This is a noble account to give of the gospel, " a promise of life:" it sets forth the seat, the quality, and the guarantee of the promise—" Christ Jesus; " and it limits, ennobles, and characterizes the apostolate as an office the function of which is to make known or to proclaim this promise. To (my) beloved child [charissimo filio, Vulg.] Timothy, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. The change of phrase from "very own child" (γνησίω)³ to "very dear, or beloved, child," has led Mack; and Alford to suppose that Timothy had. forfeited the clearer and more intimate. phrase by some moral infirmity. Huther, Fairbairn, and Ellicott repudiate the inference. And whatever suggestion to that effect may arise in any other portion of the Epistle, we cannot think that there is any place for it here. On the contrary, the epithet used in the First Epistle implies an organic, metaphoricaily physical, relation, which could not change or suffer modification. The term used here, "beloved," might, on the other hand, have been more easily forfeited, but it was 1tot. The salutation in the three Pastoral Epistles introduces between. the customary " grace " and " peace " the additional idea of "mercy." It is a touching indication of the Apostle's own humility, and reveals his deepening sense of the need of "mercy " as he drew. near the glory of the unveiled Face. It records the fact that if in Ephesus, Rome, or England there are any children of God who fancy they can rise above an utterance of the cry, " God be merciful to me," apostles and ministers of Christ, even in view of the martyr's crown, cannot forget their profound need of Divine" mercy." The association of Christ Jesus with God the Father as the common source of "grace," "mercy," and "peace," shews what St. Paul thought of his Lord. As he commenced his Epistle with this blended benediction, we are not surprised to find that his last recorded words were, " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." This was the sum of all blessedness, and the exalted Lord, Christ, was Himself the source of it.

Verse 3.—I give thanks to God, whom I serve:—the word here used for "serve" is used in Attic Greek for free, willing service, and even for bought and arbitrary service, and also occasionally for service rendered to the gods; though the proper word for the latter in classical Greek is a different one.⁴ Yet latreia occurs in the Apocrypha and New Testament between twenty and thirty times, to express the worship due and the homage paid to Almighty God. This circumstance will govern its use here, and limit its application rather to the sentiment and spirit than to. the method or form of the service. From my forefathers; some have here given to ἀπό the sense of "desisting from," "separating myself from;" but it undoubtedly indicates what has been to him the source and origin of the sentiments in question. If so, the Apostle is merely giving expression to the unity of the object of Divine worship under both covenants. This reverence for the religion of his fathers is in contrast with the spirit of jealous anti-Hebraic animosity and of violent iconoclasm, which infected the Gentile Church; and it is also condemnatory of a similar disposition in the present day to break with the past. The one living and true God was revealed alike to Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles. Paul was not conscious of worshipping another God, or of having suffered any discontinuity. or change of mind as to the central object of all religious homage, even though in the way that some called heresy he worshipped the God of his fathers.⁵ He did this in pure conscience. A "pure conscience" is not so comprehensive a term as a "good conscience," which means one either. educated and active, or vigorous and approving. A pure conscience is one neither injured by moral defilement, cauterized by bad habits, nor blinded by perverse education. There is much reason to believe that St. Paul suffered for years from a condemning conscience, which was nevertheless " pure." "When the commandment came sin revived;" the law condemned him, and plunged him in despair. He strove to have a " conscience void of offence towards God and men." "From his forefathers he served God in pure conscience;" but, while using this phrase, he seems to confess that his conscience, just because it was "pure," was not in this sense "good."⁶ . His conscience did not approve, but all along condemned him. The " purity" of his motive, and the sincerity of his desire to obey and love the God of his fathers, revealed all the plague of his own heart, and terrified him with Divine judgments.

Since, or seeing that, I make unceasing, or uninterrupted, mention concerning thee in my prayers by night and by day. This mode of translating the ὡς is practically that of Heydenreich, and equivalent to the "as" of Ellicott and the "quoniam" or "quippe" of Winer. Luther, Davidson, Fairbairn, Mack, Lange, prefer "wie" or " as; " and all differ from the interpretation of Chrysostom, and the translation of the Vulgate, "quod," which regards the ὡς as equivalent to ὅτι, "that." The importunity of Paul's prayers for Timothy could not have been the occasion of his solemn thanksgiving to God. The clause is parenthetical, and denotes the affectionate frame of mind, the continuous interest, which tends to justify in Paul's eyes his own burst of honest gladness when information reached him of Timothy's entire consistency of character and profession.

Verse 4.—Eagerly longing to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I might be filled with joy. This clause is a continuation of the parenthetical explanation of his state of mind; and it contains one of the chief strains of the Epistle. St. Paul in his last hours had a passionate desire to see his "beloved child." The parting of these two had been bitter. If the Apostle had been torn away from Timothy by some sudden surprise, and if shaken and convulsed by the blast of persecution, Timothy had wept despairing tears, and appeared too weak to breast the violence of the tempest alone, then the constancy of Paul's prayer for him, and his eager desire to grasp his hand, and to see his face once more, were all natural, human, and entirely characteristic; while they give significance to the veritable ground and occasion of thanksgiving, which was, in that I have received a reminder of⁷ the unfreigned faith that is in thee. We cannot determine the nature of " the reminder," nor how it reached the A pestle; whether by the lips of Onesiphorus, or by letter, or by any other means of communication. Some recorded circumstance, some spoken words, some searching test, had convinced St. Paul that Timothy at the present time was shedding no womanish tears, that his faith had revealed its strength and reality. If put to a severe strain, there was now no mistake about it. His faith was not a mask of unbelief, nor a mere species of personal affection for the Apostle, nor was it an unpractical faith or one dependent on circumstances.⁸ St. Paul may once have entertained some transient doubt about Timothy. His fears may have exaggerated to himself the significance of Timothy's excessive grief.' The words of despair wrung from his lips at their parting may have distressed the Apostle; but now the ugly suspicion is suppressed, and no longer haunts his nightly intercession. He goes back to the beginning of his intercourse with Timothy: a faith such as (ἥτις) dwelt first in thy grandmother⁹ Lois and thy mother Eunike, but I (have been and) am convinced is also in thee. The hostile critics think this to be an unsuitable reference for the dying Apostle to have made to a long and trusted companion and friend. But nothing is more common than for old men to remind the young of their earliest and first associations with themselves;, or for them to hark back to the memories of parents and ancestors. The mother of Timothy is mentioned in Acts xvi. 1 as "believing." Origen conjectured that Lois and Eunike were relatives of St. Paul. This is only conjecture. There is far more reason for believing that they were converts made by him on his first visit to Lystra. In the Jewish communities of these Asiatic towns there were elect souls who had begun to cherish larger hopes for humanity. If Lois had permitted her daughter to marry a Greek, and yet had retained her faith in the promises made to Israel; and if Eunike had so far yielded to her husband's views or habits, as to have foregone for her only son the sacramental rite of admission to the Jewish nation, and yet, notwithstanding this, had diligently instructed him in the history and contents of Holy Scripture (Chap. iii. 15), we have a glimpse of light thrown upon the synagogues and homes of devout Israelites in Asia Minor. The piety and consistency of young Timothy was spoken of on all sides,¹⁰ while the transfer of the trio from the synagogue to the Church, from the faith of their fathers to the faith of Christ, had been rapid, painless, and sincere. Faith "dwelt" in these pious women. They had its beginnings in their hearts, before the glad news reached them. They accepted the promise of life in Christ Jesus. They moved on " from faith to faith; " and Paul is " persuaded" that the womanly intensity of their godly confidence and simple trust had passed like holy fire into the breast of Timothy. It dwelt first in them, and then revealed itself in him. Like the celebrated mothers of Augustine, of Chrysostom, of Basil, and of other illustrious saints of God, their life, their sincerity and constancy, became vicariously a glorious heritage of the universal Church.

Verse 6.—For which cause¹¹ (because I am persuaded and convinced anew that thy faith is genuine) I put thee in remembrance, to kindle the glowing embers¹² of the gift of God, which is in thee by the laying on of my hands.

"The gift of God," like a live coal from the altar, was not extinguished, but yet it might be smouldering. Though St. Paul does not imply that Timothy's peculiar gift had been ever quenched, yet he urges him to give great heed to the fire in his own heart, to wake and feed the. flame of holy love. Dean Alford unduly presses. the expression in proof of the tremulous character of Timothy's faith. I think, with Chrysostom, Ben gel, Huther, and many others, we ought not to infer more than that Timothy's work had suffered through his despondency arising from the peril and imprisonment of his master. He may have been ready to despair of the Church. A grief like that of Albrecht Dürer, when he heard of the imprisonment of Luther, may have filled Timothy's heart. The special charisma needed, therefore, in his case was παῤῥησιά, or a clear, bold utterance of the faith that was in him. Yet from timidity or morbid modesty the young man may have restrained his speech. Who does not need to have his gifts quickened, his powers replenished and stimulated, by full and fresh co-operation of his• will with Divine grace? St. Paul has passed from prayer to exhortation. It is not enough that Timothy should receive the Holy Spirit; it is incumbent upon him "to stir up," to rekindle, to concentrate anew upon his work the sacred flame that had been lighted within him. Paul speaks here of the charisma being communicated by the laying on of his own hands.¹³ In 1 Timothy iv. 14 the "laying on of hands" is referred to the presbyters generally, among whom, without doubt, St. Paul had regarded himself as conspicuous and pre-eminent.

Many ecclesiastical writers have gathered from this phrase the doctrine of the sacrament of orders, and even the indelibility of such orders.¹⁴ Augustine taught that "though God gives grace, He always bestows it through man." A great truth is contained in this utterance, though it is one which is sadly obscured, if it be made to sustain the idea that Divine grace is limited by sacramental channels or restricted to physical contact.

The simple ceremony of cheirothesia dates back to far earlier times, and was an expressive symbol of mutual confidence, of paternal benediction, of earnest supplication.¹⁵ It is candidly admitted that our Lord laid his hands on little children and blessed them.¹⁶ The Apostles appointed "the seven" evangelists as " deacons " to their earliest duties by some such rite; yet it is worthy of note that they did not by this act confer upon the seven the power, in their turn, to bestow similar privileges, or to impart the Holy Spirit.¹⁷ This is evident, because when Philip, one of the seven, had baptized numerous Samaritans, he found that his ordination had not given him the authority to confer upon his converts the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For this purpose Peter and John went down

from Jerusalem to Samaria.¹⁸ An obscure Damascene convert, Ananias, was specially commissioned to baptize and lay hands upon Saul of Tarsus,¹⁹ and at a later period the Church at Antioch laid hands on Saul and Barnabas, and thus designated them to their great commission.²⁰

Cheirothesia by the Apostles was, moreover, accompanied by the conference of miraculous energies upon the Church. These manifestations were the signs of their own apostolic commission, and were claimed as such by St. Paul. If hierarchic imposition of hands were now accompanied by signs following, by instantaneous possession of virtues, capacities, heroism, or a fine and sacred spirit, the inference might be drawn from effect to cause. Miracles, however, which are wrought in regions whither observation cannot track them, and whose only guarantee is the word of the administrator, are deprived of every test by which they can be verified as such.

Verse 7.—For God gave us not the spirit of cowardice. We surely have here a delicate hint of the genuineness of the Epistle, and not, as De Wette and Dr. Davidson suggest, a blundering imitation, by a falsarius, of Romans viii. 15. He who wrote, "We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear," now excludes all unworthy trembling in the face of duty, as any sign of the indwelling Spirit of the exalted Christ. But, he adds, God gave us the spirit of power, love, and self-control. Power is opposed to unhealthy or paralyzing fears. The spirit of "power" resists evil, endures pain, rules men, encounters death; but "love" must temper "power." The angel of this very Church of Ephesus was subsequently ready to act with stringency, to resist evil and to labour unto weariness without collapse,²¹ and yet he had "forgotten his first love." In the blending of " power" and " love" the mind needs, moreover, the balancing force of self-control.²² The Spirit of God by supplying us with power and love launches within us forces which are capable, if they are not well adjusted, of producing either arrogance or laxity; and which need, therefore, the central controlling energy of true self-mastery to harmonize them and save them from mutual destruction. We do not desiderate a neutral, colourless result, but a higher perfection, one in which both these forces have full play.

Verse 8.—Be not thou therefore (as many of our old companions seem to be)²³ ashamed of the testimony thou art called upon to bear concerning our Lord (the phrase might mean Christ's testimony to Himself, though this would be somewhat far-fetched), nor be thou ashamed of me his prisoner. St. Paul's loyalty to the Lord had been the cause of both his imprisonments. Here commentators differ as to whether the rebuke is implied that Timothy had already been chargeable with shame-facedness and fear. All that can be safely inferred is that he needed this warning. St. Paul would hardly have used these words in addressing Titus or Epaphras. But, on the other hand, suffer hardship along with (me),²⁴ for the gospel (do not sever your interests from mine), i1z accordance with the power of God (for within your own will, you will not find the motive or the energy equal to this great emergency), who saved us and called us with a holy calling. " Salvation " is God's work, and embraces the twofold result of deliverance from the consequences of sin and transformation into a new and Divine manhood. It goes deeper still. We need a holy and heavenly calling to summon us from our death-sleep, to direct our conscience, to build up our character, and reveal our special duty. The Father God is always spoken of as the originator of this "call."²⁵ God called us not according to our works, either foreseen, or accomplished, or predetermined, but according to his own (personal) purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus before the eternal periods. The "grace " and " purpose " are separately mentioned. The "purpose" issues in the "grace which is given." I do not think that Christ Jesus is here represented as the vicarious object of the grace, or as receiving before the eternal ages this great gift for us. The Son of God was the object of the eternal love of God; but the use of the phrase "Christ Jesus" points to the fact of the incarnation of the " eternal Son." The purposes of God in eternity concerning the gift of grace in Christ Jesus are as good as if they had been realized in time.²⁶

Verse 10.—Before the eternal periods, and during their succession and evolution, the purpose was not carried into effect, nor its character displayed. The Father's grace waited for the fulness of the ages in order to be accomplished, or to realize itself in human consciousness. and it has now been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ.²⁷ By the incarnation of the eternal Son of God in the Saviour Christ, the eternal purpose and grace of the Father became an object of contemplation and confidence. The "grace" may have made other, greater or less, displays of itself in other worlds. In former ages, moreover, flashes of light may have shone into human hearts from the same Divine source; but in the historic Jesus it was made manifest to this and all worlds.²⁸ Our Lord Christ was the most explicit, abundant, complete, and satisfying revelation of the eternal purpose of Almighty God. The Apostle then adds a clause of transcendent and supreme importance, which is not without interest in estimating the entire philosophy of the writer. Christ Jesus is not only a living embodiment of the eternal purpose and love of the Father, but He is also declared to be the Saviour who made death of none effect, abolished or rendered inoperative that death which is the universal curse of man, which " has passed through upon all men,"²⁹ and is grimly symbolized to us in the dissolution of the body. The Lord declared that those who lived and believed in Him should never die. St. John³⁰ could never have recorded these words of the Master, when a whole generation of Christians, including all the Apostles, with the exception of himself, had passed away and come under the tyrannous sway of the last enemy, unless he had supposed the words to imply something far more and other than the death of the body. Wiesinger, Huther, Ellicott, and others are right in understanding by the word θάνατος "death," the entire antithesis to ζωὴ, or "life." Surely it is the entire principle of decay, corruption, and separation from God instituted by sin. It includes all the animosity that a living self-conscious being feels against God for bringing him into a dying world, all the resist3.nce to and departure from his supreme will. It is this otherwise irremediable curse, and painful looking for of condign punishment, this moral death and dissolution, which Christ has disarmed and rendered inoperative. The sting of death is extracted by the incarnate Son. Elsewhere Paul spoke of a future when death, the last enemy, is made of none effect, is done away (καταργεῖται);³¹ but as he drew near to his own dissolution, he spoke of death as already done away (καταργήσαντος), and not only so, but Christ has poured light upon life and incorruption. Heydenreich explains this, "has brought the hope of immortality into distinct consciousness;" but it is more than this. The Apostle refers to the illumination which Christ has bestowed on "life." The " eternal life " was manifested, and the Apostles saw it, in its dazzling glory and true significance, in the person of the Holy One.³² This was seen to have in itself the quality of indestructibility. So intense, sublime, perfect was this life, that men felt as they had never felt before that He at least could not die. He possessed, like the Father, "life in Himself."³³ and He claimed the power to impart it to others;³⁴ and living men knew that they possessed in and with Him eternal life.³⁵ Streams and floods of light poured from Him upon "incorruptibility." His life and his resurrection from the grave revealed the conditions of true blessedness, and also the prospect of eternal continuity for both body and spirit.

Some writers have deduced from the passage that there was no recognition of life or of resurrection before Christ. This is not true historically, nor does St. Paul go to this length. He expressly says that Christ, as the complete manifestation of the eternal purpose of God, illuminated life and incorruptibility. Davidson says that the clause, through the Gospel, is an un-Pauline addition. But compare Romans i. I 6. The " Gospel " is the concave mirror by which the light of Christ's life is thrown upon the individual who craves the illumination. The Gospel is the form in which the objective revelation made in the person and work of the Lord becomes a matter of consciousness, both transferrable and transmissible to others. As a life-giving word, the Gospel was " quick and powerful, and sharper than the two-edged sword." The apostolic call did but secure the world-wide utterance of "the promise of life" (see Verse 2).

Verse 11.—For the proclamation of which Gospel³⁶ I was appointed a herald and apostle and teacher of the nations. An ambassador of a kingly message, a representative and witness of the risen Christ, and a teacher of those who had been left in the darkness of nature and the shadow of death. The hostile critics assert the unsuitable, superfluous, and unnatural character of this assertion. They say St. Paul would not have reiterated this fundamental fact in his final correspondence with Timothy. I cannot detect any such qualities in the assertion. The letter, if genuine, was written from the prison of the Apostle, to which he had been confined for the maintenance of this very position. St. Paul had suffered in popular esteem, had alienated some old friends; and even Timothy needed a little urging to come to his side in his last agony. His claim to be all this may have been questioned by some who bore the Christian name, and cliques had arisen in the society of Ephesus which might possibly need and receive a fresh accession of spiritual courage by knowing that he did not abate, still less retract, an iota of his Divine commission. They, therefore, needed this asseveration and that which follows:—

Verse 12.—For which cause (because I have received this commission), a clause already pointed out as peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles. It occurs in Titus i. 13, and v. 6, and is a common form of expression. in the Acts of the Apostles. I suffer even these things, but I am not ashamed. Some historical fact, which we can only conjecture, underlies this reference. As we have already seen, Paul was first imprisoned in Rome because he had made his appeal to the imperial courts for protection from the fury of the Jerusalem bigots. Probably he was now apprehended by Roman, officials on the unrighteous charge of treason. The edicts of Nero made the propagation of Christianity a crimen majestatis. He may now have been exposed to indignities from which his Roman citizenship would not shield him. When his Ephesian disciples saw him thus handled, they obviously shrank from the peril of avowing his friendship. Consequently he uttered his trumpet-peal, " I am not ashamed, though I suffer even these things; " for I know in whom³⁷ I have put my. trust (and am now confiding), and I am persuaded that He is able to guard the sacred function deposited with me unto that day. I have already discussed³⁸ the three places in which this word παραθήκη occurs. Some specialty of meaning arises in each case from the context, and we need not bind ourselves to precisely the same meaning for the word on each occasion of its use. The sense of "deposit "—sacred responsibility or holy function deposited or entrusted to a servant by a master—provides a clear and good meaning in 1 Timothy vi. 20, and the analogous use of the word justifies itself in Verse 14. On both occasions Timothy is bidden to guard it (φυλάξαι). In this Verse the Lord Himself is said to be able to guard (φυλάξαι) the παραθήκη and some have plausibly contended that here it must mean something which St. Paul entrusted to God, and not something which his Lord had entrusted to him. Many attempts have been made to solve this difficulty, and either to preserve the same sense in each case, or boldly to sever this particular use of the word from its use in the other two passages. Theophylact and Beza consider that here we should take it to mean "the crown of righteousness;" Calvin, " the salvation of the soul; " Bengel, " the soul; " Alford, "body, soul, and spirit; "Wiesinger," life and immortality." These phrases, or ideas, would all overburden the meaning in the other passages, and are not very happy solutions of the significance of the term even in this Verse. 1 prefer a translation which is applicable in each case, and which is substantially the interpretation of Huther, Davidson, and Ellicott. The Apostle has just said that he is a herald, an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles. This claim was disputed by some, and he was then in sore straits. He was, however, persuaded that the Lord would vindicate him and sustain the commission intrusted to him. The sacred function had been deposited with him, and he now restored it to his Lord. He confidently gives back the "trust" (παραθήκη) to Him who first of all had entrusted (παρέθηκη) it to him. He leaves it to his Master unto that day, when all secrets will be revealed, when every vain suspicion or disloyal surmise concerning the Master as well as himself will be dissolved in the brightness of his coming.

Verse 13.—Hold—not necessarily "hold fast" (ἔχε is not κάτεχε), nor is it emphatic,—" retain," or simply. "have," the form, type, or expression of health-giving words which thou heardest from me. This need not be a compendium, a catechism, or confession of faith, nor need it be some one particular " faithful saying," but the entire type of teaching with which Timothy had been familiar in his intercourse with the Apostle; in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, the two fundamental graces which draw their virtue from, and find their full sphere of united exercise in, Christ Jesus.

Verse 14.—Guard, through the Holy Spirit, the goodly (excellent, lovely, beautiful) function deposited with thee. St. Paul does not hand his commission over to Timothy. That could not be. He restores this to his Lord. But Timothy has a special function of his own. St. Paul had spoken life-giving words to him. Let Timothy treasure them in faith and love. They define his duty and his special commission. Let him hold them as an inspiration. Let him guard them as a trust. The Holy Spirit be his helper. So in all Christian service now, the continued effort to realize the Divine help of the Holy Spirit is the surest way to be faithful and obedient to the heavenly calling. Another proof of the prophetic mission of the Christian ministry.

Verse 15.—Thou knowest this, that all they who are in Asia, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes, have turned away from me.³⁹ St. Paul adds this as a reason for Timothy's faithfulness. The strength and vehemence of the phrase reveal a sad and dark experience. It surely cannot mean, as many urge, that all St. Paul's friends in proconsular Asia had deserted his cause. Some limitation of such a sweeping remark is necessitated by the next verse and by Chapter iv. 16. The Greek expositors explained it to mean all Asiatics now in Rome. This idea would have required ἀπο or ἐκ, rather than ἐν. Many expositors suppose it to refer to those Ephesians who had accompanied him to Rome, and in terror or treachery had deserted him, and now returned to Asia. I am inclined to think that he is not speaking of Christian people as suh1, but of public opinion in Asia, and the Asiatic sentiment dominant in Rome. Nothing more is known of Phygellus and Hermogenes. Their very mention is a hint of genuineness, and may easily refer to some incidents of St. Paul's arrest and trial, which Timothy "would know," would understand perfectly, but the details of which are now irrecoverable. The literal acceptation of the words, which is sometimes pressed by those who aggravate the conflict between St. Paul and the other Apostles, is, however, impossible, and incompatible with the whole substance of both epistles. We cannot be certain about the specific reference.

Verses 16-18.—May the Lord grant mere;⁴⁰ (ποιῆσαι ἔλεος is the ordinary form)⁴¹ to the household of Onesiphorus. It has been supposed that because the household of Onesiphorus are mentioned here and in Chapter iv. that Onesiphorus had died when the letter was written. It may be so, but it is just as probable that Onesiphorus brought to Paul some tender acknowledgment of affection from the members of his own family. The father conveyed to the suffering Apostle some token of regard, some gifts and letters, which evoked his tender and special recognition. Because he oft times refreshed me⁴² (not with physical sustenance only, but with sympathy and love) and was not ashamed of my chain. The friendship of Onesiphorus suffered no chill from the degradation, shame, and augmented rigour of his imprisonment: but when he had arrived in Rome on other business not bearing directly on St. Paul's trial, but at peril of his life, he sought me diligently⁴³ and found me. St. Paul lay hidden in some obscure dungeon difficult of access. The ruin of the public buildings of Rome by the great fire of A.D. 64 may be partially credited as the cause of this cruel aggravation of his lot. The Lord grant that he (Onesiphorus) may find mercy from the Lord in that day. The double use of κύριος has suggested that the first κύριος refers to the fulness and majesty of the Godhead and the second to Christ; but since the prominent thought revolves around the majestic Person who will distribute the awards of eternal justice "because He is Son of Man,"⁴⁴ St. Paul prays that mercy may temper with justice the destiny of Onesiphorus in that day. The writer gives expression to his earnest wish in the formula δώη αὐτῶ ὁ κύριος, and he again reveals his conviction that Christ is the living Providence of his own Church, and is working by his Spirit in the minds of men. Mack argues that since Onesiphorus was dead we have an instance of an apostolic prayer for a departed soul.⁴⁵ Even if it could be proved that St. Paul knew that his kind friend was dead, it could hardly be twisted into a justification of such a practice. The only ground for the hypothesis of the death of Onesiphorus appears in the further reference to his household, rather than to himself in the final salutations, Chap. iv. 19. This might easily be explained on another supposition as well as on that made by the advocates of the "prayer for the departed." If Onesiphorus of Ephesus had business in Rome, he may have had reasons for visiting Corinth, or Thessalonica, or Alexandria; or Spain, and may have been at too great a distance to receive personally the Apostle's salutations. And how many good offices he re1zdered £n Ephesus thou knowest better⁴⁶ (than I can tell thee). The reference suggests vigorous steps taken by this faithful friend on the occasion of St. Paul's arrest, to counteract the doctrinal antagonism of an Hymenæus, the personal malice of an Alexander, or the brutal severity of the representatives of the imperial court.

2) Hüther, Mack, Ellicott, and others. For this use of κατά, see 2 Cor. xi. 21.

3) I Tim. i. 2.

4) θεραπεύειν not λατρεύειν.

6) Cf. I Tim. i. 5, 19; iii. 9, and THE EXPOSITOR, vol. ii. p. 67.

7) It may mean "have called to remembrance." Cf. analogous expression, 2 Pet. i. 9. But the word ὑπόμνησις reports the transitive force of ὑπoμιμνήστω "to call to mind." Ἀναμεμνήσκω, with ἀνάμνησις, refers to the subjective "calling to remembrance," or remembering.

9) The classical word is τήθη or τίτθη, and is equal to the word μάμμα, the mother of either father or mother,

10) Acts xvi.. 1-3.