Desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy,

“"I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I might be filled with joy." "'I thank God,' he says, 'that I remember thee,' so much do I love thee." This is a mark of excessive love, when a man glories in his affection from loving so much. "I thank God," he says, "Whom I serve": and how? "With a pure conscience," for he had not violated his conscience. And here he speaks of his blameless life, for he everywhere calls his life his conscience. Or because I never gave up any good that I purposed, for any human cause, not even when I was a persecutor. Wherefore he says, "I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. i. 13); all but saying, "Do not suspect that it was done of wickedness." He properly commends his own disposition, that his love may appear sincere. For what he says is in fact, "I am not false, I do not think one thing and profess another." So in the book of Acts we read he was compelled to praise himself. For when they slandered him as a seditious man and an innovator, he said in his own defense, "Ananias said to me, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." (Acts xxii. 14, Acts xxii. 15) In the same manner here, that he may not, as if he had been forgetful, have the character of one void of friendship and conscience, he justly praises himself, saying, that "without ceasing I have remembrance of thee," and not simply that, but "in my prayers." That is, it is the business of my prayers, that which I constantly continue to perform. For this he shows by saying, "For this I besought God day and night, desiring to see thee." Mark his fervent desire, the intensity of his love. And again, his humility, how he apologizes to his disciples, and then he shows that it was not on light or vain grounds; and this he had shown us before, but again gives proof of it. "Being mindful of thy tears." It was natural for Timothy, when parting from him, to mourn and weep, more than a child torn away from the milk and from the breast of its mother. "That I may be filled with joy; greatly desiring to see thee." I would not willingly have deprived myself of so great a pleasure, though I had been of an unfeeling and brutal nature, for those tears coming to my remembrance would have been enough to soften me. But such is not my character. I am one of those who serve God purely; so that many strong motives urged me to come to thee. So then he wept. And he mentions another cause, and that of a consolatory kind.”

“Here begins the epistolary narrative, in which he first fortifies him against present persecutions; secondly, against future dangers to the Church, in chapter III, where *but know this*. Again, first he leads him to persist in preaching, which was then the cause and occasion of persecution; secondly he exhorts him to endure tribulations for the sake of Christ, at *do you therefore*, etc., chapter II. Again, first he recalls the good qualities of Timothy himself; secondly he exhorts him to the use of these good qualities through persistence in preaching, at *through which*, etc.; thirdly he sets himself forward as an example, at *in which I have been appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher*, etc. Again, first he sets forth the affection which he had for Timothy; secondly he sets forth the good qualities of Timothy, which called forth in him an affection of this kind, at *mindful*. The affection is shown through two things, namely through prayer and through desire. And so he gives thanks to God for the affection which he has for Timothy, because it is of charity, and charity is the chief gift; as if he were to say: I reckon that I have obtained grace, in that I have such a sincere affection for you. And he says *to my God*, whom, in a special way, *I serve from my forefathers*, not from carnal parents, since 1 Tim. 1: *Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am the first*; but by a service handed down from my forefathers, namely the patriarchs and prophets, who served God sincerely. And he says, *from my forefathers*, because children more easily imitate paternal perfection, both because they are instructed by them, as Tobias was, and also because they more easily imitate friends. And how do I serve him? *In a pure conscience*; because, as we have in Habakkuk 1, v. 13, *your eyes are pure, O Lord, that they should not see evil, and you cannot look upon iniquity*; 2 Cor. 1, 12: *this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience*. He gives thanks for this, because *without ceasing*, whether by day in prosperity, or by night in adversity, I pray for you. Likewise from desire; so he says *desiring to see you*, namely for the consolation of both. Rom. 1, 11: *for I desire to see you*, etc. Then when he says *mindful*, he shows the good qualities which were in Timothy. And first he recalls his affection toward himself; secondly his faith toward God, at *the remembrance*. He says therefore *mindful of tears*, namely which Timothy shed when he departed from him at Ephesus, ready for martyrdom. Or the tears which he shed in prayers. And this *that I may be filled with joy*, that is, this memory fills me with joy. Phil. 2, 2: *fulfill my joy*, etc. Likewise mindful of faith toward God. He first recalls his faith; secondly he shows that it was handed down from his parents, and not newly acquired. He says therefore *the remembrance*, etc. Faith is necessary for a prelate, who is the guardian of the faith. Heb. 11, 6: *without faith it is impossible to please God*. And he says *unfeigned*, for true faith is through good works. James 2, 18: *show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith from my works*. 1 Tim. 1, 5: *the end of the commandment is charity*, etc. Wis. 1, 5: *it will flee from what is feigned*, etc. And this is not new, but *it dwelt first in your grandmother Lois*, etc. Acts 16, 1 it is said that he was the son of a Jewish woman. *And I am certain*, either by revelation, or by indications, *that in you also*.”

“Greatly desiring to see thee,.... In his former epistle he had desired him to stay at Ephesus, there being some work for him to do, which made it necessary he should continue; but now having answered the apostle's purpose, and he standing in need of him at Rome, being without any assistant there, some having left him, and others were left by him in other places, and others were sent by him elsewhere; and it having been some time since he saw Timothy, he longed for a sight of him: being mindful of thy tears; shed either at the afflictions and sufferings of the apostle, of which Timothy, being his companion, was an eyewitness, and he being of a truly Christian sympathizing spirit, wept with those that wept; or at their parting from each other, as in Act 20:37 that I may be filled with joy; at the sight of him, and not at the remembrance of his tears; for the last clause is to be read in a parenthesis, and these words stand not connected with that, but with the preceding part of the text. The apostle intimates, that a sight of his dearly beloved son Timothy would fill him with joy amidst all his troubles and afflictions he endured for the Gospel: this is an instance of hearty, sincere, and strong affection.”

“Being mindful of thy tears - Whether the apostle refers to the affecting parting with the Ephesian Church, mentioned Act 20:37, or to the deep impressions made on Timothy's heart when he instructed him in the doctrine of Christ crucified, or to some interview between themselves, it is not certainly known. The mention of this by the apostle is no small proof of his most affectionate regards for Timothy, whom he appears to have loved as a father loves his only son.”