And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
Ver. 23. That I might be partaker] i.e. That I might be saved together with you. For the bell may call men to the Church, though itself never enter. The field may be well sowed with a dirty hand; the well yield excellent water, though it have much mud. Noah's builders were drowned: and the sign that telleth the passenger there is wholesome diet or warm lodging within, may itself remain in the storms without. See 1 Timothy 4:16. Nihil turpius est Peripatetico claudo. Oh how many heavenly doctrines are in some people's ears, that never were in the preacher's heart. So true is that of Hilary, Sanctiores sunt aures plebis, quam corda sacerdotum. More consecrated are the ears of the common people than the hearts of the priests.