305
stand therefore, “ he shall he holden up”\ Rom. xiv. 4 ; araOri- eerai ; he likewise hopes good for the future, and endures evils. — ii/g/, endures ) until hope at some time springs up, 2 Tim. ii. 25. Thus the praises of love describe as it were a kind of circle, in which the last and first mutually correspond to each other ; it is long-suffering , it is kind; it hopeth all things , it endureth all things ; and, that which is of far greater importance, it never faileth , pleasantly follows this fourth step.
8. O vdeKore hnfarei, never faileth) is not destroyed , does not cease , it always holds its place ; it is never moved from its posi- tion ; comp. sjtK/Krovreg, Mark xiii. 25, note. — sirs ds ‘rpopTjrf/a/, but whether prophecies) viz., there are : so ch. xv. 11. Prophecies in the plural, because they are multifarious. — xarapyridyimraij they shall he done away with) This is the expression in the case of prophecies and knowledge ; but regarding tongues, era vaovrai, they shall cease. Tongues are a most charming thing, but the least lasting ; they were the first gift on the day of Pentecost, Acts ii., but they did not continue in the primitive church so long as the other miraculous gifts : nor have they anything analogous in a perfect state, as prophecy and knowledge have, to which they ought therefore to yield ; whence presently after, respect is shown to those in preference to tongues, when he is speaking of “that which is perfect.” — yXwcvra/, tongues) These occupy a middle place, because they are the vehicle and appen- dage of prophecies ; but prophecy and knowledge constitute two different genera, ver. 9, 12.
9. ’Ex ffepovc, in part) Not only does the apostle say this, This prophecy and this knowledge, which we have, are imperfect ; for the same must be said even of love, we love only in part [not perfectly] ; but such is the nature of prophecy itself, with the exception of the one prophet Jesus Christ, and such the nature of knowledge, that they ought to be reckoned among the things, which are in part , [not merely because they are now imperfect , but also] because we use them only in this imperfect life. On the phrase, comp, the note on Rom. xv. 15, / have written more boldly.
10. ”E is come) in its own time, by degrees, not by a sudden bound. In spiritual things, those of weaker age ought not too eagerly to aim at what belongs to those, who have reached