11 For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.
And not by his coming only, but by the comfort which he had in you, while he gave us word of your desire, your sorrow, your care for me; so that I was still more glad.
Truly, because they had no faith they were broken off, and you have your place by reason of your faith. Do not be lifted up in pride, but have fear;
And he who in these things is Christ's servant, is pleasing to God and has the approval of men.
And in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.
So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.
Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him;
Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become completely holy in the fear of God.
Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything.
Now our prayer to God is that you may do no evil; not in order that it may be put to our credit, but so that you may do what is right, whatever we may seem.
Be angry without doing wrong; let not the sun go down on your wrath;
So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts;
I give you orders before God and Christ Jesus and the angels of God's selection, to keep these orders without giving thought to one side more than another. Do not put hands on any man without thought, and have no part in other men's sins: keep yourself clean.
This is a true saying; and it is my desire that you may give certain witness about these things, so that those who have had faith in God may give attention to good works. These things are good and of profit to men;
Let us then, though we still have God's word that we may come into his rest, go in fear that some of you may be unable to do so.
Looking with care to see that no man among you in his behaviour comes short of the grace of God; for fear that some bitter root may come up to be a trouble to you, and that some of you may be made unclean by it; And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food.
And if you give the name of Father to him who, judging every man by his acts, has no respect for a man's position, then go in fear while you are on this earth:
Be full of desire for the true milk of the word, as babies at their mothers' breasts, so that you may go on to salvation;
To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.
The wise man, fearing, keeps himself from evil; but the foolish man goes on in his pride, with no thought of danger.
And David was full of wrath against that man; and he said to Nathan, By the living Lord, death is the right punishment for the man who has done this: And he will have to give back four times the value of the lamb, because he has done this and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, You are that man. The Lord God of Israel says, I made you king over Israel, putting holy oil on you, and I kept you safe from the hands of Saul;
And on hearing their outcry and what they said I was very angry. And after turning it over in my mind, I made a protest to the chiefs and the rulers, and said to them, Every one of you is taking interest from his countryman. And I got together a great meeting of protest. And I said to them, We have given whatever we were able to give, to make our brothers the Jews free, who were servants and prisoners of the nations: and would you now give up your brothers for a price, and are they to become our property? Then they said nothing, answering not a word. And I said, What you are doing is not good: is it not the more necessary for you to go in the fear of our God, because of the shame which the nations may put on us? Even I and my servants have been taking interest for the money and the grain we have let them have. So now, let us give up this thing. Give back to them this very day their fields, their vine-gardens, their olive-gardens, and their houses, as well as a hundredth part of the money and the grain and the wine and the oil which you have taken from them. Then they said, We will give them back, and take nothing for them; we will do as you say. Then I sent for the priests and made them take an oath that they would keep this agreement. And shaking out the folds of my robe, I said, So may God send out from his house and his work every man who does not keep this agreement; even so let him be sent out and made as nothing. And all the meeting of the people said, So be it, and gave praise to the Lord. And the people did as they had said.
And I took up the cause against them, cursing them and giving blows to some of them and pulling out their hair; and I made them take an oath by God, saying, You are not to give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
Give worship to the Lord with fear, kissing his feet and giving him honour,
But as for me, when they were ill I put on the clothing of sorrow: I went without food and was sad, and my prayer came back again to my heart.
<To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of the sons of Korah.> Like the desire of the roe for the water-streams, so is my soul's desire for you, O God.
I am on fire with passion for your house; and the hard things which are said about you have come on me.
My soul is watching for the Lord more than those who are watching for the morning; yes, more than the watchers for the morning.
To his worshippers, he will give their desire; their cry comes to his ears, and he gives them salvation.
Happy is the man in whom is the fear of the Lord at all times; but he whose heart is hard will come into trouble.
Put me as a sign on your heart, as a sign on your arm; love is strong as death, and wrath bitter as the underworld: its coals are coals of fire; violent are its flames.
For all these things my hand has made, and they are mine, says the Lord; but to this man only will I give attention, to him who is poor and broken in spirit, fearing my word.
Certainly Ephraim's words of grief have come to my ears, You have given me training and I have undergone it like a young cow unused to the yoke: let me be turned and come back, for you are the Lord my God. Truly, after I had been turned, I had regret for my ways; and after I had got knowledge, I made signs of sorrow: I was put to shame, truly, I was covered with shame, because I had to undergo the shame of my early years. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he the child of my delight? for whenever I say things against him, I still keep him in my memory: so my heart is troubled for him; I will certainly have mercy on him, says the Lord.
And I will send down on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer; and their eyes will be turned to the one who was wounded by their hands: and they will be weeping for him as for an only son, and their grief for him will be bitter, like the grief of one sorrowing for his oldest son. In that day there will be a great weeping in Jerusalem, like the weeping of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land will give itself to weeping, every family separately; the family of David by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by themselves, and their wives by themselves; The family of Levi by themselves, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by themselves, and their wives by themselves; And all the other families by themselves, and their wives by themselves.
And if your right eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell. And if your right hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell.
And if your hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off; it is better for you to go into life with one hand than to have two hands and go into hell, into the eternal fire. [] And if your foot is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off: it is better for you to go into life with one foot than to have two feet and go into hell. [] And if your eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out: it is better for you to go into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to go into hell, Where their worm is ever living and the fire is not put out.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Corinthians 7
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
This chapter begins with an exhortation to progressive holiness and a due regard to the ministers of the gospel (v. 1-4). Then the apostle returns from a long digression to speak further of the affair concerning the incestuous person, and tells them what comfort he received in his distress about that matter, upon his meeting with Titus (v. 5-7), and how re rejoiced in their repentance, with the evidences thereof (v. 8-11). And, lastly, he concludes with endeavouring to comfort the Corinthians, upon whom his admonitions had had so good an effect (v. 12-16).
2Cr 7:1-4
These verses contain a double exhortation:-
2Cr 7:5-11
There seems to be a connection between ch. 2:13 (where the apostle said he had no rest in his spirit when he found not Titus at Troas) and the fifth verse of this chapter: and so great was his affection to the Corinthians, and his concern about their behaviour in relation to the incestuous person, that, in his further travels, he still had no rest till he heard from them. And now he tells them,
2Cr 7:12-16
In these verses the apostle endeavours to comfort the Corinthians, upon whom his admonitions had had such good effect. And in order thereto,