The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 416

tive a!Jape, which, together with the similar Hebrew name for cymbals, t,eltselim (Ps. substantive a!Japesis (Jer. xxxi. 3, etc.), ho.cl cl. f>). already been adopted by the LXX. and by Ver. 2.-Prophecy. The power of loftv Philo and in Wied. iii. 9. The word is utterance belonged to Balo.nm an,\ Caiaphas: thus, as Archbishop Trench so.ys, "born in yet it availed them nothing without love. the bosom of revealed religion" (' New Tes- "Lord, Lord," exclaim the troubled souls flt tament Synonyms,' p. 41). The Vulgo.le the left hnncl, "have we not propheaied in chose caritas (whence our "charity") to thy Name?" Yet he answers them," I never express this love of reason and o.ffection, the knew you." All mysteries. Though I can dearness which reigns between human beings, speak of the secrets of God once hidden but and between mo.n am! God. This word, like now revealed (i\Iatt. xiii. 11 ; Rom. xvi. agape, is absolutely unstained with any 27; cb. ii. 7; F:ph. iii. 3, etc.). And all evil association. If "charity" had been ex- knowledge. Insight into the deeper mean- clu8ively used for agape, no objection need ings of Scripture, etc. All faith. Not her,· have arisen, although "love" is English meaning "justifying faith," or "saving faith.'' while "charity" is Latin. But it ,vas an which can no more exist without showiuc:; unmixed evil tbat, by the use of two different itself in works than light can exist without words for the same Greek word, English heat; but fides miraculosa, reliance on the readers should have been prevented from power to work wonders. Judas, for instanc,·. recognizing the unity of thought on this must have possessed this kind of faith, and subject which prevails among all the boob it was exercised by "many" who will yet of the New Testament (Matt. xxii. 37-40; be rejected because they also work iniquity 1 Pet. i. 22; 1 John iii. 14; iv. 7, 8, etc.). (Mutt. vii. 21-23). So that I could remove To argue that the word "love" in English mountains, It has been supposed that this is not unmingled with unhallowed uses is must be a reference to 1\111tt. xvi i. 20; x:,i. absurd, because those uses of the word have 21. It is, however, much more probable thflt, never been supposed for a single inoment to if St. Paul derived the words from our Lord, intrude into multitudes of other pnssnges they camo to him by oral tradition. --\n,l where "love" is"used to render a!Jape. Who the inference must in any cosc be precnrious, has ever dreamed of objecting on such for the phrase w11s so common nmon.~ the grounds to the favourite hymn?- rabbis thut "remover of mountains" wn.s " Faith and Hope and Love we see one of their admiring titles for a grc11 t Joining hand-in-hand ngree; teacher. I am nothing. No expressin11 But the greatest of the three could involve o more forcible rebuke io And the best is Love." intellectu11! and spiritu11\ pride. Ver. 3.-And though I bestow ell my It is true that Lord Bacon admired "the goods to feed the poor. 'fhe five words, discretion and tenderness of the Rhenish "bestow to feed the poor," represent the Version" in using the word "ch11ritie," one Greek word p,omiso, nnd nfter 1111 d" "because of the indifferencies and requivoca- not give its force. It is derived from tion of the word (love] with impure love." psomion, a mouthful, and so me11us "give But th11t objection, if it ever existed, has o.wo.y by mouthfuls," i.e. ;, dole away." ] t now been done away with by the use of occurs in Rom. xii. 20 for "feed." Atten- "Io,·e" in such a multitude of other pure tion to this verse might ho.ve served ns a and lofty passages of Holy Writ. It is, wuning 11gninst the often useless nnd :ionw- therefore, a great gain th11t the Ruvised times even pernicious doles of medi:crn l Version restored to this passnge the word mon11steries. Much of the "churity" 11;' "love," which hnd been used by Tyndale, these d11ys is even moro uncharitable than Cronmer, o.nd the Genevn Biblo. For in this, and shows tho most complete nhsenco modern English usage the word "chnrity" of truo chnl'ity; us for insl11nco the dropping- is almost confined to "almsgiving," and tho.t of pennies to profcsaionnl beggars, 11nd Sil ofn kind which is often mnde nn excuso for putting n premium on vico ond imposture. shirking all re11l self-denial, and fornot 11cting To be burned. 'l'he rending is extremely up to the true spirit of Jove. Christian love uncertain. The chnngo of II letter gives is always and infinitely blessed, but the the rending, that I may !JlonJ (,cavxlruwµa, almsgiving which hns usurped tho name of for ,cav9-/ruwi,a,). Pel'lrnps the soribes "charity" often does more harm than' good. thought thnt "deni.h by burning" wus us I am beoome as sounding brass, or a tinkling yet (A.D. 57) an unhc,ml-of form of martyr- cymbal; more literolly, I ha'De become dom, though it beco.mo btit too familiar ten boomin!J braBB, or clangin!J cymbal. My or twelve ycnrs lnlor in the Neroni11n perse- "tongues" wit.bout "love" become a mere cution. St. Pnul was, however, probably ,l Jiscord:mt, obtrusive, unintelligible dis- sonm:ce. 'fbe Greek word for ''clanging" referring, not, as somo have 1upposcd, t" branding, which would l,nvo bc·cu expressed (nla/azon) is an o:iomntopooia, like the differently, but to tho case of the •• three 424 THE FinST EPISTLE TO THE COUINTI-IlANS. [cu. xm. 1-13.