  went  before.  The 
apostle  seems  again  to  have  ceased  writing,  being 
overcome  with  ecstasy  and  the  voice  of  him  that 
spake. 

Verses  6-8.  And  he  "that  sat  upon  the  throne" 
said  to  me,  It  is  done — All  that  the  prophets  have 
spoken  is  fulfilled.  This  is  the  consummation  of  all 
things:  and  now  all  the  promises  of  God,  and  the 
desires  of  his  faithful  servants,  shall  be  fully  accom- 
plished /  am  Alpha^  &c. — Greek,  ro  oA^  kol  to 
tifieya^  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega;  the  beginning 
and  the  end— The  latter  clause  explains  the  former; 
the  everlasting.  /  will  give  unto  him  thai  is  aJthirst 
— That  sincerely  and  earnestly  desires  ii',  of  the 
fountain  of  the  ira/ero//(/e— Refresh ingconsola- 
Uon,  which  shall  abundantly  satisfy  his  most  en* 
800 


and  Pi  will  be  luB  God,  and  be  shall  A.  M.4ioe. 

A.  p.  ML 

be  my  son.  

8  *  But  the  fearful,  and  unbetieviDg,  and  Che 
abominaUe,  and  murderers,  and  whoremong^Vi 
and  floicerers,  and  idolaten,  and  all  liars,  diall 
have  their  part  in  'the  lake  which  bumelh  with 
fire  and  brimstone:  which  is  the  second  death. 

9  And  there  came  unto  me  (me  of  *  the  seven 
angels,  whk^  had  the  seven  vials  full  of  the 
seven  last  plagues,  and  talked  with  me,  saying, 
Come  hither,  I  will  show  thee  *  the  bride,  the 
Lamb's  wife. 

10  And  he  carried  me  away  ^in  the  spirft  to 
a  great  and  high  mountain,  and  showed  me 


»  Or,  thnt  ihinga. »  Zech.  riii.  S ;  Heb.  yiii.  la ^  1  Cor. 

ri.  9, 10  ;  G«L  v.  19-21 ;  Eph.  ▼.  6 ;   1  Tim.  i.  9 ;  Heb.  xiL 

14  ;   Chapter  xxii.  15. ^  Chapter  xx.  14»  15. >  Chapter 

XT.  I,  6,  7. » Chapter  xix.  7 ;    Verse  2. ■  Chapter  L  10 ; 

xTiLS. 


larged  desires  and  most  exalted  expectations;  hap- 
piness which  diall  ever  flow  in  upon  faim,  as  water 
from  a  perpetually  flowing  fountain ;  freely — Acipcar, 
as  a  free,  unmerited  gift  He  that  overcomeih— To 
do  which  is  much  more  than  to  thirst ;.  shall  inherU 
all  things— Which  I  have  made :  the  whole  creation 
shall  be  laid  open  to  his  enjoyment  And  I  will  be 
his  God— A,  source  of  complete  and  ererlasting  bless- 
edness to  him ;  cutd  he  shall  be  my  son— And  con- 
sequently mine  heir:  the  Inheritor  of  my  eternal 
kingdom,  yea,  and  a  joint-heir  with  my  only-begot- 
ten and  well-beloved  Son.  But  the  fearful  and  im- 
belieting — Who  have  not  courage  to  £sce  the  diffi- 
culties which  an  open  profession  of  my  religion  re- 
quires, and  therefore  do  not  overcome;  and  the 
abominable — ^All  who  indulge  themselves  in  abomi- 
nable vices. to  gratify  their  lusts;  and  murderers — 
Of  the  bodies,  souls,  or  reputation  of  their  fellow- 
creatures;  and  whoreTnongers^  sorcerers^  idolaters^ 
and  all  liars— AM  who  allow  themselves,  in  their 
words  or  actions,  to  violate  the  eternal  and  immuta- 
ble laws  of  truth  and  righteousness ;  shall  have  their 
part  in  the  lake^  &c. — All  these  shidl  have  their  por- 
tion with  Satan,  to  whose  party  they  joined  them- 
selves, and  whose  will  they  obeyed ;  and  shall  with 
him  undergo  the  punishment  of  the  second  death. 
Let  this  therefore  be  recorded,  that  every  future 
generation  of  men  may  carefhUy  peruse  and  serious- 
ly consider  it;  that  every  sincere  believer,  however 
weak,  may  be  encouraged,  and  that  every  obstinate 
sinner  may  be  terrifled,  and,  if  possiUe,  awakened ; 
and  that  none,  in  the  day  of  my  final  judgment,  may 
complain  that  they  have  not  been  warned  and  cau- 
tioned, with  the  greatest  plainness  and  the  greatest 
solemnity. 

Verses  9-14.  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the 
seven  angels — Most  probably  the  same  who  had 
(chap.  xviL  1,  &c)  showed  John  the  mjrstic  Baby- 
lon and  her  destruction,  and  now  shows  him,  by  way 
of  contrast,  the  new  Jerusalem  and  her  glory.  And 
he  carried  me  away  in  the  Spiril—'^t  \ 

b 


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CHAPTER  XXI. 


the  New  Jeruaalem. 


A.  M.  4100.  'that  great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem, 
^'    '   —  descending  out  of  heaven  fr<»n  God, 


11  y  Having  the  glory  of  God :  and  her  light 
w(xs  like  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  even  like 
a  jasper-stone,  clear  as  crystal ; 

12  And  bad  a  wall  great  and  high,  and  had 
*  twelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve  angek, 
and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the  names 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel 

13  ^  On  (Jie  east,  three  gates ;  <m  the  north, 
three  gates;  on  the  south,  three  gates;  and 
on  the  west,  three  gates. 

*£sekiel  zl^iii.;   Verse  2.— —7  Chapter  xxii.  5;  Verse  23. 
s  Exek.  xlviit  31-34. 

pression  as  is  used  before,  chap.  xvii.  3;  to  a  great 
and  high  mountain — Thus  Ezekiel,  chap.  xL  2,  was 
brought  in  the  visions  of  Ood,  and  set  on  a  very  high 
mountain:  and  showed  me  the  holy  city  Jerusalem 
«— The  old  city  is  now  forgotten,  so  that  thb  is  no 
longer  termed  the  new,  but  absolutely,  Jerusalem. 
O  how  did  St  John  long  to  enter  in !  But  the  time 
was  not  yet  come.  Ezekiel  also  describes  the  holy 
city,  and  what  belongs  to  it,  (chap.  xl.-xlviiL,)  but  a 
city  quite  different  from  the  old  Jerusalem,  as  it  was 
either  before  or  after  the  Babylonish  captivity.  The 
descriptions  of  the  prophet  aud  of  the  apostle  agree 
in  many  particulars;  but  in  many  more  they  differ. 
Ezekiel  expressly  describes  the  temple  and  the  wor- 
ship of  God  therein,  closely  alluding  to  the  Levitical 
service.  But  St  John  saw  no  temple^  and  describes 
the  city  far  more  large,  and  glorious,  and  heavenly, 
than  the  prophet  His  description,  indeed,  is  an  as- 
semblage of  the  sublimest,  richest  imagery,  not  only 
of  Ezekiel,  but  of  other  ancient  prophets.  Having 
(he  glory  of  Ood— For  her  light,  verse  23  j  Isa.  Ix. 
1,  2 ;  Zech.  ii.  5 ;  and  her  light — Or  the  lustre  there- 
of sao  ^TVP  <nn77c  may  be  rendered;  was  like  unto 
a  stone  most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper — For 
brightness ;  clear  as  crystal— The  divine  shechinah 
illuminating  the  whole  city,  which,  as  it  was  repre- 
sented to  St  John  pendant  in  the  air,  shone  with  an 
elegant  and  amazing  lustre,  expressive  of  the  perfect 
illumination,  purity,  and  holiness  of  its  happy  in- 
habitants. And  had  a  wall  great  and  high — To 
show  its  strength  and  security  under  the  almighty 
protection  of  its  founder  and  preserver ;  and  had 
twelve  gates — With  angels  for  guards,  still  waiting 
upon  the  heirs  of  salvation;  and  names  written 
thereon — On  the  gates ;  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel 
— To  signify  that  it  was  the  dwelling  of  the  Israel 
of  God,  and  that  such  as  had  been  faithful  members 
of  the  true  church  had  a  right  to  be  admitted,  and  to 
show  also  the  great  glory  of  that  city,  where  angels 
were  appointed  to  keep  guard ;  an  honour  properly 
due  only  to  the  majesty  of  God's  presence,  and  to  the 
seat  of  it  On  tJu  east,  north,  south,  and  west,  three 
gates — To  show  that  people  of  all  climates  and  na- 
tions may  have  access  to  it.  And  the  wall  of  the 
city  Juul  twelve  foundations,  inscribed  with  (he  names 
of  the  twelve  aoMlZff— Figuratively  showing  how 
Vol.  n.  (  61  ) 


14  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  A.M.4100. 
twelve  foundations,  and  ''in  them  — '— — 1 
the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lamb. 

15  And  he  that  talked  with  me  ^  had  a  golden 
reed  to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof, 
and  the  wall  thereof. 

16  And  the  city  Ikth  four-square,  and  the  length 
is  as  large  as  the  breadth :  and  he  measured 
the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs. 
The  length,  and  the  breadth,  and  the  height  of 
it  are  equal. 


•  Eiek.  xlTiii.  31-34. ^  Matt  xn.  18 ;  Oal.  iL  9 ;  Eph.  u.  20. 

«  Exek.  zl.  3 ;  Zech.  U.  1 ;  Chap.  xL  I. 

great  dependance  the  church  had  on  their  testimo- 
ny, what  an  influence  the  gospel  which  they  preach- 
ed had  had  on  rabing  this  divine  structure,  and  that 
the  inhabitants  of  it  had  built  only  on  that  faith 
which  the  apostles  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

Verses  15, 16.  And  he  that  talked  with  me  had-- 
Like  the  angel  who  appeared  in  vision  to  Ezekiel ; 
a  golden  reed,  &c. — A  measuring-rod,  with  this  cir- 
cumstance of  Ulnstrious  distinction,  that  it  was  gold- 
en ;  to  measure  the  city,  &c. — In  the  several  parts 
thereof;  by  which  measure  was  signified  the  great- 
ness and  extent  of  the  city,  with  the  exact  order  and 
just  proportion  of  every  part:  to  show  figuratively 
that  this  city  was  prepared  for  a  great  number  of  in- 
habitants, how  small  soever  the  number  of  real 
Christians  may  sometimes  appear  to  be ;  and  that 
every  thing  relating  to  the  happiness  of  this  heaven- 
ly state  was  prepared  with  the  greatest  care  and  ex- 
actness. And  (he  city  Hethfour-sqtiare—Vpon  mea- 
suring it  appeared  that  the  city  was  an  exact  square, 
of  equal  length  and  breadth,  and  of  a  very  large  ex- 
tent. For  it  appeared  on  measure  to  be  twelve  (hou- 
sand  furlongs— Ot  one  thousand  five  hundred  miles, 
not,  it  seems,  in  circumference,  but  on  each  of  the 
four  sides.  Jerusalem  was  thirty-three  furlongs  in 
circumference;  Alexandria  thirty  in  length,  ten  in 
breadth ;  Nineveh  Is  reported  to  have  been  four  hun- 
dred furlongs  round,  Babylon  four  hundred  and 
eighty.  The  length,  and  the  breadth,  and  the 
height  of  it—ThBi  is,  says  Bishop  Newton,  of  its 
walls  and  buildings;  are  e^waZ— Are  everywhere  of 
the  same  beauty,  strength,  and  proportion.  For  this 
equality,  as  Grotius  observes,  seems  to  belong  to  the 
walls  and  buildings  compared  with  each  other,  not 
with  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  city.  For  to  un- 
derstand the  height  of  the  city,  whether  of  its  walls 
or  buildmgs,  to  be  equal  to  the  length  or  breadth  of 
it,  would  make  its  houses  and  walls  to  be  out  of  all 
proportion.  For  how  large  soever  men  may  con- 
ceive the  extent  of  the  city,  and  of  the  contiguous 
buildings,  houses  twelve  thousand  furlongs  high  are 
beyond  all  propriety  in  the  boldest  figures.  Or,  if 
the  twelve  thousand  furlongs  be  understood  of  the 
whole  circumference  of  the  city,  the  length  of  each 
of  its  four  sides  (it  being  an  exact  square)  would  be 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles;  and  houses 
801  b 


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REVELATION. 


happiness  of  ihe  New  Jartu&i^au 


A.  M.  4100.    17  And  be  measured  the  wall  tbete- 
^    '^    o^  a  hundred  and  finty  and  four  cu- 
Uts,  aceorc2i;ig' /o  the  measure  of  a  inan,  that  IB, 
oftheangd. 

18  And  the  building  of  the  wall  of  it  was  of 
jasper :  and  the  city  was  pure  gdd,  like  unto 
clear  glass. 

19  '  And  the  foundations  of  the  wall  of  the 
city  were  garnished  with  aU  manner  of  precious 
stcxies.  The  first  foundation  was  jasper ;  the 
second,  sapphire ;  the  third,  a  chalcedony ;  the 
fourth,  an  emenUd ; 

20  The  fifth,  sardonyx ;  the  sixth,  sardius ; 


*!•».  Ut.  11. *Chap.  xxii.  2. 'John  it.  23. 


even  of  such  a  height  would  be  out  of  all  due  pro- 
portion. Some  interpreters,  to  avoid  this  difficulty, 
have  included  the  height  of  the  mountain  on  which 
the  city  is  supposed  to  stand;  but  it  Is  not  said  that 
the  city  itself  was  situated  on  a  mountain,  but  only 
that  John  was  called  up  to  a  moimtaln  to  view  the 
model  of  it  Nor  is  it  easy  to  say  what  end  could  be 
answered  by  making  the  height  of  the  buildings  so 
enormous,  unless  to  render  the  city  a  perfect  cube, 
for  which  no  reason  can  be  assigned;  a  perfect 
square  rendering  the  emblem  full  as  perfect  The 
truth  is,  the  numbers  themselves  are  evidently  typi- 
cal, taken  from  twelve,  the  number  of  the  apostles, 
multiplied  by  one  thousand.  For  as  before,  the  num- 
ber of  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church  was 
represented  by  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thou- 
sand, the  square  number  of  twelve  multiplied  by  one 
thousand;  so  thb  manner  of  numbering  will  very 
properly  signify  a  city,  of  which  true  Christians  are 
to  be  the  happy  citizens  and  settled  inhabitants;  a 
city  which  shall  have  incomparably  greater  extent, 
and  more  strength  and  beauty,  than  ancient  Baby- 
lon, Rome,  or  any  other  seat  of  empire  ever  known 
in  this  world. 

Verses  17, 18.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof 
—That  is,  Lowman  thinks,  the  heigfU  of  the  wall; 
one  hundred  and  forty  four  cubits — The  square  of 
twelve:  about  seventy-two  yards  high,  according  to 
the  lesser  cubit,  or  about  eighty-six  yards  according 
to  the  greater,  a  height  sufficient  to  express  the  most 
perfect  security  against  all  attempts  of  any  surprise 
by  an  enemy.  Doddridge  understands  these  cubits 
of  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  with  the  same  view, 
namely,  to  signify  the  great  strength  of  the  city,  and 
that  it  might  defy  all  assailants.  According  to  the 
measure  of  a  man — A  measure  common  among 
men;  that  is,  of  the  angel— Tor  such  was  the  mea- 
suring-rod made  use  of  by  the  angel.  And  the  build- 
ing of  the  wall  was  of  jasper— The  wall  appeared 
to  be  built  with  unparalleled  strength  and  mag- 
nificence, not  of  brick,  or  squared  and  polished 
stones,  but  of  some  precious  stone,  as  solid,  firm,  and 
beautiful  as  a  jasper.  And  the  city  was  of  pure  gold 
—Namely,  its  houses  and  other  buildings,  separate 
from  the  wall ;  like  unto  clear  glass— Or  crystal.  It 
803 


the  seventh,  dkryacike ;  the  dgfatfa,  a.  m.  4iot. 

beryl ;  the  ninth,  a  topaz ;  the  tenth, 1_ 

a  chrysoprasus ;  the  devoith,  a  jacinlk  *,  the 
twdfth,  an  amethyst 

21  And  the  tweire  gates  were  twelve  peaik; 
ev«7  several  gate  was  of  one  pearl;  ^and  the 
street  of  the  ci^  wite  pure  gcM,  as  k  were 
transparent  glass. 

22  'And  I  saw  no  l^i^de  ther^:  for  the 
Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it 

23  '  And  the  city  had  no  need  o£  the  sun, 
neither  of  the  moon,  to  ^ine  in  k:  for  the 

t  Utu  zxIt.  23 ;  Ix.  19,  20 ;  Cb«p.  xxiL  5 ;  Tene  1\. 


seems  it  is  the  city  in  general,  and  not  the  gold, 
which  is  represented  as  shining  like  glass  or  crystaL 
It  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  pure  gold  should 
shine  like  crystal :  but  a  city  adorned  with  crystal, 
set  in  gold,  may  easily  be  supposed  to  shine  in  that 
manner. 

Verses  19,  20.  And  the  foundations  of  the  wall— 
That  is,  the  lower  parts  of  it;  were  garnished  with 
all  manner  of  precious  stones— 'Were  inlaid  quite 
round,  and  beautified  with  a  great  variety  of  them ; 
or  were  beautifully  formed  of  them.  The  precious 
stones  on  the  high-priest's  breast-plate  of  judgment 
were  a  proper  emblem  to  express  the  happiness  of 
Grod's  church  in  his  presence,  and  in  the  blessing  of 
hb  protection.  The  like  ornaments  on  the  founda- 
tion of  the  walls  of  this  city  may  express  the  perfect 
glory  and  happiness  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  it,  from 
the  most  glorious  presence  and  protection  of  God. 
The  colours  of  these  are  remarkably  mixed.  A 
jasper — A  precious  stone  as  hard  as  marble,  and  of 
various  colours,  as  of  green,  yellow,  red,  violet ;  a  sap- 
phire— Of  a  sky-blue,  speckled  with  gold ;  a  choice 
dony — Or  car&wnc/e,  an  elegant  gem,  whose  colour  is 
deep  red,  with  an  admixture  of  scarlet ;  an  emerald 
—Of  a  bright  green;  a  sardonyx— Red,  streaked 
with  white ;  a  sardius— Or  sardin e^sione,  of  a  deep 
red;  a  chrysolite — Of  a  gold  colour,  as  the  word  sig- 
nifies ;  a  beryl — Sea-green ;  a  topaz — A  mixture  of 
green  and  yellow;  a  chrysoprasus— A  beautiful 
mixture  of  gold  and  green ;  ajactn^A— Of  a  red  pur- 
ple; an  am€/Ay«/— A  violet  purple.  And  the  twelve 
gates  were  twelve  pearls— KoiCh  one  being  a  pearl, 
j  entire  and  undivided,  with  all  their  beautiful  pillars, 
arches,  mouldings,  and  cornices.  And  the  street 
was  pure  gold — And  yet  transparent,  reflecting  the 
light  that  shone  upon  it  with  a  lustre  equal  to  that 
which  is  the  most  highly  polished. 

Verses  22-27.  And  I  saw  no  tew  pie  therein — The 
whole  city  being,  properly  speaking,  a  temple;  the 
Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  surrounding,  filling,  and 
sanctifying  the  whole,  and  being  more  intimately 
present  in  every  part  of  it,  and  with  every  individ- 
ual, saint  or  angel,  than  had  ever  been  known  on 
earth.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun — To 
give  light  to  its  inhabitants ;  for  the  glory  cf  God — 
(  51*  )  b 


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CHAPTER  XXII. 


cmd  the  tree  of  life. 


A.  M.  4100.  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the 


A.  D.  96. 


Lamb  U  the  light  thereof. 


24  ^  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved 
shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it :  and  the  kings  of 
the  earth  do  bring  their  gk^y  and  honour 
into  it 

25  '  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  &hat  at 
all  by  day :  for  ^  there  shall  be  no  night  there. 

fcfaa.  Ix.  3,  6,  11;   Ixri.  12. »Im.  Ix.  11. ^luu\x.7fi', 

Zech.  xiv.  7 ;  Chap.  xxiL  5.-—-*  Verte  24. 

Infinitely  brighter  than  the  shining  of  the  sun;  did 
lighten  i<— The  illustrious  manifestation  of  his  pre- 
sence rendered  every  other  light  unnecessary.  It 
seems  the  whole  city  appeared  to  St  John  like  a 
luminous  object,  sending  out  rays  on  every  side, 
which  he  knew  to  be  the  consequence  of  God's 
dwellmg  there  in  a  peculiar  sense.  And  the  naiione 
of  them  which  are  savedr— From  the  guilt  and  pol- 
lution of  sin  before  they  leave  this  world ;  sJuUl  walk 
in  the  light  of  it—In  a  higher  degree  than  they  could 
possibly  do.  on  earth:  for  they  shall  no  longer  see 
through  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face;  shall  no 
longer  know  in  part^  but  shall  know  ae  they  are 
known*  And  the  kings  of  the  earth — Those  of  them 
who  have  a  part  there ;  do  bring  their  glory  and 
honour  into  it — Not  their  old  glory,  which  is  now 
supposed  to  be  abolished,  but  such  as  becomes  the 
new  earth,  and  receives  an  immense  additioi^  by  their 
entrance  into  this  city.  Or  the  sense  may  be,  as 
Doddridge  thinks,  "  If  you  were  to  conceive  all  the 
monarchs  upon  earth  uniting  all  their  treasures  to 


26  ^  And   they   shall    bring    the  a.  m.  4100. 

glory  and    honour  of   the    nations  '. — 1 

intoit 

27  And  "there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into 
it  any  thing  that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever 
worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie;  but 
they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  ■  book 
oftlfe. 

nJta.  zzxv.  8 ;  Hi.  1 ;  Iz.  21;  Joel  iii.  17;  Chap.  xxii.  14, 15. 
■PhiL  iv.  3 ;  Chap.  iii.  5;  ziii.  8 ;  xx.  12. 

adorn  one  single  place,  they  could  produce  nothing 
comparable  to  the  glory  of  this  city.''  And  the 
gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by  day-^That  is, 
shall  never  be  shut; /or  there  shaUbe  no  night  there. 
And  they  shall  bring  the  glory,  ^c,  of  the  ncUions 
into  it — Whatever  is  most  desirable  among  all  na- 
tions seemed  to  meet  together  to  adorn  that  place, 
where  good  men  of  all  nations  shall  dwell  and  reign 
with  God  for  ever.  Or  all  that  can  contribute  to 
make  any  city  honourable  and  glorious  shall  be 
found  in  it ;  as  if  all  that  was  rich  and  precious 
throughout  the  world  was  brought  into  one  place. 
And  there  shall  in  noidse  enter  any  thing  that  de- 
^/e<A— Greek,  icwvov,  common;  that  is,  unholy;  or 
that  worketh  dbomination—ThBi  is  impure  or  vi- 
cious ;  or  maketh  a  lie — Is  chargeable  with  hypoc- 
risy, falsehood,  or  deceit ;  biU  they  which  are  writ- 
ten in  the  Lamb's  book  o//i/c— Namely,  true,  holy, 
persevering  believers.  This  blessedness  is  enjoyed 
only  by  such,  and  such  as  these  only  are  registered 
among  them  who  are  to  inherit  eternal  life. 


CHAPTER  XXn. 

Lt  this  chapter,  (1,)  The  description  of  the  heavenly  state  is  continued  under  the  emhlema  of  the  water  of  life,  and  tree  of  life» 
and  of  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  1-5.  (3,)  The  conducting  angel,  who  refuses  adoration  from  John,  and  more 
espedaUy  Christ  himself,  attests  the  truth  of  the  preceding  revelaiions,  and  intimates  that  men  toouid  quickly  be  adjudged 
to  everlasting  happiness  or  misery,  according  as  they  improved  or  did  not  improve  these  revelations  of  God  to  them,  6-16. 
(3,)  The  Lord  Jesus,  after  repeated  declarations  of  his  own  dignity,  inttmatians  of  his  sudden  coming  to  judge  the  world, 
and  earnest  invitation  of  sinners  to  receive  his  grace,  denounces  a  solemn  curse  upon  all  such  as  should  add  to  or  take 
from  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  16-30.  (4,)  The  church  and  the  apostle  earnestly  entreat  Christ's  gracious  visits  in 
time,  and  his  glorious  return  to  judgment,  90,  31. 


^a!d  ^flS?*  A^^  ^®  showed  me  »  a  pure  river  of 
'- water  of  life,  clear  as  crystd,  pro- 
ceeding out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb. 
2  ^  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on 

»  Csek.  zlriL  1 ;  Zoch.  ziv.  S. ^  Ezek.  xlviL  12;  Ch.  xxi.  21. 

NOTES  ON  CHAPTER  XXII. 

Verses  1, 2.  And — Proceeding  with  his  description 

of  the  heavenly  city,  the  apostle  observes,  he — That 

IS,  the  angel  who  condescended  to  be  hb  guide  on 

this  occasion;  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  the  water 

b 


A.  M.  4100 
A.  D.  96. 


either  side  of  the  river,  was  there 
^  the  tree  of  life,  which  bare  twelve 
manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit  every 
month :  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  ^  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations. 


e  Gen.  ii.  0 ;  Chap.  ii.  7. '  Chap.  xxi.  24. 

of  life— The  ever  fresh  and  fructifying  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit :  see  Ezek.  xlvii.  1-12,  where  also  the 
trees  are  mentioned  which  bear  fruit  every  month, 
that  is,  perpetually.  Proceeding  out  of  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb — All  things  that  the  Fa- 
808 


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the  UgJU  of^  <%. 


▲.  M.  4100.    3  And  *  th^re  shall  be   no  more 
^'  ^'  ^    curse:  'but  the  throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it;  and  his  senrants 
shall  serve  him : 

4  And  c^they  shall  see  his  fitce;   and  ^his 
name  shcUl  be  in  their  foreheads. 

5  '  And  there  riiall  be  no  night  there ;  and 
they  need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  siiQ ; 


•  Zwsh.  xiT.  11. f  Esek.  xfriii  35.— ^«  Matt.  ▼.  8 ;  1  Cor. 

xiii.  12 ;  1  John  iii.  2. *  Chap.  iiL  12 ;  xir.  1. *  Chap.  xzi. 

23,25. 


ther  hcUhy  saith  the  Son  of  God,  are  mine  ;  even  the 
throne  of  his  glory.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it 
— Here  is  the  paradise  of  God,  mentioned  chap.  ii. 
7 ;  and  an  either  side  of  the  river  v>as  the  tree  of 
Z(/e— As  this  river  ran  throngfa  the  chief  street  in  the 
midi^  of  the  city,  so  there  were  planted  on  each  side 
of  it  beautiful  trees,  not  only  to  serve  for  oraament 
and  refreshment,  but  which,  like  the  tree  of  life  in 
paradise,  shonld  make  the  inhabitants  immortal; 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits — Which  pro- 
duced a  great  variety  of  pleasant  fruits,  and  in  such 
plenty,  that  ripe  fruit  was  yielded  every  month — So 
that  all  might  freely  partake  of  them  at  all  seasons. 
And  the  leaves  of  the  tree  wrefor  the  healing  of  the 
nations — ^That  is,  for  the  preservingy  not  the  re- 
storing^  of  spiritual  health ;  for  no  sickness  or  in- 
firmity, of  mind  or  body,  is,  or  can  be  there :  beneath 
the  salutary  shade  of  these  trees  no  disease  can  ever 
invade  any  individual  of  the  nations  of  the  saved, 
but  perpetual  health  shall  exist  and  flourish  in  them 
all. 

iTerses  d-5.  And  then  too  there  shall  be  no  more 
curse—JiB  there  is  in  this  present  world,  and  has 
been  ever  since  the  fall  of  man ;  but  only  pure  life 
and  blessing,  every  effect  of  the  displeasure  of  God 
for  sin  being  now  totally  removed ;  biU  the  throne 
of  Ood  and  of  the  Ijomb  shall  be  in  i^— That  is,  the 
glorious  presence  and  reign  of  God  and  the  Lamb; 
and  his  servants— -The  most  honourable  title  in  the 
universe;  shcUl  serve  him — The  noblest  employ- 
ment And  they  shaU  see  his  face-— The  blessed  in- 
habitants shall  enjoy  the  so  much  talked  of  beatific 
vision,  a  privilege  not  granted  even  to  Moses.  They 
shall  have  the  nearest  access  to,  and  the  most  free 
intercourse  with  him.  This  is  the  strongest  expres- 
sion in  the  language  of  Scripture,  to  denote  the  most 
perfect  happiness  of  the  heavenly  state,  1  John  iii.  2. 
And  his  name  shaU  be  on  their  foreheads — ^Each  of 
them  shall  be  openly  acknowledged  as  God's  own 
property,  and  his  glorious  nature  shall  most  visibly 
shine  forth  in  them.  There  seems  in  this  expression 
to  be  an  allusion  to  the  name  of  God  being  on  the 
golden  plate  which  the  Jewish  high-priest  wore  on 
his  forehead.  And  there  shaU  be  no  night  there — 
In  this  blessed  state  there  shall  be  no  interruption 
of  their  happiness  and  joy,  but  they  shall  live  in  the 
continual  light  of  God's  countenance.  And  they 
need  no  candle^  neither  light  of  the  sun — No  in- 
struction, aid,  or  comfort  from  any  means  of  grace, 
804 


for  ^  the  Lord   God   giveth   them  A.M.4ioa 

light :  ^  and  they  shall  reiga  iat  ever 

and  ever. 

6  And  he  savLunto  me,  ""  These  sayings  wrm 
&ithfi3l  and  true.  And  the  Lord  God  of  the 
hdy  [Nrophets  '^sent  his  angel  to  show  imto 
his  servants  the  things  which  must  shortly  be 
dcMie. 


k  Fm.  zzzri.  9 ;  Ixxxir.  11. 1  Dan.  rii.  27 ;  Rom.  t.  17; 

2  Timothy  ii  12 ;  Chapter  iii  21^ "KThapter  ziz.  9 ;  xzi  5. 

•Caiap.i  1. 


ordinances  of  God,  or  any  creature,  as  on  earth ;  for 
the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light — Theh'knowledgB 
and  wisdom,  hoUness  and  happiness^  proceed  mme- 
diately  from  God  himseli^  from  his  constant  and 
everhstmg  presence  with  them,  and  fovourtothem, 
so  that  they  shall  enjoy  the  same  unspeakable  hap- 
piness, without  any  interruption  or  diminution.  And 
they  shaU  reign  for  ever  and  ever — ^What  an  en- 
couragement is  thifl  to  the  patience  and  faithfulness 
of  these  saints.  That  all  their  sufferings  here  on 
earth  shall  work  out  for  them  an  eternal  weight  of 
glory  I  Observe,  reader,  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
taken  by  force ;  but  the  prize  is  well  worth  all  the 
labour.  What  is  high,  amiable,  or  excellent  in  all 
the  honours,  riches,  pleasures,  titles,  dignities,  mo- 
narchies of  the  eaith,  has,  if  taken  together,  not  the 
weight  or  value  of  a  grain  of  dust,  compared  to  the 
glory,  ridies,  and  felicity  of  the  children  of  God. 
Chd  is  not  ctshamed  to  be  called  their  Cfod,  for 
wJ$om  he  hath  prepared  this  city.  But  who  shall 
come  up  into  this  holy  place?  Who  shall  have  a 
right  to  the  tree  of  life  ?  They  who,  being  justified 
by  grace^  are  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  it. 
Tit  iiL  7;  they  who,  having  this  hope  in  them^ptt^ 
rify  themselves  as  he  is  pure,  I  John  iiL  3 ;  they  who 
do  his  commandments,  verse  14;  and  give  diligence 
to  be  found  with  kim  in  peace  without  spot  and 
blameless,  2  Pet  iiL  14.  llius  ends  the  doctrine  of 
the  Revelation,  in  the  everlasting  happiness  of  al' 
the  faithAil.  The  mysterious  ways  of  Providence 
are  cleared  up,  and  all  things  issue  in  an  eternal 
sabbath,  an  everlasting  state  of  perfect  peace  and  fe- 
licity, reserved  for  all  who  endure  to  the  end. 

Verses  6, 7.  The  glory  and  felicity  set  forth  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  and  continued  in  the  five  verses 
we  have  just  considered,  being  great  above  all  ima- 
gination, certain  as  the  word  of  prophecy,  and  last- 
ing without  end,  mast,  if  duly  considered,  be  a  pow- 
erful encouragement  to  us,  and  persuasive  to  con- 
stancy in  the  profession  and  practice  of  pure  Chris- 
tianity, whatever  difficulties  or  dangers  may  attend 
it  What  follows,  to  the  end,  is  the  conclusion  of 
the  whole  book,  or  a  sort  of  epilogue,  which  confirms 
the  truth  of  the  prophecies  contained  in  these  reve- 
lations, shows  the  importance  and  use  of  them,  and 
is  well  fitted  to  leave  them  with  strong  impressions 
on  the  hearts  of  the  readers,  to  preserve  them  from 
complying  with  any  corruptions  of  the  Christian 
faith  and  worship,  and  encourage  their  constancy  .'o 


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CHAPTER  Xfn. 


to  be  rDoreklppecL 


A.  M.  4]oa 

A.D.ML 


7  ^Behold,  I  come  quickly:  I"  blessed 
is  he  that  keepeth  the  sayings  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  book. 

8  And  I  John  saw  these  things,  and  heard 
thsm.  And  when  I  had  heard  and  seen,  «I  fell 
down  to  worship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel 
which  showed  me  these  things. 

9  Then  saith  he  unto  me,  'See  thou  do  it 
not:  for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy 
brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them  which  keep 
the  sayings  of  this  book :  worship  God. 

10  'And  he  saith  unto  me,  Seal  not  the  say- 

oChap.iiLll;  Vei»«»  10, 12, 80. PChap.i.3. «»Ch^ 

ziz.  10. rChra.  xiz.  10.— -*  Dan.  yiii.  36;  xii.4, 0;  Ch^). 

X.4. 'G)wp.i.3. 


the  ways  of  truth  and  righteousness.  And  he  aaid^ 
TJiese  sayings  are  true  andfaithfid — All  the  things 
which  thou  hast  heard  and  seen  shall  be  faithfully 
accomplished  in  their  order,  and  are  infallibly  true. 
Thus  the  angel  ratifies  all  the  forementioned  partic- 
ulars, by  a  repetition  of  the  same  solemn  assurance 
which  he  had  before  given,  (chap.  xix.  9;  xxi.  5,) 
adding  that  he  was  commissioned  by  the  same  God 
who  had  inspired  the  ancient  prophets,  to  show  the 
things  which  should  shortly  be  eione— That  is,  which 
would  very  soon  begin  to  be  in  part  fulfilled,  and 
would,  in  process  of  time,  be  completed.  Behold,  I 
come  quickly^Uere  the  angel  speaks,  not  in  his  own 
person,  but  in  the  person  and  character  of  Christ, 
whose  ambassador  and  representative  he  was.  Christ 
is  said  to  come,  upon  any  notable  and  illustrious  ma- 
nifestation of  his  providence ;  and  all  these  are  but 
so  many  steps  to  prepare  the  way  for  his  last  coming 
to  judgment  Blessed,  happy,  is  he  that  keepeth, 
without  adding  to  or  diminishing  from,  the  sayings 
of  the  prophecy  of  this  book— And  that  is  duly  in- 
fluence by  them.  And,  as  Y itringa  devoutly  wishes, 
"  May  the  Lord  grant  this  favour  to  us  who  have  be- 
stowed some  labour  in  meditating  thereon,  that  we 
also  may  have  some  share  in  this  blessing.'^ 

Verses  8, 9.  And  I  John  saw  these  things — I,  who 
have  committed  these  revelations  to  writing  for  the 
constant  use  of  the  churches,  do  solemnly  declare 
they  are  no  invention  of  my  own,  but  what  I  was  an 
eye  and  ear  witness  to,  having  really  seen  and  heard 
these  things  in  the  prophetic  visions  granted  me,  as  I 
have  faithfully  related  them.  Andwhenlhadheard,! 
felldown,  &c.— And  now,  my  visions  appearingto  be 
at  an  end,  I  prostrated  myself  before  the  angel  who 
had  showed  me  these  things—To  express  the  great 
respect  and  gratitude  I  felt  for  a  person  who  had  laid 
me  under  such  great  obligations.  See  on  chap.  xix. 
10.  Then  saith  he,  See  thou  do  it  no^— The  expres- 
sion, as  before,  in  the  original  is  short  and  elliptical, 
as  is  usual  in  showing  vehement  aversion:  as  if  the 
apostle  had  said.  The  angel  hindered  me  again,  as  he 
had  done  once  before,  informing  me  that  I  should 
not  consider  him  as  the  author  of  these  prophetic 
visions,  but  as  a  fellow-servant  of  tiie  prophets;  and. 


ings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book:  ^for  A.  M.  4100. 
the  time  is  at  hand.  ' 


11  ^He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  adil; 
and  he  which  is  fildiy,  let  him  be  filthy  sUQ : 
and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  right- 
eous 8t31 :  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  hdy 
still. 

12  'And  bdmld,  I  come  quickly;  and  ^my 
reward  is  with  me,  *  to  give  every  man  ac- 
cording as  his  worb  shall  be. 

13  *  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  bc^^inning 
and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  la^ 


"Eaek.  iii  27;  Dan.  zxL  10;  8  Tim.  iii.  13. ^Veite  7. 

J  Isa.  d.  10 ;  Izii.  11. *  Rom.  ii.  6 ;   xir.  12 ;  Chap.  zx.  12. 

•laa.  zlL  4 ;  zliv.  6;  zlviii.  12 ;  Chap.  i.  S,  11 ;  zzi.  S. 


as  such,  employed  in  the  service  of  God  with  them: 
all  the  praise  of  the  church  should  be  therefore  given 
to  God  alone,  who  only  is  to  be  acknowledged  the 
author  of  these  Revelations,  and  who  only  gives  the 
Spirit  of  prophecy  for  the  encouragement  and  con- 
solation of  the  fai^fiiL 

Verses  10, 1 1.  And  he  saith  unto  Tue— After  a  little 
pause ;  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  this  (ooAr— Conceal 
them  not,  like  the  things  that  are  sealed  up ;  for  the 
time  is  at  Aafui— When  they  shall  begin  to  take 
place.  He  that  is  unjust— Or  unrighteous;  that  is, 
who  lives  and  dies  unjustified,  let  him  be  unjust,  or 
unrighteous,  still — For  after  death  his  state  can  ad- 
mit of  no  change,  he  that  is  filthy — ^Unholy,  un- 
sanctified,  and  dies  in  that  conditien ;  let  him,  that 
is,  he  shall  be,  filthy,  or  unholy,  still;  and  he  thai 
is  righteous — That  lives  and  dies  justified,  or  ac- 
counted righteous ;  let  him  be,  he  shall  be,  righteous 
still;  and  he  that  is  holy — ^That  is,  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  his  mind,  and  stamped  with  the  divine 
image,  and  perseveres  until  death  in  that  state ;  shall 
be  holy  stiUSti^Si  be  found  so  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, and  shall  remain  so  for  ever.  Dr.  Do4dridge's 
paraphrase  on  the  verse,  connecting  it  with  the  pre- 
ceding, is,  "The  time  is  just  approachhig  when  the 
last  seal  shall  be  put  on  the  characters  of  men,  and 
when  it  shall  be  said,  on  the  one  hand,  L^  him  that 
is  ur^ust  be  unjust  still,  &C.,  for  no  more  opportu- 
nities shall  ever  be  granted  for  reformuig  what  has 
been  amiss,  and  recovering  the  unrighteous  and  pol- 
luted soul  to  rectitude  and  purity;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  it  shall  be  said,  Let  him  that  is  righteous  be 
righteous  still,  &c.;  nothing  shall  ever  happen  to 
bring  the  virtues  and  graces  of  good  men  into  any 
Aiture  danger,  or  under  any  cloud  5  but  their  right- 
eousness and  their  holiness  shall  for  ever  shine,  yea, 
shine  with  an  increasing  lustre." 

Verses  18-19.  And  behold,  /—Jesus  Christ;  come 
quickly — ^To  judge  the  world.  And  my  reward — 
Both  of  grace  and  vengeance ;  is  with  me — The  re- 
¥nird  wlHch  I  shall  assign,  both  to  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked,  shall  be  conferred  at  my  coming ;  to  give 
to  every  man  according  as  his  work — His  spirit  and 
conduct,  his  whole  inward  and  outward  behaviour, 
800 


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REVELATION. 


taken  flromy  the  v>crd  ofCfod, 


A.  M.  4100.    14  ^  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his 
^'  ^'  ^    commandments,  that  they  may  have 

right  *  to  the  tree  of  life,  "^  and  may  rater  in 

through  the  gates  into  the  city. 
16  For  <"  without  are  ^dogs,  and  sorcerers,  and 

whoremongers,  and  murd^ers,  and  idotaters, 

and  whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie. 

16  ^I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify 
unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches.  ^  I  am 
the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  and  ^  the 
bright  and  mornii^  star. 

17  And  the  Spirit  and  ^  the  bride  say,  Ccmie. 


^  Daniel  zii.  12 ;  1  John  iii.  24. «  Vene  2 ;  Chapter  ii.  7. 

*  Chap.  xxi.  27. •  1  Cor.  ri.  9. 10  j  Gal.  ▼.  19-21 :  Col  iii.  6 ; 

Chapter  ir.  20,  21 :  xxi.  8. 'Phil.  iii.  2.— » Chapter  i.  1. 

^  Chap.  T.  5. i  Nom.  xxir.  17 ;   Zech.  tL  12  ;  2  Pet.  L  10 ; 


shall  be.  And  to  confirm  it  further,  I  repeat  it  agun, 
lam  AlphOy  &C.— Rather,  the  Alpha  and  the  Ome- 
ga, &c. — 1^0  exist  from  everlasting  to  everlasting. 
How  clear,  incontestable  a  proof  does  onr  Lord  here 
give  of  his  divine  glory !  He  is  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  creation,  by  whom  all  things  began  to  be 
formed,  and  by  whom  all  things  are  to  be  finished ; 
so  that  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure,  through  all  the 
ages  of  time,  to  the  consummation  of  all  things ;  and 
nothing  can  prevent  or  hinder  the  sure  and  full 
accomplishment  of  his  word.  Therefore,  blessed, 
happy,  are  they,  and  they  alone,  ^uU  do  kis  con^ 
mandments — ^And  so  prepare  for  his  important  ap- 
pearance; that  they  may  have  a  right — ^Through 
his  gracious  covenant ;  to  the  tree  oflife^To  all  the 
blessings  signified  by  it  When  Adam  broke  his  com- 
mandment, he  was  debarred  from  the  tree  of  life. 
They  who  keep  his  commandments,  who  ^ow  their 
faith  by  their  works,  shall  have  access  to  it,  and  shall 
eat  of  it.  For  noithotU  are  dogs — ^That  ia,  the  un- 
clean, the  contentious  and  quarrelsome,  the  fierce 
and  rapacious.  The  sentence,  in  the  original,  is  ab- 
rupt, as  expressing  abhorrence.  The  gates  are  ever 
open ;  but  not  for  dogs.  These  are,  and  ever  shall 
be,  shut  out,  as  also  sorcerers,  &c, — All  that  live  in 
the  violation  of  the  known  laws  of  God.  See  on 
chap.  xxi.  8. 

Verse  16.  J  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angd^~li  was 
not  thought  sufficient  to  represent  the  angel  as 
speaking  in  the  person  of  Christ,  but  Christ  himself 
also  is  here  introduced  speaking  in  his  own  person, 
and  confirming  the  divine  authority  of  this  book,  and 
attesting  it  to  be  properly  his  revelation;  to  testify 
unto  you  these  things — ^Primarily  to  you,  the  seven 
angels  of  the  churches ;  then  to  those  churches,  and 
afterward  to  all  other  churches  r  in  succeeding  ages. 
/,  as  God,  am  the  root — And  source ;  and,  as  man, 
the  offspring  of  David^And.  his  family;  and  the 
bright  and  morning  star^Who  wear  a  glory  ex- 
ceeding that  of  the  most  brilliant  and  celestial  lumi- 
nary, and  who  put  an  end  to  the  night  of  ignorance, 
sin,  and  sorrow,  and  usher  in  an  eternal  day  of  light, 
purity,  and  joy. 

806 


And  let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come.  a.  m.  4100. 
*And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.         ' 
And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  wata  of 
Ufe  freely. 

18  For  I  testify  mito  every  man  that  heareth 
the  words  of  the  jnt^ecy  of  this  book,  *If 
any  man  shaQ  add  unto  these  things,  God 
shall  add  unto  him  the  leagues  that  are  writ- 
ten in  this  hock : 

19  And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 
words  of  the  book  oi  this  prophecy,  ''God  shall 
take  away  his  part  ^  out  <rf  the  bo^  of  life,  and 


Chap.  ii.  28. k  Oh^.  xxi.  2,  9. *I«l  It.  1 ;  John  rii.  37; 

Chap.  xxi.  6. ■  Dent  ir.  2 ;  xii.  32 ;  Pior.  xxx.  6. »  £xQd. 

xxxii.  33 ;  Psa.  hdx.  28 ;  Ch^.  iii  5;  xiii.  a » OT,/rpm  At 

trmtfltf*. 


Verse  17.  And  the  fijpinV—With  which  I  inspire 
my  servants ;  and  the  bride— The  church,  whom  I 
have  espoused,  or  the  Spirit  of  adoption  m  the  bride, 
says,  with  earnest  desire  and  expectation,  Cbme— 
And  accomplish  all  the  words  of  this  prophecy. 
And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Coww— Let  every  one 
echo  the  invitation;  and  let  my  people,  in  all  ages, 
consider  it  as  their  duty  so  to  do ;  did  let  him  that 
is  athirst— Thni  sincerely  and  earnestly  desires  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel,  whether  the  blessings  of 
grace,  or  those  of  glory ;  cowe— And  partake  of 
those  blessings.  Let  him  apply  to  the  Lord  Jesus, 
in  repentance  and  faith,  to  be  pardoned  and  re- 
newed ;  taken  into  God's  favour,  and  stamped  with 
his  image  here,  and  put  in  possession  of  eternal  life 
hereafter,  and  he  shall  not  apply  in  vain;  and  v^o- 
soever  will— Hen  they  also,  who  are  farther  of^  are 
invited;  let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life — He  may 
partake  of  spiritual  and  eternal  blessings;  freely — 
Yea,  as  freely  as  he  makes  use  of  the  most  common 
refreshments,  as  freely  as  he  drinks  of  the  running 
stream.  Such  a  declaration  of  free  grace  seems  to 
have  been  wisely  inserted  just  in  the  close  of  the 
sacred  canon,  to  encourage  the  hope  of  every  hum- 
ble soul  that  is  truly  desirous  of  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel;  and  to  guard  against  those  suspicions  of  di- 
vine goodness,  which  Uw  dark  mind  of  man  is  so 
ready  to  imbibe.  The  word  Aov^^cFero,  which  we 
render  iake,otiea  signifies  receive;  and  the  word 
dupeaiv,  renderedfreely,  implies  the  same  as  gratis, 
namely,  the  perfect  freedom  of  the  gift,  and  may 
probably  refer  to  the  celebrated  invitation,  Isaiah 
Iv.  1-8. 

Verses  18,  19.  For  I  testify—Here  the  Lord 
Jesus  adds  a  solemn  admonition,  not  only  to  the 
churches  of  Asia,  but  to  all  who  should  ever  hear  or 
read  this  book.  To  him  that  addsto  the  thingscoor 
tained  in  it,  shall  all  the  plagues  mentioned  in  it  be 
added;  and  from  him  that  takes  away  from  the 
words  of  this  prophecy  shall  the  blessings  spoken  of 
in  it  be  tdcen.  And  doubtless  this  guilt  is  incurred 
by  all  those  who  lay  hinderances  in  the  way  of  the 
faithfhl,  in  order  to  prevent  them  frcMn  hearing  their 

b 


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Our  Lord  Je$u$ 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


came0t  quickly. 


A.  M.  4100.  out  of  •  the  hdj  city,  and  from 

— ! L  the  things  which  are  written  in  this 

book. 
20  He  which  testifieth   these   things  saith, 


«  Chap.  xxi.  a.— p  Vene  12. 1  John  xxi.  25. 

Lord's  words,  /  come^  and  answering,  Cknnej  lard 
Jesus.  This  may  likewise  be  considered  as  an 
awful  sanction  given  to  the  whole  New  Testament  \ 
in  like  manner,  as  Moses  guarded  the  law,  (Deut 
iv.  2 ;  xU.  32,}  and  as  God  himself  did,  (Mai.  iv.  4,) 
in  closing  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament  It  is 
true,  however,  that  this  solemn  caution  particularly 
refers  to  this  book  of  the  Revelation.  But,  as  Dod- 
dridge observes,  "God  forbid  we  should  imagine 
every  honestly  mistaken  criticism,  where  there  is  a 
question  respecting  receiving  or  excluding  any  par- 
ticular verse,  should  affect  a  man's  salvation,  in  con- 
sequence of  what  b  here  said.  Such  a  passage, 
however,  should  make  men  very  cautious,  that  they 
may  not  rashly  incur  any  censure  on  this  account ; 
though,  undoubtedly,  the  terror  of  the  threatening  is 
planted  against  any  designed  erasement  or  addition." 
It  may  be  observed  further  on  this  verse,  that  since 
God  threatens  the  pUigues  written  in  this  book,  and 
the  loss  of  a  part  in  the  holy  city,  as  what  might  be 
the  portion  of  those  who  should  presume  to  corrupt 
it,  and  such  corruption  might  happen  in  any  age  of 
the  church, — it  is  very  evident  that  the  holy  city 
spoken  of  in  the  preceding  chapter  is  a  representa- 
tion of  the  heavenly  state  to  be  enjoyed  by  all  good 
men,  how  applicable  soever  it  may  seem  to  any 
glorious  scene  preceding  the  final  judgment:  and 
that  Rev.  xx.  11,  12,  refers  to  the  universal  judg- 
ment 

Verse  20.  He  which  testifieth  these  things — Even 
all  that  is  contained  in  this  book;  saithr— For  the  en- 
couragement of  the  church  in  all  her  afflictions,  and 
the  warning  of  all  her  opposers  and  persecutors ; 
Surely  I  come  quickly—To  judge  and  punish  all 
my  enemies,  and  the  enemies  of  my  cause  and 
people ;  and  to  establish  my  church  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect and  everlasting  happiness.  The  apostle  ex- 
presses his  earnest  desire  and  hope  of  this,  by 
answering,  Amen.  Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus — Ac- 
complish thy  promises  in  order:  and  finally  crown 
the  faith,  patience,  and  constancy  of  thy  servants 
with  eternal  life. 

Verse  21.  The  grace— The  free  love ;  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ — And  all  its  fruits ;  be  with  you  all— 
Who  thus  long  for  his  appearing,  and  with  all  true 
Christians.  The  conclusion,  as  Bishop  Newton  says, 
is  truly  excellent,  as  well  as  all  other  parts  of  this 
book ;  and  nothing  could  be  contrived  to  leave  these 
things  with  a  stonger  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
the  reader.  In  the  whole,  from  first  to  last,  appears 
the  majesty  of  the  divine  revealer — 77ic  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  Author  and 
Finisher  of  every  good  work,  and  of  this  more  es- 
pecially. This  is  the  sure  word  of  prophecy, 
whereunto  Christians,  as  St  Peter  saith,  do  well  to 
b 


p Surely,  I  come  quickly:    *iAmen.  A. M.4100. 
'  Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus.  __! — ! — 

21  ■  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  alL    Amen. 


»  2  Tim.  iv.  8. •  Rom.  xvi.  20,  24 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  18. 


take  heed,  and  attend,  2  Pet.  i.  16.  Attention,  then, 
to  this  book  is  recommended  to  us  upon  the  au- 
thority of  St.  Peter,  as  well  as  of  the  writer,  St. 
Jehn:  a  double  blessing,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
book  itself,  is  pronounced  upon  those  who  shall 
study  and  observe  it ;  first  in  chap.  i.  3,  and  here 
again  chap.  xxii.  7.  Imboldened  by  which  blessings, 
with  Nehemiah,  we  would  pray.  Remember  usy  O 
my  God,  concerning  this  also,  and  spare  us,  ac- 
cording to  the  greatness  of  thy  mercy,  Neh.  xiii.  22. 

And  now,  to  use  the  words  of  the  pious  and  excel- 
lent Dr.  Doddridge,  "  How  sweetly  and  delightfully 
the  canon  of  Scripture  concludes,  leaving,  as  it  were, 
the  music  of  heaven  upon  the  attentive  ear !  O 
thou  blessed  root  and  ofl^ring  of  David !  O  thou 
bright  and  morning  star,  impress  on  all  our  hearts 
these  thy  gracious  words,  which  thou  hast  conde- 
scended to  speak  from  the  throne  of  thy  glory; 
thereby,  as  it  were,  to  aid  the  weakness  of  our  faith 
in  those  which  thou  didst  deliver  while  dwelling  in 
mortal  fiesh  !  Then  did  the  compassionate  Saviour 
proclaim,  from  an  eminence  in  the  temple,  to  a 
crowded  assembly,  on  a  day  of  peculiar  solemnity, 
If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  m€  and  drink, 
John  vii.  37.  And  now,  behold,  he  makes  the  same 
proclamation  from  the  celestial  temple :  he  points 
as  it  were,  to  the  fountain-head  of  happiness,  to  the 
springs  of  the  water  of  life,  near  the  throne  of  God ; 
and  says,  Whoever  will,  let  him  come,  let  him  take, 
let  him  freely  take,  of  this  living  water,  verse  17. 
Yea,' and  not  content  with  speakingihis  language  by 
his  Spirit  only,  he  calls  on  his  bride  to  lift  up  her 
melodious  voice,  to  publish  this  kind  invitation.  He 
calls  on  every  one  who  hears  it  to  echo  it  back,  as 
if  the  excess  of  his  goodness  overcame  him ;  as  if  it 
were  necessary  to  his  happiness  that  men  should 
accept  of  their  own  salvation  \ 

"  With  what  sacred  observance  should  these  books 
be  guarded,  which  contain  a  message  of  such  infinite 
importance !  of  what  dreadful  curses  are  they  worthy 
who  presume  to  add  to  what  Is  already  perfect,  or 
to  take  away,  from  that  which  is  in  every  part  di- 
vine !  verse  18.  God  forbid  that  any  of  us  should 
ever  presumptuously  attempt  to  do  it !  And  may  we 
be  preserved  from  those  mistaken  interpretations,  in 
consequence  of  which  we  should  teach  the  world, 
as  by  his  authority,  any  thing  which  he  has  not  dic- 
tated, or  deny  any  thing  which  carries  along  with  it 
the  stamp  of  such  an  authority !  Have  pity,  O  Lord, 
upon  our  weakness !  Impute  not  prejudices  which 
thou  knowest  we  do  not  allow ;  and  give  us  a  greater 
penetration  of  mind  to  understand  the  true  sense  of 
thy  word  5  a  simplicity  of  heart  to  receive  it ;  an  in- 
tegrity, so  far  as  the  duty  of  our  station  requires,  to 
declare  it ;  and  a  zeal  to  inculcate  and  defend  it. 
807 


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,  t ' 


^Gdtelfisitm  of 


HEVELATION. 


theRetdaUon. 


"While  we  are  thwa  employed,— or  employed  in 
any  other  services  which  Providence  may  aasign  us ; 
— whatever  laboura  may  exercise  us,  wbatey^r  dif- 
ficulties may  surround  us,  whatever  sorrows  May 
depress  us,  let  u«  with  pleasure  hear.iMir  Lord  pro- 
claiming;  Behold,  I  come  quickly:  I  coiQe  to  put  a 
period  to  the  labour  and  8u£fering  of  my  servants; 
I  come,  and  my  reward  of  grace  is  with  me;  to  re- 
compense, with  royal  bounty,  every  work  of  faith 
and  Idbonr  of  love.  I  eome  to  receive  my  faithful, 
persevering  people  to  myself,  to  dwell  for  ever  in 
that  blisaftd  world  where  the  sacred  v(^ume,  which 
contains  the  important  discoveries  of  my  will,  sfaull 
806 


be  no  more  necessary ;  but  knowledge,  and  holiness, 
and  joy,  shall  be  poured  in  upon  then  wuls,  in  a 
more  immediate,  a  more  noble,  and  a  more  effectual 
manner.  Amen  I  even  so,  come,  Lord  Jetus/ 
Hasten  tlie  blessed  hour  to  us,  and  to  all  the  churches, 
so  far  as  it  may  consist  widi  thy  wise  and  holy 
counsels.  And,  in  the  mean  time,  may  thy  grace 
be  with  us,  to  keep  alive  the  remembrance  of  thy 
love,  and  the  expectation  of  thy  coming,  in  our 
hearts ;  and  to  animate  us  to  a  temper  and  conduct 
which  may  suit  the  blessings  we  have  already  re- 
ceived, and  the  ncbler  felicity  after  which  thou 
hast  taught  us  to  aspure !  Amen  and  Amen  P^ 

b 


END  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


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