The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 256

Ohriseian worsltip and worlc eclipse otl1er· and mor&importane. The shallow jud"ments of Corinth wero e.11 for apcal,ing with tongues, "Prophecy" was little acco11n"terl of. "Giving monoy" is often attractive when true charity is not. The grand choral service is more popular the.n quiet consistent living. To be e. "great preacher" is the o bjcct of ambition rather tha.n to boa. real teacher of men. 7. Ohrist was re:jected and is to-dr1y by those who jp.dge according to the outward appearance. He is "a root out of a dry ground_''. to e~ch:; ~hey have no,apiri~ual insight.. 'Jhe Gospels which ~peak of him aro full of mcons1stenc1ee to those who will not cxamme them. Yea, the Bible itself, which is one revelation ·of him, must be rejected by these weak. surface-judges. But what said ho?, "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judcrment" 0 (John vii. 24).-H. . ,r Vers. 12-18.-Boasting, 'lb.•ong and right. I. WRON'G BOASTING. 1. That we excel some ot/lers. ""fie a.re very apt, like some at Corinth, to compare ourselves with certain e.rouu~ ,US, 'J:)J.is is measuring by a. false standard. and measuring by a false stand,a.p<). is li;k:ely to lead to enormously erroneous results. The question is not whether we, jlx;c;el others, but whether we·have attained to the measure for which God createct an<t endowed. us. The true measuring-rod is not found in the stature, physical, mental, o~ ,IIlora\,, ofc o.ur fellows; the true measuring-rod is held.in the hands of the Almi::;lity. If a ma,n were to judge of himself·by. comparing himself-,with a mouse or a molehill, we should) say b,e was a fool; and .the apostle sa.ys," They theIQselves; measuring themselves by t4eniselyes, 11,nd comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding" (v~r. 12). ;]itha.~ bee)l..said, '' The one-eyed is easily king among the blind." 2. That we poss~s wflat'IJl.eiare_ destit1,1,te of, qmd that we h(111Je done what we have not done. Wron~ boas~4:Jg ;is Jh.e J~ :br_other of. downright. lying. . The false teacher& a.t Corinth, boasted of gifts which they did not possess, and took to themselves the credit of other men's labours. It is astonishing what powers of appropriation the boastful spirit possesses. When a wan ~nee get!I aic;licted to-~in-glory it is useless to attempt to predict to what excess~s be,}Vi.11 bo·led, -.He clears.the barriers of truth as-though they were straws. W]i;~t. he is, i!\;What he ca11 persuade people to think him; what he· has done is what he.ca11 by,a.ny,.ml:lans induce them to credit. The braggart knows no restraint. His paris)l ,is, th~ ,woµc\,r .....t,h_e, ,yprlds1 of, fact anddiction rolled into one, and be is as much at bomeif!,;t,)111 one a,s in .the CJtb,er.. His domain has only one boundary-the credulity of hi~ li~ten~r~., .~. ,$hat thffpr,a;+se:,of our good actions is to be ascribed to us. This strikes a,tj;he;roo~,ofvvrong;}Joasting,., ~J:>oastingwhich rob!! God must be of the devil. The w:i.n w;l;u;r :knows h,i171s~l{ lµio\V'e• ~hat the~e is :no gqod thing in hiIQ. If he-finds r-.nything good, ,he iJilDle4iately, coni;lµdes that ,it did not spring from hi1n.,elf, and he looks about for J;h.11, ol,igi1:1ll,tor: a,ncl _pwn0r, Ij;, is only the very bad who thick themselves very good. If$e,e.r.Ej,,5iispose_d tq t&\~ the praise,of_our.go9(i_actions to ourselves it is strong: eviJence that ~}eee a,ctio,n~ ~~Ill not really good. . " Good'! actions cannot be done by those who a.re,eo•utterly .o,ut_pf true relation to God. ,· . IJ,; ~IGHT . ;BOASTING, , Thi& :is boasting or glorying in the Lord ( ver. 17). We may boast pfGqd, !Ind the,more boastful ;we.a.re in this direction the better, There will be no d!!nger of rupn.ing to excess; a('te~ we have boasted to our utmost we shall have fallen far short of the truth. . Alas! few, things are more ~mcommon than this boasting i,n:.~od.; . Fallen· human. IJAture finds it easier and more reasonable to boast of the 1nt1dspuddl,e, than, of the crystal. ocee.n~of the dim rushlight than of the glorious sun. 1.. We may. well '/Joas~. of, _the IUvine perf~ctions. Here we shall find an inexhaustible subject. .~he, glories of.01,1r: <lo4 will: exhaust our powers of glorying. Whilst carnal men applaud their litUe gods, tl),G_ saints :i:nay well extol J ehova.h. " Who is a God like tmto ou, God?" wt;, may proudly cry. Pride becomes one of the chiefest virtues when it \s centri:d in Goel .. C)lristia.ns are not halfboastfnl enough in the right direction, and twice too \>QI\Stful in t}le wrong. Shl\me upon us that we boast so little of our God! 2. ~Ve i'flP,Y, wel1, bop,st qf t!ie great redemptive work of (Jod. So lou~ shonlu be our boastmg WI to 111a.kci all men hea.~· it. Here the perfection of God finds highest e.nd most beautiful CJ!.P!'.:t~eion... ;aero e11ch,Person in ·th1;1 adorable Tr\nity wo~ks a matchless ,york of grace nnc;l power, Upon u_s. esp~oi~ly, sin?e _w~ a.re ths _subjects_ of redempt1~n, rests, the 1,Jurcl~, o{ boas~ipg r~spectmg 1t, This 1s ,ou.r_ pecuh_ar provmce of gk>rymg. Of all 1 creatl)res in :thei ,1mverso we a.re 'ponnQ, to ..this serv1co, If we were silent, surely tho  256 THE SEOOND EPISTLE '1'0 'l'HE CORINTHIANS. [cH, :x. 1-18.