last clause of the preceding one. He gave glory to God by being fully persuaded that he was able to perform his pronaise. The ground of Abraham's confidence, therefore, was not the nature of the thing promised, no]C,the facility of its attainment, but the divine character and attributes.
(22) Therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. The it of course refers to the extraordinary faith spoken of above. It was im- puted to him in order to his being regarded and treated as righteous ; see above on v. 3.
(23) Now it was not written for his saJce alone that it was imputed to him. This and the following verses contain the application of the case of Abraham to our instruction. Paul says that the record concerning the justification of Abraham was not made merely that we might know thai he was a righteous man ; or as though justification by faith were some- thing peculiar to him.
(24) JBat for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe, &c. The fact that faith was imputed to Abraham for his justification was placed on record that we might learn the true method of justification. As all men are sinners, and consequently stand in the same relation to God, the method in which he justifies one is the same as that in which he justifies all ; see 3 : 9, 23. The object of our faith is described as God that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. The object of Abra- ham's faith was the Almighty and Omniscient God, who had promised to raise up to him a seed in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. The object of our faith is this same God considered as recog- nising Jesus our Lord to be this long-promised seed and deliverer, by raising him from the dead.
When we are said to believe in God who raised up Christ, it of course implies that we believe that Christ was thus raised up. As the resur- rection of Christ was the great decisive evidence of the divinity of his mission, and the validity of all his claims, to believe that he rose from the dead is to believe he was the Son of God, the propitiation foi our sins, the Redeemer and the Lord of men ; that he was all he claimed to be, and had accomplished all he purposed to effect ; compare Rom. 10 : 9. Acts 1 : 22. 4 : 33. 1 Cor. 15, and other passages, in which the re- surrection of Christ is spoken of as the corner-stone of the gospel, as the great fact to be proved, and which, being proved, involves all the rest.
(25) Who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. This verse is a comprehensive statement of the gospel Christ was delivered unto death for our offences, i. e. on account of them, and for their expiation ; see Isa. 53 : 5, 6. Heb. 9 : 28. 1 Pet. 2 : 24. This delivering of Christ is ascribed to God, Rom. 8 : 32, and else- where ; and to himself. Tit. 2 : 14. Gal. 1:4. It was by the divine purpose and counsel he suffered for the expiation of sin ; and he gave himself willingly to death. " He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.'*
And loas raised again for our justification^ i. e. that we might be jus-