John Trapp on 2 Corinthians 11

CHAP. XI. Verſe 1. In my folly]

HOw fooliſh were the Phariſees, Ioh. 7.49. and after them the Gnosticks, the Illuminates, and now the Jeſuites that boaſt themſelves to be the only knowing men? Palemon the Grammarian that bragged that all learning was born with him,Sueton. and would die when he died? Epicurus, that he firſt found out the truth, &c. Richardus de S. Victore, Parei. biſt. occl. that gave out that he knew more in Divinity, then any Prophet or Apoſtle of them all? Theſe were fools to purpoſe. The Apoſtle was put upon a neceſſity of commending himſelf, ſo to vindicate his Miniſtery from the contempt caſt upon him by the Corinthians.

Verſe 2. For I am jealous] q.d. My dear love to you puts me upon this praiſing my ſelf.

With a godly jealouſie] Gr. With a zeal of God, called the flame of God, Cant. 8.6. ſuch as was that of Iob over his children, for fear they ſhould ſinne againſt God: not ſuch as was that of the Phariſees over the Galatians, the hypocriſie of jealouſie, Gal. 4.17. [non-Latin text not transcribed] Velut ca quae glutino aut ferrumine com mittuntur. Eraſm. 2 King. 14.9.

For I have eſpouſed you] Gr. I have fitted you, as things that are pieced together, are glewed or ſoddered.

To one husband] Here the Cedar taketh the thiſtle to wife (tantùs taentillos) and doth all the offices of an husband to her. He firſt loveth his Church, and then puriſieth her, Epheſ. 5.25, 26. (Abaſhueroſh had the virgins firſt purified and perfumed, before he took them to his bed) He puts upon her his own comelineſſe, Ezek. 16. as Eleazar put the jewels upon Rebecca (hence ſhe is called Callah of the perfection of her attire, ornaments and beauty, Ier. 2.32.) 3. He maketh love to her by his Paranymphes. his Miniſters, who wooe for him, and preſent her to Chriſt as a chaſte virgin. 4. He cohabits with her, Cant. 7. 5. The King is tied in the ra[illegible: 1 letter]ters. 5. He rejoyceth over her, Iſa. 62.4, 5. 6. He doth the marriage duty to her, and maketh her the mother of us all, Gal. 4.26. Rom. 7. 1[illegible: 1 letter] 4. 7. He nouriſheth and cheriſheth her, Epheſ. 5.29. 8. He hateth putting away, Mal. 2.16. and provideth for her eternall welfare, Eph. 1.27. Col. 1.21, 22.

Verſe 3. But I fear] Jealouſie is made up of love, fear and anger.

By his ſubtilty] He muſtered all his forces, or rather all his frauds together to cheat her. That old Serpent when he was young, outwitted our firſt parents. Now that he is old, and we young, Epheſ. 4.14. What will he not do, if we watch not? Bellar mine ſaith of his Romaniſts, Romani ſicut non acumina, ita nec impoſturas habent, that they are neither ſharp nor ſubtle. The devil is both, and ſo are they: witneſſe their crafty cruell both poſitions and diſpoſitions. This old Serpent having lent them both his ſeven heads to plot, and his ten horns to puſh.

So your mindes ſhould be corrupted] Satan hath his [non-Latin text not transcribed], his ſet and compoſed machinations, 2 Cor. 2.11. whereby he adulterateth out [non-Latin text not transcribed], our judgements.

From the ſimplicity, &c.] Of all graces Satan would beguile us of this ſimplicity: the world cals it ſillineſſe, ſheepiſhneſſe

Verſe 4. But if he that cometh] Giddy hearers, wherried about with every novelty, have no mould, but what the next teacher caſts them into: being blown like glaſſes into this or that ſhape at the pleaſure of his breath. See Ioh. 5.43.

Verſe 5. The very chiefeſt Apoſtles] Either he meaneth thoſe pillars, Peter, Iames, Iohn, &c. Gal. 2.6. Or the falſe Apoſtles, whom he ſtileth chiefiſt by an irony, becauſe they ſought to bear away the bell, and be counted prime preachers.

Verſe 6. But though I be rude in ſpeech] Gr. An idiot, a plain down-right, home-ſpun, homely-ſpoken perſon. The Ancients buſied themſelves (ſaith Cyril) [non-Latin text not transcribed], not about coynt and new coyn'd language, but [non-Latin text not transcribed],Cyril. Hicroſolom. about ſolid demonſtrations drawn out of the holy Scriptures. Hierome reports of Didymus that he was an Apoſtolike writer, as you might eaſily gather by his ſtile, T[illegible: 1 letter]m ſenſuum nomine, quàm ſimplicitate verborum. His matter was as lofty, as his language low and ordinary. Hierom himſelf is much commended by learned men, Quòd ubi que non ſi[illegible: 1 letter] aequè Latinus, Viver l 2. & 3. de trad diſ[illegible: 1 letter]ip. that he is not alwaies ſo curious and choice of his words. But what reaſon he had I ſee not, to cenſure St Paul ſo ſharply as he doth, Ob ſenſus involutos, cloquium implicatum, & artis Grammaticae imperitiam, for his intricate ſenſe, dark clocution, and unskilfulneſſe in Grammar-learning. Hieron epiſt. ad Ageſiant. True it is he was a plain preacher, as he here acknowledgeth: and why he affected plainneſſe, he telleth us, 1 Cor. 1.17. as ſtooping to vulgar capacities. But that he could play the Oratour if he pleaſed, appears, Act 17.2[illegible: 1 letter]. &c. and Act. 26.2 Inſomuch as the Lycaonians called him Mercury, becauſe he was a Master of ſpeech, Act. 14.12. And as for his Epiſtles, there is as good thetorike found in them, as in any Heathen Oratour whatſoever; Demoſthones is but dull to him: and Auſtins wiſh was to have ſeen, Paulum in ore, Paul preaching, which he would have eſteemed an high happineſſe.

Verſe 7. I have preached to you freely] Becauſe he gat his living with his hands, that he might preach gratis, they deſpiſed him as a mean mechanick, This is merces mundi, the worlds wages, Nil habot inf[illegible: 1 letter]elix paupertas, &c. Miniſters muſt have an honourable maintenance (and not be forced to weave for a living, as Muſoulus was, or to ſerve the Maſon, as another great ſchollar) or elſe they will be ſhamefully ſlighted.

Verſe 8. I robbed other Churches] Grandis Metaphora, ſaith Piſcator. I took maintenance from them (as the Apoſtle preſently expounds himſelf.) I made a prey and prize of them.

Verſe 9. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. And wanted] Gr. And was behinde hand.

I was chargeable to no man] I was none of thoſe droans that chill the charity of well-diſpoſed people, as the cramp-fiſh benummeth thoſe that touch or come near it. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Torpe lo.

Verſe 10. As the truth of Christ is in me] He confirms it with an oath, that he will not take a peny of them, whiles he preacheth in thoſe parts. A Miniſter ſhould be carefull of whom he receives a kindeneſſe.

Verſe 11. Becauſe I love you not?] It ſhould be a Miniſters care to preſerve in the hearts of his people an opinion of his love to them. For if they once concerve an incurable prejudice againſt him that he hates them, or the like, there's no good will be done.

Verſe 12. That I may cut off occaſion] There were thoſe that waited for it, as earneſtly as a dog doth for a bone, as we [illegible: 1 letter]y. Habuerunt ſuos cuculos omnes docti & hearoici quolibet tempore, ſaith Melancthon. Every Zopyrus hath his Zoilus.

That wherein they glory] They, likely, had feathered their neſts, and ſo might well afford to preach gratis. Paul, though not ſo well under-laid, would not come behinde them in that neither. He would not be leſſe buſie (though he laboured hard for it) in building ſtair-caſes to heaven, then they were in digging deſcents down to hell.

Verſe 13. Deceitfull workers] They ſeemed to labour, but indeed they loitered, or worſe; ſeeking to ſet up themſelves in the hearts of Gods people.

Transforming themſelves, &c.] The Mannichees derived their name of Manna, becauſe they held, That whatſoever they taught was to be received as food from heaven. Montanus ſaid, He was the Comforter, &c. Novatus called himſelf Moſes, and a brother that he had Aaron. The Family of Love ſet out their Evangelium regni. The Swenckfeldians (Stinckſeldians Luther called them, from the ill ſavour of their opinions) entituled themſelves with that glorious name, The Confeſſours of the glory of Chriſt. Schluſſenburg. [illegible: 1 letter]

Verſe 14. Satan himſelf is, &c.] Satan (ſaith one) doth not alwaies appear in one and the ſame faſhion, but hath as many ſeverall changes as Proteus among the Poets. At Lyſtra he appears like a Comaedian, as if a ſcene of Plautus were to be preſented on the ſtage. At Antioch like a Jeſuite with traditions in his month. At Athens he ſallies out like a Philoſopher. At Epheſus like an Artiſicer, and here at Corinth he is transformed into an Angel of light. Fiery Serpents full of deadly poiſon are called Seraphims, Numb. 21.6. Iſa. 30.6.

Verſe 15. As the Miniſters of righteouſnes] Cavete a Melampygo. Try before you truſt: Sectaries and ſeducers are very ſubtle and inſinuative; the locuſts have faces like women; know them and avoid them. When one commended the Popes Legate at the Councel of Baſil, Sigiſmund the Emperour anſwered, Tamen Romanus eſt, yet he is a Roman. So, let Satan or his Agents come never ſo much commended to us in his ſugred allurements, let us anſwer, Yet he is a devil.

Verſe 16. Let no man thinke me] There was never man, nor action, but was ſubject to variety of cenſures and miſconſtructions, fooliſh men daring to reprehend that which they do not comprehend. I like S. Auguſtines reſolution in this caſe. Non curo illos cenſores, qui vel non intelligendo reprehendunt, vel reprehend ndo non intelligunt. Aug. cont Fan. l. 22. c. 34.

Verſe 17. I ſpeak it not after the Lord] Neither by his command nor example, but permiſſion only.

Verſe 18. Glory after the fleſh] Or in the ſleſh, Gal. 6.13. or have confidence in the fleſh, Phil. [illegible: 1 letter].[illegible: 1 letter].

Verſe 19. For ye ſuffer ſcols] Inter indoctos etiam Corydus ſonat, Wiſe men hold them for fools, whom fools admire for wiſe men.Quintilian. As one ſaith of Atturneys, Quòd inter opiliones ſe jactitent Juriſperitos, inter Jurisperitos ne opilionum quidem aestimatione habeantur. Rex Platonicus.

Verſe 20. For ye ſuffer, if &c.] As the Popiſh penitentiaries, thoſe miſerably miſled and muzzled creatures. They write of out King Henry the ſecond, that going to Canterbury to viſit the ſepulchre of his own Martyr Thomas Becket, coming within the ſight of the Church, he alighted, and went three miles on his bare feet,Daniels hiſt. fol [illegible: 1 letter]02. which with the hard ſtones were forced to yeeld bloudy tokens of his devotion on the way. Clemens the fifth, Pope, cauſed Dandalus the Venetian Embaſſadour to come before him tied in chams,Incl p. 379. Gab. Powell of Tolerat. and to wallow under his table with dogs, whileſt his Holineſſe ſat at ſupper. The Pope laſhed Henry 4. of France (in the perſon of his Embaſſadour at Rome) after the ſinging of every verſe of Miſerere, untill the whole Pſalm was ſung out. Sed exor to jam Evangely yubare, ſagaciores (ut ſpero) principes ad nutum Romani Orbily non ſolvent ſubligacula, ſaith a great Divine.

If a man take of you] By way of gratuity, but not of wages: or by their followers, and not by themſelves. No Cappucine among the Papiſts may take or touch ſilver. This mettall is as very Anathema to theſe,D. Hallſ; epiſt. 5. Decade. 1. as the wedge of gold to Achan: At the offer whereof he ſtarts back, as Moſes from the Serpent. Yet he carries a boy with him that takes and carries it, and never complains of either mettall or meaſure.

Verſe 21. As though we had been weak] i. e. Worthleſſe and ſpiritleſſe. But miſtake not your ſelves; I am another manner of man then you imagine me. It is ſaid of Athanaſius, that he was Magnes & Adamas; a loadſtone in his ſweet, gentle, drawing nature, and yet an adamant in his reſolute, ſtout carriage againſt heretikes and evil doers.Nazianz.

Verſe 22. Are they Iſraelites] Gods ſelect, peculiar. Happy art thou, ô Iſrael: who is like unto thee, ô people [illegible: 1 letter] Deut. 33.29. The Jews ſay that thoſe ſeventy ſouls that went with Iacob into Aegypt, were as much as all the ſeventy Nations of the world. Tabor and Hermon, the Eaſt and Weſt of Iudea, are put for the Eaſt and Weſt of the world, Pſ. 89.12.

Verſe 23. In labours more abundant] Chry ſoftome calleth Paul, Inſatiabilem Dei cultorem, an unweariable ſervant of God.

Verſe 24. Fourty ſtripes ſave one] That they might be ſure not to exceed the ſet number of ſtripes, limited by the Law, Deut. 25.3.

Verſe 25. Thrice was I beaten, &c.] By the Roman Magiſtrates, as alſo the Martyrs were by the Romiſh Biſhops.Act. and Mon. fol. 1854. Thomas Hinſhaw was beaten with rods by Bonner, and abode his fury ſo long as the fat-paunched Biſhop could endure with breath, and till for wearineſſe he was fain to ceaſe. So alſo he dealt by Iohn Willis, and by M. Bartlet Green, who greatly rejoyced in the ſame. Ibid 1684.

I have been in the deep] Sine nave in mari fu[illegible: 1 letter] So the Syriack renders it. For 24. hours together I have been floting in the ſea.

Verſe 26. By mine own countreymen] A Gentilibus meis, & a Gentibus.

Verſe 27. In wearineſſe and painfulneſſe] Here's dainty rhetorick. Tully calleth Ariſtotles Politikes, Aureum flumen orationis, a golden floud of eloquence in reſpect of the purity of the ſtile, and the excellency of the matter, May it not be more truly ſaid of this great Apoſtles writings?

Verſe 28. That which cometh, &c.] Quaſi agmine facto, & repetitis vicibus. His care came upon him, as an armed man, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. and gave him no reſt or reſpite.

The care of all the Churches] Calvin was no otherwiſe affected toward the Churches though far remote, then if he had born them upon his ſhoulders, ſaith Beza. He often ſighed out, Vſquequo Domine; over the poor afflicted Churches of Chriſt; with the miſeries whereof he was much more affected then with any of his own private miſeries. I could not but love the man (ſaid Theodoſius of Ambroſe) for that, whileſt he lived,Magis de eccl[illegible: 1 letter] ſiaru ſtatu, quā de ſuis periculis angebatur. and when he died, he took more care for the Church then for himſelf.

Verſe 29. Who is weak] By paſſion.

And I am not weak] By compaſſion.

And I burnt not] i. e. Am exceedingly grieved. Compare Pſ. 10.2. & 7.14. He hotly purſueth the poor.

Verſe 30. I will glory of the things] As a conquering of his ſpoils, or as an old ſouldier of his ſears. The Apoſtle glorieth in thoſe things that his adverſaries condemned, as infirme in him.

Verſe 31. Which is bleſſed for ever] And therefore to be bleſſed, as he that is the father of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. This is a praiſe that he much ſtands upon, Rom. 15.6. And ſurely if all generations ſhall call the virgin bleſſed, for that ſhe was the mother of Chriſt, Luk. 1.48. how much more, &c.

Verſe 32. In Damaſius] The chief City of Syria, built (ſay ſome) in the place where the bloud of Abel was ſpilt, and thence called. Dameſek, i. e. a bag of bloud. Thither Paul marched with a bloudy minde, but was miraculouſly converted, and ſo powerfully confounded his countreymen there, that they incenſed the governour againſt him, to his great peril. That is the guiſe of godleſſe perſecutours, to attempt that againſt the truth by arms, that they cannot effect by arguments. See Act. 9.23, 24.

Verſe 33. And thorow a window, &c.] An honeſt ſhift, though againſt the Roman Law of leaping over the walls, Quia leges ſemper ad aequitatem flectendae ſunt, ſaith Ciero. The ſenſe of the law is the law,Apices juries non just j[illegible: 1 letter]s. and not alwaies the letter.

And eſcaped his hands] Of the lawfulnes of flight in ſome caſes, See the Note on Mat. 10.23. & Act. 9.24.