Ephesians 5:15-20 | |
15. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, | 15. Videte igitur, quomodo exacte ambuletis; non tanquam insipientes, sed tanquam sapientes: |
16. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. | 16. Redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. |
17. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. | 17. Quare ne sitis imprudentes, sed intelligentes, quae sit voluntas Domini. |
18. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; | 18. Et ne inebriemini vino, in quo inest lascivia, sed impleamini Spiritu. |
19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; | 19. Vobis ipsis loquentes psalmis et hymnis, et canticis spiritualibus, canentes et psallentes in corde vestro, Domino; |
20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. | 20. Gratias agentes semper de omnibus, in nomine Domini nostri Iesu Christi, Deo et Patri. |
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"delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates in it day and night,"
(Psalm 1:2,)
will triumph over every obstacle which Satan can oppose to his progress. Whence comes it that some wander, others fall, others strike against a rock, others go away, -- but because we allow ourselves to be gradually blinded by Satan, and lose sight of the will of God, which we ought constantly to remember? And observe, that Paul defines wisdom to be,
"How shall a young man," says David, "direct his way? By attending to thy word, O Lord." (Psalm 119:9.)
He speaks of youths, but it is the same wisdom which belongs to old men.
18.
The children of this world are accustomed to indulge in deep drinking as an excitement to mirth. Such carnal excitement is contrasted with that holy joy of which the Spirit of God is the Author, and which produces entirely opposite effects. To what does drunkenness lead? To unbounded licentiousness, -- to unbridled, indecent merriment. And to what does spiritual joy lead, when it is most strongly excited? 3
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1 "In mh< wJv a]sofoi ajll j wJv sofoi< we have an antithetical parallelism, (such as is found in the Classical as well as the Scriptural writers,) where, for emphasis' sake, a proposition is expressed both affirmatively and negatively, as in John 1:20, wJmolo>ghse kai< oujk hjrnh>sato, 'he confessed and denied not.' By a]sofoi, and sofoi< are meant the persons just before denoted by ko>tov and fw~v, and, a little after, termed a]fronev and suni>entev, by a frequent Hebrew idiom, whereby Wisdom stands for Virtue, and Folly for Vice" -- Bloomfield.
2 "The antecedent to w=| is not oi]nov, but the entire clause -- 'in which vicious inebriety there is profligacy.' The term, if it be derived from a privative and sw>zw, is the picture of a sad result. The adjective a]swtov is used by the classics to signify one who is, as we say, 'past redemption.' The adverb ajsw>twjv is used of the conduct of the prodigal son in the far country. (Luke 15:13.)" -- Eadie.
3 "This is a pleasant kind of drunkenness, which stimulates you, not to wanton dances or foolish songs, by which the Gentiles render homage to their deities, but to psalms, to hymns, to spiritual songs, by which you rejoice, and sing, and offer praise to the Lord, not with indecent roaring, as is the custom of drunk people, but inwardly in your minds and hearts." -- Erasmus.