when it proceods upon the assumption that God has made a blunder! The thorn in the flesh was the stem upon which theflower of the Divine glory was to blossom. 'fhe "messenger or Satan" would be made a herald proclaiming the power of Christ. Th1J apostle's flesh was to be a battle-field on which Christ would triumph. V. THE ISSUE. A new thought hae been given to Paul-Christ's c,lory will be enhanced. At once he begins to glory in this infirmity, "Most gladly°'' (ver. 9) or most sweetly; it became a delight of the highest kind. What he wanted to lose he ~ow wants to keep. With the thorn in the flesh he can become, as he could not without it, the dwelling-place of the power of Christ. It is enough if through his humiliation Christ may be exalted, if through his suffering Christ may be glorified. Many are more than content with being resigned under suffering; to submit they think is a mark of highest grace. J,3ut the apostle is far beyond this. He can "take .plea.sure" ( ver. 10) in troub)es, b~ause .through his troubles the power of Christ is more strikingly and impressively exhibited.-H. Ver. 11.-Much, yet nothing. I. THE APOSTLE'S CLAIM. A large claim, put strongly. Paul. clai.med to be on a perfect equality with the leading apostles. Unwillingly he referred to this matter, which might look like self-glorification ; but when the occasion ea.me, his utterance was full and unmistakable. There is nothing derogatory in magni[ying our office, the evil lies in magnifying ourselves in it. It is not conceitednesR but righteousness to assert for ourselves what God has already asserted for ns. Paul felt that he must not lightly esteem, or allow others to lightly esteem, a high office conferred upon him by God, and an office in which God had signally witnessed to his efforts. Paul speaks about "the signs" of an apostle; the interesting question arises- What were these signs? We may note the following :-1. Knowledge of the gospel derived by immediate revelation from Christ (Gal. i. 12). 2. Being specially under the influence and teaching of the Divine Spirit, so as to be able to announce truth with authority (1 Cor. ii. 10-13; xii. 8, 29; xiv. 37), 3. External manifestations of Divine favour sanctioning claim to the apostleship. 4. Continued faithfulness to the gospel (Gal. i. !:l, 9). , 5.. Success, in preaching the gospel (1 Cor. ix. 2). 6. Power of communicating. the Holy Ghost by imposition of bands (Acts viii. 18). 7. Power of working miracles (ver, 12; Ro.m. :xv. 18, 19). 8. Holiness of life (eh. vi. 4). Such of these as ,could be ex.hibited to the Corinthians, had been, and there was one rtl8pect in which .his readers would scarcely contest Paul's claim, and to this with bis accustomed dexterity the apostle refers. If founding great Churches .was a mark of great apostleship, what an apostle Paul must have been to found such a Church as the Corinthian (ver. 13) ! 'l'his was a perfectly sound argument, but it was an argu- mentum ad hominem of a singularly .happy character. There was only one thing lacking, and .here the apostle blends irony with pathos-" I myself was not a burden to you: forgive me this wrong" (ver.13). For reasons given elsewhere in the Epistle, he had resolved not to derive any part of his temporal support from them. They might esteem this a slight. Had they lived in later <lays they would have counted i& a virtue! IL 'l'BE APOSTLE'S AOKNOWLEDGMENT. Paul's humility is marvellous. Yet it was not one whit greater then it ought to have been. The "thorn in the flesh" (ver. 7) has accomplished a gracious work. Paul has at the same time the clearest view of the Divine power and glory, and of his own insignificance and impotence. He does not take to himself for a moment what was not of himself. Note in ver. 12 he says, not "I wrought," but "were wrought "-he distinguishes between God and Paul! We ·have a beautiful insight into th'l apostle's mind. He has risen too high to deck him- self in plumes stolen from his Lord. Though divinely endowed, strikingly witnessed to in his labours, beyond question the pre-eminent apostle, he says, "I am nothing." We wonder not that God used such a man. We magnify God's grace in him. Truly the promise had been amply fulfilled, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (ver. 9). Our pride is our folly-it drives God out and lets the devil in. We cannot be great because we will be so great. 'l'he bag is full of wind, so that it cannot be filled. III. LEARN: 1. Humility becomes 'US, It became Paul. If he had so lowly an estimate of himself, how little should we think of ourselves! J:,;ven if we are "great men," WCI are very small men compared with h4m. ~- Ilumilit'!I is rea~onable. It is 11ot :P,, CORlNTlllANli, Ji: 308 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTIIIANS. [cu. xn, 1..... 21.,
ficticin, but fact, to MY that we are 11othing. Pride is based on a lie, 3. Humility is generally associated with large mefulness,-H. • ' •