Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not.
Bless--that is, Call down by prayer a blessing on. them which persecute you, &c.--This is taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5:44), which, from the allusions made to it, seems to have been the storehouse of Christian morality among the churches.
14. Bless them, etc. I wish, once for all, to remind the reader, that he is not scrupulously to seek a precise order as to the precepts here laid down, but must be content to have short precepts, unconnected, though suited to the formation of a holy life, and such as are deduced from the principle the Apostle laid down at the beginning of the chapter.
We must first give ourselves to the Lord, this is the spring of all obedience. Present your bodies, your whole selves, as living sacrifices; it is by laying your hand on the offering and transferring all your right and interest to God that the sacrifice takes hold. Though he could command with authority, the apostle beseeches us instead, for men are more easily led than driven.
AI summary
Commenting on Romans 12:1-21