the wine as well as the meat, were blessed in the name of the idol, and thereby consecrated to him, in a manner analogous to that in which the bread and the wine on the Lord's table were consecrated to him; comp. 1 Sam. 9, 12. 13. The table of the Lord is the table at which the Lord presides, and at which his people are his guests. The table of devils is the table at which devils preside, and at which all present are their guests. What the apostle means to say is, that there is not merely an incongruity and inconsistency in a man's being the guest and friend of Christ and the guest and friend of evil spirits, but that the thing is impossible. It is as impossible as that the same man should be black and white, wicked and holy at the same time. In neither case is this attendance an empty, ineffective service. A man cannot eat of the table of demons without being brought under their power and influ- ence ; nor can we eat of the table of the Lord, without being brought into contact with him, either to our salvation or con- demnation. If we come thoughtlessly, without any desire after communion with Christ, we eat and drink judgment to ourselves. But if we come with a humble desire to obey our divine master and to seek his presence, we cannot fail to be welcomed and blessed. Compare, in reference to this verse, 2 Cor. 6, 14-18.
22. Bo we provoke the Lord to jealousy ? are we stronger than he ?
Jealousy is the feeling which arises from wouAded love, and is the fiercest of all human passions. It is tlierefore em- ployed as an illustration of the hatred of God towards idola- try. It is as when a bride transfers her afiections from her lawful husband, in every way worthy of her love, to some de- graded and offensive object. This illustration, feeble as it is, is the most effective that can be borrowed from human rela- tions, and is often employed in Scripture to set forth the hein- ousness of the sin of idolatry. Deut. 32, 21. Ps. 78, 58 and elsewhere. Or do we provoke^ i. e. is it our object to provoke the Lord to jealousy. The Corinthians ought not to attend these feasts unless they intended to excite against themselves in the highest measure the displeasure of the Lord. And they ought not thus to excite his anger, unless they were stronger than he. By the Lord is to be understood Christ, as the con- text requires. It was the Lord's table that was forsaken,