with the very beginning of the epistle, that love should be con strued not with lioly and ivithout blame — an expression which is likewise used without express mention of love, ver. 27 — but with the subsequent description of adoption ;x comp. ch. ii. 4, 3 ; 1 John iii. 1 : and that the love of God should be celebrated be fore ours. In this way the sum of those things which follow, will be in love, ver. 5, at the end. So love is put at the be ginning of the section [tmematis], ch. iii. 18. And in turn, on the other hand, the word having predestinated is much more emphatic, if we consider it to be placed at the beginning : and everywhere the apostle, especially in this chap., closes the period with some clause, which, in respect of what goes before, is equi valent to a Syncategorema,2 and in respect of what follows, is equivalent to a Thema [the main proposition]. If this be at tended to, and the connection by participles and relatives be observed, the analysis will be cleared from all difficulty. This is the custom of the ancients, quite different from our present method, which proceeds by many divisions and sub-divisions (sub-distinctions) set forth expressly and prominently. — KPO- opiffag, having predestinated} The participle depends on He has chosen : Kom. viii. 29. Chosen from among others, they are predestinated to all things which belong to the obtaining of blessedness, ver. 11. — -tar a rrt v zudoxiav, according to the good pleasure) We are not allowed to go beyond this good pleasure either in searching into the causes of our salvation or of any of the Divine works, ver. 9. Why needest thou to philosophize about an imaginary world of optimism ? That which thou oughtest to take care of is, lest thou thyself be bad. Nor was there anything in us which deserved love. — roi> fa Xq^aToc, of His will) ver. 9, 11, 1.
6. E/£, to) The end aimed at. — znatvov do'^g rrtc, ^dpirog, the praise of the glory of His grace) The praise of His glory, ver. 12,
1 The margin of the larger Ed. had preferred this mode of connecting the ivords by punctuation; the margin of the 2d Ed. leaves it an evenly balanced question as to that other, by ivhich the words li/ a-ycncy are referred to the pre ceding ; and the Germ. Vers. distinctly exhibits it. — E. B.
Both Lachm. and Tischend. join h dyu'Try with 7rp(*6piaoi; : but Engl. Vers. with xctrsvu'Triov otvrov, " Without blame before Him in love." — ED.
2 See App. An accessory proposition added to the principal one. — ED.