a church in which he had met with so much opposition, and in which the false teachers had exerted so great and so evil an influence, the mass of the people proved themselves devoted to him. Devotion to Paul, however, involved devotion to the truth and holiness, just as zeal for the false teachers involved the opposite. jSo that I rejoiced the more^ i. e. I had more joy than the mere coming of Titus and the satisfaction which he experienced in Corinth were able to impart.
8. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent : for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though (it were) but for a season.
This and the following verses assign the reason why he rejoiced. It was because the letter which he had written them, although it made them sorry, yet did them good. Though I made you sorry (i. e. caused you grief) loith a letter, rather, by the letter, i. e. the letter which related to the incest- uous person. I do not repent, though I did repent. That is, he regretted writing as he had done until he learned through Titus the good effect his letter had produced. Calvin says the word fxeTa/xekofxai must not be taken here to express re- pentance, for that would imply that his former letter was written under the influence of human feeling, and not by the direction of the Holy Spirit. He thinks that all Paul meant to say is, that he was grieved at having given the Corinthians pain. This, however, is not the meaning of the word. See Matt. 21, 29. 32. We must accommodate our theory of in- spiration to the phenomena of Scripture, and not the phenome- na to our theory. Inspiration simply rendered its subject in- fallible in writing and speaking as the messenger of God. Paul might doubt whether he had in a given instance made a wise use of his infallibility, as he might doubt whether he had wise- ly exercised his power of working miracles. He never doubt- ed as to the truth of what he had written. There is another thing to be taken into consideration. Inspiration did not re- veal itself in the consciousness. It is perfectly conceivable that a man might })e inspired without knowing it. Paul was no doubt impelled by the Spirit to write his former epistle as well as divinely guided in writing ; but all he was conscious of was his own thoughts and feelings. The believer is not