TEXT.

14 Behold, the third time, I am ready to come to you; and will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

15 And I will very gladly spend, and be spent, for you, though, the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

16" But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless being crafty, "I caught you with guile."

17 Did I make a gain of you, by any of them, whom I sent unto you?

18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother; did Titus make a gain of you? Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps?

19 Again, think you that we excuse ourselves unto you? We speak

PARAPHRASE.

14 Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come unto you; but I will not be burdensome to you; for I seek not what is yours, but you: for it is not expected, nor usual, that children should lay up for 15 their parents, but parents * for their children. I will gladly lay out whatever is in my possession, or power; nay, even wear out and hazard myself for your soulst, though it should so fall out that the more I love you, the less I should be beloved by 16 you*. "Be it so, as some suggest, that I was not "burdensome to you; but it was in truth out of

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cunning, with a design to catch you, with that "trick, drawing from you, by others, what I re17" fused in person." In answer to which, I ask, Did I, by any of those, I sent unto you, make a 18 gain of you? I desired Titus to go to you, and with him I sent a brother: did Titus make a gain of you? Did not they behave themselves with the same temper, that I did, amongst you? Did we not walk in the same steps? i. e. neither they, nor 19 I, received any thing from you. Again §, do not,

14 Vid. 1 Cor. iv. 14, 15.

15

19

Vid. 2 Tim. ii. 10.

Vid. chap. vi. 12, 13.

NOTES.

He had before given the reason, chap. i. 23, of his not coming to them, with the like asseveration that he uses here. If we trace the thread of St. Paul's discourse here, we may observe, that having concluded the justifica

TEXT.

before God, in Christ; but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

20 For I fear, lest, 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:

PARAPHRASE.

upon my mentioning my sending of Titus to you, think that I apologize for my not coming myself: I speak, as in the presence of God, and as a christian, there is no such thing: in all my whole carriage towards you, beloved, all that has been done, has been done only for your edification. No, there is no need of an apology for my not coming to you 20 sooner: For I fear, when I do come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that you will find me such as you would not: I am afraid, that among you there are disputes, envyings, animosities, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings of mind, dis

NOTE.

tion of himself and his apostleship by his past actions, ver. 13, he had it in his thoughts to tell them, how he would deal with the false apostle, and his adherents, when he came, as he was ready now to do. And, therefore, solemnly begins, ver. 14, with "behold; " and tells them now, "the third time," he was ready to come to them, to which joining, (what was much upon his mind,) that he would not be burdensome to them, when he came, this suggested to his thoughts an objection, viz. that this personal shyness in him was but cunning; for that he designed to draw gain from them, by other hands. From which he clears himself, by the instance of Titus, and the brother, whom he had sent together to them, who were as far from receiving any thing from them, as he himself. Titus and his other messenger being thus mentioned, he thought it necessary to obviate another suspicion, that might be raised in the minds of some of them, as if he mentioned the sending of those two, as an apology for his not coming himself. This he disclaims utterly; and to prevent any thoughts of that kind, solemnly protests to them, that, in all his carriage to them, he had done nothing but for their edification ; nor had any other aim, in any of his actions, but purely that; and that he forebore coming merely out of respect and good-will to them. So that all, from "Behold, this third time, I am ready to come to you," ver. 14, to “this third time I am coming to you," chap. xiii. 1, must be looked on, as an incident discourse, that fell in occasionally, though tending to the same purpose with the rest; a way of writing very usual with our apostle, and with other writers, who abound in quickness and variety of thoughts, as he did. Such men are often, by new matter rising in their way, put by from what they were going, and had begun to say; which, therefore, they are fain to take up again, and continue at a distance: which St. Paul does bere, after the interposition of eight verses. Other instances of the like kind may be found in other places of St. Paul's writings,

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TEXT.

21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many, which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness, and fornication, and lasciviousness, which they have committed.

PARAPHRASE.

21 turbances: And that my God, when I come to you again, will humble me amongst you, and I shall bewail many, who have formerly sinned, and have not yet repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lasciviousness, whereof they are guilty.

SECT. IV. No. 9.

CHAP. XIII, 1-10.

CONTENTS.

HE re-assumes what he was going to say, ch. xii. 14, and tells them, how he intends to deal with them, when he comes to them: and assures them, that, however they question it, he shall be able, by miracles, to give proof of his authority and commission from Christ.

TEXT.

1 THIS is the third time I am coming to you: in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

2 I told you before, and foretel you, as if I were present the second time; and, being absent, now I write to them, which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

PARAPHRASE,

1 THIS is now, the third time, I am coming to you; and, when I come, I shall not spare you, having proceeded, according to our Saviour's rule, and endeavoured by fair means, first to reclaim you, before I 2 come to the last extremity. And of this my former

TEXT.

3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to youward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

PARAPHRASE.

epistle, wherein I applied myself to you, and this, wherein I now, as if I were present wiih you, foretel those, who have formerly sinned, and all the rest, to whom, being now absent, I write, that when I come, I will not spare you. I say, these two letters are my witnesses, according to our Saviour's rule, which says, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word 3 shall be established:" Since you demand a proof of my mission, and of what I deliver, that it is dictated by Christ speaking in me, who must be acknowledged not to be weak to you-ward, but has given sufficient

NOTE.

In

2*"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." These words seem to be quoted from the law of our Saviour, Matt. xviii. 16, and not from the law of Moses in Deuteronomy; not only because the words are the same with those in St. Matthew, but from the likeness of the case. Deuteronomy, the rule given concerns only judaical trials: in St. Matthew, it is a rule given for the management of persuasion, used for the reclaiming an offender, by fair means before coming to the utmost extremity, which is the case of St. Paul here: in Deuteronomy the judge was to hear the witnesses, Deut. xvii. 6, and xix, 15. In St. Matthew, the party was to hear the witnesses, Matt. xviii. 17, which was also the case of St. Paul here; the witnesses, which he means, that he made use of to persuade them, being his two epistles. That, by witnesses, he means his two epistles, is plain from his way of expressing himself here, where he carefully sets down his telling them twice, viz. " before," in his former epistle, chap. iv. 19, and now a "second time," in his second epistle; and also, by these words, w's wapov To deúтepov," as if I were "present with you a second time." By our Saviour's rule, the offended person was to go twice to the offender; and therefore St. Paul says, as if I were "with you a second time," counting his letters, as two personal applications to them, as our Saviour directed should be done, before coming to rougher means. Some take the witnesses to be the three messengers, by whom his first epistle is supposed to be seut. But this would not be, according to the method prescribed by our Saviour, in the place from which St. Paul takes the words he uses for there were no witnesses to be made use of, in the first application: neither, if those had been the witnesses meant, would there have been any need for St. Paul, so carefully and expressly, to have set down as wagav Tò deÚTεpov, as if present a second time," words which, in that case, would be superfluous. Besides, those three men are no where mentioned to have been sent by him, to persuade them, nor the corinthians required to hear them, or reproved for not having done it: and lastly, they could not be better witnesses of St. Paul's endeavours twice to gain the corinthians, by fair means, before he proceeded to severity, than the epistles themselves.

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TEXT.

4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God: for we also are weak in him, but we shall live, with him, by the power of God towards

you.

5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

6 But I trust that ye shall know, that we are not reprobates. 7 Now I pray to God, that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

PARAPHRASE.

of

4 marks of his power amongst you. For, though his crucifixion and death were with appearance weakness; yet he liveth with the manifestation* of the power of God, appearing in my punishing you. 5 You examine me, whether I can, by any miraculous operation, give a proof, that Christ is in me. Pray, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; make a trial upon yourselves, whether you yourselves are not somewhat destitute of proofs f. Or, are you so little acquainted with yourselves, as not 6 to know, whether Christ be in you? But, if you do not know yourselves, whether you can give proofs or no, yet I hope, you shall know, that I am not un 7 able to give proof† of Christ in me. But I pray to God that you may do no evil, wishing not for an opportunity to show my proofst: but that you, doing what is right, I may be, as if I had no proofs†, no supernatural

NOTES.

4 * 'E§ άσbevεías, "through weakness," èx duváμews 8, "by the power of "God," I have rendered "with the appearance of weakness, and with the "manifestation of the power of God; " which I think, the scuse of the place, and the style of the apostle, will justify. St. Paul, sometimes, uses the Greek prepositions, in a larger sense than that tongue ordinarily allows. Farther, it is evident, that, joined to άobeveías, has not a casual signification; and therefore, in the antithesis, ix dvráμews Oe, it cannot be taken casually. And it is usual for St. Paul, in such cases, to continue the same word, though it happens, sometimes, seemingly to carry the sense another way. In short, the meaning of the place is this: Though Christ, in his crucifixion, appeared weak and despicable; yet he "now lives, to show the power of God, in the mira"cles, and mighty works, which he does: so I, though I, by my sufferings and "infirmities, appear weak and contemptible; yet shall I live to show the "power of God, in punishing you miraculously."

5, 6, 7 + 'Adónio, translated here "reprobates," 'tis plain in these three verses has no such signification, reprobation being very remote from the argu