206 I Cor. that he who glorieth, might glory in the Lord. are SECT. their boasted fierceness, to equal that meek fortitude with which we trace the footsteps of the Lamb of God: And ignoble things of the world 28 And base things 28 hath God chosen, and things most commonly of the world, and and scornfully set at nought among men; yea, despised, hath God things which and things which are not1 in the least regarded, chosen, yea, but overlooked as if they had no being, and things which are not, were below contempt itself, hath God chosen, to bring to nought that he may abolish and annihilate things that are in the highest esteem, and make the most illustrious figure among the children of men ; things that are ; and 29 That his great end of humbling us might be 29 That no flesh more effectually secured, and that no flesh might should glory in his boast of any advantages or distinctions in his presence. 30 presence. For on the whole, all we have that 30 But of him are unto us wisdom, and is worth mentioning, we receive from Christ; ye in Christ Jesus, and we receive it from him as the gift of God, who of God is made since it is of him, and his free mercy and grace, righteousness, and that ye are called to share in the blessings given sanctification, and by Christ Jesus his Son. He exhibits this redemption: blessed Saviour to us, and disposes our hearts to accept of him, who, amidst our ignorance and folly, is made of God unto us a source of wisdom; and through him, guilty as we are, we receive righteousness; polluted as we are, we obtain sanctification; and enslaved as we naturally are to the power of our lusts, and the dominion of Satan, we obtain by him complete 31 redemption.m So that we may now indeed 31 That, accordboast of our happy change, in whatever point ing as it is written, of light it be considered; but it is a boast not him glory in the He that glorieth, let of insolent presumption, but humble gratitude; Lord. as it is written, (Jer. ix. 23, 24; Isa. lxv. 16,) "He that boasteth, let him boast in the Lord, and in this, that he knoweth me who exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness on the earth." * Things set at nought.] Agreeable to this, the Danish missionaries tell us, that most of the Malabarian converts were the poorest of the people; the poets and wits, who valued themselves upon their genius, learning, and politeness, despising the gospel, and doing their utmost to oppose its progress. See Nieuchamp's excellent history of this important mission. Things which are not.] Dr. Whitby shews here, how well this represents the supreme contempt in which the Jews held the Gentiles. Compare Deut. xxxii. 21; Isa. xl. 17. Bos m Wisdom, righteousness, &c.] would render the words, for of him, (in Christ Jesus, who is made of God unto us wisdom,) ye are righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that is, completely justi. fied, sanctified, and redeemed. Reflections on the wisdom of God being despised by the world. 207 IMPROVEMENT. iii. MAY Divine grace form the taste of ministers, and their hear- SECT. ers, more to this doctrine of Christ crucified! May he every where be preached; and that be accounted the truest wisdom of words by which his cross may become most efficacious. There verse cannot be surely a more evident demonstration of folly, or a 17 more dreadful token of approaching ruin, than despising the wisdom of God, and the power of God. If we are ever shaken by 18 that contempt for the gospel, which so many are continually ready in our age to express, let us recollect what glorious effects it hath produced; whilst, in the midst of such illustrations of the wisdom of God, the world by all its wisdom knew not its Ma- 21 ker; how many believers have been saved, how many by believing are daily brought into the way of salvation? In this view let us triumphantly say, Where is the wise, the scribe, the disputer 20 of this world? what has wisdom, learning, disputation done, in comparison of what the plain and simple doctrine of a crucified Saviour has wrought, and is continually working? Let us earnestly pray, that God would, by the power of his grace, disperse the prejudices of men; that the Jews may not so demand a sign, 23 as that Christ crucified should be a stumbling block to them, nor the most learned of the Gentiles so seek after science, as that the 24 wisdom of God should seem foolishness to them; but that both may join in feeling, and owning, how Divinely wise, and how Divinely powerful, the dispensation of the gospel is. Let us not be offended with our calling, though so few of the 26 wise, the mighty, and the noble, partake of its benefits. If God 27 hath chosen the weak things, they shall confound the mighty; and the foolish, they shall shame the wise. Never shall we find ourselves truly happy, till we come to feel that we are naturally foolish and guilty, polluted and enslaved; and that our wisdom and righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, are in Christ, 30 who is made unto us of God all this, and indeed all in all. Then shall we know, and not till then, what true glory means, even when we can abase ourselves to the dust in his presence, and have learned only to glory in the Lord. 31 208 SECT. iv. He had preached in the demonstration of the Spirit SECT. IV. The apostle farther illustrates the reasons for which he had declined all ostentation of eloquence, when he came among the Corinthi ans; and particularly insists on the extraordinary nature of the facts and doctrines he was to teach; which were of a much higher original than any discoveries which human wit or learning could make, and were to be traced up to the immediate teachings of the Holy Spirit; their nature being so wonderful, that it was difficult for the corrupted minds of men to receive them, even when they were taught. 1 Cor. II. 1, to the end. I a 1 CORINTHIANS II. 1. God. 1 COR. II. 1. breth. HAVE observed that the design of God in AND, I, bre the gospel is of a very humbling nature, adcame to you, came 1 Cor. mirably calculated to stain the pride of human not with excellency ii. 1 glory, and bring men to boast in him alone. of speech, or of wis And with truth and pleasure, I can say to you, dom, declaring unto my brethren, that in perfect harmony with this you the testimony of wise and excellent scheme, when I first came among you, I came not with the pomp of language, or worldly wisdom, with the laboured charms of eloquence, or philosophy: for I remembered, that I was declaring to you no human invention, which needed or admitted such ornaments or recommendations, but was exhibiting the testimony of God to a plain fact, for which I produced authentic evidence by visible Divine operations. I therefore endeavoured to exhibit it in as intelligible a way as I could, and treated it as one who believed that it really came from God, and so needed not the var2 nishing of human art. For I was previously 2 For I determindetermined in my mind, that fond as I knew you ed not to know any were of refined speculation, and polite address, save Jesus Christ, thing among you, I would appear to know,b and employ myself to and him crucified. make known, nothing among you, but Jesus, as the Christ, the great promised Messiah of the Jews, even that crucified person,d against whom с The pomp of language.] This certainly word wax, is used by Pindar, (Olymp: alludes to the vain affectation of sublimity xiii) and it is most natural to give it that and subtilty so common among the Greeks signification here. of that age, and very remote from the true eloquence in which (as was observed above) our apostle did so remarkably excel. L'Enfant thinks, he refers to his not being perfectly master of the Greek language in all its purity and elegance with which the Corinthians spoke it; but I prefer the former sense, as more suitable to the original. Appear to know.] In that sense, the Among you.] There seems a peculiar emphasis in this expression; as if the apostle had said, I did not change my usual method at Corinth, and you know with what glorious success it was attended. d Even that crucified person: nas ratov saugausvov] The Jews and heathens prob ably gave Christ this name by way of con tempt; but St. Paul declares, that instead that their faith might depend on the power of God. 209 iv. 1 Cor. so many scandals are raised. Yet did I resolve SECT. steadily to maintain the doctrine of his cross, and endeavour to exalt its honours wherever I came, not excepting your opulent and polite ii. 2 3 And I was with city. And to this plan you know I resolutely 3 you in weakness, and adhered, though I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling: and in fear, and in much trembling; for I know I had enemies about me on every side, (Acts xviii. 6, 9,) and laboured under natural disadvantages, (2 Cor. x. 10,) and the force of the prejudice which I had to encounter was strong. 4 And my speech, And you well know, that my speech in private, 4 and my preaching and my preaching in public, [was] not in the pering words of man's suasive discourses of human wisdom, eloquence wisdom, but in dem. or philosophy, nor with that pomp and sophisonstration of the try of argument which the learned men of the Spirit, and of pow- world are so ready to affect. But far from be was not with entic er; e ing contemptible on that account, it had other much nobler recommendations; for it was in the demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, by the most convincing evidence, arising, both from the prophecies of the Old Testament inspired by the Holy Ghost, and from the miraculous energy which he hath exerted in and by the apostles, and other ministers of the New. 5 That your faith And on this I laid the whole stress; that your 5 should not stand in faith should not depend on the wisdom, reason, but in the power of or address of men; but on the power of God, a much surer foundation, which shews how little the wisdom of men, God. mong them that are yet not reason you have to value yourselves on any 6 Howbeit, we Nevertheless, though we want what is com- 6 speak wisdom a- monly called human wisdom, yet we speak the perfect : truest and most excellent wisdom among those the wisdom of this who are perfect, and if I may so express it, comworld, nor of the pletely initiated into these Divine mysteries; princes of this world, such well instructed and experienced souls will bear witness to its incomparable excellence. e of concealing this as an infamy and scan- and the Holy Spirit, as what he had taught dal, it was the main thing he insisted them, though not expressly included in upon; as indeed all the most important the doctrine of the crucifixion. doctrines of the gospel stand in a close and natural connection with it. And no doubt but he took them in that connection ; for he refers in the course of these epistles, to several doctrines relating to the Father, VOL. 4. 28 Persuasive discourses of human wisdom.] This seems to be the just rendering of the expression, πείθοις ανθρώπινης σοφιας λογοις, and so, I think, it is rendered by the celebrated Archbishop of Cambray. 210 He had preached the hidden wisdom of God; SECT. the age, whether Jews or Gentiles, who never that come to nought. iv. theless shall soon be brought down and abolish ed, shall find difficult and dreadful scenes arisii. 6 ing, in which all their boasted sagacity and 1 Cor. 7 penetration will be of no avail. But we, taught 7 But we speak of God to despise the transient vanities which the wisdom of God in a mystery, even delude them, speak what must be infinitely more the hidden wisdom, worthy your most attentive consideration and which God ordained regard; for it is the wisdom of God himself in a before the world up mystery that mysterious wisdom, which was to our glory long hidden and entirely unknown, and now appears to contain wonders which no understand. ing of man or angel can fully penetrate; even that wisdom which God from eternal ages& predetermined in the secret of his own all comprehending mind, for the great purposes of our final 8 salvation and glory.h A wisdom this, which none of the Jewish rulers of this our age, or of the rulers of this the heathen that were concerned in it, knew; had they known it, for if they had indeed known [it,] they would not they would not have by any means have presumed to have crucified crucified the Lord one so greatly their superior, as the Lord of glo- of glory. ry; wicked as they were, they would for their own sakes have been afraid to attack the Son of God, his long promised Messiah, had they been thoroughly apprized of his high character and 9 dignity. But [this is] as it is written,k (Isa. lxiv. f Politicians of the age, &c.] Mr. Locke insists upon it, as an observation of great importance, that ay 1 generally sig. nifies the Jewish economy; and supposes that the apostle here also aims a silent stroke at the Jewish teacher that set him self up in opposition to him, and refers to the approaching destruction of the Jews by the Romans. And Mr. L'Enfant agrees with this, only explaining it of the learned rabbies of their synagogues. But as the Jewish magistrates, or scribes were not the only princes in crucifying Christ, (compare Acts iv. 27,) and as the word asov, has sometimes undoubtedly a more extensive signification; (compare Rom. xii. 2; Gal. i. 4; Eph. ii. 2; chap. vi. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 10; Tit. ii. 12; and even in this epistle, chap. iii. 18, and the next chapter, iv. 4;) and as St. Paul's observation here may so well be applied to Gentile, as well as Jew. ish princes, I saw no reason for limiting the sense, which I never choose to do, without some apparent necessity. On the same principle, I have receded from Mr. Locke's interpretation of the next verse. 8 Which none of world knew: for 9 But as it is writ: 8 From eternal ages] To what I have just said of my reasons for not interpreting this of the time of setting up the Jewish economy, I must add, that it signifies little, to endeavour to bring such expressions down to any period of time. If it be granted, that they intend any thing previous to the existence of those to whom they refer, the same difficulties will still lie in the way; nor is it possible to avoid them. Our final salvation and glory.] L'Enfant explains this, of the glory of the apos tles, in being appointed to publish this revelation; but the sense we have given equally suits the phrase, and is much more sublime and important. Not by any means.] xx av, is an expression which seems to have this force. Compare Luke xxiii. 34. * As it is written, &c.] The context in Isa. Ixiv. may well be explained, to express the Church's earnest desire of the manifestation of the glories of the Messiah's kingdom; and I think it more probable, that this is a quotation of those words, with some little variation, than that it refers to a passage said |