Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf

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PREFACE
The two epistles treated in this volume have always had a
peculiar attraction for both readers and expositors. On the
Epistle to the Philippians more than a hundred commentaries
have been produced, some of them by scholars of the first
rank. It would be strange, therefore, if this work did not
contain a great deal which has appeared elsewhere ; and I am
sure that the call for its publication has not arisen from the
deficiencies of my predecessors.
I find, nevertheless, some satisfaction in the thought that
the knowledge of any subject is promoted, in however small a
degree, by the independent and honest treatment of each new
expositor, who, by approaching his work from a different direc-
tion, seeing his material at a different angle and in the light of
the most recent criticism, and shifting the points of emphasis,
may reawaken attention to what is already familiar, and thus
stimulate inquiry if he does not widen the sphere of knowledge.
The main object in this commentary has been to exhibit
St. Paul's thought in these two letters which I am fully con-
vinced are from his pen. To this end all comment — gram-
matical and lexical as well as exegetical — has been directed,
and special care has been given, to the paraphrases with which
the several sections are prefaced, and to the illustration of the
apostle's nervous and picturesque diction upon which the marks
of his personality are so deeply set. The theological bearings
of certain passages it is manifestly impossible to overlook ; and
the student is entitled to demand of the commentator such
notice and treatment of these as are consistent with the recog-
nised difference between a commentary and a theological trea-