The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 60

Before the worlds; litcmlly, befo,·e the ages; fragment of Ilcgesippns (clrc. A.n. 150) before time begnn. Unto our glory. The preserved in Photius (Cod. ccxxxii.), tho.t nuthor of the Epistle to the Hebrews clearly old writer indigmmtly repudio.tes this pns- ~tates that "the future nge" is in God's snge, snying that it is futile nm\ "utterly counsels subjected, not to the angels, but to belies (Ka"Tal),,ua,uoa.,) the Holy Scriptlll'es man. Ilut "our glory" is tllAt we ore and tho Lord, who so.ys, 'Blessed o.ro yom "en lied to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus" eyes which see, and your enrs which hear,',. (1 Pet. v. 10). Photius cannot understnnd why (H.,., Kai Yer. 8.-Had they kno'Wll it; literally, ,ra.O<av) Hegesippus should speak thus. had they recognized ; had they got to know it. Routh (' Rei. Sncr.,' 253) ho.i·dly knows how, The apostles often dwell on this ignorance to excuse him; but perhaps if we hnd th& as being in pnrt a palliation for the sin ot' context of the fro.gment we should see rejecting Christ (see especially Acts iii. 17; that he is attacking, not the words them- xiii. 27; comp. Isa. ii. 1). Jews and selves, but some perversion of them by Romans, emperors, procurators, high priests, heretics, like the Docetre. The phrase, Pharisees, had in their ignorance conspired "As it is written," decisively murks an· in vain to prevent whut God had fore- intention to 1·efer to Scripture. Neither ordained. The Lord of glory. This is not have entered into the heart of man; liter- a mere equivalent of "the glorious Lord," nlly, things which have not set foot upon the in Ps. xxi .-. J0. It is " the Lord of the heart. The general thought is tho.t God's glory," i.e. "the Lord of the Shechinah" revelations (for the innuedio.te reference is- (comp. Eph. i. 17," the Father of the glory"). to these, and not to future bliss) po.ss o.11 The Shechintth was the name given by the understanding. The quotation of thes& Jews to the cloud of light which symbolized words o.s refening to heaven is one of tile God's presence. The cherubim are called, numbel'less instances of texts inaccurately in Heh. ix. 5, "cherubim of glory," because applied. the Shechinuh wo.s borne on their outspread Ver. 10.-Bnt God hath revealed them wings (see, howernr, Acts vii. 2; Eph. i. 17). unto us. They are secret no longer, but There would have been to :mcient ears n o.re "mysteries which now it is given us to startling o.nd a\'l'ful po.radox in tho words know " (111 o.tt. xiii. 11 ). By hie Spirit. 'fhe •• crucified the Lord of gwry." The words Spirit guides into o.11 truth (John xiii. 16). brought into juxtaposition the lowest igno- In eh. xii. 8-11 St. Paul attributes every miny and the most splendid exaltation. gift of wisdom directly to him. Searcheth. Ver. 9.-Bnt as it is written. Tile whole "How unsearchable are his jurlgments I" sentence in the Greek is unfinished. The (Rom. xi. 33). Yea, the deep thingo of God. thought seems to be," But God has revealed This expression, "The depths ot' God," to us thini:s which eye bath not seen, etc., passed into the cant expression of the though the princes of this world were igno- Gnostics, a.nu it may be with reference to rant of them." Scriptural quotations o.re their misuse of it that St. John uses the often thus introduceJ, a.part from the general phrase, "Tile depths of So.tnn" (Uev. ii. 24). grammar of the sentence, as in the Greek "Oh, the depth," etc. I (Rom. xi. 33). of eh. i. 31. Eye hatb not seen, etc. The Ver. 11. -The things of God none Re'l'ised Version is here more literal and knoweth. Some manuscripts have not the accurate. The quotation as it stands is not so.me word (ol3ev) as that rendered "know- found in the Old Testament. It most re- eth" in the earlier clause, but "he.th sembles Isa. !xiv. 4, lmt o.Jso vaguely learnt" (t;111wKev); comp. John xxi. 17; 2 resembles Isa. Iii. 15; ]xv. 17. It may be Cor. v. 16. All tho.t is meant is that ou1r another instance of a loose general remi- knowledge of Goel must o.lwo.ys be relative. niscence (comp. eh. xiv. 21; Rom. ix. 33). not e.bsolute. It is not possible to measuro "Non verbum e verbo expresHit," says St. the o.rm of God with the finger of man. Jerome," sed '11'a.pa.q,pa.CT'T1Kws eundem BenBum Ver. 12.-The spirit of the world, The aliis sermonibus indicavit." St. Chrysostom heathen world in its heuthen aspect is w regards the 'IVOrds as part of o. lost prnphecy. garded o.s under the power of the dov·~, Origen, Zacharias of Chrysopolis, and others (2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph.vi.11, 12). Freely given say that the words occurred in an apocryphal to us by God. Tile word " freely " is hero book, the 'Apocalypse of Elias,' but if so involved in tho verb (xa.p,ue,v.,.a.) "gra- the apocryphal writer must have had the ciously bestowed." It is different from the passage of Lsaiah in his mind. Some regard phrase used in "Freely ye have received," the words as o. fragment of some ancient which is gratuitously (6wp•a.v, Matt. x. 8;. liturgy. Origen thought that they came All God's gifts o.ro "without money aml from the 'Revelation of Elijah.' They were without price" (Iso.. Iv. I), und nut "t1>- b<' also to be found in the 'Ascension of Isaiah' bought with money" (Acts xviii. 20). (Jer. on Iso.. ]xiv. 4), und they occur in Ver. 13.-Comparing spil'itual things wit_h the Talmud (Sanhedr. 99 a). Ira a curious spiritn11.L Tiu, meR111ug of this cluuse '" cn. 11. 1-16.] THE FIIlS'l" EPISTLE TO THE COUINTHIANS. Gl