2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Paul had known the church at Corinth for a long time, being the one who established the church in that city. He knew them well. He knew they were faithful and generous in their giving. He praised the generosity of the Corinthians to the saints in Macedonia. The Macedonians were stirred up by the zeal of the Corinthians and wanted to follow their example in giving (v.1-2).

Well, that was BEFORE problems began to surface in the church at Corinth that we read about in First Corinthians. Now that the church had settled its problems, Paul wrote in this chapter to remind them of the gift they had pledged to the poor saints at Jerusalem.

Paul told the Corinthians: “But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be” (v.3, ESV).

Paul had boasted to the Macedonians about Corinth’s generosity and that Corinth had already set aside the gift a year ago (v.2, 3). Some from the church in Macedonia wanted to see first-hand the generosity of the Corinth church that Paul spoke about. They were coming with Paul to Corinth. So, Paul sent some brethren to Corinth in advance to get the Corinthians to prepare for the gift lest when his guests appeared, they should find them unprepared. Paul wanted to ensure that neither he nor the Corinthians should be humiliated (embarrassed) should the Macedonians find them not ready, or worst, unwilling to give: “Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting” (v.4).

The Bible gives us some principles about Giving.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

How would you feel if you have spent your time, energy, and money, trying to make your wife happy but one day she says she wants a divorce because she has fallen in love with someone else?

How would you feel if you have spent your life, time, and money starting a new congregation and one day it turned its back on you, calls you a false teacher, and embraces a denomination?

I can daresay that in both situations you will feel devastated. You will feel betrayed. Well, that’s how the apostle Paul felt when he wrote 2 Corinthians 11. He said to the church at Corinth: “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (v.2).

Paul had a “godly jealousy”. He started the work in Corinth. He planted the church and watered it, spending his time and energy nurturing her so that he might present that church “a chaste virgin to Christ”. Christ is the bridegroom and the church is His bride (John 3:29; Revelation 21:9). Paul was devastated now that the church at Corinth had embraced certain false teachers and even doubted his credentials as an apostle.

Paul has the right to be jealous, as a jealous “husband”. Under normal circumstances, he would never want to boast about his work, or about what he had done for the church at Corinth (v.1, 10). But he felt the Corinthians needed to know about his devotion to them. What are the things they must know?

Psa 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107 paints to us four pictures depicting the fragile relationship of men and God. Each picture tells a story. Each story follows this order:

1. The Affliction.
2. The Cry.
3. The Lovingkindness.
4. The Praise.

 The four stories are:

1. Israel in the Wilderness (v.4-9)
2. Israel in Babylon Captivity (v.10-16)
3. Israel in Sin (v.17-22)
4. Israel at Sea (sea of troubles) (v.23-32)

The point of this psalm is found in this statement which is echoed four times after each story: “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (v.8, 15, 21, 31). It appears every time after this statement: “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses” (v.6, 13, 19, 28).

The children of Israel ought to praise God because of His lovingkindness towards them. Time and time again, they failed God and God sent afflictions on them. Each time, they cried to God, and each time God delivered them from their distress.

In this world, the only ones who will do the same for us are our parents. Friends may help us once or twice but they will give up on us when they see that we are incorrigible. But our parents will never give up on us. We can be sure that no matter how many times we may fail them, they will come to our rescue when we are in trouble.

God is better than our parents. Our parents will love and forgive us because we are their children. However, they may not do the same for others. In contrast, God loves all men. God loves even the sinners. The Son of God did not die for us because we are lovable or righteous; He died when we were sinners: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “Sinners” include murderers, thieves, liars, etc; Christ died for them.

What was the Psalmist’s intention for telling those stories? “The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth” (v.42).

The wise will see the lovingkindness of God and rejoice. They will see how unworthy they have been to deserve such love and are thankful for it. They will come to Him and acknowledge Him as their God and worship Him: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6a).

But the wicked will be dumb. What else can they say when they appear before the judgment seat of God? They were recipients of those goodness when they were alive. They will be brought to shame. They will have nothing to say against their own condemnation (John 3:18).

The Psalmist ends the psalm with the observation that the “wise will pay attention to these things” and begin to understand God’s immense lovingkindness (v. 43). They will praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

What about us? When we reflect on the events that happened in our lives, we must truly thank God for delivering us each time we were in trouble. We will agree with the Psalmist and sing along with him: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (v.1).