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NOTES, 
 
 EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL 
 
 EPISTLES OF PAUL 
 
 THESSALONIANS, TO TIMOTHY, TO TITUS, 
 AND TO PHILEMON. 
 
 BY ALBERT BARNES. 
 
 NEW Y O R K • 
 
 HARPER &, BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 3 29 & 33 1 PEARL STREET, 
 
 FRANKLIN' S (^ U A U E. 
 
 1859 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by 
 
 ALBERT BARNES, 
 
 in tlie olfice of the clerk of the District Court of the Eastern District 
 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
B 
 
 c. 
 
 TIIE FIRST 
 
 EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 § 1. TJie situation of Thessulonica. 
 
 TiiESSALOMCA was a city and sea-port of Macedonia. It was at the 
 held of the bav Thermaicus. or tlie Gulf of Tliesi^alonica (see the map 
 prefixed to the Notes on tlie Acts of tlie A[K>tIes), and was, therefore, 
 favourably situated for commerce. It was on the great E^atian Way; 
 was posjsfssea ot an excellent harbour, and had great advantages for com- 
 merce througli the Hellespont, and with Asia Minor and the adjacent coun- 
 tries. It was soutli-west of Philippi and Amphip^jlis, and a short distance 
 north-east of Berea. Macedonia was an independent ciAUitry until it was 
 subdued by the Romans. Tlie occasion of the wars wh'«.h led to its conquest 
 by the R/jmans was, an alliance which was formed b) Philip II. with Car- 
 thage, during the second Punic war. The Romans delayed their revenge 
 for a season; but Philip having laid siege to Athens, the Athenians called 
 the Romans to their aid, and they declared war against the Macedonians. 
 Piiilip was compelled to sue for peace, to surrender his vessels, to reduce 
 his army to .5(X) men, and to defray the expenses of the war. Perseus, 
 the successor of Philip, took up arms against the Romans, and was totally 
 defeated at Pydna by Paulus /Emilius, and the Romans took possession 
 of the country. Indignant at their oppression, tlie Macedonian nobility 
 and the whole nation rebelled under Andriscus ; but, after a long struggle, 
 they were overcome by Quintus Caxdius, sumamed, from his conquest, 
 Macedonius, and the country became a Roman province, B. C. 14"^. It 
 was divided into four districts, and the city of Thessalonica was made llie 
 capital of the second division, and was the station of a Roman governor 
 and questnr. At the time, therefore, that the goepel was preached there, 
 this whole country was subject to Roman authority. 
 
 The city, called, when Paul visited it, Thes.«alonica, was anciently called 
 Th/Tmr, and by this name was known in the times of Herodotus, Thucy- 
 i;;des, and .1*]scliines. We are informed by Stralx) that Cassander changed 
 the name of Therme to Thessalonica, in honour of his wife, who was a 
 daugliter of Philip. Others have said Uial tlie name was given to it by 
 
 (lil) 
 
 521 
 
V INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Philip himself, in memory of a victory which he obtained over the armi'is 
 of Thessaly. In the time of Brutus and Cassius it was a city of so much 
 importance that the promise of being permitterr to plunder the city, as Iho 
 reward of victory, infused new courage into their armies. 
 
 The city was inhabited by Greeks, Romans, and Jews. It adored many 
 gods, but particularly Jupiter, as the father of Hercules, the alleged 
 founder of its ancient royal family. It had a celebrated amphitheatre, 
 where gladiatorial shows were e.xhibited for the amusement of the citi- 
 zens, and a circus for public games. The Roman part of the population 
 was, of course, introduced after the conquest, and it is impossible now to 
 estimate tiie relative number of the Greeks and the Romans in the time 
 when the gospel was preached there. In common with most of the other 
 cities of Greece, a considerable number of Jews resided there, who had a 
 synagogue at tlie time when the city was visited by Paul. Acts xvii. 1. 
 Little is known of the morals of tlie place, but there is reason to believe 
 that it was somewhat distinguished for dissoluteness of manners. " The 
 fem lies, particularly, could claim little credit on the score of modest, re- 
 tiring demeanour ; for this virtue was in so low estimation in the city, that 
 the place was selected as the scene of the wanton fancies of the satirist." 
 (Lucian.) See Hug. Intro. 
 
 The name of the place now is Saloniki. It is a Turkish commercial 
 town, and contains about 70,000 inhabitants. Its situation and appearance 
 are thus described by Dr. Clarke. " The walls of Salonica give a very 
 remarkable appearance to the town, and cause it to be seen at a great dis- 
 tance, being white-washed ; and what is still more extraordinary, they arc 
 painted. They extend in a semi-circular manner from the sea, enclosing 
 the whole of the buildings within a periholus, whose circuit is five or six 
 miles; but a great part of the space within the walls is void. It is one 
 of the few remaining cities which has preserved the ancient form of its 
 fortifications; the mural turrets yet standing, and the walls that support 
 them, being entire. Their antiquity is, perhaps, unknown, for, though 
 they have been ascribed to the Greek emperors, it is very evident they 
 were constructed in two distinct periods of time ; the old Cyclopean ma- 
 sonry remaining in the lower parts of them, surmounted by an up]5cr struc- 
 ture of brickwork. Like all tlie ancient and modern cities of Greece, its 
 wretched aspect within is forcibly contrasted with the beauty of its exter- 
 nal appearance. The houses are generally built of unburnt bricks, and, 
 for the most part they are no better than so many hovels." It is, however, 
 a flourishing commercial town, from which is exported the corn, cotton, 
 wool, tobacco, bees'-wax, and silk of Macedonia. It is the seat of a Paslia, 
 and has still among its population a considerable proportion of Jews. Rab- 
 bi Benjamin of Tudela, who visited it in A. D. IKiO, describes it, under the 
 name of Salu7iki, ai.d says that it was built by Seleucus, one of the four 
 Greek nobles who arose after Alexander, and that when he visited it, it 
 was "a large city containing about five hundred Jewish inhabitants." 
 "The Jews," says he, "are much oppressed in this place, and live by the 
 exercise of handicrafts." Itinerary, vol. i. 49, 50. Ed. 1840. He de- 
 scribes it as having at that time more Jewish inhabitants than an}' other 
 town in Greece, Thebes alone excepted. It is said at present to contain 
 about 20,000 Jevrish inhabitants. Its favourable situation for commerce 
 s probably the cause of the numerous assemblage of the Jews there 
 See Asher's Ed. of Benjamin of Tudela, vol. ii. p. 12. 
 
IXTRODlfCTlON. f 
 
 J 2. The establishment of the church in Thcssaionica. 
 
 The pospel was first preached in Thessalonica by Paul and Silas. After 
 their release trc.ni imprisonment at I'liilippi, they jmssod tlirougli Amphi- 
 polis anil ApiwUoiiia, and came to Thess^ilonica. For some cause they 
 appear not to have paused to proaeh in eitiior of the first two places, but 
 went at once to tlie city of Tiiessaioiiica. Tiiat was a inucli more import- 
 ant place, and tliey may iiave been attracted there particularly because 
 many Jews resided tliere. It was customary for tiio apostle Paul, when he 
 came to a place where there were Jews, to preach the gospel first to them; 
 and as there was a synagoijue in Thessjilonica, he entered it, and, for three 
 Sabbath days, reasoned with the Jews in re<xard to tiie Messiah. The 
 points on which he endeavoured to convince thein were, that, according 
 to the Scriptures, it was necessary that the Messiah should be put to death, 
 and that he would rise from the dead, and that all the predictions on these 
 points were completely fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Acts xvii. 2, 3. 
 A few of the Jews believed, and a much larger number of the 'devout 
 Giecks,' and also a considerable number of leraales of the more elevated 
 ranks. From these converts the church was organized, and the number 
 at the orstinization would seem to have been large. It is not quite cer- 
 tain how long Paul and Silas remained at Thessalonica. It is known only 
 that thi-y preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths, and if that were 
 all the time that they remained there, it could not have been more tiian 
 about three weeks. But it is not certain that they did not remain in the 
 city a longer time. It is possible that they may have been excluded from 
 the synagogue, but still may have found some other place in which to preach. 
 Tliis would seem probable from one or two circumstances relerred to in 
 the iiistory and in the Epistle. In the history (Acts xvii. 5), it appears 
 that Paul'and Silas, for a time at least, made the house of Jason their 
 home, and that so large numbers attended on their ministry as to give oc- 
 casion to great excitement among the Jews. In the epistle (1 Tliess. ii. 
 9), Paul says that when he was among them, he 'laboured night and day, 
 because he would not be chargeable unto any of them, and preached unto 
 them the gospel of God' (comp. 2 Thess. iii. 8), which looks as if he had 
 been with them a longer time than the 'three Sabbaths,' and as if he had 
 laboured at his usual occupation for support, before he shared tlic hospit;il- 
 ity of Jason. It appears also, from Phil. iv. Ifi, that he was there long 
 enough to receive repcatetl supplies from the church at Philijipi. "For 
 even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity." 
 
 Paul and Silas were driven away from Thessalonica by the oijjwsition 
 of the Jews. A mob was created by them; the house of Jason was 
 assailed ; he and 'certain brethren,' who were supposed to have harboured 
 and secreted Paul and Silas, were dragged before the magistrates and 
 accused of receiving those who 'had turned the world upside down,' and 
 who were guilty of treason against the Roman emperor. Acts xvii. 5 — 
 7. So great was the tumult, and such would be the danger of I'aul and 
 Silas if they remained there, that the members of the church judged it 
 host that they should go to a place of safety, and they were conveyed by 
 niirlit to the neighbourinir city of Berea. There the gospel was received 
 with more favour, and Paul preached without opposition, until the Jews 
 from Thessalonica, hearing where he was, came thither and excited tlie 
 people againet bun. Acta xvn. 13. It became ncccsaary ogam that he 
 1* 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Bhould be removed to a place of safety, and he was conducted to Athens, 
 while Silas and Timothy remained at Berea. Timothy, it appears, had 
 accompanied Paul, and had been with him, as well as Luke, at Philippi 
 and Thessalonica, though he is not mentioned as present with them until 
 the arrival at Berea. When Paul went to Athens, he gave command- 
 ment to those wlio conducted him, that Silas and Timotliy should come to 
 him as soon as possilile; and wliile ho waited for them at Athens, he de- 
 livered the memorable speech on Mars' hill, recorded in Acts xvii. Their 
 actual arrival at Athens is not mentioned by Luke (Acts xvii.), but that 
 Timothy came to him there appears from 1 Thess. iii. L 2. " Wherefore 
 when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens 
 alone, liud sent Timotheus our brother, &,c., to comfort you concerning 
 your faith." Timothy appears, therefore, to have been with Paul at Athens 
 but a short time, for he sent him back to Thessalonica, and betbre his re- 
 turn, Paul had gone to Corinth, whither Timothy followed him. Acta 
 xviii. 5, 
 
 5 3. The time and place of writing the Epistle. 
 
 The subscription at the close of this epistle affirms that it was written 
 at Athens. But these subscriptions are of no authority whatever (see 
 Notes at the close of 1 Corinthians), and in this case, as in several others, 
 the subscription is false. Paul remained but a short time at Athens, and 
 there is internal evidence that the epistle was not written there. In 1 
 Thess. iii. 1, 2, Paul says that, such was his anxiety for them, that he hat 
 concluded to remain at Athens alone, and that he had sent Timothy to 
 them from that place to impart to them consolation. In the same epistle 
 (ch. ii. 6), he speaks of Timothy's return to him before tlie epistle was 
 written. But from Acts xvii. and xviii. 5, it is evident tliat Timothy did 
 not return to Paul at Athens, but that he and Silas came to him after he 
 had left Athens and had gone to Corinth. To that place Paul had gone 
 after his short visit to Atliens, and there he remained a year and a half. 
 Acts xviii. 11. It is further evident that the epistle was not written to 
 the Thessalonians so soon as it would be necessary to suppose, if it were 
 written from Athens. In ch. ii. 17, 18, the author says, " But we, bre- 
 thren, being taken from you a short time in presence, not in lieart, endea- 
 voured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Where- 
 fore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and agnin ; but Sa- 
 tan hindered us." From this it is evident that the apostle had repeatedly 
 endeavoured to visit them, but had been hindered. But it is not reason- 
 able to suppose that he had attempted this during the short time that he 
 was in Athens, and so soon after having been driven away ft'om Berea. 
 It is more probable tliat this had occurred during his residence at Corinth, 
 and it would seem also from this, tliat the epistle was written towards the 
 close of his residence there. At tlie time of writing the epistle, Silas and 
 Timothy were with the apostle (ch. i. 1), and we know that they were 
 with him when he was at Corinth. Acts xviii. 5. 
 
 If this epistle was written, at the time supposed, at Corinth, it must 
 have been about the 13th year of the reign of Claudius, and about A. D. 
 52. That this was the time in which it was written, is the opinion of 
 Mill, of Lardner, of Hug, and is indeed generally admitted. It was the 
 first epistle written by the apostie Paul, and, in some respects, mav be 
 
INTRODUCTION. yil 
 
 allowed to excite a deeper interest on tliat account than any others of liis. 
 riie Second Epistle to the Thessalonians is !?u|){)osed to have been writlon 
 It tlie same place, and probably in the same year. See Lardncr, vol. vi. 
 4 — 6. Grotius, indeed, supjxjses that the order of the epistles has been 
 inverted, and that that which is now called the ' Second Epist.c to the 
 Thessalonians' was in fact first sent But there is no evidence of tliis. 
 
 { 4. The character of the church at Thessalonica, and the design 
 of the Epistle. 
 
 The church at Tliessalonica, at first, was composed of the following 
 classes of pertons: — (1.) Jews. To them Paul preached first, and though 
 the mass of them opposed him, and rejected his message, yet some of them 
 believed. Acts xvii. 4. (2.) Greeks who had been proselyted to the Jew- 
 ish faitJi, and who seem to have been in attendance on the synagogue. 
 Acts xvii. 4. They are called 'devout Greeks' — af)3oftirot 'Ew.rvoi — tliat 
 is, religious Greeks, or those who had renounced the worship of idols, and 
 who attended on the worship of the synagogue. They were probably 
 what the Jews called ' Proselytes of the Gate ;' persons who were admit- 
 ted to many privileges, but who were not proselytes in the fullest sense. 
 There were many such persons usually where a synagogue was established 
 among the Gentiles. (3.) Females of the more elevated rank and stand- 
 ing in Uie community. Acts xvii. 4. They were women of influence, and 
 were connected with distinguished families. Possibly they also may have 
 been of the number of the proselytes. (4.) Not a few members of the 
 church appear to have been converted from idolatry by tlie preaching ol 
 the apostle, or had connected themselves with it after he had lell them. 
 Tin: N in ch. i. 9, it is said, " For they themselves show of us what man 
 ner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, 
 to serve the living and true God." 
 
 Though the apostle had been much opposed when there, and the gospel 
 had been rejected by the great body of the inhabitants of Thessalonica, 
 yet it had been most cordially embraced by these different classes (ch. ii. 
 13), and they were entirely harmonious in the belief of it They forgot 
 all their former differences in the cordiality with which they had embraced 
 t^ie gospel. 
 
 The characteristics of the church there, and the circumstances existing, 
 which gave occasion for tiie two epistles to the Thess;ilonian.-, appear to 
 have been, so far as can be gathered from the history (Acts xvii.), and the 
 epistles themselves, the followinir: — 
 
 (1.) The members of the church had ver}' cordially embraced the gos- 
 pel; they were the warm friends of the apostle; tliey greatly desired to 
 receive his instruction ; and these tilings prompted him to the earnest wish 
 which he had cherished to visit them (ch. ii. 17), and now led him to write 
 to them. Comp. ch. i. 5, 6; ii. 8, 9. 13. 19. 20. Paul had for them the 
 strong affection which a nurse has for the children committed to her charge 
 (ch. ii. 7), or a father for his children (ch. li. 11), and hence tlie interest 
 shown for them by writing these epistles. 
 
 (2.) They were disposed not only to embrace tlie gospel, but to spread 
 it abroad (ch. i. 8), and Paul was evidently desirous of commending them 
 fcr this, and of exciting them to greater love and zeal in doing it 
 
 (3.) They had at first eiubracwl the gospel amidst scenes of strife (ch 
 
nu INTRODUCTION. 
 
 iL 2) ; they were now opposed, as they had been there, by the Jews, and 
 by their own countrymen (ch. ii. 14) ; and they appear to have been called 
 to some peculiar trials, by the loss of some valued members of the church 
 — friends who were peculiarly dear to their hearts. Ch. ii. 3. 5; iii. 13. 
 To console them in view of these atflictions was one design of the first 
 epistle, and in doing it the apostle states one of the most interesting views 
 of the resurrection to be found in the Scriptures. Ch. iv. 14 — 18. 
 
 (4.) They had been instructed in reference to the future coming of the 
 Saviour : the day of judgment, and the fact tliat the appearing of the 
 ' day of the Lord' would be like a thief in the night. Ch. v. 2. But they 
 seem to have inferred that that day was near, and they were looking for 
 the immediate advent of the Redeemer, and the close of the world. To 
 this view they seem to have been led by two things. One was, a misin- 
 terpretation of what the apostle says, ch. iv. 14 — 18 ; v. 2, 3, about the 
 advent of the Redeemer, which they seem to have understood as if it 
 meant that it would be ' soon ;' and the other was, probably, the fact tliat 
 certain letters had been forged in the name of Paul which maintained this 
 doctrine. 2 Thess. ii. 2. To correct this view was one of the leading 
 objects of the second epistle, and accordingly tlft apostle in that shows 
 them that events must occur preceding the coming of the Lord Jesus 
 which would occupy a long time, and that the end of the world, therefore, 
 could not be near. 2 Thess. ii. 3 — 12. 
 
 (5.) An error seems also to have prevailed among them in regard to the 
 resurrection, which was the cause of great uneasiness to those who had lost 
 Christian friends by death. 1 Thess. iv. 13. They seem to have supposed 
 that when the Lord Jesus appeared, they who were alive would have great 
 advantages over those who were deceased ; that the living would be al- 
 lowed to behold his glory, and to participate in the splendours of his per- 
 sonal reign, while those who were in their graves would slumber through 
 these magnificent scenes. To correct these views, appears to have been 
 one design of the first epistle. The apostle shows them that at the com- 
 ing of the Saviour, all the redeemed, whether living or dead, would par- 
 ticipate alike in his glory. They who were alive would not anticipate 
 those who were in their graves. In fact, he says, those who were dead 
 would rise before the change would take place in the living that was to 
 fit them to dwell with the Lord, and then all would be taken up to be 
 for ever with him. 1 Thess. iv. 15 — IS. 
 
 (6.) It would appear to be not improbable that after the departure of the 
 apostle from Tnessalonica, he had been accused by the enemies of the gos- 
 pel there, of a want of courage, and that they had urged this as proof that 
 he was conscious that the gospel was an imposture. Besides, his leaving 
 the church there without any instructors in a time when they greatly 
 needed them, may have been urged as a proof that he had no real affec- 
 tion for them, or concern for their welfare. To meet this charge, the apos- 
 tle urges several things, vindicating his conduct, and showing the strength 
 of his attachment for them. He says, 1. that, as they knew, so far fi-om 
 being deterred by persecution from preaching, after a violent persecution 
 at Philippi, he and his fellow-labourers had at once preached the same 
 gospel at Thessalonica, and they had done it there amidst the same kind 
 of opposition. Ch. ii. 2. 2. That they themselves were witnesses that 
 kt had been done without any appearance of fraud or of guile. They had 
 fven them all possible proofs of sincerity, Ch. ii. 3 — 5. 3. That the? 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 had given every proof possible that tliey did not seek glory from men, and 
 that their aims were not selHsh. They were willing to have imparted, not 
 the gospel only, but also their own lives; and to show that they had had 
 no scltish aim while with them, they had supiwrtcd themselves by the 
 labour of their osvn hands. Ch. ii. f — 9. 4. That so far from not feel- 
 ing any interest in thera, he had repeatedly sought to visit them, but h:id 
 in every instance been prevented (ch. ii. 17, 18); and, 5. that, since he 
 was prevented from going to them, he had submitted to the personal sacri- 
 fice of parting with Timothy at Athens, and of being left alone there, in 
 order tliat he might go to them and comfort their hearts. Ch. iii. 1, 2. 
 
 (7.) In common wjth other churches, gathered in part or in whole from 
 the iicathen, they were in danger of falling into the sins to which they 
 had been addicted before their conversion, and one object of tlie first epis- 
 tle is to put them on their guard against the leading vices to which they 
 were exposed. Ch. iv. 1 — 7. 
 
 (8.) It would seem, also, that there were some in the church who had 
 a spirit of insubordination towards their religious teachers, and who, under 
 pretence of edifying others, were guilty of disorder. To correct this was 
 also one object of the epistle. 1 Thess. v. 12 — 14. 
 
 From tliese views, the design of this epistle, and also of the second epis- 
 tle to the same church which seems to have been written soon after this, 
 will be apparent. They were the effusions of warm attachment towards 
 a church wiiich the apostle had founded, but from which he had been soon 
 driven away, and which he had been prevented from revisiting when he 
 had earnestly desired it. They are filled with expressions of tender re- 
 gard ; they remind the members of the church of the ardour with w hich 
 they had at first embraced the gospel ; caution them against the dangers to 
 which they were exposed ; commend them for their fidelity hitherto, and 
 encourage them in their trials and persecutions. They present some 
 most interesting views of the nature of the gospel, and especially 
 contain statements about the resurrection of the saints which are not found 
 elsewhere in the New Testament, and views in relation to the great apos- 
 tasy, and the ' man of sin,' which demonstrate that the writer was in- 
 spired, and which are of inestimable importance in guarding the true church 
 from the power of Antichrist No one could have drawn the picture of the 
 Papacy in the second chapter of the second epistle who was not under 
 the inspiration of tlie Holy Gliost ; and no true Qliristian can be suffi- 
 ciently grateful that the apostle was thus inspired to reveal the features of 
 that great apostasy, to put the church on its guard against the wiics and 
 the power of him who " exalteth himself above all that is called Go»^ ' 
 
THE 
 
 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESS.VLONIANS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAUL, and Silvanus, " and Ti- 
 nioiheus, unto the church of 
 iho * Thessalonians ichich is in 
 
 b Ac 17. 1, &.C. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 The first chapter of this epistle 
 embnces the following subjects : — 
 
 1. Tiie inscription by Paul, Silas, 
 and Timothy, to the Thessalonians, 
 and tlie usual salutations. V^er. 1. 
 
 2. An expression of thanks for 
 their hilelity in tlie gospel. Vs. 2 — 
 4. Tlio apo?!tle says tliat lie made 
 men' ion of them continually in his 
 prayers; that he remembered tlieir 
 faith, and love, and patience, for by 
 these thiuffs they had shown that 
 they were amoni^ the elect of God. 
 
 3. He reminds them of the man- 
 ner in which tliey received the gos- 
 pel when it was first preached to 
 them. Vs. 5, 6. The power of God 
 had been manifested among them in 
 a remarkable manner ; they had em- 
 braced the gospel with strong assur- 
 ance, and though in the midst of 
 deep afflictions, they had received 
 the word with joy. 
 
 4. The effect of the establishment 
 of the church in Thessalonica had 
 been felt far abroad, and had been 
 of the most happy character. Vs. 
 7 — 10. They had become examples 
 to all that believed in Macedonia and 
 Achaia. From them the gospel had 
 nocn sounded abroad throiiirhout 
 Greece, and indeed in all places 
 with which they had connection by 
 
 God the Father, and in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ : Grace 'ic unto you, 
 and peace, from God our Father, 
 and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 c Ep. 1. 2. 
 
 their commercial relations. Those 
 who dwelt in distant places bore 
 witness to the inlluence of the gos- 
 pel on them, and to the power 
 of that religion which had turned 
 them ti"om idols to serve the living 
 God. These verses contain a beau- 
 tiful illustration of the eflbct of t!:e 
 gospel in a place favourably situ- 
 ated for commerce, and having ex- 
 tensive intercourse with other re- 
 gions. 
 
 1. Paid, and Siliamis, and Ti- 
 mntheus. On the reasons why Paul 
 associated other names with iiis in 
 his epistles, see Notes on 1 Cor. i. 1, 
 and 2 Cor. ii. 1. Silvanus, or Silas, 
 and Timothy were properly united 
 with him on this occasion, because 
 they had been with him when the 
 church wa.s founded there. Acts xvii., 
 and because Timothy had been sent 
 by the apostle to visit them after he 
 had himself been driven away. Cli. 
 ii. 1, 2. Silas is first mentioned in 
 the New Testament as one who waa 
 sent by the church at Jerusalem with 
 Pnul "to Antioch (Notes, Acts xv. 
 22); and he afterwards became his 
 travelling companion. 5 Wiiich is 
 in God the Fiither, and in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Who are united to 
 the true God and to the Redoomer ; 
 or who sustain an intimate relation 
 to the Father and the Lord Jesuj 
 (11) 
 
12 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52 
 
 2 We give thanks to God al- 
 ways for you all, making mention 
 of you in our prayers ; 
 
 3 Remembering without ceas- 
 ing your work " of faith, and la- 
 
 a Jno. 6. 29. 2 Tli. 1. U. 
 
 hour * of love, and patience ' of 
 hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in 
 the sight of God and our Father ; 
 4 Knowing, brethren ' beloved, 
 3'our election of God. 
 
 6 He. 6. )0. c Ro. 12. 12 
 
 1 or, beloved of God, your election. 
 
 This is strong language, denoting 
 that they were a true church. Com p. 
 1 John v. 20. ^ Grace be unto you, 
 &fc See Notes, Rom. i. 7. 
 
 2. We give tlianks to God always 
 for you all. See Notes, Rom. i. 9. 
 % Making mention of you in our 
 prayers. Notes, Eph. i. 16. It may 
 be observed here, (1.) tliat the apos- 
 tle was in the habit of constant 
 prayer. (2.) That he was accus- 
 tomed to extemporary prayer, and 
 not to written prayer. It is not cre- 
 dible that 'forms' of prayer had been 
 framed for the churches at Thessalo- 
 nica and Ephesus, and the other 
 churches for which Paul says he 
 prayed, nor would it have been pos- 
 sible to have adapted such forms to 
 the varying circumstances attending 
 the organization of new churches. 
 
 3. Remembering without ceasing. 
 Remembering j'our faith and love 
 whenever we pray. This is not to 
 be understood literally, but it is lan- 
 guage such as we use respecting 
 anything that interests us much. It 
 is constantly in our mind. Such 
 an interest the apostle had in the 
 churches which he had established. 
 ^ Your work of faith. That is, 
 your work showing or evincing faith. 
 The reference is probably to acts of 
 duty, holiness, and benevolence, 
 which proved that they exercised 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Works of faith are those to which 
 faith prompts, and which show that 
 there is faith in the heart. This 
 does not mean, therefore, a work of 
 their own producing faith, but a 
 work which showed that they had 
 faith. ^ And labour of love. La- 
 bo'or produced by love, or showing 
 
 that you are actuated by love. Such 
 would be all their kindness toward the 
 poor, the oppressed, and the afflicted ; 
 and all their acts which showed that 
 they loved the souls of men. •[ And 
 patience of hope. Patience in your 
 trials, showing that you have such a 
 hope of future blessedness as to sus- 
 tain you in your afflictions. It was 
 the hope of heaven through the Lord 
 Jesus that gave them patience. See 
 Notes on Rom. viii. 24. "The 
 phrases here are Hebraisms, mean- 
 ing active faith, and laborious love, 
 and patient hope, and might have 
 been so translated." Doddridge. 
 M In our Lord Jesus Christ. That 
 is, your hope is founded only on him. 
 The only hope that we have of hea- 
 ven is through the Redeemer. IF In 
 the sight of God and our Father. 
 Before God, even our Father. It is 
 a hope which we have through the 
 merits of the Redeemer, and wliich 
 we are permitted to cherish before 
 God ; that is, in his very presence. 
 When we think of God ; when we 
 reflect that we must soon stand be- 
 fore him, we are permitted to cher- 
 ish this hope. It is a hope which 
 will be found to be genuine even in 
 the presence of a holy and heart- 
 searching God. This does not mean 
 that it had been merely professed 
 before God, but that it was a hope 
 which they might dare to entertain 
 even in the presence of God, and 
 wdiich would bear the scrutiny of 
 his eye. 
 
 4. Knowing, brethren beloved, 
 your election of God. The margin 
 here reads, ' beloved of God, your 
 election.' The difference depends 
 merely on the pointing, aud thai 
 
A. I), o'i.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 i3 
 
 wliich would require the marjrina! 
 readinjj has been adopted by llabn, 
 Tittinan, liloomfield, and (Jries^bacli. 
 Tlie sense is not materially varied, 
 and the common version may be re- 
 ffjirded as giving the true meaning, 
 riiere is no great ditlerence between 
 ♦being 6e/o re*/ of God,' and 'being 
 chosen of dot!.' Tlie sense then is, 
 ♦knowing tiiat you are chosen by 
 God unto salvation.' Comp. Notes 
 on Kph. i. 4, 5. 11. Tlie word ♦ know- 
 ing' iiere refers to Paul himself, and 
 to Silas and Timotiiy, wlio united 
 witli him in writing the epistle, and 
 in rendering tiianks for the favours 
 shown to the church at Tiicssaloni- 
 ca. The meaning is, tiiat they had 
 BO strong confidence that tliey had 
 been ciiosen of God as a churcli unto 
 salvation, that they might say they 
 knew it. The way in which they 
 knew it seems not to have been by 
 direct revelation or by inspiration, 
 but by the evidence which they had 
 furnished, and which constituted 
 Buch a proof of piety as to leave no 
 doubt of the fact. Calvin. What 
 tliis evidence was, the apostle states 
 in the following verses. It was 
 fihown by the manner in wliicii they 
 embraced tlie gospel, and by tlie 
 spirit which they had evinced under 
 its influence. Tiie meaning here 
 seems to be, not that all the mem- 
 bers of the church at Thessalonica 
 were certainly chosen of God to sal- 
 vation — lor, as in other churciies, 
 there might have been those there 
 who were false professors — but that 
 the church, as such, had given evi- 
 dence that it was a true church — 
 tliat it was founded on christian prin- 
 ciples — and that, as a church, it iiad 
 furnished evidence of its 'election 
 by God.' Nor can it mean, as Clarke 
 and Bloomfield supiKwe, that God 
 'had chosen and called the Gentiles 
 to the same privileges to which he 
 chose and called the Jews; and that 
 as they (the Jews) liad rejected tiie 
 gospel, God had now elected the 
 
 Gentiles in their stead;' for a con- 
 siderable ])ortion of the church was 
 composed of Jews (see Acts ,\vii. 4, 
 ")), and it ciinnot, tlicrcfore, mean 
 tiiat tlie ill ii/ilfs liad been selected 
 in the place of tiie Jews. Besides, 
 the election of the Gentiles, or any 
 portion of the human family, to the 
 privileges of salvation, to the neglect 
 or exclusion of any other part, would 
 be attended with all the difliculties 
 which occur in the doctrine of per- 
 sonal and individual election. No- 
 thing is gained on this subject in re- 
 moving the difficulties, by supposing 
 that God chooses masses of men in- 
 stead of individuals. I low can the 
 one be more proper than the other ? 
 Wliat difficulty in tlie doctrine of 
 election is removed by the supposi- 
 tion ! Why is it not as right to 
 choose an individual as a nation ? 
 Why not as proper to reject an indi- 
 vidual as a whole people! If thi.s 
 means that tlie church at Thessalo- 
 nica had shown that it was a true 
 cliurcii of Christ, chosen by God, 
 then we may learn, (1.) that a true 
 church owes wiiat it has to the ' elec- 
 tion of God.' It is because God has 
 chosen it ; has called it out from the 
 world ; and has endowed it in such 
 a manner as to be a true churcli. 
 (2.) A church may give evidence 
 that it is chosen of God, and is a true 
 church. There are things which it 
 may do, which will show that it is 
 undoubtedly such a church as Goil 
 has chosen, and such as lie approves. 
 There are just principles on which 
 a cliurch should be organized, and 
 there is a spirit which may be mani- 
 fested by a cliurch which will dis- 
 tinguish it from any other associa- 
 tion of men. Qi.) It is not improper 
 to speak with strong confidence of 
 .such a churcli as undoubtedly chosen 
 of Gt)d. There are churches which, 
 by their zeal, self-<lenial, and dcad- 
 nt'ss to the world, show boyond ques- 
 tion their 'eleclion of G(xl,' and the 
 world may see that they are founded 
 
14 
 
 I. THESSALOMANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 5 b^or our gospel came " not 
 unto you in word only, but also 
 in power, *• and in the ' Holy 
 
 a Is. 55. 11. iMar. IG. CO. 
 b 1 Co. 2. 4. c 2 Co. G. G. 
 
 on Other principles and manifest a 
 different spirit from other organiza- 
 tions of men. (4.) Every church 
 should evince such a spirit tliat tiiere 
 may be no doubt of its ' election of 
 God.' It should be so dead to the 
 world ; so pure in doctrine and in 
 practice, and so much engaged in 
 spreading the knowledge of salva- 
 tion, that the world will see tliat it 
 is governed by higher principles than 
 any worldly association, and that no- 
 thing could produce this but the in- 
 fluence of tile Holy Spirit of God. 
 
 5. For our gospel came not unto 
 you. When first preached. Acts 
 xvii. 1 — 3. Paul speaks of it as 
 ' our gospel,' because it was the gos- 
 pel preached by him and Silas and 
 Timothy. Comp. 2 Thess. ii. 14. 2 
 Tim. ii. 8. He did not mean to say 
 that the gospel had been originaled 
 by him, but only that he had deliv- 
 ered the good news of salvation to 
 them. He is here stating the evi- 
 dence which had been given that 
 they were a clmrch ' chosen by God.' 
 He refers, first, to the manner in 
 which the gospel was received by 
 them (vs. 5 — 7), and, secondly, to 
 the spirit wliich they themselves 
 manifested in sending it abroad. Vs. 
 8 — 10. 1[ In loord only. Was not 
 merely spoken ; or was not merely 
 heard. It produced a powerful effect 
 on the heart and life. It was not a 
 mere empty sound that produced no 
 other eflect than to entertain or 
 amuse. Comp. Ezek. xxxiii. 32. 
 ^ But also in power. That is, in 
 such power as to convert the soul. 
 The apostle evidently refers not to 
 any miracles that were wrouglit 
 there, but to the effect of the gospel 
 on those who heard it. It '.s pos.sJ- 
 hle that there were miracles wrought 
 
 Ghost, and in much assurance ; 
 ^ as ye know what manner of 
 men we were ainong you for your 
 
 sake. 
 
 d He. 2. 3. 
 
 there, as there were in other places, 
 but tliere is no mention of such a 
 fact, and it is not necessary to sup- 
 pose it, in order to see the full 
 meaning of this language. There 
 was great power manifested in the 
 gospel in its leading tliem to break 
 off from their sins, to abandon their 
 idols, and to give their hearts to God. 
 See this more fully explained in the 
 Notes on 1 Cor. ii. 4. Ii And in the 
 Holy Ghost. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. 
 ii. 4. It is there called the 'demon- 
 stration of the Spirit.' ^ And in 
 much assurance. That is, with firm 
 conviction, or full persuasion of its 
 truth. It was not embraced as a. 
 doubtful thino, and it did not pro- 
 duce the effect on the mind which 
 is caused by anytliing that is uncer 
 tain in its character. Many seem 
 to embrace the gospel as if they only 
 half believed it, or as if it were a 
 matter of very doubtful truth and 
 importance; but this was not the 
 case with the Thessalonians. There 
 was the firmest conviction of its 
 truth, and they embraced it 'heart 
 and soul.' Comp. Coll. ii. 2. Heb. 
 vi. 11. From all that is said in this 
 verse, it is evident that the power 
 of God was remarkably manilested 
 in the conversion of the Thessalo- 
 nians, and that tliey embraced the 
 gospel with an uncommonly strong 
 conviction of its truth and value. 
 This fact will account for the subse- 
 quent zeal which the apostle so nnif h 
 commends in them — for it is usual y 
 true that the character of piety in a 
 church, as it is in an individual, is 
 determined by the views with which 
 the gospel is first embraced, and the 
 purposes which are formed at the 
 beginning of the christian life. ^ As 
 ye know what manner of men, &c. 
 
A. D. 52.1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 15 
 
 G And ye became " followers 
 of us, and of the Lord, having 
 
 a 2 Co. 8. ;"). 
 
 Paul often appeals to those among' 
 wliora he had laboured as competent 
 witnesses with rcsiiect to his own con- 
 duct and character. See ch. ii. 9, 10. 
 Acts x.v. li'S — -id. lie means here tliat 
 he and his fellow-labourers had set 
 them an example, or had shown what 
 Christianity was by tlieir manner of 
 living', and that the Thessalonians 
 iiad become convinced tliat the reli- 
 g'ion which they taught was real. 
 Tlie holy life of a preacher goes far 
 to confirm the trutii of the religion 
 which he preaches, and is among the 
 most efficacious means of inducing 
 them to embrace the gospel. 
 
 G. And ye became followers of 
 us. 'You became imitators — ixiurj- 
 tai — of us.' This does not mean 
 that they became /o/Zoiijers of Paul, 
 Silas, and Timothy, in the sense tliat 
 they had set themselves up as teach- 
 ers, or as the head of a sect, but that 
 they imitated tlieir manner of living. 
 See Notes on 1 Cor. iv. IG; xi. 1. 
 1[ And of the Lord. The Lord Je- 
 Bus. You also learned to imitate 
 him. From tliis it is evident that 
 the manner in which the Saviour 
 lived was a prominent topic of their 
 preaching, and also that it was one 
 of the means of the conversion of 
 the Thessalonians. It is probable 
 that preaching on the pure and holy 
 life of the Lord Jesus might be made 
 a much more important means of the 
 conversion of sinners than it is. No- 
 thing is better adapted to show them 
 the evil of their own guilty lives 
 than the contrast between their lives 
 and his; and nothing can be con- 
 ceived better fitted to win them to 
 holy living than the contemplation 
 of his pure and holy deportment 
 ^ Hiivin<r rrrrived the word in murh 
 affliction. That is, amidst much 
 opposition from others. See Acts 
 
 received the word in much afflio- 
 
 tion, with joy * of the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 7 So that ye were cnsamples 
 
 ft Ac. 13. 52. 
 
 xviL 5 — 8. It was in the midst of 
 these trials that they had become 
 converted — and they seem to have 
 been all the better Ciiristians lor 
 them. In this they were imitators 
 of the Saviour, or shared tlic same 
 lot with him, and thus became his 
 followers. Their embracing and 
 holding trust the truths of religion 
 amidst all this opposition, showed 
 that they were controlled by the 
 same principles that he was, and 
 that they were truly his friends. 
 IT With joy of the Ilohj Ghost. With 
 happiness produced by the Holy 
 Ghost. Though they were much 
 afflicted and persecuted, yet there 
 was joy. There was joy in their 
 conversion — in the evidence of par 
 doned sin — in the hope of heaven. 
 See Notes, Acts viii. 8. However 
 great may be the trials and persecu- 
 tions experienced in receiving the 
 gospel, or however numerous and 
 long the sufferings of the subsequent 
 life in consequence of having em- 
 braced it, there is a joy in religion 
 that more than overbalances all, and 
 that makes religion tlie richest of all 
 blessings. 
 
 7. So that ye were ensamples to 
 all that believe. Examples in refer- 
 ence to the firmness with which you 
 embraced the gospel, the fidelity 
 with which )'ou adhered to it in tri- 
 als, and the zeal which you showed 
 in spreading it abroad. These things 
 are specified in the previous and sul)- 
 sequent verses as characterizing 
 tlieir piety. The word here render- 
 ed ensamples — rvftovi — is that from 
 which the word type is derived. It 
 properly denotos anything caused or 
 produced by the means of blows 
 (from Tvftru), and hence a mark, 
 print, or impression, made by a stimp 
 or die; and then a resemblancei. 
 
16 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. JD. ^n 
 
 to all that believe in Macedonia 
 and Achaia. 
 
 figure, pattern, exemplar — a model 
 after which anytliing is made. This 
 is the meaning here. They became, 
 as it were, a model or pattern after 
 which the piety of others should be 
 moulded, or showed what the piety 
 of others ought to be. IF In Mace- 
 donia. Thessalonica was an import- 
 ant city of Macedonia (see the In- 
 tro. Comp. Notes, Acts xvi. 9), and 
 of course their influence would be 
 felt on the whole of the surrounding 
 region. This is a striking instance 
 of the eftect which, a church in a 
 city may have on the country. The 
 influence of a city church may be 
 felt, and will usually be felt afar on 
 the other churches of a community 
 — ^just as, in all other respects, a city 
 nas an important influence on the 
 country at large. IT And Achaia. 
 Achaia proper was the part of Greece 
 of which Corinth was the capital. 
 The word, however, was sometimes 
 so used as to comprehend the whole 
 of Greece, and in this sense it seems 
 to be employed here, as there is no 
 reason to suppose that their influ- 
 ence would be felt particularly in 
 the province of which Corinth was 
 the centre. Koppe observes that 
 Macedonia and Achaia were the two 
 provinces into which all Greece was 
 divided when it was brought under 
 the Roman yoke, the former of which 
 comprehended Macedonia proper, II- 
 lyricum, Epirus, and Thessaly, and 
 the other Greece properly so called. 
 The meaning here is, therefore, that 
 their influence was felt on all the 
 parts of Greece; that their piety 
 W"as spoken of, and the effect of their 
 conversion had been felt in all those 
 places. Thessalonica was a com- 
 mercial city, and a sea-port. It had 
 intercourse with all the other parts 
 of Macedonia, with Greece, and 
 with Asia Minor. It was partly 
 
 8 For from you sounded " out 
 the word of the Lord not onlj' ''n 
 
 a Ro. 10. 18. 
 
 owing to the advantages of its siti> 
 ation that its influence was thus felt. 
 Its own merchants and mariners 
 v.'ho went abroad would carry with 
 them the spirit of the religion of the 
 church there, and those who visited 
 it from other ports would see the 
 effect of religion there. This is just 
 an instance, therefore, of the influ- 
 ence which a commercial town and 
 a sea-port may have in religion on 
 other parts of the world. A revival 
 of religion in such a place will ex- 
 tend its influence afar to other places, 
 and appropriate zeal among the 
 friends of the Redeemer there may 
 have an important effect on sea-ports, 
 and towns, and lands far remote. It 
 is impossible to over-estimate the 
 importance of such places in regard 
 to the spread of the gospel; and 
 Christians who reside there — be they 
 merchants, mechanics, lawyers, phy- 
 sicians, mariners, or ministers of the 
 gospel, should feel that on them God 
 has placed the responsibility of using 
 a vast influence in sending the gos- 
 pel to other lands. He that goes 
 forth fi-om a commercial town should 
 be imbued with the spirit of the gos- 
 pel, and churches located there 
 should be so under the influence of 
 religion that they who come among 
 them from abroad shall bear to their 
 own lands honourable testimony of 
 the power of religion there. 
 
 8. For from you sounded out the 
 word of the Lord. The truths of 
 religion were thus spread abroad. 
 The w'ord rendered ' sounded out' — 
 i^rixritoA — refers to the sounding of 
 a trumpet (Bloomfield), and the idea 
 is, that the gospel was proclaimed 
 like the sonorous voice of a trumpe^ 
 echoing from place to place. Comp 
 Isa. Iviii. 1. Rev. i. 10. Their in- 
 fluence had an effect in diflfusing the 
 gospel in other places, as if the 
 
A. D. '>;>.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 17 
 
 Macoilonia and Achaia, but also 
 in cvur}' place " your Aiiih to God- 
 ward is spread abroad ; so that 
 
 a i Th. 1. t. 
 
 eoiind of a trumpet echoed and re- 
 echoed among; tlie liills and alone: 
 the vales of the classic land of 
 Greece. This seems to have been 
 done (1.) involitntarily ; that is, the 
 necessary result of their conversion, 
 even without any direct purpose of 
 the kind of tlieir own, would be to 
 produce this etfecL Their central 
 and advantageous commercial posi- 
 tion ; the fact that many of tliem 
 were in the habit of visiting other 
 places; and the fact that they were 
 visited by strangers from abroad, 
 would naturally contribute to this 
 result. But (2.) tliis docs not ap- 
 pear to be all that is intended. The 
 apostle commends them in such a 
 way as to make it certain that they 
 were to'.uulanj in the spread of tiie 
 gospel; lliat they made decided efforts 
 to take advantage of their position 
 to send the knowledge of the truth 
 abroad. If so, this is an interesting 
 instince of one of the first efforts 
 made by a church to diffuse the gos- 
 pel, and to send it to those who were 
 destitute of it. There is no impro- 
 bability in the supposition tiiat they 
 sent out members of their church — 
 messengers of salvation — to other 
 parts of Macedonia and Greece, that 
 tliey might communicate the same 
 gospel to others. See Doddriilge. 
 ¥ But also in every place. Thessa- 
 lonica was connected not only with 
 Macedonia and Greece proper, in its 
 commercial relations, but also with 
 the ports of Asia Minor, and not im- 
 probably with still more remote re- 
 gions. The meaning is, that in all 
 the places with which they trafficked 
 the effect of their faith was seen and 
 spoken of ^ Fuilh to (.iod-wurd. 
 Fidelity toward God. Thry showed 
 that tiiey had a true belief in God 
 tnd in the truth which he hod re- 
 
 we need not to speak any thing 
 
 For they themselves shew 
 
 of us what manner of entering 
 
 in we had unto you, and how ye 
 
 vealed. ^ So that we need not to 
 speak anything. That is, wherever 
 wo go, we need say nothing of the 
 fact that you have been turned to 
 the Lord, or of the character of your 
 piety. These tilings are sutficientiy 
 made known by those who come 
 from you, by those who visit you, 
 and by your zeal in spread mg the 
 true religion. 
 
 9. For Ihry themselves. Tliey 
 who have visited you, and they whom 
 you have sent out ; all persons testi- 
 fy of your piety. The apostle seems 
 to refer to all whom he had met or 
 had heard of ' in all places,' who said 
 anything about the Tiiessalonians. 
 Tlioy were unanimous in bearing 
 testimony to their fidelity and piety. 
 'J Shoto of us ichat manner of enter' 
 ing in we had unto you. The tes- 
 timony which they bear of you is, in 
 fact, testimony of the manner in 
 which we preached the gospel, and 
 demeaned ourselves when we wore 
 with yon. It shows that we were 
 intent on our Master's work, and 
 that we were not actuated by seltish 
 or sinister motives. The argument 
 is, that such effect^ could not have 
 been produced among them if Paul, 
 Silas, and their fellow-labourers had 
 been impostors. Their sound con- 
 version to God ; their change from 
 idolatry to the true religion, and the 
 zeal which had been the result of 
 their conversion, was an argument 
 to which Paul and his fellow-labour- 
 ers might appeal in projf of their 
 sincerity and their being sent from 
 God. Paul oflen makes a similar 
 ap[>eal. Comp. Notes on "2 Cor. iii. 
 2, li. It is certain that many of the 
 Jews in Thessalonica, when Paul 
 and his fellow-Ial)ourer3 were there, 
 reirarded them as im{K)stors (Acta 
 xvii. G H), and there is ev«ry reasuij 
 
1« 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 turned to God " from idols, to serve 
 the living and true God ; 
 
 alCo. 12. 2. Ga.4. 8. 
 
 to suppose that after tliey left the 
 city, they would endeavour to keep 
 up this impression among the peo- 
 ple. To meet tliis, Paul now says 
 that their own undoubted conversion 
 to a life of holiness and zeal under 
 their ministry, was an unanswerable 
 argument that this was not so. How 
 could impostors and deceivers have 
 been tlie means of producing such 
 effects ? "il And how ye turned to 
 God from idols. That is, under our 
 preaching. Tliis proves that the 
 church was to a considerable extent 
 composed of those who were con- 
 verted from idolatry under the preach- 
 ing of Paul. Comp. Intro. ^ 4. The 
 meaning here is, that they who came 
 from them, or they who had visited 
 them, bore abundant testimony to 
 the fact that tliey had turned from 
 idols to the worship of the true God. 
 Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. xii. 2. Gal. iv. 
 8. ^ To serve the living' and true 
 God. He is called the ' living God' 
 in opposition to idols — who are repre- 
 sented as dead, dumb, deaf, and blind. 
 Comp. Ps. cxxxv. 15 — 17. Notes, 
 Isa. xliv. 10—17. IMatt. xvi. 16. 
 John V, 26. Acts xiv. 15. 
 
 10. And to wait for his Son from 
 heaven. It is clear from this and 
 from other parts of these two epis- 
 tles, that the return of the Lord Je- 
 sus to this world was a prominent 
 subject of the preaching of Paul at 
 Thessalonica. No small part of these 
 epistles is occupied with stating the 
 true doctrine on this point (1 Thess. 
 iv., v.), and in correcting the errors 
 which prevailed in regard to it after 
 the departure of Paul. Perhaps we 
 are not to infer, however, that this 
 doctrine was made more prominent 
 there than others, or that it had been 
 inculcated there more frequently 
 than it had been elsewhere, but the 
 apostle adverts to it liei e particularly 
 
 10 And to wait * for his Son 
 from heaven, whom he raised from 
 
 b Ph. 3. 20. 
 
 because it was a doctrine so well 
 fitted to impart comfort to them in 
 their trials (ch. iv. 13 — 18), and be- 
 cause, in that connection, it was so 
 well calculated to rouse them to vigi- 
 lance and zeal. Ch. v. 1 — 11. He 
 makes it prominent in the second 
 epistle, because material errors pre- 
 vailed there in reference to it which 
 needed to be corrected. In the pas- 
 sage before us, he says that the re- 
 turn of the Son of God from heaven 
 was an important point which had 
 been insisted on when he was there, 
 and that their conduct, as borne wit- 
 ness to by all, had shown with what 
 power it had seized upon them, and 
 what a practical influence it had ex 
 erted in their lives. They lived as 
 if they were ' waiting^ tor his re- 
 turn. They fully believed in it ; they 
 expected it. They were looking out 
 for it, not knowing when it might 
 occur, and as if it might occur at 
 any moment. They were, therefore, 
 dead to the world, and were anima- 
 ted with an earnest desire to do good. 
 This is one of the instances which 
 demonstrate that the doctrine that 
 the Lord Jesus will return to our 
 world, is fitted, when understood in 
 the true sense revealed in the Scrip- 
 tures, to exert a powerful influence 
 on the souls of men. It is eminently 
 adapted to comforts the hearts of true 
 Christians in the sorrows, bereave- 
 ments, and sicknesses of life (John 
 xiv. 1—3. Acts i. 11. 1 Thess. iv. 
 13—18. 2 Pet. iii. 8, 9) ; to lead us 
 to watchfijlness and to an earnest 
 inquiry into the question whether we 
 are prepared to meet him (Matt, 
 xxiv. 37 — 44 ; xxv. 13) ; to make us 
 dead to the world, and to lead us to 
 act as becomes the children of light 
 (I Thess. V. 5 — 9) ; to awaken and 
 arouse impenitent and careless sin- 
 ners (1 Thess. V. 2, 3. 2 Pet iii 
 
A. D. 52.J CHAPTER I 
 
 the dead, etien Jesus, which deliv- 
 
 10 
 
 3 — ^7), and to excitj Cliristians to 
 •ielf-denying efforts tj spread the j^os- 
 pcl in clistaiil lands us was the case 
 at Thessalonicn. Every doctrine of 
 the gospt'l is adapted to produce 
 some hiippy praciical effects on man- 
 kind, but there are tew tiiat are more 
 full of elevated and holy influences 
 than that which teaclies that the 
 Lord Jesus will return to the earth, 
 «nd which leads the soul to wait for 
 iis appearing:. Conip. Notes, 1 Cor. 
 r.7. Phil. iii.^SO. M Whom he raised 
 from the (lead. Notes, Acts ii. 24 
 —3-2. 1 Cor. XV. 4—9. Paul pro- 
 •Sably means to intimate here, that 
 Uiis was one of the great truths 
 which they had received, that the 
 Lord Jesus had been raised from the 
 dead. U'e know it was a prominent, 
 doctrine wherever the gospel was 
 preached. ■[ Which delivered us 
 from the rcrath to come. Another 
 of the prominent doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity which was undoubtedly al- 
 ways inculcated by the first preach- 
 ers of religion. The ' wrath to come' 
 IS the divine indignation which will 
 come upon the guilty. Matt. iii. 7. 
 From that Christ delivers us by tak- 
 ing our place, and dying in our stead. 
 It was the great purpose of his com- 
 ing to save us from this approaching 
 wrath. It follows from this (L) that 
 there ufis wrath which man had to 
 dread — since Jesus came to deliver 
 us from something tiiat was r^al, and 
 not from what was imaainartj ; and 
 (2.) that the same wrath is to be 
 dreaded now by all who are not united 
 to Chri.^t, since in this respect tliey 
 are now just as all were before he 
 died ; that is, they are exposed to 
 fearful punishment, from which He 
 alone can deliver. It may be added, 
 tliat the existence of this wrath is 
 real, whether men believe it or not, 
 fcr the fact of its existence is not af- 
 fected by our belief or unbelief. 
 
 ered us from the wrath " to come. 
 
 a Mai. X 7. Ro. 5. 9 
 
 R E )I A R K 8 . 
 
 This chapter teaches — 
 
 (L) That it is right to commend 
 those who do well. Ver. 3. Paul 
 was never afraid of injuring any one 
 by commending him when he de- 
 served it; nor was he ever afraid to 
 rebuke when censure was due. 
 
 (2.) Christians are chosen to sal- 
 vation. Ver. 4. Their hope of hea- 
 ven depends on the ' election of 
 Gotl.' 
 
 (3.) It is possible for a people to 
 know that they are chosen of God, 
 and to give such evidence of it that 
 others shall know it also. Ver. 4. It 
 is possible for a church to evince 
 such a spirit of piety, self-denial, 
 love and holiness, and such a desire to 
 spread the gospel, as to show that 
 they are 'chosen of God,' or that 
 they are a true church. This ques- 
 tion is not to be determined by their 
 adherence to certain rites and forms; 
 by tiieir holding to the sentiments 
 of an orthodox creed ; or by Uieir 
 zeal in defence of the ' apostolic suc- 
 cession,' hut by their bringing forth 
 " the fruits of good living." In de- 
 termining that the church at Thes- 
 salonicn was 'chosen of God,' Paul 
 does not refer to its external organi- 
 zation, or to tlie fact that it was 
 founded by apostolic hands, or that 
 it had a true ministry and valid 
 ordinances, but to the fact that 
 it evinced the true spirit of chris- 
 tian piety; and particularly tliat 
 they Jiad been zealous in sending 
 the gospel to others. There were 
 three things to which he referred. 
 L That the gospel had power over 
 themselves, inducing thorn to aban- 
 don their sins; 2. thai it had such 
 influence on tlioir lives Uiat others 
 recoijniscd in them the evidence of 
 true religion; and, 3. that it made 
 tiiem bcoevolent, and excited tliem 
 
20 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52 
 
 to make efforts to diffuse its blessings 
 abroad. 
 
 (4.) If a church may know that 
 it is chosen or elected of God, it is 
 true of an individual also tliat he 
 may know it. It is not by any di- 
 rer.t revelation from heaven ; not by 
 an infallible communication of the 
 Holy Spirit ; not by any voice or vi- 
 sion ; but it is in the same way in 
 which this may be evinced by a 
 church. The conversion of an in- 
 dividual, or his 'election of God,' 
 may be certainly known by himself, 
 if, 1. the gospel is received as ' the 
 word of God,' and induces him to 
 abandon his sins; 2. if it leads him 
 to pursue such a life that others shall 
 see that he is actuated by christian 
 principles ; and, 3. if he makes it 
 his great aim in life to do good, and 
 to diffuse abroad, as far as he can, 
 that religion which he professes to 
 love. He who finds in his own heart 
 and life evidence of these things, 
 need not doubt that he is among the 
 ' chosen of God.' 
 
 (5.) The character of piety in the 
 life of an individual Christian, and 
 in a church, is often determined by 
 the manner in which the gospel is 
 embraced at first, and by the spirit 
 with which the christian life is en- 
 tered on. See Notes on vs. 5, 6. If 
 so, then this fact is of immense im- 
 portance in the question about organ- 
 izing a church, and about making a 
 profession of religion. If a church 
 is so organized as to have it under- 
 stood that it shall be to a considera- 
 ble extent the patron of worldly 
 amusements — a ' half-way house' be- 
 tween the world and religion, that 
 purpose will determine all its subse- 
 quent character — unless it shall be 
 counteracted by the grace of God. 
 If it is organized so as to look with 
 a benignant and tolerant eye on 
 gayety, vanity, self-indulgence, ease, 
 and what are called the amusements 
 and pleasures of life, it is not diffi- 
 cult to see what will be its character 
 
 and influence. How can such a 
 
 church diffuse far and near the con- 
 viction that it is ' chosen of God,' ae 
 the church at Thessalonica did 1 
 And so of an individual. Commonly, 
 the whole character of the religious 
 life will be determined by the viewa 
 with which the profession of religion 
 is made. If there is a purpose to 
 enjoy religion and the world too ; to 
 be the patron of fashion as well aa 
 a professed follower of Christ; to 
 seek the flattery or the plaudits ot 
 man as well as the approbation of 
 God, that purpose will render the 
 whole religious life useless, vacil- 
 lating, inconsistent, miserable. The 
 individual will live without the en- 
 joyment of religion, and will die 
 leaving little evidence to his friends 
 that he has gone to be with God. If, 
 on the otiier hand, there be single- 
 ness of purpose, and entire dedica- 
 tion to God at the commencement 
 of the christian life, the religious 
 career will be one of usefiihiess, 
 respectability, and peace. The most 
 important period in a man's life, then, 
 is that when he is pondering the 
 question whether he shall make a 
 profession of religion. 
 
 (6.) A church in a city should 
 cause its influence to be felt afar. 
 Vs. 7 — 9. This is true, indeed, of 
 all other churches, but it is especial- 
 ly so of a church in a large town. 
 Cities will be centres of influence in 
 fashion, science, literature, religion, 
 and morals. A thousand ties of in- 
 terest liind them to other parts of a 
 land, and though in fact there may 
 be, as there often is, much more mi- 
 lelligence in a country neighbour- 
 hood than among the same number 
 of inhabitants taken promiscuously 
 from a city ; and though there may 
 be, as there often is, fiir more good 
 sense and capability to appreciate 
 religious truth in a country congre* 
 gation than in a congregation in a 
 city, yet it is true that the city will 
 be the radiating point of influeuce 
 
A. I). 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 *J1 
 
 riiis, of course, increases the respon- 
 Bibiiity of Cliristiiins in a city, and 
 nialvps it imprUint tlint, likn those 
 of Tiiessalonica, tlioy should be mo- 
 dels of splf-<lenial and of eflbrts to 
 spread the gospel. 
 
 (7.) A church in a commercial 
 town should make use of its pecu- 
 liar influence to spread the gospel 
 abroad. Vs. 7 — 9. Surh a place is 
 connected witli remote lands, and 
 those who, for commercial purposes, 
 visit distant ports from that place, 
 should bear with them the spirit of 
 the gospel. "Such, too, should be the 
 character of piety in the churches in 
 such a city, tiiat all who visit it for 
 anv purpose, should see the reality 
 of religion, and be led to bear the 
 honourable report of it again to their 
 own land. 
 
 (8.) Such, too, should be the piety 
 of any church. The church at Tiies- 
 salonica evinced the true spirit of 
 religion. Vs. 7 — 9. Its light shone 
 atiir. It sent out those who went to 
 spread the gospel. Its members, 
 when they went abroad, siiowed that 
 they were influenced by higher and 
 purer principles than those whicii 
 actuated them before conversion, and 
 than were evinced by the heathen 
 world. Those who visited them, also, 
 saw that there was a reality in reli- 
 gion, and bore an honourable report of 
 it again to their own lands. Let any 
 church evince this spirit, and it will 
 show tint it is 'chosen of God,' or a 
 true churcli : and wherever there is 
 a church formed after the primitive 
 model, these traits will always be 
 seen. 
 
 (9.) It is our duty and privilege to 
 •wait for the Son of God to return 
 from heaven.' We know not when 
 his appearing, either to remove us 
 by doath, or to juiue the world, will 
 be — and we should therefijre watcii 
 Rnd bo ready. The hope of his re- 
 turn to nnr world tj raisp the dead, 
 and to convey his ransomed to hea- 
 ven, is the brightest and most cheer- 
 
 ing prospect that dawns on man, and 
 we should bo ready, whenever it oc- 
 curs, to hail him as our returning 
 Lord, and to rush to his anns as our 
 glorious Redeemer. It should be al- 
 ways the characteristic of our piety, 
 as it was that of John, to say, "Even 
 so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. .x.xii. 
 20. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 The principal subjects embraced 
 in this chapter are the following: — 
 
 I. A statement of the conduct of 
 Paul and his fellow-labourers when 
 they first preached the gospel at 
 Thessalonica. Vs. 1—12. In this 
 statement, the apostle specifies par- 
 ticularly the following things, (I.) 
 That lie and his fellow-labourers 
 had been shamefully treated at Plii- 
 lippi, and had been obliged to en- 
 counter much opposition at Thessa- 
 lonica. Vs. 1, 2. (2.) That in their 
 eflbrts to convert the Thessalonians 
 they had used no deceit, corruption, 
 or guile. Vs. 3, 4. (3.) Tiiat they 
 had not souirlit the praise of men, 
 and had not used the weight of au- 
 tliority whicii they miijht iiavc done 
 as the apostles of Christ Ver. G. 
 (4.) That tiiey had been gentle and 
 inild in all their intercourse willi 
 them. Vs. 7, 8. (5.) That, in or- 
 der not to be burdensome, or to sub- 
 ject themselves to the charge of sel- 
 fishness, they had supported them- 
 selves by labouring night and day. 
 Ver. 9. (<i.) That the Thessaloni- 
 ans themselves were witnesses in 
 what a holy and pure manner they 
 had lived when there, and how they 
 had e.xhorted them to a lioly lite. 
 Vs. 10—12. 
 
 II. The apostle refers to the man- 
 ner in which the Thessalonians had 
 received the truth at lirst, as un- 
 doubtedly the wonl of God, and not 
 as tlic word of men. Ver. 13. 
 
 III. He reminds them of the fact 
 that tli'.'y had met with tlie same 
 
22 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 LA. D. 52, 
 
 opposition from the Jews which the 
 churches in Judea had, for that every- 
 where the Jews had made the same 
 opposition to the messengers of God, 
 killing the Lord Jesus and their own 
 prophets, and forbidding the apostles 
 everywhere to speak to the Gentiles. 
 Vs. 14—16. 
 
 IV. In the conclusion of the chap- 
 ter, the apostle expresses the earnest 
 desii-e which he had to visit them, 
 and the reason why he had not done 
 it. It was because he had been pre- 
 vented by causes beyond his control, 
 and now his earnest and sincere wish 
 was that he might be permitted to 
 see them — for they were his hope, 
 and joy, and crown. Vs. 17 — 20. 
 
 It is reasonable to suppose that 
 the statements in this chapter were 
 designed to meet a certain condition 
 of things in the church there, and 
 if so, we may learn something of the 
 difficulties which the Thessalonians 
 had to encounter, and of the objec- 
 tions which were made to Paul and 
 to the gospel. It is often in this way 
 that we can get the best view of the 
 internal condition of a church refer- 
 red to in the New Testament — not 
 by direct statement respecting diffi- 
 culties and errors in it, but by the 
 character of the epistle sent to it. 
 Judging by this rule, we should in- 
 fer that there were those in Thessa- 
 lonica who utterly denied the divine 
 origin of the gospel. This general 
 charge, the apostle meets in the first 
 chapter, by showing that the power 
 of the gospel evinced in their con- 
 version, and its effects in their lives, 
 demonstrated it to be of heavenly 
 origin. 
 
 In reference to the state of things 
 as referred to in this chapter, we 
 should also hifer the following things : 
 
 1. That it was represented by 
 Bome that the apostle and his fellow- 
 iaoourers sought influence and pow- 
 er; that they were dictatorial and 
 authoritative ; that they were indis- 
 posed to labour, and were, in fact, 
 
 impostors. This charge Paul refutes 
 abundantly by his appeal to what 
 they knew of him, and what they 
 had seen of him when he was there. 
 Vs. 1—12. 
 
 2. That the church at Thessalo- 
 nica met with severe and violent 
 opposition from the Jews who were 
 there. Vs. 14 — 17. This appears 
 to have been a formidable opposition. 
 Comp. Acts xvii. 5, seq. They would 
 not only be likely to use violence, 
 but it is not improbable that they 
 employed the semblance of ar- 
 gument that might perplex the 
 church. They might represent that 
 they were from the same country 
 as Paul and his fellow-labourers; 
 that they, while pretending to great 
 zeal for religion, were, in tact, apos- 
 tates, and were engaged in overturn- 
 ing the revealed doctrines of God. 
 It would be easy to represent tliem 
 as men v.-ho, from this cause, were 
 worthy of no confidence, and to urge 
 tiie fact that those who thus acted 
 in opposition to the religion of their 
 own country, and to the sacred rites 
 of the temple at Jerusalem, could 
 be entitled to no regard. These 
 charges, if they were made, the 
 apostle meets, by assuring the Thes- 
 salonians that they were suffering 
 precisely the same things which the 
 churches in Judea did ; that the Jews 
 manifested the same spirit there 
 which they did in Thessalonica ; that 
 they had killed alike the Lord Jesus 
 and their own undoubted prophets, 
 and that it was a characteristic of 
 them that they were opposed to all 
 other men. Their opposition, there- 
 fore, was not to be wondered at, nor 
 was it to be regarded as any argu- 
 ment that the apostles, though Jews, 
 were unworthy of confidence. Vs. 
 15, 16. 
 
 .3. It was very probably represent- 
 ed by the enemies of Paul and his 
 fellow -labourers, that they had fled 
 from Thessalonica on the slightest 
 danger, and had no regard for the 
 
A. D. 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 23 
 
 F 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ~^0R yourselves, brethren, know 
 our entrance in unto you, that 
 It was not in vain : 
 
 ti But even after that we had 
 suffered before, and were shame- 
 church there, or they would have re- 
 muined tliere in the time of peril, or, 
 at least, that they would have return- 
 ed to visit them. Their continued ab- 
 sence was probably urged as a proof 
 that they had no concern for them. 
 The apostle meets this by stating 
 that they had been indeed 'taken 
 from them' for a little time, but that 
 tlieir hearts were still with them, 
 and by assuring them that he had 
 often endeavoured to visit them 
 again, but that • Satin had hindered' 
 him. Vs. 17 — 20. He had, however, 
 gfiven tliem the highest proof of in- 
 terest and affection that he could, for 
 .•lien he was unable to go himself, 
 he had, at great self-denial, sent Ti- 
 mothy to establish tliem in the faith, 
 and to comtbrt their liearls. Ch. iii. 
 1 — ;3. ilis absence, therefore, should 
 not be. urged as a proof that he had 
 no regard fbr tliem. 
 
 1. For yourselves, brethren, know 
 our entrance in unto you. Notes, 
 ch. i. 9. Paul appeals to themselves 
 for proof that they had not come 
 among them as impostors. They had 
 had a full opportunity to see them, 
 and to know what influenced them. 
 Paul frequently appeals to his own 
 life, and to what they, among whom 
 he laboured, knew of it, as a full re- 
 futation of tiie slanderous accusations 
 of his enemies. Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. 
 iv. 10— IG; i.x. lf>— 27. 2 Cor. vi. 
 3 — 10. Every minister of the gos- 
 pel ought so to live as to be able, 
 when slanderously attacked, to make 
 Buch an appeal to his people. ^ That 
 it was not in vain. xtvr;. This word 
 means (1.) empty, vaiji, fruitless, or 
 without success ; (2.) that in which 
 
 fully entreated, ;is ye know, at 
 Philippi, " we were '' bold in our 
 God to speak unto you the gospel 
 of God with much contcnt'on. ' 
 
 a Ac. 10. 13, &.e. 
 c Jucle 3. 
 
 b Ac. 17 2. 3. 
 
 there is no truth or reality— ^rt/s«, 
 fallacious. Eph. v. 6. Col. ii. 8. 
 Here it seems, from the connection 
 (vs. ;3 — 5), to be used in the latter 
 sense, as denoting that they were 
 not deceivers. Tlie object does not 
 appear to be so much to show that 
 their ministry was successful, as to 
 meet a charge of their adversaries 
 that tliey were impostors. Paul tells 
 them that from their own observa- 
 tion they knew that this was not so. 
 2. But even after that we had suf- 
 fered bt fore. Before we came among 
 you. "T And were shamefully en- 
 triated, as ye know, at Philippi. 
 .\cts .\vi. 19, seq. By being beaten 
 and cast into prison. The shame of 
 the treatment consisted in the fact 
 that it was wholly undeserved ; that 
 it was contrary to the laws; and 
 that it was accompanied with cir- 
 cumstances designed to make their 
 punishment as ignominious as possi- 
 ble. The Thessalonians knew of 
 this, and Paul was not disposed to 
 palliate the conduct of the Philiiy- 
 pians. What was 'shameful treat- 
 ment' he speaks of as such without 
 hesitation. It is not wrong to call 
 things by their right names, and 
 when we have been abused, it is not 
 necessary that we should attempt to 
 smoothe the mattef over by saying 
 that it was not so. ? We were bold 
 in our God. By humble dependence 
 on the support of our Crod. It was 
 only his powerful aid that could have 
 enabled them to persevere with ar- 
 dour and zeal in sucii a work after 
 such treatment The meaning here 
 i.-j, tiiat tliey were not deterred from 
 preaching tlie gospel by the treat- 
 ment which Uiey liad received, but 
 
.M 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 LA. D. 52 
 
 8 For our exhdttation was not 
 of deceit, " nor of uncleanness, 
 nor in guile : 
 
 a 2 Pe. 1. IG. 
 
 at the very next important town, and 
 on tlie first opportunity, they pro- 
 claimed the same truth, thoiig:h there 
 was no security that they might not 
 meet with the same persecution 
 there. Paul evidently appeals to 
 this in order to show them that they 
 were not impostors, and that they 
 were not influenced by the hope of 
 ease or of selfish gains. Men who 
 w»ere not sincere and earnest in their 
 purposes would have been deterred 
 by such treatment as they had re- 
 ceived at Philippi. ^ With much 
 contention. Amidst much opposition, 
 and where great effort was necessa- 
 ry. The Greek word here used is 
 ttr/uiv (agony), a word referring usu- 
 ally to the Grecian games. Notes, 
 Col. ii. 1. It means the course, or 
 place of contest ; and then the con- 
 test itself, the strife, the combat, the 
 eflx)rt for victory; and the apostle 
 here means, that owing to the oppo- 
 sition there, there was need of an 
 effort on his part like the desperate 
 struggles of those who contended for 
 the mastery at the Grecian games. 
 Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 24 — ^27. 
 The triumph of the gospel there was 
 secured only by an etfort of the high- 
 est kind, and by overcoming the 
 most formidable opposition. 
 
 3. For our exhortation. That is, 
 the exhortation to embrace tlie gos- 
 pel. The word seems to be used 
 here so as to include preaching in 
 general. The sense is, that the 
 means which they used to induce 
 them to become Christians were not 
 such as to delude them. ^ Was not 
 of deceit. Was not founded on so- 
 nhistry. The apostle means to say, 
 ihat the Thessalonians knew that 
 his manner of preaching was not 
 such as was adopted by the advocates 
 of error, IF Nor of uncleanness. — 
 
 4 But as we Avcre allowed of 
 God to be put in trust ' with the 
 gospel, even so we speak ; not as 
 
 b 1 Ti. 1. 11, 12. 
 
 Not such as to lead to an impure life. 
 It was such as to lead to holiness 
 and purity. The apostle appeals to 
 what they knew to be the tendency 
 of his doctrine as an evidence that 
 it was true. Most of the teaching 
 of the heathen pjiilosophers led to a 
 life of licentiousness and corruption. 
 The tendency of the gospel was just 
 the reverse. •[ Nor in guile. Not 
 by the arts of deceit. There was 
 no craftiness or trick, such as could 
 not bear a severe scrutiny. No point 
 \vas carried by art, cunning, or stra- 
 tagem. Everything was done on the 
 most honourable and fair principles. 
 It is much when a man can say that 
 he has never endeavoured to accom- 
 plish anything by mere trick, craft, 
 or cunning. Sagacity and shrewd- 
 ness are always allowable in minis- 
 ters as well as others; trick and 
 cunning never. Yet stratagem often 
 takes the place of sagacity, and trick 
 is often miscalled shrewdness. Guile, 
 craft, cunning, imply deception, and 
 can never be reconciled with that 
 entire honesty which a minister of 
 the gospel, and all other Christians, 
 ought to possess. See Notes on 2 
 Cor. xii. 16. Comp. Ps. xxxii. 2; 
 xxxiv. 13. John i. 47. 1 Pet. ii. 1. 
 22. Rev. xiv. 5. 
 
 4. But as we were allowed of God 
 to be put in trust with the gospel. 
 Comp. 1 Tim. i. 11, 12. Since there 
 had been committed to us an ofiice 
 so high and holy, and so mucli de- 
 manding sincerity, fidelity, and ho- 
 nesty, we endeavoured to act in all 
 respects in conformity to the trust 
 reposed in us. The gospel is a sys 
 tem of truth and sincerity, and we 
 evinced the same. The gospel is 
 concerned with great realities, and 
 we did not resort to trick and illu 
 1 sion. The office of the ministry is 
 
A. I). 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 pleasing men, but God, which tri- j used we flattering words, as ye 
 clh our hearts. I know, nor a cloke of covetous- 
 
 For neither " at 
 
 a 2 Co. 2. 17. 
 
 any 
 
 time 
 
 most responsiblo, and we acted in 
 view of the great account wliich wo 
 must render. The meaninj^ is, that 
 Paul liad Buch a sense of tlie truth, 
 renJity, and iinporUmce of tlie go^ 
 pel, and of his responsibility, as et- 
 fectually to keep him from anything 
 like craft or cunning in preaching it. 
 An eflectual restrainer from mere 
 management and trick will always 
 be tbund in a deep conviction of tlie 
 trulli and importance of religion. 
 Artifice and cunning are the usual 
 accompaniments of a bad cause — 
 and, when adopted by a minister of 
 the gospel, will usually, when detect- 
 ed, leave the impression that he feels 
 that he is engaged in such a cause. 
 If an object cannot bo secured by 
 sincerity and straight-forward deal- 
 ing, it is not desirable that it shoidd 
 be secured at all. •[ Even so we 
 speak. In accordance with the na- 
 ture of the gospel; with the truth 
 and sincerity which such a cause 
 demands. ^ Ao/ as ■pleasinsc men. 
 Not in the manner of impostors, who 
 make it their object to please men. 
 The meaning of the apostle is, that 
 he did not aim to teach such doc- 
 trines as would flatter men ; as would 
 win their applause ; or as would gra- 
 tify their passions or their fancy. 
 We are not to supjwse that he de- 
 tired to offend men ; or that he re- 
 garded their esteem as of no value; 
 or tliat he was indifferent whether 
 they were pleased or displeased ; but 
 that it was not the direct object of 
 his preaching to please them. It 
 was to declare the truth, and to ob- 
 tain the approbation of God, what- 
 ever men might think of it See 
 Notes on Gal. i. 10. I Which tricth 
 our hearts. It is ot\en said to be an 
 attribute of God that he tries or 
 ep.irch('< I'l • lii,irf.;f)f men. 1 Chron. 
 
 ness ; God is witness ; 
 
 .xxviii. 9; x.xi.\. 17. Jer. xi. 20; 
 xvii. 10. Ps. xi. 4. Rom. viii. 27. 
 The meaning here is, that the apos- 
 tle had a deep conviction of the truth 
 that God knew all his motives, and 
 that all would be revealed in the laat 
 day. 
 
 5. For neither at any lime used 
 we JIatteririq- words. Sec Notes on 
 Job xx.xi. 21, 22; and on 2 Cor. ii. 
 17. Tlie word here rendered ' flat- 
 tering' — xoxoutf I'a — occurs nowhere 
 else in tiio New Testament. Tiie 
 meaning is, that the apostle did not 
 deal in the language of adulation ; 
 he did not praise them for their beau- 
 ty, wealth, talent, or accomplish- 
 ments, and conceal from them the 
 painful truths about their guilt and 
 danger. He stated simple truth 
 not refusing to conunend .ea if 
 truth would admit of •'. and never 
 hesitating to doc)-'' - nis honest con- 
 victions about liieir guUt and danger. 
 One of the principal arts of the de- 
 ceiver on all subjects is flattery ; and 
 Paul says, that when preacliing to 
 the Thcssalonians he had carefully 
 avoided it. He now appeals to that 
 fact as a proof of his own integrity. 
 They knew that he had been faith- 
 ful to their soul.';. ^ Nor a cloke nf 
 cnvctousnrss. The word roinlered 
 '^ cloke' here — ni>irpanii — means--, pro- 
 perly, • what is shown or appears be- 
 iore any one ;' i. e., shuw, pretence, 
 preli'xt, put forth in order to cover 
 one's real intent. MaL.vxiii.il. .Mark 
 xii. 40. Luke XX. 47. The ineaning 
 here is, that he did not j)ut on a pre- 
 tence or apprnrance of piety for the 
 sake ofproiiiiitiiig the schemes of cov- 
 ctousriess. The rvidcncf of that was 
 not oiilv what they ob.-«crveil of the 
 gen« nil spirit of the apostlo, but also 
 the liict that when with tliem he had 
 actually laboured with his own hands 
 
26 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 
 
 6 Nor of men " sought we glo- 
 ry, neither of you, nor yet of 
 
 a Jno. 5. 41. 44. Ga. 1. 10. 
 
 for a support. Ver. 9. It is obvious 
 that there were those there, as some- 
 times there are now, who, under the 
 pretence of great zeal for religion, 
 were really seeking wealth, and it 
 is possible that it may have been al- 
 leged against Paul and his fellow- 
 labourers that they were such per-, 
 sons. T[ God is witness. This is a 
 solemn appeal to God for the truth 
 of what he had said. He refers not 
 only to their own observation, but he 
 calls God himself to witness his sin- 
 cerity. God knew the truth in the 
 case. There could have been no 
 imposing on him; and the appeal, 
 therefore, is to one who was inti- 
 mately acquainted with the truth. 
 Learn hence, (1.) that it is right, on 
 important occasions, to appeal to God 
 for the truth of what we say, (2.) 
 We should always so live tliac we 
 can properly make such an appeal 
 to him. 
 
 6. Nor of men sought we glory. 
 Or praise. The love of applause 
 was not that which influenced them. 
 See Notes on Col. i. 10. ^ Neither 
 of you, nor yet of others. Nowhere 
 has this been our object. The love 
 of fame is not that whicli has influ- 
 enced us. Tiie particular idea in 
 this verse seems to be, that though 
 they had unfommon advantages, as 
 the apostles of Christ, for setting up 
 a dominion or securing an ascenden- 
 cy over others, yet they had not 
 availed tliemselves of it. As an 
 apostle of Christ ; as appointed by 
 him to found churches ; as endov.-ed 
 with the power of working miracles, 
 Paul had every advantage for secur- 
 ing authority over others, and turn- 
 ing it to the purposes of ambition or 
 gain. ^ When we might have been 
 burdensome. Marg., 'or, used au- 
 thority.'' Some understand this as 
 
 others, when we might have ' been 
 burdensome, * as the apostles of 
 Christ. 
 
 1 or, used authority. b 2 Co. 10. 33-lj. 
 
 meaning that they might have de- 
 manded a support in virtue of their 
 being apostles ; others, as Calvini 
 and as it is in the margin, that they 
 might have used authority, and have 
 governed them v.-holly in that man 
 ner, exacting unqualified obedience 
 The Greek properly refers to that 
 which is weigJtty — iv /Sopit — heavy, 
 burdensome. Anything i\\3l weighs 
 down, or oppresses — as a burden, 
 sorrow, or authority, wo\ild meet the 
 sense of the Greek. It seems pro- 
 bable, from the context, that the 
 apostle did not refer either to au- 
 thority or to support exclusively, but 
 may have included both. In their 
 circumstances it might liave been 
 somewhat burdensome for them to 
 have maintained him and his fellow- 
 labourers, though as an apostle he 
 might have required it. Comp. 1 
 Cor. ix. 8 — 15. Rather than be op- 
 pressive in this respect, he had cho- 
 sen to forego his right, and to main- 
 tain himself by his own labour. As 
 an apostle also he might have exert- 
 ed his authority, and might have 
 made use of his great ofBce for the 
 purpose of placing himself at the head 
 of churches, and giving them laws. 
 But he chose to do nothing that 
 would be a burden ; he treated them 
 with the gentleness with which a 
 nurse cherishes her children (ver. 
 7), or a father his sons (ver. 11), and 
 employed only the arts of persuasion. 
 Comp. Notes on 2 Cor. xii. 13—16. 
 ^ As the ajmstles of Christ. Though 
 the writer uses the word apostles 
 here in the plural number, it is not 
 certain that he means to apply it to 
 Silas and Timothy. He often uses 
 the plural number where he refers 
 to himself only ; and though Silas 
 and Timotliy are jomed with him in 
 this epistle (ch. i. 1), yet it is evidenJ 
 
/v. D. ry2.j 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 •27 
 
 7 But wc were cfonlle amonrr 
 you, even as a niubc chcrit;lK'tli 
 rier children : 
 
 8 So, being afToctionaloly de- 
 sirous of you, we were willing 
 
 that ho writes tlic letter as if lie were 
 alone and that they h'ld no part ia 
 the composition or the instructions. 
 Timothy and Silas are associated 
 witii iiim for the mere purpose of s;ilu- 
 tation or kind rcniembnince. That 
 this is so, is apparent from cli. iii. 
 In ver. 1 of that chapter, Paul uses 
 the plural term also. ' Wlicn we 
 could no longer forbear, we thousfht 
 it good to be letl at Alliens alone. 
 Comp. ver. Tj. ' For this cause, when 
 / could no lont^er forbear, / sent to 
 know your faith.' Neither Silas nor 
 Tiuiothy were apostles in the strict 
 and proper sense, and there is no 
 evidence that they had the 'autho- 
 rity' which Paul here says might 
 have been e.\ertcd by an apostle of 
 Christ. 
 
 7. Bit ICC trerc trentle amons^ you. 
 Instead of using authority, we used 
 only tiie most kind and gentle me- 
 thods to win you and to promote your 
 peace and order. Tlie word here 
 rendered ' nurse,' may mean any one 
 who nurses a child, whether a mo- 
 ther or anotiier person. It seems 
 here to refer to a mother (comp. ver. 
 11), and the idea is, that the ajrostle 
 felt for them the affectionate solici- 
 tude which a mother does for the 
 child at her breast. 
 
 8. So, being afftclionatcly desi- 
 rous of you. The word liere ren- 
 dered ' being affl^ctionately desirous' 
 — t.afi,>w — occurs nowhere else in tlie 
 New Testamcut. It means to loner 
 after, to hate a slromr affection for. 
 The sense here is, that Paul was ?o 
 strongly attached to them that ho 
 would have been willing to lay down 
 his lite for tiicm. IT We were will- 
 ing to have imparled i/s/o i/ou. 
 To luvo given or communicated. 
 
 to have " imparted unto yon, not 
 the gospel of God only, hut alse 
 our own souls, because ye were 
 dear unlo us. 
 
 a Ro. ]. 11. 
 
 Rom. i. 1 1. ^ Not the gospel of God 
 only. To be willing to communicate 
 the knowledge of the gospel was in 
 itself a strong proof of love, even it 
 it were attended with no sclMonial 
 or hazard in doing it. We evince 
 a decided love for a man when we 
 tell him of the way of salvation, and 
 urge him to accept of it. We show 
 .strong interest for one who is in dan- 
 ger, when we tell him of a way of 
 escape, or for one who is sick, when 
 we tell him of a medicine that will 
 restore him ; but we manifest a much 
 higher love when we tell a lost and 
 ruined sinner of the way in which 
 lie may be saved. There is no me- 
 thod in which we can show so 
 strong an interest in our fellow-men, 
 and so much true benevolence for 
 them, as to go to them and tell tiiem 
 of the way by which they may be 
 rescued from everlasting ruin. ^[ lint 
 also our own souls. Or rather livs 
 — \vxi)-i- Matt. vi.2.}; x.x.2^. Luke 
 xii. 22, 23. Mark iii. 4. This does 
 not mean that tiic apostle was will- 
 ing to be damned, or to lose his snnl 
 in order to save them, but tlint if it 
 had been necessary he would havp 
 been ready to lay down his life. 
 See 1 John iii. 10. " We ought to 
 lay down our lives for the brethren." 
 Comp. Notes, John xv. 13. H is object 
 .seems to be to a.ssuro lliciii that hft 
 (lid not leave tiicm from any want of 
 love to them, or from the fear of being 
 put to death. It was done from the 
 strong conviction of duty. I le appears 
 to have lell tliem because he could 
 not longer remain without exposing 
 otliers to danger, and without the 
 certainty that there would be con 
 tinned disturbinces. See Acts x\i\, 
 
 y. lu 
 
28 
 
 I. THESSALONIANB. 
 
 ]A. D. 62. 
 
 9 For ye remember, brethren, 
 our labour " and travail : for la- 
 bouring night and day, because 
 we would not be chargeable unto 
 any of you, we preached unto 
 you the gospel of God. 
 
 10 Ye we witnesses, and God 
 aho, how holily and justly and 
 
 a Ac. 20. 34, 35. 2 Th. 3. 7, 8. 
 
 9. Ye remember, brethren, our 
 labour. Doubtless in the occupation 
 of a tent-maker. Notes, Acts xx. 
 J34. 1 Cor. iv. 12. IT And travail. 
 See Notes on 2 Cor. xi. 27. The 
 word means wearisome labour. ^For 
 labouring night and day. That is, 
 when he was not engaged in preach- 
 ing the gospel. He appears to have 
 laboured through the week and to 
 have preached on the Sabbath; or 
 if engaged in preaching in the day- 
 time during the week, he made it up 
 hy night labour. ^ We preached 
 unto yon the gospel of God. That 
 is, I supported myself when I preach- 
 ed among you. No one, therefore, 
 could say that I was disposed to 
 live in idleness ; no one that I sought 
 to make myself rich at tlie expense 
 of others. 
 
 10. Ye are witnesses. They had 
 a full opportunity of knowing his 
 manner of life. ^ And God also. 
 Notes on ver. 5. ^ How holily. Pi- 
 ously — -observing all the duties of 
 religion. •[ And justly. In our in- 
 tercourse with men. I did them, no 
 wrong. % And unblameably. This 
 seems to refer to his duties both to 
 God and man. In reference to all 
 tliose duties no one could bring a 
 charge against him. Every duty 
 was faithfully performed. This is 
 not a claim to absolute perfection, 
 but it is a claim to consistency of 
 character, and to faithfulness in duty, 
 which every Christian should be en- 
 abled to make. Every man profess- 
 ing religion should so live as to be 
 
 unblameably we behaved our 
 selves among you that behove : 
 
 11 As ye know how we ex- 
 horted, and comforted, and chained 
 every one of you, as a father doth 
 his children, 
 
 12 That ye would walk * wor- 
 thy of God, who " hath called you 
 unto his kingdom and glory. 
 
 JEp. 4. ]. clCo. 1. 9. 
 
 able to appeal to all who have had 
 an opportunity of knowing him, as 
 witnesses that he v/as consistent and 
 faithful, and that there was nothing 
 which could be laid to his charge. 
 
 11. How we exhorted. That is, 
 to a holy life. ^ And comforted. 
 In the times of affliction. % And 
 charged. Gr., testified. The word 
 testify is used here in the sense of 
 protesting, or making an earnest 
 and solemn appeal. They came as 
 witnesses from God of the truth of 
 religion, and of the importance of 
 living in a holy manner. They did 
 not originate the gospel themselves, 
 or teach its duties and doctrines as 
 their own, but they came in the ca- 
 pacity of those who bore icitness of 
 what God had revealed and required, 
 and they did this in the earnest and 
 solemn manner which became such 
 an office, "i^ As a father doth his 
 children. With an interest in your 
 welfare, such as a father feels lor 
 his children, and with such a method 
 as a father would use. It was not 
 done in a harsli, dictatorial, and ar- 
 bitrary manner, but in tenderness 
 and love. 
 
 12. That ye would toalk worthy 
 of God, &c. That you would live 
 in such a manner as would honour 
 God, who has chosen you to be his 
 friends. Notes Eph. iv. 1. A chdd 
 ' walks worthy of a parent' when he 
 lives in such way as to reflect ho- 
 nour on that parent for the method 
 in which he has trained him; when 
 he so lives as to bring no disgrace 
 
A. D. 52. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 29 
 
 lii For this cause also thank 
 we God without coiisinp:, because, 
 when ye roceivcil the word of Goil 
 which ye heard of us, yc received 
 it not * as the word of men, but, 
 as it is in truth, the word of God, 
 
 a M.-il. 10. 40. 2 Hf. 3. 2. 
 
 on l)im, bo as not to pain liis heart by 
 mLsconduct, or t-o as to give no occa- 
 sion to any to speak reproacli fully of 
 him. This he docs, when (1.) he 
 keeps all his commands; (*2.) when 
 lie leads a life of purity and virtue; 
 (3.) when he carries out the princi- 
 ples of the tlimily into his own life; 
 (4.) when he honours a father by 
 evincinfT a profound respect for his 
 opinions; and (5.) when he endea- 
 vours to provide for his comfort and 
 to promote his welfare. In a man- 
 ner similar to this, a true Christian 
 honours God. He lives so as not to 
 brinjf a reproach upon him or his 
 cause, and so as to teach the world 
 to honour him who has bestowed 
 such srrace upon him. ^ Who hath 
 callrt' t/nii. Xutcs, 1 Cor. i. 9. 
 
 l:]. Fur this cause also thank we 
 dad. In addition to the reasons for 
 tiiankfulncss already suggested, the 
 apostle here refers to the fact that 
 they received the truth, when it was 
 preached, in such a way as to show 
 that they fully believed it to be the 
 word of God. •[ Not as the word 
 of men. Not of human orii^in, but 
 as a divine revelation. You were 
 not led to embrace it by human rea- 
 soning, or the mere arts of persua- 
 sion, or from personal respect for 
 others, but by your conviction that 
 it was a revelation from God. It is 
 only when the gospel is embraced 
 in this way that relijjion will show 
 itself sufficient to abide tlie fiery tri- 
 als to wiiich Christians may be ex- 
 He who is convinced by 
 I'uiian reasoninsf may have his 
 liiH 1 .<:iaken by opposit** artful rea- 
 Boninpr; he who is won oy the mere 
 8rt8 of popular eloquence will have 
 
 which effectually workcth * also 
 in you that believe. 
 
 11 For ye, brethren, became 
 followers of the churches of God 
 which in Judca are in Christ Je- 
 sus : for ye also have sufiered like 
 
 i'ja. 1. Ici. ll'o. 1.2.^ 
 
 no faith which will be proof against 
 similar arts in the cnuse of error; 
 he who embraces religion from mere 
 respect ft)r a pastor, parent, or t>iend, 
 or becau.-^e others do, may abandon 
 it when the popular current shall set 
 in a different direction, or when his 
 friends shall embrace diflerent views; 
 but he who embraces religion as tiio 
 truth of God, and from the love ot 
 the truth, will have a faith, like that 
 of the Thessi.]onians, which will 
 abide every trial. IT Which effectu- 
 ally worketh also in you that believe. 
 The word f cndered ' whicii' here — 
 6j — may be referred either to ' truth' 
 or to 'God.' The grammatical con- 
 struction will admit of either, but it 
 is not material which is adopted. 
 Either of them expresses a sense un- 
 deniably true, and of great import- 
 ance. Tlic moaning is, that the 
 truth was made ethcacious in the 
 minds of all who became true Chris- 
 tians. It induced them to abandon 
 their sins, to devote themselves to 
 God, to lead pure and holy lives, and 
 enabled them to abide the trials and 
 temptiitions of life. Com p. Notes on 
 Phil. ii. 12, 13. Ilob. xiii. 21. The 
 particular illustration here is, that 
 when they embraced the gfjspe' 
 it had such an efficacy on their 
 hearts as to prepare them to meet 
 all the terrors of bitter per.-^ecution 
 witiiout shnnking. 
 
 11. For ye, brethren, became fol- 
 lowers of the chiirchrs of (rod which 
 in Judea are in Christ Jesus. — 
 Which are united to the I/jrd /rsna, 
 or whicli are tounded on his .rath : 
 that is, whicli an^ true churches. Of 
 those churches they became imita- 
 tors — fufttjtai — to wit, in Uicir su2er- 
 
80 1. THESSALONIANS. [A. D. 52. 
 
 tilings of your own countrymen, j even as they have of the Jews ; 
 
 ings. This does not mean that they 
 were founded oh tlie same model ; 
 or that tliey professed to be the fol- 
 lowers of those churches, but that 
 they had been treated in the same 
 way. and thus were like them. They 
 had been persecuted in the same 
 manner, and by the same people — 
 the Jews ; and they had borne their 
 persecutions with the same spirit. 
 The object of tiiis is to comfort and 
 encourage them, by showing tliem 
 that others had been treated in the 
 same manner, and that it was to be 
 expected that a true church would 
 be persecuted by the Jews. They 
 ought not, therefore, to consider it 
 as any evidence that they were not 
 a true church that they had been 
 persecuted by those who claimed to 
 be the people of God, and wlio made 
 extraordinary pretensions to piety. 
 IT For ye also have suffered like 
 things of your own countrymen. 
 Literally, 'of those who are of 
 your felloiv-tribe, or felloic-clansmen' 
 — avixfvXsii^v. The Greek word 
 means 'one of the same tribe,' and 
 then a fellow-citizen, or fellow- 
 countryman. It is not elsewhere 
 used in the New Testament. The 
 particular reference here seems not 
 to be to the heathen who were tlie 
 age7its or actors in the scenes of tu- 
 mult and persecutions, but to the 
 Jews by whom they were led on, or 
 who v.'ere the prime movers in the 
 persecutions which they had endured. 
 It is necessary to suppose that they 
 were principally Jews who were tiie 
 cause of the persecution which had 
 been excited against them, in order 
 to make the parallelism between the 
 church there and the churches in 
 Palestine exact. At the same time 
 there was a propriety in saying that, 
 though this parallelism was exact, it 
 was by the 'hands of their own 
 countrymen^ that it was done; that 
 is, thev were the visible agents or 
 
 actors by whom it was done — the 
 instruments in the hands of others. 
 In Palestine, the Jews persecuted 
 the churches directly ; out of Pales- 
 tine, they did it by means of others. 
 Tliey were the real authors of it, as 
 they were in Judea, but they usually 
 accomplished it by producing an ex- 
 citement among the heathen, and by 
 the plea that the apostles were mak- 
 ing war on civil institutions. This 
 was the case in Thessalonica. " The 
 Jews which believed not, moved with 
 envy, set all the city on an uproar." 
 " Tliey drew Jason and certain bre- 
 thren unto the rulers of the city, 
 crying. Those that have turned the 
 world upside down have come hither 
 also." Acts xvii. 5, 6. The same 
 thing occurred a short time after at 
 Berea. " When the Jews of Thes- 
 salonica had knowledge that the 
 word of God was preached of Paul 
 at Berea, they came thither also and 
 stirred up the people." Acts xvii. 
 13. Comp. Acts xiv. 2. " The un- 
 believing Jews stirred up the Gen- 
 tiles, and made their minds evil-at- 
 fected against the brethren." "The 
 epistle, therefore, represents the case 
 accurately as the history states it. 
 It was the Jews always who set on 
 foot the persecutions against the 
 apostles and their followers." Paley, 
 liar. Paid, in loc. It was, there- 
 fore, strictly true, as the apostle here 
 states it, (1.) that they were subject- 
 ed to the same treatment from the 
 Jews as the churches in Judea were, 
 since they were the authors of the 
 excitement against them ; and (2.) 
 that it was carried on, as tiie apostle 
 states, ' by their own countrymen ;' 
 that is, that they were the agents or 
 instruments by which it was dono, 
 Tiiis kind of undesigned coincidence 
 between the epistle and the history 
 in the Acts of the Apostles, is one 
 of the arguments from which Paley 
 {Hor. Paul.) infers the genuineness 
 
A. O. 52.] CHAPTER II. 
 
 13 Who both killed the Lord 
 Jesus and their " own prophets, 
 
 a Ac. 7. 5:2. 
 
 81 
 
 of boUi. ^ As they have o/" Me Jews. 
 Directly. In Palestine there were 
 no others but Jews wlio could be ex- 
 cited airainst Christians, and they 
 were oblij^cd to apjwar as the perse- 
 cutors themselves. 
 
 1.5. Who both killed the Lord Je- 
 sus. See the Notes on Acts ii. 23. 
 Tiie meaning here is, that it was cha- 
 racteristic ot" the Jews to be engaged 
 in the work of persecution, ami that 
 they should not regrard it as strange 
 that they who had put their own 
 Messiah to death, and slain the pro- 
 phets, should now be found per- 
 secuting tlie true children of God. 
 «'■ And their own prophets. See 
 Notes on iMatt. xxi. 33 — 40 ; .\xiii. 
 L'D — 37. Acts vii. 52. •[ Aiid have 
 persecuted ns. As at Iconium (Acts 
 xiv. 1), Derbe, and Lystra (Actsxiv. 
 (5), and at Philippi, Tiiessalonica, and 
 Bcrc^. The meaning is, that it was 
 characteristic of them to persecute, 
 and they spared no one. If they had 
 persecuted the apostles themselves, 
 who were their own countrymen, 
 it should not be considered strange 
 that they should persecute those who 
 were Gentiles. ^ And they please 
 not God. Tiieir conduct is not such 
 as to please God, but such as to ex- 
 pose them to his wrath. Ver. 1(3. 
 The meaning is not that they did 
 not aim to please God — whatever 
 may have been the truth about that 
 — but that they iiad shown by all 
 their history that their conduct could 
 not meet with the divine approba- 
 tion. They made extraordinary pre- 
 tensions to being the peculiar pco- 
 j)le of God, and it was important for 
 tiie apostle to shov,' that their con- 
 duct diMMonstrated that tlioy had no 
 such claims. Their oppo:rilion to the 
 Thes^alonians, therefore, was no 
 proof that God wn« opposed to the;:3. 
 
 and have ' persecuted us ; and 
 they please not God, and are con 
 trary to all men ^ 
 
 « or, chased us out. 
 
 and they should not allow themselves 
 to be troubled by such opposition. 
 It was rather proof that tlicy were 
 the friends of God — since tliose who 
 now persecuted them had been en- 
 gaged in persectiting the most hoiy 
 men that had lived. ^ And are con- 
 trary to all men. They do not mere- 
 ly differ from other men in customs 
 and opinions — which might be harm- 
 less — but they keep up an active op- 
 position to all other people. It wag 
 not opposition to one nation only, but 
 to all ; it was not to one form of re- 
 ligion only, but to all — even includ- 
 ing God's last revelation to man- 
 kind ; it was not opposition evinced in 
 their own country, but they carried 
 it with them wherever tiiey went. 
 The truth of this statement is con- 
 firmed, not only by authority of the 
 apostle and the uniform record in the 
 New Testament, but by tiie testi- 
 mony borne of them in the classic 
 writers. This was universally re- 
 garded as their national characteris- 
 tic, for they had so demeaned them- 
 selves as to leave this impression on 
 the minds of those witii whom they 
 had intercourse. Thus Tacitus de- 
 scribes them as 'cherishing hatred 
 against all others' — adversus omncs 
 alios hostile odium. Hist. v. 5. So 
 Juvenal (Sat. xiv. 103, 10 i), de- 
 scribes them. 
 
 \on monstrarr via<i rj.iilcin ni*i sarr.T culfnti, 
 Uiia^!!iluiii ad fKiitfin solas deductTi; vcrpo". 
 
 ' They would not even point out the 
 way to any one except of tlio same 
 religion, nor, being asked, guide any 
 to a tbuntain except the circumcised,* 
 So they are called by Appolloniu.s 
 'atheists and misanthropes, and the 
 most uncultivated barbarians' — i^fo* 
 xai lii'ian'^^niK xai a^vtaratoi Xwv 
 yju^iofCM. Josephus Con. Ap. ii. 14. 
 So Drodorus Siculus (xxxiv. p. o'2^]l\ 
 
32 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 16 Forbidding " us to speak to 
 the Gentiles that they might be 
 
 a Ac. 17. 5. 13 ; 18. 12. 
 
 describes them as ' tliose alone among 
 all the nations who were unwilling 
 to have any intercourse [or inter- 
 mingling- — frttfti|iaj] with any other 
 nation, and who regarded all others 
 as enemies' — xcu, TioXs^MviinofM/jijjd- 
 vdv T(uvfa;. Their history had given 
 abundant occasion for these charges. 
 10. Forbidding us lo speak to the 
 Gentiles. See Acts xvii. 5. 13. No 
 particular instance is mentioned in 
 the life of Paul 'previous to this, 
 wlien they had forfnally commanded 
 hi n not to preach to the heathen, 
 bu t no one can doubt that this was 
 one of the leading points of differ- 
 ence between him and them. Paul 
 maintained that the Jews and Gen- 
 tiles were now on a level with re- 
 gard to salvation ; that the wall of 
 partition was broken down ; that the 
 Jew liad no advantages over the 
 rest of mankind in this re.pect, and 
 that tlie heathen might be saved 
 without becoming Jews, or being 
 circumcised. Rom. ii. 25 — 29 ; iii. 
 22—31. Notes, Col. i. 24. The 
 Jews did not hold it unlawful ' to 
 speak to the Gentiles,' and even to 
 offer to thern eternal life (Matt, xxiii. 
 15), but it was only on condition that 
 they should become proselytes to 
 tlieir religion, and slioald observe the 
 institutions of Moses. If saved, they 
 held that it would be as Jeics — either 
 originally such, or such by becoming- 
 proselytes. Paul maintained just 
 the opposite opinion, that heathens 
 might be saved without becoming 
 proselytes to the Jewish system, and 
 that, in fact, salvation was as freely 
 offered to tliem as to the children of 
 Abraham. Tliough there are no 
 express instances in whicli they pro- 
 hioited Paul from speaking to the 
 Gentiles recorded before the date of 
 this epistle, yet events occurred af- 
 
 saved, to fill ^ up their sins ulway ; 
 for the wrath is come upon them 
 to the uttermost. "^ 
 
 b Ge. 15. 10. Mat. 23. 32. c Re. 22. 1). 
 
 terwards wliich sliowed what were 
 their feelings, and such as to make 
 it in the highest degree probable that 
 they had attempted to restrain him. 
 See Acts xxii. 21, 22. "And he 
 [Christ] said unto me [Paul], Depart, 
 for I wdl send thee far hence unto 
 the Gentdes. And they [the Jews] 
 gave him audience unto this word, 
 and then lift up their voices and said, 
 Away with sucli a fellow from the 
 earth, for it is not fit that he should 
 live." II That they might be saved. 
 That is, as freely as others, and on 
 the same terms, not by conversion to 
 Judaism, but by repentance and futli. 
 ^ To Jill up their sins alway. At 
 all times — navto-tB — in every gene- 
 ration. Tliat is, to do now as they 
 have always done, by resisting God 
 and exposing themselves to his wrath. 
 The idea is, that it had been a cha- 
 racteristic of the nation, at all times, 
 to oppose God, and that they did it 
 now in this manner in conformity 
 witli their fixed character. , Corap. 
 Acts vii. 51 — 53, and Notes on 
 Matt, xxiii. 32, on the expression, 
 "Fill ye up then the measure of 
 your fathers." IF For the wrath is 
 come upon them. This cannot mean 
 that the wrath of God had been tiieu 
 actually poured out upon them in 
 the extreme degree referred to, or 
 that they had experienced the full 
 expressions of the divine displeasure, 
 for this epistle was written before 
 the destruction of their city and tem- 
 ple (see the Introduction) ; but that 
 the cup of their iniquity was full ; 
 that they were in fact abandoned by 
 God ; that they were the objects even 
 then of his displeasure, and that their 
 destruction was so certain that it 
 miglit be spoken of as an indubita- 
 ble fact. The ' wrath of God' may 
 be said to have come uoon a man 
 
A. 1). 02. J 
 
 CIJAPTElt II. 
 
 nn 
 
 17 But w\', brotlircn, being 
 taken from you for a short timo in 
 presence, not in heart, enileavour- 
 
 wlien he abandons him, even though 
 there 1 my not bo as yet any cxttrnal 
 expressions of his indii^Mation. It is 
 not puiiishmrnt that constitutes the 
 wrath of God. Tiiat is the mere 
 ou'wiinl expression of tiic divine 
 indipnution, and tiie wrath of God 
 may in fact iiave come upon a man 
 when as yet tiiore are no external 
 tokens of it The overtiirow of Je- 
 nisalem and the temple, were but 
 the outward expressions of the di- 
 vine displeasure at their conduct. 
 Paul, inspired to speak of the feel- 
 ings of God, describes that wrath as 
 already e.\isting' in the divine mind. 
 Comp. Rom. iv. 17. «[ To the vtter- 
 mnst. Gr. — fij Tt'xoj — to the end : 
 tliat is, until wrath shall bo com- 
 plete or exhausted ,• or wratli in tiio 
 e.xtremest dcofree. It docs not mean 
 ' to tlie end of their race or history ;' 
 nor neccsBarily to the rer.otest peri- 
 ods of lime, but to that which consti- 
 tutes completion, so that tlicre should 
 be nothing' lackins; of that which 
 would make indignation perfect: 
 "fij rt>J0i — jjantz und gar" — tlio- 
 roughly, entirely, through and 
 through." Passow. Some have un- 
 derstood tliis as meaning at the last, 
 or at Icmrth, as ^lacknight, Roscn- 
 mullcr, Koppc, and Wotstein; otiicrs 
 as referring to duration, meaning 
 that it would follow them every- 
 where; but the more correct inter- 
 pretation seems to be to refer it to 
 that extremity of calamity and wo 
 which was about to come upon tlie 
 nation. For an account of this, see 
 " les on Matt. xxiv. Ul. 
 
 1 7. /Jut iTP, brethren, bcinir taken 
 jrain you. There is uioro implied 
 in tlio Greek word here rendered, 
 'being taken from you' — a.rto^^vi'i- 
 ^t'l-ff J — than appears from our trans- 
 lation. It pro{>crly has relation to 
 the condition of an orphan (Comp. 
 
 ed the more abundantly to t.ea 
 your face with great desire. 
 18 Wherefore we would have 
 
 Notes on Joim xiv. 18), or one wijo 
 is bereaved of parents. Then it is 
 used in a more general sense, denot- 
 ing to be bereaved of; and in this 
 place it does not mean merely that 
 he was ' taken from them,' but lliere 
 is inchulcd the idea that it was like 
 a painful bereavement. It was such 
 a state as tliat of one who had lost a 
 parent No word, periiaps, could 
 have expre.-ssed stronger attaclunont 
 for them. ^ For a short time. Gr., 
 'Fortlio time of an 'hour;' that is, 
 for a brief period. The meaning is, 
 tliat when ho letl them he supiwsed 
 it would bo only for a short time. 
 The fact seems to have been (Acts 
 .xvii. 10), that it was supposed, when 
 Paul was sent to Berea, that thinga 
 would soon be in such a state that 
 lie could safely return to Thessalo- 
 nica. lie was 'sent' there by those 
 who tiiought it was necessjiry for 
 the safety of some of his friends at 
 Thessalonica, and he. wnoently pur- 
 posed to return as soon as it could 
 properly be done. It had, in fact 
 liowever, turned out to be a long and 
 painful absence. <f In presence, not 
 in heart. My heart was still with 
 you. This j^s an elegant and touch' 
 ing expression, whicJi wo still use to 
 denote afFection fijr an absent friend. 
 •[ Endeavoured the more abundantly 
 to see your fare. Made every en- 
 deavour possible. It was from no 
 want of atTection that I have not 
 done it, but from causes beyond my 
 control. 'J^ With srreat desire. Comp. 
 Notes, Luke xxii. l.j. 
 
 IS. Wherefore we would have 
 come unto you, even I Paul. The 
 pliraso 'even I Paul,' seems to 1k» 
 used by way of cmpha.sis. He had 
 a special desire to go iiimself^ Ho 
 had .<ent Tiuiothy to them (Ul». iii. '.i. 
 5), and, pcrhajw, some might have 
 been dispof>cd to allege that Paul 
 
84 
 
 I. THBSSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 come unto you, even I Paul, once 
 and again ; but Satan Inndered us. 
 19 "For what is our hope, or 
 joy, or crown of ' rejoicing ? Are 
 not even ye in " the presence 
 
 « or, glorying. a 2 Co. 1. 14. Ph. 4. 1. 
 
 was afraid to go himself, or that he 
 did not feel interest enough in them 
 to go, though he was willing to send 
 one to visit them. Paul, therefore, 
 is at much pains to assure them 
 that his long separation from them 
 was unavoidable. ^ Bid Satan hin- 
 dered us. Comp. Notes on 2 Cor. 
 xii. 7. In what way this was done 
 is unknown, and conjecture would 
 be useless. The apostle recognised 
 the hand of Satan in frustrating his 
 attempt to do good, and preventing 
 the accomplishment of his strong de- 
 sire, to see his christian friends. In 
 the obstacles, therefore, to the per- 
 formance of our duty, and in the 
 hindrances of our enjoyment, it is 
 not improper to trace the hand of 
 the great enemy of good. The 
 agency of Satan may, for aught we 
 can tell, often be employed in the 
 embarrassments that we meet with 
 in life. The hindrances which we 
 meet witii in our efforts to do good, 
 when the providence of God seems 
 to favour us, and his word and Spirit 
 seem to call us to a particular duty, 
 often look very much lil^e the work 
 of Satan. They are just such ob- 
 structions as a very wicked be- 
 ing would be glad to throw in our 
 way. 
 
 19. For what is nitr hope. That 
 is, ' I had a strong desire to see you ; 
 to assi.st you; to enjoy your friend- 
 ship ; for you are my hope and joy, 
 and my absence does not arise from 
 a want of affection.' The meaning, 
 when he says that they were his 
 ' hope,' is, that their conversion and 
 salvation was one of the grounds of 
 his liope of future blessedness. It 
 was an evidence that he was a faith- 
 ful servant of God, and that he would 
 
 * of our Lord Jesus Christ at his ' 
 coming ? 
 
 20 For ye are our gkry and 
 
 joy- 
 
 6 Jude 24. c Re. 1. 7. 
 
 be rewarded in heaven. ^ Or joy. 
 The source of joy here and in hea- 
 ven. ^ Or crown of rejoicing. 
 Marg., as in Gr., glorying ; that is, 
 boasting, or exulting. The allusion 
 is, probably, to the victors at the 
 Grecian games; and the sense is, 
 that he rejoiced in their conversion 
 as the victor there did in the garland 
 Vv'hich he had won. Notes, 1 Cor. 
 ix. 24 — 27. II Are not even ye. Or, 
 loill not you be? ^ In the presence 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ at his com- 
 ing. ' When the Lord Jesus appears 
 at the end of the world, then our 
 liighest source of happiness and ho- 
 nour will be your conversion and 
 salvation.' Then their salvation 
 would be a proof of his fidelity. It 
 would fill his soul with thf> highest 
 happiness, that he had been the 
 means of saving them from ruin. 
 
 20. For ye are our glory and joy. 
 The meaning is, that the source of 
 happiness to a minister of the gos- 
 pel in the day of judgment will be 
 the conversion and salvation of souls. 
 The object of the apostle in dwelling 
 on this in a manner so tender and 
 afiectionate is, to show them that hit 
 leaving them, and his long absence 
 tj-om tliem, were not caused by any 
 want of alFection for tliem. 
 
 u r: ji A II K s . 
 
 (1.) Ministers of the gospel should 
 be entirely sincere, and witliout 
 guile. They should attempt to carry 
 no measure — not even the conver- 
 sion of sinners — by trick or manage- 
 ment. Vs. 3 — .5. 
 
 (2.) They should not make it a 
 point to please men. Ver. 4. If 
 they do please men; or if their 
 ministry is acceptable to men, they 
 
A. I). 52.] CllAl'TEll II. 
 
 eliould not rcjjard it, inJecd, as 
 proof that thr.y arc unfailliful, tor 
 they ' sliould liiivc a "rood rc|X)rl of 
 tliom tliat are without;' nor should 
 t!icy make it a point to displease 
 men, or consider it a proof tluit bo- 
 cause men arc offended, therefore 
 fliey arc faitiiful; but it should not 
 he their leading aim or purpose to 
 jrratify men. TJiey sliould preach the 
 truth; and if they do this, Gotl will 
 Like care of their repuLilion, and 
 give thcra just as much as they 
 ous^ht to have. The same principle 
 .' Iiould operate with all Christians. 
 Tliey should do riirht, and leave their 
 reputation with God. 
 
 (3.) Ministers of the gospel should 
 be gentle, tender, and aftcctionate. 
 They should be kind in feeling, and 
 courteous in manner — like a father 
 or a motlier. Vs. 7. 11. Nothing is 
 ever gained by a sour, harsh, crab- 
 bed, dissatisfied manner. Sinners 
 are never scolded either into duty or 
 into heaven. 'Flies are not caught 
 with vinegar.' No man is a better 
 or more faithful preacher because ho 
 is rough in mrvmier, coarse or hardi 
 in his e.xpressions, or sour in his in- 
 tercourse with m:inkind. Not thus 
 was t!ie Master or Paul. There is 
 no crime in being polite and courte- 
 ous; none in observing the rules of 
 good breeding, and paying respect 
 to the sensibilities of others; and 
 there is no piety in outraging all the 
 laws which society has found neces- 
 sary to adopt to promote happy in- 
 tercourse. What is wromr we sliould 
 indeed oppose — but it should be in 
 tiie kindest manner towards the per- 
 sons of tliose who do wrong; what 
 ii true and right we should maintain 
 and defend — and wo shall always 
 do it more effectually if we do it 
 kindly. 
 
 (1.) Ministers should bo willing 
 to labour in any proper calling, if it 
 is necessary for their own support 
 or to do good. Ver. 9. It is, indeed, 
 the duty of a people to suppor* the 
 
 35 
 
 gospel, but there may be situations 
 where they are not able to do it, and 
 a minister should be able to earn 
 something in some other way, and 
 should be willimr to do it. Paul 
 made tents ; and if he was willing 
 to do that, a minister should not feel 
 himself degraded if he is obliged to 
 make shoes, or to hoc corn, or to 
 plough, or to keep cattle. He had 
 better not do it, if he can avoid it 
 well — for he needs his time for his 
 more important work ; but he should 
 feel it no dishonour if he is obliged 
 to do it — and should feel that it is a 
 privilege to preach tlie gospel even 
 if he is obliged to support himself 
 by making either tents or shoes. It 
 is no dishonour for a minister to work 
 hard ; and it is not well for a man 
 to enter the ministry wholly unac- 
 quainted with every otlicr way of 
 procuring an honest living. 
 
 (5.) Every minister should be able 
 to appcjil to the people among whom 
 he has laboured in proof that he is 
 an honest man, and lives consistently 
 with his profession. Vs. 1. 9, 10, 11. 
 Tlie same remark applies to all other 
 Cliristians. They should so live tliat 
 they may at once refer to their neigh- 
 bours in proof of the uprightness of 
 their lives, and their consistent walk. 
 But to be enabled to do tiiis, a man 
 should live as he ought — for the 
 world generally forms a very correct 
 estimate of character. 
 
 (6.) The joy of a minioter in the 
 day of judgment will be measured 
 by the amount of good which he has 
 done, and tlie number of souls which 
 he has been the moans of converting 
 and saving. Ver. 19. It will not be 
 the honour wliich he has received 
 from men ; the titles which they 
 have conferred on him; tlie com- 
 mendation wiiich he has received 
 for eloquence or talent, or the learn- 
 ing which he has acquired, but it 
 will be found in the number of tliose 
 who have been converted from the 
 error of tlieir ways, and in the evi» 
 
m 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 LA. D. 58. 
 
 dence of the g;ood which lie did on 
 the earth. And will not the same 
 thing be substantially true of all 
 others who bear the christian name ? 
 Will it then be a source of joy to 
 them that they ^vere richer than 
 their neighbours ; or that they were 
 advanced to higher honours ; or that 
 they had a more splendid mansion, 
 or were able to fare more 'sumptu- 
 ously V The good that we do will 
 be remembered cerlainlij with plea- 
 sure in the day of judgment: of how 
 many other things which now inte- 
 rest us so much can the same thing- 
 be said] 
 
 (7.) Paul expected evidently to 
 recognise the Thcssalonian Chris- 
 tians at the day of judgment, for he 
 said that they would be then his 'joy 
 and crown of rejoicing.' Ver. 19. 
 But this could not be, unless he should 
 be able to know those who had been 
 converted by his instrumentality. If 
 he expected then to recognise them, 
 and to rejoice with them, then we 
 also may hope to know our pious 
 friends in that happy world. No- 
 thing in the Bible forbids this hope, 
 and we can hardly believe that God 
 has created the strong ties which 
 bind us to each other, to endure for 
 the present life only. If Paul hoped 
 to meet those who had been convert- 
 ed by his instrumentality, and to re- 
 joice with them there, then the pa- 
 rent may hope to meet the child over 
 whose loss he mourned ; the husband 
 and wife will meet again ; the pious 
 children of a family will be re-as- 
 sembled ; and the pastor and his flock 
 will be permitted to rejoice together 
 before the Lord. This hope, Vv'hich 
 nothing in the Bible forbids us to en- 
 tertain, should do much to alleviate 
 tiie sorrow of the parting pang, and 
 may be an important and powerful in- 
 ducement to draw our own thoughts 
 to a brighter and a better world. 
 Of many of the living it is true that 
 the best and dearest friends which 
 til !> have are alrea^dy in heaven — 
 
 and how should their own hearts 
 pant that they may meet them 
 tiiere ! 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter is a continuation of 
 the course of thought pursued in the 
 previous chapter, and seems designed 
 to meet the same state of feeling 
 existing in Thessalonica, and the 
 same objections which some there 
 urged against the apostle. The ob- 
 jection seems to have been, that he 
 had really no attachment for them, 
 and no regard for their welfare ; that 
 he had fled from them on the slight- 
 est danger, and that when the dan- 
 ger was passed he liad not returned, 
 but had lefl; them to bear tlieir afflic- 
 tions alone. It appears to have been 
 inferred from his long absence, that 
 he had no solicitude for their welfare, 
 and had brought them into difficul 
 ties, to escape fi'om which, or to bear 
 which, he was now indisposed to 
 render any assistance. It was im- 
 portant, therefore, tor him to remind 
 them of what he had actually done, 
 and to state his real feelings towards 
 them. He refers them, therefore, 
 to the following things as proof of 
 his interest in them, and his affec- 
 tion for them : — 
 
 (1.) He had sent Timothy to them 
 at great personal inconvenience, 
 when he could not go himself. Vs. 
 1—5. 
 
 (2.) He had been greatly comfort- 
 ed by the report which Timothy had 
 brought of their steadfastness in the 
 faith. Vs. 6 — 8. Every expression 
 t)f their attachment to him had gone 
 to his heart, and their faith and cha- 
 rity had been to him in his trials tlie 
 source of nnspeakable consolation. 
 His very life depended, as it were, 
 on their fidelity, and he says he 
 should live and be happy if they 
 stood fast in the Lord. Ver. 8. 
 
 (3.) He expresses again the earri- 
 pst desire which he had to see them , 
 
A. D. 5a.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 87 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 "ITTTffillEFOlJE when we 
 
 V V could no lon;:,'er forbear, we 
 
 Niys! tliat it liail been to liini tlie sub- 
 ject of uncoasiiifj prayer nitrlit and 
 (lay, and beseeches God ag-ain now 
 llmt he would be pleased to direct 
 his way to tliem. Vs. 9 — 11. 
 
 (4.) As a proof of afiection, the 
 chapter is closed with a fervent pray- 
 er tliat Goil would cause thein to 
 abound more and more in love, and 
 would establish their hearts unblanie- 
 able before him. Vs. I'J, III The 
 Thessalonians well knew the apos- 
 tle Paul. They had had abundant 
 preof of his love when he was with 
 them ; and if his enemies there had 
 succeeded in any degree in causing 
 their affection towards hira to be- 
 come cool, or to excite suspicions that 
 he was not sincere, their love must 
 have been rekindled, and their sus- 
 picions must have been entirely al- 
 layed by the expressions of attach- 
 ment in this chapter. Language of 
 wariiier love, or of deeper interest 
 in the welfare of others, it would not 
 be possible to fmd anywhere. 
 
 1. Wherefore. See ch. ii. IS. 
 
 This particle (Si6) is designed here 
 to refer to another proof of his affec- 
 tion for them. One evidence had 
 been referred to in his strong desire 
 to visit them, which he had been un- 
 able to accomplish (ch. ii. IS), and 
 he here refers to another — to wit, 
 the fact tliat he had sent Timothy to 
 them. ^ \Vc could no longer for- 
 bear. That is, when / could not 
 (ver. 5), for there is every evi- 
 dence that Paul refers to himself 
 only, though he uses the plural form 
 of the word. There was no one 
 with hira at Athens after ho had sent 
 Timothy away (Acts xvii. 15 ; xviii. 
 ;")), and this shows that when, in ch. 
 ii. G, he uses the term apostles in the 
 plural number, he refers to himself 
 only, and does not nacan to give the 
 I 
 
 thought it good to be lelt at Athens 
 alone ; 
 
 name to Timothy and Silas. If this 
 be so, Timothy and Silas are nowhere 
 called 'apostles' in the New Testa- 
 ment. The word rendered here 
 could forbear (ptiyov^fi), means, pro- 
 perly, to cover, to conceal ; and then 
 to hide or conceal anger, impatience, 
 weariness, &c. ; that is, to hold out 
 as to anything, to bear with, to en- 
 dure. It is rendered sniffer in 1 Cor. 
 ix. 12; bearelh, 1 Cor. xiii. 7; and 
 forbear, 1 Thess. iii. 1. 5. It is not 
 elsewhere used in the New Testa- 
 ment. It means that he could no 
 longer bear up under, hide, or sup- 
 press his impatience in regard to 
 them — his painful emotions — his wish 
 to know of their state ; and he there- 
 fore sent Timothy to them. ^ We 
 thoufrht it good. I was willing to 
 suffer the inconvenience of parting 
 with him in order to show my con- 
 cern for you. •[ To be left at Athens 
 alone. Paul hfid been conducted to 
 Athens from Berea, where he re- 
 mained until Silas and Timothy 
 could come to him. Acts xvii. 15. 
 It appears from the statement here 
 that Timothy had joined him there, 
 but such was his solicitude for th(! 
 church at Thessalonica, that he verj 
 soon after sent him there, and chose 
 to remain himself alone at Athens. 
 \Vliy he did not himself return to 
 Tlies-salonica, is not stated. It is 
 evidently implied here that it was a 
 great jM^rsonal inconvenience for 
 iiim thus to part with Timothy, and 
 to remain alone at Athens, and that 
 he evinced the strong love which he 
 had for the church at Thessalonica 
 by being willing to submit to it. 
 What that inconvenience consisted 
 in, he has not 5tate<l, but it is not 
 difficult to understand. (1.) He was 
 among total t-trangers, and, when 
 Timothy v.as gone, witliout an ac- 
 quaintance or friend. (2.) The aid 
 
38 
 
 1. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 2 And sent " Timotheus, our 
 brother, and minister of God, and 
 our fellou'-labourer in the gospel 
 
 a Ac. 17. 15. 
 
 of Timothy was needed in order to 
 prosecute the work which he con- 
 templated. He had requested that 
 Timothy should join him as soon as 
 possible when he left Berea (Acts 
 xvii. 15), and he evidently felt it de- 
 sirable that in preaching tiie gospel 
 in that city he should have all the 
 assistance he could obtain. Yet he 
 was willing to forego those comforts 
 and advantages in order to promote 
 the edification of the church at Thes- 
 salonica. 
 
 2. And sent Timotheus. That is, 
 evidently, he sent him from Athens 
 — for this is the fair construction of 
 the passage. But in the history 
 (Acts xvii.) there is no mention that 
 Timothy came to Athens at all, and 
 it may be asked how this statement 
 is reconcilable with the record in the 
 Acts? It is mentioned there that 
 " the brethren sent away Paul [from 
 Berea] to go, as it were, to the sea ; 
 but Silas and Timotheus abode there 
 still. And they that conducted Paul 
 brought him to Athens." Acts xvii. 
 14, 15. The history further states, 
 that after Paul had remained some 
 time at Athens, he went to Corintli, 
 where he was joined by Timotiiy 
 and Silas, who came to iiim '■from 
 Macedonia.'' Acts xviii. 5. But in 
 order to reconc'le the account in the 
 Acts witli the statement before us in 
 the epistle, it is necessary to suppose 
 that Timothy had come to Athens. 
 In reconciling these accounts, we 
 may observe, that though the history 
 does not expressly mention the arri- 
 val of Timothy at Athens, yet there 
 are circumstances mentioned whicli 
 render this extremely probable. First, 
 as soon as Paul reached Athens, he 
 sent a message back to Silas and 
 Timothy to come to him as soon as 
 ixjssibje.and there iseverypro'vibility 
 
 f A. D. 52. 
 
 of Christ, to establish you, and to 
 comfort you concerning your 
 faith : 
 
 that this request would be obeyed. 
 Acts xvii. 15. Secondly, his stay at 
 Athens was on purpose that they 
 might join him there. " Now whilst 
 Paul wailed for them at Athens, his 
 spirit was stirred within him." Acts 
 xvii. 16. Thirdly, his departure from 
 Atliens does not appear to have been 
 in any sort hastened or abrupt. He 
 had an opportunity of seeing tJie city 
 (Acts xvii. 23) ; he disputed in the 
 synagogue and in the market ' daily' 
 (Acts xvii. 17) : he held a controver- 
 sy with the philosopliers (Acts xvii. 
 18 — 22); he made converts there 
 (Acts xvii. 24), and "after these 
 things" he calmly went to Corinth. 
 There was no tumult or excitement, 
 and it is not suggested that he was 
 driven awaj^, as in other places, be- 
 cause his life was in danger. There 
 was, therefore, ample time for Timo- 
 thy to come to him there — for Paul 
 was at liberty to remain as long as 
 he pleased, and as he stayed there 
 for the express purpose of having 
 Timotiiy and Silas meet him, it is to 
 be presumed that his wish was in 
 this respect accomplished. Fourth- 
 ly, the sending back of Timothy to 
 Macedonia, as mentioned in the epis- 
 tle, is a circumstance v.'hich will ac- 
 count for the fact mentioned in Acts 
 xviii. 5, that Timotiiy came to him 
 " at Corinth,^'' instead of at Athens. 
 He had given directions for him to 
 meet him at Athens (Acts xvii. 15), 
 but the history mentions only that 
 he met him, after a long delay, at 
 Corinth. This delay, and this change 
 of place, when they rejoined each 
 other for the purpose of labouring 
 together, can only be accounted for 
 by the supposition that Timothy had 
 come to him at Athens, and had been 
 immediately sent back to Macedo- 
 nia, with instructions to join him 
 
A. I). 52.] CHAPTER 111. 
 
 a That ° no man should be 
 moved by those alilictions : for 
 
 dft 
 
 a K|>. 3. 13. 
 
 again at Corintli. Tiiis is one of tlio 
 ' nndo-signcd coincidences' between 
 the Iiistory in the Act^ of tlic Ajxi--^- 
 tles and tlie epistles of Paul, of which 
 Paley (//or. Paul.) 1ms made so grootl 
 use in dcinonstratinj^ the genuine- 
 ness of botli. "Tiic epistle discloses 
 a fact whiolj is not presorv'cd in the 
 history; but which makes what is 
 said in the histor}' more siffnilicant, 
 probable, and consistent. The his- 
 tory bears marks of an omission ; tlic 
 epistle furnishes a circumstance 
 which supplies that omission." *[ Our 
 hrolhrr. Notes, Col. i. 1. The men- 
 tion of Iiis beinor a.* brother'' is de- 
 signed to show his interest in the 
 church there. He did not send one 
 whose absence would be no incon- 
 venience to him, or for whom he had 
 no regard, lie sent one who was 
 as dear to him as a brother. «[ And 
 minister of Gnd. Another circum- 
 stan^ e showing his affection for them. 
 He <iid not send a layman, or one 
 who :o(dd not be useful with him or 
 to them, out he sent one fully quali- 
 fied to preacii to them, and to break 
 to them the bread of life. One of 
 the riclicst tokens of afibction which 
 can be shown to any people, is to 
 Fend to them a faithful minister of 
 (rod. *I And our fdlow-lahnnrcr in 
 thr irnspfl of Christ. A third token 
 of atlbctionate interest in their wel- 
 fare. The meanin? is, ♦! did not 
 send one whom I did not want, or 
 who could be of no use here, but one 
 who was a fellow- labourer with me, 
 and whose aid would have been of 
 essential service to me. In parting 
 witii him, therefore, for your welfare, 
 I showed a strong attachment for 
 you. I was willing to endure per- 
 sonal inconvenience, and additional 
 toil, m order to promote your wcltare.' 
 •[ To establish you. To strengthen 
 you, to make you firm— (jr»;,)t£tu. 
 
 yourselves know that wu *■ are u[)- 
 pointfd thereunto. 
 
 4 Jiio. Iti. -i. 1 Co. 4. 9. 2 Ti. 3. 12. 1 Pp. 2. 21. 
 
 This was to be done by presenting 
 such considerations as would enable 
 them to maintJiin their faith stead- 
 fastly in their trials. ^ And to com- 
 fort you concernimr your fzilh. It 
 is evident that they were suffering 
 persecution on account of their faith 
 in tiic Lord Jesus ; that is, lor tiicir 
 belief in him as a Saviour. The 
 object of sending Timothy was to 
 suggest such topics of consolation as 
 would sustain them in their trials — 
 that is, that he was the Son of God; 
 that the people of God had been per- 
 secuted in all ages; that God wa.s 
 able to support them, &.c. 
 
 5i. That no man should be. moved. 
 The word rendered moved {aw'.itS) 
 occurs nowhere else in the New Tes- 
 tament It properly means to wag, 
 to move to and t'ro, as of dogs whicli 
 wag their tails in tbndue.^s (Horn. 
 q.L K. 21G. Ml A. N. .\. 7. Ovid, 
 .\iv. '2.jS); then to cares.^, to fawn 
 upon, to flatter; then to move or 
 wuver in inind — as from fear; to 
 dread, to tremble. See Passow and 
 Wetstein. Here the sense is, to be 
 so moved or agitated by fear, or by 
 the terror of persecution, as to for- 
 sake their religion. The object of 
 sending Timothy was, that they 
 might not be thus moved, but that 
 amidst all opposition they might ad- 
 here steadfastly to their religion. 
 •[ These afflictions. Notes, ch. ii. 14. 
 'i^ For yourselves know that toe are 
 appointed thereunto. It is not quite 
 certain whether by the word ' we' 
 iiere the apostle refers to himself; or 
 to him.self anr/ the The.-.'vilonians; 
 or to Christians in general. On 
 oitlier sup|X)sition what he says ia 
 true, and either would meet the case. 
 It would be most to the purpose, how- 
 ever, to suppose that he means to 
 state the general idea that all Chris- 
 tians are exposed to persecution ana 
 
40 
 
 r. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 I A. D. 52. 
 
 4 For verily, when we were 
 with you, we told you before 
 that we should suffer tribulation ; 
 even as it came to pass, and ye 
 know. 
 
 could not hope to avoid it. It would 
 then appear that tiie Thessalonians 
 liad partaken only of the common 
 lot. Still there may have been a 
 special reference to the fact that 
 Paid and his fellow-labourers there 
 were subjected to trials ; and if this 
 be the reference, then the idea is, 
 that the Thessalonians should not be 
 ' moved' by their trials, for even their 
 teachers were not exempt. Even 
 their enemies could not say that the 
 apostle and his co-workers were im- 
 postors, for they had persevered in 
 preaching the gospel when they 
 knew that these trials were coming 
 upon thera. The phrase, ' we are 
 appointed thereunto,' means that 
 such was the divine arrangement. 
 No one who professed Christianity 
 could hope to be exempted from trial, 
 for it was the common lot of all be- 
 lievers. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. iv. 
 9. 2 Tim. iii. 12. 
 
 4. For verily, when we were with 
 you, we told you before, &c. It is 
 not mentioned in the history (Acts 
 XV ii.) that Paul thus predicted that 
 peculiar trials would come upon 
 them, but there is no improbability 
 in what is here said. He was with 
 them long enough to discourse to 
 them on a great variety of topics, 
 and nothing can be more probable, 
 than that in their circumstances, the 
 subjects of persecution and affliction 
 would be prominent topics of dis- 
 course; There was every reason to 
 apprehend that they would meet 
 with opposition on account of their 
 religion, and nothing was more na- 
 tural than that Paul should endea- 
 vour to prepare their minds for it be- 
 forehand. ^ That we should suffer 
 tribulation. We who preached to 
 
 5 For this cause, when " I could 
 no longer forbear, I sent to loiow 
 your faith, lest '' by some means 
 the tempter liave tempted you, 
 and our labour ' be in vain. 
 
 aVor. 1. i2Co. 11. 2, 3. cGa.4. 11. 
 
 you; perhaps also including those 
 to whom they preached. ^ Even 
 as it came to pass, and ye know. 
 When Paul, Silas, and Timothy were 
 driven away, and when tlie church 
 was so much agitated, by the opposi- 
 tion of the Jews. Acts xvii 5 — 8. 
 
 5. For this cause. Since I knew 
 that you were so liable to be perse- 
 cuted, and since I feared that some 
 might be turned from the tiuth by 
 this opposition. IT When I could no 
 longer forbear. Notes, ver. 1. ^ I 
 se?it to know your faith. That is, 
 your fidelity, or your steadfastness 
 in the gospel. ^ Lest by some means. 
 Either by allurements to apostasy, 
 set before you by your former hea- 
 then friends ; or by the arts of i'alse 
 teachers ; or by the severity of suf- 
 fering. Satan has mariy methods 
 of seducing men from the truth, and 
 Paul was fearful that by some of his 
 arts he might be successful there. 
 IT The tempter. Satan ; for though 
 the Jews were the immediate actors 
 in those transactions, yet the apostle 
 regarded them as being under the 
 direction of Satan, and as accom- 
 plishing his purposes. He was, 
 therefore, the real author of the 
 persecutions v/hich had been excited. 
 He is here called the ' Tempter,^ as 
 he is often (comp. Matt, iv.), and the 
 truths taught are, (1.) that Satan is 
 the great author of persecution; and 
 (2.) that in a time of persecution — or 
 of trial of any kind — he endeavours 
 to tejiipt men to swerve from the 
 truth, and to abandon their religion. 
 In persecution, men are tempted to 
 apostatize from God, in order to avoid 
 sutiering. In afflictions of other 
 kinds, Satan often tempts the sufferer 
 to murmur and complain ; to charge 
 
A. D. 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 41 
 
 G But now when Timolheus 
 came from you unto us, and 
 broucfht us good tidincrs of your 
 faith and charity, and that ye have 
 good remembrance of us always, 
 desiring * greatly to see us, as we 
 also to ace you ; 
 
 7 Therefore, brethren, we were 
 
 a Fh. 1. f. 
 
 God witli harshness, partiality, and 
 severity, and to give vent to e.vpros- 
 sions tiiat will show that religion 
 lias none of its boasted power to sii])- 
 porl the soul in the day of trial. 
 Coinp. Job i. 9 — 11. In all times 
 of atiliction, as well as in prosperity, 
 we may be sure that ' the Tempter' 
 is not lar otf, and should be on our 
 guard atrainst his wiles. ■[ And our 
 labour be in vain. By yoiirbeing turn- 
 ed from the faith. Notes, Gal. iv. 11. 
 0. But tww when Timolheus came 
 om you unto us. To Corinth, af- 
 l.r he had been sent to Thessalonica. 
 Act"? .wiii. '). Comp. Notes on ver. 
 2. "r And brought us sond tidim^s. 
 A cheerful or favourable account. 
 Gr., 'evangelizing;' that is, bring- 
 ing good news. 11^ Of your fuilh. 
 Of your faithfulness or fidelity. 
 Amidst all their trials they evinced 
 iidelity to the christian cause. ^ And 
 charity. Love. Notes, 1 Cor. xiii. 
 1. ^ And that ye have <rood remem- 
 brance of us alicays. That is, pro- 
 bably, they showed their remem- 
 brance of Paul by obeying his pre- 
 cepts, and by clierishing an affec- 
 tionate regard for him, notwithstand- 
 ing all the efforts which had been 
 made to alienate their alfections from 
 him. 'n Greatly desiring to see un, 
 as we also to see you. There was 
 no disposition to blame him for hav- 
 ing letl them, or because he did not 
 return to them. They would have 
 welcomed him again as their teacher 
 and friend. The meaning of this is, 
 that there was between him and 
 tliem a strong mutual attaclunent 
 4* 
 
 comforted * over you, in all our af« 
 fliction and distress, by your faith : 
 
 8 For now we live, if ye stand 
 fast ' in the l^ord. 
 
 9 For what thanks can we ren- 
 der to God again for you, for all 
 the joy wherewith we joy for 
 your sakes before our Goi ; 
 
 6 2Co. 7. G. 7. cEp. 0.13.14. Ph. 1. 1. 
 
 7. We are comforted over yov. 
 See Notes, 2 Cor. i. 3 — 7 ; vii. 6, 7. 
 The sense here is, tliat their stead- 
 fastness was a srreat source of com- 
 tbrt to him m his trials. It was an 
 instance where the holy lives and 
 the iidelity of a people did much, 
 as will always be the case, to lighten 
 the burdens and cheer the heart of 
 a minister of the gospel. In the in- 
 evitable trials of the ministerial o?- 
 fice there is no source of comfort 
 more rich and pure tiian this. 
 
 8. For now we live, if ye stand 
 fast in the Lord. This is equiva- 
 lent to saying, ' My life and comfort 
 depend on your stability in the faith, 
 and your correct christian walk.' 
 Comp. Martial vi. 70. Non est vi- 
 vcre, sed valere, vita — ' Life consists 
 not merely in living, but in the en- 
 joyment of health.' See, also, Se- 
 neca, Epis. 99, and Manilius, iv. 5, 
 as quoted by Wctstein. The mean- 
 ing here is, that Paul now enjoyed 
 life ; he had that which constituted 
 real life, in the fact that they acted 
 as became Christians, and so as to 
 show that his labour among them had 
 not been in vain. The same thing 
 here alSrmcd is true of all faithtul 
 ministers of the gospel. They tcel 
 that they have something that may 
 be called lite, and that is worth liv- 
 ing for, when tliose to whom they 
 preach maintain a close walk with 
 God. 
 
 9. For what thanks can we ren- 
 der to G'od aixain. That is, what 
 expression of thanksgiving can we 
 render to God that shall be an equiva* 
 
12 
 
 1. THESSALONIAWS. 
 
 [A. D. 52 
 
 10 Night and day praying ex- 
 ceedingly that we might see }■ our 
 face, and might perfect " that 
 which is lacking m your faith ? 
 
 11 Now God himself and our 
 
 a 2 Co. 13. 9, 11. Co). 4. 12. 
 
 lent for the joy which your holy walk 
 has turnished, or which shall suita- 
 bly express our gratitude for it. 
 
 10. Night and day. Constantly. 
 % Praying exceedingly. Gr., abun- 
 dantly; that is, there was much 
 more than ordinary prayer. He made 
 this a special subject of prayer ; he 
 urged it with earnestness, and with- 
 out intermission. Comp. ch. ii. 17. 
 Tf And might perfect that which is 
 lacking in your faith. Might ren- 
 der it complete, or fill up anything 
 which is wanting. The word here 
 used (rMtap-tiaai), means, properly, to 
 make fully ready, to pjut full in or- 
 der, to make compkte. See Notes, 
 Rom. ix. 22. 2 Cor. xiii. 9. Gal. 
 vi. 1. It is rendered mending, Matt, 
 iv. 21. Mark i. 19 ; perfect and per- 
 fected, Matt. xxi. 19. Luke vi. 40. 
 2 Cor. xiii. 11. 1 Thess. iii. 10. 
 Heb. xiii. 21. 1 Pet. v. 10 ; fated, 
 Rom. ix. 22 ; perfectly joined toge- 
 ther, 1 Cor. i. 10; restore. Gal. vi. 
 1 ; prepared, Heb. x. 5 ; and framed, 
 Heb. xi. 3. It is not elsewhere used 
 in the New Testament. The mean- 
 ing here is, that whatever was defi- 
 cient in their views of religious doc- 
 trine the ajjostle desired to supply. 
 Ft is to be remembered that he was 
 with them but a comparatively short 
 time before he was compelled to de- 
 part to Berea, and it is reasonable to 
 suppose that there v/ere many sub- 
 jects on which he would be glad to 
 have an opportunity to instruct them 
 more fully. 
 
 11. Now God himself. This is 
 evidently « prayer. He earnestly 
 sought of God that he might be per- 
 mitted to visit them, and that he 
 would so prepare the way that he 
 
 Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ 
 ' direct our way unto you. 
 
 12 And the Lord make yot 
 to increase and abound in love 
 * one toward another, and toward 
 
 « or, guide. b 1 Jno. 4. 7-12. 
 
 might do it. IT And our Father 
 Even our Father, The reference is 
 particularly to the ' Father,' the First 
 Person of tlie Trinity. It does noJ 
 refer to the divine nature in general, 
 or to God as such, but to God as the 
 Father of the Lord Jesus. It is 8 
 distinct prayer ofl:ered to him that he 
 would direct his way to them. It i& 
 right therefore to offer prayer to God 
 as the First Person of the Trinity 
 IT And our Lord Jesus Christ. Thit 
 also is a prayer, as much as the for 
 mer was, for it can be understood in 
 no other way. What can be its- 
 meaning, unless the apostle believec? 
 tliat the Lord Jesus had power t( 
 direct his way to them, and that ii 
 was proper for him to express this 
 wish to him ; that rs, to pray to him ? 
 If this be so, then it is right to prajf 
 to the Lord Jesus, or to worship him. 
 See Notes on John xx. 28. Acts i 
 24. Would Paul have prayed to ar 
 angel to direct his way to the church 
 at Thessalonica 1 ^f Direct our way 
 unto you. Marg., guide. The Greek 
 word — xativ^vvio — means, to guide 
 straight towards or upon anything. 
 It is rendered guide, in Luke i. 79, 
 and direct here and in 2 Thess. iii. 
 5. It does not elsewhere occur in 
 the New Testament. The idea is 
 that of conducting one straight to a 
 place, and not by a round-about 
 course. Here tlie petition is, that 
 God would remove all obstacles so 
 that he could come directly to 
 them. 
 
 12. And the Lord make you to 
 increase and abound in love. Comp. 
 Notes, 2 Cor. ix. 8. The word ' Lord' 
 here probably refers to the Lord Je- 
 sus, as this is the name by which he 
 
A I). 52.J 
 
 ClJAl'TElt IV. 
 
 43 
 
 ftli men, even as wc do toward 
 you : 
 
 l:J To the end he may slablish 
 your hearts • unblaiuf able in lio- 
 
 a2Tli. 2. 17. 1 J no. 3. 'JO, 21. 
 
 is commonly dosignated in tlie New 
 Testament. See Notes on Acts i. 
 21. If tills bo so, then tiiis is a pe- 
 tition to the Lord Jesus as the foun- 
 tain of all grace and goodness. 
 
 13. To the end he may cslablish 
 your hearts. Tliat is, 'may the 
 1/ord cause you to increase in love 
 (ver. 12), in order tliat you may bo 
 estalilished, and be witliout blame in 
 the day of judgment.' The idea is, 
 tliat if charity were diffused through 
 tircir hearts, they would abound in 
 every virtue, and would be at length 
 fouml blameless. •[ Unblamcahle. 
 See Notes on ch. i. 10. Phil. ii. lo; 
 iii. 6. Ileb. viii. 7. Comp. Luke i. 
 «. 1 Thess. v. 2:3. The meaning 
 is, so that there could be no change 
 or accusation against them. IT In 
 holiness. Not in outward conduct 
 merely, or the observance of rites 
 and forms of religion, but in purity 
 of heart. % At the comins^ of our 
 Ijord Jesus Christ. To judge tiie 
 world. Notes, ch. i. 10. As we are 
 to appear before him, we should so 
 live that our Judge will find nothing 
 in us to be Idnmcd. ^ With all his 
 saints. With all his holy ones — 
 r^v iyi'uv. The word includes his 
 anfrels wiio will come witli him 
 (Matt x.\v. 31), and all the redeem- 
 ed who will tlien surround liim. The 
 idea is, that before lliat holy as.sem- 
 blage it is desirable that we should 
 be prepared to appear blameless. 
 We should be fitted to be welcomed 
 to the 'goodly fellow.-;hip' of tlie an- 
 gels, and to be regarded as worthy 
 to 1)0 numbered with the redeemed 
 who ' have washed their robes and 
 have made tliem pure in the blood 
 of the Lamb.' When we come to 
 appear amidst that vast assemblage 
 ot* holy beings, the honours of the 
 
 liness before God, oven our Fa- 
 ther, at the coming '' of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ with all his saints. 
 
 b Zee. 11 5. Juilo M. 
 
 world will appear to be small things \ 
 the wealth of the earth will appear 
 worthless, and all the pleasures of 
 tiiis lite beneath our notice. Happy 
 will they be who are prepared tor 
 the solemnities of that day, and who 
 shall have led such a Ide of holy 
 love — of pure devotion to the Re- 
 deemer — of deadness to the world — 
 and of zeal in tlie cause of pure re- 
 ligion — of universal justice, fidelity, 
 honesty, and Irutli, as to be without 
 reproach, and to meet with the ap- 
 probation of their Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF TIIK CHIPTEK. 
 
 This chajjter, properly, comprises 
 two parts : — First, various practical 
 e.xliortations, vs. 1 — 12 ; and second- 
 ly, suggestions designed lo console 
 those who had been bereaved. Vs. 
 13—18. 
 
 The first part embraces the fol- 
 lowing topics: — 
 
 (1.) An exhortation to increase 
 and abound in tlie christian virtues 
 which they had already manifested. 
 Vs. 1, 2. 
 
 (2.) A particular exhortation on 
 the subject of sanctification (vs. 3 — 
 8), in which two [joints are specified, 
 probably as illustrations of the gene- 
 ral subject, and embracing those in 
 regard to whom they were exposed 
 to special danger. The first wa.s 
 fornication, the other was fniiid. 
 
 (3.) An exhortation to brotherly 
 love. Vs. 9; 10. 
 
 (4.) An exhortation to quiet in- 
 dustry, and to honesty in their deal- 
 ing.", particularly with those who 
 were Christians. Vs. 11, 12. 
 
 The second part is designed to 
 comfort the The-ssalonians who had 
 been bereaved. Vs. 13 — 18. Some 
 
44 
 
 1. TIIESSALONIANS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FURTHERMORE then we ' 
 beseech you, brethren, and - 
 exhort you by the Lord Jesus, 
 that as ye have received of us 
 how ye ought to walk " and to 
 
 « or, request. 
 a Col. 1. 10. 
 
 2 or, beseech. 
 
 of their number had died. They 
 appear to have been beloved mem- 
 bers of the church, and dear friends 
 of those to whom the apostle wrote. 
 To console them he brings into view 
 the doctrine of the second coming 
 of the Saviour, and the truth that 
 they would be raised up to live with 
 him for ever. He reminds them 
 that those who had died were ' asleep^ 
 — reposing in a gentle slumber, as if 
 they were to be awakened again 
 (ver. 13) ; that they sliould not sor- 
 row as they did who have no hope 
 (ver. 13) ; that if they believed that 
 Jesus died and rose again, they ought 
 to believe that God would raise up 
 all those who sleep in Jesus (ver. 
 14) ; that in the last day they would 
 rise before the living should be 
 changed, and that the living would 
 not be taken up to heaven and leave 
 their departed friends in their graves 
 (vs. 15, 16), and tliat both the living 
 and tlie dead would be raised up to 
 heaven, and would be for ever with 
 the Lord. Ver. 17. With this pros- 
 pect, tiiey had every ground of com- 
 fort which tliey could desire, and 
 they should sustain each other in 
 their trials by this bright hope. Ver. 
 18. 
 
 1. Furthermore then. To "iMnhv. 
 ' As to what remains.' Tliat is, all 
 that remains is to ofier these exhor- 
 tations. See Notes, 2 Cor. xiii. 11. 
 Gal. vi. 17. Eph. vi. 10. Phil. iv. 
 8. The phrase is a formula appro- 
 priate to the end of an argument 
 or discourse. ^ We beseech you. 
 Marg., request. The Greek is, ' we 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 please Gcd, so ye would abound 
 ^ more and more. 
 
 2 For ye know what command- 
 ments we gave you by the Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
 3 For this is the will of God, 
 even your sanctification, that « 
 
 6 1 Co. 15. 58. e 1 Co. C. 15, 18. 
 
 ask you' — tpw-rw^tEi^. It is not as 
 strong a word as that which follows. 
 IT And exhort you. Marg., beseech. 
 This is the word which is commonly 
 used to denote earnest exhortation. 
 The use of these words here implies 
 that Paul regarded the subject as of 
 great importance. He might have 
 commanded them — but kind exhor- 
 tation usually accomplishes more 
 than a command. ^ By the Lord 
 Jesus. In his name and by his au- 
 thority. IT That as ye have received 
 of us. As you were taught by us. 
 Paul doubtless had given them re- 
 peated instructions as to their duty 
 as Christians. *([ How ye ought to 
 tvalk. That is, how ye ought to live. 
 Life is often represented as a jour- 
 ney. Rom. vi. 4 ; viii. 1, 1 Cor. v. 
 7. Gal. vi. 16. Eph. iv. L IT So 
 ye would abound more and more. 
 " That is, follow the directions which 
 they had received more and more 
 fully." Abbott. 
 
 2. For ye know what command- 
 ments. It was but a short time since 
 Paul was with them, and they could 
 not but recollect the rules of living 
 which he had iaid down. «[ By the 
 Lord Jesus. By the autliority of the 
 Lord Jesus. Some of those rules, 
 or commandments, the apostle refers 
 to, probably, in the following verses. 
 
 3. For this is the will of God, 
 even your sanctificdiion. It is the 
 will or command of God that you 
 sliould be hol3^ This does not refer 
 to the purpose or decree of God, and 
 does not mean that he intended to 
 make them holy — but it means that 
 it was his commana Inat they should 
 
A. D. o2.J CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ye should abstain from fornica- 
 tion : 
 
 •1 That cver\' one of you should 
 know how to possess his. vessel 
 in sanctification and honour ; 
 
 be holy. It was aliso true tliat it 
 wus aprecablo to the divine will or 
 purimjio t!iat tlioy s^iould he lioly, nnd 
 thiit lio meant to uso siicli an influ- 
 ence as to secure this ; but this is not 
 the truth tau;iht liere. Tiiis text, 
 therefore, should not bo broujriit as 
 a proof tluit God intends to ni;ike iiis 
 people holy, or that they are s;incti- 
 fied. It is a proof only that he re- 
 quires holiness. The word here ren- 
 dered sanctification — ayta^uoj — is 
 not used in the Greek classics, but is 
 several limes found in the New Tes- 
 tament. It is rendered hdines!', Rom. 
 vi. 19. '2.2. 1 Thess. iv. 7. 1 Tim. 
 ii. 15. Heb. xii. 14 ; and sanctijica- 
 linn, 1 Cor. i. :30. 1 Thess. iv. 3, 4. 
 2 Thess. ii. 13, and 1 Pel. i. 2. See 
 Notes, Rom. vi. 19. 1 Cor. i. 30. 
 It means here purity of life, and 
 p.articularly abstinence from those 
 vices which debase and dejrrade the 
 soul. Sanctification consists in two 
 tliinn^s, (1.) in 'ceasing to do evil;' 
 and (2.) in • learnin<T to do well.' Or 
 in other words, the first work of sanc- 
 tification is in overcoming the pro- 
 pensities to evil in our nature, and 
 checkiniT and subduing the unholy 
 hahits whicli we had tbrmed before 
 we became Christians; tiie .second 
 part of the work consists in cultivat- 
 ing the positive principles of holi- 
 ness in the soul. 11^ That ye should 
 abstain from fornication. A vice 
 which was freely indulged among 
 the heathen, and to whicii, from that 
 fact, and from their own former ha- 
 bits they were particularly ex[)o?ed. 
 On the tact that they were thus e.\- 
 posed, and on the reasons tor these 
 solemn commands on the subject, 
 see Notes on Acta xv. 20, and 1 Cor. 
 vi. 19. 
 4. ThAt every one of you should 
 
 4ft 
 
 5 Not in the lust of concupis- 
 cence, even as the Gentiles " which 
 know not Uod: 
 
 a Kp. 4. 17, 18. 
 
 know how to possess his vessel. 
 The word vessel here ((jxsi'oj), pro- 
 bably rotors to the bcnly. When it 
 is so used, it is cither because tlie 
 body is frail and feeble, like an eartii- 
 en vessel, easily broken (2 Cor. iv. 
 7), or because it is that whicii con- 
 tains the soul, or in which the .soul 
 is lodged. Lucret. Lib. iii. '141. The 
 word vessel also (Ilcb. 03, Gr. cixivo{) 
 was used by the later Hebrews to 
 denote a wife, as the vessel of her 
 husband. Schu^ttg. Hor. Heb. p. 
 627. Comp. Wetstein in loc. Many, 
 as Augustine, Wetstein, Schcettgen, 
 Koppe, Robinson (Lex.), and others, 
 have supposed that this is the refer- 
 ence hero. Comp. 1 Pet iii. 7. The 
 word hody, however, accords more 
 naturally with the usual signification 
 of the word, and as the apostle was 
 givingdirections to the whole church, 
 embracing both sexes, it is Jiardiy 
 probable that he confined his direc- 
 tion to those who had wives. It was 
 the duty of females, and of the un- 
 married among the males, as well as 
 of married men, to observe this com- 
 mand. Tiie injunction then is, that 
 we should preserve the body pure. 
 See Notes on 1 Cor. vi. 18 — 20. ^ In 
 .sanctification nnd honour. Should 
 not deliase or pjllute it; that is, that 
 we should honour it as a noble work 
 of God, to be cmpl<iyed lor pure pur- 
 poses. Notes, 1 Cor. vi. I'j. 
 
 5. Aot in the lust of concupis- 
 ceucc. In gross gratifications. '.Even 
 as the Gvntilfs. This wa.s, and is, 
 a common vice ainoiiir the heathen. 
 See Notes, Acts xv. 20. Rom. i. 29. 
 Eph. iv. 17, IS, and tlie reports of 
 mi-ssionaries everywhere. •[ Which 
 know not God. Sec Notes, Horn. L 
 21. 23. Eph. ii. 12. 
 
46 
 
 1. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 6 That no man go beyond and 
 ' defraud liis brother in ^ any mat- 
 ter ; because that the Lord is the 
 avenger of all such, as we also 
 have forewarned you and testi- 
 fied. 
 
 7 For God hath not called us 
 
 ' or, oppress ; or, overreach. ^ or, the. 
 
 6. That 110 man go beyond. i-Ttsp- 
 daivfiv. Tills word means, to make 
 to go over, as, e. g., a wall or moun- 
 tain ; then, to overpass, to wit, cer- 
 tain limits, to transgress; and tJien 
 to go too far, i. e., to go beyond 
 right — hence to cheat or defraud. It 
 is not used elsewhere in the New 
 Testament. The idea of overreach- 
 ing is that which is implied in its 
 use here. ^ And defraud. TtXsovix- 
 tiiv. Marg., oppress, or overreach. 
 This word properly means, to have 
 more than another ; then to have an 
 advantage ; and then to take advan- 
 tage of any one, to circumvent, de- 
 fraud, cheat. It is rendered got an 
 advantage, 2 Cor. ii. 11 ; defraud, 
 2 Cor. vii. 2. 1 Thess. iv. 6 ; make 
 a gain, 2 Cor. xii. 17, 18. Comp. 
 for the use of the adjective, 1 Cor. v. 
 10, 11 ; vi. 10. Eph. v. 5 ; and the 
 noun, Mark vii. 22. Luke xii. 15. 
 Rom. i. 29. 2 Cor. ix. 5. Eph. v. 
 8. Col. ill. 5. 1 Thess. ii. 5. 2 Pet. 
 ii. 3. 14. It is the word commonly 
 used to denote covetousness. Tak- 
 ing advantage of, is the idea which 
 it conveys here. *![ In any matter. 
 Marg., 'or f/ie.' According to the 
 reading in the margin, this would 
 refer to the particular matter under 
 discussion (vs. 3 — 5), to wit, concu- 
 piscence, and the meaning then 
 would be, that no one should be guil- 
 ty of illicit intercourse with the wife 
 of another. Many expositors — as 
 Hammond, Whitby, Macknight, Ro- 
 senmiiller, and others, suppose that 
 this is a prohibition of adultery, and 
 there can be no doubt that it does 
 include this. But there is no reason 
 
 unto uncleanness, but ° unto ho- 
 liness. 
 
 8 He therefore that ^ despiseth. 
 despiseth not man, but God, who 
 hath also given unto us his holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 a Le. 11. 44. He. 12. 14. 1 Pe. 1. 14-10. 
 3 or, rejectelh. 
 
 why it should be confined to it. The 
 Greek is so general that it may pro- 
 hibit all kinds o? fraud, overreach- 
 ing, or covetousness, and may refer 
 to any attempt to deprive another 
 of his rights, whether it be the right 
 which he has in his property, or liis 
 rights as a husband, or his rights in 
 any other respect. It is a general 
 command not to defraud ; in no way 
 to take advantage of another ; in no 
 way to deprive him of his rights. 
 ^ Because that the Lord is the aven- 
 ger of all such. Of all such as are 
 guilty of fraud ; that is, he will pun- 
 ish them, Comp. Notes on Rom. 
 xii. 19. Eph. vi. 9. T[ As we have 
 also forewarned. Doubtless when 
 he W'as with them. 
 
 7. For God hath not called us 
 unto uncleanness. When he called 
 us to be his followers, it was not that 
 we should lead lives of impurity, but 
 of holiness. We should, therefore, 
 fulfil the purposes for which we were 
 called into his kingdom. The word 
 uncleanness (dzc^apcta), means, pro- 
 parly, impurity, filth ; and then, in 
 a moral sense, pollution, lewdness, 
 as opposed to chastity. Rom. i. 24 ; 
 vi. 19. 2 Cor. xii. 21. Gal. v. 19. 
 Eph. iv. 19 ; v. 3. Col. iii. 5. 
 
 8. He therefore that despiseth. — 
 Marg., rejecteth. That is, he who 
 disregards such commands as these 
 which call him to a holy life, is really 
 rejecting and disobeying God. Some 
 might be disposed to say that these 
 were merely the precepts of man, 
 and that therefore it was not import- 
 ant whether they were obeyed or 
 not. The apostle assures them ill 
 
A. D. 5'J.l 
 
 CTIAPTER IV 
 
 17 
 
 U But as loucluno: brotherly 
 ovc, ye need not lliat I write iiiUo 
 y'oii ; for ye yourselves are tauglit 
 ' of God to love one another. 
 
 ID And indeed ye do it toward 
 
 a J no. 15. 1-2, 17. 
 
 the most solemn manner, that, though 
 cominuiiicated to tlioin bi/ man, yet 
 they were really the commands of 
 God. ^ Who hulli also given unto 
 us kis holy Spirit. This is a claim 
 to inspiration. Paul did not give 
 these commands as his own, but as 
 taught by the Spirit of God. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Cor. vii. 40. 
 
 9. Bui as touckimx brotherly love. 
 Tlie " peculiar charity and aficction 
 which one Christian owes to an- 
 other." Doddridsie. See Notes on 
 John xiii. 34. ^ Ye need not thai I 
 write unto you. That is, 'as I have 
 done on the other points.' They 
 were so taught of God in regard to 
 this duty, that they did not need any 
 special instruction. ^ For ye your- 
 selves are taught of God. The 
 word here rendered ' taught of God' 
 — ^lodibaxroi, — occurs nowhere else 
 in the New Testament. It is cor- 
 rectly translated, and must refer here 
 to Eome direct teaching of God on 
 their own hearts, for Paul speaks of 
 their being so taught by him as to 
 need no sjiecial precepts in the case. 
 lie probably refers to that iutluence 
 exerted on them when they became 
 Christians, by which they were led to 
 love all who bear the divine image. 
 He calls this bemg 'taught of God,' 
 not because it w:us of the nature of 
 revelation or in.spiralion, but because 
 it was in fact the teaching of God 
 in this ca.se, though it was secret and 
 silent. God has many ways of teach- 
 ing men. The lessons which we 
 learn fronj his Providence are a jjart 
 of his in.<truction.s. The same is 
 true of the decisions of our own con- 
 •ciences, and of the secret and silent 
 
 all the brethren which arc in all 
 Macedonia : but we beseech you 
 brethren, that ye increase more 
 and more : 
 
 11 And that yo study tc bt 
 quiet, and to * do your own bu 
 
 b 1 Pe. 1. l.'i. 
 
 influence of his Spirit on our hearts, 
 dis|X)sing us to love what is lovely, 
 and to do what ought to be done. 
 In this manner all true Christiana 
 are taught to love those who bear 
 the image of their Saviour. They 
 feel that they are brethren; and 
 such is their strong attachment to 
 tiiem, from the very nature of reli- 
 gion, that they do not need any ex- 
 press command of God to teach them 
 to love them. It is one of the first 
 — the elementary etl'ects of religion 
 on the souh to lead us to love " the 
 brethren" — and to do this is one of 
 the evidences of piety about which 
 there need be no danger of decep- 
 tion. Comp. 1 John iii. 14. 
 
 10. And indeed ye do it. See 
 Notes on ch. i. 7. ^ But we beseech 
 you, brethren, that ye increase more 
 and more. Notes, ch. iii. 12. Here, 
 as elsewhere, the apostle makes thb 
 fact that they deserved commenda- 
 tion for what tiiey had done, a stimu- 
 lus to arouse them to still higher at 
 tainmcnts. Bloomfuld. 
 
 11. And that ye study to be (juiet. 
 Orderly, peaceful ; living in the prac- 
 tice of the calm virtues of life. Tiio 
 duty to which he wotdd exhort them 
 was that of being subordinate to the 
 laws; of avoiding all tunudt and 
 disorder; of calmly pursuing their 
 regular avocations, and of keeping 
 themselves from all the as.-emblagea 
 of the idle, the restless, and the dis- 
 satisfied. No Cliristian .'^liotild bo 
 engaged in a mob ; none should bo 
 identified with the popular excite- 
 ments which lead to di.^order and to 
 the disregarfl of the laws. The word 
 rendered 'yo study' (•pojonniotuu) 
 
48 
 
 1, THESSALONIAJ^S. 
 
 I A. D. 52. 
 
 siness, and to work with your own | hands, as we commanded you ; 
 
 means, properly, to love honour, to 
 he ambitious ; and here means the 
 same as when we say, ' to make it a 
 point of honour to do so and so.' 
 Robinson, Lex. It is to be regard- 
 ed as a sacred duty ; a thing in which 
 our honour is concerned. Every man 
 should regard himself as disgraced 
 who is concerned in a mob. ^ And 
 to do your own business. To attend 
 to their own concerns, without inter- 
 fering with the affairs of others. See 
 Notes on Pliil. ii. 4. Comp. 2 Thess. 
 iii. 11. 1 Tim. v. 13. 1 Pet. iv. 13. 
 The injunction here is one of the 
 beautiful precepts of Christianity so 
 well adapted to promote the good 
 order and the happiness of society. 
 It would prevent the impertinent and 
 unauthorized prying into the aiiairs 
 of others, to which many are so prone, 
 and produce that careful attention to 
 what properly belongs to our calling 
 in life, which leads to tlirift, order, 
 and competence. Religion teaches no 
 man to neglect his business. It re- 
 quires no one to give up an honest 
 calling and to be idle. It asks no 
 one to forsake a useful occupation, 
 unless he can exchange it for one 
 more useful. It demands, indeed, 
 that we shall be willing so far to sus- 
 pend our ordinary labours as to ob- 
 serve the Sabbath ; to maintain ha- 
 bits of devotion; to improve our 
 minds and hearts by the study of 
 truth ; to cultivate tlie social aflec- 
 tions, and to do good to others as we 
 have an opportunity ; but it makes no 
 one idle, and it countenances idle- 
 ness in no one. A man who is ha- 
 bitually idle can have very slender 
 pretensions to piety. There is enough 
 in this world for every one to do, and 
 the Saviour set such an example of 
 untiring industry in his vocation as 
 to give each one occasion to doubt 
 whether he is his true follower if he 
 is not disposed to be employed. 
 H And to work with your own hands, 
 
 as we commanded you. This com- 
 mand is not referred to in the histo- 
 ry (Acts xvii.), but it is probable that 
 the apostle saw that many of those 
 residing in Thessalonica were dis- 
 posed to spend their time in indo- 
 lence, and hence insisted. strongly on 
 the necessity of being engaged in 
 some useful occupation. Comp. Acts 
 xvii. 21. Idleness is one of the great 
 evils of the heatlien world in almost 
 every country, and the parent of no 
 small part of their vices. The effect 
 of religion everywhere is to make 
 men industrious; and every man, who 
 is able, should feel himself under sa- 
 cred obligation to be employed. God 
 made man to work (Comp. Gen. ii. 
 15; iii. 19), and there is no more 
 benevolent arrangement of his gov- 
 ernment than this. No one who has 
 already enough for himself and fami- 
 ly, but who can make money to do 
 good to others, has a right to retire 
 from business and to live in idleness 
 (comp. Acts XX. 34. Eph. iv. 27) ; 
 no one has a right to live in such a 
 relation as to be wholly dependent 
 on others, if he can support himself; 
 and no one has a right to compel 
 others to labour for him, and to ex- 
 act their unrequited toil, in order 
 that he may be supported in indo- 
 lence and ease. The application of 
 this rule to all mankind would speed- 
 ily put an end to slavery, and would 
 convert multitudes, even in the 
 church, from useless to useful men. 
 If a man has no necessity to labour 
 for himself and family, he should re- 
 gard it as an inestimable privilege 
 to be permitted to aid those who can- 
 not work — the sick, the aged, the 
 infirm. If a man has no need to 
 add to what he has for his own tem- 
 poral comfort, what a privilege it is 
 tor him to toil in promoting public 
 improvements ; in founding colleges, 
 libraries, hospitals, and asylums ; and 
 in sending the gospel to those who 
 
\, D. ry2.J 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 19 
 
 12 That ve imiy walk hom-st-Iand that \c may have lack of ' 
 ly ' toward tliom ihat aro without, noihme. 
 
 13 But 1 would not have you 
 
 « Ro. 13. 13. 
 
 ' or, no man. 
 
 are sunk in wrotcliedness and want! 
 No man understinds fully the bless- 
 ings wliicii Ciixl has bestowed on 
 liini, if he has hands to work and 
 will not work. 
 
 12. That ye may walk honestly 
 toward them that are without. Out 
 of the cliurcii. Comp. Nott^ on Col. 
 iv. 5. The word rendered honestly, 
 means brcomini^ly, tlecorously, in a 
 proper manner. Rom. xiii. 13. 1 
 Cor. xiv. 40. It does not refer here 
 to mere honisty in tiie transaction 
 of business, but to their general 
 treatment of those who were not pro- 
 fessing Christians. They were to 
 conduct themselves towards them in 
 all respects in a becoming manner — 
 to be honest with them : to be faith- 
 ful to their engagements ; to be kind 
 and courteous in their intercourse ; 
 to show respect where it was due, 
 and to endeavour in every way to do 
 them good. There are few precepts 
 of religion more important than tiiose 
 which enjoin upon Christians the 
 duty of a proper treatment of those 
 who are not connected with the 
 church. '^\ And that ye may have 
 lack of nothinsr. Marg., no man. 
 The Greek will bear either construc- 
 tion, but the translation in the text 
 is probably the correct one. The 
 phrase is to b»; taken in connection 
 not merely with that which imme- 
 diately precedes it — as if 'their 
 walking honestly towards those who 
 were without' would preserve them 
 from want — but as meaning that 
 X tlieir industrious and quiet habits; 
 their patient attention to their own bu- 
 siness, and uprightdealing with every 
 man, would do it. Thoy wnidd, in this 
 way, have a competence, and would 
 not be l)eholden to others. Learn 
 hence, that it is the duty of a Chris- 
 tian ao to live as not to be dependent 
 5 
 
 on others, unless he is made so by 
 events of divine i'rovidence whicli 
 he cannot foresee or control. No 
 man should be dependent on othcri 
 as the resndt of idle habits; of ex- 
 tra vagtince and improvidence; of the 
 neglect of his own business, and of 
 intermeddling with tliat of others. 
 If by age, losses, infirmities sick- 
 ness, he is made dependent, he can- 
 not be blamed, and he should not re- 
 pine at his lot. One of the ways in 
 which a Christian may always do 
 good in society, and honour his reli- 
 gion, is by quiet and patient indus- 
 try, and by showing that religion 
 prompts to those habits of economy 
 on which the happiness of society so 
 much depends. 
 
 13. But I would not have you to 
 he ignorant. I would have you fully 
 informed on the important subject 
 which is here referred to. It is quite 
 probable from this, that some errone- 
 ous views prevailed among them in 
 reference to the condition of those 
 who were dead, whicii tended to 
 prevent their enjoying the full con- 
 solation which they might otherwise 
 have done. Of the prevalence of 
 these views, it is probable the apos- 
 tle had been informed by Timothy 
 on his return from Tii'ssiiouica. 
 Ch. iii. 0. What they were we are 
 not distinctly informed, and can onlv 
 gather from the allusions which Paul 
 makes to them, or from the opposite 
 doctrines which /te states, and which 
 are evidently designed to correct 
 those whicli prevailed among them. 
 From these statements, it would ap- 
 pear that they supposed that ihosa 
 who had die<I, though they were true 
 Christians, would Ik* deprivetl of 
 .some important advantages which 
 those would possess who should siu-- 
 vive to the coming of the I/ird. 
 
K) 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52 
 
 to be ignorant, bretliren, concern- 
 ing them Avhich are asleep, that 
 
 There seems some reason to suppose, 
 as Koppe conjectures (comp. also 
 Saurin, Serm. vol. vi. 1), that the 
 3ause of their grief was two-fold ; one, 
 hat some among them doubted whe- 
 ther there would be any resurrection 
 (comp 1 Cor. xv. 12), and that they 
 supposed that they who had died were 
 thus cut off from the hope of eternal 
 happiness, so as to leave their surviv- 
 ing friends to sorrow ' as those who 
 had no Iiope ;' the other, that some of 
 them believed that, though those 
 who were dead would indeed rise 
 again, yet it would be long after 
 those who were living when the 
 Lord Jesus would return had been 
 taken to glory, and would be always 
 in a condition inferior to them. See 
 Koppe, in loc. The effect of such 
 opinions as these can be readily ima- 
 gined. It would be to deprive them 
 of the consolation wliich they might 
 have had, and should have had, in 
 the loss of their pious friends. They 
 would either mourn over them as 
 wholly cut off from hope, or would 
 sorrow that they were to be deprived 
 of the highest privileges which could 
 result from redemption. It is not to 
 be regarded as wonderful that such 
 views should have prevailed in Thes- 
 salonica. There were those even at 
 Corinth who wholly denied the doc- 
 trine of the resurrection (1 Cor. xv. 
 12) ; and we are to remember that 
 those to whom ihe apostle now wrote 
 had been recently converted from 
 heathenism ; that they had enjoyed 
 his preaching but a short time ; that 
 they had few or no books on the sub- 
 ject of religion ; and that they were 
 surrounded by those who had no 
 faith in the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion at- all, and who were doubtless 
 able — as skeptical philosophers often 
 are now — to urge their objections to 
 tlie doctrine in such a way as great- 
 ly to perplex Christians. The anos- 
 
 ye sorrow not, even as others 
 which have no hope. 
 
 tie, therefore, felt the importance of 
 stating the exact truth on tlie sub- 
 ject, that they might not have unne- 
 cessary sorrow, and that their una- 
 voidable grief for their departed 
 friends might not be aggravated by 
 painful apprehensions about their 
 future condition. «[ Concerning them 
 which are asleep. It is evident from 
 this that they had been recently 
 called to part with some dear and 
 valued members of their church. 
 The word sleep is frequently applied 
 in the New Testament to the death 
 of saints. For tlie reasons why it is, 
 see the Notes on John xi. 11. 1 Cor. 
 xi. 30; XV. 51. ^ That ye sorrow 
 not, even as others which have no 
 hope. That is, evidently, as the hea- 
 then, who had no hope of future life. 
 Comp. Notes on Eph. ii. 12. Their 
 sorrow was caused not only by the 
 fact that their friends were removed 
 from them by death, but from the fact 
 that they had no evidence that their 
 souls were immortal ; or that, if they 
 still lived, that they were happy ; or 
 that their bodies w'ould rise again. 
 Hence, when they buried them, they 
 buried their hopes in the grave, and 
 so far as they had any evidence, they 
 were never to see them again. Their 
 grief at parting was not mitigated 
 by the belief that the soul was now 
 happy, or by the prospect of again 
 being with them in a better world. 
 It was on this account, in part, that 
 the heathens indulged in expres- 
 sions of such excessive grief! When 
 their friends died, they hired men to 
 play in a mournful manner on a pipe 
 or trumpet, or women to howl and 
 lament in a dismal manner. They 
 beat their breasts; uttered loud 
 shrieks; rent their garments; tore 
 ofi their hair; cast dust on their 
 heads, or sat down in ashes. It is 
 not improbable that some among the 
 Thessalonians, on the death of their 
 
A. D. r)2.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 51 
 
 pious fricails, kept up tncse exprcs- 
 sious of excessive sorrow. To pre- 
 vent tliis, mill to mitigate tlieir sor- 
 row, the apostle refers tliem to the 
 brif^lit hopes wliich Christianity liad 
 revealed, and points them to the fu- 
 ture jrlorious re-union with the de- 
 pa rtcii pit)us dead. Learn lienco, 
 (1) that tiie world witliout rcliij;ion 
 is destitute of hope. It is just as 
 true of the heathen world now as it 
 was of the ancient paj^ms, tliat tliey 
 have no liope of a future state. Tiiey 
 have no evidence that there is any 
 such future state of blessedness; and 
 without sucli evidence there can be 
 no hope. Comp. Notes on Epli. ii. 
 12. (2.) That the excessive sorrow 
 of the children of tliis world, when 
 they lose a fricntl, is not to be won- 
 dered at. Tiicy bury their hopes in 
 the grave. Tlicy part, for all that 
 they know or believe, with such a 
 friend for ever. The wife, the son, 
 tlie daugiiter, they consign to silence 
 — to d»^cay — to dust, not expecting to 
 meet them again. Tliey look for- 
 ward to no glorious resurrection 
 wiicn that body sliall rise, and wlien 
 they shall be reunited to part no 
 more. It is no wonder that tlicy 
 weep — for wiio would not weep 
 when he believes that he parts witii 
 his friends for ever ? (3.) It is only 
 the hope of future blessedness that 
 can mitigate this sorrow. Religion 
 reveals a brighter world — a world 
 where all the pious shall be reunit- 
 c«l ; where the bonds of love shall 
 be made stronger than they were 
 here; where they shall never be se- 
 vered again. It is only this lioi)e 
 that can soothe tlie pains of grief at 
 parting ; only when we can look 
 ibrw anl to a bettor world and feel 
 that we shall see them again — love 
 them again — love them for ever — 
 that our tears are made dry. (4.) 
 Tlie Ciiristian, Uiercfore, when he 
 loses a christian friend, shotdd not 
 sorrow as others do. He will t'eel, in- 
 deed, as keenly as they do, the loss of 
 
 their society; tue absence of tlu'ir 
 well-known tiices; the want of the 
 sweet voice of friendship and love 
 (or religion does not blunt the sensi- 
 bility of tlie soul, or make the heart 
 unfeeling. Jesus wept at the grave 
 of Liizjirus, and religion does not 
 l)rovent the warm, gushing expres- 
 sions of sorrow when God comes into 
 a family and removes a friend. But 
 this sorrow should not he like tlial 
 of the world. It should not be (</) 
 sucli as arises from tlie feeling that 
 there is to be no future union ; (/>) it 
 should not be accompanied with re 
 pining or complaining; (c) it sliould 
 not be excessive, or beyond that 
 which God designs that we should 
 feel. It should be calm, submissive, 
 patient; it should be that wiiich is 
 connected with steady confidence in 
 God ; and it should be mitigated by 
 tiie hope of a future glorious union 
 in heaven. The eye of the weeper 
 should look up through his tears to 
 God. The heart of the sufferer 
 should acquiesce in him even in the 
 unsearchable mysteries of his doal- 
 inirs, and feel that all is right. (0.) 
 It is a sad thing to die witliout hope 
 — so to die as to have no iiope tor 
 ourselves, and to leave none to our 
 surviving friends that we are happy. 
 Such is the condition of the whole 
 heathen world ; and such the state 
 of those who die in christian lands, 
 who have no evidence that their 
 peace is made with God. As I love 
 my friends — my father, my mother, 
 my wife, my cliildren, I would not 
 have them go forth and weep over 
 my grave a.'^ those who have no 
 hope in my death. I would have 
 their sorrow for my departure alle- 
 viated by the belief that my soul is 
 happy with my G(h1, even when they 
 commit my cold clay to the dust; 
 and were there no other reason for 
 being a Christian, this would be 
 worth all the effort which it requires 
 to become one. It would demon* 
 strate the unspeakable val'je of reli 
 
62 
 
 I. TliESSALONIANS. 
 
 f A. D. 52. 
 
 1 4 For if we believe that Je- 
 sus died and rose again, even so 
 
 " them also which sleep in Jesus 
 will God bring with him. 
 
 a 1 Co. 15. 20, &c. 
 
 gion, that my living friends may go 
 forth to my grave and be comforted 
 in their sorrows vv'ith the assurance 
 that my soul is already in glory, and 
 that my body will rise again ! No 
 eulogium for talents, accomplish- 
 ments, or learning; no paeans of 
 praise for eloquence, beauty, or mar- 
 tial deeds; no remembrances of 
 wealth and worldly greatness, would 
 then so meet the desires which my 
 heart cherishes, as to have them en- 
 abled, when standing around my 
 open grave, to sing the song which 
 only Christians can sing : — 
 
 Urveil thy bosom, faithful tomb. 
 Take this new treasure to thy trust ; 
 
 And give these sacred relics room 
 To seek a slumber in the dust. 
 
 Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear 
 Invade thy bounds. No mortal woes 
 
 Can reach the peaceful sleeper here, 
 W^hile angels watch the soft repose. 
 
 So Jesus slept : God's dying Son 
 
 Pass'd thro' the grave, and blest the bed ; 
 
 Rest here, blesl saint, till from his throne 
 The morning break, and pierce the shade. 
 
 Break from his throne, illustrious morn ; 
 
 Attend, O Earth, his sovereign word ; 
 Restore thy trust— a glorious form— 
 
 Call'd to ascend, and meet the Lord. 
 
 Watts. 
 
 14. For if we believe, that Jesus 
 died and rose again. That is, if we 
 believe this, we ought also to be- 
 lieve that those who have died in 
 the faith of Jesus will be raised from 
 the dead. The meaning is not that 
 the fact of the resurrection depends 
 on our believing that Jesus rose, but 
 that the death and resurrection of 
 the Saviour were connected with 
 the resurrection of the saints ; that 
 the one followed from the other, and 
 that the one was as certain as the 
 other. The doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the saints so certainly fellows 
 from that of the resurrection of 
 Christ, that, if the one is believed, 
 
 the other ought tQ be also. See 
 Notes on 1 Cor. xv. 12—14. «1[ Which 
 sleep in Jesus. A most beatitiful 
 expression. It is not merely that J 
 they have calm repose — like a gen- 1 
 tie slumber — in the hope of awak- 
 ing again, but that this is 'in Jesus'" 
 — or ' through' (Sia) him ; that is, his 
 death and resurrection are the cause 
 of their quiet and calm repose. They 
 do not ' sleep' in heathenism, or in 
 infidelity, or in the gloom of atheism 
 — but in the blessed hope which Je- 
 sus has imparted. They lie, as he 
 did, in the tomb — free from pain and 
 sorrow, and with the certainty of be- 
 ing raised up again. 
 
 They sleep in Jesus, and are bless'd, 
 
 How kind their slumbers are ; 
 From sufferings and from sin released, 
 
 And freed from every snare. 
 
 When, therefore, we think of the 
 death of saints, let us think of what 
 Jesus was in the tomb of Joseph of 
 Arimathea. Such is the sleep of 
 our pious friends now in the grave ; 
 such will be our own when we die. 
 ^ Will God bring with him. Tliis 
 does not mean that God will bring 
 them with him from heaven when 
 the Saviour comes — though it will 
 be true that their spirits will descend 
 witii the Saviour ; but it means that 
 he will bring them from their graves, 
 and will conduct thern with him to 
 glory, to be with him. Comp. Notes, 
 John xiv. 3. The declaration, as it 
 seems to me, is designed to teach the 
 general truth that the redeemed are 
 so united with Christ that they shall 
 share the same destiny as he does. 
 As the head was raised, so will all 
 the members be. As God brought 
 Christ from the grave, so will he 
 bring them ; that is, his resurrection 
 made it certain that they would rise. 
 It is a great and universal truth that 
 God wUl bring all from their graves 
 
A. D. 52. J CI1A1>TER IV. 
 
 15 For this we say unto you 
 by the word of the Lord, that 
 we which are alive, and remain 
 
 .-V^ 
 
 who 'sleep in Je.<us;' or that tliey 
 shall all rise. Tiie upostlc does not, 
 tiiereforc, refer so much to the time 
 when this would occur — meaning 
 tliat it would happen wlien the Lord 
 Jesus should return — as to the fact 
 that tliere was an established con- 
 nection between him and his people, 
 whicii made it certiin that if they 
 died united with him by fiiith, they 
 would be as certainly brought from 
 the g^rave as he was. If, however, 
 it means, as Prof. Bush (Anastisis, 
 pp. 266, 207) supposes, that they 
 will be brought with him from hea- 
 ven, or will accompany him down, 
 it does not prove that there must 
 have been a previous resurrection, 
 for the full force of the language 
 would be met by tlie supposition that 
 their spirits had ascended to heaven, 
 and would be brought with him to 
 be rnited to their bodies when 
 raised. If this be the correct inter- 
 pretation, then there is probably an 
 allusion to such passages as tlie fol- 
 lowing, representing the coming of 
 the Lord accompanied by his saints. 
 •' The Ijord my God shall come, and 
 all the s:iints with thee." Zech. 
 xiv. '). " And Enoch, the seventh 
 i'rom Adam, prophesied of these, say- 
 ing. Behold, the Lord cometh, with 
 ten thousand of his saints." Jude 
 14. " Who," says Pres. Dwight 
 (.sVrm. 101), "are those whom God 
 will bring with him at this time? 
 Certainly not the bodies of his saints. 
 . . . The only answer is, he will bring 
 with him 'the spirits of just men 
 made perfect' " 
 
 15. For this tee say unto you by 
 the word oflfip Lord. By the com- 
 man'i, or inspired teaching of the 
 Lord. Prof. Bush (Anastasis, p. 265) 
 Bupposes that the apostle here alludes 
 to what the Saviour says in Matt 
 xxiv. 30, 31. "And they shall see 
 
 unto tiie coming of the Lord, 
 shall not prevent them which are 
 asleep. 
 
 the Son of man coming in tlie clouds 
 of heaven," &lc. It is possible that 
 Paul may have designed a general 
 allusion to all that the Lord had said 
 about his coming, but there cannot 
 have been an exclusive reference to 
 that passage, for in what he says 
 here there are several circumstances 
 mentioned to whTch the Saviour in 
 Matthew does not allude. The pro- 
 bability, therefore, is, that Paul 
 means that the Lord Jesus had made 
 a special communication to him on 
 the subject <[ That we which are 
 alive. See this fully ex])lained in 
 the Notes on 1 Cor. xv. 51. From 
 this expression, it would seem, that 
 some of the Thessalonians supposed 
 that Paul meant to teach that he 
 himself, and many of the living, 
 would survive until the coming of 
 the Lord Jesus, and, of course, that 
 that event was near at hand. That 
 this was not his meaning, however, 
 he is at special pains to show in 2 
 Thess. ii. 1 — 10. ■[ And remain 
 unto the coming of the Lord. Those 
 Christians w^ho shall then be alive. 
 •f Skall not prevent them which are 
 asleep. Shall not precede ; antici- 
 pate ; go before. The word prevent 
 with us is now commonly used in 
 the sense of hiruler, but this is never 
 its meaning in the Scriptures. The 
 word, in the time of the translators 
 of tlie Bible, was used in its primi- 
 tive and proper sense {pravenio"), 
 meaning to precede, or anticipate. 
 Job iii. 12, " Why did the knees pre- 
 vent meV That is, why did they 
 anticipate me, so that I did not jx?rish. 
 p!«. Ixxi.x. S, " Let thy tender mercies 
 sjwedily jncvent us;" tlu t is, go be- 
 fore us in danirer. Ps. cxix. 147, " I 
 prpvented the dawning of the morn- 
 iiiLT. and cried ;" that i.", I anticipat' 
 ed it or I prayed before Uie morning 
 dawned. Matt xvii. 25, "Jesus pre- 
 
54 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 FA. D. 52 
 
 16 For " tke Lord himself shall 
 descend from heaven with a shout, 
 with the voice of the archangel, 
 
 a Mat. 24. 30, 31. 
 
 vented him, saying;" that is, Jesus 
 anticipated him; he commenced 
 speaking before Peter had told him 
 what he had said. Comp. Ps. xvii. 
 13; lix. 10; Ixxxviii. 13; xcv. 2. 
 2 Sam. xxii. 6. 19. Job xxx. 27; 
 xli. 11. The meaning- here is, that 
 they who would be alive at the com- 
 ing of the Lord Jesus, would not be 
 ' changed' and received up into glory 
 before those who were in tlieir graves 
 were raised up. The object seems 
 to be to correct an opinion which 
 prevailed among the Thessalonians 
 that they who should survive to the 
 coming of the Lord Jesus would 
 have great advantages over those 
 wlio had died. What they supposed 
 those advantages would be — whether 
 the privilege of seeing' him come, or 
 that they would be raised to higher 
 honours in heaven, or that they who 
 had died would not rise at all, does 
 not appear, nor is the origin of this 
 sentiment known. It is clear, how- 
 ever, that it was producing an in- 
 crease of their sorrow on the death 
 of their pious friends, and hence it 
 was very important to correct the 
 error. Tlie apostle, therefore, states 
 that no such disadvantage could fol- 
 low, for the matter of fact was, that 
 the dead would rise first. 
 
 16. For the Lord himself shall 
 descend from heaven. Notes, Acts 
 i. 11. IT With a shout. The word 
 here used (xtXfv^fxa), does not else- 
 where occur in the New Testament. 
 It properly means a cry of excite- 
 ment, or of urging on ; an outcry, 
 clamour, or shout, as of sailors at the 
 uar, Luc. Catapl. 19; of soldiers 
 rusiiing to battle, Thuc. iii. 14; of 
 I multitude of people, Diod. Sic. iii. 
 15; of a huntsman to his dogs, Xen. 
 Ven. vi. 20. It does not mean here, 
 khat the Lord would himself make 
 
 and with the trump of God : and 
 the dead in Christ shall rise 
 
 first : ' 
 
 b Re. 20. 5, 6. 
 
 such a shout, but that he would be 
 attended with it ; that is, with a mul- 
 titude who would lift up the voice 
 like that of an army rushinfj; to the 
 conflict. Tf With the voice of the 
 archangel. The word archangel 
 occurs nowhere else in the New 
 Testament, except in Jude 9, where 
 it is applied to Michael. It properly 
 means a chief angel ; one who is first, 
 or who is over others — apx^v. The 
 word is not found in the Septuagint, 
 and the only arcliangel, therefore, 
 which is named in the Scriptures, is 
 Michael. Jude 9. Comp. Rev. xii. 
 7. Seven angels, however, are re- 
 ferred to in the Scriptures as having 
 an eminence above others, and these 
 are commonly regarded as archan- 
 gels. Rev. viii. 2. " And I saw the 
 seven angels which stood before 
 God." One of these is supposed to 
 be referred to in the Book of Tobit, 
 xii. 15, " I am Raphael, one of the 
 seven holy angels, which present 
 the prayers of the saints, and which 
 go in and out before the glory of the 
 Holy One." The names of three 
 only of the seven are mentioned in 
 the Jewish writings: Michael, the 
 patron of the Jewish nation, Dan. x. 
 13. 21 ; xii. 1. Gabriel, Dan. viii. 
 16; ix. 21. Comp. Luke i. 19. 26. 
 Raphael, Tobit iii. 17; v. 4; viii. 2, 
 ix. 1. 5 ; xii. 15. The Book of Enoch 
 adds that of Uriel, pp. 187, 190, 191, 
 193. Michael is mentioned as one 
 ' of the chief princes,' Dan. x. 13 ; 
 and as ' the great prince,' Dan. xii. 
 1. Comp. Notes on Eph. i. 21, and 
 see an article by Prof. Stuart in the 
 Bibliotheca Sacra, No. 1, on Angel- 
 ology. It seems evident from the 
 Scriptures, that there is one or more 
 among the angels to whom the name 
 archangel properly belongs. This 
 view is in accordance with the doo 
 
A. 1). 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 S6 
 
 17 Then wo wliich are alive 
 and remain, shall be caught up 
 
 trine in tlie Scriptures tlmt llio hea- 
 venly beings arc divided into ranks 
 :ind orders, lor if t«, it is not unrea- 
 sonable to suppose that tliere should 
 be one or more to whom the most 
 exalted nink appertains. Comp. Rev. 
 xii. 7. Whether there is more tlian 
 (iiie to whom this name appropriately 
 belongs, it is impasi;ible now to de- 
 termine, and is not material. The 
 word here (in Greek) is without the 
 article, and the phrase might be ren- 
 dered, 'with the voice of an archan- 
 gel.' Tiic Syriac renders it, ' with 
 the voice of the prince of the an- 
 gels.' On an occasion so august and 
 momentous as that of the coming of 
 the tinal Ju<lge of all mankind ; the 
 resurrection of the dead, and the so- 
 lemn transactions before the tribu- 
 nal of the Son of God deciding the 
 destiny of countless millions for ever, 
 it will not be inappropriate that the 
 highest among tlie heavenly hosts 
 shouid be present and take an im- 
 portant part in the solemnities of tlic 
 day. It is not quite certain what is 
 meant here by ' the voice of the arch- 
 angel,' or for what purpose that voice 
 will be heard. It cannot be that it 
 will be to raise the dead — for tliat 
 will be by the 'voice of the Son of 
 God' (John v. 2?, 29), and it seems 
 most probable that tlie meaning is, 
 that this will be a part of the loud 
 shout or cry which will be made by 
 the descending hosts of heaven ; or 
 perhaps it may be for the purpose of 
 summoning the world to Uk; bar of 
 judgment. Comp. Matt. xxiv. 31. 
 ^ Am! with the trump of God. The 
 trump which God appoints to be 
 Founded on that solemn occasion. It 
 does not mean that it will be sound- 
 ed by God himself. See Notes on 
 Matt. xxiv. 31. % And the dead in 
 Christ. Christians. 'H Shall rise 
 first. That is, before the living 
 Bhall bi' changed. A doctrine simi- 
 
 togcther with them in " the clouds, 
 
 a Re. 11. 13. 
 
 lar to this was held by the Jews, 
 "Rcsch Lachisch said. Those who 
 die in the land of Israel, shall rise 
 first in the days of the Messiah." 
 Sec Wetstein, t;i Inc. It is implied 
 in all this description, that the inter- 
 val between their resurrection and 
 the change which will occur to the 
 living, will be brief, or that the one 
 will rapidly succeed the other. 
 Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. xv. 23. 51, 52. 
 
 17. Then ice which are alive. 
 Those who shall then be alive. See 
 ver. 1.5. The word here rendered 
 then (tHnta), does not necessarily 
 mean that this would occur immedi' 
 ately. It properly marks succession 
 in time, and means afterwards, next, 
 next in the order of events. Luke 
 xvi. 7. Gal. i. 21. James iv. 14. 
 Tliere may be a considerable inter- 
 val between the resurrection of the 
 pious and the time when the living 
 shall be caught up to meet the Lord, 
 for the change is to take place in 
 them which will fit them to ascend 
 with those who have been raised. 
 Tlie meaning is, that after the dead 
 are raised, or the next thing in or- 
 der, they and the living will ascend 
 to meet the Lord. The proper mean- 
 ing of the word, however, denotes a 
 succession so close as to exclude the 
 idea of a long interval in which 
 other important transactions would 
 occur, such an interval, for example, 
 as would be involved in a long per- 
 sonal reign of the Redeemer on 
 eartli. The word demands this in 
 terpretation — that the next thing in 
 order aller the resurrection of the 
 righteous, will be their being caught 
 up with the living, witii an appropri- 
 ate change, into the air — though, as 
 has been j;pmarked, it will admit of 
 the supposition of such a brief, mo- 
 mentary interval (tV orojuy, iv jUnw 
 ot^axuov', 1 Cor. XV. 51, 52) as Bhali 
 be necessary to prepare for it. ^ S/^all 
 
b6 
 
 I. THtiSSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 fie caught up. Tlic word here used 
 implies that there will be the appli- 
 cation of external force or power by 
 which this will be dene. It will not 
 be by any power of ascending which 
 they will themselves have ; or by any 
 tendency of their raised or changed 
 bodies to ascend of their own accord, 
 or even by any effort of their own 
 v.'ill, but by a power applied to them 
 which will cause them to rise. Comp. 
 tlie use of the word aprfd^co in Matt, 
 xi. 12, " the violent take it by force ;" 
 xiii. 19, "then cometh the wicked 
 one and snatcheth away ;" John vi. 
 15, " that they would come and tale 
 him by force,-'" x. 12, "the wolf 
 catcheth ikem ,•" Acts viii. 39, " the 
 Spirit of the Lord caught away Phi- 
 li);" 2 Cor. xii. 2, "such an one 
 caught up to the third heaven;" 
 also, John xii. 2S, 29. Acts xxiii. 
 10. Jude 23. Rev. xii. 5. The1 
 verb does not elsewhere occur in the 
 New Testament. In all these in- 
 stances there is the idea of either 
 foreign force or violence, effecting 
 that which is done. What force or 
 power is to be applied in causing the 
 living and the dead to ascend, is not 
 expressed. Whether it is to be by 
 the ministry of angels, or by the di- 
 rect power of the Son of God, is not 
 intimated, though the latter seems 
 to be most probable. The word 
 should not be construed, however, as 
 implying that there will be any re- 
 luctance on the part of the saints to 
 appear before tne Saviour, but mere- 
 ly with reference to the physical fact 
 that power will be necessary to ele- 
 vate them to meet him in the air. 
 Will their bodies then be such that 
 vhey will have the power of locomo- 
 tion at will from place to place? 
 IT In the clouds. Gr., ' in clouds' — 
 iv vefiiuMi — without the article. This 
 may mean ' in clouds;' that is, in sucli 
 numbers, and in such grouping as 
 to resemble clouds. So it is render- 
 ed by Macknight, Koppe, Rosenmiil- 
 ler, Bush (Anasta. 2GtJ), and others. 
 
 The absence of the article here 
 would rather seem to demand this 
 interpretation. Still, however, the 
 other interpretation may be true, 
 that it mear.s that they will be caught 
 up into the region of the clouds, or 
 to the clouds which shall accompany 
 the Lord Jesus on his return to our 
 world. Matt. xxiv. 30; xxvi. 64. 
 Mark xvi. 26 ; xiv. 62. Rev. i. 7. 
 Comp. Dan. vii. 13. In whichever 
 sense it is understood, the expression 
 is one of great sublimity, and the 
 scene will be immensely grand. 
 Some doctrine of this kind was held 
 by the ancient Jews. Thus Rabbi 
 Nathan (Midras Tillin, xlviii. 13) 
 says, 'What has been done before 
 will be done again. As he led the 
 Israelites from Egypt in the clouds 
 of heaven, so will he do to them in 
 the future time.' IT To meet the 
 Lord in the air. In the regions of 
 the atmosphere — above the earth. 
 It would seem from this, that the 
 Lord Jesus, in his coming, would not 
 descend to the earth, but would re- 
 main at a distance from it in the air, 
 where the great transactions of the 
 judgment will occur. It is, indeed, 
 nowhere said that the transactions 
 of the judgment will occur upon the 
 earth. The world would not be spa- 
 cious enough to contain all the as- 
 sembled living and dead, and hence 
 the throne of judgment will be fixed 
 in the ample space above it. ^ And 
 so shall toe ever be with the Lord. 
 This does not mean that they will 
 always remain with hun in the air 
 — for their final home will be hea- 
 ven — and after the trial they will 
 accompany him to the realms of glo- 
 ry. Matt. XXV. 34, " Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom," Slc. The time during 
 which they will remain with him 
 ' in the air,' is nowhere mentionea 
 in the Bible. It will be as long as 
 will be necessary for the purposes 
 of judging a world and deciding the 
 eternal doom of every individual 
 
A. D. 52.] CHAPTKR IV. 
 
 to meet the Lord in the air : and 
 so shall we ever bo " with the Lord, 
 
 a Jno. H. 3. 
 
 " accordinff to tlie deeds done in the 
 body." There is no reason to siip- 
 pase that this will be accomplished in 
 a single day of twenty-four iiours ; 
 but it is imjjossible to Ibrm any con- 
 jecture of the period which will be 
 occupied. 
 
 1>>. Whrrcfore comfort one an- 
 otlirr. Marjr., exhort. Tlie word 
 comfort probably best expresses liic 
 mcaiiiiii>^. Tliey were to brinir tlicse 
 glorious truths and these briglit pros- 
 pects before tiieir minds, in order to 
 alleviate the sorrows of bereavement. 
 The topics of consolation are those: 
 lirst, that those wlio had died in the 
 faith would not always lie in the 
 pravc ; second, tiiat when they rose 
 tiiey would not occupy an inferior 
 condition because they wore cut off 
 before the comings of the I/ird ; and 
 third, that all Christians, livinnf and 
 dead, would be received to heaven 
 and dwell for ever with the I/ird. 
 ■[ With these words. Tliat is, with 
 these truths. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 1. This passao'c (vs. 13 — 18) con- 
 tains a truth wiiich is to be found in 
 no heathen classic writer, and no- 
 where else, except in tlie teachinjrs 
 of the New Testament For the 
 elevated and jjlorious view which it 
 ffives of future scenes pertaining' to 
 our world, and fur all iLs inestimable 
 consolations, we are wholly indci>ted 
 to the christian ndijfion. Rea.son, 
 unassisted by revelation, never dared 
 to conjecture that such scenes would 
 <x;cur; if it had, it would have had 
 no ariruments on which tlie conjec- 
 ture could bo supported. 
 
 2. The death of the Christian is 
 a calm and crentle slumber. Ver. 13. 
 Ills not anniiiilation; it is not the 
 extinction of hope. It is like gentle 
 repose when we lie down at night, 
 
 h7 
 
 18 Wlierefore ' comfort one an- 
 other with these words. 
 
 ' or, czliort. 
 
 and when we hope to awake again 
 in the morning; it is like the quiet, 
 sweet slumber of tlie infant. Why, 
 then, should the Christian be afraid 
 to die ] Is he afraid to close his eyes 
 in slumber? Why dread the night 
 — the stillness of death 1 Is he afraid 
 of the darkness, the silence, the chil- 
 liness of the midnight hour, whoii 
 his senses are locked in repose! 
 Wiiy should death to him appear .'-•o 
 terrible ? h the s/umbering- of mi 
 infant an object of terror? 
 
 3. Tiiere are magnificent scenes 
 before us. There is no description 
 anywhere wiiich is more sublime 
 than that in the close of this chap- 
 ter. Great events are brought to 
 getlier here, any one of which is 
 more grand than all the pomp of 
 court-s, and all the sublimity of bat- 
 tle, and all the grandeur of a trimii- 
 phal civic procession. The glory 
 of the dcscenrling Judge of all man- 
 kind; tlie attending retinue of an- 
 gels, and of the spirits of the dead ; 
 the loud shout of the descending 
 host; the clangor of the archangel's 
 trumpet; the burstinir of graves nnd 
 the coming forth of the millions there 
 entombed ; the rapid, sudden, glori- 
 ous change on tlie millions of living 
 men; the consternation of the wick- 
 ed ; the ascent of the innumerable 
 host to the regions of the air, and 
 the solemn process of the judgment 
 there — what has ever occurred like 
 these events in this world ? And how 
 stninge it is that the thoughts of men 
 are not turni-d away from tlm trifles 
 — the show — the shadow — the glit- 
 ter — the empty pageantry hen; — to 
 these bright and glorious realities' 
 
 4. In those scenes we shall all b*'. 
 personally interested. If we do not 
 survi\.5 till they (jccur, yot we sh;ill 
 have an important part to act in them. 
 Wc shall hearthe archangel'B trump, 
 
5P 
 
 I. THESSALONIAJ^S. 
 
 A. D. 52. 
 
 we shall be summoned before the dc- 
 iscending- Judge. In these scenes 
 we shall mingle not as careless spec- 
 tators, but as those whose eternal 
 doom is there to be determined, and 
 with all the intensity of emotion de- 
 rived from the fact that the Son of 
 God will descend to judge us, and 
 to pronounce our final doom ! Can 
 we be too much concerned to be 
 prepared for the solemnities of that 
 day? 
 
 5. We have, in the passage before 
 us, an interesting view of the order 
 in wliich these great events will oc- 
 cur. There will be (1.) the descent 
 of the judge with the attending 
 hosts of heaven ; (2.) the raising up 
 of the righteous dead ; (3.) the 
 change which the living will under- 
 go (comp. 1 Cor. xv. 52) ; (4.) the 
 ascent to meet the Lord in the air ; 
 and (5.) the return with liim to glo- 
 ry. What place in this series of 
 wonders will be assigned for the re- 
 surrection of the wicked, is not men- 
 tioned here. The object of the apos- 
 tle did not lead him to advert to that, 
 since his purpose was to comfort tiie 
 afflicted by the assurance that their 
 pious friends would rise again, and 
 would suffer no disadvantage by the 
 fact that they had died before the 
 coming of the Redeemer. From 
 John v. 28, 29, however, it seems 
 most probable that they will be raised 
 at the same time with the righteous, 
 and will ascend with them to the 
 place of judgment in the air. 
 
 6. There is no intimation here of 
 a 'personal reign' of Christ upon the 
 earth. Indeed, there is no evidence 
 that he will return to the earth at 
 all. All that appears is, that he will 
 descend ' from heaven' to the regions 
 of ' the air,' and there will summon 
 the living and the dead to his bar. 
 B(it there is no intimation that he 
 will set up a visible kingdom then 
 on earth, to continue a thousand or 
 axrz years; that the Jews will be 
 re-collected in their own land ; that 
 
 a magnificent city or temple will be 
 built there ; or that the saints will 
 hover in the air, or reign personally 
 with the Lord Jesus over the nations. 
 There are two considerations in view 
 of this passage, which, to my mind, 
 are conclusive proof that all this is , 
 romance — splendid and magnificent I 
 indeed as an Arabian tale — but whol- * 
 ly unknown to the apostle Paul. 
 The one is, that if this were to oc- 
 cur, it is inconceivable that there 
 should have been no allusion to it 
 here. It would have been such a 
 magnificent conception of the de- 
 sign of the Second Advent, that it 
 could not have failed to have been 
 adverted to in a description like this. 
 The other consideration is, that such 
 a view would have been exactly in 
 point to meet the object of the apos- 
 tle here. What could have been 
 more appropriate in comforting the 
 Thessalonian Christians respecting 
 those who had died in the faith, than 
 to describe the gorgeous scenes of 
 the 'personal reign' of Christ, and 
 the important part which the risen 
 samts were to play in that great dra- 
 ma ? How can it be accounted for 
 that the apostle did not advert to it? 
 Would a believer in the ^personal 
 reign^ now be likely to omit so ma- 
 terial a point in a description of the 
 scenes which are to occur at the ' Se- 
 cond Advent f 
 
 7. The saints will be for ever with 
 the Lord. They will dwell with 
 him in his own eternal home. John 
 xiv. 3. This expression comprises 
 the sum of all their anticipated feli- 
 city and glory. To be with Christ 
 will be, in itself, the perfection of 
 bliss ; for it will be a security that 
 they will sin no more, tliat they will 
 suffer no more, and that they will be 
 shielded from danger and death. 
 They will have realized the object 
 of their long, fond desire — that of 
 seeing their Saviour ; they will have 
 suffered the last pang, encountered 
 the last temptation, and escaped foi 
 
A. I). 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 riO 
 
 evor from llie dominion of death. 
 What a -lorious prospect is this! 
 A^^du^LH^ly we sslioiild ho wiliinjj 
 to eiuhiro pain, privation and con- 
 tempt hero fur the brief period of 
 our eartldy pilgrimage, if we may 
 come at hust to a world of eternal 
 rest. Wliat trilles arc all cartlily 
 sorrows compared with the glories 
 oi' an endless life with our God and 
 Saviour ! 
 
 8. It is possible tliat even the 
 prospect of tiie judgmcnt-Klay should 
 be a source of consolation. Ver. 18. 
 To most men it is justly an object 
 of dread — tor all that they have to 
 fear is concentrated on the issues of 
 tiiat day. But why should a Chris- 
 tian fear it? In the descending 
 Judge he will hail his Redeemer and 
 friend ; and just in proiwrtion as he 
 has true religion here, will be the 
 certainty of his acquittal there. Nay, 
 his feelings in anticipation of tiie 
 judgment may be more than the 
 tnirc absence of fear and alarm. It 
 may ''C to liim the source of positive 
 joy. It will be tlic day of his de- 
 liverance from death and the grave. 
 It will confirm to him all his long- 
 cherished hopes. It will put tiic 
 seal of approbation on his life spent 
 in endeavouring to do the will of 
 God. It will reunite him to his dear 
 friends wiio have died in the Ijord. 
 It will admit him to a full and glo- 
 rious view of that Saviour whom 
 ' having not seen he has loved ;' and 
 it will make him the companion of 
 angels and of God. If there is any- 
 thing, theretbro, which ought to 
 cheer and sustain our hearts in the 
 sorrows and bereavements of this life, 
 it is the anticipation of the glorious 
 scenes connected with tiie Second 
 Advent of our I^ord, and the ])ros- 
 pect of standing betore him clotiied 
 in tiie robes of salvation, surround- 
 ed by all those whom we have 
 loved who have died in the faith, 
 and with the innumerable company 
 of tlie redccned of all ages and lands. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ANALYSIS OV TIIE CHAPTUlt. 
 
 This chapter consists of two parts. 
 I. Tiie continuation of the subject 
 of the coming of the I^ord. Vs. 1 — 
 II ; and, II. Various practical cthor- 
 tations. 
 
 In the first part, the apostle states 
 (1.) tiiat it was well understood by 
 the Thessalonians that the coming 
 of the Lord would be sudden, and 
 at an unexpected moment, vs. 1, 2; 
 (2.) he reters to the ellect of his 
 coming on the wicked and the right 
 eous, and says that it would be at- 
 tended with ti\c sudden and inevitable 
 destruction of the former, ver. 3 ; but 
 that the result of his coming would 
 be fir diflerent on the righteous. Vs. 
 4 — II. The prospect of liis coming 
 was fitted to make them watchful 
 and sober, vs. — S ; and his advent 
 would be attended witli tiicir certain 
 salvation. Vs. — 11. 
 
 In the second part of the chapter, 
 he exhorts tiiem to show proper re- 
 spect for their spiritual teachers and 
 rulers, vs. 12, 13 ; to endeavour to 
 restrain the unruly, to support the 
 feeble, and to evince towards all the 
 spirit of patience and forbearance, 
 ver. 14; to manifest a meek and 
 benevolent manner of life, ver. 15; 
 to rejoice always, ver. Ki; to pray 
 constantly, ver. 17 ; to render thanks 
 to God in every situation, ver. 18; 
 to cherish the influences of tiie Holy 
 Ghost on their souls, ver. 19; to 
 show respect for all the divine pro- 
 phetic communications, ver. 20; to 
 consider and examine carefully 
 everything submitted to them lor 
 belief; to adhere steadfastly to all 
 that was good and true, ver. 21 ; 
 and to avoid the very appearance 
 of evil, ver. 22. The epistle closes 
 with a fervent prayer that God would 
 .sanctify them entirely; willi an 
 earnest entreaty that they would 
 pray for him; with a command that 
 the epistle should l)c read to all the 
 
•*o 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 lUT of the times and the sea- 
 sons, brethren, ye have no 
 need that I write unto you. 
 2 For yourselves know per- 
 
 B' 
 
 churches, and with tlie benediction. 
 
 Vs. 22—28. 
 
 1. But of the times and the sea- 
 sons. See Notes, Acts i. 7. The 
 reference here is to the coming of 
 the Lord Jesus, and to the various 
 events connected with his advent. 
 See the close of ch. iv. ^ Ye have 
 no need that I icrite unto you. 
 That is, they had received all the 
 information on the particular point 
 to which he refers, which it was ne- 
 cessary they should have. He seems 
 to refer particularly to the sudden- 
 ness of his coming-. It is evident 
 from this, as well as from other parts 
 of this epistle, that this had been, 
 from some cause, a prominent topic 
 which he had dwelt on when he 
 was with them. See Notes on ch. 
 i. 10. 
 
 2. For yourselves know perfectly. 
 That is, they had been fully taught 
 this. There could be no doubt in 
 their minds respecting it. ^ The 
 day of the Lord so cometh. Of the 
 Lord Jesus — for so the word ' Lord' 
 in the New Testament commonly 
 means. See Notes, Acts i. 24. The 
 ' day of the Lord' means that day in 
 which he will be manifested, or in 
 which he will be the prominent object 
 in view of the assembled nniverse. 
 % As a thief in the night. Suddenly 
 and unexpectedly, as a robber breaks 
 into a dwelling. A thief comes 
 without giving any v/arning, or any 
 indications of his approach. He not 
 only gives none, but he is careful 
 that none shall be given. It is a 
 point with him that, if possible, the 
 man whose house he is about to rob 
 shall have no means of ascertaining 
 bi ; approach until he comes suddon- 
 
 fectly that the day of the Lord so 
 Cometh " as a thief in tlie night. 
 3 For v.'hen they shall say 
 Peace and safety ; then sudden 
 
 a Lu. 12. :», 40. 2Pe.3. 10. Re. IG. 15. 
 
 ly upon him. Comp. Notes on Matt 
 xxiv. 37-^3. Luke xu. 39, 40. In 
 this way the Lord Jesus will return 
 to judgment; and this proves that 
 all the attempts to determine the 
 day, the year, or the century when 
 he will come, must be fallacious. He 
 intends that his coming to this world 
 shall be sudden and unexpected, 
 'like that of a thief in the night;' 
 that there shall be no such indica- 
 tions of his approach that it shall 
 not be sudden and unexpected ; and 
 that no warning of it shall be given 
 so that men may know the time of 
 his appearing. If this be not the 
 point of the comparison in expres- 
 sions like this, what is it] Is there 
 anything else in which his coming 
 will resemble that of a thief? And 
 if this be the true point of compari- 
 son, how can it be true that men can 
 ascertain ichen that is to occur 1 As- 
 suredly, if they can, his coming will 
 not be like that of a thief. Comp. 
 Notes on Acts i. 7. 
 
 3. For when they shall say, Peace 
 and safety. That is, when the wick- 
 ed shall say this, for the apostle here 
 refers only to those on whom 'sud- 
 den destruction' will come. Comp. 
 Notes on Matt. xxiv. 36—42. 2 Pet. 
 hi. 3, 4. It is clear from this, (1.) 
 that when the Lord Jesus shall come 
 the world will not all be converted. 
 There will be some to be ' destroyed.' 
 How large this proportion will be, 
 it is impossible now to ascertain. 
 This supposition, however, is not in- 
 consistent with the belief that there 
 will be a general prevalence of the 
 gospel before that period. (2.) TI12 
 impenitent and wicked world will be 
 sunk in carnal security when he 
 comes. They will regard themselves 
 
A. D. 52.1 
 
 CIIAI'TKR V. 
 
 01 
 
 destruction cumctli upon tlicin, 
 as travail " upon a woman with 
 child ; and thoy shall not escape. 
 
 a Jc. 13. 21. 
 
 as !«ife. Tliey will see no danger. 
 Tliey will pive no liced to warninir. 
 
 rhcy will be unprepared for his ad- 
 vent So it has always been. It 
 seems to Ik; a universal truth in rc- 
 pird to all the visitxitions n( God to 
 wicked men tor punishment, that he 
 comes u[X5n them at a time when 
 they are not expectin? liim, and that 
 they have no tkith in the predictions 
 of his advent. So it was in the time 
 of the Hood; in the destruction of 
 Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jerusalem ; 
 in tiie overthrow of Ribylon : so it 
 is when the sinner dies, and so it 
 will be when the Lord Jesus shall 
 return to judg-e the world. One of 
 tlie most remarkable facts about tiie 
 iiistory of man is, that he takes no 
 warning trom his Maker; he never 
 changes his plans, or feels any emo- 
 tion, irra use his Creator 'thunders 
 damnation alonar his path,' and threat- 
 ens to destroy him- in hell. ^ .SW- 
 den destruction. Destruction that 
 was unfurescen (ai^v^Sioi) or unex- 
 pected. The word here rendered 
 sudden, occurs nowhere else in the 
 New Testament, except in Luke 
 xxi. 84, "Lest that day come upon 
 you unawares." The word rendered 
 destrurtion — oX^S^po J— occurs in the 
 New Testament only here and in 1 
 Cor. V. .3. 2 Thess. i. 9. 1 Tim. vi. 
 9, in all of which places it is correct- 
 
 y translated destruction. The word 
 destruction is familiar to us. It 
 means, properly, demolition ; pullinir 
 down ; the annihilation of the tbrni of 
 unylhinjT, or that form of parts which 
 con.-titutcs it what it is; as the de- 
 struction of j^rass by eatinij; of a 
 forest by cuttmj down tiie trees ; of 
 lite by murder; of the soul by con- 
 sijninfj it to misery. It does not 
 necessiirdy mean annihUation — Ibra 
 house or city is not annihilated which 
 G 
 
 ■1 But ye, * brethren, arc not in 
 darkness, that that day should 
 overtake you as a tliief. 
 
 6 Ep 5. R 1 Jno. 2. 8. 
 
 is pulled down or burnt; a forest is 
 not annihilated which is cut down; 
 and a man is not annihilated whose 
 character and happiness are destroy- 
 ed. In repird to the destruction 
 here referred to, we may remark, (L) 
 it will be after the return of the 
 Lord Jesus to judtrment ; and hence 
 it is not true that the wicked expe- 
 rience all the punishment which they 
 ever will in the present life; (2.) 
 that it seems fairly implied that the 
 destruction which they will then suf- 
 fer will not be annihilation, but will 
 be connected with conscious exist- 
 ence; and (3.) that they will then 
 bo cut otr from life and liope and sal- 
 vation. How can the .solenm affirma- 
 tion that they will be 'destroyed 
 suddenly,' be consistent with the be- 
 lief that all men will be saved ] Is 
 it the same thin^j to be destroyed and 
 to be saved ? Does the Lord Jesus, 
 when he speaks of the salvation of 
 his people, say that he comes to de- 
 stroy them ? "i" /l.v travail upon a 
 woman with child. Tliis expression 
 is sometimes used to denote great 
 consternation, as in Ps. xlviii. 6. Jer. 
 vi. 24. Alicah iv. 9, 10; great pain, 
 as Isa. liii. 11. Jer. iv. '.il. John 
 xvi. 21; or the suddenness witli 
 which anything occurs. Jer. xiii. 
 21. It seems here to be used to de- 
 note two tilings; first, that the com- 
 ing of the Lord to a wicked world 
 will be sudden; and, secondly, that 
 it will bo an event of iJic most dis- 
 tressuig and overwhelming nature. 
 li" And they shall not escape. That 
 i.s, the destruction, or ixinishmenL 
 They calculated ou impunity, but 
 now the time will have come when 
 none of these refuges will avail them, 
 and no rocks will cover them from 
 the " wnifh to come." 
 
 4. But y; fnelhreriy are not in 
 
^"2 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 5 Ye aie all the children of 
 light, and the children of the day : 
 we are not of the night, nor of 
 darkness. 
 
 darkness, that that day should over- 
 take you as a thief. The allusion 
 here is to the manner in which a 
 thief or robber accomplishes liis pur- 
 pose. He comes in the night, when 
 men are asleep. So, says the apos- 
 tle, tlie Lord will come to the wick- 
 ed. Tliey are like those who are 
 asleep when the thief comes upon 
 them. But it is not so with Chris- 
 tians. They are, in relation to the 
 coming of the day of the Lord, as 
 men are who are awake wlien the 
 robber comes. They could see his 
 approach, and could prepare for it, so 
 that it would not take them by sur- 
 prise. 
 
 5. Ye are all the children of light. 
 All who are Christians. The phrase 
 ' children of light' is a Hebraism, 
 meaning that they were the enlight- 
 ened children of God. ^ And the 
 children of the day. Who live as 
 if liglit always shone round about 
 them. The meaning is, that in re- 
 ference to the coming of the Lord 
 tliey are as men would be in refer- 
 ence to the coming of a thief, if there 
 were no night and no necessity of 
 slumber. They would always be 
 wakeful and active, and it would be 
 impossible to come upon them by sur- 
 prise. Christians are always to be 
 wakeful and vigilant; they are so 
 to expect the coming of the Redeem- 
 er, that he will not find them off 
 their guard, and will not come upon 
 them by surprise. 
 
 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as 
 do others. As tlie wicked world does. 
 Comp. Notes Matt. xxv. 5. IT But let 
 us watch. That is, for the coming 
 of the Lord. Let us regard it as an 
 event which is certainly to occur, 
 and whicli 7nay occur at any moment. 
 Notes. Matt. xxv. 13. 1i And be so- 
 btr. Tlie word here used (i'jj^w) is 
 
 6 Therefore « let us not sleep, 
 
 as do others; but let ns watch 
 and be sober. * 
 
 a Mat. 25. 5. Ro. 13. 12, 13. 6 I Pe. 5. 8. 
 
 rendered sober in 1 Thess. v. 6. 8. 
 1 Pet. i. 13 ; v. 8 ; and watch in 2 
 Tim. iv. 5, and 1 Pet. iv. 7. It does 
 not elsewhere occur in the New Tes- 
 tament. It properly means, to be 
 temperate or abstinent, especially in 
 respect to wine. Joseph. Jewish 
 Wars, 5. 5. 7. Xenoplion, Cyr. 7. 
 5. 20 ; and then it is used in a more 
 general sense, as meaning to be so- 
 ber-minded, watchful, circumspect. 
 In tliis passage there is an allusion 
 to the fact that persons not only sleep 
 in the night, but that tliey are fre- 
 quently drunken in the night also. 
 The idea is, that the Lord Jesus, 
 v/hen he comes, will find the wicked 
 sunk not only in carnal security, but 
 in sinful indulgences, and that those 
 who are Christians ought not onl}' to 
 be awake and to watch as in the day- 
 time, but to be temperate. They 
 ought to be like persons engaged in 
 the sober, honest, and appropriate 
 employments of the day, and not 
 like those who waste their days in 
 sleep, and their nights in revelry. 
 A man who expects soon to see the 
 Son of God coming to judgment, 
 ought to be a sober man. No one 
 would wish to be summoned from 
 a scene of dissipation to his bar. 
 And who would wish to be called 
 there from the ball-room ; from the 
 theatre ; from the scene of brdliant 
 worldly amusement J The most gay 
 votary of the world ; the most accom- 
 plished and flattered and joyous pa- 
 tron of the ball-room ; the most rich- 
 ly-dressed and admired daughter of 
 vanity, would tremble at the thought 
 of being summoned from those bril- 
 liant halls, where pleasure is now 
 found, to the judgment-bar. They 
 would wish to have at least a little 
 time that they might prepare for so 
 solemn a scene. But if so, as this 
 
A. 1). 52.] CHAi'TER V. 
 
 7 For they ihat sleep, sloop in 
 the night ; and they that be drunk- 
 en, are drunken in the night. 
 
 8 But let us, who are of the 
 
 » 
 
 event may at any moment occur, 
 why should they not be hubitually 
 tobor-niinded ! W'liy should they not 
 aim to bo always in that sUito ot" mind 
 whicli tlioy know woidd be apjjropri- 
 ato to meet him ! Especially should 
 (."liristiaus live witli sucii viijilancc 
 and soberness as to bo always pre- 
 pared to meet the Son of Goil. Wliat 
 Ciiristian can think it appropriate tor 
 him to go up to meet ids Saviour 
 from tlie tiieatro, the ball-room, or 
 tiie brilliant worldly party ! A Cliris- 
 tian oHg/il always so to live that tiie 
 comintj of the Son of God in the 
 clouds of heaven would not excite 
 the least alarm. 
 
 7. For lliey that sleep, sleep in the 
 night. Ni^dit is the time for sleep. 
 Tlie day is the time for action, and 
 in the light of day men should be 
 employed. iN'ight and sleep are 
 made for each otiier, and so arc the 
 day and active employment. The 
 meaning iicre is, that it is in accord- 
 ance witli the character of those 
 who are of the night, that is, sinners, 
 to be sunk in stupidity and carnal 
 sccurit}', as if they were asleep; but 
 for the children of the day, tliat is, 
 tor Christians, it is no more appro- 
 priate to be inactive than it is tor 
 men to sleep in the day-time. ' It 
 is not to be wondered at that wicked 
 men are negligent and are given to 
 vice, for they are ignorant of the 
 will of God. Negligence in doing 
 right, and corrupt morals, usually 
 accompany ignorance.' Rnsenmiil- 
 Irr. *■ And they that be i/rnuken, 
 are drunken in the night. Tlie 
 night is devoted by tiicm to revelry 
 and dissipation. It is in accordance 
 with the u.-ual custom in all lands 
 and times, that the night is the usual 
 season for riot and revelry. The 
 
 day, bo sober, putting on the 
 breast-plate " of faith and love ; 
 and for an helmet, tlie hope of 
 salvation. 
 
 a Is. sn. 17. 
 
 leisure, the darkness, the security 
 from observation, and the freedonj 
 from the usual toils and cares of life, 
 have caused those hours usually to 
 be selected ti)r indulgence in intem- 
 perate eating and drinking. This 
 was probably more particularly the 
 case among the ancients than with 
 us, and much as drunkenness abound- 
 ed, it was much more rare to see a 
 man into.xicated in the day-time than 
 it is now. To be drunk then in the 
 day-time was regarded as the great- 
 est disgrace. See Polyb. Exc. Ijcg. 
 8, and Apul. viii., as quoted by Wet 
 stein. Com p. Notes, Acts ii. lo. Is. 
 v. ] 1. The object of the apostle here 
 is, to exhort Christians to be sober 
 and temperate, and the meaning is, 
 tiiat it is as disgraceful for them to 
 indulge in habits of reveliy, as for 
 a man to be drunk in the day-time. 
 The propriety of this exhortation, 
 addressed to Christians, is based on 
 the fact that intoxication was liardly 
 regarded as a crime, and, surrounde<l 
 as they were with those who freely 
 indulged in drinking to excess, they 
 were then, as they are now, exposed 
 to the danger of disgracing their re- 
 ligion. The actions of Christians 
 ought always to be such that they 
 may be pertbrmed in open day and 
 in the view of ail the world. Other 
 men seek the cover of the night to 
 perform their deeds; the Christian 
 should do notiung which may not be 
 done under the full blaze of day. 
 
 8. But let us, who are of the 
 day; he .softer. Tem|HTate, a.s men 
 usually are in the day-time. H Put- 
 ting on the breast-plate of faith 
 and lore. This is a tavourite com- 
 parison of the apostle Paul. See 
 it explained at length in tlie Notes 
 on Eph. vi. It. H And for an hel- 
 
64 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 9 For God hath not appointed 
 • us to wrath, but to obtain salva- 
 tion by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 a Ro. 9. 2-2. 1 Pe. 2. 1 
 
 met, the hope of salvation. Notes, 
 Eph. vi. 17. 
 
 9. For God hath not appointed 
 us to wrath. This is designed as an 
 encouragement to effort to secure 
 our salvation. The wisli of God is 
 to save us, and therefore we should 
 watch and be sober ; we should take 
 to ourselves tlie whole of the Chris- 
 tian armour, and strive for victory. 
 If he had appointed us to wrath, ef- 
 fort v.'ould have been in vain, for we 
 could do nothing but yield to our in- 
 evitable destiny. The hope of a final 
 triumph should animate us in our ef- 
 forts, and cheer us in our struggles 
 with our foes. How much does the 
 hope of victory animate the soldier 
 in battle ! When morally certain 
 of success, how his arm is nerved ! 
 When everything conspires to favour 
 him, and when he seems to feel tliat 
 God fights for him, and intends to 
 give him the victory, how his heart 
 exults, and how strong is he in bat- 
 tle! Hence, it was a great point 
 among the ancients, when about en- 
 tering into battle, to secure evidence 
 that the gods favoured tliem, and 
 meant to give them the victory. For 
 this purpose they offered sacrifices, 
 and consulted the flight of birds and 
 the entrails of animals; and for this 
 armies were accompanied by sooth- 
 sayers and priests, that they might 
 interpret any signs which might oc- 
 cur that would be favourable, or to 
 propitiate the favour of the gods by 
 sacrifice. See Homer, passim ; Ar- 
 rian's Expedition of Alexander, and 
 the classic writers generally. The 
 apostle alludes to something of this 
 kind here. He would excite us to 
 maintain the Christian warfare man- 
 fully, by the assurance that God in- 
 tends that we shall be triumphant. 
 
 10 Who died for us, that, whe- 
 ther '' we wake or sleep, we should 
 hve together with him, 
 
 11 Wherefore ' comfort j^our- 
 
 b Ro. H. 8, 9. 2 Co. 5. 15. « or, exhort. 
 
 This we are to learn by no conjec- 
 tures of soothsayers ; by no observa- 
 tion of the flight of birds ; by no sa- 
 crifice which v)e can make to propi- 
 tiate his favour, but by the unerring 
 assurance of his holy word. If we 
 are Christians, we know that he in- 
 tends our salvation, and that victory 
 will be ours ; if we are willing to 
 become Christians, we know that 
 the Almighty arm will be stretched 
 out to aid us, and that the ' gates of 
 heir cannot prevent it. 
 
 10. Who died for us. That is, 
 to redeem us. He designed by his 
 death that we should ultimately live 
 with him ; and this effect of his death 
 could be secured only as it was an 
 atoning sacrifice. ^ Whether we 
 icake or sleep. Whether we are 
 found among the living or the dead 
 when he comes. The object here is to 
 show that the one class would have 
 no advantage over the other. This 
 was designed to calm their minds in 
 their trials, and to correct an error 
 which seems to have prevailed in 
 the belief that those who were found 
 alive when he should return would 
 have some priority over those who 
 were dead. See Notes on ch. iv. 13 
 — 18. "IT Should live together icith 
 hi?!!. Notes, John xiv. 3. The word 
 rendered ' together' (S^a), is not to 
 be regarded as connected with the 
 phrase ' with him' — as meaning that 
 he and they would be ' together,' but 
 it refers to those who 'wake and 
 those who sleep' — those who are 
 alive and those who are dead — mean- 
 ing that they would be together, or 
 would be with the Lord at the same 
 time ; there would be no priority or 
 precedence. Rosenmuller. 
 
 1 1. Wherefore comfort yourselves. 
 Notes, »h. iv. 18. ^ And edify one 
 
A D. 52.J CHAPTER V. 
 
 selves togolhor, and odify one an- 
 other, even as also ye ilo. 
 
 \'Z And we beseech you, bre- 
 
 CA 
 
 another. Strive to build up each 
 ether, or to e:?tablisli each other in 
 tlie faith by tlieso truths. Notes, 
 Rom. .\iv. 19. •[ Even as also ye do. 
 Continue to do it. Let notliing in- 
 tervene to disturb the harmony and 
 consolation wiiicli you liave been ac- 
 customed to derive from these high 
 and iioly doctrines. 
 
 1'2. And tec bisrech you, brethren, 
 to hitow litem which labour amous; 
 you. Who they were is not nicn- 
 tioncil. It is evident, however, that 
 the church was not letl without 
 apiwinted persons to minister to 
 it when its founders should be 
 away. We know that there were 
 presb3rters ordained over the church 
 at Ephesus, and over the churciies 
 i 1 Crete (Acts x\. 17. Titus i. 5), 
 U'ld that there were bishops and dea- 
 cons at Philippi (Phil. i. 1), and 
 there is every reas<jn to believe that 
 similar officers would bo apiwinted 
 in every newly or^'anizcd church. 
 The word ' know'' seems to mean 
 Uiat they were not to make thcm- 
 Belves stranirers to them — to be 
 cold and distant towards them — to 
 be itrnorant of their wants, or to be 
 indifferent to them. While a people 
 are«not obtrusively to intermeddle 
 with the business of a minister, any 
 more than they are with that of any 
 jther nuin, yet there are things in 
 iCgard to him with which tlioy sbould 
 be acquainted. They sliould seek 
 to be pcrson;dly acquainted with 
 him, and make iiim their confidant 
 and counsellor in their spiritual trou- 
 bles. They sh'^'ild seek his friend- 
 ship, and endeavour to maintain all 
 proper intercourse with him. They 
 ehoidd not reganl him as a distant 
 man, or a.^ a stranger among them. 
 Tiiey should so tiir niider.stand his 
 circumstances as to know what is 
 0* 
 
 thren,toknowlhein " which lutour 
 among you, and are over you in 
 the Lord, and admonish you ; 
 
 o lie. 13. 7. 17. 
 
 requisite to make him comforfcdilc, 
 and should be on such terms that 
 they may readily and cheerfully fur- 
 nish what he needs. And they are 
 to ' know' or regard him as their 
 spiritual teacher and ruler ; not to be 
 strangers to the place where he 
 preaches the word of life, and not to 
 listen to his admonitions and reproofs 
 as those of a stranger, but as tho.se 
 of a pastor and friend. If Which 
 labour amonsf you. There is no rea- 
 son to suppose, as many have done, 
 that the apostle here refers to differ- 
 ent classes of ministers. He rathei 
 refers to different parts of the work 
 which tlie same ministers perform 
 The first is, that they 'labour' — that 
 is, evidently, in preaching the gos 
 pel. For the use of tlie word, see 
 John iv. 38, where it occurs twice, 
 
 1 Cor. XV. lU; xvi. 16. The 
 word is one which properly ex- 
 presses wearisome toil, and implies 
 that tlie office of preaching is one 
 that demands constant industry. 
 ■[ And are over you in the Ixyrd. 
 That is, by the appointment of tlio 
 Lord, or under his direction. They 
 are not absolute sovereigns, but are 
 themselves subject to one who is 
 over tliem — the Lord Jesus. On the 
 word here rendered 'arc over you' 
 (rt|)ot-jraufi"n'5), see Notes on Rom. 
 .xii. H, where it is translated ruli th. 
 ^ And admonish you. The word 
 here used (vw^friw) is rendered ad- 
 monish, and admonished, in Rom. xv. 
 14. Col. iii. IC. 1 Thcs.s. v. 12. 
 
 2 Thess. iii. 15 ; and wtirn, and 
 warning, 1 Cor. iv. 11. Col. i. 2S. 
 1 Thess. V. 11. It does not else- 
 where occur in the New TestamonL 
 It means, to put in mind ; and tli'Mi 
 to warn, entreat, exhort It is a part 
 of the duty of a mini.>*ter to put his 
 people in mind of the trutli ; U) warn 
 
66 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 13 And to esteem them very 
 highly in love for their work's 
 sake. And be " at peace among 
 yourselves. 
 
 14 Now we ' exhort you, bre- 
 
 a Mar. 9. 50. ' or, beseech. 
 
 them of clanger ; to exhort them to 
 perform their duty; to admonish 
 them if they go astray. 
 
 13. And to esteem them very high- 
 ly in love. To cherish for them an 
 affectionate regard. The office of a 
 minister of rehgion demands respect. 
 They who are faithful in that office 
 have a claim on the kind regards of 
 their fellow-men. The very nature 
 of the office requires them to do good 
 to others, and there is no benefactor 
 who should be treated with more af- 
 fectionate regard than he who en- 
 deavours to save us from ruin; to 
 impart to us the consolations of the 
 gospel in affliction ; and to bring us 
 and our families to heaven. •[[ For 
 their work's sake. Not primarily as 
 a personal matter, or on their own 
 account, but on account of the work 
 in which they are engaged. It is a 
 work wliose only tendency, when 
 rightly performed, is to do good. It 
 injures no man, but contributes to 
 the happiness of all. It promotes 
 intelligence, industry, order, neat- 
 ness, economy, temperance, chastity, 
 charity, and kindness in this world, 
 and leads to eternal blessedness in the 
 world to come. A man who sincere- 
 ly devotes himself to such a work 
 has a claim on the kind regards of 
 his fellow-men. ^ And be at peace 
 amoiifc yourselves. Notes, Mark ix. 
 50. Rom. xii. 18 ; xiv. 19. 
 
 14. ]Sow ice exhort you, brethren. 
 Marg., beseech. This earnest en- 
 treaty is evidently addressed to the 
 whole church, and not to the minis- 
 ters of the gospel only. The duties 
 here enjoined are such as appertain 
 to all christians in their appropriate 
 spheres, and should not be left to be 
 performed by ministers only. 1[ Warn 
 
 thren, warn them that are ^ unru- 
 ly, * comfort the feeble-minded, 
 support the weak, ' be patient '' to- 
 ward all men. 
 
 " or, disorderly, 
 c Ro. 15. 1. 
 
 b He. 12. 12. 
 d Ep. 4. 2. 
 
 them. The same word which in ver. 
 12 is rendered admonish. It is the 
 duty of every church member, as j 
 well as of the ministers of the gos- 1 
 pel, affectionately to admonish those - 
 whom the}^ know to be living con- 
 trary to the requirements of the gos- 
 pel. One reason why there is so lit- 
 tle piety in the church, and why so 
 many professors of religion go astray, 
 is, that the great mass of church ^ 
 members feel no responsibility on i 
 this subject. They suppose that it .f| 
 is the duty only of the officers of ^ 
 the church to admonish an erring 
 brother, and hence many become 
 careless and cold and worldly, and 
 no one utters a kind word to them 
 to recall them to a holy walk v.'ith 
 God. IT That are unruly. Marg., 
 disorderly. The word here used 
 (ataxTfo^), is one which properly 
 means 7iot keeping the ranks, as of 
 soldiers; and then irregular, con- 
 fused, neglectful of duty, disorderly. 
 The reference here is to the mem- 
 bers of the church who were irregu- ^ 
 lar in their Christian walk. It is 
 not difficult, in an army, when sol- 
 diers get out of the line, or leave their 
 places in the ranks, or are thrown 
 into confusion, to see that little can 
 be accomplished in such a state of 
 irregularity and confusion. As little 
 difficult is it, when the members of 
 a church are out of their places, to 
 see that little can be accomplished 
 in such a state. Many a church is 
 like an army where half the soldiers 
 are out of the line ; where there is 
 entire insubordination in the ranks, 
 and where not half of them could be 
 depended on for efficient service in 
 a campaign. Indeed, an army would 
 accomplish little if as large a pro* 
 
A. n. .32. J 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 07 
 
 15 See that none render "evil 
 for evil unto any man ; but ever 
 
 a rr. M. 22. 24. 29. Mat. 5. 33, 41. I Te. X 9. 
 
 ]K)rtion of it were irregular, idle, re- 
 miss, or pursuing their.own aims to 
 tlie neglect of the public interest, as 
 tliere are mombcrs of the church 
 who c;in never be depended on in 
 ttccoinplisiiing tlie great piirjxise for 
 which it was organized. *J Comfort 
 the feeble-minded. The dispirited ; 
 the disheartened ; the downcast. 
 To do this is also the duty of each 
 church member. Tliere are almost 
 always those who arc in this condi- 
 tion, and it is not easy to appreciate 
 the value of a kind word to one in 
 that state. Cliristians are assailed 
 by temptation ; in making efforts to 
 do good they are opposed and be- 
 come disheartened ; in their contests 
 with tlieir spiritual foes they are al- 
 most overcome; they walk through 
 shades of spiritual night, and find no 
 comtbrL In such circumstances, how 
 consoling is the voice of a friend ! 
 How comforting is it to feel that they 
 are not alone I How supporting to 
 be addressed by one who has had the 
 same conflicts, and has triumphed ! 
 Every Christian — especially every 
 one who has been long in the ser- 
 vice of his Master — has a fund of 
 experience which is the properly of 
 the church, and which may be of in- 
 calculable value to those who are 
 struggling now amidst many embar- 
 assments along the christian way, 
 lie who has that e.vpericnce should 
 help a weak and sinking brother; 
 he should make his own experience 
 of the efficacy of religion in his tri- 
 als and conflicL', the means of sus- 
 taining others in their struggles. 
 Tlioro is no one who would not reach 
 out his hand to save a child borne 
 down a rapid stream ; yet how often 
 do experienced and strong men in the 
 Christian faith pa*3 by those who are 
 Btruggling in tJio 'deep waters, 
 where the prou 1 waves have come 
 
 follow ' that which is goon, both 
 among yourselves, and to all mm. 
 
 bC.a.G. 10. 
 
 over tlieir souls 1' ^Support the 
 weak. Notes, Rom. xv. 1. IT Be 
 patient toward all men. See the 
 Greek word here used, explained in 
 the Notes on 1 Cor. xiii. 4. Comp. 
 Eph. iv. 2. Gal. v. 22. Col. iii. 12. 
 15. .See that none render evil for 
 evil. Sec Notes on Matt v. 39. 44. 
 The meaning here is, that we are 
 not to take vemzeanre. Comp. Notes 
 on Rom. xii. 17. 19. This law is 
 positive, and is universally binding. 
 The moment we feel ourselves act- 
 ing from a desire to ' return evil for 
 evil,' that moment we are acting 
 wrong. It may be right to defend 
 our lives and tiie lives of our friends ; 
 to seek the protection of the law for 
 our persons, reputation, or property, 
 against those wiio would wrong us; 
 to repel the assaults of calumniators 
 and slanderers, but in no case should 
 the motive be to do them wrong for 
 the evil which they have done us. 
 •f Hut ever follow that which is 
 good. Which is benevolent, kind, 
 just, generous. See Notes, Rom. 
 xii. 20, 21. •[ Both among your- 
 selves, and to all men. The phrase 
 ' to all men,' seems to have been add- 
 ed to avoid the possibility of miscon- 
 struction. Some might possibly sup- 
 pose that this was a good rule to be 
 observed towards thase of their own 
 number, but that a greater latitude 
 in avenging injuries might be allow- 
 able towards their enemies out of the 
 church. The apostle, therefore, says 
 that the rule is universal. It relates to 
 the heathen, to infidels, skeptic.-^, and 
 persecut(jrs, as well as to the mem- 
 bers of the church. To every man 
 we are to do good as we are able — no 
 matter wliat they do to us. This is the 
 rule which God.himself observes to- 
 wards the evil and unthankfiil (Notes, 
 MatL V. 45), and is one of the original 
 and beautiful laws of our holy rel igion. 
 
08 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 16 Rejoice " evermore. 
 
 17 Pray * without ceasing. 
 
 a Ph. 4. 4. 
 
 b Ro. a2. 12. 
 
 16. Rejoice evermore. See Notes 
 fln Phil. iii. 1 ; iv. 4. 
 
 17. Pray without ceasing. See 
 Notes on Rom. xii. 12. The direc- 
 tion here may be fliirly construed as 
 meaning (1.) that we are to be regu- 
 lar and constant in the observance 
 of the stated seasons of prayer. We 
 are to observe the duty of prayer 
 in the closet, in the family, and in 
 the assembly convened to call on the 
 name of the Lord. We are not to 
 allow this duty to be interrupted or 
 intermitted by any trifling cause. 
 We are so to act that it may be said 
 we pray regularly in the closet, in 
 the family, and at the usual seasons 
 when the church prays to which we 
 belong. (2.) We are to maintain 
 an uninterrupted and constant spirit 
 of prayer. We are to be in suc!i a 
 frame of mind as to be ready to pray 
 publicly if requested; and when 
 alone, to improve any moment of lei- 
 sure which we may have when we 
 feel ourselves strongly inclined to 
 pray. That Christian is in a bad 
 state of mind who has suffered him- 
 self, by attention to worldly cares, or 
 by light conversation, or by gayety 
 and vanity, or by reading an impro- 
 per book, or by eating or drinking too 
 much, or by late hours at night among 
 the thoughtless and the vain, to be 
 brought into such a condition that he 
 cannot engage in prayer with pro- 
 per feelings. There has been evil 
 done to the soul if it is not prepared 
 for communion with God at all times, 
 and if it would not find pleasure in 
 approaching his holy throne. 
 
 18. In everything give thanks. 
 Notes, Eph. V. 20. Phil. iv. 6. We 
 can always find something to be 
 thankful for, and there may be rea- 
 sons why we ought to be thankful 
 
 18 In ' everything give thanks : 
 for this is the will of God in Christ 
 Jesus concerning you. 
 
 3 .' 
 
 c Ep. 5. 20. 
 
 for even those dispensations which 
 appear dark and frowning. Chry- 
 sostom, once the archbishop of Con- 
 stantinople, and then driven into ex- 
 ile, persecuted, and despised, died 
 far away from all the splendours of 
 the capital, and all the comforts and 
 honours which he had enjoyed, utter- 
 ing his favourite motto — 6o|a •foi ^f9 
 7idv((av tvixiv — glory to God for all 
 things. Bibliotheca Sacra, i. 700. 
 So we may praise God for everything 
 that happens to us under his govern- 
 ment. A man owes a debt of obli- 
 gation to him for anything which 
 will recall him from his wanderings, 
 and which will prepare him for hea- 
 ven. Are there any dealings of God 
 towards men which do not contem- 
 plate such an end 1 Is a man ever 
 made to drink the cup of aftiiction 
 when no drop of mercy is intermin- 
 gled f Is he ever visited with ca- 
 lamity which does not in some way 
 contemplate his own temporal or 
 eternal good ? Could we see all, we 
 should see that we are never placed 
 in circumstances in which there is 
 not much for which we should thank 
 God. And when, in his dealings, a 
 cloud seems to cover his face, let us 
 remember the good things without 
 number which we have received, 
 and especially remember that we are | 
 in the world of redeeming love, and ' 
 we shall find enough for which to be 
 thankful. If For this is the ivill of 
 God. That is, that you should be 
 grateful. This is what God is pleased 
 to require you to perform in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus. In the gift of 
 that Saviour he has laid the founda- 
 tion for that claim, and he requires 
 that you should not be unmindful 
 of the obligation. See Notes, Heb. 
 xiii. 15. 
 
A. D. 52.J 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 69 
 
 19 ducndi • not the Spirit. 
 
 a Ep. 4. 30. 
 
 'iU Ucspiso '' not prophesy iiigs. 
 
 a 1 Co. H. 1, 30. 
 
 19. Quench not the Spirit. This 
 lan<ru;ij;i^e i.>i tJikon from tl»c way ot' 
 putiiiisf out a tire, and the sense is, 
 we are not to e.xtiiij^uish the inllu- 
 eucos of the 1 loly t^piril in our licarts. 
 Possibly there may be an allusion 
 here to fire on an altar, which was 
 to be kept constantly burninfj. This 
 fire may have been rci^arded as cin- 
 blematic of devotion, and as denot- 
 inif that that ilevotiou was never to 
 become extinct. The Holy Spirit is 
 the source ot' true devotion, and 
 hence the enkindlinijs of piety in the 
 heart, by ti)e Spirit, are never to bo 
 quenched. Fire may be put out by 
 pouring on water ; or by covering it 
 with any incombustible substance; 
 or by neglecting to supply fuel. If 
 it is to be made to burn, it must be 
 nourished with proper care and at- 
 tention. The Holy Spirit, in his in- 
 fluences on the soul, is here compared 
 with fire that might be made to burn 
 more intensely, or that might be ex- 
 tinguished. In a similar manner tlie 
 aptistle gives this direction to Timo- 
 thy, " I put thee in remembrance 
 that tliou stir up (avaJ^cMvpiii; kindle 
 up, cause to burn) the gitl of God." 
 2 Tim. i. 6. Anything that will tend 
 to damp the ardour of piety in the 
 soul; to chill our feelings; to render 
 us cold and lifeless in the service of 
 Gml, may be reirarded as ' quenching 
 the Spirit.' Neglect of cultivating 
 the christian graces, or of prayer, of 
 the Bible, of tlie sanctuary, of a care- 
 ful watchtiilness over the heart, will 
 do it W'orldliness, vanity, levity, 
 ambition, pride, the love of dress, or 
 indulgence in an improper train of 
 thought, will do it. It is a great 
 rule in religion that all the piety 
 whicii there is in the aiul is the fair 
 result of culture. A man ha^ no 
 more rrliirion than he intends to 
 have; lie lias no graces of the Spirit 
 which he does not seek ; lie lias no 
 
 deadness to the world which is not 
 tlie object of his sincere desire, and 
 whicii he docs not aim to have. Any 
 one, if he will, may make elevated 
 attainments in the divine life; or he 
 may make his religion merely a re- 
 ligi<jn of tbrm, and know little of its 
 l>ower and its consolations. 
 
 '20. Despise not prophesyinus. On 
 the subject of prophesyings in the 
 early christian church, see Notes on 
 1 Cor. xiv. 1, seq. The reference 
 here seems to be to prrachimr. 
 They were not to undervalue it in 
 comparison with other things. It id 
 possible that in Tlicssalonica, as a|>- 
 pears to have been the case subse- 
 quently in Corinth (comp. 1 Cor. xiv. 
 19), there were tiiose who regarded 
 the power oi* working miracles, or 
 of speaking in unknown tongues, aa 
 a much more eminent endowment 
 than that of stating the truths of re- 
 ligion in language easily understood. 
 It would not be unnatural that com- 
 parisons should be made between 
 these two classes of endowments, 
 much to the disadvantage of the lat- 
 ter ; and hence may have arisen this 
 solemn caution not to disregard or 
 despise the ability to make known 
 divine truth in intelligible language. 
 A similar counsel may not be inap- 
 plicable to us now. The oflice of 
 setting forth the truth of God is to 
 be the permanent otfice in the churcii ; 
 that of speaking foreign languages 
 by miraculous endowment, was to bo 
 temporary. But the office of address- 
 ing mankind on the great duties of 
 religion, and of publishing salvation, 
 is to be Go<rs great ordinance for 
 converting the world. It shouUI-nol 
 be despisid, and no man commends 
 his own wisilom who contemns it- 
 tor (1.) it is God's appointment — the 
 means which he has designated for 
 .-^vinir TK'ii. (2.) It has too much 
 to entitle it to respect to make it pro- 
 
70 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 21 Prove " all things ; hold 
 
 a 1 Jno. 4. 1. 
 
 per to despise or contemn it. There 
 is nothing else that has so mucli pow- 
 er over mankind as the preaching of 
 the gospel ; tliere is no other insti- 
 tution of heaven or earth among 
 men that is destined to exert so wide 
 and permanent an influence as the 
 christian ministry. (3.) It is an in- 
 fluence which is wholly good. No 
 man is made the poorer, or the less 
 respectable, or more miserable in 
 life or in death, by following the 
 counsels of a minister of Christ when 
 he makes known the gospel. (4.) He 
 who despises it contemns that which 
 is designed to promote his own wel- 
 fare, and which is indispensable for 
 his salvation. It remains yet to be 
 shown that any man has promoted 
 his own happiness, or the welfare of 
 his family, by aflfecting to treat with 
 contempt the instructions of the 
 christian ministry. 
 
 21. Prove all things. Subject 
 everything submitted to you to be 
 believed to the proper test. The 
 word here used (hoxtfid^its), is one 
 that is properly applicable to metals, 
 referring to the art of the assayer, 
 by which the true nature and value 
 of the metal is tested. See Notes, 
 1 Cor. iii. 13. This trial was usu- 
 ally made by fire. The meaning 
 here is, that they were carefully to 
 examine everything proposed for 
 tlieir belief They were not to re- 
 f eive it on trust ; to take it on asser- 
 tion ; to believe it because it was 
 urged with vehemence, zeal, or plau- 
 sibility. In the various opinions and 
 doctrines which were submitted to 
 tliem for adoption, they were to ap- 
 ply the appropriate tests from rea- 
 son and the word of God, and what 
 they found to be true they were to 
 embrace ; what was false they were 
 to reject. Christianity does not re- 
 quire men to disregard their reason, 
 or to be credulous. It does not expect 
 
 fast 
 
 that whicii 
 
 b Pi). 4. 8. 
 
 [A. D. 5te 
 
 S oQod. 
 
 them to believe anything because 
 others say it is so. It does not make 
 it a duty to receive as undoubted 
 truth all that synods and councils 
 have decreed ; or all that is advanced 
 by the ministers of religion. It is, 
 more than any other form of religion, 
 the friend of free inquiry, and would 
 lead men everywhere to understand 
 the reason of the opinions which 
 they entertain. Comp. Acts xvii. 11, 
 12. 1 Pet. iii. 15. ^ Hold fast that 
 which is good. Which is in accord- 
 ance with reason and the word of 
 God; which is adapted to promote 
 the salvation of the soul and the wel- 
 fare of society. This is just as much 
 a duty as it is to " prove all things." 
 A man who has applied the proper 
 tests, and has found out what is truth, 
 is bound to embrace it and to hold it 
 fast. He is not at liberty to throw 
 it away, as if it were valueless ; or 
 to treat truth and falsehood alike. It 
 is a duty which he owes to himself 
 and to God, to adhere to it firmly, 
 and to suffer the loss of all things 
 rather than to abandon it. There 
 are few nwre important rules in the 
 New Testament than the one in this 
 passage. It shows what is tlie true 
 nature of Christianity, and it is p 
 rule whose practical value cannot 
 but be felt constantly in our lives. 
 Other religions require their vota- 
 ries to receive everything upon trust ; 
 Christianity asks us to examine 
 everything. Error, superstition, bi- 
 gotry, and fanaticism attempt to re- 
 press free discussion, by saying that 
 there are certain things which are 
 too sacred in their nature, or which 
 have been too long held, or which 
 are sanctioned by too many great 
 and holy names, to permit their be- 
 ing subjected to the scrutiny of com- 
 mon eyes, or to be handled by com- 
 mon hands. In opposition to all this, 
 Christianity requires us to examine 
 
A. D. 52.] CHAPTER V. 
 
 from all appear 
 
 71 
 
 22 Abstain 
 aiicc of evil. 
 
 a Is. XI 15. 
 
 evcrythinff — no matter by whom 
 belli ; by what councils ordained ; by 
 what vencrabli'noss of antiquity sus- 
 tained ; or by what sacrednc.ss it 
 may bo invested. Wo arc to receive 
 no opinion until we are cmivinced 
 that It is true ; we are to be subject- 
 ed to no jviins or penalties tor not 
 bolievinjT what we do 7iol perceive 
 to be true ; we are to be proliibited 
 from examining' no opinion which 
 our fellow-men regard as true, and 
 which they seek to make otiicrs be- 
 lieve. No popular current in favour 
 Dfany doctrine; no influence which 
 name and rank and learning can 
 give it, is to commend it to us as 
 ccrUiinly worthy of our belief By 
 whomi'oever held, we are to examine 
 it freely before we embrace if; but 
 when we are convinced that it is true, 
 it is to be held, no matter what cur- 
 rent of popular opinion or prejudice 
 may be against it ; no matter what 
 ridicule may be poured upon it; and 
 no matter though the belief of it 
 may require us to die a martyr's 
 death. 
 
 2"2. Abstain from all appearance 
 of evil. Not only from evil itself, 
 but from that which seems to be 
 wrong. There are many things 
 which arc known to be wrong. They 
 arc positively forbidden by the laws 
 of heaven, and the world concurs in 
 the sentiment that they are wicked. 
 But there are also many things alwut 
 which there may be' some reasonable 
 doubt. It is not quite easy to deter- 
 mine in the case what is right or 
 wrong. The subject has not been 
 fully oxamincd, or the question of its 
 morality may be so ditbcult to settle, 
 that tiio inind may be nearly or quite 
 balanced in regard to it. There are 
 many things A'liich, in themselves, 
 may not appear to us to be positively 
 wrong, but which are so considered 
 
 23 Ar d tiie \'ery God of peace 
 sanctify you wholly: and I praj/ 
 God your whole spirit and soul 
 
 by largo and respectable portions of 
 the community ; and for us to do them 
 would be rcgardod as inconsistent 
 and improper. There arc many 
 things, also, in respect to which 
 there is groat variety of sentiment 
 among mankind — where one portion 
 would regard them as proper, and an- 
 other as improper. There are things, 
 also, where, whatever may be our 
 motive, we may be certain that our 
 conduct will be regarded as impro- 
 l)cr. A great variety of subjects, 
 such as those pertaining to dress, 
 amusements, the opera, the ball-room, 
 games of chance and hazard, and 
 various practices in the transaction 
 of business, come under this general 
 class ; which, though on the suppo- 
 sition that they cannot be proved to 
 be in themselves positively wrong or 
 forbidden, have much the ^appear- 
 ance' of evil, and will bo so inter- 
 preted by others. The safe and pro- 
 per rule is to lean always to the side 
 of virtue. In these instances it may 
 be certain that tliere will be no sin 
 connnilted by abstaining ; there m«y 
 be by indulgence. No command of 
 God, or of propriety, will be violated 
 if we decline complying with these 
 customs ; but on the other hand we 
 viay wound the cause of religion by 
 yielding to what possibly is a mero 
 temptation. No one ever does inju- 
 ry or wrong by abstaining from the 
 pleasures of the ball-room, the theatre, 
 oragla.ssofwine; who can indulge in 
 them without, in the view of large 
 and respectable portions of the com- 
 munity, doing that which has the 
 ' appearance' at least of ' evil V 
 
 'S.\. And the very God of peace. 
 The God who givos peace or happi- 
 ness. Comp. Notes, Rom. i. 7. 
 ^ Sanotifi/ you. Notes, John xvii. 
 17. •[ Wholly, o^offjuiii. In every 
 part; completely. It is always pro- 
 
72 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS 
 
 [A. D, 92. 
 
 and body be preserved blameless ' 
 
 a 1 Col. 1. 8, 9. 
 
 per to pray that God would make 
 his people entirely holy. A prayer 
 for perfect sanctification, however, 
 should not be adduced as a proo/" that 
 it is in fact attained in the present 
 life. ^ Your whole spirit and soul 
 and body. There is an allusion here, 
 doubtless, to the popular opinion in 
 regard to what constitutes man. We 
 have a body; we have animal life 
 and instincts in common with the 
 inferior creation ; and we have also 
 a rational and immortal soul. This 
 distinction is one that appears to the 
 mass of men to be true, and the 
 postle speaks of it in the language 
 commonly employed by mankind. 
 At tlie same time, no one can de- 
 monstrate that it is 7iot founded in 
 truth. The body we see, and there 
 can be no difference of opinion in 
 regard to its existence. The soul 
 (rj ■^xv — pi^yche), the vital princi- 
 ple, the animal life, or the seat of 
 the senses, desires, affections, appe- 
 tites, we have in common with other 
 animals. It appertains to the nature 
 of the animal creation, though more 
 perfect in some animals than in 
 others, but is in all distinct from the 
 soul as the seat of conscience, and 
 as capable of moral agency. See 
 the use of the word in Matt. xxii. 37. 
 Mark xii. 30. Luke x. 27; xii. 
 20. Acts XX. 10. Heb. iv. 12. 
 Rev. viii. 9, et al. In the Pythago- 
 rean and Platonic philosophy this 
 was distinguished from the higher 
 rational nature (6 vov^, to TCvivjxa) as 
 this last belonged to man alone. 
 This psyche (■^xv) ' soul,' or life, it 
 IB commonly supposed, becomes ex- 
 tinct at death. It is so connected 
 with the bodily organization, that 
 when the tissues of the animal frame 
 cease their functions, this ceases also. 
 This was not, however, the opinion 
 of the ancient Greeks. Homer uses 
 the term to denote that which leaves 
 
 unto the coming of our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. 
 
 the body with the breath, as escap- 
 ing from the tpxo^ obovtonv — the fence 
 or sept of the teeth — and as also 
 passing out through a wound. This 
 ■^vx^ — psyche — continued to exist in 
 Hades, and was supposed to have a 
 definite form there, but could not be 
 seized by the hands. Ody. ii. 207. 
 See Passoiv, 2. Comp. Prof Bush, 
 Anasta. pp. 72, 73. Though this 
 word, however, denotes the vital 
 principle or the animal life, in man 
 it may be connected with morals — 
 just as the body may be — for it is a 
 part of himself in his present organi- 
 zation, and whatever may be true in 
 regard to the inferior creation, it is 
 his duty to bring his whole nature 
 under law, or so to control it that it 
 may not be an occasion of sin; Hence 
 the apostle prays that tlie ' whole 
 body and souf — or animal nature — 
 may be made holy. This distinc- 
 tion between the animal life and the 
 mind of man (the anima and animus, 
 the ^vxr; and the Ttvivixa), was often 
 made by the ancient philosophers 
 See Plato, Timfe. p. 1048, A. Ne- 
 mesius, de Nat. Hom. 1 Cit. Glyca, 
 p. 70. Lucretius, iii. 94. IIG. 131.' 
 Juvenal, xv. 146. Cicero, de Divi- 
 nat. 129, as quoted by Wetstein in loc. 
 A similar view prevailed also among 
 the Jews. Rabbi Isaac (Zohar in 
 Lev. fol. 29. 2), says, " Worthy are 
 the righteous in this world and the 
 world to come, for lo, they are all 
 holy ; their body is holy, their soul 
 is holy, their spirit, and their breath 
 is holy." Whether the apostle meant 
 to sanction this view, or merely to 
 speak in common and popular lan- 
 guage, may indeed be questioned, 
 but there seems to be a foundation 
 for the language in the nature of 
 man. The word here rendered spirit 
 (rtvivfia), refers to the intellectual ot 
 higher nature of man ; that which 
 is the seat of reason, of coftKcience. 
 
A D. 52.] CHAPTER V. 
 
 24 Failliful is he • that call- 
 eth you, who also will do //. 
 
 a 1 Co, 10. 13. 2 Til. 3. 3. 
 
 and of responsibility. This is im- 
 mortal. It has no necessary connec- 
 tion with the body, as animal lite or 
 tlie psyche (4*;^) has, and conse- 
 quently will be unaH'octed by death. 
 It is this which distinguishes man 
 from the brute creation; this which 
 allies him with higher intelligences 
 around tlie throne of God. If Be 
 preserved blameless unto the coming 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
 apostle does not intimate here that 
 cillier the body or the vital principle 
 will be admitted to heaven, or will 
 be found in a future state of being, 
 whatever may be the truth on that 
 cnibjecL The prayer is, that they 
 might be entirely holy, and be kept 
 from transgression, until the Lord 
 lesus should come ; tliat is, until he 
 should come either to remove them 
 by death, or to wind up the aliairs 
 of this lower world. See Notes on 
 cii. i. 10. By his praying that the 
 ' body and tlie soul' — meaning here 
 the animal nature, tlie seat of the 
 affections and passions — might be 
 kept holy, there is reference to the 
 fact that, connected as they are with 
 a rational and accountable soul, they 
 may be the occasion of sin. The 
 eame natural propensities ; the same 
 excitability of passion; tlie same af- 
 fections which in a brute would in- 
 volve no responsibility, and have no- 
 thing moral in their character, may 
 be a very different tiling in man, who 
 is placed under a moral law, and 
 who is bound to restrain and govern 
 all his passions by a reference to that 
 law, and to his higher nature. Yov 
 a cur to snarl and growl ; for a lion 
 to roar and rage ; for a hyena to be 
 fierce and untamcable ; for a serpent 
 to hiss and bite, and for the ostrich 
 to leave her eggs without concern 
 (Job xx.xix. 14), involves no blame, 
 no guilt for them, for they are not 
 7 
 
 73 
 
 25 Brethren, pray for us. 
 tJ() Greet all the brethren with 
 an holy kiss. 
 
 accountable ; but lor man to evince 
 the same temper, and the same want 
 of allection, docs involve guilt, for 
 he has a higiier nature, and all these 
 things should be subject to tiie law 
 which God has imposed on him as a 
 moral and accountable bemg. As 
 tliese things may, therefore, in man 
 be tlie occasion of sin, and ought to 
 be subdued, there was a fitness in 
 praying that they might be • preserved 
 blameless' to the coming of tlie Sa- 
 viour. Com p. Notes on 1 Cor. L\. 
 27. 
 
 24. Faithful is he that callelh you 
 That is, your sanctification after all 
 depends on him, and as he has begun 
 a work of grace in your hearts, you 
 may depend on his faithfulness to 
 complete it. See Notes on ch. iv. 3. 
 Phil. i. 6. 1 Cor. i. 9. 
 
 2-5. Brethren, pray for us. A re- 
 quest which the apostle often makes. 
 Notes on Heb. xiu. 18. He was a 
 man of like passions as others ; lia- 
 ble to the same temptations; en- 
 gaged in an arduous work; often 
 called to meet with opposition, and 
 exposed to peril and want, and he 
 peculiarly needed the prayers of the 
 people of God. A minister, sur- 
 rounded as he is by temptations, is 
 in great danger if he has not the 
 prayers of his people. Without those 
 prayers, he will be likely to accom- 
 plish little in the cause of his Mas- 
 ter. Ilis own devotions in the sanc- 
 tuary will be formal and frigid, and 
 the word which he preaches will be 
 likely to come from a cold and iieavy 
 heart, and to fall also on cold and 
 heavy hearts. There is no way in 
 which a people can better advance 
 the cause of piety in tlieir own hearts, 
 than by praying much for their min- 
 ister. 
 
 2G. Greet all the brethren with an 
 holy Kiss. See Notes on Rom. xvi. 10 
 
74 
 
 I. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 52. 
 
 27 I ' charge you by the Lord, 
 ihat this epistle be read unto all 
 the holy brethren. 
 
 28 The grace of our Lord Je- 
 
 • or, adjure. 
 
 27. I charge you by the Lord. 
 Marg-., adjure. Gr., 'I put you un- 
 der oath by the Lord' — upxi^u vfidi 
 tbv xvptoK. It is equivalent to bind- 
 ing persons by an oath. See Notes 
 on Matt. xxvi. 63. Comp. Gen. xxi. 
 23, 24; xxiv. 3. 37; 1. 25. "f That 
 this epistle be read unto all the holy 
 brethren. To all the church. Comp. 
 Notes on Col. iv. 16. The meaning 
 is, that the epistle was to be read to 
 the whole church on some occasion 
 on which it was assembled together. 
 It was not merely designed for the 
 individual or individuals into whose 
 hands it might happen to fall, but as 
 it contained matters of common in- 
 terest, and was designed for the 
 wliole body of believers at Thessa- 
 lonica, the apostle gives a solemn 
 charge that it should not be suppress- 
 ed or kept from them. Injunctions 
 of this kind occurring in the epistles, 
 look as if the apostles regarded them- 
 selves as under the influence of in- 
 spiration, and as having authority to 
 give infallible instructions to the 
 churches. 
 
 28. The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, &c. Notes, Rom. xvi. 20. 
 
 In regard to the subscription at 
 the close of the epistle, purporting 
 that it was written from Athens, see 
 the Intro. § 3. These subscriptions 
 are of no authority, and the one 
 here, like several others, is probably 
 wrong. 
 
 From the solemn charge in ver. 
 27, of this chapter, that 'this epistle 
 should be read to all the holy bre- 
 thren,' that is, to the church at large, 
 we may infer that it is in accordance 
 with the will of God that all Chris- 
 tians should have free access to the 
 Holy Scriptures. What was the 
 particular reason for this injunction 
 
 sus Christ be with you. Amen. 
 The first epistle unto the Thes- 
 salonians was written from 
 Athens. 
 
 in Thessalonica, is not known, but 
 it is possible that an opinion had be- 
 gun to prevail even then that the 
 Scriptures were designed to be kept 
 in the hands of the ministers of reli- 
 gion, and that their common perusal 
 was to be prohibited. At all events, 
 whether this opinion prevailed then 
 or not, it is not unreasonable to sup- 
 pose that the Holy Spirit, by whom 
 this epistle was dictated, foresaw 
 that the time would come when this 
 doctrine wdild be defended by car- 
 dinals and popes and councils ; and 
 that it would be one of the mrnns 
 by which the monstrous fabric of the 
 Papacy would be sustained and per- 
 petuated. It is worthy of remark, 
 also, that the apostle Paul, ui his 
 epistles to the Thessalonians, has 
 dwelt more fully on the fact that the 
 great apostasy would occur under 
 the Papacy, and on the characteris- 
 tics of that grand usurpation over 
 the rights of men, than he has any- 
 where else in his epistle. See 2 
 Thess. ii. 11. It is no improbable 
 supposition that with reference to 
 that, and to t;ounteract one of its 
 leading dogmas, his mind was super- 
 naturally directed to give this solemn 
 injunction, that the contents of the 
 epistle which he had written should 
 be communicated without reserve to 
 all the christian brethren in Thessa- 
 lonica. In view of this injunction, 
 therefore, at the close of this epistle, 
 we may remark, (1.) that it is a sub- 
 ject of express divine command that 
 tlie people should have access to the 
 Holy Scriptures. So important was 
 this considered, that it was deemed 
 necessary to enjoin those who should 
 receive the word of Goa, under the 
 solemnities of an oath, and by all 
 the force of apostolic authority, to 
 
A. D. 52.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 75 
 
 communicate what tlicy had receiv- 
 ed to others. (*J.) Tiiis injunction had 
 retcrence to all the members of tlie 
 church, for they were all to bo made 
 acquainted with the word of God. 
 The command is, indeed, that it be 
 ' read' to tlioin, but by parity of rea- 
 Foninfj it would follow that it was to 
 be in their han<ls ; that it was to be 
 accessible to them; that it was in 
 no manner to be withheld from thern. 
 Probably many of them could not 
 read, but in some way the contents 
 of revelation were to be made known 
 to them — and not by prenchino^ only, 
 but by readinsr the words of inspi- 
 ration. No part was to be kept back ; 
 nor were they to be denied such ac- 
 cess that they could fully understand 
 it ; nor was it to be insisted on that 
 there should be an authorized ex- 
 poimder of iL It was presumed tiiat 
 all tlie members of the church were 
 qualified to understand what had 
 been written to them, and to profit 
 by it It follows, therefore, (3.) that 
 there is great iniquity in all those 
 decisions and laws which are desijrn- 
 ed to keep the Scriptures from the 
 common people. This is true (a) in 
 
 roi^rence to the Papal comminion, 
 and to all the ordinances there wliich 
 prohibit the free circulation of the 
 Sacred Volume amonf; the people; 
 {!>) it is true of all those laws in 
 slave-holding' communities which 
 prohibit slaves from being taugiit to 
 read the Scriptures; and (<-) it is 
 true of all the opinions and dogmas 
 which prevail in any community 
 where the risrht of ' private judg- 
 ment' is denied, and where fi^ee ac- 
 cess to the volume of inspiration is 
 forbidden. The richest blessing of 
 heaven to mankind is the Bible; and 
 tliere is no book ever written so ad- 
 mirably adapted to the common 
 mind, and so fitted to elevate the 
 sunken, the ignorant, and the de- 
 graded. There is no more decided 
 enemy of the progress of the human 
 race in intelligence, purity, and free- 
 dom, than he who prevents the free 
 circulation of this holy volume; and 
 there is no sincerer friend of the spe- 
 cies than he who 'causes it to be 
 read by all,' and who contributes to 
 make it accessible to all the fami- 
 lies and all the inhabitants of the 
 world. 
 
THE SECOND 
 
 EPISTLE TO THE TIIESSALOIVIANS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For a general view of Thessalonica ; of tlie establishment of the cfiurcn 
 riiere; of the character of the church, and of Uie clesijrn for which the 
 apostle addressed these letters to it, see the Introduction to tlie First 
 Epistle. 
 
 This epistle appears to have been written soon after the first, and from 
 the same place — Corinth. See Intro, to the First Epistle, { 3. The proof 
 of this indeed is not certain, for there are no marks of time or place in 
 the epistle by which these points can be determined. The probability 
 resti upon tliese grounds: (1.) That the same persons — Paul, Silas, and 
 Timothy — are associated in both epistles, and are mentioned as being to- 
 gether at tlie time when they were written (1 Thess. i. 1. 2 Thess. i. 1) ; 
 but as there is reason to believe that they did not continue long together, 
 it is to be presumed that one epistle was written soon after the other. (2.) 
 Paul refers to an error which had grown up, apparently in consequence of a 
 misimderstanding of his first epistle (ch. ii. 1, 2); an error which he re- 
 garded as of great magnitude, and which was producing very unhappy 
 results (ch. iii. 11, 12), and it was natural that he should hasten to correct 
 that error as soon as possible. (3.) There is some probability, as Benson 
 has remarked, that the epistle was written before the troubles came upon 
 him at Corintli under the administration of Gallio (Acts .wiii. 12 — 10), 
 and yet that he saw that tlie storm was approaching, and hints at it in ch. 
 ii. 2, " And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men." 
 If so, this epistle was written but a few months at farthest after the first 
 We may regard the evidence, therefore, as sufficiently clear, that this 
 epistle was written at Corinth some time during tlie latter part of A. D. 53, 
 or the beginning of A. D. 54. 
 
 There is little doubt as to the design for which it was written. Either 
 by a false interpretation of his former epistle, or by an epistle forged in 
 his name and sent to them, the opinion had become prevalent in the church 
 at Thessalonica tliat the Saviour was about to appear, and that the end 
 of tlie world was at hand. See ch. ii. 2. Comp. Ilujr's Intro. } IM, and 
 Stuart's Notes on the same, pp. 741, seq. To correct this impression was 
 the leading desi^ of this epistle. Some had become alanneo, and were 
 ?♦ (Ixxvii^ 
 
1. XViii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Buffering from unnecessary apprehension (ch. ii. 2) ; and some, under the 
 natural belief that labour then was useless, and that property was of no 
 value, had given up all attention to their worldly concerns (ch. iii. 10, 11) ; 
 and it was of the utmost importance that the error should be corrected. 
 This was done in this second epistle, and in doing it, Paul, as was usual, 
 intermingled several other topics of importance, adapted to the condition 
 of those to whom he wrote. 
 
 This epistle, though short, has great permanent value, and is indispen- 
 sable to a proper understanding of the great doctrine of the Second Ad- 
 vent of the Redeemer. It was written, indeed, to correct an error in a 
 single cliurch, and at a particular time, but history has shown that tliere 
 is a tendency to that same error in all ages, and that there was need of 
 some permanent inspired statement to check it. It was inferred from the 
 First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, that he meant to teach tliat the 
 day of judgment was not far off. Had not this second epistle been written 
 to correct that false interpretation, and to show what was his belief, it 
 would have been charged on him that he was mistaken, and then the in- 
 ference would have been naturally made that all the prophecies respect- 
 ing that event were false. The distance between this and absolute infi- 
 delity, it is easy to see, is very small. Paul, by his prompt explanation, 
 arrested that danger, and showed that he intended to teach no such doc- 
 trine as had been drawn from his first letter to them. This epistle, there- 
 fore, is of importance to show (1.) that the apostle did not believe, or mean 
 to teach, that the end of the world was near. There are many expres- 
 sions, indeed, which, like those in First Thessalonians,. would seem to im- 
 ply that the apostle held that belief, but the explanation of an inspired 
 apostle of his own sentiments at the time, settled that matter. No one 
 nas now a right to charge that belief on him, or on others who then used 
 the same language. No one can pretend that they held the opinion that 
 the end of the world was near. There is no stronger language on that 
 subject in any of their writings than occurs in the First Epistle to the Thes- 
 salonians, and Paul in the second epistle expressly says that he held no 
 such opinion, and meant to teach no such thing. (2.) This epistle is a 
 standing rebuke of the kind of interpretation whicli attempts to determine 
 the time when the Saviour will come, and of all those theories wliich re- 
 present " the day of Christ as at hand." The declarations in the Scrip- 
 tures are positive and abundant that the time of his appearing is not made 
 known to mortals (Notes on Acts i. 7), and it is not possible now to make 
 out a stronger argument to prove that that time is near, than could have, 
 been made out from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians ; and yet Paul 
 deemed it necessary to write them a second letter, expressly to show them 
 that the interpretation whicli they put on his language was unauthc-ized. 
 The truth is, that it was not the design of God to make known to men the 
 exact time when the Lord Jesus will return to judgment ; and all attempts 
 since the time of Paul to settle that have failed, and all will doubtless con- 
 tinue to fiiil, as they always have done. 
 
THX 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE TIIESSALONIANS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAUL, and Silvanus, and Ti- 
 mothcus, unto ' the church of 
 the ThessaJonian^ in God our Fa- 
 ther and die Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 2 Grace * unto you, and peace, 
 from God our Father and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 3 We are bound to thank God 
 always for you, brethren, as it is 
 
 a I Th. 1. 1, tc ft 1 Co. 1. 3. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANAXT8IS OF THE CHAPTOl. 
 
 This cliapter comprises the 
 ing points : — 
 
 (10 The salutation. Vs 1 2. 
 
 (2.) An expression of t>a»ixs r'or 
 the progress which the Tnetsaloni- 
 ans had made in pie'.y, n^*^ fcsiiecial- 
 1 y for the manner in \' >> /cn they had 
 boen enabled to lw.i iheir trials. 
 Vs. 3, 4. 
 
 (3.) An asstiraT'f 'J.at the man- 
 ner in which they Ip.c' oeen enabled to 
 boar their triald v as f Ji evidence that 
 they were true Cli/lfitians. Ver. 5. 
 
 (4.) A dech 'ifion that those who 
 .nad prrsccute'I them, and all others 
 who were v/iclfed, would be punish- 
 ed when tb*? Lord Jesus should come, 
 and tliat w'lon this should occur the 
 righteoue would appear in glory and 
 honour. Vs. (5 — 10. 
 
 (.").) Tho expression of an earnest 
 desire th-ii they might be prepared 
 for thf' Eolemn scenes of that day. 
 Vs. 11 12. 
 
 1 2. Pnut, and Silvanus, and Ti- 
 motheui. Dee Notes on 1 Thess. i. 1. 
 
 meet, becau.se that your faith grow- 
 eth exceedingly, and the charity 
 of every one of you all toward 
 each other aboundeth : 
 
 4 So that we ourselves f^lory 
 in you in the churches of God, 
 for your patience and faith in all 
 your persecutions and tribulations 
 that ye endure ; '' 
 
 f. 2 Co. 9. 2. 
 i<Ja. 5. II. 
 
 1 Th. 2. 10. 20. 
 
 3. We are bound to thank God 
 always for you. Notes on 1 Thess. 
 i. 2. ^ As it is meet. As it is fit 
 or proper. ^ Because that your faith 
 growfth exceedingly. It would seem 
 probable from this that I'aul had 
 heard from them since his first epis- 
 tle was written. He had doubtless 
 received intelligence of the error 
 which prevailed among them re- 
 specting his views of the coming of 
 the Lord Jesus, and of the progress 
 which the truth was making, at the 
 same time. IT And the charity of 
 every one of you all toward each 
 other. Your mutual love. 
 
 4. So that we ourselves glory in 
 you in the churches of God. Tliat 
 is, we mention your example to other 
 churches, and glory in it, as an evi- 
 dence of what the gospel is fitted to 
 do. See Notes on 1 The.ss. ii. 19, 
 20. Com p. Notes en 2 Cor. ix. 2. 
 H For your patience. Your patient 
 endurance of trial.-^. ^^ And Jailh. 
 Fidelity, or constancy. You have 
 shown unwavering confidence in 
 God in your afflictions. ^ In all 
 ynur persecutions and trihulalions 
 that yc endure. See Notes on 1 
 
 09) 
 
80 
 
 II. THfildSALONIANS. 
 
 I A. D. 53, 
 
 5 Which is " a manifest token 
 of the righteous judgment of God, 
 that ye may be counted worthy 
 
 a Ph. 1. 28. 
 
 Thess. ii. 14 ; iv. 13. It would seem 
 from this that the persecutions and 
 trials to which the apostle referred in 
 his first epistle were still continued. 
 5. Which is a manifest token of 
 the righteous judgment of God. 
 The word ' which'' is supplied by our 
 translators, and there may be some 
 doubt to what the apostle has refer- 
 ence as being ' a manifest token of 
 the righteous judgment of God.' 
 The general sense seems to be, that 
 the fact that they were thus perse- 
 cuted was an evidence that there 
 would be a future judgment, when 
 the righteous who were persecuted 
 would be rewarded, and the wicked 
 who persecuted them would be pun- 
 ished. The manner in which they 
 bore their trials was an indication 
 also of what the result would be in 
 regard to them. Their patience and 
 faith under persecutions were con- 
 stantly showing that they would ' be 
 counted worthy of the kingdom of 
 God, for which they were called to 
 suffer.' It is evident that a relative 
 must be supplied here, as our trans- 
 lators have done, but there has been 
 a difference of view as to what it 
 refers. Some suppose that it is to 
 ^patience' others to 'persecutions 
 and tribulations,^ and others to the 
 whole sentence preceding. The lat- 
 ter is probably the true construction, 
 and the sense is, that the endurance 
 of affliction in a proper manner by 
 the righteous is a proof that there 
 will be a righteous judgment of God 
 in the last day. (1.) It is evidence 
 that there will be a future judgment 
 — since the righteous here suffer so 
 much, and the wicked triumph. (2.) 
 These tilings are now permitted in 
 order that the character may be de- 
 V(;loped, and that the reason of the 
 Bentence in the last day may be seen. 
 
 of the kingdom of God, for which 
 ye also suffer : * 
 
 6 1 Th. 2. 14. He. 10. 32, 23. 
 
 (3.) The manner in which these af- 
 flictions are borne is an evidence- 
 tin indication Qvhiv^fut) of what the 
 results of the judgment will be. 
 The word rendered ' manifest token' 
 (tvhii/yfM), occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament. It means an 
 indication, token, proof — anything 
 that shows or points out how a thing 
 is, or is to be (from ivSuxw/M, to 
 show, to point out). The meaning 
 here is, therefore, that the course 
 of events referred to — the perse- 
 cutions which they endured, and the 
 manner in which they were borne — 
 furnished a proof that there would 
 be a righteous judgment, and also 
 afforded an indication of what the 
 result of that judgment would be 
 We may, in general, learn what 
 will be the issues of the judgment 
 in the case of an individual from the 
 manner in which he bears trials. 
 IF Of the righteous judgment of 
 God. That there will be a just 
 judgment hereafler. The crimes of 
 the wicked who go unpunished on 
 the earth, and the sufferings of the 
 good who are unavenged, are a de- 
 monstration that there will be a judg- 
 ment, when all these inequalities 
 will be adjusted. •[ That ye may be 
 counted worthy. As the result of 
 your affliction, that you may be fit- 
 ted for the kingdom of God. This 
 does not mean that Christians will 
 merit heaven by their sufferings, but 
 that they may show that they have 
 such a character that there is a fit- 
 ness or propriety that they should 
 be admitted there. They may evince 
 by their patience and resignation, 
 by their deadness to the world and 
 their holy lives, that they are not 
 disqualified to enter into that king- 
 doiri where the redeemed are to 
 dwell. No true Christian will ever 
 
A. 1). o3.J 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 81 
 
 6 Seeing * it is a righteous thing 
 
 a lie. C. 10. 
 
 j feci that he is worthy on his own ac- 
 I count, or tliat he Ims any claim to 
 eternal lite, yet ho may have evi- 
 dence tliat he has tiie clinracterislics 
 to wiiich God lias promised salvation, 
 and is fittod to dwell in heaven. II Of 
 ihc khiL^doin of Hod. In heaven. 
 See Notes on Matt. iii. 2. ''l^ For 
 which ye also stiffir. The suflermjTs 
 which you now endure are because 
 you are professed heirs of the kiiifr- 
 dom ; that is, you are persecuted be- 
 cause you are Christians. See 1 
 Thess. ii. 14. 
 
 0. Seciiiff it is a righteous thiucr 
 with Hod to recompense Iribxdution 
 to them that trouble you. The sense 
 is, 'There will be a luture judg- 
 ment, because it is proper that God 
 should punish those who now perse- 
 cute you. It is not right that they 
 should go unpunished, and triumph 
 for ever. It is not an arbitrary thing, 
 a thing which is indiflbrcnt, a thing 
 which may or may not be done ; it 
 is a jw<t and proper thing that the 
 wicked should be punished.' The 
 doctrine is, that tiie tlitiire punish- 
 ment of the wicked is just and pro- 
 per ; and that, bcinc; just and proper, 
 It will be inflicted. Many suppose 
 tJiat there would be no justice in the 
 eternal punishmeni of the wicked ; 
 that the threatening of that punish- 
 ment is wholly arbitrary; that it 
 might easily be dispensed witli, and 
 that because it is unjust it will not 
 be ififlicted, and need not be dread- 
 ed. But that it is just and proper, a 
 very slight degree of reflection must 
 show. For (1.) it is inconceivable 
 that God should threaten such pun- 
 ishment unless it were just. How 
 can it be reconciled with his perfec- 
 tions that he can hold up before man- 
 kind the assurance that any of them 
 will be pimished for ever, unless it 
 be right that it should be so J Can 
 tve believe that he deliberate y 
 
 with Cod to recompense tribula 
 tion to them that trouble you ; 
 
 threatens what is wrong, or that, in 
 the face of the universe, ho publicly 
 declares his intention to do what is 
 wrong? ('J.) Men themselves believe 
 that it '\s just that the wicked should 
 be punished. They are constantly 
 making laws, and aflixing penalties to 
 them, and executing them, under tiie 
 belief that it is riglit. Can they re- 
 gard it as wrong in God to do the same 
 thing! Can tiiat be wrong in him 
 which is right in tliemselves? {}).) 
 If it is right to punish wickcdnc.-s 
 here, it is not wrong to punish it in 
 the future world. There is nothiii!» 
 in the two places which canchani'e 
 the nature of what is dcme. If it in 
 right for Gotl to visit the sinner iiert; 
 with the tokens of his displeashro, 
 there is nothing which can maku it 
 wrong lo visit him in like mauiuT 
 in the future world. Why shouKi 
 that be wrong in another world 
 which is rigiit and proper in this? 
 (4.) It will be a righteous thing for 
 God to punish the wicked in a future 
 state, for they are not always pun- 
 ished here as they deserve. No one 
 can seriously maintain that there is 
 an equal distribution of rewards and 
 punisliments on the earth. Many a 
 man goes to the grave having re- 
 ceived 710 adequate punishment for 
 his crimes. Many a murderer, pi- 
 rate, robber, traitor, and plunderer 
 of nations under the name of a con- 
 (lueror, thus dies. No one can douiit 
 that it would be a 'just' tiling to 
 punish them here if they could bo 
 arrested. Why should it bo any the 
 less 'just' to punish them whon they 
 enter another world? In like man- 
 ner, many a man lives a life of pro- 
 fligiicy; or is an open scofier; or 
 aims to cast ofT the government of 
 God ; or is a .seducer of innocence ; 
 and yet lives in the midst of wealth, 
 and goes down in calmness and peace 
 to the grave. I's. l.\.\iii. 3 — 5. Job 
 
B2 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 53 
 
 7 And to you who are troubled, 
 rest with us ; when the Lord 
 
 a Ee. 14. 13. 
 
 xxi. 23 — 33. Why is it not 'just' 
 that such an one should be punished 
 in tlie future world? Comp. Ps. 
 Ixxiii. 16 — 20. But, if it is right 
 that God should punish the wicked 
 m the future world, it will be done. 
 For (1.) there is nothing to hinder 
 liirn from doing it. He has all power, 
 and has all necessary means of in- 
 flicting punishment, entirely at his 
 disposal. (2.) It would not be right 
 not to do it. It is not right for a 
 magistrate to treat the righteous and 
 the wicked alike, or to show that he 
 has as much regard to the one as 
 to the other. (3.) It cannot be be- 
 lieved that God has uttered a threat- 
 ening which he never meant to exe- 
 cute, or to appear before the universe 
 as having held up before men the 
 terror of the most awful punishment 
 which could be inflicted, but which 
 he never intended to carry into ef- 
 fect. Who could have confidence 
 in such a Being ] Who could know 
 what to believe when he makes the 
 most solemn declaration 1 (4.) The 
 Judge of all the earth "wdl do 
 right ;" and if it is right to declare 
 that "the wicked shall be turned 
 into hell," it will not be wrong to 
 inflict the sentence. And if, on the 
 whole, it is right that the sinner 
 should be punished, it will be done. 
 ^ Them that trouble you. Those 
 who persecute you. See 1 Thess. 
 ii. 14. 
 
 7. And to you who are troubled. 
 That is, ' it will be a righteous thing 
 for God to give to you who are per- 
 secuted rest in the last day.' As it 
 will be right and proper to punish 
 the wicked, so it will be right to re- 
 vard the good. It will not, however, 
 be in precisely the same sense. The 
 wicked will deserve all that they 
 will suffer, but it cannot be said that 
 
 Jesus * shall be revealed from 
 heaven with ' his mighty angels. 
 
 b 1 Th. 4. IG. Jude 14. 
 ' the angels of his power. 
 
 the rigliteous will deserve the re- 
 ward which they will receive. It 
 will be right and proper, because (1.) 
 there is a fitness that they who are 
 the friends of God should be treated 
 as such, or it is proper that he should 
 show himself to be their friend ; and 
 (2.) because in this life this is not 
 always clearly done. They are often 
 less prospered, and less happy in 
 their outward circumstances, than 
 the wicked. There is, therefore, a 
 propriety that in the future state 
 God should manifest himself as their 
 friend, and show to assembled worlds 
 that he is not indifferent to charac- 
 ter, or that wickedness does not de- 
 serve his smiles, and piety incur his 
 frown. At the same time, however, 
 it wdl be owing wholly to his grace 
 that any are ever admitted to hea- 
 ven. ^ Rest. The future happiness 
 of believers is often represented un- 
 der the image of rest. It is rest 
 like that of the weary labourer after 
 his day of toil ; rest, like that of the 
 soldier after the hardships of a long 
 and perilous march; rest, like the 
 calm repose of one who has been 
 racked with pain. See Notes on 
 Heb. iv. 9. The word rest here 
 (aviaif) meaiK a letting loose, a re- 
 mission, a relaxation; and hence 
 composure, quiet. 2 Cor. ii. 12 ; vii. 
 5. If With us. That is, whh Paul, 
 Sdas, and Timothy. Ver. 1. It 
 would increase the comfort of the 
 Thessalonians derived from the an- 
 ticipation of the future world, to re- 
 flect that they would meet their reli- 
 gious teachers and friends there. It 
 always augments the anticipated joy 
 of heaven to reflect that we are to 
 share its blessedness with them. 
 There is no envy among those who 
 anticipate heaven; there will bo 
 none there. They who desire hea 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 83 
 
 8 In • flaming firf, ' taking ' 
 vengeance on ihcni that know ' 
 not God, and '' that obey not the 
 gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : 
 
 a He. la 27. 2 Pc. 3. 7. • or, yielHinp. 
 ft IV. M. 41, -13. cl's.70 0. Ztp. 1.0. 
 
 dRo.'J.f. 
 
 vcn at all, desire that it may bo 
 shared in the hifihcst defrrec by all 
 wlio are dear to tliem. Il When the 
 Ijord Jesus shall be revealed from 
 heaven. Shall appear; sliall come 
 from heaven. Notes, 1 Thcss. iv. 6. 
 ♦" U'i7/t his mie^hty auQeh. ^hirj?., 
 aufffls of his power. So the Greek. 
 The sense is, that ang-els of exalted 
 rank and glory will accompany him. 
 Notes on 1 Thess. iv. 10. Matt 
 x.xiv. 31 ; XXV. 31. 
 
 8. In Jlaniinjn fire. This is a cir- 
 cumstance which is not noticed in 
 the account of his appearmg in the 
 parallel place in 1 Thess. iv. 16. 
 The object of the apostle here seems 
 to be to represent him as coming 
 amidst vivid flashes of lightning. 
 He it commonly described as com- 
 ing in clouds, and to that common 
 description there is here added the 
 image of incessant lightnings, as if 
 the whole heavens were illuminated 
 with a contmiied blaze. IT Taking 
 vengeance. Marg., yielding. Gr., 
 giving. The word vengeance is 
 used in the sense of punishment, for 
 there cannot be in Go<l what liter- 
 ally corresponds with the passion of 
 revenue. Comp. Notes on Rom. xii. 
 19. "T On them that know not God. 
 On all who are strangers to him; 
 that is, who are livinjj in heathnnisii 
 darkness, or who, having heard of 
 him, have no practical ac(]naintance 
 with him. ^ And that obey not the 
 go.<ipel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 >Vho do not embrace it, and practise 
 its precepts in their lives. Comp. 
 Notes on Rom. ii. 9. 
 
 9. Who shall be punished with 
 everlasting destruction. See Notes 
 on Matt XXV. 41. 4G. The word 
 
 9 Wlio shall be punished with 
 everlasting destruction ' from the 
 presence of the Lord, and from 
 the glory •^ of his power ; 
 
 e rii. 3. 19. 
 / Is. 2. IS). 
 
 2 Pc. 3. 7. 
 
 which is here rendered destruction 
 (jAi'^v), is different from that which 
 occurs in Matt. xxv. 46, and wiiich 
 is there rendered punishment — xo>jar 
 ai^. The word oXt^v — olethron — 
 occurs only here and in 1 Cor. v. .">. 
 1 Thess. V. 3. 1 Tim. vi. 9; in each 
 of which places it is rendered de- 
 struction. It docs not denote anni- 
 hilation, but is used in the same sense 
 in which we use the word when we 
 say that a thing is destroyed. Thus 
 health is destroyed when it fails; 
 property is destroyed when it is 
 burned or sunk in the ocean; a limb 
 is destroyed that is lost in battle; 
 life is destroyed when one dies. In 
 the case before us, the destruction, 
 whatever it be, is (1.) to be continued 
 for ever; and (2.) is to be of the na- 
 ture of punishment. The meaning 
 then must be, that the soul is de- 
 stroyed as to the great purposes of 
 its being — its enjoyment, dignity, 
 honour, holiness, happiness. It will 
 not be annihilated, but will live and 
 linfrer on in destruction. It seems 
 difficult to conceive how any one can 
 profess to hold that this passage is a 
 part of the word of God, and yet 
 deny the doctrine of future eternal 
 punishment It would not be possi- 
 ble to state that doctrine in clearer 
 language than this. It never is stated 
 in clearer language in any creed 
 or confession of tiiitli, and if it be 
 not true that the wicked will be pun- 
 ished for ever, it must be admitted 
 I that it would not have been possible 
 to reveal the doctrine in human lan- 
 guage. ^ From the presence oftlie 
 I Iy>rd. That is, a part of tlicir pun- 
 j i^hrnent will consist in being ban- 
 I ished from tlie immediate presence 
 
B4 
 
 11. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 10 When he shall come to be 
 " glorified in his saints, and to be 
 
 a Mat. 25. 31. 
 
 of the Lord. There is a sense in 
 which God is everywhere present, 
 and in that sense he will be in the 
 world where the wicked will dwell, 
 to punish them. But the phrase is 
 also used to denote his more imme- 
 diate presence ; the place where are 
 the symbols of his majesty and glo- 
 ry; the home of the holy and the 
 blessed. It is in that sense that the 
 word is used here, and the idea is, 
 that it will be one of the circum- 
 stances contributing' to the deeper 
 wo of the place of punishment, that 
 those who dwell there will be ban- 
 ished from that holy abode, and will 
 never be permitted to enter there. 
 ^ And from the glory of his power. 
 The meaning seems to be, that they 
 will not be able to endure the mani- 
 festation of his power and majesty 
 when he shall appear, but will be 
 driven away by it into outer dark- 
 ness. See ch. ii. 8. The Saviour, 
 in describing- his Second Advent, 
 uses this language : " They shall 
 see the Son of man coming in the 
 clouds of heaven, with power and 
 great glory." Matt. xxiv. 30. There 
 will be a great exhibition of both. 
 The power wdl be seen in the con- 
 vulsions of nature which wdl pre- 
 cede or attend him ; in the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead ; and in the bringing 
 of all to judgment : and the glory 
 will be seen in his own person ; tlie 
 dignity and number of his attend- 
 ants ; and the honour that shall then 
 be conferred on him as the final 
 Judge of all mankind. By the mani- 
 festation of that power and glory 
 the wicked will be driven away into 
 eternal ruin. They will not be able 
 to stand befor6 it, and though, in 
 common with the righteous, they 
 may see the majesty of the Re- 
 deemer in the last day, yet they I 
 
 admired * in all them that believe 
 (because our testimony among 
 you was beheved) in that day. 
 
 b Ps. 68. 35. 
 
 will be driven away to witness it no 
 more. 
 
 10. When he shall come to be 
 glorified in his saints. That is, the 
 redeemed in that day will be the 
 means of promoting his glory, or the 
 universe will see his glory manifest- 
 ed in their redemption. His chief 
 glory as seen in that day will be con- 
 nected with the fact that he has re- 
 deemed his people ; and he will come 
 in order that all the appropriate ho- 
 nour of such a work may then be ma- 
 nifested. He will be ' glorified' then 
 by the numbers that shall have been 
 redeemed ; by their patience in the 
 trials through which they have pass- 
 ed ; by the triumphs which religion 
 shall have made on the earth; by 
 their praises and songs, and by their 
 ascent with him to the realms of 
 blessedness. •[ A7id to be admired 
 in all them that believe. This may 
 either mean that he will be admired 
 among or by them that believe ; oi 
 that the ground of the admiration 
 which he will receive in that day 
 wdl be what will be seen in them ; 
 that is, their graces, their numbers, 
 their joys, their triumphs wdl be the 
 occasion of producing admiration of 
 him — for he will be regarded as the 
 source of it all. Tindal renders it, 
 "and to be made marvellous in all 
 them that believe." The latter in- 
 terpretation seems to me to be the 
 correct one. The general idea is, 
 that Cinist in that day will be mani- 
 fested in a glorious manner, and that 
 the source of his highest triumphs 
 will be what is seen in the saints. 
 His main honour when he returns to 
 the world will not be the outward 
 splendours which will attend his 
 coming, nor the angels that will ac- 
 company him, nor the manifestation 
 of his power over the elements, bii* 
 
.X. D 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 85 
 
 11 Whcrelbro also \vc pray 
 always for you, that our God 
 noulJ 'count you worthy "of //</» 
 
 » or. rouchsafe. a dl. 1. IJ. Kf. 3. 1. 
 
 t.'io cliurcli which he has redeemed, 
 ft will then be seen that he is wor- 
 thy of universal admiration, for hav- 
 ing' redeemed that church. He shall 
 then be admired or glorified in his 
 people, (1.) for having conceived the 
 jilan of redeeming them; (2.) for 
 being willing to become incarnate 
 and to die to save tliom ; (H.) for 
 the defence of liis church in all its 
 persecutions and trials; (I.) for rais- 
 ing his people from the dead; (5.) 
 for the virtues and graces which 
 they will exhibit in that day. This 
 appropriate honour of Christ in the 
 church has never yet been fully seen. 
 His people on earth have, in gene- 
 ral, most imperfectly reflected his 
 image. They have in general been 
 :omiMiratively few in number, and 
 scattered upon tlie earth. They 
 have been poor and despised. Often 
 they have been persecuted and re- 
 garded as the ' filth of the world and 
 the oft-scouring of all tilings.' The 
 honours of this world have been 
 witldield from them. The great 
 have regarded it as no honour to be 
 identified with the church, and the 
 proud have been ashamed to be en- 
 rolled among the followers of the 
 Lamb. In the last day all this will 
 be changed, and the assembled 
 church will show to admiring worlds 
 how great and glorious is its Re- 
 deemer, and how glorious was the 
 work of redemption. •[ Bicanse our 
 testimony amoii<r you was believed. 
 The meaning of this seems to be, 
 that they would be among the num- 
 ber of those who would in that day 
 lunour the Saviour, btcaxute they 
 had embraced what the apostle had 
 preached to them respecting these 
 future scenes. Thus interpri'ted, 
 this clause should be regarded as 
 eonnected witJi ver. 7, ' And to vcju 
 8 
 
 calling, and fulfil all the good 
 pleasure of hi>s goodness, and the 
 work of faith with power ; 
 
 it is a righteous thing tliat he should 
 give rest with us, because our testi- 
 mony among you was believed.' 
 That is, you have shown that you 
 are true Christians, and it is proper 
 that you should partake of the tri- 
 umphs and hopes of that day. 
 
 11. Wherefore also we pray al- 
 ways for you. Notes, 1 Tiics.s i. 2. 
 "^ Thai our God would count you 
 worthy of this calling. Marg., 'or, 
 vouchsafe.' The meaning is, ' that 
 he would regard you as worthy of 
 this calling.' See Notes on ver. 5. 
 IT Of this callinff. Notes, Eph. iv. 
 1. The ' calling' here, is that wliich 
 had brought them into the kingdom, 
 and led them to become Christians. 
 1[ And fulfil all the frond pleasure 
 of his frnodncss. That is, make the 
 work of salvation complete and cf^ 
 Icctual. Oldshauscn has well e.v- 
 pressed the sense. " May God fill 
 you with all that gootl which is pleas- 
 ing to him." The thoughts in the 
 passage arc, (1.) that the purjxjse to- 
 wards them on the part of God was 
 one of 'goodness' or benevolence; 
 (2.) that there was a state of min(l 
 which would be regarded by him as 
 pleasing, or as his 'good pleasure;' 
 and (3.) that Paul wished that this 
 might be accomplished in tlicm. He 
 desired that tliere might be in them 
 everything which would be pleasing 
 to God, and which his benevolence 
 was fitted to secure. II And the 
 work of faith. The work which 
 faith is adapted to produce on the 
 soul. See 1 John v. -J, •>. *; With 
 power. Efiectually, completely. — 
 The apostle prays that so much 
 power may be exerted as will be 
 sutficient to secure the object. The 
 work of religion on the soul is al- 
 ways represented in the Bible as one 
 of po'cer. 
 
86 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 12 That "the name of our Lord 
 Jesu^ Cliri-5t may be glorified in 
 
 a 1 Pe. 1. 7. 
 
 12. That the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. That is, that the Lord 
 Jesus himself may be honoured 
 among you ; the 'name often denot- 
 ing the person. The idea is, that 
 the apostle wished that the Lord Je- 
 sus might be honoured among them 
 by the fair application and develop- 
 ment of the principles of his reli- 
 gion. ■[ And ye in him. That you 
 may be regarded and treated as his 
 friends when he shall come to judge 
 the world. ^ According to the grace 
 of our God and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. That is, that you may ex- 
 perience all the honour which his 
 grace is fitted to impart. 
 
 In view of the exposition given of 
 this chapter, we may remark : — 
 
 (1.) That the wicked will certain- 
 ly he punished when the Lord Jesus 
 shall come to judgment. Words 
 cannot reveal this truth more plainly 
 than is done in this chapter, and if 
 it is not to be so, then language has 
 no meaning. 
 
 (2.) The punishment of the wick- 
 ed will be eternal. It is impossible 
 for language to teach that doctrine 
 more clearly than is done in this 
 chapter. If it were admitted to have 
 been the intention of God to teach 
 the doctrine of eternal punishment, 
 it is impossible to conceive that he 
 could have chosen more plain and 
 positive language to express the doc- 
 iri-ne than has been done here. Can 
 it be, then, that he means to trifle 
 with men on so solemn a subject, 
 by using words which have no mean- 
 ing? 
 
 (3.) It will greatly aggravate the 
 punishment of the wicked that it 
 will be " a righteous thing" for God 
 thus to punish them. If they were 
 to suffer as martyrs ; if in their suf- 
 ferings they could feel that they 
 were oppressed and crushed beneath 
 
 you, ana ye in him, according tc 
 the grace of our God and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 mere power ; if they could feel that 
 they were right and that God waa 
 wrong ; if they could get up a party 
 in the universe against God, sympa- 
 thizing with them as if they were 
 wronged, the case would be changed. 
 A man can endure suffering much 
 more easily when he has a good con- 
 science, and feels that he is right, 
 than he can when he feels that what 
 he endures is deserved. But the 
 sinner in hell can never have this 
 consolation. He will for ever feel 
 that God is right and that he is 
 wrong, and that every pang which 
 he endures is deserved. 
 
 (4.) If it be a " righteous thing" 
 that the wicked shall be punished, 
 then they never can be saved by 
 mere justice. No one will go to 
 heaven because he deserves or mer- 
 its it. All dependence on human 
 merit, therefore, is taken away in 
 the matter of salvation, and if the 
 sinner is ever saved, it will be by 
 grace, and not by justice. 
 
 (5.) If it is a "righteous thmg" 
 that the sinner should perish, he wil. 
 perish. God will do right to all. 
 
 (6.) It is amazing that the mass 
 of men have so little concern about 
 their future condition. God has 
 plainly revealed that he will destroy 
 the wicked for ever, and that it will 
 be a righteous thing for him to do it ; 
 and yet the mass of mankind are 
 wholly unconcerned, and disregard 
 all the solemn declarations of the 
 Bible on this subject, as if they were 
 idle tales. One would suppose that 
 the very possibility of eternal suffer- 
 ing would rouse all the sensibilities 
 of the soul, and lead to the earnest 
 inquiry whether it is not possible to 
 avoid it. Yet the mass of men feel 
 no concern in this inquiry. It is im- 
 possible to get them ever to think of 
 it. We cannot get them even to ask 
 
A. i). 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 87 
 
 the queiition seriously, whoUior they 
 tlienisclvos ure to bo Imppy or mise- 
 rable to all eternity. Tliis stupidity 
 unci indiflerence is tlic most unac- 
 countable fact on earth, and proba- 
 bly distinguisiies this world from all 
 others. 
 
 (7.) It is rational to tliink of reli- 
 gion; to reflect on eternity; to be 
 serious; to be atixious about the fti- 
 ture state. If there is even a possi- 
 hilitij tliat we may be miserable 
 for ever, it is proper to be serious 
 about it. And if tliore is a solemn 
 declaration of God that it will be a 
 'righteous thing' tor him to punish 
 the wicked, and that he will " pimish 
 them with everlasting destruction." 
 assuredly the mind skoulJ be con- 
 cerned. Is there anything more 
 worthy the calm and sober attention 
 of the human soul than sucli solemn 
 declarations of tlic infinite God ! 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 The main object of this chapter is 
 to correct an erroneous impression 
 which had been made on the minds 
 of the Thessalonians respecting the 
 second coming of the Saviour, either 
 by his own former letter, or by one 
 forged in his name. They had re- 
 ceived the impression that that event 
 wa^ about to take place. This be- 
 lief had produced an unhappy effect 
 on tlieir minds. Ver. 2. It became, 
 therefore, necessary to state the truth 
 on the subject, in order to free their 
 minds from alarm; and this purpose 
 of the apostle leads to one of the 
 most important prophecies in tlie 
 New Testament. The chapter com- 
 prises the following points: — 
 
 I. An exhortation that they would 
 not be alarmed or distressed by the 
 expoctition of the speedy coming of 
 the Saviour. Vs. 1, 2. 
 
 II. A statement of the truth that 
 he would not soon appear, and of the 
 eha/acten sties of a great apostasy 
 
 which nuist intervene before his ad- 
 vent. Vs. a— 12. 
 
 In this part of the chapter, tlie 
 apostle shows that he did not mean 
 to teacii that that event would soon 
 happen, by stating that bcfnrr that 
 there would occur a most melancholy 
 ajjostasv, which would require a con- 
 siderable time before it was matured. 
 
 («) That day would not come un- 
 til there should be a great apostasy, 
 and a revelation of the man of sin. 
 Ver. 3. 
 
 {b) The character of this man of 
 sin was to be such that it could not 
 be mistaken : he would be opposed 
 to God ; would exalt himself above 
 all that is called God ; and would sit 
 in the temple showing himself as 
 God. Ver. 4. 
 
 (c) There was a restraint then 
 exercised which prevented the de- 
 velopment of the great apostasy. 
 There were indeed causes then at 
 work which would lead to it, but 
 they were then held in check, and 
 Go<l would restrain them until some 
 future time, when he would sufler 
 the man of sin to be revealed. Vs. 
 5—7. 
 
 (</) When that time should come, 
 then that ' wicked' one would be re- 
 vealed, with such marks that he 
 could not be mistaken. His coming 
 would be after the working of Sa- 
 tan, with power and signs and lying 
 wonders, and under him there would 
 be strong delusion, and the belief of 
 a lie. Vs. 8—12. This great foe of 
 God was to be destroyed by the com- 
 ing of the Saviour, and one object 
 of his appearing would be to put an 
 end to his dominion. Ver. H, 
 
 III. The apostle then says, that 
 there was occasion for thankfulness 
 to G«l that he had chosen them to 
 salvation, and not loll them to be de- 
 stroyed. Vs. \',\, 14. 
 
 IV. An exhortation to stand fast, 
 and to maintain what they had been 
 taught (ver. 1")), and a prayer that 
 God, who had given them a good 
 
88 
 
 11. THESSALONIAWS. 
 
 A. D. 53. 
 
 N' 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OW we beseech you, bre- 
 thren, by the coming of our 
 
 hope, would coinfort their hearts, 
 closes the chapter. Vs. 16, 17. 
 
 1. JSoio loe beseech you, brethren, 
 by the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. The phrase 'by the com- 
 ing,' is not here, as our translators 
 seem to have supposed, a form of so- 
 lemn adjuration. It is not common, 
 if it ever occurs, in the Scriptures, 
 to make a solemn adjuration in view 
 of an event, and the connection here 
 demands that we give to the phrase 
 a different sense. It means, respect- 
 ing his coining; and the idea of 
 Paul is, 'In regard to that great 
 event of which 1 spoke to you in my 
 former epistle — the coming of the 
 Saviour — I beseech you not to be 
 troubled, as if it were soon to happen.' 
 As his views had been misunderstood 
 or misrepresented, lie now proposes 
 to show them that there was nothing 
 in the true doctrine which should 
 create alarm, as if he were about to 
 appear. ^ And by our gathering 
 together unto him. There is mani- 
 fest allusion here to what is said in 
 the first epistle (ch. iv. 17), "then 
 we shall be caught up together with 
 them in the clouds ;" and the mean- 
 ing is, 'in reference to our being 
 gathered unto liim, I beseech you 
 not to be shaken in mind, as if that 
 event were near.' 
 
 2. That ye be not soon shaken in 
 mind. The word here used signi- 
 fies, properly, to be moved as a wave 
 of the sea, or to be tossed upon the 
 waves, as a vessel is. Then it means 
 to be shaken in any way. See Matt, 
 xi. 7; xxiv. 29. Luke vi. 33. Acts 
 iv. 31. Heb. xii. 26. The reference 
 here is to the agitation or alarm felt 
 from the belief that the day of judg- 
 ment would soon occur. It is uni- 
 formly said in the Scriptures, that 
 the approach of the Lord Jesus to 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and by our 
 gathering together unto him, 
 2 That ye be not soon shsiken 
 
 judge the world, will produce a great 
 consternation and alarm. Matt. xxiv. 
 30, " Then shall appear the sign of 
 the Son of man in heaven, and then 
 shall all the tribes of the earth 
 mourn." Rev. i. 7, "Behold, he 
 Cometh with clouds; and every eye 
 shall see him ; and they also which 
 pierced him ; and all kindreds of the 
 earth shall wail because of him." 
 Luke xxiii. 30, "Then shall they 
 begin to say to the mountains. Fall 
 on us ; and to the hills. Cover us." 
 Comp. Isa. ii. 21, 22. Of the truth 
 of this, there can be no doubt. We 
 may imagine something of the 
 efiects which will be produced by 
 the alarm caused in a community 
 when a belief prevails that the day 
 of judgment is near. In a single 
 year (1843) seventeen persons were 
 admitted to tl)e Lunatic Asylum m 
 Worcester, Mass., who had become 
 deranged in consequence of the ex- 
 pectation that the Lord Jesus was 
 about to appear. It is easy to ac- 
 count for such facts, and no doubt, 
 when the Lord Jesus shall actually 
 come, the effect on the guilty world 
 will be overwhelming. The apostle 
 here says, also, that those who were 
 Christians were ' shaken in mind and 
 troubled' by this anticipation. There 
 are, doubtless, many true Christians 
 who would be alarmed at such an 
 event, as there are many who, like 
 Hezeldah (Isa. xxxviii. 1, 2), are 
 alarmed at the prospect of death. 
 Many real Christians might, on the 
 sudden occurrence of such an event, 
 feel that they were not prepared, and 
 be alarmed at the prospect of passing 
 through the great trial which is to 
 determine their everlasting destiny. 
 It is no certain evidence of a want 
 of pi(!ty to be alarmed at the ap- 
 proach of deatli. Our nature dreads 
 death, and though there may bo a 
 
A D. 53. J 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 in mind, or be trouVIod, neither 
 by spirit, nor by word, nor by let- 
 
 well-founilccl Iiojk; of heaven, it will 
 not always preserve a delicate i)hy- 
 eical frame from trembling when it 
 comes. ^ Or be Iroiibled. Tliat is, 
 disturbed, or terrified. It would 
 seem tJiat this beliet' had produced 
 much consternation among tiicni. 
 H Acither by spirit. By any pre- 
 tended spirit of prophecy. But whe- 
 ther tliis refers to the predictions of 
 those who were false prophets in 
 Tlicssalonica, or to sometliing which 
 it was alleged the apostle Paul had 
 himself said there, and which was 
 construed as meaning that the time 
 was near, is not certain. This de- 
 pends much on the question whether 
 the phrase ' as from us,' refers only 
 to tlie letters which had been sent to 
 them, or also to the ' word' and to 
 the 'spirit,' here spoken of. See 
 Oldshausen on the place. It would 
 seem, from the connection, that all 
 their consternation had been caused 
 by some misconstruction which had 
 l)ccn put on the sentiments of Paul 
 himself, for if there had been any 
 otlier source of alarm, he would na- 
 turally have referred to it It is pro- 
 bable, therefore, that allusion is made 
 to some representation which had 
 been given of what he had said un- 
 der the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
 and that tlie e.xpecL-ition that the end 
 of the world was near, was supposed 
 to be a doctrine of inspiration. Whe- 
 ther, liowever, the Thessalonians 
 themselves put tliis constniction on 
 wiiat he said, or whether those who 
 Had caused the alarm represented 
 him as teaching this, cannot be de- 
 termined. ^ Aor btj word. That 
 is, by public instruction, or in preacii- 
 ing. It is evident that when the 
 •postle was among them, this sub- 
 ject, from some cause, was promi- 
 nent in iiis discourses. See ver. 5. 
 [t had been inferred, it seems, from 
 8* 
 
 tor, as from us, as '" 
 of Christ is at liand. 
 
 a Mat. 21. 4-0. 
 
 «0 
 that the day 
 
 what he said, that he meant to teach 
 that the end of the world was near. 
 ^iVor btj letter. Either the one which 
 he had bcliirc written to them — the 
 First Epistle to tiie Thessalonian.s — 
 or one which had been forged in his 
 name. % As/rnjnus. Tliat is, Paul, 
 Silas, and Timothy, who are united 
 in writing the two epistles (1 Thess. 
 i. 1. 2 Tiiess. i. 1), and in whose 
 names a letter would be forged, if 
 one of this description were sent to 
 them. It has been made a question, 
 whetlicr tlie apostle refers here to 
 the former epistle which he had sent 
 to them, or to a forged letter; and 
 on this question critics have been 
 about equally divided. The reasons 
 for the Ibrmer opinion may be seen 
 in Paley's llorm Paulinie, in loc. 
 The question is not very important, 
 and perhaps cannot be easily settled. 
 There are twoor three circumstances, 
 however, which seem to make it pro- 
 bable that he refers to an epistle 
 which had been forged, and which 
 had been pretended to be received 
 from him. (1.) One is found in the 
 expression ' as from us.' If he had 
 referred to his own former letter, it 
 seems to me that the allusion would 
 have been more distinct, and that 
 the particle ' as' (wj) would not have 
 been used. This is such an expres- 
 sion as would have been employed 
 T/the reference were to such a Ibrged 
 letter. (2.) A second circumstance 
 is found in the e.xpressjion in tiie next 
 verse, " Let no man drcrive you by 
 any means," which looks as if Xhej 
 were not led into this belief by their 
 own interpretation of his tbnner 
 epistle, but by a deliberate attempt 
 of some one to delude them on tlie 
 subject (3.) Periiaps a third cir- 
 cumstance would he tbund in tJie fact 
 that it was not uncommon in the 
 early times of Christianity loatteirpt 
 
90 
 
 11. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 53. 
 
 3 Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day shall 
 
 to impose forged writings on the 
 churches. Nothing would be more 
 natural for an impostor who wished 
 to acquire influence, than to do this ; 
 and that it was often done is well 
 known. That epistles were forged 
 under the names of the apostles, ap- 
 pears very probable, as Benson has 
 remarked, from ch. iii. 17, Gal. vi. 11, 
 and Philem. 19. There are, indeed, 
 none of those forged epistles, extant 
 which were composed in the time of 
 the apostles, but there is extant an 
 epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, 
 besides the two which we have ; an- 
 other to the Laodiceans, and six of 
 Paul's epistles to Seneca — all of 
 which are undoubted forgeries. See 
 Benson in loc. If Paul, however, 
 here refers to his former epistle, the 
 reference is doubtless to 1 Thess. iv. 
 15, and v. 2, 3, 4, which might ea- 
 sily be understood as teaching that 
 .he end of the world was near, and 
 to which those who maintained that 
 opinion might appeal with great 
 plausibility. We have, however, 
 the authority of the apostle himself 
 that he meant to teach no such thing. 
 H As that the day of Christ is at hand. 
 The time when he would appear — 
 called ' the day of Christ,' because 
 it would be appointed especially for 
 the manifestation of his glory. The 
 phrase ' at hand,' means near. Gro- 
 tius supposes that it denotes that 
 same year, and refers for proof to 
 Rom. viii. 38. 1 Cor. iii. 22. Gal. 
 i. 4. Heb. ix. 9. If so, the attempt 
 to fix the day was an early indica- 
 tion of the desire to determine the 
 very time of his appearing — a dispo- 
 sition which has been so common 
 since, and which has led into so 
 many sad mistakes. 
 
 3. Let no man deceive you by any 
 means. That is, respecting the com- 
 ing of the Lord Jesus. This implies 
 that there were then attempts to de- 
 ceive, and that it was t f great im- 
 
 portance for Christians to be on their 
 guard. The result has shown that 
 there is almost no subject on which 
 caution is more proper, and on which 
 men are more liable to delusion. 
 The means then resorted to for de- 
 ception appear from the previous 
 verse to have been either an appeal 
 to a pretended verbal message from 
 the apostle, or a pretended letter 
 from him. The means now, consist 
 of a claim to uncommon wisdom in 
 the interpretation of obscure prophe- 
 cies of the Scriptures. The neces- 
 sity for the caution here given has 
 not ceased. % For that day shall 
 not come, except there come a fall- 
 ing away first. Until an apostasy 
 (oTioe-tasM) shall have occurred — the 
 great apostasy. There is scarcely 
 any passage of the New Testament 
 which has given occasion to great- 
 er diversity of opinion than this. 
 Though the reference seems to be 
 plain, and there is scarcely any pro- 
 phecy of the Bible apparently more 
 obvious and easy in its general inter- 
 pretation; yet it is proper to men- 
 tion some of the opinions which have 
 been entertained of it. Some have 
 referred it to a great apostasy from 
 the Christian church, particularly on 
 account of persecution, which would 
 occur before the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem. The ' coming of the Lord' 
 they suppose refers to the destruc- 
 tion of the holy city, and according 
 to this, the meaning is, that there 
 would be a great apostasy before that 
 event would take place. Of this 
 opinion was Vitringa, who refers the 
 ' apostasy' to a great defection from 
 the faith which took place between 
 the time of Nero and Trajan. Whit- 
 by also refers it to an event which 
 was to take place before the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, and supposes that 
 the apostasy would consist in a re- 
 turn from the Christian to the Jew- 
 ish faith by raultitudes of professed 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 01 
 
 not come, except there come a 
 falling away first, and that man 
 
 alTi.4. 1. 
 
 A — ■ 
 
 converts. The ' man of sin,' nccord- 
 inj to him, means tlic Jewish nation, 
 eo characterized on account of its 
 eminent wickedness. Hammond ex- 
 plains the aposta.sy by the defection 
 to the Gnostics, by the arts of Simon 
 Wagns, whom lie siipixjscs to be the 
 man of sin, and by the ' day of the 
 Lord' he also understands the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem. Grotius takes 
 Caius Cesar or Calig^ula, to be tlic 
 man of sin, and by the apostasy he 
 understands his abominable wicked- 
 ness. In the beginning of his go- 
 vernment, he says, his plans of ini- 
 quity were concealed, and tlie hopes 
 of all were e.xcitcd in regard to his 
 reign; but his secret iniquity was 
 sulwequently ' revealed,' and his true 
 character understood. Wetstein un- 
 derstands by the ' man of sin,' " Ti- 
 tus and the Flavian house." He 
 says tliat he does not understand it 
 of the Roman Pontiff, who " is not 
 one such as the demonstrative pro- 
 noun thrice repeated designates, and 
 wlio neither sits in the temple of 
 God, nor calls himself God, nor Cai- 
 us, nor Simon Gioriae, nor any Jewish 
 Impostor, nor Simon Magus." Koppe 
 refers it to the king mentioned in 
 Dan. .xi. 36. According to him, the 
 reference is to a great apostasy of 
 the Jews from the worship of God, 
 and the ' man of sin' is the Jewish 
 people. Others have supposed that 
 the reference is to Mohammetl, and 
 tliat the main characteristics of the 
 prophecy may be found in him. Of 
 the Papists, a part atilrm that the 
 apostasy is the falling away from 
 Rome in tlie time of the Retbrma- 
 tion, but the greater portion suppose 
 thnt the allusion is to Antichrist, 
 who. they say, will appear in the 
 .vorld l>efbre the great day of judg- 
 ment, to coinliat religion and the 
 nints. See these opinions stated at 
 
 of sin * be revealed, the ' son of 
 perdition : 
 
 b Dn. 7. 32. 
 
 e Jno. 17. 12. 
 
 length, and examined, in Bishop 
 Newton on the Prophecies, Diss, 
 xxii. Some more recent expositors 
 have referred it to Napoleon Bona- 
 parte, and some (as Oldshausen) 
 stippose that it refers to some one 
 who has not yet appeared, in whom 
 all tlie characteristics here specified 
 will be found united. Most Protest- 
 ant commentators have referred it 
 to the great apostasy under the Pa- 
 pacy, and, by the ' man of sin,' they 
 suppose there is allusion to the Ro- 
 man Pontiff, the Pope. It is evi- 
 dent that we are in better circum- 
 stances to understand the passage 
 than those were who immediately 
 succeeded the apostles. Eighteen 
 hundred years have passed away 
 since the epistle was written, and 
 the 'day of the Lord' has not yet 
 come, and we have an opportunity 
 of inquiring, whether in all that long 
 tract of time any one man can be 
 found, or any series of men have 
 arisen, to whom the description here 
 given is applicable. If so, it is in 
 accordance with all the proper rules 
 of interpreting prophecy, to make 
 6uch an application. If it is fairly 
 applicable to the Papacy, and can- 
 not be applied in its great fea- 
 tures to anything else, it is pro 
 per to regard it as having such an 
 original reference. HappiJy, the ex 
 pressions whicii are used by the a|X)s 
 tie are, in themselves, not ditficult 
 of interpretation, and all that the 
 expositor has to do is, to ascertain 
 whether /;i any one great apostasy 
 all the things here mentinncd have 
 nccurred. If so, it is fair to apply 
 the prophecy to such an event; if 
 not so, we must wait still Ibr its tul- 
 filmenL The word rendered 'fall- 
 ing away' (ortodrowio, apostasy), is 
 of so grnrral a. character, that it 
 may be applied to any dcjKirture from 
 
92 
 
 11. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 LA. IK 53 
 
 the feith as it was received in the 
 time of the apostles. It occurs in 
 the New Testament only here and 
 in Acts xxi. 21, where it is rendered 
 ' to forsake' — " thou teachest all the 
 Jews which are among us to forsake 
 Moses" — apostasy from Moses — 
 drtoffT'afftai/ drto Mwjaswj. The word 
 means a departing from, or a de- 
 fection. See the verb used in 1 
 Tim. iv. 1, " Some shall depart from 
 the faiih" — o-TiostriSovtM. Comp. 
 Notes on that passage. See also 
 Heb. iii. 12. Luke viii. 13. Acts 
 V. 37. The reference here is evi- 
 dently to some genera] falling away, 
 or to some great religious apostasy 
 that was to occur, and which would 
 be under one head, leader, or dynasty, 
 and which would involve many in the 
 same departure from the faith, and in 
 the same destruction. The use of 
 the article here, • ZAe apostasy' (Gr.), 
 Erasmus remarks, 'signifies that 
 great and before-predicted apostasy.' 
 It is evidently emphatic, showing 
 that there had been a reference to 
 this before, or that they understood 
 well that there was to be such an 
 apostasy. Paul says (ver. 5), that 
 when he was with them, he had told 
 them of these things. The writers 
 in the New Testament often speak 
 Df such a defection under the name 
 of Antichrist. See Rev. xiii. 14. 
 1 John ii. 18. 22; iv. 3. 2 John 7. 
 ^ And that man of sin. This is a 
 Hebraism, meaning a man of emi- 
 nent wickedness ; one distinguished 
 for depravity. Comp. John xvii. 12. 
 Prov. vi. 12, in Heb. The use of the 
 article here — o w^purco; — ' the man 
 of sin,' is also erapliatic, as in the 
 reference to ' the falling away,' and 
 shows that there is allusion to one 
 of whom they had before heard, and 
 whose character was well known; 
 who would be the wicked one by 
 way of eminence. See also ver. 8, 
 ' that wicked'— o aivofio^. There are 
 two general questions in regard to 
 the proper interpretation of tiiis ap- 
 
 pellative ; the one is, whether it re- 
 fers to an individual, or to a series 
 of individuals of the same general 
 character, aiming at the accomplish- 
 ment of the same plans; and the 
 other is, whether there has been any 
 individual, or any series of individu- 
 als, since the time of the apostle, 
 who, by eminence, deserved to be 
 called ' the man of sin.' That the 
 phrase, ' the ma7i of sin,' may refer 
 to a succession of men of the same 
 general character, and that it does 
 so refer here, is evident from the fol- 
 lowing considerations: (1.) The 
 word ' king' is used in Dan. vii. 25 ; 
 xi. 36, to which places Paul seems 
 to allude, to denote a succession of 
 kings. (2.) The same is true of the 
 beast mentioned in Dan. vii., viii., 
 Rev. xiii., representing a kingdom 
 or empire through its successive 
 changes and revolutions. (3.) The 
 same is true of the " woman arrayed 
 in purple and scarlet" (Rev. xvii. 
 4), which cannot refer to a single 
 woman, but is the emblem of a con- 
 thmed corrupt administration. (4.) 
 It is clear that a succession is in- 
 tended here, because the work as- 
 signed to ' the man of sin,' cannot 
 be supposed to be that which could 
 be accomplished by a single indi- 
 vidual. The statement of the apos- 
 tle is, that there were then tenden- 
 cies to such an apostasy, and that 
 the ' man of sin' would be revealed 
 at no distant period, and yet that he 
 would continue his work of ' lying 
 wonders' until the coming of the Sa- 
 viour. In regard to this 'man of 
 sin,' it may be further observed, (1.) 
 that his appearing was to be preced- 
 ed by ' the great apostasy ;' and (2.) 
 that he was to continue and perpe- 
 tuate it. His rise was to be owing to a 
 great departure from the faith, and 
 then he was to be the principal agent 
 in continuing it by ' signs and lying 
 wonders.' He was not himself to 
 originate the defection, but was to 
 be the creation, or result of it He 
 
A. 0. M.\ CfiAPTEIl 1 
 
 was to rise upon it, or grow out of 
 it, and, b)' artful arm nf^cmcnt^ ailapt- 
 cd to that purpose, was to perpetu- 
 ate it. Tlie question then is, to 
 whom this phrase, descriptive of a 
 succession of individuals so eminent 
 for wickedness that tlie name Uhc 
 man of sin' could be applied, was 
 designed by tlie spirit of inspiration 
 to refer. Bisliop Newton has shown 
 that it cannot refer to Caligula, to 
 Simon Magus, to the revolt of the 
 Jews from tlie Romans, or to the re- 
 volt of the Jews from the faith, or to 
 the Flavian familv, or to Luther, as 
 some of the Papists suppose, or to 
 one man who will appear just before 
 the end of the world, as others of 
 the Romanists suppose. See his 
 Dissertations on the Prophecies, 
 xxii. pp. 393 — 102. Comp. Oldshau- 
 sen, in loc. The argument is too 
 long to be inserted here. But can 
 it be referred to tlie Papacy 1 Can 
 it denote the Pope of Rome, mean- 
 ing not a single Pope, but the suc- 
 cession? If all the circumstances 
 of the entire passage can be shown 
 to be fairly applicable to him, or if 
 it can be shown that all that is fairly 
 implied in the lanffuatre used here 
 has received a fulfilment in him, 
 then it is proper to regard it as hav- 
 ing been designed to be so applied, 
 and then this may be numbered 
 among the prophecies that are in 
 part fulfilled. The question now is 
 on the applicability of the phrase 
 * the man of sin' to tiie Pope. Tiiat 
 his rise was preceded by a great 
 apostasy, or departure from tlie pu- 
 rity of the simple gospel, as revealed 
 in the New Testament, cannot rea- 
 sonably be doubted by any one ac- 
 quainted witli Uie history of tlie 
 church. That he is the creation or 
 result of that apostasy, is equally 
 clear. That he is the grand atrent 
 in continuing it, is equally manifest. 
 Is the phmsc iti-clf one that is prf>- 
 perly applicable to him? Is it pro- 
 per to speak of the Pope of Rume, 
 
 «J3 
 
 as he htLi sjtually appeared, as ' the 
 man of sin !' In reply to tliis, it 
 might be sufficient to refer to the 
 general character of the Papacy, 
 and to its influence in upholding and 
 perpetuating various forms of ini- 
 quity in the world. It would be easy 
 to show that there has been no dy- 
 nasty or system tliat has contributed 
 so much to uphold and perpetuate 
 sins of various kinds on the earth, as 
 the Papacy. No otlier one has been 
 so extensively and so long the patron 
 of superstition ; and tliere are vices 
 of the grossest character which have 
 all along been fostered by its system 
 of celilncy, indulgences, monaste- 
 ries, and absolutions. But it would 
 be a better illustration of the mean- 
 ing of the phrase ' man of sin,' as 
 applicable to the Pope of Rome, to 
 look at the general character of the 
 Popes themselves. Though there 
 may have been some exceptions, yet 
 there never has been a succession 
 of men of so decidedly wicked cha- 
 racter as have occupied the Papal 
 throne since tiie great apostasy com- 
 menced. A very few references to 
 the characters of the Popes will fur- 
 nisli an illustration of this point. 
 Pope Vagilius waded to tlie Pontifi- 
 cal throne through the blood of his 
 predecessor. Pope Joan — tlio Ro- 
 man Catholic writers tell us — a fe- 
 male in disguise, was elected and 
 confirmed Pope, as John VIII. Pla- 
 tina says, that "she became with 
 child by some of those that were 
 round about her; that she miscar- 
 ried, and died on her way from the 
 Lateran to the temple." Pope Mar- 
 cellinus sacrificed to idols. Concern- 
 ing Pope Ilonorius, the council of 
 Constantinople decreed, " We have 
 caused Honorius, the late Pope of 
 Old Rome, to be accursed ; for tliat 
 in all things he followed the mind 
 of Sergius the heretic, and confirm- 
 ed his wicked doctrines." The coun- 
 cil of Basil thus condemned Pope 
 Eugeniua ; " We condema and do 
 
tf4 
 
 11. THESSALUNIANS. 
 
 LA. D. 53. 
 
 4 Who opposeth and exalteth " 
 
 a Is. 14. 13. Re. 13. 6. 
 
 pose Pope Eugenius, a despiser of 
 the holy canons ; a disturber of the 
 peace and unity of the church of 
 God; a notorious offender of the 
 whole universal church; a Simon- 
 ist; a perjurer; a man incorrigible; 
 a schismatic ; a man fallen from the 
 faith, and a wilful heretic." Pope 
 John II. was publicly charged at 
 Rome with incest. Pope John XIII. 
 usurped the Pontificate, spent his 
 time in hunting, in lasciviousness, 
 and monstrous forms of vice; he 
 fled from the trial to which he was 
 summoned, and was stabbed, being 
 taken in the act of adultery. Pope 
 Sixtus IV. licensed brothels at Rome. 
 Pope Alexander VI. was, as a Ro- 
 man Catholic historian says, "one 
 of the greatest and most horrible 
 monsters in nature that could scan- 
 dalize the holy chair. His beastly 
 morals, his immense ambition, his 
 insatiable avarice, his detestable cru- 
 elty, his furious lusts, and monstrous 
 incest with his daughter Lucretia, 
 are, at large, described by Guicciar- 
 dini Ciaconius, and other authentic 
 Papal historians." Of the Popes, 
 Platina, a Roman Catholic, says: 
 "The chair of Saint Peter was 
 usurped, rather than possessed by, 
 monsters of wickedness, ambition, 
 and bribery. They left no wicked- 
 ness unpractised." See the New 
 Englander, April, 1844, pp. 285, 286. 
 To no succession of men who have 
 ever lived could the appellative, ' the 
 man of sin,' be applied with so much 
 propriety as to this succession. Yet 
 they claim to have been the true 
 ' successors' of the apostles, and there 
 are Protestants that deem it of es- 
 sential importance to be able to show 
 that they have derived the true 
 'succession' through such men. 
 IF Be revealed. Be made manifest. 
 There were, at the time when the 
 aiwetle wrote, two remarkable things, 
 
 himself above all that is called 
 
 (1.) that there was already a ten- 
 dency to such an apostasy as he spoke 
 of; and (2.) there was something 
 which as yet prevented the appear 
 ance or the rise of the man of sin. 
 Ver. 7. When the hindrance which 
 then existed should be taken out of 
 the way, he would be manifested 
 See Notes on ver. 7. Tf The son oj 
 perdition. This is the same appel- 
 lation which the Saviour bestowed 
 on Judas. See it explained in the 
 Notes on John xviii. 12. It may 
 mean either that he would be the 
 cause of ruin to others, or that he 
 would himself be devoted to destruc- 
 tion. It would seem here rather to 
 be used in the latter sense, though 
 this is not absolutely certain. The 
 phrase, whichever interpretation be 
 adopted, is used to denote one of 
 eminent wickedness. . 
 
 4. Who opposeth. That is, he is J 
 distinguished as an opposer of the " 
 great system which God has revealed 
 for human salvation, and of those 
 who vvould serve God in purity in 
 the gospel of his Son. No Protest- 
 ant will doubt that this has been the 
 character of the Papacy. The op- 
 position of the general system to the 
 gospel ; the persecution of Wickliffe, 
 of John Huss, of Jerome of Prague 
 of the Waldenses and the Reform 
 ers ; the Inquisition, the cruelties in 
 the reign of Mary, and the massacre 
 of St. JBartholomew in France, are 
 obvious illustrations of this. ^ And 
 exalteth himself above all that is 
 called God. That is, whether among 
 the heathens or the Jews ; above a 
 false God, or the true God, This 
 could be true on ty of one who set 
 aside the divine laws; who under- 
 took to legislate where God only has 
 a right to legislate, and whose legis- 
 lation was contrary to that of God. & 
 Any claim of a dominion over con- 1 
 science , or any arrangenient to set I 
 
A. I). 53.] CHAPTER II. 
 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so 
 that he, as God, sitteth in the tem- 
 
 90 
 
 aside the divine laws, and to render 
 tlioni nug-iitory, would corrcsixind 
 with what is implied in this descrip- 
 tion. It cannot be supposed that any 
 one would openly claim to be supe- 
 rior to God, but the sense must be, 
 that the enactments and ordinances 
 of the 'man of sin' would pertain to 
 the province in which God only can le- 
 gislate, and that the ordinances made 
 by iiim would be such as to render 
 nugatory the divine laws, by appoint- 
 ing others in their place. No one can 
 reasonably doubt tliat all that is here 
 affirmed may be found in the claims 
 of tlie Pope of Rome. Tlie assumpn 
 tions of the Papacy have related to 
 the following tilings: (1.) To au- 
 thority above all the inferior orders 
 of tlie priestliood — above all pastors, 
 bishops, and primates. (2.) Author- 
 i'yaboveall kings and emperors, "de- 
 posing some, and advancing others, 
 obliging them to prostrate themselves 
 before him, to kiss his toe, to hold 
 his stirrup, to wait barefooted at his 
 gate, treading even upon tiie neck, 
 and kicking off the imperial crown 
 with his foot." Newton. Thus Gre- 
 gory VII. made Henry IV. wait bare- 
 footed at his gate. Thus Alexander 
 III. trod upon the neck of Alexander 
 I. Thus Celestin kicked off the im- 
 perial crown of Henry VI. Thus 
 tlie right was claimed, and asserted, 
 of hying nations under interdict, of 
 depotjing kings, and of absolving 
 their subjects from their oaths of al- 
 legiance. And thus the Pope claim- 
 ed the right over all unknown lands 
 that might be diecovercd by Colum- 
 Dns, and apportioned the Now World 
 as he pleased — in all these things 
 claiming prerogatives which can ai>- 
 pertain only to God. (8.) To nu- 
 Ihority over the conscience, in mat- 
 ters which can pertain only to God 
 himself, and where he only can legis- 
 late. Thus it has been, and is, one 
 
 pie of God, shewing himself that 
 he is God. 
 
 of the claims set up for the Pope 
 that he is infallible. Thus he ' for- 
 bids what God has commanded,' as 
 the mcrriage of the clergy, commu 
 nion in boiii kinds, the use of tlie 
 Scriptures for the common people. 
 Tiius ho has set aside the second 
 commandment by the appointment 
 of image-worship; and thus he 
 claims the power of the remission 
 of sins. Multitudes of things which 
 Christ allows his people are forbid- 
 den by the Papacy, and many things 
 are enjoined, or allowed, directly 
 contrary to the divine legislation. 
 •[ Or that is icorsltipped. oi^aafxa. 
 This word means an object of wor- 
 ship. Sec Acts xvii. J3, where it is 
 rendered devotions. It may be ap- 
 plied to the worship of a heathen 
 divinity, or of the true God. ♦ It may 
 refer to a person, an idol, or a place. 
 Probably Paul refers here to the he- 
 rocs and other subordinate divinities 
 of the heatlien mytliology.' Old- 
 shausen. No one can doubt that tlie 
 Pope has claimed higher honours, as 
 the vicegerent of Christ, than was 
 ever rendered in tiic ancient ' hero 
 worship.' 1[ .So thut he, as God. 
 That is, claiming the honours due to 
 God. This e.xpression would not 
 imply that he actually claimed to he 
 the true God, but only that he sits 
 in the temple, and manifests him.self 
 as if he were God. He claims such 
 honours and such reverence as the 
 true God would if he should appear 
 in human form. It should be ob- 
 served here, Iiowevcr, that there is 
 much reason to doubt the gtmiine- 
 ncss of this phrase — *os (JixC — ^ 
 eiov. Mill supposes that it was in- 
 serted from tlie context. It is mark- 
 ed with an asterisk in the Vulgate, 
 the Coptic, and the Syriac, and is 
 omitted by many of the fathers. Sec 
 Mill and VVeliJtein. It is rejected 
 bv Gritsbach and Lochmann, and 
 
96 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5y 
 
 marked as doubtful by Hahn. It is 
 defended, however, by Matthaei, 
 Koppe, Knapp, and Schott. The 
 sense is not materially affected whe- 
 ther it be regarded as genuine or not. 
 •|[ Sitteth in the temple of God. 
 That is, in the christian church. It 
 is by no means necessary to under- 
 stand this of the temple at Jerusa- 
 lem, which was standing at the time 
 this epistle was written, for (1.) the 
 phrase ' the temple of God' is seve- 
 ral times used with reference to the 
 christian church, 2 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. 
 ii. 21. 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. Rev. iii. 
 12; and (2.) the temple was the 
 proper symbol of the church, and an 
 apostle trained amidst the Hebrew 
 institutions would naturally speak 
 of the church as the temple of God. 
 The temple at Jerusalem was re- 
 garded as the peculiar dwelling- 
 place of God on earth. When the 
 christian church was founded, it was 
 spoken of as the peculiar dwelling- 
 place of God. See the passages re- 
 ferred to above. He dwelt among 
 his people. He was with them, and 
 walked with them, and manifested 
 himself among them — as he had done 
 in the ancient temple. The usage 
 in the New Testament would not 
 lead us to restrict this language to 
 an edifice, or a ' church,' as the word 
 is now commonly used, but rather to 
 suppose that it denotes the church 
 as a society, and the idea is, that the 
 Antichrist here referred to would 
 present himself in the midst of that 
 church as claiming the honours due 
 to God alone. In the temple at Jeru- 
 salem, God himself presided. There 
 he gave laws to his people; there 
 he manifested himself as God ; and 
 there he was worshipped. The rei^n 
 of the ' man of sin' would be as if 
 he should sit there. In the christian 
 church he would usurp the place 
 which Grod liad occupied in the tem- 
 ple. He would claim divine attri- 
 butes and homage. He would give 
 laws and responses as God did there. 
 
 He vi'ould be regarded as the head 
 of all ecclesiastical power; the source 
 from wliich all authority emanated ; 
 the same in the christian church 
 which God himself was in the tem- 
 ple. This does not then refer pri- 
 marily to the Pope as sitting in any 
 particular church on any particular 
 occasion, but to his claiming in the 
 cliurch of Christ the authority and 
 homage which God had in tlie tem- 
 ple at Jerusalem. In whatever place, . 
 whether in a cathedral or elsewhere, 
 this authority should be exercised, 
 all that the language here conveys 
 would be fulfilled. No one can fail 
 to see that the authority claimed by 
 the Pope of Rome, meets the full 
 force of the language used here by 
 the apostle. If Showing himself that 
 he is God. This does not necessa- 
 rily mean that he actually, in so many 
 words, claimed to be God ; but that 
 he usurped the place of God, and 
 claimed the prerogatives of God. If 
 the names of God are given to him. 
 or are claimed by him ; if he re- 
 ceives the honours due to God ; if he ■ 
 asserts a dominion like that of God, ■ 
 then all that the language fairly im- 
 plies will be fulfilled. The follo\' 
 ing expressions, applied to the Pope 
 of Rome by Catholic writers with- 
 out any rebuke from the Papacy, 
 will show how entirely applicable 
 this is to the pretended head of tlie 
 church. He has been styled 'Our 
 Lord God the Pope; another God 
 upon earth ; king of kings and lord 
 of lords. The same is the dominion 
 of God and the Pope. To believe 
 that our Lord God the Pope might 
 not decree as he decreed, is heresy. 
 The power of the Pope is greater 
 than all created power, and extends 
 itself to things celestial, terrestrial, 
 and infernal. Tiie Pope doeth what- 
 soever he listeth, even things unlaw- 
 ful, and is more than God.' See the 
 authority for these extraordinary de- 
 clarations in Bishop Newton on the 
 Prophecies, xxiL How can it be 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 07 
 
 5 Remember ye not, that, when 
 I was yet with you, I told you 
 these thinefs ? 
 
 doubtcil tliat tJjc reference hero ia to 
 the Papacy ? lianguaije could not 
 be plainer, and it is not possible to 
 conceive tliat anything can ever oc- 
 cur which would furnish a more ma- 
 nifest fiilfilmont of this prophecy. 
 Cndced, interpreted by the claims of 
 the Papacy, it stands amongr the 
 very clearest of all the predictions 
 in the Sacred Scriptures. 
 
 5. 'Remember ye not, that, when I 
 was yet with you, I told you these 
 things? The whole subject of the 
 second advent of the Saviour seems 
 to have constituted an important 
 part of the instructions of Paul when 
 at Thessalonica. He now refers 
 them to what he had told them re- 
 ipecting' the great apostasy, to show 
 that his views had not changed, 
 tnd that he did not mean to have 
 them understand that the world 
 would soon come to an end. He 
 had stated Uttsc things to them, im- 
 plying that a considerable interval 
 must elapse before the Saviour would 
 ippear. Much of the obscurity of 
 this prophecy arises from the fact, 
 that the apostle alludes to things 
 which ho had told them when with 
 them, of which we have now no 
 knowledge. Hence, what would be 
 perfectly clear to them, on reading 
 this letter, is now difficult to be un- 
 ierstood. 
 
 6. And now ye know what wilh- 
 \oldeth. Marg., holdelh. The re- 
 ference is, to something that then 
 eperated to constrain or hold back 
 the obvious tendency of things, S9 
 tliat the • man of sin' should not at 
 once appear, or so that things should 
 not soon so develope tliemsolves as 
 to give rise to this antichristian 
 power. There were causes at work 
 even then, which woxild ultimately I 
 lead to this; but there was also I 
 
 g 
 
 6 And now ye know wliat 
 ' withholdelh, that he might be 
 revealed in his time. 
 
 « or, boldeth. 
 
 something which checked the ten- 
 dency of tilings, so that the revela- 
 tion or development of the ' man of 
 sin' was put olT to a future period. 
 The obvious meaning of this would 
 be, that, when the apostle wrote, 
 there was a tendency to what would 
 occur under the great apostasy, and 
 that this would soon develope itself 
 if it were not restrained. If the re- 
 ference is to the Papacy, this would 
 consist in corruptions already exist- 
 ing in the church, having a resem- 
 blance to those which afterwards 
 existed under that system, or which 
 were the germ of that s>-stem. If 
 there was a tendency towards tlie 
 concentration of all power in an in- 
 dividual in the church, — if tliere 
 was an assumption of authority by 
 one class of ministers above another, 
 — if there was a denial of the ' pa- 
 rity of the clergy,' the tendency 
 would have been'to that ultimate 
 assumption of authority which is 
 found in the Romish hierarchy. But 
 conjecture is useless as to what was 
 the precise form in which this ten- 
 dency then began to develope itself. 
 That the corruptions early began in 
 tlie church which terminated in the 
 Papacy, and which led on directly 
 to it, we know ; and that the apos- 
 tle was able to foresee and predict 
 such a final development, shows 
 that he was under the influence 
 of inspiration. It is not known pre- 
 cisely what is referred to by the 
 phrase ' what withholdeth,' ro xari- 
 Xov. The phrase means properly, 
 something that holds back, or re- 
 strains. The word hero is in the 
 neuter gcn(]cr, ^What withholdeth.' 
 In the following verse it is in tho 
 masculine gender, o zoTf ;t"»» — ' he 
 that letteth,' or withhoideth; and 
 the reference would seem to be to 
 
«J8 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5a. 
 
 7 For the mji-stery of iniquity 
 doth already " work: only he 
 
 who now letteth, tvill let, until he 
 be taken out of the way. 
 
 some agency or state of things under 
 the control of an individual, or of 
 some civil power, that then operated 
 aa a restraint on the natural ten- 
 dency of things. Of this, the apos- 
 tle says, they had had full infor- 
 mation ; but we can only conjecture 
 what it was. The restraining power 
 of anything controlled by an indi- 
 vidual, or of any government, or the 
 restraining power of God, would 
 meet all that the phrase implies. 
 The most natural interpretation is 
 that which refers it to civil power, 
 meaning that there was something 
 i,i the form of the existing admin- 
 istration which would prevent this 
 development until that restraint 
 should be removed. Tlie supposi- 
 tion that there was even then a ten- 
 dency to concentrate all ecclesiasti- 
 cal power at Rome, and that while 
 the civil authority remained there 
 it would not sutfer ecclesiastical 
 power to grow to the exorbitant 
 height which it ultimately reached, 
 will meet all that is implied in the 
 language. ^ That he misht be re- 
 vealed in his time. The nian of sin. 
 The meaning is, that there was then 
 a restraint operating which would 
 prevent the development of this an- 
 tichristian power until the proper 
 time; that is, till the state of the 
 world should be such that in the di- 
 vine arrangements it would be pro- 
 per to permit it. It was not to be 
 permitted until the gospel should be 
 extensively preached, and had had 
 an opportunity of showing" its fair 
 eftects on the nations; until it had 
 beccme so planted and established 
 tliat even the rise of this antichris- 
 tian power could not effectually up- 
 root it. Had the ' man of sin' been 
 permitted to rise at once, the conse- 
 quence might have been that the 
 new religion would have been crush- 
 
 ed, so that it could never have re- 
 vived again. There was then a 
 providential arrangement by which 
 this growth of wickedness should be 
 checked and restrained, until the 
 new religion should take deep root 
 in the earth, and its perpetuity 
 should be secured. Then the great 
 trial was to be permitted under the 
 ' man of sin.' 
 
 7. For the mystery of iniquity. 
 On the meaning of the word 7nys- 
 tery, see Notes on Rom. xi. 25. 
 Comp. 1 Cor. ii. 7. Eph. i. 9; iii. 3, 
 Col. i. 26. It means properly that 
 which is hidden or concealed; not 
 necessarily that which is unin'^'li- 
 gible. The 'mystery of iniquity' 
 seems here to refer to some hidden 
 or concealed depravity, — some form 
 of sin which was working secretly 
 and silently, and which had not yet 
 developed itself Any secret sources 
 of iniquity in the church — any tiling _ J 
 tliat tended to corrupt.its doct.-ines, ^ 
 and to destroy the simplicity of the 
 faith of the gospel, would correspond 
 with the meaning of tlie word. Dod- 
 dridge correctly supposes that this 
 may refer to the pride and ambition 
 of some ministers, the factious tem- 
 per of some Christians, the im- 
 posing of unauthorized severities, 
 the worship of angels, &c. ^ Dolh 
 already work. There are elements 
 of these corruptions already exist- 
 ing in the church. Bishop Newton 
 maintains that the foundations of 
 Popery were laid in the apostle's 
 days, and that the superstructure 
 was raised by degrees; and this is 
 entirely in accordance with the siate- 
 ments of the apostle Paul. In his 
 own time, he says, there were things 
 which, if not restrained, would ex- 
 pand and ripen into that apostasy. 
 He has not told us particularly to : 
 what he refers, but there are Ksevefal '* 
 
A. 1). 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 99 
 
 intimations in his writings, as well 
 us in other parts of tlie New Testa- 
 ment, tluit even in the apostolic a^ro 
 tliero existed tlio elements of tiioso 
 corruptions whicii were atlerwards 
 developed and imbodied iu the Pa- 
 pacy. Even " then," says Bi.shop 
 Kewton, " idolatry was stealing^ into 
 the church (I Cor. \. 14), and a vo- 
 luntary lumiility and worshipping 
 of angels." [Col. ii. 18. See, how- 
 ever, my Note on that passajje.] 
 " Tlicre existed strife and divisions 
 (1 Cor. iii. 3), an adulterating and 
 handling the word of God deceit- 
 fully (2 Cor. ii. 17; iv. 2), a gain of 
 godliness, teaching of things for 
 filtiiy lucre's sake (1 Tim. vi. 5; 
 Titus i. 11), a vain observation of 
 festivals (Gal. iv. 10), a vain distinc- 
 tion of meats (1 Cor. viii. 8), a ne- 
 glecting of tlie body (Col. ii. 23), 
 traditions, and comniandments, and 
 doctrines of men (Col. ii. 8. 22)." 
 Comp. 3 John 9, " Diotrephes, who 
 loveth to have the pre-eminence." 
 These things constituted the ele- 
 ments of the corruptions which were 
 afterwards developed in the Pa- 
 pacy, and which are imbodied in 
 that system. An eye that could sec 
 all, would even then have perceived 
 tliai if tiiere were no restraint, these 
 incipient corruptions would grow up 
 into that system, and would be ex- 
 panded into all the corruptions and 
 arrogant claims which have ever 
 characterized it Comp. 1 John iv. 3. 
 ^ Only he who now IcUelh. Who 
 now hinders, or restrains — o xari- 
 xu>¥. This is tjje same word which 
 is used in vcr. G, and rendered ' with- 
 holdeth,' except that it is there in 
 tlic neuter gender. There can be 
 no doubt that there is reference to 
 the same restraining power, or the 
 same power under tlic control ol un 
 individual; but what that was, is 
 not quite certa in. It was .'Jonie power 
 whicii oporatod as a ciicck on the 
 growing corruptions then existing, 
 end wiiich prevented their full de- 
 
 velopment, but which was to be re- 
 moved at no distant period, and 
 whose removal would give an op- 
 portimity lor those corruptions to 
 dcvclopc themselves, and for the full 
 revelation of the man of sin. Such 
 a supposition as that the civil power 
 of Rome was such a restraint, ope- 
 rating to prevent tlie assumption of 
 the ecclesiastical claims of supre- 
 mi"cy wiiich atlerwards character- 
 ized tiie Papacy, will correspond 
 with all that is necessarily implied 
 in the language. If Will let, until 
 he be taken out of the way. This 
 will bo an effectual check on those 
 corruptions, preventing their full de- 
 velopment, until it is removed, and 
 then the man of sin will appear. 
 The supposition wiiich will best suit 
 this language is, that there was then 
 some civil restraint, preventing the 
 development of existing corruptions, 
 but that there would be a removal, 
 or withdrawing of that restraint; 
 and that tiien tlie tendency of tiie 
 e.xisting corruptions would be seen. 
 It is evident, as Oldshausen re- 
 marks, that lliis resisting or restrain- 
 ing power must be something out of 
 the church, and distinguished from 
 theantichristinn tendency itself; von 
 dor Kirche und vom Antichristen- 
 thum. It is necessary, tiiereforc, to 
 understand this of the restraints of 
 civil power. Was tiiere, then, any 
 fact in history which will accorcl 
 with this interpretation 1 The be- 
 lief among the primitive Christiana 
 was, that what hindered the rise of 
 the man of sin was the Roman em- 
 pire, and therefore " they prayed tor 
 its peace and welfare, as knowing 
 that when the Roman empire shoula 
 be dissolved and bnjkcn in pieces; 
 tlio empire of the man of sin would 
 bo raised on its ruins." lip. Newton. 
 How tliis revolution was ellbcted, 
 mny be seen by the statonirnt of 
 Maciiiavel. " The emperor of Rome, 
 quitting Rome to dwell at Constan- 
 tinople" (in the fourth century, under 
 
100 
 
 11. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 53. 
 
 8 And then shall that Wicked 
 be revealed, whom the Lord shall 
 
 Constantime), " tlie Roman empire 
 began to decline, but the church of 
 Rome augmented as fast. Never- 
 theless, until the coming in of the 
 Lombards, all Italy being under the 
 dominion of either emperors or kings, 
 the bishops assumed no more power 
 than what was due to their doctrine 
 and manners; in civil affairs they 
 were subject to the civil power. Bui 
 Theodoric, king of the Goths, fixing 
 his seat at Ravenna, was that which 
 advanced their interest, and made 
 them more considerable in Italy, for 
 there being no other prince letl in 
 Rome, the Romans were forced for 
 protection to pay greater allegiance 
 to the pope. The Lombards having 
 invaded and reduced Italy into seve- 
 ral cantons, the pope took the oppor- 
 tunity, and began to hold up his head. 
 For being, as it were, governor and 
 principal of Rome, the emperor of 
 Constantinople and the Lombards 
 bare him a respect, so that the Ro- 
 mans (by mediation of their pope,) 
 began to treat and confederate with 
 Longinus [the emperor's lieutenant], 
 and the Lombards, not as subjects, 
 but as equals and companions ; which 
 said custom continuing, and the 
 pope's entering into alliance some- 
 times with the Lombards, and some- 
 times with the Greeks, contracted 
 great reputation to their dignity." 
 (Hist, of Florence, B. i. p. 6, of the 
 English translation.) A more ex- 
 tended quotation on the same sub- 
 ject, may be seen in Newton on the 
 Prophecies, pp. 407, 408. To any 
 one acquainted with the decline and 
 fall of the Roman empire, nothing 
 can be more manifest than the cor- 
 respondence of the facts in history 
 respecting the rise of the Papacy, 
 and the statement of the apostle 
 Paul here. The simple facts are 
 these. (1.) There were early cor- 
 ruptions in the church at Rome, as 
 
 ° consume with the spirit ' of his 
 
 aDa. 7. 10, 11. Ms. 11. 4. Re, 10. 15,21. 
 
 there were elsewhere, but peculiarly 
 there, as Rome was the seat of phi- 
 losophy and of power. (2.) There fi 
 were great efforts made by the bishop f 
 of Rome to increase his authority, 
 and there was a steady approxima- 
 tion to what he subsequently claim- 
 ed — that of being universal bishop. 
 (3.) There was a constant tendency 
 to yield to him deference and respect 
 in all matters. (4.) This was kept 
 in check as long as Rome was the 
 seat of the imperial power. Had 
 that power remained there, it would 
 have been impossible for the Roman 
 bishop ever to have obtained the 
 civil and ecclesiastical eminence 
 which he ultimately did. Roma 
 could not have had two heads, both 
 claiming and exercising supreme 
 power ; and there never could have 
 been a ' revelation of the man of 
 sin.' (5.) Constantino removed the 
 seat of empire to Constantinople; 
 and this removal or 'taking away' 
 of the only restraint on the ambi- 
 tious projects of the Roman bishops, 
 gave all the opportunity which could 
 be desired for the growth of the 
 papal power. In all history there 
 cannot, probably, be found a series 
 of events corresponding more accu- 
 rately with a prophetic statement 
 than this; and there is every evi- 
 dence, therefore, that these are the 
 events to which the Spirit of inspira- 
 tion referred. 
 
 8. And then shall that Wicked 
 be revealed. 6 avo/xo;—'' the wicked 
 one,' referring to the ' man of sin,' 
 and called ' the wicked one' because 
 of the eminent depravity of the sys- 
 tem of which he was to be the head. 
 See Notes on ver. 3. IT Whom the 
 Lord shall consume. The Lord Je- 
 sus. See Notes on Acts i. 24. The 
 word consume here — waXi^^an — 
 means to destroy. See Gal. v. 15. 
 Luke ix. 54. The word would be 
 
A. D. M.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 101 
 
 mouth, and shall destroy Mvith 
 
 e \\c. 10. 27. 
 
 applicnblo to any kind of destruction. 
 Tlic methods by which this will be 
 done are ininiediately speciticd — nnd 
 it is of much importance to under- 
 stand thorn, if this refers to tlie Pa- 
 pacy. •■ With the spirit of his 
 mouth. What jroes out of his moutli, 
 or what he speaks; that is, iron/, 
 truth, command, or gospel — all of 
 which he may be reijardcd as speak- 
 ine. In Rev. i. 10; xix. 15. 21, it 
 is said of the Redeemer that ' a sharp 
 two-edfred sword gocth out of iiis 
 mouth;' that is, iiis word, doctrine, 
 or command — what he speaks — is 
 like a sharp sword. It will cut deep ; 
 will lay open the heart ; will destroy 
 his enemies. Comp. Isa. xi. 4, " With 
 the breath of his lips shall he slay 
 the wicked." The reference in the 
 passage before us is to one of the 
 methods which would be employed 
 to 'destroy' the man of sin ; and the 
 sense is, that it would be by what is 
 spoken by tiie Redeemer. This may 
 refer either to what he will say at 
 his cominir, or to his tnith — already 
 spoken ; to what has gone from his 
 lips, by whomsoever uttered ; and 
 the meaning then is, that one of the 
 grand agencies for destroying this 
 antichristian power is the tniih 
 spoken or revealed by the Saviour — 
 that is, his pure gospel. If this lat- 
 ter be the true uiterpretation, it may 
 mean that the process for his de- 
 struction may have commenced long 
 anterior to the personal appearing 
 of the Redeemer, but that the com- 
 plete destruction of this power will 
 be accomplished by the splendour of 
 his Second Advent It cannot be 
 denied, however, that the most obvi- 
 ous interpretation is that which re- 
 fers both clauses in the sentence to 
 the same period — that of his second 
 coming. Still, it is not improper to 
 suppose that it may be implied that 
 big power will be weakened and di- 
 9* 
 
 the brightness if his coming. 
 
 minished by the influence of the 
 gospel, though it may not be wholly 
 destroyed until the second coming 
 of llie Saviour. ^ And shall destroy, 
 xafa^yyridH. Shall bring to naught; 
 cause to cea.«o ; put an end to. This 
 is, in some respects, a stronger word 
 than that which in the former part 
 of the ver.se is rendered consume. 
 It denotes a more entire destruction 
 than tliat, though it does not refer so 
 much to any positive agency by 
 which it will be done. In the former 
 word, the attention is directed more 
 to the agency by which the destruc- 
 tion will be etTected — to the exertion 
 of some kind ofpoMJcrtodoit; in this 
 word the attention is directed rather 
 to the entireness or totality of the 
 destruction. The antichristian do- 
 mination will wholly cease, or be en- 
 tircly destroyed. The wards would 
 naturally harmonize with the idea 
 tiiat there would be a somewhat gra- 
 dual process under the operation of 
 truth toward the destruction of the 
 man of sin, but that the complete 
 annihilation of his power would bo 
 by some more manitest exhibition of 
 the personal glory of the Saviour. 
 *J With the brightness of his com- 
 ing. This is evidently a Hebraism, 
 meaning his splendid or glorious ap- 
 pearing. The Greek word, however, 
 rendered ^ brightness^ (ini^vHa— 
 epiphany) — means merely an ap- 
 pearing, or appearance. So it is 
 used in 1 Tim. vi. 4. 2 Tim. i. 10; 
 iv. 1. 8. Titus ii. 13, in all which 
 places it is rendered appearing, and 
 refers to the manifestation of tlie Sa- 
 viour when he shall como to judge 
 the world. It is used nowhere else 
 in the New Testament. There ia 
 no necessary idea of .splendour in 
 the word, and the idea is not, as our 
 translation would seem to convey, 
 that there would be such a dazzling 
 light, or such unsi\fferable bright- 
 
102 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 9 Even him, whose coming is 
 after the working of Satan, with 
 
 ness tha t all would be consumed be- 
 fore it, but that lie would appear, 
 and that this antichristian power 
 would be destroyed bij his appearing ; 
 that is, by himself when he would 
 return. The agency in doing it 
 would not be his brightness, but 
 himself. It would seem to follow 
 from tliis, that, however this enor- 
 mous power of wickedness might be 
 weakened by truth, the final triumph 
 over it would be reserved for the Son 
 of God himself on his second return 
 to our world. Yet, if this be so, it 
 need not lessen our zeal in endea- 
 vouring to diminish the power of 
 these corruptions; to establish and 
 spread the truth, or to convert the 
 defenders of these errors to a better 
 faith. 
 
 9. Even him, whose coming is af- 
 ter the working of Satan. Greek, 
 xai'' tVspyftav -tov 'S.ato.va. Accord- 
 ing to the energy of Satan ; that is, 
 the energetic or efficient operation 
 of Satan. The word rendered after, 
 it need not be said to one who looks 
 at the Greek, does not refer to time, 
 but is a preposition, meaning accord- 
 ing to; in conformity with; mean- 
 ing that the manner of his appear- 
 ing would be accompanied by such 
 works as would show that the agen- 
 cy of Satan was employed, and such 
 as he only tould produce. It does 
 not mean that the coming of the 
 Lord Jesus would be after Satan had 
 worked in this manner, but that the 
 manifestation of that wicked one 
 would be with such demonstrations 
 of power and wonder as Satan only 
 could effect. The system over which 
 he presides is originated by Satan, 
 and sustained by those things which 
 he alone can perform. On the word 
 Satan, see Notes on Job i. 0. The 
 idea is, that it would be under the 
 dii-ection and control of the great 
 enemy of God, and that the things 
 
 all power 
 wonders. 
 
 and 
 
 [A. D. 53. 
 
 signs and lying 
 
 on which it would rely for support 
 could be traced to his agency. In 
 all the pretended miracles to which 
 it would appeal, there would be no- 
 thinjT which Satan could not accom- 
 plish. If With all power. With all 
 the power which Satan can exhibit ;- 
 meaning, also, that there would be 
 a great exertion of power in the 
 case. It would not be a feeble and 
 imbecile dominion. The dominion 
 of the Papacy has been one of the 
 most powerful on earth. There has 
 been none which has been more 
 dreaded by the nations of the earth 
 — and there have been times when 
 nations trembled, and kings turned 
 pale on their thrones at the frown 
 of the Pope. M And signs. This 
 word frequently denotes real mira- 
 cles, but not necessarily so. It may 
 be applied to pretended miracles as 
 well as real, and is undoubtedly so 
 used here, as it is connected with 
 '■lying wonders,' and as it is said 
 that the thing wrought would be 
 ' afler the working of Satan.' There 
 is doubtless reference to such ' signs 
 and wonders' as the Saviour men- 
 tions in Matt. xxiv. 24. See Notes 
 on that passage. It is hardly neces- 
 sary to remark that the Papacy has 
 always relied for support on its pre- 
 tended miracles. Even in our own 
 age the wonders performed by the i 
 Prince Hohenloe, and by the pre- \ 
 tended seamless garment of the Sa- 
 viour, have been proclaimed as true 
 miracles, and as furnishing indubi- 
 table evidence of the trutii of the 
 Roman Catholic system. The dis- 
 solving of the blood of St. Januarius> 
 the removal of Pilate's stairs to 
 Rome, and the transportation to Ita- 
 ly of the ' house of our Lady,' are 
 among the miracles to which there 
 is a constant reference in the Papal 
 communion. In addition to these • 
 and to all similar pretensions, there 
 
A. D. 53.] CHAPTER 11. 
 
 10 Atul with all dccoivablenoss 
 • of uiirijrlui'ousness in them tliat 
 perish ; because they received 
 
 a He. 3. 13. 
 
 103 
 
 is the power claimed of pcrforminpf 
 a minicle nt the pleasure of tiie 
 priest by tlie cliaiiije of bread and 
 wine into tlie 'iKxiy and blood, the 
 Bonl and divinity' of the J^ord Jesus. 
 In 17."))), there was published in Ixjn- 
 don a book entitled, "The miracu- 
 lous power of the church of Christ, 
 asjiorted throu<:h each successive 
 century, from the apostles down to 
 the present time." The power of 
 workinir miracles has been one of 
 tiie standinij claims of the Papacy. 
 t^ And lyin(T wonders. False or pre- 
 tended miracles. They would bo 
 such as would be claimed to be mi- 
 racles; such as would excite won- 
 der ; and yet siich as were false and 
 delusive. No Protestant assuredly 
 nt^cds to bo convinced that this is 
 just the character of the pretended 
 miracles of the Papacy. It would 
 be impossible for lancruasre to de- 
 scribe them more clearly, in the ap- 
 prehension of all Protestant.s, than 
 is done in this language of the apos- 
 tle Paul. 
 
 10. And with all drceivableness 
 of itnrighteousnpss. There are two 
 ideas here. The first is, that there 
 woidd be drcfit ; and the other is, 
 that it would be fiir the purpose of 
 promoting unrighteousnes.s or ini- 
 f|uity. The inicpiitous system would 
 bo maintained by fraudulent me- 
 thofls. No one who has read Pas- 
 cal's Provincial Letters can ever 
 doubt that this description is appli- 
 cable to the system of the JesuiLs; 
 and no one familiar with the acts of 
 the Papacy, as tliey have always 
 bc^n practised, can doubt that the 
 whole system is accurately described 
 Dy tills langua^-e. The plausible 
 reasoning by which the advocates 
 of that system have palliated and 
 apologized for sipq of various kinds, 
 
 not the love '' of the truth, that 
 they might be saved. 
 
 il And for this cause God 
 
 ft 1 Co. IG. 22. 
 
 has been among its most remarkable 
 features. % In them that perish. 
 Ainouijr those who will perish; that 
 is, among the abandoned and wick- 
 ed. Tlio reference is to men of cor- 
 rupt minds and lives, over whom 
 this system would have power; 
 countenancing them in their depra- 
 vity, and fitting them still farther 
 for destruction. The idea is, that 
 these acts would have especial refer- 
 ence to men who would be lost at 
 any rate, and who would be sustain- 
 ed in their wickedness by this false 
 and delusive system. ^ Because 
 they received not the love of the 
 truth. They prefer this sy.stem of 
 error and delusion to the simple and 
 pure gospel, by which they might 
 have been saved. 
 
 11. And for this cause. Because 
 they choose error, or their hearts 
 love that more than they do truth. 
 The original reason then of their 
 embracing and adhering to the sys- 
 tem was not an arbitrary decree on 
 the part of God, but that they did 
 not love the trutli. Hence he gave 
 them up to this system of error. If 
 a man strongly prefers error to truth, 
 and sin to holiiioss, it is not wrong' 
 to allow him freely to evince his own 
 preference. T God shall si nd them 
 stronff delusion. Gr., 'energy of 
 deceit ;' a Hebraism, meaning strong 
 deceit Tiie agency of God is here 
 distinctly recognised, in accordance 
 with the unilbrm statemenUi of the 
 Scriptures, respecting evil. Comp. 
 i:.\. vii. i:3; i.v. 12; .\. 1. 20. 27; 
 .\i. 10; .\iv. S. Deut. .\. 'Ml Isa. 
 .\lv. 7. On tlio nature of this agen- 
 cy, see Notes on Jolm xii. 40. It is 
 not necessary iiere to siipiKxsc that 
 tliere was any positive influence on 
 tlie part of God in causing tliis de- 
 .usion to come upon them, but alJ 
 
104 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 shall send them strong delusion, 
 • that they should believe a lie : 
 12 That * they all might be 
 
 a Ez. 14. 9. Ro. 1. 24. 6 De. 32. 35. 
 
 the force of the language will be 
 met, as well as the reasoning of the 
 apostle, by supposing that God with- 
 drew all restraint, and suffered men 
 simply to show that they did not love 
 the truth. God often places men in 
 circumstances to develope their own 
 nature, and it cannot be shown to be 
 wrong that he should do so. If men 
 have no love of the truth, and node- 
 sire to be saved, it is not improper 
 that they should be allowed to mani- 
 fest this. How it happened tliat they 
 had no ' love of the truth,' is a differ- 
 ent question, to which the remarks 
 of the apostle do not appertain. 
 Comp. Notes on Rom. ix. 17, 18 ; i. 
 24. ^ That they should believe a 
 lie. This does not affirm that God 
 wished them to believe a lie; nor 
 that he would not have preferred 
 that they should believe the truth ; 
 nor that he exerted any direct agen- 
 cy to cause them to believe a lie. It 
 means merely that he left them, be- 
 cause they did not love the truth, to 
 believe vhat was false, and what 
 would end in their destruction. Can 
 any one .doubt that this constantly 
 occurs in the world ■? INIen are left 
 to believe impostors ; to trust to false 
 guides ; to rely on unfounded informa- 
 tion ; to credit those who live to de- 
 lude and betray the innocent; and 
 to follow those who lead them to 
 ruin. God does not interpose by di- 
 rect power to preserve them. Can 
 any one doubt this"? Yet this is not 
 peculiarly the doctrine of revelation. 
 The fact pertains just as much to 
 the infidel as it does to the believer 
 in Christianity, and he is just as 
 much bound to explain it as the 
 Christian is. It belongs to our world 
 — lo us all — and it should not be 
 charged on Cliristianity as a doctrine 
 peitaining peculiarly to that system. 
 
 damned who believed not the 
 truth, but had pleasure in unright- 
 eousness. 
 
 12. That they all might be damn* 
 ed. The word damned we common- 
 ly apply now exclusively to future 
 punishment, and it has a harsher 
 signification than the original word. 
 Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. xi. 29. The 
 Greek word — xpivu — means to judge, 
 determine, decide ; and then to con- 
 demn. Rom. ii. 27 ; xiv. 22. James 
 iv. 11. John vii. 51. Luke xix. 22. 
 Acts xiii. 27. It may be applied to 
 the judgment of the last day (John 
 v. 22 ; viii. 50. Acts xvii. 31. Rom. 
 iii. 6. 2 Tim. iv. 1,) but not neces- 
 sarily. The word judged, or con- 
 demned, would, in this place, express 
 all that the Greek word necessarily 
 conveys. Yet there can be no doubt 
 that the judgment or condemnation 
 which is referred to, is that which 
 will occur when the Saviour will 
 appear. It does not seem to me to 
 be a necessary interpretation of this 
 to suppose that it teaches that God 
 v;ould send a strong delusion that 
 they should believe a lie, in order 
 that all might be damned who did 
 not believe the truth; or that he de- 
 sired that they should be damned, 
 and sent this as the means of secur- 
 ing it; but the sense is, that this 
 course of events would be allowpfi 
 to occur, so that (tea — not di -to) aL' 
 who do not love the truth would b-. 
 condemned. The particle here used, 
 and rendered ' thaV (i'va), in connec 
 tion with the phrase ' all might be 
 damned' is employed in two general 
 senses, either as marking the end, pur- 
 pose, or cause for, or o?i account of, 
 which anything is done ; to the end 
 that, or in order that it may be 
 so and so ; or as marking simply the 
 result, event, or upshot of an action, 
 so that, so as that. Robinson, Lex. 
 In the latter case it denotes merely 
 tiiat something will really take place, 
 
A D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IU5 
 
 13 But wc " arc bound to jjivc 
 thanks alway to God for you, bre- 
 thren beloved of the Lord, be- 
 cause God hath from the begin- 
 
 a c. 1. 3. 
 
 without indicatinsT that such was the 
 dcsifi^n of the a^ent, or that what 
 broticrht it about was in order that it 
 misrfil take place. It is also used, 
 in the later Cireek, so as neither to 
 mark the purpose, or to indicate that 
 the event would occur, but merely 
 1o point out that to which the prc- 
 . redins words refer. It is not proper, 
 ' therefore, to inter that this passajrc 
 teaches that all these things would 
 he brought about in the arrang'e- 
 \ ments of Providence, in order that 
 ' they mjfj'ht be damned who came 
 under their influence. The passage 
 teaches that such would bo tiie re- 
 sult; that the connection between 
 these delusions and the condemna- 
 tion of those who were deluded, 
 would be certain. It cannot be 
 proved from the Scriptures that God 
 sends on men strong delusions, in 
 order that tiiey may be damned. No 
 Buch construction should be put on 
 a passage of Scripture if it can be 
 avoided, and it cannot be shown that 
 it is necessary here. IT Who be- 
 lieved not the truth. Tiic grounds 
 or reasons why they would be damn- 
 rd are now stated. One would be 
 that they did not believe the truth — 
 not that God sent upon them delu- 
 sion in order that they might be 
 damned. That men will be con- 
 demned for not believing the truth, 
 and that it will be right thus to con- 
 demn them, is everywhere the doc- 
 trine of the Scriptures, and is equally 
 the doctrine of common sense. See 
 Notes on Mark .xvi. 10. 1 But had 
 pleasure in nnrishtenusncss. This 
 IS the secoad ground or reason of 
 their condemnation. If men have 
 pleasure in sin, it is proper that they 
 ehoidd be punished. There can be 
 <"o more just ground of condemna- 
 
 ning chosen * you to salvation 
 through sanctification of the Spi- 
 rit and belief of the truth ; 
 
 b Ep. 1. 4. 1 Til. 1. 4. I Pe. J. 2. 
 
 tion than that a man loves to da 
 wrong. 
 
 13. But we are bound to give 
 thanks alway to God for you. See 
 Notes on cli. i. 3. T[ Because God 
 hath from the bes;inning chosen you 
 to salvation. The following impor- 
 tant things are affirmed or implied 
 here: (1.) That God had chosen oi 
 elected them (dxtro) to salvation. 
 The doctrine of election, therefore, 
 is true. (2.) That this was from the 
 beginning {ajt' a(>xr{); that is, from 
 eternity. See Notes on John i. 1 
 Eph. i. 4; iii. 9—11. The doctrine 
 of e/cma/ election is, therefore, true. 
 (3). That this was the ciioicc of the 
 persons to whom Paul referred. The 
 doctrine of;jf rsonw/election is, there- 
 fore, true. (4.) That this is a reason 
 for thanksgiving. Why should it not 
 be 1 Can there be any higher ground 
 of praise or gratitude tlian that God 
 has chosen us to be eternally holy 
 and happy, and that he has from eter- 
 nity designed that we should be sol 
 Whatever, therefore, may be the 
 feelings with which those who are 
 not chosen to salvation, regard this 
 doctrine, it is clear that tlio.se who 
 have evidence that they arc chosen 
 should make it a subject of grateful 
 praise. They can have no more ex- 
 alted source of gratitude than thai 
 they are chosen to eternal lite. 
 ^Thrnvcrh sanctifcatiun of the Spi- 
 rit. Being made holy by "the divme 
 Spirit. It is not without respect to 
 character, but it is a choice to holi- 
 ness and then to salvation. No ono 
 can have evidence that he is chosen 
 to salvation except as he has evi- 
 denc(; that he i.s sanctified by tlie 
 Spirit. Sec Notes on Kph. i. 4. 
 ^ And belief of the truth. In con- 
 nection with believing tlie truth. 
 
106 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 A. D. 53. 
 
 14 Whcreunto "he called you 
 by our gospel, to the obtaining 
 of the glory * of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 15 Therefore, brethren, stand 
 
 a 1 Pe. 5. 10. 
 
 6 Jno. 17. 22. 
 
 No one who is not a believer in the 
 truth can have evidence that God 
 has cliosen him. 
 
 14. Whereunto he called you by 
 our gospel. He made the gospel as 
 preached by us the means of calling- 
 you to salvation. That is, God has 
 chosen you to salvation from eter- 
 nity, and lias made the gospel as 
 preached by us the means of carry- 
 ing that eternal purpose into effect. 
 "^ To the obtaining- of the glory of 
 iur Lord Jesus Christ. That you 
 may partake of the same glory as 
 the Saviour in heaven. See Notes 
 on John xvii. 22. 24. 
 
 15. Therefore. In view of the 
 fact that you are thus chosen from 
 eternity, and that you are to be raised 
 up to such honour and glory. % Stand 
 fast. Amidst all the temptations 
 which surround j'ou. Comp. Notes 
 on Eph. vi. 10—14. ^ And hold the 
 traditions which ye have been taught. 
 On the word traditions, see Notes 
 on Matt. XV. 2. It means properly 
 things delivered over from one to 
 another ; then anything orally deli- 
 vered — any precept, doctrine, or law. 
 It is frequently employed to denote 
 that which is not written, as contra- 
 distinguished from that which is 
 written (comp. Matt. xv. 2), but not 
 necessarily or a Iways ; for here the 
 Apostle speaks of the 'traditions 
 which they had been taught by his 
 epistle.'' Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. xi. 2. 
 Here it means the doctrines or pre- 
 cepts wliich they had received from 
 the apostle, whether when he was 
 with them, or after he left them; 
 whether communicated by preaching 
 or by letter. This passage can fur- 
 
 fast, and hold the traditions which 
 ye have been taught, whether by 
 word or our epistle, 
 
 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ 
 himself, and God even our Fa- 
 ther, which ' hath loved us, and 
 
 c Jno. 13. 1. Re. 1. 5. 
 
 nish no authority for holding the 
 'traditions' which have come down 
 from ancient times, and which pro- 
 fess to have been derived from the 
 apostles; for (1.) there is no evidence 
 that any of those traditions, were 
 given by the apostles ; (2.) many of 
 them are manifestly so trifling, false, 
 and contrary to the writings of the 
 apostles, that they could not have 
 been delivered by them ; (3.) if any 
 of them are genuine, it is impossible 
 to separate them from those which 
 are false; (4.) we have all that is 
 necessary for salvation in the written 
 word ; and (5.) there is not the least 
 evidence that the apostle here meant 
 to refer to any such thing. He speaks 
 only of what had been delivered to 
 them by himself, whether orally or 
 by letter ; not of what was delivered 
 from one to another as from him. 
 There is no intimation here that they 
 were to hold anything as from hira 
 which they had not received directly 
 from hira, either by his own instruc- 
 tions personally or by letter. With 
 what propriety, then, can this pas- 
 sage be adduced to prove that we 
 are to hold the traditions which pro- 
 fessedly come to us through a great 
 number of intermediate persons? — 
 Where is the evideace here that the 
 church was to hold those unwritten 
 traditions, and transmit them to fu- 
 ture times I Tf Whether by word. 
 By preaching, when we were with 
 you. It does not mean that he had 
 sent any oral message to them by a 
 third person, "il Or our epistle. The 
 former letter which he had written 
 to them. 
 
 16. Noio our Lord Jesus Christ 
 
\. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 107 
 
 hath jrivon us cverla.sting conso- 
 laiion aiul good hope " through 
 gracf, 
 
 a 1 Pe. 1. X 
 
 himxrlf. This expression is oqniva- 
 lont to tliis : » I pray our Lord Jesus, 
 and our Father, to cointbrl you.' It 
 is really a prayer oli'ercd to the Sa- 
 viour — a rccogniiion of' Christ as the 
 I Bource of consolation as well as the 
 
 i Father, and a union of his name 
 with that ot' the Father in invoking 
 important blessings. It is such lan- 
 puacfe as could ho used only by one 
 who reirarded the Lord Jesus as di- 
 vine. ^ And God even our Father. 
 (ir. ' And God, mul (xai) our Father ;' 
 thoujrh not incorrectly rendered 
 ' even our Father.' If it should be 
 contended that the use of the word 
 'and' — 'our Lord Jesus Christ, o7irf 
 God,' proves tiiat the Lord Jesus is 
 a difierent beincr from God — the use 
 of the same word 'and' would prove 
 that the ' Father' is a different being 
 from God. But the truth is, the 
 apost'iC meant to speak of the Father 
 and the Son as the common source 
 of the blessing for which he prayed. 
 ♦^ Which hath loved us. Referring 
 particularly to the Father. The 
 love which is referred to is that 
 manifested in redemption, or which 
 is shown us tlirough Christ See 
 John iii. 10. 1 John iv, 9. ^ And 
 hath given us everlastinc^ consola- 
 '(071. Not temporary comfort, but 
 tliat which will endure forever. The 
 joys of religion are not like other 
 joys. They soon fade away ; — they 
 always terminate at death; — they 
 cease when trouble comes, when 
 eickness invades the frame, when 
 wealth or friends depart, when dis- 
 ip[X)[ntment lowers, when the senses 
 by age refuse to minister as they 
 once did to our pleasures. The com- 
 forts of religion depend on no sucli 
 ;onlii.gencie9. They live through 
 all these changes — attend us in sick- 
 ness, poverty, bereavement, losses, 
 
 17 Comfort your hearts, and 
 stablii^h you in every good word 
 and work. 
 
 and nge ; they are with us in death, 
 and they arc perpetual and im 
 changing beyond the grave. ^ And 
 c^od hope ihroiiirh irrace. SeeNotea 
 on Rom. v. 2. b. Heb. vi. 19. 
 
 17. Comfort your hearts. Notes, 
 1 Thess. iii. 2 ; v. 11. 14. The Thes- 
 salonians were in the midst of trials, 
 and Paul prayed that they might 
 have the full consolations of their 
 religion. ^ And stablishyou. Make 
 you firm and steadfast. 1 Thess. iii. 
 2. 13. If In every good word and 
 icork. In every true doctrine, and 
 in the practice of every virtue. 
 
 This chapter is very important in 
 reference to the rise of tiiat great 
 antichristian power which has exert- 
 ed, and wliicli still exorLs so baleful 
 an influence over the christian world. 
 Assuming now that it refers to the 
 Papacy, m accordance with the ex- 
 position which has been given, there 
 are a few important reflections to 
 which it gives rise. 
 
 (1.) The Second Advent of the 
 Redeemer is an event which is dis- 
 tinctly predicted in the Scriptures. 
 This is assumed in this chapter ; and 
 though Paul corrects some errors 
 into which the Thcssalonians had 
 fallen, he does not suggest this aa 
 one of them. Their error was in 
 regard to the time of his appearing; 
 not the fact. 
 
 (2.) The time when he will ap- 
 pear is not made known to men. 
 Tiie apostles did not pretend to de- 
 signate it, nor did the Saviour him- 
 self. Malt. xxiv. 30. Mark xiii. 32. 
 Acts i. 7. 
 
 (3.) The course of reasoning in 
 this chapter would lead to the ex- 
 pectation that a considerable time 
 would elapse before the Saviour 
 would appear. The apostles, there- 
 fore, did not believe that the end of 
 
108 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 53, 
 
 the world was near, and they did 
 not teach false doctrine on the sub- 
 ject, as infidels have oflen alleged. 
 No one, who attentively and candid- 
 ly studies this chapter, it seems to 
 me, can suppose that Paul believed 
 that the Second Advent of the Sa- 
 viour would occur within a short 
 time, or during the generation when 
 he lived. He has described a long 
 series of events which were to in- 
 tervene before the Saviour would ap- 
 pear — events whicii, if the interpre- 
 tation which has been given is cor- 
 rect, have been in fact in a process 
 of development from that time to the 
 present, and which, it must have 
 been foreseen, even then, would re- 
 quire a long period before they would 
 be completed. There was to be a 
 great apostasy. There were at that 
 time subtle causes at work which 
 would lead to it. They were, 
 however, then held in check and 
 restrained by some foreign influ- 
 ence. But the time would come, 
 when that foreign power would be 
 withdrawn. Then these now hid- 
 den and restrained corruptions would 
 develope themselves into this great 
 antichristian power. That power 
 would sustain itself by a series of 
 pretended miracles and lying won- 
 ders — and, after all this, would be 
 the second coming of the Son of 
 man. But this would require time. 
 Such a series of events would not 
 be completed in a day, or in a sin- 
 gle generation. They would require 
 a succession — perhaps a ^j?o- suc- 
 cession — of years, before these de- 
 velopments would be complete. It 
 is clear, therefore, that the apostle 
 did not hold that the Lord Jesus 
 would return in that age, and that 
 he did not mean to be understood as 
 teaching it; and consequently it 
 should not be said that he or his fel- 
 low-apostles were mistaken in the 
 statements which they have recorded 
 respecting the second coming of the 
 Li)vd Jesus and the end of the world. 
 
 (4.) The apostle Paul was inspired. 
 He has recorded in this chapter a 
 distinct prediction of an important 
 series of events which were to oc- 
 cur at a future, and most of them al 
 quite a remote period. They were 
 such that they could have been fore- 
 seen by no natui'al sagacity, and 
 no human skill. There were, in 
 deed, corruptions existing then in 
 the church, but no mere natural sa 
 gacity could have foreseen that 
 they would grow up into that enor- 
 mous system which would oversha- 
 dow the christian world, and live for 
 so many ages. 
 
 (5.) If tiaese predictions referred 
 to the Papacy, we may see how we 
 are to regard that system of religion. 
 The simple inquiry, if this interpre- 
 tation is correct, is, how did the apos- 
 tle Paul regard that system to which 
 he referred? Did he consider it to 
 be the true church 1 Did he regard 
 it as a church at all 1 The language 
 which he uses will enable us easily 
 to answer these questions. He 
 speaks of it as- 'the apostasy;' he 
 speaks of the head of that system 
 as ' the man of sin,' ' the son of 
 perdition,' ' the wicked one,' and as 
 ' opposing and exalting himself above 
 all that is called God ;' he says that 
 his ' coming is after the working of 
 Satan, with lying wonders, and with 
 all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
 ness.' Can it be believed then that 
 he regarded this as a true church of 
 Jesus Christ] Are these the cha- 
 racteristics of the church as laid 
 down elsewhere in the Scriptures? 
 Wherever it may lead, it seems clear 
 to me that the apostle did not regard 
 that system of which he spoke aa 
 having any of the marks of a true 
 church, and the only question which 
 can be raised on this point is, whe- 
 ther the fair interpretation of the 
 passage demands that it shall be 
 considered as referring to the Papa- 
 cy. Protestants believe that it must 
 be so understood, and Papists have 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 100 
 
 not yet disproved the reasons which 
 tlioy allege for their hclief. 
 
 (0.) If this be tlic fair interpreta- 
 tion, then we may see what is tJie 
 value of tlie pretended 'succession' 
 of tlie ministry througfh that system. 
 If such a regular 'succession' of 
 ministers I'roin the apostles could be 
 made out, what would it be wortli] 
 What is the value of a spiritual de- 
 ecent from Pope Ale.xander VI. 1 
 How would it increase the projx;r 
 respect for the ministerial office, if 
 it could be proved to be derived in a 
 right line from those monsters of in- 
 cest, ambition, covetousness, and 
 blood, who have occupied the Pa- 
 pal throne J A Protestant minister 
 should blush and hang his head if it 
 were charged on him that he held 
 his office by no better title than such 
 a derivation. JIuch less siiould he 
 make it a matter of glorying, and 
 an argument to prove that he only 
 is an authorized minister, that he 
 has received his office through such 
 men. 
 
 (7.^ From this chapter we may 
 see the tendency of human nature 
 to degeneracy. The elements of 
 that great and corrupt apostasj' ex- 
 isted even in apostolic times. Those 
 elements grew regularly up into the 
 system of the Papacy, and spread 
 blighting and death over the whole 
 christian world. It is the tendency 
 of human nature to corrupt the best 
 things. The christian cliurch was 
 put in possession of a pure, and love- 
 ly, and glorious system of religion. 
 It was a religion adapted to elevate 
 and save tlie race. There was not 
 an interest of humanity which it 
 woidd not have fostered and promot- 
 etl ; there was not a source of human 
 airrow which it would not have miti- 
 gac. or relieved; there were none 
 of the race whom it would not have 
 elevated and purified. Its influence, 
 as far as it was seen, was uniformly 
 of the happiest kind. It did no in- 
 jury anywhere, but produced only 
 10 
 
 good. But how soon was it volun- 
 tarily exciianged for the worst tiirm 
 of superstition and error tiial has 
 ever brooded in darkness over man- 
 kind ! How soon did tlic ligiit liide^ 
 and how rapidly did it become more 
 obscure, until it well-nigh went out 
 altogether! And with what tenacity 
 did the world adhere to the system 
 that grew up under the great apos- 
 tasy, maintaining it by learning, and 
 power, and laws, and dungeons, and 
 racks, and faggots! What a com- 
 ment is this on human nature, thus 
 ' loving darkness more than light,' 
 and error rather than truth ! 
 
 (8.) The chapter teaches the im- 
 portance of resisting error at the be- 
 ginning. These errors had their 
 foundation in the time of the apos- 
 tles. They were then comparative- 
 ly small, and perhaps to many they 
 appeared unimportant; and yet the 
 wiiole Papal system was just the 
 development of 4||ors, the germa 
 of whicli existed in their days. Had 
 these been cruslied, as Paul wished 
 to crush them, the ciiurch might 
 have been saved from the corruption, 
 and woes, and persecutions pro<luced 
 by tlie Papacy. So error now should 
 always be opposed— no matter how 
 small or unimportant it may appear. 
 We have no rigiit to connive at it ; 
 to patronise it; to smile upon it. 
 The beginnings of evil are always 
 to be resisted with firmness; and if 
 that is done, the triumph of truth 
 will bo certain. 
 
 (9.) The church is safe. It has 
 now passed througli every conceiva- 
 ble furm of trial, and still survives, 
 and is now more vigorous and flour- 
 ishing than it ever was before. It 
 has passed through fiery times of 
 persecution; survived the attempts 
 of emperors and kings to destroy it, 
 and lived while the system of error 
 descrilK-d here by the apostle Pinl 
 has thrown its balctul shade over al- 
 most the whole christian world. It 
 cannot reasonably be supposed that 
 
110 
 
 11. THESSALONIAJNTS. 
 
 [A. D. 53. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FINALLY, brethren, pray for 
 us, that the word of the Lord 
 
 it will be called to pass through such 
 trials again as it has already endured ; 
 but whether it does or not, the past 
 history of the church is a guarantee 
 that it will survive all that it is des- 
 tined to encounter. None but a re- 
 ligion of divine origin could have 
 continued to live amidst so many 
 corruptions, and so many attempts to 
 destroy it; and in the view of the 
 past history of that church it is im- 
 possible not to come to the conclu- 
 sion that it has been* founded by God 
 himself. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter is made up of exhor- 
 tations and directions in regard to 
 the performance- of various christian 
 duties. 
 
 (1.) The apostle asks their pray- 
 ers. Vs. 1, 2. He desires them to 
 pray particularly that the true reli- 
 gion might be prospered, and that, 
 in preaching the gospel, he might 
 be dehvered from the opposition of 
 unreasonable and wicked men. 
 
 (2.) He expresses confidence that 
 God would incline them to do what 
 was right, and prays that he would 
 keep their hearts in his love, and in 
 patient waiting for the Saviour. 
 Vs. 3—5. 
 
 (3.) He commands them to re- 
 move from their number those who 
 were disorderly, and especially those 
 who were idle, and addresses an 
 earnest exhortation to this class, that 
 they would be diligently engaged in ; 
 the prosecution of the business of 
 their appropriate callings. Vs. 6 
 —12. 
 
 (4.) He exhorts them not to be 
 weary in doing well. Ver. 13. 
 
 (5.) He directs that if any one 
 lliould not cbey the commands given 
 
 may ' have free course, and be 
 glorified, even as it is with ydu : 
 2 And that we may be deliver- 
 
 in this epistle, he should be noted, 
 and they were to separate themselves 
 from him. Yet they were not to 
 regard him as an enemy, but to ad- 
 monish him as a brother. Vs. 14, 15. 
 (6.) The epistle closes with tno 
 usual salutations. Vs. 16 — 18. 
 
 1. Finally, brethren, pray for its. 
 That is, for Paul, Silas, and Timo- 
 thy, then engaged in arduous labours 
 at Corinth. This request for the 
 prayers of Christians is one \vhich 
 Paul often makes. See Notes, 1 
 Thess. v. 25. If That the word of 
 the Lord may have free course. 
 That is, the gospel. The margin is 
 'run.^ So also the Greek. The 
 idea is, that it might meet with no ob- 
 struction, but that it might be carried 
 abroad with the rapidity of a racer out 
 of whose way every hindrance was 
 removed. The gospel icould spread 
 rapidly in the earth if all the obstruc- 
 tions which men have put in its way 
 were removed; and that they may 
 be removed should be one of the 
 constant subjects of prayer. ^ And 
 be glorified. Be honoured; or ap- 
 pear to glorious. ^ As it is loilh you. 
 It is evident from this that Paul met 
 with some obstructions in preaching 
 the gospel where he was then labour- 
 ing. What they were, he mentions 
 in the next verse. He was then at 
 Corinth (see the Introduction), and 
 the history in the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles informs us of the difficulties 
 v.'hich he had to encounter there. 
 See Acts xviii. 
 
 2. And that we may be delivered 
 from unreasonable and wicked m,en. 
 Tliat is, from opposition in their 
 endeavours to spread the gospel. 
 Paul encountered such men every- 
 where, as all do who labour to diffuse 
 the knowledge of the truth, but it is 
 
A. D. 53.1 
 
 CHAPTER 111. 
 
 Ul 
 
 ed froni 'unreasonable and wick- 
 
 ■ abtunL 
 
 probable that there is particular re- 
 ference Iicre to the opiX)s:ition which 
 he encountered when in Corinth. 
 This opjx)sitit)n arose mainly from 
 the Jews. See Acts .wiii. 5, 0. 12, 
 13. Tlio xvcrd iinrcasonable is ren- 
 dered in the margin absurd. The 
 Greek word (drortoj) means, proper- 
 ly, out of jduce ; then absurd, unu- 
 sual, stranjrc ; tlien improper, unrea- 
 sonable, wicked. It is rendered in 
 Luke .\xiii. 41, amiss ; in Acts x.wiii. 
 6, harm. It does not occur elsewhere 
 in the New Testament It refers 
 here to men who acted amiss or im- 
 properly ; men who were not found 
 in the right place, or who had not 
 the right views of things; and pro- 
 bably does not refer so much to their 
 being positively wicked or malicious, 
 as lo their -putting things out of 
 their proper place. They gave an 
 undue prominence to certain things, 
 and less importance to others than 
 they deserved. They had a distort- 
 ed vision of the value of objects, and 
 in tenacious adherence to their own 
 views, and prosecuting their own 
 objects to llie exclusion of all others, 
 tliey presented a constant obstruction 
 to the true gosjK?!. This word would 
 apply, and probably was designed to 
 be applied to Jewish teachers (sec 
 Acts .xviii. 5, 6), who gave an undue 
 prominence to the laws of Closes; 
 but it will apply well to all who en- 
 tertain distorted views of the rela- 
 tive importance of objects, and who 
 put tilings out of their place. Men 
 ot\en have a hnhhj. They give more 
 importance to some object than it 
 deserves. They, therefore, imder- 
 value other objects; pres.s their own 
 with improper zeal ; denounce others 
 who do not feel the same interest 
 in them which they do; withdraw 
 from those who will not go with 
 them in their views; form separate 
 part'cs, and thu3 throw themselves 
 
 ed men : for all me)i have not 
 faith. 
 
 in the way of all who are endeavour- 
 ing to do good in some other muUnxi. 
 It was from men who thus put tiiem- 
 selves out of place, that the apostle 
 prayed to be delivered. 1[ And wick- 
 ed men. Men with baa aims and 
 purposes. It is not always true tliat 
 those who would come under the 
 appellation of what the apostle here 
 calls ' unreasonable^ are wicked. 
 Tliey are sometimes well-meaning, 
 but misguided men. But in this 
 case, it seems, they were men of bad 
 character, who were at heart opposed 
 to what was good, as well as inclined 
 to put things out of tlieir place. 
 «[ for all men have not faith. Of 
 the truth of this, no one can doubt. 
 The only question is, as to its bear- 
 ing on the case before us. Some 
 suppose it means, " there are few 
 men whom we can safely trust;" 
 others, that it means that they have 
 not that "upright and candid dispo- 
 sition which would engage men to 
 receive the testimony of the apos- 
 tles" (Doddridge) ; others, that "all 
 men do not embrace the christian 
 faith, but many oppose it" (Benson) ; 
 and others, that " all men do not be- 
 lieve, but the worthy only." Bloom- 
 field. The connection seems to re- 
 quire us to understand it as meaning 
 tiiat all men are not prepared to em- 
 brace the gospel. Hence they set 
 themselves against it, and from such 
 men Paul prayed that lie might be 
 delivered. Comp. 2 Tim. iii. 8. 
 The state of mind in which the apcs- 
 tle was when he wrote this, seems 
 to have been tliis: He recollected 
 the readiness with which the Thes- 
 salonians had embrace<l the gospel, 
 and the firmness with which they 
 held it, and seems to suppose that 
 they would imagine the same thing 
 must be found true cver)-where. 
 But he toy-! nil men have not the 
 same faith; all were not prepared 
 
112 
 
 JI. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. J). 53. 
 
 3 But the Lord " is faitliful, 
 who shall stablish you, and keep 
 * you from evil. 
 
 4 And we have confidence 
 in the Lord touching you, that 
 
 o 1 Co. 1. 9. b Jno. 17. 15. 
 
 c2Co. 7. 16. 
 
 cordially and fully to embrace the 
 gospel. There were unreasonable 
 and wicked men whom he had en- 
 countered, from whom he prayed 
 that he might be delivered. 
 
 'A. Bui the Lord is faithful. — 
 Though men cannot be trusted, God 
 is faithful to his promises and his 
 purposes. He may always be con- 
 fided in ; and when men are unbe- 
 lieving, perverse, unkind, and dis- 
 posed to do us wrong, we may go to 
 him, and we shall always find in 
 him one in whom we may confide. 
 This is an exceedingly interesting- 
 declaration, and is a beautiful illus- 
 tration of the resource which a truly 
 pious mind will feel that it has. We 
 often have occasion to know, to our 
 sorrow, that ' all men have not faith.' 
 .We witness their infidelity. We 
 see how they turn away from the 
 truth. We see many who once 
 gave some evidence that they had 
 'faitli,' abandon it all; and we see 
 many in the church who seem to 
 have no true faith, and who refuse 
 to lend their aid in promoting the 
 cause of religion. In such circum- 
 stances, the heart is disposed to de- 
 spond, and to ask whether religion 
 can be advanced in the midst of so 
 much indifterence and opposition? 
 At such times, how consoling is it 
 to be able to turn, as Paul did, to one 
 who is faithful ; who never fails us ; 
 and who will certainly accomplish 
 his benevolent purposes. Men may 
 be faithless and false, but God never 
 is. They may refuse to embrace 
 tlie gospel, and set themselves 
 against it, but God will rxot abandon 
 his great purposes. Many who are 
 in the church may forget their so- 
 
 ye both do and will do the things 
 which we command you. 
 
 5 And the Lord direct ■* your 
 hearts into the love of God, and 
 into the ' patient waitingfor Christ. 
 
 dlCh. 29. 18. 
 
 • or, patience of Christ. 
 
 lemn and sacred vows, and may 
 show no fidelity to the cause of their 
 Saviour, but God himself will never 
 abandon that cause. To a pious 
 mind it affords unspeakably more 
 consolation to reflect that a faith' 
 fill God is the friend of the cause 
 which we love, than it would were 
 all men, in and out of the church, 
 its friends. ^ Who shall stablish 
 you, and keep you from evil. See 
 Notes on John xvii. 5. Comp. Notes 
 on Eph. vi. 16. The allusion is to 
 the Evil One, or Satan, and the 
 meaning is, that God would keep 
 them from his wiles. 
 
 4. And loe have confidence in the 
 Lord. Not primarily in you, for you 
 have hearts like others, but in the 
 Lord. It is remarkable that when 
 Paul expresses the utmost confidence 
 in Christians that they will live and 
 act as becomes their profession, his 
 reliance is not on anything in them- 
 selves, but wholly on the faithfulness 
 of God. He must be a stranger to 
 the human heart who puts much 
 confidence in it even in its best state. 
 See Phil. i. 6; iv. 7. 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 Comp. Jude 24. Rev. iii. 10. Prov. 
 xxviii. 26. 
 
 5. And the Lord direct your hearts 
 into the love of God. So direci. 
 your hearts that you may love God. 
 IT And into the patient waiting for 
 Christ. Marg., patience of Christ. 
 The marginal reading is in accord- 
 'u.nce with the Greek, and seems best 
 to express the apostle's meaning. 
 The prayer of the apostle was, that 
 they might have the love of God in 
 their hearts, and ' the patience of 
 Christ;' that is, the same patience 
 which Christ evinced in his triai& 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 ClIAPTEU 111. 
 
 113 
 
 G Now we command you, bre- 
 tliR-n, in the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, tliat ye withdraw " 
 yourselves from every brother 
 
 a 1 Ti. 6. 5. 
 
 They were then siift'erinfT atfliction 
 (incl persecution. They needed pa- 
 tience, tiiat tliey mitrlit endure their 
 trials in a proper manner. It was 
 natural for the apostle to refer them 
 to the Saviour, the p^reut e.\aniple 
 of patience, and to pray that they 
 miirht have tlic same which he had. 
 That it does not moan that tliey 
 were to wait patiently for the np- 
 peariufT of Christ, as our translation 
 seems to imply, is quite clear, be- 
 cause the apostle had just been 
 showinp them that he would not ap- 
 pear until after a long series of events 
 had occurred. 
 
 0. NoiD we command you, bre- 
 thren. The apostle now (vs. (J — 12) 
 turns to an important subject — the 
 proper method of treating those who 
 were idle and disorderly in the 
 cljurc'.i. In the previous epistle he 
 had adverted to this subject, but in 
 tiio mild lan^juarrc of exhortation. 
 When ho wrote that epistle he was 
 aware that there were some among 
 tlicm who v.'cre disposed to be idle, 
 and he had tenderly e.xhorted them 
 * to be quiet, and to mind their own 
 business, and to work with their own 
 hands.' 1 Tliess. iv. 11. But it 
 fio«m3 the exhortatbn, and tiie ex- 
 ample of Paul iiimself when there 
 (1 Th&v5. ii. 9), had not been efl'ect- 
 ual in inducing tliem to be industri- 
 ous. It became, tiierefore, necessa- 
 ry to use the strong language of 
 rtnnnuindf as he does here, and to 
 rp(iuire that if they would not work, 
 the church should withdraw from 
 tliiMn. What was the original caiLie 
 of their idleness, is not known. 
 There seems no reason, however, to 
 doubt that it was much increased by 
 their expectation that tlie Saviour 
 would soon appear, and thot the world 
 10* 
 
 * that walketh disorderly, and not 
 after the tradition which ye re- 
 ceived of us. 
 
 il Co. 5. II. 13. 
 
 would soon come to an end. If thia 
 was to bo so, of what use would it 
 be to labour ? Why strive to accu- 
 mulate property witli reference to 
 the want;3 of a family, or to a day 
 of sickness, or old agel Why 
 should a man build a house that was 
 soon to be burnt up, or why buy a 
 farm which he was so soon to leave ? 
 The effect of the expectation of the 
 speedy appearing of the Lord Jesus 
 has always been to induce men tr< 
 neglect their worldly affiiirs, and to 
 lead idle lives. Man, naturally dis- 
 posed to be idle, wants the stimulus 
 of hope that he is labouring for the 
 future welfire of himseltj for his 
 family, or for society, nor will he 
 labour if he believes that the Sa- 
 viour is about to appear. H In the 
 name of the Lord Jesus Christ. — 
 See Notes on 1 Cor. v. 4. IT That ye 
 withdraio yourselves. Notes on 1 
 Tim. vi. 5. This is the true notion 
 of christian discipline. It is not pri- 
 marily that of cutting a man off, or 
 denouncing him, or e.xcommunicat- 
 ing him ; it is that of wilhdrawimr 
 from him. We cease to have fel- 
 lowship with him. We do not re- 
 gard him any longer as a christian 
 brother. We separate from him. 
 We do not seek to affect him in any 
 other respect; we do not injure his 
 name or standing as a man, or hold 
 him up to reprobation ; wo do not 
 follow liim with denunciation or a 
 spirit of revenge; we simply cease 
 to recognise him as a christian bro- 
 ther, when he shows that he is no 
 longer worthy to be regarded as 
 such. We do not deliver him over 
 to the civil arm ; wo do not inflict 
 any positive punishment on liim; we 
 leave him uninolcstrd in all his rights 
 as a citizen, a man, a neighbour, a 
 
114 
 
 II. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 53. 
 
 7 For yourselves know how 
 ye ought to follow us : for we be- 
 naved not ourselves disorderly 
 among you ; 
 
 8 Neither did we eat any man's 
 bread for nought; but wrought 
 "with labour and travail night 
 and day, that we might not be 
 chargeable to any of you : 
 
 a Ac. 18.3.: 20.34. 
 
 husband, a father, and simply say 
 that he is no longer one of us as a 
 Christian. How different is this 
 from excommunication, as it has 
 been commonly understood ! How 
 different from the anathemas fulmi- 
 nated by the Papacy, and the deliv- 
 ering of the heretic over to the civil 
 power ! ][ From every brother thai 
 walketh disorderly. Comp. Notes, 
 1 Cor. V. 11 — 13. A 'disorderly 
 walk' denotes conduct that is in any 
 way contrary to the rules of Christ. 
 The proper idea of the word used 
 here {atdxtcoO^ is that of soldiers 
 who do not keep the ranks ; who are 
 regardless of order ; and then who 
 are irregular in any way. The word 
 would include any violation of the 
 rules of Christ on any subject. 
 ^ And not after the tradition which 
 ye received of us. According to the 
 doctrine which we delivered to you. 
 See Notes on ch. ii. 15. This shows 
 that by the word ' tradition' the apos- 
 tle did not mean unwritten doctrines 
 handed down from one to another, 
 for he evidently alludes to what he 
 had himself taught them, and his 
 direction is not that tliat should be 
 handed down by them, but that they 
 should obey it. 
 
 7. For yourselves know how ye 
 ought to follow us. You know what 
 you should do in order to imitate us. 
 "TI For we behaved not ourselves dis- 
 orderly among you. See Notes on 
 1 Thess. ii. 10. 
 
 8. Neither did we eat any man's 
 bread for nought. We were not 
 
 9 Not because we have not 
 power, * but to make ourselves an 
 ensample unto you to follow us. 
 
 10 For even when we were 
 with you, this we commanded 
 you, that " if any would not work, 
 neither should he eat. 
 
 b 1 Co. 9. 6. 
 c Ge. 3. 19. 
 
 supported in idleness at the expense 
 of others. We gave a fair equiva- 
 lent for all that we received, and, in 
 fact, laboured for our own support. 
 See Notes on 1 Thess. ii. 9. 
 
 9. Not because we have not pow- 
 er, &c. See Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 6. 
 12. 14. 
 
 10. For even when we were with 
 you, this tee commanded you. It 
 would seem from this that the evil 
 of which the apostle here complaina 
 had begun to operate even when he 
 was with them. There were those 
 who were disposed to be idle, and 
 who needed the solemn command of 
 an apostle to induce them to labour. 
 f That if any would not work, nei- 
 ther should he eat. That is, at the 
 public expense. They should not 
 be supported by the church. This 
 was a maxim among the Jews (see 
 Wetstein, in loc), and the same sen- 
 timent may be found in Homer, De- 
 mosthenes, and Pythagoras. See 
 Grotius, in loc. The maxim is found- 
 ed in obvious justice, and is in ac- 
 cordance with the great law under 
 which our Creator has placed us. 
 Gen. iii. 19. That law, in the cir- 
 cumstances, was benevolent, and it 
 should be our aim to carry it out in 
 reference to ourselves and to others. 
 The law here laid down by the apos- 
 tle extends to all who are able to 
 work for a living, and who will not 
 do it, and binds us not to contribute 
 to their support if they will not la- 
 bour for it. It should be regarded 
 as extending (1.) to the members of 
 
A. D. 53 I 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 115 
 
 1 1 For we hear that there are 
 some which wallc ainonf^ you dis- 
 orderly, working not at all, but 
 are busy-bodies. * 
 
 12 Now them that are such we 
 command and exhort by our Lord 
 
 a 1 Ti. 5. 13. 1 Pe. 4. 15. 
 
 a church — who, tlioujrh poor, should 
 not be supported by their brethren, 
 unless Uiey are willinjj to work in 
 anv way they can for their own 
 niuintenance. (2.) To those who 
 beir from door to door, who should 
 neier be assisted unless they are 
 willing to do all they can do lor their 
 own support. No one can be justi- 
 fied in assisting a lazy man. In no 
 jwssible circumstances are we to 
 contribute to foster indolence. A man 
 might as properly help to maintain 
 open vice. 
 
 11. For ice hear. It is not known 
 in what way this was made known 
 to Paul, wliether by Timothy, or by 
 lome other one. He had no doubt 
 of it; truth, and he seems to have 
 been prcjxxred to believe it the more 
 readily from what he saw when lie 
 was among tliem. H Which walk 
 disorderly. Notes, ver. 6. ^ But 
 arc bitsfj-bodies. Comp. Notes, 1 
 Tim. V. 13. 1 Pet iv. 15. That is, 
 tiiey meddled with tlie affairs of 
 others — a thing which they who 
 have nothing of tlieir own to busy 
 themselves about will be very likely 
 to do. The apostle had seen that 
 there was a tendency to this when 
 he was in Thessalonica, and hence 
 he had commanded them to 'do their 
 own business.' 1 These, iv. 11. The 
 injunction, it seems, had availed lit- 
 tle, for there is no class of persons 
 who will so little heed good counsel 
 as tliosc who have a propensity to 
 intermeddle with the affairs of others. 
 One of the indispensable things to 
 clicck this is, tliat each one should 
 have enough to do himself; and one 
 of tJie most pestilerousofall persons 
 
 Jesus Christ, that with quietness 
 they work, * and cut their own 
 bread. 
 
 i:J But ye, brethren, ' be not 
 • weary in well doing. 
 
 4 Ep. 4. SJ*. ' or, faint not. 
 
 c 1 Co. 15. 5& 
 
 is he who has nothing to do but to 
 look after the affairs of his neigh- 
 bours. In times of affliction and 
 want, wc should be ready to lend 
 our aid. At other times, we should 
 feel tiiat he can manage his own 
 affairs as well as we can do it for 
 him ; or if he cannot, it is his busi- 
 ness, not ours. The Greek word used 
 occurs only here, and in 1 Tim. v. 13. 
 Comp. Notes on Phd. ii. 4. 
 
 12. iVoic them that are such we 
 command and exhort by our Lord 
 Jesus, &.C. A more solemn com- 
 mand and appeal to do what he had 
 before enjoined on all of them. 1 
 Thess. iv. 11. See Notes on that 
 verse. 
 
 13. But ye, Ijrethren, be not wea- 
 ry in well-doivnr. Marg., faint not. 
 The Greek means, properly, to turn 
 out a coward ; then to be faint-heart- 
 ed, to despond. The idea is, that 
 they were not to be discouraged from 
 doing good to the tndy worthy and 
 deserving, by the idleness and im- 
 proper conduct of some who asked 
 their assistance. They were, in- 
 deetl, shiftless and worthless. They 
 would not labour; they spent Iheii 
 time in intermeddling witii the con- 
 cerns of their neighbours, and they 
 depended for tlieir s4ipport on the 
 charity of olliers. The tendency 
 of tiiis, as all persons who have ever 
 been applied to by such persons for 
 aid, is, to indispose us to do good to 
 any. We almost insensibly feel that 
 all who ask tor aid are of the same 
 character; or, not being able to dis- 
 criminate, we clrpc our hands alike 
 again.-t ail. Against this the apos- 
 
 I lie would guard us, and he says that 
 
116 
 
 n. THESSALONIANS. 
 
 [A. D. 5JJ. 
 
 14 And if any man obey not 
 our word by ' this epistle, note 
 that man, an^ have " no company 
 
 » or, signify that man by an epistle. 
 a Mat. 18. 17. Ver. 6. 
 
 though there may be many such per- 
 sons, and though we may find it diffi- 
 cult to distinguish the worthy from 
 the unworthy, w' e should not become 
 so disheartened as not to give at all. 
 Nor should we be weary though the 
 applications for assistance are fre- 
 quent. They are indeed frequent. 
 God designs that they should be. 
 But the eflect should not be to dis- 
 hearten us, or to make us weary in 
 well-doing, but to fill us with grati- 
 tude — for it is a privilege to be per- 
 mitted to do good. It is the great 
 distinguishing characteristic of God 
 that he always does good. It was 
 that which marked the character of 
 the Redeemer, that he " went about 
 doing good ;" and whenever God 
 gives us the opportunity and the 
 means of doing good, it should be 
 to us an occasion of special thanks- 
 giving. A man ought to become 
 ' weary' of everything else sooner 
 than of evincing benevolence. Comp. 
 Notes on Gal. vi. 10. 
 
 14. And if any man obey not our 
 word by this epistle. Marg., 'or 
 signify that man by an epistle. 
 According to the marginal reading 
 this would mean, ' signify, mark out, 
 or designate that man to me by an 
 epistle.' The difference is merely 
 whether we unite the words ' by the 
 epistle' with what goes before, or 
 what follows. The Greek would 
 admit of either construction (Winer, 
 p. 93), but it seems to me that the 
 construction in the text is the cor- 
 rec-t one, for (1.) the requirement 
 was to proceed to discipline such a 
 man by withdrawing from him ; (2.) 
 in order to do this it was not neces- 
 sary that the case should be made 
 known to Paul, for there was no sup- 
 posable difficulty in it, and the eftect 
 
 with him, that he may be ashamed. 
 15 Yet count him not as an 
 enemy, but admonish hi7n as a 
 brother. * 
 
 b Le. 19. 17. 
 
 would be only needless delay ; (3.) 
 Paul regarded the right of discipline 
 as residing in the church itseltj and 
 did not require that cases should be 
 referred to him to determine. See 
 Notes on 1 Cor. v. 2—^1. (4.) 
 Though the Greek wnll admit of 
 either construction, yet it rather fa- 
 vours this. See Oldshausen, in loc. 
 H Note that man. The word here 
 used, means to mark ; to sign ; to 
 note with marks ; and the idea 
 is, set such a mark upon him that 
 he shall be shunned ; that is, with- 
 draw all christian fellowship from 
 him. T[ And have no company loith 
 him. The Greek word here means, 
 to mix up together ; then to mingle 
 together with; to have intercourse 
 with. The idea is, that they were 
 not to mingle with him as a chris- 
 tian brother, or as one of their owa 
 number. They were not to sho« 
 that they regarded him as a worthy 
 member of the church, or as having 
 a claim to its privileges. The eX' 
 tent of their discipline was, that they 
 were to withdraw from him. See 
 Notes on ver. 6, and Matt, xviii. 17. 
 Comp. 2 John 10, 11. 
 
 15. Yet count him not as an ene- 
 my, but admonish him as a brother. 
 This shows the true spirit in which 
 discipline is to be administered in 
 the christian church. We are not 
 to deal wdth a man as an adversary 
 over whom we are to seek to gain a 
 victory, but as an erring brother 
 — a brother still, though he errs. 
 There was necessity for this caution. 
 There is great danger that when we 
 undertake the work of discipline we 
 shall forget that he who is the sub- 
 ject of it is a brother, and that we 
 shall regard and treat him as an 
 enemy. Such is human nature. We 
 
A i). 53.] CHAPTER 111. 
 
 IG Now the Lord * of peace 
 himself give you peace always 
 by all means. The Lord be with 
 you all. 
 
 17 The salutation * of Paul 
 with mine own hand, which is 
 
 a no. 10. 20. 
 4 1 Co. 10.21. 
 
 fret ourselvea in array aqTiinst him. 
 W'c cut liim olY as one who is un- 
 worthy to wnlk with us. We tri- 
 umph over liim, and consider liini at 
 once as an enemy ot" the church, and 
 as havincr lost all claim to its sympa- 
 tkies. We abandon him to the ten- 
 der mercies of a cold and unfeeling' 
 world, and let him take his course. 
 Perhaps we follow him with anathe- 
 mas, and hold him up as unworthy 
 the confidence of mankind. Now 
 all this is entirely unlike the method 
 and aim of discipline as the New 
 Testament requires. There all is 
 kind, and gentle, thouj^li firm ; the 
 oflender is a man and a brother still ; 
 he is to be followed with tender 
 sympjithy and prayer, and the hearts 
 and tlio arms of the christian bro- 
 therhood are to be open to receive 
 him ag-ain when he gives any evi- 
 dence of repenting. 
 
 1(3. Now the Lord of peace. The 
 Lord who alone can impart peace. 
 See Notes en Rom. xv. 33. 1 Cor. 
 
 117 
 
 so I 
 
 the token in every cpisilc 
 write. 
 
 18 The ' grace of our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ be with you all. Amen. 
 The second epiatlc to the Thcs- 
 salonians was written from 
 Athens. 
 
 e Ro. 16. 24. 
 
 XlV. 
 
 27. 
 
 33. Heb. xiii. 20. John xiv- 
 
 17. The salutation of Paul with 
 mine own hand. Notes, 1 Cor. xvi. 
 21. IT Which is the token in every 
 epistle. Gr., si^n. That is, this sig- 
 nature is a sign or proof of the 
 genuineness of the epistle. Comp. 
 Notes on Gal. vi. 11. ^ So I write. 
 Referring, probably, to some mark 
 or method which Paul had of sign- 
 ing his name, which was well known, 
 and which would easily be recog- 
 nised by them. 
 
 18. The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with you all. Notes, Rom. 
 xvi. 20. 
 
 From the subscription to this epis- 
 tle, it purports to have been " written 
 from Athens." This is probably in- 
 correct, as tiiere is reason to tliink 
 that it was written from Corintl). 
 See the Introduction. At all events, 
 this subscription is of no authority. 
 See Notes at the end of the Epistlea 
 to the Romans and 1 Corintliiana. 
 
THE FIRST 
 
 EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 } 1. Notices of the life of Timothy. 
 
 Nearly all that can now be known of Timothy is to be learned fh)ra 
 !!ie New Testament. lie was a native of either Dorbe or Lystra, but it 
 ; - not certainly Jinown which. Acts .\vi. 1. Paul found him there on hia 
 \is\t to those places, and does not appear to have been acquainted with 
 iiim before. His mother, whose name was Eunice, was a Jewess, and was 
 pions, as was also his f;;-randmotlicr, Lois. 2 Tim. i. li. His father was a 
 Greek, but was evidently not unfriendly to the Jewish religion, for Timo- 
 thy had been carefully trained in the Scriptures. 2 Tim. iii. 15. Paiii 
 came to Derbe and Lystra, and became acquainted with him, about a. d. 51 
 cr 52, but there is no methofl now of ascertaining the exact a^e of Timo- 
 thy at tliat time, though there Is reason to think that he was then a youth. 
 1 Tim. iv. 12. It would seem, also, that lie was a youth of uncommon 
 hope and promise, and that there had been some special indications 
 that he would rise to distinction as a religious man, and would exert 
 an extended influence in favour of religion. 1 Tim. i. 18. .A.t the time 
 when Paul first met with him, he was a 'disciple,' or a christian convert; 
 but the means which had been used for his conversion are unknown. Hia 
 mother had been before converted to the christian faith (Acts xvi. 1), and 
 Timotliy was well known to the Ciirislians in the neighbouring towns of 
 Lystra and Iconium. Tlie gospel had been preached by Paul and Barna- 
 bas, in Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra, some six or seven years before it is 
 said that Paul met with Timothy (Acts xvi. 1), and it is not improbable 
 that tliis youth Iwd been converted in the interval. 
 
 Several things appear to i)ave combined to induce the apostle to intro- 
 duce him into tiio ministry, and to make him a travelling companion. Ilia 
 youth; hid acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures; the ' prophecies which 
 went before on him ;' his talents; his general reputation in- the churcli, 
 and, it v.ould seem also, his amiableness of manners, fitting him to bo an 
 agreeable companion, attracted the attention of Uie apostle, and led him 
 to desire that he might be a fellow-labourer with him. To jatisfy the 
 
 (rxix) 
 
CXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 prejudices of the Jews, and to prevent any possible objection which might 
 be made against his qualifications for the ministerial office, Paul circum- 
 cised him (Acts xvi. 3), and he was ordained to the office of the ministry 
 by " the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery." 1 Tim. iv. 14. 
 When tliis ordination occurred is not known, but it is most probable that 
 it was before he went on his travels with Paul, as it is known that Paul 
 was present on the occasion, and took a leading part in the transaction. 
 2 Tim. i. 3, 
 
 Timothy having joined Paul and Silas, accompanied them on a visit to 
 the cliu relies of Phrygia and Galatia, in which they delivered them the 
 decrees to keep which had been ordained at Jerusalem. Acts xvi. 4, seq. 
 Having done this, they endeavoured to go together into Bythinia, a province 
 of Asia Minor, on the north-west, but were prevented; and they then 
 went into Mysia, and 'to the towns of Troas, Acts xvi. 8. Here Luke 
 appears to have joined them, and from this place, in obedience to a vision 
 which appeared to Paul, they went into Macedonia, and preached the 
 gospel first at Philippi, where they established a church. In this city Paul 
 and Silas were imprisoned; but it is remarkable that nothing is said of 
 Timothy and Luke, and it is not knovv-n whether they shared in the suffer- 
 ings of the persecution tliere or not. Everything, however, renders it 
 probable that Timothy was witli them at Philippi, as lie is mentioned as 
 having started with them to go on the journey (Acts xvi. 3, scq.); and as 
 we find him at Berea, after the apostle had been released from prison, and 
 had preached at Thessalonica and Berea. Acts xvii. 14. From this place 
 Paul was conducted to Athens, but left an injunction for Silas and Timothy 
 to join him there as soon as possible. This was done ; — but when Timo- 
 thy had come to Athens, Paul felt it to be important that the church at 
 Thessalonica should be visited and comforted in its afflictions, and being 
 prevented from doing- it himself, he sent Timothy, at great personal incon- 
 -.venience, back to that church. Having discharged the duty there, he re- 
 joined the apostle at Corinth (Acts xviii. 5), fix)m whicli place the first 
 epistle to the Thessalonians was written. See Intro, to 1 Thess. and Notes 
 on 1 Thess. i. 1, and iii. 2. These transactions occurred about a. d. 52. 
 
 Paul remained at Corinth a year and a half (Acts xviii. 11), and it is 
 probable that Timotliy and Silas continued v/ith him. See 2 Thess. i, 1. 
 From Corinth he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, 
 whom he appears to have left on his way at Ephesus. Acts xviii. 18, 19. 
 26. Whether Timothy and Silas accompanied him is not mentioned, but 
 we find Timothy again with him at Ephesus, after he had been to Cesarea 
 and Antioch, and had returned to Ephesus. Acts xviii. 22; xix. 1. 22. 
 From Ephesus, he sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia (Acts xix. 22), 
 but for what purpose, or how long they remained, is unknown. From 
 1 Cor. iv. 17, it appears that Paul expected that on this journey Timothy 
 would stop at Corinth, and would give the church there instructions adapted 
 to its situation. Paul continued in Ephesus until he was compelled to depart 
 by the tumult caused by Demetrius, when he left and went to Macedonia. 
 Acts XX. Whether Timothy, during the interval, had returned to Ephe- 
 sus from Macedonia, is not expressly mentioned in tlie history ; but such a 
 supposition is not improbable. Paul, during the early part of his residence 
 in Ephesus, appears to have laboured quietly (Acts xix. 9. 10) ; and Timo- 
 thy was sent away before the disturbances caused by Demetrius. Acta 
 six. 22. Paul designed to follow him soon, and then to go to Jerusalem, 
 
INTRODUCTION. CXXI 
 
 ina tlien to Rome. Acts xix. 21. Paul (Acts xx. 31) was in Ephesus 
 in all about three years; and it is not unreasonable to suppose that lie 
 remained there atler Timothy was sent to Macedonia lon^ cnou2;-h tor hiin 
 to jTo and to return to him aj^ain. If so, it is possible that when he liim- 
 eelf went away, ho left Timothy there in his place. Comp. 1 Tim. 1. 3. 
 It has been the sjeneral opinion that the First Epistle to Timotiiy wa? 
 written at this time, either when the apostle was on his way to Macedonia, 
 or while in Macedonia. But this opinion has not been unquestioned. The 
 departure of I'aul fi>r Macedonia occurred about k. d. 59, or r»9. In Acts 
 XX. 4, Timothy is n<jain mentioned as accompanyinjr Paul, after he had 
 remained in Greece three months, on the route to Syria througii Macedo- 
 nia. He went with him, in company with many otiiers, into "Asia." 
 Goinir before Paul, they waited for him at Troas (Acts xx. 5), and thence 
 doubtless accompanied him on his way to Jerusalem. It was on this oc- 
 casion that Paul delivered his flirewell charge to the elders of the church 
 of Ephesus, at Miletus. Acts xx. 17, seq. When in Macedonia, Paul 
 wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and Timothy was then with 
 him, for he unites in the salutations. 2 Cor. i. 1. Timothy was also with 
 the apostle on this journey at Corinth, when from that city he wrote liia 
 epistle to the Romans. Rom. xvi. 21. 
 
 The subse<iuent events of the life of Timothy are less known. It does 
 not appear from the Acts of the Apostles, that he was with Paul during hig 
 two years' imprisonment at Cesarea, nor during his voyage to Rome. It 
 is certain, however, that he was at Rome with the ajK^stle when he wrote 
 the epistles to the Philippians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon. Phil. i. 1. 
 Col. i. 1. Philem. i. From Heb. xiii. 23 it appears also, that Timothy had 
 been with the apostle there, but that when the epistle was written he was 
 absent on some important embassy, and that Paul was expecting his 
 eperdy return. See Notes on that verse. Between the first and second 
 jmnri'^nment of Paul at Rome, no mention is made of Timothy, nor is it 
 known where he was, or whether he accompanied him in his travels or 
 not. When he was imprisoned. there the second time, he wrote the Second 
 Epistle to Timothy, in which he desires him to come to Rome, and bring 
 with him several things which he had left at Troas. 2 Tim. iv. 9 — 13. 21. 
 If Timothy went to Rome, agreeably to the request of the apostle, it is 
 probable that he was a witness there of his martyrdom. 
 
 In regard to the latter part of the life of Timothy, there is nothing 
 which can be depended on. It has been the current opinion, derived from 
 tradition, that he was 'bishop' of Ephesus; that he died and was buried 
 there ; and that his bones were subsequently removed to ConsUmtinople. 
 The belief that he was 'bishop' of Ephesus rests mainly on the 'subscrip- 
 tion' to the Second Epistle to Timothy — which is no authority wliatever. 
 See Notes on that subscription. On the question whether ho was an 
 episcopal prelate at Ephesus, the reader may consult my ' Enquiry into the 
 Organization and Government of the Apostolic Cliurch,' pp. i^^i — 107. 
 The supposition that he died at P]phesus, and was subsequently removed to 
 Constantinople, rests on no certain historical basis. 
 
 Timothy was long the companion and tiie friend of the apostle Paul, 
 and is often mentioned by him with affectionate interest Indeed there 
 seems to have been no one of his fellow-labourers to whom he was so 
 warmly attadicd. See 1 Tim. i. 2. l"^. 2 Tjm. i. 2; ii. 1. 1 Cor. iv. 
 17, where he calls him 'his own son,' and 'his beloved son;' 2 Tim. i. 4, 
 
 II 
 
CXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 where he expresses his earnest desire to see him, and makes a reference 
 to the tears which Timothy shed at parting from him ;- 1 Cor. xvi. 10. 11, 
 where he bespealis for him a kind reception among the Corinthians ; — 
 1 Cor. xvi. 10. Rom. xvi. 21. 1 Thess. iii. 2, and especially ii. 19, 20, where 
 he speaks of his fidelity, of his usefulness to him in his labours, and of 
 the interest which he took in the churches which the apostle had estab- 
 lished. 
 
 § 2. JVhen and where the Epistle was written. 
 
 The subscription at the close of the epistle states that it was written 
 from Laodicea. But these subscriptions are of no authority, and many of 
 them are false. See Notes at the end of 1 Corinthians. There has been 
 much diversity of opinion in regard to the time when this epistle was 
 written, and of course in regard to tlie place where it was composed. All 
 that is certain from the epistle itself is, that it was addressed to Timothy 
 at Ephesus, and that it was soon after Paul had left that city to go into 
 Macedonia. 1 Tim. i. 3. Paul is mentioned in the Acts as having been at 
 Ephesus twice. Acts xviii. 19 — 23; xix. 1 — 41. After his first visit 
 there, lie went directly to Jerusalem, and of course it could not have been 
 written at that time. The only question then is, whether it was written 
 when Paul left the city, having been driven away by the excitement 
 caused by Demetrius (Acts xx. 1), or whether he visited Ephesus again on 
 some occasion after his first imprisonment at Rome, and of course after 
 the narrative of Luke in the Acts of the Apostles closes. If on the former 
 occasion, it was written about the year 58 or 59 ; if the latter, about the 
 year 64 or 65. Critics have been divided in reference to this point, and 
 the question is still unsettled, and it may be impossible to determine it 
 with entire certainty. 
 
 Tliose who have maintained the former opinion, among others, are 
 Theodoret, Benson, Zachariae, Michaelis, Schmidt, Koppe, Planck, Grotius, 
 Lightfoot, Witsius, Lardner, Hug, and Prof Stuart. The latter opinion, 
 that it was written subsequently to the period of Paul's first imprison- 
 ment at Rome, is maintained by Paley, Pearson, L'Enfant, LeClerc, 
 Cave, Mill, Whitby, Macknight, and others. 
 
 An examination of the reasons in favour of each of these opinions in 
 regard to the date of the epistle, may be found in Paley's Horse Paul. ; 
 Macknight ; Hug's Intro., and Koppe, Proleg. 
 
 The theory of Eichhorn, which is peculiar, and which is supported by 
 some ingenious and plausible, but not conclusive reasoning, may be seen 
 in liis Einleitung in das neue Test. 3 B. 314 — 352. 
 
 In the diversity of opinion which prevails about the time when the 
 epistle was written, it is impossible to determine the question in such a 
 manner as to leave no room for doubt. After the most careful examination 
 which I have been able to give to the subject, however, it seems to me 
 that the former opinion is correct, tliat it was written soon after Paul was 
 driven from Ephesus by the tumult caused by Demetrius, as recorded in 
 Acts xix. ; XX. 1. The reasons for this opinion are briefly these: — 
 
 1'. This is the only record that occurs in the New Testament of the 
 apostle's having gone from Epliesus to Macedonia. See above. It ia 
 natural, tlierefore, to suppose that this is referred to in 1 Tim. i. 3, unless 
 there is some insuperable difficulty in the way. 
 
I N T R O D I < T I n N . CXXIH 
 
 2. There is no ccrUiiu evidence tliat Paul visited the church at Epiie.sus 
 after iiis first iinprisonincnt at Ilorne. It is certainly possible that he did, 
 but tliere is no record of any such visit in the New Testament, nor any 
 historical record of it elsewhere. If there had been such a visit after his 
 release, and if this epistle was written then, it is remarkable that the 
 ajxistlo does not make any allusion to his imprisonment in this epistle, and 
 tliat iie docs not refer at all to his own escape from tiiis danger of death 
 at Home. Comp. 2 Tim. iv. IG, 17. 
 
 y. The suppositiun that the epistle was written at the time supposed, 
 agrees belter with the character of the epistle, and with the design for 
 whicli Timothy was left at Ephesus, than the others. It is manifest from 
 the epistle that the church was in some respects in an unsettled condition, 
 and it would seem also tiiat one part of the duty of Timothy there was to 
 see that it was placed under a proper organization. This Paul had evi- 
 dently proposed to accomplish himself, but it is clear from ch. i. 3, tliat he 
 left his work unfinished, and that he gave what he had proposed to do into 
 the liands of Timothy to be perfected. After t!ie first imprisonment of 
 Pttul at Rome, however, there is every reason to suppose that the church 
 was completely organized. Even when Paul went from Macedonia to 
 Jerusalem (Acts x.\), there were •elders' placed over the church at Ephe- 
 sus, whom Paul assembled at Miletus, and to whom he gave his parting 
 charge, and his final instructions in regard to the church. 
 
 4. At the time when Paul wrote tiiis epistle, Timothy was a young 
 rnan — a youth. 1 Tim. iv. 12. It is true, that if he was somewhere 
 about twenty years of age when he was introduced into the ministry, as 
 has been commonly supposed, this language would not be entirely inap- 
 propj !ate, even after the imprisonment of Paul, but still the language 
 would more properly denote one somewhat younger than Timothy wouid 
 be at that time. 
 
 5. To this maybe added the declaration of Paul in 1 Tim. iii. 14, that he 
 • hopetl to come to him shortly.' This is an expression which agrees well 
 with the supposition that he had himself been driven away before he had 
 intended to leave; that he had left something unfinished there which he 
 desired to complete, and that he hoped tiiat affairs would soon be in such 
 a state that he would be permitted to return. It may be also suggested, 
 as a circumstance of some importance, though not conclusive, that when 
 Paul met the elders of the church of Ephesus at Miletus, he s;iid that he 
 liad no e.xpectalion of ever seeing them again. " And now, belmld, I know 
 tJiat ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall 
 bce my face no more." Acts .\x. 25. I do not tliink tliat this is to be 
 understood as an inspired prediction, affirming with absolute certainty that 
 he never would see them again, but tiiat he rather e.vpressed his appre- 
 hensions that it would be so from the circumstances wliich then e.visted. 
 Acts XX. 22, 23. Still, this passage shows that when he uttered it he did 
 not expect to visit Ephesus again, as he manifestly did when he wrote the 
 e )i.^tle to Timothy. 
 
 Tliesc considerations seem so clear that they would leave no doubt on 
 the mind, were it not for certain thinijs which it seems to many impossible 
 to reconcile with this supposition. The difficulties are Uie following: — 
 
 1. That before Paul went tn Macedonia, he had sent Timothy with 
 Erastus before him (Acts .xix. 22), purpcising to follow them at no distant 
 perii^l, and to pass tiirou^^h Macedoniu and Achaia, and then to i;o to Ja' 
 
CXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rusalem, and afterwards to visit Rome. Acts xix. 21. As he had sent 
 Timothy before him but so short a time before he left Ephesus, it is asked 
 how Timothy could be left at Ephesus when Paul went himself to Mace- 
 donia 1 To this objection we may reply, that it is not improbable by any 
 means that Timothy may have accomplished the object of his journey to 
 Macedonia, and may have returned to the apostle at Ephesus before he 
 was driven away. It does not appear, from the narrative, that Timothy 
 was intrusted with any commission which would require a long time to 
 fulfil it, nor tliat Paul expected that he would remain in Macedonia until 
 he himself came. The purpose for which he sent Timothy and Erastus 
 is not indeed mentioned, but it seems probable that it was with reference 
 to the collection which he proposed to take up for the poor saints at Jeru- 
 salem. See Notes on Acts xix. 21, 22. Comp. 1 Cor. xvi. 1 — 6. If it 
 was the purpose to prepare the churches for such a collection, it could not 
 have required any considerable time, nor was it necessary that Timothy 
 should remain lonn^ in a place ; and it was natural also that he should return 
 to the apostle at Ephesus and apprize him of what he had done, and what 
 was the prospect in regard to the collection. It has been clearly shown 
 by Hug (Intro, to the New Test. ^ 104. 109), that such a journey could 
 easily have been made during the time which the apostle remained a 
 Ephesus after he had sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia. 
 
 2. The next objection — and one which is regarded by Paley as decisive 
 against the supposition that the epistle was written on this occasion — is, 
 that from the second epistle to the Corinthians (i. 1), it is evident that at 
 the time in which this epistle is supposed to have been written, Timothy 
 was with the apostle in Macedonia. The second epistle to the Corintlii- 
 ans was undoubtedly written during this visit of Paul to Macedonia, and 
 at that time Timothy was witli him. See the Intro, to 2 Cor. ^ 3- How 
 then can it be supposed that he was at Ephesus ] Or how can this fact 
 be reconciled Vv'ith tlie supposition tliat Timothy was left there, and espe- 
 pecially with the declaration of Paul to him (1 Tim. iii. 14), that he 'hoped 
 to come to him shortly V That Paul expected that Timothy would re- 
 main at Ephesus, at least for some time, is evident fi-om 1 Tim. iii. 1.5, 
 " But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave 
 thyself in the house of Grod ;" and from cli. iv. 13, " Till I coine, give 
 attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." The only solution of 
 this difficulty is, that Timothy had left Ephesus, and had followed the apos- 
 tle into jNIacerlouia ; and the only question here is, whether, since the apos- 
 tle designed that he should remain at Ephesus, and expected himself to 
 return and meet him there, Timothy would be likely to leave that place 
 and go to Macedonia. It is certain that the history in the Acts does not 
 make this record, but that is no material objection — since it cannot be sup- 
 posed that every occurrence in the travels of the apostles was recorded. 
 But there are two or three circumstances which may render the supposi- 
 tion tliat Timothy, either by the concurrence, or by the direction of Paul, 
 privately communicated to him, may have left Ephesus sooner than was 
 at first contemplated, and may have rejoined him in Macedonia. (1.) One 
 is, that the main business which Timothy was appointed to perform at 
 Ephesus — to give a solemn charge to certain persons there to teach no 
 other doctrine but that wiiich Paul tauglit (1 Tim. i. 3) — might have been 
 speedily accomplished. Paul was driven away in haste, and as he had 
 not tlie opportunity of doing this himself as he wished, he left Timothy in 
 
f 
 
 INTRODUCTION. CXIT 
 
 cliarge of it. But tliia did not require, of necessity, any considerable tinie. 
 (2.) Anotlicr is, that the business of apjwinting suiiablc offiuors ovor tho 
 church there, nii;L,'-ht also have been sfXHi accomplished. In fact, the church 
 thiTC is known to iiavc bern supplied with proper oflicers not lon<j at\er 
 this, for I'aul sent from Miletus for the elders to meet liim there on his 
 way to Jerusjilcm. This remark is made in accordance with tho opinion 
 that a part of the work which Timothy was expected to perform there 
 was to constitute proper ofKcers over tho church. But there is no ]>rnof 
 that that was a part of his business. It is not s])ecificd in what Paul men- 
 tions, in cii. i. 3, as the design for which he was lell there, and it is hardly 
 probable that the ajwstle would have spent so long a time as he did in 
 kphesufi — nearly three years (Acts x.x. 31) — without having- organized the 
 church with proper officers. Besides, the address of Paul to the elders at 
 Miletus implies tiiat they had received their appointment before he left 
 them. See Acts .\x. I"? — 3.5, particularly ver. 3o. The instructions to 
 Timothy in this epi.-;tle about the proper qualifications of the officers of the 
 church, do not prove that he was tlien to appoint officers at Ephesus, for 
 they are senerul instructions, having no particular reference to the ciuirch 
 there, and designed to guide him in his work through life. Tiiore is, there- 
 fore, nothing in the duties which Timothy was to perform at Ephcsua 
 which would forbid the supposition that he may have soon followed the 
 apostle into Macedonia. (3.) It appears that though Paul may have in- 
 tended, if possible, to visit Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, in accord- 
 ance with 1 Tim. iii. 14, 1.3; iv. 13, yet, if that had been his intention, he 
 subsequently changed his mind, and found it necessary to make other ar- 
 rangements. Thus it is said (Acts .x.v. 16), that " Paul had determined to 
 sail bij Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia;" tliat is, 
 he had resolved to sail past Ephesus without visiting it. It would seem 
 probable also, that this resolution hud been formed before he left Macedo- 
 nia, for it is said that he '■had determined' it Qx^ivt), and if so, there is no 
 improbability in supposing that he had in some way caused it to be inti- 
 mated to Timothy that he wished him to leave Ephesus and join him be- 
 fore he lef\ Macedonia. (4.) In fact, and in accordance with this supposi- 
 tion, we find Timothy with Paul when he went on that occasion into 
 " Asia." Acts .x.x. 4, 5. These considerations render it probable that the 
 epistle was written to Timothy soon alter Paid left Ephesus to go into 
 Macedonia after the tumult excited by Demetrius. As Paul was driven 
 away unexpectedly, and when he had not completed what he designed to 
 do there, nothing is more natural than the supposition that he would em- 
 brace the earliest opportunity to give suitable instructions to Timothy, 
 that he might know how to complete the work. 
 
 § 3. The occasion and design of the epistle. 
 
 This is specified in ch. i. 3. Paul had gone into Macedonia, having 
 been suddenly driven away from Ephesus, before he had entirely done 
 what he had desijfned to do there. lie left Timothy there to 'charge 
 some tliat tliey teach no other doctrine;' that is, no other doctrine than 
 that which he had himself taught when there. It is clear, from this, that 
 there v»-ere certain errors prevailing there which Paul thought it of the 
 highest importance to have corrected. In regard to those eirors, see the 
 Introduction to the Epistle to the Ephcsians, and tlie Epistle to the Colo»- 
 11* 
 
CXXVl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Eians. Some of the circumstances which gave occasion to this epistle can 
 be gathered from the history in the Acts of the Apostles; others can be 
 derived from the epistle itself From these sources of information we 
 learn the following things in reference to the state of the church in Ephe- 
 sus, which made it proper that Timothy should be left there, and that these 
 instructions sliould be given him to regulate his conduct. 
 
 (1.) There was much opposition to the apostle Paul from the Jews who 
 resided there. Acts xix. 8, 9. 
 
 (2.) There were in the church teachers who endeavoured to enforce the 
 maxims of the Jewish law, and to represent that law as binding on Chris- 
 tians. 1 Tim. i. 6, 7. 
 
 (3.) Some of the Jews residing there were addicted to exorcism, and 
 endeavoured to make use of Christianity and the name of Jesus to promote 
 their selfish ends. Acts xix. 14. Comp. 1 Tim. i. 4. 
 
 (4.) The Jewish teachers laid great stress on genealogies and traditions, 
 and were much given to debates about various questions connected with 
 the law. 1 Tim. i. 4—6. 
 
 (5.) There were erroneous views prevailing respecting the rights of 
 women, and the place which they ought to occupy in the church. 1 Tim 
 ii. 8—15. 
 
 (6.) The organization of the officers of the church had not been effected 
 as Paul wished it to be. It is probable that some of the officers had been 
 appointed, and that some instructions had been given to them in regard to 
 their duties, but the whole arrangement had not been completed. 1 Tim. 
 iii., iv. 
 
 (7.) There were certain questions in regard to the proper treatment of 
 widows which had not yet been determined. 1 Tim. v. 
 
 (8.) The apostle in his preaching had inculcated benevolent princi- 
 ples, and had asserted the natural equality of all men, and it would seem 
 that certain persons had taken occasion from this to excite a spirit of dis- 
 content and insubordination among those who were servants. The doc- 
 trine seems to have been advanced, that, as all men were equal, and all 
 had been redeemed by the same blood, therefore those who had been held 
 in bondage were free from all obligation to serve their masters. There 
 were those evidently who sought to excite tliem to insurrection ; to break 
 down the distinctions in society, and to produce a state of insubordination 
 and disorder. 1 Tim. vi. Comp. Eph. vi. 5 — 10. Col. iii. 22 ; iv. 2. 
 
 Such appears to have been the state of things w'hen the apostle was 
 compelled suddenly to leave Ephesus. He had hitherto directed the affairs 
 of the church there mainly himself, and had endeavoured to correct the errors 
 then prevailing, and to establish the church on a right foundation. Matters 
 appear to have been tending to the desired result ; religion was acquiring 
 a strong hold on the members of the church (Acts xix. 18 — 20) ; error was 
 giving way ; the community was becoming more and more impressed with 
 the value of Christianity ; the influence of idolatry was becoming less 
 and less (Acts xix. 23, seq.), and the arrangements for the complete orga- 
 nization of the church were in progress. Such was the promising state 
 of things in these respects that the apostle hoped to be able to leave Ephe- 
 eus at no very distant period, and had actually made arrangements to do 
 it. Acts xix. 21. But his arrangements were not quite finished, and be- 
 fore they were completed, he was compelled to leave by the tumult excited 
 by Demetrius. He left Tircothy, therefore, to complete the arrangements^ 
 
INTRODl'CTION CXXVll 
 
 and, in this first epistle, gnve him all tho instructions which were ncccs- 
 Bary to guide him in that work. 
 
 Tliis view of tlio state of Ihinfrs in Ephesus at the time when tho apos- 
 tle was constrained to leave it, will enable us to understand tho drift of 
 the epistle, and the reasons wiiy the various topics found in it were intro- 
 duced. At the siimc time, the instructions are of so general a character 
 that they would he an invaluable guide to Timothy not only at Ephesus, 
 but through his life; and not only to him, but to all the ministers of the 
 gospel in every age and land. A more detailed view of these topics will 
 he furnished in tiie analysis prefixed to the several chapters of the epistle. 
 
 The epistles to Timothy and Titus occupy a very important place in the 
 Vew Testament, and without them there would be a manifest and most 
 naterial defect in the volume of inspiration. Their canonical authority 
 i:is never been questioned by the great body of tlie chnrcli, and there i3 
 10 doubt that they are the productions of the apostle Paul. If tho various 
 pistles which he wrote, and the various other books of the New Tcsta- 
 ii'icnt be attentively examined, it will be found tliat each one is designed 
 to accomplish an important object, anft that if any one were removed a 
 material chasm would be made. Though the removal of any one of them 
 would not so impair the volume of the New Testament as to obscure any 
 essential doctrine, or prevent our obtaining the knowledge of the way of 
 salvation from the remainder, yet it would mar the beauty and symmetry 
 of the truth, and would render the system of instruction defective and 
 incomplete. 
 
 This is true in regard to the epistles to Timothy and Titus, as it is ol 
 the other epistles. They fill a department which nothing else in the New 
 Test'imcnt would enable us to supply, and without which instructions to 
 man respecting redemption would be incomplete. They relate mainly to 
 (he office of the ministrtj ,- and though there are important instructions of 
 the Saviour himself respecting tiie oflico (Matt, x., Mark xvi., and else- 
 wlierc), and though in the address of Paul to the elders of Ephesus (Acta 
 XX.), and in the epistles to the Corinthians, there are invaluable sugges- 
 tions respecting it, yet such is its importance in the organization of the 
 church, that more full and complete instructions seem to be imperiously 
 demanded. Those instructions are furnished in these epistles. Ttiey are 
 as full and complete as we could desire in regard to the nature of the office, 
 the qualifications for it, and the duties which grow out of it. They are 
 fitted not only to direct Timothy and Titus in the work to which tlicy were 
 .specifically appointed, but to counsel the ministry in every age and in every 
 !ind. It IS obvious that tiio character and weltare of the church depend 
 O'rcatly, if not entirely, on the chnracter of the ministry. The office of 
 the ministry is God's great appointment for the preservation of pure reli- 
 gion, and for spreading it abroad through the world. The church adheres 
 t-) tlie trutii ; is built up in faith ; is distinguished for love, and purity, and 
 /oal, in proportion as the ministry is honoured, and shows itself qualified 
 tor its worlc. In every age corruption in the church has commenced in 
 tlie ministry; and where the gospel has been spread abroad with zeal, and 
 tiie church has arisen in her strength and beauty, it has been pre-eminently 
 wiiore God has sent down his Spirit in copious moa-^ures on those who have 
 filled the sacred oflice. So important, then, is this office to the welfare of 
 the church and the world, that it was desirable that full instructions should 
 be fiimifiJied in the volume of revelation in regard to its nature and desijfn. 
 
CXXVlil lNTRODtTCTI«»N. 
 
 Such instructions we have m these epistles, and there is scarcely any po 
 tion of- the New Testament which the church could not better afFord to 
 part with than the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Had the ministry al- 
 ways been such as these epistles contemplate ; had they who have filled 
 the sacred office always had the character and qualifications here described, 
 we may believe that the church would have been saved from the strifes 
 that have rent it, and that the pure gospel would long ere this have been 
 spread through the world. 
 
 But it is not to the ministry only that these epistles are of so much value. 
 They are of scarcely less importance to the church at large. Its vitality 
 its purity ; its freedom from strife ; its zeal and love and triumph in spread- 
 ing the gospel, depend on the character of the ministry. If the church 
 will prosper from age to age, the pulpit must be filled with a pious, learn- 
 ed, laborious, and devoted ministry, and one of the first cares of the church 
 should be that such a ministry should be secured. This great object can- 
 not better be attained than by keeping the instructions in theae epistles 
 steadily before the minds of the numbers of the church; and tliough a 
 large part of them is particularly adapted to the ministers of tne gospel, 
 yet the church itself can in no better way promote its own purity and 
 prosperity llian by a prayerflil and attentive fctudy of tlie epistles no Timo 
 thy and Titus. 
 
THE 
 
 FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 >AUL, an apostle of Jesus 
 Clirist, " by tlie comniand- 
 
 a Ac. 9. 15. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 Tlii.-J chapter comprises the follow- 
 injj subjects : — 
 
 (1.) The salutation to Timothy, in 
 the usual manner in which Paul in- 
 troduces his epistles. Vs. 1, 2. 
 
 (2.) The purpose tor which he 
 had left him at Ephcsus. Vs. 3, 4. 
 It was that he miirht correct the 
 false instructions of some of the 
 teachers there, and especially, as it 
 would seem, in regard to the true 
 use of the law. i'hey j^'avo undue 
 importance to some tilings in the 
 laws of JNIoses; they did not under- 
 stand the true nature and design of 
 his laws; and they min^jlcd in their 
 instructions much that was mere 
 fable. 
 
 (3.) The true u.«o and desii^n of 
 the law. Vs. 't — 11. It was to pro- 
 duce Invp, not vain jan{^lin<»'. It was 
 not made to fetter the conscience by 
 vain and troublesome austerities and 
 ceremonies; it was to restrain and 
 bind the wicked. The use of the 
 law, according to these teachers, 
 and according to the prevailing Jew- 
 ish notions, was to prescribe a great 
 number of formalities, and to secure 
 outward conformity in a great vari- 
 ety of cumbrous rites and ceremo- 
 nies. Paul instructs Timothy to 
 teach them that love, out of a pure 
 heart and a good conscience, was 
 the elementary princ pie of religion, 
 
 mcnt of God our Saviour, ana 
 Lord Jesus Christ, tv/iich is our 
 hope. * 
 
 b Co. 1. 27. 
 
 and tliat the 'law' was primarily de- 
 signed to restrain and control the 
 wicked, and that the gospel brought 
 to light and enforced this important 
 truth. 
 
 (4.) The mention of the gospel 
 in this connection, leads Paul to ex- 
 press his thanks to God that he had 
 been intrusted with this message of 
 salvation. Vs. 12 — 17. Once he had 
 the same views as others. But he 
 had obtiiincd mercy, and he was per- 
 mitted to publish that glorious gos- 
 pel which had slied sucli lighten tlie 
 law of God, and wiiich had revealed 
 a plan of salvation that was worthy 
 of universal acceptation. 
 
 (5.) This solemn duty of preach- 
 ing the gospel he conunits now to 
 Timothy. Vs. 18 — 20. He says 
 that he had been called to the work 
 in accordance with the prophecies 
 which had been uttered of him in 
 anticipation of his future usefulness 
 in tlie church, and in the expectation 
 that he would not, like some others, 
 make shipwreck of his tiiith. 
 
 1. PattI, an apostle of Jesus 
 Christ. See Notes on Rom. i. 1. 
 IT Bij the commandment of God, 
 Notes, 1 Cor. i. 1. •[ Our Suvimir. 
 The name Saviour is as applicable 
 to Gotl the Father as to the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, since Grnl is the great 
 Author of KJilvation. See Notes, 
 Luke i. 47. Comp. 1 Tim. iv. 10. 
 Titus ii. 10. Jude 25. ^ And Ijord 
 (129J 
 
130 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 A. D. l^. 
 
 2 Onto Timothy, « my own 
 eon ' in the faith ; Grace, = mercy, 
 and peace, from God our Father 
 and Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 a Ac. 16. 1. 
 
 c Ga. 1. 3. 1 Pe. 1. 
 
 b Ti. 1, 4. 
 
 Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul had 
 received his commission directly 
 from him. See Notes, Gal. i. 11, 
 12. ^ Which is our hope. See 
 Notes, Col. i. 27. 
 
 2. Unto Timothy. For an account 
 of Timothy, see Intro. ^1. IF My 
 own son in the faith. Converted to 
 the christian faith by my instrument- 
 ality, and regarded by me with the 
 affection of a father. See Notes, 
 1 Cor. iv. 15. Paul had no children 
 of his own, and he adopted Timothy 
 as a son, and uniformly regarded and 
 treated him as such. He had the 
 same feeling also toward Titus. 
 Tit. i. 4. Comp. Notes, Gal. iv. 19. 
 1 Thess. ii. 7. 11 ; and Philem. 10. 
 IT Grace, mercy, and peace, &c. 
 See Notes, Rom. i. 7. 
 
 3. As I besought thee still to abide 
 at Ephesus. It is clear from. this, 
 that Paul and Timothy had been la- 
 bouring together at Ephesus, and the 
 language accords with the supposi- 
 tion that Paul had been compelled 
 to leave before he had completed 
 what he had designed to do there. 
 See the Intro. ^ 2. H When I tvent 
 into Macedonia. Having been driven 
 away by the excitement caused by 
 Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen. 
 Acts XX. 1. See the Intro. \ 2, 3. 
 ^ That thou mighlest charge some. 
 The word charge here — rtapayylasjj 
 — seems to mean more than is com- 
 monly implied by the word as used 
 by us. If it had been a single direc- 
 tion or command, it might have been 
 given by Paul himself before he left, 
 but it seems rather to refer to that 
 continuous instrudion which would 
 convince these various errorists, and 
 icad Uiem to inculc ite only the true 
 
 3 As I besought thee to abide 
 still at Ephesus, when I went ^ 
 into Macedonia, that thou might- 
 est charge some that they teach 
 no other doctrine, 
 
 d Ac. 20. 1. 3. 
 
 doctrine. As they may have been 
 numerous, — as they may have em- 
 braced various forms of error, and 
 as they might have had plausible 
 grounds for their belief, this was 
 evidently a work requiring time, and 
 hence Timothy was left to effect 
 this at leisure. It would seem that 
 the wrath which had been excited 
 against Paul had not affected Timo- 
 thy, but that he was permitted to re 
 main and labour without molestation 
 It is not certainly known who these 
 teachers were, but they appear tc 
 have been of Jewish origin, and to 
 have inculcated the peculiar senti- 
 ments of the Jews respecting the 
 law. ^ That they teach no other 
 doctrine. That is, no other doctrine 
 than that taught by the apostles. 
 The Greek word here used is not 
 found in the classic writers, and does 
 not elsewhere occur in the New Tes- 
 tament, except in ch. vi. 3 of this 
 epistle, where it is rendered ' teach 
 otherwise.' We may learn here 
 what was the design for which 
 Timothy was left at Ephesus. (1.) It 
 was for a temporary purpose, and 
 not as a permanent arrangement. 
 It was to correct certain errors pre- 
 vailing there which Paul w^ould have 
 been able himself soon to correct if 
 he had been suffered to remain. 
 Paul expected soon to return to him 
 again, and then they would proceed 
 unitedly with their work. Ch. iv. 
 13 ; iii. 15. (2.) It was not that he 
 might be the ' Bishop* of Ephesus. 
 There is no evidence that he was 
 'ordained' there at all, as the sub- 
 scription to the second epistle de- 
 clares (see Notes on that subscrip- 
 tion), nor were the functionp which 
 
A. D. 5S.] 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 131 
 
 4 Neither give heed " to fables 
 aiid endless genealogies, which 
 
 ac. G. n, A.'iO. 
 
 ne wns to pcrlbrm, thotic of a prc- 
 latical bishop. He was not to take 
 the cliarge of a 'diocese,' or to or- 
 dain ministers of the ' second rank,' 
 or to administer the rite of confirma- 
 tion, or to perform acts of discipline. 
 He was left there for a purpose wiiich 
 is specified, and that is as far as possi- 
 ble from what are now regarded as 
 the appropriiite functions of a pre- 
 latical bishop. Perhaps no claim 
 which has ever been set up lias had 
 less semblance of argrument than 
 tliat which asserts that Timothy was 
 the ' Bishop of Ephesus.' See this 
 clause examined in my ' Inquiry into 
 tlie Orjranization and Government 
 of the Apostolic Church," pp. 84 — 
 107. 
 
 4. Neither ffive heed to fables. 
 That is, that ikcy should not bestow 
 their attention on fables, or rejr^ird 
 such trifles as of importance. The 
 ' fjb'os' here referred to were proba- 
 oly the idle and puerile superstitions 
 and conceits of the Jewish Rabbies. 
 The word rendered fable (}iv^i) 
 means properly speech or discourse, 
 and then fable or fiction, or a mystic 
 discourse. Such things abounded 
 among the Greeks as well as the 
 Jews, but it is probable that the lat- 
 ter here are particularly intended. 
 These were composed of frivolous 
 and unf-'undcd storios, which they 
 re»rartled as of ijreat importance, and 
 which tliey seem Ui have desired to 
 incorporate with tlie teachings of 
 Christianity. Paul, who had been 
 brought up amidst these supersti- 
 tions, saw at once how they would 
 tend to draw off tlie mind from the 
 tnilh, and would corrupt the true 
 roliijion. One of the most success- 
 ful arts of the adversary of souls has 
 bpim to mingle fable with tnitli ; and 
 when he cannot overthrow the truth 
 bv direct opposition, to neutralize it 
 
 minister questions, rather than 
 godly edifying which is in faith ; 
 so do. 
 
 by mingling with it much that ia 
 false and frivolous, ^f And endless 
 (rencalogies. This also refers to 
 Jewish teaching. The Hebrews 
 kept careful genealogical records, 
 for this was necess;iry in order that 
 the distinction of their tribes might 
 be kept up. Of course, in the lapse 
 of centuries these tables would be- 
 come very numerous, complicated, 
 and extended — so that they migiit 
 without much exaggeration be called 
 ' e7idless.^ The Jews attached great 
 importance to them, and insisted on 
 their being carefully preserved. As 
 the Messiah, however, had now 
 come — as the Jewish polity was to 
 cease — as the separation between 
 them and the heathen was no longer 
 necessary, and tlio distinction of 
 tribes was now useless, there was 
 no propriety that these distinctions 
 should be regarded by Christians. 
 The whole system was, moreover, 
 contrary to the genius of Christianity, 
 for it served to keep up tiie pride of 
 blood and of birth. ^ iMiich minis- 
 ter questions. Which afford matter 
 for troublesome and angry debates. 
 It was often difficult to settle or un- 
 derstand them. They became com- 
 plicated and perplexing. Nothing 
 is more difficult than to unravel an 
 extensive irencalogical Uiblc. To do 
 this, therelbre, would oftrn give rise 
 to contentions, and lolien settled, 
 would give rise still further to (pies- 
 tions about rank and precedence. 
 «f Rather than podly edifyin<r which 
 is in faith. These in(piirie3 do 
 nothing to promote true religion in 
 tlie soul. They settle no perma- 
 nent principle of truth ; they deter- 
 mine nothing that is really concerned 
 in the salvation of men. They might 
 bo pursued tlirough life, and not one 
 soul bo converted by them; tliey 
 min^ht be settleil with the greatest 
 
iS2 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. 5B. 
 
 5 Now the end " of the com- 
 mandment is charity, out of a 
 pure * heart, and of a good con- 
 science, and of faith unfeigned : 
 
 a Ro. 13. 8, iO. Ga. 5. 14. b 2 Ti. 2. 22. 
 
 accuracy, and yet not one heart be 
 made better. Is not this still true 
 of many controversies and logoma- 
 chies in the church 1 No point of 
 controversy is worth much trouble, 
 wiiich, if it were settled one way or 
 the other, would not tend to convert 
 the soul from sin, or to establish 
 some important principle in pro- 
 moting true religion. "^ So do. These 
 words are supplied by our translators, 
 but they are necessary to the sense. 
 The meaning is, that Timothy was 
 to remain at Ephesus, and faithfully 
 perform the duty which he liad been 
 left there to discharge. 
 
 5. Now the end of the command- 
 ment. See Notes on Rom. x. 4. In 
 order tiiat Timothy might fulfil the 
 design of his appointment, it was 
 necessary that he should have a cor- 
 rect view of tlic design of the law. 
 The teachers to whom he refers in- 
 sisted much on its obligation and 
 importance ; and Paul designs to say 
 that he did not intend to teach that 
 the law was of no consequence, and 
 was not, when properly understood, 
 obligatory. Its nature and use, how- 
 ever, was not correctly understood 
 by them, and hence it was of great 
 importance for I'imothy to inculcate 
 correct views of the purpose for 
 wiiich it was given. The word 
 ' commandment' here some have im- 
 derstood of the gospel (Doddridge), 
 others of the particular command 
 which the apostle here gives to 
 Timotliy (Benson, Clarke, and Mac- 
 knight) ; but it seems more naturally 
 to refer to all that God had com- 
 manded — his whole law. As the 
 error of these teachers arose from 
 improper views of the nature and 
 design of law, Paul says that that 
 
 6 From which oome ' having 
 swerved, ' have turned aside unto 
 vain jangling ; 
 
 > or, not aiming at. 
 
 c 2 Ti. 4, 10, 
 
 design should be understood. It was 
 not to produce distinctions and angry 
 contentions, and was not to fetter 
 tlie minds of Christians with minute 
 and burdensome observances, but it 
 was to produce love. '^ Is charity. 
 On the meaning of this word, see 
 Notes on 1 Cor. xiii. 1. ^ Out of a 
 pure heart. The love wiiich is 
 genuine must proceed from a holy 
 heart. The commandment was not 
 designed to secure merely the out- 
 ward expressions of love, but that 
 which had its ?eit in the heart 
 f And of a gocd conscience. A 
 conscience free ftym guilt. Of course 
 there can be no genuine love to God 
 where the dictates of conscience are 
 constantly violated, or wjiere a man 
 knows that he is coniinuady doing 
 wrong. If a man wishes to have 
 the evidence of love to God, he must 
 keep a good conscience. Ail pre- 
 tended love, where a man knows 
 that he is living in sin, is mere hy- 
 pocrisy. IT And of faith unfeigned. 
 Undissembled confidence in God. 
 This does seem to be intended speci- 
 fically of faith in the Lord Jesus, 
 but it means that all true love to 
 God, such as this law would produce, 
 must be based on confidence in him 
 How can any one have love to him 
 who has no confidence in him 1 Can 
 we exercise love to a professed friend 
 in whom we have no confidence 1 
 Faith, then, is as necessary under 
 the law as it is under the gospel. 
 
 6. From which some having 
 swerved. Marg., not aiming at. 
 The woi-d here used — aatoxtto — 
 means properly, to miss the mark; 
 to err; and then, to swerve from. 
 Comp. ch. vi. 21. 2 Tim. ii. 18. It 
 does not mean that they had ever 
 
A. D. 59.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 133 
 
 7 DosirinsT to be teachers of 
 the law ; underslaruling " neither 
 what they say, nor whereof they 
 
 aiiirm. 
 
 a Ro. 1. 23. 
 
 8 But we know that the hiw is 
 good, * if a man use it lawfully ; 
 
 9 KnowinfT this, that ' the law 
 is not naade for a righteous man, 
 
 b Ro. 7. 12. e Ga. 5. 23. 
 
 had that from which they are said to 
 have swerved — tor it docs not follow 
 that a man who misses a mark had 
 ever hit it — but merely that they 
 failed of tlio thiniTs referred to, and 
 iiad turned to vain talk. The word 
 ' wtiich' (wi-), in the plural, refers not 
 to the law, but to the things enume- 
 rated — a pure heart, a good con- 
 ecionce, and unfeigned faith. ^ Have 
 turned aside unto vain jnni^linff. 
 Vain talk, empty declamation, dis- 
 courses without sense. The word 
 here used does not mean contention 
 or strife, but that kind of discourse 
 which is not founded in good sense. 
 They were discourses on their pre- 
 tended distinctions in the law; on 
 their traditions and ceremonies; on 
 their useless genealogies, and on the 
 fabulous statements which they had 
 appended to the law of Moses. 
 
 7. Desiring to be teachers of the 
 law. That is, to have the credit and 
 reputation of being well versed in 
 the law of Moses, and qualified to 
 explain it to others. This was a 
 high honour among the Jews, and 
 these teachers laid claim to tlie same 
 distinction. ^ Vnderstandimr neither 
 what they say. That is, they do not 
 understand the true nature and de- 
 sign of that law which the}' attempt 
 to explain to other?. This was true 
 of the Jewish teachers, and equally 
 90 of those in the church at Ephesus, 
 who attempted to explain it They 
 appear to have explamed tJie law on 
 the principles which commonly pre- 
 vailed among the Jews, and hence 
 their instructions tended greatly to 
 corrupt the faith of the gospel. They 
 made athrmations of what they knew 
 nothing o\\ and though they made 
 cocfident aseervations, yet they often 
 12 
 
 pertained to things about which they 
 had no knowledge. One needs only 
 a slight acquaintance witli the man- 
 ner of teacliing among Jewish Rab- 
 bles, or with the things found in their 
 traditions, to see the accuracy of this 
 statement of the apostle. A sufficient 
 illustration of this may be found in 
 Allen's 'Modern Judaism.' 
 
 8. But we know that the law is 
 good. We admit this; it is that 
 which we all concede. This declara- 
 tion is evidently made by the apostle 
 to guard against the supposition that 
 he was an enemy of the law. Doub',- 
 less this charge would be brought 
 against him, or against any one who 
 maintained the sentiments which he 
 had just expressed. By speaking 
 thus of what those teachers regarded 
 as so important in the law, it would 
 be natural for them to declare that 
 he was an enemy of the law itself, 
 and would be glad to see all its 
 claims abrogated. Paul says that 
 he desiirns no such thing. He ad- 
 mitted that the law was good. He 
 was never disposed for one moment 
 to call it in question. He only asked 
 that it should be rightly understood 
 and properly explained. Paul was 
 never disposed to call in question 
 the excellency and the utility of the 
 law, however it might bear on hira 
 or on others. Comp. Notes on Roni. 
 vii. 12, and on Acta xxi. 21 — 26. 
 % If a man use it lawfully. In a 
 proper manner ; for the purposes for 
 which it was designed. It is intend* 
 cd to occupy a most important place, 
 but it should not be perverted. Paul 
 asked only that it shouhl be used 
 arisht, and, in f)rdcr to this, he pro- 
 ceeds to st-i.te what is its true design. 
 
 9. Knouing this. Thot is, 'If 
 
134 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A.D. 58 
 
 but for the lawless and disobedi- 
 ent, for the ungodly and for sin- 
 ners, for unholy and profane, 
 
 any one knows, or admits this, lie 
 has the proper view of the design 
 of the law.' The apostle does not 
 refer particularly to himself as 
 knowing or conceding this, for then 
 he would have used the plural form 
 of the participle (see the Greek), 
 but he means that any one who had 
 just vievv's of the law would see tliat 
 that which he proceeds to specify 
 was its real purpose. IT The Imo is 
 not wade for a righteous man. — 
 There has been great variety in the 
 interpretation of this passage. Some 
 suppose that the law here refers 
 to the ceremonial laws of Moses 
 {Clarke, RosenmuUer, Abbot); others 
 to the denunciatory part of the law 
 {Doddridge and Bloomfield) ; and 
 others that it means that the chief 
 purpose of the law was to restrain 
 the wicked. It seems clear, how- 
 ever, that the apostle does not refer 
 merely to the ceremonial law, for 
 he specifies that which condemns 
 the unholy and profane; the mur- 
 derers of fathers and mothers ; liars 
 and perjured persons. It was not 
 the ceremonial law which condemn- 
 ed these things, but the moral law. 
 It cannot be supposed, moreover, 
 that the apostle meant to say that 
 the law was not binding on a right- 
 eous man, or tiiat he was under no 
 obligation to obey it — for he every- 
 where teaches that the moral law is 
 obligatory on all mankind. To sup- 
 pose also that a righteous man is 
 released from the obligation to obey 
 tlie law, that is, to do right, is an 
 absurdity. Nor does he seem to 
 mean, as Macknight supposes, that 
 the law was not given for the pur- 
 pose of justifying a righteous man — 
 for this was originally one of its de- 
 signs. Had man always obeyed it, 
 he VA'ould have been justified by it. 
 TUq inearing seems U> be, that the 
 
 for murderers of fathers and 
 murderers of mothers, for man- 
 slayers, 
 
 purpose of the law was not to fetter 
 and perplex those who were right- 
 eous, and who aimed to do their duty 
 and to please God. It was not in- 
 tended to produce a spirit of servi- 
 tude and bondage. As the Jews in- 
 terpreted it, it did this, and this inter- 
 pretation appears to have been adopt- 
 ed by the teachers at Ephesus, to 
 whom Paul refers. The whole ten- 
 dency of their teaching was to bring 
 the soul into a state of bondage, and 
 to make religion a condition of ser- 
 vitude. Paul teaches, on the othe." 
 hand, that religion was a condition 
 of freedom, and that the main pur- 
 pose of the law was not to fetter the 
 minds of the righteous by number- 
 less observances and minute regula- 
 tions, but that it was to restrain the 
 wicked from sin. This is the case 
 with all law. No good man feels 
 himself fettered and manacled by 
 wholesome laws, nor does he feel 
 that the purpose of law is to reduce 
 him to a state of servitude. It is 
 only the wicked who have this feel- 
 ing — and in this sense the law is 
 made for a man who intends to do 
 wrong. ^ For the lawless. To bind 
 and restrain them. The word here 
 used means, properly, those who 
 have no law, and then tliose who are 
 transgressors — the wicked. It is 
 rendered transgressors in Matt. xv. 
 28. Luke xxii. 37, and wicked, Acts 
 ii. 23. 2 Thess. ii. 8. H A7id diso- 
 bedient. Those who are insubordi- 
 nate, lawless, refractory. The word 
 properly means those who are under 
 no subjection or authority. It occurs 
 in the New Testament only here, 
 and Titus i. 6. 10, where it is ren- 
 dered unruly, and Heb. ii. 8, where 
 it is translated not put under ; that 
 is, under Christ. ^ For the ungodly. 
 Those who have no religion ; who 
 do not worship or honour God. The 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 135 
 
 10 For whoremongers, for them 
 thut defile themselves with man- 
 kind, for menstoalers, for hars, for 
 
 Greek word occurs in the following 
 place?', in all of wliiou-t is rendered 
 nn^odb/. llotn. iv. 5 ; V. 6. 1 Tim. 
 i. 9. IPet. iv. 18. 2 Pel. ii. 5; iii. 
 7. Jnde iv. Vx The meaning is, 
 that tJio law is aj^ainst all who do 
 not worsliij) or honour God. ^ And 
 for sinners. The word used here 
 is the common word to denote sin- 
 ners. It is rreneral, and includes 
 sins of all kinds. ^ For unholy. 
 "Those who are rcn^ardless of duty 
 to Gixl or man." Rolnnsnn, Lex. 
 The word occurs in the New Testa- 
 ment only here, and in 2 Tim. iii. 2. 
 It has particular reference to those 
 who fail of their duty towards God, 
 and means those who have no piety ; 
 wlio are irreligious. ^ And profane. 
 Tills dues not necessarily mean that 
 they were profane in the sense that 
 they blasphemed the name of God, 
 or Were profine swearers — though 
 the word would include that— but 
 it means properly those who arc im- 
 pious, or who arc scoffers. Notes, 
 Ileb. .\ii. 10. The word occurs only 
 in the following places, in all of 
 which it is rendered profane. 1 
 Tim. i. 9; iv. 7; vi. 20. 2 Tim. ii. 
 10. Ileb. .\ii. 16. A man who 
 treats religion with contempt, mock- 
 ery, or scorn, would correspond with 
 the meaning of the word. H For 
 inurdirtrs (if fathers. The Greek 
 properly means a smiterof a father 
 (linbinson), though here it undoubt- 
 edly means a parricide. This was 
 expressly forbidden by the law of 
 Miiscs, and was a crime punishable 
 by death. E.\. x.xi. 1.'). It is said 
 to have been a crime which the Ro- 
 man law did not contemplate as pos- 
 sible, and hence that there was no 
 enactment against it It is, indeed, 
 t crime of the highest order; but 
 iictfi have shown 'hat if the Romans 
 
 perjured persons, and if there be 
 aiiy other thing that is contrary to 
 sound " doctrine ; 
 
 a 2 Ti. 4. 3. Tit. 1. 0. 
 
 supposed it would never be commit- 
 ted, tiiey did not judge aright of hu- 
 man nature. There is no sin which 
 man will iK)t commit if unrestrained, 
 and there is in fact no conceivable 
 t'onn of crime of which he has not 
 been guilty. ^ Murderers of j/io- 
 thrrs. A still more atrocious and 
 monstrous crime, if possible, than 
 the former. We can conceive no- 
 thing superior to this in atrocity, and 
 yet it has been committed. Nero 
 caused his mother to be murdered, 
 and the annals of crime disclose tiie 
 names of not a few who have im- 
 brued their own hands in the blo<jd 
 of those who bare them. This was 
 also expressly forbidden by the law 
 of Moses. E.x. .x.xi. lij. If For man- 
 slayers. This word occurs nowhere 
 else in the New Testament It 
 means a jjomicidc — a murderer. The 
 crime is expressly forbidden by the 
 law. Ex. x.x. 13. Gen. i.x. 0. 
 
 10. For whoremonrrers. Lev. .\ix. 
 29 ; XX. 5. ^ Far them thai defile 
 themselves with ?nankind. Sodom- 
 ites, yec the evidence that this 
 crime abounded in ancient times, in 
 the Notes on Rom. i. 27. It was 
 forbidden by the law of IMoscs, and 
 was punishable with death. Lev. 
 XX. 13. ^ For menslealers. The 
 word here used — d^6ptiirto5t(TT>;j-^oc- 
 curs nowhere else in the New Tes- 
 tament It properly means one wiio 
 steals another for the purpose of 
 making him a slave — a kidnapper. 
 This is the common way in which 
 men are made slaves. Some, indeed, 
 are taken in war and sold as slaves, 
 but the mass of those who have been 
 reduceti to servitude have become 
 slaves by being kidnapped. Child- 
 ren are stolen from their parents, or 
 wives from their husbands, or hus- 
 bands from Uieir wives, or parents 
 
136 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 11 According to the glorious 
 gospel of the blessed ° God, which 
 * was committed to my trust. 
 
 a c. 6. 15. b 1 Co. 9. 17. 
 
 from their children, or whole fami- 
 lies are stolen together. None be- 
 come slaves voluntarily, and conse- 
 quently the whole process of making 
 slaves partakes of the nature of 
 theft of the worst kind. What theft 
 is like that of stealing a man's cliild- 
 ren, or his wife, or his father or mo- 
 ther'! The guilt of manstealing is 
 incurred essentially by those who 
 purchase those who are thus stolen 
 — as tiie purchaser of a stolen horse, 
 knowing it to be so, participates 
 in the crime. A measure of that 
 criminality also adheres to all who 
 own slaves, and who thus maintain 
 the system — for it is a system known 
 to have been originated by theft. 
 This crime was expressly forbidden 
 by the law of God, and was made 
 punishable with death. Ex. xxi. 16. 
 Deut. xxiv. 7. '\\ For liars. Lev. 
 vi. 2 — 4 ; xix. 11. "H For perjured 
 persons. Those who swear falsely. 
 Lev. xix. 12; vi. 3. Ex. xx. 7. 
 ^ And if there be any other thing 
 that is contrary to sound doctrine. 
 To sound or correct teaching — for 
 so the word doctrine means. The 
 meaning is, if there is anything else 
 that is opposed to the instruction 
 which tlie law of God gives. 
 
 11. According to the glorious 
 gospel. The gospel is a system of 
 divine revelation. It makes known 
 the will of God. It states what is 
 duty and accords in its great princi- 
 ples with the law, or is in harmony 
 with it. The law, in principle, for- 
 bids all which the gospel forbids, and 
 in publishing the requirements of 
 the gospel, therefore, Paul says that 
 the law really forbade all which was 
 prohibited in tlie gospel, and was de- 
 signed to restrain all who would act 
 contrary to that gospel. There is 
 no contradiction between the law 
 
 12 And I thank Christ Jesus 
 our Lord, who hath enabled ' me, 
 for that he counted me faithful, 
 
 r, 1 Co. 15. 10. 
 
 and the gospel. They forbid the 
 same things, and in regard to morals 
 and true piety, the clearer revelationa 
 of the gospel are but carrying out 
 the principles stated in the law. 
 They who preach tlie gospel, then, 
 should not be regarded as arrayed 
 against the law, and Paul says that 
 they who preached the gospel aright 
 really stated the true principles of 
 the law. This he evidently intends 
 should bear against the false teachers 
 who professed to explain the law of 
 IMoses. He means here that if a 
 man wished to explain the law, the 
 best explanation would be found in 
 that gospel which it was his office 
 to publish. Comp. Rom. iii. 31. 
 IT Of the blessed God. Revealea 
 by the blessed God — the same God 
 who was the Author of the law. 
 ^ Wliich loas committed to my 
 trust. Not to him alone, but to 
 him in common with others. He 
 had received it directly from the 
 Lord. 1 Cor. ix. 17. Notes, Gal. 
 i. 1. 
 
 12. And I thank Christ Jesus 
 our Lord. The mention of the gos- 
 pel (ver. 11), and of the fact tliat it 
 was committed to him, leads the 
 apostle to express his gratitude to 
 him who had called him to the work 
 of preaching it. The Lord Jesus 
 had called him when he was a blas- 
 phemer and a persecutor. He had 
 constrained him to leave his career 
 of persecution and blasphemy, and 
 to consecrate himself to the defence 
 and the propagation of the gospel. 
 For all this, though it had required 
 him to give up his favourite projects 
 in life, and all the flattering schemes 
 of ambition, lie now felt that praise 
 was due to the Redeemer. If there 
 is anytliing for which a good man 
 will be thankful, and should be thank- 
 
A. D. 55 J 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 187 
 
 putung * me into the ministry ; 
 
 m 1 Co. 7. 25. t Col. 1. 25. 
 
 fill, it is that he has been bo directed 
 by the Spirit and Providence of God 
 IS to be put into the ministry. It is 
 indeed a worit of toil, and of self- 
 denial, and demanding' many sacri- 
 fices of pergonal ease artd comtbrt. 
 It retiuires a man to give up his 
 splendid prospects of worldly dis- 
 tinction, and of wealth and ease. It 
 is otlen identified with want, and 
 poverty, and neglect, and persecu- 
 tion. But it is an office so honoura- 
 ble, so excellent, so noble, and en- 
 nobling ; it is attended witli so many 
 precious comforts here, and is so use- 
 ful to the world, and it has such pro- 
 mises of blessedness and happiness 
 in tlie world to come, that no mailer 
 ichat a man is required lo give up 
 in order lo become a miiiister of I he 
 r'ospel, he should be tiiankful to 
 ' ' irist for putting him into the office. 
 A minister, when he comes to die, 
 'eels that tlie highest fa.vour which 
 Hea\on has conferred on him has 
 been in turning his feet away from 
 tlie paths of ambition, and the pur- 
 suits of ease or gain, and leading 
 him to tiiat holy work to which he 
 has been enabled to consecrate his 
 life. !! IV/jo hath enabled me. Who 
 has given me ability or strength for 
 this service. The apostle traced to 
 the Lord Jesus ihe fact tliat he was 
 in the ministry at all, and all the 
 ability which he had to perform the 
 duties of that holy office. It is not 
 necessary here to suppose, as many 
 have done, that he refers to miracu- 
 lous power conferred on him, but lie 
 makes the acknowledgment which 
 any faithful minister would do, tliat 
 all the strength which he has to per- 
 form the duties of liis office is de- 
 rived from Christ Comp. Notes, 
 John .'a-. 5. 1 Cor. xv. 10. •[ For 
 that he counted mr fnithful. This is 
 equivalent to saying that he reposed 
 confidence in me. It means that 
 12* 
 
 13 Who v\as before ' u blas- 
 
 c Ac a 3. 1 Co. 15. 0. 
 
 there was something in the charac- 
 ter of Paul, and in his attachment 
 to the Saviour, on whicli reliance 
 could be placed, or tliat there was 
 that which gave tlie assurance tliat 
 he would be faithful. A sovereign, 
 when he sends an ambas-sador to a 
 foreign court, rejjoses confidence in 
 him, and would not commission him 
 unless he had reason to believe that 
 he would be faithful. So it is in re- 
 ference to all wlio are called by the 
 Redeemer into tiie ministry. They 
 are his ambassadors to a lost world. 
 His putting them into the ministry 
 is an act expressive of great confi 
 dencc in tliem — for he commits to 
 them great and important interests. 
 Learn hence, (1.) tliat no one ougiit 
 to regard himself as called to tlie 
 ministry who will not be 'faithful' 
 to his Master; and (2.) that the of- 
 fice of the ministry is most honour- 
 able and responsible. Nowhere else 
 are there so great interests intrust- 
 ed to man. 
 
 13. Who was bpforc a blasphemer 
 Tiiis does not mean that Paul before 
 his conversion was what would now 
 be regarded as an open blasphemer 
 — that he was one who abused and 
 reviled sacred tilings, or one who 
 was in the habit of profane swear- 
 ing. His character appears to have 
 been just the reverse of this, for he 
 was remarkable tor treating what 
 he regarded as sacred willi the ut- 
 most respect. See Notes on Phil, 
 iii. 4 — 6. Tiie meaning is, that ho 
 had reviled the name of Christ, and 
 opposed him and his cause — not be- 
 lieving that he was the Messiah; 
 and in thus oppf)sing he had really 
 been guilty of blasphemy. The true 
 Messiali he had in fiict treated with 
 contempt and reproaches, and he 
 now looked back upon that fiict with 
 t.'ie deepest mortification, and with 
 , wonder that one who had beeit so 
 
i38 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 phemer, and a persecutor, and 
 injurious : but I obtained mercy, 
 because I did it ignorantly " in 
 unbelief. 
 
 14 And the grace of our Lord 
 
 a Lu. iJ3. 34. 
 
 treated by him should have been 
 willing to put him into the ministry. 
 On tiie meaning of the word blas- 
 pheme, see Notes on Matt. ix. 3. 
 Comp. Acts xxvi. 11. In his con- 
 duct here referred to, Paul else- 
 where says, that he thought at the 
 time that he was doing what he 
 ought to do (Acts xxvi. 9) ; here he 
 'jays that he now regarded it as blas- 
 phemy. Learn hence that men may 
 have very difl:erent views of their 
 conduct when they come to look at 
 it in subsequent life. What they 
 now regard as harmless, or even as 
 right and proper, may hereafter over- 
 whelm them with shame and re- 
 morse. The sinner will yet feel the 
 deepest self-reproaches for that which 
 now gives us no uneasiness. ■[ And 
 a persecutor. Acts ix. 1, seq. ; xxii. 
 4; xxvi. 11. 1 Cor. xv. 9. Gal. i. 
 13. 23. ^ And injurious. The word 
 here used (vppiatr;^), occurs only in 
 one other place in the New Testa- 
 ment, Rom. i. 30, where it is rendered 
 despiteful. The word injurious does 
 not quite express its force. It does 
 not mean merely doing injury, but 
 refers rather to the manner or spirit 
 in which it is done. It is a word 
 of intenser signification than either 
 the word ' blasphemer,' or ' persecu- 
 tor,' and means that what he did 
 was done with a proud, haughty, in- 
 solent spirit. There was wicked 
 and malicious violence, an arrogance 
 and spirit of tyrarmy in what he did, 
 which greatly aggravated the wrong 
 that was done. Comp. the Greek 
 in Matt. xxii. G. Luke xi. 45 ; xviii. 
 32. Acts xiv. 5. 1 Thess. ii. 2. 2 
 Cor. xii. 10, for illustrations of the 
 meaninsr of the word. Tindal and 
 
 was exceeding abundant with 
 faith and love which is in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 15 This is a faithful * saying, 
 and worthy of all acceptation; 
 
 i2Ti. 2. 11. Tit. 3. 8. 
 
 Coverdale render it here 'tyrant.' 
 ^ But I obtained mercy, because 1 
 did ilig nor antly in unbelief. Comp. 
 Notes on Luke xxiii. 34. The ig- 
 norance and unbelief of Paul were 
 not such excuses for what he did 
 that they would wholly free him 
 from blame, nor did he regard them 
 as such — for what he did was with 
 a violent and wicked spirit — but 
 they were mitigating circumstances 
 They served to modify his guilt, and 
 were among the reasons Vv'hy God 
 had mercy on him. What is said 
 here, therefore, accords with what 
 the Saviour said in his prayer for 
 his murderers ; ' Father, forgive them, 
 for they know not what they do.' 
 It is undoubtedly true that persons 
 who sin ignorantly, and who regard 
 themselves as right in what they do, 
 are much more likely to obtain mer- 
 cy than those who do Vv'rong design- 
 edly. 
 
 14. And the grace of our Lord 
 was exceeding abundant. That is, 
 in his conversion under these circum- 
 stances, and in the aid wliich was 
 afterwards imparted to him in his 
 work. ^ With faith and love lohich 
 is in Christ Jesus. Accompanied 
 with the exercise of faith and love ; 
 or producing faith and love. The 
 grace which was imparted to him 
 was seen in the faith and love which 
 it produced. See Notes, 1 Cor. xv. 
 10. 
 
 15. This is a faithful saying. 
 Gr., ' Faithful is the word,' or doc- 
 trine — ^oyoj. This verse has some- 
 what the character of a parenthesis, 
 and seems to have been thrown into 
 the midst of the narrative becau.se 
 the mind of the apostle was fiill of 
 
A. IJ. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 139 
 
 thai Christ Jesus came into the 
 
 a Mat. ;». 1.1. Lu. ID. 10. 
 
 tlto siibj<?cL He liad said tliat iie, a 
 preat sinner, iiad obtained mercy. 
 Tiiis naturally led him to think of 
 the purpose for which Christ came 
 into the world — to save sinners — 
 and to think how slrikinn^ly tluit trutii 
 had been illustrated in his own case, 
 and how that case had shown that 
 it was wortiiy the attention of all. 
 The word rendered 'sayinrr,' means 
 in this place doctrine, position, or 
 declaration. The word 'faithtui,' 
 means assurcdlij true ,• it was that 
 which mijjht be depended on, or on 
 which reliance might be placed. 
 The meaning is, Uiat the doctrine 
 that Christ came to save sinners 
 might be depended on as certainly 
 true. Comp. 2 Tim. ii. 11. Titus 
 iii. 8. •[ And worthy of all accep- 
 tation. Worthy to be embraced or be- 
 lieved by all. Tliis is so, because, (1.) 
 all are sinners and need a Saviour. 
 All, therefore, ought to welcome a 
 ditctrina which shows them how 
 tlii-y may be saved. (2.) Because 
 Ciirist died for all. If he had died 
 for only a part of the race, and could 
 save only a part, it could not be said 
 with any propriety that the doctrine 
 was worthy of the acceptance of 
 'all.' If tiiat were so, wliat liad it 
 to do with all] ^IIow could all be 
 interested in it or benefited by it ? 
 If medicine had been provided for 
 only a part of the patients in a hos- 
 pital, it could not be said that the 
 announcement of such a fact was 
 wortiiy the attention of all. It would 
 be highly worthy ^he attention of 
 tliose for whom it was designed, but 
 there would be a part who would 
 liave nothing to do with it; and why 
 phou 111 they concern themsel ves a bout 
 it ! But if it was provided for each 
 one, then each one would have the 
 highe.st interest in it So, if salva- 
 tion iias bpon provided fur me, it is a 
 Doatter claimin.'j my profoundcst at- 
 
 world to save sinners ; of \\ horn 
 I am chief. 
 
 tcntion ; and the same is true of 
 every human being. If not provided 
 for ine, I have nothing to do with 
 it. It does not concern me at all. 
 (Ji.) The manner in which the pro- 
 vision of sjilvation lias been made in 
 the gospel is such as to make it wor- 
 thy of universal acceptation. It pro- 
 vides for the complete pardon of sin, 
 and the restoration of the soul to 
 God. Tliis is done in a way that is 
 lioiiourable to God — maintiining his 
 law and his justice ; and, at the same 
 lime, it is in a way that is honour- 
 able to man. He is treated after- 
 wards as a friend of God and an lieir 
 of life. He is raised up from his 
 degradation, and restored to tiie fa- 
 vour of his Maker. If man were 
 himself to suggest a way of salva- 
 tion, he could think of none that 
 would be more honourable to God 
 and to himself; none that would do 
 so much to maintain the law and to 
 elevate him from all that now de- 
 grades him. What higher honour 
 can. be conferred on man than to 
 have his salvation sought as an ob- 
 ject of intense and earnest desire 
 by one so great and glorious as the 
 Son of God ] (4.) It is worthy of 
 all acceptance, from the nature of 
 the salvation itself Heaven is ofTer- 
 ed, with all its everlasting glories, 
 through the blood of Clirisl — and is 
 not this worthy of universal accep- 
 tation! Men would accept of a 
 coronet or crown; a splendid man- 
 sion or a rich estate ; a present of 
 jewels and gold, if freely tender- 
 ed to them — but what trifles are 
 these compared with heaven ! If 
 there is anything that is worthy 
 of universal acceptation, it is heo' 
 ven — for all will be mi.'^erable 
 unless they enter tliere. If That 
 Christ Jesus came into the world 
 to save sinners. The great and 
 peculiar doctrine of the gospel. 
 
140 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D, 58. 
 
 16 Howbeit for this cause I 
 obtained mercy, that in me first 
 
 He ' came into the world.' He there- 
 fore had a previous existence. He 
 came. He had, therefore, an object 
 in coming. It makes his gospel 
 more worthy of acceptation that he 
 had an intention, a plan, a wish, in 
 thus coming into the world. He 
 ' came' when he was under no ne- 
 cessity of coming ; he came to save, 
 not to destroy ; to reveal mercy, not 
 to denounce judgment; to save sin- 
 ners — tlie poor, tiie lost, the wander- 
 ing, not to condemn them ; he came 
 to restore them to the favour of God, 
 to raise them up from their degrada- 
 tion, and to bring them to heaven. 
 If Of ichom I am chief. Gr., first. 
 The word is used to denote eminence 
 — and it means that he occupied the 
 first rank among sinners. There 
 were none who surpassed him. This 
 does not mean that he had been ihe 
 greatest of sinners in all respects, 
 but that in some respects he had 
 been so great a siimer, that on the 
 whole there were none who had sur- 
 passed him. That to wliich he par- 
 ticularly refers was doubtless the 
 part which he had taken in putting 
 the saints to death; but in connec- 
 tion with this, he felt, undoubtedly, 
 that he had by nature a heart emi- 
 nently prone to sin. See Rom. vii. 
 Except in the matter of persecuting 
 the saints, the youthful Saul of Tar- 
 sus appears to have been eminently 
 moral, and his outward conduct was 
 framed in accordance with the strict- 
 est rules of the law. Phil. iii. 6. 
 Acts xxvi. 4, 5. After his conver- 
 sion, he never attempted to extenu- 
 ate his conduct, or excuse himself 
 He was always ready, in all circles, 
 and in all places, to admit to its full- 
 est extent the fact that he was a sin- 
 ner. So deeply convinced was he 
 of the truth of this, that he bore 
 about with him the constant impres- 
 
 Jesus Christ might shew forth all 
 long-suffering, for a pattern " to 
 
 o Ro. J5. 4. 
 
 sion that he was eminently unwor- 
 thy ; and hence he does not say mere- 
 ly that he had been a sinner of most 
 aggravated character, but he speaks 
 of it as something that always per- 
 tained to him — ' of whom I am chief.' 
 We may remark, (1.) that a true 
 Christian will always be ready to 
 admit that his past life has been evil ; 
 (2.) that this will become the abid- 
 ing and steady conviction of the 
 soul ; and (3.) that an acknowledg- 
 ment that we are sinners is not in- 
 consistent with evidence of piety, 
 and with high attainments in it. The 
 most eminent Christian has the deep- 
 est sense of the depravity of his 
 own heart and of the evil of his past 
 life. 
 
 16. Howbeit for this cause. That 
 is, this was one of the causes, or this 
 was a leading reason. We are not 
 to suppose that this was the only one. 
 God had other ends to answer by his 
 conversion than this, but this was 
 one of the designs why he was par- 
 doned — that there might be for all 
 ages a permanent proof that sins of 
 the deepest dye might be forgiven. 
 It was well to have one such exam- 
 ple at the outset, that a doubt might 
 never arise about flie possibility of 
 forgiving great transgressors. The 
 question thus would be settled for 
 ever. IT That in me first. Not first 
 in the order of time, as our transla- 
 tion would seem to imply, but that in 
 me the first or chief of sinners (sv ijjLoi 
 Tiaii-fa) he might'show an example. 
 The idea is, that he sustained the 
 first rank as a sinner, and that Jesus 
 Christ designed to show mercy to 
 him as such, in order that the possi- 
 bility of pardoning the greatest sin 
 ners might be evinced, and thai no 
 one might afterwards despair of sal- 
 vation on account of the greatness 
 of his crimes. T[ Might show forth 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 141 
 
 them which should hereafter be- 
 lieve on him lo life cverlaslinjr. 
 
 17 Now unto the King'eter- 
 
 a Pa. 10. 16. 
 
 all lont!-siiff'* riitir. The highest 
 possible deg^ree of Ibrbcanincc, in or- 
 der tliat a case mi^lit never occur | 
 about wliicli tliere could be any 
 doubt It was shown by his exam- 
 ple lliat the I/jrd Jesus could evince 
 any jxjssible degree of patience, and 
 could have mercy on tlie greatest 
 iuiaginable oflbndcrs. ^ For a pat- 
 tern. irtoTvTiuaiv. This word occurs 
 nowhere else in tiie New Testament, 
 except in 2 Tim. i. 13, where it is 
 rendered form. It properly means 
 a form, sketch, or imperfect delinea- 
 tion. Then it denotes u pattern or 
 example, and here it means that the 
 case of Paul was an example tor 
 the encouragement of sinners in all 
 subsequent times. It was that to 
 wiiich they might look when they 
 desired forgiveness and salvation. It 
 furnished all the illustration and ar- 
 gument which they would need to 
 show that they might be forgiven. 
 It settled the question for ever that 
 the greatest sinners might be par- 
 donod ; for as he was ' the chief of 
 sinners,' it proved that a case could 
 not occur which was beyond the pos- 
 sibility of mercy. «r ffliich should 
 hereafter believe on him lo life ever- 
 i.astimr. All might learn from tiie 
 mercy shown to him that salvation 
 :oiild be obtained. From this verse 
 we may learn (1.) that no sinner 
 should despair of mercy. No one 
 should say that he is so f^rent a sin- 
 ner that he cannot be forgiven. One 
 who regarded himself as the 'chief 
 of sinners was pardoned, and par- 
 donetl for the very purpose of il- 
 lustrating thia truth, that any sin- 
 ner might be saved. His example 
 stands as the illustration of this to 
 all ages; and were there no other, 
 any sinner might now come and 
 hope tor mercy. But tliere nrr other 
 examples. Sinners of all ranks and 
 descriptions have been pardoned. 
 
 Indeed, there is no form of depravity 
 of which men can be guilty, in re- 
 spect to which then' are not instances 
 where just such oilenders have been 
 tijrgiven. The persecutor may re- 
 flect that great enemies of the cross 
 like him have been pardoned ; the 
 profane man and the blasjihemer, 
 that many such have been forgiven ; 
 the murderer, the thief, the .sensual- 
 ist, that many of the same character 
 have found mercy, and have been 
 admitted to heaven. (2.) The fact 
 that great sinners have been pardon- 
 ed, is a proof tliat others of the same 
 description may be also. The same 
 mercy that saved them can save us 
 — for mercy is not exhausted by be- 
 ing frequently exercised. The blood 
 of atonement which has cleansed so 
 many can cleanse us — for it^s efficacy 
 is not destroyed by being once ap- 
 plied to the guilty soul. Let no one 
 then despair of obtaining mercy be- 
 cause he feels that his sins are too 
 great to be forgiven. Let him look 
 to the i)ast, and remember wiiat God 
 has done. Let him remember the 
 case of Saul of Tarsus ; let him 
 think of David and Peter; let him 
 recall the names of Augustine, and 
 Col. Gardiner, and the Earl of Ro- 
 chester, and John Newton, and John 
 Bunyan — and thousands like them, 
 who have found mercy ; and in their 
 examples let him see a full proof 
 that God is willing lo save any sin- 
 ner, no matter how vile, provided 
 he is penitent and believing. 
 
 17. AV)w utito (he Kintr eternal. 
 This ascription of praise is offered 
 to Go.1 in view of the mercy which 
 he had shown to so great a sinner. 
 It is the outbreak of that grateful 
 emotion which swelled his bosom, 
 ami which would not bo denie<l ex- 
 pression, when Paul recalled his 
 former life and the mercy of God to 
 his soul. It somewhat interrupts in- 
 
142 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 nal, immortal, " mvisible, * the 
 only wise ' God, be honour ^ and 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 a c. C. 15, 16. 
 e Ro. 16. 27. 
 
 b Jno. 1. 18. 
 d 1 Ch. 29. II. 
 
 deed the train of his remarks, but 
 the heart was so full that it demand- 
 ed utterance. It is just an instance 
 of the joy and gratitude which fill 
 the soul of a Christian when he is 
 led along in a train of reflections 
 which conduct him to the recollec- 
 tion of his former sin and danger, 
 and to the fact that he has obtained 
 mercy and has now the hope of hea- 
 ven. The apostle Paul not unfre- 
 quently, in accordance with a mode 
 of writing that was common among 
 the Hebrews, interposes an expres- 
 sion of praise in the midst of his rea- 
 sonings. Comp. Rom. i. 25. 2 Cor. 
 xi. 31. God is called King here, as 
 he is often in the Scriptures, to de- 
 note that he rules over the universe. 
 A literal translation of the passage 
 would be, 'To the King of ages, 
 who is immortal,' &c. The mean- 
 ing of this expression — ' the King 
 of ages' — ^aaCKii ■fwi' atws'cov — is, that 
 he is a king w'ho rules throughout 
 all ages. This does not mean that 
 he himself lives for ever, but that 
 his dominion extends over all ages 
 or generations. The rule of earthly 
 monarchs does not extend into suc- 
 cessive ages ; his does. Their reign 
 is temporary: his is enduring, and 
 continues as one generation after 
 another passes on, and thus embraces 
 them all. ^ Immorlal. This refers 
 to God himself, not to his reign. It 
 means that he does not die, and it is 
 given to him to distinguish liim from 
 other sovereigns. All other mon- 
 archs but God expire — and are just 
 as liable to die at any moment as 
 any other men. 'H Invisible. Ch. 
 vi. 16. See Notes on John i. 18. 
 ^ The only wise God. Notes, Rom. 
 xvi 27. The word ' tvise' is want- 
 ing in many MSS., and in some edi- 
 
 18 This charge I commit unto 
 thee, son Timothy, according ' to 
 the prophecies which went before 
 
 tions of the New Testament. It ia 
 omitted by Griesbach; marked as 
 doubtful by Tittman, and rejected 
 in the valuable edition of Hahn. 
 Erasmus conjectures that it was add- 
 ed against the Arians, who main- 
 tained that the Father only was God, 
 and that as he is here mentioned as 
 such, the word wise was interpolated 
 to denote merely that the attribute 
 of perfect wisdom belonged only to 
 him. Wetstein regards the reading 
 as genuine, and suspects that in 
 some of the early manuscripts where 
 it is wanting it w^as omitted by the 
 transcriber, because it was regarded 
 as inelegant for two adjectives to be 
 united in this manner. It is not 
 easy to determine as to the genuine- 
 ness of the reading. The sense is 
 not materially affected, whichever 
 view be adopted. It is true that Je- 
 hovah is the only God ; it is also true 
 that he is the only wise God. The 
 gods of the heathen ane ' vanity and 
 a lie,' and they are wholly destitute 
 of wisdom. See Ps. cxv. 3 — 8 ; 
 cxxxv. 15— 18. Isa. xl. 18 — 20; 
 xliv. 10 — 17. IT Be honour. Let 
 there be all the respect and venera- 
 tion shown to him which is his due. 
 IT And glory. Praise. Let him be 
 praised by all for ever. If Ame7i. So 
 be it ; an expression of strong afSrm- 
 ation. John iii. 3. Here it is used 
 to denote the solemn assent of the 
 heart to the sentiment conveyed by 
 the words used. See Notes on Matt 
 vi. 13. 1 Cor. xiv. 16. 
 
 18. This charge. This command 
 or injunction. It does not refer to 
 any 'charge,' or 'cure,' which he 
 had as bishop or minister, as the 
 word is sometimes used now, but to 
 the commands or injunctions which 
 he was delivering to him. The com* 
 
A. D. 58.] CHAPTER L 143 
 
 on thee, that thou by tliom mightcst war a good warfare ; 
 
 raaiul particularly referred to is that 
 in ver. 8. ^ Accordintr to the prn- 
 p!iecics icliich icent before on tlwe. 
 The pciiL'ial intMniiii^of this is plain. 
 It is, tiiat Paul was cominittinnr to 
 liim an imi)orlant trust, and one that 
 required i^rcat wisdom and fidelity; 
 and that in doin;; it iic was actinia in 
 conformity with tlie hopes which iiad 
 been cherished rcspcclinnf Timotliy, 
 and with certain expressed antici- 
 [xitions aI)out his influence in tlio 
 church. From early life the hope 
 had been entertained that he would 
 be a man to wliom important trusts 
 might be committed ; and it had been 
 predicted that he would be distin- 
 guished as a friend of religion. 
 Tliese hopes seem to have been cher- 
 ished in consequence of the careful 
 training in religion which he had 
 liad (2 Tim. ii. 1 ; iii. 15), and pro- 
 bably from the early indications of 
 seriousness, prudence, and piety, 
 which he manifested. It was natu- 
 ral to entertain such hopes, and it 
 seems, from this place, that such 
 hopes had even assumed the form of 
 predictions. It is not absolutely ne- 
 cessary to suppose that these predic- 
 tions referred to by the word prophe- 
 cies were inspired, for the word maij 
 be used in a popular sense, as it is 
 often now. \Ve speak now familiar- 
 ly of prrilictimr or forelellim^ the 
 future n«efulnps3 of a serious, pru- 
 dent, studious, and pious youth. We 
 argue from wliat he is, to wiiat he 
 will be, and we do not deem it un- 
 .s-ife or improper to hazard the pre- 
 diction that, if ho lives, he will be a 
 man to whom important interests 
 may be mtrusted. As there were, 
 however, prophets in the christian 
 church (Notess Acts xi. 27. 1 Cor. 
 adv.), and as it is possible that in 
 •omo cases they were inspired to 
 foretell future events it cannot be 
 regarded as improper to suppose that 
 •ome of them had foretold the future 
 
 usefulness of this religiously edu- 
 cated youtli. Whatever may be 
 meant by the expression, this gene- 
 ral observation may be made, that 
 when a young man enters on the 
 active duties of life, and when great 
 interests are intrusted to him, it is 
 not improper to remind him of the 
 hopes which had been cherislied of 
 him; of the anticipations wliich had 
 been formed of his future usefulness ; 
 and of the expressions which have 
 been used by the pious and the dis- 
 cerning respecting his future charac- 
 ter. This is a kind of reminiscence 
 which will rather increase his sense 
 of responsibility tlian flatter liis va- 
 nity; and it may be made a means 
 of exciting him to diligence and 
 fidelity. A virtuous young man will 
 not willingly disappoint the lon^- 
 chcrished hopes of his friends. He 
 will be likely to be made more 
 diligent by the remembrance of 
 all their fond anticipations of his 
 future success. •[ That thou by 
 them. By those prophecies. That 
 is, that being stimulated and e.xcited 
 by those predictions and hopes, you 
 might be led to fidelity and useful- 
 ness. ^ Mighlesl war a ffood war- 
 fare. The christian life is often 
 compared to a warfare or struggle 
 for victory (comp. Eph. vi. 10 — 17. 
 1 Cor. ix. 7. 2 Cor. iv. 4), and tho 
 services of the christian ministry 
 especially are likened to those of a 
 soldier. 2 Tim. ii. :}, 4 ; iv. 7. The 
 meaning here is, that he sliould con- 
 tend with earnestness as a Christian 
 and a minister in that holy service 
 in which lie was engaged, and en- 
 deavour to secure the victory. He 
 • wars a good warliire' who is en- 
 gaired in a righteous cause ; who is 
 faithful to his commander and to hia 
 j)o<t ; who is unslumb'^ring in ob- 
 serving the motions of the enemy, 
 ami fearless in courage in meeting 
 them ; who never forsakes hid stand* 
 
144 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. 58. 
 
 19 Holding « faith, and a good 
 conscience, which some having 
 put awa)?-, concerning faith have 
 made shipwreck : 
 
 a c. 3. 9. 
 
 20 Of whom is Hymeneus and 
 Alexander ; whom I have deliv- 
 ered '' unto Satan, that they may 
 learn not to blaspheme. 
 
 b 1 Co. 5. 5. 
 
 ard, and who continues thius faithful 
 till the period of his enlistment has 
 expired, or till death. Such a sol- 
 dier the cliristian minister should be. 
 19. Holding faith. Fidelity to 
 the cause in which you are enlisted 
 —■as a good soldier should do. This 
 does not mean, as it seems to me, 
 that Timothy should hold to the sys- 
 tem of doctrines revealed in the gos- 
 pel, but that he should have that 
 fidelity which a good soldier should 
 have. He should not betray his trust. 
 He should adhere to the cause of 
 his master with unwavering stead- 
 fastness. This would include, of 
 ''surse, a belief of the truth, but this 
 is not the leading idea in the phrase. 
 Tf And a good conscience. See 
 Notes, Acts xxiii. 1. A good con- 
 science, as well as fidelity, is neces- 
 sary in the service of the Redeemer. 
 A good conscience is that which is 
 well informed in regard to what is 
 right, and where its dictates are ho- 
 nestly followed. ^ Which some hav- 
 ing put aioay. That is, which good 
 conscience some have put from them, 
 or in other words, have not followed 
 its dictates. The truth thus taught 
 is, that men make shipwreck of their 
 feith by not keeping a good con- 
 science. They love sin. They fol- 
 low the leadings of passion. They 
 choose to indulge in carnal propen- 
 sities. As a matter of course, they 
 must, if they will do this, reject and 
 renounce the gospel. Men become 
 infidels because they wish to indulge 
 in sin. No man can be a sensualist, 
 and yet love that gospel which en- 
 joins purity of life. If men would 
 keep a good conscience, the way to 
 a steady belief in the gospel would 
 be easy. If men will not, they must 
 expect sooner or later to be landed 
 
 in infidelity. ^ Concerning faith. 
 In respect to the whole subject of 
 faith. They are unfaithful to God, 
 and they reject the whole S3'^stem 
 of the gospel. ' Faith' is some- 
 times used to denote the gospel — as 
 faith is the principal thing in the 
 gospel. ^ Have made shipwreck. 
 There is an entire destruction of 
 faith — as a ship is wholly ruined that 
 strikes on a rock and sinks. 
 
 20. Of whom is Hymeneus and 
 Alexander. Hymeneus is nowhere 
 else mentioned in the New Testa- 
 ment, except in 2 Tim. ii. 17, where 
 he is mentioned in connection with 
 Philetus as a very dangerous man. 
 An Alexander is mentioned in Acts 
 xix. 33, which some have supposed 
 to be the same as the one referred 
 to here. It is not certain, however, 
 that the same person is intended. 
 See Notes on that verse. In 2 Tim. 
 iv. 14, Alexander the coppersmith 
 is mentioned as one who had done 
 the apostle " much evil," and there 
 can be little doubt that he is the 
 same person who is referred to here. 
 One of the doctrines which Hyme- 
 neus held was, that the ' resurrection 
 was past already' (2 Tim. ii. 18) ; 
 but what doctrine Alexander held 
 is unknown. It is not improbable, 
 as he is mentioned here in connec- 
 tion \vi\h Hymeneus, that he niaiu' 
 tained the same opinion, and in addi- 
 tion to that he appears to have been 
 guilty of some personal injury to the 
 apostle. Both also were guilty of 
 blasphemy. ^ Wlwm I have deliv- 
 ered unto Satan. On the meaning 
 of this expression, see Notes on 1 
 Cor. V. 5. ^ That they may learn 
 not to blaspheme. It cannot be sup- 
 posed that Satan would undertake 
 to teach them not to blaspheme, or 
 
A D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 14(1 
 
 I 
 
 that Paul put tliem under him as an 
 instructor on that subjoct. The in- 
 structions of Satan tt-nd rather to 
 teuch his followers to blaspheme, and 
 none in his school fail to be apt scho- 
 lars. Tiic meanin;» here is, that 
 Paul excommunicated them, and not 
 improbably brou;^ht upon tliem, by 
 givinjT them over to Satan, some 
 physical maladies, that they might 
 Ik: reformed. Comp. Notes on 1 
 Cor. V. 5. It is not entirely clear 
 what is meant by blaspheme in this 
 place. Comp. Notes on ver. 13. It 
 cannot be supposed that they were 
 open and bold blasphemers, for such 
 could not have maintained a place 
 in the church, but rather that they 
 held doctrines which the apostle re- 
 grarded as amounting to blasphemy ; 
 that is, doctrines which were in fact 
 a reproach on the divine character. 
 There are many doctrines held by 
 men which are in fact a reflection 
 on the divine character, and which 
 amount to the same thing as blas- 
 phemy. A blasphemer openly ex- 
 presses views of the divine character 
 which are a reproach to God; an 
 errorict expresses the same thing in 
 another way — by teaching as true 
 about God that which represents him 
 in a false liglit, and, to suppose which, 
 in fact, is a reproach. The spirit 
 witli which this is done in the two 
 cases may be different; the thing 
 itself may be the same. Let us be 
 careful that we hold no views about 
 God wiiich are reproachful to him, 
 and wliich, tiiougli we do not express 
 it in words, may lead us to blaspheme 
 him in our hearts. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter is occupied mainly 
 m directions about the mode of con- 
 ducting public worship. Timotiiy 
 had been left at Ephesus to complete 
 the plans which the apostle had com- 
 menced in reference to the church 
 there, but from completing which he 
 13 
 
 had been unexpectedly prevented 
 (see tlie Intro.), and it was import- 
 ant to stite tbe views which lie en- 
 tertained on this subject to Timothy. 
 It was imjwrtant also tiiat general 
 directions on these subjects eiiould 
 be given, which would be useful to 
 the church at larj^o. The directions 
 in this chapter relate to the follow- 
 ing subjects : — 
 
 I. Public prayer. Vs. 1 — 8. 
 (1.) It was to be offered tor all 
 
 classes of men, without distinction 
 of rank, sect, party, country, or 
 name, especially tor all tiiat were in 
 autiiority. Vs. 1, 2. The reasons 
 for this were, 
 
 (a) That God desired all men to 
 be saved, and it was acceptable 
 to him that prayer should be 
 offered for all. Vs. 3, 4. 
 (6) There is but one God over all 
 the human race, and all are 
 alike his cliildren. Ver. 5. 
 (c) There is one and the same 
 Mediator between God and all 
 men. Ver. 5. 
 (jl) The same atonement has been 
 
 made for all. Vs. 6, 7. 
 (2.) The way in which prayer 
 should be offered. It should be with 
 holy hands, and without the inter- 
 mingling of any bad passion. Ver. 8. 
 
 II. The duties of women. Vs. 9 
 —15. 
 
 (1.) Modesty in their demeanour 
 and apparel. Ver. 9. 
 
 (2.) Good works — the chief orna« 
 ment of women professing piety. 
 Ver. lt». 
 
 (3.) The duty of learning from 
 others with a gentle and quiet spirit. 
 Ver. 11. 
 
 (4.) The duty of a proper subor- 
 dination and submission to man. 
 Ver. 12. 
 
 (.5.) The reasons for this subordi- 
 nation and submission are ttien stated. 
 Tiicy are, 
 
 (a) That Adam was first fonaed. 
 V(^r. 13. 
 
 (J}) That the woman had been d» 
 
146 
 
 TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 T EXHORT, 'therefore, that, first 
 
 
 > or, desire. 
 
 ceived, and should be willing to 
 occupy a subordinate place, as 
 she was first in the transgres- 
 sion and was the means of lead- 
 ing liim into sin. Ver. 14. 
 (6.) Yet, as if to make a kind re- 
 mark in favour of woman — to show 
 that he did not intend to teach that 
 she was degraded and abandoned of 
 God — the apostle says that she would 
 be under the divine protection, and 
 that in the special sorrow and peril 
 which had been brought upon her 
 for her transgression, God would 
 sustain her if she continued in faith, 
 and evinced the spirit of a Christian 
 in her life. Ver. 15. 
 
 ■ 1. / exhort, therefore. Marg., 
 desire. The word exhort, however, 
 better expresses the sense of the ori- 
 ginal. The exhortation here is not 
 addressed particularly to Timothy, 
 but relates to all who were called to 
 lead in public prayer. Ver. 8. This 
 exhortation, it may be observed, is 
 inconsistent with the supposition 
 I'hat a liturgy was then in use, or 
 with the supposition that there ever 
 would be a liturgy — since, in that 
 case, the objects to be prayed for 
 would be prescribed. How singular 
 would it be now for an Episcopal 
 Bishop to ' exhort' his presbyters to 
 pray ' for the President of the United 
 States and for all who are in author- 
 ity.' When the prayer is prescribed, 
 do they not do this as a matter of 
 course I ^ First of all. That is, 
 as the first duty to be enjoined ; the 
 tiling that is to be regarded witli 
 primary concern. Comp. Luke xii. 
 1. 2 Pet. i. 20. It does not mean 
 that this was to be the first thing in 
 public worship in the order of time, 
 but that it was to be regarded as a 
 duty of primary importance. The 
 duty of praying for the salvation of 
 
 of all, supplications, prayers, in- 
 tercessions, a?id giving of thanks, 
 be made for all men ; 
 
 the whole world was not to be re- 
 garded as a subordinate and second- 
 ary thing. IT Supplications. It is 
 not entirely easy to mark the differ 
 ence in the meaning of the words 
 used here, and it is not essentiaL 
 They all relate to prayer, and refer 
 only to the different parts of prayer, 
 or to distinct classes of thought and 
 desire which come before the mind 
 in pleading for others. On the dil^ 
 ference between the words suppli- 
 cations and prayers, see Notes on 
 Heb. v. 7. ^ Intercessions. The noun 
 used occurs only in this place and in 
 ch. iv. 5, of this epistle. The verb, 
 however (ivti,yx'^^\ occurs in Acts 
 XXV. 4. Rom. viii. 27. 34; xi. 2. 
 Heb. vii. 25. See the meaning ex- 
 plained in the Notes on Rom. viii. 
 26. Heb. vii. 25. There is one 
 great Intercessor between God and 
 man, who pleads for our salvation on 
 the ground of what he himself has 
 done, but we are permitted to inter 
 cede for others, not on the grounc 
 of any merit which they or we pos 
 sess, but on the ground of the merit 
 of the great Advocate and Interces- 
 sor. It is an inestimable privilege 
 to be permitted to plead for the sal- 
 vation of our fellow-men. ^ Giving 
 of thanks. That is, in behalf of 
 others. We ought to give thanks 
 for the mercy of God to ourselves ; 
 it is right and proper also that we 
 should give thanks for the goodness 
 of God to otliers. We should ren- 
 der praise that there is a way of sal- 
 vation provided ; that no one is ex- 
 cluded from the offer of mercy ; and 
 that God is using so many means to 
 call lost sinners to himself! IT For 
 all men. Prayers should be made 
 for all men — for all need the grace 
 and mercy of God ; thanks should 
 be rendered for all, for all may be 
 saved. Does not this direction in»« 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 H) 
 
 3 For kings, • and for all that I 3 For this is good ai.d aa cpt 
 are in authority : ' that wo may able in the sight of God our Sa 
 lead a (juiot and peaceable life in viour 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 all godliness and honesty. 
 
 a Ri). 13. 1, tc. » or, eminent place. 
 
 ply tliat Clfristdied for all mankind .' 
 How could we give thanks in their 
 behalf if there were no mercy for 
 thorn, and no way had been provided 
 by wliich tiiey could be saved J It 
 may be observed here, that the di- 
 rection to pray and to give thanks 
 for all men, showed the larce and 
 catiiolic nature of Christianity. It 
 was opposed entirely to tlie narrow 
 and biffoted feelings of tlie Jews, 
 who regarded the whole Gentile 
 world as excluded from covenant 
 mercies, and as having no ofier of 
 lite. Ciiristianity tiirew down all 
 tiiese barriers, and all men are on a 
 level; and since Christ has died for 
 all, there is ample ground for thanks- 
 giving and praise in belialf of the 
 whole human race. 
 
 2. For kings. On the respect 
 due to rulers, see Notes on Rom. 
 xiii. 1 — 7. Tlie meaning here is, 
 that while all men should be the 
 subjects of prayer, those should be 
 particularly remembered before the 
 throne of grace who are in authority. 
 The reason is, tliat so much de- 
 pends on their character and plans; 
 that the security of life, liberty, and 
 property, depends so much on them. 
 God has power to influence their 
 hearts, and to incline them to what 
 is just and equal ; and hence we 
 should pray that a divine influence 
 may descend y\\K>n them. The sal- 
 vation of a king is of itself of no 
 more importance than that of a pea- 
 sant or a slave ; but the welfiire of 
 tiioiisands may depend on him, and 
 hcnre he should be made the sjjecial 
 subject of prayer. ■[ All that are 
 in authority. Marg., 'or, cminrnt 
 place.'' This does not necessarily 
 mean those who hold ofEce, but re- 
 fera to aiiy of elevated rank. The 
 
 4 Who " will have all men to 
 
 b Jiio. 3. |j, 10. 2 Pe. 3. 0. 
 
 happiness of all who are under their 
 control depends greatly on them, and 
 hence we should pr.iy for them that 
 they may be converted men, and in- 
 clined to do tliat which is right. 
 •f That we may lead a quiet and 
 peaceable life. That their hearts 
 may be so inclined to what is right 
 that they may protect us in the en- 
 joyment of religion, and that we 
 may not be opposed or harassed by 
 persecution. Tiiis does not mean 
 that their protection would dispose 
 us to lead quiet and peaceful lives, 
 but that under their protection we 
 may be saved from oppression on ac- 
 count of our religion. Christiana 
 are disposed of themselves to be 
 peaceful and orderly; they ask of 
 their rulers only that they may not 
 be harassed in the enjoyment of their 
 rights. H In all godliness and ho- 
 nesty. In the practice of all our du- 
 ties towards God, and of all tlie du- 
 ties which we owe to men. The 
 word godliness here denotes piety — 
 or the duty which we owe to God ; 
 the word Aone^/y refers toourdutia? 
 to our fellow-men. The Christian 
 asks from civil rulers such protection 
 that he may be enabled quietly to 
 perform both these classes of duties. 
 
 3. For this is good and accej)ta- 
 hie. That is, it is goo<l and accept- 
 able to God that we should pray for 
 all men. The reason is, tliat he de- 
 sires their salvation, and hence it is 
 agreeable to him that we should pray 
 for it. If there were no ])rovi8ion 
 made fjr their salvation, or if he was 
 unwilling that tlioy should be saved, 
 it could not l)e agreeable to him that 
 we should ofler prayer for them. 
 
 4. Who xcill have nil men to be 
 saved. That is, it is in nccordanco 
 with his nature, his fecliii''3, his dfr 
 
148 £. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 58- 
 
 be saved, and to come unto | the knowledge of the truth 
 
 sires. Tlie word loill cannot be taken 
 here in the absolute sense, denoting- 
 a decree like that by which he willed 
 the creation of the world, for then 
 it would certainly be done. But the 
 word is often used to denote a desire, 
 wish, or what is in accordance with 
 the nature of any one. Thus it may 
 be said of God that he ' wills' that 
 his creatures may be happy — be- 
 Ci\use it is in accordance with his 
 nature, and because he has made 
 abunda^^t provision for their happi- 
 ness — though it is not true that he 
 wills it in the sense that he exerts 
 his absolute power to make them hap- 
 py. God wills that sickness should 
 be relieved, and sorrow mitigated, 
 and that the oppressed should go free, 
 because it is agreeable to his nature ; 
 though it is not true that he wills it 
 in the sense that lie exerts his abso- 
 lute power to produce it. A parent 
 wills the welfare of his child. It is 
 in accordance with his nature, his 
 feelings, his desires ; and he makes 
 every needful arrangement for it. 
 If the child is not virtuous and hap- 
 py, it is his own fault. So God wills 
 that all men should be saved. It 
 would be in accordance with his be- 
 nevolent nature. He has made am- 
 ple provision for it. He uses all pro- 
 per means to secure their salvation. 
 He uses no positive means to pre- 
 vent it, and if they are not saved it 
 will be their own fault. For places 
 in the New Testament where the 
 word here translated 'will' (^f'xco) 
 means to desire or wish, see Luke 
 viii. 20 ; xxiii. 8. John xvi. 19. Gal. 
 iv. 20. Mark xvii. 24. 1 Cor. vii. 
 7; xi. 3; xiv. 5. Matt. xv. 28. This 
 passage cannot mean, as many have 
 supposed, that God wills that all 
 hinds of men should be saved, or 
 that some sinners of every rank and 
 class may be saved, because (1.) the 
 natural and obvious interpretation 
 of the language is opposed to such 
 
 a sense. The language expresses 
 the desire that ' all merC sliould be 
 saved, and we should not depart from 
 tlie obvious sense of a passage unleea 
 necessity requires it. (2.) Prayer 
 and thanksgiving (ver. 1) are direct- 
 ed to be offered, not for some of all 
 ranks and conditions, but for all man- 
 kind. No exception is made, and 
 no direction is given that we should 
 exclude any of the race from the 
 expressions of our sympathy, and 
 from an interest in our supplications. 
 The reason given here for that prayei 
 is, that God desires that all men 
 should be saved. But how could 
 this be a reason for praying for aW, 
 if it means that God desired only 
 the salvation of some of all ranks J 
 (3.) In vs. 5 and 6, the apostle gives 
 reasons showing that God wished 
 the salvation of all men, and those 
 reasons are such as to prove that the 
 language here is to be taken in the 
 most unlimited sense. Those rea- 
 sons are, («) that there is one God 
 over all, and one Mediator between 
 God and men — showing that God is 
 the Father of all, and has the same 
 interest in all; and (i) that Christ 
 gave himself a ransom for all — 
 showing that God desired their sal- 
 vation. This verse proves (1.) that 
 salvation is provided for all — for if 
 God wished all men to be saved, he 
 would undoubtedly make provision 
 for their salvation ; and if he had 
 not made such provision, it could not 
 be said that he desired their salva- 
 tion, since no one can doubt tliat he 
 has power to provide for the salva- 
 tion of all; (2.) that salvation should 
 be offered to all men — for if God 
 desires it, it is right for his ministers 
 to announce that desire, and if he 
 desires it, it is nol proper for them 
 to announce anything contrary to 
 this; (3.) that men are to blame 
 if they are not saved. If God did 
 not wish their salvation, and if he 
 
A D. 58.] CHAPTER II. 
 
 5 For there is one ' God, and 
 one mediator ' between God and 
 men, the man Christ Jesus ; 
 
 a Ro. 3. :». b lie. 0. 15. 
 
 149 
 
 had made no provision for it, they 
 could not be to blame it' tliey reject- 
 ed tlie jja-^pel. If God witches it, and 
 has made provision lor it, and tlicy 
 are not saved, tlic sin must be their 
 own — and it is a great sin, tor tiiere 
 is no g'reater crime which a man can 
 coinnut tliau to destroy his own soul, 
 and to make himself the eternal ene- 
 my of his Maker. •[ And to come 
 vnto the kiiiiwleilsrr of the truth. 
 Tiie truth which God has revealed ; 
 tiie ' trutii as it is in Jesus.' Notes, 
 Eph. iv. '21. 
 
 5. For there is one God. This is 
 a reason tor oirerinor prayer for all 
 men, and tor the declarati.m (ver. 4) 
 tJiat God desires that all men should 
 be saved. The reason is founded 
 in tlie fiict that he is the common 
 Father of all Uie race, and tiiat he 
 must have the same desire for the 
 welfare of all his children. He has 
 made them of one blood (Acts xvii. 
 2(3), and he miLst iiavc the same in- 
 terest in the happiness of all. Comp. 
 Notes, Eph. iv. 6. Rom. iii. 30. 
 % And one Mediator between God 
 and men. See Notes on Gal. iii. 19, 
 20. Heb. ix. 15. This also is n^iven 
 OS a reason why prayer should be 
 offered for all, and a proof that God 
 desires their salvation. The argu- 
 ment L«, that there is the same Ale- 
 diator between God and all men. 
 He is not the Mediator between God 
 and a part of the human race, but 
 between 'God and men,'' implying' 
 tliat He desired the salvation of the 
 race. Whatever love there was in 
 jrivmsr the Mediator at all, was love 
 for all the race; whatever cnn be 
 ar^ueil from tliat about the interest 
 which Go<l has in man, is proof of hi3 
 interest in the race at larfje. It is 
 proper, therefore, to pray for all. It 
 may be remarked here that there is 
 13* 
 
 G Who gave him.^elf a nin- 
 som ' for all, to ' be testified in due 
 time. 
 
 e Mat. 20. 3fl. • or, a testimony. 
 
 but one Mediator. There is not one 
 tor king^s and another for their sub- 
 jects; one tor the rich and another 
 tor the poor; one tor the master and 
 anotlier for the slave. All are on the 
 same level, and the servant may feel 
 that, in tlie g'itl of a Mediator, God 
 rcjrarded him with the same interest 
 tliat he did his master. It may be 
 added also that the doctrine of the 
 Papists that the saints or the Virgin 
 Mary may act as mediators to pro- 
 cure blessings for us, is false. There 
 is but 'one Mediator;' and but one 
 is necessary. Prayer oflbred to the 
 'saints,' or to the 'Virgin,' is idola- 
 try, and at the same time removes 
 the one irreat Mediator from the 
 office which he alone holds, of mak- 
 ing intercession with God. % The 
 man Christ Jesus. Jesus was truly 
 and properly a man, having a per- 
 fect human bo<ly and soul, and is 
 otlen called u man in the New Tes- 
 tament. But this does not prove 
 that he was not also divine — any 
 more than his being called God 
 (Jolin i. 1 ; XX. 28. Rom. ix. 5. 1 
 John V. 20. Heb. i. 8), proves that 
 he was not also a man. The use 
 of the word man here was probably 
 designed to intimate that though he 
 was divine, it was in his human na- 
 ture that we are to consider bin aa 
 discharging the otBce. Jtoddridge. 
 
 6. W'ho frave himself a ransom 
 for all. This also is stated as a rea- 
 son why prayer should be ortl-red tor 
 all, and a prrxif that God desires the 
 salvation of all. The argument ia, 
 Uiat as Christ died for all, it is pro- 
 per to pmv fijr all, and that the fact 
 that he died for all is proof tliat 
 God desired the salvation of all. 
 Whatever proof of his desire for 
 their salvTition ran be derived from 
 this in relation to any of the race^ 
 
150 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 7 Whereunto I am ordained a 
 preacher, and an apostle, (I speak 
 the truth in Christ, and lie not ;) 
 
 is proof in relation to all. On the 
 meaning of the phrase 'he gave 
 himself a ransom,' see Notes on 
 Matt. XX. 28. Rom. iii. 25 ; on the 
 fact that it was for ' oZ/,' see Notes 
 on 2 Cor. v. 14. If To be testified 
 in due time. Marg., a testimony. 
 The Greek is, ' the testimony in its 
 own times,' or in proper times — to 
 fxaprvpiov xatpoij tSt'oij. There have 
 been very different explanations of 
 this phrase. The common interpre- 
 tation, and that which seems to me 
 to be correct, is, that ' the testimony 
 of this will be furnished in the pro- 
 per time ; that is, in the proper time 
 it shall be made known through all 
 the world.' See Rosenmilller. Paul 
 affirms it as a great and important 
 truth that Christ gave himself a ran- 
 som for all mankind — for Jews and 
 Gentiles ; for all classes and condi- 
 tions of men alike. This truth had 
 not always been understood. The 
 Jews had supposed that salvation 
 was designed exclusively for their 
 nation, and denied that it could be 
 extended to others, unless they be- 
 came Jews. According to them, sal- 
 vation was not provided for, or offer- 
 ed to heathens as such, but only on 
 condition that they became Jews. 
 In opposition to this, Paul says that 
 it was a doctrine of revelation that 
 redemption was to be provided for 
 all men, and that it was intended 
 that the testimony to this should be 
 afforded at the proper time. It was 
 not fully made known under the an- 
 cient dispensation, but now the pe- 
 riod had come when it sliould be 
 communicated to all. Comp. Notes 
 on Rom. v. 6, and Gal. iv. 4. 
 
 7. Whereimto. Gr., 'Unto which;' 
 that is, to the bearing of which tes- 
 timony I am appointed. ^ / am or- 
 dained. Gr., ' I an placed or con- 
 tituted' — it£^. The word 'or- 
 
 a teacher of the Gentiles in faith 
 and verity. 
 
 8 I will therefore that men 
 
 dain' has now acquired a technical 
 signification, meaning to set apart 
 solemnly to a sacred office by the 
 imposition of hands ; but it has not 
 that meaning here. It does not re- 
 fer to the manner in which he was 
 set apart, or to any act of others in 
 consecrating him to this work, but 
 merely to the fact that he had been 
 placed in this office, or appointed to 
 it. He refers doubtless to the fact 
 that the Lord Jesus had designated 
 him to this work. ^ A preacher, 
 and an apostle. See Notes on 1 Cor. 
 ix. 1— 6. Gal. i. 11, 12. 'i I speak 
 the truth in Christ, and lie not. 
 That is, by Christ; or I solemnly 
 appeal to Christ — a form of an oath. 
 Notes, Rom. ix. 1. Paul makes a 
 solemn declaration similar to this in 
 regard to his call to the apostleship, 
 in Gal. i. 20. For the reasons why 
 he did it, see Notes on that verse. 
 It is probable that there were those 
 in Ephesus who denied that he could 
 be an apostle, and hence his solemn 
 declaration affirming it. If A teacher 
 of the Gentiles, bpecially appoint- 
 ed to carry the gospel to the Gen- 
 tiles or the heathen. See Notes on 
 Rom. xi. 13. Gal. ii. 7. ^ In faith 
 and verily. These words mean that 
 he was appointed to instruct the 
 Gentiles in faith and the knowledge 
 of the truth. 
 
 8. / will therefore. The Greek 
 word here (i3oi)?a)jwai.) is different from 
 the word rendered will — ^s?i« — in 
 ver. 4. The distinction is, that the 
 word there used — ^^aco — denotes an 
 active volition or purpose ; the word 
 here used — ^ovXcfxai, — a mere pas- 
 sive desire, propensity, willingness. 
 Rob. Lex. The meaning here is, 
 ' it is my will' — expressing his wish 
 in the case, or giving direction — 
 though using a milder word than 
 that which is commonly employed 
 
A. D. 68.] CHAPTER II. 
 
 pray •everywhere, lifting upholy * 
 
 • Juo. 1. 21. b He. 10. ii. 
 
 hands, witliout wrath and 
 incf. 
 
 Iftl 
 
 ioubt- 
 
 to denote an act ot" will. Ti That 
 men pray everywhere. Not merely 
 in tiie temple, or in otlier sacred 
 places, but in all place.s. The Jews 
 Bupiwsed that there was special elVi- 
 cacy in prayers ortered at the temple 
 in Jerusalem ; the heatiien also had 
 the same view in regard to their tem- 
 ples — for both seemed to supiwse that 
 Uiey came nearer to God by ap- 
 proachinjj his sacred abode. Ciiris- 
 tianity teaches that God may be 
 worshipped in any place, and that 
 we are at all times equally near him. 
 See Notes on John iv. 20—24. Acts 
 xvii. 25. The direction here given 
 that men should pray, in contradis- 
 tinction from the duties of women, 
 specified in the next verse, may 
 be intended to imply that men should 
 conduct the exercises of public 
 worship. The duties of women 
 pertain to a different sphere. Comp. 
 TS. 11, 12. ^ Lifting up holy 
 hands. To lift up the liands de- 
 notes supplication, as it was a com- 
 mon attitude of prayer to spread 
 abroad the hands towards heaven. 
 Comp. Ps. Ixviii. 31. Ex. xix. 20, 
 y:j. 1 Kings viii. 22. 2 Chron. vi. 
 12, 13. Isa. i. 1.5. See also Horace 
 Odes, III. -xxiii. 1. Ovid, M. i.x. 701. 
 Livy, V. 21. Seneca, Ep. 21. 'Holy 
 hands' here, mean hands that arc not 
 defiled by sin, and that have not been 
 employed for any purpose of iniqui- 
 ty. The idea is, that when men ap- 
 proach God they should do it in a 
 pure and holy manner. ^ Without 
 wrath. That is, without the intcr- 
 minirling of any evil passion; with 
 a calm, peaceful, benevolent mind. 
 Tiiere should be nothing of the spirit 
 of contention ; there should be no 
 anger towards others; the suppliant 
 should be at peace with all men. It 
 is impos-sible for a man to pray with 
 comfort, or to suppose that his pray- 
 ers wdl be heard, ii'ho eh rilu!s an- 
 
 ger. The following exquisite and 
 oft-quoted passage from Jeremy Tay- 
 lor, is a more beautiful and striking 
 illustration of the effect of anger in 
 causing our prayers to return unan- 
 swered than was probably ever pen- 
 ned by any one else. Nothing could 
 be more true, beautiful, and graphic. 
 " Anger sets tlic iiouse on fire, and 
 all tlio spirits are busy upon trouble, 
 and intend propulsion, defence, dis- 
 pleasure, or revenge. It is a short 
 madness, and an eternal enemy to 
 discourse and a fair conversation ; it 
 intends its own object with all the 
 earnestness of perception or activity 
 of design, and a quicker motion of a 
 too warm and distempered blood ; it 
 is a fever in the heart, and a calen- 
 ture in the head, and a fire in the 
 face, and a sword in the hand, and a 
 fury all over; and therefore can ne- 
 ver suffer a man to be in a disposi- 
 tion to pray. For prayer is the peace 
 of our spirit, the stillness of our 
 thoughts, the evenness of recollec- 
 tion, tiic scat of meditation, the rest 
 of our cares, and the calm of our 
 tempest; prayer is the issue of a 
 quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts; 
 it is the daughter of charity and the 
 sister of meekness; and he that 
 prays to God witli an angry, that is, 
 with a troubled and discomposed 
 spirit, is like him that retires into a 
 battle to meditate, and sets up his 
 closet in the out-quarters of an army, 
 and cliooses a frontier garrison to be 
 wise in. Anger is a perfect aliena- 
 tion of the mind from prayer, and 
 therefore is contrary to that attention 
 which presents our prayers in a riglit 
 lino to God. For so iiavc I seen a 
 lark rising from his bed of grass, and 
 soaring upward-s, and singing as he 
 rises, and hopes to get to heaven, 
 and rise above the clouds; but the 
 poor bird was beaten back with the 
 loud sighings of an eastern wind. 
 
i52 
 
 9 In like manner also, that wo- 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 58 
 
 men adorn themselves in modesl 
 apparel, with shamefacedness and 
 
 and his motion made irregular and 
 inconsistent, descending more at 
 every breath of the tempest than it 
 could recover by the libration and 
 frequent weighing of his wings, till 
 the little creature was forced to sit 
 down and pant, and stay till the 
 Btorm was over ; and then it made a 
 prosperous flight, and did rise and 
 sing, as if it had learned music and 
 motion from an angel." The Return 
 of Prayers, Works, vol. i. 638. Ed. 
 Lond. i835. IT And doubting. This 
 word, as used here, does not mean, 
 as our translation would seem to im- 
 ply, that we are to come before God 
 ^i'ithout any doubts of our own piety, 
 cr in the exercise of perfect faith. 
 The word used (6ta?toyi(jjuoj) means, 
 properly, computation, adjustment 
 of accounts; then reflection, thought; 
 then reasoning, opinion ; then debate, 
 contention, strife. Luke ix. 46. 
 Mark ix. 33, 34. Phil. ii. 14. This 
 is till' sense evidently in tliis place. 
 They were not to approach God in 
 prayer in the midst of clamorous 
 dispulings and angry contentions. 
 They were not to come when the 
 mind was heated with debate, and 
 irritated by strife for victory. Prayer 
 was to be oflfered in a calm, serious, 
 sober state of mind, and they who 
 engage in polemical strife, or in warm 
 contention of any kind, are little 
 fitted to unite in the solemn act of 
 addressing God. How ofl;en are 
 theologians, when assembled toge- 
 ther, so heated by debate, and so 
 anxious for party victory, that they 
 are in no suitable state of mind to 
 pray ! H. w often do even good men, 
 holding different views on the dis- 
 puted points of religious doctrine, 
 sufl^er their minds to become so e.x- 
 ciced, and their temper so ruli3ed, 
 that they are conscious they are in 
 an unfit st:ite of mind to approach 
 the throne of grace together ! That 
 
 theological debate has gone too far; 
 that strife for victory has become too 
 warm, wlien the disputants are in 
 such a state of mind that they can- 
 not unite in prayer ; when they could 
 not cease their contentions, and with 
 a calm and proper spirit, bow toge- 
 ther before the throne of grace. 
 
 9. In like manner also. That is, 
 with the same propriety ; with the 
 same regard to what religion de- 
 mands. The apostle had stated par- 
 ticularly the duty of 7nen in public 
 worship (ver. 8), and he now pro- 
 ceeds to state the duty of women. 
 All the directions here evidently re- 
 fer to the proper manner of conduct- 
 ing public worship, and not to pri- 
 vate duties ; and the object here ig 
 to state the way in which he vtould 
 have the different sexes appear. He 
 had said that he would have prayers 
 offered for all men (ver. 1, seq.), and 
 that in offering such petitions he 
 would have the men on whom de- 
 volved the duty of conducting pub- 
 lic devotion, do it with holy hands, 
 and without any intermingling of 
 passion, and with entire freedom 
 from the spirit of contention. In 
 reference to the duty of females in 
 attendance on public worship, he 
 says that he would have the7n appear 
 in apparel suitable to the place and 
 the occasion — adorned not after the 
 manner of the world, but with the 
 zeal and love in the cause of the 
 Redeemer which became Christians. 
 He would not have a woman become 
 a public teacher (ver. 12), but would 
 wish her ever to occupy the place in 
 society for which she was designed 
 (ver. 11), and to which she had 
 shown that she was adapted. Vs. 
 13, 14. The direction in vs. 9—12, 
 therefore, is to be understood partic- 
 ularly of the proper deportment of 
 females in the duties of jiublic wor- 
 ship. At the same time, Uie princi 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 sobriety , 
 
 not with 
 
 or, plaited. 1 Vn 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 broidored 
 
 1'^ 
 
 pies laiil down are douhtlt'ss Mich as 
 wen,' inteiiiled to apply to tliem in 
 the oliier sitimtious in lit'o, for if mo- 
 dest apiKirel is appropriate in tlie 
 sanctuary, it is appropriate every- 
 where. It' what is here prohihitcd 
 in dress is wrong there, it would be 
 ditiicult to show that it is rii^/it else- 
 where. ^ That wnmcn ndnni them- 
 selves. Tiie words ' I will' are to be 
 understoai here as repeated from 
 vcr. b. The apostle, by tlic use of 
 tiie word ailorn {xoa^itiv), shows that 
 he is not opposed to ornament or 
 adnrniua, provided it be of the right 
 kind. The world, as God has made 
 it, is full of beauty, and he has shown 
 in each flower tliat he is not opposed 
 to true ornament. There are mul- 
 titudes of things which, so far as we 
 can see, appear to be designed for 
 tm re ornament, or are made merely 
 because they are beautiful. Reli- 
 gion does not tbrbid true adorning, 
 k dit^»>rs t'rom the world only on the 
 iiuestion what is true ornament, or 
 what it becomes us, all tlimgs consid- 
 ered, to do in the situation in which 
 we are placed, the cliaracter which 
 we sustain, the duties which we 
 have to pertbrm, and the profession 
 which we make. It may be that 
 there are ornaments in heaven which 
 would be anything but appropriate 
 for the condition of a poor, lost, dy- 
 ing sinner on earth. *f In modest 
 apparel. The word here rendered 
 modest (xo^jmk), properly relates to 
 ornament, or decoration, and moans 
 that which is well-ord< red, decorous, 
 becoming. It does not, properly, 
 mean modest in the sense of being 
 opposed to that which is immodest, 
 (T whicli tends to excite improper 
 passions and desire?, but that wliich 
 iS becoming or appropriate. The 
 apostle does not positively specify 
 what this would be, but he mentions 
 sane things which are to be exclu- 
 
 hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly 
 array ; 
 
 ded from it, and which, in his view, 
 are inconsistent with the true n<lorn- 
 ingof christian females — 'broidered 
 hair, gold, pearls, costly array.' The 
 sense iiere is, that the apparel of fe- 
 males should be such as becomes 
 tliem, or is appropriate to tiicm, 
 Tiie word iiere used (xoiuw)?), shows 
 that tliere should be due attention 
 that it may be trulij neat, fit, deco- 
 rous. Tliere is no religion in a neg- 
 ligent mode of apparel, or in inat- 
 tention to personal appearance — any 
 more than tliere is in wearing gold 
 and pearls; and a female may as 
 truly violate the precepts of her re- 
 ligion by neglecting her personal 
 appearance as by excessive attention 
 to it. Tiie true idea here is, that 
 licr attention to her appearance 
 should be such tliat slie will be oflen- 
 sive to no class of persons; such as 
 to show that her mind is supremely 
 fixed on higher and more im|K)rtant 
 thinsrs, and such as to interfere with 
 no duty whicii siie owes, and no good 
 which she can do, either by spending 
 her time needlessly in personal adorn 
 ing, or by lavisliing that money for 
 dress which might do good toothers, 
 or by neglecting tiie proprieties of 
 her station, and makinir iierself of- 
 fensive to others. "I With shame- 
 facedness. With mfxlesly of appear- 
 ance and manner — an eminent fe- 
 male virtue, whether in tiie sanctu- 
 ary or at home. ^ And soliricty. 
 The word here used means, properly, 
 sanity; then sober-rnindwlness, mo- 
 deration of the desires and passions. 
 It is opposed to all that is frivolous, 
 and to all nndue excitement of tlie 
 passions. The idea is, that in their 
 apparel and deportment they should 
 not entrench on the strictest deco- 
 rum. J)oildrid<re. «[ .\ot with broid- 
 ered hair. .Marg., plaited. Fe- 
 males in the E;u-l pay much mora 
 attention to the hair Uian ia oom 
 
154 
 
 10 But (which becometh wo- 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 5a 
 
 men professing godliness) with 
 good works. 
 
 monly done witli us. It is plaited 
 with great care, and arranged in va- 
 rious forms, according to the prevail- 
 ing- fashion, and often ornamented 
 with spangles or with silver wire or 
 tissue interwoven. See Notes on 
 Isa. iii. 24. The sense here is, that 
 christian females are not to imitate 
 those of the world in their careful 
 attention to the ornaments of the 
 head. It cannot be supposed that 
 the mere braiding of the hair is for- 
 bidden, but only that careful atten- 
 tion to the manner of doing it, and 
 to the ornaments usually worn in it, 
 which characterized worldly females. 
 If Or gold, or pearls. It is not to 
 be supposed that all use of gold or 
 pearls as articles of dress is here for- 
 bidden; but the idea is, that the 
 christian female is not to seek these 
 as the adorning which she desires, 
 or is not to imitate the world in these 
 personal decorations. It may be a 
 difScult question to settle how much 
 ornament is allowable, and when the 
 true line is passed. But though this 
 cannot be settled by any exact rules, 
 since much must depend on age, and 
 on the relative rank in life, and the 
 means which one may possess, yet 
 there is one general rule which is 
 applicable to all, and which might 
 regulate all. It is, that the true line 
 is passed when more is thought of 
 this external p doming, than of the 
 ornament of the heart. Any exter- 
 nal decoration which occupies the 
 mind more than the virtues of the 
 heart, and wliicli engrosses the time 
 and attention more, we may be cer- 
 tain is wrong. The apparel should be 
 fuch as not to attract attention ; such 
 as becomes our situation; such as 
 will not be particularly singular ; 
 such as shall leave the impression 
 that the heart is not fixed on it. It 
 is a poor ambition to decorate a dy- 
 ing body with gold and pearls. It 
 
 should not be forgotten that the body 
 thus adorned will soon need other 
 habiliments, and will occupy a posi- 
 tion where gold and pearls would be 
 a mockery. When the heart is right ; 
 when there is true and supreme love 
 for religion, it is usually not difficult 
 to regulate the subject of dress. 
 ^ Cosily array. Expensive dress. 
 This is forbidden — for it is foolish, 
 and the money thus employed may 
 be much more profitably used in do- 
 ing good. 'Costly array' includes 
 that which can be ill afforded, and 
 that which is inconsistent with the 
 feeling that the principal ornament 
 is that of the heart. 
 
 10. But (which becometh toomen 
 professing godliness) with good 
 works. That is, it is not appropri- 
 ate for women who profess to be the 
 followers of the Saviour, to seek to 
 be distinguished for personal, exter- 
 nal decoraiions. If they are Chris- 
 tians, they have seen the vanity of 
 these things, and have fixed the 
 heart on more substantial realities. 
 They are professed followers of Him 
 'wno went about doing good,' and 
 the performance of good works espe- 
 cially becomes them. They profess 
 to have fixed the affections on God 
 their Saviour, and to be living for 
 heaven ; and it is not becoming in 
 them to seek such ornaments as 
 would indicate that the heart is su- 
 premely attached to worldly things. 
 There is great beauty in this direc- 
 tion. Good works, or deeds of be- 
 nevolence, eminently become a chris- 
 tian female. The nature of woman 
 seems to be adapted to the perform- 
 ance of all deeds demanding kind- 
 ness, tenderness, and gentleness of 
 feeling; of all that proceeds from 
 pity, sympathy, and affection ; and 
 we feel instinctively that while acta 
 of hardy enterprise and daring in a 
 good cause peculiarly become a 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 11 Let the woman " leani in 
 silence with all subjection. 
 
 13 But I suflur not a woman 
 to teach, nor to usurp authority 
 over the man, but to be in silence. 
 
 a 1 Co. 14. 34. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 lao 
 
 christian man, tliere is something 
 exquisitely appropriate to the female 
 ciuiraclcr ia deeds of humble and 
 unobtrusive sympathy and benevo- 
 lence. God seems to have formed 
 her mind lor just such things, and 
 in such thing's it occupies its appro- 
 priate sphere rather than in seeking 
 e.xternal adorning. 
 
 11. Let the woman learn in si- 
 laice. Listen attentively to instruc- 
 tion, without attempting to teach in 
 public. See Notes on 1 Cor. xiv. 
 So. ^ With all subjection. With 
 due subjection to those who arc in 
 authority, and who are appointed to 
 minister in holy things. Notes, 1 
 Cor, xiv. 34. 
 
 12. But I suffer not a woman to 
 teach. See Notes on 1 Cor. xiv. 31. 
 •y Aor to usurp authority over the 
 man. Notes, 1 Cor. xi. 3. 
 
 13. For Adam was first formed, 
 then Eve. The apostle, 'u\ this verse, 
 and the following, gives reasons why 
 a woman should occupy a subordi- 
 nate situation, and not usurp author- 
 ity. The first is, that she was se- 
 cond in the act of creation, or was 
 made subsequent to man. The rea- 
 son here assigned cannot be under- 
 stood to be merely that of priority 
 of existence — for then it would give 
 every old person authority over a 
 younger one; but it must refer to 
 tlic circumstances of the case as de- 
 tailed in the history of the creatinn. 
 Gen. i., ii. Man was made as the 
 Lord of this lower creation and placed 
 in the garden, and then the woman 
 was made of a rib taken from his 
 side, and given to him, not as a Lord, 
 but as a companion. All the cir- 
 cumstances combine to show the su- 
 
 13 For Adam was first formcdi 
 then Eve. 
 
 11 And Adam was not de- 
 ceived, but the woman being de- 
 ceived, was in the transgres- 
 sion. 
 
 bordinate nature of her rank, and to 
 prove that she was not designed to 
 exert authority over the man. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Cor. xi. 8, 9. 
 
 14. And Adam was not deceived. 
 This is the second reason why the 
 woman should occupy a subordinate 
 rank in all things. It is, that in the 
 most imporUint situation in which 
 she was ever placed, siie had shown 
 that she was not qualified to take 
 the lead. She had evinced a readi- 
 ness to yield to temptation ; a fee- 
 bleness of resistance ; a pliancy of 
 character, which showed that she 
 was not adapted to the situation of 
 headship, and which made it proper 
 that she should ever afterwards oc- 
 cupy a subordinate situation. It is 
 not meant here that Adam did not 
 sin, nor even that he was not de- 
 ceived by the Tempter, but that the 
 woman opposed a feebler resistance 
 to the temptation than he would 
 have done, and that the temptation 
 as actually applied to her would 
 have been inetlbctual on /mVh. To 
 tempt and seduce him to fall, there 
 were needed all the soft persuasions, 
 the entreaties, and the example of 
 his wife. Satan understood this, and 
 approached man not with the spe- 
 cious argument of the scrjieiit, but 
 through the allurements of his wife. 
 It is undoubtedly implied here that 
 man in general has a power of re- 
 sisting certain kinds of temptation 
 superior to that possessed by woman, 
 and hence tliat the headship properly 
 belongs to him. This is, undoubt- 
 edly, the general truth, though there 
 may be many exception.s and many 
 noble cases to the honour of the fe- 
 male sex, in which tkcy evmce a 
 
l;-,fj 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. 58. 
 
 15 Nolwitlistanding she shall 
 be saved in cliildbearing, if they 
 
 power of resistance to temptation 
 superior to man. In many traits of 
 character, and among them those 
 wliich are most lovely, woman is su- 
 perior to man ; yet it is undoubtedly 
 true that, as a general thing, tempta- 
 tion will make a stronger impression 
 on her than on him. When it is said 
 tliat ' Adam was not deceived,' it is 
 not meant that when he partook ac- 
 tually of the fruit he was under no 
 deception, but tiiat he was not de- 
 ceived by the serpent ; he was not 
 first deceived, or first in tlie trans- 
 gression. The woman should re- 
 member that sin began with her, 
 and she should tlierefore be willing 
 to occupy an humble and subordinate 
 situation. ^ But the woman being 
 deceived. She was made to suppose 
 that the fruit would not injure her, 
 but would make her wise, and that 
 God would not fulfil his threatening 
 of death. Sin, from the beginning, 
 has been a process of delusion. 
 Every man or woman who violates 
 the law of God is deceived as to the 
 liappiness which is expected from 
 the violation, and as to the conse- 
 quences which will follow it. 
 
 15. Notwithstanding she shall be 
 saved. The promise in this verse 
 is designed to alleviate the apparent 
 severity of the remarks just made 
 about the condition of woman, and 
 of the allusion to the painful facts 
 of lier early history. What the 
 apostle bad just said would carry 
 the mind back to the period in which 
 woman introduced sin into the world, 
 and by an obvious and easy associa- 
 tion, to the sentence which had been 
 passed on her in consequence of her 
 transgression, and to the burder. of 
 sorrows which she was doomed to 
 bear. By the remark in this verse, 
 however, Paul sliows that it was not 
 his intention to overwhelm her with 
 an/ruish. He did not design to har- 
 
 continue in faith and charity and 
 holiness with sobriety. 
 
 row up her feelings by an unkind 
 allusion to a melancholy fact in her 
 liistory. It was necessary for him 
 to state, and for her to know, that 
 her place was secondary and subor- 
 dinate, and he wished this truth ever 
 to be kept in memory among Chris- 
 tians. It was not unkind or impro- 
 per also to state the reasons for this 
 opmion, and to show that her own 
 history had demonstrated that she 
 was not designed for headship. But 
 she was not to be regarded as de- 
 graded and abandoned. She was 
 not to be overwhelmed by the recol- 
 lection of what ' the mother of all 
 living' had done. There were con- 
 solations in lier case. There was a 
 special divine interposition which 
 she might look for, evincing tender 
 care on the part of God in those deep 
 sorrows which had come upon her 
 in consequence of her transgression ; 
 and instead of being crushed and 
 broken-hearted on account of her 
 condition, she should remember that 
 the everlasting arras of God would 
 sustain her in her condition of sor- 
 row and pain. Paul, then, would 
 speak to her the language of conso- 
 lation, and while he would have her 
 occupy her proper place, he would 
 have her feel that God was her 
 Friend. In regard to the nature of 
 the consolation referred to here, there 
 has been a considerable variety of 
 opinion. Some have held, that by 
 the expression ' she shall be saved 
 in child-bearing,' the apostle designs 
 to include all the duties of the ma- 
 ternal relation, meaning that she 
 should be saved through the faithful 
 performance of her duties as a mo- 
 ther. Robinson, Lex. Rosenmiil- 
 ler regards the word rendered ' child- 
 bearing' (T;ixvoyovM), as synonymous 
 with education, and supposes that 
 the meaning is, that a woman, by 
 tb > proper training of her children, 
 
A D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 16f 
 
 can obtjiin salvation as well as licr 
 1 nsband, and lliat her ai)propriate 
 I'uty i:i not public Icacliiny;, but the 
 uainini,' of lier lUiuily. Wotstcin 
 s ipposos that it means, ' she shall be 
 saved from the arts of impostors, and 
 from the luxury and vice of the ape, 
 it instead of wandering about, she 
 remains at iiome, cultivates modesty, 
 is subject to her luisband, and en- 
 gages carefully in the training of 
 her children.' This sense ajTrees 
 well with tiio connection. Calvm 
 Buppc-^s that the apostle designs to 
 console tlie woman by the assurance 
 that, if she bears the trials of her 
 condition of sorrow with a proper 
 spirit, abiding in faith and holiness, 
 she will be saved. Slie is not to re- 
 ^rd herself as cut off from the hope 
 of heaven. Doddridge, Macknight, 
 Clarke, and others, suppose that it 
 refers to the promise in Gen. iii. 15, 
 and means tiiat the woman siiall be 
 saved through, or by means of bear- 
 ing a child, to wit, the Messiah ; and 
 that tlie apostle means to sustain the 
 \ioman in her sorrows, and in her 
 ilate of subordination and inferiority, 
 If referring to the honour which has 
 :cen put upon her by tlie fact that 
 I woman gave birth to the Messiah, 
 /.t is supposed also that he means to 
 iwy that special honour is thus con- 
 ferred on her over the man, inas- 
 much as the Messiah had no hu- 
 man father. Doddridge. The objec- 
 tions to this interpretation, however, 
 though it is sustained by most re- 
 pectable names, seem to me to be 
 insuperable. They are such as these: 
 (1.) The interpretation is too refined 
 and abstruse. It is not that which 
 is obvious. It depends for its point 
 on the fact tliat the Messiah had no 
 human father, and if the apostle had 
 ifltended to refer to that, and to build 
 an argument on it, it may be doubt- 
 ed wiicther he would have done it 
 in so obscure a manner. But it may 
 reasonably be questioned whether 
 he h ould have made tliat fact a point 
 14 
 
 on which his argument would turn. 
 Tiicre would be a species of refme- 
 mont about such an argument, such 
 as we siiould not look tor in the writ- 
 ings of Paul, (ii.) It is not the ob- 
 vious meaning of the word 'child- 
 bearing.' There is nothing in tiio 
 word which requires that it should 
 have any reference to tiie birth of 
 the Messiah. The word is of a gene 
 ral character, and properly refers tc 
 child-bearinir in general. (3.) It is 
 not true that woman would be 's<ived' 
 merely by having given birth to the 
 Messiah. She will be saved, as roan 
 will be, as a consequence of his hav- 
 ing been born ; but there is no evi- 
 dence that the mere fad that wo- 
 man gave birth to him, and that he 
 had no human father, did anytiiing to 
 save Mary herself, or any one else 
 of her sex. If, tlierefore, tiie word 
 refers to tlic ' bearing' of the Mes- 
 siali, or to the fact that he was born, 
 it would be no more projKjr to say 
 that this was connected with the 
 salvation of woihun than that of man. 
 The true meaning, it seems to mo 
 has been suggested by Calvin, ana 
 may be seen by the lollowing re- 
 marks. (1.) Tiio apostle designed 
 to comfort woman, or to alleviate 
 the sadness of the picture which he 
 had drawn respecting her condition. 
 (2.) He had referred, incidenUiUy, 
 as a proof of the suboaiinate charac- 
 ter of her station, to the tirstajxjsta- 
 sy. This naturally suggested tlie 
 sentence which was passed on her, 
 and the condition of sorrow to which 
 she was doomed, particularly in child- 
 birth. Tliul was the standing de- 
 monstration of her guilt ; tiiat the 
 condition in wiiich she suffered most ; 
 that the situation in wiiich siic was 
 in greatest peril. (I^.) Paul assures 
 her, theretoro, that though .she imiat 
 thus suffer, yet that slie ought not to 
 regard herself in her deep sorrows 
 and dangers, tliough on account of 
 sin, as n'^fo.-sarily undtT the divino 
 I displeasure, or as excluded from tha 
 
158 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. 58. 
 
 hope of heaven. The way of salva- 
 tion was open to lier as well as lo 
 men, and was lo be entered in the 
 same manner. If she had faith and 
 holiness, even in her condition of 
 sorrow brought on by guilt, she might 
 as well hope for eternal life as man. 
 The object of the apostle seems to 
 be to guard against a possible con- 
 struction which might be put on his 
 words, that he did not regard the 
 woman as in circumstances as favour- 
 able lor salvation as those of man, 
 or as if he taught that salvation for 
 her was more difficult, or perhaps 
 that she could not be saved at all. 
 The general sentiments of the Jews 
 in regard to the salvation of the fe- 
 male sex, and their exclusion from 
 the religious privileges which men 
 enjoy ; the views of the Mohamme- 
 dans in reference to the inferiority 
 of the sex ; and the prevalent feel- 
 ings in the heathen world, degrading 
 the sex and making their condition, 
 in regard to salvation, far inferior to 
 that of man, show the propriety of 
 what the apostle here says, and the 
 fitness that he should so guard liim- 
 self that his language could not pos- 
 sibly be construed so as to give coun- 
 tenance to such a sentiment. Ac- 
 cording to the interpretation of the 
 passage liere proposed, the apostle 
 does not mean to teach that a chris- 
 tian female would be certainly saved 
 from death in cliild-birth — for this 
 would not be true, and the proper 
 construction of the passage does not 
 require us to understand him as af- 
 firming this. Religion is not de- 
 signed to make any immediate and 
 direct change in tiie laws of our phy- 
 sical being. It does not of itself 
 guard us from the pestilence ; it does 
 not arrest the progress of disease ; 
 it does not save us from death ; and, 
 as a matter of fact, woman, by the 
 highest degree of piety, is. not ne- 
 cessarily saved from the perils of 
 that condition to which she has been 
 eubjected in consequence of the 
 
 apostasy. The apostle means to 
 show this — that in all her pain and 
 sorrow ; amidst all the evidence of 
 apostasy, and all that reminds her 
 that she was ^ first'' in the transgres- 
 sion, she may look up to God as her 
 Friend and strength, and may hope 
 for acceptance and salvation. •[ If 
 they continue. If woman continues 
 — it being not uncommon to change 
 the singular form to the plural, espe- 
 cially if the subject spoken of have 
 the character of a noun of multi- 
 tude. Many have understood this 
 of children, as teaching that if tlie 
 mother were faithful, so that her 
 children continued in faith, she 
 would be saved. But this is not a 
 necessary or probable interpretation. 
 The apostle says nothing of children, 
 and it is not reasonable to suppose 
 that he would make the prospect of 
 her salvation depend on their being 
 pious. Tins would be to add a hard 
 condition of salvation, and one no- 
 where else suggested in the New 
 Testament. The object of the apos» 
 tie evidently is, to show that woman 
 must continue in the faithful ser- 
 vice of God if she would be saved — 
 a doctrine everywhere insisted on 
 in the New Testament in reference 
 to all persons. She must not imi- 
 tate the example of the mother of 
 mankind, but she must faithfully 
 yield obedience to the laws of God 
 till death. *^ Faith. Faith in the 
 Redeemer and in divine truth, or a 
 life of fidelity in the service of God. 
 1[ Charity. Love to all. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Cor. xiii. '^Holiness. 
 She mustbe truly religious. ^ With 
 sobriety. All these things nmst be 
 united with a becoming soberness or 
 seriousness of deportment. Notes, 
 ver. 9. In such a life, woman may 
 look to a world where she will be 
 tor ever free from all the sadnesses 
 and sorrows of her condition here ; 
 where, by unequalled pain, she will 
 be no more reminded of the time 
 when 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 IM 
 
 .———"her rasti lianJ in ovil lioiir 
 Portb reaching to die fruit, iliu [iluck'd, xtic 
 ate ;" 
 
 and when before the throne she shall 
 
 »be adniittecl to full equality with all 
 the reilccMicd of the LorJ. Reli- 
 gion meets all the sa(lnes5>es of her 
 coiulition here; pours consolation 
 into the cup of her many woes; 
 speaks kindly to her in her distresses; 
 utters the lan^ruajje of forgiveness 
 to her heart when crushed witii the 
 remembrance of sin — for 'she loves 
 much' (Luke vii. 37 — 18); and con- 
 ducts her to immortal glory in that 
 world wliere all sorrow shall be un- 
 known. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 The object of this chapter is to 
 give directions respecting tiie quali- 
 fications and duties of tiie otBcers 
 of the christian church. As it is 
 evident tiiat Timotliy was to be part- 
 ly employed in the apix)intment of 
 suitable officers for the churcli at 
 Ephesus, and as the kinds of officers 
 here referred to were to be perma- 
 nent in the church, it was important 
 that a tull statement should be put 
 on record, under the influence of in- 
 spiration, respecting their qualifica- 
 tions and duties. Tlie cliapter em- 
 braces the following subjects: — 
 
 I. The qualifications of a bishop. 
 Vs. 1 — 7. Tlie enumeration of his 
 qualifications is preceded by a gene- 
 ral statement that the otiicc was an 
 honourable one, and tiial he who as- 
 pired to it sought an employment 
 tliat was, in itself, to be regarded as 
 desirable. Ver. 1. The qualifica- 
 tions specified for this office, are tlic 
 following: — 
 
 (1.) He must be a man of good 
 private character; possessing and 
 illustrating the christian virtues, or, 
 as we would say now, an upright 
 meui, and a christian gentleman. 
 Vs. 2, 3. 
 
 (2.) He must be a man who rulea 
 his own house well, and wlio tlnia 
 showed that he was qualified to jire- 
 side as the first officer in the cluirch 
 of God. Vs. 4, 5. 
 
 (3.) He must be a man of suita- 
 ble age and experience — one who 
 would not be likely to lall into the 
 temptations that are laid for the 
 young. Ver. 6. 
 
 (4.) He must have a fair reputa- 
 tion among those who were not 
 Christians — as it is intended that 
 tiic influence of his ministry shall 
 reach them, and as it is impossible to 
 do them good unless he is believed 
 to be a man of integrity. Ver. 7. 
 
 H. Tlie qualifications of deacons. 
 Vs. 8—10. 12, 13. They must be, 
 
 (1.) Men of fair character — seri- 
 ous, temperate, candid. Ver. 8. 
 
 (2.) Men who hold to the doc- 
 trines of the gospel with a pure con- 
 science. V^er. 9. 
 
 (3.) Men who have been proved, 
 and who have shown that they are 
 qualified to serve the church. Ver 
 10. 
 
 (4.) Men whose wives are of such 
 a character that their example will 
 contribute to the promotion of the 
 common cause. Ver. 11. 
 
 (.3.) Men not living in polygamy, 
 and who exercise exemplary tiimiiy 
 government. Vs. 12, 13. 
 
 ni. The reason why Paul gave 
 these instructions to Timothy. Vs. 
 14, 15. It was, that he might know 
 how he ought to demean himself in 
 the importxmt station which he was 
 called to occupy. Paul hoped to be 
 able to come to him before long, and 
 to complete the work which he had 
 commenced at Ephesus, but, in the 
 mean time, he gave him these writ- 
 ten counsels, that he iiiiirht under- 
 stand particularly tiio duly which 
 was required of him. 
 
 IV. The chapter closes with a 
 statement which seems to have been 
 intended to impress the mind of Ti- 
 motliy with tiie im]K)rtance of th« 
 
160 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HIS is a true saying, If a 
 man desire the office of a 
 
 duties in which he was engaged. 
 Vs. 1.',, J 6. The statement is, tliat 
 the cliurCi. is the great defender of 
 the trutli in the world (ver. 15), and 
 that the truth which the church is 
 to maintain is of the greatest im- 
 portance. It relates to the incarna- 
 tion of the Son of God, and to the 
 work which he accomplished on 
 earth — a work which excited the 
 deepest interest in heaven, and the 
 true doctrine respecting which it 
 was of the utmost importance to keep 
 up among men. Ver. 16. This rea- 
 son is further urged in the following 
 chapter, by showing that the time 
 would come when, under ihe influ- 
 ence of Satan, these great doctrines 
 would be denied, and the truth be 
 corrupted and perverted. 
 
 1. This is a true saying. Gr., 
 ' Faithful is the word' — the very 
 phrase which is used in ch. i. 1-5. 
 See Notes on that verse. The idea 
 here is, that it was worthy of cre- 
 dence; it was not to be doubted. 
 ^ If a man desire. Implying that 
 there would be those who would 
 wish to be put into the ministry. 
 The Lord, undoubtedly, by his Spirit, 
 often excites an earnest and irrepres- 
 sible desire to preach the gospel — a 
 desire so strong, that he in whom it 
 exists can be satisfied in no other 
 calling. In such a case, it should 
 be regarded as one evidence of a call 
 to this work. The apostle, however, 
 by the statements which follow, inti- 
 mates that wherever this desire ex- 
 ists, it is of the utmost importance 
 to have just views of the nature of 
 the office, and that there should be 
 other qualifications for the ministry 
 than a mere desire to preach the 
 gospel. He proceeds, tiierefore, to 
 state those qualifications, and no one 
 who ' desires' the office of the min- 
 
 bishop, ° he. desireth a good 
 work. 
 
 a Ph. 1. 1. 
 
 istry should conclude that he is called 
 to it, unless these qualifications sub- 
 stantially are found in him. The 
 word rendered desire here (dps'yco), 
 denotes properly, to reach or stretch 
 out — and hence to reach after any- 
 thing, to long after, to try to obtain. 
 Heb. xi. 16. ^ The office of a bish- 
 op. The Greek here is a single 
 word — iTtiaxoTtrji. The word iftiO' 
 xoTtri — Episcopt — whence the word 
 Episcopal is derived — occurs but 
 four times in the New Testament. 
 It is translated visitation in Luke 
 xix. 44, and in 1 Pet. ii. 12; bish- 
 oprick, Acts i. 20 ; and in this place 
 qfUce of a bishop. The verb from 
 which it is derived {irtiaxortscS), oc- 
 curs but twice. In Heb. xii. 15, it 
 is rendered looking diligently, and 
 in 1 Pet. V. 2, taking the oversight. 
 The noun rendered bishop occurs in 
 Acts XX. 28. Phil. i. 1. 1 Tim. iii. 2. 
 Titus i. 7. 1 Pet. ii. 2.5. The verb 
 means, properly, to look upon, be- 
 hold; to inspect, to look after, see to, 
 take care of; and the noun denotes 
 the office of overseeing, inspecting, 
 or looking to. It is used to denote 
 the care of the sick, Xeno. Oec. 15, 
 9 ; comp. Passow ; and is of so ge- 
 neral a character that it may denote 
 any office of overseeing, or attending 
 to. There is nothing in the word 
 itself whicli would limit it to any 
 class or grade of the ministry, and 
 it is, in fact, applied to nearly all 
 the officers of the church in the New 
 Testament, and, indeed, to Christians 
 who did not sustain any office. Thua 
 it is applied («) to believers in gene- 
 ral, directing them to ' look diligent- 
 ly, lest any one should fail of the 
 grace of God,' Heb. xii. 15 ; (b) to 
 the elders of the church at Ephesus, 
 'over the w'hich the Holy Ghost 
 hath made you overseers,^ Acts xx. 
 28 ; (c) to the elders or presbyters 
 
A. P. r>8.i 
 
 2 A bishop " tlien must be 
 
 a Tit. 1. G. tc. 
 
 of the cliiircli in 1 Pet. v. 2, ' Feed 
 the tliick of Goi], lu/iintf the over- 
 sight thereof ;' (if) to the otiicersof 
 the cluircli in I'liilippi, mentioned in 
 connection witii deacons as tlie only 
 otHcers of tiic cliurch there, ' to tlie 
 Kiints at Philippi, with the hishnps 
 and deacons,' Phd. i. 1 ; (e) to Judas, 
 the apostate. Acts i. 20 ; and (/) to 
 the jjreat Head of the churcli. the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 20, ' the 
 Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.' 
 From this use of tlie term it follows, 
 (1.) That tiic word is never used to 
 jesirj^nite ihe peculiarity of the apos- 
 tolic otHce, or so as to have any spe- 
 cial applicability to the apostles, 
 [nileed, the term bishop is never ap- 
 plied to any of them in the New 
 Tegument ; nor is the word in any 
 ' ' its forms ever used with reference 
 I ■ them, except in the sinfjle case 
 of Jitdus, Acts i. 20. (2.) It is never 
 employed in the New Testament to 
 desi^ite an order of men superior 
 to presbyters, regarded as having 
 any other functions than presbyters, 
 or beinj in any sense 'successors' to 
 the apostles. It is so used now by 
 the advocates of prelacy; but this is 
 a use wholly unknown to the New 
 Testament It is so undeniable that 
 the name is never glxcn in the New 
 Testament to those who are now 
 called ' bishops,' that even Episcopa- 
 lians concede it Tluis, Dr. Onder- 
 donk (Tract on Episcopacy, p. 12) 
 says, *'All that we read in the New 
 Testament conceniin? 'bishops' is 
 to be regarded as pertaining to the 
 ' middle grade ;' that is, to those who 
 are now regarded as 'prie.-ts.'" — 
 This is not strictly correct, as is 
 clear from the remarks above re- 
 specting what is called the 'middle 
 grade;' but it i* strictly correct, so 
 tar a.-: it nlHrrii-: that it is nevn- ap- 
 plied to pr 1 itrs. (3.) It is used in 
 the New Testament to denote minis- 
 
 CHAPTER III. 161 
 
 blame les.s, the husband of nn« 
 
 ters of the gospel who had the care 
 or oversight of the churches, with- 
 out any rc^rard to grade or runk. 
 (I.) It has now, as used by Episco- 
 palians, a sense which is wiiolly un- 
 authorized by the New Testament, 
 anil which, indeed, is entirely at va- 
 riance with the usage there. To 
 apply the term to a pretended supe- 
 rior order of clergy, as designating 
 tiieir peculiar oflice, is wholly to 
 depart from the use of the word as 
 it occurs in the Bible. (5.) As it is 
 never used in the Scriptures with 
 reference to prelates, it should be 
 used with ret'erence to the pastors, 
 or other officers of the church ; and 
 to be a pastor or overseer of tlie flock 
 of Christ, should be regarded as being 
 a scrii)tural bishop. ^ He dcsireth 
 a iroo'l work. An honourable office ; 
 an office which it is right for a man 
 to desire. Tliere are soiuo station.s 
 in life which ought never to be de- 
 sired ; it is proper for any one to de- 
 sire the ofrice of a bishop who has 
 the proper qualitications. Comp. 
 Notes on Rom. xi. IM. 
 
 2. .1 bi'hop. A minister of reli- 
 gion, according to the foregoing re- 
 marks, who has the charge or over- 
 sight of any christian church. The 
 reference here is doubtless to one 
 who had the government of the 
 church intrusted to him (vs. 4, 5), 
 and wlio was also a preacher of the 
 jjospel. ^ Must be blameless. This 
 is a diflerent word (ur«?ti?.>;j<ro,-) from 
 that rendered blameless in Luke i. 0. 
 Phil. ii. 15; iii. 0(auFurtro<). Comp. 
 however. Notes on Luke i. fi. Phil. 
 iii. 6. Tiie word here used does not 
 mean that, a.s a necessary qualifica- 
 tion for office, a bishop sliould be 
 perfect ; but tiiat he should be a 
 man against whom no charge of im- 
 morality, or of lioMing filse doctrine^ 
 is alleged. His conduct siiould ba 
 irreprehensiblc or irreproachable. 
 
im 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. I). 5a 
 
 o'ife, vigilant, sober, of ' good be- 
 
 ' or, modest. 
 
 Undoubtedly it means that if any 
 charge could be brought against him 
 implying moral obliquity, he is not 
 fit for the office. He should be a 
 man of irreproachable character for 
 truth, honesty, chastity, and general 
 uprightness. ^ The husband of one 
 wife. This need not be understood 
 as requiring that a bishop should be 
 a married man, as Vigilantius, a 
 presbyter in the clmrch at Barcelona 
 in the fourth century, supposed, how- 
 ever desirable in general it may be 
 that a minister of tlie gospel should 
 be married. But, while this inter- 
 pretation is manifestly to be excluded 
 as false, there has been much differ- 
 ence of opinion on the question whe- 
 ther the passage means that a minis- 
 ter should not have more than one 
 wife at the same time, or whether it 
 prohibits the marriage of a second 
 wife after the death of the first. On 
 this question, the Notes of Bloom- 
 field, Doddridge, and Macknight, 
 may be consulted. That the former 
 is the correct opinion, seems to me 
 to be evident from the following 
 considerations: (1.) It is the most 
 obvious meaning of the language, 
 and it would doubtless be thus un- 
 derstood by those to whom it was 
 addressed. At a time when poly- 
 gamy was not uncommon, to say 
 that a man should 'have but one 
 wife' would je naturally understood 
 as prohibiting polygamy. (2.) The 
 marriage of a second wife, after the 
 death of the first, is nowhere spoken 
 of in tlie Scriptures as wrong. The 
 marriage of a widow to a second 
 husband is expressly declared to be 
 proper (1 Cor. vii. 39) ; and it is not 
 unfair to infer from that permission 
 that it is equally lawful and proper 
 for a man to marry the second time. 
 But if it IS lawful for any man, it is 
 rig:ht for a minister of the gospel. 
 No res.son can be assigned against 
 
 liaviour, given to hospitality, apt 
 to teach : 
 
 such marriages in his case, which 
 would not be equally valid in any 
 other. Marriage is as honourable 
 for a minister of the gospel as for 
 any other man (comp. Notes on Heb. 
 xiii. 4) ; and, as Doddridge has well 
 remarked, "Circumstances may be 
 so adjusted tliat there may be as 
 much reason for a second marriage 
 as for the first, and as little inconve- 
 nience of any kind may attend it." 
 (3.) There was a special propriety 
 in the prohibition, if understood as 
 prohibiting polygamy. It is known 
 that it was extensively practised, 
 and w'as not regarded as unlawfuL 
 Yet one design of the gospel was to 
 restore the marriage relation to its 
 primitive condition; and, though it 
 is not necessary to suppose that 
 polygamy was ever tolerated in the 
 Christian church, for there is no 
 evidence of that, yet in order to fix 
 a special mark of disapprobation 
 on this practice, it might have 
 been deemed desirable to require of 
 the ministers of the gospel that they 
 should have but one wife. Thus the 
 practice of polygamy would gradu- 
 ally come to be regarded as disho- 
 nourable and improper, and the ex- 
 ample and influence of the ministry 
 would tend to introduce correct 
 views in regard to the nature of this 
 relation. One tiling is clear from 
 this passage, that the views of the 
 Papists in regard to the celibacy of 
 the clergy are directly at variance 
 with the Bible. The declaration of 
 Paul in Heb. xiii. 4, is, that ' mar- 
 riage is honourable in all ,•' and here 
 it is implied that it was proper that 
 a minister should be married. If it 
 were not, why did not Paul prohibit it 
 altogether] Instead of saying that 
 it was improper that a bishop should 
 have more than one wife, why did 
 he not say tliat it was improper that 
 he should be married at all 1 Would 
 
A. D. 58.] CHAPTER III. 
 
 not a Romanist say so now ! IT V't- 
 frilanl. Tliis word (yr^^Xio^) occurs 
 only liere and in I Tim. iii. 11. Titus 
 ii. *J. It means, properly, sober, 
 temperate, abstinent, especially in 
 respect to wine ; then sober-minded, 
 tcalcltfnl, circumspect. Robinson. 
 A minister sliould have a watchful 
 caro over his own conduct He 
 should be on his /ruardaqT'iinstsin in 
 any form. ^ Sober, owf poia. Pro- 
 perly, a man of « sound 7nind ; one 
 who follows sound reason, and who 
 is not under the control of passion. 
 The idea is, that he should liave his 
 desires and passions well regulated. 
 Perhaps the word prudent would 
 come nearer to the meaninjj of the 
 apostle than any single word which 
 we have. ^ Of good behaviour. 
 Marg., modest. Coverdale renders 
 it, mannerly. The most correct 
 rendering, according to the modern 
 use of language, would bo, tliat he 
 should be a gentleman. He should 
 not be slovenly in his appearance, or 
 rough and boorish in his manners. 
 He sl.ould not (kj violence to the 
 usages of refined intercourse, nor be 
 unfit to appear respectably in the 
 most refined circles of society. In- 
 attention to personal neatness, and 
 to the rules which regulate refined 
 intercourse, is indicative neither of 
 talent, learning, nor religion; and 
 though tiiey arc occasionally — not 
 oflen — connected with talent, learn- 
 ing, and religion, yet they are never 
 the fniit of either, and arc always a 
 disgrace to those who exhibit sucii 
 incivility and boorishness, for such 
 men ought to know better. A mi- 
 nister of the gospel should bo a 
 finislied gentleman in his manners, 
 and there is no excuse for him if he 
 is not. His religion, if he has any, 
 is adapted to make him such. He 
 has usually received such an educa- 
 tion as ought to make him sucli, and 
 in all cases ought to have had such 
 a training. He is admitted into the 
 best Eociot^, and has an opportunity 
 
 163 
 
 of becoming familiar with the lawa 
 of refined intercourse. He sliould 
 bo an example and a pattern in all 
 that fjocs to promote the welfare of 
 mankind, and there are few things 
 so easily accpiired that arc fitted to 
 do this, as refinement and genli.ity 
 of manners. No man can do good, 
 on the whole, or in the ' long run,' 
 by disregarding the rules of refined 
 intercourse ; and, other tilings being 
 equal, the refined, courteous, polite 
 gentleman in the ministry, will al- 
 ways do more good than lie who ne- 
 glects the rules of goo<l-breeding. 
 *^Uiven to hospitality. This is oflen 
 enjoined on all Christians as a duty 
 of religion. For the reasons of this, 
 and the nature of the duty, see Notes 
 on Rom, xii. 13. Heb. xiii. 2. It 
 was a special duty of tlie ministers 
 of religion, as they were to be ex- 
 amples of every christian virtue. 
 iy.l/)< to teach. Or., Didactic; that 
 is, capable of instructing, or qualified 
 for the office of a teacher of religion. 
 As the principal business of a preach- 
 er of the gospel is to teach, or to 
 communicate to his fellow-men the 
 knowledge of the truth, the neces- 
 sity of this qualification is obvious. 
 No one should be allowed to enter 
 the ministry who is not qualified to 
 impart instruction to others on the 
 doctrines and duties of religion ; and 
 no one should feel tiiat he oufrht to 
 continue in the ministr}', who has 
 not industry, and self-denial, and the 
 love of study enough .to lead him 
 constantly to endeavour to increase 
 in knowledge, that ho may be quali- 
 fied to teach others. A man who 
 would teach a people, must himself 
 keep in advance of them on the sub- 
 jects on which he would instruct 
 them. 
 
 3. Not given to wine. Marg., 
 • Sot ready to quarrel and offer 
 wrong, as one in wine. The Greek 
 word (rtatXKioj") occurs in the New 
 Testament only here and in Titua 
 i. 7. It means, properly, by wine,- 
 
164 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 3 Not ' given to wine, no stri- 
 ker, not greedy of filthy lucre ; 
 
 ' or, not ready to quarrel and offer wrong, as 
 one in vine. 
 
 i. e., spoken of what takes place bi/ 
 or over wine, as revelry, drinking* 
 songs, &,c. Then it denotes, as it 
 does here, one wlio sits by wine ; 
 that is, wlio is in the habit of drink- 
 ing it. It cannot be inferred, from 
 the use of the word here, that wine 
 was absolutely and entirely prohibit- 
 ed ; for the word does not properly 
 express that idea. It means that 
 one wiio is m the habit of drinking 
 wine, or who is accustomed to sit 
 witii those who indulge in it, sliould 
 not be admitted to the ministry. 
 The way in which tlie apostle men- 
 tions the subject here would lead us 
 fairly to suppose that he did not mean 
 to commend its use in any sense; 
 that he regarded its use as danger- 
 ous, and that he would wish the mi- 
 nisters of religion to avoid it altoge- 
 ther. In regard to its use at all, 
 except at the communion or as a 
 medicine, it may be remarked, that 
 a minister will do no injury to him- 
 self or others by letting it entirely 
 alone; he may do injury by indulg- 
 ing in it. No man is under any 
 obligation of courtesy or christian 
 duty to use it; thousands of minis- 
 ters of the gospel have brought ruin 
 on themselves, and disgrace on the 
 ministry, by its use. Comp. Notes 
 on Matt. xi. 9, and 1 Tim. v. 23. 
 ^ No striker. He must be a peace- 
 able, not a quarrelsome man. This 
 is connected with the caution about 
 the use of wine, probably, because 
 that is commonly found to produce a 
 spirit of contention and strife. "^ Not 
 greedy of filthy lucre. Not conten- 
 tious or avaricious. Gr., Not desi- 
 rous of base gain. The desire of this 
 is condemned everywhere in the 
 New Testament; but it is especially 
 the duty of a minister of the gospel 
 to be freo from it. He has a right 
 
 but patient, " not a brawler, not 
 covetous ; 
 
 4 One that ruleth well * his 
 
 a 2 Ti. 2.24. i Ps. 101. 2. 
 
 to a support (see Notes on 1 Cor. ix.) , 
 but there is nothing that more cer- 
 tainly paralyzes the usefulness of a 
 minister of the gospel than the love 
 of money. There is an instinctive 
 feeling in the human bosom that 
 such a man ought to be actuated by 
 a nobler and a purer principle. Aa 
 avarice, moreover, is the great sin 
 of the world — the sin that sways 
 more hearts, and does more to hin- 
 der the progress of the gospel, than 
 all others combined — it is important 
 in the highest degree that the minis- 
 ter of religion should be an example 
 of what men should be, and that he, 
 by his whole life, should set his face 
 against that which is the main ob- 
 struction to the progress of that gos- 
 pel which lie is appointed to preach. 
 IT But patient. Modest, mild, gen- 
 tle. See the word (Gr.) in Phil, iv. 
 5. Titus iii. 2. James iii. 17, and 
 1 Pet. ii. 18, where it is rendered 
 gentle. Tlie word means that the 
 minister of the gospel should be a 
 man of mild and kind demeanour, 
 such as liis Master was. H Not a 
 brawler. Comp. 2 Tim. ii. 24. That 
 is, he should not be a man given to 
 contention, or apt to take up a quar- 
 rel. The Greek is, literally. Not 
 disposed to fight. Tj" Not covetous. 
 Gr., Not a lover of silver ; that is, 
 of money. A man should not be put 
 into the ministry who is characteris- 
 tically a lover of money. Such a 
 one, no matter what his talents may 
 be, has no proper qualification for 
 the office, and will do more harm 
 than good. 
 
 4. One that ruleth well his own 
 house. This implies that a minister 
 of the gospel would be, and ought to 
 be, a married man. It is everywhere 
 in the New Testament £ apposed that 
 he would be a man whc could be aa 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 105 
 
 own house, having his chiUln-n 
 in subjfction wilh all gravity : 
 5 (For it a man know not how 
 
 example in all the relations of lite. 
 The jxjsition which he occupies in 
 tiie church has a strong^ resemblance 
 to the relation wlucii a lather sns- 
 tJiins to his household; and a quali- 
 tic;ition to govern a t'anuly well, 
 would bo an evidence ot'a <iualitica- 
 tion to preside properly in the church. 
 It is probable that, ui the early chris- 
 tian ciiurch, mmisters were not un- 
 tretjueutly tiken tVonj those of ma- 
 ture lite, and who were, at the time, 
 at the liead of tiimilies; and, of 
 course, siicii would be men who had 
 had an op(K)rtunity of sliowing that 
 they had this qualitication tor the 
 otficc. Though, however, tliis can- 
 not be insisted on now as a previous 
 qualitication for the office, yet it is 
 still true that, if lie has a family, it is 
 a necessary qualitication, and that a 
 man in the ministry should be one 
 wiio governs his own house well. A 
 want of tliis will always be a liin- 
 ilrancc to e.xtensive usefulness. — 
 •y Having his children in suhjtction 
 with all grnvilij. This does not 
 moan that his children should evince 
 gravity, whatever may be true on 
 that point; but it refers to thefallur. 
 He should be a grave or serious man 
 in his family ; a man free from levity 
 of character, and trom frivolity and 
 fickleness, in his intercourse with his 
 children. It docs not mean that he 
 
 1 should be severe, stern, morose — 
 which are traits that arc otlen mis- 
 taken for gravity, and which are as 
 inconsistent with the proper spirit 
 of a lather as Irivolity of manner — 
 but that he should be a serious and 
 sober-minded man. He should main- 
 tain prupor disrni'y (-jfuwfrj); ho 
 should maintain sell-respect, and his 
 deportment should be such as to in- 
 spire others v. ith respect for him. 
 
 ■ 5. F«r if a man know not hou> to 
 
 ntie. This is a beautiful and strik- 
 
 to rule liis own house, how shall 
 he take care of the churcli of 
 God?) / 
 
 ing argument. A church resembles 
 a tamiiy. It is, indeed, larger, and 
 Uiere is a greater variety of disposi- 
 tions in it tiian there is in a tiimily. 
 The authority of a minister of the 
 gosjjel in a church is also less abso- 
 lute than that of a father. But still 
 there is a striking resemblance. 
 Tlie church is made up of an assem- 
 blage of brothers and sisters. They 
 are banded together lor the same 
 purposes, and have a common object 
 to aim at. They have common feel- 
 ings and common wants. They have 
 sympathy, like a family, with each 
 otlier in their distresses and alflic- 
 tions. The government of the church 
 also is designed to be paternal. It 
 should be felt that he who presides 
 over it has the feelings of a father; 
 that he loves all the members of the 
 great family ; that he has no preju- 
 dices, no partialities, no selfish aims 
 to gratify. Now, if a man cannot 
 govern his own family well; if he 
 is severe, partial, neglectful, or ty- 
 rannical at home, how can he be 
 e-xpected to take charge of the more 
 numerous ' household of faith' with 
 proper views and feelings ? If, with 
 all the natural and strong ties of af- 
 fection which bind a father to his 
 own children ; if, when tliey are few 
 comparatively in number, and where 
 his eye is constantly upon them, he 
 is unable to govern them aright, how 
 can he be expected to preside in a 
 proper manner over the larger house- 
 hold where he will be bound with 
 comparatively feebler ties, and where 
 he will be exposed more to the ijH 
 fluence of passion, and where be 
 will have a much less constant op» 
 portunity of supervision ! Confu- 
 cius, as quoted by Doddridge, has a 
 sentiment strikingly resembling that 
 before us: "It is impossible that ho 
 who knows not how to govern and 
 
166 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 6 Not ' a novice, lest being 
 lifted up with pride " he fall into 
 
 • or, one newly come to the faith, a Pr. 16. 18. 
 
 reform his owti family, should rightly 
 govern and reform a people." We 
 may remark, also, in this verse, a 
 delicate and beautiful use of words 
 by the apostle to prevent the possi- 
 bility of misapprehension. While 
 he institutes a comparison between 
 the government of a family and that 
 of the church, he guards against the 
 possibility of its being supposed that 
 he would countenance arbitrary au- 
 thority in the church, even such au- 
 thority as a father must of necessity 
 employ in his own family. Hence 
 he uses different words. He speaks 
 of the father as ' ruling'' over his 
 own famdy, or presiding over it — 
 Hpoatijvav ; he describes tlie minister 
 of religion as having a tender care 
 for the church — iftmsTLrisctav. 
 
 6. Not a novice. Marg., one 
 newly come to the faith. The Greek 
 word, which occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament, means, proper- 
 ly, that which is newly planted. 
 Thus it would mean a plant that 
 was not strong, or not fitted to bear 
 the severity of storms ; that had not 
 as yet struck its roots deep, and could 
 not resist the fierceness of a cold 
 blast. Then the word comes to mean 
 a new convert; one who has had 
 little opportunity to test his own 
 faith, or to give evidence to others 
 that he would be faithful to the trust 
 committed to him. The word does 
 not refer so much to one who is 
 young in years, as one who is young 
 in faith. Still, all the reasons which 
 apply against introducing a very re- 
 cent convert into the ministry, will 
 apply commonly with equal force 
 again-3k introducing one young in 
 years, ^ Lest being lifted up with 
 pride. We are not to suppose that 
 this is the only reason against intro- 
 ducing a recent convert into the mi- 
 nistry, but it is a sufficient reason. 
 
 the condemnation of the devil. 
 7 Moreover he must have a 
 
 b Jiide 6. 
 
 He would be likely to be elated by 
 being intrusted at once with the 
 highest office in the church, and by 
 the commendations and flattery 
 which he might receive. No condi- 
 tion is wholly proof against this; but 
 he is much less likely to be injured 
 who has had much experience of the 
 depravity of his own heart, and 
 whose mind has been deeply imbued 
 with the spirit of the gospel. ^ He 
 fall into the condemnation of the 
 devil. That is, the same kind of 
 condemnation which the devil fell 
 into; to wit, condemnation on ac- 
 count of pride. It is here intimated 
 that the cause of the apostasy of Sa- 
 tan was pride — a cause \vhich is as 
 likely to have been the true one as 
 any other. Who can tell but it may 
 have been produced by some new 
 honour which was conferred on him 
 in heaven, and that his virtue was 
 not found sufficient for the untried cir- 
 cumstances in which he was placed 1 
 Much of the apostasy from eminent 
 virtue in this world, arises from this 
 cause ; and possibly the case of Sa- 
 tan may have been the most signal 
 instance of this kind which has oc- 
 curred in the universe. The idea 
 of Paul is, that a young convert 
 should not suddenly be raised to an 
 exalted station in the church. Who 
 can doubt the wisdom of this direc- 
 tion 1 The word rendered lifted up 
 (tvfcjyiL;), is from a verb which 
 means to smoke, to fume, to surround 
 with smoke; then to inflate — as a 
 bladder is with air ; and then to be 
 conceited or proud; that is, to be 
 like a bladder filled, not with a solid 
 substance, but with air. 
 
 7. Moreover he must have a good 
 report of them which are without. 
 Who are without the church ; that 
 is, of those who are not Christians. 
 Tliis includes, of course, all classe 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 in; 
 
 good report of them " whkli are 
 without; lest he fall into reproach, 
 aiid the snare ' of the devil. 
 
 a Ac. K. li 1 Th. 4. li 
 6 c. C. 9. iiTi.iaj. 
 
 of those who are not Cliristians — 
 hcatliens, infidels, Jews, moral men, 
 aiid scotlers. Tiic idea is, that he 
 must have a fiiir reputation with 
 them for inte^frity of character. His 
 life must he m their view upricjht. 
 He must not be addicted toanythinjj 
 rtliicli t ey re^rd as inconsistent 
 rtitli g-ood morals. His dejwrtment 
 nuiot bo sucii that they shall reg'ard 
 it as not inconsistent with his pro- 
 fession. He must be true and just 
 and lionest in liis dealings with his 
 tellow-men, and so live that they 
 cannot say that he has wronged 
 them. He must not give occasion tor 
 scandal or reproach in his intercourse 
 with the otiier sex, but must be 
 re^rarded as a man of a pure life and 
 of a holy walk. The reason for this 
 injunction is obvious. It is iiis busi- 
 ness? to endeavour to do sucii men 
 good, and to persuade them to be- 
 come Christians. liul no minister 
 of the (gospel can possibly do such 
 men good, unless they re<rard him 
 ir. an upriirhl and honest man. No 
 natter how he preaches or prays; 
 10 matter how orthodo.x, learned, or 
 ipparently dovout he may be, all his 
 ^Hbrta will Ik; in vain unless they 
 regard iiiin as a man of incorrupti- 
 ble integrity. If they hate religion 
 themselves, they insist justly tiiat 
 since he has professed it he shall be 
 governed by its principles; or if 
 they feel its importance, they will 
 not be influenced to embrace it by a 
 man that they regard as hypocritical 
 and impure. Go to a man whom 
 you have defrauded, or who regards 
 you as having- done or attempted 
 wrong to any other one, and talk to 
 him about the necessity of religion, 
 and he will instinctively say that he 
 ioes not want a rel-gion which will I 
 
 8 Likewise mnst the deacon.s 
 ' he g^avc, not double-tongued, 
 not '' given to much wine, not 
 greedy of filthy lucre ; 
 
 c Ar. G. X a Vcr. a Le. 10. 9. 
 
 not make it-s professor true, hone.-^t, 
 and pure. It is impossible, there- 
 fore, for a minister to over-estimate 
 the importance of having a fair cha- 
 racter in tiie view of the world, and 
 no man should be introiluccd into the 
 ministry, or sustained in it, who has 
 not a fair reputation. Comp. Notc3 
 on Col. iv. 5. 1 Thes.s. iv. 12. IT Lest 
 he ^fall into reproach. That is, in 
 such a way as to bring dishonour on 
 the ministerial character. His life 
 will be such as to give men occasion 
 to reproach the cause of religion. 
 1 And the snare of the devil. The 
 snare whicli the devil lays to entrap 
 and ruin the ministers of the gospel 
 and all good men. The snare to 
 which reference is here made, is 
 that of blastins^ the character and 
 influence of the minister of the c^os- 
 ptl. The idea is, that Satan lays 
 this snare so to entangle him as 
 to .secure tliis object, and the means 
 which he uses is the vigilance and 
 suspicion of those who are out of the 
 church. If there is anything of this 
 kind in the life of a minister which 
 they can make use of, tiiey will be 
 ready to do it. Hence tiie necessity 
 on his part of an upright and blame- 
 less life. Satin is constantly aiming 
 at this thinfr; the world is watching 
 for it, and if the minister has any 
 propensity which is not in entire 
 accordance with honesty, Satan will 
 take advantage of it and lead him 
 into the snare. 
 
 8. Likewise must the deacons. 
 On the meaning of the word dea- 
 cons, see Notes on Pliil. i. 1. On 
 their appointment, sec Notes, Acta 
 vi. 1. Tiie word here evidently de- 
 notes those who had charge of the 
 tempor 
 poor, " 
 
 K)r^ alTairs of the church, the 
 , JMI No qualifications are men- 
 
k68 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 9 Holding " the mystery * of 
 the faith in a pure conscience. 
 
 a Ep. 1. 9. 
 b Ver. IG. 
 
 tioned, implying: that they were to 
 be preachers of the gospel. In most 
 respects, except in regard to preach- 
 ing, the^'r qualifications were to be 
 the same as those of the bishops. 
 % Be grave. Serious, sober-minded 
 men. In Acts vi. 3, it is said that 
 they should be men of honest report. 
 On the meaning of the word grave, 
 see Notes on ver. 4. They should 
 be men who by their serious deport- 
 ment will inspire respect. ^ Not 
 douhle-tortgueil. The word here 
 used — Si'^oyoj — does not occur else- 
 where in the New Testament. It 
 means, properly, uttering the same 
 thing twice (from fit's and ^'yco), and 
 then deceitful, or speaking one thing 
 and meaning another. They should 
 be men who can be relied on for the 
 exact truth of what they say, and 
 for the exact fulfilment of their pro- 
 mises. ^ Not given to much wine. 
 See ver. 3. The word much is add- 
 ed here to what is said (ver. 2) of 
 the qualification of a bishop. It is 
 not affirmed that it would be proper 
 for the deacon, any more than than 
 the bishop, to indulge in the use of 
 wine in small quantities, but it is 
 affirmed that a man who is much 
 given to the use of wine ought not, 
 on any consideration, to be a deacon. 
 It may be remarked here, that this 
 qualification was everywhere regard- 
 ed as necessary for a minister of re- 
 ligion. Even the heathen priests, on 
 entering a temple, did not drink 
 wine. Bloomfield. The use of wine, 
 and of strong drinks of all kinds, 
 was absolutely prohibited to the Jew- 
 ish ministers of every rank when 
 they were about to engage in the 
 service of God. Lev. x. 9. Why 
 should it then be any more proper 
 for a christian minister t ) drink wine 
 than for a Jewish or a heathea^riest ! 
 
 10 And let these also first be 
 proved ; then let them use the 
 office of a deacon, being found 
 blameless. 
 
 Shall a minister of the gospel be lesa 
 holy than they? Shall he have a 
 feebler sense of the purity of his vo- 
 cation ] Shall he be less carefiil lest 
 he expose himself to the possibility 
 of conducting the services of reli- 
 gion in an irreverent and silly man- 
 ner] Shall he venture to approach 
 the altar of God under the influence 
 of intoxicating drinks, when a sense 
 of propriety restrained the heathen 
 priest, and a solemn statute of Jeho- 
 vah restrained the Jewish priest from 
 doing it] ^ Not greedy of filthy 
 lucre. Notes, ver. 3. The special 
 reason why this qualification was 
 important in the deacon was, that he 
 would be intrusted with the funds 
 of the church, and might be tempted 
 to appropriate them to his own use 
 instead of the charitable purposes 
 for which they were designed. See 
 this illustrated in the case of Judas, 
 John xii. 6. 
 
 9. Holding the mystery of the 
 faith. On the word mystery, see 
 Notes on 1 Cor. ii. 7. It means that 
 which had been concealed, or hidden, 
 but which was now revealed. The 
 word faith, here, is synonymous with 
 the gospel ; and the sense is, that he 
 should hold firmly the great doc- 
 trines of the christian religion which 
 had been so long concealed firom 
 men, but which were now revealed. 
 The reason is obvious. Though not 
 a preacher, yet his influence and ex- 
 ample would be great, and a man 
 who held material error ought not to 
 be in the office. ^ In a pure con- 
 science. A mere orthodox faith was 
 not all that was necessary, for it was 
 possible that a man might be profess- 
 edly firm in the belief of the truths 
 of revelation, and yet be corrupt at 
 heart. 
 
 10. And let these also be Jirst 
 
A. 1). sa] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 loy 
 
 11 Even so mint their wives' 
 
 a Tit. '.'. 3. 
 
 proved. Tliat is, tried or tested in 
 reijard to tlie tliincfs which were the 
 proper qualitications for the office, 
 riiiri does not mean tliat they were 
 to be employed as preachers, but that 
 they were to undergo a prM',)er trial 
 in regfani to their fitness for lue office 
 whicli tliey were to fill. Tliey were 
 not to be put into it without any op- 
 portunity of knowing what they 
 were. It should be ascertained tliat 
 they were grave, serious, temperate, 
 trustworthy men; men who were 
 sound in the faith, and who would 
 not dishonour the office. It is not 
 said here that there should be sl for- 
 mal trial, as if they were candidates 
 for this office ; but the meaning is, 
 that they should have had an oppor- 
 tunity of making their character 
 known, and should have gained such 
 respect for their piety, and their 
 otlier qualifications, that there would 
 be reason to believe that they would 
 ])crforvi tiie functions of the office 
 well. Thus, in Acts vi. 3, when 
 ileacons were first appointed, the 
 church was directed to 'loc/k out se- 
 ven men of honest report,^ who might 
 be appointed to the office. ^ Then 
 let them use the office of a deacon. 
 Let them be appointed to this office, 
 and fulfil its duties. •[ Being found 
 blameless. If nothing can be alleged 
 against their character. See Notes 
 on ver. 2. 
 
 II. Even so must their wives be 
 grave. Chr}-sostom, Thcophylact, 
 Grotiu.*, Bloomfield, and many others, 
 sujipose that by the word reives, 
 here, (yvvoMcoj), the apostle means 
 deaconesses. Clarke supposes that 
 it refers to women in general. The 
 reason assigned for supposing that it 
 docs not refer to the wives of dea- 
 cons, as such, is, tha\ nothing is said 
 of the qualifications of the wives of 
 bishops — a mattt-r of as much im- 
 portance as that of the character of 
 15 
 
 he grave, not slanderers, sob';r, 
 laitliful in all things. 
 
 the wife of a deacon ; and that it 
 cannot be supposed that the apostle 
 would specify the one without some 
 allusion to the other. But that the 
 common interpretation, which makes 
 it refer to the wives of deacons, as 
 such, is to be adhered to, seems to 
 me to be clear. For (1.) it is the 
 obvious and natural interpretation. 
 (2.) The word here used — wives — 
 is never used of itself to denote dea- 
 conesses. (3.) If the apostle had 
 meant deaconesses, it would have 
 been easy to express it witiiout am- 
 biguity. Coinp. Notes, liom. xvi. 1. 
 (-1.) What is here mentioned is im- 
 portant, whether the same thing is 
 mentioned of bishops or not (5.) In 
 the qualifications of bishops, the 
 ap<3stle had made a statement re- 
 specting his famil}', which made any 
 specification about the particular 
 members of the tiimily unnecessary. 
 He was to be one who presided in a 
 proper manner over his own liouse, 
 or who had a well-regulated family. 
 Vs. 4, 5. By a comparison of this 
 passage, also, with Titus ii. 3, 4, 
 which bears a strong resemblance to 
 this, it would seem that it was sup- 
 posed that the deacons would be 
 taken from those who were advanced 
 in life, and that their wives would 
 have some superintendence over the 
 younger females of the church. It 
 was, therefore, esi)ccially important 
 that they should he persons whose 
 influence would be known to be de- 
 cidedly favourable to piety. No one 
 can doubt that the character of a 
 woman may be such, that it is not 
 desirable that her husband should be 
 an officer in the church. A bad wo- 
 man ought not to be intrusted with 
 any additional power or influence. 
 % Urave. Notes, ver. 4. H .\ot 
 slanderers. Comp. Titus ii. 3, " Not 
 false accusers." The (ireck word 
 is ftoJoXots — devils. It is used horo 
 
70 
 
 I. TLVIOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. sa 
 
 12 Let the deacons be the hus- 
 bands of one wife, ruling " their 
 children and their own houses 
 well. 
 
 13 For they that have ^ used 
 
 a ver. 4. ' or, ministered. 
 
 in its original and proper sense, to 
 denote a calumniator, slanderer, or 
 accuser. It occurs in the same sense 
 in 2 Tim. iii. 3, and Titus ii. 3. 
 Elsewhere in the New Testament, 
 it is uniformly rendered devil (comp. 
 Notes, Matt. iv. 1), and is given to 
 Satan, the prince of the fallen an- 
 gels (Matt. ix. 34), by way of emi- 
 nence, as the accuser. Comp. Notes 
 on Job i. 6 — 11, and Rev. xii. 10. 
 Here it means that they should not 
 be women wlio were in the habit of 
 calumniating others, or aspersing 
 their character. Mingling as they 
 W'Ould with the church, and having 
 an opportunity to claim acquaintance 
 with many, it would be in their 
 power, if they chose, to do great in- 
 jury to the character of others. — 
 ^ Sobe7: Notes, ver. 2. «j[ Faithful 
 in all things. To their husbands, to 
 their families, to the church, to the 
 Saviour. 
 
 12. Let the deacons be the hus- 
 bands of one wife. Notes, ver. 2. 
 11 Ruling their children and their 
 own houses well. Notes, vs. 4, 5. 
 
 13. For they that have used the 
 office of a deacon well. Marg., mi- 
 nistered. The Greek word is the 
 same as deacon, meaning minister- 
 ing, or serving in this office. The 
 sense would be well expressed by 
 the phrase, deaconizing well. The 
 word implies nothing as to the exact 
 nature of the office, "if Purchase to 
 themselves. Procure for themselves. 
 See this word explained in the Notes 
 on Acts XX. 28. ^ A good degree. 
 The word here used (fia^/xoi) occurs 
 nowhere else in the New Testament. 
 It means, properly, a step, as of a 
 stair ■. and the fair meaning is that 
 
 the office of a deacon well, * pur- 
 chase to themselves a good de- 
 gree, and great boldness in the 
 faith " whi '.h is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 6 Mat. 25. 21. 
 
 c 2 Ti. 2. 1. 
 
 of going up higher, or taking an ad- 
 ditional step of dignity, honour, or 
 standing. So far as the word is 
 concerned, it may mean either an 
 advance in office, in dignity, in re- 
 spectability, or in influence. It can- 
 not certainly be inferred that the 
 apostle referred to a higher grade of 
 office; for all that the word essen- 
 tially conveys is, that, by exercising 
 this office well, a deacon W'Ould se- 
 cure additional respectability and in- 
 fluence in the church. Still, it is 
 possible that those who had perform- 
 ed the duties of this office well were 
 appointed to be preachers. They 
 may have shown so much piety, pru- 
 dence, good sense, and ability to pre- 
 side over the church, that it was 
 judged proper that they should be 
 advanced to the office of bishops or 
 pastors of the churches. Such a 
 course would not be unnatural. This 
 is, however, far from teaching that 
 the office of a deacon is a subordinate 
 office, with a view to an ascent to a 
 higher grade. ^ And great boldness 
 in the faith. The word here ren- 
 dered boldness properly refers to 
 boldness in speaking. See it ex- 
 plained in the Notes on Acts iv. 13. 
 2 Cor. iii. 12. Phil. i. 20. But the 
 word is commonly used to denote 
 boldness of any kind — openness, 
 frankness, confidence, assurance. 
 John viii. 13. 26. Mark viii. 32. 
 2 Cor. vii. 4. As it is here connect- 
 ed witli faith — ' boldness in the 
 faith' — it means, evidently, not so 
 raucla public speaking, as a manly 
 and uidependent exercise of faith in 
 Christ. The sense is, that by the 
 faithffil performance of the duties of 
 the office of a deacon, and by the 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 171 
 
 It Those tilings write I unto 
 thee, hoping to come iiiilo tlicc 
 shortly : 
 
 15 "But if I tarry long, that thou 
 mayest know how thou oughtest 
 
 kind of experience which a man 
 would have in that oflice, he would 
 estiiblijh a diameter of firmness in 
 tlic faith, which would show that he 
 was a decided Christian. This pas- 
 ea^'e, tiierefore, cannot be fairly used 
 to prove that the deacon was a 
 preucher, or tiiat he belonged to a 
 fjraile of ministerial office from which 
 he was regularly to rise to that of a 
 presbyter. 
 
 14. These things write I unto 
 thee, hopinsr to come unto thee 
 shortly. That is, he hoped to come 
 there to give instructions personally, 
 or to fmi.sii, himself, the work which 
 he had commenced in Ephesus, and 
 which had been interrupted by his 
 b in-jT driven so unexpectedly away. 
 Tliis verso proves tiiat the apostle 
 Paul lid not regard Timothy as tiie 
 permani'iit diocesan bisliop of Ephe- 
 sus. Would any Episcoixil bishop 
 write this to another bishop] If 
 Timothy were the permanent pre- 
 late of Epiicsus, would Paul have 
 intimated that he expected soon to 
 come and take tlio work of complet- 
 ing the arrangements there into his 
 own iiands? In regard to his ex- 
 pectation of going soon to Ej)hcsus, 
 see Notes on ch. i. 3. Comp. the 
 Introduction to the epistle. 
 
 l.j. Ihtl if I tarry Innrr. Paul 
 appears to have been uncertain liow 
 long circumstances would require 
 him to be absent. He expected to 
 return, but it was possible that his 
 hope of returning soon would be dis- 
 appointed. ^ That thou mayest 
 know how thou ouqhtest In behave 
 thyself. Tliat is, tiiat he might liave 
 just views about settling the affliirs 
 of the church. ^ In the house nf 
 Ood. Thi^ docs not mean in a place 
 
 to behave thyself in the house " 
 of God, which is the church of 
 the hving CJod, the pillar and ' 
 ground of the truth, 
 
 a2Ti.2. 20. 
 
 > or, stay. 
 
 of public worship, nor does it refer to 
 propriety of deportment there. It 
 refers ratiier to the church as a body 
 of believers, and to intercourse with 
 them. Tiie church is called tiie 
 ' house of (jlod,' because it is that in 
 which he dwells. Formerly, his 
 peculiar residence was in tiie temple 
 at Jerusalem ; now that the temple 
 is destroyed, it is in the church of 
 Christ, among his people. ^ Which 
 is the church nf the living God. 
 This seems to have been added to 
 impress the mind of Timothy with 
 the solemn nature of the duty which 
 he was to perform. What he did 
 pertained to tlie honour and welfare 
 of the church of the living God, and 
 hence he should feel the imiwrtance 
 of a correct deportment, and of a 
 right administration of its affairs. 
 ^\ The pillar and ground nf the 
 truth. There has been no little di- 
 versity of opinion among critics whe- 
 ther this phrase is to be taken in 
 connection with the preceding, mean- 
 ing tliat the church is the pillar and 
 ground of the truth ; or whetiier it 
 is to be taken in cojinection with 
 what follows, meaning tiiat the prin- 
 ci|xil support of the truth was tiie 
 doctrine there referred to — tliat God 
 was manifest in the flush. Biixim- 
 field remarks on tliis : " It is surpris- 
 ing that any wiio have any know- 
 ledge or experience in Gnjck litera- 
 ture could tolerate so harsh a con- 
 struction as tiiat wliich arises from 
 the latter method." Tlic more na- 
 tural interpret;ition certainly is, to 
 refer it to the former; and this ia 
 supported by the considemtion that 
 it would then tall in with the object 
 of the ajiostln. His design here 
 .seems to be, to impress Timothy with 
 
172 
 
 16 And, without controversy. 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 58. 
 
 great is the ra3'^stery " of godli- 
 
 a 1 Co. 2. 7. 
 
 a deep sense of the importance of 
 correct conduct in relation to the 
 church ; of the responsibility of those 
 who presided over it ; and of the ne- 
 cessity of care and caution in the 
 selection of proper officers. To do 
 this, he reminded him that the truth 
 of God — that revealed truth which 
 he liad given to save the world — was 
 intrusted to the church ; that it was 
 designed to preserve it pure, to de- 
 fend it, and to transmit it to future 
 times ; and that, therefore, every one 
 to whom the administration of the 
 aflairs of the church was intrusted, 
 should engage in this duty with a 
 deep conviction of his responsibility. 
 On the construction of the passage, 
 Bloomfield, Rosenmiiller, and Clarke, 
 may be consulted. The word ' pil- 
 lar' means a column, such as that by 
 which a building is supported, and 
 then any tirm prop or support. Gal. 
 ii. 9. Rev. iii. 12. If it refers to 
 the church here, it means that that 
 is the support of the truth, as a pillar 
 is of a building. It sustains it 
 amidst the war of elements, the na- 
 tural tendency to fall, and the as- 
 saults wliich may be made on it, and 
 preserves it when it would otlierwise 
 tumble into ruin. Thus it is with 
 the church. It is intrusted v/ith the 
 business of maintaining the truth, of 
 defending it from the assaults of 
 error, and of transmitting it to future 
 times. The truth is, in fact, upheld 
 in tlie world by the church. The 
 people of the world feel no interest 
 in defending it, and it is to the 
 church of Christ that it is owing 
 that it is preserved and transmitted 
 from age to age. The word render- 
 ed 'ground' — ^£5pa<,'co|Ua — means, pro- 
 perly, a basis, or foundation. The 
 figure here is evidently taken from 
 architecture, as the use of the word 
 pillar is. The proper meaning of 
 tlie one expression would be, that 
 
 truth is supported by the church, as 
 an edifice is by a pillar; of the other, 
 that the truth rests on the church, aa 
 a house does on its foundation. It is 
 that which makes it fixed, stable, 
 permanent; that on which it se- 
 curely stands amidst storms and 
 tempests ; that which renders it firm 
 when systems of error are swept 
 away as a house that is built on the 
 sand. Comp. Notes on Matt. vii. 
 24 — 27. The meaning then is, that 
 the stability of the truth on earth is 
 dependent on the church. It is 
 owing to the fact that the church is 
 itself founded on a rock, that the 
 gates of hell cannot prevail against 
 it, that no storms of persecution can 
 overthrow it, that the truth is pre- 
 served from age to age. Other sys- 
 tems of religion are swept away; 
 other opinions change ; other forms 
 of doctrine vanish; but the know- 
 ledge of the great system of redemp- 
 tion is preserved on earth unshaken, 
 because the church is preserved, and 
 because its foundations cannot be 
 moved. This does not refer, I sup- 
 pose, to creeds and confessions, or to 
 the decisions of synods and councils ; 
 but to the living spirit of truth and 
 piety in the church itself As cer- 
 tainly as tlie church continues to 
 live, so certain it will be that the 
 truth of God will be perpetuated 
 among men. 
 
 16. And, without controversy. Un- 
 deniably, certainly. The object of 
 the apostle is to say that the truth 
 which he was about to state admit- 
 ted of no dispute. ^ Great is the 
 mystery. On the meaning of the 
 word mystery, see Notes on 1 Cor. 
 ii. 7. The word means that which 
 had been hidden or concealed. The 
 meaning here is not that the oropc- 
 sition which he affirms was myste- 
 rious in the sense that it was unin- 
 telligible, or impossible to be under- 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 178 
 
 ness : God was manifi st ' in the 
 
 ' manifuled. 
 
 stood ; but tliat tlic doctrine respect- 
 ing tlie incarnation and the work of 
 the Alossiuli, which Imd been so long 
 kipl hidden J'rom tlic world, way a 
 subject of the deepest importance. 
 This passage, theretbre, frhould not 
 \v3 used to prove that there is any- 
 thing unintelligible, or anything that 
 surpasses human comprehension, in 
 that doctrine, whatever may be the 
 !ruth on that point; but that the 
 doctrine which he now proceeds to 
 .<late, and wliich had been so long 
 concealed from mankind, was of the 
 utmost consequence. ^\ Of godli- 
 ness. The word godliness means, 
 properly, piety, reverence, or reli- 
 giousness. It is used here, however, 
 lor the gospel scheme, to wit, that 
 which the apostle proceeds to stale. 
 This ' mystery,' which had ' been 
 hidden from ages and from genera- 
 tions, and which was now manifest' 
 (Col. i. 2()), was the great doctrine 
 on which depended religion every- 
 where, or was that which constituted 
 the christian scheme. «[ God. Pro- 
 bably there is no passage in the New 
 Testament which has e.xcited so 
 much discusi^ion among critics as 
 this, and none in reference to which 
 it is so difficult to determine the 
 true reading. It is the only one, it 
 is believed, in which the microscope 
 has been employed to determine the 
 lines of the letters used in a manu- 
 script ; and, allcr all that has been 
 done to ascertain the exact truth in 
 regard to it, still the question re- 
 mains undecided It is not the object 
 of tlio.«o Notes to enter into the exa- 
 mination of questions of this nature. 
 A full investigation may be found 
 in \Vet.-lein. The question which 
 has e.xcited so much controversy 
 is, whether the original Greek word 
 w«s ©«6j. (iod, or whether it was 6j, 
 15* 
 
 flesh, ■ justified in tlie Spint, * 
 
 a Jiin. 1. 1-1. 1 Jno 1. 3. 
 b Mat. 3. 111. Jno. 10. V, P. Ro. 1. 1. 1 I'e. 
 3. 18. 1 Jiiu. S. 6. 
 
 who, or o, which. The controversy 
 has turned, to a considerable degree, 
 on the reading in the Codex Alex- 
 andriniis ,• and a remark or two on 
 the nifthod in whicii the manuscripts 
 of the New Testament were written, 
 will show the true nature of the con- 
 troversy. Greek manuscripts were 
 formerly written entirely in capital 
 letters, and without breaks or inter- 
 vals between the words, and without 
 accents. See a full description of 
 the methods of writing the New 
 Testament, in an article by Prof. 
 Stuart in Dn Robinson's Bibliotheca 
 Sacra, No. 2, pp. 2.")4, secj. The 
 small, cursive Greek letters which 
 are now used, were not commonly 
 employed in transcribing the New 
 Testiment, if at all, until the ninth 
 or tenth centuries. It was a com- 
 mon thing to abridge or contract 
 words in tlic manuscript. Thus, ftp 
 would be used ihr narep, father ; *j 
 for xvptoj, Lord; ^5 tor ^toj, God, 
 (Sec. The words thus contracted 
 were designated by a faint line or 
 dash over Iheni. In this place, 
 therefore, if the original were or, 
 stinding for ^foj, God, and the line 
 in the e, and the faint line over it, 
 were obliterated from any cause, it 
 would be easily mistaken for OC — 
 6j — who. To ascertain which of 
 these is the true reading, has been 
 the great qtiestion ; and it is with 
 reference to this that the micro.«cope 
 has been resorted to in the cxamina- 
 nation of the Alexandrian manu- 
 script. It is now generally admitted 
 that the faint line ov/r the word hag 
 been adde<l by some later liand, 
 though not improlwbly by one who 
 tbund that the line was nearly obli- 
 terated, and who meant merely to 
 restore it Whether the letter O 
 was originally written with a lina 
 
174 
 
 seen of angels, " preached, unto 
 the Gentiles, '' beUeved on ' in the 
 
 a Mat. 4. 11. Lu. 2. 13. Ep. 3. 10. 1 Pe. 1. 12. 
 
 6 Ac. 13. 4G, 48. Ro. 10. 12, 18. c Col. 1. 6. 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 58. 
 
 Avorld, received up ^ into glory. 
 
 within it, makinsf the reading God, 
 it is now said to be impossible to de- 
 termine, in consequence of the ma- 
 nuscript at this place having become 
 so much worn by frequent examina- 
 tion. The Vulgate and the Syriac 
 read it, tcho, or which. The Vul- 
 gate is, ' Great is the sacrament of 
 piety which was manifested in the 
 flesh.' The Syriac, 'Great is the 
 mystery of godliness, that he was 
 manifested in the flesh. The proba- 
 bility in regard to the correct read- 
 ing here, as it seems to me, is, that 
 the word, as originally ^-ritten, was 
 ^£05 — God. At the same time, how- 
 ever, the evidence is not so clear 
 that it can be properly used in an 
 argument. But the passage is not 
 necessary to prove the doctrine 
 which is afiirmed, on the supposition 
 tliat that is the correct reading. The 
 same truth is abundantly taught 
 elsewhere. Comp. Matt. i. 23. John 
 i. 14. IF Was manifest. Marg., 
 Manifested. The meaning is, ap- 
 peared in the flesh. ■[ In the flesh. 
 In human nature. See this explain- 
 ed in the Notes on Rom. i. 3. The 
 expression here looks as though the 
 true reading of the much-disputed 
 word was God. It could not have 
 been, it w^ould seem evident, o, which, 
 referring to ' mystery ;' for how could 
 a mystery 'be manifested in the 
 flesh V Nor could it be 6?, who, un- 
 less that should refer to one who was 
 more than a man; for how absurd 
 would it be to say that ' a man was 
 manifested, or appeared in the flesh !' 
 How else could a man appear ? The 
 phrase here means that God appear- 
 ed in human form, or with human 
 nature; and this is declared to be 
 the ' great' truth so long concealed 
 from human view, but now revealed 
 as constituting ths fiindamental doc- 
 
 d Lu. 24. 51. 
 
 Ac. 1.9 
 
 trine of the gospel. The expres- 
 sions which follow in this verse refer 
 to God as thus manifested in the 
 flesh ; to the Saviour as he appeared 
 on earth, regarded as a divine and 
 human being. It was the fact that 
 he thus appeared and sustained this 
 character, which made the things 
 which are immediately specified so 
 remarkable, and so worthy of atten- 
 tion. ^ Justified in the Spirit. That 
 is, the incarnate person above refer- 
 red to; the Redeemer, regarded as 
 God and man. The word Spirit, 
 here, it is evident, refers to the Holy 
 Spirit; for (1.) it is not possible to 
 attach any intelligible idea to the 
 phrase, ' he was justified by his own 
 spirit, or soul ;' (2.) as the Holy 
 Spirit performed so important a part 
 in the work of Christ, it is natural 
 to suppose there would be some al- 
 lusion here to him ; and (3.) as the 
 ' angels' are mentioned here as hav- 
 ing been with him, and as the Holy 
 Spirit is often mentioned in connec- 
 tion W'ith him, it is natural to sup- 
 pose that there would be some allu- 
 sion to Hun here. The word justi- 
 fied, here, is not used in the sense 
 in which it is when applied to Chris- 
 tians, but in its more common signi- 
 fication. It means to vindicate, and 
 the sense is, that he was shown to 
 be the Son of God by the agency of 
 the Holy Ghost ; he was thus vindi- 
 cated from the charges alleged 
 against him. The Holy Spirit ftir- 
 nished the evidence that he was 
 the Son of God, or justified his 
 claims. Thus he descended on him 
 at his baptism. Matt. iii. 16 ; he 
 was sent to convince the world of 
 sin because it did not believe on him, 
 John xvi. 8, 9 ; the Saviour cast out 
 devils by him, Matt xii. 28; the 
 Spirit was given to him without 
 
A. i). 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER UI. 
 
 175 
 
 measure, John iii. 34, and the Spirit 
 was sent down in accordance with 
 his promise, to convert tlie hearts of 
 men. Acts ii. 'M. All tlie inunit'cs- 
 tations of Go^l to him ; all tlic [Hjwcr 
 of \vorkin<T miracies by iiis agency; 
 all llm influences imparted to the 
 man Christ Jesus, endowing him 
 with sucii a wisdom as man never 
 had before, may be regarded as an 
 attestation of the Holy Ghost to tlie 
 divine mission of the Lord Jesus, 
 and of course as a vindication from 
 all the charges against him. In like 
 manner, tiie descent of tlic Holy 
 Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and his 
 agency in the conversion of every sin- 
 ner, prove the same thing, and furnish 
 the grand argument in vindication 
 of the Redeemer that he was sent 
 from God. To this the apostle re- 
 fers as a part of the glorious truth 
 of the christian scheme now reveal- 
 ed — the • mystery of religion ;' as a 
 portion of tiie amazing records, the 
 memory of which the church was to 
 preserve as connected with the re- 
 demption of the world. ^ Seen of 
 nngcls. They were attendants on 
 his ministry, and came to him in 
 times of distress, peril, and want. 
 Comp. Luke ii. 9 — 13; .x.xii. 43; 
 I xxiv. 4. Heb. i. 6. MatL iv. 11. 
 They folt an interest in him and his 
 work, and they gladly came to him 
 in his sorrows and troubles. The 
 design of the apostle is to give an 
 impressive view of the grandeur and 
 glory of that work which attracted 
 the attention of the iieavcnly hosts, 
 and which drew them from the skies 
 that they might proclaim his advent, 
 sustain him in his temptations, wit- 
 ness his crucifixion, and watch over 
 him in the tomb. The work of Christ, 
 though despised by men, excited the 
 deepest interest in heaven. Comp. 
 Votes on 1 Pet i. 12. f Preached 
 ■■iito the Gentiles. This is placed 
 by tlw apostle among the 'great' 
 thin^i-s which constituted the ' myste- 
 rv' of religion. The meaning is, that 
 
 it was a glorious truth that salvation 
 might be, and should be, proclaimed 
 to all mankind, and that this was a 
 part of the important truths made 
 known in the gospel. Elsewhere 
 this is called, by way of eminence, 
 ♦ the mystery of the gospel ;' that is, 
 the grand truth which had not been 
 known until tiie coming of the Sa- 
 viour. See Notes on Eph. vL 19. 
 Col. i. 26, 27; iv. 3. Before his 
 coming, a wall of partition had di- 
 vided the Jewish and Gentile world. 
 The Jews regarded the rest of man- 
 kind as excluded from the covenant 
 mercies of God, and it was one of 
 the principal stumbling-blocks in 
 their way, in regard to the gospel, 
 that it proclaimed that all the race 
 was on a level, that that middle wall 
 of partition was broken down, and 
 that salvation might now be pub- 
 lished to all men. Comp. Acts xxii. 
 21. Eph. ii. 14, 15. Rom. iii. 22; x. 
 11 — 20. The Jew had no peculiar 
 advantage for salvation by being a 
 Jew ; the Gentile was not excluded 
 from the hope of salvation. The 
 plan of redemption was adapted to 
 man as such — without regard to his 
 complexion, country, customs, or 
 laws. The blood of Christ was shed 
 for all, and wherever a human being 
 could be found, salvation might be 
 freely offered him. This is a glori- 
 ous truth ; and taken in all its bear- 
 ings, and in reference to the views 
 which then prevailed, and which 
 Iiave always more or less prevailed 
 about the distinctions made among 
 men by caste and rank, there is 
 scarcely any more glorious truth 
 connected witii the christian revela- 
 tion, or one which will exert a wider 
 influence in promoting the welfare 
 of man. It is a great privilege to 
 be permitted to proclaim that all 
 men, in one respect — and that the 
 most important — are on a level ; that 
 they are all equally the objects of 
 tlie divine compa-ssion ; that Christ 
 died for one as really as for anotlier • 
 
176 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 that birth, wcallli, elevated rank, or 
 beauty of complexion, contribute no- 
 thing to the salvation of one man ; and 
 that poverty, a darker skin, slavery, 
 or a meaner rank, do nothing to ex- 
 clude another from the favour of his 
 Maker. ^ Believed on in the loorld. 
 This also is mentioned among the 
 'great' things which constitute the 
 mystery of revealed religion. But 
 why is this regarded as so remarka- 
 ble as to be mentioned thus? In 
 point of importance, how can it be 
 mentioned in connection with the 
 fact that God was manifest in the 
 flesh ; that he was vindicated by the 
 Holy Ghost ; that he was an object 
 of intense interest to angelic hosts, 
 and that his coming had broken down 
 the walls which had separated the 
 world, and placed them now on a 
 level ] I answer, perhaps the follow- 
 ing circumstances may have induced 
 the apostle to place this among the 
 remarkable things evincing the great- 
 ness of this truth: (1.) The strong 
 improbability arising from the great- 
 ness of the ' mystery,' that the doc- 
 trines respecting the incarnate Deity 
 would be believed. Such is the in- 
 comprehensible nature of many of 
 the truths connected with the incar- 
 nation; so strange does it seem that 
 God would become incarnate ; so 
 amazing that he should appear in 
 human flesh and blood, and that the 
 incarnate Son of God should die, that 
 it might be regarded as a wonderful 
 thing that such a doctrine had in 
 fact obtained credence in the world. 
 But it was a glorious truth that all 
 the natural improbabilities in the case 
 had been overcome, and that men had 
 accredited the announcement. (2.) 
 The strong improbability that his 
 message would be believed, arising 
 from the wickedness of the human 
 heart. Man, in all his history, had 
 shown a strong reluctance to believe 
 any message from God, or any trutli 
 whatever revealed by him. The 
 Jews had rejected his prophets and 
 
 put them to death (Matt, xxiii., Acta 
 vii.) ; and had at last put his own 
 Son — their Messiah — to death. Man 
 everywhere had shown his strong 
 inclination to unbelief. TJiere is in 
 the human soul no elementary prin- 
 ciple or germ of faith in God. Every 
 man is an unbeliever by nature — au 
 infidel first ; a Christian afterwards ; 
 an infidel as he comes into the world ; 
 a believer only as he is made so by 
 grace. The apostle, therefore, re- 
 garded it as a glorious fact that the 
 message respecting the Saviour had 
 beeii believed in the world. It over- 
 came such a strong and universal 
 reluctance to confide in God, that 
 it showed that there was more 
 than human power in operation to 
 overcome this reluctance. (3.) The 
 extent to which this had been I'ime 
 may have been a reason why he 
 thought it worthy of the jjlace which 
 he gives it here. It had been em- 
 braced, not by a few, but by thou- 
 sands in all lands where the gospel 
 had been published; and it was 
 proof of the truth of the doctrine, 
 and of the great power of God, that 
 such high mysteries as those relat- 
 ing to redemption, and so much op- 
 posed to the natural feelings of the 
 human heart, should have been em.- 
 braced by so many. The same thing 
 occurs now. The gospel makes its 
 way against the native incredulity 
 of the world, and every new convert 
 is an additional demonstration that 
 it is from God, and a new illustra- 
 tion of the greatness of this mystery. 
 IT Received up into glory. To hea- j 
 ven. Comp. John xvii. 5. See Notes a 
 on Acts i. 9. This is mentioned as ■ 
 among the 'great' or remarkable 
 things pertaining to 'godliness,' or 
 the christian revelation, because it 
 was an event which had not else- 
 where occurred, and was the crown- 
 ing grandeur of the work of Christ, 
 it was an event that was fitted to 
 excite the deepest interest in hea- 
 ven itself No event of more im- 
 
A. I). 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 177 
 
 portance has ever occurred in tlie 
 universe, of which we have any 
 knowledjfe, than the re-ajsceasion of 
 Uie triumphant Son of God to glory 
 after havinij accomplished the re- 
 demption of a world. 
 
 In view of the iuftructiona of this 
 chapter, we may make tlie following 
 remarks: — 
 
 1. The word bishop in the New 
 Testament never means what is now 
 commonly understoo<i by it — a Pre- 
 late. It does not denote here, or 
 anywhere else in tlie New Testa- 
 ment, one who has charyfe over a 
 diocese composed of a certain dis- 
 trict of country, embracing a num- 
 ber of churches witli their clergy. 
 
 2. Tiiere are not 'three orders' 
 of clergy in the New Testament. 
 Tiie apostle Paul iii this chapter e.\- 
 pressly designates the characteris- 
 tics of those who should have charge 
 of tlie church, but mentions only two, 
 ' bishops' and ' deacons.' The former 
 
 ->• ministers of the word, having 
 irge of the spiritual interests of 
 uie church; the other are deacons, 
 of whom there is no evidence that 
 they were appointed to preach. — 
 There is no ' third' order. Tiiere is 
 no allusion to any one who was to 
 be 'superior' to the 'bisiiops' and 
 ' deacons.' As the apostle Paul was 
 expressly giving instructions in re- 
 gard to the organization of the 
 church, such an omission is unac- 
 countable if he supposed there was 
 to bo an order of ' prelates' in the 
 church. Why is there no allusion 
 to them ! \V"liy is thore no mention 
 of their qualifications ] If Timothy 
 WiLS himself a prolate, was he to 
 have nothing to do in transmitting 
 the office to others? Were there no 
 poculiar qualifications require»l in 
 £ucli an order of men which it would 
 bo proper to mention ! Would it not 
 be respertful, ai least, in Paul to 
 have made some allusion to such an 
 office, if Timothy himself held it! 
 
 3. Thers is <>nly one order of 
 
 preachers in the church. The quali- 
 fications of that order are specified 
 witii groat minuteness and |)arlicu- 
 larity, as well as beauty. Vs. 2 — 7. 
 No man really needs to know more 
 of tiie qualifications for tiiis otlice 
 tlian could bo learned from a prayer- 
 ful study of this passage. 
 
 4. A man who enters the ministry 
 ought to have higii qualifications. 
 Vs. 2 — 7. No man oit^hl, under 
 any pretence, to be put into the mi- 
 nistry who lias not tiie qualifications 
 here specified. Notiiing is pained 
 in any department of iiuman lalxjur, 
 by appointing incompetent perj^ons 
 to fill it. A farmer gains notiiing 
 by employing a man on his farm wiio 
 has no proper qualifications for his 
 business; a carpenter, a shoemaker, 
 or a blacksmitfi, gains nothing by 
 employing a man wiio knows notiiing 
 about his trade; and a neigiibour- 
 hood gains notiiing by employing a 
 man as a teaclier of a scliooi wiio 
 lias no qualifications to teach, or wiio 
 lias a bad ciiaracter. Such a man 
 would do more mischief on a firm, 
 or in a work-sliop, or in a scliool, 
 tiian all the good which he could do 
 would compensate. And so it is in 
 tiie ministry. The true object is not 
 to increase the number oi ministers, 
 it is to increase tiie number of those 
 wlio are (inalifietl for tiieir work, 
 and if a man has not the qualifica- 
 tions laid down by tlie inspired apos- 
 tle, he had better seek some other 
 calling. 
 
 5. Tiio church is the guardian of 
 the truth. Ver. 15. It is appointed 
 to preserve it pure, and to tninsmit 
 it to future ages. The world is de- 
 pendent on it for any just views of 
 truth. The churcii lias tiie power 
 and is intrusted with tiic duty, of pre- 
 servinj^ on eartli a just knowledge 
 of God and of eternal things; of the 
 way of salvation; of the require- 
 ments of pure morality : — to keep up 
 tiie knowledge of tiia't trutii winch 
 tends to elevate society and to save 
 
178 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 man. It is intrusted with tlie Bible, 
 to preserve uncorruptcd, and to trans- 
 mit to distant ages and lands. It is 
 bound to maintain and assert the 
 truth in its creeds and confessions 
 of faith. And it is to preserve the 
 truth by the holy lives of its mem- 
 bers, and to show in their walli what 
 is the appropriate influence of truth 
 on the soul. Whatever religious 
 truth there is now on the eartli, has 
 been thus preserved and transmitted, 
 and it still devolves on the church 
 to bear the truth of God on to future 
 times, and to diftlise it abroad to dis- 
 tant lands. 
 
 6. The closing verse of this chap- 
 ter (ver. 16) gives us a most elevat- 
 ed view of the plan of salvation, and 
 of its grandeur and glory. It would 
 be difficult, if not impossible, to con- 
 dense more interesting and sublime 
 thought into so narrow a compass as 
 this. The great mystery of the in- 
 carnation ; the interest of angelic 
 beings in the events of redemption ; 
 the effect of the gospel on the hea- 
 then world; the tendency of the 
 christian religion to break down 
 every barrier among men, and to 
 place all the race on a level ; its 
 power in overcoming the unbelief of 
 mankind ; and the re-ascension of 
 the Son of God to heaven, present a 
 series of most wonderful facts to our 
 contemplation. These things are 
 found in no other system of religion, 
 and these are worthy of the pro- 
 found attention of every human be- 
 ing. The manifestation of God in 
 tlie flesh! What a thought ! It was 
 worthy of the deepest interest among 
 the angels, and it claims the atten- 
 tion of men, for it was for men and 
 not for angels that he thus appeared 
 in human form. Comp. Notes on 1 
 Pet. i. 12. 
 
 7. How strange it is that man 
 feels no more interest in these 
 things! God was manifest in the 
 flesh for his s,ilvation, but he does 
 not regard it. Angels looked upon 
 
 it with wonder ; but man, for whom 
 he came, feels little interest in his 
 advent or his work ! The christian 
 religion has broken down the barrier 
 among nations, and has proclaimed 
 ■that all men may be saved ; yet the 
 mass of men look on this with entire 
 unconcern. The Redeemer ascend- 
 ed to heaven, having finished his 
 great work ; but how little interest 
 do the mass of mankind feel in this ! 
 He will come again to judge the 
 world ; but the race moves on, re- 
 gardless of this truth ; unalarmed at 
 the prospect of meeting him ; feeling 
 no interest in the assurance that he 
 has come and died for sinners, and 
 no apprehension in view of the fact 
 that he will come again, and that 
 they must stand at his bar. All 
 heaven was moved with his first ad- 
 vent, and will be with his second ; 
 but the earth regards it with uncon- 
 cern. Angelic beings look upon this 
 with the deepest anxiety, though 
 they have no personal interest in it; 
 man, though all his great interests 
 are concentrated on it, regards it as 
 a fable, disbelieves it all, and treats 
 it with contempt and scorn. Such 
 is the diflerence between heaven and 
 earth — angels and men ! 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ANALYSIS Oy THE CHAPTER. 
 
 There is, in many respects, a 
 strong resemblance between the first 
 part of this clmpter and 2 Thess. ii. 
 Comp. Notes on that chapter. The 
 leading object of this chapter is to 
 state to Timothy certain things of 
 which he was constantly to remind 
 the church; and, having done tliis, 
 the apostle gives him some directions 
 about his personal deportment. The 
 chapter may be conveniently divided 
 into three parts: 
 
 I. Timothy was to put the church 
 constantly in remembrance of the 
 great apostasy which was to occur, 
 and to G'uard them against the doc* 
 
A. 1). 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 179 
 
 N 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OW tho Spirit spoaketh ex- 
 pressly, that • in the latter 
 
 aDa.1\.:i3. Mat.'2i. 5-\'2. 2 Pc. '-M. 
 
 tribes which would be inculcated 
 under tliat apostasy. Vs. 1 — 6. 
 (a) Tiicrc was to be, in tlie latter 
 days, a cfreat departing from tlie 
 faith. Ver. 1. 
 (6) Some of the characteristics 
 of that apostasy were these: 
 there would be a giving heed 
 to seducing spirits and doctrines 
 of devils. Ver. 1. Tiiose who 
 taugiit would hypocritically 
 speak what they knew to be 
 falsehood, having their own 
 consciences scared. Ver. 2. 
 They would forbid to marry, 
 and forbid tlie use of certain 
 articles of food which God had 
 appomted for man. Vs. 3 — 5. 
 II. Timothy was to warn the 
 churches against trifling and super- 
 stitious views, such as the apostle 
 calls 'old wives' fables.' Vs. 7 — 11. 
 (a'y He was not to allow himself 
 to be influenced by such fables, 
 but at once to reject tliem. 
 V^er. 7. 
 (jb) The bodily exercise which the 
 friends of such ' fables' recom- 
 mended was of no advantage to 
 the soul, and no stress ought to 
 be laid on it, as if it were kn- 
 portant Ver. 8. 
 
 (c) That whicii was truly profita- 
 ble, and which ought to be re- 
 garded as imiwrtant, was godli- 
 ness; for that had promise of 
 the present life, and of the life 
 to come. Ver. 8. 
 
 (d) Timothy must expect, in giv- 
 ing these instructions, to endure 
 labour and to suffer rcproacii ; 
 nevertlicless, he wa^ faithfully 
 to inculcate these important 
 truths. Vs. 10, 11. 
 
 HI. Various admonitions respcct- 
 mrr his personal deportment Vs. I'J 
 -1& 
 
 times some shall depart from the 
 faith, giving heed to seducing spi- 
 rits, '' and doctrines of devils ; 
 b Re. 10. u. 
 
 (a) He was so to live that no one 
 would despise him or his minis' 
 try because he was young. Ver. 
 12. 
 
 (6) He was to give a constant at- 
 tention to his duties until the 
 ajxjstle sliould himself return to 
 him. Ver. 13. 
 
 (c) He was carefully to cultivate 
 the gill whicii had been confer- 
 red by his education, and by his 
 ordination to the work of tho 
 mhiistry. Ver. 14. 
 
 ((i) He was to meditate on these 
 things, and to give himself 
 wholly to the work, so that his 
 profiting might appear to all. 
 Ver. 15. 
 
 (e) He was to take good heed to 
 himself, and to the manner and 
 matter of liis teaching, that he 
 might save himself and those 
 who heard him. Ver. 16. 
 
 1. Now the Spirit. Evidently the 
 Holy Spirit; the Spirit of inspira- 
 tion. It is not quite certain, from 
 this passage, whether the apostle 
 means to say that this was a revela- 
 tion then made to him, or wiiether 
 it was a well-understood thing as 
 taught by the Holy Spirit. He him- 
 self elsewhere rotors to tiiis same 
 prophecy, and John also mere than 
 once mentions it Comp. 2 Thess. 
 ii. 1 John ii. IS. Rev. xx. From 
 2 Thess. ii. 5, it would seem that 
 this was a truth which had before 
 been communicated to the apostle 
 Paul, and tliat he had dwelt on it 
 when he preached the gospel in 
 Thcssalonica. There is no improba- 
 bility, however, in tho supposition 
 that' so important a subject was com- 
 municated directly by the Holy 
 Giio.-t to others of the afXKitles. — 
 f Speaketh expressltj. In exprcaa 
 
180 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 55* 
 
 words, jjjyrws. It was not by mere 
 hints, and symbols, and shadowy 
 hnages of the future; it was in an 
 open and plain manner — in so many 
 words. The object of this statement 
 seems to be to call the attention of 
 Timothy to it in an emphatic man- 
 ner, and to show the importance of 
 attending to it. ^ That in the lat- 
 ter times. Under the last dispensa- 
 tion, during which the affairs of tlie 
 world would close. See Notes on 
 Heb. i. 2. It does not mean that 
 this would occur just before the end 
 of the world, but that it would take 
 place during that last dispensation, 
 and that the end of the world would 
 not happen until this should take 
 place. See Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 3. 
 T[ .Some shall depart from the faith. 
 The Greek word liere — drtocrj^ooi'tai, 
 apostesontai — is that from which we 
 have derived the word apostatize, 
 and would be properly so rendered 
 here. The meaning is, that they 
 would apostatize from the belief of 
 the truths of the gospel. It does not 
 mean that, as individuals, they would 
 have been true Christians ; but that 
 there would be a departure from the 
 great doctrines which constitute the 
 christian faith. The ways in which 
 they would do this are immediately 
 specified, showing what the apostle 
 meant here by departing from the 
 faith. They would give heed to se- 
 ducing spirits, to the doctrines of 
 devils, &c. The use of the word 
 ' some,'' here — r u? j — does not imply 
 that the number would be small. 
 The meaning is, that certain persons 
 would thus depart, or that there 
 would be an apostasy of the kind 
 here mentioned, in the last days. 
 From the parallel passage in 2 Thess. 
 ii. 3, it would seem that this was to 
 be an extensive apostasy. ^ Giving 
 heed to seducing spirits. Rather 
 than to the Spirit of God. It would 
 be a part of their system to yield to 
 those spirits that led astray. The 
 ep'rits here referred to are any that 
 
 cause to err, and the most obvioua 
 and natural construe) ion is to refer 
 it to the agency of fallen spirits. 
 Though it may apply to false teach- 
 ers, yet, if so, it is i ather to them 
 as under the influence of evil spi- 
 rits. This may be a pplied, so far as 
 the phraseology is concerned, to any 
 false teaching ; but it is evident that 
 the apostle had a specific apostasy in 
 view — some great system that would 
 greatly corrupt the christian faith ; 
 and the words hen; should be inter- 
 preted with reference to that. It is 
 true that men in a II ages are prone 
 to give heed to sec.ucing spirits ; but 
 the thing refen-ed to here is some 
 grand apostasy, in which the charac- 
 teristics would te manifested, and 
 the doctrines held, which the apostle 
 proceeds immediately to specify. 
 Comp. 1 John iv. I. ^And doctrines 
 of devils. Gr., ' Teachings of de- 
 mons — 8i8aixa%t/u; Satficoncov. This 
 may either mean teachings respect- 
 ing demons, or teachings by demons. 
 The particular 5;ense must be deter- 
 mined by the ccnnection. Ambigu- 
 ity of this kind in the construction 
 of words, whero one is in the geni- 
 tive case, is not uncommon. Comp. 
 John XV. 9, 10; xxi. 15. Instances 
 of the construction where the geni- 
 tive denotes the o^^Vc?, and should be 
 translated concerning, occur in Matt, 
 ix. 35, " The gaspel of the kingdom," 
 i.e., concernijig the kingdom; Matt. 
 X. 1, "Pov.'e- of unclean spirits,' 
 i. e., over or concerning unclean 
 spirits. So, ;ilso. Acts iv. 9. Rom. 
 xvi. 15. 2 ('or. i. 5. Eph. iii. 1. 
 Rev. ii. 13. Instances of construc- 
 tion where tie genitive denotes the 
 agent, occu' in the following places: 
 Luke i. 69, -'A horn of salvation," 
 i. e., a ho :n which produces or 
 causes salv? tion. John vi. 28. Rom. 
 iii. 22. 2 ( ;or. iv. 10. Eph. iv. 18. 
 Col. ii. 1] Whether the phrase 
 here means that, in the apostasy, 
 they would give heed to doctrines 
 respecting demons, or to doctrine* 
 
 I 
 
A. D. as.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 161 
 
 which demons lamrht, cannot, it 
 tieeint) to mt*, he tlotermined witli 
 certainty. If tlio previous phrase, 
 however, means that they woiiKl em- 
 brace doctrines tau!,'lit />y evil spirits, 
 it can liardly b(.> supjwsed that the 
 apotitle wonld immediately repeat 
 the same idea m another form; and 
 then the sense would be, that one 
 characteristic of the time referred to 
 would be the prevalent teaching rc- 
 fpectinar demons. They would ' give 
 heed to,' or embrace, some peculiar 
 views respectinjj demons. The word 
 here rendered devils is Scuuomo — de- 
 vions. Tliis word, amongf the Greeks, 
 denoted the tbllowin<r thinsfs : (1.) A 
 ijod or poddess, spoken of the hea- 
 then gods. Comp. ill New Testa- 
 jnent. Acts xvii. IS. (2.) A divine 
 being, where no particular one was 
 Bpecitied, the agent or author of good 
 or evil fortune ; of deatii, fate, &-c. 
 In this sense it is often used in Ho- 
 mer. (3.) The souls of men of the 
 golden age, which dwelt unobserved 
 upon the earth to regard the actions 
 of me.i, and to defend them — tute- 
 lary divinities, or geniuses — like that 
 which Socrates regarded as his con- 
 stant attendant Xen. Mem. 4. 8. 1. 
 o. A{)ol. Soc. 4. See Passow. (4.) 
 To this may be addetl the common 
 use in tiic New Testament, where 
 the word denotes a demon in the 
 Jewish sense — a bad spirit, subject 
 to Satan, and under his control ; one 
 of the host of fallen angels— com- 
 monly, but not very properly render- 
 ed devil, or drvils. These spirits 
 were supposed to wander in desolate 
 places. Matt. .\ii. 4:J. Comp. Isa. xiii. 
 21 ; .\xxiv. 14 ; or tliey dwell in the 
 air, Eph. ii. 2. They were regarded 
 as hostile to mankind, John viii. 44; 
 a-s able to utter heathen oracles, 
 Acts xvi. 17; as lurking in the idols 
 of tl«e heathen, 1 Cor. x. 20. Rev. 
 ix. 20. They arc spoken of as the 
 autliors of evil, James ii. 19. Comp. 
 Eph. vi. 12, and as having the jx)wer 
 of taking possession of a person, of 
 
 ir> 
 
 producing diseases, or of causing 
 mania, as in the case of the demo- 
 niacs, Luke iv. 33; viii. 27. Matt, 
 xvii. 18. Mark vii. 29, 30; and of- 
 ten elsewhere. The doctrine, tiiere- 
 fore, which the apostle pre<licted 
 would prevail, might, so fur as the 
 word used is concerned, be cither of 
 the following: (1.) Accordance with 
 the prevalent notions of the heathen 
 respecting false gods; or a falling 
 into idolatry similar to that taught 
 in the Grecian mythology. It can 
 hardly be supposed, however, that 
 he designed to say tiiat the common 
 notions of the heathen would prevail 
 in the christian church, or that tho 
 worsliip of the heathen gods as such 
 would be set up there. (2.) An ac- 
 cordance with the Jewish views re- 
 specting demoniacal possessions, and 
 the power oJ' exorcising them. If 
 this view should extensively prevail 
 in the christian church, it would be 
 in accordance witli the language of 
 the prediction. (3.) Accordance 
 with the prevalent heathen notions 
 respecting the departed spirits of the 
 good and the great, wlio were exalt- 
 ed to the rank of dcmi-gods, and who, 
 though invisible, were supposed still 
 to exert an important influence in 
 favour of mankind. To these beings, 
 tlie heathen rendered extraordinary 
 homage. They regarded them as 
 demi-gods. They supposed that tiiey 
 took a deep interest in human alliiirs. 
 They invoked their aid. Tiiey set 
 apart days in honour of them. They 
 offered sacrifices, and performed rites 
 and ceremonies, to propitiate tiieir 
 favour. They were regarded as a 
 sort of mediators or intercessors be- 
 tween man and tlie superior divini- 
 ties. If these things are found any- 
 where in the christian church, they 
 may be regarded as a fulfilment of 
 this piediction, for they were not 5f 
 a nature to be foreseen by any hu- 
 man sagacity. Now it so hapiiens, 
 that tiioy are in furl fijund in the 
 Papal coniiiiu ion, and in a way thai 
 
182 
 
 T TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 corresponds fairly to the meaning of 
 the phrase, as it would liave been un- 
 derstood in tlie time of the apostle. 
 There is, first, the worship of the 
 Virgin and of the saints, or the ex- 
 traordinary honours rendered to them 
 — corresponding almost entirely with 
 the reverence paid by the heathen to 
 the spirits of heroes, or to demi-gods. 
 The saints are supposed to have ex- 
 traordinary power with God, and 
 their aid is implored as intercessors. 
 The Virgin Mary is invoked as " the 
 mother of God," and as having power 
 Btill to command her Son. The Pa- 
 pists do not, indeed, offer the same 
 homage to tlie saints which they do 
 to God, but they ask their aid ; they 
 offer prayer to them. The following 
 extracts from the catechism of Dr. 
 James Butler, approved and recom- 
 mended by Dr. Kenrick, " Bishop of 
 Philadelphia," expresses the general 
 views of Roman Catholics on this 
 subject. " Q. How do Catholics dis- 
 tinguish between the honour they 
 give to God, and the honour they 
 give to the saints, when they pray 
 to God and the saints? A. Of God 
 alone they beg grace and mercy ; 
 and of the saints they only ask the 
 assistance of their prayers. Q,. Is 
 it lawful to recommend ourselves to 
 the saints, and ask their prayers'! 
 A. Yes ; as it is lawful and a very 
 pious practice to ask the prayers of 
 our fellow-creatures on earth, and to 
 pray for them." In the " Prayer to 
 be said before mass," the following 
 language occurs. " In union with the 
 holy clmrch and its minister, and in- 
 voking the blessed Virgin Mary, 
 Mother of God, and all the angels 
 and saints, we now ofler the adora- 
 ble sacrifice of the mass," &c. In 
 the " General Confession," it is said 
 — "I confess to Almighty God, to 
 the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to 
 blessed Michael the archangel, to 
 blessed John the Baptist, to tlie holy 
 apostles Peter and Paul, and to all 
 the saints, that I have sinned e'cceed- 
 
 ingly." So, also, the Council ol 
 Trent declared, Sess. 25, Concern.' 
 iriff the Invocation of the Saints, 
 " that it is good and useful to suppli- 
 cate them, and to fly to their pray- 
 ers, power, and aid; but that they 
 who deny that the saints are to be 
 invoked, or who assert that they do 
 not pray for men, or that their invo- 
 cation of them is idolatry, hold an 
 impious opinion." See also Peter 
 Dens' Moral Theology, translated 
 by the Rev, J. F. Berg, pp. 342— 
 356. Secondly, in the Papal com- 
 munion the doctrine of exorcism ia 
 still held — implying a belief that 
 evil spirits or demons have power 
 over the human frame — a doctrine 
 which comes fairly under the mean- 
 ing of the phrase here — ' the doc- 
 trine respecting demons.'' Thus, in 
 Dr. Butler's Catechism : " Q. What 
 do you mean by exorcism "! A. The 
 rites and prayers instituted by the 
 church for the casting out devils, or 
 restraining them from hurting per- 
 sons, disquieting places, or abusing 
 any of God's creatures to our harm. 
 Q. Has Clirist given his church any 
 such power over devils? A. Yes, 
 he has. See St. Matt. x. 1. St. Mark 
 iii. 15. St. Luke ix. 1. And that 
 this power was not to die v/ith the 
 apostles, nor to cease after the apos- 
 tolic age, we learn from the perpet- 
 ual practice of the church, and the 
 experience of all ages." The cha- 
 racteristic here referred to by the 
 apostle, therefore, is one that applies 
 precisely to the Roman Catholic 
 communion, and cannot be applied 
 with the same fitness to any other 
 association calling itself Christian 
 on earth. There can be no doubt, 
 therefore, that the Holy Spirit de- 
 signed to designate that apostate 
 church. 
 
 2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy. 
 Ev vTioxpCact, -^cvSoXoyiov. Or rather, 
 ' by, or through the hypocrisy of 
 those speaking lies.' So it is ren- 
 dered by Whitby, Benson, Mac 
 
A. n. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1S3 
 
 2 Speaking lies in h3'pocrisy ; 
 
 knight, and others. Our translators 
 have rendered it as if the word trans- 
 latetl 'speaking lies* — ^^fl'6o>^uJl•— 
 referred to demons, or devils — 6<u- 
 fiovicjv — in tlie previous verse. But 
 there are two objections to tliis. One 
 is, that then, as Koppe observes, tlie 
 words would have been inverted — 
 4'(v6uXoyv»< iV i'rtox|U(jfi. The other 
 is, tliat it' that construction is adopt- 
 ed, it must be carried throujjh tlie 
 sentence, and then all the jjlirascs 
 'speaking lies,' 'having their con- 
 science scared,' 'forbidding to mar- 
 ry,' &.C., must be referred to demons. 
 1'he preposition iv, in, may denote 
 by or throuirh, and is often so used. 
 If this bo tlie true construction, then 
 it will mean that those who departed 
 from -the tiiith did it 6v or tltrnturh 
 the hypocritical teachings of those 
 who spoke lies, or who knew that 
 tliey were inculcating falseho<3ds; 
 of tliose whose conscience was sear- 
 ed; of those who forbade to marry, 
 (See. The meaning tlicn will be, ' In 
 the last days certain persons will 
 depart from the faith of the gospel. 
 This apostasy will essentially consist 
 in their giving heed to spirits that lead 
 to error, and in embracing corrupt 
 and erroneous views on demonology, 
 or in reference to invisible beings be- 
 tween us and God. This they will 
 do tlirough tlie hypocritical teacliing 
 of tliose who inculcate liilsehood ; 
 whoso consciences are scared,' ifcc. 
 Tiie scries of characteristics, there- 
 fore, which follow, are those of the 
 leachergt not of the lauirhl ; of the 
 raini.-tcrs of the church, not of the 
 great body of the people. The apos- 
 tl') meant to say that this grand apos- 
 tasy would occur under the influ- 
 ence of a hypocritical, liardened, and 
 arbitrary ministry, teaching tlieir 
 own doctrines instead of the divine 
 commands, and tbrbidding tliat which 
 God had declared to be lawful. In 
 
 having their conscience seared 
 with a hot iron ; 
 
 the clause before us — ' speakim^ lies 
 in ht/pncrisy^ — two tilings are im- 
 plied, first, that the characteristic 
 of those referred to would be that 
 they would ' spenk lies ;' second, 
 that this would be done hypocriti- 
 cally. In regard to the first, there 
 can be no doubt among Protestants 
 of its applicability to the Papal com- 
 munion. The entire series of doc- 
 trines respecting the authority of 
 the Pope, purgatory, the Mass, the 
 invocation of tlic saints, the venera- 
 tion of relics, the Seven Sacraments, 
 tiie authority of tradition, the doc- 
 trine of merit, &.C., is regarded as 
 false. Indeed, the system could not 
 be better characterized than by say- 
 ing that it is a system 'speaking 
 lies.' The entire scheme attempts 
 to palm falsehood upon the world, in 
 the place of the simple teaching of 
 the New TestamenL The only ques- 
 tion is, whether this is done " in hy- 
 pocrisy," or hypocritically. In re- 
 gard to this, it is not ncce.~.-ary to 
 maintain tliat there is no sincerity 
 among tlie ministers of that commu- 
 nion, or that all are hypocritical in 
 their belief and their teaching. The 
 sense is, that this is the general cha- 
 racteristic, or that this is understood 
 by the leaders or prime movers in 
 tiiat apostasy. In regard to the ap- 
 plicability of this to the ministers of 
 the Papal communion, and the (jues- 
 tion whether they teach what they 
 know to bo false, we may observe 
 (1.) that many of them are men of 
 eminent learning, and there can be 
 no reason to doubt that they ktiow 
 that many of the Catholic legenda 
 arc false, and many of the doctrineB 
 of their faith contrary to tlie Bible. 
 (3.) Not a few of liie things in that 
 communion must be known by tliem 
 to 1)G filse, though not known U» be 
 so bv the people. Such are all the 
 pretended minicles wrought by the 
 
184 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A D.5a 
 
 3 Foroidding to marry, a7i4 commanding to abstain from 
 
 relics of the saints ; the liquefying 
 of the blood of St. Januarius, &c. 
 See Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 9. As the 
 working of these tricks depends 
 wholly on the priesthood, they must 
 know tliat they are ' speaking lies 
 in hypocrisy.' (3.) The matter of 
 fact seems to be, that when young 
 men wiic have been trained in the 
 Catholic church, first turn their at- 
 tention to the ministry, they are sin- 
 cere. They have not yet been made 
 acquainted with the ' mysteries of 
 iniquity' in the communion in which 
 they liave been trained, and they do 
 not suspect the deceptions that are 
 practised there. When they pass 
 through their course of study, how- 
 ever, and become acquainted with 
 the arts and devices on which the 
 fabric rests, and with the scandalous 
 lives of many of the clergy, -they 
 are shocked to find how corrupt and 
 false the whole system is. But they 
 are now committed. They have de- 
 voted their lives to this profession. 
 They are trained now to this system 
 of imposture, and they must con- 
 tinue to practice and perpetuate the 
 fraud, or abandon the church, and 
 subject themselves to all the civil 
 and ecclesiastical disabilities which 
 would now follow if they were to 
 leave and reveal all its frauds and 
 impostures. A gentleman of high 
 authority, and who has had as good 
 an opportunity as any man living to 
 make accurate and extensive obser- 
 vations, stated to me, that this was 
 !i common thing in regard to the 
 Catholic clergy in France and It Jy. 
 No one can reasonably doubt -at 
 tlie great body of that clergy >. — st 
 be apprized that much that is relied 
 on for the support of tlie system is 
 mere legend, and that the miracles 
 which are pretended to be wrought 
 are mere trick and imposture. — 
 'i Having their conseience szared 
 with a hot iron. The allusion .lere 
 
 is doubtless to the effect of ajiplying 
 a hot iron to the skin. The caute- 
 rized part becomes rigid and liard, 
 and is dead to sensibility. So with 
 the conscience of those referred to. 
 It has the same relation to a con 
 science that is sensitive and quick 
 in its decisions, that a cauterized 
 part of the body has to a thin, deli- 
 cate, and sensitive skin. Such a 
 conscience exists in a mind that will 
 practise delusion without concern; 
 that will carry on a vast system of 
 fraud witlioul wincing; that will in- 
 carcerate, scourge, or burn the inno- 
 cent without compassion; and that 
 will practise gross enormities, and 
 indulge in sensual gratifications un- 
 der the mask of piety. While there 
 are many eminent exceptions to an 
 application of this to the Papal com- 
 munion, yet this description will ap- 
 ply better to the Roman priestliood 
 in tlie time of Luther — and in many 
 other periods of the world — than to 
 any otlier body of men tliat ever 
 lived. 
 
 3. Forbidding to marry. That is, 
 ' Tliey will depart from the faith 
 through the hypocritical teaching — 
 of those who forbid to marry.' See 
 Notes on ver. 2. This does not ne- 
 cessarily mean that they would pro- 
 hibit marriage altogether, but that 
 it would be a characteristic of theii 
 teaching that marriage would ht 
 forbidden, whether of one class of 
 persons or many. They would com 
 mend and enjoin celibacy and vir 
 ginity. They would regard such a 
 state, for certain persons, as more 
 holy than the married condition, and 
 would consider it as so holy that 
 they would absolutely prohibit those 
 who wished to be most holy from en- 
 tering into the relation. It is need' 
 less tc say how accurately this ap- 
 plies to the views of the Papacy in 
 regard to the comparative purity 
 and advantages of a state of celiba- 
 
A. D. 59.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 185 
 
 meats, which God hath created 
 to be received • with thanksgiv- 
 
 a Ee. 5. 13. 
 
 i cy, and to their absolute prohibition 
 of the marrianfc of the clergry. The 
 tenth article of tiio decree of the 
 Council of Trent, in relation to mar- 
 riage, will show tlic gcnerul view 
 of the Papacy on tliat subject. — 
 " Wha«oever shall say that the mar- 
 ried state is to be preferred to a state 
 
 t of virtrinit}-, or celibacy, and tliat it 
 is not better and more bles.^ed to re- 
 main in virginity, or celilxicy, tlian 
 to be joined in marriaDre; let him 
 be accursed 1" Comp. Peter Dens' 
 Moral Theology, pp. 497 — 500. 
 <[ And commandm^' to abstain from 
 meats, &c. The word meat in the 
 Scriptures, commonly denotes fnml 
 of all kinds. Matt, iii. 4; vi. 25; 
 x. 10 ; XV. 37. This was the mcan- 
 ,' of tlie word when the transla- 
 a of the Bible was made. It is 
 nnw used by us, almost exclusively, 
 to denote animal food. The word 
 
 M liere u^ed — 3p<Lua — means, properly, 
 
 I whatever is eaten, and may refer to 
 animal flesh, tish, fruit, or vciretables. 
 It is ottcn, liowevcr, in tlic New 
 Testament, employed particularly to 
 denote the flesh of animals. Heb. 
 i.\. 10; xiii. 9. Rom. xiv. 15. 20. 
 1 Cor. viii. S. 13. As it was animal 
 food particularly wiiich was forbid- 
 den under the Jewish co<le, and as 
 the questions on this subject among 
 Christians would relate to the same 
 kinds of prohibition, it Is probable 
 tliat tlie word has the same limited 
 si^jnification here, and should be 
 taken as meaning the same thing' 
 that the won! meat does with us. 
 To forbid the use of certain meats, 
 id here described as one of the ciia- 
 nicteristics of those who would in- 
 'ruct the church in the time of the 
 real apostasy. It is not necessary 
 to suppose that there would be an 
 entire prohibition, but only a prohi- 
 bition of certain kinds, and a.*, cer- 
 16* 
 
 ing of them which believe and 
 know the truth. 
 
 tain seasona That this character- 
 istic is found in the Papacy more 
 than anywhere else in the christian 
 world, it is needless to prove. The 
 fbllowinsr questions and answers from 
 Dr. Butler's Catecliism, will show 
 what is the sentiment of Roman 
 Catholics on this subject. "Q. Are 
 there any other commandments be- 
 sides the Ten Commandments of 
 Godl A. There are tiie command- 
 ments or precepts of the church, 
 which are chiefly six. Q. What 
 are we obliged to do by the second 
 commandment of the church ] A. 
 To give part of the year to fast and 
 abstinence. Q. Wliat do you mean 
 by fast-days] A. Certain days on 
 which we are allowed but one meal, 
 and forbidden Jlrsh meat. Q. What 
 do you mean by days of abstinence 1 
 A. Certain days on wliich we are 
 fttrbidden to eat flesh meat ; but are 
 allowed the usual number of meals. 
 Q, Is it strictly forbidden by the 
 church to eat flesh meat on days of 
 abstinence! A. Yes; and to eat 
 flesh meat on any day on which it 
 is forbidden, without necessity and 
 leave of the church, is very sinful." 
 Could there be a more impressive 
 and striking commentary on what 
 the apostle says here, that * in the 
 latter days some would depart from 
 the faith, under the hypocritical 
 teaching of those who commanded 
 to abstain from meats .'' The au- 
 tliority claimed by the Papacy to 
 issue commands on tliis subject, may 
 be seen still further by the tallowing 
 e.vtract from tiie same catechism, 
 showing tlie gracious permission of 
 the church to the 'faithful.' "The 
 abstinence on Saturday is di.<p<'nsed 
 with, for the faithful througlioul the 
 United States, for the spare of ten 
 years (from 1833), except when a 
 fast falls on a Saturday. The use 
 
186 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 4 For every creature of God 
 is good, and nothing to be refused, 
 
 of flesh meat is allowed at present 
 by dispensation, in the diocess of 
 Philadelphia, on all the Sundays of 
 Lent, except Palm Sunday, and once 
 a day on Monday, Tuesday, and 
 Thursday in each week, except the 
 Thursday after Ash Wednesday, and 
 also excepting Holy-week." Such 
 is the Roman Catholic religion! 
 See a' ?3 Peter Dens' Moral Theolo- 
 gy, pj. 321 — 339. It is true that 
 what is said here might apply to the 
 Essenes, as Koppe supposes, or to 
 the Judaizing teachers, but it applies 
 more appropriately and fully to the 
 Papal communion than to any other 
 body of men professing Christianity, 
 and taken in connection with the 
 other characteristics of the apostasy, 
 there can be no doubt that the refei*- 
 ence is to that. IT Which God hath 
 created. The articles of food which 
 he has made, and which he has de- 
 signed for the nourishment of man. 
 The fact that God had created them 
 was proof that they were not to be 
 regarded as evil, and that it was not 
 to be considered as a religious duty 
 to abstain from them. All that God 
 has made is good in its place, and 
 what is adapted to be food for man 
 is not to be refused or forbidden. 
 Comp. Eccles. v. 18. There can be 
 no doubt that in the apostasy here 
 referred to, those things would be 
 forbidden, not because they were in- 
 jurious or hurtful in their nature, 
 but because it might be made a part 
 of a system of religion of self-right- 
 eousness, and because there might 
 be connected with such a prohibition 
 the belief of special merit. 
 
 4. For every creature of God is 
 good. Gr.. nil the creatures, or all 
 that God ii'js created — jtav x-da^ia: 
 that is, as he made it. Comp. Gen. 
 i. 10. 12. 18. 31. It does not mean 
 that every moral agent remains good 
 Es long as he is a creature of God, 
 
 if it be received with thanksgiv 
 insf : 
 
 but moral agents, men and angels, 
 were good as they were made at 
 first. Gen. i. 31. Nor does it mean 
 that all that God has made is good 
 for every object to which it can be 
 applied. It is good in its place; 
 good for the purpose for which he 
 made it. But it should not be in- 
 ferred that a thing which is poison- 
 ous in its nature is good for food, be- 
 cause it is a creation of God. It is 
 good only in its place, and for the 
 ends for which he intended it. Nor 
 should it be inferred that what God 
 has made is necessarily good after 
 it has been perverted by man. As 
 God made it originally, it might 
 have been used without injury. Ap- 
 ples and peaches were made good, 
 and are still useful and proper as ar- 
 ticles of food ; rye and Indian- corn 
 are good, and are admirably adapted 
 to the support of man and beast, but 
 it does not follow that all that man 
 can make of them is necessarily 
 good. He extracts from them a poi- 
 sonous liquid, and then says that 
 ' every creature of God is good, and 
 nothing to be refused.' But is this 
 a fair use of this passage of Scrip- 
 ture 1 True, they are good — they 
 are to be received with gratitude as 
 he made them, and as applied to the 
 uses for which he designed them ; but 
 why apply this passage to prove that 
 a deleterious beverage, which maii 
 has extracted from what God has 
 made, is good also, and good for 
 all the purposes to which it can be 
 applied] As God made these 
 things, they are good. As man per- 
 verts them, it is no longer proper 
 to call them the ' creation of God,' 
 and they may be injurious in the 
 liighest degree. This passage, there- 
 fore, should not be adduced to vindi- 
 cate the use of intoxicating drinks. 
 As employed by the apostle, it had 
 no such reference, nor does it con- 
 
A. D. 5.S.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 187 
 
 5 For it is sanctified by the I shalt be a good minister of Jesus 
 word of God and prayer. Clirist,nourishedup''in the words 
 
 G If thou put the brethren in 
 remembrance of these things, thou 
 
 tain any principle which can pro- 
 perly receive any such appHcation. 
 ^ And nothiuiT In be refused. No- 
 tliiiig that God lias made, for tiic 
 purposes for wliicii he designed 
 It Tiie necessity of the case — the 
 •exigency of the passage' — requires 
 this interpretation. It cannot mean 
 that we are not to refuse poison if 
 oftered in our food, or that we are 
 never to refuse tbod that is to us in- 
 jurious or offensive ; nor can it any 
 more mean that we are to receive 
 all that may be otiered to us as a 
 beverage. The sense is, that as God 
 made it, and for the purposes for 
 which he designed it, it is not to be 
 held to be evil ; or, which is the same 
 thing, it is not to be prohibited as if 
 :re were merit in abstaining from 
 It is not to be regarded as a re- 
 nous duty to abstain from food 
 . iiich God has appointed for the sup- 
 port of man. 1[ If it be received 
 wilh thanksscivimr. See Notes on 
 I Cor. .X. 31. Eph. V. 20. Phil. 
 >y. 6. 
 
 o. For it is sanctified by the word 
 of God. By the authority or per- 
 mission of God. It would be profane 
 or unholy if he had forbidden it ; it 
 is made holy or proper for our use 
 by his permission, and no command 
 oi" man can make it unholy or im- 
 proper. Comp. Gen. i. 29; i.v. 3. 
 % And prarjer. If it is partaken of 
 with prayer. By prayer we are en- 
 abled to receive it with gratitude, 
 and everything that we eat or drink 
 may thus be made a means of grace. 
 6. If thou ptU the brethren in re- 
 metn!trance of these tilings. Of the 
 truths just stated. They are, there- 
 fore, proper subjects to preach upon. 
 It is tlie duty of the ministry to show 
 to the people of their charge what is 
 
 of faith and of good doctrine, 
 where unto thou hast attained. 
 
 a Je. 15. Ifi. 1 Pe. 2. i 
 
 error and where it may be apprehend- 
 ed, and to caution them to avoid it. 
 •[ Xourished up in the icord of faith. 
 That is, you will bo then ' a good 
 minister of Jesus Christ, as becomes 
 one who has been nourished up in 
 the words of faith, or trained up in 
 the doctrines of religion.' The apos- 
 tle evidently designs to remind Ti- 
 mothy of the manner in which he 
 had been trained, and to show him 
 how he might act in accordance with 
 that. From one who had been thus 
 educated, it was reasonable to expect 
 tliat he would be a faithful and 
 exemplary minister of the gospel. 
 ^ Whereunto thou hast attained. — 
 The word used here means, proper- 
 ly, to accompany side by side; to 
 follow closely ; to tbllow out, trace, 
 or examine. It is rendered shall 
 follow, inMatt. xvi. 17; havinq^had 
 understanding, in Luke i. 3 ; and 
 hast fully kriown, in 2 Tim. iii. 10. 
 It does not elsewhere occur in the 
 New Testament. The meaning here 
 seems to be, ihat Timothy had fol- 
 lowed out the doctrines in which 
 he had been trained to their legiti- 
 mate results ; he had accurately seen 
 and understood their bearing, as lead- 
 ing him to embrace the christian re- 
 ligion. His early training in the 
 Scriptures of the Old Testament 
 (2 Tim. i. 5; iii. 15), he had now 
 fully carried out, by embracing the 
 Lord Jesus as tlie ^lessiah, and by 
 evincing the proper results of tlie 
 early teaching which he had re- 
 ceived in connection with tliat reli- 
 gion. If he now followed the direc- 
 tions of the apostle, he would be a 
 minister of the Lord Jesus, wortiiy 
 of the attainments in religious know- 
 ledge which he had made, and of the 
 expectations which had been formed 
 
188 
 
 7 But refuse profane and old 
 wives' fables, " and exercise thy- 
 self rather unto godliness. 
 
 a Ti. 1. 14. 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 5a 
 
 8 For bodily exercise profiteth 
 ' little : but godliness * is profitable 
 
 ' or, for a little time, 
 b c. C. G. 
 
 of him. No young man should, by 
 neglect, indolence, or folly, disap- 
 point the reasonable expectations of 
 his friends. Their cherished hopes 
 are a proper ground of appeal to 
 him, and it may be properly demand- 
 ed of every one that he shall carry 
 out to their legitimate results all 
 the principles of his early training, 
 and that he shall be in his profes- 
 sion all that his early advantages 
 make it reasonable to expect that he 
 will be. 
 
 7. But refuse. That is, refuse to 
 pay attention to them, or reject them. 
 Do not consider them of sufficient 
 importance to occupy your time. 
 *^ Profane. The word here u.'-ed 
 does not mean that the fables here 
 referred to were blasphemous or im- 
 pious in their character, but that they 
 had not the character of true reli- 
 gion. 2 Tim. ii. 16. ^ And old 
 wives'. Old women's stories; or 
 such as old women held to be im- 
 portant. The word is used here, as 
 it is often with us, in the sense of 
 silly. \Fahles. Fictions, or stories 
 that were not founded jn fact. The 
 heathen religion abounded with fic- 
 tions of this kind, and the Jewish 
 teachers were also remarkable for 
 the number of such fables which 
 they had introduced into their sys- 
 tem. It is probable that the apostle 
 referred here particularly to the Jew- 
 ish fables, and the counsel which he 
 gives to Timothy is, to have nothing 
 to do with them. '^ And exercise 
 thyself rather unto godliness. Ra- 
 ther than attempt to under^Umd 
 those fables. Do not occupy your 
 time and attention with them, but 
 rather cultivate piety, and seek to 
 become more holy. 
 
 8. For bodily exercise profiteth 
 Utile. Marg., for a little time. The 
 
 Greek will admit of either interpre- 
 tation, and what is here affirmed ia 
 true in either sense. The bodily ex 
 ercise to which the apostle refers is 
 of little advantage compared with 
 that piety which he recommended 
 Timothy to cultivate, and whatever 
 advantage could be derived from it, 
 would be but of short duration, 'Bo- 
 dily exercise' here refers, doubtless, 
 to the mortifications of the body by 
 abstinence and penance which the 
 ancient devotees, and particularly 
 the Essenes, made so important as a 
 part of their religion. The apostle 
 does not mean to say that bodily ex- 
 ercise is in itself improper, or that 
 no advantage can be derived from it 
 in the preservation of health, but he 
 refers to it solely as a means of reli- 
 gion ; as supposed to promote holi- 
 ness of heart and of life. By these 
 bodily austerities it was supposed 
 that the corrupt passions would be 
 subdued, the wanderings of an un- 
 holy fancy fettered down, and the 
 soul brought into conformity to God. 
 In opposition to this supposition, the 
 apostle has here stated a great prin- 
 ciple which experience has shown 
 to be universally correct, that such 
 austerities do little to promote holi- 
 ness, but much to promote supersti- 
 tion. There must be a deeper work 
 on the soul than any which can be 
 accomplished by the mere mortifica- 
 tion of the body. See Notes on Col. 
 ii. 23, and comp. 1 Cor. ix. 25 — 27. 
 IT But godliness. Piety or religion. 
 ir/s profitable unto all things. In 
 every respect. There is not an in- 
 terest of man, in reference to this 
 life, or to the life to come, which it 
 would not promote. It is favourable 
 to health of body, by promoting tem- 
 perance, industry, and frugality; to 
 clearness and vigour of inteJIect, 
 
A. D. 59.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ififl 
 
 unto all things, having promise " 
 
 a Pa. 84. II. 
 
 by ffivinij just views of truth, and 
 of the reiativo value of object:?; to 
 peace of conscience, by leadinjf to 
 Uie faithful performance of duty ; to 
 prosperity in business, by making' a 
 man sober, honest, prudent, and in- 
 dustrious ; to a fjood name, by leading 
 a man to pursue sucii a course of life 
 as shall deserve it; and to comfort in 
 trial, calmness in deatii, and immor- 
 tal peace beyond the grave. Reli- 
 gion injures no one. It does not de- 
 stroy health; it does not enfeeble 
 ■ intellect; it does not disturb the 
 I science; it does not pander to 
 iaifnig and consuming passions; it 
 does not diminish the honour of a 
 ir.-wxl name; it furnishes no subject 
 hitter reflection on a bed of death. 
 : 1 lakes no one the poorer ; it prompts 
 no crime; it engenders no dis- 
 3. If a man should do that which 
 lid most certainly make him hajv 
 . he would be decidedly and con- 
 i-ntiously religious; and though 
 fy promises no earthly posses- 
 is directly as its reward, and se- 
 ries no immunity from sicklies.*, 
 L/, reaveraenl, and death, yet there 
 is nothing which so certainly secures 
 a steady g-rowth of prosperity in a 
 community as the virtues which it 
 engenders and sustains, and there is 
 nothing eke that will certainly meet 
 the ills to which man is subject. I 
 have no doubt that it is the real con- 
 viction of every man, that if he ever 
 becomes certainly happij, he will be 
 aChri.stian; and I presume that it 
 is the honest Iwlief of every one 
 that the true and consistent Chris- 
 tian is the most happy of men. And 
 yet, v.ilh this conviction, men seek 
 everything else rather than religion, 
 and in the pursuit of baubles, which 
 they know cannot confer happiness, 
 tliey defer religion — tlie only certain 
 source of happiness at any time — to 
 tJie last period of life, or reject t al- 
 
 of the life tliat now is, and of that 
 which is to come. 
 
 together. % Ilavintr ■promise of ihe 
 life Ihitl now is. That is, it lurnishes 
 the promise of whatever is really ne- 
 cessary for us in this life. The pro- 
 mises of the Scriptures on this sub- 
 ject are abundant, and there is prtv 
 bably not a want of our nature for 
 which there might not be found a 
 specific promise m the Bible. Conip. 
 Ps. .\xiii. 1 ; l.\xxiv. 11. Phil. iv. lij 
 Religion promises us needt'ul tixxl 
 and raiment. Matt. vi. 2.5 — 33. Isa. 
 .\.\.\iii. l(i; comfort in atiiiction, Deut. 
 .\.\.\iii. 27. Job v. 19. Ps. xlvi. 
 Heb. xiii. 5 ; sup[X)rt in old age and 
 death, Isa. xlvi. 4. Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 Comp. Isa. xliii. 2 ; and a good repu- 
 tation, an honoured name when we 
 are dead. Ps. xxxvii. 1 — 6. There 
 is nothing which man really needs 
 in this life, which is not promised by 
 religion ; and if tiie inquiry were 
 made, it would bo surprising to many, 
 even with our imperfect religion, 
 how literally these promises are ful- 
 filled. David, near the close of a 
 long life, was able to bear thi.s re- 
 maTkable testimony on this subject: 
 " I have been young, and now am 
 old ; yet have I not seen the right- 
 eous forsaken, nor his seed begging 
 bread." Ps. xxxvii. 25. And now, 
 of the beggars that come to our doors, 
 to how few of them can we give a 
 cup of cold water, feeling that we 
 are giving it to a disciple! How 
 rare is it that a true Christian be- 
 comes a beggar ! Of the inmatea 
 of our alms-houses, how very few 
 give any evidence that they have 
 religion I They have been brought 
 there by vice, not by religion. True 
 piety sends none to the alm.s-houso; 
 it would have saved the great masa 
 of ihooe who arc there from ever 
 needing the charity of their fellow- 
 men. ^ And of that which is to 
 come. Eternal life. And it is the 
 only tiling tliat promises audi a life. 
 
190 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 9 This is a faitliful saying, and 
 worthy of all acceptation. 
 
 10 For therefore we both la- 
 bour and suffer reproach, because 
 
 Infidelity makes no promise of fu- 
 ture happiness. Its business is to 
 take away all the comforts which reli- 
 gion gives, and to leave men to go 
 to a dark eternity with no promise 
 or hope of eternal joy. Vice pro- 
 jnises pleasures in the present life, 
 but only to disappoint its votaries 
 here ; it makes no promise of happi- 
 ness in the future world. There is 
 nothing that furnishes any certain 
 promise of happiness hereafter, in 
 this world or the next, but religion. 
 God makes no promise of such hap- 
 piness to beauty, birth, or blood ; to 
 the possession of honours or wealth ; 
 to great attainments in science and 
 learning, or to the graces of ex- 
 ternal accomplishment. All these, 
 whatever flattering hopes of happi- 
 ness they may hold out here, have 
 no assurance of future eternal bliss. 
 It is not by such things that God 
 grjvduates the rewards of heaven, 
 and it is only piety or true religion 
 that furnishes any assurance of hap- 
 piness in the world to come. 
 
 9. This is a faithful saying. See 
 Notes on ch. i. 15. 
 
 10. For therefore toe both labour 
 and suffer reproach. In making 
 this truth known, that all might be 
 saved, or that salvation was ottered 
 to all. The labour was chiefly ex- 
 perienced iii carrying this intelli- 
 gence abroad among the Gentiles; 
 the reproach arose chiefly from the 
 Jews for doing it. ^f Because toe 
 trust in the living God. This does 
 not nean, as our translation would 
 seem to imply, tliat he laboured and 
 tiuftered because he confided in God, 
 or that this was the reason of his 
 sufferings, but rather that this trust 
 in the living God was his support in 
 thest labours and trials. ' We la- 
 bour and suffer reproach, for we 
 
 we trust in the living God, who 
 is the Saviour of all men, spe- 
 cially of those that believe. 
 
 have hope in God. Through liim 
 we look for salvation. We believe 
 that he has made this known to men, 
 and believing this, we labour earn- 
 estly to make it known, even though 
 it be attended with reproaches.' The 
 sentiment is, that the belief that 
 God has revealed a plan of salvation 
 for all men, and invites all men to 
 be saved, will make his friends will- 
 ing to labour to make this known, 
 though it be attended with reproach- 
 es. ir Who is the Saviour of all 
 men. This must be understood as 
 denoting that he is the Saviour of 
 all men in some sense which differs 
 from what is immediately affirmed — 
 ' especially of those that believe.' 
 There is something pertaining to 
 them in regard to salvation which does 
 not pertain to ' all men.' It cannot 
 mean that he brings all men to hea- 
 ven, especially those who believe — 
 for this would be nonsense. And if 
 he brings all men actually to hea- 
 ven, how can it be especially true 
 that he does this in regard to tliose 
 who believe 1 Does it mean that he 
 saves others vnthout believing ? But 
 tills would be contrary to the uniform 
 doctrine of the Scriptures. See 
 Mark xvi. IG. When, therefore, 
 it is said that he 'is the Saviour 
 of all men, especially of those 
 who believe,' it must mean that 
 there is a sense in which it is true 
 that he may be called the Saviow 
 of all men, while, at the same 
 time, it is actually true that those 
 only are saved who believe. This 
 may be true in two respects. (1.) 
 As he is the Preserver of men 
 (Job vii. 20), for in this sense he may 
 be said to save them from famine, and 
 war, and peril — keeping them from 
 day to day ; comp. Ps. cvii. 28 ; (2.) 
 as lie has provided salvation for all 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTERIV. 
 
 VJl 
 
 1 1 These things command and 
 leach. 
 
 12 Let " no man despise thy 
 
 a Ti. 2. 7. 15. 
 
 men. He is tliua their Saviour — 
 and may be calloil tlie common Sa- 
 viour of all ; that is^, he has confined 
 tlie oiler of salvation to no one class 
 of men ; he has not limited the 
 atonement to one division of tlie 
 human race ; and he actually saves 
 all who are willini^ to be saved by 
 him. % Specially of those that 
 believe. This is evidently designed 
 to limit the previous remark. If it 
 had been letl there, it might have 
 been inferred that he would actualb/ 
 save all men. But the apostle held 
 no such doctrine, and he here teach- 
 es that salvation is aclually limited 
 ;ho.«e who believe. This is the 
 •iality or the peculiarity in the 
 atioii of those who actually reach 
 ven, that tliey are believers. See 
 OS on Mark xvi. 16. All men, 
 rcfore, do not enter heaven, unless 
 mei. have tuith. But is this so! 
 :at evidence is there that the 
 it mass of mankind die believing 
 tlie Son of God ? 
 
 11. These thinijs command and 
 teach. As important doctrines, and 
 as embracing the sum of the chris- 
 tian system. It follows from this, 
 that a minister of the gospel is so- 
 lemnly bound to teach that tliere is 
 a sense in which God is the Saviour 
 of all men. He is just as much 
 bound to teich this, as he is that 
 only tho.'^e will be saved who believe. 
 It 13 a glorious truth — and it is a 
 Uriiig for which a man .><hould un- 
 ceasingly give thanks to God that 
 he may go and proclaim that He has 
 provided salvation for all, and is 
 willing that all should come and 
 live. 
 
 12. Let no man despise thy youth. 
 That i;j, do not act in such a manner 
 that any shall despise you on account 
 './ your youth. Act aa becomea a 
 
 youth ; but be thou an example 
 of the believers, in word, in con- 
 versation, in charily, in spirit, in 
 faith, in purity. 
 
 minister of the gospel in all thinirs, 
 and in sncii a way that men will 
 respect you as such, though you are 
 young. It is clear from this tiiat 
 Timothy was then a young man, but 
 his e.xact age there is no means of 
 determining. It is implied here, (1.) 
 that tliere was danger that, by the 
 levity and indiscretion to which 
 youth are so much exposed, the 
 ministry might be regarded with 
 contempt; and (2.) that it was possi- 
 ble that his deportment should be so 
 grave, serious, and every way ap- 
 propriate, that the ministry would 
 not be blamed, but honoured. The 
 way in which Timothy was to live 
 so that the ministry would not be 
 despised on account of his youth, 
 the apostle proceeds immediately to 
 specify. •[ But be thou an example 
 of the believers. One of the constant 
 duties of a minister of the gospel, 
 no matter what his age. A minister 
 should so live, that if all his people 
 should closely follow his example, 
 their salvation would be secure, and 
 they would make the highest possi- 
 ble attainments in piety. On the 
 meaning of the word rendered cx- 
 ajnplc, see Notes on Pliil. iii. 17. 1 
 Thess. i. 7. 5[ In word. In speech 
 — that is, your manner of conversa- 
 tion. This does not refer to hia 
 public teaching — in which he could 
 not probably be an example to thorn 
 — but to his usual and familiar con- 
 versation. ■[ In cnnversalinn. In 
 general deportment. See this word 
 explained in the Notes on Phil, i 
 27. 'i In charity. Love to tlie 
 brethren, and t(j nil. See Notes on 
 1 Cor. .xiii. IT In spirit. In the 
 government of your pa-ssions, and in 
 a mild, meek, forgiving dispot^ition. 
 •f In faith. At all times, and in all 
 trials, ehow to believers by vour ex- 
 
192 
 
 13 Till I come, give attend- 
 ance to reading, to exhortation, 
 to doctrine. 
 
 ample, how they ought to maintain 
 unshaken confidence in God. IT In 
 purity. In chasteness of life. See 
 ch. V. 2. Tliere should be nothing 
 in your intercourse with the other 
 sex tliat would give rise to scan- 
 dal. The Papists, with great impro- 
 priety, understand this as enjoining 
 celibacy — as if there could be no 
 purity in that holy relation which 
 God appointed in Eden, and which 
 he has declared to " be honourable 
 in all" (Heb. xiii. 4), and which he 
 has made so essential to the well- 
 being of mankind. If the apostle 
 had wished to produce the highest 
 possible degree of corruption in the 
 church, he would have enjoined the 
 celibacy of the clergy and the celi- 
 bacy of an indefinite number of 
 nuns and monks. There are no 
 other institutions on the earth which 
 have done so much to corrupt the 
 chastity of the race, as those which 
 have grown out of the doctrine that 
 celibacy is more honourable than 
 marriage. 
 
 13. Till 1 come. Notes, ch. iii. 
 14, 15. ^ Give attendance to read- 
 ing. The word here used may refer 
 either to public or to private read- 
 ing. See Acts xiii. 15. 2 Cor. iii. 
 14. Comp. Esdr. ix. 48. The more 
 obvious interpretation here is to refer 
 it to private reading, or to a careful 
 perusal of those books which would 
 qualify him for his public work. The 
 then written portions of the sacred 
 volume — the Old Testament — are 
 doubtless specially intended here, 
 but there is no reason to doubt that 
 there were included also such other 
 books as would be useful, to which 
 Timothy might have access. Even 
 those were then few in number, but 
 Paul evidently meant that Timothy 
 should, as far as practicable, become 
 acquainted with them. The ( postle 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 58. 
 
 14 Neglect " not the gift that 
 is in thee, which w^as given thee 
 
 a 2 Ti. 1. 0. 
 
 himself, on more than one occasion, 
 showed that he had some acquaint- 
 ance with the classic writings of 
 Greece. Acts xvii. 28. Titus i. 12. 
 ^ To exhortation. See Notes on 
 Rom. xii. 8. ^ To doctrine. To 
 teaching — for so the word means. 
 Comp. Notes on Rom. xii. 7. 
 
 14. JSeglect not the gift that is in 
 thee. An important question arises 
 here, to what the word gift refers: 
 — whether to natural endowment ; 
 to office ; or to some supposed virtue 
 which had been conferred by ordina- 
 tion — some transmitted influence 
 which made him holy as a minister 
 of religion, and which was to continue 
 to be transmitted by the imposition 
 of apostolic hands. — The word which 
 is here used, is rendered gift in 
 every place in' which it occurs in 
 the New Testament. It is found in 
 the following places, and witli the 
 following significations : — deliver 
 ance from peril, 2 Cor. i. 11 ; a gift 
 or quality of the mind, 1 Cor. vii 
 7; gifts of christian knowledge or 
 consolation, Rom. i. 11. 1 Cor. i. 7; 
 redemption or salvation through 
 Christ, Rom. v. 15, 16 ; vi. 23 ; xi. 
 29 ; the miraculous endowments 
 conferred by the Holy Spirit, Rom. 
 xii. 6. 1 Cor. xii. 4. 9. 28. 30, 31, 
 and the special gift or endowment 
 for the work of the ministry, 1 Tim. 
 iv. 14. 2 Tim. i. 6. 1 Pet. iv. 10. 
 The gift then referred to liere was 
 that by which Timothy was quali- 
 fied for the work of the ministry. It 
 relates to his office and qualifica- 
 tions — to every thing that entered 
 into his fitness for the work. It does 
 not refer exclusively to any influence 
 that came upon him in virtue of his 
 ordination, or to any new grace that 
 was infused into him by that act, 
 making him either officially or per- 
 sonally more holy than other men, oi 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CIIAPTERIV. 
 
 1U3 
 
 b)' prophecy," with the laying on 
 
 act. la 4 Ac. 1X3. 
 
 than lie was before— <ir to any effi- 
 cacy in the mere act of ordination — 
 out it coinpri>;e(l the whole train of 
 ciicutnstancrs by which he Iiad been 
 qimlitied for tlie sacred office, and 
 recojjniscd as a minister of relifjion. 
 All tliis was rejrarded as a i,'*/?, a 
 benejil, or a favour — ^;^a'pt?iutt, — and 
 he was not to neijlect or di:;regard 
 tlie res|K)nsibilities and advantajjes 
 growinnf out of it. In rejjard to the 
 manner in which this gill or favour 
 was bestowed, the following^ thin^js 
 are specitied. (1.) It was the giil 
 of God. 2 Tim. i. G. He was to 
 bo recognised as its source ; and it 
 was not therefore conferred merely 
 by human hai^s. The call to the 
 ministry, the qualifications for the 
 office, and the whole arrangement 
 by which one is endowed for the 
 work, are primarily to be traced to 
 him as the source. (2.) It was 
 given to Timothy in accordance 
 with certain predictions whicli had 
 existed in refjard to him — the ex- 
 pectations of those who had observed 
 Lis qualififations for such an office, 
 \nd who had expressed the hope that 
 he would one day be permitted to 
 serve tlie Lord in it (3.) It was 
 sanctioned by the laying on of the 
 hands of the Presbytery. The call 
 of God to the work thus recog- 
 niscil by the ciiurch, and the appro- 
 bation of the Presbytery expressed 
 by setting him apart to the office, 
 should be regarded by Timothy as a 
 part of the 'gitV or hniffit {charis- 
 ma) which had been conferred on 
 him, and which he was not to ne- 
 glect. (4.) An additional circum- 
 stance which might serve to impress 
 the mind of Timothy with the value 
 of this endowment, and the respon- 
 sibility of this office, was, that Paul 
 himself had beon concerned in his 
 ordination. 2 Tim. i. 6. He who 
 Was so much more aged (Pbilem. 9, 
 17 
 
 of the liands of the presbytery. 
 
 Comp. 2 Tim. iv. G, 7) ; he who had 
 been a father to him, and who had 
 adopted him and treated him as a 
 son, had been concerned in his ordi- 
 nation; and this fact imposed a high- 
 er obligation to perform aright the 
 functions of an office which had 
 been conferred on him in this man- 
 ner. Wo are not to suppose, there- 
 fore, that there was any mysterious 
 influence — any virus — conveyed by 
 the act of ordination, or tiiat that 
 act imparted any additional degree 
 of holiness. The endowment for 
 the ministry ; the prev'ous antici- 
 pations and hopes of friends ; and 
 the manner in which he had been 
 inducted into the sacred office, 
 should all be regarded as a bfnefit 
 or favour of a high order, and as a 
 reason why the giil thus bestowed 
 should not be neglected — and the 
 same things now should make a 
 man who is in the ministry deeply 
 feel the solemn obligations renting 
 on him to cultivate his powers in tlie 
 highest degree, and to make the most 
 of his talents. ^ Which was nivrn 
 thee by prophecy. Tliat is, tlie pro- 
 phetic declarations and the hopes of 
 pious friends in regard to your fu- 
 ture usefulness, have been among 
 the means by whicli you have been in- 
 troduced to the ministry, and should 
 be a reason why you should cultivate 
 your powers, and perform taithfully 
 the duties of your olHce. Si.>c Notes 
 on cli. i. 18. •[ With the btyin^ on 
 of the hands of the pres/ji/lcri/. It 
 was common to lay on tiie hands in 
 imparting a blessing, or in setting 
 apart to any office. See Matt. xix. 
 15. Mark vi. 5. Luke iv. 40; xiiL 
 13. Lev. viii. 14. Num. xxvii. 23, 
 Acts xxviii. 8; vi. 6; viii. 17; xiii. 3. 
 Tlie reference here is undoubte<lly 
 to the act by which Timothy was set 
 apart to the office of tlie ministry. 
 The word rendered presbytery— 
 
194 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 1.5 Meditate upon these things ; 
 give thyself wholly to them ; 
 
 that thy profiting may appear ' 
 to all. 
 
 1 or, in all tilings. 
 
 ftpfd^vitpiov — occurs only in two 
 other places in the New Testa- 
 ment — Luke xxii. 66, where it is 
 rendered elders ; and Acts xxii. 5, 
 where it is rendered ' estate of the 
 elders.^ It properly means an as- 
 sembly of aged men ; council of 
 elders. In Luke xxii. 66, and Acts 
 xxii. 5, it refers to the Jewish san- 
 hedrim. See Notes on Matt. v. 22. 
 In tlie passage before us, it cannot 
 refer to that body — for they did not 
 ordain men to tlie christian ministry 
 — but to some association, or coun- 
 cil, or body of elders of the christian 
 church. It is clear from the passage 
 (1.) that there was more than one 
 person engaged in this service, and 
 taking part in it when Timothy was 
 ordained, and therefore it could not 
 have been by a prelate or bishop 
 alone. (2.) That the power con- 
 ferred, whatever it was, was con- 
 ferred by the whoie body consti- 
 tuting the Presbytery — since the 
 apostle says that the ' gift' was im- 
 parted, not in virtue of any particu- 
 lar power or eminence in any one in- 
 dividual, but by the ' laying on of the 
 ha.nds of the Presbytery.'' (3.) The 
 statement here is just such a one 
 as would be made now respecting a 
 Presbyterian ordination; it is not 
 one which would be made of an 
 Episcopal ordination. A Presbyte- 
 rian would choose these very words 
 in giving an account of an ordina- 
 tion to the work of the ministry ; 
 an Episcopalian would not. The 
 former speaks of an ordination by a 
 Presbytery ,• the latter of ordination 
 by a Bishop. The former can use 
 the account of the apostle Paul here 
 as applicable to an ordination, with- 
 out explanations, comments, new 
 versions, or criticisms; the latter 
 cannot. The passage, therefore, is 
 full proof that, in one of the most 
 
 important ordinations mentioned in 
 the New Testament, it was perform- 
 ed by an association of men, and not 
 by a Prelate, and, therefore, that 
 this was the primitive mode of oidi- 
 nation. Indeed, there is not a single 
 instance of ordination to an office 
 mentioned in the New Testament 
 which was performed by one man 
 alone. See this passage examined 
 at greater length in my " Enquiry 
 into the organization and govern- 
 ment of the apostolic church," pp. 
 208—221. 
 
 15. Meditate upon these things. 
 Upon the train of events by which 
 you have been led inio the ministry, 
 and upon the responsibilities and 
 duties of the office. Let your mind 
 be deeply impressed with these 
 things; make them the subject of 
 profound and serious thought. — 
 ^ Give thyself wholly to them. Gr. 
 ' Be in them' — a phrase similar to 
 that of Horace — totus in illis. The 
 meaning is plain. He was to devote 
 his life wholly to this work. He 
 was to have no other grand aim of 
 living. His time, attention, talents, 
 were to be absorbed in the proper 
 duties of the work. He was not to 
 make that subordinate and tributary 
 to any other purpose, nor was he to 
 allow any other object to interfere 
 with the appropriate duties of that 
 office. He was not to live for mo- 
 ney, fame, or pleasure; not to de- 
 vote his time to the pursuits of lite- 
 rature or science for their own sakes ; 
 not to seek the reputation of an ele 
 gant or profound scholar ; not to aim 
 to be distinguished merely as an 
 accomplished gentleman, or as a 
 skilful farmer, teacher, or author. 
 Whatever was done in any of these 
 departments, was to be wholly con- 
 sistent with the direction, iv -tovton 
 ic^i. — '■be in these things^ — be ab- 
 
A. n. f)^.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 195 
 
 IG Take he,-d * unto thyself, 
 and unto the doctrine ; continue 
 in them : for in doing this thou 
 
 a Ezc. 44. 31. 
 
 Borbed in the appropriate duties of 
 the mijiistorial office. It may be 
 remarked here that no man will 
 ever make much of himself, or ac- 
 complish much in any profession, who 
 does not make this the rule of his 
 lite. He who has one frreat purjwse 
 of Irfe to which lie patiently and 
 steadily devotes himself, and to 
 which he makes every tiling else 
 bend, will uniformly rise to high 
 respectability, if not to eminence. 
 He who does not do this, can expect 
 to accomplish nothing'. ^ That thy 
 prnjitinsr, Gr. Thy go'iog forward ; 
 that is, thy advancement, or pro- 
 gress. A minister of the gospel 
 ougiit to make steady improvement 
 in all that pertains to his office. No 
 man ought to be satisfied with pre- 
 sent attainments. «[ Tn all. Marg. 
 in all ihinsrs. The margin is the 
 naore correct rendering, but either 
 of them makes good sense. It should 
 6e apparent to all persons who attend 
 on tiie stated preaching of a minis- 
 ter of the gospel, that he is making 
 steady advances in knowledge, wis- 
 dom, and piety, and in all things that 
 pertain to the proper performance 
 of the duties of his office. If a man 
 really makes progress, it will be 
 seen and appreciated by others; if 
 he does not, that wdl be as well nn- 
 derstoo<l bv his hearers. 
 
 16. Take heed unto thyself. This 
 may be understood as relating to 
 everything of a personal nature that 
 would qualify him for his work. It 
 may be applied to personal piety ; 
 to health ; to manners ; to habits of 
 living ; to temper ; to the ruling pur- 
 poses ; to the intercourse with others. 
 In relation to personal religion, a 
 minister should take heed (1.) that 
 he has true piety; and (2.) that he 
 is advancing in the knowledge and 
 
 shalt both save * thyself, and them 
 tliat hear thee. 
 
 b in. 5. 20. 
 
 love of (jiod. In relation to morals, he 
 siiould be upriglit ; to his intercourse 
 with otiicrs, and iiis personal habits, 
 lie should be correct, consistent, and 
 gentlemanly, so as to give needless of- 
 fence to none. The person of a minis- 
 ter should be neat and cleanly ; his 
 manners such as will show the fair ii>- 
 fluence of religion on his temper and 
 deportment; his style of intercourse 
 such as will be an example to tiic old 
 and the young, and such as will notot- 
 fend against the proper laws of cour- 
 tesy and urbanity. Tliere is no reli- 
 gion in a filthy person; in uncouth 
 manners; in an inconvenient and 
 strange form of apparel ; in bad gram- 
 mar, and in slovenly habits — and to be 
 a real gentleman should be as much a 
 matter of conscience with a minister 
 of the gospel as to be a real Chris- 
 tian. Indeed, under the full and fair 
 influence of the gospel, the one al- 
 ways implies the other. Religion 
 refines the manners — it docs not cor- 
 rupt them ; it makes one courteous, 
 polite, and kind — it never produces 
 boorish manners, or habits that give 
 offence to the well-bred and the re- 
 fined. IT And unto the doctrine. 
 The kind of teachimr which you 
 give, or to your public instructions. 
 The meaning is, that he should hold 
 and teach only the truth. He was 
 to 'take heed' to the whole business 
 of public instruction ; that is, Iwih 
 to tlie matter and the manner. The 
 great object was to get as much 
 truth as [x)s.sible before the minds of 
 ids hearers, and in such a way as to 
 produce the deepest impression on 
 them. •[ Continue in them. That 
 is, in these thinffs which have been 
 sp'i- '''•'!. He was ever to be found 
 per.-Lvoringlv engaged in the per- 
 formance of hene duties. ^ For so 
 doing thou shall both save thyself 
 
196 
 
 I. TIMaTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 By holding of the truth, and by the 
 faithful performance of your duties, 
 you will secure tiie salvation of the 
 Boul. We are not to suppose that 
 the apostle meant to teach that tliis 
 would be the meritorious cause of 
 his salvation, but that these faithful 
 labours would be regarded as an evi- 
 dence of piety, and would be accept- 
 ed as such. It is equivalent to say- 
 ing, that an unfaithful minister of 
 the gospel cannot be saved : one who 
 faithfully performs all the duties of 
 that office with a right spirit, will 
 be. H And them that hear thee. 
 That is, you will be the means of 
 their salvation. It is not necessary 
 to suppose that the apostle meant to 
 teach that he would save all that 
 heard him. The declaration is to 
 be understood in a popular sense, and 
 it is undoubtedly true that a faithful 
 minister will be t!ie means of saving 
 many sinners. This assurance fur- 
 nishes a ground of encouragement 
 for a minister of the gospel. He 
 may hope for success, and should 
 look for success. He has the pro- 
 mise of God that if he is faithful he 
 shall see the fruit of his labours, and 
 this result of his work is a sufficient 
 reward for all the toils and sacrifices 
 and self-denials of the ministry. If 
 a minister should be the means of 
 saving but one soul fi'om the horrors 
 of eternal suffering and eternal sin- 
 ning, it would be worth the most 
 selt-denying labours of the longest 
 life. Yet what minister of the gos- 
 pel is there, who is at all faithful to 
 his trust, who is not made the ho- 
 noured instrument of the salvation 
 of many more than one ? Few are 
 the devoted ministers of Christ who 
 are not permitted to see evidence 
 even here, that their labour has not 
 been in vain. Let not, then, the 
 faithfiil preacher be discouraged. A 
 single soul rescued from death will 
 be a gem in his eternal crown bright- 
 er by far than ever sparkled on the 
 brow of royalty. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTEa. 
 
 This chapter embraces the follow- 
 ing subjects: — 
 
 (1.) The proper method of admo- 
 nition when others err — to wit, an 
 aged man should be entreated as a 
 father, younger men as brethren, 
 the aged women as mothers, and the 
 younger with the pure feelings which 
 one has for a sister. Vs. 1, 2. 
 
 (2.) Instructions respecting the 
 proper treatment of widows. Vs. 3 
 —16. 
 
 (a) Those who were true widows 
 were to be regarded with ho- 
 nour and respect. 
 (6) Who sustained this character. 
 Vs. 4 — 7. Those who had 
 evinced piety at home in taking 
 charge of those who were de- 
 pendent on them, and who were 
 steady in their devotions. No 
 one was to be received into this 
 number who was not of the age 
 of sixty, who had been married 
 to more than one man, and who 
 had not given evidence in all 
 the duties of domestic fidelity 
 and charity, that she was im- 
 bued with the spirit of religion. 
 Vs. 9, 10. 
 (c) Those who were young were 
 not to be admitted into this 
 class. Vs. 11 — 15. The rea- 
 sons given are, that they would 
 marry again, or that they would 
 be idle, and would be intermed- 
 dlers in the affairs of others. 
 It was better, therefore, that 
 they should marry, and have 
 charge of a family of their own. 
 Vs. 14, 15. 
 {d) The duty of the individual 
 members of the church to sus- 
 tain helpless and dependent wi- 
 dows, if they had such among 
 their relations. Ver. 16. hi 
 these verses (3 — 16) it is evi- 
 dent that the apostle had h\s 
 eye on a class of widows that 
 
A. D. TkS.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 un 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 T;^EnUKE not an elder, but 
 JLl; fiitreat hitn as a father; 
 
 and tho younger men as breth- 
 ren ; 
 
 susliiincd some such relation to 
 other females as tlie elders did 
 to the wliole cimrch. They 
 were ajed women to whom was 
 hitriisted the superintendence 
 of the femiiles of llie church — 
 prob:ibly hocau-se from tiic cus- 
 toms then prevalent, men iiad 
 mucli less liberty of access to 
 tho otiier sex, i. id much less 
 freedom of intercourse was al- 
 lowable, than now. 
 (3.) Tlie duty of supportiufr and 
 honourinjr tliose who ruled in the 
 church. Vs. 17, 18. 
 
 (4.) The suitable guarding^ of tlic 
 rights of tho elders in the cimrch. 
 No accusation was to be received, 
 unless it was sustained by two or 
 tiirec witnesses Vcr. 19. 
 
 (5.) No one who was guilty was 
 to be spared. All wlio sinned 
 were to be publicly rebuked. Ver. 
 20. 
 
 (6.) A solemn charge is given to 
 Timothy to keep these command- 
 ments. Ver. 21. 
 
 (7.) Tiic statement of his duty 
 
 not to tirdain any person rashly or 
 
 lastily to the sacred office. Ver. 22. 
 
 (8.) To guard his health. Ver. 
 
 (3. 
 
 (9.) A declaration respecting sin 
 —that sometimes it is open before- 
 nand, and sometimes it is concealed 
 till it is revealed at tlie judgment, 
 closes the chapter. Vs. 24, 25. 
 
 The design of this closiMt state- 
 ment seems to be, to show Timothy 
 that he siiould not judge men by ajv 
 poarances, but tliat he should evince 
 great caution in f)rming iiis esti- 
 mate of tlieir character. 
 
 1. Rrhnhc not an elder. The 
 word ridrr here is not used in the 
 
 sense in Avhich it often is, to denote your own brothers. Do not consider 
 an otficer of tho church, a presbyter, tiiein as aliens, strangers, or ene* 
 17* 
 
 but in its proper and usual sense, to 
 denote an utxcd man. Tiiis is evi- 
 dent, because the apostle immediate- 
 ly mentions in contradistinction from 
 the elder, ' the younger men,' where 
 it cannot be supposed tiiat he rotcrs 
 to them as officers. Tlie command 
 to treat the ' elder' as a ' father,' also 
 shows the same thing. By the di- 
 rection not to rebuke, it is not to be 
 supposed that the minister of the 
 gospel is not to admonish the aged, 
 or that he is not to show them their 
 sins when they go astray, but that 
 he is to do this as he would to a 
 father. lie is not to assume a 
 harsh, dictatorial, and denunciatory 
 manner. The precepts of religion 
 always respect the proprieties of 
 life, and never allow us to transgress 
 them, even when the object is to re- 
 claim a soul from error, and to save 
 one who is wandering. Besides, 
 when this is the aim, it will always 
 be most certainly accomplished by 
 observing the respect due to others 
 on account of office, relation, rank, 
 or age. ^ But entreat him as a fa- 
 ther. As you would a fitiier. Tliat 
 is, do not harshly denounce him. 
 Endeavour to persuade him to lead 
 a more holy lite. One of tlie thini^.s 
 for wliich the ancients were remark- 
 able al)ovo most of the moderns, and 
 tor which the Orientals are still dis- 
 tinguished, was respect for age. Few 
 things arc enjoined with more expli- 
 citness and emphasis in the Biblo 
 tlian this. Lev. xix. 32. Jol) xxix. 
 I'rov. XX. 20; xxx. 17. Coini». Dan. 
 vii. 9, 10. Rev. i. 14, 15. 'J'lio apos- 
 tle would have Timothy, and, f(»r the 
 same rea.son, every oth' r minister 
 of the gospel, a model of this virtue. 
 f, .\nd the younger men as brethren. 
 That is, treat them as you would 
 
198 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 2 The elder women as mo- 
 thers ; the younger as sisters, with 
 all purity. 
 
 mies, but entertain towards them, 
 even when tliey go astray, the kind- 
 ly feelings of a brother. This refers 
 more particularly to his private in- 
 tercourse with them, and to his per- 
 sonal efforts to reclaim them when 
 they had fallen into sin. When 
 these efforts were ineffectual, and 
 they sinned openly, he was to ' re- 
 buke them before all' (ver. 20), that 
 others might be deterred from fol- 
 owing- their example. 
 
 2. The elder women as mothers. 
 Showing still the same respect for 
 age, and for the proprieties of life. 
 No son who had proper feelings 
 would rebuke his own mother with 
 eeverity. Let the minister of reli- 
 gion evince the same feelings if he 
 IS called to address a 'mother in Is- 
 rael' who has erred. ^ The young- 
 er as sisters. With the feelings 
 which you have toward a sister. 
 The tender love which one has for 
 I beloved sister would always keep 
 him from using harsh and severe 
 language. The same mildness, gen- 
 tleness, and affection should be used 
 towards a sister in the church. 
 IF With all purity. Nothing could 
 be more characteristic of Paul's man- 
 ner than this injunction; nothing 
 could show a deeper acquaintance 
 with human nature. He knew the 
 danger which would beset a youth- 
 ful minister of the gospel when it 
 was his duty to admonish and entreat 
 a youthful female ; he knew, too, the 
 scandal to which he might be ex- 
 posed if, in the performance of the 
 necessary duties of his office, there 
 should be the slightest departure 
 from purity and propriety. He was 
 therctbre to guard his heart with 
 more than common vigilance in such 
 circumstances, and was to indulge 
 in no word, or look, or action, which 
 could by any posnibility be construed 
 
 3 Honour widows that are wi ■ 
 dews indeed. " 
 
 a Ver. 5, 16. 
 
 as manifesting an improper state of 
 feeling. On nothing else do the fair 
 character and usefulness of a youth- 
 ful minister more depend, than on 
 the observance of this precept. No- 
 where else does he more need the 
 grace of the Lord Jesus, and the 
 exercise of prudence, and the mani- 
 festation of incorruptible integrity, 
 than in the pe.tbrmance of this duty. 
 A youthful minister who fails here, 
 can never recover the perfect purity 
 of an unsullied reputation, and never 
 in subsequent life be wholly free 
 from suspicion. Comp. Notes, Matt. 
 V. 28. 
 
 3. Honour widows. The partic- 
 ular attention and respect which are 
 enjoined here, seem to refer to the 
 class of widows who were supported 
 by the church, and who were intrust- 
 ed with the performance of certain 
 duties towards the other female 
 members. See ver. 9. It is to be 
 remembered that the intercourse of 
 the sexes was much more circum- 
 scribed in Oriental countries than it 
 is among us ; that access to the fe- 
 male members of the church would 
 be much less free than it is now, and 
 that consequently there might have 
 been a special propriety in intrusting 
 the duty of watching over the younger 
 among them to the more aged. This 
 duty would be naturally intrusted to 
 those who had not the care of families. 
 It would also be natural to commit 
 it, if t^y were qualified, to those 
 who haa not the means of support, 
 and who, while they were maintain- 
 ed by the church, might be render- 
 ing a valuable service to it. It 
 would seem, therefore, that there 
 was a class of this description, who 
 were intrusted with these duties, and 
 in regard to whose qualifications it 
 was proper that Timothy should be 
 instructed. The change of customa 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 199 
 
 4 But if any widow have chil- 
 dren or nephews, let them learn 
 first to show ' piety at home, and 
 
 • or, kindness. 
 
 to requite their parents : for that 
 is good and acceptable before 
 God. 
 
 5 Now she that is a widow in- 
 
 in society has made this class less 
 necessary, and probably the arrange- 
 ment was never designed to be per- 
 manent, but still it may be a ques- 
 tion whether sucli an arrangement 
 would not now be wise and useful 
 in tlie church. On this subject, see 
 Notes on Rom. xvi. 1. TT That are 
 willows indeed. Wlio are triUi/ wi- 
 dows. We associate witli the word 
 widow, commonly, not only the idea 
 of the loss of a husband, but many 
 other things that are the usual ac- 
 companiments of widowhood — a poor 
 and dependent condition; care and 
 solicitude ; sadness and sorrow. Tliis 
 ^ idea is implied in the use of the word 
 employed here — x^fo. — which means 
 properly one who is bereaved, (from 
 the adjective xif^u bereaved), and 
 which, as Calvin says, conveys the 
 idea of one in distressed circum- 
 stances. What Paul regarded as 
 constituting true widowhood, he spe- 
 cifies in verses 4, 5. 9, 10. He con- 
 nects witli it the idea that she had 
 no persons dependent on her ; that 
 she was desolate, and evinced true 
 trust in God ; that she was so aged 
 that she would not marry again; 
 and that by her life she had given 
 evidence of possessing a heart of 
 true benevolence. Ver. 10. 
 
 4. But if any widow have chil- 
 dren. Who would be dependent on 
 ner care, and who might themselves 
 contribute to her support. •[ Or ne- 
 phews. Tlie word nephew now com- 
 monly means the son of a brother or 
 eistcr. Formerly the English word 
 also meant grandchildren, or de- 
 scendants of any description. Web- 
 ster. The Greek word here — tx-vo- 
 K» — has the latter meaning. It de- 
 notes those tprnnir from or born of; 
 and then descendants of any kind- 
 eons, daug^bters, grandciiUdren. The 
 
 Greek word would not, in fiict, pro- 
 perly include nephews and nieces. 
 It embraces only those in a direct 
 line. ^ Let them learn frst to show 
 piety at home. Marg., ' or kindness.^ 
 That is, let the children and grand- 
 children learn to do this. Let them 
 have an opiwrtunity of performing 
 their duty toward their aged parent 
 or grandparent Dot not receive 
 such a widow among the poor and 
 dependent females of the church, to 
 be maintained at public expense, but 
 let her children support her. Thus 
 they will have an opportunity of 
 evincing christian kindness, and of 
 requiting her for her care. This the 
 apostle calls ' showing piety* — tvac 
 iitiv — tliat is, filial piety ; piety to- 
 wards a parent by providing tor the 
 wants of that parent in advanced 
 age. The word is commonly used 
 to denote piety towards God, but it 
 is also used to denote proper reve- 
 rence and respect for a parent Ro- 
 binson. ^ And to requite their pa- 
 rents. To repay them, as far as pos- 
 sible, for all their kindness. This 
 debt can never be wholly repaid, but 
 still a chdd should feel it a matter 
 of sacred obligation to do as much 
 towards it as possible. •[ For that 
 is good and acceptable before God. 
 It is a duty everywhere enjoined. 
 Comp. Notes on Matt. xv. 5 — 7. Eph. 
 vi. 1, 2. 
 
 5. A widow indeed and desolate. 
 The word rendered desolate mean.s 
 solitari/, alone. It does not neces- 
 sarily imply the idea of discomfort 
 which we attach to the word deso- 
 late. The sense is, tjiat she had no 
 children or other descendants; none 
 on whom she could depend for sui>- 
 port. II Trustcth in God. She has 
 no one else to look to but God. She 
 has no earthly reliance, and, deati- 
 
200 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 deed, and desolate, trusteth in God, 
 and continueth in supplications 
 and prayers night and day. 
 6 But she that liveth ' in plea- 
 
 or, delicately. 
 
 tute of husband, children, and pro- 
 perty, she feels her dependence, and 
 steadily looks to God for consolation 
 and support. ^ And continueth in 
 supplications and prayers night and 
 day. Continually. Comp. Notes on 
 oh. ii. 1. See also the description 
 of Anna in Luke ii. 36, 37. The 
 apostle regards this as one of the 
 characteristics of those who were 
 'widows indeed,' whom he would 
 have received into the class to be 
 maintained by the church, and to 
 whom the charge of younger mem- 
 bers of the church might be intrust- 
 ed. 
 
 6. But she that liveth in pleasure. 
 Marg., delicately. The Greek word 
 (ffrtaraxato) occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament, except in James 
 V. 5. "Ye have lived in pleasure 
 on the earth." It properly means to 
 live in luxury, voluptuously; to in- 
 dulge freely in eating and drinking ; 
 to yield to the indulgence of the ap- 
 petites. It does not indicate grossly 
 criminal pleasures; but the kind of 
 pleasure connected with luxurious 
 living, and with pampering the ap- 
 petites. It is probable that iij the 
 time of the apostle, there were pro- 
 fessedly chrislian widows who lived 
 in this manner — as there are such 
 professing christians of all kinds in 
 every age of the world. IF Is dead 
 while she liveth. To all the proper 
 purposes of life she is as if she were 
 dead. There is great emphasis in 
 this expression, and nothing could 
 convey more forcibly the idea tliat 
 true happiness is not to be found in 
 the pleasures of sense. Tliere is 
 nothing in them that answers the 
 purposes of life. They are not the 
 objects for which life was given, and 
 
 sure is dead " while she liveth. 
 
 7 And these things give in 
 charge, that they may be blame 
 less. 
 
 8 But if any provide not foi 
 
 a Re. 3. 1. 
 
 as to the great and proper designs 
 of existence, such persons might as 
 well be dead. 
 
 7. And these things give in 
 charge. Announce, or declare these 
 things, to wit, particularly respect- 
 ing the duty of children to their wi- 
 dowed mothers, and the proper duty 
 of those who are widows, 
 
 8. But if any provide not for his 
 own. The apostle was speaking 
 (ver. 4) particularly of the duty of 
 children towards a widowed mother. 
 In enforcing that duty, he gives the 
 subject, as he often does in similar 
 cases, a general direction, and says 
 that all ought to provide for those 
 who were dependent on them, and 
 that if they did not do this, they had 
 a less impressive sense of the obli- 
 gations of duty than even the hea- 
 then had. On the duty here referred 
 to, comp. Notes, Rom. xii. 17. 2 Cor. 
 viii. 21. The meaning is, that the per- 
 son referred to is to think beforehand 
 (rtpovost,) of the probable wants of his 
 own family, and make arrangements 
 to meet them. God thus provides 
 for our wants; that is, he sees be- 
 forehand what we sliall need, and 
 makes arrangements for those wants 
 by long preparation. The food that 
 we eat, and the raiment that we 
 wear, he foresaw tliat we should 
 need, and the arrangement for the 
 supply was made years since, and to 
 meet these wants he has been car- 
 rying forward the plans of his pro- 
 vidence in the seasons ; in the growth 
 of animals ; in the formation of fruit 
 in the bountiful harvest. So, accord 
 ing to otir measure, we are to antici- 
 pate what will be the probable want£ 
 of our families, and to make arrange- 
 ments to meet them. Tne worda 
 
A. D. M.\ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 201 
 
 his own, and specially * for those j niod the faith, and is worse than 
 
 an infidel. 
 
 y Let not a widow be ^ taken 
 
 of his own liouse, ' he hath de 
 
 « liL 58. 7. ' or, kindrtd. 
 
 »or, chosen. 
 
 •Am own* refer to those who are 
 natunilly depeiuloat on him, '.vlie- 
 ther hving in his own immediate 
 family or not There may be nuiny 
 distant relatives naturally dependent 
 on our aid, besides those who live in 
 our own iiouse. ^ And specialty for 
 those of his oicn house. iJarg-., kin- 
 dred. The word house, or house- 
 hold, better expresses tiie sense than 
 tlie word kindnd. The meaning is, 
 those who live in his own tamdy. 
 They would naturally have higher 
 claims on him than tliose who did 
 not They would commonly be his 
 nearer relatives, and the fact, from 
 whatever cause, that they constitut- 
 ed his own family, would lay the 
 foundation for a strong claim upon 
 him. He who neglected his own 
 immediate family would be more 
 guilty than he who neglected a more 
 remote relative. ^ He hath dented 
 the faith. By his conduct, periiaps, 
 not openly. He may be still a pro- 
 fessor of religion and do this; but 
 lie will show that he is imbued witli 
 none of tlie spirit of religion, and is 
 a stranger to its real nature. The 
 meaning is, that he would, by such 
 an act, have practically renounced 
 Christianity, since it enjoins this 
 duty on all. We may hence learn 
 that it is possible to deny the faith 
 by conduct as well as by words ; and 
 that a neslert of doing our duty is 
 as real a denial of Christianity as it 
 would be openly to renounce it. Pe- 
 ter denied his Lord in one way, and 
 thousands do the same thing m an- 
 other. He did it in words; they by 
 neglecting their duty to their fami- 
 lies, or their duty in their closets, or 
 their duty in attempting to send sal- 
 vation to their fellow-men, or by an 
 openly irreligious life. A neglect 
 of any duty is so far a denial of 
 
 the faith. H And is worse than an 
 infidel. The word here docs not 
 mean an infidel, technically so called, 
 or one who openly professes to dis- 
 believe Christianity, but any one who 
 does not believe,- that is, any one 
 who is not a sincere Christian. Tl:e 
 word, therefore, would include the 
 heathen, and it is to them, doubtless, 
 tiiat the apostle particularly refers. 
 They acknowledged the obligation 
 to provide for their relatives. This 
 was one of the great laws of nature 
 written on their hearts, and a law 
 which they felt bound to obey. Few 
 things were inculcated more con- 
 stantly by heathen moralists tiian 
 this duty. Galgacus, in Tacitus, 
 says, " Nature dictates that to every 
 one, his own children and relatives 
 should be most dear." Cicero says, 
 " Every man should take care of iiis 
 own family" — suos quisque debet 
 tiieri. See Roseniniillcr, lit loc, and 
 also numerous examples of tlie same 
 kind quoted from Apuleius, Cicero, 
 Plutarch, Homer, Terence, Virgil, 
 and Servius, in PriccBus, in loc. 
 The doctrine here is, (1.) that a 
 Ciiristian ought not to be inferior to an 
 unbeliever in respect to any virtue; 
 (2.) that in all tiiat constitutes true 
 virtue he ought to surpass him ; (3.) 
 that the duties which are taught by 
 nature ouglit to he regard*'<l as tlie 
 more sacred and obligatory from the 
 fact that God has given us a better 
 religion; and (-1.) that a Christian 
 ought never to give occasion to an 
 enemy of the gcjspel to point to a 
 man of the world and say, ' there is 
 one who surpasses you in any vir- 
 tue.' 
 
 9. Ijct not a widow he taken %nto 
 the number. Marn'., chosen. The 
 margin expresses the sense of the 
 Greek more accurately, but the 
 
202 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 into the number under threescore 
 
 meaning is not materially different. 
 Paul does not here specify into what 
 ' number' the widow is to be ' taken,' 
 or for what purpose she is to be 
 ' chosen,' but he speaks of tliis as a 
 thing that was well understood. 
 There can be no doubt, however, 
 what lie means. In tlie Acts of the 
 apostles (ch. vi. 1) we have this 
 account : " And in those days, when 
 the number of the disciples was 
 multiplied, there arose a murmuring 
 of the Grecians against the Hebrews, 
 because their widows were neglect- 
 ed hi the daily ministration.'''' " It 
 appears that from the first formation 
 of the christian church, provision 
 was made out of the public funds of 
 the society for the. indigent widows 
 who belonged to it." See Paley's 
 Horae Paulinae, on 1 Tim. No. 11. 
 To this, as to a well-known practice, 
 Paul here evidently refers. The 
 manner in which he refers to it is 
 such as to show that the custom had 
 an existence. All that was neces- 
 sary in the case, was, not to speak 
 of it as if it were a new arrange- 
 ment, but to mention those vvho 
 ought to be regarded as proper sub- 
 jects of the charity. It would 
 seem, also, that it was understood 
 that such widows, according to tlieir 
 ability, should exercise a proper 
 watch over the younger females of 
 the church. In this way, while they 
 were supported by the cliurch, they 
 might render themselves useful. 
 ^ Under threescore years old. For 
 such reasons as those mentioned in 
 vs. 11 — 14. Tf Having been the wife 
 of one man. There has been much 
 diversity of opinion whether this 
 means that she had never had but 
 one husband, or whether she had 
 been the wife of but one man at a 
 time ; that is, whether slie had cast 
 off one and married another. See 
 Whitby, in loc. The same diffi- 
 
 years old, having been the wife 
 of one man, 
 
 culty has been felt in regard to this 
 as on the passage in ch. iii. 2. See 
 Notes on that verse. Doddridge, 
 Clarke, and others, suppose that it 
 means, ' who had lived in conjugal 
 fidelity to her husband.' The reason 
 assigned for this opinion by Dod- 
 dridge, is, tliat the apostle did not 
 mean to condemn second marriages, 
 since he expressly (ver. 14) com- 
 mends it in the younger widows. 
 The correct interpretation probably 
 is, to refer it to one who had been 
 married but once, and who, after her 
 husband had died, had remained a 
 widow. The reasons for this opi- 
 nion briefly are — (1.) That this is 
 the interpretation most naturally 
 suggested by the phrase; (2.) that 
 it agrees better with the description 
 of the one that was to be enrolled 
 among the 'number' — those who 
 were ' widows indeed' — as we should 
 more naturally apply this term to 
 one who had remained unmarried 
 after the death of her husband, than 
 to one who had been married again ; 
 (3.) that, while it was not unlawful 
 or improper in itself for a widow to 
 marry a second time, there was a 
 degree of respect and honour at- 
 tached to one who did not do it, 
 which would not be felt for one who 
 did. Comp. Luke ii. 36, 37. " She 
 was a widow of great age, and had 
 lived with an husband seven years 
 from her virginity ; and she was a 
 widoiD of about fourscore and four 
 years." The same is true now. 
 There is a higher degree of respect 
 felt for such a widow than there is 
 for one who has been married again, 
 though she may be again a widow. 
 (4.) Among the heathens, it was 
 regarded as especially honourable 
 to have been married to but one 
 man, and such widows wore the 
 PudiciticB Coronam, or crown of 
 chastity. Val. Max. L. i. c. ii 
 
A. D. sai 
 
 CILVPTER V. 
 
 ii03 
 
 10 Well roporled of for good 
 works; if she have brought up 
 children, if she have lodged " 
 strangers, if she have washed the 
 
 a Ac. IG. 15. 
 
 saints' feet, if she have relieved 
 the afflicted, if she have diligent- 
 ly followed every good work. 
 
 11 But the younger widows 
 refuse : for when they have be- 
 
 Conip. Livy, L. x. c 23. Sec 
 Whitby. (5.) As tliese persons 
 were not only to be maiuUiined by 
 the church, but appear also to have 
 been intrusted with an office of 
 guardianship over the younger fe- 
 males, it was of importance tliat 
 tlicy should have such a cliaractcr 
 that no occasion of ofienco should 
 be given, even among the heatlicn ; 
 and, in order to that, Paul gave di- 
 rection that only tliose should be thus 
 enrolled who were in all respects 
 widows, and who would be regarded, 
 on account of their age and their 
 whole deportment, as 'widows in- 
 doe<l.' 1 cannot doubt, therefore, 
 iliat he meant to exclude those from 
 le number here referred to who 
 iiad been married the second time. 
 
 10. Will reported of for pood 
 tcnrks. Of good cliaractcr or repu- 
 Ution. See Notes on ch. iii. 7. 
 •^ If she have brought up children. 
 Kither her own or otliers. The idea 
 IS, if she has done this in a proper 
 manner. ^\ If she have lodged 
 strangers. If she has been charac- 
 terized by hospitality — a virtue 
 greatly commended in the Scrij)- 
 tures. Comp. Notes on ch. iii. 2. 
 1 If she have washedlhe saints' feet. 
 It IS not certain whetlicr tliis is to 
 be understood literally, or whether 
 it merely denotes tliat she had per- 
 formed offices of a humble and self- 
 denying kind, — such as would be 
 shown by wasliing the feet of others. 
 It was one of the riles of hospitality 
 in tljc East to wash the feet of the 
 guest (Gen. .xviii. 4), and Paul 
 miiihl have spoken of this as having 
 been literally performed. There is 
 not the sliglitei;t evidence tiiat he 
 refers to it as a religious rite, or 
 ordinance, aiiv more tlian ho does 
 
 to the act of bringing up children 
 as a religious rile. Comp. Notes on 
 John .xiii. 1 — 10. «[ If she have re- 
 lieved the ajjlicted. If it has been 
 her character that she was ready to 
 furnish relief to those who were in 
 distress. % If she have diligently 
 followed every good work. This is 
 one of the cliaracterislics of true 
 piety. A sincere Ciiristian will, like 
 God, be tlie friend of all that is 
 good, and will be ready to promote 
 every good object according to his 
 abUity. He will not merely be the 
 friend of one good cause, to the 
 neglect of others, but he will en- 
 deavour to promote every good ob- 
 ject, and though from peculiar cir- 
 cumstances, and peculiar dealings 
 of Providence, he may have been 
 particidarly interested in some one 
 object of charily, yet every good 
 object will find a response in his 
 heart, and he will be ready to pro- 
 mote it by his influence, his proper- 
 ty, and his prayers. 
 
 11. But the younger widows re- 
 fuse. That is, in respect to the 
 matter under discussion. Do not 
 admit them into tlie class of widows 
 referred to. It cannot mean that he 
 was to reject tiicm as members of 
 the clmrcii, or not to treat them 
 with respect and kindness. •[ For 
 when they have begun to wax wan- 
 ton against Christ. There is pro- 
 bably a tliought conveyed by these 
 words to most minds which is by no 
 means in the original, and which 
 does injustice both to the apxjstle and 
 to the 'younger widows' referred ta 
 In the Greek there is no idea of 
 wantonness in the sense of lascivi- 
 ou.-ness or lewdness ; nor was this, 
 tiiough now a common idea at- 
 tached to the word, by any means 
 
204 
 
 L TIMOTHY. 
 
 gun to wax wanton against Christ, 
 tliey will marry ; 
 
 [A. D. sa 
 
 essential to it when our translation 
 was made. Tlie word loanlon then 
 meant wandering or roving in gay- 
 ety or spnrt ; moving or flying 
 loosely ; playing in the wind ; then, 
 wandering from moral rectitude, 
 licentious, dissolute, libidinous. — 
 Webster. The Greek word here 
 used, xataatj^i'Lut^io, occurs nowhere 
 else in the New Testament. The 
 word arp-/]vid(^ — streniao, — however, 
 is used twice, and is in both cases 
 translated lived deliciously. Rev. 
 xviii. 7. 9. The word is derived 
 from crpyji'o; — slrenos — (whence 
 strenuous), properly meaning rude- 
 ness, insolence, pride, and hence, 
 revel, riot, luxury ; or from — 
 a-tprivrfi — strcnes, the adjective, — 
 strong, stiff, hard, rough. The 
 verb then means ' to live strenuous- 
 ly, rudely,'' as in English, ^to live 
 hard ;' also, to live wild, or without 
 restraint; to run riot, to live luxu- 
 riously. The idea of strength is 
 the essential one, and then of 
 strength that is not subordinate to 
 law ; tliat is wild and riotous. See 
 Passow and Robinson, Lex. The 
 sense here is, that they would not 
 be subordinate to the restraints im- 
 plied in that situation ; they would 
 become impatient, and would marry 
 again. The idea is not that of wan- 
 tonness or lewdness, but it is that 
 of a mmd not subdued by age and 
 by trials, and that would be impa- 
 tient under the necessary restraints 
 of the condition which was contem- 
 plated. They could not be depend- 
 ed on with certainty, but they might 
 be expected again to enter into the 
 married relation. ^ They will mar- 
 ry. It is clear, from this, that the 
 apostle did not contemplate any vows 
 which w^ould prevent their marrying 
 again ; nor does he say tliat it would 
 be absolutely wrong for them to mar- 
 ry, even if they were admitted into 
 
 12 Having damnation, because 
 they have cast off their first faith. 
 
 that rank ; or as if there were any 
 vows to restrain them from doing it. 
 This passage, therefore, can never 
 be adduced in favour of that practice 
 of taking the veil in nunneries, and 
 of a vow of perpetual seclusion from 
 the world. 
 
 12. Having damnation. Or, ra- 
 ther, having condemnation ; or in- 
 curring guilt. This does not mean 
 of necessity that they would lose 
 their souls. See the phrase explain- 
 ed in the Notes on 1 Cor. xi. 29. 
 The meaning is, that tliey would 
 contract guilt, if they had been ad- 
 mitted among this class of persons, 
 and then married again. The apos- 
 tle does not say that that would be 
 wrong in itself (comp. Notes on ver. 
 14), or that they would be absolute- 
 ly prohibited from it, but that injury 
 would be done if they were admitted 
 among those who were 'widows in- 
 deed' — wiio were supported by the 
 church, and who were intrusted 
 with a certain degree of care over 
 the more youthful females — and then 
 should leave that situation. It might 
 give occasion for scandal ; it might* 
 break in upon tlie arrangements; 
 it would show that there was a 
 relaxing of the faith, and of the 
 deadness to the world, which they 
 were supposed to have ; and it was 
 better that they should be married 
 (ver. 14), without having been thus 
 admitted. ^ Because they have cast 
 off their first faith. Tiiis does not 
 mean that they would lose all their 
 religion, or wholly fall away, but 
 that this would show that they had 
 not the strong faitii, the deadness to 
 the world, the simple dependence on 
 God (ver. 5), and the desire which 
 they had to be weaned from worldly 
 cares and influences, which they 
 once had. When they became wi- 
 dows, all their earthly hopes seemed 
 to be blasted. They were then dead 
 
A. D. 5b.J 
 
 CHAPl'ER V. 
 
 206 
 
 13 And withal they learn to 
 be idle, wandering about from 
 house to house ; and " not only 
 idle, but tattlers also, and busy- 
 
 o2Tli. 3. II. 
 
 to the world, and felt their sole de- 
 oendencc on Gtxl. But it', under 
 the influence ot' these strongf emo- 
 tions, they were admitted to the 
 'c!as;3 of widows' in the church, 
 tlieic was no certainty that tliey 
 would continue in this state of mind, 
 rime would do mucii to modify their 
 grief. There would be a rovivinjj- 
 love of the world, and under the in- 
 fluence of this they would be dis- 
 posed to enter a^ain into the mar- 
 riage relation, and thus show that 
 tliey had not the strong and simple 
 J'liith which tiiey had when the blow 
 wliich made them widows fell hea- 
 vily upon them. 
 
 13. And withal. In addition to 
 the pra-pect that they may marry 
 again, tiierc are oilier disadvantages 
 which might follow from such an 
 arrangement, and other evds to 
 be feared, which it is desirable to 
 avoid. *" They learn to be idle. 
 That is, if supported by the church, 
 and if without the settled princi- 
 ples which might be expected in 
 those more aged and experienced, 
 it may be feared that they will give 
 themselves up to an indolent life. 
 There would be a security in the 
 age and established habits of those 
 more advanced in life, which there 
 could not be in their case. The 
 apostle does not mean that wi- 
 dows are naturally di.<tpnsed to be 
 idle, but that in the situation refer- 
 red to there would be danger of it 
 •f Wanderinfr about from house to 
 house, A natural consequence of 
 supposing that they had nothing to 
 do, and a practice not only profitless, 
 but alwnys attended with mischief 
 1[ Tattlers also. Literally, orcr/?ou7- 
 ing : then overflowing with ta.k; 
 18 
 
 bodies, speaking things which 
 they ought not. 
 
 14 I will therefore that the 
 younger women marr}-, bear chil- 
 dren, guide the house, give none 
 
 praters, triflcrs. They would learn 
 all the news ; become acquainted 
 with llie secrets of families, and ol 
 course indulge in much idle and im- 
 pro[)cr conversation. Our word ffos- 
 sippers Would accurately express 
 the meaning here. The noun docs 
 not occur elsewhere in the New 
 Testament. The verb occurs in 
 John iii. 10; rendered, prating 
 airainst. ^ And busy-bodies. See 
 Notes on 2 Tiiess. iii. 11. The 
 word means, probably, working all 
 round, over-doing, and then an in- 
 lermeddler. Persons who have no- 
 thing to do of their own, commonly 
 find employment by interesting them- 
 selves in the affairs of tlieir neigh- 
 bours. No one likes to be wholly 
 idle, and if any one is not found 
 doing what he ouirhl to do, he will 
 commonly be found engaged in 
 doing what he ought not. ^ Speak- 
 ing things jchich they ought not. 
 Revealing the concerns of their 
 neighbours; disclosing secrets; 
 magnifying trifles, so as to exalt 
 themselves into importance, as if 
 they were intrusted with the secrets 
 of others; inventing stories and 
 tales of gossip, that they may mag- 
 nify and maintain their own conse- 
 quence in the community. No per- 
 sons are commonly more dangerous 
 to the peace of a neighbourhood 
 than those who have notiiiiig to do, 
 14. / icill therefore. I give it as 
 my opinion ; or this is my counsel 
 Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. vii. 6. 10. 40. 
 *' That the younger women marry. 
 The word women is not expressed 
 or necessarily implied in tlic origi- 
 nal — vfwr/iXK — and it is evident that 
 the apostli* iirrc had particular re 
 fcrencc to widows, and tliat the io 
 
206 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 5a 
 
 to 
 
 occasion to the adversary- 
 speak reproachfully. 
 
 15 For some are already turn 
 ed aside after Satan. 
 
 ' for their railing. 
 
 junction should be understood as re- 
 lating to them. We are not to sup- 
 pose that lie gives this as an abso- 
 lute and universal command, for it 
 might not always be at the option 
 of the widow to marry again, and it 
 cannot be doubted ihat there may 
 oe cases where it would be unad- 
 visable. But he speaks of this as a 
 general rule. It is better for such 
 persons to have domestic concerns 
 that require their attention, than it 
 is to be exposed to the evils of an 
 idle life. — We may learn from this 
 (1.) that second marriages are not 
 improper or unlawful, but that in 
 some circumstances they may be 
 preferable to widowhood ; (2.) that 
 marriage itself is in a high degree 
 honourable. How different are the 
 views of the inspired apostle Paul 
 about marriage from those of the 
 Papists ! IT Bear children, guide 
 'he house. These words signify, 
 says Bloomfield, to " exercise and 
 occupy themselves in the duties of 
 a wife." It is better to be employed 
 in the duties growing out of the 
 cares of a family, than to lead a life 
 of celibacy. IT Give none occasion 
 to the adversary. The enemy of 
 religion — the heathen or the infidel. 
 T[ To speak reproachfully. Marg. 
 for their railing. That is, on ac- 
 count of a life which w-ould do no 
 honour to religion. In the perform- 
 ance of domestic duties, when fully 
 employed, they would avoid the evils 
 specified in ver. 13. Every one who 
 professes religion should so live as to 
 give no occasion to an infidel or a 
 man of the world to speak reproach- 
 lilly of the cause of the Redeemer. 
 15. For some are already turned 
 aside after Satai. That is, some 
 young widows. The meaning is, 
 
 16 If any man or woman that 
 believeth have widows, let them 
 relieve them, and let not the 
 church be charged ; that it may 
 
 that in the respects above mention- 
 ed (ver. 13), they had followed the 
 great Tempter, rather than the Lord 
 Jesus. This is stated as a reason 
 why they should not be admitted 
 into the number of the widows who 
 were to be maintained at the expense 
 of the church, and to whom the care 
 of the younger female members was 
 to be committed. 
 
 16. If any man or looman that 
 believeth. Christians are often sim- 
 ply called believers, because faith is 
 the leading and most important act 
 of their religion. '^ Have widows. 
 Widowed mothers, or grandmothers, 
 or any other widows whose support 
 would naturally devolve on them. 
 ^ Let them relieve them. That is, 
 let them support them. This was 
 an obvious rule of duty. See Notes 
 on ver. 8. Nothmg can be more un- 
 reasonable than to leave those who 
 are properly dependent on us to be 
 supported by others, when we are 
 able to maintain them ourselves. 
 TT That it may relieve. Sic. That it 
 may have the means of supporting 
 those who are truly dependent. To 
 require or expect the church, there- 
 fore, to support those whom we ought 
 ourselves to support, is, in fact, to 
 rob the poor and firiendless. — In re- 
 gard to these directions respecting 
 widows (vs. 3 — 16), we may remark 
 in general, as the result of the exposi- 
 tion which has been given, (1.) they 
 were to be poor widows, who had 
 not the means of support themselves. 
 (2.) They were, probably, to be 
 not merely supported, but to be 
 usefiilly employed in the service 
 of the church, particularly in over- 
 seeing the conduct, and imparting 
 instruction to the female members. 
 (3.) They were to be of such age 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 207 
 
 -elieve them that are widows in- 
 deed. 
 
 17 Let • the elders that rule 
 
 a 1 Til. 5. li, 13. 
 
 and character that there would be 
 security of staiility and correctness 
 ot'dc|K>rtment ; such tliat they woidd 
 not be templed to leave tlie situation, 
 or to act so as to give occasion of* 
 reproach. (4.) It is by no means 
 certiin that tliis was intended to be 
 a permanent arrangement It jjrew 
 prokibly out of tlio peculiar customs 
 respecting intercourse between the 
 ee.ves in the Oriental world, and 
 would undoubtedly be proper now in 
 similar circumstances. But it by 
 no means follows that this arrange- 
 ment is binding on the churches 
 where the customs of society are dif- 
 ferent Yet (5.) the passage incul- 
 cates the general principle that the 
 poor widows of the churcli are to be 
 assisted when they have no relatives 
 on whom they can naturally depend. 
 No class of people are more helpless 
 than aged widows, and for that class 
 God has always shown a special con- 
 cern, and his people should do so 
 liJcewise. 
 
 17. Lei the elders that rule well. 
 Gr., rtpfUiJvTfpot, Presbyters^ The 
 apostle had given full instructions 
 respecting bishops (ch. iii. 1 — 7) ; 
 deacons (clu iii. 8--13) ; widows 
 (ch. v. :j — IG) ; and he here proceeds 
 to prc.-cribe the duty of the church 
 towards those who sustain the office 
 of elder. The word used — elder or 
 presbyter — [)roperly refers to arre, 
 and is then used to denote tlie offi- 
 cers of the church, probably because 
 the aned were at first intru.sted with 
 the administration of the aflairs of 
 the cliurch. The word was in fami- 
 liar u.>e among tJie Jews to denote the 
 body of men tliat presided in the syna- 
 gogue. See Notes on Matt. .\v. 2. 
 Acts XI. 30 ; XV. 2. •[ That rule well. 
 Presiding well, or well manairing 
 the spiritual interests )f the church 
 
 well be counted worthy of don- 
 hie honour, especially ihey who 
 labour in the word and doctrine. 
 
 The word rendered rtde — npot srwrtj 
 — is from a verb meaning to be over; 
 to preside over ; to have the care of. 
 The word is used with reference to 
 bishops, Titus i. 5. 7 ; to an ajxistle, 
 1 Pet V. 1 ; and is such a word as 
 would apply to any officers to whom 
 the management and government of 
 the churcjj was intrusted. On the 
 general subject of the rulers in the 
 church, see Notes on 1 Cor. xii. 28. 
 It is probable that not prcci.scly the 
 same organization was pursued in 
 every place where a cliurcii was 
 established ; and where tiiere was 
 a Jewish synagogue, the ciiristian 
 church would be formed substantially 
 after that model, and in such a church 
 there would be a bench of pr'?.-;iding' 
 elders. See, on this subject, Whate- 
 ly's "Kingdom of Clirist delineat- 
 ed," pp. 84—86. Tlie laugiiigo here 
 seems to have been taken Iroin such 
 an organization. On tlie Jewish 
 .'synagogue, see Notes on Matt. iv. 
 23. *![ Be counted worthy of double 
 honour. Of double respect ; tiiat is 
 of a high degree of respect ; of a 
 degree of respect becoming their 
 age and office. Com p. 1 Tiicss. v. 
 12, 13. From the quotation which 
 is made in ver. 18, in relation to this 
 subject, it would seem probable that 
 the apostle had some reference also 
 to their support or to what was ne- 
 cessary for their maintenance. There 
 is no improbability in supposing that 
 all the officers of the church, of 
 whatever grade or rank, may have 
 had some compensation, correspond- 
 ing to the amount of time which 
 their office required them to devote 
 to the service of the church. No 
 thing would bo more rea.-^onable than 
 that, if their duties in the church in- 
 terfered with their regular employ- 
 ments in their secular cailinif, their 
 
208 
 
 I TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 18 For the scriptun saith, " 
 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that 
 treadeth out the corn : And, * The 
 labourer is worthy of his reward. 
 
 a De. 25. 4. 
 
 brethren sliould contribute to their 
 support. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 
 ^ Especially they 7vho labour in V}ord 
 and doctrine. In preaching' and in- 
 structing; the people. From this it 
 is clear that, while there were " el- 
 ders" who laboured "in the word 
 and doctrine," that is, in preacliing, 
 there were also those who did not 
 labour " in the word and doctrine," 
 but who were nevertheless appoint- 
 ed to rule in the church. Whether, 
 however, they were regarded as a 
 separate and distinct class of officers, 
 does not appear from this passage. 
 It may have been that there was a 
 bench of elders to whom the gene- 
 ral management of the church was 
 confided, and that a part of them 
 were engaged in preaching ; a part 
 may have performed the office of 
 "teachers" (see Notes on Rom. xii. 
 7. 1 Cor. xii. 28), and a part may 
 have been employed in managing 
 other concerns of the church, and 
 yet all were regarded as the rtpofu- 
 'r'u)T'«5 Ti^so^vtifoi — or ' elders presid- 
 ing over the church.'' It cannot, I 
 think, be certainly concluded from 
 this passage, that the ruling elders 
 who did not teach or preach were 
 regarded as a separate class or order 
 of permaneni. officers in the church. 
 There seems to have been a bench 
 of elders selected on account of age, 
 piety, prudence, and wisdom, to 
 whom was intrusted the whole busi- 
 ness of the instruction and govern- 
 ment of the cliurch, and they per- 
 formed the various parts of the duty 
 as they had ability. Those among 
 them who ' laboured in the word and 
 doctrine,' and who gave up all their 
 time to the business of their office, 
 would be worthy of special respect, 
 and of a higher compensation. 
 
 19 Against an elder receiva 
 not an accusation, but ' before two 
 ' or three witnesses. 
 
 ' or, under. 
 c De. 19. 15. 
 
 18. For the Scripture .saith. This 
 is adduced as a reason why a church 
 should show all due respect and care 
 for its ministers. The reason is, that 
 as God took care to make provision 
 for the labouring ox, much more 
 should due attention be paid to those 
 who labour for the welfare of the 
 church. ^ Thou shalt not muzzle 
 the ox. See this passage explained, 
 and its bearing on such an argument 
 shown, in the Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 8 — 
 10. "S And, The labourer is worthy 
 of his reward. This expression is 
 found substantially in Matt. x. 10, 
 and Luke x. 7. It does not occur 
 in so many words in the Old Testa- 
 ment, and yet the apostle adduces it 
 evidently as a quotation from the 
 Scriptures, and as authority in the 
 case. It would seem probable, there- 
 fore, that he had seen tlie gospel by 
 Matthew or by Luke, and that he 
 quoted this as a part of Scripture, 
 and regarded the Book from Vv-hich 
 he made the quotation as of the same 
 authority as the Old Testament. If 
 so, then this may be regarded as an 
 attestation of the apostle to the in- 
 spiration of the ' Gospel' in which it 
 was found. 
 
 19. Against an elder. The word 
 elder here seems to be used in the 
 sense in which it is in the previous 
 verse as relating to o£ice, and not in 
 the sense of an aged man, as in ver. 
 1. The connection demands this in- 
 terpretation. ^ Receive not an ac- 
 cusation. He was not to regard such 
 a charge as well founded unless sus- 
 tained by two or three witnesses. It 
 is clear from this, that Paul supposed 
 that Timothy would be called on to 
 hear charges against others who 
 were in the ministerial office, and to 
 express his judgment on such cases 
 
A. D. oS.J 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 209 
 
 There is no reason, however, to sup- 
 pose tint he meant that lie should 
 hoar tliein tilonv, or lus a ' bifliop,' lor 
 thid direction does not make tiie sup- 
 position improper that others would 
 be associated witli him. It is just 
 each counsel as would now be jrivcn 
 to a Presbyterian or Congregational 
 minister, or such as would be given 
 to an associate justice in a court, on 
 the supix)sition that a brother judge 
 was at any time to be tried by him 
 and his colleagues. ^ But before 
 two or Ihree witnesses. Marg., nii- 
 dcr The meaning is, unless sup- 
 ported by tlie testimony of two or 
 three persons. lie was not to regard 
 an accusation against a presbyter as 
 proved, if there was but one witness 
 in the case, however positive he 
 might be in his testimony. The rea- 
 sons for this direction were probably 
 such as these: (1.) This was the 
 ' juirement of the Jewish law in 
 1 cases, which had thus settled a 
 ■inciple which the apostle seems 
 have regarded as important, if not 
 obligaLory, under the christian dis- 
 pensation. See DcuL .wii. (J; xix. 
 15. Comp. Notes on John viii. I7. 
 2 Cor. .xiii. 1. (-2.) There would be 
 much greater reason to apprehend 
 that one person might be deceived 
 in the matter on which he bore 
 witness, or might do it from ma- 
 lignant motives, or might be bribed 
 to give false testimony, than that 
 two or three would give such tes- 
 timony; and the arrangement, 
 tlierefbrc, furnished importint f-ccu- 
 rity for the innocent (I?.) There 
 might be reason to apprehend that 
 evil-minded persons might be dis- 
 posed to bring charges against the 
 ministers of the gospel or other offi- 
 cers of the church, and it was im- 
 portant, therefore, that their rights 
 should be irnarded with an.xious care. 
 Tlie ministers of religion often give 
 oft'encc to wicked men by tlieir re- 
 bukes of sin (comp. Mark vi. 17 — 
 
 see an accusation against them sus- 
 taineil ; the cause of religion would 
 be liable to sulTer much when ifj 
 ministers were condemned as guilty 
 of gross offences, and it is right, 
 therefore, that the evidence in the 
 case should be as free as possible 
 from all suspicion that it is caused 
 by malignity, by hatred of religion, 
 or by conspiracy, or by a desire to 
 ."^ee religion disgraced. (4.) The 
 character of a minister of the gos- 
 pel is of value, not only to himself 
 and family, as is the case with that 
 of other men, but is of special value 
 to the church, and to the cause of 
 religion. It is the property of the 
 church. Tiie interests of religion 
 depend much on it, and it should not 
 be wantoidy assailed ; and every pre- 
 caution should be adopted that Chris- 
 tianity should not be deprived of the 
 advantage which may be derived in 
 its favour from the piety, e.\perience, 
 and talents of its public defenders. 
 At the same time, however, the 
 wicke<J, though in the ministry, 
 s^iould not be screened from the pun- 
 ishment which they deserve. The 
 apostle gave no injunction to attempt 
 to cover up their faults, or to save 
 them from a fiiir trial. lie only de- 
 manded such security as the nature 
 of the case required, that the trial 
 should be fair. If a minister of the 
 gospel has been proved to be guilty 
 of crime, the honour of religion, aa 
 well as simple Justice, requires that 
 he shall be punished as he deserves 
 He sins against great light; he 
 prostitutes a holy office, and makes 
 use of the very reputation which his 
 office gives him, that he may betray 
 the confidence of otiiers; and such a 
 ' man shnuld not escape. Tliere should 
 I be no ♦ benefit of clergy,' and neither 
 I a black coat, nor bands, nor the lawn 
 should save a villain. 
 
 20. Them that sin. That have 
 been proved to have committe<l sin 
 — referring probably to tlie elders 
 
 20) ; wicked men would rejoice to I mentionevl in the orevious ver?e, but 
 18' 
 
210 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D, 58. 
 
 20 Them that sin rebuke " be- 
 fore all, that * others also may fear. 
 
 21 I charge ' thee before God, 
 and the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 
 o Le. 19. 17. 6 De. 13. 11. 
 
 e 2 Ti. 4. 1. 
 
 giving the direction so general a 
 form that it might be applicable to 
 others. ][ Rebuke before all. Be- 
 fore all the church or congregation. 
 The word rebuke properly denotes 
 to reprove or reprehend. It means 
 here that there should be a public 
 statement of the nature of the of- 
 fence, and such a censure as the case 
 demanded. It extends only to spirit- 
 ual censures. There is no power 
 given of inflicting any punishment 
 by fine or imprisonment. The power 
 of the church, in such cases, is only 
 to express its strong and decided dis- 
 approbation of the wrong done, and, 
 if the case demands it, of disowning 
 the offending member or minister. 
 This direction to ' rebuke an offender 
 before all,' may be easily reconciled 
 with the direction in ver. 1, "Re- 
 ouke not an elder." The latter re- 
 fers to the private and pastoral inter- 
 course with an elder, and to the me- 
 thod in which he should be treated 
 in such intercourse — to wit, with the 
 feelings due to a father ; the direc- 
 tion here refers to the manner in 
 which an oifender should be treated 
 who has been proved to be guilty, 
 and where the case has become pub- 
 lic. Then there is to be a public 
 expression of disapprobation. ^ Thai 
 others also may fear. That they 
 may be kept from committing the 
 same offence. Comp. 1 Pet. ii. 14. 
 The end of punishment is not the 
 gratification of the private feelings 
 of him who administers it, but the 
 prevention of crime. 
 
 21. / charge thee before God. 
 Comp. Luke xvi. 28. Acts ii. 20. 
 The word rendered charge means, 
 prDperly, to call to witness; then 
 to affirm with solemn attestations; 
 
 the elect ^ angels, that thou ob* 
 serve these things without prefer- 
 ring ' one " before another, doing 
 nothing by partiality. 
 
 1 or, prejudice. 
 
 d Re. 12. 7-9. 
 e De. 1. 17. 
 
 and then to admonish solemnly, to 
 urge upon earnestly. It is a word 
 which implies that the subject is of 
 great importance. Paul gives this 
 charge as in the presence of God, 
 of the Redeemer, and of the elect 
 angels, and wishes to secure that 
 sense of its solemnity which must 
 arise from the presence of such holy 
 witnesses. IT And the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. As in the presence of the 
 Lord Jesus; with his eye resting 
 upon you. ^ Aiid the elect angels. 
 It is not uncommon in the Scriptures 
 to speak as if we were in the pre- 
 sence of holy angels, and of the dis- 
 embodied spirits of the good. Comp. 
 Notes on Heb. xii. 1. No one can 
 prove that the angels, and that the 
 departed spirits of holy men, are not 
 witnesses of what we do. At all 
 events, it is right to urge on others 
 the performance of duty as if the 
 eye of a departed father, mother, or 
 sister were fixed upon us, and as if 
 we were encompassed by all the 
 holy beings of heaven. Sin, too, 
 should be avoided as if every eye in 
 the universe were upon us. How 
 many things do we do which we 
 would not; how many feelings do 
 we cherish which we would at once 
 banish from our minds, if we felt 
 that the heavens above us were as 
 transparent as glass, and that all the 
 holy beings around tlie throne were 
 fixing an intense gaze upon us ! The 
 word ' elect' here seems to imply 
 that there had been some influence 
 used to keep them, and some pur- 
 pose respecting them, which had not 
 existed in regard to those who had 
 fallen. Saints are called elect be- 
 cause they are chosen of God unto 
 salvation (Notes on Eph. i. 4, 5), and 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 22 Lay hands 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 suddenly on 
 man, neither be partaker 
 
 a Ac. 13, a 
 
 it would nppcar that it id a great law 
 extending,' tlirourrli the universe, that 
 botii those who remain in a state of 
 holiaoss, and those who are made 
 holy, are the subjects ot* purpose and 
 ciioicc on the part of God. The fact 
 only is state«l ; the reasons wliich 
 led to tlie choice, alike in rej^rd to 
 angels and men, are unknown to us. 
 Comp. Notes on Matt .\i. 25. ^, That 
 ihnu observe these thins^s. Probably 
 referring to all the tilings which he 
 had enjoined in the previous parts 
 of the epistle. ■[ Without prefer- 
 ring one before another. Alarg., 
 prejudice. The meaning is, with- 
 oiit previous judgment — x^i '^po* 
 c, luoroj — without any prejudice on 
 ircount of rank, wealth, personal 
 endship, or predilection of any 
 rL Let there be entire impartial- 
 ity in all cases. Justice was beauti- 
 fully represented by the ancients as 
 holding a pair of scales equally ba- 
 lanced. It is as important that there 
 should be entire impartiality in the 
 church as in civil transactions, and 
 though it is not wrong for a minister 
 of tJio gospel to have his personal 
 friends, yet in the administration of 
 the affairs of the church he sliould 
 remember that all are brethren, and 
 all, of whatever rank, colour, sex, or 
 age, have equal rights. ^ Partiality. 
 Gr., inclination, or proclivity — that 
 is, without being inclined to favour 
 one party or person more than an- 
 otlior. There should be no purpose 
 to find one guilty and another inno- 
 cent; no inclination of heart to- 
 wards one which would lead us to 
 resolve to find him innocent; and no 
 aversion fi-om another which would 
 inakn us resolve to find him guilty. 
 
 iTJ. Ijay hands suddenly on no 
 man. Some have understood this 
 of laying on hands to heal the sick 
 {Koppc) ; oti ers of the laying on of 
 
 * of other men's sins ; 
 self pure, 
 
 211 
 
 keep thy- 
 
 4 -2 Jiio. u. 
 
 hands to absolve penitents, but the 
 obvious meaning is to refer it to or- 
 dination. It was usual to lay the 
 hands on the heads of those who 
 were ordained to a sacred office, or 
 apjwinted to perform an imjwrtant 
 duty. Notes, ch. iv. 14. Comp. 
 Acts vi. 6; viii. 17. The idea here 
 is, that Timotliy should not be hasly 
 in an act so important as that of in- 
 troducing men to the ministry. He 
 should take time to give them a fair 
 trial of their piety; he should have 
 satisfactory evidence of their (jnali- 
 fications. He should not at once in- 
 troduce a man to the ministry be- 
 cause he gave evidence of piety, or 
 because he burned with an ardent 
 zeal, or because he thought himself 
 qualified for the work. It is clear 
 from this that the apostle regarded 
 Timothy as iiaving the right to or- 
 didn to the ministry; but not that 
 he was to ordain alone, or as a pre- 
 late. The injunction would be en- 
 tirely proper on the supposition that 
 otiiers were to bo associated with 
 him in the act of ordaining. It is 
 just such as a Presbyterian father 
 in the ministry would give in a 
 charge to his son now; it is in fact 
 just the charge which is now given 
 by Presbyterians and Congregation- 
 alistd to those who are set apart to 
 the sacred ofhce, in reference to or- 
 daining others. ^ Seithcr be par- 
 takers of other men's sins. This ia 
 evidently to be interpreted in con- 
 nection with the injunction * to lay 
 hands suddenly on no man.' The 
 meaning, in this connection, is, tliat 
 Timothy was not to become a parti- 
 ci[xint in the sins of another by in- 
 troducing him to tlie sacre<l office. 
 He was not to invest one with a holy 
 office who was a wicked man or a 
 heretic, for this would be to sanction 
 his wickedness and error. Ifweordain 
 
212 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 23 Drink no longer water, but 
 use ii little wine " for thy sto- 
 
 a Pr. 31. G. 
 
 a man to the office of the ministry 
 who is known to be living in sin, or to 
 cherisli dangerous error, we become 
 llie patrons of the sin and of the 
 heresy. We lend to it the sanction 
 of our approbation ; and give to it 
 whatever currency it may acquire 
 from the reputation which ice may 
 have, or which it may acquire from 
 the influence of the sacred office of 
 the ministry. Hence the import- 
 ance of caution in investing any one 
 with the ministerial office. But 
 while Paul meant, doubtless, that 
 this should be applied particularly 
 to ordination to the ministry, he has 
 given it a general character. In 
 no way are we to participate in 
 the sins of other men. We are not 
 to be engaged with them in doing 
 wrong; we are not to patronize 
 them in a wicked business ; we are 
 not to be known as their companions 
 or friends; and we are not to par- 
 take of their unlawful gains. We 
 are not to loan money, or a boat, or 
 a horse, or a pistol, or a bowie-knife 
 for an unlawful business; we are 
 not to furnish capital for the slave- 
 trade, or for manufacturing intoxi- 
 cating drinks, or for an enterprise 
 that contemplates the violation of 
 the Sabbath. ^ Keep thyself pure. 
 Particularly, in regard to participa- 
 tion in the sins of others; generally, 
 in all things — in heart, in word, in 
 conduct. 
 
 23. Drink no longer water. — 
 There has been much difficulty felt 
 in regard to the connection which 
 this advice has with what precedes 
 and what follows. Many have consid- 
 ered tlie difficulty to be so great that 
 they have supposed that this verse 
 has been displaced, and that it should 
 be introduced in some other con- 
 nection. The true connection, and 
 the reason for the introduction of the 
 
 mach's sake and thine oftc-n in. 
 firmities. 
 
 counsel here, seems to me to be this : 
 Paul appears to have been suddenly 
 impressed with the thought — a 
 thought which is very likely to come 
 over a man who is writing on the 
 duties of the ministry — of the ar- 
 duous nature of the ministerial of- 
 fice. He was giving counsels in 
 regard to an office which requir- 
 ed a great amount of labour, care, 
 and anxiety. The labours enjoined 
 were such as to demand all the 
 time ; tlie care and anxiety incident 
 to such a charge would be very like- 
 ly to prostrate the frame, and to ir- 
 jure the health. Then he remem 
 bered that Timothy was yet but a 
 youth ; he recalled his feebleness of 
 constitution and his fi'equent at- 
 tacks of illness ; he recollected the 
 very abstemious habits which he 
 had prescribed for himself, and, in 
 this connection, he urges him to a 
 careful regard for his health, and 
 prescribes the use of a small quan- 
 tity of whie, mingled with his wa- 
 ter, as a suitable medicine in his 
 case. Thus considered, this direc- 
 tion is as worthy to be given by an 
 inspired teacher as it is to counsel a 
 man to pay a proper regard to his 
 health, and not needlessly to throw 
 away his life. Comp. Matt, x. 23, 
 The phrase, 'drink no longer water,' 
 is equivalent to, 'drink not water 
 only.'' See numerous instances in 
 Wetstein. The Greek word here 
 used does not elsewhere occur in 
 the New Testament. ^ But use a 
 little wine. Mingled with the wa- 
 ter — the common method of drink- 
 ing wine in the East. See Robin- 
 son's Bibliotheca Sacra, i. 512, 513. 
 ^ For thy stomacli's sake. It was 
 not for the pleasure to be derived 
 from the use of wine, or because it 
 Vv'Ould produce hilarity or excite* 
 ment, but solely because it was r©" 
 
h. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 213 
 
 gnrdcd as necessnry for the promo- 
 tion of licullli ; that is, ns a modi- 
 cine. *^, And lliiiif ojhn injinni- 
 tus. (iiJjMfiaj — \Vr;iknct;.<Ori or sick- 
 nessoti. 'I'iio woi^l would inchido 
 nil inlirmitiori of l>>dy, but seems to 
 refer here to some attacks of sick- 
 ness to wliich 'J'iniothy was liable, 
 or to some lecbleness of constitution ; 
 but beyond tliis we have no informa- 
 tion in regard to the nnlure of liis 
 maladies. In view of this passage, 
 and as a furllier explanation of it, 
 we may make the following re- 
 marks: (1.) The use of wine, and 
 of all intoxicating drinks, was so- 
 lenudy tbrbidden to the priests 
 under the Mosaic law, when en- 
 gaged in the performance of their 
 sacred duties. Lev. x. 9, 10. The 
 eame was the case among tlie Egyp- 
 tian priests. Clarke. Comp. Notes 
 on ch. iii. 3. It is not improbable 
 that the same thing would be re- 
 garded as proper among those who 
 ministered in holy things under the 
 ciiristian dispensiition. The natural 
 feelinir would be, and not improper- 
 ly, that a christian minister shouhl 
 not be less holy than a Jewish priest, 
 and especially when it is remember- 
 ed that the reason of the Jewish law- 
 remained the same — " that ye may 
 jnit difl'erence between holy and un- 
 lioly, and clean and unclean." (2.) 
 It is evident from this passage that 
 7V/«o//iy usually drank water oiily, 
 or that, in modern language, he was 
 a Urc-tolulhr.'' lie wa-s evidently, 
 not in the habit of drinking wine, or 
 he could not have been exliorted to 
 do it. (D.) lie must have been a 
 remarkably temperate youth to have 
 required the authority of an ap<istlc 
 to induce him to drink even a Utile 
 wine. See Doddridnc There are 
 few young men so temperate as to 
 require such an authority to induce 
 them to do it (4.) The exhortation 
 extended only to a very vnuhrolr 
 use of wine. It was not to drink it 
 
 tables of the rich and the great, or 
 in the i-ocial circle ; it was not even 
 to drink it by itself; it was to use 'a 
 iUllv' mingled with water — lor this 
 was the usual method. See Atha;- 
 neus, Deipno. lib. ix. x. c. 7. (5.) 
 It was not as a common driidt, but 
 the exhortation or command extends 
 ouly to its use as a medicine. All 
 the use which can be legitimately 
 made of this injunction — whatever 
 conclusion may be drawn from other 
 precepts — is, that it is proper to use 
 a small quantity of wine ti)r' medi- 
 cinal purposes. (0.) There are 
 many ministers of the gos})el, now, 
 alas ! to whom under no circum- 
 stances could an apostle a])ply this 
 exiiortation — ' Drink no longer wa- 
 ter only.' They would ask, with 
 surprise, what he meant? wlielher 
 he intended it in irony, and lor ban- 
 ter — lor they need no apostolic com- 
 mand to drink wine. Or if he should 
 address to them the exhortation, 'use 
 a little wine,' they could regard it 
 only as a reproof for their usual 
 Jiabit of drinkmg much. To many, 
 the exhortation would be appropri- 
 ate, if they ought to use- wine at all, 
 only because they arc in the habit 
 of using so viuch that it would be 
 proper to restrain them to a much 
 sn)aller quantity. (7.) This whole 
 passage is one of great value to the 
 cause of temperance. Timotiiy was 
 undoubtedly in the habit of abstain- 
 ing wholly from the use of wine. 
 Paul knew this, and he did not re- 
 prove him for it. He manifestly fa- 
 voured the general habit, and only 
 asked liim to depart in some smaL 
 degree from it, in order that he 
 might restore and preserve his 
 health. So far, and no farther, is it 
 right to apply this language in re- 
 gard to the use of wine; and the 
 minister who should follow this in- 
 junction would be in no danger of 
 disgracing his sacred profession by 
 the debasmir and demoralizing; sin 
 
 freely ; it was not to drink it at the i ol" intemperance. 
 
814 
 
 I. TlJViOTHY. 
 
 [A D.5& 
 
 34 Some men's sins are open " 
 beforehand, going before to judg- 
 ment : and some men they follow 
 after. 
 
 24. Some men's sins are open be- 
 forehand. This declaration, though 
 it assumes a general form, is to be 
 taken evidently in connection with 
 the general subject of introducing 
 men to the ministry (ver. 22) ; and 
 ver. 23 is to be regarded as a pa- 
 renthesis. The apostle had given 
 Timothy a charge (ver. 22) respect- 
 ing the character of those whom he 
 should ordain. He here says, in re- 
 ference to that, that the character 
 of some men was manifest. There 
 was no disguise. It was evident to 
 all what it was, and there could be 
 no danger of mistake respecting 
 it. Their conduct was apparent to 
 all. About such men he ought not 
 to hesitate a moment, and, no matter 
 what their talents, or learning, or 
 rank in the community, he ought to 
 have no participation in introducing 
 them to the ministry. T[ Going be- 
 fore to judgment. Their character 
 is well understood. There is no 
 need of waiting for the day of judg- 
 ment to know what they are. Their 
 deeds so precede their own appear- 
 ance at the judgment-bar, that the 
 record and the verdict can be made 
 up before they arrive there, and 
 there will be scarcely need even of 
 the formality of a trial. The mean- 
 ing here is, that there could be no 
 doubt about the character of such 
 men, and Timothy should not be 
 accessory to their being introduced 
 into the office of the ministry. — 
 ^ And some men they follow after. 
 That is, their character is not fully 
 understood here. They conceal their 
 plans. They practise deception. 
 They appear different from what 
 they really are. But the character 
 of such men will be developed, and 
 they will be judged according to 
 
 25 Likewise also the good 
 works of some are manifest be- 
 forehand ; and they that are other- 
 wise cannot be hid. 
 
 their works. They cannot hope to 
 escape with impunity. Though they 
 have endeavoured to hide their evil 
 deeds, yet they will follpw after them 
 to the judgment-bar, and will meet 
 them there. The meaning, in this 
 connection, seems to be, that there 
 ought to be circumspection in judg- 
 ing of the qualifications of men for 
 the office of the ministry. It ought 
 not to be inferred from favourable 
 appearances at once, or on slight 
 acquaintance, that they are qualified 
 for the office — for they may be of 
 the number of those whose charac- 
 ters, now concealed or misunder- 
 stood, will be developed only on the 
 final trial. 
 
 25. Likewise also the good works 
 of some are manifest beforehand. 
 The character of some men is clear, 
 and accurately understood. There 
 can be no doubt, from their works, 
 that they are good men. We need 
 not wait for the day of judgment to 
 determine that, but may treat them 
 here as good men, and introduce 
 them to offices which only good men 
 can fill. The idea here is, that their 
 character may be so certain and un- 
 doubted that there need be no hesi- 
 tation in setting them apart to the 
 office of the ministry. % And they 
 that are otherwise cannot be hid. 
 That is, they cannot be ultimately 
 concealed or misunderstood. There 
 are arrangements in the divine go- 
 vernment for bringing out the cha- 
 racter of every man so that it may 
 be clearly understood. The expres- 
 sion here refers to good men. The 
 idea is, that there are some good 
 men whose character is known to 
 all. Their deeds spread a glory 
 around them, so that no cne can 
 mistake what they are. They cor 
 
A. i). 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 215 
 
 respond, in respect to tlio publi- 
 city of their character, with tiioso 
 mentioned in vcr. 2-1, wiiosc ^ sins 
 are open Vl'orchund ;' for the pood 
 deeds of the one are as manifest as 
 the sins of tlie other. But there are 
 tliose wlio are ^ otherwise.^ They 
 are modest, retirinij, unobtrusive, un- 
 known. Tliey may live in obscu- 
 rity; may hive slender means for 
 doinjT {;rftHl ; may be constitutionally 
 BO diffident tiiat ihey never appear 
 on tlie stage of public action. NVhat 
 tliey do is concealed from the world. 
 These correspond in respect to pub- 
 licity with those mentioned in vcr. 
 24, ' wiiooe deeds follow after them.' 
 Yet, says tlie apostle, these cannot 
 always be hid. There arc arrange- 
 I mentis for developing every man's 
 character, and it will be ultimately 
 known what he is. The connection 
 hero, seems to be this. As Timothy 
 (ver. 24) was to be on his guard in 
 introtlucing men into the ministry, 
 ^ ^ainst those whose character for 
 .;l was not developed, but who 
 ..iitrht be concealing their plans and 
 practising secret sins, so he was to 
 endeavour to search out the modest, 
 the unobtrusive, and those who, 
 tliougii now unknown, were among 
 the excellent of the earth, and bring 
 Uiem forward to a station of useful- 
 ness where their virtues might shine 
 on the world. 
 
 Apart from the reference of thiji 
 beautiful passage (vs. 21, 2.")) to the 
 ministry, it contains truth iiii]K)rtunt 
 to all. 
 
 (1.) The character of many wick- 
 ed men is now clearly known. No 
 one ha.s any doubt of it. Tiieir deeds 
 Jiave gone before thorn, and are re- 
 corded in the Books tiiat will be open 
 at the judgment They might even 
 nrw be judged without tlie ibrmality 
 of ippcaring there, and the univera« 
 would acquiesce in the sentence or 
 condciiination. 
 
 (2.) The cliaracler of many wick- 
 ed men is conceeled. They iiide 
 
 their plans. The ' nio practising 
 secret iniquity. They do not mean 
 that the world shall know what they 
 are. More than half tiic real de- 
 pravity ot" the world is thus conceal- 
 ed from human view, and in regard 
 to more tiian h.ilf tlie race who are 
 going up to the judgment there is 
 an entire mistake as to their real 
 character. If all tiie secret wicked- 
 ness of the earth were disclosed, no 
 one would have any doubt about the 
 doctrine of human depravity. 
 
 (3.) There is a process steadily 
 going forward for bringing out the 
 real character of men, and siiowing 
 what they are. This process con- 
 sists, Jirst, in the arrangements of 
 Providence for developing their cha- 
 racter here. Many a man, who was 
 supposed to be virtuous, is shown, by 
 some sudden trial, to have been all 
 along a villain at heart. Many a 
 minister of the gospel, a lawyer, a 
 physician, an officer in a bank, a 
 merchant, whose character was sup- 
 posed to stand fair, has been sufiered 
 to fall into open sin, that he might 
 develope the long-cherished secret 
 depravity of his soul. ScconJly, the 
 process will be completed on the 
 final trial. Then nolhinsr will be 
 concealed. Every man will be seen 
 as he is. All they whose charac- 
 ters were understood to be wicked 
 here, will be seen then also to be 
 wicked, and many who were sup- 
 posed on oartii to liave a goo<l cha- 
 racter, will be scon there to have 
 been hollow-hearted and biise hypo- 
 crites. 
 
 (4.) Every man in the last day 
 will be judged according to his real 
 character. No one, however suc- 
 cessful he may have been here, can 
 hope to j)ractise a deception on his 
 linnl Judge. 
 
 (").) There is a fit!ies.s and propri- 
 ety in the fict that there will be a 
 final juflgment. Indeed, there must 
 be such a judirmcnL, in order that 
 God may be just. The characters 
 
216 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 of men ai\; not ftilly developed here. 
 The process is not completed. Many 
 are taken away before their schemes 
 of iniquity are accomplished, and be- 
 fore their real characters are under- 
 stood. If they were to live long 
 enough on the earth, their characters 
 would be ultimately developed here, 
 but the divine arrangement is that 
 man shall not live long here, and 
 the development, therefore, must be 
 in the fiitiire world. 
 
 (6.) The modest, the retiring, the 
 humble, and those here unknown, 
 will not be overlooked in the last 
 great day. TJiere is much good, as 
 there is much evil in the world, that 
 is now concealed. There are many 
 plans of benevolence formed which 
 they wlio formed them are not per- 
 mitted to complete ; many desires 
 of benefiting others are cherished 
 which there are no means of grati- 
 fying ; many a deed of kindness is 
 perforn'ed which is not blazoned 
 abroad to the world; and many a 
 wish is entertained for the progress of 
 virtue, tlie freedom of the enslaved, 
 the relief of the oppressed, and the 
 salvation of the world, which can 
 find expression only in prayer. We 
 are not to suppose then that all that 
 is concealed and unknown in the 
 world is evil. 
 
 (7.) There will be amazing devel- 
 opments in the last great day ; and 
 as it will then be seen in the revela- 
 tions of the secret deeds of evil that 
 human nature is corrupt, so it will 
 be seen that there was much more 
 good in the world than was common- 
 ly supposed. As a large portion of 
 the wickedness of the earth is con- 
 cealed, so, from the necessity of the 
 case, it is true that no small portion 
 of the goodness on earth is hidden. 
 Wickedness conceals itself from 
 shame, from a desire better to effect 
 its purposes, from the dread of pun- 
 ishment ; goodness, from its modesty, 
 its retiring nature, and from the 
 want of an jpportunity of acting out 
 
 its desires ; but whatever may have 
 been the cause of the concealment, 
 in all cases all will be made known 
 on the final trial — to the ='.iame and 
 confusion of the one class ; to the 
 joy and triumph of the other. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter embraces the follow- 
 ing subjects of counsel and exhorta- 
 tion : — 
 
 (1.) The kind of instruction which 
 was to be given to servants. Vs. 1 
 — 5. They were to treat their mas- 
 ters with all proper respect, ver. 1 ; 
 if their masters were Christians, they 
 were, on that account, to serve them 
 with the more fidelity, ver. 2; and 
 any opposite kind of teaching would 
 tend only to stir up strife and pro- 
 duce dissatisfaction and contention, 
 and could proceed only from a proud 
 and self-confident heart. 
 
 (2.) The advantage of piety and 
 of a contented mind. Vs. 6 — 8. The 
 argument for this is, that we brought 
 nothing into the world, and can car- 
 ry nothing out; that our essential 
 wants here are food and raiment, 
 and that, having enough to make us 
 comfortable, we should be content. 
 
 (3.) The evils of a desire to be 
 rich (vs. 9, 10) — evils seen in the 
 temptations to which it leads; the 
 passions which it fosters, and tlie 
 danger to religion itself. 
 
 (4.) An exliortation to Timothy, 
 as a minister of religion, to pursue 
 higher and nobler objects. Vs. 11— 
 16. He was («) to avoid these 
 worldly things : he was (b) to pur- 
 sue nobler objects. He was to fol- 
 low after righteousness, and to fight 
 the good fight of faith. To do this, 
 he was to be encouraged by the as- 
 l|urance that the Great and only Po- 
 Tentate would, in due time, place the 
 crown on his head. 
 
 (5.) The duty of those who were 
 rich — for it is supposed that some 
 
/. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 217 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ET as many servants • as arc 
 ( under the yoke count their 
 
 • Ep. G. 5. 
 
 Christians will be rich — either by 
 inheritance, or by pnjsperous busi- 
 ness. Vs. 17 — lU. They are (»/) not 
 to be proud ; (b) nor to trust in their 
 riches so as to forget their depend- 
 ence on God; (c) to do good witii 
 tljeir property; and (</) to make 
 their wealth the means of securing 
 eternal life. 
 
 (6.) A solemn charge to Timotliy 
 to obser\e these things, and not to 
 be turned from them by any of the 
 arguments and objections of pretend- 
 ed science. Vs. 20, 21. 
 
 1. Let as many servants. On the 
 word here rendered servants — fioCxw 
 — see Notes on Eph. vi. 5. The 
 word is tliat which was commonly 
 applied to a slave, but it is so exten- 
 sive in its signification as to be ap- 
 plicable to a}iy sjiecies of servitude, 
 whether voluntary or involuntary. 
 if slavery existed in Ephesus at tlie 
 lime when tliis epistle was uTitten, 
 it would be applicable to slaves ; if 
 uny otlier khid of servitude existed, 
 the word would be equally applicable 
 .o that Tiiere is nothing in the 
 word itself which essentially limits 
 it to slavery. Examine Matt xiii. 
 27; XX. 27. Jlark x. 44. Luke ii. 
 29. John XV. 15. Acts ii. IS; iv. 
 29; xvi. 17. Rom. i. 1. 2 Cor. iv. 
 5. Judel. Rev. i. 1; ii. 20; vii. 3. 
 The addition of tlie phrase 'under 
 the yoke,' however, shows undoubt- 
 edly tliat it is to be understood here 
 of slavery. % As are under the yoke. 
 On the word yoke, see Notes on Alatt 
 XL 29. The phrase here properly 
 denotes slavery, as it would not be 
 applied to any otlier species of ser- 
 vitude. See l/cv. xxvL 13. Dem. 
 322. 12. |t-,t){ 6of5u)5vv>;{. Rob. Lex. 
 It sometimes denotes the bondage of 
 tbo Mosaic law as being a severe 
 19 
 
 own masters worthy of all honour, 
 that the name of God and hia doc- 
 trine be not blasphemed. 
 
 and oppressive burden. Acts xv. 10. 
 Gal. V. 1. It may be remarked 
 here that the apostle did not regard 
 slavery as a lia^ht or desirable thing. 
 lie would not have applied this term 
 to the condition of a wife or a child. 
 ^ Count their own masters worthy 
 of all honour. Treat them with all 
 proper respect They were to ma- 
 nifest the risht spirit themselves, 
 whatever their masters did ; tliey 
 were not to do anything that would 
 dishonour religion. Tlie injunction 
 here would seem to have particular 
 reference to those whose masters 
 were not Christians. In the follow- 
 ing verse, the apostle gives particu- 
 lar instructions to those who had 
 pious masters. The meaning here 
 is, that the slave ought to show the 
 christian spirit towards his master 
 who was not a Christian ; he ou^ht 
 to conduct himself so that religion 
 would not be dishonoured ; he ought 
 not to give his master occasion to 
 say that the only effect of the chris- 
 tian religion on the mind of a ser- 
 vant was to make him restless, dis- 
 contented, dissatisfied, and disobe- 
 dient In the humble and trying 
 situation in which he confessedly 
 was — under the yoke of bondage — 
 he ought to evince patience, kind- 
 ness, and respect for his master, and 
 as long as the relation continued he 
 was to be obedient This command, 
 however, was by no means incon- 
 sistent with his desiring his freedom, 
 and securing it, if the opjxjrtunity 
 presented itself. See Notes on 1 
 Cor. vii. 21. Comp., on the passage 
 betbre us, the Notes on Eph. vi. ij — 
 9, and 1 I'et ii. 1*^. •[ That the 
 name of Gotl and his doctrine be 
 not blasphemed. That religion be 
 not dishonoured and reproached, and 
 that tiicre may be no occasion to 
 
218 
 
 1. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58 
 
 2 And they that have believ- 
 ing masters, let them not despise 
 them, because they are brethren ; 
 but rather do them service, be- 
 
 say that Christianity tends to pro- 
 duce discontent and to lead to insur- 
 rection. If the eifect of religion 
 had been to teach all who were ser- 
 vants that tliey should no longer 
 obey their masters, or that they 
 should rise upon them and assert 
 their freedom by violence, or that 
 their masters were to be treated 
 with indignity on account of their 
 usurped rights over others, the effect 
 would have been obvious. There 
 would have been a loud and united 
 outcry against the new religion, and 
 i' could have made no progress in 
 tie world. Instead of this, Chris- 
 tianity taught the necessity of pa- 
 tience, and meekness, and forbear- 
 ance in the endurance of all wrong 
 — whether from private individuals 
 (Matt. V. 39—41. 1 Cor. vi. 7), or 
 under the oppressions and exactions 
 of Nero (Rom. xiii. 1 — 7), or amidst 
 the hardships and cruelties of slave- 
 ry. These peaceful injunctions, 
 however, did not demonstrate that 
 Christ approved the act of him ' that 
 emote on the one cheek,' or that 
 Paul regarded the government of 
 Nero as a good government, — and 
 as little do Ihey prove that Paul or 
 the Saviour approved of slavery. 
 
 2. And they that have believing 
 masters. Masters who are Chris- 
 tians. It is clear from this, that 
 Paul supposed that, at that time, and 
 "under those circumstances, a man 
 might become a Christian who had 
 slaves under him. How long he 
 might continue to hold his fellow- 
 men in bondage, and yet be a Chris- 
 tian, is, however, quite a dilTerent 
 question. It is quite clear, from the 
 New Testament, as well as from 
 facts now, that God may convert 
 men when pursuing any kind of 
 wickedness. The effect of religion, 
 
 cause they arc ' faithful and be« 
 loved, partakers of the benefii. 
 These things teach and exhort. 
 
 > or, believing. 
 
 however, in all cases, will be to lead 
 them to cease to do wrong. It ia 
 by no means improbable that many 
 of those who had owned slaves, in 
 accordance with the prevailing cus- 
 tom in the Roman empire, may have 
 been converted — for the fact that a 
 man has been living a life of sin 
 does not prevent the possibility of 
 his conversion. There is no evi- 
 dence that Paul refers here to any 
 who had bought slaves after they 
 were converted ; nor is there any 
 intimation of any such transaction 
 among Christians in the New Testa- 
 ment. Nor is there any intima'.'on 
 that he regarded it as right and best 
 that they should continue to hold 
 slaves ; nor that he would approve 
 their making arrangements to per- 
 severe in this as a permanent insti- 
 tution. Nor is it to be fairly inferred 
 from this passage that he meant to 
 teach that they might continue this, 
 and yet be entitled to all the respect 
 and confidence due to the christian 
 name, or be regarded as maintain- 
 ing a good standing in the church. 
 Whatever may be true on these 
 points, the passage before us only 
 proves that Paul considered that a 
 man wlio was a slaveholder mighi 
 be converted, and be spoken of as a 
 ' believer,' or a Christian. Many have 
 been converted in similar circum 
 stances, as many have in the practice 
 of all other kinds of iniquity. What 
 was their duty after their conversion, 
 was another que-^tion ; and what was 
 the duty of their ' servants' or slaves, 
 was another question still. It is 
 only this latter question which the 
 apostle is here considering. IT N^ot 
 despise them, because they are bre- 
 thren. Not treat them with any 
 want of the respect which is due to 
 their station. The word here used 
 
A- D. 58.] Clk\PTER VI. 
 
 Bomctimes denotes !o 7iec;lcct, or, 
 7iot to care for. MatL vi. 21. Luke 
 x\i. 13. Here il is not necessary to 
 Bup|)ose that it denotes tictuiil con- 
 tempt, but only tliat want of respect 
 wliicli mig-Tit |)ossibly sprinjj up in 
 tlie mind if not well instructed, or 
 not on its guard, amon^ tliose wlio 
 were servanlij or slaves. It was to 
 bo apprelicnded tliat the ellect of 
 tlie master and tlie slave having 
 both embraced religion would be to 
 produce in tiie mind of tha servant 
 a want of rcsj)oct and deference for 
 his master. This danger was to 
 be appreiionded from tlie following 
 causes: — (1.) Christiajiity taught 
 that all men were made of ' one 
 Mood,' and were by nature cqunl. 
 Acts .wii. 26. It was natural, there- 
 liire, tor the slave to infer tiiat by 
 nature he was equal to his master, 
 and it would be easy to pervert tiiis 
 truth to make him disrespectful and 
 insubordinate. (2.) They were equal 
 to them as Christians. Christianity 
 taught them that they were all 
 'bretln-en' in the Lord, and that 
 tliere was no distinction before God. 
 It might be natural to infer from 
 this, tliat alt distinctions in society 
 were to be abolished, and that, in 
 all respects, the slave was to regard 
 himself as on a level with his mas- 
 ter. (3.) Some, who did not well 
 understand the nature of Christiani- 
 ty, or who might have been disjwsed 
 to cau.se trouble, may have taken 
 advantage of the undeniable trutiis 
 about the equality of men by nature 
 and by redemption, to produce dis- 
 content on the part of the slave. 
 They may have endeavoured to em- 
 bitter tiie feelings of the slaves to- 
 wards their miusters who held them 
 in Iwndage. The effect, it is ea.sy 
 to sec, may have been to lead those 
 who were in a state of servitude to 
 manifest oi)en and marked disrespect. 
 In oppo?it:ontotliiAtheapostle would 
 have Timothy teadi that Christiani- 
 ty did not rudely assail tlie existing 
 
 L'ltt 
 
 institutions of tociety, and especially 
 did not teach those who were in 
 subordinate ranks to be disrespectful 
 to those above them. ^ Hut rather 
 do them service. That is, serve 
 them with more cheerfulness and 
 alacrity tlian they did before the 
 master was converted ; or .«erve 
 them with the more cheerfulness 
 because they were Christians. The 
 reasons for this were, because the 
 master was now more worthy of af- 
 fectionate regard, and because the 
 servant migiit look for better treat- 
 ment at his hands. Comp. Notes 
 on Eph. vi. 6. *[ Because they are 
 faithful. That is, because tliey are 
 believers, or are Christians — jttarot'; 
 the same word which in the begin- 
 ning of the verse is rendered be- 
 lieving. It docs not here mean that 
 they were 'faithful' to their servants 
 or their God, but merely that they 
 were Christians. ^ And beloved. 
 Probably, ' beloved of God ;' for so 
 the word is oilen used. As they are 
 the friends of God, they who are 
 servants should show them the more 
 respect. The idea is, simply, that 
 one whom God loves should be treat- 
 ed with more respect than if lie 
 were not thus btiloved ; or, a good 
 man deserves more respect than a 
 wicked man. In all the relations 
 of life, we should respect those 
 alxjve us the more in proportion to 
 the excellency of their character. 
 •[ Partakers of the benifit. That 
 is, the benefit which the gospel im- 
 parts — for so the connection recpiires 
 us to understand it. It cannot mean, 
 as many have supposed, thtt they 
 were ' partakers ot the benefit of 
 the labours of the servant,' or en- 
 joyed the fruits of tiieir labours, — 
 lor how could this be a reason for 
 their treating them with the more 
 respect ? It would be rather a rea- 
 son for treating tli"m with less re- 
 spect, because thoy were living on 
 the avails of unrequited toil. But 
 the true reason asaigncd is, that the 
 
220 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 3 If any man teach otherwise, 
 
 and consent not to wholesome 
 
 words, even the words of our 
 
 a 2 Ti. 1. ]3. 
 
 master had been, by the grace of 
 God, permitted to participate in the 
 same benefits of salvation as the 
 servant ; he had received, like him, 
 the pardon of sin, and he was to be 
 regarded as a fellow-heir of the 
 grace of life. The expression here 
 might be rendered, 'they are par- 
 takers of, or are devoted to, the good 
 cause.' Rob. Lex. The argument 
 is, that they were not infidels, or 
 strangers to religion, or those who 
 would try to hinder tlie progTess of 
 that which was dear to the heart of 
 the servant, but were united with 
 them in that same good work ; they 
 participated in the blessings of the 
 same salvation, and they were really 
 endeavouring to further the interests 
 of religion. There ought, there- 
 fore, to be the more respect shown 
 to them, and the more cheerful ser- 
 vice rendered them. 
 
 3. If any man teach otherwise. 
 Any otherwise than that respect 
 should be shown to masters; and 
 that a more cheerful and ready ser- 
 vice should be rendered because they 
 were Christians. It is evidently im- 
 plied here that some might be dis- 
 posed to inculcate such views of re- 
 ligion as would produce discontent 
 and a spirit of insubordination among 
 those who were held to servitude. 
 Who they were is not known, nor 
 is it known what argumente they 
 would ainploy to do it. It would 
 seem probable that the arguments 
 which would be employed would be 
 such as these : — that God made all 
 men equal; that all had been re- 
 deemed by the same blood ; that all 
 true Christians were fellow-heirs of 
 heaven; and that it was wrong to 
 hold a christian brother in bondage, 
 &c. From undeniable principles 
 it would seem that they drew the 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and to the 
 doctrine which is according *to 
 
 godliness, 
 
 JTi. ]. 1. 
 
 inference that slaves ough't at once 
 to assert their freedom ; that they 
 should refuse obedience to their 
 masters ; and tliat the tendency of 
 their teaching was, instead of re- 
 moving the evil by the gradual and 
 silent mfluence of christian prmci- 
 ples, to produce discontent and in- 
 surrection. From some of the ex- 
 pressions here used by the apostle, 
 as characteristic of these teachers, 
 it would seem to be probable that 
 tliese persons were Jews. They 
 were men given to subtle disputa- 
 tions, and those who doted about 
 questions and verbal disputes, and 
 who were intent on gain, supposing 
 that that which conduced to mere 
 worldly prosperity was of course re- 
 ligion. These characteristics apply 
 well to Jewish teachers. ^ And 
 consent not to wholesome words. 
 Words conducing to a healthful 
 state of the church ; that is, doc- 
 trines tending to produce order and 
 a due observance of the proprieties 
 of life; doctrines leading to content- 
 ment, and sober industry, and the 
 patient endurance of evils. IT Even 
 the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The doctrines of the Saviour — all 
 of which tended to a quiet life, and 
 to a patient endurance of wrongs, 
 ^ And to the doctrine which is ac- 
 cording to godliness. Which tends 
 to produce piety or religion ; that is, 
 the doctrine which would be most 
 favourable to an easy and rapid pro- 
 pagation of the gospel. The idea 
 seems to be, that such a state of in- 
 subordination and discontent as they 
 would produce, w'ould be unfavoura- 
 ble to the promotion of religion. 
 AVho can doubt it 1 
 
 4. He is proud. That is, he is 
 lifted up with his fancied superior 
 acquaintance with the nature of re* 
 
A. D. 58.] 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 221 
 
 4 He is proud, ' knowing * no- eth envy, strife, railings, evil sur- 
 
 thincT, but ^ dotin;T about questions misinirs, 
 
 and strifes of words, whereof com- 5 Perverse ' disputings of men 
 
 • or, a fooL a 1 Co. 8. 2. * or, sick. ' or, patlinps one of anolher. 
 
 Ijofion. The Greek verb means, pro- 
 perly, tn smoke, to fume ; and tlicn 
 to bo infl/ilfil, to he cnnceilcd, &,c. 
 The idea is, tliat he lias no proper 
 knowletliie of the nature of the gos- 
 pel, and yet he values himself on a 
 fancied superior acquaintance with 
 its principles. ^ Knowimr nothintr. 
 Marg., a fool. Tliat is, that ho docs 
 not understand the nature of reli- 
 gion as he supposes he docs. His 
 views in regard to tiie relation of 
 
 [ masters and servants, and to the bear- 
 ing of religion on that relation, show 
 that he does not understand the ge- 
 nius of Christianity. The apostle 
 e.xpresses this in strong language, 
 by saying that he knows nolhinir. 
 See Notes on 1 Cor. viii. 2. 1[ But 
 
 ^ doting: Marg., sick. The Greek 
 word — i^tf'id — means properly to be 
 eick ; then to languish, to pine aJler. 
 The ..leaning here is, that such per- 
 sons had a sirkty or marbid desire 
 for debates of this kind. They had 
 not a sound and healthy state of 
 mind on the subject of religion. 
 They were like a sickly man, who 
 has no desire for solid and healthful 
 food, but for that which will gratify 
 a diseased appetite. They desired 
 not sound doctrine, but controversies 
 about unimportant and unsubstantial 
 matters — things that bore the same 
 relation to important doctrines which 
 the things that a sick man pines 
 after do to substantial food. «[ Ques- 
 tions and strifes nf words. The 
 Jews abounded much in disputes of 
 this sort, and it would seem probable 
 that the persons here referred to 
 were Jewish teachers. Comp. Notes, 
 ch. i. 6, 7, and Acts xviii. 15. 
 ^ Whrrcn/ cnmeth envy. The only 
 fruit of which is to produce envy. 
 That is, the appearance of superior 
 knowledge ; the boast of bemg pro- 
 19* 
 
 foundly ac(]uaintcd with religion, and 
 the show of an ability tor subtle ar- 
 gumentation, would produce in a 
 certain class envy. Envy is uneasi- 
 ness, pain, mortification, or discon- 
 tent, excited by another's prosperity, 
 or by his superior knowledge or pos- 
 sessions. See Notes on Rom. i. 29. 
 ^ Strife. Or contentions with those 
 who will not readily yield to their 
 opinions. 1 Railinirs. Harsh and 
 abusive language towards those who 
 will not concede a point — a common 
 effect of disputes, and more com- 
 monly of disputes about small and 
 unimiKjrtant matters, than of those 
 which are of magnitude. Such rail- 
 ings often attend disputes that arise 
 out of nice and subtle distinctions. 
 TI Evil surmisings. Suspicions that 
 they are led to hold their views, not 
 by the love of the truth, but from 
 sordid or worldly motives. Such 
 suspicions are very apt to attend an 
 angry debate of any kind. It might 
 be expected peculiarly to exist on 
 such a question as the apostle refers 
 to here — the relation of a master 
 and a slave. It is always very hard 
 to do justice to the motives of one 
 who seems to us to be living m sin, 
 or to believe it to be possible that he 
 acts from right motives. 
 
 5. Perverse disputings. Marg., 
 gallings one of another. In regard 
 to the correct reading of this pas- 
 sage, see Bib. Repository, vol. iii. pp. 
 61, 62. The word wliicli is here 
 used in the Received Text — rtapudto- 
 rpcJjp-occurs nowhere else in the 
 New Testament It properly means 
 mis-employment ; then idle occupa- 
 tion. {Rob. Lex.) The verb from 
 which this is derived means to rub 
 in pieces, to wear away ; and hence 
 the v/ord here usofl refers to what 
 was a mere wearing away of time. 
 
222 
 
 I TIMOTHY. 
 
 of corrupt minds, and destitute 
 of the truth, supposing that gain 
 
 The idea is that of employments 
 that merely consumed time without 
 any advantage. The notion of con- 
 tention or dispute is not necessarily 
 implied in the passage, but the allu- 
 «-'on is to inquiries or discussions that 
 were of no practical value, but were 
 a mere consumption ofiime. Comp. 
 Koppe on the passage. The reading 
 in the margin is derived from the 
 common usage of the verb to rub, 
 and hence our translators attached 
 the idea of rubbing against each 
 other, or of galling each other, as 
 by rubbing. This is not, however, 
 the idea in the Greek word. The 
 phrase ' idle employments' would bet- 
 ter suit the meaning of the Greek 
 than either of the phrases which our 
 translators have employed. TJ Of 
 men of corrupt minds. That is, of 
 wicked hearts. ^ And destitute of 
 the truth. Not knowing the truth ; 
 or not having just views of truth. 
 They show that they have no cor- 
 rect acquaintance with the christian 
 system. IT Supposing that gain is 
 godliness. That that which contri- 
 butes to an increase of property is 
 of course true religion ; or that it is 
 proper to infer that any course which 
 contributes to worldly prosperity 
 must be sanctioned by religion. 
 They judge of the consistency of 
 any course with religion by its ten- 
 dency to promote outward prosperity. 
 This tliey have exalted into a maxim, 
 and this they make the essential 
 .thing in religion. But how could 
 any men do this"? And what con- 
 nection would this have with the 
 subject under consideration — the 
 kind of instruction that was to be 
 given to servants'? The meaning 
 of the maxim seems to be, that reli- 
 gion must necessarily promote pros- 
 perity by its promoting temperance, 
 and industry, and length of days; 
 
 is godliness : 
 draw thyself. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 from such » with- 
 
 a 2 Ti. 3. 5. 
 
 and that since this was the case, it 
 was fair to infer that anything which 
 would not do this could not be con- 
 sistent with religion. They adopted 
 it, therefore, as a general rule of 
 judging, and one in entire accord- 
 ance with the wishes of their own 
 hearts, that any course of life that 
 would not do this must be contrary 
 to the true spirit of religion. Thia 
 maxim, it would seem, they applied 
 to the relation of the slave and hia 
 master, and as the tendency of the 
 system was always to keep the ser- 
 vant poor and in an humble condition, 
 they seem to have inferred that the 
 relation was contrary to Christianity, 
 and hence to have excited the ser- 
 vant to disaffection. In their rea- 
 soning they were not far out of the 
 way, for it is fair to infer that a sys- 
 tem that tends to produce uniform 
 poverty^and to perpetuate a degrad- 
 ed condition in society, is contrary 
 to the genius of Christianity. They 
 were wrong (1.) in making this a 
 general maxim by which to judge 
 of everything in religion ; and (2.) 
 in so applying it as to produce insu- 
 bordination and discontent in the 
 minds of servants towards their mas- 
 ters; and (8.) in supposing that 
 everything which produced gain was 
 consistent with religion, or that they 
 could infallibly judge of the moral 
 quality of any course of life by its 
 contributing to outward prosperity. 
 Religion will uniformly lead to that 
 which conduces to prosperity, but it 
 does not follow that every way of 
 making money is therefore a part of 
 piety. It is possible, also, that in 
 some way they hoped for ' gain' to 
 themselves by inculcating those prin- 
 ciples. It may be remarked here, 
 that this is not an uncommon maxim 
 practically among men — that 'gain 
 is godliness.' The whole object of 
 
A. 1). 58.1 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 223 
 
 life with them is to make money ; the 
 rule by which tlicy judfjc of every- 
 lliini,' is l»y ita toiuicncy to prodiicc 
 fj-aiii; and tlieir wliole rclij^fion may 
 be summed up in this, that lliey live 
 for fftiin. Wealth is the real ob- 
 ject of pursuit; but it is often with 
 tiicm clojiked under the pretence of 
 piety. They have no more religion 
 tluin tliey suppose will contribute to 
 tliis object ; they judjje of the nature 
 and value of every maxim by it:? 
 tendency to make men prosperous in 
 tlieir worldly business; they have as 
 much as they suppose will promote 
 their pecuniary interest, and they 
 ' sacrifice every principle of rlligion 
 [ which they suppose would conflict 
 r with tiieir earthly advancement. — 
 f ^\ From such withdraw thyself. That 
 \ is, hare no communion or fellowship 
 I witli them. Do not recognise them 
 ; as religious teachers; do not coun- 
 I tenance their views. Timothy was, 
 i in no way, to show that he regarded 
 * them as inculcating truth, or to pa- 
 tronize their doctrines. From such 
 men, is having any claim to the cha- 
 racter of Christians, every man 
 shnuld withdraw with feelings of un- 
 utterable pity and loathing. — This 
 passiige (vs. 1 — 5) is often appealed 
 to by the advocates and apologists 
 for slavery, to prove that Christian- 
 ity countenances that institution, 
 and that no direct attempt should be 
 made by the ministers of the gospel, 
 or other Christians, to sliow the evil 
 of the institution, and to promote its; 
 abolition, and to prove that we have 
 no right to interfere in any way 
 with what pertains to these 'domes- 
 tic relations.' It is of importance, 
 therefi)re, in view of the exposi- 
 tion which has been given of the 
 words and phrases in the passage, 
 to sum up the truths which it incul- 
 cates. From it, therefore, the follow- 
 ing lessons may be derived: (1.) 
 That those who are slaves, and who 
 have been converted to Christianity, 
 •hould not bo indolent or disorderly. 
 
 If their masters are Christians, 
 the}' should treat them with respect, 
 and all the more because they are 
 fellow-heirs of the grace of life. If 
 they are not Christians, they should 
 yet show the nature of religion on 
 thcrnsilvrs, and bear the evils of 
 their condition witli patience — show- 
 ing how religion teaches tliem to en- 
 dure wrong. In either case, they 
 are to be quiet, industrious, kind 
 meek, respectful. This Christianitj 
 everywhere enjoins while the rela- 
 tion continues. At the same time, 
 however, it does not forbid the slave 
 earnestly to desire his freedom, or to 
 use all proper measures to obtain it. 
 See 1 Cor. vii. 21. (2.) That the 
 ministers of religion should not la- 
 bour to protluce a spirit of discontent 
 anwng slaves, or e.xcite them to rise 
 upon theu* masters. Tliis passage 
 would undoubtedly forbid all such 
 interference, and all agencies or em- 
 bassies sent among slaves themselves 
 to inflame their minds against their 
 masters, in view of their wrongs ; 
 to put arms into their hands ; or to 
 induce them to Ibrm combinations 
 for purposes of insurrection. It is 
 not so much in tlie true epirit of 
 Christianity to go to those wlio are 
 wronged, as to those who do the 
 wrong. The primary message in 
 such cases is to the latter ; and when 
 it does go to the former, it is to teach 
 them to be patient under their wrongs, 
 to evince the christian spirit there, 
 and to make use only of thu:^e means 
 which are consistent with the gospel 
 to free themselves from the evils 
 under which they suffer. At the 
 same time, nothing in this passage, 
 or in any other part of the Psew Tes- 
 tament, forbids us to go to the mas- 
 ter himsilf, and to show iiim the 
 evil of the .-system, and to enjoin upon 
 him to let the oppres.-i<'d go free. 
 \othing in this passage can be rea- 
 sonably construed as teaching that 
 rwi appeal of tho most earnt-st and 
 urgent kind may not b« mode to 
 
234 
 
 him ; or that the wrongs of the sys- 
 tem may not be fully set before him, 
 or that any man or set of men may 
 not lawfully lift up in his hearing a 
 loud and earnest voice in favour of 
 the freedom of all. And in like 
 manner there is nothing which makes 
 it improper that the slave himself 
 should be put fully in possession of 
 that gospel which will apprize him 
 of his rights as a man, and as re- 
 deemed by the blood of Jesus. Every 
 human being, whether held in bond- 
 age or not, has a right to be made 
 acquainted with all the provisions 
 and truths of that gospel, nor has 
 any man or class of men a right to 
 withhold such knowledge from him. 
 No system of things can be right 
 which contemplates that that gospel 
 shall be withheld, or under whic'i it 
 is necessary to withhold it in order 
 to the perpetuity of the system. (3.) 
 The passage teaches that it is possi- 
 ble that a man who is a slaveholder 
 m.ay become a Christian. But it 
 does not teach that, though he may 
 become a Christian while he is a 
 slaveholder, that it is proper f">r him 
 to continue this relation after he be- 
 comes ^ch. It does not teach that a 
 man can be a Christian and yet go 
 into the business of buying and sell- 
 ing slaves. It does not teach that a 
 man can be a Christian and continue 
 to hold others in bondage, whatever 
 may be true on that point. It does not 
 teach that he ought to be considered 
 as maintaining a ' good standing' in 
 the church, if he continues to be a 
 slaveholder; and whatever may be the 
 truth on these points, this passage 
 should not be adduced as demonstrat- 
 ing them. It settles one point only in 
 regard to these questions — that a case 
 was supposable in which a slave had 
 a christian master. It settles the duty 
 of the slave in such a case ; it says 
 nothing about the duty of the mas- 
 ter. (4.) This passage does not 
 teach that slavery is either a good 
 thiiig, or a just thing, a desirable 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 5a 
 
 relation in life, or an institution tha\ 
 God wishes to be perpetuated on 
 the earth. The injunctions to slaves 
 to be patient, meek, industrious, and 
 respectful, no more demonstrate this, 
 than the command to subjects to be 
 obedient to the laws proves that God 
 regarded the government of Nero 
 as such an administration as he wish 
 ed to be perpetuated on the earth. 
 To exhort a slave to manifest a chris- 
 tian spirit under his oppressions and 
 wrongs, is not to justify the system 
 that does him wrong, nor does it pro- 
 hibit us from showing to masters 
 that the system is contrary to tho 
 gospel, and that it ought to be aban* 
 doned. (5.) This passage, therefore, 
 furnishes no real support for slavery. 
 It can no more be adduced in favour 
 of it than any exhortation to those 
 who are oppressed, or in any degrad- 
 ing situation in life, to be patient, 
 proves that the system which op- 
 presses and degrades them, is a good 
 one. Nor does the fact that a man 
 might be converted who was a slave- 
 holder, and might be spoken of as a 
 rttcTos, or believer, prove that it would 
 be right and desirable that he should 
 continue that relation, any more than 
 the fact that Saul of Tarsus became 
 a Christian when engaged in perse- 
 cution, proves that it would have 
 been right for him to continue in 
 that business, or than the conversion 
 of the Ephesians who ' used curious 
 arts' (Acts xix. 19), proved that it 
 would have been proper for them to 
 continue in that employment. Men 
 who are doing wrong are converted 
 in order to turn them from that 
 course of life, not to justify them 
 in it. 
 
 6. But godliness. Piety; reli- 
 gion. The meaning is, that real 
 religion should be regarded as the 
 greatest and most valuable acquisi- 
 tion. ^ With contentment. Tliia 
 word, as now used, refers to a stats 
 of mind ; a calm and satisfied feel 
 ing ; a freedom from murmuring 
 
A. D. 53.] 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 225 
 
 G But godliness " with con- 
 .entmciit is grout gain. 
 
 7 For \vc brought nothing 
 jito this world, and it is ccr- 
 
 a Pr. 15. IG. 
 
 and complaining. The idea is, that 
 » piety, connected witli a contented 
 mind, — or a mind acquiescing in the 
 allotments of life, — is to bo regarded 
 as the real gain.' Tindal gives sub- 
 stantially t!ic same intcrpretutiou. 
 * Godliness is great riches, if a man 
 be content with that ho hath.' — 
 Coverdale, — 'Howbeit, it is of great 
 advantage, who is so godly, and 
 holdeth liim content with that he 
 hath.' The word wliich is used 
 here — ovtu',ixfta — means, properly, 
 self-siijficiency, and is used here, in 
 a good sense, to denote a mind satis- 
 fied witli its lot. If there be true 
 religion, united with its proper ac- 
 companiment, peace of mind, it is to 
 be regarded as tiie true riches. The 
 object of the apostle seems to be, to re- 
 buke tliose who supposed tha.lproper- 
 ttj constituted evcrytliing that was 
 wortii living for. He tells them, 
 tlierefbrc, that the true gain, the 
 real riches which we ought to seek, 
 is religion, with a contented mind. 
 This does more to promote happi- 
 ness than wealth can ever do, and 
 this is what should be regarded as 
 the great object of life. 
 
 7. For we. brought nothing into 
 this world, &,c. A sentiment very 
 similar to this occurs in Job i. 21, — 
 and it would seem probable that the 
 apostle had that passage in his eye. 
 See Notes on that passage. Nume- 
 rous expressions of this kind occur 
 in tlie classic writers. Sec Wet- 
 stein, in loc., and Pricffius, in loc. in 
 the Critici Sacri. Of the truth of 
 what is here said, there can be no- 
 tl'in^ more obvious. It is apparent 
 to oJI. We bring no property with 
 us into the world, — no clothing, no 
 jewels, no gold, — and it is equally 
 clear that we can take nothing with 
 
 tain * we can carry nothing out. 
 8 And having food and rai- 
 ment, let us be therewith con- 
 tent. ' 
 
 6 Ps. 40. 17. e Ge. 25. 20. 
 
 us when wo leave the earth. Our 
 
 coming into the world introduces no 
 addilioiuil property to tliat which the 
 race betbrc possessed, and our going 
 from the world removes none that 
 we may have helped the race to 
 accumulate. This is said by the 
 apostle as an obvious reason why 
 we should bo contented if our actual 
 wants are supplied, — for tliis is real- 
 ly all that we need, and all that the 
 world is toiling for. ^ IVe can carry 
 nothing out. Comp. Ps. xli.x'. 17, 
 " For wiien he [tiie rich man] dicth, 
 he shall carry notiiing away ; his 
 glory shall not descend after him." 
 
 8. And having food and raiment 
 ' Fooil and raiment,' here, seem to 
 be used to denote supplies lor our 
 wants in general. It is not uncom- 
 mon to denote the whole by a part, 
 and, as these are the principal 
 tilings which wo really need, and 
 without which life could not be sus- 
 tained, the apostle uses the phrase 
 to denote all that is really necessary 
 for us. We cannot suppose that he 
 would forbid a desire of a comforta- 
 ble habitation, or of tiie means of 
 knowledge, or of conveniences for 
 worshipping God, &c. Tiie idea is, 
 tJKit having those things which meet 
 the actual necessities of our nature, 
 and s.'ive us from distress, we should 
 not strive after 'uncertain riches,' 
 or make wealth the object of our 
 anxious pursuit. Comp. Notes on 
 Phil. iv. 11, 12. 
 
 9. But they that will be rich. 
 Further to cntbrco the duty of con- 
 tentment, tlie apostle refers to some 
 of the evils which necessarily attend 
 a desire to be rich. Those evils 
 have been so great and unilbnn in 
 all ages, and arc so necessary ac- 
 companiments of that desire, that. 
 
226 
 
 I. TTMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 9 But they that \nll ° be rich, 
 fall into lemptation, and a snare, 
 anil into many foolish and hurtful 
 
 a Pr. 28. 20. 
 
 even amidst many inconveniences 
 which may attend the opposite con- 
 dition, we should be contented with 
 our lot. Indeed, if we could see 
 all, it would only be necessary to 
 see the evils which the desire of 
 wealth produces in the world, to 
 make us contented with a most low- 
 ly condition of life. Perhaps no- 
 thing more would be necessary to 
 make a poor man satisfied with his 
 lot, and grateftil for it, than to be 
 acquainted with the perplexities and 
 cares of a rich man. There is more 
 emphasis to be placed on tlie word 
 will, here, in the phrase, '■will be 
 rich,' than might be supposed from 
 our translation. It is not the sign 
 of the future tense, but implies an 
 actual purpose or design to become 
 rich — ot i3ov').6fi&voi. The reference 
 is to those in whom this becomes tlie 
 object of earnest desire, and who lay 
 their plans for it. ^ Fall into tempt- 
 ation. That is, they are tempted to 
 do wicked things in order to accom- 
 plish their purposes. It is extreme- 
 ly difficult to cherish the desire to 
 be rich, as the leading purpose of 
 the soul, and to be an honest man. 
 ' ^ And a snare. Birds are taken in 
 a snare, and wild beasts were for- 
 merly. See Notes on Job xviii. 8, 
 9. The net was sprung suddenly 
 jpon them, and they could not 
 escape. The idea here is, that they 
 who have this desire become so en- 
 tangled, that they cannot easily 
 escape. They become involved in 
 tlie meshes of worldliness and sin ; 
 their movements are so fettered by 
 cares, and inordinate desires, and by 
 artificial wants, that they are no 
 longer freemen. They become so 
 involved in these things, that they 
 cannot well break away from them 
 if they would. Comp. Prov. xxviii. 
 
 lusts, which drown men in de- 
 struction and perdition. 
 
 10 For * the love of money is 
 
 I Ex. 23. 8. 
 
 20. ^ And into many foolish and 
 hurtful lusts. Desires, such as the 
 love of wealth creates. They are 
 foolish — as being not such as an in- 
 telligent and immortal being should 
 pursue ; and they are hurtful — as 
 being injurious to morals, to health, 
 and to the soul. Among those de- 
 sires, are the fondness for display; 
 for a magnificent dwelling, a train 
 of menials, and a splendid equipage; 
 for sumptuous living-, feasting, the 
 social glass, company, and riotous 
 dissipation. ^ Which drown men in 
 destruction and perdition. The 
 word which is here rendered, drown 
 — jSu^'fco — means, to sink in the 
 deep, or, to cause to sink ; and the 
 meaning here is, that they become 
 submerged as a ship that sinks. The 
 idea of drowning is not properly 
 that of the apostle, but the image is 
 that of a wreck, where a ship and 
 all that is in it go down together. 
 The destruction is complete. There 
 is a total ruin of happiness, of vir- 
 tue, of reputation, and of the soul. 
 The ruling desire to be rich leads 
 on a train of follies which ruina 
 everything here, and hereafter. — 
 How many of the hmnan family 
 have thus been destroyed ! 
 
 10. For the love of money is the 
 root of all evil. That is, of all kinds 
 of evil. This is evidently not to be 
 understood as literally true, for there 
 are evils which cannot be traced to 
 the love of money — the evils grow- 
 ing out of ambition, and intemper- 
 ance, and debasing lusts, and of the 
 hatred of God and of goodness. The 
 expression here is evidently a popu- 
 lar saying — « all sorts of evils grow 
 out of the love of money.' Similar 
 expressions often occur in the classic 
 writers. See Wetstein, in loc, and 
 numerous examples quoted by Pri- 
 
A, D. 63.] 
 
 CllAl'TEll V]. 
 
 227 
 
 the root of all evil ; which while 
 some coveted at'ter, they have ' 
 erred from the faith, and pierced 
 themselves through with many 
 sorrows. 
 
 i bein $eductd. 
 
 ctcus. or the truth of this, no one 
 can doubt. No small part of the 
 crimes of tlie world can be traced to 
 the love of pold. But it deserves to 
 be remarked here, that llic apostle 
 does not say tiiat ' mnney is the root 
 of all evil,' or that it is an evil at 
 all. It is the 'ioi'f' of it which is the 
 Bourcc of evil. ^ Whicli while same 
 coveted after. That is, some who 
 were professing Christians. The 
 apostle is doubtless referrinij to per- 
 Bons wi»ase history was known to 
 Timothy, and warnins" Iiim, and 
 teachinir him to warn otliers, by tlicir 
 example. ^ They have erred from 
 the faith. MnTg.,beense<InceiL The 
 Greek is, they have been led astray 
 from ; that is, they have been so de- 
 ceived as to depart from the faith. 
 The notion of deception or delusion 
 is in the word, and the sense is, that, 
 deceived by the promises held out 
 by the prospect of wealth, tliey have 
 apostatized from the faith. It is not 
 implied of necessity that they were 
 ever real Christians. They have 
 been led off from truth and duty, and 
 from all the hopes and joys which 
 religion would have imparted. ^ And 
 have pierced themselves through 
 with many sorrows With such sor- 
 rows as remorse, and painful reflec- 
 tions on their folly, and the appre- 
 hension of future wrath. Too late 
 they see tiiat they have thrown away 
 the hoiK-s of relijrion lor that which 
 is at bi-st unworthy the pursuit of an 
 immortal mind ; which leads them on 
 to a life of wickedness; which fails 
 of imjiartinj? what it promised when 
 its pursuit is successful, and which, 
 in the jrrcat majority of instances, 
 disappoints its votaries in respect to 
 to attainment. The word rendered 
 
 1 1 But thou, O man " of C lod, 
 flee these things ; and follow aili-r 
 righteousness, godliness, failli, 
 love, patience, meekness. 
 
 12 Fight '■ the good fight of 
 
 n De. .a. 1. A2Ti. 1. 7. 
 
 ' pierced themselves through' — rttpt- 
 innput — occurs nowhere else in the 
 New Testament, and is a word 
 whose force and emphasis cannot be 
 well expressed in a translation. It 
 is from rtttpo, peiro, and is made 
 more emphatic by the addition of the 
 prejwsition rtf pi, peri. The word rtiC- 
 ()td, peiro, means, properly, to pierce 
 throuirh from one end to another, 
 and is applied to meat that is pierced 
 throuirh by the spit when it is to bo 
 roasted (i'as.soic); then it means to 
 pierce throujjh and tiirough. The ad- 
 dition of tiie preposition (^fpi) to the 
 word, conveys the idea of doinj:^ this 
 all round ; of piercin;r everywhere. 
 It was not a sinifle thrust whicli was 
 made, but they are gashed all round 
 with penetrating wounds. Such is 
 the etfcct on those who cast off reli- 
 gion for the sake of gold. None can 
 avoid these consequences who do 
 this. Every man is in tlie hands of 
 a holy and just God, and sooner or 
 later he mttst feel llio effects of his 
 sin and folly. 
 
 11. But thou, O manof God,Jlce 
 these thintrs. These allurements of 
 wealth, and these sad consequences 
 which the love of gold produces. 
 *i^ lint follow after rii^hteonsncss, 
 &.C. Make these the grand object of 
 your pursuit. On the virtuns iiero 
 enumerated, see Notes on Gal. v. 
 22 2y. 
 
 12. Fiirh' the rrood fiuht off ait L 
 The noble conflict in the cause of 
 religion. See Notes on F-'ph. vi. 10 
 — 17. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 20, 
 27. The allusion is to the contests 
 at the Grecian games. ^ Lay hold 
 on eternal life. As tlie crown of 
 victory that is held out to you. Seize 
 this as eagerly as the competitors at 
 
228 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. I .)8. 
 
 faith, lay hold on eternal life, 
 whereunto thou art also called, 
 and hast professed * a good pro- 
 fession before many -witnesses. 
 13 I give thee charge * in the 
 
 a He. 13. 23. b c. 5. 21. 
 
 the Grecian games laid hold on the 
 prize. See Notes on 1 Cor. ix. 25. 
 IT Whereunto thou art also called. 
 That is, by the Spirit of God, and by 
 the very nature of your profession. 
 God does not ^ calV his people that 
 they may become rich ; he does not 
 convert them in order that they may 
 devote themselves to the business of 
 gain. They are ' called' to a higher 
 and nobler work. Yet how many 
 professing Christians there are who 
 seem to live as if God had ' called' 
 them to the special business of mak- 
 ing money, and who devote tliem- 
 selves to it with a zeal and assiduity 
 that would do honour to such a call- 
 ing, if this had been the grand ob- 
 ject which God had in view in con- 
 verting them ! ^ And hast profess- 
 ed a good profession before many 
 witnesses. That is, either when he 
 embraced the christian religion, and 
 made a public profession of it in the 
 presence of the church and of the 
 world ; or when he was solemnly set 
 apart to the ministry ; or as he in 
 his christian life had been enabled 
 publicly to evince his attachment to 
 the Saviour. I see no reason to doubt 
 .hat the apostle may have referred 
 to the former, and that in early times 
 a profession of religion may liave 
 been openly made before tlie church 
 and the world. Such a method of 
 admitting members to the church 
 would have been natural, and would 
 have been fitted to make a deep im- 
 pression on others. It is a good thing 
 often to remind professors of religion 
 of the feelings which they had when 
 they made a profession of religion ; 
 of the fact that the transaction was 
 witnessed by the world ; and of the 
 promises which they then made to 
 
 sight of God, who quickenei.h all 
 things, and before Christ Jesus, 
 who ' before Pontius Pilate wit- 
 nessed a good ^ confession ; 
 
 c Jno. 18. 3G, 37. 
 • profession. 
 
 lead holy lives. One of the best 
 ways of stimulating ourselves or 
 others to the faithful performance of 
 duty, is the remembrance of the 
 vows then made; and one of the 
 most effectual methods of reclaiming 
 a backslider is to bring to his remem- 
 brance that solemn hour when he 
 publicly gave himself to God. 
 
 13. / give thee charge in the 
 sight of God. See Notes on ch. v. 
 21. 1[ Who quicheneth all things. 
 Who gives life to all. Notes on 
 Eph. ii. 1. It is not quite clear why 
 the apostle refers to this attribute of 
 God as enforcing the charge which 
 he here makes. Perhaps he means 
 to say that God is the source of life, 
 and that as he had given life to Ti- 
 mothy — natural and spiritual — he 
 had a right to require that it should 
 be employed in his service ; and that, 
 if, m obedience to this charge and in 
 the performance of his duties, he 
 should be required to lay down liis 
 life, he should bear in remembrance 
 that God nad power to raise him up 
 again. This is more distinctly urged 
 in 2 Tim. ii. 8—10. IT And before 
 Christ Jesus. As in the presence 
 of Christ, and stimulated by his ex- 
 ample. ^ Who before Pontius Pi- 
 late witnessed a good confession. 
 Marg., profession. The same Greek 
 word is used which in ver. 12 is 
 translated profession. The refer 
 ence is to the fact that the Lord Je- 
 sus, when standing at the bar of Pi- 
 late who claimed to have power over 
 his life, did not shrink from an open 
 avowal of the truth. John xviii. 36, 
 37. Nothing can be better fitted to 
 preserve our minds steadfast in the 
 faith, And to enable us to maintain 
 our sacred vows in this world when 
 
A. D. 58.] CHAPTER VI. 
 
 14 That thou keep this com- 
 mandment without spot, unrebuk- 
 able, " until tlic appearing ^ of 
 our Lord Jesus Cluist: 
 
 lb \\'hicli in his times he shall 
 
 a Ph e. 1 5. b 1 Th. 5 23. 
 
 alhircJ by tcmptiition, or when ridi- 
 culed for our rclijjion, than to re- 
 member tbe example of tlio Lord 
 Jesus. liCt us place him before us 
 as he stood at the bar of Pilate — 
 tlircatened witli death in it^ most 
 api)allin*if form, and ridiculed lor tiie 
 prmciples winch lie majnlaincd ; let 
 us look on him, friendless and alone, 
 Wid !^ce with wh«t seriousness, and 
 sincerity, and boldness lie stated the 
 simple Irittli about himself, and we 
 .ill have one of the best securities 
 .:it we can have, that we shall not 
 liishonour our profession. A clear 
 ' icw of the example of Christ our 
 iviour, in those circumstances, and 
 deep conviction that his eye is upon 
 us to discern wlicther ice are stead- 
 fast as Ac was, will do more than all 
 abstra.^t precepts to make us faith- 
 ful to our ciiristian calling'. 
 
 14. T/ia' thou keep this command- 
 ment. Referring particularly to the 
 solemn injunction which he had just 
 given him, to ' fight the good tight 
 of laitli,' but perhaps also including 
 all that he had enjoined on him. 
 •T Without spot. It seems harsh, 
 and is unusual, to apply the epitliet, 
 * without spot'' — owrttXof — to a com- 
 mand or doctrine, and the passage 
 may bo so construed tliat this may 
 be understood as reterring to Timo- 
 tiiy himself— 'That thou keep the 
 commandment so tliat thou mayest 
 be witiiout spot and unrcbukable.' 
 See Bloomfield, Crit. Dig., in loc. 
 The word here rendered ' without 
 Bix)t,' occurs in the New Testament 
 only here, and in James i. 27. 1 Pet. 
 i. 19. 2 Pet iii. 14. It means with- 
 out any stain or blemish ; pure. If 
 applied here to Tiumthy, it means 
 bat he should so keep the command 
 90 
 
 l^JQ 
 
 show irho is the blessed ' and only- 
 Potentate, the •* King of kings 
 and Lord of icrds ; 
 
 1<! Who only hath iinmorlal- 
 ity, dwelling in the hght which • 
 
 c c. 1. l i*. d !{■■ ■ 17. 14. t Rff. 1. 16. 17. 
 
 that there would be no stain on his 
 moral character ; if to tlie doctrine, 
 that that should be kept pure. Ii' IJn- 
 rebukable. So that there be no oc- 
 casion for reproach or reproof See 
 Notes on Pliil. ii. 15. ^ Until the 
 appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 See Notes on 1 Thess. ii. 19; iv 
 16; V. 23. 
 
 15. Which in his times he shall 
 show. Which Gotl will reveal at 
 such times as he shall deem best. 
 It is implied here that the time is 
 unknown to men. See Notes on 
 Acts i. 7. ^ Who is the blessed and 
 only Potentate. God, who is the 
 ruler overall. The word used here 
 — ivfaa-rr^ — means one who is 
 miprhty (l.uke i. 22), then a prince 
 or ruler. Comp. Acts viii. 27. It is 
 applied here to God as the mighty 
 ruler over the universe. «[ The 
 King of kings. Who claims do- 
 minion over all the kings of the 
 earth. In Rev. vii. 14, the same 
 appellation is applied to the Lord 
 Jesus, ascribing to him universal do- 
 minion, If Lord of lords. The idea 
 here is, that all the sovereigns of the 
 earth are under his sway ; tliat none 
 of them can prevent the accomplish- 
 ment of his purposes; and that he 
 can direct the winding up of human 
 affairs when he pleases. 
 
 16. Who only hath immortality. 
 The word here — 6^va.-,ui. — proi)crly 
 means exemption from death, and 
 seems to mean that God, in his own 
 nature, enjoys a perfect and certain 
 exemption from death. Creatures 
 have immortality only as they de- 
 rive it from him, and of course are 
 dependent on Iiim for it. He has it 
 by his very nature, and it is in iiia 
 case underived, and he cannot be de 
 
230 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 A. D. 58. 
 
 no man can approach unto ; whom 
 • no man hath seen nor can see : 
 to whom '' be honour and power 
 everlasting. Amen. 
 
 17 Charge them that are rich 
 
 a Ex. 33. 20. 
 JJude25. 2 Re. 1.6. 
 
 prived of it. It is one of the essen- 
 tia] attributes of his being, tliat he 
 will always exist, and that death 
 cannot reach him. Comp. the ex- 
 pression in John v. 26, " The Father 
 hath life in himself," and the Notes 
 on that passage. 1[ Dwelling in the 
 light which no man can approach 
 unto. Gr., ' Inhabiting inapproach- 
 able light.' The light where he 
 dwells is so brilliant and dazzling 
 that mortal eyes could not endure it. 
 This is a very common representa- 
 tion of the dwelling-place of God. 
 See examples quoted in Pricasns, in 
 loc. Heaven is constantly represent- 
 ed as a place of the most pure and 
 brilliant light, needing not the light 
 of the sun, or the moon, or the stars 
 (Rev. xxi. 23, 24; xxii. 5), and 
 God is represented as dwelling in 
 that light, surrounded by amazing 
 and inapproachable glory. Comp. 
 Rev. iv. 6. Ezek. i. 4. Heb. i. 3. 
 *f Whom no man hath seen nor can 
 see. Notes on John i. 18. T[ To 
 whom be honour and poicer ever- 
 asting. Amen. See Notes on Rom. 
 xi. 36. 
 
 17. Charge them that are rich in 
 this world, that they be not high- 
 minded. One of the evils to which 
 they are particularly exposed. The 
 idea is, that they should not value 
 themselves on account of their 
 wealth, or look down with pride and 
 arrogance on their inferiors. They 
 should not suppose that they are any 
 better men, or any nearer heaven, 
 because they are wealthy. Property 
 veally makes no distinction in the 
 great things that pertain to character 
 and salvation. It does not. necessa- 
 rily make one wise, or learned, or 
 
 in this world, that they be not 
 high-minded, nor trust "" in ' un 
 certain riches, but in the living 
 God, who giveth us richly all 
 things to enjoy ; "^ 
 
 c Ps. 62. 10. 1 the uncertainty of. 
 
 d Ec. 5. 18, 19. 
 
 great, or good. In all these things, 
 the man who has not wealth may be 
 vastly the superior of him who has; 
 and for so slight and unimportant a 
 distinction as gold can confer, no 
 man should be proud. Besides, let 
 such a man reflect that his property 
 is the gift of God; that he is made 
 rich because God has chosen to ar-. 
 range things so that he should be ; 
 that it is not primarily owing to any 
 skill or wisdom which he has ; that 
 his property only increases his re- 
 sponsibility, and that it must all soon 
 be left, and he be as poor as the 
 ' beggar that lies at his gate ;' and 
 he will see ample reason why . he 
 should not be proud. H IS or trust in 
 uncertain riches. .Marg., The un- 
 certainty of. The margin expresses 
 the meaning of the Greek more ac- 
 curately than the text, but the sense 
 is not materially varied. Riches are 
 uncertain because they may soon be 
 taken away. No dependance can be 
 placed on them in the emergencies 
 of life. He who is rich to-day, has 
 no security that he will be to-mor- 
 row ; and if he shall be rich, to-mor- 
 row, he has no certainty that his 
 riches will meet his necessities then. 
 A man whose house is in flames, or 
 who is shipwrecked, or whose child 
 lies dying, or who is himself in the 
 agonies of death, can derive no ad- 
 vantage from the fact that he is 
 richer than other men. See Notes 
 on Luke xii. 16 — 21. Thaf against 
 which Paul here directs Timothy to 
 caution the rich, is that to which 
 they are most exposed. A man 
 who is rich, is very liable to 'trust' 
 in his riches, and to suppose that 
 he needs nothing' more. Comp. 
 
A. D. 59. 
 
 CHAPTER M. 
 
 231 
 
 18 That tliey do good, that 
 they ho rich in good worlis, ready 
 to distribute, willing ' to commu- 
 nicate ; 
 
 19 Laying up in store for them- 
 selves a good foundation against 
 
 I or, tociable. 
 
 Lukexii. 19. He feels that he is not de- 
 poiulent oil his foilow-mon, and he is 
 very likely to feel that he is not de- 
 pendent on God. It is tor tliis cause 
 that God has recorded so many .solemn 
 declarations in his word respect- 
 ing the instability of riches (com p. 
 Prov. x.xiii. 5), and that he is fur- 
 nishing so many instructive lessons 
 in his providence, showing how easily 
 riclits may suddenly vanish away. 
 •' But in the Uvinir God. (1.) lie 
 is able to supply all our wants, and 
 to do for us what riches cannot do ; 
 and (2.) he never changes, or leaves 
 tho-e who put their trust in him. 
 He is able to meet our wantj if in 
 the flnmes, or in a storm at sea, or 
 when a friend dies, or when we lie 
 down on a bed of death, or wher- 
 ever we may be in the eternal world. 
 ,ir Who givelh us richly all things to 
 enjoy. The meaning of this seems 
 to he, that God permits us to en- 
 joy everything. Everything in the 
 works of creation and redemption he 
 has given to man for his happiness, 
 and he should tlierefore trust in him. 
 He has not merely given wealth for 
 tlie comtbrtof men, but he has given 
 evirythinir ,• and he on whom so 
 many and so great blessings have 
 been bestowed tor his comfort, should 
 trust in the great Benefactor him- 
 selt', and not rely merely on one of 
 his gifts. Com p. Notes on 1 Cor. 
 iii. 21—23. 
 
 li. That they do good. On the 
 duty enjoine<l in this verse, see Notes 
 on Gal. vi. 10. Heb. xiii. 16. ''.That 
 they be rich in good icorks. ' That 
 their good works may be as abundant 
 t« t!:':'ir riches.' ^ Ready to distri- 
 
 the time to come, that they may 
 lay " hold on eternal life. 
 
 20 U Timothy, keep that which 
 is committed to thy trust, avoiding 
 * profane ami vain babblings, and 
 oppositions of science falsely so 
 called : 
 
 a Ph. 3. H. 6 Tit. I. 14. 
 
 hnte. To divide with others. Compt 
 Acts iv. 34. The meaning is, that 
 they should be liberal, or bountiful. 
 •f \Villing to cnmmtinicate. Marg., 
 or sociable. The translation in the 
 text is a more correct rendering of 
 the Greek. The idea is, that they 
 should be willing to share their bless- 
 ings with others, so as to make others 
 comfortable. See Notes on Heb. xiii. 
 16. Comp. the argument of Paul in 
 2 Cor. viii. 13 — 15, and the Notes on 
 that passage. 
 
 li). Laying tip in store for them- 
 selves, &.C. The meaning of thia 
 verse is, that they were to make 
 such a use of their property that it 
 would contribute to their eternal 
 welfare. It might be the means of 
 exalted happiness and honour in 
 heaven, if they would so use it as not 
 to interfere with religion in the soul, 
 and so as to do the most good possi- 
 ble. See the sentiment in this verse 
 explained at length in the Notes on 
 Luke XV i. 9. 
 
 20. Keep that which is committed 
 to thy trust. All that is entrusted 
 to you, and to which reference has 
 been particularly made in this epis- 
 tle. The honour of the gospel, and 
 the interests of religion, had been 
 specially committed to him ; and he 
 was sacredly to guard this holy trust, 
 and not suner it to be wrested from 
 him. •[ Avoiding profane and vain 
 babblings. Gr., ' Profane, empty 
 words.' The reference is to such 
 controversies and doctrines as tended 
 only to pro<luce strife, an<l were not 
 adapted to promote the edification of 
 the churcii. See Notes on ch. i. 4 ; 
 iv. 7. If And oppositions o/scienrt 
 
232 
 
 I. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 58. 
 
 21 Which some professing 
 have " erred concerning the faith. 
 Grace he with thee. Amen. 
 
 a 2 Ti. 2. 18. 
 
 falsely so called. Religion has no- 
 thing to fear from true science, and 
 the minister of tlje gospel is not ex- 
 horted to dread that. Real science, 
 in all its advances, contributes to the 
 support of religion; and just in pro- 
 portion as tliat is promoted will it be 
 found to sustain the Bible, and to 
 confirm the claims of religion to the 
 faith of mankind. See this illustrated 
 at length in Wiseman's Lectures on 
 the connection between science and 
 religion. It is only false or pretend- 
 ed science that religion has to dread, 
 and which the friend of Christianity 
 is to avoid. The meaning here is, 
 that Timothy was to avoid every- 
 thing which falsely laid claim to 
 being ' knowledge' or ' science.' — 
 There was much of this in the world 
 
 The first to Tiraothy was writ* 
 ten from Laodicea, which is 
 the chiefest city of Phrygia 
 Pacatiana. 
 
 at the time the apostle wrote ; and 
 this, more perhaps than anything 
 else, has tended to corrupt true reli- 
 gion since. 
 
 21. Which some professing-. Evi- 
 dently some who professed to be true 
 Christians. They were attracted by 
 false philosophy, and soon, as a con- 
 sequence, were led to deny the doc- 
 trines of Christianity. This result 
 has not been uncommon in the world. 
 ^ Have erred concerning the faith. 
 See Notes on ch. i. 6, 7; vi. 10. 
 Tf Grace be with thee. See Notes, 
 Rom. i. 7. 
 
 On the subscription at the close 
 of this epistle, see Intro., § 2. It is, 
 like the other subscriptions at the 
 close of the epistles, of no authority; 
 
THE SECOND 
 
 EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TBIOTHY. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 1. Time and Place of writing the Epistle. 
 
 There has been much diversity of sentiment on the question when thia 
 epistle was written. That it was written at Rome, and when tlie apostle 
 was imprisoned there, is the unanimous opinion of all who have written on 
 the epistle, and indeed is apparent on the face of it. See ch. i. 8. 16 ; iv. 6. 
 But whether it was written during liis first imprisonment there, or during 
 a seco.id imprisonment, is a question on which critics even now are by no 
 means apreed. The most respectable names may be found on cacli side 
 of this question, though the common opinion has been that it was during 
 a second imprisonment. Of this opinion are Mosheim, Michaelis, Benson, 
 Mill, Macknight, Le Clerc, Palcy, Stuart, Clarke, and Doddridge. Tlie 
 reasons for this may be seen at length in Hug's Introduction, pp. 701 — 703, 
 Mackniglit, and inPalcy's Hortc Paulina;. Dr. Lardner, Baronius, Wilsius, 
 Lightfoof, Hammond, Ilug, Hemsen, and others, maintain that it was 
 written during the first imprisonment, and that it was sent about the same 
 time as the epistles to the Ephcsian.-?, Colossians, Philippions, and Philemon. 
 The rca-sons for this opinion may bo found in Hug's Introduction, pp. 556 
 — 559, and in Lardner, vol. vi. pp. 38 — 72. It is not consistent with the 
 design of these Notes to go at length into an e.vamination of this question, 
 and it is not material in order to an exposition of the epistle. 
 
 After considering the reasonings of I^ardncr and Hug to prove that this 
 epistle was written dtiring Paul's first imprisoiunent at Rome — that is, as 
 they suppose, during his only imprisonment there, and not long after the 
 first epistle was written — it seems to me still that there are iiisuiwrable 
 difficulties in such a view, and that the evidence is clear that it was during 
 a second imprisonment. The reasons for this are briefly the following: 
 
 (1.) In the epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon, written during 
 his first imprisonment, Paul confidently looked forward to a release, and 
 to a spretly departure from Rome. In this, he had no such expectation. 
 Thus, ho tells the Philippians (ii. 24), " I trust in the Lord, that 1 myself 
 shall come shortly." See also ch. i. 24. In the epistle to Philemon (ver 
 20 ♦ (ccjcxxiii) 
 
CCXXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 22), he says, "But withal prepare me also a lodg-ing-: for I trust that 
 through your prayers I shall be given unto you." In .this epistle, however, 
 the author had no such expectation. Ch. iv. 6. " For I am now ready to 
 be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good 
 fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faitli; henceforth there is 
 laid up for me a crown of righteousness." 
 
 (2.) In ch. iv. 16, the apostle uses the following language : "At my first 
 answer, no man stood with me, but all forsook me." It is true that this 
 may refer to a hearing which he had had before Nero during the same 
 imprisonment at Rome in which this second epistle was written ; but the 
 most natural interpretation is to suppose that he had had one hearing, and 
 had been discharged, and that the imprisonment of which he speaks in this 
 epistle was a second one. This seems to me to be confirmed by what he 
 says in the next verse: "Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me, and 
 strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and 
 that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of 
 the lion." Here it appears («) that he had been delivered, on that occa- 
 sion, from death — 'I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,' which is 
 equivalent to saying that he was discharged ; (6) that after that discharge 
 he was permitted to preach the gospel — ' that by me the preaching might 
 be fully known ;' (c) that he had been permitted after that to travel and 
 preach — 'and that all the Gentiles might hear,' which is just such an ex- 
 pression as he would use on the supposition that he had been discharged, 
 and been permitted to go abroad and preach the gospel extensively, and is 
 not such an expression as he could have used if he had been imprisoned 
 but once. 
 
 (3.) The expression occurring in ch. iv. 20, " Erastus abode at Corinth," 
 implies that he had made a second journey to Rome. The word rendered 
 ' abode' — sfisivsv — is such as would be used where two were travelling 
 together, and where one of them chose to remain at a certain place. It 
 implies that, at the time referred to, tlie two were together, and that one 
 chose to go on, and the other to remain. But it is capable of very clear 
 proof that, when Paul was sent to Rome by Festus (Acts xxvi. xxvii.), he 
 did not stop at Corinth; and if Erastus had been with him then, he would 
 have passed by that place with him on his way to Rome. Further, when 
 Paul left Corinth, as related in Acts xx., on his way to Jerusalem, Timothy 
 was with him. This is the last time that Paul is mentioned as having 
 oeen at Corinth before coming to Rome, and there could have been no 
 need of informing Timothy of the fact that Erastus remained there, if this 
 were so, because that fact would be known to Timothy as well as Paul. 
 Besides, that departure from Corinth took place some five years before 
 Paul wrote this second epistle to Timothy ; and what would be the use of 
 his reminding Timothy of this after so long an interval 1 It is clear, more- 
 over, that Paul refers to some recent transaction. He is urging Timotiiy 
 to use all diligence to come to him before winter ; that is, as soon as pos- 
 sible. Ch. iv. 21. But how could it be a reason for this urgency to say 
 that, some Jive years before, he had been forsaken by one fellow-labourer, 
 and had been obliged to leave another one sick on the way 1 
 
 (4.) Similar remarks may be made respecting what Paul says in the 
 close of the same verse (ch. iv. 20) : " Trophimus have I left at Miletum 
 Bick." Paul, when sent by Festus to Rome, did not stop at Miletus; for 
 tlie course which the ship took on that occasion is minutely described (Acts 
 
INTRODUCTION. CCXXXV 
 
 xxvii.). and there is every certainty that there can be that it did not put 
 in at that jilace. The time, tlicn, to which I'uul must refi-r here, unk'sa 
 he made a second journey to Rome atU-r hi; had been once discliari^cd, 
 must liave been several years before; certainly as Tar bucii as wlien lie 
 tocik leave of the elders oV the cliurch of Ephesns, as recorded in Acts xx. 
 But this was about five years before; and what would have been the per- 
 tinency of informinij Tmiothy that, some five years before, he had Icll a 
 fellow-labourer sick there, as a reason why he should tiien hasten to Ilome 
 as soon as possible i It was evidently a recent occurrence to wiiich the 
 apostle refers here; and the only natural supposition is, that, not long 
 before his arrival at Rome, he had parted with both these friends, and now 
 needed, in consequence, especially the presence of Timothy. Of course, 
 if this be so, I'aul must have made another circuit throuj^rh tliese countries, 
 of which the Acts of the Apostles gives us no account, and wliich must 
 have been after his first imprisonment It is true that IIuj,' suiftrcsts that 
 the word rendered ' I have \ctV—d:tiujtoi — may be in the tiiird person 
 plural, and mav be rendered 'they have left.' Rut, who left him there? 
 \\'e are not told ; and as " notliing is suggested in the context which would 
 suppiv us with a subject of the verb in the third person plural, we are led 
 naturally to construe it of the frst person singular, and, consequently, to 
 applv it'to Paul." Pro/. Stuart, in Huir's Intro. 
 
 (p.) With this supposition of a second and recent journey, agrees the 
 passage in 2 Tim. iv. 13, "The cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, 
 when" thou coinest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the 
 IKirchments." This evidently refers to some recent affair. Can it be be- 
 lieved that these had been there for some five years, and that Paul had 
 not needed them before ! He was two years at Ca;sarea. He had abun- 
 dant coportunity of sending for them. An article of wearing apparel, or 
 books to study, or his own writings, he would be likely to need long before, 
 and it is highly improbable that he should have suffered them to remain 
 duriuLT this long period without sending for them. 
 
 («).) In the epistles which were written during Paul's first imprison- 
 ment, certain persons are referred to as being then with him, who are in 
 this epistle mentioned as absent. It is almost beyond a doubt that the 
 epistles to the Ephesian.s, Piiilippians, Colossians, and to Philemon, were 
 written during Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. See the Introduction 
 to those epistles. La the epistle to the Colossians (i. 1), Timotiiy is men- 
 tioned as being then with the a[)ostlc. Wlien this was written, of course 
 no was absent. In the same epistle, Mark is mentioned as with Paul, and 
 unites with him in the salutation to the Colossians (ch. iv. lit); wln-n this 
 epistle was written, he was absent, for Timothy is ordered to bring him with 
 him (ch. iv. 11). Demas was then with him (Col. iv. 14); now he wasabsent, 
 for Paul says, " Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, 
 anfl is departed unto Thessalonica." Ch. iv. 10. The.se circumstancea 
 make it quite clear that the second epistle to Timothy was not written 
 dunnir the imprisonment at Rome in which the epLstles to the Colossians, . 
 to Philemon, &,c., were written, unless a change iiad taken place in the 
 circumstances of the apostle, which we have no reason to suppose occurred. 
 The probability, then, seems to be strong, that the apostle was imprist)ned 
 tiiere a second time, and that the things referred to in this epistle occurred 
 hen. 
 (7.) To these circumstances should be added the fact, that many of 
 
CCXXXVl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Fathers say that Paul was liberated from his first imprisonment, and 
 afterwards travelled extensively in preaching^ the gospel. This testimony 
 is borne by Eusebius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, and others. See Calmet'a 
 Dictionary, and Lives of the Apostles, by D. F. Bacon, New Haven, pp. 
 619 — 621. — If the supposition of a second imprisonment at Rome, during 
 which this epistle was written, is correct, then it was written probably 
 not far from the year 65. Lardner, however, who supposes it was written 
 during the first imprisonment, places its date in May, A. D. 61 ; Hug, 
 also, in the same year. 
 
 5 2. The Place where Timothy was when the Epistle was addressed 
 to him. 
 
 There can be little doubt that Timothy was at Ephesus at the time 
 when this epistle was addressed to him. The evidence for this opinion is 
 thus stated by Lightfoot and others. — (1.) Paul directs Timothy to salute 
 the household of Onesiphorus, ch. iv. 19. But it is evident, from ch. i. 
 18, that Onesiphorus was an Ephesian, and, as the direction is to salute 
 his ' household,^ it may be argued with the more certainty that Timothy 
 was then at Ephesus, the ordinary residence of the family of Onesiphorus. 
 (2.) He directs Timothy to take Troas in the way as he came to him at 
 Rome (ch. iv. 13), which was the way that Paul had gone to Ephesus 
 (2 Cor. ii. 12, Acts xx. 5), thus showing that this was the usual route of 
 travel, and was a way which Timothy would naturally take in passing 
 from Epliesus to Rome. It is true that this does not absolutely prove thai 
 he was at Ephesus, — since, if he had been in any other part of the 
 western portion of Asia Minor, the direction would have been the same — 
 but it is a slight circumstance corroborating others. (3.) He warns him 
 to beware of Alexander (ch. iv. 14), who we know was an Ephesian. — 
 1 Tim. i. 20. Acts xix. 33. (4.) In ch. iv. 9, he gives direction to 
 Timotliy to come to him as soon as possible, and then adds (ver. 12), 
 " Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus." From this it would seem that one 
 reason why he wished him then to come was, that he had appointed one 
 to occupy his place there, so that he could leave without injury to the 
 cause. But it would seem also probable that Paul was not in the habit 
 of calling away a labourer from an important station without supplying 
 his place. Thus, in Titus iii. 12, he says, " When I shall send Artemas 
 unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me." It may thence be 
 inferred that Timothy was at Ephesus at the tune when Paul wrote to 
 him, and that he had taken care that his place should not be left vacant, 
 by the appointment of Tychicus to fill it when he should leave. (5.) It 
 may be added, that the errors and vices which Timothy is directed to 
 oppose, are the same which are referred to in the first epistle, and it may 
 be hence inferred that he was at the same place. 
 
 How long Timothy had been in Ephesus is not certainly known, and is 
 not material to be known in order to a proper understanding of the epistle. 
 It does not appear, from the Acts, that he was with Paul during the two 
 years in which he was inCesarea, nor during his voyage to Rome; yet it 
 is certain that he was in Rome when Paul wrote to the Philippians, to the 
 Colossians, and to Philemon, because he is named in the titles to those 
 epistles. In Heb. xiii. 23, Paul says that Timothy was " set at liberty," 
 or, more probably, " sent away" (see Notes on that verse), but to what 
 
INTRODUCTION. CCXXXVll 
 
 filace he had gtihe is not mentioned. Nothinjf would be more natural, 
 iowevcr, than that he should visit Ephesus again, and it is not improbable 
 tiiat Paul would leave him there when he a<jain visited Rome. 
 
 } 3. The occasion on which the Epistle was written. 
 
 The epistle was evidently written when the apostle was expecting' soon 
 
 to be put to death. Cli. iv. 6 — ^9. The main object of writing it seems 
 
 to have been to request Timothy to come to him as speedily as possible. 
 
 Ch. iv. 9. But, in doing tliis, it was natural tliat Paul should accompany 
 
 the request with sucii counsel as Timothy needed, and such as it was 
 
 proper for Paul to give in probably the last letter that he would write to 
 
 him. The particular reason why the apostle desired tlie presence of 
 
 Timothy seems to iiave been, that nearly all the others on whom he 
 
 miglit have supposed lie could rely in a time of trial, liad left hiin. Thus 
 
 he says that Demas had forsaken him ; Crescens had gone to Galatia ; 
 
 Titus to Dalmatia, and Tychicus he had himself sent to Ephesus. Ch. 
 
 iv. 10 — 12. No one remained with him but Luke (ch. iv. 11), and he 
 
 A was, therefore, desirous that Timothy and Mark should be with liim. Ch. 
 
 X iv. 11. He did not ask their presence merely tliat they might sustain 
 
 "5 him in his trials, but that they might aid him in tlie work of the ministry 
 
 '• (ch. iv. 11), for it would seeui that all hope of doing good in Rome was 
 
 not closed. 
 
 If tiie view of the time when this epistle was written which has been 
 ,';en in this introduction, is correct, and if this is the last epistle whi^h 
 was written by the apostle Paul before his martyrdom, then it occupies a 
 very important place in sacred canon, and is invested with great interest. 
 It may be regarded as tlie dying counsels of the most eminent of the 
 apostles to one who had just entered on the ministerial life. We should 
 read it with the interest with which we do the last words of the great 
 and the good. Then we feel that every word w-hich they utter has a 
 weight which demands attention. We feel that, whatever a man might 
 do at other times, he will not trifle then. — We feel that, having little 
 time to express his wishes, he will select topics that lie nearest his heart, 
 and that he deems most important There is no more interesting position 
 in which we can be placed, tlian when we sit down at such a man's feet, 
 and listen to his parting counsels. To a young minister of the gospel, 
 therefore, this epistle is invaluable; to any and every Christian, it cannot 
 fail to be a matter of interest to listen to the last words of the great 
 apostle of flie Gentiles, and to ponder his ast written testimony in favour 
 of that religion to the promulgation of w.aich he had devoted his talenta 
 uii his life. 
 
THE 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AXAtYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 The principal desig'n of this chap- 
 • r is to exhort Timothy to stead- 
 ; -tness and fidelity as a Christian 
 ;iiul a minister; and to entreat him 
 r ' adhere to the- truth, and live as 
 came a Christian, in the midst of 
 1 tlie temptations by which he was 
 rroundcd, and while so many were 
 -ninfT away from the christian 
 ill. Timothy was youn<T; he was 
 posed, like others, to trials; he 
 euuld not be unaware that not a few 
 had apostatized ; he knew that his 
 father in Christ was in bonds, and 
 he was liable to become dishearten- 
 ed, or to be led astray. In these 
 circumstances, the apostle seems to 
 have resolved to place before him 
 stron<T reasons to induce him to de- 
 vote himself steadfastly to the cause 
 of relig^ion, and not to allow those 
 things which rnipht tend to alienate 
 him from Christianity to have any 
 effect on his mind. After the usual 
 salutations, therefore (vs. 1, 2), he 
 proceeds to present these considera- 
 tions to the mind of Timothy: (1.) 
 He commences the chapter with 
 df Urate praise of his j'oung friend 
 — one of the most happy methods 
 of inducinjr him to persevere in the 
 course of life on which he had en- 
 tered. Vs. 3 — 5. We naturally 
 desire to perfect that in which we 
 already excel ; we feel encouraged 
 fur future efforts in a cau^ in which 
 
 we have already been successful 
 The apostle, therefore, reminds Tim- 
 othy of the manner in which he had 
 been trained; of the piety of his 
 mother and grandmother, and as- 
 sures him of his belief that their 
 efforts to train him up in the ways 
 of religion had not been in vain. 
 (2.) He urges various considerations 
 to induce him not to turn away from 
 that holy purpose to which he had 
 devoted himself The considerations 
 which he urges, are these: (a) he 
 had been solemnly consecrated to 
 the work of preaching the gospel, 
 ver. 6 ; (6) God had imparted to him, 
 as to others, a spirit of love and 
 power, and a sound mind, ver. 7; 
 (c) tiie grace of God had called him 
 to his great work, and he possessed 
 that gospel by which life and im- 
 mortality are brought to light, vs. 8 
 — 11 ; (</) Paul urges his own ex- 
 ample, and says that, amidst all his 
 own trials, he had never seen occa- 
 sion to be ashamed of the gos|K;l, 
 vs. 12 — It; and (e) he reminds 
 Timothy that all his other friends in 
 Asia had turned away from him, 
 specifying two of them, and urges 
 him, therefore, to maintain a stead- 
 fast attachment to tlie principles 
 which he had professed, ver. 15. 
 (}i.) The chapter closes with the 
 expression of an eameat prayer that 
 the Lord would bless the family of 
 Onesipliorus, and with a grateful 
 mention of his kindness to biin, v% 
 IG— 18. 
 
240 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAUL, an apostle of Jesus 
 Christ by the will of God, 
 according to the "^ promise of life 
 which is in Christ Jesus, 
 
 2 To Timothy, my dearly be- 
 loved son : * Grace, mercy, and 
 peace, from God the Father and 
 Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 oEp 3.6. b ITi. 1.2. 
 
 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus 
 Christ. Notes, Rom. i. 1. II By 
 the will of God. Called to be an 
 apostle in accordance with the di- 
 vine \\'in and purpose. Notes, Gal. 
 i. 1. ^ According to the promise of 
 Hfe which is in Christ Jesus. In 
 accordance with the great promise 
 of eternal life through the Saviour ; 
 that is, he was called to be an apos- 
 tle to carry out the great purpose of 
 human salvation. Comp. Eph. iii. 6. 
 God has made a promise of life to 
 mankind through faith in the Lord 
 Jesus, and it was with reference to 
 this that he was called to the apos- 
 tleship. 
 
 2. To Timothy, my dearly be- 
 loved son. Notes, 1 Tim. i. 2. 
 IT Grace, mercy, and ^eace, &c. See 
 Notes on Rom. i. 7. 
 
 3. / thank God, whom I serve 
 from my forefathers. Paul reck- 
 oned among his forefathers the pa- 
 triarchs and the holy men of former 
 times, as being of the same nation 
 with himself, though it may be that 
 he also included his more immediate 
 ancestors, who, for anything known 
 to the contrary, may have been dis- 
 tinguished examples of piety. His 
 own parents, it is certam, took care 
 tliat he should be trained up in the 
 ways of religion. Comp. Notes on 
 Phil. iii. 4, 5. Acts xxvi. 4, 5. The 
 phrase • frommy forefathers,' proba- 
 bly means, after the example of my 
 ancestors. He worshipped the same 
 
 iod ; he neld substantially the same 
 xutlis ; he had the same hope of the 
 
 3 I thank God, whom I serve 
 "from my forefathers with pure 
 conscience, '' that without ceasing 
 I have remembrance of thee in 
 my praj^ers night and day ; 
 
 4 Greatly desiring " to see thee 
 being mindful of thy tears, that I 
 may be filled with joy ; 
 
 c Ac. 23. 1. d He. 13. 18. e c. 4. 9, 21. 
 
 resurrection and of immortality ; he 
 trusted to the same Saviour having- 
 come, on whom they relied as abov^ 
 to come. His was not, therefore, a 
 difterent religion from theirs ; it was 
 the same religion carried out and 
 perfected. The religion of the Old 
 Testament and the New is essen- 
 tially the same. See Notes on Acts 
 xxiii. 6. •[[ With pure conscience. 
 See Notes on Acts xxiii. 1. ^ That 
 without ceasing. Comp. Notes on 
 Rom. xii. 12. 1 Thess. v. 17. IT / 
 have remembrance of thee in my 
 prayers night and day. See Notes, 
 Phil. i. 3, 4. 
 
 4. Greatly desiring to see thee. 
 See ch. iv. 9. 21. It was probably 
 on account of this earnest desire 
 that this epistle was written. He 
 wished to see him, not only on ac- 
 count of the warm friendship which 
 he had for him, but because he would 
 be useful to him in his present ch- 
 cumstances. See Intro., \ 3. *^Being 
 mindful of thy tears. Alluding pro- 
 bably to the tears which he shed at 
 parting from him. The occasion to 
 which he refers is not mentioned; 
 but nothing is more probable than 
 that Timothy would weep when se- 
 parated from such a father and 
 friend. It is not wrong thus to weep, 
 for religion is not intended to make 
 us stoics or savages. *^That I may 
 be filled with joy. By seeing you 
 again. It is easy to imagine what 
 joy it would give Paul, then a pri- 
 soner, and forsaken by nearly all his 
 friends, and about to die, to see a 
 
AD iio.] CHAPTER 1. 
 
 5 When I call to remembrance 
 the unfcipied faith " that is in 
 thee, wliich dwelt first in thy 
 pranclmotluT Lois, and thy mo- 
 ther '■Eunice; and 1 am pcr- 
 
 o 1 Ti. -1. fi. b Ac 10. 1. 
 
 Ui. 
 
 friend wlioni lie loved as he did this 
 young man. Learn, hence, that 
 there jikii/ be very pure and warm 
 t'riendsliip between an old and young 
 man, and tliat liie warmth of true 
 fricndt-liip is not diminislied by the 
 near prospect of death. 
 
 5. W/ien I call lo remembrance 
 the unj'ciiined faith that is in Ihce. 
 Notes, 1 Tim. i. 5. On tlie tiiitli of 
 Timothy, see Notes on 1 Tim. iv. G. 
 IT Which dwell first in thy grand- 
 jiKithrr Lois. That is, the same 
 f lilli dwelt in her ; or, she was a sin- 
 core believer in Christ It would 
 seem probable, from tliis, that she 
 was the first of the family who had 
 Deen converted. In the Acts of the 
 Apostles (xvi. 1), wc have an ac- 
 count of the family of Timothy : — 
 " Then came he to Dcrlw and Lys- 
 tra; and behold a certain disciple 
 was there, named Timotheus, tiie 
 son of a certain woman wliich was a 
 Jewess, and believed ; but his father 
 was a Greek." In this account no 
 mention is made of the grandmother 
 Ijois, but there is no improbability in 
 6upp<i6ing that Paul was better ac- 
 quainted with the family than J.,ukc. 
 There is, at any rate, no contradic- 
 tion between the two accounts; but 
 tiie one confirms the other, and the 
 "undesigned coincidence" furnisiies 
 an argument for the authenticity of 
 Doth. See Paley's Jlorce I'aiilince, 
 in loc. As the mother of Timothy 
 was a Hebrew, it is clear tiiat his 
 grandmother was also. Nothinn^ 
 more is known of her tlian is here 
 mentioned. •[ And in thy mother 
 Kunirr. In Acts xvi. 1, it is said 
 that tiie mother of Timothy was "a 
 Jewess, and believed;" biitliernnme 
 te not mentioned. This shows that 
 21 
 
 suaded that in thee aiso. 
 
 G Wherefore I put thee in re- 
 membrance tliat thou stir up the 
 pft of God, ' which is in thee by 
 the putting on of my hands. 
 
 c 1 Ti.4. 1-1. 
 
 Paul was acquainted with the fa- 
 mily, and tliat the statement in the 
 epistle to Timotiiy was not Ibrged 
 from the account in the Acts. Here 
 is another ' undesigned coincidence.' 
 In the history in tiie Acts, nothing 
 is said of the father, except that he 
 was "a Greek," but it is implied that 
 he was not a believer. In the epis- 
 tle before us, nothing ichutever is 
 said of him. But the piety of his 
 motlier alone is commended, and it 
 is fairly implied that his father was 
 not a believer. This is one of those 
 coincidences on which Paley has 
 constructed his beautiful argument 
 in the Hora; Paulina; in fiivour of 
 tiie genuineness of tiie New Testa 
 ment. 
 
 6. That thon stir vp the gift of 
 God. Gr., That thou kindle vp as 
 a fire. The original word used 
 here denotes the kindling of a fire, 
 as by bellows, &c. It is not uncom- 
 mon to compare piety to a flame or 
 a fire, and the image is one that is 
 obvious wlien we speak of causing 
 that to burn more brightly. The 
 idea is, that Timothy was to use al 
 proper means to keep tiie fiame of 
 pure religion in tiic snnl burning 
 and more particularly his zo;ii in the 
 great cause to which he Jiad been 
 set apart. Tiie agency of man him- 
 self is needful to keep tiie religion 
 of tlie heart warm and glowing. 
 However rich the gifls wliicii God 
 has be.-itowcd upon u.s, tliey do not 
 grow of their own accord, but need 
 to be cultivated by our own per.^^onal 
 care. ^ Which is in thee by the 
 putting on of my hands. In con- 
 nection with tlio jiresbyfery. See 
 Notes on 1 Tim. iv. 1 1. Tins proves 
 that Paul took part in Uie ordination 
 
342 
 
 7 For God hath not given us 
 the spirit of fear ; " but of power, 
 
 a Ro. 8. 15. 1 Jno. 4. 18. 
 
 11. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 6fx 
 
 *and of love, and of a sound 
 mind. 
 
 h Lu. 24. 49. 
 
 of Timothy; but it does not prove 
 either that he performed the duty 
 alone, or that the ' ordaining virtue,' 
 whatever that was, was imparted by 
 him only ; for (1.) it is expressly said 
 (.1 Tim. iv. 14), that he was ordained 
 by the laying on of the hands of the 
 ])resbytery, of which Paul was doubt- 
 less one ; and (2.) the language here 
 used, ' by the putting on of my hands,' 
 is just such as Paul, or any other one 
 of the presbytery, would use in re- 
 ferring to the ordination of Timothy, 
 though they were all regarded as on 
 a level. It is such an expression as 
 an aged Presbyterian, or Congrega- 
 tional, or Baptist minister would ad- 
 dress to a son whom he had assisted 
 to ordain. Nothing would be more 
 natural than to remind him that ]iis 
 own hands had been laid on him 
 when he was set apart to the w^ork 
 of the ministry. It would be in the 
 nature of a tender, pathetic, and so- 
 lemn appeal, bringing all that there 
 was in his own character, age, and 
 relation to the other, to bear on him, 
 in order to induce him to be faithful 
 to his trust. On other occasions, lie 
 would naturally remind him that 
 others had united with him in the 
 act, and that he had derived his au- 
 thority through the presbytery, just 
 as Paul appeals to Timothy, 1 Tim. 
 iv. 14. But no one would now think 
 of inferring from this, that he m^ant 
 to be understood as saying that he 
 alone had ordained him, or that all 
 the authority for preaching the gos- 
 pel had been imparted through his 
 hands, and that those who were as- 
 sociated with him only expressed 
 '•concurrence;'' that is, that their 
 presence there was only an unmean- 
 ing ceremony. What was the ' gift 
 of°God' which had been conferred in 
 this way, Paul specifies in the next 
 verse. It is ' the spirit of power, and 
 
 of Jove, and oi a sound mind.' The 
 meaning is, that these had been con 
 ferred by God, and that the gift had 
 been recognised by his ordination. 
 It does not imply that any myste- 
 rious influence had gone from the 
 hands of the ordainers, imparting any 
 holiness to Timothy which he had 
 not before. 
 
 7. For God hath not given us the 
 spirit of fear. A timorous and ser- 
 vile spirit. This is said in order to 
 encourage Timothy, who was not 
 improbably modest and difBdent. — 
 ^ But of power. Power to encoun- 
 ter foes and dangers ; power to bear 
 up under trials; power to triumph 
 in persecutions. That is, it is the 
 nature of the gospel to inspire the 
 mind with holy courage. Comp., 
 however, Luke xxiv. 49. If And oj 
 love. Love to God and to the souls 
 of men. The tendency of this, also, 
 is to ' cast out fear' (1 John iv. 18), 
 and to make the mind bold and con- 
 stant. Nothing will do more to in- 
 spire courage, to make a man fear- 
 less of danger, or ready to endure 
 privation and persecution, than love. 
 The love of countr}', and wife, and 
 children, and home, makes the most 
 timid bold when they are assailed ; 
 and the love of Christ and of a dying 
 world nerv-es the soul to great enter- 
 prises, and sustains it in the deepest 
 sorrov^s. H And of a sound mind. 
 The Greek word denotes one of so- 
 ber mind ; a man of prudence and 
 discretion. The state referred to 
 here is that in which the mind is 
 w^ell balanced, and under right in- 
 fluences; in which it sees things in 
 their just proportions and relations ; 
 in which it is not feverish and ex- 
 cited, but when everything is in it3 
 proper place. It was this state of 
 mind which Timothy was exhorted 
 to cultivate; this which Paul r&« 
 
A. D. 05.] Cilnl'TER 1. 
 
 8 Be not thou tlioreforc 
 ashaiicd of the ti-stimony of our 
 LonI, nor of nie his prisoner: 
 hut be thou partiiker " of the af- 
 flictions of the pospcl according 
 to the power of Ciod ; 
 
 y Who hath saved *us, and 
 called ' us with an holy calhng, 
 
 « Col. 1. 21. b Mai. 1. ■2\. c Ro. 8. 23. .TO. 
 
 243 
 
 not 'according to our works, hut 
 according to his own purpose 
 •and grace, which was given us 
 in Christ Jesus, before ^the world 
 began ; 
 
 10 But is now made manifest 
 « by the appearing of our Saviour 
 
 e De. 
 
 (/Tit. X5. 
 /Ep. 1. 4. 
 
 7.7,8. Ep. 1.0. 11. 
 g 1 Pc. 1. 20. 
 
 gan'.ed i3 so necessary to the pcr- 
 tbniiance of the duties of Ids office. 
 It is as needful now for the minister 
 of relifrion as it was tJien. 
 
 8. Be not thou therefore ashamed 
 of the testimony of our Lord. Do 
 not be ashamed to bear your testi- 
 mony to the doctrines taught by the 
 I>ord Je.-us. John iii. 11. '6'2, '^'i\ 
 vii. 7. Com p. Acts .x. 22 ; xx. 24. 
 1 Cor. i. 0. Rev. xxii. 16. Paul 
 seems to have apprehended that 
 Timothy was in some danger of 
 be/ig ashamed of this gospel, or of 
 shrinking back from its open avowal 
 in the trials and persecutions to 
 whicii he now saw it exposed him. 
 •y Aor of me his prisoner. Of the 
 testimony which I have borne to the 
 truth of the gospel. This passage 
 proves that, when Paul wrote this 
 epistle, he was in confinement. 
 Comp. Eph. iii. 1 ; vi. 20. Phil. i. 
 VA, 14. la Col. iv. 3. IS. Philcm. 9. 
 Timothy knew that he had been 
 thrown into prison on account of his 
 love for the gospel. To avoid tliat 
 himself, there might be some danger 
 that a timid young man might shrink 
 from an open avowal of his belief in 
 the same system of truth. ^ But be 
 thoH partaker of the njjlictions of 
 the gospel. The sufToring.': to which 
 llie profession of the gospel may e.\- 
 ]My^e you. Comp. Notes on Col. i. 24. 
 * According to the power of God. 
 That is, according to the power 
 which God gives to those who are 
 afflicted on account of the gospel. 
 The apostle evidently supposes that 
 thev who were subjected to trials on 
 
 account of the gospel, might look for 
 divine strength to uphold them, and 
 asks him to endure those trials, rely- 
 ing on that strength, an'd not on his 
 own. 
 
 9. Who hath saved us. Notes, 
 Matt. i. 21. He has brought us into 
 a state in which sjilvation is so cer- 
 tain, that Paul could speak of it aa 
 if it were already done. H And 
 called us. Notes, Rom. viii. 29. 30. 
 •[ With an holy calling. A calling 
 which is in its own nature holy, and 
 which leads to holiness. Comp. 
 Notes on Eph. iv, 1. Phil. iii. 14. 
 Heb. iii. 1. ^ ?iot according to our 
 works. Titus iii. 5. Notes, F'-ph. ii. 
 8, 9. The idea is that our own 
 works have nothing to do in inducing 
 God to call us. As, when we become 
 Christians, he docs not choose us 
 because of our works, so the eternal 
 purpose in regard to our salvation 
 could not have been formed because 
 he foresaw that we would pcrlbrm 
 such works as would be a reason 
 why he should choose us. The 
 whole arrangement was irrespective 
 of our deserts. IT But according to 
 his own purpose and pracr. See 
 Notes en Rom. ix. 11 — 13. 16 
 Eph. i. 4, o. T Which teas given 
 us in Christ Jesus, before thr world 
 began. That is, which he intended 
 to give us, for it was not then acttt- 
 ally given. The t)iing was so cer- 
 tain in the divine purposes, that it 
 might be said to t)o. already done. 
 Comp. Notes, Rom. iv. 17. 
 
 10. But is 710W made manife$t 
 The purpose to save us was long 
 
244 
 
 Jesus Christ, who hath aboUshed 
 •death, and hath brought hfe 
 
 o 1 Co. 15. 54. 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 65. 
 
 * and immortahty to light through 
 the gospel : 
 
 6 John 5. 24-29. 
 
 concealed in the divine mind, but 
 the Saviour came that he might 
 make it known. IT Who hath abo- 
 lished death. That is, he has made 
 it so certain tliat death will be abo- 
 lishef], that it may be spoken of as 
 already done. It is remarkable how 
 often, in this chapter, Paul speaks 
 of what God intends to^do as so cer- 
 tain, that it may be spoken of as a 
 thing that is already done. On the 
 meaning- of the expression here, see 
 Notes on 1 Cor. xv. 54. Comp. 
 Notes on Heb. ii. 14. The meaning 
 is, that, through the gospel, death 
 will cease to reign, and over those 
 who are saved there wdl be no such 
 thjng as we now understand by dy- 
 ing. ^ And hath brought life and 
 immortality to light through the 
 gospel. This is one of the great 
 and glorious achievements of the 
 gospel, and one of the things by 
 which it is distinguished from every 
 other system. The word rendered 
 ' hath brought to light'— ^wrt'^io — 
 means to give light, to shine ; then 
 to give light to, to shine upon; and 
 then to bring to light, to make 
 knovi'n. Rob. Lex. The sense is, 
 that these things were before obscure 
 or unknown, and that they liave been 
 disclosed to us by the gospel. It is, 
 of course, not meant that there were 
 no intimations of these truths before, 
 or that nothing was known of them — 
 for the Old Testament shed some 
 light on them; but that they are 
 fully disclosed to man in the gospel. 
 It is there that all ambiguity and 
 doubt are removed, and that the evi- 
 dence is so clearly stated as to leave 
 no doubt on the subject. The inti- 
 mations of a future state, among tlie 
 wisest of the heathen, were certain- 
 ly very obscure, and their hopes very 
 faint. The hope of a future state is 
 Styled by Cicero, Futurorum quod- 
 
 dam augurium sseculomm — a con- 
 jecture or surmise of future ages, 
 'Fuse. Q. 1. Seneca says it is " that 
 which our wise men do promise, but 
 they do not prove." Epis.l{\2. So- 
 crates, even at his death, said, "I 
 hope to go hence to good men, but 
 of that I am not very confident; nor 
 doth it become any wise man to be 
 positive that so it will be. I must 
 now die, and you shall live; but 
 which of us is in the better state, the 
 living or the dead, God only knows." 
 Pliny says, " Neither soul nor body 
 has any more sense after death, than 
 before it was born." Cicero begins 
 his discourse on the subject with a 
 profession that he intended to deliver 
 nothing as fixed and certain, but 
 only as probable, and as having some 
 likelihood of truth. And, having 
 mentioned the different sentiments 
 of philosophers, he concludes, — 
 " Which of these opinions is true, 
 some god must tell us; which is 
 most like to truth, is a great ques- 
 tion." See Whitby, in loc. Such 
 doubts existed in regard to the im- 
 mortality of the soul; but of the re- 
 surrection and future life of the body, 
 they had no conception whatever. 
 Comp. Acts xvii. 32. With wiiat 
 propriety, then, may it be said that 
 these doctrines were brought to light 
 through the gospel ! Man would 
 never have known them if it had 
 not been for revelation. The word 
 '///e,' here, refers undoubtedly to 
 life in the future world. The ques- 
 tion was, whether man would live 
 at all ; and that question has been 
 determined by the gospel. The 
 word ' immortality' means, properly, 
 incorrupiion, incapacity of decay ; 
 and may be applied either to the 
 body or the soul. See it explained 
 in the Notes on 1 Cor. xv. 42. It is 
 used in reference to the bcdy, in 
 
A. P. 05.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 215 
 
 11 Wht-Mvunto T am appointed 
 a pp-acluT, ami an ajio^llc, and a 
 teaclier of tlic (uiitik's. 
 
 12 For the which cause I also 
 njffer these thinc^s : nevertlieless 
 
 " I am not ashamed : for I l>i:uw 
 whom I have ' beheved, and am 
 persuaded that he is able to keep 
 that which I have * commiiied 
 unto him against that day. 
 
 a Ro. 1. Ifi. ' or, trusted. b 1 Pc. 4. 19. 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 42. 5:3, 54. In Rom. ii. 7, 
 
 it is applied to the future state of re- 
 wards, witiioul special reference to 
 tlie bcxly or soul. Hero it seems to 
 refer to the future state as tliat in 
 which there will be no corruption or 
 decay. jMany sup|)ose that the 
 phrase "life and immortality," here, 
 is used by hendiadys (two tliin^rs for 
 one), as meaninET immortal or incor- 
 ruptible life. The pospel thus has 
 truths not luund in any other system, 
 and contains what man never would 
 have discovered of himselt". As fair 
 a trial had been made among' the 
 philosophers of Greece and Rome as 
 could be made, to determine whether 
 tiic unaided powers of the human 
 mind could arrive at these great 
 truths; and their most disting-uished 
 pliilo:Lophers confessed that they 
 could arrive at no certainty on the 
 subject. In this state of things, the 
 pospel comes and reveals truths 
 worthy of all acceptation; sheds 
 ighl where man had desired it; 
 solves the great problems which had 
 for ages perplexed the human mind, 
 and discloses to man all that he 
 could wish — that not only the soul 
 will live for ever, but that tlie botly 
 will be raised from the grave, and 
 that the entire man will become im- 
 mortal. How strange it is that men 
 will not embrace the gospel ! So- 
 crates and Cicero would have hailed 
 its light, and welcomed its truths, as 
 those which their whole nature 
 panted to know. 
 
 11. \yherritnto I am appointed a 
 
 fer on account of my purpose to car- 
 ry the gospel to the Gentiles. See 
 Notes on Col. i. 24. ■[ Aevntlirlesa 
 I am not ashmned. Comp. Notes 
 on Rom. i. 10. 1[ For I hnotv whom 
 I have bilirved. Marg., trvsted. 
 The idea is, that he understood the 
 character of tiiat Redeemer to whom 
 he had committed his eternal inte- 
 rests, and knew that he iiad no rea- 
 son to be ashamed of confiding in 
 him. He was able to keep all that 
 he had intrusted to his care, and 
 would not suffer him to be lost. See 
 Isa. xxviii. 16. ^ And am pfrsuad- 
 ed that he is able to keep that which 
 I have committed unto him. Thai is, 
 the soul, with all its immortal inte- 
 rests. A man has nothing of higher 
 value to intrust to another than the 
 interests of his soul, and there is no 
 other act of contidcnce like that in 
 which he intrusts the keeping of that 
 soul to the Son of God. Learn 
 hence, (1.) that religion consists in 
 committing the soul to the care of 
 the Lord Jesus; because (n) we feel 
 that we cannot secure its solvation 
 ourselves; (/>) it is by nature in dan- 
 ger; (c) if not saved by him, it will 
 not be saved at all. (2.) That is a 
 great and invaluable treasur«? which 
 is committed to him. («) i*^o high- 
 er treasure can b(! committed to an- 
 other; (h) in connection with that 
 the whole question of our happiness 
 on earth and in heaven is intrusted 
 to him. and all depends on his fidel- 
 ity. (13.) It is done by the true Chris- 
 tian with the mo.<t entire confidence, 
 
 preachrr. That is, I am apiJointedUo that the mind is at rest. The 
 to make these truths known. Hcvl^rntinds of this confidence ore («) 
 Notes on Eph. iii. 7, 8. ! what is .«aid of llie migiity poircT of 
 
 12. For the which cause I also \t\\c Saviour; (h) Ids pronuses tliat 
 Buffer these things. That is, I .suf- ' he will keep all who confide in hm 
 21* 
 
246 
 
 n. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 13 Hold fast "the form *of' 
 
 a Re. 2. 25. 
 c 1 Ti. C 3. 
 
 h Ro. 6. 17. 
 
 (comp. John x. 27 — 29) ; (c) experi- 
 ence — the fact that those who have 
 trusted in him have found that he is 
 able to keep tliem. (4.) Tliis act 
 of committhig the soul, with all its 
 interests, to the Saviour, is the true 
 source of peace in the trials of life. 
 This is so because, («) having done 
 this, we feel that our great interests 
 are secure. If the soul is safe, 
 whj'' need we be disturbed by the 
 loss of health, or property, or other 
 temporal comforts] Those are se- 
 condary things. A man who is ship- 
 wrecked, and who sees his son or 
 t'laugliter safe with him on tJie shore, 
 will be little concerned that a casket 
 of jewels fell overboard — however 
 valuable it might be. (6) All those 
 trials will soon pass away, and he 
 will be safe in heaven, (c) These 
 very things may further the great 
 object — the salvation of the soul. 
 A man's great interests may be more 
 safe when in a prison than when in 
 a palace ; on a pallet of straw than 
 on a bed of down; when conslraxncd 
 to say, 'Give us this day our daily 
 bread,' than when encompassed with 
 the wealth of Croesus. ^ Against 
 that day. The day of judgment — 
 called ' that day,' without anything 
 further to designate it, because it is 
 the great day, 'the day for which 
 all other days were made.' It seems 
 to have been so much the object of 
 thought and conversation among the 
 early Christians, that the apostle sup- 
 posed that he would be understood 
 by merely referring to it as ' that 
 day;' that is, the day which they 
 were always preaching about, and 
 talking about, and thinking about. 
 
 13. Hold fast the form of sound 
 words. See Notes, 1 Tim. i. 3. 
 On the Greek word here rendered 
 'form,'' see Notes on 1 Tim. i. 16, 
 where it is rendered pattern. The 
 
 sound words, which thou hast 
 heard of ine, in faith and love 
 which is in Christ Jesus, 
 
 word means a form, sketch, or im- 
 perfect delineation — an outline. 
 Grotius says that it here means ' an 
 exemplar, but an exemplar fixed in 
 the mind — an idea.' Calvin saya 
 that the command is that he should 
 adhere to the doctrine which he had 
 learned, not only in its substance, 
 but in its form. Archbishop Tillot- 
 son explains this as meaning the pro- 
 fession of faith which was made by 
 Christians at baptism. There seems 
 to be an allusion to some summary 
 or outline of truth which Paul had 
 given to Timothy, though there is 
 no evidence that it was written. In- 
 deed, there is every presumption 
 that, if it refers to such a summary, 
 it was not committed to writing. If 
 it had been, it would have been re- 
 garded as inspired, and would have 
 taken its place in the canon of Scrip- 
 ture. It may be presumed that almost 
 none of the sacred writings would 
 have been more sacredly preserved 
 than such a condensed summary of 
 christian truth. But there is no im- 
 probability in supposing that Paul, 
 either at his ordination, or on some 
 other occasion, may have stated tiie 
 outlines of the christian religion to 
 Timothy, that he might have a clear 
 and connected view of the subject. 
 Tiie passage, therefore, may be used 
 as an argument for the propriety of 
 some brief summary of doctrine as 
 a matter of convenience, though not 
 as having binding authority on the 
 consciences of others. ^ Of sound 
 words. Comp. Notes on 1 Tim. vi. 
 3. The Greek is the same in both 
 places. Tf Which thnu hast heard of 
 me. This proves that he does not 
 refer to a written creed, since what 
 he refers to was something which 
 he had heard. ^ In faith and love 
 which is in Christ Jesus. Hold 
 these truths with sincere faith in the 
 
A. D. 65. j 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 217 
 
 14 Thai • good thing which 
 was comii iltcd unto thee, keep by 
 the Holy Giiost which dwelleth 
 in us. 
 
 15 This thou knowest, that all 
 ' tlte}- which are in ^Vsia be turn- 
 
 a I Ti. 20. b Ac 19. 10. 
 
 Lord Jesus, and witii that love wliich 
 is the best evidence of attachment 
 to him. 
 
 14. That good thing which was 
 nmmiltcd unto thee. See Notes, 1 
 Fmi. vi. 20. The reference here 
 
 in tlie phrase, ♦ that good thing com- 
 mitted to thee,' is to the sound chris- 
 tian doctrine with which he had 
 been intrusted, and which he was 
 required to transmit to others. 
 «" Keep hy the Holy Ghost. By the 
 aid of tlic Holy Ghost. One of the 
 best methods of preserving tlie know- 
 ledge and the love of truth is to 
 clierisli the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit 
 
 15. This thou knowest, that all 
 they which are in Asia be turned 
 away from me. That is, in that part 
 of .Vsia Minor of which Ephesus was 
 the capital. The name Asia was 
 often given particularly to that part 
 of Asia Minor. See Notes on Acts 
 ii. 9; -wL 6. This passage proves 
 that Timothy was somewhere in that 
 region when this epistle was written 
 to him, for otherwise he could not 
 be supposed to ' know' what is here 
 said. When Paul says that 'aW 
 were turned away from him, he must 
 use the word in a general sense, for 
 lie immediately spccitics one who 
 had been faithful and kind to him. 
 *' 0/ whom are Phygellus and Iler- 
 mngcnes. We know nothing of 
 dic.'C individuals but what is here 
 mentioned. It would seem that they 
 were prominent person.s, and those 
 from whom the apostle had a right 
 to expect other treatment "The 
 ecclesiastical traditions allege that 
 thev were of the seventy di^iplcs, 
 
 ed ' away from me ; of whom are 
 Phygellus and Hermogencs. 
 
 1(J The Lord give mercy unto 
 the house of Onesiphorus ; '' for 
 he oft refreshed me, and was not 
 ashamed of my chain. ' 
 
 e c. 4. 10, 16. d c. 4. 10. c Ac. 28. 20. 
 
 and in the end became followers of 
 Simon JSIagus. We imagine tliat 
 this is little more than conjecture." 
 Fid. Bib. It is a sad thing when 
 the only record made of a man — the 
 only evidence which we have that 
 he ever lived at all — is, that he turn 
 ed away from a friend, or forsook tht 
 paths of true religion. And yet 
 lliere are many men of whom the 
 only thing to be remembered of them 
 is, that they lived to do wrong. 
 
 IG. The Lord give mercy unto 
 the house of Onesiphorus. The 
 family of Onesiphorus — for so the 
 word house is often used. He was 
 himself still living (ver. 18), but not 
 improbably then absent from his 
 home. Comp. ch. iv. 19. He was 
 evidently of Asia, and is the only 
 one who is mentioned from that re- 
 gion who had showed the apostle 
 kindness in his trials. He is men- 
 tioned only in this epistle, and no- 
 thing more is known of him. The 
 record is entirely honourable to him, 
 and for his family the apostle felt a 
 warm interest on account of the kind- 
 ness which he had shown to him in 
 prison. The ecclesiastical traditions 
 also state tliat he was one of the 
 seventy disciples, and was ultimately 
 bishop of Corone. But there is no 
 evidence of this. There is much 
 force in the remark of the Editor of 
 the Pictorial Bible, that -'the pre- 
 tended lists of the seventy disciples 
 seem to have been made out on the 
 principle of including all the names 
 incidentally mentioned in tlie sacred 
 books, and not otherwise appropri- 
 ated." ^ For he oft refreshed me. 
 That is, showed me kindness, and 
 
248 
 
 11. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 17 But when he was in Rome, 
 
 he sought me out very dihgently, 
 and found me. 
 
 18 The Lord grant unto him 
 that he may find mercy of the 
 
 ministered to my wants. IT And was 
 not ashamed of my chain. Was not 
 asliamed to be known as a friend of 
 one who was a prisoner on account 
 of religion. Paul was bound with 
 a chain when a prisoner at Rome. 
 Phil. i. 13, 14. 16. Col. iv. 3. 18. 
 Philem. 10. Notes, Acts xxviii. 20. 
 
 17. But when he was in Rome. 
 What was the employment of One- 
 siphorus is not known. It may have 
 been that he was a merchant, and 
 had occasion to visit Rome on busi- 
 ness. At all events, he was at pains 
 to search out the apostle, and his at- 
 tention was the more valuable be- 
 cause it cost him trouble to find him. 
 It is not every one, even among 
 professors of religion, who in a great 
 and splendid city would be at the 
 trouble to search out a christian bro- 
 ther, or even a minister, who was a 
 prisoner, and endeavour to relieve 
 his sorrows. Tliis man, so kind to 
 the great apostle, will be among 
 those to whom the Saviour will say, 
 at the final judgment, " I was in pri- 
 son, and ye came unto me." Matt. 
 XXV. 36. 
 
 18. The Lord grant unto him 
 that he may find mercy of the Lord 
 in that day. The day of judgment. 
 Notes on ver. 12. This proves that 
 Onesiphorus was then alive, as Paul 
 would not offer prayer for him if he 
 was dead. The Papists, indeed, ar- 
 gue from this in favour of praying 
 for the dead — assuming from ch. iv. 
 19, that Onesiphorus was then dead. 
 But there is no evidence of that. 
 The passage in ch. iv. 19, would 
 prove only that he was then absent 
 from his family, "jf And in how many 
 thivp/s he tninistered uiito me at 
 Ephesus. This was the home of 
 
 Lord in " that day : and in how 
 many things he '' ministered unto 
 me at Ephesus, thou knowest 
 very well. 
 
 a Mat. 25. 34-40. b He. 6. 10. 
 
 Onesiphorus, and his family was stdl 
 there. Ch. iv. 19. When Paul was 
 at Ephesus, it would seem that One- 
 siphorus had showed him great kind- 
 ness. His affection for him did not 
 change when he became a prisoner. 
 True friendship, and especially that 
 which is based on religion, will live 
 in all the vicissitudes of fortune, 
 whether we are in prosperity or ad 
 versity ; whether in a home of plen^ 
 ty, or in a prison. 
 
 This chapter is full of interest, 
 and may suggest many interetl.ig 
 reflections. We see 
 
 (1.) A holy man imprisoned and 
 about to die. He had nearly finished 
 his course, and had the prospect of 
 soon departing. 
 
 (2.) He was forsaken by his 
 friends, and left to bear his sorrows 
 alone. They on whom he might 
 have relied, had left him; and to all 
 his outward sufferings, there was add- 
 ed this, (me of the keenest which liis 
 Master endured before him, that liis 
 friends forsook him, and left him to 
 bear his sorrows alone. 
 
 (3.) Yet his mind is calm, a,nd his 
 faith in the gospel is unshaken. He 
 expresses no regret that he had em- 
 braced the gospel ; no sorrow that 
 he had been so zealous in it as to 
 bring these calamities upon Iiimselfi 
 That gospel he still loves, and his 
 great solicitude is, that his young' 
 friend may never shrink from avow- 
 ing it, though it may call him also 
 to pass through scenes of persecution 
 and sorrow. 
 
 (4.) In the general apostasy, the 
 turning away of those on whom he 
 might have relied, it is refreshing 
 and interesting, to find mention made 
 of one unshaken friend. Ver. 16 
 
A. D. G5.1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 349 
 
 1 fe never swerved in his affections. 
 He had been kind to him in tbrmor 
 years of comparative lionour, and he 
 did not leave hiiii now in the dark 
 day of adversity. It i;; always in- 
 teresiin<i to Hnd true friendship in 
 Uiis world — friendsliip that survives 
 all reverses, and that is willing to 
 manifest itiKjlf when the great mass 
 turn coldly away. There is such a 
 thing as friendship, and there is such 
 a thing as religion, and when they 
 meet and mingle in the same heart, 
 the one strengthens the other; and 
 then neither persecution, nor pover- 
 ty, nor chains, will prevent our do- 
 ing good to him who is in prison and 
 is about to die. See Notes on ch. 
 iv. 16. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter is made up of vari- 
 ous exhortations and encouragements 
 to duty. The apostle exhorts Timo- 
 thy to be strong in the christian 
 graces (ver. 1) ; to commit the great 
 trust which he had received to faith- 
 ful men (ver. 2); to endure iiard- 
 fhips like a good soldier (vs. 3 — 7), 
 and refers him (a) to the case of one 
 hIio goes to war, whose great busi- 
 ness it is to please him in whose ser- 
 vice he is (ver. 4) ; (t) to the case 
 of one who strives for a crown at 
 the games (ver. o), and (r) to the 
 husbandman who looks onward for 
 the reward of his labour. Ver. 6. 
 He then, in order to encourage him 
 to be patient in enduring the trials 
 to which he would be exposed, re- 
 fers him (n) to the certainty of the 
 tnith of that religion in whose cause 
 he wotild suffer (ver. 8); (6) to his 
 ou n case, reminding him how much 
 he had endured in that cause (vs. 9, 
 10) ; (c) to the fact that our suffor- 
 insrs here will be crowned with cer- 
 tain glory hereafter (vs. 11, 12); 
 and ((/) to the assurance that the 
 Lord Jesus will be faithful to all his 
 
 promises to his people. Ver. Hi. 
 These things the ai)ostle then exhorts 
 him to press upon tlie hearts of otliers, 
 that tlicy might not waste their 
 time in unprofitable pursuits, but 
 might engage in the same great anJ 
 arduous struggle for securing the 
 reward. Ver. 14. He then exhorts 
 Timothy to study to perform his du- 
 ties in such a way that he would 
 not be ashamed, and to avoid the 
 unimportant strifes which were then 
 raging ; and to enforce this, he re- 
 fers to a real case with which Timo- 
 thy was acquainted — that of Hyme- 
 neus and Pliiletus, who, by unpro- 
 fitable speculations, had been led to 
 deny a fundamental doctrine of reli- 
 gion. Vs. l.") — 18. Yet, Paul says, 
 he should not be discouraged because 
 some had been led into dangerous 
 errors. The foundation of God re- 
 mained firm. Those that were truly 
 his were known, and would not apos- 
 tntizc. Ver. 19. In illustration of 
 this, and to show that it was to be 
 expected that all would not honour 
 religion, the apostle refers to a house 
 in which there were all sorts of 
 vessels, some to honour and some to 
 dishonour, and says that, if any 
 one would endeavour to free him- 
 self from all that was base and im- 
 pure, he would be a vessel meet for 
 the use of the Master. Vs. 2t», 21. 
 To accomplish this, he gives Ti- 
 mothy various directions respecting 
 his conduct. He was to flee from 
 youthful lusts; he was to follow 
 righteousness, faith, charity, and 
 peace ; he was to avoid foolish ques- 
 tions; he was to be an e.vample of 
 gentleness and meekness, and he 
 was patiently to instruct those that 
 were of a different character. Vs. 
 22— 2tJ. 
 
 1. Thou, therefore. In view of 
 the fact stated in the previous chap- 
 ter, that many had turned away from 
 tiie apostle, and had forsaken the 
 paths of truth. H Be strong in tkM 
 
250 
 
 11. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 rT"Mi[OQ tlierefore, my son, be 
 J_ " strong in the grace that is in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 2 And the things that thou 
 hast heard of me ' among many 
 
 a Jos. 1. 7. Ep. e. 10. 1 or, by. 
 
 grace which is in Christ Jesus. 
 Comp. Notes on Eph. vi. 10. The 
 meaning is, Be strong', relying on 
 tlie grace which tlie Lord Jesus only 
 can i-nipart. 
 
 2. And the things which thou 
 hast heard of me among many 
 witnesses. Marg., by. Before, or 
 in the presence oi] many witnesses. 
 Perhaps he refers to a solemn charge 
 which he gave him, in the presence 
 of the church, when he was ordain- 
 ed. It is by no means improbable 
 that such a charge was given then 
 to a newly ordained minister, as it 
 is now. On such an occasion, the 
 apostle would be likely to state a 
 summary of Christian doctrine, — 
 (cump. Notes on ch. i. 13), — and to 
 exhort Timothy to a faithful adhe- 
 rence to it. ^ The same commit 
 thou to faithful men. In the same 
 way as those things have been com- 
 mitted to you. The reference is un- 
 doubtedly to ordination to the minis- 
 terial office. Timothy was to see 
 that those only were admitted to the 
 ministry who were qualified to un- 
 derstand the truths of religion, and 
 to communicate them to others. 
 This is a ciear warrant for minis- 
 tors to set apart others to the same 
 sacred office. It does not prove that 
 the people are not at liberty to 
 choose their own pastor, but only 
 that those in the ministry are to 
 set apart others to the same of- 
 fice with themselves. There is, 
 doubtless, to be a 'succession' of 
 ministers in tlie church ; but the 
 true line of the ' succession' is to be 
 found in good men wlio are qualified 
 to teach, and who have the spirit of 
 
 witnesses, the same commit ' thou 
 to faithful men, who shall be able 
 ' to teach others also. 
 
 3 Thou therefore endure "^hard- 
 ness, as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 JlTi. 1. 18. c Tit. 1.9. iic4. 5. 
 
 Christ, and not merely in those who 
 have been ordained. ^ Who shall 
 be able to teach others also. On the 
 qualifications of ministers, see Notes 
 on 1 Tim. iii. 2—7. 
 
 3. Th.-^i tlierefore endure hard- 
 ness, as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ. Such hardships as a sol- 
 dier is called to endure. The apos- 
 tle supposes that a minister of the 
 gospel might be called to endure 
 hardships, and that it is reasonable 
 that he should be as ready to do 
 it as a soldier is. On the hardships 
 whicli he endured himself, see Notes 
 on 2 Cor. xi. 23 — 29. Soldiers often 
 "endure great privations. Taken 
 fi'om their homes and friends; ex- 
 posed to cold, or heat, or storms, 
 or fatiguing marches; sustained on 
 coarse fare, or almost destitute of 
 food, they are often compelled to en- 
 dure as much as the human frame 
 can bear, and often, indeed, sink un- 
 der their burdens, and die. If, for 
 reward or their country's sake, they 
 are willing to do this, the soldier of 
 the cross should be willing to do it 
 for his Saviour's sake, and for the 
 good of the human race. Hence, let 
 no man seek the office of the minis- 
 try as a place of ease. Let no one 
 come into it merely to enjoy himself. 
 Let no one enter it who is not pre- 
 pared to lead a soldier's life, and to 
 welcome hardship and trial as iiis 
 portion. He would make a bad sol- 
 dier, who, at his enlistment, should 
 make it a condition that he should be 
 permitted to sleep on a bed of down, 
 and always be well clothed and fed, 
 and never exposed to peril, or com- 
 pelled to pursue a wearisome march 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 251 
 
 4 No man that warreth " cn- 
 Janglcih himsoll" with the afl'airs 
 of Ihis life ; ihat he may please 
 
 a I Co. 9. 23. 2C 
 
 Yet do not some men enter the nii- 
 nistry» making tliese the conditions ! 
 And icoiild they enter the ministry 
 on any otlier terms ! 
 
 4. .Vo man that tparreth entan- 
 pleth hiinsdf with the affairs of this 
 lift'. Ilavin;^ alluded to the soldier, 
 and stated one tiiinf;;' in which the 
 chrie:tian minister is to resemble 
 him, another point of resemblance is 
 6ug<7ested to the mind of the apostle. 
 Neither the minister nor the soldier 
 is to be encumbered with the atfairs 
 of this life, and the one should not 
 be more than the otlier. This is 
 always a condition in becomins^ a 
 t Boldier. lie gives up his own busi- 
 ness durinof the time for which he is 
 enlisted, and devotes himself to the 
 service of his country. The farmer 
 leaves his ploug:li, and the mechanic 
 his shop, and the merchant his store, 
 and the student his books, and the 
 lawyer his brief; and neither of tiiem 
 expect to pursue these things while 
 engaged in theserviceof their coun- 
 try. It would be wholly impracti- 
 cable to carry on the plans of a cam- 
 paign, if each one of these classes 
 should undertake to prosecute liis 
 
 firivate business. See this fully il- 
 ustrated from the Rules of War 
 among I'le Romans, by Grotius, in 
 loc. Roman soldiers were not al- 
 lowed to marry, or to engage in any 
 husbandry or trade ; and they were 
 forbidden to act as tutors to any per- 
 son, or curators to any man's estate, 
 or proctors in the cause of other men. 
 Tiie general principle was, that they 
 were excluded from those relations, 
 agencies, and engagements, which 
 it was thought would divert their 
 minds from that which was to be the 
 Bole object of pursuit. So willi the 
 ministers of the goepcL It is equally 
 
 him who hath chosen him to be 
 a soldier. 
 
 5 And if a man also strive for 
 masteries, yet is he not crowned, 
 except he strive lawfully. 
 
 improper for them to 'entangle 
 themselves with the business of a 
 farm or plantation; with plans of 
 speculation and gain, ami with any 
 purpose of worldly aggrandizement 
 The minister of the gospel accom- 
 plishes the design of his apiwintmcnt 
 only when he can say in sincerity, 
 that he ' is not entangled with tli^ 
 aflairs of tliis lile.' Comp. Notes, 
 1 Cor. ix. 2.5—27. ^ That he inay 
 please Aim who hath chosen him to 
 be a soldier. That is, him who has 
 enlisted him, or in whose employ he 
 is. His great object is to approve 
 himself to him. It is not to pursue 
 his own plans, or to have his own 
 will, or to accumulate property or 
 fame for himself His will is ab- 
 sorbed in the will of his commander, 
 and his purpose is accomplished if he 
 meet with his approbation. Nowhere 
 else is it so true that the will of one 
 becomes lost in that of anotlier, as in 
 the case of the soldier. In an army 
 it is contemplated that there shall be 
 but one mind, one heart, one purpose 
 — that of the commander; and that 
 the whole army shall be as obedient 
 to that as the members of the human 
 body arc to the one will that controls 
 all. The application of this is ob- 
 vious. The grand purpose of tiie 
 minister of the gospel is to please 
 Christ. He is to pursue no separate 
 plans, and to have no sejMirate will, 
 of his own; and it is contemplated 
 that tlu: whole corps of christian mi- 
 nisters and members of the churchea 
 shall be as entirely subordinate to the 
 will of Christ, as an army is to the 
 orders of its chief 
 
 •5. And if a man also strive for 
 
 masteries. As in the Grecian games. 
 
 See tiiis favourite illustration of Paul 
 
 ' explained in the Notes or 1 Cor. ix. 
 
252 
 
 11. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 6 The husbandman ^ that la- 
 boureth must be first partaker of 
 the fruits. 
 
 1 lahouring first, must he partaker. 
 
 24, seq. ^ Yet is he not crowned 
 except he strive lauyfully. In con- 
 formity with the rules of the games. 
 See Grotius, in loc. No one could 
 obtain the prize unless he had com- 
 plied with all the laws of the games, 
 and hod tlius given to those with 
 whom lie contended, a fair opportu- 
 nity to succeed. " In those contests, 
 he wlio transgressed the rules in the 
 least matter, not only failed of the 
 prize, even though the apparent vic- 
 tor, but was sometimes disgraced 
 and punished." Pict. Bib. So the 
 apostle here represents the christian 
 minister as engaged in a struggle or 
 conflict for the crown. He says that 
 he could not hope to win it unless 
 he should comply with all the laws 
 by wiiich it is conferred ; unless he 
 should subdue every improper pro- 
 pensity, and make an effort like that 
 evinced by the combatants at the 
 Olympic games. Comp. Notes on 
 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27. 
 
 6. The husbandman that labour- 
 eth. The margin is, " labouring 
 first, must be partaker.'''' The idea, 
 according to the translation in the 
 text, is, that there is a fitness or pro- 
 priety (5ft) that the man who culti- 
 vates the earth, should enjoy the 
 fruits of his labour. See the same 
 image explained in the Notes on 
 1 Cor. ix. lU. But if this be the 
 meaning here, it is not easy to see 
 why the apostle introduces it. Ac- 
 cording to the marginal reading, the 
 word '^firsC is introduced in connec- 
 tion with the word labour — ' labour- 
 ing first, must be partaker.'' That 
 is, it is a great law that the hus- 
 bandman must work before lie re- 
 ceives a harvest. This sense will 
 accord with the purpose of the apos- 
 tle. It was to remind Timothy that 
 
 7 Consider "what I say; and 
 the * Lord give thee understanding 
 in all things. 
 
 a 1 Ti. 4. 15. 
 
 b Pr. 2. 6. 
 
 labour must precede reward ; that 
 if a man would reap, he must sow ; 
 tiiat he could hope for no fruiis, un- 
 less he toiled for them. The point 
 was not that the husbandman would 
 be the first one who would partake 
 of the fruits; but that he must ^rs< 
 labour before he obtained the re- 
 ward. Thus understood, this would 
 be an encouragement to Timothy to 
 persevere in his toils, looking onward 
 to the reward. The Greek will bear 
 this construction, though it is not the 
 most obvious one. 
 
 7. Consider what I say. See 
 Notes, 1 Tim. iv. 15. The sense is, 
 ' Think of the condition of the sol- 
 dier, and the principles on which he 
 is enlisted ; think of tlie aspirant fo." 
 the crown in the Grecian games; 
 think of the farmer, patiently toiling 
 in the prospect of the distant har- 
 vest ; and then go to your work with 
 a similar spirit.' These things are 
 worth attention. When the minister i 
 of the gospel thinks of his hardships, 
 of his struggles against an evil world, 
 and of his arduous and constant 
 discouraging toil, let him think of 
 the soldier, of the man who struggles 
 for this world's honours, and of" the 
 patient farmer — and be content. 
 How patiently do they bear all, and 
 yet for what inferior rewards ! ^And 
 the Lord give thee understanding in 
 all things. Enable you to see the 
 force of these considerations, and to 
 apply them to your own case. Such 
 are often the discouragements of the 
 ministry; so prone is the mind to 
 despondency, that we need the help 
 of the Lord to enable us to apply 
 the most obvious considerations, and 
 to derive support from the most 
 plain and simple truths and pr(K 
 raises. 
 
A. D. 05.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 253 
 
 8 Remember that Jesus Christ, 
 •of the seed of David, was raised 
 from the dead according to my 
 gospel : 
 
 a Ro. 1. 3, 4. 
 
 8. Remember that Jesus Christ, 
 of the seed of David, was raised 
 from the dead. Or rather, perhaps, 
 * Reniembcr Jesus Clirist; liim wlio 
 was raised from tlie dead.' Tlie 
 idea seems not to be, as our transla- 
 tors supposed, that ho was to rellect 
 on the fact that lie was raised from 
 the dead ; but rather that he was to 
 think of liie Saviour himself. 'Think 
 of the Saviour, now raised up from 
 the dead atler all the sorrows of this 
 life, and let this encourai^e you to 
 bear your trials.' There is nothing- 
 better fitted to enable us to endure the 
 labours and trials of this life, than to 
 think of the Saviour. On the phrase, 
 " seed of David," see Notes on Rom. 
 i. 3. «^ Acctrrding to my gospel. 
 The gospel which I preach. Notes, 
 2 Thess. ii. 14. 
 
 9. Wherein I suffer trouble as an 
 evil-doer. As if I were a violator 
 of the laws. That is, I am treated 
 as if I were a criminal. IT Even 
 unto bonds. As if I were one of the 
 worst kind of malefactors. Notes, 
 Eph. vi. 20. During the apostle's 
 first imprisonment at Rome, he was 
 permitted to "dwell in his own hired 
 liouse," though guarded by a soldier, 
 and probably chained to him. See 
 Notes on Acts x.\viii. 16. 30. What 
 was his condition in his second im- 
 prisonment, during which this epistle 
 was written, we have no means of 
 knowing with certainty. It is pro- 
 bable, however, that he was subject- 
 ed to much more rigid treatment 
 than he had been in the first instance. 
 The tradition is, that he and Peter 
 were together in the Mamertine 
 p^i^on at Rome ; and the place is 
 still shown in which it is said that 
 they were confined. The Mamer- 
 tine prisons are of great antiqui- 
 22 
 
 9 Wherein I suffer trouhle, 
 as an evil-doer, even unto bonds ; 
 ' but the word of God is not 
 bound. 
 
 b Ep. ft- 30. 
 
 ty. According to Livy, they were 
 constructed by Ancus Martius, and 
 enlarged by Servius TuUius. The 
 lower prison is supposed to have been 
 once a quarry, and to have been at 
 one time occupied as a granary. 
 These prisons arc on the descent of 
 the Capitoline Mount, towards the 
 Forum. They consist of two apart- 
 ments, one over the other, built with 
 large, uncemcnted stones. There is 
 no entrance to either, exjepl by a 
 small aperture in the roof, and by a 
 small hole in the upper floor, leading 
 to the cell below, without any stair- 
 case to either. The upper prison is 
 twenty-seven feet long, by twenty 
 wide; the lower one is elliptical, 
 and measures twenty feet by ten. 
 In the lower one is a small spring, 
 which is said at Rome to have arisen 
 at the command of Peter, to enable 
 him to baptize his keepers. Processus 
 and Rlartianus, with forty-seven 
 companions, whom he converted. 
 No certain reliance can be placed 
 on any part of this tradition, though 
 in itself there is no improbability in 
 supposing that these prisons may 
 have been used for confinhig Chris- 
 tians, and the apostle Paul among 
 others. Dr. Burton says that a more 
 horrible place for the confinement 
 of a human being can scarcely be 
 conceived. IT But the word of God 
 is not bound. This is one of Paul's 
 happy turns of thou£rht. Comp. Acts 
 -xxvi. 29. The meaning is plain. 
 The gospel was prospered. Thai 
 could not be fettered and imprisoned. 
 It circulated with freedom, even 
 when he who was appointed to 
 preach it was in chains. See Phil, 
 i. 13, 14. As this was tlio great 
 matter, li' own imprisonment was 
 of coraparutively little coosequencB 
 
54 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 10 Therefore I endure all 
 ihings for the " elect's sakes, that 
 they may also obtain the salvation 
 which is in Christ Jesus with 
 eternal glory. 
 
 11 It is a faithful saying: 
 For if ''we be dead with /«'?7i, 
 
 a 2 Cn. 1. 6. b Ro. 6. 5, 8. 
 
 What may befall us is of secondary 
 importance. The grand thing is the 
 triumpli of trutli on the earth ; and 
 well may we bear privations and 
 sorrows, if the gospel moves on in 
 triumph. 
 
 10. Therefore I end are all things 
 for the elect's sakes. See Notes on 
 2 Cor. i. 6. The sense is, What I 
 Buffer is in the cause of the church, 
 spoken of here, as it is often, as cho- 
 sen, or elected. Notes on Eph. i. 4. 
 IT That they may also obtain the sal- 
 vation, &.C. Their salvation, though 
 they were elected, could not be secur- 
 ed without proper efforts. The mean- 
 ing of the apostle here is, that he was 
 willing to suffer if he might save 
 others ; and any one ought to be will- 
 ing to suffer in order to secure the 
 salvation of the elect — for it was an 
 object for which the Redeemer was 
 willing to lay down liis life. 
 
 11. It is a faithful saying. Or, 
 rather, that which he was about to 
 Bay was worthy of entire credence 
 and profound attention. See Notes 
 on 1 Tim. i. 15. The object is to 
 encourage Timothy to bear trials by 
 the hope of salvation. IT For if we 
 be dead with him. See Notes on 
 Rom. vi. 8. H We shall also live 
 with him. This v/as a sort of maxim, 
 or a settled point, which is often re- 
 ferred to in the Bible. See Notes 
 on Rom. vi. 3, 4, 5. John xi. 25. 
 1 Thess. iv. 14. 
 
 12. If we suffer, we shall also 
 reign with him. The meaning is, 
 that the members will be treated as 
 the Head is. We become united 
 with him by faith, and, if we share 
 bis treatment on earth, we shall 
 
 we shall also Hve with him: 
 
 12 If we suffer, we shall also 
 reign with him : If we deny ' him, 
 he also will deny us : 
 
 13 If "^ Ave believe not, yet he 
 abideth faithful : he • cannot de- 
 ny himself, 
 
 c Mat. 10. 33. d Ro. 3. 3. e Nu. 23. 19. 
 
 share his triumphs in heaven. See 
 Notes, Rom. viii. 17. ^ If we deny 
 him, he also will deny us. See Notes 
 on Matt. X. 32, 33. 
 
 13. If we believe not, yet he abid- 
 eth faithful. This cannot mean that, 
 if we live in sin, he. will certainly 
 save us, as if he Jmd made any pro- 
 mise to the elect, or formed any pur- 
 pose that he would save them, what- 
 ever might be their conduct ; for (1.) 
 he had just said that if we deny him 
 he will deny us ; and (2.) there is no 
 such promise in the Bible, and no 
 such purpose has been formed. The 
 promise is, that he that is a believer 
 shall be saved, and there is no pur 
 pose to save any but such as lead 
 holy lives. The meaning must be, 
 that if we are unbelieving and un- 
 faithful, Christ will remain true to 
 his word, and we cannot hope to 1 
 saved. The object of tlie apostle 
 evidently is, to excite Timothy to 
 fidelity in the performance of duty, 
 and to encourage him to bear tsials, 
 by the assurance that we cannot 
 hope to escape if we are not faithtul 
 to the cause of the Saviour. This 
 interpretation accords with the de- 
 sign which he had in view. IF He 
 cannot deny himself. Implying that 
 it would be a denial of his very na- 
 ture to save those who are unfaith- 
 ful. He is holy; and how can he 
 save one who is unholy 1 His very 
 nature is purity; and how can he 
 save one who has no pnrity? Lot 
 no one, then, suppose that, because 
 he is elected, he is safe, if he lives 
 in sin. The electing purpose of 
 God, indeed, makes salvation sure; 
 \ but it is only for those who lead 
 
A. D. ()5.1 CHAPTER II. 
 
 14 Of these thino:s put ' fliem 
 in romomhraiice, charrriiig ///f;;i 
 bol'oro llie Lord that thi-y strive 
 * not about words to no prolit, Luf 
 to llie subverting of the hearers. 
 
 15 Study ' to show thyself a\>- 
 
 a 2 Pf. 1. 13. b Tit. 3. 9. 10. e 2 Pe. 1. 10. 
 
 255 
 
 righteous lives. Nothintr would be 
 more dishonourable for God than to 
 resolve to save a man that lived ha- 
 bitually in sin; and if that were the 
 doctrine of election, it would deserve 
 all the opprobrium that has ever 
 been lieaped upon it. 
 
 14. Of these t/iings put them in 
 remembrance. These great princi- 
 ples in regard to the kingdom of 
 Christ. Tliey would be as useful to 
 others as lliey were for Timothy, to 
 whom tliey ^cre specially addressed. 
 •[ Churping them before the Ijortl. 
 In the presence of tiie Ix)rd, imply- 
 _-■ that it was a ver}' important mat- 
 r. Note-s 1 Tim. i.'lS. ^ That thy 
 strive not about words to no jirofit. 
 See Notes, 1 Tim. i. 6 ; vi. 4. r. But 
 to the subverting (f the hearers. 
 Turning thern away from the sim- 
 plicity of tiiitli. It is rare, indeed, 
 that a religious controversy does not 
 produce this etlecL, and this is com- 
 monly the case, where, as often hap- 
 pens, the matter in dispute is of lit- 
 tle importance. 
 
 \'). Study to show thyself ap- 
 proved unto God. Give diligence 
 (2 Pet ii. 10), or make an efibrt so 
 to discharge the duties of the minis- 
 terial otTice as to meet the divine ap- 
 probation. The object of the minis- 
 try is not to please men. Such doc- 
 trines should be preached, and such 
 filans formed, and such a manner of I 
 lie pursued, as God will approve. ! 
 To do tliis demands study or care — I 
 for there are many temptations to ; 
 tlie opposite course ; there are many 
 tilings the tendency of which is t) lead 
 a uuni.stcr to seek popular favour ra- 
 Uier than the divine approval If 
 
 proved unto God, a workman that 
 needi-th not to bo asJianiod, right 
 ly ''dividing the word of truth. 
 
 1() But shun profane and vain 
 babblings; for they will increase 
 unto more ungodliness : 
 
 d .Mat. 13, 52. 
 
 any man plea.'^e God, it will be as the 
 re.«ult of deliberate intention and a 
 careful life. *J A workman that 
 needith not to be ashamed. A man 
 faitlifully performing his duty, so that 
 when he looks over what he has 
 done, he may not blush. 'J Rightly 
 dividing the word of truth. The 
 word here rendered 'rightly divid- 
 ing,' occurs nowhere else in the New 
 Testament. It means, properly, to 
 cut straight, to divide riuht ; and 
 the allusion here may be to a stew- 
 ard wlio makes a proper distribution 
 to each one under his care of such 
 things as his office and their neces- 
 sities require. Comp. Notes on 
 Matt. .\iii. 52. Some have supposed 
 tiiat there is an allusion here to the 
 Jewish priest, cutting or dividing the 
 sacrifice into proper parts; others, 
 that the allusion is to the Scribes di- 
 viding the law into sections; others, 
 to a carver distributing Ibod to tiie 
 guests at a feast. Robinson {Lex.) 
 renders it, " rightly proceeding as to 
 tiie word of tniih ;" tiial is, right- 
 tTilIy and skilfully teaching the word 
 of truth. The idea seems to be, that 
 the minister of the gospel is to make 
 a pro|>er distribution of that word, 
 adapting his instructions to the cir- 
 cumstances and wants of his hearers, 
 and giving to each that which will be 
 fitted to nourish the soul for hoaven. 
 in. But shun profane and vain 
 babblings. Notes, 1 Tun. vi. 20. 
 *; For they will increase unto more 
 ungodliness. Their tendency is to 
 alienate the soul from God, and to 
 lead to impiety. Such kinds of dis- 
 putation are not merely a waste of 
 time, they are productive of positivt 
 
256 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 17 And their word will eat as 
 doth a canker : ' of whom is Hy- 
 meneus and Philetus; 
 
 18 Who concerning the truth 
 
 ' gangrene. 
 
 mischief! A man fond of contention 
 in religious things is seldom one wlio 
 has much love for tlie practical du- 
 ties of piety, or any very deep sense 
 of the distinction between right and 
 wrong. You will not usually look 
 for him in the place of prayer, nor 
 can you expect his aid in the conver- 
 sion of sinners, nor will you find that 
 he has any very strict views of reli- 
 gious obligation. 
 
 17. A-'d their word. The word, 
 or the discourses cf those wlio love 
 vain and idle dispi stations. ■[ Will 
 eat as doth a canker. Marg., gan- 
 grene. This word — ^a'yypaw'a— oc- 
 curs nowhere else in the Ne\Y Tes- 
 tament. It is derived from ypaito, 
 ypaivco, graio or graino, to devour, 
 corrode, and means gangrene or 
 mortification — the death of a part, 
 spreading, nnless arrested, by degrees 
 over the whole body. The words 
 rendered ' will eat,' mean loill have 
 nutriment ; that is, will spread over 
 and consume the healthful parts. It 
 will not merely destroy the parts im- 
 mediately affected, but will extend 
 into tlie surrounding healthy parts 
 and destroy them also. So it is with 
 erroneous doctrines. They willnot 
 merely eat out the truth in the pai'- 
 ticular matter to which they refer, 
 but they will also spread over and 
 corrupt other truths. The doctrines 
 of religion are closely connected, 
 and are dependent on each other — 
 like the different parts of the human 
 body. One cannot be corrupted with- 
 out affecting those adjacent to it, and 
 unless checked, the corruption will 
 soon spread over the whole. ^ Of 
 whom is Hymeneus and Philetus. 
 In regard to Hymeneus, see Notes 
 on 1 Tim. i. 20. Of Phdetus no- 
 thing more is known. They have 
 
 have erred, " saying * That the re- 
 surrection is past already; and 
 overthrow the faith of some. 
 19 Nevertheless the foundation 
 
 alTi. 6. 21. 6 1Co. 10.12. 
 
 gained an undesirable immortality, 
 destined to be known to the end of 
 time only as the advocates of error. 
 
 18. \\'ho concerning the truth 
 have erred. To what extent they 
 had erred is unknown. Paul men- 
 tions only one point — that pertaining 
 to the resurrection ; but says that 
 this was like a gangrene. It would 
 certainly, unless checked, destroy 
 all the other doctrines of religion. 
 No man can safely hold a single er- 
 ror, any more than he can safely 
 have on«e part of his body in a state 
 of mortification. If Saying, that the 
 resurrection is past already. It is 
 not known in what form they held 
 this opinion. It may have been, as 
 Augustine supposes, that they taught 
 that there was no resurrection but 
 that which occurs in the soul when 
 it is recovered from tlie death of sin, 
 and made to live anew. Or it may 
 be that they held that those wliO had 
 died had experienced all the resur- 
 rection which they ever would, by 
 passing into another state, and re- 
 ceiving at death a spiritual body fit- 
 ted to their mode of being in the 
 heavenly world. Whatever was the 
 form of the opinion, the apostle re- 
 garded it as a most dangerous error, 
 for just views of the resurrection 
 undoubtedly lie at the foundation of 
 correct apprehensions of the chris- 
 tian system. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. 
 XV. 12 — 19. ^ And overthrow the 
 faith of some. That is, on this 
 point, and as would appear on all the 
 correlative subjects of christian be- 
 lief Comp. 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. 
 
 19. JSeverthless the foundation 
 of God is sure. Ma.Tg., steady. The 
 meaning is, that tliough some had 
 been turned away by the arts of these 
 errorists, yet the foundation of the 
 
A. D. C5.] 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 25T 
 
 " of God stnndeth ' sure, havinqr 
 this seal, Tlio Lord * knovveth 
 
 a Pr. 10. 'i5. • or, steadi/. 
 
 b Na. I. 7. Jno. 10. H, '.>7. 
 
 church which God had laid remained 
 firm. Comp. Eph. ii. 20, " And are 
 built uptm the Ibundatioii of the apos- 
 tles and prophets, Jesus Clirist hin>- 
 Beir being the chief comer-stone." 
 As lonjT as tliis tbundation remained 
 firm, there was no reason to be trou- 
 bled from the few instances of apos- 
 tasy which had occurred. Comp. 
 Ps. .\i. 3. It is not uncommon to 
 compare tlie church to a building 
 erected on a solid foundation. Eph. 
 ii. 20. 21. 1 Cor. iii. 9, 10. Matt 
 xvi. 18. ^, Jliiiin-i this seal. Or 
 rather a seal with this inscription. 
 The word seal is sometimes used to 
 denote the instrument by whicli an 
 impression is made, and sometimes 
 • le impicssion or inscription itself. 
 .; seal is used for security (Matt 
 x.\vii. 66), or as a mark of genuine- 
 ness. Rev. i.\. 4. The seal here is 
 one that was affixed to the founda- 
 tion, and seems to refer to some in- 
 scription on the foundation-stone 
 whicli always remained there, and 
 which denoted the character and de- 
 sign of the edifice. Tiie allusion is 
 to tlie custom, in rearing an edifice, 
 of inscribing the name of the build- 
 er and tiiC design of the edifice on 
 the corner-stone. See Rosenmuller, 
 Alte u. neue Morgenland, No. 405. 
 So the church of Christ is a building 
 reared by the hands of God. Its 
 foundation has been firmly and se- 
 curely laid, and on that foundation 
 there is an inscription always re- 
 maining which determines Uie cha- 
 racter of the edifice. ^\ The /jurd 
 kniitceth litem that are his. Tiiis is 
 one of the in.«criptions on tlie founda- 
 tion-stone of the cliiirch, which seems 
 to mark the character of the build- 
 ing. It always stands there, no mat- 
 ter who apostatizes. It is at the 
 
 them that are his. Aiul, liOt 
 •every one that namcth the name 
 of Christ depart from iniquity. 
 
 e Ps. in. 10. 
 
 time 
 22* 
 
 showing that no one can deceive 
 
 God ; that he is intimately acquainted 
 with all who enter that building; and 
 that in the multitudes whicli enter 
 there, tlie friends and the foes of God 
 are intimately known. He can sepa- 
 rate his own friends from ail others, 
 and his constant care will be extended 
 to all who are truly his own, to keep 
 them from falling. This has the 
 appearance of being a quotation, liut 
 no such passage is found in the Old 
 Testament in so many words. In 
 Nalium i. 7, the following words are 
 found : " And he knoweth them that 
 trust in him ;" and it is possible that 
 Paul may have liad that in his eye; 
 but it is not necessary to sup|)ose 
 that he designed it as a quotation. 
 A phrase somewhat similar to this is 
 found in Num. xvi. 5, "the Lord 
 will show who are his," rendered in 
 tiie Septuagint, " God knoweth who 
 are his;" and Whitby supposes that 
 this is the passage referred to. But 
 whether Paul had these passages in 
 view or not, it is clear that he meant 
 to say that it was one of the funda- 
 mental things in religion, that God 
 knew who were his own people, and 
 that he would preserve them from 
 the danger of making shipwreck of 
 their faith. *^ And, Lei evrry one 
 that namelh the name of Christ de 
 part from iniquity. This is the 
 other seal or inscription which is 
 made on the foundation which God 
 has laid. The foundation has two 
 inscriptions — the first implying that 
 God knows all who are his own p«'o- 
 plc; the other, that all who arc his 
 professed people should de|)art from 
 evil. This is not found in so many 
 words in tlie Old Testament, and, 
 like tiie former, it is not to be re- 
 garded as a quotation. The iiican- 
 a fearful inscripliou — i ing .s, that it is an eleiueolary pni>- 
 
a!58 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 20 But in a great house there 
 nre not only vessels " of gold and 
 of silver, but also of wood and 
 of earth ; and some to honour, 
 and some to dishonour. 
 
 21 If ' a man therefore purge 
 himself from these, he shall be a 
 vessel unto honour, sanctified, and 
 
 aRo.9. 21. 6Je. 15. 19. 
 
 ciple in the true church, that all who 
 become members of it should lead 
 holy lives. It was also true that 
 tliey toould lead holy lives, and 
 amidst all the defections of errorists, 
 and all their attempts to draw away 
 others from the true faith, those 
 niifht be known to be the true peo- 
 ple of God who did avoid evO. 
 
 20. But in a great house. Still 
 keeping up the comparison of the 
 church with a building. The idea 
 is, that the church is a large edifice, 
 and that in such a building we are 
 not to expect entire uniformity in 
 all the articles which it contains. — 
 IT There are not only vessels of gold 
 and of silver, Sic. You are not to 
 expect to find all the articles of fur- 
 niture alike, or all made of the same 
 material. Variety in the form, and 
 use, and material, is necessary in 
 furnishing such a house. 'S Ajid 
 some to honour, and some to disho- 
 nour. Some to most honourable 
 uses — as drinking-vessels, and ves- 
 sels to contain costly viands, and 
 some for the less honourable purposes 
 connected with cooking, &c. Tlie 
 same thing is to be expected in the 
 church. See this idea illustrated at 
 greater length under another figure 
 in the Notes on 1 Cor. xii. 14-— 26. 
 Uomp. Notes, Rom. ix. 21. The ap- 
 plication here seems to be, that in 
 the church it is to be presumed that 
 there wdl be a great variety of gifts 
 and attainments, and that we are no 
 more to expect that all wdl be alike, 
 than we are that all the vessels in 
 a large house will be made of gold. 
 
 meet for the master's use, and 
 prepared "^ unto every good work. 
 22 Flee ''also youtlifui lusts: 
 but ' folIoAv righteousness, faith, 
 charit}^, peace, with them that 
 call ^ on the Lord out of a pure 
 heart. 
 
 c c. 3. 17. 
 e He. V2. 14. 
 
 d Ec. 11. 9, 10. 
 / 1 Co. 1. 2. 
 
 21. If a man therefore purge 
 himself from these, he shall be a 
 vessel unto honour. If a man cleanse 
 or purify himself Comp. Notes on 
 John XV. 2. The word '■these' re- 
 fers, here, to the persons represented 
 by the vessels of wood and of earth 
 — the vessels made to dishonour, as 
 mentioned in the previous verse. 
 The idea is, that if one would pre- 
 serve himself from the corrupting 
 influence of such men, he would be 
 fitted to be a vessel of honour, or to 
 be employed in the most useful and 
 honourable service in the cause of 
 his Master. On the word vessel, see 
 Notes on Acts ix. 15. 1[ And meet 
 for the Masler^s use. Fit to be 
 employed by tlie Lord Jesus in pro- 
 moting his work on earth. 
 
 22. Flee also youthful lusts. Such 
 passions as youth are subject to. On 
 the word^ee, and the pertinency of 
 its use in such a connection, see 
 Notes on 1 Cor. vi. 18. Paul felt 
 that Timothy, then a young man, 
 was subject to the same passions as 
 other young men ; and hence his re- 
 peated cautions to him to avoid {ill 
 those things, arising from his youth, 
 which might be the occasion of scan- 
 dal. Comp. Notes on 1 Tim. iv. 12; 
 V. 2. It is to be remembered that 
 this epistle is applicable to other mi- 
 nisters, as well as to Timotliy ; and, 
 to a young man in the ministry, no 
 counsel could be more appropriate 
 tlian to ' FLEE from youthful lusts ,■' 
 not to indulge for a moment in those 
 corrupt passions to which youth are 
 subject, but to cultivate the pure and 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 5U 
 
 23 But foolish and unlearned 
 
 aueslions " avoid, knowini:^ that 
 ley do gender strifes. 
 
 a vcr. 10. 
 
 Bobcr virtues wliich become tlie mi- 
 nisterial office. ^ But follow riffht- 
 eousness, &c. Comp. Notes on Ileb. 
 xii. 14. The general ineaninjr liere 
 
 15, that lie was to practise all that is 
 good and virtuous, lie was to prac- 
 tise risxhteimsucss, or justice and 
 equity, in all his dealings with men; 
 ftiitli^ar tidelity in his duties; chu- 
 ritij, or love to all men (Notes, 1 Cor. 
 xiii.); peace, or harmony and con- 
 cord witii all others. What virtues 
 could be more appropriate for a mi- 
 nister of the gosjjel 7 •[ With them 
 that call on the Lord out of a pure 
 heart. That is, with all Christians, 
 
 ' o are often characterized as those 
 I call on the Lord. 1 Cor. i. 2. 
 ;..,inp. Acts ix. 11. In all his inter- 
 course with them, Timothy was to 
 manifest the virtues above recom- 
 iided. But not with them alone. 
 ' \\ ould be incumbent on him to ex- 
 hibit the same virtues in his inter- 
 course with all. 
 
 '2''i. But foolish and unlearned 
 questidus avoid. See Notes on ver. 
 
 16. Conip. Notes on 1 Tim. i. 4. 6 ; 
 iv. 7. The word unlearned, here, 
 means triflinsr ; that which does not 
 tend to edijiculion ; stupid. The 
 Greeks and the Hebrews were great- 
 ly given to controversies of various 
 kinds, and many of the questions 
 discussed pertained to points which 
 could not be settled, or which, i/* set- 
 tled, were of no imiwrtance. Such 
 has been the character of no small 
 part of the disputes which have agi- 
 tated the world. Paul correctly 
 pays that the only efl'ect of ."'ich dis- 
 putes is to engender harsh conten- 
 tion. Points of real imp<jrtance can 
 be discussed with no injurj' to the 
 lemp'^r; but men cannot safely dis- 
 pute alxiul trifles. 
 
 24. And the servant of the Lord. 
 
 24 And the servant of tlie Lord 
 must not strive ; but be gentle un- 
 to all men, apt to teach, ' patient, 
 
 1 or, forbearing. 
 
 Referring here primarily to the cluis- 
 tian minister, but applicable to all 
 Christiaiis; tor all profess to be the 
 servants of tlic Lord. ^ Musi not 
 strive. He may cahnly inquire aller 
 truth ; he may discuss points of mo- 
 rals, or theology, if he will do it with 
 a proper spirit; he may "contend 
 earnestly for tlio faith once delivered 
 to the saints" (Jude 3) ; but he may 
 not do that wliich is here mentioned 
 as strife. The Greek word — nd^ia- 
 ^ — commonly denotes, to f<; hi, to 
 make tear, to contend. In John vi. 
 52. Acts vii. 20. 2 Tim. ii. 24, it is 
 rendered strnve,and strive ; in James 
 iv. 2, fight. It is not elsewhere used 
 in the New Testament. The mean- 
 ing is, that the servant of Christ 
 should be a man of peace. He 
 should not indulge in the feelings 
 which commonly give rise to con- 
 tention, and which commonly cha- 
 racterize it. He should not struggle 
 for mere victory, even when endea- 
 vouring to maintain truth; but 
 should do this, in all cases, with a 
 kind spirit, and a mild temper; with 
 entire candour; with nothing de- 
 signed to provoke and irritate an 
 adversary ; and so that, whatever 
 may be the result of the discu.ssion, 
 'the bond of peace' may, if possible, 
 be preserved. Comp. Notes, Rom. 
 xii. 18. IT But be erentle unto all 
 men. Notes, 1 Thess. ii. 7. The 
 word rendered gentle, does not occur 
 elsewhere in the New Te.-itilmc.^t. 
 It means that the christian minister 
 is to be meek and mild towards all, 
 not dispuUitious and quarrelsome. 
 «f Apt to teach. Notes 1 Tim. iii.2. 
 *[ Patient. M:\.rg., forbearing. The 
 Greek word here used does not el.^e- 
 wliere occur in the New Testa- 
 ment. It means, patient under evUs 
 and injuries. Robinson, Ia:x.-— 
 
260 
 
 U. TIMOTHY. 
 
 LA. D. 65i 
 
 25 In meekness " instructing 
 those that oppose themselves; if 
 
 a Ga. 6. 1. 
 
 Comp. Notes on Eph. iv. 2. Col. 
 iii. 13. 
 
 25. In meekness instructing those 
 that oppose themselves. That is, 
 those who embrace error, and array 
 themselves against the truth. We 
 are not to become angry with such 
 persons, and denounce them at once 
 as heretics. We are not to hold 
 them up to public reproach and 
 scorn ; but we are to set about the 
 business of patiently instructing 
 them. Their grand difficulty, it is 
 supposed in this direction, is, that 
 they are ignorant of the truth. Our 
 busmess with them is, calmly to show 
 them what the truth is. If they are 
 angry, ice are not to be. If they 
 oppose the truth, we are still calmly 
 to state it to thern. If they are slow 
 to see it, we are not to become weary 
 or impatient. Nor, if they do not 
 embrace it at all, are we to become 
 angry with them, and denounce 
 them. We may pity them, but we 
 need not use hard words. This is 
 the apostolic precept about the way 
 of treating those who are in error ; 
 and can any one fail to see its beauty 
 and propriety'! Let it be remem- 
 bered, also, that this is not only 
 beautiful and proper in itself; it is 
 the icisest course, if we would bring 
 others over to our opinions. You 
 are not likely to convince a rnan 
 that you are right, and that lie is 
 wrong, if you first make him angry ; 
 nor are you very likely to do it, if 
 you enter into harsh contention. 
 You then put him on his guard ; you 
 make him a party, and, from self-re- 
 Bpect, or pride, or anger, he will en- 
 deavour to defend liis own opinions, 
 and will not yield to yours. Meek- 
 ness and gentleness ara the very 
 best things, if you wish » convince 
 another that he is wrong. Win his 
 
 God peradventure * will give them 
 repentance to the acknowledging 
 '■ of the truth. 
 
 e Ti. 1. 1. 
 
 heart first, and then modestly and 
 kindly show him what the truth is, 
 in as few words, and with as unas- 
 suming a spirit, as possible, and you 
 have him. •[ If God peradventure 
 will give them repentance, &c. 
 Give them such a view of the error 
 which they have embraced, and such 
 regret for having embraced it, that 
 they shall be willing to admit the 
 truth. After all our care in teaching 
 others the truth, our only depend- 
 ence is on God for its success. We 
 cannot be absolutely certain that 
 tiiey will see their error ; we cannot 
 rely certainly on any power which 
 argument will have ; we can only 
 hope that God may show them their 
 error, and enable them to see and 
 embrace the truth. Comp. Acts xi. 
 18. The word rendered peradven- 
 lure, here — fir^Ttoti — means, usually, 
 not even, never; and then, that ne- 
 ver, lest ever — the same as lest per- 
 haps. It is translated lest at any 
 time. Matt. iv. 6; v. 25; xiii. 1-5. 
 Mark iv. 12. Luke xxi. 34; lest, 
 Matt. vii. 6 ; xiii. 29 ; xv. 32, et al. ; 
 lest haply, Luke xiv. 12. Acts v. 
 39. It does not imply that there 
 was any chance about what is said, 
 but rather that there was uncertainty 
 in the mind of the speaker, and that 
 tliere was need of caution lest some- 
 thing should occur; or, that any- 
 thing was done, or should be done, 
 to prevent something from happen- 
 ing. It is not used elsewhere in the 
 New Testament in the sense which 
 our translators, and all the critics, so 
 far '-is I have examined, give to it 
 here — as implying a hope that God 
 would give them repentance, &c. 
 But I may be permitted to suggest 
 another interpretation, which will 
 accord with the uniform meaning of 
 the word in the New Testament, 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 26] 
 
 20 Ami that ilioy may ' reco- 
 ver tln'insc'lve's out of ihe snare 
 
 niul whicli will refer the matter to 
 tlia-e who Imil embraced the error, 
 and not to God. It is this: 'In 
 meekness inslructin<r those that ap- 
 pose them-ttlves (di-Ti5iort^ffittovj) 
 hst — nr^noTt — Cio<l should pive them 
 repentance, ajid they should recover 
 themselves out of the snare of the 
 devil,' &c. That is, they put them- 
 selves in this posture of opiwsition 
 60 that they shall not be broupht to 
 repentance, and recover themselves. 
 They do it with a precautionary view 
 that tliey may not be thus brought 
 to repentance, and be recovered to 
 God. They Uike this position of op- 
 position to the truth, intending not 
 to be converted ; and this is the rea- 
 son why they are not converted. 
 'J(5. And that thetj mny recover 
 iiisclvcs. Marg., awiike. The 
 ;il which is rendered rrcnver in 
 text, and awake in the margin — 
 .-.j.;/;4<-)'7ii — occurs nowhere else in 
 the 5jew Testament. It properly 
 means, to become sober again, as 
 from inebriation ; to awake from a 
 deep sleep; and then, to come to a 
 right mind, as one does who is 
 aroused from a state of inebriety, or 
 from sleep. The representation in 
 this part of the verse implies that, 
 while imder the influence of error, 
 tljey were like a man into.xicated.or 
 like one in deep slumber. From this 
 state they were to be roused, as one 
 is from sleep, or as a man is reco- 
 vered from the stupor and dullness 
 of intoxication. ^ Out ofihe snare 
 of the devil. The snare which the 
 devil has spread for them, and in 
 which they have become entangled. 
 There is a little confusion of meta- 
 phor iicre, since, in the tirst part of 
 the verse, they are represented as 
 asleep, or intoxicated ; and, here, as 
 taken in a snare. Yet the general 
 idea is clear. In one port of tlie 
 
 » of the dev.l, who are taken 'cap 
 live by him at his will. 
 
 a 1 Ti. 3. 7. i alivr. 
 
 verse, the mfluencc of error is repre- 
 sented as producing sleep, or stupor; 
 in the other, as being taken in a 
 snare, or net; and, in both, the idea 
 is, that an cHort was to be made that 
 ihey might be rescued from this pe- 
 rilous condition. ^ H'hn are taken 
 captive 1)1/ him at his will. jNIarg., 
 alivr. The Greek word means, i)ro- 
 perly, to take alive ; and tiien, to take 
 captive, to win over (Luke v. 1()^ 
 and then, to ensnare, or seduce. 
 Here it means that they had been 
 ensnared by the arts of Satan unto 
 (fij) his ivill ; that is, they were so 
 influenced by him, that they com 
 plied with his will. Another inter- 
 pretation of this passage should be 
 mentioned here, by which it is pro- 
 posed to avoid the incongruousnesa 
 of the metaphor oiawakirnr one from 
 a snare. It is adopted by DcxJdridge, 
 and is suggested also by Burder, as 
 quoted by Rosenmuller, A. u. n. Mor- 
 (Tcnlund. According to this, the re- 
 lerence is to an artilice of fowlers, to 
 scatter seeds impregnated with some 
 intoxicating drugs, intended to lay 
 birds asleep, that they may draw the 
 snare over them more securely. 
 There can be no doubt that such 
 arts were practised, and it is |xissible 
 that Paul may have alluded to it. 
 Whatever is the allusion, the gene- 
 ral idea is clear. It is an afl'ecting 
 representation of those who have 
 fallen into error. Tiicy are in a 
 deep slumber. They are as if under 
 the fatal influence of some stupefy- 
 ing potion. They are like birds 
 taken alive in this stiite, and at the 
 mercy of the fowler. They will re- 
 main in this condition, unle.-« they 
 shall be roused by the mercy of 
 God ; and it is the business of' the 
 nnnisters of religion to carry to thenn 
 that jrospel call, which GckI is accus- 
 tomed to bless in showing them their 
 
262 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THIS know also, that " in the 
 last days perilous times shall 
 come. 
 
 a 1 Ti. 4. 1. 
 17, 18. 
 
 2 Pe. 3. 3. 1 Jno. 2. 18. Jude 
 
 danger. That message should be 
 contiiiually sounded in the ears of 
 the sinner, with the prayer and the 
 hope that God will make it the 
 means of arousing him to seek his 
 salvation. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 In the first part of this chapter 
 (vs. 1 — 8), Paul reminds Timothy 
 of the great apostasy which was to 
 be expected in the church, and states 
 some of the characteristics of it. In 
 ver. 9, he says that that apostasy 
 would not always continue; but 
 would be at some time arrested, and 
 so arrested as to show to all men the 
 folly of those who were concerned 
 in it. In vs. 11, 12, he refers Timo- 
 thy to his own manner of life in the 
 midst of persecutions, as an encour- 
 agement to him to bear the trials 
 which might be expected to occur to 
 him in a similar manner. ' Perilous 
 times' were to come, and Timothy 
 might be expected to be called to 
 pass through trials similar to those 
 which Paul himself had experienced. 
 [n those times the remembrance of 
 liis example would be invaluable. 
 In vs. 12, 13, he assures Timothy 
 that persecutions and trials were to 
 be expected by all who aimed to lead 
 holy lives, and that it was as cer- 
 'tainly to be expected that evil men 
 would become worse and worse. 
 And in vs. 14 — 17, he exhorts him 
 to be steadfast in maintaining the 
 truth ; and, to encourage him to do 
 this, reminds him of his early train- 
 ing in the Holy Scriptures, and of 
 the value of those Scriptures. To 
 fhe Scriptures he might repair in all 
 
 2 For * men shall he lovers of 
 their own selves, covetous, boast- 
 ers, proud, blasphemers, disobe- 
 dient to parents, unthankful, un- 
 holy, 
 
 J Ro. 1. 29-31. 
 
 times of trial, and find support in the 
 divine promises. What he had lea rn- 
 ed there was the inspired truth of 
 God, and was able to make him wise, 
 and to furnish him abundantly for all 
 that he was to do or to suffer. 
 
 1. This know also. The object 
 of this reference to the perilous times 
 which were to occur, was evidently 
 to show the necessity of using every 
 precaution to preserve the purity of 
 the church, from the fact that such 
 sad scenes were to open upon it. 
 The apostle had dwelt upon this sub- 
 ject in his first epistle to Timothy 
 (ch. iv.), but its importance leads 
 him to advert to it again. ^ In the 
 last days. Under the gospel dis- 
 pensation ; some time in tiiat period 
 during Vv^hich the affairs of the world 
 will be closed up. See Notes, 1 Tim. 
 iv. 1, and Heb. i. 2. T[ Perilous times 
 shall come. Times of danger, of 
 persecution, and of trial. On the 
 general meaning of this passage, 
 and the general characteristics of 
 those times, the reader may consult 
 the Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 1 — 12, and 
 1 Tim. iv. 1 — 3. There can be no 
 doubt that in all these passages the 
 apostle refers to the same events. 
 
 2. For men shall be lovers of their 
 own selves. It shall be oTie of the 
 characteristics of those times that 
 men shall be eminently selfish — evi- 
 dently under the garb of religion. 
 Ver. 5. The word here used — ^i^av 
 T'oj — does not elsewhere occur in the 
 New Testament. It means a lover 
 of one's self, seljish. Such a lovo 
 of self as to lead us to secure oui 
 salvation, is proper. But this inter- 
 feres with t ae rights and happiness 
 of no other persons. The selfishness 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 263 
 
 3 Without natural affection, 
 trucc-brcakcns, ' false accusers, 
 incontinent, tierce, despisers of 
 those that are good, 
 
 I or, makebates. 
 
 which is conilomncd, is that regard 
 to our own interests whicli inter- 
 feres with the rights and comforts 
 of others; which makes self the 
 central and leading object of living; 
 and which tramples on all that would 
 interfere with that. As such, it is 
 a base, and hateful, and narrow pas- 
 sion; but it has been so common in the 
 world that no one can doubt the cor- 
 rectness of the prophecy of the apos- 
 tle that it would e.xist " in lite last 
 rimes." •[ Coietovs. Gr., Lovers of 
 er; i. e., of money. Luke vi. 11. 
 :es, 1 Tim. vi. 10. •[ Boasters. 
 es, Rom. i. 30. IT Proud. Notes, 
 ::i. i. 30. •[ Blasphemers. See 
 cj, Matt i.\. 3. 'J Disobedient 
 parents. See Notes on Rom. i. 
 •" Unthankful. See Luke vi. 
 The word here used occurs in 
 ...u New Testament only in these 
 two places. Ingratitude has always 
 been regarded as one of the worst 
 of crimes. It is said here that it 
 would characterize that wicked age 
 of which the apostle speaks, and its 
 prevalence would, as it always does, 
 mdicate a decline of religion. Re- 
 ligion makes us grateful to every 
 benefactor — to God, and to man. 
 f Unholy. Notes, 1 Tim. i. 9. 
 
 3. Wilhoitl natural affection. See 
 Notes on Rom. i. 31. «r Truce- 
 breakers. The same word in Rom. 
 i. 31, is rendered implacable. See 
 Notes on that verse. It properly 
 means icithout treaty ; that is, those 
 who are averse to any treaty or com- 
 pact It may thus refer to those who 
 are unwilling to enter into any agree- 
 ment; that is, cither those who are 
 unwilling to be reconciled to others 
 when there is a variance — implaca- 
 ble ; or those who rf».sreirflr</ treaties 
 or ai^reements. In either case, this 
 
 4 Traitors, * heady, high-mind- 
 ed, * lovers of pleasures more than 
 lovers of God ; 
 
 a '2 Pe. 2. 10, tc. 
 ft Ph. 3. 19. 
 
 marks a very corrupt condition of 
 society. Notlung would be more 
 indicative of the lowest state of 
 degradation, than that in which all 
 compacts and agreements were ut- 
 terly disregarded. ^ False accusers. 
 ^larg., makebates. The word rnake- 
 bate means one who excites conten- 
 tions and quarrels. Webster. The 
 Greek here is 6tci,3oXoi — devils — the 
 primitive meaning of wliich is, ca- 
 lumniator, slanderer, accuser. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 11, where tlie 
 word is rendered slanderers. ^ In- 
 continent. 1 Cor. vii. 5. Literally, 
 without strenprth; that is, without 
 strength to resist tiie solicitations of 
 passion, or who readily yield to it 
 'd Fierce. The Greek "word used 
 here — dtruipoj — does not elsewhere 
 occur in'tlic New Testament. It 
 means unc^entle, harsh, severe, and 
 is the opposite of gentleness and 
 mildness. Religion produces gen- 
 tleness ; the want of it makes men 
 rough, harsh, cruel. Comp. Notes 
 on ch. ii. 2-1. ^i Despisers of those 
 that are good. In Titus i. 8, it is 
 said of a bishop that he must be " a 
 lover of good men." This, in every 
 condition of life, is a virtue, and 
 hence the opposite of it is here set 
 down as one of the characteristics 
 of that evil age of which the apos- 
 tle speaks. 
 
 4. Traitors. Tliis word is u.«cd 
 in the New Testament only here 
 and in Luke vi. IG, Acts vii. o2. It 
 means any one who betrays — whe- 
 ther it be a friend or his co^mtry. 
 Treason has been in all ages reganl 
 ed as one of the worst crimes tliat 
 man can commit IJlcady. The 
 same word in Acts xix. 30, is rcn 
 dcred rashly. It occurs only tlicre 
 and in this place in the New Testa 
 
264 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 lA. D. 65 
 
 5 Having » a form of godliness, 
 but denying the power thereof: 
 from such turn away. 
 
 a Ti. 1. 16. 
 
 menu It properly means falling 
 forwards ; prone, inclined, ready to 
 do anything ; then 'precipitate, head- 
 long, rash. It is opposed to that 
 which is deliberate and calm, and 
 here means that men would be ready 
 to do anything without deliberation, 
 or concern for the consequences. 
 They would engage in enterprises 
 which would only disturb society, or 
 prove their own ruin. ^ High-mind- 
 ed. Literally, puffed up. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 6, where the 
 same word is rendered lifted up 
 with pride. The meaning is, that 
 they would be inflated with pride or 
 selt-conceit. IF Lovers of pleasures 
 more than lovers of God. That is, 
 of sensual pleasures, or vain amuse- 
 ments. This has been, and is, the 
 characteristic of a great part of the 
 world, and has often distinguished 
 even many who profess religion. Of 
 a large portion of mankind it may 
 be said that this is their characteris- 
 tic, that they live for pleasure ; they 
 have no serious pursuits; they brook 
 no restraints which interfere with 
 their amusements, and they greatly 
 prefer the pleasures to be found in 
 the gay assembly, in the ball-room, 
 or in the place of low dissipation, to 
 tho friendship of their Creator. 
 
 5. Havipg a form of godliness. 
 That is, they profess religion, or are 
 in connection with the church. This 
 shows that the apostle referred to 
 some great corruption in the church ; 
 and there can be little doubt that he 
 had his eye on the same great apos- 
 tasy to which he refers in 2 Thess. 
 ii., and 1 Tim. iv. All these things 
 to which he refers here have been 
 practised and tolerated in that apos- 
 tate churcii, while no body of men, 
 at any time, have been more zealous 
 in maintaining a form of godliness ; 
 
 G For of tills sort are they 
 which '' creep into houses, and 
 lead captive silly w'omen laden 
 
 JTi. 1. 11. 
 
 that is, in keeping up the forms 
 of religion. T[ But denying the 
 power thereof Opposing the real 
 power of religion ; not allowing it 
 to exert any influence in their 
 lives. It imposes no restraint on 
 their passions and carnal propensi- 
 ties, but in all respects, except in 
 the for7n of religion, they live as if 
 they had none. This has been com- 
 mon in the world. The most regu- 
 lar and bigoted adherence to the 
 forms of religion furnishes no evi- 
 dence in itself that there is any true 
 piety at heart, or that true religion 
 has any actual control over the soul. 
 It is much easier for men to observe 
 the forms of religion than it is to 
 bring the heart under its controlling 
 influence. ^ From such turn away. 
 Have no intercourse with them as 
 if they were Christians; show no 
 countenance to their religion; do 
 not associate with them. Comp. 2 
 John 10, 11. Notes, 2 Cor. vi. 17. 
 
 6. For of this sort are they which 
 creep into houses. Who go slyly 
 and insidiously into families. TJiey 
 are not open and manly in endea- 
 vouring to propagate their views, 
 but they endeavour by their address 
 to ingratiate themselves first with 
 weak women, and through them to 
 influence men. Comp. Titus i. 11. 
 The word translated ' creep into,' is 
 rendered by Doddridge, insinuate 
 themselves: by Bloomfield, wind 
 their way into, in the manner of ser- 
 pents ; by Bretschneider, deceitfully 
 enter ; by Robinson and Passow, go 
 in, enter in. It is not certain that 
 the idea of deceit or cunning is con- 
 tained in this word, yet the whole 
 complexion of the passage implies 
 that they made their way by art and 
 deceitful tricks. IT And lead captive 
 silly women. One of the tricks aJ- 
 
A. D. ftj.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 205 
 
 with sins, led away with divers 
 lusts, 
 7 Ever learning, and never able 
 
 ways played by the advocates of er- 
 ror, and one of tlie ways by which 
 tiiey seek to promote their purposes. 
 Satiin began Ins work of temptation 
 witli Evo rather tliiin with Adam, 
 and the advocates of error usually 
 follow his example. There are al- 
 ways weak-miniied women enough 
 in any community to give an op- 
 portunity of practising tiiese arts, 
 and otlen the aims of the impostor 
 and deceiver can be best secured by 
 appealing to them. Such women 
 arc easily flattered ; they are charm- 
 ed by the graceful manners of reli- 
 gious instructors; they lend a will- 
 
 \ ing ear to anything that has the ap- 
 pearance of religion, and their hearts 
 are open to anything that promises 
 to advance the welfare of the world. 
 At the same time, they are just such 
 persons as the propagators of error 
 
 1 can rely on. They have leisure; 
 they have wealth; they are busy; 
 they move about in society, and by 
 tlieir activity they obUiin an influ- 
 ence to which they are by no means 
 entitled by their piety or tiilents. 
 There are, indeed, very many wo- 
 men in the world who cannot be so 
 easily led away as men; but it can- 
 not be denied also that there are 
 ihose who are just adapted to the 
 purjxises of such as seek to spread 
 plausible error. The word rendered 
 sillij wiimeu, means properly little 
 women, and tlien iceuk women. — 
 ^ Laden with sins. With so many 
 sins that they seem to bo burdened 
 with them. The idea is, that they 
 are under the influence of sinful de- 
 sires and propensities, and hence are 
 better adapted to tlie purposes of de- 
 ceivers. «[ Led away with divcr.f 
 lusts. With various kinds of pas- 
 sions or desires — trttbi^ii'aj — such as 
 pride, vanity, the love of novelty, 
 or a siisceptibility to flattery, so as 
 
 2a 
 
 to come to the knowledge of the 
 truth. 
 
 8 Now as Jannes and Jambrea 
 
 to make them an easy prey to de- 
 ceivers. 
 
 7. Ever learning. That is, these 
 ♦silly women;' for so the Greek de- 
 mands. The idea is, that they snm 
 to be disciples. They put them- 
 selves wholly under the care of these 
 professedly religious teachers, but 
 they never acquire the true know- 
 ledge of the^way of salvation. •[ And 
 never able to come to the knowledge 
 of the truth. They may learn many 
 things, but the true nature of reli- 
 gion they do not learn. Tliere are 
 many such persons in the world, 
 who, whatever attention they may 
 pay to religion, never understand 
 its nature. Many obtain much spe- 
 culative acquaintance with the doc- 
 trines of Christianity, but never be- 
 come savingly acquainted with the 
 system ; many study the constitution 
 and government of the church, but 
 remain strangers to practical piety; 
 many become familiar with the va- 
 rious philosophical theories of reli- 
 gion, but never become truly ac- 
 quainted with what religion is; and 
 many embrace visionary theories, 
 who never show that they are influ- 
 enced by tlie spirit of the gospel. 
 Nothing is more common than for 
 persons to be very busy and active 
 in religion, and even to hum many 
 things about it, who still remain 
 strangers to the saVing power of the 
 gosj)ci. 
 
 8. A'om as Jannes and Jnmhres 
 withstood Mose.s. The names of 
 these two men arc not elsewhere 
 mentioned in the Bible. They are 
 supposed to have been two of the 
 magicians who resisted Mtises (Ex. 
 vii. 11, et a/.), and who opposed their 
 miracles to those of Moses and 
 Aaron. It is not certain where the 
 ajxKtle obtained their names; but 
 they are frequently mentioned by 
 
266 
 
 "withstood Moses, so do these 
 also resist the truth : men * of cor- 
 
 a Ex. 7. 11. 
 
 6 1 11. 6. 5. 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 65 
 
 nipt minds, ' reprobate concerning 
 
 the faith. 
 
 9 But they shall proceed no 
 
 ' or, of no judgment. 
 
 the Hebrew writers, and also by 
 other writers ; so that there can be 
 na reasonable doubt that their names 
 were correctly handed down by tra- 
 dition. Nothing is more probable 
 than that the names of the more dis- 
 tinguished magicians who attempted 
 to imitate the miracles of Moses, 
 would be preserved by tradition; 
 and though they are not mentioned 
 by Moses himself, and the Jews have 
 told many ridiculous stories respect- 
 ing them, yet this should not lead 
 us'^to doubt the truth of the tradition 
 respecting their names. A full col- 
 lection of the Jewish statements in 
 regard to them may be found in 
 Wetstein, in loc. They are also 
 mentioned by Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxx. 
 7; and by Numenius, the philoso- 
 pher, as quoted by Eusebius, ix. 8, 
 and Origen, against Celsus, p. 199. 
 See Wetstein. By the rabbinical 
 writers, they are sometimes men- 
 tioned as Egyptian magicians who 
 opposed Moses in Egypt, and some- 
 times as the sons of Balaam. The 
 more common account is, that they 
 were the princes of the Egyptian 
 magicians. One of the Jewish rab- 
 bins represents them as having been 
 convinced by the miracles of Moses, 
 and as having become converts to 
 the Hebrew religion. There is no 
 reason to doubt that these were in 
 fact the leading men who opposed 
 Moses in Egypt, by attempting to 
 work counter miracles. The point 
 of the remark of the apostle here, is, 
 that they resisted Moses by attempt- 
 ing to imitate his miracles, thus 
 neutralizing the evidence that he 
 was sent from God. In like man- 
 ner, the persons here referred to, op- 
 posed the progress of the gospel by 
 setting up a similar claim to that of 
 the apostles ; by pretending to have 
 
 as much autliority as they had ; and 
 by thus neutralizing the claims of 
 the true religion, and leading off 
 weak-minded persons from the truth. 
 This is often the most dangerous 
 kind of opposition that is made to re- 
 ligion. •[[ 31en of corrupt minds. 
 Comp. Notes, 1 Tim. vi. 5. If Re- 
 probate concerning the faith. So 
 far as the christian faith is concern- 
 ed. On the word rendered repro- 
 bate, see Notes on Rom. i. 28. 1 Cor. 
 ix. 27, rendered cast-away ; 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 5. The margin here is, " of no 
 judgment." The meaning is, that 
 in respect to the christian faith, oi 
 the doctrines of religion, their views 
 could not be approved, and they were 
 not to be regarded as true teachers 
 of religion. 
 
 9. But they shall proceed no fur- 
 ther. There is a certain point be- 
 yond which they will not be allowed 
 to go. Their folly will become ma- 
 nifest, and the world will understand 
 it. The apostle does not say how 
 far these false teachers would be 
 allowed to go, but that they would 
 not be suffered always to prosper and 
 prevail. They might be plausible 
 at first, and lead many astray ; they 
 might, by art and cunning, cover up 
 the real character of their system ; 
 but there would be a fair develoi>- 
 ment of it, and it would be seen to 
 be folly. The apostle here may be 
 understood as declaring a general 
 truth in regard to error. It often is 
 so plausible at first, that it seems to 
 be true. It wins the hearts of many 
 persons, and leads them astray. It 
 flatters them personally, or it flatters 
 them with the hope of a better state 
 of things in the church and the 
 world. But the time will always 
 come when men will see the folly 
 of it Error will advance only to a 
 
A. D. GTx] CHAPTER III. 
 
 further : for their folly shall be 
 manifest unto all men, as their's 
 also was. 
 
 2bT 
 
 certain point, when it will be seen 
 To be ralscliood and folly, and when 
 the world will arit:o ami cast it oil". 
 In some cases, this point may be 
 slower in being reached than in 
 otliers ; but there is a point, beyond 
 which error will not go. At the re- 
 formation under Luther, that point 
 had been readied, wiien the teach- 
 ings of the jjreat apostasy were seen 
 to be " folly," and when the awak- 
 ened intellect, of the world would 
 allow it to ' proceed no farther,' and 
 aroused itself and tlirew it off. In 
 the workings of society, as well as 
 by the direct appointment of God, 
 there is a point beyond whicli error 
 cannot prevail ; and hence there is 
 a certainty that truth will finally 
 triumph. If For their Jolly shall be 
 manifest unto all men. The world 
 will see and understand what they 
 are, and what they teach. By 
 smooll. sophistry, and cunninnf arts, 
 they will not be able always to de- 
 ceive mankind. *J, As their^s also 
 was. Tliat of Janncs and Jambres. 
 Tliat is, it became manifest to all 
 tiiat they could not compete with 
 Moses and Aaron ; that their claims 
 to the power of working miracles 
 were tlie mere arts of magicians, 
 and that they had set up pretensions 
 which they could not sustain. Comp. 
 Ex. viiL 18, 19. In regard to the 
 lime to whicii the apostle referred in 
 this description, it has already been 
 observed (Notes on ver. 1), that it 
 was probably to that great apostisy 
 of the ' latter days,' which he has 
 described in 2 Thess. ii. and 1 Tim. 
 iv. But there seems to be no reason 
 to doubt that he had his eye imme- 
 diately on some persons wlio had ap- 
 peared then, and who had evinced 
 come of the traits which would ciia- 
 racterize the great apostasy, and 
 whose conduct showed that the {p:eat 
 
 10 But thou ha.st ' fully known 
 my doctrine, manner of life, pur- 
 
 « or, been a diligent follower of. 
 
 "falling away" had already com- 
 menced. In 2 Thess. ii. 7, he saya 
 that the "mystery of iniquity" was 
 already at work, or was even then 
 manifesting itself; and there can be 
 no doubt that the apostle saw that 
 there had then commenced what he 
 knew would yet grow up into the 
 great defection from the truth. In 
 some persons, at tliat time, who had 
 the form of godliness, but who de- 
 nied its power; who made use of 
 insinuating arts to proselyte the 
 weak and the credulous; who en- 
 deavoured to imitate the true apos- 
 tles, perhaps by attempting to work 
 miracles, as Jannes and Jambres did, 
 he saw the germ of what was yet to 
 grow up into so gigantic a system 
 of iniquity as to overshadow the 
 world. Yet he consoled Timothy 
 with the assurance that there was a 
 point beyond which the system of 
 error would not be allowed to go, 
 but where its folly must be seen, 
 and where it would be arrested. 
 
 10. But thou hast fully known 
 my doctrine, &c. Marg., been a 
 diligent follower of. The margin 
 is more in accordance with the usual 
 meaning of the Greek word, which 
 means, properly, to accompany side 
 by side; to follow closely ; to trace 
 out ; to examine (Luke i. 3), and to 
 conform to. The meaning here, 
 however, seems to be, that Timothy 
 had an opportunity to follow out; 
 i. e., to examine closely the manner 
 of life of the apostle Paul. He had 
 been so long his companion, that he 
 had had the fullest opportunity of 
 knowing how he had lived and 
 taught, and how he had lx>nic perse- 
 cutions. The object of this reference 
 to his own life and sufi'erinjrs is evi- 
 dently to encourage Timothy to bear 
 persecutions and trials in the ^ame 
 manner Comp. ver. LL He saw 
 
II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65. 
 
 pose, faith, long-suffering, charity, 
 patience, 
 
 1 1 Persecutions, afflictions, 
 which came unto me at Antioch, 
 " at Iconium, '' at Lj^stra ; what per- 
 
 a Ac. 13. 45, 50. b Ac. 14. 5, 6, 19. 
 
 in the events which began already 
 to develope themselves, that trials 
 must be expected ; he knew that all 
 who would live holy lives must suf- 
 fer persecution ; and hence he sought 
 to prepare the mind of Timothy for 
 the proper endurance of trials, by a 
 reference to his own case. The 
 word doctrine, here, refers to his 
 teaching, or manner of giving in- 
 struction. It does not refer, as the 
 word now does, to the opinions which 
 he held. See Notes on 1 Tim. iv. 
 16. In regard to the opportunities 
 which Timothy had for knowing the 
 manner of Paul's life, see the intro- 
 duction to the epistle, and Paley, 
 Hor. Paul., «i loc. Timothy had 
 been the companion of Paul during 
 a considerable portion of the time 
 after his conversion. The persecu- 
 tions referred to here (ver. 11) are 
 those which occurred in the vicinity 
 of Timothy's native place, and which 
 he would have had a particular op- 
 portunity of being acquainted with. 
 This circumstance, and the fact that 
 Paul did not refer to other persecu- 
 tions in more remote places, is one 
 of the ' undesigned coincidences,^ of 
 which Paley has made so much in 
 his incomparable little work — the 
 HorcE PaulincB. T[ Manner of life. 
 Literally, leading, guidance ,■ then, 
 the method in which one is led — his 
 -manner of life. Comp. Notes, 1 Thess. 
 ii. 1. «[ Purpose. Plans, or designs. 
 ^ Faith. Perhaps fidelity, or faith- 
 fiilness. % Long-suffering. With 
 the evil passions of others, and their 
 eflbrts to injure him. See the word 
 explained in the Notes on 1 Cor. xiii. 
 4. f Charity. Notes, 1 Cor. xiiL 
 ^' Patience. "A calm temper, which 
 
 secutions I endured : but out of 
 tliem all 'the Lord delivered me. 
 12 Yea, and all that will live 
 godly in Christ Jesus shall suffei 
 persecution. 
 
 c Ps. 34. 10. 
 
 suffers evils without murmuring oi 
 discontent." Webster. 
 
 11. Persecutions. On the mean- 
 ing of this word, see Notes on Matt. 
 V. 10. ^Afflictio7is. Trials of other 
 kinds than those which arose from 
 persecutions. The apostle met them 
 everywhere. Comp. Notes, Acts xx. 
 23. ^ Which came unto me at An- 
 tioch. The Antioch here referred 
 to is not the place of that name in 
 Syria (Notes, Acts xi. 19); but a 
 city of the same name in Pisidia, in 
 Asia Minor. Notes, Acts xiii. 14. 
 Paul there suffered persecution from 
 the Jews. Acts xiii. 45. ^ At Ico- 
 nium. Notes, Acts xiii. 50. On 
 the persecution there, see Notes on 
 Acts xiv. 3 — 6. 1[A? Lystra. Acts 
 xiv. 6. At this place. Paul was 
 stoned. Notes, Acts xiv. 19. Timo- 
 thy was a native of either Derbe or 
 Lystra, cities near to each other, and 
 was doubtless there at the time of 
 this occurrence. Acts xvi. 1. *^But 
 out of them all the Lord delivered 
 me. See the history in the places 
 referred to in the Acts. 
 
 12. Yea, and all that will live 
 godly in Christ Jes7is shall suffer 
 persecution. Paul lakes occasion 
 from the reference to his own perse- 
 cutions, to say that his case was not 
 peculiar. It was the common lot of 
 all who endeavoured to serve their 
 Redeemer faithfully; and Timothy 
 himself, therefore, must not hope to 
 escape from it. The apostle had a 
 particular reference, doubtless, to his 
 own times; but he has put his re- 
 mark into the most general form, as 
 applicable to all periods. It is un- 
 doubtedly true at all times, and will 
 ever be, that they who are devoted 
 
A. P. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 269 
 
 (/hristians — wlio live »i the Saviour 
 did — and wlio carry oil his princi- 
 ples always, will cxpcience s^omc 
 lorm of persecution. Tlio essence 
 of pcrsocution consists in subject iuir 
 a person to injury or tlisadvantaire 
 on accniinl o/ his opinions. It is 
 soinethinjj more than meclinnf his 
 opinions by argrnment, which is al- 
 ways right and proper; it is inflict- 
 incj some injury on liim ; depriving 
 him of some privilege, or right; sub- 
 jecting him to some disadvantage, 
 or placing him in less favourable 
 circumstances, on account of his sen- 
 timents. This may be citlier an in- 
 jury done to his feelings, his family, 
 his reputation, his property, his li- 
 berty, his influence; it may be by 
 depriving him of an oflBcc w hich he 
 held, or preventing him from obtain- 
 ing one to which he is cligil)le; it 
 may be by subjecting him to fine or 
 imprisonment, to banishment, torture, 
 or death. If", in any manner, or in 
 any way, he is subjected to disad- 
 vantage on account of his religious 
 opini 'IIS, and deprived of any immu- 
 nities and rights to which he would 
 be otherwise entitled, this is perse- 
 cution. Now, it is doubtless as true 
 as it ever was, that a man who will 
 live as the Saviour did, will, like 
 him, be subjected to some such in- 
 jury or disadvantage. On account 
 of his opinions, he maybe held up to 
 ridicule, or treated with neglect, or 
 excluded from society to which his 
 attainments and manners would 
 otherwise introduce him, or shunned 
 by those who might otherwise value 
 hid friendship. These things may 
 be expected in the best time?, and 
 under the most favourable circum- 
 6tanc»'s ; and it is known that a large 
 p:irt of Uie history of the world, in 
 its relation to the church, is nothing 
 more than a history of persecution, 
 it follows, from this, (1.) that they 
 who make a profession of religion, 
 should come prepared to be perse- 
 cuted. It siiould be considered as 
 
 one of the proper (lualificationa for 
 mcml)crship in the church, to be 
 icilliiitr to bear persecution, and to 
 resoUc not to shrink from any duty 
 in order to avoid it. (2.) They who 
 are persocutefl for their opinions, 
 should consiilcr that this mntj be one 
 evidence that they have the spirit 
 of Christ, and are his true friends. 
 They should remember that, in this 
 respect, they arc treated as the Mas- 
 ter was, and are in the goodly com- 
 pany of the prophets, apostles, and 
 martyrs; for they were all perse- 
 cuted. Yet, (:<.) if we are perse- 
 cuted, we should carefully inquire, 
 before we avail ourselves of this con- 
 solation, whether we are persecuted 
 because we ' live godly in Christ 
 Jesus,' or for some other reason. A 
 man may embrace some absurd opi- 
 nion, and call it religion; he may 
 adopt some mode of dress irresistibly 
 ludicrous, from the mere love of sin- 
 gularity, and may call it conscience ; 
 or he may be boorish in his manners, 
 and uncivil in his deportment, out- 
 raging all the laws of social lite, and 
 may call this 'deadness to the 
 world ;' and for these, and similar 
 things, he may be contemned, ridi- 
 culed, and despised. But let him 
 not infer, therefore, that he is to be 
 enrolled among the martyrs, and that 
 he is certainly a real Christian. That 
 persecution which will properly fur- 
 nish any evidence that we are the 
 friends of Christ, must be only that 
 which is ' Ibr righteousness sik<;' 
 (Matt. v. 10). and must be brought 
 upon us in an honest eflort to obey 
 the commands of God. (4.) Let 
 those who have never been perse- 
 cuted in any way, inquire whether 
 it is not an evidence that they have 
 no relijjion. If they had been more 
 faithtiil, and more like their Master, 
 would they have always escaped? 
 And may not theit freedom from it 
 prove tliat they have surreiidtred 
 the principlesof iht ir religion, w here 
 they should hava uood firm, though 
 
270 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 13 Buc evil men and seducers 
 shall wax worse and worse, de- 
 ceiving, and being " deceived. 
 
 14 But continue * thou in ihe 
 
 a2Th. 2. 11. 
 
 the world were arrayed against 
 them ] It is easy for a professed 
 Christian to avoid persecution, if he 
 yields every point in which religion 
 is opposed to the world. But let not 
 a man who will do this, suppose that 
 he has any claim to be numbered 
 among the martyrs, or even entitled 
 to the christian name. 
 
 13. But evil men and seducers 
 shall wax worse and worse. That 
 is, it is tlie character of such men to 
 do this ; they may be expected to do 
 it. This is the general law of de- 
 pravity — that if men are not convert- 
 ed, they are always growing worse, 
 and sinking deeper into iniquity. 
 Their progress will be certain, 
 though it may be gradual, since 
 nemo repente turpissimiis. The 
 connection here is this : that Timo- 
 thy was not to expect that he would 
 be exempt from persecution (ver. 
 12), by any change for the better 
 m the wicked men referred to. He 
 was to anticipate in them the opera- 
 tion of the general law in regard to 
 bad men and seducers — that they 
 would grow worse and worse. From 
 this fact, he was to regard it as cer- 
 tain that he, as well as others, would 
 be liable to be persecuted. The word 
 rendered seducers—^'oiri — occurs no- 
 where else in the New Testament. 
 It means, properly, a. juggler, or di- 
 viner ; and then, a deceiver, or im- 
 postor. Here it refers to those who, 
 by seductive arts, lead persons into 
 error. ^ Deceiving. Making others 
 believe that to be true and riirlit, 
 which is false and wrong. This 
 was, of course, done by seductive 
 arts. '^And being deceived. Under 
 delusion themselves. The advocates 
 of error are often themselves as 
 really under deception, as those 
 
 things which thou hast learned 
 and hast been assured of, know 
 ing of whom thou hast learned 
 them ; 
 
 whom they impose upon. They are 
 often sincere in the belief of error, 
 and then they are under a delusion; 
 or, if they are insincere, they are 
 equally deluded in supposing that 
 they can make error pass for truth 
 before God, or can deceive the 
 Searcher of hearts. The worst vie 
 tims of delusion are those who at- 
 tempt to delude others. 
 
 14. But continue thou in the 
 things which thou hast learned and 
 hast been assured of. To wit, the 
 truths of religion. Timothy had 
 been taught those truths when a 
 child, and he had been confirmed in 
 them by the instructions of Paul. 
 Amidst the errors and seductions of 
 false teachers, Paul now exhorts him 
 to hold fast those doctrines, whoever 
 might oppose them, or whatever 
 might be the consequence. Com p. 
 Notes, ch. i. 13. 1[ Knowing of 
 lohom tliou hast learned them. To 
 wit, of his mother (ch. i. 5), and of 
 Paul. Ch. i. 13. The reference 
 seems to be particularly to the fact 
 that he had learned these truths first 
 from the lips of a mother (see ver. 
 15) ; and the doctrine taught here 
 is, that the fact that we have received 
 the views of truth from a parentis 
 lips, is a strong tnotivefor adhering 
 to them. It is not to be supposed, 
 indeed, that tliis is the highest 
 motive, or that we are always to ad- 
 here to the doctrines wliich have 
 been taught us, if, on maturer exa- 
 mination, we are convinced they 
 are erroneous; but that this is a 
 strong reason for adhering to what 
 we have been taught in early life. 
 It is so, because, (1.) a parent has no 
 motive for deceiving a child, and it 
 cannot be supposed that he would 
 teach him what he know to be false , 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER ni. 
 
 271 
 
 15 And that from a child thou 
 hast known llie holy Scriptures, 
 which • arc able to make thee 
 
 a Jno. 5. 39. 
 
 (2.) a parent usually has had much 
 moro experience, and much better 
 opjx)rtunitics of examining- what is 
 true, than his cliild has; (3.) tlicre 
 i-- a degree of respect which nature 
 teaches us to be due to the senti- 
 ments of a parent A child should 
 ilepart very slowly from the opinions 
 iield by a fatlier or mother; and, 
 when it is done, it should be only as 
 the restdt of prolonged examination 
 nnd prayer. These considerations 
 fcJiould have the greater weight, if a 
 parent has been eminent for piety, 
 And especially if that parent has 
 been removed to heaven. A child, 
 standing by the grave of a pious 
 father or mother, should reflect and 
 pray much, before he deliberately 
 idopts opinions which he knows that 
 father or mother would regard as 
 wrong. 
 
 l.T And that from a child thou 
 last kiwicn the holy Scriptures. 
 Tliat is, the Old Testament ; for the 
 i\ew Testament was not then writ- 
 ten. Notes, John v. 39. The mo- 
 iher of Timotliy was a pious Ile- 
 brewess, and regarded it as one of 
 the duties of her religion to train her 
 eon in tlie careful knowledge of the 
 word of God. This was regarded 
 by the Hebrews as an important 
 duty of religion, and there is reason 
 to believe that it was commonly 
 faitlifully performed. The Jewish 
 writings abound with lessons on this 
 subject Rabbi Judah says, "The 
 boy of five years of age ought to ap- 
 ply to the study of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures." Rabbi Solomon, on Deut. 
 xi. 19, says, " When the boy begins 
 to talk, his father ought to converse 
 with him in the sacred language, 
 nnd to teach him the law ; if he does 
 not do that, he seems to bury hinj." 
 See numerous instancies lei'erred tc I 
 
 wise unto salvation through faith 
 which is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 in Wetstein, in loc. The expression 
 used by Paul— /rom a child (otto 
 ^pt'ifiovj) — does not make it certain 
 at precisely ichat age Timothy was 
 firt-t instructed in the Scriptures, 
 though it would denote an earlt/agc. 
 The word used — ^(^tfoi — denotes, 
 (1.) a babe unborn, Luke i. 41. 44, 
 (2.) an intanf, babe, suckling. In 
 the New Testament, it is rendered 
 liabe and babes, Luke i. 41. 44 ; ii. 
 12. 16^ 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; infants, Luke 
 viii. 15; and young children, Acta 
 vii. 19. It does not elsewhere occur, 
 and its current use would make it 
 probable that Timothy had been 
 taught the Scriptures as soon as he 
 was capable of learning anything. 
 Dr. Doddridge correctly renders it 
 here "from infancy.''^ It may be 
 remarked then, (1.) that it is proper 
 to teach the Bible to children at as 
 early a period of life as possible. 
 (2.) That there is reason to hope 
 j that such instruction will not be for- 
 I gotten, but will have a salutary in- 
 fluence on their future lives. The 
 piety of Timothy is traced by the 
 apostle to the fact that he had "been 
 early taught to read the Scriptures, 
 and a great proportion of those who 
 are in the church have been early 
 made acquainted with the Bible. 
 (3.) It is proper to teach the Old 
 Testament to children — since tliis 
 was all that Timotliy had, and this 
 was made the means of his salva- 
 tion. (4.) We may see the utility 
 of Sabbath-schools. The great, and 
 almost the sole object of suchscliools 
 is to teach the Bible, and from tiie 
 view which Paid had of the advan- 
 tage to Timothy of having been 
 early made acquainted with the Bi- 
 ble, there can be no doubt that if 
 Sunday-schools had then l»een in ex« 
 istence, he would have been theii 
 
272 
 
 II TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. ea 
 
 16 All " Scripture is given by 
 'nspiration of God, and Hs profit- 
 
 a 2 Pe. 1. 21. b Ro. 15. 4. 
 
 learty patron and friend. % Which 
 ure able to make thee wise unto sal- 
 vation. So to instruct you in the 
 way of salvation, that you may find 
 the path to life. Learn, hence, (1.) 
 that the plan of salvation may be 
 learned from the Old Testament, 
 ft is not as clearly revealed there as 
 it is in the New, but it is there ,• and 
 if a man had only the Old Testa- 
 ment, he might find the way to be 
 saved. The Jew, tlien, has no ex- 
 cuse if lie is not saved. (2.) The 
 Scriptures have power. They are 
 ' able to make one wise to salvation.' 
 They are not a cold, tame, dead 
 thing. There is no book that has so 
 much power as the Bible ; none that 
 is so efficient in moving the hearts, 
 and consciences, and intellects of 
 mankind. Tliere is no book that has 
 moved so many minds; none that 
 has produced so deep and permanent 
 effects on the world. (3.) To find 
 the way of salvation, is the best kind 
 of wisdom ; and none are wise who 
 do not make that the great object of 
 life. "^Through faith which is in 
 Christ Jesus. Notes, Mark xvi. IG. 
 Rom. i. 17. Paul knew of no salva- 
 tion, except through the Lord Jesus. 
 He says, therefore, that the study of 
 the Scriptures, valuable as they 
 were, would not save the soul unless 
 there was faith in the Redeemer; 
 and it is implied, also, that the pro- 
 per effect of a careful study of the 
 Old Testament, would be to lead 
 cue to put his trust in the Messiah. 
 IG. All Scripture. This properly 
 refers to the Old Testament, and 
 should not be applied to any part of 
 the New Testament, unless it can be 
 shown that that part was then writ- 
 .en, and was included under the gen- 
 eral name of /Ac Scriptwes. Conip. 
 2 Pet. iii. 15, IG. But it includes 
 he lohole of the Old Tes:ament, and , 
 
 able for doctiine, for reproof, for 
 correction, for instruction in right- 
 eousness ; 
 
 is the solemn testimony of Paul that 
 it was all inspired. If now it can be 
 proved that Paul himself was an in- 
 spired man, this settles the question 
 as to the inspiration of the Old Tes- 
 tament. Tf Is given by inspiration 
 of God. AH this is expressed in the 
 original by one word — ^EOTtj'srtTT'os — 
 theopneustos. This word occurs no- 
 where else in the New Testament. 
 It properly means, God-inspired — 
 from ©50J, God, and rtwco, to breath'^, 
 to breathe out. The idea of breath 
 ing upon, or Irealhing into the soul, 
 is that which the word naturally 
 conveys. Thus God breathed into 
 the nostrils of Adam the breat'' of 
 life (Gen. ii. 7), and thus the Saviour 
 breathed on his disciples, and said, 
 " receive ye the Holy Ghost." John 
 XX. 22. The idea seems to have 
 been, that the life was in the breath, 
 and that an intelligent spirit was 
 communicated with the breath. The 
 expression was used among the 
 Greeks, and a similar one was em- 
 ployed by the Romans. Plutarch 
 ed. R. ix. p. 5S3. 9. -toii dvdpovs -fovj 
 ^sojtvsvstovs. Phocylid. 121. r^j Se 
 ^soTtvsvntov so^L^^ X,oyoj istiv oipiato^. 
 Perhaps, however, this is not an ex- 
 pression of Phocylides, but of the 
 pseudo Phocylides. So it is under- 
 stood by Bloomfield. Cicero, pro 
 Arch. 8. poetam — quasi divino quo- 
 dam spiritu inflari. The word does 
 not occur in the Septuagint, but is 
 found in Josephus, C. Ap. i. 7. " The 
 Scripture of the prophets who were 
 taught according to the inspiration 
 ot God — xaia -triv irttTtvovav rtju drto 
 tov ^soii. In regard to the manner 
 of inspiration, and to the various 
 questions which have been started as 
 to its nature, nothing can be learned 
 from the ut-e of this word. It asserts 
 a. fact — tliat the Old Testament was 
 composed under a divine influence, 
 
A. 1). 65. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 273 
 
 which miglit bo roprescntca by I 
 brcttlhinir on one, and so iinpurting 
 lile. But llie laiiijiiiige must be ti<fu- | 
 rative ; for Gotl does not brialhe, 
 (hough the fair inference is, that 
 ihosc Scriptures arc as inucli tlie 
 pro<luction of God, or arc as nnicli to 
 bo'traccd to liim, as life is. Comp. 
 Matt. .\.\ii. 43. 2 Pet. i. 21. Tlie 
 question as to tlic degree of inspira- 
 tion, and whether it extends to the 
 icortls of Scripture, and how far the 
 sacred writers were letl to tlie exer- 
 cise of their own faculties, is foreign 
 to the design of the.<e Notes. All 
 tiiat is necessary to be held is, that 
 the sacred writers were kept from 
 error on those subjects which were 
 matters of tlieir own observation, or 
 which ix;rtained to memory ; and 
 tliat tiiere were truths imparted to 
 them directly by the Spirit of God, 
 whicii they could never have arrived 
 at by the unaided exercise of liieir 
 own minds. Comp. Intro, to Isaiah 
 and Job. *^And is profitable. It is 
 useful ; it is adapted to give instruc- 
 tion, 10 administer reproof, &c. If 
 " «/r' Scripture is thus valuable, 
 tlien we are to esteem no part of tlie 
 Old Testament as worliilcss. There 
 is no portion of it, even now, which 
 may not be fitted, in certain circum- 
 .stances, to furnish us valuable les- 
 son.s, and, consequently, no part of it 
 whicli could be spared from the sa- 
 cred canon. There is no part of the 
 human body which is not useful in 
 it^ place, and no part of it which can 
 b(; spared without sensible loss. — 
 "i For doctrine. For teaciiing or 
 communicating instruction. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Tim. iv. 10. ■]■ For re- 
 pn of. On the meaning of tlie word 
 hi^re rendered reproof — t?.fy;^05 — see 
 Notes on Ileb. .\i. 1. It here means, 
 prob;ibly, for convincinsr ,- that is, 
 convincing a man of his sins, of the 
 truth and claims of religion, &c. 
 Sec Notes on John xvi. 8. •[ For 
 correction. The word here used — 
 i>ta*^^<jtf — occurs nowhere else in 
 
 tlie Ntnv Testament It means, pro 
 pcrly, « seltinfT to righl.\; rr/inrfi- 
 tion, restoration (from trtaKybciu,, to 
 riglit up again, to restore) ; and here 
 means, tiie leading to a correction or 
 amendment of life — a refor million. 
 The meaning is, that the Scriptures 
 are a powerful means of relormat ion, 
 or of putting men into the proper 
 condition in regard to morals, .\ller 
 all the means whicli have been em- 
 ployed to reform mankind; all the 
 appeals which are made to them on 
 the score of health, happiness, re- 
 specUibility, property, and long life, 
 the word of God is still the most 
 jKiwerful and the most effectual 
 means of recovering those who have 
 fallen into vice. No reformation 
 can be permanent which is not based 
 on the" principles of the word of God. 
 ^[ For instrnctioji in rirrhleonsncss. 
 instruction in regard to the princi- 
 ples of justice, or wiiat is right. 
 Man needs not only to be made ac- 
 quainted with truth, to be convinced 
 of his error, and to be reformed ; but 
 he needs to be tau<rht what is right, 
 or what is required of him, in order 
 that ho may lead a holy life. Every 
 reformed and regenerated man needs 
 instruction, and should not be left 
 merely with the evidence that he is 
 reformed, or converted. He should 
 bo followed with the principles of the 
 word of God, to show him how ho 
 may lead an upright life. The Scrip- 
 tures lurnish tlic rules of holy living 
 in abundance, and thus they are 
 adapted to the whole work of reco- 
 vering man, and of guiding him to 
 heaven. 
 
 17. That the man of God may be 
 perfect. The object is not merely 
 to convince and to convert him; it 
 is to furnisli all the instruction need- 
 ful tor his entire perfection. The 
 idea here is, not that any one is ab- 
 solutely perfect, but that the Scrip- 
 tures have laid down the way which 
 leads to iicrfection, and that, if any 
 one were perfect, 'le would find in 
 
274 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65i 
 
 17 That the man of God may 
 
 the Scriptures all the instruction 
 which he needed in those circum- 
 stances. There is no deficiency in 
 the Bible for man, in any of the 
 isituations in which he may be 
 placed in life ; and the whole ten- 
 dency of the book is to make him 
 who will put himself fairly under its 
 instructions, absolutely perfect. — 
 ^ Thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works. Marg., ^ or perfected.^ 
 The Greek means, to bring- to an 
 end ; to make complete. The idea 
 is. that whatever good work the man 
 of God desires to perform, or how- 
 ever perfect he aims to be, he will 
 find no deficiency in the Scriptures, 
 but will find there the most ample 
 instructions that he needs. He can 
 never advance so far, as to become 
 forsaken of his guide. He can never 
 make such progress, as to have gone 
 in advance of the volume of revealed 
 truth, and to be thrown upon his own 
 resources in a region which was not 
 thought of by the Author of the Bi- 
 ble. No new phase of human affairs 
 can appear, in which it will not di- 
 rect him ; no new plan of benevo- 
 lence can be started, for which he 
 will not find principles there to guide 
 him; and he can make no progress 
 in knowledge or holiness, where he 
 will not feel that his holy counsellor 
 is in advance of him still, and that it 
 is capable of conducting iiim even 
 yet into higher and purer i-egions. 
 Let us, then, study and prize the 
 Bible. It is a holy and a safe guide. 
 It has conducted millions along the 
 dark and dangerous way of life, and 
 has never led one astray. The hu- 
 man mind, in its investigations of 
 truth, has never gone beyond its 
 teachings; nor nas man ever ad- 
 vanced into a region so bright tlmt 
 its light has become dim, or where 
 it has not thrown its beams of glory 
 
 be perfect, " thoroughly ' fumishe(J 
 unto all good works. 
 
 aPs. no. 98-100. 
 
 I or, perfected. 
 
 on still far distant objects. We are 
 ofl;en in circumstances in which we 
 feel that we have reached the outer 
 limit of what man can teach us ; but 
 we never get into such circumstance 
 in regard to the word of God. 
 
 How precious is tlie book divine, 
 
 By insijiration given ! 
 Briglit as a lamp its doctrines shine, 
 
 To guide our souls to heaven. 
 
 It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts 
 
 In this dark vale of tears ; 
 Life, light, and joy, it still imparts, 
 
 And quells our rising fears. 
 
 This lamp, through all the tedious night 
 Of life, shall guide our way ; 
 
 Till we behold the clearer light 
 Of an eternal day. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter comprises the follow- 
 ing subjects : 
 
 1, A solemn charge to Timothy, 
 to be faithful in preaching the gos- 
 pel, and in the whole work of the 
 ministry. Vs. 1 — 5. The particular 
 reason given for this charge was, 
 that the time was approaching when 
 men would not endure sound doc- 
 trine, but would turn away from the 
 truth. Hence, Timothy is exhorted 
 to be faithful in his work, and to be 
 prepared to endure the trials which, 
 in such circumstances, a faithful mi- 
 nister must be expected to meet. 
 
 2. A statement of Paul that his 
 own work was nearly done, and that 
 the hour of his departure drew near. 
 Vs. 6 — 8. This statement, also, 
 seems to be made in order to excite 
 Timothy to increased fidelity in the 
 ministry. His teacher, guide, father, 
 and friend, was about to be with- 
 drawn, and the great work of preach- 
 ing was to be committed to other 
 hands. Hence, in view of his own 
 departure, Paul exhorts Timot^v ta 
 
A D. 65.] 
 
 CHAP PER IV. 
 
 27^ 
 
 I 
 
 CHAl^ER IV 
 
 CHARGE - thee Jicir-foro k- 
 fore God, and the Lord Josus 
 
 1 Ti. 5. 21. c. 13. 
 
 Welity when he himself should be 
 lerpoved. 
 
 3. An exhortation to Timothy to 
 ;ome to him as soon as practicable. 
 Vs. 9 — 15. Paul was then in bonds, 
 xnd was expecting soon to die. He 
 *as alone. For various reasons, 
 Iho^c wiio had been witli him had 
 letl him. and lie needed some com- 
 panion and friend. He therefore 
 exhorts Timotliy to come to him as 
 KX)n as possible. 
 
 4. Paul refers now to his first trial 
 before the emperor, and to tiie lact 
 that tiien no one stood by him. Vs. 
 16 — 19. Tlie reason of his referring 
 to this seems to be, to induce Timo- 
 tliy to come to him in view of his 
 anticipated second trial. The Lord, 
 he sjiys, then stootl by him, and he 
 had confidence that lie would conti- 
 nue to do it ; yet who is there that 
 does not feel it desirable to have 
 some dear earthly friend to be with 
 him when he dies? 
 
 5. The epistle is closed, in the 
 usual manner, with various saluta- 
 tions, and with the benediction. Vs. 
 19— -je. 
 
 1. / change thee therefore before 
 God. Notes on 1 Tim. v. 21. •[ Who 
 shall jiidire the quick and the dead. 
 
 Christ, who shall judge ' the quick 
 and the dead at his appearing and 
 his kingdom ; 
 
 3 Preach the word ; be instant 
 
 ft nc. 20. 12, 13. 
 
 and what is there which will more 
 conduce to fidelity in the discharge 
 of duty, than the thought tliat we 
 must soon give up a solemn account 
 of the manner in which we have 
 performed iti 1[ At his appear inff. 
 That is, the judgment shall then 
 take place. This must refer to a 
 judgment yet to take place, for the 
 Lord Jesus has not yet 'appeared' the 
 second time to men; and, if this be 
 so, then there is to be a resurrection 
 of the dead. On the meaning of the 
 word rendered appearing, see Notes 
 on 2 Thess. ii. 8. It is there ren- 
 dered briirhtness. Comp. 1 Tim. vi. 
 14. 2 Tim. i. 10. Tit. ii. 13. *^And 
 his kingdom. Or, at the setting up 
 of his kingdom. The idea of his 
 reigning, or setting up his kingdom, 
 is not unfrequently associated with 
 the idea of his coming. See Matt, 
 xvi. 28. The meaning is, that, at 
 his second advent, tlie extent and 
 majesty of his kingdom will be fully 
 displayed. It will be seen that he 
 has control over the elements, over 
 the graves of the dead, and over all 
 the living. It will be seen that the 
 earth and the heavens are under his 
 sway, and that all things there ac- 
 knowledfje him as their sovereign 
 Ixird. In order to meet the full 
 
 riiat is, the Lord Jesus; for he is to force of the language used by Paul 
 
 be the judge of men. Matt. xxv. 
 ,U— 4(5. 2 Cor. v. 10. The word 
 tfuick means living (Notes, AcLs x. 
 12. Eph. ii. 1) ; and the idea is, that 
 ke would be alike the judge of all 
 
 here, it is not necessary to suppose 
 
 that he will set up a visible kingdom 
 
 on the earth, but only that there will 
 
 I be an illustrious display of himself 
 
 ! as a king, and of the extent and ma- 
 
 who were 
 come, and 
 
 alive 
 of all 
 
 when he should jcsty of the empire over which he 
 who had died. I presides. Comp. Notes on Rom. xiv 
 
 See Notes on I Thess. iv. 16, 17. | 11. Phil. ii. 10. 
 In view of the fact that a//, whether I 2. Preach the xcnrd. The word 
 prcachors or hearers, must give up I of Gal ; the gospel. This was to 
 iheir rscc. mit to tlie final Judgf^, | he the main Ini.-inpHS of the life of 
 Paul cii.ir^'cs Timothy to be faithful ; i Timothy, and Paul solemnly cnarjfc* 
 
276 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. ea 
 
 in season, out of season ; reprove, " 
 
 a Ti. 0. 15. 
 
 him in view of the certain coming 
 of the Redeemer to judgment, to be 
 faithful in the performance of it. 
 If Be instant. See Notes, Rom. xii. 
 12. The meaning here is, that he 
 should be constant in this duty. 
 Literally, to stand by, or to stand 
 fast by ; that is, he was to be press- 
 ing or urgent in the performance 
 of this work. He was always to 
 be at his post, and was to embrace 
 every opportunity of making known 
 the gospel. What Paul seems to 
 have contemplated was not merely 
 that he should perform the duty at 
 stated and regular times; but that 
 he should press the matter as one 
 who had the subject much at heart, 
 and never lose an opportunity of 
 making the gospel known. IT In 
 season, ivx^pto^. In good time ; op- 
 portunely. Comp. Matt. xxvi. 16. 
 Luke xxii. 6. Mark. xiv. 11. The 
 sense is, when it could be conve- 
 niently done ; when all things were 
 favourable, and when there were no 
 obstructions or hindrances. It may 
 include the staled and regular sea- 
 sons for public worship, but is not 
 confined to them. IT Out of season. 
 djcou-'pcoj. This word does not else- 
 where occur in the New Testament. 
 It is the opposite of the former, and 
 means that a minister is to seek op- 
 portunities to preach the gospel even 
 at such periods as might be inconve- 
 nient to himsGif, or when there 
 might be hindrances and embarrass- 
 ments, or when there was no stated 
 appointment for preaching. He is 
 not to confine himself to the appoint- 
 ed times of worship, or to preach 
 only when it will be perfectly con- 
 venient for himself, but he is to have 
 such an interest and earnestness in 
 the work, that it v/ill lead him to do 
 it in the face of embarrassments and 
 discouragements, and whenever he 
 C8 1 find an opportunity. A man who I 
 
 rebuke, exhort ivith all long-suf« 
 ferino- and doctrine. 
 
 is greatly intent on an object will 
 seek every opportunity to' promote 
 it. He will not confine himself to 
 stated times and places, but will pre- 
 sent it everywhere, and at all times 
 A man, therefore, who merely con- 
 fines himself to the stated seasons 
 of preaching the gospel, or who 
 merely preaches when it is conve- 
 nient to himself, should not corv 
 sider that he has come up to the 
 requirement of the rule laid down 
 by the apostle. He should preach 
 in his private conversation, and in 
 the intervals of his public labours, 
 at the side of the sick bed, and wher 
 ever there is a prospect of doing 
 good to any one. If his heart is full 
 of love to the Saviour and to souls, 
 he cannot help doing this. '^ Re- 
 prove. Or convince. Notes, ch. iii. 
 16. The meaning is, that he was 
 to use such arguments as would con- 
 vince men of the truth of religion, 
 and of their own need of it. IT Re- 
 buke. Rebuke offenders. Titus ii. 
 1-5. See the nse of the word in 
 Matt. viii. 26; xiL 16, (rendered 
 charged); xvi. 22; xvii. 18; xix. 
 13; XX. 31. Luke iv. 3-5. 39; xvii. 
 13; xviii. 15. Jude 9. In the New 
 Testament the word is used to ex- 
 press a judgment of what is wrong 
 or contrary to one's v/ill, and hence 
 to admonish or reprove. It implies 
 our conviction tliat there is some- 
 thing evil, or some fault in hinr. 
 who is rebuked. The word in this> 
 verse rendered reprove, does not im • 
 ply this, but merely that one may be 
 in error, and needs to have argu- 
 ments presented to convince him cf 
 the truth. That word also implies 
 no superior authority in him who 
 does it. He presents reasons, or ar- 
 gues the case, for the purpose of 
 convincing. The word here ren- 
 dered rebuke, implies authority or 
 superiority, and njaans merely thai 
 
A. D. G5.J 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 277 
 
 3 For the time will come when 
 they will not endure sound doc- 
 trine ; but after their own lusts 
 
 we may saij lliat a thing is wron]^, 
 • nd adiiiinister a rebuke for it, as if 
 tliere were no doubt that it was 
 wrong. The propriety of the re- 
 buke rests on our authority tor do- 
 ing it, not on tiic araumcnts which 
 we present. Tliis is based on tiie 
 presumption that men orlen know 
 that they are doing wrong, and need 
 no aru'uments to convince them of it. 
 The idea is, that the mini.ster is not 
 merely to reasoii about sin, and con- 
 vince men that it is wrong, but lie 
 may solemnly admonisli them not to 
 do it, and warn them of the conse- 
 quences. T Exhort. Notes, Rom. 
 xii. 8. ^ With all lomr-siifferinir. 
 Tliat is, with a patient and persever- 
 ing spirit if you are opposed. See 
 Notes on cli. ii. 25. Comp. Notes, 
 Rom. ii. 4. Comp. Rom. i.v. 22. 2 
 Cor. vi. 6. Gal. v. 22. Epli. iv. 2. 
 Col. i. 11; iii. 12. 1 Tim. i. 16. 
 IT Au(' doctrine. Teaching, or pa- 
 tient instruction. 
 
 Ii. For the time icill come, Sic. 
 Probably referring to the time men- 
 tioned in ch. iii. 1, seq. H When 
 they tcill not endure sound doctrine. 
 Greek, healthful doctrine ; i. e., doc- 
 trine contributing to the health of 
 the soul, or to salvation. At that 
 time they would seek a kind of in- 
 struction more conformable to their 
 wi<hes and feelings. ^ But after 
 their oicn lusts. They will seek 
 such kind of preaching as will accord 
 with their carnal desires; or such 
 as will palliate their evil propensi- 
 ties, and deal gently with tlieir vices. 
 Comp. Isa. XXX. 10, '* Speak unto us 
 sm<x)th things; prophesy deceits." 
 «I Shall they heap to themselves 
 teachers, having itching ears. The 
 word rendered heap — (f(i'-<^tvi^ — 
 does not occur elsewhere in the New 
 Testament. It means to heap up 
 upon, to accumulate; and here to 
 24 
 
 shall they heap to themselves 
 teachers, having itching ears ; 
 
 multiply. The word rendered ilch- 
 iniz — xir^ — also occurs only in this 
 place in the New Testament. It 
 means to rub, to scratch ,- and then 
 to tickle, and here to feel an itching 
 for something pleasing or gratifying. 
 The image is derived from the de- 
 sire'which we have wlien tiiere is 
 an itching sensation, to have it rub- 
 bed or scratclied. Such an uneasi- 
 ness would these persons have to 
 have some kind of instruction tiiat 
 would allay their restless and unen.-y 
 desires, or would gratify them, in 
 explanation of this passage we may 
 observe, (1.) that there will be al- 
 ways religious teachers of some kind, 
 and that in proportion as error and sin 
 abound, they will be multiplied. The 
 apostle here says, that by turning 
 away from Timothy, and from sound 
 instruction, they would not abandon 
 all religious teachers, but would ra- 
 ther nicrease and multiply them. 
 Men otlen declaim much against a 
 regular ministry, and call it priest- 
 craft ; and yet, if they were to get 
 rid of such a ministry, they would 
 by no means escape from all kinds 
 of religious teachers. The deeper 
 the darkness?, and the more gross the 
 errors, and the more prevalent the 
 wickedness of men, the more will a 
 certain kind of religious teachers 
 abound, and the more it will cost to 
 support them. lUily and Spain swarm 
 with priest.*, and in every heathen 
 nation they constitute a verj- nume- 
 rous class of the population. Tiie 
 cheapest mini^try on the earth is a 
 well-e<lucated I'rotestant clergy, and 
 if society wishes to free itself from 
 swarms of preachers, and prophets, 
 and exhorters, it should secure the 
 regular services of an educated and 
 pious ministry. (2.) In such classes 
 of persons as tlie apostle iiere refers 
 to, thero i^ a restless, uneasy desira 
 
978 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 4 And th(;y shall turn away 
 their ears from the truth, and shall 
 be turned unto fables. " 
 
 5 But Avatch thou in all things, '' 
 
 alTi. 1.4. 6 c. 2. 3. 
 
 to have some kind of preachers. 
 They have 'itching ears.' They 
 will be ready to run after all kinds 
 of public instructors. They will be 
 little pleased with any, and this will 
 be one reason why they will have so 
 many. Tiiey are fickle, and unset- 
 tled, and never satisfied. A desire 
 to hear the trulh, and to learn the 
 way of salvation, is a good desire. 
 But this can be better gratified bj' 
 far under the patient and intelligent 
 labour of a single religious teacher, 
 than by running after many teachers, 
 or than by frequent changes. How 
 much would a child learn if he was 
 constantly running from one school 
 to another 1 (3.) Such persons would 
 have teachers according to 'their 
 own lusts;' that is, their own tastes, 
 or wishes. They would have those 
 who would coincide with their 
 whims ; who would foster every va- 
 gary which might enter their ima- 
 gination ; who would countenance 
 every wild project for doing good; 
 who would be the advocates of the 
 errors which they held; and who 
 wOuld be afraid to rebuke their faults. 
 These are the principles on which 
 uiany persons choose their religious 
 teachers. The true principle should 
 be, to select those who will faithfully 
 declare the truth, and who will not 
 shrink from exposing and denounc- 
 ing sin, wherever it may be found. 
 
 4. And they shall turn away their 
 ears from the truth. That is, the 
 people themselves will turn away 
 from the truth. It does not mean 
 thai the teachers would turn them 
 away by the influence of their in- 
 structions. IT And shall he turned 
 unto fables. Notes, 1 Tim. i. 4. 
 
 5. But loalck thou in all things. 
 Be vigilant agamst error an d against 
 
 endure afflictions, do the work 
 of an evangelist, make ' full proof 
 ' of thy ministry. 
 
 or, fulfil. 
 
 e 1 Ti. 4. 12, 15. 
 
 sin, and faithful in the performance 
 of duty. Notes, Matt. xxv. 13. 1 
 Cor. xvi. 13. % Endure affiictions. 
 Notes, ch. ii. 3. The Greek word 
 here is the same which is there ren- 
 dered ' endure hardness.'' IT Do the 
 work of an evangelist. On the 
 word evangelist, see Notes on Acts 
 xxi. 8. The phrase here means, do 
 the work of preaching the gospel, 
 or of one appointed to proclaim the 
 glad tidings of salvation. This is 
 the proper business of all ministers, 
 whatever other rank they may main- 
 tain. Whether it was ever regarded 
 as the proper duty of a separate 
 class of men to do this, see Notes on 
 Eph. iv. 11. ^ Make full proof of 
 thy ministry. Marg., fulfil. Comp. 
 Notes, Rom. xiv. 5. The word here 
 used denotes, properly, to bear or 
 bring fully; then to persuade ful- 
 ly; and then to make fully assured 
 of, to give full proof of. The mean- 
 ing here seems tobe^ to furnish fuF 
 evidence of what is the design of 
 the christian ministry, and of what 
 it is adapted to accomplish, by the 
 faithfiil performance of all its duties. 
 Timothy was so to discharge the du- 
 ties of his office as to furnish a fair 
 illustration of what the ministry 
 could do, and thus to show the wis 
 dom of the Saviour in its institution 
 This should be the aim of all the 
 ministers of the gospel. Eacli one 
 should resolve, by the blessing of 
 God, that the ministry, in his hands, 
 shall be allowed, by a fair trial, to 
 show to the utmost wliat it is adapt- 
 ed to do for the welfare of mankind. 
 6. For I am now ready to be of- 
 fered. This conviction of the apos- 
 tle that he was about to die, is urged 
 as a reason why Timothy should be 
 laborious and faithful in the perform- 
 
A. 1). G5.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 279 
 
 6 For I am now ready to be 
 
 ance of Uie duties of his ortice. His 
 own work was nearly done. Ho 
 was soon to be witlidruwn from the 
 earlji, and whatever benefit the 
 world inigiit have derived from his 
 experience or active exertions, it 
 was now to be deprived of it. Ho 
 was about to leave a work whicii 
 he much loved, and to wliicli he had 
 devoted the vigour of his life, and 
 he was anxious tliat they who were 
 to succeed him should carry on the 
 work with all the energy and zeal 
 in their power. This expresses the 
 conunon feeling of aged ministers 
 as death draws near. The word 
 ' rtaily,^ in the phrase ' ready to be 
 offered,' conveys an idea wliich is 
 not in the original. It implies a 
 wUUiis;ness to depart, whicii, whe- 
 ther true or not, is not the idea con- 
 .reyed by the apostle. His statement 
 is merely of the fact that ho was 
 about ♦o die, or that liis work was 
 drawing to a close. No doubt he 
 was ' ready,' in the sense of being 
 willing and pre[«ired, but this is not 
 tlie idea in the Greek. Tlie single 
 Greek word rendered ' I am ready 
 to be ofibred' — ^rtf\8o;u<u^-occurs no- 
 where else in the New Testament, 
 except in Phil. ii. 17, where it is 
 translated ' if I Up offered.'' Sec it 
 explained in the Notes on that place. 
 The allusion here, says Burder (in 
 Rosenmiiller's A. u. n. Morgenland), 
 is to the custom which prevailed 
 among the heathen generally, of 
 pouring wine and oil on the head of 
 a victim w len it was about to bo of- 
 fered in sacrifice. The idea of the 
 apoeitle then is, that he was in the 
 condition of the victim on whose 
 head tlie wine and oil had been al- 
 ready poured, and which was just 
 about to be put to death; that is, he 
 was alx)Ut to die. Every prepara- 
 tion had been made, and he only 
 
 ofTered, and the time of my d« 
 parture "is at hand. 
 
 a I'll. 1. 2.3. 
 
 IV. I M. 
 
 awaited the blow which was to strike 
 him down. The meaning is not that 
 he was to be a sacrifice ; it is that his 
 death was about to occur. Nothing 
 more remained to be done but to die. 
 The victim was all ready, and he 
 was sure that the blow would .«oon 
 fall. What was the gruiind of his 
 expectation, he has not told us. 
 Probably there were events oc- 
 curring in Rome which made it 
 morally certain that though he had 
 once been acquitted, ho could not 
 now escape. At all events, it is in- 
 teresting to contemplate an agrd 
 and experienced Christian on the 
 borders of the grave, and to learn 
 what were his Icelings in the pros- 
 pect of his departure to the eternal 
 world. Happily, Paul has in more 
 places than one (comp. Piiil. i. 23), 
 stated his views in such circum- 
 stances, and we know that his reli- 
 gion then did not fail him. He 
 found it to be in the prospect of death 
 what he had found it to be through 
 all his life — the source of unspeaka- 
 ble consolation — and he was enabled 
 to look calmly onward to the hour 
 which should summon him into the 
 presence of his Judge. ^ And the 
 lime of 7i\y dcjitirlnre is at hand. 
 Gr., dissolvivsc, or dissolution. So 
 we speak of the dissolution of the 
 soul and bo<ly. The verb from which 
 the noun (dm?.r5i{), is derived (dia 
 Xvw), means to loosen again ; to un 
 do. It is applied to the act of un- 
 loosing or casting off the fastenings 
 of a ship, preparatory to a departure. 
 The proper idea in the use of the 
 word would be, that he had been 
 liouiid to the present world, like a 
 ship to its moorings, and that death 
 would he a release. He would now 
 .'^prcari his sails on the broad ocean 
 of eternitv. The true idea of death 
 is tiiat ot loosening' the bands that 
 
280 
 
 II. 1IM0THY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 7 1 have fought * a good fight, I which the Lord, the righteous ' 
 
 judge, shall give me at tliat day; 
 and not to me only, hut unto all 
 them • also that love his appear- 
 
 I have finished * my course, I 
 have kept ' the faith : 
 
 8 Henceforth there is laid up 
 for me a crown ^ of righteousness, 
 
 a I Ti. 6. 12. b Ac. 20. 24. 
 
 c Pr. 23. 23. Re. 3. 10. 
 
 d 1 Co. 9. 25. 1 Pe. 5. 4. Re. 2. 10. 
 
 confine us to the present world ; of 
 setting us free, and permitting the 
 soul to go forth, as with expanded 
 sails, on its eternal voyage. With 
 such a view of death, why should a 
 Christian fear to die ] 
 
 7. / have fought a good faith. 
 The christian life is often represent- 
 ed as a conflict, or warfare. See 
 Notes on 1 Tim. vi. 12. That noble 
 conflict with sin, the world, the flesh, 
 and the devil, Paul now says he had 
 been able to maintain. ^ / have 
 finished my course. The christian 
 life, too, is often represented as a 
 race to be run. Comp. Notes, 1 Cor. 
 ix. 24 — 26. '^ I have kept the faith. 
 I have steadfastly maintained the 
 faith of the gospel ; or, have lived a 
 life of fidelity to my Master. Pro- 
 bably the expression means that he 
 had kept his plighted faith to the 
 Redeemer, or had spent a life in 
 faithfully endeavouring to serve his 
 Lord. 
 
 8. Hnicpforth there is laid up for 
 me. At the end of my race, as there 
 was a crown in reserve for those 
 who had successfully striven in the 
 Grecian games, Comp. Notes on 
 1 Cor. ix. 25. The word hence- 
 forth — TMiTiov — means what remains, 
 or us to the rest ; and the idea is, 
 that that was what remained of tlie 
 whole career. The race had been 
 run ; the conflict had been waged ; 
 and all which was now necessary to 
 complete the whole transaction, was 
 merely that the crown be bestowed. 
 If A crown of righteousness. That 
 is, a crown won in the cause of 
 righteousness, and conferred as the 
 reward of his conflicts and efforts in 
 
 e 1 Co. 2. 9 
 
 the cause of holiness. It was not 
 the crown of ambition ; it was not a 
 garland won in struggles for earthly 
 distinction; it was that which was 
 the appropriate reward of his efforts 
 to be personally holy, and to spread 
 tlie principles of lioliness as far as 
 possible through the world. "F Which 
 the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
 give me. The Ix)rd Jesus, appoint- 
 ed to judge the world, and to dis- 
 pense the rewards of eternity. It 
 will be seen in the last day that the 
 rewards of heaven are not conferred 
 in an arbitrary manner, but that they 
 are bestowed because they ought to 
 be, or that God is righteous and just 
 in doing it. No man will be admit- 
 ted to heaven w^ho ought not, under 
 all the circumstances of the case, to 
 be admitted there; no one will be 
 excluded who ought to have been 
 saved. ^At that day. That is, the 
 time when he will come to judge the 
 world. Matt. xxv. ^And not to me 
 only. ' Though rny life has been 
 spent in laboriously endeavouring to 
 spread his religion; though I have 
 suffered much, and laboured lono-; 
 though I have struggled hard to win 
 the prize, and now have it full in 
 view, yet I do not suppose that it is 
 to be conferred on me alone. It is 
 not like the wreath of olive, laurel, 
 pine, or parsley (Notes, 1 Cor. ix. 
 25, p. 188), which could be conferred 
 only on one victor (Notes, 1 Cor. ix. 
 24, p. 186) ; but here everyone may 
 obtain the crown who strives for it. 
 The struggle is not between me and 
 a competitor in such a sense that, if 
 / obtain the crown, he must be ex 
 eluded ; but it is a crown which ha 
 
A. D. Go. J 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 281 
 
 9 Do lliy diligence to come 
 shortly unto me : 
 
 10 For Deinas hath forsaken 
 me, having loved • this present 
 
 a I J no. 2. 15. 
 
 can obtain as well as I. As many 
 as run — as ninny as fijjlit the pood 
 figlit — as many as kcej) the tliitli — 
 as many as love his appearing, may 
 win tlie crown as well as I.' Such 
 is religion, and such is the manner 
 in which its rewards difl'er from all 
 others. At the Grecian games, but 
 one could obtain the prize. 1 Cor. 
 ix. 24. All the rest w ho contended 
 in tiiosc games, no matter how nu- 
 merous they were, or how skilt'ully 
 they contended, or how much efi'ort 
 they made, wore of course subjected 
 to' the mortification of a tailure, and 
 to all the ill-feeling and envy to 
 which such a failure migiit give 
 "• '\ So it is in respect to all the 
 /.cs wliich this world can be^^tow. 
 . . ;i lottery, but one can obtain the 
 li Lrhest prize; in a class in college, 
 (I'll one can secure the highest lio- 
 nonr; in tJie scramble for office, no 
 matter how numerous the competi- 
 tors may be, or what may be tiieir 
 merits, but one can obtain it. All 
 the rest are liable to the disappoint- 
 ments and mortifications of defeat. 
 Not so in religion. No matter how- 
 numerous the competitors, or how 
 worthy any one of them may be, or 
 how pre-eminent above his bretiiren, 
 yet all may obtain the prize; all 
 may be crowned with a diadem of 
 life, of equal brilliancy. No one is 
 excluded because another is success- 
 ful ; no one fails of the reward be- 
 cause another obtains it. Who, 
 then, would not make an effort to 
 win the immortal crown ! ^ l7/ii(> 
 all ihcm alio thai loir his appeariiii^. 
 That is, unto all who dfsire his se- 
 cond coming. To believe in the 
 ■econd advent of the Ixjrd Jesus to 
 judge the world, and to desire his 
 return, became a kind of a criterion 
 24* 
 
 world, and is departed unto Thes- 
 salonica ; Crcscens to Galatiii 
 Titus unto Dalmatia. 
 
 by which Christians were known. 
 No others but true Christians were 
 supposed to believe in that, and 
 no others truly desired it. Comp. 
 Kev. i. 7; x.xii. 20. It is so now. 
 It is one of the characteristics of a 
 true Christian that he sincerely f/c- 
 sires the return of his Saviour, and 
 would urlcnmc ids appearing in the 
 clouds of heaven. 
 
 9. B<i thy ililigence to come short- 
 h/ uiiln me. As soon as possible. 
 Timothy had been Paul's travelling 
 companion, and was his intimate 
 friend. Tlie apostle was now nearly 
 forsaken, and was about to pa.>^g 
 through severe trials. It is not cer- 
 tainly known for what purpose he 
 wished him to come to him, but per- 
 hajw lie desired to give him some 
 parting counsels ; periiaps he wished 
 him to be near him when he died. 
 It is "vident from this that he dicJ 
 not regard him as the prclatical 
 "bisiiop of the church of the Ephe- 
 sians," or consider that he was so 
 confined to that place in his labours, 
 tliat he was not also to go to other 
 places if he was called in the provi- 
 dence of God. It is probable that 
 Timothy would obey such a sum- 
 mons, and there is no reason to be- 
 lieve that he ever returned to 
 Ephesus. 
 
 10. F(rr Dcmus hath forxaken me. 
 Demas is honourably mentioned in 
 Col. iv. 11; but notliing more ia 
 known of him than what can be ga- 
 thered from that place and this — 
 that he was at firt-t a friend and fel- 
 low-lalx)urer of I'aul, but that, under 
 tiie induence of a desire to live, he 
 afterwards rors<x)k him, even in cir- 
 cuuist/mcos whore he greatly needed 
 the })resei)ce of a friend. ^ J/avinff 
 loved this pretent world. TIiLb doe* 
 
£82 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 I A. D. 65. 
 
 11 Only Luke is with me. 
 Take Mark, and bring him with 
 
 not mean, necessarily, that he was 
 an avaricious man, or that, in itself, 
 he loved the honours or wealth of 
 this world ; but it means that he de- 
 sired to live. He v/as not willing 
 to stay with Paul, and subject him- 
 self to the probabilities of martyr- 
 dom ; and, in order to secure his life, 
 he departed to a place of safety. 
 The Greek is, ayaHr^aai •tbv jvi' alCjva 
 — having loved the world that now 
 is ; that is, this world as it is, with 
 all its cares, and troubles, and com- 
 forts; having desired to remain in 
 this world, rather than to go to the 
 other. There is, perhaps, a slight 
 censure here in the language of Paul 
 — the censure of grutf; but there is 
 QO reason why Demas should be held 
 ap as an example of a worldly man. 
 That he desired to live longer ; that 
 he was unwilling to remain and risk 
 the loss of life, is indeed clear. That 
 Paul was pained by his departure, 
 and that he felt lonely and sad, is 
 quite apparent; but 1 see no evi- 
 dence that Demas was influenced by 
 what are commonly called worldly 
 feelings, or that he was led to this 
 course by the desire of wealth, or 
 fame, or pleasure. '^And is depart- 
 ed unlo Thessalnnica, Perhaps his 
 native place. Cahnet. IT Crescens. 
 Nothing more is known of Crescens 
 than is here mentioned. " He is 
 thought bv Eusebius and others to 
 have preached in Gaul, and to have 
 founded the church in Vienne, in 
 Dauphiny." Cahnet. ^ToGalalia. 
 See Intro, to the epistle to the Gala- 
 tians, fj 1. It is not known to what 
 part of Galatia he had gone, or why 
 he went there. ^ Titus into Dal- 
 matia. Dalmatia was a part of II- 
 lyricum, on the gulf of Venice, or 
 the Adriatic sea. On the situation 
 of Illyricum, see Notes on Rom. xv. 
 19. Paul does not mention the rea- 
 son why Titus had gone there ; but 
 
 thee ; for he is profitable to me 
 for the ministry. 
 
 it is not improbable that he had gone 
 to preach the gospel, or to visit the 
 churches which Paul had planted in 
 that region. The apostle does not 
 suggest that he was deserving of 
 blame for having gone, and it can 
 hardly be supposed that Titus would 
 have left him at this time without 
 his concurrence. Perhaps, when he 
 permitted him to go, he did not know 
 how soon events would come to a 
 crisis with him ; and as a letter 
 would more readily reach Timothy 
 at Ephesus, than Titus in Dalmatia, 
 he requested him to come to him, 
 instead of directing Titus to return. 
 11. Only Luke is with me. Luke, 
 the author of the gospel which bears 
 his name, and of the Acts of the 
 Apostles. For a considerable part 
 of the ministry of Paul, he was his 
 travelling companion (comp. Notes 
 on Acts xvi. 10), and we know tliat 
 he went with him to Rome. Acts 
 xxvii. 1. '^ Take Mark. John Mark, 
 Notes, Acts XV. 37. He was the son 
 of a sister of Barnabas, and had been 
 the travelling companion of Barnabas 
 and Paul. There had been a tem- 
 porary alienation between Paul and 
 him (Acts xv. 38) ; but this passage 
 proves that that had been removed, 
 and that Paul was reconciled to him. 
 ^ For he is profitable to me for the 
 ministry. In what way he would 
 be profitable, he does not say ; nor is 
 it known why Mark was at that time 
 with Timothy. It may be observed, 
 however, that this is such language 
 as Paul might be expected to use of 
 Mark, after what had occurred, as 
 recorded in Acts xv. 38. He felt 
 that he was now about to die. If he 
 suspected that there was on the part 
 of Mark any lingering apprehension 
 tiiat the great apostle was not en- 
 tirely reconciled to him, or retained 
 a recollection of what had formerly 
 occurred, nothing would be mors 
 
A 1). G5.J 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 288 
 
 12 And Tychicus " have I sont 
 io Ephesus. 
 
 l:i The cloak thai I left at 
 
 a Ti. 3. 1-2. 
 
 natural than that, at this trying time 
 of his lite, Paul should summon liiin 
 to his side, and express towards him 
 the kindest emotions. It would 
 eoothc ant/ linfjering irritation in the 
 mind of iNIark, to receive such a 
 message. 
 
 12. Aitd Tychicus. See Acts xx. 
 4. In Epli. vi. 121, Paul calls him 
 "a belove<l brother, and faithful mi- 
 nister in the Lord." But it may bo 
 asked why he did not retain him 
 with him,' or why should he have 
 sent iiim away, and then call Timo- 
 thy to him ? The probability is, that 
 he had sent him before lie had seen 
 reason to apprehend that he would 
 be put to death; and now, feelings 
 the need of a friend to be with him, 
 he sent to Timothy, rather tlian to 
 him, because Tychicus had been em- 
 ployed to perform some service which 
 he could not well leave, and because 
 Paul wished to eive some special 
 instructions to Timotiiy before he 
 died. ^ Have I sent to Ephfsiis. 
 Why, is not certainly known. Comp. 
 Intro. § 2. 
 
 13. The cloak that I left at Troas. 
 On the situation of Troas, see Notes 
 on Acts xvi. 8. It was not on the 
 most direct route from Ephesus to 
 Rome, but was a route frequently 
 taken. Comp. the Map in the Notes 
 on tlie Acts of the Apostles. See 
 also the Intro., ^ 2. In regard to 
 what the ' cloak' here mentioned 
 was, there has been considerable dif- 
 ference of opinion. The Greek word 
 used (4>f Junius — variously written 'Pai- 
 Xoyr^f, ^ftjmrii, and ^(Xuii-re), occurs 
 nowhere else in the New 1 estamcnt. 
 It is supposed to be used lor a simi- 
 lar (ireck word (+auij)j;{), to denote 
 a clisnk, or prpal-cf«t, with a lioo<i, 
 used chii'ily on journeys, or in tlie 
 army. Latin, /^entt/a. It is described 
 
 Troas with Caqius, when thou 
 coinc'st, hrinp^ with llice, and tlio 
 books, but especially the parch- 
 nncnts. 
 
 by Eschenberg (Man. Class. Lit., p. 
 209), ns a "cloak without sleeves, 
 for cold or rainy weather." See tho 
 uses of it in the quotations made by 
 U'etstein, in loc. Others, however, 
 have supjioscd that the word means 
 a travelling-case for books, &c. So 
 Hcsychius understands it. BUwm- 
 field endeavours to unite the two 
 opinions by suggesting that it may 
 moan a cloak-basr, and that he had 
 left his books and parchments in it. 
 It is impossible to settle the precise 
 meaning of the word here, and it is 
 not material. The common opinion 
 that it was a wrapper or travelling- 
 cloak, is the mast probable ; and such 
 a garment would not be undesirable 
 for a prisonc r. It should be remem- 
 bered, also, that winter was ap- 
 proaching (ver. 21), and such a cloak 
 would be particularly needed. He 
 had probably passed through Troas 
 in summer, and, not needing the 
 cloak, and not choosing to encumber 
 himself with it, had letl it at tlie 
 house of a friend. On the meaning 
 of the word, sec Wetstein, Robinson, 
 Lex., amd Sclieusner, Lex. Comp., 
 also, Suic. Thess. ii. 1422. The 
 doubt in regard to what is here 
 meant, is as old as Chrysostom. He 
 .«ays (Hoin. x. on this epistle), that 
 the word (*aJioit;i') denotes a gar- 
 ment — to inariov. But some under- 
 stood by it a capsnla, or bag — ^Xws- 
 aoxo^tn" (comp. Notes on John -xii. 
 6), "in which books, die. were car- 
 ried." •[ With Carpus. Carpus is 
 not elsewhere mentionwl. He was 
 evidently a friend of the apostle, and 
 it would seem prolwble thai Paul had 
 made his house his home when ho 
 was in Troas. If And the f/nnk.t. 
 It is impossible to delcnnine wiiat 
 books are meant here. I'hey may 
 have been portions of the Old Testa- 
 
284 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D, 65 
 
 14 Alexander the coppersmith 
 did me much evil : the Lord » 
 
 ment, or classic writings, or books 
 written by other Christians, or by 
 himself. It is worthy of remark that 
 even Paul did not travel without 
 books, and that he found tliem in 
 some way necessary for the work of 
 the ministry. ^ Especially the parch- 
 ments. The word here used (ftf^- 
 )3pai/aj, whence our woTd'membrane), 
 occurs only in this place in the New 
 Testament, and means skin, mem- 
 brane, or parchment. Dressed skins 
 were among the earliest materials 
 for writing, and were in common use 
 before the art of making paper from 
 rags was discovered. These ' parch- 
 ments' seem to have been something 
 different from ' books,' and probably 
 refer to some of his own writings. 
 They may have contained notes, 
 memorandums, journals, or unfinish- 
 ed letters. It is, of course, impi .=:si- 
 ble now to determine what ihey 
 were. Benson supposes they were 
 letters which he had received from 
 the churches ; Macknight, that they 
 were the originals of the letters 
 which he had written ; Bishop Bull, 
 that they were a kind of common- 
 place book, in which he inserted 
 hints and extracts of the most re- 
 markable passages in the authors 
 which he read. All this, however, 
 is mere conjecture. 
 
 14. Alexander the coppersmith. 
 Or, rather, the brazier — o xC'^xsv^. 
 The word is used, however, to de- 
 note a worker in any kind of metals. 
 This is probably the same person 
 who is mentioned in 1 Tim. i. 20, 
 and perhaps the same as the one 
 mentioned in Acts xix. 33. See 
 Notes on 1 Tim. i. 20. "H Did me 
 much evil. In what way this was 
 done, is not mentioned. If this is 
 the same person who is referred to 
 in 1 Tim. i. 20, it is probable that it 
 was not evil to Paul personally. 
 
 reward him according to hia' 
 works : 
 
 so much as embarrassment to the 
 cause of religion which he advocated. 
 Comp. 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18. ^ The 
 Lord reward him according to his 
 iDorks. Comp. Notes, 1 Tjm. i. 20.' 
 This need not be regarded as an ex- 
 pression of private feeling ; still less 
 should it be understood as expressing 
 a desire of revenge. It is the lan- 
 guage of one who wished that God 
 would treat him exactly as he ought 
 to be treated, and might be in ac- 
 cordance with the highest benevo- 
 lence of any heart. It is the aim of 
 every just government that every 
 one should be treated exactly as lie 
 deserves; and every good citizen 
 should desire and pray that exact 
 justice may be done to all. It is the 
 business of a police officer to ferret 
 out the guilty, to bring them to trial, 
 to secure a just sentence ; and any 
 police officer might pray, witJi the 
 utmost propriety, that God would 
 assist him in his endeavours, and 
 enable him to perform his duty. 
 This might be done with no malevo- 
 lent feeling toward any human 
 being, but with the purest love of 
 country, and the most earnest desire 
 for the welfare of all. if such a po- 
 lice officer, or (/"a judge, or a jury- 
 man, were heard thus to pray, who 
 would dare to accuse him of having 
 a vindictive spirit, or a malevolent 
 heart ■? And why should Paul be so 
 charged, when his prayer amounts 
 to no more than this? For it re- 
 mains yet to be proved that he refers 
 to any private wrong which Alexan- 
 der had done him, or that he was 
 actuated by any other desire than 
 that the sacred interests of truth 
 should be guarded, and equal justicb 
 done to all. Why is it wrong t« 
 desire or to pray that universal jus 
 iico may be done, and that every 
 man may be treated as, undei 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 280 
 
 l."> Of whom be thou ware 
 also ; for ho hath greally wilh- 
 ttood our ' word.^-. 
 
 10 At ray first answer no man 
 
 I or, freachingf. 
 
 all iha circumstances of the case, 
 he ovirhl to be treated] On the 
 subject of tlie " Imprecations in the 
 Scriptures," the reader may coh- 
 eult an article in the BibHothcca 
 Sacra, vol. 1, pp. 97 — 110. It should 
 be added, here, tliat some manu- 
 scripts, insteid of dnoiyj;, ' winy tlie 
 Lord reward, read it in the future — 
 artoSwUfi, ' tcill reward.' See Wet- 
 stein. The future is also found in 
 the Vulsrate, Coptic, and in Augus- 
 tine, Theodoret, and Chrysostom. 
 Augustine says (on the Sermon on 
 the Mount), ' He does not say, may 
 he reward (jeddal) ; but, he will re- 
 ward {redJel), which is a verb of 
 propiiecy, not of imprecation.' The 
 autliority, however, is not sufficient 
 to justify a change in the present 
 reading. These variations have 
 doubtless arisen from a belief that 
 the common reading e.xprcsses a 
 sentiment inconsistent with tlie true 
 spirit of a Christian, and a desire to 
 find a better. But there is no rea- 
 6on/or desirinfr a change in the text. 
 
 15. Oftchoin be than ware also. 
 It would seem from this that Alex- 
 ander was still a public teaclier, and 
 that his disrourses were plausible 
 and artful. The best and the wisest 
 of men need to be on their guard 
 against the efforts of the advocates 
 of error. «[ For he halh greatly 
 withstood our words. Marg., preach- 
 ings. Tlie Greek is, words; but 
 the reference is doubtless to tliepub- 
 lic teachings of Paul. This verso 
 makes it clear that it was no privuir 
 wrong that Paul referred to, but the 
 injury which he was doing to llie 
 cause of truth as a profepsed public 
 teacher. 
 
 IG. At mij first answer, dr., apo- 
 logy (oftoxoyio), pica, or defence. 
 
 stood with me, but all *" mm for 
 sook me ; I praii Gud that it may 
 not be laid 'to tnoir charge. 
 
 £ Ac. 7. CO. 
 
 This evidently refers to some trial 
 which he had had before tlie Roman 
 emperor. He speaks of a first trial 
 of this kind ; but whether it was on 
 some former occasion, and he had 
 been released and permitted again 
 to go abroad, or whether it was a 
 trial which he had already had dur- 
 ing his second impri:?onnient, it ia 
 not easy to determine. The former 
 is the most natural supposition ; for, 
 if he had had a trial during his pre- 
 sent imprisonment, it is difficult to 
 see why he was still held as a pri- 
 soner. See this point examined in 
 the Intro., ; 1. f A'o man stood with 
 me. Paul had many friends in Rome 
 (ver. 21 ; comp. Rom. xvi.) ; but it 
 seems that they did not wish to ap- 
 pear as such when he was put on 
 trial for his life. They were doubt- 
 less afraid that they would be iden- 
 tified with him, and would endanger 
 their own lives. It should be said 
 that some of the friends of the aixis- 
 tle, mentioned in Rom. .xvi., and who 
 were there when that epistle was 
 written, may have died before the 
 apostle arrived there, or, in the trials 
 and persecutions to which they were 
 exposed, may have lefl the city. 
 Still, it is remarkable tliat those who 
 were there should have all Icfl him 
 (in so trying an occasion. But to for- 
 sake a friend in tlie day of calamity 
 is not uncommon, and Paul experi- 
 enced what thousands before him and 
 since have done. Thus Job was for- 
 .«aken by friends and kindred in the 
 day of his trial.^J. See his |)athetic 
 description in Job xi.x. I'S — 17: 
 
 III- halh put my brolhren far from mo, 
 Ami mine acquaintance verily arc eslranf«d 
 
 friim me. 
 Mv kin«folk have failed. 
 And my familiar fricnda hav« for(Oll«a 
 
 mc. 
 
286 
 
 II. TIMOTHY. 
 
 [A. D. 65 
 
 They that dwell in my house, and my maids, 
 count me for a stranger, 
 
 I am an alien in their sight. 
 
 I called my servant, and he gave me no an- 
 swer; I entreated him with my mouth. 
 
 My breath is strange to my wife. 
 
 Though I entreated for the children's sake of 
 mine own body. 
 
 Thus the Psalmist was forsaken by 
 his friends in the time of calamity. 
 Ps. XXXV. 12 — 16; xxxviii. 2; xli. 
 9; Iv. 12. And thus the Saviour 
 was forsaken in his trials. Matt, 
 xxvi. 56. Comp., for illustration, 
 Zech. xiii. 6. The world is full of 
 instances in which those who have 
 been overtaken by overwlielming 
 calamities, have been forsaken by 
 professed friends, and have been left 
 to suffer alone. This has arisen, 
 partly, from the circumstance that 
 many sincere friends are timid, and 
 their courage fails them when their 
 attachment for another would expose 
 them to peril ; but more commonly 
 from the circumstance that there is 
 much professed friendship in the 
 world which is false, and that cala- 
 mity becomes a test of it which it 
 cannot abide. There is professed 
 friendship which is caused by wealth 
 (Prov. xiv. 20 ; xix. 4) ; there is that 
 which is cherished for those in ele- 
 vated and fashionable circles ; there 
 is that which is formed for beauty of 
 person, or graceful manners, rather 
 than for the solid virtues of the 
 heart ; there is that which is created 
 in the sunshine of life — the affection 
 of those ' swallow friends, who retire 
 in the winter, and return in the 
 spring.' Comp. the concluding re- 
 marks on the book of Job. Sucii 
 friendship is always tested by cala- 
 mity; and when affliction comes, 
 they wlio in the days of prosperity 
 were surrounded by many flatterers 
 and admirers, are surprised to find 
 how few there were among them 
 who truly loved them. 
 
 ' In the wind and tempest of his frown. 
 Distinction, with a broad and powerful 
 
 fan, 
 Pufling at all winnowi the light away ; 
 
 And what hath mass or matter ny .tself. 
 Lies, rich in virtue and unminsl(>d." 
 
 TtoUus and Cressida. 
 
 So common has this been — so little 
 confidence can be placed in professed 
 friends in time of adversity, that we 
 are sometimes disposed to believe 
 that there is more truth than fancy 
 in the representation of the poet 
 
 " And what is friendship but a name, 
 A charm that lulls to sleep; 
 A shade that follows wealth or fame, 
 But leaves the wretch to weep ?" 
 
 Yet there is true friendship in the 
 world. It existed between Damon 
 and Py tliias, and its power and beau- 
 ty were still more strikingly illus- 
 trated in the warm affection of Da- 
 vid and Jonathan. In the trials of 
 David — though raised from the con 
 dition of a shepherd boy — and though 
 having no powerful friends at court, 
 the son of Saul never forsook him, 
 and never gave him occasion to sus- 
 pect the sincerity or the depth of hia 
 affection. With what exquisite beau- 
 ty he sang of that attachment when 
 Jonathan was dead ! 
 
 " I am distressed for thee, my brother Jona- 
 than ! 
 Very pleasant hast thou been unto me ! 
 Thy love to me was wonderful, 
 Passing the love of women !" 
 
 2 Sam. i. 26. 
 
 True friendship, founded on sincere 
 love, so rare, so difficult to be found, 
 so little known among the gay and 
 the great, is one of the richest of 
 Heaven's blessings to man, and when 
 enjoyed, should be regarded as more 
 than a compensation for all of show, 
 and splendour, and flattery that 
 wealth can obtain. 
 
 "Though choice of follies fasten on tha 
 
 great. 
 None clings more obstinate, than fancy fond 
 That sacred friendship is their easy prey ; 
 Caught by the waflure of a golden lure. 
 Or fascination of a high-born smile. 
 Their smiles, the great, and the coquette, 
 
 throw out 
 For other's hearts, tenacious of their own, 
 And we no less of ours, when such the bail 
 Ye fortune's cofferersi y» powers of wealth 
 
A. D. G5.1 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 2rt1 
 
 17 Notwithstanding the Lord 
 •stood with nie.and strongthoiiod 
 nie ; that by mc the preaching 
 might be fully known, and that 
 
 a Mat. lo' 1<). Ac. e3. II. 
 
 Cnn t'"lil gain fricndsliip ? Iinpudeiico of 
 
 hi'pe ! 
 As uell mrrp man an aneel mipht beset. 
 Ia>vc. and love only, is the loan for love. 
 I^irenzo! pride repress ; nor hope to find 
 A f<iend, but what has found a friend in 
 
 thee. 
 All like the purchase; few the price will 
 
 pay. 
 And this makes friends such miracles bcluw. 
 
 A friend is worth all hazards wc can run. 
 Poor is the friendless master of a world ; 
 A world in purchase of a friend is gain." 
 JVi>A« rhoushts, Xight 2. 
 
 If I pray God that it may not he 
 laid tn their charge. That it may 
 not be reckoned, or imputed to tliem 
 — Xoyta^fi'j. On the meaning of this 
 word, see Notes on Rom. iv. 3, and 
 Philem. 18. Tiie prayer of the apos- 
 tle here breathes the very spirit of 
 Christ. See Notes on Luke .x.xiii. 
 34. Comp. Acts vii. GO. 
 
 17. Anlicithstfindinff the Lord 
 stood with me. Thoiinrh all men for- 
 Book me. yet God did not. This e.x- 
 presscs a universal truth in regard 
 to the faithfulness of God. See 
 Psalm .x.xvii. 10. Comp. Job v. 17 
 —19. Isa. .xliii. 1, 2. ^ That by 
 me the preaching might be fully 
 knotcn. The word preaching liere 
 probably means the gospel as preach- 
 ed by him. The word rendered 
 ' might be fully known' — TfKr^po^-^i^hii 
 — means, might obtain full credence; 
 that i.s, might be tully confirmed, so 
 that others might be a.'^sured of its 
 truth. The aiKKtle doubtless means 
 that on his trial, though forsaken by 
 all men, he was enabled to be so 
 steadfast in his profession of the 
 truth, and so calm in the prospect of 
 death, that all who witnessed his 
 trial siw that there was a reality in 
 religion, and that the gospel was 
 founded in truth. He had maintain- 
 ed as a preacher that the gospol was 
 able to support the soul in trial, and 
 
 all the Gentiles m'c?hl hear : and 
 I was delivered out of tlie niculh 
 ' of the hon. 
 
 he was now able to L.'jstrate its 
 power in his own case. He had pro- 
 claimed the gospel as the true sys- 
 tem of religion, and he was now 
 able to bear testimony to it with the 
 prospect of approaching martyrdom. 
 The sentiment of this passage then 
 is, that the truth of the gospel is 
 made known, or that men may be- 
 come fully assured of it, by tlie testi- 
 mony which is borne to it by its 
 friends in the near prospect of death. 
 One of the most important means 
 of establishing the truth of the gos- 
 pel in the world has been the testi- 
 mony borne to it by martyrs, and the 
 spirit of unwavering confidence in 
 God which they have evinced. And 
 now, one of the most important me- 
 thods of keeping up the knowledge 
 of the value of religion in the world, 
 and of convincing men of tiie truth 
 of Christianity, is the spirit evinced 
 by its friends when they are about 
 to die. Men judge much, and justlj', 
 of the value of a system of religion 
 by its power to comfort in the day 
 of calamity, and to sustain the soul 
 when about to enter on an untried 
 state of being. That system is of 
 little value to mankind whicli leaves 
 us in the day of trial ; that is of in- 
 estimable worth which will enable 
 us to die with the firm hope of a 
 brighter and better world. A Chris- 
 tian, having served his God faithfully 
 in lite, may, therefore, be eminently 
 useful when he comes to die. *' And 
 that all the Gentiles might hear. 
 Paul was at this time in Rome. Ilig 
 trial was before a heatiirn tribunal, 
 and he was surrounded by Pagans. 
 Rome, ttx), was then the centre of 
 the world, and at all times there 
 was n great conthix of strangen 
 there. His trial, therefore, jjave him 
 
268 
 
 18 And tne Lord ' shall deliv- 
 er me from every evil work, and 
 will preserve 7ne unto his hea- 
 venly kingdom : to whom be 
 
 a Ps. 121. 7. 
 
 an oppor unity of testifying to the 
 truth of Christianity before Gentile 
 rulers, and in sucli circumstances that 
 the knowledge of his sufferings, and 
 of the religion for which he suffered, 
 might be conveyed by tlie strangers 
 who witnessed it to the ends of the 
 world. His main object in life was to 
 make the gospel known to the Gen- 
 tiles, and he had tiius an opportunity 
 of furthering that great cause, even 
 on what he supposed might be the 
 trial which would determine with 
 him the question of life or death. 
 Comp. Notes on Rom. i. 10. If And 
 1 was delivered out of the mouth of 
 the lion. This may either mean 
 that he was delivered from Nero, 
 compared with a lion, or literally 
 that he was saved from being thrown 
 to lions in the amphitheatre, as was 
 common in Rome. See Notes on 1 
 Cor. XV. 32, (3.) It is not uncom- 
 mon in the Scriptures to compare 
 tyrants and persecutors with raven- 
 ous wild beasts. Comp. Ps. xxii. 13. 
 21. Jer. ii. 30. Nero is called a 
 lion by Seneca, and it was usual 
 among heathen writers to apply the 
 term iti various senses to princes and 
 warriors. See Grotius, in loc. The 
 common interpretation here has been, 
 ihat this refars to Nero, and there is 
 no improbability in the interpreta- 
 tion. Still, it is quite as natural to 
 suppose that the punishment which 
 had been appointed for him, or to 
 which he would have been subject- 
 ed, was to be thrown to Jions, and 
 that in some way, now unknown to 
 us, he had been delivered from it. 
 Paul attributes his deliverance en- 
 tirely to the Lord — but what instru- 
 mental agency there may have been, 
 he does rot specify. It seems pro- 
 bable that it was his own defence ; 
 
 It. TIMOTHY. [A. D. 65. 
 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, 
 and the household of Onesipho- 
 rus. 
 
 20 Erastus abode at Corinth: 
 
 that he was enabled to plead his own 
 cause with so much ability that he 
 found favour even with the Roman 
 emperor, and was discharged. If it 
 had been through the help of a friend 
 at court, it is hardly to be supposed 
 that he would not have mentioned 
 the name of him to whom he owed 
 his deliverance. 
 
 18. And the Lord shall deliver 
 me from every evil work. He 
 does not say from death, for he 
 expected now to die. See vor. 6. 
 But he was assured that God would 
 keep him from shrinking from death 
 when the hour approached ; from 
 apostasy, and from the manifestation 
 of an improper spirit when he came 
 to die. If And will preserve me unto 
 his heavenly kingdom. So keep me 
 from evil that I shall reach his hea- 
 venly kingdom. See ver. 8. IT To 
 ivhom be glory for ever and. ever. 
 Paul was accustomed to introduce a 
 doxology in his writings when his 
 heart was full (comp. Rom. ix. 5), 
 and in no place could it be more ap- 
 propriate than here, when he had the 
 fullest confidence that he was soon 
 to be brought to heaven. If man is 
 ever disposed to ascribe glory to God, 
 it is on such an occasion. 
 
 19. Salute Prisca and Aquila. 
 Prisca, or Priscilla, was the wife of 
 Aquila, though her name is some- 
 times mentioned first. In regard to 
 their history, see Notes, Rom. xvi. 3. 
 They were at Rome when Paul wrote 
 his epistle to the Romans, but after- 
 wards went into Asia Minor, which 
 was the native place of Aquila (Acta 
 xviii. 2), and where they probably 
 died. *\\ And the household of One- 
 siphorus. Notes, ch. i. 16. 
 
 20. Erastus. See Notes on Rom. 
 xvi. 23. If Abode at Corinth. This 
 
A. D. 65.] 
 
 CHAPTER rV. 
 
 28ft 
 
 but Trophimus have I left at Mi- 
 letum sick. 
 
 '21 Uo thy diligence to come 
 before winter. EubuUis greeteth 
 tliee, and Pudens, and Linus, and 
 Claudia, and all the brethren. 
 
 22 The Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with thy spirit. Grace be with 
 you. Amen. 
 
 was his home, wliere he filled an im- 
 portant office. Notes, Rom. xvi. 23. 
 it would seem that when Paul went 
 to Rome, tlicre was some expecta- 
 tion that he would accompany him, 
 but that reasons had occurred for his 
 remaining in Corinth. His doing so 
 is referred to without blame. IF But 
 Trophimus. See Acts xx. 4. He 
 was a native of Asia Minor. ^ Have 
 I left at Milctum sick. Probably 
 he designed to accompany him to 
 Rome, as he had been often with 
 him in his journeys. On the situa- 
 tion of Miletus, or Miletum, see 
 Notes on Acts xx. 1.5. 
 
 21. Do thy diligence. Ver. 9. 
 % To come before winter. Probably 
 because of tlie dangers of the navi- 
 gation then, and because the circum- 
 stances of the apostle were such as 
 to demand the presence of a friend. 
 
 The second epistle unto Timo- 
 theus, ordained the first bi- 
 shop of the church of the 
 Ephesians, was written from 
 Rome, when Paul was 
 brought before ' Nero the 
 second time. 
 
 • Casar JVero, or Ihe Emperor ^'ero. 
 
 ^ Eubulus, &.C. These names are 
 of common occurrence in the classic 
 writers, but of tlie persons here re- 
 ferred to we know nothing. 
 
 22. The Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with thy spirit. See Gal. vi. 18. 
 Rom. XV. 20. The subscription to 
 this epistle was not added by Paul 
 himself, nor is there any evidence 
 that it was by an inspired man, and 
 it is of no authority. There is not 
 the slightest evidence that Timothy 
 was ' ordained the first bishop of the 
 church of the Ephesians,' or that he 
 was a 'bishop' tliere at all. There 
 is no reason to believe that he waa 
 even a pastor there, in the technical 
 sense. See Notes on 1 Tim. i. 3. 
 Compare the remarks on the sub- 
 scriptions to the Epistle to the Ro- 
 mans, 1 Corinthians, and especially 
 Titufl. 
 
 06 
 
THE 
 
 EriSTLE OE PAUL TO TITUS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 1. The History of Tiliis. 
 
 Of Titus notliino more is certainly liiioun than what we find in \n8 
 epistles of Paul. It is somewhat remarkable that there is no mention or' 
 him in the Acts of the Apostles, nor does his name occur in the New Tes- 
 tament anywhere, except in the writinj^s of the apostle Paul. From \i\s 
 incidental allusions to him, we learn the following particulars respecting 
 him. 
 
 (1.) lie was by birth a Gentile. In Gal. ii. 3, he is called a Greek, and 
 it is certain from that passage that he had not been circumci.sed, and the 
 probability i.s, that up to the time of his conversion he had lived as other 
 Gentiles, and had not been converted to the Jewish faith. His fatlier and 
 motiier were, doubtless, both Greeks, and thus ho was distinguished from 
 Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess, but whose flither was a Greek. 
 Acts .\vi. 3. Comp. Notes on Gal, ii. 3. If Titus had been proselyted to 
 the Jewish feith, it is to be presumed that he would have been circum- 
 cised. 
 
 (2.) He had been converted to Christianity by the instrumentality of 
 Paul liimself This is clear from the epistle, ch. i. 4, "To Titu.s mine 
 own sou, atler the common faith." See Notes on 1 Tim. i. 2. This is 
 language wiiich the apostle would not have used of one who had been 
 converted by the instrumentality of another. But where he lived, and 
 when or liow he was converted, is wholly unknown. As to the time when 
 he was converted, it is known only that this occurred before the fourteentli 
 year after tlie conversion of Paul, for at that time Titus, a Christian, was 
 with Paul at Jerusalem. Gal. ii. 1. As to the place where he lived, 
 there seems some reason to suppose that it was in some part of Asia Mi- 
 nor — for the Greeks abounded there; Paul laboured rnucli tliere; and 
 tliere were numerous converts made there to the christian faith. Still 
 tills is not by any means certain. 
 
 (3.) Titus went with Paul to Jerusalem when he was deputed by the 
 church at .\ntioch with liirnahas, to lay certain (jucslions before the apos- 
 tles and elders there in reference to tlie converts irom Uic Gentiles. Acta 
 
 (ccxci) 
 
CCXCU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XV. Comp. Gal. ii. 1. It is not known why he took Titus with him on 
 that occasion, and the reasons can be only conjectural. See Notes on 
 Gral. ii. 1. It is possible that he was taken with him to Jerusalem because 
 his was a case in point in regard to the question which was to come be- 
 fore the apostles and elders there. It is not improbable, from an expres- 
 sion which Paul uses in describing his visit there — 'neither was Titua 
 compelled to be circumcised' — that the case came up for discussion, and 
 that strenuous efforts were made by the Judaizing portion there (comp. 
 Gal. ii. 4), to have him circumcised. Paul and Barnabas, however, so 
 managed the cause that the principle was settled that it was not necessary 
 that converts from the heathen should be circumcised. Acts xv. 19, 20. 
 
 (4.) After tlie council at Jerusalem, it seems probable that Titus re- 
 turned with Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by Silas and Judas (Acts xv. 
 23), and that afterwards he attended the apostle for a considerable time 
 in his travels and labours. This appears from a remark in 2 Cor. viii. 23 : 
 ♦' Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper 
 concerning you." From this it would seem, that he had been with Paul ; 
 that he was as yet not well known ; and that the fact that he had been 
 seen with him had led to inquiry who he was, and what was the office 
 which he sustained. That he was also a companion of Paul, and quite 
 essential to his comfort in his work, is apparent from the following allu- 
 sions to him in the same epistle — 2 Cor. vii. 6 — " God, that comforteth 
 those who are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus." ii. 13. 
 " I had no rest in my spirit because I found not Titus my brother." vii. 
 13. " Yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus." 
 Comp. 2 Tim. iv. 10. 2 Cor. xii. 18. 
 
 (5.) There is reason to believe that Titus spent some iime with the 
 apostle in Ephesus. For the First Epistle to the Corinthians was written 
 at Ephesus, and was sent by the hand of Titus. Intro, to 1 Cor. § 3. 6. 
 It is to be presumed also, that he would on such an occasion send some one 
 with the epistle in whom he had entire confidence, and who had been so 
 long with him as to become familiar with his views. For Titus, on tin's 
 occasion, was sent not only to bear the epistle, but to endeavour to heal 
 the divisions and disorders there, and to complete a collection for the poor 
 saints in Jerusalem which the apostle had himself commenced. Comp. 
 Notes on 2 Cor. ii. 13 ; vii. 6 ; viii. 6. After this he met Paul in Mace- 
 donia (2 Cor. vii. 5, 6), but whether he was with him when he went with 
 the collection to Jerusalem, and during his imprisonment in Cesarea, or on 
 his voyage to Rume, w'e have no information. 
 
 (6.) We next hear of him as being left by the apostle in the island of 
 Crete, that he might 'set in order the things that were wanting, and or- 
 dain elders in every city.' Titus i. 5. This is supposed to have occurred 
 about the year 62, and after the first imprisonment of the apostle at Rome. 
 It is evidently implied that the apostle had been himself there with him, 
 and that he had undertaken to accomplish some important object there, 
 but ihat something had prevented his completing it, and that he had left 
 Titus to finish it. This was clearly a temporary arrangement, for there 
 is no evidence that it was designed that Titus should be a permanent 
 'bishop' of Crete, or that he remained there long. That he did not design 
 that he should be a permancTit bishop of that island, is clear from ch. iii. 12, 
 where the apostle directs him, when he should send Artemas to take his 
 place, to come to him to Nicopolis. If Titus was a prelatical bishop, the 
 
INTRODUCTION. CCXCM 
 
 Kpoetle would not in this summary manner have superceaed Jiim. or re- 
 moved him from his diocese. 
 
 (7.) He was witli Paul in Rome during his second imprisonment there. 
 He did not, however, remain with him until his trial, but left him and 
 went into Dalmatia. '2 Tim. iv. 10. Fur the probable reason wliv lie had 
 gone there, see Notes on that place. What became of him afterward, wo 
 nre not informed. The tradition is, that he returned to Crete, and preach- 
 ed the gospel there and in the neighbouring islands, and died at the age 
 of 94. But this tradition depends on no certain evidence. 
 
 § 2. The island of Crete. 
 
 As Paul (ch. i. 5) says that he had left Titus in Crete to perform an 
 important service there, and as the instructions in this epistle doubtless 
 had souie peculiar applicability to the state of things existing there, it is 
 of importance, in order to a correct understanding of the epistle, to have 
 some knowledge of that island, and of the circumstances in which tlie 
 gospel was introduced there. 
 
 The island of Crete, now Candia, is one of the largest islands in the 
 Mediterranean, at the south of all the Cyclades. See the Map of Asia 
 Minor, prefi.xed to the Acts of tiie Apostles. Its name is said by some to 
 have been derived from the Curetes, who are supposed to have been its 
 first inhabitants; by others, from tiie nymph Crete, daughter of Hesperus; 
 and by others, from Cres, a son of Jupiter and tlie nymph Ida-a. The 
 ancient authors in general say that Crete was originally peopled from 
 Palestine. According to Bocliart (Lib. 5, c. 15), that part of Palestine 
 which lies by the Mediterranean was called by the Arabs Keritha, and by 
 Syiians Crelh ,• and the Hebrews called the inhabitants Cre//ti, or CVe- 
 thim, which the LXX. have rendered xprro^ — Cretans. Ezek. .\.\v. llj. 
 2Seph. ii. 5. It would be easy to pass from Palestine to the island of Crete. 
 Sir Isaac Newton, also, is of opinion that Crete was peopled from Pales- 
 tine. He says, "Many of the Phcenicians and Syrians, in the year befora 
 Christ 104o, fled from Zidon, and from king David, into Asia Minor, Crete, 
 Greece, and Libya, and introduced letj^rs, music, poetry, the Octcctcris, 
 metals and their tabrication, and other arts, sciences, and customs of the 
 Phcenicians. Along with tliese Phoenicians came a sort of men skilled in 
 religious mysteries, arts, and sciences of Phirnicia, and settled in .several 
 places, under the names of Curetes, Idtci, Dactyli," &,c. According to 
 Pliny, the e.xtent of Crete from east to west is about 270 miles, but its 
 breadth nowhere e.xceeds fifty miles. The early inhabitants are generally 
 supposed to be the Eteocretes of Homer; but their origin is unknown. 
 Minos, who had e.xpelled his brother Sarpedon from the throne, first gave 
 laws to the Cretan.^, and, having conquered the pirates who infested the 
 iEgean sea, established a powerful navy. In tJie Trojan war, Idomeneus, 
 sovereign of Crete, led its forces to war in eighty vessels — a number little 
 inferior to those commanded by Agamemnon himself At this period, the 
 island appears to have been inhabited by a mi.vod population of Greeks 
 and barbarians. After the Trojan war, tlie principjil cities formed them- 
 selves into several republics, fur the most part in(le|K!ndent, while some of 
 them were connected witli federal ties. The Cretan code of laws was 
 eupposed by many to have furnished Lycurgus with the model of his most 
 c&lut&ry regulations. It was iouoded on Uie just husis of liberty and an 
 25* 
 
CCXClV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 equality of rights, and its great aim was to promote social harmony and 
 peace, by enforcing temperance and frugality. In regard to this code, see 
 Anthon's Class. Die, Art. Crtta. In the time of Polybius (B. C. 203), the 
 Cretans had much degenerated from their ancient character; for he 
 charges them repeatedly with the grossest immorality, and the basest 
 vices. Polyb. 4, 47. 53 ; Id. 6, 46. We know, also, with what severity 
 they are reproved by Paul, in the words of Epimenides. See Notes on ch. 
 i. 12. Crete was subdued by the Romans, and became a part of a Roman 
 province. The interior of the island is very hilly and woody, and inter- 
 sected with fertile valleys. Mount Ida, in the centre of the island, is tlie 
 principal mountain, and surpasses all the others in elevation. The island 
 contains no lakes, and its rivers are mostly mountain torrents, which are 
 dry during the summer season. The valleys, or sloping plains, in the 
 island are represented as very fertile. The greater portion of the land 
 is not cultivated ; but it might produce sugar-cane, excellent wine, and 
 the best kind of fruit. It has a delightful climate, and is remarkably 
 healthful. The ancients asserted that this delighiful island, the birth-place 
 of Jupiter, was freed, by the indulgence of the gods, from every noxious 
 animal. No quadrupeds of a ferocious character belong to it. The wild 
 goat is the only inhabitant of the forest and the lofty mountains, and sheep 
 overspread tlie plains, and graze undisturbed by ravenous enemies. The 
 island now is under Turkish rule, and is divided into three pachaliks; but 
 the inhabitants are mostly Greeks, who are kept in a state of great depres- 
 sion. The native Candians are of the Greek church, and are allowed the 
 free exercise of their religion. The island is divided into twelve bishop- 
 rics, the bishop of one of which assumes the title of archbisnop, and is 
 appointed by the patriarch of Constantinople. The situation of this island 
 for commerce can scarcely be surpassed. It is at an almost equal distance 
 from Asia, Europe, and Africa, and might be made the emporium for the 
 manufactures and agricultural productions of each ; but, from the oppressive 
 nature of the government, the indolence of the Turks, and the degraded 
 state of the Greeks, those advantages are not improved, and its condition 
 partakes of that of the general condition of the Turkish empire. 
 
 This island was formerly famous for its hundred cities ; it is distinguished 
 in the ancient fabulous legends for the arrival there of Europa, on a bull, 
 from Phoenicia; for the laws of Minos; for the labyrinth, the work of 
 Dffidalus ; and, above all, as the place where Jupiter was born and was 
 buried. According to the fables of mythologj\ he was born in a cavern 
 near Lyctus, or Cnosus; was rocked in a golden cradle; was fed with 
 honey, and with the milk of the goat Amalthea, while the Curetes danced 
 around him, clashing tlieir arms, to prevent his cries from being heard by 
 Saturn. He became, according to the legend, the king of Crete, and was 
 buried on the island. See Anthon, Class. Die, Art. Jupiter. 
 
 { 3. The introduction of the gospel into Crete. 
 
 We have no certain information in regard to the time when the gospel 
 was first preached in Crete, nor by whom it was done. There are some 
 circumstances mentioned, however, which furnish all the light which we 
 need on this point, in order to an understanding of the epistle before U3. 
 Among the persons who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and 
 who were converted there, Cretans are mentioned (Acts ii. 11); and it in 
 
INTRODDCTION. CCXCT 
 
 hijrlily probable that, when thoy rctiirnod to their liomes, they made the 
 gospel known to '.heir countrymen. Yet history is wholly t^ilent us to the 
 mefh(xl by which it was done, and as to the result on the minds of the 
 inhabitants. Ae no visit ot'any of the apostles to that island is mentioned 
 by Luke in the Acts ot' the Ajjostles, it may he presumed that the jjospel 
 there had not produced any very marked success; and the early history 
 of Christianity there is to us unknown. 
 
 It is clear from the epistle before us (ch. i. 5), that the apostle Paul was 
 there on some occasion, and that the gospel, cither when he was there oi 
 before, was attended witii success. "For this cause left I thee in Crete, 
 that tliou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain 
 ciders in every city." Here it is manifest tiiat Paul had been there with 
 Titus; tiiat he had commenced some arrangements which he had not been 
 able himself to complete; and that the gospel had had an elTect exten- 
 sively on the island, since he was to ordain elders " in every city." 
 
 It is not certainly known, however, when Paul was there. There is no 
 mention in the Acts of the Apostles of his having been there, e.xcept when 
 he was on his way to Rome (Acts x.vvii. 7, 8) ; and this was in such cir- 
 cumstances as to preclude the supposition that tiiat was the time referred 
 to in this epistle, for (1.) Titus was not then witii him; ('2.) there is no 
 reason to suppase that he remained there long enough to preach the gospel 
 to any extent^ or to establish churches. lie was sailing to Rome as a 
 prisoner, and there is no probability that he would be permitted to go at 
 large and preach for any considerable time. There is, therclbre, a moral 
 certainty that it must have been on some other occasion. " It is striking," 
 6ays Neandcr (History of the Planting of the Christian Church, vol. 1, pp. 
 400, 401), "that while Luke in the Acts reports so fully and circumstan- 
 tiallv the occurrences of the apostle's last voyage to Rome, and mentions 
 his stay in Crete, he says not a word (contrary to his usual practice in such 
 cases) of the friendly reception given to him by the Christians there, or 
 even of his meeting them at all. Hence we may conclude that no chris- 
 tian churches existed in that island, though that transient visit would 
 naturally give rise to tire intention of planting the gospel there, which he 
 probably fulfilled soon after he was set at liberty, when he came into these 
 parts." 
 
 There is reason to believe that Paul, after his first imprisonment at 
 Rome, was released, and again visited Asia Minor and Macedonia. See 
 Intro, to 2 Timothy. On this journey, it is not improbable tlint lie may 
 have visited Crete, having, as Neander supposes, had his attention called 
 to this island as a desirable place for preaching the gospel, when on hia 
 way to Rome. "If we may be allowed to suppose," says Dr. Paley (//or. 
 Paid.), " that St Paul, after his liberation at Rome, sailed into Asia, taking 
 Crete in his way ; that from Asia, and from Ephcsus, the capital of that 
 countr}-, he proceeded into Macedonia, and, crossing the peninsula in his 
 progress, came into the neighbourhood of Nico]X)lis, we have a route which 
 falls in with everything. It executes the intention expressed by the 
 apostle of visiting Colosse and Philippi, as soon as he should be set at 
 liberty at Rome. It allows him to leave ' Titus at Crete,' and ' Timothy 
 at Ephesus, as he went into Macedonia,' and to write to Ixjth, not lonjj 
 after, from the peninsula of Greece, and probably from the neighlK)urhoo3 
 of Nicopolis, thus bringing together the dates of these two letters" (I Tim. 
 and Titus), "and thereby accounting for tliat affinity between tljcm, both 
 
CCXCVl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in subject and language, which our remarks have pointed out. I confeaa 
 that the journey which we have thus traced out for St. Paul is in a great 
 measure hypothetic ; but it should be observed that it is a specios of con- 
 sistency whicli seldom belongs to falsehood, to admit of an hypothesis which 
 includes a great number of remote and independent circumstances without 
 contradiction." See Neander, History of the Planting of the Churches, i. 
 401. Comp., however, Intro, to 1 Tim., 5 2. 
 
 Why Paul left Crete without completing the work which was to be 
 done, and especially without ordaining the elders himself, is not certainly 
 known. There is evidently a striking resemblance between the circum- 
 stances which induced him to leave Titus there, and those which existed 
 at Ephesus when he left Timothy there to complete an important work. 
 1 Tim. i. 3, 4. We know that Paul was driven away from Ephesus before 
 he had finished the work there which he had purposed to accomplish (Acta 
 xix., XX. 1) ; and it is not at all improbable that some such disrurbance 
 took place in Crete. Comp. Koppe, Proleg. p. 194. Wlien he thus left, 
 he committed to Titus the work which he had designed to accomplisn, 
 with instructions to finish it as soon as passible, and tiien co come to hiui 
 ut Nicopolis. Ch. iii. 12. 
 
 § 4. The place, time, and occasion vj tonivng ihe episue. 
 
 There has been much diversity of opinion as to the time and place of 
 writing this epistle. 
 
 In regard to the place, there can be little doubt that it was at a Nico- 
 polis ; for the apostle, in ch. iii. 12, directs Titus to come to him at that 
 place. But it is not easy to determine what Nicopolis is meant, for there 
 were many cities of that name. The person who affixed the subscription 
 at the end of the epistle, affirms that it was " Nicopolis of Macedonia ;" 
 but, as has been frequently remarked in these Notes, these subscriptions 
 are of no authority. The name Nicopolis (meaning, properly, a city of 
 victory — vixt} and noui) was given to several places. There was a city 
 of this name in Thrace, on the river Nessus, now called Nikopi. There 
 was also a city of the same name in Epirus, two in Moesia, another in 
 Armenia, another in Cilicia, and another in Egypt, in the vicinity of Alex- 
 andria. It is by no means easy to ascertain which of these cities is meant, 
 though, as Paul was accustomed to travel in Greece and Asia Minor, there 
 seems to be a probability that one of those cities is intended. The only 
 way of determining this with any degree of probability, is, to ascertain 
 what city was best knoicn by that name, at the time when the epistle was 
 written, or what city one would be likely to go to, if he were directed to 
 go t*- Nicopolis, without any fiirther specification — as if one were directed 
 to go to Philadelphia, London, or Rome. In such a case, he would go to 
 the principal city of that name, though there might be many other smaller 
 places of that name also. But even this would not be absolutely certain, 
 for Paul may have specified to Titus the place where he expected to go 
 before he left him, so that he would be in no danger of doubt where the place 
 was. But if we were to allow this consideration to influence us in regard 
 to the place, there can be little doubt that the city which he meant was 
 Nicopolis in Epirus, and the common opinion has been that the apostle 
 alludes to this city. This Nicopolis was situated in Epirus, in Greece, 
 north-west of Corinth and Athens, on the Ambracian gulf, and near iti 
 
1 N T K O D V C T I O N . CCXCVll 
 
 mouth. S'.-e the Map prefixed to the Acts of the Aposllos. On Iho same 
 gulf, and directly opposite to Nicopolis, is Acliuiii, the place where 
 Augustus! achieved a siufual victory over Mark Antony; and the city of 
 A'icopolis ho built in honour of that victory. Augustus was anxious to 
 raise this city to the hijjhest rank amonj^f the cities of Greece, and caused 
 {fames to be celebrated there, with preat pomp, every few years. Having 
 atlerwards fallen into decay, the city was restored by the emperor Julian. 
 Modern travellers describe the remains of Nicopolis as very extensive; 
 tlie site which they now occupy is called Prevesa Veccliia. See Anthonys 
 Class. Die. It should be said, however, that there is no absolute certainty 
 about tlie place w'.iere the epistle was written. Macknight and Bens^m 
 suppose it was at Colosse ; Lardner supposes il was in or near Macedonia , 
 Hug, at Ephcsus. 
 
 If the epistle was written from the Nicopolis referred to, then it was 
 probably alter Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. If so, it was written 
 dbout the year 63 or 64. But there is great diversity of opinion as to the 
 lime. Lardner and Hug place it in the year 56. It is of no material 
 importance to be able to determine the exact time. 
 
 The occasion on which it was written is specified by the apostle himself) 
 with such clearness, that there can be no doubt on that point. Paul had 
 left Titus in Crete, to 'set in order the things which were wanting, and to 
 ordain elders in every city' (ch. i. 5); and as he had himself, perhaps, 
 been called to leave suddenly, it was import;int that Titus should have 
 more full instructions tlian he had been able to give him on various points 
 of duty, or, at any rate, that he should have permanent instructions to 
 which he could refer. Tlie epistle is occupied, therefore, mainly with such 
 counsels as were appropriate to a minister of the gospel engaged in the 
 duties which Titus was left to discharge. 
 
 The principal difficulties which it was apprehended Titus would meet 
 with in the performance of his duties there, and which in fact made his 
 labours there desirable, aro.se from two sources : (1.) the character of the 
 Cretans tlicmselves; and (2.) the influence of Judaizing teachers. 
 
 (1.) The character of tlie Cretans themselves was such as to demand 
 the vigilance and care of Titus. They were a people characterized for 
 insincerity, falsehood, and gross living. Ch. i. 12. Tliere was great dan- 
 ger, thcretbre, that their religion would be hollow and insincere, and great 
 need of caution lest they should be corrupted from the simplicity and purity 
 required in the gospel. Ch. i. 13. 
 
 (2.) The influence of Judaizing teachers was to be guarded against. It 
 is evident from Acts ii. 11, that there were Jews residing there; and it 
 13 probable that it was by those who had gone from that island to Jerusa- 
 lem to attend the feast of the Pentecost, and who had been converted on 
 that occasion, that the gospel was first introduced there. From this epistle, 
 also, it is clear that one of the great dangers to piety in the churches of 
 Crete, arose from the efibrts of such teachers, and from the plausible 
 arguments which they would use in favour of the Mosaic law. See 
 ch. i. 10. 14 — 16; iii. 9. To counteract the eflect of their teaching, it 
 was necessary to have ministers of the go.«peI apjwinted in every import- 
 ant place, who should be qualified for their work. To make these ar- 
 rangements, was the great design for which Titus was left there ; and 
 to give him fiill information as to the kind of ministers which was need- 
 ed, this epia'.le was written. 
 
CCXCVlil INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There is a very striking resemblance between this epistle and the first 
 epistle to Timothy. See Paley's HorcB PaulincB. "Both letters were 
 addressed to persons left by the writer to preside in their respective 
 churches during his absence. Both letters are principally occupied in 
 describing the qualifications to be sought for in those whom they should 
 appoint to offices in the church; and the ingredients of this description 
 are, in both letters, nearly the same. Timothy and Titus, likewise, are 
 cautioned against the same prevailing corruptions, and, in particular, 
 against the same misdirection of their cares and studies." Paley. Thia 
 similarity is found, not only in the general structure of the epistles, but 
 also in particular phrases and expressions. Comp. 1 Tim. i. 2, 3, with 
 Titus i. 4, 5 ; 1 Tim. i. 4, with Titus i. 14, iii. 9; 1 Tim. iv. 12, with Ti- 
 tus ii. 7, and ii. 15; 1 Tim. iii. 2 — 4, with Titus i. 6 — 8. 
 
 It is evident, from this, that the epistles were written by the same per- 
 son, and to those who were in substantially the same circumstances. They 
 a'-e mcidental proofs that they are genuine, and were written by the per- 
 son, and 10 tne persons, whose names appear, and on the occasions which 
 arc sii'd in the epistif? to have existed. On the subjects in this introduc- 
 tion, the reader may consult Macknight's Introduction to the Epistle; 
 Michaelis's Introduction; Benson, Koppe, and especially Paley's Bors 
 Paulina) — p work v/bich will never be ccnsulted without profit. 
 
 I 
 
THC 
 
 EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAUL, a servant of God, and 
 an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
 according to the faith of God's 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter embraces the follow- 
 ing points : — 
 
 1. The usual inscription and salu- 
 tation. Vs. 1 — 4. In this Paul de- 
 clares himself to be tiie autiior of 
 the epistle, and asserts in the strong- 
 est manner his claims to the apostle- 
 ship. He alludes to the great cause 
 m which, as an apostle, he was en- 
 gaged — as acting under the eternal 
 plan of God for the salvation of the 
 elect, and appointed to communicate 
 the glorious truths of that system 
 which had been now revealed to 
 mankind. The object of this seems 
 to be to impress the mind of Titus 
 with his right to give him instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 2. A statement of the object for 
 which Titus had been left in Crete, 
 and the general character of the 
 work which he was to perform 
 there. Ver. 5. 
 
 3. The qualifications of tliose who 
 were to be ordained to the ministry. 
 Vs. 6 — 9. The characteribtics laid 
 down arc substantially the same as 
 in 1 Tim. iii. 
 
 4. Reasons for great caution and 
 prudence in thus appointing elders 
 over the churches. Vs. 10 — 13. 
 
 elect, and the acknowledg-ing* nl 
 the truth which * is after godli- 
 ness ; 
 
 a 2 Ti. 2. 25. b 1 Ti. 6. 3. 
 
 Those reasons arose from the cha- 
 racter of the Cretans. There were 
 many deceivers there, and the cha- 
 racter of the Cretans was such that 
 there was great danger that they 
 who professed to be Cliristians would 
 be hypocritical, and if put into the 
 eldership that they would do great 
 injury to tiie cause. 
 
 5. A solemn charge to Titus to 
 rebuke them faithfully for tlieir pre- 
 vailing and characteristic vices, and 
 to avoid giving any countenance to 
 that tor which they were so much 
 distinguished. Vs. 13 — IG. 
 
 1. Paul, a servant of God, and 
 an apostle of Jesus Christ. See 
 Xotes, Rom. i. 1. Com p. Notes, 1 
 Cor. ix. 1 — 5. ^ According to the 
 faith of God's elect. Comp. Notes, 
 Rom. viii. 33. Eph. i. 4. 2 Tim. 
 ii. 10. The meaning of the word 
 rendered here, ' according to' — xard 
 — is, probably, with reference to ,- 
 that is, he was appointed to be an 
 apostle with respect to the faith of 
 those whom God had chosen, or, in or- 
 der that they might be led to believe 
 the gospel. God had chosen them 
 to salvation, but he intended that it 
 should be in connection with their 
 believing, and, t;i order to that he 
 liad appointed Paul to be an aposUo 
 
800 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 2 ' In hope of eternal life, I fested his word through preach- 
 
 which God, tliat " cannot he, pro- 
 mised before * the world began ; 
 3 But "^ hath in due times mani- 
 
 » or, For. 
 b Matt. 25. 34. 
 
 a 1 Sa. 15. 29. 
 c2Ti. 1.30. Heb. 6. 18. 
 
 that he might go and make known 
 to them the gospel, It is the pur- 
 pose of God to save his people, but 
 he does not mean to save them as 
 infidels, or unbelievers. He intends 
 that they shall be believers first — 
 and hence he sends his ministers 
 that they may become such. If And 
 the acknoioledging of the truth. In 
 order to secure the acknowledgment 
 or recognition of the truth. The 
 object of the apostleship, as it is of 
 the ministry in general, is to secure 
 the proper acknowledgment of the 
 truth among men. ^ Which is after 
 godliness. Which tends to pro- 
 mote piety towards God. On the 
 word rendered godliness, see Notes 
 on 1 Tim. ii. 2; iii. 16. — The truth, 
 the acknowledgment of which Paul 
 was appointed to secure, was not 
 scientific, historical, or political 
 truth : it was that of religion — that 
 which was adapted to lead men to a 
 holy life, and to prepare them for a 
 holy heaven. 
 
 2. In hope of eternallife. Marg., 
 for. Gr., 'Ert' i%7tiBt. This does 
 not mean that Paul cherished the 
 hope of eternal life, but that the 
 ' faith of the elect,' which he aimed 
 to secure, was in order that men 
 might have the hope of eternal life. 
 The whole system which he was 
 appointed to preach was designed to 
 secure to man a well-founded hope 
 of salvation. Comp. Notes 2 Tim. 
 i. 10. T[ Which God, that cannot 
 lie. On the phrase, 'cannot lie,' 
 ;e Notes on Heb. vi. 18. The flict 
 ■■ 'lat God cannot lie ; that it is his 
 nature always to speak the truth ; 
 and that no circumstances can ever 
 oc cur in which he will depart from 
 
 ing, "* which is committed unto 
 me, according to the command 
 ment of God our Saviour ; 
 
 d Ro. 10. 14, 15, 
 
 it, is the foundation of all our hopes 
 of salvation. ^ Promised. The 
 only hope of salvation is in the pro- 
 mise of God. It is only as we can 
 have evidence that he has assured 
 us that we may be saved, that we 
 are authorized to cherish any hope 
 of salvation. That promise is not 
 made to us as individuals, or by 
 name, but it becomes ours, (1.) be- 
 cause he has made a general pro- 
 mise that they Vv'ho repent and be- 
 lieve shall be saved; and (2.) be- 
 cause we may have evidence that 
 we have repented, and do believe 
 the gospel. If this be so, we fairly 
 come under the promise of salvation, 
 and may apply it to ourselves. *i Be- 
 fore the world began. That is, the 
 purpose was then formed, and the 
 promise may be considered as in fact 
 then made; — for a purpose in the 
 mind of God, though it is not as yet 
 made known, is equivalent to a pro- 
 mise. Comp. Notes on Matt. xxv. 
 34. 2 Tim. i. 9. 
 
 3. But halh in due times. At 
 the proper time ; the time which he 
 had intended ; the best time. See 
 Notes on 1 Tim. ii. 6. Comp. Notes 
 on Matt. ii. 2. ^ Manifested his 
 word through preaching. See 
 Notes on 2 Tim. ii. 10. The mean- 
 ing here is, that he has made known 
 his eternal purpose through the 
 preaching of the gospel. Comp. 
 Notes on Rom. x. 14, 15. 1[ Which 
 is committed unto me. Not exclu- 
 sively, but in common with others. 
 See Notes on 2 Tim. i. 11. '^Ac- 
 cording to the commandment of 
 God our Saviour. Paul always 
 claimed to be divinely commission- 
 ed, and affirmed that he was en 
 
A. 1). G4.] 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 301 
 
 4 To Titus, mine own son" 
 alter the common faith : Grace, 
 mercy, and peace, from Ciod the 
 Father and the Lord Jesus Christ 
 our Saviour. 
 
 a 1 Ti. I. 1. 2. 
 
 gaged in the work of preaching by 
 tlie authority of God. See Gal. i. 
 1—11, 1-2. 1 Cor. i. 1. Rom. i. 
 1— I. 
 
 •1. To Titns. See the Intro. { 1. 
 % Mine nicn son. Note?:, 1 Tim. i. 
 2. *< AJ'tfr thr common fiiilk. The 
 faith of all Christians ;^-equivalent 
 to saying ' my son in the gosj>el.' 
 That is, Paul had been the means 
 of converting him by preacliing that 
 gospel which was received by all 
 who were Ciiristians. '[^ (.trace, 
 mercy, and peace, «Sic. See Notes 
 on Rom. i. 7. 
 
 5. For this cause left I thee in 
 Crete. Comp. Notes, 1 Tim. i. 3. 
 On the situation of Crete, see tlje 
 Intro. ; 2. •[ That thou shoulthsl 
 set in order the ihins^s that are 
 wanting. Marg., Ic/i undone. Tlie 
 Greek is, 'tlie things that are letl;' 
 that is, those which were left unfi- 
 nished ; referring, doubtless, to ar- 
 rangements which had been com- 
 menced, but which for some cause 
 had been lell incomplete. Whether 
 this had occurretl because he had 
 been driven away by persecution, or 
 called away by important duties de- 
 manding his attention elsewhere, 
 cannot now be determined. The 
 word rendered, 'set in order' — 
 iniiiofi'^m — occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament. It means, pro- 
 perly, to make straight upon, and 
 then to put further to rights, to ar- 
 range furtiier. Iliibitison, I^x. — 
 There were things lell unfinished 
 whicii he was to complete. One of 
 these things, and perhaps tlie prin- 
 cipal, was, to appoint elders in the 
 various ciries where the gospel had 
 26 
 
 5 For tnis cause left I thee in 
 Crete, that thou shouldest set in 
 order ' the thinjps that are ' want- 
 ing, and ordain 'elders in every 
 city as I had appointed thee : 
 
 6 1 Co. 11.34. 
 
 cAc. H.23. 
 
 ■ nr, left undone. 
 2 Ti. 2. 2. 
 
 been preached. ^ And ordain. The 
 word ordain has now acquired a 
 technical signification whicli it can- 
 not be shown that it has in the New 
 Testament It means, in common 
 usage, to " invest with a ministerial 
 function or sacerdotal power; to in- 
 i troduce, and establish, and settle in 
 I the pastoral office with the customa- 
 ry forms and solemnities" (Web- 
 ster) ; and it may be added, with the 
 idea always connected with it, of 
 j the imposition of hands. But the 
 j word used here does not neces.«arily 
 I convey this meaning, or imply that 
 j Titus was to go through wiiat would 
 : now be called an ordination .scrL-irc. 
 It means to set, place, or constitute; 
 tlion, to .set over any thing, as a 
 steward or other officer (see Matt. 
 .\.\iv. 4.J. Luke .\ii. 42. Act^ vi. 3), 
 though without reference to any par 
 ticular mode of investment with an 
 office. See the word, ordain, e.v- 
 plaincd in the Notes on Acts i. 22 i 
 ', .\iv. 23. Titus was to appoint or 
 j set them over the churches, though 
 1 with what ceremony is now un- 
 I known. There is no reason to sup- 
 I j)ose that he did this except as the 
 ! result of the choice of the people. 
 [ Comp. Notes on Acts vi. 3. •[ El- 
 I ders. Gr., Presbyters. See the 
 ' word explained in the Notes on 
 Acts .\iv. 23. These elders, or 
 Presbyters, were also calle<l bishops 
 (comp. Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 1), tor 
 Paul immediately, in describing their 
 qualificaliori-s calls them bishops : — 
 ' ordain elders in every city — if any 
 ho blameless — for a bishop must 
 be bhimele.'^s,' &,c. If thf eldcra 
 '. and bishops in the timos of tiie Rpo» 
 
802 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 6 If any be blameless, the 
 husbeind of one wife, having 
 
 ties were of different ranks, this di- 
 rection would be wholly unraeaning. 
 It would be the same as if the fol- 
 lowing direction were given to one 
 who was authorized to appoint offi- 
 cers over an army : ' Appoint cnp- 
 tnins over each company, who shall 
 be of good character, and acquainted 
 with military tactics, for a briga- 
 dier-General must be of good cha- 
 racter, and acquainted with the rules 
 of war.' — That the same rank is de- 
 noted also by the terms Presbyter 
 and Bishop here, is further apparent 
 because the qualiiications which 
 Paul states as requisite for the 
 'bishop' are not those which pertain 
 to a prelate or a diocesan bishop, but 
 to one who was a pastor of a church, 
 or an evangelist. It is clear, from 
 ver. 7, that those whom Titus was 
 to appoint were ' bishops,' and yet it 
 is absurd to suppose that the apostle 
 meant prelatical bishops, for no one 
 can believe that such bishops were 
 to be appointed in ' every city' of 
 the island. According to all modern 
 notions of Episcopacy, one such 
 bishop would have been enough for 
 Buch an island as Crete, and indeed 
 it has been not unfrequently main- 
 tained that Titus himself was in fact 
 the bishop of that diocese. But if 
 these were not prelates who were to 
 be ordained by Titus, then it is clear 
 that the term 'bishop' in the New 
 Testament is given to the Presby- 
 ters or elders; that is, to all minis- 
 ters of the gospel. That usage 
 should never have been departed 
 from. ^ In every city. Crete was 
 anciently celebrated for the number 
 of its cities. In one passage Homer 
 ascribes to the island an hundred 
 cities {II. ii. 649), in another ninety 
 {Od. xix. 174). It may be pre- 
 sumed that many of these cities 
 were towns of no very considerable 
 eize. and vet it would seem probable 
 
 faithful children, not accused of 
 riot, or unruly. 
 
 that each one was large enough to 
 have a church, and to maintain the 
 I gospel. Paul, doubtless, expected 
 that Titus would travel over the 
 whole island, and endeavour to in- 
 troduce the gospel in every import- 
 ant place. ^ As I had appointed 
 thee. As I commanded thee, or 
 ' gave thee direction — Burd^a/xr^v. — 
 I This is a different word from the one 
 used in the former part of the verse, 
 — and rendered ordain — xa^otr^^t. 
 It does not mean that Titus was to 
 ordain elders in the same manner as 
 Paul had ordained him, but that he 
 was to set them over the cities as he 
 had directed him to do. He had, 
 doubtless, given him oral instruc- 
 tions, when he left him, as to the 
 way in which it was to be done. 
 
 6. If any be blameless, the hus- 
 band of one wife. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 iii. 2. IT Having faithful children. 
 Notes, 1 Tim. iii. 4, 5. That is, 
 having a family well-governed, and 
 well-trained in religion. The word 
 here — rcista — applied to the chil- 
 dren, and rendered faithful, does 
 not necessarily mean that they 
 should be truly pious, but it is de- 
 scriptive of those who had been 
 well-trained, and were in due sub- 
 ordination. If a man's family were 
 not of his character — if his children 
 were insubordinate, and opposed to 
 religion — if they were decided infi- 
 dels or scoffers, it would show that 
 there was such a deficiency in the 
 head of the family that he could not 
 be safely entrusted with the govern- 
 ment of the church. Comp. Notes 
 on 1 Tim. iii. 5. It is probably true, 
 also, that the preachers at that time 
 would be selected, as far as practica- 
 ble, from those whose families were 
 all Christians. There might be 
 great impropriety in placing a man 
 over a church, a part of whose fa- 
 mily were Jews or heathens. ^ Not 
 
A. D. ftl.] CHAPTER I. 
 
 7 For a bishop " must be 
 blamoloss, as the steward of God ; 
 not self-willed, not soon angrj', 
 not given to wine, no striker, not 
 given to lilthy lucre ; 
 
 a 1 Ti. 3. 2,&.c. 
 
 accused of riot. That is, whose 
 children were not accused of riot. 
 Tliis explains what is meant by 
 faithful. Tiie word rendered riot 
 — daorria — is translated excess in 
 Eph. V. 18, and riot in Tit. i. G. 1 
 PeL iv. 4. It does not elsewhere 
 occur in the New Testament, though 
 the word riotous is found in Luke 
 XV. 13. See it explained in the 
 Notes on Eph. v. IS. The meaning' 
 here is, that they should not he just- 
 ly accused of tliis ; this should not 
 be their character. It would, doubt- 
 less, be a good reason now why a 
 man should not be ordained to tlie 
 ministry that he had a dissipated 
 and disorderly family. ^ Or un- 
 ruly. Insubordinate; ungoverned. 
 See Notes, 1 Tim. i. 9; and iii. 4. 
 7. For a bishop must be blameless. 
 
 I Tim. iii. 2. ^ -4s the steward of 
 God. See Notes, 1 Cor. iv. 1,2. A 
 man, in order to perform the duties 
 of such an office, should bo one 
 against whom no accusation could 
 lie. ^i Not self-willed. Comp. 2 Pet. 
 il 10. The word — av^6>;5 — does 
 not elsewhere occur in the New 
 Testament It means, properly, self- 
 complacent ; and tlien, assuming, 
 arrogavt, imperious. Rob. Lex. — 
 The gist of the offence — the very 
 'head and front' — is that of being 
 self-complacent ; a trait of character 
 which, of necessity, makes a man 
 imperious, dogmatical, impatient of 
 contradiction, and unyielding. Such 
 % man, evidently, is not fit for the 
 office of a minister of the gospel. 
 f^ I\'ot soon antjry. See Notes, 
 ] Tim. iii. 2, and the margin there'. 
 
 II Not given to trine. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 iii. 3, «r yo striker. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 iii 3. IT Not given to filthy lucre. 
 
 303 
 
 8 But a lover of hospitality, a 
 lover of good ' men, sober, just, 
 holy, temperate ; 
 
 I) Holding ''fast the faithful 
 word, * as he hath been taught, 
 
 I or, things, b 2 Th. 2. 15. « or, in teachin/r. 
 
 In 1 Tim. iii., " Not ^reet/y of filthy 
 lucre." The same Greek word is 
 used. 
 
 8. But a lover of hospitality. 
 Notes, 1 Tim. iii. 2. % A lover of 
 good men. Marg., 'or things.^ The 
 Greek (<}>t7xi';-a^5) means, a lover of 
 good, and may apply to anything 
 that is good. It may refer to good 
 men, as included under the general 
 term good; and there is no more 
 essential qualification of a bishop 
 than this. A man who sustains the 
 office of a minister of the gospel, 
 should love every good object, and 
 be ever ready to promote it ; and he 
 should love every good man, no mat- 
 ter in what denomination or country 
 he may be found — no matter what 
 his complexion, and no matter what 
 his rank in life. Comp. Notes on 
 PhU. iv. e. ^ Sober. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 i. 2. If Just. Upright in his deal- 
 ings with all. A minister can do 
 little good who is not. Comp. Notes 
 on Phil. iv. 8. H Holy. Pious, or 
 devouL Faithful in all his duties to 
 God. Notes, 1 Tim. ii. 8. 11 Tem- 
 perate. iyxpaTij. Having power 
 or control over all his jxissions. 
 We apply the term, now, wiU\ 
 reference to abstinence from in- 
 toxicating liquors. In the Scrij)- 
 tures, it includes not or.cy that, but 
 also much more. It implies control 
 over all our passions and appetites. 
 See it explained in the Notes on 
 Acts xxiv. 2.3. Comp. 1 Cor. vii. 9; 
 IX. 20. Gal. v. 23. 
 
 9. Holding fast the faithful word. 
 That is, the true doctrines of the 
 pospel. This means that he is to 
 hold this fist, in opposition to one 
 who would wrest it away, and in op- 
 position to all false teachers, a.id to 
 
304 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 LA. D. 64. 
 
 {hat he may be able by sound 
 doctrine both to exhort and to 
 convince the gainsayers. 
 
 10 For there are many unruly 
 
 all systems of false philosophy. He 
 must be a man who is firm in his 
 belief of tlie doctrines of the chris- 
 tian faith, and a man who can be re- 
 lied on to maintain and defend those 
 doctrines in all circumstances, — 
 Comp. Notes, 2 Thess. ii. 15. If As 
 he hath been taught. Marg., in 
 teachuig. Gr., 'According to the 
 teaching.' The sense is, according 
 to that doctrine as taught by the in- 
 spired teachers of religion. It does 
 not mean as he had individually 
 been taught ; but he was to hold tlie 
 faith as it was delivered by those 
 whom the Saviour had appointed to 
 make it known to mankind. The 
 phrase ' the doctrine,' or ' the teach- 
 ing,' had a sort of technical mean- 
 ing, denoting the gospel as that 
 which had been communicated to 
 mankind, not by human reason, but 
 by teaching. ^ That he may be able 
 by sound doctrine. By sound teach- 
 ing, or instruction. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 i. 10;nv. 16. He was not to dic- 
 tate, or to denounce ; but to seek to 
 convince by the statement of the 
 truth. See Notes, 2 Tim. ii. 25.— 
 ^ Both to exhort and to convince. 
 To persuade them, or to bring them 
 over to your views by kind exhorta- 
 tion, and by the instruction which 
 shall convince. The former method 
 is to be used where men know the 
 truth, but need encouragement to 
 follow it ; the latter, where they are 
 ignorant, or are opposed to it. Both 
 exhortation and argument are to be 
 used by the ministers of religion. 
 'l^ The gainsayers. Opposeis. Lite- 
 rally, those who speak against ; that 
 is, against the truth. Notes, Rom. 
 X. 21. 
 
 10. For there are many unruly 
 and vain talkers and deceivers. 
 
 and vain talkers " and deceiv^eis 
 specially they of the circiimci- 
 sion : 
 
 11 Whose mouths must be 
 
 TJiere are many persons who are 
 indisposed to submit to authority (see 
 the word unruly in ver. G) ; many 
 who are vain talkers — who are more 
 given to talk than to the duties of 
 practical religion (see the character 
 of '■^Talkative," in the Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress); and many who live to de- 
 ceive others under the mask of reli- 
 gion. They make great pretensions 
 to piety; they are fluent in argu- 
 ment, and they urge their views in 
 a plausible manner. H Specially 
 they of the circumcision. Jews, 
 spoken of here as ' of the circumci- 
 sion' particularly, because they urged 
 the necessity of circumcision in or- 
 der that men might be saved. Notes, 
 Acts XV. 1. This proves that there 
 were not a few Jews in the island 
 of Crete. 
 
 11. Whose mouths must be slop- 
 ped. The word here rendered stop- 
 ped — i7ita-toi.upiLv — occurs nowhere 
 else in the New Testament. It 
 means, properly, to check, or curb, 
 as with a bridle ; to restrain, or bri- 
 dle in ; and then, to put to silence. 
 It is, of course, implied here that 
 this was to be done in a proper way, 
 and in accordance with the spirit of 
 the gospel. The apostle gives Ti- 
 mothy no civil power to do it, nor 
 does he direct him to call in the 
 aid of the civil arm. All the agency 
 which he specifies as proper for this, 
 is that of argument and exhortation. 
 These are the proper means of si- 
 lencing the advocates of error ; and 
 the history of the church shows that 
 the ministers of religion can be safe- 
 ly, intrusted with no other. Comp. 
 Ps. xxxii. 8, 9. Ii Who subvert whole 
 houses. Whole families. Couip. 
 Matt, xxiii. 14. 2 Tim. iii. 6. That 
 is, they turn thera aside from the 
 
.\. I). G4.] 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 30ft 
 
 stojiped ; who subvert • whole 
 houses, teaching things which 
 
 a Mat. 93. 14. 
 
 faith. «r Teachimr </unirs ithich | 
 they ousht not, for filthy lucres 
 sake. For fraiii. That i^i, they in- 
 culcate such doctrines as will make 
 themselves popular, and as will (jive 
 them access to the confidence of the 
 people. They make it their fir.'^t j 
 object to acquire influence as minis- 1 
 ters of religion, and then abuse that j 
 m order to obtain money from the i 
 people. This they would doubtless do ; 
 under many pretences ; such as that ' 
 it was needful for the support of the 
 gospel, or for the relief of the poor, 
 or perhaps for the assistance of dis- 
 tant Christians in persecution. Re- ' 
 ligion is the most jKJwerful principle 
 that ever gxjvcrns the mind; and if 
 a man has tlie control of that, it is 
 no difficult thin^ to induce men 
 to give lip their worldly posses- 
 sions. In all ages, there have 
 been iinposlors who have taken ad- 
 vantaj^e of the powerful principle of 
 reliijion to obtain money from their 
 deluded followers. No people can 
 be too vigilant in regard to pretend- 
 ed reliffious teachers; and while it 
 is undoubtedly their duty to contri- 
 bute liberally for the support of the 
 gospel, and the promotion of every 
 good cause, it is no less their duty 
 to e.xamine with care every proposed 
 object of benevolence, and to watch 
 with an eagle eye those who have 
 the disbursement of the charities of 
 the church. It is very rare that 
 ministers ought to have much to do 
 with disposing of the fimds given for 
 benevolent purposes ; and vhen they 
 do, they should in all ca«es be asso- 
 ciated with their lay brethren. See 
 Paley's Horce Paulina, ch. iv., No. 
 1. 3,' note. Comp. 1 Cor. xvi. 3. 
 On the phrase 'filthv lucre,' see 
 Notes, 1 Ti.m. iii. 3. 
 
 12. One of themselves. That is, 
 36* 
 
 they ought not, lor filtliy lucre's 
 sake. 
 
 12 One * of themselves, even a. 
 
 b Ac. 17. 28. 
 
 one ot" the Cretans. The quotation 
 here shows that Paul had his eye 
 not only on the Jewish teachers 
 there, but on the native Cretans. 
 The meaning is, that, alike in refer- 
 ence to Jewish teachers and native- 
 Ijorn Cretans, there was need of the 
 utmost vigilance in the selection of 
 persons for the ministry. They all 
 liad well-known traits of character, 
 which made it proper that no one 
 should be introduced mlo the minis- 
 try without extreme caution. It 
 would seem, also, from the reasoning 
 of Paul here, that the trait of cha- 
 racter here referred to pertained not 
 only to the native Cretans, but also 
 to the character of the Jews residing 
 there; for he evidently means that 
 the caution should extend to all who 
 dwelt on the island. ^Eien a pro- 
 phet of I heir own. Or, a voet ; for 
 the word prophet — Ttpofrrre — like 
 ' the Latin word vale.'^, was otlen ap- 
 plied to poets, because they were 
 supposed to be j'n.^/Jircrfof the muses, 
 or to write under the influence of 
 inspiration. So Virgil, Eel. 9. 32: 
 Et me fecere poetam Pierides .... 
 ' me quoque dicunt vatem pastores. 
 I Varro, Ling. I^L 6. 3: Vates poetffi 
 dicti sunt. The term prophet was 
 also given by the Greeks to one who 
 ■ was regarded as the interpreter of 
 the gods, or who explained the ob- 
 scure responses of the oracles. Aa 
 ; such an interpreter — as one who thus 
 .saw future events, he was called a 
 prophet ; and as the poels claimed 
 much of this kind of knowledge, the 
 name was given to tliem. It was 
 also given to one who was regarded 
 as eminently endowed with wisdom, 
 or who had that kind of sagacity by 
 which the resiilts of present conduct 
 might be f()reseen, as if he was un- 
 der the i. fluence of a kind of inspi- 
 
806 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 prophet of their own, said, The 
 
 ration. The word might have been 
 applied to tlie person here referred 
 to — Epimenides — in this latter sense, 
 because he was eminently endowed 
 with wisdom. He was one of the 
 Beven wise men of Greece. He was 
 a contemporary of Solon, and was 
 born at Phcestus, in the island of 
 Crete, B. C. 6.59, and is said to have 
 reached the age of 157 years. Many 
 marvellous tales are told of him (see 
 Anthon, Class. Die), which are com- 
 monly supposed to be fabulous, and 
 which are to be traced to the inven- 
 tion of the Cretans. The event in 
 his life which is best known is, that 
 he visited Athens, at the request of 
 the inhabitants, to prepare the way 
 by sacrifices for the introduction of 
 the laws of Solon. He was supposed 
 to have intercourse with the gods, 
 and it was presumed that a peculiar 
 sacredness would attend the religious 
 services in w'hich he officiated. On 
 this account, also, as well as because 
 he was a poet, the name prophet 
 may have been given him. Feuds 
 and animosities prevailed at Athens, 
 which it was supposed such a man 
 might allay, and thus prepare them 
 for the reception of the laws of Solon. 
 The Athenians wished to reward him 
 with wealth and public honours ; but 
 he refused to accept of any remune- 
 ration, and only demanded a branch 
 of the sacred olive tree, and a de- 
 cree of perpetual friendship between 
 Athens and his native city. After 
 his death, divine honours were paid 
 to him by the Cretans. He wrote a 
 poem on the Argonautic expedition, 
 and other poems, which are now en- 
 tirely lost. The quotation here is 
 supposed to be made from a treatise 
 on oracles and responses, which is 
 also lost. ^ The Cretians are al- 
 ways liars. This character of the 
 Cretans is almndan'^y sustained by 
 the examples adduced bv Wetstein. 
 
 Cretans are alw'ays liars, evil 
 beasts, slow beUies. 
 
 To be a Cretan, became synony* 
 mous with being a liar, in the same 
 way as to he a Corinthian, became 
 synonymous with living a licentious 
 life. Comp. Intro, to 1 Cor., § 1. 
 Thus the scholiast says, rtapot^u'a io-ti 
 to xpriti^siv iTii -tov •^(vbio^a.i — to act 
 the Cretan, is a proverb for to lie. 
 The particular reason why they had 
 this character abroad, rather than 
 other people, is unknown. Bishop 
 Warburton supposes that they ac- 
 quired it by claiming to have among 
 them the tomb of Jupiter, and by 
 maintaining that all the gods, like 
 Jupiter, were only mortals who had 
 been raised to divine honours. Thus 
 the Greeks maintained that they 
 always proclaimed a falsehood by 
 asserting this opinion. But their 
 reputation for falsehood seems to 
 have arisen from some deeper cause 
 than this, and to have pertained to 
 their general moral character. They 
 were only more eminent in what 
 was common among the ancient hea- 
 then, and what is almost universal 
 among the heathen now. Comp. 
 Notes on Eph. iv. 2-5. ^ Evil beasts. 
 In their character, beasts or brutes 
 of a ferocious or malignant kind. 
 This would imply that there was a 
 great want of civilization, and that 
 their want of refinement was accom- 
 panied with what commonly exists 
 in that condition — the unrestrained 
 indulgence of wild and ferocious 
 passions. See examples of the same 
 manner of speaking of barbarous 
 and malicious men in Wetstein, 
 ^Slow bellies. Mere gormandizers. 
 Two vices seem here to be attributed 
 to them, which indeed commonly go 
 together — glultony and sloth. An 
 industrious man will not be likely to 
 be a gormandizer, and a gormandizer 
 will not often be an industrious man. 
 The mind of the poet, in this, seems 
 to have conceived of them first as ao 
 
A. I). 64.] 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 307 
 
 \'.i This witness is Iriio. 
 Whorcfore n-lxiko ihom " sharp- 
 ly ; that ihoy may be sound in 
 the faiih, 
 
 d2Ti.4.2. 
 
 indolent, wortlilcss people ; and then 
 inimediutoly to have recurred to tlie 
 cause — tliat they were a race of 
 gluttons; a people wliose only concern 
 was the slomacii. Comp. Phil, iii VX 
 On the connection between »rlultony 
 and sloth, see tiie examples in Wet- 
 stein. Seldom have more undesirable, ] 
 and, in some respects, incontjruous 
 qualities, been grouped tofjeliier in 
 describing any people. Tliey were 
 false to a proverb, which was, indeed, 
 consistent enousjh with their beinj: 
 ferocious — though ferocious and wild 
 nations are sometimes faithful to 
 their word ; but they were at the 
 same time ferocious and lazy, fierce 
 and gluttonous — qualities whicii are 
 not often found together. In some , 
 respects, therefore, they surpassed ^ 
 the common depravity of human na- 1 
 ture, an 1 blended in themselves ig- [ 
 noble properties wiiich, among the 
 worst people, are usually found ex- 
 isting alone. To mingle apparently 
 contradictory qualities of wickedness 
 in the same individual or people, is 
 the height of depravity ; as to blend 
 in the same mind apparently incon- 
 sistent traits of virtuous character, 
 or those which exist commonly, in 
 their highest perfection, only alone, 
 is the hiirhest virtue. 
 
 13. This witness is true. That 
 is, tliis testimony long before borne 
 by one of their own number, was 
 true when the apostle wrote to Titus. 
 The fact that this was the general 
 character of the people, was a rea- 
 son why he should be on his guard in 
 introducing men into the ministry, 
 and in the arrangement of affairs 
 pertaining to the church. Tiiat it 
 ttns true, see proofs in WeLstein. 
 IT Whtrffnre rebuke them. Notes, 
 2 Tim. iv. 2. •[ Sharply, ajtorofiuii 
 
 14 Not giving heed to Jewish 
 fables, * and couunanduK iits of 
 men that turn from the truth. 
 
 15 Unto ' the pure all things 
 b I Ti. 1. i. J Ro. u. M, ai. 
 
 — CHllitiffly, severely — from urtor/ft- 
 I'u, (n cut off". The word is used here 
 in the sense of severity, meaning 
 that the reproof should be such na 
 would be understood, and would 
 show them plainly the wickedness 
 of such traita of character. He was 
 not to be viealy-mouthcd, but he was 
 to call things by their right names, 
 and not to spare their faults. When 
 men know that they are doing wrong, 
 we should tell them so in few words ; 
 if they do not know it, it is neces- 
 sary to leach them, in order to con- 
 vince them of their error. ^ That 
 they may be sound in the faith. 
 That they may not allow the pre- 
 vailing vices to corrupt their view3 
 of religion. 
 
 14. Not giyincr heed to Jewish 
 fables, &.C. See Notes, 1 Tim. i. 4. 
 ^ And commandments of men that 
 turn from the truth. Notes, Matt. 
 .XV. 3 — T). 
 
 15. Unto the pure all ihinf^s are 
 pure. See Notes on Rom. .xiv. 14. 
 'JO. There is probably an allusion 
 here to the distinctions made in re- 
 spect to meats and drinks among the 
 Jews. Some articles of fixxl were 
 regarded as 'clean,' or allowed to be 
 eaten, and some as ' unclean,' or for- 
 bidden. Paul says that those dii^- 
 tinctions ceased under the christian 
 dispensation, and that to thos(i who 
 had a conscience not easily troubled 
 by nice and delicate questions aI)OUt 
 ceremonial observances, all kinds of 
 fcxxl might be regarded as lawful and 
 proper. Conip. Notes, I Tim. iv. 4, 
 5. If a man habiliiaily maintains a 
 good conscience in the sight of God, 
 it will be accepted of him whether 
 he do or do not abstain from certain 
 kinds of li)od. Comp. NotfsonCol. ii. 
 16. This passage, Uieretbre, should 
 
808 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64, 
 
 are pure : but unto them that are 
 defiled and unbelieving is nothing 
 pure ; but even their mind and 
 conscience is defiled. 
 
 dot be interpreied as proving that all 
 things are 'l^u iind lawful for a 
 Christian, ui tua't whatever he may 
 choose to do will be regarded as 
 pure, but as primarily referring to 
 distinctions in footl, and meaning 
 that there was no sanctity in eating 
 one kind of food, and no sin in an- 
 other, but that the mind was equally 
 pure whatever was eaten. The 
 phrase has a proverbial cast, though 
 I know not that it was so used. The 
 principle of the declaration is, that 
 a pure mind — a truly pious mind — 
 will not regard the distinctions of 
 food and drink; of festivals, rites, 
 ceremonies, and days, as necessary to 
 06 observed in order to promote its 
 purity. The conscience is not to be 
 burdened and enslaved by these 
 things, but is to be controlled only 
 by the moral laws which God has 
 ordained. But there may be a some- 
 what higher application of the words 
 — that every ordinance of religion ; 
 every command of God ; every event 
 that occurs in divine Providence, 
 tends to promote the holiness of one 
 who is of pure heart. He can see 
 a sanctifying tendency in everything, 
 and can derive from all that is com- 
 manded, and all that occurs, the 
 means of making the heart more 
 holy. While a depraved mind will 
 turn every such thing to a pernicious 
 use, and make it the means of aug- 
 menting its malignity and corrup- 
 tion, to the pure mind it will be the 
 means of increasing its confidence 
 in God, and of making itself more 
 holy. To such a mind everything 
 may become a means of grace. — 
 "If But unto them that are defiled and 
 unbelieving is nothing pure. Every- 
 thing is made the means of increas- 
 ing their depravity. No matter what 
 cffdi nances of religion they observe ; 
 
 16 They profess » that they 
 know God ; but in works they 
 deny him, being abominable, and 
 
 a 2 Ti. 3. 5, 7. 
 
 what distinctions of meats, or drinks, 
 or days they regard, and what events 
 of Providence occur, all are the oc- 
 casion of augmented depravity. Such 
 distinctions in food they make the 
 means of fostering their pride and 
 producing self-righteousness ; the 
 mercies of God they abuse to pam- 
 per their own lusts, and the afflictive 
 events of divine Providence they 
 make the occasion of murmuring 
 and rebellion. Naturally corrupt at 
 heart, no ordinances of religion, and 
 no events of Providence, make them 
 any better, but all tend to deepen 
 their depravity. A sentiment simi- 
 lar to this is found in the classic wri- 
 ters. Thus Seneca, Epis. 98. Ma- 
 lus animus omnia in malum vertit, 
 etiam quae specie optimi venerunt. 
 So again (de Beneficiis v. 12), Quem- 
 admodum stomachus morbo vitia- 
 tus, et colliques bilem, quoscunque 
 acceperit cibos mutat — ita animus 
 coecus quicquid illi commiseris, id 
 onus suum, et perniciem facit. 1 But 
 even their mind and conscience is 
 defiled. It is not a mere external 
 defilement — a thing which they so 
 much dread — but a much worse kind 
 of pollution, that which extends to 
 the soul and the conscience. Every- 
 thing which they do tends to corrupt 
 the inner man more and more, and 
 to make them really more polluted 
 and abominable in the sight of God. 
 The wicked, while they remain im- 
 penitent, are constantly becoming 
 worse and worse. They make every- 
 thing the means of increasing their 
 depravity, and even those things 
 which seem to pertain only to out- 
 ward observances are made the oc- 
 casion of the deeper corruption of 
 the heart. 
 
 16 They profess that they know 
 God That is, the Jewish teachera 
 
0. 04.] 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 3U0 
 
 dk «»bt'dient, and unto e-^ery good 
 work ' reprobate. 
 
 1 or, votU <tf Judgment. 
 
 particularly, who are referred to in 
 ver. 14. All those persons were pro- 
 fessors of reliirion, and claimed that 
 tliey liad a peculiar knowledge of 
 Go<l. *•, liiil tn works they diny him. 
 Their conduct is such as to show 
 that they have no real acquaintance 
 with him. 1i Beirut ahominable. In 
 their conduct. Tlie word here used 
 — ^ht^vxToi — occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament It means that 
 which is dctestahle, or to he held in 
 abhorrence. •[ And Jisabedicnt, and 
 unto every good work reprobate. 
 MariT., void of judgment. On the 
 word here used — aSoxiuoj — see Notes 
 on Rom. i. 'id. "2 Cor. xiii. 5. It 
 means here that in reference to 
 everything^ that was good, tlieir con- 
 duct was such that it could not be 
 approved, or deserved disapprobation. 
 It was for tills reason ; from thecha- 
 mcter of the people of the island of 
 Crete, anu of those who claimed to 
 be teachers there entbrcing tlie obli- 
 gation of tlie .Mosaic law, that it was 
 so important for Titus to exercise 
 special care in introducing men into 
 the ministry, and in completing the 
 arrangements contemplated in the 
 organization of the churches there. 
 Yet is this character confined to 
 them ? Are there none now who 
 profess tiiat they know God, but in 
 works deny him ; whose conduct is 
 such that it ought to be abhorred ; 
 who are disobedient to the plain 
 commands of God, and whose cha- 
 racter in respect to all that pertains 
 to true piety is to be disapproved by 
 the truly pious, and will be by God 
 at liie last day? .Mas, taking the 
 church at large, there arc many such, 
 and the fact that there are such per- 
 sons it) the grand hindrance to the 
 triumphs of reli^on on the earth. 
 " The way to heaven is blocked up 
 by dead professors of religion." 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 BUT speak thou the things 
 which become sound doctrine : 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A.NALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 In the previous chapter, the apov 
 tie hud directed Titus what to do in 
 tlie organization of churches in the 
 various cities of Crete, and had put 
 him on his guard in doing it, by 
 showing the character of the people 
 he had to deal with. In this chap- 
 ter, he gives him various instructions 
 as to his own method of teaching, 
 showing what kind of doctrines he 
 should inculcate, and what kind of 
 instructions he should give to the 
 various classes of his hearers. He 
 was, in general, to speak only such 
 things as became sound doctrine, 
 ver. 1. In particular, he was to in- 
 struct aged men to be sober, grave, 
 and temperate — acting in a manner 
 that became their time of life, ver. 
 2 ; the aged women to be a proper 
 e.vample to the younger females, and 
 to exercise a proper care over them, 
 vs. 3 — 5; the young men to be so- 
 ber-minded, ver. 6 ; Titus himself, 
 who evidently came under the cl.-iss 
 of young men, was to be an exam- 
 ple to them in all things, vs. 7, 8; 
 and servants were to be instructed 
 to perform their duty to their mas- 
 ters with fidelity, vs. 9, 10. The 
 duty of giving these instructions is 
 then enforced by a reference to the 
 nature and design of the gospel. Vs. 
 11 — 15. That grace which brings 
 salvation has appeared to all man- 
 kind, and its design is to make all 
 holy who embrace it, and to teacii 
 all to live for a higher and a better 
 world. 
 
 1. But speak thou. In thine own 
 ministry. In the previous chapter 
 he had given him instructions as to 
 the kind of persons who were to be 
 put into the sacred oflSce. Here he 
 
810 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 2 That the aged " men be ' so- 
 ber, grave, temperate, sound in 
 faith, in charity, in patience. 
 
 3 The aged women hkewise, 
 
 a Pr. 16. 31. l or, vigilant. 
 
 gives him special instructions in re- 
 gard to his own preaching. ^ The 
 things which become sound doctrine. 
 To wit, those which he proceeds im- 
 mediately to specify. On. the phrase 
 sound doctrine, see Notes, 1 Tim. i. 
 10, comp. 2 Tim. iv. 3. 
 
 2. That the aged men. All aged 
 men — ibr tliere is no reason to sup- 
 pose that the apostle refers particu- 
 larly to those who were in office, or 
 who were technically elders, or 
 Presbyters. If he had, he would 
 have used the common word — 
 TipsajSvvspoi — Presbyter (see Matt. 
 XV. 2 ; xvi. 21 ; xxi. 23 ; xxvi. 3. 
 47. 57. 59. 1 Tim. v. 1. 17. 19. 
 Titus i. 5. James v. 14. 1 Pet. v. 
 1.), instead of the unusual word — 
 rtpf5f3vr>75 — an old or aged man — a 
 word which occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament except in Luke 
 i. 18, "For I am an old man" and 
 Philem. 9, "being such an one as 
 Paul the aged." It is in no instance 
 applied to an office. Besides, the 
 instructions which Titus was to give 
 to such men was not that which pe- 
 culiarly pertained to elders as offi- 
 cers in the church, but to all old 
 men. The idea is, that he was to 
 adapt his instructions to the peculiar 
 character of different classes of his 
 hearers. The aged needed special 
 instructions, and so did the young. 
 If Be sober. Marg., vigilant. See 
 the word explained in the Notes on 
 1 Tim. iii. 2, where it is rendered 
 vigilant. In 1 Tim. iii. 11, the 
 Bame word is rendered sober. — 
 ^ Grave. Serious. See Notes on 
 ] Tim. iii. 8. Comp. Notes on Phil. 
 'V. 8, where the same word is ren- 
 dered /ion ps^ *^\ Temperate, otlj^po- 
 voi. Rather, prudent, or sober- 
 minded. See it explained in the 
 
 that thet/ be in behaviour as be- 
 cometh ^ hohness, not ^ false ac- 
 cusers, not given to much wine, 
 teachers of good things ; 
 
 2 or, holy women. 3 or, make-bates. 
 
 Notes, 1 Tim. iii. 2, where it is ren- 
 dered sober. Also, Titus i. 8. — 
 ^ Sound in faith. Notes, 1 Tim. i. 
 
 10. Titus i. 13. ^ In charity. In 
 love. Notes, 1 Cor. xiii. The 
 meaning is, that an old man should 
 evince love for all, especially for 
 those who are good. He should 
 have overcome, at his timeof life, all 
 the fiery, impetuous, envious, wrath- 
 ful passions of his early years, and 
 his mind should be subdued into 
 sweet benevolence to all mankind. 
 ir/?i patience.. In the infirmities 
 of old age — in the trials resulting 
 from the loss of the friends of their 
 early years — in their loneliness in 
 the world, they should show that 
 the effect of all God's dealings with 
 them has been to produce patience. 
 Tlie aged should submit to the trials 
 of their advanced years, also, with 
 resignation — for they will soon be 
 over. A few more sighs, and they 
 will sigh no more; a little longer 
 bearing up under their infirmities, 
 and they will renew their youth be 
 fore the throne of God. 
 
 3. The aged women likewise. 
 Not only those who may have the 
 office of deaconesses, but all aged 
 females. ^ That they be in beha- 
 viour as becometh holiness. Marg., 
 holy women. The Greek word is 
 not found elsewhere in the New 
 Testament. It means appropriate 
 to a sacred place or person, or be- 
 coming to religion. Their conduct 
 should be such as the gospel re- 
 quires. IF Not false accusers. — 
 Marg., make-bates. Gr., SiajioXovi — 
 the word commonly appHed to the 
 devil — as the accuser. See it e.x- 
 plained in the Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 
 
 11, where it is rendered slanderers. 
 IT Not given to much wine. Notes, 
 
A. D. Gi.J 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 31 J 
 
 4 That they may teach the 
 • young women to be ' sober, to 
 love iljeir husbands, to love their 
 children. 
 
 a I Ti. 5. 14. 
 
 1 or, vise. 
 
 1 Tim. iii. 3. IT Teachers of good 
 thirnrs. That is, instructing tlie 
 younger — whether tlieir own cliil- 
 dren, or wiietlier they sustain the 
 office of deaconness, and are appoint- 
 ed to give instruction to younger fe- 
 males. Coinp. Notes on 1 Tim. v. 
 2—6. 
 
 4. That they may teach the young 
 women to be sober. i\Iarg., wise — 
 a word similar to that which in ver. 
 
 2 is rendered temperate, and in 1 
 Tim. iii. 2, sntier. Tiie meaning 
 is, that they should instruct them to 
 have their desires and passions well 
 regulated, or under proper control. 
 ^ To lovf I heir h usbaiids. ^tXavS^j. 
 '.'his word occurs nowhere else in 
 ll.e New Testament. In Eph. v. 
 25, Paul directs husbands to love 
 their wi\es, and in ver. 33, the wife 
 to reverence her husband, and iiere 
 he says tliat it sliould be one of the 
 first duties enjoined on the wife that 
 she should love her husband. All 
 happiness in the marriage relation 
 is based on mutual love. When 
 that departs, happiness departs. No 
 wealth or splendour in a dwelling — 
 no gorgeousness of equipage or ap- 
 parel — no magnificence of entertain- 
 ment or sweetness of music — and 
 no forms of courtesy and politeness, 
 can be a compensation for the want 
 of affection. Mutual love between 
 a husband and wife will diffiise com- 
 fort through the obscurest cottage 
 of poverty ; the want of it cannot 
 be supplied by all that can be fur- 
 nished in the palaces of tlie great. 
 If To loie thiir children. Nature 
 prompts to this, and yet there arc 
 those so depraved that they have no 
 maternal affection. Notes, Rom. i. 
 31. Religion re-produces natural 
 
 5 To be discreet, chaste, keep 
 ers at home, good, obedii-nt to 
 their own husbands, that the 
 word of God be not blasphemed. 
 
 affection when sin has weakened or 
 destroyed it, and it is the design of 
 Christianity to recover and invigo- 
 rate all the lost or weakened sensi- 
 bilities of our nature. 
 
 5. To be discreet. The same 
 word rendered, in ver. 2, temperate, 
 and explained in ver. 4. IT Chaste. 
 Pure — in heart, and in life. IT Keep- 
 ers at home. That is, characteristi- 
 cally attentive to their domestic con- 
 cerns, or to their duties in tlieir fa- 
 milies. A similar injunction is 
 found in the precepts of the Pytha- 
 goreans — rai' yaji ywotxa bit mxoi)|JC» 
 xai tvbov fxiiiv. See Creuzer's Sym- 
 bolik, iii. 1120. This does not mean, 
 of course, that they are never to go 
 abroad, but they are not to neglect 
 their domestic afliiirs; they are not 
 to be better known abroad than at 
 home; tiiey are not to omit their 
 own duties and become 'busy-bodies' 
 in the concerns of others. Religion 
 is the patron of the domestic virtues, 
 and regards the appropriate duties 
 in a family as those most intimately 
 conntcted with its own progress in 
 the world. It looks benignly on all 
 which makes home a place of con- 
 tentment, intelligence, and peace. 
 It does not flourish when domestic 
 duties are neglected; — and what- 
 ever may be done abroad, or what- 
 ever self-denial and zeal in the cause 
 of religion may be evinced there, or 
 whatever call there may be for the 
 labours of christians there, or how- 
 ever mucli pood may be actually 
 done abroad, religior. has gained no 
 thing, on the whole, if, in order tt 
 secure these things, the duties of a 
 wile and mother at home have been 
 disregarded. 0>ir first duty is tU 
 home, and all other duties will be 
 
312 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 6 Young men likewise exhort 
 to be sober ' minded : 
 
 7 In all things shewing thyself 
 
 1 or, discreet. 
 
 well performed just in proportion as 
 that is. H Good. In all respects, 
 and in all relations. To a wife, a 
 motlier, a sister, there can be no 
 higher characteristic ascribed, than 
 to say that she is good. What 
 other trait of mind will enable her 
 better to perform her appropriate 
 duties of life] What other will 
 make her more like her Saviour? 
 IT Obedient to their own husbands. 
 Notes, Eph. V. 22—24. Col. iii. 18. 
 IT That the word of God be not 
 blasphemed. That the gospel may 
 not be injuriously spoken of (Notes, 
 Matt. ix. 3), on account of the in- 
 consistent lives of those who profess 
 to be influenced by it. The iilea is, 
 that religion ought to produce the 
 virtues here spoken of, and that 
 when it does not, it will be reproach- 
 ed as being of no value. 
 
 6. Young men Likewise exhort to 
 he sober-minded. Marg., discreet. 
 On the meaning of the Greek word 
 used here (pui^^ovuv), see Notes on 
 vs. 2 and 4. The idea is, that they 
 should be entreated to be prudent, 
 discreet, serious in their deportment ; 
 to get the mastery over their pas- 
 sions and appetites; to control the 
 propensities to which youth are sub- 
 ject ; and that there should be such 
 self-government, under the influ- 
 ence of religion, as to avoid excess 
 in everything. A well -governed 
 mind, superior to the indulgence of 
 those passions to which the young 
 are prone, will express the mean- 
 ing of the word here. They should 
 be "steady in their behaviour, su- 
 perior to sensual temptations, and 
 constant in the exercise of every 
 part of self-government." Dod- 
 dridge. The reasons for this are 
 obvious: (1.) The hopes of the 
 church depend much on them. (2.) 
 
 " a pattern of good works : in doc- 
 trine shewing uncorruptness, gra- 
 vity, sincerity, 
 
 A young man who cannot govern 
 himself, gives little promise of being 
 useful or happy. (3.) Indulgence in 
 the propensities to which young men 
 are prone, will, sooner or later, bring 
 ruin to the body and the soul. (4.) 
 They are just at the period of Hfe 
 when they are exposed to peculiar 
 temptations, and when they need to 
 exercise a peculiar guardianship 
 over their own conduct. (5.) Like 
 others, they may soon die ; and they 
 should be habitually in such a frame 
 of mind, as to be prepared to stand 
 before God. A young man who 
 feels that he may be soon in the 
 eternal world, cannot but be sensible 
 of the propriety of having a serious 
 mind, and of living and acting as in 
 the immediate presence of his Maker 
 and Judge. 
 
 7. In all things showing thyself 
 a pattern of good works. Not 
 merely teaching others, but showing 
 them by example how they ought to 
 live. On the word rendered pattern 
 {■tiJTiov, type), see Notes on Heb. ix. 
 5. 1 Cor. X. 6. Phil. iii. 17. IT In 
 doctrine. In your manner of teach- 
 ing. Notes, 1 Tim. iv. 16. If Show- 
 ing uncorruptness. The word here 
 used does not occur elsewhere in the 
 New Testament. It means, here, 
 the same as purity — that which is 
 not erroneous, and which does not 
 tend to corrupt or vitiate the morals 
 of others, or to endanger their salva- 
 tion. Everything in his teaching 
 was to be such as to make men purer 
 and better. IF Gravity. See this 
 word explained in the Notes on 
 1 Tim. ii. 2, where it is rendered 
 honesty. Comp. Notes on 1 Tim. 
 iii. 4, wliere it is rendered gravity 
 It does not elsewhere occur. See 
 the use of the adjective, however, in 
 Phil. iv. 8. 1 Tim. iii. 8. 11. Titua 
 
A. I). 04.] 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 :nn 
 
 S Sound 'speech that cannot 
 be conduiuiifd ; that ho that is of 
 the contrary part may be ashamed, 
 having no evil thing to say of you. 
 
 a 1 Ti. t). 3. 
 
 iL 2. The word properly means ven- 
 erabliness; tlien, whatever will 
 insure respect, in character, opinions, 
 deportment. The sense here is, tiiat 
 the manner in which a preacher 
 delivers his message, should be 
 such as to command respect. He 
 should evince good sense, undoubted 
 piety, an acquaintance witli his sub- 
 ject, simplicity, seriousness, and ear- 
 nestness, in iiis manner. ^\ Sincerity. 
 See this word (at^tJia) explained 
 in the Notes on Eph. vi. 24. It is 
 rendered immortality in Rom. ii. 7. 
 
 2 Tim. i. 10 ; incorruption, in 1 Cor. 
 XV. 42. 50. 53, 54; and sincerity, 
 Eph. vi. 24, and in the place before 
 as. It does not elsewhere occur in 
 the New Testament It means in- 
 corruption, incapacity of decay ; and, 
 'hereibre, would be here synonymous 
 n'ith purity. It should be said, how- 
 ever, that it is wanting in many 
 MSS., and is rejected in the later 
 e<litions of the New Testament by 
 Welstjin, Tittman, ahd Hahn. 
 
 8. Sound speech. Notes, 1 Tim. 
 i. 10. He was to use language that 
 would be spiritually healthful (vyirj); 
 that is, true, pure, uncorrupted. — 
 This word, and its correlatives, is 
 used in this sense, in the New Tes- 
 tament, only by the apostle Paul. It 
 is commonly applied to the body, 
 meaning that which is healthful, or 
 whole. S«e Luke v. HI ; vi. 10; vii. 
 10; XV. 27. Matt .\ii. 13; .\v. 31. 
 Mark iii. 5; v. 3-1. John v. 4. 0. 9. 
 11. 14. 15; vii. 23. Acts iv. 10. 
 
 3 John 2. For PauFs use of the 
 word, see 1 Tim. i. 10 ; vi. 3. 2 Tim. 
 i. 13 ; iv. 3. TiL i. 9. 13 ; ii. 1. 2. 
 8. It does not elsewhere occur. 
 •f That cannot be condemned. Such 
 as cannot be shown to be weak, or 
 unsound ; »'ich ttiat no one could 
 
 9 Exhort servants '' to he obe- 
 dient unto their own masters, rr/jti 
 to please them well in all things; 
 not ' answering again ; 
 
 b Ep C. 5, Slc. « or, gaintaying 
 
 hnd fau.t with it, or such as an ad- 
 versary could not take hold of and 
 blame. This direction would imply 
 purity and seriousness of language, 
 solidityof argument, and truth in the 
 doctrines which he maintained. — 
 1[ That he that is of the contrary part 
 may be ashamed, ttc. Ashamed 
 that he has opposed such views. 
 
 9. E.xhort servants to he o/jedient 
 to their own masters. See this e.\- 
 plained in the Notes on Eph. vi. 5, 
 seq., and 1 Tim. vi. 1 — 4. ^ And <o 
 please them well in all things. That 
 is, so far as they lawfully may, or in 
 those things which are not contrary 
 to the will of God. Comp. Eph. vi. 
 6. It should be an object with one 
 who is a servant, to meet the appro- 
 bation of his master, as long as this 
 relation continues. This rule would 
 not, however, go to the extent to re- 
 quire him to please his master in 
 doing anything that is contrary to 
 the law of God, or that is morally 
 wrong. % iS'ol answering again. 
 Marg., gainsaying. Not contra- 
 dicting, or not disobeying. They 
 were to do what the master required, 
 if it did not interfere with the rights 
 of conscience, without attempting to 
 argue the matter — without di-^puting 
 wiiii the master — and williout ad- 
 vancing their own opinions. Where 
 this relation exists, no one can doubt 
 that this is a proper frame of mind 
 for a servant. It may be ob.'.erved, 
 however, that nil that is here said 
 would be equally appropriate, wlie- 
 ther the servitude was voluntary or 
 involuntary. A man who becomes 
 voluntarily a servant, binds himself 
 to obey his master cheerfully and 
 quietly, without gain.siying, and 
 without attempting to reas<jn the 
 matter with him, or propounding his 
 
814 
 
 IITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 10 Not purloining, but shew- 
 ing all good fidelity ; that " they 
 may adorn the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour in all things. 
 
 a Mat. 5. 15. 
 
 ovm opinions, even though they may 
 be much wiser than those of his em- 
 ployer. He makes a contract to 
 obey his master, not to reason with 
 him, or to instruct him. 
 
 10. Not purloining. Not to ap- 
 propriate to themselves what belongs 
 to their masters. The word purloin 
 means, literally, to take or carry 
 away for one's self; and would be 
 applied to an appropriation to one's 
 self of what pertained to a common 
 stock, or what belonged to one in 
 whose employ we are — as the em- 
 bezzlement of public funds. Here 
 it means that the servant was not to 
 apply to his own use what belonged 
 to his master ; that is, was not to 
 pilfer — a vice to which, as all know, 
 servants, and especially slaves, are 
 particularly exposed. See the word 
 explained in the Notes on Acts v. 2. 
 *1[ But showing- all good fidelity. In 
 labouring, and in taking care of the 
 property intrusted to them. ^ That 
 they may adorn the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour in all things. That 
 they may show the fair influence of 
 religion on them, in all respects, 
 making them industrious, honest, 
 kind, and obedient. They were to 
 show that the eifect of the religion 
 which they professed was to make 
 them better fitted to discharge the 
 duties of their station in life, how- 
 ever humble; or that its influence 
 on them was desirable in every re- 
 spect. In this way, they might hope 
 also that the minds of their masters 
 might be reached, and that they 
 might be brought to respect and love 
 the gospel. Learn, hence, (1.) that 
 one in the most humble walk of life 
 may so live as to be an ornament to 
 religion, as well as one favoured 
 with more advantages. (2.) That 
 
 11 For the grace * of God that 
 hringeth salvation ' hath appeared 
 to all men, 
 
 12 Teaching us, that, denying 
 
 b Ro. 5. 15. 1 or, to all men kath appeared. 
 
 servants may do much good, by so 
 living as to show to all around them 
 that there is a reality in the gospel, 
 and to lead others to love it. (3.) 
 If, in this situation of life, it is a duty 
 so to live as to adorn religion, it can- 
 not be less so in more elevated situa- 
 tions. A master should feel the 
 obligation not to be surpassed in re- 
 ligious character by his servant. 
 
 11. For the grace of God. The 
 favour of God, shown to the unde- 
 serving. See Notes on Rom. i. 7. 
 ^ That bringeth salvation. Marg., 
 to all men, hath appeared. That is, 
 in the margin, ' the grace which 
 brings salvation to all men has been 
 revealed.' The marginal reading is 
 most in accordance with the Greek, 
 though it will bear either construc- 
 tion. If that which is in the text be 
 adopted, it means that the plan of 
 salvation has been revealed to all 
 classes of men ; that is, that it is an- 
 nounced or revealed to all the race 
 that they may be saved. Comp. 
 Notes on Col. i. 23. If the other 
 rendering be adopted, it means that 
 that plan was fitted to secure the 
 salvation of all men ; that none were 
 excluded from the ofier ; tliat provi- 
 sion had been made for all, and all 
 might come and be saved. Which- 
 ever interpretation be adopted, the 
 sense here will not be essentially 
 varied. It is, that the gospel was 
 adapted to man as man, and there- 
 fore might include servants as well 
 as masters; subjects, as well as 
 kings ; the poor, as well as the ricn , 
 the ignorant, as well as the learned. 
 See Notes on 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. Acta 
 xvii. 26. 
 
 12. Teaching us. That is, the 
 ' grace of God' so teaches us ; or that 
 system of religion which ia a nrtini» 
 
A. D. 64.] 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 31.1 
 
 •ungodliness and worldly lusts, * [ 13 Lookinc; '' for that ble.*.>-<-d 
 we ' should live soberly, right- ■ hope, and the glorious appearing 
 eously, and godly, in this present ' of the great God and our Sa- 
 
 world ; 
 
 a Ro. 8. 13 
 
 61Po 
 
 11. c Lii. 1. 7o. 
 
 festation of the grace of God, incul- 
 cates tliR great and important duties 
 wiiicli Paul proceeds testate. ^ That 
 denying inigoiltiness and worldly 
 lusts. ' Tiiat by denying ourselves 
 of these, or refusing to practise them, 
 we should lead a holy life.' The 
 word ungndliness, here means all 
 that would be included under the 
 word impiety,- tliat is, all failure in 
 the pertbrmance of our proper duties 
 towards God. See Notes, Rom. i. 
 18. The phrase ' worldly lusts,' re- 
 fers to all improper desires pertain- 
 ing to tJiis life — the desire of wealth, 
 fleasure, honour, sensual indulgence, 
 t refers to such passions as the men 
 of this world are prone to, and would 
 include all those tilings which can- 
 not be indulged in with a proper re- 
 ference to the world to come. The 
 gross passions would be of course in- 
 cluded, and all those more refined 
 pleasures also which constitute tbe 
 characteristic and peculiar enjoy- 
 ments of those who do not live unto 
 God. •[ We should live soberly. See 
 the word soberly (^ofpmwj) e.xplained 
 in the Notes on vs. 2. 4. It means 
 that we should exercise a due re- 
 straint on our passions and propen- 
 sities. ^ Righteously. Justly — hi- 
 xotwj. This refers to the proper per- 
 formance of our duties to our fellow- 
 men ; and it means that religion 
 teaches us to perform those duties 
 with fidelity, according to all our re- 
 lations in life; to all our promises 
 and contracts; to our fellow-citizens 
 and neighbours; to the poor, and 
 needy, and ignorant, and oppressed ; 
 and to all those who are Providen- 
 tially placed in our way who need 
 our kmd offices. Justice to them 
 would lead us to act as we would 
 widh tliat they would towards us. 
 
 viour Jesus Christ; 
 
 d2 Ve. X 12. e Re. 1.7. 
 
 ^ And godly. Piously ; that is, in 
 the faithful performance of our du- 
 ties to Gotl. ^V'e have here, then, 
 an epitome of all that religion re- 
 quires: (1.) Our duty to ourselves — • 
 included in the word ' soberly' and 
 requiring a suitable control over our 
 evil propensities and passions; (2.) 
 our duty to our fellow-men in all tlie 
 relations we sustain in life; and (3.) 
 our duty to God — evinced in what 
 will be properly regarded as a pious 
 life. He that does these things, 
 meets all the responsibilities of his 
 condition and relations; and the 
 christian system, requiring the faith- 
 ful performance of these duties, 
 shows how admirably it is adapted 
 to man. •[ In this present world. 
 That is, as long as we shall continue 
 in it. These are the duties which 
 we owe in the present life. 
 
 13. Looking for. E.xpccting ; 
 waiting tor. That is, in the faithful 
 pertbrmance of our duties to our- 
 selves, to our fellow-creatures, and 
 to God, we are patiently to wait for 
 the coming of our Lord. (1.) We 
 arc to believe that he will return; 
 (2.) we are to be in a posture of ex- 
 pectation, not knowing when he will 
 come; and (3.) we are to be ready 
 for him whenever he shall come. 
 See Notes on Matt. xxiv. 42 — H. 
 
 1 Thess. V. 4. Phil. iii. 20. 'i That 
 blessed hope. The fulfilment of that 
 hope so full of blessedness to us. 
 «f The glorious appearing. Notes, 
 
 2 Thess. ii. 8. Comp. 1 Tim. vi. 14. 
 2 Tim. i. 10 ; iv. 1. 8. 1[ Of the 
 great Ciod. There can be little 
 doubt, if any, that by 'the great 
 (rod' here, the apostle referred to the 
 lyord Jcsus, for it is not a doctrine 
 of the New Testament that |8od 
 himeelf as such, or in contradifltino* 
 
816 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 14 Who gave " himself for us, 
 
 a Ep. 5. 2. 
 
 tion from his incarnate Son, will ap- 
 pear at the last day. It is said, in- 
 deed, that the Saviour will come ' in 
 the glory of his Father, with his an- 
 gels' (Matt. xvi. 27), but that God 
 as such will appear is not taught in 
 the Bible. The doctrine there is, 
 that God will be manifest in his Son ; 
 that the divine approach to our world 
 will be through him to judge the 
 race; and that though he will be 
 accompanied with the appropriate 
 symbols of the divinity, yet it will 
 be the Son of God who will be visi- 
 ble. No one, accustomed to Paul's 
 views, can well doubt that when he 
 used this language he had his eye 
 throughout on the Son of God, and 
 that he expected no other manifes- 
 tation than what would be made 
 through him. In no place in the 
 New Testament is the phrase irCL^d- 
 vciav tov ^iov — ' the manifestation or 
 appearing of God' — applied to any 
 other one than Christ. It is true 
 that this is spoken of here as the 
 ' appearing of the glory — trji 66^rji — 
 of the great God,' but the idea is 
 that of such a manifestation as be- 
 came God, or would appropriately 
 display his glory. It is known to 
 most persons who have attended to 
 religious controversies, that this pas- 
 sage has given rise to much discus- 
 sion. The ancients, in general, in- 
 terpreted it as meaning, ' The glori- 
 ous appearing of our great God and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ.' This sense 
 has been vindicated by the labours 
 ofBeza, Whitby, Bull, Matthsei, and 
 Middleton (on the Greek article), 
 and is the common interpretation of 
 those who claim to be orthodox. See 
 Bloomfield, Rec. Syn., and Notes, in 
 loc. He contends that the meaning 
 is, " the glorious appearance of that 
 Great Being who is our God and 
 Saviour." The arguments for this 
 opinion are well summed up by 
 
 that he might redeem us from all • 
 
 6 Ps. 130. 8. 
 
 Bloomfield. Without going into a 
 critical examination of this passage, 
 which would not be in accordance 
 with the design of these Notes, it 
 may be remarked in general, (1.) 
 that no plain reader of the New 
 Testament, accustomed to the com- 
 mon language there, would have 
 any doubt that the apostle referred 
 here to the coming of the Lord Je- 
 sus. (2.) That the ' coming' of God, 
 as such, is not spoken of in this man- 
 ner in the New Testament. (3.) 
 That the expectation of Christians 
 was directed to the advent of the 
 ascended Saviour, not to the appear- 
 ing of God as such. (4.) That this 
 is just such language as one would 
 use who believed that the Lord Je- 
 sus is divine, or that the name God 
 might properly be applied to him. 
 (5.) That it would naturally and ob- 
 viously convey the idea that he was 
 divine, to one who had no theory to 
 defend. (&) That if the apostle 
 did not mean this, he used sucli lan- 
 guage as was fitted to lead men into 
 error. And (7.) that the fair con- 
 struction of the Greek here, accord- 
 ing to the application of the most 
 rigid rules, abundantly sustains the 
 interpretation which the plain reader 
 of the New Testament vvould affix 
 to it. The names above referred to 
 are abundant proof that no violation 
 is done to the rules of the Greek 
 language by this interpretation, but 
 rather that the fair construction of 
 the original demands it. If this be 
 so, then this furnishes an important 
 proof of the divinity of Ci.nst. 
 
 14. Who gave himself for us. 
 See Notes, Eph. v. 2. ^ That he 
 might redeem us from all iniquity. 
 The word here rendered redeem — ^v 
 rpoco — lutroo, occurs only here and in 
 Lukexxiv.21. IPet. i. 18. The noun, 
 however — xvrpov, lutron, occurs io 
 Matt. XX. 28, and Marlj x. 45, wher* 
 
A. D. 64.J 
 
 CHAPTEIv III. 
 
 317 
 
 iniquity, and purify * unto liim- 
 selt a jK'Culiar * jjeoplo, zealous * 
 of good works. 
 
 M IIo. 0. I I. 
 
 c Kp. i lu. 
 
 b Ue. 7. G. 1 Pe. 2. 0. 
 
 it is rendered ransom. See it ex- 
 plained in llic Notes on Matt. xx. 
 MS. It is here said that the ohjecl 
 ..his giving' iiimself was to save his 
 people from ail iniquity. See this 
 explained in the Notes on Matt. i. 
 21. 1 And piirifijuuto himself. (1.) 
 Purify them, or make them holy. 
 This IS the tirst and leading object 
 See Notes, Heb. ix. 14. (2.) Unto 
 himself: that is, they are no longer 
 to be regarded as their own, but as 
 redeemed for his own service, and 
 for the promotion of his glory. — 
 Notes, 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. •[ A pecu- 
 liar people. 1 I'eL ii. 9. The word 
 here used {rti^x-auiLoO occurs nowhere 
 else in the New Testament It 
 means, properly, havins; nlnmdance ; 
 and then one's men, wlial is special, 
 or ptculiar {Rob. Lf-x), and here 
 means that they were to be reirard- 
 cd as lielon/ritifr to the Lord Jesus. 
 It does not mean, as tiie word would 
 seem to imply — and as is undoubtedly 
 true — that they are to be a peculiar 
 people in the sense that tliey are to 
 be unlike others, or to have views 
 and principles peculiar to them- 
 selves ; but that they belong to liie 
 Saviour in contradistinction from be- 
 longing to themselves — 'peculiar' 
 or his own in tiie sense that a man's 
 property is his own, and does not be- 
 long to others. This passage, there- 
 fore, should not be used to prove that 
 Cliristians should be unlike others 
 in their manner of living, but that 
 thetj belnns; tn Christ as his redeem- 
 ed people. From that it may indeed 
 be infi rred that they should be un- 
 like others, but that is not the direct 
 teiching of the passage. *'\ Zealous 
 of aood works. As the result of 
 Uicir redemptioo; that is, this is one 
 27* 
 
 1.') Those tilings speak, anJ 
 exhort; and rebuke with all au- 
 thority. Let ** no man despise 
 tlice. 
 
 object of their having been redeem- 
 ed. Notes, Eph. ii. 10. 
 
 15. These ihini^s speak and ex- 
 hort. Notes, 1 Tim. vi. 2. IT And 
 rebuke with all authority. Notes, 
 
 1 Tim. V. 1. 20. 2 Tim. iv. 2. The 
 word authority here means com- 
 mand — fniroyi;. 1 Cor. vii. 6, 2-5 
 
 2 Cor. viii. 8. 1 Tim. i. 1. Tit i. 
 3. The sense here is, he was to 
 do it decidedly, without ambiguity, 
 without comi)romise, and without 
 keeping any tiling back. He was 
 to slate these things not as being 
 advice or counsel, but as tlic require- 
 ment of God. *i\ Let no man de.spise 
 thee. That is, conduct yourself, a» 
 you may easily do, so as to command 
 universal respect as a minister of 
 God. See Notes on 1 Tim. iv 12. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. 
 
 This chapter comprises the follow- 
 ing subjects : — 
 
 (1.) Titus was to instruct his hear- 
 ers to be subject to lawful authority, 
 and in general to manifest meekness 
 and gentleness towards all classes 
 of men. Vs. 1, 2. 
 
 (2.) A reason is assigned why 
 they should do this. Vs. 3— 8. They 
 who were Christians were once, in- 
 deed, like others, disobedient and 
 unholy ; they were regardless of 
 law, and gave free indulgence to 
 their evil propensities, but they had 
 been redeemed for a better purpose, 
 and it was the design of God in re- 
 deeming them, that tliey should man- 
 ifest every kind of virtue. 
 
 i'.V) Titus was to avoid foolish 
 questions, and contentions, aud atrifet 
 about the law. Ver. 9. 
 
318 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PUT them in mind to be sub- 
 ject ° to principalities and 
 powers, to obey magistrates, to be 
 ready to every good work, 
 
 o Ro. 13 1. 
 
 (4.) He who was a heretic was to 
 be rejected after suitable admoni- 
 tions. Vs. 10, 11. 
 
 (5.) Paul directs Titus to come to 
 him at Nicopolis, and to bring- Zenas 
 and Apollos with him. Vs. 12 — 14. 
 
 (6.) He closes with the customary 
 salutations. Ver. 15. 
 
 1. Put them in mind to be subject, 
 &c. See the duty here enjoined, 
 explained in the Notes on Rom. xiii. 
 1, seq. ^ Frincipalilies and poivers. 
 See these words explained in the 
 Notes on Rom. viii. 38. The word 
 here rendered powers (i^ovGiMi), is 
 not, indeed, the same as that which 
 is found there (Swa^wft?), but the 
 same idea is conveyed. Comp. Notes 
 on Eph. i. 21. IF To obey magis- 
 trates. That is, to obey them in all 
 that was not contrary to the word of 
 God. Notes, Rom. xiii. 1, seq. Acts 
 iv. 19, 20. ■[ To be ready to every 
 good iDorli. To be prepared for 
 (troJ^oDj) ; prompt to perform all 
 that is good. Notes, Phil. iv. 8. A 
 Christian should be always ready to 
 do good as far as he is able. He 
 should not need to be urged, or coax- 
 ed, or persuaded, but should be so 
 ready always to do good that he will 
 coun': it a privilege to have the op- 
 portunity to do it. 
 
 2. 7^0 speak evil of no man. Gr., 
 'to blaspheme (fS^ac^j^^Ew, comp. 
 Notes on Matt. ix. 3), no one.' Dod- 
 dridge renoers it, "calumniate no 
 one." The idea is, that we are not 
 to slander, revile, or defame any one. 
 We are not to say anything to any 
 one, or of any one, which will do 
 him injury. We are never to utter 
 anything which we know to be false 
 about h im, or to give su z\\ a colour- 
 
 2 To speak evil of no mm, 
 to be no brawlers, but gentle, 
 showing all * meekness unto ali 
 men. 
 
 6 Ep. k. i. 
 
 ing to his words or conduct as to dc 
 him wrong in any way. We should 
 always so speak to him and of him 
 in such a way that he will have no 
 reason to complain that he is an in 
 jured man. It may be necessary 
 when we are called to state what 
 we know of his character, to say 
 things which are not at all in hia 
 favour, or things which he has said 
 or done that were wrong; but (1.) we 
 should never do tliis for the purpose 
 of doing him injury, or so as to find 
 a pleasure in it; and (2.) where it 
 is necessary to make the statement, 
 it should be so as to do him no injus- 
 tice. We should give no improper 
 colouring. We should exaggerate 
 no circumstance. We should never 
 attempt to express ourselves about 
 his motives, or cliarge on him bad 
 motives — for we know not what his 
 motives were. We should state 
 every palliating circumstance of 
 which we have knowledge, and do 
 entire justice to it. We should not 
 make the bad traits of his character 
 prominent, and pass over all that is 
 good. In a word, we should show 
 that we would rather find him to be 
 a good man tiian a bad man — even 
 if the result should be that we had 
 been mistaken in our opinions. It 
 is better that loe should have been 
 mistaken, than that he should b(! a 
 bad man. % To be no brawlers. 
 See Notes, 1 Tim. iii. 3. The same 
 Greek word occurs in both places. 
 It is not elsewhere found in the New 
 Testament. ^ Bwi gentle. The word 
 here used is rendered moderation in 
 Phil. iv. 5, patient, in 1 Tim. iii. 3, 
 and elsewhere gentle. See Notes 
 on 1 Tim. iii. 3. «![ Shoioing al, 
 meekness unto all men. In the re 
 
A. D. (>!.] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 319 
 
 3 For we * ourselves also were 
 Bometiines foolish, disobedient, 
 deceived, serving divers lusts and 
 
 alCo. C. 11. IPe. 4. 3. 
 
 eeptiou of injuries. Sec Notes on 
 Matt V. 5. Epii. iv. 2. 
 
 3. For tee ourselves. Wc who 
 are Cliristians. Tliere is no reason 
 for supposing, as Benson docs, tliat 
 this is to be undcrstotxi as confined 
 to Paul himself. There arc some 
 things mentioned here wliich were 
 not probably true of him before his 
 conversion, and the connection does 
 not recjuire us to suppose that he re- 
 ferred particularly to himself. He 
 is stating a reason why those to 
 whom Titus was appointed to preach 
 should be urged to lead holy lives, 
 and especially to manifest a spirit 
 of order, peace, kindness, and due 
 subordination to law. In enforcing 
 this, he says, that those who were 
 now Christians had formerly been 
 wicked, disorderly, and sensual, but 
 that under the influence of the gos- 
 pel, tlioy had been induced to lead 
 better lives. The same gospel which 
 had been effectual in their case, 
 might be in others. To others it 
 would be an encouragement to show 
 that there were cases in which the 
 gospel had been thus efficacious, and 
 they who were appointed to preach 
 it might refer to their own example 
 as a reason why others should be 
 persuaded to lead holy lives. In 
 preaching to others, also, they were 
 not to be proud or arrogant They 
 were to remember that they were 
 formerly in tlie same condition with 
 those whom they addressed, and 
 whom they exhorted to reformation. 
 They were not to forget that what 
 they had that was superior to others 
 they owed to the grace of God, and 
 not to any native goodness. He will 
 e.vhort the wicked to repentance 
 most effectually who remembers that 
 his own former life was wicked ; he 
 will evince most of the proper spirit 
 
 pleasures, living in malice and 
 env)', hateful, and hating one an- 
 other. 
 
 in doing it who has the deepest sense 
 of the errors and folly of his own 
 past ways. ^ Foolish. See this word 
 e.xplained in the Notes on Luke 
 x.xiv. 25, where it is rendered fools. 
 Comp. Rom. i. 14, where it is ren- 
 dered imwisc, and Gal. iii. 1. 3. 1 
 Tim. vi. 9, where it is rendered /oo^ 
 ish. ^ Disobedient. To law, to pa- 
 rents, to civil authority, to Gotl. 
 This is the natural character of iho 
 human heart See Luke i. 17. Rom. 
 i.30. 2Tim. iii. 2. Tit i. 16, where 
 the same word occurs. ^ Deceived. 
 By the great enemy, by false teach- 
 ers, by our own hearts, and by the 
 flattery of others. It is a character- 
 istic of man by nature that he sees 
 nothing in its true light, but walks 
 along amidst constant, though chang- 
 ing and very beautitul illusions. 
 Comp. Matt .x.xiv. 4, 5. 11. 2 Tim. 
 iii. 13. 1 Pet ii. 25. Rev. xii. 9; 
 xviii. 23, where the same word oc- 
 curs. See also Rev. xx. 3. 8. 10, 
 where the same word is applied tc 
 that great deceiver who has led the 
 world astray. Every one who is 
 converted feels, and is ready to con- 
 fess, that before conversion he wag 
 deceived as to the comparative value 
 of tilings, as to the enjoyment which 
 he expected to find in scenes of plea- 
 sure and riot, and often in what 
 seemed to him well-formed plans, 
 •f Scrvinq divers litsts and pleasures. 
 Indulging in the various corrupt pas- 
 sions and propensities of the souh 
 We were so under their influence 
 that it might be said we were theii 
 servants, or were slaves to them 
 (iovJut'oi-rf j) ; that is, wo imp.icitly 
 obeyed them. See Notes, Rom. vu 
 10, 17. IT Living in malice. Gr. 
 in evil — iv xaxi'a ; that is, in all kindj 
 of evil. See Notes on Rom. i. 29 
 where the word is rendered mali 
 
820 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 fA. D. 64 
 
 4 But after that the kindness 
 and ' love of God our Saviour 
 toward man appeared, 
 
 I or, pity. 
 
 ciousness. ^ And envy. Displea- 
 sure at the happiness and prosperity 
 ^f otliers. Notes, Rom. i. 29. U Hate- 
 ful, atoytjfol. This word does not 
 elsewhere occur in the New Testa- 
 ment. It means that our conduct 
 was such as to be worthy of the ha- 
 tred of others. Of whom, before his 
 conversion, is not this true"? ^ And 
 hating one another. There was no 
 brotherly love ; no true affection for 
 others. There was ill-will felt in the 
 heart, and it was evinced in the life. 
 This is an apt description of the state 
 of the heathen world before the gospel 
 shines on it, and it may be regarded 
 as the characteristic of all men be- 
 fore conversion. They have no true 
 love for one another, such as tliey 
 ought to cherish, and they are liable 
 constantly to give indulgence to feel- 
 ings which evince hatred. In con- 
 tentions, and strifes, and litigations, 
 and wars, this feeling is constantly 
 breaking out. All this is suggested 
 here as a reason why Cliristians 
 should now be gentle and mild to- 
 ward those who are evil. Let us 
 remember what we were, and we 
 shall not be disposed to treat others 
 harshly. When a Christian is tempt- 
 ed'to unkind thoughts or words to- 
 wards others, nothing is more appro- 
 priate for him than to reflect on his 
 own past life. 
 
 4. But after that. Gr., lohen — 
 ots. The meaning is, that 'when 
 the love of God was manifested in 
 the plan of salvation, he saved us 
 from this state by our being washed 
 and purified.' The idea is not, that 
 'the love of God appeared' after we 
 had sinned in this way, but that 
 when his mercy was thus displayed 
 we were converted from our sins, 
 and made pure in his sight. ^ The 
 Jtindness. r/ xp^otottji — the gnod- 
 
 5 Not " by works of righteo as- 
 ness which we have done, but 
 according to his mercy he saved 
 
 a Ep. 2. 4, 8, 9. 
 
 ness, or the benignity. The word 
 is rendered goodness and good in 
 Rom. ii. 4; iii. 12; xi. 22, thrice; 
 kindness, 2 Cor. vi. 6. Eph. ii. 7. 
 Col. iii. 12. Titus iii. 4 ; and gen- 
 tleness. Gal. v. 22. The act of re- 
 deeming us was one of great kind- 
 ness, or goodness. ^ And love of 
 God. Marg-., pity. The Greek word 
 is ^OMv^pu^nia, — philanthropy — the 
 love of man. The plan of salvation 
 was founded on love to man, and 
 was the highest expression of that 
 love. Notes on John iii. 16. The 
 Greek of this verse is, ' When the 
 kindness and love of God our Sav'our 
 to man was manifested, he savea us' 
 (ver. 5), to wit, from those sins of 
 which we had before been guilty. 
 
 5. Not by loorks of righteousness 
 which we have done. The plan was 
 not based on our own good works, 
 nor are our own good works now the 
 cause of our salvation. If men could 
 have been saved by their own good 
 works, there would have been no 
 need of salvation by the Redeemer; 
 if our own deeds were now the basis 
 of our title to eternal life, the work 
 of Christ would be equally unneces- 
 sary. It is a great and fundamental 
 principle of the gospel that the good 
 works of men come in for no share 
 in the justification of the soul. They 
 are in no sense a consideration on 
 account of which God pardons a 
 man, and receives him to favour. 
 The only basis of justification is 
 the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and in the matter of justification be- 
 fore God, all the race is on a level. 
 See Notes on Eph. ii. 8, 9. T[ But 
 according to his mercy. (1.) It had 
 its origin in mercy; (2.) it is by 
 mere mercy or compassion, rind noc 
 by justice ; (3.) it is an expie:;sion 
 of great mercy, and (4.) it is now 
 
A. D. G4.] CHAPTER ni. 
 
 us, by the washing of regenera 
 
 9%1 
 
 in fact conferred only by mercy. 
 Wliatever wo have done or can do, 
 when we come to receive salvation 
 from the hand of God, tliere is no 
 other element which enters into it 
 but mercy. It is not because our 
 deeds deserve it; it is not because 
 we have by repentance and faith 
 wrouglit ourselves into such a state 
 of mind that we can claim it ; but, 
 after all our tears, and siglis, and 
 prayers, and good deeds, it is a mere 
 favour. Even then God might just- 
 ly withhold it if he chose, and no 
 blame would be attached to him if 
 he should suffer us to sink down to 
 ruin. ^ He saved us. That is, he 
 began that salvation in us which is 
 to be completed in heaven. A man 
 who is already renewed and pardon- 
 ed may be spoken of as saved — for 
 (I.) tlie work of salvation is begun, 
 and (2.) when begun it will certain- 
 ly be completed. See Notes on 
 Phil. i. G. % By the trashing of 
 regeneration. In order to a correct 
 understanding of this important pas- 
 sage, it is necessary to ascertaui 
 whether the phrase here used refers 
 to baptism, and whether anything 
 different is intended by it from what 
 is raejint by the succeeding plirase 
 — ' renewing of the Holy Ghost.' — 
 The word rendered washing (xovrpov 
 — loulron) occurs in the New Tes- 
 tament only in this place and in 
 Eph. v. 2G, where also it is rendered 
 washing — ' That he might sanctify 
 and cleanse it [the churcli] with the 
 washing of water by the word.' 
 The word properly means a bath ; 
 then water for bathing; then the 
 act of bathing, washing, ablution. 
 Passow, and Robinson. It is used 
 by Homer to denote a warm or cold 
 bath ; then a wa,sl»ing away, and is 
 tiius applied to the drink-offerings in 
 eacrihce, which were supposed to 
 
 tion, and renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost; 
 
 purify or wash away sin. Passow. 
 The word here does not mean lav( r, 
 or the vessel for washing in, wliich 
 would be expressed by xovr>-p, loutir, 
 and this word cannot be properly ap- 
 plied to the baptismal font. The 
 word in itself would naturally be 
 understood as referring to baptism 
 (comp. Notes on Acts x.xii. 16), 
 which was regarded as the emblem 
 of wasiiing away sins, or of cleans- 
 ing from them. I say it was the 
 emblem, not the means of purifying 
 tl>e Eoul from sin. If this be the 
 allusion, and it seems probable, then 
 the phrase 'wasiiing of regenera- 
 tion ' would mean * that outward 
 washing or baptism which is the 
 emblem of regeneration,' and which 
 is appointed as one of the ordinances 
 connected with salvation. See Notes, 
 Mark .xvi. 16. " He that believeth 
 and is baptized shall be saved." It 
 is not affirmed in tliis phrase that 
 baptism is the means of regenera- 
 tion ; or that grace is necessnrihj 
 conveyed by it; and still less that 
 baptism is regeneration, for no one 
 of these is a necessary interpreta- 
 tion of the passage, and should nut 
 be assumed to be tiie true one. The 
 full force of the language will be 
 met by the supposition that it means 
 that baptism is the emblem or sym- 
 bol of regeneration, and, if this ia 
 tlie case, no one has a right to as- 
 sume that the other is certainly tiio 
 meaning. And that this is the 
 meaning is further clear, because it 
 ia nowhere taught in the New Tes- 
 tament that baptism is regeneration, 
 or that it is the means of regencra« 
 tion. The word rendered regene- 
 ration (ftaxiy/tyi nia — pnlingenesia) 
 occurs in tlie New Testament only 
 here and in Matt. xix. 28, — " in tlie 
 regeneration when the son of man" 
 &LC. It means, properly, a new- 
 
322 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 birth, reproduction, or rene\val. It 
 would properly be applied to one 
 who should be begotten again in 
 this sense, that a new life was com- 
 menced in him in some way cor- 
 responding to his being made to live 
 at first. To the proper idea of the 
 word, it is essential that there should 
 be connected the notion of the com- 
 mencement of life in the man, so 
 that he may be said to live anew ; 
 and as religion is in the Scriptures 
 represented as life, it is properly 
 applied to the beginning of that 
 kind of life by which man may be 
 said to live anew. This word, oc- 
 curring only here and in Matt. xix. 
 28, and there indubitably not refer- 
 ring to baptism, should not be here 
 understood as referring to that, or 
 be applied to that, for (1.) that is not 
 the proper meaning of the word ; 
 (2.) there is no Scripture usage to 
 sanction it ; (3.) the connection here 
 does not demand it; (4.) the correla- 
 tives of the word (see John iii. 3. 5, 
 6. 8. 1 Pet. i. 3) are applied only 
 to that great moral change which is 
 produced by the Holy Ghost, and 
 (5.) it is a dangerous use of the 
 word. Its use in this sense leaves 
 the impression that the only change 
 needful for man is that which is 
 produced by being regularly bap- 
 tized. On almost no point has so 
 much injury been done in the church 
 as by the application of the word 
 regeneration to baptism. It aftects 
 the beginning of religion in the soul, 
 and if a mistake is made there, it is 
 one which must pervade all the 
 views of piety. ^ And renewing 
 of the Holy Ghost. This is an im- 
 portant clause, added by Paul appa- 
 rently to save from the possibility 
 of falling into error. If the former 
 expression, ' the washing of regene- 
 ration,' had been left to stand by it- 
 self, it might have been supposed 
 possibly that all the regeneration 
 which would be needed would be that 
 which would accompany baptism. 
 
 But he avoids the possibility of thia 
 error, by saying that the 'renewing 
 of the Holy Ghost' is an indispensa- 
 ble part of that by which we are 
 saved. It is necessary that this 
 should exist in addition to that 
 which is the mere emblem of it 
 — the washing of regeneration — for 
 without this the former would be 
 unmeaning and unavailing. It is 
 important to observe that the apostle 
 by no means says that this always 
 follows from the former, nor does he 
 affirm that it ever follows from it — 
 whatever may be the truth on that 
 point — but he asserts that this is that 
 on which our salvation depends. — 
 The word rendered renewing {ava- 
 xaCvuiCii — anahainosis) occurs only 
 here and in Rom. xii. 2, where it is 
 also rendered renewing. Comp. 
 Note on tjiat place. The verb {avor 
 xMvoa — annkainoo) occurs in 2 Cor. 
 iv. 15, and Coll. iii. 19, in both 
 which places it is rendered renewed, 
 and the corresponding word, avaxM- 
 w'^w — anakainidzo, in Heb. vi. 6. 
 The noun properly means making 
 new again ; a renewing ; a renova- 
 tion. Comp. H. Planck in Bib. Re- 
 pos. i. 677. It is a word which is 
 found only in the writings of Paul 
 and in ecclesiastical Greek writers. 
 It would be properly applied to such 
 a change as the Holy Spirit pro- 
 duces in the soul, making one a new 
 man ; that is, a man new, so far as 
 religion is concerned — new in his 
 views, feelings, desires, hopes, plans, 
 and purposes. He is so far different 
 from what he was before, that it 
 may be said he enters on a new life. 
 See Notes on Eph. iv. 23, 24. The 
 'renewing of the Holy Ghost' of 
 course means that which the Holy 
 Ghost produces, recognising the fact, 
 everywhere taught in the Scriptures, 
 that the Holy Spirit is the Author 
 of the new creation. It cannot 
 mean, as Koppe supposes, the re- 
 newing of the mind itself, or pro 
 ducing a holy spirit in the soul. 
 
A. L). Gl.] 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 323 
 
 Which he shed on us 'abun- 
 dantly, through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour ; 
 
 7 That, being justified " by his 
 grace, we should be made heirs 
 according to the hope of eternal 
 hfe. 
 
 S Tills is a faithful saying ; 
 and these things 1 will that thou 
 
 > or, rieJUf. a Ru. 3. 24. 
 
 6. W flick he shed on us. Gr., 
 'Whicli he poured out on us' — 
 i^ixifv- See Notes on Acts ii. 17. 
 The same Greek word is used there 
 as here. It occurs also in the same 
 sense in Acts ii. 1^. 33. 'i Abun- 
 danlly. Marg.. as in Gr., richly. 
 The meaning- is, that the Holy Spi- 
 rit had been imparted in copious 
 measure in order to convert them 
 from their former wickedness. There 
 is no particular allusion here to the 
 day of Pentecost, but the sense is, 
 that the Holy Spirit had been im- 
 parted richly to all who were con- 
 verted, at any time or place, from 
 the error of their ways. Wliat tlie 
 apostle says here is true of all who 
 become Cliristians, and can be ap- 
 plied to all who become believers m 
 any a^^e or land. •[ Through Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour. See Notes, 
 Acts ii. 33. 
 
 7. That, being justified by his 
 grace. Not by our osvn works, but 
 uy iiis favour or mercy. See Notes, 
 Rom. iii. 24. ^ We should be made 
 heirs. See Notes, Rom. viii. 15. 17. 
 ■^ According to the hope of eternal 
 life. In ret'erence to tlie hope of 
 eicrnal life; that is, we have that 
 liope in virtue of our being adopted 
 with the family of God, and beinjT 
 made iieirs. He has received us as 
 his childien. and permits us to hope 
 that we shall live with him forever. 
 
 8. This 13 a faithful saying. See 
 Notes on 1 Tim. i. 13. The refer- 
 ence here is to what he had been 
 just saying, meaning that Uie doc- 
 
 afiirm constantly; that they which 
 have believed in God might be 
 careful 'to maintain good worUs. 
 These things are good and profit- 
 able unto men. 
 
 9 But ' avoid foolish questions, 
 and genealogies, and contentions, 
 and strivings about the law ; for 
 they are unprofitable and vain. 
 
 ft ver. 1. 14. c 3 Ti. 2. S3. 
 
 trine which he had stated about the 
 method of salvation was in the hii^h- 
 est deprree important, and entirely 
 worthy of belief. M And these 
 things I will that thnu ajfirm con- 
 stantly. Make them tlie constant 
 subject of your preachinjr. ^ That 
 they which have believed in O'od 
 might be careful to maintain good 
 works. This shows that Paul sup- 
 iwsed that the doctrines of the gos- 
 pel were Htted to lead men to holy 
 living. Comp. ver. 1, and Notes, 
 Phil. iv. 8. The 'good works' here 
 refer not merely to acts of benevo- 
 lence and charity, but to nil that is 
 uprigiit and good — to an honest and 
 holy life. •[ These things are good 
 and profitable unto men. That is, 
 these doctrines which he had statea 
 were not mere matters of specula- 
 tion, but they were fitted to promote 
 liuman happiness, and they should 
 be constantly taugliL 
 
 9. But avoid foolish questions 
 and genealosies. See Notes on 1 
 Tim! i. 4. 2 Tim. ii. IG. 2:3. ^. And 
 contentions, and strivinrrs about the 
 law. Such as the Jews started 
 about various matters connected 
 with the law — about moats and 
 drinks, &.c. Notes on 1 Tim. i. 4. 
 Comp. Notes on :\ c Ls x v i i i . 1 5. ^ For 
 they arc unprofitable and vain.— 
 They disturb and embitter the feel- 
 ings; they lead to the indulgence 
 of a Lad spirit; they arc often diffi- 
 cult to be settled, and are of no 
 practical importance if they could 
 be determined. The same thing 
 
S24 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 10 A man that is an heretic, 
 
 might be said of multitudes of things 
 about which men dispute so earnest- 
 ly now. 
 
 10. A man thai is an heretic. 
 The word heretic is now commonly 
 applied to one who holds some fun- 
 damental error of doctrine, " a per- 
 son who holds and teaches opinions 
 repugnant to the established faith, 
 or that which is made the standard 
 of orthodoxy." Webster. The 
 Greek word here used (otprrwoj — 
 haireticos) occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament. The corres- 
 ponding noun (di'pjcjtj — hairesis) oc- 
 curs in the following places^ Acts 
 V. 17 ; XV. 5 ; x.xiv. 5 ; xx\ i. 5 ; 
 xxviii. 22, where it is rendered 
 sect ; and Acts xxv. 14. 1 Cor. xi. 
 19. Gal. V. 20. 2 Pet. ii. 1, where 
 it is rendered heresy, and heresies. 
 See Notes on Acts xxiv. 14. Tlip 
 true notion of the word is that of 
 one who is a promoter of a sect oi 
 party. The man who makes divi- 
 sions in a ciiurch, instead of aiming 
 to promote unity, is the one who is 
 intended. Such a man may form 
 sects and parties on some points of 
 doctrine on which he difiers from 
 others, or on some custom, religious 
 rite, or peculiar practice; he may 
 make some unimportant mattei a 
 ground of distinction from his bre- 
 thren, and may refuse to have fel- 
 lowship with them, and endeavour 
 to get up a new organization. Such 
 a man, according to the Scripture 
 usage, is a heretic, and not merely 
 one who holds a different doctrine 
 from that which is regarded as or- 
 thodoxy. The spirit of the doctrine 
 here is the same as in Rom. xvi. 17, 
 and the same class of persons is re- 
 ferred to. " Mark them which 
 cause divisions and offences con- 
 trary to the doctrine which ye have 
 received : and avoid them." See 
 
 after the first and second admoni- 
 tion " reject ; 
 
 a Mat. 18. 17. 
 
 Notes on that passage. The word 
 here used is defined by Robinson, 
 (Lex.), "one who creates dissen- 
 sions, introduces errors, a factious 
 person." It is not found in classic 
 Greek, but often in ecclesiastical 
 writers. See Suicer's Thesau. — 
 ^ After the Jirst and second admo- 
 nition. Comp. Matt, xviii. 15 — 17. 
 That is, do not do it hastily and 
 rashly. Give him an opportunity 
 to explain himself, and to repent 
 and abandon his course. No man is 
 to be cut off without giving him a 
 proper opportunity to vindicate his 
 conduct, and to repent if he has 
 done wrong. If after the first and 
 second admonition a man, who is 
 undoubtedly doing wrong, will not 
 repent, then he is to be cut oft". The 
 apostle does not say in what way 
 this admonition is to be given, or 
 whether it should be public or pri- 
 vate. The language which he uses 
 would justify eitlier, and the method 
 which is to be adopted is doubtless 
 to be determined by circumstances. 
 The thing which is to be reached 
 is, thctt his fault is to be fairly set 
 before hie miiid. *^ Reject, rtopoaroii. 
 This word is rendered excuse in 
 Luke xiv. 18, 19 ; refuse. Acts xxv. 
 11. ITim. iv. ?; v. 11. Heb. xii. 
 25; avoid, 2 Tim. ii. 23, and en- 
 treated, Heb. xii. 19, Its prevailing 
 meaning, as used in connections like 
 the one before us, is, to reject in re- 
 lation to an ojjice ; that is, to de- 
 cline appointing one to an office. It 
 probably had a primary reference to 
 that here, and meant that a man who 
 was given tc :naking dissensions, or 
 who was a factious person, should 
 not be admitted to an office in the 
 church. The general direction 
 would also include this, — that he 
 should not be admitted to the church. 
 He is neither to be owned as a mem- 
 
A. D. W.J CHAPTER 111. 
 
 11 Knowing that he that is 
 such, is subvL-rted, and sinncth, 
 being coiuK'nnicd of himsell. 
 
 ber, nor ailinittcd to otlicc. Comp. 
 MalL xviii. 17. "Letliini bo unto 
 thee ns a licathen man and a pub- 
 lican." In regiird to this passage, 
 tlien, wc may observe, (1.) that the 
 utmost limit wliich tliis allow.s is 
 mere exclusion. It docs not allow 
 us to follow the oflcndcr with injury. 
 (•2.) It docs not authorize us to oppose 
 one on account of his mere private 
 
 325 
 
 12 When I shall send Arlcmasi 
 unto thee, or Tychicus, be dili 
 gent to come unto me to IS'icopo- 
 
 thcrc ceases. It has no power to 
 deliver him over to any one else for 
 persecution or punishment, or j;j ainj 
 loay to meddle with him. He may 
 live where he pleases; gursue his 
 own plans ; entertain his own opi- 
 nions or company, provided he does 
 not interfere with us; and tiiough 
 wc have a riglit to examine the 
 opinions which he may entertain. 
 
 opinions. The essential idea is that . yet our work with him is done. It 
 
 Ota. factious, diiision-makinfr man ; 
 a man who aims to form sects and 
 parties, whether on account of opi- 
 nions, or from any other cause. Qi.) 
 It does not make it right to deliver 
 such a man over to the 'secular 
 arm,' or to harm him in body, soid, 
 properly, or reputation. It gives no 
 power to torture him on the rack, or 
 with thumb-screws, or to bind him 
 to the stake. It authorizes us not 
 to recognise him as a christian bro- 
 ther, or to admit him to an office in 
 the church — but bcyo\.d tliis it gives 
 us no right to go. He has a right 
 to his own opinion still, so far as we 
 are concerned, and we are not to 
 molest him in the enjoyment of tliat 
 right. (4.) It demands that, when 
 a man is undoubtedly a heretic in 
 the sense here explained, there 
 should be the utmost kindness to- 
 wards him, in order if possible to 
 reclaim him. We should not bef^in 
 1)V attacking and denouncing his 
 f)[)inions; or by formally arraigning 
 him ; or by blazoning his name 
 abroad as a heretic; but he is to be 
 dealt with in all christian kindness 
 and brotherly fidelity. He is to be 
 admonished more than once by those 
 who iiave the right to admonish 
 
 these plain principles had been ob- 
 served, what scenes of bloody and 
 cruel persecution in the churcii 
 would have been avoided ! 
 
 11. Knowing that he that is such 
 is subverted. Literally, is turned 
 out ; or, is changed, i. e. fur the 
 worse. He has gone from the right 
 way, and therefore he should be re- 
 jected. 1 And sinneth, being con- 
 demned cf himself. His own con- 
 science condemns him. He will 
 approve the sentence, for he knows 
 that he is wrong; and his self-con- 
 demnation will be punishment suffi- 
 cient. His own course, in attempt- 
 ing a division or schism in the 
 church, shows him that it is right 
 that he should be separated from the 
 communion of Christians. He thai 
 attempts to rend tiie church, without 
 a good reason, should himself be 
 separated from it 
 
 12. When I shall send Artemas 
 unto thee. This person is not else- 
 where mentioned in tlie New Tes- 
 tament, and nothing more is known 
 of him. •[ Or Tychicus. Notes, 
 Acts .XX. 4. If Be diligent. Notes, 
 2 Tim. iv. 9. •[ To come unio me 
 to Sicopolis. It was at this place, 
 probably, that tliis epistle was writ- 
 
 .. m ; and then, and then only, if he ' ten. In regard to its situation, see 
 does not rf»pcnt, he is to be simplt/ ' Intro. } 4. ^ For I have deter- 
 ainid^d. That is to be an end of 7;u7ir(/ there to winltr. Why Haul 
 the matter so far as wc aie con- 1 designed to spend the winter there, 
 cerned. The power of the church I or what ho purposed to do there 
 28 
 
326 
 
 TITUS. 
 
 LA. D. 64. 
 
 lis : for I have determined there 
 to winter. 
 
 13 Bring Zenas the lawyer, 
 and Apoilos, on their journey diU- 
 gent'y, that nothing be wanting 
 unto them. 
 
 are questions on which no hght can 
 now be thrown. There is no evi- 
 dence tiiat he organized a church 
 there, though it may be presumed 
 that he preached the gospel, and 
 that he did not do it without suc- 
 cess. His requesting Titus to leave 
 his important post and to come to 
 him, looks as if his aid were needed 
 in the work of the ministry there, 
 and as if Paul supposed there was 
 a promising field of labour there. 
 
 13. Bring Zenas the lawyer. — 
 This person is not elsewhere men- 
 tioned in the New Testament, and 
 nothing more is known of him. He 
 belonged doubtless to that class of 
 persons so often mentioned in the 
 New Testament as laicyers ; that 
 is, who were regarded as qualified 
 to expound the Jewish laws. See 
 Notes, Matt. xxii. 35. It does not 
 mean that he practised la\',', in the 
 modern sense of that phrase. He 
 had doubtless been converted to the 
 Christian faith, and it is not impro- 
 bable that there were Jews at Nico- 
 poiis, and that Paul supposed he 
 might be particularly useful among 
 them. ^ And Apoilos. Notes, Acts 
 xviii. 24. He was also w^ell-skilled 
 in the laws of Moses, being " mighty 
 in the Scriptures" (Acts xviii. 24), 
 and he and Zenas appear to have 
 been travelling together. It would 
 seem that they had been already on 
 a journey, probably in preaching the 
 gospel, and Paul supposed that they 
 would be in Crete, and that Titus 
 could aid them. % Diligently. 2 
 Tim. iv. 9. Gr. Speedily ; i. e. fa- 
 cilitate their journey as much as 
 possible. IT That nothing be want- 
 ing unto them. Nothing necessary 
 fer their journey. Paul desired that 
 
 14 And let ours aluo learn to 
 ' maintain good "works for neces- 
 sary uses, that they be not un- 
 fruitful. 
 
 15 All that are with me salute 
 
 1 or, profess honest trades. a ver. 8. 
 
 they might meet with hospitahle 
 treatment from Christians in Crete, 
 and might not be embarrassed for 
 the want of that which was needful 
 for their journey. It would seem 
 most probable that they had been 
 sent by Paul on a visit to the 
 churches. 
 
 14. A7id let ours. Our friends; 
 that is, those who were Christians. 
 Paul had just directed Titus to aid 
 Zenas and Apoilos himself, and he 
 here adds thai he wished that others 
 who were Christians would be cha- 
 racterized by good works of all 
 kinds. ^ To maintain good works. 
 Marg., profess honest trades. The 
 Greek will admit of the interpreta- 
 tion in the margin, or will include 
 that, but there is no reason why the 
 direction should be supposed to have 
 any peculiar reference to an honest 
 mode of livelihood, or why it should 
 be confined to that. It rather means, 
 that they should be distinguished for 
 good works, including benevolent 
 deeds, acts of charity, honest toil, 
 and whatever would enter into the 
 conception of an upright life. See 
 Notes on ver. 8. H For necessary 
 uses. Such as are required by their 
 duty to their families, and by the 
 demands of charity. See ver. 8. 
 ^ That they be not unfruitful. — 
 That it may be seen that their reli- 
 gion is not barren and worthless, 
 but that it produces a happy efiect 
 on themselves and on society. — 
 Com p. Notes on John xv. 16. Eph. 
 iv. 28. 
 
 15. All that are with me salute 
 thee. Notes, Rom. xvi. 3. Paul, 
 at the close of his epistles, usually 
 mentions the names of those who 
 sent affectionate salutations. Here 
 
A. D 64.1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 327 
 
 thee. Greet them that love lis 
 in the faiih. Grace be with you 
 all. Amen. 
 
 it would seem to be implied that 
 Titus knew who were with Paul, 
 and also that he himself had been 
 travelling with him. He evidently 
 refers not to those who were re- 
 siding in the place where he was, 
 but to those who had pone witjj him 
 from Crete as his companions. — 
 % Ureet Iheni that love us in the 
 faith. In the faith of the gospel, 
 or as Christians. No names are 
 here mentioned. Comp. 1 Thess. 
 V. 2G. Col. iv. 15. 1[ Grace be u-ith 
 you all. Notes, Bern. i. 7; xvi. 20. 
 The subscription, " It was written 
 to Titus" &.C., is, like l]ie other sub- 
 scriptions at the close of the epis- 
 tles, of no authority whatever. See 
 the close of the Notes on 1 Cor. In 
 this subscription there are probably 
 two errors: (1.) In the statement 
 that Titus was "ordained the first 
 bishof. of tlie church of the Cre- 
 tians ;" for (a) there is no evidence 
 tliat there was a church there called 
 "(he cliurch of the Cretians," as 
 there were doubtless many churches 
 on the island ; (6) there is no evi- 
 dence that Titus was the first bishop 
 of the cliurch tliere, or that he was 
 tlie first one tiiere to whom might be 
 properly applied tlie term bishop in 
 tlie scriptural sense. Indeed, there 
 is positive evidence that he was not 
 the first, for Paul was there with 
 
 It was written to Titus, ordain- 
 ed the first bishop of the 
 church of the Cretians, from 
 Nicopolis of Macedonia. 
 
 him, and Titus was '/f/i' there to 
 complete what he had begun, (c) 
 There is no evidence that Titus was 
 ' bishop' there at all in the prelatical 
 sense of the term, or even that he 
 
 t was a settled pastor. Sec Notes on 
 vs. 1. 5. (2.) That the epistle was 
 written " from Nicopolis of Macedo- 
 nia;" for («) there is no certain evi- 
 dence tiiat it was written atNicopo» 
 lis at all, though this is prob;ible; 
 (6) there is no reason to believe that 
 the Nicopolis referred to was in Ma- 
 cedonia. See Intro. J 4. These 
 subscriptions are so utterly destitute 
 of authority, and are so full of mis- 
 takes, that it is liigh time they were 
 omitted in the editions of the Bible. 
 They are no part of the inspired 
 writings, but are of the nature of 
 ' notes and comments,' and are con- 
 stantly doing something, perhaps 
 much, to perpetuate error. The 
 
 : opinion that Timothy and Titus 
 were prelatical bishops, the one of 
 Ephcsus and the other of Crete, de- 
 
 ] pends far more on these worthless 
 subscriptions than on any thinfr in 
 the epistles themselves. Indeed, 
 
 I there is no evidence of it in the 
 epistles; and, if tliese subscriptions 
 were removed, no man from the 
 New Testament would ever sup. 
 pose that they sustained tliis office 
 
 latalL 
 
THE 
 
 EPISTLE OF PAUL TO PHILEMON. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 • 51. The History of Philemon. 
 
 Of Philemon, to whom this epistle was addressed, almost nothinnr mora 
 is known tlian can be ascertained from tlie epistle itself. It is short, and 
 of a private character; but it is a bright and beautiful gem in tlie volume 
 (f inspiration. 
 
 From Col. iv. 9, it may be inferred that the person to whom it was 
 addressed was an inhabitant of Colosse, since Onesimus, concerning whom 
 this epistle was written, is there mentioned as '• one of them." See Notes 
 on that verse. Comp. the ingenious remarks of Paley, Hor. Paul., on 
 Colossians, No. IV. He is said by Calmet and Micliaelis to have been 
 wealthy; but this cannot be determined with certainty, though it is not 
 nnprobable. The only circumstances which seem to indicate this, are, tiiat 
 Onesimus had been his 'servant,' from wliicii it has been inferred tliat he 
 was an owner of slaves ; and that he appears to have been accustomed to 
 show hospitality to strangers, or, as Alichaelis expresses it, "travelling 
 Christians." Sec ver. 2*2 of the epistle. But these circumstances are not 
 SiifRcient to determine that he was a man of proj)erty. There is no evi- 
 dence, as we shall see, that he was a slave-holder; and Christians in 
 moderate circumstances were accustomed to show hospitality to their bre- 
 thren. Besides, it is not said in ver. *J*J that he was accustome<l to show 
 pcneral hospitality; but Paul merely asks him to provide for him a lodg- 
 ing. It is probable that he liad been accustomed to remain with him when 
 ho was in Colosse. 
 
 It is quite clear that he had been converted under the ministrj' of the apostle 
 himselt". This appears from what is said in ver. 19: "I do not say to 
 thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self." This cannot be under- 
 ?too<l otlierwise than as implying tlmt he had been converted under his 
 ] - ' • •' \on some former occasion, had been the rueana 
 
 , tliere is no evidence. Indee<i, it is manifest, 
 
 li _. ,, ... rpistle, that Philemon had been converted by 
 
 the labours of the autlior. It is just such a letter as it would be natural 
 
 and proper to write on such a supijosition ; it is Bot one which the apostle 
 
 29 • (cccxxix) 
 
 ( .^ J 
 
CCCXXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 would have been likely to write to any one who did not sustain 
 euch a relatxjn to him. But where and when he was converted, is un- 
 known. It is possible that Paul may have met with him at Ephesus; but 
 it is much more probable that he had himself been at Colosse, and that 
 Philemon was one of his converts there. See Intro, to the epistle to the 
 Colossians. 
 
 It is evident from the epistle that Paul regarded him as a sincere Chris- 
 tian ; as a man of strict integrity; as one vAio could be depended on to do 
 right. Thus (vs. 5 — 7), he says that he had heard of his 'love and faith 
 toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints ;' thus he confidently asks 
 him to provide for him a lodging when he should come (ver. 22) ; and thus 
 he expresses the assured belief that he would do what was right towards 
 one v.ho had been his servant, who, having been formerly unfaithful, was 
 no'.v converted, and, in the estimation of the apostle, was worthy of the 
 confidence and affection of his former master. 
 
 In regard to his rank in the christian church, nothing whatever is known. 
 Paul calls him (ver. 1) his ' fellow-labourer ;' but tliis appellation is so 
 genera], that it determines nothing in regard to tlie manner in which he 
 co-operated with him in promoting religion. It is a term which might be 
 applied to any active Christian, whether a preacher, an elder, a deacon, 
 or a private member of the church. It would seem clear, however, that 
 he was not a travelling preacher, for he had a home in Colosse (vs. 2. 22); 
 and the presumption is, that he was an active and benevolent member of 
 the church, who did not sustain any office. There are many private mem- 
 bers of the churches, to whom all that is said of Philemon in the epistle 
 would apply. Yi t there have been various conjectures in regard to the 
 office which he held. Hofiluanu (Intro, ad Lection. Ep. ad Colossenses, 
 § 18) supposes that he was bishop of Colosse; JMichaelis supposes that he 
 was a deacon in the church ; but of either of these, there is no evidence 
 whatever. 
 
 Nothing is known of his age, his profession, or of the time and circum- 
 stances of his death. Neither is it certainly known what efiect this epistle 
 had on him, or whether he again received Onesimus under his roof. It 
 may be presumed, however, that such a letter, addressed to such a man 
 would not fail of its object. 
 
 § 2. The occasion on which the epistle was written. 
 
 This can be learned only from the epistle itself, and there the circum- 
 stances are so marked as to make a mistake impossible. 
 
 (1.) Philemon had had a servant of the name of Onesimus. Of the 
 character of this servant, before Paul became acquainted with him, nothing 
 more is known than that he had been " unprofitable" to Philemon (ver. 11), 
 and that he had probably done him some wrong, either by taking his pro- 
 perty, or by tiie tact that he had escaped from him. Ver. 18. It is not 
 necessary to suppose that he was a slave ; for all that is implied of neces- 
 sity in the word wliich is employed to designate his condition in ver. 16 
 (6t>t'^oj)) and all tliat is stated of him in the epistle, would be met by the 
 supposition tliat he was bound to Philemon, either by his parents or 
 guardians, or that he had bound himself to render voluntary service. See 
 Notes on ver. 16. 
 
 C2.) For some cause, this servant had fled from his master, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. CCCXXAI 
 
 lidd gone to Rome. The cause of his escaping is unknown. It Jimy 
 be that he liad purloined tlic property of his master, and dreaded de- 
 tection; or llial he had, by his ba^ie conduct in some other way, expused 
 himselt' to punishment ; or tiiat he merely desired freedom from oppres- 
 sion ; or that lie disrecrarded the bonds into which lie liiniself', or his parent.s 
 or guardians, had entered, and iiad therefore escaped. Nothinrr can be 
 inferred about liis condition, or his relation to Philemon, from the fact tiiat 
 he ran away. It is perhaps quite as common for apprentices to run away, 
 as it is for slaves ,- and they who enter into voluntary bonds to render ser- 
 vice to another, do not always regard them. 
 
 (3.) In some way, when at Rome, this servant had found out the apostle 
 Paul, and had been converted by his instrumentality. Paul says (ver. 10) 
 tliat he had 'begotten him in his l>on<ls' — iv rots 6f a^toij fjiov', which seems 
 to imply that Onesimus had come to liim, and not that Paul had searched 
 him out It does not appear that Paul, when a prisoner at Rome, was 
 allowed to go at large (comp. Acts .\.\viii. 30), though he was permitted 
 to receive all who came to him. Why Onesimus came to the apostle, is 
 not known. It may have been because he was in want, and Paul was the 
 only one in Rome whom he had ever seen ; or it may have been because 
 his mind had become distressed on account of sin, and he sought him out 
 to obtain spiritual counsel. Conjecture on these points is useless, where 
 there is not even a hint that can serve as a clew to find out the tiuth. 
 
 (4.) From some cause, equally unknown, Onesimus, when converted, 
 was desirous of returning to his Ibrmer master. It is commonly assumed 
 tliat his returning again was at the instiirolion of the apostle, and that 
 this furnishes an instance of his belief that runaway slaves should be sent 
 back to their masters. But, besides that there is no certain evidence that 
 he eve- was a slave, there is as little proof that he returned at the insti- 
 gation of Paul, or that his return was not wholly voluntary on his part. 
 For the only expression which the apostle uses on this subject (ver. 12), 
 " whom I have sent again" — ayinsft-^o, — does not necessarily imply that he 
 even proposed it to him, still less that he commanded it It is a word of 
 such general import, that it would be employed on the supposition that 
 Onesimus desired to return, and that Paul, who had a strong wish to 
 retain him, to aid him in the same way that Philemon himself would do 
 if he were with him (comp. ver. 13), had, on the whole, concluded to part 
 with him, and to send him again, with a letter, to his friend Philemon. It 
 is just such language as he would have used of Timothy, Titus, or Epaph- 
 roditus^ if employed on an important embassy at the request of the apostle. 
 Comp. Luke vii. 6. 10 19; x.v. 13. Actd'.x. 5; .w. 22. 1 Cor. iv. 17. 
 2 Cor. i.\. 3. Eph. vi. 22. Phil. ii. 19. 23. 25. 28. 1 Thess. iii. 2. 5. 
 Titus iii. 12, for a similar use of the word send {ninnu). There is nothing 
 in the statement which forbids us to sup|K)sc that Onesimus was himself 
 disposed to return to Philemon, and that Paul 'sent' him at his own 
 request. To this, Onesimus might have been inclined from many causes. 
 He may have repented that he left his master, and had forsaken the com- 
 forts which he had enjoyed under his roof It is no uncrmmon thing for 
 a runaway apprentice, or servant, when he has seen and folt the misery 
 of being among strangers and in want, to wish himself well hack again in 
 tJie house of his ma.-Jter. Or he may have felt tiiat he had wronged hia 
 master in some way (comp. Notes on ver. 18), and, being now converted, 
 was desirous of repairing the wrong. Or ne may have had frieDds and 
 
iLtCXXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 kindred in Colosse wliom he was desirous of seeing again. Since any 
 one of these, or of many other supposable causes, may have induced him 
 to desire to return to his master, ii should not be assumed that Paul sent 
 him against his will, and thenqe be inferred that he was in favour of 
 sending back runaway slaves to their masters against their will. There 
 are many points to be proved, which cannot be proved, to make that a 
 legitimate inference. See Notes on ver. 12. 
 
 (5.) Whatever were the reasons why Onesimus desired to return to 
 Philemon, it is clear that he was apprehensive of some trouble if he went 
 back. What those reasons were, it is impossible now to determine with 
 absolute certainty, but it is not difficult to conjecture what they may have 
 been, and any of the following will account for his apprehensions — either 
 (a) that he had done his master wrong by the mere act of leaving him, 
 depriving him of valuable services which he was bound to render; or (6) 
 that he may have felt that the mere act of running away had injured the 
 character of his master, for such an act always implies that there is some- 
 thing in the dealings of a master whicli makes it desirable to leave him ; 
 or (c) that he had in some way injured him in respect to property, by 
 taking that which did not belong to him, ver. 18; or (d) that he owed his 
 master, and he may have inferred from his leaving him that he meant to 
 defraud him, ver. 18 ; or (e) that the laws of Phrygia were such that 
 Onesimus apprehended that if he returned, even penitent, it would be 
 judged by his master necessary to punish him, in order to deter others 
 from committing a similar oftence. The laws of Phrygia, it is said, al- 
 lowed the master to punish a slave without applying to a magistrate. See 
 Macknight. It should be said niso that the Phrygians were a severe peo- 
 ple (Curtius, Lib. v. c. 1.), and it is not improbable that, from the customs 
 there, Onesimus may have apprehended harsh treatment if he returned. 
 — It is not proper to assume that any o?ie of these was certainly the rea- 
 son why he feared to return, for this cannot be absolutely determined. 
 We should not take it for granted that he had defrauded his master — for 
 that is not necessarily implied in what is said in ver. 18, and we should 
 not impute crimes to men without proof; nor should we take it for granted 
 that he feared to bo punished as a runaway slave — for that cannot be 
 proved ; but some one or more of these reasons doubtless operated to make 
 him apprehensive that if he I'eturned he would meet with, at least, a cold 
 reception. 
 
 (0.) To induce his master to receive him kindly again, was the main 
 object of thij courteous and kind epistle. For a view of the arguments 
 on which he urges this, see the Analysis of the epistle. The arguments 
 are such, that we should suppose they could not be resisted, and we may 
 presume, without impropriety, that they had the desired effect on th» 
 mind of Philemon — but of that we have no certain evidence. 
 
 5 3. The Time and Place of writing the Epistle. 
 
 There can be no doubt that this letter was written from Rome about 
 the time when the epistle to the Colossians was written. Comp. Intro, to 
 that epistle. The circumstances which conduct to this conclusion are 
 such as the following : (1.^ Paul at the time when it was written was a 
 
INTRODUCTION. CCCXXXIU 
 
 prisoner. Ver. 1. "Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ." Ver. 10. "Whom 
 I have begotten in my Ixjnds." Comp. ver. 2^. " Epaphras my t'.'!luA- 
 prisoner m Christ Jesus." (2.) It was written when he had hopes o\ ob- 
 taining his liberty, or wlien he iiad such a prospect of it that lie could n^-k 
 Philemon, with confidence, to 'prepare him a lotiping.' Ver. 22. (o.) 
 Timothy was with iuni at tlie tiiiie when it was wnlten (ver. 1), and we 
 know that Paul desired him to come to him to Rome when he was a pri- 
 soner there as soon as possible. 2 Tim. iv. 9. " Do tliy diligence to 
 coine shortly unto me." (4.) We know that Onesimus was actually sent 
 by Paul to Colosse wiiile lie was a prisoner at Rome, and it would be 
 tnoraily certain that, tinder the circumstances of the case, he would send 
 tlie letter to his master at that time. No other instance is mentioned in 
 which he sent him to Colosse, and the evidence is as certain as the nature 
 of the case admits, that that was the time when the epistle was written. 
 See Col. iv. 9. (5.) The same persons are mentioned in the sahitations 
 in the two epistles, at least they are so far the same as to make it proba- 
 ble that the epistles were written at the same time, for it is not vciy pro- 
 bable that the same persons would in another place, and on another occa- 
 eion, have been with the apostle. Thus Aristarchiis, Mark, Epaphras, 
 Luke, and Demas, join in the salutations both to the church at Colosse 
 and to Philemon. Probably at no other time in the life of Paul were all 
 these persons with him, t'.ia'n when he was a prisoner at Rome. These 
 considerations make it clear that the epistle was written while Paul wa^s 
 a prisoner at Rome, and at about tlie same time with the epistle to the 
 Coloesians. If so, it was about A. D. 62. 
 
 5 4. The Character of this Epistle. 
 
 This letter is almost wholly of a private character, and yet there is 
 scarcely any portion of the New Testament of equal length which is of 
 more value. It is exquisitely beautiful and delicate. It is a model of 
 courtesy and politeness. It presents the character of the author in a most 
 amiable light, and shows what true religion will produce in causing genu- 
 ine refinement of thought and language. It is gentle and persuasive, and 
 yet the argument is one that we should suppose would have been, and 
 probably was, irresistible. It is very easy to conceive that tlie task which 
 the apc'stle undertook to perform was one which it would be ditficult to 
 accomplish — that of reconciling an oflended master to a runaway servant 
 And yet it is done with so much kindness, persuasiveness, gentleness, and 
 true affection, that, as the letter was read, it is easy to imagine that all 
 the hoetilily of the master was disarmetl, and we can almost see him de- 
 eiriiiT to embrace him who bore it, not now as a servant, but as a Chris- 
 tian "brother. Ver. 16. '* It is impossible," says Doddridge, " to read 
 over this admirable epistle without being touched with the delicacy of 
 ecntiment, and the masterly address, tliat appear in every part of it. We 
 eec here, in a most striking light, how perfectly consistent true politeness 
 is, — not only with all the warmth and sincerity of a friend, but even with 
 tlie dignitv'of the Ciiristian and the Aposllo. And if this letter were to be 
 considen-d in no otlier view than as a mere human composition, it must l»e 
 allowed to ba a master-piece in its kind. As an illustration of this remark, 
 
CCCXXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 it may not be improper to compare it with an epistle o^ Pliny, tliat seema 
 to have been written on a similar occasion (Lib. ix. Let. 21); which, 
 though penned by one that was reckoned to excel in tiie epistolary style, 
 though it has undoubtedly many beauties, yet must be acknowledged by 
 every impartial reader vastly inferior to this animated composition of tlie 
 apostle." Asa specimen of the courtesy and politene.=s which tiie Chris- 
 tian ought to practise at all times, as well as furnishing many valuable 
 lessons on Christian duty (see the Remarks at the close), it deserves a 
 place in the volume of inspiration ; and a material cliasm would be pro- 
 duced in the instructions which are needful for us, if it were withdrawn 
 from the sacred canon. 
 
THB 
 
 EPISTLE OF PAUL TO PHILEMON. 
 
 Analysis of the Epistle. 
 
 The epistle embraces tlie follow- 
 ing subjects : — 
 
 I. Tlio salutation. Vs. 1 — 13. 
 
 II. A mention of the excellent 
 account which the apostle had heard 
 of Philemon, and the occasion which 
 he had tor thankfulness on his be- 
 half. Vs. 4—7. 
 
 (fl) lie always remembered him 
 in liis prayers. Ver. 4. 
 
 (6) He had heard of his faith and 
 love, and of his kindness to- 
 wards those who bore the Chris- 
 tia.T name. Ver. 5. 
 
 (c) He desired that his goodness 
 in making' others, in common 
 with him, partakers of the ex- 
 pression of his faith, miglit be 
 even more effectual in securing 
 the proper acknowledgment of 
 it wherever it might be known. 
 Ver. 6. 
 
 (<r, He says that lie had great joy 
 and consolation from the happi- 
 oes.=i which he had conferred on 
 Christians who needed his aid. 
 Ver. 7. 
 
 III. The main subject of the epis- 
 tle — the desire that he would receive 
 his servant Oncsimus again, and the 
 arguments to persuade him to do it. 
 Vs. &-21. 
 
 (1.) He places it on the ground 
 ■jf cnlreattj, not of command. He 
 miffht, in virtue of his apostolic of- 
 fice, enjoin many things on him, and 
 possibly this, yet he chooses to place 
 It wholly on other grounds, and to 
 
 make it a matter of personal friend- 
 ship. V^cr. 8. 
 
 (2.) Particular reasons why he 
 should do it : — 
 
 (a) For love's sake — love to Paul 
 — now an old man, and in pri- 
 son on account of their common 
 religion. Ver. 9. 
 
 (6) Paul regarded Onesimrs as 
 his own son, and asked that he 
 might be received and treated 
 as such. Ver. 10. 
 
 (c) He assures Philemon that, 
 whatever he might have been 
 formerly, he would now find 
 him to be profitable to himself. 
 Ver. 11. 
 
 (</) He assures him that Onesimus 
 was especially dear to him, and 
 that he would have been very 
 useful to him in his circimi- 
 stances, but that he did not 
 think it proper to retain him 
 with him without the consent 
 of Philemon. Onesimus, there- 
 fore, was not sent back as a 
 worthless vagabond, and Phile- 
 mon, in receiving him, might 
 be sure that he was receiving 
 one who Paid believed was fit- 
 ted to be eminently useful. Vs. 
 12— M. 
 
 (e) He suggests to Philemon that 
 probably It was so arranged by 
 divine Providence, that Onesi- 
 mus should deprt in order that 
 he might rccyive him again in 
 a far more tender and eiuicaring 
 relation, not as a servant, but aa 
 a Christian brother. Vg. lOs 18. 
 
836 
 
 >AUL, a 
 
 Christ, 
 
 prisoner " of Jesus 
 and Timothy our 
 
 a Ep. 3. ]. 
 
 PHILEMON. [A. D. 64. 
 
 brother, unto Philemon our dearly 
 beloved, and fellow-labourer. * 
 2 And to our beloved Apphia, 
 
 b Pli. 2. 25. 
 
 (y) He appeals to the personal 
 friendsliip of Philemon, and 
 asks that if he regarded him as 
 a participator with him in the 
 hopes of the gospel, or as a fel- 
 low-labourer in a common cause, 
 he would receive him as he 
 would himself. Ver. 17. 
 5^) He says that he would him- 
 self become security for Onesi- 
 mus if he owed Philemon any- 
 thing, or had in any way wrong- 
 ed him. Vs. 18, 19. 
 (A) He concludes the argument 
 by referring to the happiness 
 which it would give him if Phi- 
 lemon would receive his former 
 servant again; and with the 
 expression of his conviction that 
 he iVGuld do more than he asked 
 in the matter, and then asks 
 that, while he showed favour to 
 Onesimus, he would also pre- 
 pare a lodging for him, for he 
 hoped soon to be with him. Vs. 
 20 — 22. Perhaps by this last 
 suggestion he hoped also to do 
 Tiuch to favour the cause of 
 Onesimus — for Philemon could 
 ^ardly turn him away when he 
 ixpected that Paul himself 
 •vould soon be with him. Such 
 dn argument would be likely 
 to be effectual in the case. 
 We do not like to deny the 
 request which a friend makes 
 in a letter, if we expect soon 
 to see the writer iiimself It 
 would be much more easy to 
 do it if we had no expectations 
 of seeing him very soon. 
 iV. The epistle closes with affec- 
 tionate salutations from certain per- 
 sons who were with Paul, and who 
 were probably well known to Phile- 
 mon, and with the customary bene- 
 diction Vs. 23—25. 
 
 1. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus 
 Christ. A prisoner at Rome in the 
 cause of Jesus Christ. Notes, Eph. 
 iii. 1. 2 Tim. i. 8. IT And Timo- 
 thy our brother. Timothy, it seems, 
 had come to him agreeably to his 
 request. 2 Tim. iv. 9. Paul not 
 unfrequently joins his name with his 
 own in his epistles. 2 Cor. i. 1. Phil, 
 i. 1. Col. i. 1. 1 Thess. i. 1. 2 
 Thess. i. 1. As Timothy was of that 
 region of country, and as he had ac- 
 companied Paul in his travels, he 
 was doubtless acquainted with Phi- 
 lemon. 11 Unto Philemon our dear- 
 ly beloved, and fellow-labourer. See 
 Intro. § 1. The word rendered fel- 
 low-labourer {avvipyog), does not de- 
 termine what office he held, if he 
 held any, or in what respects he was 
 a fellow-labourer with Paul. It 
 means a co-worker, or helper, and 
 doubtless here means that he was a 
 helper or fellow-worker in the great 
 cause to which Paul had devoted his 
 life, but whether as a preacher, or 
 deacon, or a private Christian, can- 
 not be ascertained. It is commonly, 
 in the New Testament, applied to 
 ministers of the gospel, though by 
 no means exclusively, and in several 
 instances it cannot be determined 
 whether it denotes ministers of the 
 gospel, or. those who furthered the 
 cause of religion, and co-operated 
 with the apostle in some other way 
 than preaching. See the following 
 places, which are the only ones 
 where it occurs in the New Testa- 
 ment. Rom. xvi. .3. 9. 21. 1 Cor. 
 iii. 9. 2 Cor. i. 24; viii. 23. Phil, 
 ii. 25; iv. 3. Col. iv. 11. 1 Thess. 
 iii. 2. Philem. i. 24. 3 John 8. 
 
 2. And to our beloved Apphia. 
 This was a female (Gr. aryaHrjtn), 
 and was probably the wife of Phile- 
 mon. ^ And Archippus our fellovh 
 
A. D. 64.] 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 337 
 
 and Archippus • our fellow-sol- 
 dier, and to the church * in thy 
 house : 
 
 3 Grace ' to you, and peace, 
 trom God our t'ather and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 a Co. 4. 17. 
 c Ep. 1. 2. 
 
 6 Ro. IC. 5. 
 
 soldier. See Notes, CoL iv. 17. It 
 has been supposed that he was a son 
 of Philemon, and this would appear 
 not to be improbable, as he was one 
 of his family. On the term ' fellow- 
 poldier,' see Note*-, Phil. ii. 2.5. It 
 is applied here to one who was a 
 minister of the pospel, and who is 
 spoken of in connection with Paul 
 as enlisted under the banners of the 
 Captain of salvation, and waging' a 
 warfare with the wickedness of the 
 world. Com p. Notes, 2 Tim. ii. 3, 
 4. That Archippus was a minister 
 of the gospel, is clear from Col. iv. 
 17. ^ And to the church in thy 
 hoxLse. Either the church that com- 
 monly met in his house, or more pro- 
 bably *hat was composed of his own 
 family. Corap. Notes, Rom. xvi. 5. 
 
 3. Grace to yoiu, and ptace, «Scc. 
 See Notes on Rom. i. 7. 
 
 4. / thank my God. That is, for 
 what I hear of you. ^ Making men- 
 tion of thee always in my prayers. 
 See a similar declaration respecting 
 
 •the church at Ephesus, Eph. i. l(i. 
 It would appear from this that Paul, 
 in his private devotions, was in the 
 habit of mentioning churches and 
 individuals by name. It would seem, 
 also, that though he was a prisoner, 
 yet he somehow found opportunity 
 for secret devotion. And it would ap- 
 pear further, that, though encompass- 
 ed with many cares and sor^jws, 
 and about to be put on trial for his 
 life, he did not forget to remember a 
 christian brother though far distant 
 from him, and to bear him on his 
 heart before the throne of grace. 
 To remember with atfcctionate con- 
 cern these churches and individuals, 
 20 
 
 4 I thank * my God making 
 mention of thee always in my 
 prayers, 
 
 5 Hearing of thy love and 
 faith, which thou hast toward the 
 Lord Jesus, and toward all saints ; 
 
 That • tlic communication of 
 
 rfEp. 1. IG. ePh. 1. 911. 
 
 as ho did, Paul must have been a 
 man of much prayer. 
 
 5. Hearing of thy love and faith. 
 Either by Onesimus, who, after his 
 conversion, would be disposed to state 
 all that he knew tliat was favoura- 
 ble of Philemon, or hearing it by 
 some other persons who had come 
 from Colosse to Rome. The faith 
 which is mentioned here refers to 
 the Lord Jesus; the love, to the 
 saints. The order in the Greek is 
 indeed the same as in our version, 
 but it is not unusual by synthesis, or 
 uniting two or more things together, 
 to arrange words in that manner. 
 Thus Matt. xii. 22, "The blind and 
 dumb both spake and saw ;" that is, 
 the blind saw, and the dumb spake. 
 The meaning is, that ho had strong 
 faith in the Lord Jesus, and ardent 
 love towards all who were Chris- 
 tians. See a similar declaration in 
 Col. i. 4. 
 
 6. That the communication of thy 
 faith. That is, tliis was a subject 
 of prayer on the part of tlie apos- 
 tle, that the 'communication of hia 
 faith' might receive trom all the pro- 
 per acknowledgment of tlie good 
 which he did in the christian cause. 
 The phrase translated 'communica- 
 tion of thy faitii,' means the making 
 of tliy faith common to others ; tliat 
 is, enabling others to partake of the 
 fruits of it, to wit, by good deeda 
 On the meaning of the word here 
 rendcrctl 'commrmication' (xotHonto, 
 koinoniay, see Notes on Eph. iii. 9. 
 Comp. Phil. ii. 1; iii. 1(». Calvin 
 has well expressed the sense of tliia 
 passage. • It is to be observed that 
 the apostle here docs not proceed 'n 
 
3:}8 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 ihy faith may become effectual " 
 by the acknowledging of every 
 * good thing which is in you in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 7 For we have great joy and 
 
 a Ja. 2. 14, 17. 
 
 b Pli. 4. 8. 2 Pe. 1. 5-8. 
 
 the commendation of Philemon, but 
 rather expresses what he desires for 
 him from the Lord. These words 
 are connected with those in which 
 he says that he remembered him in 
 his prayers. What, therefore, did 
 he desire for Philemon? That his 
 faith expressing itself by good fruits, 
 might be shown to be true and not 
 vain. For he calls that the commu- 
 nication of his faith when it does not 
 remain inoperative within, but bears 
 itself forth to benefit men by its pro- 
 per effects. For although faith has 
 its proper seat in the heart, yet it 
 communicates itself to men by good 
 works.' The meaning is, that he 
 desired that Philemon would so make 
 common the proper fruits of faith by 
 his good deeds towards others, that 
 all might acknowledge it to be gen- 
 uine and efficacious. IT Ma:/ become 
 effectual. Gr., ' May be energetic' 
 (fVepy/j?) ; may become operative, ac- 
 tive, effective. IT By the acknow- 
 ledging. That is, so as to secure 
 from others the proper recognition 
 of the existence of faith in your 
 lieart. In otlier words, so that others 
 may see that you are truly pious, 
 and understand to what extent you 
 have faith. IF Of every good thing 
 which is in you. Of every good 
 principle, and of every benevolent 
 trait, which is in your character. 
 That is, the proper outward expres- 
 sion of his faith in Clirist, by doing 
 good to others, would be a develop- 
 ment of the benevolence which ex- 
 isted in his heart. II Ja Christ Je- 
 sus. Or ' towards (ui) Christ Jesus.' 
 The goodness in his heart had re- 
 Bpecilo the Lord Jesus as its proper 
 cb'ect, but would be made manifest 
 
 consolation in thy love, because 
 the bowels of the saints are re- 
 freshed ' by thee, brother. 
 
 8 Wherefore, though ''I might 
 be much bold in Christ to enjoin 
 thee that which is convenient, 
 
 e 2 Co. 7. 13. 2 Ti. I. IG. d 1 Til. 2. 6. 
 
 by his kindness to men. The trulli 
 which is taught in this passage 
 therefore, is, that when faith exists 
 in the heart, it is very desirable that 
 it should impart its proper fruits to- 
 wards others in such a way that all 
 may see that it is operative, and may 
 recognize its power; or in other 
 words, it is desirable that when true 
 religion exists it should be fairly de- 
 veloped, that its possessor may be 
 acknowledged to be under its influ- 
 ence. We should wish that he may 
 have all the credit and honour Wii.ch 
 the goodness of his heart is entitled 
 to. Paul supposed that a case had 
 now occurred in which an oppor- 
 tunity ivas furnished to Philemon 
 to show the world how much he 
 was governed by the faith of the 
 gospel. 
 
 7. For we have great joy and 
 consolation in thy love. In thy love 
 towards Christians. The word here 
 rendered joy (xdpiv), properly means 
 grace. A large number of manu- 
 scripts, however, instead of this word, 
 have ;);apav, Charan, joy. See Wet- 
 stein. This reading has been adopt- 
 ed by Griesbach, Tittman, and Hahn. 
 IF Because the bowels of the saints 
 are refreshed by thee, brother. For 
 your kindness to them. The word 
 bowels here probably means minds, 
 hearts, for it is used in the Scriptures 
 to denote the affections. The sense 
 is, that the kindness which he had 
 shown to Christians had done much 
 to make them happy. On the word 
 refreshed, see 2 Cor. vii. 13. 2 Tim, 
 i/l6. 
 
 8. Wherefore, though I might be 
 much bold in Christ. Though 1 
 might have much boldness as an apos- 
 
A, D. W.l 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 CWO 
 
 9 Yet for love's sake I rallier 
 bcseecli thee, being such aa one 
 
 tie of Christ. He means tliat lie was 
 invested wiili niithority by the Lord 
 Jesii.s ami would have a ri<,'lit, as an 
 apostle, to enjoin what ought to be 
 done in the case which he is about 
 to lay bctbre him. Con)p. 1 Thesd. 
 ii. (J, 7. ^f To enjoin thcc thtit which 
 is convenient. To command what 
 is proper to be done. The word con- 
 venient liere (to di^xov), means that 
 which would be tit or proper in the 
 case. Comp. Notes, Eph. v. 4. The 
 apostle implies here that wliat he 
 was about to ask, was proper to be 
 done in the circumstmces, but he 
 does not put it on that ground, but 
 rather asks it as a personal favour. 
 It is usually not best to command a 
 thing to be done it' we can as well 
 secure it by askins^ it aa a favour. 
 Comp. Dan. I 8. 11, 12. 
 
 9. Yet for love's sake. For the 
 love which you bear me, and for the 
 common cause. ^ / rather beseech 
 tliee. Rather than command thee. 
 % Being such an one as Paul the 
 ai^ed. ftpioSirrj — an old man. We 
 have no means of ascertaining the 
 exact age of Paul at this time, and 
 I do not recollect that he ever alludes 
 to his age, though he often does to 
 his infirmities, in any place except 
 here. Doddridge supposes that at 
 the time when Stephen was stoned, 
 when he is called "a young man" 
 (ytai-^w;. Acts vii. 5S), he was twen- 
 ty-four years of age, in which case 
 he would now have been about fifty- 
 three. Chrysostom supposes that he 
 may have been thirty-five years old 
 at the time of his conversion, which 
 would have made him about sixty- 
 three at this time. The difficulty 
 of determining witli any degree of 
 accuracy the age of the apostle at 
 this time, arises from the indefinite 
 nature of the word used by Luko, 
 Acid vii. ;>8, and rendered a tjunuir 
 man. That word, like the corrcs- 
 
 ns Paul llic aged, and now also a 
 prisoner of Jesus Christ ; 
 
 ponding word iwwt'nxoj, neani.shos, 
 was !ipplicd to men in the vigour of 
 manhood up to the age of forty years. 
 Robinson, Lex. Phavorinus says a 
 man is called ifoutaxoj, nraniakus. a 
 young man, till he is twenty-eight; 
 and nitci^ivrrx, presbytcs, from forty- 
 nine till he IS hrty-si.v. Varro sjiys 
 that a man is young (juveni.s), till 
 he is forty-five, and aged at si.xty. 
 Whitby. These periods of time, 
 however, are very indefinite, but it 
 will accord well with tlie usual 
 meaning of the words to suppose 
 that Paul was in the neighbourhood 
 of thirty when he was converted, 
 and that he was now not far from 
 sixty. \\'c are to remember also, 
 that the constitution of Paul may 
 have been much broken by his la- 
 bours, his perils, and his trials. Not 
 advanced probably to the usual limit 
 of human life, he may have had all 
 the characteristics of a very aged 
 man. Comp. tliC Note of Unison. 
 Tiie argument here is, that we feel 
 that it is proi)er, as far as we can, to 
 grant the rcrpiest of an old man. 
 Paul thus felt tiiat it was reasonable 
 to supjx)se that Philemon would not 
 refuse to gratify the wishes of an 
 agf.'d servant of Christ, who had 
 spent the vigour of his life in the 
 service of their common Master. It 
 should be a very strong case when 
 we refuse to gratify the wishes of 
 an aged Christian in anytijing, e.- pe- 
 cially if he has rendered inijwrtant 
 services to the church and the world. 
 •y And now also a prisoner of Jesus 
 Christ. In the cause of Jesus Christ ; 
 or a prisoner for endeavouring to 
 make him known to the world. 
 Comp. Notes on Eph. iii. 1 ; iv. 1 ; 
 vi. L'i). Col. iv. 10. The argument 
 liere is, that it might be presumed 
 lliat Philemon would not n-fuse the 
 1 :;(pn>t of one who was suffering in 
 prison on account of tlieir comraoD 
 
340 
 
 PHIl^MON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 10 I beasech thee for my son 
 Onesimus, " whom I have begot- 
 ten * in my bonds : 
 
 a Co. 4. 9. 6 1 Co. 4. 15. 
 
 religion. For such a prisoner we 
 should be ready to do all that we can 
 to mitigate the sorrows of his con- 
 finement, and to make his condition 
 comfortable. 
 
 10. / beseech thee for my son 
 Onesimus. That is, my son in the 
 gospel ; one to whom I sustain the 
 relation of a spiritual father. Comp. 
 Notes on 1 Tim. i. 2. The address 
 and tact of Paul here are worthy of 
 particular observation. Any other 
 mode of bringing the case before the 
 mind of Philemon miglit have re- 
 pelled him. If he had simply said, 
 'I beseech thee for Onesimus f or, 
 ' I beseech thee for thy servant One- 
 simus,' he would at once have re- 
 verted to his former conduct, and 
 remembered all his ingratitude and 
 disobedience. But the phrase ^my 
 son,'' makes the way easy for the 
 mention of his name, for he had al- 
 ready found the way to his heart be- 
 fore his eye lighted on his name, by 
 the mention of the relation which 
 he sustained to himself. Who could 
 refuse to such a man as Paul — a la- 
 borious servant of Christ — an aged 
 man, exhausted with his many suf- 
 ferings and toils — and a prisoner — a 
 request which he made for one whom 
 he regarded as his son ? It may be 
 added, that the delicate address of 
 the apostle in introducing the sub- 
 ject, is better seen in the original 
 than in our translation. In the ori- 
 ginal, the name Onesimus is reserv- 
 ed to come in last in the sentence. 
 The order of the Greek is this : ' I 
 entreat thee concerning a son of 
 mine, whom I have begotten in my 
 bonds — Onesimus.' Here the name 
 is not suggested, until he had men- 
 tioned that he sustained to him the 
 relation of a son, and also till he had 
 added that his conversion was the 
 
 11 Which ' in time past was 
 to thee unprofitable, but now pro- 
 fitable to thee and to me : 
 
 clPe.2.10. 
 
 fruit of his labours while he was a 
 prisoner. Then, when the name 
 of Onesimus is mentioned, it would 
 occur to Philemon not primarily as 
 the name of an ungrateful and dis- 
 obedient servant, but as the interest- 
 ing case of one converted by the 
 labours of his own friend in prison 
 Was there ever more delicacy 
 evinced in preparing the way for dis- 
 arming one of prejudice, and carry- 
 ing an appeal to his heart? If Whom 
 I have begotten in my bonds. Who 
 has been converted by my efforts 
 while I have been a prisoner. On 
 the phrase ' whom I ha.ve begotten,' 
 see 1 Cor. iv. 15. Nothing is said 
 of the way in which he had become 
 acquainted with Onesimus, or why 
 he had put himself under the teach- 
 ing of Paul. See the Intro. § 2. (3.) 
 11. Which in time past was to 
 thee unprofitable. Either because 
 he was indolent; because he had 
 wronged him (comp. Notes on ver. 
 18), or because he had run away 
 from him. It is possible that there 
 may be an allusion here to the mean- 
 ing of the name Onesimus, which 
 denotes profitable (from dvivriij,^, fut. 
 dvrjaca, to be useful, to be profitable, 
 to help), and that Paul means to say 
 that he had hitherto not well an- 
 swered to the meaning of his own 
 name, but that now he would be 
 found to do so. If But now profita- 
 ble to thee. The Greek here is sv- 
 Xptjatov, euchreston, but the mean- 
 ing is about the same as that of the 
 word Onesimus. It denotes very 
 useful. In 2 Tim. ii. 21, it is ren- 
 dered meet for use ; in 2 Tim. iv. 
 11, and here, profitable. It does not 
 elsewhere occur in the New Testa- 
 ment. ^ And to me. Paul had 
 doubtless found him useful to him aa 
 a christian brother in his bonds, and 
 
K. 1). M.] 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 341 
 
 VZ Whom I have sent again 
 
 it is easy to conceive that, in his cir- 
 cumstances, he would greatly de- 
 sire to retain him with him. 
 
 12. IV/iom / ^rtie stjtt again. 
 That is, to Philemon. Tliis was, 
 doubtless, at his own request, for 
 (1.) there is not the slightest evi- 
 dence that he compelled him, or 
 even urged him to go. The lan- 
 guage is just such as would have 
 been used on the supposition either 
 that he requested him to go and 
 bear a letter to Colossc, or that 
 Onesimus desired to go, and tliat 
 Paul sent him agreeably to his re- 
 quest Comp. Phil. ii. 2b. " Yet I 
 suppose it necessary to send to you 
 Epaphroditus my brother, and com- 
 panion in labour," &.c. Col. iv. 7, 
 8. "All my slate shall Tychicus 
 declare unto you, who is a beloved 
 brother, and a faithful minister and 
 fellow-servant in the Lord : whom I 
 have sent unto you for tlie same pur- 
 pose, tliat he might know your es- 
 tate," &-C. But Epaphroditus and 
 Tychicus were not sent against their 
 own will — nor is there any more 
 reason to think that Onesimus was. 
 See Intro. } 2. (4.) (2.) Paul had 
 no power to send Onesimus back to 
 his master unless he chose to go. 
 lie had no civil authority; he had 
 no guard to accompany him ; he 
 could entrust him to no sheriff to 
 convey him from place to place, and 
 he had no means of controlling him, 
 if he chose to go to any other place 
 than Colosse. He could indeed have 
 sent iiim away from himself; he 
 could have told him to go to Colosse, 
 but there his power ended. Onesi- 
 mus thon could have gone where he 
 pleased. But there is no evidence 
 tliat I'aul even told him to go to 
 CoKxssc ngamst his own inclination, 
 or tliat he would have sent him 
 away at all unless he had hims<^lf 
 requested it. (3.") Tliere may have 
 39» 
 
 thou therefore receive him, that 
 is, mine own bowels ; 
 
 been many reasons why Onesirr.ja 
 desired to return to Colosse, and no 
 one can prove that he did not ex- 
 press that desire to Paul, and tlial 
 his 'sending' him was not in conse- 
 quence of such a request. He may 
 have had friends and relatives there; 
 or, being now converted, he may 
 I have been sensible that he had 
 I wronged his former master, and that 
 I he ought to return and repair the 
 wrong ; or he may have been poor, 
 and a stranger in Rome, and may 
 have been greatly disappointed in 
 what he had expected to find there 
 when he left Philemon, and may 
 have desired to return to tiie com- 
 parative comforts of his former 
 condition. (4.) It may be add- 
 ed, therefore, (a) that this ptissage 
 should not be adduced U) prove 
 that we ought to send back run- 
 away slaves to their former mas- 
 ters against their own consent; or 
 to justify the laws which require 
 magistrates to do it; or to show tha. 
 they who have escaped should be 
 arrested and forcibly detained ; or 
 to justify any sort of influence over 
 a runaway slave to induce him to 
 return to his former master. Tiiere 
 is not the least evidence that any 
 of these things occurred in the case 
 before us, and if this instance is 
 ever appealed to, it should bo to 
 justify what Find did — and no- 
 THiNo ELSE. {!/) The passage shows 
 that it is right to aid a .ser ant of 
 ' any kind to return to his mastrt" if he 
 desires it. It is right to give h'm a 
 ' letter,' and lo plead earnestly for 
 his favourable reception if he lias in 
 anyway wronged his master — for 
 Paul did this. On the same princi- 
 ple it would be right to give iiini 
 [)t'cuniary assistance to enable him 
 to return — for there may he cases 
 wliore one who has fled from servi- 
 tude might wish to return. Ther« 
 
842 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 13 Whom I would have re- 
 tained with me, that » in thy 
 stead he might have ministered 
 
 a a Co. IG. n. Ph. 2. 30. 
 
 may be instances where one has had 
 a kind master, with whom he would 
 feel that on tlie whole he could be 
 more happy than in his present 
 circumstances. Such cases, how- 
 ever, are exceedingly rare. Or 
 there may be instances where one 
 may have relatives that are in the 
 nsiglibourhood or in the family of 
 his former master, and the desire to 
 be with them may be so strong that 
 on the whole he would choose to be a 
 servant as he was before, rather than 
 to remain as he is now. In all such 
 cases it is right to render aid — for 
 the example of the apostle Paul 
 goes to sustain this. But it goes no 
 further. So far as appears, he nei- 
 ther advised Onesirnus to return, nor 
 did he compel him ; nor did he say 
 one word to injluence him to do it ; 
 — nor did he mean or expect that 
 he would be a slave when he should 
 have been received again by his 
 master. See Notes on ver. 16. 
 IT Thou, therefore, receive him, that 
 is, mine own bowels. There is 
 great delicacy also in this expres- 
 sion. If he had merely said 're- 
 ceive him,'' Philemon might have 
 thought only of him as he formerly 
 was. Paul, therefore, adds, ' that is, 
 mine own bowds'' — "one whom I so 
 tenderly love that he seems to carry 
 my heart with him wherever he 
 goes.' Doddridge. 
 
 13. Whom I would have retained 
 with me, that in thy stead. ' That 
 he might . render me the service 
 which I know you would if you 
 were here.' The Greek is, 'for 
 thee' {iiftifi aov); that is, what he 
 should do tor Paul might be regard- 
 ed as done by Philemon himself 
 If He might have ininislered unto 
 ?ne. He might have rendered me 
 assistance (Svaxov^); to wit, in such 
 
 unto me in the bonds of the gos- 
 pel : 
 
 14 But without thy mind would 
 
 a way as one who was in bonds 
 would need. 
 
 14. But without thy mind ivould 
 I do nothing. Nothing in the mat- 
 ter referred to. He would not re- 
 tain Onesimus in his service, much 
 as he needed his assistance, without 
 the cordial consent of Philemon. 
 He would not give him occasion for 
 hard feeling or complaint, as if Faul 
 had induced him to leave his master, 
 ■or as if he persuaded him to remain 
 with him when he wished to return 
 — or as if he kept him away from 
 him when he owed him or had 
 wronged him. All that is said here 
 is entirely consistent with the sup- 
 position that Onesimus was disposed 
 to return to his master, and with the 
 supposition that Paul did not compel 
 or urge him to do it. For it is 
 probable that if Onesimus had pro- 
 posed to return, it would have been 
 easy for Paul to have retained hira 
 with him. He might have repre 
 sented his own want of a friend. 
 He might have appealed to his gra- 
 titude on account of his efforts for 
 his conversion. He might have 
 shown him that he was under no 
 moral obligation to go back. He 
 might have refused to give him this 
 letter, and miglit have so repre- 
 sented to him the dangers of the 
 way, and tlie probability of a harsh 
 reception, as effectually to have dis- 
 suaded him from such a purpose. 
 But, in that case, it is clear that this 
 might have caused hard feeling in 
 the bosom of Philemon, and rather 
 than do that he preferred to let him 
 return to his master, and to plead for 
 him that he might have a kind re- 
 ception. It is, therefore, by no 
 means necessary to suppose that 
 Paul felt that Onesimus was under 
 obligation to return, or that he waa 
 
A. I) 04.] 
 
 piiiij:mon. 
 
 343 
 
 I do notliing ; tliat tliy benefit | 15 For*perhaj)s lie ihcnTore 
 should not bo as it were of no- departed for a season, tliat Uiou 
 cossily, but willingly." sliouldost receive him for ever; 
 
 a 2 Co. <t. 7. b Ge. iS. 5-8. 
 
 ^ That thy bcvcjit. The favour 
 which I might receive from thee by 
 haviiifj the ticrvices of Oiiesiniu.s. If 
 Oncsiiiuis should rcmiiin with him 
 and as.sist him, he would feci that 
 the benefit which would be conferred 
 by his services would be in fact be- 
 stowed by I'll demon, fur he had a 
 right to the service of Onesimus, 
 and, while Paul enjoyed it, he would 
 be deprived of it. The word ren- 
 dered bfuffit here — cL^a^i' — means 
 ^ooil, and the sense is, 'the ffood 
 which you would do me;' to wit, by 
 the service of Onesimus. ^ Should 
 not be as it were of necessity. Aa 
 it would be if Paul should detain 
 Onesimus with him without atlbrd- 
 ing Philemon an opportunity of ex- 
 pressing his assent. Paul would 
 even then have felt tliat he was in 
 fact receiving a 'good' at the ex- 
 pense of Philemon, but it would not 
 be a voluntary favour on his part. 
 ^ But williiiirty. As it would be if 
 he had given his consent that Onesi- 
 mus should remain with him. 
 
 10. For perhaps he therefore de- 
 parted for a senso7i. Perhaps on 
 this account, or for this reason — 6m 
 rovro — he let\ you tor a little time. 
 Greek, 'lor an hour' — :t,oi tlipoK. 
 The meaning is, that it v,;is possible 
 that this was permitted in liic Pro- 
 vidence of CuA in order that Onesi- 
 mus might be brought under the in- 
 fluence of the gospel, and be far more 
 serviceable to Philemon as a Chris- 
 tian, than he could have lieen in his 
 former relation to him. What ap- 
 pcaro<l to I'hili-mon, therclore, to be 
 a calamity, and what seomed to him 
 to be wrong on the jwrt of Onesi- 
 mus, might have l>een permitted to 
 occur in order that ho might receive 
 a higher iKmefit. Such thiuirs are 
 not uncommon iu human oflTaira. 
 
 disposetl to compel him, or that 
 Onesimus was not inclined to re- 
 turn voluntarily; but all the circum- 
 stances of the case are met by the 
 supposition that, if Paul retained 
 him, Philemon might conceive that 
 he had injured him. Suppose, as 
 seems to iiave been the case, that 
 Onesimus 'owed' Philemon (ver. 
 \^), and then suppose that Paul had 
 clit>sen to reUiin him with himself, 
 and had dissuaded iiim from return- 
 ing to him, would not Philemon 
 have had reason to complain of iti 
 There was, therefore, on every ac- 
 count, great propriety in his saying 
 that he did not wish to use any in- 
 fluence over him to retain him with 
 him when he purposed to return to 
 Colosse, and tliat he felt that it 
 would be wrong for him to keep 
 him, much as he needed him, with- 
 out the consent of PhUemon. Nor 
 is it necessary, by what is said here, 
 to suppose that Onesimus was a 
 slave, and that Paul believed that 
 Piidemon had a right to him and to 
 his services as such. All that he 
 says here would be met by the 
 supposition that he was a hired 
 servant, and would be in fact equal- 
 ly proper even on the supjiosition 
 tliat he was an apprentice. In ei- 
 ther case, he would feel that he 
 gave just ground of complaint on 
 the part of Philemon it; when One- 
 simus desired to return, he used 
 any inflr.ence to dissuade him from 
 it, and to retain him with himself. 
 It would have been a violation of the 
 rule rofiuirinif us to do to others as 
 we would wish them to do unto us, 
 and Paul therefore fult unwilling, 
 much as he needed the services of 
 Onesimus, to make use of any in- 
 fluence to retiin him with him with- 
 out the consent of bis master. — 
 
344 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 16 Not now as a servant, but 
 above a servant, a brother " be- 
 loved, specially to me, but how 
 
 o Mat. 23. 8. 1 Ti. 6. 2. 
 
 IT That thou shouldest receive him 
 for ever. That is, in the higher 
 relation of a christian friend and 
 brother ; that he might be united to 
 thee in eternal affection; that he 
 might not only be with thee in a far 
 more endearing relation during the 
 present life than he was before, but 
 in the bonds of love in a world that 
 shall never end. 
 
 16. Not now as a servant. The 
 adverb rendered ^nct now'' (ovxi-tt), 
 means ?io more, no further, no long- 
 er. It implies that he had been be- 
 fore in this condition, but was not to 
 be now. Comp. Matt. xix. 6, " They 
 are 7io more twain." They were 
 once so, but they are not to be re- 
 garded as such now. Matt. xxii. 
 46, "Neither durst any man from 
 that day forth, ask him any more 
 questions." They once did it, but 
 now they did not dare to do it. Luke 
 XV. 19, " And am no more worthy to 
 be called thy son," though I once 
 was. John vi. 66, " And walked 7io 
 more with him," though they once 
 did. See also John xi. 54 ; xiv. 19 ; 
 xvii. 11. Acts vih. 39. Gal. iv. 7. 
 Eph. ii. 19. This passage then 
 proves that he had been before a ser- 
 vant — SodTloj — doulos. But still, it 
 is not certain what kind of a servant 
 he was. The word does not neces- 
 sarily mean slave, nor can it be 
 proved from this passage, or from 
 any other part of the epistle, that 
 he was at any time a slave. See 
 Notes on Eph. vi. 5, and 1 Tim. vi. 
 1. The word denotes servant of any 
 kind, and it should never be assumed 
 that tliose to whom it was applied 
 were slaves. It is true that slavery 
 existed in the heathen nations when 
 the gospel was first preached, and it 
 is doubtless true that many slaves 
 were converted (comp. Notes on 1 
 
 much more unto the i, both in the 
 flesh, '' and in the Lord ? 
 
 b Co. 3. 22. 
 
 Cor. vii. 21), but the mere use of the 
 word does not necessarily prove tliat 
 he to whom it is applied was a slave. 
 If Onesimus was a slave, there is 
 reason to think that he was of a most 
 respectable character (comp. Notes 
 on Col. iv. 9), and indeed all that is 
 implied in the use of the term here, 
 and all that is said of him, wcuM be 
 met by the supposition that he was 
 a voluntary servant, and that he had 
 been in fact intrusted with import 
 ant business by Philemon. It would 
 seem from ver. 18 (" or oweth thee 
 ought"), that he was in a condition 
 which made it possible for him to 
 hold property, or at least to be in- 
 trusted. IT But above a servant, a 
 brother beloved. A christian bro- 
 ther. Comp. Notes, 1 Tim. vi. 2. 
 He was especially dear to Paul him- 
 self as a Christian, and he trusted 
 that he would be so to Philemon. 
 ^ Specially to me. That is, I feel a 
 special or particular interest in him, 
 and affection for him. This he felt 
 not only on account of the traits of 
 character which he had evinced 
 since his conversion, but because he 
 had been converted under his instru- 
 mentality when he was a prisoner. 
 A convert made in such circum- 
 stances would be particularly dear 
 to one. IT But how much more unto 
 thee. Why, it may be asked, would 
 he then be particularly dear to Phi- 
 lemon'? I answer, because (1.) of 
 the former relation which he sus- 
 tained to him — a member of his own 
 family, and bound to him by strong 
 ties; (2.) because he would receive 
 him as a penitent, and would have 
 joy in liis returning from the error 
 of his ways ; (3.) because he might 
 expect him to remain long with him 
 and be of advantage to him as a 
 christian brother; and (4.) because 
 
^. D. 64.J 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 34'> 
 
 ne had voluntarily returned, and 
 tlius sliown tliat ho folt a strong nt- 
 tacluncnt to his former master, f /« 
 the J!ish. This plvrnse is properly 
 used in reference to any relation 
 which may ctist pertaining to the 
 present world, as contradistinjruishcd 
 from that which is formed primarily 
 by relig-ion, and which would be 
 c.v pressed by the subjoined plira.se, 
 "in the Lord." It might, in itself, 
 refer to any natural relation of 
 blood, or to any formed in business, 
 or to any constituted by mere friend- 
 Bhip, or to Ihmily alliance, or to any 
 relation having' its origin in volun- 
 tary or involuntary servitude. It is 
 not necessary to suppose, in order to 
 meet the full force of the expression, 
 either tliat Onesimus had been a 
 slave, or that he would continue to 
 be regarded as such. Whatever re- 
 lation of the kind, referred to above, 
 may have existed between him and 
 Philemon, would be appropriately 
 denoted by this phrase. The new 
 and more interesting relation which 
 they were now to sustain to each 
 other, which was formed by religion, 
 is expressed by the phrase ' in the 
 Lord.' In both these, Paul hoped 
 that Onesimus would manifest the 
 appropriate spirit of a Christian, and 
 be worthy of his entire confidence. 
 •r In the Lord. Asa Christian. He 
 will be greatly endeared to your 
 heart as a consistent and worthy fol- 
 lower of the Lord Jesus. — On tliis 
 important verso then, in relation to 
 the use which is so otlen made of 
 this epistle by the advocates of slave- 
 ry, to show that Paul sanctioned it, 
 and that it is a duty to send back 
 those who have escaj)ed from their 
 masters that they may again be held 
 in bondage, we may remark, (1.) 
 there is no certain evidence that 
 Onesimus was ever a slave at all. 
 All the proof that he was, is to be 
 found in the wonl {(k-Xoj — doulos — 
 in this verse. But, as we iiavc seen, 
 the mern use of tliis word bv no 
 
 means proves tliat AH that is ne- 
 ce.s.«arily implied by it is that he was 
 in Some way the servant of i'hilemon 
 — whether hired or bought cannot 
 be shown. (2.) At all events, even 
 supposing that he had been a slave, 
 Paul did not mean that lie should 
 return as such, or to be regarded as 
 such. He meant, whatever may 
 have been his former relation, and 
 whatever subsequent relation he may 
 have sustained, that he should be re- 
 garded as a beloved christian bro- 
 ther; that the leading conception in 
 regard to him should be that he was 
 a ll'llow-heir of salvation, a mcmbei 
 of the same redeemed church, a can- 
 didate for the same heaven. (3.) 
 Paul did not send him back in ordet 
 that he might be a slave, or with a 
 view that the shackles of servitude 
 should be riveted on him. There ia 
 not the slightest evidence tliat he 
 forced him to return, or that he ad- 
 vised him to do it, or even that he 
 expressed a wish that he would; 
 and when he did send him, it was 
 not as a slave, but as a beloved bro- 
 ther in the Lord. It cannot be shown 
 that the motive for sending him back 
 was in the slightest degree that he 
 should be a slave. No such tiling 
 is intimated, nor is any such thing 
 necessary to be supposed in order to 
 a fair interpretation of the passage. 
 (4.) It is clear that, even if Onesi- 
 mus had been a slave before, it would 
 have been contrary to the wishes of 
 Paul that Philemon should now hold 
 him as such. Paul wished him to 
 regard him 'not as a servant,' but 
 as a ' beloved brother.' If Philemon 
 complied with his wishes, Onesimus 
 was never afterwards regarded or 
 treated as a slave. If he did so re- 
 gard or treat him, it was contrary to 
 the expressed intention of the a\x»- 
 tie, and it is certain that he could 
 never have shown thi.s letter in jus- 
 tification of it. It cannot fiiil to 
 strike any one that if Philemon fol- 
 lowed the snirit of t)ii>4 enisllo \m 
 
346 PHILEMON. [A. D. 64 
 
 17 If thou count me therefore a partner, " receive him as myself. 
 
 a 2 Co. 8. 23. 
 
 would not consider Onesimus to be 
 a slave, but if he sustained the rela- 
 tion of a servant at all, it would be 
 as a voluntary member of his house- 
 hold, where, in all respects, he would 
 be reg'arded and treated, not as a 
 'chattel,' or a ' thing,' but as a chris- 
 tian brother. (5.) This passage, 
 therefore, may be regarded as full 
 proof that it is not right to send a 
 slave back, against his will, to his 
 former master, to he a slave. It is 
 right to help one if he wishes to go 
 back ; to give him a letter to his 
 master, as Paul did to Onesimus; 
 to furnish him money to help him on 
 his journey if he desires to return; 
 and to commend him as a christian 
 brother, if he is such ; but beyond 
 that, the example of the apostle Paul 
 does not go. It is perfectly clear 
 that he would ??o< have sent him 
 back to be regarded and treated as 
 a slave, but being able to commend 
 him as a Christian, he was willing 
 to do it, and he expected that he 
 would be treated, not as a slave, but 
 as a Christian. The case before us 
 does not go at all to prove that Paul 
 would have ever sent him back to 
 be a chattel or a thing. If, with his 
 own consent, and by his own wish, 
 we can send a slave back to his mas- 
 ter to be treated as a Christian and 
 as a man, the example of Paul may 
 show that it would be right to do it, 
 but it does not go beyond that. (6.) 
 Jn confirmation of this, and as a 
 guide in duty now, it may be ob- 
 served, that Paul had been educated 
 as a Hebrew ; that he was thorough- 
 ly imbued with the doctrines of the 
 Old Testament, and that one of the 
 elementary principles of that sys- 
 tem of religion was, that a runaway 
 slave was in no circumstances to be 
 returned by force to his former mas- 
 ter. " Thou shalt not deliver unto 
 iwt master the servant that is escap- 
 
 ed from his master unto theey Deut. 
 xxiii. 15. It cannot be supposed that, 
 trained as he was in the principles 
 of the Hebrew religion — of which 
 this was a positive and unrepealed 
 law, and imbued with the benevo- 
 lent spirit of the gospel — a system 
 so hostile to oppression, the apostle 
 Paul would have constrained a slave 
 who had escaped from bondage to 
 return to servitude against his will. 
 (7.) It may be added, that if the 
 principles here acted on by Paul 
 were carried out, slavery would 
 speedily cease in the world. Very 
 soon would it come to an end if 
 masters were to regard those whom 
 they hold, ' not as slaves,' but as be- 
 loved christian brothers; not as 
 chattels and things, but as the re- 
 deemed children of God. Thus re- 
 garding them, they would no longer 
 feel that they might chain them, 
 and task them, and sell them as pro- 
 perty. They would feel that as 
 Christians and as men, they were on 
 a level with themselves, and that 
 they who were made in the image 
 of God, and who had been redeemed 
 with the blood of his Son, ought to 
 
 be FREE. 
 
 17. If thou count me therefore a 
 partner. The word rendered part- 
 ner {xoivixivoi), means a partaker, a 
 companion. The idea in the word 
 is that of having something in coin- 
 mon (xou'oj) with any one — as com- 
 mon principles; common attach- 
 ments ; a common interest in an en- 
 terprise ; common hopes. It may 
 be applied to those who hold the 
 same principles of religion, and who 
 have the same hope of heaven, the 
 same vievv's of things, &c. Here 
 the meaning is, that if Philemon re- 
 garded Paul as sharing with iiim in 
 the principles and hopes of religion, 
 or as a brother in the gospel so that 
 he would receive him, he ought to 
 
A. 1>. 64.] 
 
 I'HILEiMON. 
 
 3^17 
 
 18 If he hath wronged thee, 
 
 or oweth thee ought, put that on 
 mine account ; 
 
 receive Onesimus in the same way. 
 He was actiiated by tlie same prin- 
 ciples, an-i liail the same lioj)e!:, and 
 had a claim to be rcceivetl as a chris- 
 tian brother. His receivinjj Onesi- 
 mus would be interpreted by Paul 
 as proof that he refjarded liiin as a 
 partaker of the hopes of the {rosnel, 
 and as a companion and friend. For 
 a plea in bclialf of another, strongly 
 resembliuij this, see Horace, Epis. 
 Lib. 1, Ep. 9. 
 
 l"^. If he hath wronged ihce. 
 Eitlier by escaping from yon, or by 
 failing to perform what he had nfrrecd 
 to, or by unfaithfulness when he was 
 with you as a servant, or by taking 
 your property when he went away. 
 Any of tJiese methods would meet 
 all tliat is said here, and it is impos- 
 sible to determine in which of them 
 he had done Philemon wrong. It 
 may be observed, however, that the 
 ajxistle evmces much delicacy in this 
 matter He does not say that he 
 hud wronged Inm, but he makes a 
 supposition that he might liave done 
 it Doubtless Philemon would sup- 
 pose that he had done it, even if he 
 had done no more than to escape 
 from him, and, whatever Paul's 
 views of that might be, he says that 
 even if it were so, he would wish 
 him to set that over to liis account 
 He took the blame on himself, and 
 asked Philemon not to remember it 
 against Onesimus. «I Or owrth thee 
 ought. It appears from this, that 
 Onesimus, whatever may have been 
 his former condition, was capable of 
 holding property, and of contracting 
 debts. It is possible that he might 
 have borrowed money of Philemon, 
 or he may have been regarded as a 
 tenant, and may not have paid the 
 rent of his form, or the apostle may 
 mean that he had owed him service 
 which he had not perfonned. Con- 
 jecture is useless as to the way in 
 
 which the debt had been conlracttnl. 
 H put that on mine account. Keck- 
 on, or impute that to me — i^oi iXXoy«. 
 This word occurs nowhere else in 
 the New Testament, except in Uoin. 
 V. 13, where it is rendered imputed. 
 See Notes on that passage. It 
 means to reckon; to put to one's 
 account, to wit, what properly be- 
 longs to him, or what he assumes. 
 It never implies that that is to be 
 charged on one which does not pro- 
 perly belong to him, either as his 
 own act, or as that which he has as- 
 sumed. In this case, it would have 
 been manifestly unjust for Philemon 
 to charge the wrong which Onesi- 
 mus had done, or what he ov.cd him, 
 to the apostle Paul without his con- 
 sent ; and it cannot be inferred from 
 what Paul says here that it would 
 have been right to do so. The .rteps 
 in the case were these: (1.) Onesi- 
 mus, not Paul, had done the wrong. 
 (2.) Paul was not guilty of it, or 
 blameworthy for it, and never in 
 any way, or by any process, could 
 be made to be, or conceived to be. 
 It would be true for ever that One- 
 simus and not he had done the wrong 
 (3.) Paul assumed tlie debt and the 
 wrong to himself He was willing, 
 by putting himself in tlie place of 
 Onesimus, to bear the consequences, 
 and to have Onesimus treated as if 
 he had not done it When he had 
 voluntarily assumed it, it was right 
 to treat him as if he had done so; 
 that is, to hold him responsible. 
 A man may assume a debt if he 
 pleases, and then he may be held 
 answenible for it. (4.) If fie )iad 
 not assumed this himself, it never 
 could have l)cen right for Philemon 
 to charge it on him. No possible 
 supposition could make it right No 
 agency which he had in the conver- 
 sion of Onesimus; no friendship 
 which he h id tor him ; no favour 
 
348 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 LA. D. 64 
 
 19 I Paul have written it with 
 mine own hand, I will repay it: 
 albeit I do not say to thee how 
 
 which he had shown him, could 
 make it right. The consent, the 
 concurrence on the part of Paul was 
 absolutely necessary in order that 
 he should be in any way responsible 
 for what Onesimus had done. (.5.) 
 The same principle prevails in im- 
 putation everywhere, (a) What we 
 have done is chargeable upon us. 
 (6) If we have not done a thing, or 
 have not assumed it by a voluntary 
 act, it is not right to charge it upon 
 us. (o) God reckons, things as they 
 are. The Saviour voluntarily as- 
 sumed the place of man, and God 
 reckoned, or considered it so. He 
 did not hold him guilty or blame- 
 worthy in the case ; but as he had 
 voluntarily taken the place of' the 
 sinner, he was treated as if he had 
 been a sinner, God, in like manner, 
 does not charge on man crimes of 
 which he is not guilty. He does 
 not hold him to be blameworthy, or 
 ill-deserving for the sin of Adam, or 
 any other sin but his own. He reck- 
 ons things as they are. Adam sin- 
 ned, and he alone was held to be 
 blameworthy or ill-deserving for the 
 act. By a divine constitution (comp. 
 Notes, Rom. v. 12, seq.), he had ap- 
 pomted that if he sinned, the conse- 
 quences or results should pass over 
 and terminate on his posterity — as 
 the consequences of the sin of the 
 drunkard pass over and terminate on 
 his sons, and God reckons this to be 
 so — and treats the race accordingly. 
 He never reckons those to be guilty 
 who are not guilty ; or those to be 
 ill-deserving who are not ill-deserv- 
 ing ; nor does he punish one for what 
 another has done. When Paul, 
 therefore, voluntarily assumed a debt 
 or an obligation, what he did should 
 not be urged as an argument to prove 
 that it would be right for God to 
 charge on all the posterity of Adam 
 
 thou owest unto me even thine 
 own self besides. 
 
 20 Yea, brother, let me have 
 
 the sin of their first father, or to hold 
 them guilty for an offence commit- 
 ted ages before they had an exist 
 ence. The case should be adduced 
 to- demonstrate one point only — that 
 when a man assumes a debt, or vol- 
 untarily takes a wrong done upon 
 himself, it is right to hold him re- 
 sponsible for it. 
 
 19. / Faul have written it with 
 mine own hand. It has been infer- 
 red from this, that Paul wrote this 
 entire epistle with his own hand, 
 though this was contrary to his usual 
 practice. Comp. Notes on Rom. xvi. 
 22. 1 Cor. xvi. 21. Gal. vi. 11. He 
 undoubtedly meant to refer to this 
 as a mark of special favour towards 
 Philemon, and as furnishing security 
 that he would certainly be bound for 
 what he had promised. '{[Twill re- 
 pay it. I will be security for it. It 
 is not probable that Paul supposed 
 that Philemon would rigidly exact 
 it from him, but if he did, he would 
 feel himself bound to pay it. IT Al- 
 beit I do not say to thee how thou 
 owest unto me thine own self besides. 
 Paul had doubtless been the means 
 of the conversion of Philemon, and 
 whatever hope he cherished of eter- 
 nal life, was to be traced to his in- 
 strumentality. Paul says that this 
 was equivalent to his owing himself 
 to him. His very life — his eternal 
 welfare — was to be traced to his la- 
 bours. What he asked now of him 
 was a small matter compared with 
 this, and he seems to have supposed 
 — what was probably true — that for 
 this consideration, Philemon would 
 not think of exacting of him what 
 he had voluntarily obligated hiirself 
 to obey. 
 
 20. Yea, brother, let me have joy 
 of thee in the Lord. • By showing 
 me this favour in receiving my friend 
 and brother as I request.' The 
 
A. D. 04.] 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 .119 
 
 joy of thee in the Lord : refresh • 
 my bowels in the Lord. 
 
 -Zl Having confidence * in thy 
 obedience 1 wrote nnto thee, 
 knowing that thou wilt also do 
 more tlian I say. 
 
 a vcr. 7. J 2 Co. 7. 10. 
 
 phrase, ' in the Lord,' here seems to 
 mean that, if this ret]nest was grant- 
 ed, he would recognise the liand of 
 Uie Lord in it, and would receive it 
 ns a favour from him. 1[ Ri fresh 
 my bowels in the Lord. The bow- 
 els, in the Scriptures, are unitbrmly 
 spoken of as the seat of the aflcc- 
 tions — meaning commonly tlie upper 
 viscera, embracing the heart and tiie 
 lungs. Comp. Notes on Isa. xvi. IL 
 The reason is, that in any deep emo- 
 tion this part of our frame is pecu- 
 liarly alTected, or we feel it there. 
 Comp. Robinson's Lex. on the word 
 ortXayloj'. See lliis illustrated at 
 lengtli in Sir Charles Bell's ' Ana- 
 tomy of E.xpression,' p. 85, seq. Ed. 
 London, 1S.14. The idea here is, 
 that Paul had such a tender affec- 
 tion for Onesimus as to give him 
 great concern and uneasiness. The 
 word rendered 'refresh' — MurtaDaov 
 — means to give rest to, to give re- 
 pose, to free from sorrow (tr care ; 
 and the sense is, that by receiving 
 Onesimus, Philemon would cause 
 the deep and anxious feelings of 
 I'aul to cease, and he would be calm 
 and happy. Comp. Notes on ver. 7. 
 "■il. Having conjidtnce in thy ohe- 
 (Hence. Tiiat you would comply 
 witli all my expressed desires, "i 1 
 wrote unto thee. ' I have written to 
 you ;' to wit, in tJiis epistle. ^ A'nou>- 
 ing that thoii wilt also do more than 
 I say. In all the respects which he 
 had mentioned — in receiving Onesi- 
 mus, and in his kind treatment of 
 liim. He had asked a great favour 
 of him, but he knew that he would 
 go even beyond wliat he had asked. 
 
 22 But withal prepare me also 
 a lodging: fori 'trust that through 
 ''your prayers I shall be given 
 unto you. 
 
 2;} There salute thee Epa- 
 phras, ' my fellow-prisoner in 
 Christ Jesus ; 
 
 ePh. 2. S4. rf2Co. 1. 11. « Col. 1. 7. 
 
 22. But withal. Or, at the same 
 time — "Af4a. While you are grant- 
 ing this favour, do me also another 
 by prejMiring a lodging for me. 
 11 Prepare me also a lodging. Phi- 
 lemon had been accustomed to show 
 kindness to the saints (ver. -5), and 
 not improbably Paul had before 
 shared his hospitality. The word 
 rendered lodging (sni'a), means, 
 properly, giiesl-right, hospitality, 
 entertainment ; and then, a place 
 for a guest. Comp. Acts xxviii. 
 23. 1i For I trust. Paul had some 
 hope of being released — an event 
 which probably occurred. See Notes 
 on Phil. i. 23; ii. 23, 24. Comp. 
 Intro, to 2 Timothy. ^ Through 
 your prayers. Notes, 2 Cor. i. 11. 
 He expected release in answer to 
 the petitions of those who loved him, 
 and the cause in wHich he was en- 
 gaged. Comp. Notes on Acts xii. 
 5. ^ / shall be given u7ilo you. I 
 shall be penniltcd to return to you, 
 as a favour — ;^oftJ>r'5oucu. Paul had 
 no doubt that Philemon would so 
 regard it, and he had no api)rehen- 
 sion that his abiding with him would 
 be considered as a burden. 
 
 'Si. Thirc salute thee Epaphras. 
 The same persons who are here 
 mentioned as greeting Philemon, 
 are mentioned in the clo^c of the 
 epistle to the Colossians — furnishing 
 a high degree of evidence that Phi- 
 lemon resided at Cc^losse. Epaphras 
 was a member of the church llicre. 
 Notes on Col. iv. 12. T[ Myf H""^ 
 prisoner in Christ Jesus. In the 
 cause of Christ. Notes, ver. 1. The 
 circumstance of hi.'' being a prisoner 
 
350 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 24 Marcus, • Aristarchus, * De- 
 mas, •= Lucas, my fellow-labour- 
 ers. 
 
 25 The "^ grace of our Lord 
 
 a Ac. 12. 12, 25. b Ac. 19. 20. 
 c 2 Ti. 4. 11. d 2 Ti. 4. 22. 
 
 is not mentioned in the parallel place 
 in tlie epistle to the Colossians, but 
 nothing- is more probable. 
 
 24. Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, 
 and Lucas. See Notes on the Epis- 
 tle to the Colossians, iv. 10. 14. 
 
 25. The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, &c. Notes, 2 Tim. iv. 22. 
 
 The subscription to the epistle is 
 of no authority, but in this case is 
 undoubtedly correct. Compare the 
 Remarks at the close of 1 Corin- 
 thians, and Titus. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Having now passed through with 
 the exposition of this epistle, it may 
 be proper to copy, for comparison 
 with it, one of the most beautiful 
 specimens of epistolary composition 
 to be found in profane literature, an 
 epistle of Pliny, written on a simi- 
 lar occasion, and having a strong 
 resemblance to this. As a matter 
 of taste, it is of importance to show 
 that the sacred writers do not fall 
 behind the most favourable speci- 
 mens of literary composition to be 
 found in uninspired writings. The 
 epistle of Pliny was directed to his_ 
 friend Sabinianus, in behalf of his 
 manumitted slave who had offended 
 him, and who was consequently cast 
 out of his favour. It is in the fol- 
 lowing words : — 
 
 C. Plinius Sabiniano, S. 
 Libertus tuus, cui succensere te 
 dixeras, venit ad me advolutusque 
 pedibus meis, tanquam tuis, Iicesit. 
 Flevit multum, multum rogavit, 
 multiim etiam tacuit: in summa, 
 fecit mihi fidem penitentiee. Vere 
 credo emendatum, quia deliquisse 
 senti?: Irasceris sciu; et irasceris 
 
 Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 
 Amen. 
 
 Written from Rome to Phile* 
 mon, by Onesimus a servant. 
 
 merito, id quoque scio: sed tunc 
 prEecipua mansuetudinis laus, cum 
 iraj causa justissima est. Amasti 
 hominem; et spero amabis: interum 
 sufficit ut exorari te sinas. Licebit 
 rursiis irasci, si meruerit : quod 
 exoratus excusatiiis facies. 
 
 Remitte aliquid adolescentise ip- 
 sius ; remitte lachrymis ; remitte 
 indulgentisB tuee ; ne torseris ilium, 
 ne torseris etiam te. Torqueris enim 
 ciim tam lenis irasceris. Vereor, ne 
 videar non rogare, sed cogere, si 
 precibus ejus meas junxero. Jungam 
 tamen tanto pleniiis et effusiiis, 
 quanto ipsum acriiis severiusque 
 corripui, deslricte minatus, nun- 
 quam me postea rogaturum. Hoc 
 illi, quem terreri oportebat ; tibi non 
 idem. Nam fortasse iteriim rogabo, 
 impetrabo iteriim : sit mode tale, ut 
 rogare me, ut praestare te deceat. 
 Vale. Epistolar. Lib. ix. Ep. 21. 
 
 'Caius Pliny to Sabinianus, health . 
 
 ' Thy freed man, with whom thou 
 didst say thou wert incensed, came 
 to me, and having thrown himself 
 at my feet, grasped them as if they 
 had been thine. He wept much ; 
 plead much ; and yet pleaded more 
 by his silence. In short, he fully con- 
 vinced me that he was a penitent. 
 I do sincerely believe that he is re- 
 formed, because he perceives that 
 he has done wrong. I know that 
 thou art incensed against him ; and 
 I know also that thou art justly so; 
 but then clemency has its chief 
 praise when there is the greatest 
 cause for anger. Thou hast loved 
 the man ; and I hope that thou wilt 
 love him again. In the meantime 
 it may suffice that thou dost Buffer 
 
A. D. 04. 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 851 
 
 thyself to bo cntrcnted for him. It 
 will be ri<r|it fur thee ii<pxm to be 
 otll'iided if he deserves it; because, 
 haviii<; ullowcd thyself to be en- 
 treated, yoii will do it with greater 
 propriety. 
 
 • Forgive something for his youth ; 
 forgive on account of his tears; for- 
 give on account of thine own kind- 
 ness : do not torment him ; do not 
 torment thyself — for thou wilt be 
 tormented when thou, who art of so 
 gentle a disposition, dost sufler thy- 
 self to be angry. I lear, if I should 
 unite my prayers to his, that I should 
 soeni not to ask, but to compel. Vet 
 I will write them, and tiie more 
 largely and earnestly, too, as I have 
 sharply and severely reproved him ; 
 solemnly threatening him, should he 
 ofll'nd agjiin, never more to intercede 
 tor him. This I said to him, because 
 it was necessary to alarm him ; but 
 1 will not say the same to thee. For 
 perl)ai)S I may again entreat thee, 
 and again obtain, if now that shall 
 be done which it is tit that 1 should 
 ask a.iu\ you concede. Farewell.' 
 
 Those who compare these two 
 epistles, much as they may admire 
 tiial of Pliny as a literary composi- 
 tion, and as adapted to secure the 
 end which he had in view, will coin- 
 cide with the remark of Doddridge, 
 that it is much inferior to the letter 
 of Paul. Thert is less courtesy — 
 though there is mucii ; there is less 
 that Ls touching and tender — though 
 tiiere is much tbrce in the pleading; 
 and there is much less that is aflect- 
 ing in the manner of the ap|)cal than 
 in the cpi^tle of the apjstle. 
 
 The epistle to Philemon, though 
 the shortest that Paul wrote, and 
 though p«'rtaining to a private mat- 
 ter m whicii the church at larpe 
 coulfl not he expected to have anv 
 direct interest, is nevertheless a most 
 interesting portion of the New Tes- 
 tament, and furnishes some invalua- 
 ble lessons lor the ciiurch. i 
 
 I. It is a malel of courtosy. Il 
 shows that the ajMistle was a man of 
 relined sensibility, and had a deli- 
 cate perception of what was due in 
 friendship, and what was retpiired 
 by true jwliienc^s. There are turns 
 of thought in this epistle which no 
 one would emi)l<iy nho was nut tho- 
 roughly under the inHuenco of true 
 courtesy of feeling, and who had not 
 an exquisite sense of what was pro- 
 per in intercourse with a Christian 
 gentleman. 
 
 II. The epistle shows that he had 
 great tact in argument, and great 
 skill in selecting just sucii things as 
 would be adapted to secure the end 
 in view. It would be hardly possi- 
 ble to accumulate, e\en in a letter 
 of fiction, more circumstances which 
 would be fitted to accomplish the 
 object which he contemplated, than 
 he has introduced into this siiort let- 
 ter, or to arrange them in a way 
 better fitted to secure the desired 
 result. If we remember the state 
 of mind in whicli it is reasonable to 
 supiKJse Philemon was in regard to 
 this runaway servant, and the little 
 probability tliat a man in his circum- 
 stances would receive him with kind- 
 ness again, it is impossible not to 
 admire the address with which Paul 
 approaches him. It is not difficult 
 to imagine in what state of mind 
 Philemon may have been, or the ob- 
 stacles which it was necessary to 
 surmount in order to induce him to 
 receive Onesimus again — (duI espe- 
 ciuUij In receive /inn as a Clinslian 
 brother. It", as has been commonly 
 supposed, Onesimus had been a 
 slave; if he had run away from 
 him; if he had been formerly in- 
 tractable and disobetlicnt ; if he had 
 wroniTod him by taking property 
 with him that did not belong to him, 
 or if he had owed hiin, and had run 
 off without paying him, it is not 
 ditTicuIt for any one to imagine how 
 great was the difficulty to l)c over- 
 come in his mind before the olycct 
 
852 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64 
 
 of Paul could be accomplished. 
 This will be felt to be especially so 
 if we bear in remembrance the 
 lepugnance necessarily felt by a 
 slaveholder to receive one who 
 has been a slave as an equal in 
 any respect, or to regard and treat 
 such an one as a Christian brother 
 on the same level with himself. Or 
 if we suppose that Onesimus had 
 been a voluntary servant in the em- 
 ploy of Philemon, and had failed to 
 render the service which he had 
 contracted to perform, or had em- 
 bezzled property, or had gone off in 
 debt, greatly irritating the mind of 
 his master, the difficulty to be over- 
 come before he received him again 
 would be little less. In either case, 
 it would be necessary to soothe his 
 irritated feelings, and to inspire con- 
 fidence in one who hitherto had 
 evinced little claim to it, and to per- 
 suade him now to receive one who 
 had shown that he was not to be 
 trusted, as a Christian brother. If 
 the epistle be examined with refer- 
 ence to either of these suppositions, 
 it will be found to be composed with 
 the most finished tact and art. 
 
 III. This epistle has been fre- 
 quently appealed to by the friends 
 and advocates of slavery as furnish- 
 ing a support or apology for that 
 institution. Indeed, it would seem to 
 be regarded by the advocates of that 
 system as so clear on the point, that 
 all that they need to do is to name 
 it as settlii'g the whole matter in 
 debate. The points which it is sup- 
 posed by the advocates of that sys- 
 tem to prove are two: first, that 
 slavery is right — since it is assumed 
 that Onesimus was a slave, and that 
 Paul does not intimate to Pliilemon 
 that the relation was contrary to the 
 spirit of Christianity; and second, 
 that it is our duty to send back a 
 runaway slave to his master — since 
 it is assumed that Paul did this in 
 the case of Onesimus. — Tt cannot be 
 denied that this view of the matter 
 
 would be sustained by most of the 
 commentaries on the epistle, bii it 
 is time to enquire whether such an 
 exposition is the true one, and whe- 
 ther this epistle really gives counte- 
 nance to slavery in respect to these 
 points. In order to this, it is im- 
 portant to know exactly what was 
 the state of the case in reference to 
 these points — for in interpreting the 
 New Testament it should not be as- 
 sumed that anything is in favour of 
 slavery, nor should anything be ad- 
 mitted to be in favour of it without 
 applying the most rigid principles 
 of interpretation — any more than in 
 the case of profaneness, adultery, 
 or any other sin. As the result of 
 the examination of the epistle, we 
 are now prepared to enquire what 
 countenance the epistle gives to 
 slavery in these respects, and whe- 
 ther it can be fairly appealed to 
 either in justification of the system, 
 or in showing that it is a duty to re- 
 turn a runaway slave against his 
 consent to his former master. To 
 make out these points from the epis- 
 tle, it would be necessary to demon- 
 strate that Onesimus was certainly a 
 slave ; that Paul so treats the subject 
 as to show that he approved of the 
 institution ; that he sent back Onesi- 
 mus against his own will ; that he 
 returned him because he supposed 
 he had done wrong by escaping from 
 servitude; and that "he meant that 
 he should continue to be regarded 
 as a slave, and held as a slave, a;; -r 
 his return to Philemon. Now, in 
 regard to these points, I would make 
 the following remarks in view of the 
 exposition which has been given of 
 the epistle : — 
 
 (1.) There is no positive evidence 
 that Onesimus v^^as a slave at all. 
 See Notes on ver. 16. Even if it 
 should be admitted to be probable 
 that lie was, it would be necessary, 
 in order that this epistle should be 
 adduced in favour of slavery, that 
 that fact should be made out without 
 
\. 1). (>1.J 
 
 I'lllLEiMOxN. 
 
 3r»3 
 
 any ground of doubt, or the nrgu- 
 niciit isi worthless. It is clear that 
 the epi-stle, under any circumstances, 
 can be adduced in favour of slavery 
 only so ftiras it is certain that One- 
 einius was a slave. But that is 710/ 
 certain. It cannot be made to he 
 certain. It .'^hould not he taken tor 
 granted. Kitherof the supiX)sitions 
 tlial he was bound to service till lie 
 was of age by a parent or guardian, 
 or that he had voluntarily bound him- 
 self to service lor wages, will meet 
 all that is necessarilij implied in the 
 epistle. 
 
 (2.) There is not the least evi- 
 dence that Paul used any force or 
 even persuasion to induce him to re- 
 turn to his master. It cannot be 
 proved from the epistle that he even 
 ailvised him to return. It is certain 
 tliat lie did not compel him to do it — 
 for Paul had no power to do this, and 
 no guard or civil officer accompanied 
 Onesimus to secure him if he had 
 chosen to escape. Every one of the 
 circumstances mentioned in the epis- 
 tle wil' be met by the supposition 
 that Onesimus desired to return, but 
 that there were circumstances which 
 made him apprehensive that if he 
 did, he would not be kindly receiv- 
 ed, and that, at his request, Paul 
 wrote the epistle to induce Philemon 
 to receive him kindly. Nothing 
 more can be proved ; nothing more 
 is necessary to be believed, in order 
 to a fair interpretation of the epistle. 
 Nothinfr is more natural than the 
 supposition that when Onesimus was 
 truly converted, he would desire to 
 return to Philemon if he had in any 
 way done him wrong. But to make 
 it proper to adduce this epistle to 
 show that it is a duty to return a 
 rmaway slave to ins master, even 
 on tlie supposition that Onesimus 
 was a slave, it is necessary to provi 
 either tliat Paul advised him to r<'- 
 turn, or tliat he cnmprlled him t«> 
 do it against his will. No one 
 doubts that it would be right to help 
 30* 
 
 one who had escaped from slavery, 
 if, on any proper accuunt, he should 
 wish to go back to his fiiriner mas- 
 ter: if he felt that he had wronged 
 him, or if ho had a wife and child- 
 ren in the ncighbourhoo<l, or if ho 
 was satisfied that he could be more 
 happy in his service than he could 
 be elsewhere. To this point, and 
 this only, this epistle goes. 
 
 (3.) There is no evidence that 
 Paul meant that Onesimus should 
 return as a slave, or with a view to 
 be retained and treated as a slave. 
 Even supposing he had been so for- 
 merly, there is not the slightest inti- 
 mation in the epistle that when he 
 sent him back to his master, he 
 meant that he should throw himself 
 into the chains of bondage again. 
 Nor is there the slightest evidence 
 that if he had supiMDscd that this 
 would be the result, he would have 
 even consented that he should return 
 to his master. No man can take 
 this epistle and prove from it that 
 Paul would have sent him at all, if 
 he had supposed that the elFect would 
 be that he would be reduced to slave- 
 ry, and held in bondage. If such 
 had been his c.vpecUition, ho would 
 never have written such a letter as 
 this. The expression of such a de- 
 sire would have found a place in the 
 epistle ; or, at least, the epistle would 
 not have been so framed as almost 
 of necessity to lead to a difierent re- 
 sult. 
 
 (4.) There is very satisfactory evi 
 dence, besides thi.s that ho did not 
 mean that Onesimus should be re- 
 garded and treated by Philemon as. 
 a slave. It would be imposible for 
 Philemon to comply with the wishes 
 breathed forth in this letter, and 
 meet exactly the desires of Paul in 
 the case, and yet retain him as a 
 slave, or regard him as property — as 
 a 'chattel' — as a 'thing.' For (a) 
 if he h;id heoii formerly a slave; if 
 this is the fair meaning of the word 
 hw/Kai — doulos — then tliis is exprea*- 
 
854 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 [A. D. 64. 
 
 ly declared. Thus, in ver. 16, he is 
 commanded to receive him ' not now 
 as a servant' — ovxiti us bov%ov. If 
 he had been a slave before, he did 
 not wish that he should be received 
 as such now, or regarded as such 
 any longer. How could Philemon 
 comply with the wish of the apostle, 
 and yet regard Onesimus as a slave ] 
 The very attempt to do it would be 
 directly in the face of the expressed 
 desire of Paul, and every moment 
 he held him as such he would be 
 disregarding his wishes. (6) He 
 desired him to receive and treat him, 
 in all respects, as a christian brother 
 — as one redeemed — as a man: — 
 ' Ahoce a servant, a brother beloved.' 
 How could he do this, and yet re- 
 gard and treat him as a slave 1 Is 
 it treating one as a christian brother 
 to hold huTi as property ; to deprive 
 him of freedom ; to consider him an 
 article of merchandise; to exact 
 his labour without compensation 7 
 Would the m.an himself who mr kes 
 anoliier a slave suppose that he was 
 treated as a christian brother, if lie 
 were reduced to that condition? 
 Would he feel that his son was so 
 regarded if he was made a slave ] 
 There are no ways of reconciling 
 these things. It is impossible for a 
 master to regard his slave as, in 
 the proper and full sense of tlie 
 phrase, ' a christian brother.^ He 
 may, indeed, esteem him highly as a 
 christian; he may treat him witli 
 kindness; he may show him many 
 favours; but — he regards him also 
 AS HIS STjAVE ; and this lact ma'kes 
 . a difference wide " as from the cen- 
 tre thrice to the utmost pole" in his 
 feelings towards him and other Chris- 
 tians. He is not on a level with 
 them as a Christian. The notion 
 of his being his slave mingles with 
 all his feelings towards him, and 
 gives a colouring to all his views of 
 him. He cannot but feel, if he hira- 
 Belf is under the influence of reli- 
 gion, that that slave, if he were 
 
 treated in all respects as a Christian, 
 would be as free as himself; would 
 liave a right to his time, and skill, 
 and liberty ; would be permitted to 
 form liis own plans, and to enjoy the 
 avails of his own labour ; and would 
 be secure from the possibility of be- 
 ing sold, (c) Suppose now that Paul, 
 after a short interval, had actually 
 come to the residence of Philemon, 
 as he expected to (ver. 22), and had 
 found him regarding and treating 
 Onesimus as a slave ; would he have 
 felt that Philemon had complied with 
 his wishes 1 Did he ask this of him 1 
 Did he not request just the contrary 1 
 Ver. 16, Would it not be natural 
 for him to say to him that he had 
 NOT received him as he wished him 
 to 1 And how would Philemon re- 
 ply to this? 
 
 (5.) The principles laid down in 
 this epistle would lead to the univer- 
 sal abolition of slavery. If all those 
 who are now slaves were to become 
 Christians, and their masters were 
 to treat them 'not as slaves, but as 
 brethren beloved,' the period would 
 not be far distant when slavery would 
 cease. 'This probably will be admit- 
 ted by all. But a state of things 
 which would be destroyed by the 
 widest prevalence of Christianity, 
 is not right at any time. Cliristian- 
 ity, in its highest influences, inter- 
 feres with nothing that is good, and 
 would annihilate nothing which is 
 not wrong. That which is true, and 
 best for the welfare of man, will 
 survive when the true religion 
 spreads all over the world ; and to 
 say, as is commonly admitted even 
 by the advocates of slavery, that 
 Christianity will ultimately destroy 
 the S3'stem, is to say that "it is now 
 wrong — for Christianity destroys no- 
 thing which is in itself right, and 
 which is desirable for the highest 
 good of man. It Vi'ill destro}" intem- 
 perance, and idolatry, and supersti- 
 tion, and war — because they are evil 
 and wrong — and only because they 
 
A. I). (51.] 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 .•155 
 
 nre so ; and for tlic same reason, and 
 that only, will it abolisii shivery. 
 When a nmn, theretoro, adniil-s that 
 tlio jjosp»'l will ulliniatcly de.slrny 
 slavery, he at the same lime admits 
 that it is now an ciil and a sin. The 
 gospel is adapted and designed to 
 put an end to the system. It did 
 annihilate it in the Roman empire, 
 and its tendency everywhere is to 
 Bcciire its final abolition. The sys- 
 tem^ therf fore, is evil. It is oppos- 
 ed to the spirit of religion. It is de- 
 structive of the welfare of society. 
 It is a violation of human riirht.'^. It 
 i>i contrary to tlic will of God. Tlie 
 
 pospel everywhere teaches ils to re- 
 •,'ard the slave ' no Ioniser as a slave, 
 but as a lirother;' and when tliis is 
 secured, the system nmst si^edily 
 come to an end. For this, and for 
 all its other anticipated inlluence.-J, 
 we should labour and pray that the 
 gospel may be dilTused as .s|)cedily 
 as possible all over the world ; that 
 it may raise man everywhere from 
 his degradation, and invest every 
 iiuman being with tiie dignity of a 
 freeman ; that it ' may undo the iiea 
 vy burden, break every yoke, and 
 bid the oppressed go free.' Isa. 
 Iviii. G. 
 
;- 
 
Vd 
 
 ouuOo 
 

 '' wmmmw 
 
 
 ■m'l^ 
 
 ^i^■p^^i'<il:sy!:;