7. These philofophizing christians, proud of their knowledge, laid more ftrefs upon it than upon the purity of heart and life, which is the end of both the law and the gospel.

8. Left it should be imagined Paul meant to undervalue the law, he exprefsly declares that that was not his intention, and fhews what was the proper end of the law with refpect to the moral, which was the most important ufe of it, namely to be a reftraint upon vice and wickedness, feveral kinds of which he here enumerates.

15. Paul having reprefented himself as a great fin. ner, tho' he had acted in one fenfe confcientiously in what he had done, but without having taken proper pains to inform his judgment, which is the natural guide of confcience, takes the opportunity of afferting in general, that the defign of the gospel which he had embraced was to fave finners, or to reform the world, and this makes it fo great a bleffing to the world, which food in great need of reformation.

17. We fee that Paul referred all the bleffings of the gofpel, to God the author of all good, whofe fervant only, and meffenger, Chrift was.

18. i. e. The preaching of the gospel.

This must refer to fome particular prophecy, point. ing out Timothy in particular as a proper person to be intrufted with the preaching of the gofpel, and it is evident from other circumftances that such a spirit of prophecy was in the church.

Mr. W. renders this charge, viz. as given him by Paul, and not any prediction.

20 This

20. This Hymeneus Paul fays 2 Tim. ii. 17, had together with Philetus overturned the faith of fome, faying, that the refurrection was paft already. Of Alexander he fays in the fame place that he had done him much evil, probably by joining these persons in teaching the fame doctrine, which was evidently the fame with that of the Gnoftics at Corinth, who likewise denied the refurrection. These perfons being obftinate in oppofing the gospel, it feems that the apoftle had excommunicated them, which he expreffes by faying they were delivered over to Satan. Satan denoting the principal of evil in general, we can only infer from this phrafe that fome judgment or other, probably of a temporal and visible nature, did then attend thefe folemn excommunications, which in the infant ftate of the church ferved as a warning to others, as in the cafe of Ananias and Sapphira, and tho' the punishments here alluded to might not be fo awful, yet the hand of God might be as confpicuous in them.

Ch. II. The apofle having afferted his apoftolical authority, and given fome account of his former life, and of the goodness of God in calling him to the apof tleship, proceeds to give Timothy a variety of directi ons with respect to the church at Ephefus, to the state of which he is perpetually alluding: and it will be a great key to his meaning to confider that there were in that church, as in that of Corinth, perfons who under valued his authority, and held principles inconsistent with thofe of chriftianity, being thofe of the Gnoflies which I have fo often mentioned, and who being at the fame time Jews, had prejudices peculiar to that nation.

2. It is poffible that the Jews of that age held other nations in fuch great contempt and abhorrence, especi ally the Romans who ruled over them, that they would not publicly pray for them.

4. i. e. Who does not confine his goodnefs to the Jews, but intends the gospel to be a bleffing to all nations without diftinction; for that is the meaning of the apostle in this place, and not the falvation of each individual of mankind, tho' this may be implied in other paffages of fcripture.

5. For God and Chrift bearing the fame relation to Jews and Gentiles, there can be no refpect of perfons with them.

Here the apoftle, without making it his principal object, for he could have no idea of that being neceffary, evidently confiders the one God as a Being quite diflinct from Jefus Chrift: and speaking here of Christ in his highest capacity, as the great mediator between God and man, or the perfon whofe doctrine was cal culated to reconcile them when they were at variance, he nevertheless fimply calls him a man. Had the apoftle thought him to be a being of a higher nature than that of man, it cannot be fuppofed but that in this place more especially, he would have denominated him by that higher rank whatever it was; and especially if he had conceived him to be fo great a being as the ma ker of man and of all things. There muft have been a manifeft impropriety in calling that being fimply a man, who was naturally fuperior to angels.

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6. Chrift in confequence of delivering men from fin and death by his gofpel, and dying in order to effect

this great purpose, may be confidered in a figurative fenfe as giving his life for them; and this the apoftle obferves that he did without any distinction of Jews or Gentiles. For he alludes to the narrow principles of the Jews in the whole of this argument.

7. i. e. It is an undoubted truth, tho' fome at Ephefus may question it.

As an apostle, it is my direction that prayer be made for all men, with a disposition of mind proper to recommend all prayer ; and especially without a spirit of contention, debating, or wrangling, as the word may be rendered; and this makes the better fenfe, as the apof tle is here alluding to the factious fpirit which prevail. ed both here and at Corinth.

Having given the preceding direction concerning prayer for the Roman emperors and all perfons without distinction, he proceeds to another fubject which it is probable that the state of the church at Ephefus might render expedient.

10. They were not to confider thefe things as their principal ornament, for I do not fuppofe that the apostle meant abfolutely to forbid every thing that is confidered as ornament in drefs.

Having thus mentioned the cafe of women, he pro. eeeds to give the fame directions refpecting their con duct in the church at Ephesus, which he had done with regard to the church at Corinth, viz. that they fhould not fpeak in the public affemblies of chriftians.

12. i. e. Over the man, which their public teaching would imply.

14. He mentions thefe circumftances which feem to be of no great moment, as what in his opinion prove the fubordination of women to men. But the unfuitable. nefs of speaking in public to the female character, of which modesty and referve is the greatest recommendation, would have been a reafon quite fufficient for his purpose.

15. There is great difficulty in the interpretation of this paffage. It expreffes in general the respect that God bears to the female fex, as well as to the male; tho' women were in a state of subjection to men, and it was unbecoming in their character to affume a superiority over them by fpeaking in public affemblies. It is poffible that in fpeaking of child-bearing, the apostle might allude to the Mofaic account of the creation, in which the pains attending it are mentioned as a curfe upon Eve; intimating that notwithstanding this circumstance, women were in a state of favour with God. He might alfo allude to the opinions of the Gnoftics who were enemies to marriage.

Ch. III. It feems probable, that Paul did not appoint any regular officers in the church of Ephefus, while he continued there, but perhaps intended to have done it, when he was obliged to leave the place rather abruptly. This business seems to have been left to Ti mothy, to whom in this chapter he gives instructions on the fubject; giving him an idea in the first place, of the importance of the office of bishop or principal overseer of a chriftian church; and then, the proper qualifications for the discharging of it, as well as for the inferior office of deacon.