TEXT. 10 As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; 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 ye are straitened in your own bowels. 13 Now, for a recompence 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 righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth, with an intidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For PARAPHRASE. obscure, unknown man, but yet known and owned; as one often in danger of death, and yet, behold, I live; as 10 chastened, but yet not killed; As sorrowful, but yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as hav11 ing nothing, and yet possessing all things. O ye corin thians, my mouth is opened to you, my heart is enlarged" to you; my affection, my tenderness, my compliance 12 for you is not strait, or narrow. It is your own narrow13 ness makes you uneasy. Let me speak to you, as a father to his children; in return, do you, likewise, enlarge 14 your affections and deference to me. Be ye not associated with unbelievers, having nothing to do with them in their vices, or worship": for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion 15 hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath a believer with an un 16 believer? What agreement hath the temple of God NOTES. 11 Another argument, St. Paul makes use of, to justify and excuse his plainness of speech to the corinthians, is the great affection he has for them, which he here breaks out into an expression of, in a very pathetical manner. This, with an exhortation to separate from idolaters and unbelievers, is what he insists on, from this place to chap. vii. 16. 14 w Vid. chap. vii. 1. 15 Belial is a general name for all the false gods, worshipped by the idolatrous gentiles. TEXT. 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 their God, " and they shall be my people." 17 Wherefore, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, "saith the Lord, 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 daughters," saith the Lord Almighty. 66 VII. 1 Having therefore these promises, (dearly beloved) let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the 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. SI speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that you 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 filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful, in all our tribulation. PARAPHRASE. with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, "I will dwell in them, among them "will I walk; and I will be their God, and they shall 17" be my people." Wherefore, "Come out from among "them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not 18 "the unclean thing, and I will receive you to me; And "I will be a Father, and ye shall be my sons and daughVII. 1 "ters,” saith the Lord Almighty. Having, therefore, these promises, (dearly beloved) let us cleanse ourselves from the defilement of all sorts of sins, whether of body or mind, endeavouring after perfect holiness, in the 2 fear of God. Receive me, as one to be hearkened to, as one to be followed, as one that hath done nothing to forfeit your esteem. I have wronged no man: I have 3 corrupted no man: I have defrauded no man'. I say not this to reflect on your carriage towards me: for I have already assured you, that I have so great an affec4 tion for you, that I could live and die with you. But, NOTES. 2 y This seems to insinuate the contrary behaviour of their false apostle. Sz Vid. 1 Cor. iv. 3, 2 Cor. x. 2, and xi. 20, 21, and xiii. 3. TEXT. 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 comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us, by the coming of Titus: 7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation, wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more. 8 For, though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent; though I did repent; for I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, 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. PARAPHRASE. in the transport of my joy, I use great liberty of speech towards you. But let it not be thought to be of ill-will, for I boast much of you: I am filled with comfort, and 5 my joy abounds exceedingly in all my afflictions. For when I came to Macedonia, I had no respite from continual trouble, that beset me on every side. From without, I met with strife and opposition, in preaching the gospel: and within, I was filled with fear, upon your account; lest the false apostle, continuing his credit and faction amongst you, should pervert you from the simplicity of the gospel. 6 But God, who comforteth those who are cast down, com7 forted me, by the coming of Titus. Not barely by his presence, but by the comfort I received from you, by him, when he acquainted me with your great desire of conforming yourselves to my orders; your trouble for any neglects, you have been guilty of, towards me; the great warmth of your affection and concern for me; so that I 8 rejoiced the more, for my past fears; Having writ to you a letter, which I repented of, but now do not repent of, perceiving, that, though that letter grieved you, it made 9 you sad but for a short time: But now I rejoice, not that NOTE. 5 a Vid. chap. xi. §. TEXT. 10 For godly sorrow 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 yourselves; yea, what indignation; yea, what fear; yea, what vehement desire; yea, what zeal; yea, what revenge! in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. PARAPHRASE. you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to repentance. For this proved a beneficial sorrow, acceptable to God, that, in nothing, you might have cause 10 to complain, that you were damaged by me. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of: but sorrow arising from worldly interest, 11 worketh death. In the present case, mark it, that godly sorrow, which you had, what carefulness it wrought in you, to conform yourselves to my orders; yea, what clearing yourselves from your former miscarriages; yea, what indignation against those who led you into them; yea, what fear to offend me; yea, what vehement desire of satisfying me; yea, what zeal for me; yea, what revenge against yourselves, for having been so misled! You have shown yourselves to be set right*, and be, as you should be, in every thing, by this carriage of yours t. NOTES. 11 b St. Paul writing to those, who knew the temper they were in, and what were the objects of the several passions, which were raised in them, doth both here, and in the seventh verse, forbear to mention, by, and to, what they were moved, out of modesty, and respect to them. This is necessary, for the information of ordinary readers, to be supplied, as can be best collected from the main design of the apostle, in these two epistles, and from several passages, giving us light in it. c Vid. ver. 15. "Clear." This word answers very well dyros, in the Greek: but then, to be clear, in English, is generally understood to signify, not to have been guilty; which could not be the sense of the apostle, he having charged the corinthians so warmly, in his first epistle. His meaning must therefore be," that they had now resolved on a contrary course, and were so far "clear," i. e. were set right, and in good disposition again, as he describes it, in the former part of this verse. + And therefore I think it pálpar. may be best rendered "in fact," i.e. by your sorrow, your fear, your indignation, your zeal, &c. I think it cannot well be translated," in this matter," understanding thereby the punishment of the fornicator. For that was not the mat, TEXT. 12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause, that had done the wrong, nor for his cause, that suffered wrong, but that our care for you, in the sight of God, might appear unto you. 13 Therefore, we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we, for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. 14 For 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 Titus, is found a truth. PARAPHRASE. 12 If, therefore, I wrote unto you, concerning the fornicator, it was not for his sake, that had done, nor his that had suffered, the wrong; but principally, that my care and concern for you might be made known to you, as 13 in the presence of God. Therefore, I was comforted in your comfort: but much more exceedingly rejoiced I, in the joy of Titus; because his mind was set at ease, by the good disposition he found you all in towards 14 me. So that I am not ashamed of having boasted of you to him. For all that I have said to you, is truth; so, what I said to Titus, in your commendation, he has NOTES. ter St. Paul had been speaking of; but the corinthians siding with the false apostle against him, was the subject of the preceding part of this, and of the three or four foregoing chapters; wherein he justifies himself against their slanders, and invalidates the pretences of the adverse party. This is that, which lay chiefly upon his heart, and which he labours, might and main, both in this and the former epistle, to rectify, as the foundation of all the disorders amongst them; and, consequently, is the matter, wherein he rejoices to find them all set right. Indeed, in the immediately following verse, he mentions his having writ to them, concerning the fornicator; but it is only as an argument of his kindness and concern for them: but that, which was the great cause of his rejoicing, what it was that gave him the great satisfaction, was the breaking of the faction, and the re-uniting them "all" to himself, which he expresses in the word "all," emphatically used, ver. 13, 15; and, from thence, he concludes thus, ver. 16, "I rejoice, therefore, that I have confi"dence in you in all things." His mind was now at rest, the partisans of his opposer, the false apostle, having forsaken that leader, whom they had so much gloried in, and being all now come over to St. Paul, he doubted not, but all would go well; and so leaves off the subject he had been upon, in the seven foregoing chapters, viz. the justification of himself, with here and there reflec tions on that false apostle. |