But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
Ver. 18. I have all] viz. That you sent, and I give you an acquittance, which the Greeks, from the word απεχω here used, call Αποχη. Compare Proverbs 3:27 .
I abound, I am full] As a bird with a little eye, and the advantage of a wing to soar with, may see far wider than an ox with a greater; so the righteous with a little estate, joined with faith and devotion, may feel more comfort and see more of God's bounty than one of vast possessions, whose heart cannot lift itself above the earth. They say, it is not the great cage that maketh the bird sing. Sure we are, it is not the great estate that brings always the inward joy, the cordial contentment. A staff may help a traveller, but a bundle of staves may be a burden to him. The greatest thing in the least compass, saith one, is a contented mind in a man's body; which if a man have, deliciosius vivit etiam is qui teruntium non habet, quam si in unum hominem confles sexcentos Sardanapalos, he hath all things, though he want everything.