The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 364

be uncovered and a woman's covered ; why one should wear long hair and the other short? No such thing seems reasonable; the uncivilized tribes know nothing of ib. The reason can only be traced to custom. And is not custom second nature? " Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have lon" hair, it is a shame unto him?" But original nature doe~ not seem to teach us that, b~t custom and conventional propriety. Hence Paul says, "If any may seem to be cnntentious, we have no such custom;" by which he means, I understand, that, whoever may contend to the contrary, such a custom-as that woman should pray and preach with uncovered heads-was not known by Paul in other Churches, and that the Church at Corinth should not allow it. Vers. 1 i-22.-Religious institutions: tlieirabuse, "Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not," etc. Three practical truths may be fairly deduced from this paragraph. l. THAT ATTENDANCE ON THE INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGION MAY PROVE PERNICIOUS RATHER THAN BENEFICIAL. "Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse." 'l'he apostle in this verse censures the Corinthians that they came together to the Lord's Supper, and were made " worse" rather than "better." Men cannot be made religious; an irresistible moral force is a contradiction in terms, an impossibility in fact. Hence it comes to pass that the highest redemptive forces on man often conduce to bis ruin. '!'be gospel proves in the case of all hearers either the "savour of life unto life, or of death unto death.'' l'baraoh's heart was hardened under the ministry of Mose~, and the hearts of the men of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were hardened under the ministry of Christ. II. THAT ASSEMBLING TOGETHER FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES DOES NOT NECESSARILY IMPLY UNITY OF SOUL. "For first of all, when ye come together in the Church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." The factious and schismatic spirit seems to have existed in the same Church and even at the Lord's table. It does not follow that,. because people are brought together iu the same religious assembly or Church, that they are united together in spirit. Two people may sit in the same pew, hear the same discourse, sing the same hymns, partake . of the same bread and wine, and yet in soul be as remote from one another as the poles. No real spiritual unity can exist where there is not a supreme affection for the same being. Christ is the only uniting Centre of souls. III. THAT THE VERY BEST IN8TITUTIONS ON EARTH ARE OFTEN SADLY PERVERTED BY MEN. For many reasons the Lord's Supper may he regarded as one of the best ordinances. But see how it was now perverted. It was made the means of gluttony and drunkenness; men used it as a common feast. "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one takcth before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken." Are not men constantly perverting Divine institutions, Churches, Bibles, the Christian ministry, etc.? Vers. 23-34.-The Lord's Sttpper. "For I have received," etc. These verses give an account of what is callee tl:e Lord's Supper. '!'his supper was instituted by Christ himself the night in which he was betrayed, while he was observing the Passover with his disciples. On that night he virtually directed the minds of men from all Jewish ritualism and centred them on himself. "Do this io remembrance of me." True religion now has to do with a Person, and that Person is Christ. In reading the words of the apostle here, there arc four thing8 which strike us with amazement. L THAT ANY SHOULD DOUDT 'l'HE GENUINENESS OF CIIRISTIANl'l'Y. Here is an institution that was started the night previous to our Saviour's crucifixion, which was attended to by the Church at Jerusalem after the day of Pentecost, celebrated by various other apostolic Churches as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, and which Paul says here he "received from the Lord." From the apostolic age down to this hour, through eighteen long centuries, it has been attended to by all the branches of the true Chu~ch. Since its origin hundreds of generations have passed away, many systems have risen and disappeared, nations have been org1mized, flourished, and broken up; but this ordinance continues; what for? 'l'o commemorate the great central fact of tbo gospel, oH. :s:1. 1--34.] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 369