24. This argument against felf indulgence muf have had peculiar force with the Corinthians, in whofe neighbourhood the Ifthmian games were celebrated.

25. This was a proper leffon for the Corinthians, who were remarkable for their luxury and fenfual indulgence. They who propofed to contend in thefe games were obliged to conform to a regulated diet, and certain exercises, under profeffed mafters, who knew what was neceffary to give he body that degree of vigour which would beft qualify them for great exertions. The rewards in the Grecian games were generally crowns of leaves which foon faded.

26. It fhould rather have been rendered not obscurely, but as one who would distinguish himself among the foremost in the race.

It was ufual, previous to any real conteft, for the combatants to exercise their arms in all the motions used in a combat, moving them as if they had a real antagonist, tho' they had none. This was called fight. ing the air, or fighting a shadow.

27. This is a happy turn to reprefent the enemy he was to contend with to be himself, his own body, his fenfual appetites, a leffon peculiarly proper for the Corinthians.

This does not imply that the apoftle had any ferious apprehenfions of being rejected at laft, as one who had not done his duty; but it certainly implies that, without confiflency of character and perfeverance, he, or any perfon, will be rejected at laft, how promifing foever may be his profeffions, or his conduct, for a

time; and if it was necessary in his cafe, much more might the Corinthians infer that it was fo in theirs.

If it be thought that, in the whole of this chapter, and on other occafions, the apofle wrote too much about himfelf, I would oblerve, that befides the reason he had for it, this circumftance is one among many other internal traits of generofity in the apoftle's writings, that they were real epiftles, written on real occasions. And as they are, in order of time, the first writings of any christian, and published during the first promulgation of the gospel, while the events to which he alludes were recent, and yet have always been received as genuine, they furnish the fame evidence for the truth of the gospel hiftory, that the epiftles of Cicero, and others do, for the truth of the Roman history; and it is as impoffible for unbelievers to account for the existence of the one, as for that of the other.

THE PARAPHRASE.

Tho' with refpect to my right, as an apostle, or as a preacher of the gospel, I be inferior to no man; yet for the fake of preaching it to the more advantage, and gaining the greater number of profelytes, I willingly make myself the fervant of all. I am ready to comply as far as I poffibly can with the prejudices of all perfons, that I may not offend them, and thereby throw an unne. ceffary obstacle to their receiving the gofpel; and I endeavour to avail myself of their peculiar principles, With the zealous Jews I may be faid to be a Jew, rea foning with them from their facred books. With the

Gentiles

Gentiles, who know nothing of the law, I make myself as one of them, arguing from the principles of natural reason, that I may gain those who have not the law. However, I am far from holding myself to be under no obligation with relpect to God, or to Chrift, but am fubject to their laws.

With the weak and fcrupulous, with refpect to meats, and other things of an indifferent nature, I am careful to do nothing that might lead them to violate their confciences. This I do for their benefit, and thus I become, as it were, all things to all men, that I may by this means be ufeful to them, my object in this be ing the more fuccefsful propagation of the gofpel, thereby to make others partakers of the bleffings of it as well as myself.

You may take a leffon in this refpect from the public games, to the exhibition of which you are accuftom. ed. In the foot race many run, tho' only one or a few obtain the prize. Do you, therefore, so run the christian race, that you may obtain the prize propofed in the gofpel. He who propofes to contend as a wrestler in your games muft fubmit to a strict regimen, and must never exceed the bounds of temperance. What they do to obtain a perifhable crown, we fhould do to obtain one that is incorruptible, and that will not, like a crown of leaves, fade away.

With respect to myself, I would run as one who wishes to distinguish himself, and appear among the foremost, and not pafs unnoticed in the croud of ordinary combatants. As a boxer, I would not lofe my time in a mere prelude to an engagement, beating the air,

but

but, confidering my fenfual appetites as the enemy I have to contend with, would ftrenuously exert myself to gain a victory over them; left when I have preached the doctrine of temperance to others, I myself be rejected, as having failed in the duty I inculcate on them.

Ch. X. The apostle having used other arguments to diffuade the Corinthian chriftians from the vices of idolatry and fornication, and to prevent their complaining of the hardships to which they were expofed, reminds them of the history of the Ifraelites, who not withstanding their great privileges and obligations, of fended God by the very vices to which the Corinthians were addicted, and suffered by his righteous judgments in confequence of it.

2. Their being covered with a cloud, and paffing through the sea, which inclosed them, may be compared to the chriftian rite of baptifm, in which a perfon was plunged in water. But we are not to suppose that this was a proper baptizing of the Ifraelites, or intended to prefigure the christian baptism, any more than the killing of the pafchal lamb was intended to prefigure the death of Chrift. For then there would have been fome account of it in the original history.

As the phrafe being baptized unto Moses does not imply that Mofes was a god, fo being baptized unto Chrift, or in the name of Christ, does not imply that he is God. It is a mode of taking upon us, the profeffion of that religion of which he was the founder.

4. The Ifraelites, befides being, as it were baptized, might be faid by way of figure of .fpeech to partake of

another

another chriflian ordinance, viz. the Lord's fupper, in eating the bread that came down from heaven, and drinking the water which iffued from the rock.

8. Here are cautions against the very vices to which the Corinthians were most addicted viz. idolatry and that fornication, which was encouraged by it.

9. This alludes to the complaints the Ifraelites made of the hardships they met with in the wilderness, and their wishes to return to Egypt. As they did wrong to complain of the government of God, we fhould do wrong to complain of the government of Chrift; tho' the profeffion of his religion expofes us to various hardships, fince the rewards of christianity infinitely overbalance them.

11. That is, the fcriptures were written for general use, and we, in the remotest ages, are to learn by the examples recorded in them; not that the hiftory of the Ifraelites there recorded had any original reference

to us.

13. Such as men of reafon and reflection may well bear. At that time the Romans had not become perfecutors of the chriftians, any farther than fome indivi duals among the heathens had been inftigated by the Jews to do them ill offices.

To whatever farther or greater trials they should be expofed, they would find fupports equal to them. And we do find that in the most violent perfecutious chriftians have been able to bear all that the utmost rage of their enemies could inflict upon them, and this has been effected by their firm belief in a future ftate,