i 1 1. KW'' 1' '',1''* T' ^1 ^Rv OF pmfic^ ■^OtOGiCAL SLW!^ B3 ANALYTICAL COMMENTAEY EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. Edinburgh- Printed BY Tur.NDULL AND SPEAKS FOR T. & T. CLARK. LONDON: . . . HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. DUBLIN: . . J. ROBERTSON & CO. Latehj puhlished, hij the same Author, in demy 8'0, price Ss. Gd., THE SYMMETRICAL STRUCTURE OF SCRIPTURE; Or, Scripture Parallelism Exemplified in an Analysis of the Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and other passages of the Sacred Writings. "The book is worth study; it is evidently the production of no ordinai-y man, and is pervaded by a spirit at once scientific and devout." — Uomilist. " The present work is a very superior performance, the author writes like a Christian and a scholar." — Quarterhj Journal oj Prophecy. "No one could rise from the perusal of his chapter on the Sermon on the Mount (for instance), without fcelinR himself possessed of a better arninped and more systematic knowledge of that beautiful passage of scripture than before." — Clerical Journal. "This work has rendered considerable aid to biblical investigation. We are thankful to any man who, like the author, labours to teach us to love the Bible more, by making us understand it better." — Christian Observer. "Whatever difference of opinion there may be as to the extent and merits of the principle he contends for, there will be few who can rise from the perusal of Dr Forbes's work without feeling a sincere respect for his scholarship and talent, "and spirit as a biblical critic, and without being constrained to confess that new and interesting questions have been opened up as to the meaning and structure of not a few passages of the Word of God." — Jiritish and Foreign Evangelical Review. EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK. LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, TEACING THE TRAIN OF THOUGHT BY THE AID OF PARALLELISM, WITH NOTES AND DISSERTATIONS ON THE PKINCIPAL DIFFICULTIES CONNECTED WITH THE EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE. Rev. JOHN IfORBES, LL.D., EDINBURGH. EDINBURGH : T. & T. CLAEK, 3 8 GEORGE STREET. MDCCCLXVIII. PREFACE. Amidst the multiplicity of Commentaries that we possess on the Epistles of St Paul, there seems still to be a want of a concise Analytical Commentary, the great object of which shall be to enable the Biblical student, while keeping prominently before him the text, to trace the plan and train of thought followed by the Apostle, to mark the transitions and connect- ing links in the argument, and to perceive the mutual, relations and interdependence of its various parts. Instead of the profusion of notes on every minute phrase and difficulty, amidst which the connexion is lost and the attention distracted and wearied, such a Commentary ought to be so brief as to enable the reader, almost at one sitting, to survey the whole subject in its general bearings and connexion — the peculiar difficulties and points requiring elucidation being reserved for separate notes or dissertations. To furnish such an analysis, no method (it has long appeared to the author) is so well adapted as the arrangement of the text by Parallelism. By grouping the Epistle into the original paragraphs designed by the author. Parallelism enables us to concentrate our attention on a small portion tiU its leading idea is discovered. Proceeding thus paragraph after paragraph, and stating to ourselves in concise terms the leading idea elicited in each, we can compare it successively with the paragraphs that precede and follow, and gradually ascertain the true relations and connexion of the whole. The object accordingly of the present work is twofold: b VI PREFACE. 1st, To furnish a specimen of such an analysis and arrangement of the text as seems most desirable for the reader to possess, when first entering on the study of a difiicult book of Scrip- ture, in order to give him a clear and comprehensive view of its main scope and design ; and 2dly, By the application of the principles of Parallelism to an entire book of Scrip- ture, to give to the public an opportunity of verifying the correctness of the eulogium pronounced by the author, in a former work,* on the importance of Bishop Lowth's discovery of the Parallelism of Scripture, " as furnishing one of the most valuable aids ever presented to the interpreter, and calcu- lated, when its principles have been more fully developed, to throw a new and clearer light on a great part of the sacred volume." It is, indeed, with the most unfeigned diffidence that I at length venture to publish the results of my examination, by these principles, of the argument of the Epistle to the Romans. No one can be more deeply sensible, than I myself am, of my incompetency to do any justice to the high argument of St Paul in this Epistle. The profound subjects which it handles have tasked the powers and divided the opinions of some of the highest intellects and most spiritual minds in the Christian church; and I would never have presumed to think that I could make any contribution to its interpretation, of novelty or value sufficient to warrant my adding to the many excellent Com- mentaries upon it already existing, were it not for the strong conviction T entertain, that in Parallelis7)i we possess an instrument of analytical investigation, the powers of which have hitherto been very imperfectly appreciated — and which, if used aright, enables even ordinary minds frequently to trace the sequence of thought, where it has escaped the penetration of the most highly gifted. • " The Symmetrical Structure of Scripture," Preface, page v. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. PREFACE. vii For the proofs of its utility in this respect the student may be referred to almost every point discussed in the notes — the object of which is not to furnish an exhaustive Commentary, by repeating in my own words what has already been so much better expressed by others ; but to illustrate those ^passages alone, which Parallelism seems to 'place in a new and clearer light. More especially the attention of the reader is directed to the perfect order and perspicuity which it introduces into what has generally been considered, a very intricate and perplexed passage, ch. v. 12-21; and to the new light in which it exhibits that passage, as containing the central, animating thought of the whole Epistle. That thought is not, as is usually stated, justification by faith as the leading doctrine of the Epistle — presented, as has been objected to the bare forensic theory, in the cold, lifeless form of Imputation, — as if by a legal fiction, and mere outward reckoning of Christ's righteousness, believers were justified without any necessary change passing immediately upon the heart. The grand truth here enunciated is the warm living reality of a personal union with Christ (contrasted with the previous union with Adam), by which, in place of the " SIN " and "death" communicated by the first head of humanity, Christ's "righteousness" and "life" are communicated to the believer, and become the inward quickening mover of every thought, feeling, and action. Thus is the distinction preserved, yet the indissoluble connexion clearly evinced, between justifica- tion and sanctification, as being but two aspects of one and the same union of the believer with Christ, — just as the dying branch ingrafted into the living vine is then only reckoned, and may justly be declared to be, a sound living branch when the union has taken place — because the assurance is then given of its being made so finally and fully, the vital juices of the vine having already begun to circulate within it. In singling out Dr Hodge as the object of the strictures I Vm PREFACE. have felt constrained to make on the bare Imputation-theory, it has been very far from my desire to cast any slight on his opinions. On the contrary (as in the similar instances of Calvin, Ed wards, &c., whose views on certain points I have controverted), it is from the high regard I entertain for his opinions, and their general accordance with my own, that I have deemed it necessary to correct what in them appears to me to be erroneous. In these days, when every established opinion is being questioned, it becomes the friends of truth carefully to examine the foundations of all their opinions, and unsparingly to remove whatever is seen to be defective; since its continu- ance tends to weaken the whole superstructure, and presents a point of attack for the enemy. Let not the reader be startled at finding, on most of the lead- ing points of the Epistle, a divergence from the interpretation of all former commentators. The conclusions arrived at are in one sense new, and yet old; new, inasmuch as they contain something different from that of any single interpreter, but old, inasmuch as each will find his own view included, but with his opponent's superadded. In short, the result, to which I have been brought by that strict comparison of different passages to which Parallelism compels the student, is that our views of Scripture language, as of Scripture truth, are in general too hmited and one-sided ; and that in Scripture — as in a diamond with many facets, each reflecting a different ray of light, visible singly, to the exclusion of the others, to him who looks only on one side — he who would form a just appreciation of the whole, so as to see the full beauty and varied brilliancy of the precious gem, must turn it round and round, and survey it on every side. Nothing ^vill be found here to unsettle the great points of Christian doctrine on which aU the wisest and best men of different ages are agreed. The maxim, " Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus," with its proper limitations, must PEEFACE. IX be held as tlie sure criterion of truth, unless we are to land in universal scepticism, and to regard no point as definitively established, from which, as a settled basis, we can start for farther investigation of the truth. Had any of my conclusions touched these fundamental truths, I should have required no more decisive condemnation of their falsity, and of the unsoundness of the process by which they were reached. It is on those points alone, on which conflicting opinions have been held by wise and good men on different sides, that I venture in so far to differ from all, and yet truly not to differ. The very conflict in the opinions of candid and judicious inquirers seems demonstrative of some defect in their interpre- tation. This will be found, I believe, to originate in the inadequate apprehension they have formed of the depth and comprehensiveness of the conceptions and language of the Apostle. All the contending interpretations are right in their measure ; all are defective. One side of the truth has been caught, but it is to the exclusion of another. The higher con- ception has been missed, which recognizes all, and reconciles all. No better instance to illustrate this can be found than the interpretations given to the leading expression of the Epistle, which meets us at the very opening of the doctrinal discussion, the Righteousness of God, i. 17. Are we by this expression to understand with Origen and others, 1. The justice or retri- butive righteousness of God ; or with the evangelical school, 2. The justifying righteousness of Christ, reckoned to the believer ; or 3. The ira'parted or infused righteousness of God ? We answer, without hesitation, Each and all combined. Each is defective without the other. If the first alone is held, what but this first and most obvious view of God's righteousness — which, as being itself perfect, can, when exercised in judgment, accept of nothing less than a perfect righteousness — drove the Erfurth monk almost to despair when he saw himself con- demned by it without hope ? X PREFACE. But when it flashed upon him that in the gospel of Jesus was manifested, Idly, a perfect righteousness, exhibited by the Saviour as man both in doing and suffering, and which by faith he could appropriate as his own, peace was given at once to his troubled soul. Did this justifying righteousness, however, supersede or exclude the former view ? The very reverse. He saw the retributive righteousness of God magnified, more than it could have been by the destruction of himself and a whole world of sinners, in the atoning death of the holy Son of God, bleeding in the room of guilty sinners ; and God still to be just, while He justified him who believed on Jesus. But, Sdly, Is this justifying righteousness, appropriated through faith by the believer, sufficient ? No — " the wrath of God is still revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteous- ness of men ;" and when the final judgment arrives, if one speck or stain of sin remain in the believer, he can never stand in the presence of that God, who cannot look on iniquity without abhorrence. That " the gospel of Christ," therefore, in which St Paul glories, may prove " the power of God unto salvation," " the righteousness of God revealed therein" must be one imparted also to the believer — not to the old man in him, in whom " dwelleth no good thing," and who, as incapable of amendment, is doomed to utter death — but to the new man formed in him, who as " being born of God cannot sin," and who at the resurrection shall be presented " holy, and unblame- able, and unreproveable in His sight," Col. i. 22. Thus, then, though it has different aspects, there is but one righteousness, that is, God's ; for " there is none good [right- eous] but one, that is, God ;" and any righteousness possessed by the creature must flow from union with Him who is the alone source of all righteousness. All these three aspects of righteousness the believer sees combined, and is enabled to apply and appropriate to himself, in Him who is " The Lord OUR Righteousness." PREFACE. xi With few exceptions (always noted) where the meaning seemed imperatively to require a change, the rendering of the Authorised Version has been retained, for two reasons : 1st, In order to draw the greater attention to the few alterations made ; and, 2dly, To prove to the unlearned reader how little the exact correspondence of the Parallehsms is dependent on any questionable changes in the translation. In seven instances only (i. 3, iii. 21, vii, 3, 10, and 25, viii. 38, and xii. 2) it has been found necessary to restore the order of the original Greek, where the transposition of the words in the English has destroyed the Parallelism. In drawing up the Contents and Indexes, the only material errors I have remarked are : — Page 121, line 14, for SiKatou, read 5tKa:6w. Page 292, line 14, for Gal. i., read GaL ii. Page 319, line 17, for spiritual, read physical. Page 340, line 4, DH? has been omitted in the maxim, K^n chs^b \hn unb tj'^ bai^^ ^3 7-1 :'■.••• •• T •• •• T • T Page 340, line 12, for or, read and. Page 369, line 10, for QeaD, read QeoS. Page 422, line 2, for IV., read V. Page 445, line 24, for senses, read attention. Page 459, line 10, for ninety, read ninety-nine. In a few instances the Greek accents have broken off in passing through the press. CONTENTS. Text of Epistle, with Analytical Commentary, . 1-61 63-88 65-68 Preliminary Eemarks on Parallelism, .... Parallelism not confined to Poetry, Rhythm being the distinctive cliaracteristic of Hebrew, as of all other Poetry, The existence of Parallehsm in the New Testament argued from Three of its characteristics, which are equally applicable to Prose as to Poetry, I. The orderly arrangement which it introduced into the whole of a composition, exemplified in Isaiah xl.- Ixvi. ; Psalm xxxv. ; the 10 Sections of Genesis ; 7 of Judges ; and similar arrangements in Eomans, . 68-79 II. The Epanodos, ...... 80-85 III. Arrangement by numbers, . . . . 86-88 Division and Object of the Epistle, . . . ^ . 89-92 Notes and Dissertations, ...... 93-475 " The Son OF God," in Chap. i. 4, .... 93-101 Refers to the temporal, not the eternal Sonship. " The Spirit of holiness," . '. . . . 98-101 "The Righteousness of God," ..... 102-144 Result of the investigation — that Righteousness has a three- fold meaning, or aspect — 1. Retributive ; 2. Justifying ; 3. Sanctifying, ...... 102-107 CONTENTS. PAOX Dissertation on Righteousness, and its cognates, . . 108-124 " Justify," a creative word — what God declares being as certain as if already done, ..... 108-111 Signification of liighteousness in Old Testament, . . 113-115 Signification as determined by comparison of Rom. i. 17 with i. 18 ; and of i. 17, 18 with iii. 21-26, . .116-118 '« From faith to faith," ..... 121-124 Objections by the Author of the " The Pauline Doctrine of the Righteousness of Faith " answered, . . • 125-144 1. That it " cannot refer to God's attribute of justice," . 125-130 2. That it "refers merely to an objective external relation," ...... 130-133 3. That it does not refer to "an inward condition of righteousness," ..... 134-137 4. Argued especially from 2 Cor. v. 21, . . . 138-141 Summing up of the whole discussion, . . . 141-144 Notes on Chap, ii., ..... . 145-164 Notes on Chap. iii. 1-4, 10-18, 21-26, .... 155-170 *' The Glory OF God," ...... 170-175 Notes on Chap, iv., ...... 175-179 Notes on Chap, v., ..... . 179-188 On the reading ?x<^Mf»', " let us have peace," . . . 179-183 Connection of the whole Chapter, .... 184-188 " The Love OF God," . ... . . . 188-192 Comparison between Adam and Christ, Chap. v. 12-21, . 192-257 Central passage of the Epistle. Union with Christ its great subject — by which, in place of the Sin and Death derived from union with Adam, Clirist's Life and Righteousness become the portion of believers, who (judicially) receive "justification unto like" by Christ's righteousness reckoned to them, ver. 18; and (morally) by Christ's " kighteousnkss unto sanctification " imparted, are " made righteous," ver. 19, 192-203 CONTENTS. XI PAGE Objections of Dr Hodge, ..... 203-206 a. Relation of Adam — and so of Christ — to Ms seed causative, 207-216 All sin (actual or imputed) is through Adam, . . 207-212 Ends answered by the appointment of Adam as the re- presentative of his race, .... 212-216 h. Oneness in nature, as with Adam, so with Christ, not merely imputed, but at the same moment imparted potentially, is the truth here taught, . . . 216-237 Answer to Dr Hodge's objection that this contradicts the doctrine of the Reformers. Paul reconciled with James. Justification involves sanctification. Con- nexion of vers. 18 and 19, ... . 219-223 Dr Hodge's change of interpretation in new edition of Conmaentary. His meaning of KadlcrT-qtii. His strong- hold. His connexion of vers. 18 and 19, . . 224-231 Summing up of discussion. Great defect of the bare forensic theory — its making God condemn men whUe innocent. Strange oversight of the distinction made by St Paul between the order of the effects of Adam's act, and that of the effects of Christ's work, on their respective seeds, ..... 231-237 c. "All" — "The Many." In what sense applicable to both sides of the comparison, .... 237-240 Points of Difference (ver. 15-17) between Adam and Christ, . 240-255 The true connexion of this passage discoverable only through Parallelism. Distraction between the grace (of justifica- tion), and the gift (of sanctification). All the terms refer- ring to each view (the Judicial and the Moral) are kept remarkably distinct, yet justification and sanctification shown to be indissolubly connected. Reason of Deviation from strict Parallelism in ver. 21, . 256-257 Notes on Chap, vi, ..... . 257-262 Sin and Death, as the keywords, prescribe the division of this Chap, and of Chap. vii. XU CONTENTS. PAOP. *' Died (Dead) to Sin." " The Body of Sm." •' The Body of Death." " Flesh of Sin," 263-272 Notes on Chap. vi. 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, . . . . 272-274 "Who IS the Husband in Chap. vii. 1-4? . . . 274-280 Parallelism of Chap, vii. 3, . . . . . 280 Interpretation of Chap. vii. 6, . . . . . 281-282 Is the Person Described in Chap. vii. 13-25 Regenerate or Unregenerate ? ...... 282-294 Meaning of "Law" in Chap. vii. 21, 23, 25 ; viu. 2, . . 294-295 Note on Chap. vii. 25, . . . . . . 295-296 ParaUelism of Chap. viii. 1-3, ..... 296-298 Notes on Chap. viii. 1-4, . . . . ' . 298-310 The passage refers both to justification and sanctification. Meaning 1. of " Law" in vers. 2 and 3, particularly of " The Law OF Sin AND Death," ..... 304-306 2. Of " Condemned Sin," 307-309 3. Of "TiSt/ca/w/taroD.'iMOu," .... .309-310 " Creation Groaning," Chap. viii. 19-23, . . . 310-320 The prevalent interpretation excludes from " the Creation" that which alone gives propriety to the description — Man. " The whole Creation" depends for its final perfection on Man, and will be glorified in his glorification, . . . 310-317 Geology, so far from opposing, rather confirms this conclusion, 317-320 The Cherubim seems to involve the same idea, . . . 320-327 Note on " not willingly " in Chap. viii. 20, . . . 827 Note on Chap. viii. 19-21, ..... 327-328 Note on the greatness of the promises made to the Church, and on the probable duration of the Millennium, . . . 328-330 CONTENTS. xiii PAGK " The Love of God," Chap. viii. 28-39, . . . 330-333 Eemarkable Parallelism between the fruits of justification by faith, in chap, v., and those of sanctification by the Spirit in chap, viii., ....... 333-335 Connexion of Chap, ix., x., xi., . . . . . 335-337 Notes on Chap, ix., ..... . 337-354 The usual interpretation 1. Makes God to determine the use which each is to make of his privileges ; 2. Destroys respon- sibility ; 3. Furnishes an excuse for impenitence ; 4. Makes St. Paul adopt the very argument of the Jews, which he was opposing, ....... 337-340 Defence proposed by Dean Alford untenable, . . 340 The principal error hes in not perceiving that as the argu- ment from the instances of Isaac and Ishmael is typical, so must be that from the instances of Jacob and Esau ; and more especially that no interpretation can be correct which is not equally applicable to Jacob and Esau, as nations and as individuals, ...... 344-348 The "unrighteousness, " therefore, against which the Jew reclaims in ver. 14, is that God should place Israel on the same footing as the idolatrous Gentiles, . . . 348-349 Note on Chap. ix. 33, the words of which give the division of Chap. X., . . . . . . .354 Notes on Chap. x. ...... 354-370 Verses 6-10, not an instance of accommodation, . . 355-361 Notes on vers. 14-21 ; Ver. 18 not an instance of accommo- dation, . ...... 361-370 Notes on Chap, xi., . . . . . . 370-375 Notes on Chap. xii. 14-21, 376-377 Notes on Chap. xv. 4-6, . . . 377-379 xiv CONTENTS. FAOB Dissertation on Predestination and Freewill, . . . 380-475 God is not the author of sin. The creature is : and therefore can originate an act which is not God's. "We must, therefore, make the distinction between God's permitting and causing the acts of jjian — and consequently between predestinating causatively and permissively. Man's will has resisted God's will: and may continue obstinately to the end to resist it. Grasp firmly the principle, All good originates with God; all evil loith the creature; and most difficulties vanish. Election and its glory belono' wholly to God ; Eeprobation and its responsibility, wholly to man. Scripture draws this distinction, . . 380-386 The doctrine of the Westminster Confession defended from objections, ....... 387-434 I. That it limits God's Love, .... 388-399 The objection is founded on the fallacy, that "God coidd^ if He chose, save all, and yet will not." A freewill, that may resist to the last God's will, is God's gift to man. He cannot give and withdi-aw this power at the same time. God limits (so to speak) His own power by every arrangement He makes. (Hence He coxdd not pardon without an atonement. He cannot change man's evil wiU without his own consent.) Only thus can the true nature and grandeur of the scheme of redemption be understood, and God's Love be seen to be unlimited and universal, IL That it precludes all probation, .... 399-414 Though Regeneration is wholly God's work, man must give his consent to the cure. No merit in liis accepting the gift, 401-404 " Who maketh thee to differ from another," . . 404-406 Man's part in Repentance and Faith distinguished from God's ..... 407-408 Common grace distinguished from special, . . 409-410 God's preparatory training, .... 410-414 CONTENTS. XV PAGE III. That God's election and man's choice are incompatible, . 414-417 A working together of man with God is taught and required in Scripture. The initiative on the man's part in choosing his partner for life precludes not the woman's choice, who can accept or refuse. IV. That the necessity of any condition for Salvation on the part of the Elect is denied, . • • 417-422 What is denied, is the necessity of any meritorious condition for man's salvation— " moving God there- unto." This does not exclude the requirement of a negative condition— the ?io?j-existence of that obduracy which differentiates the Reprobate— illustrated by the election of Israel and of St. Paul. God's Election is thus not arbitrary— not making a distinction without a difference — not an inequality in His ways. Y. That God's Sovereignty determines the fate of all, irrespectively of any difference in the individuals themselves, . . • • • 422-428 Sovereignty determines the gifts to each, not the im- provement to be made of them. When forfeited, it belongs to God's mercy alone to restore them to whom He will. On the score of right, none can claim favour. But God is impartial also, and " wUl have all men to be saved." This the teaching of Rom. ix. 14-24, and Jeremiah xviii. AU these objections are founded on two erroneous assump- tions of Calvin, from both of which the Westminster Con- fession stands perfectly free, .... 428-434 If man is in a state of probation, not only must he possess an independent power to choose life or death, but the motives to each, placed before him by God, must be so equally balanced that he can turn the scale to either side, . 435-438 Objections to the prevailing view of Predestination, . 440-442 All removed by the view here propounded, . . . 442-443 xvi CONTENTS. Edwards on the Freedom of the Will, .... 443-475 The three principal fallacies in this treatise, are : I. Instead of distinguishing he confounds the two meanings of Will — which have given rise to two merely verbal controversies, ..... 446-448 II, He confounds freedom of Will with freedom of action — and withdraws attention from the important question of moral freedom of will, .... 448-460 III. He forgets the distinction between Matter and Mind — between inert Force and self-moving Power, . . 450-475 Mistake as to motives, .... 454-456 Strictures on the opinions of Sir W. Hamilton, Mr J. S. Mill, and the Duke of ArgyU, . . 456-468 Three Cardinal Faculties of the Human Mind, . 468-472 Strictures on the opinions of Professor Bain, . . 472-474 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS TO AID IN TMCING THE TEAIN OF THOUGHT. Introduction. Verses 1-7. — The threefold arrangement of the Address of the Epistle is observable : 1. The Writer, v. 1 ; 2. His Sub- ject, V. 2-6 ; 3. The persons addressed, v. 7. Again, his great subject, the Gospel (v. 2-6, forming an epitome of the whole Doctrinal Exposition) is subdivided into three parts : 1. The 'previous preparation for it in the promises of God's Son coming in the flesh, v. 2, 3. 2. Its present effectual adaptation for the salvation of souls, through the investiture of the God-Man with Power, to com- municate as the First-born from the dead His own (human) Sonship to many brethren as partakers of His resurrection from the dead, and of the Spirit of holiness, v. 4. 3. The provision made for its future progress, and universal diffusion, v. 5, 6. Writer — claims to be heard. Ch. I. 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, Called to be an Apostle, Separated unto the Gospel of God, A 2 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. His subject, 2-4 ; and commission, 5-G ; 2. Which he had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3. a Concerning His Son, b "Which Avas made of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4. [-And ordained ' the Son of God with power, J According to the Spirit of holiness, I By the resurrection of - the dead, l- Even Jesus Christ our Lord ; ' 6. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, For obedience to the faith among all nations for His name ; 6. Among wliom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ : Persons addressed — salutation. 7. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints : Grace to you and peace, From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. His interest in their spiritual welfare, 8-16. Thanks to God for their faith ; with reason (" FOR " V. 9) in confirmation of his sincerity : 8. First I thank my God Through Jesus Christ For you all, That your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9. For God is my witness Whom I serve with my spirit In tlie gospel of His Son, That without ceasing I make mention of you, and Prayer to God to be permitted to visit theni ; with reason ("FOR," v. 11) in confirmation of his sincerity. > " Declared to l>c," A.V., see Notes. « " From the dead," A.V. ' The words "Jesus Christ our Ixird" arc placed here in v. 4, as in the Greek, insteatl of v. 3, to which they have been transposed in the Auth. Ver- sion. There is a beautiful gradation in the original ; a, v. 3, "concerning His Son," refers to the incommunicable Simship of the Only-Begotten in His pro- existent state ; b and c, to that Sonship, which in its two stages, at the incar- nation and resurrection, He assumed that He might communicate it to " many l)rethren "— b referring to His state of liuniibatiou ; c, of exaltation— by which He bccjune " Jatis (Matt. i. 21)— the ChrUt— our Lord " (Acts ii. 36). See Notes. CHAPTER I. 10-16. 3 7 . Always in my prayers making request If by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey By the will of God, To come unto you. 11 . For I long to see you That I may impart unto you some spmtual gift To the end ye may be established ; 12. That is, That I may be comforted together with you, By the mutual faith both of you and me. Long-cherished desire to discharge his high trust among them also. 13. Now I woxild not have you ignorant, brethren, That oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, But was let hitherto, That I might have some fruit among you also, Even as among other Gentiles. 14. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians, Both to the wise and to the unwise. 16. So as much as in me is, I am ready To preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also : 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : The Doctrinal Exposition — (i. 16 — viii. 39). The principal subject proposed, v. 16, in the reverse order of treatment ; comprehending A. The universality of the Gospel-righteousness, as necessary " to every one," " to the Jew first and also to the Greek" — treated in i. 18 — iii. 20, (and in ix. — xi. see Notes). B. The condition of its attainment, " believing" (or "faith" v. 17,) — treated in iii. 21 — iv. 25. C. The Gospel is the power of God," bhmiMii, to accomplish " what the Law was powe^^-less to do," rh ddumrov rov v6/xov, viii. 3, viz., to condemn sin effectually, and to bring in a life-giving righteousness — treated in v. — viii. These three topics are repeated in v. 17, in the order of treatment : — 1. (A) The Gosj)el reveals the great need of " every one, " the Righteousness of God " (contrasted with "all un-righteousness of men," v. 18) in all the fulness of its 4 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. meaning, as 1. Retributive, condemning sin; 2, justifying; and 3. sanctifying. 2. (B.) This Righteousness is appropriated from first to last (in all three meanings) by "faith." 3. (C.) It is a power of God by which men shall " live " — the emphatic word of the quotation from Habakkuk ii. 4, which sums up all three topics, and forms St. Paul's text, 6 ds dr/.uiog Jx itianug — ^^irsra/. " But the RIGHTEOUS — by faith — shall live." For it is the power of God unto salvation To EVERY ONE that BELIEVETH, To the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed From Faith to Faith ; As it is written, " The Righteous shall Live by Faith."' A. 'O hi AIKAI02 £X T/ff7£ws tj^dirai. ThE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. This Righteousness is needed for " every one" (Ch. i. 18 — iii. 20) since all " unrighteousness of men" exposes to " the wrath of God," and all " restrain the truth in unrighteousness." 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, Who restrain ^ the truth in unrighteousness. I. The Gentiles — are " without excuse," because having had the means of knowing God^ 19. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them ; For God hath manifested * it unto them : ' " The just shall live by faith," A.V. » " Hold," A.V. ' Observe the two reasons assigned by " Because," didrt, iu v. 19 and v. 21, for each of the expressions " restrain," and " the truth," of v. 18 : — " the truth," I say, as known to them : " Because thai .which may be known of God," &c., v. 19. — " restrain," I say : " Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not," &c., v. 21. * " Shewed," A.V. Our translators often obscure and weaken the point of an allusion as here, by altering the translation of one imd the same wonl whou repeated, or of its cognate. CHAPTER I. 20-2-9. 5 20. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world Are cleai'ly seen, being understood by the things that are made, Even His eternal power and Godhead ; So that they are without excuse : they yet degenerated 1. into ungodliness — dishonouring God, and degrading His glory to the level of the beasts ; 21. Because that when they knew God, They glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful ; But became vain in their imaginations. And their foolish heart was darkened. 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. And changed the glory of the imcorruptible God Into an image made hke to corruptible man, And to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 2. into intemperaiwe — dishonouring themselves (by the right- eous retribution of God), and degrading their nature beneath the beasts that perish ; 24. "Wherefore God also gave them up to im cleanness, Through the lusts of their own hearts. To dishonour their own bodies between themselves ; 25. Inasmuch as they * changed the truth of God into a lie. And worshipped and sei-ved the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed for ever ! Amen. 26. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections : For even their women did change the natural use Into that which is against nature ; 27. And Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, Burned in their lust one toward another ; Men with men working that which is unseemly, And receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. , and 3, into " all unrighteousness," against others. 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. To do those things wMch are not convenient ; 29. Being fiUed with all imrighteousness,^ Wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness ; Full of envy. Murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; ' • ' Who, " A.V. Greek, otrive^, inasmuch as they. * "Fornication," added in A. Vers. 6 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. Whisperers, (30) backbiters, haters of God, Despiteful, proud, boasters, Inventors of evil things. Disobedient to parents, 31. Without understanding; covenant-breakers, Without natural affection,' unmerciful; 32. Who knowing the righteous sentence^ of God, That they which commit such things are worthy of death, Not only do tlic same, but have pleasure in them that do them. II. Haviucj thus urged the Gentiles to flee to God's Righteousness for their salvation, since they both knew and had already experienced it in part in its rigldeous sentence, br/.diuij.a, i. 32, on their sins, and which Avas now being more fully revealed by the Gospel, i. 18, St Paul proceeds to warn the Jews of their greater need, to provide against " the revela- tion of the righteous judgment of God " dr/.aioy.pisla;, ii. 5, to be made " in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ," ii., IG ; and brings home their guilt to them, at first more covertly 1-16, afterwards more directly, 17-29. Still more " without excuse " (ii. 1 comp. i. 20), from their greater knowledge, are those who judge others. [The projecting lines in ver. 1, 2, 6, 11, IG, may be read continu- ously, and form the skeleton of the argument, which the other parts serve to fill up.] C. II. 1. Therefore thou art without excuse,' 0 man. Whosoever thou art that judgest : For wherein thou judgest another, Thou condemnest thyself; For thou that judgest doest the same things. God's judgments are impartial, and inevitable, 2. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth Against tlicin which commit .such things. 3. And thiiikest thou tiiis, 0 man. That judgest tliem whicli do such things, and doest the same, That thou shalt escape the judgment of God V ' "Implacable," added in A. Vers. * diKaiwfia, riijhteonn sentence (alluding to the condemning righteousness of (Jnd, 1, 18). The A. V. renders it "judgment." » "Inexcusable," A. V. Compare I. 20, and see Note to I. 19, foot of pag«. CHAPTER II. 4-1.6. 7 4. Or despisest thou the riclies of His goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent- ance ? 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, Treasurestup unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, And revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; in righteous accordance witli the actions of men ; 6. Who will render to every man according to his deeds ; 7. ra, To them who by patient continuance in well-doing b Seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, d Eternal life : Ca But unto them that are contentious b And do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, d Indignation [shall be] and wrath : 9. ^ d Tribulation and anguish, B ■< b Upon every soul of man that doeth evil, (a Of the Jew fii'st, and also of the Gentile ; 10. ( 5 But glory, honour, and peace, j3 To every man that worketh good, [a To the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : neither the more perfect knowledge of law availing the Jew, nor his less perfect excusing the Gentile. 11. For th^re is no respect of persons with God : 12. fFor as many as have sinned without law, (Shall also perish without law ; 13. T> ('^'^^ *^ many as have sinned in the law, (Shall be judged by the law, „ (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, (But the doers of the law shall be justified ; 14. C For whenever Gentiles' which have not the law Do by nature the tilings of the law. These, having not the law, are a law unto themselves ; 15. A-{ Which show the work of the Law written in their hearts. Their conscience also bearing witness. And their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another : 16. In the day when God shaU judge the secrets of men By Jesus Christ according to my gospel. ^ » "Wlien the Gentiles," A. Vera. * See Notes. 8 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. Neither, 1st, the boasted name of JEW will avail for justi- fication or acceptance with God, v. 17, nor 2dly, the covenant of CIRCUMCISION, V. 25, without obedience to the Law. 1. Neither the name of Jew, with all his ten claims, be- ginning (v. 17), culminating (v. 18), and ending (v. 20) with the possession of the LAW, will avail : 17. /But if thou art called a Ji:w, a Five claims of personal privileges before God. And restest in the Law, And gloriest^ in God, I And knowest His M'ill, I And approvest the tilings that are more excellent, [^ Being instructed out of the law ; I b Five, of superior enlightenment above the Gentiles. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, A hght of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, A teacher of babes, L Which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law : b refuted in b, and a in a — with cliarge against the Jews (in c) of the same three cardinal vices, 1. unrighteousness, 2. intemperance, 3. ungodliness, as had been brought against the Gentiles, i. 21-32. b. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thy- self? f (1 )Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal ? ^ j (2) Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, i dost thou conmiit adultery ? l^ (3)Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege ? a. Thou that gloriest' in the Law, through breaking the Law dis- . honourest thou GodV 18 19. 20. 21. 22 23. Nay God's word testifies, that His Holy Name put upon them as Gods people is dishonoured by their greater wickedness. " Behold," A. V., since the Text. Rec. has 'I5e instead of 'El di. "Makest thy boa.st of," A. V. Sec Footnote to I. 10. "Makest thy boaat of," A. V. See Footnote to I. 19, CHAPTER II. 24-2.9. 24. rFoR the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles < through you, • (As it is written. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 2. Nor will the outward covenant of circumcision avail, without keeping the Law. '^FoR CIRCUMCISION verily profiteth, If thou keep the law ; But if thou be a breaker of the law, Thy CIRCUMCISION is made uncircumcision. Therefore a transfer of privileges and superiority will be made to the believing Gentiles by the righteous Judge, Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, Shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned' for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law. Judge thee who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law ? who has respect to the true Jew (=" Praise"), and the inward circumcision. For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly ; Neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh : But he is a Jew which is one inwardly ; And circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit and not in the letter ; Whose praise is not of men, but of God. From the apostle's refutation of the two pre-eminent Jewish claims it would seem to follow that there was no ad- vantage (1) of being a "Jew," and (2) of "circumcision." Both objections are stated in iii. 1; the reply to the 1st is given in ch. iii. ; to the 2d in ch. iv. ; the former bringing out still more strongly the sin of the Jew and his need of a righte- ousness without LAW ; the latter, the necessity of faith, as the alone means of justification. "Counted," A. V. See Footnote to I. 19. 10 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. The substance of the reply to the 1st Objection is that the Jews enjoyed a gi-eat advantage in the possession of God's Word as disclosing God's threatenings against all sin, and promises of a Saviour, v. 2 ; and cutting off by its revelation of God's faith- fulness to His word, v. 3, 4, and righteousness in his judg- ments, v. 5-7, those vain pleas that the Jews would urge for God's still exhibiting towards them the milder aspect of these attri- butes, so as to spare them notwithstanding their unfaithfulness and unrighteousness. For this indulgence, if carried out impartially, would exclude all exercise of these attributes in their severer aspect, towards Gentiles as well as Jews, make God wink at sin, and man be indifferent to evil, v. 6-8. Pre- eminence in knoivledge the Jews had indeed enjoyed, which should have convinced them of sin and led them to the Savi- our ; but in respect to righteousness before God they had none, V. 9, the law only testifying the more distinctly against their guilt, V. 10-20, and shutting them up to thankful acceptance of the righteousness of God ; which is then described in its gracious, complete, and pride-excluding nature, and as attain- able by faith alone, 21-31. The objection branches out into three: that the reasoning in ch. ii. (1.) denies all advantage to the Jews, v. 1, 2 ; (2.) makes God unfaithful to His promises, v, 3, 4 ; and (3.) un- righteous in his judgments, v. 5-8. (1.) It denies all advantage to the Jews. III. 1. What advantage then hath the Ji:\v? Or what profit is there of cuiCUMCisiON ? 2. Much every way ; Chiefly because that they were intrusted with' the oracles of God. (2.) It makes God untrue to His word. The answer is- — Nay, these oracles testify that God is ever true — true to His threatenings as well as to His promises, but that all men are liars — false to their engagements to God, and must like David acknowledge themselves to be so ; and are therefore shut up to the mercy to be revealed in the gospel. • " Unto them were committed," A. V. CHAPTER III. 3-8.. 11 3. For what if some did not believe ? Shall their imbelief make the faithfulness* of God without effect? 4. God forbid : Yea, let God be acknowledged true,^ And* every man a Uar ; As it is written, " That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, And mightest overcome when Thou art judged." (3.) It makes God unrighteous in His judgments — if the Jew is to be as hardly dealt with as the heathen — for surely our unrighteousness in not observing God's covenant cannot make God unrighteous in His observance of it, or allow Him to punish what can only enhance the more by contrast His own righteousness, v. 5. The answer is (v. 6, 7) — Is God unrighteous who inflicteth wrath ? If so, how shall He judge the world ? — for the whole ivorld of sinners, Gentile as well as Jew, might on this ground plead, " If the truth of God hath &c. — why am even I — how- ever sinful I may be — to be judged a sinner?" 5. But if our imrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say ? Is God mirighteous, who taketh vengeance ? (I speak as a man) 6. God forbid ; For then, how shall God judge the world ? 7. For if the truth of God hath more aboimded through my lie unto His glory, Why yet am even I* to be judged as a sinner? To bring such a principle to its legitimate conclusion : 8. And [why] not rather. As we be slanderously reported, And as some affirm that we say. Let us do evU that good may come ? Whose condemnation* is just. > " Faith," A. V. * " Let God be true," A.V. The Greek is yivicdu), " Let God be made, or acknowledged." See Notes. 3 "But," A.V. * "Am I also judged," A.V. See Notes. * "Damnation," A.V. 12 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. It is on the score of " righteousness before God " only, that all advantage is denied to the Jews. 9. What then ? Are we better than they? No, in no wise ; For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, That they are all under sin. Their own scriptures, at various periods of their history, bring charges of general corruption against them, 10. As it is written, 11. There is none righteous, no, not one ; Ps. xiv. (xiii.) 1-3 There is none that understandoth, There is none that seeketh after God. 12. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable ; There is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; Ps. v. 9 With their tongues they have used deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips ; Ps. cxl. 3 14. Whosemouthisfullofcursingandbitterne8S.PS. x. 7 (ix. 28) 15. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Isa. lix. 7 16. Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17. And the way of peace have they not known ; Isa. lix. 8 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Ps. xxxvi. 1 (xxxv. 2) in order that Jew, as well as Gentile, may be humbled in ac- knowledgment of iniquity, and accept the free offer of God's righteousness now rna " Therefore," A.V. But the (Jrcck is Mti, not 6t6. CHAPTER III. 21-25. 13 B. 'O ^5 b'r/.cciog EK niSTEHS IrjOirai. " ThE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." The gospel reveals a righteousness by faith and not by LAW. All having thus in A. (i. 18 — iii. 20) been convicted by law of unrighteousness, hence arises the necessity of a " righte- ousness apart from law," "yet borne witness to by the law," v. 21 ; a "righteousness of God by faith," free to "all them that believe," v. 22 ; and harmonizing all God's perfections (as expressed in a series of antitheses). It is ''freely" bestowed — yet purchased b}^ a " redemption" -price, v. 24 ; by the "grace" of God — whose "propitiatory" has yet been sprinkled by Jesus' " blood " of expiation, v. 24, 25 ; shomng God to be righteous (/3) — (in time past by its type under the law, (6), but still more manifestly now by the true propitiatory, Qj) ) — even while pronouncing the ungodly righteous through faith (oc). 21. f But now without the Law The righteousness of God i has been manifested Being witnessed by the Law and the prophets ; 22. I Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus t Christ, Unto all and upon all them that believe : For there is no diffei'ence; 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; 24. fa Being justified freely by His grace b Through the redemj^tion that is in Christ Jesus, 25. 1 b Whom God foreordained- to be a mercy seat,* ta Through faith in His blood, (For a declaration of ^ His righteousness, h -s Because of the passing over of sins in time past,* (During ^ the forbearance of God ; ' "The righteousness of God without the Law," A.V. This transposition destroys the parallelism. - " Set forth to be," A.V. in the text; but the margin has "foreordained." See Notes. 3 " Fi-opitiation, " A.V. See Notes. « " To declare," A.V. See Notes. * " For the remission of sins that are past," A.V. See Notes. * "Through," A.V. 'Ej* rg avoxo rod Qeod, with which is contrasted ev nf j/i* Konpi^. See Notes. 14 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 2G. 1 (Unto the declaration of His righteousness (.In this present time; ' /3 That He might be just, o And the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. c Faith excludes glorying, d Justifying freely witliout law — which would allow merit, could man obey it perfectly ; c Placing circumcised and uncircumcised on equal terms, before their common God, d Yet not destropng, but establishing the law — by Christ the representative of His people satisfying its justice and fulfilling the righteousness it demands. 27. (Where is glorying ^ then ? (It is excluded. r By what law ? Of works ? j Nay ; but by the law ^ of faith. 28. I For we reckon < that a man is justified by faith L Without the works of the law. 29. f Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also : Seeing it is one God, 30. Which shall justify the circumcision by faith, (_ And uncircunicision through faith. 31. , (Do we then make void i the law through faith? CGod forbid : yea, we establish the law. Answer to 2d Objection (ch. iii. 1). " What profit is there of Circumcision V — is it not the token of the covenant by which * "To declare, / miy, at this time his righteousness," A.V. See Notes. * "Boasting," A.V. See Footnote to 1. 19. « "The /(iw of faith." 01)serve how careful St. Paul is to magnify the Law, even when ol»ligcd by Jewish errors to strip it of its false glory ; and to show that when renouncing Law as the source of justification, the Christian is "not M-ithout law to fJod, but under law to Christ" (1 Cor. ix. 21). Compare Kom. viii. '2, " Tlic lair of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," &c. * " Tlicrufore we conclude," A.V. The true reading seems to be \- Shall reign in life by the one, Jesus Christ. So are procured for all through Christ Jesus, 1. Deliverance from Death, or of Life ; " Justification 18. 19. r Therefore as by one offence Judgment came upon aU men to condemnation ; j 1 Even so by one act of righteousness "^ The Grace came upon all men unto justification of fife. 2. Deliverance from sin, or "Righteousness unto Sanctification," vi. 19 ; r For as by the disobedience of the one man The many were made sinners; ^i Even so by the obedience of the one The many shaU be made righteous. independently of the Law (which only aggravated the evil), both being conferred solely through Grace ; 20. r Moreover the Law entered J That the offence might abound ; I But where sin abounded, I- Grace did much more abound ; SO that SIN ending in death is, by God's Grace, superseded by RIGHTEOUSNESS ending in life, through Jesus Christ. 21. f That as sin hath reigned j In DEATH, A } Even so might Grace reign through RIGHTEOUSNESS I Unto eternal life (.By Jesus Christ our Lord. By the words of ver. 20, "Moreover the Law entered, that the offence might abound, &c." the Apostle might seem to disparage Law, while he magnified Grace. This brings up the 24 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. competing merits of LAW and GRACE, in their power to deliver from Sin and Death, i.e., to sanctify and justify, which accord- ingly forms the subject of the next two chapters. In Chap. vi. we have tlic two objections on these points (urged by the legalist) against Grace refuted. In Chap, vii., we have the two objections on these points against the sufficiency of the Law established ; yet the Law itself vindicated, and shown to be "holy, just, and good." Sin and death, (and their opposites righteousness and life), as they are the key- words of chap. v. 12-21, so are they of chap. vi. and vii., giving to each its twofold arrangement, vi. 1-14; 15-23: vii. 7-12; 13-25. Chapter VI. — Objections against Grace. Objection 1. (v. 1-14). — If justification be by " grace" alone, encouragement is given to "continue in sin." VI. 1. What shall we say then ? Shall we continue in sin That grace may abound ? God forbid. Nay — being "justified from sin" is equivalent to having " died to sin," see v. 7. This we did by union with Christ, which imparts to us all that is His. If He died to sin, we died, and can no longer live to sin, (a) ; assimilation to His death specially, being the truth represented in our incoi-porating union with Him in baptism (b), but to rise to a new life of holiness (c). 2. ^Vt^o who died to sin, (How shall we live any longer thef'cin?' 3. fKnow ye not that so many of us as were Ijiiptized into Jesus ( 'hrist, Were baptized into His ileath? 4. I Therefore we wi'ie buried with Ilini by our baptism into l_ His dcjith,- (Tliat like ius Christ was i-aised up from the dead by C -< the glory of the Father, (Even 80 we also should walk in newness of life. For if UNION with Christ makes us partakers of His death, ■ " How shall we, that are (lauX to sin, live any longer therein?" A. V. * " Wo arc biu-iod with liim by baptism into death," A.V. CHAPTER VT. 5-11. 25 it will make us equally so of His resurrection (a) ; knowing that our crucifixion with Him is for the entire destruction of our " body of sin," and release from sin's service (b) ; since he that has died to sin is judicially absolved from all claims of sin, either to condemn or rule over him (c). 5. (For if we have become united to ' the likeness of His death, (We shall be also to^ the likeness of His resurrection. 6. r Knowing this that our old man was' crucified with Him, b -JThat the body of sin might be destroyed, (That henceforth we should not serve sin. 7. (For he that hath died [i.e. to sinl (Hath been justified from sin. * But if dead with Christ, hfe also with Him shall be ours, to yield no more to death (a), knowing that such is Christ's hfe (b). So reckon all claims of sin and death over you can- celled in Him, and an endless hfe to God already begun (c). 8. (Now if we died * with Christ, CAVe believe that we shall also live with Him. 9. ^Knowing that Chri^st being raised from the dead b -| Dieth no more ; (Death hath no more dominion over Him. 10. f For in that He died, He died unto sin once, I But in that He liveth, he liveth unto God ; 11. c K Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed I unto sin, l_ But alive unto God in ^ Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus we have the strongest encouragement to yield no obedi- ence to sin, while in this body, "mortal" indeed, v. 12, but only that it may be raised a glorified body " ahve from the dead" unto God, v. 13, from the assurance that sin's lordship over us is broken, since we are no longer under law which only ' " We have been planted together in the likeness," A. V. ^ "In the hkeness," A.V. ' " Is crucified," A.V., (rvveffravpdjdr). * "For he that is dead is freed fi-om sin, ' marg. "justified," A.V. This section therefore (1-14) is the judicial view, compare v. 11, *' reckon je also yourselves, &c." * "We be dead," A.V., aireddvoixev. " " Through Jesus Christ," A.V. 26 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. forbade, but under grace which also supplies both the power and the will to overcome sin. 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, That ye should obey it in tlie lusts thereof : 13. Neither yield ye your members As instruments of unrighteousness mi to sin ; But yield yourselves mito God, As those that are alive from the dead, And your members As instruments of righteousness mito God : 14. For Sin shall not have dominion over you ; For ye are not under the Law, but under Grace. Objection 2. (v. 15-23). — If sanctification (" righteousness ") be a "gift" (ch. v. 17), encouragement is given to sin. If secure of final victory over sin, and freed from the re- straints of Law, which exacted Righteousness as a due from its servants, and vmder Grace which bestows it freely as a "gift," shall we not think ourselves free to yield to sin, at least occa- sionally'i (Comp. "Shall we sin," with "continue in sin," v. 1). 15. What then ? Shall we sin Because we are not under the Law, but under Grace? God forbid. Nay. The service betokens the master served. Either you gave yourselves to " Sin " (and he is still your master) and " unto Death " as its end ; or you gave yourselves to " obedi- ence," and " unto Righteousness " as its end. There is no middle course. 16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves bond servants ' to obey. His bond servants ' ye are to whom ye obey ? Whether of Sin unto death, Or of obedience unto righteousness ? You cannot and must not attempt to serve two opposite masters. Being freed from the bondage of sin, ye have made yourselves over voluntarily to the bondage [iboxiXudriri] of righteousness. (I use, on account of your still carnal appre- « "Servants," A.V. CHAPTER VI. 17-21. 27 hension, the figure " bondage " — to enforce tlie necessity of un- divided obedience to righteousness, and to guard the Christian's emancipation from under the Law against being misconstiTied into a claim of any freedom to sin — of what in truth is the only real freedom, the delighted obedience of children to a Father). Prove, therefore, whom you serve, as formerly you did while under the Law by giving yourselves " to unclean- ness (inward), and to ^cti^-lessness (outward) unto " law-less- ness" (or dis-obedience to all law), so now under Grace by yielding yourselves as undividedly and progressively " to righte- ousness unto sanctification." 17. rBut God be thanked that ye rvere the bond servants > of sin, ■< But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrme, whereto ( ye were dehvered.^ 18. cBeing then made free from sin, (Ye became the bond servants ' of righteousness, 19. I speak after the manner of men, Because of the infirmity of your flesh. f For as ye have yielded your members Bond servants i to uncleanness, and to lawlessness mito law- lessness, * I Even so now yield your members l^ Bond servants 1 to righteousness unto hoUness [sanctification.] 20. (For when ye were the servants of sin, |Ye were free from righteousness. Encouraged farther by the remembrance of what were the fruits {self-earned, v. 23) of sin, and the false freedom, v. 20, with which it dazzled you ; and what are the very opposite fruits not earned, but bestowed by God's grace, v. 23, which are as certainly attached to the true freedom of God's service, v. 22, viz., " holiness and everlasting life." 21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ? For the end of those things is death. 22. But now being made free from sin, And become servants to God, • "Servants," A. V. ' " Doctrine which was delivered you," A. V. ' "To iniquity unto iniquity," A.V. 28 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY OX THE ROMANS. Ye have your fniit unto holiness [sanctification], And the end everlasting life. 23. For the wages of sin is death, But the grace ' of God is eternal life, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Chapter vii. — Objections against the Law. The emancipation of the believer from the Law in order to union with Christ. Its mode, v. 1-4. Its necessity, v. 5-25, since the Law could effect neither his sanctification, v. 7-12, nor his justification, v. 13-25. In vi. 14 it was said that we are no longer "under the Law." But the objection occurs. How, legitimately, can we be released from its dominion ? This is shown under the fioTire O of a maiTiage union. It is only over the old man in us that the Law has power, having no claim over us till we have sinned, since " the Law is not made for a righteous man," 1 Tim. i. 9 ; and over the wife (collectively, the church, indivi- dually, the soul, the Ego, " I myself," of v. 25), only from her connexion with the old man as her husband. Deliverance from the old man, therefore, if it can be effected, will at the same time effect a legitimate release from the Law. This has been accomplished for us in Christ. It was our " old man " (vi. G) that was in Him put to death on the cross (Christ came *' in the likeness of sinful flesh," viii. 3), thus setting us free as a bride to l)e married to a ncAv husband, the risen Clirist. N.B. — Were the Law the first husband, as usually held, not only is the figure marred, but this would represent the Law as having generated fruit luito death in the sinner ; whereas St. Paul is most careful to prove that the Law was only the innocent occa-fion, not the producing cause, and responsible father of sin and death, (see v. 7 and 13). 1. Death alune can absolve from the obligation of Law. C. VII. 1. Know ye not, brethren, For I speak to them that know tlie law, How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth ? ' " The gift of God," A.V. x<^/"<''Ma- See Notes on ch. v. 15. CHAPTER VII. 2-5, 29 2. Thus in the marriage bond, the death of the husband releases the wife. 2. For the woman which hath an husband Is bound by the law to her husband, so long as he Kveth ; But if the husband be dead, She is loosed from the law^ of her husband. 3. So then as long as her husband Uveth, She shall be called an adulteress, If she be mamed to another man : > But if her husband be dead, She is free from the law, so as to be* no adulteress, Though she be mamed to another man. 3. So the Church, or soul, is freed from " the old man," the first husband, (and so from the Law), by our old man being crucified with Christ, vi. 6, and is thus fitted for a new union with Christ. 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, That ye should be mamed to another. Even to Him who is raised from the dead. That we should bring forth fruit unto God. In V. 5 and 6 we have two projjositions stated, L. (Law), and G. (Grace). L. is illustrated and proved in the remainder of chap. vii. (v. 7-25), and G. in chap. viii. (especially in v. 1-4). L. The necessity of emancipation from the Law, and legal spirit, since it occasions both Sin and Death. 5. For when we were in the flesh. The motions of sins which were by the Law Did work in our members To bring forth fruit unto death. ' "So then if, while her husband liveth, she be mamed to another man, she shall be called an adulteress," A.V. See Notes. 2 " From that law ; so that she is no adulteress," A.V. 30 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. G. The certainty of this emancipation, with its happy results. 6. But now we are delivered from the Law, Having died in that whereby ' we were held, [_i.e., in our old man] That we should serve in newness of Spirit, And not in the olduess of the letter. L. Expanded and illustrated, in two sections, v. 7-12, and 13-25. In V. 5, it was asserted that " SiN was by the Law," and that " Death was its fruit." Hence seems to arise the allegation that the Law must be evil. The Apostle's answer is. The Law in itself is "holy and just and good," v. 12, and " spiritual," v. 14 ; but though not the guilty cause, it is yet the "occasion," 1. of SiN ; it cannot sanctify, v. 7-12 : 2. of "Death;" it cannot justify, v. 13-25. Hence follows Pro- position G., the necessity of deliverance from this " Law of SiN and Death," viii. 2. 1 . The Law cannot sanctify ; (it leads to the knoivledge, V. 7, not the conquest of sin) ; its very strictness irritates to Sin. It is not the cause, but it is the occasion of sin. N.B. — St. Paul proves this from his own j^cist experience in his unconverted state, when the Law first began to produce in liim its work of conviction of sin and condemnation. [Verbs all past.] 7. What shall we say then f Is the Law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, But by the Law ; For I had not known coveting,^ Except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8. But sin taking occasion by the commandment Wrought in mv all manner of coveting :' ' " That being dead wherein we were held," A. V. See Notes. * ••Lust," A.V. imOvfiiav. * "Concupiscence," A. V. iirtOv/xlav. See Footnote on I. 19. CHAPTER VII. 8-13. 31 10. 11. f For without the Law J Sin was dead ; 1 And' I was alive, 1^ Without the Law once : ' But when the commandment came, Sin revived, And I died ; And the commandment was found for me. Though [ordained] unto life, To be itseK ^ unto death. For sin taking occasion by the commandment Deceived me, and by it slew me. 12. Wherefore the Law is holy. And the commandment holy, and just, and good. 2. The Law cannot justify ; its very spirituality gives tlie vantage to sin to work Death, even to the most advanced saints. It is not the cause, but it is the occasion of death. N.B. — St. Paul proves this from his own present experience as a Christian. [Verbs all present.^ This is an argument a fortiori. If even to those who are no longer " in the flesh," the remains of Sin would work death, so far as the Law is concerned, much more was this true of us when we were "in the flesh," vii. 5. Here, as in ch. v. 12-21, St. Paul blends beautifully justi- fication with sanctification, to enforce the indissoluble con- nexion between them ; the very argument being, that there can be no justification by the Law in this life, since there can be no perfect sanctification — even by the aid of the Gospel. 13. Was then that which is good made death unto me ? God forbid. ^^- f But sin, that it might appear sin, ° S J Working death to me by that which is good ; 3 g I That sin by the commandment g -I 1^ Might become exceeding sinful. • " For I was alive," A. V. eyCo SL * "The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be nnta death." 32 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 14. 15. 16. The Law is not in fault : I acknowledge it to be "spiritual" and " good ;" but its very spirituality shows me by contrast to be still carnal in part, and a captive to sin, but an unwill- ing one. For we know that the Law is spiritual ; But I am carnal, sold under sin. For what 1 do I allow not : For what I would, that do I not ; But what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the Law that it is good. Noiv indeed I can say, It is no more I ; for through Grace the prevailing bias of my will is on the side of God, while before (see V. 8) it was for sin. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing : For to will is jji-e-sent with me, But how to perform that which is good I find not: For the good that I would, I do not ; But the evil which I would not, that I do ; Now if I do that I would not, It is no more I tliat do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. " Tlie flesh thus lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesli — so tliat we cannot do the things that we would," Gal. V. 17. 21. I find then a law Tliat when I would do good, Evil i.s present witii me ; 22. I'or I deliglit in the Law of (lod After the inwaixl man : 23. But I see another law in my members AVarring against the law of my mind, And bringing me into captivity to the law of V sin which is in my membere. So that we ourselves " which have the first fruits of the 17. 18. 19. 20. CHAPTER VII. 24, 25. 33 Spirit," while in this " body of sin," vi. 6, and " of death," vii. 24, " do groan within ourselves, waiting for the redemption of our body" as our completed deliverance, Rom. viii. 23, which the Law never can effect, but " God " alone (whom " I thank") " through Christ." Comp. viii. 3. 24. g« £2i 25. 0 wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from this body of death ? 1 thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus I myself (Paul) am still so far carnal, though the bias of my will is now toward God, that looking to the Law I could not be justified. So then I myself With my mind serve the Law of God, But with my flesh the law of sin. 5 >-" Chapter VIII. — G. expanded and illustrated. Ver. 1, 2. No [Oudsv, i.e., an entire freedom, here and here- after, from] condemnation is therefore to those who are in Christ [and to such only] ; for the [new 1 Cor. ix. 21] law [con- straining to obedience by love] of the Spirit with its Life- giving power has made Christians free from the old Law [now proved to be the occasion, and therefore the " strength," 1 Cor. XV. 56] of Sin and Death. — Yer. 3. There is " iio condemna- tion ;" for God has "condemned sin" itself, our great enemy and accuser, to extinction ; objectively in Christ, 1. being " made sin for us," and put to death, while yet 2. " He knew no sin," but defeated its every effort to tempt Him ; subjec- tively in beHevers, in their being enabled, " in Christ," to join in the condemnation of sin to extinction, 1 . in giving up their 1 "From the body of this death," A.V. See Philippi's Commentary, and Hofmann's Schriftbeweis, I. p. 552. Toirrov is placed last emphatically. C 34 ANALYTICAL COSOIENTARY ON THE ROMANS. old man to death, and 2. in giving no place to sin in their new man, who " cannot sin, being born of God :" — ver. 4. thus while freeing from dependence on the Law, yet accomplishing its "righteous requirement" to 1. condemn sin in man, 2. justify, and 3. sanctify. VIII. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation fTo them which are in Christ Jesus ; • For the law of the Spiuit of Lifk In Christ Jesus hath made me free L Yrom the Law of Sin and Death. 3. C For what the Law could not do, J In that it was weak tlirough the flesh, 1 God sending His own Son L In the likeness of sinfid flesh, and for sin, Condemned sin in the flesh ; 4. That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Ver. 4-6. But this ensured freedom from " condemnation " will hold good only provided our habitual walk (though imper- fect here through the remains of the flesh, vii. 25) is not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (ver. 4). "For" 1. (v. 5 and 6) the fleshly walk would argue the still fleshly mind ; " For " 2. the fleshly mind is [" condemnation " to] death : whereas the spiritual walk bespeaks the spiritual mind, and the spiritual mind brings (a) " life " and (b) "peace." 5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; But they that are after the Sjiirit the things of the Spiiit. 6. For to be carnally minded is death ; But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. '^ Peace," I say (b), v. 7, 8 (in place of "enmity," v. 7), is the fruit of the Spirit; and (a) v. 10, 11, "life because of righteousness," v. 10, quickening finally even the death-doomed body, V. 11. [Compare the striking parallel of the fruits of faith in ch. v., ' " \Vho walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" — is added in A. V. The addition destroys the Porallulism. CHAPTER VIII. 7-14. 35 to the fruits of the spirit in ch. viii. ; "peace," ch. v. 1, in place of " loratli," ch. v. 9 (viii. 7, 8) ; " life through righteousness," ch. V. 17 and 21 (viii. 10) ; and the "hope of gloi'y " ch. v. 2 (viii. 21, 24) not diminished by "sufferings," ch. v. 3 (viii. 18, 35-37), but sustained by "love," ch. v. 5 (viii. 35, 37, 39).] 7. /Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; I For it is not subject to the law of God, . I Neither indeed can be ; I And they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, But in the Spirit, \ If so be that the Spirit of God dweU in you : But • if any man have not the Spu'it of Christ, He is none of His. . And if Christ be in you, The body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead He that raised up Christ from the dead [dwell in you, Shall also quicken your mortal bodies By His Spirit that dweUeth in you. Ph 9. 10. 11-3 We have thus every obligation to obey not the flesh but the Spirit, since if we thus evidence that we are led by the Spirit we shall live : 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors. Not to the flesh, to live after the flesh : 13. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die ; But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. because sons of God, if we share in the fihal spirit of the Son of God, V. 14, 15, the Spirit Himself bearing joint- witness with our spirit that we are sons, v. 16, and joint-partakers here- after of Christ's glory, if now of His sufferings, ver. 17. 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God 1 "Now," A.V. 36 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. They are the Sons of God. 15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to But ye have received the Spirit of adoption, [fear ; Whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit That we are the children of God ; 17. And if children, then heirs ; Heirs of God ; And joint-heirs with Christ, If jointly we suffer with Him, That jointly also we may be glorified.' And well may we Christians suffer, seeing we are sustained by such " HOPE of glory " (comp. ch. v. 2 with viii. 21 and 24) unspeakable, v. 18 ; and " willingly" may wait and endure, since all around us are waiting with vague longings for what we with inteUigent faith discern to be the assured issue and glorious consummation of our sufferings — deliverance from that state of wretchedness, corruption, and death, inflicted on a ruined world, after man's fall, " not willingly," with its own consent (since it saw not the gracious design), but in order to awaken the HOPE of a full and final restoration of all — not only of man- kind, but of " the whole creation " that suffered with them — to be accomplished by the introduction of a " new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness," v. 19-23. The salvation provided is one not of attainment, but of ex- pectancy ; not of sight, but of hope. But if such hope is ours, with patience surely may wc wait and endure, v. 24, 25. 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time Are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be re- vealed in us. 19. For the earnest expectation of the creation ^ Is waiting for the revelation ' of the sons of God, 20. For the creation * was made subject to vanity, Not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it,* • *' If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also gloritied together," A.V. 2 "The creature," A.V. 3 •• Waitoth for the manifestation," A.V. See Footnote on i. 19. The rere- Zai of this verse evidently refers to "the glory which shall be revealed m. us" of ver. 18. * " Hath subjected the same," A.V. CHAPTER VTII. 21-28. 37 21. In hope that the creation i itseK also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption Into the hberty of the glory of ^ the children of God. 22. For we know that the whole creation Groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now : 23. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24. For in hope are we saved : » But hope that is seen is not hope : For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for ? 25. But if we hope for that we see not, Then do we with patience wait for it. Besides, as our patience is supported by the hope of the full future "restitution of all things," so even now the Spirit aids our present weak gropings and undefined aspirations after renovation. 26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : For we know not what we should pray for as we ought : But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27. And He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, Because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Nay, all things are made to conduce to the spiritual progress of those who 1. (A) have been brought to "love God" (the subjective side) ; and 2. (B) are "the called according to God's purpose " (the objective side). 28. And we know that all things work together for good, A ( To them that love God, B ( To them who are the called according to His purpose. B For God's purpose includes every step in their salvation, from the first to the last. (Comp. ch. v. 9, 10. "If [even now] reconciled by the death of his Son, much more we shall be saved by his hfe from wrath " finally.) ' "In hope. Because the creature," A.V., see Notes. ^ " The glorious liberty," A. V. But this obscures the connexion with "the glory " of ver. 18. 2 " We axe saved by hope," A. V. 38 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. I For whom He did foreknow, [Son, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His That He might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover whom He did pretlcstinate, them He also called ; And whom He called, them He also justified; And whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things ? B If God be for us, who can be against ns ? He that spared not His own Son, But delivered Him up for us all, How shall He not with Him also freely give us aU things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth: who is he that condemneth? It is Clirist that died ; yea rather, that is risen again : Who is even at the right hand of God ; who also maketh intercession for us. \ A If once brought to " love God," wliicli can only be through our union by faith with Christ, our love can never fail, becau.se Christ's love can never fail to us. All tribulations and trials, as they rivet His, so they rivet our love but the closer to Him. 35. /Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ' 1 2 3 ShaU tribulation, or distress, or persecution, 4 G Or famine, or nakedness, 6 7 Or peril, or sword? 36. As it is Avrittcn, " For thy sake we are killed all the day long, We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37. Nay, in all those things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 1 9 38. For I a!n persuaded that neither death, nor life, 8 .* . . . Nor angels, nor principalities, 6 6 Nor things present, nor things to come, 7 Nor powers,' H 0 39. Nor height, nor depth, 10 Nor any other creature, Shall bo able to separate us from the love of God, which is in y Clirist Jesus our Lord. ' "Nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come," A.V. Preliminary Ilem.arks on Parallelism, p. 87. See end of CHAPTER IX. 1-3. 39 DISPENSATIONAL DIVISION. I. Israel's Rejection. The Jews' present exclusion from Christ's salvation, chargeable not on God, chap. ix. 1-29, hut on themselves, 30-33. " All things work together for good to them who are the called according to God's purpose," viii. 28. But how does this consist with the rejection of God's first-called people, the Jews ? " What becomes I. of our privileges ? II. of God's truth ? III. of His justice ? — if we Jews are excluded from the blessings of Christ's kingdom, and the ' sinners of the Gentiles ' admitted ? We are God's elect people, predestwtated UTicon- ditionally to these blessings. God's word is pledged for their fulfilment, and no unfaithfulness on our part can make His word void." (Compare with I. II. III. the same three objections, and the answers in iii. 1-8.) I. The privileges of the Jews remain untouched. The Jews are God's "elect predestinated people." But elected to what ? To be God's outiuard people : predestinated, to typical privileges. These privileges have been yours. Yours are " the adoption, and the glory," &c., ver. 4. But the shadows of the Old Dispensation entitle not to the realities of the New, but only prefigure them ; the carnal Israel (ver. 4) typifies the spiritual (ver. 6) ; the outward adoption (ver. 4), the true adoption of the "children of God," &c. Of you is the Christ, but "as concerning the flesh," ver. 5. C. IX. 1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2. That I have great heaviness, And continual sorrow in my heart. 3. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ For my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh ; 40 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS, 4. Who are Israelites ; To whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the cove- nants, And the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; 5. Whose are the fathers ; And of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. II. God is not unfaithful to His promises. The Jews maintained that " all Israel has a part in the world to come," and in the spiritual blessings of Christ's king- dom ; founding 1. on their carnal descent', 2. on their woi'ks, and superior meHt as compared with the Gentiles. The 1st is refuted in both a and b, the 2d in b (specially in d). 6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. They " are Israelites," ver. 4 ; but all are not Israel spiritu- ally, that spring from Israel naturally ; For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel : Theirs " are the fathers," ver. 5 ; but descent from these en- sures not to all even the temjjoral promises, which were allotted according to God's free pleasure : proved from Isaac, not Ishmael ; Jacob, not Esau, being chosen to inherit them : the former case (ver. 7-9) typifying, that with regard to the spiritual promises, not the children of the flesh (like Ishmael), but those supernaturally born by faith on God's promise (like Isaac) are heirs ; Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children ; But " In Isaac shall thy seed be called :" r That is, They which arc the children of the flesh, J Tliese are not the children of God ; I But the children of the promise L Are counted for the seed. ^- For this word is one of promise,' k" At this season^ will I come, and Sarah shall liave a son." the latter ca.se typifying (in addition), tliat aa the outward privileges promised previously to natural birth, so the spiritual ' " For tliis is the word of promise," A. V. » "Time," A.V. 7. / 2. -i a CHAPTER IX. 10-16. 41 blessings, are bestowed of God's free grace and purpose, irre- spectively of all merit or demerit, previous to spiritual birth ; a'nd that as God showed love to Jacob and his seed, and re- jected Esau and his seed, so now He may choose the Gentiles, the younger son, and reject the Jews, the elder brother. 10- /And not only this ; but when Kebecca also p Had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac ; !!• ^ /-For the children being not yet born, ^ Neither having done any good or evil, ^ b dJ That the purpose of God according to election might p stand, p_ >- Not of works but of Him that calleth, 12. ^ It was said unto her, " The elder shall serve the younger; " 13. yAs it is written, ' ' Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." III. God is not unrighteous in his judgments ; 1. in show- ing mercy to the Gentiles ; 2. in rejecting the Jews. (In answer to the obvious objection arising from ver. 11-13. " What ! no regard paid to previous merit or demerit ? For surely we, God's people and worshippers, deserve more than idolatrous Gentiles ! ") 14. What shall we say then ? Is there unrighteousness with God ? God forbid. 1. Why not show mercy to the Gentiles, as He did to you Israelites, when guilty of idolatry and rebellion against Him at Sinai ? (Exod. xxxiii. 19.) — mercy to sinners being of God's free* grace, not to be extorted by any desires or efforts of men. 15. For He saith to Moses, [Ex. xxxiii. 19.] " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, And I wiU have compassion on whom I wiU have compassion." 16. So then it is not of him that wUleth, nor of him that run- neth, [Jews] But of God that showeth mercy. [Gentiles] 2. Why not judicially harden you Jews for your perverse- ness, as He did to Pharaoh whom He placed on the throne of Egypt, as a fitting instrument, by his proud self-willed opposi- tion to His commands, to execute God's very plans, and to make His power and name conspicuous in his defeat and destruction ? (ver. 17.) So that God Himself (ver. 18) is the only compet- ent judge, who are proper objects of mercy, and who of severity. 42 ANALYTICAL COMilENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, [Exod. ix. IG] " Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, That I might show My power in thee, And that My name might be declared throughout all the earth." 18. Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, [Gentiles] And whom He will He hardeneth, [Jews] Objection. — If God hardens men, and has mercy just as He wills : if all is according to His " determinate counsel and fore- knowledge," (see Acts ii. 23, where on the same plea the crucifiers of the Lord would have been blameless), and our very wickedness is made to subserve His purposes, why find fault with what is only working out His irresistible will ? [Ver. 19 = " Why yet am even I to be judged as a sinner ?" iii. 7.] 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, " Why doth he yet find fault? For who resisteth' His will ? " Answer I. — If you take your stand on God's right (ver. 14), I appeal to right too. What impiety in sinful man to ques- tion the acts of the sovereign Maker of all, who surely out of the corrupted mass of humanity has a right to make and un- make as He pleases? [Ver. 21 = " Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance ?" iii. 5.] 20. Nay but, 0 man, Who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? 21. Ilath not the potter power over the clay, Out of- the same Imnp, To make one vessel unto honour, [Gentiles] And another unto flishonour ? [Jews] Answer 2. But what justice requires is one thing ; what God's mercy prompts Him to do is another. Not then to ap- peal to God's sovereign right, of which He needs to render account to none — looking to what we can see, if He has long borne with you, " vessels of wrath fitted to destruction " [by yourselves, KaTripng/ism], (His very forbearance being the occa- sion of hardening you to be more conspicuous objects of His ' " Hath resisted," A.V. * "A.V. leaves out "Out," CHAPTER IX. 22-29. 43 22. 23. 24. avenging power), and shows mercy to the Gentiles and remnant of the Jews, whom " He has prepared unto glory " (a ■rpoTj- Toi/iacsv), what objection lies to His righteousness ? What if God, willing to show His wrath, [Jews.] And to make His power known. Endured with much long-suffering ,The vessels of wi-ath fitted to destruction ? /And that He might make known the riches of His glory, [Gentiles and remnant of the Jews.] On the vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory, Even us whom He hath called. Not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles ? That God would show mercy to the unde- serving, was long ago intimated by the pro- phets, when they predicted the Jews' present apostasy, and yet God's future reception of them (Hos. i. 10, ii. 23). A fortiori, with how much gi'eater reason may He now com- passionate the less guilty Gentiles ? As He saith also in Osee, [Gentiles now as hereafter the Jews.] " I will call them my people, which were not my people ; And her beloved which was not beloved ; And it shall come to pass. That in the place where it was said imto them. Ye are not my people, \There shall they be called the children of the living God. That Israel, so highly favoured, would yet for their abuse of privileges be sharply dealt with, was no less distinctly foretold. 27. / Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, [Jews.] " Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, A remnant shall be saved, [only] For He wiU finish the work and cut it short in righteous- ness ; Because a short work wiU the Lord make upon the earth." And as Esaias said before, " Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We had been as Sodoma, \ And been made like unto Gomorrha." 25. 26. 28. 29. 44 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. Tlie Jews then have themselves alone to blame for falling short of salvation, since they seek it not by faith (which their own prophet, Isaiah xxviii. 16, requires) in Christ as the Saviour of all. 30. AVliat shall we say then ? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness Have attained unto righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith ; 31. But Israel which followed after the law of righteousness Hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, For they stumbled at that stumbUng-stone, 33. As it is written, " Behold I lay in Sion a stunibliug-stone and rock of offence : And WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH On Hiui shall not be ashamed." II. The Ground of Israel's Rejection. (viz., in their not knowing, (ch. x. 2, 3, and 19) i.e., recogniz- ing Gud's righteousness, and the condition of its attainment). Faith is God's condition prescribed to all. But the Jews, alas ! will not see that their own law shuts them up to Christ as its end for righteousness (a) " to every one " — (b) that helieveth." Cu. X. 1. Brotliren, my heart's desire And prayer to God for Israel is, That they might be saved. 2. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, But not acconling to knowledge. 8. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, And going about to establish their own righteou.siicss, Have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4. For Chri.st is the end of the law for righteousness To every one that beheveth. b. Proof that " believing " or faith is the condition. 1. For righteousness by Law demands to do its commands and live. CHAPTER X. 5-14. 45 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. 2. But righteousness by Faith, as taught in the Law itself, Deut. XXX. 11-14, requires no such impossibihty. God has done all. 6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, " Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (That is to bring Christ down from above) ; 7. Or, Who shall descend into the deep ? (That is, to bring up Christ again from the dead) ; Man has but cordially to believe, and humbly to confess his ignorance and weakness, and the Lord's all-sufficiency ; 8. But what saith it ? " The word is nigh thee c Even in thy mouth, d And in thy heart :" That is, the word of faith which we preach ; 9. c That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord .Jesus, d And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. 10. d For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, c And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. a. Proof that to all, Gentiles as well as Jews, this condition is to be offered — from the testimony of Isaiah xxviii. 16, and of Joel ii. 32. 11. For the Scripture saith, d " Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." 12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; For the same Lord over all Is rich unto all that call upon him. 13. c For " Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now " every one's calling on the Lord " involves their hearing and believing — and our being sent and preaching (as Isaiah lii. 7 indicates) to all ; (why therefore be jealous of our preaching to the Gentiles ?) 14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? 46 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. And how shall they hear without a preacher ? 15. And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, " How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, And bring glad tidings of good things ! " though, alas ! all have not listened to our mission, as Isaiah also predicted liii. 1, in words specially applying to Israel ; 16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, For Esaias saith, " Lord, who [of us] hath believed what we heard ?^ whose words also prove our obligations to preach to all, and to make all hear. 17. So then faith cometh by hearing. And hearing by the word of Grod. But that no excuse for unbelief may remain, I ask — 1. Have not all had an opportunity of hearing, in accord- ance with God's original, all-embracing scheme of love, fore- shadowed in His own preaching to all by His glorious works ? Ps. xix. Compare Rom. i. 20. 18. But I say, Have they not heard ? Yes, verily, " Their sound went into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world." 2. But I ask, — Israel ! Surely it cannot be that they did not know (God's voice when He called) ? But, alas ! both Moses and the prophets predicted that thus it shoukl be — that the Gentiles would listen, but Israel gainsay. 19. But I say, Israel ! — did they not know? « First Moses saith, " I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, And by a foolish nation I will anger you." 20. But Esaias is very bold and saith, " I wa-s found of them that sought me not ; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me." ' Our report, A. Vers. See Notes. » " Did not Israel know?" A. V. See Notes. CHAPTER XI. 1-7. 47 21. But with regard to Israel i he saith, " All day long I have stretched forth my hands Unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." III. — Israel's Recovery. I. Is then Israel's rejection foto^ (chap. xi. 1-10) ? Nay, this were to exclude myself. They are Qod's people, foreknown; and, as in the apparently universal defection in Elijah's time, there is ever "a holy seed " (Isa. vi. 13) to preserve the stem alive (comp. v. 16 and 29), a surviving remnant, yet solely of grace. XL 1. I say then, Hath God cast away His people ? God forbid ! For I also am an Israelite Of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2. God hath not cast away His people, which He foreknew. Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of EHas? How he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3. " Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, And digged down Thine altars ; And I am left alone, And they seek my life." 4. But what saith the answer of God unto him ? " I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, Who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." 6. Even so, then, at this present time also there is a remnant, According to the election of grace. 6. And if by grace, then is it no more of works : Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace : Otherwise work is no more work. Israel, then, as a wJiole, is not cast away, as the elect few prove, who have humbly submitted to receive salvation as of grace, which the great mass scorning to do have justly been blinded as the prophets foretold. 7. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for ; » " But to Israel," A. V. 48 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. But the election hath obtained it, And the rest were blinded 8. (According as it is written, " God hath given them the spirit of slumber. Eyes that they should not see, And ears that they should not hear ") imto this day. 9. And David saith, " Let their table be made a snare and a trap, And a stumbling-block, and a recompence unto them : 10. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow down their back alway." II. Is Israel's rejection final ? No ; it has been overruled for the immediate conversion of the Gentiles, which in its turn will revive the Jews, and thus issue finally in new Hfe to the whole world. Think not, therefore, Gentiles — for I seek the true glory of my office as apostle to you specially, in attempt- ing if by any means I can rouse some of my own countrymen — that you are unconcerned in the fall, and far more in the recovery of Israel ; 11. I say then, Have they stumbled that they shoiild fall ? God forbid ! But rather through their fall Salvation is come unto the Gentiles, For to provoke them to jealousy. 12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, And the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, How much more their fulness ? 13. For I speak to you, Gentiles ; Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office, 14. K by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh. And might save some of them. 15. For if the casting away of them Be the reconciling of the world, What shall the receiving of them be, But life from the dead ? of which their connection with the fathers would warrant the hope, as the first fruits consecrate the whole, and the root de- termines the final character of the branches. CHAPTER XI. 16-24. 49 16. For if the first fruit be holy, The lump is also holy ; And if the root be holy, So are the branches. Their present rejection, with your substitution in their place, warns against all boasting on your part (17-22), while their restoration to their original privileges is much more probable than that God should have called the Gentiles. (23, 24). 17. And if some of the branches be broken off, And thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, And with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree 18. Boast not against the branches ; But if thou boast Thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19. Thou wilt say then. The branches were broken off, That I might be graffed in. 20. Well ; because of rmbelief they were broken off, And thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear; 21. For if God spared not the natural branches, Take heed lest He also spare not thee. 22. Behold therefore the goodness And severity of God ; On them which fell severity, But toward thee goodness ; * If thou continue in His goodness ; Otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." 23. And they also if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in ; For God is able to graff them in again. 24. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature; And wert graffed, contrary to nature, into a good olive tree ; How much more shall these, which be the natural branches, Be graffed into their own olive-tree ? This restoration, so natural and desirable, I am now author- ised to foretell as certain, ver. 25, in consonance with pro- • See Preliminary Remarks on Parallelism, p. 84. D 50 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. phecy, vers. 26, 27, with the unconditional promises made to the fathers, vers. 28, 29, and with that all-compassionating wisdom and goodness of God, which shuts up all in turn in sin, each to react upon the other, that all may humbly submit to receive salvation as of unmerited grace, vers. 30-32. 25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, Lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, That blindness in part is happened to Israel, Until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, 26. And so all Israel shall be saved: As it is written, " There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, And shall turn away ungodhness from Jacob ; 27. For this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins." 28. As concerning the gospel, They are enemies for your sakes; But as touching the election, They are beloved for the fathers' sakes ; 29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 30. For as ye in times past were disobedient to' God, Yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience ;* 31. Even so have these also now been disobedient,' That through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32. For God hath shut up all in disobedience,* That He might have mercy upon all. The apostle concludes with an exclamation of adoring ad- miration in contemplating the unsearchable depth (a), of the unmerited bounty (b), of the uncounselled wisdom (c), and of the incomprehensible knowledge (d), manifested in these arrangements and in the whole plan of salvation here unfolded, of that God, who is the originating Source, the controlling Director, and the ultimate End of all ! • " Have not believed God," A. V. « "Unbelief," A.V. » "Not believed," A.V. * " Concluded them all in unbelief," A.V. CHAPTER XI. 33-36 ; XII. 1-2. 51 33. a 0 THE DEPTH! fb Of the RICHES, c And^ of the wisdom, d And of the2 knowledge of God ! a How unsearchable are His judgments. And His ways past finding out ! 34. r d For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? J c Or who hath been His counsellor ? 35. 1 b Or who hath first given to Him L And it shall be recompensed unto him again ? 36. a For OF Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, To whom be glory for ever. Amen. Practical Division. From tlie Doctrinal exposition flows the Practical; from " the mercies of God," the duties incumbent on Christians. All being "of, through, and TO God," xi. 36, let there be a consecration to God of the whole man ; of the " body " ver. 1, (hitherto so "dishonoured," i. 24, and "dead because of sin," viii. 10, but already in part "quickened by the Spirit," viii. 11, to be "a living sacrifice," xii. 1), or outward activities, ver. 1; and of the " mind," or inward dispositions, ver. 2, as a " ser- vice " to God, ver. 1 — as a fulfilling of " the will of God," ver. 2. XII. 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, That ye present your bodies A living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, Which is your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world : But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, That ye may prove what is the will of God, Good, and acceptable, and perfect." This principle of doing all as a " service " to God, in ful- filment of His " will," must be applied to all our duties. I. Duties to our fellow-Christians, or to the Church, ver. 3-13. All gifts being of the grace of God, and success in » " Both of the wisdom," A.V. * " And knowledge," A.V. » "What is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God." A.V. 52 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. their exercise alone through the Lord's grace, I, in dependence on " the grace given unto me," call on each of you to form a humble and sober estimate of his capacity and place, as a trust assigned to each OF God " according to the measure of his ■faith," ver. 3, for the good of all, vers. 4, 5, and through God to employ them to God's glory, as " service " to Him, 3. For I say, through the grace given unto me, To every man that is among you, Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think ; But to think soberly According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, And all members have not the same office ; 6. So we being many are one body in Christ, And every one members one of another, 6-8 in "Faith," on the Lord (not in himself,) in "proportion" to which he may expect God's blessing. Matt. xvii. 20, 21, [applicable to both cases with their subordinate divisions ; to "Prophecy," "teaching, exhortation;" to "Ministry," "giv- ing, ruling, shewing mercy."] 6. Having then gifts differing accordingto the grace that is given to us, (1) Whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of Faith ; 7. (2) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering : (3) Or he that teacheth, on teaching ; 8. (4) Or he tliat exhorteth, on exhortation ; (5) He that giveth, lot liim do it with simplicity ; (6) He that ruleth, with diligence ; (7) He that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9-11 in "Love" unfeigned, seeking the true good of one's neighbour, not indolently sparing the evil, but cleaving to the good, with brotherly self-denying affection, which can arise only from a zealous, fervent " sei'ving the Lord," ver. 11. 12, 13, in "Hope" of God's reward only, which will lead to " rejoice " always, to be " jxiticnt in tribulation " even, and unfaltering in prayer, and to show disinterested kindness to the poor and to strangers. CHAPTER XII. 9-21. 63 9. Let Love be without dissimulation : Abhor that which is evil ; Cleave to that which is good, 10. (1) Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, (2) In honour preferring one another ; 11. (3) Not slothful in business; (4) Fervent in spirit ; (5) Serving the Lord : 12. (6) Rejoicing in Hope ; (7) Patient in tribulation ; (8) Continuing instant in prayer ; 13. (9) Distributing to the necessity of saints ; (10) Given to hospitality. II. Duty towards Enemies. To carry out God's " service " and "will," " Bless," as He has done, even enemies, ver. 1 4 ; and in order to this, be sym- pathizing, ver. 15, condescending, ver. 16, forbearing, giving no offence, ver. 17, with thoughts of peace to all, ver. 18, leaving vengeance to God as His prerogative, ver. 19, overcoming like Him evil with good, ver. 20, 21. 14. Bless them which persecute you: Bless and curse not. 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, And weep with them that weep : 16. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, But condescend to men of low estate : Be not wise in your own conceits. 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil ; Provide things honest in the sight of all men ; 18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves. But rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, " Vengeance is mine ; I wiU repay, saith the Lord.' 20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; If he tliirst, give him drink: For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fii'e on his head. 21. Be not overcome of evil, But overcome evil with good. 54 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. III. Duty to rulers (more especially addressed to the Jewish Christians). Pay obedience to rulers, as " service " to God, as fulfilling His " will;" since they " are ordained of God" and resistance to them will incur His condemnation, v. 1, 2 ; civil government being a divine ordinance conducive to the good of all, v. 3-5. XIII. 1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, For there is no power but of God : The powers that be are ordained of God. 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, Resisteth the ordinance of God : And they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation.* 3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, And thou shalt have praise of the same : 4. For he is the minister of God to thee for good, But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid : For he beareth not the sword in vain ; For he is the minister of God, A revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, Not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. Pay therefore to them, as " God's ministers," tribute, and gener- ally to all their dues, ver. 6, 7, 6. For, for this cause pay ye tribute also : For they are God's ministers, Attending continually upon this very thing. 7. Render, therefore, to all tlieir duos ; Tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom : Fear to whom fear, honom' to whom honour. leaving no debt unpaid but one, love, which, the more you pay, the more you will feel due — enforced by two considerations : 1. (ver. 9, 10) that "love is the fulfilling of the law," the true doing "the ^vill of God ;" 2. (ver. 11-14) that the time for attaining conformity to the mind of the Lord is ever be- coming shorter. » "Damnation," A. V. CHAPTER XIII. 8-14 ; xrv. 1-3. 65 8. Owe no man anything, but to love one another, For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kiU, Thou shalt not steal,' Thou shalt not covet ; And if there be any other commandment. It is briefly comprehended in this saying, Namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour ; Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11. And that knowing the time, That now it is high time to awake out of sleep, For now is our salvation nearer Than when we beUeved. 12. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, And let us put on the armour of light. 13. Let Tis walk honestly as in the day ; Not in rioting and drunkenness, Not in chambering and wantonness, Not in strife and envying ; 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus, And make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. IV. Duty towards those who differ from us, particularly of the strong to the weak (more especially addressed to the Gen- tile Christians). Here the principle specially applies, of conforming all to the " service " and " will of God." Since all a Christian does, or forbears to do, is or ought to be " unto the Lord," the strong must not despise, nor the weak condemn his brother, since it is to the Loixl that each is responsible. XIV. 1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye [but] not to doubtful disputations. 2. For one believeth that he may eat aU things ; Another who is weak eateth herbs. 3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not ; And let not him which eateth not, judge him that eateth : For God hath received him. ' The A.V. adds, " Thou shalt not bear false witness," which is not found in the best MSS., and would derange the parallelism. 66 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 4. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth : yea, he shall be holden up, For God is able to make him stand. 6. One man esteemeth one day above another ; Another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6. He that regardeth the day, Regardeth it unto the LoYd ; And he that regardeth not the day, To the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, For he giveth God thanks ; And he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, And giveth God thanks. 7. For none of us hveth to himself. And no man dieth to himself. 8. For whether we live, we hve unto the Lord, And whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, We are the Lord's : 9. For to this end Christ both died and revived. That He might be Lord both of the dead and living. 10. But why dost thou judge thy brother? And again, thou,' why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall aU stand before the judgment seat of Christ, 11. For it is written, " As I live, saith the Lord, Every knee shall bow to me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more ; but judge this rather. That no man put a stiunbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. More particularly the stronger must see that " in these things he sei'veth Christ " and the welfare of His little ones ; abstain- in<£ from doin^^ before them that which, however allowable for oneself, is sin, if it lead others to sin by doing what their weak consciences condemn. 14. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, That there is nothing unclean of itself : » "Or why," A.V. CHAPTER XIV. 15-28. 57 But to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, To him it is unclean. 15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, Now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, For whom Christ died. 16. Let not then your good be evil spoken of : 17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, •But righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18. For he that in these things serveth Christ, Is acceptable to God, And approved of men. 19. Let us tlierefore follow after the things which make for peace. And things wherewith one may edify another. 20. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure ; But it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, Nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22. Hast thou faith ? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth, 23. But he that doubteth is condemned ' if he eat, because he eateth not of faith ; For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Each one not pleasing himself, but, like Christ, who so zealously identified Himself with the cause and glory of His Father that " the reproaches of them that reproached God fell upon Him," Ps. Ixix. 9, seeking the spiritual good of others for the building up of God's church — that in suffering for God's sake we may have the same " patience and comfort " vouch- safed to us as to the sufferer in the psalm; our great end ever being that all may " glorify God " by receiving one another in mutual love, " as Christ received us " all, Jews and Gentiles, " to the gloi^y of God:'' > "And he that doubteth is damned," A. V. See Footnote on I. 19. 58 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. XV. 1. But we ' that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, And not to please ourselves. 2. Let every one of us please his neighbour, For his good to edification. 3. For even Christ pleased not himself, But as it is written, " The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell upon me." 4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime Were written for our learning, That through the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures We * might have hope. 6. Now the God of patience and comfort ' Grant you to be like-minded one toward another, According to Christ Jesus : 6. That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, Even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7. Wherefore receive ye one another, As Christ also received us, To the glory of God. for Christ is the centre of loving unity to both — to the Jews fulfilling " the truth " and " the promises" vouchsafed to their fathers ; to the Gentiles, the predictions of " Tiiercy "contained in the Old Testament prophecies, (compare Ps. c. 5. cxvii. 2). 8. For* I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. For the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers ; 9. And that the Gentiles Might glorify God for His mercy ; As it is written, " For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, And sing unto thy name." 10. And again He saith, " Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people." 11. And again, " Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, And laud Him, all ye people." * " We then," A. V. The " But," 5^, marks the antithesis between the weak and the duty of the strong towards them. The weak sin, if they do that the lawfuhiess of which they doubt, " But wc, the strong, ought, &c. " * " We, through j)atience and comfort of the Scriptures, might," A.V. * "Consolation," A.V. See footnote on I. 19. « "Now," A.V. CHAPTER XV. 12-00. 59 12. And again, Esaias saith, " There shall be a root of Jesse, And he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles ; In him shall the Gentiles hope.'" 13. Now the God of hope FiU you with all joy and peace in believing, That ye may abound in hope, Through the power of the Holy Ghost. Conclusion. The Apostle expresses his confidence in the Roman Chris- tians, and apologises for writing thus freely to them, on the ground of his apostolical calling, v. 14-16, and successful labours, v. 17-21. These hitherto had prevented his coming to them, but he hopes now soon to accomplish his intention, v. 22-29, and meanwhile begs an interest in their prayers, v. 30-33. 14. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish 15. one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of 16. the grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the GentUes, ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being 17. sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word 19. and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God ; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto 20. Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, 21. lest I should buUd upon another man's foundation : but as it is written, To whom He was not spoken of, they shall see ; And they that have not heard shall understand. 22. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming ' " Trust," A. v., which obscures the connexion with ver. 13, " Now may the God of hope, &c." See I. 19 footnote. 60 ANALYTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ROMANS. 23. to you. But now having no more place in these parts, and having 24. a great desire these many years to come unto you ; whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you : for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by 25. you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I 26. go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for 27. the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily ; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to 28. minister unto them in carnal things. When, therefore, I have per- formed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, 1 will come by you 29. unto Spain. And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall 30. come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ. Now, I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for 31. me ; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judsea ; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be 32. accepted of the saints ; that T may come unto you with joy by the 33. will of God, and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Recommendation of Phebe, probably the bearer of the Epistle, ver. 1, 2. He sends various salutations, v. 3-1 G. Cautions against those who cause divisions, v. 17-20. Salu- tations from Paul's companions, v. 21-24. Closing Doxology, v. 25-27. XVI. 1. I commend unto you Phebe, our sister, which is a servant of the 2. Church wliich is at Cenchrea : that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye as.'ast her in whatsoever business she hath need of you ; for she hat h been a succourer of many, and of myself also. 3, 4. Greet Priseilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus; who have for my life laid down their own necks ; unto whom not only 5. I give thanks, but also ail the chiu-ches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved 6. Epenctus, who is the first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ. Greet 7. Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among 8. the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliaa 9. my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbane, om- helper in Christ, and 10. Stachys my beloved. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute 11. them which aie of iViistobulus' household. Salute llerodion my CHAPTER XVI. 12-27. 61 kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which 12. are in the Lord. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in 13. the Lord. Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother 14. and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hernias, Patrobas, 15. Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints 16. which are with them. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. 17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned ; and 18. avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly ; and by good words and fair speeches 19. deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedienee is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behaK ; but yet J would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple 20. concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of oiu- Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21. Timotheus my work-fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, 22. my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wi-ote this epistle, salute 23. you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, 24. and Quartus a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25. Now to Him that is of power to stablish you, According to my gospel, And the preaching of Jesus Christ, According to the revelation of the mystery, Which was kept secret since the world began: 26. But now is made manifest. And by the scriptures of the prophets, According to the commandment of the everlasting God, For the obedience of faith, Made known to all nations : ' 27. To God only wise through Jesus Christ — To Him be the glory ^ for ever. Amen. > " Made known to all nations for the obedience of faith," A.V. * " Be glory through Jesus Christ," A. V. PEELIIINAEY EEMAEES ON PAEALLELISM. An objection will immediately be raised to the strange form in wbich the text is presented in the present commentary. Is it pretended, by its being printed in lines like verses, that the Epistle to the Romans is in poetry ? Far from it. In the first place, had any other method suggested itself of bringing before the reader with equal clearness the parallelism of the corresponding members in St. Paul's composition, it would have been adopted. But if the artifice of printing rhymed verses in separate lines has been employed for the sake of assisting the reader, to distinguish more readily correspondences in sound (where it was not absolutely necessary, as some German hjinn- books prove, in which the whole is printed continuously with- out any break), why may not the same artifice be employed, with the same or even greater propriety, for the far more im- portant purpose of assisting the reader, to trace the correspon- dence in sense between two or more parallel lines ? But, secondly, let the Biblical student at once divest his mind of the confusion that has too long subsisted between parallelism and poetry, as if they were s3monymous, or insepar- able at least in Hebrew composition, as well as of the very limited idea that is attached to parallelism itself To the mis- taken notions generally prevalent on this subject is owing, I believe, in great part the prejudice against the application of parallelism to the New Testament. 64 PARALLELISM. The usual supposition is that parallelism is to be found only in poetry, of which it is considered as the distinguishing charac- teristic. Unquestionably it does form a marked feature in Hebrew poetry ; but it is by no means confined, to it, but pre- vails extensively in passages the most prosaic. Of this we have in the Old Testament a striking example in the Deca- logue, which exhibits, as I have shown elsewhere,* an exactness of arrangement in lines, paragraphs, and numbers, so definite that no line or scarcely word could be altered without destroy- ing the beautiful symmetry of the whole ; while at the same time we discover by its aid a profound significance of meaning and manifoldness of relations between the different command- ments, such as no other mode of compositiou'but the parallelistic could have conveyed in so few words. Equally profound, comprehensive, and significant in the New Testament are the Lord's Prayer, and the seven Beatitudes which exactly corre- spond to the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer.-f* It is not meant to deny that the parallelism of line responding to line originated in the need, which poetic feeling always finds of some sort of recurring rhythm, to give expression to its thought, although it is an entire mistake to suppose, as has been gener- ally done since the days of Bishop Lowth, that this is the only or even principal formal characteristic of Hebrew poetry, which, on the contrary, consists in Hebrew, as in other langu- ao-es, in a definite metrical rhythm of sound, free, indeed, but clearly perceptible and gratifying to the ear. The error which has prevented the general recognition of this lies in searching for a regular succession of long and shcrrt syllables, as in the classical languages, instead of seeing that the metre depends, as in modem languages, on accent. This is not the place to enlarge upon such a subject, but a few examples written in Roman characters and properly accented may perhaps suffice to ♦ See ••Symmetrical Structure of Scripture," pp. 138-158. T. & T. Clark, Etlinburgh. t The su1)stancc of the rem.irk.s on these portions of Scrii)ture will be found also in a small pamphlet of '.i'2 pages entitled, "The Seven Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments," published by James Tavlor, 31 Caatle Street, Edinburgh. PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON PARALLELISM. 65 satisfy the Hebrew scholar of the reality of the metre. By marking distinctly in reading the accented syllables, pausing at the cesura in the middle of the lines, and passing over quickly, as in every living language, the little words, such as pronouns, the rhythm will be easily caught, and the student, by a little practice, will soon derive a pleasure and profit from reading the poetical books and the prophets never before ex- perienced. The following rude imitation of the rhythm and pauses of Psalms cxxvi. and cxxxiii. may assist the student in catching the rhythmical flow of the Hebrew original : — * PSALM CXXVI. 1. When the Lord brought back — the captives of Zion, We were as men in a dream ! 2. Then was there filled — with laughter our mouth, And with singing our tongue. Then said they 'mong the heathen, " Great is the Lord — in His doings with these ! " \ Great is the Lord — in His doings with us, And right glad we have been. 4. Bring back, 0 Lord — our captive bands. As the water streams — in the south. 6. The sowers in weeping In singing shall reap. 6. Going forth he may go and weeping, Bearing his hand full of seed : Coming back he shall come with singing. Bearing homeward his sheaves. The Hebrew in Eoman Characters. 1. B'shuv' Y'hovah' — eth-shivath" Tzion', Hayi'nu k'chol'mim' ! 2. Az' yimmale' — s'choq' pinu', UTshonenu rinnah', Az' yom'ru vaggoim' * The vowels are pronounced as in Italian, a as in oA/ & as in o<; e as a in ale; 6 as in met; I as ee in eel; u as oo in moon, &c. ; and the apostrophe ' aa a very short 6. E 66 PARALLELISM. Higdil' Y'hovah' — laasoth' iin cl'leh : 3. Higdil' Y'hovah' — laasoth' iuimanu, Hayi'nu s'mechim'. 4. Shuvah' Y'hovah' — eth-shVothdnu, Kaaphiqiin' — banne'ghev : 5. Hazzor'iin' b'diinah' B'rinnah' yiqtzoru. 6. Halokh' yelekh' uvakhoh' Nose' meshekh hazzara ; Bo' yavo v'rinnah' Nose' alummothav'. PSALM CXXXIII. 1. Behold now how good — and how pleasant to see Those that brethren be — in unity dwell ! 2. As the ointment rare on the head Flowing down to the beard, To Aaron's beard, That flowed down to the hem of his robe. 3. As Hermon's fresh dew that comes down Zion's holy mount upon ; For there to descend— God His blessing doth send Even life for evermore. Hebrew. 1. Hinneh' maht-tov' — u"mahn-naim', She'veth achim' — gam ya' chad : 2. Kashshcmen hattov' — al-harosh' Yored' al-hazzaqan' Z'qan" Aha ron', Shei yored' — al-pi middothaiv'. 3. K'tal' Chermon' — sheiyored' Al-hararey' Tzi on' : Ki slium tzivvah' Y'hovah' — cth-habb'rakhah' Chaiyim' — ad-haolam'. The rh3rthm of Psalm cxxvii. is the same as that in the Scotch metrical version, Except tlie Lord do build the house The builders lose their pain ; EHYTHM IN HEBREW POETRY, 67 Except the Lord the city keep, The watchmen watch in vain. 1. Im-Y'hovah' — lo-yivneh' vaith, Shav' am' lii — vonav' bo Im-Y'hovah' — l6-yishm6r ir' Shav' shaqad' — shomer' 2. Shav' lakhe'm — mashkimey qum M'acharey" — she'veth O'kh'ley" lechem — haatsavi'm Khen' yitteu' — lididd shena' 3. Hinneh' nachalat'h — Y'hovah banim' Sakar' — ^p'ri habbdten 4. K'chitsim' — b'yad- gibbor' Ken' b'ney" — hann'urim' 5. Ashrey' hagge'ver — asher' mille' E th - ashpathd — mehe'm Lo-yevdshu — ki y'dabb'ru' Eth- oy'vim' — bashshaar. Psalm cxiv. consists of four short stanzas and runs thus 1. B'tzeth Yisrael — mimmitzrd.im Beyth Yaaqov' — meam' loez' 2. Hay'thah' Y'hudah' — Pqcdshd Yisrael' — ^mamsh'lothav'. 3. Haiyam' raah' — vaiyanos' Haiyarden' — yissov I'achdr' 4. Heharim' — raq'du ch'eylim' G'va5th' — kivney-tzon. 5. Mahl-1'kha haiyam' — ^ki thaniis' Haiyarden' — tissov' I'achor' 6. Heharim' — tirq'dii ch'eyUm' G'vaoth' — chivney-tzon, 7. Milliphney ^don' — hiili aretz Milliphney Eloah — Yaaqov' [yim 8. Hahophkhi hattzur' — agam-ma'- Hallamish' — ^I'may'no-mayim. The rhythm of the whole of Psalm xxxiii. will be easily caught, consisting as each verse does of two lines with three accents generally on each. 1. Rann'nii' tzadiqim' bayhovah' Lay'sharim navah' th'hillah'. 2. Hodii lay'hovah' b'khinnor' B'ne'vel asor' zamm'ru-lo'. 3. Shiru-lo shir' chadash' Heytivu naggen' bith ruah'. 4. Ki-yashar' d'var' -Y'hovah' V'khol-mdase'hu be'emunah', The utility of attending to the rhythm is shown in the last instance I shall adduce, to exemplify the usual metre of the prophets, Isaiah xli. 1, 2. 1. Hacharishu elay' iyim' Ul'ummim' yachah'phu khdach Yigg'shii az' y'dabbe'ru Yachdav' lammishpat' niqr^vah. 2. Mi heir' mimmizrach' Tze'deq yiqrae'hu I'raglo' 68 PARALLELISM. Yittcn' I'phanayv' goyim' U'm'lakhi'm' yard.* The knowledge of the rhythm would have saved the Septua- gint translators, and, following them, almost all the versions till the latest, from an error which they have made in joining in ver. 2, P^V tz^dek, righteousness, to the first line in place of the second, translating, " Who raised up the righteous man [Heb. righteousness] from the east." instead of "WTio hath raised up from the east Him on whose steps righteousness attends, &c. It will thus be seen that in Hebrew, as in other languages, that which distinguishes poetry from prose, besides the more elevated diction, is the recurrence of a more or less regular rhythm ; and consequently that in maintaining that Parallehsm (though forming a marked feature of Hebrew poetry) has im- pressed its peculiar arrangements on any composition, we do not thereby necessarily assert it to be poetical. Parallelism in the New Testament. The way being thus so far cleared by the removal of the preliminary objection against the existence of Parallelism in prose, the student will be more inclined to listen to the argu- ments for its extension to the New Testament. I. It is necessary that he divest his mind of the too com- mon idea, that Parallelism is limited, principally at least, to a * The short, quick, monosyllabic TTi yard, (niedertritt, Aug. Hahn, Stier, treads down ; nicdrrimr/f, Ewald, throws down, prostrates), representing by the very sound (Scottice dird), and abruptness of ending in the line, the forci- ble j)ressing or casting down on the ground of the concpicred kings, recalls the similarly expressive onomatopoeia of Virgil, ..En. V. 481, fcJteruitur, cxauimisquo tremens procumbit humi hos. ORDER OF ISAIAH XL.-LXVI. 69 correspondence of two or more lines to each other, in which word is balanced against word, and thought against thought, so that occasionally an obscure expression in one line may receive light by comparison with the parallel expression in the other ; but that with this exception, it is more a subject of curious interest than of any real practical utility to the inter- preter. Were this indeed the whole extent to which Paral- lelism influences the composition and arrangement of the writer's thoughts, there might be some reason for the depre- ciatory estimate usually entertained of its claims to our atten- tion. But though, in its more simple form, at first confined probably to the reiteration, or amplification, in a second line of the thought expressed in the first, parallelism soon began to be extended to triplets, quatrains, and even five, six, and seven-lined stanzas, in which varieties of correspondence sub- sist between the different lines so as to combine them into one whole. Next, since a more complex idea could not always receive adequate expression in the compass of a single line with its paral- lel, a couplet instead of a single line came to be placed in paral- leHsm with another couplet, or a triplet with a triplet, quatrain with quatrain, &c.,* until at length the love for exact arrange- ment and symmetrical order found full gTatification only when it extended to the entire composition, so as to combine its various parts into one organic whole. Of this we have a re- markable example in the Later Prophecies of Isaiah, xl. — Ixvi., the whole of which (27 chapters in all) consists of 3 equal sec- tions with 9 chapters in each, the close of each section being marked by the recurrence of the same idea (in ch. xlviii., and Ivii., " There is no peace, saith the Lord (my God) to the wicked," and at the final close, Ixvi. 24, by an expansion of the same idea). Each section again is subdivided into 8 threes ; the centre, and therefore central thought, of the whole being the very remarkable liii. chapter, predictive of the vicarious sufferings of the Redeemer with their triumphant issue. This chapter (which, however, as is now generally ac- * See examples of all these varieties in " Symmetrical Structure of Scrip- ture," pp. 17-34. 70 PAKALLELISM. knowledged, ought to have begun with the last three verses of chap, lii., V. 13-15, "Behold my servant," &c.), consists of 3x3 verses in the middle (liii. 1-9), the grand subject of which is the humiliation and ATONING sufferings of the Messiah (and pre-eminently the central 3 verses, 4-G), enclosed on both sides by 3 verses predicting the exaltation and glorious results that should follow from His humiliation and sufferings (lii. 13-15, and liii. 10-12).* The threefold division of the whole prophecy is indicated at the commencement, xl. 2. " Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, I. That her warfare is accomplished, 11. That her iniquity is pardoned, III. For she hath received of the Lord's hand Double for all her sins :" these topics being farther enlarged upon in 3 verses each : the I., in ver. 3-5 ; the II., in 6-8 ; and the III., in 9-11. Each topic is then fully handled in nine chapters : the I, in ch. xl. 12 — xlviii. 22 ; the II. in ch. xlix — Ivii. ; and the III. in ch. Iviii. — Ixvi. A somewhat similar division (as will be shown at the end of these remarks on Parallelism) prevails in the Epistle to the Romans, though not carried out to the same remarkable degree of symmetry ; the whole Epistle being divided into three parts, each of which again is subdivided into three. The opening words of a Psalm, or other poetical composi- tion, frequently give the arrangement of the topics intended to be handled. Thus in Psalm xxxv. the first verse states the two principal topics : "f- A. Plead my cause, 0 liOrd, ■with them that strive with me ; B. Fight against them that fight against me. " See " Dcr Pro])het Jesaja von D. Moritz Brechsler, S'^'' Theil, fortgesetzt von Franz Helitzsch und August Halm," and " Commentar Uber daa Alto Testament von Kuil und Delitzscli, Dritter Theil, P" Band." t In ordur to follow with ca.sc the following remarks, the student should pro- vide himself with the " I'aragiaph Piblo " (published by the Religious Tract Soci( ty, in crown 8vo), which he will tind a most useful copy for his general reading. PSALM XXXV., AND ISAIAH XL. 12-31. 7^ Here we have David's two petitions for defence against his enemies : A. is an appeal to tlie righteousness of the Lord, as the Judge of all the earth. B. is an appeal to the power of the Lord, as a " man of wary These two topics are accordingly treated in succession, and (as is the more usual arrangement) in inverse order ; B being first enlarged on in the rest of the first 10 verses (" Take hold of shield and buckler," v. 2, &c.), and A in the last 10 verses, 19-28 (observe "mine enemies wrongfully," v. 19 ; "Judge me, 0 Lord my God, according to Thy righteousness," v. 24, &c.) : while in the intervening central strophe, 11-18, (its close marked, like that of the other two strophes, by a promise of thanksgiving and praise) David, as the plea for God's inter- position in his behalf, contrasts the very opposite conduct of his enemies towards him, with his towards them. Of the three great topics of the Later Prophecies of Isaiah, xl. — Ixvi., the first is (xl. 2) the " warfare " or service appointed for God's Israel to accomplish, viz., to put down the idolatry of the world, and subdue all nations to God. For this a wisdom and a power, surpassing human, is- evidently required. It is God's alone to endow His " servant " with these requisites. With ch. xl. 12, begins the treatment of this first subject, and the division of the rest of ch. xl.* is into 3 pairs of 3 verses (separated from each other by the recurrence of an intercalary verse, or refrain, v. 18 and v. 25), in which the two topics of God's wisdom, and God's power, as able to make Israel suffi- cien]; to overcome every enemy and obstacle, are thus regularly distributed : 12-14. Who can compare with God in wisdom ? 15-17. Who can compare with God in power ? 18. " To whom then will ye liken God," &c. 19-21. Is it man's vain wisdom ] ,, ^ • . ri j? o „„ „. T -x 1 • h that can resist God's purpose ? 22-24. Is it man s vam power ) * See the arrangement of the previous portion in p. 70. 72 PARALLELISM. 25. " To whom then will ye liken me ?" &c. 26-28. Why doubt the power and wisdom of Him who " created, and numbers the host of heaven ?" who '■\faiiiteth not," neither is there " searching of his nnderstandintj." 29-31. Who therefore can fit the weakest instruments for His purpose, giving " power to the faint," &c. Let it be observed particularly that the recurrence of almost the same words in the refrain, v. 18, and v. 25, points out at once to the student of Parallelism the division of the whole passage. It is in exact accordance with this division by the two topics, that in the graphic account which follows in ch. xli. of the contest to which the Lord challenges the idols and idolaters, He shows both His predisposing wisdom, and His^joioe?' in the prediction (v. 2-4), of the first Deliverer whom He is to " raise up " and strengthen for the deliverance of His people (viz., Cyrus, who is to deliver them from the captivity of Babylon), as an earnest of the coming of the second and greater Saviour ; and calls on the idols for a like display of their foreseeing wis- dom, and efficacious _290iyer, ver. 21-23.* The division is indicated sometimes by a refrain at the close of each section, as in Isaiah ix. 8 — x. 4, the recurrence of the words For all this His anger is not turned away. But His hand is stretched out still, marks the termination of each of the four sections or strophes (ix. 12, 17, 21 ; X. 4) : or sometimes by the repetition of the same word (catchivprd, as it has been called) at the begin- ning, as " Hearken to me," three times repeated in Isaiah 11. 1, 4, 7 : " Awake ! awake !" three times in li. 9, 17 ; lii. 1. The tripartite division of the whole of Micah's prophecy, each division " forming a whole, complete in itself, and in wliich the various elements of the proj^hetic discourse — reproof, threatening, promise — are repeated, "^f is marked by the catch- word "Hear," i. 2 ; iii. 1 ; vi. 1. "For other examples, e.(}., Moses' Song, Deut. xxxii., sec "Symmetrical Stnictiire of Scripture," pp. 2G'.i-2T2, &c. t See Hengstenberg's Chri8toh)gy, Vol. 1, p. 409, T. and T. Clark, Edinb., 1854; Commentary on "Die lieilige Schrift, von Otto von Gerlach ;" The Minor Prophets, by the Rev. E. B. Tusey, D.D., p. 29L THE SECTIONS IN GENESIS. 73 To a people once familiarized with this orderly succession of thought by their poets and prophets, the transference of the same method to prose was most natural. Accordingly, we find a regular arrangement introduced into the prose books of Old Testament Scripture. Thus the book of Genesis, after a general introduction (i. — ii. 3) strikingly appropriate to it, to the Pentateuch, and to the whole volume of revelation,* is divided into 10 sections, each beginning with the words, " These are the generations " (ii. 4 ; v. 1 ; vi. 9 ; x. 1 ; xi. 10 ; xi. 27 ; xxv. 12 ; xxv. 19 ; xxxvi. 1 ; xxxvii. 1). These are subdivided into 5 and 5, the first 5 sections bringing down the history to the call of Abraham, the Flood forming the centre of this subdivision, while the 1st and 4th sections cor- respond, and the 2d and 5th ; in the last 5 sections Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob occupy the more prominent positions at the beginning, middle, and end ; while the generations of Ishmael and Esau are thrown into the intermediate and subordinate places. 1. The Primeval earth, Fall, Sons of Adam, Expulsion of Cain, and grow- ing corruption, ii. 4 — iv. 26. 2. The Antediluvian Patriarchs, 10 to Noah, v. 1— vi. 8. 3. The Flood, vi. 9— ix. 29. 4. The renewed earth divided among Noah's sons, corruption, and disper- sion of Babel, x. 1 — xi. 9. 6. The Post-diluvian Patriarchs, 10 to Abraham, xi. 10 — xi. 26. 6. The history of Abraham, xi. 27 — xxv. 11. 7. The generations of Ishmael, xxv. 12 — xxv. 18. 8. The history of Isaac, and of Jacob till Isaac's death, xxv. 19— xxxv. 29. 9. The generations of Esau, xxxvi. 1 — xxxvii. 1. 10. The history of Jacob, to his death and that of Joseph, xxxvii. 2 — 1. 26. The Book of Judges, in its main central division, is sab- divided into 7 sections, exhibiting seven pictures of the state of things during that period oi Jewish history, and each commenc- ing with the phrase, " And the children of Israel did the evil " See this brought out in a most satisfactory manner in Part I. of "The Threshold of Revelation," by the Rev. W. S. Lewis, 1863, Rivington. 74 PARALLELISM. thing iii the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim," &c. (See ii. 11 ; iii. 7 ; iii. 12 ; iv. 1 ; vi. 1 ; x. 6; xiii. 1.)* Tlie 1 2 mighty acts, or exploits, of Samson are divided into two series of 7 and 5, as indicated by the words at the close of each, "And he judged Israel twenty years," xv. 20 ; and xvi. 31. The first seven exploits may all be said to centre round Samson's marriage with the woman of Timnath, as ac- companiments or results, and seem to be arranged as follows, each alternate exploit relating to the slaughter of the Philis- tines : — _, ,'. _, ... . / The first 3 are immediately cou- 2. olays thirty rhihstines, > ^ i -xu j.u „_•',."' ' ( nected with the marriage. 3. Burns thtir corn, ) 4. Smites the Philistines hip and thigh, To avenge his wife's death. 5. Bursts the two new cords. ^ The last 3 are all 6. Slays the Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass, I connected with 7. Prevails in prayer to have his thirst slacked by a [the place LeM = fountain cleft in Lehi. J the Jaw bone. The last 5 exploits seem thus connected and arranged — 8. Games off the gates of Gaza, Love to the second woman. 9. Bursts the seven withs, -\ 10. Burets the new ropes, C Love to the third woman. 11. Carries off the pin of the beam, &c.) 12. Overthrows the temple with the Philistines. Examples of similar arrangements in the Epistle to the Romans are 1. The three divisions of the Doctrinal Exposition (i. 16 — viii. 39) are marked by the recurrence of the same, or cognate, words at the beginning of each : — A. L 17. A/xa/off'jKjj yap 0eoD, &c. " P^or the riyhleousntss of God is therein being revealed," &c. B. III. 21. Nuk' dk y^upii vo/xov dixniosvvrj &ioZ, &c. But now without the law the ri(/htioiisiiess of God, &c. t See Knrzgefasstcs exegetischcs llandliuch zuiu .-iltcn Testament, Das Buch der IJifhtcr von Ernst Berthcau, p. xxv ; see also Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, p. 1*24. — and the sevenfold division of the Book of Psalms, p. 134. THREE DIVISIONS OF "THE DOCTRINAL EXPOSITION." 75 24. dix-aioufxivoi dupiav, &c. Being justified [or, declared righteous] freely, &c. C. V. 1. Aix.a/udsvTic, obv ix cr/ffrEwj, &c. Having then been justified [or, declared righteousl &c. In all three divisions dizociosvvri Qiov, the Righteousness of God, is set forth as man's great want, but in a d liferent aspect in each, and with an evident progression. In A. it is the Righteousness of God more as condemning men, and disposing them to condemn themselves for their want of righteousness — as " the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men," bringing in all guilty, Gentiles and Jews, before God, and thus demonstrating the need of a saving " Righteousness of God " to all. In B. it is the justifying Righteousness of God " by the FAITH of Jesus Christ " that is the prominent view, " unto all and upon all them that believe." In C. it is the blessing and sanctifying Righteousness of God, as the consequence of the justifying ; as indicated by the contrast between di/tawj/Mmoi in B. iii. 24, the participle of incomplete, continuative Sict'ion,=^a-being justified, each on believing — and 8r/.aiudsvTsg (with which C, begins), the parti- ciple of complete action, having been justified, evidently mark- ing the advance to the results or fruits of justification (or God's declaring the believer righteous), viz.. His irnparting to him righteousness, with all its concomitants. The threefold division thus follows exactly the order of the passage from Habakkuk (ii. 4) which the Apostle places at the head of the Doctrinal Exposition (ch. i. 17) as the text on which he is to comment — 'O 8s 8ix.aiog Ix iriGnug ^rjosrat But the righteous by faith shall live. A. He shows in A. who is 6 dlxaiog, " the righteous," by placing in marked contrast to " the righteousness of God," i. 17, "allimrighteousness of men," ver. 18 ; for of men "there is none righteous, no, not one/' iii. 11, but those only who, acknowledging themselves justly condemned by the righteous- 76 PARALLELISM. ness of God, feel shut up to the necessity of receiving right- eousness as a free gift from God, and appropriate it accordingly by faith. B. 'Ex -nientag, " hy faith," is his second theme in B, to show how man can attain to this title of " righteous." The words with which B begins are not as in A, dixuioajvri Qsov, " the righteousness of God," but Nui// ds y^tuplc vo/tou, " But now without Law" denoting that the righteousness by which we are to be justified is by no works of law, or of our own ; it is a " righteousness of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe," iii. 22 ; "being justified freely," &c. C. The third expression, i^yjgirai, " shall live," marks the result — LIFE — a new life that shall be imparted as a gift to the believer, of which he can say, "I live, yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me," Gal. ii. 20. Such, to express it in one word, is the practical result, or fruit of justifying faith, expanded into its various particulars in C. These are, as ex- pressed in ch. v., " Peace with God" now, and " hope of the glory of God" hereafter; for the work, if once begun, must be carried on to perfection. If once "justified by Christ's blood," and " reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more we shall be saved by His life," v. 9, 10. In place of the siN and DEATH communicated by Adam, v. 12, "righteousness and life" shall be communicated to all that are united to Christ Jesus, v. 21. 2. A second example in Romans is ch. ii. 17-23, or in- deed the whole passage, 17-29. See Notes. 3. The twofold division of ch. ii. 17-29 made by reference to the two principal privileges of the Jews, the name of Jew, 17-23, and the covenant of circumcision, 25-29, still con- tinues to give arrangement to the two succeeding chapters. It gives rise to the two questions in iii. 1, "■\Miat advantage then hatli the Jew? Or what profit is there of ciucuMCisiON ? " and the answer to the first of these questions is given in the remainder of chap, iii., and that to the second in chap. iv. 4. "Sin" and death," occurring at the beginning and PARALLELISTIC DIVISIONS OF ROMANS. 77 close of ch. V. 12-21 as the two great evils introduced by Adam — with deliverance from these in inverse order by the bestowal of the countervailing blessings through Christ (i), "justification of LIFE," v. 18, and (g.) being "made RIGHTE- OUS," v. 19 (or " the gift of righteousness," v. 17, "unto sanctification," tig ayia.i;'vJ//i', made known to all nations, s/g rra-vra to. iOvri, for the obedience of faith, sig v'Trax.oriv rrignug, 25-27. The main body in like manner consists of three subdivisions. The Practical subdivision, xii. — xv. 13, stands evidently apart from the rest. Of the two preceding subdivisions the second, con- sisting of ch, ix.-xi., has been regarded by commentators gen- erally as possessing a peculiar character of its own, as treating of the dispensational dealings of God towards Israel and the Gentile nations, and may therefore be termed Dispensational. It has, however, a close connection with the preceding or Doc- trinal division, i. 18 — viii., so that both have been by some commentators classed together, as forming the Dogmatical por- tion of the Epistle. It has been a question of considerable difficulty to determine of whom the church at Rome principally consisted, since its members are expressly called Gentiles by St Paul (ch. i. 6 and 1 3, a proof tliat the majority must have been such), and yet the whole tenor of the Epistle presupposes a Jewish habit of thought and education, and an intimate knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. The difficulty receives its most satisfac- tory solution from the hypothesis that the first converts in all the Gentile churches were principally " })rosclytos of the gate," who would therefore naturally have nuich acquaintance and sympathy with Jewish views, and were in danger of being seduced from the simplicity of the faith in Christ Jesus alone for salvation, by the converts of Jewish extraction, who, in their zeal for the law of Moses, urged its adoption upon all who would attain to a full participation in the blessings of the covenant. It became important, therefore, to point out the true relation between Judaism and the Gospel. This view accords avcII with what evidently forms the great object of St Paul in writing to the chief of the Gentile nations, DIVISION AND OBJECT OF THE EPISTLE. 91 viz., as the Apostle of the Gentiles, to show, in opposition to the lofty pretensions to superiority on the part of the Jews, the extension of God's mercy on equal terms to all the families of the earth, and the perfect 'parity of Jew and Gentile, now made one in Christ Jesus, in reference to the Gospel ; which is equally necessary to both i. 18-iii. 20 — is offered on the same terms, viz., of faith, to both iii. 21-iv. 25 — is the only and all-sufficient means in itself to confer on both " all things that pertain unto life and godliness,^' v.-viii. — and which will finally by the all-overruling providence of God be successful in gathering within the ample pale of the Christian church all the nations of the earth, ix.-xi. Throughout the whole epistle, accordingly, there is a constant alternation and contrast of Jew and Gentile, of Law and Grace, and of Works and Faith : with an especial reference to the objections likely to arise in the mind of a Jew to God's appa- rent change of purpose in respect to His ancient people. The more immediate occasion probably of St Paul's writing this epistle was, the state of development which the Christian church had now reached, when the unpleasant truth was begin- ning to force itself upon the Jewish converts, from the pre- ponderating and daily increasing number of Gentile believers, that the former superiority of Israel was at an end; nay, that under the Gospel dispensation, from the general unbelief of their countrjonen, their nation was about to be rejected, and a people to be taken from the midst of all nations in their stead. This hypothesis furnishes an intimate bond of connexion be- tween chaps, ix.-xi. and the preceding doctrinal discussion, and assigns an adequate reason for the remarkable anxiety, which St Paul evinces to remove every scruple on this point by his repeating and answering again in chap. ix. the same three ob- jections of the Jews to which he had already given replies in chap, iii., viz., that the equalization of Jew and Gentile under the Christian dispensation would amount to a denial — 1. Of their distinctive privileges, (iii. 1-2, compare ix. 4, 5) — 2. Of the truth of God's promises (iii. 3, 4, compare ix. 6-13) — and 3. Of the righteousness of His dealings towards Israel, if the great body of God's own people were now to be cast off and 92 PARALLELISM. idolatrous Gentiles taken in their stead (iii. 5-8, compare ix. 14-33). It will thus also be seen why the universality of the Gospel salvation forms the first (i. 18-iii. 20) and the last topic, (ix.-xi) in the dogmatical portion of the epistle, as indi- cated by its repetition (in the first statement of the topics to be handled, ch. i. 16) under two synon3Tnous forms of expres- sion, " to every one — " to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." NOTES AND DISSERTATIONS. 3 a. Uspi rou v'lou ahroZ, b. Tou yivoiMhoD J% ff'Tip/^arog Aausid %ara adpxa, 4. ToZ optffdsvTog viov Qiou sv dvvdfj^si, Kara '^rvsvfi^a dyiuffuvrjg E^ dvaCrdffiug vvKpuv, Ijjffou XpiCTOu rou Kvplou ri/jbuv. It would be difficult, perhaps, to point out elsewhere within the same compass an equal number of expressions, each and all of which seem to have been so generally misapprehended by the prevailing current of interpretation. The difficulties connected with these verses are : 1. Is sv buvdij.il "with or in power " connected with o^/(r^si/ros = " manifested with power (to be) the Son of God," — or " Avith uhu Qiou, the Son of God," = ordained (constituted) the Son of God ivith povjer ? 2. In what sense is Christ here designated " the Son of God ? " 3. Are we to assume for opigdsvrog the unauthorised meaning of " declared," in the sense of manifested, proved to be, of which Olshausen confesses there is no instance " to be found either in profane or scriptural writers," — or to retain its usual signification of " ordained, constituted, decreed, determined ?" 4. Why is the expression, " by the resurrection of the dead" J^ dvatjrdaeug ny.^SJv used, instead of that which might have been expected, and which the authorized version has employed, " the resurrection fivm the dead ? " 94 CHAPTER I. 4. 5. What is the meaning of the expression, "the Spirit of holiness?" Does it denote Christ's Divine Spirit, or the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity ? Only, we believe, by keeping in view that the Apostle's miud was so full of his great argument, that already in the very opening of his epistle he presents in condensed form its main topics, shall we arrive at a satisfactory solution of these difficulties, or catch the full import of the words. These topics are enumerated (see Analytical Commentary) in i. 16, 17, (d) "The gospel is the poiuer of God unto salva- tion— (e) to every one, Jew or Gentile — (f) that believeth — (g) being God's righteousness by faith, now revealed, yet already announced though more obscurely in the Scripture, "As it is written. The righteous shall live by faith." Now, in this short preface (i. 1-5), not only have we (g) " the gospel of God " declared to be no novelty, but that " which He had promised afore by His prophets in the holy Scriptures," and the design of St. Paul's apostleship to be to bring men to (f) "obedience of the faith, (e) among all nations " :— but to come to the principal subject, viz. (d) that " the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation " to effect " what the Law was poiuer-\ess to do," to aB-jmrov roij v6/j,ov, vui. 3 : — 1. We have this main feature of the argument clearly announced by the words roD IpieQUrog moZ ©sou iv duvd/xn, " ordained the Son of God with [in] povjer."* When ? or how ? " By the resurrection of the dead," i^ avaordetug H-Apuv, v;hich is involved in the resurrection of Him who is " the Resurrection and the Life." Only by His resurrection did Jesus become " the Son of God with power." Previously " He was crucified through weahiess," e^ aeds^tiag. On His resurrection, henceforth "He liveth by the poicer of God," U duvd/Miug Qeov, 2 Cor. xiii. 4, " being put to death in the Hash, but ([liickened in the Spirit," 1 Pet. iii. 18, and thereby " made a quickening Spirit," 1 Cor. xv. 45, to all that are in * Not rod iv Svfdfifi bpiaOimoi -vlov Otov, as perspicuity would have required, had the iiitLiiikd iiiuaniug hceii "with power declared to be the Sou of God," as iu " Authorized version, revised by iivc Clergymen. " SON OF GOD. 95 union with Him ; tliey having died with Him in His death to sin, but being quickened and raised again in His resurrection (Rom. vi. 2-11), and made with Him "sons of God," as being " led by the Spirit of God " (Rom. viii. 14), and empowered to " walk no more after the flesh, but after the Spirit " (Rom. viii. 4, compared with i. 3, 4). In these few pregnant expressions of i. 4 we have a dis- tinct reference to that striking analogy and assimilation, afterwards more fully developed in chaps, v., vi., vii., viii., as subsisting between Christ and "them that are His," by a union as intimate as was the previous union with Adam of his pos- terity, by which all that belongs to the Head is transmitted to the members. 2. The principal misapprehension, which has led to all the rest, relates to the expression " the Son of God with power," ver. 4. The reference here is not, as usually interpreted, to the eternal* Sonship of the Word, which is incommunicable, as in it He stands alone as "the only-begotten Son of God," but to that aspect of the Sonship, in which, as having assumed human nature. He is "the First-horyi among many brethren," Rom. viii. 29 ; "the First-begotten of the dead," Rev. i. 5, and which Sonship He can communicate to all that are in union with Him. On this Sonship as man, it may indeed be objected that He previously entered when He first "became flesh," according to the words of the angel to His mother, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God," Luke i. 35; but it was "the likeness of sinful flesh," — of our human nature with all its weakness (sin only excepted) — that He then assumed : then only He became "the Son of God with power," f when He rose as "the first-born from the dead," Col. i. 18. * Already asserted in ver. 3 (a) Trepl rod vlov avrov, " concerning his Son," when speaking of His state before He was born into the world. t Compare Christ's words, Mat. xxviii. 18 (to which St. Paul probably alludes), "And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, AM power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." See also 2 Pet, i. 16. 96 CHAPTER I. 4. The con-ectness of this view is confirmed by the beautiful analogy thus seen to exist between the Head and the members. Christ's initiatory Sonship in His incarnate state has its parallel in that still imperfect sonship to which believers are born while here in the flesh. " Beloved, now are we the sons of God," but " it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is," 1 John iii. 2. " He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit " (Rom. viii. 11), bestowing on us the full "adoption — to wit, the redemption of our body" (viii. 23). " Sown in xveahness, it shall be raised in potver," 1 Cor. xv. 43. Then only, on our resurrection, shall we become in the full sense "sons of God; " exactly as to our Head the promise and " decree " of Psalm ii. 7, " Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee " was fulfilled (see Acts xiii. 33 and Heb. i. 5) on that morning that God quickened Him and raised Him up from the gi-ave as the First-begotten of the dead and the First-born among many brethren ; begetting Him again, as it were, to a new and end- less life, which He was to have the glory of imparting to an innumerable multitude. 3. In allusion to this " decree," perhaps, St. Paul uses the word ofiffdsvrog, " decreed, ordained, constituted." At aU events, it denotes " the objective fixing, appointing of Christ to be the Son of God with power," not (as Dean Alford) " the sub- jective manifestation in men's minds that He is so " — a meaning unexampled. To speak of Christ as thus appointed is in exact analogy with many passages of Holy writ. Acts X. 42. "It is he which was ordained (o upteiMtvog) of God to be the Judge of quick and dead." Acts xvii. 31. "He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained " {fipiatv). Acts ii. 36. "God hath made (eTo/jjosv) that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ," — viz., exactly as in the case before us, by His having " raised up " Jesus, and "by His right hand exalted" Him, ver. 32, 33, having made Him " Lord," T^xjpm, in fulfilling the words of Ps. ex. i., and " Christ," Xfiar^v, " in the full and glorious sense in which THE SON OF GOD. 97 that term was prophetically known " (see Dean Alford in loc). Heb. i. 4. He hath hy inheritance obtained, 7isx\r!pov6/Mri-/.iv, " a more excellent name than they " — that is, the name of " the Son of God," as immediately proved by quotations referring to Him, not as the Logos or Eternal Son of God (as usually explained), but in His mediatorial capacity, as the QuUdpuirog, viz., from Psalm ii. 7, as here ; 2 Sam. vii. 14, ''He shall he my Son," &c. 4. " By the resurrection of the dead," s^ dmardasug vszpuv. This expression is selected (instead of that which we should have expected, eg dmffrdffsojg Ix vBxpuiv, " by the resurrection from the dead "), in anticipation of the principal subject of the epistle, the union of believers with Christ in His death and life. In His dying they have died ; in His rising again from the dead they rise, Rom. vi. 5, 8, 11. "The resurrection of Jesus involves in it the ivhole Resurrection of the dead. Comp. John xi. 25, "I am the Resurrection and the Life" [and Acts xxvi. 23, £/ 'rrpurog Ig dvasrddiiug nxpujv, "that, as first of the Resurrection of the dead, he should proclaim light unto the people."] Thus, in these words, lies wrapped up the argu- ment of chap. vi. 4, ff." Dean Alford 's Com. on Rom. i. 4. Bengel draws attention to the parallelism of the expressions in ver. 2, 3 : rou ysvo/xsvov Ix ff'TTsp/xarog Aavtd xard ffdpxa Tov opisdivTog it, dvaffrdffiug vixpchv xara ':rviv/j,a d- ^yictiduvrig. Who "was born from the seed of David as to the flesh. Who was ordained from the resurrection of the dead as to the Spirit of [hoUness. Here it seems evident that " from the resurrection of the dead " bears the same relation to Christ's birth as the Son of God, as " from the seed of David " bears to His birth as the Son of man — the preposition, r/., from, marking in both cases the source from or out of which the relation springs. Conse- quently the reference here is not to the eternal Sonship of Christ, but to that which He acquired in time as the God-man.* • That the Sonship in time depends on His Eternal Sonship, nay, could never G 98 CHAPTER I. 3, 4. 5. But the expression which specially requires elucidation from a reference to the general scope of the Epistle, and the assimilation which it is St. Paul's object to point out as exist- ing between Christ and his members, is "according to the Spirit of holiness " xara ori/sD/ia ayiua-jvris ; which all the later German Commentators, and following them Dean Alford, assert, cannot denote the Holy Spirit, but, as being placed in antithesis with " according to the flesh " xaTu edpxa, which marks the human nature of Christ, must designate the higher Divine nature of the Son. To see the fallacy of this conclusion, one needs but to observe that as in the expression " from the resurrection of the dead " is wrapped up the argument of ch. vi. (the death of the old, and the resurrection of the new man in Christ Jesus, see above p. 97, and Alford in loc), so in the antithesis of " accord- ing to the flesh," — " according to the Spirit of holiness " we have wrapped up the argument of chap, viii., in which believers are represented as being enabled to " walk no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit," (viii. 4), because, by their union with Christ, they are now " sons of God " (ver. 14), as being "led by the Spirit of God." The Spirit meant in both cases must be the same, and must be one in which believers can participate. But in ch. viii. beyond all question " the Spirit " denotes " the Spirit of God," not the renewed and quickened spirit of man. The Spirit, conse- quently, intended in Rom. i. 4, " according to which Christ is constituted the Son of God with power," is that Holy Spirit " of God " (viii. 9) which can be communicated to all that are Christ's, by which they are begotten anew, as Christ by the power of the Father, comp. Psalm ii. 7, and enter on a new and endless life. It does not designate Christ's original Divine nature, which is incommunicable, nor even directly His glorified humanity, but denotes the Spirit by which God have had existence, unless He had been truly and originally the Son of God from all eternity, is no ohjection to the di.stinction here drawTi, no more than that He could not have become the (Jod-man, unless He had been originally God, forms any objection to the distinction made between His incarnate and i^rc- existcnt states. THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 99 "glorified his Son Jesus " Acts iii. 13, "the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead " (Rom. viii. 11), by which Sj)irit if it " dwell in you " that believe, " He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." This is in exact accordance with the usual representations of Scripture with regard to the God -man, that in all things He was made like unto His brethren, that He might be an example and encouragement to all that are His. As man, it was not through His own Divine power or Spirit, but through the Spirit of God, asked and received from His Father, that He did all things. Through " the Spirit descending and remaining on him " (John i. 33), [so that henceforth He was " full of the Holy Ghost " (Luke iv. 1) ] He wrought " miracles, wonders, and signs " (Acts ii. 22) ; being "anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, He healed all that were oppressed of the devil" (Acts x. 38) ; He cast out devils by the Spirit of God " (Mat. xii. 28) ; through the Eternal Spirit He " offered himself without spot to God," Heb. ix. 14 ; and, finally. He was " raised up from the dead" by the same Spirit (Rom. viii. 11), and so "made a quickening Spirit" unto others (1 Cor. xv. 45), having " received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost," that He might "shed it forth " abundantly upon all. Acts ii. 33. But, it is urged, we must adhere strictly to the precise antithesis between " according to the flesh " and " according to the Spirit," and as the former evidently refers to the human nature of Christ, the latter by the exigencies of lan- guage and grammar must designate the holy Divine nature of Christ himself, — not the Holy Spirit. To this we beg to reply : 1. Great caution is required in the application to Scripture of some of those rules which are considered binding on our Western writers. The very prevalence of parallelism in Scripture and the habit of tracing comparisons and contrasts which this produced, permitted a greater freedom of departure at times from the precise parallel, to mark by the very deviation finer shades of meaning which might have escaped those not 100 CHAPTER I. 2, 3. habituated to this mode of composition. Instances in this epistle are: V. 12. By one man Sin entered into the world, And death by sin ; And so death passed upon all men For that all have sinned. instead of, — And sin passed upon all men, — as the strict parallelism would have required. So vi. 23. For the wages of sin is death ; But the gift of God is eternal life. instead of " the wages (or reward) of righteousness." A still more apposite instance occurs in viii. 1 0, which will be noticed immediately. But 2. The general usage of the New Testament is against the meaning alleged for " the Spirit," when opposed to " the flesh." In this antithesis, " the Spirit " generally denotes the Spirit of God, as the ruling and counteracting princijole opposed to the principle of " the flesh," as in Rom. viii. 9. " But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." It is mans spirit indeed (in opposition to his flesh, or body,) that is rendered spiritual by the in- dwelling and renewing of God's Spirit. Still, instead of con- trasting man's spirit with his flesh or body, the Scripture, in order to ascribe the glory of the change to the true source, brings into prominence the agent by whom the spirit of man is quickened and spiritualized. This is strikingly exemplified in the instance to which we have referred above, in Rom. viii. 10 : If Christ be in you, The body is dead, because of sin ; But the spirit is life, because of righteousness. Here our logical rules would require the contrasted line to have been, — The body is dead, &c., But the spirit is quickened (made alive), &c. But there is a marked departure from the strict requisitions THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS, 101 of parallelism in order to show the source from whence the new life and nature are derived. The reason why " the Spirit of holiness," irnZiJua ayioi(i\jvy]c, is used instead of " the Holy Spirit," irnZiMa ciyiov, may perhaps best be discovered by comparing the expression with the evidently contrasted one in Rom. viii. 3, Iv liMotu'iart eapxhg ai^apTiag, " in the likeness of the flesh of sin," where " the flesh " corresponds to " the Spirit," and " sin " to " holiness " antithetically. In the verses before us (i. 3, 4) xara edpKo, and zara ri/siJ/za ayi(jiG'jvric, refer evidently to Christ's two states of being. While in the flesh and its weakness, He was " in the likeness of the flesh of sin," and His appropriate work was to "give that flesh for the life of the world," John vi. 51, " crucifying therein our old man," Rom. vi. 6, and (as He came teo/ a/iapr/ac) " condemning sin in the flesh," Rom. viii. 3. " The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified, John vii. 39, xvi. 7. When raised from the dead and "constituted the Son of God with power," His new state of being becomes no longer Jv hiioiuiiMan capxSg a/xapriug, but Kara '^rvsv/Moc ayiuavvrig, in which He has no more to do with sin, having "died to sin once for all," Rom. vi. 10 (compare Heb. ix. 28 and Rom. viii. 3). Holiness is now the dis- tinguishing characteristic of the state of glory on which He has entered, and this it is His great work to impart to His followers, now that He has " received of the Father the pro- mise of the Holy Ghost to shed it forth " abundantly as " the Spirit of holiness." The desire to suggest this assimilation to Himself in holiness of those in union with the glorified Saviour, by the communication of the Spirit, occasioned pro- bably the change from the usual denomination, crvsD/xa dyiov, Holy Spirit, (which would have failed to suggest it) into vnij/jja, ayiuavvTig, " Spirit of holiness," i.e., whose essential character is holiness, or to make holy — in the same manner as " the flesh of sin " means the flesh, whose character is sin, or to incite to sin. 102 CHAP. I. 16, 17. The Righteousness of God. Chapter i. 1G, 17. The most important expression in the Epistle to the Ro- mans is dixaioauvri Qiod, " the Righteousness of God." To the investigation of its meaning and the cognate expressions, a separate dissertation has been devoted. It may be of advan- tage, however, to state at the outset the results to which the investigation leads. These are, that far too limited a signifi- cation has been assigned to this term, and that all the three meanings of the term found in Scripture are intended to be combined in the revelation of " the Righteousness of God," which makes it " the Power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." The three meanings are — 1. God's retributive Righteousness or justice (noAv manifested in God's condemnation of siu, shown in giving His Son to die for man's sin on the cross — to induce thereby the believer to concur cordially in its condemnation in himself) ; 2. God's justifying Righteousness (now manifested in Christ's exhibiting in the character of man a perfect righteous- ness— imputable to, and appropriable by, the believer, for his pardon and acceptance with God) ; 3. God's sanctifyinc) Righteousness (also manifested in Christ as " the Lord our Righteousness," changing the be- liever's heart the moment he is united by faith to Christ, and progressively mortifying within him all sin, and impart- ing eventually to him universal righteousness — appropriable in like manner through faith by the believer.) The majority of Commentators have restricted the meaning here to God's justifying Righteousness, some even going so far as to translate dixaioavvri generally by "justification," or God's " method of justification." Nearly every expression, however, in these two verses, IG and 17, where the phra-se first occurs, points to more than mere justification of the believer. 1. The Gospel is called the " power (dvmfn;) of God unto sal- THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 103 vation." Now the power of the Saviour implies an act, an efficiency. All His duvdfjLsig were acts of healing, not merely declaring whole. Compare Mark v. 30, "knowing in himself that virtue (duvu/niv, power to heal) had gone out of him." Mark vi. 14, " Therefore mighty works (a/ Bwdfing) do show forth themselves (jvipyouctv, work, shew themselves operative, effective) in him." Power,* properly speaking, is not required to justify, or merely declare righteous ; that for which power is needed is to 'tnahe righteous, to " sanctify and save," and (viii. 2, 3) to " condemn sin [and death] to extinction in the flesh." But, to remove all doubts of his meaning, the apostle cites from Habakkuk, for the text as it were on which he was to descant, "The righteous shall live by faith." It is a life- giving power by which " the righteous lives," not a mere sen- tence by which he is pronounced righteous. 2. " Unto salvation," tig au-ripiav. Salvation implies more than merely declaring safe. Christ was called 'Iriooug = 6 ffurrif, the Saviour, because " He shall save His people from their sins" (Matt. i. 21), that is, not merely from the guilt and punishment of sin, but from sin itself, from its pollution and power. St Paul, in Rom. v. 9, 10, expressly distinguishes being " saved," as the completed deliverance of the believer, from the initiatory step of being "justified" and " reconciled." 3. To the " salvation" of v. 16, or rather to "the power of God unto salvation" in v. 16, is plainly equivalent, in v. 17, " the righteousness of God," which therefore must include righteousness imixtrted as well as imputed. 4. The restricted signification usually assigned to the phrase, "the righteousness of God," could only have arisen from over- looking the marked antithesis of the two reveUdions (" is re- vealed") in ver. 17 and 18, and neglecting to observe that " the righteousness of God" in the one is declared to be a full remedy for the "unrighteousness of men" which calls forth the wrath of God in the other. The former must be commen- surate with the latter. If " all unrighteousness of men" en tails God's "wrath," the "righteousness of God" revealed as "th< * *' Power to forgive sins" is not biivaixiv, but i^ovvlav, Mat. ix. 6 ; Mark L 10 ; Luke v. 24. 104 CHAP. I. 16, 17. power of God" that is to avail for salvation, must include the extinction of all unrighteousness. It cannot be restricted to the idea of imputation alone, and mere justification of the sinner, hut must be meant to include his sanctification also, crucifying even now, and ensuring the full and final destruc- tion of the old man with all his " ungodliness and unright- eousness," so that at the last, if he is to be " saved from wrath," V. 9, he shall be presented wholly "faultless before the presence of God's glory," Jude 24. Itninded " righteousness" would be a sufficient counterpoise for tlie im2')uted " unrighteousness of men," were this all that was in question, from consideration of their connection with their first parent Adam. But no allusion is here made, as in ch. v., to this connection ; on the contrary, the whole of the argument in i. 18-31 is directed to show that the Gentile world had loersonally been guilty of the unrighteousness de- scribed, summing up the whole with asserting their conscious- ness of the righteousness of the judgment of God impending over them for having " committed such things ;" and ch. ii. (17-24 especially) brings the same charge against the Jews, of actual, j^e'i'sonal sin. Unless, therefore, we would make St Paul to have proposed a glaringly inadequate remedy for the evil he so feelingly depicts, we must consider the right- eousness of God in i. 17 to include an impartable as well as imputable righteousness, so thoroughly to be communicated and inwrouglit in the believer, that no speck of unrighteous- ness, when the final judgment comes, must remain, since " the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodUness and unright- eousness of men." But besides these two meanings, or views, of " the Right- eousness of God," the references in the context just men- tioned to " the ricjhteous sentence of God" (3/xa/w/xa, i. 32) in the case of the Gentiles, and " revelation of the nghteous judgment of God" (hix.aiDxpisiuc, ii. 5) in the case of the Jews, show that the Apostle, in the " revelation of the Righteous- ness of God" in i. 17 had in view God's atiHhute of relH- butive Righteousness also, or judice, as exhibited and vindi- cated in the Gospel. This, however, is put beyond doubt in THE KIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 105 the next passage, in which he enlarges on " the Righteousness of God" as " now manifested," iii. 21-26, in the Gospel; where he states that it exhibits God as just, while " the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Again, in eh. iii. 5, "Bvit if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God," " the Righteousness of God" beyond all doubt refers to God's own attribute of Righteousness (here = faithfulness to the declara- tions of His word). How then are all these three meanings of the Righteous- ness of God (1, as His personal attribute ; 2, as imputed ; and 3, as imparted, to the believer) to be fully reconciled ? By rising, we reply, to the largeness of the Apostle's conception and corresponding language, and perceiving that it is God's own Righteousness which is now revealed by the gospel, as being brought into contact with man, and rendered capable of communication to him that he may become a " partaker of the Divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4; which, while God pronounces the believer to be righteous^ yet evinces that He Himself is righteous by the awful penalty which He exacted for sin in the atoning death of His own Son ; a righteousness which, while it is imputed by the gracious sentence of God to those who hitherto have been ungodly and confessed sinners, will yet prove the truth of God's sentence by its immediate implanta- tion in the heart, and by the progressive but ultimately perfect renewal of his whole nature in holiness. It is, in fine, God's own righteousness (for there is none other*) which, being gloriously manifested in all its fulness and extent in the incar- nation, life, and death of His blessed Son, is communicated to all who become united with Christ by faith, and ingrafted into Him as branches into the living vine, so that all that is His becomes theirs. Legally regarded, His righteousness is their justification ; morally regarded, their sanctification. These * "There is none good but one, tliat is God," Mat. xix. 17. This seems to be one reason why the expression almost universally used in Scripture is "the righteousness of God" (once only "the righteousness of Christ," 2 Pet. i. I, if it be an exception, see Dean Alford in loc), to remind vis that there is but (nie righteousness. It is by Him in whom "dweUeth all the fuhiess of the Godhead bodily" that believers are rendered righteous, and "made partakers of the Divine natui-e." He is one with God, and therefore "the Lord our Righteous- 106 CHAP. I. 16, 17. two can never be separated in fact, however necessary or use- ful it may be to distinguish them in thought. They are but two aspects of one and the same thing — of Christ in union with the believer, received and appropriated by faith as " the Lord our Righteousness," " that we may be made the right- eousness of God in Him," 2 Cor. v. 21. Regarded as in Him, as branches in the living vine, and become members of His body, we are declared righteous, or justified, as being part of Him, the Righteous One. But if we are in Christ, Christ is in us (comp. Rom. viii. 1, and 10), as the Hfe of the vine is in the ingrafted branch, and has changed the whole current of our thoughts, feelings, and life, His Spirit animat- ing us as the Lord our Righteousness or Sanctification. For the clear perception of the truth with regard to justifi- cation, it is of great importance to see that it is to Christ alone received into the heart by faith, as He is in Himself, and willjincdly make us, that regard is to be had in our jus- tification, not to what He has already made us, or will, so long as we are in this world, make us ; the righteousness which He imparts to us while here below being still defiled and imperfect through an admixture of the evil derived from our old man, and therefore incapable of justifying. But while this distinction between justification and sanctifi- cation is most important, and worthy of all the labour bestowed upon it by our Reformers to clear it from every obscurity, we must still carefully guard against the exclusively forensic use of this phrase — " the righteousness of God " — as tending to foster error on the opposite side. Justification has in some minds come to be regarded as a sort of merely legal sentence pronounced by God as it were outside of the sinner, and which might for a time at least have no corresponding imvard reality; as somewhat similar to the sentence of an earthly judge which might absolve a criminal, and yet leave him in heart the same man it found him. No word of God is thus false and imper- fect like the vain words of mortals. As pronounced by God, justification is a creative word. " He saith and it is done." When He pronounces righteous, He makes righteous,* not in * " "VMien God doth justify the ungodly on the account of the righteousness THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 107 entire immediate reality, but in certain prospect ; not entirely, we say, if we regard the whole complex nature of the old and new man, since the old man, though slain, still lingers on for a time, but perfectly in the neiu man then born, who " cannot sin because he is born of God " (1 John iii. 9). But even re- garding the complex nature, the moment God justifies or de- clares righteous the great change is begun. The man has passed from death unto life. The prevailing bias of his whole nature is reversed. The heart is changed from the love of sin to the love of holiness. That germ of righteousness is im- mediately implanted, in all its gompleteness and integrity of parts, which will hereafter expand in due and orderly develop- ment, " first the blade, then the ear, and finally the full corn in the ear." Christ is received into the heart as a whole, " the Lord our righteousness," for justification not alone, but for sanctification also.* So inveterate, however, has the more restricted meaning of the expression " the righteousness of God," especially in this epistle, become in the minds of the Christian world, and so mixed up with doctrinal considerations, that it seems necessary to enter into a full examination of the whole subject in order to remove the mystifications that have gathered around it. Let us, therefore, now proceed to a more extended investi- gation of dr/.aioa-j'jri, righteousness, and the cognate words. DISSERTATION ON bixatoa-jvn, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ITS COGNATES. 1. The primitive is hi%ri ; and without entering into the question whether originally it referred to the law of usage, or imputed unto liim, He doth at the same instant by the power of His grace make him inherenthj and subjectively righteous or holy. — Owen on Justification, vol. v., page 127, Goold's edition. * It is important for the elucidation of other expressions in this epistle ( " the love of God," "the glory of God,") to observe that in all three meanings of "righteousness," even when it refers to the believer as righteousness imputed and righteousness imparted, it is stiU called "the righteousness of God" (that is, God's righteousness in a possessive sense), as indicating that even when it becomes ours it is still originally and truly God's, an emanation from the alone Source of all righteousness. 108 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. to the law of rigid, it is undoubted that subsequently its common acceptation, like the corresponding term pnv in Hebrew, was right, justice, what the law prescribes, or conformity to law. Hence — 2. Aixaing, rightcous, denotes one who is in conformity with the law. God is b'r/.atog, because He always is, and acts, in conformity with His own law. Man is Sixaiog, when he is in, or is brought into, conformity with God's law. 3. A;xa/6w, to put right ivith the law, to justify, declare just or rigldeous; never in Scripture to inake righteous, as Owen has clearly proved (see Treatise on Justification, vol. v., pp. 12G-13G). The Romanist signification, and the doctrine founded upon it, have no foundation in the scriptural usage of the word. Still, there is an implication in the term "justify," when it is God that is said to justify, that it does not possess when it is man that justifies, which gives some plausibility to the Romish error, and which has not received sufiicient attention from Protestant interpreters. When God justifies, or declares a man righteous, it must be implied that he is, in some sense, righteous. We cannot suppose God, by a mere legal fiction, declaring any one righteous, unless there be a foundation, in fact, for the declaration. An earthly judge may, because he may be deceived ; and at best, when he justifies, he declares but that which already is, that the man is just or iunocent who has been brought before his tribunal. His word is powerless to make any internal change upon the man. Not so with God ; His words are not like man's, vain and iucfifec- tual. With God word and deed are one. When He speaks, it is done. In His mouth biy.aiou is a creative word. He declares the believer righteous, and he is righteous — iwten- iialhj. What God declares is virtually as good as done, though not now jDcrfectly, not even during the whole of the believer's life here below, yet eventually he shall be made altogether rigliteous, as certainly as if the change had been instantane- ously completed. Actually a fundamental change has already THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 109 passed upon him. He is changed from the love of sin to the love of holiness ; from making his own will and pleasure his presiding aim, to making God's will his supreme will. Poten- tially, he is " become a new creature ; old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new," 2 Cor. v. 7. The power to resist evil, and the guarantee that he shall become finally and fully triumphant over it, and be purified from every stain of sin, have been given to him. The old man has been crucified within him ; a new man has been created who " cannot sin, because he is born of God," 1 John iii. 9, When Christ said to the leper, " Be thou clean, he became instantly clean, not merely outwardly and ceremonially, but inwardly in his body, whether the change was immediately visible to the beholder or not. When the woman touched the hem of Christ's garment, instantly the issue of her blood was staunched. When Jesus spit on the blind man's eyes and put His hand upon them, though he saw as yet but imperfectly men as trees walking, his perfect cure was already pledged and insured to him, Mark viii. 23-25. So soon as the believer is united to Christ by faith and made a member of His body, he is "in Clirist" (Rom. viii. 1), and "Christ is in him," v. 10, Ingrafted into the living vine, the branch which was fast decay- ing and would soon have died, immediately that the union takes effect, receives fresh vigour and life, so that now it may be pronounced a sound and healthy branch, as forming part of the healthy tree. As therefore through our union with Adam, it is said, " by the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners" (Rom, v, 19), that is, not merely imputatively , but actually and inherently sinful (ver, 19 being the resump- tion of the statement in ver. 12, "As by one man sin [as a ruling, pervading principle] entered into, and passed through to all ") — so through our union with Christ " by the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous," that is, not merely imputatively , but actually and inherently righteous, it being implied that Christ's righteousness is communicated to them in order to a full impartation finally. This view, be it carefully observed, in no way interferes with the great Protestant doctrine contended for so earnestly at the 110 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Reformation, that the justification of the believer is an act of pardon and acceptance passed at once upon the sinner, im- mediately on his believing, with a reference to the perfect righteousness of Christ alone ir)iputed to him, and not to the measure of righteousness at first infused — which being imper- fect even throughout the whole of the Christian's life on earth, since the remains of the old man are still found in him, could never justify in the sight of the heart-searching God. This we strenuously maintain. It is as regarded only in Christ Jesus, (and not at all in respect to what the man is in himself, or has been made even by the grace of God,') that God justifies the believer, having respect solely to the perfect righteousness ex- hibited by Christ in human nature. What we contend for is a fuller meaning to be attached to the word "justify" or pronounce Hghteous, when spoken of God, than is generally assigned to it, viz., that Christ is in justification to be regarded and reckoned as the source of righteousness in the full extent of the word's signification, that is, of perfect and unqualified exemption not only from the guilt, but eventually from the iioiuer of sin. Christ's righteousness is reckoned, to the believer as the certain means of removing not the condemnation alone that rests upon him for sin, but the ground of that condemnation, sin itself, and of communicating to him its opposite, righteousness. Reckoned, observe, we have said. The true distinction between justifica- tion and sanctification is thus fully maintained, that justifica- tion is but an imputation'f or reckoning of that which is not • This is tlie very argument of Eom. vii. 13-25. See the Notes on the pass- age. t It will be eAndent that thus an equally extended signification must be given to the word " iniputation " also. As usually stated, it is with a view to the •pardon of sin alone and acceptance of his person, that Christ's righteousness is said to be imputed to the believer, thus giving some colour to the objection that it is by a mere legal fiction that Clod justifies, or declares righteous. Whereas if it were distinctly stated and recognized that oU that Christ has done is im- puted to the Ijeliever as his in certain prospect, inmicdiately on his acceptance of the Saviour, that is, is reckoned in the eye of tkxl and of faith, to be of as certain attainment as if already his in full possession, so that Christ is liis for mnclifi.- catlon as well as ior justification, much of the ofiFence taken against this doctrine would bo removed- THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Ill the believer's own, but belongs to another, whereas sanctifica- tion is its im.'partation. This view, it will be seen, explains a difficulty which must have often struck reflecting minds. With what propriety can God be said to "justify the ungodly" — that is, to declare righteous, those who yet fall far short of being righteous ? Rom. iv. 17, (we believe), supplies the answer. God, who sees the end from the beginning, declares not that which immedi- ately/uZZ^/ is, but that which shall be. The believer is righte- ous " before (xarsmvn in the sight of) Him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those tliAngs which be not, as though they were." * And as God reckons, so are we also enjoined with assured faith to reckon ourselves: " Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed U7ito sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 14. The man whose eyes Jesus had touched could have said at once, "Whereas I was blind, now I see," though at first his vision Avas indistinct, and he saw " men but as trees walking." He had passed from darkness to light, and his per- fect cure was assured the moment the Saviour touched him. Justification and sanctification are thus indissoiubly connected by the Scriptural representation, though clearly distinguishable. God's declaring righteous implies also necessarily His making righteous or holy eventually. It is by looking too exclusively either to the legal view, or to the moral view, and attempting to tie down the words of Scripture to one unvarying technical meaning, that any diffi- culty has been found in entering into the more enlarged and comprehensive views which it aims to inculcate, by using what appears almost contradictory language at different times, in order to guard both sides of the truth. Sometimes the result of God's creative word that justifies and regenerates is alone regarded, and it is said of the believer (looking only to the neiv man formed in him), " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin : for His seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot * Saying (in the instance to which St Paul refers) unto Abraham, when as yet he had no child, " 1 have made thee a father of many nations." 112 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. sin, because he is bom of God " (1 John iii. 9). But in order to guard against misunderstanding, the same apostle says else- where, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us " (1 John i. 8). If St. Paul has said, Rom. vi. 2, 11, that the believer is "dead to sin," he yet reminds us, eh. vii. 13-25, that the remains of sin still " dwell within him," ver. 17, 20, necessitating thereby a continual conflict, and causing the performance to fall so miserably short of his highest aspirations after holiness, as to extort from him the exclamation, " O wretched man that I am ! " Had this practice of the Scriptural writers been kept in view, there would not have been the difficulty found by many, in seeing how one and the same person, Paul, in the character of a regenerate person, as he looked on this side or on that, — could (in Rom. vii. 13-25) depict so feelingly his shortcomings through sin, earnestly panting for the full deliverance from its power (which he foresaw " through Jesus Christ " (ver. 25), but to be accom- plished only with his deliverance " from this body of death ") — and yet turning so immediately to the other side of the picture, could exultiugly realize through faith, as if already attained, that " the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death " (viii. 2). 4. Aixaicaeig, the act of declaring righteous or justifying, justification, Rom. iv. 25, v. 18. 5. A/xa/w,aa = rh didixaiu/j,ivov, that which is judicially de- clared to he rigJiteous ; (1.) either, to he done, i.e., a righteous requirement, or ordi- nance, as Rom. ii. 26, Luke i. G, (2.) or, ivhen done, i.e., a righteous act, as Rom. v. 18, Rev. xix. 8. Or again, (3.) a righteous senience,Q.\i\\CT of condemnation, as Rom. i. 32, (4.) or of acquittal, as Rom. v. IG. G. Aiy.aiosCvri, righteousness, the abstract noun formed from the adjective (like mo.st nouns of this termination, aufpoajvri, soherncss, " the character or conduct of the eufpuv," Liddell and Scott's Lexicon ; uyaOuewri, goodness ; ynOoa-jvri, gladness ; fiiOn/j'0(r\jiri, remissness, &c.) expresses the quality or character of one who is dixawi, i.e.. his conformity to law. RIGHTEOUSNESS. 113 In the word itself there is nothing to hmit its meaning to a mere ouhvard and declared conformity to law ; on the contrary, it rather suggests an internal disposition of the mind. There is a strong presumption, therefore, against the limitation of bixatos-jvy], rigJiteousness, to the meaning which some would assign to it in St. Paul's writings, of a righteous- ness merely imputed. Ai/taiocvvri from its very composition can never mean directly justijication, =^ hzaiusig (as Moses Stuart, Dr. J. Brown, &c) ; wherever it appears to do so as in 2 Cor. iii. 9, where "the ministration of righteousness " is opposed to " the ministration of condemnation," it is either by ellipsis, the word " imputed " having to be supplied, or by metonymy; dixaioffuvri here in the Greek no more directly signifies dmaiuffig, than "righteousness" in the authorized version is exactly equivalent to "justifica- tion." II. If we examine the ideas which the Old Testament had prepared its readers to attach to this expression, we cannot restrict its meaning merely to that righteousness which justifies from being imputed, but must include also that which being sent down from heaven and communicated to men by the Lord "shall set us in the way of his steps" (Ps. Ixxxv. 13), and make us to be inwardly righteous, or IN conformity with his LAW. St. Paul has, in Romans i. 16, 17, styled the gospel "the power of God unto salvation," because " therein is revealed the righteousness oi God." By this combination of "salvation" with " righteousness " he evidently means to refer us to Isaiah's favourite parallelism of these two terms,* and to lead us to de- duce from thence the true meaning of righteousness. To see the import, therefore, of the term in Isaiah let us quote a few instances out of many. * See Isaiah xlv. 8, xlvi. 13, li. 5, 6, 8, lix. 16, 17, Ixi. 10, Ixii. 1, &c. More immediately, however, the words of St. Paul in Rom. i. 16, 17, are borrowed from Ps. xc\Tii., which, with the comiected series of psalms, is, as Hengstenberg says, ' ' the lyrical echo of the prophetic announcements of the second part of Isaiah " (compare especially Ps. xcviii. 3 with Isa. Iii. 10, where the very identi- cal words are repeated). The recurrence in the epistle of the three principal expressions of ver. 2 of the psalm place the reference to it by St. Paul beyond H 114! THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, That are far from righteousness : I bring near mij righteousness ; it shall not be far off, And my salvation shall not tany : And I win give salvation in Zion, To Israel my glory. Isaiah xlvi. 12, 13. Here God's righteousness and God's salvation are s3mony- mous, and His righteousness is a remedy for the unrighteous- ness of men — for "the stouthearted that are far from righteous- ness ; " sufficient, therefore, to break their stout hearts, as well as to release from punishment. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down rif/hteousness : Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together ; I the Lord have created it. Isaiah xlv. 8. Here again righteousness is described as a blessing to be sent down from heaven by the Lord, that it may spring up and bear its harvest on the earth ; a righteousness, therefore, not merely to be outwardly attributed to men, but inwardly to be received into their hearts and to bear fruit. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness. Arid the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And tlie Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, And all kings thy glory. Isaiah Ixii. 1, 2. The righteousness to be given to God's Zion is a righteous- ness that can be seen, infusing its cJiaractei' into all her true members, so as to make them righteous. Thus — doubt. "The Lord hath made kno^vn his salvation ; his righteousness hath he revealed (see margin, &ireKd\v\j/tv in Septuagint) in the sight of the heathen." That "righteousness" is not here restricted to the idea oi juttijication is e\'i- dent from the concluding verse of the psalm : Before the Lord ; for he cometh to judge the earth ; With rt'jhtcoiisness sliall he judge the world, And the people with equity. RIGHTEOUSNESS. 115 I will also make thy officers peace, And thine exactors righteousness. Isaiah Ix. 17. Thy people also shall be all righteous. Ix. 21. That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Ixi. 3. But, indeed, we have but to look back to the opening of the book of revelation to be assured what must be the expected salvation promised by the evangelical prophet to fallen man. Sin was the great evil brought on man at his fall, and which " entered into the world " through Adam's first transgression ; righteousness, therefore is the alone salvation that can avail to fallen man, not a mere external, legal justification, but the restoration of an internal, moral state of conformity to God's holy law. III. In Rom. i. 17, accordingly, this meaning of righteous- ness seems certainly to be included, viz., as sanctifying, as well as justifying the believer. Without this the " salvation " would be incomplete. The gospel being called " the power of God unto salvation " points more to the efficacious supernatural change produced upon the will and heart of the sinner, requir- ing the exercise of divine power, than to the mere sentence of justification or declaration of righteousness. The comparison of verses 1 7 and 1 8 strongly confirms this. The " righteousness of Ood " in the one is evidently contrasted with and proposed as a full remedy for the " unrighteousness of men " in the other, which it can effectually be, only if im- parted, as well as imputed. IV. But this passage, when closely examined, will oblige us to take a still more enlarged view of the meaning of bixaioahvn 0SOU, and to include in it God's personal attribute of righteous- ness or justice, in other words, God's judicial righteousness in its condemning, as well as justifying aspect. Let us compare ver. 17 and 18. V. 17. Ar/taioGuvrj yap 0£oD sv avrQj airoKaXvrrrsTai, •' For therein is the righteousness of God being revealed," &c. V. 18. ' AvozaX-ovrirai yap opyri Qiou dv' ovpavov, *' For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven," &c. 116 CHAPTER I. 17, 18. There is a manifest parallelism between these two verses. In both there is a revelation announced as in the course of being made (dToxa>.L/ffrsra/ is the Present of Imperfect or con- tinuing action). In ver. 17 the revelation is of the "Righteousness of God," as being " the power of God " to save men from their sins, or as a counteractive against the unrighteousness of men. In ver. 18 the revelation is of " the wrath of God," to deter men from their sins, or as a counteractive against the unrighteousness of men. — The apostle evidently means to place " the Righteous- ness of God," in ver. 17, in opposition "against the unrighteous- ness of men," in ver. 18. In ver. 18 again, "the -vvi-ath of God" is expressly said to be " against the unrighteousness of men." The one must therefore be the equivalent of the other. The " wrath of God " must be only another name for the " Righte- ousness of God " on its severer side. The connection of thought seems to be this. St. Paul in ver. 17 had just announced the grand subject of the Gospel — the revelation of a " Righteousness of God " unto salvation as freely offered to Faith (and not to works). Aware of the objection that would immediately occur, to a Jew especially, that this view of God's Righteousness as a free gift encouraged to sin, (comp. vi. 1 and 1 5) as being inconsistent with God's sin- condemning Righteousness, he immediately adds, ver. 18, that side by side with the revelation of this saving Righteousness, there is being revealed by the same Gospel, still more decidedly than ever, and as the strongest inducement to accept it, God's judicial Righteousness, nay " wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." * This wrath, it is added, is being revealed "from heaven " — not only as of old to the Jews, when, at the giving of the Law, God " came down upon Mount Sinai and spake with them from heaven," (Nch. ix. 13 ; Deut. iv. 3G), but now even " Exactlj' as in Rom. iii. 21-26, after setting forth the sa\Tng "Righteousness of God without the Law " as now manifested, Paul is careful to add that it is accompanied with the "declaration of His (judicial) Righteousness on account of the passing by of sins," in order to show that He is " righteous (just) even when declaring righteous (justifying) him which believoth in Jesus." TWOFOLD REVELATION OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 1 1 7 more clearly and pointedly in the Gospel, by God's own Son coming down from heaven to condemn sin, by Himself dying as an atoning sacrifice for it, and by the announcement of an approaching second coming, " when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven. . . . taking vengeance on them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. That this parallehsm between the two verses is intended by St. Paul, and that he means to represent the " wrath of God" * as the other side of the " Righteousness of God," seems borne out by the Apostle in the subsequent context, when call- ing upon the Gentiles first, and then the Jews, to flee from * The close relation of these two verses renders unnecessary the repetition of ei> avT<^ after airoKoKinrTeTCit. in ver. 18, to indicate that the revelation there referred to is also made by the Gospel, and thus takes away the force of the objection of Hioluck and others, who argue from the absence of ev avri^, that the " revela- tion " (cLTTOKaXijirTeTai) in v. 18 refers to the knowledge which the Gentiles by the light of nature possess of God's displeasure agarast sin. In opposition to this view, and in proof that reference is made to a new revelation, now intro- duced by the Gospel, observe 1. 'AiroKaXvirTcu, to "reveal," generally, if not always, relates to a manifesta- tion made by God through extraordinary means. 2. Compare " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all un- godliaess," &c., i. 18, with ** Treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, And revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; ii. 6 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, By Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. ii. 16 ; and " When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven. . . . taking vengeance on them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. The argumentative connexion of ver. 17 and 18 will thus be seen to be : (ver. 17), " The righteousness of God is now revealed in the Gospel as the power of God unto salvation," and urged upon you for acceptance by the consideration, that (ver. 18), " The wrath of God is being also revealed in it [as it never was before] against all ungodliness," &c. Unless accepted by you in its milder aspect, as now offered to you, rest assured that God's Righteousness will meet you hereafter on its severer side. It is equivalent to St. Paul's exhorta- tion to the Athenians, Acts xvii. 30, 31, " And the times of this ignorance God winked at [from the want of a revelation of God's righteousness] but now com- mandeth all men ievery where to repent, because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordaiued." 118 PARALLEL BETWIXT I. 17, 18, AND IIL 21-26. God's wratli, expressly calling it God's " righteous sentence," God's " righteous judgnient." The Gentiles he exhorts to embrace the Gospel, and to flee from the wrath to come, as "knowing the righteous sentence (to 5/xa/w,osed for their acceptance, whether they will believe, or whether they will forbear. " FROM FAITH TO FAITH." 123 But it is objected, e.g., by Moses Stuart, that this would be to represent " the climactic nature of the faith connected with justification " as a principal topic. " How can this well be imagined," he asks, " by a considerate reader of the epistle V The failure to perceive this character of the epistle seems to be one of the prevailing errors hitherto in its interpretation. Hence the difficulty which almost all commentators have found in accepting the reading 'iyoiinv, which is that of the great majority of the best MSS., in Rom. v. 1, "lei us have peace with God," from not perceiving that one great object of the Apostle is to impress on the behever that he cannot remain stationary, and to urge him on from step to step, in order to prove the genuineness of his faith by continual progress. Having attained to the first step, "being justified by faith," that is, declared righteous, " let us have peace with God," which can only be maintained by having recourse ever anew to the righteousness of God in Christ, on every fresh shortcoming ; and pressing on to the end, " let us glory in hope of the glory of God," as our final consummation — a hope, however, only to be fully assured by successive steps, through the painful training of " tribulation working patience, and patience experience, and experience hope." In ch. vi. St Paul exhorts believers that as there was a continual downward progress in their former sinful Ufe, when they yielded their " members servants to un- cleanness, and to lawlessness unto laxvlessness" rrj d\/ofiia slg 7-751/ avo/Liav, even so now, with a similar upward progTess, they should " yield their members servants to righteousness unto sanctijication," rfj Bixaiosuvyj g/g rxyiaa/MV. The tense of the former accordingly indicates the progressive revelation made to the conscience and heart of the believer (diroKaX^vTerai, "is being revealed," present imperfect) ; the tense of the latter, a manifestation made once for all to the whole world (we(f>avipo}Tai, "has been manifested," present perfect). In i. 17 ef TriffTeus denotes the source from which the righteousness comes to man ; 5ta TrlcrTeus (iii. 22) the channel : so that combining these two expressions with els TriffTip, St Paul declares that the reception of the righteousness of God by the believer is all throughout of faith, in its heginning, middle, and end. In i. 17 e/c iriffTeus els irlaTiv lays the emphasis on faith, as the alpha and omega of the Christian life ; in iii. 22 eh irdvrai [Kal iirl irdvTas] rods iriffTe'uovTas, on the universality of the Gospel salvation as designed for all who will believe. 124 CHAPTER I. 17. But it will be objected, bow is tlie meaning tbus put on tbe words " from faitb to faith " consistent with tbe comprehensive signification assigned to the expression " tbe righteousness of God," as comprising the condemning, justify incj, and sanctify- ing righteousness of God ? Is justification a progressive work ? Is it not " an act of God's free grace " perfected at once on the sinner's coming to Christ ? True, we reply, objectively considered, in God's mind ; but by the beUever to be realized ever anew, subjectively* when- ever the power of indwelling sin makes itself felt within him. On every fresh outbreak of sin, all the three views of God's righteousness must advance, pari passu, each with the other. On the sinner's first awakening, it was the view of God's con- demning righteousness that aroused him to the danger of his state ; for " Christ came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The apprehension of God's justifying right- ousness in Christ followed and comforted him. This was simultaneously accompanied by its transforming and sanctify- ing influence exerted on his heart. A repetition of the same process takes place each time that sin renews its attack on the believer. With every fresh ex- perience a deeper sense of sin's aA\^ul power and malignity intensifies his view of God's holiness, and sin-abhorring righte- ousness. Anew, on every fresh relapse into sin, he must have recourse to the justifying righteousness of Christ as the only ground of j^eace and pardon ; and with each new appropriation of that inexhaustible love and mercy that forgiveth all iniquities, however repeated and aggravated, fresh accessions of that love which is " the fulfiUing of the law," will be called forth in the heart of the Christian, the Spirit thereby sanctifying and re- newing daily more and more the inward man " after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness." * The subjective view is of course the one alone applicable in connection with faith. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. 125 OBJECTIONS TO THE THEEEFOLD VIEW OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, BY THE AUTHOR OF " THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUS- NESS OF FAITH." So fundamentally important to the right understanding of the whole doctrine of the Epistle to the Romans is the proper interpretation of this expression, " the righteousness of God," that at the risk of being considered tedious we must vindicate the pregnancy of meaning, contended for above, by replying to the objections which may be brought against it. These cannot be better or more ably put than they have been in an article on the "Pauline Doctrine of the Righteous- ness of Faith " in the January number for 1862 of the British and Foreign Evangelical Review by a learned friend, who will we hope excuse this allusion to his article, as we feel assured that his single desire is, like our own, not to maintain his own shade of opinion, but to elicit the truth as far as possible, and to clear it from all misapprehensions on the one side or the other. I. " The righteousness of God " (it is argued) " here said to be revealed cannot be held to refer to the divine attribute of justice." " The righteousness of God of which we speak is in Scripture uniformly introduced as descriptive of an ethical relation on man's side and for man. The apparent connection between the statements, Rom. i. 17, and 18, that 'the righte- ousness of God is revealed in the gospel,' and that ' the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of man,' lends at first sight some faint colour or semblance to the idea that they are the same. But the two statements belong to two different economies, and imply that they who have no part in the ' righteousness of God ' shall be visited with the revela- tion of his wrath. That mode of interpreting the phrase was overcome at the Reformation. We are told of Luther, that having long had a desire to understand the Epistle to the 126 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Romans, the expression 'the righteousness of God,' understood by him to mean the divine attribute, baffled and deterred him at the threshold, and after long meditations, and spending days and nights in these thoughts, the nature of that righteousness which justifies us was discovered to him ; upon which he felt himself wholly born anew, and the whole of Scripture became quite a different thing. There can be in it, indeed, no allusion to the divine attribute of justice, inasmuch as the act is one of grace. The former acceptation would furnish the idea of an incensed God, which is the purport of the law ; not of a reconciUng or justifying God, which is the essence of the gospel." So far, we reply, is this representation from being correct, or a full statement of the case, that unless the gospel-revela- tion had been to Luther a revelation of the justice or retri- hutive righteousness of God, it would have proved no gospel to him. What, we ask, had brought the monk down on his knees into the dust of humiliation before his God, but the alarming view which he had got of God's justice arrayed against him, leaving him no possible outlet for evasion or escape ? This, it will be said, was the work of the Law. True — and there the Law left him. But looking up to the cross of Christ, he beheld, as he had never seen it before, the retributive "righteousness of God" revealed in all its majesty and severity, but magnified, vindicated, satisfied — the penalty of death which it demanded of the sinner paid in the person of his substitute the Son of God dying " the just for the un- just." Here, then, in the very manifestation thus made of Qo(\.'b justice, he found the. great bamcr between him and his God removed. God could consistently pardon his sin, because His justice was satisfied, and the truth of His denunciations against all unrighteousness vindicated : sin was fully visited and condemned. This is the first and negative side of justification. For its positive side, his acceptance " as righteous in tlic sight of God," he must have a farther view of " the righteousness of God " in Christ. As he looked again to the Lamb of God, His cruci- fixion, he saw, was, in another point of view, the consumma- "THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH." 127 tion of the obedience which He had unceasingly rendered to God's law, an " obedience even unto death." The personal righteousness of his Representative was perfect, and in attes- tation thereof God raised Him from the dead (Rom. iv. 25); and this righteousness of Christ, with whom through union by- faith he now became identified, he was entitled to claim as his righteousness, and thus his justification was complete. Still, to complete his discovery of " the righteousness of God" in Christ, there was wanting the third view of it to Luther, as the power and gift of God for sanctification. This discovery was not distinctly made to him till a considerable time after he had been preaching with much power and success the judicial view in its twofold aspect, exhibiting God as just and at the same time the justijier of him that believeth in Jesus. To many believers this third view long Hes concealed, clouding their minds with doubts, and preventing them from attaining to full "joy and peace in believing." The experience of Luther we will detail in the words of an American work,* which places in a clear light the intimate connection between justification and sanctification. " One day, while studying Romans for a lecture to the students, the words of the prophet Habakkuk, as quoted by Paul, Rom. i. 17, 'The just shall live by faith,' struck their light through his soul. Here was the grand principle of life and righteousness. He saw it, grasped it, exulted in it, and began teaching it with all the force and fire of his eloquence and genius. There were, it is true, applications of this great principle which he was not yet prepared to see, or to make, both to the Church and to his own heart and life. " But the principle of justification by faith was no longer a hidden one to him, and it infused a new life and a new power into his soul and his teachings. He applied it with sunbeam clearness to the forgiveness of sins. He saw how God could be just, and yet justify him that believeth in Jesus, however great his sins might be. Selected not long after to * "The Higher Christian Life," by Eev. W. E. Boardman, reprinted by Alex. Strahan & Co., Edinburgh. 128 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. represent seven convents in matters of importance between them and the Vicar-General, at the court of the Roman pon- tiff, he set off, led by the hand of God into Rome itself to witness with his ovm eyes and ears the blasphemous hollow- ness and putrid corruj^tions of the Church. On the way he was again taken ill, and again brought to look down into the grave and up to the judgment bar of God. His sins troubled him. The old Erfurth horror of darkness returned upon him. But in the midst of it the words of the prophet, ' The just shall live by faith,' came again to him with a new force, and filled him with the light of heaven. And yet again, while looking upon the ruins of ancient Rome, and almost over- whelmed with the conviction that the Rome which then was would one day be also in ruins, the holy city would pass away, lie in ashes, the same words came to his relief and comfort again, ' The just shall live by faith.' The Church shall live, though Rome should die. Christ lives, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church. Luther had not yet learned to take the Lord Jesus for his sanctification. He had one process for the forgiveness of sins, that of faith, and another for the pursuit of holiness, that of works. He believed in Jesus, and trusted that for the sake of Jesus, who had died, and risen again for his justification, his sins were all forgiven. But he longed for a holy heart and a holy life, and sought them by means, not by faith. The truth that Jesus is all to the sinner, that in Jesus he has all if he takes Him for all, he had not yet perceived. Christ a projDitiation he acccjoted, but Christ a sanctification he re- jected. Strange, that having Christ, and believing in Him, and havincf in Him the foundation of hoUness — indeed our own holiness, just as really and fully as He is our o^vn sacri- fice for sin — we should go about to work out, or seek for holi- ness of heart imparted to us from God aside from, not in Christ. Yet so it is. So it Avas with Luther. At Rome he performed all holy oflfices, and visited every sacred place, hun- gering and thirsting after righteousness. One day he sought to secure a special indulgence promised to all holy pilgi'ims wlio should climb Pilate's staircase, so called, on their knees. This THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 129 staircase was said to have been transported bodily by miracle, in tlie night, from Jerusalem to Rome. As Luther crept painfully from stone to stone upward, suddenly he heard, as he thought, a voice of thunder in the depths of his heart, ' The just shall live by faith.' These words had often before told him that the just are made alive by faith, but now they thundered through his soul the truth, that even so ' the just shall live (be kept alive) by faith,' By faith they shall be kept by the power of God ; by faith they shall make progress onward and upward ; by faith their sins shall be forgiven ; and by faith their hearts and lives shall be made holy. Ah ! Well might the historian say of Luther that ' this was a creative word for the Reformer ; ' now he w^as freed from all false processes of salvation, and fully established in the true. Faith now, as the condition, and Jesus as the salvation, he saw was the whole. Full salvation was in Jesus, and Jesus was the soul's in full, through full trust in Him. When this word resounded in this new force through his soul, it is no wonder that Luther sprang to his feet upon the stone steps up which he had been crawling like a worm, horrified at himself, and struck with shame- for the degradation to which superstition had debased him, and fled from the scene of his folly. Luther himself says — ' Then I felt myself born again as a new man, and I entered by an open door into the very paradise of God. From that hour I saw the precious and holy Scriptures with new eyes. I went through the whole Bible. I collected a multitude of passages which taught me what the work of God was. Truly this text of St Paul was to me the very gate of heaven.'* " * Boarclman, pp. 12-14. Many Ctristians, it is to be feared, never get be- yond Luther's first stage, having accepted the righteousness of Clirist as their justification ; but, faUrng to see that it is equally theirs for sanctification, wander about in the wilderness distracted by fears and doubts, and never enter into the land flowing with milk and honey oflfered by the promises of God. Boardman goes on to detail the similar experiences of Merle D'Aubign^ and othere, by which, long after their first conversion, they reached this to many second great stage and fresh starting-point in the Christian life, so momentous and remarkable, that he calls it by a very expressive though objectionable term (because liable to be misunderstood), a "second conversion." The limited I 130 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. This threefold view of the " righteousness of God," as con- demning, justifying, and sanctifying the beUever, thus ex- euipUfied in the instance of Luther, is that which we claim for the expression in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans and as ever present to his mind, though sometimes one and sometimes another aspect may be made more prominent. Luther's original interpretation of the expression, " the righteousness of God," eiTed, only in being, like that against which Ave contend, too restricted ; not in including His justice, but in excluding the other aspects of " the righteousness of God." II. The view of "the righteousness of God " advocated by the writer in the British and Foreign Evangelical Review is that it " refers merely to an objective, external relation," pp. 195-200, and that it is "a complete, prepared, and perfect righteousness, objectively presented," "a substantive reality; not less a fact than sin, and not less productive of results than sin, but in the opposite direction ;" the entrance of each into the world, " into humanity," being the " two great events in the history of the race and confronting each other." He insists much on (see p. 201) " the manifestation of this righteousness as an historic fact {Ti^avsi^corai, Rom. iii. 21)," to " its coming into existence in the incarnation of Christ. The allusion [in Rom. iii. 21, 'Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested'] is not to the preaching of it, or to what he (St Paul) calls the revelation of it in the gospel* (Rom. i. 1 7), but to the bringing in of this righteousness, once for all, when Christ was ' manliest' in the flesh (1 Tim. iii. IG). And the interpretation so long put upon the phrase, "the righteousness of God," and the ai'giiraeut of St Paul comiecteil with it iu this epistle, has tcmled in no small degree to obscure this great truth, and prevented many from seeing clearly the goal, and ijresaing on rejoicingly to perfection. * This (as already remarked, see Note p. 122) we believe to be a mistaken view of the meaning of dTro/coXi^TrTeTot iu Rom. i. 17, which refers not to the outward "i)reaching" of "the righteousness of God," but to that inward re- velation which is made by the Spirit of (hhI to the believer of this great truth in all its bearings, which is ever progressively advancing ( = " is being revealed'"), while the blessing itself is more fully appropriated by faith, llt^ai'^/swroi (iii. 21) refers " to the bringing in of this righteousness once for all." THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 131 language used by the apostle shews that it is coincident with the person of Christ, and found in him. This is evident from the way in which he speaks of one of those terms which de- scribe the one obedience of Christ in the manifoldness of its effects and benefits. When he says that the redemption is ' in Christ Jesus ' (jjjg a-roXurpwcswg r^j Iv •x^pierip i.e. rl^g o'jgrjs if), the meaning is that it is found in his person ; that he is joersonally the redemption, just as he is called ' our peace ' (Eph. ii. 1 4) ; and is furthermore described as ' made of God unto us righteousness,' (1 Cor. i. 30). It does not denote that we have it in a state of union to his person, however true that is in itself, but that it is actually IN him ; that he is himself that manifested righteousness, and will continue to be so while his living person endures. The Judge there sees our righte- ousness and our eternal redemption, whenever he looks upon the person of Christ." The representation here made, that " the righteousness of God " refers merely to an objective, external relation, requires to be carefully guarded in order to prevent serious misappre- ' hension. 1. The writer here assumes what has already been shown to be a mistake, that " the righteousness of God " refers to justification alone and not to sanctification also ; otherwise he would not have pronounced it to be exclusively objective. But 2. even in as far as justification is concerned, we must carefully note in what sense we are to regard " the righteous- ness of God " as objective only, and not subjective, lest we fall into the Roman Catholic error on the one hand, or the Mori- sonian on the other. It is objective only, and not subjective, in the sense that in as far as it is regarded as the ground and meritorious cause of justification, it is nothing of the believer's own, and is wholly irrespective of the amount of change of heart that it has produced in him. It is an objective, sub- stantive righteousness of God that has been manifested in the sight of the whole universe. It is in a word ".Christ " Him- self, " the Lord our Righteousness," " God manifest in the flesh." It is to what Christ is in Hiviself, not to what He makes us that regard is had in justification. 132 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. But this righteousness of God is subjective, in the sense that, to be avaiUxble for our justification, it must be received and aj)propriated as our own — as " Christ in us," the hope of glory. This manifestation of the righteousness of God, so far as it is merely objective, has been made to all indiscriminately, to angels as avcII as to men, to unbelievers as well as to be- lievers. This righteousness of God has been " seen of angels " with admiration, but is not offered to them for justification. It has been manifested objectively to all men, and is said to be slg za'jrac, (Rom. iii. 22), designed " for all," but it is avail- able for justification only to those who subjectively appropriate it. It may be clearly apprehended as an objective truth, ex- ternal to us, by the mere intellect of the unregenerate man, and even eloquently descanted on and proposed by him to others ; but it must be inwardly and subjectively accepted by the heart, in order to become our righteousness. Faith in Christ (i.e. reliant trust in Him) is not (as we are too apt to forget) a matter of the head, but of the heart. It is " with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness," Rom. x. 10. Christ (the reviewer states) " is himself that manifested righteousness. The Judge there sees our righteousness when- ever he looks upon the person of Christ." God (we reply) sees in Christ, objectively considered, « righte- ousness which is proposed as the ground of justification to us and to the whole world, but He sees it not as our righteous- ness, till we appropriate Christ to ourselves by faith, and are thereby " brought into a state of union with his person." It is the Christ in us, subjectively received, that fonns our righteousness, not Christ objectively manifested without us. The very expression — "justified hy faith," — reminds us that both elements, the objective and the subjective, must be com- bined, and are necessary to constitute our — justification. " Justification is an act of God's free grace," objective merely, as regards any particular individual, till by a subjective act of faith he appropriates it to himself. With this caution must be taken the statement that "it is not denoted that we have this righteousness in a state of union to Christ' 8 i^er son, however true this is in itself" This remark THE PAULINE KIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 133 is probably pointed against the view of Neander, Olsliaiisen, Lipsius, &c., that "by the phrase 'the righteousness of God' is meant an inward condition of righteousness, on the ground of which, whether it is already perfect or not, God pronounces men righteous by a judicial sentence." That this is its inten- tion would seem evident from the addition, " however true this is in itself." To this extent we cordially agree with it, in as far as it is designed to guard against justification being as- cribed to any " inward condition of righteousness " or change produced on the believer, and not wholly to the Christ within him. Still there seems to be an incorrectness calculated to mislead in the expression, that " it is not denoted that we have this righteousness in a state of union to Christ's person," even with the reservation "however true this is in itself" We have Christ, we have every blessing flowing from Him, only in a "state of union to His person." This is the central doctrine of the gospel, and of the Epistle to the Romans speci- ally, that must never be lost out of sight. The only distinction that Scripture sanctions with regard to this union is that it has two aspects, which, though in fact they are inseparable and the one implies the other, may yet be logically distinguished, and be regarded separately — "We in Christ," and "Christ in us," (justification and sanctification). As regarded in Christ, we form parts, "branches," "mem- bers " of Him, and all that belongs to Him is reckoned ours, or imputed to us. As united to Him we are "justified," " sanctified," " glorified " in Him ; we are already " made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," Eph. ii. 7. All is regarded as if already perfected, the moment the be- liever embraces Jesus by faith, and is united to Him. " Ye are complete in Him," Col. ii. 10. But again as Christ is in us, the assimilation of our nature to His is but in progress ; the juices of the new vine have but begun to circulate through the ingrafted branch ; the new life has not yet wholly displaced the old. All is in a state of de- velopment only and incomplete. 134 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Still we have all, wlietlier imputed or imparted, from Christ, only through and " in a state of union to Ids j^erson." II. In commenting on the view of Neander, Olshausen, Lipsius, &c., that "by the phrase 'the righteousness of God' is meant an inward condition of righteousness, on the gi'ound of which, whether it is already perfect or not, God pronounces men righteous by a judicial sentence," the author of the article in the British and Foreign Evangelical Review remarks that " it tends to obliterate the distinction between justification and sanctification, whereas in the apostle's language they are carefully distinguished. Thus, when there is occasion to de- scribe in comprehensive outline what Christ is made to his people (1 Cor. i. 30), these two are kept distinct. The holi- neiis (ayiaa/Mg) is carefully distinguished from the righteousness (dixaioevvri) however closely connected with it ; and they cannot be confounded. This is conclusive, if we are to abide by the apostle's usage of language, and not to efface his express dis- tinctions." The argument is far from conclusive. 1. Even supposing that the meaning given to " righteousness " in 1 Cor. i. 30 had been correct (viz., that it refers to justification alone), it does not follow, because two words usually synonymous receive each a more restricted and distinctive signification by being placed together in antithesis, that therefore in all other cases we must attach the same restricted meaning to each when used separately. St. Paul frequently uses the word difiaioeuvri, " righteousness," (without reference to justification specifically in contradistinction to ayiag/ios, " sanctification or holiness "), where ayiaa/Mog might, without any impropriety, be employed in its stead, e.g., 2 Tim. ii. 22, "Flee also youthful lusts ; but follow righteousness, faith, charity, &c." (comp. 1 Tim. vi. 11; Titus iii. 5 ; Eph. v. 9.) But, 2. even when the two words are contrasted, the reviewer, we conceive, has misapprehended the distinction between them. It docs not consist in this, that oixuioevvv, " righteousness," expresses an "objective and external relation in opposition to a subjective and internal relation de- THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 135 noted by a/zaff/Aog, "holiness."* That "righteousness" must have a subjective meaning is perfectly clear in Eph. iv. 24, " And that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Here the word for " holi- ness " is indeed oaiorriTi, but this can make no difference. But we have another instance in this very epistle to the Romans, vi. 19, in which the two identical words are employed together • — hr/.tio, "he made," and ytvwufOa "that we miglit be made, or hecomr," into " rfickomd ;" and hence the vo^erely objective sense given to " the righteous- ness of God." THE PAULINE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 139 " He knew no sin." No contamination passed on Him. Though assailed by sin and Satan at every avenue where it might be thought an entrance could be found, and "tempted in all points like as we are," He continued pure from all sin, and repelled its attacks at every point. Not so can man re- main unaffected when the Lord saith, " I bring near my right- eousness," Isaiah xlvi. 13. When the word of God comes to man, if it find entrance at all into any heart, it must be for entire change and renovation. It cannot continue unfruitful. " For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater ; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it," Isaiah Iv. 10, 11. Let "the Lord our Righteousness " be but admitted into any soul that seeks to be justified before God, and He cannot be admitted by halves. His justifying and sanctifying influences are received or excluded together. Christ " of God is made unto us right- eousness," 1 Cor. i. 30, subjective, as well as objective, and we are "made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21, (ysvoJ/if^a, Tnade, become, not merely are reckoned). In the com- parison here instituted, as in that of Rom. v. (see ver. 15-17, and V. 20) there is a gi-eat superabundance {u-jspsTsplcssveiv) in the effects on the divine side above the human. Inattention to this distinction has been the cause of the general restriction, by the advocates of the bare forensic theory, to mere imjyuta- tion of righteousness or sin in those comparisons, which are employed to illustrate their influence on those affected by Christ or Adam. We cannot, however, leave this passage without feeling con- strained to remark that even to the expression, " He made Him to be sin for us," which is used to lower the sense of the other side of the parallel, far too shallow a signification is usually affixed. The words " He made him to be sin for us " are not to be lowered to the meaning, " He reckoned Him sin, or a sinner;" nor (as by those who scruple to tamper with the 140 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. meaning of £rrolr,siv) to that of " He made him a sin-offering for us." The expression is indeed taken from the Levitical sacrifices. When the sins of the offerer had been confessed over the head of the bullock or lamb about to be sacrificed, and his iniquity was, as it were, thus laid upon him, the victim was called fistsn "sin," (rendered "sin-offering" in A. V., see Ex. xxix. 14, 36 ; Lev. iv. 3, 8, 20, 21, &c.) as if it were the very sin of the offerer embodied or personified, and as such it was consigned to death. So the iniquity of His people was laid upon Christ, and He was made sin for us ; but in a much more intimate sense than were the outward types of " bulls and goats " in the prefignrative dispensation of Moses. The offerer's sin laid on their head could no more really affect them subjectively than could the shed " blood of bulls and goats " really " take away sin " from him. The blood and the sin in this case were but figures or shadows of the tine. But in Christ the realities were dealt with. As " the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed from all sin," so sin was condemned and cruci- fied in Him. Let us weigh well the strength of the Scripture expressions on this subject. While we must most carefully remove from our ideas of our great Substitute, and Representa- tive of our nature, the slightest stain of sin, remembering that, from His conception even, He was designated "that holy thing " that should be born of Mary, yet so far as sin could possibly affect such a Being, He is represented as coming into the closest contact with it, and in words almost identified with it. He came " in the likeness of sinful Jicsk " (sapy.hg aiMa^Tiag, literally, " of the flesh of sin " (Rom. viii. 3), so that when His hody was put to death, God is said to " condemn sin in the flesh." He " bare our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Pet. ii. 24). So completely is He regarded as our Representative, that when He was crucified, " our old man" is said to be " crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed " (Rom. vi. 6). " Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us," Gal. iii. 13. God "made him to be sin for us." By this expression, then, " made sin for us," more, surely, is meant than simply that our sin was imj)uted to Christ. It THE PAULINE EIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 141 would evidently seem to denote tliat it affected Him to the utmost extent that it was possible for a perfectly righteous Being, " who knew no sin/' to be affected ; that He became subject to every consequence (pollution alone excepted) which sin had entailed on our fallen race, sorrow, pain, agony, and death ; nay, to that increased and intensified power of tempta- tion which sin by the fall had acquired over our weakened nature, since we are assured that " He was tempted in all points like as we are," that He might be able to give us the assurance and encouragement of His entire sympathy with us in our utmost weakness and trials. Not by imputation alone, then, but in reality and personal experience, to the utmost extent that sin could affect the sjDot- less Lamb of God, Christ was "made to be sin for us;" and thus, on the opposite side of the parallel, Christ's righteousness must be explained to affect all who are brought into close union mth Him to the utmost extent of which their natures are capable, viz., that they " may be made," not putatively alone, but really and in personal experience " the righteousness of God in Him." The whole of the above discussion about dizaioauvri with the remarks on the article on " the Pauline Doctrine of the Righteousness of Faith " was shown in MS. to the reviewer, who kindly took the trouble of reading over the whole. He thus concisely and neatly summed up and pronounced his verdict, which with my reply will conclude the discussion. His words are : — " 1 have read this essay most carefully ; but it will not do as an essay on Paul's dtxaiosuvn. This whole discussion en- deavours to combine these three things which cannot be united in one idea. I. Righteousness in God; which is divine, and surely tha,t is different from a human righteousness which the creature must have for his acceptance (i.e. his own, or Christ's). II. Righteousness as justifying : this is applicable only to the person, or to his standing and his title and his relation, 142 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. not to his nature at all. It is a relative thing. This we have in union to Christ. III. RigJtteov.sness of life or Sanctlfication : this also is from Christ ; but respects the nature only, not the standing or relation. 1. This is progressive ; the II. is not. 2. This is wrought out with our co-operation (unless we will be Quietists, Molinists, Quakers) ; the other (the II.) is only received." I shall endeavour to reply to each of these points in suc- cession. My friend's preliminary objection is that three things have been attempted to be combined which cannot all be united in one idea. Ansiver. That all three can be united in one express^ion at least, he himself has shewn, since he has expressed all three by one and the same word and idea, " Righteousness." Whether all three have been united by St Paul in the fuller exj)ression, " the righteousness of God," is a question to be determined by an accurate examination of each context in which the expression occurs. It is to this criterion that I have appealed for the correctness of the threefold meaning that I have assigned to it. I. The first special objection is that "Righteousness in God" is Divine, and surely that differs from a human righteousness which the creature must have for his acceptance, that is, his own, or Christ's. Ansiver. The righteousness required for the creature's acceptance is, of course, Christ's. Is that not Divine ? Be- cause Christ must manifest His righteousness in human nature before it could become available to us, does it therefore cease to be Divine ? What then do Christ's words mean, " Why callest thou me good ? there is none good [righteous] but One, that is God," Matt. xix. 17. Why did Jesus reject the title of good, Tjut that he who applied it to Him thought Him but human ? Why be startled at the word Dit'ine being applied THE PAULINE EIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH. 143 to the righteousness which justifies and which sanctifies ? Was it not to make us partakers of the Divine righteousness that Christ came here on earth 'i Are not behevers said to be "partakers of His [God's] holiness" (Heb. xii. 10.) — "par- takers of the Divine nature," (2 Peter i. 4) — of God's "glory?" (John xvii. 22.) In what does "the image of God" into which Christians are renewed consist, but " in righteousness and true hohness ?" Eph. iv. 24).* But as another friend has since expressed the objection, " Righteousness in God is His essential attribute ; and how can one of the essential attributes of God be communicated to a creature ?" We answer, we know not, any more than we know how God could become man, the infinite be united with the finite, the divine with the human. The reunion of man with God, through the mediation of Christ Jesus taking the human nature up into Himself, that He might communicate of His own nature to man, is a mystery unfathomable, but nevertheless is the grand distinguishing doctrine of the New Testament, and, as we have endeavoured to show, of this Epistle to the Romans in particular. The scripture expressions quoted above denote an amazing oneness — union — fellowship with God, vouchsafed to His creatures through His son Jesus Christ, so that they are said to be made partakers of the very " life " of God, (1 John i. 1-3), of the divine "nature," "holi- ness," "righteousness," " love," (Rom. v. 5), and "glory ;" yet they are thereby not God, but man. This wondrous truth if fully grasped, will at once remove the objections as to the oneness of the righteousness (as of the 1st. that which is in Ood, with the lid. and Hid., so of that righteousness) which justifies with that which sanctifies, drawn from the technical distinctions of theologians, designed to dis- criminate between its two aspects as justifying and sanctifying. * Calvin saw, and expresses in the most explicit terms, tliat the righteous- ness of which believers are made partakers through Christ is ' ' God's righteous- ness." See his lustitutio Chi-istianaj Eeligionis, Lib. III. Cap. III. 9. " Proinde ista regeneratione in Dei justitiam, Christi beneficio, instauramur, a qua jjer Adam excideramus." "Accordingly through the blessing of Christ ,we are re- newed by that regeneration into the rUjhteousness of God, from which we had fallen thi'ough Adam." Translation by Henry Beveridge, Esq. 144 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. The righteousness is one. But it may be viewed, either as it affects " the person" in his " standing, title, or relation," (see II.), or as it affects "the nature" or life (see III.) ; and different predicates mil of course apply to the one and to the other, e.g., that the one is "progressive, the otlier is not." [Yet see the remarks in p. 124]. A "standing, title, or rela- tion," cannot be progressive ; a " nature '' or life, imparted by a new birth, necessarily is. Again, as to justification being "only received " (see III.), and not requiring "our co-operation," while sanctification is " wrought out with our co-operation," the danger has already been pointed out (pp. 132, 137) of drawing too sharply the distinction between these, lest justification should be regarded as altogether objective and external to us, requiring no co-operation or act of appropriation on our part ; lest sanctification should be claimed as in part our own, and not considered as a gift received in its every stage and origin- ating from God, " from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed." We must beware indeed on the one hand of falling into the errors of the " Quietists, Molinists, Quakers," and put forth our utmost energies, running, fighting, striving, and " giving all diligence to make our call- ing and election sure ; " but we must equally avoid the otlier extreme, and remember that while called on to "luork out our salvation with fear and trembling,'' it is " God that worJceth in us both to will and to do." While the paralytic at the com- mand of Jesus took up his bed and walked, he had not the less to acknowledge that all his power and strength were derived from Christ. In a word then : — All righteousness is of God. There is therefore but one righteousness, and that " the righteousness of God," whether exhibited by God Himself, by Jesus Christ, or by believers in Christ. CHAPTER II. 1-16. . 145 Chapter ii. 1-16. Yer. 1-16. The advantage of tlie parallelistic arrangement in enabling the reader at a glance to trace the train of thought is observable in the first sixteen verses. Reading the projecting lines (those nearest to the left hand margin as printed in the Anah'tical Commentary) continuously, we have at once the skeleton of the argument : — 1. Therefore thou art without excuse, 0 man, For thou that judgest doest the same things. 2. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth Against them which commit such things ; 6. Who will render to every man according to his deeds, 11. For there is no respect of persons with God: 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men By Jesus Christ according to my gospel. The intermediate lines here omitted are but the amplifica- tion or filling up of these outlines. Thus the three intermedi- ate lines in ver. 1 Whosoever thou art that judgest ; For wherein, &c. only enlarge and complete the idea expressed in the first and last lines — Therefore thou art without excuse, 0 man, For thou that judgest doest the same things. So ver. 3-0 amplify the idea expressed in ver. 2 ; ver. 7-10 the idea in ver. 6, rendering good to the good, and evil to the evil; and ver. 12-15 that of ver. 11, no respect being paid to Gentiles or Jews, both being condemned for neglect of the light they possessed. K 146 CHAPTER II. 7-10. Ver. 7-1 0 furnish a good instance of the manifoldness of the relations or points of comparison often indicated by paralleUsm. 1. A and B are antithetically parallel in each of their lines, a corresponding with a, b with h, and d with d ; the characters of the two classes to be compared being contrasted in a and a, their respective pursuits in b and 6, and the appropriate awards to each in d and d. In like manner B and A correspond antithetically in each of their lines. 2. But regarded in another point of view the four stanzas are introversively parallel. The first stanza, A, corresponds with the fourth, A, and the second, B, with the third, B; the blessed result to the righteous being placed hrst and last in A and A, to make and leave the agreeable impression, and to incite to the requisite conduct, while the more unpleasant idea is placed obscurely in the middle. 3. But not only is A as a whole parallel with A, but the individual lines of each are introversively parallel, a correspond- ing with a, b with /3, &c., and in like manner the lines in B correspond introversively with those in B, so that thus (in vir- tue of the parallelism first adverted to of A to B, and A to B) there is a pervading jDarallelism throughout the whole four stanzas in each of their three Unes ; a, a, a, and a, characteriz- ing the classes ; b, h, j}, and /3, their pursuits and practice ; and d, d, d, and h, the awards to each. Still, in the comparison which we are at present more par- ticularly considering, A corresponds specially with A as pre- senting the favourable aspect, while B and B present the un- favourable. Hence, where the two stanzas B and B are brought into close contact in d and ^, there is a nice adjust- ment in the selection of a pair of terms to match : (B) QxjiJjhg xal hpy^ — Indignation and wrath ; (5) ©Xz-vJ/zs xai OTivoyjtif'ia — Tribulation and anguish. That this nice balancing of terms is premeditated would seem justly to be inferred, since to mark tlie awards in the other stanzas we have in A one noun with an adjective, " eternal CHAPTER II. 12-15. 147 life," ^wjji' aiuviov (in the accusative too in Greek, while the pairs of nouns in B and B are in the nominative), but in A three nouns — "glory, honour, and peace." 4. But there is a still more delicate axljustment in the original Greek (to express a nice distinction which we can only clumsily represent in English), in the change from the accusa- tive c^urjv aiujviov to the nominative 6viJ^hg xal dpyrj. ZiDYiv aiuviov, "eternal life," is dependent on dmBuiasi, " will render," God being represented as the bestower of the blessing of eternal life ; but by a euphemism very usual in Scripture (see Jebb's Sacred Literature, pp. 363 ff, and Bengelii Gnomon on Mat. vii. 24 — " Salutaria Deus ad se refert : mala a se removet ") the " indignation and wrath " that shall come upon the wicked are represented not as dependent upon God's award, but as the necessary result of their own deeds, to mark that their destruction is not of God, but of themselves ; not " God will render to them indication and wrath," but " indignation [shall be] and wrath." Compare another striking instance in Rom. ix. 22, 23, "vessels of wrath Jitted [i.e., hy themselves] to destruction," as contrasted with " vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory." Ver. 12-15. In these verses, which contain another intro- verted parallelism or epanodos, we have an instructive example of the advantages of parallelism in leading to the tiiie inter- pretation. In A and B we have two propositions stated, and in B and A are given the arguments for each respectively, but in inverse order. The case of the Gentiles is put first and last (A and A), as furnishing the strongest apparent objection to the equity of the doctrine laid down by the apostle, " that all are under sin, and brought in as guilty before God," while the statement with regard to the Jews' guilt (B) and its proof {B) are placed in the middle and subordinate place. An acquaintance with this common rule of Scriptural arrangement might have saved Whitby, Macknight, and others, from giving utterance to the very erroneous doctrinal views which will be found in their commentaries on this passage, at direct variance with the main scope of St. Paul's argument in the Epistle to the Romans, but lis CHAPTER II. 14 AND 16. for whicli they imagined they found a sanction in the supposed connection between verses 13 and 14. These two verses, however, have no immediate connection, but ver. 14 corresponds with the first two lines of ver. 12 (A). The first proposition stated by St. Paul in A is, that the Gentiles, though they " have sinned without law, shall also perish without law." The proof of the equity of this proceeding the apostle, after having parenthetically disposed of the case of the Jews in B and B, reserves for the conclusion A, to make and leave the stronger impression, and vindicates the severity of God's judgment even in this case, by the argument that the Gentiles, though desti- tute of a written law, yet showed by their practising at times, however imperfectly, certain virtues required by the law, and by the possession of a conscience, with that conflict of opposing thoughts which it at times awakens, that they had a law written in their hearts, the violation of which rendered them also wholly inexcusable.* Ver. 14, puffs/ ru Tou vo/Mv voirj, " do by nature the things of the law." To guard farther against all misconstruction of this passage, the following excellent note of Philippi is added. " Paul does not say rov i>6/mov touTv as in ver. 13, or t-ok v6//,ov nXsTv as in ver. 17, but ra tou v6/j.ov toisiv. The Gentiles do not therefore keep the law in its inward spirituality (vii. 14) and totality, but they observe single outward commandments, one man this, another that, of the law. They have ipya vo/iov like the Jews, who, however, are thereby not rToir,Tal, but merely axpouTal 7-oD v6/mov. Ver. 16, " according to my gospel." The import of this expression does not seem to have been apprehended by com- mentators. Why the epithet "my" applied to the gospel? Such explanations as " the gospel which I preach," " with which I am entrusted," are surely very unsatisfactory. Unless the gospel which Paul preached had something in it distinctive from that preached by the other apostle.s, wliy specify it as " ^y gospel ?" What bearing liad such an epithet upon the argument in which he was engaged ? * Sco " Symmetrical Structure of Scripture," p. 46. CHAPTER II. 16. 149 We have, I think, but to look to the close of the Epistle xvi. 25, 2 G, where St. Paul again repeats the same expression, to see in what sense he appropriates to himself the gospel which he preached as specially his own. " Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preach- ing of Jesus Christ — according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began ; but now is made manifest — for obedience of faith [extending] to all nations," stg v'Traxonv 'xidTtoig t/g -raira ra idi/rj. Wherein this mystery con- sisted is explicitly declared in Eph. iii. 6, " that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel : whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me." This — the admission of the Gentiles to share on equal terms with the Jews all the blessings purchased by Christ — • was the gospel specially committed to St. Paul, as immediately follows' in ver. 8. "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles \}v roTg 'idnaiv placed first, emphatically], and to make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mystery," &c. See also Gal. ii. 7, " Tlte gospel of the uncircumcision was com- mitted unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter." Nothing could be more appropriate for St. Paul's present purpose, which is to show the complete parity of Gentile with Jew as respects the gospel, than a reference to that gospel message with which he had been specially charged as the " apostle of the Gentiles." Ver. 17-29. This section will be seen to be very syste- matically arranged, the whole forming a Heptad or Parallelism of seven stanzas;* the first three stanzas (ver. 17, 18 ; 19, 20 ; 21-23) relating to the Jew with his boasted possession of the Law, and the last three (ver. 25 ; 26, 27 ; 28, 29) to his vaunted privilege of Circumcision ; while placed between the two in the centre (ver. 24) we have the testimony borne • See " Symmetrical Structure of Scripture," pp. 91-93, 102-109, 166, &c. 150 CHAPTER II. 17-29. by God's word of the sad abuse by the Jew of all his advan- tages, and the reproach thereby cast upon the name of his God among tlie Gentiles. When we examine each of the stanzas, we shall see how carefully and artistically they are composed. In the first two stanzas we have an enumeration of all the claims to pre-eminence, relating to the Law, put forth by the Jew, amounting to ten — in Scripture the number of complete- ness— divided into its two halves, five and five. In the first five lines (a) are enumerated the claims of j)er- sonal privileges before God arrogated to himself by the Jew ; in the second five (b) his claims of superior enlightenment above the Gentiles :— both derived from his possession of the Law. It is worthy of remark how skilfully this word. Law, is disposed in these ten Hues, in order to assign to it the pro- minence which it held in the estimation of the Jew, and which it was about to receive in much of the apostle's subsequent discussion with him. It forms the concluding word which sums up each stanza : " Being instructed out of the law ;" " Which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law." But again, when we regard the two stanzas as forming a whole of ten lines, it meets us at every point, as occupying the first, the central, and the final place. In the next stanza (ver. 21-23) follows a refutation of the vaunted claims of the Jew. The first line (b) " Thou which teachest another," &c., refers to the second stanza (b), which enumerates the claims of the Jew to superior enlightenment above others ; the last line (a) " Thou that gloriest in the Law," &c., to the first stanza (a) which enumerates his claims to personal advantages, connected specially with his possession of the Law ; while in the three intermediate lines (c) are par- ticularized three great sins of which the Jew was guilty, — against his neighbour, against himself, and against his God. " The three capital vices," remarks Haldane, " which the Apostle stigmatizes in the Jews, like those which he had pre- CHAPTER II. 17-29. 151 ferred against the Gentiles, stand opposed, on the one hand, to the three principal virtues which he elsewhere enumerates as com- prehending the whole system of sanctity, namely, to live soberly, righteously, and godly ; and, on the other hand, they are con- formable, to the three odious vices which he had noted among the Gentiles, namely, ungodliness, inteTnperance, unrighteous- ness. [Rom. i. 21-29.] For theft includes, in general, every notion of unrighteousness ; adultery includes that of intemper- ance ; and the guilt of sacrilege, that of ungodliness." * The order, however, in which the sins are enumerated, is reversed, as Bengel remarks ; in the case of the idolatrous Gentiles, the violation of their duty to God is placed in the front, as being their most flagrant and notorious sin ; while in the case of the Jews it is placed last, as amidst all their pro- fessed zeal for the honour of God, still lurking at the bottom of their hearts, and occasionally discovering itself in open acts of profaneness. S 1" Ungodliness, ■g < Intemperance, c5 ( Unrighteousness, Ch. i. 21-23. 24-27. 28-31. JO ( Unrighteousness, 1 <| Intemperance, ( Ungodliness, Ch. ii. 21. 22, first line. 22, second line. Thus the two charges viewed in connection form an example of a prevailing characteristic of scripture arrangements, the Epanodos, by which the principal subject to which attention is meant to be directed is placed first and last ; so that forget- fulness of God (ungodliness) is denoted to be the great trans- gression in which all sin begins and ends — its originating cause to which it is to be traced as its source, and the final, con- summating enormity in which it terminates. -f* With regard to the arrangement of the rest of this passage (ver. 24-29), it must be kept in mind that Parallelism admits frequently of more than one arrangement, which run parallel * Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans, by Robt. Haldane, Esq., Vol. 1., p. 198. t Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, p. 28. 152 CHAPTER II. 17-29. to each other without mutual interference, in order to bring out various sides of the truth."*' That given of the whole passage (ver. 17-29) in the Analytical Commentary, as a Heptad of seven stanzas, brings out into prominence the two- fold division — the first part (ver. 17-23), referring to the Jew, and his boast of the Law; and the second (25-29) referring more especially to his other boast of circumcision — the two being separated by the transitional verse 24.t That this divi- sion was really designed by the apostle will be evident, if we look to the first verse of ch. iii. J. What advantage then hath the Jew ? C. Or what profit is there of CmcuMCisiON? and then observe that. The first of these questions (J) relating to the jew receives its reply in ch. iii., and is shown to consist principally in the possession of this very Law (ver. 2), but only " if used lawfully" (1 Tim. i. 8) ; not to induce boasting, but for the true pur- pose for which it was designed, viz., to be a " schoolmaster to bring unto Christ" (Gal. iii. 24); to make "sin appear sin, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful" (Rom, vii. 13), and so to "conclude all under sin," (Rom. xi. 32, Gal. iii. 22), by making "every man a liar" (Rom. iii. 4), and, above all, " them who are under the Law" to whom it speaks specially, (Rom. iii. 19); necessitating thus the revela- tion of " a righteousness without the Law " (ver. 21), excluding aU "boasting" (ver. 27), yet so far from "making void the Law, that it establishes the Law," (ver. 31). 2. The second question (C), " What profit is there of cir- cumcision ? " is taken up in like manner in ch. iv., and the advantage of circumcision shown to consist, not in its giving any claim to acceptance with God, but in its being " a sign * For instance, see in "Symmct. Struct, of Scripture" the double arrange- ment of the Decalogue p. 144, the multiplicity of relations pointed out between the Beatitudes, ])p. 1G7-188, &c. t See, for similar divisions of the neven, the "Symmetrical Structure of Scrip- ture," Psalm XXV. p. 91 ; Psalm xxxiv. p. 102 ; the "Lord's Prayer and tho Seven Beatitudes," pp. ICO, 1G7, &c. CHAPTER II. 17-29. 153 and seal " of the certainty of the promised blessings to all who " walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet un circumcised," ver. 12. It is in order to draw attention to this two-fold division of the subject, that in the argument prefixed to each in the Analytical Commentary, the words " Neither," " Nor," are used, viz. : — 1. Neither the name of jew, &c., will avail, 2. Nor wiU the outward covenant of circumcision, &c. Yet this arrangement is in no way inconsistent with an- other,* which may be called the continuous arrangement, by which the argument of the whole passage is carried on unin- terruptedly, the connecting words in the text being (not " Neither," "Nor," w^iich w^ould only have indicated the former arrangement, but) FOR, ver. 24, and FOR,-|- ver. 25, which mark an argumentative connexion of the verses with the im- mediately preceding context. The argument, as carried on continuously, may be thus traced : — ■ CLAIMS OF THE JEW. and Ver. 17. Iji the first line, to which the next ten are sub- ordinate, we have the much-vaunted name of jew, which in his own estimation already includes all : 18 1- (a) The highest personal privileges before God ; 19 2. (b) An immeasurable superiority above his fellow- and men, as the teacher and enlightener of an ignorant 20 and wicked world. REFUTATION. Ver. 21 Of b (b) How inconsistent the claim to superior en- ^ ^^" lightenment above others, when the teacher's own mind * Given in the " Symmetr. Stmct. of Scripture," pp. 31, .32. + On the use of a double FOR assigning two co-ordinate reasons, see *' Sym- metrical Structure of Scripture," pp. 56-58, and " Jebb's Sacred Literature," pp. 375-387. 154 CHAPTER II. 17-29. is not enlightened to practise the truth ! " Thou there- fore which teachest another," &c. Ver. 23. Of a. (a) How inconsistent the boast of privileges be- fore God, if God is dishonoured by disobedience ! " Thou that gloriest in the Law," &c. Both confirmed, in the intermediate triplet (c " Thou that preachest," &c.) by the charge of the same three cardinal sins against the Jews, as had been charged against the Gentiles. Corroborative proofs of a and b. Ver. 24. Proof of (b)* (introduced by FOR). FoR, so far from teaching others to honour the name of God, the evil example of His professing worshipper makes it to be reproached by others. Ver. 27. Proof of (a) (introduced by FOR). FoR privileges profit nothing without corresponding practice. CONCLUSION. Ver. 26. Therefore privileges'^ will be transferred to him who has made the most of the little light given to him. Ver. 27. And the superiority shall be given to him to judge and condemn pretenders to knowledge without obedi- ence. ^^^" 90* ^^^ even the name of Jew, and his distinguishing privilege (circumcision) will be of no avail before the judgment seat of God, if it is an outward show alone without the inward reality. Jew or JUDAH means "praise," (Gen. xxix. 35, xlix. 8); but his praise must be of Him who searcheth the heart, " not of men, but of God." " Of b more especially — the making Ood's name be diahonourcd by others being the prominent idea — though j'et, as forming in the two-fold arrangement the intermediate term between the two great divisions, 17-23 and '25-29, it in- cludes also a reference to a (ver. 2.3) the jx-rMiial dishonour done by the Jew to God, as appears from the evitlcnt connexion between "dishononreet thou God," (a, ver. 2.3) and "the name of fJod is blaxphcmed through you," ver. 24. t Instancing these in the case of the most distinguished personal priN-ilegc of which the Jew had to boast, ciKCUMt'lsiON. CHAPTER III. 3, 4. 155 Chapter hi. Ver 3, 4. Here, as in the case of "the righteousness of God," i. 17, far too confined a meaning has been attributed to the expressions, " the faithfulness of God," " God is true (but every man a liar"), as if all that is meant were, that God is faithful to His promises only, (and not also to His threatenings), and that God must be maintained at all hazards to be true, even though every man should thereby be made a liar. But the objections are not put directly as from the mouth of a Jew with his narrow view, in which he would advert to the promises alone of God to His people. St Paul in his own name states those three objections that he knew would be urged by the Jew, but with his own pregnancy of meaning attached to the words. His denial of all superiority to the Jew above the Gentile as to justification before God, or admission into Christ's king- dom, (he affirms), 1. Does not deny all advantage to the Jews, ver. 1, 2. 2. Nor make God untrue to His word, ver. 3, 4. 3. Nor unjust in His treatment of the Jews, as compared with the Gentiles, ver. 5-7. 1. To St Paul's assertion, that it is of no avail for justifica- tion before God, to be "a Jew outwardly," ii. 28, the obvious objection arises, that this denies all advantage to the Jews : "What advantage then hath the Jew [over the Gentile"]? to which the apostle replies, "Much, every way ; first, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God." These were a precious trust committed to them, containing both God's law and promises — a law designed by its holiness to convince them of sin, and by its threatenings of the condemnation they justly incurred, that they might thus be shut up to the acceptance of the gracious promises of mercy to the penitent, and of an everlasting righteousness, to be introduced by a coming Saviour. Ver. 3. " For what [should it be urged] if some had not faith V "Shall their want of faith I reply, [and unfaithful- ness to the covenant] make the faithfulness of God without 156 CHAPTER III. 3-4. effect ?" Such an inference the apostle repels with scorn : " God forbid, yea let God be acknowledged to be true " — true to His Law, true to his promises ; true to the condemnation of all sin pronounced by the one, true to the assurances of a Saviour held forth by the other : " and every man [acknow- ledge himself to be] a liar," condemning himself as having been false to his covenant engagements to his God, that he may thus be prepared to accept of the free justification revealed to believers — confessing himself, his whole life, and all in which he formerly trusted, to be a lie — renouncing it as error, -false- hood, death, that he may embrace Him who is alone " the way, the truth, and the life " — Jew, no less than Gentile, being convicted by his own conscience, that he too has " changed the truth of God into a lie," Rom. i. 25. The words of ver. 4 in the original, yn'sadu 6; 6 ©so; aX?j^r,g, "xaj di avdpcAjTog -^i-ogrri;, imply nothing hypothetical (as usually ex- plained), but expressly demand the confession to be made, " Let God be acknowledged to be [literally made] true, and every man to be a liar." In confirmation of this, let it be observed that the expression is borrowed from Psalm cxvi. 11, where the true Israel,* reduced to utter extremity, as Israel of old in their " hastening "f out of the land of death, and hemmed round by devouring enemies, exclaims, " I said in my hasten- ing away, All ffien are liars " — and not to be depended upon, the Lord alone is my trust and help — " What shall I render imto the Lord for all His benefits?" J With this confession of man's utter falsehood, and acknow- ledgment of God's truthfulness, as the necessary prc-rcquisite for receiving justification and cleansing from God, accords beautifully§ the quotation from Psalm li. 4, where David * That is, Christ in the first instance (Ex. iv. 22 ; Matt. ii. 15, compared with Hosca xi. 1 ; Isa. xlix. 3), and they that are Christ's in the second. t See "Christ and His Church in the Book of Psahns," by Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, pp. 347 and 107. X Comi)are Ps. cxviii. 8, part of the same series of Passover Psalms, predic- tive of a new exodus. § How much more appropriate, too, the fuller meaning thus given to "God's truth " and "man's lie," is to the great object of St. Paul's rcasouiug, needs no comjuent. CHAPTER III. 3-4. 157 founds his plea for the bestowal of these blessings on the full and unreserved confession that he makes of his own utter un- worthiness, and of the justice of the severe judgment which, not- withstanding His promises to David, God had through Nathan denounced against his sin, " Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house : because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife," &c., 2 Sam. xii. 10-12. In ver. 1 and 2 he prays for God's forgiveness, and cleansing from his sin — ^ 1. Have mercy upon me, 0 God, according to thy loving kindness : According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin : these petitions being enforced on the plea, 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions ; And my sin is ever before me ; [humbly confessing] * 4. " Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, And done the evil thing in Thy sight " ; That Thou mayest be justified when Thou speakest, And be clear when Thou judgest. that is, " I acknowledge my transgressions " — " that Thou mayest be justified when Thou speakest," &c. I observe that Dr. Morison, in his late monograph on this chapter, has stated that " when the apostle adds, ' but every man a liar,' there can be no doubt that Riickert is right in regarding the addition as being, so far as the apostle's main object is concerned, unessential." It is, on the contrary, in striking accordance with his " main object," the very point that he is occupied in proving being, as he states in ver. 9, "we have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; in ver. 19, " that all the world onay become guilty before God; " and in ver. 23, " for all have sinned." It needs, * This connection appears more simple than that given in Symmetrical Struc- ture of Scripture, pp. 121, 122. 158 CHAPTER III. 5-7. I think, but to place in juxtaposition with these passages, " Let every man be acknowledged a liar," to see their relation. Thus a close connexion is introduced into the whole reason- ing, and a ground assigned for the selection of the expression sTTisnudrjgav, " they were entrusted " [viz., and yet, alas ! proved liars and untrue to their trust] ; instead of what might otherwise have been expected, such as " Chiefly, because that unto them were given, or revealed, the oracles of God," or some similar expression. It is not, we may feel assured, for the sake of a mere jingle of words that the apostle has written s-Triors-jdrjaav, ver. 2, Ti'^'icirriaav — jj u'ziarla — rr,v TiffTiv, ver. 3, but to indicate their intimate connexion. The Jews were intrusted with the oracles of God, that they might themselves believe and trust in God's revelation of His holy law, with its denunciations against sin, and promises of a Saviour from it, and might lead others to the same belief and trust. What, if some believed not ? Shall their unbelief of God's truth make God untrue either to His threatenings or promises 1 Far be the thought from us. The very first end to which God's law was designed to lead Avas to the acknowledgment that God is ever holy and true, but that men are all unholy and untrue, and to a humble participation in David's confession, " I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me — that Thou mayest be justified Avhen [notwith- standing whatsoever good Thou hadst before spoken to Thy servant] Thou speakest " [now severe judgments against him]. Ver. 5-7. The precise connection of the apostle's reasoning in these verses has been much disputed. The difficulty may perhaps be best solved by drawing more sharply than is usually done the distinction between God's truth in ver. 3 and 4, and God's righteousness in ver, 5, and observing that the first re- lates to His tvord, the second to his dealings or judgments. The import of the objection here stated is that the doctrine laid down by the apostle, that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile in respect to justification before the tribunal of God, makes God to be unjust in His judgments or respective dealings towards Jew and Gentile. The very righteousness and justice of God, as it appeared to a Jew, would be impugned by the supposition that all are to be treated alike, and that God's CHAPTER III. 10-18. 159 own people and children are to be put upon exactly the same footing as the idolatrous Gentiles who have forsaken the worship of the true God for false gods.* The objection is thus put by St. Paul, " But if our unrighte- ousness [it might be urged, in not obeying fully God's covenant] only renders the more conspicuous the righteousness of God [in making the just distinction between His own people and the sinners of the Gentiles, and adhering to His covenant with the Jews] what shall we say?" That God is unrighteous in taking vengeance [on our breach of His covenant] ? I speak [not in my own person, but] as sinful man [sometimes aUows himself to speak]. God forbid ; for [on this ground] how shall God judge the world ? For [the whole world (every one) might equally urge the same argument in bar of God's judgment ; every one, Tag civdpojvog, as we have seen, being declared in God's word to be a Har, and God only to be true, iii. 4, and might plead]. If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His glory, why yet am even I, xa/w, to be judged as a sinner [" even I," i.e., however sinful I may be, since the greater my sin the greater is God's grace in pardoning it]? Thus understood, the reply is conclusive, and the argument of the Jews turned completely against themselves. The ob- jection to the view of Reiche, Olshausen, &c., who explain xoV/xos (as opposed to " our [Jews'] unrighteousness ") of the Gentiles exclusively, is removed; xoe'Mog, "the world," including all, Jews and Gentiles, answering to the -ras avdpoj-Trog, " every man," of vei. 4 ; and the Kayw, "even I," of ver, 7 is not I, the Gentile, but I, every one; though, of course, the reader natur- ally applies it more particularly to the Gentiles, whose sin specially it was declared to be, that " they changed the truth of God into a lie " (i. 25). Chapter hi. 10-18. Yer. 10-18. If Ave examine the context of the original passages here quoted, e.g.. Psalm xiv., we find that those de- * Compare the 3rd of the corresponding objections in ch. ix. 14. 160 CHAPTER III. 10-18. noted by the phrase " none that doeth good," ver. 1, form only a part of the Israelites (David's enemies), contrasted with whom is " the generation of the righteous," ver. 5 ; in Psalm v., to those whose " throat is an open sepulchre, ver. 9, stand opposed "the righteous," ver, 12, &,c. How then do the quotations in ver. 11-18 prove the point for which they seem to be adduced, that the whole human race without exception, Jews as well as Gentiles, " are all under sin," ver. 9, " that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God," ver. 19 ? Not directly — for St. Paul cannot mean to charge upon every individual Jew the sins recounted in these verses, no more than to say of every Gentile that he was guilty of the whole dark catalogue of vices charged against idolaters in chap. i. 18-32. The fearful picture there drawn of the heathen world, he here parallels with a similar testimony borne by the Holy Spirit in their o^vn scriptures, to the general degeneracy of the Israelites at various periods of their history ; in order to prove that they were equally guilty, nay more so, considering their superior ad- vantages as compared with the heathen. Both descriptions were designed to testify to the universality of the fall, and to the inveteracy of the corruption which broke out into such fearful excesses, and that equally in the case of the great body of the Jews as of the Gentiles. This once conceded, and the Jews' national boast of superior righteousness overthroAvn, the way was cleared for each individual's conscience making the ap- plication to himself, " If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand?" (Ps. cxxx. 3.) " Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin '( " (Prov. XX. 9). " For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not " (Ecclcs. vii. 20). Viewed in this light the universal applicability even of the strongest expressions quoted will be evident. " There is none righteous, no, not one ; there is none that undcrstaudeth, there is none that seeketh after God." These words, quoted from Psalm xiv., are indeed a description of the psalmist's adversa- ries, contrasted with whom is " tlie generation of the rigliteous," ver. 5 ; just as in Psalm xxxii. we have the "righteous and CHAPTER III. 21-26. 161 upright in heart," who are invited to "rejoice and shout for joy," ver. 11, contrasted with " the wicked," ver. 10, to whom "many sorrows" are denounced. But who are "the righte- ous " that are thus called on to " rejoice " ? The first words of the Psalm teach us, " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." The psalmist and "every one that is godly," ver, 6, differ from others, not through any freedom from sin, or righteousness of their own, of which they could boast above their neighbours, but solely because they cover not their sins, but humbly join in the confession of David in ver. 5 — I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity Lave I not hid. I said, " I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord : " — And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. The possession of the Law, therefore, so far from leading to any boast of superiority on the part of the Jew, ought on the contrary to humble him, and prepare him, by deepej: conviction of his sinfulness, for the reception of the gospel of grace. " For by the Law is the knowledge of sin," ver. 20. The Law, if "a man use it lawfully," does not puff up with the vain con- ceit of any fancied righteousness of one's own, but convinces of. the violation of its strict and spiritual demands. " The Law is not mgide for a righteous man, but for the lawless and dis- obedient," 1 Tim. i. 9, being " added because of transgressions," Gal. iii. 19, and having " entered, that the offence might mul- tiply," Rom. v. 20. Chapter hi. 21-26. "We have here a notable instance, of the unwillingness of commentators to see or allow the comprehensiveness of the Scripture phraseology, in the meaning which they attach to the phrase diKaiosuvr} Qioii, " the righteousness of God," in this pas- sage. It is impossible to deny that in verses 21, 22 it must L 162 CHAPTER III. 21-26. include the justifying righteousness of God, the Sixaioj/uvoi hupidv, " being justified freely," of ver. 24 being too plain to be overlooked or explained away. Again, in ver. 25, "fo] a declaration of His righteousness," when taken in connexio with the words immediately following, " because of \hQ passing over of sins in time past during the forbearance of God," so evidently alludes to the apparent obscuration for a time of the justice or retributive righteousness of God in omitting to visit sin with its due penalty, that this meaning has been assigned to the expression in this verse by many of the same commen- tators (De Wette, Meyer, Tholuck, Philippi, Hodge, Alford, &c.) who had given it the other signification in ver. 21. Yet strange to say, they fail to perceive that St. Paul intends to combine both meanings, as he expressly says in ver. 26, "that He might be just and the juslifler of him that belie veth in Jesus," and that no such strict line of demarcation ought to be draAvn between the different meanings of the phrase as is generally done ; but that he means to represent the gospel as a full manifestation of God's riglitcousness in all its bearings and varying aspects, though a prominence may in certain passages be given to one aspect above the others. In ver. 21 God's sanctifying or sin-exterminating righteousness must also be included, if He is to demonstrate Himself to be "just " finally at the last day, since " the im^ath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." A glance at the corresponding lines, as indicated by the parallelism, will show at once the two sides of this righteous- ness to which the apostle means here to give special promin- ence. It is regarded, 1st, in the lines marked a, a, a, as a righteous- ness received by the sinner through faitli, by which he is justi- fied ; and, 2dly, in those marked b, b, ]), (3, as implicating God's own inherent perfection of righteousness. In justifying or pronouncing righteous the ungodly, God's own righteousness might seem to be compromised as the righteous sovereign who has denounced death as the wages of sin, and who " will by no means clear the guilty : " but now it is declared that in the gospel has been manifested a righteousness of God which re- CHAPTER III. 21-26. 163 conciles these two apparently incompatible perfections, of jus- tice and mercy — God's judicial righteousness being vindicated by the penalty endured by His own Son in the room of the guilty, so that mercy may be consistently extended to the penitent sinner. 21. 'Nvvi Bs y^ctiph voijjOX) Ar/.ot,io(JvvYi Qsou TTifavipoiTai, MaprvpovfjjSVTj vto rov vo/jbou xai rw '7Tpo(priTuv^ 22. Aixaiosuvrj d's Qiou hia TiGnug 'Ir]Gov Xpicrou, Elg Tavrag xal s-ti '^rdvrag rovg TK^rsvovrag' 23. OD ydp sGriv oiadroXT]' ndvTig yap Tjixaprov, zai bffrspoijvrai rr^g do^rig rou Qioij' 24. a A.r/.aio{jij.ivoi hupidv rr^ ahroZ ydpiri -, j A/a rr^g dToXurp'Jiasu; rrig sv XpiffTuj 'ijjtroE/, 25. [Ov Tposhro 6 Qihg iXacirripiov a Aid •x/ffrswj sv rui aurov a'l/j^ari, ( Eig svdsi^iv Trig dixaiosvvrig ahrov, h ■< Aid TYjv 'Trdpigiv ruv 'TTpoyiyovorcuv d/j^apTrifJLdruv ( 'Ev r^ dvoyyj roZ 020?, 26. •■ J TLphg TYjV ivdsi^iv rrjg dixaioaiivrig auTou j Upog r'/)v 'iv8si^iv ' /3 Etg TO sivai avrov dixaiov a Kal br/.aio\JVTa rov sx iriffrsug 'irjeou. This righteousness is characterized by a series of antitheses. It is " apart from the Law," and yet previously "witnessed to by the law and the prophets," ver. 21. It is "freely" (dajpsdv, excluding the idea of debt) bestowed on the believer, and yet the full " redemption "-price has been paid by Christ Jesus, ver. 24. It is of God's " grace" (excluding the idea of nient), and yet full atonement has been made to God on a blood- besprinkled "propitiatory," ver. 25. "In time past," during God's " forbearance " under the law, when it might seem by " the passing over of the sins " committed without any adequate atonement, that God's righteousness was in abeyance, never- theless blood (though of bulls and goats) sprinkled on an out- ward propitiatory, (the mere type of the true) served for a de- claration iig hbsit,iv, ver. 24, of His righteousness during the 164 CHAPTER III. 21-26. time then being ; but now, ver. 20 (])), h rCj v[jv xaifZ, that the true propitiatory has replaced the typical, and the blood of the true " Lamb of God " has been sprinkled on it, it is " unto the [full] declaration," rrphg rriv hhii^iv, V. 26, of "His righteousness at this present time." Thus the righteousness of God, as now manifested in His imputing and imparting it to believers, is declared in no degree to trench upon his own inherent attribute of Righteousness, (or justice), which is thereby only the more fully and gloriously displayed. Full satisfaction is given to its demands as regards Himself, while He communicates of its fulness to others. He is " righteous, and at the same time pronounces righteous him that is of faith in Jesus." Those, therefore, seem evidently to err, who with a modern school confine the idea of the " satisfac- tion" made to God's righteousness, to the satisfaction He felt in His seeing a perfect righteousness which He had longed for in vain in man, at length realized in Christ Jesus, and through Him restored to humanity — though this sense is sXao included. The view of these theologians errs in being one-sided. They are anxious to inculcate a most important aspect of God's righteousness as manifested in the gospel — the subjective — as realized in man ; but they omit that on which alone it can be securely based — the objective — as realized, through Christ to man's apprehension, in God in both aspects of His character, as the moral governor of the universe, as well as the loving Father of all. " Mercy and truth" must first " meet together" in God, "righteousness and peace" must "kiss each other" and be reconciled in Him, and full " satisfaction " be shown to be rendered to the claims of both attributes, before they can produce their due effects on man. God's mercy must not be magnified at the expense of His truth. If God has said, "The wages of sin is death," death must follow, in the administration of the divine government, to the sinner, either in his own per- son or in that of a substitute f' otherwise God's truth is com- * Nay, in the very mode of salvation appointeil, the righteousness of Goil and the trutli of I lis threatenings are enforced upon the sinner. De.ith still follows ujion sin — the death of the old man and the entire surrender of the i)resent life — although hy Ciod's grace this is turned into the very means of attaining the new life and perfecting man's cure. CHAPTER TIL 21-26. 165 promised, and the majesty of His law tarnished. How entirely- consonant this is to the plain dictates of the human mind is proved by the well known story of the Locrian king, who, on his son being the first to violate the law which he had passed denouncing the loss of both eyes to any one guilty of adultery, both demonstrated his love to his son by submitting himself to the loss of an eye to save one of his son's, and yet impressed on all, only the more forcibly, his firm determination to uphold the truth of his royal word and the sanctity of his law. The Almighty has two characters to maintain, neither of which must be overlooked. He is not only the loving Father who delights to forgive the child, but He is the righteous Sovereign, whose Law must receive its full vindication ; and it is the glory of the gospel, not that it " makes void the Law," but that it reconciles in most perfect harmony the apparently con- flicting attributes of righteousness and mercy, and of truth and love, and shows the Lord of all to be " Sb just God, and [yet] a Saviour," Isaiah xlv. 21— a righteous Sovereign, as well as a compassionate Father, '' visiting iniquity, and shewing mercy," Exod. XX. 5-6 — " forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," yet "that will by no means clear the guilty," Exod. xxxiv. 7 — the "just" Judge, and yet " the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," Rom. iii. 26 ; all these seeming contradictions meet- ing in Him who was " God manifest in the flesh," who united in Himself both characters of " King of righteousness " and " King of peace," Heb. vii. 2, Let us now consider more particularly some of the expressions used in this passage. Tlposdsro — 'iXaffTrjpiov, v. 25. In attempting to elucidate some of the diflficulties in these verses, two principles of interpretation have been kept in view, which seem to require a more strict observance than is usually paid to them by commentators. 1. The signification of a word familiar to a writer, and uniformly attached by him to it (and its derivatives) in all undoubted instances, ought if possible to be retained in an obscure instance, in preference to any other. 166 CHAPTER III. 21-26. Now the verb TPoridi/j.ai (used in iii. 25), and its derivative rpohffig, in the other eight instances in which they are used by St Paul, are uniformly translated "purpose" in the A.V., (Rom. i. 13; Eph. i. 9; Rom. viii. 28, ix. 11; Eph. i. 11, iii. 11; 2 Tim. i. 9, iii. 10) ; and when spoken of God (as in six of these instances), they refer always to the purpose formed by Him in His eternal counsels for the salvation of believers. This strongly confirms the opinion of those who would retain the same meaning in ver. 25, and translate the passage "whom God purposed to be a propitiatory," or, as in margin of Author. Version, "foreordained." Much the same principle applies to the signification to be put upon iXuffrrisiov, which is the word uniformly employed in the Septuagint for the propitiatory, or mercy-seat* To assign to it any other meaning than that which St Paul knew that every reader of the Old Testament must attach to it, seems almost equivalent to saying that he wrote to be mis- understood, or was incompetent to select a fit expression to render his meaning clear and unambiguous. •!• 2. We ought not to suppose that any good writer heaps together prepositions or other expressions pleonastically, with- • See Philippi's Commentary on this passage, in which he has well vin- dicated this meaning from all objections. t Ought not the principle here enunciated to be laid do^vn as a Canon of scriptural interpretation? \-iz., that where there is a uniform usage affixing a particular meaning to a word in the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the in- terpreter is bound to adhere to the same meaning in the New Testament, unless the writer or speaker has given the clearest intimations that he meant it to be otherwise understood. This would settle at once the disputed meanings of such words as IXaaTripiov, Sia0TjKr], &c. In Dr Morrison's Monograph on Rom. iii., he seems satisfactorily to have proved that there is no instance of IXajT^ipiov being used substantively in the meaning of a propitiatory sacrifice. He concludes for the ailjectival meaning of " set forth as 2)ropilkt(ory,'' which, as applied to Christ, would designate Him as the antitypical fulfilment of all the symbols of propitiation. This is a more satisfactory explanation than that of those who would translate the word "propitiation," or "propitiator." But I prefer the meaning " a proi)itiatory " or "mercy-seat" (as concentrating into one focus, on the great day of atonement, all the other prf)pitiatory services of the year), not only for the reason stated above, but also on account of the pervading allusion throughout the whole pas- sage (traced below) to the mysteries of the Holy of Holies. CHAPTER III. 21-26. 167 out intending to express different ideas by each, e.g., that St. Paul uses ug rravTag, and J*/ itavrai* "for all, and upon all" in ver. 22, without any distinct idea meant to be expressed by each (as Koppe, Riickert, Reich e, &c.) ; or that in ver. 25, 26, in varying tig 'ivdei^iv to 'jrpog ttiv hbut,i^, he uses tig and 'TTpog indiscriminately, merely "for the sake of euphony" (Philippi) ; and that no distinction is intended when he uses evdei^iv luitli, and without the article, but that the one expres- sion is merely a repetition and enforcement of the other, as in the Author. Version "to declare His righteousness," ver. 25, " to declare, / say, at this time His righteousness. ""f* Keeping these principles in view, we remark that all of the series of remarkable antitheses in these verses seem to be di- rected to two points. 1. To show that, in the manifestation of the Righteousness of God now made through the Gospel, there is an entire har- mony between its two different asjDects — the retributive, and the justifying. 2. To show the harmony between the former dispensation, and the present.^ . The former of these points has already been illustrated, see pp. 162-165. The latter is that which seems calculated to throw light on the difficulties we are at present considering. Yer. 21. There is a manifestation noiu made, apart from the Law ; yet borne witness to before, by the Law and the prophets. Ver. 22. This righteousness was from the first, in God's predestinated purpose, designed for all, tig 'Kavrag ; * That is, provided tliat /cat evrl TrajTos is the genuine reading. Still less, if not genuiae, can we suppose that those who thought the addition necessary, considered the exj)ressions equivalent. \ So also in tlie "Eevision of the Autli. Version by Five Clergymen," each is translated, "For the shewing forth of His righteousness." X On this, as an important argument for conciliating the Jew, the apostle laid much stress, as is evident from its beiag the first point mentioned in the introductory epitome of the principal topics of the Epistle given in chap. i. 2-6> ' ' the gospel of God, which He had promised afore by His prophets in the holy scriptures," ver. 2. 168 CHAPTER III. 21-26. And now is "poured down"* upon all, ezl rravrag, that be- lieve. Ver. 25. God, '7rpoUiro,f "before purposed, foreordained" Jesus Christ to be a mercy seat, to whom the eyes of believers were to be directed as their propitiatory. b. More dimly shadowed forth, under the former dispensa- tion, by the type of the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, upon which the adoring gaze of the Chei-ubim (the emblems of the Redeemed Church) was continually bent ; e/'s hdii^iv (without the article) " for an [indefinite] exhibi- tion" in type, " of God's judicial righteousness" — [in both its aspects of sin-condemning, and sin-forgiving righteousness] for the time then being — necessary " because of the passing over of sins in time past,^ during the forbearance of God." The apostle uses irdpioiv "passing over" (not cipaiv "remission") of sins. It was therefore an imperfect exhibition of God's righte- ousness in both its aspects that could then be made, since sin appeared to be " passed over," not truly condemned and atoned for ; and the sinner not to be truly justified, nor " sprinkled in heart from an evil conscience," Heb. x. 22, because it was " not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take aAvay sins," Heb. x. 4.§ • Isaiah xlv. 8. * ' Drop down ye heavens from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness." Compare Psalm Ixxii. 6 : Ixxxv. 11 : Titus iii. 6, &c. Or iirl, according to an- other Biblical figure, may be meant to express that righteousness is put as a robe vpon believers ; compare Isaiah Ixi. 10 ; Kom. xiii. 14 ; Gal. iii. 27 ; Eph. iv. 24. t The contrast between tv irpoieero 6 Ge6s, "whom God/ore-ordaincd," ver. 25, and wvl Si w((pavipuTai, but mnr has been manijtstcd," ver. 21, receives light, and confirmation that/or<'-ordained [purposed i^/ore/(OH(/] is the true rendering of irpoidiTo, from its exact i);irallelism with 1 Pet. i. 20, irpotfucja/j.ii'ov p.kv trpb KaTapoXijs Kbafiov, a.v(pi>)0ivTo% Si iir' iaxo-Tov twv xpbvuv dl v/j-Sis, ' ' who verily was /t»/Y -ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in t/iese last times for you." I Comp.are Jleb. ix. l.*). § The atonement and sacrifices under the Kaw M-ere, like the di.spcnsation itself and every thing under it, but "the shadows of good things to come, and not the very image of the things," Heb. x. 1. The sins dealt with were but out- ward ceremonial defilements, and the sacrifices ofl'ered made but a uiere cere- monial atonement for these. For sin itself, the inward dehlemcut of the heart, CHAPTER III. 21-26. 169 This typical exhibition of God's righteousness by the blood- sprinkled mercy-seat was ev rp kw/r^ t-oD esoD, in the time of the forbearance of God/''^ as contrasted with that in ver. 26, (|)), h TU) vJv xaipu) " in this present time," yet preparatory to it ; (b) "^f^s ^'1" 'f'l'^^'^"' (with the article) pointing forward to the [definite t^vY] exhibition, to be openly and fully made "of His righteousness " as complete in both its aspects, in the antitype Christ, as the true mercy-seat sprinkled with His own blood of atonement. Thus "TTphg Tr\\/ 'ivdii^iv rrjg dixaioff-ovrig auTOu h rw vvv xaip'Jj, " for the shelving forth of His righteousness in the time now present," is strikingly parallel to 'Nw! di hrA.aioa\j<^ri 0:-oD Ts^a- v'spurai, " But notu the righteousness of God is manifested," iii. 21 ; and since in ver. 26 commentators are generally agreed in giving to bixaioa-ovn the meaning of "justice" or God's attri^ hute of righteousness, — a meaning necessarily required by the expression rrdpigiv, passing by, [not apsc/i/, remission,] (though not exclusive of the other) — the same meaning ought surely to be extended to it in ver. 21 : and again, as they generally attribute to it, in ver. 21, the meaning of "justifying righteousness," consistency requires this meaning to be extended to it in b and Iq, ver. 25, 26. We have thus, as already mentioned, a clear proof of the pregnancy of meaning for which we contend, as attributable to hr/Miosbvri esoD, and which St Paul immediately in the most express terms assigns to it ; s/'s rh ihai aurov dlnaiov xal dixaiouvra, " just" and "justifying." the Law made no provision. Still in dealing with the figures of these realities, and in the symbolical teaching thus conveyed, a pledge was given of better things to come, and the hope was awakened that that God, who opened up the way of return, when closed by ceremonial sins, to communion with Himself in His worship, and manifested His righteousness in providing an outward atonement by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy-seat, would one day provide a real atonement for those sins which defiled the conscience, and justify the sinner ' ' from all those things from which he could not be justified by"the law of Moses," Acts xiii. 39. The "mercy-seat" therefore was els ^vSei^ip for a (typical) manifestation. * Compare Acts xvii. 30, ' ' And the times of this ignorance God winked at {vTTepidwv, 'overlooked,') but now [to. vvv) commandeth all men every where to repent." X TTjv ^vS. This is the reading of all the first-class MSS., and followed by Tischendorf, Lachmann, Alford, B. F. Westcott &c. 170 THE GLORY OF GOD. The preposition tig, both in ver. 22, and 25, seems to ex- press, according to one of its most ordinary significations with the accusative, the purpose for Avhich any thing is intended. In ver. 22, where it is opposed to im, elg 'zoo/ra; probably signifies " designed for all," It! rrdvrag, " poured down upon all;' iig referring more to God's original ^jwr^wse to include all, Gentiles as well as Jews, in His promised salvation, (compare Eph. i. 5, 10, 12, 14) ; et/, more to its realization, and over- flowing fulness of accomplishment in the communicated bless- ings of the gospel, (so nearly Meyer, Philippi, &c.) In ver. 25, ilg as opposed to rrpug would in like manner in- dicate the design of God in His having purposed or foreordained Christ {vpoi&iTo) as a propitiatory, but more distantly and obscurely, as shown in the type of the mercy-seat, iig hhi^iv "for an exhibition of His righteousness ;" while rrplg rriv £vd. expresses the more open purpose now manifested in Christ the antitype before all, (-a-pos being connected with t^o "fore, he-fore," as s/j^^si/g, with Iv. " np6g quiddam prsesentius notat, Rom, XV. 2, Eph. iv. 1 2," Bengel.) Ver. 25. dia cr/Vrewg Iv rZ ahroZ az/xar/, " through faith in His blood." For a defence of the rendering in the A.V. of this phrase see note P. p. 459 of "The Nature and the Effects of Faith," by the Bishop of Ossory, 2d edition. Ver. 23. " The glory of God." The conclusions now reached tend to throw back a clear light on the meaning of the expression in ver. 23, "and have come short of the glory of God," to the examination of which we now proceed. The result will, we believe, strongly corrobo- rate the meaning assigned to iXagTy^piov of " the mercy scat," and evince that St. Paul liad before his mind, throughout the whole passage, the typical import of the Holy of Holies with its sacred furniture. A large munbcr of commentators interpret " the glory of God " as meaning " the praise which comes from God." That this, liowever, is far from exhausting its meaning seems fairly deducible from a comparison with other passages of the epistle. CHAPTER III. 23. 171 1. We read in ii. 7 of those who "seek for glory," and to whom God will award it, ver. 10. 2. Here, in iii. 23, of those that " come short of the glory of God." 3. Then in v. 2, that those who have attained to justifica- tion by faith in Christ can "rejoice in hope of [attaining] the glory of God." 4. Next, in viii. 30, that this glory is the final consummation of all the hopes of the Christian ; for " whom He called, them He also justified ; and whom He justified, them He also glorified." 5. And it is a glory so great that we may well wait and " suffer with Christ that we may be also glorified together " with Him. " For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us," verses 17 and 18 ; namely, at "the manifestation of the sons of God," ver. 19. What then precisely is this glory ? It is a partaking in " the glory of God." Such is Christ's promise to His followers. " The glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them," John xvii. 22. The blessedness of heaven, our Lord tells His apostles, is to consist in " beholding My glory which Thou gavest Me," ver. 24 — and being like Him, as the beloved dis- ciple informs us, " It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see him as He is," 1 John iii. 2. HoAv is this glory to be attained or communicated ? By contemplating, as we are instructed by St. Paul, the glory of God as reflected to us in Him who is " the brightness of His glory." " We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 18. But this passage leads us inevitably to compare the mani- festation of the glory of God made to Christians in the face of Christ Jesus, with the more imperfect manifestation made under the ancient dispensation to Moses of that " glory which was to be done away," 2 Cor. iii. 7-18. He alone of the Israelites was admitted face to face to see that glory, and a 172 THE GLORY OF GOD. faint reflection of it, soon to pass away, was seen in his coun- tenance ; while " we [Christians] all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." The great aspiration of Moses ever was to see more and more of this glory. Hence his importunate request, after he had been already forty days and forty nights in the midst of " the glory of the Lord that abode upon Mount Sinai," Exod. xxiv. IG, was still, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," Exod. xxxiii. 18. The Lord vouchsafed to grant his request. Let us then, that we may gain a clearer conception of this glory, observe wherein the manifestation of it consisted. " And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed," Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7, The Lord, the Lord God, Merciful and gracious, Long-suffering, And abundant in mercy and truth ; Keeping mercy for thousands, Forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, And that will by no means clear the guilty; Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, And upon the children's children, Unto the third and fourth generation. The union of abounding mercy with sin-visiting righteous- ness— of perfect love with perfect holiness — forms the essence of the manifestation of God's " name " and glory here made to Moses. But the reflection of this glory was beheld in Moses' face, every time that he spoke to the Israelites after having been in the presence of God, though it soon faded away, so that immediately " after* he had done speaking with them he put a veil on his face," Exod. xxxiv. 33, in order " that the child- ren of Israel might not steadfastly look to tlie end of that * The insertion in our authorised, as in most versions, of the word "fill," for which there is no warrant iu the Hebrew', completely reverses the meaning of this passage. CHAPTER III. 23. 173 [dispensation] which was to be abolished," 2 Cor. iii. 13.* How then did he renew the reflectit)n of the glory on his countenance, when he wished to enforce any new commands of the Lord upon the Israelites ? By going in again into the sanctuary of the Lord, as we read in Exod. xxxiv. 34, " But whensoever Moses (jjw'xa 6' av fi(rs'7rof'$vsTo LXX.) went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off ('xipiripiTro LXX. ; "i""?* [the Imperfect or continuative, generally called in Hebrew grammars the Future], he was in the hahit of talcing off the veil) until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone (in LXX. on hho^aGrat, that it had been glorified) ; and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak Avith Him " — his habitually veiled counte- nance denoting the veiled character of the dispensation which he was commissioned to introduce. What then was the character of that glory which was beheld in the tabernacle ? is our next inquiry. The part of the tabernacle in which the glory of the Lord was statedly present was the Holy of Holies, and therein more immediately the propitiatory or mercy seat, according to the promise made by the Lord in Exod. xxv. 21, 22, "And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark ; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee fror)i above the mercy seat, from between the cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony." The typical import of the furniture of the Most Holy Place, as generally understood, is : In the ark were deposited the two Tables of the Law, or of the Testimony, so called as testfying to the holiness of God, and against the un- holiness of man. But the voice of accusation that it was con- tinually sending up against His people's transgression to the * See tlie notes of Meyer, Alford, or Wordswortli on 2 Cor. iii. 13 ; and ob- serve ptarticularly eridii KaXvfifxa, "teas in the habit of putting on ^ Yei\," &ndi irphs TO fjirj dTevlaai roiis i/ioi>s 'laparjX els to tAos toO KaTapyovfihov, "in order that the sons of Israel might not look on the end, or the fading, of that transitory glory. " — Alford. 174 THE GLORY OF GOD. holy God, who sat enthroned between the cherubim above, was silenced or covered by "(the capporeth, nisa) the propitiatory covering, or mercy seat, on which the blood of atonement was sprinkled, so that the holy eye of God resting complacently on the blood of reconciliation was appeased and satisfied ; and the eyes of the cherubim were steadfastly bent down on the blood-sprinkled mercy seat in adoring contemplation of this wondrous manifestation of righteousness and mercy reconciled, of perfect holiness united with perfect love. There is thus the most entire coincidence and beautiful harmony between " the glory of God " as revealed in His " name " proclaimed before Moses, and as beheld in the Holy of Holies on the propitiatory (viz., the union of perfect holiness with perfect love) ; and again between this glory and that " righteousness of God," "just a.nd justifying," now manifested in Him in whom is God's "name," Ex. xxiii. 21; and who alone could "manifest and declare that name," John xvii. 6, 20; who is "the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person," Heb. i. 3. The glory of God, of which man has " come short " by sin, and into which it is the great object of the gosjiel to renew him, is that which was at first designed for man, when made " in the image of God ; " that glory which, through the fall, he became powerless to behold, much less to reflect ; which, faintly re- vealed under the old dispensation to the few admitted to approach the Holy of Holies — and, to the great body of wor- shippers, manifested only in the evanescent rays reflected occasionally from Moses' face, or in sudden flashes from out the dark pillar of cloud — is now laid open to the full gaze of all Chris- tians in the face of God's own Son, in whom " mercy and truth " have again " met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Unto Him all are invited" to come, that " beholding in Him as in a glass the glory of the Lord " they may themselves be " changed into the same image from glory to glory;" and .shining as lights in the midst of a benighted world, may reflect even here below, each in his mciusurc, the holiness of God in harmonious union with divine love. Thus the very reason alleged by Meyer for rejecting any CHAPTER IV. , 175 reference to the " image of God's glory " — viz., that " it is in- consistent with the context, and that ri do^a tou ©eoD [the glory of God] here intended cannot differ substantially from the dizaioavvrj Oiov [the righteousness of God], as its connection with the immediately following Ar/,aiou/jjsvoi, &c. [Being justified freely, &c.], clearly shows," — changes into a strong argument for its adoption.* The context demands this meaning to the phrase, and its identity with " the righteousness of God " has been demonstrated. The pregnancy of meaning already claimed for hr/.aioG\jyri ©eoD,"!* and to be claimed for n aycurrri rov QioZ,\ is now seen to belong to n Ut,a roZ Qio-j. All the three expressions are brought into the finest harmony, as all pointing to the same thing — all denoting originally what belongs to God 'pos- sessively, as His essential perfection — " Gods righteousness," " God's love," " God's glory ; " yet all as communicable to man by virtue of his union with God through Christ Jesus, by whom he can be rendered a " partaker of the divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. Chapter iv. The argument in this chapter is most skilfully managed so as to answer a double purpose. 1. It rephes to the yet un- answered objection proposed in ch. iii. 1, " What profit is there of circumcision ? " and 2. it is made equally to promote the great subject of section B, under which it occurs, viz., to prove that "Righteousness is by Faith," not by Law or any outward observance. This it does by showing from the instance of Abraham, in relation specially to the time and to the promise connected with his circumcision, that FAITH alone justifies,, irrespectively of all works, ver. 2-8, of circumcision, 9-12 ; of Law, 13-16 ; a faith of which Abraham's is the pattern, 17- 25.§ * See Kommentar tiber den Romerbrief von Dr. Heinr. , Aug. Wilb. Meyer. f See Notes oni. 16, 17, pp. 102-106, and Dissertation on diKaioavvr), p. 108 ff. X See Notes on cbaj). v. 5, and viii. 28-39. § Compare a similar instance in 1 Cor. ix. , wliere St. Paiil, in inculcating the obligation of consulting the scruples of weaker brethren, by adducing his own example of self-denial, at the same time skilfully turns his argument into a defence of the authority, dignity, and independence of his apostleship which his adversaries in Corinth had impugned. 176 CHAPTER IV. At the close of chap, iii., it was said, ver. 29, 30, that God was the God of the Gentiles also as well as of the Jews, and therefore would "justify the uncircumcision through faith, as well as the circumcision that was of faith." This brings up again the second of the two objections of the Jews started in iii. 1, and which had not yet received an answer, " What profit is there of circumcision ? " This question is now repeated in iv. 1 in equivalent terms, If circumcision and uncircumcision are thus placed on the same footing with regard to justification before God, " What shall we say then that Abraham our father has gained according to the flesh ? " Is God's solemn cove- nant ratified in the flesh of every Jew according to those Avords of God's appointment, "it shall be in your flesh for an ever- lasting covenant," Gen. xiii. 13, of no avail? Are Ave not thereby made God's people, and therefore accepted and justified before Him, as the fulfilment of His part of the covenant, whenever we have performed our part in obeying His command by circumcising our children ? Surely to our father Abraham this rite of circumcision, or cutting off the filthiness of the flesh, was the outward sign of Avhat God was to do for him inwardly, by circumcising the foreskin of his heart, putting away his sin, and receiving him into His covenant ? If not. What shall we say then that Abraham our father Hath found as pertaining to the Jle.'^h? The answer would be of course, as to the former of the ques- tions in iii. 2, " Much every way, chiefly &c. ; " but before pro- ceeding to state the chief reason (the 'rrpurov /uv iii. 2), Avhich he does in ver. 11, he must first repel any supposed concession as to the main point — of justification, or right to glorying of the Jew in this respect above the Gentile. " What hath Abraham gained as pertaining to the flesh 1 " Not justifica- tion ; " for if Abraham were justified by " obedience to this painful command of circumcision, or by any " works" whatever, he would have " whereof to glory." But this he has " not before God," since the Scripture ascribes his justification to his faith, not to his obedience. CHAPTER IV. 9-18. 177 3. Abraham believed God, And it was reckoned unto liim for righteousness. Gen. xv. 6. Thus God's method of justij&cation, as being by faith alone, is borne witness to by the Law (iii. 21), as it is also by the prophets, as proved by David's words, ver. 6-8. Ver. 9-10. That circumcision in no way conduces to justifi- cation is evident from the fact, that Abraham is declared in Scripture (Gen. xv. 6) to have been justified by his faith at least fourteen years before the covenant of circumcision was established (comp. Gen. xvi. 16 and xvii. 1). Ver. 11. In answer now to the question, "What hath Abraham gained according to the flesh ? or, " What profit is there of circumcision V it is replied, One special benefit among others to Abraham (and to all his children by faith) consisted in this, that it became a seal or public attestation to him, on the part of God, of His acceptance of the faith which he had so long before, and of the certainty of the promises being ful- filled in their due time. Ver. 11-18. In the circumstances connected with Abraham's circumcision as being 1. subsequent to, and the ratification of, his previous justification, and 2. the occasion of the renewal of God's promises to him, the apostle shows that we have a double proof of Abraham's being the father and pattern of all be- lievers, as indeed is symbolized in his double name, Ab-ram, and the new name that was then given to him, Ab-raham ; the former denoting " high (renowned) father," as the father of the one chosen nation of Israel, and the latter the " father of Tnany nations," i.e., of all believers of every nation. This twofold division of the passage is clearly marked out by the parallelistic arrangement, in which it will be seen that the twice repeated "father" ("of aU that believe," "of circumcision"), in verses 11, 12, corresponds to the twice repeated "father" (" of us all," " of many nations ") in verses 17, 18 ; while the regularly arranged epanodos in verses 13-16 forms the transition from the former to the latter. In his first relation as Ab-ram, the father of " a great nation," of "circumcision'^ in verses 11,1 2 — by the very mode and time of the institution of circumcision it was so ordered in the M 178 CHAPTER IV. 11-18. providence of God, that in becoming the father of God's visible church and peculiar people, Ab-ram was at the same time fitted for the higher distinction of being " the father [federal head and pattern] of all them that believe," uncircumcised, ver. 11, as well as circumcised, ver. 12 — by its being seen that his faith, standing so completely apart from, and prior to, his circumcision, alone justified him, and not the fleshly rite [verses 11, 12, in connexion Avith ver. 10]; so that he is " the FATHER of circumcision " not to those who were merely outwardly cir- cumcised, but to the circumcised in heart (Deut. x. IC, xxx. 6,) " who walk in the steps of Abraham's faith which he had being yet uncircumcised."* In his second relation, as Ab-raham, the father of a oniilti- tude, or of many nations, verses 17, 18, the new name given to him on occasion of his receiving the covenant of circumcision — the proof that Faith alone justifies, and that Abraham by his faith became the father of all believers, is still more direct. The reference here is to the spiritual or Messianic promise, " In tliee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." By this Abraham is constituted " heir of the world," ver. 13, the spiritual "father of many nations," ver. 18, through Christ his seed, in whom all nations were to be blessed, and who was to receive " the uttennost parts of the earth for a possession," Ps. ii. 8. It was a promise, and as such (it is shown in the epanodos, ver. 13-10) was independent of the Law in which the Jews so greatly gloried, which, coming " four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul the promise," Gal. iii. 17. The Law requires perfect obedience, which, as being beyond the power of man to render, would make " the promise of none effect," ver. 14 ; but a promise requires faith alone to grasp it, and is thus "sure to all the seed " who sliow like faith with Abraham, and believe God's word, as he did, to be certain of fulfilment, however contrary to the eye of sense, * Abraham's receiving circumcision so long after his faith was reckoned to him for righteousness, taught the uncircumcised, ver. 11, that justification is attainable without circumcision, "throuijh faith " alone, htb. ttis iriarcws, iii. 30; and, ver. 12, taught the circumcised that they arc justified \fJ.e0a, which is coupled with it in ver. 2 and 3, must be subjunctive also = " Let us glory," though this has been strangely overlooked in the "Version Revised by Five Clergymen." 180 ROMANS V. 1. 1. It is the reading of almost all the first class authorities, of Codd. A, B, C, D, and the Sinaitic Codex, the Greek Fathers, the Italic, Vulgate, the Arabic, and Coptic Versions, &c. 2. It is the more difficult reading, as is evident from the difficulty which most modern commentators have found in accepting it, notwithstanding the confessed preponderance of MS. authority in its favour. Consequently the alteration by transcribers from ep^w/^ev to £%o,a£i' is far more probable than the reverse change. 3. It is more in accordance with the association of ideas familiar to St. Paul. His first and leading wish for all his converts was an increase of "grace and peace " to them from God. No epistle from him begins without it. His apostolical benediction ever is, " Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ;"* grace too, observe, being always placed first, and 2^^(^^c<^ second. So, in the case before us, though the authorized version conceals this, " Let us have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also [not "we have," but] we have had, iffyjTiafxsv, access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." What more natural then, for one whose most ardent desire was for growth in grace, and peace, and all the blessed fruits of faith to believers, than, even in a doctrinal passage, intended to show that such are the inseparable and indispensable accompaniments of faith, to give a hortatory turn to the expression, and to urge the Romans to hold fast the peace consequent on believing, in order to an unfaltering, onward progress ? 4. Any remaining objection to the form of the expression, " Let us have peace," is removed by our finding an exactly similar expression with regard to " grace " in Hob. xii. 28, ix'^'^^* Xa-piv, "let us have grace;" and it is a rather striking coinci- dence, if we regard St. Paul as the virtual, if not actual, author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that in his two principal epistles, the one addressed to the Jews, and the other to the chief of the Gentile nations, we find two such remarkable ex- " Tlie desire for increase in these blessings is still more ilistiuctly expressed in the Ijcneiliction of his fellow-apostle Peter, "(Jrace and peace ie multiplied unto you," 1 and 2 Pot. i. 2, ROMANS V. 1. 181 pressions — as in the former, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, £%w/a£v %af/!/, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear ;" and in the latter, " Therefore being justified by faith, let us have peace with God, i/privriv 'iyuixiv. From the uncommonness of the expression, however, the passage in the Hebrews has not been allowed to pass without question. A few MSS. have even here altered j%w/x2i/ into 'ix'^iJ'iv, but the great preponderance of authority is for f;^w,(A£i'. But strong objection has been taken to the rendering of our Author. Version, " Let us have grace," according to which alone it would be parallel to the case in the Romans, It is argued that if y^apiv here meant "grace," the expression must have been t^v y^apiv, and accordingly several of the ancient and the great majority of the later commentators render the expression, s'%w/xey yapiv, " let us manifest gratitude, whereby we may serve God," &c. But as Bloomfield has well observed, " This does not suit well with the words following." The ob- jection holds good only against the view which represents the meaning to be, " Let us hold fast the grace vouchsafed to us in the new dispensation : let us continue steadfast in that faith and dispensation delivered in the Gospel, whereby alone both our persons and our services are rendered acceptable unto God," This would, indeed, require the grace to be particular- ized by the article. But as Bloomfield proceeds, " It would rather seem that the sense is simply. Let us [seek to] have grace, whereby, &c. ; by that use of iyjiv (also found at Matt. xiii. 12 and Luke viii. 18, oam; yap 'iyji, Mneirat avTU) ), by which it signifies to have to good purpose by keep- ing and improving it. [Bloomfield might have added 2 Tim. i. 13, "TTorv'Tuffiv sys, "Hold fast the form of sound words," and James ii. 1, "My brethren have [hold] the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ not with respect of persons," firi h -xpom-roXi^- -if/iaig ix^ri\. And in nearly the same way, I find, Doddridge understood the passage, observing that ' in this oblique inti- mation, by which it is, as it were, tahen for granted that we may certainly have grace if we take proper methods for ob- taining it, there is something peculiarly impressive.' So 182 ROMANS V. 1. Hyperius [with a manifest reference to the corresponding passage in Romans] observes : ' Gratia hoec diligeuter appre- hendenda est per fidem, siquidem in ea stamus (2 Cor. i. 24), et certificati de salute setema gloriamur sub spe gloriae Dei.' " But what decides the meaning of the passage is the context. The object of the whole chapter is exhortation (as is evident from its very commencement) to perseverance and progress, ver. 15, " looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God," -jarspu/v aco rr,g y^dpirog roD Qsou ; — " for [h6re we give the substance of the succeeding argument in Dean Alford's words, preferably to our own, since he opposes our view] "for (not only have we the solemn warning of Esau, but) we are not under the law with its terrors, but under the Gospel with its promises, — hearing one who speaks for the last time, who speaks from heaven, — and receiving a kingdom which shall not be moved." "Wherefore," the Apostle concludes, ver. 28, with a mani- fest reference to ver. 1 5, " let us have c/race whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear," namely, by following on more and more to know the Lord and the fulness of His salvation, otherAvise some root of bitterness may spring up and trouble us, and we may " fail [come short] of the grace of God." We have but to place the two verses in juxtaposition to see that ver. 28 refers back to ver. 15 : — Ver. 15. " Look diligently lest any man fail of the (jrace of God." Ver. 28. " Wherefore let us have grace, whereby we may serve God," &c. 5. The common reading 'ixo'nv, with its complement s/V^nji', would seem to be little better than a tautology, since the idea that it would denote is expressed already by hyjxa'nv, v. 2, witli its complement. The " grace " or favour witli God in which we stand as believers, and " peace with God " are all but equivalent terms.* To say that " we have had access " to this blessing, and that " we have " it, presents no suffi- cient distinction in the thought. But change ix'^/J-tv into * "Xdptj expresses God's love toward man; dp-fivy), the state of peace and blessedness which results from it." — Bishop Ellicott on Eph. i. 2. ROMANS V. 1. 183 ?;^w/x£!', and we have a contrast more wortliy of St. Paul. "Access into this grace," the Apostle will then say, "we have had " already on our being first justified. " Let us then con- tinue to have (or hold fast) this grace " — this "peace with God."-f- Let us behold in Jesus " the finisher," as well as the "author of our faith." " Grace and peace with God " we attained at the beginning of our faith : "let us hold our peace, and let us glory in hope of (attaining) the glory of God " at its end. The Tia) " also " before rnv Tposayoyriv " access " will thus gain in expressiveness, in connexion with the preceding clause. " Let us hold fast our peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have had also our access at first into this grace." 6. But 'iyj,);j.zv, we conceive, is more in accordance with the whole context. The hortatory form tends to bring out still more clearly the object which the Apostle has in view. This is to show that the firm holding of the fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone, with the full understanding of all that is involved in it, is necessary to a uniform progressive advancement in the Christian life. The import of the begin- ning of chap. V. is this : If justified before God, that is, declared by Him to be righteous, let us feel convinced that perfect righte- ousness is ours, already in present prospect, and in certain im- partation in full hereafter ; and let us hold fast peace with God, as seeing that our justification in no way depends on what we are in ourselves and on the amount of righteousness (imperfect to the last in this life) as yet inwrought into us, but on the per- fect righteousness of Christ already counted and assured to us in final complete possession by God. Only, if holding fast this 'peace even now as our present possession, and the assured ho'pe of glory hereafter, can we make steady progress in holiness. Let us cast aside all those guilty fears of wrath which would inter- fere with the former and keep the soul ever " subject to bond- age;" and let us cheerfully submit to, nay rejoice in, those tribulations, which so far from weakening strengthen the latter. t txi^iiev xa.pi.v, Heb. xii. 28 ; elp-jvrjv ^x'^M-^" ^P^^ '''^^ Qe6v, Rom. v. 1. 184 chapter v. 1-21. Connection of Chapter v. 1-21. In order to see the connection of the whole chapter, let us attend first only to its great broad outlines, as indicated by the parallelistic arrangement. Ver. 1, 2, Here, in the second and last lines of the stanza, two fruits or results of justification by FAITH are stated, viz., 1. "PEACE with God," already experienced at present; and 2. " HOPE of [attaining to] the gloiy of God " for the future. Christ is " the Alpha and Omega," " the author and the finisher of our faith." He begins the good work within us ; He perfects it unto the end. Ver. 1. The first blessing, "PEACE with God," is a fruit evidently involved in justification. If justified, i.e., pronounced righteous by God, the cause of dispeace and enmity with Him, viz., our unrighteousness, is done away. " We have had access into a state of grace " or favour with Him ; we are " reconciled " to Him, at peace with God. " Let us have " then and hold, 'iyoiij.iv, "this peace." This, however, is but the initial stage, and the emotion which this first blessing of Peace calls forth is more of a calm and contemplative nature ; but to stimulate the Christian to the progress and conflict to which ho is called, the apostle exhorts us to rise higher — to " glory " (xau;^w/x£<)a, boast, " rejoice," in the Auth. Version). Ver. 2. " Let us glory in HOPE of the glory of God." If justified, i.e., pronounced righteous, then righteousness is assured as ours, " the Righteousness of God," that which forms the very " glory " and blessedness " of God " Himself This, in- deed, unlike the Peace, is not ours yet in actual possession, but only in hope ; but " lot us glory in that HOPE, in the hope of attaining finally and certainly to God's own glory and bliss. This gives the di\asion to the rest of the chapter, which is evidently divided into two main parts, marked by the recur- rence at the commencement of each division (verses 3 and 11) of the same expression — Ou yttocov 6f, aySka xa/ xavyui'Mivoi* " And not only so, but ina.suiuch as wc glory in, &c." * Kavx<^ti-iVQL ia probably the correct rcadiug iu ver. 3, as will be remarked beluw. CHAPTER V. 1-21. 185 1. Therefore being justified by faith, Let us have peace with God Through oui* Lord Jesus Christ, 2. By -whom also we have had access by faith Into this Grace wherein we stand ; And let us glory in hope of the glory of God : /And not only so, but also as we glory in tribulations ; Knowing that tribulation worketh patience, And patience, experience ; And experience, hope ; 5. And Hope maketh not ashamed, Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts By the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6. For when we were yet without strength, In due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : Yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to But God commendeth His love toward us, [die. In that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood. We shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10. For if when we were enemies, "We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, Much more, being reconciled, \ We shall be saved by His hie. 11. ^And not only so, but also as we glory in God, Through our Lord Jesus Christ, By whom we have now received the reconciliation — on this account : 12. As by one man. Sin entered into the world, And DEATH by sin ; And so death passed upon all men. For that all have sinned : 21. That as SIN hath reigned In DEATH, Even so might Grace reign through righteousness Unto eternal life, \ By Jesus Christ our Lord. Glorying, then, not merely having peace, the apostle en- 186 CHAPTER V. 1-21. joins as the habitual state of mind of the Christian. But, the behcver will be ready to object, how can I be continually glorying ? Are there not obstacles which effectually preclude my maintaining this inspiriting feeling ? And (1.) Ver. 3-10. "Tribulations," wliich are peculiarly the lot of "all that will live godly in Christ." Are not tribula- tions the effects of sin, marks, therefore, so far of God's dis- pleasure ? It is hard under these to preserve even a sense of " PEACE with God," but how " glory " in them ? Must they not damp and discourage the hope we are called upon to cherish ? No, is the reply, not only are we to glory in hope of the glory of God, but to glory in the very thing that might seem to compromise our hope, to " glory in tribulations also," ver. 3 ; for these tend to strengthen our Christian givaces — the grace of " patience," which " worketh experience," which again workcth the second cardinal grace in our hearts, " HOPE " — a hope which can never disappoint us, since not peace alone with God is imparted to us, but " the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us ; " shed abroad so copiously as to fill our hearts with the third cardinal grace, love, and to make it flow back in a reciproca- tion of love towards God, caused by His great Love towards us, V. 5 ; this love giving us the assurance that if it accom- plished for us the greater work, much more must it accomplish the less ; if " when sinners, when enemies," we were "justi- fied," ''we were reconciled by the death of God's Son ; much more we shall be saved from wrath finally by His life," verses C-10. (2.) Ver. 11-21. But a much more formidable objection than even tribulations remains to bar our joy. Though justi- fied or declared righteous (and righteousness constitutes God's glory and bliss) how can I glory in that Avhicli is not yet mine in full possession ? Nay, it is hard enough to hold fast my sense of "Peace with God," Avhile the remains of what we in- herit from our first parent Adam, sin and its inseparable attend- ant DEATH, still linger in me, and "the Avrath of God is revealed " more than ever by the gospel "against all unrighteousness ; " but how, in this imperfect state, can I (jlorij — while still parted, as CHAPTER V. 1-21. 187 all sin must so far part the sinner, from God ? The reply is, Though God's glory is as yet ours only in hope, we can " glory in God " as already ours, ver. 11. Let us, undaunted by every guilty fear that Satan may suggest, glory in the assured hope of attaining finally to the perfect righteousness and glory of God, since we can "glory in God " Himself, as being already in union with Him " through " our union with His Son " our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation." If it is asked, " How is this to avail us ? " On this account," diu Touro, verses 12-21, that as by our connexion with Adam all that was his became ours, so by our union with Christ (and through Him with God the Father) all that is His is made sure to us as our own in full eventual possession, so that the SIN and DEATH which might interfere with our enjoyment of " Peace with God " and with our " glorying in Hope of (attain- ing to) His glory," shall be entirely superseded and replaced finally by the perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS and LIFE received through Christ. The change of reading in ver. 3, xavyyiivm* "glorying," which is that of the Vatican codex, and adopted by Mr West- cott in place of jiaup/w/o-sOa, though not necessary for the con- nexion iiow jDointed out, is yet strongly corroborative of it, and of the correctness of the division given, which alone furnishes an adequate explanation of the use of the participle. It would thus be exactly similar to ver. 11, where the same participle %a-oyJiij.imi expresses an additional reason for the confidence that "'we shall be saved by Christ's life," ver. 10. "And not only so [as being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life], but also as glorying in God," &c. The two participles, and the perfect sameness of the two commencing lines of verses 3 and 11, if this reading be accepted, would lead the reader at once to see the designed subordination of both the paragraphs which they introduce to the leading projDosition in verses 1 and 2 (without prejudice * It is preferable as being the more difficult reading. It is easy to see how Kayxwyttej'ot would be changed into Kauxw/^e^a in order to assimilate it to the immediately preceding Kaiyxwjue^a in ver. 2 ; but not v'lct versa. 188 CHAPTER V. 5. to the connexion •with the more immediately preceding words), (ver. 1) " Let us have Peace with God," (ver. 2) "And let us glory iu Hope of the glory of God," not only as the necessary fruits of our " being justified by faith," but 1st (ver. 3) " Also as glorying in tribulations; " 2d (ver 11) " And as glorying in God" (the source of glory). Chapter v. 5. Ver. 5. What is meant here by " the Love of God ?" Is it God's love to us, or our love to God ? For the elucidation of this question it is important to bear in mind the conclusion to •which our investigation of the phrase " the Righteousness of God," led us, that it is both God's own attribute by which He is righteous, and the righteousness that is of God, i.e., of which He is the author and giver ; but that both meanings really blend into one, since even when it becomes the believer's, whether as righteousness imputed, or imparted, it is still God's righteousness in the possessive sense — originally and truly God's, as being an emanation from the alone source of all righteousness. The same was shown to be the case with the expression, "the glory of God," (see Notes on iii. 23, page 170). This furnishes a strong presumption that in the similar expres- sion, "the love of God," the same pregnancy of meauing will be foinid. This expression, however, has experienced the directly oppo- site treatment, both here and in ch. viii., from that commonly given to " the righteousness of God." While from the latter has been excluded the signification of God's attribute of righte- ousness, the former is interpreted by the great majority of commentators exclusively of God's attribute of love, or " the love of God to man." Now, in both instances, (as also in the cognate expression, " God's glory "), the j^rimary idea intended, wo believe to be CHAPTER V. 5. 189 the iDossessive meaning, Ood's righteousness, God's glory, God's love. All good things originate with God, and it is out of His fulness that we receive. In His image we were at first created, and to that image it is the great object of the Gospel to restore us ; to make us " partakers of the Divine nature " — of God's righteousness, of God's glory, of God's love. In the passage before us, therefore, as in ch. viii., the prwnary idea we hold to be God's love to his creatures, as v. 8 proves. But does this exclude the other meaning of the believer's love to God ? And in examining this expression we may take along with it the connected expressions, " Peace Avith God," V. 1, and " reconciled," ver. 10, and the opposite of this last, " enemies," ver. 10. Undoubtedly, with regard to all these, it is God that, according to the representation of the Scripture writers, takes the initiative, in restoring "peace with God," "reconciling the world unto Himself," 2 Cor. v. 19, and "abolishing in Christ's flesh the enmity," Eph. ii. 15. It is not we that loved God, but God that loved us " first, 1 John iv. 10. But while these blessings are all represented as free, unmerited gifts of God, man's responsibility to receive and reciprocate is equally inculcated and rendered prominent by the modes of expression adopted. In the chapter before us we are called upon to " hold (fast) peace with God," v. 1. It is " the love of God " that " is shed abroad in our hearts," not " the sense, or assurance, of the love of God," which would be the expression, were it meant to confine the view merely to God's attribute of love. The very turn of expression ahvays used in reference to reconciliation with God, " Be ye reconciled to God," 2 Cor. v. 20, "we were reconciled to God," " being reconciled," " whence were enemies — never," " God is recon- ciled to us," " God is our enemy," — is intended to remind us that there are two sides to all these questions — that while God cannot but be at enmity with us, while we are enemies to Him, cannot be at peace with us, or be reconciled, so long as we are at war with Him, yet ours is the enmity and aliena- tion of mind, ours it is to be reconciled to_ Him, and to receive and reciprocate His profifered love. The change of feeling to 190 THE LOVE OF GOD. be effected is not in the Creator but in the creature. The cross of Christ but manifests the love which the Father ever had towards His children, and is designed to prove it to them in the most irresistible manner, in order to dissipate their guilty fears, Avhich keep them apart from Him, and to draw them unto Him whose mercy has been so long waiting to be gracious unto all that will receive it. But we must receive it first, before God can actually practise mercy towards us. His -WTath must con- tinue to be against all impenitence and iniquity. We must lay aside our enmity, that He may be at peace with us. His enemies He beseeches by His ambassadors, " Be ye reconciled to God." It is in our hearts that God's love is shed abroad only when these hearts are opened to Him ; and it thaws and melts down their affections only that they may flow back in love to- wards Him. The love here spoken of is not God's love, as merely outwardly shown to us, but as shed abroad in our hearts as a gift ; and it is placed in connexion with other Christian graces, "patience" and "hope." Its connexion with the latter grace is more especially ob- servable. When, in enumerating the fruits of " Faith," ver. 1., the Apostle immediately after the second cardinal grace of " Hope," ver. 2, 4, 5, mentions " Love," ver. 5, we can scai'ce refrain from believing that he meant us to regard it as the third of the cardinal graces bestowed upon believers. Thi will appear the more probable when we recollect how familiar to the mind of St. Paul and the other New Testament writers is the association of these three graces. Compare, " And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three ; but the greatest of these is love," 1 Cor. xiii. 13. " Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thess. i. 3 ; and again, ch. v. 8, " putting on the breast-plate of faith and love ; and for an helmet the hope of salvation. Compare also, " labour of love," — full assurance of hope — " through faith and patience inherit the promises," Heb. vi. 10-12. Again, Heb. x. 22-24, "in full assurance of faith — let us hold fast the profession of our hope,* — provoke unto love." See also 1 Pet. i. 21, 22. ♦ In the original t^s iXirlSos; where, hy some strange inadvertence, "faith " has been substituted for "hoi)c" in the Authorized Version. CHAPTER V. 5. 191 We seem thus justified in assigning to " the love of God " the fulness of meaning contended for, including both significa- tions, of God's love to us and our love to God, which yet merge into one when rightly understood. It is, in truth, God's own love that is communicated and shed abroad in the heart of believers and becomes theirs. It is His Holy Spirit of love that is here said to be given to us, ver. 5. A comj)arison with 1 John iv. 12-16 will place clearly before us the mutual relationship of the two ideas. " If %ve love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His SjDirit. God is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." Ver. 19, ''We love Him, because He first loved us." The argument for the confirmation of the believer's hope from the Divine love shed abroad in the heart applies equally in both aspects. If we regard God's love as exhibited to us and what He has already done for us, in not sparing His own Son, but delivering Him up for us all, the hope rises to assur- ance that He will " with Him also freely give us all things," Rom. viii. 82. And, again, if God's love has prevailed to force an entrance into our hard hearts, and been shed abroad in them with all its gentle assimilating influence, the hope is warranted " that He which hath begun a good work in us will perfect it (jT/rsXjffs;) until the day of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. 6. The outward and inward, the objective and subjective, con- spire together. " God is love," 1 John iv. 8, and " love is of God," ver. 7. If God dwell in us, we dwell in God, and His love is perfected in us. However clearly manifested outwardly, or discerned even by man's intellect, no Gospel blessing becomes ours till admitted inwardly into the heart with Jesus, and until the union has taken place between the believer and Christ. But so soon as this union takes place, "he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit" with Him, 1 Cor. vi. 17. "The love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit given unto us," and " the Spirit Himself beareth joint-witness (ffw/xaprvps?) with our spirit that we are the children of God," Rom. viii. 16.* * Compare Notes on tlie Love of God in Chap. viii. 28-39. 192 COMPARISON BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST. Let it not be objected that by ascribing such double mean- ings to Scripture we throw interpretation loose, and introduce into God's word a vagueness and ambiguity destructive of all sound criticism. Where the conceptions and truths propounded are large and many-sided, the language must strive, so far as such an imperfect instrument can, to partake of the same character. The pregnancy of meaning for which we plead, in behalf of the expressions now examined, is but a counterpart of Avhat every diligent student of holy writ must feel has been attempted to be attained by the figurative language of the Prophets, admit- ting so manifold application, and by the gnomic* form of expres- sion, so characteristic of the Old and New Testaments. Chapter v. 12-21. Comparison between Adam and Christ. General View of tlie Scope of the Passage. This is the passage around which more, perhaps, than any other in the Epistle, the keenness of contention has gathered. Many questions have been started as to the nature of the con- nection here taught between Adam and his descendants, and between Christ and the human race. The more important are : — 1. (a.) Is the relation between the sin of Adam and that of his posterity causative, or incidental ? Is his transgression the cause, or only the occasion of the " sin and death " that came upon his whole race? 2. (b.) Is imputation (of Adam's sin, of Christ's righteous- ness) the single subject of this passage, or does the Apostle also include the transmission of Adam's corruption, and the impartation of Christ's righteousness 1 3. (c.) What latitude of meaning are we to assign to the * " Gnome = That which by its comprchensivenesa indicates much." — Walker's Pronouncing Dictionary, by B. H. Smart. CHAPTER V. 12-21. 193 expressions " all " and " the many " in this passage ? If in the case of the evils flowing from Adam, all, without exception, are included, is the expression to be restricted in the case of the blessings flowing from Christ ? Do they extend to all, or to the elect only ? Much of the obscurity that has attached to this passage has arisen from inadequate apprehension of the place which it holds in the argument of the Apostle. It has been degraded from the high and commanding position, which every one almost instinctively feels it ought to occupy, to a secondary and sub- ordinate place. It has been regarded more in the light of an episode, which might have been omitted without any essential loss to the argument — as a comparison, striking, indeed, and highly illustrative of a part of the Apostle's subject — but never hitherto, so far as I am aware, as that which gives organic connexion and life to the whole ; as the grand central point and focus towards which all the lines of his argument con- verge ; in which all that he has hitherto said finds its culmi- nation, and from which the succeeding chapters vi., vii., viii. naturally branch forth as simple corollaries. An epitome of the whole doctrinal portion of the Epistle, containing all the three points proposed for discussion, was contained as we saw in chap. i. 16, 17. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is — 1. (A.) Universal, as being necessary "to every one" — "to the Jetu first and also to the Greek :" 2. (b.) It is to be appropriated by faith, not by works ; it is "to every one that believeth ;" it is "fo'om faith to faith :" 8. (c.) It is the "power of God unto salvation :" And all this in virtue of its being what man required a " righte- ousness of God, (i. 17), not by Law, but by Grace- (iii. 24), and consequently a deliverance from sin — a new life, by which " the just shall live,'^ and consequently a reversal of death. All these points, it will be observed, are summed up and brought to a head in this passage. 1. (a.) With regard to the universality of this mode of salvation, the Apostle had, in the former part of this treatise, sho"v\Ti from the consideration of actual sin, that all stand in need of this salvation ; now he proceeds to prove this stiU more N 194 COMPARISON BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST. decisively by the consideration of oHginal sin. Before, he had shown that all, Gentiles as well as Jews, had a law, the former the law of nature, the latter, of Moses, which they had transgressed, and therefore require " the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ : for there is no difference : for all have sinned" actually, in their own persons, as soon as they come to perform any responsible act. Consequently, the remedy must be universal and applicable to all. Now, (in eh. V. 12-21), to remove every cavil of the Jew against the Gentile's interest in Christ, and every doubt in the Gentile's own mind, of the parity of his privileges, he proceeds to prove, that long before the Mosaic law existed " sin was in the world ;" that through the common father of all, Adam, " all sinned," ver. 12, ("were made sinners," ver. 19), for that all, without exception, died, even those who " had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression ;" and therefore all need, and must be equally interested in, the redemption that is through Christ Jesus. It was a fond conceit of the Jews that their Law was the universal standard and ground of salva- tion. In their oiun possession of this Law they "rested," (ii. 17) as securingtheir salvation. Because the\GentUes were ignorant of this Law, they reasoned, " this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." To destroy this conceit, the Apostle shows that long previously to the Law of Moses, both sin and death existed in the world, ver. 13, 14. All, Jew and Gentile, were alike connected with their one common father Adam. In him humanity was put on its trial, in order to prove to the convic- tion of us all, whether man by his o\vn power could stand. Adam sinned and fell : and " by that one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin : and so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned," " through one having sinned," v. IG, who wa.s the head and representative of humanity. The remedial dispensation, then, must be co-extensive with the fall. If Adam stood for all, Christ must equally represent all. Gentiles as well as Jews. If in Adam man fell, in Clirist man potentially was restored. Not that we are to understand by this, that all shall be saved, but that all have it put in their poiver to be saved. Universal salvation has been procured for all that will CHAPTER V. 12-21. 195 " receive the abundance of the grace and of the gift of righte- ousness," (ver. 17). This is the pervading thought of the passage, which is re- peated in a variety of forms. " If through the offence of the one the many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace which is by the one man Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto the many," ver. 15. "For if by one offence death reigned by the one ; much more they who receive the abund- ance of the grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by the one, Jesus Christ," ver. 17. " Therefore, as by one offence, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so by one righteousness the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life," ver. 18. For as by the disobedi- ence of the one man, the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous,^" ver. 19. Thus, in Adam, humanity fell ; in Christ, humanity rose again. All are involved in the ruin of the first man ; all are equally interested in the salvation by " him that was to come." 2. (b.) St. Paul had, in i. 16, 17, stated as the second point, that the Gospel salvation was hj faith, and this he had proved in iii. 21-iv. 25, (" that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law," iii. 28). In ch. v. 12-21, he repeats and enforces this truth ; regarding it, however, now more on the Divine than the human side, contrasting not works and faith, but Latv and Grace (in preparation for chap, vi. and vii.) ; God's Laiv requiring works on the part of the creature for attaining salvation, while His Grace requires but faith to receive its blessings. Law, he shows, cannot save, for from the very first it brought condemnation and death upon us through our representative, Adam, ver. 13 and 14 ; and, by its fuller promulgation afterwards in the Mosaic Law, only aggravated the evil, ver. 20 ; thus necessitating and preparing the way for the introduction of Grace to " abound and to reign through Jesus Christ," ver. 20, 21. But farther : faith, it had been stated in i. 1 7, is the in- strunaent by which every blessing of the gospel is conveyed, from first to last ; " for therein is the righteousness of God revealed 196 COMPARISON BETWEEN ADASI AND CHRIST. from faith to faith," from the first faint commencement of faith by which the sinner lays hold on the righteousness of Christ for his justification, to its last and highest triumphs by which it progressively appropriates Christ's righteousness as the believer's inward life and complete sanctification and re- demption. "The just (righteous) shall live by faith." This view of faith had not yet been clearly developed by the Apostle. It had been represented as the medium through which righteousness, for justification principally, was to be re- ceived (iii. 21-iv. 25), but not as a "power" which was to " work by love," to "purify the heart," and to " overcome the world." Here, accordingly, it is, that the second topic, that the gospel salvation is by faith, merges, in the progressive ad- vancement of faith, into the third : viz., that 3. (c.) The Gospel " is the poiver of God unto salvation," i. 16. "The just shall live (not be quickened or made alive merely, but live — " have life and evei-more abundantly," John X. 10) by faith, ver. 17. With the beginning of chap. V. the transition is made to this third and principal topic. The connexion of this chapter with what precedes has been generally misunderstood. Almost all expositors consider that justification by faith is still the sole subject of chap, v., and that it is only in chap. vi. that the transition is made to sanctification. Hence they have entirely missed the great object of the Apostle in this pas.sage (12-21) : which is to show, by a comparison with the intimate union between Adam and all his offspring, the thorough and all-pervading character of the union between Christ and the members of His body, and consequently the indissoluble connexion between justification and sanctification. The main import of the comparison in chap. V. 12-21 is not, as is generally represented, a mere illustration and repetition of the doctrine of justification already stated, viz. : As Adam's sin is imputed to all his seed unto condemnation, so Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers unto justification ; but. As by our connexion with Adam, the first Head of humanity, all that is his becomes ours, so that, by his transgi-ession, the powerful principles of Sin, and its inseparable attendant Death, have entered into CHAPTER 12-21. 197 our nature, and reign and work irresistibly in every one that springs from him ; so by our union with Christ, the second Head of humanity, all that is His is immediately communi- cated to those that are in union with Him, and His Righte- ousness and Ljfe enter into their being, so thoroughly as finally to overcome and entirely displace the SIN and death introduced by Adam (ver. 21). Hence the inseparable con- nexion between justification and sanctification. If our union with Christ avails for one blessing, it avails for all. The whole Christ is given to us, or none. If (as the Apostle, developing in chap. vi. the corollaries, or inferences, plainly deducible from the asserted union in ch. v., goes on to argue) Christ's death avails for our justification. His life must equally avail for our sanctification. " If we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him,"vi. 8. If, entering with full sympathy and consent of mind and heart into the great object of His death as our only means of justification, we have with Him "died to sin," vi. 2, we cannot "any longer live therein." " The life which we now live is a new life through faith in the Son of God," Gal. ii. 20. Our true state is, and we must so "reckon ourselves, to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 11. As soon might we think of sharing with Adam in the sin intro- duced by him and not partaking in his death, as suppose that Christ's righteousTiess can be ours for our justification, and not become our life and sanctification also. This is the Apostle's grand subject from the beginning of chap. V. With the end of chap. iv. he had finished the con- sideration of justification by faith alone without works. Accord- ingly, in__chap. v.^ he imnjed lately passes on to,, prove, that, justification involves a§. its jLfl3.epara,bl$ CQnsequej3£e,,s,ancti tion. If the first step, justification, has been attained, every succeeding step is secured.* Faith, however small, if but as a grain of mustard seed at first, goes on expanding till it bear " Compare viii. 29, 30, ' ' Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate &c. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called : and whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." 198 COMPARISON BETWEEN CHRIST AND ADAM. its full and matured fruits. " Having been justified by faith," not only is it ours to have present " peace with God," chap. V. 1., but to " boast in hope of " reaching the future " glory of God," ver. 2 ; not only does " tribulation " not diminish, but it confirms this "hope," ver. 3, 4. This hope cannot dis- appoint us, " because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us," ver. 5, to perfect our sanctification ; for if God has accomplished for us the first and most difficult step, much more will He complete the rest. God will not leave His work unfinished. " If, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were recon- ciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being re- conciled, we shall be saved [and sanctified] by His life," ver. 9, 10. " Not only so, but " this is more surely confirmed since we can now also with much better reason than the Jew (ii. 17) " glory in God " as our God, with whom faUen man is again restored to intimate communion " through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation," rriv xaraXXayfjv, ver. 11. All of US, Gentiles as well as Jews, can glory in the restoration of this union with God, dia 70UT0, " on this account ;" that as all, Jews and Gentiles, were involved in the Sin and Death, introduced by Adam, so all are equally interested in the Righteousness and Life introduced by Christ. Justification cannot be all that the Apostle here declares to be ours through Christ. Two capital evils had been brought in by Adam, SIN and DEATH, as distinctly stated in the begin- ning of the comparison, ver. 1 2 ; and in the completion of the comparison nothing less can be asserted on the part of Christ than the full removal of the whole evils of the fall, deliverance from SIN and DEATH, and the bestowal of the two counter- vailing blessings. Righteousness and Life. Accordingly, the opening and the close of the comparison thus exactly correspond. COMPARISON BETWEEN CHRIST AND ADAM. 199 12. As by one man , Sin entered into the world, t^ and DEATH by sin : [even so] 21. Grace reigns tlu-ough eighteousness unto eternal life, By Jesus Christ our Lord. Sin was the great leading evil brought in by Adam ; death was the secondary, the consequence of the other. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Can it then for a moment be imagined that in stating Christ's re- demption as a full remedy for the evils of the fall, the apostle has forgotten deliverance from that which was the head and source of the evil, sin itself \ — in other words, that the mere legal view, justification, or deUverance from death, is still the single subject of this passage ? It seems beyond question that sanctification, or the deliverance of the believer from the reiofn- ing power of SIN. must here also find its place. Accordingly, in the first completion of the parallel ver. 18, 19, the apostle has stated both propositions in terms so clear, as apparently to leave no ground for misapprehension — and which, we beheve, would never have been misapprehended, but for the supposed doctrinal errors that appeared to flow from the obvious mean- ing of the words. As this passage is so important for the full understanding of the whole doctrinal portion of the Epistle, let us, omitting for the present the points of dissimilitude in ver. 15-17, concentrate our attention first upon the rest of the arrangement, i.e., on ver. 12-14, and 18-21. The passage forms an Introverted Parallelism,* in which the first member, A, corresponds to the last, A \ the second, B, to the next to the last, B ; &c. * See " Symmetrical Structure of Scripture," pp. .35-41. 200 COMPARISON BETWEEN CHRIST AND ADAM. 12 ("^O'Tip dl mg uvOpuiTov \ yj a/jbupria sig rov Mff/Mov ildJJXhv, A^ 21. xa/ dia rr^g a/Ji,apTia,g 6 6avarog, xai o'-jrug iig rrdvrag dvdpu'roug 6 ddvarog biTiKdtv, s(f)^ (f> rrdvng r/f/japrov 13. 14. 18. 19. 20. 'ayfi yocp vo/mou diJ^apria r,]/ sv xoV/xw, d/jbapria Oi oux sXXoyiTrai /jlti ovrog v6/j,ov' Bi dXXd sjSaffiXsuaiv 6 ddvarog drrb 'Abd/j, l^'-'/J" Mwyffjwg xa/ Jt/ Toxjg [mti dij^aprrisavTag irri rui oiJtOi'jiiJjari rr^g •irapa^d- ■ ffiuig ' Abdfh' C ■{ og sffTiv TVTog rov /jLeXXovTog. D (Points of disparity in the compaxison D I stated in ver. 15, 16, 17. r" Apa oltv ug 61 svos crapa-rrw/xaros* .1 ilg -TTavrag dvDpuiTOvg ug ■/.ardx.piijja, J I o'-jTMg Ttai bi ii'og bixaiui/Maroigf ^ iig Tcti/raj dvdpurovg iig bixaiaiffiv ^eoTJg' {coffrrip ydp hd rrig crapaxo^s roZ li/oj ai/^^oicrou a/xafTwXo/ y.anardOriffav o/' rroXXoi,^ ovrug xa/ did rng -jTaxorig roZ evbg blxaioi xccrccaroLdrjaovrai o'l tc/aXo/.§ r 'Sofiog b\ TapiierjXdsv J ha 'TrXsovdsri to wapd'jTTUij.a' J ou bi irrXiwaGi^i ij d/xapria, [.t'jipi'jripisaeuan/ yj %a^'», riva uamp s[3aatXiu'nvn denotes the divine .agency in the calling into existence diKaiocrvini], which natur- ally includes in itself the recognition of it as such." See his Argument of Kom. iii. 21 -.31. This must be exactly reversed. AiKaidu expresses properly to accovut or declare rif/hteoua, which includes [implies] in itself the divine agency in calling into existence SiKaioavvr) in the believer in Jesus. CHAPTER V. 18, 19. 223 and self to the love of holiness and God. That seed of riffht- eousness is implanted which will quicken the whole man, and in due time assimilate him wholly to itself Sin no longer predominates as the ruling principle. It is cast down from its throne. The Spirit of Christ rules within, and impaits the character of righteous to him who before was a sinner, and He will finally vindicate the full title of the believer to this appellation, by His bringing every thought, word, and deed into entire conformity with the will of God. Such we believe to be the connection between verses 18 and 19, as indicated by the for,* which is confirmative rather than causative : not, We are justified (v. 18), because we have been ^previously made righteous (v. 19); but because in verification of God's sentence of justification we are made righteous 'potentially. The connection may thus be stated : V. 18. Having been condemned by the one transgression of Adam, we are in like manner justified by the one righteous- ness of Christ. But this in no merely outward way, or by a legal figment, but involving the realities of " Sin" and " Rig-hteousness," as affecting inwardly those on whom the judicial sentences have passed. V. 19. For just as by our connection with our representative Adam, "Sin {n aiMapria, i.e. sinfulness) entered" as into his, so into our nature begotten from him, " and by Sin, Death," so that through his disobedience we were " constituted sinners," not merely judicially but morally — so, by our union with Christ, His righteousness, as soon as it has been appropriated by faith as our righteousness for justification, becomes also inwardly our sanctification ; so that through Christ's obedience all who are * This confirmative meaning of for is not unusual. A striking instance of it occurs in Luke vii. 47 (though the Greek conjunction here used is 6Vt, not ydp), ' ' Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved much ;" that is, not that her sins are forgiven because she loved much, which would be in direct opposition to Scripture, which teaches that love succeeds, not precedes forgiveness (see 1 John iv. 10), but, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for, in consequence and in proof thereof, she has loved much — as her conduct to Himself, Jesus means to say, should have shown even to Simon. 224 COMPARISON BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST. united to Him are " constituted righteous," not putatively merely, but morally, by a change immediately begun, and so thoroughly guaranteed to be completed, as to vindicate the truth of the sentence of justification pronounced upon them.* All throughout this passage (Rom. v. 12-21), the close and essential connection of sin and death, and of life and right- eousness— of the grace of God to pardon, and the gift of right- eow^?iess to render holy (vers. 15 and 17) — in technical language, of justification and sanctification — is repeatedly brought for- ward. Guilt and justification are not, as maintained generally by interpreters, the only ideas of the passage; but " Sin," and its consequent penalty, " Death," — " Justification of Life," and its consequent product, " Righteousness [unto Sanctifica- tion]," have each their appropriate places assigned to them. I should hope that what has been already said will be suffi- cient to convince the unbiassed reader that the obvious mean- ing of the words of ver. 19 is the true one. But since the great body of interpreters maintain that im2nitation alone — ascription of guilt, and of righteousness — is the sole subject of this passage (12-21), and specially of this 19th verse, and as I know from my own experience with what difficulty I have been constrained, step by step, to give up the inveterate pre- possessions cherished in favour of the prevalent interpreta- tion, I believe it advisable to answer the arguments adduced for it. No one, as has been already remarked, has stated these more clearly, or maintained the ir)i2mtationist theory more consistently than Dr Hodge. I have been struck, how- ever, on examining the new edition of his Commentary (18G4) to find that even he has felt compelled to depart from his for- mer interpretation of v. 12, and to allow that more is meant by "Sin entered into the world," than that it was merely im- puted to all the descendants of Adam, and to give the very interpretation which I contend for as the correct one. His " Let me reminil the rea viz. ^apl^ofjLai, is frequently used in the sense of forgiving. "So that contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him." (2 Cor. ii. 7), in Greek yaplcaeOai. " Forgive me this wrong " (2 Cor. xii. 13), -xapkaeh. So Eph. iv. 32, Colos. ii. 13, &c. But fortunately we are not left to gather the distinctive mean- ing in this passage of rh ■/dpioijja, " the grace," or gracious grant, from general reasoning as to the meaning of the word. St. Paul himself has expressly told us in the conclusion of the next chapter what he here intends by the word, viz. the grace (or gracious grant) of eternal life, or deliverance from the second evil introduced by Adam — death — H 5a ^dpis/Ma rou 0£oD ^w?) aiuviog, " But the grace (or gracious grant) of God is eternal life," Rom. vi. 23. If again we examine the New Testament usage of the other term — the gift {n duped) — we shall find that it generally refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier. Compare Acts ii. 38, "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," rjjif hupiav Tou ayiov Uviufiarog, and Acts X. 45, "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." Compare also Acts viii. 20, xi. 17. "If thou k newest the gift of God," in John iv. 10, seems also to be correctly inter- preted of the gift of the Holy Spirit by Dean Alford in his comment on the passage : " From recognizing this water as the gift of God, in its limitation, ver. 13, and its parabolic impoH, ver. 14, her view is directed to Him who was speaking with her, and the Gift which He should bestow — THE gift of the HOLY spirit, see ch. vii. 37-39. " The gift of righteousness," therefore, in ver. 17 is equivalent to "the gift of the Holy Spirit," and consequently righteousness here signifies, as we had inferred on other grounds, not righteousness imputed merely, but righteousness imparted. Thus the grace ("of eternal life," Rom. vi. 23) refers to justification ("of life," ver. IS), and the GIFT ("of righteous- ness," ver. 17) to sanctificatiou. CHAPTER V. 15-17. 245 That this distinction between the two terms really exists, is farther demonstrated by the remarkable parallelism of contrasted terms, which subsists between the clauses in ver. 15-19 marked j, and j, and i", and those again marked s, and s, and g. In the first series the one-ness of the act is the point insisted on ; in the second the one-ness of the person. One Act — the Judicial Aspect. j (ver. 15) " But not as the offence,^^ ovx ws t6 TrapdirTu/xa. j (ver. 16) " For the judgment was from one " i^ ivbs (sc. irapairTdj/xaros). [offence], j (ver. 18) " Therefore as by one offence,'^ 51 evbt TrapaTrTufiaros. (" Even so by one righteousness ") (6t ivbs 5t/caiwyuaToj). One Person — the Moral Aspect. s (ver. 16) " And not as it was by one 81 evbs aixapr-qaavTos. having sinned," s (ver. 17) " Death reigned by the one," Stot tov evbs. S (ver. 19) " As by the disobedience of rrjs irapaKOTjs toO ivbs dvOpibirov. the one man," That j, j, and j, correspond and refer to the judicial aspect {justijication), while s, s, and g, correspond and refer to the moral aspect (sanctification), results also from a comparison of some of the other terms. Judicial Aspect. j (ver. 15) So also is the grace, rb xa/JKr/ta- j (ver. 16) the judginentvf as . . . to condemnation " rb Kplp-a . . . eis KardKpifxa. the grace is ... . unto justification,'''' rb xap'C/aa . . . ds diKaiup.a. j (ver. 18) the issue was to condemnation,'''' els KardKpi.fia. the issue is to justification,''^ els SiKaiuaiv. Moral Aspect. s (ver. 16) " So is the gift [explained by s], rb SwpTjp.a. s (ver. 17) " the gift of righteousness," rijs Swpeds rrjs SiKaiocrvvris, S (ver. 19) " the many shall be made righteous,'''' SiKaioi KaTa really applies to both j and s, be- tween which it is placed — to the GRACE (to ^dpis/Mo) in j, and to the GIFT TO buprnj^ri) in s. Had the two propositions, with the assertion of the superabundance on the part of Christ in each, been drawn out at full length, they would have stood somewhat as follows : But not as the offence, So also is the Grace ; For if by one offence {evl irapa-n-TiLfiari, see ver. 17 and 18] All men died, Much more the Grace of God by one righteousness [fW SiKaiufian, Hath abounded unto all. [see ver. 18.] And not as it was through one having sinned [that the many sinned], So is the Gift [of righteousness, see ver. 17] ; For if by the one man, The many sinned [comp. v. 12, Death passed upon all, for that all situied, (and ver. 19)], Much more the Gift which is by the one man Jesus Christ Hath abounded unto the many. But how much more concisely and tersely is the super- CHAPTER V. 15-17. 249 abundance, in both the Grace and the Gift, expressed by the condensation of the two into one paragraph by the apostle! — and which, by being inserted between the two primary pro- positions, would to those accustomed to paralleUstic arrange- ments suggest, with equal perspicuity, its relations respectively to each. Besides, the general assertion of superabundance in both the Gift and the Grace being thus disposed of, allowed the particular points of superiority in each immediately to follow with similar conciseness of statement, yet distinctness of re- ference, in j and s. j For the judgment was From one [offence] to condemnation, &c. s For if by one offence Death reigned by the one, &c. Still, neither of these two secondary objects formed the 'principal reason for the amalgamation in c. From the be- ginning of chap. V. onwards, it is the apostle's great aim, as has been before pointed out, to show the indissoluble connec- tion between justification and sanctification. To mark this prominently it is that he combines into one stanza (c) "the Grace" that justifies, and "the Gift" that sanctifies. While in its first two lines we have conjoined, on the part of Adam, the act (tGj va^airTuiMaTi, "by the offence") by which the judicial sentence of Death was called forth, with the ])er- son indicated (rou ivog, "of the one man") by whom the moral influence is exerted on the many ; we have in the next two lines the superabundance above both on the part of Christ, in the GRACE that leads to the judicial act of Justification of Life, conjoined with the GIFT of Righteousness that exerts a moral influence over those that have been justified. 2. The same predominating aim of enforcing the intimate connection between justification and sanctification leads to a still more remarkable combination of both views in s, ver. 1 7, 250 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADAM AND CHRIST. which forms the second deviation from strict Parallelism* alluded to above. For if by one offence Death reigned by the one ; Much more they which receive the abundance of the Grace, And of the Gift of righteousness, Shall reign in life, by the one, Jesus Christ. Here, as being the proof of s, ver. IG, And not as by one having sinned, Is the Gift. we have (since the moral aspect is principally in question) made prominent — the 2^crsons of the two heads whose charac- ter affects their seed (" by the one," " by the one Jesus Christ"); " the Gift" declared to be " of righteousness ; " and the reigning power, instead of the mere legal effect. Still we find, combined with this, the legal or judicial view. With "the one man" we have also "one offence; ""f with "the Gift" of righteousness, the preliminary " Grace;" and " death" and " life," the results of the judicial sentence, — all men- tioned. The reason of the conjunction of the two topics is, as we have said, that the apostle, while for clearness of thought he distinguishes the judicial and moral aspects of the question, wishes to impress on his readers their inseparable connection. Wo thus see the reason of the striking similarity, in form and expression, of s, ver. 17, to c, ver 15. Tliough the special object of « is to exhibit the distinctive features of supe- riority in its moral effects, of the work of Christ above the * Tn bf)tli stanzas, too (c, ver. 15, and s, ver. 17), the deviation from the strict ft)nns(tf Parallelism in making /c-o lines (the third and fourth) correspond conjointly to a h'ukjIc line (the first) — the one line containing the c.uai'K, and the other the (iii'T — is intended to draw special attention to this connection. The arrangement of the stanzas, therefore, in the Analytical Conmieutary^ ought to be coiTeeted by that now given. t 'Die true reading is that of Tischcndorf, and Westcott, iv ivl irapa-n-TJjfiari. Tlie reading of the Text. Recept. is an evident correction to assimilate this verse to ver. la, T, "ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Mortify [put to death] therefore your members wliich are upon the earth." THE BODY (the FLESH) OF SIN. 269 Christ liatli suffered for us in the flesh," we must " arm ourselves likewise with the same mind," 1 Pet. iv. 1. We must "be crucified with Him unto the world, and the world be crucified unto us," Gal. vi. 14. We must bear about with us in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh," 2 Cor. iv. 11, and " as our outward man decays, our inward man will [thus] be renewed day by day," 2 Cor. iv. 16. And this is true in the literal sense, much more than we are accustomed to regard it. As Christ died to sin, even so must we die to sin. It was through death — through submitting to a literal death of the body — that He overcame death, and him that had the power of death. So it is appointed to His fol- lowers. Christ has entirely changed to them the character of death. It is no longer to be looked forward to with dread as a mark of the wrath and condemning sentence of God, and as a forestalment of the second and more awful death ; but it is to be embraced voluntarily, and even cheerfully, as the very mode of cure by which we can be freed completely from the dreadful malady of sin, which has so entirely corrupted every part of our diseased frame, that it is called a " body of sin " (Rom. vi. 6), and a "body of death" (vii. 24). So completely has sin set up its throne in our bodily members, that in this " our flesh dwelleth no good thing" (vii. 18), and the body must be broken down in order that the last remains of sin may be separated from it, and that we may attain to the full " adoption " of being God's children, even "the redemption of our body" (Rom. viii. 23.) " Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Cor. xv. 50. We must look upon our present life as a doomed life, sooner or later to be given up wholly, and which, therefore, we ought to be prepared to resign at any moment that God may require it, being willing to spend arid be spent in His service. We must " present our bodies " specially, " a living sacrifice unto God " (Rom. xii. 1), to be consummated at their literal death. Compare " I am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my departure is at hand " (2 Tim. iv. 6). What a different complexion, let us remark in passing, would 270 DIED TO SIN. this view give to our expectations of death, were we habitually looking forward to it as the means of our perfect cure and puri- fication, and as the gate of transition to unmixed holiness and glory ! Instead of shrinking back from sufferings and death, we should gladly welcome them, nay "glory in tribulations," and, with the Apostle, long to be " delivered from this body of death," — "having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better." Only thus viewed can any satisfactory solution be offered of the origin of this phraseology, or the expression of St. Paul iu Bom. vi. 12 receive a distinct definite meaning, "Let not sin reign, therefore, h ri^ hrirCJ v/iuv eu/Mari, in your mortal, or death-doomed, body " — an expression passed over too slightly by commentators generally — and which again has its counterpart in Rom. viii. 10, " the body is dead because of sin " — where surely the body in the literal sense is intended. This furnishes an answer to our other question, whether the expressions of the Apostle had any reference to the natural "body" and the literal "flesh," as being the seat of sin. In a certain sense this surely appears to be the case. Not that the Apostle teaches any thing like the Manichaean doctrine of the essential malignity of matter, or that all sins arise merely from our connexion with the body. Undoubtedly, as ajDpears from many passages (e.g., Gal. v. 19-21), all sins, from what- ever part of our nature they immediately spring, are reckoned among " the works of the flesh," so that it is not in contradis- tinction to the mind or soul, that the body is represented as the seat of all evil lusts. Still it is not without reason, or as a mere figure, that the Apostle has so frequently connected all sin with the body, and the flesh. So intimately has sin en- twined itself with tliis sensuous life, that, as long as we are in the body, some remnant of sin cleaves even to the holiest of God's saints, and to the finest affections of our natures, each of which we must, like Abraham called upon to offer up Isaac, learn to resign, and entirely to die to in its present imperfect form : and it is only when the last tie with earth is snapped asunder, that the last dregs of sin shall disappear. " To die is" THE BODY (the FLESH) OF SIN. 271 thus great "gain/'* because only by this earthly tabernacle being broken down, and purged from all pollution, can we attain to "be with Christ, which is far better." " The natural body" must be dissolved, that it may be " raised a spiritual body." We conclude, therefore, that the expressions, "the body of sin," and " the flesh of sin," though including all the lusts more immediately traceable to the soul and spirit, are yet not entirely figurative expressions, but have a reference to the natural body and literal Jlesh, as being the visible manifestation and em- bodiment to sense of our present earthly existence, with which sin is so closely bound up, that it will cease entirely only with the dissolution of the body. But above all, the expression in vi. 5 requiring conformity to " the likeness of Christ's death," equally with that which we hope to attain to " the likeness of His resurrection," seems to constrain us to include, in St Paul's idea of the death to be embraced by the believer, submission also to the litei-al death of the body as the necessary consummation of the entire "morti- fication of our members which are upon the earth." If in " the likeness of Christ's resurrection " is confessedly in- cluded the resurrection of the literal body ; in " the likeness of His death,"- to which we are to be conformed, must be equally implied a willing submission to the death of the literal body, as requisite for the complete " destruction of the body of sin." " For [only] if we have become united (or 'grown together, ev/M(puroi ') with Him in the likeness of His death, shall we be also in the likeness of His resurrection." " The body of sin " naust be destroyed, that it may be raised a new and spiritual body. It is a 6vr}Tov cuifxa, a mortal or death-doomed body. " The body is dead because of Sin ; but if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you. He that * Thus Calvin, in commenting on Rom. vii. 24 (" 0 wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from this body of death ?"), remarks, " Paul teaches us that the most perfect, as long as they dwell in the flesh, are exposed to misery, because they are obnoxious to death. Farther, lest they should indulge in lethargy, Paul, by his own example, stimulates them to anxious groanings, and bids them, as long as they sojourn on earth, to desire death, as the only trite remedy for their evils ; and this is the right object in desiring death. 272 DIED TO SIN. raised up Clirist from the dead shall also quicken your morial body by His Spirit that dwelleth in you," Rom. viii. 10, 11. How naturally, then, follows the exhortation, " Let not sin, therefore, reign in your 'mortal body," (vi. 12) ; "yield your 7)ieonbers as instruments of righteousness unto God," (vi. 13) ! Why " take thought for your body " so anxiously, and make provision for this present fleeting life, since, as Christ's body was broken, so must our bodies soon be broken down also ? " He that loveth his life [in this world] shall lose it ; and he that hatetli his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal," John xii. 25. The argument in Rom. vi. 5 depends on the completeness of the assimilation to Christ in both respects. "We shall attain to the complete " likeness of His resurrection " in the " body of our humiliation being conformed unto the body of His glory," Phil. iii. 21, only if we have been first completely conformed to " the likeness of His death," by " the earthly house of this tabernacle being dissolved," 2 Cor. v. 1. Chapter vi. 16. Ver. 16. There is a deviation from strict parallelism in this verse, which deserves attention. To correspond with " Whether of sin unto death,'''' we exjDect, " Or of righteousness unto /i/e." Why the change into — " Or of obedience unto righteousness^'' f To mark, it would seem, that to SIN and RIGHTEOUSNESS, man docs not stand equally affected. To SIN we give ourselves of our own free choice and power as bondsmen, for sin is the turning away of man's will from God's will into a path of its own choosing; but we cannot of our own free choice, and by an effort of will, break off from sin's bondage, and give ourselves to the service of righteousness. That righteousness, on the contrary, is the "(jlj't" uf God to ua (v. 17) is the very proposition CHAPTER VI. 16. 273 which the Apostle is engaged in defending. All that we can do, therefore, he represents to be, that brought by the Kght of God's truth and Spirit at length to see that we are ruined and helpless sinners, utterly unable to deliver ourselves from the bondage of sin, we may and should yield ourselves up to God's grace, to save us, and do with us as He sees fit, in order to our cure — " as servants of obedience, g/5 SiTcaioG-jvriv, for, or unto righteousness, as a " gift " to be bestowed upon us, and inwrought into us by His Spirit. In order to see the reason of St. Paul's anxiety to enforce this truth, we must remember that there are two classes of readers whom he has in view in this sixth chapter ; not only those who are ready to turn the grace of God into wantonness, but still more especially those of a like legal spirit with the Jews * — who not conscious, from living personal experience, of the sanctifying power of a simple faith, and heartfelt reception of the free grace of the Gospel, are animated with a legal zeal for urging men to work out righteousness in their own strength. It is with a view to the latter class particularly that St. Paul departs here from strict Parallelism. He guards himself from saying at first directly, that, on coming to Christ, believers should yield themselves as servants of righteousness. It is only after various cautions against misconception, that he in ver. 19 uses directly the expression, "Yield your members servants to righteousness." In ver. 13 he had begun with saying, " Yield yourselves unto God," to be fashioned according to His will, and " your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Further, by way of caution, a change is made in ver. 17. After saying, " But God be thanked that ye were [that is, that it is a thing of the ])ast that ye were'] the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that mould of doctrine," — we expect Paul to say, " which was delivered you" (as our trans- * Compare Rom. x. 3, "Going about to establish their own righteousness, they [Israel] have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God," i.e., have not confessed their utter inability to work out any righteousness of their own, and yielded themselves to God's plan, condescending to receive righteous- ness from Him as a gift. 274 DIED TO SIN. lators, failing to enter into his idea, actually make liim say), but lie changes it into the expression, " that mould of doctrine i7ito which ye were delivered,"* in order to mark that it was God, not they themselves, that handed them over to righte- ousness to be moulded into its image. In accordance with this purpose, it is, that in ver. 1 8, the ex- pression used in the original is, " Ye were r)iade the bond ser- vants (JdouXuS^Ts, ye were enslaved, or bound over to the service) of righteousness, instead of the less correct rendering of our version, " Ye became the servants of righteousness." Now it is, at last, only after all these cautions as to our own insufficiency, and the necessity of our receiving power from God, that in ver. 19 the Apostle requires of believers, " Yield your members servants [bondsmen] to righteousness unto holiness." Finally, once more he repeats his warning against the legal spirit, by the distinction he makes in ver. 23 (with a departure from strict parallelism), as to the fruits DEATH and life, of the respective services of SIN and righteousness. While of the freely chosen service of sin, death is represented as the duly earned " wages " — of righteousness (which had itself been called " the gift " of God), " life eternal," instead of being called the ivages of righteousness, is significantly styled " the grace (xdpiG/Mu, the gracious grant) of God." chapter VII. 1-4. Ver. 1-4. Who is the husband in St Paul's simile ? Ac- cording to the great majority of commentators, the LaAV. The confusion and inconsistencies which this hypothesis introduces into all the terms of the comparison are surely sufficient 'for its condemnation. 1, It is evident from ver. 2, that in the illustration it is the husband that dies, and the Avife that is set free for a new marriage. Now, in ver. 1 we have it said, " The Law hath * Compare Gal. iv. 9, " But now after ye have known God," or rather are knomn of (j!od ; and 1 Cor. xv, 10, " I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, hut the yrace o/Ood that wan with me." CHAPTER VII. 1-4. 275 dominion over a man as long as he liveth ;" that is, if the Laiu be the husband, the Law hath dominion over itself, as long as it (the Law) liveth ! 2. Then in ver. 2 we have, " The woman which hath an husband is bound by the Law to her husband," instead of "is bound to the Law as her husband," as the supposed compari- son would require. 3. In ver. 4 we have still another change in the fignire, and an additional confusion ; for instead of the Law, the hus- band dying, which the first three verses led us to expect, it is we that die. " Wherefore my brethren, ye also are become dead to the Law ;" that is, according to the prevalent interpre- tation, the wife dies. 4. We have next the wife, who, we were just before told, was dead, married to a new husband. 5. But there is a still more fatal objection to the hypo- thesis, that the Law is the husband. It makes St Paul con- tradict himself. It would entirely preclude the defence of the Law, which he immediately subjoins. To the objections, "Is the Law sin?" (ver. 7) "Is the Law death?" (ver. 13) urged against his assertion of the necessity of emancipation from the Law, the apostle's reply is, " God forbid," ' The Law is not the cause, but only the innocent occasion of sin and death to man. " The Law is holy and just and good " (ver. 12). It was not the Law which was in fault, "but sin, which, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of inordinate desire " (ver. 8), "working death in me by that which is good" (ver. 13). But if the Law, as is generally assumed, be the husband, it was the Law that gene- rated fruit unto death in the sinner. The Law was not merely the occasion, but the producing cause and responsible father of sin and death. St Paul seems most anxious to gTiard against such a con- struction of his words. In ver. 5, it is not the Law, but " the motions of sin which were by the Law," that are repre- sented as working " in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." In ver. 7, it is not the Law that is Sin, " but Sin" itself " takes occasion by the commandment" of the Law, and 276 CHAPTER VII. l"-4. works in the sinner " all manner of inordinate desire" (ver. 8), and death (ver. 11). In the very commencement of the si- militude (ver. 2), the Law and the husband, though inti- mately connected, are yet carefully distinguished. " The woman which hath an husband is bound by the Laiu to her husband so long as he liveth ; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the laiv of her husband." The question then remains unanswered, " Who is the hus- band, to whom the Church (collectively), or each soul (indivi- dually) had been first united, and by whose death the wife is set free (without being an adulteress) for a new marriage ? If St Paul is consistent with himself, comparison with the preceding chapter seems to settle this point definitively. There in vi. 6 it was " our old man" that was represented as "crucified with" Jesus, as in vii. 4 the " other" or new hus- band is stated to be Christ. We seem thus constrained to adopt the view advocated by Olshausen, though it appears to have met with no favour from subsequent commentators, but which alone gives a consistent representation of the figure, and of the argument of the apostle. Olshausen's conception of the similitude is : " As in Christ himself, without prejudice to the unity of His personality, the mortal is distinguished from the immortal Christ (comp. vii. 4 with 1 Pet. iii. 18), so in man also the old man is distinguished from the new, without prejudice to the unity of his personality, which Paul subse- quently (ver. 20) designates by syui. This our true person- ality, the proper self of man, is the wife, who in the natural state appears in marriage with the old man, and in inter- course with him brings forth sins, the end of which is death (vi. 21, 22, vii. 5). But in the death of the mortal Christ, this old man has died along with Him ; and as the individual is grafted by faith into Christ, his old man dies, by whose life he was holden under the Law. As, however, with the death of Christ, the immortal Saviour of the world also arose ; even so with the death of the old man, the new man becomes liv- ing : and with this, who is " the Christ in us," the / enters upon a new marriage, from which " the fruits of the Spirit are born." CHAPTER VII. 1-4. 277 In confirmation of this view, Olshausen remarks, that the same distinction of the / from the old and new man has a warrant from other representations of Scripture. " The for- giveness of sins necessarily leads to this distinction ; for sin cannot be forgiven to the old man ; that must die : not to the new, for this is sinless ; but evidently to the 1, who is the bearer, as well of the old as of the new man, and by whom the believer can speak of his old, and his new man." This distinction lies at the foundation of the whole representation in Rom. vii. 7-25, in which the / is the bearer both of the old and new nature, and can speak in the character, now of the one, and now of the other — and then, as distinct from, and yet connected with, both. Thus the 1, identifying itself with the old man, says, in ver. 18, "I know that in me (that is, in vaj flesh) dwelleth no good thing :" then again, identi- fying itself with the new, in ver. 21, "/delight in the law of God after the iriivard man; " and now, as distinct from each, and bearing both, we find the / saying, in the summing up of ver. 25, "So then /myself "With my mind [the renewed nature] serve the law of God, But with vaj flesh [the old nature] the law of Sin." Carry back this conception of the figure to the beginning of the chapter, and all confusion disappears. St Paul in chap- ter vi. 14, evidently representing the dominion of the Law and the dominion of Sin as being coincident and co-extensive, had asserted, " Sin shall not have dominion (oh xvpuvan, shall not be lo7xl, or master) over you ; for ye are not under Law [as your master], but under Grace." The ground of believers' release from the dominion of the Law, and consequently of Sin, he had stated to be that they had paid, in Christ their representative, the penalty which Law demanded for trans- gression ; they had " died to sin," vi. 2, and thereby were " become dead to the Law " also (vii. 4). But to the legitimacy of this emancipation from the Law the Jew would strongly object. How can a man be " dead," as you assert, and yet be "alive" (vi. 11)? How can he be 278 CHAPTER VII. 1-4. freed, so long as life endures, from the just dominion of the Law ? Hath not " the Law dominion over a man, as long as he liveth ? True, is the apostle's reply in chap, vii., " as long as he liveth," but no longer. And to assist your understand- ing of what I affirm, take the following illustration. The I* in man is properly receptive, as a woman dependent for char- acter, fortune, and fate, upon her husband. But the husband departed fi'om his true condition of dependence upon God, and hence fell under the condemnation of the law ; and as the wife's condition follows that of her husband, the 7 [or soul] also came under its righteous sentence. But now Christ has appeared for our deliverance; and having come in the likeness of " the flesh of sin," and borne in His own body the penalty due to our transgression, being " made sin for us," and " a curse" though He "knew no sin" — we in our old man, of which in this respect He is the substitute and representa- tive, have been crucified with Christ, and become dead with Him to Sin and to the Law. Thus the I is set free for a new marriage-union with Christ, and a new life, begun by faith here, and to be perfected in full fruition hereafter. Thus then, "ye are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ," in the old man, but alive in the new ; and so freed from the Law and its curse. This is your justification, — God's pronouncing you righte- ous, delivered from sin and from the law, and brought into a new union with Christ and His righteousness. So God reckons to you, as if already fully accomplished ; and so " reckon ye also yourselves, to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Christ Jesus." But remember that the reality and strength of this new life, and emancipation from the law, are commensurate with the truth and thoroughness of the previous death. " Know ye not how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth V Ye must die unto sin first, and give up entirely the old life as forfeited to the law, appropriating fully to your- • The mill, it would seem, in the individual, as the Church in a collective capacity, is regarded as a female whose condition is determined by the husband with whom she is counccted. CHAPTER VII. 1-4. 279 selves the death of Christ to sin as your death, if 3''e are to partake in His resurrection-life ? and, as the proof of your truly having so done, realize in yourselves ever more and more this death to sin, " always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in your body" (2 Cor. iv. 10) ; " the outward man perishing," that " the inward man may be renewed day by day" (ver. 16) : othersvise, if ye still live to sin, you are giving dominion to the law to condemn, and finally consign you to everlasting death. " The Law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. For the woman," i.e., your Ego [soul], "which hath a husband, is bound by the law to her husband" — the old man, and to a participation in his doom — " as long as he liveth." Only " if the husband be dead is she loosed from the law of her husband." This " liberation from the law must not be an act of self-will. As little as the wife may of her own self-will separate from her husband, since his death is requisite for her liberation ; so little may the / free itself from the law as long as the old man is living. If this is done, therefore, as is always the case, where a mere seeming faith prevails, it is a spiritual adultery, the lust after false freedom, that is, licen- tiousness, lawlessness. The liberation from the law rightfully takes place only where the new man has arisen in the place of the old — where, therefore, Christ is truly hving in the man. There is no licentiousness, for Christ brings with Him the strictest law wherever He works ; but the yoke of the law is removed by the love which is shed into the heart."* St Paul " compares the connection of individuals with the old man to the marriage relation, in order to shew that they are not to be considered as inseparable parts of the old man, but yet as so united to him, that it is only by his death that they are loosed from him, and from the obligations which arise out of their union to him. And he presses this comparison in order to explain that by partaking in Christ's death, and by that alone, the sentence of death is truly executed on the old man, in such a way that the individuals consenting to that * Olshausen on Kom. vii. 4. 280 CHAPTER VII. 1-i. participation survive the death even as Jesus did, and pass through it, and thus escape from the power and condemnation of sin, by escaping from their connection with the old man, through whom sin influences and condemns them, and yet do not defraud the lav/ by thus escaping from it; they Avere under it in consequence of their relation to the fallen flesh, or old man — they were under him, and he was under the law — but now he is dead, and their relation to him ceases, and their obligations, rising out of that relation, are at an end. " If, whilst he was still alive — that is, while they still walked in the flesh — they were to assume to themselves a freedom from the condemnation of the law, by taking the name of a new husband who was not under the law, they would be cast- ing off obligations which truly belonged to them ; they would be separating themselves from their laAvful husband, and thus would be acting the part of adulteresses ; but, as he is dead, they may now rightfully join themselves in marriage to another, even to Him Avho is raised from the dead, that they may bring forth fruit unto God, and who, being himself under no condemnation, communicates the same freedom to all souls truly espoused to him."* Ver. 3. This is one of the few instances in the Epistle in which the Authorized Version has deviated so far from the order of the Greek as to destroy the regularity of the parallel- ism. The first, second, and third lines in the original corre- spond exactly to the fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively. "Apa oji/ i^uvrog roZ dvdpog ILdiyjiKlc, y^priiJ^arlait iccv yhr^Tai avhpi Wspw' iav 8s dcroOdvrj 6 avf/p, eXeuOipa iariv ccxh too v6fj,ov, toj iiyj shai auTTjV jMoivaXida, ysvofMivrjv dvbpi erspw. So then as long as her husband liveth, She shall be called an adulteress, If she be married to anotlier man ; But if her husband be dead, She is free from the Law, so as to be no adulteress, Though she be married to another man. * The Doctrine of Election, l)y ITios. Erskine, Ksq., p. ;j4;i. CHAPTER VII. 6. 281 Verse 6. Having ascertained who is the true husband of the preceding verses, we have a simple explanation of the expres- sion in this verse a'Ko&anMTiq h 5> xaTir^ofMiQa, viz., "But now we have been delivered from the law, having died in that (viz., our old man) whereby we were held," the old man being the bond by which alone "the law had dominion over" us in our Ego, or soul. The usual interpretation is to consider sv Sj as referring to the law, lx£/Vw or rovru being understood before it. The gram- matical accuracy of this is very questionable. Had St Paul's meaning been, " Having died to that whereby we were held," this would have been clearly and unambiguously expressed by a-Todav6)/rsg w xars/p^o'/xs^a. The insertion of the h is perplexing, and altogether unnecessary, as is evident from hshrai K)/iw in ver. 2. (Compare w d^-Trors xa^niyiro voariiJjaTi, John v. 4.) Others, again, as Riickert, Winer, Krehl, Philippi, con- sider a'Tro&avovng as joined absolutely to xari^pyrjdni^iv to express the manner of the release, and interpret the words, " But now we are delivered from the law, by having died, wherein we were held." The awkward position of u'rodavovTsg is attempted to be explained on the ground of the desire to make it em- phatical. But had this been the object, it would have been more surely attained, and with restoration of perspicuity to the whole sentence, by placing it before ■/.arripyriQriiJ.iy, thus : vwl hi d'TTodavovTsg KaTripyridyifJbsv a-ith tov vofLou sv w xariiyrpiJjiQa. But the correctness of the interpretation now proposed seems placed almost beyond doubt by comparing this verse with verse 3, and observing the remarkable parallelism between two of the clauses in each, V. 3. sXiudipa sGTiv dvo tou v6>mv — sdv aTodavr; 6 dvrjp, V. 6. y.arripyridriijjiv diro rou v6fj.ou — aToSavovrsg sv w %a7iiyji{is&a,^ V. 3. She is free from the law — if her husband die, V. 6. We have been delivered from the law — having died in that whereby we were held, from which the inference seems unavoidable that h w ■/.aTiiyj)iJi,ida, "in that whereby we were held," and 'a dvrip, "the 282 CHAPTER VII. 13-25. husband " must be equivalent terms — and consequently, that it is the husband that dies, and not (as usually explained) the wife. We have the authority of Chrysostom (Horn. xii. 7'. [546]) for considering that wherein we died to be the old man, though he fails to carry out the figure with perfect consistency. " And how were we delivered 1 By our old man, who was held by sin being dead and buried. For this is what he signified by the words arrodavovng h w xarsr/Jfii&u, as if he had said, The bond by which we wore held was mortified and dis- solved, so that that which held us holds no more, namely Sin," IS THE PERSON DESCRIBED IN CHAP. VII. 13-25, REGENERATE OR UNREGENERATE ? Two conflicting interpretations of this passage have obtained in the Church from the earliest times, and still continue to find each its zealous supporters ; the one party maintaining that St Paul is here speaking in the character of a regenerate, the other of an unregenerate man. The mere fact of the inward struggle depicted can determine nothing on either side. That such a struggle may take place in the mind of the unregene- rate, through the strivings of God's Spirit Avitli their spirit,* and may end unfavourably, ought never to have been denied ;-f- * Gen. vi. 3. + Compare the well-known passages — "Video meliora proboque ; Deteriora sequor," Ovid Metam. vii. 19 ; and dvo yap (ra(/>cDs ?x'^ ^'^X'^', &c., Xenop. Cyrop. vi. 1. Yet the wide difference ought never to be forgotten between the char- acter of the human element addressed by the Spirit in the case of the unregene- rate, and in that of the regenerate man. In the case of the former, the appeal is simply to the selfishness of the natural man, alarmed by the terrors of the Law, and the remonstrances of an awakened conscience, whether he will persist in that course of self-indulgence which will bring eternal ruin upon him, or will yield himself to the love and pfiwcr of the Saviour who offers to heal him, and ^vill submit to the painful treatment and discipline necessary for the cure. The struggle that thus arises in his breast is but a contest between two selfish prin- ciples, the love of present short-lived pleasure, and the fear of future endless pain . In the regenerate man, on the contrary, tlu- sinful bias of whose will has CHAPTER VII. 13-25. 283 and with as little justice can it be Tnaintained that all conflict is at an end the moment a believer has fully closed with the offers of Christ. The struggle has often to be renewed, and sometimes becomes veiy vehement when violent temptations assail : " the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh" (Gal. v. 17), and the Christian has "to wrestle not against flesh and blood " alone, " but against prin- cipalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places " (Eph. vi. 12). The decision between the two interpretations must therefore be made on other grounds. The only decisive criterion, perhaps, is to be found in a comprehensive view of the connection of the passage with the argument of the Apostle. Still, apart from this, I cannot help thinking that the preponderance is clearly on the side of those who hold that the state of the believer in Christ is here described. For, 1. while some of the expressions, such especially as those in ver. 14, " I am carnal, sold under sin," seem strongly to favour the opposite opinion, they do, at the same time, admit of an explanation consistent with the supposition that St Paul is lamenting the imperfectiou of the highest state of sanc- tification that the believer can attain here below. His purpose so far evidently is, while he shows the powerlessness of the Law to deliver from sin, to vindicate its purity and holiness (against the suggestions, " Is the laAv sin?" "Is the law death?"); and, speaking of himself in comparison with the spirituality of its de- mands, he could say, " I am carnal ;" there are still in me the re- mains of the old man- — " In me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing." With Moses, with Job, with Isaiah, and with all the saints of God, he could acknowledge himself " of un- circumcised lips" (Exod, vi. 12), "vile" (Job xl. 4), " of un- clean lips " (Isaiah vi. 5) ; he could deplore the remains of indwelling corruption within him, which checked the full development of his better nature, and made him do the things he would not ; and in so far, he was a slave, " sold imder sin,"* been changed by the mighty power of God, and who has been brought to love righteousness and hate iniquity, the struggle is between the renewed mind and the remains of the flesh pleading for occasional indulgence. * Those who urge the strength of the expressions, "I am camal," "sold 284 CHAPTER VII. 13-25. brought " into captivity to the law of sin which was in his members," and which, as it Avould continue to harass him at times so long as this mortal life endured, made him (when deeply impressed with his weakness) cry out for deliverance from " this body of sin," that he might receive finally a new and sinless " spiritual body," free to follow without hindrance the pure dictates of God's holy law. But while all the expressions here employed admit of an explanation consistent with the supposition that St. Paul is describing the state of a renewed man, it seems impossible to explain away with fairness the force of those expressions that specially favour this supposition. St. Paul would be con- tradicting all that he has elsewhere said of the entire aliena- tion of the natural man from God and goodness, if he could use the expressions here employed, of a man still unrenewed by the Spirit of God. An entire change is represented as having now passed on the bias of his will (or desire), from that described of him in his former state in verses 8-11. Then " sin wrought in him all manner of concupiscence " [or inordi- nate desire], whereas noiu he "wills [desires] to do good," rp dsXovri s/ujI 'rroiih to -/.aXov (ver. 21) [observe too TToiuv, to be hahitually doing, not rroirjgai] ; " to will [good] is present with " him, ver. 18. In his lohole man — in head, in heart, in hand — in ihougJd, in feeling, in deed* — he is in consonance with the law of God. In thought, " I consent unto the law that it is good," ver. 16. In feeling, " I delight in the law of God after the inward man," ver. 22. In deed, "I sei^e the law of God," ver. 25. It is difficult to conceive what higher testimony the greatest saint of God on earth could bear to his sincere reverence, love, and obedience, to the law of God than xfiider sin," as inapplicable to any but au nnregenerate person, seem to forget the wide distinction between .St Paul's using such expressions of /iliiwlf {com- pare his calling himself "The chief of sinners," 1 Tim. i. lo) and his cm2)lo3'ing them as his (or the Holy Spirit's) estimate of the character of oflirri^. Still, even with regard to others, see his words 1 Cor. iii. 1, " I could not spccak unto you, but as unto men of flexh {aapKlvon), even as unto Itabes in Christ ;" and again, ver. 3, " For ye are yet carnal " {aapKiKoL). Though regenerate, they are yet called ^' mm ofjhuh," and "cai-nal." * See Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, pp. 175-178. CHAPTER VII. 13-25. 285 is here expressed. Surely if " the natural man knoweth not the things of the Spirit of God," " loveth vanity," and "is the servant of sin," he who has been brought to " consent to," to '' delight in," and to " serve the law of God," must be regarded as regenerated by the Spirit of God. 2. There is a very marked distinction farther made by St. Paul between the state described in verses 7-11 and that de- scribed in verses 14-25. In the first passage all the verbs are past ; in the second all are present. In verses 7-11 he had described a former state ; in verses 14-25 he must mean to describe one, comparatively at least, present. Now all agree that verses 7-11 describe the state of an unconverted man ; the natural inference is, that verses 14-25 are intended to de- scribe that of the believer. Were a subsequent stage only in his past unrenewed state intended, why this remarkable change to the present tense, so calculated to mislead ? 3. According to the uniform usage of the New Testament, the expression in the 25th verse, avrhg h/dj, "I myself" refers to the individual himself, in his oivn person, who is speaking, as will be seen by examination of the other instances in which it occurs, Luke xxiv. 39, Acts x. 26, Rom. ix. 3, xv. 14, 2 Cor. X. 1, xii. 13. If we are to be guided by this usage, the question is settled. Aurog lyu must here mean " I myself,* Paul," and describe his own personal experience ; and as all the verbs which he employs are in the present tense, his pre- sent experience, and consequently that of the regenerate. But the point to be particularly adverted to is that the words auTog syui, " I myself," are placed emphatically first, in a line by themselves, as the parallelism shows, so as to refer equally to each of the two succeeding lines, " Apa o'uv avTog syoo Tr di oapxi, vo/muj a/Mapriag. So then I myself t With the mind serve the law of God, But with the flesh the law of sin. * " I, the same person," is, as Professor Jowett remarks, "contrary to the language, which would require eyw b airbs. " t Not as in Auth. V., "So then with the mind I myself." 286 CHAPTER VII. 13-25. The services rendered both by the mind and by the flesh are equally attributed to the "I myself" as the actor. It is " I myself" that " serve with the mind the law of God ; " "I myself" that serve "with the flesh the law of sin." This at once excludes all such interpretations as " I in myself," i.e., "without the help of God" (Conybeare and Howson) which is inconsistent with "serve the law of God;"* or "my very self," that is " my true nature which is God's [original] work " (Wordsworth), which is equally inconsistent with " serve the law of sin." Mr. Jowett, who inclines to the latter interpreta- tion as " seeming the best," attempts to smooth over the ob- jection. His note is, " I, myself, that is, in my true self, serve the law of God ; " and in defence of this he adds, " the remainder of the sentence may be regarded as an afterthought, in which the apostle checks his aspiration, dh being exactly expressed in English by ' howbeit,' compare ver. 8, a}/j.a rou v6/jt,ov, " The righteousness of the Law," in viii. 4. It matters little to the argument which interpretation we put on br/.aioj'ia, here, 1. righteous act (conduct) re- quired by the Law ; 2. righteous requirement, or, 3. righteous sentence, of the Law. If the all but identical expression in ii. 26, ra ^//ca/w/xara roD voim'j is to be the rule, the requirement of the Lavj will be the proper signification. Others consider that 310 CHAPTER VIII. 19-23. 8ix.aiTesence of the Lord " (ver. 16). The same emblem was renewed to God's chosen people, bringing Him X 322 CHAPTER viir. 19-23. and them into the closest commimion. In the cherubim placed within the tabernacle in the Holy of Holies, the Israel- ites might behold God's presence and favour again accorded to His creatures, a meeting-place* vouchsafed for God and man by His own appointment, and the restoration to man of his lost dignity and dominion, since God condescended to set up His throne, " dwelling between the Cherubim " in the midst of His people, making them a " kingdom of priests " unto Himself. Nay, the very mode of this restoration, as we can now see, was shadowed forth, by the cherubim being inter- woven into the texture of " the veil, that is to say. His [Christ's] flesh" (Heb. x. 20), and into the curtains of that tabernacle which was prefigurative of a " greater and more perfect taber- nacle," even Christ's body (Heb. ix. 11), wherein dwelt "the fulness of the Godhead bodily " (Col. ii. 9) ; signifying that the redeemed were to become " members of His bod}^ of His flesh, and of His bones " (Eph. v. 30), and to be made one with Him unto whom " all power is given in heaven and in earth " (Matt. xxviii, 18). As every other part of the tabernacle finds its antitype in Christ (even those parts that signified man's relation to God as a worshipper, as the candlestick that was to "give LIGHT over against it," Exod. xxv. 37, Num. viii. 2 ; the bread of presentation on the holy table, &c.), so the cherubim seem to point us to Him, who is the head of glorified humanity, and the Archetype of all creation, rr^uroToxog Trdarig ■Arlasug, 6V/ h a-lrtp iTiriaO^ TO. rrdvra .... xa/ ra rravra iv a-jTui Cvv'tsrrjxsv, " the first-born of all creation, because in Him were all things created .... and in Him all things subsist," Col. i. 15-17. In Ezekiel, the restoration of man's lost dominion is still more clearly revealed in the vision vouchsafed to the prophet of the glorious moving throne of God (carrying out in the mighty march of God's providence the counsels of His wisdom), in which the form of man was predominant throughout : for • "There I will meet •vrith thee, and I will commune with thee from ahove the mercy-seat, from Ijctwcen the two chcnibims which are upon the ark of the testimony," Exod. xxv. 22. THE CHERUBIM. 323 on the throne itself was " the appearance of a MAN above upon it" (Ez. i. 26) ; and among the "four Uving creatures,"* as has already been remarked, the figure and agency of man were pre-eminent ; the whole vision plainly denoting that God's government of the world was directed in subserviency to His people and Church, and that man was in some mysterious manner admitted to participate in its administration and to sit "on the throne of the Lord" (1 Chron. xxix. 23), as his vicegerent and servant. This truth was brought into full prominence and light in the " four living creatures " of the Book of Revelation, placed in connection with " the four and twenty elders " (Rev. iv. 4- 11), to denote the twofold character, as ruling and Tninister- ing, of God's church. This twofold character had been repre- sented in Zechariah iv. 12-14, by the "two olive branches," and " two anointed ones [the kings and priests] that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." The same twofold character is denoted by the " two witnesses " of Rev. xi. 3-6, who are dis- tinctly identified as emblems of the true church, by being styled " the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth," to minister, and endued with power to shut heaven [like Elijah], and " over waters [like Moses] to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will." So in Rev. iv. 4-6, under the double type of the " four [^wa not beasts, but] living creatures," and " four and twenty elders," the "people of the saints of the Most High " for whom are reserved " the kingdom and dominion and the gTeatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven " Dan. vii. 27, are represented as being "made unto our God both kings and priests" (v. 10): "kings," by the four-j* living creatures being in the closest proximity to God, " in the midst • That the idea of dominion was specially connected with the "fourli-\nng creatures," ftDa, of Ezekiel is made still more clear by the contrasted "four beasts," S^T/pta, of Daniel, typifying the imrld-hingdom, with its bestial, self- glorifying, God-defying dominion, antagonistic to the kingdom connected with God's chosen people, who were called to be "a kingdom of priests unto the Lord," to advance His name and rule, not their own glory and dominion. t ^^ Four," with a face directed to each of the four quarters of the heaven, to mark that Sion's children shall be "princes in all the earth," (Psalm xlv. 16.) 324 CHAPTER VIII. 19-23. of the throne and round about the throne " (iv. 6) ; priests, by the "elders" being " four and twenty " in number,* corre- sponding with the twenty-four courses into which David divided the Jewish priests (1 Chron. xxiv. 4-18), that they might serve God day and night. Yet, though thus distinguished, the living creatures and the elders are at the same time repre- sented as forming properly not two separate classes, but one in whom both offices were concentrated. The "living creatures in the midst of the throne" are engaged also in liriedly service, for " they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty " (iv. 8) ; and the elders have " on their heads croivns of gold " (iv. 4). Thus together they represent the one universal Catholic Church — " a Jdngdom of priests,'* (combining the two ideas into one expression) unto the Lord, according to the early promise to the Church (Exod. xix. 6). How amazing — how condescendingly gi'acious, are thus the counsels of the Most High towards man, the lowest and weakest of His rational creatures ! How calculated to humble all pride of men and angels — God's exalting man by His grace out of the dee^jest humiliation of his fall to be partaker of His "throne" (Rev. iii. 21) and "holiness" (Heb. xii. 10) — and thus, through the meanest and weakest of instruments, tri- umphing over the great Enemy of God and man, by educing good out of the evil which he had introduced into God's fair creation — fulfilling in this the words of Psalm viii. 2, Out of the moutli of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, That thou niightest still the Enemy and Avenger. The promise made in Psalm ii. (the opening psalm of the septenary cycle ii.-viii.), to the "Son of God," of universal dominion over the "uttermost parts of the earth," we have fulfilled in Psalm viii. (the concluding psalm of the seven), to * The six wings of each of the four living creatures make up the same mystic number of twenty-four : another correspondence seemingly designed to mark the unity of the two emblems, as designating the one Catholic Church of the Redeemed under its two aspects. CREATION GROANING. 325 the " Son of man," both in the Head and His members (Compare Heb. ii. 6-9), by " all things being put under his feet" (ver. 6). To the prophetic eye of the Psalmist a vision is vouchsafed of that glorious period when " the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ" (Rev. xi. 15), and God's Name shall become "excellent in all the earth" by the restoration of man to the lost " image of God," and to the rightful dominion over all the creatures (Ps. viii. 7, 8), to which in the depth of his degradation he had bowed down himself in service (Compare Deut. iv. 15-19, and Rom. i. 23.) For a time, indeed, on account of man's sin (the Psalmist says), " Thou didst lower him for a little beneath the angels * — But with glory and honour thou dost crown him ; Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet." Vers. 5 and 6. " For in that He put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him" (Heb. ii. 8. Comp. 1 Cor. XV. 27 ; Eph. i. 22), exalting him even beyond the angels into oneness and "fellowship" (1 John i. 3) with Himself through " the Son of man" Jesus Christ — who now by the gra- cious promise, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne" (Rev. iii. 21), encourages all His true followers to " suffer with Him, that they may be also glorified together" with Him. Thus in the Cherubim, as in St Paul's description, the des- tiny of the creation is represented as intimately associated with, but entirely dependent on, that of man. All having been with him " subjected to vanity" in consequence of his * There is a change of tense here which has been overlooked by interpreters, the first verb " thou didst lower" being in the preterite (future with Vau con- versive), while the succeeding verbs are in the simple future or present. More literally, perhaps, the words might be translated, ' ' Thou didst bereave him for a little of God" (compare the same construction in Eccles. iv. 8), that is, of that Divine dignity and " image" in which he was created, and fellowship Avith God in "dominion" over the works of His hands. 32G CHAPTER VIII. 19-23. fall, are represented as sympathising with him, and " groaning aud travailing in pain together," " in hope of being delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God." All are waiting to be glorified and perfected with and for man, when paradi.se shall be again re- stored, with its "water, and tree of hfe" (Rev. xxii. 1, 2), and " the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and He shall dwell with them" (Rev. xxi. 3), and "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain," ver, 4 ; but " every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them" shall be " heard saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever" (Rev. v. 13). One objection to this view may still linger in the minds of some, of those especially who hold that "man alone is denoted by the Cherubim, from their forming too mean a conception of God's material creation, as if it were unworthy and unsuited to be associated with glorified spirits in eternity. Every such ob- jection will vanish, if we consider that the Lord Himself dis- dained not to take a part of the dust of the earth into union with Himself to constitute His body for ever — for with the same body which was laid in the grave He rose and ascended into heaven. The objection is virtually the same as He Himself has met in Matt. xxii. 29, "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God;" and His apostle, in 1 Cor. XV, 3G-38, " Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain ; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him" — how dissimilar often in beauty and grace to the bare seed which had been laid in the earth ! God's judgment pronounced on all His works at the creation of this world was, that all were " very good," however they may have been marred since by man's sin, or retarded in their des- tined development. But God's destined purpose cannot fail. No particle of matter which God at first created has ever been, so far as we can see, or ever will be, annihilated. " Heaven CREATION GROANING. 327 and earth," indeed, we are told, "shall pass away;" but so does man, only, however, to rise again transfigured and glori- fied; and why may not the " new heavens and the new earth" that are promised, spring out of the ashes of the old, trans- figured and expanded into new forms of inconceivable gran- deur and beauty ? Note A. Page 314. No fully satisfactory explanation perhaps of this expression, ovx eKovcra, "not willingly," has yet been given. May not the thought which St Paul meant to suggest be this ? The leadiug idea of the passage with which he starts is that if we would be "glorified jointly with Christ," we must willingly "suffer jointly with Him." Now, remarks the Apostle, whether wdllingly or not williagly, all do and must suffer, for in consequence of man's siu all creation at first was "made subject not willingly to vanity; in hope," however, thereby meant to be awakened, of being hereafter delivered from this bondage. The appointed means of this deliverance is our voluntary submission to suffering. Let us Christians, there- fore, who can now enter intelligently into God's plan and method of cure, suffer willingly with Chi'ist, seeing that the cross is the only preparation for the crown — suffering, for the attainment of glory — and cheerfully submit ourselves to the sentence of vanity, transitoriness, and death, pronounced on the present state, being animated by the assured expectation that we shall thereby not only secure our own blessedness, but hasten on the redemption and glorification of all creation, which awaits our final "manifestation as the sons of God." The " not luilUng " subjection would thus be designed to suggest the willing subjection which Christians should render to "the sufferings of this present time. " This meaning of "willingly" is one familiar to St Paul, as will be seen by comparison of 1 Cor. ix. 17, "For if I do this thing [preaching the gospel] willingly [eKup, i.e., with my own free will and full consent, as shown by preach- ing it "without charge "] I have a reward," &c. That this is the meaning of the " not willing subjection " seems evident from the corresponding terms "waiting," "hoping to be delivered from the bond- age," " groaning and travailing in pain." It became a comparatively vMling subjection, and "patient waiting" only to those who have been made intelli- gently to see, and with assurance to hope for, the glory to result from such williug subjection and patient endurance. Note B. Page 314. It has been much questioned with what verb eir' iXirlSt in ver. 21 is properly to be connected — wdth vTrerdyr], or with rdv VTroTd^avra, or with dTre/cSexerat ? With regard to the two former, the question seems immaterial, since tov 328 CHAPTER VIII. 1.9-23. vTroTafai^a Tjut repeats inrerdyr]. " It was subjected [by God] in hope" — ^not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it — in hope, that, &c. The true view, however, appears to be that it applies to all three verbs ; that ver. 20 is properly parenthetical, and while the composition is so skilfully arranged that iir' iXiriSi "in hope" applies equally to each of its parallel lines, it still more appropriately refers to dTre/cS^x^'''^' "waiteth " in ver. 19, the two lines of which find each its respective equivalent in the parallel lines of ver. 21 (ver. 20 being interjected parenthetically) : — 19. a 'H yap diroKapaSoKla ttjs Krfcrewj b TT]i' dTroKd\v\pii' tQv viu)v Tov GeoO dTre/cS^xerai, 20. rrj yap fiaraidTTjTi i] ktIctis virerdyq, ovx eKovffd dWd 5td rbv inrord^avTa, 21. a iw' iXirlSi. Sti Kal avrri rj ktIctis iXeudepwdrjaerai dirb rrji Sovkelas ttjs