prehends all the afflictions to which in this connection he re- fers. The probability is that he alludes to trials of different kinds, and especially to plots and attempts against his life. He was surrounded by enemies, Jews and heathen, who thirst- ed for his blood. And we know, as remarked above, that the Acts of the Apostles contains the record of only a small por- tion of his afflictions. That we were pressed^ e/Jap^^T^/xcv, ice loere burdened. The allusion is to a wearied animal that sinks in despair under a burden beyond its strength. Out of meas- ure^ nbove strength ; if thus separated, the former of these phrases refers to the character of his afflictions in themselves, 'they were excessive ; ' and the latter, expresses their relation to his abiUty to bear them. Absolutely, they were too great, relatively, they were above his strength. Many commenta- tors make the former qualify the latter, " We were burdened far beyond our strength" (Ka^' vTrepjSoXrjv v-n-ep hvvafjuv). Inso- much that ice desjmired even of life. The expression is in- tensive, i^aTTopyj'^rjvaL, to be Utterly/ at a loss, or, absolutely without a way {-Tropos) of escape. It seemed impossible to the apostle that he could escape from the enemies who beset him on every side. These enemies were not only men, but perils and trials of all kinds.
9. But we had the sentence of death m ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead.
So far from expecting to live, the apostle says, on the con- trary {oKXa) he had in himself the senteiice of death. This may mean that he was as one who was actually condemned to die. God appeared to have passed upon him the sentence of death, from which there could be no reprieve. This supposes dTTOKpt/xa to liave the sense of KaraKpt/xa. This meaning of the word is very doubtful. It jiroperly signifies response^ answer. ' We had in ourselves the answer of death.' That is, when lie put to himself the question, Avhether lite or death was to be the issue of his conHicts, the answer was. Death ! In other words, he did not expect to escape with his life. God brought him into these straits in order that he might not trust in him- self, but in God who raiseth the dead. Tliese two things are BO connected that the f)rmer is the necessary condition of the latter. There is no such thing as implicit conlidencc or reli-