20 II. CORINTHIANS 1, 18.

perhaps better with our translators, after Calvin, Beza, and many other commentators, ancient and modern, to take the words as an asseveration. So true as God is faithful, so true is it, that, &G. Comp. 11, 10, ca-nv r) dX^^cta XptcrTOu Iv i/moL, oTi. Rom. 14, 11, ^w eyw — on, as J live — evert/ knee shall bow to me. Judith 12, 4, ^17 rj \pvxr) arov — oTt. It is therefore ac- cording to the usage of the language to understand Tncrro^ 6 -^eos — OTt as an oath, and the sense given is much more natu- ral. An oath is an act of worship. To predict that men shall everywhere swear by the name of Jehovah, Is. 65, 16, is to predict that Jehovah shall everywhere be worshipped. Men may, therefore, appeal to God for the truth of what they say on any solemn occasion, if they do it devoutly as an act of worship. It is a formal recognition of his being, of his om- niscience, of his holiness and power, and of his moral govern- ment. Our Lord himself did not refuse to answer when put upon his oath, Matt. 27, 63 ; and the apostles often call on God to witness the truth of their declarations. When, there- fore, our Saviour commands us, " Swear not at all," he must be understood to forbid profane swearing, that is, calling on God in an irreverent manner and on trivial occasions. That our word towards you was not yea and na,y ; 6 Xdyos rjfxwv. This may mean our preaching, 1 Cor. 1, 17. 2, 1. 4, and often; or, our word generally, i. e. what I said. The apostle may be understood to assert the truth and consistency of his instruc- tions as a teacher, or the trustworthiness of his declarations and promises as a man. The decision depends on the context. In favour of the latter it is urged that the charge against him, as intimated in v. 17, was that of breaking his promise, and therefore to make this verse refer to his preaching is to make him evade the point entirely. But the following verses, which are intimately connected with the one before us, clearly refer to matters of doctrine, and therefore this verse must have the same reference. The sudden transition from the charge of levity in v. 17, to that of false doctrine in v. 18, as before re- marked, is sufficiently accounted for from the association of the two charges in the minds of his enemies. They said he was not to be depended upon as a preacher, because he had shown himself to be untrustworthy as a man. " As God is true, my })reaching is true." The one is as true as tlie other. Hence in Gal. 1, 8 he pronounces an angel accursed should he preach another gospel. Paul's confidence in the truth of the gospel as he preached it was one and the same with his confi-