The cup of blessing. The word (cuAoyew), to bless ^ means, 1. To speak well of. 2. To praise and thank ; as when we bless God. 3. To confer blessmgs, as when God blesses us. In vh'tue of the second of these meanings, the word is used interchangeably with (eu^aptcrTeco), to give thanks. That is, the same act is sometimes expressed by the one word and sometimes by the other. In Matt. 26, 26 and Mark 14, 22, what is expressed by saying, having blessed^ in Luke 22, 17. 19. and 1 Cor. 11, 25, is expressed by saying, having given thanks. And in the accoimt of the Lord's Supper in Matthew and Mark, the one word is used in reference to the bread, and the other in reference to the cup. They therefore mean the same thing, or rather express the same act, for that act was both a benediction and thanksgiving ; that is, it was an ad- dress to God, acknowledging his mercy and imploring his blessino;, and therefore may be expressed either by the word benediction or thanksgiving. It is not necessary to infer that in these cases (evAoyr^o-as) having blessed is used in the re- stricted sense of (cvxapto-TT/o-as) having given thanks. This cannot be the fact, because the object of (cvAoyy^cra?), at least in some of these passages, is not God, but the bread or the cup. The meaning is, 'having blessed the bread.' The phrase, therefore, the cup of blessing., so far as the significa- tion of the words is concerned, may be rendered either — the cup of thanksgiving (the eucharistical cup), or the cup of benediction, the consecrated cup. The latter is no doubt the true meaning, because the explanation immediately follows, which xoe bless. The cup, and not God, is blessed. To take the phrase actively, the cxip which confers blessing is not only inconsistent with usage, but incompatible with the explanation which immediately follows. The cup of blessing is the cup which we bless. In the Paschal service the cup was called " the cup of blessing," because a benediction was pronounced over it. The idea of consecration is necessarily included. Wine, as wine, is not the sacramental symbol of Christ's blood, but only when solemnly consecrated for that purpose. Even our ordinary food is said to " be sanctified by the word of God and prayer," 1 Tim. 4, 5, because it is set apart by a religious service to the end for which it was appointed. So the cup of blessing is the cup which, by the benediction pronounced over it, is " set apart from a common to a sacred use."
Which we bless. This is the explanation of the preceding clause. The cup of blessing is the cup which we bless ; which