2 COR. 6:8.

THE UTMOST FRANKNESS.

By means of slander and praise:
As deceivers, and yet true,

As unknown, and yet well known,
As dying, and yet, look! we are alive;
As chastened, and yet not killed,
As suffering, yet always happy,
As poor, yet making many rich,

As having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

I am speaking to you, Corinthians, with the utmost frankness. We are large-hearted. There is

The

no narrowness of affection in us towards you. narrowness of affection is in you towards us. You also, then, be large-hearted,—I am speaking to you as to my children,—and return my love for you. Do not enter into alliances with unbelievers. For what share has right doing in lawlessness? Or, what has light in common with darkness? And what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or, what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement is there between God's Holy Place and idols? Just as God said :

I will dwell among them, and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
For this reason, come out from among them,

And separate yourselves from them, saith the Lord,

And touch no unclean thing;

And I will welcome you;

COR

And I will be a father to you,

And ye shall be my sons and daughters,

Saith Jehovah, the All-Ruler.

So, since such promises as these are ours, dear friends, let us free ourselves from every carnal and spiritual defilement, and perfect our devotion to God out of reverence for him.

We have

We

Make room in your hearts for us. wronged no one. We have harmed no one. have taken advantage of no one. I am not saying this to condemn you. For, as I have already said, you are ours for life and for death. I speak very plainly to you, yet I boast very much about you. I am full of encouragement, and, with all our trouble, I am very happy.

For, even since we reached Macedonia, our carnal nature has had no rest. On the contrary, we are in trouble on every side,-conflicts without, anxieties within. But God encourages the lowly, and he has encouraged us by the coming of Titus. And not only by his coming, but also by the enFor couragement which he received among you. he tells us about your eager desire to see me, your sorrow for your sins, and your zeal on my behalf, so that I am still more happy. For though I made you sorry in my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it,—for I see that the letter made you sorry, though only for a time-I am now glad, not

2 COR. 7:9.

AFFECTION.

101

because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led to a change of heart and purpose of mind. For your sorrow was in accord with God's will, so that you might not in any way be injured by us. For the sorrow which is in accord with God's will effects a change of mind and purpose of heart which leads to a salvation never to be regretted. But the world's sorrow produces death. For see what the very fact of your having been made sorry in accord with God's will has done for you, what earnestness in making amends for the offense, what eagerness to clear yourselves from blame, what vexation at the disgrace, what fear of my displeasure, what desire for my approval, what readiness to discipline the offender, what a punishment of him! You have in every way cleared yourselves and shown that you are now free from guilt in the matter. So, even if I wrote the way I did to you, I did not do it so much to punish the wrong-doer, or to avenge him who was wronged, as to bring clearly to light before God that zealous interest of yours which you cherish towards me. Since this object has been attained we have been encouraged.

In addition to this encouragement we were made very much more happy by the happiness of Titus. For his heart has been cheered by you all. For though I have boasted to him a little about you,

7: 14.

you have not made me feel ashamed. On the contrary, just as we have always told you the truth, so also has our boasting to Titus about you proved to be the truth. And now his affection for you is all the greater, as he recalls your readiness to obey our counsel, and the spirit of self-distrust in which you received him. I am glad that I have complete confidence in you.

Now, brothers, we want you to know about the favor which God has bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia,-how, tried though they were in many a trouble, their overflowing happiness, and even their deep poverty, displayed itself in great liberality. For, I can bear witness, that to the extent of their ability, yes, and beyond it, they voluntarily gave, and with many an appeal to us they asked the privilege of giving their share towards the fund for their fellow-Christians. And their giving surpassed our expectations. For they were not content to give money, they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us, by allowing God's will to work on their wills. This led us to urge Titus to see to the completion of this expression of your sympathy which he had begun among you. And as you excel in everything,-in faith, and teaching, and knowledge, and all earnestness, and in the love

2 COR. 8:7.

KINDLY GENEROSITY OF CHRIST. 103

which we have awakened in you,-I ask you to excel also in this matter.

I do not give this as a command. I am only making use of the earnestness shown by others to test the genuineness of your love. For you are well aware of the kindly generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you know that with all his wealth he, for our sakes, became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become rich. So I am giving my advice on this subject. For this is the best course to pursue with you, who were not only a year ahead of others in taking action, but also in resolving to do so. And now complete the work, also, so that, so far as your ability goes, its completion may be in accord with your resolve to do it. For if one has the inclination to give, he is accepted in proportion to what he has, not in proportion to what he has not. For our object is not to relieve others and to give you trouble. On the contrary, it is based on the principle of equality, and to bring about equality. So on this principle and to bring about this end, what you have to spare at the present time must go to supply their want, so that at another time what they have to spare may supply your want. Just as it is written : He who gathered much had no more.

He who gathered little had no less.

But thanks be to God for inspiring the heart of