Ver. 31.-1. Do all to the glory of God. By this precept the apostle hath taught us, that our greatest duty is to promote the glory of God, by regu

CHAP. XI. 1 Be ye fol

1 Μιμηταί μου γινεσθε, lowers of me, even as I καθώς καγω Χριςου. also am of Christ.

lating all our actions according to his will; that in many particular actions we ought to have God's glory actually in view, and in all the rest habitually; and that by none of our actions we should dishonour God, either by com

CHAPTER XI.

View and Illustration of the Directions and Reproofs given in this Chapter.

FROM

ROM the things written in this chapter, and in chap. xiv. ver. 34, 35, 36, it appears that some of the Corinthian women, on pretence of being inspired, had prayed and prophesied in the Christian assemblies as teachers: and while performing these offices, had cast off their veils, after the manner of the heathen priestesses in their extasies. These disorderly practices, the false teacher, it seems, had encouraged, ver. 16. from a desire to ingratiate himself with the female part of the Corinthian church. But the apostle's adherents, sensible that it did not become the women to be teachers of the men, had restrained them. And this having occasioned disputes between the church and the faction, the church, in their letter, applied to the apostle for his decision.-In answer, he first of all commended them for having held fast his traditions or ordinances concerning the public worship of God, ver. 2.-Next, he explained the foundation on which his ordinances relating to the public worship were built, namely the subordination of all men to Christ, the subordination of women to man, and the subordination of Christ to God. For by this subordination, the behaviour, both of men and women in the public assemblies, was to be regulated, ver. 3.-Every man, says the apostle, who prayeth or prophesieth in public with his head veiled, dishonoureth Christ his head; who having given man authority over woman, is dishonoured when the man renounceth that authority, by appearing veiled in the presence of the woman as her inferior, ver. 4.-On the other hand, every woman who prayeth or prophesieth in public with an unveiled head, dishonoureth the man her head. Because the wearing of a veil being an expression of inferiority, by appearing in public unveiled, she renounceth her subjection to the man

CHAP. XI. 1 Become ye imitators of me, even as I also AM of Christ. (Rom. xv. 3.)

CHAP. XI. 1 Herein Become ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ, who did not please himself, but in all his actions promoted the good of others.

mitting sin ourselves, or by leading our weak brethren into sin. This great duty towards God, our Lord inculcated in the first petition of his prayer; Hallowed be thy name.

her superior, and setteth herself on an equality with him. Besides, for a woman to throw off her veil in public, was the same kind of indecency as to appear with her head shaven, ver. 5.—— Wherefore, says the apostle, if it be a shame for a woman to appear in public shorn or shaven, let her be veiled, ver. 6.— Farther, the different mental and bodily accomplishments of man and woman, shew that in the public assemblies for worship, men ought not to be veiled, nor women unveiled, ver. 7.—The subjection of woman to man, appears even from the man's being first made, and from the woman's being made for the man, ver. 8, 9. For which reason, the women ought to have a veil on her head in the church, as a mark of her subjection. By adding, because of the angels, the apostle put women in mind of the weakness of their mother Eve, who was deceived by an evil angel, ver. 10. In the mean time, that women might not be too much humbled by what he had said, he observed that in the method of salvation, man is not regarded separately from woman, nor woman separately from man; but the same way of salvation is appointed for both sexes, and the same blessings are promised to both, in the gospel, ver. 11.—Besides, as the woman springs from the man, so the man is born into the world of the woman; and both, by the power of God, ver. 12.-Next, to shew the impropriety of women's praying in public unveiled, and of men's praying veiled, the apostle appealed to the feelings of the Corinthians, ver. 13.—and asked them whether reason and experience did not teach them, that if a man suffers his hair to grow long for an ornament to him, as women's hair is to them, it is a disgrace to him. Because men being designed for the laborious occupations both of war and peace, long hair is extremely inconvenient, especially in warm climates, and therefore is used only by the effeminate, ver. 14.-But women being formed to

CHAP. XI. sweeten the toils of men by their beauty, if they have long hair it is a glory to them; their hair being given them as a veil to heighten their charms, ver. 15.-His discourse on this subject, the apostle concluded with telling the faction, that if any teacher contentiously insisted that women might pray and prophesy in the church unveiled, he ought to know that the apostles allowed no such custom, neither was it practised in any of the churches of God, ver. 16.

The Corinthians had likewise been guilty of great irregularities in celebrating the Lord's supper. For the apostle told them, that though he praised them for observing his precepts in general, he did not praise them for this, that they came together in their religious meetings, not for the better, but for the worse; making these meetings the occasion of strengthening the discord that had taken place among them, ver. 18, 19.-For when they came together in the church to eat the Lord's supper, they formed themselves into separate companies. Perhaps those who had been baptized by the same teacher, sat down by themselves at separate tables. Or, as violent contentions about different matters had arisen among the Corinthians, probably they were so displeased with one another, that neither of the factions would allow any to join them, except their own adherents. To correct these unchristian practices, the apostle told them, their coming together into one place, was not all that was necessary to the right eating of the Lord's supper. They ought to have eaten it together in a body, as jointly bearing witness to the truth of Christ's death and resurrection, and in testimony of their love to one another as his disciples, ver. 20.-They had erred likewise in another respect. The different companies first took their own supper, of victuals which they brought into the church ready prepared; and joined thereto the Lord's supper, making it a part of a common meal or feast. And many of them sinned against the poor who had no supper to bring, by excluding them from partaking with them, not only of the previous feast, but of the

N. B. Ver. 1. of this chapter being the application of the discourse in the preceding one, it is added to that chapter, as properly belonging to it.

OLD TRANSLATION. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember

GREEK TEXT.

2 Επαινω δε ἱμας, αδελφοι, ότι παντα μου μεμνησθε,

Ver. 2.-1. Because (supply xara) in all things ye remember me. We have the same form of expression, chap. x. 33.-Or, the clause warta pe

Lord's supper itself: so that some were hungry on these occasions, while others were plentifully fed, ver. 21.—What, said the apostle to them sharply, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or, by making the church of God a place of feasting, do ye mistake it for a heathen temple, and put your poor brethren to shame who have no supper to eat? ver. 22.-These feasts previous to the Lord's supper, seem to have been introduced by the Jewish Christians, who, because Christ instituted his supper, after he had eaten the passover, might think themselves warranted to sup together, before they ate the Lord's supper. To the previous supper or feast, the Gentile converts had no objection, as it resembled the feast on the sacrifice in the idol's temple, to which in their heathen state they had been accustomed. And viewing in it that light, we may suppose they invited their heathen acquaintance to partake both of the previous feast, and of the Lord's supper itself, in return for the feasts on the sacrifices, to which the heathens had invited them.

To remedy these great disorders in the celebration of the Lord's supper, and to shew the Corinthians how much they had corrupted that holy service, the apostle repeated the account which he had formerly given them of its institution, according as he had received it of the Lord by revelation, ver. 23.-26.— From his account we learn, that the Lord's supper is not a common meal designed for the refreshment of the body, but a religious service, instituted to keep up the memory of Christ's death till he return. Having given this view of the true nature of the institution, the apostle shewed them the sin of performing it in an improper manner, ver. 27.-directed them to prepare themselves for that service, by self-examination, ver. 28.—and declared the punishment to which they subjected themselves, by performing it unworthily, ver. 29.-32.-Then concluded with ordering them to celebrate the Lord's supper together, ver. 33.and to eat at home if they were hungry. The rest of their irregularities respecting that matter, he promised to rectify when he came to Corinth, ver. 34.

NEW TRANSLATION. CHAP. XI. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, (or, 254.) because IN all things ye remember 1 me, and hold

COMMENTARY.

CHAP. XI. 2 Now, understanding by your letter, that ye have restrained your women from praying and prophecying as teachers, I

v, may be translated as Beza hath done, Omnia mea meministis, seil, verba, Ye have remembered all my instructions.