cious purposes of the Lord Chrift, refpecting the falvation of the world? or what animal man is able to inftruct the spiritual man? But, added he, we apoftles have the gracious purposes of Christ made known to us by the Spirit, so that we are able both to know them, and to communicate them to the world, ver. 16.

COMMENTARY.

CHAP. II. 1. Now I brethren, one of the weak perfons who called you, when I came to you, came not with excellence of speech, and of wif dom; I did not, in eloquent speeches, propose a new scheme of philosophy, when I declared to you the things which God hath teftified.

2 For though I knew ye expected me to bring you fome new fcheme of philofophy, I determined to preach nothing among you, but Jefus Chrift, and him crucified.

3 And knowing that my doctrine, and fpeech, and bodily prefence, would appear defpicable to you, I, in a fenfe of my weakness, and in fear, and with much trembling, was with you at first.

4 And my converfation in private, and my preaching in public, tuas not with the perfuafive language, which human wisdom dictates as most effec

they fhewed, in fetting off their opinions by the beauty and harmony of their language No wonder therefore, if the apoftle, knowing the humour of the Greeks, explained the doctrines of the gofpel to the Corinthian philofophers, rhetoricians, and people, with fear and much trembling.

Ver. 4

-1. Perfuafive words. The word das is not found any where elfe in this fenfe. But Salmafius, Comment. de lingua Hellenift. p. 86. obferves, that it is juftified by the analogy of the Greek language, in which Qud fignifies, qui parcus eft; and μu, qui imitatur; confequently rude, qui perfuadit, a perfon or thing that perfuades. 2. Demonftration of the Spirit. Whitby and Locke, following Origen, by the demonftration of the Spirit, understand the evidence arifing from the Jewish fcriptures, which were dictated by the Spirit of God; and in which the coming of the Chrift, his preaching, &c. are clearly foretold.

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foretold. But as the Gentiles neither knew the Jewish scriptures, nor acknowledged their divine authority, previous to their converfion, nor could read them in the original when thewn to them, I do not fee how the apoftle could ufe the prophecies contained in them, as arguments for converting the Gentiles. Their only ufe was to confirm the Gentiles after they were converted. And therefore I am of opinion, that the Spirit here, as in many other paffages, fignifies the gifts of the Spirit, accompanied with his ordinary influences on the hearts of mankind.

·3. And of power. The word draps, power, is often ufed in fcripture, to exprefs the power of working miracles, Acts x. 38. How God anointed Jefus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghoft, and, drept, with porver.

Ver. 6.-1. We speak wisdom.. What the apoftle here calls wisdom, is the doctrine concerning the perfon and offices of Chrift, treated of in his epiftles to the Ephefians and Coloflians; the juflification of finners by faith counted to them for righteousness, explained in his epifle to the Roinans; the rejection and refumption of the Jews, foretold in the fame epiltle; the coming and deftruction of the man of fin, foretold 2 Theff. ii, the priesthood, facrifice, and interceffion of Chrift, explained in his epittle to the Hebrews; and the refurrection of the dead, foretold in this epiftle: in fhort, the whole doctrines of the gospel taken complexly, which are called, chap. xii. 8. The word of wifdom, and chap. i. 39. wifdom from God.

2. Among the perfect. The fully initiated into the heathen myfteries, were named Tee, Perfect, because these myfteries in their whole extent were discovered to them. The apoftte, Heb. vi. 1. calls the deep doctrines of the gospel, Perfection, and here firnames the perfons who had thefe doctrines difcovered to them, perfect men, because in the following verfe he terms the gospel a myfiery. In other paffages however he uses the word Tiλuo, Perfect, to denote perfons fully inftructed

in

tual for moving the paffions, but I eftablished my miffion, by the gifts of the Spirit imparted to you, and by miracles wrought in your prefence.

5 That your belief of the gofpel might not stand in philofophical arguments eloquently expreffed, but in the power of God: in the miracles, which God enabled me to perform, for proving the gospel.

6 However, both in private and in public, we speak what is known. to be wisdom, among the thoroughly, infructed. But it is not the wifdom of the gods of this world; it is none of their myfteries; neither is it the wisdom, or religion, of the rulers of this world, who, with their falle religions, are to be abolished.

7 For, among the fully inftructed, we speak a fcheme of religion form

in the doctrines of the gofpel, where no allufion to the heathen myfteries is intended. See Philip. iii. 15.

3. But not the wifdom of this world. As the apoftle in the beginning of the verfe, gives the name of wisdom to that fcheme of religion which he taught by infpiration, the wisdom of this world, if nothing more had been added, might have meant the falfe religions practifed by the heathen rulers and people jointly. But feeing he adds, neither the wisdom of the rulers of this world, it is plain that the rifdom of this world, was fomething different from the wifdem, or religions, eftablished by the heathen rulers. I therefore fuppofe the wisdom of this world, means the wisdom of the gods of this world; or the myfteries which the heathen priefts feigned to have received from their gods by infpiration, and which, properly fpeaking, conftituted a fecret religion which they communicated only to the initiated. Whereas the wisdom of the rulers of this world, means the public and popular religion, invented by the heathen law-givers, and fupported by the heathen magiftrates.

4. Neither of the rulers of this world. Thefe, according to Eftius, are evil Spirits, the authors of magic, divination, and idolatry, who were to be deftroyed by Chrift, with the whole body of their wisdom or error. -- Because the rulers of this world are faid. ver. 8. to have crucified the Lord of glory, Locke, by the wifdom of the rulers of this world, understood the wifdom of the Jewish rulers; meaning, I fup. pofe, the tradition of the elders, and that corrupt form of religion which they had introduced, called, Gal. i 14. judaifm. For that, as well as heathenifm, might be called, The wisdom of the rulers, &c. See however the preceding note. Ver. 7.

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8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

9 But as it is written, Eye

$5,644. hath not feen, nor ear heard, Ta

neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared

for them that love him.

Ο Αλλα καθως γεγραπ-. "A of James 8x EIDE, ται Α οφθαλμος εκ είδε, και 85 εκ ηκεσε, και επι κι нада διαν ανθρωπε εκ ανεβη, ο ή τοιμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοις αγαπω

σιν αυτον

Ver 1. Which was hidden in a mystery. The doctrines of the gofpel, called the wisdom of God, lay long hidden in the types and figures of the law or Mofes, and in the Old Teftament prophecies. Thefe, therefore, conftituted the mystery, of which the apostle fpeaks; and in which he fays, the wisdom of God was kept hidden during the Mofaic difpenfation.-To recommend the golpel to the Greeks, and to wean them from those vain myfteries of which they were fo paffionately fond, the apoftle here, and in various other paffages, (fee Ephef. i. 9. note.) dignified the gospel with the appellation of a myftery, not only because it had hitherto been kept fecret, Rom. xvi. 25. Ephef. iii. 9. Col. i. 26. but because the discoveries which it contains, (fee ver. 6. note 1.) were unfpeakably more important than the dif coveries made in any of the heathen myfteries, and were far more certain, being wisdom from the true God. See Pref. to the Ephef. fect. iii.

2. To our glory; that is, according to Whitby, to be the means of the future glory and happiness of the faints. But I prefer the interpretation in the commentary, because St. Paul's defign is to fhew, that none but the apoftles enjoyed the glory of revealing the doctrines of the gospel in an infallible manner, and that the falle teacher, and all others who fet themfelves in oppofition to the apostles, were impoftors not to be gloried in.

Ver. 8 1. None of the rulers of this world knew. Locke observes, that in the writings of the New Testament, alwv &r, this world, commonly fignifies the state of mankind before the publication of the gofpel, as contra-diftinguished to the evangelical ftate or conftitution, which is commonly called, a wv, the world to come. By taking notice that none of the rulers of this world, and particularly none of the Jewish chief prieks and elders, knew the gofpel to be from God, the apofile fhewed the Corinthians, what little reafon they had to value

the

ed by the wisdom of the true God, which was long hidden in a mysterys but which God predetermined before the Mofaic difpenfation began, should be explained by us apoftles, to our great honour.

8 Which wifdom neither Pilate, nor Herod, nor Caiaphas, nor the elders of the Jews, knew to be the wisdom of God: For if they had known it to be his, they would not have crucified Jefus, the Author of all the glorious things difplayed in the gospel mystery.

9 The ignorance of the rulers, was occafioned by the things contained in the mystery of God's wif dom, being above human comprehenfion, (fee ver. 6. note 1.) For as it is written, Thofe bleffings, eye hath not feen, and ear hath not heard, and into the heart of man have not entered, which God hath prepared for them who love him.

the falfe teacher, on account of the knowledge he derived from his Jewish inftructors.

2. Would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The divine perfon who appeared to the patriarchs, was called by the Jews, the God of glory, and the King of glory, because when he appeared he was commonly furrounded with fire or light. Pfal. xxiv. 10. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hofts, he is the king of glory.-Acts vii. 2. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham. The apostle gave the appellation of the Lord of glory, to Jefus, for the important reafon mentioned in the commentary, and because the glory in which he appeared during his incarnation, was the glory of the only begotten of the Father; the glory of a character abfolutely perfect.

Ver. 9. A opa, Thofe things eye hath not feen. As the relative (a) is found twice in this fentence, I think the first stands for the demonftrative pronoun ταυτα. See Eff. iv. 67. and I have fo translated it. Clem. Alex. Strom. 5. hath here Aλλa xnpuσσoμey, But we preach, which I take to be an explication rather than a various reading.The meaning of the prophet's words, as applied by the apoftle, is that thofe bleffings which God hath prepared for them who love him, and which in the gospel he hath discovered and promised to beftow on them, are fo great, that nothing like them have ever been beheld by men, or reported to them. Nay, the mind of man, by its own powers, is not able to form the most distant idea of them.