Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
Parallel Translations
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Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
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Neverthelesse God that comfortith the abiecte comforted vs at the commynge of Titus.
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But God, that comforteth the abiect, comforted vs at the comming of Titus:
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 7:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
- 3 John 1:2-4 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brothers came and testified about your truth, even as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear about my children walking in truth.
- 2 Corinthians 7:13 Therefore we have been comforted. In our comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
- Jeremiah 31:13 Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance; the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
- Isaiah 12:1 In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me.
- Isaiah 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.
- Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
- Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- 1 Corinthians 16:17-18 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; for that which was lacking on your part, they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge those who are like that.
- Philippians 2:1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
- 1 Thessalonians 3:2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith,
- 1 Thessalonians 3:6-7 But when Timothy came just now to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see you, for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith.
- Isaiah 57:15 For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Isaiah 61:1-2 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
- John 14:16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever:
- Romans 15:5 Now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
- 2 Corinthians 2:13-14 I had no relief for my spirit, because I didn’t find Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went out into Macedonia. Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. Who comforteth the lowly. This is mentioned as…
6. Who comforteth the lowly. This is mentioned as a reason; for he means that consolation had been offered to him, because he was borne down with evils, and almost overwhelmed, inasmuch as God is wont to comfort the lowly, that is, those that are cast down. Hence a most profitable doctrine may be inferred — that the more we have been afflicted, so much the greater consolation has been prepared for us by God. Hence, in the epithet here applied to God, there is a choice promise contained, as though he had said, that it is peculiarly the part of God to comfort those that are miserable and are abased to the dust.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Whose hearts are cast down, and are very far…
Whose hearts are cast down, and are very far spent.
With those things which Titus told me of you at his coming, to wit, how fruitfully you read over my letters, moreover and besides that, I am exceedingly refreshed with his presence.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast…
6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
Ver. 6. God that comforteth] This is a most sweet attribute of God, such as we may profitably plead and produce in prayer. He loves to comfort those that are forsaken of their hopes. He will not crush but cherish that worm Jacob. "He will not break the bruised reed," &c.
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By the coming of Titus] Who came very opportunely, even while Paul was writing this Epistle, 2Co 2:12-13. God’s comforts are therefore sweet because seasonable. He never comes too soon, nor stays too long. He waits to be gracious, as being a God of judgment, Isa 30:18. Were we but ripe, he is ready, and will lift us up in due time, 1Pe 5:6.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God, that comforteth those that are cast down: it…
God, that comforteth those that are cast down: it is observable, how careful the apostle is to ascribe all the supports and reliefs of his spirit unto God. Nor is this notion, or name, of God unuseful to any that fear him, who through any casualties or contingences of this life shall happen to be cast down. It advantageth our faith in prayer, in any such straits, to consider God as having taken to himself the name of him that comforteth those that are cast down.
Comforted us by the coming of Titus: it is only the coming of Titus, his fellow labourer, and one dear to him, that he mentioneth in this verse, as the means of his support and relief; yet he entitleth God to his comfort under his dejection. God comforteth his people variously, sometimes by his good word, sometimes by his providence; be what will the instrumental cause, God is the principal efficient.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down,....…
Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down,.... Or "humble ones": such as are humbled under the afflicting hand of God, and have low and mean apprehensions of themselves; these God looks unto, dwells with, revives their hearts, cheers their drooping spirits, and fills them with comforts; he has been used to do so with such persons; he has raised comfort to them; they may expect it, and the apostle experienced it; and which he refers to God as the author of it, as he had done in the beginning of this epistle, calling him "the God of all comfort"; he was the efficient cause, the means by which it was effected was the coming of Titus:
comforted us by the coming of Titus; to whom the apostle bore a very great affection, he being his son in a spiritual sense, a companion with him in his travels, and of great usefulness and service in the ministration of the Gospel; so that the very sight of him gave him pleasure; and the more, inasmuch as he had for some time longed to see him, that he might have some account from him of the affairs of this church.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Comforted us by the coming of Titus]…
Verse 6. Comforted us by the coming of Titus] Who brought him a most satisfactory account of the success of his epistle, and the good state of the Corinthian Church.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain God that comforteth those that are cast down -…
God that comforteth those that are cast down - Whose characteristic is, that be gives consolation to those who are anxious and depressed. All his consolation was in God; and by whatever instrumentality comfort was administered, he regarded and acknowledged God as the author; see the note, 2Co 1:4.
By the coming of Titus - To Macedonia. He rejoiced not only in again seeing him, but especially in the intelligence which he brought respecting the success of his Epistle, and the conduct of the church at Corinth.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain God....comforted us by the coming of Titus, and with…
God....comforted us by the coming of Titus, and with the joyful news he brought me, of the submission and repentance of the incestuous man, and of the good state you are in, of your earnest desire to see me. Now I have no reason to repent, that I wrote to you pretty sharply; though my letter troubled you, through the concern you were in on account of the incestuous man, yet both his sorrow, and yours for his sake, will turn to his, and your greater advantage, with a lasting repentance, such as a true sorrow produces, when it is from God. I see the good effects, by the apology or defence you make for yourselves, by your zealous indignation,[2] and, as it were, revenge against sin, &c. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Translate in the order required by the Greek, "But…
Translate in the order required by the Greek, "But he that comforteth those that are cast down, even God." Those that are of an high spirit are not susceptible of such comfort.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Those that are cast down—In a word the…
6. Those that are cast down—In a word the lowly, whether in spirit, position, or magnitude. And beautiful is the characteristic ascribed here by our apostle’s faith to God; the God that consoles the lowly. Men are apt to fancy that God is too great to mind small things. But inability to care for the very smallest as well as the greatest would not be greatness, but a defect of greatness. God is truly so great, so truly omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent, that he can take as perfect a care of the smallest thing in immensity or in eternity as if that thing were the only thing in all the universe that he had to take care of. Our humblest prayer, our lightest thought, our most secret sin, are as perfectly known to him as if there were nothing else to know. And so our apostle believes with undoubting faith that God is the consoler of his humble sorrows.
By—Rather, in.
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The coming—The very presence of Titus was refreshing to his spirit, apart from the message he brought.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. those that are cast down] The word ταπεινὸς,…
6. those that are cast down] The word ταπεινὸς, says Dean Stanley, never (except in metaphors in the N.T.) has the meaning of ‘humble,’ but only acquired such a meaning in later times to express the Christian grace of humility. It occurs in Mat_11:29; Luk_1:52; Jas_4:6; 1Pe_5:5. In Rom_7:16 and in Jas_1:9 it is translated men of low degree, or estate. See also note on ch. 2Co_10:1. The substantive formed from it is translated humility and humbleness of mind, save in Php_2:3, where we have lowliness of mind; while the verb is used in Luk_3:5 of the hills being made low, and in Php_2:8 of what is called the ‘humiliation’ of Christ.
by the coming of Titus] “ ‘By the coming and presence of Titus,’ as in the frequent use of the word to describe the Advent of Christ.” Stanley. See Mat_24:3; 1Co_15:23; 1Th_2:19; 1Th_3:13; 1Th_4:15; 2Th_2:1, &c.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) God, that comforteth those that are cast down.—The…
(6) God, that comforteth those that are cast down.—The fact of his own experience seems almost to present itself to his thoughts as constituting an attribute of the divine character. In the word for “cast down” (lowly) we may, perhaps, trace an allusion to the same word used of him by others as a disparaging epithet. (See Note on 2Co_10:1.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who comforteth those that are cast down. "The Comforter…
Who comforteth those that are cast down. "The Comforter of the humble comforted us, even God." The word "humble" has in classical Greek the sense of "mean," "abject." Pride, not humility, was the virtue even of Stoic morality. Christ was the first to reveal the beatitude of lowliness (Mat_11:29; Luk_1:52) Doubtless the word still retained some of its old associations, and had been used of St. Paul in a disparaging sense. (2Co_10:1) But he whom his opponents accused of so much egotism, ambition, and arrogance, meekly accepts the term and applies it to himself. God. (2Co_1:4) "The God of consolation". (Rom_15:5) By the coming of Titus. This was the cause of that outburst of joy in 2Co_2:13, 2Co_2:14, which passage here finds its explanation. The absence of Titus from the Acts is another proof of the fragmentariness of that book. It is evident that he was an ardent, able, active fellow worker, and most beloved friend of the apostle (Gal_2:1, Gal_2:3; 2Ti_4:10; Tit_1:4 Tit_3:12) We learn most about him from this Epistle.
The Comforter of the lowly.
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We are accustomed to think of the apostle as the soldier of the cross, the hero of the spiritual war. And this is just. Nevertheless, we should not forget that he had a human heart, with human susceptibilities and cravings; that he knew what it was to be weary, disappointed, and sorrowful, and what it was to be consoled, encouraged and elated. This Epistle represents him as bitterly distressed by the conduct of the Corinthian Christians, and yet as truly comforted by the tidings brought by Titus and by the brotherly fellowship and sympathy of his youthful colleague.
I THE NEED OF COMFORT. This is owing to the fact that Christian people and Christian workers are sometimes among the downcast, the lowly, the depressed. It is a permitted experience of human life, and there are reasons, some of them obvious enough, why the faithful and zealous servant of Christ should not be exempt from such feelings. It may be necessary, in order to keep him humble, to preserve him from self-confidence, to cherish within him a spirit of dependence upon Divine assistance.
II THE AUTHOR OF COMPORT. This view which the apostle here takes of God may to some seem derogatory to his dignity. But it should rather be regarded as setting God"s character in an admirable and attractive light. If God has made the human heart such as it is, if he has appointed its varied experiences, it cannot be beneath him to minister to that nature which is his own handiwork, to overrule to highest ends those circumstances which his wisdom has created. He has delighted to reveal himself to his people as a God of consolation, especially when their hearts have been most sore and their cry most piercing.
III THE MEANS OF DIVINE COMFORT. These means accord with the nature with which the Creator has endowed us, and are none the less honouring to his wisdom because they are often of the simplest kind. The case of Paul illustrates this.
1. The presence and brotherly kindness of a friend is consolatory to theafflicted; e.g. the coming of Titus.
2. The good tidings that reach the downcast cheer the soul; e.g. good news concerning the Corinthian Church.
3. The assurance of affection and sympathy on the part of those whosewelfare is sought (vide vers. 7-9). T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down,…
2Co_7:6-7
Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not by his coming only.
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Comfort for the careworn
1. This barometrical subjection to the depressions and upliftings in life is the token of a noble nature and a big human heart. A cold, selfish man, of narrow views and no sympathies, goes on the calm and even tenor of his way. There is a miserable monotony about him. But wherever there is a generous and manly soul, there is a proportionate capacity for grief and for joy.
2. There is never a rose without a thorn, never a sky without a cloud, so there is never a gladness without a but, and never a record of enjoyment without a nevertheless. Oh, those buts, they are flies in our most fragrant pot of ointment, skeletons at our rarest banquets, cloud-spots in our brightest sky. But that is a matter we can turn round. Suppose we read it thus--There is no thorn without flower or fruit, nor sky without star or rift of blue; so there is never a sadness without an ameliorating but, and no sorrow without a compensating nevertheless. This latter is quite as true as the former, and whatever thing we have to carry that has two handles, let us take hold of the easiest and the handiest, for our neighbours sake as well as for our own.
I. There were many things that conspired to cast Paul down. He had temporal trials of no ordinary magnitude and strength. His own people hated him, the heathen persecuted him; and, worst of all, there were those in the Churches whose conduct caused him sharp and constant pain. Then, too, he had a grievous disappointment. Titus did not turn up until long after he was expected, and in those perilous times Paul was anxious about the young mans safety and about the news he had to bring. He was a good man and true, yet he was cast down. You dont think that his Lord loved him any less, or had withdrawn from him. The sun shines, whatever be the density of the November fog. Natures vital machinery is moving, though nature be bare; and so, despite appearances, all through your course, O Christian, be sure that God ruleth all things well. He has but poor confidence in the captain who thinks he isnt on the ship because he cant see him on the bridge.
II. Note the distinctive title the apostle gives to God: God that comforteth, etc.
1. I cannot find any god that mortals worship who is at all given that way. The worshippers of Baal were cast down low enough, but it was cold comfort they got from him. The gods of money, of honour, of show, of pleasure, may delude their worshippers with fancied joys while their devotees are up and about; but I have never heard that any of them are of much use when their worshippers are cast down. Oh no, its down you go, and down you stay.
2. Neither does the character which Paul gives his God belong to the world. Men as a rule do not trouble themselves with people who are cast down. All men will speak well of thee when thou doest well by thyself; that is when thou art lifted up. Nothing succeeds, they say, like success. But let a man be cast down, hes likely to lie there. Besides, if the world had the best intentions it cannot minister to a mind diseased, cannot comfort the souls that are cast down.
3. There is but one hand that can lift up those that are cast down--God can, will, does. He will not break a bruised reed.
III. Those that are cast down is a very inclusive description. He does not ask who or what we are; nor how far we are down, nor what has cast us down, nor how often we have been down and lifted up before; nor how far we deserve to lie just where we have fallen, nor whether we are likely to be cast down again. No, our prostration is our certificate, and if we will but present that before Him He will lift us up and comfort us.
IV. While the comforts of God come to us direct, they also come through many a medium. At times the angels have been made the messengers of His mercy, the almoners of His bounty, the comforters of His saints. On errands of comfort ravens were sent to Elijah, a little flower to Mungo Park in an African desert, a little singing-bird to Martin Luther, and the sweet tones of Davids harp to the sad and moody Saul. But God specially comforts man by man. So Jethro cheered the heart of Moses; so old Eli gave comfort to sad-hearted Hannah; so the dejected Davids soul was strengthened by Jonathan; and here Paul was comforted by the coming of Titus. (J. J. Wray.)
God cheering the dejected
What dissimilar things God executes! He telleth the number of the stars and healeth the broken in heart; He has created and controls every living thing; He comforteth those that are cast down. We wonder not that a good man should be known as the son of consolation, but God Almighty desires to be known as the Consoler of men. Our notions of God are too stiff and earthly-grand. Note--
I. This ailment.
1. Not being cast down as when a building is rased or a tree is felled, or as when one is slain--cast down, but not destroyed; only cast down as withered grass, which may be revived by rain, or as a man who is sick, but has every prospect of recovery.
2. In this state of depression--
(1) The soul has lost all its elasticity. Time was when it was like spring, or like a palm-tree whose growth pressure is said to promote; but now it is like a broken spring, or like a palm whose power is sinking away.
(2) The soul has also lost its buoyancy. The day was when it was like the light sea-bird floating upon the stormy waters; but now upon those very waters it floats half submerged. All that makes the heart light has gone, and all that renders it heavy dominates. Where is hope? Fear has mastered it. Where is joy? Sorrow has quenched it.
3. This is a common state of soul. Many more suffer from it than appear. Those who are cast down will try to appear joyous, in order to quiet the suspicions or evade the inquiries of their Companions. Even great and strong men are liable to be cast down. The hero of a hundred battles, the statesman who presents himself to the criticism of Parliament with the appearance of a statue, and the monarch whose face in public appears full of satisfaction--even these are often cast down. The musician cannot drive depression hence by music; the wit cannot dispel it by the laughter he evokes. Even believers in Christ are subject to it.
4. Yet it is not a desirable state--it is not a state that you must cherish or even allow. You must deal with it as with a disease, as something to be got rid of. It is not the normal state of human nature nor of redeemed man, but a low estate to which our sinfulness has brought us, and in which our infirmities and unbelief often keep us.
II. Its causes. Men are cast down--
1. By grievous circumstances, sickness, bereavement, poverty, and approaching death.
2. By fears--useless, groundless, foolish, sinful fears.
3. The same causes do not, however, operate upon all persons alike. One man smiles at a storm of outward sorrow or of inward distress, which is more than enough to cast another down into the lowest depths.
III. The patient. Paul, a constitutionally strong, fearless, sanguine, enterprising man; a man full of life, not a languid man, whose blood circulates like molten lead, an educated man, not an ignorant man full of silly superstitions; a disciple of Christ at peace with God; a wondrously successful preacher of Christs gospel; an apostle, perhaps the greatest that God ever commissioned; a man who had been the comforter of men--and yet cast down. Can you wonder at your being sometimes cast down? you, with your feeble constitution and imperfect training, at the distance you stand from your Divine Master, with the little spiritual exercise that you take, who scarcely know what it is for the air of heaven to play upon your spirits? If depression attack the strong, are the weak likely to escape?
IV. The physician--God.
1. What a wonderful word is this of three letters! To some it is only a name to take in vain; to others it represents a foolish belief; to others it is the centre merely of a creed; to others it is a terror. God, saith Paul, is a comforter. The Eternal God, who never has been cast down--the all-knowing One, who is acquainted with all who are cast down--the Almighty, who is able, the merciful and gracious One, who is ever ready to lift them up. He is the Physician of the depressed. There are men, you know, who assume to be great and strong who would not stoop to this; but what man is too proud to do God delights to do.
2. Note the means by which God comforts.
(1) By things temporal as well as things eternal--by a gleam of sunshine, a shower of rain, a sunny morning, the advent of spring, the blooming of a flower, the singing of the birds, the success of an enterprise, the service of a benefactor, the visit of a friend, a smile of approbation, a tear of sympathy, good news in a letter, etc.
(2) By the Bible--the Psalms, with their complainings, their rejoicings and triumphings; the Gospels, with their exhibition of our loving Redeemer; and the Epistles with their doctrines and promises!
(3) By the Sabbath, with its holy calm, sweet rest, and sacred assemblings!
(4) By prayer, when desire is relieved by supplication, and oppressive care is cast upon God.
(5) By the Church, with her ordinances of instruction, devotion, and communion I
(6) By the Holy Ghost, the Comforter!
(7) By the medium of all comfort--the Son of God--Jesus--our Saviour.
V. The remedy. Comfort. Now if you would be comforted you must allow God to comfort you. David was cast down, and God set him inquiring about it. Why art thou cast down? And He comforted the man by bidding him look into the causes of his depression. When a man of God begins to look into the causes of his depression, he sees that there is far more to lift him up than to cast him down. Why art thou cast down?
1. Is it the burden of guilt? If we confess our sins He is faithful, etc.
2. Is it sorrow following sorrow? Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
3. You have said, All things are against me. Listen! All things work together for good to them that love God.
4. Is it fear of death? Death! where is thy sting? Grave! where is thy victory?
5. Is it some blighted hope--some disappointment? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him. Your hopes have fallen; and why? Because they were built on sand. Now build on rock, and you shall never be disappointed.
6. Are you weary? Weary of pleasure, of everybody and everything, weary of life? There remaineth a rest for the people of God, and every weary step leads you to it.
Conclusion:
1. Yield to comfort and not to depression. Some, when they find themselves sinking in the slough of despond, allow themselves to sink. Do you rather lay hold of any of those good things which will hold you up. Lay hold of the Almighty arm. It is always within reach. Put off your sackcloth when He offers you beautiful garments.
2. Lift up each other. Wear a cheerful countenance--do not look gloomy. And you who are seldom dejected give special attention to those who are cast down. Depression will be contagious if you go to the dejected unaccompanied by Christ. It is no small thing to make a heart now shivering with fear glow with hope. (S. Martin.)
The depression of good men
I. Good men are often greatly cast down in soul. Paul had been disappointed at not meeting with Titus at Troas.
1. Why was he so anxious? Paul had met with perils by sea and by land, etc. These things tried him greatly, but it was suspense of mind concerning the state of the Corinthian Church that cast him down. It is not temporal trials, toils, or perils that break down the spirit of a man, so much as cankering cares and anxiety.
2. There are many things that cast down the spirits of good men.
(1) The prosperity of the wicked.
(2) The triumphs of wrong--fraud in trade, corruption in politics, errors in science, moral filth in popular literature.
(3) The non-success of Christly labour.
II. God sometimes comforts a good man by the visits of a friend. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
1. God does comfort His depressed servants.
2. God sometimes comforts by the instrumentality of good men. David, dejected in the wood, had his heart strengthened by Jonathan (1Sa_23:16).
Conclusion:
1. Christliness does not remove the constitutional infirmities of human nature.
2. That the vicarious sufferings of love are amongst the most depressing.
3. A genuine Christian carries comfort into the house of his distressed friend--Titus to Paul. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. Nevertheless God … comforted us by the coming…
6. Nevertheless God … comforted us by the coming of Titus. Titus brought to him the joyful news of repentance and reformation at Corinth. This news turned his affliction to joy.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Nevertheless he that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted…
Nevertheless he that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus ;
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain encourageth; so in 2Co 7:7.
comforteth
encourageth; so in 2Co 7:7.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.