In the next place, he, with a solemn asseveration, professes, that it was to spare them, that he came not to them. This he explains, ch. i. 23, and ii. 2, 3.

He gives another reason, ch. ii. 12, 13, why he went on to Macedonia, without coming to Corinth, as he had purposed; and that was the uncertainty he was in, by the not coming of Titus, what temper they were in at Corinth. Having mentioned his journey to Macedonia, he takes notice of the success which God gave to him there, and every where, declaring of what consequence his preaching was, both to the salvation, and condemnation, of those who received or rejected it; professing again his sincerity and disinterestedness, not without a severe reflection on their false apostle. All which we find in the following verses, viz. ch. ii. 14-17, and is all very suitable, and pursuant to his design in this epistle, which was to establish his authority and credit amongst the Corinthians.

TEXT.

15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that you might have a second benefit;

16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again, out of Macedonia, unto you; and, of you, to be brought on my way, towards Judea.

17 When I, therefore, was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? 18 But, as God is true, our word toward

PARAPHRASE.

you was not yea and nay.

15 Having this persuasion, (viz.) of your love and esteem of me, I purposed to come unto you ere this, that you might have a 16 second gratification; And to take you in my way to Macedonia, and from thence return to you again, and, by you, be 17 brought on in my way to Judea. If this fell not out so as I purposed, am I, therefore, to be condemned of fickleness? Or am I to be thought an uncertain man, that talks forwards and backwards, one that has no regard to his word, any far18 ther than may suit his carnal interest? But God is my ness, that what you have heard from me has not been uncer

a

NOTE.

wit

15 By the word yάp, which our Bibles translate "benefit," or grace," it is plain the apostle means his being present among them a second time, without giving them any grief or displeasure. He had been with them before, almost two years together, with satisfaction and kindness. He intended them another visit; but it was, he says, that they might have the like gratification, i. e. the like satisfaction in his company a second time, which is the same he says 2 Cor. ii. 1.

TEXT.

19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by and us, even by me, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, was not yea nay, but in him was yea.

20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us.

21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit, in our hearts.

PARAPHRASE.

19 tain, deceitful, or variable. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you, by me, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, was not sometimes one thing, and sometimes another; but has been shown to be uniformly one and the same, 20 in the counsel or revelation of God. (For all the promises of God do all consent, and stand firm, in him) to the glory 21 of God, by my preaching. Now it is God, who establishes me with you for the preaching of the Gospel, who has anoint22 ed b, And also sealed me, and given me the earnest of his Spirit in my heart.

с

NOTES.

21" Anointed," i. e. set apart to be an apostle, by an extraordinary call. Priests and prophets were set apart, by anointing, as well as kings.

22 "Sealed," i. e. by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost; which are an evidence of the truths he brings from God, as a seal is of a letter.

d “Earnest” of eternal life; for of that the Spirit is mentioned, as a pledge, in more places than one, vid. 2 Cor. v. 5. Eph. i. 13, 14. All these are arguments to satisfy the Corinthians, that St. Paul was not, nor could be, a shuffling man, that minded not what he said, but as it served his turn.

The reasoning of St. Paul, ver. 18-22, whereby he would convince the Corinthians, that he is not a fickle, unsteady man, that says or unsays, as may suit his humour or interest, being a little obscure, by reason of the shortness of his style here, which has left many things to be supplied by the reader, to connect the parts of the argumentation, and make the deduction clear; I hope I shall be pardoned, if I endeavour to set it in its clear light, for the sake of ordinary readers.

"God hath set me apart, to the ministry of the Gospel, by an extraordinary call; has attested my mission, by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, and given me the earnest of eternal life, in my heart, by his Spirit; and hath confirmed me, amongst you, in preaching the Gospel, which is all uniform, and of a piece, as I have preached it to you, without tripping in the least; aud there, to the glory of God, have shown that all the promises concur, and are unalterably certain in Christ. I therefore, having never faltered in any thing I have said to you, and having all these attestations, of being under the special direction and guidance of God himself, who is unalterably true, cannot be suspected of dealing doubly with you, in any thing, relating to my ministry.

TEXT.

23 Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy for by faith ye stand.

II. 1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.

2 For if I make you sorry, who is he, 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 confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of

you all.

PARAPHRASE.

23 Moreover, I call God to witness, and may I die if it is not so, 24 that it was to spare you, that I came not yet to Corinth. Not that I pretend to such a dominion over your faith, as to require you to believe what I have taught you, without coming to you, when I am expected there, to maintain and make it good; for it is by that faith you stand: but I forbore to come, as one concerned to preserve and help forward your joy, which I am tender of, and therefore declined coming to you, whilst I thought you in an estate, that would require severity II. 1 from me, that would trouble you. I purposed in myself,

it is true, to come to you again, but I resolved too, it should 2 be without bringing sorrow with me. For if I grieve you, who is there, when I am with you, to comfort me, but those 3 very persons whom I have discomposed with grief? And this very thing, which made you sad, I writ to you, not coming

NOTES.

24 It is plain, St. Paul's doctrine had been opposed by some of them at Corinth, vid. 1 Cor. xv. 12. His apostleship questioned, 1 Cor. ix. 1, 2. 2 Cor. xiii. 3. He himself triumphed over, as if he durst not come, 1 Cor. iv. 18, they saying "his letters were weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence weak, and his speech contemptible;" 2 Cor. x. 10. This being the state his reputation was then in, at Corinth, and he having promised to come to them, 1 Cor. xvi. 5, he could not but think it necessary to excuse his failing them by reasons that should be both convincing and kind; such as are contained in this verse, in the sense given of it.

1 f That this is the meaning of this verse, and not that he would not come to them, in sorrow, a second time, is past doubt, since he had never been with them in sorrow a first time. Vid. 2 Cor. i. 15.

33 Kal éypava iμîv touto avrò, “ and I writ to you this very thing." That éypava, "I writ," relates, here, to the first epistle to the Corinthians, is evident, because it is so used, in the very next verse, and again a little lower, ver. 9. What, therefore, is it in his first epistle, which he here calls TOUTO autò," this very thing," which he had writ to them? I answer, The punishment of the fornicator. This is plain, by what follows here, to ver. 11, especially, if it be compared with 1 Cor. iv. 21, and v. 8. For there he writes to them, to punish VOL. VIII.

TEXT.

4 For, out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears; not that you should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part ; that I may not overcharge you all.

6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many.

7 So that, contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him; lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with over-much

sorrow.

8 Wherefore, I beseech you, that ye would confirm your love towards him.

PARAPHRASE.

myself; on purpose that, when I came, I might not have sorrow from those, from whom I ought to receive comfort: having this belief and confidence in you all, that you, all of you, make my joy and satisfaction so much your own, that you would remove all cause of disturbance before I came. 4 For I writ unto you with great sadness of heart and many tears; not with intention to grieve you, but that you might know the overflow of tenderness and affection which I have 5 for you. But if the fornicator has been the cause of grief, I do not say, he has been so to me, but in some degree to you 6 all; that I may not lay a load on him". The correction he hath received from the majority of you is sufficient in the 7 case. So that, on the contrary, it is fit rather that you forgive and comfort him, lest he should be swallowed up by an ex8 cess of sorrow. Wherefore, I beseech you to confirm your

NOTES.

that person; whom if he, St. Paul, had come himself, before it was done, he must have come, as he calls it, with a rod, and have himself chastised: but now, that he knows that the Corinthians had punished him, in compliance to his letter; and he had this trial of their obedience; he is so far from continuing the severity, that he writes to them to forgive him, and take him again into their affection.

5h St. Paul being satisfied with the Corinthians, for their ready compliance with his orders, in his former letter, to punish the fornicator, intercedes to have him restored; and, to that end, lessens his fault, and declares, however he might have caused grief to the Corinthians, yet he had caused none to him. * : Τοὐναντίον, 66 on the contrary," here, has nothing to refer to, but imbap, "overcharge," in the 5th verse, which makes that belong to the fornicator, as I have explained it.

K'O TOIDUTOS, “such an one," meaning the fornicator. It is observable how tenderly St. Paul deals with the Corinthians, in this epistle; for though he treats of the fornicator, from the 5th to the 10th verse inclusively; yet he never mentions him under that, or any other disobliging title, but in the soft and inoffensive terms, "of any one," or "snch an one." And that, possibly, may be the reason why he says, μǹ iwiểaçã, indefinitely, without naming the person it relates to.

TEXT.

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 also: for, if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it, in the person of Christ.

11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices.

12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas, to preach Christ's Gospel, 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 Macedonia. 14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.

PARAPHRASE.

9 love to him, which I doubt not of. For this, also, was one end of my writing to you, viz. To have a trial of you, and to know whether you are ready to obey me in all things. 10 To whom you forgive any thing, I also forgive. For if I have

forgiven any thing, I have forgiven it to him for your sakes, 11 by the authority, and in the name of Christ; That we may not be over-reached by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his wiles.

12 Furthermore, being arrived at Troas, because Titus, whom I expected from Corinth, with news of you, was not come, I was very uneasy there; insomuch that I made not use of the opportunity, which was put into my hands by the Lord, of 13 preaching the Gospel of Christ, for which I came thither. I hastily left those of Troas, and departed thence to Macedonia. 14 But thanks be to God, in that he always makes me triumph every where, through Christ, who gives me success in preaching the Gospel, and spreads the knowledge of Christ by 15 me. For my ministry, and labour in the Gospel, is a service, or sweet-smelling sacrifice to God, through Christ, both in

NOTES.

12 How uneasy he was, and upon what account, see ch. vii. 5-16. It was not barely for Titus's absence, but for want of the news he brought with him ; ch. vii. 7.

14 m "Who makes me triumph every where," i. e. in the success of my preaching, in my journey to Macedonia; and also in my victory, at the same time, at Corinth, over the false apostles, my opposers, that had raised a faction against me amongst you. This, I think, is St. Paul's meaning, and the reason of his using the word triumph, which implies contest and victory, though he places that word so, as modestly to cover it.