May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day;.... In return for his diligent seeking till he found the apostle. By "mercy", he means the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; or that crown of righteousness and everlasting glory and happiness, which will be a grant from the Lord, or a free gift through Jesus...
Having (Ti2 1:13, Ti2 1:14) exhorted Timothy to hold fast, I. He mentions the apostasy of many from the doctrine of Christ, Ti2 1:15. It seems, in the best and purest ages of the church, there were those that had embraced the Christian faith, and yet afterwards revolted from it, nay, there were many such.
Commenting on 2 Timothy 1:15-18
Verse 18. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. The day of judgment. . This proves that Onesiphorus was then alive, as Paul would not offer prayer for him if he were dead. The Papists, indeed, argue from this in favour of praying for the dead--assuming from , that Onesiphorus was then dead. But there is no evidence of that.