2 Timothy 1:18

2Ti_1:18

The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.

St. Pauls prayer for Onesiphorus

I. Mercy is a word we are often using, especially in our prayers. But there are some of us, perhaps, who have no very clear ideas of what mercy is. I must remind you again, that it is not mere kindness or goodness. To ask God to show us mercy is not simply to ask God to do us good. Such a petition includes in it a confession of our wretchedness and our guiltiness; for observe, misery is the proper object of mercy. Mercy, in the strict sense of the word, is kindness exercised towards the wretched; but then there is another use of the term and a more common one. Because our guilt is our greatest misery, mercy often signifies in Scripture pity shown to the guilty; in other words the forgiveness of our sins. In some respects mercy resembles goodness. It is indeed the very same thing, only its object is different. God is good to all, and always has been so; but He was never merciful, till misery appeared needing His compassion. He is good in heaven; every angel there feels and proclaims Him such: but there is no mercy in heaven, for there is no guilt there or wretchedness. And then again mercy is closely allied to grace. If it differs from it at all, it is in this--when we speak of grace, we have respect chiefly to the motive of the giver; when of mercy, to the condition or character of the receiver. Look at God, and then we call mercy grace; look at a man, poor, abject, guilty man, and then we call grace mercy. You see, then, that mercy is the perfection of the Divine goodness. It is that branch or exercise of it, which goes the farthest and does the most. It is goodness blessing us when we merit cursing, and saving us when we are well-nigh lost. Hence, God is said in the Scripture to delight in mercy. His goodness can expand itself in it. He finds in it the freest scope, the largest indulgence, of His benevolence. It is not merely the work, it is the enjoyment, the feast and triumph, of His love. And you see also here another fact, that no man can ever deserve mercy. We often put these two words together, but we ought not to do so; there is a positive contradiction between them. Mercy is grace. It is kindness towards one who has no claim whatever to kindness and is totally undeserving of it.

II. Let us pass on now to the day the apostle speaks of. And observe--he does not describe this day; he does not even tell us what day he means: but there is no misunderstanding him: he means the last great day, the day when God will raise the dead and judge the world.

1. The apostles thoughts were often dwelling on this day; it was a day very frequently in his contemplation. His mind had evidently become familiar with the prospect of it, and so familiar, that he could not help speaking of it as he would of any well-known and much thought of thing. And so it seems really to have been in the early ages of the Christian Church. We put the day of judgment far from us; we regard it as a day that will certainly come, but after so great an interval of time, that the thought of it need not press on us; but not so the first believers. Their minds were fastened on this day. They looked for it; that is, they were like men looking out anxiously in the east for the first dawn of some long wished for day, like men climbing the lofty mountain to get the first sight of the rising sun on some festal morning. They hastened unto it; that is again, they would have met it if they could. But there is something else implied in this expression.

2. It intimates also that this day is a most important one. There is the idea of pre-eminence contained in his language. We feel as soon as we begin to think, that we cannot estimate as we ought the importance of this day. It will affect every body and every thing on the face of the earth, and to the greatest possible extent. Other days are important to some, but this wilt be important to all.

III. Turn now to his prayer. He brings together in it, you observe, the mercy and the day we have been considering. We cannot enter into the spirit of this prayer, unless we keep in mind throughout the character of this Onesiphorus. He was evidently a real Christian. And these kind offices, we may fairly presume, he rendered to the apostle for his Masters sake. This kindness under such trying circumstances, this steadfastness and boldness in the face of shame and danger, were the fruits of his faith in Jesus. They are evidences that he was not only a sincere believer in the gospel, but a man of extraordinary faith and love. The inference, then, that we draw from this prayer is this obvious one--our final salvation, the deliverance of even the best of men in the great day of the Lord, will be aa act of mercy. It is sometimes spoken of as an act of justice, and such it really is, if we view it in reference to the Lord Jesus. Before he made His soul an offering for sin, it was promised Him that this stupendous sacrifice should not be made in vain. And the Scripture speaks of our salvation as a righteous thing in another sense--the Lord Jesus has led His people to expect it. But look to the text. The apostle implores in it mercy in that day for his godly friend; and what does he mean? If he means anything, he means this--that after all it must be mercy, free and abounding mercy, that must save that friend, if he is ever saved. He can talk of justice and of righteousness as he looks at his Master on His throne, and remembers what He has done and promised; but when he looks on a fellow-sinner, he loses sight of justice altogether, and can speak of mercy only. And observe, too, how this is said. It is not cold language. It is language coming warm from a most tender and deeply grateful heart. The good works of this man were all before Paul at this time--his boldness in Christs cause, his steadfastness, his kindness; the apostles mind was evidently filled with admiration of him, and his heart glowing with love towards him; yet what in this ardour of feeling does he say? The Lord recompense him after his works? No; he sees in this devoted Christian of Ephesus a miserable sinner like himself, one going soon to Christs judgment-seat, and his only prayer for him is, that he may find mercy there.

1. We all still need mercy. There is a notion that a sinner once pardoned, has done with this blessed thing; that he may cease to seek it, and almost cease to think of it. It is error, and gross error. We can never have done with mercy As long as we are in the way to heaven; or rather, mercy will never have done with us. And notice also this remarkable fact--in all his other epistles, the salutation of this apostle to his friends is, Grace unto you and peace; but when he writes to Timothy and Tiros, men like himself, faithful and beloved, eminent in Christs Church, he alters this salutation. As though to force on our minds the point I am urging--A conviction that the holiest of men still need Gods mercy--he adds this word mercy to the other two. In each of these epistles his salutation runs, Grace, mercy, and peace. (C. Bradley, M. A.)

Pauls prayer for his friend

To the Christian mind the painful feelings occasioned by the recollection of violated friendship become unspeakably more poignant and intense, when we discover that the claims of friendship and the obligations of religion have been cast off together--that he whom we loved has made shipwreck at once of his faith and of his affection--of his duty to his God and to his friend. An affecting instance of this kind is recorded at the fifteenth verse of the chapter. Was it wonderful, therefore, that from the cold, cruel, and treacherous conduct of these men, he should turn with such a glow of kind and grateful emotion to the faithful and affectionate Onesiphorus?

I. There is a day coming, which, from its transcendent importance, merits the emphatic designation of that day. And does not this day deserve the emphatic mention which is here made of it? Compared with every other period in the history of the universe, does it not stand out in unparalleled importance? There are days in the life of every one which, from the event s that transpire in them, are invested with great and merited importance to the individual himself--such as the day of his birth, and of his death. But there is something in the day of final and universal retribution that sinks into obscurity any other eventful period in the history of man. The day of our birth introduces us into a scene empty and shadowy, both in its joys and sorrows, and proverbially brief and transitory in its duration; that day ushers us into a state of being, in which we shall be conversant no more with the dreams only, but with the living realities of perfect felicity or woe, and conversant with them through a duration endless as the reign of the Eternal itself. The day of our death is chiefly interesting to ourselves, and to the little circle who have been connected with us by the ties of kindred or love; the day of judgment is supremely interesting to any rational being who has lived and breathed on the face of our world--A day when the eternal destiny of the whole human race shall be determined with unparalleled publicity and solemnity. How important are those days, in the opinion of men, which have witnessed the fall or the rise of empires. How important was the day that dawned on the tribes of Israel marching from under the yoke of their Egyptian bondage--A day that ever afterwards was held sacred to commemorate their deliverance! How eventful that day that rose on the fall of the Assyrian monarchy, and beheld the empire of the East pass from Belshazzar and his impious race into the hands of the mild and virtuous Cyrus! How painfully memorable, at least to the nation immediately concerned, was the day that beheld the final destruction of Jerusalem, and the rejection and dispersion of its devoted race! How important to these lands of our nativity, and how worthy to be held in grateful remembrance, that day which witnessed the consummation of the glorious struggle that terminated in the vindication and establishment of our civil and religious liberties! But do you not feel that all these days, whether of transient or permanent importance, are so utterly insignificant, when viewed in relation to that day, that the comparison involves in it a kind of incongruity, and is truly a lowering of the awful dignity of the subject? There are but two periods in the history of the world that can be consistently compared, in point of importance to men, with that day--the day that dawned on the creation of our race, which was hailed by the sweet acclaim of the angelic hosts and the day that shone on the birth of the Son of God. In every aspect in which we can view them, these were days big with consequence to the human family; but they were only the introductory scenes to the consummation of the mightiest drama that ever was, or will be, performed on the theatre of the world.

II. On that day the mercy of the lord will de regarded by all as unspeakably precious. The mercy of the Lord is, in this world, regarded in a very different light by the various classes of men, if we may judge of their sentiments and opinions from their uniform practice. The great mass of mankind demonstrate by their conduct that, whatever may be their occasional fears and desires, the prevailing habit of their mind is an utter indifference either to the mercy or vengeance of God. But there are a few who are honourably distinguished by different sentiments, who avow it as their opinion, and evince their sincerity by a corresponding practice, that they esteem everything under heaven as utter vanity compared with the mercy of the Lord. And they who have practically esteemed the mercy of the Lord so highly in this world, will value it the more at that terrible day. With all their successful efforts, by the grace of God, to prepare their souls to meet the Lord in peace, and to be found without spot and blameless at His coming, they will impressively feel themselves still to be the objects of His mercy. Yes, and at that day Paul and his fellow-believers will not be singular in prizing the mercy of the Lord. Much as sinners have despised the mercy of the Lord here, they will then despise it no more.

III. In the mind of a Christian, that day possesses tremendous consequence, and towards it his eye is habitually directed. Such consequence did this day possess in St. Pauls view, that the importance of everything on earth was estimated by its remote or immediate relation to it. Did he, from the hour of his conversion, despise all distinctions of wealth and honour when brought into competition with the knowledge of Christ? It was, that by any means he might attain to a blessed resurrection on that day. Did he practise the most painful and persevering self-denial; or, to use his own words, did he keep under his body and bring it into subjection? It was, that he might not be found disapproved on that day. Was he not ashamed of the sufferings he endured for the gospel? It was because he knew in whom he had believed, and was persuaded that He was able to keep that which He had committed unto him against that day. Did he labour in season and out of season, warning every man, and teaching every man? It was that he might present every man perfect in Christ on that day. Did he muse on the number and steadfastness of his converts? He thought of them as his hope and joy and crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coining at that day. Did he engage in prayer for his converts? It was that the Lord might make them to increase and abound in love, to the end that He might establish their hearts unblameable in holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all His saints, on that day.

IV. Enlightened Christian affection is especially solicitous about the eternal well being of its objects. Deeply did the grateful and generous heart of Paul feel the kindness of Onesiphorus. There is no doubt he loved him before as a disciple, and very likely as a personal friend; but his conduct, when he visited Rome, awakened still deeper emotions of gratitude and affection towards him in the bosom of the apostle. And how did he express this sense of the kindness of Onesiphorus? Did he employ all his influence to improve the temporal fortune of his benefactor? Did he request his noble converts in the palace--for some such there were of the emperors household--to exert their power to procure for Onesiphorus some post of honour and emolument in the civil or military establishment of Rome? Or did he write to the Ephesian Church, to which this person probably belonged, enjoining them to prepare some temporal reward, to be given to their deserving countryman for his kindness to himself? No; Paul attached too much importance to the solemnities of the last day and its immediate consequences; he was too much influenced by the scenes of the world to come, to ask for his beloved comforter so poor, so miserable a recompense. He loved him too well to solicit for him a fading, when he might ask for him an unfading crown. He knew too well the worth of his soul, the importance of an eternal well-being, to overlook these for the trifles for an hour, in his desire to reward him.

V. Genuine saints have it ever in their power to reward their benefactors. Looking at Paul as a poor despised prisoner in Rome, accused before the emperor of heresy and sedition, befriended by none but by a proscribed and despised sect, which was everywhere spoken against, with all the prejudice of the emperor, and the influence of the Jewish nation strenuously exerted against him--looking at Paul in this light one would speedily conclude, on the principles of the world, that he was a very unlikely person richly to reward his benefactors. But ten thousand times rather would I have laid this poor and apparently helpless captive under obligations to me by kindness to him, than have merited, by the most splendid civil or military services, the gratitude and reward of him who wore the imperial purple. What could Nero, even with a world at his nod, have conferred upon me? He might have lavished upon me all the favours of the imperial court. He might have made me the idol of fortune, and the envy of the proudest of the Roman nobility. He might have given me the conduct of the most honourable expeditions. He might have invested me with the command of the richest of the provinces. Paul had no imperial power or influence; he had even no imperial favour; but he was a favourite in a higher court, where he was every day, almost every hour, an acceptable visitant. He was one of those whose effectual fervent prayer reached the heavenly temple, and, through the channel of the atonement, drew down eternal blessings on his soul, and on the souls of those for whom he interceded. In conclusion, there is one inference very naturally suggested by the last remarks: If these statements are true, how wise it is, setting aside the pure love of benevolence altogether, to be kind to the people of God, especially to the pious poor! (J. Mc Gilchrist.)

Mercy in that day

I. That there is a day coming, in which to find mercy of the Lord, will be our only consolation and security.

1. The day here meant is the day so frequently mentioned in Scripture; and in which we are all most deeply concerned. It is described by many different names, as the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Lord, the Last Day, the Day of Wrath, the Day in which God will judge the world. In that day, then, what will be our only consolation and security? The text reminds us, To find mercy of the Lord. Mercy is another word for grace. It is an act of free and unmerited favour. Men sometimes say that such a person deserves to have mercy shown to him! But this is a very incorrect and careless way of speaking. A man can never deserve mercy. There may be some circumstances in his case, which may make him more particularly an object of compassion. When a criminal by his offence has forfeited his life, and is condemned to die; the king, from pity to the offender, or from some other consideration best known to himself, may grant a pardon and remit the sentence. Here is mercy, an act of free, unmerited grace to the undeserving and the guilty. But to say that there could be anything in the criminal which gave him a claim to mercy, would be to talk absurdly. The very idea, then, of mercy naturally shuts out all idea of merit. These two things are totally contrary to each other, and can never exist together. It is to be feared that many, when they talk of hoping to find mercy, mean in fact to say that they hope to find justice in that day; and that their hopes of being favourably received then are built not on Gods free mercy, but on their own merits, and on their secret claims to reward.

II. That there will be some who in that day will not find mercy of the Lord. St. Paul, when he prays that Onesiphorus may find mercy in that day, clearly intimates it to be possible that he may not find it. And if it were not certain that Onesiphorus would find it, it is not certain that others will find it. Indeed, the Scriptures plainly tell us that all will not find it. We are expressly told that in that day some will say, Lord, Lord, open to us; to whom He will say, Verily, I know you not. Let us see what the Scriptures teach us concerning those who will find mercy of the Lord in that day.

1. They are now seeking mercy, and seeking it in that one way, in which alone God has promised to bestow it.

2. They are duly affected and properly influenced by the views and hopes which they have of the rich mercy of God in Christ. There is a sad propensity in man to abuse the Divine mercy, and to take occasion, from this most glorious perfection of the Almighty, to run the farther and continue the longer in sin. How differently did a sense of Gods mercy work on the pious David! Hear what he says, O Lord, there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. He felt that the goodness of God led him to repentance. The rich mercy of the Lord, far from hardening his heart, softened and overcame it. (E. Cooper.)

Mercy in that day

Let us consider the language of the text as showing that the exercise of mercy towards us, especially in the proceedings of the final day, is an object of highest desire and hope.

1. The very nature of the occasion shows it to be so: the day of the end of the world. This will differ from all other days. On numbers of the days that are past, our eyes were never opened; they appeared to our forefathers, but fled away ere we had our being; while the days which we behold, they do not witness, for the darkness of death and the grave overshadows them. Thus different in their importance, ordinary days may be to different persons. The day of one mans prosperity may be the day of another mans adversity. For ancient days we are not responsible, and yet those days were concerned in the accountability of millions who have no concern with our own. But the day referred to in the text will be common to all the sons of Adam. If, then, we consider the period which it occupies, both as to what it follows and what it precedes, how manifest the need of mercy at that day. What recollections of time, what apprehensions of eternity will fill the mind!

2. As it will be the period when God will display the effects of His probationary dispensations, the worth of mercy will then particularly appear. Such effects will be strictly discriminative of character and condition. Events will have reached their issues; moral consequences will be brought together in vast accumulation, and will bear with all their weight upon the mind. Fruits will be reaped in kind and in degree, according to what we have sown. And while these effects will be so concentrated at that day, they will also be looked upon in their character of perpetuity.

3. As it will be the period when the Lord will reward His servants for all they have done in His name, the apostle could entreat mercy for his friend at that day.

4. It is also to be observed that the importance of an interest in Divine mercy at that day appears in the fact that if it be not then enjoyed the hope of it can be cherished no more. (Essex Remembrancer.)

Mercy in that day

I. Whence arises our need of mercy?

1. Our need of mercy arises from our guilt, for mercy is kindness or favour shown to those who are undeserving of it. Our guilt arises from our personal disobedience to the Divine law. We inherit a depraved nature, but it is not for this that God holds us responsible. We are responsible not for what we have inherited, but for what we have done, and therefore it is not by our depraved nature but by our actions we shall be judged.

2. Guilt exposes to the retributive justice of God. There is always the feeling that sin deserves punishment at the hands of God. We know indeed from Scripture that it does so. Nothing could be plainer or more solemn than its statements, than the sinner is even now under the curse of the law which he has broken, and that hereafter he will come under a righteous retribution. But it is not to Scripture that I would now appeal. A man who has violated the laws of his country knows that he deserves to suffer their penalties. It is right, he says, I have sinned, and must bear the punishment. So the sinner against God feels that he deserves to be condemned, and that if Gods justice were to deal with him he could not escape. From this indissoluble connection between sin and punishment arises our need of mercy. Therefore it is, that the prayer of the publican is the universal prayer of poor, sinful, and perishing humanity. Therefore it is, that in the presence of Gods holiness, or confronted with His law, or in the near prospect of an eternal world, we shrink back appalled at the consciousness of our guilt.

II. Whether it is possible to obtain mercy? This is a question of grave importance; easily answered with the Bible in our hands, but, apart from it, filling us with strange perplexity.

1. Without a Divine revelation, we do not know that God is merciful at all. Granting that there is much to excite our hopes, there is as much to awaken our fears. We are ready to say, God is good--His tender mercies are over all. But when the pestilence is abroad in the city, and the tempest in the field--when the rivers overflow their banks, and the mildew blights the precious fruits of the earth--when the crimson tide of war rolls through a land--when mens faces are black with famine--when the sea is strewn with wrecks--then we are filled with alarm, and say, When I consider, I am afraid of Him. Think again: What are the conceptions which have been formed of God by those who are destitute of revelation? One of the best and wisest of the heathen doubted whether it was possible for God to forgive sin. The sceptre of the Supreme God was a thunder-bolt--He was cruel, harsh and vindictive Again: When we reflect on the nature of moral government, we perceive serious difficulties in the way of the exercise of mercy. Certainly this is not the end of government. The great object for which it exists is the administration of justice; that it may render to every man according to his works. If mercy, not justice, be its ruling principle, it is not easy to understand why it should exist at all. The highest praise that can be given to an earthly ruler is, that he is the terror of evil-doers and the praise of them that do well. Now apply this to the Divine government. Why does it exist?--whence its language and its laws? Is it not for the maintenance of order?--for the well-being of the creatures whom God has made? And, as far as we have an opportunity of observing, are not the laws of this government strictly carried out--in every case, sooner or later, exacting penalties from the disobedient? If you violate a physical law, there is no mercy for you.

2. But when we turn to the Scriptures, the subject is presented before us in a different light.

(1) We learn, in the first place, that God is merciful in Himself.

(2) We learn that this mercy is displayed to sinners through the atonement of Christ.

III. Why is it that at the day of judgment we shall especially require the exercise of mercy? It is the day that will terminate this worlds history. Whenever it dawns, time will cease, the world will be burnt up, the heavens will pass away, there will be no more sea. Wonderful was the day of creation, when God called things that were not as though they were, and His Spirit moved over the chaos, and light dawned, and the earth appeared. But more wonderful still will be that day when the purpose for which the world has been created shall have been accomplished, and, like a faded vesture, it shall be folded up. Then the worlds history will end--its sad tragedies of sorrow, its scenes of suffering; and its works of nature, its wonders of art, the monuments of Gods power, the trophies of mans skill, shall pass away.

1. Its absolute certainty.

2. Its scrutiny will be so strict. God will set our iniquities before Him--our secret sins in the light of His countenance. And that which we had forgotten shall be remembered; that which appeared to us but trivial shall assume a magnitude which will fill us with profound alarm; that which we supposed none had witnessed shall be proclaimed.

3. The award will be just and final.

4. It will come unexpectedly. All the representations given of the judgment-day describe it as a sudden and unlooked-for event. But what shall we say of the worldly, the ungodly, the profane? What sudden, destruction will overtake them! Where Pompeii was disinterred, there was discovered in the buried city the remains of those who still preserved the very attitude in which death had overtaken them. There was a skeleton before a mirror, another behind a counter; in the theatre, in the forum, in the temples, at a banquet, in every attitude and position they were found. It was the work of a moment, the burning lava fell, and they died. You are looking forward to many years of life, but the Judge may even now be standing at the door. Who then will find mercy? Those who have sought it and found it now--those who have confessed and forsaken sin--those who humbly rest on the merits of the Saviours sacrifice. (H. J. Gamble.)

Pauls good wish on behalf of Onesiphorus

I. Men are all advancing towards a solemn and momentous period.

II. At that period men will stand in need of mercy. When the apostle expresses a wish that his friend may receive mercy, it must be evident to every one that of course he needs it--that without its communication it is impossible that he can be happy. Another inference to be dragon from this principle is, that, in consequence of this transgression by which we are characterised, we are, of course, in danger of punishment by that great Almighty Being whom, in this manner, we have offended. But now, you must at once perceive the whole force of the statement from which these particulars have been deduced. For the purpose of escaping the condemnation of the last great day, there must be a communication of the mercy of the Lord.

III. The mercy of God is diligently to be sought in the present world.

1. A portion in the provision of Divine grace ought to be sought by you as a matter of intense and impassioned desire.

2. A portion in the full provision of Divine grace should be sought in the spirit of fervent and importunate prayer. We must remark--

IV. To receive mercy is to possess the enjoyment of a vast and incalculable blessing. I scarcely dare venture for a single moment to occupy your time by attempting to describe the blessed consequences of having the Judge for your friend on that day of eternal retribution, feeling, as I do, that the grandeur of the property may appear diminished by the feebleness of the description.

V. Those who have the hope of mercy should desire its participation by others. It has already been observed, that the prayer of the apostle is that peculiar form of prayer which is known by the name of intercession. Here is a beautiful example of that spirit which we, as the possessors and heirs of mercy, should cultivate towards those in whom we feel an interest. (James Parsons.)

Mercy in the day of judgment

I. that day. Its date is not given. It would but gratify curiosity. Its length is not specified. It will be long enough for the deliberate judgment of all men. Its coming will be solemnly proclaimed. Ushered in with pomp of angels, sound of trumpet, etc., none will be ignorant of it. Its glory, the revelation of Jesus from heaven upon the throne of judgment this will make it most memorable. Its event, the assembly of quick and dead, and the last assize. Its character, excitement of joy or terror. Its personal interest to each one of us will be paramount.

II. The mercy. To arouse us, let us think of those who will find no mercy of the Lord in that day:--Those who had no mercy on others. Those who lived and died impenitent. Those who neglected salvation. How shall they escape? Those who said they needed no mercy: the self-righteous. Those who sought no mercy: procrastinators, and the indifferent. Those who scoffed at Christ, and refused the gospel. Those who sold their Lord, and apostatised from Him. Those who made a false and hypocritical profession.

III. To-Day. Remember that now is the accepted time; for you are not yet standing at the judgment bar. You are yet where prayer is heard. You are where faith will save all who exercise it towards Christ. You are where the Spirit strives. You are where sin may be forgiven, at once, and for ever. You are where grace reigns, even though sin abounds. Today is the day of grace; to-morrow may be a day of another sort, for you at least, and possibly for all mankind. The Judge is at the door. Seek mercy immediately, that mercy may be yours for ever. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Going to receive mercy

When Thomas Hooker was dying, one said to him, Brother, you are going to receive the reward of your labors. He humbly replied, Brother, I am going to receive mercy.

The Christian manner of expressing gratitude

The enemies of Christianity, while stating its supposed defects, have asserted that it recognises neither patriotism nor friendship as virtues; that it discountenances, or at least does not encourage, the exercise of gratitude to human benefactors; and that its spirit is unfriendly to many of the finer feelings and sensibilities of our nature. But these assertions prove only that those who make them are unacquainted with the religion, which they blindly assail. Nothing more is necessary to show that they are groundless than a reference to the character of St. Paul. We readily admit, however, or rather we assert it as an important truth, that his religion, though it extinguished none of these feelings, modified them all. It infused into them its own spirit, regulated their exercises and expressions by its own views, and thus stamped upon them a new and distinctive character. It baptized them, if I may be allowed the expression, with the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus Christ. Hence, the apostle expressed neither his patriotism, nor his friendship, nor his gratitude, precisely as he would have done, before his conversion to Christianity. These remarks, so far at least as they relate to gratitude, are illustrated and verified by the passage before us, in which he expresses his sense of obligation to a human benefactor. He did not idolise his benefactor; he did not load him with flattering applauses; but from the fulness of his heart he poured out a prayer for him to that God who alone could reward him as the apostle wished him to be rewarded. It is more than possible, that to some persons this mode of expressing gratitude will appear frigid, unmeaning, and unsatisfactory. They will regard it as a very cheap and easy method of requiting a benefactor; and were the case their own, they would probably prefer a small pecuniary recompense, or an honorary reward, to all the prayers which even an apostle could offer on their behalf. It is certain, however, that such persons estimate the value of objects very erroneously, and that their religious views and feelings differ very widely from those which were entertained by St. Paul. But what is the precise import of the petition--that he might then find mercy--and what did it imply? To pray that any one may find mercy of him at the judgment day, is to pray that he may then be pardoned, or saved from deserved punishment, and accepted and treated as if he were righteous. St. Paul, when he prayed that Onesiphorus might find mercy of his Judge at that day, must then have believed, that he would at that day need mercy or pardon. And if so, he must have believed that, in the sight of God, he was guilty; for by the guilty alone can pardoning mercy be needed. The innocent need nothing but justice. A distinguished modern philosopher, Adam Smith, well known by his celebrated treatise on the Wealth of Nations, has some remarks relative to this subject, which are so just and apposite, that you will readily excuse me for quoting them. Man, says this writer, when about to appear before a being of infinite perfection, can feel but little confidence in his own merit, or in the imperfect propriety of his own conduct. To such a being he can scarce imagine that his littleness and weakness should ever seem to be the proper object either of esteem or regard. But he can easily conceive how the numberless violations of duty of which lie has been guilty should render him the object of aversion and punishment; nor can he see any reason why the Divine indignation should not he let loose without any restraint upon so vile an insect as he is sensible that he himself must appear to be. If he would still hope for happiness he is conscious that he cannot demand it from the justice, but that he must entreat it from the mercy of God. Repentance, sorrow, humiliation, contrition at the thought of his past conduct, are, upon this account, the sentiments which become him, and seem to be the only means which he has left of appeasing that wrath which he has justly provoked. He even distrusts the efficacy of all these, and naturally fears, lest the wisdom of God should not, like the weakness of man, be prevailed upon to spare the crime by the most importunate lamentations of the criminal. Some other intercession, some other sacrifice, some other atonement, he imagines, must be made for him, beyond what he himself is capable of making, before the purity of the Divine justice can be reconciled to his manifold offences. It may perhaps be said, if the apostles views were such as have now been described, if he believed that justice must pronounce a sentence of condemnation on all without exception, on what could he found a hope that either himself, or his benefactor, or any other man, will find mercy of the Lord at that day? These questions are perfectly reasonable and proper, and it would be impossible to answer them in such a manner as to justify the apostle, were not a satisfactory answer furnished by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That gospel reveals to us a glorious plan, devised by infinite wisdom, in which the apparently conflicting claims of justice and mercy are perfectly reconciled. (E. Payson, D. D.)

Remember the reckoning day

What shall we think of such who never mind this day? Verily, they are much affected with earthly pleasures and profits, and have little regard of the greatest good. Many men in the inn of this world are like the swaggerers and prodigals in a tavern, who call freely, eat and drink, laugh and are fat, but never mind either the reckoning or the time of harvest; for they have sown no good seed, neither have wherewith to dis charge the shot: therefore suffer these things willingly to slip and absent them selves out from their minds, because they have or can expect no commodity by either. But the faithful man is of a contrary mind; for he is sparing in expense, and hath scattered much good grain, the which will bring a goodly crop at his Masters appearing, the great day of reaping, both of which cause him often to look upward. (J. Barlow, D. D.)

Mercy on the judgment day

I. An important season. That day. The day is that which is elsewhere called the last day, because then the end of this worlds history, as a place of trial at least, will be come; it is called also the great day, because then scenes unparalleled before in grandeur will be unfolded, and affairs that have never been surpassed in magnitude will be transacted--such scenes and affairs as will throw into the shade the most splendid spectacles and momentous transactions of time.

II. An important blessing. For a man to find mercy even now, amid the trials and changes and imperfections of this present life, is to be truly blessed. It is to have guaranteed to him all that is included in eternal life--that gift of God--that munificent donation of infinite mercy. Nor will the largess be diminished, or the security invalidated, on the day of judgment.

1. There are many considerations besides which go to illustrate the high importance and exceeding desirableness of mercy on that day; and one of these is, that it will then be felt to be peculiarly needful.

2. Another consideration, tending to enhance the value of the blessing, is that it will not be shared in by all. This is obviously implied in the apostles intercessory petition. If the mariner who is saved from the wreck, when all his shipmates are lost, estimates his preservation more highly than he who has returned to the desired haven with them all in safety, must it not seem a glorious benefit to appear as vessels of mercy prepared unto glory, when many fellow-sinners are found to be vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?

3. Another consideration still, which may well exalt the blessing in our eyes, is that if mercy be not found then, it will never be found.

4. And yet another circumstance which magnifies the value of the blessing is, that the condition of those by whom mercy shall not then be found will be pre-eminently wretched. Not to find mercy on that day is to be undone, altogether and eternally undone.

Lessons:

1. If mercy is to be found at last, it must be sought now.

2. Again, if mercy is to be found at all, it must be sought through the mediation of Christ.

3. And, in fine, if mercy is to be found of the Lord, it must be sought in His service. (D. Davidson.)

The requited of friendship

Paul was the friend of Onesiphorus, and how did he manifest his friendship? In carcerated and enchained, poor and destitute, he could not requite, in kind, his benefactors generosity. But another mode of expressing friendship was left him, and as he was shut up to it by circumstances, so he turned to it with fondness. As the waters of a spring, when prevented from flowing forth in their natural channel, mount forcibly up towards heaven--as the portion that is prevented, by exhalation, from diffusing fertility along the course of the stream, descends afterwards in fertilising showers; so the emotions of his overflowing heart, being pent up in one direction by the tyranny of man, ascended in devout aspiration to God, and though seeming to vanish in the vapour of fruitless wishes, entailed the communication of invaluable blessings. (D. Davidson.)

The value of a good mans prayers

I would rather have the gift of a brothers faithful prayers than of his plentiful substance. And I feel that when I have given to a brother my faithful prayers I have given him my best and greatest gift. (Edward Irving.)

Prayers for the dead

That Onesiphorus was dead is a gratuitous assumption. The fact that Paul nowhere else prays for the dead is fatal to the notion here. (J. Bryce, LL. D.)

In case even that Onesiphorus were really dead at the time of the writing of this Epistle, still the Roman Catholic interpreters are in error when they find in 2Ti_1:18 a proof of the lawfulness and obligation for intercessory prayers for the dead. The case here was altogether special, and cannot, without great wilfulness, be applied as the foundation of a general rule for all the dead. On the other side, it is often forgotten that the gospel nowhere lays down a positive prohibition to follow with our wishes and prayers, if our heart impel us thereto, our departed while in the condition of separation; and hence, in any case, it is well to distinguish between the Christian idea which lies at the foundation of such inward needs, and the form of later Church rite and practice. (Dr. Van Oosterzee.)

Beneficent wishes for the dead

On the assumption already mentioned as probable (that Onesiphorus was dead), this would, of course, be a prayer for the dead. The reference to the great day of judgment falls in with this hypothesis. Such prayers were, as we know from 2Ma_12:41-45, common among the Jews a century or more before St. Pauls time, and there is good ground for thinking that they entered into the ritual of every synagogue and were to be seen in the epitaphs in every Jewish burial-place. From the controversial point of view this may appear to favour the doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome, but facts are facts apart from their controversial bearing. It is, at any rate, clear that such a simple utterance of hope in prayer, like the Shalom (peace) of Jewish, and the Requiescat or Refrigerium of early Christian epitaphs, and the like prayers in early liturgies, though they sanction the natural outpouring of affectionate yearnings, are as far as possible from the full-blown Romish theory of purgatory. (E. H. Plumptre, D. D.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ti 1:18. Δῴη, give) A pathetic Anaphora [the frequent repetition of a word in beginnings of sections. See 2Ti 1:16, “The Lord give.”]—αὐτῷ, to himself) An antithesis to his house.—ὁ Κύριος, the Lord) Christ, for whom he so acted [to whom he rendered that service, Mat 25:45].—παρὰ Κυρίου, from the Lord) The same Christ, who shall reward him. The noun for the reciprocal pronoun, with emphasis, as Luk 11:17, note; 2Th 3:5.—διηκόνησε, ministered) even after my departure; 1Ti 1:3.—βέλτιον) better than I [not as Engl. Vers. very well].

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Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ti 1:18 . It is immaterial whether we explain ὁ Κύριος , in this verse, of God the Father, the source of judgment, or of God the Son, the instrument of judgment. It is far-fetched to suppose that the repeated Κύριος … Κυρίου refer to different divine Persons. Huther’s expl., followed by Alf., seems the best, that δῴη ὁ Κύριος had become so completely a formula that the recurrence did not seem harsh.

καὶ δσα κ . τ . λ .: This clause is an afterthought.

διηκόνησεν : The verb is used with a perfectly general reference here, as in Heb 6:10 .

βέλτιον : The comparative here is intensive or elative. See Blass, Grammar , pp. 33, 141, 142. Other examples are in 1Ti 3:14 (Tisch.) and in the Received Text of 2Ti 1:17 of this chapter.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. For κυρίου D2*E* d e have θεῷ, an attempt to introduce into the text the current interpretation of κυρίου as referring here to God the Father.

18. δῴη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κ.τ.λ., may the Lord, sc. Christ, grant him to find mercy from the Lord, sc. God the Father, in that day, sc. the Day of Judgement. The repetition ὁ κύριος … παρὰ κυρίου is a little awkward, but probably the phrase δῴη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος was a common introductory formula, so that the addition παρὰ κυρίου would not occur to the writer as strange. As the first κύριος seems to refer to Christ (see 2Ti 1:8; 2Ti 1:16 above), it is best to take the second κυρίου as referring to God the Father, to whom the function of judgement is given more than once by St Paul (Rom 2:5; Rom 2:16 &c.; but cp. Joh 5:22).

The question has been much debated whether Onesiphorus was alive or dead at the time of writing, a question which in the absence of fuller information about him it is impossible to answer with certainty. It may be observed, however, that there is no a priori difficulty in the way of supposing St Paul to have prayed for him, if he were already dead. Prayer for the dead was admissible among the Jews at the date of the composition of the Second Book of the Maccabees (cir. 100 B.C.), as 2Ma 12:44-45 establishes beyond question. And that the practice was observed by Christians in the second century becomes apparent as soon as we arrive at a period of which we have adequate knowledge. “Let every friend who observeth this pray for me” are the closing words of the epitaph on the tomb of Abercius, Bp of Hierapolis (160 A.D.)[514], and they are typical of a large number of sepulchral Christian inscriptions in the Catacombs and elsewhere[515]. It cannot be supposed impossible or even improbable that St Paul should have shared in the practice, which the Christian Church seems to have taken over from Judaism. But proof positive we have not got here. Certainly in ch. 2Ti 4:19 the household of Onesiphorus is saluted without mention of Onesiphorus himself. But this only proves that he was not at Ephesus at the time of writing (it seems a most improbable conjecture that he was actually then at Rome). To speak of a man’s οἷκος without specific mention of himself does not necessarily prove that he is dead (cp. 1Co 1:16). A better argument may be based on a comparison of 2Ti 1:16; 2Ti 1:18. In 2Ti 1:16 St Paul prays for the household of Onesiphorus, whereas in 2Ti 1:18 he repeats the same prayer on behalf of the man himself, with the significant addition ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, which can mean nothing else than the Day of Judgement (see 2Ti 1:12 and 2Ti 4:8). This addition seems to betray a feeling that prayer for him in this life, such as has already been made for his οἷκος, would be out of place. On the whole then it seems probable that Onesiphorus was dead when St Paul prayed on his behalf, δώῃ αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κ.τ.λ.[516]

[514] See Lightfoot, Ignatius and Polycarp, I. p. 496.

[515] See Warren’s Liturgy of Ante-Nicene Church, p. 146 ff.

[516] It is curious, however, and the fact is worth noting, that the pseudo-Ignatian writer of the 4th century in the spurious letter to Hero (§ 9) borrows this prayer and applies its words to living persons, shewing apparently that at least he had not gathered from the passage before us that Onesiphorus was dead.

καὶ ὅσα ἐν Ἐφέσῳ διηκόνησεν. Onesiphorus had plainly, from this, been a Church worker at Ephesus, where his family continued to reside (2Ti 4:19).

βέλτιον σὺ γινώσκεις, thou knowest, of thine own personal knowledge, very well. βέλτιον is not to be taken as better than I could tell you; the comparative is used (as often) as equivalent to a weak superlative.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. δῴη] A late form of the optative, cf. 2Th 3:16; W.-H. ii. p. 168. ὁ κύριος, the Lord Christ; cf. 2, 8, 16. παρὰ κυρίου, possibly also “from Christ” as the Jdg 4:8; or “from the Father,” a stereotyped phrase for mercy at the day of judgment. ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, cf. 12. ἔνθα πολλοῦ ἐλέους χρεία ἡμῖν, Chrys. Yes, but the Lord will say to Onesiphorus, ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην καὶ ἦλθες πρός με.

The context implies that Onesiphorus was separated from his family, probably that he was dead; cf. τῷ . . . οἴκῳ (16 and 4:19), ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ 18, and so would provide a sanction for prayer for the departed. This, in this simple form, is a natural instinct; it was practised by some later Jews, cf. 2 Mac 12:43-45, and is found in early Christian epitaphs and in the liturgies; cf. Plummer, ad loc.; Gayford, The Future State, c. 4. Wohlenberg quotes the Acts of Paul and Thecla, § 28, which is a prayer that a heathen may be transferred after death to the abode of the righteous.

εὗρε … εὑρεῖν] It may be fanciful to imagine a conscious play on the words “invenit me in tanta frequentia: inveniat misericordiam in illa panegyri” (Bengel); but Paul was fond of such playful allusions and we can imagine him thinking of the meaning of Onesiphorus, “the help-bringer”; cf. Phm 1:11.

διηκόνησε] cf. 4:12. It is not defined here, and may include services rendered to Paul himself and to the whole church at Ephesus.

βέλτιον] Perhaps “better than I,” but the comparative sense cannot be pressed; cf. Moulton, Gr. N. T., pp. 78 and 236; M.M. s.v.; Act 10:28 (D) βέλτιον ἐφίστασθε, 1 T 3:14 τάχιον (?), Joh 13:27.

Additional Note to Chapter I.

Παραθήκη.

παραθήκη (in Classical Greek more commonly παρακαταθήκη) always implies the situation of one who has to take a long journey and who deposits his money and other valuables with a friend, trusting him to restore it on his return; cf. Tob 1:14 ἐπορευόμην εἰς τὴν Μηδείαν καὶ παρεθέμην Γαβαήλῳ ἀργυρίου τάλαντα δέκα. The παραθήκη is always that of the depositor: the duty of the friend is φυλάσσειν and ἀποδιδόναι. From the earliest days this duty was protected by law; cf. Håammurabi, §§ 122-126. “If a man shall give silver, gold, or anything whatsoever, all whatever he shall give he shall show to witnesses and fix bonds and give on deposit”; and exact regulations were laid down fixing the penalty in the case of loss or damage; cf. Exo 22:7-13, Lev 6:2-7. The striking story of Glaucus, who was condemned by the Pythian oracle for even wishing to retain such a deposit, shows the importance attached to faithfulness in this duty (Herod. vi. 86; Juv. xiii. 199-208), and it was one of the first duties impressed on Christians, who bound themselves on each Sunday “ne fidem fallerent, ne depositum appellati abnegarent,” Pliny, Ep. 96. Among the Jews in Maccabean times the place of the friend was taken by the Temple treasuries, which took charge of such deposits and of the money of those who had no natural guardians; cf. 2 Mac 3:10-40 παρακαταθήκας χηρῶν τε καὶ ὀρφανῶν 10 τοὺς πεπιστευκότας 12 τὰ πεπιστευμένα τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν σῶα διαφυλάσσειν 22.

In the N.T. the substantive is only used in the Pastoral Epistles: it comes naturally from one who is preparing for his last long journey, but the verb occurs elsewhere, and the word was used metaphorically in many applications. (a) Of the body of truth which Christ deposits with the Apostle and the Apostle with Timothy, cf. 1 T 1:18 παρατίθεμαι, 6:20 τὴν παραθήκην, 2 T 1:14, and which Timothy has to hand on to others when he takes his journey to Rome, 2 T 2:2 παράθου. This use may have been suggested by the parable of the Pounds, Luk 19:12. (b) Of our true self which the Creator has handed over to us to keep safe, cf. Epict. ii. 8, 21, οὐ μόνον σε κατεσκεύασεν ἀλλὰ καὶ σοὶ μόνῳ ἐπίστευσεν καὶ παρακατέθετο . . . παραδέδωκέ σοι σεαυτόν: so Philo, Quis hœres, p. 491, τοῦτʼ ἔπαινός ἐστι τοῦ σπουδαίου, τὴν ἱερὰν ἣν ἔλαβε παρακαταθήκην ψυχῆς, αἰσθήσεως, λόγου . . . καθαρῶς καὶ ἀδόλως μὴ ἑαυτῷ, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ πεπιστευκότι φυλάξαντος (Wetstein), and Hermas, Mand. 3, οἱ ψυεδόμενοι . . . γίνονται ἀποστερηταὶ τοῦ Κυρίου, μὴ παραδιδόντες αὐτῷ τὴν παρακαταθήκην ἣν ἔλαβον. ἒλαβον γὰρ παρʼ αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα ἄψευστον: ibid. Sim. ix. 32, “Reddite ei spiritum integrum sicut accepistis.” (c) Of good works deposited with God in heaven: a very common Jewish thought, 4 Esdr 8:33 “justi quibus sunt opera multa reposita apud te”; Apoc. Bar 1413 “justi sine timore ab hoc domicilio proficiscuntur quia habent apud to vim operum custoditam in thesauris” (Wohlenberg); cf. 1 T 6:19; Ign. ad Polyc. 6, τὰ δεπόσιτα ὑμῶν τὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν, and cf. Abrahams, Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels, p. 148. (d) Of persons entrusted to the care of others, Clem. Alex. Quis dives salv., c. 42, τὴν παρακαταθήκην ἀπόδος ἡμῖν ἣν ἐγώ τε καὶ ὁ σωτήρ σοι παρακαταθέμεθα: Act 20:32 παρατίθεμαι ὑμᾶς τῷ θεῷ (this is said of the elders at Ephesus); Chrys. p. 597 C, μεγάλην παρακαταθήκην ἔχομεν τὰ παίδια. (e) Of our life deposited with God at death, Luk 23:46 εἰς χεῖράς σου παρατίθεμαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου: 1 P 4:19 οἱ πάσχοντες κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ πιστῷ κτίστῃ παρατιθέσθωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν. The life which at first was God’s deposit with us becomes our deposit with God.

R.V. Revised Version of the English Bible.

W.-H The New Testament in Greek, with Introduction and Appendix, by Westcott and Hort, Cambridge, 1881.

Clem. Hom. Clementis Romani Homiliæ, ed. Dressel, 1853.

S.-H. The Epistle to the Romans, by Sanday and Headlam, in the I.C.C.

M.M. The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, by J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, 1914-

Lock, W. (1924). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus) (82). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

grant unto him--as well as "unto his house" (Ti2 1:16).

the Lord--who rewards a kindness done to His disciples as if done to Himself (Mat 25:45).

of--from the Lord; "the Lord" is emphatically put instead of "from Himself," for solemnity and emphasis (Th2 3:5).

in how many things--"how many acts of ministry he rendered."

unto me--omitted in the oldest manuscripts, so that the "ministered" may include services rendered to others as well as to Paul.

very well--rather as Greek, "Thou knowest better" (than I can tell thee, seeing that thou art more of a regular resident at Ephesus).

Next: 2 Timothy Chapter 2

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. The Lord grant-that he may find mercy of the Lord] Some think that this is a prayer to God the Father to communicate grace to him, that he might find mercy in the great day at the hand of Jesus Christ the Judge. It is probably only a Hebraism for, God grant that he may here be so saved by Divine grace, that in the great day he may receive the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. See a similar form of expression, Ge 9:16; Ge 19:24; Ex 24:1-2.

IT is impossible to read this chapter over without feeling deeply interested for this most noble and amiable of men. To what trials did God expose him! His life was a life of perils and tribulations, his labours were superabundant, and his success all but incredible. Wherever he went, he left a track of light and life behind him. To him, as the grand instrument of God, the Gentiles, the whole habitable world, owe their salvation. Yet see him, in his old age, neglected by his friends, apparently forsaken of God, and abandoned to the hands of ruthless men; in prison and in chains; triumphing over sufferings and death; perfectly unshaken, unstumbled, with the evils with which he is obliged to contend, having the fullest persuasion of the truth of the doctrines which he had preached, and the strongest and most encouraging anticipation of the glory that was about to be revealed. He felt no evil, and he feared none. Sin had lost its power, and death its sting; the grave its victory, and hell its horrors. He had the happiness which heathenism spoke of, but could not attain, because it knew not the great Source whence it must proceed. This God he knew, feared, loved, obeyed, and was happy. Who but the righteous man can sing: -

Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas;

Atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatum

Subjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari! -

Illum non populi fasces, non purpura regum

Flexit, et infidos agitans discordia fratres; -

Non res Romanae, perituraque regna.

VIRG. GEORG. ii. v. 490.

No murmur is heard from his heart; he is persuaded that all things work together for good to them that love God; the miserable uncertainty of friendship, the defection of cowardly brethren, and the apostasy of once zealous professors, did not move him. As far as it is lawful, he courts death, knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Glorious system of truth by which such an apostle was formed! and glorious apostle by whom this system was illustrated and confirmed! The character and conduct of St. Paul must make Christianity doubly amiable to believers and highly respectable even to its enemies.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18 May the Lord grant to him Some explain it thus: — “May God grant to him that he may find mercy with Christ the Judge.” And, indeed, this is somewhat more tolerable than to interpret that passage in the writings of Moses:

“The Lord rained fire from the Lord,” (Genesis 19:24,)

as meaning, — “The Father rained from the Son.” Yet it is possible that strong feeling may have prompted Paul, as often happens, to make a superfluous repetition.

That he may find mercy with the Lord on that day This prayer shews us how much richer a recompense awaits those who, without the expectation of an earthly reward, perform kind offices to the saints, than if they received it immediately from the hand of men. And what does he pray for? “That he may find mercy;” for he who hath been merciful to his neighbors will receive such mercy from God to himself. And if this promise does not powerfully animate and encourage us to the exercise of kindness, we are worse than stupid. Hence it follows, also, that when God rewards us, it is not on account of our merits or of any excellence that is in us; but that the best and most valuable reward which he bestows upon us is, when he pardons us, and shews himself to be, not a stern judge, but a kind and indulgent Father.

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.

(18) The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day . . .—The Greek should be rendered here, favour of the Lord, instead of by “mercy of the Lord.” Some commentators, who have found a difficulty in this unusual repetition of “the Lord,” explain it thus: The expression, “the Lord grant,” had become among Christians so completely “a formulary,” that the second use of the word “Lord” was not noticed; and the prayer is thus-simply equivalent to “O that he may find mercy of the Lord.” It seems, however, better to keep to the strict. literal meaning, and to understand the first “Lord,” in the sense in which the term is always found in the Epistles of St. Paul, as a title of Christ; and the second “Lord” as used of the Father, to whom here (as in Rom_2:5; Rom_2:16; Heb_12:23), judgment at the last day is ascribed.

In that day.—The Apostle can never repay now—not even with thanks—the kindness his dead friend showed him in his hour of need; so he prays that the Judge of quick and dead may remember it in the awful day of judgment. It is worthy of note how St. Paul’s thoughts here pass over the interval between death and judgment. It was on that day when the great white throne would be set up that he thought of the good deeds done in the body being recompensed by the righteous Judge. No doubt the expectation of the early Christians—in which expectation certainly St. Paul shared—of the speedy coming of the Lord influenced all thinking and speaking of the intermediate state of the soul between death and judgment, and almost seems to have effaced the waiting time from their minds.

And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.—These services rendered to St. Paul at Ephesus are placed side by side with those things he had done for him at Rome, but as they are mentioned after, they perhaps refer to kind offices undertaken for the prisoner by Onesiphorus after his return from Rome to Ephesus. These things Timothy, the presiding pastor at Ephesus, would, of course, know in their detail better than St. Paul. The Greek word διηκόνσεν, rendered “he ministered,” has given rise to the suggestion that Onesiphorus was a deacon at Ephesus. Although this is possible, still such an inference from one rather general expression is precarious.

This passage is famous from its being generally quoted among the very rare statements of the New Testament which seem to bear upon the question of the Romish doctrine of praying for the dead.

It may be well very briefly to touch on two points which suggest themselves as to the bearing of this passage on the doctrine in question. (1) Although we here, in common with Roman Catholic interpreters and the majority of the later expositors of the Reformed Church, assume that Onesiphorus was dead when St. Paul wrote to Timothy, and that the words used had reference to St. Paul’s dead friend, still it must be remembered that others, well worthy of being heard, writing many centuries before any doctrinal controversy on this subject arose, have held quite another opinion. Theodoret and Chrysostom (quoted by Alford) understood that Onesiphorus was with St. Paul at this time. (2) The prayer, whether it be taken as a prayer or an ejaculation, is simply the expression of an earnest desire, on the part of St. Paul, that the kind act of the dead—assuming, contrary to the opinion of the above quoted Fathers, that he was dead—Onesiphorus towards himself may be remembered on that day when the books are opened before the Judge of quick and dead. It, indeed, only asks—looking fairly at the context—that an act of unrequited and devoted love shown in this life may be remembered in the final judgment. Without touching upon the controversy itself, it seems only just to point out the extreme precariousness of pressing this text—the only one in the New Testament really touching on this subject, and as to the interpretation of which expositors, as we have seen, are by no means in agreement—in support of a controverted doctrine.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day] The repetition of ‘the Lord’ arises apparently from the use of two clauses together which had become customary separate phrases in intercessory prayer. In its first use, as in 2Ti_1:16, with the article, understand ‘our Lord’ as in the Epistles generally, cf Winer, Pt. iii. § 19a; and in its second use ‘God the Father’ (Bp Ellicott). For a somewhat similar English use cf. Coll. for 4 S. in Advent ‘O Lord, raise up (we pray thee) thy power and come among us … through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord.’ The sentence should be regarded, as by Revisers, as a parenthetic prayer forced from him as he recalls the love that persevered to find him ‘in the lowest pit’; though he is chiefly bent on completing the tale of benefits for Timothy’s good; ‘go thou’ he would imply ‘and do likewise.’

and in how many things he ministered unto me] Omit with the best mss. ‘unto me’; the statement is general of ministry to the Church, but the context gives a special suggestion of ministry to St Paul in his ‘overseer’s’ office there. The Greek words would well bear rendering how fully he played the deacon; but anyhow the work is more prominent than the office, that of attending to bodily needs; as St Paul uses the word diakonein of himself when carrying the alms to Jerusalem, Rom_15:25 ‘now I say I go unto Jerusalem ministering unto the saints,’ and of Onesimus with himself at Rome ‘whom I would fain have kept with me, that in thy behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel.’ Phm_1:13.

thou knowest very well] Lit. ‘better’ i.e. than that I should need to dwell upon it.

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.

The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day;.... In return for his diligent seeking till he found the apostle. By "mercy", he means the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; or that crown of righteousness and everlasting glory and happiness, which will be a grant from the Lord, or a free gift through Jesus Christ; the effect of pure grace and mercy, and not of merit. The apostle does not propose to requite him himself; he knew it was out of his power; but he had an interest in the Lord, and at the throne of grace; and he makes use of that in his favour, and prays the Lord that he might find mercy of him: and the meaning is either, that he prayed to God, that he might find mercy of him; or he prayed particularly to the Lord Jesus Christ to act the part of a Mediator for him with his Father, that he might enjoy eternal life through him; or he prayed to God the Father, that he would grant that he might find mercy at the hands of Jesus Christ his Son, the Judge of quick and dead, who, at the great and last day, will give the crown of righteousness to all that love him, and his appearance:

and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well: or "better". Timothy being at Ephesus, of which city Onesiphorus seems to have been, and that when the apostle was there, he very freely communicated to him, as Timothy, who was with him there, knew very well: the apostle does not forget, but remembers former kindnesses, as well as takes notice of present favours, and which shows a grateful mind. The phrase, "unto me", is not in the Greek copies, though it is in the Vulgate Latin and in all the Oriental versions; wherefore the words may be understood of the things which Onesiphorus had ministered to Timothy, and to the church at Ephesus, and to the poor saints there; which Timothy was "better" acquainted with than the apostle could be, he being on the spot: and now since there were so many fallen off, and so few that remained hearty and faithful, but one Onesiphorus to all them that were in Asia; the apostle exhorts to firmness and constancy, in a dependence on the Spirit and grace of God, as follows.

Next: 2 Timothy Chapter 2

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

Ver. 18. The Lord] That is, God the Father "grant he may find mercy of the Lord," that is, of God the Son, as "Jehovah from Jehovah," Gen 19:24.

That he may find] For his care in finding out me, 2Ti 1:17.

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.

The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day - The day of judgment; notes at 2Ti 1:12. This proves that Onesiphorus was then alive, as Paul would not offer prayer for him if he was dead. The Papists, indeed, argue from this in favor of praying for the dead - assuminG from 2Ti 4:19, that Onesiphorus was then dead. But there is no evidence of that. The passage in 2Ti 4:19, would prove only that he was then absent from his family.

And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus - This was the home of Onesiphorus, and his family was still there; 2Ti 4:19. When Paul was at Ephesus, it would seem that Onesiphorus had showed him great kindness. His affection for him did not change when he became a prisoner. True friendship, and especially that which is based on religion, will live in all the vicissitudes of fortune, whether we are in prosperity or adversity; whether in a home of plenty, or in a prison.

This chapter is full of interest, and may suggest many interesting reflections. We see:

(1) A holy man imprisoned and about to die. He had nearly finished his course, and had the prospect of soon departing.

(2) He was forsaken by his friends, and left to bear his sorrows alone. They on whom he might have relied, had left him; and to all his outward sufferings, there was added this, one of the keenest which his Master endured before him, that his friends forsook him, and left him to bear his sorrows alone.

(3) Yet his mind is calm, and his faith in the gospel is unshaken. He expresses no regret that he had embraced the gospel; no sorrow that he had been so zealous in it as to bring these calamities upon himself. That gospel he still loves, and his great solicitude is, that his young friend may never shrink from avowing it, though it may call him also to pass through scenes of persecution and sorrow.

(4) In the general apostasy, the turning away of those on whom he might have relied, it is refreshing and interesting, to find mention made of one unshaken friend; 2Ti 1:16. He never swerved in his affections. He had been kind to him in former years of comparative honor, and he did not leave him now in the dark day of adversity. It is always interesting to find true friendship in this world - friendship that survives all reverses, and that is willing to manifest itself when the great mass turn coldly away. There is such a thing as friendship, and there is such a thing as religion, and when they meet and mingle in the same heart, the one strengthens the other; and then neither persecution, nor poverty, nor chains, will prevent our doing good to him who is in prison and is about to die; see the notes at 2Ti 4:16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This would incline us to think that Onesiphorus was yet alive. The term mercy he here prays that he may

find of the Lord, is comprehensive of all good, both corporal and spiritual, which he prays God the Father to grant to this good man, to find from the Lord Jesus Christ in that day when he shall come to judge the quick and the dead; for he had not only ministered to the apostle while he was a prisoner at Rome, but many ways at Ephesus, (where probably this Onesiphorus lived), which Timothy, being there, well knew.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Lord grant—If Onesiphorus was deceased, here, say the Romanists, is a prayer for the dead. In the early epitaphs of the catacombs, as Mr. Withrow informs us, a rare instance or two is found of a devout wish for the bliss of the dead. One, dated A.D. 268, reads, “Mayest thou live among the holy ones.” Another, 291, reads, “Refresh thyself among sainted spirits.” And so the English service for burial of the dead, “Beseeching Thee, that it may please Thee of Thy gracious goodness to accomplish the number of Thine elect, and to hasten Thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of Thy Holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in Thy everlasting glory.” Wesley, in his Journal, thus describes the tomb of Bishop Bedell: “A plain flat stone, inscribed, ‘Depositum Gulielmi Bedell, quondam Episcopi Kilmorensis:’ over whom the Rebel army sung, ‘Requiescat in pace ultimus Anglorum’—May he rest in peace, last of the Englishmen.”

All these ejaculations were not prayers for the redemption of the wicked dead, but devout accords with the divine will in the final glorification of the holy dead, with us.

Of the Lord—A similar repetition of the word Lord in Gen_19:24. Probably St. Paul, in the course of writing the sentence, remembers that Christ is judge in that day without taking into view the fact that he had already mentioned him as Lord. Thou, as being at Ephesus, knowest very well; Greek, better, that is, than I; or better than you know his well-doing in Rome.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To find for that he may find, A.V; ministered for ministered unto me, A.V (The Lord grant unto him). The parenthesis seems only to be required on the supposition that the words dwh aujtw oJ Kuriov euJrein eleov k.t.l.., are a kind of play on the eu=ren of the preceding verse. Otherwise it is better to take the words as a new sentence. The repetition of "the Lord" is remarkable, but nothing seems to hang upon it. The second paraou seems to suppose the Lord sitting on the judgment throne. As regards the amount of encouragement given by this passage to prayers for the dead (supposing Onesiphorus to have been dead), the mere expression of a pious wish or hope that he may find mercy is a very slender foundation on which to build the superstructure of prayer and Masses for the deliverance of souls from purgatory. In how many things, etc. St. Paul does not say, as the A.V makes him say, that Onesiphorus "ministered unto him" at Ephesus. It may have been so, but the words do not necessarily mean this. "What good service he did at Ephesus" would faithfully represent the Greek words; and this might describe great exertions made by Onesiphorus after his return from Rome to procure the apostle"s acquittal and release by the intercession of the principal persons at Ephesus. This would, of course, be known to Timothy. It may, however, describe the ministerial labours and services of Onesiphorus at Ephesus after his return from Rome, or it may refer to former ministrations when Paul and Timothy were at Ephesus together (see Introduction). There seem to be no materials for arriving at absolute certainty on the point.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 18. May the Lord grant to him that lie may find mercy from the Lord in that day. The repetition of Lord is peculiar—the Lord grant that he may find from the Lord!—but is certainly not to be explained, with some, both in earlier and later times, as having respect in the first case to the Father, and in the second to the Son as the Judge. If such a distinction had been intended to be made, we may be sure it would have been more broadly marked. We may explain it (with Huther, Alford), by regarding the first expression, “May the Lord grant “(δῴη ὁ Κύριος), as so common a formula in such brief requests to Heaven, that the repetition in the second part was not noticed. But Calvin’s seems preferable: “It might be that the vehemence of affection moved Paul to an unnecessary repetition, as is wont to happen.” And he properly adds: “This prayer teaches us how much greater a reward shall await those who, without the hope of any earthly recompense, have done offices of kindness to the saints, than if they had received a present reward from the hand of men.” It is noticeable, also, as he still further remarks, that mercy is the thing prayed for, doubtless because the apostle had respect to the Lord’s own exposition of the law of recompense: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy;” and again, “Blessed . . . because I was sick and in prison, and ye visited me.” The circumstance that St. Paul asks simply a future blessing for Onesiphorus—mercy of the Lord in that day, the day when all things shall come into judgment—coupled with the other circumstance, that when speaking of the present he twice over names merely the household of Onesiphorus (2Ti 1:16, 2Ti 4:19), has given rise to the inference that Onesiphorus must have already ceased to live. The inference may certainly be regarded as probable, though we can scarcely deem it altogether conclusive. For, possibly, such special mention was made of the household, because Timothy was at the time in their neighbourhood, and the father of the household may have been known to be still absent from them. But the matter is of little moment. More important is the circumstance which the apostle adds respecting this good man, to show that what he did at Rome was no isolated thing, but a following out of the course he was wont to pursue at home: And how many things he ministered at Ephesus, thou knowest very well— βέλτιον—literally, better—namely, than I can tell you, or than needs to be told. In these Ephesian ministrations the apostle doubtless shared; but as they are mentioned quite generally, they may justly be regarded as embracing the Christian community there, and its common interests. The A.V. has “ministered unto me” and in the later copies of the Vulgate mihi is inserted, but the earlier and better copies want it; and there is nothing corresponding to it in the Greek.

Patrick Fairbairn — An Exposition of Ezekiel (1851), Jonah (1849), and The Pastoral Epistles (1874) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. In that day. The day when he shall be called to meet the Lord. He ministered to me at Ephesus. He then belonged to Ephesus, had ministered to Paul there, and shown his faithfulness again at Rome. The language seems to imply that these kind deeds were past. Perhaps Onesiphorus had started back home.

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.

18.] May the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord (the account to be given of the double κύριος, κυρίου, here is simply this—that δῴη ὁ κύριος had become so completely a formula, that the recurrence was not noticed. This, which is Huther’s view, is far better than to suppose the second κυρ. merely = ἑαυτοῦ, or to enter into theological distinctions between κύριος as the Father, and παρὰ κυρίου as from the Son, the Judge) in that day (see on ver. 12): and how many services he did (to me: or, to the saints: the general expression will admit of either) in Ephesus (being probably an Ephesian, cf. ch. 4:19), thou knowest well (the comparative is not for the positive, here or any where: but the signification is, ‘better, than that I need remind thee’).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Very well [βελτιον] . N. T. o. The sense is comparative; better than I can tell you.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.