[6] Perhaps the bishop of Rome of a later day. So Origen and Eusebius. But we cannot be certain of the identity.
[7] "Cp. Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, xvii. 8, xx. 12, 15, xxi. 27; and Luke x. 20. And see Exod. xxxii. 32, 33; Ps. lxix. 28, lxxxvii. 6; Isa. iv. 3; Ezek. xiii. 9; Dan. xii. 1. The result of the comparison of these passages with this seems to be that St Paul here refers to the Lord's 'knowledge of them that are His' (2 Tim. ii. 19: cp. John x. 27, 28), for time and eternity. All the passages in the Revelation, save iii. 5, are clearly in favour of a reference of the phrase to the certainty of the ultimate salvation of all true saints . . . so too Dan. xii. 1 and Luke x. 20. Rev. iii. 5 appears to point in another direction (see Trench on that passage). But in view of the other mentions of the 'Book' in the Revelation the language of iii. 5 may well be only a vivid assertion that the name in question shall be found in an indelible register. . . . Practically, the Apostle here speaks of Clement and the rest as having given illustrious proof of their part and lot in that 'life eternal' which is 'to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent' (John xvii. 3).—The word 'names' powerfully suggests the individuality and speciality of divine love." (Note in The Cambridge Bible for Schools.)
[8] I think the Apostle has in mind Ps. cxix. 151, where the Septuagint version has su eggus ei, Kurie. He is thinking of "the secret of the Presence" (Ps. xxxi. 20). We need not shut out the calming thought of the Lord's approaching Return; but it does not seem to be the leading thought here.
[9] Bishop Ken.
[10] G. M. Taylor, in Hymns of Consecration, 349.
[11] In the House of the Pilgrimage.
THE COLLECTION FOR ST PAUL: THE FAREWELL
"Is thy cruse of comfort wasting? rise and share it with another,
And through all the years of famine it shall serve thee
and thy brother.
"Is thy burthen hard and heavy? do thy steps drag wearily?
Help to bear thy brother's burthen; God will bear both it and thee.
"Is the heart a living power? self-entwin'd, its strength sinks low;
It can only live in loving, and by serving love will grow."
E. RUNDLE CHARLES.