A PARAPHRASE AND NOTES ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIAN S 421 SECT. I. The Apostle Paul, after a general Salutation, expresses his grateful Senfe of the Divine Goodness, in preferving him from the Dangers to which he had been expofed in Afia; profeffing his unfbaken Confidence in GOD's continued Guardianship fupported by the Consciousness of his Integrity before 2 Cor. I. 1,---I 2. bim 2 CORINTHIANS I. I. OU receive this Epifle from Paul, who Sect. 1. You Y hath the Honour to call himself an Apostle of Jefus Chrift, by the fovereign Will of GOD; 2 Cor. I. 1. triumph of GOD, and Timothy our Brother, unto the Church of GOD, which is a Corinth, with all the Saints which are in all Achaia: 422 St. Paul begins with his own, and Timothy's Salutation Sect. 1. triumph over the Oppofition of the moft obftinate Heart. And Timothy (a), a beloved Brother in 2 Cor. I. 1. Chrift Jefus, joins with me in this fecond Addrefs to the Church of COD, that is in Corinth; whom he hath mercifully called out from the World, and united to himself. A Society, for which I have always the tendereft Regard; the respective Members of which I now most cordially falute; with all, who, by their Chriftian Profeffion, are numbered among the Saints, that 2 are in the whole Region of Achaia. I greet you, as I do all my Brethren in fuch Addreffes: Saying from my Heart, may Grace and Peace [be] in rich Abundance communicated to you all, from GOD our Father, the compaffionate Source of univerfal Goodnefs, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift; thro' whom alone fuch invaluable Bleffings can be conveyed to fuch finful Creatures as 3 we are. 2 Grace be to you, and Peace from GOD our Fa ther, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift. 3 Bleffed be GOD, even While I fit down to write to you, the Father of our Lord Je .my dear Brethren, in the Midst of Circumstances, thro' fus (a) Timothy, a a beloved Brother.] This fhews, that Timothy was returned to St. Paul, fince he wrote the laft Epiftle; and his joining the Name of Timothy with his own, is an Inftance of the generous Defire, which St. Paul had, to establish, as much as poffible, the Reputation and Influence of this excellent young Minifter. Some have thought this is the Reafon, why the Apofile fo often fpeaks in the plural Number in this Epiftle; but it is certain, he often speaks in the fingular, and that there are Paffages here, as well as in the Epistle to the Theffalonians, in which he ufes the plural, without intending to include Timothy. See Chap. iii. 1,-3. Chap. vii. 5. Chap. xii. 19. 2 Thef. ii. 1,-9. He alfo joins the Name of Softhenes with his own, in the former Epifle, as alfo the Name of Timothy to the Epifle to the Philippians, and Coloffians; yet does not use the plural there. (b) Cannot forbear burfting out, &c.] It is very obfervable, that eleven of St. Paul's thirteen Epiftles begin with Exclamations of Joy, Praite and Thanksgiving. As foon as he thought of a Chriftian Church, planted in one Place or another, there feems to have been a Flow of moft lively Affection accompanying the Idea, in which all Senfibility of his temporal Afflictions, or theirs, were all fwallowed up, and the Fulnefs of his Heart muft vent Litfelf in fuch chearful, exalted and devout Lang and 6 (c) Comforteth And bleffes GOD for fupporting him in his Tribulations ; 423 fus Chrift, the Father of thro' whom we have this free Access to him, this Sect. 1. Mercies, and the GOD of fecure Intereft in him: fo that we can now, with all Comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our Tribulation, that we which are in any Trouble, by the Comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted may be able to comfort them of GOD. 5 For as the Sufferings of Christ abound in us, fo our Confolation alfo aboundeth by Christ. 6 And whether we be af unutterable Delight, view him as the Father of 2 For ever adored be this benevolent and com- 4 And much of this Satisfaction to us arifes from 6 ficted, the Hope we have with Relation to you, my ther (c) Comforteth us.] It is certain, that the Mention of thefe Experiences must have a powerful Tendency to conciliate the Regard of the Corinthians to St. Paul; and fuch an Introduction to his Epifle, as the whole of this is, muft naturally prejudice them strongly in his Favour; yet this does not feem to have been by any Means his Aim, nor is there any Appearance of Art in it; but all is the genuine Overflowing of an Heart, which rejoiced in the Confolations of the Gospel felt by itfelf, and communicated to others. See Verse 12: which is much illuftrated by this Connection. (d) Cornforted of GOD.] Some think this refers particularly to the Comfort, which the Repentance of the incestuous Perfon gave St. Paul, after the Affliction he had endured on his Account; (Compare Chap. vii. 7.) but it seems more natural, to understand it of the general Confolation, arifing from the Pardon of Sin, an Intereft in GoD, an Affurance that nothing fhould feparate him from Chrift, that Afflictions fhould co-operate for his Advantage, and that a Crown of Glory, heightened by thefe Trials, fhould clofe the Scene. On these Topicks he frequently infifts in his Epiftles, and none can be more important and delightful. (e) Our 424 Sect. 1. And declares his Hope concerning the Corinthians. ther we be afflicted, [it is,] we doubt not, in Subfervience to the Views of your prefent Confolation, Cor. I. 6. and your future and eternal Salvation; which is fo much the more effectually wrought out, by the patient Enduring of the fame Sufferings, which we alfo undergo, and which by our Example you are taught the lefs to wonder at, and to bear with the greater Fortitude: Or whether we be comforted, [it is] ftill with the fame View, for your Confolation and Salvation; that your eternal Happiness may be promoted by thofe Comforts, which we are enabled to communicate to you with the 7 greater Efficacy. And our Hope concerning you, that this will be the happy End of all, [is] ftedfaft and chearful (e): Knowing, that as ye are Partakers of the Sufferings to which we refer, fo you also have already, in fome Degree, your Share of the Confolation, which arifes from Principles and Hopes, which are not peculiar to us, who are Apoftles, or inferior Minifters of the Gospel, but common to all fincere Believers; in which Number I perfuade myself that you in the general are. 8 We write thus concerning the Trials of the Chriftian Life, having fo lately experienced them in a large Measure.: For we would not have you, our dear Brethren, ignorant concerning our Affliction, which within these few Months befel us in Afia (f), and particularly at Ephefus; that we were flicted, it is for your Conis effectual in the enduring of the fame Sufferings which we alfo fuffer: Or whether we be comforted, it is for your Confolation and Salvation. folation and Salvation, which 7 And our Hope of you is ftedfaft, knowing that as ferings, fo fhall ye be alfo of the Confolation. you are Partakers of the Suf 8 For we would not, Bre thren, have you ignorant of us in Afia, that we were preffed our Trouble which came to (e) Our Hope concerning you is fedfaft.] Thefe Words, in feveral good Manuscripts, are put in Connection with the firft Claufe of the 6th Verfe; and fo the Verfion will run thus, Whether we be afflicted, it is in Subfervience to your Confolation and Salvation, which is effec tually wrought out by the patient Enduring of the fame Sufferings, which we also undergo; and our Hope concerning you is ftedfaft: Or, whether we be comforted, it is for your Confolation and Salvation; knowing that as ye are Partakers of the Sufferings, fo alfo of the Confolation. And the Repetition of the Words Confolation and Salvation, fhews how agreeable the Thought was to him; fo that he loved to fpeak of it again and again. (f) The Afflictions which befel us in Afia.] Mr. Cradock thinks, that he here begins to apologize for not coming to Corinth, and introduces thefe Troubles as an Excufe for not feeing them. I think it is rather to be connected with the preceding Discourse. Yet ftill it might incline them to drop their Complaints, and judge more favourably of him, when they confidered in what painful and dangerous Circumftances he had, on the prefent Openings of Duty, been spending that Time, in which they had been expecting him at Corinth. As for the Afflictions here fpoken of, fome have thought, that this may refer to the Perfecutions at Lyftra, 9 But we had the Sentence of Death in ourselves, ourselves, but in GOD which that we should not truft in raifeth the Dead. 9 425 He mentions the Trials, wherein he had been fupported: preffed out of Meafure, we exceedingly preffed with it, even beyond our Sect. 1. above Strength, infomuch Power; fo that we defpaired of being able even to that we despaired even of Life: live any longer, and were looked upon by others 2 Cor. L. 8° as dead Men. And not only did others apprehend this concerning us, but we ourselves did indeed think, that the appointed End of our Miniftry and Life was come; and had, as it were, received the Sentence of Death in ourselves, the Execution of which we were continually expecting; but the Event fhewed, that it was wifely. appointed by Divine Providence to make our Deliverance the more remarkable; and that we might learn for the future, not to trust in ourselves, nor merely to regard human Probabilities; but in the greatest Extremities to repofe a chearful Confidence in the Power and Providence of that GOD, who raifeth the Dead, at his holy Pleasure, by his omnipotent Word: Who rescued us, on this 10 ever memorable Occafion, from fo great a Death as then threatened us, and doth refcue us from every Danger which now furrounds us, and in whom we truft, that he will make our Deliverance compleat, and still refcue us from every Evil, and preferve us to his heavenly Kingdom. 10 Who delivered us from fo great a Death, and doth deliver: in whom we truft that he will yet deliver us: II You also helped together by Prayer for us, that for the Gift bestowed upon us by the Means of many Perfons, Thanks may be given by many on our Be half. I fay, that I have this Confidence in GoD's II Lyftra, where St. Paul's Danger had been fo extreme, and he had been recovered by Mira- (g) That fo the Favour obtained, &c.] There is fomething very perplexed and ambiguous Hhh the |