8 We are troubled b on every side, yet not distressed; we are
them live in any considerable degree as becometh the followers of the Redeemer, it is wonderful that God blesses their labours as he does; and the matter of amazement is not that no more are converted under their ministry, but it is that so many are converted, or that any are converted; and it is manifest that it is the mere power of God. (3.) He often makes use of the most feeble, and unlearned, and weak of his servants to accomplish the greatest effects. It is not splendid talents, or profound learning, or distinguished eloquence that is always or even commonly most successful. Often the ministry of such is entirely barren; while some humble and obscure man shall have constant success, and revivals shall attend him wherever he goes. It is the man of faith, and prayer, and self-denial that is blessed; and the purpose of God in the ministry, as in every thing else, is to " stain the pride of all human glory" and to show that he is all in all.
8. We are troubled. We the apostles. Paul here refers to some of the trials to which he and his fellowlabourers were subjected in making known the gospel. The design for which he does it seems to be to show them, (1.) What they endured in preaching the truth; (2.) To show the sustaining power of that gospel in the midst of afflictions; and, (3.) To conciliate their favour, or to remind them that they had endured these things on their account, ver. 12 — 15. Perhaps one leading design was to recover the affections of those of the Corinthians whose hearts had been alienated from him, by showing them how much he had endured on their account. For this purpose he freely opens his heart to them, and tenderly represents the many and grievous pressures and hardships to which love to souls, and theirs among the rest, had exposed him. — Doddridge. The whole passage is one of the most pathetic and beautiful to be found in the New Testament. The word rendered troubled (d-hiSoutvot, from $-Kifia>) may have reference to wrestling, or to the contests in the Grecian games. It properly means, to press, to press together; then to press as in a crowd where there is a throng (Mark iii. 9); then to compress together (Matt. vii. 14); and then to oppress, or compress with evils, to distress, to afflict. 2 Thess. i. 6. 2 Cor. i. 6. Here it may mean, that he was encompassed with trials, or placed in the midst of them, so that they pressed upon him as persons do in a crowd, or, possibly, as a man was close pressed by an adversary in the games. He refers to the fact that he was called to endure a great number of trials and afflictions. Some of those trials he refers to in ch. vii. 5. " When we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears." ^ On every side. In every respect. In every way. We are subjected to all kinds of trial and affliction. % Yet not distressed. This by no means expresses the force of the original; nor is it possible perhaps to express it in a translation. Tindal renders it, " yet we are not without our shift." The Greek word here used (<rrevc,%u^'ju&Gi) has a relation to the word which is rendered " troubled." It properly means to crowd into a narrow place; to straiten as to room; to be so straitened as not to be able to turn one's self. And the idea is, that though he was close pressed by persecutions and trials, yet he was not so hemmed in that he had no way to turn himself; his trials did not wholly prevent motion and action. He was not so closely pressed as a man would be who was so straitened that he could not move his body, or stir hand or foot. He had still resources; he was permitted to move; the energy of his piety, and the vigour of his soul could not be entirely cramped and impeded by the trials which
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
encompassed him. The Syriac renders it, "In all things we are pressed, but are not suffocated." The idea is, he was* not wholly discouraged, and disheartened, and overcome. He had resources in his piety which enabled him to bear up under these trials, and still to engage in the work of preaching the gospel. | Weareperplrxed (uTtgovjuivct). This word (from a7rc^, without resource, which is derived from st, priv., and?rogos, way, or exit) means to be without resource; to know not what to do; to hesitate; to be in doubt and anxiety, as a traveller is, who is ignorant of the way, or who has not the means of prosecuting his journey. It means here, that they were often brought into circumstances of great embarrassment, where they hardly knew what to do, or what course to take. They were surrounded by foes; they were in want; they were in circumstances which they had not anticipated, and which greatly perplexed them. ^ But not in despair. In the margin, " not altogether without help or means." Tindal renders this, '*' We are in poverty, but not utterly without somewhat." In the word here used,(i{;x7r&govjutvci) the preposition is intensive or emphatic, and means utterly, quite. The word means to be utterly without resource; to despair altogether; and the idea of Paul here is, that they were not left entirely without resource. Their wants were provided for; their embarrassments were removed; their grounds of perplexity were taken away; and unexpected strength and resources were imparted to them. When they did not know what to do; when all resources seemed to fail them, in some unexpected manner they would be relieved and saved from absolute despair How often does this occur in the lives of all Christians! And how certain is it, that in all such cases God will interpose by his grace and aid his people, and save them from absolute despair.
of the Apostles" show how true this was. % But not forsaken. Not deserted; not left by God. Though persecuted by men, yet they experienced the fulfilment of the divine promise that h) would never leave or forsake them. God always interposed to aid them; aiways saved them from the power of their enemies; always sustained them in the time of persecution. It is still true. His people have been often persecuted. Yet God has often interposed to save them from the hands of their enemies; and where he has not saved them from their hands, and preserved their fives, yet he has never left them, but has sustained, upheld, and comforted them even in the dreadful agonies of death, t Cast down. Thrown down by our enemies, perhaps in allusion to the contests of wrestlers, or of gladiators. % But not destroyed. Not killed. They rose again; they recovered their strength; they were prepared for new conflicts. They surmounted every difficulty, and were ready to engage in new strifes, and to meet new trials and persecutions.
10. Always bearing about in the body. The expression here used is designed to show the great perils to which Paul was exposed. And the idea is, that he had on his body the marks, the stripes and marks of punishment and persecution, which showed that he was exposed to the same violent death which the Lord Jesus himself endured. Comp. Gal. vi. 17: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." It is a strong energetic mode of expression, to denote the severity of the trials to which he was exposed, and the meaning is, that his body bore the marks of his being exposed to the same treatment as the Lord Jesus was; and evidence that he was probably yet to die in a similar manner under the hands of persecutors. Comp. Col. i. 24. ^ The dying of the Lord Jesus. The death; the violent death. A death similar to that of the Lord Jesus. The idea is, that he was the body the dying of the Lord always exposed to death, and always suffering in a manner that was equivalent to dying. The expression is parallel to what he says in 1 Cor. xv. 31. " I die daily f and in 2 Cor. xi. 23, where he says, "in deaths oft." It does not mean that he bore about literally the dying of the Lord Jesus, but that he was exposed to a similar death, and had marks on his person which showed that he was always exposed to the same violent death. This did not occur once only, or at distant intervals, but it occurred constantly, and wherever he was it was still true that he was exposed to violence, and liable to suffer in the same manner that the Lord Jesus did, U That the life also of Jesus, &c. This passage has received a considerable variety of interpretation. Grotius renders it, " such a life as was that of Christ, immortal, blessed, heavenly." Locke " That also the life of Jesus, risen from the dead may be made manifest bj' the energy that accompanies my preaching in this frail body." Clarke supposes that it means, that he might be able in this manner to show that Christ was risen from the dead. But perhaps, Paul does not refer to one single thing in the life of the Lord Jesus, but means that he did this in order that in all things the same life, the same kind of living which characterized the Lord Jesus might be manifested in him; or that he resembled him in his sufferings and trials, in order that in all things he might have the same life in his body. Perhaps, therefore, it may include the following things as objects at which the apostle aimed. (1.) A desire that his life might resemble that of the Lord Jesus. That there might be the same self-denial; the same readiness to suffer; the same patience in trials; the same meekness, gentleness, zeal, ardour, love to God, and love to men evinced in his body which was in that of the Lord Jesus. Thus understood, it means that he placed the Lord Jesus before him a9 the model of his life, and deemed it an
Jesus, that a the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
1 1 For we which live are * alway delivered unto death for
object to be attained even by great selfdenial and sufferings to be conformed to him. (2.) A desire to attain to the same life in the resurrection which the Lord Jesus had attained to. A desire to be made like him, and that in his body which bore about the dying of the Lord Jesus, he might asjain live after death as the Lord Jesus did. Thus understood, it implies an earnest wish to attain to the resurrection of the dead and accords with what he says in Phil. iii. 8 — 11, which may perhaps be considered as Paul's own commentary on this passage, which has been so variously, and so little understood by expositors. " Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Comp. Col. i. 24. It intimates Paul's earnest desire and longing to be made like Christ in the resurrection (comp. Phil. iii. 21); his longing to rise again in the last day (comp. Acts xxvi. 7); his sense of the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection and his readiness to suffer any thing if he might at last attain to the resurrection of the just, and be ready to enter with the Redeemer into a world of glory. The attainment of this is the high object before the Christian, and to be made like the Redeemer in heaven, to have a body like his, is the grand purpose for which they should live; and sustained by this hope they should be willing to endure any trials, and meet any sufferings, if they may
Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then c death workethin us, but life in you.
1 1. For we which live. Those of us, the apostles and ministers of the Redeemer who still survive. James the brother of John had been put to death (Acts xii. 2); and it is probable also that some other of the apostles had been also. This verse is merely explanatory of the previous verse. % Are ahvay delivered unto death. Exposed constantly to death. This shows what is meant in ver. 10, by bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. See Note on 1 Cor. xv. 31. If In our mortal flesh. In our body. In our life on earth; and in our glorified body in heaven. See Note on ver. 10.
12. So then death worheth in us. We are exposed to death. The preaching of the gospel exposes us to trials which may be regarded as death working in us. Death has an energy over us (ivigyurai, is at work, is active, or operates); it is constantly employed in inflicting pains on us, and subjecting us to privation and trials. This is a strong and emphatic mode of saying that they were always exposed to death. We are called to serve and glorify the Redeemer, as it were, by repeated deaths and by constantly dying. ^ But life in you. You live as the effect of our being constantly exposed to death. You reap the advantage of all our exposure to trials, and of all our sufferings. You are comparatively safe; are freed from this exposure to death; and will receive eternal life as the fruit of our toils, and exposures. Life here may refer either to exemption from danger and death; or it may refer to the life of religion; the hopes of piety; the prospect of eternal salvation. To me it seems most probable that Paul means to use it in the latter sense, and
13 We having the same a spirit of faith, according as it is writ-
that he designs to say that while he was exposed to death and called to endure constant trial, the effect would be that they would obtain, in consequence of his sufferings, the blessedness of eternal life. Comp. ver. 15. Thus understood, this passage means, that the sufferings and self-denials of the apostles were for the good of others, and would result in their benefit and salvation; and the design of Paul here is to remind them of his sufferings in their behalf, in order to conciliate their favour and bind them more closely to him by the remembrance of his sufferings on their account.
13. We having the same spirit of faith. The same spirit that is expressed in the quotation which he is about to make; the same faith which the psalmist had. We have the very spirit of faith which is expressed by David. The sense is, we have the same spirit of faith which he had who said, " I believed,'' <fec. The phrase " spirit of faith," means substantially the same as faith itself; a believing sense or impression of the truth, 1 According as it is written. This passage is found in Ps. cxvi. 10. When the psalmist uttered the words, he was greatly afflicted. See ver. 3. 6 — 8. In these circumstances, he prayed to God, and expressed confidence in him, and placed all his reliance on him. In his affliction he spoke to God; he spoke of his confidence in him; he proclaimed his reliance on him; and his having spoken in this manner was the result of his belief, or of his putting confidence in God. Paul, in quoting this, does not mean to say that the psalmist had any reference to the preaching of the gospel; nor does he mean to say that his circumstances were in all respects like those of the psalmist. 1 he circumstances resembled each other only in these respects, (1.) That Paul, like the psalmist, was in circumstances of trial and affliction;
have I spoken; we also believe and therefore speak;
and, (2.) That the language which both used was that which was prompted by faith — faith, which led them to give utterance to the sentiments of their hearts; the psalmist to utter his confidence in God, and the hopes by which he was sustained, and Paul to utter his belief in the glorious truths of the gospel; to speak of a risen Saviour and to show forth the consolations which were thus set before men in the gospel. The sentiments of both were the language of faith. Both, in afflictions, uttered the language of faith; and Paul uses here, as he often does, the language of the Old Testament, as exactly expressing his feelings, and the principles by which he was actuated. *[ We also believe, &c. We believe in the truths of the gospel; we believe in God, in the Saviour, in the atonement, in the resurrection, &c. The sentiment is, that they had a firm confidence in these things, and that, as the result of that confidence they boldly delivered their sentiments. It prompted them to give utterance to their feelings. " Out of the abundance of the heart," said the Saviour, " the mouth speaketh." Matt. xii. 34. No man should attempt to preach the gospel who has not a firm belief of its truths; and he who does believe its truths will be prompted to make them known to his fellow-men. All successful preaching is the result of a firm and settled conviction of the truth of the gospel; and when such a conviction exists, it is natural to give utterance to the belief, and such an expression will be attended with happy influences on the minds of other men. See Note on Acts iv. 20.
11. Knowing. Being fully confident; having the most entire assurance. It was the assured hope of the resurrection which sustained them in all their trials. This expression denotes the full and unwavering belief, in the minds
raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For a all things are for your sakes, that the abundant
of the apostles, that the doctrines which they preached were true. They knew that they were revealed from heaven, and that all the promises of God would be fulfilled. 1 Shall raise up us also. All Christians. In the hope of the resurrection they were ready to meet trials, and even to die. Sustained by this assurance, the apostles went forth amidst persecutions and opposition, for they knew that their trials would soon end, and that they would be raised up in the morning of the resurrection, to a world of eternal glory. ^ By Jesus. By the power or the agency of Jesus. Christ will raise up the dead from their graves. John v. 25 — 29. *f And shall present us with you. Will present us before the throne of glory with exceeding joy and honour. He will present us to God as those who have been redeemed by his biood. He will present us in the courts of heaven, before the throne of the eternal Father, as his ransomed people; as recovered from the ruins of the fall; as saved by the merits of his blood. They shall not only be raised up from the dead; but they shall be publicly and solemnly presented to God as his, as recovered to his service, and as having a title in the covenant of grace to the blessedness of heaven.
1 5. For all things are for your sakes. All these things; these glorious hopes, and truths, and prospects; these selfdenials of the apostles, and these provisions of the plan of mercy. ^ For your sakes. On your account. They are designed to promote your salvation. They are not primarily for the welfare of those who engage in these toils and self-denials; but the whole arrangement and execution of the plan of salvation, and all the self-denial evinced by those who are engaged in making that plan known, are in order that you might be
grace b might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause c we faint not; but though our outward
benefited. One object of Paul in this statement, doubtless, is, to conciliate their favour, and remove the objections which had been made to him by a faction in the church at Corinth. ^ That the abundant grace. Grace abounding, or overflowing. The rich mercy of God that should be manifested by these means. It is implied here, that grace would abound by means of these labours and self-denials of the apostles. The grace referred to here is that which would be conferred on them in consequence of these labours. ^ Through the thanksgiving of many. That many may have occasion of gratitude to God; that by these labours more persons may be led to praise him. It was an object with Paul so to labour that as many as possible might be led to praise God, and have occasion to thank him to all eternity. % Redound to the glory of God. That God may have augmented praise; that his glory in the salvation of men may abound. The sentiment of the passage is, that it would be for the glory of God that as many as possible should be brought to give praise and thanksgivings to him; and that, therefore, Paul endeavoured to make as many converts as possible. He denied himself; he welcomed toil; he encountered enemies; he subjected himself to dangers; and he sought by all means possible to bring as many as could be brought to piaise God. The word *' redound" (V^^ti/a) here means abound, or be abundant; and the sense is, that the overflowing grace thus evinced in the salvation oj many would so abound as to promote the glory of God.
16. For which cause. With such an object in view, and sustained by such elevated purposes and desires The sense.s, that the purpose of trying to save as many a* possible would make man perish, yet the inward a man is renewed day by day.
toil easy, privations welcome, and would be so accompanied by the grace of God, as to gird the soul with strength, and fill it with abundant consolations, f We faint not. For an explanation of the word here used, see Note on ver. 1. We are not exhausted, desponding, or disheartened. We are sustained, encouraged, emboldened by having such an object' in view. 1 But though our outward man perish. By outward man, Paul evidently means the body. By using the phrases, " the outward man," and the " inward man," he shows that he believed that man was made up of two parts, body and soul. He was no materialist. He has described two parts as constituting man, so distinct, that while the one perishes, the other is renewed; while the one is enfeebled, the other is strengthened; while the one grows old and decays, the other renews its youth and is invigorated. Of course, the soul is not dependent on the body for its vigour and strength, since it expands while the body decays; and of course the soul may exist independently of the body, and in a separate state. 1 Perish. Grows old; becomes weak and feeble; loses its vigour and elasticity under the many trials which we endure, and under the infirmities of advancing years. It is a characteristic of the " outer man," that it thus perishes. Great as may be its vigour, yet it must decay and die. It cannot long bear up under the trials of life, and the wear and tear of constant action, but must soon sink to the grave, f Yet the inward man. The soul; the undecaying, the immortal part, f Is renewed. Is renovated, strengthened, invigorated. His powers of mind expanded; his courage became bolder; he had clearer views of truth; he had more faith in God. As he drew nearer to the grave and to heaven, his soul was more raised above the world and he was more filled with the joys and tri-
17 For b our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
umphs of the gospel. The understanding and the heart did not sympathize with the suffering and decaying body; but, while that became feeble, the soul acquired new strength, and was fitting for its flight to the eternal world. This verse is an ample refutation of the doctrine of the materialist, and proves that there is in man something that is distinct from decaying and dying matter, and that there is a principle which may gain augmented strength and power, while the body dies. Comp. Note, Rom. vii. 22. Tf Day by day. Constantly. There was a daily and constant increase of inward vigour. God imparted to him constant strength in his trials, and sustained him with the hopes of heaven, as the body was decaying, and tending to the grave. The sentiment of this verse is, that in an effort to do good, and to promote the salvation of man, the soul will be sustained in trials, and will be comforted and invigorated even when the body is weary, grows old, decays, and dies. It is the testimony of Paul respecting his own experience; and it is a fact which has been experienced by thousands in their efforts to do good, and to save the souls of men from death. 17. For our light affliction. This verse, with the following, is designed to show further the sources of consolation and support which Paul and his fellow-labourers had in their many trials. Bloomfield remarks on this passage, that " in energy and beauty of expression, it is little inferior to any in Demosthenes himself, to whom, indeed, and to Thucydides ' in his orations, the style of the apostle, when it rises to the oratorical, bears no slight resemblance." The passage abounds with intensive and emphatic expressions, and manifests that the mind of the writer was labouring to convey ideas which language, even after all the energy of expression which he could command, would very imperfectly communicate. The trials which Paul endured, to many persons would have seemed to be any thing else but light. They consisted of want, and danger, and contempt, and stoning, and toil, and weariness, and the scorn of the world, and constant exposure to death by land or by sea. See ver. 7 — 10. comp. ch. xi. 23 — 27. Yet these trials, though continued through many years, and constituting, as it were, his very life, he speaks of as the lightest conceivable thing when compared with that eternal glory which awaited him. He strives to get an expression as emphatic as possible to show that in his estimation they were not worthy to be named in comparison with the eternal weight of glory. It is not sufficient to say that the affliction was " light" or was a mere trifle; but he says that it was to endure but for a moment. Though trials had followed him ever since he began to make known the Redeemer, and though he had the firmest expectation that they would follow him to the end of life and everywhere (Acts xx. 23), yet all this was a momentary trifle compared with the eternal glory before him. The word rendered "light" («a*<^cv) means that which is easy to bear, and is usually applied to a burden. See Matt. xi. 30. Comp. 2 Cor. i. 17. If Which is but for a moment. The Greek word here used (jra^styTMtci) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is an adverb, from t-jrUst, euros, and means properly, at this very instant; immediately. Here it seems to qualify the word " light," and to be used in the sense of momentary, transient. Bloomfield renders it, " for the at present lightness of our affliction." Doddridge, " for this momentary lightness of our affliction, which passes off bo fast, and leaves so little impression that it may be called levity itself." The apostle evidently wished to express two ideas in as emphatic a manner as possible; first, that the affliction was light, and, secondly, that it was transient, momentary, and soon passing away.
His object is to contrast this with the glory that awaited him, as being heavy, and as being also eternal. % Worketh for us. See Note, ver. 12. Will produce, will result in. The effect of these afflictions is to produce eternal glory. This they do, (1.) By their tendency to wean us from the world; (2.) To purify the heart, by enabling us to break off from the sins on account of which God afflicts us; (3.) By disposing us to look to God for consolation and support in our trials; (4.) By inducing us to contemplate the glories of the heavenly world, and thus winning us to seek heaven as our home; and, (5.) Because God has graciously promised to reward his people in heaven as the result of their bearing trials in this life. It is by affliction that he purifies them (Isa. xlviii. 1 0); and by trial that he takes their affections from the objects of time and sense, and gives them a relish for the enjoyments which result from the prospect of perfect and eternal glory. t A far more exceeding (k*3-' 0^0^- \m tk vTrt^Qzxvv). There is not to be found anywhere a more energetic ex pression than this. The word (j>s§/3sa», here used (whence our word hyperbole) means properly a throwing, casting, or throwing beyond. In the New Testament it means excess, excellence, eminence. See ver. 7. " The excellency of the power." The phrase K&iiTritfe^M means exceedingly, supereminently. Rom. vii. 13. 1 Cor. xii. 31. 2 Cor. i. 8. Gal. i. 13. This expression would have been by itself intensive in a high degree. But this was not sufficient to express Paul's sense of the glory which was laid up for Christians. It was not enough for him to use the ordinary highest expression for the superlative to denote the value of the object in his eye. He therefore coins an expression, and adds tU vTr^oxm. It is not merely eminent; but it is eminent unto eminence; excess unto excess; a hyperbole unto hyperbole — one hyperbole heaped on another; and the ex pression means that it is "exceeding exceedingly" glorious; glorious in the highest possible degree. — Robinson. Mr. Slade renders it, " infinitely exceeding." The expression is the Hebrew forra of denoting the highest superlative* and it means that all hyperboles fail of expressing that eternal glory which remains for the just. It is infinite and boundless. You may pass from one degree to another; from one sublime height to another; but still an infinity remains beyond. Nothing can describe the uppermost height of that glory; nothing can express its infinitude. If Eternal. This stands in contrast with the affliction that is for a moment (7r*£xvrix.u.). The one is momentary, transient; so short, even in the longest life, that it may be said to be an instant; the other has no limits to its duration. It is literally everlasting. •J Weight (/3a£o?). This stands opposed to the (tKxipgov) light affliction. That was so light that it was a trifle. It was easily borne. It was like the most light and airy objects, which constitute no burden. It is not even here called a burden, or said to be heavy in any degree. This is so heavy as to be a burden. Grotius thinks that the image; is taken from gold or silver articles, that are solid and heavy, compared with those that are mixed or plated. But why may it not refer to the insignia of glory and honour; a robe heavy with gold, or a diadem or crown, heavy with gold or diamonds: glory so rich, so profuse as to be heavy ] The affliction was light; but the crown, the robe, the adornings in the glorious world were not trifles, or baubles, but solid, substantial, weighty. We apply the word weighty now to that which is valuable and important, compared with that which is of no value, probably because the precious metals and jewels are heavy; and it is by them that we usually estimate the value of objects. If Of glory (Sofyc). The Hebrew word nu3 denotes weight as well as glory. And perhaps Paul had that use* of the word in his eye in this strong expression. It refers here to the splendour, magnificence, honour, and happiness of the eternal world. — In this exceedingly interesting passage, which is worthy of the deepest study of Christians, Paul has set in most beautiful and emphatic contrast the trials of this life and the glories of heaven. It may be profitable to contemplate at a single glance the view which he had of them, that they may be brought distinctly before the mind.
So the account stands in the view of Paul; and with this balance in favour of the eternal glory, he regarded afflictions as mere trifles, and made it the grand purpose of his life to gain the glory of the heavens. What wise man, looking at the account, would not do likewise 1
18. While we look, &c. Or, rather, we not looking at the things which are seen. The design of this is, to show in what way the afflictions which they endured became in their view light and momentary. It was by looking to the glories of the future world, and thus turning away the attention from the trials and sorrows of this life. If we look directly at our trials; if the mind is fixed wholly on them, and we think of nothing else, they often appear heavy and long. Even comparatively light and brief sufferings will appear to be exceedingly difficult to bear. But if things which are not a seen: for the things which are seen are we can turn away the mind from them and contemplate future glory; if we can compare them with eternal blessedness, and feel that they will introduce us to perfect and everlasting happiness, they will appear to be transitory, and will be easily borne. And Taul here has stated the true secret of bearing trials with patience. It is to look at the things which are unseen. To anticipate the glories of the heavenly world. To fix the eye on the eternal happiness which is beyond the grave; and to reflect how short these trials are, compared with the eternal glories of heaven; and how short they will seem to be when we are there. *J The things which are seen. The things here below; the things of this life — poverty, want, care, persecution, trial, &c. *| The things which are not seen. The glories of heaven. Comp. Heb. xi. 1. 1 The things which are seen are temporal. This refers particularly to the things which they suffered. But it is as true of all things here below. Wealth, pleasure, fame, the three idols which the people of this world adore, are all to endure but for a little time. They will all soon vanish away. So it is with pain, and sorrow, and tears. All that we enjoy, and all that we suffer here, must soon vanish and disappear. The most splendid palace will decay; the most costly pile will moulder to dust; the most magnificent city will fall to ruins; the most exquisite earthly pleasures will soon come to an end; and the most extended possessions can be enjoyed but a little time. So the acutest pain will soon be over; the most lingering disease will soon cease; the evils of the deepest poverty, want, and suffering will soon be passed. There is nothing on which the eye can fix, nothing that the heart can desire here, which will not 60on fade away; or, if it survives, it is temporary in regard to us. We must •oon leive it to others; and if enjoyed,
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
it will be enjoyed while our bodies are slumbering in the grave, and our souls engaged in the deep solemnities of eternity. How foolish then to make these our portion, and to fix our affections supremely on the things of this life! How foolish also to be very deeply affected by the trials of this life, which at the furthest can be endured but a little longer before we shall be forever beyond their reach! f The things which are not seen are eternal. Every thing which pertains to that state beyond the grave. (1.) God is eternal; not to leave us as our earthly friends do. (2.) The Saviour is eternal — to be our everlasting friend. (3.) The companions and friends there are eternal. The angels who are to be our associates, and the spirits of the just with whom we shall live, are to exist forever. The angels never die; and the pious dead shall die no more. There shall be then no separation, no death-bed, no grave, no sad vacancy and loss caused by the removal of a much-loved friend. (4.) The joys of heaven are eternal. There shall be no interruption; no night; no cessation; no end. Heaven and all its joys shall be everlasting; and he who enters there shall have the assurance that those joys shall endure and increase while eternal ages shall roll away. (5.) It may be added, also, that the woes of hell shall be eternal. They are now among the things which to us " are not seen;" and they, as well as the joys of heaven, shall have no end. Sorrow there shall never cease; the soul shall there never die; the body that shall be raised up " to the resurrection of damnation" shall never again expire.— And when all these things are contemplated, well might Paul say of the things of this life — the sorrows, trials, privations, and persecutions which he endured, that they were "light," and were " for a moment" How soon will they pass away; how soon shall we all be engaged amidst the unchanging and eternal realities of the things which are not seen!
1. Ministers of the gospel have no cause to faint or to be discouraged ver. 1. Whatever may be the reception of their message, and whatever the trials to which they may be subjected, yet there are abundant sources of consolation and support in the gospel which they preach. They have the consciousness that they preach a system of truth; that they are proclaiming that which God has revealed; and, if they are faithful, that they have his smiles and approbation. Even, therefore, if men reject, and despise their message, and if they are called to endure many privations and trials, they should not faint. It is enough for them that they proclaim the truth which God loves, and that they meet with his approbation and smiles. Trials will come in the ministry as everywhere else, but there are also peculiar consolations. There may be much opposition and resistance to the message, but we should not faint or be discouraged. We should do our duty, and commit the result to God.
2. The gospel should be embraced by those to whom it comes, ver. 2. If it has their reason and conscience in its favour, then they should embrace it without delay. They are under the most sacred obligation to receive it, and to become decided Christians. Every man is bound, and may be urged to pursue, that course which his conscience approves; and the gospel may thus be pressed on the attention of all to whom it comes.
3. If men wish peace of conscience, they should embrace the gospel, ver. 2. They can never find it elsewhere. No man's conscience is at peace from the fact that he does not repent, and love God and obey his gospel. His heart may love sir.; but his conscience cannot approve it. That is at peace only in doing the wcrk of God; and that can find self-approbation only when it submits to him, and embraces the gospel of his Son. Then the conscience is at ease. No man ever yet had a troubled conscience from the fact that he had embraced the gospel, and was an humble and decided Christian. Thousands and millions have had a troubled conscience from the fact that they have neglected it. No man on a death-bed ever had a troubled conscience because he embraced religion too early in life. Thousands and millions have been troubled when they came to die, because they neglected it so long, or rejected it altogether. No man when death approaches has a troubled conscience because he has lived too much devoted to God the Saviour, and been too active as a Christian. But O how many have been troubled then because they have been worldly-minded, and selfish, and vain, and proud! The conscience gives peace just in proportion as we serve God faithfully; nor can all the art of man or Satan give peace to one conscience in the ways of sin, and in the neglect of the soul.
4. Ministers should preach the truth — the simple truth — and nothing but the truth, ver. 2. They should make use of no false art, no deception, no trick, no disguise. They should be open, sincere, plain, pure in all their preaching, and in their manner of life. Such was the course of the Saviour; such the course of Paul; and such a course only will God approve and bless.
5. This is a deluded world, ver. 4. It is blinded and deceived by him who is here called the "god of this world." Satan rules in the hearts of men; and he rules by deceiving them, and in order to deceive them. Every thing which operates to prevent men from embracing the gospel has a tendency to blind the mind. The man who is seeking wealth as his only portion, is blinded and deceived in regard to its value. The man who is pursuing the objects of ambition as his main portion, is deceived in regard to the true value of things. And he, or she, who pursues pleasure as the main business of life, is deceived in regard to the proper value of objects. It is impossible to conceive of a world more deluded than this. We can conceive of a world more sinful, and more mierable, and such is hell; but there is not delusion and deception there. Things are seen as they are; and no one is deceived in regard to his character or prospects there. But here, every impenitent man is deceived and blinded. He is deceived about his own character; about the relative value of objects; about his prospects for eternity; about death, the judgment, heaven, hell. On none of these points has he any right apprehension; and on none is it possible for any human power to break the deep delusion, and to penetrate the darkness of his mind.
6. Men are in danger, ver. 4. They are under deep delusion, and they tread ■unconcerned near to ruin. They walk in darkness — blinded by the god of this world, and are very near a precipice, and nothing will rouse them from their condition. It is like children gathering flowers near a deep gulf, when the pursuit of one more flower may carry them too far, and they will fall to rise no more. The delusion rests on every unsanctificd mind; and it needs to remain but a little longer, and the soul will be lost. That danger deepens every day and every hour. If it is continued but a little longer it will be broken in upon by the sad realities of death, judgment, and hell. But then it will be too late. The soul will be lost — deluded in the world of probation; sensible of the truth only in the world of despair.
7. Satan will practise every device and art possible to prevent the gospel from shining upon the hearts of men. That light is painful and hateful to his eyes, and he will do all that can be done to prevent its being diffused. Every art which long tried ingenuity and skill can devise, will be resorted to; every power which he can put forth will be exeited. If he can blind the minds of men, he will do it. If men can be hoodwinked, and gulled, it will be done. If error can be made to spread, and be embraced— error smooth, plausible, cunning — it will be diffused. Ministers will be raised up to preach it and th* press will be employed to accomplish it If sinners can be deceived, and made to remain at ease in their sins, by novels and seductive poetry; by books false in sentiments, and perverse in moral;}, the press will be made to groan under the works of fiction. If theatres are necessary to cheat and beguile men, they will ~be reared; and the song, and thi dance, the ball, and the splendid part} will alike contribute to divert the atten tion from the cross of Christ, the wort} of the soul, and the importance of h preparation to die. No art has been spared, or will be spared to deceive men; and the world is full of the device* of Satan to hoodwink and blind the perishing, and lead them down to hell.
8. Yet, Satan is not alone to blame for this. He does all he can, and he has consummate skill and art. Yet, let not the deluded sinner take comfort to himself because Satan is the tempter, and because he is deluded. The bitterness of death is not made sweet to a young man because he has been deluded by the arts of the veteran in temptation; and the fires of hell will not burn any the less fiercely because the sinner suffered himself to be deluded, and chose to go there through the ball-room or the theatre. The sinner is, after all, voluntary in his delusions. He does, or he might, know the truth. He goes voluntarily to the place of amusement; voluntarily forms the plans of gain and ambition which deceive and ruin the soul; goes voluntarily to the theatre, and to the haunts of vice; and chooses this course in the face of many warnings, and remonstrances. Who is to blame if he is lost ] Who but himself?
9. Sinners should be entreated to rouse from this delusive and false security. They are now blinded, and deceived. Life is too short and too uncertain to be playing such a game as the sinner does. There are too many realities here to make it proper to pass life amidst deceptions and delusions. Sin is real, and danger is real, and death is real, and eternity is real; and man should rouse from his delusions, and look upon things as they are. Soon he will be on a bed of death, and then he will look over the follies of his life. Soon he will be at the judgment bar, and from that high and awful place look on the past and the future, and see things as they are. But, alas! it will be too late then to repair the errors of a life; and amidst the realities of those scenes, all that he may be able to do, will be to sigh unavailingly that he suffered himself to be deluded, deceived, and destroyed in the only world of probation, by the trifles and baubles which the great deceiver placed before him to beguile him of heaven, and to lead him down to hell!
10. The great purpose of the ministry is to make known in any and every way the Lord Jesus Christ, ver. 5. To this, the ministers of the gospel are to devote themselves. It is not to cultivate farms; to engage in traffic; to shine in the social circle; to be distinguished for learning; to become fine scholars; to be profoundly versed in science; or to be distinguished as authors, that they are set apart; but it is in every way possible to make known the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever other men do, or not do; however the world may choose to be employed, their work is simple and plain, and it is not to cease or be intermitted till death shall close their toils. Neither by the love of ease, of wealth, or pleasure are they to turn aside from their work, or to forsake the vocation to which God has called them.
11. We see the responsibility of the ministry, ver. 5. On the ministry devolves the work of making the Saviour known to a dying world. If they will not do it, the world will remain in ignorance of the Redeemer and will perish. If there is one soul to whom they might make known the Saviour, and to whom they do not make him known, that soul will perish, and the respo?uibility will rest on the minister of the Lord Jesus. And, O! how great is this responsibility! And who is sufficient for these things 1
12. Ministers of the gospel should submit to any self-denial in order that they may do good. Their Master did; and Paul and the other apostles did. It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as the master; and the ministers of the gospel should regard themselves as set apart to a work of self-denial, and called to a life of toil, like their Lord. Their rest is in heaven, not on the earth. Their days of leisure and repose are to be found in the skies when their work is done, and not in a world perishing in sin.
13. The ministry is a glorious work, ver. 5. What higher honour is there on earth than to make known a Redeemer 1 What pleasure more exquisite can there be than to speak of pardon to the guilty 1 What greater comfort than to go to the afflicted and bind up their hearts; to pour the balm of peace into the wounded spirit, and to sustain and cheer the dying 1 The ministry has its own consolations amidst all its trials; its own honour amidst the contempt and scorn with which it is often viewed by the world.
14. The situation of man would have been dreadful and awful had it not been for the light which is imparted by revelation, and by the Holy Spirit, ver. 6. Man would have ever remained like the dark night before God said " let there be light;" and his condition would have been thick darkness, where not a ray of light would have beamed on his benighted way. Some idea of what this was, and would have continued to be, we have now in the heathen world, where thick darkness reigns over nations, though it has been somewhat broken in upon by the dim light which tradition has diffused there.
15. God has power to impart light to the most dark and benighted mind. There is no one to whom he cannot reveal himself and make his truth known, ver. 6. With as much ease as he commanded light to shine out of darkness at first can he command the pure light of truth to shine on the mind9 of men; and on minds most beclouded by sin he can cause the sun of righteousness to shine with healing in his beams.
16. We should implore the enlightening influence of the Spirit of truth. ver. 6. If God is the source of light, we should seek it at his hands. Nothing to man is so valuahle as the light of truth; nothing of so much worth as the knowledge of the true God; and with the deepest solicitude, and the most fervent prayer, should we seek the enlightening influences of his Spirit, and the guidance of his grace.
17. There is no true knowledge of God except that which shines in the face of Jesus Christ, ver. 6. He came to make known the true God. He is the exact image of God. He resembles him in all things. And he who does not love the character of Jesus Christ, therefore, does not love the character of God; he who does not seek to be like Jesus Christ, does not desire to be like God. He who does not bear the image of the Redeemer, does not bear the image of God. To be a moral man merely, therefore, is not to be like God. To be amiable, and honest, merely, is not to be like God. Jesus Christ, the image of God, was more than this. He was religious. He was holy. He was, as a man, a man of prayer, and filled with the love of God, and was always submissive to his holy will. He sought his honour and glory; and he made it the great purpose of his life and death to make known his existence, perfections, and name. To imitate him in this is to have the knowledge of the glory of God; and no man is like God who does not bear the image of the Redeemer. No man is like God, therefore, who is not a Christian. Of course, no man can be prepared for heaven who is not a friend and follower of Jesus Christ.
IS. God designs to secure the promotion of his own glory in the manner in which religion is spread in the world, ver. 7. For this purpose, and with this view, he did not commit it to angels, nor has he employed men of rank, or wealth, or profound scientific attainments to be the chief instruments in its propagation. He has committed it to frail, mortal men; and often to men of humble rank, and even humble attain- ments— except attainments in piety. In fitting them for their work his grace is manifest; and in all the success which attends their labours it is apparent that it is by the mere grace and mercy of God that it is done.
19. We see what our religion has cost. ver. 8, 9. Its extension in the world has been everywhere connected with sufferings, and toil, and tears. It began in the labours, sorrows, selfdenials, persecutions, and dying agonies of the Son of God; and to introduce it to the world cost his life. It was spread by the toils, and sacrifices, and sufferings of the apostles. It was kept up by the dying groans of martyrs. It has been preserved and extended on earth by the labours and prayers of the Reformers, and amidst scenes of persecution everywhere, and it is now extending through the earth by the sacrifices of those who are willing to leave country and home; to cross oceans and deserts; and to encounter the perils of barbarous climes, that they may make it known to distant lands. If estimated by what it has cost, assuredly no religion, no blessing is so valuable as Christianity. It is above all human valuation; and it should be a matter of unfeigned thankfulness to us that God has been pleased to raise up men who have been willing to suffer so much that it might be perpetuated and extended on the earth; and we should be willing also to imitate their example, and deny ourselves, that we may make its inestimable blessings known to those who are now destitute. To us, it is worth all it has cost — all the blood of apostles and martyrs; to others, also, it would be worth all that it would cost to send it to them. How can we better express our sense of its worth, and oui gratitude to the dying Redeemer, and our veneration for the memory of selfdenying apostles and martyrs, than by endeavouring to diffuse the religion for which they died all over the world?
20. We have in this chapter an illustration of the sustaining power of religion in trials, ver. 8, 9. The friends of Christianity have been called to en dure every form of suffering. Poverty want, tears, stripes, imprisonments, and deaths have been their portion. They have suffered under every form of torture which men could inflict on them. And yet the power of religion has never failed them. It has been amply tried; and has shown itself able to sustain them always, and to enable them always to triumph. Though troubled, they have not been so close pressed that they had no room to turn; though perplexed, they have not been without some resource; though persecuted by men, they have not been forsaken by God; though thrown down in the conflict, yet they have recovered strength, and been prepared to renew the strife, and to engage in new contentions with the foes of God. Who can estimate the value of a religion like this] Who does not see that it is adapted to man in a state of trial, and that it furnishes him with just what he needs in this world!
21. Christianity will live. ver. 8, 9. Nothing can destroy it. All the power that could be brought to bear on it to blot it from the earth has been tried, and yet it survives. No new attempt to destroy it can prevail; and it is now settled that this religion is to live to the end of time. It has cost much to obtain this demonstration; but it is worth all it has cost, and the sufferings of apostles and martyrs, therefore, have not been for naught.
22. Christians should be willing to endure any thing in order that they may become like Christ on earth, and be like him in heaven, ver. 10. It is worth all their efforts, and all their selfdenials. It is the grand object before us; and we should deem no sufferings too severe, no self-denial or sacrifice too great, if we may become like him here below, and may live with him above, ver. 10, 11.
23. In order to animate us in the work to which God has called us; to encourage us in our trials; and to prompt us to a faithful discharge of our duties, especially those who like Paul are called to preach the gospel, we should have, like him, the following views and feelings — views and feelings adapted to sustain us in all our trials, and to uphold us in all the conflicts of life. (1.) A firm and unwavering belief of the truth of the religion which we profess, and of the truth which we make known to others, ver. 12. No man can preach successfully, and no man can do much good, whose mind is vacillating and hesitating; who is filled with doubts, and who goes timidly to work, or who declares that of which he has no practical acquaintance, and no deep-felt conviction, and who knows not whereof he affirms. A man to do good must have a faith which never wavers; a conviction of truth which is constant; a belief settled like the everlasting hills, which nothing can shake or overturn. With such a conviction of the truth of Christianity, and of the great doctrines which it inculcates, he cannot but speak of it, and make known his convictions. He that believes that men are in fact in danger of hell, will tell them of it; he that believes there is an awful bar of judgment, will tell them of it; he that believes that the Son of God became incarnate and died for men, will tell them of it; he that believes that there is a heaven, will invite them to it. And one reason why professing Christians are so reluctant to speak of these things, is, that they have no very settled and definite conviction of their truth, and no correct view of their relative importance. (2.) We should have a firm assurance that God has raised up the Lord Jesus, and that we also shall be raised from the dead. ver. 14. The hope and expectation of the resurrection of the dead was one of the sustaining principles which upheld Paul in his labours, and to attain to this was one of the grand objects of his life. Acts xxiii. 6. Phil, iii. 11. Under the influence of this hope and expectation, he was willing to encounter any danger, and to endure any trial. The prospect of being raised up to eternal life and glory was all that was needful to make trials welcome, and to uphold him in the midst of privation and toils. And so we, if we are assured i of this great truth, shall welcome trial 1 also, and shall be able to endure afflictions and persecutions. They will soon be ended, and the eternal glory in the morning of the resurrection shall be more than a compensation for all that we shall endure in this life. (3.) We should have a sincere desire to promote the glory of God, and to bring as many as possible to join in his praise, and to celebrate his saving mercy, ver. 15. It was this which sustained and animated Paul; and a man who has this as the leading object of his life, and his great purpose and aim, will be willing to endure much trial, to suffer much persecution, and to encounter many dan- j gers. No object is so noble as that of endeavouring to promote the divine glory; and he who is influenced by that will care little how many sufferings he is called to endure in this life.
24. Christians should have such a belief of the truth of their religion as to be willing to speak of it at all times, and in all places, ver. 13. If we have such a belief we shall be willing to speak, of it. We cannot help it. We shall so see its value, and so love it, and our hearts will be so full of it, and we shall see so much the danger of our fellow-men, that we shall be instinctively prompted to go to them and warn them of their danger, and tell them of the glories of the Redeemer.
25. Christians may expect to be supported and comforted in the trials and toils of life. ver. 16. The " outward man" will indeed perish and decay. The body will become feeble, weary, jaded, decayed, decrepit. It will be filled with pain, and will languish under disease, and will endure the mortal agony, and will be corrupted in the tomb. But the "inward man" will be renewed. The faith will be invigorated, the hope become stronger, the intellect brighter, the heart better, the whole soul be more like God. While the body, therefore, the less important part, decays and dies, the immortal part shall live and ripen for glory. Of what consequence is it, therefore, how soon or how much the body decays; or when, and where, and how it dies. Let the immortal part be preserved, let that live, and all is well. And while this is done, we should not, we shall not " faint." We shall be sustained; and shall find the consolations of religion to be fitted to all our wants, and adapted to all the necessities of our condition as weak, and frail, and dying creatures.
26. We learn from this chapter how to bear affliction in a proper manner. ver. 17, 18. It is by looking at eternity and comparing our trials with the eternal weight of glory that awaits us. In themselves afflictions often seem heavy and long. Human nature is often ready to sink under them. The powers of the body fail, and the mortal frame is crushed. The day seems long while we suffer; and the night seems often to be almost endless. Deut. xxviii. 67. But compared with eternity how short are all these trials! Compared with the weight of glory which awaits the believer, what a trifle are the severest sufferings of this life. Soon the ransomed spirit will be released, and will be admitted to the full fruition of the joys of the world above. In that world all these sorrows will seem like the sufferings of childhood, that we have now almost forgotten, and that now seem to us like trifles.
27. We should not look to the things which are seen as our portion, ver. 17, 18. They are light in their cbaracter, and are soon to fade away. Our great interests are beyond the grave. There all is weighty, and momentous, and eternal. Whatever great interests we have are there. Eternity is stamped upon all the joys and all the sorrows which are beyond this life. Here all is temporary, changing, decaying, dying. There all is fixed, settled, unchanging, immortal. It becomes us then as rational creatures to look to that world, to act with reference to it, to feel and act as if we felt that all our interests were there. Were this life all, every thing in relation to us would be trifling. But when we remember that there is an eternity; that we are near it; and that our conduct here is to determine our character and destiny there, life becomes invested with infinite importance. Who
TpOR we know, that if our •*■ earthly house of this taber-
can estimate the magnitude of the interests at stake 1 Who can appreciate aright the importance of every step we take, and every plan we form 7
28. All here below is temporary, decaying, dying, ver. 17, 18. Afflictions are temporary. They are but for a moment, and will soon be passed away. Our sorrows here will soon be ended. The last sigh on earth will soon be heaved; the last tear will have fallen on the cheek; the last pain will have shot across the seat of life! The last pang of parting with a beloved friend will soon have been endured; and the last step which we are to take in " the valley of the shadow of death," will soon have been trod. And in like manner we shall soon have tasted the last cup of earthly joy. All our comforts here below will soon pass from us. Our friends will die. Our sources of happiness will be dried up. Our health will fail, and darkness will come over our eyes, and we shall go down to the dead. AH our property must be left, and all our honours be parted with forever. In a little time — O, how brief! we shall have gone from all these, and shall be engaged in the deep and awful solemnities of the unchanging world. How vain and foolish, therefore, the attachment to earthly objects! How important to secure an interest in that future inheritance which shall never fade away!
29. Let it not be inferred, however, that all affliction shall be light, and for a moment, or that all earthly trial shall of course work out a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. There are sorrows beyond the grave compared with which the most heavy and most protracted woes this side the tomb, are "light," and are. "but for a moment." And there are sorrows in this life, deep and prolonged afflictions — which by no means tend to prepare the soul for the "far more exceeding land eternal weight nacle a were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house b not of glory." Such are those afflictions where there is no submission to the will of God; where there is murmuring, repining, impatience, and increased rebellion; where there is no looking to God for comfort, and no contemplation of eternal glory. Such are those afflictions where men look to philosophy, or to earthly friends to comfort them; or where they plunge deeper into the business, the gayety, or the vices of the world, to drown their sorrows and to obliterate the sense of their calamities. This is " the sorrow of the world which worketh death." 2 Cor. vii. 10. In afflictions, therefore, it should be to us a matter of deep and anxious solicitude to know whether we have the right feelings, and whether we are seeking the right sources of consolation. And in such seasons it shall be the subject of our deep and earnest prayer to God that our trials may, by his grace, be made to work out for us " a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." All are afflicted; all suffer in various ways; and all may find these trials terminate in eternal blessedness beyond the grave. '
This chapter is closely connected with the former, and indeed has been improperly separated from it, as is manifest from the word " For" (>«§) with which it commences. It contains a further statement of reasons for what had been said in the previous chapter. The main subject there was the ministry; the honesty and fidelity with which Paul and his fellow-labourers toiled (ver. 1 — 3); the trials and dangers which they encountered in the work of the ministry (ver. 7 — 12); and the consolations and supports which they had in its various trials, ver. 13 — 18. This chapter contains a continuation of the same subject, and a further statement of the motives which prompted them to their work, and of the supports which upheld them in the arduous duties to which they were called. It is a chapter full of exquisite beauties of sentiment and of language, and as well adapted to give consolation and support to all Christians now as it is to ministers; and the sentiments are as well adapted to sustain the humblest believer in his trials as they were to sustain the apostles themselves. The following are the points of consolation and support, and reasons for their zeal and self-denial, to which the apostle refers.
1. They had the assured prospect of the resurrection, and of eternal life, ver. 1 — 4. The body might decay, and be worn out; it might sigh and groan, but they had a better home, a mansion of eternal rest in the heavens. It was their earnest desire to reach heaven; though not such a desire as to make them unwilling to endure the toils and trials which God should appoint to them here below, but still an earnest, anxious wish to reach safely their eternal home in the skies. In the prospect of their heavenly home, and their eternal rest, they were willing to endure all the trials which were appointed to them.
2. God had appointed them to this; he had fitted them for these trials; he had endowed them with the graces of his Spirit; and they were, therefore, willing to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. ver. 5 — 8. They had such a view of heaven as their home that they were willing at any time to depart and enter the world of rest, and they did not, therefore, shrink from the trials and dangers which would be likely soon to bring them there.
3. They had a deep and constant conviction that they must soon appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ver. 9 — 1 1. They laboured that they might be accepted by him (ver. 9); they knew that they must give a solemn account to him (ver. 1 0); they had a
2 For in this we groan, °
clear view, and a deep impression of the awful terrors of that day, and they laboured/ therefore, to save as many as possible from the condemnation of the great Judge of all, and endeavoured to " persuade" them to be prepared for that scene, ver. 11.
4. Though to some they might appear to be under the influence of improper excitement, and even to be deranged (ver. 14), yet they were acting only under the proper influence of the love of Christ, ver. 14, 15. They were constrained and urged on by his love; they knew that he had died for all, and that all men were dead in sin; and they felt themselves the constraining influence of that love prompting them to deny themselves, and to devote their all to his service and cause.
5. Their views of all things had been changed, ver. 16, 17. They had ceased to act under the influences which govern other men; but their own hearts had been changed, and they had become new creatures in Christ, and in their lives they evinced the spirit which should govern those who were thus renewed.
6. They had been solemnly commissioned by God as his- ambassadors in this cause. They had been sent to make known the terms and the way of reconciliation, and they felt it to be their duty to proclaim those terms on as wide a scale as possible, and with the utmost zeal and self-denial. It was God's glorious plan of reconciliation; and on the ground of the atonement made by the Redeemer, they could now offer salvation to all mankind, and as all %ight be saved, they felt themselves bound to offer the terms of salvation to as many as possible, ver. 18 — 21. The grand argument for urging sinners to be reconciled to God, is the fact that Christ has died for their sins, and, therefore, the apostles apprized of this fact, sought to urge as many as possible to become his friends, ver. 21. •
1. For we know. We who are engaged in the work of the gospel ministry. Paul is giving a reason why he and his fellow-labourers did not become weary and faint in their work. The reason was, that they knew that even if their body should die, they had an inheritance reserved for them in heaven. The expression "we know" is the language of strong and unwavering assurance. They had no doubt on the subject. And it proves that there may be the assurance of eternal life; or such evidence of acceptance with God as to leave no dovibt of a final admission into heaven. This language was often used by the Saviour in reference to the truths which he taught (John iii. 11; iv. 22); and it is used by the sacred writers in regard to the truths which they recorded, and in regard to their own personal piety. John xxi. 24; I John ii. 3. 5. 18; iii. 2. 14. 19. 24; iv. 6. 13; v. 2. 15. 19, 20. t That if our earthly house. The word "earthly" here (iTriyuog) stands opposed to " heavenly," or to the " house eternal (iv rote oygz- >.>??) in the heavens." The word properly means ' upon earth, terrestrial, belonging to the earth, or on the earth,' and is applied to bodies ( I Cor. xv. 40); to earthly things (John iii. 12); to earthly, or worldly wisdom, James iii. 15. The word house here refers doubtless to the body, as the habitation, or the dwelling-place of the mind or soul. The soul dwells in it as we dwell in a house, or tent. ^ Of this tabernacle. This word means a booth, or tent — a movable dwelling. The use of the word here is not a mere redundancy, but the idea which Paul designs to convey is, doubtless, that the body — the house of the soul — was not a permanent dwelling-place, but was of the same nature as a booth or tent, that was set up for a temporary purpose, or that was easily taken down in migrating from one place to another. It refers here to the body as the frail and temporary abode of the soul. It is not a permanent dwelling; a fixed habitation, but is liable to be taken down at any moment, and was fitted up with that view. Tindal renders it, ' if our earthly mansion wherein we now dwell." The Syriac renders it, " for we know that if our house on earth,which is our body, were dissolved." The idea is a beautiful one, that the body is a mere unfixed, movable dwelling-place; liable to be taken down at any moment, and not designed, any more than a tent is, to be a permanent habitation. | Were dissolved (jc*tixxud-f?). This word means properly to disunite the parts of any thing; and is applied to the act of throwing down, or destroying a building. It is applied here to the body, regarded as a temporary dwelling that might be taken down, and it refers, doubtless, to the dissolution of the body in the grave. The idea is, that if this body should moulder back to dust, and be resolved into its original elements; or if by great zeal and labour it should be exhausted and worn out. Language like this is used by Eliphaz, the Temanite, in describing the body of man. " How much less in those that dwell in houses of clay," &c. Job iv. 19. Comp. 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. 1 We have a building of God. Robinson (Lexicon) supposes that it refers to "the future spiritual body as the abode of the soul." Some have supposed that it refers to some "celestial vehicle" with which God invests the soul during the intermediate state. But the Scripture is silent about any such celestial vehicle. It is not easy to tell what was the precise idea which Paul here designed to convey. Perhaps a few remarks may enable us to arrive at the meaning. (1.) It was not to be temporary; not a tent or tabernacle that could be taken down. (2.) It was to be eternal in the heavens. (3.) It was to be such as to constitute a dwelling; a clothing, or such a protection as should keep the soul from being " naked." (4.) It was to be such as should constitute " life" in contradistinction from "mortality." These things will better agree with the supposition of its referring to the future body of the saints than any thing else; and probably the idea of Paul is, that the body there will be incorruptible and immortal. When he says it is a " build- ing of God" (a e*v), ne evidently means that it is made by God; that he is the architect of that future and eternal dwelling. Macknight and some others, however, understood this of the mansions which God has fitted up for his people in heaven, and which the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare for them. Comp. John xiv. 2. But see Note on ver. 3. 1 An house. A dwelling; an abode; that is, according to the interpretation above, a celestial, pure, immortal body; a body that shall have God for its immediate author, and that shall be fitted to dwell in heaven forever. ^ Not made with hands. Not constructed by man; a habitation not like those svhich are made by human skill, and which are therefore easily taken down or removed, but one that is made by God himself. This does not imply that the " earthly house" which is to be superseded by that in heaven is made with hands, but the idea is, that the earthly dwelling has things about it which resemble that which is made by man, or as if it were made with hands; i. e. it is temporary, frail, easily taken down or removed. But that which is in heaven is permanent, fixed, eternal, as if made by God. ^ Eternal in the heavens. Immortal; to live forever. The future body shall never be taken down or dissolved by death. It is eternal, of course, only in respect to the future, and not in respect to the past. And it is not only eternal, but it is to abide forever in the heavens — in the world of glory. It is never to be subjected to a dwelling on the earth; never to be in a world of sin, suffering, and death. 2. For in this. In this tent, tabernacle, or dwelling. In our body here. Tf We groan. Comp. Note Rom. viii. 22. The sense is, that we are subjected to so many trials and afflictions in the present body; that the body is subjected to so many pains and to so much suffering, as to maite us earnestly desire to be invested with that body which shall be free from all susceptibility to
upon with our house which is from heaven:
suffering. \ Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, &c. There is evidently here a change of the metaphor which gives an apparent harshness to the construction. One idea of the apostle is, that the body here, and the spiritual body hereafter, is a house or a dwelling. Here he speaks of it as a garment which may be put on or laid off; and of himself as earnestly desiring to put on the immortal clothing or vestment which was in heaven. Both these figures are common in ancient writings, and a change in this manner in the popular style is not unusual. The Pythagoreans compared the body to a tent, or hut for the soul; the Platonists liken it to a vestment.— Bloomjield. The Jews speak of a vestment to the soul in this world and the next. They affirm that the soul had a covering when it was under the throne of God, and before it was clothed with the body. This vestment they say was " the image of God" which was lost by Adam. After the fall, they say, Adam and all his posterity were regarded as naked. In the future world they say the good will be clothed with a vestment for the soul which they speak of as lucid and radiant, and such as no one on earth can attain. — Schoettgen. But there is no reason to think that Paul referred to any such trifles as the Jews have believed on this subject. He evidently regarded man as composed of body and soul. The soul was the more important part, and the body constituted its mere habitation or dwelling. Yet a body was essential to the idea of the complete man; and since this was frail and dying, he looked forward to a union with the body that should be eternal in the heavens, as a more desirable and perfect habitation of the soul. Mr Locke has given an interpretation of this in which he is probably alone, but which has so much appearance of plausibility that it is not improper to refer to it He supposes that this whole passage has reference to the fact that at the coming of the Redeemer the body
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. a
will be changed without experiencing death (comp. 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52); that Paul expected that this might soon occur; and that he earnestly desired to undergo this transformation without experiencing the pains of dying. He therefore paraphrases it, " For in this tabernacle I groan, earnestly desiring, without putting off this mortal, earthly body by death, to have that celestial body superinduced, if so be the coming of Christ shall overtake me in this life, before I put off this body." K With our house. The phrase • to be clothed upon with our house' seems to be harsh and unusual. The sense is plain, however, that Paul desired to be invested with that pure, spiritual, and undecaying body which was to be the eternal abode of his soul in heaven. That he speaks of as a house (ou»T»'^5v),a more permanent and substantial dwelling than a tent, or tabernacle.
3. If so be that being clothed. This passage has been interpreted in a great many different ways. The view of Locke is given above. Rosenmiiller renders it, " For in the other life we shall not be wholly destitute of a body, but we shall have a body." Tindal renders it, " If it happen that we be found clothed, and not naked." Doddridge supposes it to mean, "since being so clothed upon, we shall not be found naked, and exposed to any evil and inconvenience, how entirely soever we may be stripped of every thing we can call our own here below." Hammond explains it to mean, " If, indeed, we shall, happily, be among the number of those faithful Christians, who will be found clothed upon, not naked." Various other expositions may be seen in the larger commentaries. The meaning is probably this: (1.) The word "clothed" refers to the future spiritual body of believers; the eternal habitation in which they shall reside. (2.) The expression implies an earnest lesire of Paul to be thus
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be
invested with that body. (3.) It is the language of humility and of deep solicitude, as if it were possible that they might fail, and as if it demanded their utmost care and anxiety that they might thus be clothed with the spiritual body in heaven. (4.) It means that in that future state, the soul will not be naked; i. e. destitute of any body, or covering. The present body will be laid aside. It will return to corruption, and the disembodied Spirit will ascend to God and to heaven. It will be disencumbered of the body with which it has been so long clothed. But we are not thence to infer that it will be destitute of a body; that it will remain a naked soul. It will be clothed there in its appropriate glorified body; and will have an appropriate habitation there. This does not imply, as Bloomfield supposes, that the bodies of the wicked will be destitute of any such habitation as the glorified body of the saints; which may be true — but it means simply that the soul shall not be destitute of an appropriate body in heaven, but that the union of body and soul there shall be known as well as on earth.
4. For we. We who are Christians. All Christians. 1 That are in this tabernacle. This frail and dying body. Note, ver. 1. t Do groan. See ver. 2. This is a further explanation of what is said in ver. 2. It implies an ardent and earnest desire to leave a world of toil and pain, and to enter into a world of rest and glory. 1 Being burdened. Being borne down by the toils, and trials, and calamities of this life. See Note, ch. iii. 7—10. f Not for that tue ivould be unclothed. Not that we are impatient, and unwilling to bear these burdens as long as God shall appoint. Not that we merely wish to lay aside this mortal body. We do not desire to die and depart merely because we suffer much, and because the body here is subjected to great trials. This is not
5 Now he that hath wrought*
the ground of our wish to depart. We are willing to bear trials. We are not impatient under afflictions. — The sentiment here is, that the mere fact that we may be afflicted much and long, should not be the principal reason why we should desire to depart. We should be willing to bear all this as long as God shall choose to appoint. The anxiety of Paul to enter the eternal world was from a higher motive than a mere desire to get away from trouble, f But clothed upon. To be invested with our spiritual bod)'. We desire to be clothed with that body. We desire to be in heaven, and to be clothed with immortality. We wish to have a body that shall be pure, undecaying, ever glorious. It was not, therefore, a mere desire to be released from sufferings; it was an earnest wish to be admitted to the glories of the future world, and partake of the happiness which he would enjoy there. This is one of the reasons why Paul wished to be in heaven. Other reasons he has stated elsewhere. Thus in Phil. i. 23 he says he had " a desire to depart and to he with Christ." So in ver. 8 of this chapter, he says he was " willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." In 2 Tim. iv. 6 — 8, he speaks of the "crown of righteousness" laid up for him as a reason why he was willing to die. Tf That mortality might he swallowed up of life. On the meaning of the word rendered "swallowed up" (K*T:t7rcd-rj) see Note on 1 Cor. xv. 54. The meaning here is, that it might be completely absorbed; that it might cease to be; that there might be no more mortality, but that he might pass to the immortal state — to the condition of eternal life in the heavens. The body here is mortal; the body there will be immortal; and Paul desired to pass away from the mortal state to one that shall us for the self same thing, z.i God, who also hath given unto us the earnest s of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always be immortal, a world where there shall be no more death. Comp. i Cor. xv. 53.
5. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing. The phrase " selfsame thing" here means this very thing, i. e. the thing to which he had referred — the preparation for heaven, or the heavenly dwelling. The word "wrought" here (je^T^/swa^syo?) means that God had formed, or made them for this; that is, he had by the influences of the Spirit, and by his agency on the heart, created them, as it were, for this, and adapted them to it. God has destined us to this change from corruption to incorruption; he has adapted us to it; he has formed us for it. It does not refer to the original creation of the body and the soul for this end, but it means that God, by his own renewing, and sanctifying, and sustaining agency, had formed them for this, and adapted them to it. The object of Paul in stating that it was done by God, is to keep this truth prominently before the mind. It was not by any native inclination, or strength, or power which they had, but it was all to be traced to God. Comp. Eph. ii. 10. 1 Who also hath given. In addition to the fitting for eternal glory he has given us the earnest of the Spirit to sustain us here. We are not only prepared to enter into heaven, but we have here also the support produced by the earnest of the Spirit. Tf The earnest of the Spirit. On the meaning of this, see Note on ch. i. 22. He has given to us the Holy Spirit as the pledge or assurance of the eternal inheritance.
6. Therefore we are always confident. The word here used (Bufcvvrts) means to be of good cheer. To have good courage, to be full of hope. The idea is, that Paul was not dejected, cast down, disheartened, discouraged. He was cheerful and happy. He was patient in his trials, and diligent in his calling confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in fne body, we are absent from the Lord;
He was full of hope, at:.d of the confident expectation of heaven; and this filled him with cheerfulness and with joy. Tindal renders it, "we are always of goud cheere." And this was not occasional and transitory, it was constant, it was uniform, it always (7ravTST«) existed. — This is an instance of the uniform cheerfulness which will be produced by the assured prospect of heaven. It is an instance too when the hope of heaven will enable a man to face danger with courage; to endure toil with patience; and to submit to trials in any form with cheerfulness, f Knowing. See ver. 1. This is another instance in which the apostle expresses undoubted assurance. ^ Wliilst we are at home in the body. The word here used (ivSttjuivvn;) means literally to be among one's own people, to be at home; to be present in any place. It is here equivalent to saying, • while we dwell in the body.' See ver. 1. Doddridge renders it, "sojourning in the body;" and remarks that it is improper to render it ' at home in the body,' since it is the apostle's design to intimate that this is nut our home. But Bloomfield says that the word is never used in the sense of sojourning. The idea is not that of being " at home" — for this is an idea which is the very opposite of that which the apostle wishes to convey. His purpose is not at all to represent the body here as our home, and the original word does not imply that. It means here simply to be in the body; to be present in the body; that is, while we are in the body, ^ We are absent from the Lord. The Lord Jesus. See Notes, Acts i. 24. Comp. Phil. i. 23. Here he was in a strange world, and among strangers. His great desire and purpose was to be with the Lord; and hence he cared little how soon the frail tabernacle of the body was taken down, and was cheerful amidst all the labours and sufferings that tended to bring it to
7 (For ° we walk by faith, not by sight:)
the grave, and to release him to go to his eternal home where he would be present forever with the Lord.
7. For we walk. To walk, in the Scriptures often denotes to live, to act, to conduct in a certain way. See Notes on Rom. iv. 12; vi. 4. It has reference to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is travelling to another country. The sense here is, that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen. *[ By faith. In the belief of those things which we do not see. We believe in the existence of objects which are invisible, and we are influenced by them. To walk by faith, is to live in the confident expectation of things that are to come; in the belief of the existence of unseen realities; and suffering them to influence us as if they were seen. The people of this world are influenced by the things that are seen. They live for wealth, honour, splendour, praise, for the objects which this world can furnish, and as if there were nothing which is unseen, or as if they ought not to be influenced by the things which are unseen. The Christian, on the contrary, has a firm conviction of the reality of the glories of heaven; of the fact that the Redeemer is there; of the fact that there is a crown of glory; and he lives, and acts as if that were all real, and as if he saw it all. The simple account of faith, and of living by faith is, that we live and act as if these things, were true, and suffer them to make an impression on our mind according to their real nature. See Note on Mark xvi. 16. It is contradistinguished from living simply under tie influence of things that are seen. God is unseen — but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a God, and as if he saw him. Christ is unseen now by the bodily eye; but the
Christian lives and acts as if he were seen, i e. as if his eye were known to be upon us, and as if he was now exalted to heaven and was the only Saviour. The Holy Spirit is unseen; but he lives, and acts as if there were such a Spirit, and as if his influences were needful to renew, and purify the soul. Heaven is unseen; but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a heaven, and as if he now saw its glories. He has confidence in these, and in kindred truths, and he acts as if they were real. — Could man see all these; were they visible to the naked eye as they are to the eye of faith, no one would doubt the propriety of living and acting with reference to them. But if they exist, there is no more impropriety in acting with reference to them than if they were seen. Our seeing or not seeing them does not alter their nature or importance, and the fact that they are not seen does not make it improper to act with reference to them. — There are many ways of being convinced of the existence and reality of objects besides seeing them; and it may be as rational to be influenced by the reason, the judgment, or by strong confidence, as it is to be influenced by sight. Besides, all men are influenced by things which they have not seen. They hope for objects that are future. They aspire to happiness which they have not yet beheld. They strive for honour and wealth which are unseen, and which is in the distant future. They live, and act — influenced by strong faith and hope — as if these things were attainable; and they deny themselves, and labour, and cross oceans and desert*, and breathe in pestilential air to obtain those things which they have not seen, and which to them are in the distant future. And why should not the Christian endure like labour, and be willing to suffer in like manner, to gain the unseen crown which is incorruptible, and to acquire the unseen wealth which the moth does not corrupt 1 — And further still, the men of this world strive for those objects which they have not beheld, without any promise or any assurance that they shall obtain them. No being able to grant them has promised them; no one has assured them that their lives shall be lengthened out to obtain them. In a moment they may be cut off and all their plans frustrated; or they may be utterly disappointed and all their plans fail; or if they gain the object, it may be unsatisfactory, and may furnish no pleasure such as they had anticipated. But not so the Christian. He has, (1.) The promise of life. (2.) He has the assurance that sudden death cannot deprive him of it. It at once removes him to the object of pursuit, not from it. (3.) He has the assurance that when obtained, it shall not disgust, or satiate, or decay, but that it shall meet all the expectations of the soul, and shall be eternal. % Not by sight. This may mean either that we are not influenced by a sight of these future glories, or that we are not influenced by the things which we see. The main idea is, that we are not influenced and governed by the sight. We are not governed and controlled by the things which we see, and we do not see those things which actually influence and control us. In both it is faith that controls us, and not sight.
8. We are confident, ver. 6. We are cheerful, and courageous, and ready to bear our trial. Tindal renders it, " we are of good comfort." f And willing rather to he absent from the body. We would prefer to die. The same idea occurs in Phil. i. 23. " Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better." The sense is, that Paul would have preferred to die, and to go to heaven, rather than to remain in a world of sin and trial, t To be present with the Lord. The Lord Jesus. See Note on Acts i. 24. Comp. Phil, i. 23. The idea of Paul is, that the Lord Jesus would constitute the main glory of heaven, and that to be with
from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
jiim was equivalent to being in a place of perfect bliss. He had no idea of any heaven where the Lord Jesus was not; and to be with him was to be in heaven. That world where the Redeemer is, is heaven. This also proves that the spirits of the saints, when they depart, are with the Redeemer; i. e. are at once taken to heaven. It demonstrates, (1.) That they are not annihilated. (2.) That they do not sleep, and remain in an unconscious state, as Dr. Priestley supposes. (3.) That they are not in some intermediate state, either in a state of purgatory, as the Papists suppose, or a state where all the souls of the just and the unjust are assembled in a common abode, as many Protestants have supposed; but, (4.) That they dwell with Christ; they are with the Lord (vrgoc rev Kuyw). They abide in his presence; they partake of his joy and his glory; they are permitted to sit with him in his throne. Rev. iii. 21. The same idea the Saviour expressed to the dying thief, when he said, " to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke xxiii. 43.
9. Wherefore (ais). In view of the facts stated above. Since we have the prospect of a resurrection and of future glory; since we have the assurance that there is a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and since God has given to us this hope, and has granted to us the earnest of the Spirit, we make it our great object so to live as to be accepted by him. f We labour. The word here used (pih(j<T(/ucu/u.&*, from 9i\o( and ri/u», loving honour) means properly to love honour; to be ambitious. This is its usual classical signification. In the New Testament, it means to be ambitious to do any thing; to exert one's self; to strive, as if from a love or sense of honour. As in English, to make it a point of honour to do so and so. — Robinson (Lex.). See Rom. xv. 20. 1 Thess. iv. 11. It means here, that
whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
10 For a we must all appear be-
Paul made it a point of constant effort; it was his leading and constant aim to live so as to be acceptable to God, and to meet his approbation wherever he was. % Whether present or absent Whether present with the Lord (ver. 8), or absent from him (ver. 6); that is, whether in this world or the next; whether we are here, or removed to heaven. Wherever we are, or may be, it is, and will be our main purpose and object so to live as to secure his favour. Paul did not wish to live on earth regardless of his favour or without evidence that he would be accepted by him. He did not make the fact that he was absent from him, and that he did not see him with the bodily eye, an excuse for walking in the ways of ambition, or seeking his own purposes and ends. The idea is, that so far as this point was concerned, it made no difference with him whether he lived or died; whether he was on earth or in heaven; whether in the body or out of the body; it was the great fixed principle of his nature so to live as to secure the approbation of the Lord. And this is the true principle on which the Christian should act, and will act. The fact that he is now absent from the Lord will be to him no reason why he should lead a life of sin and self-indulgence, any more than he would if he were in heaven; and the fact that he is soon to be with him is not the main reason why he seeks to live so as to please him. It is because this has become the fixed principle of the soul; the very purpose of the life; and this principle and this purpose will adhere to him, and control him wherever he may be placed, or in whatever world he may dwell. 1 We may be accepted of him. The phrase here used (lud^nt tlvsu) means to be well-pleasing; and then to be acceptable, or approved. Rom. xii. 1; xiv. 18. Eph. v. 10. Phil, iv. 18. Tit. ii. 9. The sense here is,
ing to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
that Paul was earnestly desirous of so living as to please God, and to receive from him the tokens and marks of his *■ favour. And the truth taught in this ▼erse is, that this will be the great pur- j pose of the Christian's life, and that it makes no difference as to the existence and operation of this principle whether \ a man is on earth or in heaven. He will equally desire it, and strive for it; and this is one of the ways in which religion makes a man conscientious and holy, and is a better guard and security for virtue than all human laws, and all j the restraints which can be imposed by man.
' 10. For we must (/«). It is proper, ' fit, necessary that we should all appear j there. This fact to which Paul now | refers, is another reason why it was necessary to lead a holy life, and why Paul gave himself with so much diligence and self-denial to the arduous duties of his office. There is a necessity, or a fitness that we should appear there to give up our account, for we are here on trial; we are responsible moral agents; we are placed here to form characters for eternity. Before we receive our eternal allotment it is proper that we should render our account of the manner in which we have lived, ' and of the manner in which we have improved our talents and privileges. In the nature of things, it is proper that we should undergo a trial before we receive our reward, or before we are punished; and God has made it necessary and certain, by his direct and positive appointment, that we should stand at the bar of the final Judge. See Rom. xiv. 10. % All. Both Jews and Gentiles; old j and young; bond and free; rich and j poor; all of every class, and every age, j and every nation. None shall escape j by being unknown; none by virtue of! their rank, or wealth; none because they j have a character too pure to be judged, j All shall be arraigned in one vast assem- i blage, and with reference to their eternal doom. See Rev. xx. 12. Rosenmuller supposes that the apostle here alludes to an opinion that was common among the Jews that the Gentiles only would be exposed to severe judgments in the future world, and that the Jews would be saved as a matter of course. But the idea seems rather to be, that as the trial of the great day was the most important that man could undergo, and as all mast give account there, Paul and his fellow-labourers devoted themselves to untiring diligence and fidelity that they might be accepted in that great day. 1 Appear (<f>-jLvteu£rMdu). This word properly means, to make apparent, manifest, known; to show openly, &c. Hero it means that we must be manifest, or openly shown; i. e. we must be seen there, and be publicly tried. We must not only stand there, but our character will be seen, our desert will be known, our trial will be public. All will be brought from their graves, and from their places of concealment, and will be seen at the judgment seat. The secret things of the heart and the life will all be made manifest and known. *f The judgment seat of Christ. The tribunal of Christ, who is appointed to be the judge of quick and dead. See Note on John v. 25. Acts x. 42; xvii. 31. Christ is appointed to judge the world; and for this purpose he will assemble it before him, and assign to all their eternal allotments. See Matt. xxv. «[ That every one may receive. The word rendered may receive (x.c/ui<r»rat) means properly to take care of, to provide for; and in the New Testament, to bear, to bring (Luke vii. 37); to acquire, to ol tain, to receive. This is the sense here Every individual shall take, receive, or bear away the appropriate reward for the transactions of this life of probation. See Eph. vi. 8. Col. iii 25. n The things. The appropriate reward of the actions of this life. % Done in his body
11 Knowing therefore, the terror a of the Lord, we persuade men; but b we are made manifest
Literally, "the things by or through (Jm) the body." Tindal renders it, " the works of his body." The idea is, that every man shall receive an appropriate reward for the actions of this life. Observe here, (1.) That it is the works done in or through the body; not which the body itself has done. It is the mind, the man that has lived in the body, and acted by it, that is to be judged. (2.) it is to be for the deeds of this life; not for what is done after death. Men are not to be brought. into judgment for what they do after they die. All beyond the grave is either reward or punishment; it is not probation. The destiny is to be settled forever by what is done in this world of probation. (3.) It is to be for all the deeds done in the body; for all the thoughts, plans, purposes, words, as well as for all the outward actions of the man. All that has been thought or done must come into review, and man must give account for all. t According to that he hath done. As an exact retribution for all that has been done. It is to be a suitable and proper recompense. The retribution is to be measured by what has been done in this life. Rewards shall be granted to the friends, and punishments to the foes of God, just in proportion to, or suitably to their deeds in this life. Every man shall receive just what, under all the circumstances, he ought to receive, and what will be impartial justice in the case. The judgment will be such that it will be capable of being seen to be right; and such as the universe at large, and as the individuals themselves will see ought to be rendered, % Whether it be good or bad. Whether the life has been good or evil. The good will have no wish to escape the trial; the evil will not be able. No power of wickedness, however great, will be able to escape from the trial of that day, no crime that has been concealed in this life will be con- 10*