you, since they had the honour to be the sons of God. 431 2 Cor. ye separate, saith the them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and sECT. Lord, and touch not touch not the unclean thing; and, if ye behave xi. the unclean thing; and I will receive in a manner thus worthy your professed relation to me, I will then receive you, which, till vi. 17 18 And will be a then, I cannot do; And will be a Father unto 18 Father unto you, and you, e and ye shall be to me for sons and for ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Now surethe Lord Almighty. ly if the Almighty God will say thus unto us, we ought to be much affected with it, and neg these promises, dear lect nothing that is necessary to ensure so 2 COR. VII. 1. great and invaluable a privilege. Having 2 Cor. Having, therefore, therefore, my beloved brethren, such gracious vii. 1 ly beloved, let us promises of God's abode among us, his dwellcleanse ourselves ing in us, and his adopting us into the number from all filthiness of of his children, let us act worthy so high a the flesh and spirit, relation; and as God is perfectly holy, let us perfecting holiness in the fear of God. labour to the utmost to purify ourselves from all pollution, both of the flesh and of the spirit, from every impurity of life, and from every sensual affection, which might defile our hearts, and render them displeasing to him. Nor let us rest merely in this negative view of religion; but let us endeavour to be perfecting holiness, and lay the foundation of it in the fear of God, in whose presence we always are, and by whom all our actions are examined, and to whom our hearts are open; well knowing, that we cannot secure to ourselves these blessings, without such a care; and that it is what gratitude most powerfully dictates, where we have the highest hopes that we are interested in them. IMPROVEMENT. THUS may cordial love open the mouth of Christian ministers, verse when addressing their people; and thus may the love of Christ- 11 ians to each other in every station of life express itself, and produce for a recompense a mutual enlargement. This is one of the 12 e Be ye separate] As God's promise I will be a father, &c.] It is queried of dwelling in a peculiar manner among where God says this? Some answer, Jer. the Jews, obliged them to separate them- xxxi. 1. But that does not sufficiently exselves from the converse of their heathen press the paternal relation. Others refer neighbours, that they might not be in- to 2 Sam. vii. 8, 14, which may be applied snared with their superstitions; much to Christ, and, in him, to believers. more are Christians obliged by that pecu- Compare Heb. i. 4, 5. Some think, it liar gracious presence of God which they is not expressly to be found any where, enjoy, to separate themselves from all and that it refers to all the scriptures impure and idolatrous worship. Exod. where God calls his people by the title of xxix. 45, 46; Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. children. 432 verse Reflections on our obligations to holiness. SECT. Sweetest pleasures, and richest blessings of friendship, when xi. wisely and happily contracted. Let us therefore cultivate such friendships, and be very careful, that we do not form others, 14--16 which may properly be called, being unequally yoked. We pro fess to be pursuing righteousness, to be light in the Lord, to be united to Christ, to be consecrated to God: let us not then have an intimate converse with the slaves of unrighteousness, the children of darkness, the sons of Belial, the votaries of idols. Far from subjecting ourselves to such dangerous snares, let us rather be earnestly seeking every advantage for making the noblest improvements in religion. Let us examine our lives and our chap. hearts, that we may be cleansed from all pollutions of the spirit, as vii. 1 well as of the flesh. Let us labour after sublime ideas of the perfection of holiness, and after a temper of mind correspondent to those ideas. In order to attain which, let us often be surveying our high and glorious privileges, and those exceeding rich chap and precious promises, which God by his gospel is making to us; vi separating ourselves from all evil, that he may receive us, that he 17, 18 may dwell with us, and walk among us, that he may consecrate us as a holy temple to himself; yea, that the Lord Almighty may become a Father to us, and own us for his sons and his daughters. To us is the word of this promise sent, this is the hope of our calling let us make it sure, let us daily survey it, that it may produce and cherish a correspondent sanctity and zeal. Amen. SECT. xü. 2 Cor. : SECT. XII. The apostle farther expresses his affections to the Corinthians, as illustrated by the pleasure with which he received good tidings from them by Titus, and by the part he took in the sorrows which his necessary reproofs had occasioned, and his present joy in that these sorrows had issued in their reformation. 2 Cor. VII. 2, to the end. 2 CORINTHIANS VII. 2. R 2 COR. VII. 2. ECEIVE us: we have wrong UT to return from this digression, to the attempt I was making to remove some prejudices, which, much to your own detri- ed no man, we have corrupted no man, vii. 2 ment, I know that some of you have imbibed against my person and ministry. Give me leave, my brethren, to entreat you, that ye receive us with that affection which is due to the faithful servants of Christ, and to those who have been instruments in your conversion and edification; for, whatever may have been insinuated by ill designing persons to the contrary, we have injured no man in his person, we He mentions the anxiety they had given him : 433 we have defrauded have corrupted no man in his morals, we have SECT. defrauded no man in his property, by any of xii. no man. 2 Cor. those artifices which covetousness sometimes 3 I speak not this practises under very solemn forms. I speak vii. S to condemn you for not [this] to condemn [you] of ingratitude, or I have said before, infidelity, though I have been obliged to find that you are in our hearts to die and live some fault with you; for I have told you before, with you. 4 Great is my bold that ye are in our hearts with such tenderness, Great, as you see, [is] my freedom of speech 4 ness of speech to- to you, upon this subject; and great is also my ward you, great is my glorying of you: boasting concerning you, as to the assurance I am filled with com- which I have of your regards for me; and, fort, I am exceeding on this account, I am filled with consolajoyful in all our trib- tion at the remembrance of you; I do exceedingly abound in joy, in the midst of all our affliction, when I think how well you behave, and how happy an alteration is prevailing among you. ulation. 5 For when we were fightings, within were fears. An instance of this affectionate regard I have 5 were come into Ma- lately had an opportunity deeply to feel, and cedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we very naturally to manifest: for when we came were troubled on ev. into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we ery side; without were afflicted in every [place] and circumstance, through the rage and malice of our enemies ; yet these alarms could not cause us to forget you; but while without there [were] continual fightings, with the most furious and cruel opposition, within there were fears and anxieties 6 Nevertheless, on your account. But the blessed God, who 6 God that comforteth is pleased to wear it among his other titles, that down, comforted us he is the Comforter of those who are brought low by the coming of by affliction and distress, and owns it as his those that are cast Titus : prerogative, to bear up the human heart, com- - Defrauded no man.] The word OFEX THORNE, signifies to indulge a covetous temper, and make a prey of others by it; and perhaps intimates, that the false teachers, of whom he had so much reason to complain, had done it. VOL. 4. 56 b - Exceedingly abound.] The word ureg giσσvoμal, has an inexpressible energy; and is, if I mistake not, a word of the apostle's own making. 434 Though he now rejoiced that they had been brought to repentance ; vii. 7 ry, though it were 7 And not by his SECT. delightful a friend could give. And indeed it xii. was not merely by his coming, that I was thus coming only, but comforted; but with the consolation with which by the consolation where with he was 3 Cor. he was comforted by you, when he told us par- comforted in you, ticularly of your earnest desire to rectify what- when he told us your ever was amiss, and of your grief for what had earnest desire, your mourning, your ferbeen matter of offence to God, and sorrow to vent mind toward me, and of your affectionate zeal for me, so that me; so that I rejoic I rejoiced much more than in other circum- ed the more. Because now I 8 For though I 8 stances I could have done. can take the liberty to say, that if I grieved you made you sorry with in the epistle which I formerly wrote, in which a letter, I do not re pent, though I did indeed I was obliged to treat some subjects repent: for I per with greater severity than I could have wished, ceive that the same I do not repent of it, however anxious I might epistle made yousor. before have been for the regret I at first felt on but for a season. that account, is now swallowed up in that superior pleasure with which I see the happy effects of it; for I now have the satisfaction to find, that this epistle, however for a little while it might have grieved you, hath by the blessing of God, And now I 9 been productive of great good. 9 Now I rejoice, rejoice, not that ye were grieved, for that will not that ye were made sorry, but that always give me concern when I reflect upon it; but that ye grieved to such happy purpose, and ye sorrowed to re were by that means brought to true repentance, were made sorry af to a change of mind; for this was indeed the ter a godly manner, that ye might receive case, as ye were grieved with a penitential and damage by us in nohumble regard to the honour of the blessed God, thing. which is so immediately and peculiarly affected by the irregularities of those that profess themselves his people. So that on the whole, ye were not in any degree endamaged by us; but on the contrary received, as we intended, great benefit by the severity we were compelled to 10 use. pentance: for ye ance to salvation, not For this is indeed the natural effect of a 10 For godly sor sorrow like yours; that grief, which regards row worketh repentthe honour of God, and takes its rise from such tender and grateful views of him, as we before hinted, worketh a repentance, which leads to sal • However anxious I might before have been: : οι και μετεμελομην.] So I choose to render the word, as uμexux strictly expresses an after care and anxiety for any thing that has been done; whereas the word repent always signifies a wish it had not been done. Now as what St. Paul did, in writing the former epistle, was proper, and done under the direction of the Divine Spirit, it does not seem reasonable to sup pose that he really repented of it. It may also signify a kind of misgiving of heart, natural, when the reproof, however neces sary, is given to a person one tenderly loves, where the event is dubious, as in this instance it might be. having sorrowed after a godly sort ; 435 xii. to be repented of: vation, and issues in it; and therefore is never sECT. but the sorrow of afterwards to be repented of; whereas the sorrow the world worketh that arises merely from a regard to the things death.. 2 Cor. of the world, is often a foolish excess, produc- vii. 10 tive of fatal consequences, and sometimes worketh death; either breaking the heart, arming men against their own lives, or otherwise, producing that rebellion against God, by which 11 For behold, this the soul is finally destroyed. But it is pleasant 11 self same thing, that to trace the happy effects of that better principle ye sorrowed after a which hath influenced you; for behold, this same godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in thing, that is, your being grieved for your sins you; yea, what clear- out of a pious respect to God, and the dishonour ing of yourselves; it brought upon him, what diligence it wrought yea, what indignation; yea, what fear; in you to reform what had been amiss; yea, yea, what vehement [what] a solicitous care, to make the best apol desire; yea, what could for what ogy you had done; and of zeal; yea, what re- the sounder part, to make their innocence apvenge! in all things ye have approved pear; yea, [what] indignation did it produce yourselves to be against those who had given the offence; yea, clear in this matter. [what] fear, lest any thing of that sort should you be encouraged and repeated; yea, [what] earnest desire of seeing me again, and confirming our friendship in surer bonds; yea, [what] zeal in every method that could be subservient to these views; yea indeed, if I may so ex. press myself, [what] revenge,d against yourselves for those things, which, all circumstances considered, you could not but condemn; against sin, as your great enemy; so that upon the whole, considering you as a society, you have approved yourselves to be pure in this matter, and there is no farther stain remaining on the church, where I was so much afraid of last 12 Wherefore, ing infamy and reproach. Let it not therefore 12 though I wrote unto be the cause of any farther distress; but assure you, I did it not for his cause that had yourselves, that if I have written [any thing] to done the wrong, nor you, different from what I could wish to write, for his cause that and you to receive, [it was] not suffered wrong, but with any personal views, on his account, who had done, or his who had received the injury, □ Yea, [what] revenge.] Mr. Gataker has very well observed here, that Calvin and Reynolds, and some other divines of note, have been misled, by taking it for granted, that these verses contain seven distinct marks of true repentance, to be found in every sincere penitent; whereas indeed these are not characters of the temper of so much each, but of different persons in different circumstances, according to the part they respectively acted in the affair in question. Received the injury.] Hence some infer, and it seems reasonable, that the father of the incestuous person was still living; which must be a great aggravation of his crime. |