fincere defire of the perfeverance of the Philippians, and of all his other converts, in the true faith of the gofpel, animated him both to fuffer imprisonment, and to defend his own character, and to confirm the doctrine of the gofpel with boldness, before the emperor to whom he had appealed, becaufe he knew they all would reap great benefit from his executing his apoftolical office with faithfulness: and in parti cular, that it would contribute to the perfeverance of the Philippians in the faith of the gospel, through the affiftance of Christ, of which he had expreffed the frongeft perfuafion.

Ver. 9. Your love fill more and more may abound. The Philippians had fhewed great love to mankind in fo earneftly defiring the converfion of the Theffalonians. Here the apostle prayed that their love to mankind might ftill more and more abound.

Ver. 10 1. That ye may approve the things which are excellent. Εις το δοκιμάζειν ύμας τα διαφέροντα. This Pierce thinks fould be tranflated, That ye may try the things which differ; the apostle's meaning being "that the Philippians fhould compare his doctrine and courfe of life and the Judaizers together, that they might judge to which of

"them to adhere.”

2. And that we may be fincere. or fplendour of the fun, and denotes fuch things as on being found pare and without fault.

both to men's temper of mind and to their conduct: Elfner hath thewed that it is used in that sense also by heathen writers.-Having faid ver. 9. This I pray, iva, that your love may yet more and more abound, &c. he adds a new petition in this verfe, iva, that ye may be fincere: for the word gooxoμar, I pray, must be understood as repeated. This is fhewed by adding the word and in the transla

3. Without occafioning ftumbling. This tranfitive fenfe, awgooxowos, hath 1 Cor. x 32. ArgoσXOTO Yode, Be ye no occafion of tumbling, neither to the Jews, nor to the Greeks nor to the church of God. See a Cor. vi. 3.

Ver. 12. The things which have befallen me. Ta xar' que, literally the things relating to me: The apoftle means his being fent a prifoner to Rome, and his being kept in bonds there, together with all the evils which had befallen him during his confinement. Dd

Ver. 13.-1. Are well known in the whole palace. Igastogi. In Rome the pratorium was the place where the prætor determined caufes. More commonly, however, it fignified a place without the city, where the prætorian cohorts or regiments of guards were lodged. In the provinces, the governor's palace was called the pratorium, Mark xv. 16. both because the governors adminiftered juftice in their own palaces, and because they had their guards ftationed there. Of this ufe of the word, we have an example, Mark xv. 16. See alfo Acts xxiii. 35. Wherefore though the apoftle was himfelf at Rome when he wrote this, and though the matters of which he wrote, were done in Rome, he uses the word pratorium in the provincial sense to denote the emperor's palace, because he wrote to perfons in the provinces.-The knowledge of the true caufe of the apostle's confinement, may have been spread through the palace by fome Jewish flaves in the emperor's family, who happening to hear Paul in his own hired houfe, were converted by him. At this time Rome was full of Jewish flaves. And that some fuch belonged to the palace, or had accefs to it, we learn from Jofe phus, De vita fua, who tells us he was introduced to the empress Poppea by means of a Jewish comedian.-Such of the flaves in the palace who had embraced the gofpel, whether heathens or Jews, would not fail to fhew the officers of the court whom they ferved, the true nature of the Christian faith, and the real cause of the apostle's imprisonment: that it was for no crime, but only for preaching a new scheme of doctrine. And as it was now fashionable among the Romans to indulge a paffion for philofophy: and many of them had a ftrong curiofity to be informed of every new doctrine which was broached, and every strange occurrence which had happened in the provinces, it is not unreasonable to fuppofe that the brethren in the palace would explain the Christian religion to the emperor's domeftics, and relate to them the refurrection of its author from the dead; and

13 For my bonds on account of preaching Christ, and not on account of any crime, are well known in the whole palace, and in all other places of the city, by means of the perfons I have converted in the palace and elsewhere.

14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, (nenoloтas.) being affured of the truth of the gospel by my courage in fuffering imprisonment for it, have themfelves become much more bold than before, to preach the gospel without fear.

15 But they are not all equally fincere: For fome indeed even from envy of my fùccefs, and from a contentious difpofition, and fome alfo from good will to the cause itself, preach Jefus Chrift as the king expected by the Jews.

that fome of them who were of high rank, ftrongly impreffed with their relation, embraced the gofpel. Thefe, with the perfons who converted them, are the faints of Cafar's household, mentioned chap iv. 22. as faluting the Philippians.

2. And in all other places. The Chriftians at Rome were numerous before the apostle's arrival: But their number was greatly increased by his preaching, and by the preaching of his affiftants. It is no wonder then, that in all places of the city, the real caufe of the apostle's imprisonment, and the true nature of the gofpel, were so well known.

Ver. 14. The word. The Alexandrian, Clermont, and other MSS. together with the Syriac and Vulgate verfions, read hoyov t8 Ot8, the word of God.

Ver. 5. Some indeed even from envy and frife-preach Chrift. By Christ here, we are not to understand that corrupt gospel which the Judaizers preached, who made circumcifion neceffary to falvation. For of that gospel the apostle would not fay, as he does ver. 18. I re. joice that Christ is preached. Neither would he call it the word, as in ver. 14. Wherefore, by preaching Chrift I think he meant, their preaching Jefus as the Chrift, that is, as the long expected Mefliah, or King of the Jews. Of all the doctrines of the gospel this was the most offenfive to the Romans; for which reafon the unbelieving Jews commonly made ufe of it, to enrage the heathen rulers against the Chriftian preachers; Acts xvii. 7. Thefe all do contrary to the decrees of Cafar, faying that there is another King, one Jefus. 8. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard thefe things. Accord.

Dd2

ing

ing to this fenfe of preaching Chrift, what the apoftle faith, ver. 16. is eafily understood: They who from firife preach Chrift, do it not purely, thinking to add affliction to my bonds. The Judaizing teachers preached Jefus truly, faying as Paul himself faid in the fynagogue of Theffalonica, Acts xvii. 3. This Fefus whom I preach to you is the Christ. But they did this not purely, but with an intention to enrage the Roman magiftrates against Paul their prifoner, as the ringleader of the Chriftians, that being put to death they might without oppofition inculcate the neceffity of circumcifion.

It feems, the liberty, which the apoftle at this time enjoyed in Rome, of preaching in his own hired houfe, and the indulgence granted to him in other refpects, emboldened many to preach the gofpel in Rome more publicly than they had hitherto done. But the motives which animated fome of thefe preachers were not holy. They envied the apostle's fuccefs, and wifhed to rival him in recommending their own corrupt form of the gofpel. Befides, being enraged against him as an enemy to the law, they hoped, by preaching Jefus as Chrift the king of the Jews, to provoke the Roman magiftrates to put Paul to death. Thus they preached Chrift both from envy and from ftrife.

Ver. 17.-1. Knowing. The Judaizers thought to add affliction to the apoftle's bonds, ver. 16. but were disappointed. Whereas, they who preached purely, knew certainly that the apoftle was fent to Rome to defend the gofpel by fuffering for it.

2. For the defence of the gospel. As the apoftle's imprisonment was occafioned by the hatred which the unbelieving Jews bare to him, on account of his preaching falvation to the Gentiles through faith, without requiring them to obey the law of Mofes, fome are of opinion that the gofpel, in this paffage, means the doctrine of falvation through faith without obedience to the law. But although that doctrine is in other paffages called the gospel, I rather think the gospel, in this verse,

means