right was founded still more directly on another precept of the law, which appointed thofe who performed facred offices, to eat from the temple, ver. 13.-Nay it was founded on the will of Chrift, who had exprefsly authorised those who preach the gospel, to live by the gospel, ver. 14.-But the apoftle being a freeman, who was at liberty to do in that matter as he pleased, he had made use of none of these precepts and rights; neither did he mention them on this occasion, to induce the Corinthians to give him maintenance. For he would rather die of want, than be deprived of glorying in having preached the gospel, without receiving any reward from his difciples for that important fervice, ver. 15.The reason was, he had nothing to boast of in barely preaching the gofpel; because his conviction of its truth, together with the command of Chrift, laid him under fuch a neceffity of preaching, that he would be abfolutely miferable, if he did not make known things, which were of fo great importance to the world, ver. 16.-Now, faid he, if I do this with fuch willingnefs, as to endure every hardship in the course of the work, for the fake of doing it fuccefsfully, I fhall obtain a distinguished reward. Whereas, if a stewardship of the gospel is forced on me against my will, and I discharge it as one constrained to undertake it, I fhall have no diftinguished reward, ver. 17.What then is the ground of the diftinguished reward which I look for? Why this, that when preaching the gospel, I do it with cut burdening the perfons to whom I preach, in order that I may make the gofpel fuccefsful, by not abufing the power, which OLD TRANSLATION. CHAP. IX. I Am I not an apoftle? am I not free? have I not feen Jefus Chrift our Lord? are not you my work in the Lord? 2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you : for the feal of mine apoflethip are ye in the Lord. GREEK TEXt. 1 Ουκ ειμι αποτολα; εκ ειμι ελεύθερος ; 8χι Ιησεν Χριστου τον Κυριον ήμων ἑωρακα; ε το εργον με ύμεις εσε εν Κυρίῳ ; 2 E αλλοις εκ ειμι α ποςολα, αλλα γε ύμιν ει μι' η γαρ σφραγις της εμης αποςολης ύμείς εσε εν Κυρίῳ. Ver. 2. The feal of mine apostleship ye are in the Lord. This the apoftle had good reafon to fay, because as he infinuates, 2 Cor. xii. 12. they had been converted by his working among them miracles peculiar to an apoftle: and becaufe after their converfion he had bestowed spiritual gifts on many of them in fuch abundance, that, as a church, they which the gospel gives me, of demanding maintenance. For I who aim at a diftinguished reward, would abufe that power, if by demanding maintenance, I hindered the fuccefs of my preaching, ver. 18.-For the fame reafon, though I be a freeman with respect to all men, (fee ver. 1.) I have made myself a flave to all men, by complying with their prejudices and humours, as far as I could do it innocently, that I might gain the more difciples to Chrift, ver. 19.-More particularly, to the Jews I became as a Jew, &c. ver. 20, 21, 22.-All this I do, for the fake of preaching the gospel successfully, that I may become a joint partaker of the rewards of the gofpel, with the most eminent apoftles, ver. 23. But, because the faction thought the apoftle a fool for not demanding maintenance, and because the reft might be surprised at his fubjecting himself to fo many inconveniencies and hardfhips while preaching the gofpel, he put them in mind of the bodily labours and hardships, to which their countrymen, who contended in the games, fubjected themselves, for the trifling reward of a crown of green leaves which foon withered. Whereas, he and his brethren apostles, in return for the bodily labours and hardships which they endured, expected to obtain an incorruptible crown, namely that diftinguished reward of which he had been speaking. The greatnefs therefore of the reward fufficiently justified the apoftles in the purfuit, although it was attended with fo much labour and fuffering; and fhewed that they had good reafon to difregard every temporal advantage, while pursuing a felicity of fuch magnitude, ver. 24.-27. COMMENTARY. CHAP. IX. I My enemies fay I am no apostle, because I do not demand maintenance. But I appeal to you; Am I not an apostle? Am I not a freeman, who may demand a reward for my labour, or not, as I choofe? Have I not feen Jefus Chrift our Lord? And can bear witness to his refurrection? Are not ye my converts in the Lord? 2 Though to others I should not be thought an apostle, yet to you at least I am an apoftle for the proof of mine apoftlefhip, ye are by your being in the Lord, through my preaching and miracles. they were inferior to no church whatever. 1 Cor. i. 5, 6, 7. 2 Cor. xii. 13. K 2 Ver. 3. 3 Mine answer to them that do examine me, is this, 4 Have we not power to eat and to drink? 5 Have we not power to lead about a fifter a wife, as well as other apoftles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? 3 Η εμη απολογία τοις εμε ανακρίνεσιν, αυτη εςι 4 Μη εκ εχομεν εξεσίαν φαγείν και πιειν ; 5 Μη εκ εχομεν εξεσίαν αδελφην γυναίκα περιάγειν, ὡς και οι λοιποι αποςολοι, και οι αδελφοί τε Κυριε, και Κηφας; 6 Η μονος εγω και Βαρναβας εκ έχομεν εξεσίαν τε μη εργαζεσθαι; Ver. 3. To them who condemn me. For this fenfe of the word avaxgia, fee chap. iv. 3. note 1. The apoftle's enemies did not, as our tranflators exprefs it, examine bim about his not taking maintenance; as little did they pretend to examine him concerning his apoftlefhip. But they urged his not taking maintenance, as a proof that he knew himfelf to be no apoftle. This St. Paul termed a condemning him. Ver. 4. Have we not, av, a right to eat and to drink. The right which all the minifters of the word had to be maintained by their dif ciples, the apofile expreffed by a right to eat and to drink, becaufe Chrift had faid to the twelve, Matt. x. 9. Provide neither gold nor filver nor brafs in your purfes. 10. For the workman is worthy of his meat. In like manner to the feventy, Luke x. 7. In the fame houfe abide, eating and drinking fuch things as they give, for the labourer is worthy of his hire.-The word power, by which our translators have rendered ada, does not exprefs the apoftle's meaning. Power is only an ability to do a thing; whereas, the apoftle means a right to do what he is fpeaking of. Ver. 5-1. To lead about, adenom yuvaixx, a fifler wife, that is, a Chriftian wife. Or, the translation may be, afifler woman, a Christian woman. Clem. Alexand. as quoted by Whitby fays, "They carried "their wives about, not as wives, but as fitters, to minifter to those "that were mistreffes of families; that fo the doctrine of the Lord "might, without any reprehenfion, enter into the apartments of the "women." Nevertheless, the manner in which this affair is spoken of, inclines one to think, that the filer wife, or woman, was carried about to minifter to the apoftles, rather than to inftruct their converts of the female fex. In the eastern countries, for the reafon mentioned, Rom. xvi. 1. note 3. when people of condition travelled, they either lodged with their acquaintance, or carried fervants with them, who provided fuch things as were neceflary to their accommodation in the 3 Mine anfwer to them who condemn me, for not taking maintenance, is this, 4 Have I not, as an apostle, a right to eat and to drink at the expence of thofe to whom I preach? 5 Have I not, as an apoftle, a right to carry about a Chriftian_wife to take care of me ? And may I not require maintenance for her alfo? even as the other apoftles do, and particularly the brethren of the Lord, (James, Judas, and Simon,) and Peter? 6 Or have I only and Barnabas, of all the preachers of the gospel, not a right to forbear working for our maintenance while preaching? public lodging houses. In the Gentile countries, where the apostles preached, they had no acquaintance or friends with whom they could lodge and therefore fome of them, particularly the brethren of the Lord and Peter, found it neceffary to carry about with them a wife to make provifion for them, at the expence of those to whom they preached. This right, Paul told the Corinthians, belonged as much to him and to Barnabas, as to the other apoftles. But to render the gofpel free of charge, he neither had used this right, ver. 12. nor ever would use it, ver. 15. Wherever he came he maintained himself by his own labour. * 2. As the other apofiles? It seems all the apostles took maintenance from their difciples except Paul. 3 And Cephas? From this we learn, that Peter, here called by his original name, continued to live with his wife after he became an apoltle: alfo, that Peter as an apoftle, poffeffed no rights which were not common to Paul, and to all the reft. Thefe facts I mention, becaufe traced to their obvious confequences, they utterly fubvert the main.pillars of popery. Ver. 6. Or have I only and Barnabas? From this it appears, that Barnabas as well as Paul, preached the gofpel without demanding maintenance from his difciples; and that like Paul, he was hated for his doctrine by the Judaizers. See Pref. 2 Cor. fect. 2. at the end. The honourable mention which Paul made of Barnabas, in this pasfage of his epiftle to the Corinthians, deferves notice, as it fhews, that thefe good me, notwithstanding their fharp contention about John Mark, mentioned Acts xv. 39. entertained no refentment against each other on that account, but mutually efteemed each other; and perhaps on fome occafions after that, preached the gofpel together as before. Ver. 9. K 3 7 Τις στρατευεται ιδιοις οψώνιοις ποτε; τις φυλευει αμπελωνα, και εκ (8 καρπε αυτε εκ εσθίει; η τις ποι μαίνει ποίμνην, και εκ τ8 γα λακτα της ποίμνης εκ εσ θίει; ανθρωπου 8 Μη κατα ταυτα λαλω; η 8χι και ο νομος ταύτα λέγει ; 9 Εν γαρ τω Μωσεως νο μῳ γεγραπται οι φιμώσεις εν αλοώντα. Μη των βοων μελει τῷ Θεῷ ; 10 Η δι ήμας παντως λε γει; Δι ἡμας γαρ εγραφη, όλι επ' ελπιδι οφείλει ὁ αρος τριων αροτριαν και ὁ αλόων, της ελπίδος αυτε με εχειν, επ' ελπίδι. 11 Ει ἡμεῖς ὑμιν Τα πνευ ματικα εσπειραμεν, μέγα ει ἡμεῖς ὑμων τα σαρκικα θερι Ver. 9. Muzzle the ox treading out the corn. The people of the caft did not thresh their corn as we do; but they preffed out the grain, by caufing oxen to tread on the ears. This argument from the law of Mofes, may have been intended for the Jewish converts at Corinth, fome of whom I suppose had joined the false teacher. The fame may be faid of the argument, ver. 13. Ver. 1o. Doth he command this, &c. The precept concerning oxen, being introduced in the law immediately after precepts enjoining juftice and mercy in punishments, it was certainly intended to, imprefs the |