II Corinthians - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1203

II. CORINTHIANS. 7-—!3

IO II I2 16 r8 Am: m A DAY or sA1.vn10u I HAVE HELPED YOU. Now the present is a very favourable time; now the present is a day of salvation. We give no offence to amy, so thatsthe service may not be blamed, On the contrary, we conduct ourselves like servants of God under all circum- stances-·in perfect obedience, in afflictions, in distresses, in difiiculties, in contentions, in watchings, in riots, in labours, in sleeplessness, in hunger; when rejected, when recognised; by self~restraint, when conferring bene- fits; by a holy spirit; by unpre- tended love; by true reason; by Divine power; by the arms of right- eousness on the right and the left; through honour and disgrace; through bad report and good report; as though deceivers, yet truthful; at times ignored when fully known; apparently killed, and yet we are alive; seemingly crushed, and yet notkilled ; thought to be grieved, but always rejoicing; seemingly poor, but enriching multitudes ; apparently hgving nothing, although possessing al . Our mouth is open to you, Corin

thians; our heart is spread out. You are not contracted in us, but you are contracted in your own adections; however, unfold yourselves and return it. I speak to you as children. ®f ghlixzh marriages. Become not unequally connected

with unbelievers; for what partner- ship is there between righteousness and lawlessness ? or what community between light and darkness ? and who can make concord between Christ and Bella]? or who can classify faith with unbelief? or who can make the sanc- tuary of God unite with idols? For you are a living, Divine sanctuary; as God says: I WILL DWELL AND TRAVEL WITH THEM ; I wu.; ee cream Gon, Ann THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. THEREFORE, COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, sus run Loan, AND TOUCH NOT UNCLEANNESS; Ann I wiu. Accept You, AND BE A FATHER TO YOU, Isa. xllx. 8. ’ Exod. xxlx 45. Isa. Iii. xx. AND YOU SHALL Bx s0Ns AND DAUGHTERS TO ME, Save ri-in ALL-nuuuc; Loan. Therefore, having these promises,

friends, we should purify ourselves from every bodily and spiritual pollu- tion, perfecting purityin reverence of God. El): 3p¤¤ilz's Qnhz. Make room for us: we have injured

none; we have corrupted none; we have plundered none. I do not express blame; for, as I said before, you are in our hearts to suffer and die together. I use perfect freedom of speech towards you, for I am very proud of you; I am quite content and supremely delighted, in spite of all our sufferings. F or when we arrived in Macedonia, we had no bodily rest; but were distressed all around—conten- tions without, fears within. But God, the Consoler of the depressed, con- soled us by the appearance of Titus; and not only by his appearance, but also by the pleasure with which he had been consoled by you, reporting to us your desire, your sorrow, your zeal for me, which increased my delight. Because, even if I had grieved you by that letter, I am not-sorry for it-·-al- though I had been sorry———seeing the result of that letter, although it grieved you temporarily. I am glad now, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repentance; for you were grieved unto a return to God, so that you were not punished by us uselessly. For the Divine sorrow produces an unrepentable change of mind to salvation; but the worldly grief produces death. For observe this——your Divine grief--what a readiness, what a defence, what vexation, what dread, what a longing, what zeal, what a decision it produced from you! In all things you have proved yourselves to be quite innocent of that affair. However, although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the proiiigate, nor on account of the injured man; but with the object of manifesting your earnestness, for our sakes and your own, towards God. And we have been consoled by this. And besides our own consolation,

we have been still further rejoiced by the delight of Titus, because his I0 II I2 1 ]er. xxxl. xr IZO3