Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Ver. 6. Stir up the gift] Blow up thy smaller spark into a flame. Grace in us is like a dull seacoal fire, saith one, which if not now and then blown and stirred up, though there be no lack of fuel, yet will of itself at length die and go out. The word αναζωπυρειν, here used by the apostle, is Plato's word. The apostle seems to have been well read in Plato's writings. Though I grant the word is also found in the Greek text, Genesis 45:27, and the apostle here might very well allude to the fire of the altar that came from heaven, and was day and night kept in by the priests. See the canon for that fire, Leviticus 6:12,13, Hezekiah's confession, 2 Chronicles 29:6,7, the good heusewife's candle, Proverbs 31:18, the wise virgins' lamps,Matthew 25:8, our Saviour's charge,Luke 12:35, and do accordingly.