Exposition of the Dominical Epistles and Gospels, Section 23
The Epistle. 2. COR. 11.19.
Ye suffer fooles gladly, &c.
SAint Paul was so modest in his owne cause, that hee cals himselfe the greatest sinner, and the least Saint: but in Gods cause, perceiuing that his personall disgrace might tend to the generall hurt of the Church, and scandall of the Gospell, he doth boast with the prowdest; In wh…soeuer a… t…an is bold, I am bold also. Not out of vaine glory, to commend himselfe, but out of a rLu…r. & S…tus n…l…. … …oc.iust necessitie to stop the mouthes of other; especially to confound the false teachers. He doth therefore, sAq… …oc.first confer, then prefer himselfe before them all.
He compares himselfe with them in that which is lesse commendable, namely, for his birth and ancientry. … are Hebrewes, euen so …m I: they are Israelites, euen so am … they are the seed of Abraham, euen so am I: whereas they reioice after the flesh, I will reioice also: vers. 18.
As he doth equall himselfe with them in things carnall; so prefer himselfe before them in things spirituall, in that which is more worthy praise, to wit, in his Apostleship. First in generall: They are the Ministers of Christ, (I speake as a foole) I am more: tRom. 1.1.put apart to preach the Gospell of God, uGalat. 1.1.not by man, but by Iesus Christ.
In more particular, he doth extoll himselfe aboue them
all, in two points especially:
1. For that he suffered moe troubles; as he sheweth in this scripture.
2. For that he receiued mo graces; as he declareth in the next Chapter.
His troubles here mentioned, are partly, such as himselfe assumed of his owne accord:
such as other imposed on him. In xActs 16.22.23.stripes aboue measure. yAquin.Supramodū virtutis huma… ▪ supra modum cōsuetu…inis humanae. In pr…n more plenteously: in zRom. 8.36.death of…: of the Ie…s s…ue times I receiued forty stripes saue one. Thrice was I beaten with rods: I was once aActs 14.19.stoned: I suffered thrice shipwracke: night and day hauehave I been in the deep sea: in perill of wat…rs, in perill of robbers; in ieopardie of mine owne nation, in ieopard… among the heathen: inperils in the bAct. 18. & 19.Citie in perils in wildernesse, in perils among false brethren, &c.
Outward: Labour, watching, hunger, thirst, fasting, cold, nakednesse.
Inward: I am cumbred daily, and take care for all the congregations, &c.
The naturall man is comforted in three things especially:
quiet rest.
liberall diet.
good apparell.
For rest, Paul did labour much, cActs 20 34.euen with his owne hands, d2. Thes. 3.8.night and day, watching osten preaching sometime till midnight: Acts 20.7. For diet, he sometime was in hunger and thirst, vponupon want: 1. Cor. 4.11. and often he did fast for the …aming of his body: 1 Cor. 9.27. For apparell, he was in cold and e1. Cor. 4.11.nakednesse: the one hurtfull to himselfe, the other hatefull to the world. For his inward afflictio…; he tooke care for the whole Church, exceeding solicitous for their spirituall & temporall good: spirituall; who is weake in faith, or good works, and I am not grieued? f1. Cor. 9.22.insirmis factus sum infirmus: I became weak to the weake, that I may win the weake. So the gIeremy 9.1.Prophet: Oh that mine head were full of water, and mine cies a fountaine of teares, that I might weepe day and night, for the slaine of the daughter of my people!
Concerning defects in temporall good, he saith; Who is offended, that is, afflicted, and I burne not, in heat of compassion? All this Saint Paul doth hedge in with a preface before; Yee su…er fooles, &c. And a protestation after, vers. 31. The God, euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ, which is blessed for euermore, knoweth that I lie not.
In the preface, Saint Paul doth hLuther. …l…. S…n l…c.tax the Corinthians folly, for that they suffered, and that gladly, the false teachers to tyrannise ouer their persons and purses,iGo…an. in loc. eit…er secretly defrauding, or openly deuouring their estate; whereas the good Apostles in the meane while, (who preached liberty of conscience, and sought not their owne, but that which is Iesus Christ) were neglected and despised.
As it was in Corinth, it is in England; the craftie Iesuit, and dissembling schismatike, preuaile more with the people then the true Protestant Preacher. Our popish Ladies are so wise, that they suffer the Iesuit to bring both their credits and consciences into bondage, to deuoure their husbands estate, to take what they list, inioyning penance to other, while they pamper themselues, and exalt their order aboue all either Priest or people.
So the Schismatike gaines by losse: as in familiar letters, it is the best rhetoricke to vse no rhetoricke: kPolitian. epist. lib. 1. epist. Pet. Me….carere figuris sigurat epistolam. And as lCic. offic. lib. 3.Sci…io said; he was neuer lesse alone, then when he was alone: so the factious hauehave neuer so much liuing, as when they hauehave no liuing. But the Protestant Pastor is kept often from his own, (which all lawes of God and men hold his due) by prohibitions and vniust vexations; or else paied with insupportable grudging and enuie. Some will happily complaine with mDevil tate condit. human. lib. 2. cap. 5.Innocentius; Iustitia nisi venit, non prouenit, ne que datur nisi vendatur. So that (as nSee trauels of Englishmen into far Countries. p. 62.63.trauellers obserue) Diuines are lesse regarded in England, then in any nation of the world, either Christian or heathen.
Saint Paul in his protestation, oAmbros. in loc.calles to witnesse the most mercifull and most mighty, that he speaks nothing but the truth. He that knoweth all, knoweth I doe not lie.
The pAquin. in loc.Lord is to be feared, because God; to be loued, because the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ; to be praised, because blessed for euermore. By this great, good, glorious Lord, whom I dare not abuse, because great; will not, because good; may not, because glorious, I protest that all is true which I hauehave said, or shall say.
It appeares then in his preface, that he dealt wisely in his protestation, that hee dealt truly. Some commend themselues truely, but not wisely, moe commend themselues wisely, but not truly. Paul here doth both, approuing himselfe before God and men: before God in speaking so truly; before men, in speaking so wisely.