11

yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.

O ye Corinthians, our mouth is opened toward you, 12 our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us; but 13 ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recom

*

pence of the same, (I speak as to my children,) be ye 14 also enlarged. Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? or what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part 16 hath a believer with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Now ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be to them a God, 17 and they shall be to me a people. Therefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean person, saith the Lord, and I will receive you, 18 And will be to you a Father, and ye shall be to me sons Isa. lii. 11. Zeph. iii. 19, 20. Isa. xliii. 6.

* Lev. xxvi. 11, &c.

things-For all things are ours, if we are Christ's. What a magnificence of thought is this!

V. 11. From the praise of the Christian ministry, (which he began chap. ii. 14,) he now draws his affectionate exhortation. O ye Corinthians-He seldom uses this appellation. But it has here a peculiar force. Our mouth is opened toward you-With uncommon freedom, because our heart is enlarged in tenderness.

V. 12. Ye are not straitened in us-Our heart is wide enough to receive you all: but ye are straitened in your own bowels-Your hearts are shut up, and so not capable of the blessings ye might enjoy.

V. 13. Now for a recompence of the same Of my paternal tenderness, (I speak as to my children-I ask nothing hard or grievous,) be ye also enlarged -Open your hearts, first to God, and then to us, (see chap. viii. 5,) that God may dwell in you, chap. vi. 16,—vii. 1, and that ye may receive us, chap. vii. 2. V. 14. Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers-Christians with Jews or heathens. The apostle particularly speaks of marriage. But the reasons he urges, equally hold against any needless intimacy with them. Of the five questions that follow, the three former contain the argument; the two latter, the conclusion.

V. 15. What concord hath Christ-Whom ye serve, with Belial-To whom they belong?

V. 16. What agreement hath the temple of God with idols-If God would not endure idols in any part of the land wherein he dwelt, how much less under his own roof? He does not say, with the temple of idols; for idols do not dwell in their worshippers. As God hath said-To his ancient church, and in them to all the Israel of God: I will dwell in them, and walk in them-The former signifying his perpetual presence, the latter, his operation; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people-The sum of the whole gospel covenant.

V. 17. Touch not the unclean person-Keep at the utmost distance from him; and I will receive you-Into my house and family.

V. 18. And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty--i

VII. 1. and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore, beloved, these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2

Receive us. We have hurt no man, we have corrupted 3 no man, we have defrauded no man. I speak not to condemn you; for I have said before, that ye are in our 4 hearts, to live and to die with you. Great is my freedom of speech toward you; great is my glorying over you: I am filled with comfort, I exceedingly abound with joy, 5 over all our affliction. For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side from without were fightings, from within 6 were fears. But God, who comforteth them that are 7 brought low, comforted us by the coming of Titus. And

not only by his coming, but also by the comfort wherewith he was comforted over you, when he told us your earnest desire, your grief, your zeal for me, so that I 8 rejoiced the more. For I do not repent that I grieved you by the letter, though I did repent: (for I see that

The promise made to Solomon, 1 Chron. xxviii. 6, is here applied to all believers: as the promise made particularly to Joshua, is applied to them, Heb. xiii. 5. Who can express the worth, who can conceive the dignity, of this divine adoption? Yet it belongs to all who believe the gospel, who have faith in Christ. They have access to the Almighty; such free and welcome access, as a beloved child to an indulgent father. To him they may flee for aid in every difficulty, and from him obtain a supply in all their wants.

CHAP. VII. Ver. 1. Let us cleanse ourselves-This is the latter part of the exhortation, which was proposed, chap. vi. 1, and resumed, ver. 14, from all pollution of the flesh-All outward sin, and of the spirit-All inward. Yet let us not rest in negative religion, but perfect holiness-Carrying it to the height in all its branches, and enduring to the end in the loving fear of God, the sure foundation of all holiness.

V. 2. Receive us-The sum of what is said in this, as well as in the tenth and following chapters. We have hurt no man-In his person, we have corrupted no man-In his principles, we have defrauded no man-Of his property. In this he intimates likewise the good he had done them, but with the utmost modesty, as it were not looking upon it.

V. 3. Í speak not to condemn you-Not as if I accused you of laying this to my charge. I am so far from thinking so unkindly of you, that ye are in our hearts, to live and die with you-That is, I could rejoice to spend all my days with you.

V. 4. I am filled with comfort-Of this he treats, ver. 6, &c. of his joy, ver. 7, &c. of both, ver. 13.

V. 5. Our Aesh-That is, we ourselves, had no rest: from without-From the heathens, were fightings-Furious and cruel oppositions: from withinFrom our brethren, were fears-Lest they should be seduced.

V. 7. Your earnest desire-To rectify what had been amiss; your griefFor what had offended God, and troubled me.

V. 8. I did repent-That is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy effect of it.

9 letter grieved you, though but for a season.) Now I rejoice, not that ye were grieved, but that ye grieved to repentance; for ye grieved in a godly manner, so that 10 ye received damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow

worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of, 11 whereas the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold, this very thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly manner, how great diligence it wrought in you, yea, clearing of yourselves, yea, indignation, yea, fear, yea, vehement desire, yea, zeal, yea, revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be pure in this matter. 12 And though I wrote to you, it was not for his sake who hath done the wrong, nor for his sake who hath suffered it, but for the sake of manifesting to you in the sight of 13 God our diligent care over you. Therefore we are comforted in your comfort, and we rejoiced the more exceedingly in the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed 14 by you all. So that if I had boasted any thing of you to him, I am not ashamed; but as we speak all things to you in truth, so also our boasting to Titus is found 15 a truth. And his tender affection is more abundant toward you, calling to mind the obedience of you all, 16 how ye received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, therefore, that I have confidence in you in all things.

CHAP. VIII. 1. Moreover, brethren, we declare to you the grace of God, bestowed on the churches in 2 Macedonia, That in a great trial of affliction, their over

V. 10. The sorrow of this world-Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations, worketh death-Naturally tends to work or occasion death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal.

V. 11. How great diligence it wrought in you-Shewn in all the following particulars. Yea, clearing of yourselves-Some had been more, some less faulty; whence arose these various affections. Hence their apologizing 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` themselves also. Clearing of yourselves-From either sharing in, or approving of his sin; indignation-That ye had not immediately corrected the offender; fear-Of God's displeasure, or lest I should come with a rod; vehement desire

To see me again; zeal-For 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. In all things ye-As a church, have approved yourselves to be pure-That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter.

V. 12. It was not only, or chiefly, for the sake of the incestuous person, or of his father; but to shew my care over you.

CHAP. VIII. Ver. 1. We declare to you the grace of God—Which evidentlyTM appeared by this happy effect.

V. 2. In a great trial of affliction-Being continually persecuted, harassed, and plundered,

flowing joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches 3 of their liberality: That to their power, I testify, and

beyond their power, they were willing of themselves, 4 Praying us with much intreaty, to receive the gift, and 5 take a part in ministering it to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped; but first gave themselves to the 6 Lord, and to us by the will of God: So that we desired Titus, that as he had begun before, so he would also 7 complete this gift among you. Therefore as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye 8 abound in this grace also. I speak not by way of command, but that by the diligence of others, I may prove 9 the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that ye through his poverty might 10 be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun a year ago, not only to 11 do, but also to do it willingly. Now therefore complete the work, that as there was a ready will, so there may be 12 also a performance, in proportion to what ye have. For if there be first a ready mind, a man is accepted, according 13 to what he hath, not according to what he hath not. For I do not mean, that others should be eased, and you 14 burthened. But by an equality, let your abundance be at this time a supply to their want; that their abundance

V. 4. Praying us with much intreaty-Probably St. Paul had lovingly admoBished them, not to do beyond their power.

V. 5. And not as we hoped-That is, beyond all we could hope; they gave themselves to us, by the will of God-In obedience to his will, to be wholly directed by us.

V. 6. As he had begun-When he was with you before.

V. 9. For ye know-And this knowledge is the true source of love, the grace-The most sincere, most free, and most abundant love. He became poor-In becoming man, in all his life; in his death; rich-In the favour and image of God.

V. 12. A man—Every believer, is accepted-With God, according to what he hath And the same rule holds universally. Whoever acknowledges himself. to be a vile, guilty sinner, and, in consequence of this acknowledgment, flees for refuge to the wounds of a crucified Saviour, and relies on his merits alone for salvation, may, in every circumstance of life, apply this indulgent declaration to himself.

V. 14. That their abundance-If need should so require, may be-At another time, a supply to your want, that there may be an equality-No want on one side, no superfluity on the other. It may likewise have a further meaning: that as the temporal bounty of the Corinthians, did supply 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 their benefactors. So that all the spiritual wants of the one might be amply supplied; all the temporal of the other.

VOL. II.

I

also may be a supply to your want, that there may be an 15 equality, As it is written, He that had gathered the most had nothing over; and he that had gathered the least did not lack.

16

But thanks be to God, who putteth the same diligent 17 care for you into the heart of Titus. For he accepted indeed the exhortation, but being more forward, he went 18 to you of his own accord. And we have sent with him

the brother, whose praise in the gospel is through all the 19 churches: (And not only so, but he was also appointed by the churches to be a fellow-traveller with us, with this gift, which is administered by us, to the glory of the Lord himself, and for the declaration of our ready mind.) 20 Avoiding this, lest any one should blame us in this 21 abundance, which is administered by us. For we provide things honest, not only before the Lord, but also before And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, through his great confidence in you. 23 If any inquire concerning Titus, he is my partner, and fellow-labourer with respect to you; or concerning our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches, the 24 glory of Christ. Shew therefore to them before the churches the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

22 men.

CHAP. IX. 1. For concerning the ministering_to 2 the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. For I know your readiness, which I boast concerning you to

* Exod. xvi. 19.

V. 15. As it is written, He that had gathered the most, had nothing over; and he that had gathered the least, did not lack―That is, in which that scripture is in another sense fulfilled.

V. 17. Being more forward-Than to need it, though he received it well. V. 18. We-I and Timothy; the brother-The ancients generally supposed this was St. Luke, whose praise-For faithfully dispensing the gospel, is through all the churches.

V. 19. He was appointed by the churches Of Macedonia, with this giftWhich they were carrying from Macedonia to Jerusalem; for the declaration of our ready mind-That of Paul and his fellow-traveller, ready to be the servants of all.

V. 22. With them-With Titus and Luke; our brother Perhaps Apollos. V. 23. My partner-In my cares and labours: the glory of Christ-Signal instruments of advancing his glory.

V. 24. Before the churches-Present by their messengers. '

CHAP. IX. Ver. 1. To write to you-Largelys

V. 2. I boast to them of Macedonia-With whom he then was,