Galatians 4:18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. Fire may be employed for good or evil. Heat is essential to life, yet may prove the forerunner of widespread consumption. If on the one hand it is genial, restorative, purifying; on the other it is devastating and destructive. So we speak of the warmth of love, the heat of passion, the fire of persecution, etc., to describe various affections and emotions of the mind. Zeal is a word invented by the Greeks to express the glowing intensity of any mental affection, whether usefully or perniciously directed. Observe — I. THE ZEAL THAT IS REPREHENSIBLE. 1. A zeal for rites and forms and ceremonies, as if they were of any value in themselves. 2. A zeal for tradition. 3. An ignorant zeal. 4. A persecuting zeal. This always defeats its own end. II. THE ZEAL THAT IS COMMENDABLE. 1. That which proceeds from true love to God. 2. A zeal for God's spiritual worship. 3. A zeal for good works. 4. Zeal for the edification of the Church. (J. D. Sirr, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.WEB: But it is always good to be zealous in a good cause, and not only when I am present with you. |
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