8 or he who is exhorting -- `In the exhortation!' he who is sharing -- `In simplicity!' he who is leading -- `In diligence?' he who is doing kindness -- `In cheerfulness.'
each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love,
The well-leading elders of double honour let them be counted worthy, especially those labouring in word and teaching,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as a custom of certain `is', but exhorting, and so much the more as ye see the day coming nigh.
Judas also and Silas, being themselves also prophets, through much discourse did exhort the brethren, and confirm,
for thou dost certainly open thy hand to him, and dost certainly lend him sufficient for his lack which he lacketh. `Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart -- worthless, saying, Near `is' the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin; thou dost certainly give to him, and thy heart is not sad in thy giving to him, for because of this thing doth Jehovah thy God bless thee in all thy works, and in every putting forth of thy hand; because the needy one doth not cease out of the land, therefore I am commanding thee, saying, Thou dost certainly open thy hand to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy one, in thy land.
The servants! obey in all things those who are masters according to the flesh, not in eye-service as men-pleasers, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God;
The servants! obey the masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to the Christ;
and I fear, lest, as the serpent did beguile Eve in his subtilty, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that `is' in the Christ;
in every thing being enriched to all liberality, which doth work through us thanksgiving to God,
for if the willing mind is present, according to that which any one may have it is well-accepted, not according to that which he hath not;
And we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God, that hath been given in the assemblies of Macedonia, because in much trial of tribulation the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, did abound to the riches of their liberality; because, according to `their' power, I testify, and above `their' power, they were willing of themselves, with much entreaty calling on us to receive the favour and the fellowship of the ministration to the saints, and not according as we expected, but themselves they did give first to the Lord, and to us, through the will of God, so that we exhorted Titus, that, according as he did begin before, so also he may finish to you also this favour, but even as in every thing ye do abound, in faith, and word, and knowledge, and all diligence, and in your love to us, that also in this grace ye may abound; not according to command do I speak, but because of the diligence of others, and of your love proving the genuineness, for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that because of you he became poor -- being rich, that ye by that poverty may become rich.
For our glorying is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we did conduct ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you;
for because of this also pay ye tribute; for servants of God they are, on this very thing attending continually;
so being desirous of you, we are well-pleased to impart to you not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because beloved ye have become to us,
And we ask you, brethren, to know those labouring among you, and leading you in the Lord, and admonishing you, and to esteem them very abundantly in love, because of their work; be at peace among yourselves; and we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the infirm, be patient unto all;
till I come, give heed to the reading, to the exhortation, to the teaching;
Be mindful of those leading you, who did speak to you the word of God, whose faith -- considering the issue of the behaviour -- be imitating,
And I entreat you, brethren, suffer the word of the exhortation, for also through few words I have written to you.
Salute all those leading you, and all the saints; salute you doth those from Italy:
hospitable to one another, without murmuring; each, according as he received a gift, to one another ministering it, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; if any one doth speak -- `as oracles of God;' if any one doth minister -- `as of the ability which God doth supply;' that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power -- to the ages of the ages. Amen.
And the noble counselled noble things, And he for noble things riseth up.
for I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.'
And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who `is' within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who `are' in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,
and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who `are' within thy gates. Seven days thou dost feast before Jehovah thy God, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, for Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all thine increase, and in every work of thy hands, and thou hast been only rejoicing.
If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume, And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it, (But from my youth He grew up with me as `with' a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.) If I see `any' perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy, If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,
The wicked is borrowing and repayeth not, And the righteous is gracious and giving.
A Psalm of David. Kindness and judgment I sing, To Thee, O Jehovah, I sing praise. I act wisely in a perfect way, When dost Thou come in unto me? I walk habitually in the integrity of my heart, In the midst of my house. I set not before mine eyes a worthless thing, The work of those turning aside I have hated, It adhereth not to me. A perverse heart turneth aside from me, Wickedness I know not. Whoso slandereth in secret his neighbour, Him I cut off, The high of eyes and proud of heart, him I endure not. Mine eyes are on the faithful of the land, To dwell with me, Whoso is walking in a perfect way, he serveth me. He dwelleth not in my house who is working deceit, Whoso is speaking lies Is not established before mine eyes. At morning I cut off all the wicked of the land, To cut off from the city of Jehovah All the workers of iniquity!
The good of eye -- he is blessed, For he hath given of his bread to the poor.
All that thy hand findeth to do, with thy power do, for there is no work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in Sheol whither thou art going.
In the morning sow thy seed, And at even withdraw not thy hand, For thou knowest not which is right, this or that, Or whether both of them alike `are' good.
A fool is no more called `noble,' And to a miser it is not said, `rich;'
Is it not to deal to the hungry thy bread, And the mourning poor bring home, That thou seest the naked and cover him, And from thine own flesh hide not thyself? Then broken up as the dawn is thy light, And thy health in haste springeth up, Gone before thee hath thy righteousness, The honour of Jehovah doth gather thee. Then thou callest, and Jehovah answereth, Thou criest, and He saith, `Behold Me.' If thou turn aside from thy midst the yoke, The sending forth of the finger, And the speaking of vanity, And dost bring out to the hungry thy soul, And the afflicted soul dost satisfy, Then risen in the darkness hath thy light, And thy thick darkness `is' as noon. And Jehovah doth lead thee continually, And hath satisfied in drought thy soul, And thy bones He armeth, And thou hast been as a watered garden, And as an outlet of waters, whose waters lie not.
Thou hast met with the rejoicer And the doer of righteousness, In Thy ways they remember Thee, Lo, Thou hast been wroth when we sin, By them `is' continuance, and we are saved.
whenever, therefore, thou mayest do kindness, thou mayest not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men; verily I say to you -- they have their reward! `But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth, that thy kindness may be in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret Himself shall reward thee manifestly.
And having looked up, he saw those who did cast their gifts to the treasury -- rich men, and he saw also a certain poor widow casting there two mites, and he said, `Truly I say to you, that this poor widow did cast in more than all; for all these out of their superabundance did cast into the gifts to God, but this one out of her want, all the living that she had, did cast in.'
and all those believing were at the same place, and had all things common, and the possessions and the goods they were selling, and were parting them to all, according as any one had need. Daily also continuing with one accord in the temple, breaking also at every house bread, they were partaking of food in gladness and simplicity of heart,
And with great power were the apostles giving the testimony to the rising again of the Lord Jesus, great grace also was on them all, for there was not any one among them who did lack, for as many as were possessors of fields, or houses, selling `them', were bringing the prices of the thing sold, and were laying them at the feet of the apostles, and distribution was being made to each according as any one had need.
and one of them, by name Agabus, having stood up, did signify through the Spirit a great dearth is about to be throughout all the world -- which also came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar -- and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea, which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
then the proconsul having seen what hath come to pass, did believe, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
`Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to feed the assembly of God that He acquired through His own blood,
to the necessities of the saints communicating; the hospitality pursuing.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 12
Commentary on Romans 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The apostle, having at large cleared and confirmed the prime fundamental doctrines of Christianity, comes in the next place to press the principal duties. We mistake our religion if we look upon it only as a system of notions and a guide to speculation. No, it is a practical religion, that tends to the right ordering of the conversation. It is designed not only to inform our judgments, but to reform our hearts and lives. From the method of the apostle's writing in this, as in some other of the epistles (as from the management of the principal ministers of state in Christ's kingdom) the stewards of the mysteries of God may take direction how to divide the word of truth: not to press duty abstracted from privilege, nor privilege abstracted from duty; but let both go together, with a complicated design, they will greatly promote and befriend each other. The duties are drawn from the privileges, by way of inference. The foundation of Christian practice must be laid in Christian knowledge and faith. We must first understand how we receive Christ Jesus the Lord, and then we shall know the better how to walk in him. There is a great deal of duty prescribed in this chapter. The exhortations are short and pithy, briefly summing up what is good, and what the Lord our God in Christ requires of us. It is an abridgment of the Christian directory, an excellent collection of rules for the right ordering of the conversation, as becomes the gospel. It is joined to the foregoing discourse by the word "therefore.' It is the practical application of doctrinal truths that is the life of preaching. He had been discoursing at large of justification by faith, and of the riches of free grace, and the pledges and assurances we have of the glory that is to be revealed. Hence carnal libertines would be apt to infer."Therefore we may live as we list, and walk in the way of our hearts and the sight of our eyes.' Now this does not follow; the faith that justifies is a faith that "works by love.' And there is no other way to heaven but the way of holiness and obedience. Therefore what God hath joined together let no man put asunder. The particular exhortations of this chapter are reducible to the three principal heads of Christian duty: our duty to God t ourselves, and to our brother. The grace of God teaches us, in general, to live "godly, soberly, and righteously;' and to deny all that which is contrary hereunto. Now this chapter will give us to understand what godliness, sobriety, and righteousness, are though somewhat intermixed.
Rom 12:1-21
We may observe here, according to the scheme mentioned in the contents, the apostle's exhortations,