Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf

152 PHILIPPIANS [IV. 19, 20
ance, for the sake of the great cause which he had advocated, to
avoid the sHghtest breath of suspicion, and whose motives nevertheless
were narrowly scanned and unscrupulously misrepresented.
He had placed himself under pecuniary obligations to them."
With his tone of manly independence and self-respect, mingles
his grateful recognition of their care for him and a delicate consideration
for their feehngs. He will not doubt that they have
never ceased to remember him, and have never relaxed their
eagerness to minister to him, although circumstances have prevented
their ministry. Yet he values their gift principally as an
expression of the spirit of Christ in them, and as an evidence
of their Christian proficiency. He can give their generosity no
higher praise, no higher mark of appreciation and gratitude, than
to say that it was a sacrifice of sweet odor to God. He is not
raised above human suffering. Their gift was timely and welcome
; yet if it had not come, he was independent of human contingencies.
They have not only given him money, but they have
given him Christian love and sympathy and ministry — fruit of his
apostolic work.
The promise just uttered, by its wonderful range and richness,
:
calls forth an ascription of praise.
20. . God who will supply every need out of his fatherly bounty. For
the formula, see Gal. i. 4 ; i Thess. i. 3, iii. 11, 13. probably
belongs to both nouns, since the article is unnecessary with
, and is apparently prefixed in order to bind both nouns with
the pronoun. On the other hand, Ellic. suggests that, as
expresses a relative idea and ^eos an absolute one, the defining
* to our God and Father ' ; the
genitive may be intended for only. (See EUic. and Lightf.
on Gal. i. 4.)
? €15 (Ps. Ixxxix. 29 [Ixxxviii. 30], cxi. [ex.] 3,
10); £1? Toiis ?, omitting (Ps. Ixi. 4 [Ix. 5], Ixxvii.
cis Tovs? :
' to the ages of the ages.' Forever.
For the formula, see Gal. i. 5 ;
I Pet. iv. IT, and often in Apoc.
i Tim. i. 17; 2 Tim. iv. 18;
LXX habitually in the singular;
[Ixxvi.] 8 ; 2 Chron. vi. 2). For similar doxologies in Paul's
letters, see Rom. xi. 36; Gal. i. 5 ; Eph. iii. 21 ; i Tim. i.
Paul has «is (Rom. i. 25, ix. 5, xi. 36) ; cti
( Cor. viii. 13 ; 2 Cor. ix. 9) ; tis ? yeveii^j,jov
17.
(Eph. iii. 2i). is a long space of time; an age; a
cycle. In the doxology the whole period of duration is conceived
as a succession of cycles,